CHAPTER VIII.
The king and queen make a progress to the frontiers. The author attendsthem. The manner in which he leaves the country very particularlyrelated. He returns to England.
I had always a strong impulse that I should some time recover my liberty,though it was impossible to conjecture by what means, or to form anyproject with the least hope of succeeding. The ship in which I sailed,was the first ever known to be driven within sight of that coast, and theking had given strict orders, that if at any time another appeared, itshould be taken ashore, and with all its crew and passengers brought in atumbril to Lorbrulgrud. He was strongly bent to get me a woman of my ownsize, by whom I might propagate the breed: but I think I should ratherhave died than undergone the disgrace of leaving a posterity to be keptin cages, like tame canary-birds, and perhaps, in time, sold about thekingdom, to persons of quality, for curiosities. I was indeed treatedwith much kindness: I was the favourite of a great king and queen, andthe delight of the whole court; but it was upon such a foot as ill becamethe dignity of humankind. I could never forget those domestic pledges Ihad left behind me. I wanted to be among people, with whom I couldconverse upon even terms, and walk about the streets and fields withoutbeing afraid of being trod to death like a frog or a young puppy. But mydeliverance came sooner than I expected, and in a manner not very common;the whole story and circumstances of which I shall faithfully relate.
I had now been two years in this country; and about the beginning of thethird, Glumdalclitch and I attended the king and queen, in a progress tothe south coast of the kingdom. I was carried, as usual, in mytravelling-box, which as I have already described, was a very convenientcloset, of twelve feet wide. And I had ordered a hammock to be fixed, bysilken ropes from the four corners at the top, to break the jolts, when aservant carried me before him on horseback, as I sometimes desired; andwould often sleep in my hammock, while we were upon the road. On theroof of my closet, not directly over the middle of the hammock, I orderedthe joiner to cut out a hole of a foot square, to give me air in hotweather, as I slept; which hole I shut at pleasure with a board that drewbackward and forward through a groove.
When we came to our journey's end, the king thought proper to pass a fewdays at a palace he has near Flanflasnic, a city within eighteen Englishmiles of the seaside. Glumdalclitch and I were much fatigued: I hadgotten a small cold, but the poor girl was so ill as to be confined toher chamber. I longed to see the ocean, which must be the only scene ofmy escape, if ever it should happen. I pretended to be worse than Ireally was, and desired leave to take the fresh air of the sea, with apage, whom I was very fond of, and who had sometimes been trusted withme. I shall never forget with what unwillingness Glumdalclitchconsented, nor the strict charge she gave the page to be careful of me,bursting at the same time into a flood of tears, as if she had someforboding of what was to happen. The boy took me out in my box, abouthalf an hours walk from the palace, towards the rocks on the sea-shore.I ordered him to set me down, and lifting up one of my sashes, cast manya wistful melancholy look towards the sea. I found myself not very well,and told the page that I had a mind to take a nap in my hammock, which Ihoped would do me good. I got in, and the boy shut the window closedown, to keep out the cold. I soon fell asleep, and all I can conjectureis, while I slept, the page, thinking no danger could happen, went amongthe rocks to look for birds' eggs, having before observed him from mywindow searching about, and picking up one or two in the clefts. Be thatas it will, I found myself suddenly awaked with a violent pull upon thering, which was fastened at the top of my box for the conveniency ofcarriage. I felt my box raised very high in the air, and then borneforward with prodigious speed. The first jolt had like to have shaken meout of my hammock, but afterward the motion was easy enough. I calledout several times, as loud as I could raise my voice, but all to nopurpose. I looked towards my windows, and could see nothing but theclouds and sky. I heard a noise just over my head, like the clapping ofwings, and then began to perceive the woful condition I was in; that someeagle had got the ring of my box in his beak, with an intent to let itfall 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 enables him todiscover his quarry at a great distance, though better concealed than Icould be within a two-inch board.
