felf, but to lend it to whomfoever is difpofed to affift me. But, as all the responsibility must alight on me, it is no more than reasonable, that I fhould have an abfolute power to accept of, or to refuse, whatever aid is offered me; and that this may be exercised unfettered by the fear of giving offence, I think proper to notify, that I wish to receive no communications (except from diftant correfpondents), that are not depofited in the letter-box, which I have for this purpofe placed in the window of my fhop, and which will be kept open till ten o'clock in the evening. Gentlemen at a diftance, who think my undertaking worthy of their aid, will please to direct their letters to me, poft paid; and I take this opportunity of requesting all my correfpondents in the United States, whether they write on their business or mine, to pay the postage and place it to my account. This is a regulation I have been obliged to adopt, to disappoint certain democratic blackguards, who, to gratify their impotent malice, and put me to expenfe, fend me loving epiftles, full of curfes and bawdry.

It will naturally be expected, that a paper published in five weeks from the day of its being propofed, muft, for a time, exhibit a want of early poffeffion of intelligence to be derived from correfpondents in foreign countries; but, I truft, this will not long be vifible, as I have taken measures, which I doubt not will prove efficacious, for a regular fupply of papers from every port of confequence in Great Britain, France, and Ireland, and in the Weft Indies. In the mean time, I fhall be extremely obliged to any gentlemen for the ufe of papers of recent date, or for important news of any kind, in whatever way it may come to hand.

Befides the ufual fource of foreign intelligence, the public papers, it is my intention to give extracts

& 3

from

from all the good political pamphlets, published in London; from which a much better idea of the real fituation of affairs is generally to be gathered, than from the promifcuous mifcellany of a newspaper. I I will not promise to publish translations from French pamphlets; becaufe fuch is the "unrestrained liberty of the prefs" among that free and enlightened people, that I much fear no political pamphlets are published. One thing I will promife, however, and that is, to spare neither pains nor coft to come at the exact state of flavery, and its confequent misery, that the people of that once happy country are now groaning under. Not that I would by any means undertake, with the beft poffible information, to give a full account of the feven hundred and five harlequin tyrants and all the devil's tricks they have played and are playing; but I think it would be extremely useful, at this time, to place the fituation of France in a true light: one fuch example is better than all the precepts in the world.

The price of Advertisements will, of course, be according to the propofed conditions, and, in this line, I think, "Porcupine's Gazette" need not fear a rival. The fubfcribers already amount to more than a thoufand, not including fome hundreds whose names have not yet reached me. This paper has more fubfcribers at Baltimore, New-York, and at almost every town of note along the great post road, than any two other papers published in Philadelphia.

The laft paragraph may, by fome, be conftrued into a boaft; but when a man declares what it is his intereft to declare, and does not depart from the truth, no one can juftly accufe him either of vanity or deception. Such a declaration does not resemble thofe public thankfgivings (of which we have lately feen fo many) for hundreds of fubfcribers never obtained, and a “liberal proportion of advertising

favours,'

favours," never received. This is finging Te Deum after a defeat, or after a fevere repulfe at least.

After acknowledging the encouragement I have received, I fhould not conclude, perhaps, without thanking my fubfcribers; but I trust they will give my filence on this fubject the proper interpretation. I never was mafter of the God-blefs-your-honour ftyle; and as I have at this time promifed to lend my feeble fupport to a good caufe, I imagine that a punctual adherence to that promife is the beft and most unequivocal mode of expreffing my gratitude to those who have favoured my undertaking.

To FRANKLIN BACHE, Editor of the Aurora.

SIR,

Your vehicle of lies and fedition, of Saturday laft, contained the following paragraph:

"From a Correspondent.-Speech of Peter Porcupine.

