He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1806.  Shortly  after-
wards, in  conjunction  with  James  K.  Paulding,  and
wholly,  it  seems,  as  a  means  of  amusing  himself  and
the  town,  he  made  another  sally  as  a  writer.  This
time  it  was  Salmagundi^  a  series  of  audacious  papers,
independently  published,  and  intended,  as  they  de-
clared, "to  instruct  the  young,  reform  the  old,  correct
the  town,  and  castigate  the  age."  A  single  paragraph
from  the  prospectus  will  illustrate  its  boldness :

"We  beg  the  public  particularly  to  understand  that  we
solicit  no  patronage.  We  are  determined,  on  the  contrary,
that  the  patronage  shall  be  entirely  on  our  side.  We  have
nothing  to  do  with  the  pecuniary  concerns  of  the  paper;  its


NINETEENTH  CENTURY  ESSAYISTS  63

success  will  yield  us  neither  pride  nor  profit — ^nor  will  its
failure  occasion  us  either  loss  or  mortification.  We  advise
the  public,  therefore,  to  purchase  our  numbers  merely  for
their  own  sakes: — if  they  do  not,  let  them  settle  the  affair
with  their  consciences  and  posterity."

It  ran  for  a  year,  twenty  numbers  in  all,  appearing
with  great  irregularity,  and  ceasing  as  suddenly  and
as  inexplicably  as  it  had  begun.  With  this,  perhaps,
developed  that  confidence  in  his  powers  which  later,
when  he  was  pricked  to  action  by  necessity  rather
than  by  the  spirit  of  fun,  determined  his  career.