In a little time, I observed the noise and flutter of wings to increasevery fast, and my box was tossed up and down, like a sign in a windy day.I heard several bangs or buffets, as I thought given to the eagle (forsuch I am certain it must have been that held the ring of my box in hisbeak), and then, all on a sudden, felt myself falling perpendicularlydown, for above a minute, but with such incredible swiftness, that Ialmost lost my breath. My fall was stopped by a terrible squash, thatsounded louder to my ears than the cataract of Niagara; after which, Iwas quite in the dark for another minute, and then my box began to riseso high, that I could see light from the tops of the windows. I nowperceived I was fallen into the sea. My box, by the weight of my body,the goods that were in, and the broad plates of iron fixed for strengthat the four corners of the top and bottom, floated about five feet deepin water. I did then, and do now suppose, that the eagle which flew awaywith my box was pursued by two or three others, and forced to let medrop, while he defended himself against the rest, who hoped to share inthe prey. The plates of iron fastened at the bottom of the box (forthose were the strongest) preserved the balance while it fell, andhindered it from being broken on the surface of the water. Every joint ofit was well grooved; and the door did not move on hinges, but up and downlike a sash, which kept my closet so tight that very little water camein. I got with much difficulty out of my hammock, having first venturedto draw back the slip-board on the roof already mentioned, contrived onpurpose to let in air, for want of which I found myself almost stifled.
How often did I then wish myself with my dear Glumdalclitch, from whomone single hour had so far divided me! And I may say with truth, that inthe midst of my own misfortunes I could not forbear lamenting my poornurse, the grief she would suffer for my loss, the displeasure of thequeen, and the ruin of her fortune. Perhaps many travellers have notbeen under greater difficulties and distress than I was at this juncture,expecting every moment to see my box dashed to pieces, or at leastoverset by the first violent blast, or rising wave. A breach in onesingle pane of glass would have been immediate death: nor could any thinghave preserved the windows, but the strong lattice wires placed on theoutside, against accidents in travelling. I saw the water ooze in atseveral crannies, although the leaks were not considerable, and Iendeavoured to stop them as well as I could. I was not able to lift upthe roof of my closet, which otherwise I certainly should have done, andsat on the top of it; where I might at least preserve myself some hourslonger, than by being shut up (as I may call it) in the hold. Or if Iescaped these dangers for a day or two, what could I expect but amiserable death of cold and hunger? I was four hours under thesecircumstances, expecting, and indeed wishing, every moment to be my last.
I have already told the reader that there were two strong staples fixedupon that side of my box which had no window, and into which the servant,who used to carry me on horseback, would put a leathern belt, and buckleit about his waist. Being in this disconsolate state, I heard, or atleast thought I heard, some kind of grating noise on that side of my boxwhere the staples were fixed; and soon after I began to fancy that thebox was pulled or towed along the sea; for I now and then felt a sort oftugging, which made the waves rise near the tops of my windows, leavingme almost in the dark. This gave me some faint hopes of relief, althoughI was not able to imagine how it could be brought about. I ventured tounscrew one of my chairs, which were always fastened to the floor; andhaving made a hard shift to screw it down again, directly under theslipping-board that I had lately opened, I mounted on the chair, andputting my mouth as near as I could to the hole, I called for help in aloud voice, and in all the languages I understood. I then fastened myhandkerchief to a stick I usually carried, and thrusting it up the hole,waved it several times in the air, that if any boat or ship were near,the seamen might conjecture some unhappy mortal to be shut up in the box.
