Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World

by Jonathan Swift

  CHAPTER VII.

  The author, being informed of a design to accuse him of high-treason,makes his escape to Blefuscu. His reception there.

  Before I proceed to give an account of my leaving this kingdom, it may beproper to inform the reader of a private intrigue which had been for twomonths forming against me.

  I had been hitherto, all my life, a stranger to courts, for which I wasunqualified by the meanness of my condition. I had indeed heard and readenough of the dispositions of great princes and ministers, but neverexpected to have found such terrible effects of them, in so remote acountry, governed, as I thought, by very different maxims from those inEurope.

  When I was just preparing to pay my attendance on the emperor ofBlefuscu, a considerable person at court (to whom I had been veryserviceable, at a time when he lay under the highest displeasure of hisimperial majesty) came to my house very privately at night, in a closechair, and, without sending his name, desired admittance. The chairmenwere dismissed; I put the chair, with his lordship in it, into mycoat-pocket: and, giving orders to a trusty servant, to say I wasindisposed and gone to sleep, I fastened the door of my house, placed thechair on the table, according to my usual custom, and sat down by it.After the common salutations were over, observing his lordship'scountenance full of concern, and inquiring into the reason, he desired "Iwould hear him with patience, in a matter that highly concerned my honourand my life." His speech was to the following effect, for I took notesof it as soon as he left me:--

  "You are to know," said he, "that several committees of council have beenlately called, in the most private manner, on your account; and it is buttwo days since his majesty came to a full resolution.

  "You are very sensible that Skyresh Bolgolam" (_galbet_, or high-admiral)"has been your mortal enemy, almost ever since your arrival. Hisoriginal reasons I know not; but his hatred is increased since your greatsuccess against Blefuscu, by which his glory as admiral is much obscured.This lord, in conjunction with Flimnap the high-treasurer, whose enmityagainst you is notorious on account of his lady, Limtoc the general,Lalcon the chamberlain, and Balmuff the grand justiciary, have preparedarticles of impeachment against you, for treason and other capitalcrimes."

  This preface made me so impatient, being conscious of my own merits andinnocence, that I was going to interrupt him; when he entreated me to besilent, and thus proceeded:--

  "Out of gratitude for the favours you have done me, I procuredinformation of the whole proceedings, and a copy of the articles; whereinI venture my head for your service.

  "'_Articles of Impeachment against_ QUINBUS FLESTRIN, (_the Man-Mountain_.)

  ARTICLE I.

  "'Whereas, by a statute made in the reign of his imperial majesty Calin Deffar Plune, it is enacted, that, whoever shall make water within the precincts of the royal palace, shall be liable to the pains and penalties of high-treason; notwithstanding, the said Quinbus Flestrin, in open breach of the said law, under colour of extinguishing the fire kindled in the apartment of his majesty's most dear imperial consort, did maliciously, traitorously, and devilishly, by discharge of his urine, put out the said fire kindled in the said apartment, lying and being within the precincts of the said royal palace, against the statute in that case provided, etc. against the duty, etc.

  ARTICLE II.

  "'That the said Quinbus Flestrin, having brought the imperial fleet of Blefuscu into the royal port, and being afterwards commanded by his imperial majesty to seize all the other ships of the said empire of Blefuscu, and reduce that empire to a province, to be governed by a viceroy from hence, and to destroy and put to death, not only all the Big-endian exiles, but likewise all the people of that empire who would not immediately forsake the Big-endian heresy, he, the said Flestrin, like a false traitor against his most auspicious, serene, imperial majesty, did petition to be excused from the said service, upon pretence of unwillingness to force the consciences, or destroy the liberties and lives of an innocent people.

  ARTICLE III.

  "'That, whereas certain ambassadors arrived from the Court of Blefuscu, to sue for peace in his majesty's court, he, the said Flestrin, did, like a false traitor, aid, abet, comfort, and divert, the said ambassadors, although he knew them to be servants to a prince who was lately an open enemy to his imperial majesty, and in an open war against his said majesty.

  ARTICLE IV.

  "'That the said Quinbus Flestrin, contrary to the duty of a faithful subject, is now preparing to make a voyage to the court and empire of Blefuscu, for which he has received only verbal license from his imperial majesty; and, under colour of the said license, does falsely and traitorously intend to take the said voyage, and thereby to aid, comfort, and abet the emperor of Blefuscu, so lately an enemy, and in open war with his imperial majesty aforesaid.'

  "There are some other articles; but these are the most important, ofwhich I have read you an abstract.

