Finally, sinking to
sleep in a bed of eiderdown, Popanilla was confirmed in his prejudices
against a state of nature.
CHAPTER 8
Skindeep called upon Popanilla on the following morning in an elegant
equipage, and with great politeness proposed to attend him in a drive
about the city.
The island of Vraibleusia is one hundred and fifty miles in
circumference, two-thirds of which are covered by the city of Hubbabub.
It contains no other city, town, or village. The rest of the island
consists of rivers, canals, and railroads. Popanilla was surprised when
he was informed that Hubbabub did not contain more than five millions of
inhabitants; but his surprise was decreased when their journey
occasionally lay through tracts of streets, consisting often of
capacious mansions entirely tenantless. On seeking an explanation of
this seeming desolation, he was told that the Hubbabubians were
possessed by a frenzy of always moving on, westward; and that
consequently great quarters of the city are perpetually deserted.
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