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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Benjamin Franklin, A Picture of the
+Struggles of Our Infant Nation One Hundred Years Ago, by John S. C. Abbott
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Benjamin Franklin, A Picture of the Struggles of Our Infant Nation One Hundred Years Ago
+       American Pioneers and Patriots Series
+
+Author: John S. C. Abbott
+
+Release Date: November 5, 2009 [EBook #30406]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BENJAMIN FRANKLIN ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by D Alexander and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+produced from images generously made available by The
+Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+_AMERICAN PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS._
+
+ BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
+
+ A PICTURE OF THE
+
+ STRUGGLES OF OUR INFANT NATION,
+
+ ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO.
+
+ BY
+
+ JOHN S. C. ABBOTT.
+
+ "Print me as I am."--CROMWELL.
+
+ ILLUSTRATED.
+
+ NEW YORK:
+ DODD, MEAD & COMPANY.
+ 751 BROADWAY.
+
+
+
+
+ COPYRIGHT,
+
+ DODD, MEAD & COMPANY.
+
+ 1876
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+Next to George Washington, we must write, upon the Catalogue
+of American Patriots, the name of Benjamin Franklin. He had so
+many virtues that there is no need of exaggerating them; so few
+imperfections that they need not be concealed. The writer has
+endeavored to give a perfectly accurate view of his character, and of
+that great struggle, in which he took so conspicuous a part, which
+secured the Independence of the United States. Probably there can no
+where be found, within the same limits, so vivid a picture of Life in
+America, one hundred years ago, as the career of Franklin presents.
+
+This volume is the twelfth of the Library Series of Pioneers and
+Patriots. The series presents a graphic history of our country from
+its discovery.
+
+1. _Christopher Columbus_ reveals to us the West Indies, and gives a
+narrative of wonders unsurpassed in fact or fable.
+
+2. _De Soto_ conducts us to Florida, and leads us through scenes of
+romance, crime, blood and woe--through many Indian tribes, across the
+continent, to the Mississippi, where he finds his melancholy grave.
+
+3. _La Salle_, and his heroic companions, traversed thousands of miles
+of majestic lakes and unknown rivers, and introduces us to innumerable
+barbaric tribes. There is no other writer, who, from his own personal
+observation, can give one so vivid an idea of Life in the Indian
+village and wigwam.
+
+4. _Miles Standish_ was the Captain of the Pilgrims. He conducts us in
+the May Flower, across the Atlantic, lands us at Plymouth, and tells
+the never to be forgotten story of the heroism of our fathers in
+laying the foundations of this great republic.
+
+5. _Captain Kidd_, and the Buccaneers, reveal to us the awful
+condition of North and South America, when there was no protecting law
+here, and when pirates swept sea and land, inflicting atrocities, the
+narrative of which causes the ear which hears it to tingle.
+
+6. _Peter Stuyvesant_ takes us by the hand, and introduces us to the
+Dutch settlement at the mouth of the Hudson, conveys us, in his
+schooner, up the solitary river, along whose forest-covered banks
+Indian villages were scattered; and reveals to us all the struggles,
+by which the Dutch New Amsterdam was converted into the English New
+York.
+
+7. _Benjamin Franklin_ should chronologically take his place
+here. There is probably not, in the compass of all literature, a
+biography more full of entertainment and valuable thought, than
+a truthful sketch of the career of Benjamin Franklin. He leads us to
+Philadelphia, one hundred and fifty years ago, and makes us perfectly
+familiar with life there and then. He conducts us across the Atlantic
+to the Court of St. James, and the Court of Versailles. There is no
+writer, French or English, who has given such vivid sketches of the
+scenes which were witnessed there, as came from the pen of Benjamin
+Franklin. For half a century Franklin moved amid the most stupendous
+events, a graphic history of which his pen has recorded.
+
+8. _George Washington_ has no superior. Humanity is proud of his name.
+He seems to have approached as near perfection as any man who ever
+lived. In his wonderful career we became familiar with all the
+struggles of the American Revolution. With a feeble soldiery,
+collected from a population of less than three millions of people, he
+baffled all the efforts of the fleets and armies of Great Britain, the
+most powerful empire upon this globe.
+
+9. _Daniel Boone_ was the Cowper of the wilderness; a solitary man
+loving the silent companionship of the woods. He leads us across the
+Alleghanies to the fields of Kentucky, before any white man's foot
+had traversed those magnificent realms. No tale of romance could ever
+surpass his adventures with the Indians.
+
+10. _Kit Carson_ was the child of the wilderness. He was by nature a
+gentleman, and one of the most lovable of men. His weird-like life
+passed rapidly away, before the introduction of railroads and
+steamboats. His strange, heroic adventures are ever read with
+astonishment, and they invariably secure for him the respect and
+affection of all who become familiar with his name.
+
+11. _Paul Jones_ was one of the purest patriots, and perhaps the most
+heroic naval hero, to whom any country has given birth. He has been so
+traduced, by the Tory press of Great Britain, that even the Americans
+have not yet done him full justice. This narrative of his astonishing
+achievements will, it is hoped, give him rank, in the opinion of every
+reader, with Washington, Franklin, Jefferson and Lafayette.
+
+12. _David Crockett_ was a unique man. There is no one like him. Under
+no institutions but ours could such a character be formed. From a log
+hut, more comfortless than the wigwam of the savage, and without being
+able either to read or write, he enters legislative halls, takes his
+seat in Congress, and makes the tour of our great cities, attracting
+crowds to hear him speak. His life is a wild romance of undoubted
+truth.
+
+Such is the character of this little library of twelve volumes. The
+writer, who has now entered the evening of life, affectionately
+commends them to the young men of America, upon whose footsteps their
+morning sun is now rising. The life of each one, if prolonged to three
+score years and ten, will surely prove a stormy scene. But it may end
+in a serene and tranquil evening, ushering in the glories of an
+immortal day.
+
+                         JOHN S. C. ABBOTT.
+
+     FAIR HAVEN, CONN.
+
+As this is not improbably the last book I shall write, it may not be
+improper for me to state that, at the age of twenty-four, I commenced
+the career of an author, by writing "The Mother At Home." I have now
+attained the age of three score years and ten. In the meantime I have
+written fifty-four volumes of History or Biography. In every one it
+has been my endeavor to make the inhabitants of this sad world more
+brotherly,--better and happier.
+
+The long series is probably closed with the biography of Benjamin
+Franklin. Every page has been penned under this impression. A theme
+more full of instruction and interest could not be chosen.
+
+And now, in my declining years, as I feel that the battle has been
+fought and, I hope, the victory won, it is an unspeakable comfort for
+me to reflect, that, in all these fifty-four volumes, there is not one
+line which, "dying, I could wish to blot."
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+ CHAPTER I.
+
+ _Parentage and Early Life._
+
+                                                                  PAGE
+
+ The parentage of Franklin--His parents emigrate to America--Character
+ of his father--Abiah Folger, his mother--Birth and baptism--Influence
+ of his Uncle Strong--Of the Whistle--Childish exploits--Uncongenial
+ employment--Skill in swimming--Early reading--Boston at that time--An
+ indentured apprentice--Form of Indenture--Enters a printing
+ office--Fondness for reading--Anecdotes--Habits of study--Fondness for
+ argument--Adopts a vegetable diet--The two creeds.                 11
+
+
+ CHAPTER II.
+
+ _Developments of Character._
+
+ Views of the Sabbath--Writings of Collins and Shaftsbury--The creed
+ of Collins--Franklin at sixteen--The Courant--Denunciations of the
+ paper--Franklin's mode of acquiring the art of composition--His
+ success as a writer--The Editor prosecuted--Benjamin becomes Editor
+ and Publisher--Jealousy of his brother--The runaway apprentice--The
+ voyage to New York--Great disappointment--Eventful Journey to
+ Philadelphia--Gloomy prospects--The dawn of brighter days.         31
+
+
+ CHAPTER III.
+
+ _Excursion to England._
+
+ Attention to dress--Receives a visit from Gov. Keith--His visit to
+ Boston--Collins returns to Philadelphia with him--Sir William Keith's
+ aid--Excursions on the Sabbath--Difficulty with Collins--Spending Mr.
+ Vernon's money--His three friends--Engagement with Deborah
+ Read--Voyage to England--Keith's deceit--Ralph--Franklin enters a
+ printing house in London.                                          52
+
+
+ CHAPTER IV.
+
+ _Mental and Moral Conflicts._
+
+ Faithfulness to work--Neglect of Deborah Read--Treatise on Liberty
+ and Necessity--Skill in swimming--Return to America--Marriage of Miss
+ Read--Severe sickness--Death of Mr. Denham--Returns to Keimer's
+ employ--The Junto--His Epitaph--Reformation of his treatise on
+ Liberty and Necessity--Franklin's creed.                           75
+
+
+ CHAPTER V.
+
+ _The Dawn of Prosperity._
+
+ Franklin takes a house--His first job--His industry--Plans a
+ Newspaper--Enters the list as a writer--Advocates a Paper
+ currency--Purchases Keimer's paper--Character of Meredith--Struggles
+ of the firm--Unexpected assistance--Dissolves partnership with
+ Meredith--Franklin's energetic conduct--His courtship, and
+ marriage--Character of Mrs. Franklin--Increase of luxury--Plans for
+ a library--Prosperity of Pennsylvania--Customs in Philadelphia--Style
+ of  dress in 1726--Franklin's social position in Philadelphia--His
+ success--A hard student.                                          101
+
+
+ CHAPTER VI.
+
+ _Religious and Philosophic Views._
+
+ Studious habits--New religion--Personal habits--Church of the Free
+ and  Easy--His many accomplishments--The career of Hemphall--Birth
+ and  Death of Franklin's son--The Ministry of Whitefield--Remarkable
+ friendship between the philosopher and the preacher--Prosperity of
+ Franklin--His convivial habits--The defense of Philadelphia--Birth of
+ a daughter--The Philadelphia Academy.                             126
+
+
+ CHAPTER VII.
+
+ _The Tradesman becomes a Philosopher._
+
+ Franklin appointed Indian commissioner--Effects of Rum--Indian
+ logic--Accumulating honors--Benevolent enterprises--Franklin's
+ counsel to Tennent--Efforts for city improvement--Anecdotes--Franklin
+ appointed postmaster--Rumors of War--England enlists the Six Nations
+ in her cause--Franklin plans a Confederacy of States--Plans
+ rejected--Electrical experiments--Franklin's increase of
+ income--Fearful experiments--The kite--New honors--Views of the
+ French philosopher--Franklin's Religious views--His counsel to a
+ young pleader--Post-office Reforms.                               147
+
+
+ CHAPTER VIII.
+
+ _The Rising Storms of War._
+
+ Aristocracy--Anecdote--Conflicting laws of Nations--Franklin's scheme
+ of colonization--Proposal of the British Court--The foresight of
+ Franklin--Braddock's campaign--Remonstrances of Franklin and
+ Washington--Franklin's interviews with Braddock--Franklin's
+ efficiency--Confidence of Braddock--The conflict with the
+ Proprietaries--The non-resistant Quakers--Fate of the
+ Moravian  villages--The winter campaign--The camp of
+ Gaudenhutton--Anecdote--Renewal of the strife with the
+ Proprietaries--Franklin recalled to assist the Assembly--Destruction
+ of the Fort--Claim of the Proprietaries--The great controversy.   168
+
+
+ CHAPTER IX.
+
+ _Franklin's Mission to England._
+
+ New marks of respect--Lord Loudoun--Gov. Denny and Franklin--Visit
+ the  Indians--Franklin commissioner to England--His constant good
+ nature--Loudoun's delays--Wise action of an English captain--The
+ voyagers land at Falmouth--Journey to London--Franklin's style of
+ living in London--His electrical experiments--He teaches the Cambridge
+ professor--Complimentary action of St. Andrews--Gov. Denny displaced,
+ and dark clouds arising--Franklin's successful diplomacy--His son
+ appointed Governor of New Jersey--Great opposition--The homeward
+ voyage--Savage horrors--Retaliating cruelties--Franklin's efforts in
+ behalf of the Moravian Indians.                                   190
+
+
+ CHAPTER X.
+
+ _Franklin's Second Mission to England._
+
+ Fiendish conduct of John Penn--Petition to the crown--Debt of
+ England--Two causes of conflict--Franklin sent to England--His
+ embarkation--Wise counsel to his daughter--The stamp act--American
+ resolves--Edmund Burke--Examination of Franklin--Words of Lord
+ Chatham--Dangers to English operatives--Repeal of the stamp act--Joy
+ in America--Ross Mackay--New taxes levied--Character of George
+ III--Accumulation of honors to Franklin--Warlike preparations--Human
+ conscientiousness--Unpopularity of William Franklin--Marriage of
+ Sarah Franklin--Franklin's varied investigations--Efforts to civilize
+ the Sandwich Islands.                                             215
+
+
+ CHAPTER XI.
+
+ _The Intolerance of King and Court._
+
+ Parties in England--Franklin the favorite of the opposition--Plans
+ of the Tories--Christian III--Letter of Franklin--Dr.
+ Priestley--Parisian courtesy--Louis XV--Visit to Ireland--Attempted
+ alteration of the Prayer Book--Letter to his son--Astounding letters
+ from America--Words of John Adams--Petition of the Assembly--Violent
+ conspiracy against Franklin--His bearing in the
+ court-room--Wedderburn's infamous charges--Letter of Franklin--Bitter
+ words of Dr. Johnson--Morals of English lords--Commercial value of
+ the Colonies--Dangers threatening Franklin.                       240
+
+
+ CHAPTER XII.
+
+ _The Bloodhounds of War Unleashed._
+
+ The mission of Josiah Quincy--Love of England by the
+ Americans--Petition to the king--Sickness and death of Mrs.
+ Franklin--Lord Chatham--His speech in favor of the colonists--Lord
+ Howe--His interview with Franklin--Firmness of Franklin--His
+ indignation--His mirth--Franklin's fable--He embarks for
+ Philadelphia--Feeble condition of the colonies--England's expressions
+ of contempt--Franklin's reception at Philadelphia--His letter to
+ Edmund Burke--Post-office arrangements--Defection and conduct of
+ William Franklin--His arrest.                                     265
+
+
+ CHAPTER XIII.
+
+ _Progress of the War, both of Diplomacy and the Sword._
+
+ Letter of Henry Laurens--Franklin visits the army before
+ Boston--Letter of Mrs. Adams--Burning of Falmouth--Franklin's journey
+ to Montreal--The Declaration of Independence--Anecdote of the
+ Hatter--Framing the Constitution--Lord Howe's Declaration--Franklin's
+ reply--The Conference--Encouraging letter from France--Franklin's
+ embassy to France--The two parties in France--The voyage--The
+ reception in France.                                              292
+
+
+ CHAPTER XIV.
+
+ _The Struggles of Diplomacy._
+
+ Anecdote of Gibbon--John Adams--Residence at Passy--Lafayette
+ introduced--Cruise of the Reprisal--Paul Jones--Capture of
+ Burgoyne--Alliance with France--Anecdote of the Cake--Excitement
+ in England--Franklin's introduction to the king--Joy in
+ America--Extraordinary letter of Count Wissenstein--The
+ reply--Injustice to Paul Jones--French troops in America--Character
+ of John Adams--Franklin's mature views of human nature--Anecdote of
+ the Angel--Capture of Cornwallis--Its effect in England--Prejudices
+ of Mr. Jay--Testimony of Dr. Sparks--Jealousy of Franklin--Shrewd
+ diplomatic act--The treaty signed.                                322
+
+
+ CHAPTER XV.
+
+ _Life's Closing Scenes._
+
+ Advice to Thomas Paine--Scenes at Passy--Journey to the Coast--Return
+ to America--Elected Governor of Pennsylvania--Attends the
+ Constitutional Convention--Proposes prayers--Remarkable
+ speech--Letter to Dr. Stiles--Christ on the Cross--Last sickness and
+ death.                                                            356
+
+
+
+
+BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+_Parentage and Early Life._
+
+    The parentage of Franklin--His parents emigrate to
+    America--Character of his father--Abiah Folger, his
+    mother--Birth and baptism--Influence of his Uncle Strong--Of
+    the Whistle--Childish exploits--Uncongenial employment--Skill
+    in swimming.--Early reading--Boston at that time--An
+    indentured apprentice--Form of Indenture--Enters a printing
+    office--Fondness for reading--Anecdotes--Habits of
+    study--Fondness for argument--Adopts a vegetable diet--The
+    two creeds.
+
+
+About the year 1685, Josiah Franklin, with his wife and three
+children, emigrated from Banbury, England, to seek his fortune in this
+new world. He was in all respects a very worthy man, intelligent,
+industrious, and influenced to conduct by high moral and religious
+principles. Several of Josiah Franklin's neighbors accompanied him in
+his removal.
+
+Boston was then a straggling village, of five or six thousand
+inhabitants. In front spread out its magnificent bay, with its
+beautiful islands. In the rear the primeval forest extended, almost
+unbroken, through unexplored wilds to the Pacific. His trade was that
+of a dyer. Finding, however, but little employment in that business,
+he set up as a tallow chandler and soap boiler. Four years of life's
+usual joys and sorrows passed away when Mrs. Franklin died, leaving
+six children. The eldest was but eleven years of age. This motherless
+little family needed a maternal guardian. Within the year, Mr.
+Franklin married Abiah Folger, of Nantucket. She was the youngest
+daughter of Peter Folger, a man illustrious for many virtues, and of
+whom it has been well said, that "he was worthy to be the grandfather
+of Benjamin Franklin." She proved to be a noble woman, and was all
+that either husband or children could wish for. Ten children were the
+fruit of this union. Benjamin was born on the sixth of January, (O.
+S.) 1706.
+
+He was born in the morning of a Sabbath day. His father then resided
+directly opposite the Old South Church, in Milk street. The same day,
+the babe, whose renown it was then little imagined would subsequently
+fill the civilized world, was wrapped in blankets, and carried by his
+father across the street through the wintry air, to the Old South
+Church, where he was baptized by the Rev. Dr. Willard. He was named
+Benjamin, after a much beloved uncle then residing in England. This
+uncle was a man of some property, of decided literary tastes, and of
+the simple, fervent piety, which characterized the best people of
+those days. He took an ever increasing interest in Benjamin. He
+eventually came over to this country, and exerted a powerful influence
+in moulding the character of his nephew, whose brilliant intellect he
+appreciated.
+
+Soon after the birth of Benjamin, his father removed to a humble but
+comfortable dwelling at the corner of Hanover and Union streets. Here
+he passed the remainder of his days. When Franklin had attained the
+age of five years, a terrible conflagration took place, since known as
+the Great Boston Fire. Just as the cold blasts of winter began to
+sweep the streets, this great calamity occurred. The whole heart of
+the thriving little town was laid in ashes. Over a hundred families
+found themselves in destitution in the streets.
+
+An incident took place when Franklin was about seven years of age,
+which left so indelible an impression upon his mind, that it cannot be
+omitted in any faithful record of his life. He gave the following
+account of the event in his autobiography, written after the lapse of
+sixty-six years:
+
+     "My friends, on a holiday, filled my pockets with coppers. I
+     went directly to a shop where they sold toys for children;
+     and being charmed with the sound of a whistle that I met by
+     the way in the hands of another boy, I voluntarily gave all
+     my money for one. I then came home and went whistling all
+     over the house, much pleased with my whistle, but disturbing
+     all the family. My brothers and sisters and cousins,
+     understanding the bargain I had made, told me that I had
+     given four times as much for it as it was worth; put me in
+     mind what good things I might have bought with the rest of
+     the money; and laughed at me so much for my folly, that I
+     cried with vexation; and the reflection gave me more chagrin
+     than the whistle gave me pleasure."
+
+This story, as published by Franklin, with his keen practical
+reflections, has become as a household word in all the families of
+England and America; and has been translated into nearly all the
+languages of modern Europe.
+
+From early childhood Franklin was celebrated for his physical beauty,
+his athletic vigor and his imperturbable good nature. His companions
+invariably recognized him as their natural leader. He was in no
+respect what would be called a religious boy, but in many things he
+had a high sense of honor.
+
+There was a marsh, flooded at high tides, where the boys used to fish
+for minnows. Much trampling had converted the spot into a quagmire. A
+man was about to build a house near by, and had carted a large
+quantity of stones for the cellar. Franklin called the boys together
+and suggested that they should go in the evening, take those stones,
+and build a wharf upon which they could stand with dry feet. It was
+done. And under the skilful engineering of the youthful Franklin, it
+was quite scientifically done. Complaints and detection followed.
+Josiah Franklin severely reproved Benjamin for the dishonest act, but
+it does not appear that the conscience of the precocious boy was much
+troubled. He argued very forcibly that the utility of the measure
+proved its necessity.
+
+At the age of eight years, Benjamin entered the Boston Grammar School.
+His progress was very rapid, and at the close of the year he was at
+the head of his class. The father had hoped to give his promising boy
+a liberal education; but his large family and straitened circumstances
+rendered it necessary for him to abandon the plan. At the age of ten
+years his school life was completed, and he was taken into his
+father's shop to run of errands, and to attend to the details of
+candle-making, cutting wicks, filling moulds, and waiting upon
+customers. He could write a good hand, could read fluently, could
+express himself with ease on paper, but in all arithmetical studies
+was very backward.
+
+There is scarcely any sport which has such a charm for boys as
+swimming. Franklin excelled all his companions. It is reported that
+his skill was wonderful; and that at any time between his twelfth and
+sixtieth year, he could with ease have swum across the Hellespont. In
+his earliest years, in all his amusements and employments, his
+inventive genius was at work in searching out expedients. To
+facilitate rapidity in swimming he formed two oval pallets, much
+resembling those used by painters, about ten inches long, and six
+broad. A hole was cut for the thumb and they were bound fast to the
+palm of the hand. Sandals of a somewhat similar construction were
+bound to the soles of the feet. With these appliances Franklin found
+that he could swim more rapidly, but his wrists soon became greatly
+fatigued. The sandals also he found of little avail, as in swimming,
+the propelling stroke is partly given by the inside of the feet and
+ankles, and not entirely by the soles of the feet.
+
+In the vicinity of Boston there was a pond a mile wide. Franklin made
+a large paper kite, and when the wind blew strongly across the pond,
+he raised it, and entering the water and throwing himself upon his
+back was borne rapidly to the opposite shore. "The motion," he says,
+"was exceedingly agreeable." A boy carried his clothes around.
+Subsequently he wrote to M. Dubourg,
+
+     "I have never since that time practiced this singular mode
+     of swimming; though I think it not impossible to cross in
+     this manner from Dover to Calais. The packet boat, however,
+     is still preferable."[1]
+
+[Footnote 1: Sparks' Life and Works of Franklin, Vol. 6, p. 291.]
+
+The taste for reading of this wonderful boy was insatiable. He had
+access, comparatively, to few books, but those he devoured with the
+utmost eagerness. Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress was, so to speak, his
+first love. Having read and re-read it until his whole spirit was
+incorporated with its nature, he sold the volume and purchased
+Burton's Historical Collections. This consisted of quite a series of
+anecdotes and adventures, written in an attractive style, and
+published at a low price. In those early years he read another book
+which exerted a powerful influence in the formation of his character.
+When eighty years of age he alludes as follows to this work in a
+letter to Mr. Samuel Mather, who was son of the author, Cotton Mather,
+
+     "When I was a boy I met with a book entitled 'Essays to do
+     Good,' which I think was written by your father. It had
+     been so little regarded by a former possessor that several
+     leaves of it were torn out; but the remainder gave me such a
+     turn of thinking, as to have an influence on my conduct
+     through life; for I have always set a greater value on the
+     character of a doer of good, than on any other kind of a
+     reputation; and if I have been, as you seem to think, a
+     useful citizen, the public owe the advantage of it to that
+     book."[2]
+
+[Footnote 2: This volume has been republished by the Mass. S. S.
+Society.]
+
+When Franklin was twelve years of age, the population of Boston had
+increased to about ten thousand. An incident is recorded of Franklin
+at this time, which strikingly illustrates the peculiarity of his
+mental structure and the want of reverence with which he gradually
+accustomed himself to regard religious things. His father's habit, in
+the long graces which preceded each meal, rather wearied the temper of
+his son. The precocious young skeptic, with characteristic
+irreverence, ventured to say,
+
+"I think, father, that if you were to say grace over the whole cask,
+once for all, it would save time."[3]
+
+[Footnote 3: Works of Dr. Franklin by W. Temple Franklin. Vol. I, p.
+447.]
+
+This was the remark of a boy but twelve years of age. Though it does
+not indicate a very devout spirit, it certainly gives evidence of an
+intellect of unusual acuteness.
+
+Franklin ever spoke of his boyhood as the very happy period of a
+remarkably happy life. His peculiar temperament enabled him to be
+happy under circumstances in which others would have been very
+miserable. His affections in after years ever yearned toward Boston;
+he was accustomed to speak of it as "that beloved place." In one of
+his letters to John Lathrop he wrote,
+
+     "The Boston manner, the turn of phrase, and even tone of
+     voice and accent in pronunciation, all please and seem to
+     revive and refresh me."
+
+For two years Benjamin continued to assist his father in the business
+of soap and candle making. He was continually looking for an
+opportunity to escape the drudgery of that employment and enter upon
+some more congenial business. Like most adventurous boys, he thought
+much of the romance of a sea-life. An elder brother had run away, had
+gone to sea, and for years had not been heard from. Benjamin's father
+became very anxious as he witnessed the discontent of his son. This
+anxiety was increased when an elder brother married, removed to Rhode
+Island, and set up a soap and candle establishment for himself. This
+seemed to Benjamin to rivet the chains which bound him at home.
+Apparently his father could not spare him from the business. Thus he
+seemed doomed to spend the remainder of his days in employment which
+proved to him increasingly uncongenial.
+
+The judicious father, apprehensive that his son might be lured
+secretly to embark for some distant voyage, visited with his son all
+the varied workshops of Boston, that he might select that trade which
+to him would seem most desirable. Benjamin examined all these
+workshops with intensest interest. He selected the employment of a
+cutler, and entered upon the business for a few days; but at that time
+a boy who was about to learn a trade was apprenticed to a master. As a
+premium for learning the business he usually had to pay about one
+hundred dollars. Then after a series of years, during which he worked
+for nothing, he was entitled for a time to receive journeyman's wages.
+But his father, Josiah Franklin, was unable to settle satisfactorily
+the terms of indenture, and the cutlery trade was given up.
+
+We have mentioned that Franklin was one of a large family of children.
+By the two marriages of his father, there were sixteen sons and
+daughters around the family hearth. One of the sons, James, had been
+sent to London to learn the trade of a printer. He returned to Boston
+and set up business on his own account, when Benjamin was eleven
+years of age. It was decided to bind Benjamin to this business.
+Reluctantly Benjamin consented to place himself in such subordination
+to his brother. He was, however, bound to him for a period of nine
+years, from twelve to twenty-one. During the last year he was to
+receive a journeyman's wages. The following extract from this form of
+indenture of apprenticeship, which was in common use in the reign of
+George the First, will be read with interest.
+
+     "He shall neither buy nor sell without his master's license.
+     Taverns, inns, or ale-houses he shall not haunt. At cards,
+     dice, tables, or any other unlawful game he shall not play.
+     Matrimony he shall not contract; nor from the service of his
+     said master day nor night absent himself, but in all things,
+     as an honest and faithful apprentice, shall and will demean
+     and behave himself towards his said master and all his,
+     during said term. And the said James Franklin, the master,
+     for and in consideration of the sum of ten pounds of lawful
+     British money to him in hand paid by the said Josiah
+     Franklin, the father, the receipt of which is hereby
+     acknowledged, the said apprentice in the art of a printer
+     which he now useth, shall teach and instruct or cause to be
+     taught and instructed the best way and manner that he can,
+     finding and allowing unto the said apprentice, meat, drink,
+     washing, lodging and all other necessaries during the said
+     term."
+
+Benjamin devoted himself with great assiduity to learn the trade of a
+printer. The office in which he worked, stood at the corner of
+Franklin avenue and Court street. For three years, Franklin was thus
+employed, apparently never seeking recreation, and never having a
+moment of leisure save such as he could rescue from sleep or from his
+meals. There were at that time several bookstores in Boston. The
+eminent men of that province had brought with them to the New World,
+literary and scientific tastes of a high order. Even then the axe of
+the settler had been heard but at a short distance in the primeval
+forests, which still encircled all the large towns. Bears were not
+unfrequently shot from Long Wharf, as they swam from island to island,
+or endeavored to cross the solitary bay. It is said that at that time
+twenty bears were often shot in a week.
+
+Benjamin Franklin, inspired by his love of reading, cultivated
+friendly relations with the clerks in the bookstores. From them he
+borrowed interesting volumes, which he took home in the evening with
+the utmost care, and having spent most of the night in reading, would
+return them at an early hour in the morning, before the master of the
+shop had time to miss them.
+
+Something in the demeanor of Franklin attracted the attention of a
+merchant in Boston by the name of Matthew Adams. He invited him to his
+library and loaned him books. The lad's Uncle Benjamin, in England,
+who was very fond of composing rhymes which he called poetry, sent
+many of his effusions to his favorite nephew, and opened quite a brisk
+correspondence with him. Thus Benjamin soon became a fluent rhymester,
+and wrote sundry ballads which were sold in the streets and became
+quite popular. There was a great demand at that time for narratives of
+the exploits of pirates, the doom of murderers, and wild love
+adventures. It is said that one of the Boston publishers, in the sale
+of ballads alone, found a very lucrative business. Benjamin, who found
+it very easy to write doggerel verse, wrote one ballad called "The
+Light-house Tragedy." It was a graphic, and what would be called at the
+present day, a sensational account of a shipwreck, in which the
+captain and his two daughters perished. He wrote another which was
+still more captivating, and which in all its main features was
+historically true. It was an account of the world-renowned pirate,
+Edward Teach, usually called Blackbeard. The reader will find a minute
+narrative of the career of that monster in the volume of this series
+of Pioneers and Patriots entitled "Captain Kidd; or the early American
+Buccaneers." One stanza has descended to us which it is said composed
+a portion of this ballad, and which is certainly a fair specimen of
+the popular style then in vogue.
+
+     "Come all you jolly sailors
+       You all so stout and brave,
+     Come hearken and I'll tell you,
+       What happened on the wave.
+     Oh 'tis of that bloody Blackbeard
+       I'm going now for to tell
+     And as how by gallant Maynard
+       He soon was sent to Hell.
+     With a down, down, derry down."
+
+This was indeed wretched stuff, as Franklin afterwards admitted; but
+it is to be remembered he was then but a boy of fifteen. Having
+composed the ballad and set in type and printed it, he was then sent
+to hawk it through the streets. This was certainly a remarkable
+achievement for a lad of his years. The eagerness with which both of
+the ballads were seized by the public must have greatly gratified the
+self-esteem of the young writer.
+
+Addison was a bungler in talk, but every sentence from his pen was
+elegant. He once said, "I carry no loose change in my pocket, but I
+can draw for a thousand pounds." Burke said of Goldsmith, "He writes
+like an angel, but he talks like poor Poll." Franklin was by no means
+a bungler in his speech, but he was not fluent. He hesitated, and was
+at a loss for words, but whatever he wrote had a wonderful flow of
+harmony. The right word was always in the right place. Doubtless had
+he devoted as much attention to the acquirement of conversational
+ease, as he did to skill in writing, he would have been as successful
+in the one art as in the other. From early life it was his great
+ambition to be not merely a fine but a forcible writer. He did not
+seek splendor of diction, but that perspicuity, that transparency of
+expression which would convey the thought most directly to the mind.
+
+An odd volume of the Spectator fell in his way. He was charmed with
+the style. Selecting some interesting incident, he would read it with
+the closest care; he would then close the book, endeavoring to retain
+the thought only without regard to the expression. Then with pen, in
+hand, he would sit down and relate the anecdote or the incident in the
+most forceful and graphic words his vocabulary would afford. This he
+would correct and re-correct, minutely attending to the capitals and
+the punctuation until he had made it in all respects as perfect as it
+was in his power. He then compared his narrative with that in the
+Spectator. Of course he usually found many faults which he had
+committed, but occasionally he could not but admit he had improved
+upon his original. This encouraged him with the hope that by long
+continued practice, he might become an able writer of the English
+language. This practice he continued for months, varying it in many
+ways. He continued to rhyme, though he admitted that there was little
+poetry in his verse. The exercise, however, he thought useful in
+giving him a mastery of language.
+
+Though Franklin wrote ballads, he seemed to be mainly interested in
+reading books of the most elevated and instructive character. Locke's
+"Essay on the Human Understanding," he studied thoroughly. "The Art of
+Thinking," by the Messrs. de Port Royal, engrossed all his energies.
+But perhaps there was no book, at that time, which produced so deep
+and abiding impression on his mind as the "Memorabilia of Socrates,"
+by Xenophon.
+
+Franklin was fond of arguing; he was naturally disputatious. With his
+keen intellect, he was pretty sure to come off as victor, at least in
+his own judgment, in discussions with his associates. But the Socratic
+method of argumentation, so different from that in which he had been
+accustomed to indulge, at once secured his approval and admiration.
+Socrates was never guilty of the discourtesy of assailing an opponent
+with flat contradiction or positive assertion. With a politeness which
+never failed him, and a modesty of demeanor which won the regard of
+all others, he would lead his fellow disputant, by a series of
+questions, to assent to the views which he advocated. Franklin
+immediately commenced practicing upon this newly discovered art. He
+was remarkably successful, and became one of the most agreeable and
+beloved of companions. But ere long he became satisfied of the folly
+of these disputations, in which each party struggles, not for
+truth, but for victory. It is simply an exercise of intellectual
+gladiatorship, in which the man who has the most skill and muscle
+discomfits his antagonist. Jefferson warned his nephew to avoid
+disputation. He says, "I have never known, during my long life, any
+persons' engage in a dispute in which they did not separate, each more
+firmly convinced than before of the correctness of his own views."
+
+Franklin enjoyed marvellous health. His digestive powers were perfect.
+He could live upon any thing and almost upon nothing without
+experiencing any inconvenience. A book advocating purely vegetable
+diet accidentally fell into his hands. It urged the pecuniary economy
+and the saving of time in adopting a vegetarian diet. Eagerly he
+adopted the views presented. He could safely do so, had the author
+advocated raw onions and carrots. The stomach of Franklin would have
+received them and assimilated them without any remonstrance. He
+succeeded in inducing his brother to relinquish one half of his board
+and allow him to board himself. Benjamin found that in this way, he
+saved much time and much money. A handful of raisins, a roll of bread,
+and a glass of water afforded him a dinner. This he could dispose of
+in from five to ten minutes, and have the remainder of the dinner hour
+for reading.
+
+The hours of the night were his own. He often sat up late and rose
+early, his soul all absorbed in intellectual vigils.
+
+There are two platforms of morality, in some respects inseparably
+blended, in others quite distinctly separated from each other. The one
+of these platforms constitutes the low standard of mere worldly
+morality. It says,
+
+     You must not kill, you must not steal, you must not lie, you
+     must not slander your neighbor, you must not cheat him in a
+     bargain.
+
+But there is another platform which not only includes all this, but
+which introduces principles of an infinitely higher grade. It is the
+platform enforced by Jesus Christ as essential to a life which shall
+be pleasing to our Heavenly Father. Our Saviour says, You must love
+God in whom you live and move and have your being: you must daily
+pray to him with gratitude for the favors you receive. In the great
+conflict, raging here below, between sin and holiness, your whole
+heart must yearn with the desire that God's "kingdom may come and that
+His will may be done on earth as in Heaven." Imitating the example of
+your Saviour, who was God manifest in the flesh that by His life He
+might show men how to live, you must do everything in your power to
+lead your neighbors and friends to love God, to avoid everything in
+thought, word, or deed, which you think will be displeasing to Him;
+and you must do all in your power to prepare your heart for that world
+of purity and love where the spirits of the just are made perfect. No
+one can be blind to the fact that these principles are infinitely
+above the principles of mere worldly morality. They are not a
+substitute for those principles, but an addition to them.
+
+At the age of sixteen, Franklin was disposed to adopt the lower of
+these creeds as his rule of life; at times affirming that it was
+superior to the teachings of Jesus Christ; while again there would be
+the very clear and inconsistent avowal that, in this wicked world,
+something more was needed than teachings which he could plainly see
+seldom, if ever influenced a lost and degraded man, to be changed
+from a Saul of Tarsus to a Paul the Apostle. No one can understand the
+peculiar religious and moral character of Benjamin Franklin, without
+bearing in mind these distinctions.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+_Developments of Character._
+
+     Views of the Sabbath--Writings of Collins and
+     Shaftsbury--The creed of Collins--Franklin at sixteen--The
+     Courant--Denunciations of the paper--Franklin's mode of
+     acquiring the art of composition--His success as a
+     writer--The Editor prosecuted--Benjamin becomes Editor and
+     Publisher--Jealousy of his brother--The runaway
+     apprentice--The voyage to New York--Great
+     disappointment--Eventful Journey to Philadelphia--Gloomy
+     prospects--The dawn of brighter days.
+
+
+Franklin was never scrupulous in the observance of the Sabbath. Still,
+though he but occasionally attended church, he at times very earnestly
+urged that duty upon his young friends. It is not probable that the
+preaching he heard in those days, was calculated to interest him.
+While a child under the parental roof, he ordinarily accompanied his
+parents, and seemed to regard it as his duty to do so.
+
+He now, however, with an increasing sense of independence, very much
+preferred to spend his precious hours in his chamber, reading books
+which engrossed his most intense interest. Unfortunately many
+treatises fell into his hands in which unchristian sentiments were
+conveyed to his mind, by men of the highest intellectual character,
+and whose writings were invested with the most fascinating charms of
+eloquence.
+
+Robert Boyle, an Irish nobleman of wealth and fervent piety, had
+established at Oxford a lectureship, the object of which was to prove
+the truth of the Christian religion. These lectures had found their
+way in tracts to the little library of Franklin's father. When but
+fifteen years of age the boy read them, with a far keener relish than
+most school-boys now read the flashy novels of the day. In order to
+refute the arguments of the deists, the lecturers were bound to
+produce those arguments fairly and forcibly. But to this young boy's
+piercing mind, the arguments against Christianity seemed stronger than
+those which were brought forward to refute them. Thus the lad became,
+not a positive unbeliever, but an honest doubter. He now sought
+earnestly for other works upon that all-important subject.
+
+The two most important, influential and popular writers of that day
+were perhaps Anthony Collins and the Earl of Shaftsbury. These were
+both men of fortune, of polished education, and of great rhetorical
+and argumentative skill. Their influence over young minds was greatly
+increased by the courtesy and candor which pervaded all their
+writings. They ever wrote like gentlemen addressing gentlemen; and
+the views they urged were presented with the modesty of men who were
+earnestly seeking for the truth.
+
+The main attack of both of these men was directed against the miracles
+of the Bible. It was very evident that, the Divine authority of the
+Bible being overthrown, the whole structure of the Christian religion
+and morality must pass away. Mr. Parton, in his admirable Life of
+Franklin, says,
+
+     "Any one who will turn over an edition of Shaftsbury, and
+     try to read it with the mind of this merry and receptive
+     printer's boy, will perceive how entirely captivating it
+     must have been to him. The raillery that was always the
+     raillery of a gentleman; the irony so delicate as really to
+     deceive some men who passed for acute; the fine urbanity
+     that pervades even the passages called severe; the genuine
+     reverence of the author for virtue; the spectacle revealed
+     of a man uniting in himself all that is good in sense, with
+     all that is agreeable in the man of the world,--how pleasing
+     it must all have been to our inky apprentice as he munched
+     his noon-day crust."
+
+The practical creed of Collins and Shaftsbury, so far as it can be
+gleaned from the obscurity of their brilliant pages, consisted in
+the entire renunciation of all that is deemed the spirituality of
+the Christian creed, and the simple enforcement of the ordinary
+principles of morality in man's intercourse with his brother man. In
+substance they said,
+
+     "Be truthful and honest. Do not openly oppose the
+     institutions of Christianity, for that will render you
+     obnoxious to your neighbors. Conform to the ordinary usages
+     of the society in the midst of which you move; and as to
+     creeds, let them alone as unworthy of a moment's thought."
+
+Franklin, at sixteen years of age, became a thorough convert to these
+views. He was virtually without any God. He had no rule of life but
+his own instincts; but those instincts were of a high order,
+emboldening his character and restraining him from all vulgar vice.
+Thus he wandered for many years; though there are many indications of
+an occasionally troubled mind, and though he at times struggled with
+great eagerness to obtain a higher state of moral perfection, he
+certainly never developed the character of a warm-hearted and devoted
+follower of Jesus.[4]
+
+[Footnote 4: "For some years he wandered in heathenish darkness.
+He forsook the safe and good though narrow way of his forefathers,
+and of his father and mother, and his gentle Uncle Benjamin, without
+finding better and larger ways of his own. He was in danger of
+becoming a castaway or a commonplace successful man of the world.
+He found in due time, after many trials, and much suffering and
+many grievous errors, that the soul of a man does not thrive
+upon negations, and that, in very truth a man must _believe_
+in order that he may be saved."--_Parton's Life of Franklin, Vol. I,
+p. 71._]
+
+James Franklin was prosperous in his business. On the 17th of August,
+1721, he issued the first number of a newspaper entitled "The New
+England Courant." Benjamin set the type, struck off the impression
+of two or three hundred, with a hand-press, and then traversed
+the streets, carrying the diminutive sheet to the homes of the
+subscribers. The Courant soon attracted attention. A knot of sparkling
+writers began to contribute to its columns, and while the paper was
+with increasing eagerness sought for, a clamor was soon raised against
+it. It was denounced as radical in its political tendencies, and as
+speaking contemptuously of the institutions of religion. Cotton
+Mather, even, launched one of his thunderbolts against it. He wrote,
+
+     "We find a notorious, scandalous paper called 'The Courant'
+     full freighted with nonsense, unmanliness, raillery,
+     profaneness, immorality, arrogance, calumnies, lies,
+     contradictions and what not, all tending to quarrels and
+     divisions, and to debauch and corrupt the mind and manners
+     of New England."
+
+Increase Mather also denounced the paper, in terms still more
+emphatic.
+
+At this time a strong antipathy was springing up between James, and
+his apprentice brother. James assumed the airs of a master, and was
+arrogant and domineering, at times in his anger proceeding even to
+blows. Benjamin was opinionated, headstrong and very unwilling to
+yield to another's guidance. As Benjamin compared his own compositions
+with those which were sent to the Courant, he was convinced that he
+could write as well, if not better, than others. He, therefore, one
+evening prepared an article, before he was sixteen years of age,
+which, with the greatest care, was written in pure Addisonian diction.
+Disguising his hand, he slipped this at night under the door of the
+printing office. The next morning several contributors were chatting
+together in the editorial office, as Benjamin stood at the printing
+case setting his types. The anonymous article was read and freely
+commented upon. The young writer was delighted in finding it highly
+commended, and in their guesses for the author, the names of the most
+distinguished men in Boston were mentioned.
+
+The singular nom de plume he assumed was "Silence Dogood." Over that
+signature he wrote many articles before it was ascertained that he was
+the author. These articles attracted so much attention that young
+Benjamin could not refrain from claiming their paternity. This led his
+brother and others to regard him with far more respect than
+heretofore.
+
+But the Courant, while popular with the masses, became unpopular with
+the governmental authorities and with the religious community. As a
+slap in the face of the government, a fictitious letter was written,
+professedly from Newport, stating that a piratic ship had appeared off
+the coast, plundering, burning, and destroying. It was then stated
+that the government of Massachusetts was fitting out an armed vessel
+to attack the pirate, and that, wind and weather permitting, the
+vessel would sail from Boston sometime during the month.
+
+This reflection upon the dilatoriness of government gave great
+offence. The members of the Council summoned Franklin before them to
+answer for the libel. He admitted that he was the publisher of the
+paper, but refused to give the name of the writer. The Council decided
+that the paragraph was a high affront to the government, and ordered
+his imprisonment in the Boston jail. Here he was incarcerated for a
+week. Crushed by his misfortunes he wrote a very humble letter stating
+that his close confinement endangered his life, and begging that he
+might enjoy the liberty of the jail-yard. His request was granted, and
+for three weeks more he remained a prisoner, though with daily
+permission to leave his cell.
+
+During this time Benjamin conducted the paper, editing it, setting
+the type, printing the sheets and distributing the copies to the
+subscribers. He was still but a boy of sixteen. James was eventually
+released from prison, but the general character of the Courant
+remained unchanged. Unworthy professors of Christianity were
+incessantly assailed. The virtues of true Christians--of the
+multitudes of the disciples of Jesus, who were mothers in Israel, or
+who were Israelites indeed in whom there was no guile, were forgotten;
+while every mean and contemptible act of hypocrites and apostates was
+proclaimed with trumpet resonance.
+
+At length the Council declared in reference to a peculiarly obnoxious
+copy of the paper, that the Courant of that date contained many
+passages perverting the Holy Scriptures, and slandering the civil
+government, the ministers, and the good people of the land. A
+committee of three was appointed to report upon the matter. After two
+days they brought in the following decision:
+
+     "We are humbly of opinion that the tendency of said paper, is
+     to mock religion and bring it into contempt; that the Holy
+     Scriptures are therein profanely abused; that the revered and
+     faithful ministers of the Gospel are ignominiously reflected
+     on; and that His Majesty's government is affronted; and the
+     peace and good order of His Majesty's subjects of this
+     province disturbed by this said Courant."
+
+The committee, therefore, proposed that James Franklin should be
+strictly forbidden to print or publish the Courant, or any other paper
+of the like nature, unless it were supervised by the secretary of the
+province.
+
+James Franklin and his friends, after this decision, met in the office
+of the Courant, and adroitly decided to evade the mandate by canceling
+the indentures of apprenticeship of Benjamin, and constituting him the
+editor and publisher of the journal. This precocious lad prepared his
+inaugural. It contained the following sentiments:
+
+     "Long has the press groaned in bringing forth a hateful brood
+     of pamphlets, malicious scribbles, and billingsgate ribaldry.
+     No generous and impartial person then can blame the present
+     undertaking which is designed purely for the diversion and
+     merriment of the reader. Pieces of pleasantry and mirth have
+     a secret charm in them to allay the heats and tumults of our
+     spirits, and to make a man forget his restless resentment.
+     The main design of this weekly paper will be to entertain the
+     town with the most comical and diverting incidents of human
+     life, which in so large a place as Boston will not fail of a
+     universal exemplification. Nor shall we be wanting to fill up
+     these papers with a grateful interspersion of more serious
+     morals which may be drawn from the most ludicrous and odd
+     parts of life."
+
+It cannot be denied that Franklin aimed his keen shafts at many of the
+best of men who were consecrating all their energies to the promotion
+of the physical, moral, and religious welfare of their fellow
+creatures. He had a keen eye to search out their frailties; and though
+he seldom if ever, dipped his pen in gall, he did at times succeed in
+making them the song of the drunkard, and in turning against them the
+derision of all the lewd fellows of the baser sort.
+
+Benjamin, elated by flattery and success, admits that at seventeen
+years of age he became in his treatment of his brother "saucy and
+provoking." James was increasingly jealous and exacting. At length a
+very violent quarrel arose between them. The elder brother even
+undertook to chastise his younger brother, whom he still affected to
+regard as his apprentice. The canceling of the terms of indenture, he
+regarded as a secret act, intended merely to outwit his opponent.
+Franklin, burning with indignation, resolved no longer to continue in
+his brother's employment, and went to several other printers in
+Boston, hoping to enter into a new engagement. But his brother had
+preceded him, giving his own version of the story, and even declaring
+his brilliant brother to be an infidel and an atheist.
+
+Benjamin resolved to run away; for he still felt the binding
+obligation of his apprenticeship, while he tried to satisfy his mind
+that the unjust conduct of James entitled him to violate the
+obligation. There was a vessel about to sail for New York. He sold
+some of his books to pay his passage; and going on board secretly at
+night, he solicited the captain to aid him in concealing him, with the
+_false_ statement that he had become involved in a love adventure with
+a young girl; that she had subsequently proved to be a bad character;
+that her friends insisted on his marrying her; and that his only
+refuge was to be found in flight.
+
+His passage to New York was swift and pleasant. It is said that having
+adopted the vegetarian diet, he doubted our right to deprive an animal
+of life for our own gratification in eating. The sloop was one day
+becalmed off Block Island. The crew found it splendid fishing ground;
+the deck was soon covered with cod and haddock. Franklin denounced
+catching the fishes, as murderous, as no one could affirm that these
+fishes, so happy in the water, had ever conferred any injury upon
+their captors. But Benjamin was blessed with a voracious appetite. The
+frying pan was busy, and the odor from the fresh fish was exceedingly
+alluring. As he watched a sailor cutting open a fish, he observed in
+its stomach a smaller fish, which the cod had evidently eaten.
+
+"Ah!" he exclaimed, "if you can eat one another, I surely have a right
+to eat you."
+
+All his scruples vanished. He sat down with the rest to the sumptuous
+repast, and never after seemed to have any hesitancy in gratifying his
+appetite.
+
+Benjamin tells this story in his autobiography, and shrewdly adds,
+quoting from some one else,
+
+     "So convenient a thing it is to be a _reasonable_ creature,
+     since it enables one to find or make a reason for everything
+     one has a mind to do."
+
+It was in the beautiful month of October, 1723, when Benjamin landed
+on the wharves of New York. He was not quite eighteen years of age;
+had but little money in his purse; and was without any letter of
+recommendation or any acquaintance in the town. The place consisted of
+but seven or eight thousand inhabitants. The streets were the crooked
+lanes which we still find in the vicinity of the Battery. Some of the
+most important were uncomfortably paved with cobble stones. Most of
+the inhabitants were Dutch, reading and speaking only the Dutch
+language. There was at that time indeed, but little encouragement for
+an English printer. There was but one bookstore then in New York; and
+but one printing office, which was conducted by William Bradford.
+
+The runaway apprentice could find no employment. But William Bradford
+had a son in Philadelphia who was also a printer. He said to Benjamin,
+
+"He may employ you, as he has recently lost an apprentice by death."
+
+Leaving his chest of clothes to go round by sea to Philadelphia,
+Benjamin took passage in a small dilapidated shore boat which crept
+along the coast to Amboy. A drunken Dutchman was his only fellow
+passenger. The gloom of the primeval forest overshadowed Governor's
+Island: not a single cabin as yet had been reared in its solitudes. A
+squall struck the boat, split its sail, and pitched the Dutchman
+overboard. Franklin caught him by the hair and saved him from
+drowning. The sudden tempest increased into a storm, and the boat was
+driven fiercely before the gale. The surf dashed so violently upon the
+shore that they could not venture to land. Night approached.
+Exhausted, drenched and hungry, they cast anchor near the Long Island
+shore, where a bend in the land afforded them slight protection while
+still they were in great danger. There were one or two log cabins in
+the vicinity. Several of the men came to the shore, but could afford
+them no relief. They had no provision on board excepting a single
+bottle of bad rum. All night long the tempest beat upon them. In the
+morning the wind had so far lulled that they were enabled to repair
+their sail, and to work their way on to Amboy.
+
+It was late in the afternoon when they reached the port. For thirty
+hours they had been without food or water. Such were the perils of a
+passage from New York to Philadelphia in the year 1723.
+
+Franklin, in the enjoyment of magnificent health, slept quietly that
+night in an humble inn, and awoke in the morning with all his
+accustomed vigor. There were still fifty miles of land travel before
+him, ere he could cross the forest covered plains of New Jersey to
+Burlington, on the banks of the Delaware, which were seventeen miles
+above Philadelphia. There was neither railroad, stage-coach nor cart
+to convey him through the wilderness. Indeed it was thirty-three years
+after this before the first line of stages across New Jersey was
+established. There was a rude path, probably following an ancient
+Indian trail, along which our solitary adventurer trudged on foot. It
+rained; but still Benjamin found it necessary, having so slender a
+purse, to press on regardless of discomfort.
+
+Early in the afternoon he came to a hamlet, by the roadside, where he
+found himself so exhausted by the unaccustomed toil of walking, and by
+exposure to the rain and the miry roads, that he felt it necessary to
+remain until the next morning. The aspect he presented was shabby and
+dilapidated in the extreme; for he was in his working dress, which by
+the wear and tear of travel had become greatly soiled and tattered. He
+was not a little mortified to find that the inhabitants of the cabin,
+while they treated him kindly, evidently regarded him with suspicion
+as a runaway apprentice.
+
+In the gloom of that night, poor Benjamin bitterly repented the step
+he had taken, and earnestly wished himself back again in the home
+which he had forsaken. Clouds and darkness had gathered around his
+path and he could see but little bright beyond. Early the next morning
+he resumed his travels, pressing vigorously along all day. When the
+shades of night enveloped him he had reached a point within ten miles
+of Burlington. He passed the night comfortably in a settler's cabin,
+and early the next morning pressed on to the little village of
+Burlington, from which he was informed that a boat started every
+Saturday, to descend the still silent and almost unfrequented shores
+of the Delaware to Philadelphia. Much to his disappointment he reached
+Burlington just after the regular Saturday boat had gone, and was
+informed that there was no other boat to leave until the next Tuesday.
+He made his united breakfast and dinner upon gingerbread, which he
+bought in the street of an old woman.
+
+Burlington was on the east side of the river, Philadelphia was on the
+west. There was no road between the two places, the communication
+being by the river only. It seemed impossible for Benjamin to toil
+that distance through the pathless, tangled forest. He had but five
+shillings in his pocket. With the utmost economy that would not defray
+his expenses at Burlington, for three days, and leave a sufficient sum
+to pay his passage down the river.
+
+In his distress and perplexity, our young philosopher, whose renown
+for wisdom subsequently filled all Christian lands, turned back to the
+poor, aged woman of whom he had bought his gingerbread and solicited
+her advice. The good old soul, not insensible to the charms of the
+frank and manly looking boy, with motherly tenderness insisted on his
+going to her own humble home. Gladly he accepted the invitation. The
+dinner consisted of what is called ox-cheek; Franklin contributed a
+pot of beer.
+
+Walking out early in the evening upon the banks of the river, he
+found, to his great joy, a chance boat had come along, bound to
+Philadelphia and containing many passengers. Eagerly Franklin joined
+them, and bidding adieu to his kind entertainer, was soon drifting
+slowly down the stream. The night was dark, there was no wind, and no
+cheerful gleam from the white man's cabin or the Indian's wigwam met
+the eye. It was necessary to resort to rowing. At length, a little
+after midnight, several of the passengers insisted that they must have
+passed Philadelphia without seeing it, and refused to row any farther.
+They therefore ran the boat into a little creek, built a rousing fire,
+for the night was damp and chill, and ranging themselves around its
+genial warmth awaited the dawn of the morning. The light revealed to
+them Philadelphia but a few miles below them. It was Sunday morning.
+At nine o'clock the boat was made fast at Market street wharf, and
+Franklin, with one silver dollar and one shilling in copper coin in
+his pocket, stepped on shore. All his copper coin he paid for his
+passage.
+
+Such was the introduction of the future Governor of Pennsylvania to
+the realm over which he was eventually to preside as Governor, and of
+which he became its most illustrious citizen.
+
+He was unquestionably dressed in the peculiar and picturesque costume
+of the times. He wore knee breeches of buckskin, and a voluminous
+overcoat, lined with pockets of astonishing capacity, which pockets
+were crammed with shirts and stockings. A low, battered, broad-brimmed
+hat covered his clustering ringlets. His coarse woolen stockings
+displayed to advantage the admirably moulded calves of his legs.
+Every article of this costume was draggled, shabby, soiled, and much
+of it tattered.
+
+With an indescribable feeling of loneliness, exhausted with the
+toilsome and sleepless night, and with the cravings of hunger, he
+sauntered up into the town. Coming across a baker's shop, he stepped
+in, and called for three pennyworth of bread. In Philadelphia, food
+was abundant and bread was cheap. To his surprise three long rolls
+were given to him. He took one under each arm, and in his hunger the
+homeless boy walked along devouring the other. Philadelphia was then a
+village widely spread out, with surrounding vegetable gardens, and
+containing a population of about seven thousand inhabitants.
+
+Benjamin walked listlessly along as far as Fourth street. He chanced
+to pass the house of a Mr. Read, whose very pretty daughter, Deborah,
+was standing at the front door. She was eighteen years of age, and was
+much amused at the comical appearance which the young man presented as
+he passed by.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+It is not easy to imagine in these days, the state of society in these
+early settlements, hewn out from the forests on the river's banks, and
+with the unexplored wilderness spreading out to unimagined regions
+in the interior. At night, even from the houses of the village, the
+howling of the wolves could be heard as they rushed after their prey.
+Bears and deers were shot in abundance. And Indian bands, painted and
+plumed, were ever swarming through the streets.
+
+Franklin walked along, devouring his rolls, and returned to the river
+for a drink of water. Such was his first breakfast in Philadelphia. In
+the boat was a poor woman with her child. Franklin gave to her the two
+remaining rolls, which he could not conveniently carry about with him.
+
+Not knowing what to do, and led by curiosity to explore the town, he
+returned to Market street, then one of the chief avenues of the city.
+It was a little after ten o'clock in the morning. The street was
+crowded with well-dressed people, pressing along to church. There was
+one important edifice called the "Great Meeting House" of the Quakers.
+It stood at the corner of Second and Market streets.
+
+Franklin joined the crowd, and took his seat with the vast assembly.
+He soon fell soundly asleep. The hour passed away. The congregation
+dispersed, and Benjamin was left still asleep. Some one then kindly
+awoke the tired traveler, and he again stepped out into the streets so
+lonely, where there was not an individual whom he knew, and where
+almost without money he could find no refuge which he could call a
+home.
+
+As he walked toward the river, he met a young Quaker whose countenance
+pleased him. Of him he inquired where he could find a respectable and
+comfortable lodging. The friendly Quaker led him to a tavern, near
+Chestnut street, called the "Crooked Billet." Franklin ordered a
+frugal dinner, threw himself upon the bed, and slept till supper time,
+and immediately after supper went to bed and slept soundly till the
+morning.
+
+He had now been from home eleven days. His money was nearly expended.
+His clothes were worn; and almost the only hope remaining was the very
+visionary one that Mr. Bradford's son might possibly have some
+employment for him. Early in the morning he carefully brushed his
+travel-worn clothes, his shoes, his hat, and making himself as
+respectable in appearance as possible, went to the house of the
+printer, Andrew Bradford. To his surprise and gratification he found
+the father there, who had just arrived, having traveled from New York
+to Philadelphia on horseback.
+
+Benjamin met with a courteous reception, was invited to breakfast. He
+was, however, greatly disappointed in being informed that Andrew
+Bradford had just engaged another apprentice to take the place of the
+one who was lost. Mr. Bradford, however, stated that there was a man,
+by the name of Keimer, who had recently commenced the printing
+business in the town, and might have employment for him. The old
+gentleman kindly offered to go to the office with Benjamin, and
+introduce him to Keimer.
+
+They found Keimer a very eccentric looking individual, in a small
+office, with an old dilapidated press, and with a few worn-out types.
+He asked the young man a few questions, put a composing stick into his
+hands, and professed himself satisfied with his work. He then told
+Franklin that he could find no work for him immediately, but he
+thought ere long he could employ him. It seems, however, that at once
+Benjamin went to work, repairing the dilapidated old press, while he
+continued to board at Mr. Bradford's, paying for his board by the work
+which he performed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+_Excursion to England._
+
+     Attention to dress--Receives a visit from Gov. Keith--His
+     visit to Boston--Collins returns to Philadelphia with
+     him--Sir William Keith's aid--Excursions on the
+     Sabbath--Difficulty with Collins--Spending Mr. Vernon's
+     money--His three friends--Engagement with Deborah
+     Read--Voyage to England--Keith's deceit--Ralph--Franklin
+     enters a printing house in London.
+
+
+The eccentric Keimer soon found that Franklin was a workman whose
+services would be invaluable to him. He had no home of his own, but
+became very unwilling that Benjamin, while in his employ, should board
+in the family of a rival printer. He therefore made arrangements for
+him to board at Mr. Read's, whose pretty daughter, Deborah, had made
+herself merry but a few days before in view of his uncouth appearance.
+
+Fortunately for the young man, who was never regardless of the
+advantages of a genteel dress, his chest had arrived bringing his
+clothing. He was thus able to present himself before the young lady in
+attractive costume. And his address was always that of an accomplished
+gentleman. As we have mentioned, he was ever in his youth, middle
+life, and old age, remarkable for his personal beauty.
+
+Bright and sunny days now dawned upon Franklin. His employer
+appreciated his varied and wonderful merits. He received good wages.
+The family in which he resided was highly attractive, and he there
+found a home congenial with his pure and refined tastes. Several
+months passed away before he heard from the friends he had left in
+Boston. The tyranny of his brother had so greatly offended him, that
+for a time he endeavored to exclude from his mind all thoughts of his
+home. He heard, however, that one of his sisters had married Captain
+Robert Holmes, the captain of a vessel sailing between Boston and the
+ports on the Delaware.
+
+In those piratical days, when the master of a ship was compelled to
+sail with guns loaded to the muzzle, and with sharpened sabres, he was
+deemed a personage of great importance. No weak or ordinary man could
+discharge the responsibilities of such a post. Captain Holmes,
+influenced by the love of his wife, wrote to Benjamin informing him of
+the grief his departure had caused the family, entreating him to
+return, and assuring him that all the past should be forgotten.
+
+Benjamin, in his reply, wrote with such precision and force of logic,
+that Captain Holmes became satisfied that he was by no means so much
+in the wrong as he had supposed. It so chanced that when the captain
+received this letter, he was in company with Sir William Keith, then
+the Governor of Pennsylvania. He read the letter to the Governor. Sir
+William was charmed with its literary and rhetorical ability; and
+could scarcely believe that the writer was but eighteen years of age.
+
+"The Philadelphia printers," said he, "are wretched ones. Keimer is a
+compound of fool and rogue. But this young man is manifestly of great
+promise and ought to be encouraged."
+
+One day Benjamin and his master were working together, when they saw
+two well-dressed gentlemen approaching. They proved to be the Governor
+of Pennsylvania, Sir William Keith, and Franklin's brother-in-law,
+Captain Holmes, whom he probably had never before seen. Keimer ran
+down stairs to meet them, supposing, of course, that he must be the
+man who was entitled to the honor of their visit. To his surprise they
+inquired for his apprentice, and went up the stairs to the printing
+office to see him.
+
+Benjamin was quite overwhelmed by the honors with which he was
+greeted. The Governor paid him many compliments, expressed an earnest
+desire to make his acquaintance, and politely censured him for
+not calling at the gubernatorial mansion upon his arrival in
+Philadelphia. The interview was terminated by taking Franklin with
+them to a neighboring tavern to dine. There the three met upon
+apparently perfect social equality, and very freely discussed many
+important matters as they drank their wine.
+
+The Governor, a very plausible, unreliable man, ever lavish of
+promises without performance, proposed that Franklin, aided by funds
+from his father, should open a printing office for himself. He
+promised to exert his influence to secure for his young protegé the
+public printing of both the provinces of Pennsylvania and Delaware.
+When Franklin suggested that he feared his father would be either
+unable or unwilling to furnish the needed funds, the Governor promised
+to write to him with his own hand, explaining the advantages of the
+scheme.
+
+During the protracted interview, it was decided that Benjamin should
+return to Boston by the first vessel. He was to take with him Sir
+William's letter, and thus aided, endeavor to win over his father to
+their plans.
+
+A week or two elapsed before there was a vessel ready to sail for
+Boston. At that time the social rank of a printer was decidedly above
+that of other mechanic arts. There was something sacred attached to
+the employment, and it was regarded as near akin to the learned
+professions. Franklin was frequently invited to dine with the
+Governor. His perfect self-possession, his careful dress and polished
+address, united with his wonderful conversational powers, rendered him
+a great favorite with all the distinguished guests whom he was
+accustomed to meet at the table of the Governor.
+
+The latter part of April, 1724, Franklin, then eighteen years of age,
+took passage in a small vessel for Boston. His friends in Philadelphia
+generally understood that he was going home merely to visit his
+friends. It was deemed expedient to throw the veil of great secrecy
+over the enterprise in which he was contemplating to engage.
+
+The voyage was exceedingly tempestuous. The vessel sprang a leak. For
+some time passengers and crew worked at the pumps night and day. But
+after being buffeted by winds and waves for fourteen dreary days, the
+little vessel cast anchor in the harbor of Boston. Franklin had then
+been absent from home seven months.
+
+His sudden appearance was a great surprise to all the members of the
+numerous family. It is not surprising that the young man, elated by
+his brilliant prospects, assumed rather lordly airs. His dress was new
+and quite elegant. He had purchased a handsome watch, which he was not
+reluctant to display. He had in his pocket twenty-five dollars of
+silver coin.
+
+Franklin's brother James, from whom he had run away, was greatly
+annoyed by the airs of superiority assumed by his old apprentice. With
+a cold and almost scornful eye, he scanned his person from head to
+foot, scarcely offering his hand in greeting, and soon coldly and
+silently returned to his work. But the imperial young man was not thus
+to be put down. His former acquaintances gathered eagerly around him
+and listened with intensest interest to the narrative of his
+adventures. In glowing terms, Benjamin described his new home in
+Philadelphia, drew out from his pocket handfuls of silver which he
+exhibited to them, and with quite lordly dignity gave his former
+fellow-journeymen money to go to the ale-house for a treat.
+
+The candid reader will make some allowances for the conduct of
+Benjamin, when he remembers that but a few months before, he had run
+away to escape the cudgel of his brother. He will also feel inclined
+to make some allowance for James, when informed that he was in
+adversity, and struggling severely with pecuniary embarrassment. The
+Courant, deprived of the graphic pen of Franklin, was rapidly losing
+its subscribers, and soon became extinct.
+
+Benjamin's father Josiah, who needed in his own business every dollar
+of the funds he could raise, silently and almost without remark, read
+the letter of Sir William Keith, and listened attentively to the
+glowing descriptions of his son. Soon after Captain Holmes arrived.
+The judicious father conversed fully with him, and expressed his
+opinion that Sir William Keith must be a man of but little discretion
+to think of setting up independently, in very responsible business, a
+young man of but eighteen years of age.
+
+Though Captain Holmes earnestly advocated the views of the Governor,
+Josiah Franklin, after mature deliberation, decisively declined
+furnishing the necessary funds.
+
+"Benjamin," said he, "is too young to undertake an enterprise so
+important. I am much gratified that he has been able to secure the
+approbation of the Governor of Pennsylvania, and that by his industry
+and fidelity he has been able to attain prosperity so remarkable. If
+he will return to Philadelphia and work diligently until he is
+twenty-one, carefully laying up his surplus earnings, I will then do
+everything in my power to aid him."
+
+The cautious Christian father then gave his son some very salutary
+advice. He entreated him to be more careful in throwing out his arrows
+of satire, and to cease presenting, in the aspect of the ridiculous,
+so many subjects which religious men regarded with veneration. He
+wrote a very courteous letter to Sir William Keith, thanking him for
+his kindness to his son, and stating his reasons for declining the
+proposed aid. Indeed, Josiah Franklin was intellectually, morally, and
+in all sound judgment, immeasurably the superior of the fickle and
+shallow royal Governor.
+
+Sixty years after this visit of Franklin to his paternal home, he
+wrote a letter to the son of the Rev. Cotton Mather, from which we
+make the following pleasing extract:
+
+     "The last time I saw your father was in the beginning of
+     1724, when I visited him after my first trip to Pennsylvania.
+     He received me in his library; and on my taking leave showed
+     me a shorter way out of the house through a narrow passage
+     which was crossed by a beam overhead. We were still talking
+     as I withdrew, he accompanying me behind, and I, turning
+     partly toward him, when he said hastily, _stoop, stoop!_ I
+     did not understand him till I felt my head hit against the
+     beam. He was a man that never missed any occasion of giving
+     instruction; and upon this he said to me 'You are young and
+     have the world before you. Stoop as you go through it, and
+     you will miss many hard thumps.' This advice, thus beat into
+     my head, has frequently been of use to me. And I often think
+     of it when I see pride mortified and misfortunes brought
+     upon people by their carrying their heads too high."
+
+There was in Boston a young man by the name of Collins, a reckless,
+dissipated spendthrift, of very considerable personal attractions. He
+had been quite an intimate friend of Franklin; and was so pleased with
+his descriptions of Philadelphia that he decided to remove there. This
+proved one of the calamities of Franklin's life.
+
+Franklin eventually embarked, in a sloop, for his return. It touched
+at Newport. His brother John lived there, pursuing the trade of a
+candle-maker. Benjamin was received by him with great cordiality. At
+Newport, among the other passengers, two young girls were taken on
+board for New York. They were showy, voluble, gaudily dressed. All
+their arts were exerted to secure intimate association with Franklin.
+
+A venerable Quaker lady on board called the inexperienced young man
+aside, and with motherly tenderness warned him against their wiles.
+Though he doubted the necessity of this caution, he was put upon his
+guard. When the girls left at New York, he declined their pressing
+invitation for him to visit them at their home, and he learned from
+the captain that they had undoubtedly stolen from him a silver spoon,
+an article then not often seen in common life, and highly prized.
+They were charged with the crime, convicted, and it is said that they
+were publicly whipped in the market place.
+
+Upon Franklin's arrival at New York, Collins, the playmate of his
+childhood, was one of the first to meet him. In his earlier days he
+had been sober, industrious, and was highly esteemed for his mental
+powers and attainments. But he had become intemperate and a gambler,
+and was every day intoxicated. Reduced almost to beggary, Franklin
+felt compelled to furnish him with money to save him from starvation.
+Penniless he had come on board the boat at New York, and Franklin paid
+his passage to Philadelphia.
+
+William Burnett was then Governor of New York. He was very fond of
+books and had collected a large library. Franklin also had the same
+taste and had a large number of books which he was conveying to
+Philadelphia. The captain informed the Governor that he had a young
+man on board fond of books, and of superior literary attainments. The
+Governor begged the captain to bring young Franklin to see him.
+
+"I waited upon him," wrote Franklin, "and would have taken Collins
+with me had he been sober. The Governor received me with great
+civility; and we had a good deal of conversation relative to books
+and authors. This was the second Governor who had done me the honor to
+take notice of me, and to a poor boy like me it was very pleasing."
+
+Upon reaching Philadelphia, Franklin presented the letter of his
+father to Sir William Keith. The Governor, upon reading the letter,
+said,
+
+"Your father is too prudent. There is a great difference in persons.
+Discretion does not always accompany years; nor is youth always
+without it. But since he will not set you up, I will do it myself.
+Give me an inventory of the things necessary to be had from England,
+and I will send for them. You shall repay me when you are able. I am
+resolved to have a good printer here and I am sure you must succeed."
+
+Franklin supposed of course, that he could rely upon the word of the
+Governor. He drew up an inventory of goods to the amount of about five
+hundred dollars. The strange Governor, who found it very easy to talk,
+ran his eye over the list and as if money were a consideration of no
+moment to him, and suggested that Franklin should go to London in
+person. Greatly elated at this idea, young Franklin eagerly embraced
+it, and the Governor directed him to be ready to embark in the London
+Hope, a ship which sailed regularly between London and Philadelphia,
+leaving each port once a year.
+
+Several months would elapse before the ship would sail. Sir William
+enjoined it upon Franklin to keep their plans in the utmost secrecy.
+Consequently, Franklin continued to work for Keimer, not giving him
+the slightest intimation that measures were in progress for the
+establishment in Philadelphia, of a printing house which would
+entirely overshadow his own. This secrecy which was practiced also
+prevented any one from informing Franklin of the Governor's real
+character, as a vain, unreliable, gasconading boaster.
+
+Six months passed away. They were with Franklin happy months.
+He was in perfect health, greatly enjoyed his own physical and
+intellectual attributes, was much caressed, and was engaged in
+lucrative employment. He was highly convivial in his tastes, very
+fond of social pleasures, of the wine cup and of the song: and on
+Sundays in particular, the enchanting forests of the Schuylkill
+resounded with the songs and the shouts of the merry bacchanals,
+led by Franklin, who was ever recognized as their chief.
+
+There probably never was a young man more skillful than Benjamin
+Franklin in plucking the rose and avoiding the thorn. In all his
+festivities he was the thoughtful philosopher. Never did he drink to
+excess; no money was squandered at the gaming table. Carefully he
+avoided all views which he deemed vulgar and degrading; and he made it
+the general rule of his life, to avoid everything which would bring
+pain to his body, or remorse to his soul.
+
+Still man is born to mourn. Even Franklin could not escape the general
+lot. The drunken Collins became his constant scourge. Franklin felt
+constrained to lend his old friend money. He had been entrusted by a
+family friend, a Mr. Vernon, to collect a debt of about fifty dollars.
+This money he was to retain till called for. But to meet his own
+expenses and those of his spendthrift companion, he began to draw
+upon it, until it all disappeared. He was then troubled with the
+apprehension that the money might be demanded. Bitter were the
+quarrels which arose between him and John Collins. His standard of
+morality which was perhaps not less elevated than that which the
+majority of imperfect professing Christians practice, was certainly
+below that which the religion of Jesus Christ enjoins. Had he been a
+true Christian according to the doctrines and precepts of Jesus, he
+would have escaped these accumulating sorrows.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+This breaking in upon his friend Vernon's money, and spending it,
+he pronounces in his autobiography, to have been the _first great
+error_ of his life. Though it so chanced that the money was not
+required until Franklin was able to pay it, yet for several months
+he was in the endurance of intense mental anxiety and constant
+self-reproach.
+
+At length, Collins and Franklin became so antagonistic to each other
+as to proceed to violence. They were on a pleasure party in a boat
+down the river. Collins, as usual, was intoxicated. The wrath of the
+muscular Benjamin was so aroused, by some act of abuse, that he seized
+the fellow by the collar and pitched him overboard. Collins was a good
+swimmer. They therefore kept him in the water till he was nearly
+drowned. When pretty thoroughly humbled, and upon his most solemn
+promise of good behavior, he was again taken on board. Seldom after
+this was a word exchanged between them. Collins, deeply indebted to
+Franklin, accepted of some business offer at Barbadoes. He sailed for
+that island, and was never heard of more.
+
+Almost every young man has a few particular friends. The three most
+intimate companions of Benjamin Franklin were young men of his own
+rank and age, of very dissimilar characters, but having a common taste
+for business. They were all clerks. One of these, Joseph Watson, was,
+according to Franklin's description, "a pious, sensible young man of
+great integrity." It would seem that they were all persons of very
+estimable character, though some of them had imbibed Franklin's
+skeptical opinions. They spent many of their Sabbaths, wandering on
+the banks of the romantic Schuylkill, reading to each other their
+compositions in prose and verse.
+
+James Ralph, who was very emphatic in his deistical views, in his
+enthusiasm, decided to devote himself to the art of rhyming. The
+sensible Franklin tried to dissuade him from his folly, but in vain.
+On one occasion they all agreed to attempt a version of the Eighteenth
+Psalm. This sublime production of an inspired pen contains, in fifty
+verses, imagery as grand and sentiments as beautiful, as perhaps can
+anywhere else be found, within the same compass, in any language. It
+certainly speaks well for the intellectual acumen of these young men,
+and for their devotional instincts, that they should have selected so
+noble a theme. As their main object was to improve themselves in the
+command of language, and in the power of expression, they could not
+have chosen a subject more appropriate, than the Psalmist's
+description of the descent of God to earth.
+
+     "He bowed the heavens also and came down; and darkness was under
+        his feet.
+     And He rode upon a cherub and did fly;
+     Yea he did fly upon the wings of the wind.
+     He made darkness his secret place.
+     His pavilion round about him were dark waters, thick clouds of
+        the skies.
+     At the brightness which was before him his thick clouds passed.
+     Hail stones and coals of fire."[5]
+
+[Footnote 5: The intelligent reader will recall the glowing version of
+this Psalm, by Steinhold.
+
+     "The Lord descended from above,
+       And bowed the heavens most high;
+     And underneath his feet he cast
+       The darkness of the sky.
+     On cherub and on cherubim,
+       Full royally he rode;
+     And on the wings of mighty winds,
+       Came flying all abroad."]
+
+Joseph Watson died quite young, in the arms of Franklin. Charles
+Osborne acquired money and reputation, as a lawyer. Removing to the
+West Indies, he died, in the prime of life.
+
+Franklin and Osborne entered into the agreement, which has so often
+been made, that whichever should first die, should, if possible,
+return to the other and reveal to him the secrets of the spirit land.
+It is hardly necessary to say that Franklin watched long in vain, for
+a visit from his departed companion.
+
+Two months before Franklin sailed for London, Mr. Read, with whom he
+boarded, died. With the father, mother, and very pretty and amiable
+daughter, Deborah, Franklin had found a happy home. A strong affection
+apparently sprang up between the two young people. She was seventeen
+years of age, and Franklin eighteen. Their union would be eminently
+fitting, as in fortune and position in society, they were on the same
+level.
+
+Franklin, enjoying the patronage of the governor, and with, as he
+supposed, very brilliant prospects before him, entered into an
+engagement with Deborah, and was anxious to be married before he
+embarked for England, designing to leave his young bride at home with
+her mother. But Mrs. Read, in consideration of their youth, urged that
+the nuptials should be postponed until after his return.
+
+Sir William Keith continued to invite Franklin to his house, and
+lavished commendation and promises upon him. Still he continually
+postponed giving him any letters of credit with which he could
+purchase types, paper and press. Though, as the hour for sailing
+approached, Franklin called again and again to obtain the needful
+documents, he was continually met with apologies. At length, the day
+for the ship to weigh anchor arrived. It was about the 5th of
+November, 1724.
+
+At that late hour the private secretary of the Governor called
+upon Franklin and informed him that Sir William would meet him at
+Newcastle, where the vessel was to cast anchor, and would then and
+there, deliver to him all the important documents. Franklin went on
+board. The ship dropped down the broad and beautiful Delaware,
+whose banks were brilliant with foliage in their richest autumnal
+brilliance, about thirty-two miles below Philadelphia, to Newcastle.
+To the great disappointment of Franklin, the Governor still did not
+appear. He however sent his secretary, with a profusion of excuses,
+and professing to be pressed with business of the utmost importance,
+promised to send the letters to the captain before the vessel would be
+permitted to sail.
+
+Franklin, naturally buoyant and hopeful, did not even then, consider
+it possible that the Governor was intending to deceive him. Neither
+was it possible to conceive of any motive which would induce Sir
+William to betray him by so deceptive a game. At length a bag from the
+Governor, apparently filled with letters and dispatches, was brought
+on board, and again the vessel unfurled her sails. Franklin, with some
+solicitude, asked for those which were directed to him. But Captain
+Annis, all engrossed with the cares of embarkation, said that he was
+too busy to examine the bag at that time, but that they would, at
+their leisure, on the voyage select the letters.
+
+On the 10th of November, 1724, the good ship, the London Hope, pushed
+out from the Delaware upon the broad Atlantic. We know not whether
+Franklin was surprised to find on board, as one of the passengers, his
+poetical deistical friend James Ralph. This young man, who had
+renounced Christianity, in the adoption of principles, which he
+professed to believe conducive to the formation of a much higher moral
+character, had deliberately abandoned his wife and child to seek
+his fortune in London. He had deceived them by the most false
+representation. Carefully he concealed from Franklin, his unprincipled
+conduct and visionary schemes.
+
+The voyage was long and rough, as the vessel did not reach London
+until the twenty-fourth of November. On the passage he very carefully,
+with the captain, examined the letter-bag. But no letter was found
+addressed to him. There were several, however, addressed to other
+persons, with Franklin's name upon the envelope as if they were in his
+care. As one of these was addressed to the king's printer and another
+to a stationer in London, the sanguine young man through all the
+dreary and protracted voyage, clung to the hope that all was right.
+
+Upon arriving in London, Franklin hastened first to the stationer's
+and presented him with the letter, saying to him, "Here is a letter
+from Governor Keith, of Pennsylvania." The stationer looked up with
+surprise and said:
+
+"Governor Keith! I do not know of any such person." Then breaking the
+seal, and looking at the signature, he said very contemptuously,
+"Riddlesden. I have lately found him to be a complete rascal. I will
+have nothing to do with him, nor receive any letters from him."[6]
+
+[Footnote 6: We both of us happen to know, as well as the stationer,
+that Riddlesden, the attorney, was a very knave. He had half ruined
+Miss Read's father by persuading him to be bound for him. By
+his letter it appeared there was a secret scheme on foot to the
+prejudice of Mr. Hamilton; that Keith was concerned in it with
+Riddlesden.--Works of Franklin, by Sparks, Vol. i, p. 55.]
+
+So saying he thrust the letter back into Franklin's hand, and turned
+away to serve a customer. Franklin was almost stunned with this
+intelligence. He immediately conferred with a Mr. Denham, a judicious
+friend whose acquaintance he had made on board the ship. They
+ascertained that the infamous Governor, from motives which it is
+difficult to comprehend, had not furnished Franklin with a single
+document. There was not a bill of credit or a single letter of
+introduction, commending the young adventurer to people in London.
+Denham then told him that no one who knew Keith had the slightest
+confidence in his promises. That the idea that he would furnish him
+with any letters of credit was preposterous, since Sir William had no
+credit with any body.
+
+And thus Franklin found himself with his companion James Ralph, alone
+in the great world of London, without any letters of introduction,
+without any prospect of employment, and almost without money. The
+virtues of Franklin had exerted a restraining influence upon the
+unprincipled Ralph, and Franklin had not as yet become acquainted with
+the true basis of his character. The two young men met together to
+consult in this dilemma and to examine their finances. It appeared
+that Ralph had scarcely one penny in his pocket. He had intended to be
+a hanger-on upon Franklin, in whose ability to take care of himself
+and others he had the greatest confidence. Franklin's purse contained
+about fifty dollars.
+
+Again he returned to consult with Mr. Denham. He very wisely advised
+Franklin to seek employment in some of the printing offices in London.
+He encouraged him with the thought that thus with a few months' labor,
+he might not only pay his expenses, but also lay up a sufficient sum
+to defray his passage home.
+
+Franklin gradually perceived to his dismay, what an old man of the sea
+he had got upon his shoulders in the person of James Ralph. The
+following is his calm comment upon the atrocious conduct of Keith:
+
+"What shall we think," he writes, "of a governor playing such pitiful
+tricks, and imposing so grossly upon a poor ignorant boy? It was a
+habit he had acquired; he wished to please every body, and having
+little to give, he gave expectations. He was otherwise an ingenuous,
+sensible man, a pretty good writer, and a good governor for the
+people, though not for his constituents the proprietaries. Several of
+our best laws were of his planning, and passed during his
+administration."
+
+The entire absence of anger in this statement, has won for Franklin
+great commendation.
+
+With his dependent protegé Ralph, he took humble lodgings in Little
+Britain street. Ralph had remarkable powers of conversation, with much
+more than ordinary literary talent, and could, whenever he wished,
+make himself very agreeable and almost fascinating as a companion. But
+he was quite a child as to all ability to take care of himself.
+Franklin really loved him at that time. He was a very handsome young
+man, graceful in his demeanor; and those who listened to his eloquent
+harangues would imagine that he was destined to attain to greatness.
+
+Franklin immediately applied for work at the great printing
+establishment of Palmer in Bartholomew Close. Fifty journeymen
+were here employed. He promptly entered into a contract with the
+proprieter for the remuneration of about six dollars a week. Ralph,
+characteristically hurried to the theatre to enter upon the profession
+of a play-actor. Being disappointed in that attempt, his next plan was
+to edit a newspaper to be called the Spectator. Not being able to find
+a publisher, he then went the rounds of the law offices, in search of
+copying, but not even this, could he obtain. In the meantime they were
+both supported by the purse of Franklin. With fifty dollars in his
+pocket, and earning six dollars a week, he felt quite easy in his
+circumstances, and was quite generous in his expenditure for their
+mutual enjoyment.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+_Mental and Moral Conflicts._
+
+     Faithfulness to work--Neglect of Deborah Read--Treatise on
+     Liberty and Necessity--Skill in swimming--Return to
+     America--Marriage of Miss Read--Severe sickness--Death of
+     Mr. Denham--Returns to Keimer's employ--The Junto--His
+     Epitaph--Reformation of his treatise on Liberty and
+     Necessity--Franklin's creed.
+
+
+Franklin and Ralph were essentially congenial in their tastes. Neither
+of them were religiously inclined in the ordinary acceptation of those
+words. But the thoughtful philosophy of Franklin has by many been
+regarded as the development of an instinctively religious character.
+They were both exceedingly fond of amusement and especially of
+pleasure excursions on the Sabbath. Very seldom, did either the
+intellect or the heart lure them to listen to such teachings as they
+would hear from the pulpit. It certainly would have been better for
+them both, had they been church-going young men. There was no pulpit
+in all London from which they would not hear the reiterated counsel,
+Cease to do evil; learn to do well.
+
+Franklin was faithful in the highest degree to his employer.
+Weary with the day's toil, which with his active mind was highly
+intellectual as well as mechanical, he almost invariably in the
+evening sought recreation with Ralph in the theatre. It is safe to
+infer that the best productions of our best dramatists, were those
+which would most interest the mind of our young philosopher. Ralph was
+daily gaining an increasing influence over his mind. It is said that
+we are prone to love more ardently those upon whom we confer favors
+than those from whom we receive them.
+
+To these two young men the pleasures of London seemed inexhaustible.
+Franklin began to forget his old home and his friends. He began to
+think that London was a very pleasant place of residence, and that it
+was doubtful whether he should ever return to America again. He had
+constant employment, the prospect of an increasing income, and with
+his economical habits he had ample funds to relieve himself from all
+pecuniary embarrassment. With his friend Ralph, he was leading a very
+jovial life, free from all care.
+
+His love for Deborah Read began to vanish away. He thought very
+seldom of her: seldom could he find time to write to her; and ere
+long his letters ceased altogether; and she was cruelly left to the
+uncertainty of whether he was alive or dead. Ralph had entirely
+forgotten his wife and child, and Franklin had equally forgotten his
+affianced. In subsequent years the memory of this desertion seems to
+have weighed heavily on him. He wrote in his advanced life in
+reference to his treatment of Deborah,
+
+     "This was another of the great errors of my life; which I
+     could wish to correct were I to live it over again."
+
+For nearly a year, Franklin thus continued in the employment of Mr.
+Palmer, receiving good wages and spending them freely. A very highly
+esteemed clergyman of the Church of England named Wollaston, had
+written a book entitled, "The Religion of Nature Delineated." It was a
+work which obtained much celebrity in those days and was published by
+Mr. Palmer. It was of the general character of Butler's Analogy, and
+was intended to prove that the morality enjoined by Jesus Christ, was
+founded in the very nature of man; and that the principles of that
+morality were immutable, even though deists should succeed in
+destroying the public faith in the divine authority of Christianity.
+It was eminently an amiable book, written with great charity and
+candor, and without any dogmatic assumptions.
+
+It chanced to fall to Franklin to set up the type. As was customary
+with him, he made himself thoroughly acquainted with the treatise of
+which he thus became the compositor. His mind was in such a state in
+reference to the claims of that Christianity which certainly did not
+commend the mode of life he was living, that it excited not only
+antagonistic but even angry emotions. So thoroughly were his feelings
+aroused, that he wrote and published a pamphlet of thirty-two pages,
+in refutation of the theory of Mr. Wollaston.
+
+Franklin dedicated his work, which was entitled "A dissertation
+on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain," to James Ralph.
+Fortunately, the treatise has descended to us unmutilated. He
+commences with the observation:
+
+     "I have here given you my present thoughts upon the general
+     state of things in the universe."
+
+The production was certainly a very able one to come from the pen of a
+young printer of but nineteen years. Mr. Palmer, while recognizing its
+ability, pronounced its principles to be atrocious and demoralizing.
+The production of such a work, literary, philosophical and religious,
+by probably the youngest companion of the journeymen printers, caused
+them all to open their eyes with astonishment, and he was regarded at
+once as a great man among them.[7]
+
+[Footnote 7: In this extraordinary document our young deist writes,
+"There is said to be a first mover, who is called God, who is all
+wise, all good, all powerful. If he is all good, whatsoever he doeth
+must be good. If he is all wise, whatever he doeth must be wise. That
+there are things to which we give the name of _Evil_, is not to be
+denied--such as theft, murder, etc. But these are not in reality
+evils. To suppose anything to exist or to be done contrary to the will
+of the Almighty is to suppose him not Almighty. There is nothing done
+but God either does or permits. Though a creature may do many actions,
+which, by his fellow creatures, will be named evil, yet he can not act
+what will be in itself displeasing to God.
+
+"We will sum up the argument thus, When the Creator first designed the
+universe, either it was his will that all should exist and be in the
+manner they are at this time, or it was his will that they should be
+otherwise. To say it was His will things should be otherwise, is to
+say that somewhat hath contradicted His will; which is impossible.
+Therefore we must allow that all things exist now in a manner
+agreeable to His will; and, in consequence of that, all are equally
+good and therefore equally esteemed by Him. No condition of life or
+being is better or preferable to another."
+
+This whole treatise may be found in the appendix to the first volume
+of Parton's Life of Franklin.]
+
+The deists of London, who had united in a club of merry
+free-thinkers, holding their meetings at an ale-house, sought out
+Franklin and drew him into their convivial gatherings. These men had
+no common principle of belief; they were united only in the negative
+principle of unbelief in the Christian religion. Ralph had formed a
+connection with a young milliner, by whom, through his many
+fascinations, he was mainly supported.
+
+Franklin, with his increasing expenditures, was now disposed to
+shake off Ralph, as he needed all his money for his own convivial
+enjoyments. Ralph went into the country and opened a school, where he
+utterly failed. The unhappy milliner, ruined in character, and with a
+little child, wrote to Franklin imploring aid. Her letters touched his
+kindly heart. He could never see sorrow without wishing to relieve it.
+He furnished her with money, in small sums, to the amount of one
+hundred and thirty dollars; and worst of all, we regret to say that he
+commenced treating her with such familiarity, that she, still faithful
+to Ralph, repulsed him indignantly.[8]
+
+[Footnote 8: Franklin writes in his autobiography, "I grew fond of her
+company, and being at that time under no religious restraint, and
+taking advantage of my importance to her, I attempted to take some
+liberties with her, another _erratum_, which she repulsed with a
+proper degree of resentment. She wrote to Ralph and acquainted him
+with my conduct. This occasioned a breach between us; and when he
+returned to London, he let me know he considered all the obligations
+he had been under to me as annulled."--Works of Franklin, Vol. i, p.
+59.]
+
+Franklin does not conceal these _foibles_, as he regarded them, these
+_sins_ as Christianity pronounces them. He declares this simply to
+have been another of the great errors of his youth. She informed Ralph
+of his conduct. He was enraged, broke off all further communication
+with Franklin, and thirty-five years passed away before they met
+again. Ralph, goaded to desperation, gained a wretched living in
+various literary adventures; writing for any body, on any side, and
+for any price. Indeed he eventually gained quite an ephemeral
+reputation. He could express himself with vivacity, and several quite
+prominent politicians sought the aid of his pen.
+
+Franklin, thus relieved from the support of Ralph, soon after entered
+a more extensive printing house, at Lincoln's Inn Fields. Though he
+was exceedingly fond of a sparkling glass of wine in his convivial
+hours, he was too much of a philosopher to stupefy his brain in
+guzzling beer. His habitual daily beverage was cold water.
+
+     "My companion at the press," he wrote, "drank every day a
+     pint before breakfast, a pint at breakfast with his bread and
+     cheese, a pint between breakfast and dinner, a pint at
+     dinner, and another when he had done his day's work. I
+     thought it a detestable custom. But it was necessary, he
+     supposed, to drink strong beer that he might be strong to
+     labor. I endeavored to convince him that the bodily strength
+     afforded by beer could only be in proportion to the grain or
+     the barley dissolved in the water of which it was made; that
+     there was more flour in a pennyworth of bread, and,
+     therefore, if he could eat that with a pint of water, it
+     would give him more strength than a quart of beer. He drank
+     on, however, and had four or five shillings to pay, out of
+     his wages, every Saturday night, for that vile liquor; an
+     expense I was free from; and thus these poor devils keep
+     themselves always under."
+
+Again Franklin wrote in characteristic phrase, in reference to the
+influence of his example over some of his companions,
+
+     "From my example, a great many of them left their muddling
+     breakfast of bread, beer and cheese, finding they could,
+     with me, be supplied from a neighboring house, with a large
+     porringer of hot water gruel, sprinkled with pepper,
+     crumbled with bread and a bit of butter in it, for the price
+     of a pint of beer,--three half-pence. This was a more
+     comfortable, as well as a cheaper breakfast, and kept their
+     heads clearer. Those who continued sotting with their beer
+     all day, were often, by not paying, out of credit at the
+     ale-house; and used to make interest with me to get beer;
+     their _light_ as they phrased it being out. I watched the
+     pay table on Saturday night, and collected what I stood
+     engaged for them, having to pay sometimes on their account."
+
+Franklin's skill in swimming, as we have mentioned was very
+remarkable. At one time he swam from London to Chelsea, a distance of
+four miles. Several of his companions he taught to swim in two
+lessons. His celebrity was such that he was urged to open a swimming
+school.[9] The life of self-indulgence he was now living in London,
+was not such as even his loose religious principles could approve. He
+had abandoned the faith of his fathers, and had adopted, for his rule
+of conduct, the principle, that it was right to yield to any
+indulgences to which his passions incited him. He became tired of
+London, and probably found it necessary to break away from the
+influences and associates with which he had surrounded himself.
+
+[Footnote 9: "On one of these days I was, to my surprise, sent for by
+a great man I knew only by name, Sir William Wyndham. He had heard of
+my swimming from Chelsea to Blackfriars and of my teaching Wygate and
+another young man to swim in a few hours. He had two sons about to set
+out on their travels. He wished to have them first taught swimming,
+and proposed to gratify me handsomely if I would teach them. They were
+not yet come to town, and my stay was uncertain, so I could not
+undertake it. But from the incident I thought it likely that if I were
+to remain in England and opened a swimming-school I might get a good
+deal of money. And it struck me so strongly that had the overture been
+made me sooner, probably I should not so soon have returned to
+America."--Autobiography, Vol. I. p. 66.]
+
+Mr. Denham, his companion of voyage, had decided to return to
+Philadelphia, and open an extensive store. He offered Franklin two
+hundred and fifty dollars a year as book-keeper. Though this was less
+than the sum Franklin was then earning, as compositor, there were
+prospects of his advancement. This consideration, in addition to his
+desire to escape from London, led him to accept the offer. He was now
+twenty years of age. It does not appear that he had thus far formed
+any deliberate plan for his life's work. He floated along as the
+current of events drifted him.
+
+On the twenty-first of July, 1726, Franklin embarked on board the ship
+Berkshire for Philadelphia. He had been absent from America but little
+more than a year and a half. During this time he had not increased his
+fortune, for he had spent his money as fast as he had earned it. After
+a voyage of eighty days, the ship cast anchor before Philadelphia. At
+that time ships were often from three to seven months effecting the
+passage across the Atlantic.
+
+As usual Franklin kept a diary punctually during his long voyage. Its
+pages were replete with pithy remarks of wit and wisdom. He was very
+fond of a game of checkers, and in that amusement beguiled many weary
+hours. We find the following striking comments upon the diversion in
+his journal:
+
+     "It is a game I much delight in. But it requires a clear head
+     and undisturbed. The persons playing, if they would play
+     well, ought not much to regard the _consequences_ of the
+     game; for that diverts and withdraws the mind from the game
+     itself, and makes the player liable to make many false, open
+     moves. I will venture to lay it down for an infallible rule
+     that if two persons equal in judgment, play for a
+     considerable sum, he that loves money most, shall lose. His
+     anxiety for the success of the game confounds him. Courage is
+     almost as requisite for the good conduct of this game as in a
+     real battle; for if the player imagines himself opposed by
+     one that is much his superior in skill, his mind is so intent
+     on the defensive part, that an advantage passes unobserved."
+
+The Governor of the Isle of Wight had died, leaving the reputation
+of having been one of the most consummate scoundrels who ever
+exercised despotic power. Franklin, in his treatise upon "Liberty and
+Necessity," written but a few months before, had assumed that there
+was no such thing as good and evil; that God ordered and controlled
+every event; and that consequently every event was in accordance with
+His will, and alike pleasing in His sight. But now we find the
+following record in his journal, which most readers will recognize as
+inconsistent with the young philosopher's theological opinions. He
+writes:
+
+     "At the death of this governor, it appeared that he was a
+     great villain, and a great politician. There was no crime so
+     damnable, which he would stick at in the execution of his
+     designs. And yet he had the art of covering all so thick,
+     that with almost all men in general, while he lived he passed
+     for a saint. In short, I believe it is impossible for a man,
+     though he has all the cunning of a devil, to live and die a
+     villain, and yet conceal it so well as to carry the name of
+     an honest fellow to the grave with him, but some one by some
+     accident or other, shall discover him. Truth and sincerity
+     have a certain distinguishing, native lustre about them,
+     which cannot be perfectly counterfeited. They are like fire
+     and flame that cannot be painted."
+
+We should infer, from some intimations in Franklin's diary, that he
+was troubled by some qualms of conscience, in view of his abandonment
+of Miss Read, and his irregular life in London. He has left a paper in
+which he stated that he had never formed any regular plan for the
+control of his conduct: that he was now about to enter on a new life;
+and that he was resolved that henceforth he would speak the truth, be
+industrious in his business, and speak ill of no man. These were
+rather meagre resolutions for a young man under these circumstances to
+adopt.
+
+Soon after landing at Philadelphia, Franklin chanced to meet Sir
+William Keith in the streets. The governor seemed much embarrassed,
+and passed by without speaking. It does not appear that the
+acquaintance was ever resumed. The governor lived nearly twenty-five
+years afterward, a dishonored and ruined man, and died in the extreme
+of poverty.
+
+Poor Miss Read, heart-broken, and deeming herself forever abandoned,
+yielded to the importunities of her friends and married a mechanic by
+the name of Rogers. He proved to be a thoroughly worthless fellow. His
+unconcealed profligacy, and unfaithfulness to his wife, compelled her,
+after a few months of wretchedness, to return to her mother, and to
+resume her maiden name. The profligate husband fled from his creditors
+to the West Indies. Rumors soon reached Philadelphia of his death,
+leaving probably another wife.
+
+Franklin entered upon his duties as clerk of Mr. Denham, with his
+accustomed energy and skill. He carried into his new vocation, all his
+intellectual sagacity, and speedily won not only the confidence but
+the affection of his employer. He lived with Mr. Denham, and being
+always disposed to look upon the bright side of everything, even of
+his own imperfections, notwithstanding his infidelity to Miss Read, he
+seems to have been a very happy and even jovial young man.
+
+Four months after Franklin had entered upon his mercantile career,
+both Mr. Denham and Franklin were seized with the pleurisy. Mr. Denham
+died. Franklin, though brought near to the grave, recovered. He
+writes:
+
+     "I suffered a great deal; gave up the point in my own mind;
+     and was at the time rather disappointed when I found myself
+     recovering; regretting in some degree that I must now,
+     sometime or other, have all that disagreeable work to do over
+     again."
+
+The death of Mr. Denham broke up the establishment, and Franklin was
+thrown out of employment. Keimer, in whose service he had formerly
+been engaged, again made him an offer to superintend a printing
+office. Franklin accepted the proposition. There were five inefficient
+hands, whom Franklin was expected to transform into accomplished
+printers. With these, and a few others, he organized a literary club,
+called the "Junto; or the Leathern Apron Club," as nearly every member
+was a mechanic.
+
+The club met every Friday evening, and the wine cup, to stimulate
+conviviality, passed freely among them. There were twenty-four
+questions, which were every evening read, to which answers were to be
+returned by any one who could answer them. Between each question, it
+was expected that each member would fill, and empty, his glass. One
+would think that the wine must have been very weak, or the heads of
+these young men very strong, to enable them to quaff twenty-four
+glasses unharmed. We give a few of the questions as specimens of their
+general character.
+
+     1. "Have you met with anything in the author you last read?
+
+     3. "Has any citizen in your knowledge failed, and have you
+     heard the cause?
+
+     7. "What unhappy effects of intemperance have you lately
+     observed?
+
+     12. "Has any deserving stranger arrived in town since your
+     last meeting?
+
+     16. "Has anybody attacked your reputation lately?
+
+     23. "Is there any difficulty which you would gladly have
+     discussed at this time?"
+
+Debates, declamation, and the reading of essays added to the
+entertainment of these gatherings. Stories were told, and bacchanal
+songs sung. No man could tell a better story, and few men could sing a
+better song than Benjamin Franklin. No one was deemed a suitable
+member of the club, who would not contribute his full quota to the
+entertainment or instruction. The questions proposed by Franklin for
+discussion, developed the elevated intellectual region his thoughts
+were accustomed to range. We give a few as specimens.
+
+     "Can any one particular form of government suit all mankind?
+
+     "Should it be the aim of philosophy to eradicate the
+     passions?
+
+     "Is perfection attainable in this life?
+
+     "What general conduct of life is most suitable for men in
+     such circumstances as most of the members of the Junto are?"
+
+The Junto was limited to twelve members. It soon became so popular
+that applications for admission became very frequent. Six months
+passed rapidly away, when Keimer, who was an exceedingly immoral and
+worthless man, and was fast going to ruin, in some fit of drunkenness,
+or ungovernable irritation, entered the office, and assailed Franklin
+with such abuse, that he took his hat, and repaired to his lodgings,
+resolved never to return.
+
+Franklin was twenty-one years of age. He had laid up no money. He was
+still but a journeyman printer. The draft which he had received from
+Mr. Vernon for fifty dollars had not yet been paid. He was exceedingly
+mortified when he allowed himself to reflect upon this delinquency
+which certainly approached dishonesty. In this emergence he conferred
+with a fellow journeyman by the name of Hugh Meredith, whose father
+was a gentleman of considerable property. Meredith proposed that they
+should enter into partnership, he furnishing the funds, and Franklin
+the business capacity.
+
+At that time Franklin, remembering his narrow escape from the grave
+by the pleurisy, wrote his own epitaph which has been greatly
+celebrated. It has generally been admired; but some of more sensitive
+minds perceive in it a tone which is somewhat repulsive.
+
+                      "The Body
+                          of
+                  BENJAMIN FRANKLIN,
+                       _Printer_,
+            (Like the cover of an old book,
+                 Its contents torn out,
+        And stripped of its lettering and gilding,)
+               Lies here, food for worms.
+          Yet the work itself shall not be lost,
+     For it will, as he believed, appear once more,
+                         In a new
+                 And more beautiful edition,
+                  Corrected and amended
+                            By
+                       THE AUTHOR."
+
+The excellencies of Franklin did not run in the line of exquisite
+sensibilities. At the early age of fifteen he began to cast off the
+restraints of the religion of his father and mother. Nearly all his
+associates were what were called Free-thinkers. He could not be blind
+to their moral imperfections. Mr. Parton writes,
+
+     "His old friend Collins, he remembered, was a Free-thinker,
+     and Collins had gone astray. Ralph was a Free-thinker, and
+     Ralph was a great sinner. Keith was a Free-thinker, and
+     Keith was the greatest liar in Pennsylvania. Benjamin
+     Franklin was a Free-thinker, and how shamefully he had
+     behaved to Ralph's mistress, to Mr. Vernon and Miss Read,
+     whose young life had been blighted through him."[10]
+
+[Footnote 10: Parton's Life of Franklin, Vol. I, p. 168.]
+
+Franklin's creed thus far, consisted only of negations. He had no
+belief; he had only unbelief. Indeed he seems to have become quite
+ashamed of his treatise upon Liberty and Necessity, published in
+London, and felt constrained to write a refutation of it.[11] As this
+strange young man in his discontent looked over the religions of
+the world, he could find no one that met his views. He therefore
+deliberately and thoughtfully sat down to form a religion of his own.
+Many such persons have appeared in the lapse of the ages, and almost
+invariably they have announced their creeds with the words, "Thus
+saith the Lord." But our young printer of twenty-two years, made no
+profession whatever, of any divine aid. He simply said, "Thus saith my
+thoughts." One would think he could not have much confidence in those
+thoughts, when it is remembered that at this time he was writing a
+refutation of the opinions, which he had published in London but a few
+months before.
+
+[Footnote 11: "My arguments perverted some others, especially Collins
+and Ralph. But each of these having wronged me greatly without the
+least compunction; and recollecting Keith's conduct towards me, who
+was another Free-thinker, and my own towards Vernon and Miss Read,
+which at times gave me great trouble, I began to suspect that this
+doctrine, though it might be true, was not very useful. My London
+pamphlet, printed in 1725, and which had for its motto,
+
+     "'Whatever is is right,'
+
+and which from the attributes of God, His infinite wisdom, goodness
+and power, concluded that nothing could possibly be wrong in the
+world, and that vice and virtue were empty distinctions, no such
+things existing, appeared now not so clever a performance, as I once
+thought it; and I doubted whether some error had not insinuated itself
+unperceived into my argument."
+
+In the year 1779, Dr. Franklin wrote to Dr. Benjamin Vaughn respecting
+this pamphlet.
+
+"There were only one hundred copies printed, of which I gave a few to
+friends. Afterwards, disliking the piece, I burnt the rest, except one
+copy. I was not nineteen years of age when it was written. In 1730, I
+wrote a piece on the other side of the question, which began with
+laying for its foundation that almost all men, in all ages and
+countries, have at times made use of prayer.
+
+"Thence I reasoned that if all things are ordained, prayer must be
+among the rest ordained; but as prayer can procure no change in things
+that are ordained, praying must then be useless and an absurdity. God
+would, therefore, not ordain praying if everything else was ordained.
+But praying exists, therefore all other things are not ordained. This
+manuscript was never printed. The great uncertainty I found in
+metaphysical reasoning disgusted me, and I quitted that kind of
+reading and study for others more satisfactory."--Autobiography, p.
+76.]
+
+The book which Franklin thus prepared was entitled "Articles of
+Belief, and Acts of Religion." His simple creed was that there was one
+Supreme God who had created many minor gods; that the supreme God was
+so great that he did not desire the worship of man but was far above
+it.
+
+The minor gods are perhaps immortal, and perhaps after the ages lapse
+they are changed, others supplying their place. Each of these
+subordinate gods has created for himself a sun with its planetary
+system, over which he presides and from the inhabitants of which he
+expects adoration. He writes,
+
+     "It is that particular wise and good God, who is the author
+     and owner of our system that I propose for the object of my
+     praise and adoration. It is to be inferred that this God is
+     not above caring for us, is pleased with our praise, and
+     offended when we slight him."
+
+He then prepares an invocation to this god of our solar system. It is
+founded on the style of the Psalms, but is immeasurably inferior to
+most of those sublime utterances of the Psalmist of Israel. And still
+the sentiments breathed were ennobling in their character; they proved
+that Franklin was vastly superior to the thoughtless, reckless deists
+who surrounded him, and that his soul was reaching forth and yearning
+for higher and holier attainments. In this invocation, the whole of
+which we cannot quote, he writes,
+
+     "O Creator! O Father! I believe that thou art good; and that
+     thou art pleased with the pleasure of thy children. Praised
+     be thy name forever. By thy power thou hast made the
+     glorious sun with his attending worlds. By thy wisdom thou
+     hast formed all things. Thy wisdom, thy power, and thy
+     goodness are everywhere clearly seen. Thou abhorrest in thy
+     creatures treachery and deceit, malice, revenge,
+     intemperance, and every other hurtful vice. But thou art a
+     lover of justice and sincerity, of friendship and
+     benevolence, and every virtue. Thou art my friend, my
+     father, and my benefactor. Praised be thy name; O God,
+     forever. Amen."
+
+The prayer which followed, doubtless giving utterance to his most
+inward feelings, is beautiful.
+
+     "Inasmuch," he wrote, "as by reason of our ignorance, we
+     cannot be certain that many things, which we often hear
+     mentioned in the petitions of men to the Deity, would prove
+     real goods if they were in our possession, and as I have
+     reason to hope and believe that the goodness of my Heavenly
+     Father will not withhold from me a suitable share of temporal
+     blessings, if by a virtuous and holy life I conciliate his
+     favor and kindness; therefore I presume not to ask such
+     things; but rather humbly and with a sincere heart, express
+     my earnest desire that he would graciously assist my
+     continual endeavors and resolutions of eschewing vice and
+     embracing virtue, which kind of supplication will at the same
+     time remind me in a solemn manner of my extensive duty."
+
+He then added the supplication that he might be preserved from
+atheism, impiety and profaneness; that he might be loyal to his
+prince; that he might be gracious to those below him; that he might
+refrain from calumny and detraction; that he might be sincere in
+friendship, just in his dealings, grateful to his benefactors, patient
+in affliction; that he might have tenderness for the weak, and that,
+rejoicing in the good of others, he might become truly virtuous and
+magnanimous.
+
+It is very evident that some unexplained circumstances had called the
+attention of Franklin very earnestly to the subject of religion. He
+wrote very much upon that theme, and published a new version of the
+Lord's Prayer, and a lecture upon Providence and Predestination. He,
+however, admits that he very seldom attended any public worship,
+adding,
+
+     "I had still an opinion of its propriety and its utility,
+     when rightly conducted; and I regularly paid my annual
+     subscription for the support of the only Presbyterian
+     minister."
+
+Rumors soon reached Franklin's good father of Boston, of his son's
+free-thinking, and he wrote to his son in much alarm. In Franklin's
+reply, he said,
+
+     "All that should be expected from me, is to keep my mind
+     open to conviction; to hear patiently and examine
+     attentively whatever is offered me for that end. And if
+     after all I continue in the same errors, I believe your
+     usual charity will induce you rather to pity and excuse,
+     than to blame me. In the meantime, your care and concern for
+     me, is what I am very thankful for. My mother grieves that
+     one of her sons is an Arian, and another an Arminian. What
+     an Arminian or an Arian is, I cannot say that I very well
+     know. The truth is, I make such distinctions very little my
+     study. I think vital religion has always suffered when
+     orthodoxy is more regarded than virtue. And the Scriptures
+     assure me that at the last day we shall not be examined what
+     we thought but what we did."
+
+Franklin, having no revealed religion to guide him, and having no
+foundation for his faith, but the ever-changing vagaries of his own
+fantastic imagination, could have no belief to-day, of which he had
+any certainty that he would hold the same to-morrow. He was
+continually abandoning one after another of the articles of his
+fantastical creed, and adopting others in their place. At length he
+settled down upon the following simple belief, which with very
+considerable tenacity, but without any attempt to promulgate it, he
+adhered to for many years. It consisted of the six following articles
+which we give in briefest language.
+
+     1. "There is one God.
+
+     2. "He governs the world.
+
+     3. "He ought to be worshipped.
+
+     4. "Doing good is the service most acceptable to him.
+
+     5. "Man is immortal.
+
+     6. "In the future world the souls of men will be dealt with
+     justly."
+
+It is very evident that Franklin had no great confidence in his
+theological opinions. He studiously avoided all writing upon the
+subject, and as far as possible all conversation. Still, with his keen
+sense of humor, he could not refrain from occasionally plunging a
+pretty sharp dagger's thrust into the palpable imperfections of the
+various and contending sects.
+
+There was very little moral power, in the creed he professed, to
+arrest young men, of glowing passions, and exposed to the most
+difficult temptations, in their downward career. No voice of Franklin
+was heard with potency calling upon those who were thronging the broad
+road. In a lecture upon Providence, to his companions of the Junto,
+which was subsequently published, and which reflects some considerable
+honor upon the earnestness of his thoughts, he wrote,
+
+     "I am especially discouraged when I reflect that you are all
+     my intimate pot-companions, who have heard me say a
+     thousand silly things in conversation, and therefore have
+     not that laudable partiality and veneration for whatever I
+     shall deliver that good people have for their spiritual
+     guides; that you have no reverence for my habit, nor for the
+     sanctity of my countenance; that you do not believe me
+     inspired, nor divinely assisted; and therefore will think
+     yourself at liberty to assert, or dissert, approve or
+     disapprove of anything I advance, canvassing and sifting it
+     as the private opinion of one of your acquaintance."
+
+Though it was Franklin's assumption that his religion was one of works
+and not of faith, still it must be admitted that his life was very
+inconsistent with those principles of purity, moral loveliness and
+good report which the Gospel enjoins. With his remarkable honesty of
+mind, in strains which we are constrained, though with regret to
+record, he writes,
+
+     "That hard-to-be governed passion of youth had hurried me
+     frequently into intrigues with low women that fell in my
+     way, which were attended with some expense and great
+     inconvenience, besides a continual risk to my health by
+     distemper, which of all things I dreaded, though by great
+     luck I escaped it."
+
+Mr. Parton writes, "It was perhaps owing to his frequent delinquencies
+in this way, that his liturgy contains no allusion to a vice, which is
+of all others the most alluring to a youth of Franklin's temperament.
+He was too sincere and logical a man to go before his God and ask
+assistance against a fault which he had not fully resolved to
+overcome, and that immediately. About a year after the date of his
+liturgy was born his illegitimate son William Franklin, who became
+Governor of New Jersey. If laws were as easily executed as enacted,
+Benjamin Franklin would have received, upon this occasion, twenty-one
+lashings at the public whipping-post of Philadelphia."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+_The Dawn of Prosperity._
+
+     Franklin takes a house--His first job--His industry--Plans a
+     Newspaper--Enters the list as a writer--Advocates a Paper
+     currency--Purchases Keimer's paper--Character of
+     Meredith--Struggles of the firm--Unexpected
+     assistance--Dissolves partnership with Meredith--Franklin's
+     energetic conduct--His courtship, and marriage--Character of
+     Mrs. Franklin--Increase of luxury--Plans for a
+     library--Prosperity of Pennsylvania--Customs in
+     Philadelphia--Style of dress in 1726--Franklin's social
+     position in Philadelphia--His success--A hard student.
+
+
+Franklin had now reached the end of life as an apprentice and a
+journeyman. With his friend Meredith he hired a house in the lower
+part of Market street, at the rent of about one hundred and twenty
+dollars a year. A large portion of this house he prudently re-let to
+another mechanic who was a member of the Junto. It would seem that
+Meredith was disappointed in the amount of money he expected to raise.
+Consequently after utterly exhausting their stock of cash, they still
+found it necessary to run deeply into debt for those appurtenances of
+a printing office which were absolutely necessary.
+
+Just as they got ready for work, quite to their delight, a countryman
+came in introduced by one of the Junto, George House, who wanted a
+five shilling job executed.
+
+"This man's five shillings," writes Franklin, "being our first fruits,
+and coming so seasonably, gave me more pleasure than any crown I have
+since earned. And from the gratitude I felt toward House, has made me
+often more ready, than perhaps I otherwise should have been, to assist
+young beginners."
+
+The two young men devoted themselves to their work, with assiduity
+which was a sure precursor of success. Often Franklin was found
+diligently employed until eleven o'clock at night. His industry and
+energy soon attracted attention. A gentleman living near the office
+said to some of his friends:
+
+"The industry of that Franklin is superior to anything I ever saw of
+the kind. I see him still at work when I go home from the club, and he
+is at work again before his neighbors are out of bed."
+
+This statement produced such an impression upon a merchant who was
+present, that he called upon the young men and offered to supply them
+with stationery on credit. Franklin's literary taste, and his
+remarkable success as a writer, led him ever to cherish, as a darling
+project, the idea of the establishing of a newspaper. In a few months
+he had quite deliberately formed his plan; but in some way Keimer got
+wind of it, and immediately issued a prospectus for the establishment
+of a paper of his own. Though he was totally unqualified for the task
+of editorship, yet his project was quite hurtful to the plans of
+Franklin.
+
+Very much annoyed by the treachery which had revealed his plans to
+Keimer, and perceiving that his paper was unpopular and heavy,
+Franklin very wisely decided to establish his own reputation as a
+vivacious writer, before entering upon the important undertaking of
+issuing a journal in his own name. There was a small paper then
+published in the city called "The Mercury." He commenced writing a
+series of very witty and satirical articles over the signature of
+"Busy Body." The first number contained the following sentences as
+intimations of what was to come.
+
+     "It is probable that I may displease a great number of your
+     readers who will not very well like to pay ten shillings a
+     year for being told of their faults, but as most people
+     delight in censure when they themselves are not the object of
+     it, if any are offended at my publicly exposing their private
+     vices, I promise they shall have the satisfaction in a very
+     little time, in seeing their good friends and neighbors in
+     the same circumstances."
+
+These sparkling contributions of Franklin attracted much attention,
+and created for him a growing literary reputation. The subject of
+paper money which agitated our country, was then being discussed in
+Pennsylvania with intense interest. Franklin wrote a carefully studied
+pamphlet entitled "A Modest Inquiry into the Nature and Necessity of a
+Paper Currency."
+
+This treatise, written by a young printer of but twenty-three years,
+upon one of the most difficult questions of finance, displayed great
+ability. Warmly he advocated a paper currency. His arguments, however,
+were such as would not now probably exert much influence upon the
+public mind. The main proposition he endeavored to sustain was, that
+there was not a sufficiency of gold and silver in Pennsylvania, for
+carrying on the trade of the province. He therefore argued that all
+branches of industry must languish unless the currency were increased
+by an issue of paper.[12]
+
+[Footnote 12: This pamphlet may be found in Sparks' "Works of
+Franklin," Vol. ii, p. 253.]
+
+It has been suggested that Franklin might have been unconsciously
+influenced in his views, by the fact that he had been very successful
+in printing paper money, and that he anticipated still more
+employment in that line. It is certain that Franklin's pamphlet
+exerted a powerful influence at the time, and a new issue of paper
+currency was ordered. Franklin thought that the effect was highly
+conducive to the prosperity of the province, and he never swerved from
+the views which he had so earnestly and successfully urged in his
+pamphlet.
+
+Franklin's sun was rapidly rising. Keimer's was as rapidly sinking.
+After publishing thirty-nine numbers of the "Universal Instructor" and
+the subscription list having dwindled to ninety, he gladly sold the
+paper for a trifle to Franklin and Meredith. The genius of Franklin
+was immediately displayed in the improved literary character of the
+paper, and in its mechanical execution. The name was changed to the
+"Pennsylvania Gazette." The first number issued by him was on Oct. 2,
+1729.
+
+The subject of religion was almost entirely ignored. Franklin seems to
+have become weary of the darkness and the fogs through which his
+unillumined mind had been so long painfully floundering, without
+coming to any results upon which he could place reliance. Christianity
+he generally treated with respect, though he could not refrain from
+occasionally giving a sly thrust at those imperfections of Christians
+which were so palpable to his observant mind. And though he never
+assailed that which was not inherently bad, it cannot be denied that
+occasionally his keen sarcasms brought Christianity itself into
+reproach, as if it were a religion which produced no better fruits,
+perhaps not so good, as no religion at all.
+
+The business of this young firm of Franklin and Meredith, viewed in
+the light of the grand printing enterprises of the present day, was
+indeed trivial. The two young men did all the work themselves without
+even a boy to help them. In fact Meredith, who at the best was a poor
+workman, and who fell into intemperate habits, neglected his business,
+frequented the ale-houses, and left all responsibility resting upon
+the efficient shoulders of his partner.
+
+Franklin, who endeavored to be perfect in every thing he undertook,
+printed his paper so admirably that it is said that there is probably
+not a journal now in Philadelphia which is issued in better style than
+"The Pennsylvania Gazette" of 1729.
+
+For seven years Franklin had been embarrassed by the thought of the
+fifty dollars which he had received from Mr. Vernon, and which had not
+yet been repaid. Mr. Vernon wrote him a very gentle intimation,
+stating that it would be very convenient for him to receive the money.
+Franklin returned a contrite and magnanimous letter. He made no
+attempt to extenuate his fault, promised immediately to strain every
+nerve to meet the debt, and in a few months paid the whole, principal
+and interest.
+
+Still the infant firm was struggling with adversity. The partners had
+commenced operations with scarcely any capital excepting promises.
+Their outfit cost about a thousand dollars. Mr. Meredith had been
+unfortunate in business, and found himself unable to pay the second
+instalment promised of five hundred dollars. The stationers who
+furnished paper began to be uneasy, for they could not but see that
+Meredith was fast going to ruin.
+
+Franklin was seldom in the habit of dwelling upon his misfortunes. In
+these dark hours he wrote,
+
+     "In this distress two true friends whose kindness I have
+     never forgotten, nor ever shall forget while I can remember
+     anything, came to me separately, unknown to each other, and
+     without any application from me, offered each of them to
+     advance me all the money that should be necessary to take
+     the whole business upon myself; but they did not like my
+     continuing in partnership with Meredith, who, as they said,
+     was often seen drunk in the street, playing at low games in
+     ale-houses, much to our discredit."
+
+Franklin generously was very reluctant to throw aside Meredith.
+Dissolute as the young man had become, he could not forget that he
+was the son of a man who had been his friend; but after carefully
+pondering the question and seeing ruin stare him in the face, he said
+one day to Meredith,
+
+"Perhaps your father is dissatisfied at the part you have undertaken
+in this affair of ours; and is unwilling to advance for you and me,
+what he would for you. If that is the case tell me, and I will resign
+the whole to you and go about my business."
+
+Meredith replied,
+
+"My father has really been disappointed, and is really unable. I am
+unwilling to distress him further. I see this is a business I am unfit
+for. I was bred a farmer and it was folly in me to come to town, and
+put myself at thirty years of age an apprentice to learn a new trade.
+Many of our Welsh people are going to settle in North Carolina where
+land is cheap. I am inclined to go with them, and follow my old
+employment. If you will take the debts of the company upon you, return
+to my father the hundred pounds he has advanced, pay my little
+personal debts, and give me thirty pounds and a new saddle, I will
+relinquish the partnership, and leave the whole in your hands."
+
+These were hard terms; but there was no other way in which Franklin
+could escape from the embarrassments of this untoward partnership. He
+accepted the proposal at once; borrowed the needful money of his
+friends; and became his own sole partner.
+
+True prosperity now began to attend his indomitable industry,
+frugality, and wisdom. The advance of the young man was necessarily
+slow, but it was sure. Well aware that his reputation with the
+community would be invaluable to him, he not only endeavored to be
+industrious, but to let it be seen by his neighbors that he left no
+stone unturned to accomplish his purposes.
+
+He would trundle, through the streets of Philadelphia, in a
+wheel-barrow, the paper which he purchased, by no means seeking
+by-streets where his more fashionable companions would not see him. He
+dressed with the utmost simplicity, but always in clean garments, well
+cut, and which presented his admirable form to great advantage. Never
+did he allow himself to sink to the vulgarity of a slatternly
+appearance. He was ever ready, when engaged in the most busy
+employments of his office, to receive without a blush, any guests,
+however high, who might chance to call.
+
+The tranquil months glided on. Franklin was prospered in business,
+paid his debts, and began to accumulate a little property. Our young
+philosopher was never an impassioned lover. As he would contemplate,
+in his increasing prosperity, removing to another more commodious
+office, so he now thought, having reached the age of twenty-four, that
+it might be expedient for him to have a home of his own, and a wife to
+take care of his domestic affairs.
+
+He had let a portion of the house which he used for his printing
+office, to a mechanic of the Junto by the name of Godfrey. He
+conferred with Mrs. Godfrey upon the subject. She had a relative, a
+very pretty girl, Miss Godfrey, whom she highly recommended and
+brought, as it were by accident, to take tea with Franklin. She was
+graceful, amiable, and a child of parents well to do in the world.
+Franklin was a remarkably handsome and fascinating young man. The
+courtship proceeded successfully and rapidly.
+
+The reader will be interested in seeing Franklin's own account of this
+affair. He writes, in his Autobiography:
+
+     "Mrs. Godfrey projected a match with a relation's daughter,
+     took opportunities of bringing us often together, till a
+     serious courtship on my part ensued; the girl being, in
+     herself, very deserving. The old folks encouraged me by
+     continual invitations to supper, and by leaving us together,
+     till at length it was time to explain. Mrs. Godfrey managed
+     our little treaty. I let her know I expected as much money
+     with their daughter as would pay off my remaining debt for
+     the printing house; which I believe was not then above a
+     hundred pounds. She brought me word they had no such sum to
+     spare; I said they might mortgage their house in the
+     loan-office. The answer to this, after some days, was, that
+     they did not approve the match; that, on inquiry of Mr.
+     Bradford, they had been informed the printing business was
+     not a profitable one, the types would soon be worn out, and
+     more wanted; that Keimer and David Harvy had failed one after
+     the other, and I should probably soon follow them; and
+     therefore I was forbidden the house, and the daughter was
+     shut up."
+
+Occasionally Franklin had gone to the home of Mrs. Read, the mother of
+the unhappy Deborah. His conscience reproached him for his conduct to
+that good girl. She was always dejected and solitary, and with a
+broken heart clung to her mother, her only friend. It is doubtful
+whether she were ever legally married to Rogers. It was rumored that
+at the time of their marriage, he was the husband of one, if not more
+wives. If legally married, there was another serious obstacle in her
+path. Rogers had run away to the West Indies. Rumor alone had
+announced his death. He might be still living.
+
+Franklin's sympathy gradually became excited in her behalf. And at
+length he proposed that, regardless of all the risks, they should be
+married. It seems that he had announced to her very distinctly that he
+had a living child, and very honorably he had decided that that child
+of dishonor was to be taken home and trained as his own.
+
+These were sad nuptials. The world-weary wife knew not but that she
+had another husband still living, and a stigma, indelible, rested upon
+Franklin. The marriage took place on the first of September, 1730. It
+subsequently appears that Rogers, the potter, was really dead. The
+child was taken home and reared with all possible tenderness and care.
+It is a little remarkable that nothing is known of what became of the
+mother of that child. The boy grew up to manhood, espoused the Tory
+cause, when the Tories were hunting his father to hang him, and by his
+ungrateful, rebellious conduct, pierced his heart with a thousand
+empoisoned daggers.
+
+Mrs. Franklin proved in all respects an excellent woman, and an
+admirable wife for her calm, philosophic and unimpassioned husband.
+Franklin never had a journeyman in his office who performed his
+functions more entirely to his satisfaction, than his wife discharged
+her responsible duties. She was always amiable, industrious and
+thrifty.
+
+There was a little shop attached to the printing office which
+Mrs. Franklin tended. She also aided her husband in folding and
+distributing the papers, and with a mother's love trained, in the
+rudiments of education, the child whose mother was lost.
+
+Franklin, in his characteristic, kindly appreciation of the services
+of all who were faithful in his employ, speaks in the following
+commendatory terms of the industrial excellencies of his wife. When
+far away dazzled by the splendors, and bewildered by the flattery of
+European courts, he wrote to her,
+
+     "It was a comfort to me to recollect that I had once been
+     clothed, from head to foot, in woolen and linen of my wife's
+     manufacture, and that I never was prouder of any dress in my
+     life."
+
+In Franklin's Autobiography, as published by Sparks, we read, "We have
+an English proverb that says, 'He that would thrive, must ask his
+wife.' It was lucky for me that I had one as much disposed to industry
+and frugality as myself. She assisted me cheerfully in my business,
+folding and stitching pamphlets, tending shop, purchasing old linen
+rags, for the paper-makers, etc. We kept no idle servants; our table
+was plain and simple, our furniture of the cheapest. For instance, my
+breakfast was, for a long time, bread and milk, (no tea) and I ate it
+out of a two-penny earthern porringer, with a pewter-spoon.
+
+"But mark how luxury will enter families, and make a progress in spite
+of principle. Being called one morning to breakfast, I found it in a
+china bowl, with a spoon of silver. They had been bought for me
+without my knowledge, by my wife, and had cost her the enormous sum of
+three and twenty shillings; for which she had no other excuse or
+apology to make, but that she thought her husband deserved a silver
+spoon and china bowl, as well as any of his neighbors. This was the
+first appearance of plate or china in our house; which afterward, in a
+course of years, as our wealth increased, augmented gradually to
+several hundred pounds in value."[13]
+
+[Footnote 13: Life of Franklin, by Sparks, p. 102.]
+
+While thus engaged he conceived the idea of establishing a public
+subscription library. His knowledge of human nature taught him that if
+he presented the enterprise as his own, feelings of jealousy might be
+excited, and it might be imagined that he was influenced by personal
+ambition. He therefore said that a number of gentlemen had adopted the
+plan, and had requested him to visit the lovers of books and of
+reading, and solicit their subscriptions. Each subscriber was to
+contribute two pounds to start the enterprise, and to pay a yearly
+assessment of ten shillings.
+
+By the arduous labors of five months, Franklin obtained fifty names.
+With this the enterprise commenced. Such was the origin of the
+Philadelphia Library, now one of the most important institutions of
+the kind in our land. In the year 1861, seventy thousand volumes were
+reported as on its shelves.
+
+Philadelphia contained a population of nearly ten thousand people.
+Pennsylvania was decidedly the central point for European emigration.
+Its climate was delightful; its soil fertile; and William Penn's
+humane policy with the Indians had secured for the colony peace and
+friendship with the native inhabitants for more than fifty years.
+
+The white man, on this continent, has told his own story. The Indians
+have had no historians. But nothing is more clear than that in almost
+every instance they were goaded to war by the unendurable wrongs which
+were inflicted upon them.[14] Until Braddock's dreadful defeat,
+Pennsylvania had scarcely known a single alarm. In the summer of 1749,
+twelve thousand Germans landed at Philadelphia. This was the average
+number for many years. The policy of William Penn had been to
+establish upon the banks of the Delaware, an extended and beautiful
+village, where every house should have its lawn and its garden for
+vegetables and flowers. In the year 1732, when Franklin was twenty-six
+years of age, the dwellings of this village were mostly of brick or
+stone, and were spread along the banks of the river for the distance
+of a mile, with streets running back into the interior to the distance
+of about half a mile.
+
+[Footnote 14: "No other British colony admits of the evidence of an
+Indian against a white man; nor are the complaints of Indians against
+white men duly regarded in other colonies; whereby these poor people
+endure the most cruel treatment from the very worst of our own people,
+without hope of redress. And all the Indian wars in our colonies were
+occasioned by such means."
+
+Importance of the British Plantations in America to these Kingdoms,
+London. 1731.]
+
+The prosperity of Philadelphia, indeed of Pennsylvania, was
+remarkable. Provisions and the most delicious fruits were in great
+abundance. Even the pigs were fattened upon the most luscious peaches.
+Each family in the city kept its cow, which grazed upon the common
+lands on the outskirts of the town. The Philadelphia of that period
+was a green village, beautifully shaded by trees, and presenting to
+every visitor an aspect of rare attractions. Professor Peter Kalm, who
+published an exceedingly interesting account of his travels in North
+America between the years 1748 and 1751, writes,
+
+     "There were fine orchards all about the city. The country
+     people in Sweden and Finland guard their turnips more
+     carefully than the people here do the most exquisite fruits.
+     A Philadelphian has so much liberty and abundance that he
+     lives in his house like a king."
+
+The Quakers, or as they prefer to be called, the Friends, at that time
+composed about one-third of the population of Philadelphia, and
+one-half of the State of Pennsylvania. They were a remarkably
+intelligent, industrious and worthy people. Probably a better and more
+thrifty community was never colonized on this globe.
+
+The state of society has greatly changed since that day, and customs,
+which were then deemed essential, have since become obsolete. For
+instance, the whipping-post, the pillory, and the stocks, were
+prominent in the market-place and were in frequent use. There was a
+public whipper, who, for his repulsive services, received a salary of
+fifty dollars a year. Until as late as 1760, women were frequently
+publicly whipped. It is said that a whipping occurred on an average,
+twice a month.
+
+The dress of gentlemen was gaudy and extravagant, unsurpassed by that
+of French or British courtiers. Immense wigs, with their profusion of
+waves or curls, were in use by the gentry. Very tight knee-breeches
+were worn, with silk stockings, and shoes embellished with immense
+silver buckles, highly polished. Their coats were richly embroidered,
+often of silk velvet, and their full flow reached below the knees.
+Ruffled shirts and ruffled wrist-bands of linen, of snowy whiteness,
+added to the beauty of the dress. A jewelled scabbard containing a
+polished sword hung by the side. A three-cornered hat completed this
+showy attire. There is not a Rocky Mountain Indian in his most
+gorgeous war-dress of paint and plumes, who would attract more
+attention walking down Broadway, than would Benjamin Franklin as he
+was painted in 1726.
+
+His portrait was taken when he was in London, working as a journeyman
+printer. Contrary to the general impression, Franklin was then, and
+through all his life, fully conscious of the advantages which dress
+confers. When surrounded by the homage of the court of Versailles,
+there was no courtier in those magnificent saloons more attentive to
+his attire than was Benjamin Franklin. His keen sagacity taught him
+the advantage of appearing in a dress entirely different from that of
+the splendid assembly around him, and thus he attracted universal
+observation. But never did he appear in the presence of these lords
+and ladies but in a costly garb to which he had devoted much
+attention.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Mr. Parton, speaking of the portrait which Franklin then had painted
+in London, says,
+
+     "The fair, full, smiling face of Franklin is surrounded in
+     this picture by a vast and stiff horse-hair wig; and his
+     well-developed figure shows imposingly in a voluminous and
+     decorated coat that reaches nearly to his heels. Under his
+     left arm he carries his cocked hat. His manly bosom heaves
+     under snowy ruffles, and his extensive wrist-bands are
+     exposed to view by the shortness of his coat sleeves."
+
+Between the years 1740 and 1775, while abundance reigned in
+Pennsylvania, and there was peace in all her borders, a more happy and
+prosperous population could not perhaps be found on this globe. In
+every home there was comfort. The people generally were highly moral,
+and knowledge was extensively diffused. Americans, who visited Europe,
+were deeply impressed by the contrast. In the Old World they saw
+everywhere indications of poverty and suffering. Franklin wrote, after
+a tour in Great Britain in 1772,
+
+     "Had I never been in the American colonies, but were to form
+     my judgment of civil society by what I have lately seen, I
+     should never advise a nation of savages to admit of
+     civilization. For, I assure you, that in the possession and
+     enjoyment of the various comforts of life, compared with
+     these people, every Indian is a gentleman; and the effect of
+     this kind of civil society seems to be the depressing
+     multitudes below the savage state, that a few may be raised
+     above it."
+
+Yet let it not be supposed that the effects of the fall were not
+visible here, or that man's inhumanity to man had ceased. There were
+bickerings, and heart burnings, and intense political struggles, in
+which the strong endeavored to extend their power, and the weak
+endeavored to throw off the shackles with which they were bound.
+William Penn complains of the ambitious politicians who he said
+thought--"nothing taller than themselves but the trees." John Adams
+denounced in severest terms the tricks of the petty politicians; and
+speaking of the more ambitious ones who sought the positions of
+governor or custom-house officers, he writes:
+
+     "These seekers are actuated by a more ravenous sort of
+     ambition and avarice."
+
+For twenty years Franklin continued a prosperous but uneventful life,
+as an active business man in Philadelphia. His integrity, his
+sagacity, and his prosperity, rapidly increased the esteem in which he
+was held. But still he was engaged in business as a printer and a
+shop-keeper, which would not now give him admission into what he
+called the higher circles of society.
+
+He not only edited, printed and published his newspaper, but he also
+kept books for sale and a small quantity of stationery, and also was a
+binder of books. He made and sold ink; was an extensive dealer in
+rags; and soap and feathers could be purchased at his shop. We find in
+his advertisements the announcement of coffee and other groceries for
+sale.
+
+And still his printing office gradually became the nucleus for the
+gathering of the most intelligent and influential men. If any
+important project was on foot, it was deemed essential to consult
+Benjamin Franklin. His Gazette proved a great success, and was
+incomparably the ablest paper published in the colonies.[15]
+
+[Footnote 15: Life and Works of John Adams, Vol. ii, p. 165.]
+
+Franklin's editorials were very sparkling, and are considered as among
+the most brilliant of his intellectual efforts. He was almost
+invariably good natured, and the design of all he wrote, was to
+promote integrity and kindly feeling. He would write an article, as if
+from a correspondent, which would give him an opportunity to return an
+amusing article in the next number. A complete file of the paper is
+preserved in the Philadelphia Library.
+
+In 1732, Franklin issued the first number of the Almanac, called Poor
+Richard, which subsequently attained such wide renown. The popularity
+of the work was astonishing; for twenty-five years it averaged ten
+thousand copies a year. This was a wonderful sale in those times.
+Everybody was quoting the pithy sayings of Poor Richard.[16]
+
+[Footnote 16: "And now after the lapse of one hundred and thirty
+years, we find persons willing to give twenty-five dollars for a
+single number, and several hundred dollars for a complete set. Nay,
+the reading matter of several of the numbers, has been republished
+within these few years, and that republication already begins to
+command the price of a rarity."--_Parton's Life of Franklin_, Vol. i,
+p. 231.]
+
+Franklin was an extensive reader. He had a memory almost miraculous;
+and his mind was so constituted, that it eagerly grasped and retained
+any sharp or witty sayings. Thus, though many of the maxims of Poor
+Richard originated with him, others were gleaned from the witticisms
+of past ages, upon which Franklin placed the imprint of his own
+peculiar genius. I give a few of those renowned maxims which soon
+became as household words, in every shop and dwelling of our land.
+
+     "There is no little enemy." "Three may keep a secret if two
+     of them are dead." "He is no clown who drives the plough, but
+     he that does clownish things." "Wealth is not his that has
+     it, but his that enjoys it." "The noblest question in the
+     world is, 'what good may I do in it.'" "Keep your eye wide
+     open before marriage; half shut afterward."
+
+Franklin was not a poet. He could scheme easily, but even his rhymes
+were poor. His sense of delicacy was quite obtuse, but perhaps not
+more so, than we ought to expect from the unrefined times in which he
+lived.[17]
+
+[Footnote 17: "Poor Richard, at this day, would be reckoned an
+indecent production. All great humorists were all indecent, before
+Charles Dickens. They used certain words which are now never
+pronounced by polite persons, and are never printed by respectable
+printers; and they referred freely to certain subjects which are
+familiar to every living creature, but which it is now agreed among
+civilized beings, shall not be topics of conversation. In this respect
+Poor Richard was no worse, and not much better than other colonial
+periodicals, some of which contain things incredibly obscene,
+as much so as the strongest passages of Sterne, Smollet and De
+Foe."--_Parton._]
+
+The increasing circulation of the Pennsylvania Gazette, the extensive
+sale of Poor Richard, and the success of many of the small books which
+Franklin published, soon placed the finances of Franklin in a very
+flourishing condition. This enabled him to send for every important
+work published in England. As he was never an hour in idleness, and
+seldom entered any place of popular amusement, he found time to study
+all these solid and useful works. The superior powers with which God
+had endowed him, enabled him to glean from their pages, and store up
+in his memory, all that was most valuable. By these indefatigable
+studies, he was rapidly becoming one of the most learned of men, and
+was preparing himself for that brilliant career, in which, as a
+statesman and a philosopher, he stood in the first ranks of those who
+had been deemed the great men of earth.
+
+His first entrance to public life was as Clerk to the General
+Assembly, which was then the Legislature of the Pennsylvania Colony.
+This was an office of but little emolument or honor. His first
+election was unanimous. The second year, though successful, he was
+opposed by an influential member.
+
+Franklin, who wished to have every one his friend, was anxious to
+conciliate him. He accomplished his purpose shrewdly--perhaps
+cunningly, is not too strong a word to use. Having heard that the
+gentleman had a very rare and valuable book in his library, he wrote
+him a very polite and flattering letter, soliciting the loan of it. No
+man could pen such an epistle more adroitly than Franklin.
+
+After a few days he returned the book with one of his most exquisite
+notes of thanks. The gentleman was caught in the trap. Charmed with
+the urbanity Franklin displayed in the correspondence, the next time
+he met the philosopher, he grasped him cordially by the hand. Though
+he had never spoken to him before, he invited him to his house.
+
+Franklin, commenting upon this adventure, writes,
+
+     "He ever after manifested a readiness to serve me on all
+     occasions, so that we became great friends, and our
+     friendship continued to his death. This is another instance
+     of the truth of an old maxim I had learned, which says 'He
+     that hath once done you a kindness will be more ready to do
+     you another than he whom you yourself have obliged,' and it
+     shows how much more profitable it is prudently to remove
+     than to resent, return, and continue inimical proceedings."
+
+There was something in this transaction, an apparent want of
+sincerity, an approach to trickery, which will impress many readers
+painfully. It was a shrewd manoeuvre, skillfully contrived, and
+successfully executed. The perfect sincerity of a friendly and
+magnanimous mind is the safest guide in all the emergencies of life.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+_Religious and Philosophic Views._
+
+     Studious habits--New religion--Personal habits--Church of
+     the Free and Easy--His many accomplishments--The career of
+     Hemphall--Birth and Death of Franklin's son--The Ministry of
+     Whitefield--Remarkable friendship between the philosopher
+     and the preacher--Prosperity of Franklin--His convivial
+     habits--The defense of Philadelphia--Birth of a
+     daughter--The Philadelphia Academy.
+
+
+Franklin was a perservering and laborious student, for whatever he
+read he studied. With increasing intellectual tastes, he found time
+every day to devote many hours to his books. His reading was of the
+most elevated and instructive kind. It consisted almost exclusively of
+scientific treatises, and of history, biography, voyages and travels.
+
+His mind was still struggling and floundering in the midst of
+religious and philosophical speculations. He seems, from some
+unexplained reason, to have been very unwilling to accept the religion
+of Jesus Christ; and yet he was inspired undeniably by a very noble
+desire to be a good man, to attain a high position in morality.
+Earnestly he endeavored to frame for himself some scheme which would
+enable him to accomplish that purpose.
+
+At this time he wrote,
+
+     "Few in public affairs act from a mere view of the good of
+     their country, whatever they may pretend. Fewer still in
+     public affairs act with a view to the good of mankind. There
+     seems to me, at present, great occasion to raise a 'United
+     Party for Virtue,' by forming the virtuous and good of all
+     nations into a regular body, to be governed by suitable good
+     and wise rules, which good and wise men may probably be more
+     unanimous in their obedience to, than common people are to
+     common laws. I at present, think, that whoever attempts this
+     aright, and is well qualified, cannot fail of pleasing God,
+     and of meeting with success."
+
+Influenced by these exalted motives, he concentrated all the energies
+of his well informed mind to the organization of a new religion. To
+this church he gave the name of "The Society of the Free and Easy."
+The members were to be Free from vice, and consequently, Easy in mind.
+The first article of his creed was that he would have no creed. And
+yet this religion, which drew an antagonistic distinction between
+faith and works, denouncing all faith at the same time announced that
+its fundamental and absolutely essential faith was that piety
+consisted in cherishing the ordinarily recognized virtues. These were
+Temperance, Silence, Order, Resolution, Frugality, Industry,
+Sincerity, Justice, Moderation, Cleanliness, Tranquillity, Charity and
+Humility.
+
+His ritual consisted in devoting one week to the cultivation of each
+of these virtues. He had no Sabbath, no preached Gospel, no
+Sacraments. But his creed, with its corresponding practice, certainly
+exerted a very powerful influence, and in many respects beneficial,
+upon his own mind.
+
+With his list of virtues before him, this remarkable young man
+commenced the effort vigorously to attain perfection. The Christian
+reader will not be at all surprised to read from Franklin's pen the
+following account of the result:
+
+     "I was surprised to find myself so much fuller of faults than
+     I had imagined. But I had the satisfaction of seeing them
+     diminish. After a while I went through one course only in a
+     year, and afterwards only one in several years; till at
+     length I omitted them entirely, being employed in voyages and
+     business abroad, with a multiplicity of affairs that
+     interfered."
+
+Franklin was a very proud man. He could not but be conscious of his
+great superiority over most of those with whom he associated. He avows
+that the virtue of humility he never could attain. The semblance of
+that virtue he could easily assume, but he says that the pride of his
+heart was such that had he attained it, he would have been proud of
+his humility. He adopted the following as the ordinary routine of
+life.
+
+He rose at five, very carefully performed his ablutions, and then
+offered a brief prayer to a being whom he called "Powerful Goodness."
+Why he should have preferred that address to the more simple one of
+"Our Heavenly Father," we know not. He then laid out the business of
+the day, and for a short time directed his mind to the especial virtue
+which he intended that day and week to cherish.[18]
+
+[Footnote 18: "It was about this time I conceived the bold and arduous
+project of arriving at moral perfection. I wished to live without
+committing any fault at any time. As I knew, or thought I knew what
+was right and wrong, I did not see why I might not always do the one
+and avoid the other. But I soon found that I had undertaken a task of
+more difficulty than I had imagined."--Autobiography, p. 105.]
+
+In the freshness of all his morning energies he devoted himself to his
+books for an hour and a half. This brought him to breakfast-time. At
+eight o'clock he commenced work in his shop, to which he devoted
+himself assiduously until twelve. An hour was then allowed for dinner
+and rest. At one he returned to the arduous labors of his shop, labors
+which engrossed all his energies, and continued the employment until
+six. His day's hard work was then ordinarily closed. He took his
+supper, received his friends, or more commonly read and studied until
+ten o'clock at night, when almost invariably he retired to his bed.
+
+His mind still for a time continued much interested in his plan for
+the church of the Free and Easy. We find among his papers that he
+decided that candidates for admission should, after a careful
+examination, to ascertain that their creed was, to have no creed, and
+that their faith was, to abjure all faith, be subject to a probation
+of thirteen weeks. It seems that no candidate ever applied for
+admission. There were no apostles to wander abroad proclaiming the new
+gospel. Increasing business absorbed Franklin's time, and the new
+church was forgotten.
+
+The sole motive which Franklin urged to inspire to action, was
+self-interest. "You should be honest," he would say, "because it is
+politic. You abstain from vice for the same reason that you should not
+drink poison, for it will hurt you." In the enforcement of these views
+he writes,
+
+     "It was my design to explain and enforce this doctrine,
+     _that vicious actions are not hurtful because they are
+     forbidden, but forbidden because they are hurtful_. It was,
+     therefore, every one's interest to be virtuous who wished to
+     be happy in this world. And I should from this circumstance
+     (there being always in the world a number of rich
+     merchants, nobility, states and princes, who have need of
+     honest instruments for the management of their affairs, and
+     such being so rare) have endeavored to convince young
+     persons that no qualities are so likely to make a poor man's
+     fortune as those of probity and integrity."
+
+It may be doubted whether such considerations ever made a truly good
+man. Virtue must be loved for its own sake. Vice must be deserted for
+its inherent baseness, even though it may bring a great reward.
+
+Franklin, in the prosecution of his studies, devoted himself to
+French, Spanish, Italian, and even to Latin. In all these he became a
+proficient. His mind was wonderfully prompt in the acquisition of
+knowledge. He could hardly have devoted himself more assiduously and
+successfully to these studies, had some good angel whispered in the
+ear of the young printer the astounding intelligence, "You are yet to
+be the ambassador of the United States to European courts. You are to
+appear in those glittering assemblages as the equal of the highest
+noble; and are to enjoy the hospitalities of kings and queens.
+Familiarity with these languages, and the intellectual culture you are
+thus acquiring will be of more value to you than mines of gold."
+
+This remarkable man prized all branches of knowledge; and seemed to
+excel in all. He devoted much attention to music. With much skill he
+played upon the harp, the guitar, the violin, and the violincello.
+
+In the year 1734, a young preacher by the name of Hemphall came to
+Philadelphia from England. He was deemed by the orthodox clergy, very
+heterodox in his opinions. Probably suspicions of his orthodoxy were
+enhanced from the fact that he brought high testimonials of eloquence
+from several of the most prominent deists and free-thinkers in
+England. He was very fluent, at times very eloquent, and Franklin was
+charmed with the man and his doctrines.
+
+Boldly denouncing all creeds, and all religious faith, he announced it
+as _his_ creed and _his_ faith that piety consists in conduct alone.
+Crowds flocked to hear him. One day, after preaching a very eloquent
+sermon, some one discovered that he had stolen that sermon from Dr.
+James Foster, the most popular preacher in London. An investigation
+took place, in which he was compelled to acknowledge that he had
+stolen every one of his sermons. Franklin writes,
+
+     "This detection gave many of our party disgust, who
+     accordingly abandoned his cause, and occasioned our more
+     speedy discomfiture in the synod. I stuck by him, however. I
+     rather approved his giving us good sermons composed by
+     others, than bad ones of his own, though the latter was the
+     practice of our common teachers."
+
+Had the young man said frankly, "I am rehearsing to you the most
+eloquent sermons of the most eloquent English divines," no one could
+have found any fault. But for him to assume that the sermons were his
+own, and that he personally was entitled to the credit of whatever
+power they exhibited, was certainly practicing deception. It was a
+gross violation of Franklin's cardinal virtue of sincerity. It was
+unworthy of Franklin, in his charitable regard for the offender, to
+gloss over the real criminality of the offence.
+
+A year after Franklin's marriage, a son was born to him, to whom
+he gave the name of Francis Folger Franklin. All accounts agree
+in describing the child as endowed with remarkable beauty and
+intelligence. Probably Franklin never loved any being as he loved that
+child. In the year 1736, when this wonderful boy was but four years of
+age, he was seized with the small-pox and died. Even the philosophic
+Franklin was almost crushed by the terrible calamity. The cheering
+views of the Christian faith could not sustain him. He had no vivid
+conception of his cherub boy an angel in Heaven awaiting his father's
+arrival. He could only say that "I am _inclined to believe_ that my
+child has not passed away into utter annihilation; but who knows? Many
+of the wisest and best on earth utterly discard the idea of a future
+existence. They deem the thought the conceit of ignorance and
+fanaticism."
+
+We read the following epitaph on his little grave-stone with much
+sympathy for the bereaved father. He could only write
+
+                  Francis F.
+         Son of Benjamin and Deborah
+                   Franklin.
+          Deceased November 12, 1736,
+     Aged four years, one month and one day.
+        The delight of all who knew him.
+
+In the year 1739, Rev. George Whitefield arrived in Philadelphia. It
+is remarkable that a warm friendship should have sprung up between men
+so very diverse in character. But Franklin could not be insensible to
+the wonderful power of this preacher, in promoting public morals, and
+in transforming the worst of men into valuable citizens, faithfully
+performing all the duties of life. It is surprising that this effect
+of the Gospel did not teach him that Christianity is the "wisdom of
+God, and the power of God to salvation." _Love_ was emphatically the
+message which Whitefield, with tearful eyes and throbbing heart,
+proclaimed to the wicked and the sorrowing. "God so _loved the world_,
+that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him
+should not perish but should have everlasting life." Christ "came not
+into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him
+might be saved."
+
+Such were the themes which this apostolic preacher unfolded, and which
+moved human hearts, in these new colonies as seventeen hundred years
+ago they were moved by the preaching of our Lord Jesus Christ, and his
+disciple Paul, upon the plains of Asia.
+
+Whitefield taught that _belief_ controlled conduct. As a man sincerely
+believes so will he act. Franklin, with his accustomed candor, in his
+Autobiography, wrote in the following terms, the effects of the
+preaching of this remarkable reformer:
+
+     "The multitudes of all sects and denominations that attended
+     his sermons were enormous. It was wonderful to see the
+     change soon made in the manners of our inhabitants. From
+     being thoughtless or indifferent about religion, it seemed
+     as if all the world were growing religious; so that one
+     could not walk through the town, in an evening, without
+     hearing psalms sung in different families of every street.
+
+     "Mr. Whitefield, on leaving us, went preaching all the way
+     through the colonies to Georgia. The settlement of that
+     province had been lately begun; but instead of being made
+     with hardy, industrious husbandmen, accustomed to labor, the
+     only people fit for such an enterprise, it was with families
+     of broken shop-keepers, and other insolvent debtors; many of
+     indolent and idle habits, taken out of the jails who, being
+     set down in the woods, unqualified for clearing land, and
+     unable to endure the hardships of a new settlement, perished
+     in numbers, leaving many helpless children unprovided for.
+
+     "The sight of their miserable situation inspired the
+     benevolent heart of Mr. Whitefield with the idea of building
+     an Orphan House there in which they might be supported and
+     educated. Returning northward, he preached up this charity,
+     and made large collections.
+
+     "I did not disapprove of the design; but as Georgia was then
+     destitute of materials and workmen, and it was proposed to
+     send them from Philadelphia at a great expense, I thought it
+     would have been better to have built the house at
+     Philadelphia, and brought the children to it. This I
+     advised. But he was resolute in his first project, rejected
+     my counsel, and I therefore refused to contribute.
+
+     "I happened soon after to attend one of his sermons, in the
+     course of which I perceived he intended to finish with a
+     collection, and I silently resolved he should get nothing
+     from me. I had in my pocket a handful of copper money, three
+     or four silver dollars, and five pistoles in gold, (about
+     twenty-five dollars). As he proceeded I began to soften, and
+     concluded to give the copper; another stroke of his oratory
+     made me ashamed of that, and determined me to give the
+     silver; and he finished so admirably that I emptied my
+     pockets wholly into the collector's dish, gold and all.
+
+     "Some of Mr. Whitefield's enemies affected to suppose that
+     he would apply these collections to his own private
+     emolument. But I, who was intimately acquainted with him,
+     being employed in printing his sermons and journals, never
+     had the least suspicion of his integrity; but am to this day
+     decidedly of the opinion, that he was in all his conduct a
+     perfectly honest man; and methinks my testimony ought have
+     the more weight, as we had no religious connection. He used,
+     indeed, sometimes to pray for my conversion, but never had
+     the satisfaction of believing that his prayers were heard.
+     Ours was a friendship sincere on both sides, and lasted to
+     his death."[19]
+
+[Footnote 19: "Autobiography of Franklin," as given by Sparks, p.
+139.]
+
+At one time Franklin wrote to Whitefield, in Boston, inviting him, as
+he was about to come to Philadelphia, to make his house his home. The
+devout preacher replied,
+
+"If you make this offer for Christ's sake you will not lose your
+reward."
+
+Promptly the philosopher rejected any such motive, and rejoined,
+
+"Do not be mistaken. It was not for Christ's sake I invited you, but
+for your own sake."
+
+In all the numerous letters, essays, and philosophical and religious
+disquisitions of Franklin, we seldom, I think, find a sentiment
+indicative of any high appreciation of the character of Jesus Christ;
+or the debt of gratitude we owe to him, either for his teaching or for
+his example. As Franklin discarded all idea of the Atonement, he of
+course could not express any gratitude for that which is, to the
+Christian, the crowning act even of divine love. This Saviour, to
+millions who cannot be counted, has proved, even if the comfort be a
+delusion, in temptation, disappointment, and death, more precious than
+it is in the power of words to declare.
+
+One article from Franklin's newspaper, published in the year 1740,
+gives an idea of the extraordinary interest which the preaching of
+Whitefield excited.
+
+     "On Thursday last the Reverend Mr. Whitefield left this city,
+     and was accompanied to Chester by about one hundred and
+     fifty horse; and preached there to about seven thousand
+     people. On Friday he preached twice at Willings Town to about
+     five thousand. On Saturday, at Newcastle, to about two
+     thousand five hundred; and the same evening at Christiana
+     Bridge to about three thousand; on Sunday at White Clay
+     Creek, he preached twice, resting about half an hour between
+     the sermons, to eight thousand, of whom three thousand, it is
+     computed, came on horseback. It rained most of the time, and
+     yet they stood in the open air."
+
+The keenness of the scrutiny with which Franklin watched all the
+operations of nature, led him to the discovery of the before unknown
+fact that the fierce north-east storms which sweep our Atlantic coast
+invariably begin in the south-west, and move backwards, diminishing in
+violence as they go. He also, about this time, invented the Franklin
+stove, which in the day when wood was the only fuel consumed has
+invested so many firesides with a rare aspect of cheerfulness. He
+wrote a very ingenious pamphlet, elucidating the philosophy of
+house-warming.
+
+There is great moral power in prosperity, when wisely accepted and
+enjoyed. Franklin was now a prosperous man. His income was constantly
+increasing. His virtues, and they were great ones, proved in all
+respects promotive of his worldly welfare. His journal was the
+leading paper, certainly in all that region, and had not its superior
+in any of the colonies. His renowned almanac, Poor Richard, attained
+an unexampled sale. The work executed in his printing office was so
+excellent as to bring in to him many orders even from the other
+provinces. The various books and pamphlets he had published had all
+been successful. Philadelphia had already become the chief town of the
+Colonies.
+
+Notwithstanding Franklin's devotion to books, to business, and to
+philosophical research, he is represented to have been at this time, a
+jovial man, very fond of convivial gatherings. He could not only write
+a good song, but he could sing it, to the acceptance of his
+companions. One of these songs entitled "The Old Man's Wish" he says
+he sang over a thousand times. We give the concluding stanza,
+illustrative of its general character.
+
+     "With a courage undaunted, may I face the last day,
+     And when I am gone may the better sort say,--
+     In the morning when sober, in the evening when mellow,
+     He has gone and not left behind him his fellow,
+     For he governed his passions with absolute sway."
