In spite, however, of the arrogance of the
dealers, of their refusal to be responsible to the laws of the country
in which they lived, and of the universal precedence which, on all
occasions, was claimed even by the shop-boys, so decided was the taste
which the Vraibleusians had acquired for pine-apples that there is
little doubt that, had the dealers in this delicious fruit been
contented with the respect and influence and profit which were the
consequences of their vocation, the Vraibleusians would never have
presumed to have grumbled at their arrogance or to have questioned their
privileges. But the agents, wearied of the limited sphere to which
their exertions were confined, and encouraged by the success which every
new claim and pretence on their part invariably experienced, began to
evince an inclination to interfere in other affairs besides those of
fruit, and even expressed their willingness to undertake no less an
office than the management of the Statue.
A century or two were solely occupied by conflicts occasioned by the
unreasonable ambition of these dealers in pine-apples.
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