Q241

YALE
UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

BEN? FRANKLIN

tfV 5* Series VM
COLONIAL

A PROPOS
In presenting this abstract of the life of Benjamin Franklin on the occasion
of the two hundredth anniversary of his birth, it is pertinent to note that an
occurrence in the early history of Newbury, from which Newburyport — the
home of the manufactures herein illustrated — was later set off, was of material
assistance to Franklin in the confirmation of his discovery of the identity of
lightning and electricity; as will be seen by the following extract from one of
his letters to M. Dalibard of Paris, subsequently read before the Royal Society
of London, and to be found in Bigelow's Works of Benjamin Franklin.
The church referred to stood in what is now Market Square, Newburyport,
and was struck by lightning February ninth, 1754.
I thank you for communicating M. de Buffon's relation of the effect of lightning at
Dijon, on the 7th of June last. In return, give me leave to relate an instance I lately
saw of the same kind. Being in the town of Newbury, in New England, in Novem
ber last, I was shown the effect of lightning on their church, which had been struck
a few months before. The steeple was a square tower of wood, reaching seventy feet
up from the ground to the place where the bell hung, over which rose a taper spire,
of wood likewise, reaching seventy feet higher, to the vane of the weather-cock. Near
the bell was fixed an iron hammer to strike the hours ; and from the tail of the ham
mer a wire went down through a small gimlet-hole in the floor that the bell stood upon,
and through a second floor in like manner; then horizontally under and near the
plastered ceiling of that second floor, till it came near a plastered wall ; then down
by the side of that wall to a clock, which stood about twenty feet below the bell. The
wire was not bigger than a common knitting needle. The spire was split all to pieces
by the lightning, and the parts flung in all directions over the Square in which the
church stood, so that nothing remained above the bell.
The lightning passed between the hammer and the clock in the above-mentioned
wire, without hurting either of the floors, or having any effect upon them (except mak
ing the gimlet-holes, through which the wire passed, a little bigger), and without
hurting the plastered wall, or any part of the building, so far as the aforesaid wire and
the pendulum-wire of the clock extended ; which latter wire was about the thickness
of a goose-quill. From the end of the pendulum, down quite to the ground, the build
ing was exceedingly rent and damaged, and some stones in the foundation-wall torn
out and thrown to the distance of twenty or thirty feet. No part of the aforementioned
long small wire, between the clock and the hammer, could be found, except about two
inches that hung to the tail of the hammer, and about as much that was fastened to
the clock ; the rest being exploded, and its particles dissipated in smoke and air, as
gunpowder is by common fire, and had left only a black smutty track on the plastering,
three or four inches broad, darkest in the middle and fainter towards the edges, all
along the ceiling, under which it passed, and down the wall. These were the effects
and appearances on which I would only make the following remarks, viz. : —
1. That lightning, in its passage through a building, will leave wood to pass as far
as it can in metal, and not enter the wood again till the conductor of metal ceases.
And the same I have observed in other instances, as to walls of brick or stone.
2. The quantity of lightning that passed through this steeple must have been very
great, by its effects on the lofty spire above the bell, and on the square tower, all be
low the end of the clock-pendulum.
3. Great as this quantity was, it was conducted by a small wire and a clock-pendu
lum, without the least damage to the building so far as they extended.
4. The pendulum rod, being of a sufficient thickness, conducted the lightning with
out damage to itself ; but the small wire was utterly destroyed.
5. Though the small wire was itself destroyed, yet it had conducted the lightning
with safety to the building.
6. And from the whole it seems probable that, if even such a small wire had been
extended from the spindle of the vane to the earth before the storm, no damage would
have been done to the steeple by that stroke of lightning, though the wire itself had
been destroyed. B- Franklin.

/*2^^Z^2-£^

f,W.

THE LIFE AND SERVICES OF
BEN7 FRANKLIN

WITH SOME OF THE PROVERBS OF
POOR RICHARD

*>?^

AND A CATALOGUE OF THE
BENJ FRANKLIN PATTERN OF
STERLING SILVER TABLEWARE

TOWLE MFG. COMPANY
SILVERSMITHS
NEWBURYPORT, MASSACHUSETTS

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
42 MADISON STREET

NEW YORK CITY
41 UNION SQUARE

02.17

Pres* of Springfield Printing and Binding Company, Spring-field, Mass.

Bom January 6, 1706.
Two hundred years ago, with little appreciation of its importance to the
world, the life of Benjamin Franklin began. The home into which he was
born was comfortable and the family eminently worthy, but it was entirely lack
ing presumption of the genius that the alchemy of humanity had compounded
of greatness and goodness, energy, ingenuity and sagacity, in fact with some
subtile tincture of all the elements of wisdom and strength, not utterly devoid of
faults, but altogether unique in history and opportune in its bestowal.
The Franklin house stood on Milk street, Boston, nearly opposite the
historic Old South Meetinghouse, and in accordance with the requirements of
the religious belief of that time he was, on the day of his birth, Sunday, carried
to the church by his mother and baptized. His father, Josiah Franklin, was a
candle-maker of sufficient means to bring up in comfort his large family of
children, but he was obliged to forego his plan of educating Benjamin for the
ministry, and two years' schooling between the ages of eight and ten constituted
the sum of his official intellectual guidance. This but opened the door to the
stores and fields of knowledge that Franklin by ardent application was to make
his own, and its brevity enhances the triumph of his achievement. When,
therefore, at the age of ten, economic reasons prevailed, thoughts of a higher
education gave way to candle-making in his father's employ. The monotonous
details of this work proved little to his taste, however, and his awakening im
pulses inclined him to seek adventure by running away to sea, a prospect that

1)tBt ^OrtiOtt, Poor Richard.

&ije ^renter's ®ppvtntitt
has allured generations of boys before and since. His father became aware of
this, and to enable him to make choice of a more congenial occupation, took
him to visit various places that he might observe workmen at different trades.
He seemed most attracted by the work of his cousin Samuel, a cutler who had
recently come from London and set up a shop in Boston. Samuel Franklin
took him for mutual trial, but the arrangement miscarried and Franklin was
then apprenticed to his brother James who was just getting established in the
printing business. Franklin had read with precocious interest Bunyan's Pil
grim's Progress, Plutarch's Lives, and a few religious books that his father
possessed, and the work that he now entered upon fostered his taste for study
by putting him in the way of access to a greater range of authors, by which he
profited immediately and signally. One of the first evidences of his maturing
thought was a series of letters over the pseudonym of "Silence Dogood" which
he contributed clandestinely to the "New England Courant" a newspaper
established by his brother in 1720. This paper sought popularity by attacking
and ridiculing established authority, especially in matters of religion, after having
secured its subscribers by announcement of a contrary course, and the Silence
Dogood articles by their free and sceptical character attracted a degree of atten
tion quite incommensurate with the profundity of the writer who, notwithstand
ing the curiosity and speculation aroused, was able to maintain completely the
secret of their authorship until his complacency over their success got the better
of his caution. The trend of his thought toward religion, and the indepen
dence of his attitude and deductions, continued all through life and may possi
bly be summed up as deism, in turn combative, destructive, tolerant, friendly.
He never scoffed at worship of an omnipotent God, although some of his
writings were so interpreted by lesser intellects bound between the walls of
narrow creed and convention. His religion was of constant and real service
to himself, and after the repudiation of some of his early sophistry brought
him the respect of eminent representatives of every creed. The following from
the Courant is typical of his irreverent, though not necessarily sacrilegious,

<K0irt $artnts autr Xnstrtwtors can
tiefctt &e trtiltttttTl. Poor Richard.

ii e u j am C n

iFt iinitlin

Hrriual in JWlatrelDijta
treatment of biblical subjects, and it is easy to understand the contempt it en
gendered in such a Puritan community :
"In old Time it was no disrespect for Men and Women to be called by
their own Names : Adam was never called Master Adam ; we never read of
Noah Esquire, Lot Knight and Baronet, nor the Right Honorable Abraham,
Viscount of Mesopotamia, Baron of Canaan; no, no, they were plain Men,
honest Country Grasiers, that took care of their Families and Flocks. Moses
was a great Prophet, and Aaron a priest of the Lord ; but we never read of the
Reverend Moses, nor the Right Reverend Father in God Aaron, by Divine
Providence, Lord Arch-Bishop of Israel ; Thou never sawest Madam Rebecca
in the Bible, my Lady Rachel : nor Mary, tho' a Princess of the Blood after
the death of Joseph, called the Princess Dowager of Nazareth."
It is inconceivable that such a sheet, embodying all the sensationalism
characteristic of the most vulgar of its present day successors with a reckless
ness they dare not aspire to, could long continue without bringing trouble upon
its sponsors, and in due course retribution overtook this one through the Great
and General Court of Massachusetts, and James Franklin was imprisoned in
jail for a month, being released only after humble apology. He was also en
joined from further publication of the Courant, but the paper was continued
by Benjamin while the proprietor was in jail, and upon the expiration of James'
sentence this arrangement was given a legal form to evade the state edict. In
order to accomplish this it was necessary to annul Benjamin's indenture, as other
wise his liability would have reverted to James, but the latter retained a measure
of hold on his brother through secret articles of similar import. This expedient
in the end served Benjamin better however, as James was so unwise as to disturb
the prosperity that followed the elevation of the former by quarreling with and
severely beating him. With a knowledge that James was in no position to
enforce a claim on his services, and after giving him warning to this effect,
Beniamin determined to sever the ties of home and family and work out his
destiny with an independence compatible with his mental development.

3 $int <£enitts in $fs $ton (tountvg
in SUIte ffiOltl in tf)e JWfW* Poor Richard.

Efje 3Litt antr

Setrbfces of

By selling some of his books he raised a little money, and making a
fictitious intrigue of which he pretended to fear the consequences an excuse for
secrecy, he took passage on a sloop for New York, where in due course he
arrived and undertook to secure employment. He applied to Mr. William
Bradford, a famous printer, but the best that gentleman could do for him was to
suggest that he call on his son, also a printer, in Philadelphia, whom he thought
was in need of help. So Franklin set out in a small boat for Amboy, New Jersey,
from which place he was to make his way to Burlington on the Delaware, and
from thence by boat again to Philadelphia. The trip across the bay at New
York proved disastrous, the boat being driven to the Long Island shore in a
squall and barely saved from wreck by fortunate anchoring. Here they were
obliged to stay over night exposed to a severe storm, wet and without food.
One of the party, a Dutchman under the influence of liquor, fell overboard and
was saved by Franklin as he was going down the third time. They reached
Amboy the next day thoroughly exhausted and Franklin went to bed in a high
fever. His strong constitution, aided by his faith in the efficacy of lib
eral draughts of cold water, enabled him to rise in his usual health the next
morning, and he started on foot for Burlington, which he reached after
nearly three days of tramping, the first in a driving rain, which put his courage
to a severe test and reduced him to somewhat the appearance of a vagabond.
He was fortunate enough to find a small boat that was to leave for Philadel
phia that night, and after a hearty meal he embarked to spend the most of the
night at the oars. The misfortune of the earlier stage of the journey attended
him to its end; the party lost its reckoning and fearing that the city had been
passed unknowingly, drew up at the shore and gathered around a small fire until
dawn revealed their destination a short distance below.
Though the determination to run away from home is most frequently arrived
at through a boy's immature consideration of conditions, existing and anticipa
ted, there can be little question of the wisdom, in Franklin's case, of this recourse.
He was by temperament antagonistic to the Puritan atmosphere of Boston, and
his continued criticism of an unalterable situation would have hampered his
independence and restricted his opportunities, while the necessity for prudence,
engendered by his precarious footing in new surroundings — even though the
people were freer of thought and content to take him as they found him — was
certain to recommend sobriety of expression. It was in fact with an added
sense of the seriousness of life that Franklin
arrived at Philadelphia on that eventful Sunday
morning in October, 1723. The picture of a
dirty and disheveled boy of seventeen years, his
necessary change of shirt and stockings bulging
his pockets, with a large loaf under each arm,
and in his hand a third which he munched with
calm indifference while walking the streets in ran
dom exploration, is familiar through many render
ings and is easily preeminent, although his after
life abounded in striking tableaux. With a gen
erosity that was always attendant upon his frugality,
he gave the two loaves remaining after he had eaten
enough, to a needy woman and her child, who had
been fellow passengers the night before, and then
wandered into a Quaker meeting, where the

Franklin's Watch.

¥$t tJjat ntbtx ISats too mutt)
tofll WtotX tie 2La?g« Poor Richard.

Ben j ami n

iFvanftlin

7

stillness and his fatigue soon put him to sleep. He was allowed to remain so
until the meeting closed, and then on being awakened he sought a tavern and
slept the rest of the day. After eating supper he went to bed and slept soundly
through the night, so great had been his exhaustion.
On the following day he obtained employment with a printer named
Keimer, William Bradford having already obtained a hand, and settled down to
work and make the most of his opportunities. Keimer recommended him for
lodging at the home of a Mrs. Read, whose daughter Deborah was destined to
enter largely into his maturer life, and who, it happened, had with great amuse
ment observed him on his memorable stroll up Market street the day before,
little thinking what it meant to her that this strange youth had found his way
to Philadelphia. Franklin's natural craving for mental improvement had led him to seek the
best in literature, and especially to profit by the style of those writers who ap
peared to him most gifted in argument and expression. He had early come
upon a volume of the Spectator, the repository of the most learned thought of
its time, and by arduous practice had acquired much of the scholarly manner
and clear diction of its editors, which, joined with his speculative proclivities,
made him an interesting companion for men of greater learning. In this way
he gained the regard of Governor Keith of Pennsylvania and Delaware, whose
acquaintance he made through his brother-in-law, Robert Holmes, who was
master of a sloop that plied between Boston and the Delaware river, and who had
thus met influential people. Keith had been long settled in his position and
had acquired a graciousness of manner and profligacy of benevolence that led
him to undertake much more than he was able to accomplish, and Franklin
became the victim of his facile scheming. He proposed to give Franklin all
the public printing of Pennsylvania and Delaware as the foundation of an inde
pendent business and sent the highly flattered recipient of his favor to the latter's
father in Boston, with a letter urging Mr. Franklin to advance the capital to
launch the enterprise, and when to his great surprise the appeal was refused, he
lightly agreed to defray the cost himself, and even proposed that Franklin
should go to London to personally select his outfit. Of course this seemed
the climax of good fortune and Franklin at once engaged passage, relying on
Governor Keith's voluble promises but continually deferred delivery of letters
and credit, until at last he experienced an awakening when the final promise to
send the papers with others that
were to meet the ship at New Castle
was too late proven faithless, and
he found himself on the ocean with
out resources or prospects. He
had progressed materially in the
affections of Miss Read during his
stay at her home, and he left her
without scruple in the companion
ship of a young man of congenial
literary tastes, who took this oppor
tunity to desert his wife and child.
He made some worthy acquaint
ances on the ship, among them that
of Mr. Denham, a prosperous
Quaker merchant, who enlightened

Franklin's Pew in Christs Church, Phila.

m tfje Affairs of tfjis WLvvlXt JHen ate Saoefc,
not Off iFaitl), Ottt 0£ Vt)t Want Of ft. Poor Richard.

8 EJje atfe antr

Sevufces of

33 1 oo tatj iPrannlin, mffe of mnj. tfvmmn
him on Keith's real standing and the fatuity of the promises he had made.
When, therefore, he landed in London he was obliged immediately to seek work
to maintain himself. Fortunately his trade stood him in good stead and he
soon entered upon the fullness of such life as the city could offer to a young
printer. His companion, James Ralph, aspired to make a living by literary
work, but as he could find no market for his imagined genius he was a burden
to Franklin for a long time. He finally secured employment as teacher of an
elementary school in the country, and before his return to London he broke
with his benefactor on account of the latter's presumption of familiarity with
his mistress, to whom also Franklin had loaned money.
From the beginning of his work in London, Franklin gained preeminence
in his trade through the excellence of his work and his ability to accomplish
more than his fellows. This latter faculty was largely the result of his orderly
living and abstention from excessive drinking, to which his companions were
addicted, and they gave him the name of the "Water American" because of his
adherence to this beverage in place of the great quantities of strong beer on
which they thought it necessary to rely. By saving the cost of this beer and
by living very economically he was enabled to lay by a little money and was
called upon every week to advance considerable sums to the others. His con
stant habit of endeavoring to improve his own condition and that of those
around him by rational consideration of every detail of life further distinguished
him as a leader and gained for him the respect of worthy people outside his
profession. At Palmer's printing office where he first obtained work he was
given Wollaston's "Religion of Nature" to set for a second edition. He be-
m EJjott toonttrs't 2U0e Hone, moe Witll; tot
JFollff antr WLittotXtnttm Shorten &(&? Poor Richard.