+
+There was, as usual, war in Europe. Enormous armies were burning
+cities and villages, drenching the trampled harvest fields with blood,
+and filling the humble hamlets of the poor with misery. There was
+every reason to fear that these awful storms, raised by the passions
+of depraved men, would reach the peaceful shores of the Delaware.
+Philadelphia was entirely undefended. It is said that there was not an
+available cannon in Pennsylvania.
+
+A well-armed privateer could at any hour, seize and sack the city.
+Quaker influence so far prevailed that the legislature could not be
+induced to raise a battery, or purchase a gun. Franklin wrote a very
+powerful pamphlet, called Plain Truth, urging the necessity of
+adopting some measures of defence. He showed how the colony could, at
+any time, be ravaged by a few vessels from any European nation then in
+conflict with England. I give a few extracts from this admirable
+pamphlet:
+
+     "On the first alarm, terror will spread over all. Many will
+     seek safety by flight. Those that are reputed rich will
+     flee, through fear of torture to make them produce more than
+     they are able. The man that has a wife and children, will
+     find them hanging on his neck, beseeching him to quit the
+     city, and save his life. All will run into confusion, amid
+     cries and lamentations, and the hurry and disorder of
+     departures. The few that remain, will be unable to resist.
+
+     "Sacking the city will be the first; and burning it, in all
+     probability, the last act of the enemy. This I believe will
+     be the case, if you have timely notice. But what must be
+     your condition, if suddenly surprised without previous
+     alarm, perhaps in the night. Confined to your houses, you
+     will have nothing to trust but the enemy's mercy. Your best
+     fortune will be to fall under the power of commanders of
+     king's ships, able to control the mariners, and not into the
+     hands of licentious privateers.
+
+     "Who can without the utmost horror, conceive the miseries of
+     the latter when your persons, fortunes, wives and daughters,
+     shall be subject to the wanton and unbridled rage, rapine,
+     and lust, of negroes, mulattoes, and others, the vilest and
+     most abandoned of mankind?"
+
+This warning effectually roused the community. A public meeting was
+summoned, in the immense building erected to accommodate the crowds
+who flocked to hear Whitefield. Here Franklin harangued the multitude.
+An Association of Defence was organized. Ten thousand persons enrolled
+their names. In a few days nearly every man in the province, who was
+not a Quaker, had joined some military organization. Each man
+purchased for himself a weapon, and was learning how to use it.
+
+Eighty companies were organized and disciplined. The companies in
+Philadelphia united in a regiment, and chose Franklin their colonel.
+Wisely he declined the office, "conceiving myself unfit," he says. A
+battery was thrown up below the town. Some cannon were sent for from
+Boston. Several eighteen-pounders were obtained in New York, and more
+were ordered from London. In manning the battery, Franklin took his
+turn of duty as a common soldier.
+
+There was not a little opposition to these measures, but still the
+strong current of popular opinion was in their favor. Even the young
+Quakers, though anxious to avoid wounding the feelings of their
+parents, secretly gave their influence to these preparations of
+defence. The peace of Aix la Chapelle in 1748, terminated these
+alarms. But the wisdom and energy which Franklin had displayed, caused
+him to be regarded as the most prominent man in Pennsylvania. The
+masses of the people regarded him with singular homage and confidence.
+
+In 1744, Franklin had a daughter born, to whom he gave the name of
+Sarah. His motherless son William, who was destined to give his father
+great trouble, was growing up, stout, idle, and intractable. Early in
+the war he had run away, and enlisted on board a privateer. With much
+difficulty his father rescued him from these engagements. Franklin was
+evidently embarrassed to know what to do with the boy. He allowed him,
+when but sixteen years of age, to enlist as a soldier in an
+expedition against Canada.
+
+About this time Franklin wrote to his sister Jane, whose son had also
+run away to enlist as a privateer. He wished to console her by the
+assurance that it was not in consequence of unkind treatment, that the
+boys were induced thus to act. He wrote:
+
+     "When boys see prizes brought in, and quantities of money
+     shared among the men, and their gay living, it fills their
+     heads with notions that half distract them; and puts them
+     quite out of conceit with trades and the dull ways of getting
+     money by working. My only son left my house unknown to us
+     all, and got on board a privateer, from whence I fetched him.
+     No one imagined it was hard usage at home that made him do
+     this. Every one that knows me thinks I am too indulgent a
+     parent, as well as master."
+
+The father of Benjamin Franklin died in Boston, at the great age of
+eighty-nine years. He had secured, in a very high degree, the respect
+of the people, not only by his irreproachable morals, but by his
+unfeigned piety. The Boston News Letter, of January 17, 1745, in the
+following brief obituary, chronicles his death:
+
+     "Last night died Mr. Josiah Franklin, tallow chandler, and
+     soap maker. By the force of steady temperance he had made a
+     constitution, none of the strongest, last with comfort to the
+     age of eighty-nine years. And by an entire dependence on his
+     Redeemer, and a constant course of the strictest piety and
+     virtue, he was enabled to die as he lived, with cheerfulness
+     and peace, leaving a numerous posterity the honor of being
+     descended from a person who, through a long life, supported
+     the character of an honest man."
+
+In the year 1743 Franklin drew up a plan for an Academy in
+Philadelphia. In consequence of the troubled times the tract was not
+published until the year 1749. It was entitled, "Proposals Relating to
+the Education of Youth in Pennsylvania." The suggestions he presented
+indicated a wide acquaintance with the writings of the most eminent
+philosophers. He marked out minutely, and with great wisdom, the
+course of study to be pursued. It is pleasant to read the following
+statement, in this programme. Urging the study of History, he writes,
+
+     "History will also afford frequent opportunities of showing
+     the necessity of a _public religion_, from its usefulness to
+     the public; the advantages of a religious character among
+     private persons; the mischiefs of superstition and the
+     excellency of the _Christian religion_ above all others,
+     ancient and modern."
+
+Perhaps this tribute to the excellence of Christianity ought in some
+degree to modify the impression left upon the mind, by Franklin's
+studious avoidal, in all his writings, of any allusion to the name of
+Jesus Christ its founder.
+
+Twenty-five thousand dollars were speedily raised for this
+institution. All the religious sects harmoniously united. One
+individual from each sect was appointed, to form the corporate body
+intrusted with the funds. But almost the entire care and trouble of
+rearing the building, and organizing the institution fell upon
+Franklin. He was found to be fully adequate to all these
+responsibilities.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+_The Tradesman becomes a Philosopher._
+
+     Franklin appointed Indian commissioner--Effects of
+     Rum--Indian logic--Accumulating honors--Benevolent
+     enterprises--Franklin's counsel to Tennent--Efforts for city
+     improvement--Anecdotes--Franklin appointed
+     postmaster--Rumors of War--England enlists the Six Nations
+     in her cause--Franklin plans a Confederacy of States--Plans
+     rejected--Electrical experiments--Franklin's increase of
+     income--Fearful experiments--The kite--New honors--Views of
+     the French philosopher--Franklin's Religious views--His
+     counsel to a young pleader--Post-office Reforms.
+
+
+In the year 1740, Franklin, then forty-four years of age, was
+appointed on a commission to form a treaty with the Indians at
+Carlisle. Franklin, knowing the frenzy to which the savages were
+plunged by intoxication, promised them that, if they would keep
+entirely sober until the treaty was concluded, they should then have
+an ample supply of rum. The agreement was made and faithfully kept.
+
+     "They then," writes Franklin, "claimed and received the rum.
+     This was in the afternoon. They were near one hundred men,
+     women and children, and were lodged in temporary cabins,
+     built in the form of a square, just without the town. In the
+     evening, hearing a great noise among them, the commissioners
+     walked to see what was the matter.
+
+     "We found that they had made a great bonfire in the middle of
+     the square; that they were all drunk, men and women
+     quarreling and fighting. Their dark-colored bodies,
+     half-naked, seen only by the gloomy light of the bonfire,
+     running after and beating one another with firebrands,
+     accompanied by their horrid yellings, formed a scene the most
+     resembling our ideas of hell, that could well be imagined.
+     There was no appeasing the tumult, and we returned to our
+     lodgings. At midnight a number of them came thundering at our
+     door demanding more rum, of which we took no notice.
+
+     "The next morning they all seemed very much ashamed of the
+     disgraceful orgies in which they had indulged. There was a
+     law written in their own hearts, which told them that they
+     had done wrong. Three chiefs were appointed to call upon the
+     commissioners with an humble apology. With downcast looks
+     they confessed their fault, and then with logic which more
+     intelligent men sometimes use, endeavored to throw the blame
+     upon God. In remarkable speech one of them said,
+
+     "'The Great Spirit, who made all things, made everything for
+     some use. Whatever use he designed anything for, that use it
+     should be always put to. Now, when he made rum, he said, "Let
+     this be for the Indians to get drunk with! and it must be
+     so."'"
+
+The Governor at this time appointed Franklin a Justice of Peace.
+Franklin says he was much flattered by these accumulating honors. Soon
+he was elected to a seat, as one of the Legislators in the Assembly.
+Mainly through his influence, a hospital for the sick was established
+in Philadelphia. Though the measure encountered much opposition, he
+carried it; and the institution proved of incalculable benefit.
+
+The Rev. Gilbert Tennent solicited Franklin's aid in raising money for
+building a Meeting House. As Franklin had been so continually engaged
+in asking for money for various objects of benevolence, he was afraid
+he should become obnoxious to his fellow-citizens, and declined. Mr.
+Tennent then requested him to give him a list of the names of those
+influential persons upon whom it would be well for him to call. Every
+Christian minister who reads this, will appreciate the nature of his
+embarrassment. Franklin says that he thought it would be unbecoming in
+him, after having emptied the purses of his friends, to send other
+beggars to them, with renewed importunities. This request he therefore
+declined. Mr. Tennent then urged him to give him some advice.
+Franklin replied,
+
+"That I will willingly do. In the first place, I advise you to apply
+to all those who you know will do something; next, to those who you
+are uncertain whether they will give anything or not, and show them
+the list of those who have given; and lastly, do not neglect those who
+you are sure will give nothing, for in some of them you may be
+mistaken."
+
+Mr. Tennent laughed heartily, and declared that he would rigorously
+follow out this advice. He did so. His success was wonderful; a much
+larger sum was raised than he had anticipated, and soon a capacious
+and beautiful Meeting House rose in Arch street.
+
+The streets of Philadelphia, though laid out with great regularity,
+were unpaved, and in wet weather were almost impassable quagmires.
+Franklin, by talking with his friends, and by urging the subject in
+his paper, at length succeeded in having a sidewalk paved with stone,
+upon one of the most important streets. It gave great satisfaction,
+but the rest of the street not being paved, the mud was thrown by
+passing carriages upon it, and as the city employed no street
+cleaners, the sidewalk soon ceased to afford a clean passage to
+pedestrians.
+
+Franklin found an industrious man who was willing to sweep the
+pavement twice a week, carrying off the dirt from before all the
+doors, for the sum of sixpence a month, to be paid by each house.
+
+The philosophic Franklin then, having started this enterprise, printed
+on a sheet of paper the great advantages of keeping the sidewalk
+clean, and sent one of these papers to each house. He urged that much
+of the soiling of the interior of the houses would thus be avoided,
+that an attractive sidewalk would lure passengers to the shops; and
+that, in windy weather, their goods would be preserved from the dust.
+
+After a few days he called, in person, at each house and shop to see
+who would subscribe sixpence a month. It was a great success. The
+cleanliness of the pavement in the important streets surrounding the
+market, greatly delighted the people, and prepared the way for
+carrying a bill which Franklin presented to the Assembly for paving
+and lighting all the important streets of the city.
+
+A gentleman, by the name of John Clifton, had placed a lamp before his
+door. This suggested the idea. Lamps were sent for from London. Globes
+were furnished. They were expensive. The smoke circulated in the globe
+and obstructed the light. They had to be wiped clean each day. An
+accidental stroke demolished the whole globe. Franklin suggested four
+flat panes. One might be broken, and easily replaced. Crevices were
+left below to admit a current of air, and a funnel to draw off the
+smoke. Thus for a long time the glass remained undimmed.
+
+Wherever Franklin went, he carried with him this spirit of
+improvement. When in London, he found the streets wretchedly dirty.
+One morning he found a poor woman at his door in Craven street,
+sweeping the sidewalk with a wretched broom. Her pallid and exhausted
+appearance touched the sympathies of Franklin. He asked who employed
+her. She replied:
+
+"Nobody. I am poor and in distress. I sweeps before gentlefolks's
+doors, and hopes they will give me something."
+
+Franklin immediately engaged her to sweep the whole street. It was
+nine o'clock in the morning. She was so languid and debilitated that
+he thought it would take her nearly all day. But in three hours she
+came for her shilling. Franklin thought she could not have done her
+work faithfully. He sent his servant to examine. He reported that the
+work was thoroughly done. A new problem rose before Franklin: If this
+feeble woman could in so short a time sweep such a street, a strong
+man, with a suitable broom, could certainly do it in half of the
+time. He therefore drew up a plan for cleaning the streets of London
+and Westminster, which was placed in the hands of one of the most
+influential of the public-spirited men of London.
+
+Franklin apologizes for speaking in his autobiography of such trifles.
+Very truly, he says,
+
+     "Human felicity is produced not so much by great pieces of
+     good fortune that seldom happen, as by little advantages
+     that occur every day. Thus if you teach a poor young man to
+     shave himself and keep his razor in order, you may
+     contribute more to the happiness of his life than in giving
+     him a thousand guineas. This sum may be soon spent, the
+     regret only remaining of having foolishly consumed it. But
+     in the other case, he escapes the frequent vexation of
+     waiting for barbers, and of their sometimes dirty fingers,
+     offensive breath, and dull razors. He shaves when most
+     convenient to him, and enjoys daily the pleasure of its
+     being done with a good instrument."
+
+Nearly all the important offices in the colonies were filled by
+appointments from the British Crown. For some time, Franklin had been
+employed as an assistant to the Postmaster General, in simplifying and
+bringing regularity into his accounts. Upon the death of the American
+Postmaster, Franklin, in 1753, was appointed jointly with Sir William
+Hunter to succeed him. The appointment was made by the Postmaster
+General in England.
+
+The post-office department had scarcely been self-supporting. It had
+never paid anything to the crown. The salary offered to the two
+postmasters was three thousand dollars a year each, if they could save
+that sum from the profits of the office. Franklin writes,
+
+     "To do this a variety of improvements was necessary. Some of
+     these were inevitably, at first, expensive; so that in the
+     first four years, the office became above nine hundred
+     pounds in debt to us. But it soon after began to repay us.
+     And before I was displaced by a freak of the ministers, of
+     which I shall hereafter speak, we had brought it to yield
+     three times as much clear revenue to the crown as the
+     post-office of Ireland. Since that imprudent transaction,
+     they have received from it not one farthing."
+
+Again there were menaces of war, insane and demoniac, to fill the
+world with tears and woe. As we read the record of these horrid
+outrages which through all the centuries have desolated this globe, it
+would seem that there must be a vein of insanity as well as of
+depravity, in the heart of fallen man. England and France were again
+marshaling their armies, and accumulating their fleets, for the
+terrible conflict.
+
+It was certain that France, in Canada, and England, in her colonies,
+could not live in peace here, while the volcanic throes of war were
+shaking the island of Great Britain, and the Continent of Europe.
+
+In the heart of New York, then almost an unbroken wilderness, there
+were six exceedingly fierce and war-like tribes called the Six
+Nations. Like the wolves they delighted in war. The greatness of a man
+depended on the number of scalps with which he could fringe his dress.
+These savage warriors were ready and eager to engage as the allies of
+those who would pay them the highest price. Mercy was an attribute of
+which they knew not even the name.
+
+It was not doubted that France would immediately send her emissaries
+from Canada to enlist these savages on her side. Awful would be the
+woes with which these demoniac men could sweep our defenceless
+frontiers; with the tomahawk and the scalping knife, exterminating
+families, burning villages, and loading their pack-horses with
+plunder. To forestall the French, and to turn these woes from our own
+frontier to the humble homes of the Canadian emigrants, the English
+government appointed a commissioner to visit the chiefs of these
+tribes in the year 1754.
+
+The all important council was to be held in Albany. Governor Hamilton
+appointed four commissioners, of whom Franklin was one, to act in
+behalf of Pennsylvania. They were furnished with rich gifts with which
+to purchase the favor of the Indians. It was a long and tedious
+journey from Philadelphia to Albany.
+
+Franklin, on this journey, was deeply impressed with the importance of
+a union of the colonies for self-defence. He therefore drew up a plan
+for such union. Several gentlemen of the highest intelligence in New
+York, having examined it, gave it their cordial approval. He
+accordingly laid it before Congress.
+
+There were several other persons in other colonies who were impressed
+as deeply as Franklin with a sense of the importance of such a
+confederacy, and they also sent in their suggestions.
+
+Congress appointed a committee of one from each province, to consider
+the several plans. The committee approved of Franklin's plan, and
+reported accordingly. While the commissioners were conferring with the
+Indians in Albany, Congress was engaged in discussing the plans of a
+confederacy. Franklin's plan was finally rejected. It did not meet the
+views either of the Assembly, or of the British Court. And here we
+see, perhaps the germs of the great conflict which soon culminated in
+the cruel war of the Revolution.
+
+The Assembly objected to the plan as too aristocratic, conferring too
+much power upon the crown. The court emphatically rejected it as too
+democratic, investing the people with too much power. Franklin ever
+affirmed that his plan was the true medium. Even the royalist governor
+of Pennsylvania warmly commended the compromise he urged.
+
+In visiting Boston he was shown an electric tube, recently sent from
+England. With this tube some very surprising electrical experiments
+were performed, ushering in a new science, of which then but very
+little was known. Franklin became intensely interested in the subject.
+Upon his return to Philadelphia, he devoted himself, with great
+assiduity, to experimenting with electric tubes. At this time he wrote
+to a friend,
+
+     "I never was before engaged in any study that so totally
+     engrossed my attention and my time, as this has lately done;
+     for what with making experiments when I can be alone, and
+     repeating them to my friends and acquaintances, who, from
+     the novelty of the thing, come continually in crowds to see
+     them, I have little leisure for anything else."
+
+This was during the winter of 1746-7. Franklin suggested that the
+electricity was collected, not created by friction. He also
+propounded the theory of positive and negative electricity. He was, at
+this time, comparatively a wealthy man, and consequently could afford
+to devote his time to philosophical investigation. It is estimated
+that his income, from his estates, amounted to about seven hundred
+pounds a year; this was equal to about six or seven thousand dollars
+at the present time. Mr. Parton writes,
+
+     "Besides this independence, Franklin was the holder of two
+     offices, worth together perhaps one hundred and fifty pounds
+     a year. His business, then more flourishing than ever,
+     produced an annual profit, as before computed, of two
+     thousand pounds; bringing up his income to the troublesome
+     and absurd amount of nearly three thousand pounds; three
+     times the revenue of a colonial governor."
+
+Under these prosperous circumstances, Franklin withdrew from active
+business, became a silent partner in the firm, and devoted nearly all
+his time to the new science. He wrote, in the autumn of 1748, to his
+friend Cadwallader Colden of New York,
+
+     "I have removed to a more quiet part of the town, where I am
+     settling my old accounts, and hope soon to be quite master
+     of my own time, and no longer, as the song has it, 'at every
+     one's call but my own.'
+
+     "Thus you see I am in a fair way of having no other tasks
+     than such as I shall like to give myself, and of enjoying
+     what I look upon as a great happiness, leisure to read,
+     study, make experiments, and converse at large with such
+     ingenious and worthy men, as are pleased to honor me with
+     their friendship or acquaintance, on such points as may
+     produce something for the common benefit of mankind,
+     uninterrupted by the cares and fatigues of business."
+
+He wrote a treatise upon thundergusts, which displayed wonderful
+sagacity, and which arrested the attention of nearly all the
+philosophers in Europe and America. The all-important topics of this
+exceedingly important document, were the power of points to draw off
+electricity, and also the similarity of electricity and lightning. He
+therefore urged that metallic rods might be attached to buildings and
+ships, which, pushing their needle points above roofs and masts, might
+draw the electric fire harmlessly from the clouds. He confesses that
+he cannot imagine why the points should possess this curious power,
+but urges that facts seem to demonstrate it.
+
+One day, for the entertainment of his friends, he had made
+arrangements to kill a turkey with an electric shock. Two large jars
+were heavily charged. Incautiously manipulating, he took the shock
+himself. In the following language, he describes the effect:
+
+     "The flash was very great, and the crack was as loud as a
+     pistol; yet my senses being instantly gone, I neither saw
+     the one nor heard the other; nor did I feel the stroke on my
+     hand, though I afterwards found it raised a round swelling
+     where the fire entered, as big as half a pistol bullet.
+
+     "I then felt what I know not well how to describe, a
+     universal blow throughout my whole body from head to foot,
+     which seemed within as well as without; after which the
+     first thing I took notice of was a violent, quick shaking of
+     my body, which gradually remitting, my sense as gradually
+     returned, and then, I thought the bottle must be discharged,
+     but could not conceive how, till at last I perceived the
+     chain in my hand, and recollected what I had been about to
+     do.
+
+     "That part of my hand and fingers which held the chain, was
+     left white as though the blood had been driven out; and
+     remained so eight or ten minutes after, feeling like dead
+     flesh; and I had numbness in my arms and the back of my neck
+     which continued to the next morning, but wore off."
+
+Franklin was much mortified at his awkwardness in this experiment. He
+declared it to be a notorious blunder, and compared it with the folly
+of the Irishman, who wishing to steal some gun-powder, bored a hole
+through the cask with red hot iron. But notwithstanding this warning,
+not long afterwards, in endeavoring to give a shock to a paralytic
+patient, he received the whole charge himself, and was knocked flat
+and senseless on the floor.
+
+In the spring of 1752, Franklin tried his world renowned experiment
+with the kite. A June thunder cloud was rising in all its majesty.
+Franklin, accompanied by his son, repaired to a field secretly, being
+afraid of the ridicule of the people. Here he raised the kite, made of
+a large silk handkerchief. The top of the perpendicular stick was
+pointed with a sharp metallic rod. The string was hemp with the
+exception of the part held in the hand, which was silk; at the end of
+the hempen string a common key was suspended. With intense anxiety and
+no slight apprehension of danger, he held the line. Soon he observed
+the fibres of the hempen string to rise and separate themselves, as
+was the case of the hair on the head, when any one was placed on an
+insulating stool. He applied his knuckle to the key, and received an
+unmistakable spark. As the story is generally told, with occasionally
+slight contradictions, he applied his knuckle again and again to the
+key with a similar result. He charged a Leyden jar with the fluid and
+both he and his son took a shock. He then drew in his kite, packed up
+his apparatus and returned to his laboratory probably the most
+exultant and happy man in this wide world.
+
+Most of the English and many of the French philosophers were very
+unwilling to believe that an obscure American, in what they deemed the
+savage and uncultivated wilds of the New World, was outstripping them
+in philosophical research. They were unwilling to acknowledge the
+reality of his experiments; but in France, where an American would
+receive more impartial treatment, three of the most eminent
+philosophers, Count de Buffon, M. Dalibard and M. de Lor, at different
+places, raised the apparatus Franklin had recommended to draw
+electricity from the clouds. Their success was unmistakable; the
+results of these experiments were proclaimed throughout Europe.
+
+Franklin had now obtained renown. No one could deny that he merited a
+high position among the most eminent philosophers. The experiments he
+had suggested were tried by scientists in the philosophical circles of
+every country in Europe.
+
+Both Yale and Harvard, in this country, conferred upon him the
+honorary degree of Master of Arts, and the Royal Society, in Europe,
+by a unanimous vote, elected him a member, remitting the usual
+initiation fee of five guineas, and the annual charge of two and a
+half guineas. The next year this Society conferred upon him the Copley
+medal.
+
+For seven years Franklin continued to devote himself almost
+exclusively to this science, and he became, without doubt, the most
+accomplished electrician in the world. At the same time his mind was
+ever active in devising new schemes for the welfare of humanity. The
+most trivial events would often suggest to him measures conducive to
+the most beneficial results. It is said that Franklin saw one day in a
+ditch the fragments of a basket of yellow willow, in which some
+foreign commodity had been imported to this country. One of the twigs
+had sprouted. He planted it; and it became the parent of all the
+yellow willows in our country.
+
+Franklin was best loved where he was best known. And this was right;
+for he was ever conferring deeds of kindness upon his neighbors. His
+religious views excited sorrow among his Christian friends. Others,
+composing perhaps a majority, cared nothing about what he believed. In
+conversation he ever frankly avowed himself a deist, though generally
+he made no attempt to convert others to his views. It is not
+improbable that he was in some degree influenced by the beneficial
+effect produced upon the popular mind by the preaching of his friend
+Mr. Whitefield.
+
+The writer was once, in Paris, conversing with one of the most
+illustrious of the French philosophers. He said to the philosopher, "I
+am much interested to ascertain the views of gentlemen of your
+intellectual position respecting the Christian religion." He with
+perfect frankness replied, "I think that there are no men of high
+culture in France, with a few exceptions, who believe in the divine
+origin of Christianity. But there is no philanthropist who will say
+so. We have been taught, by the horrors of the French Revolution, that
+the masses of the people can only be restrained from violence by the
+superstitious restraints which Christianity presents. We therefore
+think that every man, who is a gentleman, will do what he can to
+sustain the church and the clergy. Men of culture and refinement, are
+governed by principles of honor, and they do not need the
+superstitious motives of Christianity to influence them."
+
+I may remark, in passing, that this gentlemanly philosopher had
+abandoned his own wife, and was then living with the wife of another
+man. It is not improbable that Franklin, as he looked upon the
+tumultuous and passion-tossed young men of Philadelphia, did not deem
+it expedient to say to them,
+
+"The Bible is a fable. The Sabbath is no more sacred than any other
+day. The church is merely a human club without any divine authority.
+Marriage is an institution which is not founded upon any decree which
+God has issued, but one of the expediency of which each individual
+must judge for himself. The Sacraments of Baptism, and the Lord's
+Supper, are mere human contrivances. The preaching of the Gospel had
+better be laid aside for literary and scientific disquisitions."
+
+With the eye of a benevolent philosopher, Franklin, as we have seen,
+had watched the effect of the preaching of Mr. Whitefield, and had
+candidly acknowledged its power in reforming society. It is improbable
+that, in his heart, he felt that the preaching of pure deism could
+ever secure such results. In 1753 he wrote to Mr. Whitefield, in reply
+to a communication from him upon the Christian faith:
+
+     "The faith you mention certainly has its use in the world. I
+     do not desire to see it diminished, nor would I endeavor to
+     lessen it in any man."
+
+Franklin had resolved to decline all office, that he might devote
+himself to his studies. But his reputation for wisdom was such, that
+he found it very difficult to persevere in this plan. Menaces of war
+were continually arising. The majority of the members, in the
+Assembly, were Quakers. It was a small body consisting of but forty
+delegates. The Quakers opposed every measure for public defence.
+Franklin, as we have mentioned, became a Justice of the Peace. Soon
+after he was an Alderman, and then he took his seat in the General
+Assembly.
+
+"I was a bad speaker," he writes, "never eloquent; subject to much
+hesitation in the choice of words; and yet I generally carried my
+point."
+
+He adds, in language which every young man should treasure up in his
+memory, "I retained the habit of expressing myself in terms of modest
+diffidence; never using, when I advanced anything that might possibly
+be disputed, the words, _certainly_, _undoubtedly_, or any others that
+give the air of positiveness to an opinion; but rather, I _conceive_,
+or _apprehend_ a thing to be so and so. _It appears to me_, or, _I
+should not think it so for such and such reasons_, or, _I imagine it
+to be so_, or, _It is so if I am not mistaken_. This habit, I believe,
+has been of great advantage to me when I have had occasion to
+inculcate my opinions; and to persuade men into measures that I have
+been from time to time proposing."
+
+When Franklin assumed the charge of the post-office, the department
+was in a feeble and peculiar condition. As late as the year 1757, the
+mail-bag in Virginia was passed from planter to planter. Each one was
+required to forward it promptly, under the penalty of forfeiting a
+hogshead of tobacco. Every man took, from the bag, what belonged to
+his family, and sent on the rest. The line of post-offices then
+extended from Boston, Mass., to Charleston, S. C. It was twenty years
+after this, before any governmental mail penetrated the interior.
+
+In the year 1753, Franklin visited every post-office excepting that
+of Charleston. His wisdom introduced reforms, some of which have
+continued to the present day. A newspaper was charged nine pence
+a year, for a distance of fifty miles, and eighteen pence for
+one hundred miles or more. In the large towns a penny post was
+established, and all letters left remaining in the office were
+advertised.
+
+A mail was conveyed from Philadelphia to New York once a week in
+summer, and once in two weeks in winter. Franklin started a mail to
+leave each of these cities three times a week in summer, and twice in
+winter. It generally required six weeks to obtain an answer from a
+letter sent to Boston. Most of the roads, into the interior, consisted
+of narrow passages, cut through the forest, called Bridle Paths,
+because the pack horses were led through them, in single file by the
+bridle.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+_The Rising Storms of War._
+
+     Aristocracy--Anecdote--Conflicting laws of
+     Nations--Franklin's scheme of colonization--Proposal of the
+     British Court--The foresight of Franklin--Braddock's
+     campaign--Remonstrances of Franklin and
+     Washington--Franklin's interviews with Braddock--Franklin's
+     efficiency--Confidence of Braddock--The conflict with the
+     Proprietaries--The non-resistant Quakers--Fate of the
+     Moravian villages--The winter campaign--The camp of
+     Gaudenhutton--Anecdote--Renewal of the strife with the
+     Proprietaries--Franklin recalled to assist the
+     Assembly--Destruction of the Fort--Claim of the
+     Proprietaries--The great controversy.
+
+
+With increasing wealth the spirit of aristocratic exclusiveness gained
+strength in the higher circles of Philadelphia. Some of the more
+opulent families planned for a series of dancing entertainments during
+the winter. It was proposed among other rules that no mechanic, or
+mechanic's wife or daughter, should be invited. The rules were shown
+to Franklin. He glanced his eye over them and pithily remarked,
+
+"Why these rules would exclude God Almighty!"
+
+"How so?" inquired the manager.
+
+"Because," Franklin replied, "the Almighty, as all know, is the
+greatest mechanic in the universe. In six days he made all things."
+The obnoxious article was stricken out.
+
+The following incident, narrated by Franklin, illustrates a very
+important principle in political economy, which those are apt to
+ignore, who denounce all the elegancies and luxuries of life.
+
+Mrs. Franklin received some small favor from the captain of a little
+coaster, which ran between Cape May and Philadelphia. He declined to
+receive any remuneration for his trifling services. Mrs. Franklin,
+learning that he had a pretty daughter, sent her a new-fashioned
+Philadelphia cap or bonnet. Three years after, the captain called
+again at the house of Mr. Franklin. A very plain but intelligent
+farmer accompanied him. The captain expressed his thanks to Mrs.
+Franklin for the gift she had sent his daughter, and rather
+discourteously added,
+
+"But it proved a dear cap to our congregation. When my daughter
+appeared with it at meeting, it was so much admired that all the girls
+resolved to get such caps from Philadelphia. And my wife and I
+computed that the whole could not have cost less than a hundred
+pounds."
+
+The farmer, with far higher intelligence, said, "This is true; but
+you do not tell the whole story. I think the cap was nevertheless an
+advantage to us. It was the first thing that put our girls upon
+knitting worsted mittens, for sale at Philadelphia, that they might
+have wherewithal to buy caps and ribbons there. And you know that that
+industry has continued and is likely to continue and increase, to a
+much greater value, and answer better purposes."
+
+"Thus by a profitable exchange, the industrious girls at Cape May had
+pretty bonnets, and the girls at Philadelphia had warm mittens."
+
+For seventy-five years it had been the constant design of the British
+government to drive the French from North America. England claimed the
+whole country, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, because her ships had
+first sailed along the Atlantic coast. It was one of the recognized
+laws of nations that a newly discovered region belonged to the nation
+who had first raised upon it its flag.
+
+France, admitting the claim of England to the Atlantic coast, asserted
+her right to the great valleys of the interior, those of the Ohio and
+the Mississippi, because her boatmen had first discovered those
+magnificent rivers, had explored them throughout, and had established
+upon them her trading and military posts. It was a recognized law of
+nations, that the power which discovered, explored, and took
+possession of a new river, was the rightful possessor of the valley
+which that river watered. Thus the conflict of claims originated.
+
+To add to the intensity of the insane strife, which caused an amount
+of blood and misery which no tongue can tell, religious bitterness was
+aroused, and the French Roman Catholic was arrayed against the British
+Protestant.
+
+Three wars, bloody and woful, had already ravaged this continent. We
+have before alluded to the menace of a new war in the year 1754, and
+to Franklin's mission to Albany to enlist the chiefs of the Six
+Nations to become allies of the English. We have also alluded to the
+plan, which Franklin drew up on this journey, for the union of the
+colonies, and which was rejected. The wisdom of this plan was,
+however, subsequently developed by the fact that it was remarkably
+like that by which eventually the colonies were bound together as a
+nation.
+
+Assuming that the English were right in their claim for the whole
+continent, Franklin urged the eminently wise measure of establishing
+strong colonies, in villages of a hundred families each, on the
+luxuriant banks of the western rivers. But the haughty British
+government would receive no instructions from American provincials.
+
+Governor Shirley, of Boston, showed Mr. Franklin a plan, drawn up in
+England, for conducting the war. It developed consummate ignorance of
+the difficulties of carrying on war in the pathless wilderness; and
+also a great disregard of the political rights of the American
+citizens. According to this document, the British court was to
+originate and execute all the measures for the conduct of the war; and
+the British Parliament was to assess whatever tax it deemed expedient
+upon the American people to defray the expenses. The Americans were to
+have no representation in Parliament, and no voice whatever in
+deciding upon the sum which they were to pay.
+
+Franklin examined the document carefully, and returned it with his
+written objections. In this remarkable paper, he anticipated the
+arguments which our most distinguished statesmen and logicians urged
+against the Stamp Act--against Taxation without Representation. A
+brief extract from this important paper, will give the reader some
+idea of its character:
+
+     "The colonists are Englishmen. The accident of living in a
+     colony deprives them of no right secured by Magna Charta. The
+     people in the colonies, who are to feel the immediate
+     mischiefs of invasion and conquest by an enemy, in the loss
+     of their estates, lives and liberties, are likely to be
+     better judges of the quantity of forces necessary to be
+     raised and maintained, and supported, and of their own
+     ability to bear the expense, than the Parliament of England,
+     at so great a distance. Compelling the colonists to pay money
+     without their consent, would be rather like raising
+     contributions in an enemy's country, than taxing of
+     Englishmen for their own public benefit. It would be treating
+     them as a conquered people, and not as true British
+     subjects."
+
+At length the brave, but self-conceited and haughty General Braddock
+came with his army of British Regulars. Frenchmen, Indians, and
+Americans, he alike regarded with contempt. His troops were
+rendezvoused at Fredericktown, in Maryland. A bridle path led through
+the wilderness to this place, from Philadelphia, a distance of a
+hundred and twenty miles.
+
+Intelligent American gentlemen were much alarmed, by the reckless and
+perilous measures which the ignorant British general declared his
+intention to pursue. He became very angry with Pennsylvanians, because
+they were so unwilling to fall in with his plans. It was said that, in
+his anger, he manifested more desire to ravage Pennsylvania than to
+defeat the French.
+
+The Assembly at Philadelphia appointed a commission, consisting of
+Benjamin Franklin and his son, a resolute, insubordinate man of thirty
+years, and of the Governors of New York and Massachusetts, to visit
+the arrogant British officer, and to endeavor, in some way, to
+influence him to wiser measures. It was the middle of April, a
+beautiful season in that climate, of swelling buds, and opening
+leaves.
+
+Each of the four gentlemen was attended by servants, as was customary
+in those days. They were all finely mounted. Joyfully they rode along,
+seeking entertainment each night at the residence of some planter. A
+courier was always sent forward to announce their coming, and the
+planter, accompanied by one or two of his servants, would generally
+ride forward a few miles to meet them, and escort them to his
+hospitable home.
+
+Franklin was received by Gen. Braddock with the condescension with
+which, in that day, English gentlemen were ever accustomed to regard
+Americans of whatever name or note. The little army, which was to
+march upon Fort Duquesne, was to traverse the dreary and pathless
+ridges and ravines of the Alleghany mountains, and force their way
+through a tangled wilderness, for a distance of several hundred miles.
+During all this march they were hourly exposed to be attacked by an
+overpowering force of French and Indians. The French could easily
+descend to the Ohio, in their boats from Canada, and nearly all the
+Indians of this vast interior, were in alliance with them.
+
+Braddock insisted upon encumbering his march with heavily laden
+wagons, which were to penetrate savage regions through which he must,
+every mile, construct his road. There was a young American in the camp
+by the name of George Washington. He was a man of the highest rank,
+and of commanding influence, having obtained much experience in Indian
+warfare. Modestly, but warmly, he remonstrated against this folly. He
+not only feared, but was fully assured that such a measure would lead
+to the inevitable destruction of the army. He urged that pack horses
+only should be employed, and as few of them as possible; and that thus
+they should hurry along as rapidly and in as compact a mass as they
+could.
+
+But Braddock was inexorable. He demanded his two hundred and fifty
+wagons, and a large train of pack horses, to be laden with sumptuous
+provisions for his officers. The farmers of Maryland and Virginia were
+reluctant to expose the few wagons and teams they had, to such
+inevitable destruction. Neither had they any confidence that the
+British Government would ever remunerate them in case of their loss.
+
+Four-wheeled vehicles were very scarce in the colonies. There were
+many people who had never seen one. The general, after exhausting all
+his efforts, could obtain but twenty-four. One day as he was giving
+vent to his indignation, Franklin suggested that it would probably be
+much more easy to obtain wagons in the more densely settled parts of
+Pennsylvania. Braddock immediately urged him to undertake the
+enterprise. Unwisely, we think, he consented. With his son he hastened
+to Pennsylvania, and selected Lancaster, York, and Carlisle as his
+centres of operation.
+
+Whatever Franklin undertook, he was pretty sure to accomplish. In
+twenty days he obtained one hundred and fifty four-horse wagons, and
+two hundred and fifty-nine pack-horses. He did not accomplish this
+feat however, until he had exhausted all the money which Braddock had
+furnished him, had spent over a thousand dollars of his own money, and
+had given bonds for the safe return of horses and wagons, whose money
+value was estimated at one hundred thousand dollars.
+
+Braddock was lavish in his compliments. Franklin dined with him daily.
+The idea seemed never to have entered Braddock's mind that British
+Regulars, under his command, could ever be seriously annoyed by bands
+of French and Indians. He said one day,
+
+"After taking Fort Duquesne, I shall go to Niagara. Having taken that,
+if the season will permit, I shall proceed to Fort Frontenac. Fort
+Duquesne can hardly detain me more than three or four days."
+
+Franklin, who was well aware that Braddock was entering upon a far
+more formidable campaign than he anticipated, ventured very modestly
+to suggest,
+
+"To be sure, sir, if you arrive well before Duquesne with the fine
+troops so well provided with artillery, the fort, though completely
+fortified, and assisted with a very strong garrison, can probably make
+but a short resistance. The only danger I apprehend of obstruction to
+your march, is of ambuscades of the Indians, who, by constant
+practice, are dexterous in laying and executing them. And the slender
+line, near four miles long, which your army must make, may expose it
+to be attacked by surprise in its flanks, and to be cut like a thread
+into several pieces, which, from their distance, cannot come up in
+time to support each other."
+
+Braddock smiled derisively, at this ignorance of a benighted American.
+"These savages may indeed," he said, "be a formidable enemy to your
+raw American militia. But upon the king's regular and disciplined
+troops, it is impossible that they should make any impression."
+
+Colonel Washington regarded the wagons, and the long array of
+pack-horses, as so many nuisances, arresting the rapidity of their
+march, and inviting attacks which it would be impossible to repel. At
+length the army was in motion. The progress was very slow. Franklin
+was continually forwarding supplies; and even advanced between six and
+seven thousand dollars, from his own purse, to expedite purchases. A
+part of this he never received back.
+
+The attack upon Braddock's army, and its terrible defeat soon came. A
+minute account of the conflict is given in the Life of George
+Washington, one of the volumes of this series. The teamsters cut the
+traces of their horses, mounted the swiftest, and, in the frenzy of
+their panic, rushed for home. The other horses and the wagons, with
+their abounding supplies, were left to magnify the triumph of the
+exultant Indians. Disastrous as was the campaign, Franklin obtained
+much credit for the efficient services he had rendered.
+
+War, with all its horrors, had now penetrated the beautiful region of
+Pennsylvania, which had enjoyed eighty years of peace, through the
+Christian philanthropy of William Penn. Nearly all of the Indians,
+beyond the mountains, were allies of the French. The news of
+Braddock's defeat reached Philadelphia about the middle of July, 1755.
+Immediately a violent conflict arose between the royalist governor
+Morris, and the Colonial Assembly. The Legislative body voted liberal
+taxes for the public defence. But very justly it was enacted that
+these taxes should be assessed impartially upon all estates alike,
+upon those of the wealthy Proprietaries, as well as upon the
+few hundred acres which were owned by the humble farmers. The
+Proprietaries, consisting of two of the sons of William Penn, revolted
+against this. The Governor, appointed by them, as their agent of
+course, united with them in opposition. For many weeks the conflict
+between the Assembly and the Governor as agent of the Proprietaries,
+raged fiercely. Under these circumstances no military supplies could
+be voted, and the peril of the community was very great.
+
+Franklin warmly espoused and eloquently advocated the claim of the
+Assembly. During the months of July and August, the Indians, satiated
+with the vast plunder of Braddock's camp, made no attempt to cross the
+Alleghanies, in predatory excursions against the more settled portions
+of Pennsylvania. But September and October ushered in scenes of horror
+and carnage, too awful to be depicted. Villages were laid in ashes,
+cottages were burned, families tomahawked and scalped, women and
+children carried into captivity, and many poor creatures perished at
+the stake, in the endurance of all the tortures which savage ingenuity
+could devise.
+
+And still the Quakers, adhering to their principle of non-resistance,
+refused to contribute any money, or in any way to unite in any
+military organization for self-defence. But in candor it must be
+admitted, that had the principles of the Quakers been adopted by the
+British court, this whole disastrous war might have been avoided. It
+was a war of invasion commenced by the English. They were determined,
+by force of arms, to drive the French out of the magnificent valleys
+beyond the mountains. In the conflict which ensued, both parties
+enlisted all the savages they could, as allies. Will not England at
+the judgment be held responsible for this war and its woes?
+
+To rouse the Quakers to a sense of shame, the bodies of a whole
+murdered family, mutilated and gory, were brought to Philadelphia and
+paraded through all its streets, in an open wagon. In November, as the
+Indians, often led by French officers, were sweeping the frontier in
+all directions, killing, burning, destroying, the antagonistic parties
+in the Assembly, for a time laid aside their quarrels, and with the
+exception of the Quakers, adopted vigorous military measures. The
+Quakers were generally the most opulent people in the State. It is not
+strange that the common people should be reluctant to volunteer to
+defend the property of the Quakers, since they refused either to
+shoulder a musket, or to contribute a dollar.
+
+The pen of Franklin rendered wonderful service in this crisis. With
+his accustomed toleration, he could make allowance for the frailties
+of conscience-bound men. He wrote a very witty pamphlet which was very
+widely read, and produced a powerful impression. Its character may be
+inferred from the following brief quotation:
+
+     "'For my part,' says A., 'I am no coward; but hang me if I
+     fight to save the Quakers.'
+
+     "'That is to say,' B. replied, 'you will not pump the
+     sinking ship, because it will save the rats as well as
+     yourselves.'"
+
+The dialogue ends with the following admirable words:
+
+     "O! my friends, the glory of serving and saving others is
+     superior to the advantage of being served and secured. Let
+     us resolutely and generously unite in our country's cause,
+     in which to die is the sweetest of all deaths; and may the
+     God of armies bless our honest endeavors."
+
+The colonists of Pennsylvania now generally rushed to arms. There
+were, on the frontiers, several flourishing Moravian villages. They
+were occupied by a peculiarly industrious and religious people. The
+traveller through their quiet streets heard, morning and evening, the
+voice of prayer ascending from many firesides, and the melody of
+Christian hymns. Guadenhutton, perhaps the most flourishing of them,
+was attacked by the Indians, burned, and the inhabitants all massacred
+or carried into captivity. Terrible was the panic in the other
+villages. They were liable at any day, to experience the same fate.
+
+Under these circumstances the Governor raised five hundred and forty
+volunteers, and placed them under the command of Franklin, with the
+title of General. He was to lead them, as rapidly as possible, to
+Northampton county, for the protection of these people. His son,
+William, was his aid-de-camp. He proved an efficient and valiant
+soldier.
+
+It was the middle of December when this heroic little band commenced
+its march. Snow whitened the hills. Wintry gales swept the bleak
+plains, and moaned through the forests. The roads were almost
+impassable. Fierce storms often entirely arrested their march. The
+wilderness was very thinly inhabited. It required the toil of a month,
+for Franklin to force his way through these many obstructions to the
+base of his operations, though it was distant not more than ninety
+miles.
+
+The troops moved very cautiously to guard against ambush. The
+philosopher, Franklin, though he had never received a military
+education, and was quite inexperienced in military affairs, was the
+last man to be drawn into such a net as that in which the army of
+Braddock was destroyed.
+
+Franklin, as a philosopher, could appreciate the powerful influence of
+religious motives upon the mind. Rev. Mr. Beatty was his chaplain,
+whose worth of character Franklin appreciated. Before commencing their
+march, all the troops were assembled for a religious service. After an
+earnest exhortation to fidelity and duty, a fervent prayer was
+offered.
+
+The march was conducted with great regularity. First, scouts advanced
+in a semi-circular line, ranging the woods. Then came the advanced
+guard, at a few hundred paces behind. The centre followed, with all
+the wagons and baggage. Then came the rear guard, with scouts on each
+flank, and spies on every hill.
+
+Upon reaching Guadenhutton, an awful scene of desolation and carnage
+met the eye. The once happy village presented now but a revolting
+expanse of blackened ruins. The mangled bodies of the dead strewed the
+ground, mutilated alike by the savages and the howling wolves.
+Franklin ordered huts immediately to be reared to protect his troops
+from the inclemency of the weather. No man knew better than he, how to
+make them comfortable and cheerful with the least expense.
+
+A fort was promptly constructed, which he called Fort Allen, and which
+could easily repel any attack the Indians might make, unless they
+approached with formidable French artillery. There were many
+indications that the Indians, in large numbers, were hovering around,
+watching all their movements. But the sagacity of Franklin baffled
+them. They kept concealed without any attack. The savages were very
+cautious men; they would seldom engage in a battle, unless they were
+sure of victory.
+
+A trifling incident occurred at this time, worthy of record as
+illustrative of the shrewdness of General Franklin.
+
+The chaplain complained that the men were remiss in attending prayers.
+Franklin suggested that though it might not be exactly consistent with
+the dignity of the chaplain to become himself the steward of the rum,
+still, if he would order it to be distributed immediately after
+prayers, he would probably have all the men gathering around him.
+
+"He liked the thought," Franklin wrote, "under took the task, and
+with the help of a few hands to measure out the liquor, executed
+it to satisfaction. Never were prayers more generally and more
+punctually attended. So that I think this method preferable to the
+punishment inflicted by some military laws for non-attendance on
+divine worship."
+
+Bitter quarrels were renewed in the Assembly. The presence of Franklin
+was indispensable to allay the strife. Governor Morris wrote
+entreating him immediately to return to Philadelphia. It so happened
+at this time, that Col. Clapham, a New England soldier of experience
+and high repute, visited the camp at Guadenhutton. Franklin placed him
+in command, and warmly commending him to the confidence of the troops,
+hurried home. He reached Philadelphia on the 10th of February, 1756,
+after two months' service in the field. Universal applause greeted
+him. Several military companies, in Philadelphia, united in a regiment
+of about twelve hundred men. Franklin was promptly elected their
+colonel, which office he accepted.
+
+In tracing the disasters of war, it is interesting to observe how many
+of those disasters are owing to unpardonable folly. Some months after
+Franklin's departure, on a cold, bleak day in November, a large part
+of the garrison, unmindful of danger, were skating, like school-boys
+on the Lehigh river. The vigilant Indians saw their opportunity. Like
+howling wolves they made a rush upon the fort, entered its open
+gates, and killed or captured all its inmates. The skaters fled into
+the woods. They were pursued. Some were killed or captured. Some
+perished miserably of cold and starvation. Probably a few escaped. The
+triumphant savages, having plundered the fort and the dwellings of all
+their contents, applied the torch, and again Guadenhutton was reduced
+to a pile of ashes.
+
+The controversy which arose between the Governor and the Assembly
+became acrimonious in the extreme. The principles there contended for,
+involved the very existence of anything like American liberty. For
+fifteen years the pen and voice of Franklin were influential in this
+controversy. He probably did more than any other man to prepare the
+colonists to resist the despotism of the British court, and to
+proclaim their independence.
+
+On the 5th of January, 1681, King Charles the Second had conferred
+upon William Penn twenty-six million acres of the "best land in the
+universe." This land was in the New World, and received the name of
+Pennsylvania. In return for this grant, Penn agreed to pay annually,
+at Windsor Castle, two beaver skins, and one-fifth of the gold and
+silver which the province might yield. He also promised to govern the
+province in conformity with the laws of England.
+
+He could treat with the savages, appoint ordinary magistrates, and
+pardon petty crimes. But he could lay no tax, and impose no law
+without consent of the freemen of the province, represented in the
+Assembly.
+
+Of this whole wide realm, Penn was the absolute proprietor. He refused
+to sell a single acre, absolutely, but in all the sales reserved for
+himself what may be called a ground-rent. Immense tracts were sold at
+forty shillings, about ten dollars, for one hundred acres, reserving a
+rent of one shilling for each hundred acres. He also reserved,
+entirely to himself, various portions of the territory which promised
+to become the site of important cities and villages. All these rights
+descended to the heirs of William Penn.
+
+Seventy-four years passed away, when the estate thus founded, was
+estimated to be worth ten millions sterling, and popular belief
+affirmed that it produced a revenue of one hundred thousand pounds.
+
+Penn, when he died, bequeathed the province to his three sons, John,
+Thomas, and Richard. To John he gave a double part, or one-half of
+Pennsylvania. John died and left his half to Thomas, who thus became
+proprietor of three-fourths of the province, while Richard held
+one-fourth. Thus there were but two proprietors, Thomas and Richard
+Penn. They were both weak men; resided in England, were thoroughly
+imbued with Tory principles, and, in the consciousness of their vast
+estates, assumed to be lords and princes.
+
+They ruled their province by a deputy-governor. His position was
+indeed no sinecure. The two proprietaries, who appointed him, could at
+any time deprive him of office. The Assembly could refuse to vote his
+salary, and if he displeased the king of England, he might lose, not
+only his office, but his head.
+
+The controversy which had arisen, in consequence of these involvements
+between the proprietaries and the people, engrossed universal
+attention. During the four years between 1754 and 1758, the ravaged
+colony of Pennsylvania had raised the sum of two hundred and eighteen
+thousand pounds sterling, (over a million of dollars,) for defending
+its borders. And still the two lordly proprietaries demanded that
+their vast possessions should be entirely exempt from taxation.
+
+To an earnest remonstrance of the Assembly, they returned an insulting
+answer, in which they said,
+
+"We are no more bound to pay taxes than any other chief governor of
+the King's colonies. Your agitation of this matter is a new trick to
+secure your re-election. We advise you to show us the respect due to
+the rank which the crown has been pleased to bestow upon us. The
+people of Pennsylvania, in ordinary times, are so lightly taxed, that
+they hardly know that they are taxed. What fools you are to be
+agitating this dangerous topic of American taxation. It is beneath the
+dignity of the Assembly to make trouble about such small sums of
+money. We do not deny that you have been at some expense in pacifying
+the Indians, but that is no affair of ours. We already give the
+province a larger sum per annum, than our share of the taxes would
+amount to. One of us, for example, sent over four hundred pounds'
+worth of cannon, for the defence of our city of Philadelphia."
+
+Such was their answer. It was conveyed in sixteen sentences which were
+numbered and which were very similar to the ones we have given. The
+communication excited great displeasure. It was considered alike false
+and insolent. Even the tranquil mind of Franklin was fired with
+indignation. He replied to the document with a power of eloquence and
+logic which carried the convictions of nearly all the colonists.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+_Franklin's Mission to England._
+
+     New marks of respect--Lord Loudoun--Gov. Denny and
+     Franklin--Visit the Indians--Franklin commissioner to
+     England--His constant good nature--Loudoun's delays--Wise
+     action of an English captain--The voyagers land at
+     Falmouth--Journey to London--Franklin's style of living in
+     London--His electrical experiments--He teaches the Cambridge
+     professor--Complimentary action of St. Andrews--Gov. Denny
+     displaced, and dark clouds arising--Franklin's successful
+     diplomacy--His son appointed Governor of New Jersey--Great
+     opposition--The homeward voyage--Savage horrors--Retaliating
+     cruelties--Franklin's efforts in behalf of the Moravian
+     Indians.
+
+
+The general impression, produced throughout the colonies, by the
+controversy with the proprietaries, was that they were very weak men.
+Indeed it does not appear that they were much regarded even in London.
+A gentleman, writing from that city, said, "They are hardly to be
+found in the herd of gentry; not in court, not in office, not in
+parliament."
+
+In March, Franklin left his home for a post-office tour. Some forty of
+the officers of his regiment, well mounted, and in rich uniform,
+without Franklin's knowledge, came to his door, to escort him out of
+the village. Franklin says,
+
+     "I had not previously been made acquainted with their
+     project, or I should have prevented it, being naturally
+     averse to the assuming of state on any occasion."
+
+The proprietaries in London heard an account of this affair. They were
+very much displeased, saying they had never been thus honored, and
+that princes of the blood alone were entitled to such distinction. The
+war was still raging. Large bodies of troops were crossing the ocean
+to be united with the colonial forces.
+
+Lord Loudoun was appointed by the court commander-in-chief for
+America. He was an exceedingly weak and inefficient man; scarcely a
+soldier in the ranks could be found more incompetent for the
+situation. Governor Morris, of Pennsylvania, worn out with his
+unavailing conflicts with the Assembly, was withdrawn, and the
+proprietaries sent out Captain William Denny as their obsequious
+servant in his stead. The Philadelphians, hoping to conciliate him,
+received him cordially, and with a public entertainment. William
+Franklin wrote:
+
+     "Change of devils, according to the Scotch proverb, is
+     blithesome."
+
+At the close of the feast, when most of the party were making
+themselves merry over their wine, Governor Denny took Franklin aside
+into an adjoining room, and endeavored, by the most abounding
+flattery, and by the bribe of rich promises, to induce him to espouse
+the cause of the proprietaries. But he soon learned that Franklin
+could not be influenced by any of his bribes.
+
+There was but a brief lull in the storm. Governor Denny had no power
+of his own. He could only obey the peremptory instructions he had
+received. These instructions were irreconcilably hostile to the
+resolves of the Assembly. Franklin was the all-powerful leader of the
+popular party. There was something in his imperturbable good nature
+which it is difficult to explain. No scenes of woe seemed to depress
+his cheerful spirits. No atrocities of oppression could excite his
+indignation. He could thrust his keen dagger points into the vitals of
+his antagonist, with a smile upon his face and jokes upon his lips
+which would convulse both friend and foe with laughter. He was the
+most unrelenting antagonist of Governor Denny in the Assembly, and yet
+he was the only man who remained on good terms with the governor,
+visiting him, and dining with him.
+
+Governor Denny was a gentleman, and well educated, and few men could
+appear to better advantage in the saloons of fashion. But he was
+trammeled beyond all independent action, by the instructions he had
+received from the proprietaries. He was right in heart, was in
+sympathy with Franklin, and with reluctance endeavored to enforce the
+arbitrary measures with which he was entrusted.
+
+Franklin was one of the most companionable of men. His wonderful
+powers of conversation, his sweetness of temper, and his entire
+ignoring of all aristocratic assumption, made him one of the most
+fascinating of guests in every circle. He charmed alike the rich and
+the poor, the learned and the ignorant.
+
+In November, 1756, he accompanied Governor Denny to the frontier to
+confer with the chiefs of several Indian tribes. The savages, to say
+the least, were as punctilious in the observance of the laws of honor,
+in securing the safety of the ambassadors on such an occasion, as were
+the English.
+
+The governor and the philosopher rode side by side on horseback,
+accompanied by only a few body servants. The governor, familiar with
+the clubs and the wits of England, entertained Franklin, in the
+highest degree, with the literary gossip of London, and probably
+excited in his mind an intense desire to visit those scenes, which he
+himself was so calculated to enjoy and to embellish. On the journey
+he wrote the following comic letter to his wife. He had been
+disappointed in not receiving a line from her by a certain messenger.
+
+     "I had a good mind not to write to you by this opportunity,
+     but I never can be ill-natured enough even when there is
+     most occasion. I think I won't tell you that we are well,
+     and that we expect to return about the middle of the week,
+     nor will I send you a word of news; that's poz. My duty to
+     mother, love to the children, and to Miss Betsy and Gracie.
+     I am your _loving_ husband.
+
+     "P. S. I have _scratched out the loving words_, being writ
+     in haste by mistake, when I forgot I was angry."
+
+Gov. Denny, unable to accomplish his purposes with the Assembly,
+resolved to make a final appeal to the king. The House promptly
+decided to imitate his example. Its Speaker, Mr. Norris, and Benjamin
+Franklin, were appointed commissioners. The Speaker declined the
+office, and Franklin was left as sole commissioner. He probably was
+not at all reluctant to be introduced to the statesmen, the
+philosophers, and the fashionable circles of the Old World. To defray
+his expenses the Assembly voted a sum of nearly eight thousand
+dollars. He had also wealth of his own. By correspondence, he was
+quite intimately acquainted with very many of the scientific men of
+England and France. It was very certain that he would have the
+_entrée_ to any circle which he might wish to honor with his presence.
+
+It was at that time a very serious affair to cross the Atlantic. The
+ocean swarmed with pirates, privateers, and men-of-war. On the fourth
+of April, 1757, Franklin, with his son William, set out from
+Philadelphia. His cheerfulness of spirits did not forsake him as he
+left a home where he had been remarkably happy for twenty-six years.
+The family he left behind him consisted of his wife, his wife's aged
+mother, his daughter Sarah, a beautiful child of twelve years, one or
+two nieces, and an old nurse of the family.
+
+Franklin had written to the governor to ascertain the precise time
+when the packet would sail. The reply he received from him was,
+
+     "I have given out that the ship is to sail on Saturday next.
+     But I may let you know _entre nous_ that if you are there by
+     Monday morning you will be in time; but do not delay any
+     longer."
+
+Franklin was accompanied by a number of his friends as far as Trenton,
+where they spent a very joyful evening together. At one of the ferries
+on this road, they were delayed by obstructions so that they could not
+reach the Hudson River until noon of Monday. Franklin feared that the
+ship might sail without him; but upon reaching the river he was
+relieved by seeing the vessel still in the stream.
+
+Eleven weeks passed before Lord Loudoun would issue his permission for
+the ship to sail. Every day this most dilatory and incompetent of men
+announced that the packet would sail to-morrow. And thus the weeks
+rolled on while Franklin was waiting, but we do not hear a single word
+of impatience or remonstrance from his lips. His philosophy taught him
+to be happy under all circumstances. With a smiling face he called
+upon Lord Loudoun and dined with him. He endeavored, but in vain, to
+obtain a settlement of his claims for supplies furnished to Braddock's
+army.
+
+He found much in the society of New York to entertain him. And more
+than all, and above all, he was doing everything that could be done
+for the accomplishment of his mission. Why, then, should he worry?
+
+"New York," he records, "was growing immensely rich by money brought
+into it from all quarters for the pay and subsistence of the troops."
+
+Franklin was remarkably gallant in his intercourse with ladies. He
+kept up quite a brisk correspondence with several of the most
+brilliant ladies of the day. No man could more prettily pay a
+compliment. To his lively and beautiful friend Miss Ray he wrote upon
+his departure,
+
+     "Present my best compliments to all that love me; I should
+     have said all that love you, but that would be giving you
+     too much trouble."
+
+At length Lord Loudoun granted permission for the packet to drop down
+to the Lower Bay, where a large fleet of ninety vessels was assembled,
+fitted out for an attack upon the French at Louisburg. Franklin and
+his friends went on board, as it was announced that the vessel would
+certainly sail "to-morrow." For six weeks longer the packet rode there
+at anchor. Franklin and his companions had for the third time consumed
+all the provisions they had laid in store for the voyage. Still we
+hear not a murmur from our imperturbable philosopher.
+
+At length the signal for sailing was given. The whole squadron put to
+sea, and the London packet, with all the rest, was swept forward
+toward Louisburg. After a voyage of five days, a letter was placed in
+the hands of the captain, authorizing him to quit the fleet and steer
+for England.
+
+The days and nights of a long voyage came and went, when the packet at
+midnight in a gale of wind, and enveloped in fogs, was approaching
+Falmouth. A light-house, upon some rocks, had not been visible.
+Suddenly the lifting of the fog revealed the light-house and the
+craggy shore, over which the surf was fearfully breaking, at the
+distance of but a few rods. A captain of the Royal Navy, who chanced
+to be near the helmsman, sprang to the helm, called upon the sailors
+instantly to wear ship, and thus, at the risk of snapping every mast,
+saved the vessel and the crew from otherwise immediate and certain
+destruction.
+
+There was not, at that time, a single light-house on the North
+American coast. The event impressed the mind of Franklin deeply, and
+he resolved that upon his return, light-houses should be constructed.
+
+About nine o'clock the next morning the fog was slowly dispersed, and
+Falmouth, with its extended tower, its battlemented castles, and the
+forests of masts, was opened before the weary voyagers. It was Sunday
+morning and the bells were ringing for church. The vessel glided into
+the harbor, and joyfully the passengers landed. Franklin writes,
+
+     "The bell ringing for church, we went thither immediately,
+     and with hearts full of gratitude returned sincere thanks to
+     God far the mercies we had received."
+
+We know not whether this devout act was suggested by Franklin, or
+whether he courteously fell in with the arrangement proposed, perhaps,
+by some religious companion. It is, however, certain that the sentence
+which next followed, in his letter, came gushing from his own mind.
+
+     "Were I a Roman Catholic, perhaps I should, on this
+     occasion, vow to build a chapel to some saint. But as I am
+     not, if I were to vow at all it should be to build a
+     _light-house_."
+
+It required a journey of two hundred and fifty miles to reach London.
+Franklin and his son _posted_ to London, which was the most rapid mode
+of traveling in those days. They seem to have enjoyed the journey in
+the highest degree, through blooming, beautiful, highly cultivated
+England. Almost every thing in the charming landscape, appeared
+different from the rude settlements which were springing up amid the
+primeval forests of the New World.
+
+They visited the Cathedral at Salisbury, Stonehenge, Wilton Hall, the
+palatial mansion of the Earl of Pembroke. England was in her loveliest
+attire. Perhaps there could not then be found, upon this globe, a more
+lovely drive, than that through luxuriant Devonshire, and over the
+Hampshire Downs.
+
+Peter Collinson, a gentleman of great wealth, first received the
+travelers to his own hospitable mansion. Here Franklin was the object
+of marked attentions from the most distinguished scientists of
+England. Other gentlemen of high distinction honored themselves by
+honoring him. Franklin visited the old printing house, where he had
+worked forty years before, and treated the workmen with that beer,
+which he had formerly so efficiently denounced in that same place.
+
+Soon he took lodgings with a very agreeable landlady, Mrs. Stevenson,
+No. 7, Craven street, Strand. He adopted, not an ostentatious, but a
+very genteel style of living. Both he and his son had brought with
+them each a body servant from America. He set up a modest carriage,
+that he might worthily present himself at the doors of cabinet
+ministers and members of parliament.
+
+The Proprietaries received him very coldly, almost insolently. They
+were haughty, reserved and totally uninfluenced by his arguments. He
+presented to them a brief memorandum, which very lucidly explained the
+views of the Assembly. It was as follows,
+
+     1. "The Royal Charter gives the Assembly the power to make
+     laws; the proprietary instructions deprive it of that power.
+     2. The Royal Charter confers on the Assembly the right to
+     grant or withhold supplies; the instructions neutralize that
+     right. 3. The exemption of the proprietary estate from
+     taxation is unjust. 4. The proprietaries are besought to
+     consider these grievances seriously and redress them, that
+     harmony may be restored."
+
+The Penn brothers denounced this brief document, as vague, and
+disrespectful. It was evident that Franklin had nothing to hope from
+them. He therefore directed all his energies to win to his side the
+Lords of Trade, and the members of the King's Council, to whom the
+final decision must be referred. Twelve months elapsed, during which
+nothing was accomplished. But we hear not a murmur from his lips. He
+was not only contented but jovial. For two whole years he remained in
+England, apparently accomplishing nothing. These hours of leisure he
+devoted to the enjoyment of fashionable, intellectual and scientific
+society. No man could be a more welcome guest, in such elevated
+circles, for no man could enjoy more richly the charms of such
+society, or could contribute more liberally to its fascination.
+Electricity was still a very popular branch of natural science. The
+brilliant experiments Franklin performed, lured many to his
+apartments. His machine was the largest which had been made, and would
+emit a spark nine inches in length. He had invented, or greatly
+improved, a new musical machine of glass goblets, called the Armonica.
+
+It was listened to with much admiration, as it gave forth the sweetest
+tones. He played upon this instrument with great effect.
+
+The theatre was to Franklin an inexhaustible source of enjoyment.
+Garrick was then in the meridian of his fame. He loved a good dinner,
+and could, without inconvenience, empty the second bottle of claret.
+He wrote to a friend,
+
+     "I find that I love company, chat, a laugh, a glass, and
+     even a song as well as ever."
+
+At one time he took quite an extensive tour through England, visiting
+the University at Cambridge. He was received with the most flattering
+attentions from the chancellor and others of the prominent members of
+the faculty. Indeed every summer, during his stay in England, Franklin
+and his son spent a few weeks visiting the most attractive scenes of
+the beautiful island. Wherever he went, he left an impression behind
+him, which greatly increased his reputation.
+
+At Cambridge he visited the chemical laboratory, with the
+distinguished Professor of Chemistry, Dr. Hadley. Franklin suggested
+that temperature could be astonishingly reduced by evaporation. It was
+entirely a new idea to the Professor. They both with others repaired
+to Franklin's room. He had ether there, and a thermometer. To the
+astonishment of the Professor of Chemistry in Cambridge University,
+the printer from Philadelphia showed him that by dipping the ball into
+the ether, and then blowing upon it with bellows to increase the
+evaporation, the mercury rapidly sunk twenty-five degrees below the
+freezing point. Ice was formed a quarter of an inch thick, all around
+the ball. Thus, surrounded by the professors of one of the most
+distinguished universities of Europe, Benjamin Franklin was the
+teacher of the teachers.
+
+The father and the son visited the villages where their ancestors had
+lived. They sought out poor relations, and examined the tombstones. In
+the spring of 1769, they spent six weeks in Scotland. The University
+of St. Andrews conferred upon Franklin the honorary title of doctor,
+by which he has since been generally known. Other universities
+received him with great distinction. The corporation of Edinburgh
+voted him the freedom of the city. All the saloons of fashion were not
+only open to receive him, but his presence, at every brilliant
+entertainment, was eagerly sought. The most distinguished men of
+letters crowded around him. Hume, Robertson and Lord Kames became his
+intimate friends.
+
+These were honors sufficient to turn the head of almost any man. But
+Franklin, who allowed no adversity to annoy him, could not be unduly
+elated by any prosperity or flattery.
+
+     "On the whole," writes Franklin, "I must say, that the time
+     we spent there (Scotland) was six weeks of the _densest_
+     happiness I have met with in any part of my life."
+
+Still it is evident that occasionally he felt some slight yearnings
+for the joys of that home, over which his highly esteemed wife
+presided with such economy and skill. He wrote to her,
+
+     "The regard and friendship I meet with from persons of worth,
+     and the conversation of ingenuous men give me no small
+     pleasure. But at this time of life, domestic comforts afford
+     the most solid satisfaction;[20] and my uneasiness at being
+     absent from my family and longing desire to be with them,
+     make me often sigh, in the midst of cheerful company."
+
+[Footnote 20: Franklin was then 53 years of age.]
+
+An English gentleman, Mr. Strahan, wrote to Mrs. Franklin, urging her
+to come over to England and join her husband. In this letter he said,
+
+     "I never saw a man who was, in every respect, so perfectly
+     agreeable to me. Some are amiable in one view, some in
+     another; he in all."
+
+Three years thus passed away. It must not be supposed that the
+patriotic and faithful Franklin lost any opportunity whatever, to urge
+the all important cause with which he was entrusted. His philosophy
+taught him that when he absolutely could not do any thing but _wait_,
+it was best to wait in the most agreeable and profitable manner.
+
+It was one of his strong desires, which he was compelled to abandon,
+to convert the proprietary province of Pennsylvania into a royal
+province. After Franklin left Philadelphia, the strife between
+the Assembly, and Governor Denny, as the representative of the
+proprietaries, became more violent than ever. The governor, worn out
+by the ceaseless struggle, yielded in some points. This offended the
+proprietaries. Indignantly they dismissed him and appointed, in his
+place, Mr. James Hamilton, a more obsequious servant.
+
+By the royal charter it was provided that all laws, passed by the
+Assembly and signed by the governor, should be sent to the king, for
+his approval. One of the bills which the governor, compelled as it
+were by the peril of public affairs, had signed, allowed the Assembly
+to raise a sum of about five hundred thousand dollars, to be raised by
+a _tax on all estates_. This was a dangerous precedent. The
+aristocratic court of England repealed it, as an encroachment upon the
+rights of the privileged classes. It was a severe blow to the
+Assembly. The speaker wrote to Franklin:
+
+     "We are among rocks and sands, in a stormy season. It depends
+     upon you to do every thing in your power in the present
+     crisis. It is too late for us to give you any assistance."
+
+When Franklin received the crushing report against the Assembly he
+was just setting off for a pleasant June excursion in Ireland.
+Immediately he unpacked his saddle-bags, and consecrated all his
+energies to avert the impending evils. He enlisted the sympathies of
+Lord Mansfield, and accomplished the astonishing feat in diplomacy, of
+inducing the British Lords of Commission to reverse their decision,
+and to vote that the act of the Assembly should stand unrepealed.
+
+His business detained Franklin in London all summer. In the autumn he
+took a tour into the west of England and Wales. The gales of winter
+were now sweeping the Atlantic. No man in his senses would expose
+himself to a winter passage across the ocean, unless it was absolutely
+necessary. Indeed it would appear that Franklin was so happy in
+England, that he was not very impatient to see his home again. Though
+he had been absent three years from his wife and child, still two
+years more elapsed before he embarked for his native land.
+
+On the 25th of October George II. died. His grandson, a stupid,
+stubborn fanatically conscientious young man ascended the throne, with
+the title of George III. It would be difficult to compute the
+multitudes in Europe, Asia and America, whom his arrogance and
+ambition caused to perish on the battle field. During these two years
+there was nothing of very special moment which occurred in the life of
+Franklin. Able as he was as a statesman, science was the favorite
+object of his pursuit. He wrote several very strong pamphlets upon the
+political agitations of those tumultuous days, when all nations seem
+to have been roused to cutting each other's throats. He continued to
+occupy a prominent position wherever he was, and devoted much time in
+collecting his thoughts upon a treatise to be designated "The Art of
+Virtue." The treatise, however, was never written.
+
+His influential and wealthy friend, Mr. Strahan, was anxious to unite
+their two families by the marriage of his worthy and prosperous son to
+Mr. Franklin's beautiful daughter, Sarah. But the plan failed.
+Franklin also made an effort to marry his only son William, who, it
+will be remembered, was not born in wedlock, to a very lovely English
+lady, Miss Stephenson. But this young man, who, renouncing revealed
+religion, was a law unto himself, had already become a father without
+being a husband. Miss Stephenson had probably learned this fact and,
+greatly to the disappointment of Franklin, declined the alliance. The
+unhappy boy, the dishonored son of a dishonored father, was born about
+the year 1760. Nothing is known of what became of the discarded
+mother. He received the name of William Temple Franklin.
+
+Benjamin Franklin, as in duty bound, recognized him as his grandson,
+and received him warmly to his house and his heart. The reader will
+hereafter become better acquainted with the character and career of
+this young man. In the spring of 1762, Franklin commenced preparations
+for his return home. He did not reach Philadelphia until late in the
+autumn. Upon his departure from England, the University of Oxford
+conferred upon him the distinction of an honorary degree.
+
+William Franklin, though devoid of moral principle, was a man of
+highly respectable abilities, of pleasing manners, and was an
+entertaining companion. Lord Bute, who was in power, was the warm
+friend of Dr. Franklin. He therefore caused his son William to be
+appointed governor of New Jersey. It is positively asserted that
+Franklin did not solicit the favor. Indeed it was not a very desirable
+office. Its emoluments amounted to but about three thousand dollars a
+year. The governorship of the colonies was generally conferred upon
+the needy sons of the British aristocracy. So many of them had
+developed characters weak and unworthy, that they were not regarded
+with much esteem.
+
+William Franklin was married on the 2d of September, 1762, to Miss
+Elizabeth Downes. The announcement of the marriage in London, and of
+his appointment to the governorship of New Jersey, created some
+sensation. Mr. John Penn, son of one of the proprietaries, and who was
+soon to become governor of Pennsylvania, affected great indignation in
+view of the fact that William Franklin was to be a brother governor.
+He wrote to Lord Stirling,
+
+     "It is no less amazing than true, that Mr. William Franklin,
+     son of Benjamin Franklin of Philadelphia, is appointed to be
+     governor of the province of New Jersey. I make no doubt that
+     the people of New Jersey will make some remonstrances at
+     this indignity put upon them. You are full as well
+     acquainted with the character and principles of this person
+     as myself, and are as able to judge of the impropriety of
+     such an appointment. What a dishonor and a disgrace it must
+     be to a country to have such a man at the head of it, and to
+     sit down contented. I should hope that some effort will be
+     made before our Jersey friends would put up with such an
+     insult. If any _gentleman_ had been appointed, it would have
+     been a different case. But I cannot look upon the person in
+     question in that light by any means. I may perhaps be too
+     strong in my expressions, but I am so extremely astonished
+     and enraged at it, that I am hardly able to contain myself
+     at the thought of it."
+
+Franklin sailed from Portsmouth the latter part of August. Quite a
+fleet of American merchantmen sailed together. The weather during a
+voyage of nine weeks, was most of the time delightful. Often the
+vessels glided along so gently over a waveless sea, that the
+passengers could visit, and exchange invitations for dinner parties.
+
+On the first of November, Franklin reached his home. He had been
+absent nearly six years. All were well. His daughter, whom he had left
+a child of twelve, was now a remarkably beautiful and accomplished
+maiden of eighteen. Franklin was received not only with affection, but
+with enthusiasm. The Assembly voted him fifteen thousand dollars for
+his services in England.
+
+His son William, with his bride, did not arrive until the next
+February. Franklin accompanied him to New Jersey. The people there
+gave the governor a very kind greeting. He took up his residence in
+Burlington, within fifteen miles of the home of his father.
+
+Franklin had attained the age of fifty-seven. He was in perfect
+health, had an ample fortune, and excelled most men in his dignified
+bearing and his attractive features. Probably there never was a more
+happy man. He had leisure to devote himself to his beloved sciences.
+It was his dream, his castle in the air, to withdraw from political
+life, and devote the remainder of his days to philosophical research.
+
+In the year 1763 terminated the seven years' war. There was peace in
+Europe, peace on the ocean, but not peace along the blood crimsoned
+frontiers of the wilderness of America. England and France had been
+hurling savage warriors by tens of thousands against each other, and
+against the helpless emigrants in their defenceless villages and their
+lonely cabins. The belligerent powers of Europe, in their ambitious
+struggles, cared very little for the savages of North America. Like
+the hungry wolf they had lapped blood. Plunder had become as
+attractive to them as to the privateersman and the pirate. During the
+summer of 1763, the western regions of Pennsylvania were fearfully
+ravaged by these fierce bands. Thousands of settlers were driven from
+their homes, their buildings laid in ashes, and their farms utterly
+desolated.
+
+In all the churches contributions were raised, in behalf of the
+victims of this insane and utterly needless war. Christ Church alone
+raised between three and four thousand dollars; and sent a missionary
+to expend the sum among these starving, woe-stricken families. The
+missionary reported seven hundred and fifty farms in Pennsylvania
+alone, utterly abandoned. Two hundred and fifty women and children,
+destitute and despairing, had fled to Fort Pitt for protection.
+
+In the midst of these awful scenes, Governor Hamilton resigned, and
+the weak, haughty John Penn arriving, took his place. The Assembly, as
+usual, gave him a courteous reception, wishing, if possible, to avert
+a quarrel. There were many fanatics in those days. Some of these
+assumed that God was displeased, because the heathen Indians had not
+been entirely exterminated. The savages had perpetrated such horrors,
+that by them no distinction was made between those friendly to the
+English, and those hostile. The very name of Indian was loathed.
+
+In the vicinity of Lancaster, there was the feeble remnant of a once
+powerful tribe. The philanthropy of William Penn had won them to love
+the English. No one of them had ever been known to lift his hand
+against a white man. There were but twenty remaining, seven men, five
+women and eight children. They were an industrious, peaceful, harmless
+people, having adopted English names, English customs and the
+Christian religion.
+
+A vagabond party of Scotch-Irish, from Paxton, set out, in the morning
+of the 14th of December, for their destruction. They were well mounted
+and well armed. It so happened that there were but six Indians at
+home. They made no defence. Parents and children knelt, as in prayer,
+and silently received the death blow. Every head was cleft by the
+hatchet. These poor creatures were very affectionate, and had greatly
+endeared themselves to their neighbors. This deed of infamous
+assassination roused the indignation of many of the most worthy people
+in the province. But there were thousands of the baser sort, who
+deemed it no crime to kill an Indian, any more than a wolf or a bear.
+
+Franklin wrote, to the people of Pennsylvania, a noble letter of
+indignant remonstrance, denouncing the deed as atrocious murder.
+Vividly he pictured the scene of the assassination, and gave the
+names, ages and characters of the victims. A hundred and forty
+Moravian Indians, the firm and unsuspected friends of the English,
+terrified by this massacre, fled to Philadelphia for protection. The
+letter of Franklin had excited much sympathy in their behalf. The
+people rallied for their protection. The Paxton murderers, several
+hundred in number, pursued the fugitives, avowing their determination
+to put every one to death. The imbecile governor was at his wits' end.
+Franklin was summoned.
+
+He, at once, proclaimed his house headquarters; rallied a regiment of
+a thousand men, and made efficient arrangements to give the murderers
+a warm reception. The Paxton band reached Germantown. Franklin,
+anxious to avoid bloodshed, rode out with three aids, to confer with
+the leaders. He writes,
+
+     "The fighting face we had put on, and the reasonings we used
+     with the insurgents, having turned them back, and restored
+     quiet to the city, I became a less man than ever; for I had,
+     by this transaction, made myself many enemies among the
+     populace."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+_Franklin's Second Mission to England._
+
+     Fiendish conduct of John Penn--Petition to the crown--Debt
+     of England--Two causes of conflict--Franklin sent to
+     England--His embarkation--Wise counsel to his daughter--The
+     stamp act--American resolves--Edmund Burke--Examination of
+     Franklin--Words of Lord Chatham--Dangers to English
+     operatives--Repeal of the stamp act--Joy in America--Ross
+     Mackay--New taxes levied--Character of George
+     III--Accumulation of honors to Franklin--Warlike
+     preparations--Human conscientiousness--Unpopularity of
+     William Franklin--Marriage of Sarah Franklin--Franklin's
+     varied investigations--Efforts to civilize the Sandwich
+     Islands.
+
+
+It is scarcely too severe to say that Governor John Penn was both
+knave and fool. To ingratiate himself with the vile Paxton men and
+their partisans, he issued a proclamation, offering for every captive
+male Indian, of any hostile tribe, one hundred and fifty dollars, for
+every female, one hundred and thirty-eight dollars. For the scalp of a
+male, the bounty was one hundred and thirty-eight dollars; for the
+scalp of a female fifty dollars. Of course it would be impossible,
+when the scalps were brought in to decide whether they were stripped
+from friendly or hostile heads.
+
+Curiously two political parties were thus organized. The governor,
+intensely inimical to Franklin, led all the loose fellows who approved
+of the massacre of the friendly Indians. Franklin was supported by the
+humane portion of the community, who regarded that massacre with
+horror.
+
+There was much bitterness engendered. Franklin was assailed and
+calumniated as one of the worst of men. He, as usual, wrote a
+pamphlet, which was read far and wide. Earnestly he urged that the
+crown, as it had a right to do, should, by purchase, take possession
+of the province and convert its government into that of a royal
+colony. It should be remembered that this was several years before the
+troubles of the revolution arose. The people were in heart true
+Englishmen. Fond of their nationality, sincere patriotism glowed in
+all bosoms. They ever spoke of England as "home." When the Assembly
+met again three thousand citizens, influenced mainly by Franklin's
+pamphlet, sent in a petition that the province might revert to the
+crown. The Penns succeeded in presenting a counter petition signed by
+three hundred.
+
+The British cabinet, in its insatiable thirst for universal conquest,
+or impelled by necessity to repel the encroachments of other nations,
+equally wicked and equally grasping, had been by fleet and army,
+fighting all over the world. After spending every dollar which the
+most cruel taxation could extort from the laboring and impoverished
+masses, the government had incurred the enormous debt of seventy-three
+millions sterling. This amounted to over three hundred and sixty-five
+millions of our money.
+
+The government decided to tax the Americans to help pay the interest
+on this vast sum. But the colonies were already taxed almost beyond
+endurance, to carry on the terrible war against the French and
+Indians. This war was not one of their own choosing. It had been
+forced upon them by the British Cabinet, in its resolve to drive the
+French off the continent of North America. The Americans were allowed
+no representation in Parliament. They were to be taxed according to
+the caprice of the government. Franklin, with patriotic foresight,
+vehemently, and with resistless force of logic, resisted the outrage.
+
+It will be perceived that there were now two quite distinct sources of
+controversy. First came the conflict with the proprietaries, and then
+rose the still more important strife with the cabinet of Great
+Britain, to repel the principle of taxation without representation.
+This principle once admitted, the crown could tax the Americans to any
+amount whatever it pleased. Many unreflecting people could not
+appreciate these disastrous results.
+
+Thus all the partisans of the Penns, and all the office holders of the
+crown and their friends, and there were many such, became not only
+opposed to Franklin, but implacable in their hostility. The majority
+of the Assembly was with him. He was chosen Speaker, and then was
+elected to go again to England, to carry with him to the British
+Court the remonstrances of the people against "taxation without
+representation," and their earnest petition to be delivered from the
+tyranny of the Penns. More unwelcome messages to the British Court and
+aristocracy, he could not well convey. It was certain that the Penns
+and their powerful coadjutors, would set many influences in array
+against him. Mr. Dickinson, in the Assembly, remonstrating against
+this appointment, declared that there was no man in Pennsylvania who
+was more the object of popular dislike than Benjamin Franklin.
+
+But two years had elapsed since Franklin's return to America, after an
+absence from his home of six years. He still remembered fondly the
+"dense happiness" which he had enjoyed in the brilliant circles
+abroad. This, added to an intensity of patriotism, which rendered him
+second to none but Washington, among the heroes of the Revolution,
+induced him promptly to accept the all important mission. He allowed
+but twelve days to prepare for his embarkation. The treasury was
+empty, and money for his expenses had to be raised by a loan. A packet
+ship, bound for London was riding at Chester, fifteen miles below the
+city. Three hundred of the citizens of Philadelphia, on horseback,
+escorted Franklin to the ship.
+
+He seldom attended church, though he always encouraged his wife and
+daughter to do so. It was genteel; it was politic. A family could
+scarcely command the respect of the community, which, in the midst of
+a religious people, should be living without any apparent object of
+worship. The preacher of Christ Church, which the family attended, was
+a partisan of the Penns. Sometimes he "meddled with politics."
+Franklin in his parting letter, from on shipboard, wrote to his
+daughter:
+
+     "Go constantly to church, whoever preaches. The active
+     devotion in the common prayer-book, is your principal
+     business there, and if properly attended to, will do more
+     towards amending the heart, than sermons generally can do.
+     For they were composed by men of much greater piety and
+     wisdom, than our common composers of sermons can pretend to
+     be. Therefore I wish that you would never miss the prayer
+     days. Yet I do not mean you should despise sermons, even of
+     the preachers you dislike; for the discourse is often much
+     better than the man, as sweet and clear waters come through
+     very dirty earth."
+
+The voyage was stormy; it lasted thirty days. On the evening of the
+tenth of December, 1764, he again took up his residence in the house
+of Mrs. Stephenson and her daughter, where he was received with
+delight. He found several other agents of the colonies in London, who
+had also been sent to remonstrate against the despotic measures which
+the British Cabinet threatened, of taxing the Americans at its
+pleasure, without allowing them to have any voice in deciding upon the
+sums which they should pay.
+
+Grenville was prime minister. He was about to introduce the Stamp Act,
+as an initiatory measure. It imposed but a trivial tax, in itself of
+but little importance, but was intended as an experiment, to ascertain
+whether the Americans would submit to the principle. This fact being
+once established, the government could then proceed to demand money at
+its pleasure. Franklin opposed the tax with all his energies. He
+declared it, in his own forceful language, to be the "mother of
+mischiefs." With four other colonial agents, he held an interview with
+Lord Grenville. The usual arguments were employed on both sides. Lord
+Grenville was courteous, but very decided. The Americans he declared
+must help England pay the interest on her debt, and the parliament of
+Great Britain alone could decide how large an amount of money the
+Americans should pay. The bill was introduced to parliament, and
+passed by a large majority. The king signed it in a scrawling hand,
+which some think indicated the insanity he was beginning to develop.
+
+The trivial sum expected to be raised by the Stamp Act amounted to
+scarcely one hundred thousand pounds a year. It was thought that the
+Americans would not venture upon any decisive opposition to England
+for such a trifle. Franklin wrote to a friend:
+
+     "I took every step in my power, to prevent the passing of the
+     Stamp Act. But the tide was too strong against us. The nation
+     was provoked by American claims of legislative independence;
+     and all parties joined in resolving, by this act, to settle
+     the point."
+
+Thus Franklin entirely failed in arresting the passing of the Stamp
+Act. He was also equally unsuccessful in his endeavor to promote a
+change of government, from the proprietary to the royal. And still his
+mission proved a success. By conversations, pamphlets and articles in
+the newspapers, he raised throughout the country such an opposition
+to the measure that parliament was compelled to repeal it. The tidings
+of the passage of the Stamp Act was received in intelligent America,
+with universal expressions of displeasure, and with resolves to oppose
+its operation in every possible way.
+
+It is remarked of a celebrated theological professor, that he once
+said to his pupils,
+
+"When you go to the city to preach, take your best coat; when to the
+country, take your best sermon."
+
+The lords and gentry of England were astonished at the intelligence
+displayed in the opposition, by the rural population of America. They
+fancied the colonists to be an ignorant, ragged people, living in log
+cabins, scattered through the wilderness, and, in social position, two
+or three degrees below European and Irish peasantry. Great was their
+surprise to hear from all the colonies, and from the remotest
+districts in each colony, the voice of intelligent and dignified
+rebuke.
+
+The Act was to go into execution on the first of November, 1765.
+Before that time, Franklin had spread, through all the mechanical,
+mercantile and commercial classes, the conviction that they would
+suffer ten-fold more, by the interruptions of trade which the Stamp
+Act would introduce, than government could hope to gain by the
+measure. He spread abroad the intelligence which came by every fresh
+arrival, that the Americans were resolving, with wonderful unanimity,
+that they would consume no more English manufactures, that they would
+purchase no more British goods, and that, as far as possible, in food,
+clothing, and household furniture, they would depend upon their own
+productions. They had even passed resolves to eat no more lamb, that
+their flocks might so increase that they should have wool enough to
+manufacture their own clothing.
+
+England had thus far furnished nearly all the supplies for the rapidly
+increasing colonies, already numbering a population of between two and
+three millions. The sudden cessation of this trade was felt in nearly
+every warehouse of industry. No more orders came. Goods accumulated
+without purchasers. Violent opposition arose, and vast meetings were
+held in the manufacturing districts, to remonstrate against the
+measures of the government. Edmund Burke, a host in himself, headed
+the opposition in parliament.
+
+Burke and Franklin were intimate friends, and the renowned orator
+obtained from the renowned philosopher, many of those arguments and
+captivating illustrations, which, uttered on the floor of parliament,
+astonished England, and reaching our shores, electrified America. The
+state of affairs became alarming. In some places the stamps were
+destroyed, in others, no one could be found who would venture upon the
+obnoxious task of offering to sell them. The parliament resolved
+itself into a committee of the whole house, and spent six weeks in
+hearing testimony respecting the operation of the act in America. The
+hall was crowded with eager listeners. The industrial prosperity of
+the nation seemed at stake. Franklin was the principal witness. His
+testimony overshadowed all the rest. The record of it was read with
+admiration. Seldom has a man been placed in a more embarrassing
+situation, and never has one, under such circumstances, acquitted
+himself more triumphantly.
+
+He was examined and cross-examined, before this vast and imposing
+assemblage, by the shrewdest lawyers of the crown. Every attempt was
+made to throw him into embarrassment, to trip him in his speech. But
+never for a moment did Franklin lose his self-possession. Never for an
+instant, did he hesitate in his reply. In the judgment of all his
+friends, not a mistake did he make. His mind seemed to be omnisciently
+furnished, with all the needful statistics for as rigorous an
+examination as any mortal was ever exposed to. Burke wrote to a
+friend, "that Franklin, as he stood before the bar of parliament,
+presented such an aspect of dignity and intellectual superiority, as
+to remind him of a schoolmaster questioned by school boys." Rev.
+George Whitefield wrote,
+
+     "Our worthy friend, Dr. Franklin, has gained immortal honor,
+     by his behavior at the bar of the house. The answer was
+     always found equal, if not superior to the questioner. He
+     stood unappalled, gave pleasure to his friends, and did
+     honor to his country."
+
+After great agitation and many and stormy debates, the haughty
+government was compelled to yield to the demands of the industrial
+classes. Indeed, with those in England, who cried most loudly for the
+repeal of the stamp act, there were comparatively few who were
+influenced by any sympathy for the Americans, or by any appreciation
+of the justice of their cause. The loss of the American trade was
+impoverishing them. Selfish considerations alone,--their own personal
+interests--moved them to action.
+
+There were individuals, in and out of Parliament, who recognized the
+rights of Englishmen, and regarding the Americans as Englishmen, and
+America as a portion of the British empire, were in heart and with all
+their energies, in sympathy with the Americans in their struggle for
+their rights. When the despotism of the British court led that court
+to the infamous measure of sending fleets and armies, to compel the
+Americans to submission, and the feeble colonists, less than three
+millions in number, performing the boldest and most heroic deeds ever
+yet recorded in history, grasped their arms in self-defence, thus to
+wage war against the most powerful naval and military empire upon this
+globe, Lord Chatham, with moral courage rarely surpassed, boldly
+exclaimed in the House of Lords, "Were I an American, as I am an
+Englishman, I would never lay down my arms, never, _never_, NEVER."
+
+In all England, there was no man more determined in his resolve to
+bring the Americans to servile obedience, than the stubborn king,
+George III. The repeal gave him intense offence. The equally
+unprincipled, but more intelligent, ministers were compelled to the
+measure, as they saw clearly that England was menaced with civil war,
+which would array the industrial classes generally against the
+aristocracy. In such a conflict it was far from improbable that the
+aristocracy would be brought to grief. Horace Walpole wrote,
+
+     "It was the clamor of trade, of merchants, and of
+     manufacturing towns, that had borne down all opposition. A
+     general insurrection was apprehended, as the immediate
+     consequence of upholding the bill. The revolt of America,
+     and the destruction of trade, was the prospect in future."
+
+Still the question of the repeal was carried in the House but by a
+majority of one hundred and eight votes. Of course Franklin now
+solicited permission to return home. The Assembly, instead of granting
+his request, elected him agent for another year. It does not appear
+that Franklin was disappointed.
+
+The report of his splendid and triumphant examination, before the
+Commons, and the republication of many of his pamphlets, had raised
+him to the highest position of popularity. The Americans, throughout
+all the provinces, received tidings of the Repeal with unbounded
+delight. Bells were rung, bon-fires blazed, cannon were fired.
+
+"I never heard so much noise in my life," wrote Sally to her "honored
+papa." "The very children seemed distracted."
+
+The Tory party in England developed no little malignity in their
+anger, in view of the discomfiture of their plans. The bigoted Tory,
+Dr. Johnson, wrote to Bishop White of Pennsylvania, that if he had
+been Prime Minister, instead of repealing the act, he would have sent
+a man-of-war, and laid one or more of our largest cities in ashes.[21]
+
+[Footnote 21: Wilson's Life of Bishop White, p. 89.]
+
+The king felt personally aggrieved. His denunciations of those who
+favored the Repeal were so indecent, that some of his most influential
+friends ventured to intimate to him that it was highly impolitic.
+Indeed, as the previous narrative has shown, many who were in entire
+sympathy with the king, and who were bitterly opposed to any
+concession to the Americans, felt compelled to vote for the Repeal.
+
+To propitiate the unrelenting and half-crazed monarch, with his
+obdurate court, a Declaratory Act, as it was called, was passed, which
+affirmed the _absolute supremacy_ of Parliament over the colonies.
+
+We hear very much of the corruption of our own Congress. It is said
+that votes are sometimes bought and sold. Sir Nathaniel Wraxall, who
+was a member of Parliament during all this period, declares, in his
+intensely interesting and undoubtedly honest Memoir, that under
+the ministry of Lord Bute, Ross Mackay was employed by him as
+"corrupter-general" whose mission it was to carry important measures
+of government by bribery. Wraxall writes that Ross Mackay said to him,
+at a dinner party given by Lord Besborough, as the illustrious guests
+were sipping their wine,
+
+     "The peace of 1763 was carried through and approved by a
+     pecuniary dispensation. Nothing else could have surmounted
+     the difficulty. I was myself the channel through which the
+     money passed. With my own hand I secured above one hundred
+     and twenty votes on that most important question to
+     ministers. Eighty thousand pounds were set apart for the
+     purpose. Forty members of the House of Commons received from
+     me a thousand pounds each. To eighty others I paid five
+     hundred pounds a-piece."
+
+The unrelenting king was still determined that the Americans,
+unrepresented in Parliament, should still pay into his treasury
+whatever sums of money he might exact. Calling to his aid courtiers
+more shrewd than himself, they devised a very cunning act, to attain
+that object in a way which would hardly be likely to excite
+opposition. They laid a tax, insignificant really in its amount, upon
+paper, paint, glass, and tea. This tax was to be collected at the
+custom-houses in the few ports of entry in the colonies. The whole
+amount thus raised would not exceed forty thousand pounds. It was
+thought that the Americans would never make opposition to so trivial a
+payment.
+
+But it established a principle that England could tax the colonies
+without allowing those colonies any representation in Parliament. If
+the Court had a right thus to demand forty thousand pounds, they had
+a right to demand so many millions, should it seem expedient to king
+and cabinet so to do.
+
+The great blunder which the court committed, was in not appreciating
+the wide-spread intelligence of the American people. In New England
+particularly, and throughout the colonies generally, there was
+scarcely a farmer who did not perceive the trick, and despise it. They
+deemed it an insult to their intelligence.
+
+Instantly there arose, throughout all the provinces, the most
+determined opposition to the measure. It was in fact merely a renewal
+of the Stamp Act, under slightly modified forms. If they admitted the
+justice of this act, it was only declaring that they had acted with
+unpardonable folly, in opposing the tax under the previous form.
+
+Dr. Franklin, with honest shrewdness, not with trickery or with
+cunning, but with a sincere and penetrating mind, eagerly scrutinized
+all the measures of the Court. George III. was a gentleman. He was
+irreproachable in all his domestic relations. He was, in a sense,
+conscientious; for certainly he was not disposed to do anything which
+he thought to be wrong. Conscientious men have burned their
+fellow-Christians at the stake. It is said that George the Third was a
+Christian. He certainly was a full believer in the religion of Jesus
+Christ; and earnestly advocated the support and extension of that
+religion. God makes great allowance for the frailties of his fallen
+children. It requires the wisdom of omniscience to decide how much
+wickedness there may be in the heart, consistently with piety. No man
+is perfect.
+
+During the reign of George III., terrible wars were waged throughout
+all the world, mainly incited by the British Court. Millions perished.
+The moans of widows and orphans ascended from every hand. This wicked
+Christian king sent his navy and his army to burn down our cities and
+villages, and to shoot husbands, fathers, and sons, until he could
+compel America to submit to his despotism. The population of England
+being exhausted by those wide spread wars, he hired, of the petty
+princes of Europe, innocent peasantry, to abandon their homes in
+Germany, to burn and destroy the homes of Americans. Finding that not
+sufficient, he sent his agents through the wilderness to rouse, by
+bribes, savage men, who knew no better, to ravage our frontiers, to
+burn the cabins of lonely farmers, to tomahawk and scalp their wives
+and children.
+
+Such a man may be a good Christian. God, who can read the secrets of
+the heart, and who is infinite in his love and charity, alone can
+decide. But if we imagine that man, George Guelph, at the bar of
+judgment, and thronging up as witnesses against him, the millions
+whose earthly homes he converted into abodes of misery and despair, it
+is difficult to imagine in our frail natures, how our Heavenly Father,
+who loves all his children alike, and who, as revealed in the person
+of Jesus, could weep over the woes of humanity, could look with a
+loving smile upon him and say, "Well done, good and faithful servant,
+enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."
+
+Franklin of course continued in as determined an opposition to the new
+tax as to the old one. He wrote,
+
+     "I have some little property in America. I will freely spend
+     nineteen shillings in the pound to defend my right of giving
+     or refusing the other shilling. And after all, if I cannot
+     defend that right, I can retire cheerfully with my little
+     family into the boundless woods of America, which are sure
+     to afford freedom and subsistence to any man who can bait a
+     hook or pull a trigger."
+
+The ability which Franklin had displayed as the agent of Pennsylvania
+before the court of St. James, gave him, as we have said, a high
+reputation in all the colonies. In the spring of 1768 he was highly
+gratified by the intelligence that he was appointed, by the young
+colony of Georgia, its London agent. The next year New Jersey
+conferred the same honor upon him, and the year after, he was
+appointed agent of his native province of Massachusetts. These several
+appointments detained him ten years in England.
+
+During all this time he did not visit home. The equanimity of his
+joyful spirit seems never to have been disturbed. His pen describes
+only pleasant scenes. No murmurs are recorded, no yearnings of
+home-sickness.
+
+But month after month the animosity of the British Court towards the
+Americans was increasing. The king grew more and more fixed in his
+purpose, to compel the liberty-loving Americans to submission. Hostile
+movements were multiplied to indicate that if the opposition to his
+measures was continued, English fleets and armies would soon commence
+operations.
+
+Several thousand troops were landed in Boston. Fourteen men-of-war
+were anchored before the town, with the cannon of their broad-sides
+loaded and primed, ready, at the slightest provocation to lay the
+whole town in ashes. Protected by this terrible menace, two British
+regiments paraded the streets, with their muskets charged, with
+gleaming sabres and bayonets, with formidable artillery prepared to
+vomit forth the most horrible discharges of grape shot, with haughty
+English officers well mounted, and soldiers and officers alike in
+imposing uniforms. This invincible band of highly disciplined
+soldiers, as a peace measure, took possession of the Common, the State
+House, the Court House and Faneuil Hall.
+
+Even now, after the lapse of more than a hundred years, it makes the
+blood of an American boil to contemplate this insult. Who can imagine
+the feelings of exasperation that must have glowed in the bosoms of
+our patriotic fathers!
+
+Franklin, in England, was treated with ever increasing disrespect.
+Lord Hillsborough, then in charge of American affairs, told him
+peremptorily, even insolently, that America could expect no favors
+while he himself was in power, and that he was determined to persevere
+with firmness in the policy which the king was pursuing. The king was
+so shielded by his ministers that Franklin knew but little about him.
+Even at this time he wrote,
+
+     "I can scarcely conceive a king of better dispositions, of
+     more exemplary virtues, or more truly desirous of promoting
+     the welfare of his subjects."
+
+Franklin never had occasion to speak differently of his domestic
+virtues. Nay, it is more than probable that the king daily, in prayer,
+looked to God for guidance, and that he thought that he was doing that
+which was promotive of the interests of England. Alas for man! He can
+perpetrate the most atrocious crimes, honestly believing that he is
+doing God's will. He can burn aged women under the charge of their
+being witches. He can torture, in the infliction of unutterable
+anguish, his brother man--mothers and daughters, under the charge of
+heresy. He can hurl hundreds of thousands of men against each other in
+most horrible and woe-inflicting wars, while falling upon his knees
+and praying to God to bless his murderous armies.
+
+Franklin had with him his grandson, William Temple Franklin, the
+dishonored son of William Franklin, then Governor of New Jersey. He
+was a bright and promising boy, and developed an estimable character,
+under the guidance of his grandfather, who loved him.
+
+William Franklin in New Jersey was, however, becoming increasingly the
+scourge of his father. It would seem that Providence was thus, in some
+measure, punishing Franklin for his sin. The governor, appointed by
+the Court of England to his office, which he highly prized, and which
+he feared to lose, was siding with the Court. He perceived that the
+storm of political agitation was increasing in severity. He felt that
+the power of the colonies was as nothing compared with the power of
+the British government. Gradually he became one of the most violent of
+the Tories.
+
+The moderation of Franklin, and his extraordinarily charitable
+disposition, led him to refrain from all denunciations of his
+ungrateful son, or even reproaches, until his conduct became
+absolutely infamous. In 1773, he wrote, in reference to the course
+which the governor was pursuing,
+
+     "I only wish you to act uprightly and steadily, avoiding
+     that duplicity which, in Hutchinson, adds contempt to
+     indignation. If you can promote the prosperity of your
+     people, and leave them happier than you found them, whatever
+     your political principles are, your memory will be honored."
+
+While Franklin was absent, a young merchant of Philadelphia, Richard
+Bache, offered his hand to Franklin's only daughter, from whom the
+father had been absent nearly all of her life. Sarah was then
+twenty-three years of age, so beautiful as to become quite a
+celebrity, and she was highly accomplished. Mr. Bache was not
+successful in business, and the young couple resided under the roof of
+Mrs. Franklin for eight years. The husband, with an increasing family,
+appealed to his illustrious father-in-law, to obtain for him a
+governmental appointment. Franklin wrote to his daughter,
+
+     "I am of opinion, that almost any profession a man has been
+     educated in, is preferable to an office held at pleasure, as
+     rendering him more independent, more a free man, and less
+     subject to the caprices of his superiors. I think that in
+     keeping a store, if it be where you dwell, you can be
+     serviceable to him, as your mother was to me; for you are
+     not deficient in capacity, and I hope you are not too proud.
+     You might easily learn accounts; and you can copy letters,
+     or write them very well on occasion. By industry and
+     frugality you may get forward in the world, being both of
+     you very young. And then what we may leave you at our death,
+     will be a pretty addition, though of itself far from
+     sufficient to maintain and bring up a family."
+
+Franklin gave his son-in-law about a thousand dollars to assist him in
+the purchase of a stock of merchandise. The children, born to this
+happy couple, were intelligent and beautiful, and they greatly
+contributed to the happiness of their grandmother, who cherished them
+with a grandmother's most tender love. In the year 1862, there were
+one hundred and ten surviving descendants of Richard Bache and Sarah
+Franklin. Ten of these were serving in the Union army perilling their
+lives to maintain that national fabric, which their illustrious
+ancestor had done so much to establish. Franklin was by no means a man
+of one idea. His comprehensive mind seemed to grasp all questions of
+statesmanship, of philanthropy, of philosophy.
+
+During the ten years of his residence in England he visited the
+hospitals, carefully examined their management, and transmitted to his
+home the result of his observations. This was probably the origin of
+the celebrity which the medical schools of Philadelphia have attained.
+He visited the silk manufactories, and urged the adoption of that
+branch of industry, as peculiarly adapted to our climate and people.
+Ere long he had the pleasure of presenting to the queen a piece of
+American silk, which she accepted and wore as a dress. As silk was an
+article not produced in England, the government was not offended by
+the introduction of that branch of industry. For Hartford college he
+procured a telescope, which cost about five hundred dollars. This was,
+in those days, an important event.
+
+The renowned Captain Cook returned from his first voyage around the
+world. The narrative of his adventures, in the discovery of new
+islands, and new races of men, excited almost every mind in England
+and America. Franklin was prominent in the movement, to raise
+seventy-five thousand dollars, to fit out an expedition to send to
+those benighted islanders the fowls, the quadrupeds and the seeds of
+Europe. He wrote, in an admirable strain,
+
+     "Many voyages have been undertaken with views of profit or
+     of plunder, or to gratify resentment. But a voyage is now
+     proposed to visit a distant people on the other side of the
+     globe, not to cheat them, not to rob them: not to seize
+     their lands or to enslave their persons, but merely to do
+     them good, and make them, as far as in our power lies, to
+     live as comfortable as ourselves."
+
+There can be no national prosperity without virtue. There can not be a
+happy people who do not "do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with
+God." It was a noble enterprise to send to those naked savages corn
+and hoes, with horses, pigs and poultry. But the Christian conscience
+awoke to the conviction that something more than this was necessary.
+They sent, to the dreary huts of the Pacific, ambassadors of the
+religion of Jesus, to gather the children in schools, to establish the
+sanctity of the family relation, and to proclaim to all, the glad
+tidings of that divine Saviour, who has come to earth "to seek and to
+save the lost."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+_The Intolerance of King and Court._
+
+     Parties in England--Franklin the favorite of the
+     opposition--Plans of the Tories--Christian III--Letter of
+     Franklin--Dr. Priestley--Parisian courtesy--Louis XV--Visit
+     to Ireland--Attempted alteration of the Prayer Book--Letter
+     to his son--Astounding letters from America--Words of John
+     Adams--Petition of the Assembly--Violent conspiracy against
+     Franklin--His bearing in the court-room--Wedderburn's
+     infamous charges--Letter of Franklin--Bitter words of Dr.
+     Johnson--Morals of English lords--Commercial value of the
+     Colonies--Dangers threatening Franklin.
+
+
+Wherever there is a government there must be an opposition. Those who
+are out of office wish to eject those in office, that they may take
+their places. There was a pretty strong party in what was called the
+Opposition. But it was composed of persons animated by very different
+motives. The first consisted of those intelligent, high minded,
+virtuous statesmen, who were indignant in view of the wrong which the
+haughty, unprincipled Tory government was inflicting upon the American
+people. The second gathered those who were in trade. They cared
+nothing for the Americans. They cared nothing for government right or
+wrong. They wished to sell their hats, their cutlery, and their cotton
+and woolen goods to the Americans. This they could not do while
+government was despotically enforcing the Stamp Act or the Revenue
+Bill. Then came a third class, who had no goods to sell, and no
+conscience to guide to action. They were merely ambitious politicians.
+They wished to thrust the Tories out of office simply that they might
+rush into the occupancy of all the places of honor, emolument or
+power.
+
+Franklin was in high favor with the opposition. He furnished their
+orators in Parliament with arguments, with illustrations, with
+accurate statistical information. Many of the most telling passages in
+parliamentary speeches, were placed on the lips of the speakers by
+Benjamin Franklin. He wrote pamphlets of marvellous popular power,
+which were read in all the workshops, and greatly increased the number
+and the intelligence of the foes of the government measures. Thus
+Franklin became the favorite of the popular party. They lavished all
+honors upon him. In the same measure he became obnoxious to the
+haughty, aristocratic Tory government. Its ranks were filled with the
+lords, the governmental officials, and all their dependents. This made
+a party very powerful in numbers, and still more powerful in wealth
+and influence. They were watching for opportunities to traduce
+Franklin, to ruin his reputation, and if possible, to bring him into
+contempt.
+
+This will explain the honors which were conferred upon him by one
+party, and the indignities to which he was subjected from the other.
+At times, the Tories would make efforts by flattery, by offers of
+position, of emolument, by various occult forms of bribery, to draw
+Franklin to their side. He might very easily have attained almost any
+amount of wealth and high official dignity.
+
+The king of Denmark, Christian VII., was brother-in-law of George III.
+He visited England; a mere boy in years, and still more a weak boy in
+insipidity of character. A large dinner-party was given in his honor
+at the Royal Palace. Franklin was one of the guests. In some way
+unexplained, he impressed the boy-king with a sense of his inherent
+and peculiar greatness. Christian invited a select circle of but
+sixteen men to dine with him. Among those thus carefully selected,
+Franklin was honored with an invitation. Though sixty-seven years of
+age he still enjoyed in the highest degree, convivial scenes. He could
+tell stories, and sing songs which gave delight to all. It was his
+boast that he could empty his two bottles of wine, and still retain
+entire sobriety. He wrote to Hugh Roberts,
+
+     "I wish you would continue to meet the Junto. It wants but
+     about two years of forty since it was established. We loved,
+     and still love one another; we have grown grey together, and
+     yet it is too early to part. Let us sit till the evening of
+     life is spent; the last hours are always the most joyous.
+     When we can stay no longer, it is time enough to bid each
+     other good night, separate, and go quietly to bed."
+
+Franklin was the last person to find any enjoyment in the society of
+vulgar and dissolute men. In those days, it was scarcely a reproach
+for a young lord to be carried home from a festivity in deadly
+intoxication. Witticisms were admitted into such circles which
+respectable men would not tolerate now. Franklin's most intimate
+friends in London were found among Unitarian clergymen, and those
+philosophers who were in sympathy with him in his rejection of the
+Christian religion. Dr. Richard Price, and Dr. Joseph Priestly, men
+both eminent for intellectual ability and virtues, were his bosom
+friends.
+
+Dr. Priestly, who had many conversations with Franklin upon religious
+topics, deeply deplored the looseness of his views. Though Dr.
+Priestly rejected the divinity of Christ, he still firmly adhered to
+the belief that Christianity was of divine origin. In his
+autobiography, Dr. Priestly writes:
+
+     "It is much to be lamented that a man of Dr. Franklin's
+     generally good character and great influence, should have
+     been an unbeliever in Christianity, and also have done so
+     much as he did to make others unbelievers. To me, however,
+     he acknowledged that he had not given so much attention as
+     he ought to have done to the evidences of Christianity; and
+     he desired me to recommend him a few treatises on the
+     subject, such as I thought most deserving his notice."
+
+Priestly did so; but Franklin, all absorbed in his social festivities,
+his scientific researches, and his intense patriotic labors, could
+find no time to devote to that subject--the immortal destiny of
+man,--which is infinitely more important to each individual than all
+others combined.[22] It was indeed a sad circle of unbelievers, into
+whose intimacy Franklin was thrown. Dr. Priestly writes,
+
+     "In Paris, in 1774, all the philosophical persons to whom I
+     was introduced, were unbelievers in Christianity, and even
+     professed atheists. I was told by some of them, that I was
+     the only person they had ever met, of whose understanding
+     they had any opinion, who professed to believe in
+     Christianity. But I soon found they did not really know what
+     Christianity was."
+
+[Footnote 22: Mr. Parton, in his excellent Life of Franklin, one of
+the best biographies which was ever written, objects to this
+withholding of the Christian name from Dr. Franklin. He writes,
+
+     "I do not understand what Dr. Priestly meant, by saying that
+     Franklin was an unbeliever in Christianity, since he himself
+     was open to the same charge from nine-tenths of the
+     inhabitants of christendom. Perhaps, if the two men were now
+     alive, we might express the theological difference between
+     them by saying that Priestly was a Unitarian of the Channing
+     school, and Franklin of that of Theodore Parker." Again he
+     writes, "I have ventured to call Franklin the consummate
+     Christian of his time. Indeed I know not who, of any time,
+     has exhibited more of the Spirit of Christ."--_Parton's
+     Franklin Vol. 1. p. 546. Vol. 2. p. 646._]
+
+It was Franklin's practice to spend a part of every summer in
+traveling. In 1767, accompanied by Sir John Pringle, he visited Paris.
+With Franklin, one of the first of earthly virtues was courtesy. He
+was charmed with the politeness of the French people. Even the most
+humble of the working classes, were gentlemanly; and from the highest
+to the lowest, he, simply as a stranger, was treated with
+consideration which surprised him. He writes,
+
+     "The civilities we everywhere receive, give us the strongest
+     impressions of the French politeness. It seems to be a point
+     settled here universally, that strangers are to be treated
+     with respect; and one has just the same deference shown one
+     here, by being a stranger, as in England, by being a lady."
+
+Two dozen bottles of port-wine were given them at Bordeaux. These, as
+the law required, were seized by the custom-house officers, as they
+entered Paris by the Porte St. Denis; but as soon as it was
+ascertained that they were strangers, the wine was remitted.
+
+There was a magnificent illumination of the Church of Notre Dame, in
+honor of the deceased Dauphiness. Thousands could not obtain
+admission. An officer, learning merely that they were strangers, took
+them in charge, conducted them through the vast edifice, and showed
+them every thing.
+
+Franklin and his companion had the honor of a presentation to the
+king, Louis XV., at Versailles. This monarch was as vile a man as ever
+occupied a throne. But he had the virtue of courtesy, which Franklin
+placed at the head of religious principle. The philosopher simply
+records,
+
+     "The king spoke to both of us very graciously and very
+     cheerfully. He is a handsome man, has a very lively look,
+     and appears younger than he is."
+
+In 1772, Franklin visited Ireland. He was treated there with great
+honor; but the poverty of the Irish peasantry overwhelmed his
+benevolent heart with astonishment and dismay. He writes,
+
+     "I thought often of the happiness of New England, where
+     every man is a free-holder, has a vote in public affairs,
+     lives in a tidy, warm house, has plenty of good food and
+     fuel, with whole clothes from head to foot, the manufacture
+     perhaps of his own family. Long may they continue in this
+     situation."
+
+In the year 1773, Franklin spent several weeks in the beautiful
+mansion of his friend, Lord Despencer. We read with astonishment,
+that Franklin, who openly renounced all belief in the divine origin of
+Christianity, should have undertaken, with Lord Despencer, an
+abbreviation of the prayer-book of the Church of England. It is
+surprising, that he could have thought it possible, that the eminent
+Christians, clergy and laity of that church, would accept at the hands
+of a deist, their form of worship. But Franklin was faithful in the
+abbreviation, not to make the slightest change in the evangelical
+character of that admirable work, which through ages has guided the
+devotion of millions. The abbreviated service, cut down one-half,
+attracted no attention, and scarcely a copy was sold.
+
+At this time, Franklin's reputation was in its meridian altitude.
+There was scarcely a man in Europe or America, more prominent. Every
+learned body in Europe, of any importance, had elected him a member.
+Splendid editions of his works were published in London; and three
+editions were issued from the press in Paris.
+
+In France, Franklin met with no insults, with no opposition. All alike
+smiled upon him, and the voices of commendation alone fell upon his
+ear.
+
+Returning to England, his reputation there, as a man of high moral
+worth, and of almost the highest intellectual attainments, and a man
+honored in the most remarkable degree with all the highest offices
+which his countrymen could confer upon him, swept contumely from his
+path, and even his enemies were ashamed to manifest their hostility.
+From London he wrote to his son,
+
+     "As to my situation here, nothing can be more agreeable.
+     Learned and ingenious foreigners that come to England,
+     almost all make a point of visiting me; for my reputation is
+     still higher abroad, than here. Several of the foreign
+     ambassadors have assiduously cultivated my acquaintance,
+     treating me as one of their corps, partly, I believe, from
+     the desire they have from time to time, of hearing something
+     of American affairs; an object become of importance in
+     foreign courts, who begin to hope Britain's alarming power
+     will be diminished by the defection of her colonies."[23]
+
+[Footnote 23: "For dinner parties Franklin was in such demand that,
+during the London season, he sometimes dined out six days in the
+week for several weeks together. He also confesses that occasionally
+he drank more wine than became a philosopher. It would indeed have
+been extremely difficult to avoid it, in that soaking age, when
+a man's force was reckoned by the number of bottles he could
+empty."--_Parton's Life of Franklin_, Vol. i, p. 540.
+
+As an illustration of the state of the times, I give the following
+verse from one of the songs which Franklin wrote, and which he was
+accustomed to sing with great applause. At the meetings of the Junto,
+all the club joined in the chorus,
+
+     "Fair Venus calls; her voice obey
+     In beauty's arms spend night and day.
+     The joys of love all joys excel,
+     And loving's certainly doing well.
+
+           _Chorus._
+
+       Oh! no!
+       Not so!
+       For honest souls still know
+       Friends and the bottle still bear the bell."
+
+"It is well," Mr. Parton writes, "for us, in these days, to consider
+the spectacle of this large, robust soul, sporting in this simple,
+homely way. This superb Franklin of ours, who spent some evenings in
+mere jollity, passed nearly all his days in labor most fruitful of
+benefit to his country."--_Life of Franklin_, Vol. i, p. 262.]
+
+In the latter part of the year 1772, Franklin, in his ever courteous,
+but decisive language, was conversing with an influential member of
+Parliament, respecting the violent proceedings of the ministry, in
+quartering troops upon the citizens of Boston. The member, in reply,
+said,
+
+"You are deceived in supposing these measures to originate with the
+ministry. The sending out of the troops, and all the hostile measures,
+of which you complain, have not only been suggested, but solicited, by
+prominent men of your own country. They have urged that troops should
+be sent, and that fleets should enter your harbors, declaring that in
+no other way, than by this menace of power, can the turbulent
+Americans be brought to see their guilt and danger, and return to
+obedience."
+
+Franklin expressed his doubts of this statement. "I will bring you
+proof," the gentleman replied. A few days after, he visited Franklin,
+and brought with him a packet of letters, written by persons of high
+official station in the colonies, and native born Americans. The
+signatures of these letters were effaced; but the letters themselves
+were presented, and Franklin was confidentially informed of their
+writers. They were addressed to Mr. William Whately, an influential
+member of Parliament, who had recently died.
+
+Franklin read them with astonishment and indignation. He found the
+representation of the gentleman entirely true. Six of the letters were
+written by Thomas Hutchinson, Governor of Massachusetts. He was a
+native of the colony he governed, a graduate of Harvard, and in his
+religious position a Puritan. Four were written by Andrew Oliver,
+Lieutenant-governor, and also a native of Massachusetts.
+
+The rest were written by custom-house officers and other servants of
+the Crown. The openly avowed design of these letters was, that they
+should be exhibited to the Ministry, to excite them to prompt,
+vigorous and hostile measures. They teemed with misrepresentations,
+and often with downright falsehoods. The perusal of these infamous
+productions elicited from Franklin first a burst of indignation. The
+second effect was greatly to mitigate his resentment against the
+British government. The ministry, it seemed, were acting in
+accordance with solicitations received from Americans, native born,
+and occupying the highest posts of honor and influence.
+
+The gentleman who obtained these letters and showed them to Franklin,
+was very unwilling to have his agency in the affair made public. After
+much solicitation, he consented to have Franklin send the letters to
+America, though he would not give permission to have any copies taken.
+It was his hope, that the letters would calm the rising animosity in
+America, by showing that the British ministry was pursuing a course of
+menace, which many of the most distinguished Americans declared to be
+essential, to save the country from anarchy and ruin. Franklin's
+object was to cause these traitorous office-holders to be ejected from
+their positions of influence, that others, more patriotic, might
+occupy the stations which they disgraced.
+
+On the 2d of December, 1772, Franklin inclosed the letters in an
+official package, directed to Thomas Cushing. He wrote,
+
+     "I am not at liberty to make the letters public. I can only
+     allow them to be seen by yourself, by the other gentlemen of
+     the Committee of Correspondence, by Messrs. Bowdoin and
+     Pitts of the Council, and Drs. Chauncy, Cooper, and
+     Winthrop, and a few such other gentlemen as you may think
+     fit to show them to. After being some months in your
+     possession, you are requested to return them to me."
+
+The reading of the letters created intense anger and disgust. John
+Adams, after perusing them, recorded in his diary, alluding to
+Hutchinson, "Cool, thinking deliberate villain, malicious and
+vindictive." He carried the documents around to read to all his male
+and female friends, and was not sparing in his vehement comments.
+
+Again he wrote, "Bone of our bone; born and educated among us! Mr.
+Hancock is deeply affected; is determined, in conjunction with Major
+Hawley, to watch the vile serpent, and his deputy, Brattle. The
+subtlety of this serpent is equal to that of the old one."
+
+For two months the letters were privately yet extensively circulated.
+Hutchinson himself soon found out the storm which was gathering
+against him. The hand-writing of all the writers was known. In June,
+the Massachusetts Assembly met. In secret session the letters were
+read. Soon some copies were printed. It was said that some one had
+obtained, from England, copies of the letters from which the printed
+impressions were taken. But the mystery of their publication was never
+solved.
+
+The Assembly sent a petition to the king of England, imploring that
+Thomas Hutchinson and Andrew Oliver, should be removed from their
+posts, and that such good men as the king might select, should be
+placed in their stead. The petition, eminently respectful, but drawn
+up in very forcible language, expressive of the ruinous consequences
+caused by the measures which these officials had recommended, was
+transmitted to Franklin, the latter part of the summer of 1773. He
+immediately forwarded it to Lord Dartmouth. With it he sent a very
+polite and conciliatory letter, in which he declared, that the
+Americans were very desirous of being on good terms with the mother
+country, that their resentment against the government was greatly
+abated, by finding that Americans had urged the obnoxious measures
+which had been adopted; and that the present was a very favorable time
+to introduce cordial, friendly relations between the king and the
+colonists.
+
+Lord Dartmouth returned a very polite reply, laid the all-important
+petition aside, and for five months never alluded to it, by word or
+letter. In the meantime, some of the printed copies reached London.
+The Tories thought that perhaps the long sought opportunity had come
+when they might pounce upon Franklin, and at least greatly impair his
+influence. Franklin had nothing to conceal. He had received the
+letters from a friend, who authorized him to send them to America,
+that their contents might be made known there.
+
+In all this he had done absolutely nothing, which any one could
+pronounce to be wrong. But the Court, being determined to stir up
+strife, began to demand who it was that had obtained and delivered
+up the letters. Franklin was absent from London. He soon heard tidings
+of the great commotion that was excited, and that two gentlemen, who
+had nothing to do with the matter, were each accused of having
+dishonorably obtained the letters. This led to a duel. Franklin
+immediately wrote,
+
+     "I think it incumbent for me to declare that I alone am the
+     person who obtained and transmitted to Boston, the letters
+     in question."
+
+The Court decided to summon Franklin to meet the "Committee for
+Plantation Affairs," to explain the reasons for the petition against
+Hutchinson and Oliver. To the surprise of Franklin, it appeared that
+they were organizing quite a formidable trial; and very able counsel
+was appointed to defend the culprits.
+
+Thus Franklin, who simply presented the petition of the Assembly, was
+forced into the obnoxious position of a prosecutor. The array against
+him was so strong, that it became necessary for him also to have
+counsel. It was manifest to all the friends of Franklin, that the
+British Court was rousing all its energies to crush him.
+
+The meeting was held on the 11th of January, 1773. Four of the Cabinet
+ministers were present, and several Lords of the Privy Council. They
+addressed Franklin as a culprit, who had brought slanderous charges
+against his majesty's faithful officers in the colonies. He was
+treated not only with disrespect but with absolute insolence. But
+nothing could disturb his equanimity. Not for one moment did he lose
+serenity of mind.
+
+There was an adjournment, to meet on the 29th of the month. In the
+meantime one of the court party, who had received many favors from
+Franklin, commenced a chancery suit against him, accusing him of
+stealing the letters, and being by trade a printer, of having secretly
+published them, and sold immense numbers, the profits of which he had
+placed in his own pocket. All this Franklin denied on oath. The charge
+was so absurd, and so manifestly malignant, that his foes withdrew the
+suit. Franklin was however assured that the Court was clamoring for
+his punishment and disgrace.
+
+All London was agitated by the commotion which these extraordinary
+events created. At the appointed day, the Council again met. The
+assembly was held in a large apartment in the drawing-room style. At
+one end was the entrance door; at the other the fire-place, with
+recesses on each side of the chimney. A broad table extended from the
+fire-place to the door. The Privy Council, thirty-five in number, sat
+at this table. They were inveterate Tories, resolved to bring the
+Americans down upon their knees, and, as a preliminary step, to
+inflict indelible disgrace upon Franklin. Lord North, the implacable
+Prime Minister was there. The Archbishop of Canterbury was present. As
+Franklin cast his eye along the line of these haughty nobles, he could
+not see the face of a friend.
+
+The remainder of the room was crowded with spectators. From them many
+a sympathizing glance fell upon him. Priestly and Burke gave him their
+silent but cordial sympathy. There were also quite a number of
+Americans and prominent members of the opposition, whose presence was
+a support to Franklin, during the ordeal through which he was to pass.
+He stood at the edge of the recess formed by the chimney, with one
+elbow resting upon the mantel, and his cheek upon his hand. He was
+motionless as a statue, and had composed his features into such calm
+and serene rigidity, that not the movement of a muscle could be
+detected. As usual, he was dressed simply, but with great elegance. A
+large flowing wig, with abundant curls, such as were used by elderly
+gentlemen at that day, covered his head. His costume, which was
+admirably fitted to a form as perfect as Grecian sculptor ever
+chiseled, was of rich figured silk velvet. In all that room, there was
+not an individual, who in physical beauty, was the peer of Franklin.
+In all that room there was not another, who in intellectual greatness
+could have met the trial so grandly.
+
+It will be remembered that the Assembly of Massachusetts had
+petitioned for the removal of an obnoxious governor and lieutenant
+governor. Franklin, as the agent in London of that colony, had
+presented the petition to the crown. He was now summoned to appear
+before the privy council, to bring forward and substantiate charges
+against these officers. The council had appointed a lawyer to defend
+Hutchinson and Oliver. His name was Wedderburn. He had already
+obtained celebrity for the savage skill with which he could browbeat a
+witness, and for his wonderful command of the vocabulary of
+vituperation and abuse. Before commencing the examination, he
+addressed the assembly in a long speech. After eulogizing Governor
+Hutchinson, as one of the best and most loyal of the officers of the
+crown, who merited the gratitude of king and court, he turned upon
+Franklin, and assailed him with a storm of vituperative epithets,
+such as never before, and never since, has fallen upon the head of a
+man. The council were in sympathy with the speaker. Often his
+malignant thrusts would elicit from those lords a general shout of
+derisive laughter.
+
+Such was the treatment which one of the most illustrious and honored
+of American citizens received from the privy council of king George
+III., when he appeared before that council as a friendly ambassador
+from his native land, seeking only conciliation and peace.
+
+Wedderburn accused Franklin of stealing private letters, of
+misrepresenting their contents, that he might excite hostility against
+the loyal officers of the king. He accused him of doing this that he
+might eject them from office, so as to obtain the positions for
+himself and his friends. Still more, he accused him of having in an
+unexampled spirit of meanness, availed himself of his skill as a
+printer, to publish these letters, and that he sold them far and wide,
+that he might enrich himself. Charges better calculated to ruin a man,
+in the view of these proud lords, can scarcely be conceived. It is
+doubtful whether there were another man in the world, who could have
+received them so calmly, and in the end could have so magnificently
+triumphed over them.
+
+During all this really terrific assailment, Franklin stood with his
+head resting on his left hand, apparently unmoved. At the close, he
+declined answering any questions. The committee of the council
+reported on that same day, "the lords of the committee, do agree
+humbly to report as their opinion to your majesty, that the said
+petition is founded upon resolution's, formed upon false and erroneous
+allegations, and that the same is false, vexatious and scandalous; and
+calculated only for the seditious purposes of keeping up a spirit of
+clamor and discontent in said province." The king accepted the report,
+and acted accordingly. Franklin went home alone. We know not why his
+friends thus apparently deserted him.
+
+The next morning, which was Sunday, Priestly breakfasted at Franklin's
+table. He represents him as saying that he could not have borne
+the insults heaped upon him by the privy council, but for the
+consciousness, that he had done only that which was right. On Monday
+morning Franklin received a laconic letter from the Postmaster
+General, informing him that the king had found it necessary to dismiss
+him from the office of deputy Postmaster General in America.
+
+This outrage, inflicted by the privy council of Great Britain, upon a
+friendly ambassador from her colonies, who had visited her court with
+the desire to promote union and harmony, was one of the most
+atrocious acts ever perpetrated by men above the rank of vagabonds in
+their drunken carousals. Franklin, in transmitting an account to
+Massachusetts, writes in a noble strain:
+
+     "What I feel on my own account, is half lost in what I feel
+     for the public. When I see that all petitions and complaints
+     of grievances, are so odious to government, that even the
+     mere pipe which conveys them, becomes obnoxious, I am at a
+     loss to know how peace and union are to be maintained, and
+     restored between the different parts of the empire.
+     Grievances cannot be redressed, unless they are known. And
+     they cannot be known, but through complaints and petitions.
+     If these are deemed affronts, and the messengers punished as
+     offenders, who will henceforth send petitions? and who will
+     deliver them?"
+
+The speech of Wedderburn gave great delight to all the Tory party. It
+was derisively said, "that the lords of the council, went to their
+chamber, as to a bull-baiting, and hounded on the Solicitor General
+with loud applause and laughter." Mr. Fox, writing of the assault
+said, "All men tossed up their hats and clapped their hands, in
+boundless delight."
+
+When the tidings of the affair reached America, it added intensity to
+the animosity, then rapidly increasing, against the British
+government. The dismissal of Franklin from the post-office, was deemed
+equivalent to the seizure, by the crown, of that important branch of
+the government. None but the creatures of the Ministry were to be
+postmasters. Consequently patriotic Americans could no longer entrust
+their letters to the mail. Private arrangements were immediately made
+for the conveyance of letters; and with so much efficiency, that the
+general office, which had heretofore contributed fifteen thousand
+dollars annually to the public treasury, never after paid into it one
+farthing.[24]
+
+[Footnote 24: It may be worthy of record, that Wedderburn became the
+hero of the clubs and the favorite of the Tory party. Wealth and
+honors were lavished upon him. He rose to the dignity of an earl and
+lord chancellor, and yet we do not find, in any of the annals of those
+days, that he is spoken of otherwise than as a shallow, unprincipled
+man. When his death, after a few hours' illness, was announced to the
+king, he scornfully said, "He has not left a worse man behind him."]
+
+The spirit of the Tories may be inferred from that of one of the most
+applauded and influential of their leaders. Dr. Samuel Johnson, who
+wrote the notorious "Taxation no Tyranny," said,
+
+"The Americans are a race of convicts. They ought to be thankful for
+any thing we can give them. I am willing to love all mankind except
+an American." Boswell in quoting one of his insane tirades writes,
+"His inflammable corruption, bursting into horrid fire, he breathed
+out threatenings and slaughter, calling them rascals, robbers,
+pirates, and exclaiming that he would burn and destroy them."
+
+It was a day of vicious indulgence, of dissipation in every form, when
+it was fashionable to be godless, and to sneer at all the restraints
+of the Christian religion. Volumes might be filled with accounts of
+the atrocities perpetrated by drunken lords at the gaming table and in
+midnight revel through the streets. Such men of influence and rank as
+Fox, Lord Derby, the Duke of Ancaster, inflamed with wine, could set
+the police at defiance. They were constantly engaged in orgies which
+would disgrace the most degraded wretches, in the vilest haunts of
+infamy in our cities. Instead of gambling for copper, they gambled for
+gold. Horace Walpole testifies that at one of the most fashionable
+clubs, at Almack's, they played only for rouleaux of two hundred and
+fifty dollars each. There were often fifty thousand dollars in specie
+on the gaming tables, around which these bloated inebriates were
+gathered. It is said that Lord Holland paid the gambling debts of his
+two sons to the amount of one hundred thousand dollars.
+
+The trade of the colonies had become of immense value to the mother
+country. It amounted to six and a half millions sterling a year.
+Philadelphia numbered forty thousand inhabitants. Charleston, South
+Carolina, had become one of the most beautiful and healthy cities in
+America. The harbor was crowded with shipping, the streets were lined
+with mansions of great architectural beauty. Gorgeous equipages were
+seen, almost rivaling the display in French and English capitals. But
+there were many Tories in Charleston, as malignant in their opposition
+to the popular cause in America, as any of the aristocrats to be found
+in London.
+
+The unpardonable insult which Franklin had received, closed his
+official labors in London. His personal friends and the Opposition
+rallied more affectionately than ever around him. But he ceased to
+appear at court and was seldom present at the dinner-parties of the
+ministers. Still he was constantly and efficiently employed in behalf
+of his country. The leaders of the opposition were in constant
+conference with him. He wrote many pamphlets and published articles in
+the journals, which exerted an extended and powerful influence. He
+wrote to his friends at home, in October, 1774,
+
+     "My situation here is thought, by many, to be a little
+     hazardous; for if by some accident the troops and people of
+     New England should come to blows, I should probably be
+     taken up; the ministerial people, affecting everywhere to
+     represent me as the cause of all the misunderstanding. And I
+     have been frequently cautioned to secure all my papers, and
+     by some advised to withdraw. But I venture to stay, in
+     compliance with the wish of others, till the result of the
+     Congress arrives, since they suppose my being here might, on
+     that occasion, be of use. And I confide in my innocence,
+     that the worst that can happen to me will be an imprisonment
+     upon suspicion; though that is a thing I should much desire
+     to avoid, as it may be expensive and vexatious, as well as
+     dangerous to my health."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+_The Bloodhounds of War Unleashed._
+
+     The mission of Josiah Quincy--Love of England by the
+     Americans--Petition to the king--Sickness and death of Mrs.
+     Franklin--Lord Chatham--His speech in favor of the
+     colonists--Lord Howe--His interview with Franklin--Firmness
+     of Franklin--His indignation--His mirth--Franklin's
+     fable--He embarks for Philadelphia--Feeble condition of the
+     colonies--England's expressions of contempt--Franklin's
+     reception at Philadelphia--His letter to Edmund
+     Burke--Post-office arrangements--Defection and conduct of
+     William Franklin--His arrest.
+
+
+Young Josiah Quincy, of Boston, one of the noblest of patriots, who
+was dying of consumption, visited London, with instructions to confer
+with Franklin upon the posture of affairs. He wrote home, in the most
+commendatory terms, of the zeal and sagacity with which Franklin was
+devoting himself to the interests of his country. Tory spies were
+watching his every movement, and listening to catch every word which
+fell from his lips. Lord Hillsborough, in a debate in the House of
+Lords, said,
+
+"There are two men, walking in the streets of London, who ought to be
+in Newgate or at Tyburn."
+
+The duke of Richmond demanded their names, saying that if such were
+the fact the ministry were severely to be blamed. Hillsborough
+declined to give their names; but it was generally known that he
+referred to Dr. Franklin and Josiah Quincy.
+
+The policy of Franklin was clearly defined, and unchanging. He said
+virtually, to his countrymen, "Perform no political act against the
+government, utter no menace, and do no act of violence whatever. But
+firmly and perseveringly unite in consuming no English goods. There is
+nothing in this which any one will pronounce to be, in the slightest
+degree, illegal. The sudden and total loss of the trade with America,
+will, in one year, create such a clamor, from the capitalists and
+industrial classes of England, Ireland and Scotland, that the despotic
+government will be compelled to retrace its steps."
+
+Even at this time the Americans had no desire to break loose from the
+government of Great Britain. England was emphatically their home.
+Englishmen were their brothers. In England their fathers were gathered
+to the grave. The Americans did not assume a new name. They still
+called themselves Englishmen. They were proud to be members of the
+majestic kingdom, which then stood at the head of the world.
+
+Congress met. Its members, perhaps without exception, were yearning
+for reconciliation with the mother-country, and for sincere and
+cordial friendship. It was resolved to make another solemn appeal to
+the king, whom they had ever been accustomed to revere, and, in a
+fraternal spirit, to address their brethren, the people of England,
+whom they wished to regard with all the respect due to elder brothers.
+
+The intelligence of Christendom has applauded the dignity and the
+pathos of these documents. The appeal fell upon the profane, gambling,
+wine-bloated aristocrats of the court, as if it had been addressed to
+the marble statuary in the British Museum. Nay worse. Those statues
+would have listened in respectful silence. No contemptuous laughter,
+and no oaths of menace, would have burst from their marble lips. The
+following brief extract will show the spirit which pervaded these
+noble documents. It is one of the closing sentences of the address to
+the king:
+
+     "Permit us then, most gracious sovereign, in the name of all
+     your faithful people in America, with the utmost humility to
+     implore you, for the honor of Almighty God, whose pure
+     religion our enemies are undermining; for the glory which
+     can be advanced only by rendering your subjects happy and
+     keeping them united; for the interests of your family,
+     depending on an adherence to the principle that enthroned
+     it; for the safety and welfare of your kingdom and
+     dominions, threatened with unavoidable dangers, and
+     distresses; that your majesty, as the loving father of your
+     whole people, connected by the same bands of law, loyalty,
+     faith and blood, though dwelling in various countries, will
+     not suffer the transcendent relation, formed by these ties,
+     to be further violated, in uncertain expectation of effects
+     which, if attained, never can compensate for the calamities
+     through which they must be gained."
+
+This petition was sent to Franklin, and the other colony agents, to be
+presented by them to the king. They were instructed also to publish
+both the Petition and the Address, in the newspapers, and to give them
+as wide a circulation as possible.
+
+Dr. Franklin, with two other agents, Arthur Lee and Mr. Bollan,
+presented to Lord Dartmouth the petition to be handed by him to the
+king. They were soon informed that the king received it graciously,
+and would submit the consideration of it to Parliament. It was thought
+not respectful to the king to publish it before he had presented it to
+that body. But as usual, the infatuation of both king and court was
+such, that everything that came from the Americans was treated with
+neglect, if not with contempt. The all-important petition was buried
+in a pile of documents upon all conceivable subjects, and not one
+word was said to commend it to the consideration of either house. For
+three days it remained unnoticed. Dr. Franklin, then, with his two
+companions, solicited permission to be heard at the bar of the house.
+Their request was refused. This brought the question into debate.
+
+The House of Commons was at that time but a reflected image of the
+House of Lords. It was composed almost exclusively, of the younger
+sons of the nobles, and such other obsequious servants of the
+aristocracy, as they, with their vast wealth and patronage, saw fit to
+have elected. There was an immense Tory majority in the House. They
+assailed the petition with vulgarity of abuse, which could scarcely be
+exceeded; and then dismissed it from further consideration. Noble
+lords made themselves merry in depicting the alacrity with which a
+whole army of Americans would disperse at the very sound of a British
+cannon.
+
+While these disastrous events were taking place in England--events,
+sure to usher in a cruel and bloody war, bearing on its wings terror
+and conflagration, tears and blood, a domestic tragedy was taking
+place in the far distant home of Franklin on the banks of the
+Delaware. Mrs. Franklin had been separated from her husband for nearly
+ten years. She was a cheerful, motherly woman, ever blessing her home
+with smiles and with kindly words; and in the society of her daughter
+and her grandchildren, she found a constant joy. The lapse of
+three-score years and ten, had not brought their usual infirmities.
+Though yearning intensely for the return of her husband, she did not
+allow the separation seriously to mar her happiness. Every spring she
+was confident that he would return the next autumn, and then bore her
+disappointment bravely in the assurance that she should see him the
+coming spring.
+
+In December, 1774, she was suddenly stricken down by a paralytic
+stroke. Five days of unconscious slumber passed away, when she fell
+into that deep and dreamless sleep, which has no earthly waking. Her
+funeral was attended by a large concourse of citizens, with every
+testimonial of respect. Some of Franklin's oldest friends bore the
+coffin to the churchyard, where the remains of the affectionate wife
+and mother who had so nobly fulfilled life's duties, were placed by
+the side of her father, her mother, and her infant son.
+
+Feelingly does Mr. Parton write, "It is mournful to think that for so
+many years, she should have been deprived of her husband's society.
+The very qualities which made her so good a wife, rendered it
+possible for him to remain absent from his affairs."
+
+Franklin, all unconscious of the calamity which had darkened his home,
+and weary of the conflict with the British court, was eagerly making
+preparations to return to Philadelphia.
+
+The aged, illustrious, eloquent Earl of Chatham, one of the noblest of
+England's all grasping and ambitious sons, sought an interview with
+Franklin. He utterly condemned the policy of the British cabinet. His
+sympathies were, not only from principles of policy, but from
+convictions of justice, cordially with the Americans. He felt sure
+that unless the court should retrace its steps, war would ensue, and
+American Independence would follow, and that England, with the loss of
+her colonies, would find mercantile impoverishment and political
+weakness. In the course of conversation, he implied that America might
+be even then, contemplating independence. Franklin, in his account of
+the interview writes,
+
+     "I assured him that having more than once traveled almost
+     from one end of the continent to the other, and kept a great
+     variety of company, eating, drinking and conversing with
+     them freely, I had never heard in any conversation from any
+     person, drunk or sober, the least expression of a wish for a
+     separation, or a hint that such a thing would be
+     advantageous to America."
+
+In a subsequent interview, the Earl of Chatham, alluding to the
+conduct of Congress, in drawing up the petition and address, said,
+
+"They have acted with so much temper, moderation and wisdom, that I
+think it the most honorable assembly of statesmen since those of the
+Greeks and Romans, of the most virtuous times."
+
+In a subsequent interview, Dr. Franklin expressed, to the earl, his
+apprehension that the continuance of the British army in Boston, which
+was the source of constant irritation to the people, might eventually
+lead to a quarrel, perhaps between a drunken porter and a soldier, and
+that thus tumult and bloodshed might be introduced, leading to
+consequences which no one could foresee.
+
+Lord Chatham felt the force of these remarks, which soon received
+their striking illustration, in what was called the Boston Massacre.
+He therefore declared his intention of repairing to the House of
+Lords, to introduce a resolve for the immediate withdrawal of the
+troops from Boston. The tidings were soon noised abroad that the
+eloquent earl, then probably the most illustrious man in England, was
+to make a speech in favor of America. The eventful day arrived. The
+hall was crowded. Dr. Franklin had a special invitation from the earl
+to be present. The friends of America were there, few in numbers, and
+the enemies in all their strength.
+
+Lord Chatham made a speech, which in logical power and glowing
+eloquence, has perhaps never been surpassed. Franklin had impressed
+him with the conviction that the determination of the Americans to
+defend their rights was such, that if, with fleet and army, the
+government were to ravage all the coast and burn all the cities, the
+Americans would retreat back into the forests, in the maintenance of
+their liberty. Full of this idea, Lord Chatham exclaimed, with
+prophetic power,
+
+"We shall be forced ultimately to retract. Let us retract while we
+can, not when we must. I say we must necessarily undo these violent
+oppressive acts. You will repeal them. I pledge myself for it. I stake
+my reputation on it. I will consent to be taken for an idiot, if they
+are not finally repealed."
+
+Franklin writes, "All availed no more than the whistling of the wind.
+The motion was rejected. Sixteen Scotch peers and twenty-four bishops,
+with all the lords in possession or expectation of places, when they
+vote together unanimously for ministerial measures, as they generally
+do, make a dead majority, that renders all debate ridiculous in
+itself, since it can answer no end."
+
+Though the speech produced no impression upon the obdurate House of
+Lords, it had a very powerful effect upon the public mind. It was read
+in America, in collegiate halls, in the work-shop and at the farmer's
+fireside, with delight which cannot be described. A few days after the
+speech, Dr. Franklin, writing to Lord Stanhope, said,
+
+     "Dr. Franklin is filled with admiration of that truly great
+     man. He has seen, in the course of life, sometimes eloquence
+     without wisdom, and often wisdom without eloquence; in the
+     present instance he sees both united, and both he thinks in
+     the highest degree possible."
+
+Slowly the ministry were awaking to the conviction that American
+affairs, if not settled, might yet cause them much trouble. In various
+underhand ways, they approached Franklin. It was generally understood
+that every man had his price; that the influence of one man could be
+bought for a few hundred pounds; that another would require a
+lucrative and honorable office. Though the reputation of Franklin was
+such, that it was a delicate matter to approach him with bribes, still
+some of them now commenced a course of flattery, endeavoring to secure
+his coöperation. It was thought that his influence with his countrymen
+was so great, that they would accede to any terms he should recommend.
+
+Lord Howe called upon Franklin, and, in the name of Lord North and
+Lord Dartmouth, the two most influential members of the ministry,
+informed him that they sincerely sought reconciliation, and that they
+were prepared to listen favorably, to any reasonable propositions he
+might offer. Lord Howe was the friend of Franklin and of America.
+These unexpected and joyful tidings affected Franklin so deeply, that
+he could not conceal the tears which rolled down his cheeks.
+
+Lord Howe then added that he was instructed to say, that the service
+he would thus render both England and America, would be of priceless
+value, and that though the ministers could not think of influencing
+him by any selfish motives, he might expect, in return, _any reward
+which it was in the power of government to bestow_. "This," said
+Franklin, "was what the French vulgarly called _spitting in the
+soup_."
+
+But again there was a meeting of Parliament. Again it became evident
+that the ministry would accede to no terms, which did not secure the
+entire subjugation of America. Lord Chatham made a renewed attempt to
+conciliate. His propositions were rejected with scorn. In the meantime
+Dr. Franklin had presented some Hints, drawn up in the most liberal
+spirit of compromise, but which still maintained the American
+principle, that the colonists could not be taxed at the pleasure of
+the court, without having any voice themselves in the amount which
+they were to pay.
+
+Soon after this, Mr. Barclay called upon Franklin in the name of the
+government, and after a long, and to Franklin, disgusting diplomatic
+harangue, ventured to say to him, that if he would only comply with
+the wishes of the ministry, he might expect almost any reward he could
+wish for. Even the imperturbable spirit of Franklin was roused. He
+replied,
+
+"The ministry, I am sure, would rather give me a place in a cart to
+Tyburn, than any other place whatever. I sincerely wish to be
+serviceable; and I need no other inducement that I might be so."
+
+In another interview, which soon followed, it appeared that the
+government refused to concede a single point which the Americans
+deemed essential. They refused to withdraw the troops; refused to
+allow the colonial governors to appoint the collectors of the customs;
+persisted in building fortresses to hold the people in subjection; and
+adhered to the claim of Parliament to legislate for the colonies.
+Franklin said,
+
+"While Parliament claims the power of altering our constitution at
+pleasure, there can be no agreement. We are rendered unsafe in every
+privilege, and are secure in nothing."
+
+Mr. Barclay insolently replied, "It would be well for the Americans to
+come to an agreement with the court of Great Britain. They ought not
+to forget how easy a thing it will be for the British men-of-war to
+lay all their seaport towns in ashes."
+
+"I grew warm," writes Franklin; "said that the chief part of my
+little property consisted of houses in those towns; that they might
+make bon-fires of them whenever they pleased; that the fear of losing
+them would never alter my resolution to resist to the last, such
+claims of Parliament; and that it behoved this country to take care
+what mischief it did us; for that sooner or later it would certainly
+be obliged to make good all damages, with interest."
+
+Still again these corrupt men, who are selling themselves and buying
+others, approached Franklin with attempts to bribe him. "They could
+not comprehend that any man could be above the reach of such
+influences. It was contemplated sending Lord Howe to America as a
+Commissioner. He applied to Franklin to go with him as friend,
+assistant or secretary.
+
+Lord Howe said to Franklin, that he could not think of undertaking
+the mission without him; that if he effected any thing valuable, it
+must be owing to the advice Franklin would afford him; and that he
+should make no scruple of giving him the full honor of it. He assured
+him that the ministry did not expect his assistance without a
+proper consideration; that they wished to make generous and ample
+appointments for those who aided them, and also would give them the
+promise of subsequent more ample rewards.
+
+"And," said he, with marked emphasis, "that the ministry may have an
+opportunity of showing their good disposition toward yourself, will
+you give me leave, Mr. Franklin, to procure for you, previously, some
+mark of it; suppose the payment here, of the arrears of your salary as
+agent for New England, which, I understand, they have stopped for some
+time past."
+
+It will be remembered that Lord Howe was sincerely the friend of
+America, and that he anxiously desired to see friendly relations
+restored. Franklin therefore restrained his displeasure, and
+courteously replied,
+
+"My Lord, I shall deem it a great honor to be, in any shape, joined
+with your lordship in so good a work. But if you hope service from any
+influence I may be supposed to have, drop all thoughts of procuring me
+any previous favors from ministers. My accepting them would destroy
+the very influence you propose to make use of. They would be
+considered as so many bribes to betray the interests of my country.
+Only let me see the propositions and I shall not hesitate for a
+moment."
+
+Repeated interviews ensued, between Franklin and both the friends and
+the enemies of the Americans. There were interminable conferences. But
+the court was implacable in its resolve, to maintain a supreme and
+exclusive control over the colonies. Every hour of Franklin's time was
+engrossed. Merchants and manufacturers, Tories and the opposition,
+lords temporal, and lords spiritual, all called upon him with their
+several plans. There were many Americans in London, including a large
+number of Quakers. These crowded the apartment of Franklin. The
+negotiations were terminated by a debate in the House of Lords, in
+which the Americans were assailed in the vilest language of insult and
+abuse which can be coined. Franklin was present. He writes,
+
+     "We were treated with the utmost contempt, as the lowest of
+     mankind, and almost of a different species from the English
+     of Britain. Particularly American honesty was abused by some
+     of the lords, who asserted that we were all knaves, and
+     wanted only, by this dispute, to avoid paying our debts."
+
+Franklin returned to his home, with feelings of indignation, which
+his calm spirit had rarely before experienced. He resolved no longer
+to have any thing to do with the hostile governing powers of England.
+He had loved the British empire. He felt proud of its renown, and that
+America was but part and parcel of its greatness. But there was no
+longer hope, that there could be any escape from the awful appeal to
+arms. Though that measure would be fraught with inconceivable woes for
+his countrymen, he was assured that they would never submit. They
+would now march to independence though the path led through scenes of
+conflagration, blood and unutterable woe. His experience placed him in
+advance of all his countrymen.
+
+Franklin immediately commenced packing his trunks. Astonishing, almost
+incredible as it may appear, the evidence seems conclusive that
+through all these trying scenes, Franklin was a cheerful, it is hardly
+too strong a word to use, a _jovial_ man. It has been well said, that
+to be angry is to punish one's self for the sins of another. Our
+philosopher had no idea of making himself unhappy, because British
+lords behaved like knaves. He continued to be one of the most
+entertaining of companions. A cloudless sun seemed to shine wherever
+he moved. He made witty speeches. He wrote the most amusing articles
+for the journals, and the invariable gayety of his mind caused his
+society to be eagerly sought for.
+
+One evening he attended quite a brilliant party at a nobleman's house,
+who was a friend to America. The conversation chanced to turn upon
+Esop's fables. It was said that that mine of illustration was
+exhausted. Franklin, after a moment's thought, remarked, that many new
+fables could be invented, as instructive as any of those of Esop, Gay,
+or La Fontaine. Can you think of one now, asked a lord. "I think so,"
+said Franklin, "if you will furnish me with pencil and paper." He
+immediately sat down, surrounded by the gay assembly, and wrote, as
+rapidly as his pencil could move,
+
+               "THE EAGLE AND THE CAT."
+
+     "Once upon a time an eagle, scaling round a farmer's barn,
+     and espying a hare, darted down upon him like a sunbeam,
+     seized him in his claws, and remounted with him into the
+     air. He soon found that he had a creature of more courage
+     and strength than the hare; for which he had mistaken a cat.
+     The snarling and scrambling of his prey were very
+     inconvenient. And what was worse, she had disengaged herself
+     from his talons, grasped his body with her four limbs, so as
+     to stop his breath, and seized fast hold of his throat, with
+     her teeth.
+
+     "'Pray,' said the eagle, 'let go your hold, and I will
+     release you.'
+
+     "'Very fine,' said the cat. 'But I have no fancy to fall
+     from this height, and to be crushed to death. You have taken
+     me up, and you shall stoop and let me down.'
+
+     "The eagle thought it necessary to stoop accordingly."
+
+This admirable fable was read to the company; and, as all were in
+sympathy with America, it was received with great applause. Little,
+however, did any of them then imagine, how invincible was the animal
+the British government was about to clutch in its talons, supposing it
+to be a defenseless hare.
+
+Franklin spent his last day in London with Dr. Priestly. The Doctor
+bears glowing testimony to his admirable character. Many thought Dr.
+Franklin heartless, since, in view of all the horrors of a civil war,
+his hilarity was never interrupted. Priestly, alluding to this charge
+against Franklin, says, that they spent the day looking over the
+American papers, and extracting from them passages to be published in
+England. "In reading them," he writes, "Franklin was frequently not
+able to proceed for the tears literally running down his cheeks." Upon
+his departure, he surrendered his agency to Arthur Lee. It was the
+21st of March, 1775, when Franklin embarked at Portsmouth, in a
+Pennsylvania packet.
+
+Franklin was apprehensive until the last moment, that he would not be
+permitted to depart; that the court, which had repeatedly denounced
+him as a traitor, would arrest him on some frivolous charge. On the
+voyage he wrote a minute narrative of his diplomatic career, occupying
+two hundred and fifty pages of foolscap. This important document was
+given to his son William Franklin, who was daily becoming a more
+inveterate Tory, endeavoring to ingratiate himself into favor with the
+court, from which he had received the appointment of governor.
+
+Franklin also sent a copy to Mr. Jefferson, perhaps apprehensive that
+his son might not deal fairly with a document which so terribly
+condemned the British government. The Governor subsequently published
+the narrative. But there is reason to suppose that he suppressed those
+passages, which revealed most clearly the atrocious conduct of the
+British cabinet. Jefferson wrote some years later, alluding to this
+document:
+
+     "I remember that Lord North's answers were dry, unyielding,
+     in the spirit of unconditional submission, and betrayed an
+     absolute indifference to the occurrence of a rupture. And he
+     said to the mediators distinctly, at last, that _a rebellion
+     was not to be deprecated on the part of Great Britain; that
+     the confiscations it would produce, would provide for many
+     of their friends_."
+
+The idea that the feeble Americans, scattered along a coast more than
+a thousand miles in extent, without a fortress, a vessel of war, or a
+regiment of regular troops, could withstand the fleets and armies of
+Great Britain, was never entertained for a moment. Indeed, as we now
+contemplate the fearful odds, it causes one's heart to throb, and we
+cannot but be amazed at the courage which our patriotic fathers
+displayed.
+
+It was a common boast in England, that one regiment of British
+regulars could march from Boston to Charleston, and sweep all
+opposition before them. A band of ten wolves can put a flock of ten
+thousand sheep to flight. It was quite a pleasant thought, to the
+haughty court, that one or two ships of war, and two or three
+regiments could be sent across the Atlantic, seize and hang
+Washington, Franklin, Adams, Jefferson, and others of our leading
+patriots, and confiscate the property of hundreds of others, for the
+enrichment of the favorites of the crown.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"There will be no fighting;" these deluded men said, "it will be a
+mere holiday excursion. The turbulent and foolhardy Americans will be
+brought to their senses, and, like whipped spaniels, will fawn upon
+the hand which has chastised them."
+
+The voyage across the Atlantic occupied six weeks. In the evening
+twilight of the 5th of May, the ship dropped anchor in the Delaware,
+opposite Philadelphia. Franklin landed, and walked alone through the
+darkened streets towards his home. It is difficult to imagine the
+emotions with which his heart must have been agitated in that hour.
+Ten years had elapsed since he left his home. In the meantime his wife
+had reared another dwelling, in Market street, and there she had died.
+He had left his daughter Sarah, a child of twelve years. He was to
+find her a matron surrounded by her babes.
+
+Cordially Franklin was welcomed home. The whole country resounded
+with the praises he so richly merited. The morning after his arrival
+he was unanimously chosen by the Assembly, then in session, as a
+member of the Continental Congress, which was to meet on the 10th
+of the month, in that city. Sixteen days before Franklin's arrival
+the memorable conflicts of Lexington and Concord had taken place.
+Probably never were men more astounded, than were the members of
+the British cabinet, in learning that the British regulars had been
+defeated, routed and put to precipitate flight by American farmers
+with their fowling-pieces. In this heroic conflict, whose echoes
+reverberated around the world, the Americans lost in killed and
+wounded eighty-three. The British lost two hundred and seventy-three.
