Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1851-05-26
a MODERN Comedy of Errors.

for the season in Hyde Park.
4 Modern Comedy OF Errors.
The Washington Union is beating abou
for materials out of which TO rebuild tha
dismantled party tenement, the old Castl
Dolorous of Democracy. The cdito
thinks. naturally enough, that the best o
all things for this purpose must be the ol.
ancestral stone of Jacksonsm. There
nothing like leather" quoth the tanner
As the Union seems thus bent on going
back to the Hero and heroworship. w,
beg leave to tell story not half SO muci
out of date.
THE New COMEDY OF ERRoRs.-"Ol
reader! if that thou cans't read," las thu
epitaph pathetically says,l thou mayst per
chance, in day of as profound erudi
ton as this, have read not only Shaks
peare's play ofthe twin brothers and tht
confusion of all sorts (conjugal and judi
cial) which their double identity breeds
through whole city. but thou mayst have
learned that Molierc and Plantus have
drawn, from plot of the same sort, comic
situations still more amusing.
Ofthe "Amphitryon" Of these last aa-
thors, we cannot but think that the public
of this country was, for some l6 years on
ly, looking gravely enough upon an ex'
ceedingly droll political parody.
The story is somewhat as followers -
Amphitryon, King. of Thebcs, married to
a fair and chas,e young wife, Alcmena,has
gone abroad to serve his country in some
foreign war or negotiation, and takes with
him his follower, Sosia, who also quits an
humble, but pretty spouse, to attend his
lords service. A certain celestial person
age meanwhile, who is called Jupiter, OF
alias Jove, or the Thunderer, more re-
nowned for versatility Of figure than for
strictness of morals, or regard for the con-
nubial tie, casts his eye upon the far young
wife, thus left, by the absence oil her lord,
"a widow be-witched" He determines
forthwith to possess her; but knowing tla,
in his Federal form Of the old thunderer
he will WOO the noble dame IN vain, he
puts on her husbands features-that is
turns Republican; goes down to Acme
ma, and is at once received to her arms, as
her returning bridegroom. With him he
takes one Mercury, valet Of his, souple,
smooth, ight-iooted, light-ingered fellow,
always following in his footsteps" and
csteeming it glory enough" to help him
to any of his unlawful ends. When the
master, arriving at Court, marches into
the parlor as King. he goes smirking into
the kitchen as Sosia; for, being great ma
gician, he changed shapes as easily as his
chief, only that he usually put on much
meaner, more servile ones. Well, the
maid Chat is. TIE mere Party takes him
for the true attendant, (her own husband,
Just as Alcnlena had done the greater
counterlcit and the whole scullionry re-
ceves him with joy.
A new orderof things dawns. Jove,
upstairs, plays majesty, after his old-tash-
ion-rather as q god than a monarch; and
makes sober people, who had often before
complained Of Amphitryon's mildest acts,
find that he has grown vastly more despot-
ic, since he had gone abroad as ia Militia
nv Chiefrain" He kicks his cabinet down
stairs, hectors the councils, seizes upon the
treasury, threatens to cudgel the Pry-
tanes or Judges, announces himself as
the sole representative, the State itself, and
the embodied republicanlsm and RESPONSE
bility of everything. He awes or Danish.
es all the good; he encourages, favours
promotes, all the bad and servile.
Down stairs, Mercury debauches as bust
ly as his master bullies above. He corrupts
the maids, he fuddles the men-servants.-
To both he teaches how masters are to be
robbed, how Golfers are to be cleaned out
how the larder is to be made lean, how the
buttery is to be kept dry, and how, in a
word, the whole household and its Offices
are to be managed on "the spoils" princi-
pie. He becomes the inventor Of that
greatest and safest OF financial contrvances
an empty Treasury. For the keeping
of public funds, he was the first resort to
the choice, as most competent, ofthose who
could run fastest.
But, in the midst Of all this confusion,
upper and neither, Amphitryon returns
None of his old set Of honest retainers be-
ing left, he enters his own doors unrecog.
nized by the loafers now keeping them
Nay, they look upon his honest and manly
face, his attire worn by hard service, and
his slender train Of attendants with suspi,
cion. And they muttered, as he passed
That's Federalistl" your genuine
loafer always thinks that his being SO makes
him Republican.
Poor Amphitryon, meantime, and the
luckless Sosia, arriving attheir own hearths
suddenly find themselves greeted there as
counterieits. They had only been serving
only been trying to do their duty; while
their supplanters had been cajoling, hum
bugging. wheedling. We need hardly say
that, between plain, homely truth. and vo-
luble, fattering, specious ialsehood, the
contest was every way unequal. They
are at once disowned. by the entire house
hold, as imposters.
The elected prince, however, appeals to
the chiefpersons of his court-people that
must know his person well. They are
called, and find before them two monarchs,
counterparts of each other. Ofcourse, they
cannot decide. The true king tells them
much that staggers them: he makes them
remember whathe has been about, how act
ing the genuine guardian of THE State; how
he has been conterring good and order by
his presence, directing public improve
mente, assisting private enterprise. watch
ing over the good, Furnishing the bad, and
using everywhere right but mild authorl
tv. On the other hand, what had his com
petitor been about! Wasting, under the
name of economy; filing public employ
ments with Adventures in the name Of ro
tation, and with knaves in that of reform
tramping on all law under pre'ences o
Liberty; and, as to the Constitution, whils
pretending to mend il, making six hugs
rents for every little hole that he affected
to darn. All this. ho said: but only see
how soon Jove overthrew it all, plain anc