ARCADIA. 375 



^he fweeteft of perfumes. The boughs of the plumb- 

 tree were covered with violet fruits, befprinkled 

 with a white powder. The grapes, already of a 

 vermilion hue, hung in clufters from the vine ; 

 and over the broad leaves of the fig-tree, the half- 

 opened fig diftilled it's juice in drops of honey and 

 cryftal. " It is eafy to fee," faid the King, "that 

 *' thefe fruits are prefents fent from Heaven. They 

 ** are not, like the feeds of our foreft-trees, at a 

 *' height which we cannot reach (21). They pre- 

 " fent themfelves to the hand. Their fmiling co- 

 ** lours allure the eye, their fweet perfumes the or- 

 ^* gans of fmelling, and they feem formed for the 

 ** mouth, from their fize and roiindnefs." But 

 when that good King had caught the flavour of 

 them by his palate: ** O real gift of Jupiter T* 

 exclaimed he, " no aliment prepared by human 

 " fkill is once to be compared to them ! They ex- 

 ** eel in fweetnefs the honey and the cream. O, 

 ^* my dear friends, my much refpeded guefts, you 

 ** have beftowed on me a prefent of much higher 

 " value than my kingdom 1 You have introduced 

 ^* into favage Gaul a portion of delicious Egypt. 

 " I prefer a fingle one of thefe trees to all the 

 ** mines of tin which render the Britons fo rich 

 *^ and fo haugluy." 



He fent for the principal inhabitants of the city, 

 and made each of them tafte thofe wondrous fruits. 



B b 4 He 