I found no effect from all I could do, but plainly perceived my closet tobe moved along; and in the space of an hour, or better, that side of thebox where the staples were, and had no windows, struck against somethingthat was hard. I apprehended it to be a rock, and found myself tossedmore than ever. I plainly heard a noise upon the cover of my closet,like that of a cable, and the grating of it as it passed through thering. I then found myself hoisted up, by degrees, at least three feethigher than I was before. Whereupon I again thrust up my stick andhandkerchief, calling for help till I was almost hoarse. In return towhich, I heard a great shout repeated three times, giving me suchtransports of joy as are not to be conceived but by those who feel them.I now heard a trampling over my head, and somebody calling through thehole with a loud voice, in the English tongue, If there be any bodybelow, let them speak. I answered, I was an Englishman, drawn by illfortune into the greatest calamity that ever any creature underwent, andbegged, by all that was moving, to be delivered out of the dungeon I wasin. The voice replied, I was safe, for my box was fastened to theirship; and the carpenter should immediately come and saw a hole in thecover, large enough to pull me out. I answered, that was needless, andwould take up too much time; for there was no more to be done, but letone of the crew put his finger into the ring, and take the box out of thesea into the ship, and so into the captain's cabin. Some of them, uponhearing me talk so wildly, thought I was mad: others laughed; for indeedit never came into my head, that I was now got among people of my ownstature and strength. The carpenter came, and in a few minutes sawed apassage about four feet square, then let down a small ladder, upon whichI mounted, and thence was taken into the ship in a very weak condition.
The sailors were all in amazement, and asked me a thousand questions,which I had no inclination to answer. I was equally confounded at thesight of so many pigmies, for such I took them to be, after having solong accustomed mine eyes to the monstrous objects I had left. But thecaptain, Mr. Thomas Wilcocks, an honest worthy Shropshire man, observingI was ready to faint, took me into his cabin, gave me a cordial tocomfort me, and made me turn in upon his own bed, advising me to take alittle rest, of which I had great need. Before I went to sleep, I gavehim to understand that I had some valuable furniture in my box, too goodto be lost: a fine hammock, a handsome field-bed, two chairs, a table,and a cabinet; that my closet was hung on all sides, or rather quilted,with silk and cotton; that if he would let one of the crew bring mycloset into his cabin, I would open it there before him, and show him mygoods. The captain, hearing me utter these absurdities, concluded I wasraving; however (I suppose to pacify me) he promised to give order as Idesired, and going upon deck, sent some of his men down into my closet,whence (as I afterwards found) they drew up all my goods, and strippedoff the quilting; but the chairs, cabinet, and bedstead, being screwed tothe floor, were much damaged by the ignorance of the seamen, who torethem up by force. Then they knocked off some of the boards for the useof the ship, and when they had got all they had a mind for, let the hulldrop into the sea, which by reason of many breaches made in the bottomand sides, sunk to rights. And, indeed, I was glad not to have been aspectator of the havoc they made, because I am confident it would havesensibly touched me, by bringing former passages into my mind, which Iwould rather have forgot.
I slept some hours, but perpetually disturbed with dreams of the place Ihad left, and the dangers I had escaped. However, upon waking, I foundmyself much recovered. It was now about eight o'clock at night, and thecaptain ordered supper immediately, thinking I had already fasted toolong. He entertained me with great kindness, observing me not to lookwildly, or talk inconsistently: and, when we were left alone, desired Iwould give him a relation of my travels, and by what accident I came tobe set adrift, in that monstrous wooden chest. He said that abouttwelve o'clock at noon, as he was looking through his glass, he spied itat a distance, and thought it was a sail, which he had a mind to make,being not much out of his course, in hopes of buying some biscuit, hisown beginning to fall short. That upon coming nearer, and finding hiserror, he sent out his long-boat to discover what it was; that his mencame back in a fright, swearing they had seen a swimming house. That helaughed at their folly, and went himself in the boat, ordering his men totake a strong cable along with them. That the weather being calm, herowed round me several times, observed my windows and wire lattices thatdefended them. That he discovered two staples upon one side, which wasall of boards, without any passage for light. He then commanded his mento row up to that side, and