return the said messenger (if so required) safe to
our imperial presence.

"Sixth. He shall be our ally against our enemies in the island of
Blefuscu, and do his utmost to destroy their fleet, which is now
preparing to invade us.

"Lastly. Upon his solemn oath to observe all the above articles,
the said Man-Mountain shall have a daily allowance of meat and drink
sufficient for the support of 1,724 of our subjects, with free access to
our royal person, and other marks of our favor. Given at our palace at
Belfaburac, the twelfth day of the ninety-first moon of our reign."

I swore to these articles with great cheerfulness, whereupon my chains
were immediately unlocked, and I was at full liberty.

One morning, about a fortnight after I had obtained my freedom,
Reldresal, the Emperor's secretary for private affairs, came to my
house, attended only by one servant. He ordered his coach to wait at
a distance, and desired that I would give him an hour's audience. I
offered to lie down that he might the more conveniently reach my
ear; but he chose rather to let me hold him in my hand during our
conversation. He began with compliments on my liberty, but he added
that, save for the present state of things at Court, perhaps I might not
have obtained it so soon. "For," he said, "however flourishing we may
seem to foreigners, we are in danger of an invasion from the island of
Blefuscu, which is the other great empire of the universe, almost as
large and as powerful as this of his Majesty. For as to what we have
heard you say, that there are other kingdoms in the world, inhabited
by human creatures as large as yourself, our philosophers are very
doubtful, and rather conjecture that you dropped from the moon, or one
of the stars, because a hundred mortals of your size would soon destroy
all the fruit and cattle of his Majesty's dominions. Besides, our
histories of six thousand moons make no mention of any other regions
than the two mighty empires of Lilliput and Blefuscu, which, as I was
going to tell you, are engaged in a most obstinate war, which began in
the following manner: It is allowed on all hands that the primitive
way of breaking eggs was upon the larger end; but his present Majesty's
grandfather, while he was a boy, going to eat an egg, and breaking it
according to the ancient practice, happened to cut one of his fingers.
Whereupon the Emperor, his father, made a law commanding all his
subjects to break the smaller end