Benjamin Franklin

Among those whose contributions to physics have immortalized their

names in the annals of science, there is none that holds a more

prominent position in the history of the world than Benjamin Franklin.

At one time a journeyman printer, living in obscure lodgings in

London, he became, during the American War of Independence, one of the

most conspicuous figures in Europe, and among Americans his reputation

was probably s cond to none, General Washington not excepted.



Professor Laboulaye says of Franklin: "No one ever started from a

lower point than the poor apprentice of Boston. No one ever raised

himself higher by his own unaided forces than the inventor of the

lightning-rod. No one has rendered greater service to his country than

the diplomatist who signed the treaty of 1783, and assured the

independence of the United States. Better than the biographies of

Plutarch, this life, so long and so well filled, is a source of

perpetual instruction to all men. Every one can there find counsel and

example."



A great part of the history of his life was written by Franklin

himself, at first for the edification of the members of his own

family, and afterwards at the pressing request of some of his friends

in London and Paris. His autobiography does not, however, comprise

much more than the first fifty years of his life. The first part was

written while he was the guest of the Bishop of St. Asaph, at Twyford;

the second portion at Passy, in the house of M. de Chaumont; and the

last part in Philadelphia, when he was retiring from public life at

the age of eighty-two. The former part of this autobiography was

translated into French, and published in Paris, in 1793, though it is

not known how the manuscript came into the publisher's hands. The

French version was translated into English, and published in England

and America, together with such other of Franklin's works as could be

collected, before the latter part was given to the world by Franklin's

grandson, to whom he had bequeathed his papers, and who first

published them in America in 1817.



For a period of three hundred years at least Franklin's family lived

on a small freehold of about thirty acres, in the village of Ecton, in

Northamptonshire, the eldest son, who inherited the property, being

always brought up to the trade of a smith. Franklin himself "was the

youngest son of the youngest son for five generations back." His

grandfather lived at Ecton till he was too old to follow his business,

when he went to live with his second son, John, who was a dyer at

Banbury. To this business Franklin's father, Josiah, was apprenticed.

The eldest son, Thomas, was brought up a smith, but afterwards became

a solicitor; the other son, Benjamin, was a silk-dyer, and followed

Josiah to America. He was fond of writing poetry and sermons. The

latter he wrote in a shorthand of his own inventing, which he taught

to his nephew and namesake, in order that he might utilize the sermons

if, as was proposed, he became a Presbyterian minister. Franklin's

father, Josiah, took his wife and three children to New England, in

1682, where he practised the trade of a tallow-chandler and

soap-boiler. Franklin was born in Boston on January 6 (O.S.), 1706,

and was the youngest of seventeen children, of whom thirteen grew up

and married.



Benjamin being the youngest of ten sons, his father intended him for

the service of the Church, and sent him to the grammar school when

eight years of age, where he continued only a year, although he made

very rapid progress in the school; for his father concluded that he

could not afford the expense of a college education, and at the end of

the year removed him to a private commercial school. At the age of ten

young Benjamin was taken home to assist in cutting the wicks of

candles, and otherwise to make himself useful in his father's

business. His enterprising character as a boy is shown by the

following story, which is in his own words:--



There was a salt marsh that bounded part of the mill-pond, on

the edge of which, at high-water, we used to stand to fish for

minnows. By much trampling we had made it a mere quagmire. My

proposal was to build a wharf there fit for us to stand upon,

and I showed my comrades a large heap of stones, which were

intended for a new house near the marsh, and which would very

well suit our purpose. Accordingly, in the evening, when the

workmen were gone, I assembled a number of my play-fellows, and

working with them diligently, like so many emmets, sometimes two

or three to a stone, we brought them all away and built our

little wharf. The next morning the workmen were surprised at

missing the stones, which were found in our wharf. Inquiry was

made after the removers; we were discovered and complained of;

several of us were corrected by our fathers; and, though I

pleaded the usefulness of the work, mine convinced me that

nothing was useful which was not honest.



Until twelve years of age Benjamin continued in his father's business,

but as he manifested a great dislike for it, and his parents feared

that he might one day run away to sea, they set about finding some

trade which would be more congenial to his tastes. With this view his

father took him to see various artificers at their work, that he

might observe the tastes of the boy. This experience was very

valuable to him, as it taught him to do many little jobs for himself

when workmen could not readily be procured. During this time Benjamin

spent most of his pocket-money in purchasing books, some of which he

sold when he had read them, in order to buy others. He read through

most of the books in his father's very limited library. These mainly

consisted of works on theological controversy, which Franklin

afterwards considered to have been not very profitable to him.



"There was another bookish lad in the town, John Collins by name, with

whom I was intimately acquainted. We sometimes disputed, and very fond

we were of argument, and very desirous of confuting one another, which

disputatious turn, by the way, is apt to become a very bad habit,

making people often very disagreeable in company by the contradiction

that is necessary to bring it into practice; and thence, besides

souring and spoiling the conversation, is productive of disgusts and

perhaps enmities when you may have occasion for friendship. I had

caught it by reading my father's books of dispute about religion.

Persons of good sense, I have since observed, seldom fall into it,

except lawyers, university men, and men of all sorts that have been

bred at Edinburgh."



At length Franklin's fondness for books caused his father to decide to

make him a printer. His brother James had already entered that

business, and had set up in Boston with a new press and types which

he had brought from England. He signed his indentures when only twelve

years old, thereby apprenticing himself to his brother until he should

attain the age of twenty-one. The acquaintance which he formed with

booksellers through the printing business enabled him to borrow a

better class of books than he had been accustomed to, and he

frequently sat up the greater part of the night to read a book which

he had to return in the morning.



While working with his brother, the young apprentice wrote two

ballads, which he printed and sold in the streets of Boston. His

father, however, ridiculed the performance; so he "escaped being a

poet." He adopted at this time a somewhat original method to improve

his prose writing. Meeting with an odd volume of the Spectator, he

purchased it and read it "over and over," and wished to imitate the

style. "Making short notes of the sentiment in each sentence," he laid

them by, and afterwards tried to write out the papers without looking

at the original. Then on comparison he discovered his faults and

corrected them. Finding his vocabulary deficient, he turned some of

the tales into verse, then retranslated them into prose, believing

that the attempt to make verses would necessitate a search for several

words of the same meaning. "I also sometimes jumbled my collection of

hints into confusion, and after some weeks endeavoured to reduce them

into the best order, before I began to form the full sentence and

complete the paper. This was to teach me method in the arrangement of

my thoughts."



