CHRONICLES OF LILLIPUT.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume II, Issue 104, 6 May 1867, Page 2

CHRONICLES OF LILLIPUT.

CnAPTER THE SECOND.

And iv those days it came to pass that darkaess was over the city, and the earth stank, and the air was filled with noisome smells, and foulness was in the streets, and in the lanes, and in the alleys, and in the gutters, and in the sewers, and sickness was upon the people, and they had uo health in them, and their looks were pale and wan and sad, and trouble was in the faces of the men, and of the women, and of the children of Lilliput.

Then did they fall down, and crying aloud made supplication unto Curtisius the Tetrarch, saying unto him, "Curtisius, Curtisius, thou chosen of the people and the beloved of the multitude, well knowest thou the wants and the wishes and the requirements of thy people, and how that we have suffered from the stagnant waters, and the stinking things which are gathered together within the walls of the city, and how that our wives and our virgins and our children have beeu stricken even unto the earth by the pestilence thereof, and that we are bowed down exceedingly, and have no health in us. Now, therefore, do we make supplication unto thee, thou good and gracious ruler of the Lilliputs, that thou mayest in the fulness of thy wisdom and of thy power and of thy knowledge cause the air to be purified, the sewers to be cleansed, and the earth sweetened, so that our daughters and our wives and our sons may grow up in health, and in vigor, and in strength, and be as the tall and goodly trees that are in the city of Lilliput.

Then did Curtisius come down from the high seat of the Tetrarch, and with sorrow in his countenance, and with balm in his words, spake he unto the multitude, and he called them to the council chambers, even up unto the hall of the judges called he them, and he said unto them, " Now will I hearken unto thy solicitations, for thy troubles aud thy sorrows aud thy lamentations have come up unto me as a dark cloud in the early dawn, and thy miseries have bowed me down, even unto the earth am I bowed down with the sorrows of my people.

Therefore when ye have listened unto the words of the scribes aud elders of the people, will I choose out from among you men that are cunning in smells to cleause the city of the offal, and the rubbish, and the staudiug waters, aud the noisome things, until it be filled with the perfume of the orange groves, and the* fragrance of the rose and the violet, aud then shall our sons and our daughters} and our men and our women be filled with health and with strength and with joy, and the sun of peace aud of plenty and of purity shall rise upon the city of Lilliput. Then stood forth Elliotius, a cunning scribe and a leader of the people, whose words were as milk and honey, and whose voice was as the tinkling cymbal, and there spoke he of earth-pans and closets, aud of sewers and divers other things till the building became as a sweet perfume, aud the words of his mouth even as a nosegay of flowers, and the people shouted with a loud voice "True are thy words, 0 Elliotius, and great is the scribe of the people."

Then spoke Clementius, a traveller in many lands, whose face was ruddy as the pomegranate, and who was majestic in person, commanding in attitude, prepossessing in appearance, and whose words were like unto the pleasant murmurs of the rippling rill, and who was a tiller of the soil, and a grower of the grain crop, and of the gieen crop, and of the vine, and of the potato root, and of the broccoli, aud of the peas, yea, even unto fourteen cubits high grew he them, and

great was the wonder thereof. And now did Clementius tell unto the people of the days of his boyhood, and of the chamber wherein he slept, and of the candlestick which was in the house of his father, bright like unto brass, and polished like unto a mirror, how that, lo and behold, in one night, whilst he rested him from his labors, it became sick and pale aud ghastly, even like unto molten silver was it, and it bent and withered and perished away. And such was the end of the candlestick of Clementius. But the people understood him not, neither his transmutation of metals, therefore sat they in silence for a while, being a wearied of his words. Then did they jeer at him, and smile at him in pity, even until he felt small exceedingly. So retired he into the midst of the multitude so that no eye could lest upon him.

Then arose Pittius the elder, and a brother of the senator chosen of the people, and a scribe of the law, whose face was like unto the rising sun, and with the covering of his head in his right hand, and his left in his nether garments, even in the top portion thereof, spake he unto the people. But he was thick of speech and confused of tongue, and thereat the people of Lilliput were mystified exceedingly, nevertheless did they laugh and shout at his words, for he was of a cheerful countenance and well loved of the people.

Now came up, even unto the throne of the Tetrarch, one Williarnius, who was a mighty leech, pleasant of speech and radieut of visage, great in horses both grey and brown, and in all manner of fourfooted beasts, and the people held their breath for the voice of the oracle, for he was learned in gases and in smells and in fevers and in epidemics and in contagious diseases aud in pestilences, and none was there like unto him in the city. Then spake he of the dwellers in India and Mesopotamia who came unto the city of Lilliput as unto a pleasant and healthy restingplace when sickness was in their borders, and of the earth-closets, and of the drains, and of the sewers, and of the baking, and of the filtering thereof, until the mouths of the multitude did water at the many flavored dishes which Williamius the doctor and compounder of physic had set before them.

Then did Youngerius, a cunning and diligent man in plans and in drawings and ia tracings and in plottings, and who also kept the records of the works of the city, and was ruddy of countenance and rugged of speech, bring forth papers and documents, and plans, and divers other cunning things, and he showed them unto the people which were in the hall of the judges, uutil he waxed warm, aud his face became as a well watered field. Then did he betake himself unto the midst pf the multitude, and there made he merry over the follies and foibles of the people of Lilliput.

And it so Happened that Witneius the nightmau and the scavenger and the clearer of cesspools and of closets and of-, drains and of other unclean places, was'

within the precincts of the hall of the judges, and with all humility did he approach, unto the throne of the Tetrareh, and with salutations lifted he up his voice and said, " Noble and august Curtisius, great is the love that I bear unto th.cc and unto thy children and unto the women of Lilliput, with their silks and their satins and their fine linen and their petticoats of purple and of scarlet, and their cunning plaitiugs of hair, and their bracelets of amethysts and of rubies and of emeralds and of pearls and of fine gold. But now, O Curtisius, art thou depressed and cast down with the weight of tlie filth of the city, for its abominations rest heavy upon thee, and sadness is in thy dwelling. So now will I Witneius, the nightman and the scavenger and cleanser of closets, purify the city, and neither will I trouble Williamius, the oracle of the people, nor Cusackius, learned in the diseases of dogs and of men, nor their earth-pans, nor other of their devices, but health shall reign, in the city, and great shall be the name of Witneius iv the records of Lilliput."

And the people shouted with one voice, "Long live Witneius the nightman, for he is cunning in smells, and the purifier of the city," and great was the laughter and the shouting among the multitude which was in the hall of the j udges.

Then rose up one Luckius, great in figures arid a scribe of the people, which was of them that dwell in Caledonia and the districts thereof, and waxed wrath and murmured loudly, but the multitude heeded him not, but shouted so much the more, " Long live the Tetrarch, long live Curtisius !"

Then spake Curtisius, the Tetrarch, beloved of the people, iv the majesty of Ills strength and the greatness of his soul unto the people which were around him, " Well have I hearkened unto the words of thy sages, and of thy orators, and of thy cunning men, aye, even unto the words of the nightman have I listened, and now do I tell thee, best heloved of my heart, that thy health, and thy lives, and thy families are dear unto me even as the apple of mine eye, and uneasy has been my heart from the time that I went up unto the high seat of the Tetrarch, because of the trouble and the sickness of my people ; but now will I appoint men after your own heart to drive away disorder and disease and distemper from the land, and bright shall be the days of Lilliput." Then did the people send forth a shout, which was as an earthquake, shaking the foundations which were in the city ; and they danced, and they sang, and they made merry, even before the door of Webbius, surnamed Snippius, made they merry : and great was the joy in Lilliput.