{"collection":"philosophy-ethics","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_48136/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_48136","id":"gutenberg_48136","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48136","summary":null,"tags":["Category: American Literature","Category: Biographies","Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Category: Politics","Conduct of life -- Early works to 1800","Electricity -- Early works to 1850","Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790","Physics -- Early works to 1800","Statesmen -- United States -- Biography","United States -- History -- 1783-1815 -- Sources","United States -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775 -- Sources"],"text":"TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE\n\n  This is Volume 1 of a 3-volume set. The other two volumes are also\n  accessible in Project Gutenberg using\n  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48137 and\n  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48138.\n\n  Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.\n\n  Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been\n  corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within\n  the text and consultation of external sources.\n\n  More detail can be found at the end of the book.\n\n\n\n\n  [Illustration: BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, L.L.D.\n\n  _Publish'd April 1, 1806; by Longman, Rees, Hurst, & Orme,\n  Paternoster Row._]\n\n\n\n\n  The\n  WORKS\n  Of\n  BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, L.L.D.\n\n  VOL. 1.\n\n  [Illustration: (Engraved by W. & G. Cooke.)]\n\n\n  PRINTED,\n\n  for Longman, Hurst, Rees, & Orme, Paternoster Row, London.\n\n\n\n\n  THE\n  COMPLETE\n  WORKS,\n  IN\n  PHILOSOPHY, POLITICS, AND MORALS,\n  OF THE LATE\n  DR. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN,\n  NOW FIRST COLLECTED AND ARRANGED:\n  WITH\n  MEMOIRS OF HIS EARLY LIFE,\n  WRITTEN BY HIMSELF.\n\n  IN THREE VOLUMES.\n\n  VOL. I.\n\n  London:\n\n  PRINTED FOR J. JOHNSON, ST. PAUL'S CHURCH-YARD;\n  AND LONGMAN, HURST, REES AND ORME,\n  PATERNOSTER-ROW.\n\n  1806.\n\n\n\n\nADVERTISEMENT.\n\n\n_The works of Dr. Franklin have been often partially collected, never\nbefore brought together in one uniform publication._\n\n_The first collection was made by Mr. Peter Collinson in the year\n1751. It consisted of letters, communicated by the author to the\neditor, on one subject, electricity, and formed a pamphlet only,\nof which the price was half-a-crown. It was enlarged in 1752, by a\nsecond communication on the same subject, and in 1754, by a third,\ntill, in 1766, by the addition of letters and papers on other\nphilosophical subjects, it amounted to a quarto volume of 500 pages._\n\n_Ten years after, in 1779, another collection was made, by a\ndifferent editor, in one volume, printed both in quarto and octavo,\nof papers not contained in the preceding collection, under the title\nof Political, Miscellaneous, and Philosophical Pieces._\n\n_In 1787, a third collection appeared in a thin octavo volume,\nentitled Philosophical and Miscellaneous Papers._\n\n_And lastly, in 1793, a fourth was published, in two volumes,\ncrown octavo, consisting of Memoirs of Dr. Franklin's Life, and\nEssays humourous, moral and literary, chiefly in the Manner of the\nSpectator._\n\n_In the present volumes will be found all the different collections\nwe have enumerated, together with the various papers of the same\nauthor, that have been published in separate pamphlets, or inserted\nin foreign collections of his works, or in the Transactions of our\nown or of foreign philosophical societies, or in our own or foreign\nnewspapers and magazines, as far as discoverable by the editor, who\nhas been assisted in the research by a gentleman in America. Among\nthese papers some, we conceive, will be new to the English reader on\nthis side of the Atlantic; particularly a series of essays entitled\nThe Busy-Body, written, as Dr. Franklin tells us in his Life, when he\nwas an assiduous imitator of Addison; and a pamphlet, entitled Plain\nTruth, with which he is said to have commenced his political career\nas a writer. We hoped to have been enabled to add, what would have\nbeen equally new, and still more acceptable, a genuine copy of the\nLife of our author, as written by himself; but in this hope we are\ndisappointed, and we are in consequence obliged to content ourselves\nwith a translation, which has been already before the public, from\na copy in the French language, coming no farther down than the year\n1731; and a continuation of his history from that period, by the late\nDr. Stuber of Philadelphia._\n\n_The character of Dr. Franklin, as a philosopher, a politician,\nand a moralist, is too well known to require illustration, and\nhis writings, from their interesting nature, and the fascinating\nsimplicity of their style, are too highly esteemed, for any apology\nto be necessary for so large a collection of them, unless it should\nbe deemed necessary by the individual to whom Dr. Franklin in his\nwill consigned his manuscripts: and to him our apology will consist\nin a reference to his own extraordinary conduct._\n\n_In bequeathing his papers, it was no doubt the intention of the\ntestator, that the world should have the chance of being benefited\nby their publication. It was so understood by the person in\nquestion, his grandson, who, accordingly, shortly after the\ndeath of his great relative, hastened to London, the best mart\nfor literary property, employed an amanuensis for many months in\ncopying, ransacked our public libraries that nothing might escape,\nand at length had so far prepared the works of Dr. Franklin for the\npress, that proposals were made by him to several of our principal\nbooksellers for the sale of them. They were to form three quarto\nvolumes, and were to contain all the writings, published and\nunpublished, of Franklin, with Memoirs of his Life, brought down by\nhimself to the year 1757, and continued to his death by the legatee.\nThey were to be published in three different languages, and the\ncountries corresponding to those languages, France, Germany, and\nEngland, on the same day. The terms asked for the copyright of the\nEnglish edition were high, amounting to several thousand pounds,\nwhich occasioned a little demur; but eventually they would no doubt\nhave been obtained. Nothing more however was heard of the proposals\nor the work, in this its fair market. The proprietor, it seems,\nhad found a bidder of a different description in some emissary of\ngovernment, whose object was to withhold the manuscripts from the\nworld, not to benefit it by their publication; and they thus either\npassed into other hands, or the person to whom they were bequeathed\nreceived a remuneration for suppressing them. This at least has been\nasserted, by a variety of persons, both in this country and America,\nof whom some were at the time intimate with the grandson, and not\nwholly unacquainted with the machinations of the ministry; and the\nsilence, which has been observed for so many years respecting the\npublication, gives additional credibility to the report._\n\n_What the manuscripts contained, that should have excited the\njealousy of government, we are unable, as we have never seen them,\npositively to affirm; but, from the conspicuous part acted by the\nauthor in the American revolution and the wars connected with it, it\nis by no means difficult to guess; and of this we are sure, from his\ncharacter, that no disposition of his writings could have been more\ncontrary to his intentions or wishes._\n\n_We have only to add, that in the present collection, which is\nprobably all that will ever be published of the works of this\nextraordinary man, the papers are methodically arranged, the moral\nand philosophical ones according to their subjects, the political\nones, as nearly as may be, according to their dates; that we have\ngiven, in notes, the authorities for ascribing the different pieces\nto Franklin; that where no title existed, to indicate the nature of a\nletter or paper, we have prefixed a title; and lastly, that we have\ncompiled an index to the whole, which is placed at the beginning,\ninstead of, as is usual, at the end of the work, to render the\nvolumes more equal._\n\n_April 7, 1806._\n\n\n\n\n  CONTENTS.\n\n\n  VOL. I.\n\n                                                                  _Page._\n\n  LIFE of Dr. FRANKLIN 1\n\n  LETTERS AND PAPERS ON ELECTRICITY.\n\n  Introductory Letter.                                               169\n\n  Wonderful effect of points.--Positive and negative\n  electricity.--Electrical kiss.--Counterfeit spider.--Simple and\n  commodious electrical machine.                                     170\n\n  Observations on the Leyden bottle, with experiments proving the\n  different electrical state of its different surfaces.              179\n\n  Further experiments confirming the preceding observations.--Leyden\n  bottle analysed.--Electrical battery.--Magical Picture.--Electrical\n  wheel or jack.--Electrical feast.                                  187\n\n  Observations and suppositions, towards forming a new hypothesis,\n  for explaining the several phenomena of thunder-gusts.             203\n\n  Introductory letter to some additional papers.                     216\n\n  Opinions and conjectures, concerning the properties and effects\n  of the electrical matter, and the means of preserving buildings,\n  ships, &c. from lightning, arising from experiments and\n  observations made at Philadelphia, 1749.--Golden fish.--Extraction\n  of effluvial virtues by electricity impracticable.                 217\n\n  Additional experiments: proving that the Leyden bottle has no more\n  electrical fire in it when charged, than before: nor less when\n  discharged: that in discharging, the fire does not issue from the\n  wire and the coating at the same time, as some have thought, but\n  that the coating always receives what is discharged by the wire,\n  or an equal quantity: the outer surface being always in a negative\n  state of electricity, when the inner surface is in a positive\n  state.                                                             245\n\n  Accumulation of the electrical fire proved to be in the electrified\n  glass.--Effect of lightning on the needle of compasses,\n  explained.--Gunpowder fired by the electric flame.                 247\n\n  Unlimited nature of the electric force.                            250\n\n  The terms, electric per se, and non-electric, improper.--New\n  relation between metals and water.--Effects of air in electrical\n  experiments.--Experiment for discovering more of the qualities of\n  the electric fluid.                                                252\n\n  Mistake, that only metals and water were conductors,\n  rectified.--Supposition of a region of electric fire above our\n  atmosphere.--Theorem concerning light.--Poke-weed a cure for\n  cancers.                                                           256\n\n  New experiments.--Paradoxes inferred from them.--Difference in\n  the electricity of a globe of glass charged, and a globe of\n  sulphur.--Difficulty of ascertaining which is positive and which\n  negative.                                                          261\n\n  Probable cause of the different attractions and repulsions of the\n  two electrified globes mentioned in the two preceding letters.     264\n\n  Reasons for supposing, that the glass globe charges positively,\n  and the sulphur negatively.--Hint respecting a leather globe for\n  experiments when travelling.                                     _ibid._\n\n  Electrical kite.                                                   267\n\n  Hypothesis, of the sea being the grand source of lightning,\n  retracted.--Positive, and sometimes negative, electricity of the\n  clouds discovered.--New experiments and conjectures in support of\n  this discovery.--Observations recommended for ascertaining the\n  direction of the electric fluid.--Size of rods for conductors to\n  buildings.--Appearance of a thunder-cloud described.               269\n\n  Additional proofs of the positive and negative state of electricity\n  in the clouds.--New method of ascertaining it.                     284\n\n  Electrical experiments, with an attempt to account for their\n  several phenomena, &c.                                             286\n\n  Experiments made in pursuance of those made by Mr. Canton, dated\n  December 6, 1753; with explanations, by Mr. Benjamin Franklin.     294\n\n  Turkey killed by electricity.--Effect of a shock on the operator\n  in making the experiment.                                          299\n\n  Differences in the qualities of glass.--Account of Domien, an\n  electrician and traveller.--Conjectures respecting the pores of\n  glass.--Origin of the author's idea of drawing down lightning.--No\n  satisfactory hypothesis respecting the manner in which clouds\n  become electrified.--Six men knocked down at once by an electrical\n  shock.--Reflections on the spirit of invention.                    301\n\n  Beccaria's work on electricity.--Sentiments of Franklin on pointed\n  rods, not fully understood in Europe.--Effect of lightning on the\n  church of Newbury, in New England.--Remarks on the subject.        309\n\n  Notice of another packet of letters.                               313\n\n  Extract of a letter from a gentleman in Boston, to Benjamin\n  Franklin, Esq. concerning the crooked direction, and the source of\n  lightning, and the swiftness of the electric fire.                 314\n\n  Observations on the subjects of the preceding letter.--Reasons for\n  supposing the sea to be the grand source of lightning.--Reasons for\n  doubting this hypothesis.--Improvement in a globe for raising the\n  electric fire.                                                     320\n\n  Effect of lightning on captain Waddel's compass, and the Dutch\n  church at New York.                                                324\n\n  Proposal of an experiment to measure the time taken up by an\n  Electric spark, in moving through any given space.                 327\n\n  Experiments on boiling water, and glass heated by boiling\n  water.--Doctrine of repulsion in electrised bodies\n  doubted.--Electricity of the atmosphere at different\n  heights.--Electrical horse-race.--Electrical thermometer.--In\n  what cases the electrical fire produces heat.--Wire lengthened by\n  electricity.--Good effect of a rod on the house of Mr. West, of\n  Philadelphia.                                                      331\n\n  Answer to some of the foregoing subjects.--How long the Leyden\n  bottle may be kept charged.--Heated glass rendered permeable by the\n  electric fluid.--Electrical attraction and repulsion.--Reply to\n  other subjects in the preceding paper.--Numerous ways of kindling\n  fire.--Explosion of water.--Knobs and points.                      343\n\n  Accounts from Carolina (mentioned in the foregoing letter) of the\n  effects of lightning on two of the rods commonly affixed to houses\n  there, for securing them against lightning.                        361\n\n  Mr. William Maine's account of the effects of the lightning on his\n  rod, dated at Indian Land, in South Carolina, Aug. 28, 1760.       362\n\n  On the electricity of the tourmalin.                               369\n\n  New observation relating to electricity in the atmosphere.         373\n\n  Flash of lightning that struck St. Bride's steeple.                374\n\n  Best method of securing a powder magazine from lightning.          375\n\n  Of lightning, and the methods (now used in America) of securing\n  buildings and persons from its mischievous effects.                377\n\n  St. Bride's steeple.--Utility of electrical conductors to\n  Steeples.--Singular kind of glass tube.                            382\n\n  Experiments, observations, and facts, tending to support the\n  opinion of the utility of long pointed rods, for securing\n  buildings from damage by strokes of lightning.                     383\n\n  On the utility of electrical conductors.                           400\n\n  On the effects of electricity in paralytic cases.                  401\n\n  Electrical experiments on amber.                                   403\n\n  On the electricity of the fogs in Ireland.                         405\n\n  Mode of ascertaining, whether the power, giving a shock to those\n  who touch either the Surinam eel, or the torpedo, be electrical.   408\n\n  On the analogy between magnetism and electricity.                  410\n\n  Concerning the mode of rendering meat tender by electricity.       413\n\n  Answer to some queries concerning the choice of glass for the\n  Leyden experiment.                                                 416\n\n  Concerning the Leyden bottle.                                      418\n\n\n  APPENDIX.\n\n  No. 1. Account of experiments made in electricity at Marly.        420\n\n  A more particular account of the same, &c.                         422\n\n  Letter of Mr. W. Watson, F. R. S. to the Royal Society, concerning\n  the electrical experiments in England upon thunder-clouds.         