Meeting with a book on vegetarianism, Franklin determined to give the

system a trial. This led to some inconvenience in his brother's

house-keeping, so Franklin proposed to board himself if his brother

would give him half the sum he paid for his board, and out of this he

was able to save a considerable amount for the purpose of buying

books. Moreover, the time required for meals was so short that the

dinner hour afforded considerable leisure for reading. It was on his

journey from Boston to Philadelphia that he first violated vegetarian

principles; for, a large cod having been caught by the sailors, some

small fishes were found in its stomach, whereupon Franklin argued that

if fishes ate one another, there could be no reason against eating

them, so he dined on cod during the rest of the journey.



After reading Xenophon's "Memorabilia," Franklin took up strongly with

the Socratic method of discussion, and became so "artful and expert in

drawing people, even of superior knowledge, into concessions, the

consequence of which they did not foresee," that some time afterwards

one of his employers, before answering the most simple question, would

frequently ask what he intended to infer from the answer. This

practice he gradually gave up, retaining only the habit of expressing

his opinions with "modest diffidence."



In 1720 or 1721 James Franklin began to print a newspaper, the New

England Courant. To this paper, which he helped to compose and print,

Benjamin became an anonymous contributor. The members of the staff

spoke highly of his contributions, but when the authorship became

known, James appears to have conceived a jealousy of his younger

brother, which ultimately led to their separation. An article in the

paper having offended the Assembly, James was imprisoned for a month

and forbidden to print the paper. He then freed Benjamin from his

indentures, in order that the paper might be published in his name. At

length, some disagreement arising, Benjamin took advantage of the

cancelling of his indentures to quit his brother's service. As he

could get no employment in Boston, he obtained a passage to New York,

whence he was recommended to go to Philadelphia, which he reached

after a very troublesome journey. His whole stock of cash then

consisted of a Dutch dollar and about a shilling's worth of coppers.

The coppers he gave to the boatmen with whom he came across from

Burlington. His first appearance in Philadelphia, about eight o'clock

on a Sunday morning, was certainly striking. A youth between seventeen

and eighteen years of age, dressed in his working clothes, which were

dirty through his journey, with his pockets stuffed out with stockings

and shirts, his aspect was not calculated to command respect.



"Then I walked up the street, gazing about till near the market-house

I met a boy with bread. I had made many a meal on bread, and,

inquiring where he got it, I went immediately to the baker's he

directed me to, in Second Street, and ask'd for bisket, intending such

as we had in Boston; but they, it seems, were not made in

Philadelphia. Then I asked for a threepenny loaf, and was told they

had none such. So, not considering or knowing the difference of money,

and the greater cheapness, nor the name of his bread, I bad him give

me three-penny-worth of any sort. He gave me, accordingly, three great

puffy rolls. I was surpriz'd at the quantity, but took it, and having

no room in my pockets, walk'd off with a roll under each arm, and

eating the other. Thus I went up Market Street as far as Fourth

Street, passing by the door of Mr. Read, my future wife's father; when

she, standing at the door, saw me, and thought I made, as I certainly

did, a most awkward, ridiculous appearance. Then I turned and went

down Chestnut Street and part of Walnut Street, eating my roll all the

way, and, coming round, found myself again at Market Street Wharf,

near the boat I came in, to which I went for a draught of the river

water; and, being filled out with one of my rolls, gave the other two

to a woman and her child that came down the river in the boat with us,

and were waiting to go further."



In Philadelphia Franklin obtained an introduction, through a gentleman

he had met at New York, to a printer, named Keimer, who had just set

up business with an old press which he appeared not to know how to

use, and one pair of cases of English type. Here Franklin obtained

employment when the business on hand would permit, and he put the

press in order and worked it. Keimer obtained lodgings for him at the

house of Mr. Read, and, by industry and economical living, Franklin

found himself in easy circumstances. Sir William Keith was then

Governor of Pennsylvania, and hearing of Franklin, he called upon him

at Keimer's printing-office, invited him to take wine at a

neighbouring tavern, and promised to obtain for him the Government

printing if he would set up for himself. It was then arranged that

Franklin should return to Boston by the first ship, in order to see

what help his father would give towards setting him up in business. In

the mean while he was frequently invited to dine at the governor's

house. Notwithstanding Sir William Keith's recommendation, Josiah

Franklin thought his son too young to take the responsibility of a

business, and would only promise to assist him if, when he was

twenty-one, he had himself saved sufficient to purchase most of the

requisite plant. On his return to Philadelphia, he delivered his

father's letter to Sir William Keith, whereon the governor, stating

that he was determined to have a good printer there, promised to find

the means of equipping the printing-office himself, and suggested the

desirability of Franklin's making a journey to England in order to

purchase the plant. He promised letters of introduction to various

persons in England, as well as a letter of credit to furnish the

money for the purchase of the printing-plant. These letters Franklin

was to call for, but there was always some excuse for their not being

ready. At last they were to be sent on board the ship, and Franklin,

having gone on board, awaited the letters. When the governor's

despatches came, they were all put into a bag together, and the

captain promised to let Franklin have his letters before landing. On

opening the bag off Plymouth, there were no letters of the kind

promised, and Franklin was left without introductions and almost

without money, to make his own way in the world. In London he learned

that Governor Keith was well known as a man in whom no dependence

could be placed, and as to his giving a letter of credit, "he had no

credit to give."



A friend of Franklin's, named Ralph, accompanied him from America, and

the two took lodgings together in Little Britain at three shillings

and sixpence per week. Franklin immediately obtained employment at

Palmer's printing-office, in Bartholomew Close; but Ralph, who knew no

trade, but aimed at literature, was unable to get any work. He could

not obtain employment, even among the law stationers as a copying

clerk, so for some time the wages which Franklin earned had to support

the two. At Palmer's Franklin was employed in composing Wollaston's

"Religion of Nature." On this he wrote a short critique, which he

printed. it was entitled "A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity,

Pleasure and Pain." The publication of this he afterwards regretted,

but it obtained for him introductions to some literary persons in

London. Subsequently he left Palmer's and obtained work at Watts's

printing-office, where he remained during the rest of his stay in

London. The beer-drinking capabilities of some of his fellow-workmen

excited his astonishment. He says:--



We had an alehouse boy who attended always in the house to

supply the workmen. My companion at the press drank every day a

pint before breakfast, a pint at breakfast with his bread and

cheese, a pint between breakfast and dinner, a pint at dinner, a

pint in the afternoon about six o'clock, and another when he had

done his day's work. I thought it a detestable custom, but it

was necessary, he suppos'd, to drink strong beer, that he

might be strong to labour. I endeavoured to convince him that

the bodily strength afforded by beer could only be in proportion

to the grain or flour of the barley dissolved in the water of

which it was made; that there was more flour in a pennyworth of

bread; and therefore, if he would eat that with a pint of water,

it would give him more strength than a quart of beer. He drank

on, however, and had four or five shillings to pay out of his

wages every Saturday night for that muddling liquor; an expense

I was free from. And thus these poor devils keep themselves

always under.



