done my Scymiter, and then my Pouch of Powder and Bullets; begging him 
that the former might be kept from the Fire, for it would kindle with the 
smallest Spark, and blow up his Imperial Palace into the Air. I likewise 
delivered up my Watch, which the Emperor was very curious to see, and 
commanded two of his tallest Yeomen of the Guards to bear it on a Pole 
upon their shoulders, as Draymen in England do a Barrel of Ale. He was 
amazed at the continual Noise it made, and the Motion of the Minute-Hand, 
which he could easily discern; for their Sight is much more acute than 
ours; and asked the Opinions of his learned Men about him, which were 
various and remote, as the Reader may well imagine without my repeating; 
although indeed I could not very perfectly understand them. I then gave up 
my Silver and Copper money, my Purse with nine large Pieces of Gold, 
and some smaller ones; my Knife and Razor, my Comb and Silver Snuff-
Box, my Handkerchief and Journal Book. My Scymiter, Pistols, and Pouch, 
were conveyed in Carriages to his Majesty's Stores; but the rest of my 
Goods were returned me.

I had, as I before observed, one private Pocket which escaped their Search, 
wherein there was a pair of Spectacles (which I sometimes use for the 
weakness of mine Eyes), a Pocket Perspective, and several other little 
Conveniences; which, being of no consequence to the Emperor, I did not 
think myself bound in Honour to discover, and I apprehended they might 
be lost or spoiled if I ventured them out of my Possession.

CHAPTER III.

The Author diverts the Emperor and his Nobility of both Sexes in a very 
uncommon Manner. The Diversions of the Court of Lilliput described. The 
Author has his Liberty granted him upon certain Conditions.

MY GENTLENESS and good Behaviour had gained so far on the Emperor 
and his Court, and indeed upon the Army and People in general, that I 
began to conceive Hopes of getting my Liberty in a short time. I took all 
possible Methods to cultivate this favorable Disposition. The Natives came 
by degrees to be less apprehensive of any Danger from me. I would 
sometimes lie down, and let five or six of them dance on my Hand. And 
last the Boys and Girls would venture to come and play at Hide and Seek in 
my Hair. I had now made good Progress in understanding and speaking 
their Language. The Emperor had a mind one day to entertain me with 
several of the Country Shows, wherein they exceeded all Nations I have 
known, both for Dexterity and Magnificence. I was diverted with none so 
much as that of the Rope-Dancers, performed upon a slender white Thread, 
extended about two Foot and twelve Inches from the Ground. Upon which 
I shall desire liberty, with the Reader's Patience, to enlarge a little.

This Diversion is only practiced by those Persons who are Candidates for 
great Employments, and high Favour, at Court. They are trained in this 
Art from their Youth, and are not always of noble Birth, or liberal 
Education. When a great Office is vacant either by Death or disgrace 
(which often happens) five or six of those Candidates petition the Emperor 
to entertain his Majesty and the Court with a Dance on the Rope, and 
whoever jumps the highest without falling, succeeds in the Office. Very 
often the Chief Ministers themselves are commanded to show their Skill, 
and to convince the Emperor that they have not lost their Faculty. Flimnap, 
the Treasurer, is allowed to cut a Caper on the strait Rope, at least an Inch 
higher than any other Lord in the whole Empire. I have seen him do the 
Summerset several times together upon a Trencher fixed on the Rope, 
which is no thicker than a common packthread in England. My friend 
Reldresal, principal Secretary for private Affairs, is, in my Opinion, if I 
am not partial, the second after the Treasurer; the rest of the great Officers 
are much upon a par.

These Diversions are often attended with fatal Accidents, whereof great 
Numbers are on Record. I my self have seen two or three Candidates break 
a Limb. But the Danger is much greater when the Ministers themselves are 
commanded to shew their Dexterity; for by contending to excel themselves 
and their Fellows, they strain so far, that there is hardly one of them who 
has not received a Fall, and some of them two or three. I was assured that a 
Year or two before my Arrival, Flimnap would have infallibly broken his 
Neck, if one of the King's Cushions, that accidentally lay on the Ground, 
had not weakened the Force of his Fall.

There is likewise another Diversion, which is only shewn before the 
Emperor and Empress, and first Minister, upon particular Occasions. The 
Emperor lays on the Table three fine silken Threads of six Inches long. 
One is Blue, the other Red, and the third Green. These Threads are 
proposed as Prizes for those Persons whom the Emperor has a mind to 
distinguish by a peculiar Mark of his Favor. The Ceremony is performed 
in his Majesty's great Chamber of State, where the Candidates are to 
undergo a Tryal of Dexterity very different from the former, and such as I 
have not observed the least Resemblance of in any other Country of the old 
or the new World. The Emperor holds a Stick in his Hands, both ends 
parallel to the Horizon, while the Candidates, advancing one by one, 
sometimes leap over the Stick, sometimes creep under it backwards and 
forwards several times, according as the Stick is advanced or depressed. 
Sometimes the Emperor holds one end of the Stick, and his first Minister 
the other; sometimes the Minister has it entirely to himself. Whoever 
performs his Part with most Agility, and holds out the longest in leaping 
and creeping, is rewarded with the Blue-colored Silk; the Red is given to 
the next, and the Green to the third, which they all wear girt twice round 
about the middle; and you see few great Persons about this Court who are 
not adorned with one of these Girdles.

The Horses of the Army, and those of the royal Stables, having been daily 
led before me, were no longer shy, but would come up to my very Feet 
without starting. The Riders would leap them over my Hand as I held it on 
the Ground, and one of the Emperor's Huntsmen, upon a large Courser, 
took my Foot, Shoe and all; which was indeed a prodigious Leap. I had the 
good fortune to divert the Emperor one Day after a very extraordinary 
manner. I desired he would order several Sticks of two Foot high, and the