oom, boys, for the
grand esquire of the world! the flower of esquires! What! covered in my
presence? I'll crush your souls, and crack you like lice!" With that he
had like to have struck John Bull's hat into the fire; but John, who was
pretty strong-fisted, gave him such a squeeze as made his eyes water.
He went on still in his mad pranks: "When I am lord of the universe, the
sun shall prostrate and adore me! Thou, Frog, shalt be my bailiff; Lewis
my tailor; and thou, John Bull, shalt be my fool!"

All this while Frog laughed in his sleeve, gave the esquire the other
noggan of brandy, and clapped him on the back, which made him ten times
madder.

Poor John stood in amaze, talking thus to himself: "Well, John, thou art
got into rare company! One has a dumb devil, the other a mad devil, and
the third a spirit of infirmity. An honest man has a fine time on it
amongst such rogues. What art thou asking of them after all? Some mighty
boon one would think! only to sit quietly at thy own fireside. What have
I to do with such fellows? John Bull, after all his losses and crosses,
can live better without them than they can without him. Would I lived a
thousand leagues off them! but the devil's in it; John Bull is in, and
John Bull must get out as well as he can."

As he was talking to himself, he observed Frog and old Lewis edging
towards one another to whisper,* so that John was forced to sit with his
arms akimbo, to keep them asunder.

* Some attempts of secret negotiation between the French and
the Dutch.

Some people advised John to bleed Frog under the tongue, or take away
his bread-and-butter, which would certainly make him speak; to
give Esquire South hellebore; as for Lewis, some were for emollient
poultices, others for opening his arm with an incision knife.

CHAPTER XI.* The apprehending, examination, and imprisonment of Jack for
suspicion of poisoning.

* The four following chapters contain the history of passing
the Bill against Occasional Conformity, and of the Whigs
agreeing to it.

The attentive reader cannot have forgot that the story of Van
Ptschirnsooker's powder was interrupted by a message from Frog. I have a
natural compassion for curiosity, being much troubled with the distemper
myself; therefore to gratify that uneasy itching sensation in my reader,
I have procured the following account of that matter.

Van Ptschirnsooker came off (as rogues usually do upon such occasi