THE HISTORY OF NEW-YORK. By UNCLE PHILIP. BLACKBEARD: a Page from the Colonial History of Philadelphia. In 2 vols. 12mo. THE EXILE OF ERIN; or, the Sorrows of a Bashful Irishman. In 2 vols. 12mo. MIRIAM COFFIN; or, the Whale-fishermen. In 2 vols. 12mo. TALES AND SKETCHES, such as they are. By WM. L. STONE, Esq. In 2 vols. 12mo. WONDERFUL CHARACTERS; comprising Memoirs and Anecdotes of the Most Remarkable Persons of Every Age and Nation. Collected from the most Authentic Sources. By HENRY WILSON. 8vo. With Sixteen Portraits. MINIATURE LEXICON OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. By LYMAN COBB. 48mo. With a Portrait. THE POLITICAL GRAMMAR OF THE UNITED STATES; or, a Complete View of the Theory and Practice of the General and State Governments, with the Relations between them. Dedicated and Adapted to the Young Men of the United States. By EDWARD D. MANSFIELD, Counsellor-at-law. 12mo. SOPHOCLES. Translated by POTTER. 18mo. HENRI QUATRE; or, the Days of the League. In 2 vols. 12mo. NOVELLETTES OF A TRAVELLER; or, Odds and Ends from the Knapsack of Thomas Singularity. By Professor HENRY JUNIUS NOTT. In 2 vols. 12mo. VISITS AND SKETCHES at Home and Abroad. To which is added, a New Edition of "The Ennuyée." By Mrs. JAMESON, Author of "The Loves of the Poets." In 2 vols. 12mo. BERNARDO DEL CARPIO. An Historical Romance. By Don JORGE MONTGOMERY. 18mo. "STORIES OF WATERLOO," "WILD SPORTS OF THE WEST,” &c. &c. &c. Sir Anthony.-Come here, sirrah! who the devil are you? IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. The Rivals. NEW-YORK: PUBLISHED BY HARPER & BROTHERS, AND SOLD BY THE PRINCIPAL BOOKSELLERS THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES. INTRODUCTION. Egeon.-Why look you strange on me? You know me well. Comedy of Errors. I HAD been delicate from infancy-and the enervating ef fects of an unhealthy climate obliged me to retire upon halfpay, and quit Ceylon for England, to try if native air would restore a shattered constitution. I came to London for medical advice; and while my physician was anxious that I should continue immediately under his eye, he recommended me, for amusement and exercise, to make frequent excursions around the British capital. No advice could be more congenial to "a truant disposition." I, who had been buffeted about the world from my boyhood, willingly became a roamer after health; and in the vicinity of the metropolis there were few spots unvisited in the course of my valetudinary wanderings. Every suburban retirement-every scene of holiday dissi pation-every signboard which a cockney treasures in the tablet of his memory, is familiar to me. I have spent weeks the river and the road, become resident in steam-boats and stages, witnessed many an adventure, consorted with strange companions, and become extensively acquainted with the whole family of man. upon It was a sultry day, and I was sitting in the bay-window of the Pier Hotel at Gravesend, contemplating the unceasing bustle that Father Thames presented, The steamer was to return to town at five, and I rang the bell to order dinner, and thus fill up an interval of two mortal hours. The gentleman of the napkin appeared, produced his carte, and eulogized the contents of the larder,—for there, as he averred, every thing eatable in August would be found. He added, that dinner was just being served at the table d'hôte below; and probably, rather than dine tout seul, I would prefer uniting myself to the party. Undoubtedly I would. I seized my hat and cane, and following as true a descendant of Hal's "Francis," 1 as ever "served a long lease to the clinking of pewter," entered the public room and joined the company. The party amounted to a dozen, of whom a moiety were of the gentler sex. All, with one exception, were denizens of cockayne and inhabitants of the Modern Babylon. They were all and every, no doubt, "good men and true;" of excellent reputation upon 'Change, and exemplary in their private relations; cherishing their wives, and correcting their children, as became citizens of character and credit. The ladies were fat and comely, and one of them positively handShe was a fine, joyous, and laughter-loving dame, with teeth exquisitely white and the blackest eyes in Bishopsgate-street. I saw her steal from beneath her pink silk bonnet an espiègle glance at the stranger; and then, probably checked by the proximity of her liege lord, she turned her eyes demurely on the tablecloth. some. Mr. Hopkins, when he espoused one so young and pretty as she of the pink bonnet, was certainly a bold man. He might easily have had an older daughter; and was moreover a short and bilious gentleman, neither in face nor figure designed by nature for a lady-killer. If it be true that men in this life are sometimes by the agency of their helpmates qualified for a state of beatitude above, I should conclude, from the looks of his lady, that Mr. H. was certain of a place in heaven. I mentioned that one of the party was a stranger to the rest. He was a tall, stout, devil-may-care, dark-whiskered fellow I never heard a more decided brogue-I never met a wilder looking gentleman. He was fashionably dressed, apparently on excellent terms with himself, and dying to be very intimate with the rest of the company. He placed himself vis-à-vis to the fair citizen; and, more than once, I detected a furtive glance stealing underneath the pink bonnet when Mr. Hopkins was otherwise, engaged. : Dinner proceeded the citizens ate gallantly-the stranger rattled on-graciously the pink dame smiled-and all were occupied according to their respective fancies. Mrs. Hopkins was indubitably "a fine animal;" but-may the Lord pardon her!-she used a knife with fish, and swilled "bottled stout" like a Life Guardsman. When people are limited in time, it is marvellous how expeditiously they contrive to get on. I never met a company who drank fairer: sherry disappeared, brandy and blue ruin succeeded; the day was hot-the ladies thirsty: all had come out "on pleasure bent," and hilarity was the order of the |