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

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  Speaker 1: Part three, A voyage to Laputer bal Nababie lugnag glub
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  Speaker 1: dub drib and Japan. Chapter one, the author sets out
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  Speaker 1: on his third voyage, is taken by pirates the malice
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  Speaker 1: of a Dutchman. His arrival at an island, he is
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  Speaker 1: received into Laputer. I had not been at home above
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  Speaker 1: ten days when Captain William Robinson, a cornish Man commander
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  Speaker 1: of the Hopewell, a stoutship of three hundred tons, came
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  Speaker 1: to my house. I had formerly been surgeon of another
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  Speaker 1: ship where he was master and a fourth part owner
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  Speaker 1: in voyage to the Levant. He had always treated me
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  Speaker 1: like a brother than an inferior officer, and hearing of
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  Speaker 1: my arrival, made me a visit, as I apprehended only
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  Speaker 1: out of friendship, for nothing passed more than what is
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  Speaker 1: usual after long absences, but repeating his visits, often expressing
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  Speaker 1: his joy to find me in good health, asking whether
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  Speaker 1: I were now settled for life, adding that he intended
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  Speaker 1: a voice to the East Indies in two months. At last,
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  Speaker 1: he plainly invited me, though with some apologies, to be
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  Speaker 1: surgeon of the ship, that I should have another surgeon
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  Speaker 1: under me besides our two mates. That my salary should
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  Speaker 1: be double to the usual pay, and that, having experienced
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  Speaker 1: my knowledge and sea affairs, to be at least equal
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  Speaker 1: to his, he would enter into any engagement to follow
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  Speaker 1: my advice as much as if I had shared in
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  Speaker 1: the command. He said so many other obliging things, and
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  Speaker 1: I knew him to be so honest a man that
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  Speaker 1: I could not reject this proposal. The thirst I had
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  Speaker 1: of seeing the world, notwithstanding my past misfortunes continuing as
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  Speaker 1: violent as ever. The only difficulty that remained was to
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  Speaker 1: persuade my wife, whose consent, however, I at last obtained
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  Speaker 1: by the prospect of advantage she proposed to her children.
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  Speaker 1: We set out the fifth day of August seventeen o six,
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  Speaker 1: and arrived at Fort Saint George the eleventh of April
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  Speaker 1: seventeen o seven. We stayed there three weeks to refresh
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  Speaker 1: our crew, many of whom were sick. From thence we
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  Speaker 1: went to Tonquin, where the captain resolved to continue some time,
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  Speaker 1: because many of the goods he intended to buy were
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  Speaker 1: not ready, nor could he expect to be dispatched in
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  Speaker 1: several months. Therefore, in hopes to defray some of the charges,
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  Speaker 1: he must be at he brought a sloop, loaded it
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  Speaker 1: with several sorts of goods, worried the Tonquinese usually trade
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  Speaker 1: to the neighboring islands, and putting fourteen men on board,
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  Speaker 1: whereof three were of the country. He appointed me master
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  Speaker 1: of the sloop and gave me power to traffic while
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  Speaker 1: he transacted his affairs at Tonquin. We had not sailed
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  Speaker 1: above three days when a great storm arising. We were
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  Speaker 1: driven five days to the north northeast and then to
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  Speaker 1: the east, after which we had fair weather, but still
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  Speaker 1: with a pretty strong gale from the west. Upon the
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  Speaker 1: tenth day we were chased by two pirates, who soon
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  Speaker 1: overtook us, For my sloop was so deep laden that
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  Speaker 1: she sailed very slow. Neither were we in a condition
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  Speaker 1: to defend ourselves. We were warded about the same time
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  Speaker 1: by both the pirates, who entered furiously at the head
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  Speaker 1: of their men. But finding us all prostrate upon our faces,
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  Speaker 1: for so I gave order, they poignaned us with strong ropes,
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  Speaker 1: and setting guard upon us, went to search the sloop.
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  Speaker 1: I observed among them a Dutchman who seemed to be
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  Speaker 1: of some authority, though he was not commander of either ship.
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  Speaker 1: He knew us by a countenance to be Englishmen, and,
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  Speaker 1: jabbering to us in his own language, swore we should
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  Speaker 1: be tied back to back and thrown into the sea.
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  Speaker 1: I spoke in Dutch tolerably well. I told him who
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  Speaker 1: we were, and begged him, in consideration of ar being
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  Speaker 1: Christians and Protestants of neighboring countries in strict alliance, that
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  Speaker 1: he would move the captains to take some pity on us.
