hich he read with a keen relish. These suggested the idea of a
series of similar letters to his own paper, and he at once put his plan
into execution. His letters were written and published. They were
"spicy," pleasant in style, full of gossip about the distinguished
personages who thronged the capital every winter, and, withal, free from
any offensive personality. They were read with eagerness, and widely
copied by the press throughout the country. Yet he was poorly paid for
them, and at a time when he had made a "real hit" was forced to labor
hard for a bare subsistence. He did all kinds of literary work. He wrote
editorials, letters, sketches, poetry, stories, police reports, in
short, every thing that a newspaper had use for, and yet his earnings
were barely more than sufficient to afford him a decent support.

In 1829, the "Courier and Enquirer" were united under one management,
and Mr. Bennett was made assistant editor, with James Watson Webb as his
chief. In the autumn of that year he became associate editor. Says Mr.
James Parton (by no means an ardent admirer of Mr. Bennett):

"During the great days of the 'Courier and Enquirer,' from 1829 to 1832,
when It was incomparably the best newspaper on the continent, James
Gordon Bennett was its most efficient hand. It lost him in 1832, when
the paper abandoned General Jackson and took up Nicholas Biddle, and in
losing him lost its chance of retaining the supremacy among American
newspapers to this day. We can truly say that at that time journalism,
as a thing by itself and for itself, had no existence in the United
States. Newspapers were mere appendages of party, and the darling object
of each journal was to be recognized as the organ of the party it
supported. As to the public, the great public, hungry for interesting
news, no one thought of it. Forty years ago, in the city of New York, a
copy of a newspaper could not be bought for money. If any one wished to
see a newspaper, he had either to go to the office and subscribe, or
repair to a bar-room and buy a glass of something to drink, or bribe a
carrier to rob one of his customers. The circulation of the 'Courier and
Enquirer' was considered something marvelous when it printed thirty-five
hundred copies a day, and its business was thought immense when its
daily advertising averaged fifty-five dollars. It is not very unusual
for a newspaper now to receive for advertising, in one day, six hundred
times that sum. Benn