+Franklin wrote to his friend Edmund Burke,
+
+     "Gen. Gage's troops made a most vigorous retreat--twenty
+     miles in three hours--scarce to be paralleled in history.
+     The feeble Americans, who pelted them all the way, could
+     scarce keep up with them."
+
+On the 10th of May Congress met. There were still two parties, one in
+favor of renewed attempts at conciliation, before drawing the sword
+and throwing away the scabbard; the other felt that the powers of
+conciliation were exhausted, and that nothing now remained, but the
+arbitrament of war.
+
+George Washington was chosen, by the Assembly, Commander-in-Chief of
+the American forces. On the 17th of June the battle of Bunker Hill was
+fought. Mr. John Dickinson trembled in view of his great wealth. His
+wife entreated him to withdraw from the conflict. Piteously she urged
+the considerations, that he would be hung, his wife left a widow, and
+his children beggared and rendered infamous. He succeeded in passing a
+resolution in favor of a second petition to the king, which he drew
+up, and which the Tory Governor Richard Penn was to present. John
+Adams, who was weary of having his country continue in the attitude of
+a suppliant kneeling at the foot of the throne, opposed this petition,
+as a "measure of imbecility."
+
+One of the first acts of Congress was to organize a system for the
+safe conveyance of letters, which could no longer be trusted in the
+hands of the agents of the British Court. Franklin was appointed
+Postmaster General. He had attained the age of sixty nine years.
+Notwithstanding his gravity of character and his great wisdom, he had
+unfortunately become an inveterate joker. He could not refrain from
+inserting, even in his most serious and earnest documents, some
+witticism, which men of the intensity of soul of John Adams and Thomas
+Jefferson, felt to be out of place. Still the wisdom of his counsels
+invariably commanded respect. Upon learning of the burning of
+Charleston, he wrote to Dr. Priestly,[25]
+
+     "England has begun to burn our seaport towns, secure, I
+     suppose, that we shall never be able to return the outrage
+     in kind. She may, doubtless, destroy them all. But if she
+     wishes to recover our commerce, are these the probable
+     means? She must certainly be distracted; for no tradesman,
+     out of Bedlam, ever thought of increasing the number of his
+     customers by knocking them in the head; or of enabling them
+     to pay their debts by burning their houses."
+
+[Footnote 25: "And here perhaps we have one of the reasons why Dr.
+Franklin, who was universally confessed to be the ablest pen in
+America, was not always asked to write the great documents of the
+Revolution. He would have put a joke into the Declaration of
+Independence, if it had fallen to him to write it. At this time he was
+a humorist of fifty years standing, and had become fixed in the habit
+of illustrating great truths by grotesque and familiar similes. His
+jokes, the circulating medium of Congress, were as helpful to the
+cause, as Jay's conscience or Adams' fire; they restored good humor,
+and relieved the tedium of delay, but were out of place in formal,
+exact and authoritative papers."--_Parton's Franklin_, Vol. 2. p. 85.]
+
+One of Franklin's jokes, in Congress, is very characteristic of the
+man. It was urged that the Episcopal clergy should be directed to
+refrain from praying for the king. Franklin quenched the injudicious
+movement with a witticism.
+
+"The measure is quite unnecessary," said he. "The Episcopal clergy, to
+my certain knowledge, have been constantly praying, these twenty
+years, that 'God would give to the king and council wisdom.' And we
+all know that not the least notice has been taken of that prayer. So
+it's plain that those gentlemen have no interest in the court of
+Heaven."
+
+If we sow the wind we must reap the whirlwind. Terrible was the
+mortification and mental suffering which Franklin endured from the
+governor of New Jersey. He had lived down the prejudices connected
+with his birth and had become an influential and popular man. He,
+with increasing tenacity adhered to the British Government, and became
+even the malignant opponent of the Americans. He pronounced the idea
+of their successfully resisting the power of Great Britain, as utterly
+absurd. His measures became so atrocious, as to excite the indignation
+of the people of New Jersey. The Assembly finally arrested him and
+sent him, under guard, to Burlington. As he continued contumacious and
+menacing, Congress ordered him to be removed to Connecticut. The
+Constitutional Gazette of July 13th, 1776, contains the following
+allusion to this affair:
+
+     "Day before yesterday Governor Franklin, of New Jersey,
+     passed through Hartford, on his way to Governor Trumbull.
+     Mr. Franklin is a noted Tory and ministerial tool, and has
+     been exceedingly busy in perplexing the cause of liberty,
+     and in serving the designs of the British king and his
+     ministers.
+
+     "He is son to Dr. Benjamin Franklin, the genius of the day,
+     and the great patron of American liberty. If his excellency
+     escapes the vengeance of the people, due to the enormity of
+     his crimes, his redemption will flow, not from his personal
+     merit, but from the high esteem and veneration which the
+     country entertains for his honored father."
+
+His family was left in deep affliction. Franklin sent them both
+sympathy and money. The captive governor resided at Middletown on
+parole. Here the infatuated man gathered around him a band of Tories,
+many of whom were rich, and held convivial meetings exceedingly
+exasperating, when British armies were threatening the people with
+conflagration and carnage.
+
+Inflamed with wine, these bacchanals sang treasonable songs, the whole
+company joining in chorus, with uproar which drew large groups around
+the house. The Tories professed utterly to despise the patriots, and
+doubted not that their leaders would all soon be hung. One midnight
+the governor, with his boon companions, having indulged in the wildest
+of their orgies, sallied into the streets, with such uproar as to make
+night hideous. The watch found it needful to interfere. The drunken
+governor called one of them a damned villain and threatened to flog
+him. A report of these proceedings was sent to Congress.
+
+Soon after it was ascertained that he was an active agent for the
+British ministry. He was then confined in Litchfield jail, and
+deprived of pen, ink and paper. For two years he suffered this
+well-merited imprisonment. Mrs. governor Franklin never saw her
+husband again. Grief-stricken, she fell sick, and died in New York in
+July, 1778.
+
+After an imprisonment of two years and four months, William Franklin
+was exchanged, and he took refuge within the British lines at New
+York. He received a pension from the British government, lived
+hilariously, and devoted his energies to a vigorous prosecution of the
+war against his countrymen. Franklin felt deeply this defection of his
+son. After the lapse of nine years he wrote,
+
+     "Nothing has ever affected me with such keen sensations, as
+     to find myself deserted in my old age by my only son; and
+     not only deserted but to find him taking up arms in a cause
+     wherein my good fame, fortune and life were at stake."[26]
+
+[Footnote 26: Upon the overthrow of the royalist cause, Governor
+Franklin with other Tories went to England. Government gave him
+outright eighteen hundred pounds, and settled upon him a pension of
+eight hundred pounds a year. After the lapse of ten years he sought
+reconciliation with his father. He lived to the age of eighty-two and
+died in London, in 1813.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+_Progress of the War, both of Diplomacy and the Sword._
+
+     Letter of Henry Laurens--Franklin visits the army before
+     Boston--Letter of Mrs. Adams--Burning of
+     Falmouth--Franklin's journey to Montreal--The Declaration of
+     Independence--Anecdote of the Hatter--Framing the
+     Constitution--Lord Howe's Declaration--Franklin's reply--The
+     Conference--Encouraging letter from France--Franklin's
+     embassy to France--The two parties in France--The
+     voyage--The reception in France.
+
+
+The spirit which, almost to that hour, had animated the people of
+America,--the most illustrious statesmen and common people, was
+attachment to Old England. Their intense desire to maintain friendly
+relations with the mother country, their "home," their revered and
+beloved home, may be inferred from the following extract from a
+letter, which one of the noblest of South Carolinians, Hon. Henry
+Laurens, wrote to his son John. It bears the date of 1776. He writes,
+alluding to the separation from England, then beginning to be
+contemplated:
+
+     "I can not rejoice in the downfall of an old friend, of a
+     parent from whose nurturing breasts I have drawn my support
+     and strength. Every evil which befalls old England grieves
+     me. Would to God she had listened, in time, to the cries of
+     her children. If my own interests, if my own rights alone
+     had been concerned, I would most freely have given the whole
+     to the demands and disposal of her ministers, in preference
+     to a separation. But the rights of posterity were involved
+     in the question. I happened to stand as one of their
+     representatives, and dared not betray their trust."
+
+Washington, Adams, Jay, would have made almost any conceivable
+sacrifice of their personal interest, if they could have averted the
+calamity of a separation from the home of their ancestors. But the
+conduct of the British Cabinet was not only despotic, in the highest
+degree, but it was insolent and contemptuous beyond all endurance. It
+seemed to be generally assumed that a man, if born on the majestic
+continent of North America, instead of being born on their little
+island, must be an inferior being. They regarded Americans as
+slave-holders were accustomed to regard the negro. Almost every
+interview resolved itself into an insult. Courteous intercourse was
+impossible. Affection gave place to detestation.
+
+On the 13th of September, 1775, Congress assembled in Philadelphia.
+Lexington, Bunker Hill, and other hostile acts of our implacable foes,
+had thrown the whole country into the most intense agitation. Military
+companies were every where being organized. Musket manufactories and
+powder mills were reared. Ladies were busy scraping lint, and
+preparing bandages. And what was the cause of all this commotion,
+which converted America, for seven years, into an Aceldama of blood
+and woe?
+
+It was that haughty, insolent men in England, claimed the right to
+impose taxes, to whatever amount they pleased, upon their brother men
+in America. They did not blush to say, "It is the prerogative of us
+Englishmen to demand of you Americans such sums of money as we want.
+Unless, like obsequious slaves, you pay the money, without murmuring,
+we will burn your cities and deluge your whole land in blood."
+
+Washington was assembling quite an army of American troops around
+Boston, holding the foe in close siege there. Franklin was sent, by
+Congress, as one of a committee of three, to confer with Washington
+upon raising and supplying the American army. Amidst all these
+terrific excitements and perils this wonderful man could not refrain
+from giving expression to his sense of the ludicrous. The day before
+leaving Philadelphia, he wrote to Dr. Priestly the following humorous
+summary of the result of the British operations thus far.
+
+     "Britain at the expense of three millions, has killed one
+     hundred and fifty Yankees this campaign, which is twenty
+     thousand pounds a head. And, at Bunker Hill, she gained a
+     mile of ground, half of which she lost again by our taking
+     post on Ploughed Hill. During the same time sixty thousand
+     children have been born in America. From these data, Dr.
+     Price's mathematical head will easily calculate the time and
+     expense necessary to kill us all, and conquer our whole
+     territory."
+
+It required a journey of thirteen days, for the Commissioners to pass
+from Philadelphia to Cambridge. On the 4th of October they reached the
+camp. Mrs. John Adams, who was equal to her husband in patriotism, in
+intellectual ability and in self-denial, writes,
+
+     "I had the pleasure of dining with Dr. Franklin, and of
+     admiring him whose character, from infancy, I had been
+     taught to venerate. I found him social, but not talkative;
+     and when he spoke, something useful dropped from his tongue.
+     He was grave, yet pleasant and affable. You know I make some
+     pretensions to physiognomy, and I thought that I could read
+     in his countenance, the virtues of his heart; and with that
+     is blended every virtue of a Christian."
+
+The conference lasted four days, and resulted in the adoption of very
+important measures. While in the camp, news came of the burning of
+Portland, then Falmouth. It was a deed which would have disgraced
+American savages. The town was entirely defenceless. It held out no
+menace whatever to the foe. The cold blasts of a Maine winter were at
+hand. A British man-of-war entered the harbor, and giving but a few
+hours notice, that the sick and the dying might be removed, and that
+the women and children might escape from shot and shell, to the frozen
+fields, one hundred and thirty humble, peaceful homes were laid in
+ashes. The cruel flames consumed nearly all their household furniture,
+their clothing and the frugal food they had laid in store for their
+long and dreary winter. A few houses escaped the shells. Marines were
+landed to apply the torch to them, that the destruction might be
+complete.
+
+There were several vessels in the harbor. The freezing, starving,
+homeless wives and daughters who had not strength to toil through the
+wilderness to seek distant cabins of refuge, might perhaps escape in
+them. To prevent this they were burned to the water's edge. It was an
+infernal deed. It struck to the very heart of America. Even now, after
+a lapse of one hundred years, no American can read an account of this
+outrage without the flushed cheek and the moistened eye which
+indignation creates. Mrs. Adams wrote,
+
+     "I could not join to-day in the petitions of our worthy
+     pastor for a reconciliation between our no longer parent,
+     but tyrant state, and these colonies. Let us separate. They
+     are no longer worthy to be our brethren. Let us renounce
+     them, and instead of supplications, as formerly for their
+     prosperity and happiness, let us beseech the Almighty to
+     blast their councils and bring to naught all their devices."
+
+Though Franklin was the sweetest tempered of men, he returned to
+Philadelphia with his spirit greatly embittered against the demoniac
+foes of his country. For some time no jokes escaped his lips or pen.
+In December, Arnold, then a patriot and a brave soldier, had made an
+unsuccessful attack upon Quebec. He had retired to Montreal. Franklin
+was again appointed one of these commissioners, to visit Arnold and
+advise respecting Canadian affairs.
+
+Most of the Canadians were Catholics. One of the commissioners was
+Charles Carroll of Carollton. He had a brother John, a Catholic
+priest, a man of high culture, of irreproachable character and a
+sincere patriot. He was perfectly familiar with the French language.
+By the solicitation of Congress he was induced to accompany his
+brother on this mission. It was hoped that he would be able to exert
+a powerful influence over the Canadian clergy. Franklin and John
+Carroll became intimate and loving friends. It speaks well for both,
+that the free-thinking philosopher, and the Catholic priest could so
+recognize each other's virtues, as to forget their speculative
+differences in mutual regard.
+
+There was before the commissioners, a very laborious journey of five
+hundred miles, much of it leading through an almost unexplored
+wilderness. It shows great zeal in Franklin, that at the age of
+seventy, he was willing to encounter such exposure.
+
+Late in March, the commissioners left Philadelphia. In two days they
+reached New York. They found the place deserted of its inhabitants. It
+was held but by a few soldiers, as it was hourly expected that the
+British, from their fleet and batteries, would open upon it a terrific
+bombardment. How little can we imagine the sufferings which must
+ensue, when thousands of families are driven, in terror, from their
+homes, from all their means of support, to go they know not where, and
+to live they know not how.
+
+A few sad days were passed in the ruined town, and on the 2d of April
+the party embarked, at five in the afternoon, in a packet for Albany.
+At seven o'clock in the morning of the 4th day, after an eventful
+voyage, in which they narrowly escaped shipwreck from a gale in the
+Highlands, they landed at Albany, where they were hospitably
+entertained by General Schuyler.
+
+After a brief rest, on the 9th, they set out for Saratoga, which was
+distant about thirty-two miles. They were conveyed over an exceedingly
+rough road of rocks, and corduroy and mire, in a large, heavy, country
+wagon. From this place, Franklin wrote,
+
+     "I begin to apprehend that I have undertaken a fatigue
+     which, at my time of life, may prove too much for me."
+
+After a short tarry at the country seat of General Sullivan at
+Saratoga, the party moved on toward Lake George. In those northern
+latitudes the ground was still covered with snow, and the lake was
+filled with floating ice. Two days of very exhausting travel brought
+them to the southern shore of the beautiful but then dreary lake. Here
+they took a large boat, thirty-six feet long, and eight broad. It was
+what was called a bateau, which was flat-bottomed, and was but one
+foot in depth. There was one mast, and a blanket sail, which was
+available when the wind was directly aft. There was no cabin. A mere
+awning sheltered partially from wind and rain.
+
+Thus they crept across the lake, through masses of ice, a distance of
+thirty-six miles, in thirty-six hours. There was a neck of land, four
+miles in breadth, which separated Lake George from Lake Champlain. The
+heavy boat, placed on wheels, was dragged across by six yoke of oxen.
+A delay of five days was thus caused, before they were ready to embark
+on the latter lake. The navigation of this small sheet of water,
+surrounded by the primeval forest, and with scarcely the cabin of a
+white man to be seen, must have been romantic indeed.
+
+They sailed when the wind favored, and rowed when it was adverse. At
+night they ran ashore, built their camp fire, which illumined lake and
+forest, boiled their coffee, cooked their viands, and, some under the
+awning, and some under the shelter of a hastily constructed camp,
+slept sweetly. The ice greatly impeded their progress. In three and a
+half days, they reached St. John's, near the upper end of the lake.
+The toilsome journey of another day, brought them to Montreal. None of
+the commissioners were accustomed to thus roughing it. All were
+greatly exhausted.
+
+A council of war was convened. Canada was clearly lost to the
+Americans. It was at once decided that nothing remained but to
+withdraw the troops. Early in June, Franklin reached Philadelphia,
+from his toilsome journey. He had been absent about ten weeks. The
+doom of the proprietary government over Pennsylvania, was now sealed.
+Congress had voted that all authority derived from the king of
+England, was extinct. A conference of delegates was appointed to
+organize a new government for the province. Franklin was, of course,
+one of these delegates. A committee had been appointed, by Congress,
+to draw up a Declaration of Independence. The committee consisted of
+Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, Livingston, and Sherman.
+
+The immortal document, as all the world knows, came from the pen of
+Jefferson. It was offered to Congress for acceptance. Many frivolous
+objections were, of course, presented. One man thought this phrase a
+little too severe. Another thought that a little too lenient. Franklin
+sat by the side of Jefferson, as the admirable document was subjected
+to this assailment. Turning to him he said, in one of the most
+characteristic and popular of all his utterances,
+
+"When I was a journeyman printer, one of my companions, an apprenticed
+hatter, was about to open a shop for himself. His first concern was to
+have a handsome sign-board, with a proper inscription. He composed it
+in these words,
+
+"John Thompson, Hatter, makes and sells Hats for ready Money."
+
+But he thought he would submit it to his friends for their amendments.
+The first he showed it to, thought the word _hatter_ tautologous;
+because followed by the words _makes hats_, which showed that he was a
+hatter. It was struck out. The next observed that the word _makes_,
+might as well be omitted, because his customers would not care who
+made the hats; if good, and to their mind, they would buy, by
+whomsoever made. He struck it out. A third said he thought the words,
+for _ready money_, were useless; as it was not the custom of the place
+to sell on credit. Every one who purchased, expected to pay. They were
+parted with. The inscription now stood,
+
+"John Thompson sells hats."
+
+"_Sells_ hats," says his next friend. "Why nobody will expect you to
+give them away. What then is the use of that word?" It was stricken
+out, and _hats_ followed, the rather as there was one painted on the
+board. So his inscription was reduced ultimately to _John Thompson_,
+with the figure of a hat subjoined."
+
+It will be remembered the readiness with which Dr. Franklin, on the
+spur of the moment, threw off the admirable fable of the Eagle and the
+Hare. It is altogether probable that, in the inexhaustible resources
+of his genius, he improvised this anecdote to meet the exigencies of
+the occasion.
+
+When the Hessian troops, whom England had hired of a German prince,
+arrived, intelligent men in this country pitied rather than blamed
+those simple hearted peasants, who had no animosity whatever, against
+the Americans. They had been compelled, by their feudal lord, who was
+really their slave master, to leave their lowly homes on the Rhine, to
+unite with English regulars and painted savages, in burning the homes
+and butchering the people struggling for existence in the wilderness
+of the New World.
+
+Again the all availing pen of Franklin was called into requisition. By
+direction of Congress he drew up a friendly address to these
+unfortunate men, offering every German, who would abandon the
+ignominious service to which his prince had sold him, a tract of rich
+land sufficient for an ample farm. The address was translated into
+German. Various were the devices adopted, to give the document
+circulation in the Hessian camp. It doubtless exerted a powerful
+influence, in disarming these highly disciplined troops of all
+animosity. The effect was perhaps seen in the spectacle witnessed a
+few weeks afterwards, when nine hundred of these soldiers were led
+through the streets of Philadelphia, prisoners of war. It is not
+improbable that many of them were more than willing to throw down
+their arms.
+
+On the 20th of July, 1776, Franklin was chosen by the Convention,
+one of nine delegates to represent Pennsylvania in the national
+Congress. One of the great difficulties to be surmounted, in a
+union of the States, was to give the great States, like New York and
+Pennsylvania, their own preponderance in the confederacy, while the
+minor states, like New Jersey and Delaware, should not be shorn of
+their influence. The difficulty was finally obviated by the present
+admirable arrangement, by which each State, great or small, has two
+representatives in the Senate, while their representation in the
+House depends upon the number of the population.
+
+Franklin excelled in the art of "putting things." He silenced the
+demand of the smaller States, to be, in all respects, on an equality
+with the larger, by saying,
+
+"Let the smaller colonies give equal money and men, and then have an
+equal vote. But if they have an equal vote, without bearing equal
+burdens, a confederation, upon such iniquitous principles, will never
+last long."
+
+The convention, to form a constitution for the State of Pennsylvania,
+met at Philadelphia on the 16th of July, 1776. Franklin was
+unanimously chosen President. No pen can describe the intensity of his
+labors. All appreciated his consummate wisdom, and yielded readily to
+his suggestions. Troops were hurrying to and fro. One hundred and
+twenty British war vessels were in New York harbor. No one knew upon
+what seaport the thunderbolts of this formidable armament would be
+hurled. The Americans had been defeated on Long Island in August,
+1776, and had almost miraculously escaped with their field pieces and
+stores, across the East River to New York. This brilliant retreat was
+deemed, by the Americans, almost equivalent to a victory.
+
+Lord Howe, the old friend of Franklin and a humane and respected
+Englishman, who was sincerely desirous of peace with the Colonies,
+was appointed Admiral of the king's naval forces. He accepted
+the appointment, with the hope that, by the aid of Franklin,
+reconciliation might be effected. Still he was an Englishman and could
+not conceive that Americans had any rights which the English
+government was bound to respect. The degree of his infatuation may be
+inferred from the fact that, as soon as he reached our shores, he
+published a Declaration, which he circulated far and wide, stating
+that if the Americans would only give up the conflict and return to
+implicit submission, the British Government would forgive their sins,
+pardon the guilty ones, with a few exceptions, and receive them again
+to favor. The weak man seemed really to think, that this was an
+extraordinary act of clemency on the part of the English Court.
+
+The reply, which Franklin drew up, to the Declaration, was grand. And
+it was the more grand when we reflect that it was addressed to a man
+who was supported by an army, of we know not how many thousand British
+regulars, and by a fleet of one hundred and twenty war vessels, many
+of which were of gigantic armament. Admiral Howe had written a
+courteous private letter to Dr. Franklin, in which he enclosed the
+Declaration. Congress gave Franklin permission to reply. He wrote,
+
+     "My lord; the official despatches to which you refer me,
+     contain nothing more than offers of pardon upon submission.
+     Directing pardon to be offered to the colonies, who are the
+     very parties injured, expresses indeed that opinion of our
+     ignorance, baseness, and insensibility which your uninformed
+     and proud nation has long been pleased to entertain of us.
+     It is impossible that we should think of submission to a
+     government that has, with the most wanton barbarity and
+     cruelty, burnt our defenseless towns, in the midst of
+     winter, excited the savages to massacre our farmers, and
+     our slaves to murder their masters, and is, even now,
+     bringing foreign mercenaries to deluge our settlements with
+     blood."
+
+I have not space to copy the remainder of this admirable letter. It
+was delivered to Lord Howe, on board his flag ship in New York harbor,
+ten days after its date. As he read it his countenance expressed
+surprise, and almost his only remark was, "My old friend has expressed
+himself very warmly."
+
+A few weeks later this good natured but weak man paroled General
+Sullivan, who was a prisoner of war, and sent him to Philadelphia,
+with a message to Congress which Lord Howe cautiously declined to put
+upon paper. General Sullivan reduced the message to writing and
+presented it to Congress. It was in substance as follows:
+
+"The government of England cannot admit that Congress is a legitimate
+body, to be recognized by any diplomatic relations whatever. It is but
+a tumultous assembly of men who have treasonably conspired against
+their lawful sovereign. Still the government is willing that Lord Howe
+should confer with some of the members of congress, as private
+gentlemen, to see if some terms of accommodation cannot be arranged."
+
+After much and earnest discussion, in which a great diversity of
+opinion prevailed, it was voted that General Sullivan should inform
+Admiral Howe, that a committee of three would be sent to ascertain
+whether he "has any authority to treat with persons, _authorized by
+Congress_ for that purpose."
+
+Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Edward Rutledge composed this
+committee. An antique house, nearly a hundred years old, formerly the
+abode of wealth and splendor, which stood in a green lawn, but a few
+rods from the beach on the western shore of Staten Island, was chosen
+as the place for the conference. A two days' journey conveyed the
+committee to Amboy, opposite the house. Adams traveled on horseback:
+Franklin and Rutledge in a two wheel chaise.
+
+Admiral Howe sent a boat, under the protection of a flag of truce,
+with an officer, who stated that he was to be left behind as a hostage
+for their safe return. Promptly they declined manifesting any such
+distrust of the honor of Admiral Howe, and took the hostage back in
+the boat with them. The barge, propelled by lusty rowers, soon reached
+the Staten Island shore. A large apartment of the old stone house had
+been richly decorated with moss and branches in honor of the occasion.
+
+A regiment of Hessians was posted at that spot. The colonel drew them
+up in two lines and through this lane of soldiers the commissioners
+advanced from the beach to the house. When Admiral Howe saw that the
+officer he had sent as a hostage had been returned, he said,
+
+"Gentlemen, you pay me a high compliment."
+
+Cordially the kind-hearted admiral received his guests, and invited
+them to an ample collation of cold ham, tongues, mutton and wine. Mr.
+Henry Strachey, secretary of Lord Howe, wrote a very full report of
+the interview, which accords entirely with the narrative which John
+Adams presented to Congress. In as sincere and friendly words as human
+lips could pronounce, the Admiral assured the American gentlemen of
+his earnest desire to promote reconciliation between the colonists and
+the mother country. He alluded to the fact that in England he had been
+regarded as the friend of America, and to the honor Massachusetts had
+conferred upon his family by rearing a monument to his brother, who
+had fallen at Ticonderoga. Franklin well knew that Howe was regarded
+as the friend of America.
+
+"I assure you, gentlemen," said Lord Howe, "that I esteem that honor
+to my family, above all things in this world. Such is my gratitude and
+affection to this country, on that account, that I feel for America as
+for a brother. And if America should fall, I should feel and lament it
+like the loss of a brother." The reply of Franklin to these sincere
+words, seems a little discourteous. Assuming an air of great
+indifference and confidence, as though the fall of America was an idea
+not to be thought of, he bowed, and with one of his blandest smiles
+said, "I assure you, my lord, that we will do everything in our power
+to save your lordship from that mortification."
+
+The admiral was feeling too deeply for jokes. He was wounded by the
+rebuke apparently contained in the reply of his old friend. But it
+must not be forgotten that Franklin, the sweetest tempered of men, had
+not yet recovered from the indignation caused by the barbarities
+inflicted by the British government upon the families of Falmouth.
+Every day was bringing tidings of the atrocities which England,
+through its savage allies, was perpetrating on the frontiers, burning
+the cabins of lonely farmers, and tomahawking and scalping women and
+children. And he was constrained to look upon Lord Howe as the agent
+of that government, commissioned to bear to the patriots of America
+only the insulting messages, that the king and his ministers would
+graciously pardon them the crime of attempting to resist their
+despotism, if they would ask forgiveness, and in future submit
+uncomplainingly to the requirements of the crown.
+
+Thus, while the kind-hearted admiral, with a bosom glowing with
+brotherly sympathy, was acting upon the assumption that the Americans
+should cherish undying emotions of gratitude to the king, that he was
+so ready to forgive their disobedience to his commands, Franklin and
+his companions, found it difficult to restrain their emotions of
+indignation, in view of the truly diabolical course pursued by the
+British government. The court, in their judgment, merited the
+execrations not only of Americans but of all humanity.
+
+Lord Howe very emphatically wished the commissioners to understand
+that he met them merely as private individuals, and that he could not,
+in the slightest degree, recognize any authority in Congress. Franklin
+coldly replied,
+
+"Your lordship may consider us in any view you may think proper. We,
+on our part, are at liberty to consider ourselves in our real
+character."
+
+John Adams replied with warmth, characteristic of his impetuous
+nature, "Your lordship may consider _me_ in what light you please.
+Indeed I should be willing to consider myself, for a few moments, in
+any character which would be agreeable to your lordship, _except that
+of a British subject_."
+
+As the conversation was continued, Franklin said, "We have been
+deputed, by Congress, simply to inquire of your lordship what
+proposition you have to offer _for the consideration of Congress_.
+British troops have ravaged our country and burnt our towns. We cannot
+again be happy under the government of Great Britain. All former
+attachments are obliterated. America can never return to the
+domination of Great Britain."
+
+Mr. Adams added, "My lord, it is not in our power to treat otherwise
+than as _independent states_. For my part, I avow my determination
+never to depart from the idea of _independency_."
+
+Mr Rutledge gave emphasis to these decisive words by saying, "With
+regard to the people consenting to come again under the English
+government, _it is impossible_. I can answer for South Carolina. The
+royal government there was very oppressive. At last we took the
+government into our own hands. The people are now settled, and happy,
+under that government. They would not now return to the king's
+government even if Congress should desire it."
+
+Here the conference ended, by Lord Howe's stating, that, as they
+insisted upon _independence_, no accommodation was possible. Lord Howe
+courteously accompanied the American gentlemen to the barge, and they
+were rowed over to the New Jersey shore. In the report they made to
+Congress they stated, that the commission of Lord Howe only conferred
+upon him authority to grant pardon to the Americans, with a few
+exceptions, upon their entire submission to the king.
+
+It required, in those days, a long time to cross the Atlantic. Seldom
+could an answer be obtained to a letter in less than four or five
+months. To the usual delays and perils attached to the navigation of
+that stormy sea, there was now to be added the danger of capture from
+the swarm of British cruisers. Congress had several agents on the
+continent. But months passed away, during which no letters were
+received from them. This painful suspense was relieved, in September,
+1776, by a long letter to Dr. Franklin, from a French gentleman, Dr.
+Dubourg. He was one of the prominent philosophers of Paris, and, by
+the request of Count du Buffon, had translated into French, Franklin's
+treatise upon electricity.
+
+This letter was very cautiously written. It covered many sheets of
+paper. The all important substance of the letter was almost concealed
+from view by the mass of verbiage in which it was enveloped. But a
+careful reading indicated that the French ministry and the nation were
+in sympathy with the Americans; that while the ministry wished to
+avoid war with England they would gladly, if it could be done
+secretly, send the Americans money and powder, cannon and muskets, and
+that many French generals of note were eager to join the American
+army, and confer upon it the benefit of their experience.
+
+This news sent a thrill of joy through hearts which recent reverses
+had rendered somewhat desponding. It was decided immediately to send
+an embassy of highest character to France. Three were to be chosen by
+ballot. On the first ballot Dr. Franklin was unanimously elected. He
+was seventy years old. And yet probably there was not another man in
+America so well qualified to fill that difficult, delicate and
+responsible post. Franklin, in the saloons of diplomacy, was fully the
+peer of Washington on the field of war. When the result of the ballot
+was announced Franklin turned to Dr. Rush, who was at his side, and
+said,
+
+"I am old and good for nothing. But as the store-keepers say of their
+remnants of cloth, 'I am but a fag end, and you may have me for what
+you please.'"
+
+Thomas Jefferson, then thirty-three years of age, and as pure a
+patriot as ever lived, was next chosen. He was already renowned in
+France as the writer of the Declaration of Independence. Silas Deane,
+a native of Connecticut, and a graduate of Yale, then one of the
+agents in Europe, was the third.
+
+It required no little courage to cross the ocean, swept by the fleets
+of Great Britain. Had Franklin or Jefferson fallen into the hands of
+the British government, it is certain that they would have suffered
+severe imprisonment; it is by no means improbable that they would have
+been promptly hung as traitors. It was a noble sacrifice for country
+which led Franklin, having numbered his three-score years and ten, to
+incur these perils.[27]
+
+[Footnote 27: In the year 1780, Mr. Henry Laurens, formerly President
+of Congress, was sent as ambassador to Holland. The ship was captured
+off Newfoundland, after a chase of five hours. The unfortunate man was
+thrown into the Tower, where he was imprisoned fifteen months, "where"
+he wrote to Mr. Burke, "I suffered under a degree of rigor, almost if
+not altogether unexampled in modern British history."]
+
+Jefferson was compelled to decline the mission, as his wife, whom he
+loved with devotion rarely equalled, and perhaps never surpassed, was
+sick and dying. Arthur Lee, then in Europe, was elected in his stead.
+He was a querulous, ill-natured man, ever in a broil. A more
+unsuitable man for the office could scarcely have been found.
+
+There were two parties in France who favored the Americans. One
+consisted of enthusiastic young men, who were enamored with the idea
+of republican liberty. They were weary of Bourbon despotism. The
+character of Louis XV., as vile a king as ever sat upon a throne, was
+loathsome to them. They had read Jefferson's "Declaration," with
+delight; and had engraven its immortal principles upon their hearts.
+The Marquis de Lafayette was perhaps the most prominent member of this
+party.
+
+France hated England. That haughty government had long been the most
+unpopular on the globe. England had made great conquests from France,
+and was rich, intelligent and powerful beyond any other nation.
+Prosperity had given her arrogance, and she had placed her heel upon
+her humiliated neighbors. There was not a court in Europe which would
+not have rejoiced to see England humbled. The despotic court of
+France, and the most haughty nobles, were ready to encounter any
+perils which held out a reasonable hope that England might be
+weakened. Thus the sympathies of all France were united in favor of
+America.
+
+And now the hour had come. By aiding the Americans, who had boldly
+declared their independence, they might not only deprive England of
+those colonies whose trade was already invaluable to England, and
+which were rapidly increasing in population, wealth and power, but
+also they might awaken such gratitude in the bosoms of Americans, that
+the trade of the new nation would be mainly transferred to France.
+
+Thus the court and the nobles, intent upon this object, did not
+hesitate to aid in the establishment of those principles of liberty,
+fraternity and equality in America, which eventually whelmed in ruin
+the palaces and the castles of France.
+
+It was deemed important to conceal, as long as possible, from the
+British government the sympathy and aid which France was about to
+manifest for the Americans. Arthur Lee reported that an agent of the
+French government had promised to send from Holland, two thousand
+pounds worth of military stores. They were to be forwarded to one of
+the French West India islands, ostensibly for the service of those
+islands. The governor was, however, instructed to surrender them to a
+secret agent of the American Congress. The plan failed. I have not
+space to record all the various stratagems which were devised to aid
+the Americans, while the movement was carefully concealed from the
+vigilant eyes of the English.
+
+Franklin, with nobility of soul which should command the love of every
+American, as one of his last deeds before he left his country perhaps
+never to return, collected all the money he could command, about
+twelve thousand dollars, and loaned it to the government, whose
+treasury was utterly impoverished. In those dark days, even that small
+sum was of essential aid. In one of the last of Franklin's letters,
+before he sailed, he wrote,
+
+     "As to our public affairs, I hope our people will keep up
+     their courage. I have no doubt of their finally succeeding
+     by the blessing of God; nor have I any doubt that so good a
+     cause will fail of that blessing. It is computed that we
+     have already taken a million sterling from the enemy. They
+     must soon be sick of their piratical project."
+
+Franklin embarked in the Reprisal, a rapid sailing sloop of war of
+sixteen guns. He took with him his grandson, William Temple Franklin,
+son of the Tory governor, then a very handsome boy of eighteen, and
+Benjamin Franklin Bache, eldest son of his daughter, a lad of seven
+years. William Temple Franklin adhered firmly to the political views
+of his grandfather. Dr. Franklin intended to place Benjamin in a
+school in Paris.
+
+Tory spies were watching every movement of Congress. This mission to
+France was kept a profound secret. Had the British government known
+that Benjamin Franklin was about to cross the ocean, almost every ship
+in the British navy would have been sent in chase of him. On the 26th
+of October, 1776, he left Philadelphia, every precaution having been
+adopted to keep his departure a secret. The vessel was at anchor at
+Marcus Hook, in the Delaware, three miles beyond Chester.
+
+Fierce gales drove them rapidly across the Atlantic. Captain Wickes
+had received instructions to avoid fighting, if possible. He was to
+devote all his energies to transporting his precious passenger as
+rapidly as possible, from shore to shore. They were often chased by
+cruisers. The vessel was small, and Franklin, in his old age, was
+sadly cramped by his narrow accommodations. He says that of all his
+eight voyages this was the most distressing. When near the coast of
+France they captured an English brig, with a cargo of lumber and wine.
+On the afternoon of the same day, they took another brig, loaded with
+brandy and flax seed. England was almost delirious with rage, in
+finding that the Americans were bearing away their prizes from the
+channel itself, thus bidding proud defiance to those frigates and
+fortresses of Great Britain which had overawed the world.
+
+On the 29th of November the Reprisal cast anchor in Quiberon Bay.
+Franklin there obtained a post chaise to convey him to Nantes. He
+writes,
+
+     "The carriage was a miserable one, with tired horses, the
+     evening dark, scarce a traveller but ourselves on the road.
+     And to make it more _comfortable_, the driver stopped near a
+     wood we were to pass through, to tell us that a gang of
+     eighteen robbers infested that wood, who, but two weeks ago,
+     had robbed and murdered some travellers on that very spot."
+
+Though absolutely no one in Europe knew that Franklin was expected,
+his fame had preceded him. The scientists of France were eager to
+render him their homage. French statesmen had learned, at the Court of
+St. James, to respect his grandeur of character, and his diplomatic
+abilities. He was a very handsome man, with a genial smile, which won
+love at sight. The invariable remark of every one, who chanced to meet
+him for five minutes was, "What a delightful man." Franklin had none
+of the brusqueness which characterizes John Bull. He was always a
+gentleman, scrupulously attentive to his rich, elegant, yet simple
+dress. He manifested his knowledge of human nature, in carefully
+preserving his national garb,--the old continental costume.
+
+Thus wherever he appeared he attracted attention. No man was ever more
+courteous. The French Court, at that time, was bound by the shackles
+of etiquette, to an almost inconceivable degree. But Franklin was
+never embarrassed. He needed no one to teach him etiquette. Instinct
+taught him what to do, so that, in the bearing of a well bred
+gentleman, he was a model man, even in the court where Louis XIV. and
+Louis XV. had reigned with omnipotent sway. The most beautiful
+duchess, radiant in her courtly costume, and glittering with jewels,
+felt proud of being seated on the sofa by the side of this true
+gentleman, whose dress, simple as it was, was in harmony with her own.
+The popular impression is entirely an erroneous one, that there was
+anything rustic, anything which reminded one of the work shop or the
+_blouse_, in the demeanor of Benjamin Franklin, as he moved,
+unembarrassed, in the highest circles of fashion then known in the
+world.
+
+Franklin was received to the hospitalities of a French gentleman of
+wealth and distinction, by the name of Gruel. His elegant apartments
+were always crowded with visitors, eager to manifest their respect for
+the trans-Atlantic philosopher. Horace Walpole, a warm friend of the
+Americans, wrote,
+
+     "An account came that Dr. Franklin, at the age of 72, or 74,
+     and, at the risk of his head, had bravely embarked, on board
+     an American frigate, and, with two prizes taken on the way,
+     had landed, at Nantes, in France, and was to be at Paris on
+     the 14th, where the highest admiration and expectation of
+     him were raised."
+
+Upon his arrival Mr. Deane exultingly wrote, "Here is the hero and
+philosopher, and patriot, all united in this celebrated American, who,
+at the age of seventy four, risks all dangers for his country."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+_The Struggles of Diplomacy._
+
+     Anecdote of Gibbon--John Adams--Residence at
+     Passy--Lafayette introduced--Cruise of the Reprisal--Paul
+     Jones--Capture of Burgoyne--Alliance with France--Anecdote
+     of the Cake--Excitement in England--Franklin's introduction
+     to the king--Joy in America--Extraordinary letter of Count
+     Wissenstein--The reply--Injustice to Paul Jones--French
+     troops in America--Character of John Adams--Franklin's
+     mature views of human nature--Anecdote of the Angel--Capture
+     of Cornwallis--Its effect in England--Prejudices of Mr.
+     Jay--Testimony of Dr. Sparks--Jealousy of Franklin--Shrewd
+     diplomatic act--The treaty signed.
+
+
+In the journey from Nantes to Paris, a curious incident occurred,
+which is well worth recording. It so admirably illustrates the
+character of two distinguished men, as to bear internal evidence of
+its truthfulness. At one of the inns, at which Franklin stopped, he
+was informed that Mr. Gibbon, the illustrious author of the "Decline
+and Fall of the Roman Empire," was also tarrying.
+
+Mr. Gibbon was an Englishman. He was a deist, being in entire sympathy
+with Franklin in his views of Christianity. He was also a man of
+letters. Mr. Franklin addressed a very polite note to Mr. Gibbon,
+sending his compliments, and soliciting the pleasure of spending the
+evening with him. Mr. Gibbon, who was never renowned for amiability of
+character, replied, in substance, we have not his exact words,
+
+"Notwithstanding my regard for Dr. Franklin, as a man and a
+philosopher, I cannot reconcile it with my duty to my king, to have
+any conversation with a revolted subject."
+
+Franklin responded to this by writing, "Though Mr. Gibbon's principles
+have compelled him to withhold the pleasure of his conversation, Dr.
+Franklin has still such a respect for the character of Mr. Gibbon, as
+a gentleman and a historian, that when, in the course of his writing
+the history of the 'Decline and Fall of Empires,' the decline and fall
+of the British Empire shall come to be his subject, as will probably
+soon be the case, Dr. Franklin would be happy to furnish him with
+ample materials, which are in his possession."[28]
+
+[Footnote 28: This anecdote has had a wide circulation in the
+newspapers. Mr. William Cobbett inserts it in his "Works," with the
+following comment, characteristic of the spirit of most of the higher
+class of Englishmen, in those days:
+
+"Whether this anecdote record a truth or not I shall not pretend to
+say. But it must be confessed, that the expressions imputed to the two
+personages were strictly in character. In Gibbon, we see the faithful
+subject, and the man of candor and honor. In Franklin the treacherous
+and malicious old Zanga, of Boston."--_Works of William Cobbett. Vol.
+vii, p. 244._]
+
+Gibbon was a Tory. He supported Lord North in all his measures. The
+government rewarded him with a pension of eight hundred pounds a year.
+This was equivalent to considerable more than four thousand dollars
+at the present time. Franklin was received, in Paris, by the whole
+population, court and _canaille_, with enthusiasm which that excitable
+capital had rarely witnessed. The most humble of the population were
+familiar with the pithy sayings of Poor Richard. The _savants_
+admitted their obligations to him, for the solution of some of the
+most difficult problems of philosophy. The fashionable world
+were delighted with his urbanity; and in his society found rare
+and unequalled pleasure. The republicans regarded him as the
+personification of a free government; and even the nobles and the
+ministry were cheered by the hope that, with his aid, haughty England
+could be weakened and humbled, and that thus a new era of commercial
+prosperity was about to dawn upon France.
+
+John Adams was not popular in Paris. He was a man of great abilities,
+of irreproachable character, and was animated by as pure principles of
+patriotism as ever glowed in a human bosom. But he was a genuine
+Puritan, inheriting the virtues and the foibles of the best of that
+class. Though not wanting in magnanimity, he could not fail from being
+disturbed, by the caresses with which Franklin was ever greeted,
+contrasted with the cold and respectful courtesy with which he was
+received. It was always the same, in the Court, in the saloons, and on
+the Boulevards. In Mr. Adams' diary, written some years later, we find
+the following insertion, which, in some degree, reveals his feelings.
+He is recording a conversation with the French minister.
+
+     "All religions," said Marbois, "are tolerated in America.
+     The ambassadors have a right, in all the courts of Europe,
+     to a chapel in their own way. But Mr. Franklin never had
+     any."
+
+     "No," said I laughing, "because Mr. Franklin has no----"
+
+     I was going to say what I did not say, and will not say
+     here. I stopped short, and laughed.
+
+     "No," said M. Marbois. "Mr. Franklin adores only great
+     Nature; which has interested a great many people of both
+     sexes in his favor."
+
+     "Yes," said I laughing, "all the atheists, deists and
+     libertines, as well as the philosophers and ladies are in
+     his train."[29]
+
+[Footnote 29: Works of John Adams, Vol. III, p. 220.]
+
+The English lords were exasperated by the reception France had given
+Franklin. They fully comprehended its significance. France was in
+sympathy with the Americans, in their heroic endeavor to escape from
+the despotism of the British crown. Thus the traffic which had
+enriched England, would be transferred to France.
+
+Even the Earl of Chatham said, in one of the most eloquent of his
+speeches,
+
+"France, my lords, has insulted you. She has encouraged and sustained
+America. And whether America be wrong or right, the dignity of
+this country ought to spurn at the officiousness of the French
+interference. The ministers and ambassadors of those who are called
+rebels, are in Paris. In Paris they transact the reciprocal business
+of America and France. Can there be a more mortifying insult? Can even
+our ministers sustain a more humiliating disgrace? Do they dare to
+resent it?"
+
+Franklin was assailed in England, in innumerable pamphlets of abuse.
+The sin of his youth still pursued him. Many an envenomed arrow
+pierced his heart.[30]
+
+[Footnote 30: This is a delicate subject, but it must not be ignored.
+Mr. Parton writes,--"One penny-a-liner informed the public that Dr.
+Franklin had a son, who, though illegitimate, was a much more honest
+man than his father. As to the mother of that son, nothing was known
+of her, except that her seducer let her die in the streets."
+
+There was no end to those attacks. They were attended by every
+exaggeration of malignity which hatred could engender. It is certain
+that Franklin would have been saved from these woes could he, as a
+young man, have embraced the _faith_ of the religion of Jesus, and
+developed that _faith_ in his _practice_.]
+
+But it must not be forgotten that there were many of the noblest men
+in England, who were the warm friends of Franklin, and who cordially
+espoused the American cause. Among these were Fox, Burke, Rockingham,
+Shelburne, Chatham, Priestley and Price.
+
+Many beautiful villages surrounded Paris. One of the most lovely,
+embowered in foliage, was Passy. It is now included within the city
+walls. It was then but two miles from the centre of the city. A
+munificent friend of America, M. de Chaumont, invited Franklin to the
+hospitality of one of his sumptuous mansions in that place. Franklin
+accepted the invitation, assuring him that at the close of the war,
+Congress would insist upon granting him a tract of land, in
+recognition of his kindness to America in the hour of need.
+
+Early in the year 1777, Franklin took up his residence at Passy, and
+there he continued to reside while he remained in France. He lived
+liberally, had an ample retinue of servants, and entertained his
+guests with elegance. His annual expenditures were about thirteen
+thousand dollars. This sum would then purchase twice the amount of
+conveniences and luxuries which could be purchased by the same sum at
+the present day. He had his own servants, and commanded a handsome
+carriage with two horses.
+
+Mrs. Adams writes, "With seven servants, and hiring a charwoman upon
+occasion of company, we may possibly keep house. With less we should
+be hooted at as ridiculous, and could not entertain any company."
+
+Though Franklin took every thing by the smooth handle, he did not, on
+that account, intermit any intensity of labor to accomplish his
+purposes. There were then three American envoys in Paris, Franklin,
+Deane, and Lee. Five days after the arrival of Franklin, they, on the
+28th of December, 1777, held their first interview with the French
+Minister, Count de Vergennes. They were received with all that
+cordiality and courtesy which are marked characteristics of the French
+people. But still the commissioners were embarrassed. The prospects of
+America were doubtful. General Burgoyne was on the eve of sailing for
+America with a formidable fleet, and an army of eight or ten thousand
+highly disciplined troops. In the course of the conversation, the
+minister said that France was not yet ready to enter into open
+collision with England, and to declare war.
+
+"But," said he, "if a _couple of millions_ of francs, to be repaid
+without interest after the war, will be of use to you, they are at
+your service. Only do not say that you had it from _us_."
+
+This was indeed, under the doubtful circumstances, a very generous
+offer. It was at this dark hour that the noble Lafayette decided to
+consecrate his fortune, and to peril his life, for the cause of
+American freedom. It was proclaimed that Burgoyne's expedition was
+fitted out to rouse the slaves to insurrection, and to lay the
+mansions of the planters in ashes. Arthur Lee was very much alarmed.
+These splendid estates were generally situated in romantic spots, upon
+the banks of the navigable rivers, where the dwellings, often quite
+magnificent, could easily be demolished by shot and shell thrown from
+any frigate.
+
+The Reprisal, Captain Wickes, was the first American vessel of war
+which ventured into European waters. The channel swarmed with British
+vessels. The Reprisal took prize after prize, and conveyed them into
+Nantes. As France was not at war with England, Count de Vergennes was
+compelled to order the Reprisal, with her prizes, to leave the harbor.
+Captain Wickes took some of the Nantes merchants on board his vessel,
+and, just outside the port, sold the prizes to them. The French
+merchants then returned, with their property, into the harbor.
+
+Captain Wickes soon united with him the Lexington of fourteen guns,
+and a cutter, the Dolphin, of ten guns. With this little fleet the
+hero sailed completely around Ireland, capturing or destroying sixteen
+prizes. The British were astounded at this audacity. Merchants and
+under-writers were quite terror-stricken. They had never dreamed that
+the despised Americans could strike _them_ any blows. And when, soon
+after, Paul Jones, one of the noblest of all naval heroes, appeared in
+their waters, it is not too much to say that _consternation_ pervaded
+the coasts of both England and Ireland.[31]
+
+[Footnote 31: The wonderful achievements of this patriot are fully
+recorded in one of the volumes of this series.]
+
+It requires many and aggravated wrongs to rouse a naturally amiable
+man to the highest pitch of indignation. But when thus roused, he is
+ready for any vigor of action. Franklin's blood was up. England was
+bribing slaves to murder their masters; was rousing the savages to
+massacre the families of poor, hard-working frontiersmen; was wantonly
+bombarding defenceless seaports, and with inhumanity, rarely known in
+civilized warfare, was laying villages in ashes, consigning women and
+children to beggary and starvation. In the prison hulks of New York,
+our most illustrious men were in the endurance, as prisoners of war,
+of woes unsurpassed by Algerine barbarism. Many of our common
+sailors, England was compelling, by the terrors of the lash, to man
+her ships, and to fight their own countrymen. Maddened by these
+atrocities, Mr. Franklin wrote to his English friend, David Hartley, a
+member of Parliament, a letter, which all the few friends of America
+in England, read with great satisfaction, and which must have produced
+a very powerful moral impression in France. It is too long to be
+inserted here. In conclusion he said to his friend,
+
+     "In reviewing what I have written, I found too much warmth in
+     it, and was about to strike out some parts. Yet I let them
+     go, as it will afford you this one reflection,
+
+     "'If a man naturally cool, and rendered still cooler by old
+     age, is so warmed by our treatment of his country, how much
+     must those people in general be exasperated against us. And
+     why are we making inveterate enemies, by our barbarity, not
+     only of the present inhabitants of a great country, but of
+     their infinitely more numerous posterity; who will, in
+     future ages, detest the name of Englishman, as much as the
+     children in Holland now do those of Alva and Spaniard.'"
+
+William Temple Franklin inherited the attractions of person, and the
+fascination of manners, so conspicuous in his grandfather. He was a
+great favorite in the social circles of the gay metropolis. Dark days
+came, with tidings of discomfiture. Franklin devoted twelve hours out
+of the twenty-four, to the arduous duties of his mission. Philadelphia
+fell.
+
+"Well, Doctor," said an Englishman in Paris, with the customary
+courtesy of his nation, "Howe has taken Philadelphia."
+
+"I beg your pardon," Franklin replied, "Philadelphia has taken Howe."
+
+The result proved that Franklin's joke was almost a reality.
+
+Burgoyne surrendered. His whole army was taken captive. Massachusetts
+immediately sent John Loring Austin to convey the rapturous tidings to
+Franklin. This great success would doubtless encourage France to open
+action. No tongue can tell the emotions excited in the bosoms of
+Franklin, Lee and Deane, as Austin entered their presence at Passy,
+with the announcement, "_General Burgoyne and his whole army are
+prisoners of war._"
+
+There were no shoutings, no rushing into each other's arms. But tears
+filled their eyes. They felt assured that France would come openly to
+their aid, and that the independence of their country was no longer
+doubtful. Silently they returned to Franklin's spacious apartment,
+where they spent the whole day in reading the enrapturing dispatches,
+and in preparing for immediate alliance with France. France made no
+attempt to conceal its joy. A treaty of alliance was soon formed.
+Nobly the Count de Vergennes said,
+
+"We wish to take no advantage of your situation. We desire no terms
+which you may hereafter regret having made; but would enter into
+arrangements of mutual interest, which may last as long as human
+institutions endure."
+
+England was now greatly alarmed from fear that the trade of the
+colonies might be transferred to France. Envoys were sent to Passy to
+offer the American ambassadors everything they had demanded at the
+commencement of the conflict. But it was too late. America now
+demanded _Independence_, and would accept nothing less.
+
+A large cake was one day sent to the ambassador's apartment, at Passy,
+with the inscription "Le Digne Franklin," the worthy Franklin. Mr. Lee
+said, "Well, Doctor, we have to thank you for our accommodations, and
+to appropriate your present to our use."
+
+"Not at all," said Franklin. "This cake is for all the Commissioners.
+The French, not being able to write good English, do not spell our
+names correctly. The meaning doubtless is Lee, Deane, Franklin."
+
+The memorable treaty was signed on the 5th of February, 1778. It was
+stated that the object of the treaty was to establish the independence
+of the United States, and that neither party should conclude either
+truce or peace with England, without the consent of the other.
+
+Tidings of the treaty, which for a short time was kept secret, had
+been whispered in England, causing intense excitement. On the 17th of
+February, 1778, the House of Parliament was crowded. Lord North, amid
+breathless silence, presented a "Conciliation Bill," granting
+everything which Franklin had demanded. Fox, who was in the
+Opposition, arose and announced the treaty. "The astonishment," writes
+Walpole, "was totally indescribable."
+
+Soon the fact of the treaty of alliance, was formally announced in
+France. The American envoys were invited to an audience with the king.
+Franklin was richly dressed. His hair was carefully arranged by a
+French perruquier. He wore an admirably fitting suit of plain, black,
+silk velvet. Ruffles of elaborate embroidery and snowy whiteness
+adorned his wrists and bosom. White silk stockings aided in displaying
+the perfect proportions of his frame. Large silver buckles were on his
+shoes.
+
+No one could accuse him of failing in due respect for the king, by
+appearing in his presence in slatternly dress. His costume was superb,
+and was such as was then worn, on important occasions, by American
+gentlemen of the highest rank. The audience took place at Versailles,
+on the morning of the 20th of March. Each of the American envoys rode
+in his own carriage, attended by the usual retinue of servants. On the
+way they were cheered with the utmost enthusiasm by the crowd. The
+king, Louis XVI., received them with extreme courtesy, and the queen,
+Marie Antoinette, was marked in her attentions to Franklin. The
+British ambassador, Lord Stormont, was so enraged, that, regardless of
+all the claims of courtesy, he immediately returned to England,
+without even taking leave of the king.
+
+Who can describe the exultation, the rapture, the tears, with which
+these tidings were received by the patriots of America. On the 6th
+of May, George Washington drew up his little band at Valley Forge,
+to announce the great event, and to offer to God prayers and
+thanksgivings. The tone of the English was immediately changed. They
+abandoned threats and tried the effect of entreaties. Several
+emissaries, from the government, approached Dr. Franklin, all bearing
+in substance the same message. They said,
+
+"We cannot endure the thought that our beloved colonists should enter
+into alliance with our hereditary natural enemy, France. Can you, who
+are Protestants, consent to unite with a nation of Roman Catholics? If
+you will remain firm in your adhesion to England, we will grant you
+all you ever wished for, and even more. But do not forsake your mother
+country to swell the pride and power of perfidious France."
+
+But all these efforts were unavailing. The colonists began to despise
+England. They had no wish for war with their unnatural parent, and
+they knew that their independence was assured; and that no efforts
+which England could possibly make, could now prevent it. All alike
+felt disposed to spurn the bribes which England so lavishly offered.
+
+A very extraordinary letter was sent to Dr. Franklin, which was
+signed, Charles de Wissenstein. Franklin, who was accustomed to
+sifting evidence, became satisfied that the message came from king
+George III. himself. The letter declared that the perfidious French
+would certainly deceive the Americans with false promises, and defraud
+them. After making the most liberal offers of popular rights, if the
+Americans would continue to remain colonists under the British crown,
+the document presented the following extraordinary promise to those
+American patriots whom England had denounced as traitors, and doomed
+to be hung. It was deemed a bribe which human virtue could not resist.
+
+     "As it is unreasonable that their (the American patriots)
+     services to their country should deprive them of those
+     advantages which their talents would otherwise have gained
+     them, the following persons shall have offices or pensions
+     for life, at their option, namely, Franklin, Washington,
+     Adams, Hancock, etc. In case his Majesty, or his successors,
+     should ever create American peers, then those persons, or
+     their descendants, shall be among the first created if they
+     choose it."
+
+Franklin, after conference with his colleagues, replied to the letter.
+His soul was all on fire with the insults our country had received,
+and the wrongs she had endured. He wrote as if personally addressing
+the king. We can only give the concluding paragraph. After stating
+that the independence of America was secured, that all attempts of
+England to prevent it would be impotent, and that consequently it was
+quite a matter of indifference to the Americans whether England
+acknowledged it or not, he wrote,[32]
+
+     "This proposition, of delivering ourselves bound and gagged,
+     ready for hanging, without even a right to complain, and
+     without a friend to be found afterward among all mankind,
+     you would have us embrace upon the faith of an Act of
+     Parliament. Good God! an act of your Parliament. This
+     demonstrates that you do not yet know us; and that you fancy
+     that we do not know you. But it is not merely this flimsy
+     faith that we are to act upon. You offer us hope, the hope
+     of PLACES, PENSIONS and PEERAGES.
+
+     "These, judging from yourselves, you think are motives
+     irresistible. This offer to corrupt us, sir, is with me,
+     your credential; and convinces me that you are not a private
+     volunteer in your application. It bears the stamp of British
+     Court character. It is even the signature of your king. But
+     think, for a moment, in what light it must be viewed in
+     America.
+
+     "By PLACES, you mean places among us; for you take care, by
+     a special article, to secure your own to yourselves. We must
+     then pay the salaries in order to enrich ourselves with
+     those places. But you will give us PENSIONS, probably to be
+     paid too out of your expected American revenue, and which
+     none of us can accept without deserving, and perhaps
+     obtaining, _suspension_.
+
+     "PEERAGES! Alas! in our long observation of the vast servile
+     majority of your peers, voting constantly for every measure
+     proposed by a minister, however weak or wicked, leaves us
+     small respect for that title. We consider it as a sort of
+     tar-and-feather honor, or a mixture of foulness and folly,
+     which every man among us, who should accept it from your
+     king, would be obliged to renounce, or exchange for that
+     confessed by the mobs of their own country, or wear it with
+     everlasting infamy."[33]
+
+[Footnote 32: In reference to the promises contained in the letter,
+Franklin referred to a book which it was said George III. had
+carefully studied, called _Arcana Imperii_. A prince, to appease a
+revolt, had promised indemnity to the revolters. The question was
+submitted to the keepers of the king's conscience, whether he were
+bound to keep his promises. The reply was,
+
+"No! It was right to make the promises, because the revolt could not
+otherwise be suppressed. It would be wrong to keep them, because
+revolters ought to be punished."]
+
+[Footnote 33: Sparks' Franklin, Vol. iii, p. 278.]
+
+In the spring of 1778, Paul Jones entered upon his brilliant career,
+bidding defiance, with his infant fleet, to all the naval power of
+Great Britain, agitating entire England with the terror of his name.
+Franklin was his affectionate friend, and, in all his many trials, he
+leaned upon Franklin for sympathy. So tremendously was he maligned by
+the English press, that American historians, unconsciously thus
+influenced, have never done him justice. As a patriot, and a noble
+man, he deserves to take rank with his friends, Washington and
+Franklin.
+
+In 1779, Lafayette, returning to France, from America, brought the
+news that Franklin was appointed by Congress as sole plenipotentiary
+of the new nation of the United States, to the generous kingdom, which
+had acknowledged our independence, and whose fleets and armies were
+now united with ours. All France rejoiced. With great eclat the new
+ambassadors were presented to the king.
+
+No man of force of character can escape having enemies. Franklin had
+many and bitter ones. A cabal plotted the removal of his excellent
+grandson, William Temple Franklin. It gives us an insight to the heart
+of this venerable septuagenarian to read from his pen,
+
+     "It is enough that I have lost my son. Would they add my
+     _grandson_. An old man of seventy, I undertook a winter
+     voyage, at the command of Congress, with no other attendant
+     to take care of me. I am continued here, in a foreign
+     country, where, if I am sick, his filial attention comforts
+     me. And if I die, I have a child to close my eyes and take
+     care of my remains. His dutiful behavior toward me, and his
+     diligence and fidelity in business, are both pleasing and
+     useful to me. His conduct, as my private secretary, has been
+     unexceptionable; and I am confident the Congress will never
+     think of separating us."
+
+Franklin's great endeavor now was to obtain money. Without it we
+could have neither fleet nor army. The treasury of France was empty,
+almost to bankruptcy. Never did he struggle against greater obstacles
+than during the next three years. It has been truly said, that
+Franklin, without intending it, helped to bleed the French monarchy to
+death. In addition to the employment of both army and navy, the French
+government conferred upon Congress, in gifts or loans, the sum of
+twenty-six million francs.
+
+The French troops were received in America with boundless enthusiasm.
+Their discipline was admirable. Their respect for the rights of
+property was such, that not a barn, orchard or hen-roost was robbed.
+
+John Adams was sent to join Franklin, to aid him in framing terms of
+peace, whenever England should be disposed to make such advances. He
+was a man of great abilities, of irreproachable integrity, but he had
+inherited, from his English ancestry, not only repulsive brusqueness,
+but also a prejudice against the French, which nothing could remove.
+His want of courtesy; his unconcealed assumption that France was
+acting out of unmitigated selfishness, and that consequently the
+Americans owed the French no debt of gratitude, often caused Franklin
+much embarrassment. This blunt man, at one time wrote so uncourteous,
+not to say insulting a letter, to M. de Vergennes, that the French
+minister declined having any more correspondence with him. Both
+Franklin and Congress condemned the incivility of Mr. Adams. He only
+escaped a motion of censure from the full conviction of Congress of
+the purity of his patriotism, and of his intentions.[34]
+
+[Footnote 34: Mr. Jefferson, after an intimacy of seven months with
+John Adams, in Paris, wrote of him: "He is vain, irritable, and a bad
+calculator of the force and probable effect of the motives which
+govern men. This is all the ill which can possibly be said of him. He
+is as disinterested as the Being who made him."]
+
+Franklin had been requested to forward the correspondence to Congress.
+As in duty bound, he did so; accompanying it with a magnanimous
+letter. Mr. Adams was very angry. Every impartial reader will admit
+that, in this embarrassing affair, Franklin conducted with delicacy
+and discretion. The British troops in America were still conducting
+like savages. Congress requested Franklin to prepare a school-book,
+with thirty-five prints, each depicting one or more of the acts of
+English brutality. The object was to impress the minds of children
+with a deep sense of the insatiable and bloody malice with which the
+English had pursued the Americans. The plan was never executed.
+
+In the year 1781, Franklin, then seventy-five years of age, and having
+been engaged in public service for fifty years, wrote to Congress,
+begging permission to retire from his responsible office. Congress
+could not spare his services. They gave him an additional appointment.
+He was commissioned to unite with Adams and Jay, in those negotiations
+for peace which, it was evident, must soon take place.
+
+Franklin loved the French, he could smile at their foibles, in
+dressing their hair so that they could not wear a hat, but were
+compelled to carry it under their arms; also in filling their noses
+with tobacco. "These," said he, "are mere follies. There is nothing
+wanting, in the character of a Frenchman, that belongs to that of an
+agreeable and worthy man."
+
+It may perhaps be mentioned, as a defect in the character of Franklin,
+that when in France he could see nothing but the beautiful. His eye
+was turned from every revolting spectacle. In the society of elegantly
+dressed, highly educated, refined French ladies,--at dinner parties,
+glittering with gold and silver plate,--in social intercourse with men
+whose philosophical attainments were of the highest order, and whose
+politeness of speech and bearing rendered them delightful companions,
+Franklin found his time and thoughts engrossed. In all his voluminous
+writings we find no allusion to those tremendous wrongs, which Louis
+XIV. and Louis XV. had entailed upon the people,--wrongs which soon
+convulsed society with the volcanic throes of the French revolution.
+
+Jefferson, who succeeded Franklin, was cast in a different mould. He
+saw and fully comprehended the misery under which the millions of the
+French peasantry were groaning. And this led him to the conviction,
+that no people could be safe, unless the government were placed in
+their own hands.
+
+Still Franklin, like his brother deists, Hume and Voltaire, seeing how
+impotent were all the motives they could urge to make man virtuous,
+became thoroughly disgusted with human nature. He even went beyond
+Paul in his description of the hopeless depravity of man. The idea of
+reclaiming him by his philosophy was abandoned entirely. And yet he
+was not prepared to embrace that gospel, which the experience of ages
+has proved to be the "wisdom of God and the power of God unto
+salvation."
+
+"He enlarges," writes Mr. Parton, "upon this theme, in his most
+delightful manner, in another letter to Dr. Priestley." In this letter
+he says in his usual jocular strain, that the more he studies the
+moral part of nature the more he is disgusted; that he finds men very
+badly constructed; that they are more prone to do evil than to do
+good; that they take great pleasure in killing one another, and that
+he doubts whether the species is worth preserving. He intimates that
+every attempt to save their souls is "an idle amusement."
+
+"As you grow older," he writes, "you may perhaps repent of having
+murdered, in mephitic air, so many honest, harmless mice, and wish
+that, to prevent mischief, you had used boys and girls instead of
+them."
+
+In this singular letter he represents a young angel having been sent
+to this world, under the guidance of an old courier spirit. They
+arrive over the seas of Martinico, in the midst of the horrible fight
+between the fleets of Rodney and De Grasse.
+
+"When," he writes, "through the clouds of smoke, he (the young angel)
+saw the fire of the guns, the decks covered with mangled limbs and
+bodies, dead or dying; the ships sinking, burning, or blown into the
+air; and the quantity of pain, misery and destruction the crews, yet
+alive, were with so much eagerness dealing round to one another, he
+turned angrily to his guide and said,
+
+"'You blundering blockhead; you are ignorant of your business. You
+undertook to conduct me to the earth; and you have brought me into
+hell.'
+
+"'No sir,' said the guide, 'I have made no such mistake. This is
+really the earth, and these are men. Devils never treat one another in
+this cruel manner. They have more sense, and more of what men (vainly)
+call humanity.'"
+
+It was after the study of human nature, under the most favorable of
+possible circumstances, for more than three-quarters of a century,
+that this philosopher wrote these terrible comments upon our fallen
+race.
+
+The latter part of October, 1781, Lord Cornwallis surrendered his
+whole army, of over seven thousand men, at Yorktown. The French fleet
+cut off his escape by sea. Seven thousand French soldiers, united with
+five thousand American troops, prevented any retreat by land. The
+Americans had thus captured two British armies. It was in vain for
+England to think of sending a third. The conflict was virtually
+decided.
+
+"The Prime Minister," Lord North, it is said, "received the tidings as
+he would have taken a ball in his breast. He threw his arms apart. He
+paced wildly up and down the room, exclaiming, from time to time, 'Oh
+God! it is all over.'"
+
+All England now was clamoring against the war. Thousands of persons
+had perished in the campaigns, and financial embarrassments had come
+to nearly all her institutions of industry. The English government
+made vigorous endeavors, offering great bribes, to induce the American
+envoys at Paris to abandon their French allies, and make a separate
+peace. Franklin wrote to Mr. Hartley, through whom he received these
+proposals,
+
+     "I believe there is not a man in America, a few _English
+     Tories_ excepted, that would not spurn the thought of
+     deserting a noble and generous friend, for the sake of a
+     truce with an unjust and cruel enemy."
+
+British diplomacy tried all its arts of intrigue to separate America
+from France in the negotiations for peace, but all in vain. The
+British minister, Mr. Grenville, in an interview with Mr. Franklin,
+ridiculed the idea that America owed France any gratitude, urging that
+France sought only her own selfish interests.
+
+     "I told him," Franklin writes, "that I was so strongly
+     impressed with the kind assistance afforded us by France, in
+     our distress, and the generous and noble manner in which it
+     was granted, without exacting or stipulating for a single
+     privilege, or particular advantage to herself in our commerce
+     or otherwise, that I could never suffer myself to think of
+     such reasonings for lessening the obligation."
+
+On the 28th of February, 1782, General Conway, one of the leaders of
+the Opposition, the same who had moved the repeal of the stamp act,
+seventeen years before, presented a resolution in the House of Commons
+that,
+
+     "THE REDUCTION OF THE COLONIES BY FORCE OF ARMS IS
+     IMPRACTICABLE."
+
+A violent, even fierce debate ensued, which was continued until one
+o'clock in the morning. Then the cry of _question_ became general.
+The vote was carried by a majority of nineteen. This terminated
+the American war. The people of England had decided against it.
+"Acclamations," writes Wraxall, "pierced the roof, and might have
+been heard in Westminster Hall."
+
+This great victory was followed by another resolve. It was an address
+to George III. soliciting him to "Stop the prosecution of any further
+hostilities against the revolted colonies, for the purpose of reducing
+them to obedience by force."
+
+Notwithstanding the lateness of the hour, these votes were immediately
+communicated to the king, who was in a pitiable condition, aged,
+nearly blind, half crazed, and stubborn even to insanity, in his
+determination to subjugate the Americans. The poor old man, in his
+rage, threatened to abandon England, to renounce the crown, and to
+cloister himself in his estate of Hanover. He was however compelled
+to yield, to dismiss his Tory ministers and to accept a whig cabinet.
+Edmund Burke wrote a warm, congratulatory letter to Franklin.[35]
+
+[Footnote 35: Edmund Burke wrote to Dr. Franklin that "The motion was
+the _declaration_ of two hundred and thirty four members; but it was
+the _opinion_, he thought, of the whole house."]
+
+And now the final struggle arose respecting the terms of peace. The
+three great questions discussed, as diplomatic arrangements, were
+gradually and very cautiously entered into, were: 1. What shall be the
+boundaries of the United States. 2. Shall the Americans be allowed to
+fish on the great banks. 3. What provision shall be made for the
+Tories in America, whose estates have been confiscated?
+
+There were many preliminary meetings, private, semi-official, and
+official. There was a general impression that Franklin was the man
+whose opinion would entirely control that of his countrymen. He was
+approached in every way, and the utmost endeavors were made to induce
+the American Commissioners to enter into a private treaty, without
+consulting the French ministry.
+
+A full account of the diplomatic conflict which ensued, would fill a
+volume. On one occasion the British minister, Mr. Grenville, said,
+
+"In case England grants America Independence."
+
+The French minister, M. de Vergennes, smiled and said, "America has
+already won her Independence. She does not ask it of you. There is Dr.
+Franklin; he will answer you on that point."
+
+"To be sure," Franklin said, "we do not consider it necessary to
+bargain for that which is our own. We have bought our Independence at
+the expense of much blood and treasure, and are in full possession of
+it."
+
+Many of these preliminary interviews took place in Paris. The amount
+of money and blood which the pugnacious government of England had
+expended in totally needless wars, can not be computed. The misery
+with which those wars had deluged this unhappy globe, God only can
+comprehend. Mr. Richard Oswald, a retired London merchant, of vast
+wealth, was sent, by Lord Shelburne, prime minister, as a confidential
+messenger, to sound Dr. Franklin. He was frank in the extreme.
+
+"Peace," said he, "is absolutely necessary for England. The nation has
+been foolishly involved in four wars, and can no longer raise money to
+carry them on. If continued, it will be absolutely necessary to stop
+the payment of interest money on the public debt."
+
+Mr. Adams and Mr. Jay were soon associated with Dr. Franklin in these
+negotiations. Mr. Jay was in entire sympathy with Mr. Adams in his
+antipathy to the French. They both assumed that France was meanly
+seeking only her own interests, making use of America simply as an
+instrument for the accomplishment of her selfish purposes.[36]
+
+[Footnote 36: Mr. Adams wrote, in his diary, November, 1782, "Mr. Jay
+don't like any Frenchman. The Marquis de la Fayette is clever, but he
+is a Frenchman."]
+
+Dr. Jared Sparks, after carefully examining, in the Office of Foreign
+Affairs in London, the correspondence of the French ministers with the
+American envoys, during the whole war, writes,
+
+     "After examining the subject, with all the care and accuracy
+     which these means of information have enabled me to give to
+     it, I am prepared to express my belief, most fully, that Mr.
+     Jay was mistaken, both in regard to the aims of the French
+     court and the plans pursued by them to gain their supposed
+     ends."[37]
+
+[Footnote 37: Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution, V.
+viii, p. 209.]
+
+Mr. Jay was so insanely suspicious of the French, that he was afraid
+that the French ministry would send spies, to pick the locks in his
+lodgings, and steal his important papers. He therefore always carried
+them about his person. He also believed that Count de Vergennes had
+actually proposed to the British minister, that they should unite
+their armies, seize the United States, and divide America between
+them.
+
+Such were the colleagues united with Franklin, in the negotiations for
+peace. It required all his consummate wisdom to be able to guide
+affairs wisely under such difficult circumstances. It may be doubted
+whether there was another man in America, who could have surmounted
+the obstacles over which he triumphed. Both of Franklin's colleagues
+regarded him with suspicion. They believed that he had been won over
+to such sympathy with the French, that he would be willing to
+sacrifice the interests of his own country to please them. They wrote
+letters home severely denouncing him; and they seemed to stand more in
+fear of France than of England.
+
+     "Dr. Franklin," wrote Mr. Adams, "is very staunch against the
+     Tories; more decided, a great deal, upon that point, than Mr.
+     Jay or myself."
+
+The British ministers insisted that the confiscated estates of the
+American Tories should be restored to them, and all their losses
+reimbursed. Franklin silenced the demand by drawing from his pocket
+the following articles, which he proposed should be added to the
+treaty,
+
+     "It is agreed that his Britannic Majesty will earnestly
+     recommend it to his Parliament, to provide for and make a
+     compensation to the merchants and shop-keepers of Boston,
+     whose goods and merchandise were seized and taken out of
+     their stores, ware-houses and shops, by order of General
+     Gage, and others of his commanding officers there; and also
+     to the inhabitants of Philadelphia for the goods taken away
+     by his army there; and to make compensation also for the
+     tobacco, rice, indigo and negroes seized and carried off by
+     his armies, under Generals Arnold, Cornwallis and others,
+     from the States of Virginia, North and South Carolina and
+     Georgia, and for all the vessels and cargoes belonging to
+     the inhabitants of the said United States, which were
+     stopped, seized or taken, either in the ports or on the
+     seas, by his governors or by his ships of war, before the
+     declaration of war against the United States. And it is
+     further agreed that his Britannic Majesty will also
+     earnestly recommend it to his Parliament to make
+     compensation for all the towns, villages and farms, burnt
+     and destroyed by his troops, or adherents in these United
+     States."
+
+The three British commissioners were confounded by these counter
+demands, and said not another word about reimbursing the American
+Tories. On the 30th of November, 1782, the preliminaries were signed,
+subject to the assent of the French ministers, who were also to submit
+their preliminaries to the American envoys. By these articles: 1. The
+boundaries were established. 2. The Americans could fish on the banks
+of Newfoundland, and cure their fish on the unsettled shores of Nova
+Scotia and Labrador. 3. Congress was to recommend to the several
+States, to restore the confiscated property of real British subjects.
+4. Private debts were to be paid. 5. There were to be no more
+confiscations or prosecutions, on either side, for acts during the
+war. 6. The British troops were to be withdrawn. 7. The navigation of
+the Mississippi was declared to be free. 8. And any place captured,
+after the signing of these articles, was to be restored.
+
+On the 13th of January, Count de Vergennes, and the British minister
+Mr. Fitzherbert, signed their preliminaries in the presence of Dr.
+Franklin and Mr. Adams. Not till then did the English order
+hostilities to be suspended, and declare the senseless war to be at an
+end.
+
+There was universal satisfaction in America. With the exception of the
+king and a few of his ministers, there was general satisfaction in
+England. It is true that the national pride was sorely humiliated. But
+after all these woes which England had inflicted upon America, her own
+statesmen, with almost undivided voice, declared that the interests of
+both nations were alike promoted, by having a few feeble colonies
+elevated into the rich and flourishing republic of the United States.
+Thus the war of the American revolution must be pronounced to have
+been, on the part of England, which forced it, one of the most
+disastrous and senseless of those blunders which have ever accompanied
+the progress of our race.[38]
+
+[Footnote 38: Contemplate the still greater blunder of our civil war.
+It was forced upon the nation by the slave traders, that they might
+_perpetuate slavery_. And now after the infliction of woes which no
+finite imagination can gauge, these very slave-holders declare with
+one voice, that nothing would induce them to _reinstate the execrable
+institution_. How much misery would have been averted, and what a
+comparative paradise would our southern country now have been, if
+before, instead of after the war, the oppressed had been allowed to go
+free!]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+_Life's Closing Scenes._
+
+     Advice to Thomas Paine--Scenes at Passy--Journey to the
+     Coast--Return to America--Elected Governor of
+     Pennsylvania--Attends the Constitutional
+     Convention--Proposes prayers--Remarkable speech--Letter to
+     Dr. Stiles--Christ on the Cross--Last sickness and death.
+
+
+About this time some one, knowing Dr. Franklin's deistical views,
+presented, for his opinion, a treatise denouncing the idea, that there
+was any God, who manifested any interest in the affairs of men, that
+there was any _Particular Providence_. Though Franklin did not accept
+the idea, that Jesus Christ was a divine messenger, and that the Bible
+was a supernatural revelation of God's will, he certainly did not, in
+his latter years, deny that there was a God, who superintended the
+affairs of this world, and whom it was proper to worship. It is
+generally supposed that Thomas Paine was the author of this treatise,
+and that it was a portion of his Age of Reason. Franklin, in his
+memorable reply, wrote,
+
+     "I have read your manuscript with some attention. By the
+     argument it contains against a particular Providence, though
+     you allow a _general_ Providence, you strike at the
+     foundations of all religion. For without the belief of a
+     providence that takes cognizance of, guards and guides and
+     may favor particular persons, there is no motive to worship
+     a deity, to fear his displeasure or to pray for his
+     protection. I will not enter into any discussion of your
+     principles, though you seem to desire it. At present I shall
+     only give you my opinion that, though your reasonings are
+     subtile, and may prevail with some readers, you will not
+     succeed so as to change the general sentiments of mankind on
+     that subject; and the consequence of printing this piece
+     will be, a great deal of odium drawn upon yourself; mischief
+     to you and no benefit to others. He that spits against the
+     wind, spits in his own face.
+
+     "I would advise you, therefore, not to attempt unchaining
+     the tiger, but to burn this piece before it is seen by any
+     other person; whereby you will save yourself a great deal of
+     mortification, by the enemies it may raise against you, and
+     perhaps a good deal of regret and repentance. If men are so
+     wicked _with religion_, what would they be if _without it_."
+
+Franklin testifies to the remarkable courtesy which characterized all
+the movements of the French minister, during these protracted and
+delicate negotiations. The definitive treaty was signed on the 3d of
+September, 1783. It was unanimously ratified by Congress on the 14th
+of January, 1784. The king of England gave it his signature on the 9th
+of April. Thus two years and three months passed between the beginning
+of negotiations and the conclusion of the treaty of peace.
+
+At the termination of the war crowds of Englishmen flocked to Paris.
+Franklin was then recognized as incomparably the most illustrious man
+on the continent of Europe. His apartments were ever thronged with men
+of highest note from all the nations. He was then seventy-eight years
+of age, suffering severely from the gout and the gravel. He often
+received his guests in his bed chamber, sitting in his night gown,
+wrapped in flannels, and reclining on a pillow. Yet his mind retained
+all its brilliance. All who saw him were charmed. Mr. Baynes wrote,
+
+     "Of all the celebrated persons whom, in my life, I have
+     chanced to see, Dr. Franklin, both from his appearance and
+     his conversation, seemed to me the most remarkable. His
+     venerable, patriarchal appearance, the simplicity of his
+     manner and language, and the novelty of his observations
+     impressed me as one of the most extraordinary men that ever
+     existed."
+
+At this time he wrote several essays, which are esteemed among the
+best of his writings. He was awaiting permission from Congress to
+return to America. His son, the governor, who was receiving a pension
+of eight hundred pounds from the British Government, came over from
+England to his illustrious father, soliciting reconciliation. This was
+after the separation of many years. Franklin responded kindly, though
+he said that nothing had ever wounded him so keenly as to find himself
+deserted in his old age, by his only son; and to see him taking up
+arms against a cause, upon which he had staked life, fortune and
+honor.
+
+A year passed before Franklin was recalled. He was then so feeble that
+he could not walk, and could only ride in a litter. Mr. Jefferson
+succeeded him. Upon his arrival in Paris, the Count de Vergennes said,
+
+"You replace Dr. Franklin, I understand."
+
+"No!" Mr. Jefferson replied, "I _succeed_ him. No man can _replace_
+him."
+
+Franklin's infirmities were such that he could not call upon the king
+or the minister for an audience of leave. He, however, wrote to Count
+de Vergennes a very grateful and affectionate letter, in which he
+said,
+
+     "May I beg the favor of you, sir, to express respectfully
+     for me, to his majesty, the deep sense I have of all the
+     inestimable benefits his goodness has conferred on my
+     country; a sentiment that it will be the business of the
+     little remainder of the life now left me, to impress equally
+     on the minds of all my countrymen. My sincere prayers are
+     that God may shower down his blessings on the king, the
+     queen, their children and all the royal family, to the
+     latest generations."
+
+The reply was equally cordial and affectionate. As a parting gift the
+king sent Franklin his portrait, decorated with four hundred and eight
+diamonds. Its estimated value was ten thousand dollars.
+
+On the 12th of July, 1785, Franklin, accompanied by many admiring
+friends in carriages, commenced his slow journey in a litter, from
+Passy to Havre. It was four o'clock in the afternoon. The litter was
+borne by two mules. The first night they stopped at St. Germain.
+Thence the journey was continued at the rate of about eighteen miles a
+day. The motion of the litter did not seriously incommode him. The
+cardinal of Rochefoucald, archbishop of Rouen, insisted upon his
+accepting the hospitality of his mansion at Gaillon. It was a superb
+chateau, commanding a magnificent prospect, with galleries crowded
+with paintings and the most valuable works of art.
+
+     "The cardinal," writes Franklin, "is much respected, and
+     beloved by the people of this country; bearing in all
+     respects, a most excellent character."
+
+Though entreated to prolong his visit, Franklin resumed his journey at
+an early hour the next morning. At Rouen he was again received with
+the most flattering attentions. The _elite_ of the city gave a very
+brilliant supper in his honor. Thus journeying in a truly triumphant
+march, Franklin reached Havre on the 18th of July. After a delay of
+three days he crossed the channel to Southampton. His old friends came
+in crowds, and from great distances, to see him. Even the British
+government had the courtesy to send an order exempting his effects
+from custom-house duties.
+
+It will be remembered that Franklin was a remarkable swimmer. There
+are some human bodies much more buoyant than others. He records the
+singular fact that, taking a warm, salt water bath here, he fell
+asleep floating on his back, and did not awake for an hour. "This," he
+writes, "is a thing which I never did before, and would hardly have
+thought possible."
+
+On the 28th of July, 1785, the ship spread her sails. The voyage
+lasted seven weeks. This extraordinary man, then seventy-nine years of
+age, wrote, on the passage, three essays, which are estimated among
+the most useful and able of any which emanated from his pen.
+
+On the 13th of September the ship entered Delaware Bay, and the next
+morning cast anchor opposite Philadelphia. He wrote,
+
+     "My son-in-law came with a boat for us. We landed at Market
+     street wharf, where we were received by a crowd of people
+     with huzzahs, and accompanied with acclamations, quite to my
+     door. Found my family well. God be praised and thanked for
+     all his mercies."
+
+The Assembly was in session, and immediately voted him a
+congratulatory address. Washington also wrote to him a letter of
+cordial welcome. The long sea voyage proved very beneficial to his
+health. He was immediately elected to the Supreme Executive, and was
+chosen chairman of that body. It is evident that he was gratified by
+this token of popular regard. He wrote to a friend,
+
+     "I had not firmness enough to resist the unanimous desire of
+     my country folk; and I find myself harnessed again in their
+     service for another year. They engrossed the prime of my
+     life. They have eaten my flesh and seem resolved now to pick
+     my bones."
+
+Soon after he was elected President, or as we should now say, Governor
+of Pennsylvania. The vote rested with the Executive Council and the
+Assembly, seventy-seven in all. He received seventy-six votes.
+Notwithstanding the ravages of war, peace came with her usual
+blessings in her hand. The Tory journals of England, were presenting
+deplorable views of the ruin of the country since deprived of the
+beneficial government of the British cabinet. Franklin wrote to his
+old friend, David Hartley,
+
+     "Your newspapers are filled with accounts of distresses and
+     miseries, that these states are plunged into, since their
+     separation from Britain. You may believe me when I tell you
+     that there is no truth in those accounts. I find all
+     property in land and houses, augmented vastly in value; that
+     of houses in town at least four-fold. The crops have been
+     plentiful; and yet the produce sells high, to the great
+     profit of the farmer. Working people have plenty of employ,
+     and high pay for their labor."
+
+There were many imperfections attending the old Confederacy. In the
+year 1787, a convention met in Philadelphia, to frame a new
+constitution. There was strong opposition to this movement. Washington
+and Franklin were both delegates. Washington took the chair. The good
+nature and wisdom of Franklin ruled the house. The convention met in
+the State House. Franklin, eighty-one years of age, was regularly in
+his seat, five hours a day, for four months. He was thoroughly
+democratic in his views, and opposed every measure which had any
+tendency to extend aristocratic privilege. He had seen that the
+British government was in the hands of the nobles. And silent, as
+prudence rendered it necessary for him to be, in reference to the
+arbitrary government of France, he could not but see that the
+peasantry were subject to the most intolerable abuses. This led him to
+detest a monarchy, and to do every thing in his power to place the
+government of this country in the hands of the people.
+
+Much time was occupied in deciding upon the terms of union between the
+smaller and the larger States. It will be remembered that this was the
+subject of very excited debates in the convention of 1776. The
+discussion was earnest, often acrimonious. Such bitterness of feeling
+was engendered that, for some time it was feared that no union could
+be effected.
+
+It is evident that Franklin, as he approached the grave, became more
+devout, and that he lost all confidence in the powers of philosophical
+speculations to reform or regenerate fallen man. He saw that the
+interposition of a divine power was needed to allay the intense
+excitement in the convention, and to lead the impassioned members to
+act under the conviction that they were responsible to God. On the
+28th of June, this venerable, patriarchal man offered the following
+memorable resolve:
+
+     "Resolved, That henceforth prayers, imploring the assistance
+     of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held
+     in the Assembly every morning before we proceed to business;
+     and that one or more of the clergy of this city be requested
+     to officiate in that service."
+
+The speech which accompanied this motion will forever be conspicuous
+in our annals. He said:
+
+"Mr. President! The small progress we have made, after four or five
+weeks close attendence and continual reasonings with each other; our
+different sentiments on almost every question, is, methinks, a
+melancholy proof of the imperfection of the human understanding.
+
+"In this situation of this Assembly groping, as it were, in the dark,
+to find political truth, and scarce able to distinguish it when
+presented to us, how has it happened, sir, that we have not yet
+hitherto once thought of humbly applying to the Father of Lights to
+illuminate our understandings?
+
+"In the beginning of the contest with Britain, when we were sensible
+of danger, we had daily prayers, in this room, for divine protection!
+Our prayers, sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. All
+of us, who were engaged in the struggle, must have observed frequent
+instances of a superintending Providence in our favor. To that kind
+Providence we owe this happy opportunity of consulting, in peace, on
+the means of establishing our future national felicity. And have we
+now forgotten that powerful friend? or do we imagine that we no
+longer need his assistance?
+
+"I have lived, sir, a long time. And the longer I live, the more
+convincing proofs I see of this truth; _That God governs in the
+affairs of men_. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without
+his notice, is it probable that an Empire can rise without his aid?
+We have been assured, sir, in the Sacred Writings, that 'except the
+Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.' I firmly
+believe this. And I also believe that, without His concurring aid, we
+shall succeed in this political building, no better than the building
+of Babel."
+
+It is almost incomprehensible that, under the influence of such an
+appeal, the great majority of the Assembly should have voted against
+seeking divine aid. In a note appended to this speech, Franklin
+writes,
+
+     "The convention, except three or four persons, thought
+     prayers unnecessary."[39]
+
+[Footnote 39: Mr. Parton undoubtedly suggested the true reason for
+this strange refusal to seek divine guidance. He writes,
+
+     "I think it not improbable that the cause of this opposition
+     to a proposal so seldom negatived in the United States, was
+     the prevalence in the Convention of the French tone of
+     feeling with regard to religious observances. If so, it was
+     the more remarkable to see the aged Franklin, who was a deist
+     at fifteen, and had just returned from France, coming back to
+     the sentiments of his ancestors."--_Parton's Franklin_ Vol.
+     2, p. 575.]
+
+The convention came to a triumphant close, early in September, 1787.
+Behind the speaker's chair there was a picture of the Rising Sun.
+While the members were signing, Franklin turned to Mr. Madison, and
+said,
+
+"I have often, in the course of the session, and the vicissitudes of
+my hopes and fears as to its issue, looked at the picture behind the
+President, without being able to tell whether the sun were rising or
+setting. But now at length, I have the happiness to know that it is a
+rising, not a setting sun."
+
+Washington was universally revered. Franklin was both revered and
+loved. It was almost the universal feeling that, next to Washington,
+our nation was indebted to Franklin for its Independence. Franklin
+occupied, in the arduous field of diplomacy, the position which
+Washington occupied at the head of our armies. It was certain that
+Franklin had, at one period of his life, entirely renounced his belief
+in Christianity, as a divine revelation. His Christian friends,
+numbering hundreds, encouraged by some of the utterances of his old
+age, were anxious to know if he had returned to the faith of his
+fathers. Dr. Ezra Stiles, President of Yale College, was a friend of
+Franklin's of many years standing. When the revered patriot had
+reached his eighty-fifth year, Dr. Stiles wrote, soliciting his
+portrait for the college library. In this letter, he says,
+
+     "I wish to know the opinion of my venerable friend,
+     concerning Jesus of Nazareth. He will not impute this to
+     impertinence; or improper curiosity in one, who, for so many
+     years, has continued to love, esteem and reverence his
+     abilities and literary character, with an ardor and
+     affection bordering on adoration."
+
+What Dr. Stiles, and the community in general, wished to know was,
+whether Dr. Franklin recognized the Divine, supernatural origin of
+Christianity. Franklin evaded the question. This evasion of course
+indicates that he did not recognize, in the religion of Jesus, the
+authority of, "Thus saith the Lord." But he wished to avoid wounding
+the feelings of his Christian friends by this avowal. He wrote,
+
+     "This is my creed. I believe in God, the Creator of the
+     Universe; that he governs it by his Providence; that he
+     ought to be worshiped; that the most acceptable service we
+     render to him, is doing good to his other children; that the
+     soul of man is immortal, and will be treated with justice in
+     another life, respecting its conduct in this. These I take
+     to be fundamental points in all sound religion, and I regard
+     them as you do, in whatever sect I meet with them.
+
+     "As to Jesus of Nazareth, my opinion of whom you
+     particularly desire, I think his system of morals and his
+     religion, as he left them to us, the best the world ever
+     saw, or is like to see. But I apprehend it has received
+     various corrupting changes, and I have, with most of the
+     Dissenters in England, some doubts as to his Divinity;
+     though it is a question I do not dogmatize upon, having
+     never studied it. And I think it needless to busy myself
+     with it now, when I expect soon an opportunity of knowing
+     the truth with less trouble.
+
+     "I see however no harm in its being believed, if that belief
+     has the good consequence, as probably it has, of making his
+     doctrines more respected and observed; especially as I do
+     not perceive that the Supreme takes it amiss, by
+     distinguishing the unbelievers in his government of this
+     world, with any peculiar marks of his displeasure. I shall
+     only add respecting myself, that, having experienced the
+     goodness of that Being, in conducting me prosperously
+     through a long life, I have no doubt of its continuance in
+     the next, though without the smallest conceit of meriting
+     such goodness."
+
+He then adds the following suggestive postscript. "I confide that you
+will not expose me to criticism and censures, by publishing any part
+of this communication to you. I have ever let others enjoy their
+religious sentiments, without reflecting on them, for those that
+appeared to me unsupportable, or even absurd. All sects here, and we
+have a great variety, have experienced my good will, in assisting them
+with subscriptions for the building their new places of worship. And,
+as I have never opposed any of their doctrines, I hope to go out of
+the world in peace with them all."
+
+Much of his time, in these hours of sickness, he employed in writing
+his Autobiography. The sufferings he endured were at times very
+severe. But when he spoke of his approaching departure, it was with
+composure. At one time, when his daughter expressed the wish that he
+might yet live many years, he replied "I hope not."
+
+A clerical friend visited him, just as one of his paroxysms of pain
+came on. As his friend in consequence was about to retire, he said,
+
+"Oh no; don't go away. These pains will soon be over. They are for my
+good. And besides, what are the pains of a moment in comparison with
+the pleasures of eternity."
+
+There was, in one of the chambers of his house, a very beautiful
+painting of Christ on the Cross. He requested his nurse, a very worthy
+woman, of the Friends' persuasion, to bring it down, and place it
+directly before him. The Rev. David Ritter, a great admirer of
+Franklin, called to see him. He had, however, but a few moments
+before, breathed his last. Sarah Humphries, the nurse, invited David
+into the chamber, to view the remains. Mr. Ritter expressed surprise
+in seeing the picture of the Saviour on the cross occupying so
+conspicuous a position, saying, "You know, Sarah, that many people
+think that Dr. Franklin was not after this sort."
+
+"Yes," she replied, "but thee knows, David, that many make a great
+fuss about religion, who have very little. And many, who say but
+little, have a good deal. He was never satisfied, if a day passed away
+unless he had done some one a service.[40] Benjamin Franklin was one
+of that sort. I will tell thee how the picture came here. Many weeks
+ago, as he lay, he beckoned me to him, and told me of this picture, up
+stairs, and begged I would bring it to him. I brought it. His face
+brightened up, as he looked at it, and he said,
+
+"'Ay Sarah; there is a picture worth looking at. That is the picture
+of him who came into the world to teach men to love one another.'"
+
+"After looking at it wistfully for some time, he said, 'Sarah, set
+this picture up over the mantel-piece, right before me as I lie. I
+like to look at it.'
+
+"When I fixed it up he looked at it very much; and indeed died with
+his eyes fixed upon it."
+
+[Footnote 40: This reminds us of the exclamation of the Emperor Titus,
+who, at the close of a day in which he could not perceive that he had
+done any good, exclaimed, sadly, "Perdidi Diem." _I have lost a day._
+Beautifully has the sentiment been expressed in the words, which it
+would be well for all to treasure up,
+
+     "Count that day lost, whose low descending sun,
+     Views at thy hand no worthy action done."]
+
+However deeply Franklin, in these dying hours may have pondered the
+sublimities of Immortality--the Resurrection--the Judgment Throne--the
+Final Verdict--Heaven--Hell,--he was very reticent respecting those
+themes. We certainly see none of the triumph of Paul, and of
+thousands of others, who have in varied language, expressed the
+sentiment that,
+
+     "Jesus can make a dying bed
+     Feel soft as downy pillows are."
+
+A few hours before his death, as some one urged him to change his
+position, that he might breathe easier he replied, "a dying man can do
+nothing easy." These were his last words. He then sank into a
+lethargy, from which he passed into that sleep which has no earthly
+waking. It was eleven o'clock at night, April 17, 1790. He had lived
+eighty-four years, three months and eleven days.
+
+But no candid and charitable reader can peruse this narrative,
+without the admission that Benjamin Franklin, notwithstanding his
+imperfections, was one of the wisest and best of all the fallen
+children of Adam. From his dying hour to the present day his memory
+has been justly cherished with reverence and affection, throughout the
+civilized world. And there is no fear that this verdict will ever be
+reversed.
+
+
+
+
+TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE:
+
+Minor changes have been made to correct obvious typesetters' errors;
+otherwise, every effort has been made to remain true to the author's
+words and intent.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Benjamin Franklin, A Picture of the
+Struggles of Our Infant Nation One Hundred Years Ago, by John S. C. Abbott
+
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Benjamin Franklin, A Picture of the
+Struggles of Our Infant Nation One Hundred Years Ago, by John S. C. Abbott
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Benjamin Franklin, A Picture of the Struggles of Our Infant Nation One Hundred Years Ago
+       American Pioneers and Patriots Series
+
+Author: John S. C. Abbott
+
+Release Date: November 5, 2009 [EBook #30406]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BENJAMIN FRANKLIN ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by D Alexander and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+produced from images generously made available by The
+Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<h3><i>AMERICAN PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS.</i></h3>
+
+<hr class="medium" />
+
+<h1><span class="smcap">Benjamin Franklin.</span></h1>
+
+<p class="center">A PICTURE OF THE</p>
+
+<p class="center">STRUGGLES OF OUR INFANT NATION,</p>
+
+<p class="center">ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO.</p>
+
+<h3>BY</h3>
+
+<h2>JOHN S. C. ABBOTT.</h2>
+
+<p class="center">&#8220;Print me as I am.&#8221;&mdash;<span class="smcap">Cromwell.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tiny" />
+
+<p class="center">ILLUSTRATED.</p>
+
+<hr class="tiny" />
+
+<h3>NEW YORK:</h3>
+
+<h2>DODD, MEAD &amp; COMPANY.</h2>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">751 Broadway.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="large" />
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Copyright,</span><br />
+<br />
+DODD, MEAD &amp; COMPANY.<br />
+<br />
+1876</p>
+
+<hr class="large" />
+
+<h2>PREFACE.</h2>
+
+<p>Next to George Washington, we must write, upon the Catalogue of
+American Patriots, the name of Benjamin Franklin. He had so many
+virtues that there is no need of exaggerating them; so few
+imperfections that they need not be concealed. The writer has
+endeavored to give a perfectly accurate view of his character, and of
+that great struggle, in which he took so conspicuous a part, which
+secured the Independence of the United States. Probably there can no
+where be found, within the same limits, so vivid a picture of Life in
+America, one hundred years ago, as the career of Franklin presents.</p>
+
+<p>This volume is the twelfth of the Library Series of Pioneers and
+Patriots. The series presents a graphic history of our country from
+its discovery.</p>
+
+<p>1. <i>Christopher Columbus</i> reveals to us the West Indies, and gives a
+narrative of wonders unsurpassed in fact or fable.</p>
+
+<p>2. <i>De Soto</i> conducts us to Florida, and leads us through scenes of
+romance, crime, blood and woe&mdash;through many Indian tribes, across the
+continent, to the Mississippi, where he finds his melancholy grave.</p>
+
+<p>3. <i>La Salle</i>, and his heroic companions, traversed thousands of miles
+of majestic lakes and unknown rivers, and introduces us to innumerable
+barbaric tribes. There is no other writer, who, from his own personal
+observation, can give one so vivid an idea of Life in the Indian
+village and wigwam.</p>
+
+<p>4. <i>Miles Standish</i> was the Captain of the Pilgrims. He conducts us in
+the May Flower, across the Atlantic, lands us at Plymouth, and tells
+the never to be forgotten story of the heroism of our fathers in
+laying the foundations of this great republic.</p>
+
+<p>5. <i>Captain Kidd</i>, and the Buccaneers, reveal to us the awful
+condition of North and South America, when there was no protecting law
+here, and when pirates swept sea and land, inflicting atrocities, the
+narrative of which causes the ear which hears it to tingle.</p>
+
+<p>6. <i>Peter Stuyvesant</i> takes us by the hand, and introduces us to the
+Dutch settlement at the mouth of the Hudson, conveys us, in his
+schooner, up the solitary river, along whose forest-covered banks
+Indian villages were scattered; and reveals to us all the struggles,
+by which the Dutch New Amsterdam was converted into the English New
+York.</p>
+
+<p>7. <i>Benjamin Franklin</i> should chronologically take his place here.
+There is probably not, in the compass of all literature, a biography
+more full of entertainment and valuable thought, than a truthful
+sketch of the career of Benjamin Franklin. He leads us to
+Philadelphia, one hundred and fifty years ago, and makes us perfectly
+familiar with life there and then. He conducts us across the Atlantic
+to the Court of St. James, and the Court of Versailles. There is no
+writer, French or English, who has given such vivid sketches of the
+scenes which were witnessed there, as came from the pen of Benjamin
+Franklin. For half a century Franklin moved amid the most stupendous
+events, a graphic history of which his pen has recorded.</p>
+
+<p>8. <i>George Washington</i> has no superior. Humanity is proud of his name.
+He seems to have approached as near perfection as any man who ever
+lived. In his wonderful career we became familiar with all the
+struggles of the American Revolution. With a feeble soldiery,
+collected from a population of less than three millions of people, he
+baffled all the efforts of the fleets and armies of Great Britain, the
+most powerful empire upon this globe.</p>
+
+<p>9. <i>Daniel Boone</i> was the Cowper of the wilderness; a solitary man
+loving the silent companionship of the woods. He leads us across the
+Alleghanies to the fields of Kentucky, before any white man&#8217;s foot
+had traversed those magnificent realms. No tale of romance could ever
+surpass his adventures with the Indians.</p>
+
+<p>10. <i>Kit Carson</i> was the child of the wilderness. He was by nature a
+gentleman, and one of the most lovable of men. His weird-like life
+passed rapidly away, before the introduction of railroads and
+steamboats. His strange, heroic adventures are ever read with
+astonishment, and they invariably secure for him the respect and
+affection of all who become familiar with his name.</p>
+
+<p>11. <i>Paul Jones</i> was one of the purest patriots, and perhaps the most
+heroic naval hero, to whom any country has given birth. He has been so
+traduced, by the Tory press of Great Britain, that even the Americans
+have not yet done him full justice. This narrative of his astonishing
+achievements will, it is hoped, give him rank, in the opinion of every
+reader, with Washington, Franklin, Jefferson and Lafayette.</p>
+
+<p>12. <i>David Crockett</i> was a unique man. There is no one like him. Under
+no institutions but ours could such a character be formed. From a log
+hut, more comfortless than the wigwam of the savage, and without being
+able either to read or write, he enters legislative halls, takes his
+seat in Congress, and makes the tour of our great cities, attracting
+crowds to hear him speak. His life is a wild romance of undoubted
+truth.</p>
+
+<p>Such is the character of this little library of twelve volumes. The
+writer, who has now entered the evening of life, affectionately
+commends them to the young men of America, upon whose footsteps their
+morning sun is now rising. The life of each one, if prolonged to three
+score years and ten, will surely prove a stormy scene. But it may end
+in a serene and tranquil evening, ushering in the glories of an
+immortal day.</p>
+
+<p><span style="margin-left: 20em;"><span class="smcap">John S. C. Abbott.</span></span><br />
+<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><span class="smcap">Fair Haven, Conn.</span></span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>As this is not improbably the last book I shall write, it may not be
+improper for me to state that, at the age of twenty-four, I commenced
+the career of an author, by writing &#8220;The Mother At Home.&#8221; I have now
+attained the age of three score years and ten. In the meantime I have
+written fifty-four volumes of History or Biography. In every one it
+has been my endeavor to make the inhabitants of this sad world more
+brotherly,&mdash;better and happier.</p>
+
+<p>The long series is probably closed with the biography of Benjamin
+Franklin. Every page has been penned under this impression. A theme
+more full of instruction and interest could not be chosen.</p>
+
+<p>And now, in my declining years, as I feel that the battle has been
+fought and, I hope, the victory won, it is an unspeakable comfort for
+me to reflect, that, in all these fifty-four volumes, there is not one
+line which, &#8220;dying, I could wish to blot.&#8221;</p>
+
+<hr class="large" />
+<h2>CONTENTS.</h2>
+
+<div class="centered">
+<table border="0" width="65%" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" summary="CONTENTS">
+
+<tr>
+<td align="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER I.</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td align="center" colspan="2"><i>Parentage and Early Life.</i></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td align="right">PAGE</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><div class="blockquot2">The parentage of Franklin&mdash;His parents emigrate to America&mdash;Character
+of his father&mdash;Abiah Folger, his mother&mdash;Birth
+and baptism&mdash;Influence of his Uncle Strong&mdash;Of the Whistle&mdash;Childish
+exploits&mdash;Uncongenial employment&mdash;Skill in
+swimming&mdash;Early reading&mdash;Boston at that time&mdash;An indentured
+apprentice&mdash;Form of Indenture&mdash;Enters a printing
+office&mdash;Fondness for reading&mdash;Anecdotes&mdash;Habits of
+study&mdash;Fondness for argument&mdash;Adopts a vegetable diet&mdash;The
+two creeds.</div></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#Benjamin_Franklin">11</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td align="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER II.</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td align="center" colspan="2"><i>Developments of Character.</i></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><div class="blockquot2">Views of the Sabbath&mdash;Writings of Collins and Shaftsbury&mdash;The
+creed of Collins&mdash;Franklin at sixteen&mdash;The Courant&mdash;Denunciations
+of the paper&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s mode of acquiring the
+art of composition&mdash;His success as a writer&mdash;The Editor
+prosecuted&mdash;Benjamin becomes Editor and Publisher&mdash;Jealousy
+of his brother&mdash;The runaway apprentice&mdash;The voyage
+to New York&mdash;Great disappointment&mdash;Eventful Journey to
+Philadelphia&mdash;Gloomy prospects&mdash;The dawn of brighter
+days.</div></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">31</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td align="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER III.</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td align="center" colspan="2"><i>Excursion to England.</i></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><div class="blockquot2">Attention to dress&mdash;Receives a visit from Gov. Keith&mdash;His visit
+to Boston&mdash;Collins returns to Philadelphia with him&mdash;Sir
+William Keith&#8217;s aid&mdash;Excursions on the Sabbath&mdash;Difficulty
+with Collins&mdash;Spending Mr. Vernon&#8217;s money&mdash;His three
+friends&mdash;Engagement with Deborah Read&mdash;Voyage to England&mdash;Keith&#8217;s
+deceit&mdash;Ralph&mdash;Franklin enters a printing
+house in London.</div></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">52</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td align="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER IV.</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td align="center" colspan="2"><i>Mental and Moral Conflicts.</i></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><div class="blockquot2">Faithfulness to work&mdash;Neglect of Deborah Read&mdash;Treatise on
+Liberty and Necessity&mdash;Skill in swimming&mdash;Return to
+America&mdash;Marriage of Miss Read&mdash;Severe sickness&mdash;Death
+of Mr. Denham&mdash;Returns to Keimer&#8217;s employ&mdash;The Junto&mdash;His
+Epitaph&mdash;Reformation of his treatise on Liberty and
+Necessity&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s creed.</div></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">75</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td align="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER V.</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td align="center" colspan="2"><i>The Dawn of Prosperity.</i></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><div class="blockquot2">Franklin takes a house&mdash;His first job&mdash;His industry&mdash;Plans a
+Newspaper&mdash;Enters the list as a writer&mdash;Advocates a Paper
+currency&mdash;Purchases Keimer&#8217;s paper&mdash;Character of Meredith&mdash;Struggles
+of the firm&mdash;Unexpected assistance&mdash;Dissolves
+partnership with Meredith&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s energetic conduct&mdash;His
+courtship, and marriage&mdash;Character of Mrs. Franklin&mdash;Increase
+of luxury&mdash;Plans for a library&mdash;Prosperity of Pennsylvania&mdash;Customs
+in Philadelphia&mdash;Style of dress in 1726&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s
+social position in Philadelphia&mdash;His success&mdash;A
+hard student.</div></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">101</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td align="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER VI.</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td align="center" colspan="2"><i>Religious and Philosophic Views.</i></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><div class="blockquot2">Studious habits&mdash;New religion&mdash;Personal habits&mdash;Church of the
+Free and Easy&mdash;His many accomplishments&mdash;The career of
+Hemphall&mdash;Birth and Death of Franklin&#8217;s son&mdash;The Ministry
+of Whitefield&mdash;Remarkable friendship between the philosopher
+and the preacher&mdash;Prosperity of Franklin&mdash;His convivial
+habits&mdash;The defense of Philadelphia&mdash;Birth of a
+daughter&mdash;The Philadelphia Academy.</div></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">126</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td align="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER VII.</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td align="center" colspan="2"><i>The Tradesman becomes a Philosopher.</i></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><div class="blockquot2">Franklin appointed Indian commissioner&mdash;Effects of Rum&mdash;Indian
+logic&mdash;Accumulating honors&mdash;Benevolent enterprises&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s
+counsel to Tennent&mdash;Efforts for city improvement&mdash;Anecdotes&mdash;Franklin
+appointed postmaster&mdash;Rumors
+of War&mdash;England enlists the Six Nations in her cause&mdash;Franklin
+plans a Confederacy of States&mdash;Plans rejected&mdash;Electrical
+experiments&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s increase of income&mdash;Fearful
+experiments&mdash;The kite&mdash;New honors&mdash;Views of the
+French philosopher&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s Religious views&mdash;His counsel
+to a young pleader&mdash;Post-office Reforms.</div></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">147</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td align="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER VIII.</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td align="center" colspan="2"><i>The Rising Storms of War.</i></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><div class="blockquot2">Aristocracy&mdash;Anecdote&mdash;Conflicting laws of Nations&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s
+scheme of colonization&mdash;Proposal of the British Court&mdash;The
+foresight of Franklin&mdash;Braddock&#8217;s campaign&mdash;Remonstrances
+of Franklin and Washington&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s interviews
+with Braddock&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s efficiency&mdash;Confidence of Braddock&mdash;The
+conflict with the Proprietaries&mdash;The non-resistant
+Quakers&mdash;Fate of the Moravian villages&mdash;The winter
+campaign&mdash;The camp of Gaudenhutton&mdash;Anecdote&mdash;Renewal
+of the strife with the Proprietaries&mdash;Franklin recalled
+to assist the Assembly&mdash;Destruction of the Fort&mdash;Claim of
+the Proprietaries&mdash;The great controversy.</div></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">168</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td align="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER IX.</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td align="center" colspan="2"><i>Franklin&#8217;s Mission to England.</i></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><div class="blockquot2">New marks of respect&mdash;Lord Loudoun&mdash;Gov. Denny and Franklin&mdash;Visit
+the Indians&mdash;Franklin commissioner to England&mdash;His
+constant good nature&mdash;Loudoun&#8217;s delays&mdash;Wise action
+of an English captain&mdash;The voyagers land at Falmouth&mdash;Journey
+to London&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s style of living in London&mdash;His
+electrical experiments&mdash;He teaches the Cambridge professor&mdash;Complimentary
+action of St. Andrews&mdash;Gov. Denny
+displaced, and dark clouds arising&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s successful
+diplomacy&mdash;His son appointed Governor of New Jersey&mdash;Great
+opposition&mdash;The homeward voyage&mdash;Savage horrors&mdash;Retaliating
+cruelties&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s efforts in behalf of the
+Moravian Indians.</div></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">190</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td align="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER X.</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td align="center" colspan="2"><i>Franklin&#8217;s Second Mission to England.</i></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><div class="blockquot2">Fiendish conduct of John Penn&mdash;Petition to the crown&mdash;Debt of
+England&mdash;Two causes of conflict&mdash;Franklin sent to England&mdash;His
+embarkation&mdash;Wise counsel to his daughter&mdash;The
+stamp act&mdash;American resolves&mdash;Edmund Burke&mdash;Examination
+of Franklin&mdash;Words of Lord Chatham&mdash;Dangers to
+English operatives&mdash;Repeal of the stamp act&mdash;Joy in America&mdash;Ross
+Mackay&mdash;New taxes levied&mdash;Character of George
+III&mdash;Accumulation of honors to Franklin&mdash;Warlike preparations&mdash;Human
+conscientiousness&mdash;Unpopularity of William
+Franklin&mdash;Marriage of Sarah Franklin&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s
+varied investigations&mdash;Efforts to civilize the Sandwich
+Islands.</div></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">215</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td align="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER XI.</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td align="center" colspan="2"><i>The Intolerance of King and Court.</i></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><div class="blockquot2">Parties in England&mdash;Franklin the favorite of the opposition&mdash;Plans
+of the Tories&mdash;Christian III&mdash;Letter of Franklin&mdash;Dr.
+Priestley&mdash;Parisian courtesy&mdash;Louis XV&mdash;Visit to Ireland&mdash;Attempted
+alteration of the Prayer Book&mdash;Letter to his son&mdash;Astounding
+letters from America&mdash;Words of John Adams&mdash;Petition
+of the Assembly&mdash;Violent conspiracy against
+Franklin&mdash;His bearing in the court-room&mdash;Wedderburn&#8217;s
+infamous charges&mdash;Letter of Franklin&mdash;Bitter words of Dr.
+Johnson&mdash;Morals of English lords&mdash;Commercial value of the
+Colonies&mdash;Dangers threatening Franklin.</div></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">240</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td align="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER XII.</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td align="center" colspan="2"><i>The Bloodhounds of War Unleashed.</i></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><div class="blockquot2">The mission of Josiah Quincy&mdash;Love of England by the Americans&mdash;Petition
+to the king&mdash;Sickness and death of Mrs.
+Franklin&mdash;Lord Chatham&mdash;His speech in favor of the colonists&mdash;Lord
+Howe&mdash;His interview with Franklin&mdash;Firmness
+of Franklin&mdash;His indignation&mdash;His mirth&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s
+fable&mdash;He embarks for Philadelphia&mdash;Feeble condition of
+the colonies&mdash;England&#8217;s expressions of contempt&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s
+reception at Philadelphia&mdash;His letter to Edmund Burke&mdash;Post-office
+arrangements&mdash;Defection and conduct of William
+Franklin&mdash;His arrest.</div></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">265</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td align="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER XIII.</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td align="center" colspan="2"><i>Progress of the War, both of Diplomacy and<br />
+the Sword.</i></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><div class="blockquot2">Letter of Henry Laurens&mdash;Franklin visits the army before Boston&mdash;Letter
+of Mrs. Adams&mdash;Burning of Falmouth&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s
+journey to Montreal&mdash;The Declaration of Independence&mdash;Anecdote
+of the Hatter&mdash;Framing the Constitution&mdash;Lord
+Howe&#8217;s Declaration&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s reply&mdash;The Conference&mdash;Encouraging
+letter from France&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s embassy to
+France&mdash;The two parties in France&mdash;The voyage&mdash;The
+reception in France.</div></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">292</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td align="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER XIV.</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td align="center" colspan="2"><i>The Struggles of Diplomacy.</i></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><div class="blockquot2">Anecdote of Gibbon&mdash;John Adams&mdash;Residence at Passy&mdash;Lafayette
+introduced&mdash;Cruise of the Reprisal&mdash;Paul Jones&mdash;Capture
+of Burgoyne&mdash;Alliance with France&mdash;Anecdote of
+the Cake&mdash;Excitement in England&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s introduction
+to the king&mdash;Joy in America&mdash;Extraordinary letter of Count
+Wissenstein&mdash;The reply&mdash;Injustice to Paul Jones&mdash;French
+troops in America&mdash;Character of John Adams&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s
+mature views of human nature&mdash;Anecdote of the Angel&mdash;Capture
+of Cornwallis&mdash;Its effect in England&mdash;Prejudices of
+Mr. Jay&mdash;Testimony of Dr. Sparks&mdash;Jealousy of Franklin&mdash;Shrewd
+diplomatic act&mdash;The treaty signed.</div></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">322</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td align="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER XV.</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td align="center" colspan="2"><i>Life&#8217;s Closing Scenes.</i></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><div class="blockquot2">Advice to Thomas Paine&mdash;Scenes at Passy&mdash;Journey to the Coast&mdash;Return
+to America&mdash;Elected Governor of Pennsylvania&mdash;Attends
+the Constitutional Convention&mdash;Proposes prayers&mdash;Remarkable
+speech&mdash;Letter to Dr. Stiles&mdash;Christ on the
+Cross&mdash;Last sickness and death.</div></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">356</a></td></tr></table></div>
+
+<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="Benjamin_Franklin" id="Benjamin_Franklin"></a><span class="smcap">Benjamin Franklin.</span></h2>
+
+<hr class="tiny" />
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.</h2>
+
+<h3><i>Parentage and Early Life.</i></h3>
+
+<div class="blockquot3"><p>The parentage of Franklin&mdash;His parents emigrate to
+America&mdash;Character of his father&mdash;Abiah Folger, his
+mother&mdash;Birth and baptism&mdash;Influence of his Uncle
+Strong&mdash;Of the Whistle&mdash;Childish exploits&mdash;Uncongenial
+employment&mdash;Skill in swimming&mdash;Early reading.&mdash;Boston at
+that time&mdash;An indentured apprentice&mdash;Form of
+Indenture&mdash;Enters a printing office&mdash;Fondness for
+reading&mdash;Anecdotes&mdash;Habits of study&mdash;Fondness for
+argument&mdash;Adopts a vegetable diet&mdash;The two creeds.</p></div>
+
+<p>About the year 1685, Josiah Franklin, with his wife and three
+children, emigrated from Banbury, England, to seek his fortune in this
+new world. He was in all respects a very worthy man, intelligent,
+industrious, and influenced to conduct by high moral and religious
+principles. Several of Josiah Franklin&#8217;s neighbors accompanied him in
+his removal.</p>
+
+<p>Boston was then a straggling village, of five or <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span>six thousand
+inhabitants. In front spread out its magnificent bay, with its
+beautiful islands. In the rear the primeval forest extended, almost
+unbroken, through unexplored wilds to the Pacific. His trade was that
+of a dyer. Finding, however, but little employment in that business,
+he set up as a tallow chandler and soap boiler. Four years of life&#8217;s
+usual joys and sorrows passed away when Mrs. Franklin died, leaving
+six children. The eldest was but eleven years of age. This motherless
+little family needed a maternal guardian. Within the year, Mr.
+Franklin married Abiah Folger, of Nantucket. She was the youngest
+daughter of Peter Folger, a man illustrious for many virtues, and of
+whom it has been well said, that &#8220;he was worthy to be the grandfather
+of Benjamin Franklin.&#8221; She proved to be a noble woman, and was all
+that either husband or children could wish for. Ten children were the
+fruit of this union. Benjamin was born on the sixth of January, (O.
+S.) 1706.</p>
+
+<p>He was born in the morning of a Sabbath day. His father then resided
+directly opposite the Old South Church, in Milk street. The same day,
+the babe, whose renown it was then little imagined would subsequently
+fill the civilized world, was wrapped in blankets, and carried by his
+father across the street through the wintry air, to the Old South
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span>Church, where he was baptized by the Rev. Dr. Willard. He was named
+Benjamin, after a much beloved uncle then residing in England. This
+uncle was a man of some property, of decided literary tastes, and of
+the simple, fervent piety, which characterized the best people of
+those days. He took an ever increasing interest in Benjamin. He
+eventually came over to this country, and exerted a powerful influence
+in moulding the character of his nephew, whose brilliant intellect he
+appreciated.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after the birth of Benjamin, his father removed to a humble but
+comfortable dwelling at the corner of Hanover and Union streets. Here
+he passed the remainder of his days. When Franklin had attained the
+age of five years, a terrible conflagration took place, since known as
+the Great Boston Fire. Just as the cold blasts of winter began to
+sweep the streets, this great calamity occurred. The whole heart of
+the thriving little town was laid in ashes. Over a hundred families
+found themselves in destitution in the streets.</p>
+
+<p>An incident took place when Franklin was about seven years of age,
+which left so indelible an impression upon his mind, that it cannot be
+omitted in any faithful record of his life. He gave the following
+account of the event in his autobiography, written after the lapse of
+sixty-six years:</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span></p><div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;My friends, on a holiday, filled my pockets with coppers. I
+went directly to a shop where they sold toys for children;
+and being charmed with the sound of a whistle that I met by
+the way in the hands of another boy, I voluntarily gave all
+my money for one. I then came home and went whistling all
+over the house, much pleased with my whistle, but disturbing
+all the family. My brothers and sisters and cousins,
+understanding the bargain I had made, told me that I had
+given four times as much for it as it was worth; put me in
+mind what good things I might have bought with the rest of
+the money; and laughed at me so much for my folly, that I
+cried with vexation; and the reflection gave me more chagrin
+than the whistle gave me pleasure.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>This story, as published by Franklin, with his keen practical
+reflections, has become as a household word in all the families of
+England and America; and has been translated into nearly all the
+languages of modern Europe.</p>
+
+<p>From early childhood Franklin was celebrated for his physical beauty,
+his athletic vigor and his imperturbable good nature. His companions
+invariably recognized him as their natural leader. He was in no
+respect what would be called a religious boy, but in many things he
+had a high sense of honor.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span></p><p>There was a marsh, flooded at high tides, where the boys used to fish
+for minnows. Much trampling had converted the spot into a quagmire. A
+man was about to build a house near by, and had carted a large
+quantity of stones for the cellar. Franklin called the boys together
+and suggested that they should go in the evening, take those stones,
+and build a wharf upon which they could stand with dry feet. It was
+done. And under the skilful engineering of the youthful Franklin, it
+was quite scientifically done. Complaints and detection followed.
+Josiah Franklin severely reproved Benjamin for the dishonest act, but
+it does not appear that the conscience of the precocious boy was much
+troubled. He argued very forcibly that the utility of the measure
+proved its necessity.</p>
+
+<p>At the age of eight years, Benjamin entered the Boston Grammar School.
+His progress was very rapid, and at the close of the year he was at
+the head of his class. The father had hoped to give his promising boy
+a liberal education; but his large family and straitened circumstances
+rendered it necessary for him to abandon the plan. At the age of ten
+years his school life was completed, and he was taken into his
+father&#8217;s shop to run of errands, and to attend to the details of
+candle-making, cutting wicks, filling moulds, and waiting upon
+customers. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span>He could write a good hand, could read fluently, could
+express himself with ease on paper, but in all arithmetical studies
+was very backward.</p>
+
+<p>There is scarcely any sport which has such a charm for boys as
+swimming. Franklin excelled all his companions. It is reported that
+his skill was wonderful; and that at any time between his twelfth and
+sixtieth year, he could with ease have swum across the Hellespont. In
+his earliest years, in all his amusements and employments, his
+inventive genius was at work in searching out expedients. To
+facilitate rapidity in swimming he formed two oval pallets, much
+resembling those used by painters, about ten inches long, and six
+broad. A hole was cut for the thumb and they were bound fast to the
+palm of the hand. Sandals of a somewhat similar construction were
+bound to the soles of the feet. With these appliances Franklin found
+that he could swim more rapidly, but his wrists soon became greatly
+fatigued. The sandals also he found of little avail, as in swimming,
+the propelling stroke is partly given by the inside of the feet and
+ankles, and not entirely by the soles of the feet.</p>
+
+<p>In the vicinity of Boston there was a pond a mile wide. Franklin made
+a large paper kite, and when the wind blew strongly across the pond,
+he raised it, and entering the water and throwing himself <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span>upon his
+back was borne rapidly to the opposite shore. &#8220;The motion,&#8221; he says,
+&#8220;was exceedingly agreeable.&#8221; A boy carried his clothes around.
+Subsequently he wrote to M. Dubourg,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;I have never since that time practiced this singular mode
+of swimming; though I think it not impossible to cross in
+this manner from Dover to Calais. The packet boat, however,
+is still preferable.&#8221;<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p></div>
+
+<p>The taste for reading of this wonderful boy was insatiable. He had
+access, comparatively, to few books, but those he devoured with the
+utmost eagerness. Bunyan&#8217;s Pilgrim&#8217;s Progress was, so to speak, his
+first love. Having read and re-read it until his whole spirit was
+incorporated with its nature, he sold the volume and purchased
+Burton&#8217;s Historical Collections. This consisted of quite a series of
+anecdotes and adventures, written in an attractive style, and
+published at a low price. In those early years he read another book
+which exerted a powerful influence in the formation of his character.
+When eighty years of age he alludes as follows to this work in a
+letter to Mr. Samuel Mather, who was son of the author, Cotton Mather,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;When I was a boy I met with a book entitled &#8216;Essays to do
+Good,&#8217; which I think was written by <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span>your father. It had
+been so little regarded by a former possessor that several
+leaves of it were torn out; but the remainder gave me such a
+turn of thinking, as to have an influence on my conduct
+through life; for I have always set a greater value on the
+character of a doer of good, than on any other kind of a
+reputation; and if I have been, as you seem to think, a
+useful citizen, the public owe the advantage of it to that
+book.&#8221;<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p></div>
+
+<p>When Franklin was twelve years of age, the population of Boston had
+increased to about ten thousand. An incident is recorded of Franklin
+at this time, which strikingly illustrates the peculiarity of his
+mental structure and the want of reverence with which he gradually
+accustomed himself to regard religious things. His father&#8217;s habit, in
+the long graces which preceded each meal, rather wearied the temper of
+his son. The precocious young skeptic, with characteristic
+irreverence, ventured to say,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I think, father, that if you were to say grace over the whole cask,
+once for all, it would save time.&#8221;<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p>
+
+<p>This was the remark of a boy but twelve years of age. Though it does
+not indicate a very devout <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span>spirit, it certainly gives evidence of an
+intellect of unusual acuteness.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin ever spoke of his boyhood as the very happy period of a
+remarkably happy life. His peculiar temperament enabled him to be
+happy under circumstances in which others would have been very
+miserable. His affections in after years ever yearned toward Boston;
+he was accustomed to speak of it as &#8220;that beloved place.&#8221; In one of
+his letters to John Lathrop he wrote,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;The Boston manner, the turn of phrase, and even tone of
+voice and accent in pronunciation, all please and seem to
+revive and refresh me.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>For two years Benjamin continued to assist his father in the business
+of soap and candle making. He was continually looking for an
+opportunity to escape the drudgery of that employment and enter upon
+some more congenial business. Like most adventurous boys, he thought
+much of the romance of a sea-life. An elder brother had run away, had
+gone to sea, and for years had not been heard from. Benjamin&#8217;s father
+became very anxious as he witnessed the discontent of his son. This
+anxiety was increased when an elder brother married, removed to Rhode
+Island, and set up a soap and candle establishment for himself. This
+seemed to Benjamin to rivet the chains which bound him at home.
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span>Apparently his father could not spare him from the business. Thus he
+seemed doomed to spend the remainder of his days in employment which
+proved to him increasingly uncongenial.</p>
+
+<p>The judicious father, apprehensive that his son might be lured
+secretly to embark for some distant voyage, visited with his son all
+the varied workshops of Boston, that he might select that trade which
+to him would seem most desirable. Benjamin examined all these
+workshops with intensest interest. He selected the employment of a
+cutler, and entered upon the business for a few days; but at that time
+a boy who was about to learn a trade was apprenticed to a master. As a
+premium for learning the business he usually had to pay about one
+hundred dollars. Then after a series of years, during which he worked
+for nothing, he was entitled for a time to receive journeyman&#8217;s wages.
+But his father, Josiah Franklin, was unable to settle satisfactorily
+the terms of indenture, and the cutlery trade was given up.</p>
+
+<p>We have mentioned that Franklin was one of a large family of children.
+By the two marriages of his father, there were sixteen sons and
+daughters around the family hearth. One of the sons, James, had been
+sent to London to learn the trade of a printer. He returned to Boston
+and set up business <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span>on his own account, when Benjamin was eleven
+years of age. It was decided to bind Benjamin to this business.
+Reluctantly Benjamin consented to place himself in such subordination
+to his brother. He was, however, bound to him for a period of nine
+years, from twelve to twenty-one. During the last year he was to
+receive a journeyman&#8217;s wages. The following extract from this form of
+indenture of apprenticeship, which was in common use in the reign of
+George the First, will be read with interest.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;He shall neither buy nor sell without his master&#8217;s license. Taverns,
+inns, or ale-houses he shall not haunt. At cards, dice, tables, or any
+other unlawful game he shall not play. Matrimony he shall not
+contract; nor from the service of his said master day nor night absent
+himself, but in all things, as an honest and faithful apprentice,
+shall and will demean and behave himself towards his said master and
+all his, during said term. And the said James Franklin, the master,
+for and in consideration of the sum of ten pounds of lawful British
+money to him in hand paid by the said Josiah Franklin, the father, the
+receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, the said apprentice in the
+art of a printer which he now useth, shall teach and instruct or cause
+to be taught and instructed the best way and manner that he can,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span>finding and allowing unto the said apprentice, meat, drink, washing,
+lodging and all other necessaries during the said term.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Benjamin devoted himself with great assiduity to learn the trade of a
+printer. The office in which he worked, stood at the corner of
+Franklin avenue and Court street. For three years, Franklin was thus
+employed, apparently never seeking recreation, and never having a
+moment of leisure save such as he could rescue from sleep or from his
+meals. There were at that time several bookstores in Boston. The
+eminent men of that province had brought with them to the New World,
+literary and scientific tastes of a high order. Even then the axe of
+the settler had been heard but at a short distance in the primeval
+forests, which still encircled all the large towns. Bears were not
+unfrequently shot from Long Wharf, as they swam from island to island,
+or endeavored to cross the solitary bay. It is said that at that time
+twenty bears were often shot in a week.</p>
+
+<p>Benjamin Franklin, inspired by his love of reading, cultivated
+friendly relations with the clerks in the bookstores. From them he
+borrowed interesting volumes, which he took home in the evening with
+the utmost care, and having spent most of the night in reading, would
+return them at an early hour <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span>in the morning, before the master of the
+shop had time to miss them.</p>
+
+<p>Something in the demeanor of Franklin attracted the attention of a
+merchant in Boston by the name of Matthew Adams. He invited him to his
+library and loaned him books. The lad&#8217;s Uncle Benjamin, in England,
+who was very fond of composing rhymes which he called poetry, sent
+many of his effusions to his favorite nephew, and opened quite a brisk
+correspondence with him. Thus Benjamin soon became a fluent rhymester,
+and wrote sundry ballads which were sold in the streets and became
+quite popular. There was a great demand at that time for narratives of
+the exploits of pirates, the doom of murderers, and wild love
+adventures. It is said that one of the Boston publishers, in the sale
+of ballads alone, found a very lucrative business. Benjamin, who found
+it very easy to write doggerel verse, wrote one ballad called &#8220;The
+Light-house Tragedy.&#8221; It was a graphic, and what would be called at the
+present day, a sensational account of a shipwreck, in which the
+captain and his two daughters perished. He wrote another which was
+still more captivating, and which in all its main features was
+historically true. It was an account of the world-renowned pirate,
+Edward Teach, usually called Blackbeard. The reader will find a minute
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span>narrative of the career of that monster in the volume of this series
+of Pioneers and Patriots entitled &#8220;Captain Kidd; or the early American
+Buccaneers.&#8221; One stanza has descended to us which it is said composed
+a portion of this ballad, and which is certainly a fair specimen of
+the popular style then in vogue.</p>
+
+<div class="centerbox bbox"><p>&#8220;Come all you jolly sailors<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">You all so stout and brave,</span><br />
+Come hearken and I&#8217;ll tell you,<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">What happened on the wave.</span><br />
+Oh &#8217;tis of that bloody Blackbeard<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">I&#8217;m going now for to tell</span><br />
+And as how by gallant Maynard<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He soon was sent to Hell.</span><br />
+With a down, down, derry down.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>This was indeed wretched stuff, as Franklin afterwards admitted; but
+it is to be remembered he was then but a boy of fifteen. Having
+composed the ballad and set in type and printed it, he was then sent
+to hawk it through the streets. This was certainly a remarkable
+achievement for a lad of his years. The eagerness with which both of
+the ballads were seized by the public must have greatly gratified the
+self-esteem of the young writer.</p>
+
+<p>Addison was a bungler in talk, but every sentence from his pen was
+elegant. He once said, &#8220;I carry no loose change in my pocket, but I
+can draw for a thousand pounds.&#8221; Burke said of Goldsmith, &#8220;He writes
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span>like an angel, but he talks like poor Poll.&#8221; Franklin was by no means
+a bungler in his speech, but he was not fluent. He hesitated, and was
+at a loss for words, but whatever he wrote had a wonderful flow of
+harmony. The right word was always in the right place. Doubtless had
+he devoted as much attention to the acquirement of conversational
+ease, as he did to skill in writing, he would have been as successful
+in the one art as in the other. From early life it was his great
+ambition to be not merely a fine but a forcible writer. He did not
+seek splendor of diction, but that perspicuity, that transparency of
+expression which would convey the thought most directly to the mind.</p>
+
+<p>An odd volume of the Spectator fell in his way. He was charmed with
+the style. Selecting some interesting incident, he would read it with
+the closest care; he would then close the book, endeavoring to retain
+the thought only without regard to the expression. Then with pen, in
+hand, he would sit down and relate the anecdote or the incident in the
+most forceful and graphic words his vocabulary would afford. This he
+would correct and re-correct, minutely attending to the capitals and
+the punctuation until he had made it in all respects as perfect as it
+was in his power. He then compared his narrative with that in the
+Spectator. Of course he usually <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span>found many faults which he had
+committed, but occasionally he could not but admit he had improved
+upon his original. This encouraged him with the hope that by long
+continued practice, he might become an able writer of the English
+language. This practice he continued for months, varying it in many
+ways. He continued to rhyme, though he admitted that there was little
+poetry in his verse. The exercise, however, he thought useful in
+giving him a mastery of language.</p>
+
+<p>Though Franklin wrote ballads, he seemed to be mainly interested in
+reading books of the most elevated and instructive character. Locke&#8217;s
+&#8220;Essay on the Human Understanding,&#8221; he studied thoroughly. &#8220;The Art of
+Thinking,&#8221; by the Messrs. de Port Royal, engrossed all his energies.
+But perhaps there was no book, at that time, which produced so deep
+and abiding impression on his mind as the &#8220;Memorabilia of Socrates,&#8221;
+by Xenophon.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin was fond of arguing; he was naturally disputatious. With his
+keen intellect, he was pretty sure to come off as victor, at least in
+his own judgment, in discussions with his associates. But the Socratic
+method of argumentation, so different from that in which he had been
+accustomed to indulge, at once secured his approval and admiration.
+Socrates was never guilty of the discourtesy <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span>of assailing an opponent
+with flat contradiction or positive assertion. With a politeness which
+never failed him, and a modesty of demeanor which won the regard of
+all others, he would lead his fellow disputant, by a series of
+questions, to assent to the views which he advocated. Franklin
+immediately commenced practicing upon this newly discovered art. He
+was remarkably successful, and became one of the most agreeable and
+beloved of companions. But ere long he became satisfied of the folly
+of these disputations, in which each party struggles, not for truth,
+but for victory. It is simply an exercise of intellectual
+gladiatorship, in which the man who has the most skill and muscle
+discomfits his antagonist. Jefferson warned his nephew to avoid
+disputation. He says, &#8220;I have never known, during my long life, any
+persons&#8217; engage in a dispute in which they did not separate, each more
+firmly convinced than before of the correctness of his own views.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Franklin enjoyed marvellous health. His digestive powers were perfect.
+He could live upon any thing and almost upon nothing without
+experiencing any inconvenience. A book advocating purely vegetable
+diet accidentally fell into his hands. It urged the pecuniary economy
+and the saving of time in adopting a vegetarian diet. Eagerly he
+adopted the views presented. He could safely do so, had <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span>the author
+advocated raw onions and carrots. The stomach of Franklin would have
+received them and assimilated them without any remonstrance. He
+succeeded in inducing his brother to relinquish one half of his board
+and allow him to board himself. Benjamin found that in this way, he
+saved much time and much money. A handful of raisins, a roll of bread,
+and a glass of water afforded him a dinner. This he could dispose of
+in from five to ten minutes, and have the remainder of the dinner hour
+for reading.</p>
+
+<p>The hours of the night were his own. He often sat up late and rose
+early, his soul all absorbed in intellectual vigils.</p>
+
+<p>There are two platforms of morality, in some respects inseparably
+blended, in others quite distinctly separated from each other. The one
+of these platforms constitutes the low standard of mere worldly
+morality. It says,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>You must not kill, you must not steal, you must not lie, you
+must not slander your neighbor, you must not cheat him in a
+bargain.</p></div>
+
+<p>But there is another platform which not only includes all this, but
+which introduces principles of an infinitely higher grade. It is the
+platform enforced by Jesus Christ as essential to a life which shall
+be pleasing to our Heavenly Father. Our Saviour says, You must love
+God in whom you live <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span>and move and have your being: you must daily
+pray to him with gratitude for the favors you receive. In the great
+conflict, raging here below, between sin and holiness, your whole
+heart must yearn with the desire that God&#8217;s &#8220;kingdom may come and that
+His will may be done on earth as in Heaven.&#8221; Imitating the example of
+your Saviour, who was God manifest in the flesh that by His life He
+might show men how to live, you must do everything in your power to
+lead your neighbors and friends to love God, to avoid everything in
+thought, word, or deed, which you think will be displeasing to Him;
+and you must do all in your power to prepare your heart for that world
+of purity and love where the spirits of the just are made perfect. No
+one can be blind to the fact that these principles are infinitely
+above the principles of mere worldly morality. They are not a
+substitute for those principles, but an addition to them.</p>
+
+<p>At the age of sixteen, Franklin was disposed to adopt the lower of
+these creeds as his rule of life; at times affirming that it was
+superior to the teachings of Jesus Christ; while again there would be
+the very clear and inconsistent avowal that, in this wicked world,
+something more was needed than teachings which he could plainly see
+seldom, if ever <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span>influenced a lost and degraded man, to be changed
+from a Saul of Tarsus to a Paul the Apostle. No one can understand the
+peculiar religious and moral character of Benjamin Franklin, without
+bearing in mind these distinctions.</p>
+
+<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.</h2>
+
+<h3><i>Developments of Character.</i></h3>
+
+<div class="blockquot3"><p>Views of the Sabbath&mdash;Writings of Collins and
+Shaftsbury&mdash;The creed of Collins&mdash;Franklin at sixteen&mdash;The
+Courant&mdash;Denunciations of the paper&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s mode of
+acquiring the art of composition&mdash;His success as a
+writer&mdash;The Editor prosecuted&mdash;Benjamin becomes Editor and
+Publisher&mdash;Jealousy of his brother&mdash;The runaway
+apprentice&mdash;The voyage to New York&mdash;Great
+disappointment&mdash;Eventful Journey to Philadelphia&mdash;Gloomy
+prospects&mdash;The dawn of brighter days.</p></div>
+
+<p>Franklin was never scrupulous in the observance of the Sabbath. Still,
+though he but occasionally attended church, he at times very earnestly
+urged that duty upon his young friends. It is not probable that the
+preaching he heard in those days, was calculated to interest him.
+While a child under the parental roof, he ordinarily accompanied his
+parents, and seemed to regard it as his duty to do so.</p>
+
+<p>He now, however, with an increasing sense of independence, very much
+preferred to spend his precious hours in his chamber, reading books
+which engrossed his most intense interest. Unfortunately many
+treatises fell into his hands in which unchristian sentiments were
+conveyed to his mind, by men <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span>of the highest intellectual character,
+and whose writings were invested with the most fascinating charms of
+eloquence.</p>
+
+<p>Robert Boyle, an Irish nobleman of wealth and fervent piety, had
+established at Oxford a lectureship, the object of which was to prove
+the truth of the Christian religion. These lectures had found their
+way in tracts to the little library of Franklin&#8217;s father. When but
+fifteen years of age the boy read them, with a far keener relish than
+most school-boys now read the flashy novels of the day. In order to
+refute the arguments of the deists, the lecturers were bound to
+produce those arguments fairly and forcibly. But to this young boy&#8217;s
+piercing mind, the arguments against Christianity seemed stronger than
+those which were brought forward to refute them. Thus the lad became,
+not a positive unbeliever, but an honest doubter. He now sought
+earnestly for other works upon that all-important subject.</p>
+
+<p>The two most important, influential and popular writers of that day
+were perhaps Anthony Collins and the Earl of Shaftsbury. These were
+both men of fortune, of polished education, and of great rhetorical
+and argumentative skill. Their influence over young minds was greatly
+increased by the courtesy and candor which pervaded all their
+writings. They ever <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span>wrote like gentlemen addressing gentlemen; and
+the views they urged were presented with the modesty of men who were
+earnestly seeking for the truth.</p>
+
+<p>The main attack of both of these men was directed against the miracles
+of the Bible. It was very evident that, the Divine authority of the
+Bible being overthrown, the whole structure of the Christian religion
+and morality must pass away. Mr. Parton, in his admirable Life of
+Franklin, says,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;Any one who will turn over an edition of Shaftsbury, and
+try to read it with the mind of this merry and receptive
+printer&#8217;s boy, will perceive how entirely captivating it
+must have been to him. The raillery that was always the
+raillery of a gentleman; the irony so delicate as really to
+deceive some men who passed for acute; the fine urbanity
+that pervades even the passages called severe; the genuine
+reverence of the author for virtue; the spectacle revealed
+of a man uniting in himself all that is good in sense, with
+all that is agreeable in the man of the world,&mdash;how pleasing
+it must all have been to our inky apprentice as he munched
+his noon-day crust.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>The practical creed of Collins and Shaftsbury, so far as it can be
+gleaned from the obscurity of their brilliant pages, consisted in the
+entire renunciation of all that is deemed the spirituality of the
+Christian creed, and the simple enforcement of the ordinary
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span>principles of morality in man&#8217;s intercourse with his brother man. In
+substance they said,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;Be truthful and honest. Do not openly oppose the
+institutions of Christianity, for that will render you
+obnoxious to your neighbors. Conform to the ordinary usages
+of the society in the midst of which you move; and as to
+creeds, let them alone as unworthy of a moment&#8217;s thought.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Franklin, at sixteen years of age, became a thorough convert to these
+views. He was virtually without any God. He had no rule of life but
+his own instincts; but those instincts were of a high order,
+emboldening his character and restraining him from all vulgar vice.
+Thus he wandered for many years; though there are many indications of
+an occasionally troubled mind, and though he at times struggled with
+great eagerness to obtain a higher state of moral perfection, he
+certainly never developed the character of a warm-hearted and devoted
+follower of Jesus.<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span></p><p>James Franklin was prosperous in his business. On the 17th of August,
+1721, he issued the first number of a newspaper entitled &#8220;The New
+England Courant.&#8221; Benjamin set the type, struck off the impression
+of two or three hundred, with a hand-press, and then traversed
+the streets, carrying the diminutive sheet to the homes of the
+subscribers. The Courant soon attracted attention. A knot of sparkling
+writers began to contribute to its columns, and while the paper was
+with increasing eagerness sought for, a clamor was soon raised against
+it. It was denounced as radical in its political tendencies, and as
+speaking contemptuously of the institutions of religion. Cotton
+Mather, even, launched one of his thunderbolts against it. He wrote,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;We find a notorious, scandalous paper called &#8216;The Courant&#8217;
+full freighted with nonsense, unmanliness, raillery,
+profaneness, immorality, arrogance, calumnies, lies,
+contradictions and what not, all tending to quarrels and
+divisions, and to debauch and corrupt the mind and manners
+of New England.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Increase Mather also denounced the paper, in terms still more
+emphatic.</p>
+
+<p>At this time a strong antipathy was springing up between James, and
+his apprentice brother. James assumed the airs of a master, and was
+arrogant <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span>and domineering, at times in his anger proceeding even to
+blows. Benjamin was opinionated, headstrong and very unwilling to
+yield to another&#8217;s guidance. As Benjamin compared his own compositions
+with those which were sent to the Courant, he was convinced that he
+could write as well, if not better, than others. He, therefore, one
+evening prepared an article, before he was sixteen years of age,
+which, with the greatest care, was written in pure Addisonian diction.
+Disguising his hand, he slipped this at night under the door of the
+printing office. The next morning several contributors were chatting
+together in the editorial office, as Benjamin stood at the printing
+case setting his types. The anonymous article was read and freely
+commented upon. The young writer was delighted in finding it highly
+commended, and in their guesses for the author, the names of the most
+distinguished men in Boston were mentioned.</p>
+
+<p>The singular nom de plume he assumed was &#8220;Silence Dogood.&#8221; Over that
+signature he wrote many articles before it was ascertained that he was
+the author. These articles attracted so much attention that young
+Benjamin could not refrain from claiming their paternity. This led his
+brother and others to regard him with far more respect than
+heretofore.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span></p><p>But the Courant, while popular with the masses, became unpopular with
+the governmental authorities and with the religious community. As a
+slap in the face of the government, a fictitious letter was written,
+professedly from Newport, stating that a piratic ship had appeared off
+the coast, plundering, burning, and destroying. It was then stated
+that the government of Massachusetts was fitting out an armed vessel
+to attack the pirate, and that, wind and weather permitting, the
+vessel would sail from Boston sometime during the month.</p>
+
+<p>This reflection upon the dilatoriness of government gave great
+offence. The members of the Council summoned Franklin before them to
+answer for the libel. He admitted that he was the publisher of the
+paper, but refused to give the name of the writer. The Council decided
+that the paragraph was a high affront to the government, and ordered
+his imprisonment in the Boston jail. Here he was incarcerated for a
+week. Crushed by his misfortunes he wrote a very humble letter stating
+that his close confinement endangered his life, and begging that he
+might enjoy the liberty of the jail-yard. His request was granted, and
+for three weeks more he remained a prisoner, though with daily
+permission to leave his cell.</p>
+
+<p>During this time Benjamin conducted the paper, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span>editing it, setting
+the type, printing the sheets and distributing the copies to the
+subscribers. He was still but a boy of sixteen. James was eventually
+released from prison, but the general character of the Courant
+remained unchanged. Unworthy professors of Christianity were
+incessantly assailed. The virtues of true Christians&mdash;of the
+multitudes of the disciples of Jesus, who were mothers in Israel, or
+who were Israelites indeed in whom there was no guile, were forgotten;
+while every mean and contemptible act of hypocrites and apostates was
+proclaimed with trumpet resonance.</p>
+
+<p>At length the Council declared in reference to a peculiarly obnoxious
+copy of the paper, that the Courant of that date contained many
+passages perverting the Holy Scriptures, and slandering the civil
+government, the ministers, and the good people of the land. A
+committee of three was appointed to report upon the matter. After two
+days they brought in the following decision:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;We are humbly of opinion that the tendency of said paper, is
+to mock religion and bring it into contempt; that the Holy
+Scriptures are therein profanely abused; that the revered and
+faithful ministers of the Gospel are ignominiously reflected
+on; and that His Majesty&#8217;s government is affronted; and the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span>peace and good order of His Majesty&#8217;s subjects of this
+province disturbed by this said Courant.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>The committee, therefore, proposed that James Franklin should be
+strictly forbidden to print or publish the Courant, or any other paper
+of the like nature, unless it were supervised by the secretary of the
+province.</p>
+
+<p>James Franklin and his friends, after this decision, met in the office
+of the Courant, and adroitly decided to evade the mandate by canceling
+the indentures of apprenticeship of Benjamin, and constituting him the
+editor and publisher of the journal. This precocious lad prepared his
+inaugural. It contained the following sentiments:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;Long has the press groaned in bringing forth a hateful brood of
+pamphlets, malicious scribbles, and billingsgate ribaldry. No generous
+and impartial person then can blame the present undertaking which is
+designed purely for the diversion and merriment of the reader. Pieces
+of pleasantry and mirth have a secret charm in them to allay the heats
+and tumults of our spirits, and to make a man forget his restless
+resentment. The main design of this weekly paper will be to entertain
+the town with the most comical and diverting incidents of human life,
+which in so large a place as Boston will not fail of a universal
+exemplification. Nor shall we be wanting to fill up <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span>these papers with
+a grateful interspersion of more serious morals which may be drawn
+from the most ludicrous and odd parts of life.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>It cannot be denied that Franklin aimed his keen shafts at many of the
+best of men who were consecrating all their energies to the promotion
+of the physical, moral, and religious welfare of their fellow
+creatures. He had a keen eye to search out their frailties; and though
+he seldom if ever, dipped his pen in gall, he did at times succeed in
+making them the song of the drunkard, and in turning against them the
+derision of all the lewd fellows of the baser sort.</p>
+
+<p>Benjamin, elated by flattery and success, admits that at seventeen
+years of age he became in his treatment of his brother &#8220;saucy and
+provoking.&#8221; James was increasingly jealous and exacting. At length a
+very violent quarrel arose between them. The elder brother even
+undertook to chastise his younger brother, whom he still affected to
+regard as his apprentice. The canceling of the terms of indenture, he
+regarded as a secret act, intended merely to outwit his opponent.
+Franklin, burning with indignation, resolved no longer to continue in
+his brother&#8217;s employment, and went to several other printers in
+Boston, hoping to enter into a new engagement. But his brother had
+preceded him, giving his own <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span>version of the story, and even declaring
+his brilliant brother to be an infidel and an atheist.</p>
+
+<p>Benjamin resolved to run away; for he still felt the binding
+obligation of his apprenticeship, while he tried to satisfy his mind
+that the unjust conduct of James entitled him to violate the
+obligation. There was a vessel about to sail for New York. He sold
+some of his books to pay his passage; and going on board secretly at
+night, he solicited the captain to aid him in concealing him, with the
+<i>false</i> statement that he had become involved in a love adventure with
+a young girl; that she had subsequently proved to be a bad character;
+that her friends insisted on his marrying her; and that his only
+refuge was to be found in flight.</p>
+
+<p>His passage to New York was swift and pleasant. It is said that having
+adopted the vegetarian diet, he doubted our right to deprive an animal
+of life for our own gratification in eating. The sloop was one day
+becalmed off Block Island. The crew found it splendid fishing ground;
+the deck was soon covered with cod and haddock. Franklin denounced
+catching the fishes, as murderous, as no one could affirm that these
+fishes, so happy in the water, had ever conferred any injury upon
+their captors. But Benjamin was blessed with a voracious appetite. The
+frying pan was busy, and the odor from the fresh fish was <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span>exceedingly
+alluring. As he watched a sailor cutting open a fish, he observed in
+its stomach a smaller fish, which the cod had evidently eaten.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Ah!&#8221; he exclaimed, &#8220;if you can eat one another, I surely have a right
+to eat you.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>All his scruples vanished. He sat down with the rest to the sumptuous
+repast, and never after seemed to have any hesitancy in gratifying his
+appetite.</p>
+
+<p>Benjamin tells this story in his autobiography, and shrewdly adds,
+quoting from some one else,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;So convenient a thing it is to be a <i>reasonable</i> creature,
+since it enables one to find or make a reason for everything
+one has a mind to do.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>It was in the beautiful month of October, 1723, when Benjamin landed
+on the wharves of New York. He was not quite eighteen years of age;
+had but little money in his purse; and was without any letter of
+recommendation or any acquaintance in the town. The place consisted of
+but seven or eight thousand inhabitants. The streets were the crooked
+lanes which we still find in the vicinity of the Battery. Some of the
+most important were uncomfortably paved with cobble stones. Most of
+the inhabitants were Dutch, reading and speaking only the Dutch
+language. There was at that time indeed, but little encouragement for
+an English printer. There was but one bookstore then in New York; and
+but one <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span>printing office, which was conducted by William Bradford.</p>
+
+<p>The runaway apprentice could find no employment. But William Bradford
+had a son in Philadelphia who was also a printer. He said to Benjamin,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;He may employ you, as he has recently lost an apprentice by death.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Leaving his chest of clothes to go round by sea to Philadelphia,
+Benjamin took passage in a small dilapidated shore boat which crept
+along the coast to Amboy. A drunken Dutchman was his only fellow
+passenger. The gloom of the primeval forest overshadowed Governor&#8217;s
+Island: not a single cabin as yet had been reared in its solitudes. A
+squall struck the boat, split its sail, and pitched the Dutchman
+overboard. Franklin caught him by the hair and saved him from
+drowning. The sudden tempest increased into a storm, and the boat was
+driven fiercely before the gale. The surf dashed so violently upon the
+shore that they could not venture to land. Night approached.
+Exhausted, drenched and hungry, they cast anchor near the Long Island
+shore, where a bend in the land afforded them slight protection while
+still they were in great danger. There were one or two log cabins in
+the vicinity. Several of the men came to the shore, but could afford
+them no relief. They had no provision on board excepting a single
+bottle <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span>of bad rum. All night long the tempest beat upon them. In the
+morning the wind had so far lulled that they were enabled to repair
+their sail, and to work their way on to Amboy.</p>
+
+<p>It was late in the afternoon when they reached the port. For thirty
+hours they had been without food or water. Such were the perils of a
+passage from New York to Philadelphia in the year 1723.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin, in the enjoyment of magnificent health, slept quietly that
+night in an humble inn, and awoke in the morning with all his
+accustomed vigor. There were still fifty miles of land travel before
+him, ere he could cross the forest covered plains of New Jersey to
+Burlington, on the banks of the Delaware, which were seventeen miles
+above Philadelphia. There was neither railroad, stage-coach nor cart
+to convey him through the wilderness. Indeed it was thirty-three years
+after this before the first line of stages across New Jersey was
+established. There was a rude path, probably following an ancient
+Indian trail, along which our solitary adventurer trudged on foot. It
+rained; but still Benjamin found it necessary, having so slender a
+purse, to press on regardless of discomfort.</p>
+
+<p>Early in the afternoon he came to a hamlet, by the roadside, where he
+found himself so exhausted by the unaccustomed toil of walking, and by
+exposure <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span>to the rain and the miry roads, that he felt it necessary to
+remain until the next morning. The aspect he presented was shabby and
+dilapidated in the extreme; for he was in his working dress, which by
+the wear and tear of travel had become greatly soiled and tattered. He
+was not a little mortified to find that the inhabitants of the cabin,
+while they treated him kindly, evidently regarded him with suspicion
+as a runaway apprentice.</p>
+
+<p>In the gloom of that night, poor Benjamin bitterly repented the step
+he had taken, and earnestly wished himself back again in the home
+which he had forsaken. Clouds and darkness had gathered around his
+path and he could see but little bright beyond. Early the next morning
+he resumed his travels, pressing vigorously along all day. When the
+shades of night enveloped him he had reached a point within ten miles
+of Burlington. He passed the night comfortably in a settler&#8217;s cabin,
+and early the next morning pressed on to the little village of
+Burlington, from which he was informed that a boat started every
+Saturday, to descend the still silent and almost unfrequented shores
+of the Delaware to Philadelphia. Much to his disappointment he reached
+Burlington just after the regular Saturday boat had gone, and was
+informed that there was no other boat to leave until the next Tuesday.
+He made his united breakfast <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span>and dinner upon gingerbread, which he
+bought in the street of an old woman.</p>
+
+<p>Burlington was on the east side of the river, Philadelphia was on the
+west. There was no road between the two places, the communication
+being by the river only. It seemed impossible for Benjamin to toil
+that distance through the pathless, tangled forest. He had but five
+shillings in his pocket. With the utmost economy that would not defray
+his expenses at Burlington, for three days, and leave a sufficient sum
+to pay his passage down the river.</p>
+
+<p>In his distress and perplexity, our young philosopher, whose renown
+for wisdom subsequently filled all Christian lands, turned back to the
+poor, aged woman of whom he had bought his gingerbread and solicited
+her advice. The good old soul, not insensible to the charms of the
+frank and manly looking boy, with motherly tenderness insisted on his
+going to her own humble home. Gladly he accepted the invitation. The
+dinner consisted of what is called ox-cheek; Franklin contributed a
+pot of beer.</p>
+
+<p>Walking out early in the evening upon the banks of the river, he
+found, to his great joy, a chance boat had come along, bound to
+Philadelphia and containing many passengers. Eagerly Franklin joined
+them, and bidding adieu to his kind entertainer, was soon drifting
+slowly down the stream. The night was <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span>dark, there was no wind, and no
+cheerful gleam from the white man&#8217;s cabin or the Indian&#8217;s wigwam met
+the eye. It was necessary to resort to rowing. At length, a little
+after midnight, several of the passengers insisted that they must have
+passed Philadelphia without seeing it, and refused to row any farther.
+They therefore ran the boat into a little creek, built a rousing fire,
+for the night was damp and chill, and ranging themselves around its
+genial warmth awaited the dawn of the morning. The light revealed to
+them Philadelphia but a few miles below them. It was Sunday morning.
