Gulliver's Travels (Swift)/Part 1/Chapter 3
from the Collection “Gulliver's Travels. Part 1”
The division of this summary into sections is editorial.
In Lilliput, Gulliver’s gentle conduct had won the confidence of the emperor, his court and the people. Still a captive after his shipwreck, he hoped soon to regain his liberty.
As the Lilliputians grew less afraid, some danced on his hand and children played in his hair. He also made progress in their language. The emperor decided to entertain him with displays of the country’s skill.
Competitions for office and favour
Gulliver particularly enjoyed watching dancers jump on a thread stretched above the ground. He explained their connection to the court:
This diversion is only practised by those persons who are candidates for great employments, and high favour, at court.
When an office fell vacant, candidates competed for it by jumping; the highest jumper who did not fall won. Ministers also had to demonstrate their skill. The treasurer, Flimnap, was the best, though he had once nearly broken his neck in a fall.
Gulliver thought his friend Reldresal, the principal secretary for private affairs, second best. The contests were dangerous: candidates broke limbs, and ministers frequently fell while trying to outdo one another.
In another ceremony, candidates seeking marks of imperial favour leaped over or crawled under a moving stick. The three most successful received blue, red or green silk threads to wear around their waists.
Gulliver entertains the court
The army’s horses had grown accustomed to Gulliver, and their riders jumped them over his hand. To provide a larger spectacle, he stretched his handkerchief over upright sticks and made a railed platform. He lifted twenty-four mounted soldiers onto it, where they performed mock battles to the emperor’s delight.
The performance was repeated for several days. The emperor once gave commands from the platform, while the empress watched from her chair. When a horse tore the handkerchief and fell, Gulliver rescued it and its rider; only the horse was injured. He repaired the cloth but would not risk using it for such a display again.
The lost hat and the military parade
A messenger reported a strange black object near the place where Gulliver had been captured. He recognised it as his hat, which had fallen off after he reached shore, although he had thought it lost at sea. At his request, it was brought back, somewhat damaged by hooks and by being dragged behind horses.
Two days later, the emperor ordered a parade beneath Gulliver’s widely spread legs. Three thousand foot soldiers and a thousand horsemen marched through. Despite orders to behave decently, some young officers looked up and found amusement in his worn breeches.
The terms of freedom
Gulliver had repeatedly petitioned for release. The council approved it over the objection of Skyresh Bolgolam, the high admiral, whom Gulliver regarded as an unprovoked enemy. The emperor confirmed the decision, but Bolgolam obtained the right to write the conditions.
Bolgolam brought the articles to Gulliver, who was required to swear both in his own country’s manner and in an elaborate Lilliputian pose. He could not leave the realm without permission or enter the capital without an order and two hours’ warning to its residents. He had to keep to the main roads, avoid harming people or their property, and take no person into his hands without consent.
He also had to carry urgent messengers when required, help against an expected invasion by the island of Blefuscu, lift stones for royal works and measure the coast in his paces. In return he would receive access to the emperor and daily food and drink sufficient for 1,728 Lilliputians.
Although he considered some terms dishonourable and blamed Bolgolam for them, Gulliver signed cheerfully. His chains were unlocked in the emperor’s presence. Gulliver thanked him, and the emperor expressed hope that he would prove a useful servant.
Gulliver later learned how the ration had been calculated: court mathematicians had found him twelve times a Lilliputian’s height and concluded that his body contained 1,728 times as much, requiring a corresponding quantity of food.