Catechism"; "A Prefatory Letter about Psalmody,"
in defense of church singing, which many Puritans still
held to be unholy; an allegory styled "The Isle of
Man, or, Legal Proceedings in Manshire Against Sin";
Care's "English Liberties"; sundry pamphlets on the
local politics of the moment, such as "A Letter from
One in the Country to his Friend in Boston," "News
from the Moon," "A Friendly Check from a Kind
Relation to the Chief Cannonneer," and "A Word of
Comfort to a Melancholy Country"; two or three
tractates on inoculation, and one aimed half at the Bos-
ton clergy and half at the fair sex, entitled "Hooped
Petticoats Arraigned by the Light of Nature and the
Law of God," were the chief output of the new printer
during the years his brother served him.

In 1719 a more interesting job was undertaken, for
the postmaster of Boston employed James Franklin to
print for him the "Boston Gazette," the third paper
issued in America. The contract was a short one, for
the appointment of a new official led to other changes,
and the printer, having supplied his office with what
was needful for a newspaper and trained his men in the
work, found himself left in the lurch. Partly in retali-
ation, and partly to utilize this experience and material,
James Franklin, though "dissuaded by some of his
friends from the undertaking, as not likely to succeed,
one newspaper being, in their judgment, enough for
America," on August 7, 1721, issued the first number
of "The New England Courant," which he promised
should "be published once a Fortnight, and out of
meet Kindness to my Brother-Writers, I intend now

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