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23 - Gulliver's Travels - Jonathan Swift · Classic Adventure Books - Daily

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  Speaker 1: Chapter seven. The author lies Laggedo, arrives at Maldonada, no
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  Speaker 1: ship ready. He takes a short voyage to glub Dub
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  Speaker 1: Drib his reception by the governor. The continent of which
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  Speaker 1: this kingdom is apart extends itself, as I have reason
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  Speaker 1: to believe, eastward to that unknown tract of America, westward
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  Speaker 1: of California, and north to the Pacific Ocean, which is
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  Speaker 1: not above a hundred and fifty miles from Laggedo, where
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  Speaker 1: there is a good port and much commerce, with the
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  Speaker 1: great island of Lugnag, situated to the northwest, about twenty
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  Speaker 1: nine degrees north latitude and a hundred forty longitude. This
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  Speaker 1: island of Lugnak stands southeastward of Japan, about a hundred
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  Speaker 1: leagues distant. There is a strict alliance between the Japanese
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  Speaker 1: Emperor and the King of Lugnag, which affords frequent opportunities
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  Speaker 1: of sailing from one island to the other. I determined,
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  Speaker 1: therefore to direct my course this way in order to
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  Speaker 1: my return to Europe. I hired two mules with a
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  Speaker 1: guide to show me the way and carry my small baggage.
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  Speaker 1: I took leave of my noble protector, who had shown
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  Speaker 1: me so much favor and made me a generous present
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  Speaker 1: at my departure. My journey was without any accident or
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  Speaker 1: adventure worth relating. When I arrived at the port of Maldonada,
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  Speaker 1: for so it is called, there was no ship in
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  Speaker 1: the harbor bound for Lugnag, nor likely to be in
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  Speaker 1: some time. The town is about as large as Portsmouth.
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  Speaker 1: I soon fell into some acquaintance and was very hospitably received.
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  Speaker 1: A gentleman of distinction said to me that since the
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  Speaker 1: ships bound for Lugnag could not be ready in less
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  Speaker 1: than a month, it might not be disagreeable amusement for
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  Speaker 1: me to take a trip to the little island of
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  Speaker 1: glove dub Drib, about five leagues off to the southwest.
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  Speaker 1: He offered himself and a friend to accompany me, and
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  Speaker 1: that I should be provided with a small, convenient bark
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  Speaker 1: for the voyage. Glub dub Drib, as nearly as I
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  Speaker 1: can interpret, the word signifies the island of sorcerers or magicians.
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  Speaker 1: It is about one third as large as the Isle
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  Speaker 1: of Wight, and extremely fruitful. It is governed by the
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  Speaker 1: head of a certain tribe, who are all magicians. This
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  Speaker 1: tribe marries only among each other, and the eldest in
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  Speaker 1: succession is prince or governor. He has a noble palace
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  Speaker 1: and a park of about three thousand acres, surrounded by
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  Speaker 1: a wall of hewn stone twenty feet high. In this
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  Speaker 1: park are several small enclosures for cattle, corn, and gardening.
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  Speaker 1: The Governor and his family are served and attended by
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  Speaker 1: domestics of a kind somewhat unusual. By his skill and necromancy.
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  Speaker 1: He has a power of calling whom he pleases from
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  Speaker 1: the day and commanding their service for twenty four hours,
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  Speaker 1: but no longer, nor can he call the same persons
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  Speaker 1: up again in less than three months, except upon very
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  Speaker 1: extraordinary occasions. When we arrived at the island, which was
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  Speaker 1: about eleven in the morning, one of the gentlemen who
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  Speaker 1: accompanied me went to the Governor and desired admittance for
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  Speaker 1: a stranger who came on purpose to have the honor
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  Speaker 1: of attending on his highness. This was immediately granted, and
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  Speaker 1: we all three entered the gate of the palace between
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  Speaker 1: two rows of guards, armed and dressed in a very
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  Speaker 1: antique manner, and with something in their countenances that made
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  Speaker 1: my flesh creep with a horror I cannot express. We
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  Speaker 1: passed through several apartments between servants of the same sort,
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  Speaker 1: ranked on each side as before, till we came to
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  Speaker 1: the chamber of Presents, where after three profound obscences and
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  Speaker 1: a few general questions, we were permitted to sit on
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  Speaker 1: the three stools near the lowest step of His Highness's throne.
