Accident had driven him, with one of his ships, into the
Island of Vraibleusia; and, as the islanders appeared to be pleased with
his cargo, he said that he should have great pleasure in supplying them
at present and receiving their orders for the future.
The proposition was greeted with enthusiasm, The King immediately
entered into a contract with the market-gardener on his own terms. The
sale, or cultivation, or even the eating of all other fruits was
declared high-treason, and pine-apple, for weighty reasons duly recited
in the royal proclamation, announced as the established fruit of the
realm. The cargo, under the superintendence of some of the most trusty
of the crew, was unshipped for the immediate supply of the island; and
the merchant and his customers parted, mutually delighted and mutually
profited.
Time flew on. The civilisation of Vraibleusia was progressive, as
civilisation always is; and the taste for pine-apples ever on the
increase, as the taste for pine-apples ever should be. The supply was
regular and excellent, the prices reasonable, and the tradesmen civil.
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