+At nine o&#8217;clock the boat was made fast at Market street wharf, and
+Franklin, with one silver dollar and one shilling in copper coin in
+his pocket, stepped on shore. All his copper coin he paid for his
+passage.</p>
+
+<p>Such was the introduction of the future Governor of Pennsylvania to
+the realm over which he was eventually to preside as Governor, and of
+which he became its most illustrious citizen.</p>
+
+<p>He was unquestionably dressed in the peculiar and picturesque costume
+of the times. He wore knee breeches of buckskin, and a voluminous
+overcoat, lined with pockets of astonishing capacity, which pockets
+were crammed with shirts and stockings. A low, battered, broad-brimmed
+hat covered his clustering ringlets. His coarse woolen stockings
+displayed <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span>to advantage the admirably moulded calves of his legs.
+Every article of this costume was draggled, shabby, soiled, and much
+of it tattered.</p>
+
+<p>With an indescribable feeling of loneliness, exhausted with the
+toilsome and sleepless night, and with the cravings of hunger, he
+sauntered up into the town. Coming across a baker&#8217;s shop, he stepped
+in, and called for three pennyworth of bread. In Philadelphia, food
+was abundant and bread was cheap. To his surprise three long rolls
+were given to him. He took one under each arm, and in his hunger the
+homeless boy walked along devouring the other. Philadelphia was then a
+village widely spread out, with surrounding vegetable gardens, and
+containing a population of about seven thousand inhabitants.</p>
+
+<p>Benjamin walked listlessly along as far as Fourth street. He chanced
+to pass the house of a Mr. Read, whose very pretty daughter, Deborah,
+was standing at the front door. She was eighteen years of age, and was
+much amused at the comical appearance which the young man presented as
+he passed by.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i053.jpg" class="gap" width="500" height="329" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>It is not easy to imagine in these days, the state of society in these
+early settlements, hewn out from the forests on the river&#8217;s banks, and
+with the unexplored wilderness spreading out to unimagined
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> regions in the interior. At night, even from the houses of the
+village, the howling of the wolves could be heard as they rushed after
+their prey. Bears and deers were shot in abundance. And Indian bands,
+painted and plumed, were ever swarming through the streets.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin walked along, devouring his rolls, and returned to the river
+for a drink of water. Such was his first breakfast in Philadelphia. In
+the boat was a poor woman with her child. Franklin gave to her the two
+remaining rolls, which he could not conveniently carry about with him.</p>
+
+<p>Not knowing what to do, and led by curiosity to explore the town, he
+returned to Market street, then one of the chief avenues of the city.
+It was a little after ten o&#8217;clock in the morning. The street was
+crowded with well-dressed people, pressing along to church. There was
+one important edifice called the &#8220;Great Meeting House&#8221; of the Quakers.
+It stood at the corner of Second and Market streets.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin joined the crowd, and took his seat with the vast assembly.
+He soon fell soundly asleep. The hour passed away. The congregation
+dispersed, and Benjamin was left still asleep. Some one then kindly
+awoke the tired traveler, and he again stepped out into the streets so
+lonely, where there was not an individual whom he knew, and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span>where
+almost without money he could find no refuge which he could call a
+home.</p>
+
+<p>As he walked toward the river, he met a young Quaker whose countenance
+pleased him. Of him he inquired where he could find a respectable and
+comfortable lodging. The friendly Quaker led him to a tavern, near
+Chestnut street, called the &#8220;Crooked Billet.&#8221; Franklin ordered a
+frugal dinner, threw himself upon the bed, and slept till supper time,
+and immediately after supper went to bed and slept soundly till the
+morning.</p>
+
+<p>He had now been from home eleven days. His money was nearly expended.
+His clothes were worn; and almost the only hope remaining was the very
+visionary one that Mr. Bradford&#8217;s son might possibly have some
+employment for him. Early in the morning he carefully brushed his
+travel-worn clothes, his shoes, his hat, and making himself as
+respectable in appearance as possible, went to the house of the
+printer, Andrew Bradford. To his surprise and gratification he found
+the father there, who had just arrived, having traveled from New York
+to Philadelphia on horseback.</p>
+
+<p>Benjamin met with a courteous reception, was invited to breakfast. He
+was, however, greatly disappointed in being informed that Andrew
+Bradford had just engaged another apprentice to take the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span>place of the
+one who was lost. Mr. Bradford, however, stated that there was a man,
+by the name of Keimer, who had recently commenced the printing
+business in the town, and might have employment for him. The old
+gentleman kindly offered to go to the office with Benjamin, and
+introduce him to Keimer.</p>
+
+<p>They found Keimer a very eccentric looking individual, in a small
+office, with an old dilapidated press, and with a few worn-out types.
+He asked the young man a few questions, put a composing stick into his
+hands, and professed himself satisfied with his work. He then told
+Franklin that he could find no work for him immediately, but he
+thought ere long he could employ him. It seems, however, that at once
+Benjamin went to work, repairing the dilapidated old press, while he
+continued to board at Mr. Bradford&#8217;s, paying for his board by the work
+which he performed.</p>
+
+<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.</h2>
+
+<h3><i>Excursion to England.</i></h3>
+
+<div class="blockquot3"><p>Attention to dress&mdash;Receives a visit from Gov. Keith&mdash;His
+visit to Boston&mdash;Collins returns to Philadelphia with
+him&mdash;Sir William Keith&#8217;s aid&mdash;Excursions on the
+Sabbath&mdash;Difficulty with Collins&mdash;Spending Mr. Vernon&#8217;s
+money&mdash;His three friends&mdash;Engagement with Deborah
+Read&mdash;Voyage to England&mdash;Keith&#8217;s deceit&mdash;Ralph&mdash;Franklin
+enters a printing house in London.</p></div>
+
+<p>The eccentric Keimer soon found that Franklin was a workman whose
+services would be invaluable to him. He had no home of his own, but
+became very unwilling that Benjamin, while in his employ, should board
+in the family of a rival printer. He therefore made arrangements for
+him to board at Mr. Read&#8217;s, whose pretty daughter, Deborah, had made
+herself merry but a few days before in view of his uncouth appearance.</p>
+
+<p>Fortunately for the young man, who was never regardless of the
+advantages of a genteel dress, his chest had arrived bringing his
+clothing. He was thus able to present himself before the young lady in
+attractive costume. And his address was always that of an accomplished
+gentleman. As we have mentioned, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span>he was ever in his youth, middle
+life, and old age, remarkable for his personal beauty.</p>
+
+<p>Bright and sunny days now dawned upon Franklin. His employer
+appreciated his varied and wonderful merits. He received good wages.
+The family in which he resided was highly attractive, and he there
+found a home congenial with his pure and refined tastes. Several
+months passed away before he heard from the friends he had left in
+Boston. The tyranny of his brother had so greatly offended him, that
+for a time he endeavored to exclude from his mind all thoughts of his
+home. He heard, however, that one of his sisters had married Captain
+Robert Holmes, the captain of a vessel sailing between Boston and the
+ports on the Delaware.</p>
+
+<p>In those piratical days, when the master of a ship was compelled to
+sail with guns loaded to the muzzle, and with sharpened sabres, he was
+deemed a personage of great importance. No weak or ordinary man could
+discharge the responsibilities of such a post. Captain Holmes,
+influenced by the love of his wife, wrote to Benjamin informing him of
+the grief his departure had caused the family, entreating him to
+return, and assuring him that all the past should be forgotten.</p>
+
+<p>Benjamin, in his reply, wrote with such precision and force of logic,
+that Captain Holmes became satisfied <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span>that he was by no means so much
+in the wrong as he had supposed. It so chanced that when the captain
+received this letter, he was in company with Sir William Keith, then
+the Governor of Pennsylvania. He read the letter to the Governor. Sir
+William was charmed with its literary and rhetorical ability; and
+could scarcely believe that the writer was but eighteen years of age.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The Philadelphia printers,&#8221; said he, &#8220;are wretched ones. Keimer is a
+compound of fool and rogue. But this young man is manifestly of great
+promise and ought to be encouraged.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>One day Benjamin and his master were working together, when they saw
+two well-dressed gentlemen approaching. They proved to be the Governor
+of Pennsylvania, Sir William Keith, and Franklin&#8217;s brother-in-law,
+Captain Holmes, whom he probably had never before seen. Keimer ran
+down stairs to meet them, supposing, of course, that he must be the
+man who was entitled to the honor of their visit. To his surprise they
+inquired for his apprentice, and went up the stairs to the printing
+office to see him.</p>
+
+<p>Benjamin was quite overwhelmed by the honors with which he was
+greeted. The Governor paid him many compliments, expressed an earnest
+desire to make his acquaintance, and politely censured him for not
+calling at the gubernatorial mansion upon his <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span>arrival in
+Philadelphia. The interview was terminated by taking Franklin with
+them to a neighboring tavern to dine. There the three met upon
+apparently perfect social equality, and very freely discussed many
+important matters as they drank their wine.</p>
+
+<p>The Governor, a very plausible, unreliable man, ever lavish of
+promises without performance, proposed that Franklin, aided by funds
+from his father, should open a printing office for himself. He
+promised to exert his influence to secure for his young proteg&eacute; the
+public printing of both the provinces of Pennsylvania and Delaware.
+When Franklin suggested that he feared his father would be either
+unable or unwilling to furnish the needed funds, the Governor promised
+to write to him with his own hand, explaining the advantages of the
+scheme.</p>
+
+<p>During the protracted interview, it was decided that Benjamin should
+return to Boston by the first vessel. He was to take with him Sir
+William&#8217;s letter, and thus aided, endeavor to win over his father to
+their plans.</p>
+
+<p>A week or two elapsed before there was a vessel ready to sail for
+Boston. At that time the social rank of a printer was decidedly above
+that of other mechanic arts. There was something sacred attached to
+the employment, and it was regarded as near akin to the learned
+professions. Franklin was <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span>frequently invited to dine with the
+Governor. His perfect self-possession, his careful dress and polished
+address, united with his wonderful conversational powers, rendered him
+a great favorite with all the distinguished guests whom he was
+accustomed to meet at the table of the Governor.</p>
+
+<p>The latter part of April, 1724, Franklin, then eighteen years of age,
+took passage in a small vessel for Boston. His friends in Philadelphia
+generally understood that he was going home merely to visit his
+friends. It was deemed expedient to throw the veil of great secrecy
+over the enterprise in which he was contemplating to engage.</p>
+
+<p>The voyage was exceedingly tempestuous. The vessel sprang a leak. For
+some time passengers and crew worked at the pumps night and day. But
+after being buffeted by winds and waves for fourteen dreary days, the
+little vessel cast anchor in the harbor of Boston. Franklin had then
+been absent from home seven months.</p>
+
+<p>His sudden appearance was a great surprise to all the members of the
+numerous family. It is not surprising that the young man, elated by
+his brilliant prospects, assumed rather lordly airs. His dress was new
+and quite elegant. He had purchased a handsome watch, which he was not
+reluctant to display. He had in his pocket twenty-five dollars of
+silver coin.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span></p><p>Franklin&#8217;s brother James, from whom he had run away, was greatly
+annoyed by the airs of superiority assumed by his old apprentice. With
+a cold and almost scornful eye, he scanned his person from head to
+foot, scarcely offering his hand in greeting, and soon coldly and
+silently returned to his work. But the imperial young man was not thus
+to be put down. His former acquaintances gathered eagerly around him
+and listened with intensest interest to the narrative of his
+adventures. In glowing terms, Benjamin described his new home in
+Philadelphia, drew out from his pocket handfuls of silver which he
+exhibited to them, and with quite lordly dignity gave his former
+fellow-journeymen money to go to the ale-house for a treat.</p>
+
+<p>The candid reader will make some allowances for the conduct of
+Benjamin, when he remembers that but a few months before, he had run
+away to escape the cudgel of his brother. He will also feel inclined
+to make some allowance for James, when informed that he was in
+adversity, and struggling severely with pecuniary embarrassment. The
+Courant, deprived of the graphic pen of Franklin, was rapidly losing
+its subscribers, and soon became extinct.</p>
+
+<p>Benjamin&#8217;s father Josiah, who needed in his own business every dollar
+of the funds he could raise, silently and almost without remark, read
+the letter <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span>of Sir William Keith, and listened attentively to the
+glowing descriptions of his son. Soon after Captain Holmes arrived.
+The judicious father conversed fully with him, and expressed his
+opinion that Sir William Keith must be a man of but little discretion
+to think of setting up independently, in very responsible business, a
+young man of but eighteen years of age.</p>
+
+<p>Though Captain Holmes earnestly advocated the views of the Governor,
+Josiah Franklin, after mature deliberation, decisively declined
+furnishing the necessary funds.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Benjamin,&#8221; said he, &#8220;is too young to undertake an enterprise so
+important. I am much gratified that he has been able to secure the
+approbation of the Governor of Pennsylvania, and that by his industry
+and fidelity he has been able to attain prosperity so remarkable. If
+he will return to Philadelphia and work diligently until he is
+twenty-one, carefully laying up his surplus earnings, I will then do
+everything in my power to aid him.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The cautious Christian father then gave his son some very salutary
+advice. He entreated him to be more careful in throwing out his arrows
+of satire, and to cease presenting, in the aspect of the ridiculous,
+so many subjects which religious men regarded with veneration. He
+wrote a very courteous <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span>letter to Sir William Keith, thanking him for
+his kindness to his son, and stating his reasons for declining the
+proposed aid. Indeed, Josiah Franklin was intellectually, morally, and
+in all sound judgment, immeasurably the superior of the fickle and
+shallow royal Governor.</p>
+
+<p>Sixty years after this visit of Franklin to his paternal home, he
+wrote a letter to the son of the Rev. Cotton Mather, from which we
+make the following pleasing extract:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;The last time I saw your father was in the beginning of 1724, when I
+visited him after my first trip to Pennsylvania. He received me in his
+library; and on my taking leave showed me a shorter way out of the
+house through a narrow passage which was crossed by a beam overhead.
+We were still talking as I withdrew, he accompanying me behind, and I,
+turning partly toward him, when he said hastily, <i>stoop, stoop!</i> I did
+not understand him till I felt my head hit against the beam. He was a
+man that never missed any occasion of giving instruction; and upon
+this he said to me &#8216;You are young and have the world before you. Stoop
+as you go through it, and you will miss many hard thumps.&#8217; This advice,
+thus beat into my head, has frequently been of use to me. And I often
+think of it when I see pride mortified and misfortunes brought <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span>upon
+people by their carrying their heads too high.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>There was in Boston a young man by the name of Collins, a reckless,
+dissipated spendthrift, of very considerable personal attractions. He
+had been quite an intimate friend of Franklin; and was so pleased with
+his descriptions of Philadelphia that he decided to remove there. This
+proved one of the calamities of Franklin&#8217;s life.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin eventually embarked, in a sloop, for his return. It touched
+at Newport. His brother John lived there, pursuing the trade of a
+candle-maker. Benjamin was received by him with great cordiality. At
+Newport, among the other passengers, two young girls were taken on
+board for New York. They were showy, voluble, gaudily dressed. All
+their arts were exerted to secure intimate association with Franklin.</p>
+
+<p>A venerable Quaker lady on board called the inexperienced young man
+aside, and with motherly tenderness warned him against their wiles.
+Though he doubted the necessity of this caution, he was put upon his
+guard. When the girls left at New York, he declined their pressing
+invitation for him to visit them at their home, and he learned from
+the captain that they had undoubtedly stolen from him a silver spoon,
+an article then not often <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span>seen in common life, and highly prized.
+They were charged with the crime, convicted, and it is said that they
+were publicly whipped in the market place.</p>
+
+<p>Upon Franklin&#8217;s arrival at New York, Collins, the playmate of his
+childhood, was one of the first to meet him. In his earlier days he
+had been sober, industrious, and was highly esteemed for his mental
+powers and attainments. But he had become intemperate and a gambler,
+and was every day intoxicated. Reduced almost to beggary, Franklin
+felt compelled to furnish him with money to save him from starvation.
+Penniless he had come on board the boat at New York, and Franklin paid
+his passage to Philadelphia.</p>
+
+<p>William Burnett was then Governor of New York. He was very fond of
+books and had collected a large library. Franklin also had the same
+taste and had a large number of books which he was conveying to
+Philadelphia. The captain informed the Governor that he had a young
+man on board fond of books, and of superior literary attainments. The
+Governor begged the captain to bring young Franklin to see him.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I waited upon him,&#8221; wrote Franklin, &#8220;and would have taken Collins
+with me had he been sober. The Governor received me with great
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span>civility; and we had a good deal of conversation relative to books
+and authors. This was the second Governor who had done me the honor to
+take notice of me, and to a poor boy like me it was very pleasing.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Upon reaching Philadelphia, Franklin presented the letter of his
+father to Sir William Keith. The Governor, upon reading the letter,
+said,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Your father is too prudent. There is a great difference in persons.
+Discretion does not always accompany years; nor is youth always
+without it. But since he will not set you up, I will do it myself.
+Give me an inventory of the things necessary to be had from England,
+and I will send for them. You shall repay me when you are able. I am
+resolved to have a good printer here and I am sure you must succeed.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Franklin supposed of course, that he could rely upon the word of the
+Governor. He drew up an inventory of goods to the amount of about five
+hundred dollars. The strange Governor, who found it very easy to talk,
+ran his eye over the list and as if money were a consideration of no
+moment to him, and suggested that Franklin should go to London in
+person. Greatly elated at this idea, young Franklin eagerly embraced
+it, and the Governor directed him to be ready to embark in the London Hope,
+a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span>ship which sailed regularly between London and Philadelphia,
+leaving each port once a year.</p>
+
+<p>Several months would elapse before the ship would sail. Sir William
+enjoined it upon Franklin to keep their plans in the utmost secrecy.
+Consequently, Franklin continued to work for Keimer, not giving him
+the slightest intimation that measures were in progress for the
+establishment in Philadelphia, of a printing house which would
+entirely overshadow his own. This secrecy which was practiced also
+prevented any one from informing Franklin of the Governor&#8217;s real
+character, as a vain, unreliable, gasconading boaster.</p>
+
+<p>Six months passed away. They were with Franklin happy months. He was
+in perfect health, greatly enjoyed his own physical and intellectual
+attributes, was much caressed, and was engaged in lucrative
+employment. He was highly convivial in his tastes, very fond of social
+pleasures, of the wine cup and of the song: and on Sundays in
+particular, the enchanting forests of the Schuylkill resounded with
+the songs and the shouts of the merry bacchanals, led by Franklin, who
+was ever recognized as their chief.</p>
+
+<p>There probably never was a young man more skillful than Benjamin
+Franklin in plucking the rose and avoiding the thorn. In all his
+festivities he was <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span>the thoughtful philosopher. Never did he drink to
+excess; no money was squandered at the gaming table. Carefully he
+avoided all views which he deemed vulgar and degrading; and he made it
+the general rule of his life, to avoid everything which would bring
+pain to his body, or remorse to his soul.</p>
+
+<p>Still man is born to mourn. Even Franklin could not escape the general
+lot. The drunken Collins became his constant scourge. Franklin felt
+constrained to lend his old friend money. He had been entrusted by a
+family friend, a Mr. Vernon, to collect a debt of about fifty dollars.
+This money he was to retain till called for. But to meet his own
+expenses and those of his spendthrift companion, he began to draw upon
+it, until it all disappeared. He was then troubled with the
+apprehension that the money might be demanded. Bitter were the
+quarrels which arose between him and John Collins. His standard of
+morality which was perhaps not less elevated than that which the
+majority of imperfect professing Christians practice, was certainly
+below that which the religion of Jesus Christ enjoins. Had he been a
+true Christian according to the doctrines and precepts of Jesus, he
+would have escaped these accumulating sorrows.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i072.jpg" class="gap" width="500" height="337" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>This breaking in upon his friend Vernon&#8217;s money, and spending it, he
+pronounces in his autobiography, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span>to have been the <i>first great error</i> of his life. Though it so chanced
+that the money was not required until Franklin was able to pay it, yet
+for several months he was in the endurance of intense mental anxiety
+and constant self-reproach.</p>
+
+<p>At length, Collins and Franklin became so antagonistic to each other
+as to proceed to violence. They were on a pleasure party in a boat
+down the river. Collins, as usual, was intoxicated. The wrath of the
+muscular Benjamin was so aroused, by some act of abuse, that he seized
+the fellow by the collar and pitched him overboard. Collins was a good
+swimmer. They therefore kept him in the water till he was nearly
+drowned. When pretty thoroughly humbled, and upon his most solemn
+promise of good behavior, he was again taken on board. Seldom after
+this was a word exchanged between them. Collins, deeply indebted to
+Franklin, accepted of some business offer at Barbadoes. He sailed for
+that island, and was never heard of more.</p>
+
+<p>Almost every young man has a few particular friends. The three most
+intimate companions of Benjamin Franklin were young men of his own
+rank and age, of very dissimilar characters, but having a common taste
+for business. They were all clerks. One of these, Joseph Watson, was,
+according to Franklin&#8217;s description, &#8220;a pious, sensible young man <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span>of
+great integrity.&#8221; They were all persons of very
+estimable character, though some of them had imbibed Franklin&#8217;s
+skeptical opinions. They spent many of their Sabbaths, wandering on
+the banks of the romantic Schuylkill, reading to each other their
+compositions in prose and verse.</p>
+
+<p>James Ralph, who was very emphatic in his deistical views, in his
+enthusiasm, decided to devote himself to the art of rhyming. The
+sensible Franklin tried to dissuade him from his folly, but in vain.
+On one occasion they all agreed to attempt a version of the Eighteenth
+Psalm. This sublime production of an inspired pen contains, in fifty
+verses, imagery as grand and sentiments as beautiful, as perhaps can
+anywhere else be found, within the same compass, in any language. It
+certainly speaks well for the intellectual acumen of these young men,
+and for their devotional instincts, that they should have selected so
+noble a theme. As their main object was to improve themselves in the
+command of language, and in the power of expression, they could not
+have chosen a subject more appropriate, than the Psalmist&#8217;s
+description of the descent of God to earth.</p>
+
+<div class="centerbox2 bbox"><p>&#8220;He bowed the heavens also and came down; and darkness was<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">under his feet.</span><br />
+And He rode upon a cherub and did fly;<br />
+Yea he did fly upon the wings of the wind.<br />
+He made darkness his secret place.<br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span>His pavilion round about him were dark waters, thick clouds of<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the skies.</span><br />
+At the brightness which was before him his thick clouds passed.<br />
+Hail stones and coals of fire.&#8221;<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a><br />
+</p></div>
+
+<p>Joseph Watson died quite young, in the arms of Franklin. Charles
+Osborne acquired money and reputation, as a lawyer. Removing to the
+West Indies, he died, in the prime of life.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin and Osborne entered into the agreement, which has so often
+been made, that whichever should first die, should, if possible,
+return to the other and reveal to him the secrets of the spirit land.
+It is hardly necessary to say that Franklin watched long in vain, for
+a visit from his departed companion.</p>
+
+<p>Two months before Franklin sailed for London, Mr. Read, with whom he
+boarded, died. With the father, mother, and very pretty and amiable
+daughter, Deborah, Franklin had found a happy home. A strong affection
+apparently sprang up between the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span>two young people. She was seventeen
+years of age, and Franklin eighteen. Their union would be eminently
+fitting, as in fortune and position in society, they were on the same
+level.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin, enjoying the patronage of the governor, and with, as he
+supposed, very brilliant prospects before him, entered into an
+engagement with Deborah, and was anxious to be married before he
+embarked for England, designing to leave his young bride at home with
+her mother. But Mrs. Read, in consideration of their youth, urged that
+the nuptials should be postponed until after his return.</p>
+
+<p>Sir William Keith continued to invite Franklin to his house, and
+lavished commendation and promises upon him. Still he continually
+postponed giving him any letters of credit with which he could
+purchase types, paper and press. Though, as the hour for sailing
+approached, Franklin called again and again to obtain the needful
+documents, he was continually met with apologies. At length, the day
+for the ship to weigh anchor arrived. It was about the 5th of
+November, 1724.</p>
+
+<p>At that late hour the private secretary of the Governor called upon
+Franklin and informed him that Sir William would meet him at
+Newcastle, where the vessel was to cast anchor, and would then and
+there, deliver to him all the important documents. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span>Franklin went on
+board. The ship dropped down the broad and beautiful Delaware, whose
+banks were brilliant with foliage in their richest autumnal
+brilliance, about thirty-two miles below Philadelphia, to Newcastle.
+To the great disappointment of Franklin, the Governor still did not
+appear. He however sent his secretary, with a profusion of excuses,
+and professing to be pressed with business of the utmost importance,
+promised to send the letters to the captain before the vessel would be
+permitted to sail.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin, naturally buoyant and hopeful, did not even then, consider
+it possible that the Governor was intending to deceive him. Neither
+was it possible to conceive of any motive which would induce Sir
+William to betray him by so deceptive a game. At length a bag from the
+Governor, apparently filled with letters and dispatches, was brought
+on board, and again the vessel unfurled her sails. Franklin, with some
+solicitude, asked for those which were directed to him. But Captain
+Annis, all engrossed with the cares of embarkation, said that he was
+too busy to examine the bag at that time, but that they would, at
+their leisure, on the voyage select the letters.</p>
+
+<p>On the 10th of November, 1724, the good ship, the London Hope, pushed
+out from the Delaware <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span>upon the broad Atlantic. We know not whether
+Franklin was surprised to find on board, as one of the passengers, his
+poetical deistical friend James Ralph. This young man, who had
+renounced Christianity, in the adoption of principles, which he
+professed to believe conducive to the formation of a much higher moral
+character, had deliberately abandoned his wife and child to seek his
+fortune in London. He had deceived them by the most false
+representation. Carefully he concealed from Franklin, his unprincipled
+conduct and visionary schemes.</p>
+
+<p>The voyage was long and rough, as the vessel did not reach London
+until the twenty-fourth of November. On the passage he very carefully,
+with the captain, examined the letter-bag. But no letter was found
+addressed to him. There were several, however, addressed to other
+persons, with Franklin&#8217;s name upon the envelope as if they were in his
+care. As one of these was addressed to the king&#8217;s printer and another
+to a stationer in London, the sanguine young man through all the
+dreary and protracted voyage, clung to the hope that all was right.</p>
+
+<p>Upon arriving in London, Franklin hastened first to the stationer&#8217;s
+and presented him with the letter, saying to him, &#8220;Here is a letter
+from Governor Keith, of Pennsylvania.&#8221; The stationer looked up with
+surprise and said:</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span></p><p>&#8220;Governor Keith! I do not know of any such person.&#8221; Then breaking the
+seal, and looking at the signature, he said very contemptuously,
+&#8220;Riddlesden. I have lately found him to be a complete rascal. I will
+have nothing to do with him, nor receive any letters from him.&#8221;<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a></p>
+
+<p>So saying he thrust the letter back into Franklin&#8217;s hand, and turned
+away to serve a customer. Franklin was almost stunned with this
+intelligence. He immediately conferred with a Mr. Denham, a judicious
+friend whose acquaintance he had made on board the ship. They
+ascertained that the infamous Governor, from motives which it is
+difficult to comprehend, had not furnished Franklin with a single
+document. There was not a bill of credit or a single letter of
+introduction, commending the young adventurer to people in London.
+Denham then told him that no one who knew Keith had the slightest
+confidence in his promises. That the idea that he would furnish him
+with any letters of credit was preposterous, since Sir William had no
+credit with any body.</p>
+
+<p>And thus Franklin found himself with his companion <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span>James Ralph, alone
+in the great world of London, without any letters of introduction,
+without any prospect of employment, and almost without money. The
+virtues of Franklin had exerted a restraining influence upon the
+unprincipled Ralph, and Franklin had not as yet become acquainted with
+the true basis of his character. The two young men met together to
+consult in this dilemma and to examine their finances. It appeared
+that Ralph had scarcely one penny in his pocket. He had intended to be
+a hanger-on upon Franklin, in whose ability to take care of himself
+and others he had the greatest confidence. Franklin&#8217;s purse contained
+about fifty dollars.</p>
+
+<p>Again he returned to consult with Mr. Denham. He very wisely advised
+Franklin to seek employment in some of the printing offices in London.
+He encouraged him with the thought that thus with a few months&#8217; labor,
+he might not only pay his expenses, but also lay up a sufficient sum
+to defray his passage home.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin gradually perceived to his dismay, what an old man of the sea
+he had got upon his shoulders in the person of James Ralph. The
+following is his calm comment upon the atrocious conduct of Keith:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What shall we think,&#8221; he writes, &#8220;of a governor <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span>playing such pitiful
+tricks, and imposing so grossly upon a poor ignorant boy? It was a
+habit he had acquired; he wished to please every body, and having
+little to give, he gave expectations. He was otherwise an ingenuous,
+sensible man, a pretty good writer, and a good governor for the
+people, though not for his constituents the proprietaries. Several of
+our best laws were of his planning, and passed during his
+administration.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The entire absence of anger in this statement, has won for Franklin
+great commendation.</p>
+
+<p>With his dependent proteg&eacute; Ralph, he took humble lodgings in Little
+Britain street. Ralph had remarkable powers of conversation, with much
+more than ordinary literary talent, and could, whenever he wished,
+make himself very agreeable and almost fascinating as a companion. But
+he was quite a child as to all ability to take care of himself.
+Franklin really loved him at that time. He was a very handsome young
+man, graceful in his demeanor; and those who listened to his eloquent
+harangues would imagine that he was destined to attain to greatness.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin immediately applied for work at the great printing
+establishment of Palmer in Bartholomew Close. Fifty journeymen were
+here employed. He promptly entered into a contract with the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span>proprieter for the remuneration of about six dollars a week. Ralph,
+characteristically hurried to the theatre to enter upon the profession
+of a play-actor. Being disappointed in that attempt, his next plan was
+to edit a newspaper to be called the Spectator. Not being able to find
+a publisher, he then went the rounds of the law offices, in search of
+copying, but not even this, could he obtain. In the meantime they were
+both supported by the purse of Franklin. With fifty dollars in his
+pocket, and earning six dollars a week, he felt quite easy in his
+circumstances, and was quite generous in his expenditure for their
+mutual enjoyment.</p>
+
+<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.</h2>
+
+<h3><i>Mental and Moral Conflicts.</i></h3>
+
+<div class="blockquot3"><p>Faithfulness to work&mdash;Neglect of Deborah Read&mdash;Treatise on
+Liberty and Necessity&mdash;Skill in swimming&mdash;Return to
+America&mdash;Marriage of Miss Read&mdash;Severe sickness&mdash;Death of
+Mr. Denham&mdash;Returns to Keimer&#8217;s employ&mdash;The Junto&mdash;His
+Epitaph&mdash;Reformation of his treatise on Liberty and
+Necessity&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s creed.</p></div>
+
+<p>Franklin and Ralph were essentially congenial in their tastes. Neither
+of them were religiously inclined in the ordinary acceptation of those
+words. But the thoughtful philosophy of Franklin has by many been
+regarded as the development of an instinctively religious character.
+They were both exceedingly fond of amusement and especially of
+pleasure excursions on the Sabbath. Very seldom, did either the
+intellect or the heart lure them to listen to such teachings as they
+would hear from the pulpit. It certainly would have been better for
+them both, had they been church-going young men. There was no pulpit
+in all London from which they would not hear the reiterated counsel,
+Cease to do evil; learn to do well.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span></p><p>Franklin was faithful in the highest degree to his employer. Weary
+with the day&#8217;s toil, which with his active mind was highly
+intellectual as well as mechanical, he almost invariably in the
+evening sought recreation with Ralph in the theatre. It is safe to
+infer that the best productions of our best dramatists, were those
+which would most interest the mind of our young philosopher. Ralph was
+daily gaining an increasing influence over his mind. It is said that
+we are prone to love more ardently those upon whom we confer favors
+than those from whom we receive them.</p>
+
+<p>To these two young men the pleasures of London seemed inexhaustible.
+Franklin began to forget his old home and his friends. He began to
+think that London was a very pleasant place of residence, and that it
+was doubtful whether he should ever return to America again. He had
+constant employment, the prospect of an increasing income, and with
+his economical habits he had ample funds to relieve himself from all
+pecuniary embarrassment. With his friend Ralph, he was leading a very
+jovial life, free from all care.</p>
+
+<p>His love for Deborah Read began to vanish away. He thought very seldom
+of her: seldom could he find time to write to her; and ere long his
+letters ceased altogether; and she was cruelly left to the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span>uncertainty of whether he was alive or dead. Ralph had entirely
+forgotten his wife and child, and Franklin had equally forgotten his
+affianced. In subsequent years the memory of this desertion seems to
+have weighed heavily on him. He wrote in his advanced life in
+reference to his treatment of Deborah,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;This was another of the great errors of my life; which I
+could wish to correct were I to live it over again.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>For nearly a year, Franklin thus continued in the employment of Mr.
+Palmer, receiving good wages and spending them freely. A very highly
+esteemed clergyman of the Church of England named Wollaston, had
+written a book entitled, &#8220;The Religion of Nature Delineated.&#8221; It was a
+work which obtained much celebrity in those days and was published by
+Mr. Palmer. It was of the general character of Butler&#8217;s Analogy, and
+was intended to prove that the morality enjoined by Jesus Christ, was
+founded in the very nature of man; and that the principles of that
+morality were immutable, even though deists should succeed in
+destroying the public faith in the divine authority of Christianity.
+It was eminently an amiable book, written with great charity and
+candor, and without any dogmatic assumptions.</p>
+
+<p>It chanced to fall to Franklin to set up the type. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span>As was customary
+with him, he made himself thoroughly acquainted with the treatise of
+which he thus became the compositor. His mind was in such a state in
+reference to the claims of that Christianity which certainly did not
+commend the mode of life he was living, that it excited not only
+antagonistic but even angry emotions. So thoroughly were his feelings
+aroused, that he wrote and published a pamphlet of thirty-two pages,
+in refutation of the theory of Mr. Wollaston.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin dedicated his work, which was entitled &#8220;A dissertation on
+Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain,&#8221; to James Ralph.
+Fortunately, the treatise has descended to us unmutilated. He
+commences with the observation:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;I have here given you my present thoughts upon the general state of
+things in the universe.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>The production was certainly a very able one to come from the pen of a
+young printer of but nineteen years. Mr. Palmer, while recognizing its
+ability, pronounced its principles to be atrocious and demoralizing.
+The production of such a work, literary, philosophical and religious,
+by probably the youngest companion of the journeymen printers, caused
+them all to open their eyes with astonishment, and he was regarded at
+once as a great man among them.<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span></p><p>The deists of London, who had united in a club of merry
+free-thinkers, holding their meetings at an ale-house, sought out
+Franklin and drew him into their convivial gatherings. These men had
+no common principle of belief; they were united only in the negative
+principle of unbelief in the Christian religion. Ralph had formed a
+connection with a young milliner, by whom, through his many
+fascinations, he was mainly supported.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin, with his increasing expenditures, was now disposed to shake
+off Ralph, as he needed all his money for his own convivial
+enjoyments. Ralph <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span>went into the country and opened a school, where he
+utterly failed. The unhappy milliner, ruined in character, and with a
+little child, wrote to Franklin imploring aid. Her letters touched his
+kindly heart. He could never see sorrow without wishing to relieve it.
+He furnished her with money, in small sums, to the amount of one
+hundred and thirty dollars; and worst of all, we regret to say that he
+commenced treating her with such familiarity, that she, still faithful
+to Ralph, repulsed him indignantly.<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a></p>
+
+<p>Franklin does not conceal these <i>foibles</i>, as he regarded them, these
+<i>sins</i> as Christianity pronounces them. He declares this simply to
+have been another of the great errors of his youth. She informed Ralph
+of his conduct. He was enraged, broke off all further communication
+with Franklin, and thirty-five years passed away before they met
+again. Ralph, goaded to desperation, gained a wretched living in
+various literary adventures; writing for any body, on any side, and
+for any price. Indeed he eventually <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span>gained quite an ephemeral
+reputation. He could express himself with vivacity, and several quite
+prominent politicians sought the aid of his pen.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin, thus relieved from the support of Ralph, soon after entered
+a more extensive printing house, at Lincoln&#8217;s Inn Fields. Though he
+was exceedingly fond of a sparkling glass of wine in his convivial
+hours, he was too much of a philosopher to stupefy his brain in
+guzzling beer. His habitual daily beverage was cold water.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;My companion at the press,&#8221; he wrote, &#8220;drank every day a pint before
+breakfast, a pint at breakfast with his bread and cheese, a pint
+between breakfast and dinner, a pint at dinner, and another when he
+had done his day&#8217;s work. I thought it a detestable custom. But it was
+necessary, he supposed, to drink strong beer that he might be strong
+to labor. I endeavored to convince him that the bodily strength
+afforded by beer could only be in proportion to the grain or the
+barley dissolved in the water of which it was made; that there was
+more flour in a pennyworth of bread, and, therefore, if he could eat
+that with a pint of water, it would give him more strength than a
+quart of beer. He drank on, however, and had four or five shillings to
+pay, out of his wages, every Saturday night, for that vile <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span>liquor; an
+expense I was free from; and thus these poor devils keep themselves
+always under.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Again Franklin wrote in characteristic phrase, in reference to the
+influence of his example over some of his companions,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;From my example, a great many of them left their muddling
+breakfast of bread, beer and cheese, finding they could,
+with me, be supplied from a neighboring house, with a large
+porringer of hot water gruel, sprinkled with pepper,
+crumbled with bread and a bit of butter in it, for the price
+of a pint of beer,&mdash;three half-pence. This was a more
+comfortable, as well as a cheaper breakfast, and kept their
+heads clearer. Those who continued sotting with their beer
+all day, were often, by not paying, out of credit at the
+ale-house; and used to make interest with me to get beer;
+their <i>light</i> as they phrased it being out. I watched the
+pay table on Saturday night, and collected what I stood
+engaged for them, having to pay sometimes on their account.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Franklin&#8217;s skill in swimming, as we have mentioned was very
+remarkable. At one time he swam from London to Chelsea, a distance of
+four miles. Several of his companions he taught to swim in two
+lessons. His celebrity was such that he was urged to open a swimming
+school.<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> The life of self-indulgence <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span>he was now living in London,
+was not such as even his loose religious principles could approve. He
+had abandoned the faith of his fathers, and had adopted, for his rule
+of conduct, the principle, that it was right to yield to any
+indulgences to which his passions incited him. He became tired of
+London, and probably found it necessary to break away from the
+influences and associates with which he had surrounded himself.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Denham, his companion of voyage, had decided to return to
+Philadelphia, and open an extensive store. He offered Franklin two
+hundred and fifty dollars a year as book-keeper. Though this was less
+than the sum Franklin was then earning, as compositor, there were
+prospects of his advancement. This consideration, in addition to his
+desire to escape from London, led him to accept the offer. He was now
+twenty years of age. It <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span>does not appear that he had thus far formed
+any deliberate plan for his life&#8217;s work. He floated along as the
+current of events drifted him.</p>
+
+<p>On the twenty-first of July, 1726, Franklin embarked on board the ship
+Berkshire for Philadelphia. He had been absent from America but little
+more than a year and a half. During this time he had not increased his
+fortune, for he had spent his money as fast as he had earned it. After
+a voyage of eighty days, the ship cast anchor before Philadelphia. At
+that time ships were often from three to seven months effecting the
+passage across the Atlantic.</p>
+
+<p>As usual Franklin kept a diary punctually during his long voyage. Its
+pages were replete with pithy remarks of wit and wisdom. He was very
+fond of a game of checkers, and in that amusement beguiled many weary
+hours. We find the following striking comments upon the diversion in
+his journal:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;It is a game I much delight in. But it requires a clear head and
+undisturbed. The persons playing, if they would play well, ought not
+much to regard the <i>consequences</i> of the game; for that diverts and
+withdraws the mind from the game itself, and makes the player liable
+to make many false, open moves. I will venture to lay it down for an
+infallible rule that if two persons equal in judgment, play for a
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span>considerable sum, he that loves money most, shall lose. His anxiety
+for the success of the game confounds him. Courage is almost as
+requisite for the good conduct of this game as in a real battle; for
+if the player imagines himself opposed by one that is much his
+superior in skill, his mind is so intent on the defensive part, that
+an advantage passes unobserved.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>The Governor of the Isle of Wight had died, leaving the reputation of
+having been one of the most consummate scoundrels who ever exercised
+despotic power. Franklin, in his treatise upon &#8220;Liberty and
+Necessity,&#8221; written but a few months before, had assumed that there
+was no such thing as good and evil; that God ordered and controlled
+every event; and that consequently every event was in accordance with
+His will, and alike pleasing in His sight. But now we find the
+following record in his journal, which most readers will recognize as
+inconsistent with the young philosopher&#8217;s theological opinions. He
+writes:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;At the death of this governor, it appeared that he was a great
+villain, and a great politician. There was no crime so damnable, which
+he would stick at in the execution of his designs. And yet he had the
+art of covering all so thick, that with almost all men in general,
+while he lived he passed <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span>for a saint. In short, I believe it is
+impossible for a man, though he has all the cunning of a devil, to
+live and die a villain, and yet conceal it so well as to carry the
+name of an honest fellow to the grave with him, but some one by some
+accident or other, shall discover him. Truth and sincerity have a
+certain distinguishing, native lustre about them, which cannot be
+perfectly counterfeited. They are like fire and flame that cannot be
+painted.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>We should infer, from some intimations in Franklin&#8217;s diary, that he
+was troubled by some qualms of conscience, in view of his abandonment
+of Miss Read, and his irregular life in London. He has left a paper in
+which he stated that he had never formed any regular plan for the
+control of his conduct: that he was now about to enter on a new life;
+and that he was resolved that henceforth he would speak the truth, be
+industrious in his business, and speak ill of no man. These were
+rather meagre resolutions for a young man under these circumstances to
+adopt.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after landing at Philadelphia, Franklin chanced to meet Sir
+William Keith in the streets. The governor seemed much embarrassed,
+and passed by without speaking. It does not appear that the
+acquaintance was ever resumed. The governor lived nearly twenty-five
+years afterward, a dishonored and ruined man, and died in the extreme
+of poverty.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span></p><p>Poor Miss Read, heart-broken, and deeming herself forever abandoned,
+yielded to the importunities of her friends and married a mechanic by
+the name of Rogers. He proved to be a thoroughly worthless fellow. His
+unconcealed profligacy, and unfaithfulness to his wife, compelled her,
+after a few months of wretchedness, to return to her mother, and to
+resume her maiden name. The profligate husband fled from his creditors
+to the West Indies. Rumors soon reached Philadelphia of his death,
+leaving probably another wife.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin entered upon his duties as clerk of Mr. Denham, with his
+accustomed energy and skill. He carried into his new vocation, all his
+intellectual sagacity, and speedily won not only the confidence but
+the affection of his employer. He lived with Mr. Denham, and being
+always disposed to look upon the bright side of everything, even of
+his own imperfections, notwithstanding his infidelity to Miss Read, he
+seems to have been a very happy and even jovial young man.</p>
+
+<p>Four months after Franklin had entered upon his mercantile career,
+both Mr. Denham and Franklin were seized with the pleurisy. Mr. Denham
+died. Franklin, though brought near to the grave, recovered. He
+writes:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;I suffered a great deal; gave up the point in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span>my own mind; and was
+at the time rather disappointed when I found myself recovering;
+regretting in some degree that I must now, sometime or other, have all
+that disagreeable work to do over again.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>The death of Mr. Denham broke up the establishment, and Franklin was
+thrown out of employment. Keimer, in whose service he had formerly
+been engaged, again made him an offer to superintend a printing
+office. Franklin accepted the proposition. There were five inefficient
+hands, whom Franklin was expected to transform into accomplished
+printers. With these, and a few others, he organized a literary club,
+called the &#8220;Junto; or the Leathern Apron Club,&#8221; as nearly every member
+was a mechanic.</p>
+
+<p>The club met every Friday evening, and the wine cup, to stimulate
+conviviality, passed freely among them. There were twenty-four
+questions, which were every evening read, to which answers were to be
+returned by any one who could answer them. Between each question, it
+was expected that each member would fill, and empty, his glass. One
+would think that the wine must have been very weak, or the heads of
+these young men very strong, to enable them to quaff twenty-four
+glasses unharmed. We give a few of the questions as specimens of their
+general character.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span></p><div class="blockquot"><p>1. &#8220;Have you met with anything in the author you last read?</p>
+
+<p>3. &#8220;Has any citizen in your knowledge failed, and have you
+heard the cause?</p>
+
+<p>7. &#8220;What unhappy effects of intemperance have you lately
+observed?</p>
+
+<p>12. &#8220;Has any deserving stranger arrived in town since your
+last meeting?</p>
+
+<p>16. &#8220;Has anybody attacked your reputation lately?</p>
+
+<p>23. &#8220;Is there any difficulty which you would gladly have
+discussed at this time?&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Debates, declamation, and the reading of essays added to the
+entertainment of these gatherings. Stories were told, and bacchanal
+songs sung. No man could tell a better story, and few men could sing a
+better song than Benjamin Franklin. No one was deemed a suitable
+member of the club, who would not contribute his full quota to the
+entertainment or instruction. The questions proposed by Franklin for
+discussion, developed the elevated intellectual region his thoughts
+were accustomed to range. We give a few as specimens.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;Can any one particular form of government suit all mankind?</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Should it be the aim of philosophy to eradicate the
+passions?</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span>&#8220;Is perfection attainable in this life?</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What general conduct of life is most suitable for men in
+such circumstances as most of the members of the Junto are?&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>The Junto was limited to twelve members. It soon became so popular
+that applications for admission became very frequent. Six months
+passed rapidly away, when Keimer, who was an exceedingly immoral and
+worthless man, and was fast going to ruin, in some fit of drunkenness,
+or ungovernable irritation, entered the office, and assailed Franklin
+with such abuse, that he took his hat, and repaired to his lodgings,
+resolved never to return.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin was twenty-one years of age. He had laid up no money. He was
+still but a journeyman printer. The draft which he had received from
+Mr. Vernon for fifty dollars had not yet been paid. He was exceedingly
+mortified when he allowed himself to reflect upon this delinquency
+which certainly approached dishonesty. In this emergence he conferred
+with a fellow journeyman by the name of Hugh Meredith, whose father
+was a gentleman of considerable property. Meredith proposed that they
+should enter into partnership, he furnishing the funds, and Franklin
+the business capacity.</p>
+
+<p>At that time Franklin, remembering his narrow escape from the grave by
+the pleurisy, wrote his own <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span>epitaph which has been greatly
+celebrated. It has generally been admired; but some of more sensitive
+minds perceive in it a tone which is somewhat repulsive.</p>
+
+<p class="center">&#8220;The Body<br />
+of<br />
+<span class="smcap">Benjamin Franklin</span>,<br />
+<i>Printer</i>,<br />
+(Like the cover of an old book,<br />
+Its contents torn out,<br />
+And stripped of its lettering and gilding,)<br />
+Lies here, food for worms.<br />
+Yet the work itself shall not be lost,<br />
+For it will, as he believed, appear once more,<br />
+In a new<br />
+And more beautiful edition,<br />
+Corrected and amended<br />
+By<br />
+<span class="smcap">The Author</span>.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The excellencies of Franklin did not run in the line of exquisite
+sensibilities. At the early age of fifteen he began to cast off the
+restraints of the religion of his father and mother. Nearly all his
+associates were what were called Free-thinkers. He could not be blind
+to their moral imperfections. Mr. Parton writes,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;His old friend Collins, he remembered, was a Free-thinker,
+and Collins had gone astray. Ralph was a Free-thinker, and
+Ralph was a great sinner. Keith was a Free-thinker, and
+Keith was the greatest <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span>liar in Pennsylvania. Benjamin
+Franklin was a Free-thinker, and how shamefully he had
+behaved to Ralph&#8217;s mistress, to Mr. Vernon and Miss Read,
+whose young life had been blighted through him.&#8221;<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a></p></div>
+
+<p>Franklin&#8217;s creed thus far, consisted only of negations. He had no
+belief; he had only unbelief. Indeed he seems to have become quite
+ashamed of his treatise upon Liberty and Necessity, published in
+London, and felt constrained to write a refutation of it.<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> As this
+strange young man in his discontent <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span>looked over the religions of the
+world, he could find no one that met his views. He therefore
+deliberately and thoughtfully sat down to form a religion of his own.
+Many such persons have appeared in the lapse of the ages, and almost
+invariably they have announced their creeds with the words, &#8220;Thus
+saith the Lord.&#8221; But our young printer of twenty-two years, made no
+profession whatever, of any divine aid. He simply said, &#8220;Thus saith my
+thoughts.&#8221; One would think he could not have much confidence in those
+thoughts, when it is remembered that at this time he was writing a
+refutation of the opinions, which he had published in London but a few
+months before.</p>
+
+<p>The book which Franklin thus prepared was entitled &#8220;Articles of
+Belief, and Acts of Religion.&#8221; His simple creed was that there was one
+Supreme God who had created many minor gods; that the supreme God was
+so great that he did not desire the worship of man but was far above
+it.</p>
+
+<p>The minor gods are perhaps immortal, and perhaps <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span>after the ages lapse
+they are changed, others supplying their place. Each of these
+subordinate gods has created for himself a sun with its planetary
+system, over which he presides and from the inhabitants of which he
+expects adoration. He writes,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;It is that particular wise and good God, who is the author
+and owner of our system that I propose for the object of my
+praise and adoration. It is to be inferred that this God is
+not above caring for us, is pleased with our praise, and
+offended when we slight him.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>He then prepares an invocation to this god of our solar system. It is
+founded on the style of the Psalms, but is immeasurably inferior to
+most of those sublime utterances of the Psalmist of Israel. And still
+the sentiments breathed were ennobling in their character; they proved
+that Franklin was vastly superior to the thoughtless, reckless deists
+who surrounded him, and that his soul was reaching forth and yearning
+for higher and holier attainments. In this invocation, the whole of
+which we cannot quote, he writes,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;O Creator! O Father! I believe that thou art good; and that
+thou art pleased with the pleasure of thy children. Praised
+be thy name forever. By thy power thou hast made the
+glorious sun with his attending worlds. By thy wisdom thou
+hast formed <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span>all things. Thy wisdom, thy power, and thy
+goodness are everywhere clearly seen. Thou abhorrest in thy
+creatures treachery and deceit, malice, revenge,
+intemperance, and every other hurtful vice. But thou art a
+lover of justice and sincerity, of friendship and
+benevolence, and every virtue. Thou art my friend, my
+father, and my benefactor. Praised be thy name; O God,
+forever. Amen.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>The prayer which followed, doubtless giving utterance to his most
+inward feelings, is beautiful.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;Inasmuch,&#8221; he wrote, &#8220;as by reason of our ignorance, we cannot be
+certain that many things, which we often hear mentioned in the
+petitions of men to the Deity, would prove real goods if they were in
+our possession, and as I have reason to hope and believe that the
+goodness of my Heavenly Father will not withhold from me a suitable
+share of temporal blessings, if by a virtuous and holy life I
+conciliate his favor and kindness; therefore I presume not to ask such
+things; but rather humbly and with a sincere heart, express my earnest
+desire that he would graciously assist my continual endeavors and
+resolutions of eschewing vice and embracing virtue, which kind of
+supplication will at the same time remind me in a solemn manner of my
+extensive duty.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>He then added the supplication that he might <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span>be preserved from
+atheism, impiety and profaneness; that he might be loyal to his
+prince; that he might be gracious to those below him; that he might
+refrain from calumny and detraction; that he might be sincere in
+friendship, just in his dealings, grateful to his benefactors, patient
+in affliction; that he might have tenderness for the weak, and that,
+rejoicing in the good of others, he might become truly virtuous and
+magnanimous.</p>
+
+<p>It is very evident that some unexplained circumstances had called the
+attention of Franklin very earnestly to the subject of religion. He
+wrote very much upon that theme, and published a new version of the
+Lord&#8217;s Prayer, and a lecture upon Providence and Predestination. He,
+however, admits that he very seldom attended any public worship,
+adding,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;I had still an opinion of its propriety and its utility,
+when rightly conducted; and I regularly paid my annual
+subscription for the support of the only Presbyterian
+minister.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Rumors soon reached Franklin&#8217;s good father of Boston, of his son&#8217;s
+free-thinking, and he wrote to his son in much alarm. In Franklin&#8217;s
+reply, he said,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;All that should be expected from me, is to keep my mind
+open to conviction; to hear patiently and examine
+attentively whatever is offered me for that <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span>end. And if
+after all I continue in the same errors, I believe your
+usual charity will induce you rather to pity and excuse,
+than to blame me. In the meantime, your care and concern for
+me, is what I am very thankful for. My mother grieves that
+one of her sons is an Arian, and another an Arminian. What
+an Arminian or an Arian is, I cannot say that I very well
+know. The truth is, I make such distinctions very little my
+study. I think vital religion has always suffered when
+orthodoxy is more regarded than virtue. And the Scriptures
+assure me that at the last day we shall not be examined what
+we thought but what we did.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Franklin, having no revealed religion to guide him, and having no
+foundation for his faith, but the ever-changing vagaries of his own
+fantastic imagination, could have no belief to-day, of which he had
+any certainty that he would hold the same to-morrow. He was
+continually abandoning one after another of the articles of his
+fantastical creed, and adopting others in their place. At length he
+settled down upon the following simple belief, which with very
+considerable tenacity, but without any attempt to promulgate it, he
+adhered to for many years. It consisted of the six following articles
+which we give in briefest language.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>1. &#8220;There is one God.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span>2. &#8220;He governs the world.</p>
+
+<p>3. &#8220;He ought to be worshipped.</p>
+
+<p>4. &#8220;Doing good is the service most acceptable to him.</p>
+
+<p>5. &#8220;Man is immortal.</p>
+
+<p>6. &#8220;In the future world the souls of men will be dealt with
+justly.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>It is very evident that Franklin had no great confidence in his
+theological opinions. He studiously avoided all writing upon the
+subject, and as far as possible all conversation. Still, with his keen
+sense of humor, he could not refrain from occasionally plunging a
+pretty sharp dagger&#8217;s thrust into the palpable imperfections of the
+various and contending sects.</p>
+
+<p>There was very little moral power, in the creed he professed, to
+arrest young men, of glowing passions, and exposed to the most
+difficult temptations, in their downward career. No voice of Franklin
+was heard with potency calling upon those who were thronging the broad
+road. In a lecture upon Providence, to his companions of the Junto,
+which was subsequently published, and which reflects some considerable
+honor upon the earnestness of his thoughts, he wrote,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;I am especially discouraged when I reflect that you are all
+my intimate pot-companions, who have <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span>heard me say a
+thousand silly things in conversation, and therefore have
+not that laudable partiality and veneration for whatever I
+shall deliver that good people have for their spiritual
+guides; that you have no reverence for my habit, nor for the
+sanctity of my countenance; that you do not believe me
+inspired, nor divinely assisted; and therefore will think
+yourself at liberty to assert, or dissert, approve or
+disapprove of anything I advance, canvassing and sifting it
+as the private opinion of one of your acquaintance.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Though it was Franklin&#8217;s assumption that his religion was one of works
+and not of faith, still it must be admitted that his life was very
+inconsistent with those principles of purity, moral loveliness and
+good report which the Gospel enjoins. With his remarkable honesty of
+mind, in strains which we are constrained, though with regret to
+record, he writes,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;That hard-to-be governed passion of youth had hurried me
+frequently into intrigues with low women that fell in my
+way, which were attended with some expense and great
+inconvenience, besides a continual risk to my health by
+distemper, which of all things I dreaded, though by great
+luck I escaped it.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Mr. Parton writes, &#8220;It was perhaps owing to his frequent delinquencies
+in this way, that his liturgy contains no allusion to a vice, which is
+of all others <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span>the most alluring to a youth of Franklin&#8217;s temperament.
+He was too sincere and logical a man to go before his God and ask
+assistance against a fault which he had not fully resolved to
+overcome, and that immediately. About a year after the date of his
+liturgy was born his illegitimate son William Franklin, who became
+Governor of New Jersey. If laws were as easily executed as enacted,
+Benjamin Franklin would have received, upon this occasion, twenty-one
+lashings at the public whipping-post of Philadelphia.&#8221;</p>
+
+<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.</h2>
+
+<h3><i>The Dawn of Prosperity.</i></h3>
+
+<div class="blockquot3"><p>Franklin takes a house&mdash;His first job&mdash;His industry&mdash;Plans a
+Newspaper&mdash;Enters the list as a writer&mdash;Advocates a Paper
+currency&mdash;Purchases Keimer&#8217;s paper&mdash;Character of
+Meredith&mdash;Struggles of the firm&mdash;Unexpected
+assistance&mdash;Dissolves partnership with Meredith&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s
+energetic conduct&mdash;His courtship, and marriage&mdash;Character of
+Mrs. Franklin&mdash;Increase of luxury&mdash;Plans for a
+library&mdash;Prosperity of Pennsylvania&mdash;Customs in
+Philadelphia&mdash;Style of dress in 1726&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s social
+position in Philadelphia&mdash;His success&mdash;A hard student.</p></div>
+
+<p>Franklin had now reached the end of life as an apprentice and a
+journeyman. With his friend Meredith he hired a house in the lower
+part of Market street, at the rent of about one hundred and twenty
+dollars a year. A large portion of this house he prudently re-let to
+another mechanic who was a member of the Junto. It would seem that
+Meredith was disappointed in the amount of money he expected to raise.
+Consequently after utterly exhausting their stock of cash, they still
+found it necessary to run deeply into debt for those appurtenances of
+a printing office which were absolutely necessary.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span></p><p>Just as they got ready for work, quite to their delight, a countryman
+came in introduced by one of the Junto, George House, who wanted a
+five shilling job executed.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;This man&#8217;s five shillings,&#8221; writes Franklin, &#8220;being our first fruits,
+and coming so seasonably, gave me more pleasure than any crown I have
+since earned. And from the gratitude I felt toward House, has made me
+often more ready, than perhaps I otherwise should have been, to assist
+young beginners.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The two young men devoted themselves to their work, with assiduity
+which was a sure precursor of success. Often Franklin was found
+diligently employed until eleven o&#8217;clock at night. His industry and
+energy soon attracted attention. A gentleman living near the office
+said to some of his friends:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The industry of that Franklin is superior to anything I ever saw of
+the kind. I see him still at work when I go home from the club, and he
+is at work again before his neighbors are out of bed.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>This statement produced such an impression upon a merchant who was
+present, that he called upon the young men and offered to supply them
+with stationery on credit. Franklin&#8217;s literary taste, and his
+remarkable success as a writer, led him ever to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span>cherish, as a darling
+project, the idea of the establishing of a newspaper. In a few months
+he had quite deliberately formed his plan; but in some way Keimer got
+wind of it, and immediately issued a prospectus for the establishment
+of a paper of his own. Though he was totally unqualified for the task
+of editorship, yet his project was quite hurtful to the plans of
+Franklin.</p>
+
+<p>Very much annoyed by the treachery which had revealed his plans to
+Keimer, and perceiving that his paper was unpopular and heavy,
+Franklin very wisely decided to establish his own reputation as a
+vivacious writer, before entering upon the important undertaking of
+issuing a journal in his own name. There was a small paper then
+published in the city called &#8220;The Mercury.&#8221; He commenced writing a
+series of very witty and satirical articles over the signature of
+&#8220;Busy Body.&#8221; The first number contained the following sentences as
+intimations of what was to come.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;It is probable that I may displease a great number of your readers
+who will not very well like to pay ten shillings a year for being told
+of their faults, but as most people delight in censure when they
+themselves are not the object of it, if any are offended at my
+publicly exposing their private vices, I promise they shall have the
+satisfaction in a very little <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span>time, in seeing their good friends and
+neighbors in the same circumstances.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>These sparkling contributions of Franklin attracted much attention,
+and created for him a growing literary reputation. The subject of
+paper money which agitated our country, was then being discussed in
+Pennsylvania with intense interest. Franklin wrote a carefully studied
+pamphlet entitled &#8220;A Modest Inquiry into the Nature and Necessity of a
+Paper Currency.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>This treatise, written by a young printer of but twenty-three years,
+upon one of the most difficult questions of finance, displayed great
+ability. Warmly he advocated a paper currency. His arguments, however,
+were such as would not now probably exert much influence upon the
+public mind. The main proposition he endeavored to sustain was, that
+there was not a sufficiency of gold and silver in Pennsylvania, for
+carrying on the trade of the province. He therefore argued that all
+branches of industry must languish unless the currency were increased
+by an issue of paper.<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a></p>
+
+<p>It has been suggested that Franklin might have been unconsciously
+influenced in his views, by the fact that he had been very successful
+in printing <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span>paper money, and that he anticipated still more
+employment in that line. It is certain that Franklin&#8217;s pamphlet
+exerted a powerful influence at the time, and a new issue of paper
+currency was ordered. Franklin thought that the effect was highly
+conducive to the prosperity of the province, and he never swerved from
+the views which he had so earnestly and successfully urged in his
+pamphlet.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin&#8217;s sun was rapidly rising. Keimer&#8217;s was as rapidly sinking.
+After publishing thirty-nine numbers of the &#8220;Universal Instructor&#8221; and
+the subscription list having dwindled to ninety, he gladly sold the
+paper for a trifle to Franklin and Meredith. The genius of Franklin
+was immediately displayed in the improved literary character of the
+paper, and in its mechanical execution. The name was changed to the
+&#8220;Pennsylvania Gazette.&#8221; The first number issued by him was on Oct. 2,
+1729.</p>
+
+<p>The subject of religion was almost entirely ignored. Franklin seems to
+have become weary of the darkness and the fogs through which his
+unillumined mind had been so long painfully floundering, without
+coming to any results upon which he could place reliance. Christianity
+he generally treated with respect, though he could not refrain from
+occasionally giving a sly thrust at those imperfections of Christians
+which were so palpable to his <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span>observant mind. And though he never
+assailed that which was not inherently bad, it cannot be denied that
+occasionally his keen sarcasms brought Christianity itself into
+reproach, as if it were a religion which produced no better fruits,
+perhaps not so good, as no religion at all.</p>
+
+<p>The business of this young firm of Franklin and Meredith, viewed in
+the light of the grand printing enterprises of the present day, was
+indeed trivial. The two young men did all the work themselves without
+even a boy to help them. In fact Meredith, who at the best was a poor
+workman, and who fell into intemperate habits, neglected his business,
+frequented the ale-houses, and left all responsibility resting upon
+the efficient shoulders of his partner.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin, who endeavored to be perfect in every thing he undertook,
+printed his paper so admirably that it is said that there is probably
+not a journal now in Philadelphia which is issued in better style than
+&#8220;The Pennsylvania Gazette&#8221; of 1729.</p>
+
+<p>For seven years Franklin had been embarrassed by the thought of the
+fifty dollars which he had received from Mr. Vernon, and which had not
+yet been repaid. Mr. Vernon wrote him a very gentle intimation,
+stating that it would be very convenient for him to receive the money.
+Franklin returned a contrite and magnanimous letter. He <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span>made no
+attempt to extenuate his fault, promised immediately to strain every
+nerve to meet the debt, and in a few months paid the whole, principal
+and interest.</p>
+
+<p>Still the infant firm was struggling with adversity. The partners had
+commenced operations with scarcely any capital excepting promises.
+Their outfit cost about a thousand dollars. Mr. Meredith had been
+unfortunate in business, and found himself unable to pay the second
+instalment promised of five hundred dollars. The stationers who
+furnished paper began to be uneasy, for they could not but see that
+Meredith was fast going to ruin.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin was seldom in the habit of dwelling upon his misfortunes. In
+these dark hours he wrote,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;In this distress two true friends whose kindness I have
+never forgotten, nor ever shall forget while I can remember
+anything, came to me separately, unknown to each other, and
+without any application from me, offered each of them to
+advance me all the money that should be necessary to take
+the whole business upon myself; but they did not like my
+continuing in partnership with Meredith, who, as they said,
+was often seen drunk in the street, playing at low games in
+ale-houses, much to our discredit.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Franklin generously was very reluctant to throw aside Meredith.
+Dissolute as the young man had <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span>become, he could not forget that he
+was the son of a man who had been his friend; but after carefully
+pondering the question and seeing ruin stare him in the face, he said
+one day to Meredith,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Perhaps your father is dissatisfied at the part you have undertaken
+in this affair of ours; and is unwilling to advance for you and me,
+what he would for you. If that is the case tell me, and I will resign
+the whole to you and go about my business.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Meredith replied,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;My father has really been disappointed, and is really unable. I am
+unwilling to distress him further. I see this is a business I am unfit
+for. I was bred a farmer and it was folly in me to come to town, and
+put myself at thirty years of age an apprentice to learn a new trade.
+Many of our Welsh people are going to settle in North Carolina where
+land is cheap. I am inclined to go with them, and follow my old
+employment. If you will take the debts of the company upon you, return
+to my father the hundred pounds he has advanced, pay my little
+personal debts, and give me thirty pounds and a new saddle, I will
+relinquish the partnership, and leave the whole in your hands.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>These were hard terms; but there was no other way in which Franklin
+could escape from the embarrassments of this untoward partnership. He
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span>accepted the proposal at once; borrowed the needful money of his
+friends; and became his own sole partner.</p>
+
+<p>True prosperity now began to attend his indomitable industry,
+frugality, and wisdom. The advance of the young man was necessarily
+slow, but it was sure. Well aware that his reputation with the
+community would be invaluable to him, he not only endeavored to be
+industrious, but to let it be seen by his neighbors that he left no
+stone unturned to accomplish his purposes.</p>
+
+<p>He would trundle, through the streets of Philadelphia, in a
+wheel-barrow, the paper which he purchased, by no means seeking
+by-streets where his more fashionable companions would not see him. He
+dressed with the utmost simplicity, but always in clean garments, well
+cut, and which presented his admirable form to great advantage. Never
+did he allow himself to sink to the vulgarity of a slatternly
+appearance. He was ever ready, when engaged in the most busy
+employments of his office, to receive without a blush, any guests,
+however high, who might chance to call.</p>
+
+<p>The tranquil months glided on. Franklin was prospered in business,
+paid his debts, and began to accumulate a little property. Our young
+philosopher was never an impassioned lover. As he would <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span>contemplate,
+in his increasing prosperity, removing to another more commodious
+office, so he now thought, having reached the age of twenty-four, that
+it might be expedient for him to have a home of his own, and a wife to
+take care of his domestic affairs.</p>
+
+<p>He had let a portion of the house which he used for his printing
+office, to a mechanic of the Junto by the name of Godfrey. He
+conferred with Mrs. Godfrey upon the subject. She had a relative, a
+very pretty girl, Miss Godfrey, whom she highly recommended and
+brought, as it were by accident, to take tea with Franklin. She was
+graceful, amiable, and a child of parents well to do in the world.
+Franklin was a remarkably handsome and fascinating young man. The
+courtship proceeded successfully and rapidly.</p>
+
+<p>The reader will be interested in seeing Franklin&#8217;s own account of this
+affair. He writes, in his Autobiography:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;Mrs. Godfrey projected a match with a relation&#8217;s daughter, took
+opportunities of bringing us often together, till a serious courtship
+on my part ensued; the girl being, in herself, very deserving. The old
+folks encouraged me by continual invitations to supper, and by leaving
+us together, till at length it was time to explain. Mrs. Godfrey
+managed our little treaty. I let her know I expected as much <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span>money
+with their daughter as would pay off my remaining debt for the
+printing house; which I believe was not then above a hundred pounds.
+She brought me word they had no such sum to spare; I said they might
+mortgage their house in the loan-office. The answer to this, after
+some days, was, that they did not approve the match; that, on inquiry
+of Mr. Bradford, they had been informed the printing business was not
+a profitable one, the types would soon be worn out, and more wanted;
+that Keimer and David Harvy had failed one after the other, and I
+should probably soon follow them; and therefore I was forbidden the
+house, and the daughter was shut up.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Occasionally Franklin had gone to the home of Mrs. Read, the mother of
+the unhappy Deborah. His conscience reproached him for his conduct to
+that good girl. She was always dejected and solitary, and with a
+broken heart clung to her mother, her only friend. It is doubtful
+whether she were ever legally married to Rogers. It was rumored that
+at the time of their marriage, he was the husband of one, if not more
+wives. If legally married, there was another serious obstacle in her
+path. Rogers had run away to the West Indies. Rumor alone had
+announced his death. He might be still living.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin&#8217;s sympathy gradually became excited <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span>in her behalf. And at
+length he proposed that, regardless of all the risks, they should be
+married. It seems that he had announced to her very distinctly that he
+had a living child, and very honorably he had decided that that child
+of dishonor was to be taken home and trained as his own.</p>
+
+<p>These were sad nuptials. The world-weary wife knew not but that she
+had another husband still living, and a stigma, indelible, rested upon
+Franklin. The marriage took place on the first of September, 1730. It
+subsequently appears that Rogers, the potter, was really dead. The
+child was taken home and reared with all possible tenderness and care.
+It is a little remarkable that nothing is known of what became of the
+mother of that child. The boy grew up to manhood, espoused the Tory
+cause, when the Tories were hunting his father to hang him, and by his
+ungrateful, rebellious conduct, pierced his heart with a thousand
+empoisoned daggers.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Franklin proved in all respects an excellent woman, and an
+admirable wife for her calm, philosophic and unimpassioned husband.
+Franklin never had a journeyman in his office who performed his
+functions more entirely to his satisfaction, than his wife discharged
+her responsible duties. She was always amiable, industrious and
+thrifty.</p>
+
+<p>There was a little shop attached to the printing office <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span>which Mrs.
+Franklin tended. She also aided her husband in folding and
+distributing the papers, and with a mother&#8217;s love trained, in the
+rudiments of education, the child whose mother was lost.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin, in his characteristic, kindly appreciation of the services
+of all who were faithful in his employ, speaks in the following
+commendatory terms of the industrial excellencies of his wife. When
+far away dazzled by the splendors, and bewildered by the flattery of
+European courts, he wrote to her,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;It was a comfort to me to recollect that I had once been
+clothed, from head to foot, in woolen and linen of my wife&#8217;s
+manufacture, and that I never was prouder of any dress in my
+life.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>In Franklin&#8217;s Autobiography, as published by Sparks, we read, &#8220;We have
+an English proverb that says, &#8216;He that would thrive, must ask his
+wife.&#8217; It was lucky for me that I had one as much disposed to industry
+and frugality as myself. She assisted me cheerfully in my business,
+folding and stitching pamphlets, tending shop, purchasing old linen
+rags, for the paper-makers, etc. We kept no idle servants; our table
+was plain and simple, our furniture of the cheapest. For instance, my
+breakfast was, for a long time, bread and milk, (no tea) and I ate it
+out of a two-penny earthern porringer, with a pewter-spoon.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span></p><p>&#8220;But mark how luxury will enter families, and make a progress in spite
+of principle. Being called one morning to breakfast, I found it in a
+china bowl, with a spoon of silver. They had been bought for me
+without my knowledge, by my wife, and had cost her the enormous sum of
+three and twenty shillings; for which she had no other excuse or
+apology to make, but that she thought her husband deserved a silver
+spoon and china bowl, as well as any of his neighbors. This was the
+first appearance of plate or china in our house; which afterward, in a
+course of years, as our wealth increased, augmented gradually to
+several hundred pounds in value.&#8221;<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a></p>
+
+<p>While thus engaged he conceived the idea of establishing a public
+subscription library. His knowledge of human nature taught him that if
+he presented the enterprise as his own, feelings of jealousy might be
+excited, and it might be imagined that he was influenced by personal
+ambition. He therefore said that a number of gentlemen had adopted the
+plan, and had requested him to visit the lovers of books and of
+reading, and solicit their subscriptions. Each subscriber was to
+contribute two pounds to start the enterprise, and to pay a yearly
+assessment of ten shillings.</p>
+
+<p>By the arduous labors of five months, Franklin <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span>obtained fifty names.
+With this the enterprise commenced. Such was the origin of the
+Philadelphia Library, now one of the most important institutions of
+the kind in our land. In the year 1861, seventy thousand volumes were
+reported as on its shelves.</p>
+
+<p>Philadelphia contained a population of nearly ten thousand people.
+Pennsylvania was decidedly the central point for European emigration.
+Its climate was delightful; its soil fertile; and William Penn&#8217;s
+humane policy with the Indians had secured for the colony peace and
+friendship with the native inhabitants for more than fifty years.</p>
+
+<p>The white man, on this continent, has told his own story. The Indians
+have had no historians. But nothing is more clear than that in almost
+every instance they were goaded to war by the unendurable wrongs which
+were inflicted upon them.<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a> Until Braddock&#8217;s dreadful defeat,
+Pennsylvania had scarcely known a single alarm. In the summer of 1749,
+twelve thousand Germans landed at Philadelphia. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span>This was the average
+number for many years. The policy of William Penn had been to
+establish upon the banks of the Delaware, an extended and beautiful
+village, where every house should have its lawn and its garden for
+vegetables and flowers. In the year 1732, when Franklin was twenty-six
+years of age, the dwellings of this village were mostly of brick or
+stone, and were spread along the banks of the river for the distance
+of a mile, with streets running back into the interior to the distance
+of about half a mile.</p>
+
+<p>The prosperity of Philadelphia, indeed of Pennsylvania, was
+remarkable. Provisions and the most delicious fruits were in great
+abundance. Even the pigs were fattened upon the most luscious peaches.
+Each family in the city kept its cow, which grazed upon the common
+lands on the outskirts of the town. The Philadelphia of that period
+was a green village, beautifully shaded by trees, and presenting to
+every visitor an aspect of rare attractions. Professor Peter Kalm, who
+published an exceedingly interesting account of his travels in North
+America between the years 1748 and 1751, writes,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;There were fine orchards all about the city. The country
+people in Sweden and Finland guard their turnips more
+carefully than the people here do the most exquisite fruits.
+A Philadelphian has <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span>so much liberty and abundance that he
+lives in his house like a king.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>The Quakers, or as they prefer to be called, the Friends, at that time
+composed about one-third of the population of Philadelphia, and
+one-half of the State of Pennsylvania. They were a remarkably
+intelligent, industrious and worthy people. Probably a better and more
+thrifty community was never colonized on this globe.</p>
+
+<p>The state of society has greatly changed since that day, and customs,
+which were then deemed essential, have since become obsolete. For
+instance, the whipping-post, the pillory, and the stocks, were
+prominent in the market-place and were in frequent use. There was a
+public whipper, who, for his repulsive services, received a salary of
+fifty dollars a year. Until as late as 1760, women were frequently
+publicly whipped. It is said that a whipping occurred on an average,
+twice a month.</p>
+
+<p>The dress of gentlemen was gaudy and extravagant, unsurpassed by that
+of French or British courtiers. Immense wigs, with their profusion of
+waves or curls, were in use by the gentry. Very tight knee-breeches
+were worn, with silk stockings, and shoes embellished with immense
+silver buckles, highly polished. Their coats were richly embroidered,
+often of silk velvet, and their full flow reached <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span>below the knees.
+Ruffled shirts and ruffled wrist-bands of linen, of snowy whiteness,
+added to the beauty of the dress. A jewelled scabbard containing a
+polished sword hung by the side. A three-cornered hat completed this
+showy attire. There is not a Rocky Mountain Indian in his most
+gorgeous war-dress of paint and plumes, who would attract more
+attention walking down Broadway, than would Benjamin Franklin as he
+was painted in 1726.</p>
+
+<p>His portrait was taken when he was in London, working as a journeyman
+printer. Contrary to the general impression, Franklin was then, and
+through all his life, fully conscious of the advantages which dress
+confers. When surrounded by the homage of the court of Versailles,
+there was no courtier in those magnificent saloons more attentive to
+his attire than was Benjamin Franklin. His keen sagacity taught him
+the advantage of appearing in a dress entirely different from that of
+the splendid assembly around him, and thus he attracted universal
+observation. But never did he appear in the presence of these lords
+and ladies but in a costly garb to which he had devoted much
+attention.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 302px;">
+<img src="images/i128.jpg" class="gap jpg" width="302" height="496" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>Mr. Parton, speaking of the portrait which Franklin then had painted
+in London, says,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;The fair, full, smiling face of Franklin is surrounded in
+this picture by a vast and stiff horse-hair <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span>wig; and his well-developed figure shows imposingly in a
+voluminous and decorated coat that reaches nearly to his
+heels. Under his left arm he carries his cocked hat. His
+manly bosom heaves under snowy ruffles, and his extensive
+wrist-bands are exposed to view by the shortness of his coat
+sleeves.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Between the years 1740 and 1775, while abundance reigned in
+Pennsylvania, and there was peace in all her borders, a more happy and
+prosperous population could not perhaps be found on this globe. In
+every home there was comfort. The people generally were highly moral,
+and knowledge was extensively diffused. Americans, who visited Europe,
+were deeply impressed by the contrast. In the Old World they saw
+everywhere indications of poverty and suffering. Franklin wrote, after
+a tour in Great Britain in 1772,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;Had I never been in the American colonies, but were to form
+my judgment of civil society by what I have lately seen, I
+should never advise a nation of savages to admit of
+civilization. For, I assure you, that in the possession and
+enjoyment of the various comforts of life, compared with
+these people, every Indian is a gentleman; and the effect of
+this kind of civil society seems to be the depressing
+multitudes below the savage state, that a few may be raised
+above it.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span></p><p>Yet let it not be supposed that the effects of the fall were not
+visible here, or that man&#8217;s inhumanity to man had ceased. There were
+bickerings, and heart burnings, and intense political struggles, in
+which the strong endeavored to extend their power, and the weak
+endeavored to throw off the shackles with which they were bound.
+William Penn complains of the ambitious politicians who he said
+thought&mdash;&#8220;nothing taller than themselves but the trees.&#8221; John Adams
+denounced in severest terms the tricks of the petty politicians; and
+speaking of the more ambitious ones who sought the positions of
+governor or custom-house officers, he writes:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;These seekers are actuated by a more ravenous sort of ambition and
+avarice.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>For twenty years Franklin continued a prosperous but uneventful life,
+as an active business man in Philadelphia. His integrity, his
+sagacity, and his prosperity, rapidly increased the esteem in which he
+was held. But still he was engaged in business as a printer and a
+shop-keeper, which would not now give him admission into what he
+called the higher circles of society.</p>
+
+<p>He not only edited, printed and published his newspaper, but he also
+kept books for sale and a small quantity of stationery, and also was a
+binder of books. He made and sold ink; was an extensive <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span>dealer in
+rags; and soap and feathers could be purchased at his shop. We find in
+his advertisements the announcement of coffee and other groceries for
+sale.</p>
+
+<p>And still his printing office gradually became the nucleus for the
+gathering of the most intelligent and influential men. If any
+important project was on foot, it was deemed essential to consult
+Benjamin Franklin. His Gazette proved a great success, and was
+incomparably the ablest paper published in the colonies.<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a></p>
+
+<p>Franklin&#8217;s editorials were very sparkling, and are considered as among
+the most brilliant of his intellectual efforts. He was almost
+invariably good natured, and the design of all he wrote, was to
+promote integrity and kindly feeling. He would write an article, as if
+from a correspondent, which would give him an opportunity to return an
+amusing article in the next number. A complete file of the paper is
+preserved in the Philadelphia Library.</p>
+
+<p>In 1732, Franklin issued the first number of the Almanac, called Poor
+Richard, which subsequently attained such wide renown. The popularity
+of the work was astonishing; for twenty-five years it averaged ten
+thousand copies a year. This was a wonderful <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span>sale in those times.
+Everybody was quoting the pithy sayings of Poor Richard.<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a></p>
+
+<p>Franklin was an extensive reader. He had a memory almost miraculous;
+and his mind was so constituted, that it eagerly grasped and retained
+any sharp or witty sayings. Thus, though many of the maxims of Poor
+Richard originated with him, others were gleaned from the witticisms
+of past ages, upon which Franklin placed the imprint of his own
+peculiar genius. I give a few of those renowned maxims which soon
+became as household words, in every shop and dwelling of our land.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;There is no little enemy.&#8221; &#8220;Three may keep a secret if two of them
+are dead.&#8221; &#8220;He is no clown who drives the plough, but he that does
+clownish things.&#8221; &#8220;Wealth is not his that has it, but his that enjoys
+it.&#8221; &#8220;The noblest question in the world is, &#8216;what good may I do in
+it.&#8217;&#8221; &#8220;Keep your eye wide open before marriage; half shut afterward.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Franklin was not a poet. He could scheme easily, but even his rhymes
+were poor. His sense of delicacy was quite obtuse, but perhaps not
+more <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span>so, than we ought to expect from the unrefined times in which he
+lived.<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a></p>
+
+<p>The increasing circulation of the Pennsylvania Gazette, the extensive
+sale of Poor Richard, and the success of many of the small books which
+Franklin published, soon placed the finances of Franklin in a very
+flourishing condition. This enabled him to send for every important
+work published in England. As he was never an hour in idleness, and
+seldom entered any place of popular amusement, he found time to study
+all these solid and useful works. The superior powers with which God
+had endowed him, enabled him to glean from their pages, and store up
+in his memory, all that was most valuable. By these indefatigable
+studies, he was rapidly becoming one of the most learned of men, and
+was preparing himself for that brilliant career, in which, as a
+statesman and a philosopher, he stood in the first ranks of those who
+had been deemed the great men of earth.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span></p><p>His first entrance to public life was as Clerk to the General
+Assembly, which was then the Legislature of the Pennsylvania Colony.
+This was an office of but little emolument or honor. His first
+election was unanimous. The second year, though successful, he was
+opposed by an influential member.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin, who wished to have every one his friend, was anxious to
+conciliate him. He accomplished his purpose shrewdly&mdash;perhaps
+cunningly, is not too strong a word to use. Having heard that the
+gentleman had a very rare and valuable book in his library, he wrote
+him a very polite and flattering letter, soliciting the loan of it. No
+man could pen such an epistle more adroitly than Franklin.</p>
+
+<p>After a few days he returned the book with one of his most exquisite
+notes of thanks. The gentleman was caught in the trap. Charmed with
+the urbanity Franklin displayed in the correspondence, the next time
+he met the philosopher, he grasped him cordially by the hand. Though
+he had never spoken to him before, he invited him to his house.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin, commenting upon this adventure, writes,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;He ever after manifested a readiness to serve me on all
+occasions, so that we became great friends, and our
+friendship continued to his death. This is another instance
+of the truth of an old <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span>maxim I had learned, which says &#8216;He
+that hath once done you a kindness will be more ready to do
+you another than he whom you yourself have obliged,&#8217; and it
+shows how much more profitable it is prudently to remove
+than to resent, return, and continue inimical proceedings.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>There was something in this transaction, an apparent want of
+sincerity, an approach to trickery, which will impress many readers
+painfully. It was a shrewd man&oelig;uvre, skillfully contrived, and
+successfully executed. The perfect sincerity of a friendly and
+magnanimous mind is the safest guide in all the emergencies of life.</p>
+
+<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI.</h2>
+
+<h3><i>Religious and Philosophic Views.</i></h3>
+
+<div class="blockquot3"><p>Studious habits&mdash;New religion&mdash;Personal habits&mdash;Church of
+the Free and Easy&mdash;His many accomplishments&mdash;The career of
+Hemphall&mdash;Birth and Death of Franklin&#8217;s son&mdash;The Ministry of
+Whitefield&mdash;Remarkable friendship between the philosopher
+and the preacher&mdash;Prosperity of Franklin&mdash;His convivial
+habits&mdash;The defense of Philadelphia&mdash;Birth of a
+daughter&mdash;The Philadelphia Academy.</p></div>
+
+<p>Franklin was a perservering and laborious student, for whatever he
+read he studied. With increasing intellectual tastes, he found time
+every day to devote many hours to his books. His reading was of the
+most elevated and instructive kind. It consisted almost exclusively of
+scientific treatises, and of history, biography, voyages and travels.</p>
+
+<p>His mind was still struggling and floundering in the midst of
+religious and philosophical speculations. He seems, from some
+unexplained reason, to have been very unwilling to accept the religion
+of Jesus Christ; and yet he was inspired undeniably by a very noble
+desire to be a good man, to attain a high position in morality.
+Earnestly he endeavored to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span>frame for himself some scheme which would
+enable him to accomplish that purpose.</p>
+
+<p>At this time he wrote,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;Few in public affairs act from a mere view of the good of
+their country, whatever they may pretend. Fewer still in
+public affairs act with a view to the good of mankind. There
+seems to me, at present, great occasion to raise a &#8216;United
+Party for Virtue,&#8217; by forming the virtuous and good of all
+nations into a regular body, to be governed by suitable good
+and wise rules, which good and wise men may probably be more
+unanimous in their obedience to, than common people are to
+common laws. I at present, think, that whoever attempts this
+aright, and is well qualified, cannot fail of pleasing God,
+and of meeting with success.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Influenced by these exalted motives, he concentrated all the energies
+of his well informed mind to the organization of a new religion. To
+this church he gave the name of &#8220;The Society of the Free and Easy.&#8221;
+The members were to be Free from vice, and consequently, Easy in mind.
+The first article of his creed was that he would have no creed. And
+yet this religion, which drew an antagonistic distinction between
+faith and works, denouncing all faith at the same time announced that
+its fundamental and absolutely essential faith was that piety
+consisted <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span>in cherishing the ordinarily recognized virtues. These were
+Temperance, Silence, Order, Resolution, Frugality, Industry,
+Sincerity, Justice, Moderation, Cleanliness, Tranquillity, Charity and
+Humility.</p>
+
+<p>His ritual consisted in devoting one week to the cultivation of each
+of these virtues. He had no Sabbath, no preached Gospel, no
+Sacraments. But his creed, with its corresponding practice, certainly
+exerted a very powerful influence, and in many respects beneficial,
+upon his own mind.</p>
+
+<p>With his list of virtues before him, this remarkable young man
+commenced the effort vigorously to attain perfection. The Christian
+reader will not be at all surprised to read from Franklin&#8217;s pen the
+following account of the result:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;I was surprised to find myself so much fuller of faults than I had
+imagined. But I had the satisfaction of seeing them diminish. After a
+while I went through one course only in a year, and afterwards only
+one in several years; till at length I omitted them entirely, being
+employed in voyages and business abroad, with a multiplicity of
+affairs that interfered.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Franklin was a very proud man. He could not but be conscious of his
+great superiority over most of those with whom he associated. He avows
+that the virtue of humility he never could attain. The <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span>semblance of
+that virtue he could easily assume, but he says that the pride of his
+heart was such that had he attained it, he would have been proud of
+his humility. He adopted the following as the ordinary routine of
+life.</p>
+
+<p>He rose at five, very carefully performed his ablutions, and then
+offered a brief prayer to a being whom he called &#8220;Powerful Goodness.&#8221;
+Why he should have preferred that address to the more simple one of
+&#8220;Our Heavenly Father,&#8221; we know not. He then laid out the business of
+the day, and for a short time directed his mind to the especial virtue
+which he intended that day and week to cherish.<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a></p>
+
+<p>In the freshness of all his morning energies he devoted himself to his
+books for an hour and a half. This brought him to breakfast-time. At
+eight o&#8217;clock he commenced work in his shop, to which he devoted
+himself assiduously until twelve. An hour was then allowed for dinner
+and rest. At one he returned to the arduous labors of his shop, labors
+which engrossed all his energies, and continued the employment until
+six. His day&#8217;s hard work was then ordinarily closed. He took his
+supper, received <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span>his friends, or more commonly read and studied until
+ten o&#8217;clock at night, when almost invariably he retired to his bed.</p>
+
+<p>His mind still for a time continued much interested in his plan for
+the church of the Free and Easy. We find among his papers that he
+decided that candidates for admission should, after a careful
+examination, to ascertain that their creed was, to have no creed, and
+that their faith was, to abjure all faith, be subject to a probation
+of thirteen weeks. It seems that no candidate ever applied for
+admission. There were no apostles to wander abroad proclaiming the new
+gospel. Increasing business absorbed Franklin&#8217;s time, and the new
+church was forgotten.</p>
+
+<p>The sole motive which Franklin urged to inspire to action, was
+self-interest. &#8220;You should be honest,&#8221; he would say, &#8220;because it is
+politic. You abstain from vice for the same reason that you should not
+drink poison, for it will hurt you.&#8221; In the enforcement of these views
+he writes,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;It was my design to explain and enforce this doctrine,
+<i>that vicious actions are not hurtful because they are
+forbidden, but forbidden because they are hurtful</i>. It was,
+therefore, every one&#8217;s interest to be virtuous who wished to
+be happy in this world. And I should from this circumstance
+(there <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span>being always in the world a number of rich
+merchants, nobility, states and princes, who have need of
+honest instruments for the management of their affairs, and
+such being so rare) have endeavored to convince young
+persons that no qualities are so likely to make a poor man&#8217;s
+fortune as those of probity and integrity.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>It may be doubted whether such considerations ever made a truly good
+man. Virtue must be loved for its own sake. Vice must be deserted for
+its inherent baseness, even though it may bring a great reward.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin, in the prosecution of his studies, devoted himself to
+French, Spanish, Italian, and even to Latin. In all these he became a
+proficient. His mind was wonderfully prompt in the acquisition of
+knowledge. He could hardly have devoted himself more assiduously and
+successfully to these studies, had some good angel whispered in the
+ear of the young printer the astounding intelligence, &#8220;You are yet to
+be the ambassador of the United States to European courts. You are to
+appear in those glittering assemblages as the equal of the highest
+noble; and are to enjoy the hospitalities of kings and queens.
+Familiarity with these languages, and the intellectual culture you are
+thus acquiring will be of more value to you than mines of gold.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span></p><p>This remarkable man prized all branches of knowledge; and seemed to
+excel in all. He devoted much attention to music. With much skill he
+played upon the harp, the guitar, the violin, and the violincello.</p>
+
+<p>In the year 1734, a young preacher by the name of Hemphall came to
+Philadelphia from England. He was deemed by the orthodox clergy, very
+heterodox in his opinions. Probably suspicions of his orthodoxy were
+enhanced from the fact that he brought high testimonials of eloquence
+from several of the most prominent deists and free-thinkers in
+England. He was very fluent, at times very eloquent, and Franklin was
+charmed with the man and his doctrines.</p>
+
+<p>Boldly denouncing all creeds, and all religious faith, he announced it
+as <i>his</i> creed and <i>his</i> faith that piety consists in conduct alone.
+Crowds flocked to hear him. One day, after preaching a very eloquent
+sermon, some one discovered that he had stolen that sermon from Dr.
+James Foster, the most popular preacher in London. An investigation
+took place, in which he was compelled to acknowledge that he had
+stolen every one of his sermons. Franklin writes,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;This detection gave many of our party disgust, who
+accordingly abandoned his cause, and occasioned <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span>our more
+speedy discomfiture in the synod. I stuck by him, however. I
+rather approved his giving us good sermons composed by
+others, than bad ones of his own, though the latter was the
+practice of our common teachers.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Had the young man said frankly, &#8220;I am rehearsing to you the most
+eloquent sermons of the most eloquent English divines,&#8221; no one could
+have found any fault. But for him to assume that the sermons were his
+own, and that he personally was entitled to the credit of whatever
+power they exhibited, was certainly practicing deception. It was a
+gross violation of Franklin&#8217;s cardinal virtue of sincerity. It was
+unworthy of Franklin, in his charitable regard for the offender, to
+gloss over the real criminality of the offence.</p>
+
+<p>A year after Franklin&#8217;s marriage, a son was born to him, to whom he
+gave the name of Francis Folger Franklin. All accounts agree in
+describing the child as endowed with remarkable beauty and
+intelligence. Probably Franklin never loved any being as he loved that
+child. In the year 1736, when this wonderful boy was but four years of
+age, he was seized with the small-pox and died. Even the philosophic
+Franklin was almost crushed by the terrible calamity. The cheering
+views of the Christian faith could not sustain him. He had no vivid
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span>conception of his cherub boy an angel in Heaven awaiting his father&#8217;s
+arrival. He could only say that &#8220;I am <i>inclined to believe</i> that my
+child has not passed away into utter annihilation; but who knows? Many
+of the wisest and best on earth utterly discard the idea of a future
+existence. They deem the thought the conceit of ignorance and
+fanaticism.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>We read the following epitaph on his little grave-stone with much
+sympathy for the bereaved father. He could only write</p>
+
+<p class="center">Francis F.<br />
+Son of Benjamin and Deborah<br />
+Franklin.<br />
+Deceased November 12, 1736,<br />
+Aged four years, one month and one day.<br />
+The delight of all who knew him.</p>
+
+<p>In the year 1739, Rev. George Whitefield arrived in Philadelphia. It
+is remarkable that a warm friendship should have sprung up between men
+so very diverse in character. But Franklin could not be insensible to
+the wonderful power of this preacher, in promoting public morals, and
+in transforming the worst of men into valuable citizens, faithfully
+performing all the duties of life. It is surprising that this effect
+of the Gospel did not teach him that Christianity is the &#8220;wisdom of
+God, and the power of God to salvation.&#8221; <i>Love</i> was emphatically <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span>the
+message which Whitefield, with tearful eyes and throbbing heart,
+proclaimed to the wicked and the sorrowing. &#8220;God so <i>loved the world</i>,
+that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him
+should not perish but should have everlasting life.&#8221; Christ &#8220;came not
+into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him
+might be saved.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Such were the themes which this apostolic preacher unfolded, and which
+moved human hearts, in these new colonies as seventeen hundred years
+ago they were moved by the preaching of our Lord Jesus Christ, and his
+disciple Paul, upon the plains of Asia.</p>
+
+<p>Whitefield taught that <i>belief</i> controlled conduct. As a man sincerely
+believes so will he act. Franklin, with his accustomed candor, in his
+Autobiography, wrote in the following terms, the effects of the
+preaching of this remarkable reformer:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;The multitudes of all sects and denominations that attended
+his sermons were enormous. It was wonderful to see the
+change soon made in the manners of our inhabitants. From
+being thoughtless or indifferent about religion, it seemed
+as if all the world were growing religious; so that one
+could not walk through the town, in an evening, without
+hearing psalms sung in different families of every street.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span>&#8220;Mr. Whitefield, on leaving us, went preaching all the way
+through the colonies to Georgia. The settlement of that
+province had been lately begun; but instead of being made
+with hardy, industrious husbandmen, accustomed to labor, the
+only people fit for such an enterprise, it was with families
+of broken shop-keepers, and other insolvent debtors; many of
+indolent and idle habits, taken out of the jails who, being
+set down in the woods, unqualified for clearing land, and
+unable to endure the hardships of a new settlement, perished
+in numbers, leaving many helpless children unprovided for.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The sight of their miserable situation inspired the
+benevolent heart of Mr. Whitefield with the idea of building
+an Orphan House there in which they might be supported and
+educated. Returning northward, he preached up this charity,
+and made large collections.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I did not disapprove of the design; but as Georgia was then
+destitute of materials and workmen, and it was proposed to
+send them from Philadelphia at a great expense, I thought it
+would have been better to have built the house at
+Philadelphia, and brought the children to it. This I
+advised. But he was resolute in his first project, rejected
+my counsel, and I therefore refused to contribute.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I happened soon after to attend one of his sermons, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span>in the
+course of which I perceived he intended to finish with a
+collection, and I silently resolved he should get nothing
+from me. I had in my pocket a handful of copper money, three
+or four silver dollars, and five pistoles in gold, (about
+twenty-five dollars). As he proceeded I began to soften, and
+concluded to give the copper; another stroke of his oratory
+made me ashamed of that, and determined me to give the
+silver; and he finished so admirably that I emptied my
+pockets wholly into the collector&#8217;s dish, gold and all.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Some of Mr. Whitefield&#8217;s enemies affected to suppose that
+he would apply these collections to his own private
+emolument. But I, who was intimately acquainted with him,
+being employed in printing his sermons and journals, never
+had the least suspicion of his integrity; but am to this day
+decidedly of the opinion, that he was in all his conduct a
+perfectly honest man; and methinks my testimony ought have
+the more weight, as we had no religious connection. He used,
+indeed, sometimes to pray for my conversion, but never had
+the satisfaction of believing that his prayers were heard.
+Ours was a friendship sincere on both sides, and lasted to
+his death.&#8221;<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a></p></div>
+
+<p>At one time Franklin wrote to Whitefield, in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span>Boston, inviting him, as
+he was about to come to Philadelphia, to make his house his home. The
+devout preacher replied,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;If you make this offer for Christ&#8217;s sake you will not lose your
+reward.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Promptly the philosopher rejected any such motive, and rejoined,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Do not be mistaken. It was not for Christ&#8217;s sake I invited you, but
+for your own sake.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>In all the numerous letters, essays, and philosophical and religious
+disquisitions of Franklin, we seldom, I think, find a sentiment
+indicative of any high appreciation of the character of Jesus Christ;
+or the debt of gratitude we owe to him, either for his teaching or for
+his example. As Franklin discarded all idea of the Atonement, he of
+course could not express any gratitude for that which is, to the
+Christian, the crowning act even of divine love. This Saviour, to
+millions who cannot be counted, has proved, even if the comfort be a
+delusion, in temptation, disappointment, and death, more precious than
+it is in the power of words to declare.</p>
+
+<p>One article from Franklin&#8217;s newspaper, published in the year 1740,
+gives an idea of the extraordinary interest which the preaching of
+Whitefield excited.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;On Thursday last the Reverend Mr. Whitefield left this city, and was
+accompanied to Chester by <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span>about one hundred and fifty horse; and
+preached there to about seven thousand people. On Friday he preached
+twice at Willings Town to about five thousand. On Saturday, at
+Newcastle, to about two thousand five hundred; and the same evening at
+Christiana Bridge to about three thousand; on Sunday at White Clay
+Creek, he preached twice, resting about half an hour between the
+sermons, to eight thousand, of whom three thousand, it is computed,
+came on horseback. It rained most of the time, and yet they stood in
+the open air.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>The keenness of the scrutiny with which Franklin watched all the
+operations of nature, led him to the discovery of the before unknown
+fact that the fierce north-east storms which sweep our Atlantic coast
+invariably begin in the south-west, and move backwards, diminishing in
+violence as they go. He also, about this time, invented the Franklin
+stove, which in the day when wood was the only fuel consumed has
+invested so many firesides with a rare aspect of cheerfulness. He
+wrote a very ingenious pamphlet, elucidating the philosophy of
+house-warming.</p>
+
+<p>There is great moral power in prosperity, when wisely accepted and
+enjoyed. Franklin was now a prosperous man. His income was constantly
+increasing. His virtues, and they were great ones, proved in all
+respects promotive of his worldly welfare. His <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span>journal was the
+leading paper, certainly in all that region, and had not its superior
+in any of the colonies. His renowned almanac, Poor Richard, attained
+an unexampled sale. The work executed in his printing office was so
+excellent as to bring in to him many orders even from the other
+provinces. The various books and pamphlets he had published had all
+been successful. Philadelphia had already become the chief town of the
+Colonies.</p>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding Franklin&#8217;s devotion to books, to business, and to
+philosophical research, he is represented to have been at this time, a
+jovial man, very fond of convivial gatherings. He could not only write
+a good song, but he could sing it, to the acceptance of his
+companions. One of these songs entitled &#8220;The Old Man&#8217;s Wish&#8221; he says
+he sang over a thousand times. We give the concluding stanza,
+illustrative of its general character.</p>
+
+<div class="centerbox2 bbox"><p>&#8220;With a courage undaunted, may I face the last day,<br />
+And when I am gone may the better sort say,&mdash;<br />
+In the morning when sober, in the evening when mellow,<br />
+He has gone and not left behind him his fellow,<br />
+For he governed his passions with absolute sway.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>There was, as usual, war in Europe. Enormous armies were burning
+cities and villages, drenching the trampled harvest fields with blood,
+and filling the humble hamlets of the poor with misery. There <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span>was
+every reason to fear that these awful storms, raised by the passions
+of depraved men, would reach the peaceful shores of the Delaware.
+Philadelphia was entirely undefended. It is said that there was not an
+available cannon in Pennsylvania.</p>
+
+<p>A well-armed privateer could at any hour, seize and sack the city.
+Quaker influence so far prevailed that the legislature could not be
+induced to raise a battery, or purchase a gun. Franklin wrote a very
+powerful pamphlet, called Plain Truth, urging the necessity of
+adopting some measures of defence. He showed how the colony could, at
+any time, be ravaged by a few vessels from any European nation then in
+conflict with England. I give a few extracts from this admirable
+pamphlet:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;On the first alarm, terror will spread over all. Many will
+seek safety by flight. Those that are reputed rich will
+flee, through fear of torture to make them produce more than
+they are able. The man that has a wife and children, will
+find them hanging on his neck, beseeching him to quit the
+city, and save his life. All will run into confusion, amid
+cries and lamentations, and the hurry and disorder of
+departures. The few that remain, will be unable to resist.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Sacking the city will be the first; and burning it, in all
+probability, the last act of the enemy. This <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span>I believe will
+be the case, if you have timely notice. But what must be
+your condition, if suddenly surprised without previous
+alarm, perhaps in the night. Confined to your houses, you
+will have nothing to trust but the enemy&#8217;s mercy. Your best
+fortune will be to fall under the power of commanders of
+king&#8217;s ships, able to control the mariners, and not into the
+hands of licentious privateers.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Who can without the utmost horror, conceive the miseries of
+the latter when your persons, fortunes, wives and daughters,
+shall be subject to the wanton and unbridled rage, rapine,
+and lust, of negroes, mulattoes, and others, the vilest and
+most abandoned of mankind?&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>This warning effectually roused the community. A public meeting was
+summoned, in the immense building erected to accommodate the crowds
+who flocked to hear Whitefield. Here Franklin harangued the multitude.
+An Association of Defence was organized. Ten thousand persons enrolled
+their names. In a few days nearly every man in the province, who was
+not a Quaker, had joined some military organization. Each man
+purchased for himself a weapon, and was learning how to use it.</p>
+
+<p>Eighty companies were organized and disciplined. The companies in
+Philadelphia united in a regiment, and chose Franklin their colonel.
+Wisely <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span>he declined the office, &#8220;conceiving myself unfit,&#8221; he says. A
+battery was thrown up below the town. Some cannon were sent for from
+Boston. Several eighteen-pounders were obtained in New York, and more
+were ordered from London. In manning the battery, Franklin took his
+turn of duty as a common soldier.</p>
+
+<p>There was not a little opposition to these measures, but still the
+strong current of popular opinion was in their favor. Even the young
+Quakers, though anxious to avoid wounding the feelings of their
+parents, secretly gave their influence to these preparations of
+defence. The peace of Aix la Chapelle in 1748, terminated these
+alarms. But the wisdom and energy which Franklin had displayed, caused
+him to be regarded as the most prominent man in Pennsylvania. The
+masses of the people regarded him with singular homage and confidence.</p>
+
+<p>In 1744, Franklin had a daughter born, to whom he gave the name of
+Sarah. His motherless son William, who was destined to give his father
+great trouble, was growing up, stout, idle, and intractable. Early in
+the war he had run away, and enlisted on board a privateer. With much
+difficulty his father rescued him from these engagements. Franklin was
+evidently embarrassed to know what to do with the boy. He allowed him,
+when but sixteen years <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span>of age, to enlist as a soldier in an
+expedition against Canada.</p>
+
+<p>About this time Franklin wrote to his sister Jane, whose son had also
+run away to enlist as a privateer. He wished to console her by the
+assurance that it was not in consequence of unkind treatment, that the
+boys were induced thus to act. He wrote:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;When boys see prizes brought in, and quantities of money shared among
+the men, and their gay living, it fills their heads with notions that
+half distract them; and puts them quite out of conceit with trades and
+the dull ways of getting money by working. My only son left my house
+unknown to us all, and got on board a privateer, from whence I fetched
+him. No one imagined it was hard usage at home that made him do this.
+Every one that knows me thinks I am too indulgent a parent, as well as
+master.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>The father of Benjamin Franklin died in Boston, at the great age of
+eighty-nine years. He had secured, in a very high degree, the respect
+of the people, not only by his irreproachable morals, but by his
+unfeigned piety. The Boston News Letter, of January 17, 1745, in the
+following brief obituary, chronicles his death:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;Last night died Mr. Josiah Franklin, tallow chandler, and soap maker.
+By the force of steady <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span>temperance he had made a constitution, none of
+the strongest, last with comfort to the age of eighty-nine years. And
+by an entire dependence on his Redeemer, and a constant course of the
+strictest piety and virtue, he was enabled to die as he lived, with
+cheerfulness and peace, leaving a numerous posterity the honor of
+being descended from a person who, through a long life, supported the
+character of an honest man.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>In the year 1743 Franklin drew up a plan for an Academy in
+Philadelphia. In consequence of the troubled times the tract was not
+published until the year 1749. It was entitled, &#8220;Proposals Relating to
+the Education of Youth in Pennsylvania.&#8221; The suggestions he presented
+indicated a wide acquaintance with the writings of the most eminent
+philosophers. He marked out minutely, and with great wisdom, the
+course of study to be pursued. It is pleasant to read the following
+statement, in this programme. Urging the study of History, he writes,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;History will also afford frequent opportunities of showing
+the necessity of a <i>public religion</i>, from its usefulness to
+the public; the advantages of a religious character among
+private persons; the mischiefs of superstition and the
+excellency of the <i>Christian religion</i> above all others,
+ancient and modern.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Perhaps this tribute to the excellence of Christianity <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span>ought in some
+degree to modify the impression left upon the mind, by Franklin&#8217;s
+studious avoidal, in all his writings, of any allusion to the name of
+Jesus Christ its founder.</p>
+
+<p>Twenty-five thousand dollars were speedily raised for this
+institution. All the religious sects harmoniously united. One
+individual from each sect was appointed, to form the corporate body
+intrusted with the funds. But almost the entire care and trouble of
+rearing the building, and organizing the institution fell upon
+Franklin. He was found to be fully adequate to all these
+responsibilities.</p>
+
+<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.</h2>
+
+<h3><i>The Tradesman becomes a Philosopher.</i></h3>
+
+<div class="blockquot3"><p>Franklin appointed Indian commissioner&mdash;Effects of
+Rum&mdash;Indian logic&mdash;Accumulating honors&mdash;Benevolent
+enterprises&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s counsel to Tennent&mdash;Efforts for city
+improvement&mdash;Anecdotes&mdash;Franklin appointed
+postmaster&mdash;Rumors of War&mdash;England enlists the Six Nations
+in her cause&mdash;Franklin plans a Confederacy of States&mdash;Plans
+rejected&mdash;Electrical experiments&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s increase of
+income&mdash;Fearful experiments&mdash;The kite&mdash;New honors&mdash;Views of
+the French philosopher&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s Religious views&mdash;His
+counsel to a young pleader&mdash;Post-office Reforms.</p></div>
+
+<p>In the year 1740, Franklin, then forty-four years of age, was
+appointed on a commission to form a treaty with the Indians at
+Carlisle. Franklin, knowing the frenzy to which the savages were
+plunged by intoxication, promised them that, if they would keep
+entirely sober until the treaty was concluded, they should then have
+an ample supply of rum. The agreement was made and faithfully kept.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;They then,&#8221; writes Franklin, &#8220;claimed and received the rum. This was
+in the afternoon. They were near one hundred men, women and children,
+and were lodged in temporary cabins, built in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span>the form of a square,
+just without the town. In the evening, hearing a great noise among
+them, the commissioners walked to see what was the matter.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;We found that they had made a great bonfire in the middle of the
+square; that they were all drunk, men and women quarreling and
+fighting. Their dark-colored bodies, half-naked, seen only by the
+gloomy light of the bonfire, running after and beating one another
+with firebrands, accompanied by their horrid yellings, formed a scene
+the most resembling our ideas of hell, that could well be imagined.
+There was no appeasing the tumult, and we returned to our lodgings. At
+midnight a number of them came thundering at our door demanding more
+rum, of which we took no notice.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The next morning they all seemed very much ashamed of the disgraceful
+orgies in which they had indulged. There was a law written in their
+own hearts, which told them that they had done wrong. Three chiefs
+were appointed to call upon the commissioners with an humble apology.
+With downcast looks they confessed their fault, and then with logic
+which more intelligent men sometimes use, endeavored to throw the
+blame upon God. In remarkable speech one of them said,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;&#8216;The Great Spirit, who made all things, made everything for some use.
+Whatever use he designed <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span>anything for, that use it should be always
+put to. Now, when he made rum, he said, &#8220;Let this be for the Indians
+to get drunk with! and it must be so.&#8221;&#8217;&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>The Governor at this time appointed Franklin a Justice of Peace.
+Franklin says he was much flattered by these accumulating honors. Soon
+he was elected to a seat, as one of the Legislators in the Assembly.
+Mainly through his influence, a hospital for the sick was established
+in Philadelphia. Though the measure encountered much opposition, he
+carried it; and the institution proved of incalculable benefit.</p>
+
+<p>The Rev. Gilbert Tennent solicited Franklin&#8217;s aid in raising money for
+building a Meeting House. As Franklin had been so continually engaged
+in asking for money for various objects of benevolence, he was afraid
+he should become obnoxious to his fellow-citizens, and declined. Mr.
+Tennent then requested him to give him a list of the names of those
+influential persons upon whom it would be well for him to call. Every
+Christian minister who reads this, will appreciate the nature of his
+embarrassment. Franklin says that he thought it would be unbecoming in
+him, after having emptied the purses of his friends, to send other
+beggars to them, with renewed importunities. This request he therefore
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span>declined. Mr. Tennent then urged him to give him some advice.
+Franklin replied,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;That I will willingly do. In the first place, I advise you to apply
+to all those who you know will do something; next, to those who you
+are uncertain whether they will give anything or not, and show them
+the list of those who have given; and lastly, do not neglect those who
+you are sure will give nothing, for in some of them you may be
+mistaken.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Tennent laughed heartily, and declared that he would rigorously
+follow out this advice. He did so. His success was wonderful; a much
+larger sum was raised than he had anticipated, and soon a capacious
+and beautiful Meeting House rose in Arch street.</p>
+
+<p>The streets of Philadelphia, though laid out with great regularity,
+were unpaved, and in wet weather were almost impassable quagmires.
+Franklin, by talking with his friends, and by urging the subject in
+his paper, at length succeeded in having a sidewalk paved with stone,
+upon one of the most important streets. It gave great satisfaction,
+but the rest of the street not being paved, the mud was thrown by
+passing carriages upon it, and as the city employed no street
+cleaners, the sidewalk soon ceased to afford a clean passage to
+pedestrians.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span></p><p>Franklin found an industrious man who was willing to sweep the
+pavement twice a week, carrying off the dirt from before all the
+doors, for the sum of sixpence a month, to be paid by each house.</p>
+
+<p>The philosophic Franklin then, having started this enterprise, printed
+on a sheet of paper the great advantages of keeping the sidewalk
+clean, and sent one of these papers to each house. He urged that much
+of the soiling of the interior of the houses would thus be avoided,
+that an attractive sidewalk would lure passengers to the shops; and
+that, in windy weather, their goods would be preserved from the dust.</p>
+
+<p>After a few days he called, in person, at each house and shop to see
+who would subscribe sixpence a month. It was a great success. The
+cleanliness of the pavement in the important streets surrounding the
+market, greatly delighted the people, and prepared the way for
+carrying a bill which Franklin presented to the Assembly for paving
+and lighting all the important streets of the city.</p>
+
+<p>A gentleman, by the name of John Clifton, had placed a lamp before his
+door. This suggested the idea. Lamps were sent for from London. Globes
+were furnished. They were expensive. The smoke circulated in the globe
+and obstructed the light. They had to be wiped clean each day. An
+accidental <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span>stroke demolished the whole globe. Franklin suggested four
+flat panes. One might be broken, and easily replaced. Crevices were
+left below to admit a current of air, and a funnel to draw off the
+smoke. Thus for a long time the glass remained undimmed.</p>
+
+<p>Wherever Franklin went, he carried with him this spirit of
+improvement. When in London, he found the streets wretchedly dirty.
+One morning he found a poor woman at his door in Craven street,
+sweeping the sidewalk with a wretched broom. Her pallid and exhausted
+appearance touched the sympathies of Franklin. He asked who employed
+her. She replied:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Nobody. I am poor and in distress. I sweeps before gentlefolks&#8217;s
+doors, and hopes they will give me something.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Franklin immediately engaged her to sweep the whole street. It was
+nine o&#8217;clock in the morning. She was so languid and debilitated that
+he thought it would take her nearly all day. But in three hours she
+came for her shilling. Franklin thought she could not have done her
+work faithfully. He sent his servant to examine. He reported that the
+work was thoroughly done. A new problem rose before Franklin: If this
+feeble woman could in so short a time sweep such a street, a strong
+man, with <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span>a suitable broom, could certainly do it in half of the
+time. He therefore drew up a plan for cleaning the streets of London
+and Westminster, which was placed in the hands of one of the most
+influential of the public-spirited men of London.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin apologizes for speaking in his autobiography of such trifles.
+Very truly, he says,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;Human felicity is produced not so much by great pieces of
+good fortune that seldom happen, as by little advantages
+that occur every day. Thus if you teach a poor young man to
+shave himself and keep his razor in order, you may
+contribute more to the happiness of his life than in giving
+him a thousand guineas. This sum may be soon spent, the
+regret only remaining of having foolishly consumed it. But
+in the other case, he escapes the frequent vexation of
+waiting for barbers, and of their sometimes dirty fingers,
+offensive breath, and dull razors. He shaves when most
+convenient to him, and enjoys daily the pleasure of its
+being done with a good instrument.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Nearly all the important offices in the colonies were filled by
+appointments from the British Crown. For some time, Franklin had been
+employed as an assistant to the Postmaster General, in simplifying and
+bringing regularity into his accounts. Upon the death of the American
+Postmaster, Franklin, in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span>1753, was appointed jointly with Sir William
+Hunter to succeed him. The appointment was made by the Postmaster
+General in England.</p>
+
+<p>The post-office department had scarcely been self-supporting. It had
+never paid anything to the crown. The salary offered to the two
+postmasters was three thousand dollars a year each, if they could save
+that sum from the profits of the office. Franklin writes,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;To do this a variety of improvements was necessary. Some of
+these were inevitably, at first, expensive; so that in the
+first four years, the office became above nine hundred
+pounds in debt to us. But it soon after began to repay us.
+And before I was displaced by a freak of the ministers, of
+which I shall hereafter speak, we had brought it to yield
+three times as much clear revenue to the crown as the
+post-office of Ireland. Since that imprudent transaction,
+they have received from it not one farthing.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Again there were menaces of war, insane and demoniac, to fill the
+world with tears and woe. As we read the record of these horrid
+outrages which through all the centuries have desolated this globe, it
+would seem that there must be a vein of insanity as well as of
+depravity, in the heart of fallen man. England and France were again
+marshaling their <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span>armies, and accumulating their fleets, for the
+terrible conflict.</p>
+
+<p>It was certain that France, in Canada, and England, in her colonies,
+could not live in peace here, while the volcanic throes of war were
+shaking the island of Great Britain, and the Continent of Europe.</p>
+
+<p>In the heart of New York, then almost an unbroken wilderness, there
+were six exceedingly fierce and war-like tribes called the Six
+Nations. Like the wolves they delighted in war. The greatness of a man
+depended on the number of scalps with which he could fringe his dress.
+These savage warriors were ready and eager to engage as the allies of
+those who would pay them the highest price. Mercy was an attribute of
+which they knew not even the name.</p>
+
+<p>It was not doubted that France would immediately send her emissaries
+from Canada to enlist these savages on her side. Awful would be the
+woes with which these demoniac men could sweep our defenceless
+frontiers; with the tomahawk and the scalping knife, exterminating
+families, burning villages, and loading their pack-horses with
+plunder. To forestall the French, and to turn these woes from our own
+frontier to the humble homes of the Canadian emigrants, the English
+government appointed a commissioner to visit the chiefs of these
+tribes in the year 1754.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span></p><p>The all important council was to be held in Albany. Governor Hamilton
+appointed four commissioners, of whom Franklin was one, to act in
+behalf of Pennsylvania. They were furnished with rich gifts with which
+to purchase the favor of the Indians. It was a long and tedious
+journey from Philadelphia to Albany.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin, on this journey, was deeply impressed with the importance of
+a union of the colonies for self-defence. He therefore drew up a plan
+for such union. Several gentlemen of the highest intelligence in New
+York, having examined it, gave it their cordial approval. He
+accordingly laid it before Congress.</p>
+
+<p>There were several other persons in other colonies who were impressed
+as deeply as Franklin with a sense of the importance of such a
+confederacy, and they also sent in their suggestions.</p>
+
+<p>Congress appointed a committee of one from each province, to consider
+the several plans. The committee approved of Franklin&#8217;s plan, and
+reported accordingly. While the commissioners were conferring with the
+Indians in Albany, Congress was engaged in discussing the plans of a
+confederacy. Franklin&#8217;s plan was finally rejected. It did not meet the
+views either of the Assembly, or of the British Court. And here we
+see, perhaps the germs <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span>of the great conflict which soon culminated in
+the cruel war of the Revolution.</p>
+
+<p>The Assembly objected to the plan as too aristocratic, conferring too
+much power upon the crown. The court emphatically rejected it as too
+democratic, investing the people with too much power. Franklin ever
+affirmed that his plan was the true medium. Even the royalist governor
+of Pennsylvania warmly commended the compromise he urged.</p>
+
+<p>In visiting Boston he was shown an electric tube, recently sent from
+England. With this tube some very surprising electrical experiments
+were performed, ushering in a new science, of which then but very
+little was known. Franklin became intensely interested in the subject.
+Upon his return to Philadelphia, he devoted himself, with great
+assiduity, to experimenting with electric tubes. At this time he wrote
+to a friend,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;I never was before engaged in any study that so totally
+engrossed my attention and my time, as this has lately done;
+for what with making experiments when I can be alone, and
+repeating them to my friends and acquaintances, who, from
+the novelty of the thing, come continually in crowds to see
+them, I have little leisure for anything else.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>This was during the winter of 1746-7. Franklin suggested that the
+electricity was collected, not <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span>created by friction. He also
+propounded the theory of positive and negative electricity. He was, at
+this time, comparatively a wealthy man, and consequently could afford
+to devote his time to philosophical investigation. It is estimated
+that his income, from his estates, amounted to about seven hundred
+pounds a year; this was equal to about six or seven thousand dollars
+at the present time. Mr. Parton writes,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;Besides this independence, Franklin was the holder of two
+offices, worth together perhaps one hundred and fifty pounds
+a year. His business, then more flourishing than ever,
+produced an annual profit, as before computed, of two
+thousand pounds; bringing up his income to the troublesome
+and absurd amount of nearly three thousand pounds; three
+times the revenue of a colonial governor.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Under these prosperous circumstances, Franklin withdrew from active
+business, became a silent partner in the firm, and devoted nearly all
+his time to the new science. He wrote, in the autumn of 1748, to his
+friend Cadwallader Colden of New York,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;I have removed to a more quiet part of the town, where I am
+settling my old accounts, and hope soon to be quite master
+of my own time, and no longer, as the song has it, &#8216;at every
+one&#8217;s call but my own.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span>&#8220;Thus you see I am in a fair way of having no other tasks
+than such as I shall like to give myself, and of enjoying
+what I look upon as a great happiness, leisure to read,
+study, make experiments, and converse at large with such
+ingenious and worthy men, as are pleased to honor me with
+their friendship or acquaintance, on such points as may
+produce something for the common benefit of mankind,
+uninterrupted by the cares and fatigues of business.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>He wrote a treatise upon thundergusts, which displayed wonderful
+sagacity, and which arrested the attention of nearly all the
+philosophers in Europe and America. The all-important topics of this
+exceedingly important document, were the power of points to draw off
+electricity, and also the similarity of electricity and lightning. He
+therefore urged that metallic rods might be attached to buildings and
+ships, which, pushing their needle points above roofs and masts, might
+draw the electric fire harmlessly from the clouds. He confesses that
+he cannot imagine why the points should possess this curious power,
+but urges that facts seem to demonstrate it.</p>
+
+<p>One day, for the entertainment of his friends, he had made
+arrangements to kill a turkey with an electric shock. Two large jars
+were heavily charged. Incautiously manipulating, he took the shock
+himself. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span>In the following language, he describes the effect:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;The flash was very great, and the crack was as loud as a
+pistol; yet my senses being instantly gone, I neither saw
+the one nor heard the other; nor did I feel the stroke on my
+hand, though I afterwards found it raised a round swelling
+where the fire entered, as big as half a pistol bullet.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I then felt what I know not well how to describe, a
+universal blow throughout my whole body from head to foot,
+which seemed within as well as without; after which the
+first thing I took notice of was a violent, quick shaking of
+my body, which gradually remitting, my sense as gradually
+returned, and then, I thought the bottle must be discharged,
+but could not conceive how, till at last I perceived the
+chain in my hand, and recollected what I had been about to
+do.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;That part of my hand and fingers which held the chain, was
+left white as though the blood had been driven out; and
+remained so eight or ten minutes after, feeling like dead
+flesh; and I had numbness in my arms and the back of my neck
+which continued to the next morning, but wore off.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Franklin was much mortified at his awkwardness in this experiment. He
+declared it to be a notorious blunder, and compared it with the folly
+of the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span>Irishman, who wishing to steal some gun-powder, bored a hole
+through the cask with red hot iron. But notwithstanding this warning,
+not long afterwards, in endeavoring to give a shock to a paralytic
+patient, he received the whole charge himself, and was knocked flat
+and senseless on the floor.</p>
+
+<p>In the spring of 1752, Franklin tried his world renowned experiment
+with the kite. A June thunder cloud was rising in all its majesty.
+Franklin, accompanied by his son, repaired to a field secretly, being
+afraid of the ridicule of the people. Here he raised the kite, made of
+a large silk handkerchief. The top of the perpendicular stick was
+pointed with a sharp metallic rod. The string was hemp with the
+exception of the part held in the hand, which was silk; at the end of
+the hempen string a common key was suspended. With intense anxiety and
+no slight apprehension of danger, he held the line. Soon he observed
+the fibres of the hempen string to rise and separate themselves, as
+was the case of the hair on the head, when any one was placed on an
+insulating stool. He applied his knuckle to the key, and received an
+unmistakable spark. As the story is generally told, with occasionally
+slight contradictions, he applied his knuckle again and again to the
+key with a similar result. He charged a Leyden jar with the fluid and
+both he and his son took a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span>shock. He then drew in his kite, packed up
+his apparatus and returned to his laboratory probably the most
+exultant and happy man in this wide world.</p>
+
+<p>Most of the English and many of the French philosophers were very
+unwilling to believe that an obscure American, in what they deemed the
+savage and uncultivated wilds of the New World, was outstripping them
+in philosophical research. They were unwilling to acknowledge the
+reality of his experiments; but in France, where an American would
+receive more impartial treatment, three of the most eminent
+philosophers, Count de Buffon, M. Dalibard and M. de Lor, at different
+places, raised the apparatus Franklin had recommended to draw
+electricity from the clouds. Their success was unmistakable; the
+results of these experiments were proclaimed throughout Europe.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin had now obtained renown. No one could deny that he merited a
+high position among the most eminent philosophers. The experiments he
+had suggested were tried by scientists in the philosophical circles of
+every country in Europe.</p>
+
+<p>Both Yale and Harvard, in this country, conferred upon him the
+honorary degree of Master of Arts, and the Royal Society, in Europe,
+by a unanimous vote, elected him a member, remitting the usual
+initiation fee of five guineas, and the annual charge of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span>two and a
+half guineas. The next year this Society conferred upon him the Copley
+medal.</p>
+
+<p>For seven years Franklin continued to devote himself almost
+exclusively to this science, and he became, without doubt, the most
+accomplished electrician in the world. At the same time his mind was
+ever active in devising new schemes for the welfare of humanity. The
+most trivial events would often suggest to him measures conducive to
+the most beneficial results. It is said that Franklin saw one day in a
+ditch the fragments of a basket of yellow willow, in which some
+foreign commodity had been imported to this country. One of the twigs
+had sprouted. He planted it; and it became the parent of all the
+yellow willows in our country.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin was best loved where he was best known. And this was right;
+for he was ever conferring deeds of kindness upon his neighbors. His
+religious views excited sorrow among his Christian friends. Others,
+composing perhaps a majority, cared nothing about what he believed. In
+conversation he ever frankly avowed himself a deist, though generally
+he made no attempt to convert others to his views. It is not
+improbable that he was in some degree influenced by the beneficial
+effect produced upon the popular mind by the preaching of his friend
+Mr. Whitefield.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span></p><p>The writer was once, in Paris, conversing with one of the most
+illustrious of the French philosophers. He said to the philosopher, &#8220;I
+am much interested to ascertain the views of gentlemen of your
+intellectual position respecting the Christian religion.&#8221; He with
+perfect frankness replied, &#8220;I think that there are no men of high
+culture in France, with a few exceptions, who believe in the divine
+origin of Christianity. But there is no philanthropist who will say
+so. We have been taught, by the horrors of the French Revolution, that
+the masses of the people can only be restrained from violence by the
+superstitious restraints which Christianity presents. We therefore
+think that every man, who is a gentleman, will do what he can to
+sustain the church and the clergy. Men of culture and refinement, are
+governed by principles of honor, and they do not need the
+superstitious motives of Christianity to influence them.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>I may remark, in passing, that this gentlemanly philosopher had
+abandoned his own wife, and was then living with the wife of another
+man. It is not improbable that Franklin, as he looked upon the
+tumultuous and passion-tossed young men of Philadelphia, did not deem
+it expedient to say to them,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The Bible is a fable. The Sabbath is no more sacred than any other
+day. The church is merely a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span>human club without any divine authority.
+Marriage is an institution which is not founded upon any decree which
+God has issued, but one of the expediency of which each individual
+must judge for himself. The Sacraments of Baptism, and the Lord&#8217;s
+Supper, are mere human contrivances. The preaching of the Gospel had
+better be laid aside for literary and scientific disquisitions.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>With the eye of a benevolent philosopher, Franklin, as we have seen,
+had watched the effect of the preaching of Mr. Whitefield, and had
+candidly acknowledged its power in reforming society. It is improbable
+that, in his heart, he felt that the preaching of pure deism could
+ever secure such results. In 1753 he wrote to Mr. Whitefield, in reply
+to a communication from him upon the Christian faith:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;The faith you mention certainly has its use in the world. I do not
+desire to see it diminished, nor would I endeavor to lessen it in any
+man.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Franklin had resolved to decline all office, that he might devote
+himself to his studies. But his reputation for wisdom was such, that
+he found it very difficult to persevere in this plan. Menaces of war
+were continually arising. The majority of the members, in the
+Assembly, were Quakers. It was a small body consisting of but forty
+delegates. The Quakers opposed every measure for public defence.
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span>Franklin, as we have mentioned, became a Justice of the Peace. Soon
+after he was an Alderman, and then he took his seat in the General
+Assembly.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I was a bad speaker,&#8221; he writes, &#8220;never eloquent; subject to much
+hesitation in the choice of words; and yet I generally carried my
+point.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He adds, in language which every young man should treasure up in his
+memory, &#8220;I retained the habit of expressing myself in terms of modest
+diffidence; never using, when I advanced anything that might possibly
+be disputed, the words, <i>certainly</i>, <i>undoubtedly</i>, or any others that
+give the air of positiveness to an opinion; but rather, I <i>conceive</i>,
+or <i>apprehend</i> a thing to be so and so. <i>It appears to me</i>, or, <i>I
+should not think it so for such and such reasons</i>, or, <i>I imagine it
+to be so</i>, or, <i>It is so if I am not mistaken</i>. This habit, I believe,
+has been of great advantage to me when I have had occasion to
+inculcate my opinions; and to persuade men into measures that I have
+been from time to time proposing.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>When Franklin assumed the charge of the post-office, the department
+was in a feeble and peculiar condition. As late as the year 1757, the
+mail-bag in Virginia was passed from planter to planter. Each one was
+required to forward it promptly, under the penalty of forfeiting a
+hogshead of tobacco. Every man took, from the bag, what belonged to
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span>his family, and sent on the rest. The line of post-offices then
+extended from Boston, Mass., to Charleston, S. C. It was twenty years
+after this, before any governmental mail penetrated the interior.</p>
+
+<p>In the year 1753, Franklin visited every post-office excepting that of
+Charleston. His wisdom introduced reforms, some of which have
+continued to the present day. A newspaper was charged nine pence a
+year, for a distance of fifty miles, and eighteen pence for one
+hundred miles or more. In the large towns a penny post was
+established, and all letters left remaining in the office were
+advertised.</p>
+
+<p>A mail was conveyed from Philadelphia to New York once a week in
+summer, and once in two weeks in winter. Franklin started a mail to
+leave each of these cities three times a week in summer, and twice in
+winter. It generally required six weeks to obtain an answer from a
+letter sent to Boston. Most of the roads, into the interior, consisted
+of narrow passages, cut through the forest, called Bridle Paths,
+because the pack horses were led through them, in single file by the
+bridle.</p>
+
+<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII.</h2>
+
+<h3><i>The Rising Storms of War.</i></h3>
+
+<div class="blockquot3"><p>Aristocracy&mdash;Anecdote&mdash;Conflicting laws of
+Nations&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s scheme of colonization&mdash;Proposal of the
+British Court&mdash;The foresight of Franklin&mdash;Braddock&#8217;s
+campaign&mdash;Remonstrances of Franklin and
+Washington&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s interviews with Braddock&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s
+efficiency&mdash;Confidence of Braddock&mdash;The conflict with the
+Proprietaries&mdash;The non-resistant Quakers&mdash;Fate of the
+Moravian villages&mdash;The winter campaign&mdash;The camp of
+Gaudenhutton&mdash;Anecdote&mdash;Renewal of the strife with the
+Proprietaries&mdash;Franklin recalled to assist the
+Assembly&mdash;Destruction of the Fort&mdash;Claim of the
+Proprietaries&mdash;The great controversy.</p></div>
+
+<p>With increasing wealth the spirit of aristocratic exclusiveness gained
+strength in the higher circles of Philadelphia. Some of the more
+opulent families planned for a series of dancing entertainments during
+the winter. It was proposed among other rules that no mechanic, or
+mechanic&#8217;s wife or daughter, should be invited. The rules were shown
+to Franklin. He glanced his eye over them and pithily remarked,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why these rules would exclude God Almighty!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;How so?&#8221; inquired the manager.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span></p><p>&#8220;Because,&#8221; Franklin replied, &#8220;the Almighty, as all know, is the
+greatest mechanic in the universe. In six days he made all things.&#8221;
+The obnoxious article was stricken out.</p>
+
+<p>The following incident, narrated by Franklin, illustrates a very
+important principle in political economy, which those are apt to
+ignore, who denounce all the elegancies and luxuries of life.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Franklin received some small favor from the captain of a little
+coaster, which ran between Cape May and Philadelphia. He declined to
+receive any remuneration for his trifling services. Mrs. Franklin,
+learning that he had a pretty daughter, sent her a new-fashioned
+Philadelphia cap or bonnet. Three years after, the captain called
+again at the house of Mr. Franklin. A very plain but intelligent
+farmer accompanied him. The captain expressed his thanks to Mrs.
+Franklin for the gift she had sent his daughter, and rather
+discourteously added,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But it proved a dear cap to our congregation. When my daughter
+appeared with it at meeting, it was so much admired that all the girls
+resolved to get such caps from Philadelphia. And my wife and I
+computed that the whole could not have cost less than a hundred
+pounds.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The farmer, with far higher intelligence, said, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span>&#8220;This is true; but
+you do not tell the whole story. I think the cap was nevertheless an
+advantage to us. It was the first thing that put our girls upon
+knitting worsted mittens, for sale at Philadelphia, that they might
+have wherewithal to buy caps and ribbons there. And you know that that
+industry has continued and is likely to continue and increase, to a
+much greater value, and answer better purposes.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Thus by a profitable exchange, the industrious girls at Cape May had
+pretty bonnets, and the girls at Philadelphia had warm mittens.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>For seventy-five years it had been the constant design of the British
+government to drive the French from North America. England claimed the
+whole country, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, because her ships had
+first sailed along the Atlantic coast. It was one of the recognized
+laws of nations that a newly discovered region belonged to the nation
+who had first raised upon it its flag.</p>
+
+<p>France, admitting the claim of England to the Atlantic coast, asserted
+her right to the great valleys of the interior, those of the Ohio and
+the Mississippi, because her boatmen had first discovered those
+magnificent rivers, had explored them throughout, and had established
+upon them her trading and military posts. It was a recognized law of
+nations, that the power which discovered, explored, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span>and took
+possession of a new river, was the rightful possessor of the valley
+which that river watered. Thus the conflict of claims originated.</p>
+
+<p>To add to the intensity of the insane strife, which caused an amount
+of blood and misery which no tongue can tell, religious bitterness was
+aroused, and the French Roman Catholic was arrayed against the British
+Protestant.</p>
+
+<p>Three wars, bloody and woful, had already ravaged this continent. We
+have before alluded to the menace of a new war in the year 1754, and
+to Franklin&#8217;s mission to Albany to enlist the chiefs of the Six
+Nations to become allies of the English. We have also alluded to the
+plan, which Franklin drew up on this journey, for the union of the
+colonies, and which was rejected. The wisdom of this plan was,
+however, subsequently developed by the fact that it was remarkably
+like that by which eventually the colonies were bound together as a
+nation.</p>
+
+<p>Assuming that the English were right in their claim for the whole
+continent, Franklin urged the eminently wise measure of establishing
+strong colonies, in villages of a hundred families each, on the
+luxuriant banks of the western rivers. But the haughty British
+government would receive no instructions from American provincials.</p>
+
+<p>Governor Shirley, of Boston, showed Mr. Franklin <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span>a plan, drawn up in
+England, for conducting the war. It developed consummate ignorance of
+the difficulties of carrying on war in the pathless wilderness; and
+also a great disregard of the political rights of the American
+citizens. According to this document, the British court was to
+originate and execute all the measures for the conduct of the war; and
+the British Parliament was to assess whatever tax it deemed expedient
+upon the American people to defray the expenses. The Americans were to
+have no representation in Parliament, and no voice whatever in
+deciding upon the sum which they were to pay.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin examined the document carefully, and returned it with his
+written objections. In this remarkable paper, he anticipated the
+arguments which our most distinguished statesmen and logicians urged
+against the Stamp Act&mdash;against Taxation without Representation. A
+brief extract from this important paper, will give the reader some
+idea of its character:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;The colonists are Englishmen. The accident of living in a colony
+deprives them of no right secured by Magna Charta. The people in the
+colonies, who are to feel the immediate mischiefs of invasion and
+conquest by an enemy, in the loss of their estates, lives and
+liberties, are likely to be better <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span>judges of the quantity of forces
+necessary to be raised and maintained, and supported, and of their own
+ability to bear the expense, than the Parliament of England, at so
+great a distance. Compelling the colonists to pay money without their
+consent, would be rather like raising contributions in an enemy&#8217;s
+country, than taxing of Englishmen for their own public benefit. It
+would be treating them as a conquered people, and not as true British
+subjects.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>At length the brave, but self-conceited and haughty General Braddock
+came with his army of British Regulars. Frenchmen, Indians, and
+Americans, he alike regarded with contempt. His troops were
+rendezvoused at Fredericktown, in Maryland. A bridle path led through
+the wilderness to this place, from Philadelphia, a distance of a
+hundred and twenty miles.</p>
+
+<p>Intelligent American gentlemen were much alarmed, by the reckless and
+perilous measures which the ignorant British general declared his
+intention to pursue. He became very angry with Pennsylvanians, because
+they were so unwilling to fall in with his plans. It was said that, in
+his anger, he manifested more desire to ravage Pennsylvania than to
+defeat the French.</p>
+
+<p>The Assembly at Philadelphia appointed a commission, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span>consisting of
+Benjamin Franklin and his son, a resolute, insubordinate man of thirty
+years, and of the Governors of New York and Massachusetts, to visit
+the arrogant British officer, and to endeavor, in some way, to
+influence him to wiser measures. It was the middle of April, a
+beautiful season in that climate, of swelling buds, and opening
+leaves.</p>
+
+<p>Each of the four gentlemen was attended by servants, as was customary
+in those days. They were all finely mounted. Joyfully they rode along,
+seeking entertainment each night at the residence of some planter. A
+courier was always sent forward to announce their coming, and the
+planter, accompanied by one or two of his servants, would generally
+ride forward a few miles to meet them, and escort them to his
+hospitable home.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin was received by Gen. Braddock with the condescension with
+which, in that day, English gentlemen were ever accustomed to regard
+Americans of whatever name or note. The little army, which was to
+march upon Fort Duquesne, was to traverse the dreary and pathless
+ridges and ravines of the Alleghany mountains, and force their way
+through a tangled wilderness, for a distance of several hundred miles.
+During all this march they were hourly exposed to be attacked by an
+overpowering force of French and Indians. The French could easily
+descend <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span>to the Ohio, in their boats from Canada, and nearly all the
+Indians of this vast interior, were in alliance with them.</p>
+
+<p>Braddock insisted upon encumbering his march with heavily laden
+wagons, which were to penetrate savage regions through which he must,
+every mile, construct his road. There was a young American in the camp
+by the name of George Washington. He was a man of the highest rank,
+and of commanding influence, having obtained much experience in Indian
+warfare. Modestly, but warmly, he remonstrated against this folly. He
+not only feared, but was fully assured that such a measure would lead
+to the inevitable destruction of the army. He urged that pack horses
+only should be employed, and as few of them as possible; and that thus
+they should hurry along as rapidly and in as compact a mass as they
+could.</p>
+
+<p>But Braddock was inexorable. He demanded his two hundred and fifty
+wagons, and a large train of pack horses, to be laden with sumptuous
+provisions for his officers. The farmers of Maryland and Virginia were
+reluctant to expose the few wagons and teams they had, to such
+inevitable destruction. Neither had they any confidence that the
+British Government would ever remunerate them in case of their loss.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span></p><p>Four-wheeled vehicles were very scarce in the colonies. There were
+many people who had never seen one. The general, after exhausting all
+his efforts, could obtain but twenty-four. One day as he was giving
+vent to his indignation, Franklin suggested that it would probably be
+much more easy to obtain wagons in the more densely settled parts of
+Pennsylvania. Braddock immediately urged him to undertake the
+enterprise. Unwisely, we think, he consented. With his son he hastened
+to Pennsylvania, and selected Lancaster, York, and Carlisle as his
+centres of operation.</p>
+
+<p>Whatever Franklin undertook, he was pretty sure to accomplish. In
+twenty days he obtained one hundred and fifty four-horse wagons, and
+two hundred and fifty-nine pack-horses. He did not accomplish this
+feat however, until he had exhausted all the money which Braddock had
+furnished him, had spent over a thousand dollars of his own money, and
+had given bonds for the safe return of horses and wagons, whose money
+value was estimated at one hundred thousand dollars.</p>
+
+<p>Braddock was lavish in his compliments. Franklin dined with him daily.
+The idea seemed never to have entered Braddock&#8217;s mind that British
+Regulars, under his command, could ever be seriously annoyed by bands
+of French and Indians. He said one day,</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span></p><p>&#8220;After taking Fort Duquesne, I shall go to Niagara. Having taken that,
+if the season will permit, I shall proceed to Fort Frontenac. Fort
+Duquesne can hardly detain me more than three or four days.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Franklin, who was well aware that Braddock was entering upon a far
+more formidable campaign than he anticipated, ventured very modestly
+to suggest,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;To be sure, sir, if you arrive well before Duquesne with the fine
+troops so well provided with artillery, the fort, though completely
+fortified, and assisted with a very strong garrison, can probably make
+but a short resistance. The only danger I apprehend of obstruction to
+your march, is of ambuscades of the Indians, who, by constant
+practice, are dexterous in laying and executing them. And the slender
+line, near four miles long, which your army must make, may expose it
+to be attacked by surprise in its flanks, and to be cut like a thread
+into several pieces, which, from their distance, cannot come up in
+time to support each other.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Braddock smiled derisively, at this ignorance of a benighted American.
+&#8220;These savages may indeed,&#8221; he said, &#8220;be a formidable enemy to your
+raw American militia. But upon the king&#8217;s regular and disciplined
+troops, it is impossible that they should make any impression.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Colonel Washington regarded the wagons, and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span>the long array of
+pack-horses, as so many nuisances, arresting the rapidity of their
+march, and inviting attacks which it would be impossible to repel. At
+length the army was in motion. The progress was very slow. Franklin
+was continually forwarding supplies; and even advanced between six and
+seven thousand dollars, from his own purse, to expedite purchases. A
+part of this he never received back.</p>
+
+<p>The attack upon Braddock&#8217;s army, and its terrible defeat soon came. A
+minute account of the conflict is given in the Life of George
+Washington, one of the volumes of this series. The teamsters cut the
+traces of their horses, mounted the swiftest, and, in the frenzy of
+their panic, rushed for home. The other horses and the wagons, with
+their abounding supplies, were left to magnify the triumph of the
+exultant Indians. Disastrous as was the campaign, Franklin obtained
+much credit for the efficient services he had rendered.</p>
+
+<p>War, with all its horrors, had now penetrated the beautiful region of
+Pennsylvania, which had enjoyed eighty years of peace, through the
+Christian philanthropy of William Penn. Nearly all of the Indians,
+beyond the mountains, were allies of the French. The news of
+Braddock&#8217;s defeat reached Philadelphia about the middle of July, 1755.
+Immediately <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span>a violent conflict arose between the royalist governor
+Morris, and the Colonial Assembly. The Legislative body voted liberal
+taxes for the public defence. But very justly it was enacted that
+these taxes should be assessed impartially upon all estates alike,
+upon those of the wealthy Proprietaries, as well as upon the few
+hundred acres which were owned by the humble farmers. The
+Proprietaries, consisting of two of the sons of William Penn, revolted
+against this. The Governor, appointed by them, as their agent of
+course, united with them in opposition. For many weeks the conflict
+between the Assembly and the Governor as agent of the Proprietaries,
+raged fiercely. Under these circumstances no military supplies could
+be voted, and the peril of the community was very great.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin warmly espoused and eloquently advocated the claim of the
+Assembly. During the months of July and August, the Indians, satiated
+with the vast plunder of Braddock&#8217;s camp, made no attempt to cross the
+Alleghanies, in predatory excursions against the more settled portions
+of Pennsylvania. But September and October ushered in scenes of horror
+and carnage, too awful to be depicted. Villages were laid in ashes,
+cottages were burned, families tomahawked and scalped, women and
+children carried into captivity, and many poor <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span>creatures perished at
+the stake, in the endurance of all the tortures which savage ingenuity
+could devise.</p>
+
+<p>And still the Quakers, adhering to their principle of non-resistance,
+refused to contribute any money, or in any way to unite in any
+military organization for self-defence. But in candor it must be
+admitted, that had the principles of the Quakers been adopted by the
+British court, this whole disastrous war might have been avoided. It
+was a war of invasion commenced by the English. They were determined,
+by force of arms, to drive the French out of the magnificent valleys
+beyond the mountains. In the conflict which ensued, both parties
+enlisted all the savages they could, as allies. Will not England at
+the judgment be held responsible for this war and its woes?</p>
+
+<p>To rouse the Quakers to a sense of shame, the bodies of a whole
+murdered family, mutilated and gory, were brought to Philadelphia and
+paraded through all its streets, in an open wagon. In November, as the
+Indians, often led by French officers, were sweeping the frontier in
+all directions, killing, burning, destroying, the antagonistic parties
+in the Assembly, for a time laid aside their quarrels, and with the
+exception of the Quakers, adopted vigorous military measures. The
+Quakers were generally the most opulent people in the State. It is not
+strange <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span>that the common people should be reluctant to volunteer to
+defend the property of the Quakers, since they refused either to
+shoulder a musket, or to contribute a dollar.</p>
+
+<p>The pen of Franklin rendered wonderful service in this crisis. With
+his accustomed toleration, he could make allowance for the frailties
+of conscience-bound men. He wrote a very witty pamphlet which was very
+widely read, and produced a powerful impression. Its character may be
+inferred from the following brief quotation:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;&#8216;For my part,&#8217; says A., &#8216;I am no coward; but hang me if I
+fight to save the Quakers.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;&#8216;That is to say,&#8217; B. replied, &#8216;you will not pump the
+sinking ship, because it will save the rats as well as
+yourselves.&#8217;&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>The dialogue ends with the following admirable words:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;O! my friends, the glory of serving and saving others is
+superior to the advantage of being served and secured. Let
+us resolutely and generously unite in our country&#8217;s cause,
+in which to die is the sweetest of all deaths; and may the
+God of armies bless our honest endeavors.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>The colonists of Pennsylvania now generally rushed to arms. There
+were, on the frontiers, several flourishing Moravian villages. They
+were occupied <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span>by a peculiarly industrious and religious people. The
+traveller through their quiet streets heard, morning and evening, the
+voice of prayer ascending from many firesides, and the melody of
+Christian hymns. Guadenhutton, perhaps the most flourishing of them,
+was attacked by the Indians, burned, and the inhabitants all massacred
+or carried into captivity. Terrible was the panic in the other
+villages. They were liable at any day, to experience the same fate.</p>
+
+<p>Under these circumstances the Governor raised five hundred and forty
+volunteers, and placed them under the command of Franklin, with the
+title of General. He was to lead them, as rapidly as possible, to
+Northampton county, for the protection of these people. His son,
+William, was his aid-de-camp. He proved an efficient and valiant
+soldier.</p>
+
+<p>It was the middle of December when this heroic little band commenced
+its march. Snow whitened the hills. Wintry gales swept the bleak
+plains, and moaned through the forests. The roads were almost
+impassable. Fierce storms often entirely arrested their march. The
+wilderness was very thinly inhabited. It required the toil of a month,
+for Franklin to force his way through these many obstructions to the
+base of his operations, though it was distant not more than ninety
+miles.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span></p><p>The troops moved very cautiously to guard against ambush. The
+philosopher, Franklin, though he had never received a military
+education, and was quite inexperienced in military affairs, was the
+last man to be drawn into such a net as that in which the army of
+Braddock was destroyed.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin, as a philosopher, could appreciate the powerful influence of
+religious motives upon the mind. Rev. Mr. Beatty was his chaplain,
+whose worth of character Franklin appreciated. Before commencing their
+march, all the troops were assembled for a religious service. After an
+earnest exhortation to fidelity and duty, a fervent prayer was
+offered.</p>
+
+<p>The march was conducted with great regularity. First, scouts advanced
+in a semi-circular line, ranging the woods. Then came the advanced
+guard, at a few hundred paces behind. The centre followed, with all
+the wagons and baggage. Then came the rear guard, with scouts on each
+flank, and spies on every hill.</p>
+
+<p>Upon reaching Guadenhutton, an awful scene of desolation and carnage
+met the eye. The once happy village presented now but a revolting
+expanse of blackened ruins. The mangled bodies of the dead strewed the
+ground, mutilated alike by the savages and the howling wolves.
+Franklin ordered <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span>huts immediately to be reared to protect his troops
+from the inclemency of the weather. No man knew better than he, how to
+make them comfortable and cheerful with the least expense.</p>
+
+<p>A fort was promptly constructed, which he called Fort Allen, and which
+could easily repel any attack the Indians might make, unless they
+approached with formidable French artillery. There were many
+indications that the Indians, in large numbers, were hovering around,
+watching all their movements. But the sagacity of Franklin baffled
+them. They kept concealed without any attack. The savages were very
+cautious men; they would seldom engage in a battle, unless they were
+sure of victory.</p>
+
+<p>A trifling incident occurred at this time, worthy of record as
+illustrative of the shrewdness of General Franklin.</p>
+
+<p>The chaplain complained that the men were remiss in attending prayers.
+Franklin suggested that though it might not be exactly consistent with
+the dignity of the chaplain to become himself the steward of the rum,
+still, if he would order it to be distributed immediately after
+prayers, he would probably have all the men gathering around him.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;He liked the thought,&#8221; Franklin wrote, &#8220;under took the task, and with
+the help of a few hands to measure out the liquor, executed it to
+satisfaction. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span>Never were prayers more generally and more punctually
+attended. So that I think this method preferable to the punishment
+inflicted by some military laws for non-attendance on divine worship.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Bitter quarrels were renewed in the Assembly. The presence of Franklin
+was indispensable to allay the strife. Governor Morris wrote
+entreating him immediately to return to Philadelphia. It so happened
+at this time, that Col. Clapham, a New England soldier of experience
+and high repute, visited the camp at Guadenhutton. Franklin placed him
+in command, and warmly commending him to the confidence of the troops,
+hurried home. He reached Philadelphia on the 10th of February, 1756,
+after two months&#8217; service in the field. Universal applause greeted
+him. Several military companies, in Philadelphia, united in a regiment
+of about twelve hundred men. Franklin was promptly elected their
+colonel, which office he accepted.</p>
+
+<p>In tracing the disasters of war, it is interesting to observe how many
+of those disasters are owing to unpardonable folly. Some months after
+Franklin&#8217;s departure, on a cold, bleak day in November, a large part
+of the garrison, unmindful of danger, were skating, like school-boys
+on the Lehigh river. The vigilant Indians saw their opportunity. Like
+howling wolves they made a rush upon the fort, entered its <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span>open
+gates, and killed or captured all its inmates. The skaters fled into
+the woods. They were pursued. Some were killed or captured. Some
+perished miserably of cold and starvation. Probably a few escaped. The
+triumphant savages, having plundered the fort and the dwellings of all
+their contents, applied the torch, and again Guadenhutton was reduced
+to a pile of ashes.</p>
+
+<p>The controversy which arose between the Governor and the Assembly
+became acrimonious in the extreme. The principles there contended for,
+involved the very existence of anything like American liberty. For
+fifteen years the pen and voice of Franklin were influential in this
+controversy. He probably did more than any other man to prepare the
+colonists to resist the despotism of the British court, and to
+proclaim their independence.</p>
+
+<p>On the 5th of January, 1681, King Charles the Second had conferred
+upon William Penn twenty-six million acres of the &#8220;best land in the
+universe.&#8221; This land was in the New World, and received the name of
+Pennsylvania. In return for this grant, Penn agreed to pay annually,
+at Windsor Castle, two beaver skins, and one-fifth of the gold and
+silver which the province might yield. He also promised to govern the
+province in conformity with the laws of England.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span></p><p>He could treat with the savages, appoint ordinary magistrates, and
+pardon petty crimes. But he could lay no tax, and impose no law
+without consent of the freemen of the province, represented in the
+Assembly.</p>
+
+<p>Of this whole wide realm, Penn was the absolute proprietor. He refused
+to sell a single acre, absolutely, but in all the sales reserved for
+himself what may be called a ground-rent. Immense tracts were sold at
+forty shillings, about ten dollars, for one hundred acres, reserving a
+rent of one shilling for each hundred acres. He also reserved,
+entirely to himself, various portions of the territory which promised
+to become the site of important cities and villages. All these rights
+descended to the heirs of William Penn.</p>
+
+<p>Seventy-four years passed away, when the estate thus founded, was
+estimated to be worth ten millions sterling, and popular belief
+affirmed that it produced a revenue of one hundred thousand pounds.</p>
+
+<p>Penn, when he died, bequeathed the province to his three sons, John,
+Thomas, and Richard. To John he gave a double part, or one-half of
+Pennsylvania. John died and left his half to Thomas, who thus became
+proprietor of three-fourths of the province, while Richard held
+one-fourth. Thus there were <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span>but two proprietors, Thomas and Richard
+Penn. They were both weak men; resided in England, were thoroughly
+imbued with Tory principles, and, in the consciousness of their vast
+estates, assumed to be lords and princes.</p>
+
+<p>They ruled their province by a deputy-governor. His position was
+indeed no sinecure. The two proprietaries, who appointed him, could at
+any time deprive him of office. The Assembly could refuse to vote his
+salary, and if he displeased the king of England, he might lose, not
+only his office, but his head.</p>
+
+<p>The controversy which had arisen, in consequence of these involvements
+between the proprietaries and the people, engrossed universal
+attention. During the four years between 1754 and 1758, the ravaged
+colony of Pennsylvania had raised the sum of two hundred and eighteen
+thousand pounds sterling, (over a million of dollars,) for defending
+its borders. And still the two lordly proprietaries demanded that
+their vast possessions should be entirely exempt from taxation.</p>
+
+<p>To an earnest remonstrance of the Assembly, they returned an insulting
+answer, in which they said,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;We are no more bound to pay taxes than any other chief governor of
+the King&#8217;s colonies. Your <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span>agitation of this matter is a new trick to
+secure your re-election. We advise you to show us the respect due to
+the rank which the crown has been pleased to bestow upon us. The
+people of Pennsylvania, in ordinary times, are so lightly taxed, that
+they hardly know that they are taxed. What fools you are to be
+agitating this dangerous topic of American taxation. It is beneath the
+dignity of the Assembly to make trouble about such small sums of
+money. We do not deny that you have been at some expense in pacifying
+the Indians, but that is no affair of ours. We already give the
+province a larger sum per annum, than our share of the taxes would
+amount to. One of us, for example, sent over four hundred pounds&#8217;
+worth of cannon, for the defence of our city of Philadelphia.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Such was their answer. It was conveyed in sixteen sentences which were
+numbered and which were very similar to the ones we have given. The
+communication excited great displeasure. It was considered alike false
+and insolent. Even the tranquil mind of Franklin was fired with
+indignation. He replied to the document with a power of eloquence and
+logic which carried the convictions of nearly all the colonists.</p>
+
+<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX.</h2>
+
+<h3><i>Franklin&#8217;s Mission to England.</i></h3>
+
+<div class="blockquot3"><p>New marks of respect&mdash;Lord Loudoun&mdash;Gov. Denny and
+Franklin&mdash;Visit the Indians&mdash;Franklin commissioner to
+England&mdash;His constant good nature&mdash;Loudoun&#8217;s delays&mdash;Wise
+action of an English captain&mdash;The voyagers land at
+Falmouth&mdash;Journey to London&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s style of living in
+London&mdash;His electrical experiments&mdash;He teaches the Cambridge
+professor&mdash;Complimentary action of St. Andrews&mdash;Gov. Denny
+displaced, and dark clouds arising&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s successful
+diplomacy&mdash;His son appointed Governor of New Jersey&mdash;Great
+opposition&mdash;The homeward voyage&mdash;Savage horrors&mdash;Retaliating
+cruelties&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s efforts in behalf of the Moravian
+Indians.</p></div>
+
+<p>The general impression, produced throughout the colonies, by the
+controversy with the proprietaries, was that they were very weak men.
+Indeed it does not appear that they were much regarded even in London.
+A gentleman, writing from that city, said, &#8220;They are hardly to be
+found in the herd of gentry; not in court, not in office, not in
+parliament.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>In March, Franklin left his home for a post-office tour. Some forty of
+the officers of his regiment, well mounted, and in rich uniform,
+without Franklin&#8217;s <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span>knowledge, came to his door, to escort him out of
+the village. Franklin says,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;I had not previously been made acquainted with their
+project, or I should have prevented it, being naturally
+averse to the assuming of state on any occasion.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>The proprietaries in London heard an account of this affair. They were
+very much displeased, saying they had never been thus honored, and
+that princes of the blood alone were entitled to such distinction. The
+war was still raging. Large bodies of troops were crossing the ocean
+to be united with the colonial forces.</p>
+
+<p>Lord Loudoun was appointed by the court commander-in-chief for
+America. He was an exceedingly weak and inefficient man; scarcely a
+soldier in the ranks could be found more incompetent for the
+situation. Governor Morris, of Pennsylvania, worn out with his
+unavailing conflicts with the Assembly, was withdrawn, and the
+proprietaries sent out Captain William Denny as their obsequious
+servant in his stead. The Philadelphians, hoping to conciliate him,
+received him cordially, and with a public entertainment. William
+Franklin wrote:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;Change of devils, according to the Scotch proverb, is blithesome.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>At the close of the feast, when most of the party <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span>were making
+themselves merry over their wine, Governor Denny took Franklin aside
+into an adjoining room, and endeavored, by the most abounding
+flattery, and by the bribe of rich promises, to induce him to espouse
+the cause of the proprietaries. But he soon learned that Franklin
+could not be influenced by any of his bribes.</p>
+
+<p>There was but a brief lull in the storm. Governor Denny had no power
+of his own. He could only obey the peremptory instructions he had
+received. These instructions were irreconcilably hostile to the
+resolves of the Assembly. Franklin was the all-powerful leader of the
+popular party. There was something in his imperturbable good nature
+which it is difficult to explain. No scenes of woe seemed to depress
+his cheerful spirits. No atrocities of oppression could excite his
+indignation. He could thrust his keen dagger points into the vitals of
+his antagonist, with a smile upon his face and jokes upon his lips
+which would convulse both friend and foe with laughter. He was the
+most unrelenting antagonist of Governor Denny in the Assembly, and yet
+he was the only man who remained on good terms with the governor,
+visiting him, and dining with him.</p>
+
+<p>Governor Denny was a gentleman, and well educated, and few men could
+appear to better advantage <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span>in the saloons of fashion. But he was
+trammeled beyond all independent action, by the instructions he had
+received from the proprietaries. He was right in heart, was in
+sympathy with Franklin, and with reluctance endeavored to enforce the
+arbitrary measures with which he was entrusted.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin was one of the most companionable of men. His wonderful
+powers of conversation, his sweetness of temper, and his entire
+ignoring of all aristocratic assumption, made him one of the most
+fascinating of guests in every circle. He charmed alike the rich and
+the poor, the learned and the ignorant.</p>
+
+<p>In November, 1756, he accompanied Governor Denny to the frontier to
+confer with the chiefs of several Indian tribes. The savages, to say
+the least, were as punctilious in the observance of the laws of honor,
+in securing the safety of the ambassadors on such an occasion, as were
+the English.</p>
+
+<p>The governor and the philosopher rode side by side on horseback,
+accompanied by only a few body servants. The governor, familiar with
+the clubs and the wits of England, entertained Franklin, in the
+highest degree, with the literary gossip of London, and probably
+excited in his mind an intense desire to visit those scenes, which he
+himself was so calculated to enjoy and to embellish. On the journey he
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span>wrote the following comic letter to his wife. He had been
+disappointed in not receiving a line from her by a certain messenger.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;I had a good mind not to write to you by this opportunity,
+but I never can be ill-natured enough even when there is
+most occasion. I think I won&#8217;t tell you that we are well,
+and that we expect to return about the middle of the week,
+nor will I send you a word of news; that&#8217;s poz. My duty to
+mother, love to the children, and to Miss Betsy and Gracie.
