Part 3.
A Voyage to Laputa, Balnabari, Glub-Dub-Drib, Lugnag, and Japan.
Chapter 1.
The author sets out on his third voyage.
He is taken by pirates.
He arrives at an island and is received onto Laputa.
I had not been at home for more than ten days when Captain William Robinson arrived.
Commander of the Hopewell came to my house and invited me to be the surgeon of a ship on a voyage to the East Indies.
He offered to pay me double my usual salary.
The thirst I had to see the world continued to be as strong as ever.
The only difficulty lay in persuading my wife, whose permission I at last received.
We set out on the fifth day of August 1706 and sailed on to Tonquin, where the captain planned to stay for some time.
Some of the goods he planned to buy were not yet ready, so the captain decided to do some trading in the nearby islands.
He bought a small one-masted boat called a sloop, loaded it with several goods the Tonquinese preferred, staffed it with fourteen men and appointed me master of the sloop.
We had not sailed three days when two pirate ships overtook us.
Both ships boarded us at the same time and, ill-equipped to defend ourselves, we fell down kneeling and touching our faces to the deck.
The pirates tied us with strong ropes and set guards upon us while they searched the boat.
Afterward, the pirates divided my men equally among the ships to be put to work as slaves, and I was set adrift in a small canoe with paddles, a sail and four days' supplies.
When the pirates had left, I discovered some islands to the southeast.
I set up my sail with a plan to reach the nearest of the islands, which I accomplished in about three hours.
The island was mostly rocky.
Only a little piece of it had tufts of grass and sweet-smelling herbs.
I took out my supplies and, after refreshing myself, hid the rest in a cave, of which there were many.
I gathered plenty of eggs upon these rocks and then lay all the night in the cave.
I slept very little, kept awake by my thoughts.
I considered how impossible it was to survive in such a place and how miserable my end would be.
I was so upset that by the time I had the spirit to creep out of my cave, the day had grown late.
I walked a while along the rocks.
The sky was perfectly clear.
The sun was so hot I had to turn my face from it.
Suddenly the bright sun was obscured.
Turning back, I saw a vast, solid body between me and the sun.
The body was moving toward the island.
It seemed to be about two miles high, and it hid the sun for six minutes.
It appeared to be of a firm substance, the bottom flat and smooth and shining brightly from the reflection of the sea below.
I took my pocket glass out and could plainly see a great number of people moving up and down the sides of it, though what those people were doing I could not tell.
The reader can hardly imagine my amazement at seeing this island in the air inhabited by men who were able, it seemed, to raise, sink or put the island into motion as they saw fit.
I soon saw that the island was coming closer.
As it neared me, I could see that every side of it was covered with galleries and staircases, one leading to the other.
On the lowest level, I saw some people fishing.
I waved my cap and my handkerchief at the island.
As it got even nearer, I shouted as loudly as I could.
A crowd had gathered on the side and I saw that they were pointing at me, although they did not shout back.
The number of people in the crowd increased and the island was raised in such a manner that the lowest level appeared less than a hundred yards away from where I stood.
At length.
The flying island was raised to convenient height above me and a chain was let down from the lowest level with a seat fastened to the bottom.
I sat myself upon it and was drawn up by pulleys.
