pretend to persuade me seriously that this is not my rocqueleau? That this rocqueleau is mine, Sir, says my companion, I do aver, and will maintain my property,—adding this is the strangest piece of impudence that ever was practised.—Indeed, says the gentleman, so it is, if you pretend to say this is your rocqueleau, when I brought it in, and hung it up before you came.—The sharper alledged he brought it in, and hung it up on his coming in.—This strange dispute whose property the rocqueleau was, created much mirth in the ladies and gentlemen in the box, but created far different sensations in me, who saw no possibility of our hero’s maintaining his assertion with any credit, consequently there was little probability of my escaping a horse-pond, or some such dire mishap, especially as I saw the old gentleman begin to wax warm.—But to proceed,—the owner of the rocqueleau persisted in claiming it, and the sharper as strongly insisted on its being his—in conclusion, my ingenious companion asked him, if he could point out any mark or any thing whereby it might be determined by the company that it was his.—The gentleman replied, he knew of no mark upon it, for that it was never on his back before that afternoon, being quite new; upon that my gentleman exclaimed Amazement! that a man of your years should undertake to play the sharper with no other abilities than bare impudence.—Zounds, returned the strange gentleman, you are a sharper, and since you talk of marks, by what mark do you know it—let us see how you will prove it to be yours—make that appear, Sir, exulting and appealing to the company, who yet could not tell what to make of the affair, sometimes inclining one way, and sometimes another.—Why, Sir, says the impostor, I would have come to that at first, but that I was willing to see what ingenious device you would make use of to support your unjust pretensions; but as I see you take advantage of the coolness of my temper, and confidently think to bully me out of my property, I will submit to the company to determine whom the rocqueleau belongs to, and, continues he, I believe I shall put an end to the dispute very shortly to your confusion; and then turning to the company, told them if the rocqueleau was his there were two X’s marked in the inside near the bottom: the gentlemen looked and found two X’s mark’d in the place our ingenious sharper had directed.—The old gentleman stood petrified with amazement—but recovering himself, swore still the rocqueleau was his, but how those damned X’s came there he could not tell.—The rocqueleau being adjudged the property of our hero, he now put it on, telling the old gentleman, his age should protect him from punishment, and advised him to leave off a profession he seemed unable to succeed in. The gentleman knowing the rocqueleau was his, still urged strongly he brought it in with him, and that it was his.—The ladies now began to revile him,—whom he treated in very