Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 10: The GuideSylvester, Charles Herbert
General
Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 10: The Guide
Sylvester, Charles Herbert
Children's literature; Literature -- Collections
How long were the spears of the Lilliputians? Is it reasonable to
suppose that a leather jerkin would be proof against their spears? How
tall was the page that held up the train of the "principal person."
(page 12)?
How many times the height of a Lilliputian was the body of Gulliver as
he lay on the ground? How many rounds would there be in one of the
ladders on which they climbed? "Above one hundred inhabitants" mounted
the ladders and walked toward Gulliver's mouth. They carried baskets
filled with meat. Would the quantity of meat be too large for Gulliver
to eat? Would the shoulders, legs and loins of a sheep one-twelfth the
height of an ordinary one be "smaller than the wings of a lark"? Would
loaves of bread the "bigness of musket balls" be one-twelfth the size of
ordinary loaves?
In the case of two vessels of the same proportions, but of different
heights, do the capacities vary according to the heights, or according
to the cubes of the heights? If one of our hogsheads contain from one
hundred to one hundred and forty gallons, how much should a Lilliputian
hogshead contain to be in proportion?
Is it a fact that being one-twelfth the height of a man a Lilliputian
should have one-twelfth of a man's strength? If a man is reduced to
one-twelfth of his height what should his weight be?
When they wished to move Gulliver, five hundred carpenters and engineers
were set to work to prepare a frame of wood, which was raised three
inches from the ground, was about seven feet long, four feet wide, and
moved upon twenty-two wheels. What was the diameter of the wheels that
would raise the body three inches from the ground? Would it be an easy
matter to move wheels of that size when they bear a weight such as
Gulliver's must have been?
Knowing what we know of the Lilliputians could nine hundred of them
using pulleys with cords "the bigness of pack-thread" lift Gulliver upon
the engine in less than three hours?
Does Swift keep the correct proportions when he says that Gulliver's
bullets are about the size of the heads of the Lilliputians? Would "an
hundred and fifty of their beds sewn together make up the breadth and
length" of a bed large enough for Gulliver?
How large would a Lilliputian horse be? Does it seem wonderful that
Gulliver's hat could be brought from the seashore with "only five
horses"?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account