ore by an unnatural murder, was, according to the
zeal of those people, looked upon as profane, and therefore had been
applied to common use, and all the ornaments and furniture carried away.
In this edifice it was determined I should lodge. The great gate
fronting to the north was about four feet high, and almost two feet wide,
through which I could easily creep. On each side of the gate was a small
window, not above six inches from the ground: into that on the left side,
the king's smith conveyed fourscore and eleven chains, like those that
hang to a lady's watch in Europe, and almost as large, which were locked
to my left leg with six-and-thirty padlocks. Over against this temple,
on the other side of the great highway, at twenty feet distance, there
was a turret at least five feet high. Here the emperor ascended, with
many principal lords of his court, to have an opportunity of viewing me,
as I was told, for I could not see them. It was reckoned that above a
hundred thousand inhabitants came out of the town upon the same errand;
and, in spite of my guards, I believe there could not be fewer than ten
thousand at several times, who mounted my body by the help of ladders.
But a proclamation was soon issued, to forbid it upon pain of death.
When the workmen found it was impossible for me to break loose, they cut
all the strings that bound me; whereupon I rose up, with as melancholy a
disposition as ever I had in my life. But the noise and astonishment of
the people, at seeing me rise and walk, are not to be expressed. The
chains that held my left leg were about two yards long, and gave me not
only the liberty of walking backwards and forwards in a semicircle, but,
being fixed within four inches of the gate, allowed me to creep in, and
lie at my full length in the temple.

CHAPTER II.

The emperor of Lilliput, attended by several of the nobility, comes to
see the author in his confinement. The emperor's person and habit
described. Learned men appointed to teach the author their language. He
gains favour by his mild disposition. His pockets are searched, and his
sword and pistols taken from him.

When I found myself on my feet, I looked about me, and must confess I
never beheld a more entertaining prospect. The country around appeared
like a continued garden, and the enclosed fields, which were generally
forty feet square, resembled so many beds of flowers. These fields were
intermingled with woods of