+I am your <i>loving</i> husband.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;P. S. I have <i>scratched out the loving words</i>, being writ
+in haste by mistake, when I forgot I was angry.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Gov. Denny, unable to accomplish his purposes with the Assembly,
+resolved to make a final appeal to the king. The House promptly
+decided to imitate his example. Its Speaker, Mr. Norris, and Benjamin
+Franklin, were appointed commissioners. The Speaker declined the
+office, and Franklin was left as sole commissioner. He probably was
+not at all reluctant to be introduced to the statesmen, the
+philosophers, and the fashionable circles of the Old World. To defray
+his expenses the Assembly voted a sum of nearly eight thousand
+dollars. He had also wealth of his own. By correspondence, he was
+quite intimately acquainted with very many of the scientific <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span>men of
+England and France. It was very certain that he would have the
+<i>entr&eacute;e</i> to any circle which he might wish to honor with his presence.</p>
+
+<p>It was at that time a very serious affair to cross the Atlantic. The
+ocean swarmed with pirates, privateers, and men-of-war. On the fourth
+of April, 1757, Franklin, with his son William, set out from
+Philadelphia. His cheerfulness of spirits did not forsake him as he
+left a home where he had been remarkably happy for twenty-six years.
+The family he left behind him consisted of his wife, his wife&#8217;s aged
+mother, his daughter Sarah, a beautiful child of twelve years, one or
+two nieces, and an old nurse of the family.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin had written to the governor to ascertain the precise time
+when the packet would sail. The reply he received from him was,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;I have given out that the ship is to sail on Saturday next.
+But I may let you know <i>entre nous</i> that if you are there by
+Monday morning you will be in time; but do not delay any
+longer.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Franklin was accompanied by a number of his friends as far as Trenton,
+where they spent a very joyful evening together. At one of the ferries
+on this road, they were delayed by obstructions so that they could not
+reach the Hudson River until noon of Monday. Franklin feared that the
+ship might sail <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span>without him; but upon reaching the river he was
+relieved by seeing the vessel still in the stream.</p>
+
+<p>Eleven weeks passed before Lord Loudoun would issue his permission for
+the ship to sail. Every day this most dilatory and incompetent of men
+announced that the packet would sail to-morrow. And thus the weeks
+rolled on while Franklin was waiting, but we do not hear a single word
+of impatience or remonstrance from his lips. His philosophy taught him
+to be happy under all circumstances. With a smiling face he called
+upon Lord Loudoun and dined with him. He endeavored, but in vain, to
+obtain a settlement of his claims for supplies furnished to Braddock&#8217;s
+army.</p>
+
+<p>He found much in the society of New York to entertain him. And more
+than all, and above all, he was doing everything that could be done
+for the accomplishment of his mission. Why, then, should he worry?</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;New York,&#8221; he records, &#8220;was growing immensely rich by money brought
+into it from all quarters for the pay and subsistence of the troops.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Franklin was remarkably gallant in his intercourse with ladies. He
+kept up quite a brisk correspondence with several of the most
+brilliant ladies of the day. No man could more prettily pay a
+compliment. To his lively and beautiful friend Miss Ray he wrote upon
+his departure,</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span></p><div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;Present my best compliments to all that love me; I should
+have said all that love you, but that would be giving you
+too much trouble.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>At length Lord Loudoun granted permission for the packet to drop down
+to the Lower Bay, where a large fleet of ninety vessels was assembled,
+fitted out for an attack upon the French at Louisburg. Franklin and
+his friends went on board, as it was announced that the vessel would
+certainly sail &#8220;to-morrow.&#8221; For six weeks longer the packet rode there
+at anchor. Franklin and his companions had for the third time consumed
+all the provisions they had laid in store for the voyage. Still we
+hear not a murmur from our imperturbable philosopher.</p>
+
+<p>At length the signal for sailing was given. The whole squadron put to
+sea, and the London packet, with all the rest, was swept forward
+toward Louisburg. After a voyage of five days, a letter was placed in
+the hands of the captain, authorizing him to quit the fleet and steer
+for England.</p>
+
+<p>The days and nights of a long voyage came and went, when the packet at
+midnight in a gale of wind, and enveloped in fogs, was approaching
+Falmouth. A light-house, upon some rocks, had not been visible.
+Suddenly the lifting of the fog revealed the light-house and the
+craggy shore, over which the surf was fearfully breaking, at the
+distance of but a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span>few rods. A captain of the Royal Navy, who chanced
+to be near the helmsman, sprang to the helm, called upon the sailors
+instantly to wear ship, and thus, at the risk of snapping every mast,
+saved the vessel and the crew from otherwise immediate and certain
+destruction.</p>
+
+<p>There was not, at that time, a single light-house on the North
+American coast. The event impressed the mind of Franklin deeply, and
+he resolved that upon his return, light-houses should be constructed.</p>
+
+<p>About nine o&#8217;clock the next morning the fog was slowly dispersed, and
+Falmouth, with its extended tower, its battlemented castles, and the
+forests of masts, was opened before the weary voyagers. It was Sunday
+morning and the bells were ringing for church. The vessel glided into
+the harbor, and joyfully the passengers landed. Franklin writes,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;The bell ringing for church, we went thither immediately,
+and with hearts full of gratitude returned sincere thanks to
+God far the mercies we had received.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>We know not whether this devout act was suggested by Franklin, or
+whether he courteously fell in with the arrangement proposed, perhaps,
+by some religious companion. It is, however, certain that the sentence
+which next followed, in his letter, came gushing from his own mind.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span></p><div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;Were I a Roman Catholic, perhaps I should, on this
+occasion, vow to build a chapel to some saint. But as I am
+not, if I were to vow at all it should be to build a
+<i>light-house</i>.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>It required a journey of two hundred and fifty miles to reach London.
+Franklin and his son <i>posted</i> to London, which was the most rapid mode
+of traveling in those days. They seem to have enjoyed the journey in
+the highest degree, through blooming, beautiful, highly cultivated
+England. Almost every thing in the charming landscape, appeared
+different from the rude settlements which were springing up amid the
+primeval forests of the New World.</p>
+
+<p>They visited the Cathedral at Salisbury, Stonehenge, Wilton Hall, the
+palatial mansion of the Earl of Pembroke. England was in her loveliest
+attire. Perhaps there could not then be found, upon this globe, a more
+lovely drive, than that through luxuriant Devonshire, and over the
+Hampshire Downs.</p>
+
+<p>Peter Collinson, a gentleman of great wealth, first received the
+travelers to his own hospitable mansion. Here Franklin was the object
+of marked attentions from the most distinguished scientists of
+England. Other gentlemen of high distinction honored themselves by
+honoring him. Franklin visited the old printing house, where he had
+worked forty years before, and treated the workmen with that beer,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span>which he had formerly so efficiently denounced in that same place.</p>
+
+<p>Soon he took lodgings with a very agreeable landlady, Mrs. Stevenson,
+No. 7, Craven street, Strand. He adopted, not an ostentatious, but a
+very genteel style of living. Both he and his son had brought with
+them each a body servant from America. He set up a modest carriage,
+that he might worthily present himself at the doors of cabinet
+ministers and members of parliament.</p>
+
+<p>The Proprietaries received him very coldly, almost insolently. They
+were haughty, reserved and totally uninfluenced by his arguments. He
+presented to them a brief memorandum, which very lucidly explained the
+views of the Assembly. It was as follows,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>1. &#8220;The Royal Charter gives the Assembly the power to make
+laws; the proprietary instructions deprive it of that power.
+2. The Royal Charter confers on the Assembly the right to
+grant or withhold supplies; the instructions neutralize that
+right. 3. The exemption of the proprietary estate from
+taxation is unjust. 4. The proprietaries are besought to
+consider these grievances seriously and redress them, that
+harmony may be restored.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>The Penn brothers denounced this brief document, as vague, and
+disrespectful. It was evident <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span>that Franklin had nothing to hope from
+them. He therefore directed all his energies to win to his side the
+Lords of Trade, and the members of the King&#8217;s Council, to whom the
+final decision must be referred. Twelve months elapsed, during which
+nothing was accomplished. But we hear not a murmur from his lips. He
+was not only contented but jovial. For two whole years he remained in
+England, apparently accomplishing nothing. These hours of leisure he
+devoted to the enjoyment of fashionable, intellectual and scientific
+society. No man could be a more welcome guest, in such elevated
+circles, for no man could enjoy more richly the charms of such
+society, or could contribute more liberally to its fascination.
+Electricity was still a very popular branch of natural science. The
+brilliant experiments Franklin performed, lured many to his
+apartments. His machine was the largest which had been made, and would
+emit a spark nine inches in length. He had invented, or greatly
+improved, a new musical machine of glass goblets, called the Armonica.</p>
+
+<p>It was listened to with much admiration, as it gave forth the sweetest
+tones. He played upon this instrument with great effect.</p>
+
+<p>The theatre was to Franklin an inexhaustible source of enjoyment.
+Garrick was then in the meridian of his fame. He loved a good dinner,
+and could, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span>without inconvenience, empty the second bottle of claret.
+He wrote to a friend,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;I find that I love company, chat, a laugh, a glass, and
+even a song as well as ever.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>At one time he took quite an extensive tour through England, visiting
+the University at Cambridge. He was received with the most flattering
+attentions from the chancellor and others of the prominent members of
+the faculty. Indeed every summer, during his stay in England, Franklin
+and his son spent a few weeks visiting the most attractive scenes of
+the beautiful island. Wherever he went, he left an impression behind
+him, which greatly increased his reputation.</p>
+
+<p>At Cambridge he visited the chemical laboratory, with the
+distinguished Professor of Chemistry, Dr. Hadley. Franklin suggested
+that temperature could be astonishingly reduced by evaporation. It was
+entirely a new idea to the Professor. They both with others repaired
+to Franklin&#8217;s room. He had ether there, and a thermometer. To the
+astonishment of the Professor of Chemistry in Cambridge University,
+the printer from Philadelphia showed him that by dipping the ball into
+the ether, and then blowing upon it with bellows to increase the
+evaporation, the mercury rapidly sunk twenty-five degrees below the
+freezing point. Ice was formed a quarter of an <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span>inch thick, all around
+the ball. Thus, surrounded by the professors of one of the most
+distinguished universities of Europe, Benjamin Franklin was the
+teacher of the teachers.</p>
+
+<p>The father and the son visited the villages where their ancestors had
+lived. They sought out poor relations, and examined the tombstones. In
+the spring of 1769, they spent six weeks in Scotland. The University
+of St. Andrews conferred upon Franklin the honorary title of doctor,
+by which he has since been generally known. Other universities
+received him with great distinction. The corporation of Edinburgh
+voted him the freedom of the city. All the saloons of fashion were not
+only open to receive him, but his presence, at every brilliant
+entertainment, was eagerly sought. The most distinguished men of
+letters crowded around him. Hume, Robertson and Lord Kames became his
+intimate friends.</p>
+
+<p>These were honors sufficient to turn the head of almost any man. But
+Franklin, who allowed no adversity to annoy him, could not be unduly
+elated by any prosperity or flattery.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;On the whole,&#8221; writes Franklin, &#8220;I must say, that the time we spent
+there (Scotland) was six weeks of the <i>densest</i> happiness I have met
+with in any part of my life.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span></p><p>Still it is evident that occasionally he felt some slight yearnings
+for the joys of that home, over which his highly esteemed wife
+presided with such economy and skill. He wrote to her,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;The regard and friendship I meet with from persons of worth, and
+the conversation of ingenuous men give me no small pleasure. But
+at this time of life, domestic comforts afford the most solid
+satisfaction;<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> and my uneasiness at being absent from my family and
+longing desire to be with them, make me often sigh, in the midst of
+cheerful company.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>An English gentleman, Mr. Strahan, wrote to Mrs.
+Franklin, urging her to come over to England and join her husband. In
+this letter he said,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;I never saw a man who was, in every respect, so perfectly
+agreeable to me. Some are amiable in one view, some in
+another; he in all.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Three years thus passed away. It must not be supposed that the
+patriotic and faithful Franklin lost any opportunity whatever, to urge
+the all important cause with which he was entrusted. His philosophy
+taught him that when he absolutely could not do any thing but <i>wait</i>,
+it was best to wait in the most agreeable and profitable manner.</p>
+
+<p>It was one of his strong desires, which he was compelled to abandon,
+to convert the proprietary <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span>province of Pennsylvania into a royal
+province. After Franklin left Philadelphia, the strife between the
+Assembly, and Governor Denny, as the representative of the
+proprietaries, became more violent than ever. The governor, worn out
+by the ceaseless struggle, yielded in some points. This offended the
+proprietaries. Indignantly they dismissed him and appointed, in his
+place, Mr. James Hamilton, a more obsequious servant.</p>
+
+<p>By the royal charter it was provided that all laws, passed by the
+Assembly and signed by the governor, should be sent to the king, for
+his approval. One of the bills which the governor, compelled as it
+were by the peril of public affairs, had signed, allowed the Assembly
+to raise a sum of about five hundred thousand dollars, to be raised by
+a <i>tax on all estates</i>. This was a dangerous precedent. The
+aristocratic court of England repealed it, as an encroachment upon the
+rights of the privileged classes. It was a severe blow to the
+Assembly. The speaker wrote to Franklin:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;We are among rocks and sands, in a stormy season. It depends upon you
+to do every thing in your power in the present crisis. It is too late
+for us to give you any assistance.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>When Franklin received the crushing report against the Assembly he was
+just setting off for a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span>pleasant June excursion in Ireland.
+Immediately he unpacked his saddle-bags, and consecrated all his
+energies to avert the impending evils. He enlisted the sympathies of
+Lord Mansfield, and accomplished the astonishing feat in diplomacy, of
+inducing the British Lords of Commission to reverse their decision,
+and to vote that the act of the Assembly should stand unrepealed.</p>
+
+<p>His business detained Franklin in London all summer. In the autumn he
+took a tour into the west of England and Wales. The gales of winter
+were now sweeping the Atlantic. No man in his senses would expose
+himself to a winter passage across the ocean, unless it was absolutely
+necessary. Indeed it would appear that Franklin was so happy in
+England, that he was not very impatient to see his home again. Though
+he had been absent three years from his wife and child, still two
+years more elapsed before he embarked for his native land.</p>
+
+<p>On the 25th of October George II. died. His grandson, a stupid,
+stubborn fanatically conscientious young man ascended the throne, with
+the title of George III. It would be difficult to compute the
+multitudes in Europe, Asia and America, whom his arrogance and
+ambition caused to perish on the battle field. During these two years
+there was nothing of very special moment which occurred in the life of
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span>Franklin. Able as he was as a statesman, science was the favorite
+object of his pursuit. He wrote several very strong pamphlets upon the
+political agitations of those tumultuous days, when all nations seem
+to have been roused to cutting each other&#8217;s throats. He continued to
+occupy a prominent position wherever he was, and devoted much time in
+collecting his thoughts upon a treatise to be designated &#8220;The Art of
+Virtue.&#8221; The treatise, however, was never written.</p>
+
+<p>His influential and wealthy friend, Mr. Strahan, was anxious to unite
+their two families by the marriage of his worthy and prosperous son to
+Mr. Franklin&#8217;s beautiful daughter, Sarah. But the plan failed.
+Franklin also made an effort to marry his only son William, who, it
+will be remembered, was not born in wedlock, to a very lovely English
+lady, Miss Stephenson. But this young man, who, renouncing revealed
+religion, was a law unto himself, had already become a father without
+being a husband. Miss Stephenson had probably learned this fact and,
+greatly to the disappointment of Franklin, declined the alliance. The
+unhappy boy, the dishonored son of a dishonored father, was born about
+the year 1760. Nothing is known of what became of the discarded
+mother. He received the name of William Temple Franklin.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span></p><p>Benjamin Franklin, as in duty bound, recognized him as his grandson,
+and received him warmly to his house and his heart. The reader will
+hereafter become better acquainted with the character and career of
+this young man. In the spring of 1762, Franklin commenced preparations
+for his return home. He did not reach Philadelphia until late in the
+autumn. Upon his departure from England, the University of Oxford
+conferred upon him the distinction of an honorary degree.</p>
+
+<p>William Franklin, though devoid of moral principle, was a man of
+highly respectable abilities, of pleasing manners, and was an
+entertaining companion. Lord Bute, who was in power, was the warm
+friend of Dr. Franklin. He therefore caused his son William to be
+appointed governor of New Jersey. It is positively asserted that
+Franklin did not solicit the favor. Indeed it was not a very desirable
+office. Its emoluments amounted to but about three thousand dollars a
+year. The governorship of the colonies was generally conferred upon
+the needy sons of the British aristocracy. So many of them had
+developed characters weak and unworthy, that they were not regarded
+with much esteem.</p>
+
+<p>William Franklin was married on the 2d of September, 1762, to Miss
+Elizabeth Downes. The announcement of the marriage in London, and of
+his <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span>appointment to the governorship of New Jersey, created some
+sensation. Mr. John Penn, son of one of the proprietaries, and who was
+soon to become governor of Pennsylvania, affected great indignation in
+view of the fact that William Franklin was to be a brother governor.
+He wrote to Lord Stirling,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;It is no less amazing than true, that Mr. William Franklin,
+son of Benjamin Franklin of Philadelphia, is appointed to be
+governor of the province of New Jersey. I make no doubt that
+the people of New Jersey will make some remonstrances at
+this indignity put upon them. You are full as well
+acquainted with the character and principles of this person
+as myself, and are as able to judge of the impropriety of
+such an appointment. What a dishonor and a disgrace it must
+be to a country to have such a man at the head of it, and to
+sit down contented. I should hope that some effort will be
+made before our Jersey friends would put up with such an
+insult. If any <i>gentleman</i> had been appointed, it would have
+been a different case. But I cannot look upon the person in
+question in that light by any means. I may perhaps be too
+strong in my expressions, but I am so extremely astonished
+and enraged at it, that I am hardly able to contain myself
+at the thought of it.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Franklin sailed from Portsmouth the latter part <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span>of August. Quite a
+fleet of American merchantmen sailed together. The weather during a
+voyage of nine weeks, was most of the time delightful. Often the
+vessels glided along so gently over a waveless sea, that the
+passengers could visit, and exchange invitations for dinner parties.</p>
+
+<p>On the first of November, Franklin reached his home. He had been
+absent nearly six years. All were well. His daughter, whom he had left
+a child of twelve, was now a remarkably beautiful and accomplished
+maiden of eighteen. Franklin was received not only with affection, but
+with enthusiasm. The Assembly voted him fifteen thousand dollars for
+his services in England.</p>
+
+<p>His son William, with his bride, did not arrive until the next
+February. Franklin accompanied him to New Jersey. The people there
+gave the governor a very kind greeting. He took up his residence in
+Burlington, within fifteen miles of the home of his father.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin had attained the age of fifty-seven. He was in perfect
+health, had an ample fortune, and excelled most men in his dignified
+bearing and his attractive features. Probably there never was a more
+happy man. He had leisure to devote himself to his beloved sciences.
+It was his dream, his castle in the air, to withdraw from political
+life, and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span>devote the remainder of his days to philosophical research.</p>
+
+<p>In the year 1763 terminated the seven years&#8217; war. There was peace in
+Europe, peace on the ocean, but not peace along the blood crimsoned
+frontiers of the wilderness of America. England and France had been
+hurling savage warriors by tens of thousands against each other, and
+against the helpless emigrants in their defenceless villages and their
+lonely cabins. The belligerent powers of Europe, in their ambitious
+struggles, cared very little for the savages of North America. Like
+the hungry wolf they had lapped blood. Plunder had become as
+attractive to them as to the privateersman and the pirate. During the
+summer of 1763, the western regions of Pennsylvania were fearfully
+ravaged by these fierce bands. Thousands of settlers were driven from
+their homes, their buildings laid in ashes, and their farms utterly
+desolated.</p>
+
+<p>In all the churches contributions were raised, in behalf of the
+victims of this insane and utterly needless war. Christ Church alone
+raised between three and four thousand dollars; and sent a missionary
+to expend the sum among these starving, woe-stricken families. The
+missionary reported seven hundred and fifty farms in Pennsylvania
+alone, utterly abandoned. Two hundred and fifty women <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span>and children,
+destitute and despairing, had fled to Fort Pitt for protection.</p>
+
+<p>In the midst of these awful scenes, Governor Hamilton resigned, and
+the weak, haughty John Penn arriving, took his place. The Assembly, as
+usual, gave him a courteous reception, wishing, if possible, to avert
+a quarrel. There were many fanatics in those days. Some of these
+assumed that God was displeased, because the heathen Indians had not
+been entirely exterminated. The savages had perpetrated such horrors,
+that by them no distinction was made between those friendly to the
+English, and those hostile. The very name of Indian was loathed.</p>
+
+<p>In the vicinity of Lancaster, there was the feeble remnant of a once
+powerful tribe. The philanthropy of William Penn had won them to love
+the English. No one of them had ever been known to lift his hand
+against a white man. There were but twenty remaining, seven men, five
+women and eight children. They were an industrious, peaceful, harmless
+people, having adopted English names, English customs and the
+Christian religion.</p>
+
+<p>A vagabond party of Scotch-Irish, from Paxton, set out, in the morning
+of the 14th of December, for their destruction. They were well mounted
+and well armed. It so happened that there were <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span>but six Indians at
+home. They made no defence. Parents and children knelt, as in prayer,
+and silently received the death blow. Every head was cleft by the
+hatchet. These poor creatures were very affectionate, and had greatly
+endeared themselves to their neighbors. This deed of infamous
+assassination roused the indignation of many of the most worthy people
+in the province. But there were thousands of the baser sort, who
+deemed it no crime to kill an Indian, any more than a wolf or a bear.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin wrote, to the people of Pennsylvania, a noble letter of
+indignant remonstrance, denouncing the deed as atrocious murder.
+Vividly he pictured the scene of the assassination, and gave the
+names, ages and characters of the victims. A hundred and forty
+Moravian Indians, the firm and unsuspected friends of the English,
+terrified by this massacre, fled to Philadelphia for protection. The
+letter of Franklin had excited much sympathy in their behalf. The
+people rallied for their protection. The Paxton murderers, several
+hundred in number, pursued the fugitives, avowing their determination
+to put every one to death. The imbecile governor was at his wits&#8217; end.
+Franklin was summoned.</p>
+
+<p>He, at once, proclaimed his house headquarters; rallied a regiment of
+a thousand men, and made <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span>efficient arrangements to give the murderers
+a warm reception. The Paxton band reached Germantown. Franklin,
+anxious to avoid bloodshed, rode out with three aids, to confer with
+the leaders. He writes,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;The fighting face we had put on, and the reasonings we used
+with the insurgents, having turned them back, and restored
+quiet to the city, I became a less man than ever; for I had,
+by this transaction, made myself many enemies among the
+populace.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X.</h2>
+
+<h3><i>Franklin&#8217;s Second Mission to England.</i></h3>
+
+<div class="blockquot3"><p>Fiendish conduct of John Penn&mdash;Petition to the crown&mdash;Debt
+of England&mdash;Two causes of conflict&mdash;Franklin sent to
+England&mdash;His embarkation&mdash;Wise counsel to his daughter&mdash;The
+stamp act&mdash;American resolves&mdash;Edmund Burke&mdash;Examination of
+Franklin&mdash;Words of Lord Chatham&mdash;Dangers to English
+operatives&mdash;Repeal of the stamp act&mdash;Joy in America&mdash;Ross
+Mackay&mdash;New taxes levied&mdash;Character of George
+III&mdash;Accumulation of honors to Franklin&mdash;Warlike
+preparations&mdash;Human conscientiousness&mdash;Unpopularity of
+William Franklin&mdash;Marriage of Sarah Franklin&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s
+varied investigations&mdash;Efforts to civilize the Sandwich
+Islands.</p></div>
+
+<p>It is scarcely too severe to say that Governor John Penn was both
+knave and fool. To ingratiate himself with the vile Paxton men and
+their partisans, he issued a proclamation, offering for every captive
+male Indian, of any hostile tribe, one hundred and fifty dollars, for
+every female, one hundred and thirty-eight dollars. For the scalp of a
+male, the bounty was one hundred and thirty-eight dollars; for the
+scalp of a female fifty dollars. Of course it would be impossible,
+when the scalps were brought in to decide whether they were stripped
+from friendly or hostile heads.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span></p><p>Curiously two political parties were thus organized. The governor,
+intensely inimical to Franklin, led all the loose fellows who approved
+of the massacre of the friendly Indians. Franklin was supported by the
+humane portion of the community, who regarded that massacre with
+horror.</p>
+
+<p>There was much bitterness engendered. Franklin was assailed and
+calumniated as one of the worst of men. He, as usual, wrote a
+pamphlet, which was read far and wide. Earnestly he urged that the
+crown, as it had a right to do, should, by purchase, take possession
+of the province and convert its government into that of a royal
+colony. It should be remembered that this was several years before the
+troubles of the revolution arose. The people were in heart true
+Englishmen. Fond of their nationality, sincere patriotism glowed in
+all bosoms. They ever spoke of England as &#8220;home.&#8221; When the Assembly
+met again three thousand citizens, influenced mainly by Franklin&#8217;s
+pamphlet, sent in a petition that the province might revert to the
+crown. The Penns succeeded in presenting a counter petition signed by
+three hundred.</p>
+
+<p>The British cabinet, in its insatiable thirst for universal conquest,
+or impelled by necessity to repel the encroachments of other nations,
+equally wicked and equally grasping, had been by fleet and army,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span>fighting all over the world. After spending every dollar which the
+most cruel taxation could extort from the laboring and impoverished
+masses, the government had incurred the enormous debt of seventy-three
+millions sterling. This amounted to over three hundred and sixty-five
+millions of our money.</p>
+
+<p>The government decided to tax the Americans to help pay the interest
+on this vast sum. But the colonies were already taxed almost beyond
+endurance, to carry on the terrible war against the French and
+Indians. This war was not one of their own choosing. It had been
+forced upon them by the British Cabinet, in its resolve to drive the
+French off the continent of North America. The Americans were allowed
+no representation in Parliament. They were to be taxed according to
+the caprice of the government. Franklin, with patriotic foresight,
+vehemently, and with resistless force of logic, resisted the outrage.</p>
+
+<p>It will be perceived that there were now two quite distinct sources of
+controversy. First came the conflict with the proprietaries, and then
+rose the still more important strife with the cabinet of Great
+Britain, to repel the principle of taxation without representation.
+This principle once admitted, the crown could tax the Americans to any
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span>amount whatever it pleased. Many unreflecting people could not
+appreciate these disastrous results.</p>
+
+<p>Thus all the partisans of the Penns, and all the office holders of the
+crown and their friends, and there were many such, became not only
+opposed to Franklin, but implacable in their hostility. The majority
+of the Assembly was with him. He was chosen Speaker, and then was
+elected to go again to England, to carry with him to the British Court
+the remonstrances of the people against &#8220;taxation without
+representation,&#8221; and their earnest petition to be delivered from the
+tyranny of the Penns. More unwelcome messages to the British Court and
+aristocracy, he could not well convey. It was certain that the Penns
+and their powerful coadjutors, would set many influences in array
+against him. Mr. Dickinson, in the Assembly, remonstrating against
+this appointment, declared that there was no man in Pennsylvania who
+was more the object of popular dislike than Benjamin Franklin.</p>
+
+<p>But two years had elapsed since Franklin&#8217;s return to America, after an
+absence from his home of six years. He still remembered fondly the
+&#8220;dense happiness&#8221; which he had enjoyed in the brilliant circles
+abroad. This, added to an intensity of patriotism, which rendered him
+second to none but Washington, among the heroes of the Revolution,
+induced him <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span>promptly to accept the all important mission. He allowed
+but twelve days to prepare for his embarkation. The treasury was
+empty, and money for his expenses had to be raised by a loan. A packet
+ship, bound for London was riding at Chester, fifteen miles below the
+city. Three hundred of the citizens of Philadelphia, on horseback,
+escorted Franklin to the ship.</p>
+
+<p>He seldom attended church, though he always encouraged his wife and
+daughter to do so. It was genteel; it was politic. A family could
+scarcely command the respect of the community, which, in the midst of
+a religious people, should be living without any apparent object of
+worship. The preacher of Christ Church, which the family attended, was
+a partisan of the Penns. Sometimes he &#8220;meddled with politics.&#8221;
+Franklin in his parting letter, from on shipboard, wrote to his
+daughter:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;Go constantly to church, whoever preaches. The active devotion in the
+common prayer-book, is your principal business there, and if properly
+attended to, will do more towards amending the heart, than sermons
+generally can do. For they were composed by men of much greater piety
+and wisdom, than our common composers of sermons can pretend to be.
+Therefore I wish that you would never miss the prayer days. Yet I do
+not mean you <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span>should despise sermons, even of the preachers you
+dislike; for the discourse is often much better than the man, as sweet
+and clear waters come through very dirty earth.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>The voyage was stormy; it lasted thirty days. On the evening of the
+tenth of December, 1764, he again took up his residence in the house
+of Mrs. Stephenson and her daughter, where he was received with
+delight. He found several other agents of the colonies in London, who
+had also been sent to remonstrate against the despotic measures which
+the British Cabinet threatened, of taxing the Americans at its
+pleasure, without allowing them to have any voice in deciding upon the
+sums which they should pay.</p>
+
+<p>Grenville was prime minister. He was about to introduce the Stamp Act,
+as an initiatory measure. It imposed but a trivial tax, in itself of
+but little importance, but was intended as an experiment, to ascertain
+whether the Americans would submit to the principle. This fact being
+once established, the government could then proceed to demand money at
+its pleasure. Franklin opposed the tax with all his energies. He
+declared it, in his own forceful language, to be the &#8220;mother of
+mischiefs.&#8221; With four other colonial agents, he held an interview with
+Lord Grenville. The usual arguments were employed <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span>on both sides. Lord
+Grenville was courteous, but very decided. The Americans he declared
+must help England pay the interest on her debt, and the parliament of
+Great Britain alone could decide how large an amount of money the
+Americans should pay. The bill was introduced to parliament, and
+passed by a large majority. The king signed it in a scrawling hand,
+which some think indicated the insanity he was beginning to develop.</p>
+
+<p>The trivial sum expected to be raised by the Stamp Act amounted to
+scarcely one hundred thousand pounds a year. It was thought that the
+Americans would not venture upon any decisive opposition to England
+for such a trifle. Franklin wrote to a friend:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;I took every step in my power, to prevent the passing of the Stamp
+Act. But the tide was too strong against us. The nation was provoked
+by American claims of legislative independence; and all parties joined
+in resolving, by this act, to settle the point.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Thus Franklin entirely failed in arresting the passing of the Stamp
+Act. He was also equally unsuccessful in his endeavor to promote a
+change of government, from the proprietary to the royal. And still his
+mission proved a success. By conversations, pamphlets and articles in
+the newspapers, he raised <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span>throughout the country such an opposition
+to the measure that parliament was compelled to repeal it. The tidings
+of the passage of the Stamp Act was received in intelligent America,
+with universal expressions of displeasure, and with resolves to oppose
+its operation in every possible way.</p>
+
+<p>It is remarked of a celebrated theological professor, that he once
+said to his pupils,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;When you go to the city to preach, take your best coat; when to the
+country, take your best sermon.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The lords and gentry of England were astonished at the intelligence
+displayed in the opposition, by the rural population of America. They
+fancied the colonists to be an ignorant, ragged people, living in log
+cabins, scattered through the wilderness, and, in social position, two
+or three degrees below European and Irish peasantry. Great was their
+surprise to hear from all the colonies, and from the remotest
+districts in each colony, the voice of intelligent and dignified
+rebuke.</p>
+
+<p>The Act was to go into execution on the first of November, 1765.
+Before that time, Franklin had spread, through all the mechanical,
+mercantile and commercial classes, the conviction that they would
+suffer ten-fold more, by the interruptions of trade which the Stamp
+Act would introduce, than government <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span>could hope to gain by the
+measure. He spread abroad the intelligence which came by every fresh
+arrival, that the Americans were resolving, with wonderful unanimity,
+that they would consume no more English manufactures, that they would
+purchase no more British goods, and that, as far as possible, in food,
+clothing, and household furniture, they would depend upon their own
+productions. They had even passed resolves to eat no more lamb, that
+their flocks might so increase that they should have wool enough to
+manufacture their own clothing.</p>
+
+<p>England had thus far furnished nearly all the supplies for the rapidly
+increasing colonies, already numbering a population of between two and
+three millions. The sudden cessation of this trade was felt in nearly
+every warehouse of industry. No more orders came. Goods accumulated
+without purchasers. Violent opposition arose, and vast meetings were
+held in the manufacturing districts, to remonstrate against the
+measures of the government. Edmund Burke, a host in himself, headed
+the opposition in parliament.</p>
+
+<p>Burke and Franklin were intimate friends, and the renowned orator
+obtained from the renowned philosopher, many of those arguments and
+captivating illustrations, which, uttered on the floor of parliament,
+astonished England, and reaching our <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span>shores, electrified America. The
+state of affairs became alarming. In some places the stamps were
+destroyed, in others, no one could be found who would venture upon the
+obnoxious task of offering to sell them. The parliament resolved
+itself into a committee of the whole house, and spent six weeks in
+hearing testimony respecting the operation of the act in America. The
+hall was crowded with eager listeners. The industrial prosperity of
+the nation seemed at stake. Franklin was the principal witness. His
+testimony overshadowed all the rest. The record of it was read with
+admiration. Seldom has a man been placed in a more embarrassing
+situation, and never has one, under such circumstances, acquitted
+himself more triumphantly.</p>
+
+<p>He was examined and cross-examined, before this vast and imposing
+assemblage, by the shrewdest lawyers of the crown. Every attempt was
+made to throw him into embarrassment, to trip him in his speech. But
+never for a moment did Franklin lose his self-possession. Never for an
+instant, did he hesitate in his reply. In the judgment of all his
+friends, not a mistake did he make. His mind seemed to be omnisciently
+furnished, with all the needful statistics for as rigorous an
+examination as any mortal was ever exposed to. Burke wrote to a
+friend, &#8220;that Franklin, as he stood before the bar <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span>of parliament,
+presented such an aspect of dignity and intellectual superiority, as
+to remind him of a schoolmaster questioned by school boys.&#8221; Rev.
+George Whitefield wrote,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;Our worthy friend, Dr. Franklin, has gained immortal honor,
+by his behavior at the bar of the house. The answer was
+always found equal, if not superior to the questioner. He
+stood unappalled, gave pleasure to his friends, and did
+honor to his country.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>After great agitation and many and stormy debates, the haughty
+government was compelled to yield to the demands of the industrial
+classes. Indeed, with those in England, who cried most loudly for the
+repeal of the stamp act, there were comparatively few who were
+influenced by any sympathy for the Americans, or by any appreciation
+of the justice of their cause. The loss of the American trade was
+impoverishing them. Selfish considerations alone,&mdash;their own personal
+interests&mdash;moved them to action.</p>
+
+<p>There were individuals, in and out of Parliament, who recognized the
+rights of Englishmen, and regarding the Americans as Englishmen, and
+America as a portion of the British empire, were in heart and with all
+their energies, in sympathy with the Americans in their struggle for
+their rights. When <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span>the despotism of the British court led that court
+to the infamous measure of sending fleets and armies, to compel the
+Americans to submission, and the feeble colonists, less than three
+millions in number, performing the boldest and most heroic deeds ever
+yet recorded in history, grasped their arms in self-defence, thus to
+wage war against the most powerful naval and military empire upon this
+globe, Lord Chatham, with moral courage rarely surpassed, boldly
+exclaimed in the House of Lords, &#8220;Were I an American, as I am an
+Englishman, I would never lay down my arms, never, <i>never</i>, <small>NEVER</small>.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>In all England, there was no man more determined in his resolve to
+bring the Americans to servile obedience, than the stubborn king,
+George III. The repeal gave him intense offence. The equally
+unprincipled, but more intelligent, ministers were compelled to the
+measure, as they saw clearly that England was menaced with civil war,
+which would array the industrial classes generally against the
+aristocracy. In such a conflict it was far from improbable that the
+aristocracy would be brought to grief. Horace Walpole wrote,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;It was the clamor of trade, of merchants, and of
+manufacturing towns, that had borne down all opposition. A
+general insurrection was apprehended, as the immediate
+consequence of upholding <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span>the bill. The revolt of America,
+and the destruction of trade, was the prospect in future.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Still the question of the repeal was carried in the House but by a
+majority of one hundred and eight votes. Of course Franklin now
+solicited permission to return home. The Assembly, instead of granting
+his request, elected him agent for another year. It does not appear
+that Franklin was disappointed.</p>
+
+<p>The report of his splendid and triumphant examination, before the
+Commons, and the republication of many of his pamphlets, had raised
+him to the highest position of popularity. The Americans, throughout
+all the provinces, received tidings of the Repeal with unbounded
+delight. Bells were rung, bon-fires blazed, cannon were fired.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I never heard so much noise in my life,&#8221; wrote Sally to her &#8220;honored
+papa.&#8221; &#8220;The very children seemed distracted.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The Tory party in England developed no little malignity in their
+anger, in view of the discomfiture of their plans. The bigoted Tory,
+Dr. Johnson, wrote to Bishop White of Pennsylvania, that if he had
+been Prime Minister, instead of repealing the act, he would have sent
+a man-of-war, and laid one or more of our largest cities in ashes.<a name="FNanchor_21_21" id="FNanchor_21_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span></p><p>The king felt personally aggrieved. His denunciations of those who
+favored the Repeal were so indecent, that some of his most influential
+friends ventured to intimate to him that it was highly impolitic.
+Indeed, as the previous narrative has shown, many who were in entire
+sympathy with the king, and who were bitterly opposed to any
+concession to the Americans, felt compelled to vote for the Repeal.</p>
+
+<p>To propitiate the unrelenting and half-crazed monarch, with his
+obdurate court, a Declaratory Act, as it was called, was passed, which
+affirmed the <i>absolute supremacy</i> of Parliament over the colonies.</p>
+
+<p>We hear very much of the corruption of our own Congress. It is said
+that votes are sometimes bought and sold. Sir Nathaniel Wraxall, who
+was a member of Parliament during all this period, declares, in his
+intensely interesting and undoubtedly honest Memoir, that under the
+ministry of Lord Bute, Ross Mackay was employed by him as
+&#8220;corrupter-general&#8221; whose mission it was to carry important measures
+of government by bribery. Wraxall writes that Ross Mackay said to him,
+at a dinner party given by Lord Besborough, as the illustrious guests
+were sipping their wine,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;The peace of 1763 was carried through and approved by a
+pecuniary dispensation. Nothing <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span>else could have surmounted
+the difficulty. I was myself the channel through which the
+money passed. With my own hand I secured above one hundred
+and twenty votes on that most important question to
+ministers. Eighty thousand pounds were set apart for the
+purpose. Forty members of the House of Commons received from
+me a thousand pounds each. To eighty others I paid five
+hundred pounds a-piece.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>The unrelenting king was still determined that the Americans,
+unrepresented in Parliament, should still pay into his treasury
+whatever sums of money he might exact. Calling to his aid courtiers
+more shrewd than himself, they devised a very cunning act, to attain
+that object in a way which would hardly be likely to excite
+opposition. They laid a tax, insignificant really in its amount, upon
+paper, paint, glass, and tea. This tax was to be collected at the
+custom-houses in the few ports of entry in the colonies. The whole
+amount thus raised would not exceed forty thousand pounds. It was
+thought that the Americans would never make opposition to so trivial a
+payment.</p>
+
+<p>But it established a principle that England could tax the colonies
+without allowing those colonies any representation in Parliament. If
+the Court had a right thus to demand forty thousand pounds, they <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span>had
+a right to demand so many millions, should it seem expedient to king
+and cabinet so to do.</p>
+
+<p>The great blunder which the court committed, was in not appreciating
+the wide-spread intelligence of the American people. In New England
+particularly, and throughout the colonies generally, there was
+scarcely a farmer who did not perceive the trick, and despise it. They
+deemed it an insult to their intelligence.</p>
+
+<p>Instantly there arose, throughout all the provinces, the most
+determined opposition to the measure. It was in fact merely a renewal
+of the Stamp Act, under slightly modified forms. If they admitted the
+justice of this act, it was only declaring that they had acted with
+unpardonable folly, in opposing the tax under the previous form.</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Franklin, with honest shrewdness, not with trickery or with
+cunning, but with a sincere and penetrating mind, eagerly scrutinized
+all the measures of the Court. George III. was a gentleman. He was
+irreproachable in all his domestic relations. He was, in a sense,
+conscientious; for certainly he was not disposed to do anything which
+he thought to be wrong. Conscientious men have burned their
+fellow-Christians at the stake. It is said that George the Third was a
+Christian. He certainly was a full believer in the religion of Jesus
+Christ; and earnestly <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span>advocated the support and extension of that
+religion. God makes great allowance for the frailties of his fallen
+children. It requires the wisdom of omniscience to decide how much
+wickedness there may be in the heart, consistently with piety. No man
+is perfect.</p>
+
+<p>During the reign of George III., terrible wars were waged throughout
+all the world, mainly incited by the British Court. Millions perished.
+The moans of widows and orphans ascended from every hand. This wicked
+Christian king sent his navy and his army to burn down our cities and
+villages, and to shoot husbands, fathers, and sons, until he could
+compel America to submit to his despotism. The population of England
+being exhausted by those wide spread wars, he hired, of the petty
+princes of Europe, innocent peasantry, to abandon their homes in
+Germany, to burn and destroy the homes of Americans. Finding that not
+sufficient, he sent his agents through the wilderness to rouse, by
+bribes, savage men, who knew no better, to ravage our frontiers, to
+burn the cabins of lonely farmers, to tomahawk and scalp their wives
+and children.</p>
+
+<p>Such a man may be a good Christian. God, who can read the secrets of
+the heart, and who is infinite in his love and charity, alone can
+decide. But if we imagine that man, George Guelph, at the bar of
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span>judgment, and thronging up as witnesses against him, the millions
+whose earthly homes he converted into abodes of misery and despair, it
+is difficult to imagine in our frail natures, how our Heavenly Father,
+who loves all his children alike, and who, as revealed in the person
+of Jesus, could weep over the woes of humanity, could look with a
+loving smile upon him and say, &#8220;Well done, good and faithful servant,
+enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Franklin of course continued in as determined an opposition to the new
+tax as to the old one. He wrote,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;I have some little property in America. I will freely spend
+nineteen shillings in the pound to defend my right of giving
+or refusing the other shilling. And after all, if I cannot
+defend that right, I can retire cheerfully with my little
+family into the boundless woods of America, which are sure
+to afford freedom and subsistence to any man who can bait a
+hook or pull a trigger.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>The ability which Franklin had displayed as the agent of Pennsylvania
+before the court of St. James, gave him, as we have said, a high
+reputation in all the colonies. In the spring of 1768 he was highly
+gratified by the intelligence that he was appointed, by the young
+colony of Georgia, its London agent. The next year New Jersey
+conferred the same honor <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span>upon him, and the year after, he was
+appointed agent of his native province of Massachusetts. These several
+appointments detained him ten years in England.</p>
+
+<p>During all this time he did not visit home. The equanimity of his
+joyful spirit seems never to have been disturbed. His pen describes
+only pleasant scenes. No murmurs are recorded, no yearnings of
+home-sickness.</p>
+
+<p>But month after month the animosity of the British Court towards the
+Americans was increasing. The king grew more and more fixed in his
+purpose, to compel the liberty-loving Americans to submission. Hostile
+movements were multiplied to indicate that if the opposition to his
+measures was continued, English fleets and armies would soon commence
+operations.</p>
+
+<p>Several thousand troops were landed in Boston. Fourteen men-of-war
+were anchored before the town, with the cannon of their broad-sides
+loaded and primed, ready, at the slightest provocation to lay the
+whole town in ashes. Protected by this terrible menace, two British
+regiments paraded the streets, with their muskets charged, with
+gleaming sabres and bayonets, with formidable artillery prepared to
+vomit forth the most horrible discharges of grape shot, with haughty
+English officers well mounted, and soldiers <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span>and officers alike in
+imposing uniforms. This invincible band of highly disciplined
+soldiers, as a peace measure, took possession of the Common, the State
+House, the Court House and Faneuil Hall.</p>
+
+<p>Even now, after the lapse of more than a hundred years, it makes the
+blood of an American boil to contemplate this insult. Who can imagine
+the feelings of exasperation that must have glowed in the bosoms of
+our patriotic fathers!</p>
+
+<p>Franklin, in England, was treated with ever increasing disrespect.
+Lord Hillsborough, then in charge of American affairs, told him
+peremptorily, even insolently, that America could expect no favors
+while he himself was in power, and that he was determined to persevere
+with firmness in the policy which the king was pursuing. The king was
+so shielded by his ministers that Franklin knew but little about him.
+Even at this time he wrote,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;I can scarcely conceive a king of better dispositions, of
+more exemplary virtues, or more truly desirous of promoting
+the welfare of his subjects.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Franklin never had occasion to speak differently of his domestic
+virtues. Nay, it is more than probable that the king daily, in prayer,
+looked to God for guidance, and that he thought that he was doing that
+which was promotive of the interests of England. Alas for man! He can
+perpetrate the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span>most atrocious crimes, honestly believing that he is
+doing God&#8217;s will. He can burn aged women under the charge of their
+being witches. He can torture, in the infliction of unutterable
+anguish, his brother man&mdash;mothers and daughters, under the charge of
+heresy. He can hurl hundreds of thousands of men against each other in
+most horrible and woe-inflicting wars, while falling upon his knees
+and praying to God to bless his murderous armies.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin had with him his grandson, William Temple Franklin, the
+dishonored son of William Franklin, then Governor of New Jersey. He
+was a bright and promising boy, and developed an estimable character,
+under the guidance of his grandfather, who loved him.</p>
+
+<p>William Franklin in New Jersey was, however, becoming increasingly the
+scourge of his father. It would seem that Providence was thus, in some
+measure, punishing Franklin for his sin. The governor, appointed by
+the Court of England to his office, which he highly prized, and which
+he feared to lose, was siding with the Court. He perceived that the
+storm of political agitation was increasing in severity. He felt that
+the power of the colonies was as nothing compared with the power of
+the British government. Gradually he became one of the most violent of
+the Tories.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span></p><p>The moderation of Franklin, and his extraordinarily charitable
+disposition, led him to refrain from all denunciations of his
+ungrateful son, or even reproaches, until his conduct became
+absolutely infamous. In 1773, he wrote, in reference to the course
+which the governor was pursuing,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;I only wish you to act uprightly and steadily, avoiding
+that duplicity which, in Hutchinson, adds contempt to
+indignation. If you can promote the prosperity of your
+people, and leave them happier than you found them, whatever
+your political principles are, your memory will be honored.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>While Franklin was absent, a young merchant of Philadelphia, Richard
+Bache, offered his hand to Franklin&#8217;s only daughter, from whom the
+father had been absent nearly all of her life. Sarah was then
+twenty-three years of age, so beautiful as to become quite a
+celebrity, and she was highly accomplished. Mr. Bache was not
+successful in business, and the young couple resided under the roof of
+Mrs. Franklin for eight years. The husband, with an increasing family,
+appealed to his illustrious father-in-law, to obtain for him a
+governmental appointment. Franklin wrote to his daughter,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;I am of opinion, that almost any profession a man has been
+educated in, is preferable to an office held at pleasure, as
+rendering him more independent, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span>more a free man, and less
+subject to the caprices of his superiors. I think that in
+keeping a store, if it be where you dwell, you can be
+serviceable to him, as your mother was to me; for you are
+not deficient in capacity, and I hope you are not too proud.
+You might easily learn accounts; and you can copy letters,
+or write them very well on occasion. By industry and
+frugality you may get forward in the world, being both of
+you very young. And then what we may leave you at our death,
+will be a pretty addition, though of itself far from
+sufficient to maintain and bring up a family.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Franklin gave his son-in-law about a thousand dollars to assist him in
+the purchase of a stock of merchandise. The children, born to this
+happy couple, were intelligent and beautiful, and they greatly
+contributed to the happiness of their grandmother, who cherished them
+with a grandmother&#8217;s most tender love. In the year 1862, there were
+one hundred and ten surviving descendants of Richard Bache and Sarah
+Franklin. Ten of these were serving in the Union army perilling their
+lives to maintain that national fabric, which their illustrious
+ancestor had done so much to establish. Franklin was by no means a man
+of one idea. His comprehensive mind seemed to grasp all questions of
+statesmanship, of philanthropy, of philosophy.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span></p><p>During the ten years of his residence in England he visited the
+hospitals, carefully examined their management, and transmitted to his
+home the result of his observations. This was probably the origin of
+the celebrity which the medical schools of Philadelphia have attained.
+He visited the silk manufactories, and urged the adoption of that
+branch of industry, as peculiarly adapted to our climate and people.
+Ere long he had the pleasure of presenting to the queen a piece of
+American silk, which she accepted and wore as a dress. As silk was an
+article not produced in England, the government was not offended by
+the introduction of that branch of industry. For Hartford college he
+procured a telescope, which cost about five hundred dollars. This was,
+in those days, an important event.</p>
+
+<p>The renowned Captain Cook returned from his first voyage around the
+world. The narrative of his adventures, in the discovery of new
+islands, and new races of men, excited almost every mind in England
+and America. Franklin was prominent in the movement, to raise
+seventy-five thousand dollars, to fit out an expedition to send to
+those benighted islanders the fowls, the quadrupeds and the seeds of
+Europe. He wrote, in an admirable strain,</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span></p><div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;Many voyages have been undertaken with views of profit or
+of plunder, or to gratify resentment. But a voyage is now
+proposed to visit a distant people on the other side of the
+globe, not to cheat them, not to rob them: not to seize
+their lands or to enslave their persons, but merely to do
+them good, and make them, as far as in our power lies, to
+live as comfortable as ourselves.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>There can be no national prosperity without virtue. There can not be a
+happy people who do not &#8220;do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with
+God.&#8221; It was a noble enterprise to send to those naked savages corn
+and hoes, with horses, pigs and poultry. But the Christian conscience
+awoke to the conviction that something more than this was necessary.
+They sent, to the dreary huts of the Pacific, ambassadors of the
+religion of Jesus, to gather the children in schools, to establish the
+sanctity of the family relation, and to proclaim to all, the glad
+tidings of that divine Saviour, who has come to earth &#8220;to seek and to
+save the lost.&#8221;</p>
+
+<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI.</h2>
+
+<h3><i>The Intolerance of King and Court.</i></h3>
+
+<div class="blockquot3"><p>Parties in England&mdash;Franklin the favorite of the
+opposition&mdash;Plans of the Tories&mdash;Christian III&mdash;Letter of
+Franklin&mdash;Dr. Priestley&mdash;Parisian courtesy&mdash;Louis XV&mdash;Visit
+to Ireland&mdash;Attempted alteration of the Prayer Book&mdash;Letter
+to his son&mdash;Astounding letters from America&mdash;Words of John
+Adams&mdash;Petition of the Assembly&mdash;Violent conspiracy against
+Franklin&mdash;His bearing in the court-room&mdash;Wedderburn&#8217;s
+infamous charges&mdash;Letter of Franklin&mdash;Bitter words of Dr.
+Johnson&mdash;Morals of English lords&mdash;Commercial value of the
+Colonies&mdash;Dangers threatening Franklin.</p></div>
+
+<p>Wherever there is a government there must be an opposition. Those who
+are out of office wish to eject those in office, that they may take
+their places. There was a pretty strong party in what was called the
+Opposition. But it was composed of persons animated by very different
+motives. The first consisted of those intelligent, high minded,
+virtuous statesmen, who were indignant in view of the wrong which the
+haughty, unprincipled Tory government was inflicting upon the American
+people. The second gathered those who were in trade. They cared
+nothing for the Americans. They cared nothing <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span>for government right or
+wrong. They wished to sell their hats, their cutlery, and their cotton
+and woolen goods to the Americans. This they could not do while
+government was despotically enforcing the Stamp Act or the Revenue
+Bill. Then came a third class, who had no goods to sell, and no
+conscience to guide to action. They were merely ambitious politicians.
+They wished to thrust the Tories out of office simply that they might
+rush into the occupancy of all the places of honor, emolument or
+power.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin was in high favor with the opposition. He furnished their
+orators in Parliament with arguments, with illustrations, with
+accurate statistical information. Many of the most telling passages in
+parliamentary speeches, were placed on the lips of the speakers by
+Benjamin Franklin. He wrote pamphlets of marvellous popular power,
+which were read in all the workshops, and greatly increased the number
+and the intelligence of the foes of the government measures. Thus
+Franklin became the favorite of the popular party. They lavished all
+honors upon him. In the same measure he became obnoxious to the
+haughty, aristocratic Tory government. Its ranks were filled with the
+lords, the governmental officials, and all their dependents. This made
+a party very powerful in numbers, and still more powerful <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span>in wealth
+and influence. They were watching for opportunities to traduce
+Franklin, to ruin his reputation, and if possible, to bring him into
+contempt.</p>
+
+<p>This will explain the honors which were conferred upon him by one
+party, and the indignities to which he was subjected from the other.
+At times, the Tories would make efforts by flattery, by offers of
+position, of emolument, by various occult forms of bribery, to draw
+Franklin to their side. He might very easily have attained almost any
+amount of wealth and high official dignity.</p>
+
+<p>The king of Denmark, Christian VII., was brother-in-law of George III.
+He visited England; a mere boy in years, and still more a weak boy in
+insipidity of character. A large dinner-party was given in his honor
+at the Royal Palace. Franklin was one of the guests. In some way
+unexplained, he impressed the boy-king with a sense of his inherent
+and peculiar greatness. Christian invited a select circle of but
+sixteen men to dine with him. Among those thus carefully selected,
+Franklin was honored with an invitation. Though sixty-seven years of
+age he still enjoyed in the highest degree, convivial scenes. He could
+tell stories, and sing songs which gave delight to all. It was his
+boast that he could empty his two bottles of wine, and still retain
+entire sobriety. He wrote to Hugh Roberts,</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span></p><div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;I wish you would continue to meet the Junto. It wants but
+about two years of forty since it was established. We loved,
+and still love one another; we have grown grey together, and
+yet it is too early to part. Let us sit till the evening of
+life is spent; the last hours are always the most joyous.
+When we can stay no longer, it is time enough to bid each
+other good night, separate, and go quietly to bed.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Franklin was the last person to find any enjoyment in the society of
+vulgar and dissolute men. In those days, it was scarcely a reproach
+for a young lord to be carried home from a festivity in deadly
+intoxication. Witticisms were admitted into such circles which
+respectable men would not tolerate now. Franklin&#8217;s most intimate
+friends in London were found among Unitarian clergymen, and those
+philosophers who were in sympathy with him in his rejection of the
+Christian religion. Dr. Richard Price, and Dr. Joseph Priestly, men
+both eminent for intellectual ability and virtues, were his bosom
+friends.</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Priestly, who had many conversations with Franklin upon religious
+topics, deeply deplored the looseness of his views. Though Dr.
+Priestly rejected the divinity of Christ, he still firmly adhered to
+the belief that Christianity was of divine origin. In his
+autobiography, Dr. Priestly writes:</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span></p><div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;It is much to be lamented that a man of Dr. Franklin&#8217;s
+generally good character and great influence, should have
+been an unbeliever in Christianity, and also have done so
+much as he did to make others unbelievers. To me, however,
+he acknowledged that he had not given so much attention as
+he ought to have done to the evidences of Christianity; and
+he desired me to recommend him a few treatises on the
+subject, such as I thought most deserving his notice.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Priestly did so; but Franklin, all absorbed in his social festivities,
+his scientific researches, and his intense patriotic labors, could
+find no time to devote to that subject&mdash;the immortal destiny of
+man,&mdash;which is infinitely more important to each individual than all
+others combined.<a name="FNanchor_22_22" id="FNanchor_22_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a> It was indeed a sad circle of unbelievers, into
+whose intimacy Franklin was thrown. Dr. Priestly writes,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;In Paris, in 1774, all the philosophical persons to whom I
+was introduced, were unbelievers in Christianity, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span>and even
+professed atheists. I was told by some of them, that I was
+the only person they had ever met, of whose understanding
+they had any opinion, who professed to believe in
+Christianity. But I soon found they did not really know what
+Christianity was.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>It was Franklin&#8217;s practice to spend a part of every summer in
+traveling. In 1767, accompanied by Sir John Pringle, he visited Paris.
+With Franklin, one of the first of earthly virtues was courtesy. He
+was charmed with the politeness of the French people. Even the most
+humble of the working classes, were gentlemanly; and from the highest
+to the lowest, he, simply as a stranger, was treated with
+consideration which surprised him. He writes,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;The civilities we everywhere receive, give us the strongest
+impressions of the French politeness. It seems to be a point
+settled here universally, that strangers are to be treated
+with respect; and one has just the same deference shown one
+here, by being a stranger, as in England, by being a lady.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Two dozen bottles of port-wine were given them at Bordeaux. These, as
+the law required, were seized by the custom-house officers, as they
+entered Paris by the Porte St. Denis; but as soon as it was
+ascertained that they were strangers, the wine was remitted.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span></p><p>There was a magnificent illumination of the Church of Notre Dame, in
+honor of the deceased Dauphiness. Thousands could not obtain
+admission. An officer, learning merely that they were strangers, took
+them in charge, conducted them through the vast edifice, and showed
+them every thing.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin and his companion had the honor of a presentation to the
+king, Louis XV., at Versailles. This monarch was as vile a man as ever
+occupied a throne. But he had the virtue of courtesy, which Franklin
+placed at the head of religious principle. The philosopher simply
+records,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;The king spoke to both of us very graciously and very
+cheerfully. He is a handsome man, has a very lively look,
+and appears younger than he is.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>In 1772, Franklin visited Ireland. He was treated there with great
+honor; but the poverty of the Irish peasantry overwhelmed his
+benevolent heart with astonishment and dismay. He writes,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;I thought often of the happiness of New England, where
+every man is a free-holder, has a vote in public affairs,
+lives in a tidy, warm house, has plenty of good food and
+fuel, with whole clothes from head to foot, the manufacture
+perhaps of his own family. Long may they continue in this
+situation.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>In the year 1773, Franklin spent several weeks in the beautiful
+mansion of his friend, Lord Despencer. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span>We read with astonishment,
+that Franklin, who openly renounced all belief in the divine origin of
+Christianity, should have undertaken, with Lord Despencer, an
+abbreviation of the prayer-book of the Church of England. It is
+surprising, that he could have thought it possible, that the eminent
+Christians, clergy and laity of that church, would accept at the hands
+of a deist, their form of worship. But Franklin was faithful in the
+abbreviation, not to make the slightest change in the evangelical
+character of that admirable work, which through ages has guided the
+devotion of millions. The abbreviated service, cut down one-half,
+attracted no attention, and scarcely a copy was sold.</p>
+
+<p>At this time, Franklin&#8217;s reputation was in its meridian altitude.
+There was scarcely a man in Europe or America, more prominent. Every
+learned body in Europe, of any importance, had elected him a member.
+Splendid editions of his works were published in London; and three
+editions were issued from the press in Paris.</p>
+
+<p>In France, Franklin met with no insults, with no opposition. All alike
+smiled upon him, and the voices of commendation alone fell upon his
+ear.</p>
+
+<p>Returning to England, his reputation there, as a man of high moral
+worth, and of almost the highest intellectual attainments, and a man
+honored in the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span>most remarkable degree with all the highest offices
+which his countrymen could confer upon him, swept contumely from his
+path, and even his enemies were ashamed to manifest their hostility.
+From London he wrote to his son,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;As to my situation here, nothing can be more agreeable.
+Learned and ingenious foreigners that come to England,
+almost all make a point of visiting me; for my reputation is
+still higher abroad, than here. Several of the foreign
+ambassadors have assiduously cultivated my acquaintance,
+treating me as one of their corps, partly, I believe, from
+the desire they have from time to time, of hearing something
+of American affairs; an object become of importance in
+foreign courts, who begin to hope Britain&#8217;s alarming power
+will be diminished by the defection of her colonies.&#8221;<a name="FNanchor_23_23" id="FNanchor_23_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a></p></div>
+
+<p>In the latter part of the year 1772, Franklin, in his ever courteous,
+but decisive language, was conversing with an influential member of
+Parliament, respecting the violent proceedings of the ministry, in
+quartering troops upon the citizens of Boston. The member, in reply,
+said,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You are deceived in supposing these measures to originate with the
+ministry. The sending out of the troops, and all the hostile measures,
+of which you complain, have not only been suggested, but solicited, by
+prominent men of your own country. They have urged that troops should
+be sent, and that fleets should enter your harbors, declaring that in
+no other way, than by this menace of power, can the turbulent
+Americans be brought to see their guilt and danger, and return to
+obedience.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Franklin expressed his doubts of this statement. &#8220;I will bring you
+proof,&#8221; the gentleman replied. A <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span>few days after, he visited Franklin,
+and brought with him a packet of letters, written by persons of high
+official station in the colonies, and native born Americans. The
+signatures of these letters were effaced; but the letters themselves
+were presented, and Franklin was confidentially informed of their
+writers. They were addressed to Mr. William Whately, an influential
+member of Parliament, who had recently died.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin read them with astonishment and indignation. He found the
+representation of the gentleman entirely true. Six of the letters were
+written by Thomas Hutchinson, Governor of Massachusetts. He was a
+native of the colony he governed, a graduate of Harvard, and in his
+religious position a Puritan. Four were written by Andrew Oliver,
+Lieutenant-governor, and also a native of Massachusetts.</p>
+
+<p>The rest were written by custom-house officers and other servants of
+the Crown. The openly avowed design of these letters was, that they
+should be exhibited to the Ministry, to excite them to prompt,
+vigorous and hostile measures. They teemed with misrepresentations,
+and often with downright falsehoods. The perusal of these infamous
+productions elicited from Franklin first a burst of indignation. The
+second effect was greatly to mitigate his resentment against the
+British government. The ministry, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span>it seemed, were acting in
+accordance with solicitations received from Americans, native born,
+and occupying the highest posts of honor and influence.</p>
+
+<p>The gentleman who obtained these letters and showed them to Franklin,
+was very unwilling to have his agency in the affair made public. After
+much solicitation, he consented to have Franklin send the letters to
+America, though he would not give permission to have any copies taken.
+It was his hope, that the letters would calm the rising animosity in
+America, by showing that the British ministry was pursuing a course of
+menace, which many of the most distinguished Americans declared to be
+essential, to save the country from anarchy and ruin. Franklin&#8217;s
+object was to cause these traitorous office-holders to be ejected from
+their positions of influence, that others, more patriotic, might
+occupy the stations which they disgraced.</p>
+
+<p>On the 2d of December, 1772, Franklin inclosed the letters in an
+official package, directed to Thomas Cushing. He wrote,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;I am not at liberty to make the letters public. I can only
+allow them to be seen by yourself, by the other gentlemen of
+the Committee of Correspondence, by Messrs. Bowdoin and
+Pitts of the Council, and Drs. Chauncy, Cooper, and
+Winthrop, and a few such other gentlemen as you may think
+fit to show <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span>them to. After being some months in your
+possession, you are requested to return them to me.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>The reading of the letters created intense anger and disgust. John
+Adams, after perusing them, recorded in his diary, alluding to
+Hutchinson, &#8220;Cool, thinking deliberate villain, malicious and
+vindictive.&#8221; He carried the documents around to read to all his male
+and female friends, and was not sparing in his vehement comments.</p>
+
+<p>Again he wrote, &#8220;Bone of our bone; born and educated among us! Mr.
+Hancock is deeply affected; is determined, in conjunction with Major
+Hawley, to watch the vile serpent, and his deputy, Brattle. The
+subtlety of this serpent is equal to that of the old one.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>For two months the letters were privately yet extensively circulated.
+Hutchinson himself soon found out the storm which was gathering
+against him. The hand-writing of all the writers was known. In June,
+the Massachusetts Assembly met. In secret session the letters were
+read. Soon some copies were printed. It was said that some one had
+obtained, from England, copies of the letters from which the printed
+impressions were taken. But the mystery of their publication was never
+solved.</p>
+
+<p>The Assembly sent a petition to the king of England, imploring that
+Thomas Hutchinson and Andrew <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span>Oliver, should be removed from their
+posts, and that such good men as the king might select, should be
+placed in their stead. The petition, eminently respectful, but drawn
+up in very forcible language, expressive of the ruinous consequences
+caused by the measures which these officials had recommended, was
+transmitted to Franklin, the latter part of the summer of 1773. He
+immediately forwarded it to Lord Dartmouth. With it he sent a very
+polite and conciliatory letter, in which he declared, that the
+Americans were very desirous of being on good terms with the mother
+country, that their resentment against the government was greatly
+abated, by finding that Americans had urged the obnoxious measures
+which had been adopted; and that the present was a very favorable time
+to introduce cordial, friendly relations between the king and the
+colonists.</p>
+
+<p>Lord Dartmouth returned a very polite reply, laid the all-important
+petition aside, and for five months never alluded to it, by word or
+letter. In the meantime, some of the printed copies reached London.
+The Tories thought that perhaps the long sought opportunity had come
+when they might pounce upon Franklin, and at least greatly impair his
+influence. Franklin had nothing to conceal. He had received the
+letters from a friend, who authorized him to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span>send them to America,
+that their contents might be made known there.</p>
+
+<p>In all this he had done absolutely nothing, which any one could
+pronounce to be wrong. But the Court, being determined to stir up
+strife, began to demand who it was that had obtained and delivered up
+the letters. Franklin was absent from London. He soon heard tidings of
+the great commotion that was excited, and that two gentlemen, who had
+nothing to do with the matter, were each accused of having
+dishonorably obtained the letters. This led to a duel. Franklin
+immediately wrote,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;I think it incumbent for me to declare that I alone am the
+person who obtained and transmitted to Boston, the letters
+in question.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>The Court decided to summon Franklin to meet the &#8220;Committee for
+Plantation Affairs,&#8221; to explain the reasons for the petition against
+Hutchinson and Oliver. To the surprise of Franklin, it appeared that
+they were organizing quite a formidable trial; and very able counsel
+was appointed to defend the culprits.</p>
+
+<p>Thus Franklin, who simply presented the petition of the Assembly, was
+forced into the obnoxious position of a prosecutor. The array against
+him was so strong, that it became necessary for him also to have
+counsel. It was manifest to all the friends <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span>of Franklin, that the
+British Court was rousing all its energies to crush him.</p>
+
+<p>The meeting was held on the 11th of January, 1773. Four of the Cabinet
+ministers were present, and several Lords of the Privy Council. They
+addressed Franklin as a culprit, who had brought slanderous charges
+against his majesty&#8217;s faithful officers in the colonies. He was
+treated not only with disrespect but with absolute insolence. But
+nothing could disturb his equanimity. Not for one moment did he lose
+serenity of mind.</p>
+
+<p>There was an adjournment, to meet on the 29th of the month. In the
+meantime one of the court party, who had received many favors from
+Franklin, commenced a chancery suit against him, accusing him of
+stealing the letters, and being by trade a printer, of having secretly
+published them, and sold immense numbers, the profits of which he had
+placed in his own pocket. All this Franklin denied on oath. The charge
+was so absurd, and so manifestly malignant, that his foes withdrew the
+suit. Franklin was however assured that the Court was clamoring for
+his punishment and disgrace.</p>
+
+<p>All London was agitated by the commotion which these extraordinary
+events created. At the appointed day, the Council again met. The
+assembly was held in a large apartment in the drawing-room <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span>style. At
+one end was the entrance door; at the other the fire-place, with
+recesses on each side of the chimney. A broad table extended from the
+fire-place to the door. The Privy Council, thirty-five in number, sat
+at this table. They were inveterate Tories, resolved to bring the
+Americans down upon their knees, and, as a preliminary step, to
+inflict indelible disgrace upon Franklin. Lord North, the implacable
+Prime Minister was there. The Archbishop of Canterbury was present. As
+Franklin cast his eye along the line of these haughty nobles, he could
+not see the face of a friend.</p>
+
+<p>The remainder of the room was crowded with spectators. From them many
+a sympathizing glance fell upon him. Priestly and Burke gave him their
+silent but cordial sympathy. There were also quite a number of
+Americans and prominent members of the opposition, whose presence was
+a support to Franklin, during the ordeal through which he was to pass.
+He stood at the edge of the recess formed by the chimney, with one
+elbow resting upon the mantel, and his cheek upon his hand. He was
+motionless as a statue, and had composed his features into such calm
+and serene rigidity, that not the movement of a muscle could be
+detected. As usual, he was dressed simply, but with great elegance. A
+large flowing wig, with abundant curls, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span>such as were used by elderly
+gentlemen at that day, covered his head. His costume, which was
+admirably fitted to a form as perfect as Grecian sculptor ever
+chiseled, was of rich figured silk velvet. In all that room, there was
+not an individual, who in physical beauty, was the peer of Franklin.
+In all that room there was not another, who in intellectual greatness
+could have met the trial so grandly.</p>
+
+<p>It will be remembered that the Assembly of Massachusetts had
+petitioned for the removal of an obnoxious governor and lieutenant
+governor. Franklin, as the agent in London of that colony, had
+presented the petition to the crown. He was now summoned to appear
+before the privy council, to bring forward and substantiate charges
+against these officers. The council had appointed a lawyer to defend
+Hutchinson and Oliver. His name was Wedderburn. He had already
+obtained celebrity for the savage skill with which he could browbeat a
+witness, and for his wonderful command of the vocabulary of
+vituperation and abuse. Before commencing the examination, he
+addressed the assembly in a long speech. After eulogizing Governor
+Hutchinson, as one of the best and most loyal of the officers of the
+crown, who merited the gratitude of king and court, he turned upon
+Franklin, and assailed him with a storm of vituperative epithets,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span>such as never before, and never since, has fallen upon the head of a
+man. The council were in sympathy with the speaker. Often his
+malignant thrusts would elicit from those lords a general shout of
+derisive laughter.</p>
+
+<p>Such was the treatment which one of the most illustrious and honored
+of American citizens received from the privy council of king George
+III., when he appeared before that council as a friendly ambassador
+from his native land, seeking only conciliation and peace.</p>
+
+<p>Wedderburn accused Franklin of stealing private letters, of
+misrepresenting their contents, that he might excite hostility against
+the loyal officers of the king. He accused him of doing this that he
+might eject them from office, so as to obtain the positions for
+himself and his friends. Still more, he accused him of having in an
+unexampled spirit of meanness, availed himself of his skill as a
+printer, to publish these letters, and that he sold them far and wide,
+that he might enrich himself. Charges better calculated to ruin a man,
+in the view of these proud lords, can scarcely be conceived. It is
+doubtful whether there were another man in the world, who could have
+received them so calmly, and in the end could have so magnificently
+triumphed over them.</p>
+
+<p>During all this really terrific assailment, Franklin <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span>stood with his
+head resting on his left hand, apparently unmoved. At the close, he
+declined answering any questions. The committee of the council
+reported on that same day, &#8220;the lords of the committee, do agree
+humbly to report as their opinion to your majesty, that the said
+petition is founded upon resolution&#8217;s, formed upon false and erroneous
+allegations, and that the same is false, vexatious and scandalous; and
+calculated only for the seditious purposes of keeping up a spirit of
+clamor and discontent in said province.&#8221; The king accepted the report,
+and acted accordingly. Franklin went home alone. We know not why his
+friends thus apparently deserted him.</p>
+
+<p>The next morning, which was Sunday, Priestly breakfasted at Franklin&#8217;s
+table. He represents him as saying that he could not have borne the
+insults heaped upon him by the privy council, but for the
+consciousness, that he had done only that which was right. On Monday
+morning Franklin received a laconic letter from the Postmaster
+General, informing him that the king had found it necessary to dismiss
+him from the office of deputy Postmaster General in America.</p>
+
+<p>This outrage, inflicted by the privy council of Great Britain, upon a
+friendly ambassador from her colonies, who had visited her court with
+the desire <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span>to promote union and harmony, was one of the most
+atrocious acts ever perpetrated by men above the rank of vagabonds in
+their drunken carousals. Franklin, in transmitting an account to
+Massachusetts, writes in a noble strain:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;What I feel on my own account, is half lost in what I feel for the
+public. When I see that all petitions and complaints of grievances,
+are so odious to government, that even the mere pipe which conveys
+them, becomes obnoxious, I am at a loss to know how peace and union
+are to be maintained, and restored between the different parts of the
+empire. Grievances cannot be redressed, unless they are known. And
+they cannot be known, but through complaints and petitions. If these
+are deemed affronts, and the messengers punished as offenders, who
+will henceforth send petitions? and who will deliver them?&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>The speech of Wedderburn gave great delight to all the Tory party. It
+was derisively said, &#8220;that the lords of the council, went to their
+chamber, as to a bull-baiting, and hounded on the Solicitor General
+with loud applause and laughter.&#8221; Mr. Fox, writing of the assault
+said, &#8220;All men tossed up their hats and clapped their hands, in
+boundless delight.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>When the tidings of the affair reached America, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span>it added intensity to
+the animosity, then rapidly increasing, against the British
+government. The dismissal of Franklin from the post-office, was deemed
+equivalent to the seizure, by the crown, of that important branch of
+the government. None but the creatures of the Ministry were to be
+postmasters. Consequently patriotic Americans could no longer entrust
+their letters to the mail. Private arrangements were immediately made
+for the conveyance of letters; and with so much efficiency, that the
+general office, which had heretofore contributed fifteen thousand
+dollars annually to the public treasury, never after paid into it one
+farthing.<a name="FNanchor_24_24" id="FNanchor_24_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a></p>
+
+<p>The spirit of the Tories may be inferred from that of one of the most
+applauded and influential of their leaders. Dr. Samuel Johnson, who
+wrote the notorious &#8220;Taxation no Tyranny,&#8221; said,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The Americans are a race of convicts. They ought to be
+thankful for any thing we can give them. I am willing to
+love all mankind except an American.&#8221; Boswell in quoting one
+of his insane <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span>tirades writes, &#8220;His inflammable corruption,
+bursting into horrid fire, he breathed out threatenings and
+slaughter, calling them rascals, robbers, pirates, and
+exclaiming that he would burn and destroy them.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>It was a day of vicious indulgence, of dissipation in every form, when
+it was fashionable to be godless, and to sneer at all the restraints
+of the Christian religion. Volumes might be filled with accounts of
+the atrocities perpetrated by drunken lords at the gaming table and in
+midnight revel through the streets. Such men of influence and rank as
+Fox, Lord Derby, the Duke of Ancaster, inflamed with wine, could set
+the police at defiance. They were constantly engaged in orgies which
+would disgrace the most degraded wretches, in the vilest haunts of
+infamy in our cities. Instead of gambling for copper, they gambled for
+gold. Horace Walpole testifies that at one of the most fashionable
+clubs, at Almack&#8217;s, they played only for rouleaux of two hundred and
+fifty dollars each. There were often fifty thousand dollars in specie
+on the gaming tables, around which these bloated inebriates were
+gathered. It is said that Lord Holland paid the gambling debts of his
+two sons to the amount of one hundred thousand dollars.</p>
+
+<p>The trade of the colonies had become of immense <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span>value to the mother
+country. It amounted to six and a half millions sterling a year.
+Philadelphia numbered forty thousand inhabitants. Charleston, South
+Carolina, had become one of the most beautiful and healthy cities in
+America. The harbor was crowded with shipping, the streets were lined
+with mansions of great architectural beauty. Gorgeous equipages were
+seen, almost rivaling the display in French and English capitals. But
+there were many Tories in Charleston, as malignant in their opposition
+to the popular cause in America, as any of the aristocrats to be found
+in London.</p>
+
+<p>The unpardonable insult which Franklin had received, closed his
+official labors in London. His personal friends and the Opposition
+rallied more affectionately than ever around him. But he ceased to
+appear at court and was seldom present at the dinner-parties of the
+ministers. Still he was constantly and efficiently employed in behalf
+of his country. The leaders of the opposition were in constant
+conference with him. He wrote many pamphlets and published articles in
+the journals, which exerted an extended and powerful influence. He
+wrote to his friends at home, in October, 1774,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;My situation here is thought, by many, to be a little
+hazardous; for if by some accident the troops and people of
+New England should come to blows, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span>I should probably be
+taken up; the ministerial people, affecting everywhere to
+represent me as the cause of all the misunderstanding. And I
+have been frequently cautioned to secure all my papers, and
+by some advised to withdraw. But I venture to stay, in
+compliance with the wish of others, till the result of the
+Congress arrives, since they suppose my being here might, on
+that occasion, be of use. And I confide in my innocence,
+that the worst that can happen to me will be an imprisonment
+upon suspicion; though that is a thing I should much desire
+to avoid, as it may be expensive and vexatious, as well as
+dangerous to my health.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII.</h2>
+
+<h3><i>The Bloodhounds of War Unleashed.</i></h3>
+
+<div class="blockquot3"><p>The mission of Josiah Quincy&mdash;Love of England by the
+Americans&mdash;Petition to the king&mdash;Sickness and death of Mrs.
+Franklin&mdash;Lord Chatham&mdash;His speech in favor of the
+colonists&mdash;Lord Howe&mdash;His interview with Franklin&mdash;Firmness
+of Franklin&mdash;His indignation&mdash;His mirth&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s
+fable&mdash;He embarks for Philadelphia&mdash;Feeble condition of the
+colonies&mdash;England&#8217;s expressions of contempt&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s
+reception at Philadelphia&mdash;His letter to Edmund
+Burke&mdash;Post-office arrangements&mdash;Defection and conduct of
+William Franklin&mdash;His arrest.</p></div>
+
+<p>Young Josiah Quincy, of Boston, one of the noblest of patriots, who
+was dying of consumption, visited London, with instructions to confer
+with Franklin upon the posture of affairs. He wrote home, in the most
+commendatory terms, of the zeal and sagacity with which Franklin was
+devoting himself to the interests of his country. Tory spies were
+watching his every movement, and listening to catch every word which
+fell from his lips. Lord Hillsborough, in a debate in the House of
+Lords, said,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;There are two men, walking in the streets of London, who ought to be
+in Newgate or at Tyburn.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span></p><p>The duke of Richmond demanded their names, saying that if such were
+the fact the ministry were severely to be blamed. Hillsborough
+declined to give their names; but it was generally known that he
+referred to Dr. Franklin and Josiah Quincy.</p>
+
+<p>The policy of Franklin was clearly defined, and unchanging. He said
+virtually, to his countrymen, &#8220;Perform no political act against the
+government, utter no menace, and do no act of violence whatever. But
+firmly and perseveringly unite in consuming no English goods. There is
+nothing in this which any one will pronounce to be, in the slightest
+degree, illegal. The sudden and total loss of the trade with America,
+will, in one year, create such a clamor, from the capitalists and
+industrial classes of England, Ireland and Scotland, that the despotic
+government will be compelled to retrace its steps.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Even at this time the Americans had no desire to break loose from the
+government of Great Britain. England was emphatically their home.
+Englishmen were their brothers. In England their fathers were gathered
+to the grave. The Americans did not assume a new name. They still
+called themselves Englishmen. They were proud to be members of the
+majestic kingdom, which then stood at the head of the world.</p>
+
+<p>Congress met. Its members, perhaps without <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span>exception, were yearning
+for reconciliation with the mother-country, and for sincere and
+cordial friendship. It was resolved to make another solemn appeal to
+the king, whom they had ever been accustomed to revere, and, in a
+fraternal spirit, to address their brethren, the people of England,
+whom they wished to regard with all the respect due to elder brothers.</p>
+
+<p>The intelligence of Christendom has applauded the dignity and the
+pathos of these documents. The appeal fell upon the profane, gambling,
+wine-bloated aristocrats of the court, as if it had been addressed to
+the marble statuary in the British Museum. Nay worse. Those statues
+would have listened in respectful silence. No contemptuous laughter,
+and no oaths of menace, would have burst from their marble lips. The
+following brief extract will show the spirit which pervaded these
+noble documents. It is one of the closing sentences of the address to
+the king:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;Permit us then, most gracious sovereign, in the name of all
+your faithful people in America, with the utmost humility to
+implore you, for the honor of Almighty God, whose pure
+religion our enemies are undermining; for the glory which
+can be advanced only by rendering your subjects happy and
+keeping them united; for the interests of your family,
+depending <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span>on an adherence to the principle that enthroned
+it; for the safety and welfare of your kingdom and
+dominions, threatened with unavoidable dangers, and
+distresses; that your majesty, as the loving father of your
+whole people, connected by the same bands of law, loyalty,
+faith and blood, though dwelling in various countries, will
+not suffer the transcendent relation, formed by these ties,
+to be further violated, in uncertain expectation of effects
+which, if attained, never can compensate for the calamities
+through which they must be gained.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>This petition was sent to Franklin, and the other colony agents, to be
+presented by them to the king. They were instructed also to publish
+both the Petition and the Address, in the newspapers, and to give them
+as wide a circulation as possible.</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Franklin, with two other agents, Arthur Lee and Mr. Bollan,
+presented to Lord Dartmouth the petition to be handed by him to the
+king. They were soon informed that the king received it graciously,
+and would submit the consideration of it to Parliament. It was thought
+not respectful to the king to publish it before he had presented it to
+that body. But as usual, the infatuation of both king and court was
+such, that everything that came from the Americans was treated with
+neglect, if not with contempt. The all-important petition was buried
+in a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span>pile of documents upon all conceivable subjects, and not one
+word was said to commend it to the consideration of either house. For
+three days it remained unnoticed. Dr. Franklin, then, with his two
+companions, solicited permission to be heard at the bar of the house.
+Their request was refused. This brought the question into debate.</p>
+
+<p>The House of Commons was at that time but a reflected image of the
+House of Lords. It was composed almost exclusively, of the younger
+sons of the nobles, and such other obsequious servants of the
+aristocracy, as they, with their vast wealth and patronage, saw fit to
+have elected. There was an immense Tory majority in the House. They
+assailed the petition with vulgarity of abuse, which could scarcely be
+exceeded; and then dismissed it from further consideration. Noble
+lords made themselves merry in depicting the alacrity with which a
+whole army of Americans would disperse at the very sound of a British
+cannon.</p>
+
+<p>While these disastrous events were taking place in England&mdash;events,
+sure to usher in a cruel and bloody war, bearing on its wings terror
+and conflagration, tears and blood, a domestic tragedy was taking
+place in the far distant home of Franklin on the banks of the
+Delaware. Mrs. Franklin had been separated from her husband for nearly
+ten years. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span>She was a cheerful, motherly woman, ever blessing her home
+with smiles and with kindly words; and in the society of her daughter
+and her grandchildren, she found a constant joy. The lapse of
+three-score years and ten, had not brought their usual infirmities.
+Though yearning intensely for the return of her husband, she did not
+allow the separation seriously to mar her happiness. Every spring she
+was confident that he would return the next autumn, and then bore her
+disappointment bravely in the assurance that she should see him the
+coming spring.</p>
+
+<p>In December, 1774, she was suddenly stricken down by a paralytic
+stroke. Five days of unconscious slumber passed away, when she fell
+into that deep and dreamless sleep, which has no earthly waking. Her
+funeral was attended by a large concourse of citizens, with every
+testimonial of respect. Some of Franklin&#8217;s oldest friends bore the
+coffin to the churchyard, where the remains of the affectionate wife
+and mother who had so nobly fulfilled life&#8217;s duties, were placed by
+the side of her father, her mother, and her infant son.</p>
+
+<p>Feelingly does Mr. Parton write, &#8220;It is mournful to think that for so
+many years, she should have been deprived of her husband&#8217;s society.
+The very qualities which made her so good a wife, rendered <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span>it
+possible for him to remain absent from his affairs.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Franklin, all unconscious of the calamity which had darkened his home,
+and weary of the conflict with the British court, was eagerly making
+preparations to return to Philadelphia.</p>
+
+<p>The aged, illustrious, eloquent Earl of Chatham, one of the noblest of
+England&#8217;s all grasping and ambitious sons, sought an interview with
+Franklin. He utterly condemned the policy of the British cabinet. His
+sympathies were, not only from principles of policy, but from
+convictions of justice, cordially with the Americans. He felt sure
+that unless the court should retrace its steps, war would ensue, and
+American Independence would follow, and that England, with the loss of
+her colonies, would find mercantile impoverishment and political
+weakness. In the course of conversation, he implied that America might
+be even then, contemplating independence. Franklin, in his account of
+the interview writes,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;I assured him that having more than once traveled almost
+from one end of the continent to the other, and kept a great
+variety of company, eating, drinking and conversing with
+them freely, I had never heard in any conversation from any
+person, drunk or sober, the least expression of a wish for a
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span>separation, or a hint that such a thing would be
+advantageous to America.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>In a subsequent interview, the Earl of Chatham, alluding to the
+conduct of Congress, in drawing up the petition and address, said,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;They have acted with so much temper, moderation and wisdom, that I
+think it the most honorable assembly of statesmen since those of the
+Greeks and Romans, of the most virtuous times.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>In a subsequent interview, Dr. Franklin expressed, to the earl, his
+apprehension that the continuance of the British army in Boston, which
+was the source of constant irritation to the people, might eventually
+lead to a quarrel, perhaps between a drunken porter and a soldier, and
+that thus tumult and bloodshed might be introduced, leading to
+consequences which no one could foresee.</p>
+
+<p>Lord Chatham felt the force of these remarks, which soon received
+their striking illustration, in what was called the Boston Massacre.
+He therefore declared his intention of repairing to the House of
+Lords, to introduce a resolve for the immediate withdrawal of the
+troops from Boston. The tidings were soon noised abroad that the
+eloquent earl, then probably the most illustrious man in England, was
+to make a speech in favor of America. The eventful day arrived. The
+hall was crowded. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span>Dr. Franklin had a special invitation from the earl
+to be present. The friends of America were there, few in numbers, and
+the enemies in all their strength.</p>
+
+<p>Lord Chatham made a speech, which in logical power and glowing
+eloquence, has perhaps never been surpassed. Franklin had impressed
+him with the conviction that the determination of the Americans to
+defend their rights was such, that if, with fleet and army, the
+government were to ravage all the coast and burn all the cities, the
+Americans would retreat back into the forests, in the maintenance of
+their liberty. Full of this idea, Lord Chatham exclaimed, with
+prophetic power,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;We shall be forced ultimately to retract. Let us retract while we
+can, not when we must. I say we must necessarily undo these violent
+oppressive acts. You will repeal them. I pledge myself for it. I stake
+my reputation on it. I will consent to be taken for an idiot, if they
+are not finally repealed.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Franklin writes, &#8220;All availed no more than the whistling of the wind.
+The motion was rejected. Sixteen Scotch peers and twenty-four bishops,
+with all the lords in possession or expectation of places, when they
+vote together unanimously for ministerial measures, as they generally
+do, make a dead majority, that renders all debate ridiculous in
+itself, since it can answer no end.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span></p><p>Though the speech produced no impression upon the obdurate House of
+Lords, it had a very powerful effect upon the public mind. It was read
+in America, in collegiate halls, in the work-shop and at the farmer&#8217;s
+fireside, with delight which cannot be described. A few days after the
+speech, Dr. Franklin, writing to Lord Stanhope, said,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;Dr. Franklin is filled with admiration of that truly great
+man. He has seen, in the course of life, sometimes eloquence
+without wisdom, and often wisdom without eloquence; in the
+present instance he sees both united, and both he thinks in
+the highest degree possible.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Slowly the ministry were awaking to the conviction that American
+affairs, if not settled, might yet cause them much trouble. In various
+underhand ways, they approached Franklin. It was generally understood
+that every man had his price; that the influence of one man could be
+bought for a few hundred pounds; that another would require a
+lucrative and honorable office. Though the reputation of Franklin was
+such, that it was a delicate matter to approach him with bribes, still
+some of them now commenced a course of flattery, endeavoring to secure
+his co&ouml;peration. It was thought that his influence with his countrymen
+was so great, that they would accede to any terms he should recommend.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span></p><p>Lord Howe called upon Franklin, and, in the name of Lord North and
+Lord Dartmouth, the two most influential members of the ministry,
+informed him that they sincerely sought reconciliation, and that they
+were prepared to listen favorably, to any reasonable propositions he
+might offer. Lord Howe was the friend of Franklin and of America.
+These unexpected and joyful tidings affected Franklin so deeply, that
+he could not conceal the tears which rolled down his cheeks.</p>
+
+<p>Lord Howe then added that he was instructed to say, that the service
+he would thus render both England and America, would be of priceless
+value, and that though the ministers could not think of influencing
+him by any selfish motives, he might expect, in return, <i>any reward
+which it was in the power of government to bestow</i>. &#8220;This,&#8221; said
+Franklin, &#8220;was what the French vulgarly called <i>spitting in the
+soup</i>.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>But again there was a meeting of Parliament. Again it became evident
+that the ministry would accede to no terms, which did not secure the
+entire subjugation of America. Lord Chatham made a renewed attempt to
+conciliate. His propositions were rejected with scorn. In the meantime
+Dr. Franklin had presented some Hints, drawn up in the most liberal
+spirit of compromise, but which still <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span>maintained the American
+principle, that the colonists could not be taxed at the pleasure of
+the court, without having any voice themselves in the amount which
+they were to pay.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after this, Mr. Barclay called upon Franklin in the name of the
+government, and after a long, and to Franklin, disgusting diplomatic
+harangue, ventured to say to him, that if he would only comply with
+the wishes of the ministry, he might expect almost any reward he could
+wish for. Even the imperturbable spirit of Franklin was roused. He
+replied,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The ministry, I am sure, would rather give me a place in a cart to
+Tyburn, than any other place whatever. I sincerely wish to be
+serviceable; and I need no other inducement that I might be so.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>In another interview, which soon followed, it appeared that the
+government refused to concede a single point which the Americans
+deemed essential. They refused to withdraw the troops; refused to
+allow the colonial governors to appoint the collectors of the customs;
+persisted in building fortresses to hold the people in subjection; and
+adhered to the claim of Parliament to legislate for the colonies.
+Franklin said,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;While Parliament claims the power of altering our constitution at
+pleasure, there can be no agreement. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span>We are rendered unsafe in every
+privilege, and are secure in nothing.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Barclay insolently replied, &#8220;It would be well for the Americans to
+come to an agreement with the court of Great Britain. They ought not
+to forget how easy a thing it will be for the British men-of-war to
+lay all their seaport towns in ashes.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I grew warm,&#8221; writes Franklin; &#8220;said that the chief part of my little
+property consisted of houses in those towns; that they might make
+bon-fires of them whenever they pleased; that the fear of losing them
+would never alter my resolution to resist to the last, such claims of
+Parliament; and that it behoved this country to take care what
+mischief it did us; for that sooner or later it would certainly be
+obliged to make good all damages, with interest.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Still again these corrupt men, who are selling themselves and buying
+others, approached Franklin with attempts to bribe him. &#8220;They could
+not comprehend that any man could be above the reach of such
+influences. It was contemplated sending Lord Howe to America as a
+Commissioner. He applied to Franklin to go with him as friend,
+assistant or secretary.</p>
+
+<p>Lord Howe said to Franklin, that he could not think of undertaking the
+mission without him; that if he effected any thing valuable, it must
+be owing <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span>to the advice Franklin would afford him; and that he should
+make no scruple of giving him the full honor of it. He assured him
+that the ministry did not expect his assistance without a proper
+consideration; that they wished to make generous and ample
+appointments for those who aided them, and also would give them the
+promise of subsequent more ample rewards.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;And,&#8221; said he, with marked emphasis, &#8220;that the ministry may have an
+opportunity of showing their good disposition toward yourself, will
+you give me leave, Mr. Franklin, to procure for you, previously, some
+mark of it; suppose the payment here, of the arrears of your salary as
+agent for New England, which, I understand, they have stopped for some
+time past.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>It will be remembered that Lord Howe was sincerely the friend of
+America, and that he anxiously desired to see friendly relations
+restored. Franklin therefore restrained his displeasure, and
+courteously replied,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;My Lord, I shall deem it a great honor to be, in any shape, joined
+with your lordship in so good a work. But if you hope service from any
+influence I may be supposed to have, drop all thoughts of procuring me
+any previous favors from ministers. My accepting them would destroy
+the very influence <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span>you propose to make use of. They would be
+considered as so many bribes to betray the interests of my country.
+Only let me see the propositions and I shall not hesitate for a
+moment.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Repeated interviews ensued, between Franklin and both the friends and
+the enemies of the Americans. There were interminable conferences. But
+the court was implacable in its resolve, to maintain a supreme and
+exclusive control over the colonies. Every hour of Franklin&#8217;s time was
+engrossed. Merchants and manufacturers, Tories and the opposition,
+lords temporal, and lords spiritual, all called upon him with their
+several plans. There were many Americans in London, including a large
+number of Quakers. These crowded the apartment of Franklin. The
+negotiations were terminated by a debate in the House of Lords, in
+which the Americans were assailed in the vilest language of insult and
+abuse which can be coined. Franklin was present. He writes,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;We were treated with the utmost contempt, as the lowest of
+mankind, and almost of a different species from the English
+of Britain. Particularly American honesty was abused by some
+of the lords, who asserted that we were all knaves, and
+wanted only, by this dispute, to avoid paying our debts.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Franklin returned to his home, with feelings of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span>indignation, which
+his calm spirit had rarely before experienced. He resolved no longer
+to have any thing to do with the hostile governing powers of England.
+He had loved the British empire. He felt proud of its renown, and that
+America was but part and parcel of its greatness. But there was no
+longer hope, that there could be any escape from the awful appeal to
+arms. Though that measure would be fraught with inconceivable woes for
+his countrymen, he was assured that they would never submit. They
+would now march to independence though the path led through scenes of
+conflagration, blood and unutterable woe. His experience placed him in
+advance of all his countrymen.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin immediately commenced packing his trunks. Astonishing, almost
+incredible as it may appear, the evidence seems conclusive that
+through all these trying scenes, Franklin was a cheerful, it is hardly
+too strong a word to use, a <i>jovial</i> man. It has been well said, that
+to be angry is to punish one&#8217;s self for the sins of another. Our
+philosopher had no idea of making himself unhappy, because British
+lords behaved like knaves. He continued to be one of the most
+entertaining of companions. A cloudless sun seemed to shine wherever
+he moved. He made witty speeches. He wrote the most amusing articles
+for the journals, and the invariable <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span>gayety of his mind caused his
+society to be eagerly sought for.</p>
+
+<p>One evening he attended quite a brilliant party at a nobleman&#8217;s house,
+who was a friend to America. The conversation chanced to turn upon
+Esop&#8217;s fables. It was said that that mine of illustration was
+exhausted. Franklin, after a moment&#8217;s thought, remarked, that many new
+fables could be invented, as instructive as any of those of Esop, Gay,
+or La Fontaine. Can you think of one now, asked a lord. &#8220;I think so,&#8221;
+said Franklin, &#8220;if you will furnish me with pencil and paper.&#8221; He
+immediately sat down, surrounded by the gay assembly, and wrote, as
+rapidly as his pencil could move,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="center">&#8220;THE EAGLE AND THE CAT.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Once upon a time an eagle, scaling round a farmer&#8217;s barn,
+and espying a hare, darted down upon him like a sunbeam,
+seized him in his claws, and remounted with him into the
+air. He soon found that he had a creature of more courage
+and strength than the hare; for which he had mistaken a cat.
+The snarling and scrambling of his prey were very
+inconvenient. And what was worse, she had disengaged herself
+from his talons, grasped his body with her four limbs, so as
+to stop his breath, and seized fast hold of his throat, with
+her teeth.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span>&#8221;&#8216;Pray,&#8217; said the eagle, &#8216;let go your hold, and I will
+release you.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;&#8216;Very fine,&#8217; said the cat. &#8216;But I have no fancy to fall
+from this height, and to be crushed to death. You have taken
+me up, and you shall stoop and let me down.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The eagle thought it necessary to stoop accordingly.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>This admirable fable was read to the company; and, as all were in
+sympathy with America, it was received with great applause. Little,
+however, did any of them then imagine, how invincible was the animal
+the British government was about to clutch in its talons, supposing it
+to be a defenseless hare.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin spent his last day in London with Dr. Priestly. The Doctor
+bears glowing testimony to his admirable character. Many thought Dr.
+Franklin heartless, since, in view of all the horrors of a civil war,
+his hilarity was never interrupted. Priestly, alluding to this charge
+against Franklin, says, that they spent the day looking over the
+American papers, and extracting from them passages to be published in
+England. &#8220;In reading them,&#8221; he writes, &#8220;Franklin was frequently not
+able to proceed for the tears literally running down his cheeks.&#8221; Upon
+his departure, he surrendered his agency to Arthur Lee. It was the
+21st of March, 1775, when <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span>Franklin embarked at Portsmouth, in a
+Pennsylvania packet.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin was apprehensive until the last moment, that he would not be
+permitted to depart; that the court, which had repeatedly denounced
+him as a traitor, would arrest him on some frivolous charge. On the
+voyage he wrote a minute narrative of his diplomatic career, occupying
+two hundred and fifty pages of foolscap. This important document was
+given to his son William Franklin, who was daily becoming a more
+inveterate Tory, endeavoring to ingratiate himself into favor with the
+court, from which he had received the appointment of governor.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin also sent a copy to Mr. Jefferson, perhaps apprehensive that
+his son might not deal fairly with a document which so terribly
+condemned the British government. The Governor subsequently published
+the narrative. But there is reason to suppose that he suppressed those
+passages, which revealed most clearly the atrocious conduct of the
+British cabinet. Jefferson wrote some years later, alluding to this
+document:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;I remember that Lord North&#8217;s answers were dry, unyielding,
+in the spirit of unconditional submission, and betrayed an
+absolute indifference to the occurrence of a rupture. And he
+said to the mediators distinctly, at last, that <i>a rebellion
+was not</i><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span> <i>to be deprecated on the part of Great Britain; that
+the confiscations it would produce, would provide for many
+of their friends</i>.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>The idea that the feeble Americans, scattered along a coast more than
+a thousand miles in extent, without a fortress, a vessel of war, or a
+regiment of regular troops, could withstand the fleets and armies of
+Great Britain, was never entertained for a moment. Indeed, as we now
+contemplate the fearful odds, it causes one&#8217;s heart to throb, and we
+cannot but be amazed at the courage which our patriotic fathers
+displayed.</p>
+
+<p>It was a common boast in England, that one regiment of British
+regulars could march from Boston to Charleston, and sweep all
+opposition before them. A band of ten wolves can put a flock of ten
+thousand sheep to flight. It was quite a pleasant thought, to the
+haughty court, that one or two ships of war, and two or three
+regiments could be sent across the Atlantic, seize and hang
+Washington, Franklin, Adams, Jefferson, and others of our leading
+patriots, and confiscate the property of hundreds of others, for the
+enrichment of the favorites of the crown.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 311px;">
+<img src="images/i296.jpg" class="gap jpg" width="311" height="500" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>&#8220;There will be no fighting;&#8221; these deluded men said, &#8220;it will be a
+mere holiday excursion. The turbulent and foolhardy Americans will be
+brought <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span>to their senses, and, like whipped spaniels, will fawn upon the hand
+which has chastised them.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The voyage across the Atlantic occupied six weeks. In the evening
+twilight of the 5th of May, the ship dropped anchor in the Delaware,
+opposite Philadelphia. Franklin landed, and walked alone through the
+darkened streets towards his home. It is difficult to imagine the
+emotions with which his heart must have been agitated in that hour.
+Ten years had elapsed since he left his home. In the meantime his wife
+had reared another dwelling, in Market street, and there she had died.
+He had left his daughter Sarah, a child of twelve years. He was to
+find her a matron surrounded by her babes.</p>
+
+<p>Cordially Franklin was welcomed home. The whole country resounded with
+the praises he so richly merited. The morning after his arrival he was
+unanimously chosen by the Assembly, then in session, as a member of
+the Continental Congress, which was to meet on the 10th of the month,
+in that city. Sixteen days before Franklin&#8217;s arrival the memorable
+conflicts of Lexington and Concord had taken place. Probably never
+were men more astounded, than were the members of the British cabinet,
+in learning that the British regulars had been defeated, routed and
+put to precipitate flight by American farmers with their
+fowling-pieces. In <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span>this heroic conflict, whose echoes reverberated
+around the world, the Americans lost in killed and wounded
+eighty-three. The British lost two hundred and seventy-three. Franklin
+wrote to his friend Edmund Burke,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;Gen. Gage&#8217;s troops made a most vigorous retreat&mdash;twenty
+miles in three hours&mdash;scarce to be paralleled in history.
+The feeble Americans, who pelted them all the way, could
+scarce keep up with them.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>On the 10th of May Congress met. There were still two parties, one in
+favor of renewed attempts at conciliation, before drawing the sword
+and throwing away the scabbard; the other felt that the powers of
+conciliation were exhausted, and that nothing now remained, but the
+arbitrament of war.</p>
+
+<p>George Washington was chosen, by the Assembly, Commander-in-Chief of
+the American forces. On the 17th of June the battle of Bunker Hill was
+fought. Mr. John Dickinson trembled in view of his great wealth. His
+wife entreated him to withdraw from the conflict. Piteously she urged
+the considerations, that he would be hung, his wife left a widow, and
+his children beggared and rendered infamous. He succeeded in passing a
+resolution in favor of a second petition to the king, which he drew
+up, and which the Tory Governor Richard Penn was to present. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span>John
+Adams, who was weary of having his country continue in the attitude of
+a suppliant kneeling at the foot of the throne, opposed this petition,
+as a &#8220;measure of imbecility.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>One of the first acts of Congress was to organize a system for the
+safe conveyance of letters, which could no longer be trusted in the
+hands of the agents of the British Court. Franklin was appointed
+Postmaster General. He had attained the age of sixty nine years.
+Notwithstanding his gravity of character and his great wisdom, he had
+unfortunately become an inveterate joker. He could not refrain from
+inserting, even in his most serious and earnest documents, some
+witticism, which men of the intensity of soul of John Adams and Thomas
+Jefferson, felt to be out of place. Still the wisdom of his counsels
+invariably commanded respect. Upon learning of the burning of
+Charleston, he wrote to Dr. Priestly,<a name="FNanchor_25_25" id="FNanchor_25_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_25_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span></p><div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;England has begun to burn our seaport towns, secure, I
+suppose, that we shall never be able to return the outrage
+in kind. She may, doubtless, destroy them all. But if she
+wishes to recover our commerce, are these the probable
+means? She must certainly be distracted; for no tradesman,
+out of Bedlam, ever thought of increasing the number of his
+customers by knocking them in the head; or of enabling them
+to pay their debts by burning their houses.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>One of Franklin&#8217;s jokes, in Congress, is very characteristic of the
+man. It was urged that the Episcopal clergy should be directed to
+refrain from praying for the king. Franklin quenched the injudicious
+movement with a witticism.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The measure is quite unnecessary,&#8221; said he. &#8220;The Episcopal clergy, to
+my certain knowledge, have been constantly praying, these twenty
+years, that &#8216;God would give to the king and council wisdom.&#8217; And we
+all know that not the least notice has been taken of that prayer. So
+it&#8217;s plain that those gentlemen have no interest in the court of
+Heaven.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>If we sow the wind we must reap the whirlwind. Terrible was the
+mortification and mental suffering which Franklin endured from the
+governor of New Jersey. He had lived down the prejudices connected
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span>with his birth and had become an influential and popular man. He,
+with increasing tenacity adhered to the British Government, and became
+even the malignant opponent of the Americans. He pronounced the idea
+of their successfully resisting the power of Great Britain, as utterly
+absurd. His measures became so atrocious, as to excite the indignation
+of the people of New Jersey. The Assembly finally arrested him and
+sent him, under guard, to Burlington. As he continued contumacious and
+menacing, Congress ordered him to be removed to Connecticut. The
+Constitutional Gazette of July 13th, 1776, contains the following
+allusion to this affair:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;Day before yesterday Governor Franklin, of New Jersey,
+passed through Hartford, on his way to Governor Trumbull.
+Mr. Franklin is a noted Tory and ministerial tool, and has
+been exceedingly busy in perplexing the cause of liberty,
+and in serving the designs of the British king and his
+ministers.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;He is son to Dr. Benjamin Franklin, the genius of the day,
+and the great patron of American liberty. If his excellency
+escapes the vengeance of the people, due to the enormity of
+his crimes, his redemption will flow, not from his personal
+merit, but from the high esteem and veneration which the
+country entertains for his honored father.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>His family was left in deep affliction. Franklin <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span>sent them both
+sympathy and money. The captive governor resided at Middletown on
+parole. Here the infatuated man gathered around him a band of Tories,
+many of whom were rich, and held convivial meetings exceedingly
+exasperating, when British armies were threatening the people with
+conflagration and carnage.</p>
+
+<p>Inflamed with wine, these bacchanals sang treasonable songs, the whole
+company joining in chorus, with uproar which drew large groups around
+the house. The Tories professed utterly to despise the patriots, and
+doubted not that their leaders would all soon be hung. One midnight
+the governor, with his boon companions, having indulged in the wildest
+of their orgies, sallied into the streets, with such uproar as to make
+night hideous. The watch found it needful to interfere. The drunken
+governor called one of them a damned villain and threatened to flog
+him. A report of these proceedings was sent to Congress.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after it was ascertained that he was an active agent for the
+British ministry. He was then confined in Litchfield jail, and
+deprived of pen, ink and paper. For two years he suffered this
+well-merited imprisonment. Mrs. governor Franklin never saw her
+husband again. Grief-stricken, she fell sick, and died in New York in
+July, 1778.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span></p><p>After an imprisonment of two years and four months, William Franklin
+was exchanged, and he took refuge within the British lines at New
+York. He received a pension from the British government, lived
+hilariously, and devoted his energies to a vigorous prosecution of the
+war against his countrymen. Franklin felt deeply this defection of his
+son. After the lapse of nine years he wrote,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;Nothing has ever affected me with such keen sensations, as
+to find myself deserted in my old age by my only son; and
+not only deserted but to find him taking up arms in a cause
+wherein my good fame, fortune and life were at stake.&#8221;<a name="FNanchor_26_26" id="FNanchor_26_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_26_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a></p></div>
+
+<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII.</h2>
+
+<h3><i>Progress of the War, both of Diplomacy and the<br />
+Sword.</i></h3>
+
+<div class="blockquot3"><p>Letter of Henry Laurens&mdash;Franklin visits the army before
+Boston&mdash;Letter of Mrs. Adams&mdash;Burning of
+Falmouth&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s journey to Montreal&mdash;The Declaration of
+Independence&mdash;Anecdote of the Hatter&mdash;Framing the
+Constitution&mdash;Lord Howe&#8217;s Declaration&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s reply&mdash;The
+Conference&mdash;Encouraging letter from France&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s
+embassy to France&mdash;The two parties in France&mdash;The
+voyage&mdash;The reception in France.</p></div>
+
+<p>The spirit which, almost to that hour, had animated the people of
+America,&mdash;the most illustrious statesmen and common people, was
+attachment to Old England. Their intense desire to maintain friendly
+relations with the mother country, their &#8220;home,&#8221; their revered and
+beloved home, may be inferred from the following extract from a
+letter, which one of the noblest of South Carolinians, Hon. Henry
+Laurens, wrote to his son John. It bears the date of 1776. He writes,
+alluding to the separation from England, then beginning to be
+contemplated:</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span></p><div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;I can not rejoice in the downfall of an old friend, of a
+parent from whose nurturing breasts I have drawn my support
+and strength. Every evil which befalls old England grieves
+me. Would to God she had listened, in time, to the cries of
+her children. If my own interests, if my own rights alone
+had been concerned, I would most freely have given the whole
+to the demands and disposal of her ministers, in preference
+to a separation. But the rights of posterity were involved
+in the question. I happened to stand as one of their
+representatives, and dared not betray their trust.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Washington, Adams, Jay, would have made almost any conceivable
+sacrifice of their personal interest, if they could have averted the
+calamity of a separation from the home of their ancestors. But the
+conduct of the British Cabinet was not only despotic, in the highest
+degree, but it was insolent and contemptuous beyond all endurance. It
+seemed to be generally assumed that a man, if born on the majestic
+continent of North America, instead of being born on their little
+island, must be an inferior being. They regarded Americans as
+slave-holders were accustomed to regard the negro. Almost every
+interview resolved itself into an insult. Courteous intercourse was
+impossible. Affection gave place to detestation.</p>
+
+<p>On the 13th of September, 1775, Congress <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span>assembled in Philadelphia.
+Lexington, Bunker Hill, and other hostile acts of our implacable foes,
+had thrown the whole country into the most intense agitation. Military
+companies were every where being organized. Musket manufactories and
+powder mills were reared. Ladies were busy scraping lint, and
+preparing bandages. And what was the cause of all this commotion,
+which converted America, for seven years, into an Aceldama of blood
+and woe?</p>
+
+<p>It was that haughty, insolent men in England, claimed the right to
+impose taxes, to whatever amount they pleased, upon their brother men
+in America. They did not blush to say, &#8220;It is the prerogative of us
+Englishmen to demand of you Americans such sums of money as we want.
+Unless, like obsequious slaves, you pay the money, without murmuring,
+we will burn your cities and deluge your whole land in blood.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Washington was assembling quite an army of American troops around
+Boston, holding the foe in close siege there. Franklin was sent, by
+Congress, as one of a committee of three, to confer with Washington
+upon raising and supplying the American army. Amidst all these
+terrific excitements and perils this wonderful man could not refrain
+from giving expression to his sense of the ludicrous. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span>The day before
+leaving Philadelphia, he wrote to Dr. Priestly the following humorous
+summary of the result of the British operations thus far.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;Britain at the expense of three millions, has killed one
+hundred and fifty Yankees this campaign, which is twenty
+thousand pounds a head. And, at Bunker Hill, she gained a
+mile of ground, half of which she lost again by our taking
+post on Ploughed Hill. During the same time sixty thousand
+children have been born in America. From these data, Dr.
+Price&#8217;s mathematical head will easily calculate the time and
+expense necessary to kill us all, and conquer our whole
+territory.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>It required a journey of thirteen days, for the Commissioners to pass
+from Philadelphia to Cambridge. On the 4th of October they reached the
+camp. Mrs. John Adams, who was equal to her husband in patriotism, in
+intellectual ability and in self-denial, writes,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;I had the pleasure of dining with Dr. Franklin, and of
+admiring him whose character, from infancy, I had been
+taught to venerate. I found him social, but not talkative;
+and when he spoke, something useful dropped from his tongue.
+He was grave, yet pleasant and affable. You know I make some
+pretensions to physiognomy, and I thought that I could read
+in his countenance, the virtues of his heart; <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span>and with that
+is blended every virtue of a Christian.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>The conference lasted four days, and resulted in the adoption of very
+important measures. While in the camp, news came of the burning of
+Portland, then Falmouth. It was a deed which would have disgraced
+American savages. The town was entirely defenceless. It held out no
+menace whatever to the foe. The cold blasts of a Maine winter were at
+hand. A British man-of-war entered the harbor, and giving but a few
+hours notice, that the sick and the dying might be removed, and that
+the women and children might escape from shot and shell, to the frozen
+fields, one hundred and thirty humble, peaceful homes were laid in
+ashes. The cruel flames consumed nearly all their household furniture,
+their clothing and the frugal food they had laid in store for their
+long and dreary winter. A few houses escaped the shells. Marines were
+landed to apply the torch to them, that the destruction might be
+complete.</p>
+
+<p>There were several vessels in the harbor. The freezing, starving,
+homeless wives and daughters who had not strength to toil through the
+wilderness to seek distant cabins of refuge, might perhaps escape in
+them. To prevent this they were burned to the water&#8217;s edge. It was an
+infernal deed. It struck to the very heart of America. Even now, after
+a lapse of one hundred years, no American can read an account <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span>of this
+outrage without the flushed cheek and the moistened eye which
+indignation creates. Mrs. Adams wrote,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;I could not join to-day in the petitions of our worthy
+pastor for a reconciliation between our no longer parent,
+but tyrant state, and these colonies. Let us separate. They
+are no longer worthy to be our brethren. Let us renounce
+them, and instead of supplications, as formerly for their
+prosperity and happiness, let us beseech the Almighty to
+blast their councils and bring to naught all their devices.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Though Franklin was the sweetest tempered of men, he returned to
+Philadelphia with his spirit greatly embittered against the demoniac
+foes of his country. For some time no jokes escaped his lips or pen.
+In December, Arnold, then a patriot and a brave soldier, had made an
+unsuccessful attack upon Quebec. He had retired to Montreal. Franklin
+was again appointed one of these commissioners, to visit Arnold and
+advise respecting Canadian affairs.</p>
+
+<p>Most of the Canadians were Catholics. One of the commissioners was
+Charles Carroll of Carollton. He had a brother John, a Catholic
+priest, a man of high culture, of irreproachable character and a
+sincere patriot. He was perfectly familiar with the French language.
+By the solicitation of Congress he was induced to accompany his
+brother on this <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span>mission. It was hoped that he would be able to exert
+a powerful influence over the Canadian clergy. Franklin and John
+Carroll became intimate and loving friends. It speaks well for both,
+that the free-thinking philosopher, and the Catholic priest could so
+recognize each other&#8217;s virtues, as to forget their speculative
+differences in mutual regard.</p>
+
+<p>There was before the commissioners, a very laborious journey of five
+hundred miles, much of it leading through an almost unexplored
+wilderness. It shows great zeal in Franklin, that at the age of
+seventy, he was willing to encounter such exposure.</p>
+
+<p>Late in March, the commissioners left Philadelphia. In two days they
+reached New York. They found the place deserted of its inhabitants. It
+was held but by a few soldiers, as it was hourly expected that the
+British, from their fleet and batteries, would open upon it a terrific
+bombardment. How little can we imagine the sufferings which must
+ensue, when thousands of families are driven, in terror, from their
+homes, from all their means of support, to go they know not where, and
+to live they know not how.</p>
+
+<p>A few sad days were passed in the ruined town, and on the 2d of April
+the party embarked, at five in the afternoon, in a packet for Albany.
+At seven o&#8217;clock in the morning of the 4th day, after an <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span>eventful
+voyage, in which they narrowly escaped shipwreck from a gale in the
+Highlands, they landed at Albany, where they were hospitably
+entertained by General Schuyler.</p>
+
+<p>After a brief rest, on the 9th, they set out for Saratoga, which was
+distant about thirty-two miles. They were conveyed over an exceedingly
+rough road of rocks, and corduroy and mire, in a large, heavy, country
+wagon. From this place, Franklin wrote,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;I begin to apprehend that I have undertaken a fatigue
+which, at my time of life, may prove too much for me.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>After a short tarry at the country seat of General Sullivan at
+Saratoga, the party moved on toward Lake George. In those northern
+latitudes the ground was still covered with snow, and the lake was
+filled with floating ice. Two days of very exhausting travel brought
+them to the southern shore of the beautiful but then dreary lake. Here
+they took a large boat, thirty-six feet long, and eight broad. It was
+what was called a bateau, which was flat-bottomed, and was but one
+foot in depth. There was one mast, and a blanket sail, which was
+available when the wind was directly aft. There was no cabin. A mere
+awning sheltered partially from wind and rain.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span></p><p>Thus they crept across the lake, through masses of ice, a distance of
+thirty-six miles, in thirty-six hours. There was a neck of land, four
+miles in breadth, which separated Lake George from Lake Champlain. The
+heavy boat, placed on wheels, was dragged across by six yoke of oxen.
+A delay of five days was thus caused, before they were ready to embark
+on the latter lake. The navigation of this small sheet of water,
+surrounded by the primeval forest, and with scarcely the cabin of a
+white man to be seen, must have been romantic indeed.</p>
+
+<p>They sailed when the wind favored, and rowed when it was adverse. At
+night they ran ashore, built their camp fire, which illumined lake and
+forest, boiled their coffee, cooked their viands, and, some under the
+awning, and some under the shelter of a hastily constructed camp,
+slept sweetly. The ice greatly impeded their progress. In three and a
+half days, they reached St. John&#8217;s, near the upper end of the lake.
+The toilsome journey of another day, brought them to Montreal. None of
+the commissioners were accustomed to thus roughing it. All were
+greatly exhausted.</p>
+
+<p>A council of war was convened. Canada was clearly lost to the
+Americans. It was at once decided that nothing remained but to
+withdraw the troops. Early in June, Franklin reached Philadelphia,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span>from his toilsome journey. He had been absent about ten weeks. The
+doom of the proprietary government over Pennsylvania, was now sealed.
+Congress had voted that all authority derived from the king of
+England, was extinct. A conference of delegates was appointed to
+organize a new government for the province. Franklin was, of course,
+one of these delegates. A committee had been appointed, by Congress,
+to draw up a Declaration of Independence. The committee consisted of
+Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, Livingston, and Sherman.</p>
+
+<p>The immortal document, as all the world knows, came from the pen of
+Jefferson. It was offered to Congress for acceptance. Many frivolous
+objections were, of course, presented. One man thought this phrase a
+little too severe. Another thought that a little too lenient. Franklin
+sat by the side of Jefferson, as the admirable document was subjected
+to this assailment. Turning to him he said, in one of the most
+characteristic and popular of all his utterances,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;When I was a journeyman printer, one of my companions, an apprenticed
+hatter, was about to open a shop for himself. His first concern was to
+have a handsome sign-board, with a proper inscription. He composed it
+in these words,</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span></p><p>&#8220;John Thompson, Hatter, makes and sells Hats for ready Money.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>But he thought he would submit it to his friends for their amendments.
+The first he showed it to, thought the word <i>hatter</i> tautologous;
+because followed by the words <i>makes hats</i>, which showed that he was a
+hatter. It was struck out. The next observed that the word <i>makes</i>,
+might as well be omitted, because his customers would not care who
+made the hats; if good, and to their mind, they would buy, by
+whomsoever made. He struck it out. A third said he thought the words,
+for <i>ready money</i>, were useless; as it was not the custom of the place
+to sell on credit. Every one who purchased, expected to pay. They were
+parted with. The inscription now stood,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;John Thompson sells hats.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;<i>Sells</i> hats,&#8221; says his next friend. &#8220;Why nobody will expect you to
+give them away. What then is the use of that word?&#8221; It was stricken
+out, and <i>hats</i> followed, the rather as there was one painted on the
+board. So his inscription was reduced ultimately to <i>John Thompson</i>,
+with the figure of a hat subjoined.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>It will be remembered the readiness with which Dr. Franklin, on the
+spur of the moment, threw off the admirable fable of the Eagle and the
+Hare. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span>It is altogether probable that, in the inexhaustible resources
+of his genius, he improvised this anecdote to meet the exigencies of
+the occasion.</p>
+
+<p>When the Hessian troops, whom England had hired of a German prince,
+arrived, intelligent men in this country pitied rather than blamed
+those simple hearted peasants, who had no animosity whatever, against
+the Americans. They had been compelled, by their feudal lord, who was
+really their slave master, to leave their lowly homes on the Rhine, to
+unite with English regulars and painted savages, in burning the homes
+and butchering the people struggling for existence in the wilderness
+of the New World.</p>
+
+<p>Again the all availing pen of Franklin was called into requisition. By
+direction of Congress he drew up a friendly address to these
+unfortunate men, offering every German, who would abandon the
+ignominious service to which his prince had sold him, a tract of rich
+land sufficient for an ample farm. The address was translated into
+German. Various were the devices adopted, to give the document
+circulation in the Hessian camp. It doubtless exerted a powerful
+influence, in disarming these highly disciplined troops of all
+animosity. The effect was perhaps seen in the spectacle witnessed a
+few weeks afterwards, when nine hundred of these soldiers were led
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span>through the streets of Philadelphia, prisoners of war. It is not
+improbable that many of them were more than willing to throw down
+their arms.</p>
+
+<p>On the 20th of July, 1776, Franklin was chosen by the Convention, one
+of nine delegates to represent Pennsylvania in the national Congress.
+One of the great difficulties to be surmounted, in a union of the
+States, was to give the great States, like New York and Pennsylvania,
+their own preponderance in the confederacy, while the minor states,
+like New Jersey and Delaware, should not be shorn of their influence.
+The difficulty was finally obviated by the present admirable
+arrangement, by which each State, great or small, has two
+representatives in the Senate, while their representation in the House
+depends upon the number of the population.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin excelled in the art of &#8220;putting things.&#8221; He silenced the
+demand of the smaller States, to be, in all respects, on an equality
+with the larger, by saying,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Let the smaller colonies give equal money and men, and then have an
+equal vote. But if they have an equal vote, without bearing equal
+burdens, a confederation, upon such iniquitous principles, will never
+last long.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The convention, to form a constitution for the State of Pennsylvania,
+met at Philadelphia on the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span>16th of July, 1776. Franklin was
+unanimously chosen President. No pen can describe the intensity of his
+labors. All appreciated his consummate wisdom, and yielded readily to
+his suggestions. Troops were hurrying to and fro. One hundred and
+twenty British war vessels were in New York harbor. No one knew upon
+what seaport the thunderbolts of this formidable armament would be
+hurled. The Americans had been defeated on Long Island in August,
+1776, and had almost miraculously escaped with their field pieces and
+stores, across the East River to New York. This brilliant retreat was
+deemed, by the Americans, almost equivalent to a victory.</p>
+
+<p>Lord Howe, the old friend of Franklin and a humane and respected
+Englishman, who was sincerely desirous of peace with the Colonies, was
+appointed Admiral of the king&#8217;s naval forces. He accepted the
+appointment, with the hope that, by the aid of Franklin,
+reconciliation might be effected. Still he was an Englishman and could
+not conceive that Americans had any rights which the English
+government was bound to respect. The degree of his infatuation may be
+inferred from the fact that, as soon as he reached our shores, he
+published a Declaration, which he circulated far and wide, stating
+that if the Americans would only give up the conflict and return <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span>to
+implicit submission, the British Government would forgive their sins,
+pardon the guilty ones, with a few exceptions, and receive them again
+to favor. The weak man seemed really to think, that this was an
+extraordinary act of clemency on the part of the English Court.</p>
+
+<p>The reply, which Franklin drew up, to the Declaration, was grand. And
+it was the more grand when we reflect that it was addressed to a man
+who was supported by an army, of we know not how many thousand British
+regulars, and by a fleet of one hundred and twenty war vessels, many
+of which were of gigantic armament. Admiral Howe had written a
+courteous private letter to Dr. Franklin, in which he enclosed the
+Declaration. Congress gave Franklin permission to reply. He wrote,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;My lord; the official despatches to which you refer me,
+contain nothing more than offers of pardon upon submission.
+Directing pardon to be offered to the colonies, who are the
+very parties injured, expresses indeed that opinion of our
+ignorance, baseness, and insensibility which your uninformed
+and proud nation has long been pleased to entertain of us.
+It is impossible that we should think of submission to a
+government that has, with the most wanton barbarity and
+cruelty, burnt our defenseless towns, in the midst of
+winter, excited <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span>the savages to massacre our farmers, and
+our slaves to murder their masters, and is, even now,
+bringing foreign mercenaries to deluge our settlements with
+blood.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>I have not space to copy the remainder of this admirable letter. It
+was delivered to Lord Howe, on board his flag ship in New York harbor,
+ten days after its date. As he read it his countenance expressed
+surprise, and almost his only remark was, &#8220;My old friend has expressed
+himself very warmly.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>A few weeks later this good natured but weak man paroled General
+Sullivan, who was a prisoner of war, and sent him to Philadelphia,
+with a message to Congress which Lord Howe cautiously declined to put
+upon paper. General Sullivan reduced the message to writing and
+presented it to Congress. It was in substance as follows:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The government of England cannot admit that Congress is a legitimate
+body, to be recognized by any diplomatic relations whatever. It is but
+a tumultous assembly of men who have treasonably conspired against
+their lawful sovereign. Still the government is willing that Lord Howe
+should confer with some of the members of congress, as private
+gentlemen, to see if some terms of accommodation cannot be arranged.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>After much and earnest discussion, in which a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span>great diversity of
+opinion prevailed, it was voted that General Sullivan should inform
+Admiral Howe, that a committee of three would be sent to ascertain
+whether he &#8220;has any authority to treat with persons, <i>authorized by
+Congress</i> for that purpose.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Edward Rutledge composed this
+committee. An antique house, nearly a hundred years old, formerly the
+abode of wealth and splendor, which stood in a green lawn, but a few
+rods from the beach on the western shore of Staten Island, was chosen
+as the place for the conference. A two days&#8217; journey conveyed the
+committee to Amboy, opposite the house. Adams traveled on horseback:
+Franklin and Rutledge in a two wheel chaise.</p>
+
+<p>Admiral Howe sent a boat, under the protection of a flag of truce,
+with an officer, who stated that he was to be left behind as a hostage
+for their safe return. Promptly they declined manifesting any such
+distrust of the honor of Admiral Howe, and took the hostage back in
+the boat with them. The barge, propelled by lusty rowers, soon reached
+the Staten Island shore. A large apartment of the old stone house had
+been richly decorated with moss and branches in honor of the occasion.</p>
+
+<p>A regiment of Hessians was posted at that spot. The colonel drew them
+up in two lines and through <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span>this lane of soldiers the commissioners
+advanced from the beach to the house. When Admiral Howe saw that the
+officer he had sent as a hostage had been returned, he said,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Gentlemen, you pay me a high compliment.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Cordially the kind-hearted admiral received his guests, and invited
+them to an ample collation of cold ham, tongues, mutton and wine. Mr.
+Henry Strachey, secretary of Lord Howe, wrote a very full report of
+the interview, which accords entirely with the narrative which John
+Adams presented to Congress. In as sincere and friendly words as human
+lips could pronounce, the Admiral assured the American gentlemen of
+his earnest desire to promote reconciliation between the colonists and
+the mother country. He alluded to the fact that in England he had been
+regarded as the friend of America, and to the honor Massachusetts had
+conferred upon his family by rearing a monument to his brother, who
+had fallen at Ticonderoga. Franklin well knew that Howe was regarded
+as the friend of America.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I assure you, gentlemen,&#8221; said Lord Howe, &#8220;that I esteem that honor
+to my family, above all things in this world. Such is my gratitude and
+affection to this country, on that account, that I feel for America as
+for a brother. And if America should fall, I should feel and lament it
+like the loss <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span>of a brother.&#8221; The reply of Franklin to these sincere
+words, seems a little discourteous. Assuming an air of great
+indifference and confidence, as though the fall of America was an idea
+not to be thought of, he bowed, and with one of his blandest smiles
+said, &#8220;I assure you, my lord, that we will do everything in our power
+to save your lordship from that mortification.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The admiral was feeling too deeply for jokes. He was wounded by the
+rebuke apparently contained in the reply of his old friend. But it
+must not be forgotten that Franklin, the sweetest tempered of men, had
+not yet recovered from the indignation caused by the barbarities
+inflicted by the British government upon the families of Falmouth.
+Every day was bringing tidings of the atrocities which England,
+through its savage allies, was perpetrating on the frontiers, burning
+the cabins of lonely farmers, and tomahawking and scalping women and
+children. And he was constrained to look upon Lord Howe as the agent
+of that government, commissioned to bear to the patriots of America
+only the insulting messages, that the king and his ministers would
+graciously pardon them the crime of attempting to resist their
+despotism, if they would ask forgiveness, and in future submit
+uncomplainingly to the requirements of the crown.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</a></span></p><p>Thus, while the kind-hearted admiral, with a bosom glowing with
+brotherly sympathy, was acting upon the assumption that the Americans
+should cherish undying emotions of gratitude to the king, that he was
+so ready to forgive their disobedience to his commands, Franklin and
+his companions, found it difficult to restrain their emotions of
+indignation, in view of the truly diabolical course pursued by the
+British government. The court, in their judgment, merited the
+execrations not only of Americans but of all humanity.</p>
+
+<p>Lord Howe very emphatically wished the commissioners to understand
+that he met them merely as private individuals, and that he could not,
+in the slightest degree, recognize any authority in Congress. Franklin
+coldly replied,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Your lordship may consider us in any view you may think proper. We,
+on our part, are at liberty to consider ourselves in our real
+character.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>John Adams replied with warmth, characteristic of his impetuous
+nature, &#8220;Your lordship may consider <i>me</i> in what light you please.
+Indeed I should be willing to consider myself, for a few moments, in
+any character which would be agreeable to your lordship, <i>except that
+of a British subject</i>.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>As the conversation was continued, Franklin said, &#8220;We have been
+deputed, by Congress, simply <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</a></span>to inquire of your lordship what
+proposition you have to offer <i>for the consideration of Congress</i>.
+British troops have ravaged our country and burnt our towns. We cannot
+again be happy under the government of Great Britain. All former
+attachments are obliterated. America can never return to the
+domination of Great Britain.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Adams added, &#8220;My lord, it is not in our power to treat otherwise
+than as <i>independent states</i>. For my part, I avow my determination
+never to depart from the idea of <i>independency</i>.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Mr Rutledge gave emphasis to these decisive words by saying, &#8220;With
+regard to the people consenting to come again under the English
+government, <i>it is impossible</i>. I can answer for South Carolina. The
+royal government there was very oppressive. At last we took the
+government into our own hands. The people are now settled, and happy,
+under that government. They would not now return to the king&#8217;s
+government even if Congress should desire it.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Here the conference ended, by Lord Howe&#8217;s stating, that, as they
+insisted upon <i>independence</i>, no accommodation was possible. Lord Howe
+courteously accompanied the American gentlemen to the barge, and they
+were rowed over to the New Jersey shore. In the report they made to
+Congress <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</a></span>they stated, that the commission of Lord Howe only conferred
+upon him authority to grant pardon to the Americans, with a few
+exceptions, upon their entire submission to the king.</p>
+
+<p>It required, in those days, a long time to cross the Atlantic. Seldom
+could an answer be obtained to a letter in less than four or five
+months. To the usual delays and perils attached to the navigation of
+that stormy sea, there was now to be added the danger of capture from
+the swarm of British cruisers. Congress had several agents on the
+continent. But months passed away, during which no letters were
+received from them. This painful suspense was relieved, in September,
+1776, by a long letter to Dr. Franklin, from a French gentleman, Dr.
+Dubourg. He was one of the prominent philosophers of Paris, and, by
+the request of Count du Buffon, had translated into French, Franklin&#8217;s
+treatise upon electricity.</p>
+
+<p>This letter was very cautiously written. It covered many sheets of
+paper. The all important substance of the letter was almost concealed
+from view by the mass of verbiage in which it was enveloped. But a
+careful reading indicated that the French ministry and the nation were
+in sympathy with the Americans; that while the ministry wished to
+avoid war with England they would gladly, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</a></span>if it could be done
+secretly, send the Americans money and powder, cannon and muskets, and
+that many French generals of note were eager to join the American
+army, and confer upon it the benefit of their experience.</p>
+
+<p>This news sent a thrill of joy through hearts which recent reverses
+had rendered somewhat desponding. It was decided immediately to send
+an embassy of highest character to France. Three were to be chosen by
+ballot. On the first ballot Dr. Franklin was unanimously elected. He
+was seventy years old. And yet probably there was not another man in
+America so well qualified to fill that difficult, delicate and
+responsible post. Franklin, in the saloons of diplomacy, was fully the
+peer of Washington on the field of war. When the result of the ballot
+was announced Franklin turned to Dr. Rush, who was at his side, and
+said,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I am old and good for nothing. But as the store-keepers say of their
+remnants of cloth, &#8216;I am but a fag end, and you may have me for what
+you please.&#8217;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Thomas Jefferson, then thirty-three years of age, and as pure a
+patriot as ever lived, was next chosen. He was already renowned in
+France as the writer of the Declaration of Independence. Silas Deane,
+a native of Connecticut, and a graduate of Yale, then one of the
+agents in Europe, was the third.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</a></span></p><p>It required no little courage to cross the ocean, swept by the fleets
+of Great Britain. Had Franklin or Jefferson fallen into the hands of
+the British government, it is certain that they would have suffered
+severe imprisonment; it is by no means improbable that they would have
+been promptly hung as traitors. It was a noble sacrifice for country
+which led Franklin, having numbered his three-score years and ten, to
+incur these perils.<a name="FNanchor_27_27" id="FNanchor_27_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_27_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a></p>
+
+<p>Jefferson was compelled to decline the mission, as his wife, whom he
+loved with devotion rarely equalled, and perhaps never surpassed, was
+sick and dying. Arthur Lee, then in Europe, was elected in his stead.
+He was a querulous, ill-natured man, ever in a broil. A more
+unsuitable man for the office could scarcely have been found.</p>
+
+<p>There were two parties in France who favored the Americans. One
+consisted of enthusiastic young men, who were enamored with the idea
+of republican liberty. They were weary of Bourbon despotism. The
+character of Louis XV., as vile a king as ever sat upon a throne, was
+loathsome to them. They had read Jefferson&#8217;s &#8220;Declaration,&#8221; with
+delight; <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</a></span>and had engraven its immortal principles upon their hearts.
+The Marquis de Lafayette was perhaps the most prominent member of this
+party.</p>
+
+<p>France hated England. That haughty government had long been the most
+unpopular on the globe. England had made great conquests from France,
+and was rich, intelligent and powerful beyond any other nation.
+Prosperity had given her arrogance, and she had placed her heel upon
+her humiliated neighbors. There was not a court in Europe which would
+not have rejoiced to see England humbled. The despotic court of
+France, and the most haughty nobles, were ready to encounter any
+perils which held out a reasonable hope that England might be
+weakened. Thus the sympathies of all France were united in favor of
+America.</p>
+
+<p>And now the hour had come. By aiding the Americans, who had boldly
+declared their independence, they might not only deprive England of
+those colonies whose trade was already invaluable to England, and
+which were rapidly increasing in population, wealth and power, but
+also they might awaken such gratitude in the bosoms of Americans, that
+the trade of the new nation would be mainly transferred to France.</p>
+
+<p>Thus the court and the nobles, intent upon this object, did not
+hesitate to aid in the establishment <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</a></span>of those principles of liberty,
+fraternity and equality in America, which eventually whelmed in ruin
+the palaces and the castles of France.</p>
+
+<p>It was deemed important to conceal, as long as possible, from the
+British government the sympathy and aid which France was about to
+manifest for the Americans. Arthur Lee reported that an agent of the
+French government had promised to send from Holland, two thousand
+pounds worth of military stores. They were to be forwarded to one of
+the French West India islands, ostensibly for the service of those
+islands. The governor was, however, instructed to surrender them to a
+secret agent of the American Congress. The plan failed. I have not
+space to record all the various stratagems which were devised to aid
+the Americans, while the movement was carefully concealed from the
+vigilant eyes of the English.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin, with nobility of soul which should command the love of every
+American, as one of his last deeds before he left his country perhaps
+never to return, collected all the money he could command, about
+twelve thousand dollars, and loaned it to the government, whose
+treasury was utterly impoverished. In those dark days, even that small
+sum was of essential aid. In one of the last of Franklin&#8217;s letters,
+before he sailed, he wrote,</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</a></span></p><div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;As to our public affairs, I hope our people will keep up
+their courage. I have no doubt of their finally succeeding
+by the blessing of God; nor have I any doubt that so good a
+cause will fail of that blessing. It is computed that we
+have already taken a million sterling from the enemy. They
+must soon be sick of their piratical project.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Franklin embarked in the Reprisal, a rapid sailing sloop of war of
+sixteen guns. He took with him his grandson, William Temple Franklin,
+son of the Tory governor, then a very handsome boy of eighteen, and
+Benjamin Franklin Bache, eldest son of his daughter, a lad of seven
+years. William Temple Franklin adhered firmly to the political views
+of his grandfather. Dr. Franklin intended to place Benjamin in a
+school in Paris.</p>
+
+<p>Tory spies were watching every movement of Congress. This mission to
+France was kept a profound secret. Had the British government known
+that Benjamin Franklin was about to cross the ocean, almost every ship
+in the British navy would have been sent in chase of him. On the 26th
+of October, 1776, he left Philadelphia, every precaution having been
+adopted to keep his departure a secret. The vessel was at anchor at
+Marcus Hook, in the Delaware, three miles beyond Chester.</p>
+
+<p>Fierce gales drove them rapidly across the Atlantic. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[Pg 319]</a></span>Captain Wickes
+had received instructions to avoid fighting, if possible. He was to
+devote all his energies to transporting his precious passenger as
+rapidly as possible, from shore to shore. They were often chased by
+cruisers. The vessel was small, and Franklin, in his old age, was
+sadly cramped by his narrow accommodations. He says that of all his
+eight voyages this was the most distressing. When near the coast of
+France they captured an English brig, with a cargo of lumber and wine.
+On the afternoon of the same day, they took another brig, loaded with
+brandy and flax seed. England was almost delirious with rage, in
+finding that the Americans were bearing away their prizes from the
+channel itself, thus bidding proud defiance to those frigates and
+fortresses of Great Britain which had overawed the world.</p>
+
+<p>On the 29th of November the Reprisal cast anchor in Quiberon Bay.
+Franklin there obtained a post chaise to convey him to Nantes. He
+writes,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;The carriage was a miserable one, with tired horses, the
+evening dark, scarce a traveller but ourselves on the road.
+And to make it more <i>comfortable</i>, the driver stopped near a
+wood we were to pass through, to tell us that a gang of
+eighteen robbers infested that wood, who, but two weeks ago,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[Pg 320]</a></span>had robbed and murdered some travellers on that very spot.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Though absolutely no one in Europe knew that Franklin was expected,
+his fame had preceded him. The scientists of France were eager to
+render him their homage. French statesmen had learned, at the Court of
+St. James, to respect his grandeur of character, and his diplomatic
+abilities. He was a very handsome man, with a genial smile, which won
+love at sight. The invariable remark of every one, who chanced to meet
+him for five minutes was, &#8220;What a delightful man.&#8221; Franklin had none
+of the brusqueness which characterizes John Bull. He was always a
+gentleman, scrupulously attentive to his rich, elegant, yet simple
+dress. He manifested his knowledge of human nature, in carefully
+preserving his national garb,&mdash;the old continental costume.</p>
+
+<p>Thus wherever he appeared he attracted attention. No man was ever more
+courteous. The French Court, at that time, was bound by the shackles
+of etiquette, to an almost inconceivable degree. But Franklin was
+never embarrassed. He needed no one to teach him etiquette. Instinct
+taught him what to do, so that, in the bearing of a well bred
+gentleman, he was a model man, even in the court where Louis XIV. and
+Louis XV. had reigned with omnipotent sway. The most beautiful
+duchess, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[Pg 321]</a></span>radiant in her courtly costume, and glittering with jewels,
+felt proud of being seated on the sofa by the side of this true
+gentleman, whose dress, simple as it was, was in harmony with her own.
+The popular impression is entirely an erroneous one, that there was
+anything rustic, anything which reminded one of the work shop or the
+<i>blouse</i>, in the demeanor of Benjamin Franklin, as he moved,
+unembarrassed, in the highest circles of fashion then known in the
+world.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin was received to the hospitalities of a French gentleman of
+wealth and distinction, by the name of Gruel. His elegant apartments
+were always crowded with visitors, eager to manifest their respect for
+the trans-Atlantic philosopher. Horace Walpole, a warm friend of the
+Americans, wrote,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;An account came that Dr. Franklin, at the age of 72, or 74,
+and, at the risk of his head, had bravely embarked, on board
+an American frigate, and, with two prizes taken on the way,
+had landed, at Nantes, in France, and was to be at Paris on
+the 14th, where the highest admiration and expectation of
+him were raised.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Upon his arrival Mr. Deane exultingly wrote, &#8220;Here is the hero and
+philosopher, and patriot, all united in this celebrated American, who,
+at the age of seventy four, risks all dangers for his country.&#8221;</p>
+
+<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[Pg 322]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV.</h2>
+
+<h3><i>The Struggles of Diplomacy.</i></h3>
+
+<div class="blockquot3"><p>Anecdote of Gibbon&mdash;John Adams&mdash;Residence at
+Passy&mdash;Lafayette introduced&mdash;Cruise of the Reprisal&mdash;Paul
+Jones&mdash;Capture of Burgoyne&mdash;Alliance with France&mdash;Anecdote
+of the Cake&mdash;Excitement in England&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s introduction
+to the king&mdash;Joy in America&mdash;Extraordinary letter of Count
+Wissenstein&mdash;The reply&mdash;Injustice to Paul Jones&mdash;French
+troops in America&mdash;Character of John Adams&mdash;Franklin&#8217;s
+mature views of human nature&mdash;Anecdote of the Angel&mdash;Capture
+of Cornwallis&mdash;Its effect in England&mdash;Prejudices of Mr.
+Jay&mdash;Testimony of Dr. Sparks&mdash;Jealousy of Franklin&mdash;Shrewd
+diplomatic act&mdash;The treaty signed.</p></div>
+
+<p>In the journey from Nantes to Paris, a curious incident occurred,
+which is well worth recording. It so admirably illustrates the
+character of two distinguished men, as to bear internal evidence of
+its truthfulness. At one of the inns, at which Franklin stopped, he
+was informed that Mr. Gibbon, the illustrious author of the &#8220;Decline
+and Fall of the Roman Empire,&#8221; was also tarrying.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Gibbon was an Englishman. He was a deist, being in entire sympathy
+with Franklin in his views of Christianity. He was also a man of
+letters. Mr. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[Pg 323]</a></span>Franklin addressed a very polite note to Mr. Gibbon,
+sending his compliments, and soliciting the pleasure of spending the
+evening with him. Mr. Gibbon, who was never renowned for amiability of
+character, replied, in substance, we have not his exact words,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Notwithstanding my regard for Dr. Franklin, as a man and a
+philosopher, I cannot reconcile it with my duty to my king, to have
+any conversation with a revolted subject.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Franklin responded to this by writing, &#8220;Though Mr. Gibbon&#8217;s principles
+have compelled him to withhold the pleasure of his conversation, Dr.
+Franklin has still such a respect for the character of Mr. Gibbon, as
+a gentleman and a historian, that when, in the course of his writing
+the history of the &#8216;Decline and Fall of Empires,&#8217; the decline and fall
+of the British Empire shall come to be his subject, as will probably
+soon be the case, Dr. Franklin would be happy to furnish him with
+ample materials, which are in his possession.&#8221;<a name="FNanchor_28_28" id="FNanchor_28_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_28_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a></p>
+
+<p>Gibbon was a Tory. He supported Lord North in all his measures. The
+government rewarded him with a pension of eight hundred pounds a year.
+This was equivalent to considerable more than four thousand dollars at
+the present time. Franklin was received, in Paris, by the whole
+population, court and <i>canaille</i>, with enthusiasm which that excitable
+capital had rarely witnessed. The most humble of the population were
+familiar with the pithy sayings of Poor Richard. The <i>savants</i>
+admitted their obligations to him, for the solution of some of the
+most difficult problems of philosophy. The fashionable world were
+delighted with his urbanity; and in his society found rare and
+unequalled pleasure. The republicans regarded him as the
+personification of a free government; and even the nobles and the
+ministry were cheered by the hope that, with his aid, haughty England
+could be weakened and humbled, and that thus a new era of commercial
+prosperity was about to dawn upon France.</p>
+
+<p>John Adams was not popular in Paris. He was a man of great abilities,
+of irreproachable character, and was animated by as pure principles of
+patriotism as ever glowed in a human bosom. But he was <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[Pg 325]</a></span>a genuine
+Puritan, inheriting the virtues and the foibles of the best of that
+class. Though not wanting in magnanimity, he could not fail from being
+disturbed, by the caresses with which Franklin was ever greeted,
+contrasted with the cold and respectful courtesy with which he was
+received. It was always the same, in the Court, in the saloons, and on
+the Boulevards. In Mr. Adams&#8217; diary, written some years later, we find
+the following insertion, which, in some degree, reveals his feelings.
+He is recording a conversation with the French minister.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;All religions,&#8221; said Marbois, &#8220;are tolerated in America.
+The ambassadors have a right, in all the courts of Europe,
+to a chapel in their own way. But Mr. Franklin never had
+any.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; said I laughing, &#8220;because Mr. Franklin has no&mdash;&mdash;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>I was going to say what I did not say, and will not say
+here. I stopped short, and laughed.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; said M. Marbois. &#8220;Mr. Franklin adores only great
+Nature; which has interested a great many people of both
+sexes in his favor.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; said I laughing, &#8220;all the atheists, deists and
+libertines, as well as the philosophers and ladies are in
+his train.&#8221;<a name="FNanchor_29_29" id="FNanchor_29_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_29_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a></p></div>
+
+<p>The English lords were exasperated by the reception <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[Pg 326]</a></span>France had given
+Franklin. They fully comprehended its significance. France was in
+sympathy with the Americans, in their heroic endeavor to escape from
+the despotism of the British crown. Thus the traffic which had
+enriched England, would be transferred to France.</p>
+
+<p>Even the Earl of Chatham said, in one of the most eloquent of his
+speeches,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;France, my lords, has insulted you. She has encouraged and sustained
+America. And whether America be wrong or right, the dignity of this
+country ought to spurn at the officiousness of the French
+interference. The ministers and ambassadors of those who are called
+rebels, are in Paris. In Paris they transact the reciprocal business
+of America and France. Can there be a more mortifying insult? Can even
+our ministers sustain a more humiliating disgrace? Do they dare to
+resent it?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Franklin was assailed in England, in innumerable pamphlets of abuse.
+The sin of his youth still pursued him. Many an envenomed arrow
+pierced his heart.<a name="FNanchor_30_30" id="FNanchor_30_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_30_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a></p>
+
+<p>But it must not be forgotten that there were many of the noblest men
+in England, who were the warm friends of Franklin, and who cordially
+espoused the American cause. Among these were Fox, Burke, Rockingham,
+Shelburne, Chatham, Priestley and Price.</p>
+
+<p>Many beautiful villages surrounded Paris. One of the most lovely,
+embowered in foliage, was Passy. It is now included within the city
+walls. It was then but two miles from the centre of the city. A
+munificent friend of America, M. de Chaumont, invited Franklin to the
+hospitality of one of his sumptuous mansions in that place. Franklin
+accepted the invitation, assuring him that at the close of the war,
+Congress would insist upon granting him a tract of land, in
+recognition of his kindness to America in the hour of need.</p>
+
+<p>Early in the year 1777, Franklin took up his residence at Passy, and
+there he continued to reside while he remained in France. He lived
+liberally, had an ample retinue of servants, and entertained his
+guests with elegance. His annual expenditures were about thirteen
+thousand dollars. This sum would then purchase twice the amount of
+conveniences and luxuries which could be purchased by the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[Pg 328]</a></span>same sum at
+the present day. He had his own servants, and commanded a handsome
+carriage with two horses.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Adams writes, &#8220;With seven servants, and hiring a charwoman upon
+occasion of company, we may possibly keep house. With less we should
+be hooted at as ridiculous, and could not entertain any company.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Though Franklin took every thing by the smooth handle, he did not, on
+that account, intermit any intensity of labor to accomplish his
+purposes. There were then three American envoys in Paris, Franklin,
+Deane, and Lee. Five days after the arrival of Franklin, they, on the
+28th of December, 1777, held their first interview with the French
+Minister, Count de Vergennes. They were received with all that
+cordiality and courtesy which are marked characteristics of the French
+people. But still the commissioners were embarrassed. The prospects of
+America were doubtful. General Burgoyne was on the eve of sailing for
+America with a formidable fleet, and an army of eight or ten thousand
+highly disciplined troops. In the course of the conversation, the
+minister said that France was not yet ready to enter into open
+collision with England, and to declare war.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But,&#8221; said he, &#8220;if a <i>couple of millions</i> of francs, to be repaid
+without interest after the war, will be of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[Pg 329]</a></span>use to you, they are at
+your service. Only do not say that you had it from <i>us</i>.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>This was indeed, under the doubtful circumstances, a very generous
+offer. It was at this dark hour that the noble Lafayette decided to
+consecrate his fortune, and to peril his life, for the cause of
+American freedom. It was proclaimed that Burgoyne&#8217;s expedition was
+fitted out to rouse the slaves to insurrection, and to lay the
+mansions of the planters in ashes. Arthur Lee was very much alarmed.
+These splendid estates were generally situated in romantic spots, upon
+the banks of the navigable rivers, where the dwellings, often quite
+magnificent, could easily be demolished by shot and shell thrown from
+any frigate.</p>
+
+<p>The Reprisal, Captain Wickes, was the first American vessel of war
+which ventured into European waters. The channel swarmed with British
+vessels. The Reprisal took prize after prize, and conveyed them into
+Nantes. As France was not at war with England, Count de Vergennes was
+compelled to order the Reprisal, with her prizes, to leave the harbor.
+Captain Wickes took some of the Nantes merchants on board his vessel,
+and, just outside the port, sold the prizes to them. The French
+merchants then returned, with their property, into the harbor.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[Pg 330]</a></span></p><p>Captain Wickes soon united with him the Lexington of fourteen guns,
+and a cutter, the Dolphin, of ten guns. With this little fleet the
+hero sailed completely around Ireland, capturing or destroying sixteen
+prizes. The British were astounded at this audacity. Merchants and
+under-writers were quite terror-stricken. They had never dreamed that
+the despised Americans could strike <i>them</i> any blows. And when, soon
+after, Paul Jones, one of the noblest of all naval heroes, appeared in
+their waters, it is not too much to say that <i>consternation</i> pervaded
+the coasts of both England and Ireland.<a name="FNanchor_31_31" id="FNanchor_31_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_31_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a></p>
+
+<p>It requires many and aggravated wrongs to rouse a naturally amiable
+man to the highest pitch of indignation. But when thus roused, he is
+ready for any vigor of action. Franklin&#8217;s blood was up. England was
+bribing slaves to murder their masters; was rousing the savages to
+massacre the families of poor, hard-working frontiersmen; was wantonly
+bombarding defenceless seaports, and with inhumanity, rarely known in
+civilized warfare, was laying villages in ashes, consigning women and
+children to beggary and starvation. In the prison hulks of New York,
+our most illustrious men were in the endurance, as prisoners of war,
+of woes unsurpassed by <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[Pg 331]</a></span>Algerine barbarism. Many of our common
+sailors, England was compelling, by the terrors of the lash, to man
+her ships, and to fight their own countrymen. Maddened by these
+atrocities, Mr. Franklin wrote to his English friend, David Hartley, a
+member of Parliament, a letter, which all the few friends of America
+in England, read with great satisfaction, and which must have produced
+a very powerful moral impression in France. It is too long to be
+inserted here. In conclusion he said to his friend,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;In reviewing what I have written, I found too much warmth in it, and
+was about to strike out some parts. Yet I let them go, as it will
+afford you this one reflection,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;&#8216;If a man naturally cool, and rendered still cooler by old
+age, is so warmed by our treatment of his country, how much
+must those people in general be exasperated against us. And
+why are we making inveterate enemies, by our barbarity, not
+only of the present inhabitants of a great country, but of
+their infinitely more numerous posterity; who will, in
+future ages, detest the name of Englishman, as much as the
+children in Holland now do those of Alva and Spaniard.&#8217;&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>William Temple Franklin inherited the attractions of person, and the
+fascination of manners, so conspicuous in his grandfather. He was a
+great <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[Pg 332]</a></span>favorite in the social circles of the gay metropolis. Dark days
+came, with tidings of discomfiture. Franklin devoted twelve hours out
+of the twenty-four, to the arduous duties of his mission. Philadelphia
+fell.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, Doctor,&#8221; said an Englishman in Paris, with the customary
+courtesy of his nation, &#8220;Howe has taken Philadelphia.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I beg your pardon,&#8221; Franklin replied, &#8220;Philadelphia has taken Howe.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The result proved that Franklin&#8217;s joke was almost a reality.</p>
+
+<p>Burgoyne surrendered. His whole army was taken captive. Massachusetts
+immediately sent John Loring Austin to convey the rapturous tidings to
+Franklin. This great success would doubtless encourage France to open
+action. No tongue can tell the emotions excited in the bosoms of
+Franklin, Lee and Deane, as Austin entered their presence at Passy,
+with the announcement, &#8220;<i>General Burgoyne and his whole army are
+prisoners of war.</i>&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>There were no shoutings, no rushing into each other&#8217;s arms. But tears
+filled their eyes. They felt assured that France would come openly to
+their aid, and that the independence of their country was no longer
+doubtful. Silently they returned to Franklin&#8217;s spacious apartment,
+where they spent the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[Pg 333]</a></span>whole day in reading the enrapturing dispatches,
+and in preparing for immediate alliance with France. France made no
+attempt to conceal its joy. A treaty of alliance was soon formed.
+Nobly the Count de Vergennes said,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;We wish to take no advantage of your situation. We desire no terms
+which you may hereafter regret having made; but would enter into
+arrangements of mutual interest, which may last as long as human
+institutions endure.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>England was now greatly alarmed from fear that the trade of the
+colonies might be transferred to France. Envoys were sent to Passy to
+offer the American ambassadors everything they had demanded at the
+commencement of the conflict. But it was too late. America now
+demanded <i>Independence</i>, and would accept nothing less.</p>
+
+<p>A large cake was one day sent to the ambassador&#8217;s apartment, at Passy,
+with the inscription &#8220;Le Digne Franklin,&#8221; the worthy Franklin. Mr. Lee
+said, &#8220;Well, Doctor, we have to thank you for our accommodations, and
+to appropriate your present to our use.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Not at all,&#8221; said Franklin. &#8220;This cake is for all the Commissioners.
+The French, not being able to write good English, do not spell our
+names correctly. The meaning doubtless is Lee, Deane, Franklin.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[Pg 334]</a></span></p><p>The memorable treaty was signed on the 5th of February, 1778. It was
+stated that the object of the treaty was to establish the independence
+of the United States, and that neither party should conclude either
+truce or peace with England, without the consent of the other.</p>
+
+<p>Tidings of the treaty, which for a short time was kept secret, had
+been whispered in England, causing intense excitement. On the 17th of
+February, 1778, the House of Parliament was crowded. Lord North, amid
+breathless silence, presented a &#8220;Conciliation Bill,&#8221; granting
+everything which Franklin had demanded. Fox, who was in the
+Opposition, arose and announced the treaty. &#8220;The astonishment,&#8221; writes
+Walpole, &#8220;was totally indescribable.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Soon the fact of the treaty of alliance, was formally announced in
+France. The American envoys were invited to an audience with the king.
