ul and stupid mother demanding a favor of her son grown to
manhood, and, being refused, persists in scolding and shaking the fist
at him, as if he still wore a baby's frock.

At this juncture Junius wrote his LETTERS. The circumstances called him
forth. He was a child of fate. He spoke to the greatest personages,
assaulted the strongest power, and advocated the rights of man before
the highest tribunal then acknowledged on earth. This he could not do
openly, and what he said came as with the power of a hidden god. There
is no evidence that Junius ever revealed himself. "I am the sole
depository of my own secret, and it shall perish with me." This he said
and religiously kept. But his was the age which demanded it. He also
said: "Whenever Junius appears, he must encounter a host of enemies."
One hundred years have passed since he said this, but this "host" is
less to be feared now than when he wrote. No one now can injure him, and
there are few who would assault his grave. It is time to unmask Junius,
and though still to be hated, I will reveal the enemy of kings and the
friend of man. The reforms he advocated for England are partly
accomplished, and the principles he taught, if not adopted there, have
been established in America. He left no child to bear his name, but he
was the father of a nation. The unimpaired inheritance was his thoughts
and principles; these he transmitted, not alone to this nation, but to
the world--_for the world was his country_.

METHOD.

In the investigation of a subject so startling and novel, and especially
when it leads to the criticism of a work which has found favor with the
public, and now to be attributed to an author who has been publicly
condemned, it becomes the critic to state clearly the plan of his
argument, what he designs to do, and how he intends to do it. I
therefore ask: Who was Junius? I answer: Thomas Paine. The object of
this book is to prove this, and possibly to demonstrate it. To do this,
I shall follow as closely as possible the order of events, giving
parallels and coincidences in character, conduct, and composition of the
masked and the open life.

I do not fear as to the proof of my proposition, but I shall aim higher,
I shall try to demonstrate by the overwhelming weight of facts. Proof
produces belief, demonstration knowledge. The innocent have been hanged
on the evidence of proof, but a fact is established by demonstration.
Demonstration follows proof