Sara?) Bactje, trauflijtttr of mnj. iFrannXin
lieved the author's reasoning fallacious, and to refute it he wrote and issued
a pamphlet under the title "A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity,
Pleasure and Pain." It was a facile production denying a future life and repu
diating other fundamental beliefs, but was rather an exercise in speculation than
the result of conviction, and he soon regretted its publication and recovered and
destroyed nearly all of the one hundred copies printed. It was the means,
however, of his making the acquaintance of a number of celebrities whose com
panionship was a pleasant addition to his life. Another distinction which he
gained at this time was the result of his prowess and skill in swimming. This
had been a hobby in his earliest youth, and like everything that he inclined to
had been exhaustively studied and thoroughly mastered in all its possibilities of
endurance and grace. His success in teaching a companion to swim in two les
sons became known to Sir William Wyndham, who sent for him and urged
him to undertake the teaching of his two sons, who were about to start on
extended travels which might thus be less hazardous. Franklin was greatly
pleased with this recognition, but he could not accept the offer as the young
men were not then in London and he had already completed arrangements to
return to America with Mr. Denham, the merchant whose acquaintance he
made on the voyage from Philadelphia. Mr. Denham needed a clerk to look
after the packing and shipment of the large stock of goods that he was to carry
back, and he assured Franklin of a good and permanent position in his store
with the ultimate prospect of being a partner in the business. This was very
attractive to Franklin who had a high regard for Mr. Denham, and he took
leave of printing, as he thought, forever.
an #nnce of Wilt tfjat in Bought in WLovty
a JJOlMtr ti&at in &att0t)t. Poor Richard,

ofcesi

&uaiuv JUcttCns Woxint, )9ijUa9cl))f)U
He had spent about eighteen months in London and had profited in many
ways by the experience, although not greatly financially, as his former friend
Ralph was still indebted to him for twenty-seven pounds, but he was glad of so
favorable an opportunity to return home, where he arrived on the nth of
October, 1726, after a voyage of nearly three months. While on shipboard he
prepared a plan of life, consisting of an exhaustive moral code which it was his
aim to realize in his relations with his fellow-men and which was a great help in
overcoming many weaknesses.
Governor Keith had been superseded, during Franklin's absence, and when
they met, passed him without recognition, appearing somewhat ashamed of his
conduct. Miss Read, despairing of his return, had yielded to the desires of her
friends and married a potter named Rogers, but had only lived with him a
short time, so unhappy was the union, while it was rumored that he had
another wife in England.
Mr. Denham took a deep interest in Franklin, who returned it with affec
tion and a diligent attention to business ; he felt that this was an important
turning point in his career and was happy to be settled so favorably. His fate
was marked in other lines however, and in February of the next year both he
and Mr. Denham were taken down with what he calls " a pleurisy." Mr. Den
ham died, and Franklin was so near death that he resigned himself to it, a
circumstance that he notes in his memoirs with mention of a feeling of regret,
when he found himself recovering, that sometime or other it must all be done
over again.
Thus thrown on the world again, Franklin accepted from Keimer, his
former employer, a tempting offer as foreman, and undertook to mould into
acceptability the work of a number of incompetent hands. After a few months
it became evident that Keimer intended to employ Franklin only long enough
to bring the others up to a tolerable standard, and as they gained in proficiency
his manner became overbearing, threatening at any time a rupture and conse-

2JMrite minvitn in Bunt>
MtmHtn in JWatOle. Poor Richard.

iFranfclfn in <£ooernor ftcitlj's ILiorarg.
quent excuse for terminating the engagement. He soon found the opportunity
he sought, for happening to be in the street on an occasion when Franklin
leaned out of a window to discover the cause of a loud noise nearby, he up
braided him publicly and then came to the work-room and continued it,
finishing by giving him a quarter's notice which he regretted the necessity
of. Franklin waived this and left instantly, requesting Hugh Meredith, an
apprentice with whom he was friendly, to bring his belongings to his lodging.
Meredith brought them in the evening and proposed that when his appren
ticeship expired, which would be the following spring, they should form a
partnership for which he would induce his father to furnish the capital, to be
balanced by Franklin's skill, with an equal sharing of profits. To this Franklin
readily agreed, and Mr. Meredith having a high regard for him because of his
good influence over his son, was pleased with the alliance and ratified the plan.
It was decided to keep the matter secret until the necessary outfit could be
obtained from London, and so after a few days of idleness when he was again
approached by Keimer, who wished to secure a large order which he was
personally unable to execute, Franklin accepted his apologies and took advant
age of this opportunity to profitably occupy the intervening time. The order
was for making the plates and printing paper money for the province of New
Jersey, and the successful execution of the work by Franklin brought him
greater renown and many influential friends among those who were deputed to
supervise the work. At that time no copperplate printing had been done in
this country, and Franklin was obliged to contrive a press as well as engrave
the plates and print from them. He took Meredith to Burlington with him
to assist, that they might be together and that the latter might profit by the
practice. Soon after their return to Philadelphia their outfit arrived from
London, and they settled with Keimer and left his employ before he learned
their plans. They hired a house and rented a part of it to a man named
Godfrey, with whom they arranged to board. Business came to them from the

STfjere in Small Jfteoense in WLov'$nf ont
WLovHn mas oe <£veatl£ Xteoengeir. Poor Richard.

12 £fje aife anfc

Scrotccs of

saiatts' printing ©fKee in Hontron,
smjjete iFranfelfn omorltcir.

start through friends inter
ested in their welfare, and
Franklin makes special
mention of the assistance
thus gained through the
members of a club called
the Junto, which he had
organized for mutual study
and improvement. This
club consisted of twelve
members who met each Fri
day evening, and was very
serious, and methodical in
its investigations, which were
laid out on broad lines of
Sociology, Science, and Re
ligion. Through its central
and subsidiary organizations,
planned to take in the many
who desired to join, without
enlarging the original mem
bership, it exerted a wide
influence, and forty years
later formed the nucleus of
the American Philosophical
Society of which Franklin was the first president. One of the members of the
Junto procured for the new firm the printing of forty folio sheets of the history
of the Quakers, and the industry displayed on this, which Franklin had deter
mined should be set and printed a sheet a day, attracted the attention of
influential people who observed them at work early and late, and further
increased their patronage.
Bradford was successfully publishing a weekly newspaper, and Franklin
having a strong disposition for writing, conceived the idea of entering this field.
He was not prepared to start it at once, but he confided his plan to George
Webb, a former associate at Keimer's, who had then come to Franklin for
employment. He requested Webb, for whom he had no place, to keep the
matter secret, but Webb immediately took it to Keimer who resolved to steal a
march on his rival, and at once announced his intention of beginning the publi
cation of the " Universal Instructor in All the Arts and Sciences and the Penn
sylvania Gazette." The bombastic forepart of the title was undoubtedly based
on his proposal to republish, a consecutive part in each issue, a voluminous
encyclopedia that had just appeared. Franklin was much chagrined at this
forestalling of his project, and with the tactics of a modern stock-broker set out
to weaken Keimer's position by strengthening Bradford's "Mercury" until
such time as he should be ready to enter the field with his own paper. He
therefore contributed regularly to the "Mercury" over the name of" Busybody,"
bright, pertinent articles calculated to interest the body of the people while
avoiding everything that might give offense to any. This was a marked
reversal of his tendency in the "Silence Dogood" letters of the "New England
Courant" and indicated the ascendency of the principles that he had formed
after such mature deliberation and which served him with increasing profit to
Eijree Jftag Wm# a Seevet,
M &foJO Of WtytXn ate BeaO\ Poor Richard.

Benjamin

iFranfclf n

l3

iFrauuttu ass potter for
iFrauftliu $c Jfteremtlj-

the end of his life. The
scheme worked as he antic
ipated and Keimer's sheet
was soon reduced to a pre
carious existence, which
terminated with the thirty-
ninth issue, when it was
offered to Franklin's firm
who bought it and brought
it out under the abridged
title of the "Pennsylvania
Gazette." Franklin's skill
and versatility as a writer
soon rehabilitated it and it
became an important factor
in life and politics, thereby
adding greatly to the pros
perity of the general printing
business of its proprietors,
as the politicians were sen
sible of its power and recog
nized the benefit of being in
harmony with its publishers.
With this advantage and the
influence of personal friends
in the Assembly, as well as the manifest superiority of their work, the firm obtained
the public printing of Pennsylvania, including the paper money which came to be
authorized against considerable opposition through clever anonymous articles by
Franklin, and also the similar work of Delaware. Meredith was of little assis
tance in the business and it developed that his father had, by reason of a strait-
ness in his affairs, only paid one-half of the purchase price of the material
obtained in London to set up the establishment, and was unable to supply the
balance. The printers were having a hard time to make both ends meet, not
withstanding their increase of orders, and the prospect of raising the one
hundred pounds remaining due was very remote. Franklin was much worried
by the possibility of being sold out by his creditors, but this misfortune was
obviated by the confidence and liberality of friends who learned of his dis
tress. Without solicitation and unknown to each other William Coleman and
Robert Grace offered to supply the money to pay all his debts if he would
sever his connection with Meredith, who was dissipated and indolent as well as
incapable. Franklin was grateful for this kindness and fully realized the wis
dom of the conditions, but he felt in honor bound to give his partner full
opportunity to complete the agreement which had enabled them to start in
business. He therefore waited some time to see if this would be done, and
finding no prospect of it, mentioned the matter to Meredith with the suggestion
that perhaps his father was dissatisfied with the outcome of the venture and
would prefer to have his son in business alone. Meredith replied very candidly
that his father was really unable, through disappointments, to pay the balance,
and furthermore, that he did not consider himself qualified to succeed as a printer,
and that if Franklin would repay his father the one hundred pounds advanced,
pay his small debts, give him thirty pounds and a new saddle, as well as assume
evetrftotfii ate a Superstitious Sect, <£reat
<&oge?oers of Set Bags antr Elmes* Poor Richard.

14 &De 2Lffe antr

SetrfcUes of

Poor Richard, 173?.

the debts of the firm, he would withdraw and remove to South Carolina where
many of his former neighbors were settling. Franklin agreed to this proposal
and it was immediately put in writing, signed and sealed. Being unwilling to
prefer one beyond the other Franklin accepted from each of his two friends
one-half of the money required and announced the dissolution of the partnership
and his purchase of the business. Work continued to come to him in abund
ance and Franklin took on a journeyman he had known in London, and an
apprentice, also adding to his establishment a book and stationery shop. He
continued to board with the Godfreys, who lived in his house, and Mrs. God
frey undertook to bring about his marriage with the daughter of one of her
relatives. She brought them much together, and Franklin, being pleased with
the girl carried it to the point of negotiations with Mrs. Godfrey, whom he
informed that he should expect a dowry sufficient to pay what he owed on his
business — his indebtedness having been reduced to about one hundred pounds.
This broke up the affair, Mrs. Godfrey professing disapproval of the match
and disbelief in his prospects. Franklin suspected that this was a ruse to force
them to a secret marriage, reckoning that sufficient attachment had been formed,
and he resented the idea and refrained from further attentions although Mrs.
Godfrey intimated that they would be favorably received.
Having had his thoughts turned in this direction Franklin concluded that
marriage would be desirable,' and as he had kept up his acquaintance with Miss
Read, as he still called her, he revived their
mutual affection and waiving the possibilities
of the return of Rogers, who had long since
run away to the West Indies where it was said
he had died, and the liability for the latter's
debts, he "took her to wife" September ist,
1 730. They never heard from Rogers or his
debts and the alliance proved all that could
be desired. Mrs. Franklin was not his equal
in mental accomplishments, but she was faith
ful and helpful, and Franklin's amiability was
always superior to her deficiencies of educa
tion, although later in life these were basely
alluded to by his detractors. He regarded
this step as the correction of one of the great
errors of life, and of their union he says:
"We throve together and have ever mutually
endeavor'd to make each other happy."
As was the custom with all printers, Frank
lin had since setting up in business published
an annual almanac, an ever profitable institu
tion in those days of scant literature. He
had been encouraged in this by Thomas
Godfrey, whose passion for astronomy was
above everything in his life, and who was
therefore qualified to forecast eclipses and
supply other necessary data for such a work.
As a consequence of the disagreement with
Mrs. Godfrey the family left Franklin's house
and Godfrey's services were transferred to

AN
Almanack
ForthfiYearofChrift
Being the FirA after XEAF YEAR.
y^nd makes Jlnce the Creation Years
By the Account of the Kallern Greeks 7241
By the Latin Church, when Q ent. V 6"oi2
By the Computation of W.W. 5742
By the "Roman Chronology 56B2
By the Jewijb Kabbies. J494
Wherein is contained
The Lunations, Eelipfes, Judgment of
the Weather, Spring Tides, Planets Motions &
mutual Afpccls, Sun and Moon's Riling and Set
ting, Length of Days, Time of High Water,
Fairs, Courts, and oblervable Days.
Fitted to the Latitude of Forty Degrees,
and a. Meridian of Five Hours Weft from London,
but may without fenfible Error, ftrve all the ad
jacent Places, even from Newfoundland- to South'
Carolina.

By KICHJRD SJUNDERS,Thilom.
PHILADELPHIA.
Printed and fold by B. FRANKLIK, at the New.
Printing- Office "near the Market

Title Page [reduced) of the First
Issue of Poor Richard's Almanac.

Wtttp Yotttr iSges
smttre <®ptn mtoxt fflnxxitiQt,
ll^alf Sljttt &ttertoiHttS. Poor Richard.

Stuf ami n

iFvanfcliti

A TABLE of the Value
end Weight of Coins, as
tbey notopafs in Pennfyl-
vania. Leaft
VaJoe.'.y^dght
£. *. </.l</Wf^r
Ngl. Guineas at t 34 ol 5^6
French Guineas I 1} 6|
Moidores - - - 236
Johannes's » - . 5 IJ o
17 6
14 o

Bradford. Instead of being dismayed at this loss Franklin's keen resources turned
it to advantage and brought out an almanac so novel and entertaining that three
editions were required to supply the demand that extended from New England
to the South. As these almanacs were rated according to the learning and
reputation of the Philomath, or astronomical calculator who was identified with
each, Franklin supplied this deficiency by creating such a character under the
name of "Richard Saunders" otherwise "Poor Richard" and the following, his
introduction to the first issue, that of 1733, shows the spirit and completeness
of the result:
''Courteous Reader:
I might in this place attempt to gain thy favour, by declaring that I write
almanacks with no other view than that of the public good; but in this I
should not be sincere; and men are now adays too wise to be deceiv'd by pre
tences how specious soever. The plain truth of the matter is, I am excessive
poor, and my wife, good woman, is, I tell her, excessive proud; she cannot
bear, she says, to sit spinning in her shift of tow, while I do nothing but gaze
at the stars; and has threatned more than once to burn all my books and
rattling-traps (as she calls my instruments) if I do not make some profitable
use of them for the good of my family. The printer has ofFer'd me some
considerable share of the profits, and I have thus began to comply with my
dame's desire. Indeed this motive would have had force enough to have made
me publish an almanack many years since, had
it not been overpowered by my regard for my
good friend and fellow-student, Mr.Titan Leeds,
whose interest I was extreamly unwilling to hurt:
But this obstacle (I am far from speaking it with
pleasure) is soon to be removed, since inexorable
Death, who was never known to respect merit,
Eigl. Guineas at 1 >+ ol 5,6 has already prepared the mortal dart, the fatal
French Guineas 1 ij 6| 5 5 sister has already extended her destroying shears,
and that ingenious man must soon be taken from
us. He dies, by my calculation, made at his
request, on Oct. 17, 1733, 3 ho. 29 m. P. M.,
at the very instant of the d of © and $ : By
his own calculation he will survive till the a 6th
of the same month. This small difference
between us we have disputed whenever we have
met these nine years past; but at length he is
inclinable to agree with my judgment.
Which of us is most exact a little time will
now determine. As therefore these Provinces
may not longer expect to see any of his per
formances after this year, I think myself free to
take up the task, and request a share of publick
encouragement; which I am the more apt to
hope for on this account, the buyer of my Alma
nack may consider himself not only as purchas
ing an useful utensil, but as performing an act
of charity, to his poor
Friend and servant, R. Saunders."

