He was on foot,
and in spite of the crowd, with the aid of a good whip and his left fist
made his way with great ease. On inquiring who this extraordinary
personage might be, Popanilla was informed that it was THE ABORIGINAL
INHABITANT. As the giant passed the Ambassador's carriages, the whole
suite, even Lord Moustache, rose and bent low; and the Secretary told
Popanilla that there was no person in the island for whom the Government
of Vraibleusia entertained so profound a respect.
The crowd was now so immense that even the progress of the Aboriginal
Inhabitant was for a moment impeded. The great man got surrounded by a
large body of little mechanics. The contrast between the pale
perspiring visages and lean forms of these emaciated and half-generated
creatures, and the jolly form and ruddy countenance, gigantic limbs and
ample frame, of the Aboriginal, was most striking; nor could any one
view the group for an instant without feeling convinced that the latter
was really a superior existence. The mechanics, who were worn by
labour, not reduced by famine, far from being miserable, were impudent.
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