Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 12 — page 15: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

eee ae ~ oo Gulliver’s Travels... — 16 pressions) could entertain such inhuman ideas, and in so familiar a manner, as to ap wholly un- moved at all the scenes of blood and desolation, which I had painted as the common effects of those destructive machines; whereof, he said, some evil genius, enemy to mank ‘fae baa been the first contriver. As for himself, he protested, that al- few things delighted him so much as new liscoveries in art or in nature, yet he would rather ose half his kingdom, than be privy to such a secret ; which he commanded me, as I valued my life, never to mention any mors . I remember very Well, in a discourse one day with the king, when I happened to Say, there were seve- ral thousand books 5 Ye us written upon the art of government, it gave him (directly contrary to my in- tention) a very mean opinion of our understandings. He confined the knowledge of government within very narrow bounds—to common sense and reason jiwion and lenity; to the speedy determination of civil and criminal causes; with some other Obvious topics, which are not worth considering. And he gave it for his opinion, that whoever could make two ears of corn, or two blades of grass, to grow upon a spot of ground where only one grew before, would eserve better of mankind, and do more essential service to his country, than the whole race of poli- ticians put together. ._ The learning of this people is wholly applied to what may be useful in life, so that among us it would be little esteemed. No law of that country must exceed in words the number of letters in their alpha- bet, which consists only of two-and-twenty. They are expressed in the most plain and simple terms, wherein those people are not mercurial enough to discover above one interpretation; and to write a comment upon any law, is a capital crime. They have had the art of printing, as well as the Chinese, time out of mind; but their libraries are not very large; for that of the king, which is reck- oned the est, does not amount to above a thou- sand volumes, placed ina gallery of twelve hundred feet long, whence I had liberty to borrow what books I pleased. The queen’s joiner had contrived, in one of Glumdalclitch’s rooms, a kind of wooden machine, five-and-twenty feet high, formed like a standing ladder; the steps were each fifty feet long; it was, indeed, a movable pair of stairs, the lowest end placed at ten feet distance from the wall of the chamber. The book I had a mind to read was put up leaning against the wall; I first mounted to the up- ner step of the ladder, and turning my face toward he book, an at the oP of the page, and so walk- ing to the right and left about eight or ten @S, ac- cording to the len of the lines, till Ih got a lit- tle below the level of mine eyes, and then descend- ing gradually till I came to the bottom; after which, I mounted again, and began the other page in the saine manner, and so turned over the leaf, which I could easily do with both my hands, for it was as thick and stiff as pasteboard, and in the largest foli- os not above eighteen or twenty feet long. As to their military affairs, they boast that the king’s ge | consists of a hundred and seventy-six thousand foot, and thirty-two thousand horse; if that may.me called an eden be which is made up of tradesmen in the several cities, and farmers in the country, whose commanders are only the nobility and gentr , Without or reward. They are indeed perfect enough in their exercises, and under very pee discipline, wherein I saw no great merit; for ow should it be otherwise, where every farmer is under the command of his own landlord, and every citizen under that of the principal men in his own city, chosen, after the manner of Venice, by ballot? was curious to know how this prince, to whose dominions there is no access from any other country, came to think of armies, or to teach his people the eee of military discipline. But I was soon in- ormed, both by conversation and reading their his- tories; for, in the course of many ages, they have been troubled with the same disease to which the whole race of mankind is subject; the nobility often contsading = power, the people for liberty, and the king for absolute dominion, CHAPTER VII, I nap always a strong impulse that I should some time recover my liberty, though it was impossible to Conjecture by what means, or to form any project with the yf hope of succeeding. Theshipin which I sailed was the first ever known to be driven within sight of that coast, and the king had given strict or- ders, thatif at any time another appeared, it should be taken ashore, and, with all its crew and passen- gers, brought in a tumbril to Lorbrulgrud. He was strongly bent to get me a woman my own size, by whom I might propagate the breed; but I think I should rather have died, than undergone the dis- ace of leaving a rity to be kept in cages, like e canary-birds, and perhaps, in time, sold about the kingdom, to persons of quality, for curiosities. I was indeed treated with much kindness: I was the favorite of a great king and queen, and the delight of the whole court; but it was upon such a foot as ill became the dignity of human-kind, I could never forget those domestic pledges I had left behind me. { wanted to be among people with whom I could con- verse ros even terms, and walk about the streets and fields without being trod to death like a frog or a young puppy. But my deliverance came sooner pore Bees and in a manner not very common: 6 Whole and circumstances of whic faithfully relate, I had now been two years in this country; and about the ing of the third, Glumdalclttch and I