The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-09-03
THE IDENTITY or JUNI US.
Reasons for Believing that Tie Was Thomas
Primo, ind Not Philip francis.

To THE EDITOR OF THE SUN-Str: II will
generally be conceded that Thomas Paine was
competent to write the letters Of Junius, and
II Ia certain that he was 30 situated az to make
IL practicable. An humble excseman ut Lewes,
forty miles from London, obliged 10 keep
horse, and yet with half his time unoccupied, he
could at almost any time ride to the city, drop
letter for the Pubic Advertiser. and call for any
addressed to &C" at the coffee house. where his
publisher, woodfal was directed to send them
Being " the sole depository OF his own secret"
no must have been his own messenger and to
avoid detection he often changed his coffee
house and his assumed name. The idea that he
had people about him." "a a spurious private
letter mo. &, sept. TO- 1897 pretends urging him
to write something " ever 40 idle and impro-
per-" Is too absurd to be entertained. His very
life depends upon his being not only unknown
but unsupported.
when the FIRST letter Of Junius appeared
In the Public Advertiser. Philip Frnnci, was n
clerk in the War once, 20 years Of age friend
and schoolmate OF the proprietor, woodfall.
but n Francis was Junius, he tells a positive
faisehood In private letter No II, In which he
says to woodfall, IL doubt much whether
shall ever have the pleasure OF knowing you,
but II things take the turn I expect. YOU shall
know me bp nv works" The Italics are Junius's.
That Francis nevertheless did essay to write AS
Junius Is not only possible but probable, as will
presently appear. In the editorial once Of his
friend Woodfall he secs the handwriting OF
Junius. He IL an expert with the pen and can
write every Kind Of hand" After three
years. Junius, having written his last public
letter, Is corresponding with woodfall about
the issue OF the book, with a preface and ded-
cation and he wants few early copies Of n for
himself Here Francis an opportunity to
set a trap to catch him.
Four days after the date OF Junus's last letter.
Woodfall receives an anonymous note No. &c,
apparently in the handwriting Of Junius, say
Ing:
myself and the pubic with tor 6rlns that '''' bar
% M srch s G n@, 10 Sres th.%n 20 C. *
the generous rage Of Juniu'. am impatient for the
woodfall Is deceived by the clever trick, and
prints the first OF series of letters by
veteran" but never suspected by the public
to be Junlus. Meanwhile a man In homey
garb calls at the counter OF coffee house asking
for letters or parcels directed to " O. and before
fourth letter OF "veteran" appears. Junius
writes note to woodfall NO. So dated March
3 l712 as follows:
"Your letter twice refused last nisht, ana the
vat er Hs of a,t,mPed to .ee Toe person vno sent
sss c Se se uP sad LEI. a. .nr oar a.
rection."
veteran" had promised sixteen letters,
ready for the press but he nlzed out with
FIVE, the last not being one OF the SERIES but a
brief announcement and complaint that the
wretch. Lord Darlington, had driven MIR.
Francis from the War Office. Lord Darlington
had robably suspected his assailant =" Veteran"
To he his second clerk, but nobody ever dreamed
that that clerk was Junius till forty years after.
ters ar ram Al isla
Woodfall = son and attributed to Juuius.
Dropping the signature of 80 Veteran the ex-
lure scotus.'' Scotus'" like Veteran"
strangely enough knows about the promised
them Is quite the reverse In an accompanying
private note No. 81 he says, &c am In no man
ner OF hurry about the bOOks.' How queer, to
get over hls impatience after waiting from Jan
25 TIL May g. just then personal matters were
more important to him than the detection Of
scotuss' letter is followed by a Anal assault
on Lord harrington, May L. signed Nemesis,
counterfeit to woodfall only, not to the public.
The snare set for ,. the mighty boar Of the for
- In no manner OF hurry about were received
10y Junius two months ago; except one set
may, safely he left at the same place SO
anu plJodry sia i,,0' ass g. I'D. ....t- -
of the books IA yet TO come. Another, dated
DAY prior. May 3 and accompanying the ." SEQ
tus letter., Is certainly spurious. Another.
dated Jan. 10, l713 declining to write again may
perhaps be genuine. Junius is heard OF no more
in ENGLAND Tor afteen years, when he returns to
shake the kingdom with his powerful essay on
the Rights of Man"
il il CLAIMED that comparison OF handwrit-
Ing has settled the fact beyond a doubt that
Philip Francis was Junius. Unfortunately for
this Kind OF evidence. fac smile OF one OF the
spurious private letters Is published no -, NJ
which resemblance j. now sought TO be Traced
to the handwriting Of Francis. Junius certainly
did not write il. put possibly Francis did ~ has
| JuniusS private signature. g, win an oblque
| dash above aud below. showing that the writer
| had. like Veteran" and "scntus,' seen the
| private Letters To Woodfall Perhaps this was
an early attempt 10y Francis To discover Junius.
Handwriting is about the poorest possible evil
dence. Many persons can and do write Two eIllre-
| ~ different hands. A noted banker IN New ORR
! once -wore positively that his own signature was
acounterfeit and y was aiterward proved gen
uine. would not dare TO testify TO my own sig
| nature II that were the essential turning Puht
! OF an important case Paine was capable on
writing the disguised mana OF Juhius' l nave
seen his later handwriting. and il bears rs much
resemblance TO that OF Junus as mine now
| does to what II was many years ago.
| The Rev. j. W. Chadwick, in "A recent lecture
| on Paine. sought to refute the claim that he was
! Junius by saying that he practised no conceal
Paine welded battleaxe at noontide Junlus
raper IN the darn mat aalhe nen wr,.
II on the house tops - that in ll14 Paine pub
lished his lrst pamphlet-a plea for the increase
OF the salaries OF excisemen, in which there
il hardly a stroke to suggest the author OF
Common Sense, and To suppose that the author
had already written the tremendous invectlNes
and malignant sarcasms OF Junus Is to inyert
the order Of intellectual development. Uhlvr-
tunately Tor the last part ol TINS argument, 'ne
fact Is overlooked that the same pen when IN
l77i produced the Plea for Excisemen, only n
few months later. In the Pennsylvania Magazine
manifested the elegance and hrilliancyo t Junlus'
and within two years produced u WORK equal 10
| that OF Junius. Now Is IL not "inNerllug the
order of intellectual Development 20 suppose
that the author OF common sense had never
attempted anything before Ia England IN ihe
way ~ comp p-ition but the plain uniretvhdinI
petition Of the eXCisement Ihat was Gnpi
enough in its way, but Juniu- had promised u
! he lived to come again and many were sun
| hunting for the mighty boar of the forest
who In his safe retreat was hdinE his llne' ana
WAS too cunning to petray himself in hnmhlt
petition to Parliament. 80 Ia that memorial Inc
studied plaune,s, and sending a copy OF the
pnmphlct to DR.. Goldsmith, he writes 81 Is my
frsi amt only attempt Yes indeed, the mrs
and only one Of that kiud, as Thomas Paine
The suberfuge was AN innocent one, liNe tina
~ lunius defending himself in the name %
Phtlo-.unius, and neither Goldsmith nor th'
r British people ever could suspect the writer o
that pamphlet to be ,unius
II vanity WAS a ChlrlrlcriStic OF Paine, 50 !
was u Junus. The two characters coincide II
every known particular. III am vain man,
says Junius, my Enttihcation lies ia u marrow
circle | am the sole depository Of my own Sc
cret and II shall perish with me. faine wa
the most secretiye Of men, and he was ptuhahl
, | tho only living man capable both ~ writing "A
| Junlus did and keeping II To himself. lie neVe
, | told why he separated from his wife, saying