Chapter-7
Later, I came to know that my enemies at court, Admiral Bolgolam and Flimnap, who was the treasurer of the empire, had misrepresented my meeting with the ambassadors.
I wish to share with the readers the reasons for their hatred towards me. Skyresh Bolgolam was the admiral of the imperial Navy. He was considered to be the strongest man in the kingdom of Lilliput. His power and glory had suffered in the eyes of the people since my arrival in the country. When I captured the enemy fleet, he took it as an insult to his position as Admiral. From that day onwards, he had become my enemy. He had turned many members of the court against me. One of them was the treasurer, Flimnap. He poisoned his ears against me in a very shameful manner. He told Flimnap that his wife had taken a strong affection towards me and she had even visited my place alone.
It was true told the gold lady treated me with innocent freedom and friendship. It was also true that she often came to my house, but always publicly and never alone. She was always accompanied by at least three or more of her sisters, her young daughter and a friend. Other ladies of the court also visited me. Due to such false information, the treasurer remained angry with his wife for quite some time. They were later at peace with each other but I lost all my respect for the man.
One day, the king and his young princess desired that they would like to have dinner with me. The treasurer was also there. The food was served. The king and the princess were amazed when they saw how much I could eat.
That evening, I ate more than my usual diet for a show. That visit gave Flimnap an opportunity to turn the king against me. He expressed his fear that soon there would be no money left in the treasury if I continued to live in Lilliput. He provoked the king to get rid of me at the earliest.
Admiral Skyresh Bolgolam, treasurer Flimnap and some other ministers had been plotting and scheming against me. This had been going on for the last two months. At last, they were successful. When I was preparing for my journey to the empire of Blefuscu, one of my friends from the court entered my house stealthily at night. He asked me to lock the door of my house from inside. I did not understand why he told me to do so but I quickly locked the door. He looked very upset. When I asked him the reason, he told me all that had been going on in the court against me. This is what he told me:
“You know that Skyresh Bolgolam has been your enemy ever since you arrived in Lilliput. I do not know the reasons but his hatred for you has greatly increased since your grand success over Blefuscu. He has prepared some articles accusing you of disloyalty along with Flimnap, the treasurer, who is also angry with you because of his lady. I have secretly brought a copy of the charges. I know I can be put to death if they come to know that I have leaked the information to you.
These are the charges against you:
1. You are commanded by the king to capture all the remaining enemy ships from the port of Blefuscu and to destroy all the Big-Endian exilees, but you refused to obey the orders and thus behaved like a traitor.
2. When some ambassadors arrived from Blefuscu with the offers of peace, you helped and entertained them and told them that you were unhappy in the kingdom of Lilliput.
3. You are now preparing for a journey to Blefuscu, for which you have got only verbal permission. Like a traitor, you want to visit our enemy and help them in an open war against the king.
There are some other articles also, but I have read only the important ones in brief.”
Then my friend continued, “Many meetings of the council have been held to discuss the matter. The king showed a great deal of kindness and recalled the services you had done to him and tried to save you. But the admiral and the treasurer did not agree and demanded that you should be put to the most painful and disgraceful death. They suggested that your house should be set to fire at night and, in case you tried to escape, twenty thousand armed men should be there to shoot you on the face and hands with poisoned arrows. Then, the king asked Reldresal to give his opinion. He agreed that your crimes were serious, yet he gave an account of your services and requested that your life be spared. He added that they could pull out your eyes if they wanted you to be punished. Your blindness could increase your strength which could prove beneficial to the empire. This proposal further roused the anger of Bolgolam and the treasurer. They accused Reldresal of defending a traitor. They even gave an account to prove that you were proving to be a great burden to the empire. He also added that the blind ate more and soon became fat.”
My friend further added, “But the king was totally against the death punishment. He urged the members to suggest some other additional punishment, if they thought that putting out eyes wasn’t enough. Reldresal again suggested that in addition to putting out eyes, your diet could be slowly reduced. In that case, instead of getting fat, you would grow weak and die in a few months’ time. Due to the lack of food your body would be reduced to half by that time. Besides, your skeleton could be kept as a monument for the amusement of future generations. Finally, the king agreed to this proposal. It was decided that twenty surgeons would be appointed to perform an operation into the balls of your eyes with the help of very sharp arrows. After three days, your friend, the secretary, will come to your house and read before you the articles of impeachment.”
After giving me all this information, my friend left as stealthily as he had come. I was quite confused. At first, I thought of facing the trial. Although I could not deny the charges yet I could, at least, hope for some forgiveness. Then, I thought of fighting against all this. I knew I was strong enough for the whole empire. By throwing stones I could easily destroy the whole capital-city. But my heart was not ready for this cruel act. I remembered the promise I had made to the king and the favours I had received from him.
Immediately, I sent a letter to the secretary telling him that I had decided to leave for Blefuscu. I did not wait for an answer and left my house and went to the coast. I knew I was leaving Lilliput for ever. Thus, my stay of nine months and thirteen days in Lilliput had come to an end.