Half Johannes's - 2
Carolines - - I
Dutch or Ger. Ducat, o
French milled Piftoles x
panilh Piftoles 1
Arabian Chequing - o
Other Gbld Coin, per
Ounce - - - 6
French Silver Crowns o
Spanifc tailled Pieces
of 8. - - - - o
Othergood coined Span.
Silvsr, per Ounce o

14 6
7
«3 5
7

5 5
618
rg 3
9 6( 2
4 4 2

76
S 6

17 6
17 6

The Proportion of Gold to Silver, in
JJirpfWrs.aa ([ : I : : Q : 15  •
Ounce Troy of Go.M (22 Car.)
is worth Sterling £. j ,-,gi
Ounce Sterling Silver, 052
En<ii»i iiiiiiw— iiMimiliL

From Poor Richard' s
Almanac.

m 3ftm WLon** Not tie iForsotten as Soon as ¥ott art
WMV airtr motttti, eUJjetr WLxitt Ktyn$u OTovtJ) Meatrens
OX 150 &i)iWn SSaOttf) tt|e WLXitiW. Poor Richard.

He followed this in successive issues with the verification of Leed's death
as predicted, and with ridicule of foolish assertions to the contrary purporting
to come from Leeds himself, and after a few years when Leeds was really dead,
with a letter from his spirit confirming Poor Richard's assertions and promising
co-operation as follows:
"Dear Friend Saunders:
My respect for you continues even in this separate state, and I am griev'd
to see the aspersions thrown on you by the malevolence of avaricious publishers
of Almanacks, who envy your success.
They say your prediction of my death in 1733 was false, and they pretend
that I remained alive many years after. But I do hereby certify, that I did
actually die at that time, precisely at the hour you mention'd, with a variation
only of 5 min. $3 sec. which must be allow'd to be no great matter in such
cases. And I do farther declare that I furnish'd them with no calculations of
the planets motions, &c. seven years after my death, as they are pleased to give
out: so that the stuff they publish as an Almanack in my name is no more
mine than 'tis yours.
You will wonder perhaps how this paper comes written on your table.
You must know that no separate spirits are under any confinement till after
the final settlement of all accounts. In the meantime we wander where we
please, visit our old friends, observe their actions, enter sometimes into their
imaginations, and give them hints waking or sleeping that may be of advantage
to them. Finding you
asleep, I entered your left
nostril, ascended into
your brain, found out
where the ends of those
nerves were fastned that
move your right hand
and fingers, by the help
of which I am now writ
ing unknown to you; but
when you open your
eyes, you will see that
the hand written is mine,
'tho wrote with yours.
The people of this in
fidel age, perhaps, will
hardly believe this story.
But you may give them
these three signs by which
they shall be convinc'd
of the truth of it. About
the middle of June next, '
j j *******n> philo_
mat, shall be openly rec
onciled to the Church of
Rome, and give all his
goods and chattels to the
chappel, being perverted

C&ooevnor Wliimnx iFvanfttin,
non of mnjumin iFranttlin*

®%t Wiint m^n Bratos Moxt sittrbatitaae fxotn min
Wntmitn, tfjan W iFool fxom W iFvfettfrs. Poor Richard.

iSeufaroitt ^s€0>®^ ffixunKlin

by a certain country school-master. On the 7th of September following my
old friend W. B. ******t shall be sober 9 hours, to the astonishment of all his
neighbours: And about the same time W. B. and A. B. will publish another
Almanack in my name, in spight of truth and common sense.
As I can see much clearer into futurity, since I got free from the dark
prison of flesh, in which I was continually molested and almost blinded with
fogs arising from tiff, and the smoke of burnt drams; I shall in kindness to
you, frequently give you information of things to come, for the improvement
of your Almanack: being, Dear Dick, Your Affectionate Friend, T. Leeds"
The regular tables of the months were interspersed with proverbs from
many sources and wise maxims of his own, all presented in his inimitable
manner and headed by original verses of a satirical or facetious character.
Included also were chronological tables, list of the courts in neighboring
provinces, the stated meetings of the Quakers, distances to the surrounding
places, etc. Franklin continued to publish the almanac with unvarying success
for twenty-five years, and it was then issued by his successors until 1796. In
this time Poor Richard had become an immortal character and his wise sayings
were spread broadcast in every language of the civilized world.
The subjection of his animal nature was one of the unattained principles
of Franklin's Rules of Life, and he candidly relates his weakness in this regard.
As a consequence an illegitimate son, William Franklin, whose mother was
never known, became a member of his family and was brought up with full
honor and advantages. He was educated in London as a barrister and held
the positions of Postmaster of Philadelphia and Provincial Governor of New
Jersey. Franklin had two other children, Francis Folger born in 1732, and
Sarah born in 1743. The former, an extremely promising child, died of small
pox at four years of age, a misfortune which his father could never recall with
out pain. Sarah was a great comfort and pleasure to him, and she grew up
strong, dutiful and accomplished, marrying Richard Bache, a merchant who
failed in business in early life, and through Franklin secured a position in the
Philadelphia Post Office, being subsequently Deputy Postmaster General.
This period of Franklin's life was full of activity and study, and laid the
foundation of his subsequent renown. In 1733 he sent one of his journeymen
to Charleston, South Carolina, with a printing outfit and took a partnership
with him in the business. He proved only moderately successful and died not
long after, leaving the business in a precarious condition, but his widow assumed
its management with such profit that she was able to purchase Franklin's
interest and establish her son in its conduct.
He took up the study of languages, beginning with French which he soon
mastered, and passed through Spanish and Italian to Latin and Greek; he had
had an introduction to Latin during one year of his early schooling, but had
since neglected it, and he was surprised to discover that through this and his
study of modern languages, he readily acquired proficiency in the former.
Franklin's activity in business and the Junto, brought him increasing
prominence, and in 1736 he was chosen Clerk of the General Assembly. The
next year he was appointed Deputy Postmaster General, a position formerly
held by his competitor Bradford. It was characteristic of Franklin to turn to
the utmost private benefit all private and public opportunities, a fact which he
?^oto iFeto tytxt are WLfyo ?^abe ©ottrafle fSuottflt) to ®ton
Ifytix jFattlts, or Resolution fSnougf) to JJIeuir &%tm. p. r.

18 &|je 2LUe antr

Seroiees of

Ussoeiation Matters, $lanne*r 03? iFranfclin
continually and very ingenuously calls attention to, — although later in life the
public phase of it was freely criticised by his enemies, — and the postmastership
became a great help to the improvement and circulation of his newspaper. Like
benefits had not only come to Bradford during his term in the office, but he
had denied the privilege of the mails to the Gazette, reducing Franklin to the
necessity of bribing the carriers for its surreptitious delivery. The latter did
not stoop to retaliate under the reversed conditions, but he had the satisfaction of
observing a gradual decline of the Mercury owing, to the greater quantity of news
he was able to collect and the consequent increase of subscriptions. His office
of Clerk to the Assembly was also made the most of, and it was therefore with
some disquietude that he noted the opposition of a worthy new member to his
second annual election. This member desired the office for a friend, but
Franklin received a majority of the votes and then set himself to gain the
friendship of the antagonistic member. His own words will best recount his
wisdom in the matter:
"I therefore did not like the opposition of this new member, who was a
gentleman of fortune and education, with talents that were likely to give him,
in time, great influence in the House, which, indeed, afterwards happened. I
did not, however, aim at gaining his favour by paying any servile respect to
him, but, after some time, took this other method.
Having heard that he had in his library a certain very scarce and curious
book, I wrote a note to him, expressing my desire of perusing that book, and
requesting he would do me the favour of lending it to me for a few days. He
sent it immediately, and I returned it in about a week with another note, ex
pressing strongly my sense of the favour. When we next met in the House,
he spoke to me (which he had never done before), and with great civility ; and
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,  c He
that has once done you a kindness will be more ready to do you another, than
&ije iFfrst JWistane in jputrtie business
KS t^e <KOiU0 KUtO Xt Poor Richard.

benjamin

iFraunUn 19

^ijiiatrelfltjia &ea&etn$, iPouufrefc frg iFraunliu
he whom you yourself have obliged. ' And it shows how much more profit
able it is prudently to remove, than resent, return and continue inimical pro
ceedings." About this time he began to interest himself in some of the particularly
manifest needs of his town, and he made the Junto with its branches and grow
ing influence a very serviceable means of imparting his ideas. In view of the
present widespread activity in and recognition of Improvement Societies and
Civic Associations, which are deemed a modern conception, it is interesting to
note the fruitful energy of this organization on the lines of civic betterment
advocated by Franklin, and the permanence and value of the resulting institu
tions. He first pointed out the corruption and inadequacy of the sporadic
night watch system of Philadelphia, which was under the jurisdiction of
ward constables who were empowered to call on a certain number of citizens for
service each night, in lieu of which a tax of six shillings might be paid which
secured release from such service for one year. This was commonly taken
advantage of by the better classes, and many evils resulted from the system, as
the taxes went to the constables and they profited by employing, at very low
wages, a disreputable set that was more a menace than a protection, and utterly
unreliable as to patrol. He also argued the injustice of the specific tax, which
for a poor widow was the same as for a rich merchant who had many goods to
protect. He advocated the hiring of capable men to serve constantly, who
should be paid from a tax levied in proportion to property; and though it took
some years to overthrow the established system it was finally done and the
foundation of the modern police system was laid.
In a paper read before the Junto he called attention to the^ frequency with
which fires occurred, their causes, and means of preventing them. This led to
the formation of a company of thirty members who each agreed to keep ready
for use a certain number of leather buckets, strong bags and baskets, the latter
for transporting goods, and to bring them to every fire.

omoultr ¥ou $ersuairet Sueaft of interest,
NOt Of MeaSOn* Poor Richard.

ao EJ)e aife an* d^ifCfew Seroiees of

They also met once a month to pass a social evening and discuss ideas for
more effective service. As with the Junto, too many applied for membership
and they were recommended to form other companies so that in a short time
they became so numerous as to include nearly all the property owners of the city.
The Union Fire Company, as that formed by Franklin was called, was in active
service nearly sixty years and its apparatus, purchased with small fines levied
on members who failed to attend the meetings, included an engine, two hundred
and fifty buckets, thirteen ladders, two hooks and a long rope. These associa
tions did good work in preventing the spread of fires and greatly reduced the
losses from this cause.
Franklin's circumstances were now becoming easy through the large profits
of his newspaper and other interests, and he decided to establish a number of
his deserving workmen in various places, as he had done earlier in South Caro
lina. Nearly all of them prospered and at the end of six years, for which the
partnership was specified, purchased Franklin's interest and continued success
fully in the business.
In his consideration of the needs of the community Franklin realized two
serious deficiencies and set about remedying them. One of these was the lack
of facilities for the higher education of youth, and the other the total absence
of protective militia. For the first he proposed the establishment of an
academy and had in mind a clergyman whom he thought suited to direct it, —
but this man, the Rev. Mr. Peters, had other plans, in the service of the
Proprietors, and so the project languished for a while. The lack of militia was
largely due to the peculiar political conditions prevailing in Pennsylvania;
The hereditary proprietors were strongly represented in the Assembly, and
with others of Quaker faith, for economical and religious reasons they persis
tently opposed any appropriation of funds for this purpose. Knowing that
there was no hope of securing official initiative, although the Governor was
strongly in favor of it, Franklin wrote and published a pamphlet called "Plain
Truth" in which he recounted the dangers of invasion because of the war then
waging between England and Spain — which had recently been joined by France,
and urged a voluntary association to set up a battery and be ready to defend
the city if the enemy should seek reprisals on this side of the Atlantic.
The pamphlet was widely approved, and he then called a public meeting
for subscription to the rolls. This was well attended and was presided over by
Franklin, who further advocated the plan and provided numerous printed
forms bearing the articles of the Association, which he exhorted the audience to
sign. This request was eagerly complied with, and it was found when the papers
were collected that over twelve hundred had pledged themselves to member
ship. Other copies were circulated in the surrounding country, and within a
short time the membership was increased to ten thousand. These soon armed
and formed themselves into companies and regiments, and met each week to drill
and perfect themselves in military knowledge. Franklin was.chosen for Colonel
of the Philadelphia regiment, but he considered himself unfit for the office and
recommended a Mr. Lawrence, who was of fine presence and influential, and
he was accordingly elected. Franklin then proposed a lottery to raise money
to build a battery and equip it with cannon. Lotteries were at that time fully
accredited and popular, and served many worthy purposes. This one soon
"filled" and the battery was built of logs filled around with earth. The matter
of obtaining cannon was not so easy, as there were comparatively few in the
ftije Wl%g to tie Safe, is Nebet
2T0 Oe Seettre* Poor Richard.

JSenfaroiu

iFrauftlin

iFraunliu's $uuef) barrel.

country and no facilities for making
them. A few old ones were purchased
from Boston and others ordered from
England, a somewhat hopeless request
being at the same time sent to the
Proprietors for assistance in the work.
Their greatest accessions resulted,
however, from the visit of Franklin,
Col. Lawrence and two other leaders
to New York to request a loan of
ordinance from Governor Clinton.
The following, Franklin's account of
their experiences, throws a light on
many of the operations of the times:
"He at first refused us peremp
torily; but at dinner with his council,
where there was great drinking of
Madeira wine, as the custom of that
place then was, he softened by degrees,
and said he would lend us six. After
a few more bumpers he advanc'd to ten, and at length he very good-naturedly
conceded eighteen. They were fine cannon, eighteen-pounders, which were
soon transported and mounted on our battery, where the associators kept a
nightly guard while the war lasted, and among the rest I regularly took a turn
of duty there as a common soldier."
Franklin's activities in these affairs brought him into close touch with
Governor Thomas and his council, and he was consulted on every measure by
which they proposed to help the organization. At his suggestion the Governor
issued a proclamation for a fast to implore the blessing of Heaven on the
undertaking. This was the first proclamation of this sort issued in Pennsylva
nia, and as no one else was familiar with the form, Franklin's New England
education was of service and he drew it up in the style to which he was accus
tomed in youth. This was printed in English and German, for the benefit of
the many colonists of the latter nationality, and being published through the
clergy was very effective in gaining recruits. It was feared by some of Franklin's
friends that this warlike activity would alienate his support by the Quaker
members of the Assembly at the next election of Clerk. One young man who
sought the office for himself took advantage of this apprehension to inform
Franklin that it had been decided to displace him, and he thought he might prefer
to resign rather than be turned out. Franklin's reply was : " I have read or
heard of some public man who made it a rule never to ask for an office, and
never to refuse one offer'd him. I approve of his rule and will practice it with
a small addition: I shall never ask, never refuse, nor ever resign an office."
No more was heard of the opposition and Franklin was again unanimously
elected. The tenets of the Quaker faith were often a source of embarrassment to
its representatives in the Assembly who desired to serve the interests of the
province and the crown. They could not consistently vote money for war,
and so when the king called for grants for military purposes they satisfied the
letter of their creed and the king's requirements by voting sums "for the King s

ISTou jwa» Bribe a &ift
WLityout % mmltU p.r.

Efje 2life antr

Serbfces of

THE ART OF MAKING MONEY PLENTY
IN EVERY MAN'S POCKET
BY DOCTOR FRANKLIN

-. si>H

ittuejec/ttZc,

;Zc?2 'Aww&l Ji& thee rwr %f^f «** j$g

a jFatuous Rebus

kj^." Once when the de
mand came from New Eng
land to furnish gunpowder
for the king's troops at
Louisburg and the above
circumlocution was inappli
cable, they voted an aid of
three thousand pounds "to
be put into the hands of the
Governor for the purchas
ing of bread, flour, wheat or
other grain," and calmly
viewed the purchase of gun
powder. This adroitness
was remembered by Frank
lin who planned to use like
tactics to their discomfiture
on an occasion when it was
feared that the Quaker
members of the fire com
pany would defeat a propo
sal to apply the funds of
the company, some sixty
pounds, to the purchase of
tickets in the militia lottery.
It turned out that only one of them opposed the plan, and that many of the
twenty-one of that faith were ready to support it if necessary although they
preferred not to attend the meeting. Franklin's plan was to secure their votes
for the purchase of a fire-engine, and then by having himself and another,
designated a committee for the purpose, to buy a great gun which he asserted
was unquestionably a "fire engine." He, doubtless, would have enjoyed giving
this lesson of their own teaching.
Soon after this, peace was concluded, and Franklin returned to his project
of founding an academy. Following his settled policy of keeping himself in
the background in these schemes of public improvement, he secured the co
operation of a number of friends, several of whom were members of the Junto,
and in their names he published a pamphlet entitled, "Proposals relating to the
Education of Touth in Philadelphia." This he distributed among the principal
inhabitants and when he thought they had had time to consider it he followed
with a subscription for opening and supporting an academy. By making the
sum pledged payable in yearly installments for five years he undoubtedly
secured a greater aggregate, which he tells us was no less than five thousand
pounds. Twenty-four trustees were chosen, and under a constitution drawn up
by Franklin and the Attorney-General, Mr. Francis, a house was hired, teachers
engaged and the school opened. It soon outgrew the facilities at hand and
through Franklin's agency a very large building, which had been erected
for the followers of George Whitefield, the evangelist, but which since his
departure for other fields had been a considerable burden to the trustees, of
which Franklin was one, was secured. During the great enthusiasm of the
revival the building was quickly built, and, dedicated to undenominational ser
vices, opened to preachers of every faith. By assuming its debts, guaranteeing

Genius a^itijout ISfrueatiou
Xs 2Ufce Siiber in tije Mint.

