Chapter: CHAPTER V.

     THE AUTHOR, BY AN EXTRAORDINARY STRATAGEM, PREVENTS AN INVASION. A
     HIGH TITLE OF HONOR IS CONFERRED UPON HIM. AMBASSADORS ARRIVE FROM
     THE EMPEROR OF BLEFUSCU, AND SUE FOR PEACE. THE EMPRESS'S APARTMENT
     ON FIRE, BY ACCIDENT; THE AUTHOR INSTRUMENTAL IN SAVING THE REST OF
     THE PALACE.


The empire of Blefuscu is an island, situate to the north northeast of
Lilliput, from whence it is parted only by a channel of eight hundred
yards wide. I had not yet seen it; and upon this notice of an intended
invasion, I avoided appearing on that side of the coast, for fear of
being discovered by some of the enemy's ships, who had received no
intelligence of me, all intercourse between the two empires having been
strictly forbidden during the war, upon the pain of death, and an
embargo[25] laid by our emperor upon all vessels whatsoever.

I communicated to his majesty a project I had formed, of seizing the
enemy's whole fleet; which, as our scouts assured us, lay at anchor in
the harbor, ready to sail with the first fair wind. I consulted the most
experienced seamen upon the depth of the channel, which they had often
plumbed; who told me, that in the middle, at high water, it was seventy
_glumgluffs_ deep, which is about six feet of European measure; and the
rest of it fifty _glumgluffs_ at most. I walked towards the northeast
coast, over against Blefuscu; where, lying down behind a hillock, I took
out my small perspective glass, and viewed the enemy's fleet at anchor,
consisting of about fifty men-of-war, and a great number of transports;
I then came back to my house, and gave orders (for which I had a
warrant) for a great quantity of the strongest cable and bars of iron.
The cable was about as thick as packthread, and the bars of the length
and size of a knitting needle. I trebled the cable, to make it stronger;
and, for the same reason, I twisted three of the iron bars together,
bending the extremities into a hook.

Having thus fixed fifty hooks to as many cables, I went back to the
northeast coast, and putting off my coat, shoes, and stockings, walked
into the sea in my leathern jerkin, about half an hour before
high-water. I waded with what haste I could, and swam in the middle
about thirty yards, till I felt ground; I arrived at the fleet in less
than half an hour. The enemy were so frightened, when they saw me, that
they leaped out of their ships, and swam to shore, where there could not
be fewer than thirty thousand souls: I then took my tackling, and
fastening a hook to the hole at the prow of each, I tied all the cords
together at the end.

While I was thus employed, the enemy discharged several thousand arrows,
many of which stuck in my hands and face; and, besides the excessive
smart, gave me much disturbance in my work. My greatest apprehension was
for mine eyes, which I should have infallibly lost, if I had not
suddenly thought of an expedient. I kept, among other little
necessaries, a pair of spectacles, in a private pocket, which, as I
observed before, had escaped the emperor's searchers. These I took out,
and fastened as strongly as I could upon my nose, and thus armed, went
on boldly with my work, in spite of the enemy's arrows, many of which
struck against the glasses of my spectacles, but without any other
effect, farther than a little to discompose them.[26] I had now fastened
all the hooks, and, taking the knot in my hand, began to pull: but not a
ship would stir, for they were all too fast held by their anchors; so
that the boldest part of my enterprise remained. I therefore let go the
cord, and, leaving the hooks fixed to the ships, I resolutely cut with
my knife the cables that fastened the anchors, receiving above two
hundred shots in my face and hands; then I took up the knotted end of
the cables, to which my hooks were tied, and, with great ease, drew
fifty of the enemy's largest men-of-war after me.

