177 



1808, Mr. John S. Appleton, of the firm of Gushing and Apple- 

 ton, who was known as a ready wit, got out two or three small 

 humorous publications, which had a temporary run as periodi- 

 cals. One of these was " The Fool By Thomas Brainless, 

 Esq., L. L. D., Jester to his Majesty the Public. A new and 

 useless paper, of no particular form or size, issued at irregular 

 intervals ; and the price to be left at the generosity of the pub- 

 lic." This was issued in 1807. Then there was " the Barber's 

 Shop, kept by Sir David Razor," published by Gushing and 

 Appleton. in 1808, and printed by Joshua Gushing, a brother 

 of Thomas G. Gushing. Another of these ephemeral sheets, 

 the Punches of those days, was " Salmagundi," from the same 

 source. In all of these the republican party was the object of 

 ridicule and satire. 



14. The Gospel Visitant. This was the title of a 

 quarterly octavo magazine, commenced in Salem, in 1811, to 

 espouse the doctrines of Universalism. It is interesting from 

 the circumstance that it was the first regular' periodical issued 

 by that denomination in this coun try. There had been pre- 

 viously an occasional publication in Boston, entitled ' ' The 

 Berean," — containing the proceedings of an association, — 

 eight numbers of which were printed, at irregular intervals, 

 without regard to time ; but the Visitant was the first regular 

 periodical. It was started at the suggestion of a Gonference 

 of Universalist Ministers, assembled at Gloucester in January 

 of that year. The conductors were Thomas Jones of Glouces- 

 ter, Hosea Ballou of Portsmouth, Abner Kneeland of Gharles- 

 town, and Edward Turner of Salem, all prominent clergymen 

 of that communion, settled over societies in the places named. 

 The contents of the magazine were chiefly sermons, essays, and 

 briefer articles upon religious and doctrinal points. The price 

 was 25 cents a number. The numbers for June and Septem- 

 ber were printed at the Register oflice ; that for December, by 

 Ward and Goburn, on North street ; and that for March, 1812, 

 was published in Gharlestown. The 2nd volume did not appear 

 until 1817, when it was printed by "Warwick Palfray, jr. It 

 was now edited by Hosea Ballou and Edward Turner. At the 

 commencement of vol. 3, April, 1818, the publication was re- 

 moved to Haverhill, and assumed by P. IST. Green. 



15. The Salem Observer. The first number of " The 

 Observer" was published January 2, 1823, by William and 

 Stephen B. Ives — the former an apprentice of Mr. Gushing, of 

 the Gazette. It v/as of the royal size, and issued weekly on 



ESSEX INST. PROCEED. 23. 



