ho pretend to despise their Art; and Peregrine
achieves an Adventure with a young Nobleman.

By these means, the whole variety of characters undisguised passed, as
it were, in review before the confederates, who, by divers ingenious
contrivances, punished the most flagrant offenders with as much severity
as the nature of their plan would allow. At length they projected a
scheme for chastising a number of their own acquaintance, who had all
along professed the utmost contempt for the talent of this conjurer,
which they endeavoured to ridicule in all companies, where his
surprising art was the subject of discourse; not that they had sense
and discernment enough to perceive the absurdity of his pretensions,
but affected a singularity of opinions, with a view of insulting the
inferior understandings of those who were deceived by such an idle
impostor.

Peregrine, indeed, for obvious reasons, had always espoused their
judgment in this case, and joined them in reviling the public character
of his friend. But he knew how far the capacities of those virtuosi
extended, and had frequently caught them in the fact of recounting their
exploits against the conjurer, which were the productions of their own
invention only. On these considerations, his wrath was kindled against
them, and he accordingly concerted measures with his coadjutor, for
overwhelming them with confusion and dismay.

In the first place, a report was spread by his emissaries, that the
magician had undertaken to entertain their view with the appearance of
any person whom his customers should desire to see, whether dead, or at
the distance of a thousand leagues. This extraordinary proposal chancing
to be the subject of conversation in a place where most of those
infidels were assembled, they talked of it in the usual style, and some
of them swore the fellow ought to be pilloried for his presumption.

Our hero, seizing this favourable opportunity, acquiesced in their
remarks, and observed, with great vehemence, that it would be a
meritorious action to put the rascal to the proof, and then toss him in
a blanket for non-performance. They were wonderfully pleased with this
suggestion, and forthwith determined to try the experiment; though, as
they understood the apparition would be produced to one only at a time,
they could not immediately agree in the choice of the person who should
stand the first brunt of the magician's skill. While each of them
severally excuse