  "In the several debates upon this impeachment, it must be confessed thathis majesty gave many marks of his great lenity; often urging theservices you had done him, and endeavouring to extenuate your crimes.The treasurer and admiral insisted that you should be put to the mostpainful and ignominious death, by setting fire to your house at night,and the general was to attend with twenty thousand men, armed withpoisoned arrows, to shoot you on the face and hands. Some of yourservants were to have private orders to strew a poisonous juice on yourshirts and sheets, which would soon make you tear your own flesh, and diein the utmost torture. The general came into the same opinion; so thatfor a long time there was a majority against you; but his majestyresolving, if possible, to spare your life, at last brought off thechamberlain.

  "Upon this incident, Reldresal, principal secretary for private affairs,who always approved himself your true friend, was commanded by theemperor to deliver his opinion, which he accordingly did; and thereinjustified the good thoughts you have of him. He allowed your crimes tobe great, but that still there was room for mercy, the most commendablevirtue in a prince, and for which his majesty was so justly celebrated.He said, the friendship between you and him was so well known to theworld, that perhaps the most honourable board might think him partial;however, in obedience to the command he had received, he would freelyoffer his sentiments. That if his majesty, in consideration of yourservices, and pursuant to his own merciful disposition, would please tospare your life, and only give orders to put out both your eyes, hehumbly conceived, that by this expedient justice might in some measure besatisfied, and all the world would applaud the lenity of the emperor, aswell as the fair and generous proceedings of those who have the honour tobe his counsellors. That the loss of your eyes would be no impediment toyour bodily strength, by which you might still be useful to his majesty;that blindness is an addition to courage, by concealing dangers from us;that the fear you had for your eyes, was the greatest difficulty inbringing over the enemy's fleet, and it would be sufficient for you tosee by the eyes of the ministers, since the greatest princes do no more.

  "This proposal was received with the utmost disapprobation by the wholeboard. Bolgolam, the admiral, could not preserve his temper, but, risingup in fury, said, he wondered how the secretary durst presume to give hisopinion for preserving the life of a traitor; that the services you hadperformed were, by all true reasons of state, the great aggravation ofyour crimes; that you, who were able to extinguish the fire by dischargeof urine in her majesty's apartment (which he mentioned with horror),might, at another time, raise an inundation by the same means, to drownthe whole palace; and the same strength which enabled you to bring overthe enemy's fleet, might serve, upon the first discontent, to carry itback; that he had good reasons to think you were a Big-endian in yourheart; and, as treason begins in the heart, before it appears inovert-acts, so he accused you as a traitor on that account, and thereforeinsisted you should be put to death.

 
; "The treasurer was of the same opinion: he showed to what straits hismajesty's revenue was reduced, by the charge of maintaining you, whichwould soon grow insupportable; that the secretary's expedient of puttingout your eyes, was so far from being a remedy against this evil, that itwould probably increase it, as is manifest from the common practice ofblinding some kind of fowls, after which they fed the faster, and grewsooner fat; that his sacred majesty and the council, who are your judges,were, in their own consciences, fully convinced of your guilt, which wasa sufficient argument to condemn you to death, without the formal proofsrequired by the strict letter of the law.

  "But his imperial majesty, fully determined against capital punishment,was graciously pleased to say, that since the council thought the loss ofyour eyes too easy a censure, some other way may be inflicted hereafter.And your friend the secretary, humbly desiring to be heard again, inanswer to what the treasurer had objected, concerning the great chargehis majesty was at in maintaining you, said, that his excellency, who hadthe sole disposal of the emperor's revenue, might easily provide againstthat evil, by gradually lessening your establishment; by which, for wantof sufficient for you would grow weak and faint, and lose your appetite,and consequently, decay, and consume in a few months; neither would thestench of your carcass be then so dangerous, when it should become morethan half diminished; and immediately upon your death five or sixthousand of his majesty's subjects might, in two or three days, cut yourflesh from your bones, take it away by cart-loads, and bury it in distantparts, to prevent infection, leaving the skeleton as a monument ofadmiration to posterity.

  "Thus, by the great friendship of the secretary, the whole affair wascompromised. It was strictly enjoined, that the project of starving youby degrees should be kept a secret; but the sentence of putting out youreyes was entered on the books; none dissenting, except Bolgolam theadmiral, who, being a creature of the empress, was perpetually instigatedby her majesty to insist upon your death, she having borne perpetualmalice against you, on account of that infamous and illegal method youtook to extinguish the fire in her apartment.