"In conversation a few days ago the British cor"poral declared, that he never would forgive the "Americans for their rebellion against their king, "and that he never would reft until they were re"duced to their former obedience.' If the fellow, "whose back ftill exhibits the marks of his former "virtue, should dare to deny this, it can be sub"ftantiated by undoubted evidence. After this speech it may be well to repeat, that Peter Porcu

pine is confidered the champion of the fede"ralifts!!!"

Now, pray, is this of your manufacture, or is it really from a correfpondent? If you own it for yours, I affert that you are a liar, and an infamous fcoundrel: if you do not, your correfpondent has my free leave to take thofe appellations to himself.

Having thus fettled the point of courtefy, give me leave to ask you, my fweet fleepy-eyed fir, what end

་

you could propofe to yourself in publishing not only what you knew to be a falfehood, but what you muft, if you are not quite an idiot, perceive every one elfe would look upon as fuch? Do you dread the effects of my paper; and do you imagine that a poor miferably conftructed falfehood of your publifhing will tend to obftruct its fuccefs? If you do, you are egregiously mistaken. Not all that you and your correfpondents can fay, not all the reports of your fpies, nor all the affignats of your Gallic friends, difpofed of in bribes, will ever be able to rob me of a fingle fubfcriber.

But, I cannot for my life fee, why you should wrangle with me. "Two of a trade can never agree. Very true; but I hope in God my trade is very different from yours. We are, to be fure, both of us news-mongers by profeffion; but then, the articles that you have for fale are very different from mine. Befides, you fell yours wholefale; a line which I shall be many years before I arrive at. Your exportation bufinefs, too, is a branch that I am fure I never shall interfere with; and as to the giveaway trade, which forms no contemptible portion of your commerce (and perhaps none of the leaft profitable), you may, for me, have the exclufive enjoyment of it for life. No one fhall have my paper that does not pay for it.

* Bache was paid by the three fucceffive French Ambassadors, Genet, Fauchet, and Adet, for 100 of each number of his gazette, which were fent to Europe, and for 300 more, which were diftributed amongst the people gratis. The newspapers are not, in America, purchased in quantities, and diftributed to the readers, by new/men. There are no perfons of this defcription in that country. The proprietor diftributes all his papers by the affiftance of carriers, who, in going through the ftreets, can easily scatter their papers amongst the people, unperceived. The French agents have availed themselves of this circumftance, and have never failed, on any important occafion, of propagating amongst the people thofe opinions which they wished to fee adopted.

Why

Why then, in the name of all that is rafcally and corrupt, cannot you let me alone? I tell you what, Mr. Bache, you will get nothing by me in a war of words; and so you may as well abandon the contest while you can do it with a good grace. I do not with (and I call on the public to remember what I fay), I do not wish to fill my paper with perfonal fatire and abufe; but I will not be infulted with impunity; and particularly by you. I have not forgotten your pointing out the propriety of defcribing my perfon, and hinting at the fame time the dark purpose of fo doing: I have not forgotten, that while a mob of vile infamous pamphleteers were barking round me, the grandfon of old Franklin published a paragraph fetting forth the juftice of cutting my throat. You thought they had laid me fprawling, and, like a bafe cur, came to have your fnap among the reft. I have not forgotten all this; but I fee no neceffity for teafing the public with-a repetition of it; and for the fame reafon I wish to avoid all perfonality whatever. Our readers, and especially thofe of this city, know already every thing that is worth knowing about you and me. Nothing that we can say will alter their opinions of us; and as for altering our opinions of one another, that is a thing not to be thought of. I am getting up in the world, and you are going down; for this reafon it is that you hate me, and that I defpife you; and that you will preserve your hatred and I my contempt, till fortune gives her wheel another turn, or till death fnatches one or the other of us from the fcene.

It is therefore ufelefs, my dear Bache, to fay any more about the matter. Why fhould we keep buffetting and fpurring at each other? Why should we rend and tear our poor reputations to pieces, merely for the diverfion of the fpectators? A great number of perfons, rather lovers of fun than of decency, have

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already