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  Speaker 1: He understood the language of Boune Barbie, although it was
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  Speaker 1: different from that of this island. He desired me to
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  Speaker 1: give him some account of my travels, and to let
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  Speaker 1: me see that I should be treated without ceremony. He
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  Speaker 1: dismissed all his attendants with a turn of his finger,
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  Speaker 1: at which, to my great astonishment, they vanished in an instant,
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  Speaker 1: like visions in a dream. When we awake on a
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  Speaker 1: sudden I could not recover myself in some time till
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  Speaker 1: the Governor assured me that I should receive no hurt, and,
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  Speaker 1: observing my two companions to be under no concern, who
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  Speaker 1: had been often entertained in the same manner, I began
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  Speaker 1: to take courage and related to his Highness a short
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  Speaker 1: history of my several adventures, Yet not without some hesitation
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  Speaker 1: and frequently looking behind him me to the place where
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  Speaker 1: I had seen those domestic specters. I had the honor
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  Speaker 1: to dine with the Governor, where a new set of
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  Speaker 1: ghosts served up the meat and waited at table. I
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  Speaker 1: now observed myself to be less terrified than I had
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  Speaker 1: been in the morning. I stayed till sunset, but humbly
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  Speaker 1: desired his Highness to excuse me for not accepting his
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  Speaker 1: invitation of lodging in the palace. My two friends and
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  Speaker 1: I lay at a private house in the town adjoining,
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  Speaker 1: which is the capital of this little island, and the
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  Speaker 1: next morning we returned to pay our duty to the Governor,
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  Speaker 1: as he was pleased to command us. After this manner,
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  Speaker 1: we continued in the island for ten days, most part
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  Speaker 1: of every day with the Governor, and at night in
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  Speaker 1: our lodging. I soon grew so familiarized to the sight
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  Speaker 1: of spirits that after the third or fourth time, they
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  Speaker 1: gave me no emotion at all, or if I had
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  Speaker 1: any apprehensions left, my curiosity prevailed over them. For his Highness,
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  Speaker 1: the Governor ordered me to call up whatever persons I
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  Speaker 1: would choose to name, and in whatever numbers, among all
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  Speaker 1: the dead from the beginning of the world to the
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  Speaker 1: present time, and command them to answer any questions I
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  Speaker 1: should think fit to ask, with this condition that my
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  Speaker 1: questions must be confined within the compass of the times
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  Speaker 1: they lived in, and one thing I might depend upon
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  Speaker 1: that they would certainly tell me the truth, for lying
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  Speaker 1: was a talent of no use in the lower world.
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  Speaker 1: I made my humble acknowledgments to His Highness for so
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  Speaker 1: great a favor. We were in a chamber, from whence
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  Speaker 1: there was a fair prospect into the park, and because
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  Speaker 1: my first inclination was to be entertained with scenes of
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  Speaker 1: pomp and magnificence, I desired to see Alexander the Great
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  Speaker 1: at the head of his army, just after the Battle
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  Speaker 1: of Arbelah, which, upon a motion of the Governor's finger,
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  Speaker 1: immediately appeared in a large feld under the window where
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  Speaker 1: we stood. Alexander was called up into the room. It
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  Speaker 1: was with great difficulty that I understood his Greek, and
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  Speaker 1: had but little of my own. He assured me upon
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  Speaker 1: his honor that he was not poisoned, but died of
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  Speaker 1: a bad fever by excessive drinking. Next, I saw Hannibal
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  Speaker 1: passing the Alps, who told me he had not a
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  Speaker 1: drop of vinegar in his camp. I saw Caesar and
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  Speaker 1: Pompey at the head of their troops, just ready to emerge.
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  Speaker 1: I saw the former in his last great triumph. I
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  Speaker 1: desired that the Senate of Rome might appear before me
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  Speaker 1: in one large chamber, and an assembly of somewhat a
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  Speaker 1: later age in counterview in another. The first seemed to
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  Speaker 1: be an assembly of heroes and demigods, the other a
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  Speaker 1: not of peddlers, pickpockets, high women, and bullies. The Governor,
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  Speaker 1: at my request, gave the sign for and Brutus to
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  Speaker 1: advance towards us. I was struck with a profound veneration
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  Speaker 1: at the sight of Brutus, and could easily discover the
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  Speaker 1: most consummate virtue, the greatest intrepidy and firmness of mind,
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  Speaker 1: the truest love of his country, and general benevolence from
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  Speaker 1: mankind in every lineament of his countenance. I observed with
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  Speaker 1: much pleasure that these two persons were in good intelligence
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  Speaker 1: with each other, and Caesar freely confessed to me that
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  Speaker 1: the greatest actions of his own life were not equal
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  Speaker 1: by many degrees to the glory of taking it away.
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  Speaker 1: I had to the honor to have much conversation with Brutus,
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  Speaker 1: that his ancestor Junius Socrates, Iphamer Nundas Cato, the younger
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  Speaker 1: Sir Thomas Moore, and himself were perpetually together a six
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  Speaker 1: tumber eight, to which all the ages of the world
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  Speaker 1: cannot add a seventh. It would be tedious to trouble
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  Speaker 1: the reader with relating what vast numbers of illustrious persons
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  Speaker 1: were called up to gratify that insatiable desire I had
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  Speaker 1: to see the world in every period of antiquity placed
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  Speaker 1: before me. I chiefly fed mine eyes with beholding the
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  Speaker 1: destroyers of tyrants and usurpers, and the restorers of liberty
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  Speaker 1: to oppressed and injured nations. But it is impossible to
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  Speaker 1: express the satisfaction I received in my own mind after
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  Speaker 1: such a manner as to make it a suitable entertainment
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  Speaker 1: to the reader. And a part three, Chapter seven