Poor Richard.

Renfatuiu

iFrannlin

the reservation of a large hall for the use of itinerant preachers and the main
tenance of a free school for poor children, the trustees of the academy came
into possession of this building, and under Franklin's superintendence remodeled
and added to it with very gratifying results. The school flourished with a rec
tor of Franklin's selection, but later when politics made Franklin a target for
much abuse, both rector and pupils forgot his services in creating the insti
tution and issued many pamphlets opposing and criticising him. After the
War of the 'Revolution, when it had become the University of Pennsylvania,
these differences were obliterated, and Franklin again became a trustee and was
chosen president of that body.
During the years of his activity in founding these institutions Franklin
also found leisure to continue his studies and experiments. His mind was
always open to consider any problem that method or chance brought to his
attention, and to all these he gave scholarly thought, much of which he care
fully recorded, although some of the subjects today appear trivial. This was
his mental nature, however, and whether it were rebuses, magic squares, or the
newly discovered phenomena of electricity that were uppermost, the results
were definite and in many cases valuable. One of his important inventions,
made just previous to his taking up of public affairs was what he called the
Pennsylvania Fireplace, now known in a modified form as the Franklin stove.
The large open fire-places of the period burned great quantities of wood and
radiated little heat. Franklin devised a sort of stove to set within the fire-place,
with which, through a clear appreciation of the properties of hot and cold air
and a skillful application of their governing principles, he was able to create
and maintain a draught through a devious passage that radiated a very large
percentage of the heat of the wood burning on
the grate. The results were much warmer
rooms than had been possible before, and a great >
reduction in the quantity of fuel required. To
explain this appliance to his neighbors Frank
lin published a pamphlet, which is not only an
example of his pains-taking research but a de
lightful essay of permanent interest. He argued
the benefits of warm air, reviewed current meth
ods of heating in this and other countries, and
demonstrated the superiority of his invention
and the manner of installing and operating it.
The fire-place became very popular and he gave
the patterns to his friend Robert Grace, who
was an iron-founder, and who did a thriving
business through them. Franklin did not take
out a patent on this, as he believed that every
one should freely contribute his discoveries and •
inventions for the common good, so he derived
no pecuniary benefit from it. Some time after
ward he learned that an iron-monger in London
had appropriated the idea and patented it with
great profit.
Franklin had relieved himself of all the
details of his printing business by taking as a
partner Mr. David Hall, who had been in his

Franklin's
Philadelphia Fireplace.
(From his model. J

SMfjen You're eootr to #tfjers
¥ou are Rest to ¥ourselt P- r.

Serbiees

employ for a number of years and who proved very capable and methodical.
He planned to devote the leisure thus gained to the study of electricity and
other natural phenomena, and he purchased the physical apparatus of Dr. Spence
who had come from England to lecture. Franklin had some time before re
ceived as a present from Mr. Peter Collinson of London a glass sphere to be
rubbed with silk to generate electricity, and he had been greatly interested in
the new force, for the study of which he had built improved apparatus, and had
entertained many people with exhibitions of its working. He entered upon
systematic experimenting with keen delight, but he was destined to be seriously
interrupted, as no sooner was it known that he had retired from his printing
office than the public seized upon him for all sorts of services. The Governor
put him on several important commissions, he was elected successively a mem
ber of the Common Council, Alderman, and as a Burgess of the House of
Representatives. He found the latter office very congenial and was re-elected
for ten years, until he again went to England, without solicitation or other effort
on his part, and through this membership he was enabled to accomplish a great
deal of good for various causes. One of the first of these was the making of
a treaty with the Indians, for which he, with Mr. Norris, the Speaker of the
House, and two members of the Governor's council journeyed to Carlisle.
They found the Indians very disorderly through drink, and they immediately
forbade any rum to be sold them until after the treaty was concluded, promising
them their fill when the business was over. By this means a very satisfactory
treaty was secured, the Indians deliberating in a very dignified and orderly
manner; but they turned again to savages of the most abhorrent type when
the promised rum was delivered ; men and women making a pandemonium of
the night, dancing and shouting frantically around a huge bonfire in the center
of the Square, and chasing one another with fire-brands in their quarrels.
Another project which he was enabled to realize was the establishment of
a hospital in Philadelphia, the first institution of this kind in the country.
The idea had been conceived by his friend, Dr. Thomas Bond, but this gentle
man had been unable to convince the people of its benefits and so had secured
few subscriptions. Many whom he solicited asked him what Franklin thought
of it, and so he appealed to the latter for assistance although he had at first
thought it out of the other's line. Franklin subscribed for himself and entered
heartily into the work, soliciting of others, and then secured the passage of a
bill in the Assembly authorizing an appropriation of two thousand pounds to
be paid to the managers of the fund when they had obtained pledge of an equal
sum from individuals. This was a plan to overcome the decided opposition of
many representatives who believed that the conditions could not be met, and
that they would thus appear public spirited without expense to the treasury.
Franklin and his associates then went to the people with the argument that by
this enactment the donation of each would be doubled and soon raised the full
sum. A suitable building was erected and the Pennsylvania Hospital favor
ably established. It proved such a blessing that Franklin says in his Autobi
ography: "I do not remember any of my political manoeuvres, the success of
which gave me at the time more pleasure, or wherein, after thinking of it, I
more easily excused myself for having made some use of cunning."
From these important works we find him turning to minor conveniences
with equal enthusiasm and effectiveness. He deplored the filthy condition of
Philadelphia's important streets, and by means of small experiments and the
co-operation of abutters he demonstrated the benefits of pavements, and
WLtll Bone is Retter &fjau WLtU Saitr. Poor Richard.

Renjamin

iFrannlin

moulded public opinion into approval of taxation for continuing the work.
He also called attention to the desirability of street-lamps, by following the
example of Mr. John Clifton and placing one before his door. Though
Franklin disclaims the initiative in this, he refers to his study of the faults of
the London type of lamp for this purpose, the effectiveness of improvements
which he devised, and to his efforts as usual, in public discussion of the matter.
His comments on these activities furnish a wise rendering of a great truth.
"Some may think these trifling matters not worth minding or relating, — Human
felicity is produc'd not so much by great pieces of good fortune that seldom
happen as by little advantages that occur every day."
On the death in 1753, of Colonel Spotswood, the Postmaster-General,
Franklin and Mr. William Hunter were jointly appointed to that office.
Their salaries were to be three hundred pounds each per annum, if they could
make that amount above the expenses of the department, and they succeeded
so well in regulating and re-organizing it that the office, which had never before
been remunerative to the British government, paid in a few years, a profit equal
to three times the revenue of the post-office of Ireland. They took bold
measures to accomplish this, and at the end of the first year were obliged to
make good, out of their own pockets, a deficiency of over nine hundred pounds,
but notwithstanding their later success their efforts were not appreciated by the
ministers, and they were subsequently removed, after which the office lapsed
to its former unprofitable condition.
In 1754 a congress of commissioners from the different colonies was called
to meet at Albany to confer with the chiefs of the Six Nations to arrange for
defending the country in the event of the anticipated
war with France. Franklin was one of the four
chosen by the House to represent Pennsylvania on
this occasion, and on the journey to Albany he con
ceived a plan of union of the forces of the provinces
under a central government, which contained the
elements of the National Union ultimately devel
oped by the Revolution. When the congress con
vened he found that others had similar ideas but his
was conceded to be superior in its details and was
discussed and adopted in the intervals of the business
with the Indians. It was then recommended to the
Provincial Governments and to the Board of Trade
of England, which had proposed the congress, with
the result that at home it was rejected for unduly
favoring the Crown, while in England it was held to
be too democratic. This contrariety of opinion con
vinced its author of its suitability, as he sought such
a basis of mutual concession in the relations of the
two countries, and later, when serious differences
arose, he worked consistently to this end. Franklin
greatly regretted the loss of this opportunity to unite
the provinces, and regarding it he observes:— "Those
who govern, having much business on their hands,
do not generally like to take the trouble of consid
ering and carrying into execution new projects.
The best public measures are therefore seldom

One of Franklin's
Electrical Machines.

Bribe &f)g Rusiness, or it WLill Bribe Efjee* p. r.

ISarit? Tiebi of tijr $euusj?lbania hospital
adopted from previous wisdom, but forc'd by the occasion."
Hostilities with France were fast approaching and the government of the
Colony of Massachusetts Bay projected an expedition to capture the enemy's
stronghold at Crown Point. To assist in defraying the expense of this Mr.
Pownall was sent to New York, and Mr. Quincy to Pennsylvania, to solicit
appropriations from the assemblies of those provinces. Mr. Quincy sought
Franklin's aid in the matter and the latter so favorably presented it to the
assembly that a grant of ten thousand pounds, to be laid out in provisions, was
voted at once. This was included in a general appropriation bill which required
the governor's signature to become operative and that official seized this oppor
tunity to enforce the customary demand of his principals, the hereditary pro
prietors, that their estates be exempted from taxation for these purposes.
This was the perennial bone of contention in Pennsylvania politics and
the governor remained obdurate alike to the demands of the house and the
solicitation of Quincy. At this juncture Franklin again effected his purpose
by finesse and secured the funds without the co-operation of the governor.
He recalled a provision of the general laws by which the assembly had the
right to issue orders on the Loan Office, a sort of forerunner of the National
Banks, whose funds were derived from the interest on paper currency out on
loans, and the excise revenue. At his suggestion the assembly authorized these
orders for the ten thousand pounds voted to Massachusetts, and through them
the money was quickly obtained, to the delight of Mr. Quincy who was deeply
grateful to Franklin for his good offices, and became one of his firm friends.
Instead of intrusting the defense of the western frontier to a unification of
the provincial forces, the British government sent over General Braddock with
two regiments of regulars to accomplish this purpose, and especially to capture
Fort Duquesne, a French stronghold on the Ohio river. He landed at Alex-

€fofr ?^eljjs &fjetu STnat
Hjelji 3Hjetnselbes» p. r.

Renfawin r&$M?m*r iFrannlfn 27

andria and marched his troops through Virginia and Maryland to the hostile
country, insulting and plundering the inhabitants with arrogant freedom.
The Pennsylvania Assembly learned indirectly that the general was
strongly prejudiced against it because of supposed antagonism to his service,
and Franklin was requested to attend the army, as postmaster-general, under
the pretense of solicitude for its postal facilities, but in reality to assure General
Braddock of the government's sympathy with his expedition. He took his son
with him and they found the army resting at Frederictown while the surround
ing country was being searched for horses and wagons to transport its stores.
After spending several days in camp and accomplishing the purpose of his
visit, Franklin was about to depart when the details returned with the report
that but twenty-five wagons of a very poor sort could be found. General
Braddock was dismayed and would have abandoned the campaign but Franklin
offered his assistance and promised to gather the one-hundred and fifty teams
required. After arranging the necessary details and securing the general's
written agreement to pay the owners for their outfits and services, Franklin
went to Lancaster and issued an advertisement stating in full just what was
desired, and followed it with a letter of appeal in which he commended the
purpose of the expedition and pointed out the prudence of voluntarily furnish
ing at good remuneration what might otherwise be taken by force.
These announcements stirred the farmers, and in two weeks the required
number of four-horse wagons, with drivers, supplies, and upward of two-hundred
and fifty pack-horses were on their way to the army. General Braddock had
supplied eight hundred pounds for advance payment but this proved insufficient
and Franklin advanced two-hundred pounds from his own pocket besides giv
ing bonds to the amount of twenty thousand pounds to indemnify the owners
against loss of the equipment. The general was very grateful for this support
and repaid Franklin for his outlay, thanking him many times for his labor.
The success of this undertaking led him to request Franklin to forward supplies
to him while on the march, which the latter promised to do, and returning to
Philadelphia advanced upwards of one thousand pounds for the purpose.
Franklin had modestly offered suggestions as to the Indian method of warfare
but Braddock disdained these with the assurance that his seasoned British
troops could not possibly be defeated by such tactics, and that Fort Duquesne
would be speedily taken and the march continued to Niagara. He was
doomed to a fatal enlightenment from this conceit and before reaching Fort
Duquesne his army was attacked from ambush, routed with great loss, and the
general mortally wounded. The demoralized remnant of the forces returned to
Philadelphia for protection, and Franklin found himself besieged for payment
for the forfeited property which he had guaranteed. Fortunately he had ren
dered a bill for the provisions, which had been honored by an order on the
paymaster just before the defeat, and he was able to satisfy the claimants until
they were indemnified by General Shirley, otherwise he would have been
ruined through his zeal.
Although he had no military aspirations, Franklin's inseparable connection
with all important public affairs brought him necessarily to the front in plans
of defense from the Indians, whose violences were at this time a matter of great
concern. He was largely instrumental in drafting and passing, in the Assembly,
a compromise bill by which the proprietors were allowed to contribute specific
ally the sum of five thousand pounds of an appropriation of sixty thousand
pounds for defending the frontier, in lieu of submitting to taxation of their
Bilisence #bereotues Binteulties,
SlOti) J&atteS SJjettt, Poor Richard.

Serbiees

estates for this purpose, and by the act he was made one of the commissioners
for expending the fund. At the same time he secured the enactment of a bill
for establishing and disciplining a volunteer militia, and published a fictitious
dialogue setting forth many objections to the plan, with convincing answers.
At a time when the bonds of government were weak and individual independ
ence aggressive, Franklin's consistent reliance upon leading rather than coerc
ing the people in all affairs, was a prime element of his popularity and success,
and most gratifying evidence of the wisdom of his long-practiced principles of
intercourse, which may be termed diplomacy but which from the benevolence
of their intent seem better described as tact. Under the provisions of the first
bill it was decided to build three forts on the north-western frontier of the
province, and at the urgent solicitation of the governor, Franklin consented to
direct the operations. He was commissioned as commander and given full
power to appoint all subordinate officers, and he soon raised five hundred and
sixty men, many of them proficient in woodcraft ; these he assembled at
Bethlehem, from whence he set out with the main body for Gnadenhut, a
Moravian village which had recently been burned and its inhabitants massacred,
while he sent one detachment northward and another southward to fortify other
points on the frontier. This was in midwinter and the labor was arduous, but
such was the skill of the men and the effectiveness of his directions that in less
than a week a fort four hundred and fifty feet in circumference was built of
logs placed upright in the form of palisades, with loopholes, and a stage around
the inside six feet from the ground. They encountered no opposition from
the Indians although evidences were frequently discovered that small parties of
them had watched the operations. The fort was hardly completed and its
maintenance provided for, when Franklin received a letter from the governor
and others from friends in the Assembly, urging him to return as soon as he
could be spared, to attend the session, which the governor had found it neces
sary to convene. It happened that Colonel Clapham, a New England officer,
was on a visit to the place at that time, and Franklin turned over the command
to him, reading his commission before the men with the assurances that this
officer was much more competent to direct them than himself, and started back
to Philadelphia. On reaching Bethlehem he decided to rest a few days to re
cover from the fatigue of camp life, which had become so habitual that it was
difficult for him to rest in the good bed here provided. He was much inter
ested in the conduct and customs of this Moravian settlement and left it with.
increased respect for its people.
The volunteer association was well under way when he arrived again at
Philadelphia, nearly twelve hundred men having signed the rolls. , The captains-
and other officers of the various companies having been chosen, they elected
him colonel, and this time having become somewhat accustomed to military
service, he accepted the command though still somewhat averse to prominence
of that sort. On the occasion of the first review of his command, which in
cluded a company of artillery with six brass field-pieces, they accompanied him
to his home and fired a salute which, he regretfully relates, knocked down and
broke several pieces of his electrical apparatus. Soon after this an incident
occurred which testified to his popularity with his officers, although it caused
Franklin considerable annoyance. Having learned that he was about to start
on a journey to Virginia, the officers planned to escort him in state to the
ferry, and, to the number of about forty appeared at his door mounted and in
uniform, just as he was leaving on horse-back. His description of the incident
WLintt Not so J»ueJ) to 2Libe &oufl
US tO JLibe 2H!IelL Poor Richard.

