r the circumstances of the original
publication. Although the name of the correspondent does not appear on
the letter, it was certainly written to Col. John Fellows of New
York, who copyrighted Part I. of the "Age of Reason." He published the
pamphlets of Joel Barlow, to whom Paine confided his manuscript on his
way to prison. Fellows was afterwards Paine's intimate friend in New
York, and it was chiefly due to him that some portions of the author's
writings, left in manuscript to Madame Bonneville while she was a
freethinker were rescued from her devout destructiveness after her
return to Catholicism. The letter which Mr. Cowen sends me, is dated at
Paris, January 20, 1797.

"SIR,--Your friend Mr. Caritat being on the point of his departure for
America, I make it the opportunity of writing to you. I received two
letters from you with some pamphlets a considerable time past, in which
you inform me of your entering a copyright of the first part of the Age
of Reason: when I return to America we will settle for that matter.

"As Doctor Franklin has been my intimate friend for thirty years past
you will naturally see the reason of my continuing the connection with
his grandson. I printed here (Paris) about fifteen thousand of the
second part of the Age of Reason, which I sent to Mr. F[ranklin] Bache.
I gave him notice of it in September 1795 and the copy-right by my
own direction was entered by him. The books did not arrive till April
following, but he had advertised it long before.

"I sent to him in August last a manuscript letter of about 70 pages,
from me to Mr. Washington to be printed in a pamphlet. Mr. Barnes of
Philadelphia carried the letter from me over to London to be forwarded
to America. It went by the ship Hope, Cap: Harley, who since his return
from America told me that he put it into the post office at New York for
Bache. I have yet no certain account of its publication. I mention this
that the letter may be enquired after, in case it has not been published
or has not arrived to Mr. Bache. Barnes wrote to me, from London 29
August informing me that he was offered three hundred pounds sterling
for the manuscript. The offer was refused because it was my intention it
should not appear till it appeared in America, as that, and not England
was the place for its operation.

"You ask me by your letter to Mr. Caritat for a list of my several
works, in order to publish a collection of them. This is an undertaking