427\n\n  No. 2. Remarks on the Abb\u00e9 Nollet's Letters to Benjamin Franklin,\n  Esq. of Philadelphia, on electricity.                              430\n\n\n\n\n  LIST OF THE PLATES\n\n\n  PLATE I.     Electrical Experiments                   facing page  182\n\n  PLATE II.    Electrical Air Thermometer                            336\n\n  PLATE III.   Cavendish Experiment                                  348\n\n  PLATE IV.    Lightning Rod Experiments                             388\n\n\n\n\n  _ERRATA._\n\n\n  _Page._  _Line._\n\n    2         10:                  for true, read me.\n    5          5:                  for was born, read who was born.\n   20          1:                  for Tryon, read Tyron's.\n  _ib._        7 from the bottom:  for put to blush, read put to the blush.\n  _ib._        4 from the bottom:  for myself, read by myself.\n   15          4:                  for collection, read works.\n   21          9 from the bottom:  for or, read nor.\n   25          4 from the bottom:  for pasquenades, read pasquinades.\n   28          7:                  dele the.\n  _ib._       12:                  for printer, read a printer.\n   28          3 from the bottom:  for my old favourite work, Bunyan's\n                                   Voyages, read my old favourite Bunyan.\n   40          5:                  for money, read in money.\n   44          3:                  for Bernet, read Burnet.\n  _ib._       17:                  for unabled, read unable.\n   50         19:                  for ingenuous, read ingenious.\n   67          5:                  dele bridge.\n   80          3 from the bottom:  for into, read into which.\n  235         21:                  substitute + for *.\n  264          2:                  for course read cause.\n\n\n\n\n  LIFE\n  OF\n  _DR. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN._\n\n\n\n\n_LIFE_ OF DR. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, &c. &c.\n\n\n  MY DEAR SON,\n\nI have amused myself with collecting some little anecdotes of my\nfamily. You may remember the enquiries I made, when you were with\nme in England, among such of my relations as were then living; and\nthe journey I undertook for that purpose. To be acquainted with the\nparticulars of my parentage and life, many of which are unknown to\nyou, I flatter myself will afford the same pleasure to you as to me.\nI shall relate them upon paper: it will be an agreeable employment\nof a week's uninterrupted leisure, which I promise myself during\nmy present retirement in the country. There are also other motives\nwhich induce me to the undertaking. From the bosom of poverty and\nobscurity, in which I drew my first breath, and spent my earliest\nyears, I have raised myself to a state of opulence and to some degree\nof celebrity in the world. A constant good fortune has attended me\nthrough every period of life to my present advanced age; and my\ndescendants may be desirous of learning what were the means of which\nI made use, and which, thanks to the assisting hand of providence,\nhave proved so eminently successful. They may also, should they ever\nbe placed in a similar situation, derive some advantage from my\nnarrative.\n\nWhen I reflect, as I frequently do, upon the felicity I have enjoyed,\nI sometimes say to myself, that, were the offer made me, I would\nengage to run again, from beginning to end, the same career of life.\nAll I would ask, should be the privilege of an author, to correct,\nin a second edition, certain errors of the first. I could wish,\nlikewise if it were in my power, to change some trivial incidents\nand events for others more favourable. Were this, however, denied\nme, still would I not decline the offer. But since a repetition of\nlife cannot take place, there is nothing which, in my opinion, so\nnearly resembles it, as to call to mind all its circumstances, and,\nto render their remembrance more durable, commit them to writing. By\nthus employing myself, I shall yield to the inclination, so natural\nin old men, to talk of themselves and their exploits, and may freely\nfollow my bent, without being tiresome to those who, from respect\nto my age, might think themselves obliged to listen to me; as they\nwill be at liberty to read me or not as they please. In fine--and I\nmay as well avow it, since nobody would believe me were I to deny\nit--I shall perhaps, by this employment, gratify my vanity. Scarcely\nindeed have I ever read or heard the introductory phrase, \"_I may\nsay without vanity_,\" but some striking and characteristic instance\nof vanity has immediately followed. The generality of men hate\nvanity in others, however strongly they may be tinctured with it\nthemselves: for myself, I pay obeisance to it wherever I meet with\nit, persuaded that it is advantageous, as well to the individual whom\nit governs, as to those who are within the sphere of its influence.\nOf consequence, it would in many cases, not be wholly absurd, that a\nman should count his vanity among the other sweets of life, and give\nthanks to providence for the blessing.\n\nAnd here let me with all humility acknowledge, that to divine\nprovidence I am indebted for the felicity I have hitherto enjoyed.\nIt is that power alone which has furnished me with the means I\nhave employed, and that has crowned them with success. My faith in\nthis respect leads me to hope, though I cannot count upon it, that\nthe divine goodness will still be exercised towards me, either by\nprolonging the duration of my happiness to the close of life, or by\ngiving me fortitude to support any melancholy reverse, which may\nhappen to me, as to so many others. My future fortune is unknown\nbut to Him in whose hand is our destiny, and who can make our very\nafflictions subservient to our benefit.\n\nOne of my uncles, desirous, like myself, of collecting anecdotes\nof our family, gave me some notes, from which I have derived many\nparticulars respecting our ancestors. From these I learn, that\nthey had lived in the same village (Eaton in Northamptonshire,)\nupon a freehold of about thirty acres, for the space at least of\nthree hundred years. How long they had resided there prior to that\nperiod, my uncle had been unable to discover; probably ever since\nthe institution of surnames, when they took the appellation of\nFranklin, which had formerly been the name of a particular order of\nindividuals.[1]\n\nThis petty estate would not have sufficed for their subsistence, had\nthey not added the trade of blacksmith, which was perpetuated in the\nfamily down to my uncle's time, the eldest son having been uniformly\nbrought up to this employment: a custom which both he and my father\nobserved with respect to their eldest sons.\n\nIn the researches I made at Eaton, I found no account of their\nbirths, marriages, and deaths, earlier than the year 1555; the\nparish register not extending farther back than that period. This\nregister informed me, that I was the youngest son of the youngest\nbranch of the family, counting five generations. My grandfather,\nThomas, who was born in 1598, lived at Eaton till he was too old to\ncontinue his trade, when he retired to Banbury in Oxfordshire, where\nhis son John, who was a dyer, resided, and with whom my father was\napprenticed. He died, and was buried there: we saw his monument in\n1758. His eldest son lived in the family house at Eaton, which he\nbequeathed, with the land belonging to it, to his only daughter; who,\nin concert with her husband, Mr. Fisher of Wellingborough, afterwards\nsold it to Mr. Estead, the present proprietor.\n\nMy grandfather had four surviving sons, Thomas, John, Benjamin, and\nJosias. I shall give you such particulars of them as my memory will\nfurnish, not having my papers here, in which you will find a more\nminute account, if they are not lost during my absence.\n\nThomas had learned the trade of a blacksmith under his father; but\npossessing a good natural understanding, he improved it by study,\nat the solicitation of a gentleman of the name of Palmer, who was\nat that time the principal inhabitant of the village, and who\nencouraged, in like manner, all my uncles to cultivate their minds.\nThomas thus rendered himself competent to the functions of a country\nattorney; soon became an essential personage in the affairs of the\nvillage; and was one of the chief movers of every public enterprise,\nas well relative to the county as the town of Northampton. A variety\nof remarkable incidents were told us of him at Eaton. After enjoying\nthe esteem and patronage of Lord Halifax, he died, January 6, 1702,\nprecisely four years before I was born. The recital that was made\nus of his life and character, by some aged persons of the village,\nstruck you, I remember, as extraordinary, from its analogy to what\nyou knew of myself. \"Had he died,\" said you, \"just four years later,\none might have supposed a transmigration of souls.\"\n\nJohn, to the best of my belief, was brought up to the trade of a\nwool-dyer.\n\nBenjamin served his apprenticeship in London to a silk-dyer. He was\nan industrious man: I remember him well; for, while I was a child,\nhe joined my father at Boston, and lived for some years in the house\nwith us. A particular affection had always subsisted between my\nfather and him; and I was his godson. He arrived to a great age. He\nleft behind him two quarto volumes of poems in manuscript, consisting\nof little fugitive pieces addressed to his friends. He had invented\na short-hand, which he taught me, but having never made use of it,\nI have now forgotten it. He was a man of piety, and a constant\nattendant on the best preachers, whose sermons he took a pleasure in\nwriting down according, to the expeditory method he had devised. Many\nvolumes were thus collected by him. He was also extremely fond of\npolitics, too much so, perhaps, for his situation. I lately found in\nLondon a collection which he had made of all the principal pamphlets\nrelative to public affairs, from the year 1641 to 1717. Many volumes\nare wanting, as appears by the series of numbers; but there still\nremain eight in folio, and twenty-four in quarto and octavo. The\ncollection had fallen into the hands of a second-hand bookseller,\nwho, knowing me by having sold me some books, brought it to me. My\nuncle, it seems, had left it behind him on his departure for America,\nabout fifty years ago. I found various notes of his writing in the\nmargins. His grandson, Samuel, is now living at Boston.\n\nOur humble family had early embraced the Reformation. They remained\nfaithfully attached during the reign of Queen Mary, when they were\nin danger of being molested on account of their zeal against popery.\nThey had an English bible, and, to conceal it the more securely,\nthey conceived the project of fastening it, open, with pack-threads\nacross the leaves, on the inside of the lid of the close-stool. When\nmy great-grandfather wished to read to his family, he reversed the\nlid of the close-stool upon his knees, and passed the leaves from one\nside to the other, which were held down on each by the pack-thread.\nOne of the children was stationed at the door, to give notice if\nhe saw the proctor (an officer of the spiritual court) make his\nappearance: in that case, the lid was restored to its place, with the\nBible concealed under it as before. I had this anecdote from my uncle\nBenjamin.\n\nThe whole family preserved its attachment to the Church of England\ntill towards the close of the reign of Charles II. when certain\nministers, who had been ejected as nonconformists, having held\nconventicles in Northamptonshire, they were joined by Benjamin and\nJosias, who adhered to them ever after. The rest of the family\ncontinued in the episcopal church.\n\nMy father, Josias, married early in life. He went, with his wife and\nthree children, to New England, about the year 1682. Conventicles\nbeing at that time prohibited by law, and frequently disturbed,\nsome considerable persons of his acquaintance determined to go\nto America, where they hoped to enjoy the free exercise of their\nreligion, and my father was prevailed on to accompany them.\n\nMy father had also by the same wife, four children born in America,\nand ten others by a second wife, making in all seventeen. I remember\nto have seen thirteen seated together at his table, who all arrived\nto years of maturity, and were married. I was the last of the sons,\nand the youngest child, excepting two daughters. I was born at\nBoston in New England. My mother, the second wife, was Abiah Folger,\ndaughter of Peter Folger, one of the first colonists of New England,\nof whom Cotton Mather makes honourable mention, in his Ecclesiastical\nHistory of that province, as \"_a pious and learned Englishman_,\" if\nI rightly recollect his expressions. I have been told of his having\nwritten a variety of little pieces; but there appears to be only one\nin print, which I met with many years ago. It was published in the\nyear 1675, and is in familiar verse, agreeably to the taste of the\ntimes and the country. The author addresses himself to the governors\nfor the time being, speaks for liberty of conscience, and in favour\nof the anabaptists, quakers, and other sectaries, who had suffered\npersecution. To this persecution he attributes the war with the\nnatives, and other calamities which afflicted the country, regarding\nthem as the judgments of God in punishment of so odious an offence,\nand he exhorts the government to the repeal of laws so contrary to\ncharity. The poem appeared to be written with a manly freedom and a\npleasing simplicity. I recollect the six concluding lines, though\nI have forgotten the order of words of the two first; the sense of\nwhich was, that his censures were dictated by benevolence, and that,\nof consequence, he wished to be known as the author; because, said\nhe, I hate from my very soul dissimulation:\n\n    From Sherburn,[2] where I dwell,\n        I therefore put my name,\n    Your friend, who means you well,\n\n        PETER FOLGER.\n\nMy brothers were all put apprentices to different trades. With\nrespect to myself, I was sent, at the age of eight years, to a\ngrammar-school. My father destined me for the church, and already\nregarded me as the chaplain of the family. The promptitude with which\nfrom my infancy I had learned to read, for I do not remember to have\nbeen ever without this acquirement, and the encouragement of his\nfriends, who assured him that I should one day certainly become a man\nof letters, confirmed him in this design. My uncle Benjamin approved\nalso of the scheme, and promised to give me all his volumes of\nsermons, written, as I have said, in the short-hand of his invention,\nif I would take the pains to learn it.\n\nI remained, however, scarcely a year at the grammar-school, although,\nin this short interval, I had risen from the middle to the head of my\nclass, from thence to the class immediately above, and was to pass,\nat the end of the year, to the one next in order. But my father,\nburdened with a numerous family, found that he was incapable, without\nsubjecting himself to difficulties, of providing for the expences\nof a collegiate education; and considering besides, as I heard\nhim say to his friends, that persons so educated were often poorly\nprovided for, he renounced his first intentions, took me from the\ngrammar-school, and sent me to a school for writing and arithmetic,\nkept by a Mr. George Brownwell, who was a skilful master, and\nsucceeded very well in his profession by employing gentle means only,\nand such as were calculated to encourage his scholars. Under him I\nsoon acquired an excellent hand; but I failed in arithmetic, and made\ntherein no sort of progress.\n\nAt ten years of age, I was called home to assist my father in his\noccupation, which was that of a soap-boiler and tallow-chandler;\na business to which he had served no apprenticeship, but which he\nembraced on his arrival in New England, because he found his own,\nthat of dyer, in too little request to enable him to maintain his\nfamily, I was accordingly employed in cutting the wicks, filling the\nmoulds, taking care of the shop, carrying messages, &c.\n\nThis business displeased me, and I felt a strong inclination for a\nsea life; but my father set his face against it. The vicinity of the\nwater, however, gave me frequent opportunities, of venturing myself\nboth upon and within it, and I soon acquired the art of swimming, and\nof managing a boat. When embarked with other children, the helm was\ncommonly deputed to me, particularly on difficult occasions; and, in\nevery other project, I was almost always the leader of the troop,\nwhom I sometimes involved in embarrassments. I shall give an instance\nof this, which demonstrates an early disposition of mind for public\nenterprises, though the one in question was not conducted by justice.