"HE COMMANDED HIS GENERALS TO DRAW UP THE TROOPS."
Gulliver’s Travels
INTO SEVERAL REMOTE REGIONS OF THE WORLD
BY
JONATHAN SWIFT, D.D.
EDITED WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES
BY THOMAS M. BALLIET
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, SPRINGFIELD, MASS.
WITH THIRTY-EIGHT ILLUSTRATIONS AND A MAP
PART I
A VOYAGE TO LILLIPUT
PART II
A VOYAGE TO BROBDINGNAG
D.C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS
BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO
1900
PREFACE.
Gulliver's Travels was published in 1726; and, although it was by no means intended for them, the book was soon appropriated by the children, who have ever since continued to regard it as one of the most delightful of their story books. They cannot comprehend the occasion which provoked the book nor appreciate the satire which underlies the narrative, but they delight in the wonderful adventures, and wander full of open-eyed astonishment into the new worlds through which the vivid and logically accurate imagination of the author so personally conducts them. And there is a meaning and a moral in the stories of the Voyages to Lilliput and Brobdingnag which is entirely apart from the political satire they are intended to convey, a meaning and a moral which the youngest child who can read it will not fail to seize, and upon which it is scarcely necessary for the teacher to comment.
For young children the book combines in a measure the interest of Robinson Crusoe and that of the fairy tale; its style is objective, the narrative is simple, and the matter appeals strongly to the childish imagination. For more mature boys and girls and for adults the interest is found chiefly in the keen satire which underlies the narrative. It appeals, therefore, to a very wide range of intelligence and taste, and can be read with profit by the child of ten and by the young man or woman of mature years.
This edition is practically a reprint of the original (1726-27). The punctuation and capitalization have been modernized, some archaisms changed, and the paragraphs have been made more frequent. A few passages have been omitted which would offend modern ears and are unsuitable for children's reading, and some foot-notes have been added explaining obsolete words and obscure expressions.
As a reading book in school which must be adapted to the average mind, these stories will be found suitable for classes from the fifth or sixth school year to the highest grade of the grammar school.
THOMAS M. BALLIET.
CONTENTS.
VOYAGE TO LILLIPUT.
CHAPTER I.
The Author gives some account of himself and family—His first inducements to travel—He is shipwrecked, and swims for his life—Gets safe on shore in the country of Lilliput—Is made a prisoner, and carried up the country.
CHAPTER II.
The emperor of Lilliput, attended by several of the nobility, comes to see the Author in his confinement—The emperor's person and habits described—Learned men appointed to teach the Author their language—He gains favor by his mild disposition—His pockets are searched, and his sword and pistols taken from him.
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.