Afterwards Franklin succeeded in persuading several of the compositors

to give up "their muddling breakfast of beer and bread and cheese,"

for a porringer of hot-water gruel, with pepper, breadcrumbs, and

butter, which they obtained from a neighbouring house at a cost of

three halfpence.



Among Franklin's fellow-passengers from Philadelphia to England was an

American merchant, a Mr. Denham, who had formerly been in business in

Bristol, but failed and compounded with his creditors. He then went to

America, where he soon acquired a fortune, and returned in Franklin's

ship. He invited all his old creditors to dine with him. At the dinner

each guest found under his plate a cheque for the balance which had

been due to him, with interest to date. This gentleman always remained

a firm friend to Franklin, who, during his stay in London, sought his

advice when any important questions arose. When Mr. Denham returned to

Philadelphia with a quantity of merchandise, he offered Franklin an

appointment as clerk, which was afterwards to develop into a

commission agency. The offer was accepted, and, after a voyage of

nearly three months, Franklin reached Philadelphia on October 11,

1726. Here he found Governor Keith had been superseded by Major

Gordon, and, what was of more importance to him, that Miss Read, to

whom he had become engaged before leaving for England, and to whom he

had written only once during his absence, had married. Shortly after

starting in business, Mr. Denham died, and thus left Franklin to

commence life again for himself. Keimer had by this time obtained a

fairly extensive establishment, and employed a number of hands, but

none of them were of much value; and he made overtures to Franklin to

take the management of his printing-office, apparently with the

intention of getting his men taught their business, so that he might

afterwards be able to dispense with the manager. Franklin set the

printing-house in order, started type-founding, made the ink, and,

when necessary, executed engravings. As the other hands improved under

his superintendence, Keimer began to treat his manager less civilly,

and apparently desired to curtail his stipend. At length, through an

outbreak of temper on the part of Keimer, Franklin left, but was

afterwards induced to return in order to prepare copper-plates and a

press for printing paper money for New Jersey.



While working for Keimer, Franklin formed a club, which was destined

to exert considerable influence on American politics. The club met on

Friday evenings, and was called the Junto. It was essentially a

debating society, the subject for each evening's discussion being

proposed at the preceding meeting. One of the rules was that the

existence of the club should remain a secret, and that its members

should be limited to twelve. Afterwards other similar clubs were

formed by its members; but the existence of the Junto was kept a

secret from them. The club lasted for about forty years, and became

the nucleus of the American Philosophical Society, of which Franklin

was the first president. This, and the fact that many of the great

questions that arose previously to the Declaration of Independence

were discussed in the Junto in the first instance, give to the club a

special importance. The following are specimens of subjects discussed

by the club:--



"Is sound an entity or body?"



"How may the phenomena of vapours be explained?"



"Is self-interest the rudder that steers mankind, the universal

monarch to whom all are tributaries?"



"Which is the best form of government? and what was that form which

first prevailed among mankind?"



"Can any one particular form of government suit all mankind?"



"What is the reason that the tides rise higher in the Bay of Fundy

than the Bay of Delaware?"



"Is the emission of paper money safe?"



"What is the reason that men of the greatest knowledge are not the

most happy?"



"How may the possessions of the Lakes be improved to our advantage?"



"Why are tumultuous, uneasy sensations united with our desires?"



"Whether it ought to be the aim of philosophy to eradicate the

passions."



"How may smoky chimneys be best cured?"



"Why does the flame of a candle tend upwards in a spire?"



"Which is least criminal--a bad action joined with a good intention,

or a good action with a bad intention?"



"Is it consistent with the principles of liberty in a free government

to punish a man as a libeller when he speaks the truth?"



On leaving Keimer's, Franklin went into partnership with one of his

fellow-workmen, Hugh Meredith, whose father found the necessary

capital, and a printing-office was started which soon excelled its two

rivals in Philadelphia. Franklin's industry attracted the attention of

the townsfolk, and inspired the merchants with confidence in the

prospects of the new concern. Keimer started a newspaper, which he had

not the ability to carry on; Franklin purchased it from him for a

trifle, remodelled it, and continued it in a very spirited manner

under the title of the Pennsylvania Gazette. His political articles

soon attracted the attention of the principal men of the state; the

number of subscribers increased rapidly, and the paper became a source

of considerable profit. Soon after, the printing for the House of

Representatives came into the hands of the firm. Meredith never took

to the business, and was seldom sober, and at length was bought out by

his partner, on July 14, 1730. The discussion in the Junto on paper

currency induced Franklin to publish a paper entitled "The Nature and

Necessity of a Paper Currency." This was a prominent subject before

the House, but the introduction of paper money was opposed by the

capitalists. They were unable, however, to answer Franklin's

arguments; the point was carried in the House, and Franklin was

employed to print the money. The amount of paper money in Pennsylvania

in 1739 amounted to L80,000; during the war it rose to more than

L350,000.



"In order to secure my credit and character as a tradesman, I took

care not only to be in reality industrious and frugal, but to avoid

all appearances to the contrary. I drest plainly; I was seen at no

places of idle diversion. I never went out a-fishing or shooting; a

book, indeed, sometimes debauch'd me from my work, but that was

seldom, snug, and gave no scandal; and, to show that I was not above

my business, I sometimes brought home the paper I purchas'd at the

stores thro' the streets on a wheelbarrow. Thus being esteem'd an

industrious, thriving young man, and paying duly for what I bought,

the merchants who imported stationery solicited my custom; others

proposed supplying me with books, and I went on swimmingly. In the

mean time, Keimer's credit and business declining daily, he was at

last forc'd to sell his printing-house to satisfy his creditors."