The Blefuscudians, who had not the least imagination of what I intended,
were at first confounded with astonishment. They had seen me cut the
cables, and thought my design was only to let the ships run adrift, or
fall foul on each other: but when they perceived the whole fleet moving
in order, and saw me pulling at the end, they set up such a scream of
grief and despair as it is almost impossible to describe or conceive.
When I had got out of danger, I stopped awhile to pick out the arrows
that stuck in my hands and face: and rubbed on some of the same ointment
that was given me at my first arrival, as I have formerly mentioned. I
then took off my spectacles, and waiting about an hour, till the tide
was a little fallen, I waded through the middle with my cargo, and
arrived safe at the royal port of Lilliput.

The emperor and his whole court stood on the shore, expecting the issue
of this great adventure. They saw the ships move forward in a large
half-moon, but could not discern me, who was up to my breast in water.
When I advanced to the middle of the channel, they were yet more in
pain, because I was under water to my neck. The emperor concluded me to
be drowned, and that the enemy's fleet was approaching in an hostile
manner: but he was soon eased of his fears; for the channel growing
shallower every step I made, I came in a short time within hearing; and
holding up the end of the cable, by which the fleet was fastened, I
cried in a loud voice, Long live the most puissant[27] emperor of
Lilliput! This great prince received me at my landing, with all possible
encomiums, and created me a _nardac_ upon the spot, which is the highest
title of honor among them.

His majesty desired I would take some other opportunity of bringing all
the rest of his enemy's ships into his ports. And so immeasurable is the
ambition of princes, that he seemed to think of nothing less than
reducing the whole empire of Blefuscu into a province, and governing it
by viceroy; of destroying the Big-endian exiles, and compelling that
people to break the smaller end of their eggs, by which he would remain
the sole monarch of the whole world. But I endeavored to divert him from
this design, by many arguments, drawn from the topics of policy, as well
as justice. And I plainly protested, that I would never be an instrument
of bringing a free and brave people into slavery. And when the matter
was debated in council, the wisest part of the ministry were of my
opinion.

[Illustration: "AND CREATED ME A _NARDAC_ UPON THE SPOT." P. 58.]

This open, bold declaration of mine was so opposite to the schemes and
politics of his imperial majesty, that he could never forgive me; he
mentioned it, in a very artful manner, at council, where, I was told,
that some of the wisest appeared, at least by their silence, to be of my
opinion; but others, who were my secret enemies, could not forbear some
expressions, which by a side-wind reflected on me. And, from this time
began an intrigue between his majesty and a junto[28] of ministers
maliciously bent against me, which broke out in less than two months,
and had like to have ended in my utter destruction. Of so little weight
are the greatest services to princes, when put into the balance with a
refusal to gratify their passions.

About three weeks after this exploit, there arrived a solemn embassy
from Blefuscu, with humble offers of peace; which was soon concluded,
upon conditions very advantageous to our emperor, wherewith I shall not
trouble the reader. There were six ambassadors, with a train of about
five hundred persons; and their entry was very magnificent, suitable to
the grandeur of their master, and the importance of their business. When
their treaty was finished, wherein I did them several good offices, by
the credit I now had, or at least appeared to have at court, their
excellencies, who were privately told how much I had been their friend,
made me a visit in form. They began with many compliments upon my valor
and generosity, invited me to that kingdom, in the emperor their
master's name, and desired me to show some proofs of my prodigious
strength, of which they had heard so many wonders; wherein I readily
obliged them, but shall not trouble the reader with the particulars.

[Illustration]

When I had for some time entertained their Excellencies, to their
infinite satisfaction and surprise, I desired they would do me the honor
to present my most humble respects to the emperor their master, the
renown of whose virtues had so justly filled the whole world with
admiration, and whose royal person I resolved to attend, before I
returned to my own country. Accordingly, the next time I had the honor
to see our emperor, I desired his general license to wait on the
Blefuscudian monarch, which he was pleased to grant me, as I could
plainly perceive, in a very cold manner; but could not guess the reason,
till I had a whisper from a certain person, that Flimnap and Bolgolam
had represented my intercourse with those ambassadors as a mark of
disaffection, from which, I am sure, my heart was wholly free. And this
was the first time I began to conceive some imperfect idea of courts and
ministers.