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  Speaker 1: This inflamed his rage. He repeated his threatenings, and, turning
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  Speaker 1: to his companions, spoke with great vehemence in the Japanese language,
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  Speaker 1: as I suppose, often using the word Christianos. The largest
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  Speaker 1: of the two pirate ships was commanded by a Japanese
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  Speaker 1: captain who spoke a little Dutch, but very effectly. He
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  Speaker 1: came up to me, and after several questions, which I
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  Speaker 1: answered in great humility, he said we should not die.
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  Speaker 1: I made the captain a very low bow, and then,
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  Speaker 1: turning to the Dutchman, said I was sorry to find
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  Speaker 1: more mercy in a heathen than in a brother Christian.
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  Speaker 1: But I had soon reason to repent those foolish words,
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  Speaker 1: for that milicious reprobate, having often endeavored in vain to
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  Speaker 1: persuade both the captains that I might be thrown into
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  Speaker 1: the sea, which they would not yield to. After they promised,
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  Speaker 1: they made me that I should not die. However, prevailed
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  Speaker 1: so far as to have a punishment inflicted on me
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  Speaker 1: worse in all human appearance than death itself. My men
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  Speaker 1: were sent by equal division into both the pirate ships.
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  Speaker 1: My sloop new manned. As to myself, it was determined
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  Speaker 1: that I should be set adrift in a small canoe
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  Speaker 1: with paddles under sail and four days provisions which last.
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  Speaker 1: The Japanese captain was so kind to double out of
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  Speaker 1: his own stores and would permit no man to search me.
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  Speaker 1: I got down into the canoe, while the Dutchman standing
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  Speaker 1: upon the deck loaded me with all the curses and
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  Speaker 1: injurious terms his language could afford. About an hour before
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  Speaker 1: we saw the pirates, I had taken an observation and
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  Speaker 1: found we were in the latitude of forty six north
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  Speaker 1: and longitude of a hundred eighty three. When I was
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  Speaker 1: at some distance from the pirates, I discovered by my
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  Speaker 1: pocket glass several islands to the southeast. I set up
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  Speaker 1: my sail, the wind being fair with a design to
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  Speaker 1: reach the nearest of those islands, which I made a
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  Speaker 1: shift to do in about three hours. It was all rocky, however,
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  Speaker 1: I got many birds, eggs, and striking fire. I kindled
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  Speaker 1: some heath and dry seaweed, by which I roasted my eggs.
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  Speaker 1: I ate no other supper, being resolved to spare my
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  Speaker 1: provisions as much as I could. I passed the night
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  Speaker 1: under the shelter of a rock, stirring some heath under me,
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  Speaker 1: and slept pretty well. The next day I sailed to
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  Speaker 1: another island, and thence to a third and fourth, sometimes
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  Speaker 1: using my sail and sometimes my paddles. But not to
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  Speaker 1: trouble the reader with a particular account of my distresses,
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  Speaker 1: let it suffice that on the fifth day I arrived
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  Speaker 1: at the last island in my sight, which lay south
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  Speaker 1: southeast to the former. This island was at a greater
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  Speaker 1: distance than I expected, and I did not reach it
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  Speaker 1: in less than five hours. I encompassed it almost round
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  Speaker 1: before I could find a convenient place to land in,
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  Speaker 1: which was a small creek about three times the wideness
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  Speaker 1: of my canoe. I found the island to be all rocky,
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  Speaker 1: only a little intermingled with tufts of grass and sweet
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  Speaker 1: smelling herbs. I took out my small provisions, and after
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  Speaker 1: having refreshed myself, I secured the remainder in a cave
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  Speaker 1: whereof there were great numbers. I gathered plenty of eggs
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  Speaker 1: upon the rocks, and got a quantity of dry seaweed
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  Speaker 1: and parched grass, which I designed to kindle the next day,
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  Speaker 1: and roased my eggs as well as I could, for
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  Speaker 1: I had about me my flint, steel match, and burning glass.
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  Speaker 1: I lay all night in the cave where I had
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  Speaker 1: lodged my provisions. My bed was the same dry grass
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  Speaker 1: and seaweed which I intended for fuel. I slept very little,
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  Speaker 1: for the disquiet of my mind prevailed over my weariness
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  Speaker 1: and kept me awake. I considered how impossible it was
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  Speaker 1: to preserve my life in so desolate a place, and
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  Speaker 1: how misurable my end must be. Yet found myself so
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  Speaker 1: listless and desponding that I had not the heart to rise.
