In this visit to the spinster of noble family most of the distinguished persons of Smatterton were engaged. And there was something peculiarly interesting in this visit, seeing that Mr Primrose was at the party for the first time, and Mr Zephaniah Pringle was paying his last visit in Smatterton. The lady of the house was particularly active to render herself agreeable to her party; and, in order to produce as much as possible of that kind of stuff which the people who write newspapers call “the feast of reason and the flow of soul,” Miss Spoonbill directed very much of her conversation to Mr Primrose, that from him she might gather something concerning the manners, customs, religion, literature, cookery, and politics of the Hindoos; and to Mr Zephaniah Pringle the lady was also interrogatively attentive, that from his exhaustless store of reading and reflection something might be brought out for the edification and instruction of her guests. So that poor Mr Kipperson had not any opportunity of putting forth his agricultural erudition, and was also compelled to be painfully mute on the subject of science. But he had the happiness of meditation and thought, and not all the Spoonbills in the universe could deprive him of that. And he could not help pitying from the bottom of his heart the darkness, stupidity, grossness, and delusion of all those persons who had no ambition after pantology. But he consoled himself with the thought, that truth is great and must prevail; and he knew that pantology was true, and he was sure it would prevail, and all the world would be enlightened ultimately, and every man would be his own Encyclopedia, and instead of seeing here and there inscribed on the monumental marble of an individual or two, a record of “Here lies the celebrated and learned,” we should soon have the happiness of seeing in every church-yard in the kingdom one general inscription of “Here lie ten thousand pantologists.” We thought it our duty to mention all this, because, wherever Mr Kipperson gave the honor of his presence, he always looked important and felt himself to be so, even if circumstances sentenced him to silence. Miss Primrose was also of the party, and happy was it for her that she was innocent of all suspicion of those idle tales which the people of Smatterton had amused themselves with concerning herself. Miss Spoonbill indeed had slightly heard mention of the rumour, but could not believe it; for she was sure that she must have heard it from better authority, if it had been true; supposing no doubt that her right honorable relative Lord Spoonbill would not have kept her in ignorance on such a matter as this.