hat was of so much importance to knowledge in general, and
to his own profession in particular.

Here Dr. Reasono ascended our tribune and presented Bob to the academy
as the Prince-Royal of Great Britain, and Captain Poke as her lord high
admiral! He pointed out certain peculiarities about the former, the smut
in particular, which had become pretty effectually incorporated with
the skin, as so many signs of royal birth; and ordering the youngster to
uncase, he drew forth the union-jack that the lad carefully kept
about his nether part as a fender, and exhibited it as his armorial
bearings--a modification of its uses that would not have been very far
out of the way, had another limb been substituted for the agent. As for
Captain Poke, he requested the academicians to study his nautical air
in general, as furnishing sufficient proof of his pursuits, and of the
ordinary appearance of human sea-men.

Turning to me, I was then introduced to all present as the
travelling governor and personal attendant of Bob, and as a very
respectable person in my way. He added, that he believed, also, I had
some pretension to be the discoverer of something that was called the
social-stake system; which, he dared to say, was a very creditable
discovery for one of my opportunities.

By this prompt substitution of employments, I found I had effectually
changed places with the cabin-boy; who, instead of waiting on me, was,
in future, to receive that trifling attention at my hands. The mates
were presented as two rear-admirals at nurse, and the crew was said to
be composed of so many post-captains in the navy of Great Britain. To
conclude, the audience was given to understand that we were all brought
to Leaphigh, like the minerals from St. Helena, as so many specimens of
the human species!

I shall not deny that Dr. Reasono had taken a very different view of
himself and his acts, as well as of me and my acts, from those I had
all along entertained myself; and yet, on reflection, it is so common to
consider ourselves in lights very different from those in which we are
viewed by others that I could not, on the whole, complain as much of his
representations as I had at first thought it might become me to do. At
all events, I was completely spared the necessity of blushing for my
generosity and disinterestedness, and in other respects was saved the
pain of viewing any part of my own conduct under a consciousness of its
attracting attention by