. "I told you," said he, "I would
settle him: but there is a very hard condition attached to his
compliance."

"I submit to it," said Mr Escot, "be it what it may."

"Nothing less," said Squire Headlong, "than the absolute and
unconditional surrender of the skull of Cadwallader."

"I resign it," said Mr Escot.

"The skull is yours," said the squire, skipping over to Mr Cranium.

"I am perfectly satisfied," said Mr Cranium.

"The lady is yours," said the squire, skipping back to Mr Escot.

"I am the happiest man alive," said Mr Escot.

"Come," said the squire, "then there is an amelioration in the state
of the sensitive man."

"A slight oscillation of good in the instance of a solitary
individual," answered Mr Escot, "by no means affects the solidity of
my opinions concerning the general deterioration of the civilised
world; which when I can be induced to contemplate with feelings of
satisfaction, I doubt not but that I may be persuaded _to be in love
with tortures, and to think charitably of the rack_[14.1]."

Saying these words, he flew off as nimbly as Squire Headlong himself,
to impart the happy intelligence to his beautiful Cephalis.

Mr Cranium now walked up to Mr Panscope, to condole with him on the
disappointment of their mutual hopes. Mr Panscope begged him not to
distress himself on the subject, observing, that the monotonous system
of female education brought every individual of the sex to so
remarkable an approximation of similarity, that no wise man would
suffer himself to be annoyed by a loss so easily repaired; and that
there was much truth, though not much elegance, in a remark which he
had heard made on a similar occasion by a post-captain of his
acquaintance, "that there never was a fish taken out of the sea, but
left another as good behind."

Mr Cranium replied that no two individuals having all the organs of
the skull similarly developed, the universal resemblance of which Mr
Panscope had spoken could not possibly exist. Mr Panscope rejoined;
and a long discussion ensued, concerning the comparative influence of
natural organisation and artificial education, in which the beautiful
Cephalis was totally lost sight of, and which ended, as most
controversies do, by each party continuing firm in his own opinion,
and professing his profound astonishment at the blindness and
prejudices of the other.

In the meanwhile, a great confusion had arisen at the outer doors, the
departure of the ball-