At the frontiers of the Oreillon country, Cacambo told Candide that this hemisphere was no better than the other and that they ought to go back to Europe. Candide, rudely awakened regarding the world he knew in Western Europe, had been sure that the New World would be that best of all possible ones. But he replied that return would be impossible: in Westphalia, the war continued; in Portugal, he would be burned at the stake. Yet if they remained in South America, he continued, they would risk being put on the spit and roasted. The one imponderable was that he could not leave this part of the world where Cunégonde lived.
Cacambo proposed that they go to Cayenne, where they would find Frenchmen who might help them and take pity on them. They started out on the arduous journey, crossing mountains and rivers and meeting brigands and savages. Their horses died of fatigue, and for a month they lived on wild fruits. At last they came to a little river bordered with coconut trees, which provided them with food. Cacambo spotted an empty canoe on the beach and suggested that the two fill it with coconuts and then drift with the current. A river, he explained, always led to some inhabited spot. Candide agreed to this plan. The trip was not without its hazards, and at last their canoe was smashed on the reefs. With difficulty they continued afoot, finally coming to a vast open country bordered by inaccessible mountains. On the roads were splendidly ornate carriages in which were men and women of singular attractiveness and which were drawn rapidly by big red sheep.
As he surveyed the scene, Candide concluded that this strange country was even better than Westphalia. Children dressed in gold brocade were playing quoits. And the quoits were made of gold, emeralds, and rubies that would have been an ornament to a mogul's throne. Cacambo was sure that the children were sons of the king. When the village schoolmaster called to the children, Candide was no less sure that he was the tutor of the royal family. The children went from their game to the school, leaving the priceless quoits lying on the ground, whereupon Candide picked them up and ran to the tutor with them. He made the tutor understand by means of signs that the quoits had been forgotten. But the tutor, smiling, merely threw them to the ground and walked away. Candide and Cacambo did not fail to pick them up. Both were surprised that these "King's children" should have been reared to despise gold and jewels.
They next approached the first house in the village and found a crowd of people at the door, heard pleasant music, and enjoyed the odor of cooking. Cacambo discovered that the people spoke his native tongue, Peruvian. When the two entered what they now took to be an inn, he served as interpreter.
Two boys and four girls dressed in cloth of gold invited them to sit down at the host's table, and they were served a sumptuous dinner of many strange and rare dishes. Most of the guests were merchants and coachmen. All were extremely polite and tactfully asked many questions. When the dinner was over, Cacambo and Candide thought that they should pay their bill for the dinner, so Cacambo threw on the host's table two of the golden quoits, at the sight of which the host and hostess laughed heartily.
"We can readily see that you are foreigners," said the host, and he asked their pardon for having laughed. He referred to the golden quoits as the "pebbles of our highways" and explained that in this country payment was not required since the government paid for the upkeep of all hostelries. He concluded by apologizing for what he called a bad meal and assured the two that they would fare better elsewhere.
Candide listened in amazement to Cacambo's translation of the host's remarks. Both he and his companion were sure that at last they had found the one country where indeed all was best. Candide now admitted that whatever Doctor Pangloss had said, things were really pretty bad in Westphalia.
In order that Cacambo might satisfy his curiosity about the country, the friendly host took him to see an elderly retired courtier. This man lived in a modest home, one with only a silver door and gold paneling in the apartments, which were adorned only with rubies and emeralds. He received the two visitors on a sofa stuffed with humming bird feathers, served them drinks in diamond vases, and proceeded to tell them about himself and the kingdom. They learned that their host was one hundred and seventy-two years old and that his father had taught him the history of the country. That country had been the ancient kingdom of the Incas, who imprudently had left it to conquer part of the world and were finally destroyed by the Spaniards. But the wiser Incan prince remained in this country, and, with popular consent, ruled that no others should leave it, thus their innocence and happiness were preserved. The Spaniards had learned something about the country, which they call Eldorado. And an Englishman named Walter Raleigh nearly reached it a hundred years ago, but the inaccessible rocks and precipices protected the land so that the inhabitants were sheltered from the rapacity of Europeans.
Candide and Cacambo learned a great deal about the form of government, women, public spectacles, and arts. Then the youth asked if the Eldoradoans had a religion. To be sure they had, and they worshipped the only God, not two or three. No, they did not pray to him because they did not have to; they had all they wanted, but they did sing hymns of thanksgiving. Nor was there a separate priesthood; all were priests. They would have been crazy to have monks "to teach, to dispute, to govern, to intrigue, and to have people burned for not being of their opinion." Candide was in ecstasy, for he had heard of nothing like this in Westphalia or elsewhere in Europe. Travel was indeed enlightening.
At last the good old man ordered a carriage drawn by six sheep, gave the travelers twelve servants, and directed them to visit the king, who would welcome them. In only four hours Candide and his valet arrived at the palace, the most remarkable edifice imaginable. They were received by twenty beautiful girls and accorded every courtesy. As they were being conducted to the throne room, they learned that they were not expected to grovel or in other ways demean themselves before His Majesty. The custom was to embrace him and kiss him on both cheeks. They were most graciously received, invited to supper, and conducted about part of the town with its great squares paved with precious stones. To his surprise, Candide learned that neither law courts nor prisons were needed for these happy, law-abiding people. What most impressed him, however, was the Palace of Sciences with its many instruments for mathematics and physics. Later, the royal supper completed the wonderful experiences of the day. What amazed Candide was the king's witty conversation.
For a month the two remained in Eldorado, but Candide pined for his lovely Cunégonde, and he was sure that Cacambo must have a lady love in Europe. Why, he asked, should they not take their twelve sheep laden with the "pebbles" of Eldorado and return? Wealthy as they would be, they would fear no one, and they could recover Madamoiselle Cunégonde easily. Cacambo agreed. But the king warned them that they were being foolish: when a person is reasonably well off, he should not grow restless. Yet he conceded that he had no right to detain foreigners; such an action would be tyrannical, for all men are free. To help them on the arduous journey out of Eldorado, he ordered the necessary supplies and equipment that would get them beyond the mountains. They would be accompanied to the borders of the country. When Cacambo asked that they be given "a few sheep loaded with victuals, pebbles, and some of the country's mud," the king, greatly amused, granted the request, although he declared that he could not understand the European's obsession for the yellow mud. So the travelers were able to leave this fabulous land, riding on two big red sheep and leading a pack of twenty others laden in the manner requested. Candide was content. Now he had enough wealth to ransom Cunégonde. First he and Cacambo would head for Cayenne and then see what kingdom they could buy.
