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17 - Gulliver's Travels - Jonathan Swift · Adventure Books Collection

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