the Lord forbid; I do not abandon them; I work for them as much as I am able; and, blessed be the Lord, I keep them from want. And with that I observed he lifted up his eyes to heaven with a countenance that presently told me

Here I saw a poor man walking on the bank or sea-wall, as they call it, by himself. I walked a while also about, seeing the houses all shut up; at last I fell into some talk, at a distance, with this poor man. First I asked him how people did there-abouts? Alas! sir, says he, almost desolate; all dead or sick: Here are very few families in this part, or in that village, pointing at Poplar, where half of them are not dead already, and the rest sick. Then pointing to one house, There they are all dead, said he, and the house stands open; nobody dares go into it. A poor thief, says he, ventured in to steal something, but he paid dear for his theft, for he was carried to the churchyard too, last night. Then he pointed to several other houses. There, says he, they are all dead, the man and his wife and five children. There, says he, they are shut up; you see a watch man at the door, and so of other houses. Why, said I, what do you here all alone? Why, says he, I am a poor desolate man; it hath pleased God I am not yet visited, though my family is, and one of my children dead. How do you mean then, said I, that you are not visited? Why, says he, that is my house, pointing to a very little low boarded house, and there my poor wife and two children live, said he, if they may be said to live; for my wife and one of the children are visited, but I do not come at them. And with that word I saw the tears run very plentifully down his face; and so they did down mine too, I assure you.

But, said I, why do you not come at them? How can you abandon your own flesh and blood? O, sir, says he,

hypocrite, but a serious, religious, good man; and his ejaculation was an expression of thankfulness, that, in such a condition as he was in, he should be able to say his family did not want. Well, said I, honest man, that is a great mercy, as things go now with the poor. But how do you live then, and how are you kept from the dreadful calamity that is now upon us all? Why, sir, says he, I am a waterman, and there is my boat, says he, and the boat serves me for a house; I work in it in the day, and I sleep in it in the night, and what I get I lay it down upon that stone, says he, showing me a broad stone on the other side of the street, a good way from his house; and then, says he, I halloo and call to them till I make them hear, and they come and fetch it.

Well, friend, said I, but how can you get money as a waterman? Does anybody go by water these times? Yes, sir, says he, in the way I am employed there does. Do you see there, says he, five ships lie at anchor? pointing down the river a good way below the town; and do you see, says he, eight or ten ships lie at the chain there, and at anchor yonder? pointing above the town. All those ships have families on board, of their merchants and owners, and such like, who have locked themselves up, and live on board, close shut in, for fear of the infection; and I tend on them to fetch things for them, carry letters, and do what is absolutely necessary, that they may not be obliged to come on shore; and every night I fasten my boat on board one of the ship's boats, and there I sleep by myself; and blessed be God, I am pre

served hitherto.

Well, said I, friend, but will they let you come on board after you have been on shore here, when this has been

such a terrible place, and so infected as it is?

Why, as to that, said he, I very seldom go up the ship-side, but deliver what I bring to their boat, or lie by the side, and they hoist it on board; if I did, I think they are in no danger from me, for I never go into any house on shore, or touch anybody, no, not of my own family; but I fetch provisions for them.

Nay, said I, but that may be worse, for you must have those provisions of somebody or other; and since all this part of the town is so infected, it is dangerous so much as to speak with anybody; for the village, said I, is, as it were, the beginning of London, though if be at some distance from it.

That is true, added he, but you do not understand me right. I do not buy provisions for them here; I row up to Greenwich, and buy fresh meat there, and sometimes I row down the river to Woolwich, and buy there; then I go to single farmhouses on the Kentish side, where I am known, and buy fowls, and eggs, and butter, and bring to the ships, as they direct me, sometimes one, sometimes the other. I seldom come on shore here; and I came only now to call my wife, and hear how my little family do, and give them a little money which I received last night.

Poor man said I, and how much hast thou gotten for them?

I have gotten four shillings, said he, which is a great sum, as things go now with poor men; but they have given me a bag of bread too, and a salt fish, and some flesh; so all helps out.

Well, said I, and have you given it them yet?

No, said he, but I have called, and my wife has answered that she cannot come out yet; but in half an hour she hopes to come, and I am waiting for her. Poor woman! says he, she is brought sadly down; she has had a swelling, and it is broke, and I hope she will recover, but I fear the child will die; but it is the Lord! Here he stopt, and wept very much.

Well, honest friend, said I, thou hast

a sure comforter, if thou hast brought thyself to be resigned to the will of God; he is dealing with us all in judgment.

Oh, sir, says he, it is infinite mercy if any of us are spared; and who am I to repine!

Say'st thou so, said I: and how much less is my faith than thine! And here my heart smote me, suggesting how much better this poor man's foundation was, on which he staid (1) in the danger, than mine; that he had nowhere to fly; that he had a family to bind him to attendance, which I had not; and mine was mere presumption, his a true dependence and a courage resting on God; and yet, that he used all possible caution for his safety.

I turned a little way from the man while these thoughts engaged me; for indeed, I could no more refrain from tears than he.