+Franklin was richly dressed. His hair was carefully arranged by a
+French perruquier. He wore an admirably fitting suit of plain, black,
+silk velvet. Ruffles of elaborate embroidery and snowy whiteness
+adorned his wrists and bosom. White silk stockings aided in displaying
+the perfect proportions of his frame. Large silver buckles were on his
+shoes.</p>
+
+<p>No one could accuse him of failing in due respect <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[Pg 335]</a></span>for the king, by
+appearing in his presence in slatternly dress. His costume was superb,
+and was such as was then worn, on important occasions, by American
+gentlemen of the highest rank. The audience took place at Versailles,
+on the morning of the 20th of March. Each of the American envoys rode
+in his own carriage, attended by the usual retinue of servants. On the
+way they were cheered with the utmost enthusiasm by the crowd. The
+king, Louis XVI., received them with extreme courtesy, and the queen,
+Marie Antoinette, was marked in her attentions to Franklin. The
+British ambassador, Lord Stormont, was so enraged, that, regardless of
+all the claims of courtesy, he immediately returned to England,
+without even taking leave of the king.</p>
+
+<p>Who can describe the exultation, the rapture, the tears, with which
+these tidings were received by the patriots of America. On the 6th of
+May, George Washington drew up his little band at Valley Forge, to
+announce the great event, and to offer to God prayers and
+thanksgivings. The tone of the English was immediately changed. They
+abandoned threats and tried the effect of entreaties. Several
+emissaries, from the government, approached Dr. Franklin, all bearing
+in substance the same message. They said,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;We cannot endure the thought that our beloved <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[Pg 336]</a></span>colonists should enter
+into alliance with our hereditary natural enemy, France. Can you, who
+are Protestants, consent to unite with a nation of Roman Catholics? If
+you will remain firm in your adhesion to England, we will grant you
+all you ever wished for, and even more. But do not forsake your mother
+country to swell the pride and power of perfidious France.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>But all these efforts were unavailing. The colonists began to despise
+England. They had no wish for war with their unnatural parent, and
+they knew that their independence was assured; and that no efforts
+which England could possibly make, could now prevent it. All alike
+felt disposed to spurn the bribes which England so lavishly offered.</p>
+
+<p>A very extraordinary letter was sent to Dr. Franklin, which was
+signed, Charles de Wissenstein. Franklin, who was accustomed to
+sifting evidence, became satisfied that the message came from king
+George III. himself. The letter declared that the perfidious French
+would certainly deceive the Americans with false promises, and defraud
+them. After making the most liberal offers of popular rights, if the
+Americans would continue to remain colonists under the British crown,
+the document presented the following extraordinary promise to those
+American patriots whom England had denounced as traitors, and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[Pg 337]</a></span>doomed
+to be hung. It was deemed a bribe which human virtue could not resist.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;As it is unreasonable that their (the American patriots)
+services to their country should deprive them of those
+advantages which their talents would otherwise have gained
+them, the following persons shall have offices or pensions
+for life, at their option, namely, Franklin, Washington,
+Adams, Hancock, etc. In case his Majesty, or his successors,
+should ever create American peers, then those persons, or
+their descendants, shall be among the first created if they
+choose it.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Franklin, after conference with his colleagues, replied to the letter.
+His soul was all on fire with the insults our country had received,
+and the wrongs she had endured. He wrote as if personally addressing
+the king. We can only give the concluding paragraph. After stating
+that the independence of America was secured, that all attempts of
+England to prevent it would be impotent, and that consequently it was
+quite a matter of indifference to the Americans whether England
+acknowledged it or not, he wrote,<a name="FNanchor_32_32" id="FNanchor_32_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_32_32" class="fnanchor">[32]</a></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[Pg 338]</a></span></p><div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;This proposition, of delivering ourselves bound and gagged,
+ready for hanging, without even a right to complain, and
+without a friend to be found afterward among all mankind,
+you would have us embrace upon the faith of an Act of
+Parliament. Good God! an act of your Parliament. This
+demonstrates that you do not yet know us; and that you fancy
+that we do not know you. But it is not merely this flimsy
+faith that we are to act upon. You offer us hope, the hope
+of <small>PLACES</small>, <small>PENSIONS</small> and <small>PEERAGES</small>.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;These, judging from yourselves, you think are motives
+irresistible. This offer to corrupt us, sir, is with me,
+your credential; and convinces me that you are not a private
+volunteer in your application. It bears the stamp of British
+Court character. It is even the signature of your king. But
+think, for a moment, in what light it must be viewed in
+America.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;By <small>PLACES</small>, you mean places among us; for you take care, by
+a special article, to secure your own to yourselves. We must
+then pay the salaries in order to enrich ourselves with
+those places. But you will give us <small>PENSIONS</small>, probably to be
+paid too <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[Pg 339]</a></span>out of your expected American revenue, and which
+none of us can accept without deserving, and perhaps
+obtaining, <i>suspension</i>.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;<small>PEERAGES</small>! Alas! in our long observation of the vast servile
+majority of your peers, voting constantly for every measure
+proposed by a minister, however weak or wicked, leaves us
+small respect for that title. We consider it as a sort of
+tar-and-feather honor, or a mixture of foulness and folly,
+which every man among us, who should accept it from your
+king, would be obliged to renounce, or exchange for that
+confessed by the mobs of their own country, or wear it with
+everlasting infamy.&#8221;<a name="FNanchor_33_33" id="FNanchor_33_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_33_33" class="fnanchor">[33]</a></p></div>
+
+<p>In the spring of 1778, Paul Jones entered upon his brilliant career,
+bidding defiance, with his infant fleet, to all the naval power of
+Great Britain, agitating entire England with the terror of his name.
+Franklin was his affectionate friend, and, in all his many trials, he
+leaned upon Franklin for sympathy. So tremendously was he maligned by
+the English press, that American historians, unconsciously thus
+influenced, have never done him justice. As a patriot, and a noble
+man, he deserves to take rank with his friends, Washington and
+Franklin.</p>
+
+<p>In 1779, Lafayette, returning to France, from America, brought the
+news that Franklin was appointed <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[Pg 340]</a></span>by Congress as sole plenipotentiary
+of the new nation of the United States, to the generous kingdom, which
+had acknowledged our independence, and whose fleets and armies were
+now united with ours. All France rejoiced. With great eclat the new
+ambassadors were presented to the king.</p>
+
+<p>No man of force of character can escape having enemies. Franklin had
+many and bitter ones. A cabal plotted the removal of his excellent
+grandson, William Temple Franklin. It gives us an insight to the heart
+of this venerable septuagenarian to read from his pen,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;It is enough that I have lost my son. Would they add my
+<i>grandson</i>. An old man of seventy, I undertook a winter
+voyage, at the command of Congress, with no other attendant
+to take care of me. I am continued here, in a foreign
+country, where, if I am sick, his filial attention comforts
+me. And if I die, I have a child to close my eyes and take
+care of my remains. His dutiful behavior toward me, and his
+diligence and fidelity in business, are both pleasing and
+useful to me. His conduct, as my private secretary, has been
+unexceptionable; and I am confident the Congress will never
+think of separating us.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Franklin&#8217;s great endeavor now was to obtain <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[Pg 341]</a></span>money. Without it we
+could have neither fleet nor army. The treasury of France was empty,
+almost to bankruptcy. Never did he struggle against greater obstacles
+than during the next three years. It has been truly said, that
+Franklin, without intending it, helped to bleed the French monarchy to
+death. In addition to the employment of both army and navy, the French
+government conferred upon Congress, in gifts or loans, the sum of
+twenty-six million francs.</p>
+
+<p>The French troops were received in America with boundless enthusiasm.
+Their discipline was admirable. Their respect for the rights of
+property was such, that not a barn, orchard or hen-roost was robbed.</p>
+
+<p>John Adams was sent to join Franklin, to aid him in framing terms of
+peace, whenever England should be disposed to make such advances. He
+was a man of great abilities, of irreproachable integrity, but he had
+inherited, from his English ancestry, not only repulsive brusqueness,
+but also a prejudice against the French, which nothing could remove.
+His want of courtesy; his unconcealed assumption that France was
+acting out of unmitigated selfishness, and that consequently the
+Americans owed the French no debt of gratitude, often caused Franklin
+much embarrassment. This blunt man, at <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[Pg 342]</a></span>one time wrote so uncourteous,
+not to say insulting a letter, to M. de Vergennes, that the French
+minister declined having any more correspondence with him. Both
+Franklin and Congress condemned the incivility of Mr. Adams. He only
+escaped a motion of censure from the full conviction of Congress of
+the purity of his patriotism, and of his intentions.<a name="FNanchor_34_34" id="FNanchor_34_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_34_34" class="fnanchor">[34]</a></p>
+
+<p>Franklin had been requested to forward the correspondence to Congress.
+As in duty bound, he did so; accompanying it with a magnanimous
+letter. Mr. Adams was very angry. Every impartial reader will admit
+that, in this embarrassing affair, Franklin conducted with delicacy
+and discretion. The British troops in America were still conducting
+like savages. Congress requested Franklin to prepare a school-book,
+with thirty-five prints, each depicting one or more of the acts of
+English brutality. The object was to impress the minds of children
+with a deep sense of the insatiable and bloody malice with which the
+English had pursued the Americans. The plan was never executed.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[Pg 343]</a></span></p><p>In the year 1781, Franklin, then seventy-five years of age, and having
+been engaged in public service for fifty years, wrote to Congress,
+begging permission to retire from his responsible office. Congress
+could not spare his services. They gave him an additional appointment.
+He was commissioned to unite with Adams and Jay, in those negotiations
+for peace which, it was evident, must soon take place.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin loved the French, he could smile at their foibles, in
+dressing their hair so that they could not wear a hat, but were
+compelled to carry it under their arms; also in filling their noses
+with tobacco. &#8220;These,&#8221; said he, &#8220;are mere follies. There is nothing
+wanting, in the character of a Frenchman, that belongs to that of an
+agreeable and worthy man.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>It may perhaps be mentioned, as a defect in the character of Franklin,
+that when in France he could see nothing but the beautiful. His eye
+was turned from every revolting spectacle. In the society of elegantly
+dressed, highly educated, refined French ladies,&mdash;at dinner parties,
+glittering with gold and silver plate,&mdash;in social intercourse with men
+whose philosophical attainments were of the highest order, and whose
+politeness of speech and bearing rendered them delightful companions,
+Franklin found <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[Pg 344]</a></span>his time and thoughts engrossed. In all his voluminous
+writings we find no allusion to those tremendous wrongs, which Louis
+XIV. and Louis XV. had entailed upon the people,&mdash;wrongs which soon
+convulsed society with the volcanic throes of the French revolution.</p>
+
+<p>Jefferson, who succeeded Franklin, was cast in a different mould. He
+saw and fully comprehended the misery under which the millions of the
+French peasantry were groaning. And this led him to the conviction,
+that no people could be safe, unless the government were placed in
+their own hands.</p>
+
+<p>Still Franklin, like his brother deists, Hume and Voltaire, seeing how
+impotent were all the motives they could urge to make man virtuous,
+became thoroughly disgusted with human nature. He even went beyond
+Paul in his description of the hopeless depravity of man. The idea of
+reclaiming him by his philosophy was abandoned entirely. And yet he
+was not prepared to embrace that gospel, which the experience of ages
+has proved to be the &#8220;wisdom of God and the power of God unto
+salvation.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;He enlarges,&#8221; writes Mr. Parton, &#8220;upon this theme, in his most
+delightful manner, in another letter to Dr. Priestley.&#8221; In this letter
+he says in his usual jocular strain, that the more he studies the
+moral part of nature the more he is disgusted; that <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[Pg 345]</a></span>he finds men very
+badly constructed; that they are more prone to do evil than to do
+good; that they take great pleasure in killing one another, and that
+he doubts whether the species is worth preserving. He intimates that
+every attempt to save their souls is &#8220;an idle amusement.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;As you grow older,&#8221; he writes, &#8220;you may perhaps repent of having
+murdered, in mephitic air, so many honest, harmless mice, and wish
+that, to prevent mischief, you had used boys and girls instead of
+them.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>In this singular letter he represents a young angel having been sent
+to this world, under the guidance of an old courier spirit. They
+arrive over the seas of Martinico, in the midst of the horrible fight
+between the fleets of Rodney and De Grasse.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;When,&#8221; he writes, &#8220;through the clouds of smoke, he (the young angel)
+saw the fire of the guns, the decks covered with mangled limbs and
+bodies, dead or dying; the ships sinking, burning, or blown into the
+air; and the quantity of pain, misery and destruction the crews, yet
+alive, were with so much eagerness dealing round to one another, he
+turned angrily to his guide and said,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;&#8216;You blundering blockhead; you are ignorant of your business. You
+undertook to conduct me to the earth; and you have brought me into
+hell.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[Pg 346]</a></span></p><p>&#8220;&#8216;No sir,&#8217; said the guide, &#8216;I have made no such mistake. This is
+really the earth, and these are men. Devils never treat one another in
+this cruel manner. They have more sense, and more of what men (vainly)
+call humanity.&#8217;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>It was after the study of human nature, under the most favorable of
+possible circumstances, for more than three-quarters of a century,
+that this philosopher wrote these terrible comments upon our fallen
+race.</p>
+
+<p>The latter part of October, 1781, Lord Cornwallis surrendered his
+whole army, of over seven thousand men, at Yorktown. The French fleet
+cut off his escape by sea. Seven thousand French soldiers, united with
+five thousand American troops, prevented any retreat by land. The
+Americans had thus captured two British armies. It was in vain for
+England to think of sending a third. The conflict was virtually
+decided.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The Prime Minister,&#8221; Lord North, it is said, &#8220;received the tidings as
+he would have taken a ball in his breast. He threw his arms apart. He
+paced wildly up and down the room, exclaiming, from time to time, &#8216;Oh
+God! it is all over.&#8217;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>All England now was clamoring against the war. Thousands of persons
+had perished in the campaigns, and financial embarrassments had come
+to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[Pg 347]</a></span>nearly all her institutions of industry. The English government
+made vigorous endeavors, offering great bribes, to induce the American
+envoys at Paris to abandon their French allies, and make a separate
+peace. Franklin wrote to Mr. Hartley, through whom he received these
+proposals,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;I believe there is not a man in America, a few <i>English
+Tories</i> excepted, that would not spurn the thought of
+deserting a noble and generous friend, for the sake of a
+truce with an unjust and cruel enemy.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>British diplomacy tried all its arts of intrigue to separate America
+from France in the negotiations for peace, but all in vain. The
+British minister, Mr. Grenville, in an interview with Mr. Franklin,
+ridiculed the idea that America owed France any gratitude, urging that
+France sought only her own selfish interests.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;I told him,&#8221; Franklin writes, &#8220;that I was so strongly impressed with
+the kind assistance afforded us by France, in our distress, and the
+generous and noble manner in which it was granted, without exacting or
+stipulating for a single privilege, or particular advantage to herself
+in our commerce or otherwise, that I could never suffer myself to
+think of such reasonings for lessening the obligation.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>On the 28th of February, 1782, General Conway, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[Pg 348]</a></span>one of the leaders of
+the Opposition, the same who had moved the repeal of the stamp act,
+seventeen years before, presented a resolution in the House of Commons
+that,</p>
+
+<p class="center">&#8220;<span class="smcap">The reduction of the Colonies by force of arms is
+impracticable</span>.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>A violent, even fierce debate ensued, which was continued until one o&#8217;clock
+in the morning. Then the cry of <i>question</i> became general. The
+vote was carried by a majority of nineteen. This terminated the
+American war. The people of England had decided against it.
+&#8220;Acclamations,&#8221; writes Wraxall, &#8220;pierced the roof, and might have been
+heard in Westminster Hall.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>This great victory was followed by another resolve. It was an address
+to George III. soliciting him to &#8220;Stop the prosecution of any further
+hostilities against the revolted colonies, for the purpose of reducing
+them to obedience by force.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding the lateness of the hour, these votes were immediately
+communicated to the king, who was in a pitiable condition, aged,
+nearly blind, half crazed, and stubborn even to insanity, in his
+determination to subjugate the Americans. The poor old man, in his
+rage, threatened to abandon England, to renounce the crown, and to
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[Pg 349]</a></span>cloister himself in his estate of Hanover. He was however compelled
+to yield, to dismiss his Tory ministers and to accept a whig cabinet.
+Edmund Burke wrote a warm, congratulatory letter to Franklin.<a name="FNanchor_35_35" id="FNanchor_35_35"></a><a href="#Footnote_35_35" class="fnanchor">[35]</a></p>
+
+<p>And now the final struggle arose respecting the terms of peace. The
+three great questions discussed, as diplomatic arrangements, were
+gradually and very cautiously entered into, were: 1. What shall be the
+boundaries of the United States. 2. Shall the Americans be allowed to
+fish on the great banks. 3. What provision shall be made for the
+Tories in America, whose estates have been confiscated?</p>
+
+<p>There were many preliminary meetings, private, semi-official, and
+official. There was a general impression that Franklin was the man
+whose opinion would entirely control that of his countrymen. He was
+approached in every way, and the utmost endeavors were made to induce
+the American Commissioners to enter into a private treaty, without
+consulting the French ministry.</p>
+
+<p>A full account of the diplomatic conflict which ensued, would fill a
+volume. On one occasion the British minister, Mr. Grenville, said,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;In case England grants America Independence.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The French minister, M. de Vergennes, smiled <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[Pg 350]</a></span>and said, &#8220;America has
+already won her Independence. She does not ask it of you. There is Dr.
+Franklin; he will answer you on that point.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;To be sure,&#8221; Franklin said, &#8220;we do not consider it necessary to
+bargain for that which is our own. We have bought our Independence at
+the expense of much blood and treasure, and are in full possession of
+it.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Many of these preliminary interviews took place in Paris. The amount
+of money and blood which the pugnacious government of England had
+expended in totally needless wars, can not be computed. The misery
+with which those wars had deluged this unhappy globe, God only can
+comprehend. Mr. Richard Oswald, a retired London merchant, of vast
+wealth, was sent, by Lord Shelburne, prime minister, as a confidential
+messenger, to sound Dr. Franklin. He was frank in the extreme.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Peace,&#8221; said he, &#8220;is absolutely necessary for England. The nation has
+been foolishly involved in four wars, and can no longer raise money to
+carry them on. If continued, it will be absolutely necessary to stop
+the payment of interest money on the public debt.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Adams and Mr. Jay were soon associated with Dr. Franklin in these
+negotiations. Mr. Jay was in entire sympathy with Mr. Adams in his
+antipathy <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[Pg 351]</a></span>to the French. They both assumed that France was meanly
+seeking only her own interests, making use of America simply as an
+instrument for the accomplishment of her selfish purposes.<a name="FNanchor_36_36" id="FNanchor_36_36"></a><a href="#Footnote_36_36" class="fnanchor">[36]</a></p>
+
+<p>Dr. Jared Sparks, after carefully examining, in the Office of Foreign
+Affairs in London, the correspondence of the French ministers with the
+American envoys, during the whole war, writes,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;After examining the subject, with all the care and accuracy
+which these means of information have enabled me to give to
+it, I am prepared to express my belief, most fully, that Mr.
+Jay was mistaken, both in regard to the aims of the French
+court and the plans pursued by them to gain their supposed
+ends.&#8221;<a name="FNanchor_37_37" id="FNanchor_37_37"></a><a href="#Footnote_37_37" class="fnanchor">[37]</a></p></div>
+
+<p>Mr. Jay was so insanely suspicious of the French, that he was afraid
+that the French ministry would send spies, to pick the locks in his
+lodgings, and steal his important papers. He therefore always carried
+them about his person. He also believed that Count de Vergennes had
+actually proposed to the British minister, that they should unite
+their armies, seize the United States, and divide America between
+them.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[Pg 352]</a></span></p><p>Such were the colleagues united with Franklin, in the negotiations for
+peace. It required all his consummate wisdom to be able to guide
+affairs wisely under such difficult circumstances. It may be doubted
+whether there was another man in America, who could have surmounted
+the obstacles over which he triumphed. Both of Franklin&#8217;s colleagues
+regarded him with suspicion. They believed that he had been won over
+to such sympathy with the French, that he would be willing to
+sacrifice the interests of his own country to please them. They wrote
+letters home severely denouncing him; and they seemed to stand more in
+fear of France than of England.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;Dr. Franklin,&#8221; wrote Mr. Adams, &#8220;is very staunch against the Tories;
+more decided, a great deal, upon that point, than Mr. Jay or myself.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>The British ministers insisted that the confiscated estates of the
+American Tories should be restored to them, and all their losses
+reimbursed. Franklin silenced the demand by drawing from his pocket
+the following articles, which he proposed should be added to the
+treaty,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;It is agreed that his Britannic Majesty will earnestly
+recommend it to his Parliament, to provide for and make a
+compensation to the merchants and shop-keepers of Boston,
+whose goods and merchandise <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[Pg 353]</a></span>were seized and taken out of
+their stores, ware-houses and shops, by order of General
+Gage, and others of his commanding officers there; and also
+to the inhabitants of Philadelphia for the goods taken away
+by his army there; and to make compensation also for the
+tobacco, rice, indigo and negroes seized and carried off by
+his armies, under Generals Arnold, Cornwallis and others,
+from the States of Virginia, North and South Carolina and
+Georgia, and for all the vessels and cargoes belonging to
+the inhabitants of the said United States, which were
+stopped, seized or taken, either in the ports or on the
+seas, by his governors or by his ships of war, before the
+declaration of war against the United States. And it is
+further agreed that his Britannic Majesty will also
+earnestly recommend it to his Parliament to make
+compensation for all the towns, villages and farms, burnt
+and destroyed by his troops, or adherents in these United
+States.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>The three British commissioners were confounded by these counter
+demands, and said not another word about reimbursing the American
+Tories. On the 30th of November, 1782, the preliminaries were signed,
+subject to the assent of the French ministers, who were also to submit
+their preliminaries to the American envoys. By these articles: 1. The
+boundaries were established. 2. The Americans could <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[Pg 354]</a></span>fish on the banks
+of Newfoundland, and cure their fish on the unsettled shores of Nova
+Scotia and Labrador. 3. Congress was to recommend to the several
+States, to restore the confiscated property of real British subjects.
+4. Private debts were to be paid. 5. There were to be no more
+confiscations or prosecutions, on either side, for acts during the
+war. 6. The British troops were to be withdrawn. 7. The navigation of
+the Mississippi was declared to be free. 8. And any place captured,
+after the signing of these articles, was to be restored.</p>
+
+<p>On the 13th of January, Count de Vergennes, and the British minister
+Mr. Fitzherbert, signed their preliminaries in the presence of Dr.
+Franklin and Mr. Adams. Not till then did the English order
+hostilities to be suspended, and declare the senseless war to be at an
+end.</p>
+
+<p>There was universal satisfaction in America. With the exception of the
+king and a few of his ministers, there was general satisfaction in
+England. It is true that the national pride was sorely humiliated. But
+after all these woes which England had inflicted upon America, her own
+statesmen, with almost undivided voice, declared that the interests of
+both nations were alike promoted, by having a few feeble colonies
+elevated into the rich and flourishing republic of the United States.
+Thus the war of the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[Pg 355]</a></span>American revolution must be pronounced to have
+been, on the part of England, which forced it, one of the most
+disastrous and senseless of those blunders which have ever accompanied
+the progress of our race.<a name="FNanchor_38_38" id="FNanchor_38_38"></a><a href="#Footnote_38_38" class="fnanchor">[38]</a></p>
+
+<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[Pg 356]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV.</h2>
+
+<h3><i>Life&#8217;s Closing Scenes.</i></h3>
+
+<div class="blockquot3"><p>Advice to Thomas Paine&mdash;Scenes at Passy&mdash;Journey to the
+Coast&mdash;Return to America&mdash;Elected Governor of
+Pennsylvania&mdash;Attends the Constitutional
+Convention&mdash;Proposes prayers&mdash;Remarkable speech&mdash;Letter to
+Dr. Stiles&mdash;Christ on the Cross&mdash;Last sickness and death.</p></div>
+
+<p>About this time some one, knowing Dr. Franklin&#8217;s deistical views,
+presented, for his opinion, a treatise denouncing the idea, that there
+was any God, who manifested any interest in the affairs of men, that
+there was any <i>Particular Providence</i>. Though Franklin did not accept
+the idea, that Jesus Christ was a divine messenger, and that the Bible
+was a supernatural revelation of God&#8217;s will, he certainly did not, in
+his latter years, deny that there was a God, who superintended the
+affairs of this world, and whom it was proper to worship. It is
+generally supposed that Thomas Paine was the author of this treatise,
+and that it was a portion of his Age of Reason. Franklin, in his
+memorable reply, wrote,</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">[Pg 357]</a></span></p><div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;I have read your manuscript with some attention. By the
+argument it contains against a particular Providence, though
+you allow a <i>general</i> Providence, you strike at the
+foundations of all religion. For without the belief of a
+providence that takes cognizance of, guards and guides and
+may favor particular persons, there is no motive to worship
+a deity, to fear his displeasure or to pray for his
+protection. I will not enter into any discussion of your
+principles, though you seem to desire it. At present I shall
+only give you my opinion that, though your reasonings are
+subtile, and may prevail with some readers, you will not
+succeed so as to change the general sentiments of mankind on
+that subject; and the consequence of printing this piece
+will be, a great deal of odium drawn upon yourself; mischief
+to you and no benefit to others. He that spits against the
+wind, spits in his own face.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I would advise you, therefore, not to attempt unchaining
+the tiger, but to burn this piece before it is seen by any
+other person; whereby you will save yourself a great deal of
+mortification, by the enemies it may raise against you, and
+perhaps a good deal of regret and repentance. If men are so
+wicked <i>with religion</i>, what would they be if <i>without it</i>.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Franklin testifies to the remarkable courtesy which characterized all
+the movements of the French minister, during these protracted and
+delicate negotiations. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">[Pg 358]</a></span>The definitive treaty was signed on the 3d of
+September, 1783. It was unanimously ratified by Congress on the 14th
+of January, 1784. The king of England gave it his signature on the 9th
+of April. Thus two years and three months passed between the beginning
+of negotiations and the conclusion of the treaty of peace.</p>
+
+<p>At the termination of the war crowds of Englishmen flocked to Paris.
+Franklin was then recognized as incomparably the most illustrious man
+on the continent of Europe. His apartments were ever thronged with men
+of highest note from all the nations. He was then seventy-eight years
+of age, suffering severely from the gout and the gravel. He often
+received his guests in his bed chamber, sitting in his night gown,
+wrapped in flannels, and reclining on a pillow. Yet his mind retained
+all its brilliance. All who saw him were charmed. Mr. Baynes wrote,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;Of all the celebrated persons whom, in my life, I have
+chanced to see, Dr. Franklin, both from his appearance and
+his conversation, seemed to me the most remarkable. His
+venerable, patriarchal appearance, the simplicity of his
+manner and language, and the novelty of his observations
+impressed me as one of the most extraordinary men that ever
+existed.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>At this time he wrote several essays, which are esteemed among the
+best of his writings. He was <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">[Pg 359]</a></span>awaiting permission from Congress to
+return to America. His son, the governor, who was receiving a pension
+of eight hundred pounds from the British Government, came over from
+England to his illustrious father, soliciting reconciliation. This was
+after the separation of many years. Franklin responded kindly, though
+he said that nothing had ever wounded him so keenly as to find himself
+deserted in his old age, by his only son; and to see him taking up
+arms against a cause, upon which he had staked life, fortune and
+honor.</p>
+
+<p>A year passed before Franklin was recalled. He was then so feeble that
+he could not walk, and could only ride in a litter. Mr. Jefferson
+succeeded him. Upon his arrival in Paris, the Count de Vergennes said,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You replace Dr. Franklin, I understand.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No!&#8221; Mr. Jefferson replied, &#8220;I <i>succeed</i> him. No man can <i>replace</i>
+him.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Franklin&#8217;s infirmities were such that he could not call upon the king
+or the minister for an audience of leave. He, however, wrote to Count
+de Vergennes a very grateful and affectionate letter, in which he
+said,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;May I beg the favor of you, sir, to express respectfully
+for me, to his majesty, the deep sense I have of all the
+inestimable benefits his goodness <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[Pg 360]</a></span>has conferred on my
+country; a sentiment that it will be the business of the
+little remainder of the life now left me, to impress equally
+on the minds of all my countrymen. My sincere prayers are
+that God may shower down his blessings on the king, the
+queen, their children and all the royal family, to the
+latest generations.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>The reply was equally cordial and affectionate. As a parting gift the
+king sent Franklin his portrait, decorated with four hundred and eight
+diamonds. Its estimated value was ten thousand dollars.</p>
+
+<p>On the 12th of July, 1785, Franklin, accompanied by many admiring
+friends in carriages, commenced his slow journey in a litter, from
+Passy to Havre. It was four o&#8217;clock in the afternoon. The litter was
+borne by two mules. The first night they stopped at St. Germain.
+Thence the journey was continued at the rate of about eighteen miles a
+day. The motion of the litter did not seriously incommode him. The
+cardinal of Rochefoucald, archbishop of Rouen, insisted upon his
+accepting the hospitality of his mansion at Gaillon. It was a superb
+chateau, commanding a magnificent prospect, with galleries crowded
+with paintings and the most valuable works of art.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;The cardinal,&#8221; writes Franklin, &#8220;is much respected, and beloved by
+the people of this country; bearing in all respects, a most excellent
+character.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">[Pg 361]</a></span></p><p>Though entreated to prolong his visit, Franklin resumed his journey at
+an early hour the next morning. At Rouen he was again received with
+the most flattering attentions. The <i>elite</i> of the city gave a very
+brilliant supper in his honor. Thus journeying in a truly triumphant
+march, Franklin reached Havre on the 18th of July. After a delay of
+three days he crossed the channel to Southampton. His old friends came
+in crowds, and from great distances, to see him. Even the British
+government had the courtesy to send an order exempting his effects
+from custom-house duties.</p>
+
+<p>It will be remembered that Franklin was a remarkable swimmer. There
+are some human bodies much more buoyant than others. He records the
+singular fact that, taking a warm, salt water bath here, he fell
+asleep floating on his back, and did not awake for an hour. &#8220;This,&#8221; he
+writes, &#8220;is a thing which I never did before, and would hardly have
+thought possible.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>On the 28th of July, 1785, the ship spread her sails. The voyage
+lasted seven weeks. This extraordinary man, then seventy-nine years of
+age, wrote, on the passage, three essays, which are estimated among
+the most useful and able of any which emanated from his pen.</p>
+
+<p>On the 13th of September the ship entered Delaware <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_362" id="Page_362">[Pg 362]</a></span>Bay, and the next
+morning cast anchor opposite Philadelphia. He wrote,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;My son-in-law came with a boat for us. We landed at Market
+street wharf, where we were received by a crowd of people
+with huzzahs, and accompanied with acclamations, quite to my
+door. Found my family well. God be praised and thanked for
+all his mercies.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>The Assembly was in session, and immediately voted him a
+congratulatory address. Washington also wrote to him a letter of
+cordial welcome. The long sea voyage proved very beneficial to his
+health. He was immediately elected to the Supreme Executive, and was
+chosen chairman of that body. It is evident that he was gratified by
+this token of popular regard. He wrote to a friend,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;I had not firmness enough to resist the unanimous desire of
+my country folk; and I find myself harnessed again in their
+service for another year. They engrossed the prime of my
+life. They have eaten my flesh and seem resolved now to pick
+my bones.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Soon after he was elected President, or as we should now say, Governor
+of Pennsylvania. The vote rested with the Executive Council and the
+Assembly, seventy-seven in all. He received seventy-six votes.
+Notwithstanding the ravages of war, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[Pg 363]</a></span>peace came with her usual
+blessings in her hand. The Tory journals of England, were presenting
+deplorable views of the ruin of the country since deprived of the
+beneficial government of the British cabinet. Franklin wrote to his
+old friend, David Hartley,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;Your newspapers are filled with accounts of distresses and
+miseries, that these states are plunged into, since their
+separation from Britain. You may believe me when I tell you
+that there is no truth in those accounts. I find all
+property in land and houses, augmented vastly in value; that
+of houses in town at least four-fold. The crops have been
+plentiful; and yet the produce sells high, to the great
+profit of the farmer. Working people have plenty of employ,
+and high pay for their labor.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>There were many imperfections attending the old Confederacy. In the
+year 1787, a convention met in Philadelphia, to frame a new
+constitution. There was strong opposition to this movement. Washington
+and Franklin were both delegates. Washington took the chair. The good
+nature and wisdom of Franklin ruled the house. The convention met in
+the State House. Franklin, eighty-one years of age, was regularly in
+his seat, five hours a day, for four months. He was thoroughly
+democratic in his views, and opposed every measure which had any
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_364" id="Page_364">[Pg 364]</a></span>tendency to extend aristocratic privilege. He had seen that the
+British government was in the hands of the nobles. And silent, as
+prudence rendered it necessary for him to be, in reference to the
+arbitrary government of France, he could not but see that the
+peasantry were subject to the most intolerable abuses. This led him to
+detest a monarchy, and to do every thing in his power to place the
+government of this country in the hands of the people.</p>
+
+<p>Much time was occupied in deciding upon the terms of union between the
+smaller and the larger States. It will be remembered that this was the
+subject of very excited debates in the convention of 1776. The
+discussion was earnest, often acrimonious. Such bitterness of feeling
+was engendered that, for some time it was feared that no union could
+be effected.</p>
+
+<p>It is evident that Franklin, as he approached the grave, became more
+devout, and that he lost all confidence in the powers of philosophical
+speculations to reform or regenerate fallen man. He saw that the
+interposition of a divine power was needed to allay the intense
+excitement in the convention, and to lead the impassioned members to
+act under the conviction that they were responsible to God. On the
+28th of June, this venerable, patriarchal man offered the following
+memorable resolve:</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_365" id="Page_365">[Pg 365]</a></span></p><div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;Resolved, That henceforth prayers, imploring the assistance
+of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held
+in the Assembly every morning before we proceed to business;
+and that one or more of the clergy of this city be requested
+to officiate in that service.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>The speech which accompanied this motion will forever be conspicuous
+in our annals. He said:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Mr. President! The small progress we have made, after four
+or five weeks close attendence and continual reasonings with
+each other; our different sentiments on almost every
+question, is, methinks, a melancholy proof of the
+imperfection of the human understanding.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;In this situation of this Assembly groping, as it were, in
+the dark, to find political truth, and scarce able to
+distinguish it when presented to us, how has it happened,
+sir, that we have not yet hitherto once thought of humbly
+applying to the Father of Lights to illuminate our
+understandings?</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;In the beginning of the contest with Britain, when we were
+sensible of danger, we had daily prayers, in this room, for
+divine protection! Our prayers, sir, were heard, and they
+were graciously answered. All of us, who were engaged in the
+struggle, must have observed frequent instances of a
+superintending Providence in our favor. To that <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_366" id="Page_366">[Pg 366]</a></span>kind
+Providence we owe this happy opportunity of consulting, in
+peace, on the means of establishing our future national
+felicity. And have we now forgotten that powerful friend? or
+do we imagine that we no longer need his assistance?</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I have lived, sir, a long time. And the longer I live, the
+more convincing proofs I see of this truth; <i>That God
+governs in the affairs of men</i>. And if a sparrow cannot fall
+to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an
+Empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, sir,
+in the Sacred Writings, that &#8216;except the Lord build the
+house, they labor in vain that build it.&#8217; I firmly believe
+this. And I also believe that, without His concurring aid,
+we shall succeed in this political building, no better than
+the building of Babel.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>It is almost incomprehensible that, under the influence of such an
+appeal, the great majority of the Assembly should have voted against
+seeking divine aid. In a note appended to this speech, Franklin
+writes,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;The convention, except three or four persons, thought
+prayers unnecessary.&#8221;<a name="FNanchor_39_39" id="FNanchor_39_39"></a><a href="#Footnote_39_39" class="fnanchor">[39]</a></p></div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_367" id="Page_367">[Pg 367]</a></span></p><p>The convention came to a triumphant close, early in September, 1787.
+Behind the speaker&#8217;s chair there was a picture of the Rising Sun.
+While the members were signing, Franklin turned to Mr. Madison, and
+said,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I have often, in the course of the session, and the vicissitudes of
+my hopes and fears as to its issue, looked at the picture behind the
+President, without being able to tell whether the sun were rising or
+setting. But now at length, I have the happiness to know that it is a
+rising, not a setting sun.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Washington was universally revered. Franklin was both revered and
+loved. It was almost the universal feeling that, next to Washington,
+our nation was indebted to Franklin for its Independence. Franklin
+occupied, in the arduous field of diplomacy, the position which
+Washington occupied at the head of our armies. It was certain that
+Franklin had, at one period of his life, entirely renounced his belief
+in Christianity, as a divine revelation. His Christian friends,
+numbering hundreds, encouraged by some of the utterances of his old
+age, were anxious to know if he had returned to the faith of his
+fathers. Dr. Ezra Stiles, President of Yale College, was a friend of
+Franklin&#8217;s of many years standing. When the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_368" id="Page_368">[Pg 368]</a></span>revered patriot had
+reached his eighty-fifth year, Dr. Stiles wrote, soliciting his
+portrait for the college library. In this letter, he says,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;I wish to know the opinion of my venerable friend,
+concerning Jesus of Nazareth. He will not impute this to
+impertinence; or improper curiosity in one, who, for so many
+years, has continued to love, esteem and reverence his
+abilities and literary character, with an ardor and
+affection bordering on adoration.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>What Dr. Stiles, and the community in general, wished to know was,
+whether Dr. Franklin recognized the Divine, supernatural origin of
+Christianity. Franklin evaded the question. This evasion of course
+indicates that he did not recognize, in the religion of Jesus, the
+authority of, &#8220;Thus saith the Lord.&#8221; But he wished to avoid wounding
+the feelings of his Christian friends by this avowal. He wrote,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;This is my creed. I believe in God, the Creator of the
+Universe; that he governs it by his Providence; that he
+ought to be worshiped; that the most acceptable service we
+render to him, is doing good to his other children; that the
+soul of man is immortal, and will be treated with justice in
+another life, respecting its conduct in this. These I take
+to be fundamental points in all sound religion, and I regard
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_369" id="Page_369">[Pg 369]</a></span>them as you do, in whatever sect I meet with them.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;As to Jesus of Nazareth, my opinion of whom you
+particularly desire, I think his system of morals and his
+religion, as he left them to us, the best the world ever
+saw, or is like to see. But I apprehend it has received
+various corrupting changes, and I have, with most of the
+Dissenters in England, some doubts as to his Divinity;
+though it is a question I do not dogmatize upon, having
+never studied it. And I think it needless to busy myself
+with it now, when I expect soon an opportunity of knowing
+the truth with less trouble.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I see however no harm in its being believed, if that belief
+has the good consequence, as probably it has, of making his
+doctrines more respected and observed; especially as I do
+not perceive that the Supreme takes it amiss, by
+distinguishing the unbelievers in his government of this
+world, with any peculiar marks of his displeasure. I shall
+only add respecting myself, that, having experienced the
+goodness of that Being, in conducting me prosperously
+through a long life, I have no doubt of its continuance in
+the next, though without the smallest conceit of meriting
+such goodness.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>He then adds the following suggestive postscript. &#8220;I confide that you
+will not expose me to criticism <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_370" id="Page_370">[Pg 370]</a></span>and censures, by publishing any part
+of this communication to you. I have ever let others enjoy their
+religious sentiments, without reflecting on them, for those that
+appeared to me unsupportable, or even absurd. All sects here, and we
+have a great variety, have experienced my good will, in assisting them
+with subscriptions for the building their new places of worship. And,
+as I have never opposed any of their doctrines, I hope to go out of
+the world in peace with them all.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Much of his time, in these hours of sickness, he employed in writing
+his Autobiography. The sufferings he endured were at times very
+severe. But when he spoke of his approaching departure, it was with
+composure. At one time, when his daughter expressed the wish that he
+might yet live many years, he replied &#8220;I hope not.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>A clerical friend visited him, just as one of his paroxysms of pain
+came on. As his friend in consequence was about to retire, he said,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh no; don&#8217;t go away. These pains will soon be over. They are for my
+good. And besides, what are the pains of a moment in comparison with
+the pleasures of eternity.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>There was, in one of the chambers of his house, a very beautiful
+painting of Christ on the Cross. He requested his nurse, a very worthy
+woman, of the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_371" id="Page_371">[Pg 371]</a></span>Friends&#8217; persuasion, to bring it down, and place it
+directly before him. The Rev. David Ritter, a great admirer of
+Franklin, called to see him. He had, however, but a few moments
+before, breathed his last. Sarah Humphries, the nurse, invited David
+into the chamber, to view the remains. Mr. Ritter expressed surprise
+in seeing the picture of the Saviour on the cross occupying so
+conspicuous a position, saying, &#8220;You know, Sarah, that many people
+think that Dr. Franklin was not after this sort.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; she replied, &#8220;but thee knows, David, that many make a great
+fuss about religion, who have very little. And many, who say but
+little, have a good deal. He was never satisfied, if a day passed away
+unless he had done some one a service.<a name="FNanchor_40_40" id="FNanchor_40_40"></a><a href="#Footnote_40_40" class="fnanchor">[40]</a> Benjamin Franklin was one
+of that sort. I will tell thee how the picture came here. Many weeks
+ago, as he lay, he beckoned me to him, and told me of this picture, up
+stairs, and begged I would bring it to him. I brought it. His face
+brightened up, as he looked at it, and he said,</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_372" id="Page_372">[Pg 372]</a></span></p><p>&#8220;&#8216;Ay Sarah; there is a picture worth looking at. That is the picture
+of him who came into the world to teach men to love one another.&#8217;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;After looking at it wistfully for some time, he said, &#8216;Sarah, set
+this picture up over the mantel-piece, right before me as I lie. I
+like to look at it.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;When I fixed it up he looked at it very much; and indeed died with
+his eyes fixed upon it.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>However deeply Franklin, in these dying hours may have pondered the
+sublimities of Immortality&mdash;the Resurrection&mdash;the Judgment Throne&mdash;the
+Final Verdict&mdash;Heaven&mdash;Hell,&mdash;he was very reticent respecting those
+themes. We certainly see none of the triumph of Paul, and of
+thousands of others, who have in varied language, expressed the
+sentiment that,</p>
+
+<div class="centerbox bbox"><p>
+&#8220;Jesus can make a dying bed<br />
+Feel soft as downy pillows are.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>A few hours before his death, as some one urged him to change his
+position, that he might breathe easier he replied, &#8220;a dying man can do
+nothing easy.&#8221; These were his last words. He then sank into a
+lethargy, from which he passed into that sleep which has no earthly
+waking. It was eleven o&#8217;clock at night, April 17, 1790. He had lived
+eighty-four years, three months and eleven days.</p>
+
+<p>But no candid and charitable reader can peruse this narrative, without
+the admission that Benjamin <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_373" id="Page_373">[Pg 373]</a></span>Franklin, notwithstanding his
+imperfections, was one of the wisest and best of all the fallen
+children of Adam. From his dying hour to the present day his memory
+has been justly cherished with reverence and affection, throughout the
+civilized world. And there is no fear that this verdict will ever be
+reversed.</p>
+
+<hr class="large" />
+<h2><span class="smcap">Footnotes:</span></h2>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Sparks&#8217; Life and Works of Franklin, Vol. 6, p. 291.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> This volume has been republished by the Mass. S. S.
+Society.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Works of Dr. Franklin by W. Temple Franklin. Vol. I, p.
+447.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> &#8220;For some years he wandered in heathenish darkness.
+He forsook the safe and good though narrow way of his forefathers,
+and of his father and mother, and his gentle Uncle Benjamin, without
+finding better and larger ways of his own. He was in danger of
+becoming a castaway or a commonplace successful man of the world.
+He found in due time, after many trials, and much suffering and
+many grievous errors, that the soul of a man does not thrive
+upon negations, and that, in very truth a man must <i>believe</i>
+in order that he may be saved.&#8221;&mdash;<i>Parton&#8217;s Life of Franklin, Vol. I,
+p. 71.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> The intelligent reader will recall the glowing version of
+this Psalm, by Steinhold.</p>
+
+<div class="centerbox bbox"><p>&#8220;The Lord descended from above,<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And bowed the heavens most high;</span><br />
+And underneath his feet he cast<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The darkness of the sky.</span><br />
+On cherub and on cherubim,<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Full royally he rode;</span><br />
+And on the wings of mighty winds,<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Came flying all abroad.&#8221;</span></p></div></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> We both of us happen to know, as well as the stationer,
+that Riddlesden, the attorney, was a very knave. He had half ruined
+Miss Read&#8217;s father by persuading him to be bound for him. By
+his letter it appeared there was a secret scheme on foot to the
+prejudice of Mr. Hamilton; that Keith was concerned in it with
+Riddlesden.&mdash;Works of Franklin, by Sparks, Vol. i, p. 55.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> In this extraordinary document our young deist writes,
+&#8220;There is said to be a first mover, who is called God, who is all
+wise, all good, all powerful. If he is all good, whatsoever he doeth
+must be good. If he is all wise, whatever he doeth must be wise. That
+there are things to which we give the name of <i>Evil</i>, is not to be
+denied&mdash;such as theft, murder, etc. But these are not in reality
+evils. To suppose anything to exist or to be done contrary to the will
+of the Almighty is to suppose him not Almighty. There is nothing done
+but God either does or permits. Though a creature may do many actions,
+which, by his fellow creatures, will be named evil, yet he can not act
+what will be in itself displeasing to God.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;We will sum up the argument thus, When the Creator first designed the
+universe, either it was his will that all should exist and be in the
+manner they are at this time, or it was his will that they should be
+otherwise. To say it was His will things should be otherwise, is to
+say that somewhat hath contradicted His will; which is impossible.
+Therefore we must allow that all things exist now in a manner
+agreeable to His will; and, in consequence of that, all are equally
+good and therefore equally esteemed by Him. No condition of life or
+being is better or preferable to another.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>This whole treatise may be found in the appendix to the first volume
+of Parton&#8217;s Life of Franklin.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> Franklin writes in his autobiography, &#8220;I grew fond of her
+company, and being at that time under no religious restraint, and
+taking advantage of my importance to her, I attempted to take some
+liberties with her, another <i>erratum</i>, which she repulsed with a
+proper degree of resentment. She wrote to Ralph and acquainted him
+with my conduct. This occasioned a breach between us; and when he
+returned to London, he let me know he considered all the obligations
+he had been under to me as annulled.&#8221;&mdash;Works of Franklin, Vol. i, p.
+59.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> &#8220;On one of these days I was, to my surprise, sent for by
+a great man I knew only by name, Sir William Wyndham. He had heard of
+my swimming from Chelsea to Blackfriars and of my teaching Wygate and
+another young man to swim in a few hours. He had two sons about to set
+out on their travels. He wished to have them first taught swimming,
+and proposed to gratify me handsomely if I would teach them. They were
+not yet come to town, and my stay was uncertain, so I could not
+undertake it. But from the incident I thought it likely that if I were
+to remain in England and opened a swimming-school I might get a good
+deal of money. And it struck me so strongly that had the overture been
+made me sooner, probably I should not so soon have returned to
+America.&#8221;&mdash;Autobiography, Vol. I. p. 66.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> Parton&#8217;s Life of Franklin, Vol. I, p. 168.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> &#8220;My arguments perverted some others, especially Collins
+and Ralph. But each of these having wronged me greatly without the
+least compunction; and recollecting Keith&#8217;s conduct towards me, who
+was another Free-thinker, and my own towards Vernon and Miss Read,
+which at times gave me great trouble, I began to suspect that this
+doctrine, though it might be true, was not very useful. My London
+pamphlet, printed in 1725, and which had for its motto,</p>
+
+<p class="center">&#8220;&#8216;Whatever is is right,&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>and which from the attributes of God, His infinite wisdom, goodness
+and power, concluded that nothing could possibly be wrong in the
+world, and that vice and virtue were empty distinctions, no such
+things existing, appeared now not so clever a performance, as I once
+thought it; and I doubted whether some error had not insinuated itself
+unperceived into my argument.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>In the year 1779, Dr. Franklin wrote to Dr. Benjamin Vaughn respecting
+this pamphlet.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;There were only one hundred copies printed, of which I gave a few to
+friends. Afterwards, disliking the piece, I burnt the rest, except one
+copy. I was not nineteen years of age when it was written. In 1730, I
+wrote a piece on the other side of the question, which began with
+laying for its foundation that almost all men, in all ages and
+countries, have at times made use of prayer.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Thence I reasoned that if all things are ordained, prayer must be
+among the rest ordained; but as prayer can procure no change in things
+that are ordained, praying must then be useless and an absurdity. God
+would, therefore, not ordain praying if everything else was ordained.
+But praying exists, therefore all other things are not ordained. This
+manuscript was never printed. The great uncertainty I found in
+metaphysical reasoning disgusted me, and I quitted that kind of
+reading and study for others more satisfactory.&#8221;&mdash;Autobiography, p.
+76.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> This pamphlet may be found in Sparks&#8217; &#8220;Works of
+Franklin,&#8221; Vol. ii, p. 253.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> Life of Franklin, by Sparks, p. 102.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> &#8220;No other British colony admits of the evidence of an
+Indian against a white man; nor are the complaints of Indians against
+white men duly regarded in other colonies; whereby these poor people
+endure the most cruel treatment from the very worst of our own people,
+without hope of redress. And all the Indian wars in our colonies were
+occasioned by such means.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Importance of the British Plantations in America to these Kingdoms,
+London. 1731.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> Life and Works of John Adams, Vol. ii, p. 165.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> &#8220;And now after the lapse of one hundred and thirty
+years, we find persons willing to give twenty-five dollars for a
+single number, and several hundred dollars for a complete set. Nay,
+the reading matter of several of the numbers, has been republished
+within these few years, and that republication already begins to
+command the price of a rarity.&#8221;&mdash;<i>Parton&#8217;s Life of Franklin</i>, Vol. i,
+p. 231.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> &#8220;Poor Richard, at this day, would be reckoned an
+indecent production. All great humorists were all indecent, before
+Charles Dickens. They used certain words which are now never
+pronounced by polite persons, and are never printed by respectable
+printers; and they referred freely to certain subjects which are
+familiar to every living creature, but which it is now agreed among
+civilized beings, shall not be topics of conversation. In this respect
+Poor Richard was no worse, and not much better than other colonial
+periodicals, some of which contain things incredibly obscene,
+as much so as the strongest passages of Sterne, Smollet and De
+Foe.&#8221;&mdash;<i>Parton.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> &#8220;It was about this time I conceived the bold and arduous
+project of arriving at moral perfection. I wished to live without
+committing any fault at any time. As I knew, or thought I knew what
+was right and wrong, I did not see why I might not always do the one
+and avoid the other. But I soon found that I had undertaken a task of
+more difficulty than I had imagined.&#8221;&mdash;Autobiography, p. 105.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> &#8220;Autobiography of Franklin,&#8221; as given by Sparks, p.
+139.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> Franklin was then 53 years of age.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_21_21" id="Footnote_21_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_21"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> Wilson&#8217;s Life of Bishop White, p. 89.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_22_22" id="Footnote_22_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_22"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> Mr. Parton, in his excellent Life of Franklin, one of
+the best biographies which was ever written, objects to this
+withholding of the Christian name from Dr. Franklin. He writes,
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;I do not understand what Dr. Priestly meant, by saying that
+Franklin was an unbeliever in Christianity, since he himself
+was open to the same charge from nine-tenths of the
+inhabitants of Christendom. Perhaps, if the two men were now
+alive, we might express the theological difference between
+them by saying that Priestly was a Unitarian of the Channing
+school, and Franklin of that of Theodore Parker.&#8221; Again he
+writes, &#8220;I have ventured to call Franklin the consummate
+Christian of his time. Indeed I know not who, of any time,
+has exhibited more of the Spirit of Christ.&#8221;&mdash;<i>Parton&#8217;s
+Franklin Vol. 1. p. 546. Vol. 2. p. 646.</i></p></div></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_23_23" id="Footnote_23_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_23"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> &#8220;For dinner parties Franklin was in such demand that,
+during the London season, he sometimes dined out six days in the
+week for several weeks together. He also confesses that occasionally
+he drank more wine than became a philosopher. It would indeed have
+been extremely difficult to avoid it, in that soaking age, when
+a man&#8217;s force was reckoned by the number of bottles he could
+empty.&#8221;&mdash;<i>Parton&#8217;s Life of Franklin</i>, Vol. i, p. 540.</p>
+
+<p>As an illustration of the state of the times, I give the following
+verse from one of the songs which Franklin wrote, and which he was
+accustomed to sing with great applause. At the meetings of the Junto,
+all the club joined in the chorus,</p>
+
+<div class="centerbox3 bbox"><p>&#8220;Fair Venus calls; her voice obey<br />
+In beauty&#8217;s arms spend night and day.<br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span>The joys of love all joys excel,<br />
+And loving&#8217;s certainly doing well.<br />
+</p>
+
+<p><span style="margin-left: 3em;"><i>Chorus.</i></span></p>
+
+<p><span style="margin-left: 1em;">Oh! no!</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Not so!</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For honest souls still know</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Friends and the bottle still bear the bell.&#8221;</span></p></div>
+
+<p>&#8220;It is well,&#8221; Mr. Parton writes, &#8220;for us, in these days, to consider
+the spectacle of this large, robust soul, sporting in this simple,
+homely way. This superb Franklin of ours, who spent some evenings in
+mere jollity, passed nearly all his days in labor most fruitful of
+benefit to his country.&#8221;&mdash;<i>Life of Franklin</i>, Vol. i, p. 262.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_24_24" id="Footnote_24_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_24"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> It may be worthy of record, that Wedderburn became the
+hero of the clubs and the favorite of the Tory party. Wealth and
+honors were lavished upon him. He rose to the dignity of an earl and
+lord chancellor, and yet we do not find, in any of the annals of those
+days, that he is spoken of otherwise than as a shallow, unprincipled
+man. When his death, after a few hours&#8217; illness, was announced to the
+king, he scornfully said, &#8220;He has not left a worse man behind him.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_25_25" id="Footnote_25_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_25_25"><span class="label">[25]</span></a> &#8220;And here perhaps we have one of the reasons why Dr.
+Franklin, who was universally confessed to be the ablest pen in
+America, was not always asked to write the great documents of the
+Revolution. He would have put a joke into the Declaration of
+Independence, if it had fallen to him to write it. At this time he was
+a humorist of fifty years standing, and had become fixed in the habit
+of illustrating great truths by grotesque and familiar similes. His
+jokes, the circulating medium of Congress, were as helpful to the
+cause, as Jay&#8217;s conscience or Adams&#8217; fire; they restored good humor,
+and relieved the tedium of delay, but were out of place in formal,
+exact and authoritative papers.&#8221;&mdash;<i>Parton&#8217;s Franklin</i>, Vol. 2. p. 85.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_26_26" id="Footnote_26_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_26_26"><span class="label">[26]</span></a>
+Upon the overthrow of the royalist cause, Governor Franklin with other Tories went to England.
+Government gave him outright eighteen hundred pounds, and settled upon him a pension
+of eight hundred pounds a year. After the lapse of ten years he sought reconciliation with
+with his father. He lived to the age of eighty-two and died in London, in 1813.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_27_27" id="Footnote_27_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_27_27"><span class="label">[27]</span></a> In the year 1780, Mr. Henry Laurens, formerly President
+of Congress, was sent as ambassador to Holland. The ship was captured
+off Newfoundland, after a chase of five hours. The unfortunate man was
+thrown into the Tower, where he was imprisoned fifteen months, &#8220;where&#8221;
+he wrote to Mr. Burke, &#8220;I suffered under a degree of rigor, almost if
+not altogether unexampled in modern British history.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_28_28" id="Footnote_28_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_28_28"><span class="label">[28]</span></a> This anecdote has had a wide circulation in the
+newspapers. Mr. William Cobbett inserts it in his &#8220;Works,&#8221; with the
+following comment, characteristic of the spirit of most of the higher
+class of Englishmen, in those days:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;Whether this anecdote record a truth or not I shall not pretend to
+say. But it must be confessed, that the expressions imputed to the two
+personages were strictly in character. In Gibbon, we see the faithful
+subject, and the man of candor and honor. In Franklin<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[Pg 324]</a></span> the treacherous
+and malicious old Zanga, of Boston.&#8221;&mdash;<i>Works of William Cobbett. Vol.
+vii, p. 244.</i></p></div></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_29_29" id="Footnote_29_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_29_29"><span class="label">[29]</span></a> Works of John Adams, Vol. III, p. 220.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_30_30" id="Footnote_30_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_30_30"><span class="label">[30]</span></a> This is a delicate subject, but it must not be ignored.
+Mr. Parton writes,&mdash;&#8220;One penny-a-liner informed the public that Dr.
+Franklin had a son, who, though illegitimate, was a much more honest
+man than his father. As to the mother of that son, nothing was known
+of her, except that her seducer let her die in the streets.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>There was no end to those attacks. They were attended by every
+exaggeration of malignity which hatred could engender. It is certain
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[Pg 327]</a></span>that Franklin would have been saved from these woes could he, as a
+young man, have embraced the <i>faith</i> of the religion of Jesus, and
+developed that <i>faith</i> in his <i>practice</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_31_31" id="Footnote_31_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_31_31"><span class="label">[31]</span></a> The wonderful achievements of this patriot are fully
+recorded in one of the volumes of this series.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_32_32" id="Footnote_32_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_32_32"><span class="label">[32]</span></a> In reference to the promises contained in the letter,
+Franklin referred to a book which it was said George III. had
+carefully studied, called <i>Arcana Imperii</i>. A prince, to appease a
+revolt, had promised indemnity to the revolters. The question was
+submitted to the keepers of the king&#8217;s conscience, whether he were
+bound to keep his promises. The reply was,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No! It was right to make the promises, because the revolt could not
+otherwise be suppressed. It would be wrong to keep them, because
+revolters ought to be punished.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_33_33" id="Footnote_33_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_33_33"><span class="label">[33]</span></a> Sparks&#8217; Franklin, Vol. iii, p. 278.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_34_34" id="Footnote_34_34"></a><a href="#FNanchor_34_34"><span class="label">[34]</span></a> Mr. Jefferson, after an intimacy of seven months with
+John Adams, in Paris, wrote of him: &#8220;He is vain, irritable, and a bad
+calculator of the force and probable effect of the motives which
+govern men. This is all the ill which can possibly be said of him. He
+is as disinterested as the Being who made him.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_35_35" id="Footnote_35_35"></a><a href="#FNanchor_35_35"><span class="label">[35]</span></a> Edmund Burke wrote to Dr. Franklin that &#8220;The motion was
+the <i>declaration</i> of two hundred and thirty four members; but it was
+the <i>opinion</i>, he thought, of the whole house.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_36_36" id="Footnote_36_36"></a><a href="#FNanchor_36_36"><span class="label">[36]</span></a> Mr. Adams wrote, in his diary, November, 1782, &#8220;Mr. Jay
+don&#8217;t like any Frenchman. The Marquis de la Fayette is clever, but he
+is a Frenchman.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_37_37" id="Footnote_37_37"></a><a href="#FNanchor_37_37"><span class="label">[37]</span></a> Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution, V.
+viii, p. 209.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_38_38" id="Footnote_38_38"></a><a href="#FNanchor_38_38"><span class="label">[38]</span></a> Contemplate the still greater blunder of our civil war.
+It was forced upon the nation by the slave traders, that they might
+<i>perpetuate slavery</i>. And now after the infliction of woes which no
+finite imagination can gauge, these very slave-holders declare with
+one voice, that nothing would induce them to <i>reinstate the execrable
+institution</i>. How much misery would have been averted, and what a
+comparative paradise would our southern country now have been, if
+before, instead of after the war, the oppressed had been allowed to go
+free!</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_39_39" id="Footnote_39_39"></a><a href="#FNanchor_39_39"><span class="label">[39]</span></a> Mr. Parton undoubtedly suggested the true reason for
+this strange refusal to seek divine guidance. He writes,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;I think it not improbable that the cause of this opposition to a
+proposal so seldom negatived in the United States, was the prevalence
+in the Convention of the French tone of feeling with regard to
+religious observances. If so, it was the more remarkable to see the
+aged Franklin, who was a deist at fifteen, and had just returned from
+France, coming back to the sentiments of his ancestors.&#8221;&mdash;<i>Parton&#8217;s
+Franklin</i> Vol. 2, p. 575.</p></div></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_40_40" id="Footnote_40_40"></a><a href="#FNanchor_40_40"><span class="label">[40]</span></a> This reminds us of the exclamation of the Emperor Titus,
+who, at the close of a day in which he could not perceive that he had
+done any good, exclaimed, sadly, &#8220;Perdidi Diem.&#8221; <i>I have lost a day.</i>
+Beautifully has the sentiment been expressed in the words, which it
+would be well for all to treasure up,</p>
+
+<div class="centerbox2 bbox"><p>&#8220;Count that day lost, whose low descending sun,<br />
+Views at thy hand no worthy action done.&#8221;</p></div></div>
+
+<hr class="large" />
+<h2><span class="smcap">Transcriber&#8217;s Note:</span></h2>
+
+<p>Minor changes have been made to correct obvious typesetters&#8217; errors;
+otherwise, every effort has been made to remain true to the author&#8217;s
+words and intent.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Benjamin Franklin, A Picture of the
+Struggles of Our Infant Nation One Hundred Years Ago, by John S. C. Abbott
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+</body>
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Benjamin Franklin, A Picture of the
+Struggles of Our Infant Nation One Hundred Years Ago, by John S. C. Abbott
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Benjamin Franklin, A Picture of the Struggles of Our Infant Nation One Hundred Years Ago
+       American Pioneers and Patriots Series
+
+Author: John S. C. Abbott
+
+Release Date: November 5, 2009 [EBook #30406]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BENJAMIN FRANKLIN ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by D Alexander and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+produced from images generously made available by The
+Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+_AMERICAN PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS._
+
+ BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
+
+ A PICTURE OF THE
+
+ STRUGGLES OF OUR INFANT NATION,
+
+ ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO.
+
+ BY
+
+ JOHN S. C. ABBOTT.
+
+ "Print me as I am."--CROMWELL.
+
+ ILLUSTRATED.
+
+ NEW YORK:
+ DODD, MEAD & COMPANY.
+ 751 BROADWAY.
+
+
+
+
+ COPYRIGHT,
+
+ DODD, MEAD & COMPANY.
+
+ 1876
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+Next to George Washington, we must write, upon the Catalogue
+of American Patriots, the name of Benjamin Franklin. He had so
+many virtues that there is no need of exaggerating them; so few
+imperfections that they need not be concealed. The writer has
+endeavored to give a perfectly accurate view of his character, and of
+that great struggle, in which he took so conspicuous a part, which
+secured the Independence of the United States. Probably there can no
+where be found, within the same limits, so vivid a picture of Life in
+America, one hundred years ago, as the career of Franklin presents.
+
+This volume is the twelfth of the Library Series of Pioneers and
+Patriots. The series presents a graphic history of our country from
+its discovery.
+
+1. _Christopher Columbus_ reveals to us the West Indies, and gives a
+narrative of wonders unsurpassed in fact or fable.
+
+2. _De Soto_ conducts us to Florida, and leads us through scenes of
+romance, crime, blood and woe--through many Indian tribes, across the
+continent, to the Mississippi, where he finds his melancholy grave.
+
+3. _La Salle_, and his heroic companions, traversed thousands of miles
+of majestic lakes and unknown rivers, and introduces us to innumerable
+barbaric tribes. There is no other writer, who, from his own personal
+observation, can give one so vivid an idea of Life in the Indian
+village and wigwam.
+
+4. _Miles Standish_ was the Captain of the Pilgrims. He conducts us in
+the May Flower, across the Atlantic, lands us at Plymouth, and tells
+the never to be forgotten story of the heroism of our fathers in
+laying the foundations of this great republic.
+
+5. _Captain Kidd_, and the Buccaneers, reveal to us the awful
+condition of North and South America, when there was no protecting law
+here, and when pirates swept sea and land, inflicting atrocities, the
+narrative of which causes the ear which hears it to tingle.
+
+6. _Peter Stuyvesant_ takes us by the hand, and introduces us to the
+Dutch settlement at the mouth of the Hudson, conveys us, in his
+schooner, up the solitary river, along whose forest-covered banks
+Indian villages were scattered; and reveals to us all the struggles,
+by which the Dutch New Amsterdam was converted into the English New
+York.
+
+7. _Benjamin Franklin_ should chronologically take his place
+here. There is probably not, in the compass of all literature, a
+biography more full of entertainment and valuable thought, than
+a truthful sketch of the career of Benjamin Franklin. He leads us to
+Philadelphia, one hundred and fifty years ago, and makes us perfectly
+familiar with life there and then. He conducts us across the Atlantic
+to the Court of St. James, and the Court of Versailles. There is no
+writer, French or English, who has given such vivid sketches of the
+scenes which were witnessed there, as came from the pen of Benjamin
+Franklin. For half a century Franklin moved amid the most stupendous
+events, a graphic history of which his pen has recorded.
+
+8. _George Washington_ has no superior. Humanity is proud of his name.
+He seems to have approached as near perfection as any man who ever
+lived. In his wonderful career we became familiar with all the
+struggles of the American Revolution. With a feeble soldiery,
+collected from a population of less than three millions of people, he
+baffled all the efforts of the fleets and armies of Great Britain, the
+most powerful empire upon this globe.
+
+9. _Daniel Boone_ was the Cowper of the wilderness; a solitary man
+loving the silent companionship of the woods. He leads us across the
+Alleghanies to the fields of Kentucky, before any white man's foot
+had traversed those magnificent realms. No tale of romance could ever
+surpass his adventures with the Indians.
+
+10. _Kit Carson_ was the child of the wilderness. He was by nature a
+gentleman, and one of the most lovable of men. His weird-like life
+passed rapidly away, before the introduction of railroads and
+steamboats. His strange, heroic adventures are ever read with
+astonishment, and they invariably secure for him the respect and
+affection of all who become familiar with his name.
+
+11. _Paul Jones_ was one of the purest patriots, and perhaps the most
+heroic naval hero, to whom any country has given birth. He has been so
+traduced, by the Tory press of Great Britain, that even the Americans
+have not yet done him full justice. This narrative of his astonishing
+achievements will, it is hoped, give him rank, in the opinion of every
+reader, with Washington, Franklin, Jefferson and Lafayette.
+
+12. _David Crockett_ was a unique man. There is no one like him. Under
+no institutions but ours could such a character be formed. From a log
+hut, more comfortless than the wigwam of the savage, and without being
+able either to read or write, he enters legislative halls, takes his
+seat in Congress, and makes the tour of our great cities, attracting
+crowds to hear him speak. His life is a wild romance of undoubted
+truth.
+
+Such is the character of this little library of twelve volumes. The
+writer, who has now entered the evening of life, affectionately
+commends them to the young men of America, upon whose footsteps their
+morning sun is now rising. The life of each one, if prolonged to three
+score years and ten, will surely prove a stormy scene. But it may end
+in a serene and tranquil evening, ushering in the glories of an
+immortal day.
+
+                         JOHN S. C. ABBOTT.
+
+     FAIR HAVEN, CONN.
+
+As this is not improbably the last book I shall write, it may not be
+improper for me to state that, at the age of twenty-four, I commenced
+the career of an author, by writing "The Mother At Home." I have now
+attained the age of three score years and ten. In the meantime I have
+written fifty-four volumes of History or Biography. In every one it
+has been my endeavor to make the inhabitants of this sad world more
+brotherly,--better and happier.
+
+The long series is probably closed with the biography of Benjamin
+Franklin. Every page has been penned under this impression. A theme
+more full of instruction and interest could not be chosen.
+
+And now, in my declining years, as I feel that the battle has been
+fought and, I hope, the victory won, it is an unspeakable comfort for
+me to reflect, that, in all these fifty-four volumes, there is not one
+line which, "dying, I could wish to blot."
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+ CHAPTER I.
+
+ _Parentage and Early Life._
+
+                                                                  PAGE
+
+ The parentage of Franklin--His parents emigrate to America--Character
+ of his father--Abiah Folger, his mother--Birth and baptism--Influence
+ of his Uncle Strong--Of the Whistle--Childish exploits--Uncongenial
+ employment--Skill in swimming--Early reading--Boston at that time--An
+ indentured apprentice--Form of Indenture--Enters a printing
+ office--Fondness for reading--Anecdotes--Habits of study--Fondness for
+ argument--Adopts a vegetable diet--The two creeds.                 11
+
+
+ CHAPTER II.
+
+ _Developments of Character._
+
+ Views of the Sabbath--Writings of Collins and Shaftsbury--The creed
+ of Collins--Franklin at sixteen--The Courant--Denunciations of the
+ paper--Franklin's mode of acquiring the art of composition--His
+ success as a writer--The Editor prosecuted--Benjamin becomes Editor
+ and Publisher--Jealousy of his brother--The runaway apprentice--The
+ voyage to New York--Great disappointment--Eventful Journey to
+ Philadelphia--Gloomy prospects--The dawn of brighter days.         31
+
+
+ CHAPTER III.
+
+ _Excursion to England._
+
+ Attention to dress--Receives a visit from Gov. Keith--His visit to
+ Boston--Collins returns to Philadelphia with him--Sir William Keith's
+ aid--Excursions on the Sabbath--Difficulty with Collins--Spending Mr.
+ Vernon's money--His three friends--Engagement with Deborah
+ Read--Voyage to England--Keith's deceit--Ralph--Franklin enters a
+ printing house in London.                                          52
+
+
+ CHAPTER IV.
+
+ _Mental and Moral Conflicts._
+
+ Faithfulness to work--Neglect of Deborah Read--Treatise on Liberty
+ and Necessity--Skill in swimming--Return to America--Marriage of Miss
+ Read--Severe sickness--Death of Mr. Denham--Returns to Keimer's
+ employ--The Junto--His Epitaph--Reformation of his treatise on
+ Liberty and Necessity--Franklin's creed.                           75
+
+
+ CHAPTER V.
+
+ _The Dawn of Prosperity._
+
+ Franklin takes a house--His first job--His industry--Plans a
+ Newspaper--Enters the list as a writer--Advocates a Paper
+ currency--Purchases Keimer's paper--Character of Meredith--Struggles
+ of the firm--Unexpected assistance--Dissolves partnership with
+ Meredith--Franklin's energetic conduct--His courtship, and
+ marriage--Character of Mrs. Franklin--Increase of luxury--Plans for
+ a library--Prosperity of Pennsylvania--Customs in Philadelphia--Style
+ of  dress in 1726--Franklin's social position in Philadelphia--His
+ success--A hard student.                                          101
+
+
+ CHAPTER VI.
+
+ _Religious and Philosophic Views._
+
+ Studious habits--New religion--Personal habits--Church of the Free
+ and  Easy--His many accomplishments--The career of Hemphall--Birth
+ and  Death of Franklin's son--The Ministry of Whitefield--Remarkable
+ friendship between the philosopher and the preacher--Prosperity of
+ Franklin--His convivial habits--The defense of Philadelphia--Birth of
+ a daughter--The Philadelphia Academy.                             126
+
+
+ CHAPTER VII.
+
+ _The Tradesman becomes a Philosopher._
+
+ Franklin appointed Indian commissioner--Effects of Rum--Indian
+ logic--Accumulating honors--Benevolent enterprises--Franklin's
+ counsel to Tennent--Efforts for city improvement--Anecdotes--Franklin
+ appointed postmaster--Rumors of War--England enlists the Six Nations
+ in her cause--Franklin plans a Confederacy of States--Plans
+ rejected--Electrical experiments--Franklin's increase of
+ income--Fearful experiments--The kite--New honors--Views of the
+ French philosopher--Franklin's Religious views--His counsel to a
+ young pleader--Post-office Reforms.                               147
+
+
+ CHAPTER VIII.
+
+ _The Rising Storms of War._
+
+ Aristocracy--Anecdote--Conflicting laws of Nations--Franklin's scheme
+ of colonization--Proposal of the British Court--The foresight of
+ Franklin--Braddock's campaign--Remonstrances of Franklin and
+ Washington--Franklin's interviews with Braddock--Franklin's
+ efficiency--Confidence of Braddock--The conflict with the
+ Proprietaries--The non-resistant Quakers--Fate of the
+ Moravian  villages--The winter campaign--The camp of
+ Gaudenhutton--Anecdote--Renewal of the strife with the
+ Proprietaries--Franklin recalled to assist the Assembly--Destruction
+ of the Fort--Claim of the Proprietaries--The great controversy.   168
+
+
+ CHAPTER IX.
+
+ _Franklin's Mission to England._
+
+ New marks of respect--Lord Loudoun--Gov. Denny and Franklin--Visit
+ the  Indians--Franklin commissioner to England--His constant good
+ nature--Loudoun's delays--Wise action of an English captain--The
+ voyagers land at Falmouth--Journey to London--Franklin's style of
+ living in London--His electrical experiments--He teaches the Cambridge
+ professor--Complimentary action of St. Andrews--Gov. Denny displaced,
+ and dark clouds arising--Franklin's successful diplomacy--His son
+ appointed Governor of New Jersey--Great opposition--The homeward
+ voyage--Savage horrors--Retaliating cruelties--Franklin's efforts in
+ behalf of the Moravian Indians.                                   190
+
+
+ CHAPTER X.
+
+ _Franklin's Second Mission to England._
+
+ Fiendish conduct of John Penn--Petition to the crown--Debt of
+ England--Two causes of conflict--Franklin sent to England--His
+ embarkation--Wise counsel to his daughter--The stamp act--American
+ resolves--Edmund Burke--Examination of Franklin--Words of Lord
+ Chatham--Dangers to English operatives--Repeal of the stamp act--Joy
+ in America--Ross Mackay--New taxes levied--Character of George
+ III--Accumulation of honors to Franklin--Warlike preparations--Human
+ conscientiousness--Unpopularity of William Franklin--Marriage of
+ Sarah Franklin--Franklin's varied investigations--Efforts to civilize
+ the Sandwich Islands.                                             215
+
+
+ CHAPTER XI.
+
+ _The Intolerance of King and Court._
+
+ Parties in England--Franklin the favorite of the opposition--Plans
+ of the Tories--Christian III--Letter of Franklin--Dr.
+ Priestley--Parisian courtesy--Louis XV--Visit to Ireland--Attempted
+ alteration of the Prayer Book--Letter to his son--Astounding letters
+ from America--Words of John Adams--Petition of the Assembly--Violent
+ conspiracy against Franklin--His bearing in the
+ court-room--Wedderburn's infamous charges--Letter of Franklin--Bitter
+ words of Dr. Johnson--Morals of English lords--Commercial value of
+ the Colonies--Dangers threatening Franklin.                       240
+
+
+ CHAPTER XII.
+
+ _The Bloodhounds of War Unleashed._
+
+ The mission of Josiah Quincy--Love of England by the
+ Americans--Petition to the king--Sickness and death of Mrs.
+ Franklin--Lord Chatham--His speech in favor of the colonists--Lord
+ Howe--His interview with Franklin--Firmness of Franklin--His
+ indignation--His mirth--Franklin's fable--He embarks for
+ Philadelphia--Feeble condition of the colonies--England's expressions
+ of contempt--Franklin's reception at Philadelphia--His letter to
+ Edmund Burke--Post-office arrangements--Defection and conduct of
+ William Franklin--His arrest.                                     265
+
+
+ CHAPTER XIII.
+
+ _Progress of the War, both of Diplomacy and the Sword._
+
+ Letter of Henry Laurens--Franklin visits the army before
+ Boston--Letter of Mrs. Adams--Burning of Falmouth--Franklin's journey
+ to Montreal--The Declaration of Independence--Anecdote of the
+ Hatter--Framing the Constitution--Lord Howe's Declaration--Franklin's
+ reply--The Conference--Encouraging letter from France--Franklin's
+ embassy to France--The two parties in France--The voyage--The
+ reception in France.                                              292
+
+
+ CHAPTER XIV.
+
+ _The Struggles of Diplomacy._
+
+ Anecdote of Gibbon--John Adams--Residence at Passy--Lafayette
+ introduced--Cruise of the Reprisal--Paul Jones--Capture of
+ Burgoyne--Alliance with France--Anecdote of the Cake--Excitement
+ in England--Franklin's introduction to the king--Joy in
+ America--Extraordinary letter of Count Wissenstein--The
+ reply--Injustice to Paul Jones--French troops in America--Character
+ of John Adams--Franklin's mature views of human nature--Anecdote of
+ the Angel--Capture of Cornwallis--Its effect in England--Prejudices
+ of Mr. Jay--Testimony of Dr. Sparks--Jealousy of Franklin--Shrewd
+ diplomatic act--The treaty signed.                                322
+
+
+ CHAPTER XV.
+
+ _Life's Closing Scenes._
+
+ Advice to Thomas Paine--Scenes at Passy--Journey to the Coast--Return
+ to America--Elected Governor of Pennsylvania--Attends the
+ Constitutional Convention--Proposes prayers--Remarkable
+ speech--Letter to Dr. Stiles--Christ on the Cross--Last sickness and
+ death.                                                            356
+
+
+
+
+BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+_Parentage and Early Life._
+
+    The parentage of Franklin--His parents emigrate to
+    America--Character of his father--Abiah Folger, his
+    mother--Birth and baptism--Influence of his Uncle Strong--Of
+    the Whistle--Childish exploits--Uncongenial employment--Skill
+    in swimming.--Early reading--Boston at that time--An
+    indentured apprentice--Form of Indenture--Enters a printing
+    office--Fondness for reading--Anecdotes--Habits of
+    study--Fondness for argument--Adopts a vegetable diet--The
+    two creeds.
+
+
+About the year 1685, Josiah Franklin, with his wife and three
+children, emigrated from Banbury, England, to seek his fortune in this
+new world. He was in all respects a very worthy man, intelligent,
+industrious, and influenced to conduct by high moral and religious
+principles. Several of Josiah Franklin's neighbors accompanied him in
+his removal.
+
+Boston was then a straggling village, of five or six thousand
+inhabitants. In front spread out its magnificent bay, with its
+beautiful islands. In the rear the primeval forest extended, almost
+unbroken, through unexplored wilds to the Pacific. His trade was that
+of a dyer. Finding, however, but little employment in that business,
+he set up as a tallow chandler and soap boiler. Four years of life's
+usual joys and sorrows passed away when Mrs. Franklin died, leaving
+six children. The eldest was but eleven years of age. This motherless
+little family needed a maternal guardian. Within the year, Mr.
+Franklin married Abiah Folger, of Nantucket. She was the youngest
+daughter of Peter Folger, a man illustrious for many virtues, and of
+whom it has been well said, that "he was worthy to be the grandfather
+of Benjamin Franklin." She proved to be a noble woman, and was all
+that either husband or children could wish for. Ten children were the
+fruit of this union. Benjamin was born on the sixth of January, (O.
+S.) 1706.
+
+He was born in the morning of a Sabbath day. His father then resided
+directly opposite the Old South Church, in Milk street. The same day,
+the babe, whose renown it was then little imagined would subsequently
+fill the civilized world, was wrapped in blankets, and carried by his
+father across the street through the wintry air, to the Old South
+Church, where he was baptized by the Rev. Dr. Willard. He was named
+Benjamin, after a much beloved uncle then residing in England. This
+uncle was a man of some property, of decided literary tastes, and of
+the simple, fervent piety, which characterized the best people of
+those days. He took an ever increasing interest in Benjamin. He
+eventually came over to this country, and exerted a powerful influence
+in moulding the character of his nephew, whose brilliant intellect he
+appreciated.
+
+Soon after the birth of Benjamin, his father removed to a humble but
+comfortable dwelling at the corner of Hanover and Union streets. Here
+he passed the remainder of his days. When Franklin had attained the
+age of five years, a terrible conflagration took place, since known as
+the Great Boston Fire. Just as the cold blasts of winter began to
+sweep the streets, this great calamity occurred. The whole heart of
+the thriving little town was laid in ashes. Over a hundred families
+found themselves in destitution in the streets.
+
+An incident took place when Franklin was about seven years of age,
+which left so indelible an impression upon his mind, that it cannot be
+omitted in any faithful record of his life. He gave the following
+account of the event in his autobiography, written after the lapse of
+sixty-six years:
+
+     "My friends, on a holiday, filled my pockets with coppers. I
+     went directly to a shop where they sold toys for children;
+     and being charmed with the sound of a whistle that I met by
+     the way in the hands of another boy, I voluntarily gave all
+     my money for one. I then came home and went whistling all
+     over the house, much pleased with my whistle, but disturbing
+     all the family. My brothers and sisters and cousins,
+     understanding the bargain I had made, told me that I had
+     given four times as much for it as it was worth; put me in
+     mind what good things I might have bought with the rest of
+     the money; and laughed at me so much for my folly, that I
+     cried with vexation; and the reflection gave me more chagrin
+     than the whistle gave me pleasure."
+
+This story, as published by Franklin, with his keen practical
+reflections, has become as a household word in all the families of
+England and America; and has been translated into nearly all the
+languages of modern Europe.
+
+From early childhood Franklin was celebrated for his physical beauty,
+his athletic vigor and his imperturbable good nature. His companions
+invariably recognized him as their natural leader. He was in no
+respect what would be called a religious boy, but in many things he
+had a high sense of honor.
+
+There was a marsh, flooded at high tides, where the boys used to fish
+for minnows. Much trampling had converted the spot into a quagmire. A
+man was about to build a house near by, and had carted a large
+quantity of stones for the cellar. Franklin called the boys together
+and suggested that they should go in the evening, take those stones,
+and build a wharf upon which they could stand with dry feet. It was
+done. And under the skilful engineering of the youthful Franklin, it
+was quite scientifically done. Complaints and detection followed.
+Josiah Franklin severely reproved Benjamin for the dishonest act, but
+it does not appear that the conscience of the precocious boy was much
+troubled. He argued very forcibly that the utility of the measure
+proved its necessity.
+
+At the age of eight years, Benjamin entered the Boston Grammar School.
+His progress was very rapid, and at the close of the year he was at
+the head of his class. The father had hoped to give his promising boy
+a liberal education; but his large family and straitened circumstances
+rendered it necessary for him to abandon the plan. At the age of ten
+years his school life was completed, and he was taken into his
+father's shop to run of errands, and to attend to the details of
+candle-making, cutting wicks, filling moulds, and waiting upon
+customers. He could write a good hand, could read fluently, could
+express himself with ease on paper, but in all arithmetical studies
+was very backward.
+
+There is scarcely any sport which has such a charm for boys as
+swimming. Franklin excelled all his companions. It is reported that
+his skill was wonderful; and that at any time between his twelfth and
+sixtieth year, he could with ease have swum across the Hellespont. In
+his earliest years, in all his amusements and employments, his
+inventive genius was at work in searching out expedients. To
+facilitate rapidity in swimming he formed two oval pallets, much
+resembling those used by painters, about ten inches long, and six
+broad. A hole was cut for the thumb and they were bound fast to the
+palm of the hand. Sandals of a somewhat similar construction were
+bound to the soles of the feet. With these appliances Franklin found
+that he could swim more rapidly, but his wrists soon became greatly
+fatigued. The sandals also he found of little avail, as in swimming,
+the propelling stroke is partly given by the inside of the feet and
+ankles, and not entirely by the soles of the feet.
+
+In the vicinity of Boston there was a pond a mile wide. Franklin made
+a large paper kite, and when the wind blew strongly across the pond,
+he raised it, and entering the water and throwing himself upon his
+back was borne rapidly to the opposite shore. "The motion," he says,
+"was exceedingly agreeable." A boy carried his clothes around.
+Subsequently he wrote to M. Dubourg,
+
+     "I have never since that time practiced this singular mode
+     of swimming; though I think it not impossible to cross in
+     this manner from Dover to Calais. The packet boat, however,
+     is still preferable."[1]
+
+[Footnote 1: Sparks' Life and Works of Franklin, Vol. 6, p. 291.]
+
+The taste for reading of this wonderful boy was insatiable. He had
+access, comparatively, to few books, but those he devoured with the
+utmost eagerness. Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress was, so to speak, his
+first love. Having read and re-read it until his whole spirit was
+incorporated with its nature, he sold the volume and purchased
+Burton's Historical Collections. This consisted of quite a series of
+anecdotes and adventures, written in an attractive style, and
+published at a low price. In those early years he read another book
+which exerted a powerful influence in the formation of his character.
+When eighty years of age he alludes as follows to this work in a
+letter to Mr. Samuel Mather, who was son of the author, Cotton Mather,
+
+     "When I was a boy I met with a book entitled 'Essays to do
+     Good,' which I think was written by your father. It had
+     been so little regarded by a former possessor that several
+     leaves of it were torn out; but the remainder gave me such a
+     turn of thinking, as to have an influence on my conduct
+     through life; for I have always set a greater value on the
+     character of a doer of good, than on any other kind of a
+     reputation; and if I have been, as you seem to think, a
+     useful citizen, the public owe the advantage of it to that
+     book."[2]
+
+[Footnote 2: This volume has been republished by the Mass. S. S.
+Society.]
+
+When Franklin was twelve years of age, the population of Boston had
+increased to about ten thousand. An incident is recorded of Franklin
+at this time, which strikingly illustrates the peculiarity of his
+mental structure and the want of reverence with which he gradually
+accustomed himself to regard religious things. His father's habit, in
+the long graces which preceded each meal, rather wearied the temper of
+his son. The precocious young skeptic, with characteristic
+irreverence, ventured to say,
+
+"I think, father, that if you were to say grace over the whole cask,
+once for all, it would save time."[3]
+
+[Footnote 3: Works of Dr. Franklin by W. Temple Franklin. Vol. I, p.
+447.]
+
+This was the remark of a boy but twelve years of age. Though it does
+not indicate a very devout spirit, it certainly gives evidence of an
+intellect of unusual acuteness.
+
+Franklin ever spoke of his boyhood as the very happy period of a
+remarkably happy life. His peculiar temperament enabled him to be
+happy under circumstances in which others would have been very
+miserable. His affections in after years ever yearned toward Boston;
+he was accustomed to speak of it as "that beloved place." In one of
+his letters to John Lathrop he wrote,
+
+     "The Boston manner, the turn of phrase, and even tone of
+     voice and accent in pronunciation, all please and seem to
+     revive and refresh me."
+
+For two years Benjamin continued to assist his father in the business
+of soap and candle making. He was continually looking for an
+opportunity to escape the drudgery of that employment and enter upon
+some more congenial business. Like most adventurous boys, he thought
+much of the romance of a sea-life. An elder brother had run away, had
+gone to sea, and for years had not been heard from. Benjamin's father
+became very anxious as he witnessed the discontent of his son. This
+anxiety was increased when an elder brother married, removed to Rhode
+Island, and set up a soap and candle establishment for himself. This
+seemed to Benjamin to rivet the chains which bound him at home.
+Apparently his father could not spare him from the business. Thus he
+seemed doomed to spend the remainder of his days in employment which
+proved to him increasingly uncongenial.
+
+The judicious father, apprehensive that his son might be lured
+secretly to embark for some distant voyage, visited with his son all
+the varied workshops of Boston, that he might select that trade which
+to him would seem most desirable. Benjamin examined all these
+workshops with intensest interest. He selected the employment of a
+cutler, and entered upon the business for a few days; but at that time
+a boy who was about to learn a trade was apprenticed to a master. As a
+premium for learning the business he usually had to pay about one
+hundred dollars. Then after a series of years, during which he worked
+for nothing, he was entitled for a time to receive journeyman's wages.
+But his father, Josiah Franklin, was unable to settle satisfactorily
+the terms of indenture, and the cutlery trade was given up.
+
+We have mentioned that Franklin was one of a large family of children.
+By the two marriages of his father, there were sixteen sons and
+daughters around the family hearth. One of the sons, James, had been
+sent to London to learn the trade of a printer. He returned to Boston
+and set up business on his own account, when Benjamin was eleven
+years of age. It was decided to bind Benjamin to this business.
+Reluctantly Benjamin consented to place himself in such subordination
+to his brother. He was, however, bound to him for a period of nine
+years, from twelve to twenty-one. During the last year he was to
+receive a journeyman's wages. The following extract from this form of
+indenture of apprenticeship, which was in common use in the reign of
+George the First, will be read with interest.
+
+     "He shall neither buy nor sell without his master's license.
+     Taverns, inns, or ale-houses he shall not haunt. At cards,
+     dice, tables, or any other unlawful game he shall not play.
+     Matrimony he shall not contract; nor from the service of his
+     said master day nor night absent himself, but in all things,
+     as an honest and faithful apprentice, shall and will demean
+     and behave himself towards his said master and all his,
+     during said term. And the said James Franklin, the master,
+     for and in consideration of the sum of ten pounds of lawful
+     British money to him in hand paid by the said Josiah
+     Franklin, the father, the receipt of which is hereby
+     acknowledged, the said apprentice in the art of a printer
+     which he now useth, shall teach and instruct or cause to be
+     taught and instructed the best way and manner that he can,
+     finding and allowing unto the said apprentice, meat, drink,
+     washing, lodging and all other necessaries during the said
+     term."
+
+Benjamin devoted himself with great assiduity to learn the trade of a
+printer. The office in which he worked, stood at the corner of
+Franklin avenue and Court street. For three years, Franklin was thus
+employed, apparently never seeking recreation, and never having a
+moment of leisure save such as he could rescue from sleep or from his
+meals. There were at that time several bookstores in Boston. The
+eminent men of that province had brought with them to the New World,
+literary and scientific tastes of a high order. Even then the axe of
+the settler had been heard but at a short distance in the primeval
+forests, which still encircled all the large towns. Bears were not
+unfrequently shot from Long Wharf, as they swam from island to island,
+or endeavored to cross the solitary bay. It is said that at that time
+twenty bears were often shot in a week.
+
+Benjamin Franklin, inspired by his love of reading, cultivated
+friendly relations with the clerks in the bookstores. From them he
+borrowed interesting volumes, which he took home in the evening with
+the utmost care, and having spent most of the night in reading, would
+return them at an early hour in the morning, before the master of the
+shop had time to miss them.
+
+Something in the demeanor of Franklin attracted the attention of a
+merchant in Boston by the name of Matthew Adams. He invited him to his
+library and loaned him books. The lad's Uncle Benjamin, in England,
+who was very fond of composing rhymes which he called poetry, sent
+many of his effusions to his favorite nephew, and opened quite a brisk
+correspondence with him. Thus Benjamin soon became a fluent rhymester,
+and wrote sundry ballads which were sold in the streets and became
+quite popular. There was a great demand at that time for narratives of
+the exploits of pirates, the doom of murderers, and wild love
+adventures. It is said that one of the Boston publishers, in the sale
+of ballads alone, found a very lucrative business. Benjamin, who found
+it very easy to write doggerel verse, wrote one ballad called "The
+Light-house Tragedy." It was a graphic, and what would be called at the
+present day, a sensational account of a shipwreck, in which the
+captain and his two daughters perished. He wrote another which was
+still more captivating, and which in all its main features was
+historically true. It was an account of the world-renowned pirate,
+Edward Teach, usually called Blackbeard. The reader will find a minute
+narrative of the career of that monster in the volume of this series
+of Pioneers and Patriots entitled "Captain Kidd; or the early American
+Buccaneers." One stanza has descended to us which it is said composed
+a portion of this ballad, and which is certainly a fair specimen of
+the popular style then in vogue.
+
+     "Come all you jolly sailors
+       You all so stout and brave,
+     Come hearken and I'll tell you,
+       What happened on the wave.
+     Oh 'tis of that bloody Blackbeard
+       I'm going now for to tell
+     And as how by gallant Maynard
+       He soon was sent to Hell.
+     With a down, down, derry down."
+
+This was indeed wretched stuff, as Franklin afterwards admitted; but
+it is to be remembered he was then but a boy of fifteen. Having
+composed the ballad and set in type and printed it, he was then sent
+to hawk it through the streets. This was certainly a remarkable
+achievement for a lad of his years. The eagerness with which both of
+the ballads were seized by the public must have greatly gratified the
+self-esteem of the young writer.
+
+Addison was a bungler in talk, but every sentence from his pen was
+elegant. He once said, "I carry no loose change in my pocket, but I
+can draw for a thousand pounds." Burke said of Goldsmith, "He writes
+like an angel, but he talks like poor Poll." Franklin was by no means
+a bungler in his speech, but he was not fluent. He hesitated, and was
+at a loss for words, but whatever he wrote had a wonderful flow of
+harmony. The right word was always in the right place. Doubtless had
+he devoted as much attention to the acquirement of conversational
+ease, as he did to skill in writing, he would have been as successful
+in the one art as in the other. From early life it was his great
+ambition to be not merely a fine but a forcible writer. He did not
+seek splendor of diction, but that perspicuity, that transparency of
+expression which would convey the thought most directly to the mind.
+
+An odd volume of the Spectator fell in his way. He was charmed with
+the style. Selecting some interesting incident, he would read it with
+the closest care; he would then close the book, endeavoring to retain
+the thought only without regard to the expression. Then with pen, in
+hand, he would sit down and relate the anecdote or the incident in the
+most forceful and graphic words his vocabulary would afford. This he
+would correct and re-correct, minutely attending to the capitals and
+the punctuation until he had made it in all respects as perfect as it
+was in his power. He then compared his narrative with that in the
+Spectator. Of course he usually found many faults which he had
+committed, but occasionally he could not but admit he had improved
+upon his original. This encouraged him with the hope that by long
+continued practice, he might become an able writer of the English
+language. This practice he continued for months, varying it in many
+ways. He continued to rhyme, though he admitted that there was little
+poetry in his verse. The exercise, however, he thought useful in
+giving him a mastery of language.
+
+Though Franklin wrote ballads, he seemed to be mainly interested in
+reading books of the most elevated and instructive character. Locke's
+"Essay on the Human Understanding," he studied thoroughly. "The Art of
+Thinking," by the Messrs. de Port Royal, engrossed all his energies.
+But perhaps there was no book, at that time, which produced so deep
+and abiding impression on his mind as the "Memorabilia of Socrates,"
+by Xenophon.
+
+Franklin was fond of arguing; he was naturally disputatious. With his
+keen intellect, he was pretty sure to come off as victor, at least in
+his own judgment, in discussions with his associates. But the Socratic
+method of argumentation, so different from that in which he had been
+accustomed to indulge, at once secured his approval and admiration.
+Socrates was never guilty of the discourtesy of assailing an opponent
+with flat contradiction or positive assertion. With a politeness which
+never failed him, and a modesty of demeanor which won the regard of
+all others, he would lead his fellow disputant, by a series of
+questions, to assent to the views which he advocated. Franklin
+immediately commenced practicing upon this newly discovered art. He
+was remarkably successful, and became one of the most agreeable and
+beloved of companions. But ere long he became satisfied of the folly
+of these disputations, in which each party struggles, not for
+truth, but for victory. It is simply an exercise of intellectual
+gladiatorship, in which the man who has the most skill and muscle
+discomfits his antagonist. Jefferson warned his nephew to avoid
+disputation. He says, "I have never known, during my long life, any
+persons' engage in a dispute in which they did not separate, each more
+firmly convinced than before of the correctness of his own views."
+
+Franklin enjoyed marvellous health. His digestive powers were perfect.
+He could live upon any thing and almost upon nothing without
+experiencing any inconvenience. A book advocating purely vegetable
+diet accidentally fell into his hands. It urged the pecuniary economy
+and the saving of time in adopting a vegetarian diet. Eagerly he
+adopted the views presented. He could safely do so, had the author
+advocated raw onions and carrots. The stomach of Franklin would have
+received them and assimilated them without any remonstrance. He
+succeeded in inducing his brother to relinquish one half of his board
+and allow him to board himself. Benjamin found that in this way, he
+saved much time and much money. A handful of raisins, a roll of bread,
+and a glass of water afforded him a dinner. This he could dispose of
+in from five to ten minutes, and have the remainder of the dinner hour
+for reading.
+
+The hours of the night were his own. He often sat up late and rose
+early, his soul all absorbed in intellectual vigils.
+
+There are two platforms of morality, in some respects inseparably
+blended, in others quite distinctly separated from each other. The one
+of these platforms constitutes the low standard of mere worldly
+morality. It says,
+
+     You must not kill, you must not steal, you must not lie, you
+     must not slander your neighbor, you must not cheat him in a
+     bargain.
+
+But there is another platform which not only includes all this, but
+which introduces principles of an infinitely higher grade. It is the
+platform enforced by Jesus Christ as essential to a life which shall
+be pleasing to our Heavenly Father. Our Saviour says, You must love
+God in whom you live and move and have your being: you must daily
+pray to him with gratitude for the favors you receive. In the great
+conflict, raging here below, between sin and holiness, your whole
+heart must yearn with the desire that God's "kingdom may come and that
+His will may be done on earth as in Heaven." Imitating the example of
+your Saviour, who was God manifest in the flesh that by His life He
+might show men how to live, you must do everything in your power to
+lead your neighbors and friends to love God, to avoid everything in
+thought, word, or deed, which you think will be displeasing to Him;
+and you must do all in your power to prepare your heart for that world
+of purity and love where the spirits of the just are made perfect. No
+one can be blind to the fact that these principles are infinitely
+above the principles of mere worldly morality. They are not a
+substitute for those principles, but an addition to them.
+
+At the age of sixteen, Franklin was disposed to adopt the lower of
+these creeds as his rule of life; at times affirming that it was
+superior to the teachings of Jesus Christ; while again there would be
+the very clear and inconsistent avowal that, in this wicked world,
+something more was needed than teachings which he could plainly see
+seldom, if ever influenced a lost and degraded man, to be changed
+from a Saul of Tarsus to a Paul the Apostle. No one can understand the
+peculiar religious and moral character of Benjamin Franklin, without
+bearing in mind these distinctions.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+_Developments of Character._
+
+     Views of the Sabbath--Writings of Collins and
+     Shaftsbury--The creed of Collins--Franklin at sixteen--The
+     Courant--Denunciations of the paper--Franklin's mode of
+     acquiring the art of composition--His success as a
+     writer--The Editor prosecuted--Benjamin becomes Editor and
+     Publisher--Jealousy of his brother--The runaway
+     apprentice--The voyage to New York--Great
+     disappointment--Eventful Journey to Philadelphia--Gloomy
+     prospects--The dawn of brighter days.
+
+
+Franklin was never scrupulous in the observance of the Sabbath. Still,
+though he but occasionally attended church, he at times very earnestly
+urged that duty upon his young friends. It is not probable that the
+preaching he heard in those days, was calculated to interest him.
+While a child under the parental roof, he ordinarily accompanied his
+parents, and seemed to regard it as his duty to do so.
+
+He now, however, with an increasing sense of independence, very much
+preferred to spend his precious hours in his chamber, reading books
+which engrossed his most intense interest. Unfortunately many
+treatises fell into his hands in which unchristian sentiments were
+conveyed to his mind, by men of the highest intellectual character,
+and whose writings were invested with the most fascinating charms of
+eloquence.
+
+Robert Boyle, an Irish nobleman of wealth and fervent piety, had
+established at Oxford a lectureship, the object of which was to prove
+the truth of the Christian religion. These lectures had found their
+way in tracts to the little library of Franklin's father. When but
+fifteen years of age the boy read them, with a far keener relish than
+most school-boys now read the flashy novels of the day. In order to
+refute the arguments of the deists, the lecturers were bound to
+produce those arguments fairly and forcibly. But to this young boy's
+piercing mind, the arguments against Christianity seemed stronger than
+those which were brought forward to refute them. Thus the lad became,
+not a positive unbeliever, but an honest doubter. He now sought
+earnestly for other works upon that all-important subject.
+
+The two most important, influential and popular writers of that day
+were perhaps Anthony Collins and the Earl of Shaftsbury. These were
+both men of fortune, of polished education, and of great rhetorical
+and argumentative skill. Their influence over young minds was greatly
+increased by the courtesy and candor which pervaded all their
+writings. They ever wrote like gentlemen addressing gentlemen; and
+the views they urged were presented with the modesty of men who were
+earnestly seeking for the truth.
+
+The main attack of both of these men was directed against the miracles
+of the Bible. It was very evident that, the Divine authority of the
+Bible being overthrown, the whole structure of the Christian religion
+and morality must pass away. Mr. Parton, in his admirable Life of
+Franklin, says,
+
+     "Any one who will turn over an edition of Shaftsbury, and
+     try to read it with the mind of this merry and receptive
+     printer's boy, will perceive how entirely captivating it
+     must have been to him. The raillery that was always the
+     raillery of a gentleman; the irony so delicate as really to
+     deceive some men who passed for acute; the fine urbanity
+     that pervades even the passages called severe; the genuine
+     reverence of the author for virtue; the spectacle revealed
+     of a man uniting in himself all that is good in sense, with
+     all that is agreeable in the man of the world,--how pleasing
+     it must all have been to our inky apprentice as he munched
+     his noon-day crust."
+
+The practical creed of Collins and Shaftsbury, so far as it can be
+gleaned from the obscurity of their brilliant pages, consisted in
+the entire renunciation of all that is deemed the spirituality of
+the Christian creed, and the simple enforcement of the ordinary
+principles of morality in man's intercourse with his brother man. In
+substance they said,
+
+     "Be truthful and honest. Do not openly oppose the
+     institutions of Christianity, for that will render you
+     obnoxious to your neighbors. Conform to the ordinary usages
+     of the society in the midst of which you move; and as to
+     creeds, let them alone as unworthy of a moment's thought."
+
+Franklin, at sixteen years of age, became a thorough convert to these
+views. He was virtually without any God. He had no rule of life but
+his own instincts; but those instincts were of a high order,
+emboldening his character and restraining him from all vulgar vice.
+Thus he wandered for many years; though there are many indications of
+an occasionally troubled mind, and though he at times struggled with
+great eagerness to obtain a higher state of moral perfection, he
+certainly never developed the character of a warm-hearted and devoted
+follower of Jesus.[4]
+
+[Footnote 4: "For some years he wandered in heathenish darkness.
+He forsook the safe and good though narrow way of his forefathers,
+and of his father and mother, and his gentle Uncle Benjamin, without
+finding better and larger ways of his own. He was in danger of
+becoming a castaway or a commonplace successful man of the world.
+He found in due time, after many trials, and much suffering and
+many grievous errors, that the soul of a man does not thrive
+upon negations, and that, in very truth a man must _believe_
+in order that he may be saved."--_Parton's Life of Franklin, Vol. I,
+p. 71._]
+
+James Franklin was prosperous in his business. On the 17th of August,
+1721, he issued the first number of a newspaper entitled "The New
+England Courant." Benjamin set the type, struck off the impression
+of two or three hundred, with a hand-press, and then traversed
+the streets, carrying the diminutive sheet to the homes of the
+subscribers. The Courant soon attracted attention. A knot of sparkling
+writers began to contribute to its columns, and while the paper was
+with increasing eagerness sought for, a clamor was soon raised against
+it. It was denounced as radical in its political tendencies, and as
+speaking contemptuously of the institutions of religion. Cotton
+Mather, even, launched one of his thunderbolts against it. He wrote,
+
+     "We find a notorious, scandalous paper called 'The Courant'
+     full freighted with nonsense, unmanliness, raillery,
+     profaneness, immorality, arrogance, calumnies, lies,
+     contradictions and what not, all tending to quarrels and
+     divisions, and to debauch and corrupt the mind and manners
+     of New England."
+
+Increase Mather also denounced the paper, in terms still more
+emphatic.
+
+At this time a strong antipathy was springing up between James, and
+his apprentice brother. James assumed the airs of a master, and was
+arrogant and domineering, at times in his anger proceeding even to
+blows. Benjamin was opinionated, headstrong and very unwilling to
+yield to another's guidance. As Benjamin compared his own compositions
+with those which were sent to the Courant, he was convinced that he
+could write as well, if not better, than others. He, therefore, one
+evening prepared an article, before he was sixteen years of age,
+which, with the greatest care, was written in pure Addisonian diction.
+Disguising his hand, he slipped this at night under the door of the
+printing office. The next morning several contributors were chatting
+together in the editorial office, as Benjamin stood at the printing
+case setting his types. The anonymous article was read and freely
+commented upon. The young writer was delighted in finding it highly
+commended, and in their guesses for the author, the names of the most
+distinguished men in Boston were mentioned.
+
+The singular nom de plume he assumed was "Silence Dogood." Over that
+signature he wrote many articles before it was ascertained that he was
+the author. These articles attracted so much attention that young
+Benjamin could not refrain from claiming their paternity. This led his
+brother and others to regard him with far more respect than
+heretofore.
+
+But the Courant, while popular with the masses, became unpopular with
+the governmental authorities and with the religious community. As a
+slap in the face of the government, a fictitious letter was written,
+professedly from Newport, stating that a piratic ship had appeared off
+the coast, plundering, burning, and destroying. It was then stated
+that the government of Massachusetts was fitting out an armed vessel
+to attack the pirate, and that, wind and weather permitting, the
+vessel would sail from Boston sometime during the month.
+
+This reflection upon the dilatoriness of government gave great
+offence. The members of the Council summoned Franklin before them to
+answer for the libel. He admitted that he was the publisher of the
+paper, but refused to give the name of the writer. The Council decided
+that the paragraph was a high affront to the government, and ordered
+his imprisonment in the Boston jail. Here he was incarcerated for a
+week. Crushed by his misfortunes he wrote a very humble letter stating
+that his close confinement endangered his life, and begging that he
+might enjoy the liberty of the jail-yard. His request was granted, and
+for three weeks more he remained a prisoner, though with daily
+permission to leave his cell.
+
+During this time Benjamin conducted the paper, editing it, setting
+the type, printing the sheets and distributing the copies to the
+subscribers. He was still but a boy of sixteen. James was eventually
+released from prison, but the general character of the Courant
+remained unchanged. Unworthy professors of Christianity were
+incessantly assailed. The virtues of true Christians--of the
+multitudes of the disciples of Jesus, who were mothers in Israel, or
+who were Israelites indeed in whom there was no guile, were forgotten;
+while every mean and contemptible act of hypocrites and apostates was
+proclaimed with trumpet resonance.
+
+At length the Council declared in reference to a peculiarly obnoxious
+copy of the paper, that the Courant of that date contained many
+passages perverting the Holy Scriptures, and slandering the civil
+government, the ministers, and the good people of the land. A
+committee of three was appointed to report upon the matter. After two
+days they brought in the following decision:
+
+     "We are humbly of opinion that the tendency of said paper, is
+     to mock religion and bring it into contempt; that the Holy
+     Scriptures are therein profanely abused; that the revered and
+     faithful ministers of the Gospel are ignominiously reflected
+     on; and that His Majesty's government is affronted; and the
+     peace and good order of His Majesty's subjects of this
+     province disturbed by this said Courant."
+
+The committee, therefore, proposed that James Franklin should be
+strictly forbidden to print or publish the Courant, or any other paper
+of the like nature, unless it were supervised by the secretary of the
+province.
+
+James Franklin and his friends, after this decision, met in the office
+of the Courant, and adroitly decided to evade the mandate by canceling
+the indentures of apprenticeship of Benjamin, and constituting him the
+editor and publisher of the journal. This precocious lad prepared his
+inaugural. It contained the following sentiments:
+
+     "Long has the press groaned in bringing forth a hateful brood
+     of pamphlets, malicious scribbles, and billingsgate ribaldry.
+     No generous and impartial person then can blame the present
+     undertaking which is designed purely for the diversion and
+     merriment of the reader. Pieces of pleasantry and mirth have
+     a secret charm in them to allay the heats and tumults of our
+     spirits, and to make a man forget his restless resentment.
+     The main design of this weekly paper will be to entertain the
+     town with the most comical and diverting incidents of human
+     life, which in so large a place as Boston will not fail of a
+     universal exemplification. Nor shall we be wanting to fill up
+     these papers with a grateful interspersion of more serious
+     morals which may be drawn from the most ludicrous and odd
+     parts of life."
+
+It cannot be denied that Franklin aimed his keen shafts at many of the
+best of men who were consecrating all their energies to the promotion
+of the physical, moral, and religious welfare of their fellow
+creatures. He had a keen eye to search out their frailties; and though
+he seldom if ever, dipped his pen in gall, he did at times succeed in
+making them the song of the drunkard, and in turning against them the
+derision of all the lewd fellows of the baser sort.
+
+Benjamin, elated by flattery and success, admits that at seventeen
+years of age he became in his treatment of his brother "saucy and
+provoking." James was increasingly jealous and exacting. At length a
+very violent quarrel arose between them. The elder brother even
+undertook to chastise his younger brother, whom he still affected to
+regard as his apprentice. The canceling of the terms of indenture, he
+regarded as a secret act, intended merely to outwit his opponent.
+Franklin, burning with indignation, resolved no longer to continue in
+his brother's employment, and went to several other printers in
+Boston, hoping to enter into a new engagement. But his brother had
+preceded him, giving his own version of the story, and even declaring
+his brilliant brother to be an infidel and an atheist.
+
+Benjamin resolved to run away; for he still felt the binding
+obligation of his apprenticeship, while he tried to satisfy his mind
+that the unjust conduct of James entitled him to violate the
+obligation. There was a vessel about to sail for New York. He sold
+some of his books to pay his passage; and going on board secretly at
+night, he solicited the captain to aid him in concealing him, with the
+_false_ statement that he had become involved in a love adventure with
+a young girl; that she had subsequently proved to be a bad character;
+that her friends insisted on his marrying her; and that his only
+refuge was to be found in flight.
+
+His passage to New York was swift and pleasant. It is said that having
+adopted the vegetarian diet, he doubted our right to deprive an animal
+of life for our own gratification in eating. The sloop was one day
+becalmed off Block Island. The crew found it splendid fishing ground;
+the deck was soon covered with cod and haddock. Franklin denounced
+catching the fishes, as murderous, as no one could affirm that these
+fishes, so happy in the water, had ever conferred any injury upon
+their captors. But Benjamin was blessed with a voracious appetite. The
+frying pan was busy, and the odor from the fresh fish was exceedingly
+alluring. As he watched a sailor cutting open a fish, he observed in
+its stomach a smaller fish, which the cod had evidently eaten.
+
+"Ah!" he exclaimed, "if you can eat one another, I surely have a right
+to eat you."
+
+All his scruples vanished. He sat down with the rest to the sumptuous
+repast, and never after seemed to have any hesitancy in gratifying his
+appetite.
+
+Benjamin tells this story in his autobiography, and shrewdly adds,
+quoting from some one else,
+
+     "So convenient a thing it is to be a _reasonable_ creature,
+     since it enables one to find or make a reason for everything
+     one has a mind to do."
+
+It was in the beautiful month of October, 1723, when Benjamin landed
+on the wharves of New York. He was not quite eighteen years of age;
+had but little money in his purse; and was without any letter of
+recommendation or any acquaintance in the town. The place consisted of
+but seven or eight thousand inhabitants. The streets were the crooked
+lanes which we still find in the vicinity of the Battery. Some of the
+most important were uncomfortably paved with cobble stones. Most of
+the inhabitants were Dutch, reading and speaking only the Dutch
+language. There was at that time indeed, but little encouragement for
+an English printer. There was but one bookstore then in New York; and
+but one printing office, which was conducted by William Bradford.
+
+The runaway apprentice could find no employment. But William Bradford
+had a son in Philadelphia who was also a printer. He said to Benjamin,
+
+"He may employ you, as he has recently lost an apprentice by death."
+
+Leaving his chest of clothes to go round by sea to Philadelphia,
+Benjamin took passage in a small dilapidated shore boat which crept
+along the coast to Amboy. A drunken Dutchman was his only fellow
+passenger. The gloom of the primeval forest overshadowed Governor's
+Island: not a single cabin as yet had been reared in its solitudes. A
+squall struck the boat, split its sail, and pitched the Dutchman
+overboard. Franklin caught him by the hair and saved him from
+drowning. The sudden tempest increased into a storm, and the boat was
+driven fiercely before the gale. The surf dashed so violently upon the
+shore that they could not venture to land. Night approached.
+Exhausted, drenched and hungry, they cast anchor near the Long Island
+shore, where a bend in the land afforded them slight protection while
+still they were in great danger. There were one or two log cabins in
+the vicinity. Several of the men came to the shore, but could afford
+them no relief. They had no provision on board excepting a single
+bottle of bad rum. All night long the tempest beat upon them. In the
+morning the wind had so far lulled that they were enabled to repair
+their sail, and to work their way on to Amboy.
+
+It was late in the afternoon when they reached the port. For thirty
+hours they had been without food or water. Such were the perils of a
+passage from New York to Philadelphia in the year 1723.
+
+Franklin, in the enjoyment of magnificent health, slept quietly that
+night in an humble inn, and awoke in the morning with all his
+accustomed vigor. There were still fifty miles of land travel before
+him, ere he could cross the forest covered plains of New Jersey to
+Burlington, on the banks of the Delaware, which were seventeen miles
+above Philadelphia. There was neither railroad, stage-coach nor cart
+to convey him through the wilderness. Indeed it was thirty-three years
+after this before the first line of stages across New Jersey was
+established. There was a rude path, probably following an ancient
+Indian trail, along which our solitary adventurer trudged on foot. It
+rained; but still Benjamin found it necessary, having so slender a
+purse, to press on regardless of discomfort.
+
+Early in the afternoon he came to a hamlet, by the roadside, where he
+found himself so exhausted by the unaccustomed toil of walking, and by
+exposure to the rain and the miry roads, that he felt it necessary to
+remain until the next morning. The aspect he presented was shabby and
+dilapidated in the extreme; for he was in his working dress, which by
+the wear and tear of travel had become greatly soiled and tattered. He
+was not a little mortified to find that the inhabitants of the cabin,
+while they treated him kindly, evidently regarded him with suspicion
+as a runaway apprentice.
+
+In the gloom of that night, poor Benjamin bitterly repented the step
+he had taken, and earnestly wished himself back again in the home
+which he had forsaken. Clouds and darkness had gathered around his
+path and he could see but little bright beyond. Early the next morning
+he resumed his travels, pressing vigorously along all day. When the
+shades of night enveloped him he had reached a point within ten miles
+of Burlington. He passed the night comfortably in a settler's cabin,
+and early the next morning pressed on to the little village of
+Burlington, from which he was informed that a boat started every
+Saturday, to descend the still silent and almost unfrequented shores
+of the Delaware to Philadelphia. Much to his disappointment he reached
+Burlington just after the regular Saturday boat had gone, and was
+informed that there was no other boat to leave until the next Tuesday.
+He made his united breakfast and dinner upon gingerbread, which he
+bought in the street of an old woman.
+
+Burlington was on the east side of the river, Philadelphia was on the
+west. There was no road between the two places, the communication
+being by the river only. It seemed impossible for Benjamin to toil
+that distance through the pathless, tangled forest. He had but five
+shillings in his pocket. With the utmost economy that would not defray
+his expenses at Burlington, for three days, and leave a sufficient sum
+to pay his passage down the river.
+
+In his distress and perplexity, our young philosopher, whose renown
+for wisdom subsequently filled all Christian lands, turned back to the
+poor, aged woman of whom he had bought his gingerbread and solicited
+her advice. The good old soul, not insensible to the charms of the
+frank and manly looking boy, with motherly tenderness insisted on his
+going to her own humble home. Gladly he accepted the invitation. The
+dinner consisted of what is called ox-cheek; Franklin contributed a
+pot of beer.
+
+Walking out early in the evening upon the banks of the river, he
+found, to his great joy, a chance boat had come along, bound to
+Philadelphia and containing many passengers. Eagerly Franklin joined
+them, and bidding adieu to his kind entertainer, was soon drifting
+slowly down the stream. The night was dark, there was no wind, and no
+cheerful gleam from the white man's cabin or the Indian's wigwam met
+the eye. It was necessary to resort to rowing. At length, a little
+after midnight, several of the passengers insisted that they must have
+passed Philadelphia without seeing it, and refused to row any farther.
+They therefore ran the boat into a little creek, built a rousing fire,
+for the night was damp and chill, and ranging themselves around its
+genial warmth awaited the dawn of the morning. The light revealed to
+them Philadelphia but a few miles below them. It was Sunday morning.
+At nine o'clock the boat was made fast at Market street wharf, and
+Franklin, with one silver dollar and one shilling in copper coin in
+his pocket, stepped on shore. All his copper coin he paid for his
+passage.
+
+Such was the introduction of the future Governor of Pennsylvania to
+the realm over which he was eventually to preside as Governor, and of
+which he became its most illustrious citizen.
+
+He was unquestionably dressed in the peculiar and picturesque costume
+of the times. He wore knee breeches of buckskin, and a voluminous
+overcoat, lined with pockets of astonishing capacity, which pockets
+were crammed with shirts and stockings. A low, battered, broad-brimmed
+hat covered his clustering ringlets. His coarse woolen stockings
+displayed to advantage the admirably moulded calves of his legs.
+Every article of this costume was draggled, shabby, soiled, and much
+of it tattered.
+
+With an indescribable feeling of loneliness, exhausted with the
+toilsome and sleepless night, and with the cravings of hunger, he
+sauntered up into the town. Coming across a baker's shop, he stepped
+in, and called for three pennyworth of bread. In Philadelphia, food
+was abundant and bread was cheap. To his surprise three long rolls
+were given to him. He took one under each arm, and in his hunger the
+homeless boy walked along devouring the other. Philadelphia was then a
+village widely spread out, with surrounding vegetable gardens, and
+containing a population of about seven thousand inhabitants.
+
+Benjamin walked listlessly along as far as Fourth street. He chanced
+to pass the house of a Mr. Read, whose very pretty daughter, Deborah,
+was standing at the front door. She was eighteen years of age, and was
+much amused at the comical appearance which the young man presented as
+he passed by.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+It is not easy to imagine in these days, the state of society in these
+early settlements, hewn out from the forests on the river's banks, and
+with the unexplored wilderness spreading out to unimagined regions
+in the interior. At night, even from the houses of the village, the
+howling of the wolves could be heard as they rushed after their prey.
+Bears and deers were shot in abundance. And Indian bands, painted and
+plumed, were ever swarming through the streets.
+
+Franklin walked along, devouring his rolls, and returned to the river
+for a drink of water. Such was his first breakfast in Philadelphia. In
+the boat was a poor woman with her child. Franklin gave to her the two
+remaining rolls, which he could not conveniently carry about with him.
+
+Not knowing what to do, and led by curiosity to explore the town, he
+returned to Market street, then one of the chief avenues of the city.
+It was a little after ten o'clock in the morning. The street was
+crowded with well-dressed people, pressing along to church. There was
+one important edifice called the "Great Meeting House" of the Quakers.
+It stood at the corner of Second and Market streets.
+
+Franklin joined the crowd, and took his seat with the vast assembly.
+He soon fell soundly asleep. The hour passed away. The congregation
+dispersed, and Benjamin was left still asleep. Some one then kindly
+awoke the tired traveler, and he again stepped out into the streets so
+lonely, where there was not an individual whom he knew, and where
+almost without money he could find no refuge which he could call a
+home.
+
+As he walked toward the river, he met a young Quaker whose countenance
+pleased him. Of him he inquired where he could find a respectable and
+comfortable lodging. The friendly Quaker led him to a tavern, near
+Chestnut street, called the "Crooked Billet." Franklin ordered a
+frugal dinner, threw himself upon the bed, and slept till supper time,
+and immediately after supper went to bed and slept soundly till the
+morning.
+
+He had now been from home eleven days. His money was nearly expended.
+His clothes were worn; and almost the only hope remaining was the very
+visionary one that Mr. Bradford's son might possibly have some
+employment for him. Early in the morning he carefully brushed his
+travel-worn clothes, his shoes, his hat, and making himself as
+respectable in appearance as possible, went to the house of the
+printer, Andrew Bradford. To his surprise and gratification he found
+the father there, who had just arrived, having traveled from New York
+to Philadelphia on horseback.
+
+Benjamin met with a courteous reception, was invited to breakfast. He
+was, however, greatly disappointed in being informed that Andrew
+Bradford had just engaged another apprentice to take the place of the
+one who was lost. Mr. Bradford, however, stated that there was a man,
+by the name of Keimer, who had recently commenced the printing
+business in the town, and might have employment for him. The old
+gentleman kindly offered to go to the office with Benjamin, and
+introduce him to Keimer.
+
+They found Keimer a very eccentric looking individual, in a small
+office, with an old dilapidated press, and with a few worn-out types.
+He asked the young man a few questions, put a composing stick into his
+hands, and professed himself satisfied with his work. He then told
+Franklin that he could find no work for him immediately, but he
+thought ere long he could employ him. It seems, however, that at once
+Benjamin went to work, repairing the dilapidated old press, while he
+continued to board at Mr. Bradford's, paying for his board by the work
+which he performed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+_Excursion to England._
+
+     Attention to dress--Receives a visit from Gov. Keith--His
+     visit to Boston--Collins returns to Philadelphia with
+     him--Sir William Keith's aid--Excursions on the
+     Sabbath--Difficulty with Collins--Spending Mr. Vernon's
+     money--His three friends--Engagement with Deborah
+     Read--Voyage to England--Keith's deceit--Ralph--Franklin
+     enters a printing house in London.
+
+
+The eccentric Keimer soon found that Franklin was a workman whose
+services would be invaluable to him. He had no home of his own, but
+became very unwilling that Benjamin, while in his employ, should board
+in the family of a rival printer. He therefore made arrangements for
+him to board at Mr. Read's, whose pretty daughter, Deborah, had made
+herself merry but a few days before in view of his uncouth appearance.
+
+Fortunately for the young man, who was never regardless of the
+advantages of a genteel dress, his chest had arrived bringing his
+clothing. He was thus able to present himself before the young lady in
+attractive costume. And his address was always that of an accomplished
+gentleman. As we have mentioned, he was ever in his youth, middle
+life, and old age, remarkable for his personal beauty.
+
+Bright and sunny days now dawned upon Franklin. His employer
+appreciated his varied and wonderful merits. He received good wages.
+The family in which he resided was highly attractive, and he there
+found a home congenial with his pure and refined tastes. Several
+months passed away before he heard from the friends he had left in
+Boston. The tyranny of his brother had so greatly offended him, that
+for a time he endeavored to exclude from his mind all thoughts of his
+home. He heard, however, that one of his sisters had married Captain
+Robert Holmes, the captain of a vessel sailing between Boston and the
+ports on the Delaware.
+
+In those piratical days, when the master of a ship was compelled to
+sail with guns loaded to the muzzle, and with sharpened sabres, he was
+deemed a personage of great importance. No weak or ordinary man could
+discharge the responsibilities of such a post. Captain Holmes,
+influenced by the love of his wife, wrote to Benjamin informing him of
+the grief his departure had caused the family, entreating him to
+return, and assuring him that all the past should be forgotten.
+
+Benjamin, in his reply, wrote with such precision and force of logic,
+that Captain Holmes became satisfied that he was by no means so much
+in the wrong as he had supposed. It so chanced that when the captain
+received this letter, he was in company with Sir William Keith, then
+the Governor of Pennsylvania. He read the letter to the Governor. Sir
+William was charmed with its literary and rhetorical ability; and
+could scarcely believe that the writer was but eighteen years of age.
+
+"The Philadelphia printers," said he, "are wretched ones. Keimer is a
+compound of fool and rogue. But this young man is manifestly of great
+promise and ought to be encouraged."
+
+One day Benjamin and his master were working together, when they saw
+two well-dressed gentlemen approaching. They proved to be the Governor
+of Pennsylvania, Sir William Keith, and Franklin's brother-in-law,
+Captain Holmes, whom he probably had never before seen. Keimer ran
+down stairs to meet them, supposing, of course, that he must be the
+man who was entitled to the honor of their visit. To his surprise they
+inquired for his apprentice, and went up the stairs to the printing
+office to see him.
+
+Benjamin was quite overwhelmed by the honors with which he was
+greeted. The Governor paid him many compliments, expressed an earnest
+desire to make his acquaintance, and politely censured him for
+not calling at the gubernatorial mansion upon his arrival in
+Philadelphia. The interview was terminated by taking Franklin with
+them to a neighboring tavern to dine. There the three met upon
+apparently perfect social equality, and very freely discussed many
+important matters as they drank their wine.
+
+The Governor, a very plausible, unreliable man, ever lavish of
+promises without performance, proposed that Franklin, aided by funds
+from his father, should open a printing office for himself. He
+promised to exert his influence to secure for his young protege the
+public printing of both the provinces of Pennsylvania and Delaware.
+When Franklin suggested that he feared his father would be either
+unable or unwilling to furnish the needed funds, the Governor promised
+to write to him with his own hand, explaining the advantages of the
+scheme.
+
+During the protracted interview, it was decided that Benjamin should
+return to Boston by the first vessel. He was to take with him Sir
+William's letter, and thus aided, endeavor to win over his father to
+their plans.
+
+A week or two elapsed before there was a vessel ready to sail for
+Boston. At that time the social rank of a printer was decidedly above
+that of other mechanic arts. There was something sacred attached to
+the employment, and it was regarded as near akin to the learned
+professions. Franklin was frequently invited to dine with the
+Governor. His perfect self-possession, his careful dress and polished
+address, united with his wonderful conversational powers, rendered him
+a great favorite with all the distinguished guests whom he was
+accustomed to meet at the table of the Governor.
+
+The latter part of April, 1724, Franklin, then eighteen years of age,
+took passage in a small vessel for Boston. His friends in Philadelphia
+generally understood that he was going home merely to visit his
+friends. It was deemed expedient to throw the veil of great secrecy
+over the enterprise in which he was contemplating to engage.
+
+The voyage was exceedingly tempestuous. The vessel sprang a leak. For
+some time passengers and crew worked at the pumps night and day. But
+after being buffeted by winds and waves for fourteen dreary days, the
+little vessel cast anchor in the harbor of Boston. Franklin had then
+been absent from home seven months.
+
+His sudden appearance was a great surprise to all the members of the
+numerous family. It is not surprising that the young man, elated by
+his brilliant prospects, assumed rather lordly airs. His dress was new
+and quite elegant. He had purchased a handsome watch, which he was not
+reluctant to display. He had in his pocket twenty-five dollars of
+silver coin.
+
+Franklin's brother James, from whom he had run away, was greatly
+annoyed by the airs of superiority assumed by his old apprentice. With
+a cold and almost scornful eye, he scanned his person from head to
+foot, scarcely offering his hand in greeting, and soon coldly and
+silently returned to his work. But the imperial young man was not thus
+to be put down. His former acquaintances gathered eagerly around him
+and listened with intensest interest to the narrative of his
+adventures. In glowing terms, Benjamin described his new home in
+Philadelphia, drew out from his pocket handfuls of silver which he
+exhibited to them, and with quite lordly dignity gave his former
+fellow-journeymen money to go to the ale-house for a treat.
+
+The candid reader will make some allowances for the conduct of
+Benjamin, when he remembers that but a few months before, he had run
+away to escape the cudgel of his brother. He will also feel inclined
+to make some allowance for James, when informed that he was in
+adversity, and struggling severely with pecuniary embarrassment. The
+Courant, deprived of the graphic pen of Franklin, was rapidly losing
+its subscribers, and soon became extinct.
+
+Benjamin's father Josiah, who needed in his own business every dollar
+of the funds he could raise, silently and almost without remark, read
+the letter of Sir William Keith, and listened attentively to the
+glowing descriptions of his son. Soon after Captain Holmes arrived.
+The judicious father conversed fully with him, and expressed his
+opinion that Sir William Keith must be a man of but little discretion
+to think of setting up independently, in very responsible business, a
+young man of but eighteen years of age.
+
+Though Captain Holmes earnestly advocated the views of the Governor,
+Josiah Franklin, after mature deliberation, decisively declined
+furnishing the necessary funds.
+
+"Benjamin," said he, "is too young to undertake an enterprise so
+important. I am much gratified that he has been able to secure the
+approbation of the Governor of Pennsylvania, and that by his industry
+and fidelity he has been able to attain prosperity so remarkable. If
+he will return to Philadelphia and work diligently until he is
+twenty-one, carefully laying up his surplus earnings, I will then do
+everything in my power to aid him."
+
+The cautious Christian father then gave his son some very salutary
+advice. He entreated him to be more careful in throwing out his arrows
+of satire, and to cease presenting, in the aspect of the ridiculous,
+so many subjects which religious men regarded with veneration. He
+wrote a very courteous letter to Sir William Keith, thanking him for
+his kindness to his son, and stating his reasons for declining the
+proposed aid. Indeed, Josiah Franklin was intellectually, morally, and
+in all sound judgment, immeasurably the superior of the fickle and
+shallow royal Governor.
+
+Sixty years after this visit of Franklin to his paternal home, he
+wrote a letter to the son of the Rev. Cotton Mather, from which we
+make the following pleasing extract:
+
+     "The last time I saw your father was in the beginning of
+     1724, when I visited him after my first trip to Pennsylvania.
+     He received me in his library; and on my taking leave showed
+     me a shorter way out of the house through a narrow passage
+     which was crossed by a beam overhead. We were still talking
+     as I withdrew, he accompanying me behind, and I, turning
+     partly toward him, when he said hastily, _stoop, stoop!_ I
+     did not understand him till I felt my head hit against the
+     beam. He was a man that never missed any occasion of giving
+     instruction; and upon this he said to me 'You are young and
+     have the world before you. Stoop as you go through it, and
+     you will miss many hard thumps.' This advice, thus beat into
+     my head, has frequently been of use to me. And I often think
+     of it when I see pride mortified and misfortunes brought
+     upon people by their carrying their heads too high."
+
+There was in Boston a young man by the name of Collins, a reckless,
+dissipated spendthrift, of very considerable personal attractions. He
+had been quite an intimate friend of Franklin; and was so pleased with
+his descriptions of Philadelphia that he decided to remove there. This
+proved one of the calamities of Franklin's life.
+
+Franklin eventually embarked, in a sloop, for his return. It touched
+at Newport. His brother John lived there, pursuing the trade of a
+candle-maker. Benjamin was received by him with great cordiality. At
+Newport, among the other passengers, two young girls were taken on
+board for New York. They were showy, voluble, gaudily dressed. All
+their arts were exerted to secure intimate association with Franklin.
+
+A venerable Quaker lady on board called the inexperienced young man
+aside, and with motherly tenderness warned him against their wiles.
+Though he doubted the necessity of this caution, he was put upon his
+guard. When the girls left at New York, he declined their pressing
+invitation for him to visit them at their home, and he learned from
+the captain that they had undoubtedly stolen from him a silver spoon,
+an article then not often seen in common life, and highly prized.
+They were charged with the crime, convicted, and it is said that they
+were publicly whipped in the market place.
+
+Upon Franklin's arrival at New York, Collins, the playmate of his
+childhood, was one of the first to meet him. In his earlier days he
+had been sober, industrious, and was highly esteemed for his mental
+powers and attainments. But he had become intemperate and a gambler,
+and was every day intoxicated. Reduced almost to beggary, Franklin
+felt compelled to furnish him with money to save him from starvation.
+Penniless he had come on board the boat at New York, and Franklin paid
+his passage to Philadelphia.
+
+William Burnett was then Governor of New York. He was very fond of
+books and had collected a large library. Franklin also had the same
+taste and had a large number of books which he was conveying to
+Philadelphia. The captain informed the Governor that he had a young
+man on board fond of books, and of superior literary attainments. The
+Governor begged the captain to bring young Franklin to see him.
+
+"I waited upon him," wrote Franklin, "and would have taken Collins
+with me had he been sober. The Governor received me with great
+civility; and we had a good deal of conversation relative to books
+and authors. This was the second Governor who had done me the honor to
+take notice of me, and to a poor boy like me it was very pleasing."
+
+Upon reaching Philadelphia, Franklin presented the letter of his
+father to Sir William Keith. The Governor, upon reading the letter,
+said,
+
+"Your father is too prudent. There is a great difference in persons.
+Discretion does not always accompany years; nor is youth always
+without it. But since he will not set you up, I will do it myself.
+Give me an inventory of the things necessary to be had from England,
+and I will send for them. You shall repay me when you are able. I am
+resolved to have a good printer here and I am sure you must succeed."
+
+Franklin supposed of course, that he could rely upon the word of the
+Governor. He drew up an inventory of goods to the amount of about five
+hundred dollars. The strange Governor, who found it very easy to talk,
+ran his eye over the list and as if money were a consideration of no
+moment to him, and suggested that Franklin should go to London in
+person. Greatly elated at this idea, young Franklin eagerly embraced
+it, and the Governor directed him to be ready to embark in the London
+Hope, a ship which sailed regularly between London and Philadelphia,
+leaving each port once a year.
+
+Several months would elapse before the ship would sail. Sir William
+enjoined it upon Franklin to keep their plans in the utmost secrecy.
+Consequently, Franklin continued to work for Keimer, not giving him
+the slightest intimation that measures were in progress for the
+establishment in Philadelphia, of a printing house which would
+entirely overshadow his own. This secrecy which was practiced also
+prevented any one from informing Franklin of the Governor's real
+character, as a vain, unreliable, gasconading boaster.
+
+Six months passed away. They were with Franklin happy months.
+He was in perfect health, greatly enjoyed his own physical and
+intellectual attributes, was much caressed, and was engaged in
+lucrative employment. He was highly convivial in his tastes, very
+fond of social pleasures, of the wine cup and of the song: and on
+Sundays in particular, the enchanting forests of the Schuylkill
+resounded with the songs and the shouts of the merry bacchanals,
+led by Franklin, who was ever recognized as their chief.
+
+There probably never was a young man more skillful than Benjamin
+Franklin in plucking the rose and avoiding the thorn. In all his
+festivities he was the thoughtful philosopher. Never did he drink to
+excess; no money was squandered at the gaming table. Carefully he
+avoided all views which he deemed vulgar and degrading; and he made it
+the general rule of his life, to avoid everything which would bring
+pain to his body, or remorse to his soul.
+
+Still man is born to mourn. Even Franklin could not escape the general
+lot. The drunken Collins became his constant scourge. Franklin felt
+constrained to lend his old friend money. He had been entrusted by a
+family friend, a Mr. Vernon, to collect a debt of about fifty dollars.
+This money he was to retain till called for. But to meet his own
+expenses and those of his spendthrift companion, he began to draw
+upon it, until it all disappeared. He was then troubled with the
+apprehension that the money might be demanded. Bitter were the
+quarrels which arose between him and John Collins. His standard of
+morality which was perhaps not less elevated than that which the
+majority of imperfect professing Christians practice, was certainly
+below that which the religion of Jesus Christ enjoins. Had he been a
+true Christian according to the doctrines and precepts of Jesus, he
+would have escaped these accumulating sorrows.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+This breaking in upon his friend Vernon's money, and spending it,
+he pronounces in his autobiography, to have been the _first great
+error_ of his life. Though it so chanced that the money was not
+required until Franklin was able to pay it, yet for several months
+he was in the endurance of intense mental anxiety and constant
+self-reproach.
+
+At length, Collins and Franklin became so antagonistic to each other
+as to proceed to violence. They were on a pleasure party in a boat
+down the river. Collins, as usual, was intoxicated. The wrath of the
+muscular Benjamin was so aroused, by some act of abuse, that he seized
+the fellow by the collar and pitched him overboard. Collins was a good
+swimmer. They therefore kept him in the water till he was nearly
+drowned. When pretty thoroughly humbled, and upon his most solemn
+promise of good behavior, he was again taken on board. Seldom after
+this was a word exchanged between them. Collins, deeply indebted to
+Franklin, accepted of some business offer at Barbadoes. He sailed for
+that island, and was never heard of more.
+
+Almost every young man has a few particular friends. The three most
+intimate companions of Benjamin Franklin were young men of his own
+rank and age, of very dissimilar characters, but having a common taste
+for business. They were all clerks. One of these, Joseph Watson, was,
+according to Franklin's description, "a pious, sensible young man of
+great integrity." It would seem that they were all persons of very
+estimable character, though some of them had imbibed Franklin's
+skeptical opinions. They spent many of their Sabbaths, wandering on
+the banks of the romantic Schuylkill, reading to each other their
+compositions in prose and verse.
+
+James Ralph, who was very emphatic in his deistical views, in his
+enthusiasm, decided to devote himself to the art of rhyming. The
+sensible Franklin tried to dissuade him from his folly, but in vain.
+On one occasion they all agreed to attempt a version of the Eighteenth
+Psalm. This sublime production of an inspired pen contains, in fifty
+verses, imagery as grand and sentiments as beautiful, as perhaps can
+anywhere else be found, within the same compass, in any language. It
+certainly speaks well for the intellectual acumen of these young men,
+and for their devotional instincts, that they should have selected so
+noble a theme. As their main object was to improve themselves in the
+command of language, and in the power of expression, they could not
+have chosen a subject more appropriate, than the Psalmist's
+description of the descent of God to earth.
+
+     "He bowed the heavens also and came down; and darkness was under
+        his feet.
+     And He rode upon a cherub and did fly;
+     Yea he did fly upon the wings of the wind.
+     He made darkness his secret place.
+     His pavilion round about him were dark waters, thick clouds of
+        the skies.
+     At the brightness which was before him his thick clouds passed.
+     Hail stones and coals of fire."[5]
+
+[Footnote 5: The intelligent reader will recall the glowing version of
+this Psalm, by Steinhold.
+
+     "The Lord descended from above,
+       And bowed the heavens most high;
+     And underneath his feet he cast
+       The darkness of the sky.
+     On cherub and on cherubim,
+       Full royally he rode;
+     And on the wings of mighty winds,
+       Came flying all abroad."]
+
+Joseph Watson died quite young, in the arms of Franklin. Charles
+Osborne acquired money and reputation, as a lawyer. Removing to the
+West Indies, he died, in the prime of life.
+
+Franklin and Osborne entered into the agreement, which has so often
+been made, that whichever should first die, should, if possible,
+return to the other and reveal to him the secrets of the spirit land.
+It is hardly necessary to say that Franklin watched long in vain, for
+a visit from his departed companion.
+
+Two months before Franklin sailed for London, Mr. Read, with whom he
+boarded, died. With the father, mother, and very pretty and amiable
+daughter, Deborah, Franklin had found a happy home. A strong affection
+apparently sprang up between the two young people. She was seventeen
+years of age, and Franklin eighteen. Their union would be eminently
+fitting, as in fortune and position in society, they were on the same
+level.
+
+Franklin, enjoying the patronage of the governor, and with, as he
+supposed, very brilliant prospects before him, entered into an
+engagement with Deborah, and was anxious to be married before he
+embarked for England, designing to leave his young bride at home with
+her mother. But Mrs. Read, in consideration of their youth, urged that
+the nuptials should be postponed until after his return.
+
+Sir William Keith continued to invite Franklin to his house, and
+lavished commendation and promises upon him. Still he continually
+postponed giving him any letters of credit with which he could
+purchase types, paper and press. Though, as the hour for sailing
+approached, Franklin called again and again to obtain the needful
+documents, he was continually met with apologies. At length, the day
+for the ship to weigh anchor arrived. It was about the 5th of
+November, 1724.
+
+At that late hour the private secretary of the Governor called
+upon Franklin and informed him that Sir William would meet him at
+Newcastle, where the vessel was to cast anchor, and would then and
+there, deliver to him all the important documents. Franklin went on
+board. The ship dropped down the broad and beautiful Delaware,
+whose banks were brilliant with foliage in their richest autumnal
+brilliance, about thirty-two miles below Philadelphia, to Newcastle.
+To the great disappointment of Franklin, the Governor still did not
+appear. He however sent his secretary, with a profusion of excuses,
+and professing to be pressed with business of the utmost importance,
+promised to send the letters to the captain before the vessel would be
+permitted to sail.
+
+Franklin, naturally buoyant and hopeful, did not even then, consider
+it possible that the Governor was intending to deceive him. Neither
+was it possible to conceive of any motive which would induce Sir
+William to betray him by so deceptive a game. At length a bag from the
+Governor, apparently filled with letters and dispatches, was brought
+on board, and again the vessel unfurled her sails. Franklin, with some
+solicitude, asked for those which were directed to him. But Captain
+Annis, all engrossed with the cares of embarkation, said that he was
+too busy to examine the bag at that time, but that they would, at
+their leisure, on the voyage select the letters.
+
+On the 10th of November, 1724, the good ship, the London Hope, pushed
+out from the Delaware upon the broad Atlantic. We know not whether
+Franklin was surprised to find on board, as one of the passengers, his
+poetical deistical friend James Ralph. This young man, who had
+renounced Christianity, in the adoption of principles, which he
+professed to believe conducive to the formation of a much higher moral
+character, had deliberately abandoned his wife and child to seek
+his fortune in London. He had deceived them by the most false
+representation. Carefully he concealed from Franklin, his unprincipled
+conduct and visionary schemes.
+
+The voyage was long and rough, as the vessel did not reach London
+until the twenty-fourth of November. On the passage he very carefully,
+with the captain, examined the letter-bag. But no letter was found
+addressed to him. There were several, however, addressed to other
+persons, with Franklin's name upon the envelope as if they were in his
+care. As one of these was addressed to the king's printer and another
+to a stationer in London, the sanguine young man through all the
+dreary and protracted voyage, clung to the hope that all was right.
+
+Upon arriving in London, Franklin hastened first to the stationer's
+and presented him with the letter, saying to him, "Here is a letter
+from Governor Keith, of Pennsylvania." The stationer looked up with
+surprise and said:
+
+"Governor Keith! I do not know of any such person." Then breaking the
+seal, and looking at the signature, he said very contemptuously,
+"Riddlesden. I have lately found him to be a complete rascal. I will
+have nothing to do with him, nor receive any letters from him."[6]
+
+[Footnote 6: We both of us happen to know, as well as the stationer,
+that Riddlesden, the attorney, was a very knave. He had half ruined
+Miss Read's father by persuading him to be bound for him. By
+his letter it appeared there was a secret scheme on foot to the
+prejudice of Mr. Hamilton; that Keith was concerned in it with
+Riddlesden.--Works of Franklin, by Sparks, Vol. i, p. 55.]
+
+So saying he thrust the letter back into Franklin's hand, and turned
+away to serve a customer. Franklin was almost stunned with this
+intelligence. He immediately conferred with a Mr. Denham, a judicious
+friend whose acquaintance he had made on board the ship. They
+ascertained that the infamous Governor, from motives which it is
+difficult to comprehend, had not furnished Franklin with a single
+document. There was not a bill of credit or a single letter of
+introduction, commending the young adventurer to people in London.
+Denham then told him that no one who knew Keith had the slightest
+confidence in his promises. That the idea that he would furnish him
+with any letters of credit was preposterous, since Sir William had no
+credit with any body.
+
+And thus Franklin found himself with his companion James Ralph, alone
+in the great world of London, without any letters of introduction,
+without any prospect of employment, and almost without money. The
+virtues of Franklin had exerted a restraining influence upon the
+unprincipled Ralph, and Franklin had not as yet become acquainted with
+the true basis of his character. The two young men met together to
+consult in this dilemma and to examine their finances. It appeared
+that Ralph had scarcely one penny in his pocket. He had intended to be
+a hanger-on upon Franklin, in whose ability to take care of himself
+and others he had the greatest confidence. Franklin's purse contained
+about fifty dollars.
+
+Again he returned to consult with Mr. Denham. He very wisely advised
+Franklin to seek employment in some of the printing offices in London.
+He encouraged him with the thought that thus with a few months' labor,
+he might not only pay his expenses, but also lay up a sufficient sum
+to defray his passage home.
+
+Franklin gradually perceived to his dismay, what an old man of the sea
+he had got upon his shoulders in the person of James Ralph. The
+following is his calm comment upon the atrocious conduct of Keith:
+
+"What shall we think," he writes, "of a governor playing such pitiful
+tricks, and imposing so grossly upon a poor ignorant boy? It was a
+habit he had acquired; he wished to please every body, and having
+little to give, he gave expectations. He was otherwise an ingenuous,
+sensible man, a pretty good writer, and a good governor for the
+people, though not for his constituents the proprietaries. Several of
+our best laws were of his planning, and passed during his
+administration."
+
+The entire absence of anger in this statement, has won for Franklin
+great commendation.
+
+With his dependent protege Ralph, he took humble lodgings in Little
+Britain street. Ralph had remarkable powers of conversation, with much
+more than ordinary literary talent, and could, whenever he wished,
+make himself very agreeable and almost fascinating as a companion. But
+he was quite a child as to all ability to take care of himself.
+Franklin really loved him at that time. He was a very handsome young
+man, graceful in his demeanor; and those who listened to his eloquent
+harangues would imagine that he was destined to attain to greatness.
+
+Franklin immediately applied for work at the great printing
+establishment of Palmer in Bartholomew Close. Fifty journeymen
+were here employed. He promptly entered into a contract with the
+proprieter for the remuneration of about six dollars a week. Ralph,
+characteristically hurried to the theatre to enter upon the profession
+of a play-actor. Being disappointed in that attempt, his next plan was
+to edit a newspaper to be called the Spectator. Not being able to find
+a publisher, he then went the rounds of the law offices, in search of
+copying, but not even this, could he obtain. In the meantime they were
+both supported by the purse of Franklin. With fifty dollars in his
+pocket, and earning six dollars a week, he felt quite easy in his
+circumstances, and was quite generous in his expenditure for their
+mutual enjoyment.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+_Mental and Moral Conflicts._
+
+     Faithfulness to work--Neglect of Deborah Read--Treatise on
+     Liberty and Necessity--Skill in swimming--Return to
+     America--Marriage of Miss Read--Severe sickness--Death of
+     Mr. Denham--Returns to Keimer's employ--The Junto--His
+     Epitaph--Reformation of his treatise on Liberty and
+     Necessity--Franklin's creed.
+
+
+Franklin and Ralph were essentially congenial in their tastes. Neither
+of them were religiously inclined in the ordinary acceptation of those
+words. But the thoughtful philosophy of Franklin has by many been
+regarded as the development of an instinctively religious character.
+They were both exceedingly fond of amusement and especially of
+pleasure excursions on the Sabbath. Very seldom, did either the
+intellect or the heart lure them to listen to such teachings as they
+would hear from the pulpit. It certainly would have been better for
+them both, had they been church-going young men. There was no pulpit
+in all London from which they would not hear the reiterated counsel,
+Cease to do evil; learn to do well.
+
+Franklin was faithful in the highest degree to his employer.
+Weary with the day's toil, which with his active mind was highly
+intellectual as well as mechanical, he almost invariably in the
+evening sought recreation with Ralph in the theatre. It is safe to
+infer that the best productions of our best dramatists, were those
+which would most interest the mind of our young philosopher. Ralph was
+daily gaining an increasing influence over his mind. It is said that
+we are prone to love more ardently those upon whom we confer favors
+than those from whom we receive them.
+
+To these two young men the pleasures of London seemed inexhaustible.
+Franklin began to forget his old home and his friends. He began to
+think that London was a very pleasant place of residence, and that it
+was doubtful whether he should ever return to America again. He had
+constant employment, the prospect of an increasing income, and with
+his economical habits he had ample funds to relieve himself from all
+pecuniary embarrassment. With his friend Ralph, he was leading a very
+jovial life, free from all care.
+
+His love for Deborah Read began to vanish away. He thought very
+seldom of her: seldom could he find time to write to her; and ere
+long his letters ceased altogether; and she was cruelly left to the
+uncertainty of whether he was alive or dead. Ralph had entirely
+forgotten his wife and child, and Franklin had equally forgotten his
+affianced. In subsequent years the memory of this desertion seems to
+have weighed heavily on him. He wrote in his advanced life in
+reference to his treatment of Deborah,
+
+     "This was another of the great errors of my life; which I
+     could wish to correct were I to live it over again."
+
+For nearly a year, Franklin thus continued in the employment of Mr.
+Palmer, receiving good wages and spending them freely. A very highly
+esteemed clergyman of the Church of England named Wollaston, had
+written a book entitled, "The Religion of Nature Delineated." It was a
+work which obtained much celebrity in those days and was published by
+Mr. Palmer. It was of the general character of Butler's Analogy, and
+was intended to prove that the morality enjoined by Jesus Christ, was
+founded in the very nature of man; and that the principles of that
+morality were immutable, even though deists should succeed in
+destroying the public faith in the divine authority of Christianity.
+It was eminently an amiable book, written with great charity and
+candor, and without any dogmatic assumptions.
+
+It chanced to fall to Franklin to set up the type. As was customary
+with him, he made himself thoroughly acquainted with the treatise of
+which he thus became the compositor. His mind was in such a state in
+reference to the claims of that Christianity which certainly did not
+commend the mode of life he was living, that it excited not only
+antagonistic but even angry emotions. So thoroughly were his feelings
+aroused, that he wrote and published a pamphlet of thirty-two pages,
+in refutation of the theory of Mr. Wollaston.
+
+Franklin dedicated his work, which was entitled "A dissertation
+on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain," to James Ralph.
+Fortunately, the treatise has descended to us unmutilated. He
+commences with the observation:
+
+     "I have here given you my present thoughts upon the general
+     state of things in the universe."
+
+The production was certainly a very able one to come from the pen of a
+young printer of but nineteen years. Mr. Palmer, while recognizing its
+ability, pronounced its principles to be atrocious and demoralizing.
+The production of such a work, literary, philosophical and religious,
+by probably the youngest companion of the journeymen printers, caused
+them all to open their eyes with astonishment, and he was regarded at
+once as a great man among them.[7]
+
+[Footnote 7: In this extraordinary document our young deist writes,
+"There is said to be a first mover, who is called God, who is all
+wise, all good, all powerful. If he is all good, whatsoever he doeth
+must be good. If he is all wise, whatever he doeth must be wise. That
+there are things to which we give the name of _Evil_, is not to be
+denied--such as theft, murder, etc. But these are not in reality
+evils. To suppose anything to exist or to be done contrary to the will
+of the Almighty is to suppose him not Almighty. There is nothing done
+but God either does or permits. Though a creature may do many actions,
+which, by his fellow creatures, will be named evil, yet he can not act
+what will be in itself displeasing to God.
+
+"We will sum up the argument thus, When the Creator first designed the
+universe, either it was his will that all should exist and be in the
+manner they are at this time, or it was his will that they should be
+otherwise. To say it was His will things should be otherwise, is to
+say that somewhat hath contradicted His will; which is impossible.
+Therefore we must allow that all things exist now in a manner
+agreeable to His will; and, in consequence of that, all are equally
+good and therefore equally esteemed by Him. No condition of life or
+being is better or preferable to another."
+
+This whole treatise may be found in the appendix to the first volume
+of Parton's Life of Franklin.]
+
+The deists of London, who had united in a club of merry
+free-thinkers, holding their meetings at an ale-house, sought out
+Franklin and drew him into their convivial gatherings. These men had
+no common principle of belief; they were united only in the negative
+principle of unbelief in the Christian religion. Ralph had formed a
+connection with a young milliner, by whom, through his many
+fascinations, he was mainly supported.
+
+Franklin, with his increasing expenditures, was now disposed to
+shake off Ralph, as he needed all his money for his own convivial
+enjoyments. Ralph went into the country and opened a school, where he
+utterly failed. The unhappy milliner, ruined in character, and with a
+little child, wrote to Franklin imploring aid. Her letters touched his
+kindly heart. He could never see sorrow without wishing to relieve it.
+He furnished her with money, in small sums, to the amount of one
+hundred and thirty dollars; and worst of all, we regret to say that he
+commenced treating her with such familiarity, that she, still faithful
+to Ralph, repulsed him indignantly.[8]
+
+[Footnote 8: Franklin writes in his autobiography, "I grew fond of her
+company, and being at that time under no religious restraint, and
+taking advantage of my importance to her, I attempted to take some
+liberties with her, another _erratum_, which she repulsed with a
+proper degree of resentment. She wrote to Ralph and acquainted him
+with my conduct. This occasioned a breach between us; and when he
+returned to London, he let me know he considered all the obligations
+he had been under to me as annulled."--Works of Franklin, Vol. i, p.
+59.]
+
+Franklin does not conceal these _foibles_, as he regarded them, these
+_sins_ as Christianity pronounces them. He declares this simply to
+have been another of the great errors of his youth. She informed Ralph
+of his conduct. He was enraged, broke off all further communication
+with Franklin, and thirty-five years passed away before they met
+again. Ralph, goaded to desperation, gained a wretched living in
+various literary adventures; writing for any body, on any side, and
+for any price. Indeed he eventually gained quite an ephemeral
+reputation. He could express himself with vivacity, and several quite
+prominent politicians sought the aid of his pen.
+
+Franklin, thus relieved from the support of Ralph, soon after entered
+a more extensive printing house, at Lincoln's Inn Fields. Though he
+was exceedingly fond of a sparkling glass of wine in his convivial
+hours, he was too much of a philosopher to stupefy his brain in
+guzzling beer. His habitual daily beverage was cold water.
+
+     "My companion at the press," he wrote, "drank every day a
+     pint before breakfast, a pint at breakfast with his bread and
+     cheese, a pint between breakfast and dinner, a pint at
+     dinner, and another when he had done his day's work. I
+     thought it a detestable custom. But it was necessary, he
+     supposed, to drink strong beer that he might be strong to
+     labor. I endeavored to convince him that the bodily strength
+     afforded by beer could only be in proportion to the grain or
+     the barley dissolved in the water of which it was made; that
+     there was more flour in a pennyworth of bread, and,
+     therefore, if he could eat that with a pint of water, it
+     would give him more strength than a quart of beer. He drank
+     on, however, and had four or five shillings to pay, out of
+     his wages, every Saturday night, for that vile liquor; an
+     expense I was free from; and thus these poor devils keep
+     themselves always under."
+
+Again Franklin wrote in characteristic phrase, in reference to the
+influence of his example over some of his companions,
+
+     "From my example, a great many of them left their muddling
+     breakfast of bread, beer and cheese, finding they could,
+     with me, be supplied from a neighboring house, with a large
+     porringer of hot water gruel, sprinkled with pepper,
+     crumbled with bread and a bit of butter in it, for the price
+     of a pint of beer,--three half-pence. This was a more
+     comfortable, as well as a cheaper breakfast, and kept their
+     heads clearer. Those who continued sotting with their beer
+     all day, were often, by not paying, out of credit at the
+     ale-house; and used to make interest with me to get beer;
+     their _light_ as they phrased it being out. I watched the
+     pay table on Saturday night, and collected what I stood
+     engaged for them, having to pay sometimes on their account."
+
+Franklin's skill in swimming, as we have mentioned was very
+remarkable. At one time he swam from London to Chelsea, a distance of
+four miles. Several of his companions he taught to swim in two
+lessons. His celebrity was such that he was urged to open a swimming
+school.[9] The life of self-indulgence he was now living in London,
+was not such as even his loose religious principles could approve. He
+had abandoned the faith of his fathers, and had adopted, for his rule
+of conduct, the principle, that it was right to yield to any
+indulgences to which his passions incited him. He became tired of
+London, and probably found it necessary to break away from the
+influences and associates with which he had surrounded himself.
+
+[Footnote 9: "On one of these days I was, to my surprise, sent for by
+a great man I knew only by name, Sir William Wyndham. He had heard of
+my swimming from Chelsea to Blackfriars and of my teaching Wygate and
+another young man to swim in a few hours. He had two sons about to set
+out on their travels. He wished to have them first taught swimming,
+and proposed to gratify me handsomely if I would teach them. They were
+not yet come to town, and my stay was uncertain, so I could not
+undertake it. But from the incident I thought it likely that if I were
+to remain in England and opened a swimming-school I might get a good
+deal of money. And it struck me so strongly that had the overture been
+made me sooner, probably I should not so soon have returned to
+America."--Autobiography, Vol. I. p. 66.]
+
+Mr. Denham, his companion of voyage, had decided to return to
+Philadelphia, and open an extensive store. He offered Franklin two
+hundred and fifty dollars a year as book-keeper. Though this was less
+than the sum Franklin was then earning, as compositor, there were
+prospects of his advancement. This consideration, in addition to his
+desire to escape from London, led him to accept the offer. He was now
+twenty years of age. It does not appear that he had thus far formed
+any deliberate plan for his life's work. He floated along as the
+current of events drifted him.
+
+On the twenty-first of July, 1726, Franklin embarked on board the ship
+Berkshire for Philadelphia. He had been absent from America but little
+more than a year and a half. During this time he had not increased his
+fortune, for he had spent his money as fast as he had earned it. After
+a voyage of eighty days, the ship cast anchor before Philadelphia. At
+that time ships were often from three to seven months effecting the
+passage across the Atlantic.
+
+As usual Franklin kept a diary punctually during his long voyage. Its
+pages were replete with pithy remarks of wit and wisdom. He was very
+fond of a game of checkers, and in that amusement beguiled many weary
+hours. We find the following striking comments upon the diversion in
+his journal:
+
+     "It is a game I much delight in. But it requires a clear head
+     and undisturbed. The persons playing, if they would play
+     well, ought not much to regard the _consequences_ of the
+     game; for that diverts and withdraws the mind from the game
+     itself, and makes the player liable to make many false, open
+     moves. I will venture to lay it down for an infallible rule
+     that if two persons equal in judgment, play for a
+     considerable sum, he that loves money most, shall lose. His
+     anxiety for the success of the game confounds him. Courage is
+     almost as requisite for the good conduct of this game as in a
+     real battle; for if the player imagines himself opposed by
+     one that is much his superior in skill, his mind is so intent
+     on the defensive part, that an advantage passes unobserved."
+
+The Governor of the Isle of Wight had died, leaving the reputation
+of having been one of the most consummate scoundrels who ever
+exercised despotic power. Franklin, in his treatise upon "Liberty and
+Necessity," written but a few months before, had assumed that there
+was no such thing as good and evil; that God ordered and controlled
+every event; and that consequently every event was in accordance with
+His will, and alike pleasing in His sight. But now we find the
+following record in his journal, which most readers will recognize as
+inconsistent with the young philosopher's theological opinions. He
+writes:
+
+     "At the death of this governor, it appeared that he was a
+     great villain, and a great politician. There was no crime so
+     damnable, which he would stick at in the execution of his
+     designs. And yet he had the art of covering all so thick,
+     that with almost all men in general, while he lived he passed
+     for a saint. In short, I believe it is impossible for a man,
+     though he has all the cunning of a devil, to live and die a
+     villain, and yet conceal it so well as to carry the name of
+     an honest fellow to the grave with him, but some one by some
+     accident or other, shall discover him. Truth and sincerity
+     have a certain distinguishing, native lustre about them,
+     which cannot be perfectly counterfeited. They are like fire
+     and flame that cannot be painted."