\n\nThe mill-pond was terminated on one side by a marsh, upon the borders\nof which we were accustomed to take our stand, at high water, to\nangle for small fish. By dint of walking, we had converted the place\ninto a perfect quagmire. My proposal was to erect a wharf that\nshould afford us firm footing; and I pointed out to my companions\na large heap of stones, intended for the building a new house near\nthe marsh, and which were well adapted for our purpose. Accordingly,\nwhen the workmen retired in the evening, I assembled a number of my\nplay-fellows, and by labouring diligently, like ants, sometimes four\nof us uniting our strength to carry a single stone, we removed them\nall, and constructed our little quay. The workmen were surprised the\nnext morning at not finding their stones; which had been conveyed\nto our wharf. Enquiries were made respecting the authors of this\nconveyance; we were discovered; complaints were exhibited against us;\nand many of us underwent correction on the part of our parents; and\nthough I strenuously defended the utility of the work, my father at\nlength convinced me, that nothing which was not strictly honest could\nbe useful.\n\nIt will not, perhaps, be uninteresting to you to know what a sort of\nman my father was. He had an excellent constitution, was of a middle\nsize, but well made and strong, and extremely active in whatever he\nundertook. He designed with a degree of neatness, and knew a little\nof music. His voice was sonorous and agreeable; so that when he sung\na psalm or hymn, with the accompaniment of his violin, as was his\nfrequent practice in an evening, when the labours of the day were\nfinished, it was truly delightful to hear him. He was versed also in\nmechanics, and could, upon occasion, use the tools of a variety of\ntrades. But his greatest excellence was a sound understanding and\nsolid judgment, in matters of prudence, both in public and private\nlife. In the former, indeed, he never engaged, because his numerous\nfamily, and the mediocrity of his fortune, kept him unremittingly\nemployed in the duties of his profession. But I well remember,\nthat the leading men of the place used frequently to come and ask\nhis advice respecting the affairs of the town, or of the church to\nwhich he belonged, and that they paid much deference to his opinion.\nIndividuals were also in the habit of consulting him in their private\naffairs, and he was often chosen arbiter between contending parties.\n\nHe was fond of having at his table, as often as possible,\nsome friends or well-informed neighbours, capable of rational\nconversation, and he was always careful to introduce useful or\ningenious topics of discourse, which might tend to form the minds\nof his children. By this means he early attracted our attention\nto what was just, prudent, and beneficial in the conduct of life.\nHe never talked of the meats which appeared upon the table, never\ndiscussed whether they were well or ill dressed, of a good or bad\nflavour, high-seasoned or otherwise, preferable or inferior to this\nor that dish of a similar kind. Thus accustomed, from my infancy, to\nthe utmost inattention as to these objects, I have been perfectly\nregardless of what kind of food was before me; and I pay so little\nattention to it even now, that it would be a hard matter for me\nto recollect, a few hours after I had dined, of what my dinner\nhad consisted. When travelling, I have particularly experienced\nthe advantage of this habit; for it has often happened to me to\nbe in company with persons, who, having a more delicate, because\na more exercised taste, have suffered in many cases considerable\ninconvenience; while, as to myself, I have had nothing to desire.\n\nMy mother was likewise possessed of an excellent constitution. She\nsuckled all her ten children, and I never heard either her or my\nfather complain of any other disorder than that of which they died:\nmy father at the age of eighty-seven, and my mother at eighty-five.\nThey are buried together at Boston, where, a few years ago, I placed\na marble over their grave, with this inscription:\n\n                           \"Here lie\n  JOSIAS FRANKLIN and ABIAH his wife: They lived together with reciprocal\n  affection for fifty-nine years; and without private fortune,\n  without lucrative employment, by assiduous labour and honest industry,\n  decently supported a numerous family, and educated with success,\n  thirteen children, and seven grand children. Let this example, reader,\n  encourage thee diligently to discharge the duties of thy calling, and to\n  rely on the support of divine providence,\n                     He was pious and prudent,\n                     She discreet and virtuous.\n  Their youngest son, from a sentiment of filial duty, consecrates\n                            this stone\n                         to their memory.\"\n\nI perceive, by my rambling digressions, that I am growing old. But\nwe do not dress for a private company as for a formal ball. This\ndeserves, perhaps, the name of negligence.\n\nTo return. I thus continued employed in my father's trade for\nthe space of two years; that is to say, till I arrived at twelve\nyears of age. About this time my brother John, who had served his\napprenticeship in London, having quitted my father, and being\nmarried and settled in business on his own account at Rhode Island,\nI was destined, to all appearance to supply his place, and be\na candle-maker all my life: but my dislike of this occupation\ncontinuing, my father was apprehensive, that, if a more, agreeable\none were not offered me, I might play the truant and escape to\nsea; as, to his extreme mortification, my brother Josias had done.\nHe therefore took me sometimes to see masons, coopers, braziers,\njoiners, and other mechanics, employed at their work; in order to\ndiscover the bent of my inclination, and fix it if he could upon\nsome occupation that might retain me on shore. I have since, in\nconsequence of these visits, derived no small pleasure from seeing\nskilful workmen handle their tools; and it has proved of considerable\nbenefit to have acquired thereby sufficient knowledge to be able\nto make little things for myself, when I have had no mechanic at\nhand, and to construct small machines for my experiments, while the\nidea I have conceived has been fresh and strongly impressed on my\nimagination.\n\nMy father at length decided that I should be a cutler, and I was\nplaced for some days upon trial with my cousin Samuel, son of my\nuncle Benjamin, who had learned this trade in London, and had\nestablished himself at Boston. But the premium he required for my\napprenticeship displeasing my father, I was recalled home.\n\nFrom my earliest years I had been passionately fond of reading, and I\nlaid out in books all the money I could procure. I was particularly\npleased with accounts of voyages. My first acquisition was Bunyan's\nworks in small separate volumes. These I afterwards sold in order\nto buy an historical collection by R. Burton, which consisted of\nsmall cheap volumes, amounting in all to about forty or fifty. My\nfather's little library was principally made up of books of practical\nand polemical theology. I read the greatest part of them. I have\nsince often regretted that at a time when I had so great a thirst\nfor knowledge, more eligible books had not fallen into my hands, as\nit was then a point decided that I should not be educated for the\nchurch. There was also among my father's books, Plutarch's Lives,\nin which I read continually, and I still regard as advantageously\nemployed the time devoted to them. I found besides a work of De\nFoe's, entitled an Essay on Projects, from which, perhaps, I derived\nimpressions that have since influenced some of the principal events\nof my life.\n\nMy inclination for books at last determined my father to make me\na printer, though he had already a son in that profession. My\nbrother had returned from England in 1717, with a press and types,\nin order to establish a printing-house at Boston. This business\npleased me much better than that of my father, though I had still a\npredilection for the sea. To prevent the effects which might result\nfrom this inclination, my father was impatient to see me engaged\nwith my brother. I held back for some time; at length, however, I\nsuffered myself to be persuaded, and signed my indentures, being then\nonly twelve years of age. It was agreed that I should serve as an\napprentice to the age of twenty-one, and should receive journeyman's\nwages only during the last year.\n\nIn a very short time I made great proficiency in this business, and\nbecame very serviceable to my brother. I had now an opportunity of\nprocuring better books. The acquaintance I necessarily formed with\nbooksellers' apprentices, enabled me to borrow a volume now and then,\nwhich I never failed to return punctually and without injury. How\noften has it happened to me to pass the greater part of the night\nin reading by my bed-side, when the book had been lent me in the\nevening, and was to be returned the next morning, lest it might be\nmissed or wanted!\n\nAt length, Mr. Matthew Adams, an ingenious tradesman, who had a\nhandsome collection of books, and who frequented our printing-house,\ntook notice of me. He invited me to see his library, and had the\ngoodness to lend me any books I was desirous of reading. I then took\na strange fancy for poetry, and composed several little pieces. My\nbrother, thinking he might find his account in it, encouraged me, and\nengaged me to write two ballads. One, called the Light-house Tragedy,\ncontained an account of the shipwreck of captain Worthilake and his\ntwo daughters; the other was a sailor's song on the capture of the\nnoted pirate called _Teach_, or _Blackbeard_. They were wretched\nverses in point of style, mere blind-men's ditties. When printed, he\ndispatched me about the town to sell them. The first had a prodigious\nrun, because the event was recent, and had made a great noise.\n\nMy vanity was flattered by this success; but my father checked my\nexultation, by ridiculing my productions, and telling me that\nversifiers were always poor. I thus escaped the misfortune of being\na very wretched poet. But as the faculty of writing prose has been\nof great service to me in the course of my life, and principally\ncontributed to my advancement, I shall relate by what means, situated\nas I was, I acquired the small skill I may possess in that way.\n\nThere was in the town another young man, a great lover of books,\nof the name of John Collins, with whom I was intimately connected.\nWe frequently engaged in dispute, and were indeed so fond of\nargumentation, that nothing was so agreeable to us as a war of words.\nThis contentious temper, I would observe by the bye, is in danger of\nbecoming a very bad habit; and frequently renders a man's company\ninsupportable, as being no otherwise capable of indulgence than by\nan indiscriminate contradiction. Independently of the acrimony and\ndiscord it introduces into conversation, it is often productive of\ndislike, and even hatred, between persons to whom friendship is\nindispensibly necessary. I acquired it by reading, while I lived with\nmy father, books of religious controversy. I have since remarked,\nthat men of sense seldom fall into this error: lawyers, fellows of\nuniversities, and persons of every profession educated at Edinburgh,\nexcepted.\n\nCollins and I fell one day into an argument, relative to the\neducation of women; namely, whether it was proper to instruct them in\nthe sciences, and whether they were competent to the study. Collins\nsupported the negative, and affirmed that the task was beyond their\ncapacity. I maintained the opposite opinion, a little perhaps for\nthe pleasure of disputing. He was naturally more eloquent than I;\nwords flowed copiously from his lips; and frequently I thought\nmyself vanquished, more by his volubility than by the force of his\narguments. We separated without coming to an agreement upon this\npoint, and as we were not to see each other again for some time, I\ncommitted my thoughts to paper, made a fair copy, and sent it him.\nHe answered, and I replied. Three or four letters had been written\nby each, when my father chanced to light upon my papers and read\nthem. Without entering into the merits of the cause, he embraced the\nopportunity of speaking to me upon my manner of writing. He observed,\nthat though I had the advantage of my adversary in correct spelling\nand pointing, which I owed to my occupation, I was greatly his\ninferior in elegance of expression, in arrangement, and perspicuity.\nOf this he convinced me by several examples. I felt the justice of\nhis remarks, became more attentive to language, and resolved to make\nevery effort to improve my style.\n\nAmidst these resolves an odd volume of the Spectator fell into my\nhands. This was a publication I had never seen. I bought the volume,\nand read it again and again. I was enchanted with it, thought the\nstyle excellent, and wished it were in my power to imitate it. With\nthis view I selected some of the papers, made short summaries of the\nsense of each period, and put them for a few days aside. I then,\nwithout looking at the book, endeavoured to restore the essays to\ntheir due form, and to express each thought at length, as it was in\nthe original, employing the most appropriate words that occurred to\nmy mind. I afterwards compared my Spectator with the original; I\nperceived some faults, which I corrected: but I found that I wanted\na fund of words, if I may so express myself, and a facility of\nrecollecting and employing them, which I thought I should by that\ntime have acquired, had I continued to make verses. The continual\nneed of words of the same meaning, but of different lengths for the\nmeasure, or of different sounds for the rhyme, would have obliged me\nto seek for a variety of synonymes, and have rendered me master of\nthem. From this belief, I took some of the tales of the Spectator and\nturned them into verse; and after a time, when I had sufficiently\nforgotten them, I again converted them into prose.\n\nSometimes also I mingled all my summaries together; and a few weeks\nafter, endeavoured to arrange them in the best order, before I\nattempted to form the periods and complete the essays. This I did\nwith a view of acquiring method in the arrangement of my thoughts.\nOn comparing afterwards my performance with the original, many\nfaults were apparent, which I corrected; but I had sometimes the\nsatisfaction to think, that, in certain particulars of little\nimportance, I had been fortunate enough to improve the order of\nthought or the style; and this encouraged me to hope that I should\nsucceed, in time, in writing decently in the English language, which\nwas one of the great objects of my ambition.\n\nThe time which I devoted to these exercises, and to reading, was\nthe evening after my day's labour was finished, the morning before\nit began, and Sundays when I could escape attending divine service.\nWhile I lived with my father, he had insisted on my punctual\nattendance on public worship, and I still indeed considered it as a\nduty, but a duty which I thought I had no time to practise.\n\nWhen about sixteen years of age, a work of Tyron's fell into my\nhands, in which he recommends vegetable diet. I determined to observe\nit. My brother being a bachelor, did not keep house, but boarded\nwith his apprentices in a neighbouring family. My refusing to eat\nanimal food was found inconvenient, and I was often scolded for my\nsingularity. I attended to the mode in which Tryon prepared some of\nhis dishes, particularly how to boil potatoes and rice, and make\nhasty puddings. I then said to my brother, that if he would allow\nme per week half what he paid for my board, I would undertake to\nmaintain myself. The offer was instantly embraced, and I soon found\nthat of what he gave me, I was able to save half. This was a new fund\nfor the purchase of books; and other advantages resulted to me from\nthe plan. When my brother and his workmen left the printing-house\nto go to dinner, I remained behind; and dispatching my frugal meal,\nwhich frequently consisted of a biscuit only, or a slice of bread and\na bunch of raisins, or a bun from the pastry-cook's, with a glass of\nwater, I had the rest of the time, till their return, for study; and\nmy progress therein was proportioned to that clearness of ideas, and\nquickness of conception, which are the fruit of temperance in eating\nand drinking.\n\nIt was about this period, that having one day been put to the blush\nfor my ignorance in the art of calculation, which I had twice failed\nto learn while at school, I took Cocker's Treatise of Arithmetic, and\nwent through it by myself with the utmost ease. I also read a book of\nnavigation by Seller and Sturmy, and made myself master of the little\ngeometry it contains, but I never proceeded far in this science.\nNearly at the same time I read Locke on the Human Understanding, and\nthe Art of Thinking, by Messrs. du Port Royal.