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

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