of the crown, as you cannot but observe: and
particularly, that his majesty's imperial heels are lower, at least by a
_drurr_, than any of his court (_drurr_ is a measure about the
fourteenth part of an inch). The animosities between these two parties
run so high, that they will neither eat nor drink nor talk with each
other. We compute the _Tramecksan_, or high heels, to exceed us in
number; but the power is wholly on our side. We apprehend his imperial
highness, the heir to the crown, to have some tendency towards the high
heels; at least, we can plainly discover that one of his heels is higher
than the other, which gives him a hobble in his gait. Now, in the midst
of these intestine disquiets, we are threatened with an invasion from
the island of Blefuscu, which is the other great empire of the universe,
almost as large and powerful as this of his majesty. For, as to what we
have heard you affirm, that there are other kingdoms and states in the
world, inhabited by human creatures as large as yourself, our
philosophers are in much doubt, and would rather conjecture that you
dropped from the moon or one of the stars, because it is certain, that
an hundred mortals of your bulk would, in a short time, destroy all the
fruits and cattle of his majesty's dominions. Besides, our histories of
six thousand moons make no mention of any other regions than the two
great empires of Lilliput and Blefuscu. Which two mighty powers have, as
I was going to tell you, been engaged in a most obstinate war for
six-and-thirty moons past. It began upon the following occasion: It is
allowed on all hands, that the primitive way of breaking eggs, before we
eat them, 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, published an edict, commanding all
his subjects, upon great penalties, to break the smaller end of their
eggs. The people so highly resented this law, that our histories tell
us, there have been six rebellions raised on that account, wherein one
emperor lost his life, and another his crown. These civil commotions
were constantly fomented by the monarchs of Blefuscu; and when they
were quelled, the exiles always fled for refuge to that empire. It is
computed, that eleven thousand persons have, at several times, suffered
death, rather than submit to break their eg