Holland, hoping to fettle there. Is wounded with an arrow by one of the natives. Is feized, and carried by force into a Portuguese ship. The great civilities of the captain. The Chap. XII. The author's veracity. His defign in publishing this work. the truth. The author clears himself from any finifter ends in writing. An objection anfwered. The method of plant- ing colonies. His native country commended. The right of the crown to thofe countries described by the author, is ju- ftified. The difficulty of conquering them. The author A tritical effay upon the faculties of the mind Predictions for the year 1708; by Ifaac Bickerstaff, Efq; An account of the death of Mr Partridge the almanac-maker Squire Bickerstaff detected; by John Partridge A true and impartial account of the proceedings of Ifaac Bic- TRAVELS into feveral REMOTE NA TIONS of the world. By Lemuel Gulliver, firft a Surgeon, and then a Captain of several ships. T In FOUR PART S. The PUBLISHER to the READER. HE author of these travels, Mr. Lemuel Gulliver, is my antient and intimate friend; there is likewise fome relation between us on the mother's fide. About three years ago, Mr. Gulliver, growing weary of the concourfe of curious people coming to him at his house in Redriff, made a small purchase of land with a convenient house near Newark in Nottinghamshire, his native country, where he now lives retired, yet in good esteem among his neighbours. Although Mr. Gulliver was born in Nottinghamshire, where his father dwelt, yet I have heard him fay, his family came from Oxfordshire; to confirm which, I have obferved in the church-yard at Banbury, in that county, feveral tombs and monuments of the Gullivers. Before he quitted Redriff, he left the custody of the following papers in my hands, with the liberty to difpofe of them as I fhould think fit. I have carefully perufed them three times: the style is very plain and fimple; and the only fault I find is, that the author, after the manner of travellers, is a little too circumftantial. There is an air of truth apparent through the whole; and indeed the author was fo diftinguished for his veracity, that it became a fort of a proverb among his neighbours at Redriff, when any one affirmed a thing, to fay it was as true as if Mr. Gulliver had spoken it. By the advice of feveral worthy persons, to whom, with the author's permiffion, I communicated these papers, I VOL. IV. A now now venture to fend them into the world, hoping they may be, at least for some time, a better entertainment to our young noblemen, than the common fcribbles of poli tics and party. This volume would have been at least twice as large, if I had not made bold to ftrike out innumerable paffages relating to the winds and tides, as well as to the variations and bearings in the feveral voyages, together with the minute descriptions of the management of the fhip in ftorms in the style of failors; likewife the account of longitudes and latitudes; wherein I have reafon to apprehend, that Mr. Gulliver may be a little diffatisfied: but I was refolved to fit the work as much as poffible to the general capacity of readers. However, if my own ignorance in fea affairs fhall have led me to commit fome mistakes, I alone am answerable for them: and if any traveller hath a curiofity to fee the whole work at large, as it came from the hand of the author, I will be ready to gratify him. As for any further particulars relating to the author, the reader will receive fatisfaction from the first pages of the book. RICHARD SYMPSON, A LETTER from Capt. GULLIVER to his coufin SYMPSON. I Written in the year 1727. HOPE you will be ready to own publickly, whenever you shall be called to it, that by your great and frequent urgency, you prevailed on me to publish a very loofe and uncorrect account of my travels, with direction to hire fome young gentleman of either university to put them in order, and correct the style, as my coufin Dam pier did by my advice, in his book called, A voyage round the world. But I do not remember I gave you power to confent, that any thing fhould be omitted, and much lefs that any thing should be inferted: therefore, as to the latter, I do here renounce every thing of that kind; partis cularly a paragraph about her majefty queen Anne, of moft pious and glorious memory; although I did reverence and efteem her more than any of human fpecies. But you, or your interpolator, ought to have confidered, that as it was not my inclination, fo was it not decent to praise any animal of our compofition before my master Houyhnhnm: and befides, the fact was altogether falfe; for to my knowledge, being in England during fome part of her ma jefty's rein, fhe did govern by a chief minister; nay even by two facceffively, the first whereof was the lord of Go dolphin, and the fecond the lord of Oxford; fo that you have made me fay the thing that was not. Likewife, in the account of the academy of projectors, and several paffages of my difcourfe to my mafter Houyhnhnm, you have either omitted fome material circumstances, or min ced or changed them in fuch a manner, that I do hardly know mine own work. When I formerly hinted to you fomething of this in a letter, you were pleased to answer, that you were afraid of giving offence; that people in power were very watchful over the prefs, and apt not only to interpret, but to punish every thing which looked like an Innuendo (as I think you call it.) But, pray how could that which I fpoke fo many years ago, and at above A 2 five |