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

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  Speaker 1: Chapter four, Mildendo the Metropolis of Lilliput, described, together with
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  Speaker 1: the Emperor's Palace, a conversation between the author and a
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  Speaker 1: principal secretary concerning the affairs of that empire, the author's
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  Speaker 1: offers to serve the Emperor in his wars. The first
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  Speaker 1: request I made after I had obtained my liberty was
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  Speaker 1: that I might have license to see Mildendo the metropolis,
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  Speaker 1: which the Emperor easily granted me, but with a special
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  Speaker 1: charge to do no hurt either to the inhabitants or
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  Speaker 1: their houses. The people had notice by proclamation of my
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  Speaker 1: design to visit the town. The wall which encompassed it
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  Speaker 1: is two feet and a half high and at least
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  Speaker 1: eleven inches broad, so that a coach and horses may
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  Speaker 1: be driven very safely round it, and it is flanked
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  Speaker 1: with strong towers at ten feet distance. I stepped over
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  Speaker 1: the great western gate and passed very gently and sidling
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  Speaker 1: through the two princes streets only in my short waistcoat,
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  Speaker 1: for fear of damaging the roofs and eaves of the houses.
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  Speaker 1: With the skirts of my coat. I walked with the
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  Speaker 1: utmost circumspection to avoid treading on any stragglers who might
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  Speaker 1: remain in the streets, although the orders were very strict
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  Speaker 1: that all people should keep in their houses at their
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  Speaker 1: own peril. The garret windows and tops of houses were
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  Speaker 1: so crowded with spectators that I thought, in all my travels,
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  Speaker 1: I had not seen a more populous place. The city
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  Speaker 1: is an exact square, each side of the wall being
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  Speaker 1: five hundred feet long. The two great streets, which run
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  Speaker 1: across and divide it into four quarters, are five feet wide.
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  Speaker 1: The lanes and alleys, which I could not enter, but
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  Speaker 1: only view them as I passed, are from twelve to
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  Speaker 1: eighteen inches. The town is capable of holding five hundred
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  Speaker 1: thousand souls. The houses are from three to five stories.
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  Speaker 1: The shops and markets well provided. The Emperor's Palace is
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  Speaker 1: in the center of the city, where the two great
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  Speaker 1: streets meet. It is enclosed by a wall of two
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  Speaker 1: feet high and twenty feet distance from the buildings. I
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  Speaker 1: had His Majesty's permission to step over this wall, and
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  Speaker 1: the space being so wide between that and the palace,
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  Speaker 1: I could easily view it on every side. The outward
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  Speaker 1: court is a square of forty feet and includes two
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  Speaker 1: other courts in the innermost are the Royal apartments, which
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  Speaker 1: I was very desirous to see, but found it extremely difficult,
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  Speaker 1: for the great gates from one square into another were
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  Speaker 1: but eighteen inches high and seven inches wide. Now, the
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  Speaker 1: buildings of the outer court were at least five feet high,
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  Speaker 1: and it was impossible for me to stride over them
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  Speaker 1: without infinite damage to the pile, though the walls were
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  Speaker 1: strongly built of hewn stone and four inches thick. At
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  Speaker 1: the same time, the Emperor had a great desire that
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  Speaker 1: I should see them magnificence of his palace, but this
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  Speaker 1: I was not able to do till three days, after
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  Speaker 1: which I spent in cutting down with my knife some
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  Speaker 1: of the largest trees in the royal park, about a
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  Speaker 1: hundred yards distant from the city. Of these trees, I
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  Speaker 1: made two stools, each about three feet high and strong
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  Speaker 1: enough to bear my weight. The people. Having received notice
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  Speaker 1: a second time, I went again through the city to
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  Speaker 1: the palace with my two stools in my hands. When
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  Speaker 1: I came to the side of the outer court, I
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  Speaker 1: stood upon one stool and took the other in my hand.
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  Speaker 1: This I lifted over the roof and gently set it
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  Speaker 1: down on the space between the first and second court,
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  Speaker 1: which was eight feet wide. I then stepped over the
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  Speaker 1: building very conveniently, from one stool to the other, and
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  Speaker 1: drew up the first after me with a hooked stick.
