instance, in New York? He was trying to pass himself off for more than
his worth. And no doubt he succeeded, too, in some instances. By the way,
do you know what definition Webster gives of a dandy in his large
dictionary? It is worth remembering. Suppose we turn to it. "A dandy," says
he, "is one who dresses himself like a doll, and carries his character on
his back." It is a most capital definition; but the silly fellow will pass
for something else where he is not known. He will make a great swell, and
some people will believe he is a gentleman. Indeed, it would not be strange
if he should pass himself off, one of these days, upon some young lady who
is quite ignorant of this kind of currency, as an Italian count, or,
perhaps, the marquis of this or the duke of that. There is no telling. But
if she takes him for a cent more than Webster rates him at, she gets
cheated, depend upon it. He is not worth the clothes on his back. He has to
cross the street sometimes, to get rid of being dunned by his tailor; and
he has been two or three hours trying to find a barber who will trust him.
He's nothing but a pistareen, and hardly that.

Some people pass themselves off for being very learned, when they are as
ignorant as a horse-block. But, oh! such mistakes as they make sometimes;
it is enough to set one into a fit of laughter, only to think of some of
them. I know a miss, who tries to pass herself off for a great reader, when
the truth is, she has only dipped up a spoon-full, here and there, from a
score or two of authors, and has not the slightest idea about the merits of
any of them. Some one came up with her nicely the other night, at a party.
He had suspicions, I suppose, that she was trying to pass for too much; at
all events, he asked her a great many roundabout questions, which she was
obliged to answer, and in doing so she let out the secret. Every body saw
what sort of a coin she was, at once.

What fools some folks make of themselves, by attempting to pass for more
than they are worth, in the matter of dollars and cents. It is said, that
in the city of New York there are a good many poor fellows that can
scarcely get enough money to appear in a respectable suit of clothes, who
will buy a dinner in some cheap eating-house for sixpence, and then pick
their teeth on the door-steps of the Astor House, to make people think they
have dined there. And that is not any worse than some would-be genteel
people manage when the wa