\n\nWhile labouring to form and improve my style, I met with an English\nGrammar, which I believe was Greenwood's, having at the end of it\ntwo little essays on rhetoric and logic. In the latter I found a\nmodel of disputation, after the manner of Socrates. Shortly after I\nprocured Xenophon's work, entitled Memorable Things of Socrates, in\nwhich are various examples of the same method. Charmed to a degree of\nenthusiasm with this mode of disputing, I adopted it, and renouncing\nblunt contradiction, and direct and positive argument, I assumed\nthe character of an humble questioner. The perusal of Shaftsbury\nand Collins had made me a sceptic; and being previously so as to\nmany doctrines of Christianity, I found Socrates's method to be\nboth safest for myself, as well as the most embarrassing to those\nagainst whom I employed it. It soon afforded me singular pleasure; I\nincessantly practised it; and became very adroit in obtaining, even\nfrom persons of superior understanding, concessions of which they did\nnot foresee the consequence. Thus I involved them in difficulties\nfrom which they were unable to extricate themselves, and sometimes\nobtained victories, which neither my cause nor my arguments merited.\n\nThis method I continued to employ for some years; but I afterwards\nabandoned it by degrees, retaining only the habit of expressing\nmyself with modest diffidence, and never making use, when I\nadvanced any proposition which might be controverted, of the words\n_certainly_, _undoubtedly_, or any others that might give the\nappearance of being obstinately attached to my opinion. I rather\nsaid, I imagine, I suppose, or it appears to me, that such a thing\nis so or so, for such and such reasons; or it is so, if I am not\nmistaken. This habit has, I think, been of considerable advantage\nto me, when I have had occasion to impress my opinion on the minds\nof others, and persuade them to the adoption of the measures I have\nsuggested. And since the chief ends of conversation are, to inform or\nbe informed, to please or to persuade, I could wish that intelligent\nor well-meaning men would not themselves diminish the power they\npossess of being useful, by a positive and presumptuous manner of\nexpressing themselves, which scarcely ever fails to disgust the\nhearer, and is only calculated to excite opposition, and defeat every\npurpose for which the faculty of speech has been bestowed on man. In\nshort, if you wish to inform, a positive and dogmatical manner of\nadvancing your opinion may provoke contradiction, and prevent your\nbeing heard with attention. On the other hand, if, with a desire of\nbeing informed, and of benefiting by the knowledge of others, you\nexpress yourselves as being strongly attached to your own opinions,\nmodest and sensible men, who do not love disputation, will leave you\nin tranquil possession of your errors. By following such a method,\nyou can rarely hope to please your auditors, conciliate their\ngood-will, or work conviction on those whom you may be desirous of\ngaining over to your views. Pope judiciously observes,\n\n    Men must be taught, as if you taught them not,\n    And things unknown propos'd--as things forgot.\n\nAnd in the same poem he afterwards advises us\n\n    To speak, though sure, with seeming diffidence.\n\nHe might have added to these lines, one that he has coupled\nelsewhere, in my opinion, with less propriety. It is this:\n\n    For want of modesty is want of sense.\n\nIf you ask why I say with _less propriety_, I must give you the two\nlines together:\n\n    Immodest words admit of _no defence_,\n    For want of decency is want of sense.\n\nNow want of sense, when a man has the misfortune to be so\ncircumstanced, is it not a kind of excuse for want of modesty?\nAnd would not the verses have been more accurate if they had been\nconstructed thus:\n\n    Immodest words admit _but this defence_,\n    That want of decency is want of sense.\n\nBut I leave the decision of this to better judges than myself.\n\nIn 1720, or 1721, my brother began to print a new public paper. It\nwas the second that made its appearance in America, and was entitled,\n\"The New England Courant.\" The only one that existed before was the\n\"Boston News Letter.\" Some of his friends, I remember, would have\ndissuaded him from this undertaking, as a thing that was not likely\nto succeed; a single newspaper being, in their opinion, sufficient\nfor all America. At present, however, in 1771, there are no less than\ntwenty-five. But he carried his project into execution, and I was\nemployed in distributing the copies to his customers, after having\nassisted in composing and working them off.\n\nAmong his friends he had a number of literary characters, who,\nas an amusement, wrote short essays for the paper, which gave it\nreputation and increased the sale. These gentlemen frequently came\nto our house. I heard the conversation that passed, and the accounts\nthey gave of the favourable reception of their writings with the\npublic. I was tempted to try my hand among them; but, being still a\nchild as it were, I was fearful that my brother might be unwilling\nto print in his paper any performance of which he should know me to\nbe the author. I therefore contrived to disguise my hand, and having\nwritten an anonymous piece, I placed it at night under the door of\nthe printing-house, where it was found the next morning. My brother\ncommunicated it to his friends, when they came as usual to see him,\nwho read it, commented upon it within my hearing, and I had the\nexquisite pleasure to find that it met with their approbation, and\nthat in the various conjectures they made respecting the author, no\none was mentioned who did not enjoy a high reputation in the country\nfor talents and genius. I now supposed myself fortunate in my judges,\nand began to suspect that they were not such excellent writers as I\nhad hitherto supposed them. Be this as it may, encouraged by this\nlittle adventure, I wrote, and sent to press in the same way, many\nother pieces, which were equally approved: keeping the secret till my\nslender stock of information and knowledge for such performances was\npretty completely exhausted, when I made myself known.\n\nMy brother, upon this discovery, began to entertain a little more\nrespect for me; but he still regarded himself as my master, and\ntreated me as an apprentice. He thought himself entitled to the same\nservices from me, as from any other person. On the contrary, I\nconceived that in many instances, he was too rigorous, and that, on\nthe part of a brother, I had a right to expect greater indulgence.\nOur disputes were frequently brought before my father; and either\nmy brother was generally wrong, or I was the better pleader of the\ntwo, for judgment was commonly given in my favour. But my brother\nwas passionate, and often had recourse to blows--a circumstance\nwhich I took in very ill part. This severe and tyrannical treatment\ncontributed, I believe, to imprint on my mind that aversion to\narbitrary power, which during my whole life I have ever preserved. My\napprenticeship became insupportable to me, and I continually sighed\nfor an opportunity of shortening it, which at length unexpectedly\noffered.\n\nAn article inserted in our paper, upon some political subject which\nI have now forgotten, gave offence to the assembly. My brother was\ntaken into custody, censured, and ordered into confinement for a\nmonth, because, as I presume, he would not discover the author. I was\nalso taken up, and examined before the council; but though I gave\nthem no satisfaction, they contented themselves with reprimanding,\nand then dismissed me; considering me probably as bound, in quality\nof apprentice, to keep my master's secrets.\n\nThe imprisonment of my brother kindled my resentment, notwithstanding\nour private quarrels. During its continuance, the management of the\npaper was entrusted to me, and I was bold enough to insert some\npasquinades against the governors, which highly pleased my brother,\nwhile others began to look upon me in an unfavourable point of view,\nconsidering me as a young wit inclined to satire and lampoon.\n\nMy brother's enlargement was accompanied with an arbitrary order\nfrom the house of the assembly, \"That James Franklin should no\nlonger print the newspaper entitled 'The New England Courant.'\"\nIn this conjuncture, we held a consultation of our friends at the\nprinting-house, in order to determine what was proper to be done.\nSome proposed to evade the order, by changing the title of the paper:\nbut my brother, foreseeing inconveniences that would result from this\nstep, thought it better that it should be in future printed in the\nname of Benjamin Franklin; and to avoid the censure of the assembly,\nwho might charge him with still printing the paper himself under\nthe name of his apprentice, it was resolved that my old indentures\nshould be given up to me, with a full and entire discharge written\non the back, in order to be produced upon an emergency; but that, to\nsecure to my brother the benefit of my service, I should sign a new\ncontract, which should be kept secret during the remainder of the\nterm. This was a very shallow arrangement. It was, however, carried\ninto immediate execution, and the paper continued, in consequence,\nto make its appearance for some months in my name. At length a new\ndifference arising between my brother and me, I ventured to take\nadvantage of my liberty, presuming that he would not dare to produce\nthe new contract. It was undoubtedly dishonourable to avail myself\nof this circumstance, and I reckon this action as one of the first\nerrors of my life; but I was little capable of estimating it at its\ntrue value, embittered as my mind had been by the recollection of the\nblows I had received. Exclusively of his passionate treatment of me,\nmy brother was by no means a man of an ill temper, and perhaps my\nmanners had too much impertinence not to afford it a very natural\npretext.\n\nWhen he knew that it was my determination to quit him, he wished\nto prevent my finding employment elsewhere. He went to all the\nprinting-houses in the town, and prejudiced the masters against\nme--who accordingly refused to employ me. The idea then suggested\nitself to me of going to New York, the nearest town in which there\nwas a printing-office. Farther reflection confirmed me in the design\nof leaving Boston, where I had already rendered myself an object of\nsuspicion to the governing party. It was probable, from the arbitrary\nproceedings of the assembly in the affair of my brother, that, by\nremaining, I should soon have been exposed to difficulties, which I\nhad the greater reason to apprehend, as, from my indiscreet disputes\nupon the subject of religion, I began to be regarded by pious souls\nwith horror, either as an apostate or an atheist. I came, therefore,\nto a resolution: but my father, in this instance siding with my\nbrother, presumed that if I attempted to depart openly, measures\nwould be taken to prevent me. My friend Collins undertook to favour\nmy flight. He agreed for my passage with the captain of a New York\nsloop, to whom he represented me as a young man of his acquaintance,\nwho had an affair with a girl of bad character, whose parents wished\nto compel me to marry her, and that of consequence I could neither\nmake my appearance, nor go off publicly. I sold part of my books\nto procure a small sum of money, and went privately on board the\nsloop. By favour of a good wind, I found myself in three days at New\nYork, nearly three hundred miles from my home, at the age only of\nseventeen years, without knowing an individual in the place, and\nwith very little money in my pocket.\n\nThe inclination I had felt for a sea-faring life had entirely\nsubsided, or I should now have been able to gratify it; but having\nanother trade, and believing myself to be a tolerable workman, I\nhesitated not to offer my services to old Mr. William Bradford, who\nhad been the first printer in Pennsylvania, but had quitted that\nprovince on account of a quarrel with George Keith, the governor.\nHe could not give me employment himself, having little to do, and\nalready as many persons as he wanted; but he told me that his son,\na printer at Philadelphia, had lately lost his principal workman,\nAquilla Rose, who was dead, and that if I would go thither, he\nbelieved that he would engage me. Philadelphia was a hundred miles\nfarther. I hesitated not to embark in a boat in order to repair, by\nthe shortest cut of the sea, to Amboy, leaving my trunk and effects\nto come after me by the usual and more tedious conveyance. In\ncrossing the bay we met with a squall, which shattered to pieces our\nrotten sails, prevented us from entering the Kill, and threw us upon\nLong Island.\n\nDuring the squall, a drunken Dutchman, who like myself was a\npassenger in the boat, fell into the sea. At the moment that he was\nsinking, I seized him by the fore-top, saved him, and drew him on\nboard. This immersion sobered him a little, so that he fell asleep,\nafter having taken from his pocket a volume, which he requested me to\ndry. This volume I found to be my old favourite Bunyan, in Dutch, a\nbeautiful impression on fine paper, with copper-plate engravings--a\ndress in which I had never seen it in its original language. I\nhave since learned that it has been translated into almost all the\nlanguages of Europe, and next to the Bible, I am persuaded, it is\none of the books which has had the greatest spread. Honest John is\nthe first, that I know of, who has mixed narrative and dialogue\ntogether; a mode of writing very engaging to the reader, who in the\nmost interesting passages, finds himself admitted as it were into the\ncompany, and present at the conversation. De Foe has imitated it with\nsuccess in his Robinson Crusoe, his Moll Flanders, and other works;\nas also Richardson in his Pamela, &c.\n\nIn approaching the island, we found that we had made a part of the\ncoast where it was not possible to land, on account of the strong\nbreakers produced by the rocky shore. We cast anchor and veered the\ncable towards the shore. Some men, who stood upon the brink, halloed\nto us, while we did the same on our part; but the wind was so high,\nand the waves so noisy, that we could neither of us hear each other.\nThere were some canoes upon the bank, and we called out to them, and\nmade signs to prevail on them to come and take us up; but either they\ndid not understand us, or they deemed our request impracticable, and\nwithdrew. Night came on, and nothing remained for us but to wait\nquietly the subsiding of the wind; till when, we determined, that is,\nthe pilot and I, to sleep if possible. For that purpose we went below\nthe hatches along with the Dutchman, who was drenched with water. The\nsea broke over the boat, and reached us in our retreat, so that we\nwere presently as completely drenched as he.\n\nWe had very little repose during the whole night: but the wind\nabating the next day, we succeeded in reaching Amboy before it was\ndark, after having passed thirty hours without provisions, and with\nno other drink than a bottle of bad rum, the water upon which we\nrowed being salt. In the evening I went to bed with a very violent\nfever. I had somewhere read that cold water, drank plentifully, was a\nremedy in such cases. I followed the prescription, was in a profuse\nsweat for the greater part of the night, and the fever left me. The\nnext day I crossed the river in a ferryboat, and continued my journey\non foot. I had fifty miles to walk, in order to reach Burlington,\nwhere I was told I should find passage-boats that would convey me to\nPhiladelphia. It rained hard the whole day, so that I was wet to the\nskin. Finding myself fatigued about noon, I stopped at a paltry inn,\nwhere I passed the rest of the day and the whole night, beginning\nto regret that I had quitted my home. I made besides so wretched\na figure, that I was suspected to be some runaway servant. This I\ndiscovered by the questions that were asked me; and I felt that I\nwas every moment in danger of being taken up as such. The next day,\nhowever, I continued my journey, and arrived in the evening at an\ninn, eight or ten miles from Burlington, that was kept by one Dr.\nBrown.\n\nThis man entered into conversation with me while I took some\nrefreshment, and perceiving that I had read a little, he expressed\ntowards me considerable interest and friendship. Our acquaintance\ncontinued during the remainder of his life. I believe him to have\nbeen what is called an itinerant doctor; for there was no town in\nEngland, or indeed in Europe, of which he could not give a particular\naccount. He was neither deficient in understanding or literature,\nbut he was a sad infidel; and, some years after, wickedly undertook\nto travesty the Bible, in burlesque verse, as Cotton has travestied\nVirgil. He exhibited, by this means, many facts in a very ludicrous\npoint of view, which would have given umbrage to weak minds, had his\nwork been published, which it never was.\n\nI spent the night at his house, and reached Burlington the next\nmorning. On my arrival, I had the mortification to learn that\nthe ordinary passage-boats had sailed a little before. This was\non a Saturday, and there would be no other boat till the Tuesday\nfollowing. I returned to the house of an old woman in the town who\nhad sold me some gingerbread to eat on my passage, and I asked\nher advice. She invited me to take up my abode with her till an\nopportunity offered for me to embark. Fatigued with having travelled\nso far on foot, I accepted her invitation. When she understood that\nI was a printer, she would have persuaded me to stay at Burlington,\nand set up my trade; but she was little aware of the capital that\nwould be necessary for such a purpose! I was treated while at her\nhouse with true hospitality. She gave me with the utmost good-will,\na dinner of beef-steaks, and would accept of nothing in return but a\npint of ale.