atéended the king and queen, in a progress to the south coast of, the kingdom. Iwas carried, as usu- al, in my traveling-box, which, as I have already db- Or, if I escaped e dar fora or two, what could I pet ee tor nis death of cold and was a very convenient closet, of twelve feet | hunger? I was four npg under these wide; and I had ordered a hammock to be by | cese ng, and in wishing, every moment to silken ropes, from the four corners at the top, to | bemy bot break the jolts, when a servant carried me before I have told the reader that there were two him on horseback, as I sometimes desired; and | strong staples fixed upon that side of my box which would often sleep in my hammock, while we were | had no window, and into which the servant, who used upon the road. On the roof of my closet, not di- carry me on horseback, would put a leathern belt, rectly over the middle of the hammock, I ordered | and buckle it about his waist, Being in this discon- the joiner to cut out a hole of a foot square, to give solate state, I heard, or at least thought I heard, me air in hot weather, as I slept; which hole I shut | some kind of grating noise on that e cf my box at pleasure, with a board that drew backward and | where the staples were fixed; and soon after, I be- forward through a groove. an to fancy that the box was pulled or towed along When we eame to our journey’s end, the king e sea; for I now and then felt a sort of tugging, thought proper to pass a few days at a palace he has | which made the waves rise near the tops of my win- near Fanflasnic, a city within eighteen English miles | dows, leaving me almost in the dark. This gave me of the sea-side. Glumdalclitch and I were much fa- | some faint hopes of relief, senoue I was not able tigued; I had got a small cold, but the poor girl was | to imagine how it could be brought about. I ventured so ill as to be confined to her chamber, I longed to | to unscrew one of my chairs, which were alw see the which must be the only scene of my | fastened to the floor; and ha made a hard escape, if ever it should happen. I pretended to be | to screw down again, directly under the slipping- worse than I really was, and desired leave to take | board I had lately cpenene I mounted on the chair, the fresh air of the sea, with a page, whom I was | and putting my mouth as near as I could to the hole, very fond of, and who had sometimes been trusted | I called for help in a loud voice, and in all the lan- with me. Ishall never forget with what unwilling- | guages I understood. I then fastened my handker- ness Glumdalclitch consented, nor the strict charge | chief to a stick I usually carried, and, epee ee she gave the page to be careful of me, bursting, at é hole, waved it several times in the air, the same time, into a flood of tears, as if she any boat or ship were near, the seamen might con- some foreb of what was to happen. The bo ecture some unhappy mortal to be shut up in the took me out in my box, about half an hour’s walk ox, from the palace, toward the rocks on the sea-shore. I found no effect from all I could do, but plainly I ordered him to set me down, and litting up one of | perceived my closet to be moved along; and in the my sashes, cast many a wistful, melancholy look | space of an hour, or better, that side of the box toward the sea. Ifound myself not very well, and | where the staples were, and had no windows, told the e that I had a mind to take a nap in my | struck against something that was hard. I appre- hammock, which I gE would do me good I got | hended it to be a rock, and found mysélf tossed in, and the boy shut the window close down, to keep | more than ever, I plainly heard a noise upon the out the cold. I soon fell asleep, and all I can conjec- | cover of my closet, like that of a cable, and the ture ig bhoo I slept, the page, thinking no er grating of it as it passed through the ring. I then could happen, went among the rocks to look for | found myself hoisted i by CORTSES, at least three birds’ eggs, having before observed him from my | feet higher than I was before. hereupon I again | window searching about, and picking up one or two | thrust up my stick and handkerchief, calling for in the clefts. Be that as it will, [found myself sud- | help tilt I was almost hoarse. In return to which denly awaked with a violent pull upon the ring, | I heard a great shout, repeated three time giving which was fastened at the top of my box, for the | me such transports of oy as are not tbe con- convenience of carriage. I felt my box raised ve ceived but by those who feel them. I now heard high in the air, and then borne forward with pro- | a trampling over my head, and somebody digious speed. e first jolt had like to have shaken | through the hole with a loud voice, in the Eng me out of my hammock, but afterward the motion | tongue, “If there be anybody below, let them was easy enough, I called out several times, as loud as I could raise my voice, but all to no purpose, I looked toward my windows, and could see nothing but the clouds and = h my head, like the clapping of wings, and then began to perceive the woeful condition I was in—that some eagle had got the ring of my box in his beak, with an intent to let it fall on a rock, like a tortoise in a shell, and then pick out my body, and devour it; for the sagacity and smell of this bird enable him to discover his quarry at a great distance, though bet- ter concealed than I could be within a two-inch board. In a little time, I observed the noise and flutter of wings to increase very fast, and my box was tossed up and down, like a sign ina windy day. I heard several bangs or buffets, as I thought, given to the eagle (for such lam certain it must have been that held the