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  Speaker 1: By this contrivance, I got to the innermost court, and,
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  Speaker 1: lying down upon my side, I applied my face to
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  Speaker 1: the window of the middle stories, which were left open
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  Speaker 1: on purpose, and discovered the most splendid apartments that can
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  Speaker 1: be imagined. There, I saw the Empress and the young
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  Speaker 1: princes in their several lodgings, with their chief attendants about them.
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  Speaker 1: Her Imperial Majesty was pleased to smile very graciously upon me,
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  Speaker 1: and gave me out of the window her hand to kiss.
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  Speaker 1: But I shall not anticipate the reader with further descriptions
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  Speaker 1: of this kind, because I reserved them for a greater work,
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  Speaker 1: which is now almost ready for the press, containing a
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  Speaker 1: general description of this empire from its first erection through
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  Speaker 1: a long series of princes, with a particular account of
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  Speaker 1: their wars and politics, laws, learning and religion, their plants
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  Speaker 1: and animals, their peculiar manners and customs, with other matters
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  Speaker 1: very curious and useful. My chief design at present being
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  Speaker 1: only to relate such events and transactions as happened to
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  Speaker 1: the public or to myself, during a residence for about
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  Speaker 1: nine months in that empire. One morning, about a fortnight
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  Speaker 1: after I had obtained my liberty, Will Dressel, Principal Secretary,
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  Speaker 1: as they style him for private affairs, came to my house,
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  Speaker 1: attended only by one servant. He ordered his coach to
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  Speaker 1: wait at a distance, and desired I would give him
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  Speaker 1: an hour's audience, which I readily consented to, on account
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  Speaker 1: of his quality and personal merits, as well as of
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  Speaker 1: the many good offices he had done me during my
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  Speaker 1: solicitations at court. I offered to lie down that he
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  Speaker 1: might the more conveniently reach my ear, but he chose
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  Speaker 1: rather to let me hold him in my hand. During
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  Speaker 1: our conversation, he began with compliments on my liberty, said
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  Speaker 1: he might pretend to some merit in it, but however,
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  Speaker 1: added that if it had not been for the present
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  Speaker 1: situation of things at court, perhaps I might not have
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  Speaker 1: obtained it so soon, For said he as flourishing a condition,
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  Speaker 1: as we may appear to be into foreigners, we labor
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  Speaker 1: under two mighty evils, a violent faction at home and
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  Speaker 1: the danger of an invasion by a most portent enemy
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  Speaker 1: from abroad. As to the first, you ought to understand that,
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  Speaker 1: for about seventy moons past, there have been two struggling
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  Speaker 1: parties in this empire under the names of Tramachisson and Slamachison.
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  Speaker 1: From the high and low heels of their shoes by
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  Speaker 1: which they distinguish themselves. It is alleged, indeed, that the
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  Speaker 1: high Hills are most agreeable to our ancient constitution. But
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  Speaker 1: however this be, his Majesty has determined to make use
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  Speaker 1: of only low heels in the administration of the government
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  Speaker 1: and all offices in the gift of the Crown, as
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  Speaker 1: you cannot but observe, and particularly that His Majesty's imperial
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  Speaker 1: heels are lower, at least by a dreer than any
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  Speaker 1: of his court drew is a measure about the fortieth
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  Speaker 1: part of an inch. The animosities between these two parties
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  Speaker 1: from so high that they will neither eat, nor drink
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  Speaker 1: nor talk with each other. We compute the Tremechison or
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  Speaker 1: high heels to exceed us in number, but the power
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  Speaker 1: is wholly on our side. We apprehend His Imperial Highness,
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  Speaker 1: the Heir to the Crown, to have some tendency towards
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  Speaker 1: the high heels. At least we can plainly discover that
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  Speaker 1: one of his heels is higher than the other, which
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  Speaker 1: gives him a hobble in his gait. Now, in the
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  Speaker 1: midst of these intense disquiets, we are threatened with an
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  Speaker 1: invasion from the island of Blefuscuie, which is the other
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  Speaker 1: great empire of the universe, almost as large and powerful
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  Speaker 1: as that of His Majesty. For as to what we
