the one or the other of these fascinating friends; but little availed,
on this occasion, the pedigree lineally traced from Caractacus or King
Arthur; their two philosophical lovers, neither of whom could have
given the least account of his great-great-grandfather, had engaged
them many days before. Mr Panscope chafed and fretted like Llugwy in
his bed of rocks, when the object of his adoration stood up with his
rival: but he consoled himself with a lively damsel from the vale of
Edeirnion, having first compelled Miss Cephalis to promise him her
hand for the fourth set.

The ball was accordingly opened by Miss Caprioletta and Mr Foster,
which gave rise to much speculation among the Welsh gentry, as to who
this Mr Foster could be; some of the more learned among them secretly
resolving to investigate most profoundly the antiquity of the name of
Foster, and ascertain what right a person so denominated could have to
open the most illustrious of all possible balls with the lovely
Caprioletta Headlong, the only sister of Harry Headlong, Esquire, of
Headlong Hall, in the Vale of Llanberris, the only surviving male
representative of the antediluvian family of Headlong Ap-Rhaiader.

When the first two dances were ended, Mr Escot, who did not choose to
dance with any one but his adorable Cephalis, looking round for a
convenient seat, discovered Mr Jenkison in a corner by the side of the
Reverend Doctor Gaster, who was keeping excellent time with his nose
to the lively melody of the harp and fiddle. Mr Escot seated himself
by the side of Mr Jenkison, and inquired if he took no part in the
amusement of the night?

_Mr Jenkison._
No. The universal cheerfulness of the company induces me to rise; the