both editors with one stone. For instance, here is a quatrain
which he once hurled at his rival editors:
Lie on, Duane, lie on for pay,
And, Cheetham too, lie thou too; More against truth you cannot say
Than truth can say 'gainst you.
LITERABY DAILY OF THE TIME
At the beginning of the nineteenth century the foremost lit- erary newspaper in New York was unquestionably The Morning Chronicle, which first appeared on Friday, October 1, 1802, with Peter Irving as managing editor. In his opening prospectus he announced that "while he intended to give the earliest com- mercial intelligences and to advocate with manly freedom genuine Republican principles, he also intended to blend the in- terests of literature with those of commerce and politics and to enrich its columns with scientific information." He asserted that "malignity, detraction and scurrilous abuse should never be permitted to stain its pages." Its literary contents comprised criticisms, letters, selections, and extracts from the literati of the day. The Chronicle was not without its lighter vein depart- ment. Irving promised in his introduction "sportive effusions of wit and humor" which materialized with a series of papers on plays and players, fashionable foolishness, and the passing humors of the hour. These were signed with the nom-de-plume of "Jonathan Oldstyle" and were thought for a long time to come from the pen of Peter Irving, but in reality they came from that of his younger brother, Washington. Another brother, John Treat Irving, contributed to the columns of The Chronicle bits of verse in which he satirized the party conflicts of the day. Still another brother, William Irving, the eldest of the family, told in the columns of The Chronicle his experiences as an Indian trader on the Mohawk and later published pungent satire about the doings of the day. James K. Paulding, whose sister had married William Irving, became a contributor of verse. The Morning Chronicle was a warm supporter of Aaron Burr and devoted much space to defending the charges brought against him in the columns of The Evening Post. The death of Hamilton