On September 1, 1730, Franklin married his former fiancee, whose

previous husband had left her and was reported to have died in the

West Indies. The marriage was a very happy one, and continued over

forty years, Mrs. Franklin living until the end of 1774. Industry and

frugality reigned in the household of the young printer. Mrs. Franklin

not only managed the house, but assisted in the business, folding and

stitching pamphlets, and in other ways making herself useful. The

first part of Franklin's autobiography concludes with an account of

the foundation of the first subscription library. By the co-operation

of the members of the Junto, fifty subscribers were obtained, who each

paid in the first instance forty shillings, and afterwards ten

shillings per annum. "We afterwards obtained a charter, the company

being increased to one hundred. This was the mother of all the North

American subscription libraries, now so numerous. It is become a great

thing itself, and continually increasing. These libraries have

improved the general conversation of the Americans, made the common

tradesmen and farmers as intelligent as most gentlemen from other

countries, and perhaps have contributed in some degree to the stand so

generally made throughout the colonies in defence of their

privileges."



Ten years ago this library contained between seventy and eighty

thousand volumes.



Franklin's success in business was attributed by him largely to his

early training. "My circumstances, however, grew daily easier. My



original habits of frugality continuing, and my father having, among

his instructions to me when a boy, frequently repeated a proverb of

Solomon, 'Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand

before kings; he shall not stand before mean men,' I from thence

considered industry as a means of obtaining wealth and distinction,

which encourag'd me, tho' I did not think that I should ever

literally stand before kings, which, however, has since happened;

for I have stood before five, and even had the honour of sitting

down with one, the King of Denmark, to dinner."



After his marriage, Franklin conceived the idea of obtaining moral

perfection. He was not altogether satisfied with the result, but

thought his method worthy of imitation. Assuming that he possessed

complete knowledge of what was right or wrong, he saw no reason why he

should not always act in accordance therewith. His principle was to

devote his attention to one virtue only at first for a week, at the

end of which time he expected the practice of that virtue to have

become a habit. He then added another virtue to his list, and devoted

his attention to the same for the next week, and so on, until he had

exhausted his list of virtues. He then commenced again at the

beginning. As his moral code comprised thirteen virtues, it was

possible to go through the complete curriculum four times in a year.

Afterwards he occupied a year in going once through the list, and

subsequently employed several years in one course. A little book was

ruled, with a column for each day and a line for each virtue, and in

this a mark was made for every failure which could be remembered on

examination at the end of the day. It is easy to believe his

statement: "I am surprised to find myself so much fuller of faults

than I had imagined; but I had the satisfaction of seeing them

diminish."



"This my little book had for its motto these lines from Addison's

'Cato':--



"'Here will I hold. If there's a Power above us

(And that there is, all Nature cries aloud

Thro' all her work), He must delight in virtue;

And that which He delights in must be happy.'



"Another from Cicero:--



"'O vitae Philosophia dux! O virtutum indagatrix expultrixque vitiorum!

Unus dies ex praeceptis tuis actus, peccanti immortalitati est

anteponendus.'



"Another from the Proverbs of Solomon, speaking of wisdom and virtue:--



"'Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and

honour. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are

peace.'



"And conceiving God to be the fountain of wisdom, I thought it right

and necessary to solicit His assistance for obtaining it; to this end

I formed the following little prayer, which was prefixed to my tables

of examination, for daily use:--



"'O powerful Goodness! bountiful Father! merciful Guide! increase in

me that wisdom which discovers my truest interest. Strengthen my

resolutions to perform what that wisdom dictates. Accept my kind

offices to Thy other children as the only return in my power for Thy

continual favours to me.'



"I used also sometimes a little prayer which I took from Thomson's

Poems, viz.:--



"'Father of light and life, Thou Good Supreme!

Oh teach me what is good; teach me Thyself!

Save me from folly, vanity, and vice,

From every low pursuit; and fill my soul

With knowledge, conscious peace, and virtue pure;

Sacred, substantial, never-failing bliss!'"



The senses in which Franklin's thirteen virtues were to be understood

were explained by short precepts which followed them in his list. The

list was as follows:--



"1. TEMPERANCE.



"Eat not to dulness; drink not to elevation.



"2. SILENCE.



"Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling

conversation.



"3. ORDER.



"Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business

have its time.



"4. RESOLUTION.



"Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you

resolve.



"5. FRUGALITY.



"Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e. waste

nothing.



"6. INDUSTRY.



"Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all

unnecessary actions.



"7. SINCERITY.



"Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly; and, if you

speak, speak accordingly.



"8. JUSTICE.



"Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your

duty.



"9. MODERATION.



"Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they

deserve.



"10. CLEANLINESS.



"Tolerate no uncleanness in body, clothes, or habitation.



"11. TRANQUILLITY.



"Be not disturbed at trifles, or accidents common or unavoidable.



"12. CHASTITY.



"13. HUMILITY.



"Imitate Jesus and Socrates."



The last of these was added to the list at the suggestion of a Quaker

friend. Franklin claims to have acquired a good deal of the

appearance of it, but concluded that in reality there was no passion

so hard to subdue as pride. "For even if I could conceive that I had

completely overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility."

The virtue which gave him most trouble, however, was order, and this

he never acquired.



In 1732 appeared the first copy of "Poor Richard's Almanack." This was

prepared, printed, and published by Franklin for about twenty-five

years in succession, and nearly ten thousand copies were sold

annually. Besides the usual astronomical information, it contained a

collection of entertaining anecdotes, verses, jests, etc., while the

"little spaces that occurred between the remarkable events in the

calendar" were filled with proverbial sayings, inculcating industry

and frugality as helps to virtue. These sayings were collected and

prefixed to the almanack of 1757, whence they were copied into the

American newspapers, and afterwards reprinted as a broad-sheet in

England and in France.



In 1733 Franklin commenced studying modern languages, and acquired

sufficient knowledge of French, Italian, and Spanish to be able to

read books in those languages. In 1736 he was chosen Clerk to the

General Assembly, an office to which he was annually re-elected until

he became a member of the Assembly about 1750. There was one member

who, on the second occasion of his election, made a long speech

against him. Franklin determined to secure the friendship of this

member. Accordingly he wrote to him to request the loan of a very

scarce and curious book which was in his library. The book was lent

and returned in about a week, with a note of thanks. The member ever

after manifested a readiness to serve Franklin, and they became great

friends--"Another instance of the truth of an old maxim I had learned,

which says, 'He that has once done you a kindness will be more ready

to do you another than he whom you yourself have obliged.' And it

shows how much more profitable it is prudently to remove, than to

resent, return, and continue inimical proceedings."



