Page:Works of the Late Doctor Benjamin Franklin (1793).djvu/33

23 him from this undertaking, as a thing that was not likely to ſucceed; a ſingle newfpaper being, in their opinion, ſufficient for all America. At preſent, however, in 1771, there are no leſs than twenty-five. But he carried his project into execution, and I was employed in diſtributing the copies to his cuſtomers, after having aſſiſted in compoſing and working them off.

Among his friends he had a number of literary characters, who, as an amuſement, wrote ſhort eſſays for the paper, which gave it reputation and increaſed its ſale. Theſe gentlemen frequently came to our houſe. I heard the converſation that paſſed, and the accounts they gave of the favourable reception of their writings with the public. I was tempted to try my hand among them; but, being ſtill a child as it were, I was fearful that my brother might be unwilling to print in his paper any performance of which he ſhould know me to be the author. I therefore contrived to diſguiſe my hand, and having written an anonymous piece, I placed it at night under the door of the printing-houſe, where it was found the next morning. My brother communicated it to his friends, when they came as uſual to ſee him, who read it, commented upon it within my hearing, and I had the exquiſite pleaſure to find that it met with their approbation, and that, in the various conjectures they made reſpecting the author, no one was mentioned who did not enjoy a high reputation in the country for talents and genius. I now ſuppoſed myſelf fortunate in my judges, and began to ſuſpect that they were not ſuch excellent writers as I had hitherto ſuppoſed them. Be that as it may, encouraged by this little adventure, I wrote and ſent to the preſs, in the fame way, many other pieces, which were equally approved; keeping