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  Speaker 1: And before I could get spirits enough to creep out
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  Speaker 1: of my cave, the day was far advanced. I walked
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  Speaker 1: awhile among the rocks. The sky was perfectly clear, and
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  Speaker 1: the sun so hot that I was forced to turn
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  Speaker 1: my face from it, when all on a sudden it
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  Speaker 1: became obscure, as I thought, in a manner very different
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  Speaker 1: from what happens by the interposition of a cloud. I
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  Speaker 1: turned back and perceived a vast, opaque body between me
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  Speaker 1: and the sun, moving forwards towards the island it. It
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  Speaker 1: seemed to be about two miles high, and hid the
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  Speaker 1: sun six or seven minutes. But I did not observe
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  Speaker 1: the air to be much colder, or the sky more
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  Speaker 1: darkened than if I had stood under the shade of
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  Speaker 1: a mountain. As it approached nearer over the place where
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  Speaker 1: I was, it appeared to be a firm substance, the
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  Speaker 1: bottom flat, smooth, and shining very bright from the reflection
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  Speaker 1: of the sea below. I stood upon a height about
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  Speaker 1: two hundred yards from the shore and saw this vast
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  Speaker 1: body descending almost to be parallel with me at less
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  Speaker 1: than an English mile distance. I took out my pocket
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  Speaker 1: perspective and could plainly discover numbers of people moving up
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  Speaker 1: and down the sides of it, which appeared to be sloping.
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  Speaker 1: But what those people were doing I was not able
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  Speaker 1: to distinguish. The natural love of life gave me some
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  Speaker 1: inward motion joy, and I was ready to entertain a
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  Speaker 1: hope that this adventure might, some way or other help
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  Speaker 1: to deliver me from the desolate place and condition I
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  Speaker 1: was in. But at the same time the reader can
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  Speaker 1: hardly concede my astonishment to behold an island in the air,
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  Speaker 1: inhabited by men who were able, as it should seem,
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  Speaker 1: to raise or sink, or put it into progressive motion
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  Speaker 1: as they pleased. But not being at that time in
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  Speaker 1: a disposition to philosophize upon this phenomenon, I rather chose
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  Speaker 1: to observe what course the island would take, because it
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  Speaker 1: seemed for a while to stand still, Yet soon after
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  Speaker 1: it advanced nearer, and I could see the sides of it,
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  Speaker 1: encompassed with several gradations of galleries and stairs at certain
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  Speaker 1: intervals to descend from one to the other. In the
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  Speaker 1: lowest gallery, I beheld some people fishing with long angling rods,
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  Speaker 1: and others looking on. I waved my cap, for my
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  Speaker 1: hat was long since worn out, and my handkerchief towards
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  Speaker 1: the island, and upon its nearer approach, I called and
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  Speaker 1: shouted with the utmost strength of my voice, and then,
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  Speaker 1: looking circumspectully, I beheld a crowd gather to that side,
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  Speaker 1: which was most in my view. I found, by their
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  Speaker 1: pointing towards me and to each other, that they plainly
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  Speaker 1: discovered me, although they made no return to my shouting.
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  Speaker 1: But I could see four or five men running in
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  Speaker 1: great haste up the stairs to the top of the island,
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  Speaker 1: who then disappeared. I happened rightly to conjecture that these
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  Speaker 1: were sent for orders to some person in authority. Upon
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  Speaker 1: this occasion, the number of people increased, and in less
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  Speaker 1: than half an hour the island was moved and raised
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  Speaker 1: in such a manner that the lowest gallery appeared in
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  Speaker 1: a parallel of less than a hundred yards distance from
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  Speaker 1: the height of where I stood. I then put myself
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  Speaker 1: in the most supplicating posture, and spoke in the humblest accent,
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  Speaker 1: but received no answer. Those who stood nearest over against
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  Speaker 1: me seemed to be persons of distinction, as I supposed
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  Speaker 1: by their habit. They conferred earnestly with each other, looking
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  Speaker 1: often upon me. At length, one of them called out
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  Speaker 1: in a clear, polite, smooth dialect, not unlike in sound
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  Speaker 1: the Italian, and therefore I returned an answer in that language,
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  Speaker 1: hoping at least that the Cadence might be more agreeable
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  Speaker 1: to his ears. Although neither of us understood the other,
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  Speaker 1: yet my meaning was easily known, for the people saw
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  Speaker 1: the distress I was in. They made signs for me
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  Speaker 1: to come down from the rock and go towards the shore,
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  Speaker 1: which I accordingly did, and the flying island being raised
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  Speaker 1: to a convenient height the verge directly over me. A
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  Speaker 1: chain was let down from the lowest gallery, with a
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  Speaker 1: seat fastened to the bottom, to which I fixed myself
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  Speaker 1: and was drawn up by pulleys. End of Part three,
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  Speaker 1: Chapter one