\n\nHere I imagined myself to be fixed till the Tuesday in the ensuing\nweek; but walking out in the evening by the river side, I saw a\nboat with a number of persons in it approach. It was going to\nPhiladelphia, and the company took me in. As there was no wind, we\ncould only make way with our oars. About midnight, not perceiving\nthe town, some of the company were of opinion that we must have\npassed it, and were unwilling to row any farther; the rest not\nknowing where we were, it was resolved that we should stop. We\ndrew towards the shore, entered a creek, and landed near some old\npalisades, which served us for fire-wood, it being a cold night in\nOctober. Here we stayed till day, when one of the company found\nthe place in which we were to be Cooper's creek, a little above\nPhiladelphia; which in reality we perceived the moment we were out of\nthe creek. We arrived on Sunday about eight or nine o'clock in the\nmorning, and landed on Market-street wharf.\n\nI have entered into the particulars of my voyage, and shall in like\nmanner describe my first entrance into this city, that you may be\nable to compare beginnings so little auspicious, with the figure I\nhave since made.\n\nOn my arrival at Philadelphia I was in my working dress, my best\ncloaths being to come by sea. I was covered with dirt; my pockets\nwere filled with shirts and stockings; I was unacquainted with a\nsingle soul in the place, and knew not where to seek for a lodging.\nFatigued with walking, rowing, and having passed the night without\nsleep, I was extremely hungry, and all my money consisted of a\nDutch dollar, and about a shilling's worth of coppers, which I gave\nto the boatmen for my passage. As I had assisted them in rowing,\nthey refused it at first; but I insisted on their taking it. A man\nis sometimes more generous when he has little, than when he has\nmuch money; probably because, in the first case, he is desirous of\nconcealing his poverty.\n\nI walked towards the top of the street, looking eagerly on both\nsides, till I came to Market-street, where I met a child with a\nloaf of bread. Often had I made my dinner on dry bread. I enquired\nwhere he had bought it, and went straight to the baker's shop which\nhe pointed out to me. I asked for some biscuits, expecting to find\nsuch as we had at Boston; but they made, it seems, none of that sort\nat Philadelphia. I then asked for a three-penny loaf; they made no\nloaves of that price. Finding myself ignorant of the prices, as well\nas of the different kinds of bread, I desired him to let me have\nthree penny-worth of bread of some kind or other. He gave me three\nlarge rolls. I was surprised at receiving so much: I took them,\nhowever, and having no room in my pockets, I walked on with a roll\nunder each arm, eating the third. In this manner I went through\nMarket-street to Fourth-street, and passed the house of Mr. Read, the\nfather of my future wife. She was standing at the door, observed me,\nand thought with reason, that I made a very singular and grotesque\nappearance.\n\nI then turned the corner, and went through Chesnut-street, eating my\nroll all the way; and having made this round, I found myself again on\nMarket-street wharf, near the boat in which I arrived. I stepped into\nit to take a draught of the river water; and finding myself satisfied\nwith my first roll, I gave the other two to a woman and her child,\nwho had come down the river with us in the boat, and was waiting to\ncontinue her journey. Thus refreshed, I regained the street, which\nwas now full of well-dressed people, all going the same way. I joined\nthem, and was thus led to a large Quaker's meeting-house near the\nmarket-place. I sat down with the rest, and after looking round\nme for some time, hearing nothing said, and being drowsy from my\nlast night's labour and want of rest, I fell into a sound sleep. In\nthis state I continued till the assembly dispersed, when one of the\ncongregation had the goodness to wake me. This was consequently the\nfirst house I entered, or in which I slept, at Philadelphia.\n\nI began again to walk along the street by the river side; and looking\nattentively in the face of every one I met, I at length perceived a\nyoung quaker whose countenance pleased me. I accosted him, and begged\nhim to inform me where a stranger might find a lodging. We were then\nnear the sign of the three Mariners. They receive travellers here,\nsaid he, but it is not a house that bears a good character; if you\nwill go with me, I will shew you a better one. He conducted me to\nthe Crooked-billet, in Water-street. There I ordered something for\ndinner, and during my meal a number of curious questions were put\nto me; my youth and appearance exciting the suspicion of my being a\nrunaway. After dinner my drowsiness returned, and I threw myself upon\na bed without taking off my cloaths, and slept till six o'clock in\nthe evening, when I was called to supper. I afterwards went to bed at\na very early hour, and did not awake till the next morning.\n\nAs soon as I got up I put myself in as decent a trim as I could,\nand went to the house of Andrew Bradford the printer. I found his\nfather in the shop, whom I had seen at New York. Having travelled\non horseback, he had arrived at Philadelphia before me. He\nintroduced me to his son, who received me with civility, and gave\nme some breakfast; but told me he had no occasion at present for a\njourneyman, having lately procured one. He added, that there was\nanother printer newly settled in the town, of the name of Keimer,\nwho might perhaps employ me; and that in case of refusal, I should be\nwelcome to lodge at his house, and he would give me a little work now\nand then, till something better should offer.\n\nThe old man offered to introduce me to the new printer. When we were\nat his house: \"Neighbour,\" said he, \"I bring you a young man in the\nprinting business; perhaps you may have need of his services.\"\n\nKeimer asked me some questions, put a composing stick in my hand\nto see how I could work, and then said, that at present he had\nnothing for me to do, but that he should soon be able to employ me.\nAt the same time taking old Bradford for an inhabitant of the town\nwell-disposed towards him, he communicated his project to him, and\nthe prospect he had of success. Bradford was careful not to discover\nthat he was the father of the other printer; and from what Keimer\nhad said, that he hoped shortly to be in possession of the greater\npart of the business of the town, led him by artful questions, and by\nstarting some difficulties, to disclose all his views, what his hopes\nwere founded upon, and how he intended to proceed. I was present, and\nheard it all. I instantly saw that one of the two was a cunning old\nfox, and the other a perfect novice. Bradford left me with Keimer,\nwho was strangely surprised when I informed him who the old man was.\n\nI found Keimer's printing materials to consist of an old damaged\npress, and a small fount of worn-out English letters, with which\nhe himself was at work upon an elegy on Aquila Rose, whom I have\nmentioned above, an ingenious young man, and of an excellent\ncharacter, highly esteemed in the town, secretary to the assembly,\nand a very tolerable poet. Keimer also made verses, but they were\nindifferent ones. He could not be said to write in verse, for his\nmethod was to set the lines as they flowed from his muse; and as he\nworked without copy, had but one set of letter-cases, and the elegy\nwould probably occupy all his types, it was impossible for any one\nto assist him. I endeavoured to put his press in order, which he had\nnot yet used, and of which indeed he understood nothing: and having\npromised to come and work off his elegy as soon as it should be\nready, I returned to the house of Bradford, who gave me some trifle\nto do for the present, for which I had my board and lodging.\n\nIn a few days Keimer sent for me to print off his elegy. He had now\nprocured another set of letter-cases, and had a pamphlet to re-print,\nupon which he set me to work.\n\nThe two Philadelphia printers appeared destitute of every\nqualification necessary in their profession. Bradford had not\nbeen brought up to it, and was very illiterate. Keimer, though\nhe understood a little of the business, was merely a compositor,\nand wholly incapable of working at the press. He had been one of\nthe French prophets; and knew how to imitate their supernatural\nagitations. At the time of our first acquaintance he professed no\nparticular religion, but a little of all upon occasion. He was\ntotally ignorant of the world, and a great knave at heart, as I had\nafterwards, an opportunity of experiencing.\n\nKeimer could not endure that, working with him, I should lodge at\nBradford's. He had indeed a house, but it was unfurnished; so that\nhe could not take me in. He procured me a lodging at Mr. Read's, his\nlandlord, whom I have already mentioned. My trunk and effects being\nnow arrived, I thought of making, in the eyes of Miss Read, a more\nrespectable appearance than when chance exhibited me to her view,\neating my roll, and wandering in the streets.\n\nFrom this period I began to contract acquaintance with such young\npeople of the town as were fond of reading, and spent my evenings\nwith them agreeably, while at the same time I gained money by my\nindustry, and, thanks to my frugality, lived contented. I thus forgot\nBoston as much as possible, and wished every one to be ignorant of\nthe place of my residence, except my friend Collins, to whom I wrote,\nand who kept my secret.\n\nAn incident however arrived, which sent me home much sooner than\nI had proposed. I had a brother-in-law, of the name of Robert\nHolmes, master of a trading sloop from Boston to Delaware. Being at\nNewcastle, forty miles below Philadelphia, he heard of me, and wrote\nto inform me of the chagrin which my sudden departure from Boston\nhad occasioned my parents, and of the affection which they still\nentertained for me, assuring me that, if I would return, every thing\nshould be adjusted to my satisfaction; and he was very pressing in\nhis entreaties. I answered his letter, thanked him for his advice,\nand explained the reasons which had induced me to quit Boston, with\nsuch force and clearness, that he was convinced I had been less to\nblame than he had imagined.\n\nSir William Keith, governor of the province, was at Newcastle at\nthe time. Captain Holmes, being by chance in his company when he\nreceived my letter, took occasion to speak of me, and showed it him.\nThe governor read it, and appeared surprised when he learned my age.\nHe thought me, he said, a young man of very promising talents, and\nthat, of consequence, I ought to be encouraged; that there were at\nPhiladelphia none but very ignorant printers, and that if I were to\nset up for myself, he had no doubt of my success; that, for his own\npart, he would procure me all the public business, and would render\nme every other service in his power. My brother-in-law related all\nthis to me afterwards at Boston; but I knew nothing of it at the\ntime; when one day Keimer and I being at work together near the\nwindow, we saw the governor and another gentleman, colonel French, of\nNewcastle, handsomely dressed, cross the street, and make directly\nfor our house. We heard them at the door, and Keimer believing it\nto be a visit to himself, went immediately down: but the governor\nenquired for me, came up stairs, and, with a condescension and\npoliteness to which I had not at all been accustomed, paid me many\ncompliments, desired to be acquainted with me, obligingly reproached\nme for not having made myself known to him on my arrival in the town,\nand wished me to accompany him to a tavern, where he and colonel\nFrench were going to taste some excellent Madeira wine.\n\nI was, I confess, somewhat surprised, and Keimer appeared\nthunderstruck. I went, however, with the governor and the colonel to\na tavern at the corner of Third-street, where, while we were drinking\nthe Madeira, he proposed to me to establish a printing-house. He set\nforth the probabilities of success, and himself, and colonel French\nassured me that I should have their protection and influence in\nobtaining the printing of the public papers of both governments; and\nas I appeared to doubt whether my father would assist me in this\nenterprize, Sir William said that he would give me a letter to him,\nin which he would represent the advantages of the scheme, in a light\nwhich he had no doubt would determine him. It was thus concluded that\nI should return to Boston by the first vessel, with the letter of\nrecommendation, from the governor to my father. Meanwhile the project\nwas to be kept secret, and I continued to work for Keimer as before.\n\nThe governor sent every now and then to invite me to dine with him. I\nconsidered this as a very great honour; and I was the more sensible\nof it, as he conversed with me in the most affable, familiar, and\nfriendly manner imaginable.\n\nTowards the end of April 1724, a small vessel was ready to sail for\nBoston. I took leave of Keimer, upon the pretext of going to see my\nparents. The governor gave me a long letter, in which he said many\nflattering things of me to my father; and strongly recommended the\nproject of my settling at Philadelphia, as a thing which could not\nfail to make my fortune.\n\nGoing down the bay we struck on a flat, and sprung a leak. The\nweather was very tempestuous, and we were obliged to pump without\nintermission; I took my turn. We arrived, however, safe and sound at\nBoston, after about a fortnight's passage.\n\nI had been absent about seven complete months, and my relations,\nduring that interval, had received no intelligence of me; for my\nbrother-in-law, Holmes, was not yet returned, and had not written\nabout me. My unexpected appearance surprized the family; but they\nwere all delighted at seeing me again, and, except my brother,\nwelcomed me home. I went to him at the printing-house. I was better\ndressed than I had ever been while in his service: I had a complete\nsuit of clothes, new and neat, a watch in my pocket, and my purse was\nfurnished with nearly five pounds sterling in money. He gave me no\nvery civil reception; and having eyed me from head to foot, resumed\nhis work.\n\nThe workmen asked me with eagerness where I had been, what sort of a\ncountry it was, and how I liked it. I spoke in the highest terms of\nPhiladelphia, the happy life we led there, and expressed my intention\nof going back again. One of them asking what sort of money we had,\nI displayed before them a handful of silver, which I drew from my\npocket. This was a curiosity to which they were not accustomed, paper\nbeing the current money at Boston. I failed not after this to let\nthem see my watch; and at last, my brother continuing sullen and\nout of humour, I gave them a shilling to drink, and took my leave.\nThis visit stung my brother to the soul; for when, shortly after, my\nmother spoke to him of a reconciliation, and a desire to see us upon\ngood terms, he told her that I had so insulted him before his men,\nthat he would never forget or forgive it: in this, however, he was\nmistaken.\n\nThe governor's letter appeared to excite in my father some surprize;\nbut he said little. After some days, captain Holmes being returned,\nhe showed it him, asking him if he knew Keith, and what sort of a\nman he was: adding, that, in his opinion, it proved very little\ndiscernment to think of setting up a boy in business, who for three\nyears to come would not be of an age to be ranked in the class of\nmen. Holmes said every thing he could in favour of the scheme; but my\nfather firmly maintained its absurdity, and at last gave a positive\nrefusal. He wrote, however, a civil letter to Sir William, thanking\nhim for the protection he had so obligingly offered me, but refusing\nto assist me for the present, because he thought me too young to be\nentrusted with the conduct of so important an enterprise, and which\nwould require so considerable a sum of money.\n\nMy old comrade Collins, who was a clerk in the post-office, charmed\nwith the account I gave of my new residence, expressed a desire of\ngoing thither; and while I waited my father's determination, he set\noff before me by land for Rhode Island, leaving his books, which\nformed a handsome collection in mathematics and natural philosophy,\nto be conveyed with mine to New York, where he purposed to wait for\nme.\n\nMy father, though he could not approve Sir William's proposal, was\nyet pleased that I had obtained so advantageous a recommendation as\nthat of a person of his rank, and that my industry and economy had\nenabled me to equip myself so handsomely in so short a period. Seeing\nno appearance of accommodating matters between my brother and me, he\nconsented to my return to Philadelphia, advised me to be civil to\nevery body, to endeavour to obtain general esteem, and avoid satire\nand sarcasm, to which he thought I was too much inclined; adding,\nthat with perseverance and prudent economy, I might, by the time I\nbecame of age, save enough to establish myself in business; and that\nif a small sum should then be wanting, he would undertake to supply\nit.