+
+We should infer, from some intimations in Franklin's diary, that he
+was troubled by some qualms of conscience, in view of his abandonment
+of Miss Read, and his irregular life in London. He has left a paper in
+which he stated that he had never formed any regular plan for the
+control of his conduct: that he was now about to enter on a new life;
+and that he was resolved that henceforth he would speak the truth, be
+industrious in his business, and speak ill of no man. These were
+rather meagre resolutions for a young man under these circumstances to
+adopt.
+
+Soon after landing at Philadelphia, Franklin chanced to meet Sir
+William Keith in the streets. The governor seemed much embarrassed,
+and passed by without speaking. It does not appear that the
+acquaintance was ever resumed. The governor lived nearly twenty-five
+years afterward, a dishonored and ruined man, and died in the extreme
+of poverty.
+
+Poor Miss Read, heart-broken, and deeming herself forever abandoned,
+yielded to the importunities of her friends and married a mechanic by
+the name of Rogers. He proved to be a thoroughly worthless fellow. His
+unconcealed profligacy, and unfaithfulness to his wife, compelled her,
+after a few months of wretchedness, to return to her mother, and to
+resume her maiden name. The profligate husband fled from his creditors
+to the West Indies. Rumors soon reached Philadelphia of his death,
+leaving probably another wife.
+
+Franklin entered upon his duties as clerk of Mr. Denham, with his
+accustomed energy and skill. He carried into his new vocation, all his
+intellectual sagacity, and speedily won not only the confidence but
+the affection of his employer. He lived with Mr. Denham, and being
+always disposed to look upon the bright side of everything, even of
+his own imperfections, notwithstanding his infidelity to Miss Read, he
+seems to have been a very happy and even jovial young man.
+
+Four months after Franklin had entered upon his mercantile career,
+both Mr. Denham and Franklin were seized with the pleurisy. Mr. Denham
+died. Franklin, though brought near to the grave, recovered. He
+writes:
+
+     "I suffered a great deal; gave up the point in my own mind;
+     and was at the time rather disappointed when I found myself
+     recovering; regretting in some degree that I must now,
+     sometime or other, have all that disagreeable work to do over
+     again."
+
+The death of Mr. Denham broke up the establishment, and Franklin was
+thrown out of employment. Keimer, in whose service he had formerly
+been engaged, again made him an offer to superintend a printing
+office. Franklin accepted the proposition. There were five inefficient
+hands, whom Franklin was expected to transform into accomplished
+printers. With these, and a few others, he organized a literary club,
+called the "Junto; or the Leathern Apron Club," as nearly every member
+was a mechanic.
+
+The club met every Friday evening, and the wine cup, to stimulate
+conviviality, passed freely among them. There were twenty-four
+questions, which were every evening read, to which answers were to be
+returned by any one who could answer them. Between each question, it
+was expected that each member would fill, and empty, his glass. One
+would think that the wine must have been very weak, or the heads of
+these young men very strong, to enable them to quaff twenty-four
+glasses unharmed. We give a few of the questions as specimens of their
+general character.
+
+     1. "Have you met with anything in the author you last read?
+
+     3. "Has any citizen in your knowledge failed, and have you
+     heard the cause?
+
+     7. "What unhappy effects of intemperance have you lately
+     observed?
+
+     12. "Has any deserving stranger arrived in town since your
+     last meeting?
+
+     16. "Has anybody attacked your reputation lately?
+
+     23. "Is there any difficulty which you would gladly have
+     discussed at this time?"
+
+Debates, declamation, and the reading of essays added to the
+entertainment of these gatherings. Stories were told, and bacchanal
+songs sung. No man could tell a better story, and few men could sing a
+better song than Benjamin Franklin. No one was deemed a suitable
+member of the club, who would not contribute his full quota to the
+entertainment or instruction. The questions proposed by Franklin for
+discussion, developed the elevated intellectual region his thoughts
+were accustomed to range. We give a few as specimens.
+
+     "Can any one particular form of government suit all mankind?
+
+     "Should it be the aim of philosophy to eradicate the
+     passions?
+
+     "Is perfection attainable in this life?
+
+     "What general conduct of life is most suitable for men in
+     such circumstances as most of the members of the Junto are?"
+
+The Junto was limited to twelve members. It soon became so popular
+that applications for admission became very frequent. Six months
+passed rapidly away, when Keimer, who was an exceedingly immoral and
+worthless man, and was fast going to ruin, in some fit of drunkenness,
+or ungovernable irritation, entered the office, and assailed Franklin
+with such abuse, that he took his hat, and repaired to his lodgings,
+resolved never to return.
+
+Franklin was twenty-one years of age. He had laid up no money. He was
+still but a journeyman printer. The draft which he had received from
+Mr. Vernon for fifty dollars had not yet been paid. He was exceedingly
+mortified when he allowed himself to reflect upon this delinquency
+which certainly approached dishonesty. In this emergence he conferred
+with a fellow journeyman by the name of Hugh Meredith, whose father
+was a gentleman of considerable property. Meredith proposed that they
+should enter into partnership, he furnishing the funds, and Franklin
+the business capacity.
+
+At that time Franklin, remembering his narrow escape from the grave
+by the pleurisy, wrote his own epitaph which has been greatly
+celebrated. It has generally been admired; but some of more sensitive
+minds perceive in it a tone which is somewhat repulsive.
+
+                      "The Body
+                          of
+                  BENJAMIN FRANKLIN,
+                       _Printer_,
+            (Like the cover of an old book,
+                 Its contents torn out,
+        And stripped of its lettering and gilding,)
+               Lies here, food for worms.
+          Yet the work itself shall not be lost,
+     For it will, as he believed, appear once more,
+                         In a new
+                 And more beautiful edition,
+                  Corrected and amended
+                            By
+                       THE AUTHOR."
+
+The excellencies of Franklin did not run in the line of exquisite
+sensibilities. At the early age of fifteen he began to cast off the
+restraints of the religion of his father and mother. Nearly all his
+associates were what were called Free-thinkers. He could not be blind
+to their moral imperfections. Mr. Parton writes,
+
+     "His old friend Collins, he remembered, was a Free-thinker,
+     and Collins had gone astray. Ralph was a Free-thinker, and
+     Ralph was a great sinner. Keith was a Free-thinker, and
+     Keith was the greatest liar in Pennsylvania. Benjamin
+     Franklin was a Free-thinker, and how shamefully he had
+     behaved to Ralph's mistress, to Mr. Vernon and Miss Read,
+     whose young life had been blighted through him."[10]
+
+[Footnote 10: Parton's Life of Franklin, Vol. I, p. 168.]
+
+Franklin's creed thus far, consisted only of negations. He had no
+belief; he had only unbelief. Indeed he seems to have become quite
+ashamed of his treatise upon Liberty and Necessity, published in
+London, and felt constrained to write a refutation of it.[11] As this
+strange young man in his discontent looked over the religions of
+the world, he could find no one that met his views. He therefore
+deliberately and thoughtfully sat down to form a religion of his own.
+Many such persons have appeared in the lapse of the ages, and almost
+invariably they have announced their creeds with the words, "Thus
+saith the Lord." But our young printer of twenty-two years, made no
+profession whatever, of any divine aid. He simply said, "Thus saith my
+thoughts." One would think he could not have much confidence in those
+thoughts, when it is remembered that at this time he was writing a
+refutation of the opinions, which he had published in London but a few
+months before.
+
+[Footnote 11: "My arguments perverted some others, especially Collins
+and Ralph. But each of these having wronged me greatly without the
+least compunction; and recollecting Keith's conduct towards me, who
+was another Free-thinker, and my own towards Vernon and Miss Read,
+which at times gave me great trouble, I began to suspect that this
+doctrine, though it might be true, was not very useful. My London
+pamphlet, printed in 1725, and which had for its motto,
+
+     "'Whatever is is right,'
+
+and which from the attributes of God, His infinite wisdom, goodness
+and power, concluded that nothing could possibly be wrong in the
+world, and that vice and virtue were empty distinctions, no such
+things existing, appeared now not so clever a performance, as I once
+thought it; and I doubted whether some error had not insinuated itself
+unperceived into my argument."
+
+In the year 1779, Dr. Franklin wrote to Dr. Benjamin Vaughn respecting
+this pamphlet.
+
+"There were only one hundred copies printed, of which I gave a few to
+friends. Afterwards, disliking the piece, I burnt the rest, except one
+copy. I was not nineteen years of age when it was written. In 1730, I
+wrote a piece on the other side of the question, which began with
+laying for its foundation that almost all men, in all ages and
+countries, have at times made use of prayer.
+
+"Thence I reasoned that if all things are ordained, prayer must be
+among the rest ordained; but as prayer can procure no change in things
+that are ordained, praying must then be useless and an absurdity. God
+would, therefore, not ordain praying if everything else was ordained.
+But praying exists, therefore all other things are not ordained. This
+manuscript was never printed. The great uncertainty I found in
+metaphysical reasoning disgusted me, and I quitted that kind of
+reading and study for others more satisfactory."--Autobiography, p.
+76.]
+
+The book which Franklin thus prepared was entitled "Articles of
+Belief, and Acts of Religion." His simple creed was that there was one
+Supreme God who had created many minor gods; that the supreme God was
+so great that he did not desire the worship of man but was far above
+it.
+
+The minor gods are perhaps immortal, and perhaps after the ages lapse
+they are changed, others supplying their place. Each of these
+subordinate gods has created for himself a sun with its planetary
+system, over which he presides and from the inhabitants of which he
+expects adoration. He writes,
+
+     "It is that particular wise and good God, who is the author
+     and owner of our system that I propose for the object of my
+     praise and adoration. It is to be inferred that this God is
+     not above caring for us, is pleased with our praise, and
+     offended when we slight him."
+
+He then prepares an invocation to this god of our solar system. It is
+founded on the style of the Psalms, but is immeasurably inferior to
+most of those sublime utterances of the Psalmist of Israel. And still
+the sentiments breathed were ennobling in their character; they proved
+that Franklin was vastly superior to the thoughtless, reckless deists
+who surrounded him, and that his soul was reaching forth and yearning
+for higher and holier attainments. In this invocation, the whole of
+which we cannot quote, he writes,
+
+     "O Creator! O Father! I believe that thou art good; and that
+     thou art pleased with the pleasure of thy children. Praised
+     be thy name forever. By thy power thou hast made the
+     glorious sun with his attending worlds. By thy wisdom thou
+     hast formed all things. Thy wisdom, thy power, and thy
+     goodness are everywhere clearly seen. Thou abhorrest in thy
+     creatures treachery and deceit, malice, revenge,
+     intemperance, and every other hurtful vice. But thou art a
+     lover of justice and sincerity, of friendship and
+     benevolence, and every virtue. Thou art my friend, my
+     father, and my benefactor. Praised be thy name; O God,
+     forever. Amen."
+
+The prayer which followed, doubtless giving utterance to his most
+inward feelings, is beautiful.
+
+     "Inasmuch," he wrote, "as by reason of our ignorance, we
+     cannot be certain that many things, which we often hear
+     mentioned in the petitions of men to the Deity, would prove
+     real goods if they were in our possession, and as I have
+     reason to hope and believe that the goodness of my Heavenly
+     Father will not withhold from me a suitable share of temporal
+     blessings, if by a virtuous and holy life I conciliate his
+     favor and kindness; therefore I presume not to ask such
+     things; but rather humbly and with a sincere heart, express
+     my earnest desire that he would graciously assist my
+     continual endeavors and resolutions of eschewing vice and
+     embracing virtue, which kind of supplication will at the same
+     time remind me in a solemn manner of my extensive duty."
+
+He then added the supplication that he might be preserved from
+atheism, impiety and profaneness; that he might be loyal to his
+prince; that he might be gracious to those below him; that he might
+refrain from calumny and detraction; that he might be sincere in
+friendship, just in his dealings, grateful to his benefactors, patient
+in affliction; that he might have tenderness for the weak, and that,
+rejoicing in the good of others, he might become truly virtuous and
+magnanimous.
+
+It is very evident that some unexplained circumstances had called the
+attention of Franklin very earnestly to the subject of religion. He
+wrote very much upon that theme, and published a new version of the
+Lord's Prayer, and a lecture upon Providence and Predestination. He,
+however, admits that he very seldom attended any public worship,
+adding,
+
+     "I had still an opinion of its propriety and its utility,
+     when rightly conducted; and I regularly paid my annual
+     subscription for the support of the only Presbyterian
+     minister."
+
+Rumors soon reached Franklin's good father of Boston, of his son's
+free-thinking, and he wrote to his son in much alarm. In Franklin's
+reply, he said,
+
+     "All that should be expected from me, is to keep my mind
+     open to conviction; to hear patiently and examine
+     attentively whatever is offered me for that end. And if
+     after all I continue in the same errors, I believe your
+     usual charity will induce you rather to pity and excuse,
+     than to blame me. In the meantime, your care and concern for
+     me, is what I am very thankful for. My mother grieves that
+     one of her sons is an Arian, and another an Arminian. What
+     an Arminian or an Arian is, I cannot say that I very well
+     know. The truth is, I make such distinctions very little my
+     study. I think vital religion has always suffered when
+     orthodoxy is more regarded than virtue. And the Scriptures
+     assure me that at the last day we shall not be examined what
+     we thought but what we did."
+
+Franklin, having no revealed religion to guide him, and having no
+foundation for his faith, but the ever-changing vagaries of his own
+fantastic imagination, could have no belief to-day, of which he had
+any certainty that he would hold the same to-morrow. He was
+continually abandoning one after another of the articles of his
+fantastical creed, and adopting others in their place. At length he
+settled down upon the following simple belief, which with very
+considerable tenacity, but without any attempt to promulgate it, he
+adhered to for many years. It consisted of the six following articles
+which we give in briefest language.
+
+     1. "There is one God.
+
+     2. "He governs the world.
+
+     3. "He ought to be worshipped.
+
+     4. "Doing good is the service most acceptable to him.
+
+     5. "Man is immortal.
+
+     6. "In the future world the souls of men will be dealt with
+     justly."
+
+It is very evident that Franklin had no great confidence in his
+theological opinions. He studiously avoided all writing upon the
+subject, and as far as possible all conversation. Still, with his keen
+sense of humor, he could not refrain from occasionally plunging a
+pretty sharp dagger's thrust into the palpable imperfections of the
+various and contending sects.
+
+There was very little moral power, in the creed he professed, to
+arrest young men, of glowing passions, and exposed to the most
+difficult temptations, in their downward career. No voice of Franklin
+was heard with potency calling upon those who were thronging the broad
+road. In a lecture upon Providence, to his companions of the Junto,
+which was subsequently published, and which reflects some considerable
+honor upon the earnestness of his thoughts, he wrote,
+
+     "I am especially discouraged when I reflect that you are all
+     my intimate pot-companions, who have heard me say a
+     thousand silly things in conversation, and therefore have
+     not that laudable partiality and veneration for whatever I
+     shall deliver that good people have for their spiritual
+     guides; that you have no reverence for my habit, nor for the
+     sanctity of my countenance; that you do not believe me
+     inspired, nor divinely assisted; and therefore will think
+     yourself at liberty to assert, or dissert, approve or
+     disapprove of anything I advance, canvassing and sifting it
+     as the private opinion of one of your acquaintance."
+
+Though it was Franklin's assumption that his religion was one of works
+and not of faith, still it must be admitted that his life was very
+inconsistent with those principles of purity, moral loveliness and
+good report which the Gospel enjoins. With his remarkable honesty of
+mind, in strains which we are constrained, though with regret to
+record, he writes,
+
+     "That hard-to-be governed passion of youth had hurried me
+     frequently into intrigues with low women that fell in my
+     way, which were attended with some expense and great
+     inconvenience, besides a continual risk to my health by
+     distemper, which of all things I dreaded, though by great
+     luck I escaped it."
+
+Mr. Parton writes, "It was perhaps owing to his frequent delinquencies
+in this way, that his liturgy contains no allusion to a vice, which is
+of all others the most alluring to a youth of Franklin's temperament.
+He was too sincere and logical a man to go before his God and ask
+assistance against a fault which he had not fully resolved to
+overcome, and that immediately. About a year after the date of his
+liturgy was born his illegitimate son William Franklin, who became
+Governor of New Jersey. If laws were as easily executed as enacted,
+Benjamin Franklin would have received, upon this occasion, twenty-one
+lashings at the public whipping-post of Philadelphia."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+_The Dawn of Prosperity._
+
+     Franklin takes a house--His first job--His industry--Plans a
+     Newspaper--Enters the list as a writer--Advocates a Paper
+     currency--Purchases Keimer's paper--Character of
+     Meredith--Struggles of the firm--Unexpected
+     assistance--Dissolves partnership with Meredith--Franklin's
+     energetic conduct--His courtship, and marriage--Character of
+     Mrs. Franklin--Increase of luxury--Plans for a
+     library--Prosperity of Pennsylvania--Customs in
+     Philadelphia--Style of dress in 1726--Franklin's social
+     position in Philadelphia--His success--A hard student.
+
+
+Franklin had now reached the end of life as an apprentice and a
+journeyman. With his friend Meredith he hired a house in the lower
+part of Market street, at the rent of about one hundred and twenty
+dollars a year. A large portion of this house he prudently re-let to
+another mechanic who was a member of the Junto. It would seem that
+Meredith was disappointed in the amount of money he expected to raise.
+Consequently after utterly exhausting their stock of cash, they still
+found it necessary to run deeply into debt for those appurtenances of
+a printing office which were absolutely necessary.
+
+Just as they got ready for work, quite to their delight, a countryman
+came in introduced by one of the Junto, George House, who wanted a
+five shilling job executed.
+
+"This man's five shillings," writes Franklin, "being our first fruits,
+and coming so seasonably, gave me more pleasure than any crown I have
+since earned. And from the gratitude I felt toward House, has made me
+often more ready, than perhaps I otherwise should have been, to assist
+young beginners."
+
+The two young men devoted themselves to their work, with assiduity
+which was a sure precursor of success. Often Franklin was found
+diligently employed until eleven o'clock at night. His industry and
+energy soon attracted attention. A gentleman living near the office
+said to some of his friends:
+
+"The industry of that Franklin is superior to anything I ever saw of
+the kind. I see him still at work when I go home from the club, and he
+is at work again before his neighbors are out of bed."
+
+This statement produced such an impression upon a merchant who was
+present, that he called upon the young men and offered to supply them
+with stationery on credit. Franklin's literary taste, and his
+remarkable success as a writer, led him ever to cherish, as a darling
+project, the idea of the establishing of a newspaper. In a few months
+he had quite deliberately formed his plan; but in some way Keimer got
+wind of it, and immediately issued a prospectus for the establishment
+of a paper of his own. Though he was totally unqualified for the task
+of editorship, yet his project was quite hurtful to the plans of
+Franklin.
+
+Very much annoyed by the treachery which had revealed his plans to
+Keimer, and perceiving that his paper was unpopular and heavy,
+Franklin very wisely decided to establish his own reputation as a
+vivacious writer, before entering upon the important undertaking of
+issuing a journal in his own name. There was a small paper then
+published in the city called "The Mercury." He commenced writing a
+series of very witty and satirical articles over the signature of
+"Busy Body." The first number contained the following sentences as
+intimations of what was to come.
+
+     "It is probable that I may displease a great number of your
+     readers who will not very well like to pay ten shillings a
+     year for being told of their faults, but as most people
+     delight in censure when they themselves are not the object of
+     it, if any are offended at my publicly exposing their private
+     vices, I promise they shall have the satisfaction in a very
+     little time, in seeing their good friends and neighbors in
+     the same circumstances."
+
+These sparkling contributions of Franklin attracted much attention,
+and created for him a growing literary reputation. The subject of
+paper money which agitated our country, was then being discussed in
+Pennsylvania with intense interest. Franklin wrote a carefully studied
+pamphlet entitled "A Modest Inquiry into the Nature and Necessity of a
+Paper Currency."
+
+This treatise, written by a young printer of but twenty-three years,
+upon one of the most difficult questions of finance, displayed great
+ability. Warmly he advocated a paper currency. His arguments, however,
+were such as would not now probably exert much influence upon the
+public mind. The main proposition he endeavored to sustain was, that
+there was not a sufficiency of gold and silver in Pennsylvania, for
+carrying on the trade of the province. He therefore argued that all
+branches of industry must languish unless the currency were increased
+by an issue of paper.[12]
+
+[Footnote 12: This pamphlet may be found in Sparks' "Works of
+Franklin," Vol. ii, p. 253.]
+
+It has been suggested that Franklin might have been unconsciously
+influenced in his views, by the fact that he had been very successful
+in printing paper money, and that he anticipated still more
+employment in that line. It is certain that Franklin's pamphlet
+exerted a powerful influence at the time, and a new issue of paper
+currency was ordered. Franklin thought that the effect was highly
+conducive to the prosperity of the province, and he never swerved from
+the views which he had so earnestly and successfully urged in his
+pamphlet.
+
+Franklin's sun was rapidly rising. Keimer's was as rapidly sinking.
+After publishing thirty-nine numbers of the "Universal Instructor" and
+the subscription list having dwindled to ninety, he gladly sold the
+paper for a trifle to Franklin and Meredith. The genius of Franklin
+was immediately displayed in the improved literary character of the
+paper, and in its mechanical execution. The name was changed to the
+"Pennsylvania Gazette." The first number issued by him was on Oct. 2,
+1729.
+
+The subject of religion was almost entirely ignored. Franklin seems to
+have become weary of the darkness and the fogs through which his
+unillumined mind had been so long painfully floundering, without
+coming to any results upon which he could place reliance. Christianity
+he generally treated with respect, though he could not refrain from
+occasionally giving a sly thrust at those imperfections of Christians
+which were so palpable to his observant mind. And though he never
+assailed that which was not inherently bad, it cannot be denied that
+occasionally his keen sarcasms brought Christianity itself into
+reproach, as if it were a religion which produced no better fruits,
+perhaps not so good, as no religion at all.
+
+The business of this young firm of Franklin and Meredith, viewed in
+the light of the grand printing enterprises of the present day, was
+indeed trivial. The two young men did all the work themselves without
+even a boy to help them. In fact Meredith, who at the best was a poor
+workman, and who fell into intemperate habits, neglected his business,
+frequented the ale-houses, and left all responsibility resting upon
+the efficient shoulders of his partner.
+
+Franklin, who endeavored to be perfect in every thing he undertook,
+printed his paper so admirably that it is said that there is probably
+not a journal now in Philadelphia which is issued in better style than
+"The Pennsylvania Gazette" of 1729.
+
+For seven years Franklin had been embarrassed by the thought of the
+fifty dollars which he had received from Mr. Vernon, and which had not
+yet been repaid. Mr. Vernon wrote him a very gentle intimation,
+stating that it would be very convenient for him to receive the money.
+Franklin returned a contrite and magnanimous letter. He made no
+attempt to extenuate his fault, promised immediately to strain every
+nerve to meet the debt, and in a few months paid the whole, principal
+and interest.
+
+Still the infant firm was struggling with adversity. The partners had
+commenced operations with scarcely any capital excepting promises.
+Their outfit cost about a thousand dollars. Mr. Meredith had been
+unfortunate in business, and found himself unable to pay the second
+instalment promised of five hundred dollars. The stationers who
+furnished paper began to be uneasy, for they could not but see that
+Meredith was fast going to ruin.
+
+Franklin was seldom in the habit of dwelling upon his misfortunes. In
+these dark hours he wrote,
+
+     "In this distress two true friends whose kindness I have
+     never forgotten, nor ever shall forget while I can remember
+     anything, came to me separately, unknown to each other, and
+     without any application from me, offered each of them to
+     advance me all the money that should be necessary to take
+     the whole business upon myself; but they did not like my
+     continuing in partnership with Meredith, who, as they said,
+     was often seen drunk in the street, playing at low games in
+     ale-houses, much to our discredit."
+
+Franklin generously was very reluctant to throw aside Meredith.
+Dissolute as the young man had become, he could not forget that he
+was the son of a man who had been his friend; but after carefully
+pondering the question and seeing ruin stare him in the face, he said
+one day to Meredith,
+
+"Perhaps your father is dissatisfied at the part you have undertaken
+in this affair of ours; and is unwilling to advance for you and me,
+what he would for you. If that is the case tell me, and I will resign
+the whole to you and go about my business."
+
+Meredith replied,
+
+"My father has really been disappointed, and is really unable. I am
+unwilling to distress him further. I see this is a business I am unfit
+for. I was bred a farmer and it was folly in me to come to town, and
+put myself at thirty years of age an apprentice to learn a new trade.
+Many of our Welsh people are going to settle in North Carolina where
+land is cheap. I am inclined to go with them, and follow my old
+employment. If you will take the debts of the company upon you, return
+to my father the hundred pounds he has advanced, pay my little
+personal debts, and give me thirty pounds and a new saddle, I will
+relinquish the partnership, and leave the whole in your hands."
+
+These were hard terms; but there was no other way in which Franklin
+could escape from the embarrassments of this untoward partnership. He
+accepted the proposal at once; borrowed the needful money of his
+friends; and became his own sole partner.
+
+True prosperity now began to attend his indomitable industry,
+frugality, and wisdom. The advance of the young man was necessarily
+slow, but it was sure. Well aware that his reputation with the
+community would be invaluable to him, he not only endeavored to be
+industrious, but to let it be seen by his neighbors that he left no
+stone unturned to accomplish his purposes.
+
+He would trundle, through the streets of Philadelphia, in a
+wheel-barrow, the paper which he purchased, by no means seeking
+by-streets where his more fashionable companions would not see him. He
+dressed with the utmost simplicity, but always in clean garments, well
+cut, and which presented his admirable form to great advantage. Never
+did he allow himself to sink to the vulgarity of a slatternly
+appearance. He was ever ready, when engaged in the most busy
+employments of his office, to receive without a blush, any guests,
+however high, who might chance to call.
+
+The tranquil months glided on. Franklin was prospered in business,
+paid his debts, and began to accumulate a little property. Our young
+philosopher was never an impassioned lover. As he would contemplate,
+in his increasing prosperity, removing to another more commodious
+office, so he now thought, having reached the age of twenty-four, that
+it might be expedient for him to have a home of his own, and a wife to
+take care of his domestic affairs.
+
+He had let a portion of the house which he used for his printing
+office, to a mechanic of the Junto by the name of Godfrey. He
+conferred with Mrs. Godfrey upon the subject. She had a relative, a
+very pretty girl, Miss Godfrey, whom she highly recommended and
+brought, as it were by accident, to take tea with Franklin. She was
+graceful, amiable, and a child of parents well to do in the world.
+Franklin was a remarkably handsome and fascinating young man. The
+courtship proceeded successfully and rapidly.
+
+The reader will be interested in seeing Franklin's own account of this
+affair. He writes, in his Autobiography:
+
+     "Mrs. Godfrey projected a match with a relation's daughter,
+     took opportunities of bringing us often together, till a
+     serious courtship on my part ensued; the girl being, in
+     herself, very deserving. The old folks encouraged me by
+     continual invitations to supper, and by leaving us together,
+     till at length it was time to explain. Mrs. Godfrey managed
+     our little treaty. I let her know I expected as much money
+     with their daughter as would pay off my remaining debt for
+     the printing house; which I believe was not then above a
+     hundred pounds. She brought me word they had no such sum to
+     spare; I said they might mortgage their house in the
+     loan-office. The answer to this, after some days, was, that
+     they did not approve the match; that, on inquiry of Mr.
+     Bradford, they had been informed the printing business was
+     not a profitable one, the types would soon be worn out, and
+     more wanted; that Keimer and David Harvy had failed one after
+     the other, and I should probably soon follow them; and
+     therefore I was forbidden the house, and the daughter was
+     shut up."
+
+Occasionally Franklin had gone to the home of Mrs. Read, the mother of
+the unhappy Deborah. His conscience reproached him for his conduct to
+that good girl. She was always dejected and solitary, and with a
+broken heart clung to her mother, her only friend. It is doubtful
+whether she were ever legally married to Rogers. It was rumored that
+at the time of their marriage, he was the husband of one, if not more
+wives. If legally married, there was another serious obstacle in her
+path. Rogers had run away to the West Indies. Rumor alone had
+announced his death. He might be still living.
+
+Franklin's sympathy gradually became excited in her behalf. And at
+length he proposed that, regardless of all the risks, they should be
+married. It seems that he had announced to her very distinctly that he
+had a living child, and very honorably he had decided that that child
+of dishonor was to be taken home and trained as his own.
+
+These were sad nuptials. The world-weary wife knew not but that she
+had another husband still living, and a stigma, indelible, rested upon
+Franklin. The marriage took place on the first of September, 1730. It
+subsequently appears that Rogers, the potter, was really dead. The
+child was taken home and reared with all possible tenderness and care.
+It is a little remarkable that nothing is known of what became of the
+mother of that child. The boy grew up to manhood, espoused the Tory
+cause, when the Tories were hunting his father to hang him, and by his
+ungrateful, rebellious conduct, pierced his heart with a thousand
+empoisoned daggers.
+
+Mrs. Franklin proved in all respects an excellent woman, and an
+admirable wife for her calm, philosophic and unimpassioned husband.
+Franklin never had a journeyman in his office who performed his
+functions more entirely to his satisfaction, than his wife discharged
+her responsible duties. She was always amiable, industrious and
+thrifty.
+
+There was a little shop attached to the printing office which
+Mrs. Franklin tended. She also aided her husband in folding and
+distributing the papers, and with a mother's love trained, in the
+rudiments of education, the child whose mother was lost.
+
+Franklin, in his characteristic, kindly appreciation of the services
+of all who were faithful in his employ, speaks in the following
+commendatory terms of the industrial excellencies of his wife. When
+far away dazzled by the splendors, and bewildered by the flattery of
+European courts, he wrote to her,
+
+     "It was a comfort to me to recollect that I had once been
+     clothed, from head to foot, in woolen and linen of my wife's
+     manufacture, and that I never was prouder of any dress in my
+     life."
+
+In Franklin's Autobiography, as published by Sparks, we read, "We have
+an English proverb that says, 'He that would thrive, must ask his
+wife.' It was lucky for me that I had one as much disposed to industry
+and frugality as myself. She assisted me cheerfully in my business,
+folding and stitching pamphlets, tending shop, purchasing old linen
+rags, for the paper-makers, etc. We kept no idle servants; our table
+was plain and simple, our furniture of the cheapest. For instance, my
+breakfast was, for a long time, bread and milk, (no tea) and I ate it
+out of a two-penny earthern porringer, with a pewter-spoon.
+
+"But mark how luxury will enter families, and make a progress in spite
+of principle. Being called one morning to breakfast, I found it in a
+china bowl, with a spoon of silver. They had been bought for me
+without my knowledge, by my wife, and had cost her the enormous sum of
+three and twenty shillings; for which she had no other excuse or
+apology to make, but that she thought her husband deserved a silver
+spoon and china bowl, as well as any of his neighbors. This was the
+first appearance of plate or china in our house; which afterward, in a
+course of years, as our wealth increased, augmented gradually to
+several hundred pounds in value."[13]
+
+[Footnote 13: Life of Franklin, by Sparks, p. 102.]
+
+While thus engaged he conceived the idea of establishing a public
+subscription library. His knowledge of human nature taught him that if
+he presented the enterprise as his own, feelings of jealousy might be
+excited, and it might be imagined that he was influenced by personal
+ambition. He therefore said that a number of gentlemen had adopted the
+plan, and had requested him to visit the lovers of books and of
+reading, and solicit their subscriptions. Each subscriber was to
+contribute two pounds to start the enterprise, and to pay a yearly
+assessment of ten shillings.
+
+By the arduous labors of five months, Franklin obtained fifty names.
+With this the enterprise commenced. Such was the origin of the
+Philadelphia Library, now one of the most important institutions of
+the kind in our land. In the year 1861, seventy thousand volumes were
+reported as on its shelves.
+
+Philadelphia contained a population of nearly ten thousand people.
+Pennsylvania was decidedly the central point for European emigration.
+Its climate was delightful; its soil fertile; and William Penn's
+humane policy with the Indians had secured for the colony peace and
+friendship with the native inhabitants for more than fifty years.
+
+The white man, on this continent, has told his own story. The Indians
+have had no historians. But nothing is more clear than that in almost
+every instance they were goaded to war by the unendurable wrongs which
+were inflicted upon them.[14] Until Braddock's dreadful defeat,
+Pennsylvania had scarcely known a single alarm. In the summer of 1749,
+twelve thousand Germans landed at Philadelphia. This was the average
+number for many years. The policy of William Penn had been to
+establish upon the banks of the Delaware, an extended and beautiful
+village, where every house should have its lawn and its garden for
+vegetables and flowers. In the year 1732, when Franklin was twenty-six
+years of age, the dwellings of this village were mostly of brick or
+stone, and were spread along the banks of the river for the distance
+of a mile, with streets running back into the interior to the distance
+of about half a mile.
+
+[Footnote 14: "No other British colony admits of the evidence of an
+Indian against a white man; nor are the complaints of Indians against
+white men duly regarded in other colonies; whereby these poor people
+endure the most cruel treatment from the very worst of our own people,
+without hope of redress. And all the Indian wars in our colonies were
+occasioned by such means."
+
+Importance of the British Plantations in America to these Kingdoms,
+London. 1731.]
+
+The prosperity of Philadelphia, indeed of Pennsylvania, was
+remarkable. Provisions and the most delicious fruits were in great
+abundance. Even the pigs were fattened upon the most luscious peaches.
+Each family in the city kept its cow, which grazed upon the common
+lands on the outskirts of the town. The Philadelphia of that period
+was a green village, beautifully shaded by trees, and presenting to
+every visitor an aspect of rare attractions. Professor Peter Kalm, who
+published an exceedingly interesting account of his travels in North
+America between the years 1748 and 1751, writes,
+
+     "There were fine orchards all about the city. The country
+     people in Sweden and Finland guard their turnips more
+     carefully than the people here do the most exquisite fruits.
+     A Philadelphian has so much liberty and abundance that he
+     lives in his house like a king."
+
+The Quakers, or as they prefer to be called, the Friends, at that time
+composed about one-third of the population of Philadelphia, and
+one-half of the State of Pennsylvania. They were a remarkably
+intelligent, industrious and worthy people. Probably a better and more
+thrifty community was never colonized on this globe.
+
+The state of society has greatly changed since that day, and customs,
+which were then deemed essential, have since become obsolete. For
+instance, the whipping-post, the pillory, and the stocks, were
+prominent in the market-place and were in frequent use. There was a
+public whipper, who, for his repulsive services, received a salary of
+fifty dollars a year. Until as late as 1760, women were frequently
+publicly whipped. It is said that a whipping occurred on an average,
+twice a month.
+
+The dress of gentlemen was gaudy and extravagant, unsurpassed by that
+of French or British courtiers. Immense wigs, with their profusion of
+waves or curls, were in use by the gentry. Very tight knee-breeches
+were worn, with silk stockings, and shoes embellished with immense
+silver buckles, highly polished. Their coats were richly embroidered,
+often of silk velvet, and their full flow reached below the knees.
+Ruffled shirts and ruffled wrist-bands of linen, of snowy whiteness,
+added to the beauty of the dress. A jewelled scabbard containing a
+polished sword hung by the side. A three-cornered hat completed this
+showy attire. There is not a Rocky Mountain Indian in his most
+gorgeous war-dress of paint and plumes, who would attract more
+attention walking down Broadway, than would Benjamin Franklin as he
+was painted in 1726.
+
+His portrait was taken when he was in London, working as a journeyman
+printer. Contrary to the general impression, Franklin was then, and
+through all his life, fully conscious of the advantages which dress
+confers. When surrounded by the homage of the court of Versailles,
+there was no courtier in those magnificent saloons more attentive to
+his attire than was Benjamin Franklin. His keen sagacity taught him
+the advantage of appearing in a dress entirely different from that of
+the splendid assembly around him, and thus he attracted universal
+observation. But never did he appear in the presence of these lords
+and ladies but in a costly garb to which he had devoted much
+attention.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Mr. Parton, speaking of the portrait which Franklin then had painted
+in London, says,
+
+     "The fair, full, smiling face of Franklin is surrounded in
+     this picture by a vast and stiff horse-hair wig; and his
+     well-developed figure shows imposingly in a voluminous and
+     decorated coat that reaches nearly to his heels. Under his
+     left arm he carries his cocked hat. His manly bosom heaves
+     under snowy ruffles, and his extensive wrist-bands are
+     exposed to view by the shortness of his coat sleeves."
+
+Between the years 1740 and 1775, while abundance reigned in
+Pennsylvania, and there was peace in all her borders, a more happy and
+prosperous population could not perhaps be found on this globe. In
+every home there was comfort. The people generally were highly moral,
+and knowledge was extensively diffused. Americans, who visited Europe,
+were deeply impressed by the contrast. In the Old World they saw
+everywhere indications of poverty and suffering. Franklin wrote, after
+a tour in Great Britain in 1772,
+
+     "Had I never been in the American colonies, but were to form
+     my judgment of civil society by what I have lately seen, I
+     should never advise a nation of savages to admit of
+     civilization. For, I assure you, that in the possession and
+     enjoyment of the various comforts of life, compared with
+     these people, every Indian is a gentleman; and the effect of
+     this kind of civil society seems to be the depressing
+     multitudes below the savage state, that a few may be raised
+     above it."
+
+Yet let it not be supposed that the effects of the fall were not
+visible here, or that man's inhumanity to man had ceased. There were
+bickerings, and heart burnings, and intense political struggles, in
+which the strong endeavored to extend their power, and the weak
+endeavored to throw off the shackles with which they were bound.
+William Penn complains of the ambitious politicians who he said
+thought--"nothing taller than themselves but the trees." John Adams
+denounced in severest terms the tricks of the petty politicians; and
+speaking of the more ambitious ones who sought the positions of
+governor or custom-house officers, he writes:
+
+     "These seekers are actuated by a more ravenous sort of
+     ambition and avarice."
+
+For twenty years Franklin continued a prosperous but uneventful life,
+as an active business man in Philadelphia. His integrity, his
+sagacity, and his prosperity, rapidly increased the esteem in which he
+was held. But still he was engaged in business as a printer and a
+shop-keeper, which would not now give him admission into what he
+called the higher circles of society.
+
+He not only edited, printed and published his newspaper, but he also
+kept books for sale and a small quantity of stationery, and also was a
+binder of books. He made and sold ink; was an extensive dealer in
+rags; and soap and feathers could be purchased at his shop. We find in
+his advertisements the announcement of coffee and other groceries for
+sale.
+
+And still his printing office gradually became the nucleus for the
+gathering of the most intelligent and influential men. If any
+important project was on foot, it was deemed essential to consult
+Benjamin Franklin. His Gazette proved a great success, and was
+incomparably the ablest paper published in the colonies.[15]
+
+[Footnote 15: Life and Works of John Adams, Vol. ii, p. 165.]
+
+Franklin's editorials were very sparkling, and are considered as among
+the most brilliant of his intellectual efforts. He was almost
+invariably good natured, and the design of all he wrote, was to
+promote integrity and kindly feeling. He would write an article, as if
+from a correspondent, which would give him an opportunity to return an
+amusing article in the next number. A complete file of the paper is
+preserved in the Philadelphia Library.
+
+In 1732, Franklin issued the first number of the Almanac, called Poor
+Richard, which subsequently attained such wide renown. The popularity
+of the work was astonishing; for twenty-five years it averaged ten
+thousand copies a year. This was a wonderful sale in those times.
+Everybody was quoting the pithy sayings of Poor Richard.[16]
+
+[Footnote 16: "And now after the lapse of one hundred and thirty
+years, we find persons willing to give twenty-five dollars for a
+single number, and several hundred dollars for a complete set. Nay,
+the reading matter of several of the numbers, has been republished
+within these few years, and that republication already begins to
+command the price of a rarity."--_Parton's Life of Franklin_, Vol. i,
+p. 231.]
+
+Franklin was an extensive reader. He had a memory almost miraculous;
+and his mind was so constituted, that it eagerly grasped and retained
+any sharp or witty sayings. Thus, though many of the maxims of Poor
+Richard originated with him, others were gleaned from the witticisms
+of past ages, upon which Franklin placed the imprint of his own
+peculiar genius. I give a few of those renowned maxims which soon
+became as household words, in every shop and dwelling of our land.
+
+     "There is no little enemy." "Three may keep a secret if two
+     of them are dead." "He is no clown who drives the plough, but
+     he that does clownish things." "Wealth is not his that has
+     it, but his that enjoys it." "The noblest question in the
+     world is, 'what good may I do in it.'" "Keep your eye wide
+     open before marriage; half shut afterward."
+
+Franklin was not a poet. He could scheme easily, but even his rhymes
+were poor. His sense of delicacy was quite obtuse, but perhaps not
+more so, than we ought to expect from the unrefined times in which he
+lived.[17]
+
+[Footnote 17: "Poor Richard, at this day, would be reckoned an
+indecent production. All great humorists were all indecent, before
+Charles Dickens. They used certain words which are now never
+pronounced by polite persons, and are never printed by respectable
+printers; and they referred freely to certain subjects which are
+familiar to every living creature, but which it is now agreed among
+civilized beings, shall not be topics of conversation. In this respect
+Poor Richard was no worse, and not much better than other colonial
+periodicals, some of which contain things incredibly obscene,
+as much so as the strongest passages of Sterne, Smollet and De
+Foe."--_Parton._]
+
+The increasing circulation of the Pennsylvania Gazette, the extensive
+sale of Poor Richard, and the success of many of the small books which
+Franklin published, soon placed the finances of Franklin in a very
+flourishing condition. This enabled him to send for every important
+work published in England. As he was never an hour in idleness, and
+seldom entered any place of popular amusement, he found time to study
+all these solid and useful works. The superior powers with which God
+had endowed him, enabled him to glean from their pages, and store up
+in his memory, all that was most valuable. By these indefatigable
+studies, he was rapidly becoming one of the most learned of men, and
+was preparing himself for that brilliant career, in which, as a
+statesman and a philosopher, he stood in the first ranks of those who
+had been deemed the great men of earth.
+
+His first entrance to public life was as Clerk to the General
+Assembly, which was then the Legislature of the Pennsylvania Colony.
+This was an office of but little emolument or honor. His first
+election was unanimous. The second year, though successful, he was
+opposed by an influential member.
+
+Franklin, who wished to have every one his friend, was anxious to
+conciliate him. He accomplished his purpose shrewdly--perhaps
+cunningly, is not too strong a word to use. Having heard that the
+gentleman had a very rare and valuable book in his library, he wrote
+him a very polite and flattering letter, soliciting the loan of it. No
+man could pen such an epistle more adroitly than Franklin.
+
+After a few days he returned the book with one of his most exquisite
+notes of thanks. The gentleman was caught in the trap. Charmed with
+the urbanity Franklin displayed in the correspondence, the next time
+he met the philosopher, he grasped him cordially by the hand. Though
+he had never spoken to him before, he invited him to his house.
+
+Franklin, commenting upon this adventure, writes,
+
+     "He ever after manifested a readiness to serve me on all
+     occasions, so that we became great friends, and our
+     friendship continued to his death. This is another instance
+     of the truth of an old maxim I had learned, which says 'He
+     that hath once done you a kindness will be more ready to do
+     you another than he whom you yourself have obliged,' and it
+     shows how much more profitable it is prudently to remove
+     than to resent, return, and continue inimical proceedings."
+
+There was something in this transaction, an apparent want of
+sincerity, an approach to trickery, which will impress many readers
+painfully. It was a shrewd manoeuvre, skillfully contrived, and
+successfully executed. The perfect sincerity of a friendly and
+magnanimous mind is the safest guide in all the emergencies of life.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+_Religious and Philosophic Views._
+
+     Studious habits--New religion--Personal habits--Church of
+     the Free and Easy--His many accomplishments--The career of
+     Hemphall--Birth and Death of Franklin's son--The Ministry of
+     Whitefield--Remarkable friendship between the philosopher
+     and the preacher--Prosperity of Franklin--His convivial
+     habits--The defense of Philadelphia--Birth of a
+     daughter--The Philadelphia Academy.
+
+
+Franklin was a perservering and laborious student, for whatever he
+read he studied. With increasing intellectual tastes, he found time
+every day to devote many hours to his books. His reading was of the
+most elevated and instructive kind. It consisted almost exclusively of
+scientific treatises, and of history, biography, voyages and travels.
+
+His mind was still struggling and floundering in the midst of
+religious and philosophical speculations. He seems, from some
+unexplained reason, to have been very unwilling to accept the religion
+of Jesus Christ; and yet he was inspired undeniably by a very noble
+desire to be a good man, to attain a high position in morality.
+Earnestly he endeavored to frame for himself some scheme which would
+enable him to accomplish that purpose.
+
+At this time he wrote,
+
+     "Few in public affairs act from a mere view of the good of
+     their country, whatever they may pretend. Fewer still in
+     public affairs act with a view to the good of mankind. There
+     seems to me, at present, great occasion to raise a 'United
+     Party for Virtue,' by forming the virtuous and good of all
+     nations into a regular body, to be governed by suitable good
+     and wise rules, which good and wise men may probably be more
+     unanimous in their obedience to, than common people are to
+     common laws. I at present, think, that whoever attempts this
+     aright, and is well qualified, cannot fail of pleasing God,
+     and of meeting with success."
+
+Influenced by these exalted motives, he concentrated all the energies
+of his well informed mind to the organization of a new religion. To
+this church he gave the name of "The Society of the Free and Easy."
+The members were to be Free from vice, and consequently, Easy in mind.
+The first article of his creed was that he would have no creed. And
+yet this religion, which drew an antagonistic distinction between
+faith and works, denouncing all faith at the same time announced that
+its fundamental and absolutely essential faith was that piety
+consisted in cherishing the ordinarily recognized virtues. These were
+Temperance, Silence, Order, Resolution, Frugality, Industry,
+Sincerity, Justice, Moderation, Cleanliness, Tranquillity, Charity and
+Humility.
+
+His ritual consisted in devoting one week to the cultivation of each
+of these virtues. He had no Sabbath, no preached Gospel, no
+Sacraments. But his creed, with its corresponding practice, certainly
+exerted a very powerful influence, and in many respects beneficial,
+upon his own mind.
+
+With his list of virtues before him, this remarkable young man
+commenced the effort vigorously to attain perfection. The Christian
+reader will not be at all surprised to read from Franklin's pen the
+following account of the result:
+
+     "I was surprised to find myself so much fuller of faults than
+     I had imagined. But I had the satisfaction of seeing them
+     diminish. After a while I went through one course only in a
+     year, and afterwards only one in several years; till at
+     length I omitted them entirely, being employed in voyages and
+     business abroad, with a multiplicity of affairs that
+     interfered."
+
+Franklin was a very proud man. He could not but be conscious of his
+great superiority over most of those with whom he associated. He avows
+that the virtue of humility he never could attain. The semblance of
+that virtue he could easily assume, but he says that the pride of his
+heart was such that had he attained it, he would have been proud of
+his humility. He adopted the following as the ordinary routine of
+life.
+
+He rose at five, very carefully performed his ablutions, and then
+offered a brief prayer to a being whom he called "Powerful Goodness."
+Why he should have preferred that address to the more simple one of
+"Our Heavenly Father," we know not. He then laid out the business of
+the day, and for a short time directed his mind to the especial virtue
+which he intended that day and week to cherish.[18]
+
+[Footnote 18: "It was about this time I conceived the bold and arduous
+project of arriving at moral perfection. I wished to live without
+committing any fault at any time. As I knew, or thought I knew what
+was right and wrong, I did not see why I might not always do the one
+and avoid the other. But I soon found that I had undertaken a task of
+more difficulty than I had imagined."--Autobiography, p. 105.]
+
+In the freshness of all his morning energies he devoted himself to his
+books for an hour and a half. This brought him to breakfast-time. At
+eight o'clock he commenced work in his shop, to which he devoted
+himself assiduously until twelve. An hour was then allowed for dinner
+and rest. At one he returned to the arduous labors of his shop, labors
+which engrossed all his energies, and continued the employment until
+six. His day's hard work was then ordinarily closed. He took his
+supper, received his friends, or more commonly read and studied until
+ten o'clock at night, when almost invariably he retired to his bed.
+
+His mind still for a time continued much interested in his plan for
+the church of the Free and Easy. We find among his papers that he
+decided that candidates for admission should, after a careful
+examination, to ascertain that their creed was, to have no creed, and
+that their faith was, to abjure all faith, be subject to a probation
+of thirteen weeks. It seems that no candidate ever applied for
+admission. There were no apostles to wander abroad proclaiming the new
+gospel. Increasing business absorbed Franklin's time, and the new
+church was forgotten.
+
+The sole motive which Franklin urged to inspire to action, was
+self-interest. "You should be honest," he would say, "because it is
+politic. You abstain from vice for the same reason that you should not
+drink poison, for it will hurt you." In the enforcement of these views
+he writes,
+
+     "It was my design to explain and enforce this doctrine,
+     _that vicious actions are not hurtful because they are
+     forbidden, but forbidden because they are hurtful_. It was,
+     therefore, every one's interest to be virtuous who wished to
+     be happy in this world. And I should from this circumstance
+     (there being always in the world a number of rich
+     merchants, nobility, states and princes, who have need of
+     honest instruments for the management of their affairs, and
+     such being so rare) have endeavored to convince young
+     persons that no qualities are so likely to make a poor man's
+     fortune as those of probity and integrity."
+
+It may be doubted whether such considerations ever made a truly good
+man. Virtue must be loved for its own sake. Vice must be deserted for
+its inherent baseness, even though it may bring a great reward.
+
+Franklin, in the prosecution of his studies, devoted himself to
+French, Spanish, Italian, and even to Latin. In all these he became a
+proficient. His mind was wonderfully prompt in the acquisition of
+knowledge. He could hardly have devoted himself more assiduously and
+successfully to these studies, had some good angel whispered in the
+ear of the young printer the astounding intelligence, "You are yet to
+be the ambassador of the United States to European courts. You are to
+appear in those glittering assemblages as the equal of the highest
+noble; and are to enjoy the hospitalities of kings and queens.
+Familiarity with these languages, and the intellectual culture you are
+thus acquiring will be of more value to you than mines of gold."
+
+This remarkable man prized all branches of knowledge; and seemed to
+excel in all. He devoted much attention to music. With much skill he
+played upon the harp, the guitar, the violin, and the violincello.
+
+In the year 1734, a young preacher by the name of Hemphall came to
+Philadelphia from England. He was deemed by the orthodox clergy, very
+heterodox in his opinions. Probably suspicions of his orthodoxy were
+enhanced from the fact that he brought high testimonials of eloquence
+from several of the most prominent deists and free-thinkers in
+England. He was very fluent, at times very eloquent, and Franklin was
+charmed with the man and his doctrines.
+
+Boldly denouncing all creeds, and all religious faith, he announced it
+as _his_ creed and _his_ faith that piety consists in conduct alone.
+Crowds flocked to hear him. One day, after preaching a very eloquent
+sermon, some one discovered that he had stolen that sermon from Dr.
+James Foster, the most popular preacher in London. An investigation
+took place, in which he was compelled to acknowledge that he had
+stolen every one of his sermons. Franklin writes,
+
+     "This detection gave many of our party disgust, who
+     accordingly abandoned his cause, and occasioned our more
+     speedy discomfiture in the synod. I stuck by him, however. I
+     rather approved his giving us good sermons composed by
+     others, than bad ones of his own, though the latter was the
+     practice of our common teachers."
+
+Had the young man said frankly, "I am rehearsing to you the most
+eloquent sermons of the most eloquent English divines," no one could
+have found any fault. But for him to assume that the sermons were his
+own, and that he personally was entitled to the credit of whatever
+power they exhibited, was certainly practicing deception. It was a
+gross violation of Franklin's cardinal virtue of sincerity. It was
+unworthy of Franklin, in his charitable regard for the offender, to
+gloss over the real criminality of the offence.
+
+A year after Franklin's marriage, a son was born to him, to whom
+he gave the name of Francis Folger Franklin. All accounts agree
+in describing the child as endowed with remarkable beauty and
+intelligence. Probably Franklin never loved any being as he loved that
+child. In the year 1736, when this wonderful boy was but four years of
+age, he was seized with the small-pox and died. Even the philosophic
+Franklin was almost crushed by the terrible calamity. The cheering
+views of the Christian faith could not sustain him. He had no vivid
+conception of his cherub boy an angel in Heaven awaiting his father's
+arrival. He could only say that "I am _inclined to believe_ that my
+child has not passed away into utter annihilation; but who knows? Many
+of the wisest and best on earth utterly discard the idea of a future
+existence. They deem the thought the conceit of ignorance and
+fanaticism."
+
+We read the following epitaph on his little grave-stone with much
+sympathy for the bereaved father. He could only write
+
+                  Francis F.
+         Son of Benjamin and Deborah
+                   Franklin.
+          Deceased November 12, 1736,
+     Aged four years, one month and one day.
+        The delight of all who knew him.
+
+In the year 1739, Rev. George Whitefield arrived in Philadelphia. It
+is remarkable that a warm friendship should have sprung up between men
+so very diverse in character. But Franklin could not be insensible to
+the wonderful power of this preacher, in promoting public morals, and
+in transforming the worst of men into valuable citizens, faithfully
+performing all the duties of life. It is surprising that this effect
+of the Gospel did not teach him that Christianity is the "wisdom of
+God, and the power of God to salvation." _Love_ was emphatically the
+message which Whitefield, with tearful eyes and throbbing heart,
+proclaimed to the wicked and the sorrowing. "God so _loved the world_,
+that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him
+should not perish but should have everlasting life." Christ "came not
+into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him
+might be saved."
+
+Such were the themes which this apostolic preacher unfolded, and which
+moved human hearts, in these new colonies as seventeen hundred years
+ago they were moved by the preaching of our Lord Jesus Christ, and his
+disciple Paul, upon the plains of Asia.
+
+Whitefield taught that _belief_ controlled conduct. As a man sincerely
+believes so will he act. Franklin, with his accustomed candor, in his
+Autobiography, wrote in the following terms, the effects of the
+preaching of this remarkable reformer:
+
+     "The multitudes of all sects and denominations that attended
+     his sermons were enormous. It was wonderful to see the
+     change soon made in the manners of our inhabitants. From
+     being thoughtless or indifferent about religion, it seemed
+     as if all the world were growing religious; so that one
+     could not walk through the town, in an evening, without
+     hearing psalms sung in different families of every street.
+
+     "Mr. Whitefield, on leaving us, went preaching all the way
+     through the colonies to Georgia. The settlement of that
+     province had been lately begun; but instead of being made
+     with hardy, industrious husbandmen, accustomed to labor, the
+     only people fit for such an enterprise, it was with families
+     of broken shop-keepers, and other insolvent debtors; many of
+     indolent and idle habits, taken out of the jails who, being
+     set down in the woods, unqualified for clearing land, and
+     unable to endure the hardships of a new settlement, perished
+     in numbers, leaving many helpless children unprovided for.
+
+     "The sight of their miserable situation inspired the
+     benevolent heart of Mr. Whitefield with the idea of building
+     an Orphan House there in which they might be supported and
+     educated. Returning northward, he preached up this charity,
+     and made large collections.
+
+     "I did not disapprove of the design; but as Georgia was then
+     destitute of materials and workmen, and it was proposed to
+     send them from Philadelphia at a great expense, I thought it
+     would have been better to have built the house at
+     Philadelphia, and brought the children to it. This I
+     advised. But he was resolute in his first project, rejected
+     my counsel, and I therefore refused to contribute.
+
+     "I happened soon after to attend one of his sermons, in the
+     course of which I perceived he intended to finish with a
+     collection, and I silently resolved he should get nothing
+     from me. I had in my pocket a handful of copper money, three
+     or four silver dollars, and five pistoles in gold, (about
+     twenty-five dollars). As he proceeded I began to soften, and
+     concluded to give the copper; another stroke of his oratory
+     made me ashamed of that, and determined me to give the
+     silver; and he finished so admirably that I emptied my
+     pockets wholly into the collector's dish, gold and all.
+
+     "Some of Mr. Whitefield's enemies affected to suppose that
+     he would apply these collections to his own private
+     emolument. But I, who was intimately acquainted with him,
+     being employed in printing his sermons and journals, never
+     had the least suspicion of his integrity; but am to this day
+     decidedly of the opinion, that he was in all his conduct a
+     perfectly honest man; and methinks my testimony ought have
+     the more weight, as we had no religious connection. He used,
+     indeed, sometimes to pray for my conversion, but never had
+     the satisfaction of believing that his prayers were heard.
+     Ours was a friendship sincere on both sides, and lasted to
+     his death."[19]
+
+[Footnote 19: "Autobiography of Franklin," as given by Sparks, p.
+139.]
+
+At one time Franklin wrote to Whitefield, in Boston, inviting him, as
+he was about to come to Philadelphia, to make his house his home. The
+devout preacher replied,
+
+"If you make this offer for Christ's sake you will not lose your
+reward."
+
+Promptly the philosopher rejected any such motive, and rejoined,
+
+"Do not be mistaken. It was not for Christ's sake I invited you, but
+for your own sake."
+
+In all the numerous letters, essays, and philosophical and religious
+disquisitions of Franklin, we seldom, I think, find a sentiment
+indicative of any high appreciation of the character of Jesus Christ;
+or the debt of gratitude we owe to him, either for his teaching or for
+his example. As Franklin discarded all idea of the Atonement, he of
+course could not express any gratitude for that which is, to the
+Christian, the crowning act even of divine love. This Saviour, to
+millions who cannot be counted, has proved, even if the comfort be a
+delusion, in temptation, disappointment, and death, more precious than
+it is in the power of words to declare.
+
+One article from Franklin's newspaper, published in the year 1740,
+gives an idea of the extraordinary interest which the preaching of
+Whitefield excited.
+
+     "On Thursday last the Reverend Mr. Whitefield left this city,
+     and was accompanied to Chester by about one hundred and
+     fifty horse; and preached there to about seven thousand
+     people. On Friday he preached twice at Willings Town to about
+     five thousand. On Saturday, at Newcastle, to about two
+     thousand five hundred; and the same evening at Christiana
+     Bridge to about three thousand; on Sunday at White Clay
+     Creek, he preached twice, resting about half an hour between
+     the sermons, to eight thousand, of whom three thousand, it is
+     computed, came on horseback. It rained most of the time, and
+     yet they stood in the open air."
+
+The keenness of the scrutiny with which Franklin watched all the
+operations of nature, led him to the discovery of the before unknown
+fact that the fierce north-east storms which sweep our Atlantic coast
+invariably begin in the south-west, and move backwards, diminishing in
+violence as they go. He also, about this time, invented the Franklin
+stove, which in the day when wood was the only fuel consumed has
+invested so many firesides with a rare aspect of cheerfulness. He
+wrote a very ingenious pamphlet, elucidating the philosophy of
+house-warming.
+
+There is great moral power in prosperity, when wisely accepted and
+enjoyed. Franklin was now a prosperous man. His income was constantly
+increasing. His virtues, and they were great ones, proved in all
+respects promotive of his worldly welfare. His journal was the
+leading paper, certainly in all that region, and had not its superior
+in any of the colonies. His renowned almanac, Poor Richard, attained
+an unexampled sale. The work executed in his printing office was so
+excellent as to bring in to him many orders even from the other
+provinces. The various books and pamphlets he had published had all
+been successful. Philadelphia had already become the chief town of the
+Colonies.
+
+Notwithstanding Franklin's devotion to books, to business, and to
+philosophical research, he is represented to have been at this time, a
+jovial man, very fond of convivial gatherings. He could not only write
+a good song, but he could sing it, to the acceptance of his
+companions. One of these songs entitled "The Old Man's Wish" he says
+he sang over a thousand times. We give the concluding stanza,
+illustrative of its general character.
+
+     "With a courage undaunted, may I face the last day,
+     And when I am gone may the better sort say,--
+     In the morning when sober, in the evening when mellow,
+     He has gone and not left behind him his fellow,
+     For he governed his passions with absolute sway."
+
+There was, as usual, war in Europe. Enormous armies were burning
+cities and villages, drenching the trampled harvest fields with blood,
+and filling the humble hamlets of the poor with misery. There was
+every reason to fear that these awful storms, raised by the passions
+of depraved men, would reach the peaceful shores of the Delaware.
+Philadelphia was entirely undefended. It is said that there was not an
+available cannon in Pennsylvania.
+
+A well-armed privateer could at any hour, seize and sack the city.
+Quaker influence so far prevailed that the legislature could not be
+induced to raise a battery, or purchase a gun. Franklin wrote a very
+powerful pamphlet, called Plain Truth, urging the necessity of
+adopting some measures of defence. He showed how the colony could, at
+any time, be ravaged by a few vessels from any European nation then in
+conflict with England. I give a few extracts from this admirable
+pamphlet:
+
+     "On the first alarm, terror will spread over all. Many will
+     seek safety by flight. Those that are reputed rich will
+     flee, through fear of torture to make them produce more than
+     they are able. The man that has a wife and children, will
+     find them hanging on his neck, beseeching him to quit the
+     city, and save his life. All will run into confusion, amid
+     cries and lamentations, and the hurry and disorder of
+     departures. The few that remain, will be unable to resist.
+
+     "Sacking the city will be the first; and burning it, in all
+     probability, the last act of the enemy. This I believe will
+     be the case, if you have timely notice. But what must be
+     your condition, if suddenly surprised without previous
+     alarm, perhaps in the night. Confined to your houses, you
+     will have nothing to trust but the enemy's mercy. Your best
+     fortune will be to fall under the power of commanders of
+     king's ships, able to control the mariners, and not into the
+     hands of licentious privateers.
+
+     "Who can without the utmost horror, conceive the miseries of
+     the latter when your persons, fortunes, wives and daughters,
+     shall be subject to the wanton and unbridled rage, rapine,
+     and lust, of negroes, mulattoes, and others, the vilest and
+     most abandoned of mankind?"
+
+This warning effectually roused the community. A public meeting was
+summoned, in the immense building erected to accommodate the crowds
+who flocked to hear Whitefield. Here Franklin harangued the multitude.
+An Association of Defence was organized. Ten thousand persons enrolled
+their names. In a few days nearly every man in the province, who was
+not a Quaker, had joined some military organization. Each man
+purchased for himself a weapon, and was learning how to use it.
+
+Eighty companies were organized and disciplined. The companies in
+Philadelphia united in a regiment, and chose Franklin their colonel.
+Wisely he declined the office, "conceiving myself unfit," he says. A
+battery was thrown up below the town. Some cannon were sent for from
+Boston. Several eighteen-pounders were obtained in New York, and more
+were ordered from London. In manning the battery, Franklin took his
+turn of duty as a common soldier.
+
+There was not a little opposition to these measures, but still the
+strong current of popular opinion was in their favor. Even the young
+Quakers, though anxious to avoid wounding the feelings of their
+parents, secretly gave their influence to these preparations of
+defence. The peace of Aix la Chapelle in 1748, terminated these
+alarms. But the wisdom and energy which Franklin had displayed, caused
+him to be regarded as the most prominent man in Pennsylvania. The
+masses of the people regarded him with singular homage and confidence.
+
+In 1744, Franklin had a daughter born, to whom he gave the name of
+Sarah. His motherless son William, who was destined to give his father
+great trouble, was growing up, stout, idle, and intractable. Early in
+the war he had run away, and enlisted on board a privateer. With much
+difficulty his father rescued him from these engagements. Franklin was
+evidently embarrassed to know what to do with the boy. He allowed him,
+when but sixteen years of age, to enlist as a soldier in an
+expedition against Canada.
+
+About this time Franklin wrote to his sister Jane, whose son had also
+run away to enlist as a privateer. He wished to console her by the
+assurance that it was not in consequence of unkind treatment, that the
+boys were induced thus to act. He wrote:
+
+     "When boys see prizes brought in, and quantities of money
+     shared among the men, and their gay living, it fills their
+     heads with notions that half distract them; and puts them
+     quite out of conceit with trades and the dull ways of getting
+     money by working. My only son left my house unknown to us
+     all, and got on board a privateer, from whence I fetched him.
+     No one imagined it was hard usage at home that made him do
+     this. Every one that knows me thinks I am too indulgent a
+     parent, as well as master."
+
+The father of Benjamin Franklin died in Boston, at the great age of
+eighty-nine years. He had secured, in a very high degree, the respect
+of the people, not only by his irreproachable morals, but by his
+unfeigned piety. The Boston News Letter, of January 17, 1745, in the
+following brief obituary, chronicles his death:
+
+     "Last night died Mr. Josiah Franklin, tallow chandler, and
+     soap maker. By the force of steady temperance he had made a
+     constitution, none of the strongest, last with comfort to the
+     age of eighty-nine years. And by an entire dependence on his
+     Redeemer, and a constant course of the strictest piety and
+     virtue, he was enabled to die as he lived, with cheerfulness
+     and peace, leaving a numerous posterity the honor of being
+     descended from a person who, through a long life, supported
+     the character of an honest man."
+
+In the year 1743 Franklin drew up a plan for an Academy in
+Philadelphia. In consequence of the troubled times the tract was not
+published until the year 1749. It was entitled, "Proposals Relating to
+the Education of Youth in Pennsylvania." The suggestions he presented
+indicated a wide acquaintance with the writings of the most eminent
+philosophers. He marked out minutely, and with great wisdom, the
+course of study to be pursued. It is pleasant to read the following
+statement, in this programme. Urging the study of History, he writes,
+
+     "History will also afford frequent opportunities of showing
+     the necessity of a _public religion_, from its usefulness to
+     the public; the advantages of a religious character among
+     private persons; the mischiefs of superstition and the
+     excellency of the _Christian religion_ above all others,
+     ancient and modern."
+
+Perhaps this tribute to the excellence of Christianity ought in some
+degree to modify the impression left upon the mind, by Franklin's
+studious avoidal, in all his writings, of any allusion to the name of
+Jesus Christ its founder.
+
+Twenty-five thousand dollars were speedily raised for this
+institution. All the religious sects harmoniously united. One
+individual from each sect was appointed, to form the corporate body
+intrusted with the funds. But almost the entire care and trouble of
+rearing the building, and organizing the institution fell upon
+Franklin. He was found to be fully adequate to all these
+responsibilities.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+_The Tradesman becomes a Philosopher._
+
+     Franklin appointed Indian commissioner--Effects of
+     Rum--Indian logic--Accumulating honors--Benevolent
+     enterprises--Franklin's counsel to Tennent--Efforts for city
+     improvement--Anecdotes--Franklin appointed
+     postmaster--Rumors of War--England enlists the Six Nations
+     in her cause--Franklin plans a Confederacy of States--Plans
+     rejected--Electrical experiments--Franklin's increase of
+     income--Fearful experiments--The kite--New honors--Views of
+     the French philosopher--Franklin's Religious views--His
+     counsel to a young pleader--Post-office Reforms.
+
+
+In the year 1740, Franklin, then forty-four years of age, was
+appointed on a commission to form a treaty with the Indians at
+Carlisle. Franklin, knowing the frenzy to which the savages were
+plunged by intoxication, promised them that, if they would keep
+entirely sober until the treaty was concluded, they should then have
+an ample supply of rum. The agreement was made and faithfully kept.
+
+     "They then," writes Franklin, "claimed and received the rum.
+     This was in the afternoon. They were near one hundred men,
+     women and children, and were lodged in temporary cabins,
+     built in the form of a square, just without the town. In the
+     evening, hearing a great noise among them, the commissioners
+     walked to see what was the matter.
+
+     "We found that they had made a great bonfire in the middle of
+     the square; that they were all drunk, men and women
+     quarreling and fighting. Their dark-colored bodies,
+     half-naked, seen only by the gloomy light of the bonfire,
+     running after and beating one another with firebrands,
+     accompanied by their horrid yellings, formed a scene the most
+     resembling our ideas of hell, that could well be imagined.
+     There was no appeasing the tumult, and we returned to our
+     lodgings. At midnight a number of them came thundering at our
+     door demanding more rum, of which we took no notice.
+
+     "The next morning they all seemed very much ashamed of the
+     disgraceful orgies in which they had indulged. There was a
+     law written in their own hearts, which told them that they
+     had done wrong. Three chiefs were appointed to call upon the
+     commissioners with an humble apology. With downcast looks
+     they confessed their fault, and then with logic which more
+     intelligent men sometimes use, endeavored to throw the blame
+     upon God. In remarkable speech one of them said,
+
+     "'The Great Spirit, who made all things, made everything for
+     some use. Whatever use he designed anything for, that use it
+     should be always put to. Now, when he made rum, he said, "Let
+     this be for the Indians to get drunk with! and it must be
+     so."'"
+
+The Governor at this time appointed Franklin a Justice of Peace.
+Franklin says he was much flattered by these accumulating honors. Soon
+he was elected to a seat, as one of the Legislators in the Assembly.
+Mainly through his influence, a hospital for the sick was established
+in Philadelphia. Though the measure encountered much opposition, he
+carried it; and the institution proved of incalculable benefit.
+
+The Rev. Gilbert Tennent solicited Franklin's aid in raising money for
+building a Meeting House. As Franklin had been so continually engaged
+in asking for money for various objects of benevolence, he was afraid
+he should become obnoxious to his fellow-citizens, and declined. Mr.
+Tennent then requested him to give him a list of the names of those
+influential persons upon whom it would be well for him to call. Every
+Christian minister who reads this, will appreciate the nature of his
+embarrassment. Franklin says that he thought it would be unbecoming in
+him, after having emptied the purses of his friends, to send other
+beggars to them, with renewed importunities. This request he therefore
+declined. Mr. Tennent then urged him to give him some advice.
+Franklin replied,
+
+"That I will willingly do. In the first place, I advise you to apply
+to all those who you know will do something; next, to those who you
+are uncertain whether they will give anything or not, and show them
+the list of those who have given; and lastly, do not neglect those who
+you are sure will give nothing, for in some of them you may be
+mistaken."
+
+Mr. Tennent laughed heartily, and declared that he would rigorously
+follow out this advice. He did so. His success was wonderful; a much
+larger sum was raised than he had anticipated, and soon a capacious
+and beautiful Meeting House rose in Arch street.
+
+The streets of Philadelphia, though laid out with great regularity,
+were unpaved, and in wet weather were almost impassable quagmires.
+Franklin, by talking with his friends, and by urging the subject in
+his paper, at length succeeded in having a sidewalk paved with stone,
+upon one of the most important streets. It gave great satisfaction,
+but the rest of the street not being paved, the mud was thrown by
+passing carriages upon it, and as the city employed no street
+cleaners, the sidewalk soon ceased to afford a clean passage to
+pedestrians.
+
+Franklin found an industrious man who was willing to sweep the
+pavement twice a week, carrying off the dirt from before all the
+doors, for the sum of sixpence a month, to be paid by each house.
+
+The philosophic Franklin then, having started this enterprise, printed
+on a sheet of paper the great advantages of keeping the sidewalk
+clean, and sent one of these papers to each house. He urged that much
+of the soiling of the interior of the houses would thus be avoided,
+that an attractive sidewalk would lure passengers to the shops; and
+that, in windy weather, their goods would be preserved from the dust.
+
+After a few days he called, in person, at each house and shop to see
+who would subscribe sixpence a month. It was a great success. The
+cleanliness of the pavement in the important streets surrounding the
+market, greatly delighted the people, and prepared the way for
+carrying a bill which Franklin presented to the Assembly for paving
+and lighting all the important streets of the city.
+
+A gentleman, by the name of John Clifton, had placed a lamp before his
+door. This suggested the idea. Lamps were sent for from London. Globes
+were furnished. They were expensive. The smoke circulated in the globe
+and obstructed the light. They had to be wiped clean each day. An
+accidental stroke demolished the whole globe. Franklin suggested four
+flat panes. One might be broken, and easily replaced. Crevices were
+left below to admit a current of air, and a funnel to draw off the
+smoke. Thus for a long time the glass remained undimmed.
+
+Wherever Franklin went, he carried with him this spirit of
+improvement. When in London, he found the streets wretchedly dirty.
+One morning he found a poor woman at his door in Craven street,
+sweeping the sidewalk with a wretched broom. Her pallid and exhausted
+appearance touched the sympathies of Franklin. He asked who employed
+her. She replied:
+
+"Nobody. I am poor and in distress. I sweeps before gentlefolks's
+doors, and hopes they will give me something."
+
+Franklin immediately engaged her to sweep the whole street. It was
+nine o'clock in the morning. She was so languid and debilitated that
+he thought it would take her nearly all day. But in three hours she
+came for her shilling. Franklin thought she could not have done her
+work faithfully. He sent his servant to examine. He reported that the
+work was thoroughly done. A new problem rose before Franklin: If this
+feeble woman could in so short a time sweep such a street, a strong
+man, with a suitable broom, could certainly do it in half of the
+time. He therefore drew up a plan for cleaning the streets of London
+and Westminster, which was placed in the hands of one of the most
+influential of the public-spirited men of London.
+
+Franklin apologizes for speaking in his autobiography of such trifles.
+Very truly, he says,
+
+     "Human felicity is produced not so much by great pieces of
+     good fortune that seldom happen, as by little advantages
+     that occur every day. Thus if you teach a poor young man to
+     shave himself and keep his razor in order, you may
+     contribute more to the happiness of his life than in giving
+     him a thousand guineas. This sum may be soon spent, the
+     regret only remaining of having foolishly consumed it. But
+     in the other case, he escapes the frequent vexation of
+     waiting for barbers, and of their sometimes dirty fingers,
+     offensive breath, and dull razors. He shaves when most
+     convenient to him, and enjoys daily the pleasure of its
+     being done with a good instrument."
+
+Nearly all the important offices in the colonies were filled by
+appointments from the British Crown. For some time, Franklin had been
+employed as an assistant to the Postmaster General, in simplifying and
+bringing regularity into his accounts. Upon the death of the American
+Postmaster, Franklin, in 1753, was appointed jointly with Sir William
+Hunter to succeed him. The appointment was made by the Postmaster
+General in England.
+
+The post-office department had scarcely been self-supporting. It had
+never paid anything to the crown. The salary offered to the two
+postmasters was three thousand dollars a year each, if they could save
+that sum from the profits of the office. Franklin writes,
+
+     "To do this a variety of improvements was necessary. Some of
+     these were inevitably, at first, expensive; so that in the
+     first four years, the office became above nine hundred
+     pounds in debt to us. But it soon after began to repay us.
+     And before I was displaced by a freak of the ministers, of
+     which I shall hereafter speak, we had brought it to yield
+     three times as much clear revenue to the crown as the
+     post-office of Ireland. Since that imprudent transaction,
+     they have received from it not one farthing."
+
+Again there were menaces of war, insane and demoniac, to fill the
+world with tears and woe. As we read the record of these horrid
+outrages which through all the centuries have desolated this globe, it
+would seem that there must be a vein of insanity as well as of
+depravity, in the heart of fallen man. England and France were again
+marshaling their armies, and accumulating their fleets, for the
+terrible conflict.
+
+It was certain that France, in Canada, and England, in her colonies,
+could not live in peace here, while the volcanic throes of war were
+shaking the island of Great Britain, and the Continent of Europe.
+
+In the heart of New York, then almost an unbroken wilderness, there
+were six exceedingly fierce and war-like tribes called the Six
+Nations. Like the wolves they delighted in war. The greatness of a man
+depended on the number of scalps with which he could fringe his dress.
+These savage warriors were ready and eager to engage as the allies of
+those who would pay them the highest price. Mercy was an attribute of
+which they knew not even the name.
+
+It was not doubted that France would immediately send her emissaries
+from Canada to enlist these savages on her side. Awful would be the
+woes with which these demoniac men could sweep our defenceless
+frontiers; with the tomahawk and the scalping knife, exterminating
+families, burning villages, and loading their pack-horses with
+plunder. To forestall the French, and to turn these woes from our own
+frontier to the humble homes of the Canadian emigrants, the English
+government appointed a commissioner to visit the chiefs of these
+tribes in the year 1754.
+
+The all important council was to be held in Albany. Governor Hamilton
+appointed four commissioners, of whom Franklin was one, to act in
+behalf of Pennsylvania. They were furnished with rich gifts with which
+to purchase the favor of the Indians. It was a long and tedious
+journey from Philadelphia to Albany.
+
+Franklin, on this journey, was deeply impressed with the importance of
+a union of the colonies for self-defence. He therefore drew up a plan
+for such union. Several gentlemen of the highest intelligence in New
+York, having examined it, gave it their cordial approval. He
+accordingly laid it before Congress.
+
+There were several other persons in other colonies who were impressed
+as deeply as Franklin with a sense of the importance of such a
+confederacy, and they also sent in their suggestions.
+
+Congress appointed a committee of one from each province, to consider
+the several plans. The committee approved of Franklin's plan, and
+reported accordingly. While the commissioners were conferring with the
+Indians in Albany, Congress was engaged in discussing the plans of a
+confederacy. Franklin's plan was finally rejected. It did not meet the
+views either of the Assembly, or of the British Court. And here we
+see, perhaps the germs of the great conflict which soon culminated in
+the cruel war of the Revolution.
+
+The Assembly objected to the plan as too aristocratic, conferring too
+much power upon the crown. The court emphatically rejected it as too
+democratic, investing the people with too much power. Franklin ever
+affirmed that his plan was the true medium. Even the royalist governor
+of Pennsylvania warmly commended the compromise he urged.
+
+In visiting Boston he was shown an electric tube, recently sent from
+England. With this tube some very surprising electrical experiments
+were performed, ushering in a new science, of which then but very
+little was known. Franklin became intensely interested in the subject.
+Upon his return to Philadelphia, he devoted himself, with great
+assiduity, to experimenting with electric tubes. At this time he wrote
+to a friend,
+
+     "I never was before engaged in any study that so totally
+     engrossed my attention and my time, as this has lately done;
+     for what with making experiments when I can be alone, and
+     repeating them to my friends and acquaintances, who, from
+     the novelty of the thing, come continually in crowds to see
+     them, I have little leisure for anything else."
+
+This was during the winter of 1746-7. Franklin suggested that the
+electricity was collected, not created by friction. He also
+propounded the theory of positive and negative electricity. He was, at
+this time, comparatively a wealthy man, and consequently could afford
+to devote his time to philosophical investigation. It is estimated
+that his income, from his estates, amounted to about seven hundred
+pounds a year; this was equal to about six or seven thousand dollars
+at the present time. Mr. Parton writes,
+
+     "Besides this independence, Franklin was the holder of two
+     offices, worth together perhaps one hundred and fifty pounds
+     a year. His business, then more flourishing than ever,
+     produced an annual profit, as before computed, of two
+     thousand pounds; bringing up his income to the troublesome
+     and absurd amount of nearly three thousand pounds; three
+     times the revenue of a colonial governor."
+
+Under these prosperous circumstances, Franklin withdrew from active
+business, became a silent partner in the firm, and devoted nearly all
+his time to the new science. He wrote, in the autumn of 1748, to his
+friend Cadwallader Colden of New York,
+
+     "I have removed to a more quiet part of the town, where I am
+     settling my old accounts, and hope soon to be quite master
+     of my own time, and no longer, as the song has it, 'at every
+     one's call but my own.'
+
+     "Thus you see I am in a fair way of having no other tasks
+     than such as I shall like to give myself, and of enjoying
+     what I look upon as a great happiness, leisure to read,
+     study, make experiments, and converse at large with such
+     ingenious and worthy men, as are pleased to honor me with
+     their friendship or acquaintance, on such points as may
+     produce something for the common benefit of mankind,
+     uninterrupted by the cares and fatigues of business."
+
+He wrote a treatise upon thundergusts, which displayed wonderful
+sagacity, and which arrested the attention of nearly all the
+philosophers in Europe and America. The all-important topics of this
+exceedingly important document, were the power of points to draw off
+electricity, and also the similarity of electricity and lightning. He
+therefore urged that metallic rods might be attached to buildings and
+ships, which, pushing their needle points above roofs and masts, might
+draw the electric fire harmlessly from the clouds. He confesses that
+he cannot imagine why the points should possess this curious power,
+but urges that facts seem to demonstrate it.
+
+One day, for the entertainment of his friends, he had made
+arrangements to kill a turkey with an electric shock. Two large jars
+were heavily charged. Incautiously manipulating, he took the shock
+himself. In the following language, he describes the effect:
+
+     "The flash was very great, and the crack was as loud as a
+     pistol; yet my senses being instantly gone, I neither saw
+     the one nor heard the other; nor did I feel the stroke on my
+     hand, though I afterwards found it raised a round swelling
+     where the fire entered, as big as half a pistol bullet.
+
+     "I then felt what I know not well how to describe, a
+     universal blow throughout my whole body from head to foot,
+     which seemed within as well as without; after which the
+     first thing I took notice of was a violent, quick shaking of
+     my body, which gradually remitting, my sense as gradually
+     returned, and then, I thought the bottle must be discharged,
+     but could not conceive how, till at last I perceived the
+     chain in my hand, and recollected what I had been about to
+     do.
+
+     "That part of my hand and fingers which held the chain, was
+     left white as though the blood had been driven out; and
+     remained so eight or ten minutes after, feeling like dead
+     flesh; and I had numbness in my arms and the back of my neck
+     which continued to the next morning, but wore off."
+
+Franklin was much mortified at his awkwardness in this experiment. He
+declared it to be a notorious blunder, and compared it with the folly
+of the Irishman, who wishing to steal some gun-powder, bored a hole
+through the cask with red hot iron. But notwithstanding this warning,
+not long afterwards, in endeavoring to give a shock to a paralytic
+patient, he received the whole charge himself, and was knocked flat
+and senseless on the floor.
+
+In the spring of 1752, Franklin tried his world renowned experiment
+with the kite. A June thunder cloud was rising in all its majesty.
+Franklin, accompanied by his son, repaired to a field secretly, being
+afraid of the ridicule of the people. Here he raised the kite, made of
+a large silk handkerchief. The top of the perpendicular stick was
+pointed with a sharp metallic rod. The string was hemp with the
+exception of the part held in the hand, which was silk; at the end of
+the hempen string a common key was suspended. With intense anxiety and
+no slight apprehension of danger, he held the line. Soon he observed
+the fibres of the hempen string to rise and separate themselves, as
+was the case of the hair on the head, when any one was placed on an
+insulating stool. He applied his knuckle to the key, and received an
+unmistakable spark. As the story is generally told, with occasionally
+slight contradictions, he applied his knuckle again and again to the
+key with a similar result. He charged a Leyden jar with the fluid and
+both he and his son took a shock. He then drew in his kite, packed up
+his apparatus and returned to his laboratory probably the most
+exultant and happy man in this wide world.
+
+Most of the English and many of the French philosophers were very
+unwilling to believe that an obscure American, in what they deemed the
+savage and uncultivated wilds of the New World, was outstripping them
+in philosophical research. They were unwilling to acknowledge the
+reality of his experiments; but in France, where an American would
+receive more impartial treatment, three of the most eminent
+philosophers, Count de Buffon, M. Dalibard and M. de Lor, at different
+places, raised the apparatus Franklin had recommended to draw
+electricity from the clouds. Their success was unmistakable; the
+results of these experiments were proclaimed throughout Europe.
+
+Franklin had now obtained renown. No one could deny that he merited a
+high position among the most eminent philosophers. The experiments he
+had suggested were tried by scientists in the philosophical circles of
+every country in Europe.
+
+Both Yale and Harvard, in this country, conferred upon him the
+honorary degree of Master of Arts, and the Royal Society, in Europe,
+by a unanimous vote, elected him a member, remitting the usual
+initiation fee of five guineas, and the annual charge of two and a
+half guineas. The next year this Society conferred upon him the Copley
+medal.
+
+For seven years Franklin continued to devote himself almost
+exclusively to this science, and he became, without doubt, the most
+accomplished electrician in the world. At the same time his mind was
+ever active in devising new schemes for the welfare of humanity. The
+most trivial events would often suggest to him measures conducive to
+the most beneficial results. It is said that Franklin saw one day in a
+ditch the fragments of a basket of yellow willow, in which some
+foreign commodity had been imported to this country. One of the twigs
+had sprouted. He planted it; and it became the parent of all the
+yellow willows in our country.
+
+Franklin was best loved where he was best known. And this was right;
+for he was ever conferring deeds of kindness upon his neighbors. His
+religious views excited sorrow among his Christian friends. Others,
+composing perhaps a majority, cared nothing about what he believed. In
+conversation he ever frankly avowed himself a deist, though generally
+he made no attempt to convert others to his views. It is not
+improbable that he was in some degree influenced by the beneficial
+effect produced upon the popular mind by the preaching of his friend
+Mr. Whitefield.
+
+The writer was once, in Paris, conversing with one of the most
+illustrious of the French philosophers. He said to the philosopher, "I
+am much interested to ascertain the views of gentlemen of your
+intellectual position respecting the Christian religion." He with
+perfect frankness replied, "I think that there are no men of high
+culture in France, with a few exceptions, who believe in the divine
+origin of Christianity. But there is no philanthropist who will say
+so. We have been taught, by the horrors of the French Revolution, that
+the masses of the people can only be restrained from violence by the
+superstitious restraints which Christianity presents. We therefore
+think that every man, who is a gentleman, will do what he can to
+sustain the church and the clergy. Men of culture and refinement, are
+governed by principles of honor, and they do not need the
+superstitious motives of Christianity to influence them."
+
+I may remark, in passing, that this gentlemanly philosopher had
+abandoned his own wife, and was then living with the wife of another
+man. It is not improbable that Franklin, as he looked upon the
+tumultuous and passion-tossed young men of Philadelphia, did not deem
+it expedient to say to them,
+
+"The Bible is a fable. The Sabbath is no more sacred than any other
+day. The church is merely a human club without any divine authority.
+Marriage is an institution which is not founded upon any decree which
+God has issued, but one of the expediency of which each individual
+must judge for himself. The Sacraments of Baptism, and the Lord's
+Supper, are mere human contrivances. The preaching of the Gospel had
+better be laid aside for literary and scientific disquisitions."
+
+With the eye of a benevolent philosopher, Franklin, as we have seen,
+had watched the effect of the preaching of Mr. Whitefield, and had
+candidly acknowledged its power in reforming society. It is improbable
+that, in his heart, he felt that the preaching of pure deism could
+ever secure such results. In 1753 he wrote to Mr. Whitefield, in reply
+to a communication from him upon the Christian faith:
+
+     "The faith you mention certainly has its use in the world. I
+     do not desire to see it diminished, nor would I endeavor to
+     lessen it in any man."
+
+Franklin had resolved to decline all office, that he might devote
+himself to his studies. But his reputation for wisdom was such, that
+he found it very difficult to persevere in this plan. Menaces of war
+were continually arising. The majority of the members, in the
+Assembly, were Quakers. It was a small body consisting of but forty
+delegates. The Quakers opposed every measure for public defence.
+Franklin, as we have mentioned, became a Justice of the Peace. Soon
+after he was an Alderman, and then he took his seat in the General
+Assembly.
+
+"I was a bad speaker," he writes, "never eloquent; subject to much
+hesitation in the choice of words; and yet I generally carried my
+point."
+
+He adds, in language which every young man should treasure up in his
+memory, "I retained the habit of expressing myself in terms of modest
+diffidence; never using, when I advanced anything that might possibly
+be disputed, the words, _certainly_, _undoubtedly_, or any others that
+give the air of positiveness to an opinion; but rather, I _conceive_,
+or _apprehend_ a thing to be so and so. _It appears to me_, or, _I
+should not think it so for such and such reasons_, or, _I imagine it
+to be so_, or, _It is so if I am not mistaken_. This habit, I believe,
+has been of great advantage to me when I have had occasion to
+inculcate my opinions; and to persuade men into measures that I have
+been from time to time proposing."
+
+When Franklin assumed the charge of the post-office, the department
+was in a feeble and peculiar condition. As late as the year 1757, the
+mail-bag in Virginia was passed from planter to planter. Each one was
+required to forward it promptly, under the penalty of forfeiting a
+hogshead of tobacco. Every man took, from the bag, what belonged to
+his family, and sent on the rest. The line of post-offices then
+extended from Boston, Mass., to Charleston, S. C. It was twenty years
+after this, before any governmental mail penetrated the interior.
+
+In the year 1753, Franklin visited every post-office excepting that
+of Charleston. His wisdom introduced reforms, some of which have
+continued to the present day. A newspaper was charged nine pence
+a year, for a distance of fifty miles, and eighteen pence for
+one hundred miles or more. In the large towns a penny post was
+established, and all letters left remaining in the office were
+advertised.
+
+A mail was conveyed from Philadelphia to New York once a week in
+summer, and once in two weeks in winter. Franklin started a mail to
+leave each of these cities three times a week in summer, and twice in
+winter. It generally required six weeks to obtain an answer from a
+letter sent to Boston. Most of the roads, into the interior, consisted
+of narrow passages, cut through the forest, called Bridle Paths,
+because the pack horses were led through them, in single file by the
+bridle.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+_The Rising Storms of War._
+
+     Aristocracy--Anecdote--Conflicting laws of
+     Nations--Franklin's scheme of colonization--Proposal of the
+     British Court--The foresight of Franklin--Braddock's
+     campaign--Remonstrances of Franklin and
+     Washington--Franklin's interviews with Braddock--Franklin's
+     efficiency--Confidence of Braddock--The conflict with the
+     Proprietaries--The non-resistant Quakers--Fate of the
+     Moravian villages--The winter campaign--The camp of
+     Gaudenhutton--Anecdote--Renewal of the strife with the
+     Proprietaries--Franklin recalled to assist the
+     Assembly--Destruction of the Fort--Claim of the
+     Proprietaries--The great controversy.
+
+
+With increasing wealth the spirit of aristocratic exclusiveness gained
+strength in the higher circles of Philadelphia. Some of the more
+opulent families planned for a series of dancing entertainments during
+the winter. It was proposed among other rules that no mechanic, or
+mechanic's wife or daughter, should be invited. The rules were shown
+to Franklin. He glanced his eye over them and pithily remarked,
+
+"Why these rules would exclude God Almighty!"
+
+"How so?" inquired the manager.
+
+"Because," Franklin replied, "the Almighty, as all know, is the
+greatest mechanic in the universe. In six days he made all things."
+The obnoxious article was stricken out.
+
+The following incident, narrated by Franklin, illustrates a very
+important principle in political economy, which those are apt to
+ignore, who denounce all the elegancies and luxuries of life.
+
+Mrs. Franklin received some small favor from the captain of a little
+coaster, which ran between Cape May and Philadelphia. He declined to
+receive any remuneration for his trifling services. Mrs. Franklin,
+learning that he had a pretty daughter, sent her a new-fashioned
+Philadelphia cap or bonnet. Three years after, the captain called
+again at the house of Mr. Franklin. A very plain but intelligent
+farmer accompanied him. The captain expressed his thanks to Mrs.
+Franklin for the gift she had sent his daughter, and rather
+discourteously added,
+
+"But it proved a dear cap to our congregation. When my daughter
+appeared with it at meeting, it was so much admired that all the girls
+resolved to get such caps from Philadelphia. And my wife and I
+computed that the whole could not have cost less than a hundred
+pounds."
+
+The farmer, with far higher intelligence, said, "This is true; but
+you do not tell the whole story. I think the cap was nevertheless an
+advantage to us. It was the first thing that put our girls upon
+knitting worsted mittens, for sale at Philadelphia, that they might
+have wherewithal to buy caps and ribbons there. And you know that that
+industry has continued and is likely to continue and increase, to a
+much greater value, and answer better purposes."
+
+"Thus by a profitable exchange, the industrious girls at Cape May had
+pretty bonnets, and the girls at Philadelphia had warm mittens."
+
+For seventy-five years it had been the constant design of the British
+government to drive the French from North America. England claimed the
+whole country, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, because her ships had
+first sailed along the Atlantic coast. It was one of the recognized
+laws of nations that a newly discovered region belonged to the nation
+who had first raised upon it its flag.
+
+France, admitting the claim of England to the Atlantic coast, asserted
+her right to the great valleys of the interior, those of the Ohio and
+the Mississippi, because her boatmen had first discovered those
+magnificent rivers, had explored them throughout, and had established
+upon them her trading and military posts. It was a recognized law of
+nations, that the power which discovered, explored, and took
+possession of a new river, was the rightful possessor of the valley
+which that river watered. Thus the conflict of claims originated.
+
+To add to the intensity of the insane strife, which caused an amount
+of blood and misery which no tongue can tell, religious bitterness was
+aroused, and the French Roman Catholic was arrayed against the British
+Protestant.
+
+Three wars, bloody and woful, had already ravaged this continent. We
+have before alluded to the menace of a new war in the year 1754, and
+to Franklin's mission to Albany to enlist the chiefs of the Six
+Nations to become allies of the English. We have also alluded to the
+plan, which Franklin drew up on this journey, for the union of the
+colonies, and which was rejected. The wisdom of this plan was,
+however, subsequently developed by the fact that it was remarkably
+like that by which eventually the colonies were bound together as a
+nation.
+
+Assuming that the English were right in their claim for the whole
+continent, Franklin urged the eminently wise measure of establishing
+strong colonies, in villages of a hundred families each, on the
+luxuriant banks of the western rivers. But the haughty British
+government would receive no instructions from American provincials.
+
+Governor Shirley, of Boston, showed Mr. Franklin a plan, drawn up in
+England, for conducting the war. It developed consummate ignorance of
+the difficulties of carrying on war in the pathless wilderness; and
+also a great disregard of the political rights of the American
+citizens. According to this document, the British court was to
+originate and execute all the measures for the conduct of the war; and
+the British Parliament was to assess whatever tax it deemed expedient
+upon the American people to defray the expenses. The Americans were to
+have no representation in Parliament, and no voice whatever in
+deciding upon the sum which they were to pay.
+
+Franklin examined the document carefully, and returned it with his
+written objections. In this remarkable paper, he anticipated the
+arguments which our most distinguished statesmen and logicians urged
+against the Stamp Act--against Taxation without Representation. A
+brief extract from this important paper, will give the reader some
+idea of its character:
+
+     "The colonists are Englishmen. The accident of living in a
+     colony deprives them of no right secured by Magna Charta. The
+     people in the colonies, who are to feel the immediate
+     mischiefs of invasion and conquest by an enemy, in the loss
+     of their estates, lives and liberties, are likely to be
+     better judges of the quantity of forces necessary to be
+     raised and maintained, and supported, and of their own
+     ability to bear the expense, than the Parliament of England,
+     at so great a distance. Compelling the colonists to pay money
+     without their consent, would be rather like raising
+     contributions in an enemy's country, than taxing of
+     Englishmen for their own public benefit. It would be treating
+     them as a conquered people, and not as true British
+     subjects."
+
+At length the brave, but self-conceited and haughty General Braddock
+came with his army of British Regulars. Frenchmen, Indians, and
+Americans, he alike regarded with contempt. His troops were
+rendezvoused at Fredericktown, in Maryland. A bridle path led through
+the wilderness to this place, from Philadelphia, a distance of a
+hundred and twenty miles.
+
+Intelligent American gentlemen were much alarmed, by the reckless and
+perilous measures which the ignorant British general declared his
+intention to pursue. He became very angry with Pennsylvanians, because
+they were so unwilling to fall in with his plans. It was said that, in
+his anger, he manifested more desire to ravage Pennsylvania than to
+defeat the French.
+
+The Assembly at Philadelphia appointed a commission, consisting of
+Benjamin Franklin and his son, a resolute, insubordinate man of thirty
+years, and of the Governors of New York and Massachusetts, to visit
+the arrogant British officer, and to endeavor, in some way, to
+influence him to wiser measures. It was the middle of April, a
+beautiful season in that climate, of swelling buds, and opening
+leaves.
+
+Each of the four gentlemen was attended by servants, as was customary
+in those days. They were all finely mounted. Joyfully they rode along,
+seeking entertainment each night at the residence of some planter. A
+courier was always sent forward to announce their coming, and the
+planter, accompanied by one or two of his servants, would generally
+ride forward a few miles to meet them, and escort them to his
+hospitable home.
+
+Franklin was received by Gen. Braddock with the condescension with
+which, in that day, English gentlemen were ever accustomed to regard
+Americans of whatever name or note. The little army, which was to
+march upon Fort Duquesne, was to traverse the dreary and pathless
+ridges and ravines of the Alleghany mountains, and force their way
+through a tangled wilderness, for a distance of several hundred miles.
+During all this march they were hourly exposed to be attacked by an
+overpowering force of French and Indians. The French could easily
+descend to the Ohio, in their boats from Canada, and nearly all the
+Indians of this vast interior, were in alliance with them.
+
+Braddock insisted upon encumbering his march with heavily laden
+wagons, which were to penetrate savage regions through which he must,
+every mile, construct his road. There was a young American in the camp
+by the name of George Washington. He was a man of the highest rank,
+and of commanding influence, having obtained much experience in Indian
+warfare. Modestly, but warmly, he remonstrated against this folly. He
+not only feared, but was fully assured that such a measure would lead
+to the inevitable destruction of the army. He urged that pack horses
+only should be employed, and as few of them as possible; and that thus
+they should hurry along as rapidly and in as compact a mass as they
+could.
+
+But Braddock was inexorable. He demanded his two hundred and fifty
+wagons, and a large train of pack horses, to be laden with sumptuous
+provisions for his officers. The farmers of Maryland and Virginia were
+reluctant to expose the few wagons and teams they had, to such
+inevitable destruction. Neither had they any confidence that the
+British Government would ever remunerate them in case of their loss.
+
+Four-wheeled vehicles were very scarce in the colonies. There were
+many people who had never seen one. The general, after exhausting all
+his efforts, could obtain but twenty-four. One day as he was giving
+vent to his indignation, Franklin suggested that it would probably be
+much more easy to obtain wagons in the more densely settled parts of
+Pennsylvania. Braddock immediately urged him to undertake the
+enterprise. Unwisely, we think, he consented. With his son he hastened
+to Pennsylvania, and selected Lancaster, York, and Carlisle as his
+centres of operation.
+
+Whatever Franklin undertook, he was pretty sure to accomplish. In
+twenty days he obtained one hundred and fifty four-horse wagons, and
+two hundred and fifty-nine pack-horses. He did not accomplish this
+feat however, until he had exhausted all the money which Braddock had
+furnished him, had spent over a thousand dollars of his own money, and
+had given bonds for the safe return of horses and wagons, whose money
+value was estimated at one hundred thousand dollars.
+
+Braddock was lavish in his compliments. Franklin dined with him daily.
+The idea seemed never to have entered Braddock's mind that British
+Regulars, under his command, could ever be seriously annoyed by bands
+of French and Indians. He said one day,
+
+"After taking Fort Duquesne, I shall go to Niagara. Having taken that,
+if the season will permit, I shall proceed to Fort Frontenac. Fort
+Duquesne can hardly detain me more than three or four days."
+
+Franklin, who was well aware that Braddock was entering upon a far
+more formidable campaign than he anticipated, ventured very modestly
+to suggest,
+
+"To be sure, sir, if you arrive well before Duquesne with the fine
+troops so well provided with artillery, the fort, though completely
+fortified, and assisted with a very strong garrison, can probably make
+but a short resistance. The only danger I apprehend of obstruction to
+your march, is of ambuscades of the Indians, who, by constant
+practice, are dexterous in laying and executing them. And the slender
+line, near four miles long, which your army must make, may expose it
+to be attacked by surprise in its flanks, and to be cut like a thread
+into several pieces, which, from their distance, cannot come up in
+time to support each other."
+
+Braddock smiled derisively, at this ignorance of a benighted American.
+"These savages may indeed," he said, "be a formidable enemy to your
+raw American militia. But upon the king's regular and disciplined
+troops, it is impossible that they should make any impression."
+
+Colonel Washington regarded the wagons, and the long array of
+pack-horses, as so many nuisances, arresting the rapidity of their
+march, and inviting attacks which it would be impossible to repel. At
+length the army was in motion. The progress was very slow. Franklin
+was continually forwarding supplies; and even advanced between six and
+seven thousand dollars, from his own purse, to expedite purchases. A
+part of this he never received back.
+
+The attack upon Braddock's army, and its terrible defeat soon came. A
+minute account of the conflict is given in the Life of George
+Washington, one of the volumes of this series. The teamsters cut the
+traces of their horses, mounted the swiftest, and, in the frenzy of
+their panic, rushed for home. The other horses and the wagons, with
+their abounding supplies, were left to magnify the triumph of the
+exultant Indians. Disastrous as was the campaign, Franklin obtained
+much credit for the efficient services he had rendered.
+
+War, with all its horrors, had now penetrated the beautiful region of
+Pennsylvania, which had enjoyed eighty years of peace, through the
+Christian philanthropy of William Penn. Nearly all of the Indians,
+beyond the mountains, were allies of the French. The news of
+Braddock's defeat reached Philadelphia about the middle of July, 1755.
+Immediately a violent conflict arose between the royalist governor
+Morris, and the Colonial Assembly. The Legislative body voted liberal
+taxes for the public defence. But very justly it was enacted that
+these taxes should be assessed impartially upon all estates alike,
+upon those of the wealthy Proprietaries, as well as upon the
+few hundred acres which were owned by the humble farmers. The
+Proprietaries, consisting of two of the sons of William Penn, revolted
+against this. The Governor, appointed by them, as their agent of
+course, united with them in opposition. For many weeks the conflict
+between the Assembly and the Governor as agent of the Proprietaries,
+raged fiercely. Under these circumstances no military supplies could
+be voted, and the peril of the community was very great.
+
+Franklin warmly espoused and eloquently advocated the claim of the
+Assembly. During the months of July and August, the Indians, satiated
+with the vast plunder of Braddock's camp, made no attempt to cross the
+Alleghanies, in predatory excursions against the more settled portions
+of Pennsylvania. But September and October ushered in scenes of horror
+and carnage, too awful to be depicted. Villages were laid in ashes,
+cottages were burned, families tomahawked and scalped, women and
+children carried into captivity, and many poor creatures perished at
+the stake, in the endurance of all the tortures which savage ingenuity
+could devise.
+
+And still the Quakers, adhering to their principle of non-resistance,
+refused to contribute any money, or in any way to unite in any
+military organization for self-defence. But in candor it must be
+admitted, that had the principles of the Quakers been adopted by the
+British court, this whole disastrous war might have been avoided. It
+was a war of invasion commenced by the English. They were determined,
+by force of arms, to drive the French out of the magnificent valleys
+beyond the mountains. In the conflict which ensued, both parties
+enlisted all the savages they could, as allies. Will not England at
+the judgment be held responsible for this war and its woes?
+
+To rouse the Quakers to a sense of shame, the bodies of a whole
+murdered family, mutilated and gory, were brought to Philadelphia and
+paraded through all its streets, in an open wagon. In November, as the
+Indians, often led by French officers, were sweeping the frontier in
+all directions, killing, burning, destroying, the antagonistic parties
+in the Assembly, for a time laid aside their quarrels, and with the
+exception of the Quakers, adopted vigorous military measures. The
+Quakers were generally the most opulent people in the State. It is not
+strange that the common people should be reluctant to volunteer to
+defend the property of the Quakers, since they refused either to
+shoulder a musket, or to contribute a dollar.
+
+The pen of Franklin rendered wonderful service in this crisis. With
+his accustomed toleration, he could make allowance for the frailties
+of conscience-bound men. He wrote a very witty pamphlet which was very
+widely read, and produced a powerful impression. Its character may be
+inferred from the following brief quotation:
+
+     "'For my part,' says A., 'I am no coward; but hang me if I
+     fight to save the Quakers.'
+
+     "'That is to say,' B. replied, 'you will not pump the
+     sinking ship, because it will save the rats as well as
+     yourselves.'"
+
+The dialogue ends with the following admirable words:
+
+     "O! my friends, the glory of serving and saving others is
+     superior to the advantage of being served and secured. Let
+     us resolutely and generously unite in our country's cause,
+     in which to die is the sweetest of all deaths; and may the
+     God of armies bless our honest endeavors."
+
+The colonists of Pennsylvania now generally rushed to arms. There
+were, on the frontiers, several flourishing Moravian villages. They
+were occupied by a peculiarly industrious and religious people. The
+traveller through their quiet streets heard, morning and evening, the
+voice of prayer ascending from many firesides, and the melody of
+Christian hymns. Guadenhutton, perhaps the most flourishing of them,
+was attacked by the Indians, burned, and the inhabitants all massacred
+or carried into captivity. Terrible was the panic in the other
+villages. They were liable at any day, to experience the same fate.
+
+Under these circumstances the Governor raised five hundred and forty
+volunteers, and placed them under the command of Franklin, with the
+title of General. He was to lead them, as rapidly as possible, to
+Northampton county, for the protection of these people. His son,
+William, was his aid-de-camp. He proved an efficient and valiant
+soldier.
+
+It was the middle of December when this heroic little band commenced
+its march. Snow whitened the hills. Wintry gales swept the bleak
+plains, and moaned through the forests. The roads were almost
+impassable. Fierce storms often entirely arrested their march. The
+wilderness was very thinly inhabited. It required the toil of a month,
+for Franklin to force his way through these many obstructions to the
+base of his operations, though it was distant not more than ninety
+miles.
+
+The troops moved very cautiously to guard against ambush. The
+philosopher, Franklin, though he had never received a military
+education, and was quite inexperienced in military affairs, was the
+last man to be drawn into such a net as that in which the army of
+Braddock was destroyed.
+
+Franklin, as a philosopher, could appreciate the powerful influence of
+religious motives upon the mind. Rev. Mr. Beatty was his chaplain,
+whose worth of character Franklin appreciated. Before commencing their
+march, all the troops were assembled for a religious service. After an
+earnest exhortation to fidelity and duty, a fervent prayer was
+offered.
+
+The march was conducted with great regularity. First, scouts advanced
+in a semi-circular line, ranging the woods. Then came the advanced
+guard, at a few hundred paces behind. The centre followed, with all
+the wagons and baggage. Then came the rear guard, with scouts on each
+flank, and spies on every hill.
+
+Upon reaching Guadenhutton, an awful scene of desolation and carnage
+met the eye. The once happy village presented now but a revolting
+expanse of blackened ruins. The mangled bodies of the dead strewed the
+ground, mutilated alike by the savages and the howling wolves.
+Franklin ordered huts immediately to be reared to protect his troops
+from the inclemency of the weather. No man knew better than he, how to
+make them comfortable and cheerful with the least expense.
+
+A fort was promptly constructed, which he called Fort Allen, and which
+could easily repel any attack the Indians might make, unless they
+approached with formidable French artillery. There were many
+indications that the Indians, in large numbers, were hovering around,
+watching all their movements. But the sagacity of Franklin baffled
+them. They kept concealed without any attack. The savages were very
+cautious men; they would seldom engage in a battle, unless they were
+sure of victory.
+
+A trifling incident occurred at this time, worthy of record as
+illustrative of the shrewdness of General Franklin.
+
+The chaplain complained that the men were remiss in attending prayers.
+Franklin suggested that though it might not be exactly consistent with
+the dignity of the chaplain to become himself the steward of the rum,
+still, if he would order it to be distributed immediately after
+prayers, he would probably have all the men gathering around him.
+
+"He liked the thought," Franklin wrote, "under took the task, and
+with the help of a few hands to measure out the liquor, executed
+it to satisfaction. Never were prayers more generally and more
+punctually attended. So that I think this method preferable to the
+punishment inflicted by some military laws for non-attendance on
+divine worship."
+
+Bitter quarrels were renewed in the Assembly. The presence of Franklin
+was indispensable to allay the strife. Governor Morris wrote
+entreating him immediately to return to Philadelphia. It so happened
+at this time, that Col. Clapham, a New England soldier of experience
+and high repute, visited the camp at Guadenhutton. Franklin placed him
+in command, and warmly commending him to the confidence of the troops,
+hurried home. He reached Philadelphia on the 10th of February, 1756,
+after two months' service in the field. Universal applause greeted
+him. Several military companies, in Philadelphia, united in a regiment
+of about twelve hundred men. Franklin was promptly elected their
+colonel, which office he accepted.
+
+In tracing the disasters of war, it is interesting to observe how many
+of those disasters are owing to unpardonable folly. Some months after
+Franklin's departure, on a cold, bleak day in November, a large part
+of the garrison, unmindful of danger, were skating, like school-boys
+on the Lehigh river. The vigilant Indians saw their opportunity. Like
+howling wolves they made a rush upon the fort, entered its open
+gates, and killed or captured all its inmates. The skaters fled into
+the woods. They were pursued. Some were killed or captured. Some
+perished miserably of cold and starvation. Probably a few escaped. The
+triumphant savages, having plundered the fort and the dwellings of all
+their contents, applied the torch, and again Guadenhutton was reduced
+to a pile of ashes.
+
+The controversy which arose between the Governor and the Assembly
+became acrimonious in the extreme. The principles there contended for,
+involved the very existence of anything like American liberty. For
+fifteen years the pen and voice of Franklin were influential in this
+controversy. He probably did more than any other man to prepare the
+colonists to resist the despotism of the British court, and to
+proclaim their independence.
+
+On the 5th of January, 1681, King Charles the Second had conferred
+upon William Penn twenty-six million acres of the "best land in the
+universe." This land was in the New World, and received the name of
+Pennsylvania. In return for this grant, Penn agreed to pay annually,
+at Windsor Castle, two beaver skins, and one-fifth of the gold and
+silver which the province might yield. He also promised to govern the
+province in conformity with the laws of England.
+
+He could treat with the savages, appoint ordinary magistrates, and
+pardon petty crimes. But he could lay no tax, and impose no law
+without consent of the freemen of the province, represented in the
+Assembly.
+
+Of this whole wide realm, Penn was the absolute proprietor. He refused
+to sell a single acre, absolutely, but in all the sales reserved for
+himself what may be called a ground-rent. Immense tracts were sold at
+forty shillings, about ten dollars, for one hundred acres, reserving a
+rent of one shilling for each hundred acres. He also reserved,
+entirely to himself, various portions of the territory which promised
+to become the site of important cities and villages. All these rights
+descended to the heirs of William Penn.
+
+Seventy-four years passed away, when the estate thus founded, was
+estimated to be worth ten millions sterling, and popular belief
+affirmed that it produced a revenue of one hundred thousand pounds.
+
+Penn, when he died, bequeathed the province to his three sons, John,
+Thomas, and Richard. To John he gave a double part, or one-half of
+Pennsylvania. John died and left his half to Thomas, who thus became
+proprietor of three-fourths of the province, while Richard held
+one-fourth. Thus there were but two proprietors, Thomas and Richard
+Penn. They were both weak men; resided in England, were thoroughly
+imbued with Tory principles, and, in the consciousness of their vast
+estates, assumed to be lords and princes.
+
+They ruled their province by a deputy-governor. His position was
+indeed no sinecure. The two proprietaries, who appointed him, could at
+any time deprive him of office. The Assembly could refuse to vote his
+salary, and if he displeased the king of England, he might lose, not
+only his office, but his head.
+
+The controversy which had arisen, in consequence of these involvements
+between the proprietaries and the people, engrossed universal
+attention. During the four years between 1754 and 1758, the ravaged
+colony of Pennsylvania had raised the sum of two hundred and eighteen
+thousand pounds sterling, (over a million of dollars,) for defending
+its borders. And still the two lordly proprietaries demanded that
+their vast possessions should be entirely exempt from taxation.
+
+To an earnest remonstrance of the Assembly, they returned an insulting
+answer, in which they said,
+
+"We are no more bound to pay taxes than any other chief governor of
+the King's colonies. Your agitation of this matter is a new trick to
+secure your re-election. We advise you to show us the respect due to
+the rank which the crown has been pleased to bestow upon us. The
+people of Pennsylvania, in ordinary times, are so lightly taxed, that
+they hardly know that they are taxed. What fools you are to be
+agitating this dangerous topic of American taxation. It is beneath the
+dignity of the Assembly to make trouble about such small sums of
+money. We do not deny that you have been at some expense in pacifying
+the Indians, but that is no affair of ours. We already give the
+province a larger sum per annum, than our share of the taxes would
+amount to. One of us, for example, sent over four hundred pounds'
+worth of cannon, for the defence of our city of Philadelphia."
+
+Such was their answer. It was conveyed in sixteen sentences which were
+numbered and which were very similar to the ones we have given. The
+communication excited great displeasure. It was considered alike false
+and insolent. Even the tranquil mind of Franklin was fired with
+indignation. He replied to the document with a power of eloquence and
+logic which carried the convictions of nearly all the colonists.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+_Franklin's Mission to England._
+
+     New marks of respect--Lord Loudoun--Gov. Denny and
+     Franklin--Visit the Indians--Franklin commissioner to
+     England--His constant good nature--Loudoun's delays--Wise
+     action of an English captain--The voyagers land at
+     Falmouth--Journey to London--Franklin's style of living in
+     London--His electrical experiments--He teaches the Cambridge
+     professor--Complimentary action of St. Andrews--Gov. Denny
+     displaced, and dark clouds arising--Franklin's successful
+     diplomacy--His son appointed Governor of New Jersey--Great
+     opposition--The homeward voyage--Savage horrors--Retaliating
+     cruelties--Franklin's efforts in behalf of the Moravian
+     Indians.
+
+
+The general impression, produced throughout the colonies, by the
+controversy with the proprietaries, was that they were very weak men.
+Indeed it does not appear that they were much regarded even in London.
+A gentleman, writing from that city, said, "They are hardly to be
+found in the herd of gentry; not in court, not in office, not in
+parliament."
+
+In March, Franklin left his home for a post-office tour. Some forty of
+the officers of his regiment, well mounted, and in rich uniform,
+without Franklin's knowledge, came to his door, to escort him out of
+the village. Franklin says,
+
+     "I had not previously been made acquainted with their
+     project, or I should have prevented it, being naturally
+     averse to the assuming of state on any occasion."
+
+The proprietaries in London heard an account of this affair. They were
+very much displeased, saying they had never been thus honored, and
+that princes of the blood alone were entitled to such distinction. The
+war was still raging. Large bodies of troops were crossing the ocean
+to be united with the colonial forces.
+
+Lord Loudoun was appointed by the court commander-in-chief for
+America. He was an exceedingly weak and inefficient man; scarcely a
+soldier in the ranks could be found more incompetent for the
+situation. Governor Morris, of Pennsylvania, worn out with his
+unavailing conflicts with the Assembly, was withdrawn, and the
+proprietaries sent out Captain William Denny as their obsequious
+servant in his stead. The Philadelphians, hoping to conciliate him,
+received him cordially, and with a public entertainment. William
+Franklin wrote:
+
+     "Change of devils, according to the Scotch proverb, is
+     blithesome."
+
+At the close of the feast, when most of the party were making
+themselves merry over their wine, Governor Denny took Franklin aside
+into an adjoining room, and endeavored, by the most abounding
+flattery, and by the bribe of rich promises, to induce him to espouse
+the cause of the proprietaries. But he soon learned that Franklin
+could not be influenced by any of his bribes.
+
+There was but a brief lull in the storm. Governor Denny had no power
+of his own. He could only obey the peremptory instructions he had
+received. These instructions were irreconcilably hostile to the
+resolves of the Assembly. Franklin was the all-powerful leader of the
+popular party. There was something in his imperturbable good nature
+which it is difficult to explain. No scenes of woe seemed to depress
+his cheerful spirits. No atrocities of oppression could excite his
+indignation. He could thrust his keen dagger points into the vitals of
+his antagonist, with a smile upon his face and jokes upon his lips
+which would convulse both friend and foe with laughter. He was the
+most unrelenting antagonist of Governor Denny in the Assembly, and yet
+he was the only man who remained on good terms with the governor,
+visiting him, and dining with him.
+
+Governor Denny was a gentleman, and well educated, and few men could
+appear to better advantage in the saloons of fashion. But he was
+trammeled beyond all independent action, by the instructions he had
+received from the proprietaries. He was right in heart, was in
+sympathy with Franklin, and with reluctance endeavored to enforce the
+arbitrary measures with which he was entrusted.
+
+Franklin was one of the most companionable of men. His wonderful
+powers of conversation, his sweetness of temper, and his entire
+ignoring of all aristocratic assumption, made him one of the most
+fascinating of guests in every circle. He charmed alike the rich and
+the poor, the learned and the ignorant.
+
+In November, 1756, he accompanied Governor Denny to the frontier to
+confer with the chiefs of several Indian tribes. The savages, to say
+the least, were as punctilious in the observance of the laws of honor,
+in securing the safety of the ambassadors on such an occasion, as were
+the English.
+
+The governor and the philosopher rode side by side on horseback,
+accompanied by only a few body servants. The governor, familiar with
+the clubs and the wits of England, entertained Franklin, in the
+highest degree, with the literary gossip of London, and probably
+excited in his mind an intense desire to visit those scenes, which he
+himself was so calculated to enjoy and to embellish. On the journey
+he wrote the following comic letter to his wife. He had been
+disappointed in not receiving a line from her by a certain messenger.
+
+     "I had a good mind not to write to you by this opportunity,
+     but I never can be ill-natured enough even when there is
+     most occasion. I think I won't tell you that we are well,
+     and that we expect to return about the middle of the week,
+     nor will I send you a word of news; that's poz. My duty to
+     mother, love to the children, and to Miss Betsy and Gracie.
+     I am your _loving_ husband.
+
+     "P. S. I have _scratched out the loving words_, being writ
+     in haste by mistake, when I forgot I was angry."
+
+Gov. Denny, unable to accomplish his purposes with the Assembly,
+resolved to make a final appeal to the king. The House promptly
+decided to imitate his example. Its Speaker, Mr. Norris, and Benjamin
+Franklin, were appointed commissioners. The Speaker declined the
+office, and Franklin was left as sole commissioner. He probably was
+not at all reluctant to be introduced to the statesmen, the
+philosophers, and the fashionable circles of the Old World. To defray
+his expenses the Assembly voted a sum of nearly eight thousand
+dollars. He had also wealth of his own. By correspondence, he was
+quite intimately acquainted with very many of the scientific men of
+England and France. It was very certain that he would have the
+_entree_ to any circle which he might wish to honor with his presence.
+
+It was at that time a very serious affair to cross the Atlantic. The
+ocean swarmed with pirates, privateers, and men-of-war. On the fourth
+of April, 1757, Franklin, with his son William, set out from
+Philadelphia. His cheerfulness of spirits did not forsake him as he
+left a home where he had been remarkably happy for twenty-six years.
+The family he left behind him consisted of his wife, his wife's aged
+mother, his daughter Sarah, a beautiful child of twelve years, one or
+two nieces, and an old nurse of the family.
+
+Franklin had written to the governor to ascertain the precise time
+when the packet would sail. The reply he received from him was,
+
+     "I have given out that the ship is to sail on Saturday next.
+     But I may let you know _entre nous_ that if you are there by
+     Monday morning you will be in time; but do not delay any
+     longer."
+
+Franklin was accompanied by a number of his friends as far as Trenton,
+where they spent a very joyful evening together. At one of the ferries
+on this road, they were delayed by obstructions so that they could not
+reach the Hudson River until noon of Monday. Franklin feared that the
+ship might sail without him; but upon reaching the river he was
+relieved by seeing the vessel still in the stream.
+
+Eleven weeks passed before Lord Loudoun would issue his permission for
+the ship to sail. Every day this most dilatory and incompetent of men
+announced that the packet would sail to-morrow. And thus the weeks
+rolled on while Franklin was waiting, but we do not hear a single word
+of impatience or remonstrance from his lips. His philosophy taught him
+to be happy under all circumstances. With a smiling face he called
+upon Lord Loudoun and dined with him. He endeavored, but in vain, to
+obtain a settlement of his claims for supplies furnished to Braddock's
+army.
+
+He found much in the society of New York to entertain him. And more
+than all, and above all, he was doing everything that could be done
+for the accomplishment of his mission. Why, then, should he worry?
+
+"New York," he records, "was growing immensely rich by money brought
+into it from all quarters for the pay and subsistence of the troops."
+
+Franklin was remarkably gallant in his intercourse with ladies. He
+kept up quite a brisk correspondence with several of the most
+brilliant ladies of the day. No man could more prettily pay a
+compliment. To his lively and beautiful friend Miss Ray he wrote upon
+his departure,
+
+     "Present my best compliments to all that love me; I should
+     have said all that love you, but that would be giving you
+     too much trouble."
+
+At length Lord Loudoun granted permission for the packet to drop down
+to the Lower Bay, where a large fleet of ninety vessels was assembled,
+fitted out for an attack upon the French at Louisburg. Franklin and
+his friends went on board, as it was announced that the vessel would
+certainly sail "to-morrow." For six weeks longer the packet rode there
+at anchor. Franklin and his companions had for the third time consumed
+all the provisions they had laid in store for the voyage. Still we
+hear not a murmur from our imperturbable philosopher.
+
+At length the signal for sailing was given. The whole squadron put to
+sea, and the London packet, with all the rest, was swept forward
+toward Louisburg. After a voyage of five days, a letter was placed in
+the hands of the captain, authorizing him to quit the fleet and steer
+for England.
+
+The days and nights of a long voyage came and went, when the packet at
+midnight in a gale of wind, and enveloped in fogs, was approaching
+Falmouth. A light-house, upon some rocks, had not been visible.
+Suddenly the lifting of the fog revealed the light-house and the
+craggy shore, over which the surf was fearfully breaking, at the
+distance of but a few rods. A captain of the Royal Navy, who chanced
+to be near the helmsman, sprang to the helm, called upon the sailors
+instantly to wear ship, and thus, at the risk of snapping every mast,
+saved the vessel and the crew from otherwise immediate and certain
+destruction.
+
+There was not, at that time, a single light-house on the North
+American coast. The event impressed the mind of Franklin deeply, and
+he resolved that upon his return, light-houses should be constructed.
+
+About nine o'clock the next morning the fog was slowly dispersed, and
+Falmouth, with its extended tower, its battlemented castles, and the
+forests of masts, was opened before the weary voyagers. It was Sunday
+morning and the bells were ringing for church. The vessel glided into
+the harbor, and joyfully the passengers landed. Franklin writes,
+
+     "The bell ringing for church, we went thither immediately,
+     and with hearts full of gratitude returned sincere thanks to
+     God far the mercies we had received."
+
+We know not whether this devout act was suggested by Franklin, or
+whether he courteously fell in with the arrangement proposed, perhaps,
+by some religious companion. It is, however, certain that the sentence
+which next followed, in his letter, came gushing from his own mind.
+
+     "Were I a Roman Catholic, perhaps I should, on this
+     occasion, vow to build a chapel to some saint. But as I am
+     not, if I were to vow at all it should be to build a
+     _light-house_."
+
+It required a journey of two hundred and fifty miles to reach London.
+Franklin and his son _posted_ to London, which was the most rapid mode
+of traveling in those days. They seem to have enjoyed the journey in
+the highest degree, through blooming, beautiful, highly cultivated
+England. Almost every thing in the charming landscape, appeared
+different from the rude settlements which were springing up amid the
+primeval forests of the New World.
+
+They visited the Cathedral at Salisbury, Stonehenge, Wilton Hall, the
+palatial mansion of the Earl of Pembroke. England was in her loveliest
+attire. Perhaps there could not then be found, upon this globe, a more
+lovely drive, than that through luxuriant Devonshire, and over the
+Hampshire Downs.
+
+Peter Collinson, a gentleman of great wealth, first received the
+travelers to his own hospitable mansion. Here Franklin was the object
+of marked attentions from the most distinguished scientists of
+England. Other gentlemen of high distinction honored themselves by
+honoring him. Franklin visited the old printing house, where he had
+worked forty years before, and treated the workmen with that beer,
+which he had formerly so efficiently denounced in that same place.
+
+Soon he took lodgings with a very agreeable landlady, Mrs. Stevenson,
+No. 7, Craven street, Strand. He adopted, not an ostentatious, but a
+very genteel style of living. Both he and his son had brought with
+them each a body servant from America. He set up a modest carriage,
+that he might worthily present himself at the doors of cabinet
+ministers and members of parliament.
+
+The Proprietaries received him very coldly, almost insolently. They
+were haughty, reserved and totally uninfluenced by his arguments. He
+presented to them a brief memorandum, which very lucidly explained the
+views of the Assembly. It was as follows,
+
+     1. "The Royal Charter gives the Assembly the power to make
+     laws; the proprietary instructions deprive it of that power.
+     2. The Royal Charter confers on the Assembly the right to
+     grant or withhold supplies; the instructions neutralize that
+     right. 3. The exemption of the proprietary estate from
+     taxation is unjust. 4. The proprietaries are besought to
+     consider these grievances seriously and redress them, that
+     harmony may be restored."
+
+The Penn brothers denounced this brief document, as vague, and
+disrespectful. It was evident that Franklin had nothing to hope from
+them. He therefore directed all his energies to win to his side the
+Lords of Trade, and the members of the King's Council, to whom the
+final decision must be referred. Twelve months elapsed, during which
+nothing was accomplished. But we hear not a murmur from his lips. He
+was not only contented but jovial. For two whole years he remained in
+England, apparently accomplishing nothing. These hours of leisure he
+devoted to the enjoyment of fashionable, intellectual and scientific
+society. No man could be a more welcome guest, in such elevated
+circles, for no man could enjoy more richly the charms of such
+society, or could contribute more liberally to its fascination.
+Electricity was still a very popular branch of natural science. The
+brilliant experiments Franklin performed, lured many to his
+apartments. His machine was the largest which had been made, and would
+emit a spark nine inches in length. He had invented, or greatly
+improved, a new musical machine of glass goblets, called the Armonica.
+
+It was listened to with much admiration, as it gave forth the sweetest
+tones. He played upon this instrument with great effect.
+
+The theatre was to Franklin an inexhaustible source of enjoyment.
+Garrick was then in the meridian of his fame. He loved a good dinner,
+and could, without inconvenience, empty the second bottle of claret.
+He wrote to a friend,
+
+     "I find that I love company, chat, a laugh, a glass, and
+     even a song as well as ever."
+
+At one time he took quite an extensive tour through England, visiting
+the University at Cambridge. He was received with the most flattering
+attentions from the chancellor and others of the prominent members of
+the faculty. Indeed every summer, during his stay in England, Franklin
+and his son spent a few weeks visiting the most attractive scenes of
+the beautiful island. Wherever he went, he left an impression behind
+him, which greatly increased his reputation.
+
+At Cambridge he visited the chemical laboratory, with the
+distinguished Professor of Chemistry, Dr. Hadley. Franklin suggested
+that temperature could be astonishingly reduced by evaporation. It was
+entirely a new idea to the Professor. They both with others repaired
+to Franklin's room. He had ether there, and a thermometer. To the
+astonishment of the Professor of Chemistry in Cambridge University,
+the printer from Philadelphia showed him that by dipping the ball into
+the ether, and then blowing upon it with bellows to increase the
+evaporation, the mercury rapidly sunk twenty-five degrees below the
+freezing point. Ice was formed a quarter of an inch thick, all around
+the ball. Thus, surrounded by the professors of one of the most
+distinguished universities of Europe, Benjamin Franklin was the
+teacher of the teachers.
+
+The father and the son visited the villages where their ancestors had
+lived. They sought out poor relations, and examined the tombstones. In
+the spring of 1769, they spent six weeks in Scotland. The University
+of St. Andrews conferred upon Franklin the honorary title of doctor,
+by which he has since been generally known. Other universities
+received him with great distinction. The corporation of Edinburgh
+voted him the freedom of the city. All the saloons of fashion were not
+only open to receive him, but his presence, at every brilliant
+entertainment, was eagerly sought. The most distinguished men of
+letters crowded around him. Hume, Robertson and Lord Kames became his
+intimate friends.
+
+These were honors sufficient to turn the head of almost any man. But
+Franklin, who allowed no adversity to annoy him, could not be unduly
+elated by any prosperity or flattery.
+
+     "On the whole," writes Franklin, "I must say, that the time
+     we spent there (Scotland) was six weeks of the _densest_
+     happiness I have met with in any part of my life."
+
+Still it is evident that occasionally he felt some slight yearnings
+for the joys of that home, over which his highly esteemed wife
+presided with such economy and skill. He wrote to her,
+
+     "The regard and friendship I meet with from persons of worth,
+     and the conversation of ingenuous men give me no small
+     pleasure. But at this time of life, domestic comforts afford
+     the most solid satisfaction;[20] and my uneasiness at being
+     absent from my family and longing desire to be with them,
+     make me often sigh, in the midst of cheerful company."
+
+[Footnote 20: Franklin was then 53 years of age.]
+
+An English gentleman, Mr. Strahan, wrote to Mrs. Franklin, urging her
+to come over to England and join her husband. In this letter he said,
+
+     "I never saw a man who was, in every respect, so perfectly
+     agreeable to me. Some are amiable in one view, some in
+     another; he in all."
+
+Three years thus passed away. It must not be supposed that the
+patriotic and faithful Franklin lost any opportunity whatever, to urge
+the all important cause with which he was entrusted. His philosophy
+taught him that when he absolutely could not do any thing but _wait_,
+it was best to wait in the most agreeable and profitable manner.
+
+It was one of his strong desires, which he was compelled to abandon,
+to convert the proprietary province of Pennsylvania into a royal
+province. After Franklin left Philadelphia, the strife between
+the Assembly, and Governor Denny, as the representative of the
+proprietaries, became more violent than ever. The governor, worn out
+by the ceaseless struggle, yielded in some points. This offended the
+proprietaries. Indignantly they dismissed him and appointed, in his
+place, Mr. James Hamilton, a more obsequious servant.
+
+By the royal charter it was provided that all laws, passed by the
+Assembly and signed by the governor, should be sent to the king, for
+his approval. One of the bills which the governor, compelled as it
+were by the peril of public affairs, had signed, allowed the Assembly
+to raise a sum of about five hundred thousand dollars, to be raised by
+a _tax on all estates_. This was a dangerous precedent. The
+aristocratic court of England repealed it, as an encroachment upon the
+rights of the privileged classes. It was a severe blow to the
+Assembly. The speaker wrote to Franklin:
+
+     "We are among rocks and sands, in a stormy season. It depends
+     upon you to do every thing in your power in the present
+     crisis. It is too late for us to give you any assistance."
+
+When Franklin received the crushing report against the Assembly he
+was just setting off for a pleasant June excursion in Ireland.
+Immediately he unpacked his saddle-bags, and consecrated all his
+energies to avert the impending evils. He enlisted the sympathies of
+Lord Mansfield, and accomplished the astonishing feat in diplomacy, of
+inducing the British Lords of Commission to reverse their decision,
+and to vote that the act of the Assembly should stand unrepealed.
+
+His business detained Franklin in London all summer. In the autumn he
+took a tour into the west of England and Wales. The gales of winter
+were now sweeping the Atlantic. No man in his senses would expose
+himself to a winter passage across the ocean, unless it was absolutely
+necessary. Indeed it would appear that Franklin was so happy in
+England, that he was not very impatient to see his home again. Though
+he had been absent three years from his wife and child, still two
+years more elapsed before he embarked for his native land.
+
+On the 25th of October George II. died. His grandson, a stupid,
+stubborn fanatically conscientious young man ascended the throne, with
+the title of George III. It would be difficult to compute the
+multitudes in Europe, Asia and America, whom his arrogance and
+ambition caused to perish on the battle field. During these two years
+there was nothing of very special moment which occurred in the life of
+Franklin. Able as he was as a statesman, science was the favorite
+object of his pursuit. He wrote several very strong pamphlets upon the
+political agitations of those tumultuous days, when all nations seem
+to have been roused to cutting each other's throats. He continued to
+occupy a prominent position wherever he was, and devoted much time in
+collecting his thoughts upon a treatise to be designated "The Art of
+Virtue." The treatise, however, was never written.
+
+His influential and wealthy friend, Mr. Strahan, was anxious to unite
+their two families by the marriage of his worthy and prosperous son to
+Mr. Franklin's beautiful daughter, Sarah. But the plan failed.
+Franklin also made an effort to marry his only son William, who, it
+will be remembered, was not born in wedlock, to a very lovely English
+lady, Miss Stephenson. But this young man, who, renouncing revealed
+religion, was a law unto himself, had already become a father without
+being a husband. Miss Stephenson had probably learned this fact and,
+greatly to the disappointment of Franklin, declined the alliance. The
+unhappy boy, the dishonored son of a dishonored father, was born about
+the year 1760. Nothing is known of what became of the discarded
+mother. He received the name of William Temple Franklin.
+
+Benjamin Franklin, as in duty bound, recognized him as his grandson,
+and received him warmly to his house and his heart. The reader will
+hereafter become better acquainted with the character and career of
+this young man. In the spring of 1762, Franklin commenced preparations
+for his return home. He did not reach Philadelphia until late in the
+autumn. Upon his departure from England, the University of Oxford
+conferred upon him the distinction of an honorary degree.
+
+William Franklin, though devoid of moral principle, was a man of
+highly respectable abilities, of pleasing manners, and was an
+entertaining companion. Lord Bute, who was in power, was the warm
+friend of Dr. Franklin. He therefore caused his son William to be
+appointed governor of New Jersey. It is positively asserted that
+Franklin did not solicit the favor. Indeed it was not a very desirable
+office. Its emoluments amounted to but about three thousand dollars a
+year. The governorship of the colonies was generally conferred upon
+the needy sons of the British aristocracy. So many of them had
+developed characters weak and unworthy, that they were not regarded
+with much esteem.
+
+William Franklin was married on the 2d of September, 1762, to Miss
+Elizabeth Downes. The announcement of the marriage in London, and of
+his appointment to the governorship of New Jersey, created some
+sensation. Mr. John Penn, son of one of the proprietaries, and who was
+soon to become governor of Pennsylvania, affected great indignation in
+view of the fact that William Franklin was to be a brother governor.
+He wrote to Lord Stirling,
+
+     "It is no less amazing than true, that Mr. William Franklin,
+     son of Benjamin Franklin of Philadelphia, is appointed to be
+     governor of the province of New Jersey. I make no doubt that
+     the people of New Jersey will make some remonstrances at
+     this indignity put upon them. You are full as well
+     acquainted with the character and principles of this person
+     as myself, and are as able to judge of the impropriety of
+     such an appointment. What a dishonor and a disgrace it must
+     be to a country to have such a man at the head of it, and to
+     sit down contented. I should hope that some effort will be
+     made before our Jersey friends would put up with such an
+     insult. If any _gentleman_ had been appointed, it would have
+     been a different case. But I cannot look upon the person in
+     question in that light by any means. I may perhaps be too
+     strong in my expressions, but I am so extremely astonished
+     and enraged at it, that I am hardly able to contain myself
+     at the thought of it."
+
+Franklin sailed from Portsmouth the latter part of August. Quite a
+fleet of American merchantmen sailed together. The weather during a
+voyage of nine weeks, was most of the time delightful. Often the
+vessels glided along so gently over a waveless sea, that the
+passengers could visit, and exchange invitations for dinner parties.
+
+On the first of November, Franklin reached his home. He had been
+absent nearly six years. All were well. His daughter, whom he had left
+a child of twelve, was now a remarkably beautiful and accomplished
+maiden of eighteen. Franklin was received not only with affection, but
+with enthusiasm. The Assembly voted him fifteen thousand dollars for
+his services in England.
+
+His son William, with his bride, did not arrive until the next
+February. Franklin accompanied him to New Jersey. The people there
+gave the governor a very kind greeting. He took up his residence in
+Burlington, within fifteen miles of the home of his father.
+
+Franklin had attained the age of fifty-seven. He was in perfect
+health, had an ample fortune, and excelled most men in his dignified
+bearing and his attractive features. Probably there never was a more
+happy man. He had leisure to devote himself to his beloved sciences.
+It was his dream, his castle in the air, to withdraw from political
+life, and devote the remainder of his days to philosophical research.
+
+In the year 1763 terminated the seven years' war. There was peace in
+Europe, peace on the ocean, but not peace along the blood crimsoned
+frontiers of the wilderness of America. England and France had been
+hurling savage warriors by tens of thousands against each other, and
+against the helpless emigrants in their defenceless villages and their
+lonely cabins. The belligerent powers of Europe, in their ambitious
+struggles, cared very little for the savages of North America. Like
+the hungry wolf they had lapped blood. Plunder had become as
+attractive to them as to the privateersman and the pirate. During the
+summer of 1763, the western regions of Pennsylvania were fearfully
+ravaged by these fierce bands. Thousands of settlers were driven from
+their homes, their buildings laid in ashes, and their farms utterly
+desolated.
+
+In all the churches contributions were raised, in behalf of the
+victims of this insane and utterly needless war. Christ Church alone
+raised between three and four thousand dollars; and sent a missionary
+to expend the sum among these starving, woe-stricken families. The
+missionary reported seven hundred and fifty farms in Pennsylvania
+alone, utterly abandoned. Two hundred and fifty women and children,
+destitute and despairing, had fled to Fort Pitt for protection.
+
+In the midst of these awful scenes, Governor Hamilton resigned, and
+the weak, haughty John Penn arriving, took his place. The Assembly, as
+usual, gave him a courteous reception, wishing, if possible, to avert
+a quarrel. There were many fanatics in those days. Some of these
+assumed that God was displeased, because the heathen Indians had not
+been entirely exterminated. The savages had perpetrated such horrors,
+that by them no distinction was made between those friendly to the
+English, and those hostile. The very name of Indian was loathed.
+
+In the vicinity of Lancaster, there was the feeble remnant of a once
+powerful tribe. The philanthropy of William Penn had won them to love
+the English. No one of them had ever been known to lift his hand
+against a white man. There were but twenty remaining, seven men, five
+women and eight children. They were an industrious, peaceful, harmless
+people, having adopted English names, English customs and the
+Christian religion.
+
+A vagabond party of Scotch-Irish, from Paxton, set out, in the morning
+of the 14th of December, for their destruction. They were well mounted
+and well armed. It so happened that there were but six Indians at
+home. They made no defence. Parents and children knelt, as in prayer,
+and silently received the death blow. Every head was cleft by the
+hatchet. These poor creatures were very affectionate, and had greatly
+endeared themselves to their neighbors. This deed of infamous
+assassination roused the indignation of many of the most worthy people
+in the province. But there were thousands of the baser sort, who
+deemed it no crime to kill an Indian, any more than a wolf or a bear.
+
+Franklin wrote, to the people of Pennsylvania, a noble letter of
+indignant remonstrance, denouncing the deed as atrocious murder.
+Vividly he pictured the scene of the assassination, and gave the
+names, ages and characters of the victims. A hundred and forty
+Moravian Indians, the firm and unsuspected friends of the English,
+terrified by this massacre, fled to Philadelphia for protection. The
+letter of Franklin had excited much sympathy in their behalf. The
+people rallied for their protection. The Paxton murderers, several
+hundred in number, pursued the fugitives, avowing their determination
+to put every one to death. The imbecile governor was at his wits' end.
+Franklin was summoned.
+
+He, at once, proclaimed his house headquarters; rallied a regiment of
+a thousand men, and made efficient arrangements to give the murderers
+a warm reception. The Paxton band reached Germantown. Franklin,
+anxious to avoid bloodshed, rode out with three aids, to confer with
+the leaders. He writes,
+
+     "The fighting face we had put on, and the reasonings we used
+     with the insurgents, having turned them back, and restored
+     quiet to the city, I became a less man than ever; for I had,
+     by this transaction, made myself many enemies among the
+     populace."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+_Franklin's Second Mission to England._
+
+     Fiendish conduct of John Penn--Petition to the crown--Debt
+     of England--Two causes of conflict--Franklin sent to
+     England--His embarkation--Wise counsel to his daughter--The
+     stamp act--American resolves--Edmund Burke--Examination of
+     Franklin--Words of Lord Chatham--Dangers to English
+     operatives--Repeal of the stamp act--Joy in America--Ross
+     Mackay--New taxes levied--Character of George
+     III--Accumulation of honors to Franklin--Warlike
+     preparations--Human conscientiousness--Unpopularity of
+     William Franklin--Marriage of Sarah Franklin--Franklin's
+     varied investigations--Efforts to civilize the Sandwich
+     Islands.
+
+
+It is scarcely too severe to say that Governor John Penn was both
+knave and fool. To ingratiate himself with the vile Paxton men and
+their partisans, he issued a proclamation, offering for every captive
+male Indian, of any hostile tribe, one hundred and fifty dollars, for
+every female, one hundred and thirty-eight dollars. For the scalp of a
+male, the bounty was one hundred and thirty-eight dollars; for the
+scalp of a female fifty dollars. Of course it would be impossible,
+when the scalps were brought in to decide whether they were stripped
+from friendly or hostile heads.
+
+Curiously two political parties were thus organized. The governor,
+intensely inimical to Franklin, led all the loose fellows who approved
+of the massacre of the friendly Indians. Franklin was supported by the
+humane portion of the community, who regarded that massacre with
+horror.
+
+There was much bitterness engendered. Franklin was assailed and
+calumniated as one of the worst of men. He, as usual, wrote a
+pamphlet, which was read far and wide. Earnestly he urged that the
+crown, as it had a right to do, should, by purchase, take possession
+of the province and convert its government into that of a royal
+colony. It should be remembered that this was several years before the
+troubles of the revolution arose. The people were in heart true
+Englishmen. Fond of their nationality, sincere patriotism glowed in
+all bosoms. They ever spoke of England as "home." When the Assembly
+met again three thousand citizens, influenced mainly by Franklin's
+pamphlet, sent in a petition that the province might revert to the
+crown. The Penns succeeded in presenting a counter petition signed by
+three hundred.
+
+The British cabinet, in its insatiable thirst for universal conquest,
+or impelled by necessity to repel the encroachments of other nations,
+equally wicked and equally grasping, had been by fleet and army,
+fighting all over the world. After spending every dollar which the
+most cruel taxation could extort from the laboring and impoverished
+masses, the government had incurred the enormous debt of seventy-three
+millions sterling. This amounted to over three hundred and sixty-five
+millions of our money.
+
+The government decided to tax the Americans to help pay the interest
+on this vast sum. But the colonies were already taxed almost beyond
+endurance, to carry on the terrible war against the French and
+Indians. This war was not one of their own choosing. It had been
+forced upon them by the British Cabinet, in its resolve to drive the
+French off the continent of North America. The Americans were allowed
+no representation in Parliament. They were to be taxed according to
+the caprice of the government. Franklin, with patriotic foresight,
+vehemently, and with resistless force of logic, resisted the outrage.
+
+It will be perceived that there were now two quite distinct sources of
+controversy. First came the conflict with the proprietaries, and then
+rose the still more important strife with the cabinet of Great
+Britain, to repel the principle of taxation without representation.
+This principle once admitted, the crown could tax the Americans to any
+amount whatever it pleased. Many unreflecting people could not
+appreciate these disastrous results.
+
+Thus all the partisans of the Penns, and all the office holders of the
+crown and their friends, and there were many such, became not only
+opposed to Franklin, but implacable in their hostility. The majority
+of the Assembly was with him. He was chosen Speaker, and then was
+elected to go again to England, to carry with him to the British
+Court the remonstrances of the people against "taxation without
+representation," and their earnest petition to be delivered from the
+tyranny of the Penns. More unwelcome messages to the British Court and
+aristocracy, he could not well convey. It was certain that the Penns
+and their powerful coadjutors, would set many influences in array
+against him. Mr. Dickinson, in the Assembly, remonstrating against
+this appointment, declared that there was no man in Pennsylvania who
+was more the object of popular dislike than Benjamin Franklin.
+
+But two years had elapsed since Franklin's return to America, after an
+absence from his home of six years. He still remembered fondly the
+"dense happiness" which he had enjoyed in the brilliant circles
+abroad. This, added to an intensity of patriotism, which rendered him
+second to none but Washington, among the heroes of the Revolution,
+induced him promptly to accept the all important mission. He allowed
+but twelve days to prepare for his embarkation. The treasury was
+empty, and money for his expenses had to be raised by a loan. A packet
+ship, bound for London was riding at Chester, fifteen miles below the
+city. Three hundred of the citizens of Philadelphia, on horseback,
+escorted Franklin to the ship.
+
+He seldom attended church, though he always encouraged his wife and
+daughter to do so. It was genteel; it was politic. A family could
+scarcely command the respect of the community, which, in the midst of
+a religious people, should be living without any apparent object of
+worship. The preacher of Christ Church, which the family attended, was
+a partisan of the Penns. Sometimes he "meddled with politics."
+Franklin in his parting letter, from on shipboard, wrote to his
+daughter:
+
+     "Go constantly to church, whoever preaches. The active
+     devotion in the common prayer-book, is your principal
+     business there, and if properly attended to, will do more
+     towards amending the heart, than sermons generally can do.
+     For they were composed by men of much greater piety and
+     wisdom, than our common composers of sermons can pretend to
+     be. Therefore I wish that you would never miss the prayer
+     days. Yet I do not mean you should despise sermons, even of
+     the preachers you dislike; for the discourse is often much
+     better than the man, as sweet and clear waters come through
+     very dirty earth."
+
+The voyage was stormy; it lasted thirty days. On the evening of the
+tenth of December, 1764, he again took up his residence in the house
+of Mrs. Stephenson and her daughter, where he was received with
+delight. He found several other agents of the colonies in London, who
+had also been sent to remonstrate against the despotic measures which
+the British Cabinet threatened, of taxing the Americans at its
+pleasure, without allowing them to have any voice in deciding upon the
+sums which they should pay.
+
+Grenville was prime minister. He was about to introduce the Stamp Act,
+as an initiatory measure. It imposed but a trivial tax, in itself of
+but little importance, but was intended as an experiment, to ascertain
+whether the Americans would submit to the principle. This fact being
+once established, the government could then proceed to demand money at
+its pleasure. Franklin opposed the tax with all his energies. He
+declared it, in his own forceful language, to be the "mother of
+mischiefs." With four other colonial agents, he held an interview with
+Lord Grenville. The usual arguments were employed on both sides. Lord
+Grenville was courteous, but very decided. The Americans he declared
+must help England pay the interest on her debt, and the parliament of
+Great Britain alone could decide how large an amount of money the
+Americans should pay. The bill was introduced to parliament, and
+passed by a large majority. The king signed it in a scrawling hand,
+which some think indicated the insanity he was beginning to develop.
+
+The trivial sum expected to be raised by the Stamp Act amounted to
+scarcely one hundred thousand pounds a year. It was thought that the
+Americans would not venture upon any decisive opposition to England
+for such a trifle. Franklin wrote to a friend:
+
+     "I took every step in my power, to prevent the passing of the
+     Stamp Act. But the tide was too strong against us. The nation
+     was provoked by American claims of legislative independence;
+     and all parties joined in resolving, by this act, to settle
+     the point."
+
+Thus Franklin entirely failed in arresting the passing of the Stamp
+Act. He was also equally unsuccessful in his endeavor to promote a
+change of government, from the proprietary to the royal. And still his
+mission proved a success. By conversations, pamphlets and articles in
+the newspapers, he raised throughout the country such an opposition
+to the measure that parliament was compelled to repeal it. The tidings
+of the passage of the Stamp Act was received in intelligent America,
+with universal expressions of displeasure, and with resolves to oppose
+its operation in every possible way.
+
+It is remarked of a celebrated theological professor, that he once
+said to his pupils,
+
+"When you go to the city to preach, take your best coat; when to the
+country, take your best sermon."
+
+The lords and gentry of England were astonished at the intelligence
+displayed in the opposition, by the rural population of America. They
+fancied the colonists to be an ignorant, ragged people, living in log
+cabins, scattered through the wilderness, and, in social position, two
+or three degrees below European and Irish peasantry. Great was their
+surprise to hear from all the colonies, and from the remotest
+districts in each colony, the voice of intelligent and dignified
+rebuke.
+
+The Act was to go into execution on the first of November, 1765.
+Before that time, Franklin had spread, through all the mechanical,
+mercantile and commercial classes, the conviction that they would
+suffer ten-fold more, by the interruptions of trade which the Stamp
+Act would introduce, than government could hope to gain by the
+measure. He spread abroad the intelligence which came by every fresh
+arrival, that the Americans were resolving, with wonderful unanimity,
+that they would consume no more English manufactures, that they would
+purchase no more British goods, and that, as far as possible, in food,
+clothing, and household furniture, they would depend upon their own
+productions. They had even passed resolves to eat no more lamb, that
+their flocks might so increase that they should have wool enough to
+manufacture their own clothing.
+
+England had thus far furnished nearly all the supplies for the rapidly
+increasing colonies, already numbering a population of between two and
+three millions. The sudden cessation of this trade was felt in nearly
+every warehouse of industry. No more orders came. Goods accumulated
+without purchasers. Violent opposition arose, and vast meetings were
+held in the manufacturing districts, to remonstrate against the
+measures of the government. Edmund Burke, a host in himself, headed
+the opposition in parliament.
+
+Burke and Franklin were intimate friends, and the renowned orator
+obtained from the renowned philosopher, many of those arguments and
+captivating illustrations, which, uttered on the floor of parliament,
+astonished England, and reaching our shores, electrified America. The
+state of affairs became alarming. In some places the stamps were
+destroyed, in others, no one could be found who would venture upon the
+obnoxious task of offering to sell them. The parliament resolved
+itself into a committee of the whole house, and spent six weeks in
+hearing testimony respecting the operation of the act in America. The
+hall was crowded with eager listeners. The industrial prosperity of
+the nation seemed at stake. Franklin was the principal witness. His
+testimony overshadowed all the rest. The record of it was read with
+admiration. Seldom has a man been placed in a more embarrassing
+situation, and never has one, under such circumstances, acquitted
+himself more triumphantly.
+
+He was examined and cross-examined, before this vast and imposing
+assemblage, by the shrewdest lawyers of the crown. Every attempt was
+made to throw him into embarrassment, to trip him in his speech. But
+never for a moment did Franklin lose his self-possession. Never for an
+instant, did he hesitate in his reply. In the judgment of all his
+friends, not a mistake did he make. His mind seemed to be omnisciently
+furnished, with all the needful statistics for as rigorous an
+examination as any mortal was ever exposed to. Burke wrote to a
+friend, "that Franklin, as he stood before the bar of parliament,
+presented such an aspect of dignity and intellectual superiority, as
+to remind him of a schoolmaster questioned by school boys." Rev.
+George Whitefield wrote,
+
+     "Our worthy friend, Dr. Franklin, has gained immortal honor,
+     by his behavior at the bar of the house. The answer was
+     always found equal, if not superior to the questioner. He
+     stood unappalled, gave pleasure to his friends, and did
+     honor to his country."
+
+After great agitation and many and stormy debates, the haughty
+government was compelled to yield to the demands of the industrial
+classes. Indeed, with those in England, who cried most loudly for the
+repeal of the stamp act, there were comparatively few who were
+influenced by any sympathy for the Americans, or by any appreciation
+of the justice of their cause. The loss of the American trade was
+impoverishing them. Selfish considerations alone,--their own personal
+interests--moved them to action.
+
+There were individuals, in and out of Parliament, who recognized the
+rights of Englishmen, and regarding the Americans as Englishmen, and
+America as a portion of the British empire, were in heart and with all
+their energies, in sympathy with the Americans in their struggle for
+their rights. When the despotism of the British court led that court
+to the infamous measure of sending fleets and armies, to compel the
+Americans to submission, and the feeble colonists, less than three
+millions in number, performing the boldest and most heroic deeds ever
+yet recorded in history, grasped their arms in self-defence, thus to
+wage war against the most powerful naval and military empire upon this
+globe, Lord Chatham, with moral courage rarely surpassed, boldly
+exclaimed in the House of Lords, "Were I an American, as I am an
+Englishman, I would never lay down my arms, never, _never_, NEVER."
+
+In all England, there was no man more determined in his resolve to
+bring the Americans to servile obedience, than the stubborn king,
+George III. The repeal gave him intense offence. The equally
+unprincipled, but more intelligent, ministers were compelled to the
+measure, as they saw clearly that England was menaced with civil war,
+which would array the industrial classes generally against the
+aristocracy. In such a conflict it was far from improbable that the
+aristocracy would be brought to grief. Horace Walpole wrote,
+
+     "It was the clamor of trade, of merchants, and of
+     manufacturing towns, that had borne down all opposition. A
+     general insurrection was apprehended, as the immediate
+     consequence of upholding the bill. The revolt of America,
+     and the destruction of trade, was the prospect in future."
+
+Still the question of the repeal was carried in the House but by a
+majority of one hundred and eight votes. Of course Franklin now
+solicited permission to return home. The Assembly, instead of granting
+his request, elected him agent for another year. It does not appear
+that Franklin was disappointed.
+
+The report of his splendid and triumphant examination, before the
+Commons, and the republication of many of his pamphlets, had raised
+him to the highest position of popularity. The Americans, throughout
+all the provinces, received tidings of the Repeal with unbounded
+delight. Bells were rung, bon-fires blazed, cannon were fired.
+
+"I never heard so much noise in my life," wrote Sally to her "honored
+papa." "The very children seemed distracted."
+
+The Tory party in England developed no little malignity in their
+anger, in view of the discomfiture of their plans. The bigoted Tory,
+Dr. Johnson, wrote to Bishop White of Pennsylvania, that if he had
+been Prime Minister, instead of repealing the act, he would have sent
+a man-of-war, and laid one or more of our largest cities in ashes.[21]
+
+[Footnote 21: Wilson's Life of Bishop White, p. 89.]
+
+The king felt personally aggrieved. His denunciations of those who
+favored the Repeal were so indecent, that some of his most influential
+friends ventured to intimate to him that it was highly impolitic.
+Indeed, as the previous narrative has shown, many who were in entire
+sympathy with the king, and who were bitterly opposed to any
+concession to the Americans, felt compelled to vote for the Repeal.
+
+To propitiate the unrelenting and half-crazed monarch, with his
+obdurate court, a Declaratory Act, as it was called, was passed, which
+affirmed the _absolute supremacy_ of Parliament over the colonies.
+
+We hear very much of the corruption of our own Congress. It is said
+that votes are sometimes bought and sold. Sir Nathaniel Wraxall, who
+was a member of Parliament during all this period, declares, in his
+intensely interesting and undoubtedly honest Memoir, that under
+the ministry of Lord Bute, Ross Mackay was employed by him as
+"corrupter-general" whose mission it was to carry important measures
+of government by bribery. Wraxall writes that Ross Mackay said to him,
+at a dinner party given by Lord Besborough, as the illustrious guests
+were sipping their wine,
+
+     "The peace of 1763 was carried through and approved by a
+     pecuniary dispensation. Nothing else could have surmounted
+     the difficulty. I was myself the channel through which the
+     money passed. With my own hand I secured above one hundred
+     and twenty votes on that most important question to
+     ministers. Eighty thousand pounds were set apart for the
+     purpose. Forty members of the House of Commons received from
+     me a thousand pounds each. To eighty others I paid five
+     hundred pounds a-piece."
+
+The unrelenting king was still determined that the Americans,
+unrepresented in Parliament, should still pay into his treasury
+whatever sums of money he might exact. Calling to his aid courtiers
+more shrewd than himself, they devised a very cunning act, to attain
+that object in a way which would hardly be likely to excite
+opposition. They laid a tax, insignificant really in its amount, upon
+paper, paint, glass, and tea. This tax was to be collected at the
+custom-houses in the few ports of entry in the colonies. The whole
+amount thus raised would not exceed forty thousand pounds. It was
+thought that the Americans would never make opposition to so trivial a
+payment.
+
+But it established a principle that England could tax the colonies
+without allowing those colonies any representation in Parliament. If
+the Court had a right thus to demand forty thousand pounds, they had
+a right to demand so many millions, should it seem expedient to king
+and cabinet so to do.
+
+The great blunder which the court committed, was in not appreciating
+the wide-spread intelligence of the American people. In New England
+particularly, and throughout the colonies generally, there was
+scarcely a farmer who did not perceive the trick, and despise it. They
+deemed it an insult to their intelligence.
+
+Instantly there arose, throughout all the provinces, the most
+determined opposition to the measure. It was in fact merely a renewal
+of the Stamp Act, under slightly modified forms. If they admitted the
+justice of this act, it was only declaring that they had acted with
+unpardonable folly, in opposing the tax under the previous form.
+
+Dr. Franklin, with honest shrewdness, not with trickery or with
+cunning, but with a sincere and penetrating mind, eagerly scrutinized
+all the measures of the Court. George III. was a gentleman. He was
+irreproachable in all his domestic relations. He was, in a sense,
+conscientious; for certainly he was not disposed to do anything which
+he thought to be wrong. Conscientious men have burned their
+fellow-Christians at the stake. It is said that George the Third was a
+Christian. He certainly was a full believer in the religion of Jesus
+Christ; and earnestly advocated the support and extension of that
+religion. God makes great allowance for the frailties of his fallen
+children. It requires the wisdom of omniscience to decide how much
+wickedness there may be in the heart, consistently with piety. No man
+is perfect.
