 rehearsed all the fine things I said
to Melinda, with which he proposed to entertain the town; and among other
circumstances, assured him, my mistress cheated with so little art, that no body
but a meer novice could have been imposed upon.
    The thoughts of becoming a subject of raillery for coxcombs, and losing my
money to boot, stung me to the quick; but I made a virtue of my indignation, and
swore that no man should with impunity, either asperse the character of Melinda,
or turn my behaviour into ridicule. He replied in a dry manner, that I would
find it a Herculean task to chastise every body who should laugh at my expence;
and as for the character of Melinda, he did not see how it could suffer by what
was laid to her charge; for that cheating at cards, so far from being reckoned a
blemish among people of fashion, was looked upon as an honourable indication of
superior genius and address. - »But let us wave this subject (said he) and go to
the coffee-house, in order to make a party for dinner.«
 

                                 Chapter XLVIII

We repair to the coffee-house, where we overhear a curious dispute between
Wagtail and Medlar, which is referred to our decision -- the doctor gives us an
account of his experiment - Medlar is roasted by Banter, at the ordinary - the
old gentleman's advice to me
 
Being as willing to drop the theme, as he to propose it, I accompanied him
thither, where we found Mr. Medlar and doctor Wagtail, disputing upon the word
Custard, which the physician affirmed should be spelled with a G, because it was
derived from the Latin verb gustare, to taste. - But Medlar pleaded custom in
behalf of C, observing, that by the doctor's rule, we ought to change pudding
into budding, because it is derived from the French word boudin; and in that
case, why not retain the original orthography and pronounciation of all the
foreign words we have adopted; by which means our language would become a
dissonant jargon without standard or propriety. The controversy was referred to
us; and Banter, notwithstanding his real opinion to the contrary, decided it in
favour of Wagtail: Upon which, the peevish annuitant arose, and uttering the
monosyllable, pish! with great emphasis, removed to another table.
    We then enquired of the doctor, what progress he had made in the experiment
of distilling tinder-water; and he told us, he had been at all the glass-houses
about town, but could find no body who would