\n\nThis was all I could obtain from him, except some trifling presents,\nin token of friendship from him and my mother. I embarked once more\nfor New York, furnished at this time with their approbation and\nblessing. The sloop having touched at Newport in Rhode Island, I\npaid a visit to my brother John, who had for some years been settled\nthere, and was married. He had always been attached to me, and he\nreceived me with great affection. One of his friends, whose name\nwas Vernon, having a debt of about thirty-six pounds due to him in\nPennsylvania, begged me to receive it for him, and to keep the money\ntill I should hear from him: accordingly he gave me an order for that\npurpose. This affair occasioned me, in the sequel, much uneasiness.\n\nAt Newport we took on board a number of passengers; among whom\nwere two young women, and a grave and sensible quaker lady with\nher servants. I had shown an obliging forwardness in rendering the\nquaker some trifling services, which led her, probably, to feel an\ninterest in my welfare; for when she saw a familiarity take place,\nand every day increase, between the two young women and me, she took\nme aside and said: \"Young man, I am in pain for thee. Thou hast no\nparent to watch over thy conduct, and thou seemest to be ignorant of\nthe world, and the snares to which youth is exposed. Rely upon what\nI tell thee: those are women of bad characters; I perceive it in\nall their actions. If thou dost not take care, they will lead thee\ninto danger. They are strangers to thee, and I advise thee, by the\nfriendly interest I take in thy preservation, to form no connection\nwith them.\" As I appeared at first not to think quite so ill of them\nas she did, she related many things she had seen and heard, which\nhad escaped my attention, but which convinced me that she was in the\nright. I thanked her for her obliging advice, and promised to follow\nit.\n\nWhen we arrived at New York, they informed me where they lodged,\nand invited me to come and see them. I did not however go, and it\nwas well I did not; for the next day, the captain missing a silver\nspoon and some other things which had been taken from the cabin, and\nknowing these women to be prostitutes, procured a search-warrant,\nfound the stolen goods upon them, and had them punished. And thus,\nafter having been saved from one rock concealed under water, upon\nwhich the vessel struck during our passage, I escaped another of a\nstill more dangerous nature.\n\nAt New York I found my friend Collins, who had arrived some time\nbefore. We had been intimate from our infancy, and had read the same\nbooks together; but he had the advantage of being able to devote\nmore time to reading and study, and an astonishing disposition for\nmathematics, in which he left me far behind him. When at Boston, I\nhad been accustomed to pass with him almost all my leisure hours. He\nwas then a sober and industrious lad; his knowledge had gained him a\nvery general esteem, and he seemed to promise to make an advantageous\nfigure in society. But, during my absence, he had unfortunately\naddicted himself to brandy, and I learned, as well from himself as\nfrom the report of others, that every day since his arrival at New\nYork he had been intoxicated, and had acted in a very extravagant\nmanner. He had also played, and lost all his money; so that I was\nobliged to pay his expences at the inn, and to maintain him during\nthe rest of his journey; a burthen that was very inconvenient to me.\n\nThe governor of New York, whose name was Burnet, hearing the captain\nsay, that a young man who was a passenger in his ship had a great\nnumber of books, begged him to bring me to his house. I accordingly\nwent, and should have taken Collins with me, had he been sober. The\ngovernor treated me with great civility, shewed me his library,\nwhich was a very considerable one, and we talked for some time upon\nbooks and authors. This was the second governor who had honoured me\nwith his attention, and to a poor boy, as I was then, these little\nadventures did not fail to be pleasing.\n\nWe arrived at Philadelphia. On the way I received Vernon's money,\nwithout which we should have been unable to have finished our journey.\n\nCollins wished to get employment as a merchant's clerk, but either\nhis breath or his countenance betrayed his bad habit; for, though he\nhad recommendations he met with no success, and continued to lodge\nand eat with me, and at my expence. Knowing that I had Vernon's\nmoney, he was continually asking me to lend him some of it, promising\nto repay me as soon as he should get employment. At last he had drawn\nso much of this money, that I was extremely alarmed at what might\nbecome of me, should he fail to make good the deficiency. His habit\nof drinking did not at all diminish, and was a frequent source of\ndiscord between us; for when he had drank a little too much, he was\nvery head-strong.\n\nBeing one day in a boat together on the Delaware, with some other\nyoung persons, he refused to take his turn in rowing. You shall row\nfor me, said he, till we get home.--No, I replied, we will not row\nfor you.--You shall, said he, or remain upon the water all night. As\nyou please.--Let us row, said the rest of the company; what signifies\nwhether he assists or not. But, already angry with him for his\nconduct in other respects, I persisted in my refusal. He then swore\nthat he would make me row, or would throw me out of the boat; and he\nmade up to me. As soon as he was within my reach, I took him by the\ncollar, gave him a violent thrust, and threw him head foremost into\nthe river. I knew that he was a good swimmer, and was therefore under\nno apprehensions for his life. Before he could turn himself, we were\nable, by a few strokes of our oars, to place ourselves out of his\nreach; and whenever he touched the boat, we asked him if he would row\nstriking his hands at the same time with the oars, to make him let go\nhis hold. He was nearly suffocated with rage, but obstinately refused\nmaking any promise to row. Perceiving, at length, that his strength\nbegan to be exhausted, we took him into the boat, and conveyed\nhim home in the evening completely drenched. The utmost coldness\nsubsisted between us after this adventure. At last the captain of\na West-India ship, who was commissioned to procure a tutor for the\nchildren of a gentleman at Barbadoes, meeting with Collins, offered\nhim the place. He accepted it, and took his leave of me, promising to\ndischarge the debt he owed me with the first money he should receive;\nbut I have heard nothing of him since.\n\nThe violation of the trust reposed in me by Vernon, was one of the\nfirst great errors of my life; and it proves that my father was not\nmistaken when he supposed me too young to be intrusted with the\nmanagement of important affairs. But Sir William, upon reading his\nletter, thought him too prudent. There was a difference, he said,\nbetween individuals: years of maturity were not always accompanied\nwith discretion, neither was youth in every instance devoid of\nit. Since your father, added he, will not set you up in business,\nI will do it myself. Make out a list of what will be wanted from\nEngland, and I will send for the articles. You shall repay me when\nyou can. I am determined to have a good printer here, and I am sure\nyou will succeed. This was said with so much seeming cordiality,\nthat I suspected not for an instant the sincerity of the offer. I\nhad hitherto kept the project, with which Sir William had inspired\nme, of settling in business, a secret at Philadelphia, and I still\ncontinued to do so. Had my reliance on the governor been known,\nsome friend better acquainted with his character than myself, would\ndoubtless have advised me not to trust him; for I afterwards learned\nhe was universally known to be liberal of promises, which he had no\nintention to perform. But having never solicited him, how could I\nsuppose his offers to be deceitful?--On the contrary, I believed him\nto be the best man in the world.\n\nI gave him an inventory of a small printing-office, the expence\nof which I had calculated at about a hundred pounds sterling. He\nexpressed his approbation; but asked, if my presence in England, that\nI might choose the characters myself, and see that every article\nwas good in its kind, would not be an advantage? You will also be\nable, said he, to form some acquaintance there, and establish a\ncorrespondence with stationers and booksellers. This I acknowledged\nwas desirable. That being the case, added he, hold yourself in\nreadiness to go with the Annis. This was the annual vessel, and the\nonly one, at that time, which made regular voyages between the ports\nof London and Philadelphia. But the Annis was not to sail for some\nmonths. I therefore continued to work with Keimer, unhappy respecting\nthe sum which Collins had drawn from me, and almost in continual\nagony at the thoughts of Vernon, who fortunately made no demand of\nhis money till several years after.\n\nIn the account of my first voyage from Boston to Philadelphia,\nI omitted, I believe, a trifling circumstance, which will not,\nperhaps, be out of place here. During a calm which stopped us above\nBlock Island, the crew employed themselves in fishing for cod, of\nwhich they caught a great number. I had hitherto adhered to my\nresolution of not eating any thing that had possessed life; and I\nconsidered on this occasion, agreeably to the maxims of my master\nTryon, the capture of every fish as a sort of murder, committed\nwithout provocation, since these animals had neither done, nor were\ncapable of doing the smallest injury to any one that should justify\nthe measure. This mode of reasoning I conceived to be unanswerable.\nMeanwhile, I had formerly been extremely fond of fish; and when one\nof these cod was taken out of the frying-pan, I thought its flavour\ndelicious. I hesitated some time between principle and inclination,\ntill at last recollecting, that when the cod had been opened, some\nsmall fish were found in its belly, I said to myself, if you eat one\nanother, I see no reason why we may not eat you. I accordingly dined\non the cod with no small degree of pleasure, and have since continued\nto eat like the rest of mankind, returning only occasionally to\nmy vegetable plan. How convenient does it prove to be a _rational\nanimal_, that knows how to find or invent a plausible pretext for\nwhatever it has an inclination to do!\n\nI continued to live upon good terms with Keimer, who had not the\nsmallest suspicion of my projected establishment. He still retained\na portion of his former enthusiasm; and, being fond of argument, we\nfrequently disputed together. I was so much in the habit of using my\nSocratic method, and had so frequently puzzled him by my questions,\nwhich appeared at first very distant from the point in debate, yet\nnevertheless led to it by degrees, involving him in difficulties and\ncontradictions from which he was unable to extricate himself, that he\nbecame at last ridiculously cautious, and would scarcely answer the\nmost plain and familiar question without previously asking me--What\nwould you infer from that? Hence he formed so high an opinion of my\ntalents for refutation, that he seriously proposed to me to become\nhis colleague in the establishment of a new religious sect. He was to\npropagate the doctrine by preaching, and I to refute every opponent.\n\nWhen he explained to me his tenets, I found many absurdities which\nI refused to admit, unless he would agree in turn to adopt some of\nmy opinions. Keimer wore his beard long, because Moses had somewhere\nsaid, \"Thou shalt not mar the corners of thy beard.\" He likewise\nobserved the Sabbath; and these were with him two very essential\npoints. I disliked them both: but I consented to adopt them,\nprovided he would agree to abstain from animal food. I doubt, said\nhe, whether my constitution will be able to support it. I assured\nhim on the contrary he would find himself the better for it. He was\nnaturally a glutton, and I wished to amuse myself by starving him. He\nconsented to make trial of this regimen, if I would bear him company;\nand in reality we continued it for three months. A woman in the\nneighbourhood prepared and brought us our victuals, to whom I gave a\nlist of forty dishes; in the composition of which there were entered\nneither flesh nor fish. This fancy was the more agreeable to me as it\nturned to good account; for the whole expence of our living did not\nexceed for each eighteen pence a week.\n\nI have since that period observed several Lents with the greatest\nstrictness, and have suddenly returned again to my ordinary diet,\nwithout experiencing the smallest inconvenience; which has led me to\nregard as of no importance the advice commonly given, of introducing\ngradually such alterations of regimen.\n\nI continued it cheerfully, but poor Keimer suffered terribly.\nTired of the project, he sighed for the fleshpots of Egypt. At\nlength he ordered a roast pig, and invited me and two of our female\nacquaintance to dine with him; but the pig being ready a little too\nsoon, he could not resist the temptation, and eat it all up before we\narrived.\n\nDuring the circumstances I have related, I had paid some attentions\nto Miss Read. I entertained for her the utmost esteem and affection;\nand I had reason to believe that these sentiments were mutual. But\nwe were both young, scarcely more than eighteen years of age; and\nas I was on the point of undertaking a long voyage, her mother\nthought it prudent to prevent matters being carried top far for the\npresent, judging that, if marriage was our object, there would be\nmore propriety in it after my return, when, as at least I expected, I\nshould be established in my business. Perhaps, also, she thought my\nexpectations were not so well founded as I imagined.\n\nMy most intimate acquaintance at this time were Charles Osborne,\nJoseph Watson, and James Ralph: young men who were all fond of\nreading. The two first were clerks to Mr. Charles Brockdon, one\nof the principal attornies in the town, and the other clerk to a\nmerchant. Watson was an upright, pious, and sensible young man: the\nothers were somewhat more loose in their principles of religion,\nparticularly Ralph, whose faith, as well as that of Collins, I had\ncontributed to shake; each of whom made me suffer a very adequate\npunishment. Osborne was sensible, and sincere and affectionate in\nhis friendships, but too much inclined to the critic in matters of\nliterature. Ralph was ingenious and shrewd, genteel in his address,\nand extremely eloquent. I do not remember to have met with a more\nagreeable speaker. They were both enamoured of the muses, and had\nalready evinced their passion by some small poetical productions.\n\nIt was a custom with us to take a charming walk on Sundays, in the\nwoods that border the Skuylkil. Here we read together, and afterwards\nconversed on what we read. Ralph was disposed to give himself up\nentirely to poetry. He flattered himself that he should arrive at\ngreat eminence in the art, and even acquire a fortune. The sublimest\npoets, he pretended, when they first began to write, committed as\nmany faults as himself. Osborne endeavoured to dissuade him, by\nassuring him that he had no genius for poetry, and advised him to\nstick to the trade in which he had been brought up. In the road of\ncommerce, said he, you will be sure, by diligence and assiduity,\nthough you have no capital, of so far succeeding as to be employed\nas a factor; and may thus, in time, acquire the means of setting\nup for yourself. I concurred in these sentiments, but at the same\ntime expressed my approbation of amusing ourselves sometimes with\npoetry, with a view to improve our style. In consequence of this it\nwas proposed, that, at our next meeting, each of us should bring a\ncopy of verses of his own composition. Our object in this competition\nwas to benefit each other by our mutual remarks, criticisms, and\ncorrections; and as style and expression were all we had in view, we\nexcluded every idea of invention, by agreeing that our task should be\na version of the eighteenth psalm, in which is described the descent\nof the Deity.\n\nThe time of our meeting drew near, when Ralph called upon me, and\ntold me that his performance was ready. I informed him that I had\nbeen idle, and, not much liking the task, had done nothing. He shewed\nme his piece, and asked me what I thought of it. I expressed myself\nin terms of warm approbation; because it really appeared to have\nconsiderable merit. He then said, Osborne will never acknowledge\nthe smallest degree of excellence in any production of mine. Envy\nalone dictates to him a thousand animadversions. Of you he is not so\njealous: I wish, therefore, you would take the verses, and produce\nthem as your own. I will pretend not to have had leisure to write\nany thing. We shall then see in what manner he will speak of them.\nI agreed to this little artifice, and immediately transcribed the\nverses to prevent all suspicion.