69

that will stand measurement with any print in the
union".¹⁴² Before the time was up, the prosperity of
the American was such that Martin promised to issue a
weekly literary paper, the Honey Comb,143 until the
apparatus for enlarging the daily paper should arrive,
The Honey Comb was promised for August 19, 1799, but
the editor's indisposition prevented its appearance
until the following week;⁴⁴⁴ it continued presumably
until November of the same year, when the American ap-
peared in an enlarged form. No copies of the Honey
Comb have been located, tut Scbarf describes it as

a dainty little literary paper of eight pages,
beautifully printed, and full of interesting
matter.¹⁴⁵

One of Martin's chief concerns was circulation,
and in December of 1799 he hit upon a scheme to dis-
tribute the American to country subscribers in a tri-
weekly edition designed to eliminate much of the cost
of postage:

A Country Gazette. One of the greatest objec-
tions to a free circulation of the Baltimore
newspapers, in the interior parts of the state,
is their being published daily, and the conse-
quent heavy amount of postage; to remedy this
objection, to give the citizens of this state
an opportunity of obtaining a, candid history of
events at a low price, at the suggestion of a
number of influential characters in the interior

142 American. May 14, 1799.

143 Appendix A. Imprint bibliography, item 498.

144 American. August 9, 1799.

145 Scharf, J.T. Chronicles of Baltimore, p. 85.