th of a great deal of fire, and a more than
ordinary application to his studies; it gave his conversation a very
particular turn. He had too much spirit to hold his tongue in company;
but at the same time so little acquaintance with the world, that he did
not know how to talk like other people.

2. After a year and a half's stay at the university, he came down among
us to pass away a month or two in the country. The first night after his
arrival, as we were at supper, we were all of us very much improved by
_Jack's_ table-talk. He told us, upon the appearance of a dish of
wild-fowl, that according to the opinion of some natural philosophers,
they might be lately come from the moon.

3. Upon which the _Sparkler_ bursting out into a laugh, he insulted her
with several questions, relating to the bigness and distance of the moon
and stars; and after every interrogatory would be winking upon me, and
smiling at his sister's ignorance. _Jack_ gained his point; for the
mother was pleased, and all the servants stared at the learning of their
young master. _Jack_ was so encouraged at this success, that for the
first week he dealt wholly in paradoxes. It was a common jest with him
to pinch one of his sister's lap-dogs, and afterwards prove he could not
feel it.

4. When the girls were sorting a set of knots, he would demonstrate to
them that all the ribbons were of the same colour; or rather, says
_Jack_, of no colour at all. My Lady _Lizard_ herself, though she was
not a little pleased with her son's improvements, was one day almost
angry with him; for, having accidentally burnt her fingers as she was
lighting her lamp for her tea-pot, in the midst of her anguish, _Jack_
laid hold of the opportunity to instruct her that there was no such
thing as heat in fire. In short, no day passed over our heads, in which
_Jack_ did not imagine he made the whole family wiser than they were
before.

5. That part of his conversation which gave me the most pain, was what
passed among those country gentlemen that came to visit us. On such
occasions _Jack_ usually took upon him to be the mouth of the company;
and thinking himself obliged to be very merry, would entertain us with a
great many odd sayings and absurdities of their college cook. I found
this fellow had made a very strong impression upon _Jack's_ imagination,
which he never considered was not the case of the rest of the company,
till after many repeated trials he found that his stor