\n\nWe met. Watson's performance was the first that was read; it had\nsome beauties, but many faults. We next read Osborne's, which was\nmuch better. Ralph did it justice, remarking a few imperfections,\nand applauding such parts as were excellent. He had himself nothing\nto show. It was now my turn. I made some difficulty; seemed as if\nI wished to be excused; pretended that I had had no time to make\ncorrections, &c. No excuse, however, was admissible, and, the piece\nmust be produced. It was read, and re-read. Watson and Osborne\nimmediately resigned the palm, and united in applauding it. Ralph\nalone made a few remarks, and proposed some alterations; but I\ndefended my text. Osborne agreed with me, and told Ralph that he was\nno more able to criticise than he was able to write.\n\nWhen Osborne was alone with me, he expressed himself still more\nstrongly in favour of what he considered as my performance. He\npretended that he had put some restraint upon himself before,\napprehensive of my construing his commendation into flattery. But\nwho would have supposed, said he, Franklin to be capable of such a\ncomposition? What painting--what energy--what fire! He has surpassed\nthe original. In his common conversation he appears not to have a\nchoice of words; he hesitates, and is at a loss--and yet, good God,\nhow he writes!\n\nAt our next meeting Ralph discovered the trick we had played Osborne,\nwho was rallied without mercy.\n\nBy this adventure Ralph was fixed in his determination of becoming a\npoet. I left nothing unattempted to divert him from his purpose; but\nhe persevered, till at last the reading of Pope[3] effected his cure:\nhe became, however, a very tolerable prose-writer. I shall speak more\nof him hereafter; but as I shall probably have no farther occasion\nto mention the other two, I ought to observe here that Watson died a\nfew years after in my arms. He was greatly regretted, for he was the\nbest of our society. Osborne went to the islands, where he gained\nconsiderable reputation as a barrister, and was getting money; but he\ndied young. We had seriously engaged, that whoever died first should\nreturn (if possible) and pay a friendly visit to the survivor, to\ngive him an account of the other world--but he has never fulfilled\nhis engagement.\n\nThe governor appeared to be fond of my company, and frequently\ninvited me to his house. He always spoke of his intention of\nsettling me in business, as a point that was decided. I was to take\nwith me letters of recommendation to a number of his friends, and\nparticularly a letter of credit, in order to obtain the necessary sum\nfor the purchase of my press, types, and paper. He appointed various\ntimes for me to come for these letters, which would certainly be\nready, and when I came, always put me off to another day.\n\nThese successive delays continued till the vessel, whose departure\nhad been several times deferred, was on the point of setting sail;\nwhen I again went to Sir William's house, to receive my letters and\ntake leave of him. I saw his secretary, Dr. Bard, who told me that\nthe governor was extremely busy writing, but that he would be down at\nNewcastle before the vessel, and that the letters would be delivered\nto me there.\n\nRalph, though he was married and had a child, determined to accompany\nme in this voyage. His object was supposed to be the establishing a\ncorrespondence with some mercantile houses, in order to sell goods\nby commission; but I afterwards learned that, having reason to be\ndissatisfied with the parents of his wife, he proposed to himself to\nleave her on their hands, and never return to America again.\n\nHaving taken leave of my friends, and interchanged promises of\nfidelity with Miss Read, I quitted Philadelphia. At Newcastle the\nvessel came to anchor. The governor was arrived, and I went to his\nlodgings. His secretary received me with great civility, told me on\nthe part of the governor that he could not see me then, as he was\nengaged in affairs of the utmost importance, but that he would send\nthe letters on board, and that he wished me, with all his heart, a\ngood voyage, and speedy return. I returned, somewhat astonished, to\nthe ship, but still without entertaining the slightest suspicion.\n\nMr. Hamilton, a celebrated barrister of Philadelphia, had taken a\npassage to England for himself and his son, and, in conjunction with\nMr. Denham, a quaker, and Messrs. Oniam and Russel, proprietors of a\nforge in Maryland, had agreed for the whole cabin, so that Ralph and\nI were obliged to take up our lodging with the crew. Being unknown\nto every body in the ship, we were looked upon as of the common\norder of people: but Mr. Hamilton and his son, (it was James, who\nwas afterwards governor,) left us at Newcastle, and returned to\nPhiladelphia, where he was recalled at a very great expence, to plead\nthe cause of a vessel that had been seized; and just as we were about\nto sail, colonel French came on board, and shewed me many civilities.\nThe passengers upon this paid me more attention, and I was invited,\ntogether with my friend Ralph, to occupy the place in the cabin which\nthe return of the Mr. Hamiltons had made vacant; an offer which we\nvery readily accepted.\n\nHaving learned that the dispatches of the governor had been brought\non board by colonel French, I asked the captain for the letters that\nwere to be entrusted to my care. He told me that they were all put\ntogether in the bag, which he could not open at present; but before\nwe reached England, he would give me an opportunity of taking them\nout. I was satisfied with this answer, and we pursued our voyage.\n\nThe company in the cabin were all very sociable, and we were\nperfectly well off as to provisions, as we had the advantage of the\nwhole of Mr. Hamilton's, who had laid in a very plentiful stock.\nDuring the passage, Mr. Denham contracted a friendship for me, which\nended only with his life: in other respects the voyage was by no\nmeans an agreeable one, as we had much bad weather.\n\nWhen we arrived in the river, the captain was as good as his word,\nand allowed me to search in the bag for the governor's letters. I\ncould not find a single one with my name written on it, as committed\nto my care; but I selected six or seven, which I judged from the\ndirection to be those that were intended for me; particularly one to\nMr. Basket the king's printer, and another to a stationer, who was\nthe first person I called upon. I delivered him the letter as coming\nfrom governor Keith. \"I have no acquaintance (said he) with any such\nperson;\" and opening the letter, \"Oh, it is from Riddlesden!\" he\nexclaimed. \"I have lately discovered him to be a very arrant knave,\nand wish to have nothing to do either with him or his letters.\" He\ninstantly put the letter into my hand, turned upon his heel, and left\nme, to serve some customers.\n\nI was astonished at finding these letters were not from the governor.\nReflecting, and putting circumstances together, I then began to doubt\nhis sincerity. I rejoined my friend Denham, and related the whole\naffair to him. He let me at once into Keith's character, told me\nthere was not the least probability of his having written a single\nletter; that no one who knew him ever placed any reliance on him, and\nlaughed at my credulity in supposing that the governor would give me\na letter of credit, when he had no credit for himself. As I showed\nsome uneasiness respecting what step I should take, he advised me to\ntry to get employment in the house of some printer. You may there,\nsaid he, improve yourself in business, and you will be able to settle\nyourself the more advantageously when you return to America.\n\nWe knew already as well as the stationer, attorney Riddlesden to be\na knave. He had nearly ruined the father of Miss Read, by drawing\nhim in to be his security. We learned from his letter, that he was\nsecretly carrying on an intrigue, in concert with the governor, to\nthe prejudice of Mr. Hamilton, who it was supposed would by this\ntime be in Europe. Denham, who was Hamilton's friend, was of opinion\nthat he ought to be made acquainted with it; and in reality, the\ninstant he arrived in England, which was very soon after, I waited on\nhim, and, as much from good-will to him, as from resentment against\nthe governor, put the letter into his hands. He thanked me very\nsincerely, the information it contained being of consequence to him;\nand from that moment bestowed on me his friendship, which afterwards\nproved on many occasions serviceable to me.\n\nBut what are we to think of a governor who could play so scurvy a\ntrick, and thus grossly deceive a poor young lad, wholly destitute of\nexperience? It was a practice with him. Wishing to please every body,\nand having little to bestow, he was lavish of promises. He was in\nother respects sensible and judicious, a very tolerable writer, and\na good governor for the people; though not so for the proprietaries,\nwhose instructions he frequently disregarded. Many of our best laws\nwere his work, and established during his administration.\n\nRalph and I were inseparable companions. We took a lodging together\nat three and sixpence a-week, which was as much as we could afford.\nHe met with some relations in London, but they were poor, and not\nable to assist him. He now, for the first time, informed me of his\nintention to remain in England, and that he had no thoughts of ever\nreturning to Philadelphia. He was totally without money; the little\nhe had been able to raise having barely sufficed for his passage. I\nhad still fifteen pistoles remaining; and to me he had from time to\ntime recourse, while he tried to get employment.\n\nAt first, believing himself possessed of talents for the stage,\nhe thought of turning actor; but Wilkes, to whom he applied,\nfrankly advised him to renounce the idea, as it was impossible\nhe should succeed. He next proposed to Roberts, a bookseller in\nPaternoster-row, to write a weekly paper in the manner of the\nSpectator, upon terms to which Roberts would not listen. Lastly, he\nendeavoured to procure employment as a copyist, and applied to the\nlawyers and stationers about the Temple; but he could find no vacancy.\n\nAs to myself, I immediately got engaged at Palmer's, at that time\na noted printer in Bartholomew-close, with whom I continued nearly\na year. I applied very assiduously to my work; but I expended with\nRalph almost all that I earned. Plays, and other places of amusement\nwhich we frequented together, having exhausted my pistoles, we lived\nafter this from hand to mouth. He appeared to have entirely forgotten\nhis wife and child, as I also, by degrees, forgot my engagements\nwith Miss Read, to whom I never wrote more than one letter, and that\nmerely to inform her that I was not likely to return soon. This\nwas another grand error of my life, which I should be desirous of\ncorrecting were I to begin my career again.\n\nI was employed at Palmer's on the second edition of Woolaston's\nReligion of Nature. Some of his arguments appearing to me not to\nbe well-founded, I wrote a small metaphysical treatise, in which\nI animadverted on those passages. It was entitled a \"Dissertation\non Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain.\" I dedicated it to my\nfriend Ralph, and printed a small number of copies. Palmer upon this\ntreated me with more consideration, and regarded me as a young man of\ntalents; though he seriously took me to task for the principles of my\npamphlet, which he looked upon as abominable. The printing of this\nwork was another error of my life.\n\nWhile I lodged in Little Britain I formed acquaintance with a\nbookseller of the name of Wilcox, whose shop was next door to me.\nCirculating libraries were not then in use. He had an immense\ncollection of books of all sorts. We agreed that, for a reasonable\nretribution, of which I have now forgotten the price, I should have\nfree access to his library, and take what books I pleased, which I\nwas to return when I had read them. I considered this agreement as a\nvery great advantage; and I derived from it as much benefit as was in\nmy power.\n\nMy pamphlet falling into the hands of a surgeon, of the name\nof Lyons, author of a book entitled, \"Infallibility of Human\nJudgment,\" was the occasion of a considerable intimacy between us.\nHe expressed great esteem for me, came frequently to see me, in\norder to converse upon metaphysical subjects, and introduced me to\nDr. Mandeville, author of the Fable of the Bees, who had instituted\na club at a tavern in Cheapside, of which he was the soul: he was\na facetious and very amusing character. He also introduced me, at\nBatson's coffee-house, to Dr. Pemberton, who promised to give me\nan opportunity of seeing Sir Isaac Newton, which I very ardently\ndesired; but he never kept his word.\n\nI had brought some curiosities with me from America; the principal of\nwhich was a purse made of the asbestos, which fire only purifies.\nSir Hans Sloane hearing of it, called upon me, and invited me to his\nhouse in Bloomsbury-square, where, after showing me every thing that\nwas curious, he prevailed on me to add this piece to his collection;\nfor which he paid me very handsomely.\n\nThere lodged in the same house with us a young woman, a milliner,\nwho had a shop by the side of the Exchange. Lively and sensible,\nand having received an education somewhat above her rank, her\nconversation was very agreeable. Ralph read plays to her every\nevening. They became intimate. She took another lodging, and he\nfollowed her. They lived for some time together; but Ralph being\nwithout employment, she having a child, and the profits of her\nbusiness not sufficing for the maintenance of three, he resolved\nto quit London, and try a country school. This was a plan in which\nhe thought himself likely to succeed; as he wrote a fine hand, and\nwas versed in arithmetic and accounts. But considering the office\nas beneath him, and expecting some day to make a better figure in\nthe world, when he should be ashamed of its being known that he had\nexercised a profession so little honourable, he changed his name,\nand did me the honour to assume mine. He wrote to me soon after his\ndeparture, informing me that he was settled at a small village in\nBerkshire. In his letter he recommended Mrs. T***, the milliner,\nto my care, and requested an answer, directed to Mr. Franklin,\nschool-master, at N***.\n\nHe continued to write to me frequently, sending me large fragments\nof an epic poem he was composing, and which he begged of me to\ncriticise and correct. I did so, but not without endeavouring to\nprevail on him to renounce this pursuit. Young had just published one\nof his Satires. I copied and sent him a great part of it; in which\nthe author demonstrates the folly of cultivating the muses, from the\nhope, by their instrumentality, of rising in the world. It was all to\nno purpose; paper after paper of his poem continued to arrive every\npost.\n\nMeanwhile Mrs. T*** having lost, on his account, both her friends\nand her business, was frequently in distress. In this dilemma she had\nrecourse to me; and to extricate her from difficulties, I lent her\nall the money I could spare. I felt a little too much fondness for\nher. Having at that time no ties of religion, and taking advantage of\nher necessitous situation, I attempted liberties, (another error of\nmy life,) which she repelled with becoming indignation. She informed\nRalph of my conduct; and the affair occasioned a breach between\nus. When he returned to London, he gave me to understand that he\nconsidered all the obligations he owed me as annihilated by this\nproceeding; whence I concluded that I was never to expect the payment\nof what money I had lent him, or advanced on his account. I was the\nless afflicted at this, as he was wholly unable to pay me; and as, by\nlosing his friendship, I was relieved at the same time from a very\nheavy burden.\n\nI now began to think of laying by some money. The printing-house of\nWatts, near Lincoln's-Inn-Fields, being a still more considerable\none than that in which I worked, it was probable I might find it\nmore advantageous to be employed there. I offered myself, and was\naccepted; and in this house I continued during the remainder of my\nstay in London.\n\nOn my entrance I worked at first as a pressman, conceiving that I had\nneed of bodily exercise, to which I had been accustomed in America,\nwhere the printers work alternately as compositors and at the press.\nI drank nothing but water. The other workmen, to the number of about\nfifty, were great drinkers of beer. I carried occasionally a large\nform of letters in each hand, up and down stairs, while the rest\nemployed both hands to carry one. They were surprised to see, by this\nand many other examples, that the _American Aquatic_, as they used\nto call me, was stronger than those who drank porter. The beer-boy\nhad sufficient employment during the whole day in serving that house\nalone. My fellow pressman drank every day a pint of beer before\nbreakfast, a pint with bread and cheese for breakfast, one between\nbreakfast and dinner, one at dinner, one again about six o'clock in\nthe afternoon, and another after he had finished his day's work. This\ncustom appeared to me abominable; but he had need, he said, of all\nthis beer, in order to acquire strength to work.