Renjatnin

iFraunliu's ISseort
clearly indicates his attitude toward such affairs : — "I was a good deal chagrin'd
at their appearance, as I could not avoid their accompanying me. What made
it worse was, that, as soon as we began to move, they drew their swords and
rode with them naked all the way. Somebody wrote an account of this to the
proprietor, and it gave him great offence. No such honor had been paid him
when in the province, nor to any of his governors ; and he said it was only
proper to princes of the blood royal, which may be true for aught I know, who
was, and still am, ignorant of the etiquette in such cases."
Though Franklin styles this a "silly affair" the proprietor took it very
seriously, and made it the occasion of denouncing him to the ministry as plan
ning to usurp the government, also endeavoring to effect his removal from the
office of postmaster-general ; but his chief enmity toward the offender, of which
this incident was an excuse more suited to public protest, was the latter's stead
fast opposition to the exemption of the proprietary estates from their due share
of taxation. As a result of this outcry, however, or because it was deemed
unwise to sanction the beginnings of military strength in the provinces, the law
under which the Pennsylvania regiment was recruited was repealed in England,
and the commissions of all its officers withdrawn.
By his partnership with Mr. Hall, Franklin had now been relieved from
the active cares of business for about six years, during which, in addition to the
benevolent and political interests that he had served, he had cultivated his mind
in many directions, and had conducted and published a long and varied series
of electrical experiments, which had established him as one of the foremost
scientists of the world.
He had in turn received the degree of Master of Arts from both Yale and
Harvard colleges, and without solicitation he was elected a fellow of the Royal
Society of London, an unprecedented honor which included special remission of
the customary fees, and was awarded its Sir Godfrey Copley gold medal.
He discovered and defined the positive and negative nature of electricity,
invented new forms of apparatus for producing and displaying it, and exhibited
& 2L«e of ^Leisure, antr a 2Life of
2La?iuesst are Etoo Spinas* p.r.

o EDe SLife anlf

Serbiees of

2Tije J&emora&te IBriieriroewt Wlity tfje l^ite
many novel and startling applications of his discoveries. Of these the greatest,
and the one that brought his fame to the highest point, was his demonstration
of the identity of the phenomena of thunder and lightning, and the spark
drawn from the Leyden jar. Long before it had occurred to him to test this
theory for himself, by means of a kite — as he did later with such notable
success — there being no high buildings in America, he had written to his friend
Mr. Collinson of London, suggesting in detail an arrangement of metal rods
on some tall structure situated on high ground, and during a thunder storm to
connect this with the prime conductor of a Leyden jar in the expectation
of its being charged by the electricity of the heavens. This, and other letters
recording his experiments were read by Mr. Collinson before the Royal Society
but at the time they received little credence, and to accord them the opportu
nity to which he believed they were entitled, this gentleman arranged for their
publication by Mr. Cave the proprietor of the Gentlemen's Magazine, who
brought them out collectively in the form of a quarto volume.
A copy of this work attracted the attention of the Count de Buffon, an
eminent philosopher of Paris, who arranged for its translation into the French
language, which led to the successful trial of the proposed experiment of the
lightning conductor, by the Messieurs Dalibard, the translator, and De Lor.
The fame of this verification of Franklin's theory spread rapidly over Europe
and to England, where, in London, the Royal Society was brought to a real
ization of the importance of the communications which they had slighted, with
the result of welcoming the author to fellowship, as above stated.
In the meantime Franklin had conceived the idea of sending his conductor
into the clouds by means of a kite, and before he learned of the success of
Messieurs Dalibard and De Lor, at Marly, he had experienced the satisfaction
of proving, in Philadelphia, the truth of his theory. There are many dramatic
accounts of this achievement, and they are quite justified by the importance,
if not by the circumstances, of the fact ; but the discoverer restricts himself to
the following general directions for performing the experiment:

BUigeuee is tfje J&otfjer of totals 2Lt»ett. Poor Richard.

Htniamin

iFrannlin 31

iFranftlin in l^is ULibrars
"Make a small cross of two light strips of cedar, the arm so long as to
reach to the four corners of a large thin silk handkerchief when extended ; tie
the corners of the handkerchief to the extremities of the cross, so you have the
body of a kite; which being properly accommodated with a tail, loop and string
will rise in the air, like those made of paper; but this being silk is fitter to
bear the wet and wind of a thunder-gust without tearing. To the top of the
upright stick of the cross is to be fixed a very sharp-pointed wire, rising a foot
or more above the wood. To the end of the twine, next the hand, is to be
tied a silk ribbon, and where the silk and twine join, a key may be fastened.
This kite is to be raised when a thunder-gust appears to be coming on, and
the person who holds the string must stand within a door or window, or under
some cover, so that the silk ribbon may not be wet ; and care must be taken
that the twine does not touch the frame of the door or window. As soon as
any of the thunder-clouds come over the kite, the pointed wire will draw the
electric fire from them, and the kite with all the twine will be electrified, and
the loose filaments of the twine will stand out every way, and be attracted by
an approaching finger. And when the rain has wetted the kite and twine so
that it can conduct the electric fire freely, you will find it stream out plentifully
from the key on the approach of your knuckle. At this key the phial may be
charged; and from electric fire thus obtained, spirits may be kindled, and all
the other electric experiments be performed, which are usually done by the help
of a rubbed glass globe or tube, and thereby the sameness of the electric matter
with that of lightning completely demonstrated."
Certainly this was a modest way of announcing a discovery that engrossed
the world, and was held to menace tenets of religion.
During the long interval that had elapsed since he first left home, Frank
lin had seldom visited Boston, for which apparent neglect we must find a
reason in the multiplicity of his affairs, and the difficulties of the journey, as
his affection for his family was constant, and was expressed frequently by
letters and remembrances.

&Otta£ iS ¥eStertra^S PU))iL Poor Richard.

32 £f)e aife antr

Serbiees of

His first visit was made when he had been away ten years, and he called
on his brother James, who was then in business in Newport, Rhode Island,
and healed the differences caused by his injudicious conduct on the occasion
of his earlier return at Governor Keith's suggestion. He found his brother in
poor health, and promised in the event of the latter's death, which seemed, and
was indeed imminent, to take his son James and train and establish him in the
printing business, which he faithfully did-.-aft.er having given him several years
schooling — by which he felt that he had made amends for his brother's loss
through his own defaulted service.
His father, Josiah Franklin, died in 1744, and his mother Abiah, in 1752.
The fullness and character of his regard for them are evidenced by this inscrip
tion, which he placed on the monument which he erected over their graves, in
the Granary burying-ground, in Boston ; it is alike creditable to parents and to
the son: —

f

Josiah Franklin and Abiah his wife
lie here interred.
' They lived lovingly together in wedlock fifty-five years; •
and without an estate or any gainful employment,
by constant labour, and honest industry,
(with God's blessing,)
maintained a large family comfortably ;
.and brought up thirteen children and seven grand
children reputably.
From this instance, reader,
be encouraged to dilligence in thy calling,
and distrust not Providence.
He was a pious and prudent man,
she a discreet and virtuous woman.
Their youngest son,
in filial regard to their memory,
places this stone.
J. F. born 1655 — died 1744, — M. 89.
A. F. born 1667 — died 1752, — IE. 85.

Jt

In August 1756, Governor Morris was superseded by Captain William
Denny, and Pennsylvania entered upon an administration destined to imperil
the foundations of its liberties, in whose defence Franklin, the recognized
leader, was to be called to the beginning of a long and fruitful term of service
on the other side of the Atlantic.

?^onor W$$ iFatijer antr £f)£ jwotijer, /. e. afbe so as to be
&n fflonox to Ktytn W§o* EJjes are Beatr. Poor Richard.

Renfawin ,jk^jf>m^ iFrannlin

Governor Denny brought to Franklin the gold medal awarded him by
the Royal Society, and he took the opportunity, after presenting it on a public
occasion, to withdraw with the recipient and endeavor to cajole him into a
favorable regard for the demands of the proprietor in matters of taxation,
promising him ample reward in money and honors if he would lend his influence
in the Assembly toward harmony with his, the Governor's measures.
In reply, Franklin, with his usual courteous directness, assured the Gov
ernor that he desired to be friendly with the proprietor, and would do every
thing in his power to render the administration of his agent easy and agreeable
so long as it was not in conflict with the rights of the people, whose interests
he should continue to serve ; adding, that through God's blessing his circum
stances were such as to render unnecessary any favors from the proprietor, and
that as a member of the Assembly it would be unlawful for him to receive such.
He further expressed the hope that Governor Denny was not bound by the
instructions which had been such a source of trouble with the previous admin
istration. The Governor did not choose to enlighten him on that point, but the
course of events soon revealed the obnoxious requirements, and after some
months of fruitless effort on the part of the Assembly to secure approval of
bills which contemplated taxation of the proprietary estates, and of equally
fruitless effort by Governor Denny to obtain specific exemption of these estates,
matters reached a crisis on the governor's rejection of a revenue bill based on
an excise tax, which the House thought an unobjectional expedient, but which
also proved incompatible with the "instructions," the bill being returned to
the Assembly with the announcement that as there was in those parts no person
to judge between the governor and the House, the former would immediately
transmit to his Majesty his reasons for so doing. As all the interests of the
province must suffer from a lack of funds following such a deadlock, the
House, after recovering from the consternation resulting from this affront,
passed the necessary bill in a form acceptable to the governor, having first in a
series of resolutions, recorded its sense of injury and the reasons for concession
on this occasion. The situation in which it now found itself was regarded as
intolerable, and the Assembly further resolved that a remonstrance be drawn
up and presented to the King and Parliament and that the two most honored
members, Mr. Norris, the Speaker, and Benjamin Franklin, be requested to go
to England and urge the redress of their grievences. Mr. Norris, pleading
age and ill-health as excuses, begged to be allowed to decline, but Franklin, after
protesting that his colleague was well qualified to accomplish the matter with
out his assistance, offered himself for any service that the House might require.
Mr. Norris remaining firm in his refusal, it was resolved, that "Benjamin
Franklin be and he is hereby appointed agent of this province, to solicit and
transact the affairs thereof in Great Britain." Franklin's son William, then
Clerk of the House, was granted leave of absence to accompany him, and the sum
of fifteen hundred pounds was voted to defray the expenses of the mission.
Franklin prepared to start immediately, and had engaged passage and sent
his stores on board the packet at New York, when Lord Loudon, then in
command of the King's forces in the colonies, arrived at Philadelphia for the
purpose of reconciling the affairs of the province, and the journey was delayed
pending a discussion of the matter. As his lordship was unable to alter the
conditions, nothing was accomplished, and Franklin and his son resumed their
preparation and started for New York, the packet with their stores having in
<©ne JJJag be J&ore <&unnina &t)au ^uotfjer, Rut Not
j&ore <&unnin& £f)au ISbergbotrg isise* Poor Richard

34 EJje Hife antr

Serbiees

the meantime sailed. On account of
the dilatoriness of Lord Loudon, to
whose orders they were subject, the
sailing of other packets was greatly
delayed, and months elapsed before
the reports for which they waited
were ready and they were allowed
to depart. Franklin's ship, though at
first handicapped by faulty stowage of
the cargo, proved, when that was rem
edied, to be the fastest of the fleet, and
after a somewhat eventful voyage of
thirty days, during which they were
several times chased by hostile craft,
and at the end narrowly escaped ship
wreck on the Scilly Isles, they arrived
at Falmouth, where Franklin and his
son disembarked and traveled over
land to London, arriving on the 26th
of July, 1757.
After resting a while at the home
of his friend Peter Collinson, and
there receiving many of his old
friends, and those with whom his
scientific works had brought him
into correspondence, Franklin and
his son took up their abode with
Mrs. Margaret Stevenson in Craven
Street, Strand, William Franklin en
tering at once upon the study of law, while his father set to work upon the
business of the Assembly. He obtained an interview with the Messrs. Penn
and endeavored to conciliate and show them the injustice of their restrictive
instructions to the Governor, but they refused to bend, and kept him at a dis
tance with quibbling objections to the form of his petition, asserting that it
. would be impossible to take any action for a long time, as it was the beginning
of the vacation season and the lawyers upon whom they depended for advice
were away.
Following this damper to his hopes Franklin was taken with a serious
illness in the form of an intermittent fever, which, with the misguided medical
treatment of that day, incapacitated him for eight weeks. On his recovery he
engaged the services of leading councillors and sought to prosecute his mission,
but it was a year before the Proprietaries took any action, and then they ignored
Franklin and sent an unconcessional reply to the Assembly through Governor
Denny. During this time and later, he vainly attempted to secure an interview with
the powerful and friendly William Pitt, Lord Chatham, and another year
passed without any advancement of his cause. With the help of his son he
had replied in the newspapers to many calumnious articles inspired by the Pro
prietaries, and had published and distributed hundreds of copies of a large
volume giving the full history of the controversy between the Assembly and
the Governors. This work attracted considerable attention favorable and other-
Kt*s <&otnman for JWen to €Ktbe pretence*
Reasons XusteaSf of ©ne Real <£ue« p. r.

:rs.Stebenson*s ffiomt
erabeu Street, Hontrou

Renfamin

wise, but did not appreciably improve
the situation, and Franklin settled
down to a life of social and scientific
gratification, varied with vacation trips.
which included a visit to Wellingbor
ough and Ecton, where his ancestors
had lived, and where he yet found
several cousins. On one of these
occasions Franklin and his son spent
six weeks in Scotland, and were lav
ishly entertained and honored by the
universities and the leading people.
The University of St. Andrews had
previously conferred on him the
degree of Doctor of Laws, which in
its essential became his recognized
title. He also visited Cambridge and
was flatteringly received and enter
tained by the chancellors and the
heads of the colleges.
He wrote many interesting let
ters to his wife and daughter, and
frequently sent them presents of dress
goods and household furnishings,
while in return they sent many delica
cies such as he was accustomed to in
America. His first real success in his work
came in 1760 when the Proprietaries
raised great objection to a recent act
of the Assembly in issuing notes to the amount of £ 100,000 which were to
be met by taxation of all estates and property not excepting those of the
brothers Penn.
Governor Denny had given up the struggle, and had been replaced by
Mr. James Hamilton, a Philadelphian, who was a little less hampered by pro
prietary restrictions, and in the absence of Franklin, the Assembly went to
greater lengths of self-assertion. A ponderous committee was appointed by
the Privy Council to pass upon the measure before it was submitted for the
approval of the King, who, by the terms of the charter, had the power to repeal
obnoxious acts. This committee reported very harshly and recommended that
the act be repealed. 1
When the news of this was received, Franklin was about starting on a visit
to Ireland, but he unpacked his satchels and gave all his energy to securing a
reversal of the recommendation, as the act had been in force for some time
before knowledge of it reached England and much of the currency was already
issued. By promising to urge an amendment which, apparently, would
somewhat relieve the Proprietaries, he secured their assent, and from
the committee a strong recommendation for approval of the measure. This
was in due course placed before King George II and the Privy Council, and
readily allowed. The amendment was never passed by the Assembly, though
it was frequently addressed to this end by Governor Hamilton, acting for the
?^abe ¥ou Sometoljat to Bo 2To=
tUOrrObj; BO M STOsfrag. Poor Richard.

3oi)n Ituos's ?^ouse
?2^i0*) St»> IStriuburfl

Canine ?3^is Begree at ©sforfc Huibersitg
Penns, it being contended that a fair consideration of the original bill would
show it based on the elements called for in the amendment. Besides prevent
ing the embarrassment that would have resulted from the recall of outstanding
currency, this victory was important in its bearing on the subservience of the
Assembly to the brothers Penn, whose powers were thereafter much lessened.
Although Franklin remained in England two years after this, he ac
complished little more for the cause of the province. He took a prominent
part in the controversies resulting from the change in the ministry and policy
at the death of George II, and the ascension of George III, and was credited
with much good influence on important questions. He continued his scientific
and literary pursuits, and in the summer of 1761, he and his son made a tour
of the Low Countries.
Franklin planned to .return to America early in the spring of 1762, but
owing to affairs of his own, and the unreadiness of the vessel, it was late in
autumn before he arrived in Philadelphia. During this interval he visited
Oxford and received from the university the honorary degree Doctor of
Canon Law, and William Franklin, who had completed his legal studies and had
been admitted to the bar, was granted that of Master of Arts. William had
gained a considerable following on his own account, through his undoubted
abilities and his close association with his father, and his crowning triumph
came just before the date set for their departure, in the appointment to the
governorship of New Jersey. This was judged to have been obtained for him
without solicitation, and in the face of many aspirants, by his friend Lord Bute,
then the most powerful man in Parliament, and it aroused considerable protest
in England, although it was well received in the Province, where the new
Governor was highly honored on his arrival the following February.
Dr. Franklin left Portsmouth, without his son, in the latter part of August,
and after a very pleasant voyage of nine weeks in a merchantman sailing with
a large fleet, arrived at Philadelphia on the first of November, having been
absent six years from his home and friends. A few days after his father sailed,
«f ¥ott smoultr Reap praise ¥ou JWust Soto tlje
Seetrs, Gentle WloxXin autr Useful Beetrs* p.r.