In 1737 Franklin was appointed Deputy-Postmaster-General for

Pennsylvania. He was afterwards made Postmaster-General of the

Colonies. He read a paper in the Junto on the organization of the City

watch, and the propriety of rating the inhabitants on the value of

their premises in order to support the same. The subject was also

discussed in the other clubs which had sprung from the Junto, and thus

the way was prepared for the law which a few years afterwards carried

Franklin's proposals into effect. His next scheme was the formation of

a fire brigade, in which he met with his usual success, and other

clubs followed, until most of the men of property in the city were

members of one club or another. The original brigade, known as the

Union Fire Company, was formed December 7, 1736. It was in active

service in 1791.



Franklin founded the American Philosophical Society in 1743. The

head-quarters of the society were fixed in Philadelphia, where it was

arranged that there should always be at least seven members, viz. a

physician, a botanist, a mathematician, a chemist, a mechanician, a

geographer, and a general natural philosopher, besides a president,

treasurer, and secretary. The other members might be resident in any

part of America. Correspondence was to be kept up with the Royal

Society of London and the Dublin Society, and abstracts of the

communications were to be sent quarterly to all the members. Franklin

became the first secretary.



Spain, having been for some years at war with England, was joined at

length by France. This threatened danger to the American colonies, as

France then held Canada, and no organization for their defence

existed. Franklin published a pamphlet entitled "Plain Truth," setting

forth the unarmed condition of the colonies, and recommending the

formation of a volunteer force for defensive purposes. The pamphlet

excited much attention. A public meeting was held and addressed by

Franklin; at this meeting twelve hundred joined the association. At

length the number of members enrolled exceeded ten thousand. These all

provided themselves with arms, formed regiments and companies, elected

their own officers, and attended once a week for military drill.

Franklin was elected colonel of the Philadelphia Regiment, but

declined the appointment, and served as a private soldier. The

provision of war material was a difficulty with the Assembly, which

consisted largely of Quakers, who, though they appeared privately to

be willing that the country should be put in a state of defence,

hesitated to vote in opposition to their peace principles. Hence it

was that, when the Government of New England asked a grant of

gunpowder from Pennsylvania, the Assembly voted L3000 "for the

purchasing of bread, flour, wheat, or other grain." Pebble-powder

was not then in use. When it was proposed to devote L60, which was a

balance in the hands of the Union Fire Company, as a contribution

towards the erection of a battery below the town, Franklin suggested

that it should be proposed that a fire-engine be purchased with the

money, and that the committee should "buy a great gun, which is

certainly a fire-engine."



The "Pennsylvania fireplace" was invented in 1742. A patent was

offered to Franklin by the Governor of Pennsylvania, but he declined

it on the principle "that, as we enjoy great advantages from the

inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve

others by any invention of ours; and this we should do freely and

generously." An ironmonger in London made slight alterations, which

were not improvements, in the design, and took out a patent for the

fireplace, whereby he made a "small fortune." Franklin never contested

the patent, "having no desire of profiting by patents himself," and

"hating disputes." This fireplace was designed to burn wood, but,

unlike the German stoves, it was completely open in front, though

enclosed at the sides and top. An air-chamber was formed in the middle

of the stove, so arranged that, while the burning wood was in contact

with the front of the chamber, the flame passed above and behind it on

its way to the flue. Through this chamber a constant current of air

passed, entering the room heated, but not contaminated, by the

products of combustion. In this way the stove furnished a constant

supply of fresh warm air to the room, while it possessed all the

advantages of an open fireplace. Subsequently Franklin contrived a

special fireplace for the combustion of coal. In the scientific

thought which he devoted to the requirements of the domestic

economist, as in very many other particulars, Franklin strongly

reminds us of Count Rumford.



The next important enterprise which Franklin undertook, partly through

the medium of the Junto, was to establish an academy which soon

developed into the University of Philadelphia. The members of the club

having taken up the subject, the next step was to enlist the sympathy

of a wider constituency, and this Franklin effected, in his usual way,

by the publication of a pamphlet. He then set on foot a subscription,

the payments to extend over five years, and thereby obtained about

L5000. A house was taken and schools opened in 1749. The classes soon

became too large for the house, and the trustees of the academy then

took over a large building, or "tabernacle," which had been erected

for George Whitefield when he was preaching in Philadelphia. The hall

was divided into stories, and at a very small expense adapted to the

requirements of the classes. Franklin, having taken a partner in his

printing business, took the oversight of the work. Afterwards the

funds were increased by English subscriptions, by a grant from the

Assembly, and by gifts of land from the proprietaries; and thus was

established the University of Philadelphia.



Having practically retired from business, Franklin intended to devote

himself to philosophical studies, having commenced his electrical

researches some time before in conjunction with the other members of

the Library Company. Public business, however, crowded upon him. He

was elected a member of the Assembly, a councillor and afterwards an

alderman of the city, and by the governor was made a justice of the

peace. As a member of the Assembly, he was largely concerned in

providing the means for the erection of a hospital, and in arranging

for the paving and cleansing of the streets of the city. In 1753 he

was appointed, in conjunction with Mr. Hunter, Postmaster-General of

America. The post-office of the colonies had previously been conducted

at a loss. In a few years, under Franklin's management, it not only

paid the stipends of himself and Mr. Hunter, but yielded a

considerable revenue to the Crown. But it was not only in the conduct

of public business that Franklin's merits were recognized. By this

time he had secured his reputation as an electrician, and both Yale

College and Cambridge University (New England) conferred on him the

honorary degree of Master of Arts. In the same year that he was made

Postmaster-General of America he was awarded the Copley Medal and

elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London, the usual fees being

remitted in his case.



Before his election as member, Franklin had for several years held the

appointment of Clerk to the Assembly, and he used to relieve the

dulness of the debates by amusing himself in the construction of magic

circles and squares, and "acquired such a knack at it" that he could

"fill the cells of any magic square of reasonable size with a series

of numbers as fast as" he "could write them." Many years afterwards

Mr. Logan showed Franklin a French folio volume filled with magic

squares, and afterwards a magic "square of 16," which Mr. Logan

thought must have been a work of great labour, though it possessed

only the common properties of making 2056 in every row, horizontal,

vertical, and diagonal. During the evening Franklin made the square

shown on the opposite page. "This I sent to our friend the next

morning, who, after some days, sent it back in a letter, with these

words: 'I return to thee thy astonishing and most stupendous piece of

the magical square, in which----;' but the compliment is too

extravagant, and therefore, for his sake as well as my own, I ought

not to repeat it. Nor is it necessary; for I make no question that you

will readily allow this square of 16 to be the most magically magical

of any magic square ever made by any magician."



