named this spot the Isle of Peaceful Pleasures, asserting constantly, that it was impossible to enjoy such in the society of the male sex. She brought up her daughter in this opinion. There never was so beautiful a creature. She is the Princess whom I serve; and as all the purest pleasures reign around her, nobody grows old in her palace. Young as I look, I am more than two hundred. When my mistress grew up, her fairy mother gave her the island, with many excellent lessons how to live happily. She then returned to Fairy Land, and the Princess of Peaceful Pleasures governs her state in an admirable manner.
"I do not remember having seen, ever since I was born, any other men than the robbers who carried me off, and you, my lord. Those ruffians told me they were employed by a certain ugly and misshapen person, called Furibon, who was in love with my mistress from seeing only her portrait. They prowled about the island, without daring to set foot on it. Our Amazons are too vigilant to let any one enter it; but as I have charge of the Princess's birds, and accidentally let her beautiful parrot fly away, fearing her displeasure, I imprudently quitted the island in search of it. The men seized me, and would have carried me away with them but for your assistance."
"If you have any gratitude," said Leander, "may I not hope, beautiful Abricotine, that you will enable me to enter the Island of Peaceful Pleasures, and gaze on this wonderful princess, who never grows old?" "Ah, my lord," said she, "we should be lost, both of us, if we attempted such a thing! It is easy for you to forego the enjoyment of a pleasure you never knew. You have never been in that palace; fancy there is none." "It is not so easy as you imagine," replied the Prince, "to root from one's memory things that have so agreeably occupied it; and I do not agree with you that it is certain, that to enjoy peaceful pleasures you must absolutely banish our sex." "My lord," answered she, "it is not for me to decide that point. I will even confess to you, that, if all men resembled yourself, I should be of opinion that the Princess would alter the laws; but as I have only seen five, and found four of them so wicked, I conclude that the bad far out-number the good, and that it is, therefore, better to banish them all."