Renfamin

but with his knowledge and consent, Governor Franklin was married to Miss
Elizabeth Downes, a young woman who had come to London from the West
Indies, and it was with the announcement of this in the London Chronicle that his
new appointment was first published. He entered matrimony, having an ille
gitimate son, William Temple, then about two years old, thus repeating his
own relation to his father.
Franklin greatly enjoyed the reunion with his family and old associates,
and took especial comfort in the society of his daughter Sarah, a beautiful girl
of eighteen. With full honors bestowed upon him, he planned to live the rest
of his life in ease, and gratify all his yearnings for hospitality and recreation,
but the disturbances that led to the inevitable conflict with the mother country
soon claimed his services and drew him into his former activity.
In October, 1763, Governor Hamilton resigned, and John Penn arrived
from England to take his place. It was thought by the Pennsylvanians that
this would facilitate the work of the Assembly, as it seemed probable that a
member of the Penn family would be less restricted by instructions and likely
to act more on his own judgment, which a direct knowledge of conditions
would incline favorably to the public cause. Like his predecessors, he showed
great consideration at first, but this proved of short duration, and he soon seized
an opportunity to ally himself with the party in opposition to liberty and advance
ment. This opportunity was the outcome of the deplorable massacre of a few
friendly Indians, the last of a tribe that had made the treaty with his grand
father, William Penn. They were murdered by a party of fanatics from the
district of Paxton, and when a second raid on a larger band of another such
tribe was imminent, he called on Franklin for help, and through the latter's
writings and personal efforts in bringing these civilized and Christian aborigines
to Philadelphia, protecting them with a garrison hurriedly raised, and then
meeting and discouraging the attacking party as it neared Philadelphia, the
Indians were saved and another blot on the history of the province was averted.
As a reward for this help in an extremity, the Governor turned against Franklin
and having found, in the country districts, a considerable approval for the
indiscriminate extermination of the Indians, he set his seal on a proclamation
offering a large bounty for the capture or scalping of any Indian, male or
female. From this point of departure he lent his influence to the demands of
two minority parties, the landed aristocrats, of which he was naturally one, and
the lowest dregs of a half assimilated peasantry.
, All the old differences he intensified with greater arrogance, and matters
reached such a pass that the Assembly adjourned to test the sentiment of the
people on a proposed address to the King, begging him to assume the direct
government of the province according to the terms of the original grant, mak
ing to the Proprietors such compensation for the cession of their vested rights .
as he might deem wise. The Assembly met again on the 14th of May, 1764,
after an interval of seven months, and it was found that an overwhelming
majority of the voters had signed the petitions approving the address to the
King. The venerable speaker, Mr. Isaac Norris, weakened at the last moment
and resigned his office rather than sign so radical a measure, and Franklin, one
of its steadfast champions, was elected to the place and signed the petition.
At this time the suggestion of a stamp tax for the colonies, to help meet
the large debt resulting from the war with France, was made by George Gren-
ville, the prime minister of England, but the opposition to this form of tribute
was so pronounced that the plan was for a time abandoned.
?#e ?^as CUaufl'fc l^ts <^«* 22»*& ?#orse
for a Rlfnfr #Ue. Poor Richard.

©He 2Ufe an* r^^%m*> Serbiees of

At the election in the following October, Franklin met his first defeat at
the polls. All through the summer a vigorous campaign was waged by the
conservatives who formed the Penn government, and by the liberals who de
sired to free the province from it. Tactics of all kinds were employed to
prevent the re-election of Franklin, who, as usual, depended entirely on a dis
semination of his principles and arguments in pamphlet form. So great was
the attendance at the polls that they were kept open from nine o'clock, October
first, until three o'clock in the afternoon of the next day, and when the counting
was finished nearly twenty-four hours later, it was found that the new ticket had
triumphed and Franklin and nearly all his Philadelphia associates were defeated,
the former by a majority of twenty-five votes only. In view of the fact that
he had been elected to the Assembly for fourteen years, during six of which he
was absent from the country, without seeking the place or asking any one
to vote for him, and that in spite of extensive fraudulent voting by his oppo
nents the majority against him was so small, Franklin found little to depress
him in the result, and when the House, which, by a return of most of the old
members from other counties, still had a majority over the Proprietary party,
immediately elected him again to the office of agent of the Province in England,
he willingly accepted and prepared to take up the work, notwithstanding his
advanced years and the sacrifice of his hoped for leisure.
This appointment aroused bitter protest from the Penn adherents, and he
was assailed with violent criticism, both political and personal, but complacent
in his knowledge of its falseness, he bore this with his usual equanimity.
On the seventh of November, but twelve days after his election as agent, -
he was escorted to Chester, a few miles below Philadelphia, by three hundred
citizens on horseback, and there embarked once more for England, which he
reached after a short but stormy passage. He hoped to make his stay abroad
short on this occasion, a prospect which somewhat mitigated the pain of leaving
his wife and daughter, for whom his solicitude was tenderly expressed in a
parting letter despatched from the ship as it was leaving the Delaware.
The news of his safe arrival in London was hailed with great joy in Phil
adelphia, and the bells were rung until nearly midnight, the cheering knowledge
of which he received in one of his first letters from home.
Franklin returned at once to his old lodgings with Mrs. Stevenson, in
Craven street, and in a very short time was actively working to prevent the
passage of the Stamp Act, which he found the all absorbing topic in political
circles. With the other American Agents he had interviews with Prime
Minister Grenville, and personally, he employed all his resources of acquaintance
and argument to avert this strain between the home government and the
colonies, but entirely without avail, as Grenville had promised Parliament that he
would present such a measure, and he was firm in this determination, although
courteous in his reception of the remonstrants, and fair enough to request from
them an alternative measure that would accomplish the purpose without occa
sioning resentment. He did not, however, choose to so regard Franklin's ,
announcement that he was authorized to promise that the Pennsylvania Assem
bly would vote and pay its proportionate part of the desired funds, if requested
by the King, in the constitutional manner.
The act passed almost unanimously, with little thought that it would
excite anything more serious than a temporary grumbling at the burden of the
tax. This was to be raised almost wholly upon paper books and documents,
and affairs pertaining to the transaction of business, and the American agents
f^t anijat Scatters ©Horns,
Het l^iW NOt ©0 RarefOOt. Poor Richard.

Renjatufu

iFraufcliu Neariua iSnglantt
on litis ©ijirtr Toga^e

were requested to name
suitable residents of their
several provinces for ap
pointment as Stamp Offi
cers, which they did as
a matter of expediency;
Franklin observed at the
time that he could not be
sure that his nominees
would serve, but in the
clamor that arose through
out the colonies on the
receipt of the news of the
passage of the act and the
appointment of the depu
ties, the agents were im
moderately blamed for
thus approving the enact
ment. While such was
not their intention, Frank
lin privately advised a

friend at home to submit to the oppression without resistance, trusting that it
would be only transient and that England might be made, by peaceable
methods, to realize its error; and without doubt this was then his sincere
attitude, resulting from a deep-rooted attachment to the mother country, and
an inherent tendency toward expediency rather than impetuosity.*
Later, when the question of repeal came up, his attitude had undergone a
marked change, influenced, no doubt to a large degree, by a knowledge of the
implacable opposition which the act provoked. He was, however, calumniated
as a traitor, and the safety of his family and property menaced, when he, believ
ing no other course available, was simply a peacemaker.
With the fall of the Grenville ministry before the time appointed for the
inauguration of the stamp regime; the tremendous non-importation reprisals
and the accession of a more liberal ministry under the Marquis of Rockingham;
with Mr. Edmund Burke, a fervent friend and admirer of America and private
secretary to Lord Rockingham, elected to Parliament, — the fortunes of the col
onies seemed likely to speedily improve, and such was indeed the outcome.
The British merchants that were suffering severely from the loss of American
trade, assailed Parliament from without, while Rockingham, Pitt, Burke,
and General Conway worked within, and Franklin, called to the bar,
underwent an examination by friends and foes, championing his country in
argument and presentation in a manner to arouse the admiration and enthusi
asm of his friends on both sides of the ocean, and so to confound his enemies
that they entered heartily into the general applause, when, as a result of all
these favorable conditions, and in spite of royal disapproval -and minority
intrigues, the odious act was repealed and the yoke of tyranny lifted from the
revolting colonists.
It is difficult to believe that any man could undergo such a catechising as
this and not in some slight degree fail through the inadequacy or weakness of
his answers to the varied questioning of successive inquirers, but he did not
once give the opening that his opponents hoped to secure, — some of his ex-

OTUtfjout justice Courage
IS WltUU. Poor Richard.

40 ©H* 2Uf* autr

Serbiees

temporaneous replies
being marvels of non
committal adroitness,
while his arguments
and answers to friendly
questions brought out
every pertinent fact and
figure, every sentiment,
result, and possibility
bearing on his cause.
After this monu
mental triumph Frank
lin hoped that he could
be excused from fur
ther service, and asked
permission of the As
sembly to return home,
but instead of granting
this, it elected him for
another year. He con
tinued in London, and
in 1768 he was elected

iPrauniiu $ia»iu0 ®Hcss toitH
Hortr i^otoe's Sister

to a similar agency by Georgia, and later by New Jersey, and Massachusetts,
which gave him a considerable standing as spokesman for America. In the
absence of particular crises following the repeal of the Stamp Act, he employed
much of his time in attempting to win the British public to a sympathy for the
American cause, in the course of which he wrote and published in the news
papers brilliant anonymous articles of questionable propriety for an ambassador,
and his authorship becoming known, lines of division were more sharply drawn
between the Whigs, who favored his cause, and the Tories, the governing
party which antagonized it, with the result that little good and much harm
ensued. While endeavoring to convince a member of Parliament of the tractability
of the Americans under reasonable conditions, he learned that inflammatory
letters had been written to an English official by Governor Hutchinson and
Lieutenant Governor Oliver, of Massachusetts. These letters placed the people
of America in a very quarrelsome and unfavorable light, and recommended re
pressive measures. As these were averred, and held, to be the sentiments of a
majority of the best people of the Colony, they carried much weight and were
exhibited privately to Franklin to prove his misunderstanding of the situation.
Knowing fully their unreliability and baseness, Franklin secured these for
discreet exhibition in America, under the promise that they would not be
copied or published, and they were sent to Boston for the edification of a few
chosen patriots. By being passed from one to another of the leaders, and read
in a secret session of the Assembly, they soon became commonly known, and
were published on both sides of the ocean. In Massachusetts the feeling was
very strong against Gov. Hutchinson, who was a native American, and had
been much honored by the people before his appointment by the Crown.
A petition for his removal, and that of the Lieutenant Governor, in the
interest of peace and harmony, was sent to the King, but its effect was only to
inflame the already avowed opposition which was pleased to believe every
Bo Not Bo ©Hat TOHieH ^ou WLoulXi
NOt ^abe ItUObJU. Poor Richard.

Reufawiu

iFrannlin 41

word of Hutchinson's arraignment, and which welcomed the opportunity pre
sented by the compromising situation in which Franklin was placed by his
acknowledgement of responsibility for despatching the letters.
The strained relations following this episode culminated at the meeting of
the Privy Council called to act upon the petition of Massachusetts. Franklin
in his capacity as agent presented his case through counsel, but it was a fore
gone conclusion that the request would be refused ; it would, in fact, have re
ceived no official attention had it not been for the opportunity it offered for
arraigning Franklin on the score of securing and imparting the letters ;
Many distinguished members and visitors were present and the resentment of
the Tories, who formed the council, was intense. Alexander Wedderburn, a
Scotch barrister, represented Hutchinson and Oliver, and when his turn arrived
he launched into a comprehensive speech eulogising the officials and denying
any ground for dissatisfaction with his clients. He then expatiated on the
culpability of Franklin, the acknowledged offender, and denounced his entire
conduct from the secret procuring, to the final return of the letters. His
attack was offensive personally and crushing politically, but during its delivery
Franklin maintained a serene dignity that was proof against all accusation and
innuendo. He could not, however, combat the charges, as he would not dis
close the identity of the one who had given him the letters, and the council
had no sympathy with his mollification proposals.
Having broken Franklin's power, the Ministry sought, through indirect
channels, to weaken his purpose. It was arranged that he should play chess
with Mrs. Howe, sister of Admiral Lord Howe, and at one of these games
she, with seeming inadvertence, urged upon him his fitness to act as mediator
between the two countries. This idea was also broached by Dr. Fothergill,
and David Barclay, a Tory member of Parliament, and led to frequent meet
ings and consultations with intimates of the Ministers, particularly with Lord
Howe, who was one of the closest of these ; and at their request Franklin pre
pared a schedule of terms upon which he thought it possible to secure peace.
This was unswerving in its provision for the rehabilitation and liberties of the
colonies, and, as might have "been expected, was almost wholly distasteful to
the Tory leaders, who then endeavored to bribe Franklin, by personal consid
erations of patronage and financial regard, to lend his influence to the Crown
for the unatoned acquiescence of his countrymen in America. Franklin spurned
the advances, and, after witnessing in the House of Lords a violent denuncia
tion of everything American, he put his affairs in the hands of Arthur Lee,
who had been sent to take his place
when he should give up the work, and
quietly leaving London he embarked
for home. His discretion in this respect was
warranted, and it was a matter for
congratulation that he escaped arrest for
treason on account of the ramifications
of the Hutchinson affair, as the Gov
ernment was only waiting for direct
evidence of this, which it hoped to
secure in the return of certain of his
letters to the Colonies, to finally dis
pose of him.

Early American Currency.

No &afus bJftHowt IJaius* p.p.

4- ©He 2Life au&

Serbiees of

During this time the breach between the two countries had materially
widened. While Franklin was being arraigned in England, the Colonists had
rejected British tea, and at Boston had thrown it overboard, with the result of
the closing of that port by Parliament as a retaliatory measure. Before he
reached Philadelphia the battle of Lexington had been fought, and all hope of
peace and reconciliation had passed.
His wife had died during his absence, and his daughter, Mrs. Sarah Bache,
was in charge of the new house, which also had been built while he was away.
The first fruit of his discredit in England, had been his dismissal from
the office of Postmaster General, but he was not suffered to realize his leisure,
as on the day after his arrival he was elected by the Assembly as one of Penn
sylvania's deputies to the Continental Congress, which was soon to meet again
in Philadelphia. Now that the die was cast, he entered heartily into the struggle for inde
pendence, and at once became a leader in the Congress and the Committee of
Safety, beside which he was elected to the Pennsylvania Legislature, and made
Postmaster-General of the united colonies. Events moved rapidly, and soon
the American army was organized at Cambridge, with Washington at its head.
While this was taking place, Franklin was one of three commissioners who
waited on the army to arrange for supplies and settle other matters relating to
the war. Soon after this he was called upon to visit Canada, in the hope of
winning that colony to the cause of independence. Charles Carroll, of Mary
land, was chosen to go with him, and they induced the former's brother, John
Carroll, a Roman Catholic priest, to accompany them and use his influence
with the clergy of the French
Canadian church. This jour
ney was begun late in the
winter of 1775-76, and its
hardships bore heavily on
Franklin, now seventy years
of age. He believed it un
likely that he would reach
home again, and wrote sev
eral farewell letters from
Saratoga, where he had an
attack of the gout, which
disease had, at various times
in his life, caused him much
suffering and confinement.
They reached Montreal,
however, though to no pur
pose, as the Canadians had
become strongly prejudiced
against the revolutionists,
on account of an unsuccess
ful campaign by General
Montgomery against the
British stronghold at Que
bec, and the bills which
his army had contracted
and left unpaid.

William Temple Franklin,
Son of Governor Franklin.

No J»au iS'er B2las Glorious
OTiio 389 as Not Haborfons. p r.