fastening a cable to one of the staples,ordered them to tow my chest, as they called it, toward the ship. Whenit was there, he gave directions to fasten another cable to the ringfixed in the cover, and to raise up my chest with pulleys, which all thesailors were not able to do above two or three feet. He said, they sawmy stick and handkerchief thrust out of the hole, and concluded that someunhappy man must be shut up in the cavity. I asked, whether he or thecrew had seen any prodigious birds in the air, about the time he firstdiscovered me. To which he answered, that discoursing this matter withthe sailors while I was asleep, one of them said, he had observed threeeagles flying towards the north, but remarked nothing of their beinglarger than the usual size: which I suppose must be imputed to the greatheight they were at; and he could not guess the reason of my question. Ithen asked the captain, how far he reckoned we might be from land? Hesaid, by the best computation he could make, we were at least a hundredleagues. I assured him, that he must be mistaken by almost half, for Ihad not left the country whence I came above two hours before I droppedinto the sea. Whereupon he began again to think that my brain wasdisturbed, of which he gave me a hint, and advised me to go to bed in acabin he had provided. I assured him, I was well refreshed with hisgood entertainment and company, and as much in my senses as ever I was inmy life. He then grew serious, and desired to ask me freely, whether Iwere not troubled in my mind by the consciousness of some enormous crime,for which I was punished, at the command of some prince, by exposing mein that chest; as great criminals, in other countries, have been forcedto sea in a leaky vessel, without provisions: for although he should besorry to have taken so ill a man into his ship, yet he would engage hisword to set me safe ashore, in the first port where we arrived. Headded, that his suspicions were much increased by some very absurdspeeches I had delivered at first to his sailors, and afterwards tohimself, in relation to my closet or chest, as well as by my odd looksand behaviour while I was at supper.
I begged his patience to hear me tell my story, which I faithfully did,from the last time I left England, to the moment he first discovered me.And, as truth always forces its way into rational minds, so this honestworthy gentleman, who had some tincture of learning, and very good sense,was immediately convinced of my candour and veracity. But further toconfirm all I had said, I entreated him to give order that my cabinetshould be brought, of which I had the key in my pocket; for he hadalready informed me how the seamen disposed of my closet. I opened it inhis own presence, and showed him the small collection of rarities I madein the country from which I had been so strangely delivered. There wasthe comb I had contrived out of the stumps of the king's beard, andanother of the same materials, but fixed into a paring of her majesty'sthumb-nail, which served for the back. There was a collection of needlesand pins, from a foot to half a yard long; four wasp stings, likejoiner's tacks; some combings of the queen's hair; a gold ring, which oneday she made me a present of, in a most obliging manner, taking it fromher little finger, and throwing it over my head like a collar. I desiredthe captain would please to accept this ring in return for hiscivilities; which he absolutely refused. I showed him a corn that I hadcut off with my own hand, from a maid of honour's toe; it was about thebigness of Kentish pippin, and grown so hard, that when I returnedEngland, I got it hollowed into a cup, and set in silver. Lastly, Idesired him to see the breeches I had then on, which were made of amouse's skin.
I could force nothing on him but a footman's tooth, which I observed himto examine with great curiosity, and found he had a fancy for it. Hereceived it with abundance of thanks, more than such a trifle coulddeserve. It was drawn by an unskilful surgeon, in a mistake, from one ofGlumdalclitch's men, who was afflicted with the tooth-ache, but it was assound as any in his head. I got it cleaned, and put it into my cabinet.It was about a foot long, and four inches in diameter.
The captain was very well satisfied with this plain relation I had givenhim, and said, he hoped, when we returned to England, I would oblige theworld by putting it on paper, and making it public. My answer was,that we were overstocked with books of travels: that nothing could nowpass which was not extraordinary; wherein I doubted some authors lessconsulted truth, than their own vanity, or interest, or the diversion ofignorant readers; that my story could contain little beside commonevents, without those ornamental descriptions of strange plants, trees,birds, and other animals; or of the barbarous customs and idolatry ofsavage people, with which most writers abound. However, I thanked himfor his good opinion, and promised to take the matter into my thoughts.
