Captain  Poke,  in  your  suggestion ;  and  I  pro-
pose that  you  shall  profit  by  the  first  occasion
to  lay  your  opinions  on  the  subject,  more  at
laige,  before  the  Academy  of  Leaphigh.^

'*  WiUi  all  my  heart,  doctor ;  for  I  hold
that  knowledge,  like  good  liquor,  is  given  to  be
passed  round  ftom  one  to  another,  and  not  to
be  gulped  in  a  comer  by  any  particular  indi*
▼uile.  And  now  I'm  throwing  out  hints  of
tkb  natur%  I  will  just  intimate  another,  that


32  THE    MONIKINS.
you  may  add  to  your  next  demonstration,  by
way  of  what  you  call  a  corollary:  —  which  is
this,  —  that  is  to  say — if  all  you  tell  us  about
the  bursting  of  the  boiler  and  the  polar  kick  be
true,  then  is  the  'arth  the  first  steam-boat  that
was  ever  invented,  and  the  boastings  of  the
French,  and  the  English,  and  the  Spaniards,
and  tlie  Italians,  on  this  point,  are  no  more
than  so  much  smoke.'**

"  And  of  the  Americans,  too,  Captain  Poke,"^
I  ventured  to  observe.
"  Why,  Sir  John,  that  is  as  it  may  happen.
— I  don't  well  see  how  Fulton  could  have  stolen
the  idee,  seeing  that  he  did  not  know  the  Doc-
tor, and  most  probably  never  heard  of  Leap-
high  in  his  life.'"'

We  all  smiled,  even  to  the  amiable  Chat-
terissa,  at  the  nicety  of  the  navigator''s  distinc-
tions ;  and  the  philosopher''s  lecture,  in  its  more
didactic  form,  being  now  virtually  at  an  end,  a
long  and  desultory  conversation  took  place,  in
which  a  multitude  of  ingenious  questions  were


THE   MONIKINS.  SS

put  by  Captain  Poke  and  myself^  and  which
were  an  cleverly  answered  by  the  Doctor  and
his  friends.