Renfamfn .r&jfSPfitikr iFraufclin 43

On his return to Philadelphia, Franklin was made a member of the con
vention called to frame a constitution for Pennsylvania, and in Congress he was
an ardent advocate of the declaration of independence, soon to establish this
nation before the world. He also went to New York, at the request of Lord
Howe, who had arrived there in command of the British fleet, and who still
hoped to make peace. Other commissioners were in attendance, and the party
was very courteously received by Lord Howe, but as the Americans now
demanded recognition of the United States, and he had authority only to
receive the submission of the Colonies, no result could be reached.
Franklin's trials and labors, at this period, were augmented by the position
of his son William, who, as royal governor of New Jersey, was unalterably
opposed to all that his father was working for. Many conferences took place
between them, but without avail, and Governor Franklin was eventually,
by order of Congress, sent to Connecticut, and there held under guard until the
end of the war, to the great distress of his wife, who finally succumbed to her
sorrow and privations, and died before he was released.
The prosecution of the war of the revolution was a tremendous and dis
couraging undertaking for the new and but half amalgamated nation. Many
supplies, for which England had been their only source, now must be manufact
ured or drawn from other countries. The moral support of these countries
must also be obtained and, if possible, their financial and physical aid. This
necessitated agents abroad, and later, on apprisal of a friendly disposition of
France, recommended an embassy at the French Court. Congress appointed to
this service Dr. Franklin, Silas Deane, who was then in Paris as secret agent, and
Thomas Jefferson. Mrs. Jefferson was in ill health, and the brilliant author of
the Declaration of Independence was unable to accept the position, which was
given to Arthur Lee, Franklin's successor in London, who was also acting as
agent in Europe.
Franklin took his appointment with equanimity, although another ocean
voyage and a renewal of ambassadorial labors could not but be a tax on the
waning strength of a man of seventy years. As a parting testimonial of his
faith and liberality he collected and loaned to Congress all of his funds that
were available at short notice, — upwards of three thousand pounds; an example
that was beneficial beyond its pecuniary importance; Just one month after the
vote of Congress, on the 26th of October, 1776, he passed cautiously down
the river, with his grandsons, William Temple Franklin and Benjamin Franklin
Bache, and the next day reached Marcus Hook, where the " Reprisal," a swift
recruit to the new navy, waited in readiness to smuggle them through the
cordon of British ships and bear him once more across the Atlantic.
Good luck attended the voyage, although it was stormy and dangerous,
and in thirty-three days they were landed at Auray, on the coast of France,
with two prizes, British merchantmen with valuable cargoes, to contribute funds
for the mission.
He had for years enjoyed great popularity in France, and his reception
was correspondingly generous and enthusiastic. Auray was a small and unat
tractive place, and although Dr. Franklin was very weak from the confinement
and roughness of the passage, they set out for Nantes as soon as they were able
to obtain a post-chaise, which was not until the next day. At Nantes they
were entertained by Monsieur Gruel, an active friend of America, at his
spacious country house, and at his earnest solicitation Franklin remained there
upwards of a week to recuperate before continuing his journey.
?&* ©Hat SHon't Re Counsel p*
Can't Re ?j^el|}*$. Poor Richard.

44 &t)* 2Ltt* *«*

Serbiees

His arrival at this important and flourishing port was honored by a large
gathering of friends of the American cause, and personal admirers of Dr.
Franklin, who arranged a "grand dinner" which Franklin attended. His stay
with M. Gruel was a continuous ovation, and he met many well informed
persons who advised him as to the progress and state of affairs — particularly
those of America — at Court.
After a sufficient rest, he continued toward Paris, and without notable
adventure arrived there on the twenty-second of December.
His coming, which until his arrival at Nantes was unexpected, had
been widely heralded, and Paris, with its accessible world, was in a flutter of
expectation regarding this wonderful old man and the momentous cause he was
to advocate. He came to the world's capital of elegance and luxury; he
brought simplicity and directness of a most accomplished and engaging type.
He found learning, culture, and humanity of an old world fullness, and he
reflected all these with an added lustre, individuality, wisdom, and humility.
He personified a type which the philosophy and affections of a people sated
with convention and display, eagerly accepted as the ideal of agreeable democ
racy. His endowment of their own graces was the medium which made his
unique qualities intelligible, and the cause he represented was to France person
ified in Franklin, and accordingly beloved. From Louis XVI to his humblest
subject there was admiration and respect for this kindly old man who labored
unceasingly for the enfranchisement of a people, but in the brilliant circles center
ing at Versailles he found his most sympathetic confreres and associates. His
marked partiality for the society of clever women found ample opportunity,
and his relations with the Countess d'Houdetot, Madame Helvetius, and
Madame Brillon, as revealed in delightful epistles and essays, were intimate
and affectionate. Painters, sculptors, and engravers, in endless succession, reproduced his
features or glorified him in extravagant allegory, testifying alike their own
enthusiasm and the market value of everything pertaining to the adored
American. His popularity was instant, and remains without an equal in the
relations of the two countries.
The immediate practical ne
cessities of the American govern
ment were arms and equipments
for its troops, and when Franklin
settled down to his work in Paris the
machinery for supplying these had
been well organized and set in
motion. Following the earlier move
ments of Congress, commercial
agents, one after another, had de
parted for Europe and busied
themselves to secure credit for these
goods, and the means of forwarding
them. Among those so commis
sioned was Monsieur Penet, a
French merchant then in Philadel
phia, whose enthusiasm was abund- Silver Pot, with motto "Keep bright the
ant, but whose personal resources chain," presented by Franklin to a friend.

M You ?g?abe No 7&ont$ in "Xoux $ot
l^«^f SOWie m ¥Otir J*S0tttH. Poor Richard.

R enf aw in

iF r a n ft I i n 45

^liegorg of jFranttUu Subiruius tHe HisHtuius
aU5T BeStrOffing ©»rantS, (From a French Print.)
were not great. Franklin, who had at that time no expectation of visiting
France, supplied him with letters of introduction to influential people, and
in particular to Dr. Duborg, a scientist with whom he was closely associ
ated and who was zealous in the American cause. M. Penet reached Paris
without his credentials, which he left in Holland through fear of being
intercepted and robbed of them in traveling to France, but he succeeded
in convincing Dr. Duborg of the authenticity of his agency, and the latter at
once introduced him to a number of high officials of the French Court,
who showed a disposition to grant secretly the financial aid on which his
efforts depended. Dr. Duborg proved so well situated to influence the Court
that M. Penet prevailed on him to assume the responsibility of forwarding the
business at that end, while he, personally, visited the manufactories and
seaports to procure and ship the supplies. Dr. Duborg accepted the charge tem
porarily, and was of great assistance pending the arrival of Silas Deane, a duly
accredited commissioner to Europe, who sailed a few months after M. Penet.
Dr. Duborg related his operations in a long letter to Franklin, which, being
read before Congress, gratified most opportunely its waning hopes of foreign
assistance. At this time a star of exceptional power dominated the firmament
of the French court, in the person of Caron de Beaumarchais, author of The
Barber of Seville, horologist, musician, financier, gallant, and favorite, who
espoused the cause of the Colonies, and was made the agent under whose cover

lontyt au& ®oo& J&auuers
J*lafte tHe <&tmtUm%n. p. r.

Serbites

the King dispensed his aid. The house of Hortalez & Co. was organized and
imposingly located in Paris, and there Beaumarchais, its sole visible executive,
received loans from France and Spain, and expended them for guns, ammuni
tion, and clothing, which were, in one way or another, landed in America,
despite the watchful and seemingly effective remonstrance of Lord Stormont, the
English ambassador. Though more brilliant than profound in the arguments
by which he won the King's support, and actuated by motives not wholly philan
thropic, Beaumarchais entered heartily into this undertaking, and staked his own
resources and interests to a greater degree than he was then credited with. The
French funds were provided as a loan, to be repaid by the Colonies in tobacco
and other products as was convenient, but, through misinformation supplied by
Arthur Lee, who had arrived at Paris, Congress regarded them as a gift, and
did not seriously heed its benefactor's requests for an equivalent, with the
result that he was caused financial distress from which he never wholly
recovered. Silas Deane, whose resources, dispatched by Congress in the form
of cargoes of tobacco, fish, and rice, failed to arrive, availed himself eagerly of
Beaumarchais' assistance, and became the medium of the latter's dealings with
Congress. Though Deane was useful in many ways, and subsequently friendly
and helpful to Franklin, he was unduly blamed in America for his part in send
ing to this country an embarrassing accession of unwelcome and incompetent
French officers — among whom LaFayette, DeKalb, and Steuben were notable
exceptions — '¦ which, with the troubles resulting from impaired credit and the
indifference of Congress to his services and claims, ultimately induced him to
forsake his country and join his friend. Benedict Arnold in England.
While others had been able to gather material succor for the Colonies, it
remained for Franklin to win the moral support which should dignify and
ensure the results of the struggle. He was content to leave the details of
commercial transactions with Silas Deane and the agents assigned to the several
ports where prizes were condemned and
cargoes shipped, although it was to him
that all these looked for funds when
other sources failed, and his wisdom
and diplomacy were continually drawn
upon to smooth the way for these
affairs. A few days after his arrival he
was received, with Deane and Lee, by
the Count de Vergennes, the minister
for foreign affairs, to whom they pre
sented the main features of a treaty
which it was desired to conclude with
France. They asked the open assist
ance of the French navy to raise the
blockade on American commerce, which
in return was to be consigned to
French ports. They were listened to
with great respect by the minister, and
assured of the protection of the king
while established in France, but only
vague promises could be obtained in
regard to the treaty, which they were
requested to draw up in due form Franklin's Music Stand.
Itou JWaj) ©Jibe a J»an an #fftre but
You "Cannot @?ibe ffiim Bisemiou. Poor Richard.

Renf a win

iFrannlin 47

iPranulttPs |§*ouse at $lass»
and present to Monsieur Gerard, the chief secretary of the foreign office.
For a few weeks Franklin resided with Mr. Deane, in the Rue de
l'Universite, but as so central a location exposed him to many distractions he
availed himself of the offer of a house at Passy, a suburb in the direction of
Versailles, on the estate of Monsieur de Chaumont, a gentleman of much
influence and a steadfast friend of America. Here he established himself, with
a retinue of servants, — for, although simple in his own tastes, he must follow the
manner usual for a public personage, — and this was his home during the nine
years that he remained in France. He was on terms of most cordial intimacy
with M. de Chaumont and his family, a fact which contributed materially to
his welfare and contentment, while his host's position in court circles was of
benefit in the early days of his mission.
The proposed treaty was delivered to M. Gerard, but its consideration
was impracticable at that time, as France was unwilling to risk a war with Eng
land while the issue in America was so doubtful. Financial aid was, however,
extended, and greatly facilitated the labors of the envoys.
As the months passed, amid the difficulties of their multifarious affairs,
only disheartening news of their country's events and prospects reached them,
and the announcement of Gen. Burgoyne's departure from England with a large
army, was the occasion of especial apprehension. Notwithstanding this, Frank
lin maintained a cheerful demeanor, although he felt keen anxiety, and insisted,
in reply to all doubters, that America was strong and would yet triumph.
Among the expedients devised at this time was that of sending advocates
to Spain and the Netherlands, and Arthur Lee was dispatched to Madrid, but
got no farther than Burgos, where he was met with the intelligence that the
Government could not receive an American ambassador, although sympathizing
with his cause, and with this and a promise of supplies he returned to Paris.
He followed this immediately with a visit to Berlin, but received no aid from
Frederick the Great, and returned finally to Paris without appealing to
Holland.

Rlessetr Ks 2#e ©Hat lErjieets NotHius, for
?&e SHall Neber Re Bfsaj)»oiuteir. p. r.

Serbiees

Franklin found time to write and publish many articles bearing on the
necessities and prospects of his country, as had been his custom while in
England, but it needed positive successes by the American army to raise the
cause with the governments and bankers. A slight measure of this was expe
rienced when Captain Hammond arrived as a special messenger with the news
of the British defeat at Trenton. At this time, also, the Marquis de la Fayette
departed secretly for America with a considerable quantity of supplies and,
entered upon the career of usefulness which, with his charming personality,
endeared him to all.
These incidents were made the most of, but it was not until a> swift mes
senger from Massachusetts, Mr. Jonathan Austin, arrived at Passy with the
astounding news of the capture of Burgoyne's army, that the clouds parted and the
outlook of the envoys was illumined. From the depths of despair, which sug
gested even a proposition looking to terms with England, they rose instantly to
heights of favor and success. Beaumarchais, who was on the verge of ruin, was «
at Passy, and in his unbounded joy drove so furiously to Paris that he was thrown
from his carriage and severely injured. Within two days of the arrival of Mr.
Austin, M. Gerard called on the envoys to convey the congratulations of the
Count de Vergennes, his assurance of a large loan from Spain, and to request
them to renew immediately their proposals for an alliance with France. In a
short time this was done, and the dream of the envoys became an assured fact,
awaiting only the outcome of certain affairs which should permit Spain to par
ticipate in it, to become an accomplished one. In anticipation of this, and at
the request of the envoys, a strong squadron of French frigates was ordered to sail
with a fleet of supply ships then awaiting convoy at Nantes.
Arthur Lee had for months chafed under his personal lack of influence
and imagined lack of consideration, and in the rapidly moving events of this
period he appears as a continual critic of all that transpired or was accomplished,
of no use in the affairs, and constantly intriguing to lessen the influence of his com
panions and increase his own with Con
gress. His jealousy of Silas Deane's
confidential relations with Beaumar
chais led him to discredit the latter as
a principal, asserting that he was only
a dispenser for the king, with the
result that the first cargo of rice and
indigo to arrive from America in one
of his own ships was consigned to
Franklin, Deane, and Lee, regardless
of the distracted merchant, who finally
convinced the others of his right to
the cargo, which was delivered to him
in spite of Lee's protest.
With the recognized prospect
of a completion of the alliance, the
British government caused inquiries
to be made as to conditions for peace
between England and America, to
forestall the continental arrangement,
but nothing suited to her desires was
now possible, and on the sixth of

Portrait of LOUIS XVI.
Given by Him to Franklin,

7£t ©Hat Can p?abe patience,
Can |^abe smtjat 1£e »(u, f.r.

Ren j arotu

iFrannlin 49

Signing tHe ©reatj? of $eace
February, 1778, the treaties, which were the first to recognize the United
States of America, were signed at Versailles. This meant to America the
practical success of the Revolution, and it was celebrated throughout the country
with great rejoicing. What it meant to Franklin is well shown by the fact
that he wore on this occasion the suit of black velvet which had served him
but once before, when Wedderburn denounced him at the Hutchinson inquiry,
and which he never wore again.
Paul Jones, the intrepid commander who was to devastate English
commerce, arrived in the Ranger soon after this, and his affairs were added
to Franklin's burden. He expected to receive a fine frigate which the
envoys had been building in Holland, but which their necessities had
obliged them to sell to the French Government ; this was a great disappoint
ment to Captain Jones but he soon made the best of it and cruised in the
Ranger around the west coast of England, taking prizes, burning shipping and
spreading terror on all sides. In about two weeks he returned to Brest with
the Drake, a British ship of twenty guns, captured after a hard fought battle.
This victory was received with wonder and admiration, and Captain Jones
became preeminently the hero of the hour, a glory perpetuated by his later
exploit of capturing the powerful Serapis with his own ship, the Bon Homme
Richard, practically a condemned hulk. His timely capture of the Drake was
of great benefit to Franklin and the American cause, being evidence of a most
unexpected prowess in a wholly improbable direction, and as such particularly
gratifying to the new allies. Arthur Lee found in it an opportunity to assert
his peevish authority, and caused Jones much inconvenience, which only the
warm and helpful friendship of Franklin could dispel.
With the formal signing of the treaties of commerce and alliance came
changes in the status of two of their promotors, Mr. Deane being recalled by
Congress, and M. Gerard going to America to represent France before that
body. On the day that Mr. Deane left, Mr. John Adams of Boston arrived to
take his place in the embassy. He was an honest man of unquestioned ability,

©He Rrabe anH WLint Can RotH W» antr iSxeuse;
WLtyn Cotoarfcs an5f jpools SHebi No J*lere;»» p. r.

