"[3] Describing the marriage between Oldstyle's aunt Barbara and an ironically-named Squire Stylish, Irving juxtaposed modern manners against old etiquette, concluding that no one could read such a comparison of old versus new, "and not lament, with me, the degeneracy of the present times — what husband is there but will look back with regret, to the happy days of female subjugation[?

[5] The ruckus began with Irving's January 17, 1803, letter, his sixth, in which "Quoz", a new character introduced by Irving as a friend of Oldstyle's, took a backhanded shot at critics for taking all the fun out of the theater: "The critics, my dear Jonathan, are the very pests of society … they reduce our feelings to a state of miserable refinement, and destroy entirely all the enjoyments in which our coarser sensations delighted.

[8] Delighted with the reaction, Irving responded in mock innocence on February 8 that he was "perfectly at a loss" as to what all the fuss was about, and couldn't resist giving Oldstyle the last word, concluding that all the bickering had "awakened doubt in my mind respecting the sincerity and justice of the Critics.

Declaring the practice of dueling with pistols "unceremonious," Quoz recommends instead that duelists draw lots to see who gets to have a brick dropped on his head from a window.

"[11] Quoz even suggests that dueling be licensed by "the Blood and Thunder office" of the state as an official event, where the public can watch, as "this would be a valuable addition to the list of our refined amusements.

[13] The public enjoyed them, and Chronicle co-publisher Aaron Burr was impressed enough to send copies of the first five letters to his daughter Theodosia, remarking that they "would not, perhaps, merit so high an honour as that of being perused by your eyes and touched by your fair hands, but that [they are] the production of a youth of about nineteen, the youngest brother of Dr. Peter Irving of New York.

Such essays had been a staple of colonial newspapers, and usually featured an observer –- normally a bachelor, with a personality that differed from that of the writer –- who commented, either directly or indirectly, on public truths.