It is to be observed, that these ambassadors spoke to me by an
interpreter, the languages of both empires differing as much from each
other as any two in Europe, and each nation priding itself upon the
antiquity, beauty, and energy of its own tongue, with an avowed contempt
for that of its neighbor; yet our emperor, standing upon the advantage
he had got by the seizure of their fleet, obliged them to deliver their
credentials, and make their speech in the Lilliputian tongue.

And it must be confessed, that, from the great intercourse of trade and
commerce between both realms; from the continual reception of exiles,
which is mutual among them; and from the custom in each empire, to send
their young nobility, and richer gentry, to the other, in order to
polish themselves, by seeing the world, and understanding men and
manners; there are few persons of distinction, or merchants, or, seamen,
who dwell in the maritime parts, but what can hold conversation in both
tongues, as I found some weeks after, when I went to pay my respects to
the Emperor of Blefuscu, which, in the midst of great misfortunes,
through the malice of my enemies, proved a very happy adventure to me,
as I shall relate in its proper place.

The reader may remember, that when I signed those articles, upon which I
recovered my liberty, there were some which I disliked, upon account of
their being too servile; neither could anything but an extreme necessity
have forced me to submit. But, being now a _nardac_ of the highest rank
in that empire, such offices were looked upon as below my dignity, and
the emperor, to do him justice, never once mentioned them to me.
However, it was not long before I had an opportunity of doing his
majesty, at least as I then thought, a most signal service. I was
alarmed at midnight with the cries of many hundred people at my door, by
which, being suddenly awaked, I was in some kind of terror. I heard the
word _burglum_ repeated incessantly.

Several of the emperor's court, making their way through the crowd,
entreated me to come immediately to the palace, where her imperial
majesty's apartment was on fire, by the carelessness of a maid of honor,
who fell asleep while she was reading a romance. I got up in an instant;
and orders being given to clear the way before me, and it being likewise
a moonshine night, I made a shift to get to the palace, without
trampling on any of the people. I found they had already applied ladders
to the walls of the apartment, and were well provided with buckets, but
the water was at some distance. These buckets were about the size of a
large thimble, and the poor people supplied me with them as fast as they
could; but the flame was so violent that they did little good. I might
easily have stifled it with my coat, which I unfortunately left behind
me for haste, and came away only in my leathern jerkin. The case seemed
wholly desperate and deplorable, and this magnificent palace would have
infallibly been burnt down to the ground, if, by a presence of mind
unusual to me, I had not suddenly thought of an expedient by which in
three minutes the fire was wholly extinguished, and the rest of that
noble pile, which had cost so many ages in erecting, preserved from
destruction.

[Illustration]

It was now daylight, and I returned to my house, without waiting to
congratulate with the emperor; because, although I had done a very
eminent piece of service, yet I could not tell how his majesty might
resent the manner by which I had performed it: for, by the fundamental
laws of the realm, it is capital in any man, of what quality soever, to
even touch the empress or the royal princesses without invitation. But I
was a little comforted by a message from his majesty, that he would give
orders to the grand justiciary for passing my pardon in form, which,
however, I could not obtain. And I was privately assured that the
empress, conceiving the greatest abhorrence of me, and, in the presence
of her chief confidants, could not forbear vowing revenge.

 "Several Adventures that happened to the Author. The Execution of a Criminal. The Author shews his Skill in Navigation. Serving in Brobdingnag proves difficult for Gulliver. He experiences a series of dangers because of his small size-and because the dwarf relishes in making Gulliver's life difficult. The ladies at court treat Gulliver like a toy, dressing and undressing him and undressing themselves in front of him. Gulliver again mentions how offensive he finds the skin and smell of the Brobdingnagians. He remembers the Lilliputians' similar reaction to his smell, which he did not understand at the time. Gulliver nearly drowns when a toad jumps onto the boat the queen has had made for him. He is also carried to the top of the palace by a monkey and narrowly survives. The monkey is killed, and it is declared that monkeys will no longer be allowed in the palace