At length, after some farther talk, the poor woman opened the door, and called Robert, Robert! He answered, and bid her stay a few moments and he would come; so he ran down the common stairs to his boat, and fetched up a sack in which were the provisions he had brought from the ships; and when he returned, he hallooed again; then he went to the great stone which he showed me, and emptied the sack, and laid all out, everything by themselves, (2) and then retired; and his wife came with a little boy to fetch them away; and he called, and said, such a captain had sent such a thing, and such a captain such a thing; and at the end adds, God has sent it all, give thanks to him. When the poor woman had taken up all, she was so weak, she could not carry it at once in, though the weight was not much neither; so she left the biscuit, which was in a little bag, and left a little boy to watch it till she came again.

Well, but, said I to him, did you leave her the four shillings too, which you said was your week's pay?

Yes, yes, says he, you shall hear her

(1) Trusted. (2) In more modern English, by itself.

own it. So he calls again, Rachel, Rachel, which, it seems, was her name, did you take up the money? Yes, said she. How much was it? said he. Four shillings and a groat, said she. Well, well, says he, the Lord keep you all; and so he turned to go away.

As I could not refrain contributing tears to this man's story, so neither could I refrain my charity for his assistance; so I called him, Hark thee, friend, said I, come hither, for I believe thou art in health, that I may venture thee; so I pulled out my hand, which was in my pocket before, Here, said I, go and call thy Rachel once more, and give her a little more comfort from me; God will never forsake a family

that trust in him as thou dost: so I gave him four other shillings, and bid him go lay them on the stone, and call his wife.

I have not words to express the poor man's thankfulness, neither could he express it himself, but by tears running down his face. He called his wife, and told her God had moved the heart of a stranger, upon hearing their condition, to give them all that money; and a great deal more such as that he said to her. The woman, too, made signs of the like thankfulness, as well to Heaven as to me, and joyfully picked it up; and I parted with no money all that year that I thought better bestowed.

VOYAGE TO LILLIPUT.

Mr. Lemuel Gulliver was the third son of a gentleman in Nottinghamshire. At the age of fourteen he was sent to Cambridge, where he studied very closely for three years; but the charge of maintaining him being too great for his father's narrow fortune, he was bound apprentice to Mr. Bates, a Surgeon in London. What little money he got, he laid out in learning navigation and other parts of mathematics, as he always fancied he should be a great traveller. When his time was expired, he left Mr. Bates and studied physic two years at Leyden in Holland.

Soon after his return from Leyden, he was recommanded to be surgeon to the Swallow, Captain Abraham Parnell commander, with whom he made a voyage or two into the Levant, and other parts. He then resolved to settle in London, and his old master, Mr. Bates, recommended him to several patients. He took a house in the Old Jewry, and being advised to marry, he espoused Miss Polly Burton, daughter of a hosier in Newgate-street, with whom

he received a portion of four hundred pounds.

But Mr. Bates dying in two years after, and Mr. Gulliver having few friends, his business fell off very much; and therefore, having consulted his wife, he determined to go to sea again. He was surgeon successively in two ships, and made several voyages to the East and West-Indies, by which he made some addition to his fortune. The last of these voyages not proving very fortunate, he grew weary of the sea; and intending to stay at home with his wife and family, he first took a house in Fetter-Lane and afterwards in Wapping, hoping to get business among the sailors; but this did not answer his expectation. After waiting in vain for three years, in hopes that things would mend, he accepted of an advantageous offer from Captain Pritchard, of the Antelope, who was making a voyage to the SouthSeas.

They sailed from Bristol on the 4th of May 1699. Their voyage was at first very prosperous; till leaving these seas, and steering their course towards

the East-Indies, they were driven by a storm to the northward of Van Diemen's land. Twelve of the crew were dead by hard labour and bad food, and the rest were in a very weak condition.

On the 5th of November (the beginning of summer in those parts) the weather being hazy, they espied a rock within a cable's length of the ship, and the wind being strong, they immediately split upon it. Mr. Gulliver and five of the crew heaved out the boat, and made a shift to get clear of the ship and the rock. They rowed till they could work no longer; and then, trusting to the mercy of the waves, in about half an hour the boat was overset by a sudden squall from the north. What became of the other seamen Mr. Gulliver knew not; but he swam with wind and tide, and often in vain let his legs drop in hopes of feeling the bottom; at last when he was almost ready to expire, he found himself within his depth. And the storm being greatly abated, he walked above a mile before he reached the shore; he then advanced near half a mile up the country, but could not discover either houses or inhabitants. He laid himself down on the grass, which was very short and soft, and slept about nine hours. He awoke just at daybreak, and upon attempting to rise, he found that he could not stir; for as he lay on his back, he found his arms and legs fastened to the ground, and his hair, which was long and thick, tied in the same manner. In a little time he felt something alive moving on his left leg, which advanced almost up to his chin, when bending his eyes downwards, he perceived it to be a human creature not six inches high, with a bow and arrow in his hand and a quiver at his back. He then felt at least forty more following the first; and being greatly astonished, he roared so loud, that they all ran back in a fright; and some of them broke their limbs by leaping from his sides to the ground. They soon after returned; and one of them, who ventured to get a full sight of his face, with the greatest astonishment cried

