At the _first_ Entrance of the _Knight_, your good Humour and Tendency to _Mirth_ are irresistibly excited by his jolly Appearance and Corpulency; you feel and acknowledge him, to be the fittest Subject imaginable for yielding _Diversion_ and _Merriment_; but when you see him immediately set up for _Enterprize_ and _Activity_, with his evident _Weight_ and _Unweildiness_, your Attention is all call'd forth, and you are eager to watch him to the End of his Adventures; Your Imagination pointing out with a full Scope his future Embarrassments. All the while as you accompany him forwards, he _heightens_ your Relish for his future Disasters, by his happy Opinion of his own Sufficiency, and the gay Vaunts which he makes of his Talents and Accomplishments; so that at last when he falls into a Scrape, your Expectation is exquisitely gratify'd, and you have the full Pleasure of seeing all his trumpeted Honour laid in the Dust. When in the midst of his Misfortunes, instead of being utterly demolish'd and sunk, he rises again by the superior Force of his _Wit_, and begins a _new_ Course with fresh Spirit and Alacrity; This excites you the more to _renew_ the Chace, in full View of his _second_ Defeat; out of which he recovers again, and triumphs with new Pretensions and Boastings. After this he immediately starts upon a _third_ Race, and so on; continually detected and caught, and yet constantly extricating himself by his inimitable _Wit_ and _Invention_; thus yielding a perpetual _Round_ of Sport and Diversion. Again, the genteel _Quality_ of Sir _John_ is of great Use in supporting his Character; It prevents his _sinking_ too low after several of his Misfortunes; Besides, you allow him, in consequence of his _Rank_ and _Seniority_, the Privilege to dictate, and take the Lead, and to rebuke others upon many Occasions; By this he is sav'd from appearing too _nauseous_ and _impudent_. The good _Sense_ which he possesses comes also to his Aid, and saves him from being _despicable_, by forcing your Esteem for his real Abilities.--Again, the _Privilege_ you allow him of rebuking and checking others, when he assumes it with proper Firmness and Superiority, helps to _settle_ anew, and _compose_ his Character after an Embarrassment; And reduces in some measure the _Spirit_ of the Company to a proper _Level_, before he sets out again upon a fresh Adventure;--without this, they would be kept continually _strain'd_, and _wound up_ to the highest Pitch, without sufficient Relief and Diversity. It may also deserve to be remark'd of _Falstaff_, that the _Figure_ of his _Person_ is admirably suited to the _Turn_ of his _Mind_; so that there arises before you a perpetual _Allusion_ from one to the other, which forms an incessant Series of _Wit_, whether they are in _Contrast_ or _Agreement_ together.--When he pretends to _Activity_, there is _Wit_ in the _Contrast_ between his _Mind_ and his _Person_, --And _Wit_ in their _Agreement_, when he triumphs in _Jollity_.