50 ©He 2Life anti

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liflilatreliiijta ^Library, jfouutrcir b» iFrauultn
but he was by temperament unsuited for a diplomat, and by his sympathies
disqualified for service at the French court. His punctilious logic, forced upon
the king, excited resentment that required all of Franklin's soothing tact to
allay, and caused him eventually to be entirely disregarded by the court. He
accepted many of Arthur Lee's prejudices and frequently joined with the latter
in affairs antagonistic to Franklin, but in these he was prompted by his judg
ment, and he retained the respect of the senior envoy.
Arthur Lee continued increasingly to oppose Franklin, and he derived
much sympathy and assistance from Ralph Izard, who like Lee, was from the
South, and who held the commission of envoy to the court of the Grand
Duke of Tuscany but was debarred from Florence by this ruler and remained
a member of the American colony in Paris. Their opportunities for mischief
were soon lessened by the revocation by Congress of the commissions of the
joint envoys in Paris, and the appointment of Franklin as sole plenipotentiary.
Adams was not aggrieved, and immediately settled his affairs and returned to
America, but Lee, by virtue of a commission to Spain, remained with Izard in
Paris until both were recalled by Congress a few months later.
Franklin was left to prosecute, undisturbed through quarrels, the work of
his mission, but in the still greater financial responsibility put upon him he
paid dearly for his preferment. All obligations from America and Europe
which others could not pay, were sent to him in the form of drafts, which the
credit of his country and the stability of former loans made it imperative to
meet. These required enormous sums above his receipts from prizes and
cargoes, but he was always able to secure a further loan from the French
treasury, notwithstanding its already overtaxed generosity. As a final effort he
was requested to solicit a loan of twenty-five million francs, in addition to a
large supply of campaign stores.
Hct 2*|iri0Htlfft Besjrtse &U Calumug; Birt J»a» Sticfc
to a J-ftufc EEtaU, but Not to isalisf)'* Jflarble. p. r.

R t n f a m i n ^S^fefi-r iF r a n ft U n

He presented the appeal most ably, and was soon joined by Col. John
Laurens, who came as a special envoy for this purpose. After some weeks of
waiting, they were informed that the king could not, notwithstanding his good
will to the United States, loan the sum asked for, but that he would grant
them a free gift of six million francs, and furnish such supplies as were imme
diately needed. This gift proved the salvation of American finances, and
brought the total of French advances to upward of twenty-six million francs,
an enormous sum in those days, and an undoubted drain on the resources of
that government. The culmination of the long struggle for independence, in Cornwallis's
crushing defeat at Yorktown, lessened the necessity for Franklin's services
abroad, and he felt that he should be allowed to transfer the burden to other
shoulders, and return to his home for the remnant of his life. He wished to
resign at the close of the year 1781, and appealed to Congress' to relieve him,
but instead he was appointed joint commissioner, with John Adams and John
Jay, to negotiate for peace with England.
To bring about this much desired condition was a long and laborious
work, and one that taxed to the utmost Franklin's sagacity and tact. England
would readily have treated with America alone, but such an abandonment of
their ally was abhorrent to the commissioners, while the prospect of craving the
forbearance of her hereditary enemy was equally so to England. Gradually,
through slight opportunities and unofficial channels, the leaders learned each
other's "mind," and after nine months of informal proposition and argument,
during a considerable part of which Franklin was incapacitated by serious
illness, nine preliminary articles of peace were signed on the thirtieth of
November, 1782, by Dr. Franklin, John Adams, John Jay, and Henry Lau
rens, on the part of the United States, and by Richard Oswald, on the part of
England. This treaty was a manifest victory for America, and lacked but
Franklin's cherished plan of the acquisition of Canada, to include all that was
proposed by this country, while its demands in regard to Maine and the
Newfoundland fisheries, — the two chief points in contest, — were unreservedly
included. This was subject to ratification by the French government, and a
little friction was occasioned by the fact of its having been signed before the
approval of the ally had been obtained, but this was alleviated by Franklin,
and another large loan secured for his impoverished country.
On September third, 1783, the final treaty was signed by the American
commissioners, and by Mr. David Hartly on the part of England. Its ratifica
tion by Congress and by King George III followed in due course, and then,
the work of the commission being accomplished, Franklin once more requested
the privilege of returning to America, but, for a year and a half, this request was
unheeded. He spent this intervening period in pleasant intercourse and re
union with old friends who sought him at Passy, and he became, to a degree,
reconciled with Governor Franklin, then in England. Thomas Jefferson
arrived at Paris in August, 1784, and in March, 1785, when Dr. Franklin's
resignation was finally accepted by Congress, Jefferson was appointed in
his place. He had anticipated this to the extent of settling his affairs, and he
left Paris on the twelfth of July, after a cordial interchange of devoirs with the
king and ministers. His last public act in France was the signing, a few days
before his departure, of a most enlightened treaty with Prussia. Louis' XVI,
as a parting token, presented Franklin his portrait, in the form of a miniature
surrounded, by four hundred and eight diamonds.
©He Sun Neber Repents of tHe ©ooir p^e Boes,
Nor Boes ?£e IBber Bemautt a Recompense* p.p.

iFrauftiiu's c^rabe, }}3i t iaUtl#J)hi.
Franklin's infirmities were such that he could not ride in a carriage, and
he traveled in one of the queen's litters, borne by two mules, accompanied by
his grandsons, William Temple Franklin, who had been his constant compan
ion and secretary, and Benjamin Franklin Bache, just returned from studying
in Switzerland, as well as by M. de Chaumont and other friends who were loth
to part from him. He took the journey to Havre by easy stages, and from
there crossed to Southampton, to await the arrival of the ship which was to
take them home. Here he was visited by many old friends, and the recon
ciliation with Governor Franklin was completed, the latter on this occasion
transferring to his son William Temple, the title to his property in New Jersey.
They sailed July twenty-eighth, and after a voyage of seven weeks, during
which Dr. Franklin greatly improved in health, and which he occupied as usual
with scientific researches, they reached Philadelphia, where he was received with
great affection and enthusiasm.
Even now he was not permitted to enjoy a rest from public life, but was
soon elected President of the state of Pennsylvania, and continued in this office
for three years, which was the limit set by the constitution. He was chosen a
member of the convention which met in 1787 to draft a constitution for the
United States, and was, as usual, a leader in the work. He saw the commence
ment of the imposing building for the Philadelphia library, an outcome of the
Junto, and he took part in a protest against slaveholding, an institution repug
nant to many at that early day.
In the fullness of his achievements and honors, loving and beloved, he
passed away on the night of the seventeenth of April, 1 790, after suffering for
some days with a recurrence of a lung trouble that had threatened his life in
youth. He was buried beside his wife, as he had desired to be, his funeral
attended by almost the entire city, in reverent procession. His life was an
element in the progress of the world, and indispensable in the establishment of
the United States of America.
iFear Not BeatH; for tHe Sooner sme Bie,
tHe Honger SHall Wit Re Kmmortal, p. r.

THE BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
Pattern of Table Flatware illustrated in the following pages, is, in its graceful simplicity, representative of
the character of its illustrious namesake who, throughout a long life whose influences ranged from the
humble conditions of his Puritan birthplace to the magnificence of the court of Louis XVI., main
tained his inherent and cultivated simplicity of dress and demeanor.
It is a perfected arrangement of characteristic Colonial elements, especially distinguished by the
pronounced embossment which reinforces the handles while contributing greatly to their beauty.
This design is made in sterling silver, 925/1000 fine, and may be had in chest combinations of a few
dozen or many hundred pieces.
TOWLE MFG. COMPANY
Silversmiths

NEWBURYPORTChicago, Illinois
42 Madison Street
THE TOWLE MFG. COMPANY DOES

*jjp\&!''h^

MASSACHUSETTSNew York City
41 Union Square

NO RETAIL BUSINESS ANYWHERE

Renf amin

iFr anftlfn
 ¦  ^

iCwvvJ.,fc~  —A7JUUG'

< 

Tea Spoon, P.M.

Tea Spoon, Nos. 15 and 18

Pap Spoon

Design Patented

Dessert Fork

R e n j a m i n

iFr anfclin

Ice Cream Spoon ACTUAL SIZE

Sugar Spoon

Is't not enough plagues, wars
and famine, rise to lash our
crimes, but must our wives be
wise ? Poor Richard.

Preserve Spoon

Ren J amin

$ x a n n it n

Dlive Spoon

Olive Fork

He that cannot obey, cannot
command. P. P-

58

Reading makes a full man
meditation a profound man
irse a clear man. /'. A'

&tni amin

Lobster Fork

iFr annlin

Ideal Olive Spoon
and Fork

Horse Radish Spoon

Chow Chow Fork

Early to bed and early to
rise, makes a man healthy,
wealthy, and wise. P. P.

3utter Pick

ACTUAL SIZE

Sterling Silver
925
^orJF,NE
Design Patented

Nut Pick

,.-

III!

Renf antin

JFtanftlin

61

Terrapin Fork

Berry Fork

Butter Pick
Large

I 000
Design Patented

To God we owe fear and
love; to our neighbours jus
tice and charity ; to our selves
prudence and sobriety. /'. A\

Oyster Cocktail
Fork

Renf ami n

iFr annlin

//|vS?lH Oyster Fork individual
vj^ Salad Fork, Small

Be at war with your vices.
at peace with your neighbours.
and let every new-year find
you a better man. P. P.

Beef Fork,

n n

i |
/
/ i

! '

ACTUAL SIZE

Sterling Silver
925
^or7 F,NE
Design Patented

3^tni amin

iPr antt Un

6.3

Meat Fork

u

3

D

Pastry Fork

Spinach Fork

Learn of the skilful ; he that)
teaches himself, hath a fool
for his master. P. P.

n o

ACTUAL SIZE

Sterling Silver
925

1000

FINE

Design Patented

r

\

•

Renf aroin

iFr annlin

Chocolate Muddle

Ramekin Fork

Vegetable Fork

Chow Chow
Spoon

feed Tea Spoon

Hear no ill of a friend, nor
speak any of an enemy. P. P.

Sterling Silver
925
1000
Design Patented

Renf amin

iFr annlin

R e n f a m t n

iFr anu tin

\ Design Patented
\

Renf amin

iFr annltn

When a friend deals with a
friend, let the bargain be clear
and well penn'd, that they may
continue friends to the end.
P.P.

Salad Fork, Large

It you want a neat wife.
chuse her on a Saturday. /' R.

Plattei Spoon

7° Renf amf n

iFr annlin

Design Patented

Renf am in

iFr annlin

Renf amtn

Ice Spoon

Tart words make no friends:
a spoonful of honey will catch
more flies than a gallon of
vinegar. P. P.

Pea Server

uX

ACTUAL SIZE

Sterling Silver
925
 FINE
I 000
Design Patented

;!

R e n f a m i n

iFr annlf n 73

You may delay, but t/w« will
not. Poor Piamrd.

R e nf am in

Salad Spoon

Mtni amin

iFr annlin

Pudding Spoon

76

^

^  _.

 ..

,

Experience keeps a dear
school, yet fools will learn in
no other. P. P.

Pie Server

ACTUAL SIZE

Sterling Silver
925
 FINE
1000
Design Patented

Ice Cream Sheer, H.H.

Ice Cream Server

Ice Creeam Slicer, H.H.
Plated Steel Blade

What you would seem to be,
be really. P.P.

R e n f a m i n

iFr annlin

tttni amin

iFranttlin

Lettuce Fork

I0 Renfamfn

iFr annlf n

Sugar Sifter

Design Patented

Renf amf n

i(r\\ //n<

iFr antt If n

Asparagus Tong

Nut Crack

Asparagus Server'
Hollow Handle,

R e n f a m f n

iFr anltlln

Child's Knife, H.H.

gar

Hunger never saw bad bread.
P.P.

ACTUAL SIZE

Sterling Silver
925
 fine
i ooo
Design Patented

Sterling Silver
925
1000
Design Patented

Roast Holder, Large

•

Steel

Game Fork

X

85

Meat Fork

H

Meat Carver

iF r ann If n

Sterling Silver
925
 FINE
I 000
Design Patented

Tc lengthen thy life, lessen
thy meals. P. R.

88 Renjamfn

iFr anftlf n

1212

MAHOGANY CHEST, No. 358
Deck and four Drawers. Metal trimmings of Franklin design.
Also made in Oak and Maple.
Height, 18^ inches ; front, 30 inches ; front to back, 22 inches.
Accommodates 297 pieces.
DECK

2 Salt Spoons
1 Mustard Spoon
1 Horse Radish Spoon
1 Sugar Spoon
1 Jelly Spoon
1 Berry Spoon
1 Ideal Olive Spoon and Fork
1 Lettuce Spoon

1 2 Chocolate Spoons
12 Orange Spoons
1 2 Iced Tea Spoons

12 Tea Spoons, P.M.
1 2 Tea Spoons
1 2 Table Spoons

Tea Knives
Fruit Knives

1 2 Dessert Knives

1 Lettuce Fork
1 Pickle Fork
1 Sardine Fork
1 Cold Meat Fork
1 Butter Knife
1 Chocolate Muddler
1 Tete-a-tete Tongs

DRAWER ONE
1 2 Butter Spreaders
1 2 Ice Cream Forks
DRAWER TWO
1 2 Dessert Spoons
1 2 Dessert Forks
DRAWER. THREE
1 2 Duck Knives
1 2 Fish Knives
DRAWER FOUR
a 2 Medium Knives

1 Sugar Tongs
I Salad Fork
I Salad Spoon
1 Fish Knife
1 Fish Fork
I Cream Ladle
1 Gravy Ladle
I Soup Ladle

1 2 Oyster Forks
1 2 Individual Salad Forks
1 2 Soup Spoons

1 2 Table Forks
I 2 Coffee Spoons
1 2 Bouillon Spoons

1 Roast Holder, Large
3-Piece Bird Carving Set
15— Piece Carving Set

INDEX

Almond Scoop
Asparagus Fork
Asparagus Server ,
Asparagus Tongs .

Page 78
66 8281

Beef Fork ... 62
Berry Fork . . 61
Berry Spoon . . 57
Bird Carving Set . 87
Bonbon Scoop 78
Bouillon Ladle . 58
Bouillon Spoon . 55
Bread Fork . . 61
Butter Knife . . 86
Butter Pick, large 61
Butter Pick . . 60
Butter Spreader, h.h. 86
Butter Spreader, large 86
Butter Spreader, small 8 6
Carver's Assistants 84
Carving Sets . 84-87

Page
Fish Knife . . 68
Fish Knife, individual 86
Food Pusher . . 83
Fruit Fork, h.h. . 83
Game Carving Set 84
Gravy Ladle . . 58
Horseradish Spoon 60
Ice Cream Fork . 66
Ice Cream Spoon 56
Ice Cream Server 77
Ice Cream Slicer,H. h. 7 7
Ice Cream Slicer, h.h.,
plated steel blade 77
Iced Tea Spoon . 64
Ice Spoon . . . 7*
Ice Tongs . . 81
Ideal Olive Spoon
and Fork . . 60

Cheese Scoop, h.h.
Cheese Server
Child's Fork . .
Child's Knife . .
Child's Knife, h.h.
Chocolate Muddler
Chocolate Spoon .
Chow Chow Fork

83
7°«38383
64 55
60

Jelly Knife .
Jelly Server .
Jelly Spoon
Lemon Server
Lettuce Fork .
Lettuce Spoon
Lobster Fork .

Chow Chow Spoon 6455
63 7'7858797673

Macaroni Server . 73
Mayonnaise Ladle 58
Meat Carving Set 84
Medium Knife . 87
Mustard Spoon . 58

65 7456
707979
60

Nut Crack, h.h.
Nut Pick . .
Nut Spoon

82
60 80

Olive Fork . . 57
OHve Spoon . . 57
Olive Spoon, Small 80
Olive Spoon and
Fork, one piece 60
Orange Knife. . 86
Orange Spoon . 57
Oyster Cocktail Fork 61
Oyster Fork . . 62
Oyster Ladle . . 58
Oyster Server. . 73

Pap Spoon
Pastry Fork .
Patty Server ,
Pea Server
Pickle Fork .
Pie Server, h.h
Platter Spoon .
Preserve Spoon
Pudding Spoon
Punch Ladle .

Ramekin Fork . 64
Roast Holder, large 84
Roast Holder, small 84
Salad Fork, individual,
, large ... . 62
Salad Fork, individual,
small ... 62
Salad Fork . . 74
Salad Spoon 74
Salad Fork, large . 68
Salad Spoon, large 68
Salt Spoon ' ." . 59
Salt Spoon, individual 59
Sardine Fork . . 67
Sardine Tongs . 67
Soup Ladle . . 58
Soup Spoon . . 55
Spinach Fork . . 63
Steak Carving Set 87
Sugar Sifter . . 80
Sugar Spoon . . 56
Sugar Tongs . . 81

Table Fork . .
Table Spoon . .
Tea Knife . .
Tea Spoon
Tea Spoon, p.m.
Terrapin Fork
Tete-a-tete Tongs

THE FRANKLIN ARMS

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