Did those people, for whose benefit he wrote the letter, keep the
_secret_ which has baffled the world?--for these people must have known
him to be Junius. And did Junius write falsely, when he said in his
Dedication more than two years afterward: "I am the sole depository of
my own secret, and it shall perish with me?" Did Junius write falsely
when he said: "This edition contains _all_ the letters of Junius?" for
this one which he cast out, and is in the Miscellaneous collection, was
signed _Junius_. Besides, the handwriting is different from the genuine
notes. Compare No. 8, spurious, with No. 3, genuine, vol. i, Woodfall's
edition.

Here is clear evidence of forgery in two cases, not from handwriting be
it remembered, but from internal evidence. May there not be many more
such cases? Moreover, from the style and spirit of all the miscellaneous
letters written _after_ the one signed _Atticus_, and printed November
14, 1768, there is no evidence whatever of the hand or head of Junius.
Prior to this time Junius had been writing to get his hand in, and his
contributions appeared over the signatures of _Atticus_, _Lucius_, _C_,
and a few others, but all prior to the above date. Junius _proper_ began
with his famous Letter of January 21, 1769, and closed in just three
years to a day.

I am now prepared to state: In the comparison of Thomas Paine with
Junius I did not suffer myself in a single instance to go outside of the
_genuine_ edition; because I plainly saw, after a long and critical
study of the Letters, that there was no safe footing outside of it.
Whatever, therefore, has been established in style, character,
occupation, rank, opinion, etc., in favor of Paine, has at least this
merit: _its foundation is good_. I propose now to show that this can not
be said in favor of Francis.

I have given on pages 190 and 191 the summing up of the main argument of
John Taylor in favor of Francis, by Mr. Macaulay. Macaulay writes only
as a reviewer of Taylor, not an original investigator; and a reviewer,
too, like many at this day, without searching at the fountain head for
the facts in the case. Let us now look at the five points Mr. Taylor
makes:

"First, that he was acquainted with the technical forms of the Secretary
of State's office." Under this Taylor begins by observing: "One method
of discovering the rank and _station_ of Junius is to see with whose
names he is most familiar." He then says: "The only persons to whom