PREFACE. BY THE EDITOR. THE following essays and sketches originally appeared in the New-York Mirror, under the signature of C. In collecting them for publication, in the present form, the editor, if he may assume so dignified an appellation, is actuated by two motives: first, a desire to do justice to the abilities of a valued and long absent friend, whose reluctant consent has been yielded only to repeated solicitations; and, second, to furnish for the public a book marked by humor and originality of thought, and an agreeable companion for a dull hour. The editor does not rely solely on his own estimation of their excellence, although |