nstan's.' At this he laughed, and so did we:--the jests
of the rich are ever successful. Olivia too could not avoid whispering,
loud enough to be heard, that he had an infinite fund of humour. After
dinner, I began with my usual toast, the Church; for this I was thanked
by the chaplain, as he said the church was the only mistress of his
affections.--'Come tell us honestly, Frank,' said the 'Squire, with his
usual archness, 'suppose the church, your present mistress, drest in
lawnsleeves, on one hand, and Miss Sophia, with no lawn about her, on
the other, which would you be for?' 'For both, to be sure,' cried
the chaplain.--'Right Frank,' cried the 'Squire; 'for may this glass
suffocate me but a fine girl is worth all the priestcraft in the
creation. For what are tythes and tricks but an imposition, all a
confounded imposture, and I can prove it.'--'I wish you would,' cried my
son Moses, 'and I think,' continued he, 'that I should be able to answer
you.'--'Very well, Sir,' cried the 'Squire, who immediately smoaked
him,' and winking on the rest of the company, to prepare us for the
sport, if you are for a cool argument upon that subject, I am ready
to accept the challenge. And first, whether are you for managing it
analogically, or dialogically?' 'I am for managing it rationally,' cried
Moses, quite happy at being permitted to dispute. 'Good again,' cried
the 'Squire, 'and firstly, of the first. I hope you'll not deny
that whatever is is. If you don't grant me that, I can go no
further.'--'Why,' returned Moses, 'I think I may grant that, and make
the best of it.'--'I hope too,' returned the other, 'you'll grant that
a part is less than the whole.' 'I grant that too,' cried Moses, 'it is
but just and reasonable.'--'I hope,' cried the 'Squire, 'you will
not deny, that the two angles of a triangle are equal to two right
ones.'--'Nothing can be plainer,' returned t'other, and looked round
with his usual importance.--'Very well,' cried the 'Squire, speaking
very quick, 'the premises being thus settled, I proceed to observe,
that the concatenation of self existences, proceeding in a reciprocal
duplicate ratio, naturally produce a problematical dialogism, which in
some measure proves that the essence of spirituality may be referred to
the second predicable'--'Hold, hold,' cried the other, 'I deny that:
Do you think I can thus tamely submit to such heterodox
doctrines?'--'What,' replied the 'Squire, as if in a passion, 'not
submi