The square has the following properties:--Every straight row of

sixteen numbers, whether vertical, horizontal, or diagonal, makes

2056.



Every bent row of sixteen numbers, as shown by the diagonal lines in

the figure, makes 2056.



If a square hole be cut in a piece of paper, so as to show through it

just sixteen of the little squares, and the paper be laid on the magic

square, then, wherever the paper is placed, the sum of the sixteen

numbers visible through the hole will be 2056.






200 217 232 249 8 25 40 57 72 89 104 121 136 153 168 185

58 39 26 7 250 231 218 199 186 167 154 135 122 103 90 71

198 219 230 251 6 27 38 59 70 91 102 123 134 155 166 187

60 37 28 5 252 229 220 197 188 165 156 133 124 101 92 69

201 216 233 248 9 24 41 56 73 88 105 120 137 152 169 184

55 42 23 10 247 234 215 202 183 170 151 138 119 106 87 74

203 214 235 246 11 22 43 54 75 86 107 118 139 150 171 182

53 44 21 12 245 236 213 204 181 172 149 140 117 108 85 76

205 212 237 244 13 20 45 52 77 84 109 116 141 148 173 180

51 46 19 14 243 238 211 206 179 174 147 142 115 110 83 78

207 210 239 242 15 18 47 50 79 82 111 114 143 146 175 178

49 48 17 16 241 240 209 208 177 176 145 144 113 112 81 80

196 221 228 253 4 29 36 61 68 93 100 125 132 157 164 189

62 35 30 3 254 227 222 195 190 163 158 131 126 99 94 67

194 223 226 255 2 31 34 63 66 95 98 127 130 159 162 191

64 33 32 1 256 225 224 193 192 161 160 129 128 97 96 65

]



In 1754 war with France appeared to be again imminent, and a Congress

of Commissioners from the several colonies was arranged for. Of

course, Franklin was one of the representatives of Pennsylvania, and

was also one of the members who independently drew up a plan for the

union of all the colonies under one government, for defensive and

other general purposes, and his was the plan finally approved by

Congress for the union, though it was not accepted by the Assemblies

or by the English Government, being regarded by the former as having

too much of the prerogative in it, by the latter as being too

democratic. Franklin wrote respecting this scheme: "The different

and contrary reasons of dislike to my plan makes me suspect that it

was really the true medium; and I am still of opinion that it would

have been happy for both sides of the water if it had been adopted. The

colonies, so united, would have been sufficiently strong to have

defended themselves; there would then have been no need of troops from

England; of course, the subsequent pretence for taxing America, and

the bloody contest it occasioned, would have been avoided."



With this war against France began the struggle of the Assemblies and

the proprietaries on the question of taxing the estates of the latter.

The governors received strict instructions to approve no bills for the

raising of money for the purposes of defence, unless the estates of

the proprietaries were specially exempted from the tax. The Assembly

of Pennsylvania resolved to contribute L10,000 to assist the

Government of Massachusetts Bay in an attack upon Crown Point, but the

governor refused his assent to the bill for raising the money. At this

juncture Franklin proposed a scheme by which the money could be raised

without the consent of the governor. His plan was successful, and the

difficulty was surmounted for the time, but was destined to recur

again and again during the progress of the war.



The British Government, not approving of the scheme of union, whereby

the colonies might have defended themselves, sent General Braddock to

Virginia, with two regiments of regular troops. On their arrival they

found it impossible to obtain waggons for the conveyance of their

baggage, and the general commissioned Franklin to provide them in

Pennsylvania. By giving his private bond for their safety, Franklin

succeeded in engaging one hundred and fifty four-horse waggons, and

two hundred and fifty-nine pack-horses. His modest warnings against

Indian ambuscades were disregarded by the general, the little army was

cut to pieces, and the remainder took to flight, sacrificing the whole

of their baggage and stores. Franklin was never fully recouped by the

British Government for the payments he had to make on account of

provisions which the general had instructed him to procure for the use

of the army.



After this, Franklin appeared for some time in a purely military

capacity, having yielded to the governor's persuasions to undertake

the defence of the north-western frontier, to raise troops, and to

build a line of forts. After building and manning three wooden forts,

he was recalled by the Assembly, whose relations with the governor had

become more and more strained. At length the Assembly determined to

send Franklin to England, to present a petition to the king respecting

the conduct of the proprietaries, viz. Richard and Thomas Penn, the

successors of William Penn. A bill had been framed by the House to

provide L60,000 for the king's use in the defence of the province.

This the governor refused to pass, because the proprietary estates

were not exempted from the taxation. The petition to the king was

drawn up, and Franklin's baggage was on board the ship which was to

convey him to England, when General Lord Loudon endeavoured to make an

arrangement between the parties. The governor pleaded his

instructions, and the bond he had given for carrying them out, and the

Assembly was prevailed upon to reconstruct the bill in accordance with

the governor's wishes. This was done under protest; in the mean time

Franklin's ship had sailed, carrying his baggage. After a great deal

of unnecessary delay on account of the general's inability to decide

upon the despatch of the packet-boats, Franklin at last got away from

New York, and, having narrowly escaped shipwreck off Falmouth, he

reached London on July 27, 1757.



On arriving in London, Franklin was introduced to Lord Granville, who

told him that the king's instructions were laws in the colonies.

Franklin replied that he had always understood that the Assemblies

made the laws, which then only required the king's consent. "I

recollected that, about twenty years before, a clause in a bill

brought into Parliament by the Ministry had proposed to make the

king's instructions laws in the colonies, but the clause was thrown

out by the Commons, for which we adored them as our friends and the

friends of liberty, till, by their conduct towards us in 1765, it

seem'd that they had refus'd that point of sovereignty to the king

only that they might reserve it for themselves." A meeting was shortly

afterwards arranged between Franklin and the proprietaries at Mr. T.

Penn's house; but their views were so discordant that, after some

discussion, Franklin was requested to give them in writing the heads

of his complaints, and the whole question was submitted to the opinion

of the attorney- and solicitor-general. It was nearly a year before

this opinion was given. The proprietaries then communicated directly

with the Assembly, but in the mean while Governor Denny had consented

to a bill for raising L100,000 for the king's use, in which it was

provided that the proprietary estates should be taxed with the others.