out: Hekinak Degul. He did not understand their language, and by often struggling to get loose, he at last wrenched out the pegs and strings by which he was fastened to the ground, and so far released his hair, that he could turn his head sideways; upon which the creatures ran off a second time, with a great shout. Soon after one of them cried aloud Tolgo Phonak; when instantly Mr. Gulliver perceived some hundreds of arrows discharged upon his hand and face, which pricked him like so many needles, and gave him so much pain, that he strove again to get loose. Some of them attempted to stab him in the side with their spears, but they could not pierce his buff waistcoat. When the people observed that he lay quiet they discharged no more arrows. He saw them busy in erecting a stage at a little distance, about a foot and a half high, which they had no sooner finished, than four of them ascended it by a ladder. One of them who seemed to be a person of quality, was taller than those who attended him, one of whom held up his train, and was about four inches high. He cried out three times: Langro Dehul San; on which they cut the strings that bound the left side of his head. The little monarch made an oration, not one word of which Mr. Gulliver could understand; he observed however many signs of threatening, and others of promises, pity and kindness, and he answered by motions of submission and friendship. Being almost famished with hunger, he put his finger frequently to his mouth, to signify to them that he wanted food. The Hurgo (for so they call a great Lord) understood him very well; he descended from the stage, and ordered several ladders to be placed against Mr. Gulliver's sides, by which above a hundred of the people mounted and walked towards his mouth, laden with baskets of meat; there were shoulders, legs and loins, shaped like those of mutton, but smaller than the wings of a lark. He eat two or three of them at a mouthful, and took three of the loaves which were as big as a

musket-bullet at a time. The inhabitants were astonished at his bulk and appetite; and, on his making a sign for drink, they slung up one of their largest hogsheads, rolled it towards his hand and beat out the top. He drank it off at a draught, for it did not hold half a pint, and tasted like Burgundy. They afterwards brought a second hogshead which he also dispatched; and calling for more, found they had no more to give him. When he had done these wonders, they shouted for joy, and after warning the people on the ground, the king desired he would throw the empty barrels as far as he could; and when they saw the vessels in the air, there was an universal shout of Hekinak Degul.

Mr. Gulliver could not help wondering at the intrepidity of these diminutive mortals, who ventured to mount and walk upon his body, while one of his hands was at liberty, without trembling at the sight of so prodigious a creature as he must appear to them. After some time an ambassador from the King appeared before him, who, producing his credentials under the royal seal spoke about ten minutes without any sign of anger, and yet with great resolution; pointing often towards the metropolis which was distant about half a mile, whither it was his Majesty's pleasure that he should be conveyed. Mr. Gulliver made signs that he should be glad to be released; and the ambassador understood very well what he meant, for he shook his head, by way of disapprobation, and signified that he must be carried as a prisoner; he therefore gave tokens that they might do what they would with him, whereupon the Hurgo and his train withdrew with cheerful countenances. Soon after the people shouted out Peplom Selau, and he felt the cords so far relaxed, that he was able to turn upon his right side. They then rubbed his hands and face with an ointment which took off the smart of their arrows, and this circumstance, added to the plentiful meal he had made caused him to fall fast asleep.

The natives of Lilliput are excellent mathematicians and mechanics; and the king immediately set five hundred carpenters to work, to prepare an engine by which he might be conveyed to the capital. It was a wooden frame, three inches high, seven feet long and four broad and moved upon twenty two wheels. It was brought close to Mr. Gulliver's side as he lay. To raise so immense a creature upon this vehicle, eighty poles each a foot high were erected and very strong ropes, of the bigness of packthread, were fastened by hooks to many bandages which the workmen had girt round his neck, hands, body and legs. Nine hundred of the strongest men were employed to draw up these cords by pullies fastened on the poles, and in a few hours he was raised and slung into the engine and tied down. All this Mr. Gulliver was told afterwards; for, while the whole operation was performing, he lay fast asleep, by the force of a medicine that had been purposely infused in the wine he had drunk. Fifteen hundred strong horses, about four inches and a half high, were yoked to the machine, and had much ado to drag it along.

They made a long march this day, and Mr. Gulliver was guarded in the night by five thousand men on each side, one half of them with torches, and the other half with bows and arrows, ready to shoot him if he offered to stir. Early the next morning they continued their march and at noon arrived within two hundred yards of the city gates.

The carriage stopt near an old temple, the largest in the kingdom, but which on account of a murder having been committed therein was never frequented. In this edifice it was agreed Mr. Gulliver should lodge. The gate was four feet high and two feet wide and on each side were four windows. To this temple he was fastened by ninety-one chains, which were fixed to his leg with thirty-six padlocks. Just opposite stood a famous turret, five feet high, to the top of which the Emperor and many lords ascended, for the sake of