  "In three days your friend the secretary will be directed to come to yourhouse, and read before you the articles of impeachment; and then tosignify the great lenity and favour of his majesty and council, wherebyyou are only condemned to the loss of your eyes, which his majesty doesnot question you will gratefully and humbly submit to; and twenty of hismajesty's surgeons will attend, in order to see the operation wellperformed, by discharging very sharp-pointed arrows into the balls ofyour eyes, as you lie on the ground.

  "I leave to your prudence what measures you will take; and to avoidsuspicion, I must immediately return in as private a manner as I came."

  His lordship did so; and I remained alone, under many doubts andperplexities of mind.

  It was a custom introduced by this prince and his ministry (verydifferent, as I have been assured, from the practice of former times,)that after the court had decreed any cruel execution, either to gratifythe monarch's resentment, or the malice of a favourite, the emperoralways made a speech to his whole council, expressing his great lenityand tenderness, as qualities known and confessed by all the world. Thisspeech was immediately published throughout the kingdom; nor did anything terrify the people so much as those encomiums on his majesty'smercy; because it was observed, that the more these praises were enlargedand insisted on, the more inhuman was the punishment, and the sufferermore innocent. Yet, as to myself, I must confess, having never beendesigned for a courtier, either by my birth or education, I was so ill ajudge of things, that I could not discover the lenity and favour of thissentence, but conceived it (perhaps erroneously) rather to be rigorousthan gentle. I sometimes thought of standing my trial, for, although Icould not deny the facts alleged in the several articles, yet I hopedthey would admit of some extenuation. But having in my life perused manystate-trials, which I ever observed to terminate as the judges thoughtfit to direct, I durst not rely on so dangerous a decision, in socritical a juncture, and against such powerful enemies. Once I wasstrongly bent upon resistance, for, while I had liberty the wholestrength of that empire could hardly subdue me, and I might easily withstones pelt the metropolis to pieces; but I soon rejected that projectwith horror, by remembering the oath I had made to the emperor, thefavours I received from him, and the high title of _nardac_ he conferredupon me. Neither had I so soon learned the gratitude of courtiers, topersuade myself, that his majesty's present seventies acquitted me of allpast obligations.

  At last, I fixed upon a resolution, for which it is probable I may incursome censure, and not unjustly; for I confess I owe the preserving ofmine eyes, and consequently my liberty, to my own great rashness and wantof experience; because, if I had then known the nature of princes andministers, which I have since observed in many other courts, and theirmethods of treating criminals less obnoxious than myself, I should, withgreat alacrity and readiness, have submitted to so easy a punishment.But hurried on by the precipitancy of youth, and having his imperialmajesty's license to pay my attendance upon the emperor of Blefuscu, Itook this opportunity, before the three days were elapsed, to send aletter to my friend the secretary, signifying my resolution of settingout that morning for Blefuscu, pursuant to the leave I had got; and,without waiting for an answer, I went to that side of the island whereour fleet lay. I seized a large man of war, tied a cable to the prow,and, lifting up the anchors, I stripped myself, put my clothes (togetherwith my coverlet, which I carried under my arm) into the vessel, and,drawing it after me, between wading and swimming arrived at the royalport of Blefuscu, where the people had long expected me: they lent me twoguides to direct me to the capital city, which is of the same name. Iheld them in my hands, till I came within two hundred yards of the gate,and desired them "to signify my arrival to one of the secretaries, andlet him know, I there waited his majesty's command." I had an answer inabout an hour, "that his majesty, attended by the royal family, and greatofficers of the court, was coming out to receive me." I advanced ahundred yards. The emperor and his train alighted from their horses, theempress and ladies from their coaches, and I did not perceive they werein any fright or concern. I lay on the ground to kiss his majesty's andthe empress's hands. I told his majesty, "that I was come according tomy promise, and with the license of the emperor my master, to have thehonour of seeing so mighty a monarch, and to offer him any service in mypower, consistent with my duty to my own prince;" not mentioning a wordof my disgrace, because I had hitherto no regular information of it, andmight suppose myself wholly ignorant of any such design; neither could Ireasonably conceive that the emperor would discover the secret, while Iwas out of his power; wherein, however, it soon appeared I was deceived.

  I shall not trouble the reader with the particular account of myreception at this court, which was suitable to the generosity of so greata prince; nor of the difficulties I was in for want of a house and bed,being forced to lie on the ground, wrapped up in my coverlet.