When this bill reached England, the proprietaries determined to oppose

its receiving the royal assent. Franklin engaged counsel on behalf of

the Assembly, and on his undertaking that the assessment should be

fairly made between the estates of the proprietaries and others, the

bill was allowed to pass.



By this time Franklin's career as a scientific investigator was

practically at an end. Political business almost completely occupied

his attention, and in one sense the diplomatist replaced the

philosopher. His public scientific career was of short duration. It

may be said to have begun in 1746, when Mr. Peter Collinson presented

an "electrical tube" to the Library Company in Philadelphia, which was

some time after followed by a present of a complete set of electrical

apparatus from the proprietaries, but by 1755 Franklin's time was so

much taken up by public business that there was very little

opportunity for experimental work. Throughout his life he frequently

expressed in his letters his strong desire to return to philosophy,

but the opportunity never came, and when, at the age of eighty-two, he

was liberated from public duty, his strength was insufficient to

enable him to complete even his autobiography.



It was on a visit to Boston in 1746 that Franklin met with Dr. Spence,

a Scotchman, who exhibited some electrical experiments. Soon after his

return to Philadelphia the tube arrived from Mr. Collinson, and

Franklin acquired considerable dexterity in its use. His house was

continually full of visitors, who came to see the experiments, and, to

relieve the pressure upon his time, he had a number of similar tubes

blown at the glass-house, and these he distributed to his friends, so

that there were soon a number of "performers" in Philadelphia. One of

these was Mr. Kinnersley, who, having no other employment, was induced

by Franklin to become an itinerant lecturer. Franklin drew up a scheme

for the lectures, and Kinnersley obtained several well-constructed

instruments from Franklin's rough and home-made models. Kinnersley and

Franklin appear to have worked together a good deal, and when

Kinnersley was travelling on his lecture tour, each communicated to

the other the results of his experiments. Franklin sent his papers to

Mr. Collinson, who presented them to the Royal Society, but they were

not at first judged worthy of a place in the "Transactions." The paper

on the identity of lightning and electricity was sent to Dr. Mitchell,

who read it before the Royal Society, when it "was laughed at by the

connoisseurs." The papers were subsequently published in a pamphlet,

but did not at first receive much attention in England. On the

recommendation of Count de Buffon, they were translated into French.

The Abbe Nollet, who had previously published a theory of his own

respecting electricity, wrote and published a volume of letters

defending his theory, and denying the accuracy of some of Franklin's

experimental results. To these letters Franklin made no reply, but

they were answered by M. le Roy. M. de Lor undertook to repeat in

Paris all Franklin's experiments, and they were performed before the

king and court. Not content with the experiments which Franklin had

actually performed, he tried those which had been only suggested, and

so was the first to obtain electricity from the clouds by means of the

pointed rod. This experiment produced a great sensation everywhere,

and was afterwards repeated by Franklin at Philadelphia. Franklin's

papers were translated into Italian, German, and Latin; his theory met

with all but universal acceptance, and great surprise was expressed

that his papers had excited so little interest in England. Dr. Watson

then drew up a summary of all Franklin's papers, and this was

published in the "Philosophical Transactions;" Mr. Canton verified the

experiment of procuring electricity from the clouds by means of a

pointed rod, and the Royal Society awarded to Franklin the Copley

Medal for 1753, which was conveyed to him by Governor Denny.



We must now give a short account of Franklin's contributions to

electrical science.



"The first is the wonderful effect of pointed bodies, both in drawing

off and throwing off the electrical fire."



It will be observed that this statement is made in the language of the

one-fluid theory, of which Franklin may be regarded as the author.

This theory will be again referred to presently. Franklin electrified

a cannon-ball so that it repelled a cork. On bringing near it the

point of a bodkin, the repulsion disappeared. A blunt body had to be

brought near enough for a spark to pass in order to produce the same

effect. "To prove that the electrical fire is drawn off by the

point, if you take the blade of the bodkin out of the wooden handle,

and fix it in a stick of sealing-wax, and then present it at the

distance aforesaid, or if you bring it very near, no such effect

follows; but sliding one finger along the wax till you touch the

blade, and the ball flies to the shot immediately. If you present the

point in the dark, you will see, sometimes at a foot distance or more,

a light gather upon it like that of a fire-fly or glow-worm; the less

sharp the point, the nearer you must bring it to observe the light;

and at whatever distance you see the light, you may draw off the

electrical fire, and destroy the repelling."



By laying a needle upon the shot, Franklin showed "that points will

throw off as well as draw off the electrical fire." A candle-flame

was found to be equally efficient with a sharp point in drawing off

the electricity from a charged conductor. The effect of the

candle-flame Franklin accounted for by supposing the particles

separated from the candle to be first "attracted and then repelled,

carrying off the electric matter with them." The effect of points is a

direct consequence of the law of electrical repulsion. When a

conductor is electrified, the density of the electricity is greatest

where the curvature is greatest. Thus, if a number of spheres are

electrified from the same source, the density of the electricity on

the different spheres will vary inversely as their diameters. The

force tending to drive the electricity off a conductor is everywhere

proportional to the density, and hence in the case of the spheres will

be greatest for the smallest sphere. On this principle, the density of

electricity on a perfectly sharp point, if such could exist, on a

charged conductor, would be infinite and the force tending to drive it

off would be infinite also. Hence a moderately sharp point is

sufficient to dissipate the electricity from a highly charged

conductor, or to neutralize it if the point is connected to earth and

brought near the conductor so as to be electrified by induction.



Franklin next found that, if the person rubbing the electric tube

stood upon a cake of resin, and the person taking the charge from the

tube stood also on an insulating stand, a stronger spark would pass

between these two persons than between either of them and the earth;

that, after the spark had passed, neither person was electrified,

though each had appeared electrified before. These experiments

suggested the idea of positive and negative electrification; and

Franklin, regarding the electric fluid as corresponding to positive

electrification, remarked that "you may circulate it as Mr. Watson has

shown; you may also accumulate or subtract it upon or from any body,

as you connect that body with the rubber or with the receiver, the

common stock being cut off." Thus Franklin regarded electricity as a

fluid, of which everything in its normal state possesses a certain

amount; that, by appropriate means, some of the fluid may be removed

from one body and given to another. The former is then electrified

negatively, the latter positively, and all processes by which bodies

are electrified consist in the removal of electricity from one body or

system and giving it to another. He regarded the electric fluid as

repelling itself and attracting matter. AEpinus afterwards added the

supposition that matter, when devoid of electricity, is

self-repulsive, and thus completed the "one-fluid theory," and

accounted for the repulsion observed between negatively electrified

bodies.