+
+During the reign of George III., terrible wars were waged throughout
+all the world, mainly incited by the British Court. Millions perished.
+The moans of widows and orphans ascended from every hand. This wicked
+Christian king sent his navy and his army to burn down our cities and
+villages, and to shoot husbands, fathers, and sons, until he could
+compel America to submit to his despotism. The population of England
+being exhausted by those wide spread wars, he hired, of the petty
+princes of Europe, innocent peasantry, to abandon their homes in
+Germany, to burn and destroy the homes of Americans. Finding that not
+sufficient, he sent his agents through the wilderness to rouse, by
+bribes, savage men, who knew no better, to ravage our frontiers, to
+burn the cabins of lonely farmers, to tomahawk and scalp their wives
+and children.
+
+Such a man may be a good Christian. God, who can read the secrets of
+the heart, and who is infinite in his love and charity, alone can
+decide. But if we imagine that man, George Guelph, at the bar of
+judgment, and thronging up as witnesses against him, the millions
+whose earthly homes he converted into abodes of misery and despair, it
+is difficult to imagine in our frail natures, how our Heavenly Father,
+who loves all his children alike, and who, as revealed in the person
+of Jesus, could weep over the woes of humanity, could look with a
+loving smile upon him and say, "Well done, good and faithful servant,
+enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."
+
+Franklin of course continued in as determined an opposition to the new
+tax as to the old one. He wrote,
+
+     "I have some little property in America. I will freely spend
+     nineteen shillings in the pound to defend my right of giving
+     or refusing the other shilling. And after all, if I cannot
+     defend that right, I can retire cheerfully with my little
+     family into the boundless woods of America, which are sure
+     to afford freedom and subsistence to any man who can bait a
+     hook or pull a trigger."
+
+The ability which Franklin had displayed as the agent of Pennsylvania
+before the court of St. James, gave him, as we have said, a high
+reputation in all the colonies. In the spring of 1768 he was highly
+gratified by the intelligence that he was appointed, by the young
+colony of Georgia, its London agent. The next year New Jersey
+conferred the same honor upon him, and the year after, he was
+appointed agent of his native province of Massachusetts. These several
+appointments detained him ten years in England.
+
+During all this time he did not visit home. The equanimity of his
+joyful spirit seems never to have been disturbed. His pen describes
+only pleasant scenes. No murmurs are recorded, no yearnings of
+home-sickness.
+
+But month after month the animosity of the British Court towards the
+Americans was increasing. The king grew more and more fixed in his
+purpose, to compel the liberty-loving Americans to submission. Hostile
+movements were multiplied to indicate that if the opposition to his
+measures was continued, English fleets and armies would soon commence
+operations.
+
+Several thousand troops were landed in Boston. Fourteen men-of-war
+were anchored before the town, with the cannon of their broad-sides
+loaded and primed, ready, at the slightest provocation to lay the
+whole town in ashes. Protected by this terrible menace, two British
+regiments paraded the streets, with their muskets charged, with
+gleaming sabres and bayonets, with formidable artillery prepared to
+vomit forth the most horrible discharges of grape shot, with haughty
+English officers well mounted, and soldiers and officers alike in
+imposing uniforms. This invincible band of highly disciplined
+soldiers, as a peace measure, took possession of the Common, the State
+House, the Court House and Faneuil Hall.
+
+Even now, after the lapse of more than a hundred years, it makes the
+blood of an American boil to contemplate this insult. Who can imagine
+the feelings of exasperation that must have glowed in the bosoms of
+our patriotic fathers!
+
+Franklin, in England, was treated with ever increasing disrespect.
+Lord Hillsborough, then in charge of American affairs, told him
+peremptorily, even insolently, that America could expect no favors
+while he himself was in power, and that he was determined to persevere
+with firmness in the policy which the king was pursuing. The king was
+so shielded by his ministers that Franklin knew but little about him.
+Even at this time he wrote,
+
+     "I can scarcely conceive a king of better dispositions, of
+     more exemplary virtues, or more truly desirous of promoting
+     the welfare of his subjects."
+
+Franklin never had occasion to speak differently of his domestic
+virtues. Nay, it is more than probable that the king daily, in prayer,
+looked to God for guidance, and that he thought that he was doing that
+which was promotive of the interests of England. Alas for man! He can
+perpetrate the most atrocious crimes, honestly believing that he is
+doing God's will. He can burn aged women under the charge of their
+being witches. He can torture, in the infliction of unutterable
+anguish, his brother man--mothers and daughters, under the charge of
+heresy. He can hurl hundreds of thousands of men against each other in
+most horrible and woe-inflicting wars, while falling upon his knees
+and praying to God to bless his murderous armies.
+
+Franklin had with him his grandson, William Temple Franklin, the
+dishonored son of William Franklin, then Governor of New Jersey. He
+was a bright and promising boy, and developed an estimable character,
+under the guidance of his grandfather, who loved him.
+
+William Franklin in New Jersey was, however, becoming increasingly the
+scourge of his father. It would seem that Providence was thus, in some
+measure, punishing Franklin for his sin. The governor, appointed by
+the Court of England to his office, which he highly prized, and which
+he feared to lose, was siding with the Court. He perceived that the
+storm of political agitation was increasing in severity. He felt that
+the power of the colonies was as nothing compared with the power of
+the British government. Gradually he became one of the most violent of
+the Tories.
+
+The moderation of Franklin, and his extraordinarily charitable
+disposition, led him to refrain from all denunciations of his
+ungrateful son, or even reproaches, until his conduct became
+absolutely infamous. In 1773, he wrote, in reference to the course
+which the governor was pursuing,
+
+     "I only wish you to act uprightly and steadily, avoiding
+     that duplicity which, in Hutchinson, adds contempt to
+     indignation. If you can promote the prosperity of your
+     people, and leave them happier than you found them, whatever
+     your political principles are, your memory will be honored."
+
+While Franklin was absent, a young merchant of Philadelphia, Richard
+Bache, offered his hand to Franklin's only daughter, from whom the
+father had been absent nearly all of her life. Sarah was then
+twenty-three years of age, so beautiful as to become quite a
+celebrity, and she was highly accomplished. Mr. Bache was not
+successful in business, and the young couple resided under the roof of
+Mrs. Franklin for eight years. The husband, with an increasing family,
+appealed to his illustrious father-in-law, to obtain for him a
+governmental appointment. Franklin wrote to his daughter,
+
+     "I am of opinion, that almost any profession a man has been
+     educated in, is preferable to an office held at pleasure, as
+     rendering him more independent, more a free man, and less
+     subject to the caprices of his superiors. I think that in
+     keeping a store, if it be where you dwell, you can be
+     serviceable to him, as your mother was to me; for you are
+     not deficient in capacity, and I hope you are not too proud.
+     You might easily learn accounts; and you can copy letters,
+     or write them very well on occasion. By industry and
+     frugality you may get forward in the world, being both of
+     you very young. And then what we may leave you at our death,
+     will be a pretty addition, though of itself far from
+     sufficient to maintain and bring up a family."
+
+Franklin gave his son-in-law about a thousand dollars to assist him in
+the purchase of a stock of merchandise. The children, born to this
+happy couple, were intelligent and beautiful, and they greatly
+contributed to the happiness of their grandmother, who cherished them
+with a grandmother's most tender love. In the year 1862, there were
+one hundred and ten surviving descendants of Richard Bache and Sarah
+Franklin. Ten of these were serving in the Union army perilling their
+lives to maintain that national fabric, which their illustrious
+ancestor had done so much to establish. Franklin was by no means a man
+of one idea. His comprehensive mind seemed to grasp all questions of
+statesmanship, of philanthropy, of philosophy.
+
+During the ten years of his residence in England he visited the
+hospitals, carefully examined their management, and transmitted to his
+home the result of his observations. This was probably the origin of
+the celebrity which the medical schools of Philadelphia have attained.
+He visited the silk manufactories, and urged the adoption of that
+branch of industry, as peculiarly adapted to our climate and people.
+Ere long he had the pleasure of presenting to the queen a piece of
+American silk, which she accepted and wore as a dress. As silk was an
+article not produced in England, the government was not offended by
+the introduction of that branch of industry. For Hartford college he
+procured a telescope, which cost about five hundred dollars. This was,
+in those days, an important event.
+
+The renowned Captain Cook returned from his first voyage around the
+world. The narrative of his adventures, in the discovery of new
+islands, and new races of men, excited almost every mind in England
+and America. Franklin was prominent in the movement, to raise
+seventy-five thousand dollars, to fit out an expedition to send to
+those benighted islanders the fowls, the quadrupeds and the seeds of
+Europe. He wrote, in an admirable strain,
+
+     "Many voyages have been undertaken with views of profit or
+     of plunder, or to gratify resentment. But a voyage is now
+     proposed to visit a distant people on the other side of the
+     globe, not to cheat them, not to rob them: not to seize
+     their lands or to enslave their persons, but merely to do
+     them good, and make them, as far as in our power lies, to
+     live as comfortable as ourselves."
+
+There can be no national prosperity without virtue. There can not be a
+happy people who do not "do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with
+God." It was a noble enterprise to send to those naked savages corn
+and hoes, with horses, pigs and poultry. But the Christian conscience
+awoke to the conviction that something more than this was necessary.
+They sent, to the dreary huts of the Pacific, ambassadors of the
+religion of Jesus, to gather the children in schools, to establish the
+sanctity of the family relation, and to proclaim to all, the glad
+tidings of that divine Saviour, who has come to earth "to seek and to
+save the lost."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+_The Intolerance of King and Court._
+
+     Parties in England--Franklin the favorite of the
+     opposition--Plans of the Tories--Christian III--Letter of
+     Franklin--Dr. Priestley--Parisian courtesy--Louis XV--Visit
+     to Ireland--Attempted alteration of the Prayer Book--Letter
+     to his son--Astounding letters from America--Words of John
+     Adams--Petition of the Assembly--Violent conspiracy against
+     Franklin--His bearing in the court-room--Wedderburn's
+     infamous charges--Letter of Franklin--Bitter words of Dr.
+     Johnson--Morals of English lords--Commercial value of the
+     Colonies--Dangers threatening Franklin.
+
+
+Wherever there is a government there must be an opposition. Those who
+are out of office wish to eject those in office, that they may take
+their places. There was a pretty strong party in what was called the
+Opposition. But it was composed of persons animated by very different
+motives. The first consisted of those intelligent, high minded,
+virtuous statesmen, who were indignant in view of the wrong which the
+haughty, unprincipled Tory government was inflicting upon the American
+people. The second gathered those who were in trade. They cared
+nothing for the Americans. They cared nothing for government right or
+wrong. They wished to sell their hats, their cutlery, and their cotton
+and woolen goods to the Americans. This they could not do while
+government was despotically enforcing the Stamp Act or the Revenue
+Bill. Then came a third class, who had no goods to sell, and no
+conscience to guide to action. They were merely ambitious politicians.
+They wished to thrust the Tories out of office simply that they might
+rush into the occupancy of all the places of honor, emolument or
+power.
+
+Franklin was in high favor with the opposition. He furnished their
+orators in Parliament with arguments, with illustrations, with
+accurate statistical information. Many of the most telling passages in
+parliamentary speeches, were placed on the lips of the speakers by
+Benjamin Franklin. He wrote pamphlets of marvellous popular power,
+which were read in all the workshops, and greatly increased the number
+and the intelligence of the foes of the government measures. Thus
+Franklin became the favorite of the popular party. They lavished all
+honors upon him. In the same measure he became obnoxious to the
+haughty, aristocratic Tory government. Its ranks were filled with the
+lords, the governmental officials, and all their dependents. This made
+a party very powerful in numbers, and still more powerful in wealth
+and influence. They were watching for opportunities to traduce
+Franklin, to ruin his reputation, and if possible, to bring him into
+contempt.
+
+This will explain the honors which were conferred upon him by one
+party, and the indignities to which he was subjected from the other.
+At times, the Tories would make efforts by flattery, by offers of
+position, of emolument, by various occult forms of bribery, to draw
+Franklin to their side. He might very easily have attained almost any
+amount of wealth and high official dignity.
+
+The king of Denmark, Christian VII., was brother-in-law of George III.
+He visited England; a mere boy in years, and still more a weak boy in
+insipidity of character. A large dinner-party was given in his honor
+at the Royal Palace. Franklin was one of the guests. In some way
+unexplained, he impressed the boy-king with a sense of his inherent
+and peculiar greatness. Christian invited a select circle of but
+sixteen men to dine with him. Among those thus carefully selected,
+Franklin was honored with an invitation. Though sixty-seven years of
+age he still enjoyed in the highest degree, convivial scenes. He could
+tell stories, and sing songs which gave delight to all. It was his
+boast that he could empty his two bottles of wine, and still retain
+entire sobriety. He wrote to Hugh Roberts,
+
+     "I wish you would continue to meet the Junto. It wants but
+     about two years of forty since it was established. We loved,
+     and still love one another; we have grown grey together, and
+     yet it is too early to part. Let us sit till the evening of
+     life is spent; the last hours are always the most joyous.
+     When we can stay no longer, it is time enough to bid each
+     other good night, separate, and go quietly to bed."
+
+Franklin was the last person to find any enjoyment in the society of
+vulgar and dissolute men. In those days, it was scarcely a reproach
+for a young lord to be carried home from a festivity in deadly
+intoxication. Witticisms were admitted into such circles which
+respectable men would not tolerate now. Franklin's most intimate
+friends in London were found among Unitarian clergymen, and those
+philosophers who were in sympathy with him in his rejection of the
+Christian religion. Dr. Richard Price, and Dr. Joseph Priestly, men
+both eminent for intellectual ability and virtues, were his bosom
+friends.
+
+Dr. Priestly, who had many conversations with Franklin upon religious
+topics, deeply deplored the looseness of his views. Though Dr.
+Priestly rejected the divinity of Christ, he still firmly adhered to
+the belief that Christianity was of divine origin. In his
+autobiography, Dr. Priestly writes:
+
+     "It is much to be lamented that a man of Dr. Franklin's
+     generally good character and great influence, should have
+     been an unbeliever in Christianity, and also have done so
+     much as he did to make others unbelievers. To me, however,
+     he acknowledged that he had not given so much attention as
+     he ought to have done to the evidences of Christianity; and
+     he desired me to recommend him a few treatises on the
+     subject, such as I thought most deserving his notice."
+
+Priestly did so; but Franklin, all absorbed in his social festivities,
+his scientific researches, and his intense patriotic labors, could
+find no time to devote to that subject--the immortal destiny of
+man,--which is infinitely more important to each individual than all
+others combined.[22] It was indeed a sad circle of unbelievers, into
+whose intimacy Franklin was thrown. Dr. Priestly writes,
+
+     "In Paris, in 1774, all the philosophical persons to whom I
+     was introduced, were unbelievers in Christianity, and even
+     professed atheists. I was told by some of them, that I was
+     the only person they had ever met, of whose understanding
+     they had any opinion, who professed to believe in
+     Christianity. But I soon found they did not really know what
+     Christianity was."
+
+[Footnote 22: Mr. Parton, in his excellent Life of Franklin, one of
+the best biographies which was ever written, objects to this
+withholding of the Christian name from Dr. Franklin. He writes,
+
+     "I do not understand what Dr. Priestly meant, by saying that
+     Franklin was an unbeliever in Christianity, since he himself
+     was open to the same charge from nine-tenths of the
+     inhabitants of christendom. Perhaps, if the two men were now
+     alive, we might express the theological difference between
+     them by saying that Priestly was a Unitarian of the Channing
+     school, and Franklin of that of Theodore Parker." Again he
+     writes, "I have ventured to call Franklin the consummate
+     Christian of his time. Indeed I know not who, of any time,
+     has exhibited more of the Spirit of Christ."--_Parton's
+     Franklin Vol. 1. p. 546. Vol. 2. p. 646._]
+
+It was Franklin's practice to spend a part of every summer in
+traveling. In 1767, accompanied by Sir John Pringle, he visited Paris.
+With Franklin, one of the first of earthly virtues was courtesy. He
+was charmed with the politeness of the French people. Even the most
+humble of the working classes, were gentlemanly; and from the highest
+to the lowest, he, simply as a stranger, was treated with
+consideration which surprised him. He writes,
+
+     "The civilities we everywhere receive, give us the strongest
+     impressions of the French politeness. It seems to be a point
+     settled here universally, that strangers are to be treated
+     with respect; and one has just the same deference shown one
+     here, by being a stranger, as in England, by being a lady."
+
+Two dozen bottles of port-wine were given them at Bordeaux. These, as
+the law required, were seized by the custom-house officers, as they
+entered Paris by the Porte St. Denis; but as soon as it was
+ascertained that they were strangers, the wine was remitted.
+
+There was a magnificent illumination of the Church of Notre Dame, in
+honor of the deceased Dauphiness. Thousands could not obtain
+admission. An officer, learning merely that they were strangers, took
+them in charge, conducted them through the vast edifice, and showed
+them every thing.
+
+Franklin and his companion had the honor of a presentation to the
+king, Louis XV., at Versailles. This monarch was as vile a man as ever
+occupied a throne. But he had the virtue of courtesy, which Franklin
+placed at the head of religious principle. The philosopher simply
+records,
+
+     "The king spoke to both of us very graciously and very
+     cheerfully. He is a handsome man, has a very lively look,
+     and appears younger than he is."
+
+In 1772, Franklin visited Ireland. He was treated there with great
+honor; but the poverty of the Irish peasantry overwhelmed his
+benevolent heart with astonishment and dismay. He writes,
+
+     "I thought often of the happiness of New England, where
+     every man is a free-holder, has a vote in public affairs,
+     lives in a tidy, warm house, has plenty of good food and
+     fuel, with whole clothes from head to foot, the manufacture
+     perhaps of his own family. Long may they continue in this
+     situation."
+
+In the year 1773, Franklin spent several weeks in the beautiful
+mansion of his friend, Lord Despencer. We read with astonishment,
+that Franklin, who openly renounced all belief in the divine origin of
+Christianity, should have undertaken, with Lord Despencer, an
+abbreviation of the prayer-book of the Church of England. It is
+surprising, that he could have thought it possible, that the eminent
+Christians, clergy and laity of that church, would accept at the hands
+of a deist, their form of worship. But Franklin was faithful in the
+abbreviation, not to make the slightest change in the evangelical
+character of that admirable work, which through ages has guided the
+devotion of millions. The abbreviated service, cut down one-half,
+attracted no attention, and scarcely a copy was sold.
+
+At this time, Franklin's reputation was in its meridian altitude.
+There was scarcely a man in Europe or America, more prominent. Every
+learned body in Europe, of any importance, had elected him a member.
+Splendid editions of his works were published in London; and three
+editions were issued from the press in Paris.
+
+In France, Franklin met with no insults, with no opposition. All alike
+smiled upon him, and the voices of commendation alone fell upon his
+ear.
+
+Returning to England, his reputation there, as a man of high moral
+worth, and of almost the highest intellectual attainments, and a man
+honored in the most remarkable degree with all the highest offices
+which his countrymen could confer upon him, swept contumely from his
+path, and even his enemies were ashamed to manifest their hostility.
+From London he wrote to his son,
+
+     "As to my situation here, nothing can be more agreeable.
+     Learned and ingenious foreigners that come to England,
+     almost all make a point of visiting me; for my reputation is
+     still higher abroad, than here. Several of the foreign
+     ambassadors have assiduously cultivated my acquaintance,
+     treating me as one of their corps, partly, I believe, from
+     the desire they have from time to time, of hearing something
+     of American affairs; an object become of importance in
+     foreign courts, who begin to hope Britain's alarming power
+     will be diminished by the defection of her colonies."[23]
+
+[Footnote 23: "For dinner parties Franklin was in such demand that,
+during the London season, he sometimes dined out six days in the
+week for several weeks together. He also confesses that occasionally
+he drank more wine than became a philosopher. It would indeed have
+been extremely difficult to avoid it, in that soaking age, when
+a man's force was reckoned by the number of bottles he could
+empty."--_Parton's Life of Franklin_, Vol. i, p. 540.
+
+As an illustration of the state of the times, I give the following
+verse from one of the songs which Franklin wrote, and which he was
+accustomed to sing with great applause. At the meetings of the Junto,
+all the club joined in the chorus,
+
+     "Fair Venus calls; her voice obey
+     In beauty's arms spend night and day.
+     The joys of love all joys excel,
+     And loving's certainly doing well.
+
+           _Chorus._
+
+       Oh! no!
+       Not so!
+       For honest souls still know
+       Friends and the bottle still bear the bell."
+
+"It is well," Mr. Parton writes, "for us, in these days, to consider
+the spectacle of this large, robust soul, sporting in this simple,
+homely way. This superb Franklin of ours, who spent some evenings in
+mere jollity, passed nearly all his days in labor most fruitful of
+benefit to his country."--_Life of Franklin_, Vol. i, p. 262.]
+
+In the latter part of the year 1772, Franklin, in his ever courteous,
+but decisive language, was conversing with an influential member of
+Parliament, respecting the violent proceedings of the ministry, in
+quartering troops upon the citizens of Boston. The member, in reply,
+said,
+
+"You are deceived in supposing these measures to originate with the
+ministry. The sending out of the troops, and all the hostile measures,
+of which you complain, have not only been suggested, but solicited, by
+prominent men of your own country. They have urged that troops should
+be sent, and that fleets should enter your harbors, declaring that in
+no other way, than by this menace of power, can the turbulent
+Americans be brought to see their guilt and danger, and return to
+obedience."
+
+Franklin expressed his doubts of this statement. "I will bring you
+proof," the gentleman replied. A few days after, he visited Franklin,
+and brought with him a packet of letters, written by persons of high
+official station in the colonies, and native born Americans. The
+signatures of these letters were effaced; but the letters themselves
+were presented, and Franklin was confidentially informed of their
+writers. They were addressed to Mr. William Whately, an influential
+member of Parliament, who had recently died.
+
+Franklin read them with astonishment and indignation. He found the
+representation of the gentleman entirely true. Six of the letters were
+written by Thomas Hutchinson, Governor of Massachusetts. He was a
+native of the colony he governed, a graduate of Harvard, and in his
+religious position a Puritan. Four were written by Andrew Oliver,
+Lieutenant-governor, and also a native of Massachusetts.
+
+The rest were written by custom-house officers and other servants of
+the Crown. The openly avowed design of these letters was, that they
+should be exhibited to the Ministry, to excite them to prompt,
+vigorous and hostile measures. They teemed with misrepresentations,
+and often with downright falsehoods. The perusal of these infamous
+productions elicited from Franklin first a burst of indignation. The
+second effect was greatly to mitigate his resentment against the
+British government. The ministry, it seemed, were acting in
+accordance with solicitations received from Americans, native born,
+and occupying the highest posts of honor and influence.
+
+The gentleman who obtained these letters and showed them to Franklin,
+was very unwilling to have his agency in the affair made public. After
+much solicitation, he consented to have Franklin send the letters to
+America, though he would not give permission to have any copies taken.
+It was his hope, that the letters would calm the rising animosity in
+America, by showing that the British ministry was pursuing a course of
+menace, which many of the most distinguished Americans declared to be
+essential, to save the country from anarchy and ruin. Franklin's
+object was to cause these traitorous office-holders to be ejected from
+their positions of influence, that others, more patriotic, might
+occupy the stations which they disgraced.
+
+On the 2d of December, 1772, Franklin inclosed the letters in an
+official package, directed to Thomas Cushing. He wrote,
+
+     "I am not at liberty to make the letters public. I can only
+     allow them to be seen by yourself, by the other gentlemen of
+     the Committee of Correspondence, by Messrs. Bowdoin and
+     Pitts of the Council, and Drs. Chauncy, Cooper, and
+     Winthrop, and a few such other gentlemen as you may think
+     fit to show them to. After being some months in your
+     possession, you are requested to return them to me."
+
+The reading of the letters created intense anger and disgust. John
+Adams, after perusing them, recorded in his diary, alluding to
+Hutchinson, "Cool, thinking deliberate villain, malicious and
+vindictive." He carried the documents around to read to all his male
+and female friends, and was not sparing in his vehement comments.
+
+Again he wrote, "Bone of our bone; born and educated among us! Mr.
+Hancock is deeply affected; is determined, in conjunction with Major
+Hawley, to watch the vile serpent, and his deputy, Brattle. The
+subtlety of this serpent is equal to that of the old one."
+
+For two months the letters were privately yet extensively circulated.
+Hutchinson himself soon found out the storm which was gathering
+against him. The hand-writing of all the writers was known. In June,
+the Massachusetts Assembly met. In secret session the letters were
+read. Soon some copies were printed. It was said that some one had
+obtained, from England, copies of the letters from which the printed
+impressions were taken. But the mystery of their publication was never
+solved.
+
+The Assembly sent a petition to the king of England, imploring that
+Thomas Hutchinson and Andrew Oliver, should be removed from their
+posts, and that such good men as the king might select, should be
+placed in their stead. The petition, eminently respectful, but drawn
+up in very forcible language, expressive of the ruinous consequences
+caused by the measures which these officials had recommended, was
+transmitted to Franklin, the latter part of the summer of 1773. He
+immediately forwarded it to Lord Dartmouth. With it he sent a very
+polite and conciliatory letter, in which he declared, that the
+Americans were very desirous of being on good terms with the mother
+country, that their resentment against the government was greatly
+abated, by finding that Americans had urged the obnoxious measures
+which had been adopted; and that the present was a very favorable time
+to introduce cordial, friendly relations between the king and the
+colonists.
+
+Lord Dartmouth returned a very polite reply, laid the all-important
+petition aside, and for five months never alluded to it, by word or
+letter. In the meantime, some of the printed copies reached London.
+The Tories thought that perhaps the long sought opportunity had come
+when they might pounce upon Franklin, and at least greatly impair his
+influence. Franklin had nothing to conceal. He had received the
+letters from a friend, who authorized him to send them to America,
+that their contents might be made known there.
+
+In all this he had done absolutely nothing, which any one could
+pronounce to be wrong. But the Court, being determined to stir up
+strife, began to demand who it was that had obtained and delivered
+up the letters. Franklin was absent from London. He soon heard tidings
+of the great commotion that was excited, and that two gentlemen, who
+had nothing to do with the matter, were each accused of having
+dishonorably obtained the letters. This led to a duel. Franklin
+immediately wrote,
+
+     "I think it incumbent for me to declare that I alone am the
+     person who obtained and transmitted to Boston, the letters
+     in question."
+
+The Court decided to summon Franklin to meet the "Committee for
+Plantation Affairs," to explain the reasons for the petition against
+Hutchinson and Oliver. To the surprise of Franklin, it appeared that
+they were organizing quite a formidable trial; and very able counsel
+was appointed to defend the culprits.
+
+Thus Franklin, who simply presented the petition of the Assembly, was
+forced into the obnoxious position of a prosecutor. The array against
+him was so strong, that it became necessary for him also to have
+counsel. It was manifest to all the friends of Franklin, that the
+British Court was rousing all its energies to crush him.
+
+The meeting was held on the 11th of January, 1773. Four of the Cabinet
+ministers were present, and several Lords of the Privy Council. They
+addressed Franklin as a culprit, who had brought slanderous charges
+against his majesty's faithful officers in the colonies. He was
+treated not only with disrespect but with absolute insolence. But
+nothing could disturb his equanimity. Not for one moment did he lose
+serenity of mind.
+
+There was an adjournment, to meet on the 29th of the month. In the
+meantime one of the court party, who had received many favors from
+Franklin, commenced a chancery suit against him, accusing him of
+stealing the letters, and being by trade a printer, of having secretly
+published them, and sold immense numbers, the profits of which he had
+placed in his own pocket. All this Franklin denied on oath. The charge
+was so absurd, and so manifestly malignant, that his foes withdrew the
+suit. Franklin was however assured that the Court was clamoring for
+his punishment and disgrace.
+
+All London was agitated by the commotion which these extraordinary
+events created. At the appointed day, the Council again met. The
+assembly was held in a large apartment in the drawing-room style. At
+one end was the entrance door; at the other the fire-place, with
+recesses on each side of the chimney. A broad table extended from the
+fire-place to the door. The Privy Council, thirty-five in number, sat
+at this table. They were inveterate Tories, resolved to bring the
+Americans down upon their knees, and, as a preliminary step, to
+inflict indelible disgrace upon Franklin. Lord North, the implacable
+Prime Minister was there. The Archbishop of Canterbury was present. As
+Franklin cast his eye along the line of these haughty nobles, he could
+not see the face of a friend.
+
+The remainder of the room was crowded with spectators. From them many
+a sympathizing glance fell upon him. Priestly and Burke gave him their
+silent but cordial sympathy. There were also quite a number of
+Americans and prominent members of the opposition, whose presence was
+a support to Franklin, during the ordeal through which he was to pass.
+He stood at the edge of the recess formed by the chimney, with one
+elbow resting upon the mantel, and his cheek upon his hand. He was
+motionless as a statue, and had composed his features into such calm
+and serene rigidity, that not the movement of a muscle could be
+detected. As usual, he was dressed simply, but with great elegance. A
+large flowing wig, with abundant curls, such as were used by elderly
+gentlemen at that day, covered his head. His costume, which was
+admirably fitted to a form as perfect as Grecian sculptor ever
+chiseled, was of rich figured silk velvet. In all that room, there was
+not an individual, who in physical beauty, was the peer of Franklin.
+In all that room there was not another, who in intellectual greatness
+could have met the trial so grandly.
+
+It will be remembered that the Assembly of Massachusetts had
+petitioned for the removal of an obnoxious governor and lieutenant
+governor. Franklin, as the agent in London of that colony, had
+presented the petition to the crown. He was now summoned to appear
+before the privy council, to bring forward and substantiate charges
+against these officers. The council had appointed a lawyer to defend
+Hutchinson and Oliver. His name was Wedderburn. He had already
+obtained celebrity for the savage skill with which he could browbeat a
+witness, and for his wonderful command of the vocabulary of
+vituperation and abuse. Before commencing the examination, he
+addressed the assembly in a long speech. After eulogizing Governor
+Hutchinson, as one of the best and most loyal of the officers of the
+crown, who merited the gratitude of king and court, he turned upon
+Franklin, and assailed him with a storm of vituperative epithets,
+such as never before, and never since, has fallen upon the head of a
+man. The council were in sympathy with the speaker. Often his
+malignant thrusts would elicit from those lords a general shout of
+derisive laughter.
+
+Such was the treatment which one of the most illustrious and honored
+of American citizens received from the privy council of king George
+III., when he appeared before that council as a friendly ambassador
+from his native land, seeking only conciliation and peace.
+
+Wedderburn accused Franklin of stealing private letters, of
+misrepresenting their contents, that he might excite hostility against
+the loyal officers of the king. He accused him of doing this that he
+might eject them from office, so as to obtain the positions for
+himself and his friends. Still more, he accused him of having in an
+unexampled spirit of meanness, availed himself of his skill as a
+printer, to publish these letters, and that he sold them far and wide,
+that he might enrich himself. Charges better calculated to ruin a man,
+in the view of these proud lords, can scarcely be conceived. It is
+doubtful whether there were another man in the world, who could have
+received them so calmly, and in the end could have so magnificently
+triumphed over them.
+
+During all this really terrific assailment, Franklin stood with his
+head resting on his left hand, apparently unmoved. At the close, he
+declined answering any questions. The committee of the council
+reported on that same day, "the lords of the committee, do agree
+humbly to report as their opinion to your majesty, that the said
+petition is founded upon resolution's, formed upon false and erroneous
+allegations, and that the same is false, vexatious and scandalous; and
+calculated only for the seditious purposes of keeping up a spirit of
+clamor and discontent in said province." The king accepted the report,
+and acted accordingly. Franklin went home alone. We know not why his
+friends thus apparently deserted him.
+
+The next morning, which was Sunday, Priestly breakfasted at Franklin's
+table. He represents him as saying that he could not have borne
+the insults heaped upon him by the privy council, but for the
+consciousness, that he had done only that which was right. On Monday
+morning Franklin received a laconic letter from the Postmaster
+General, informing him that the king had found it necessary to dismiss
+him from the office of deputy Postmaster General in America.
+
+This outrage, inflicted by the privy council of Great Britain, upon a
+friendly ambassador from her colonies, who had visited her court with
+the desire to promote union and harmony, was one of the most
+atrocious acts ever perpetrated by men above the rank of vagabonds in
+their drunken carousals. Franklin, in transmitting an account to
+Massachusetts, writes in a noble strain:
+
+     "What I feel on my own account, is half lost in what I feel
+     for the public. When I see that all petitions and complaints
+     of grievances, are so odious to government, that even the
+     mere pipe which conveys them, becomes obnoxious, I am at a
+     loss to know how peace and union are to be maintained, and
+     restored between the different parts of the empire.
+     Grievances cannot be redressed, unless they are known. And
+     they cannot be known, but through complaints and petitions.
+     If these are deemed affronts, and the messengers punished as
+     offenders, who will henceforth send petitions? and who will
+     deliver them?"
+
+The speech of Wedderburn gave great delight to all the Tory party. It
+was derisively said, "that the lords of the council, went to their
+chamber, as to a bull-baiting, and hounded on the Solicitor General
+with loud applause and laughter." Mr. Fox, writing of the assault
+said, "All men tossed up their hats and clapped their hands, in
+boundless delight."
+
+When the tidings of the affair reached America, it added intensity to
+the animosity, then rapidly increasing, against the British
+government. The dismissal of Franklin from the post-office, was deemed
+equivalent to the seizure, by the crown, of that important branch of
+the government. None but the creatures of the Ministry were to be
+postmasters. Consequently patriotic Americans could no longer entrust
+their letters to the mail. Private arrangements were immediately made
+for the conveyance of letters; and with so much efficiency, that the
+general office, which had heretofore contributed fifteen thousand
+dollars annually to the public treasury, never after paid into it one
+farthing.[24]
+
+[Footnote 24: It may be worthy of record, that Wedderburn became the
+hero of the clubs and the favorite of the Tory party. Wealth and
+honors were lavished upon him. He rose to the dignity of an earl and
+lord chancellor, and yet we do not find, in any of the annals of those
+days, that he is spoken of otherwise than as a shallow, unprincipled
+man. When his death, after a few hours' illness, was announced to the
+king, he scornfully said, "He has not left a worse man behind him."]
+
+The spirit of the Tories may be inferred from that of one of the most
+applauded and influential of their leaders. Dr. Samuel Johnson, who
+wrote the notorious "Taxation no Tyranny," said,
+
+"The Americans are a race of convicts. They ought to be thankful for
+any thing we can give them. I am willing to love all mankind except
+an American." Boswell in quoting one of his insane tirades writes,
+"His inflammable corruption, bursting into horrid fire, he breathed
+out threatenings and slaughter, calling them rascals, robbers,
+pirates, and exclaiming that he would burn and destroy them."
+
+It was a day of vicious indulgence, of dissipation in every form, when
+it was fashionable to be godless, and to sneer at all the restraints
+of the Christian religion. Volumes might be filled with accounts of
+the atrocities perpetrated by drunken lords at the gaming table and in
+midnight revel through the streets. Such men of influence and rank as
+Fox, Lord Derby, the Duke of Ancaster, inflamed with wine, could set
+the police at defiance. They were constantly engaged in orgies which
+would disgrace the most degraded wretches, in the vilest haunts of
+infamy in our cities. Instead of gambling for copper, they gambled for
+gold. Horace Walpole testifies that at one of the most fashionable
+clubs, at Almack's, they played only for rouleaux of two hundred and
+fifty dollars each. There were often fifty thousand dollars in specie
+on the gaming tables, around which these bloated inebriates were
+gathered. It is said that Lord Holland paid the gambling debts of his
+two sons to the amount of one hundred thousand dollars.
+
+The trade of the colonies had become of immense value to the mother
+country. It amounted to six and a half millions sterling a year.
+Philadelphia numbered forty thousand inhabitants. Charleston, South
+Carolina, had become one of the most beautiful and healthy cities in
+America. The harbor was crowded with shipping, the streets were lined
+with mansions of great architectural beauty. Gorgeous equipages were
+seen, almost rivaling the display in French and English capitals. But
+there were many Tories in Charleston, as malignant in their opposition
+to the popular cause in America, as any of the aristocrats to be found
+in London.
+
+The unpardonable insult which Franklin had received, closed his
+official labors in London. His personal friends and the Opposition
+rallied more affectionately than ever around him. But he ceased to
+appear at court and was seldom present at the dinner-parties of the
+ministers. Still he was constantly and efficiently employed in behalf
+of his country. The leaders of the opposition were in constant
+conference with him. He wrote many pamphlets and published articles in
+the journals, which exerted an extended and powerful influence. He
+wrote to his friends at home, in October, 1774,
+
+     "My situation here is thought, by many, to be a little
+     hazardous; for if by some accident the troops and people of
+     New England should come to blows, I should probably be
+     taken up; the ministerial people, affecting everywhere to
+     represent me as the cause of all the misunderstanding. And I
+     have been frequently cautioned to secure all my papers, and
+     by some advised to withdraw. But I venture to stay, in
+     compliance with the wish of others, till the result of the
+     Congress arrives, since they suppose my being here might, on
+     that occasion, be of use. And I confide in my innocence,
+     that the worst that can happen to me will be an imprisonment
+     upon suspicion; though that is a thing I should much desire
+     to avoid, as it may be expensive and vexatious, as well as
+     dangerous to my health."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+_The Bloodhounds of War Unleashed._
+
+     The mission of Josiah Quincy--Love of England by the
+     Americans--Petition to the king--Sickness and death of Mrs.
+     Franklin--Lord Chatham--His speech in favor of the
+     colonists--Lord Howe--His interview with Franklin--Firmness
+     of Franklin--His indignation--His mirth--Franklin's
+     fable--He embarks for Philadelphia--Feeble condition of the
+     colonies--England's expressions of contempt--Franklin's
+     reception at Philadelphia--His letter to Edmund
+     Burke--Post-office arrangements--Defection and conduct of
+     William Franklin--His arrest.
+
+
+Young Josiah Quincy, of Boston, one of the noblest of patriots, who
+was dying of consumption, visited London, with instructions to confer
+with Franklin upon the posture of affairs. He wrote home, in the most
+commendatory terms, of the zeal and sagacity with which Franklin was
+devoting himself to the interests of his country. Tory spies were
+watching his every movement, and listening to catch every word which
+fell from his lips. Lord Hillsborough, in a debate in the House of
+Lords, said,
+
+"There are two men, walking in the streets of London, who ought to be
+in Newgate or at Tyburn."
+
+The duke of Richmond demanded their names, saying that if such were
+the fact the ministry were severely to be blamed. Hillsborough
+declined to give their names; but it was generally known that he
+referred to Dr. Franklin and Josiah Quincy.
+
+The policy of Franklin was clearly defined, and unchanging. He said
+virtually, to his countrymen, "Perform no political act against the
+government, utter no menace, and do no act of violence whatever. But
+firmly and perseveringly unite in consuming no English goods. There is
+nothing in this which any one will pronounce to be, in the slightest
+degree, illegal. The sudden and total loss of the trade with America,
+will, in one year, create such a clamor, from the capitalists and
+industrial classes of England, Ireland and Scotland, that the despotic
+government will be compelled to retrace its steps."
+
+Even at this time the Americans had no desire to break loose from the
+government of Great Britain. England was emphatically their home.
+Englishmen were their brothers. In England their fathers were gathered
+to the grave. The Americans did not assume a new name. They still
+called themselves Englishmen. They were proud to be members of the
+majestic kingdom, which then stood at the head of the world.
+
+Congress met. Its members, perhaps without exception, were yearning
+for reconciliation with the mother-country, and for sincere and
+cordial friendship. It was resolved to make another solemn appeal to
+the king, whom they had ever been accustomed to revere, and, in a
+fraternal spirit, to address their brethren, the people of England,
+whom they wished to regard with all the respect due to elder brothers.
+
+The intelligence of Christendom has applauded the dignity and the
+pathos of these documents. The appeal fell upon the profane, gambling,
+wine-bloated aristocrats of the court, as if it had been addressed to
+the marble statuary in the British Museum. Nay worse. Those statues
+would have listened in respectful silence. No contemptuous laughter,
+and no oaths of menace, would have burst from their marble lips. The
+following brief extract will show the spirit which pervaded these
+noble documents. It is one of the closing sentences of the address to
+the king:
+
+     "Permit us then, most gracious sovereign, in the name of all
+     your faithful people in America, with the utmost humility to
+     implore you, for the honor of Almighty God, whose pure
+     religion our enemies are undermining; for the glory which
+     can be advanced only by rendering your subjects happy and
+     keeping them united; for the interests of your family,
+     depending on an adherence to the principle that enthroned
+     it; for the safety and welfare of your kingdom and
+     dominions, threatened with unavoidable dangers, and
+     distresses; that your majesty, as the loving father of your
+     whole people, connected by the same bands of law, loyalty,
+     faith and blood, though dwelling in various countries, will
+     not suffer the transcendent relation, formed by these ties,
+     to be further violated, in uncertain expectation of effects
+     which, if attained, never can compensate for the calamities
+     through which they must be gained."
+
+This petition was sent to Franklin, and the other colony agents, to be
+presented by them to the king. They were instructed also to publish
+both the Petition and the Address, in the newspapers, and to give them
+as wide a circulation as possible.
+
+Dr. Franklin, with two other agents, Arthur Lee and Mr. Bollan,
+presented to Lord Dartmouth the petition to be handed by him to the
+king. They were soon informed that the king received it graciously,
+and would submit the consideration of it to Parliament. It was thought
+not respectful to the king to publish it before he had presented it to
+that body. But as usual, the infatuation of both king and court was
+such, that everything that came from the Americans was treated with
+neglect, if not with contempt. The all-important petition was buried
+in a pile of documents upon all conceivable subjects, and not one
+word was said to commend it to the consideration of either house. For
+three days it remained unnoticed. Dr. Franklin, then, with his two
+companions, solicited permission to be heard at the bar of the house.
+Their request was refused. This brought the question into debate.
+
+The House of Commons was at that time but a reflected image of the
+House of Lords. It was composed almost exclusively, of the younger
+sons of the nobles, and such other obsequious servants of the
+aristocracy, as they, with their vast wealth and patronage, saw fit to
+have elected. There was an immense Tory majority in the House. They
+assailed the petition with vulgarity of abuse, which could scarcely be
+exceeded; and then dismissed it from further consideration. Noble
+lords made themselves merry in depicting the alacrity with which a
+whole army of Americans would disperse at the very sound of a British
+cannon.
+
+While these disastrous events were taking place in England--events,
+sure to usher in a cruel and bloody war, bearing on its wings terror
+and conflagration, tears and blood, a domestic tragedy was taking
+place in the far distant home of Franklin on the banks of the
+Delaware. Mrs. Franklin had been separated from her husband for nearly
+ten years. She was a cheerful, motherly woman, ever blessing her home
+with smiles and with kindly words; and in the society of her daughter
+and her grandchildren, she found a constant joy. The lapse of
+three-score years and ten, had not brought their usual infirmities.
+Though yearning intensely for the return of her husband, she did not
+allow the separation seriously to mar her happiness. Every spring she
+was confident that he would return the next autumn, and then bore her
+disappointment bravely in the assurance that she should see him the
+coming spring.
+
+In December, 1774, she was suddenly stricken down by a paralytic
+stroke. Five days of unconscious slumber passed away, when she fell
+into that deep and dreamless sleep, which has no earthly waking. Her
+funeral was attended by a large concourse of citizens, with every
+testimonial of respect. Some of Franklin's oldest friends bore the
+coffin to the churchyard, where the remains of the affectionate wife
+and mother who had so nobly fulfilled life's duties, were placed by
+the side of her father, her mother, and her infant son.
+
+Feelingly does Mr. Parton write, "It is mournful to think that for so
+many years, she should have been deprived of her husband's society.
+The very qualities which made her so good a wife, rendered it
+possible for him to remain absent from his affairs."
+
+Franklin, all unconscious of the calamity which had darkened his home,
+and weary of the conflict with the British court, was eagerly making
+preparations to return to Philadelphia.
+
+The aged, illustrious, eloquent Earl of Chatham, one of the noblest of
+England's all grasping and ambitious sons, sought an interview with
+Franklin. He utterly condemned the policy of the British cabinet. His
+sympathies were, not only from principles of policy, but from
+convictions of justice, cordially with the Americans. He felt sure
+that unless the court should retrace its steps, war would ensue, and
+American Independence would follow, and that England, with the loss of
+her colonies, would find mercantile impoverishment and political
+weakness. In the course of conversation, he implied that America might
+be even then, contemplating independence. Franklin, in his account of
+the interview writes,
+
+     "I assured him that having more than once traveled almost
+     from one end of the continent to the other, and kept a great
+     variety of company, eating, drinking and conversing with
+     them freely, I had never heard in any conversation from any
+     person, drunk or sober, the least expression of a wish for a
+     separation, or a hint that such a thing would be
+     advantageous to America."
+
+In a subsequent interview, the Earl of Chatham, alluding to the
+conduct of Congress, in drawing up the petition and address, said,
+
+"They have acted with so much temper, moderation and wisdom, that I
+think it the most honorable assembly of statesmen since those of the
+Greeks and Romans, of the most virtuous times."
+
+In a subsequent interview, Dr. Franklin expressed, to the earl, his
+apprehension that the continuance of the British army in Boston, which
+was the source of constant irritation to the people, might eventually
+lead to a quarrel, perhaps between a drunken porter and a soldier, and
+that thus tumult and bloodshed might be introduced, leading to
+consequences which no one could foresee.
+
+Lord Chatham felt the force of these remarks, which soon received
+their striking illustration, in what was called the Boston Massacre.
+He therefore declared his intention of repairing to the House of
+Lords, to introduce a resolve for the immediate withdrawal of the
+troops from Boston. The tidings were soon noised abroad that the
+eloquent earl, then probably the most illustrious man in England, was
+to make a speech in favor of America. The eventful day arrived. The
+hall was crowded. Dr. Franklin had a special invitation from the earl
+to be present. The friends of America were there, few in numbers, and
+the enemies in all their strength.
+
+Lord Chatham made a speech, which in logical power and glowing
+eloquence, has perhaps never been surpassed. Franklin had impressed
+him with the conviction that the determination of the Americans to
+defend their rights was such, that if, with fleet and army, the
+government were to ravage all the coast and burn all the cities, the
+Americans would retreat back into the forests, in the maintenance of
+their liberty. Full of this idea, Lord Chatham exclaimed, with
+prophetic power,
+
+"We shall be forced ultimately to retract. Let us retract while we
+can, not when we must. I say we must necessarily undo these violent
+oppressive acts. You will repeal them. I pledge myself for it. I stake
+my reputation on it. I will consent to be taken for an idiot, if they
+are not finally repealed."
+
+Franklin writes, "All availed no more than the whistling of the wind.
+The motion was rejected. Sixteen Scotch peers and twenty-four bishops,
+with all the lords in possession or expectation of places, when they
+vote together unanimously for ministerial measures, as they generally
+do, make a dead majority, that renders all debate ridiculous in
+itself, since it can answer no end."
+
+Though the speech produced no impression upon the obdurate House of
+Lords, it had a very powerful effect upon the public mind. It was read
+in America, in collegiate halls, in the work-shop and at the farmer's
+fireside, with delight which cannot be described. A few days after the
+speech, Dr. Franklin, writing to Lord Stanhope, said,
+
+     "Dr. Franklin is filled with admiration of that truly great
+     man. He has seen, in the course of life, sometimes eloquence
+     without wisdom, and often wisdom without eloquence; in the
+     present instance he sees both united, and both he thinks in
+     the highest degree possible."
+
+Slowly the ministry were awaking to the conviction that American
+affairs, if not settled, might yet cause them much trouble. In various
+underhand ways, they approached Franklin. It was generally understood
+that every man had his price; that the influence of one man could be
+bought for a few hundred pounds; that another would require a
+lucrative and honorable office. Though the reputation of Franklin was
+such, that it was a delicate matter to approach him with bribes, still
+some of them now commenced a course of flattery, endeavoring to secure
+his cooperation. It was thought that his influence with his countrymen
+was so great, that they would accede to any terms he should recommend.
+
+Lord Howe called upon Franklin, and, in the name of Lord North and
+Lord Dartmouth, the two most influential members of the ministry,
+informed him that they sincerely sought reconciliation, and that they
+were prepared to listen favorably, to any reasonable propositions he
+might offer. Lord Howe was the friend of Franklin and of America.
+These unexpected and joyful tidings affected Franklin so deeply, that
+he could not conceal the tears which rolled down his cheeks.
+
+Lord Howe then added that he was instructed to say, that the service
+he would thus render both England and America, would be of priceless
+value, and that though the ministers could not think of influencing
+him by any selfish motives, he might expect, in return, _any reward
+which it was in the power of government to bestow_. "This," said
+Franklin, "was what the French vulgarly called _spitting in the
+soup_."
+
+But again there was a meeting of Parliament. Again it became evident
+that the ministry would accede to no terms, which did not secure the
+entire subjugation of America. Lord Chatham made a renewed attempt to
+conciliate. His propositions were rejected with scorn. In the meantime
+Dr. Franklin had presented some Hints, drawn up in the most liberal
+spirit of compromise, but which still maintained the American
+principle, that the colonists could not be taxed at the pleasure of
+the court, without having any voice themselves in the amount which
+they were to pay.
+
+Soon after this, Mr. Barclay called upon Franklin in the name of the
+government, and after a long, and to Franklin, disgusting diplomatic
+harangue, ventured to say to him, that if he would only comply with
+the wishes of the ministry, he might expect almost any reward he could
+wish for. Even the imperturbable spirit of Franklin was roused. He
+replied,
+
+"The ministry, I am sure, would rather give me a place in a cart to
+Tyburn, than any other place whatever. I sincerely wish to be
+serviceable; and I need no other inducement that I might be so."
+
+In another interview, which soon followed, it appeared that the
+government refused to concede a single point which the Americans
+deemed essential. They refused to withdraw the troops; refused to
+allow the colonial governors to appoint the collectors of the customs;
+persisted in building fortresses to hold the people in subjection; and
+adhered to the claim of Parliament to legislate for the colonies.
+Franklin said,
+
+"While Parliament claims the power of altering our constitution at
+pleasure, there can be no agreement. We are rendered unsafe in every
+privilege, and are secure in nothing."
+
+Mr. Barclay insolently replied, "It would be well for the Americans to
+come to an agreement with the court of Great Britain. They ought not
+to forget how easy a thing it will be for the British men-of-war to
+lay all their seaport towns in ashes."
+
+"I grew warm," writes Franklin; "said that the chief part of my
+little property consisted of houses in those towns; that they might
+make bon-fires of them whenever they pleased; that the fear of losing
+them would never alter my resolution to resist to the last, such
+claims of Parliament; and that it behoved this country to take care
+what mischief it did us; for that sooner or later it would certainly
+be obliged to make good all damages, with interest."
+
+Still again these corrupt men, who are selling themselves and buying
+others, approached Franklin with attempts to bribe him. "They could
+not comprehend that any man could be above the reach of such
+influences. It was contemplated sending Lord Howe to America as a
+Commissioner. He applied to Franklin to go with him as friend,
+assistant or secretary.
+
+Lord Howe said to Franklin, that he could not think of undertaking
+the mission without him; that if he effected any thing valuable, it
+must be owing to the advice Franklin would afford him; and that he
+should make no scruple of giving him the full honor of it. He assured
+him that the ministry did not expect his assistance without a
+proper consideration; that they wished to make generous and ample
+appointments for those who aided them, and also would give them the
+promise of subsequent more ample rewards.
+
+"And," said he, with marked emphasis, "that the ministry may have an
+opportunity of showing their good disposition toward yourself, will
+you give me leave, Mr. Franklin, to procure for you, previously, some
+mark of it; suppose the payment here, of the arrears of your salary as
+agent for New England, which, I understand, they have stopped for some
+time past."
+
+It will be remembered that Lord Howe was sincerely the friend of
+America, and that he anxiously desired to see friendly relations
+restored. Franklin therefore restrained his displeasure, and
+courteously replied,
+
+"My Lord, I shall deem it a great honor to be, in any shape, joined
+with your lordship in so good a work. But if you hope service from any
+influence I may be supposed to have, drop all thoughts of procuring me
+any previous favors from ministers. My accepting them would destroy
+the very influence you propose to make use of. They would be
+considered as so many bribes to betray the interests of my country.
+Only let me see the propositions and I shall not hesitate for a
+moment."
+
+Repeated interviews ensued, between Franklin and both the friends and
+the enemies of the Americans. There were interminable conferences. But
+the court was implacable in its resolve, to maintain a supreme and
+exclusive control over the colonies. Every hour of Franklin's time was
+engrossed. Merchants and manufacturers, Tories and the opposition,
+lords temporal, and lords spiritual, all called upon him with their
+several plans. There were many Americans in London, including a large
+number of Quakers. These crowded the apartment of Franklin. The
+negotiations were terminated by a debate in the House of Lords, in
+which the Americans were assailed in the vilest language of insult and
+abuse which can be coined. Franklin was present. He writes,
+
+     "We were treated with the utmost contempt, as the lowest of
+     mankind, and almost of a different species from the English
+     of Britain. Particularly American honesty was abused by some
+     of the lords, who asserted that we were all knaves, and
+     wanted only, by this dispute, to avoid paying our debts."
+
+Franklin returned to his home, with feelings of indignation, which
+his calm spirit had rarely before experienced. He resolved no longer
+to have any thing to do with the hostile governing powers of England.
+He had loved the British empire. He felt proud of its renown, and that
+America was but part and parcel of its greatness. But there was no
+longer hope, that there could be any escape from the awful appeal to
+arms. Though that measure would be fraught with inconceivable woes for
+his countrymen, he was assured that they would never submit. They
+would now march to independence though the path led through scenes of
+conflagration, blood and unutterable woe. His experience placed him in
+advance of all his countrymen.
+
+Franklin immediately commenced packing his trunks. Astonishing, almost
+incredible as it may appear, the evidence seems conclusive that
+through all these trying scenes, Franklin was a cheerful, it is hardly
+too strong a word to use, a _jovial_ man. It has been well said, that
+to be angry is to punish one's self for the sins of another. Our
+philosopher had no idea of making himself unhappy, because British
+lords behaved like knaves. He continued to be one of the most
+entertaining of companions. A cloudless sun seemed to shine wherever
+he moved. He made witty speeches. He wrote the most amusing articles
+for the journals, and the invariable gayety of his mind caused his
+society to be eagerly sought for.
+
+One evening he attended quite a brilliant party at a nobleman's house,
+who was a friend to America. The conversation chanced to turn upon
+Esop's fables. It was said that that mine of illustration was
+exhausted. Franklin, after a moment's thought, remarked, that many new
+fables could be invented, as instructive as any of those of Esop, Gay,
+or La Fontaine. Can you think of one now, asked a lord. "I think so,"
+said Franklin, "if you will furnish me with pencil and paper." He
+immediately sat down, surrounded by the gay assembly, and wrote, as
+rapidly as his pencil could move,
+
+               "THE EAGLE AND THE CAT."
+
+     "Once upon a time an eagle, scaling round a farmer's barn,
+     and espying a hare, darted down upon him like a sunbeam,
+     seized him in his claws, and remounted with him into the
+     air. He soon found that he had a creature of more courage
+     and strength than the hare; for which he had mistaken a cat.
+     The snarling and scrambling of his prey were very
+     inconvenient. And what was worse, she had disengaged herself
+     from his talons, grasped his body with her four limbs, so as
+     to stop his breath, and seized fast hold of his throat, with
+     her teeth.
+
+     "'Pray,' said the eagle, 'let go your hold, and I will
+     release you.'
+
+     "'Very fine,' said the cat. 'But I have no fancy to fall
+     from this height, and to be crushed to death. You have taken
+     me up, and you shall stoop and let me down.'
+
+     "The eagle thought it necessary to stoop accordingly."
+
+This admirable fable was read to the company; and, as all were in
+sympathy with America, it was received with great applause. Little,
+however, did any of them then imagine, how invincible was the animal
+the British government was about to clutch in its talons, supposing it
+to be a defenseless hare.
+
+Franklin spent his last day in London with Dr. Priestly. The Doctor
+bears glowing testimony to his admirable character. Many thought Dr.
+Franklin heartless, since, in view of all the horrors of a civil war,
+his hilarity was never interrupted. Priestly, alluding to this charge
+against Franklin, says, that they spent the day looking over the
+American papers, and extracting from them passages to be published in
+England. "In reading them," he writes, "Franklin was frequently not
+able to proceed for the tears literally running down his cheeks." Upon
+his departure, he surrendered his agency to Arthur Lee. It was the
+21st of March, 1775, when Franklin embarked at Portsmouth, in a
+Pennsylvania packet.
+
+Franklin was apprehensive until the last moment, that he would not be
+permitted to depart; that the court, which had repeatedly denounced
+him as a traitor, would arrest him on some frivolous charge. On the
+voyage he wrote a minute narrative of his diplomatic career, occupying
+two hundred and fifty pages of foolscap. This important document was
+given to his son William Franklin, who was daily becoming a more
+inveterate Tory, endeavoring to ingratiate himself into favor with the
+court, from which he had received the appointment of governor.
+
+Franklin also sent a copy to Mr. Jefferson, perhaps apprehensive that
+his son might not deal fairly with a document which so terribly
+condemned the British government. The Governor subsequently published
+the narrative. But there is reason to suppose that he suppressed those
+passages, which revealed most clearly the atrocious conduct of the
+British cabinet. Jefferson wrote some years later, alluding to this
+document:
+
+     "I remember that Lord North's answers were dry, unyielding,
+     in the spirit of unconditional submission, and betrayed an
+     absolute indifference to the occurrence of a rupture. And he
+     said to the mediators distinctly, at last, that _a rebellion
+     was not to be deprecated on the part of Great Britain; that
+     the confiscations it would produce, would provide for many
+     of their friends_."
+
+The idea that the feeble Americans, scattered along a coast more than
+a thousand miles in extent, without a fortress, a vessel of war, or a
+regiment of regular troops, could withstand the fleets and armies of
+Great Britain, was never entertained for a moment. Indeed, as we now
+contemplate the fearful odds, it causes one's heart to throb, and we
+cannot but be amazed at the courage which our patriotic fathers
+displayed.
+
+It was a common boast in England, that one regiment of British
+regulars could march from Boston to Charleston, and sweep all
+opposition before them. A band of ten wolves can put a flock of ten
+thousand sheep to flight. It was quite a pleasant thought, to the
+haughty court, that one or two ships of war, and two or three
+regiments could be sent across the Atlantic, seize and hang
+Washington, Franklin, Adams, Jefferson, and others of our leading
+patriots, and confiscate the property of hundreds of others, for the
+enrichment of the favorites of the crown.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"There will be no fighting;" these deluded men said, "it will be a
+mere holiday excursion. The turbulent and foolhardy Americans will be
+brought to their senses, and, like whipped spaniels, will fawn upon
+the hand which has chastised them."
+
+The voyage across the Atlantic occupied six weeks. In the evening
+twilight of the 5th of May, the ship dropped anchor in the Delaware,
+opposite Philadelphia. Franklin landed, and walked alone through the
+darkened streets towards his home. It is difficult to imagine the
+emotions with which his heart must have been agitated in that hour.
+Ten years had elapsed since he left his home. In the meantime his wife
+had reared another dwelling, in Market street, and there she had died.
+He had left his daughter Sarah, a child of twelve years. He was to
+find her a matron surrounded by her babes.
+
+Cordially Franklin was welcomed home. The whole country resounded
+with the praises he so richly merited. The morning after his arrival
+he was unanimously chosen by the Assembly, then in session, as a
+member of the Continental Congress, which was to meet on the 10th
+of the month, in that city. Sixteen days before Franklin's arrival
+the memorable conflicts of Lexington and Concord had taken place.
+Probably never were men more astounded, than were the members of
+the British cabinet, in learning that the British regulars had been
+defeated, routed and put to precipitate flight by American farmers
+with their fowling-pieces. In this heroic conflict, whose echoes
+reverberated around the world, the Americans lost in killed and
+wounded eighty-three. The British lost two hundred and seventy-three.
+Franklin wrote to his friend Edmund Burke,
+
+     "Gen. Gage's troops made a most vigorous retreat--twenty
+     miles in three hours--scarce to be paralleled in history.
+     The feeble Americans, who pelted them all the way, could
+     scarce keep up with them."
+
+On the 10th of May Congress met. There were still two parties, one in
+favor of renewed attempts at conciliation, before drawing the sword
+and throwing away the scabbard; the other felt that the powers of
+conciliation were exhausted, and that nothing now remained, but the
+arbitrament of war.
+
+George Washington was chosen, by the Assembly, Commander-in-Chief of
+the American forces. On the 17th of June the battle of Bunker Hill was
+fought. Mr. John Dickinson trembled in view of his great wealth. His
+wife entreated him to withdraw from the conflict. Piteously she urged
+the considerations, that he would be hung, his wife left a widow, and
+his children beggared and rendered infamous. He succeeded in passing a
+resolution in favor of a second petition to the king, which he drew
+up, and which the Tory Governor Richard Penn was to present. John
+Adams, who was weary of having his country continue in the attitude of
+a suppliant kneeling at the foot of the throne, opposed this petition,
+as a "measure of imbecility."
+
+One of the first acts of Congress was to organize a system for the
+safe conveyance of letters, which could no longer be trusted in the
+hands of the agents of the British Court. Franklin was appointed
+Postmaster General. He had attained the age of sixty nine years.
+Notwithstanding his gravity of character and his great wisdom, he had
+unfortunately become an inveterate joker. He could not refrain from
+inserting, even in his most serious and earnest documents, some
+witticism, which men of the intensity of soul of John Adams and Thomas
+Jefferson, felt to be out of place. Still the wisdom of his counsels
+invariably commanded respect. Upon learning of the burning of
+Charleston, he wrote to Dr. Priestly,[25]
+
+     "England has begun to burn our seaport towns, secure, I
+     suppose, that we shall never be able to return the outrage
+     in kind. She may, doubtless, destroy them all. But if she
+     wishes to recover our commerce, are these the probable
+     means? She must certainly be distracted; for no tradesman,
+     out of Bedlam, ever thought of increasing the number of his
+     customers by knocking them in the head; or of enabling them
+     to pay their debts by burning their houses."
+
+[Footnote 25: "And here perhaps we have one of the reasons why Dr.
+Franklin, who was universally confessed to be the ablest pen in
+America, was not always asked to write the great documents of the
+Revolution. He would have put a joke into the Declaration of
+Independence, if it had fallen to him to write it. At this time he was
+a humorist of fifty years standing, and had become fixed in the habit
+of illustrating great truths by grotesque and familiar similes. His
+jokes, the circulating medium of Congress, were as helpful to the
+cause, as Jay's conscience or Adams' fire; they restored good humor,
+and relieved the tedium of delay, but were out of place in formal,
+exact and authoritative papers."--_Parton's Franklin_, Vol. 2. p. 85.]
+
+One of Franklin's jokes, in Congress, is very characteristic of the
+man. It was urged that the Episcopal clergy should be directed to
+refrain from praying for the king. Franklin quenched the injudicious
+movement with a witticism.
+
+"The measure is quite unnecessary," said he. "The Episcopal clergy, to
+my certain knowledge, have been constantly praying, these twenty
+years, that 'God would give to the king and council wisdom.' And we
+all know that not the least notice has been taken of that prayer. So
+it's plain that those gentlemen have no interest in the court of
+Heaven."
+
+If we sow the wind we must reap the whirlwind. Terrible was the
+mortification and mental suffering which Franklin endured from the
+governor of New Jersey. He had lived down the prejudices connected
+with his birth and had become an influential and popular man. He,
+with increasing tenacity adhered to the British Government, and became
+even the malignant opponent of the Americans. He pronounced the idea
+of their successfully resisting the power of Great Britain, as utterly
+absurd. His measures became so atrocious, as to excite the indignation
+of the people of New Jersey. The Assembly finally arrested him and
+sent him, under guard, to Burlington. As he continued contumacious and
+menacing, Congress ordered him to be removed to Connecticut. The
+Constitutional Gazette of July 13th, 1776, contains the following
+allusion to this affair:
+
+     "Day before yesterday Governor Franklin, of New Jersey,
+     passed through Hartford, on his way to Governor Trumbull.
+     Mr. Franklin is a noted Tory and ministerial tool, and has
+     been exceedingly busy in perplexing the cause of liberty,
+     and in serving the designs of the British king and his
+     ministers.
+
+     "He is son to Dr. Benjamin Franklin, the genius of the day,
+     and the great patron of American liberty. If his excellency
+     escapes the vengeance of the people, due to the enormity of
+     his crimes, his redemption will flow, not from his personal
+     merit, but from the high esteem and veneration which the
+     country entertains for his honored father."
+
+His family was left in deep affliction. Franklin sent them both
+sympathy and money. The captive governor resided at Middletown on
+parole. Here the infatuated man gathered around him a band of Tories,
+many of whom were rich, and held convivial meetings exceedingly
+exasperating, when British armies were threatening the people with
+conflagration and carnage.
+
+Inflamed with wine, these bacchanals sang treasonable songs, the whole
+company joining in chorus, with uproar which drew large groups around
+the house. The Tories professed utterly to despise the patriots, and
+doubted not that their leaders would all soon be hung. One midnight
+the governor, with his boon companions, having indulged in the wildest
+of their orgies, sallied into the streets, with such uproar as to make
+night hideous. The watch found it needful to interfere. The drunken
+governor called one of them a damned villain and threatened to flog
+him. A report of these proceedings was sent to Congress.
+
+Soon after it was ascertained that he was an active agent for the
+British ministry. He was then confined in Litchfield jail, and
+deprived of pen, ink and paper. For two years he suffered this
+well-merited imprisonment. Mrs. governor Franklin never saw her
+husband again. Grief-stricken, she fell sick, and died in New York in
+July, 1778.
+
+After an imprisonment of two years and four months, William Franklin
+was exchanged, and he took refuge within the British lines at New
+York. He received a pension from the British government, lived
+hilariously, and devoted his energies to a vigorous prosecution of the
+war against his countrymen. Franklin felt deeply this defection of his
+son. After the lapse of nine years he wrote,
+
+     "Nothing has ever affected me with such keen sensations, as
+     to find myself deserted in my old age by my only son; and
+     not only deserted but to find him taking up arms in a cause
+     wherein my good fame, fortune and life were at stake."[26]
+
+[Footnote 26: Upon the overthrow of the royalist cause, Governor
+Franklin with other Tories went to England. Government gave him
+outright eighteen hundred pounds, and settled upon him a pension of
+eight hundred pounds a year. After the lapse of ten years he sought
+reconciliation with his father. He lived to the age of eighty-two and
+died in London, in 1813.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+_Progress of the War, both of Diplomacy and the Sword._
+
+     Letter of Henry Laurens--Franklin visits the army before
+     Boston--Letter of Mrs. Adams--Burning of
+     Falmouth--Franklin's journey to Montreal--The Declaration of
+     Independence--Anecdote of the Hatter--Framing the
+     Constitution--Lord Howe's Declaration--Franklin's reply--The
+     Conference--Encouraging letter from France--Franklin's
+     embassy to France--The two parties in France--The
+     voyage--The reception in France.
+
+
+The spirit which, almost to that hour, had animated the people of
+America,--the most illustrious statesmen and common people, was
+attachment to Old England. Their intense desire to maintain friendly
+relations with the mother country, their "home," their revered and
+beloved home, may be inferred from the following extract from a
+letter, which one of the noblest of South Carolinians, Hon. Henry
+Laurens, wrote to his son John. It bears the date of 1776. He writes,
+alluding to the separation from England, then beginning to be
+contemplated:
+
+     "I can not rejoice in the downfall of an old friend, of a
+     parent from whose nurturing breasts I have drawn my support
+     and strength. Every evil which befalls old England grieves
+     me. Would to God she had listened, in time, to the cries of
+     her children. If my own interests, if my own rights alone
+     had been concerned, I would most freely have given the whole
+     to the demands and disposal of her ministers, in preference
+     to a separation. But the rights of posterity were involved
+     in the question. I happened to stand as one of their
+     representatives, and dared not betray their trust."
+
+Washington, Adams, Jay, would have made almost any conceivable
+sacrifice of their personal interest, if they could have averted the
+calamity of a separation from the home of their ancestors. But the
+conduct of the British Cabinet was not only despotic, in the highest
+degree, but it was insolent and contemptuous beyond all endurance. It
+seemed to be generally assumed that a man, if born on the majestic
+continent of North America, instead of being born on their little
+island, must be an inferior being. They regarded Americans as
+slave-holders were accustomed to regard the negro. Almost every
+interview resolved itself into an insult. Courteous intercourse was
+impossible. Affection gave place to detestation.
+
+On the 13th of September, 1775, Congress assembled in Philadelphia.
+Lexington, Bunker Hill, and other hostile acts of our implacable foes,
+had thrown the whole country into the most intense agitation. Military
+companies were every where being organized. Musket manufactories and
+powder mills were reared. Ladies were busy scraping lint, and
+preparing bandages. And what was the cause of all this commotion,
+which converted America, for seven years, into an Aceldama of blood
+and woe?
+
+It was that haughty, insolent men in England, claimed the right to
+impose taxes, to whatever amount they pleased, upon their brother men
+in America. They did not blush to say, "It is the prerogative of us
+Englishmen to demand of you Americans such sums of money as we want.
+Unless, like obsequious slaves, you pay the money, without murmuring,
+we will burn your cities and deluge your whole land in blood."
+
+Washington was assembling quite an army of American troops around
+Boston, holding the foe in close siege there. Franklin was sent, by
+Congress, as one of a committee of three, to confer with Washington
+upon raising and supplying the American army. Amidst all these
+terrific excitements and perils this wonderful man could not refrain
+from giving expression to his sense of the ludicrous. The day before
+leaving Philadelphia, he wrote to Dr. Priestly the following humorous
+summary of the result of the British operations thus far.
+
+     "Britain at the expense of three millions, has killed one
+     hundred and fifty Yankees this campaign, which is twenty
+     thousand pounds a head. And, at Bunker Hill, she gained a
+     mile of ground, half of which she lost again by our taking
+     post on Ploughed Hill. During the same time sixty thousand
+     children have been born in America. From these data, Dr.
+     Price's mathematical head will easily calculate the time and
+     expense necessary to kill us all, and conquer our whole
+     territory."
+
+It required a journey of thirteen days, for the Commissioners to pass
+from Philadelphia to Cambridge. On the 4th of October they reached the
+camp. Mrs. John Adams, who was equal to her husband in patriotism, in
+intellectual ability and in self-denial, writes,
+
+     "I had the pleasure of dining with Dr. Franklin, and of
+     admiring him whose character, from infancy, I had been
+     taught to venerate. I found him social, but not talkative;
+     and when he spoke, something useful dropped from his tongue.
+     He was grave, yet pleasant and affable. You know I make some
+     pretensions to physiognomy, and I thought that I could read
+     in his countenance, the virtues of his heart; and with that
+     is blended every virtue of a Christian."
+
+The conference lasted four days, and resulted in the adoption of very
+important measures. While in the camp, news came of the burning of
+Portland, then Falmouth. It was a deed which would have disgraced
+American savages. The town was entirely defenceless. It held out no
+menace whatever to the foe. The cold blasts of a Maine winter were at
+hand. A British man-of-war entered the harbor, and giving but a few
+hours notice, that the sick and the dying might be removed, and that
+the women and children might escape from shot and shell, to the frozen
+fields, one hundred and thirty humble, peaceful homes were laid in
+ashes. The cruel flames consumed nearly all their household furniture,
+their clothing and the frugal food they had laid in store for their
+long and dreary winter. A few houses escaped the shells. Marines were
+landed to apply the torch to them, that the destruction might be
+complete.
+
+There were several vessels in the harbor. The freezing, starving,
+homeless wives and daughters who had not strength to toil through the
+wilderness to seek distant cabins of refuge, might perhaps escape in
+them. To prevent this they were burned to the water's edge. It was an
+infernal deed. It struck to the very heart of America. Even now, after
+a lapse of one hundred years, no American can read an account of this
+outrage without the flushed cheek and the moistened eye which
+indignation creates. Mrs. Adams wrote,
+
+     "I could not join to-day in the petitions of our worthy
+     pastor for a reconciliation between our no longer parent,
+     but tyrant state, and these colonies. Let us separate. They
+     are no longer worthy to be our brethren. Let us renounce
+     them, and instead of supplications, as formerly for their
+     prosperity and happiness, let us beseech the Almighty to
+     blast their councils and bring to naught all their devices."
+
+Though Franklin was the sweetest tempered of men, he returned to
+Philadelphia with his spirit greatly embittered against the demoniac
+foes of his country. For some time no jokes escaped his lips or pen.
+In December, Arnold, then a patriot and a brave soldier, had made an
+unsuccessful attack upon Quebec. He had retired to Montreal. Franklin
+was again appointed one of these commissioners, to visit Arnold and
+advise respecting Canadian affairs.
+
+Most of the Canadians were Catholics. One of the commissioners was
+Charles Carroll of Carollton. He had a brother John, a Catholic
+priest, a man of high culture, of irreproachable character and a
+sincere patriot. He was perfectly familiar with the French language.
+By the solicitation of Congress he was induced to accompany his
+brother on this mission. It was hoped that he would be able to exert
+a powerful influence over the Canadian clergy. Franklin and John
+Carroll became intimate and loving friends. It speaks well for both,
+that the free-thinking philosopher, and the Catholic priest could so
+recognize each other's virtues, as to forget their speculative
+differences in mutual regard.
+
+There was before the commissioners, a very laborious journey of five
+hundred miles, much of it leading through an almost unexplored
+wilderness. It shows great zeal in Franklin, that at the age of
+seventy, he was willing to encounter such exposure.
+
+Late in March, the commissioners left Philadelphia. In two days they
+reached New York. They found the place deserted of its inhabitants. It
+was held but by a few soldiers, as it was hourly expected that the
+British, from their fleet and batteries, would open upon it a terrific
+bombardment. How little can we imagine the sufferings which must
+ensue, when thousands of families are driven, in terror, from their
+homes, from all their means of support, to go they know not where, and
+to live they know not how.
+
+A few sad days were passed in the ruined town, and on the 2d of April
+the party embarked, at five in the afternoon, in a packet for Albany.
+At seven o'clock in the morning of the 4th day, after an eventful
+voyage, in which they narrowly escaped shipwreck from a gale in the
+Highlands, they landed at Albany, where they were hospitably
+entertained by General Schuyler.
+
+After a brief rest, on the 9th, they set out for Saratoga, which was
+distant about thirty-two miles. They were conveyed over an exceedingly
+rough road of rocks, and corduroy and mire, in a large, heavy, country
+wagon. From this place, Franklin wrote,
+
+     "I begin to apprehend that I have undertaken a fatigue
+     which, at my time of life, may prove too much for me."
+
+After a short tarry at the country seat of General Sullivan at
+Saratoga, the party moved on toward Lake George. In those northern
+latitudes the ground was still covered with snow, and the lake was
+filled with floating ice. Two days of very exhausting travel brought
+them to the southern shore of the beautiful but then dreary lake. Here
+they took a large boat, thirty-six feet long, and eight broad. It was
+what was called a bateau, which was flat-bottomed, and was but one
+foot in depth. There was one mast, and a blanket sail, which was
+available when the wind was directly aft. There was no cabin. A mere
+awning sheltered partially from wind and rain.
+
+Thus they crept across the lake, through masses of ice, a distance of
+thirty-six miles, in thirty-six hours. There was a neck of land, four
+miles in breadth, which separated Lake George from Lake Champlain. The
+heavy boat, placed on wheels, was dragged across by six yoke of oxen.
+A delay of five days was thus caused, before they were ready to embark
+on the latter lake. The navigation of this small sheet of water,
+surrounded by the primeval forest, and with scarcely the cabin of a
+white man to be seen, must have been romantic indeed.
+
+They sailed when the wind favored, and rowed when it was adverse. At
+night they ran ashore, built their camp fire, which illumined lake and
+forest, boiled their coffee, cooked their viands, and, some under the
+awning, and some under the shelter of a hastily constructed camp,
+slept sweetly. The ice greatly impeded their progress. In three and a
+half days, they reached St. John's, near the upper end of the lake.
+The toilsome journey of another day, brought them to Montreal. None of
+the commissioners were accustomed to thus roughing it. All were
+greatly exhausted.
+
+A council of war was convened. Canada was clearly lost to the
+Americans. It was at once decided that nothing remained but to
+withdraw the troops. Early in June, Franklin reached Philadelphia,
+from his toilsome journey. He had been absent about ten weeks. The
+doom of the proprietary government over Pennsylvania, was now sealed.
+Congress had voted that all authority derived from the king of
+England, was extinct. A conference of delegates was appointed to
+organize a new government for the province. Franklin was, of course,
+one of these delegates. A committee had been appointed, by Congress,
+to draw up a Declaration of Independence. The committee consisted of
+Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, Livingston, and Sherman.
+
+The immortal document, as all the world knows, came from the pen of
+Jefferson. It was offered to Congress for acceptance. Many frivolous
+objections were, of course, presented. One man thought this phrase a
+little too severe. Another thought that a little too lenient. Franklin
+sat by the side of Jefferson, as the admirable document was subjected
+to this assailment. Turning to him he said, in one of the most
+characteristic and popular of all his utterances,
+
+"When I was a journeyman printer, one of my companions, an apprenticed
+hatter, was about to open a shop for himself. His first concern was to
+have a handsome sign-board, with a proper inscription. He composed it
+in these words,
+
+"John Thompson, Hatter, makes and sells Hats for ready Money."
+
+But he thought he would submit it to his friends for their amendments.
+The first he showed it to, thought the word _hatter_ tautologous;
+because followed by the words _makes hats_, which showed that he was a
+hatter. It was struck out. The next observed that the word _makes_,
+might as well be omitted, because his customers would not care who
+made the hats; if good, and to their mind, they would buy, by
+whomsoever made. He struck it out. A third said he thought the words,
+for _ready money_, were useless; as it was not the custom of the place
+to sell on credit. Every one who purchased, expected to pay. They were
+parted with. The inscription now stood,
+
+"John Thompson sells hats."
+
+"_Sells_ hats," says his next friend. "Why nobody will expect you to
+give them away. What then is the use of that word?" It was stricken
+out, and _hats_ followed, the rather as there was one painted on the
+board. So his inscription was reduced ultimately to _John Thompson_,
+with the figure of a hat subjoined."
+
+It will be remembered the readiness with which Dr. Franklin, on the
+spur of the moment, threw off the admirable fable of the Eagle and the
+Hare. It is altogether probable that, in the inexhaustible resources
+of his genius, he improvised this anecdote to meet the exigencies of
+the occasion.
+
+When the Hessian troops, whom England had hired of a German prince,
+arrived, intelligent men in this country pitied rather than blamed
+those simple hearted peasants, who had no animosity whatever, against
+the Americans. They had been compelled, by their feudal lord, who was
+really their slave master, to leave their lowly homes on the Rhine, to
+unite with English regulars and painted savages, in burning the homes
+and butchering the people struggling for existence in the wilderness
+of the New World.
+
+Again the all availing pen of Franklin was called into requisition. By
+direction of Congress he drew up a friendly address to these
+unfortunate men, offering every German, who would abandon the
+ignominious service to which his prince had sold him, a tract of rich
+land sufficient for an ample farm. The address was translated into
+German. Various were the devices adopted, to give the document
+circulation in the Hessian camp. It doubtless exerted a powerful
+influence, in disarming these highly disciplined troops of all
+animosity. The effect was perhaps seen in the spectacle witnessed a
+few weeks afterwards, when nine hundred of these soldiers were led
+through the streets of Philadelphia, prisoners of war. It is not
+improbable that many of them were more than willing to throw down
+their arms.
+
+On the 20th of July, 1776, Franklin was chosen by the Convention,
+one of nine delegates to represent Pennsylvania in the national
+Congress. One of the great difficulties to be surmounted, in a
+union of the States, was to give the great States, like New York and
+Pennsylvania, their own preponderance in the confederacy, while the
+minor states, like New Jersey and Delaware, should not be shorn of
+their influence. The difficulty was finally obviated by the present
+admirable arrangement, by which each State, great or small, has two
+representatives in the Senate, while their representation in the
+House depends upon the number of the population.
+
+Franklin excelled in the art of "putting things." He silenced the
+demand of the smaller States, to be, in all respects, on an equality
+with the larger, by saying,
+
+"Let the smaller colonies give equal money and men, and then have an
+equal vote. But if they have an equal vote, without bearing equal
+burdens, a confederation, upon such iniquitous principles, will never
+last long."
+
+The convention, to form a constitution for the State of Pennsylvania,
+met at Philadelphia on the 16th of July, 1776. Franklin was
+unanimously chosen President. No pen can describe the intensity of his
+labors. All appreciated his consummate wisdom, and yielded readily to
+his suggestions. Troops were hurrying to and fro. One hundred and
+twenty British war vessels were in New York harbor. No one knew upon
+what seaport the thunderbolts of this formidable armament would be
+hurled. The Americans had been defeated on Long Island in August,
+1776, and had almost miraculously escaped with their field pieces and
+stores, across the East River to New York. This brilliant retreat was
+deemed, by the Americans, almost equivalent to a victory.
+
+Lord Howe, the old friend of Franklin and a humane and respected
+Englishman, who was sincerely desirous of peace with the Colonies,
+was appointed Admiral of the king's naval forces. He accepted
+the appointment, with the hope that, by the aid of Franklin,
+reconciliation might be effected. Still he was an Englishman and could
+not conceive that Americans had any rights which the English
+government was bound to respect. The degree of his infatuation may be
+inferred from the fact that, as soon as he reached our shores, he
+published a Declaration, which he circulated far and wide, stating
+that if the Americans would only give up the conflict and return to
+implicit submission, the British Government would forgive their sins,
+pardon the guilty ones, with a few exceptions, and receive them again
+to favor. The weak man seemed really to think, that this was an
+extraordinary act of clemency on the part of the English Court.
+
+The reply, which Franklin drew up, to the Declaration, was grand. And
+it was the more grand when we reflect that it was addressed to a man
+who was supported by an army, of we know not how many thousand British
+regulars, and by a fleet of one hundred and twenty war vessels, many
+of which were of gigantic armament. Admiral Howe had written a
+courteous private letter to Dr. Franklin, in which he enclosed the
+Declaration. Congress gave Franklin permission to reply. He wrote,
+
+     "My lord; the official despatches to which you refer me,
+     contain nothing more than offers of pardon upon submission.
+     Directing pardon to be offered to the colonies, who are the
+     very parties injured, expresses indeed that opinion of our
+     ignorance, baseness, and insensibility which your uninformed
+     and proud nation has long been pleased to entertain of us.
+     It is impossible that we should think of submission to a
+     government that has, with the most wanton barbarity and
+     cruelty, burnt our defenseless towns, in the midst of
+     winter, excited the savages to massacre our farmers, and
+     our slaves to murder their masters, and is, even now,
+     bringing foreign mercenaries to deluge our settlements with
+     blood."
+
+I have not space to copy the remainder of this admirable letter. It
+was delivered to Lord Howe, on board his flag ship in New York harbor,
+ten days after its date. As he read it his countenance expressed
+surprise, and almost his only remark was, "My old friend has expressed
+himself very warmly."
+
+A few weeks later this good natured but weak man paroled General
+Sullivan, who was a prisoner of war, and sent him to Philadelphia,
+with a message to Congress which Lord Howe cautiously declined to put
+upon paper. General Sullivan reduced the message to writing and
+presented it to Congress. It was in substance as follows:
+
+"The government of England cannot admit that Congress is a legitimate
+body, to be recognized by any diplomatic relations whatever. It is but
+a tumultous assembly of men who have treasonably conspired against
+their lawful sovereign. Still the government is willing that Lord Howe
+should confer with some of the members of congress, as private
+gentlemen, to see if some terms of accommodation cannot be arranged."
+
+After much and earnest discussion, in which a great diversity of
+opinion prevailed, it was voted that General Sullivan should inform
+Admiral Howe, that a committee of three would be sent to ascertain
+whether he "has any authority to treat with persons, _authorized by
+Congress_ for that purpose."
+
+Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Edward Rutledge composed this
+committee. An antique house, nearly a hundred years old, formerly the
+abode of wealth and splendor, which stood in a green lawn, but a few
+rods from the beach on the western shore of Staten Island, was chosen
+as the place for the conference. A two days' journey conveyed the
+committee to Amboy, opposite the house. Adams traveled on horseback:
+Franklin and Rutledge in a two wheel chaise.
+
+Admiral Howe sent a boat, under the protection of a flag of truce,
+with an officer, who stated that he was to be left behind as a hostage
+for their safe return. Promptly they declined manifesting any such
+distrust of the honor of Admiral Howe, and took the hostage back in
+the boat with them. The barge, propelled by lusty rowers, soon reached
+the Staten Island shore. A large apartment of the old stone house had
+been richly decorated with moss and branches in honor of the occasion.
+
+A regiment of Hessians was posted at that spot. The colonel drew them
+up in two lines and through this lane of soldiers the commissioners
+advanced from the beach to the house. When Admiral Howe saw that the
+officer he had sent as a hostage had been returned, he said,
+
+"Gentlemen, you pay me a high compliment."
+
+Cordially the kind-hearted admiral received his guests, and invited
+them to an ample collation of cold ham, tongues, mutton and wine. Mr.
+Henry Strachey, secretary of Lord Howe, wrote a very full report of
+the interview, which accords entirely with the narrative which John
+Adams presented to Congress. In as sincere and friendly words as human
+lips could pronounce, the Admiral assured the American gentlemen of
+his earnest desire to promote reconciliation between the colonists and
+the mother country. He alluded to the fact that in England he had been
+regarded as the friend of America, and to the honor Massachusetts had
+conferred upon his family by rearing a monument to his brother, who
+had fallen at Ticonderoga. Franklin well knew that Howe was regarded
+as the friend of America.
+
+"I assure you, gentlemen," said Lord Howe, "that I esteem that honor
+to my family, above all things in this world. Such is my gratitude and
+affection to this country, on that account, that I feel for America as
+for a brother. And if America should fall, I should feel and lament it
+like the loss of a brother." The reply of Franklin to these sincere
+words, seems a little discourteous. Assuming an air of great
+indifference and confidence, as though the fall of America was an idea
+not to be thought of, he bowed, and with one of his blandest smiles
+said, "I assure you, my lord, that we will do everything in our power
+to save your lordship from that mortification."
+
+The admiral was feeling too deeply for jokes. He was wounded by the
+rebuke apparently contained in the reply of his old friend. But it
+must not be forgotten that Franklin, the sweetest tempered of men, had
+not yet recovered from the indignation caused by the barbarities
+inflicted by the British government upon the families of Falmouth.
+Every day was bringing tidings of the atrocities which England,
+through its savage allies, was perpetrating on the frontiers, burning
+the cabins of lonely farmers, and tomahawking and scalping women and
+children. And he was constrained to look upon Lord Howe as the agent
+of that government, commissioned to bear to the patriots of America
+only the insulting messages, that the king and his ministers would
+graciously pardon them the crime of attempting to resist their
+despotism, if they would ask forgiveness, and in future submit
+uncomplainingly to the requirements of the crown.
+
+Thus, while the kind-hearted admiral, with a bosom glowing with
+brotherly sympathy, was acting upon the assumption that the Americans
+should cherish undying emotions of gratitude to the king, that he was
+so ready to forgive their disobedience to his commands, Franklin and
+his companions, found it difficult to restrain their emotions of
+indignation, in view of the truly diabolical course pursued by the
+British government. The court, in their judgment, merited the
+execrations not only of Americans but of all humanity.
+
+Lord Howe very emphatically wished the commissioners to understand
+that he met them merely as private individuals, and that he could not,
+in the slightest degree, recognize any authority in Congress. Franklin
+coldly replied,
+
+"Your lordship may consider us in any view you may think proper. We,
+on our part, are at liberty to consider ourselves in our real
+character."
+
+John Adams replied with warmth, characteristic of his impetuous
+nature, "Your lordship may consider _me_ in what light you please.
+Indeed I should be willing to consider myself, for a few moments, in
+any character which would be agreeable to your lordship, _except that
+of a British subject_."
+
+As the conversation was continued, Franklin said, "We have been
+deputed, by Congress, simply to inquire of your lordship what
+proposition you have to offer _for the consideration of Congress_.
+British troops have ravaged our country and burnt our towns. We cannot
+again be happy under the government of Great Britain. All former
+attachments are obliterated. America can never return to the
+domination of Great Britain."
+
+Mr. Adams added, "My lord, it is not in our power to treat otherwise
+than as _independent states_. For my part, I avow my determination
+never to depart from the idea of _independency_."
+
+Mr Rutledge gave emphasis to these decisive words by saying, "With
+regard to the people consenting to come again under the English
+government, _it is impossible_. I can answer for South Carolina. The
+royal government there was very oppressive. At last we took the
+government into our own hands. The people are now settled, and happy,
+under that government. They would not now return to the king's
+government even if Congress should desire it."
+
+Here the conference ended, by Lord Howe's stating, that, as they
+insisted upon _independence_, no accommodation was possible. Lord Howe
+courteously accompanied the American gentlemen to the barge, and they
+were rowed over to the New Jersey shore. In the report they made to
+Congress they stated, that the commission of Lord Howe only conferred
+upon him authority to grant pardon to the Americans, with a few
+exceptions, upon their entire submission to the king.
+
+It required, in those days, a long time to cross the Atlantic. Seldom
+could an answer be obtained to a letter in less than four or five
+months. To the usual delays and perils attached to the navigation of
+that stormy sea, there was now to be added the danger of capture from
+the swarm of British cruisers. Congress had several agents on the
+continent. But months passed away, during which no letters were
+received from them. This painful suspense was relieved, in September,
+1776, by a long letter to Dr. Franklin, from a French gentleman, Dr.
+Dubourg. He was one of the prominent philosophers of Paris, and, by
+the request of Count du Buffon, had translated into French, Franklin's
+treatise upon electricity.
+
+This letter was very cautiously written. It covered many sheets of
+paper. The all important substance of the letter was almost concealed
+from view by the mass of verbiage in which it was enveloped. But a
+careful reading indicated that the French ministry and the nation were
+in sympathy with the Americans; that while the ministry wished to
+avoid war with England they would gladly, if it could be done
+secretly, send the Americans money and powder, cannon and muskets, and
+that many French generals of note were eager to join the American
+army, and confer upon it the benefit of their experience.
+
+This news sent a thrill of joy through hearts which recent reverses
+had rendered somewhat desponding. It was decided immediately to send
+an embassy of highest character to France. Three were to be chosen by
+ballot. On the first ballot Dr. Franklin was unanimously elected. He
+was seventy years old. And yet probably there was not another man in
+America so well qualified to fill that difficult, delicate and
+responsible post. Franklin, in the saloons of diplomacy, was fully the
+peer of Washington on the field of war. When the result of the ballot
+was announced Franklin turned to Dr. Rush, who was at his side, and
+said,
+
+"I am old and good for nothing. But as the store-keepers say of their
+remnants of cloth, 'I am but a fag end, and you may have me for what
+you please.'"
+
+Thomas Jefferson, then thirty-three years of age, and as pure a
+patriot as ever lived, was next chosen. He was already renowned in
+France as the writer of the Declaration of Independence. Silas Deane,
+a native of Connecticut, and a graduate of Yale, then one of the
+agents in Europe, was the third.
+
+It required no little courage to cross the ocean, swept by the fleets
+of Great Britain. Had Franklin or Jefferson fallen into the hands of
+the British government, it is certain that they would have suffered
+severe imprisonment; it is by no means improbable that they would have
+been promptly hung as traitors. It was a noble sacrifice for country
+which led Franklin, having numbered his three-score years and ten, to
+incur these perils.[27]
+
+[Footnote 27: In the year 1780, Mr. Henry Laurens, formerly President
+of Congress, was sent as ambassador to Holland. The ship was captured
+off Newfoundland, after a chase of five hours. The unfortunate man was
+thrown into the Tower, where he was imprisoned fifteen months, "where"
+he wrote to Mr. Burke, "I suffered under a degree of rigor, almost if
+not altogether unexampled in modern British history."]
+
+Jefferson was compelled to decline the mission, as his wife, whom he
+loved with devotion rarely equalled, and perhaps never surpassed, was
+sick and dying. Arthur Lee, then in Europe, was elected in his stead.
+He was a querulous, ill-natured man, ever in a broil. A more
+unsuitable man for the office could scarcely have been found.
+
+There were two parties in France who favored the Americans. One
+consisted of enthusiastic young men, who were enamored with the idea
+of republican liberty. They were weary of Bourbon despotism. The
+character of Louis XV., as vile a king as ever sat upon a throne, was
+loathsome to them. They had read Jefferson's "Declaration," with
+delight; and had engraven its immortal principles upon their hearts.
+The Marquis de Lafayette was perhaps the most prominent member of this
+party.
+
+France hated England. That haughty government had long been the most
+unpopular on the globe. England had made great conquests from France,
+and was rich, intelligent and powerful beyond any other nation.
+Prosperity had given her arrogance, and she had placed her heel upon
+her humiliated neighbors. There was not a court in Europe which would
+not have rejoiced to see England humbled. The despotic court of
+France, and the most haughty nobles, were ready to encounter any
+perils which held out a reasonable hope that England might be
+weakened. Thus the sympathies of all France were united in favor of
+America.
+
+And now the hour had come. By aiding the Americans, who had boldly
+declared their independence, they might not only deprive England of
+those colonies whose trade was already invaluable to England, and
+which were rapidly increasing in population, wealth and power, but
+also they might awaken such gratitude in the bosoms of Americans, that
+the trade of the new nation would be mainly transferred to France.
+
+Thus the court and the nobles, intent upon this object, did not
+hesitate to aid in the establishment of those principles of liberty,
+fraternity and equality in America, which eventually whelmed in ruin
+the palaces and the castles of France.
+
+It was deemed important to conceal, as long as possible, from the
+British government the sympathy and aid which France was about to
+manifest for the Americans. Arthur Lee reported that an agent of the
+French government had promised to send from Holland, two thousand
+pounds worth of military stores. They were to be forwarded to one of
+the French West India islands, ostensibly for the service of those
+islands. The governor was, however, instructed to surrender them to a
+secret agent of the American Congress. The plan failed. I have not
+space to record all the various stratagems which were devised to aid
+the Americans, while the movement was carefully concealed from the
+vigilant eyes of the English.
+
+Franklin, with nobility of soul which should command the love of every
+American, as one of his last deeds before he left his country perhaps
+never to return, collected all the money he could command, about
+twelve thousand dollars, and loaned it to the government, whose
+treasury was utterly impoverished. In those dark days, even that small
+sum was of essential aid. In one of the last of Franklin's letters,
+before he sailed, he wrote,
+
+     "As to our public affairs, I hope our people will keep up
+     their courage. I have no doubt of their finally succeeding
+     by the blessing of God; nor have I any doubt that so good a
+     cause will fail of that blessing. It is computed that we
+     have already taken a million sterling from the enemy. They
+     must soon be sick of their piratical project."
+
+Franklin embarked in the Reprisal, a rapid sailing sloop of war of
+sixteen guns. He took with him his grandson, William Temple Franklin,
+son of the Tory governor, then a very handsome boy of eighteen, and
+Benjamin Franklin Bache, eldest son of his daughter, a lad of seven
+years. William Temple Franklin adhered firmly to the political views
+of his grandfather. Dr. Franklin intended to place Benjamin in a
+school in Paris.
+
+Tory spies were watching every movement of Congress. This mission to
+France was kept a profound secret. Had the British government known
+that Benjamin Franklin was about to cross the ocean, almost every ship
+in the British navy would have been sent in chase of him. On the 26th
+of October, 1776, he left Philadelphia, every precaution having been
+adopted to keep his departure a secret. The vessel was at anchor at
+Marcus Hook, in the Delaware, three miles beyond Chester.
+
+Fierce gales drove them rapidly across the Atlantic. Captain Wickes
+had received instructions to avoid fighting, if possible. He was to
+devote all his energies to transporting his precious passenger as
+rapidly as possible, from shore to shore. They were often chased by
+cruisers. The vessel was small, and Franklin, in his old age, was
+sadly cramped by his narrow accommodations. He says that of all his
+eight voyages this was the most distressing. When near the coast of
+France they captured an English brig, with a cargo of lumber and wine.
+On the afternoon of the same day, they took another brig, loaded with
+brandy and flax seed. England was almost delirious with rage, in
+finding that the Americans were bearing away their prizes from the
+channel itself, thus bidding proud defiance to those frigates and
+fortresses of Great Britain which had overawed the world.
+
+On the 29th of November the Reprisal cast anchor in Quiberon Bay.
+Franklin there obtained a post chaise to convey him to Nantes. He
+writes,
+
+     "The carriage was a miserable one, with tired horses, the
+     evening dark, scarce a traveller but ourselves on the road.
+     And to make it more _comfortable_, the driver stopped near a
+     wood we were to pass through, to tell us that a gang of
+     eighteen robbers infested that wood, who, but two weeks ago,
+     had robbed and murdered some travellers on that very spot."
+
+Though absolutely no one in Europe knew that Franklin was expected,
+his fame had preceded him. The scientists of France were eager to
+render him their homage. French statesmen had learned, at the Court of
+St. James, to respect his grandeur of character, and his diplomatic
+abilities. He was a very handsome man, with a genial smile, which won
+love at sight. The invariable remark of every one, who chanced to meet
+him for five minutes was, "What a delightful man." Franklin had none
+of the brusqueness which characterizes John Bull. He was always a
+gentleman, scrupulously attentive to his rich, elegant, yet simple
+dress. He manifested his knowledge of human nature, in carefully
+preserving his national garb,--the old continental costume.
+
+Thus wherever he appeared he attracted attention. No man was ever more
+courteous. The French Court, at that time, was bound by the shackles
+of etiquette, to an almost inconceivable degree. But Franklin was
+never embarrassed. He needed no one to teach him etiquette. Instinct
+taught him what to do, so that, in the bearing of a well bred
+gentleman, he was a model man, even in the court where Louis XIV. and
+Louis XV. had reigned with omnipotent sway. The most beautiful
+duchess, radiant in her courtly costume, and glittering with jewels,
+felt proud of being seated on the sofa by the side of this true
+gentleman, whose dress, simple as it was, was in harmony with her own.
+The popular impression is entirely an erroneous one, that there was
+anything rustic, anything which reminded one of the work shop or the
+_blouse_, in the demeanor of Benjamin Franklin, as he moved,
+unembarrassed, in the highest circles of fashion then known in the
+world.
+
+Franklin was received to the hospitalities of a French gentleman of
+wealth and distinction, by the name of Gruel. His elegant apartments
+were always crowded with visitors, eager to manifest their respect for
+the trans-Atlantic philosopher. Horace Walpole, a warm friend of the
+Americans, wrote,
+
+     "An account came that Dr. Franklin, at the age of 72, or 74,
+     and, at the risk of his head, had bravely embarked, on board
+     an American frigate, and, with two prizes taken on the way,
+     had landed, at Nantes, in France, and was to be at Paris on
+     the 14th, where the highest admiration and expectation of
+     him were raised."
+
+Upon his arrival Mr. Deane exultingly wrote, "Here is the hero and
+philosopher, and patriot, all united in this celebrated American, who,
+at the age of seventy four, risks all dangers for his country."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+_The Struggles of Diplomacy._
+
+     Anecdote of Gibbon--John Adams--Residence at
+     Passy--Lafayette introduced--Cruise of the Reprisal--Paul
+     Jones--Capture of Burgoyne--Alliance with France--Anecdote
+     of the Cake--Excitement in England--Franklin's introduction
+     to the king--Joy in America--Extraordinary letter of Count
+     Wissenstein--The reply--Injustice to Paul Jones--French
+     troops in America--Character of John Adams--Franklin's
+     mature views of human nature--Anecdote of the Angel--Capture
+     of Cornwallis--Its effect in England--Prejudices of Mr.
+     Jay--Testimony of Dr. Sparks--Jealousy of Franklin--Shrewd
+     diplomatic act--The treaty signed.
+
+
+In the journey from Nantes to Paris, a curious incident occurred,
+which is well worth recording. It so admirably illustrates the
+character of two distinguished men, as to bear internal evidence of
+its truthfulness. At one of the inns, at which Franklin stopped, he
+was informed that Mr. Gibbon, the illustrious author of the "Decline
+and Fall of the Roman Empire," was also tarrying.
+
+Mr. Gibbon was an Englishman. He was a deist, being in entire sympathy
+with Franklin in his views of Christianity. He was also a man of
+letters. Mr. Franklin addressed a very polite note to Mr. Gibbon,
+sending his compliments, and soliciting the pleasure of spending the
+evening with him. Mr. Gibbon, who was never renowned for amiability of
+character, replied, in substance, we have not his exact words,
+
+"Notwithstanding my regard for Dr. Franklin, as a man and a
+philosopher, I cannot reconcile it with my duty to my king, to have
+any conversation with a revolted subject."
+
+Franklin responded to this by writing, "Though Mr. Gibbon's principles
+have compelled him to withhold the pleasure of his conversation, Dr.
+Franklin has still such a respect for the character of Mr. Gibbon, as
+a gentleman and a historian, that when, in the course of his writing
+the history of the 'Decline and Fall of Empires,' the decline and fall
+of the British Empire shall come to be his subject, as will probably
+soon be the case, Dr. Franklin would be happy to furnish him with
+ample materials, which are in his possession."[28]
+
+[Footnote 28: This anecdote has had a wide circulation in the
+newspapers. Mr. William Cobbett inserts it in his "Works," with the
+following comment, characteristic of the spirit of most of the higher
+class of Englishmen, in those days:
+
+"Whether this anecdote record a truth or not I shall not pretend to
+say. But it must be confessed, that the expressions imputed to the two
+personages were strictly in character. In Gibbon, we see the faithful
+subject, and the man of candor and honor. In Franklin the treacherous
+and malicious old Zanga, of Boston."--_Works of William Cobbett. Vol.
+vii, p. 244._]
+
+Gibbon was a Tory. He supported Lord North in all his measures. The
+government rewarded him with a pension of eight hundred pounds a year.
+This was equivalent to considerable more than four thousand dollars
+at the present time. Franklin was received, in Paris, by the whole
+population, court and _canaille_, with enthusiasm which that excitable
+capital had rarely witnessed. The most humble of the population were
+familiar with the pithy sayings of Poor Richard. The _savants_
+admitted their obligations to him, for the solution of some of the
+most difficult problems of philosophy. The fashionable world
+were delighted with his urbanity; and in his society found rare
+and unequalled pleasure. The republicans regarded him as the
+personification of a free government; and even the nobles and the
+ministry were cheered by the hope that, with his aid, haughty England
+could be weakened and humbled, and that thus a new era of commercial
+prosperity was about to dawn upon France.
+
+John Adams was not popular in Paris. He was a man of great abilities,
+of irreproachable character, and was animated by as pure principles of
+patriotism as ever glowed in a human bosom. But he was a genuine
+Puritan, inheriting the virtues and the foibles of the best of that
+class. Though not wanting in magnanimity, he could not fail from being
+disturbed, by the caresses with which Franklin was ever greeted,
+contrasted with the cold and respectful courtesy with which he was
+received. It was always the same, in the Court, in the saloons, and on
+the Boulevards. In Mr. Adams' diary, written some years later, we find
+the following insertion, which, in some degree, reveals his feelings.
+He is recording a conversation with the French minister.
+
+     "All religions," said Marbois, "are tolerated in America.
+     The ambassadors have a right, in all the courts of Europe,
+     to a chapel in their own way. But Mr. Franklin never had
+     any."
+
+     "No," said I laughing, "because Mr. Franklin has no----"
+
+     I was going to say what I did not say, and will not say
+     here. I stopped short, and laughed.
+
+     "No," said M. Marbois. "Mr. Franklin adores only great
+     Nature; which has interested a great many people of both
+     sexes in his favor."
+
+     "Yes," said I laughing, "all the atheists, deists and
+     libertines, as well as the philosophers and ladies are in
+     his train."[29]
+
+[Footnote 29: Works of John Adams, Vol. III, p. 220.]
+
+The English lords were exasperated by the reception France had given
+Franklin. They fully comprehended its significance. France was in
+sympathy with the Americans, in their heroic endeavor to escape from
+the despotism of the British crown. Thus the traffic which had
+enriched England, would be transferred to France.
+
+Even the Earl of Chatham said, in one of the most eloquent of his
+speeches,
+
+"France, my lords, has insulted you. She has encouraged and sustained
+America. And whether America be wrong or right, the dignity of
+this country ought to spurn at the officiousness of the French
+interference. The ministers and ambassadors of those who are called
+rebels, are in Paris. In Paris they transact the reciprocal business
+of America and France. Can there be a more mortifying insult? Can even
+our ministers sustain a more humiliating disgrace? Do they dare to
+resent it?"
+
+Franklin was assailed in England, in innumerable pamphlets of abuse.
+The sin of his youth still pursued him. Many an envenomed arrow
+pierced his heart.[30]
+
+[Footnote 30: This is a delicate subject, but it must not be ignored.
+Mr. Parton writes,--"One penny-a-liner informed the public that Dr.
+Franklin had a son, who, though illegitimate, was a much more honest
+man than his father. As to the mother of that son, nothing was known
+of her, except that her seducer let her die in the streets."
+
+There was no end to those attacks. They were attended by every
+exaggeration of malignity which hatred could engender. It is certain
+that Franklin would have been saved from these woes could he, as a
+young man, have embraced the _faith_ of the religion of Jesus, and
+developed that _faith_ in his _practice_.]
+
+But it must not be forgotten that there were many of the noblest men
+in England, who were the warm friends of Franklin, and who cordially
+espoused the American cause. Among these were Fox, Burke, Rockingham,
+Shelburne, Chatham, Priestley and Price.
+
+Many beautiful villages surrounded Paris. One of the most lovely,
+embowered in foliage, was Passy. It is now included within the city
+walls. It was then but two miles from the centre of the city. A
+munificent friend of America, M. de Chaumont, invited Franklin to the
+hospitality of one of his sumptuous mansions in that place. Franklin
+accepted the invitation, assuring him that at the close of the war,
+Congress would insist upon granting him a tract of land, in
+recognition of his kindness to America in the hour of need.
+
+Early in the year 1777, Franklin took up his residence at Passy, and
+there he continued to reside while he remained in France. He lived
+liberally, had an ample retinue of servants, and entertained his
+guests with elegance. His annual expenditures were about thirteen
+thousand dollars. This sum would then purchase twice the amount of
+conveniences and luxuries which could be purchased by the same sum at
+the present day. He had his own servants, and commanded a handsome
+carriage with two horses.
+
+Mrs. Adams writes, "With seven servants, and hiring a charwoman upon
+occasion of company, we may possibly keep house. With less we should
+be hooted at as ridiculous, and could not entertain any company."
+
+Though Franklin took every thing by the smooth handle, he did not, on
+that account, intermit any intensity of labor to accomplish his
+purposes. There were then three American envoys in Paris, Franklin,
+Deane, and Lee. Five days after the arrival of Franklin, they, on the
+28th of December, 1777, held their first interview with the French
+Minister, Count de Vergennes. They were received with all that
+cordiality and courtesy which are marked characteristics of the French
+people. But still the commissioners were embarrassed. The prospects of
+America were doubtful. General Burgoyne was on the eve of sailing for
+America with a formidable fleet, and an army of eight or ten thousand
+highly disciplined troops. In the course of the conversation, the
+minister said that France was not yet ready to enter into open
+collision with England, and to declare war.
+
+"But," said he, "if a _couple of millions_ of francs, to be repaid
+without interest after the war, will be of use to you, they are at
+your service. Only do not say that you had it from _us_."
+
+This was indeed, under the doubtful circumstances, a very generous
+offer. It was at this dark hour that the noble Lafayette decided to
+consecrate his fortune, and to peril his life, for the cause of
+American freedom. It was proclaimed that Burgoyne's expedition was
+fitted out to rouse the slaves to insurrection, and to lay the
+mansions of the planters in ashes. Arthur Lee was very much alarmed.
+These splendid estates were generally situated in romantic spots, upon
+the banks of the navigable rivers, where the dwellings, often quite
+magnificent, could easily be demolished by shot and shell thrown from
+any frigate.
+
+The Reprisal, Captain Wickes, was the first American vessel of war
+which ventured into European waters. The channel swarmed with British
+vessels. The Reprisal took prize after prize, and conveyed them into
+Nantes. As France was not at war with England, Count de Vergennes was
+compelled to order the Reprisal, with her prizes, to leave the harbor.
+Captain Wickes took some of the Nantes merchants on board his vessel,
+and, just outside the port, sold the prizes to them. The French
+merchants then returned, with their property, into the harbor.
+
+Captain Wickes soon united with him the Lexington of fourteen guns,
+and a cutter, the Dolphin, of ten guns. With this little fleet the
+hero sailed completely around Ireland, capturing or destroying sixteen
+prizes. The British were astounded at this audacity. Merchants and
+under-writers were quite terror-stricken. They had never dreamed that
+the despised Americans could strike _them_ any blows. And when, soon
+after, Paul Jones, one of the noblest of all naval heroes, appeared in
+their waters, it is not too much to say that _consternation_ pervaded
+the coasts of both England and Ireland.[31]
+
+[Footnote 31: The wonderful achievements of this patriot are fully
+recorded in one of the volumes of this series.]
+
+It requires many and aggravated wrongs to rouse a naturally amiable
+man to the highest pitch of indignation. But when thus roused, he is
+ready for any vigor of action. Franklin's blood was up. England was
+bribing slaves to murder their masters; was rousing the savages to
+massacre the families of poor, hard-working frontiersmen; was wantonly
+bombarding defenceless seaports, and with inhumanity, rarely known in
+civilized warfare, was laying villages in ashes, consigning women and
+children to beggary and starvation. In the prison hulks of New York,
+our most illustrious men were in the endurance, as prisoners of war,
+of woes unsurpassed by Algerine barbarism. Many of our common
+sailors, England was compelling, by the terrors of the lash, to man
+her ships, and to fight their own countrymen. Maddened by these
+atrocities, Mr. Franklin wrote to his English friend, David Hartley, a
+member of Parliament, a letter, which all the few friends of America
+in England, read with great satisfaction, and which must have produced
+a very powerful moral impression in France. It is too long to be
+inserted here. In conclusion he said to his friend,
+
+     "In reviewing what I have written, I found too much warmth in
+     it, and was about to strike out some parts. Yet I let them
+     go, as it will afford you this one reflection,
+
+     "'If a man naturally cool, and rendered still cooler by old
+     age, is so warmed by our treatment of his country, how much
+     must those people in general be exasperated against us. And
+     why are we making inveterate enemies, by our barbarity, not
+     only of the present inhabitants of a great country, but of
+     their infinitely more numerous posterity; who will, in
+     future ages, detest the name of Englishman, as much as the
+     children in Holland now do those of Alva and Spaniard.'"
+
+William Temple Franklin inherited the attractions of person, and the
+fascination of manners, so conspicuous in his grandfather. He was a
+great favorite in the social circles of the gay metropolis. Dark days
+came, with tidings of discomfiture. Franklin devoted twelve hours out
+of the twenty-four, to the arduous duties of his mission. Philadelphia
+fell.
+
+"Well, Doctor," said an Englishman in Paris, with the customary
+courtesy of his nation, "Howe has taken Philadelphia."
+
+"I beg your pardon," Franklin replied, "Philadelphia has taken Howe."
+
+The result proved that Franklin's joke was almost a reality.
+
+Burgoyne surrendered. His whole army was taken captive. Massachusetts
+immediately sent John Loring Austin to convey the rapturous tidings to
+Franklin. This great success would doubtless encourage France to open
+action. No tongue can tell the emotions excited in the bosoms of
+Franklin, Lee and Deane, as Austin entered their presence at Passy,
+with the announcement, "_General Burgoyne and his whole army are
+prisoners of war._"
+
+There were no shoutings, no rushing into each other's arms. But tears
+filled their eyes. They felt assured that France would come openly to
+their aid, and that the independence of their country was no longer
+doubtful. Silently they returned to Franklin's spacious apartment,
+where they spent the whole day in reading the enrapturing dispatches,
+and in preparing for immediate alliance with France. France made no
+attempt to conceal its joy. A treaty of alliance was soon formed.
+Nobly the Count de Vergennes said,
+
+"We wish to take no advantage of your situation. We desire no terms
+which you may hereafter regret having made; but would enter into
+arrangements of mutual interest, which may last as long as human
+institutions endure."
+
+England was now greatly alarmed from fear that the trade of the
+colonies might be transferred to France. Envoys were sent to Passy to
+offer the American ambassadors everything they had demanded at the
+commencement of the conflict. But it was too late. America now
+demanded _Independence_, and would accept nothing less.
+
+A large cake was one day sent to the ambassador's apartment, at Passy,
+with the inscription "Le Digne Franklin," the worthy Franklin. Mr. Lee
+said, "Well, Doctor, we have to thank you for our accommodations, and
+to appropriate your present to our use."
+
+"Not at all," said Franklin. "This cake is for all the Commissioners.
+The French, not being able to write good English, do not spell our
+names correctly. The meaning doubtless is Lee, Deane, Franklin."
+
+The memorable treaty was signed on the 5th of February, 1778. It was
+stated that the object of the treaty was to establish the independence
+of the United States, and that neither party should conclude either
+truce or peace with England, without the consent of the other.
+
+Tidings of the treaty, which for a short time was kept secret, had
+been whispered in England, causing intense excitement. On the 17th of
+February, 1778, the House of Parliament was crowded. Lord North, amid
+breathless silence, presented a "Conciliation Bill," granting
+everything which Franklin had demanded. Fox, who was in the
+Opposition, arose and announced the treaty. "The astonishment," writes
+Walpole, "was totally indescribable."
+
+Soon the fact of the treaty of alliance, was formally announced in
+France. The American envoys were invited to an audience with the king.
+Franklin was richly dressed. His hair was carefully arranged by a
+French perruquier. He wore an admirably fitting suit of plain, black,
+silk velvet. Ruffles of elaborate embroidery and snowy whiteness
+adorned his wrists and bosom. White silk stockings aided in displaying
+the perfect proportions of his frame. Large silver buckles were on his
+shoes.
+
+No one could accuse him of failing in due respect for the king, by
+appearing in his presence in slatternly dress. His costume was superb,
+and was such as was then worn, on important occasions, by American
+gentlemen of the highest rank. The audience took place at Versailles,
+on the morning of the 20th of March. Each of the American envoys rode
+in his own carriage, attended by the usual retinue of servants. On the
+way they were cheered with the utmost enthusiasm by the crowd. The
+king, Louis XVI., received them with extreme courtesy, and the queen,
+Marie Antoinette, was marked in her attentions to Franklin. The
+British ambassador, Lord Stormont, was so enraged, that, regardless of
+all the claims of courtesy, he immediately returned to England,
+without even taking leave of the king.
+
+Who can describe the exultation, the rapture, the tears, with which
+these tidings were received by the patriots of America. On the 6th
+of May, George Washington drew up his little band at Valley Forge,
+to announce the great event, and to offer to God prayers and
+thanksgivings. The tone of the English was immediately changed. They
+abandoned threats and tried the effect of entreaties. Several
+emissaries, from the government, approached Dr. Franklin, all bearing
+in substance the same message. They said,
+
+"We cannot endure the thought that our beloved colonists should enter
+into alliance with our hereditary natural enemy, France. Can you, who
+are Protestants, consent to unite with a nation of Roman Catholics? If
+you will remain firm in your adhesion to England, we will grant you
+all you ever wished for, and even more. But do not forsake your mother
+country to swell the pride and power of perfidious France."
+
+But all these efforts were unavailing. The colonists began to despise
+England. They had no wish for war with their unnatural parent, and
+they knew that their independence was assured; and that no efforts
+which England could possibly make, could now prevent it. All alike
+felt disposed to spurn the bribes which England so lavishly offered.
+
+A very extraordinary letter was sent to Dr. Franklin, which was
+signed, Charles de Wissenstein. Franklin, who was accustomed to
+sifting evidence, became satisfied that the message came from king
+George III. himself. The letter declared that the perfidious French
+would certainly deceive the Americans with false promises, and defraud
+them. After making the most liberal offers of popular rights, if the
+Americans would continue to remain colonists under the British crown,
+the document presented the following extraordinary promise to those
+American patriots whom England had denounced as traitors, and doomed
+to be hung. It was deemed a bribe which human virtue could not resist.
+
+     "As it is unreasonable that their (the American patriots)
+     services to their country should deprive them of those
+     advantages which their talents would otherwise have gained
+     them, the following persons shall have offices or pensions
+     for life, at their option, namely, Franklin, Washington,
+     Adams, Hancock, etc. In case his Majesty, or his successors,
+     should ever create American peers, then those persons, or
+     their descendants, shall be among the first created if they
+     choose it."
+
+Franklin, after conference with his colleagues, replied to the letter.
+His soul was all on fire with the insults our country had received,
+and the wrongs she had endured. He wrote as if personally addressing
+the king. We can only give the concluding paragraph. After stating
+that the independence of America was secured, that all attempts of
+England to prevent it would be impotent, and that consequently it was
+quite a matter of indifference to the Americans whether England
+acknowledged it or not, he wrote,[32]
+
+     "This proposition, of delivering ourselves bound and gagged,
+     ready for hanging, without even a right to complain, and
+     without a friend to be found afterward among all mankind,
+     you would have us embrace upon the faith of an Act of
+     Parliament. Good God! an act of your Parliament. This
+     demonstrates that you do not yet know us; and that you fancy
+     that we do not know you. But it is not merely this flimsy
+     faith that we are to act upon. You offer us hope, the hope
+     of PLACES, PENSIONS and PEERAGES.
+
+     "These, judging from yourselves, you think are motives
+     irresistible. This offer to corrupt us, sir, is with me,
+     your credential; and convinces me that you are not a private
+     volunteer in your application. It bears the stamp of British
+     Court character. It is even the signature of your king. But
+     think, for a moment, in what light it must be viewed in
+     America.
+
+     "By PLACES, you mean places among us; for you take care, by
+     a special article, to secure your own to yourselves. We must
+     then pay the salaries in order to enrich ourselves with
+     those places. But you will give us PENSIONS, probably to be
+     paid too out of your expected American revenue, and which
+     none of us can accept without deserving, and perhaps
+     obtaining, _suspension_.
+
+     "PEERAGES! Alas! in our long observation of the vast servile
+     majority of your peers, voting constantly for every measure
+     proposed by a minister, however weak or wicked, leaves us
+     small respect for that title. We consider it as a sort of
+     tar-and-feather honor, or a mixture of foulness and folly,
+     which every man among us, who should accept it from your
+     king, would be obliged to renounce, or exchange for that
+     confessed by the mobs of their own country, or wear it with
+     everlasting infamy."[33]
+
+[Footnote 32: In reference to the promises contained in the letter,
+Franklin referred to a book which it was said George III. had
+carefully studied, called _Arcana Imperii_. A prince, to appease a
+revolt, had promised indemnity to the revolters. The question was
+submitted to the keepers of the king's conscience, whether he were
+bound to keep his promises. The reply was,
+
+"No! It was right to make the promises, because the revolt could not
+otherwise be suppressed. It would be wrong to keep them, because
+revolters ought to be punished."]
+
+[Footnote 33: Sparks' Franklin, Vol. iii, p. 278.]
+
+In the spring of 1778, Paul Jones entered upon his brilliant career,
+bidding defiance, with his infant fleet, to all the naval power of
+Great Britain, agitating entire England with the terror of his name.
+Franklin was his affectionate friend, and, in all his many trials, he
+leaned upon Franklin for sympathy. So tremendously was he maligned by
+the English press, that American historians, unconsciously thus
+influenced, have never done him justice. As a patriot, and a noble
+man, he deserves to take rank with his friends, Washington and
+Franklin.
+
+In 1779, Lafayette, returning to France, from America, brought the
+news that Franklin was appointed by Congress as sole plenipotentiary
+of the new nation of the United States, to the generous kingdom, which
+had acknowledged our independence, and whose fleets and armies were
+now united with ours. All France rejoiced. With great eclat the new
+ambassadors were presented to the king.
+
+No man of force of character can escape having enemies. Franklin had
+many and bitter ones. A cabal plotted the removal of his excellent
+grandson, William Temple Franklin. It gives us an insight to the heart
+of this venerable septuagenarian to read from his pen,
+
+     "It is enough that I have lost my son. Would they add my
+     _grandson_. An old man of seventy, I undertook a winter
+     voyage, at the command of Congress, with no other attendant
+     to take care of me. I am continued here, in a foreign
+     country, where, if I am sick, his filial attention comforts
+     me. And if I die, I have a child to close my eyes and take
+     care of my remains. His dutiful behavior toward me, and his
+     diligence and fidelity in business, are both pleasing and
+     useful to me. His conduct, as my private secretary, has been
+     unexceptionable; and I am confident the Congress will never
+     think of separating us."
+
+Franklin's great endeavor now was to obtain money. Without it we
+could have neither fleet nor army. The treasury of France was empty,
+almost to bankruptcy. Never did he struggle against greater obstacles
+than during the next three years. It has been truly said, that
+Franklin, without intending it, helped to bleed the French monarchy to
+death. In addition to the employment of both army and navy, the French
+government conferred upon Congress, in gifts or loans, the sum of
+twenty-six million francs.
+
+The French troops were received in America with boundless enthusiasm.
+Their discipline was admirable. Their respect for the rights of
+property was such, that not a barn, orchard or hen-roost was robbed.
+
+John Adams was sent to join Franklin, to aid him in framing terms of
+peace, whenever England should be disposed to make such advances. He
+was a man of great abilities, of irreproachable integrity, but he had
+inherited, from his English ancestry, not only repulsive brusqueness,
+but also a prejudice against the French, which nothing could remove.
+His want of courtesy; his unconcealed assumption that France was
+acting out of unmitigated selfishness, and that consequently the
+Americans owed the French no debt of gratitude, often caused Franklin
+much embarrassment. This blunt man, at one time wrote so uncourteous,
+not to say insulting a letter, to M. de Vergennes, that the French
+minister declined having any more correspondence with him. Both
+Franklin and Congress condemned the incivility of Mr. Adams. He only
+escaped a motion of censure from the full conviction of Congress of
+the purity of his patriotism, and of his intentions.[34]
+
+[Footnote 34: Mr. Jefferson, after an intimacy of seven months with
+John Adams, in Paris, wrote of him: "He is vain, irritable, and a bad
+calculator of the force and probable effect of the motives which
+govern men. This is all the ill which can possibly be said of him. He
+is as disinterested as the Being who made him."]
+
+Franklin had been requested to forward the correspondence to Congress.
+As in duty bound, he did so; accompanying it with a magnanimous
+letter. Mr. Adams was very angry. Every impartial reader will admit
+that, in this embarrassing affair, Franklin conducted with delicacy
+and discretion. The British troops in America were still conducting
+like savages. Congress requested Franklin to prepare a school-book,
+with thirty-five prints, each depicting one or more of the acts of
+English brutality. The object was to impress the minds of children
+with a deep sense of the insatiable and bloody malice with which the
+English had pursued the Americans. The plan was never executed.
+
+In the year 1781, Franklin, then seventy-five years of age, and having
+been engaged in public service for fifty years, wrote to Congress,
+begging permission to retire from his responsible office. Congress
+could not spare his services. They gave him an additional appointment.
+He was commissioned to unite with Adams and Jay, in those negotiations
+for peace which, it was evident, must soon take place.
+
+Franklin loved the French, he could smile at their foibles, in
+dressing their hair so that they could not wear a hat, but were
+compelled to carry it under their arms; also in filling their noses
+with tobacco. "These," said he, "are mere follies. There is nothing
+wanting, in the character of a Frenchman, that belongs to that of an
+agreeable and worthy man."
+
+It may perhaps be mentioned, as a defect in the character of Franklin,
+that when in France he could see nothing but the beautiful. His eye
+was turned from every revolting spectacle. In the society of elegantly
+dressed, highly educated, refined French ladies,--at dinner parties,
+glittering with gold and silver plate,--in social intercourse with men
+whose philosophical attainments were of the highest order, and whose
+politeness of speech and bearing rendered them delightful companions,
+Franklin found his time and thoughts engrossed. In all his voluminous
+writings we find no allusion to those tremendous wrongs, which Louis
+XIV. and Louis XV. had entailed upon the people,--wrongs which soon
+convulsed society with the volcanic throes of the French revolution.
+
+Jefferson, who succeeded Franklin, was cast in a different mould. He
+saw and fully comprehended the misery under which the millions of the
+French peasantry were groaning. And this led him to the conviction,
+that no people could be safe, unless the government were placed in
+their own hands.
+
+Still Franklin, like his brother deists, Hume and Voltaire, seeing how
+impotent were all the motives they could urge to make man virtuous,
+became thoroughly disgusted with human nature. He even went beyond
+Paul in his description of the hopeless depravity of man. The idea of
+reclaiming him by his philosophy was abandoned entirely. And yet he
+was not prepared to embrace that gospel, which the experience of ages
+has proved to be the "wisdom of God and the power of God unto
+salvation."
+
+"He enlarges," writes Mr. Parton, "upon this theme, in his most
+delightful manner, in another letter to Dr. Priestley." In this letter
+he says in his usual jocular strain, that the more he studies the
+moral part of nature the more he is disgusted; that he finds men very
+badly constructed; that they are more prone to do evil than to do
+good; that they take great pleasure in killing one another, and that
+he doubts whether the species is worth preserving. He intimates that
+every attempt to save their souls is "an idle amusement."
+
+"As you grow older," he writes, "you may perhaps repent of having
+murdered, in mephitic air, so many honest, harmless mice, and wish
+that, to prevent mischief, you had used boys and girls instead of
+them."
+
+In this singular letter he represents a young angel having been sent
+to this world, under the guidance of an old courier spirit. They
+arrive over the seas of Martinico, in the midst of the horrible fight
+between the fleets of Rodney and De Grasse.
+
+"When," he writes, "through the clouds of smoke, he (the young angel)
+saw the fire of the guns, the decks covered with mangled limbs and
+bodies, dead or dying; the ships sinking, burning, or blown into the
+air; and the quantity of pain, misery and destruction the crews, yet
+alive, were with so much eagerness dealing round to one another, he
+turned angrily to his guide and said,
+
+"'You blundering blockhead; you are ignorant of your business. You
+undertook to conduct me to the earth; and you have brought me into
+hell.'
+
+"'No sir,' said the guide, 'I have made no such mistake. This is
+really the earth, and these are men. Devils never treat one another in
+this cruel manner. They have more sense, and more of what men (vainly)
+call humanity.'"
+
+It was after the study of human nature, under the most favorable of
+possible circumstances, for more than three-quarters of a century,
+that this philosopher wrote these terrible comments upon our fallen
+race.
+
+The latter part of October, 1781, Lord Cornwallis surrendered his
+whole army, of over seven thousand men, at Yorktown. The French fleet
+cut off his escape by sea. Seven thousand French soldiers, united with
+five thousand American troops, prevented any retreat by land. The
+Americans had thus captured two British armies. It was in vain for
+England to think of sending a third. The conflict was virtually
+decided.
+
+"The Prime Minister," Lord North, it is said, "received the tidings as
+he would have taken a ball in his breast. He threw his arms apart. He
+paced wildly up and down the room, exclaiming, from time to time, 'Oh
+God! it is all over.'"
+
+All England now was clamoring against the war. Thousands of persons
+had perished in the campaigns, and financial embarrassments had come
+to nearly all her institutions of industry. The English government
+made vigorous endeavors, offering great bribes, to induce the American
+envoys at Paris to abandon their French allies, and make a separate
+peace. Franklin wrote to Mr. Hartley, through whom he received these
+proposals,
+
+     "I believe there is not a man in America, a few _English
+     Tories_ excepted, that would not spurn the thought of
+     deserting a noble and generous friend, for the sake of a
+     truce with an unjust and cruel enemy."
+
+British diplomacy tried all its arts of intrigue to separate America
+from France in the negotiations for peace, but all in vain. The
+British minister, Mr. Grenville, in an interview with Mr. Franklin,
+ridiculed the idea that America owed France any gratitude, urging that
+France sought only her own selfish interests.
+
+     "I told him," Franklin writes, "that I was so strongly
+     impressed with the kind assistance afforded us by France, in
+     our distress, and the generous and noble manner in which it
+     was granted, without exacting or stipulating for a single
+     privilege, or particular advantage to herself in our commerce
+     or otherwise, that I could never suffer myself to think of
+     such reasonings for lessening the obligation."
+
+On the 28th of February, 1782, General Conway, one of the leaders of
+the Opposition, the same who had moved the repeal of the stamp act,
+seventeen years before, presented a resolution in the House of Commons
+that,
+
+     "THE REDUCTION OF THE COLONIES BY FORCE OF ARMS IS
+     IMPRACTICABLE."
+
+A violent, even fierce debate ensued, which was continued until one
+o'clock in the morning. Then the cry of _question_ became general.
+The vote was carried by a majority of nineteen. This terminated
+the American war. The people of England had decided against it.
+"Acclamations," writes Wraxall, "pierced the roof, and might have
+been heard in Westminster Hall."
+
+This great victory was followed by another resolve. It was an address
+to George III. soliciting him to "Stop the prosecution of any further
+hostilities against the revolted colonies, for the purpose of reducing
+them to obedience by force."
+
+Notwithstanding the lateness of the hour, these votes were immediately
+communicated to the king, who was in a pitiable condition, aged,
+nearly blind, half crazed, and stubborn even to insanity, in his
+determination to subjugate the Americans. The poor old man, in his
+rage, threatened to abandon England, to renounce the crown, and to
+cloister himself in his estate of Hanover. He was however compelled
+to yield, to dismiss his Tory ministers and to accept a whig cabinet.
+Edmund Burke wrote a warm, congratulatory letter to Franklin.[35]
+
+[Footnote 35: Edmund Burke wrote to Dr. Franklin that "The motion was
+the _declaration_ of two hundred and thirty four members; but it was
+the _opinion_, he thought, of the whole house."]
+
+And now the final struggle arose respecting the terms of peace. The
+three great questions discussed, as diplomatic arrangements, were
+gradually and very cautiously entered into, were: 1. What shall be the
+boundaries of the United States. 2. Shall the Americans be allowed to
+fish on the great banks. 3. What provision shall be made for the
+Tories in America, whose estates have been confiscated?
+
+There were many preliminary meetings, private, semi-official, and
+official. There was a general impression that Franklin was the man
+whose opinion would entirely control that of his countrymen. He was
+approached in every way, and the utmost endeavors were made to induce
+the American Commissioners to enter into a private treaty, without
+consulting the French ministry.
+
+A full account of the diplomatic conflict which ensued, would fill a
+volume. On one occasion the British minister, Mr. Grenville, said,
+
+"In case England grants America Independence."
+
+The French minister, M. de Vergennes, smiled and said, "America has
+already won her Independence. She does not ask it of you. There is Dr.
+Franklin; he will answer you on that point."
+
+"To be sure," Franklin said, "we do not consider it necessary to
+bargain for that which is our own. We have bought our Independence at
+the expense of much blood and treasure, and are in full possession of
+it."
+
+Many of these preliminary interviews took place in Paris. The amount
+of money and blood which the pugnacious government of England had
+expended in totally needless wars, can not be computed. The misery
+with which those wars had deluged this unhappy globe, God only can
+comprehend. Mr. Richard Oswald, a retired London merchant, of vast
+wealth, was sent, by Lord Shelburne, prime minister, as a confidential
+messenger, to sound Dr. Franklin. He was frank in the extreme.
+
+"Peace," said he, "is absolutely necessary for England. The nation has
+been foolishly involved in four wars, and can no longer raise money to
+carry them on. If continued, it will be absolutely necessary to stop
+the payment of interest money on the public debt."
+
+Mr. Adams and Mr. Jay were soon associated with Dr. Franklin in these
+negotiations. Mr. Jay was in entire sympathy with Mr. Adams in his
+antipathy to the French. They both assumed that France was meanly
+seeking only her own interests, making use of America simply as an
+instrument for the accomplishment of her selfish purposes.[36]
+
+[Footnote 36: Mr. Adams wrote, in his diary, November, 1782, "Mr. Jay
+don't like any Frenchman. The Marquis de la Fayette is clever, but he
+is a Frenchman."]
+
+Dr. Jared Sparks, after carefully examining, in the Office of Foreign
+Affairs in London, the correspondence of the French ministers with the
+American envoys, during the whole war, writes,
+
+     "After examining the subject, with all the care and accuracy
+     which these means of information have enabled me to give to
+     it, I am prepared to express my belief, most fully, that Mr.
+     Jay was mistaken, both in regard to the aims of the French
+     court and the plans pursued by them to gain their supposed
+     ends."[37]
+
+[Footnote 37: Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution, V.
+viii, p. 209.]
+
+Mr. Jay was so insanely suspicious of the French, that he was afraid
+that the French ministry would send spies, to pick the locks in his
+lodgings, and steal his important papers. He therefore always carried
+them about his person. He also believed that Count de Vergennes had
+actually proposed to the British minister, that they should unite
+their armies, seize the United States, and divide America between
+them.
+
+Such were the colleagues united with Franklin, in the negotiations for
+peace. It required all his consummate wisdom to be able to guide
+affairs wisely under such difficult circumstances. It may be doubted
+whether there was another man in America, who could have surmounted
+the obstacles over which he triumphed. Both of Franklin's colleagues
+regarded him with suspicion. They believed that he had been won over
+to such sympathy with the French, that he would be willing to
+sacrifice the interests of his own country to please them. They wrote
+letters home severely denouncing him; and they seemed to stand more in
+fear of France than of England.
+
+     "Dr. Franklin," wrote Mr. Adams, "is very staunch against the
+     Tories; more decided, a great deal, upon that point, than Mr.
+     Jay or myself."
+
+The British ministers insisted that the confiscated estates of the
+American Tories should be restored to them, and all their losses
+reimbursed. Franklin silenced the demand by drawing from his pocket
+the following articles, which he proposed should be added to the
+treaty,
+
+     "It is agreed that his Britannic Majesty will earnestly
+     recommend it to his Parliament, to provide for and make a
+     compensation to the merchants and shop-keepers of Boston,
+     whose goods and merchandise were seized and taken out of
+     their stores, ware-houses and shops, by order of General
+     Gage, and others of his commanding officers there; and also
+     to the inhabitants of Philadelphia for the goods taken away
+     by his army there; and to make compensation also for the
+     tobacco, rice, indigo and negroes seized and carried off by
+     his armies, under Generals Arnold, Cornwallis and others,
+     from the States of Virginia, North and South Carolina and
+     Georgia, and for all the vessels and cargoes belonging to
+     the inhabitants of the said United States, which were
+     stopped, seized or taken, either in the ports or on the
+     seas, by his governors or by his ships of war, before the
+     declaration of war against the United States. And it is
+     further agreed that his Britannic Majesty will also
+     earnestly recommend it to his Parliament to make
+     compensation for all the towns, villages and farms, burnt
+     and destroyed by his troops, or adherents in these United
+     States."
+
+The three British commissioners were confounded by these counter
+demands, and said not another word about reimbursing the American
+Tories. On the 30th of November, 1782, the preliminaries were signed,
+subject to the assent of the French ministers, who were also to submit
+their preliminaries to the American envoys. By these articles: 1. The
+boundaries were established. 2. The Americans could fish on the banks
+of Newfoundland, and cure their fish on the unsettled shores of Nova
+Scotia and Labrador. 3. Congress was to recommend to the several
+States, to restore the confiscated property of real British subjects.
+4. Private debts were to be paid. 5. There were to be no more
+confiscations or prosecutions, on either side, for acts during the
+war. 6. The British troops were to be withdrawn. 7. The navigation of
+the Mississippi was declared to be free. 8. And any place captured,
+after the signing of these articles, was to be restored.
+
+On the 13th of January, Count de Vergennes, and the British minister
+Mr. Fitzherbert, signed their preliminaries in the presence of Dr.
+Franklin and Mr. Adams. Not till then did the English order
+hostilities to be suspended, and declare the senseless war to be at an
+end.
+
+There was universal satisfaction in America. With the exception of the
+king and a few of his ministers, there was general satisfaction in
+England. It is true that the national pride was sorely humiliated. But
+after all these woes which England had inflicted upon America, her own
+statesmen, with almost undivided voice, declared that the interests of
+both nations were alike promoted, by having a few feeble colonies
+elevated into the rich and flourishing republic of the United States.
+Thus the war of the American revolution must be pronounced to have
+been, on the part of England, which forced it, one of the most
+disastrous and senseless of those blunders which have ever accompanied
+the progress of our race.[38]
+
+[Footnote 38: Contemplate the still greater blunder of our civil war.
+It was forced upon the nation by the slave traders, that they might
+_perpetuate slavery_. And now after the infliction of woes which no
+finite imagination can gauge, these very slave-holders declare with
+one voice, that nothing would induce them to _reinstate the execrable
+institution_. How much misery would have been averted, and what a
+comparative paradise would our southern country now have been, if
+before, instead of after the war, the oppressed had been allowed to go
+free!]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+_Life's Closing Scenes._
+
+     Advice to Thomas Paine--Scenes at Passy--Journey to the
+     Coast--Return to America--Elected Governor of
+     Pennsylvania--Attends the Constitutional
+     Convention--Proposes prayers--Remarkable speech--Letter to
+     Dr. Stiles--Christ on the Cross--Last sickness and death.
+
+
+About this time some one, knowing Dr. Franklin's deistical views,
+presented, for his opinion, a treatise denouncing the idea, that there
+was any God, who manifested any interest in the affairs of men, that
+there was any _Particular Providence_. Though Franklin did not accept
+the idea, that Jesus Christ was a divine messenger, and that the Bible
+was a supernatural revelation of God's will, he certainly did not, in
+his latter years, deny that there was a God, who superintended the
+affairs of this world, and whom it was proper to worship. It is
+generally supposed that Thomas Paine was the author of this treatise,
+and that it was a portion of his Age of Reason. Franklin, in his
+memorable reply, wrote,
+
+     "I have read your manuscript with some attention. By the
+     argument it contains against a particular Providence, though
+     you allow a _general_ Providence, you strike at the
+     foundations of all religion. For without the belief of a
+     providence that takes cognizance of, guards and guides and
+     may favor particular persons, there is no motive to worship
+     a deity, to fear his displeasure or to pray for his
+     protection. I will not enter into any discussion of your
+     principles, though you seem to desire it. At present I shall
+     only give you my opinion that, though your reasonings are
+     subtile, and may prevail with some readers, you will not
+     succeed so as to change the general sentiments of mankind on
+     that subject; and the consequence of printing this piece
+     will be, a great deal of odium drawn upon yourself; mischief
+     to you and no benefit to others. He that spits against the
+     wind, spits in his own face.
+
+     "I would advise you, therefore, not to attempt unchaining
+     the tiger, but to burn this piece before it is seen by any
+     other person; whereby you will save yourself a great deal of
+     mortification, by the enemies it may raise against you, and
+     perhaps a good deal of regret and repentance. If men are so
+     wicked _with religion_, what would they be if _without it_."
+
+Franklin testifies to the remarkable courtesy which characterized all
+the movements of the French minister, during these protracted and
+delicate negotiations. The definitive treaty was signed on the 3d of
+September, 1783. It was unanimously ratified by Congress on the 14th
+of January, 1784. The king of England gave it his signature on the 9th
+of April. Thus two years and three months passed between the beginning
+of negotiations and the conclusion of the treaty of peace.
+
+At the termination of the war crowds of Englishmen flocked to Paris.
+Franklin was then recognized as incomparably the most illustrious man
+on the continent of Europe. His apartments were ever thronged with men
+of highest note from all the nations. He was then seventy-eight years
+of age, suffering severely from the gout and the gravel. He often
+received his guests in his bed chamber, sitting in his night gown,
+wrapped in flannels, and reclining on a pillow. Yet his mind retained
+all its brilliance. All who saw him were charmed. Mr. Baynes wrote,
+
+     "Of all the celebrated persons whom, in my life, I have
+     chanced to see, Dr. Franklin, both from his appearance and
+     his conversation, seemed to me the most remarkable. His
+     venerable, patriarchal appearance, the simplicity of his
+     manner and language, and the novelty of his observations
+     impressed me as one of the most extraordinary men that ever
+     existed."
+
+At this time he wrote several essays, which are esteemed among the
+best of his writings. He was awaiting permission from Congress to
+return to America. His son, the governor, who was receiving a pension
+of eight hundred pounds from the British Government, came over from
+England to his illustrious father, soliciting reconciliation. This was
+after the separation of many years. Franklin responded kindly, though
+he said that nothing had ever wounded him so keenly as to find himself
+deserted in his old age, by his only son; and to see him taking up
+arms against a cause, upon which he had staked life, fortune and
+honor.
+
+A year passed before Franklin was recalled. He was then so feeble that
+he could not walk, and could only ride in a litter. Mr. Jefferson
+succeeded him. Upon his arrival in Paris, the Count de Vergennes said,
+
+"You replace Dr. Franklin, I understand."
+
+"No!" Mr. Jefferson replied, "I _succeed_ him. No man can _replace_
+him."
+
+Franklin's infirmities were such that he could not call upon the king
+or the minister for an audience of leave. He, however, wrote to Count
+de Vergennes a very grateful and affectionate letter, in which he
+said,
+
+     "May I beg the favor of you, sir, to express respectfully
+     for me, to his majesty, the deep sense I have of all the
+     inestimable benefits his goodness has conferred on my
+     country; a sentiment that it will be the business of the
+     little remainder of the life now left me, to impress equally
+     on the minds of all my countrymen. My sincere prayers are
+     that God may shower down his blessings on the king, the
+     queen, their children and all the royal family, to the
+     latest generations."
+
+The reply was equally cordial and affectionate. As a parting gift the
+king sent Franklin his portrait, decorated with four hundred and eight
+diamonds. Its estimated value was ten thousand dollars.
+
+On the 12th of July, 1785, Franklin, accompanied by many admiring
+friends in carriages, commenced his slow journey in a litter, from
+Passy to Havre. It was four o'clock in the afternoon. The litter was
+borne by two mules. The first night they stopped at St. Germain.
+Thence the journey was continued at the rate of about eighteen miles a
+day. The motion of the litter did not seriously incommode him. The
+cardinal of Rochefoucald, archbishop of Rouen, insisted upon his
+accepting the hospitality of his mansion at Gaillon. It was a superb
+chateau, commanding a magnificent prospect, with galleries crowded
+with paintings and the most valuable works of art.
+
+     "The cardinal," writes Franklin, "is much respected, and
+     beloved by the people of this country; bearing in all
+     respects, a most excellent character."
+
+Though entreated to prolong his visit, Franklin resumed his journey at
+an early hour the next morning. At Rouen he was again received with
+the most flattering attentions. The _elite_ of the city gave a very
+brilliant supper in his honor. Thus journeying in a truly triumphant
+march, Franklin reached Havre on the 18th of July. After a delay of
+three days he crossed the channel to Southampton. His old friends came
+in crowds, and from great distances, to see him. Even the British
+government had the courtesy to send an order exempting his effects
+from custom-house duties.
+
+It will be remembered that Franklin was a remarkable swimmer. There
+are some human bodies much more buoyant than others. He records the
+singular fact that, taking a warm, salt water bath here, he fell
+asleep floating on his back, and did not awake for an hour. "This," he
+writes, "is a thing which I never did before, and would hardly have
+thought possible."
+
+On the 28th of July, 1785, the ship spread her sails. The voyage
+lasted seven weeks. This extraordinary man, then seventy-nine years of
+age, wrote, on the passage, three essays, which are estimated among
+the most useful and able of any which emanated from his pen.
+
+On the 13th of September the ship entered Delaware Bay, and the next
+morning cast anchor opposite Philadelphia. He wrote,
+
+     "My son-in-law came with a boat for us. We landed at Market
+     street wharf, where we were received by a crowd of people
+     with huzzahs, and accompanied with acclamations, quite to my
+     door. Found my family well. God be praised and thanked for
+     all his mercies."
+
+The Assembly was in session, and immediately voted him a
+congratulatory address. Washington also wrote to him a letter of
+cordial welcome. The long sea voyage proved very beneficial to his
+health. He was immediately elected to the Supreme Executive, and was
+chosen chairman of that body. It is evident that he was gratified by
+this token of popular regard. He wrote to a friend,
+
+     "I had not firmness enough to resist the unanimous desire of
+     my country folk; and I find myself harnessed again in their
+     service for another year. They engrossed the prime of my
+     life. They have eaten my flesh and seem resolved now to pick
+     my bones."
+
+Soon after he was elected President, or as we should now say, Governor
+of Pennsylvania. The vote rested with the Executive Council and the
+Assembly, seventy-seven in all. He received seventy-six votes.
+Notwithstanding the ravages of war, peace came with her usual
+blessings in her hand. The Tory journals of England, were presenting
+deplorable views of the ruin of the country since deprived of the
+beneficial government of the British cabinet. Franklin wrote to his
+old friend, David Hartley,
+
+     "Your newspapers are filled with accounts of distresses and
+     miseries, that these states are plunged into, since their
+     separation from Britain. You may believe me when I tell you
+     that there is no truth in those accounts. I find all
+     property in land and houses, augmented vastly in value; that
+     of houses in town at least four-fold. The crops have been
+     plentiful; and yet the produce sells high, to the great
+     profit of the farmer. Working people have plenty of employ,
+     and high pay for their labor."
+
+There were many imperfections attending the old Confederacy. In the
+year 1787, a convention met in Philadelphia, to frame a new
+constitution. There was strong opposition to this movement. Washington
+and Franklin were both delegates. Washington took the chair. The good
+nature and wisdom of Franklin ruled the house. The convention met in
+the State House. Franklin, eighty-one years of age, was regularly in
+his seat, five hours a day, for four months. He was thoroughly
+democratic in his views, and opposed every measure which had any
+tendency to extend aristocratic privilege. He had seen that the
+British government was in the hands of the nobles. And silent, as
+prudence rendered it necessary for him to be, in reference to the
+arbitrary government of France, he could not but see that the
+peasantry were subject to the most intolerable abuses. This led him to
+detest a monarchy, and to do every thing in his power to place the
+government of this country in the hands of the people.
+
+Much time was occupied in deciding upon the terms of union between the
+smaller and the larger States. It will be remembered that this was the
+subject of very excited debates in the convention of 1776. The
+discussion was earnest, often acrimonious. Such bitterness of feeling
+was engendered that, for some time it was feared that no union could
+be effected.
+
+It is evident that Franklin, as he approached the grave, became more
+devout, and that he lost all confidence in the powers of philosophical
+speculations to reform or regenerate fallen man. He saw that the
+interposition of a divine power was needed to allay the intense
+excitement in the convention, and to lead the impassioned members to
+act under the conviction that they were responsible to God. On the
+28th of June, this venerable, patriarchal man offered the following
+memorable resolve:
+
+     "Resolved, That henceforth prayers, imploring the assistance
+     of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held
+     in the Assembly every morning before we proceed to business;
+     and that one or more of the clergy of this city be requested
+     to officiate in that service."
+
+The speech which accompanied this motion will forever be conspicuous
+in our annals. He said:
+
+"Mr. President! The small progress we have made, after four or five
+weeks close attendence and continual reasonings with each other; our
+different sentiments on almost every question, is, methinks, a
+melancholy proof of the imperfection of the human understanding.
+
+"In this situation of this Assembly groping, as it were, in the dark,
+to find political truth, and scarce able to distinguish it when
+presented to us, how has it happened, sir, that we have not yet
+hitherto once thought of humbly applying to the Father of Lights to
+illuminate our understandings?
+
+"In the beginning of the contest with Britain, when we were sensible
+of danger, we had daily prayers, in this room, for divine protection!
+Our prayers, sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. All
+of us, who were engaged in the struggle, must have observed frequent
+instances of a superintending Providence in our favor. To that kind
+Providence we owe this happy opportunity of consulting, in peace, on
+the means of establishing our future national felicity. And have we
+now forgotten that powerful friend? or do we imagine that we no
+longer need his assistance?
+
+"I have lived, sir, a long time. And the longer I live, the more
+convincing proofs I see of this truth; _That God governs in the
+affairs of men_. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without
+his notice, is it probable that an Empire can rise without his aid?
+We have been assured, sir, in the Sacred Writings, that 'except the
+Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.' I firmly
+believe this. And I also believe that, without His concurring aid, we
+shall succeed in this political building, no better than the building
+of Babel."
+
+It is almost incomprehensible that, under the influence of such an
+appeal, the great majority of the Assembly should have voted against
+seeking divine aid. In a note appended to this speech, Franklin
+writes,
+
+     "The convention, except three or four persons, thought
+     prayers unnecessary."[39]
+
+[Footnote 39: Mr. Parton undoubtedly suggested the true reason for
+this strange refusal to seek divine guidance. He writes,
+
+     "I think it not improbable that the cause of this opposition
+     to a proposal so seldom negatived in the United States, was
+     the prevalence in the Convention of the French tone of
+     feeling with regard to religious observances. If so, it was
+     the more remarkable to see the aged Franklin, who was a deist
+     at fifteen, and had just returned from France, coming back to
+     the sentiments of his ancestors."--_Parton's Franklin_ Vol.
+     2, p. 575.]
+
+The convention came to a triumphant close, early in September, 1787.
+Behind the speaker's chair there was a picture of the Rising Sun.
+While the members were signing, Franklin turned to Mr. Madison, and
+said,
+
+"I have often, in the course of the session, and the vicissitudes of
+my hopes and fears as to its issue, looked at the picture behind the
+President, without being able to tell whether the sun were rising or
+setting. But now at length, I have the happiness to know that it is a
+rising, not a setting sun."
+
+Washington was universally revered. Franklin was both revered and
+loved. It was almost the universal feeling that, next to Washington,
+our nation was indebted to Franklin for its Independence. Franklin
+occupied, in the arduous field of diplomacy, the position which
+Washington occupied at the head of our armies. It was certain that
+Franklin had, at one period of his life, entirely renounced his belief
+in Christianity, as a divine revelation. His Christian friends,
+numbering hundreds, encouraged by some of the utterances of his old
+age, were anxious to know if he had returned to the faith of his
+fathers. Dr. Ezra Stiles, President of Yale College, was a friend of
+Franklin's of many years standing. When the revered patriot had
+reached his eighty-fifth year, Dr. Stiles wrote, soliciting his
+portrait for the college library. In this letter, he says,
+
+     "I wish to know the opinion of my venerable friend,
+     concerning Jesus of Nazareth. He will not impute this to
+     impertinence; or improper curiosity in one, who, for so many
+     years, has continued to love, esteem and reverence his
+     abilities and literary character, with an ardor and
+     affection bordering on adoration."
+
+What Dr. Stiles, and the community in general, wished to know was,
+whether Dr. Franklin recognized the Divine, supernatural origin of
+Christianity. Franklin evaded the question. This evasion of course
+indicates that he did not recognize, in the religion of Jesus, the
+authority of, "Thus saith the Lord." But he wished to avoid wounding
+the feelings of his Christian friends by this avowal. He wrote,
+
+     "This is my creed. I believe in God, the Creator of the
+     Universe; that he governs it by his Providence; that he
+     ought to be worshiped; that the most acceptable service we
+     render to him, is doing good to his other children; that the
+     soul of man is immortal, and will be treated with justice in
+     another life, respecting its conduct in this. These I take
+     to be fundamental points in all sound religion, and I regard
+     them as you do, in whatever sect I meet with them.
+
+     "As to Jesus of Nazareth, my opinion of whom you
+     particularly desire, I think his system of morals and his
+     religion, as he left them to us, the best the world ever
+     saw, or is like to see. But I apprehend it has received
+     various corrupting changes, and I have, with most of the
+     Dissenters in England, some doubts as to his Divinity;
+     though it is a question I do not dogmatize upon, having
+     never studied it. And I think it needless to busy myself
+     with it now, when I expect soon an opportunity of knowing
+     the truth with less trouble.
+
+     "I see however no harm in its being believed, if that belief
+     has the good consequence, as probably it has, of making his
+     doctrines more respected and observed; especially as I do
+     not perceive that the Supreme takes it amiss, by
+     distinguishing the unbelievers in his government of this
+     world, with any peculiar marks of his displeasure. I shall
+     only add respecting myself, that, having experienced the
+     goodness of that Being, in conducting me prosperously
+     through a long life, I have no doubt of its continuance in
+     the next, though without the smallest conceit of meriting
+     such goodness."
+
+He then adds the following suggestive postscript. "I confide that you
+will not expose me to criticism and censures, by publishing any part
+of this communication to you. I have ever let others enjoy their
+religious sentiments, without reflecting on them, for those that
+appeared to me unsupportable, or even absurd. All sects here, and we
+have a great variety, have experienced my good will, in assisting them
+with subscriptions for the building their new places of worship. And,
+as I have never opposed any of their doctrines, I hope to go out of
+the world in peace with them all."
+
+Much of his time, in these hours of sickness, he employed in writing
+his Autobiography. The sufferings he endured were at times very
+severe. But when he spoke of his approaching departure, it was with
+composure. At one time, when his daughter expressed the wish that he
+might yet live many years, he replied "I hope not."
+
+A clerical friend visited him, just as one of his paroxysms of pain
+came on. As his friend in consequence was about to retire, he said,
+
+"Oh no; don't go away. These pains will soon be over. They are for my
+good. And besides, what are the pains of a moment in comparison with
+the pleasures of eternity."
+
+There was, in one of the chambers of his house, a very beautiful
+painting of Christ on the Cross. He requested his nurse, a very worthy
+woman, of the Friends' persuasion, to bring it down, and place it
+directly before him. The Rev. David Ritter, a great admirer of
+Franklin, called to see him. He had, however, but a few moments
+before, breathed his last. Sarah Humphries, the nurse, invited David
+into the chamber, to view the remains. Mr. Ritter expressed surprise
+in seeing the picture of the Saviour on the cross occupying so
+conspicuous a position, saying, "You know, Sarah, that many people
+think that Dr. Franklin was not after this sort."
+
+"Yes," she replied, "but thee knows, David, that many make a great
+fuss about religion, who have very little. And many, who say but
+little, have a good deal. He was never satisfied, if a day passed away
+unless he had done some one a service.[40] Benjamin Franklin was one
+of that sort. I will tell thee how the picture came here. Many weeks
+ago, as he lay, he beckoned me to him, and told me of this picture, up
+stairs, and begged I would bring it to him. I brought it. His face
+brightened up, as he looked at it, and he said,
+
+"'Ay Sarah; there is a picture worth looking at. That is the picture
+of him who came into the world to teach men to love one another.'"
+
+"After looking at it wistfully for some time, he said, 'Sarah, set
+this picture up over the mantel-piece, right before me as I lie. I
+like to look at it.'
+
+"When I fixed it up he looked at it very much; and indeed died with
+his eyes fixed upon it."
+
+[Footnote 40: This reminds us of the exclamation of the Emperor Titus,
+who, at the close of a day in which he could not perceive that he had
+done any good, exclaimed, sadly, "Perdidi Diem." _I have lost a day._
+Beautifully has the sentiment been expressed in the words, which it
+would be well for all to treasure up,
+
+     "Count that day lost, whose low descending sun,
+     Views at thy hand no worthy action done."]
+
+However deeply Franklin, in these dying hours may have pondered the
+sublimities of Immortality--the Resurrection--the Judgment Throne--the
+Final Verdict--Heaven--Hell,--he was very reticent respecting those
+themes. We certainly see none of the triumph of Paul, and of
+thousands of others, who have in varied language, expressed the
+sentiment that,
+
+     "Jesus can make a dying bed
+     Feel soft as downy pillows are."
+
+A few hours before his death, as some one urged him to change his
+position, that he might breathe easier he replied, "a dying man can do
+nothing easy." These were his last words. He then sank into a
+lethargy, from which he passed into that sleep which has no earthly
+waking. It was eleven o'clock at night, April 17, 1790. He had lived
+eighty-four years, three months and eleven days.
+
+But no candid and charitable reader can peruse this narrative,
+without the admission that Benjamin Franklin, notwithstanding his
+imperfections, was one of the wisest and best of all the fallen
+children of Adam. From his dying hour to the present day his memory
+has been justly cherished with reverence and affection, throughout the
+civilized world. And there is no fear that this verdict will ever be
+reversed.
+
+
+
+
+TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE:
+
+Minor changes have been made to correct obvious typesetters' errors;
+otherwise, every effort has been made to remain true to the author's
+words and intent.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Benjamin Franklin, A Picture of the
+Struggles of Our Infant Nation One Hundred Years Ago, by John S. C. Abbott
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BENJAMIN FRANKLIN ***
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