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  Speaker 1: have heard, you affirm that there are other kingdoms and
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  Speaker 1: states in the world inhabited by human creatures as large
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  Speaker 1: as yourself. Our philosophers are in much doubt and would
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  Speaker 1: rather conjecture that you dropped from the moon or one
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  Speaker 1: of the stars, because it is certain that a hundred
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  Speaker 1: mortals of your bulk would in a short time destroy
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  Speaker 1: all the fruits and cattles of His Majesty's dominions. Besides,
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  Speaker 1: our histories of six thousand moons make no mention of
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  Speaker 1: any other regions than the two great empires of Liliput
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  Speaker 1: and Blefusca, which two mighty powers have, as I was
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  Speaker 1: going to tell you, been engaged in a most obstinate
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  Speaker 1: war for six and thirty moons past. It began upon
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  Speaker 1: the following occasion. It is allowed on all hands that
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  Speaker 1: the primitive way of breaking eggs before we eat them
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  Speaker 1: was upon the larger end. But his present Majesty's grandfather,
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  Speaker 1: while he was a boy, going to eat an egg
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  Speaker 1: and breaking it according to the ancient practice, having to
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  Speaker 1: cut one of his fingers. Whereupon the Emperor his father
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  Speaker 1: published an edict commanding all his subjects, upon great penalties,
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  Speaker 1: to break the smaller end of their eggs. The people
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  Speaker 1: so highly resented this law that our histories tell us
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  Speaker 1: there have been six rebellions raised on that account, wherein
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  Speaker 1: one emperor lost his life and another his crown. These
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  Speaker 1: civil commotions were constantly fermented by the monarchs of Blefuscue,
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  Speaker 1: and when they were quoiled, the exiles always fled for
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  Speaker 1: refuge to that empire. It is computed that eleven thousand
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  Speaker 1: persons have at several times suffered death rather than submit
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  Speaker 1: to break their eggs at the smaller end. Many hundred
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  Speaker 1: large volumes have been published upon this controversy, but the
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  Speaker 1: books of the Big Indians have been long forbidden, and
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  Speaker 1: the whole party rendered incapable by law of holding employments.
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  Speaker 1: During the course of these troubles, the Empress of Blefuscue
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  Speaker 1: did frequently expostulate by their ambassadors, accusing us of making
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  Speaker 1: a schism in religion by offending against a fundamental doctrine
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  Speaker 1: of our great prophet lustrog in the fifty fourth chapter
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  Speaker 1: of the Blundercraal, which is their al Koran. This, however,
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  Speaker 1: is thought to be a mere strain upon the text,
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  Speaker 1: for the words are these that all true believers break
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  Speaker 1: their eggs at the convenient end, And which is the
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  Speaker 1: convenient end seems, in my humble opinion, to be left
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  Speaker 1: to every man's conscience, or at least in the power
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  Speaker 1: of the chief magistrate to determine. Now the being Indian
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  Speaker 1: exiles have found so much credit in the Emperor of
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  Speaker 1: Blefuscue's court, and so much private assistance and encouragement from
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  Speaker 1: their party here at home, that a bloody war has
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  Speaker 1: been carried on between the two empires for six and
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  Speaker 1: thirty moons, with various success, during which time we have
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  Speaker 1: lost forty capital ships and a much greater number of
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  Speaker 1: smaller vessels, together with thirty thousand of our best seamen
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  Speaker 1: and soldiers, and the damage received by the enemy is
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  Speaker 1: reckoned to be somewhat greater than ours. However, they have
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  Speaker 1: now equipped a numerous fleet, and are just preparing to
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  Speaker 1: make a descent upon us, and His Imperial Majesty, placing
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  Speaker 1: great confidence in your valor and strength, has commanded me
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  Speaker 1: to lay this account of his affairs before you. I
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  Speaker 1: desired the Secretary to present my humble duty to the Emperor,
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  Speaker 1: and to let him know that I thought it would
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  Speaker 1: not become me, who was a foreigner, to interfere with parties.
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  Speaker 1: But I was ready, with the hazard of my life,
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  Speaker 1: to defend his person and state against all invaders. End
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  Speaker 1: of Chapter four, Part one,