It had been usual to employ water for the interior armatures of Leyden

jars, or phials, as they were then generally called. Franklin

substituted granulated lead for the water, thereby improving the

insulation by keeping the glass dry. With these phials he contrived

many ingenious experiments, and imitated lightning by discharging them

through the gilding of a mirror or the gold lines on the cover of a

book. He found that the inner and outer armatures of his Leyden jars

were oppositely electrified. "Here we have a bottle containing at the

same time a plenum of electrical fire and a vacuum of the same

fire; and yet the equilibrium cannot be restored between them but by a

communication without! though the plenum presses violently to

expand, and the hungry vacuum seems to attract as violently in order

to be filled." The charging of Leyden jars by cascade, that is by

insulating all the jars except the last, connecting the outer armature

of the first with the inner armature of the second, and so on

throughout the series, was well understood by Franklin, and he knew

too that by this method the extent to which each jar could be charged

from a given source varied inversely as the number of jars. The

discharge of the Leyden jar by alternate contacts was also carried out

by him; and he found that, if the jar is first placed on an insulating

stand, it may be held by the hook (or knob) without discharging it.

Franklin, in fact, appears to have known almost as much about the

Leyden jar as is known to-day. He found that, when the armatures were

removed from a jar, no discharge would pass between them, but when a

fresh pair of armatures were supplied to the glass, the jar could be

discharged. "We are of opinion that there is really no more electrical

fire in the phial after what is called its charging than before, nor

less after its discharging; excepting only the small spark that

might be given to and taken from the non-electric matter, if separated

from the bottle, which spark may not be equal to a five-hundredth part

of what is called the explosion.



"The phial will not suffer what is called a charging unless as much

fire can go out of it one way as is thrown in by another.



"When a bottle is charged in the common way, its inside and

outside surfaces stand ready, the one to give fire by the hook, the

other to receive it by the coating; the one is full and ready to throw

out, the other empty and extremely hungry; yet, as the first will not

give out unless the other can at the same time receive in, so

neither will the latter receive in unless the first can at the same

time give out. When both can be done at once, it is done with

inconceivable quickness and violence."



Then follows a very beautiful illustration of the condition of the

glass in the Leyden jar.



"So a straight spring (though the comparison does not agree in every

particular), when forcibly bent, must, to restore itself, contract

that side which in the bending was extended, and extend that which was

contracted; if either of these two operations be hindered, the other

cannot be done.



"Glass, in like manner, has, within its substance, always the same

quantity of electrical fire, and that a very great quantity in

proportion to the mass of the glass, as shall be shown hereafter.



"This quantity proportioned to the glass it strongly and obstinately

retains, and will have neither more nor less, though it will suffer a

change to be made in its parts and situation; i.e. we may take away

part of it from one of the sides, provided we throw an equal quantity

into the other."



"The whole force of the bottle, and power of giving a shock, is in the

GLASS ITSELF; the non-electrics in contact with the two surfaces

serving only to give and receive to and from the several parts of

the glass, that is, to give on one side and take away from the other."



All these statements were, as far as possible, fully substantiated by

experiment. They are perfectly consistent with the views held by

Cavendish and by Clerk Maxwell, and, though the phraseology is not

that of the modern text-books, the statements themselves can hardly be

improved upon to-day.



One of Franklin's early contrivances was an electro-motor, which was

driven by the alternate electrical attraction and repulsion of leaden

bullets which discharged Leyden jars by alternate contacts. Franklin

concluded his account of these experiments as follows:--



Chagrined a little that we have been hitherto able to produce

nothing in this way of use to mankind, and the hot weather

coming on, when electrical experiments are not so agreeable, it

is proposed to put an end to them for this season, somewhat

humorously, in a party of pleasure, on the banks of Skuylkil.

Spirits, at the same time, are to be fired by a spark sent from

side to side through the river, without any other conductor than

the water--an experiment which we some time since performed, to

the amazement of many. A turkey is to be killed for our dinner

by the electrical shock, and roasted by the electrical jack

before a fire kindled by the electrified bottle, when the

healths of all the famous electricians in England, Holland,

France, and Germany, are to be drunk in electrified bumpers,

under the discharge of guns from the electrical battery.



Franklin's electrical battery consisted of eleven large panes of glass

coated on each side with sheet lead. The electrified bumper was a thin

tumbler nearly filled with wine and electrified as a Leyden jar, so

as to give a shock through the lips.



Franklin's theory of the manner in which thunder-clouds become

electrified he found to be not consistent with his subsequent

experiments. In the paper which he wrote explaining this theory,

however, he shows some knowledge of the effects of bringing conductors

into contact in diminishing their capacity. He states that two

gun-barrels electrified equally and then united, will give a spark at

a greater distance than one alone. Hence he asks, "To what a great

distance may ten thousand acres of electrified cloud strike and give

its fire, and how loud must be that crack?



"An electrical spark, drawn from an irregular body at some distance,

is scarcely ever straight, but shows crooked and waving in the air. So

do the flashes of lightning, the clouds being very irregular bodies.



"As electrified clouds pass over a country, high hills and high trees,

lofty towers, spires, masts of ships, chimneys, etc., as so many

prominences and points, draw the electrical fire, and the whole cloud

discharges there.



"Dangerous, therefore, is it to take shelter under a tree during a

thunder-gust. It has been fatal to many, both men and beasts.



"It is safer to be in the open field for another reason. When the

clothes are wet, if a flash in its way to the ground should strike

your head, it may run in the water over the surface of your body;

whereas, if your clothes were dry, it would go through the body,

because the blood and other humours, containing so much water, are

more ready conductors.



"Hence a wet rat cannot be killed by the exploding electrical bottle

[a quart jar], while a dry rat may."



In the above quotations we see, so to speak, the germ of the

lightning-rod. This was developed in a letter addressed to Mr.

Collinson, and dated July 29, 1750. The following quotations will give

an idea of its contents:--



"The electrical matter consists of particles extremely subtile, since

it can permeate common matter, even the densest metals, with such ease

and freedom as not to receive any perceptible resistance.[1]



[Footnote 1: Franklin was aware of the resistance of conductors (see

p. 96).]



"If any one should doubt whether the electrical matter passes through

the substance of bodies or only over and along their surfaces, a shock

from an electrified large glass jar, taken through his own body, will

probably convince him.



"Common matter is a kind of sponge to the electrical fluid.



"We know that the