He said he wondered at one thing very much, which was, to hear me speakso loud; asking me whether the king or queen of that country were thickof hearing? I told him, it was what I had been used to for above twoyears past, and that I admired as much at the voices of him and his men,who seemed to me only to whisper, and yet I could hear them well enough.But, when I spoke in that country, it was like a man talking in thestreets, to another looking out from the top of a steeple, unless when Iwas placed on a table, or held in any person's hand. I told him, I hadlikewise observed another thing, that, when I first got into the ship,and the sailors stood all about me, I thought they were the most littlecontemptible creatures I had ever beheld. For indeed, while I was inthat prince's country, I could never endure to look in a glass, aftermine eyes had been accustomed to such prodigious objects, because thecomparison gave me so despicable a conceit of myself. The captain said,that while we were at supper, he observed me to look at every thing witha sort of wonder, and that I often seemed hardly able to contain mylaughter, which he knew not well how to take, but imputed it to somedisorder in my brain. I answered, it was very true; and I wondered howI could forbear, when I saw his dishes of the size of a silverthree-pence, a leg of pork hardly a mouthful, a cup not so big as anut-shell; and so I went on, describing the rest of his household-stuffand provisions, after the same manner. For, although he queen hadordered a little equipage of all things necessary for me, while I was inher service, yet my ideas were wholly taken up with what I saw on everyside of me, and I winked at my own littleness, as people do at their ownfaults. The captain understood my raillery very well, and merrilyreplied with the old English proverb, that he doubted mine eyes werebigger than my belly, for he did not observe my stomach so good, althoughI had fasted all day; and, continuing in his mirth, protested he wouldhave gladly given a hundred pounds, to have seen my closet in the eagle'sbill, and afterwards in its fall from so great a height into the sea;which would certainly have been a most astonishing object, worthy to havethe description of it transmitted to future ages: and the comparison ofPhaeton was so obvious, that he could not forbear applying it, although Idid not much admire the conceit.
The captain having been at Tonquin, was, in his return to England, drivennorth-eastward to the latitude of 44 degrees, and longitude of 143. Butmeeting a trade-wind two days after I came on board him, we sailedsouthward a long time, and coasting New Holland, kept our coursewest-south-west, and then south-south-west, till we doubled the Cape ofGood Hope. Our voyage was very prosperous, but I shall not trouble thereader with a journal of it. The captain called in at one or two ports,and sent in his long-boat for provisions and fresh water; but I neverwent out of the ship till we came into the Downs, which was on the thirdday of June, 1706, about nine months after my escape. I offered to leavemy goods in security for payment of my freight: but the captain protestedhe would not receive one farthing. We took a kind leave of each other,and I made him promise he would come to see me at my house in Redriff. Ihired a horse and guide for five shillings, which I borrowed of thecaptain.
As I was on the road, observing the littleness of the houses, the trees,the cattle, and the people, I began to think myself in Lilliput. I wasafraid of trampling on every traveller I met, and often called aloud tohave them stand out of the way, so that I had like to have gotten one ortwo broken heads for my impertinence.
When I came to my own house, for which I was forced to inquire, one ofthe servants opening the door, I bent down to go in, (like a goose undera gate,) for fear of striking my head. My wife run out to embrace me,but I stooped lower than her knees, thinking she could otherwise never beable to reach my mouth. My daughter kneeled to ask my blessing, but Icould not see her till she arose, having been so long used to stand withmy head and eyes erect to above sixty feet; and then I went to take herup with one hand by the waist. I looked down upon the servants, and oneor two friends who were in the house, as if they had been pigmies and I agiant. I told my wife, she had been too thrifty, for I found she hadstarved herself and her daughter to nothing. In short, I behaved myselfso unaccountably, that they were all of the captain's opinion when hefirst saw me, and concluded I had lost my wits. This I mention as aninstance of the great power of habit and prejudice.
In a little time, I and my family and friends came to a rightunderstanding: but my wife protested I should never go to sea any more;although my evil destiny so ordered, that she had not power to hinder me,as the reader may know hereafter. In the mean time, I here conclude thesecond part of my unfortunate voyages.