ring of my box in his beak), and then, all on a sudden, felt myself vga Degeee any down, for above a minute, but with such incredible swiftness, that I almost lost my breath. My fall was stopped by a terrible squash, that sounded louder to my ears than the cataract of Niagara; after which was quite in the dark for another minute, and then =i box began to rise so high that I could see light from the tops of the win- dows. I now perceived I was fallen into the sea. My box, by the weight of my body, the goods that were in it, and the broad plates of iron fixed for strength at the four corners of the top and bottom, floated about five feet deep in water. I did then, and do now suppose, that the eagle which flew away with my box was pursued by two or three others, and forced to let me drop, while he defended himself inst the rest, who ho to share in the prey. e plates of iron fastened at the bottom of the box (for those were the strongest) reserved the balance while it fell, and hindered it rom being broken on the surface of the water. Eve- ry joint of it was well grooved; and the door did not move on hinges, but up and down, like a sash, which kept my closet so tight, that very little water came in. I got, with much difficulty, out of my hammock, having first ventured to draw back the slip-board on the roof, already mentioned, contrived on pu to letin air, for want of which I found myself al- most stifled. I heard a noise just over How often did I then wish myself with my dear Glumdalelitch, from whom one single hour bad so far divided me! And I may say, with truth, that in the midst of my own misfortunes I could not for- bear lamenting my poor nurse, the grief she would suffer from my loss, the displeasure of the queen, and the ruin of her fortune. Perhaps many travel- ers have not been under greater difilculties and dis- tress than I was at this juncture, expecting every mo- ment to see my box dashed to pieces, or at least overset by the first violent blast or rising wave. A breach in one single pane of glass would have been immediate death; nor could anything have preserved the windows, but the strong lattice-wires d on the outside st accidents in traveling. I saw the water ooze in at several crannies, although the leaks were not considerable, and I endeavored to stop them as wellasI could. I was not able to lift np e roof of my closet, which otherwise I oben ould have done, and sat on the top of it; where might at least preserve m some hours longer than by being shut up (as I may call it) in the speak.” I answered I was an Englishman, drawn by ill fortune into the greatest calamity that ever any creature underwent; and begged, ‘by all that. was moving, to be delivered of the dungeon 1 was in. The voice replied I was safe, for my box was fastened to their ship; and the nter should immediately come and saw a hole the cover, large enough to pull me out. I answered that w needless, and would take up too much time: fo there was no more to be done, but let one of the crew put his finger into the ring, and take the box out of the sea into the ship, and so into the ca tain’s cabin. Some of them, upon hearing me ta 80 wildly, thought I was mad—others laughed; for, indeed, it never came into my head that I was now got among people of my Own stature and strength. The carpenter came, and in a few min- utes sawed a passage about four feet square, then let down a small ladder, upon which I mounted, and thence was taken into the ship, in a very weak condition. The sailors were all in amazement, and asked me a thousand agree which I had no inclina- tion to answer. was equally confounded at the sight of so many pigmies, for such I took them to o long accustomed mine eyes to the monstrous objects I had left. But the captain, Mr. Thomas Wilcocks, an honest, worthy .) man, observing I was ready to faint, took me into his cabin, gave me a cordial to comfort me, and made me turn in upon his own_ bed, advising me to take a little rest, of which I had great need. Before I went to sleep, I gave him to understand that I had some valuable furniture in my box, too good to be lost—a fine hammock, a e field-bed, two chairs, a table, and a cabinet; that my closet was hung on all sides, or rather q with silk and cotton; that if he would let one of the crew bring my closet into his cabin, I would open it there before him, and show my a e captain, hearing me utter these absurdities concluded 1 was raving; however (I suppose to pacify me), he promised to give order as I de- sired, and going upon deck, sent come of his men ner a <4 closet, oes (as I ge pete oun ey drew up all my goods, and s off the quilting; but the chairs, cabinet, and or stead, being screwed to the floor, were much dam- be, after having s aged by the ignorance of the seamen, who tore them up by force. Then they knocked off some of the boards for the use of the ship, and when an they had got all they had a mind for, let the hull drop into the sea, which, by reason of many breaches made in the bottom and sides, sunk to rights. And, indeed, I was glad not to have been a spectator of the havoc they made, because I am confident it would have sensibly touched me, by brin former passages into mind, which I would rather have forse ot. I slept some ho but perpet disturbed with dreams of the place I had left, and the Thad esca owever, upon waking I found m night, and the captain ordered supper’ immediately, and the captain o supper tely, I had chready fasted too long. He eniter- tained me with great kindness, observing me not to look wildly, or talk inco & when we were alone, desired I would give him a relation of travels, and by what accident I came to be set © adrift, in that monstrous wooden chest. He said ~ ii — Eomie IOO KS yd A :