\n\nI endeavoured to convince him that the bodily strength furnished by\nthe beer, could only be in proportion to the solid part of the barley\ndissolved in the water of which the beer was composed; that there was\na larger portion of flour in a penny loaf, and that consequently if\nhe ate this loaf, and drank a pint of water with it, he would derive\nmore strength from it than from a pint of beer. This reasoning,\nhowever, did not prevent him from drinking his accustomed quantity\nof beer, and paying every Saturday night a score of four or five\nshillings a-week for this cursed beverage; an expence from which I\nwas wholly exempt. Thus do these poor devils continue all their lives\nin a state of voluntary wretchedness and poverty.\n\nAt the end of a few weeks, Watts having occasion for me above stairs\nas a compositor, I quitted the press. The compositors demanded of me\ngarnish money a-fresh. This I considered as an imposition, having\nalready paid below. The master was of the same opinion, and desired\nme not to comply. I thus remained two or three weeks out of the\nfraternity. I was consequently looked upon as excommunicated; and\nwhenever I was absent, no little trick that malice could suggest\nwas left unpractised upon me. I found my letters mixed, my pages\ntransposed, my matter broken, &c. &c. all which was attributed to\nthe spirit that haunted the chapel,[4] and tormented those who were\nnot regularly admitted. I was at last obliged to submit to pay,\nnotwithstanding the protection of the master; convinced of the folly\nof not keeping up a good understanding with those among whom we are\ndestined to live.\n\nAfter this I lived in the utmost harmony with my fellow-labourers,\nand soon acquired considerable influence among them. I proposed\nsome alterations in the laws of the chapel, which I carried without\nopposition. My example prevailed with several of them to renounce\ntheir abominable practice of bread and cheese with beer; and they\nprocured, like me, from a neighbouring house, a good basin of warm\ngruel, in which was a small slice of butter, with toasted bread and\nnutmeg. This was a much better breakfast, which did not cost more\nthan a pint of beer, namely, three halfpence, and at the same time\npreserved the head clearer. Those who continued to gorge themselves\nwith beer, often lost their credit with the publican, from neglecting\nto pay their score. They had then recourse to me, to become security\nfor them; _their light_, as they used to call it, _being out_.\nI attended at the pay-table every Saturday evening, to take up\nthe little sum which I had made myself answerable for; and which\nsometimes amounted to nearly thirty shillings a-week.\n\nThis circumstance, added to my reputation of being a tolerable good\n_gabber_, or, in other words, skilful in the art of burlesque, kept\nup my importance in the chapel. I had besides recommended myself to\nthe esteem of my master by my assiduous application to business,\nnever observing Saint Monday. My extraordinary quickness in composing\nalways procured me such work as was most urgent, and which is\ncommonly best paid; and thus my time passed away in a very pleasant\nmanner.\n\nMy lodging in Little Britain being too far from the printing-house,\nI took another in Duke-street, opposite the Roman Catholic chapel.\nIt was at the back of an Italian warehouse. The house was kept by a\nwidow, who had a daughter, a servant, and a shop-boy; but the latter\nslept out of the house. After sending to the people with whom I\nlodged in Little Britain, to enquire into my character, she agreed to\ntake me in at the same price, three and sixpence a-week; contenting\nherself, she said, with so little, because of the security she should\nderive, as they were all women, from having a man lodger in the\nhouse.\n\nShe was a woman rather advanced in life, the daughter of a clergyman.\nShe had been educated a Protestant; but her husband, whose memory she\nhighly revered, had converted her to the Catholic religion. She had\nlived in habits of intimacy with persons of distinction; of whom she\nknew various anecdotes as far back as the time of Charles II. Being\nsubject to fits of the gout, which often confined her to her room,\nshe was sometimes disposed to see company. Hers was so amusing to me,\nthat I was glad to pass the evening with her as often as she desired\nit. Our supper consisted only of half an anchovy a piece, upon a\nslice of bread and butter, with half a pint of ale between us. But\nthe entertainment was in her conversation.\n\nThe early hours I kept, and the little trouble I occasioned in the\nfamily, made her loth to part with me; and when I mentioned another\nlodging I had found, nearer the printing-house, at two shillings\na week, which fell in with my plan of saving, she persuaded me to\ngive it up, making herself an abatement of two shillings: and thus\nI continued to lodge with her, during the remainder of my abode in\nLondon, at eighteen pence a week.\n\nIn a garret of the house there lived, in the most retired manner, a\nlady seventy years of age, of whom I received the following account\nfrom my landlady. She was a Roman Catholic. In her early years she\nhad been sent to the continent, and entered a convent with the\ndesign of becoming a nun; but the climate not agreeing with her\nconstitution, she was obliged to return to England, where, as there\nwere no monasteries, she made a vow to lead a monastic life, in\nas rigid a manner as circumstances would permit. She accordingly\ndisposed of all her property to be applied to charitable uses,\nreserving to herself only twelve pounds a year; and of this small\npittance she gave a part to the poor, living on water gruel, and\nnever making use of fire but to boil it. She had lived in this garret\na great many years, without paying rent to the successive Catholic\ninhabitants that had kept the house; who indeed considered her abode\nwith them as a blessing. A priest came every day to confess her. I\nhave asked her, said my landlady, how, living as she did, she could\nfind so much employment for a confessor? To which she answered, that\nit was impossible to avoid vain thoughts.\n\nI was once permitted to visit her. She was cheerful and polite, and\nher conversation agreeable. Her apartment was neat; but the whole\nfurniture consisted of a mattress, a table, on which were a crucifix\nand a book, a chair, which she gave me to sit on, and over the\nmantle-piece a picture of St. Veronica displaying her handkerchief,\non which was seen the miraculous impression of the face of Christ,\nwhich she explained to me with great gravity. Her countenance was\npale, but she had never experienced sickness; and I may adduce her as\nanother proof how little is sufficient to maintain life and health.\n\nAt the printing house I contracted an intimacy with a sensible\nyoung man of the name of Wygate, who, as his parents were in good\ncircumstances, had received a better education than is common among\nprinters. He was a tolerable Latin scholar, spoke French fluently,\nand was fond of reading. I taught him, as well as a friend of his,\nto swim, by taking them twice only into the river; after which they\nstood in need of no farther assistance. We one day made a party to go\nby water to Chelsea, in order to see the College, and Don Soltero's\ncuriosities. On our return, at the request of the company, whose\ncuriosity Wygate had excited, I undressed myself, and leaped into\nthe river. I swam from near Chelsea the whole way to Blackfriars,\nexhibiting, during my course, a variety of feats of activity and\naddress, both upon the surface of the water, as well as under it.\nThis sight occasioned much astonishment and pleasure to those to\nwhom it was new. In my youth I took great delight in this exercise.\nI knew, and could execute, all the evolutions and positions of\nThevenot; and I added to them some of my own invention, in which I\nendeavoured to unite gracefulness and utility. I took a pleasure in\ndisplaying them all on this occasion, and was highly flattered with\nthe admiration they excited.\n\nWygate, besides his being desirous of perfecting himself in this art,\nwas the more attached to me from there being, in other respects, a\nconformity in our tastes and studies. He at length proposed to me to\nmake the tour of Europe with him, maintaining ourselves at the same\ntime by working at our profession. I was on the point of consenting,\nwhen I mentioned it to my friend Mr. Denham, with whom I was glad\nto pass an hour whenever I had leisure. He dissuaded me from the\nproject, and advised me to think of returning to Philadelphia, which\nhe was about to do himself. I must relate in this place a trait of\nthis worthy man's character.\n\nHe had formerly been in business at Bristol, but failing, he\ncompounded with his creditors, and departed for America, where, by\nassiduous application as a merchant, he acquired in a few years\na very considerable fortune. Returning to England in the same\nvessel with myself, as I have related above, he invited all his\nold creditors to a feast. When assembled, he thanked them for the\nreadiness with which they had received his small composition; and,\nwhile they expected nothing more than a simple entertainment, each\nfound under his plate, when it came to be removed, a draft upon a\nbanker for the residue of his debt, with interest.\n\nHe told me that it was his intention to carry back with him to\nPhiladelphia a great quantity of goods, in order to open a store;\nand he offered to take me with him in the capacity of clerk, to\nkeep his books, in which he would instruct me, copy letters, and\nsuperintend the store. He added, that as soon as I had acquired a\nknowledge of mercantile transactions, he would improve my situation,\nby sending me with a cargo of corn and flour to the American islands,\nand by procuring me other lucrative commissions; so that, with good\nmanagement and economy, I might in time begin business with advantage\nfor myself.\n\nI relished these proposals. London began to tire me; the agreeable\nhours I had passed at Philadelphia presented themselves to my mind,\nand I wished to see them revive. I consequently engaged myself to Mr.\nDenham, at a salary of fifty pounds a year. This was, indeed less\nthan I earned as a compositor, but then I had a much fairer prospect.\nI took leave therefore, as I believed for ever, of printing, and gave\nmyself up entirely to my new occupation, spending all my time either\nin going from house to house with Mr. Denham to purchase goods, or\nin packing them up, or in expediting the workmen, &c. &c. When every\nthing, however, was on board, I had at last a few days leisure.\n\nDuring this interval, I was one day sent for by a gentleman, whom I\nknew only by name. It was Sir William Wyndham. I went to his house.\nHe had by some means heard of my performances between Chelsea and\nBlackfriars, and that I had taught the art of swimming to Wygate and\nanother young man in the course of a few hours. His two sons were on\nthe point of setting out on their travels; he was desirous that they\nshould previously learn to swim, and offered me a very liberal reward\nif I would undertake to instruct them. They were not yet arrived\nin town, and the stay I should make was uncertain; I could not\ntherefore accept his proposal. I was led, however, to suppose from\nthis incident, that if I had wished to remain in London, and open a\nswimming school, I should perhaps have gained a great deal of money.\nThis idea struck me so forcibly that, had the offer been made sooner,\nI should have dismissed the thought of returning as yet to America.\nSome years after, you and I had a more important business to settle\nwith one of the sons of Sir William Wyndham, then Lord Egremont. But\nlet us not anticipate events.\n\nI thus passed about eighteen months in London, working almost without\nintermission at my trade, avoiding all expence on my own account,\nexcept going now and then to the play, and purchasing a few books.\nBut my friend Ralph kept me poor. He owed me about twenty-seven\npounds, which was so much money lost; and when considered as taken\nfrom my little savings, was a very great sum. I had, notwithstanding\nthis, a regard for him, as he possessed many amiable qualities. But\nthough I had done nothing for myself in point of fortune, I had\nincreased my stock of knowledge, either by the many excellent books\nI had read, or the conversation of learned and literary persons with\nwhom I was acquainted.\n\nWe sailed from Gravesend the 23d of July, 1726. For the incidents\nof my voyage I refer you to my Journal, where you will find all its\ncircumstances minutely related. We landed at Philadelphia on the 11th\nof the following October.\n\nKeith had been deprived of his office of governor, and was succeeded\nby Major Gordon. I met him walking in the streets as a private\nindividual. He appeared a little ashamed at seeing me, but passed on\nwithout saying any thing.\n\nI should have been equally ashamed myself at meeting Miss Read, had\nnot her family, justly despairing of my return after reading my\nletter, advised her to give me up, and marry a potter, of the name\nof Rogers; to which she consented: but he never made her happy,\nand she soon separated from him, refusing to cohabit with him, or\neven bear his name, on account of a report which prevailed, of his\nhaving another wife. His skill in his profession had seduced Miss\nRead's parents; but he was as bad a subject as he was excellent as a\nworkman. He involved himself in debt, and fled, in the year 1727 or\n1728, to the West Indies, where he died.\n\nDuring my absence Keimer had taken a more considerable house, in\nwhich he kept a shop, that was well supplied with paper, and various\nother articles. He had procured some new types, and a number of\nworkmen; among whom, however, there was not one who was good for any\nthing; and he appeared not to want business.\n\nMr. Denham took a warehouse in Water-street, where we exhibited our\ncommodities. I applied myself closely, studied accounts, and became\nin a short time very expert in trade. We lodged and ate together. He\nwas sincerely attached to me, and acted towards me as if he had been\nmy father. On my side, I respected and loved him. My situation was\nhappy; but it was a happiness of no long duration.\n\nEarly in February, 1727, when I entered into my twenty-second year,\nwe were both taken ill. I was attacked with a pleurisy, which had\nnearly carried me off; I suffered terribly, and considered it as\nall over with me. I felt indeed a sort of disappointment when I\nfound myself likely to recover, and regretted that I had still to\nexperience, sooner or later, the same disagreeable scene again.\n\nI have forgotten what was Mr. Denham's disorder; but it was a tedious\none, and he at last sunk under it. He left me a small legacy in his\nwill, as a testimony of his friendship; and I was once more abandoned\nto myself in the wide world, the warehouse being confided to the care\nof testamentary executor, who dismissed me.\n\nMy brother-in-law, Holmes, who happened to be at Philadelphia,\nadvised me to return to my former profession; and Keimer offered me\na very considerable salary if I would undertake the management of\nhis printing-office, that he might devote himself entirely to the\nsuperintendence of his shop. His wife and relations in London had\ngiven me a bad character of him; and I was loth, for the present, to\nhave any concern with him. I endeavoured to get employment as a clerk\nto a merchant; but not readily finding a situation, I was induced to\naccept Keimer's proposal.\n\nThe following were the persons I found in his printing-house:\n\nHugh Meredith, a Pennsylvanian, about thirty-five years of age.\nHe had been brought up to husbandry, was honest, sensible, had\nsome experience, and was fond of reading; but too much addicted to\ndrinking.\n\nStephen Potts, a young rustic, just broke from school, and of\nrustic education, with endowments rather above the common order,\nand a competent portion of understanding and gaiety; but a little\nidle. Keimer had engaged these two at very low wages, which he had\npromised to raise every three months a shilling a week, provided\ntheir improvement in the typographic art should merit it. This future\nincrease of wages was the bait he had made use of to ensnare them.\nMeredith was to work at the press, and Potts to bind books, which he\nhad engaged to teach them, though he understood neither himself.\n\nJohn Savage, an Irishman, who had been brought up to no trade, and\nwhose service, for a period of four years, Keimer had purchased of\nthe captain of a ship. He was also to be a pressman.\n\nGeorge Webb, an Oxford scholar, whose time he had in like manner\nbought for four years, intending him for a compositor. I shall speak\nmore of him presently.\n\nLastly, David Harry, a country lad, who was apprenticed to him.\n\nI soon perceived that Keimer's intention, in engaging me at a price\nso much above what he was accustomed to give, was, that I might form\nall these raw journeymen and apprentices, who scarcely cost him any\nthing, and who, being indentured, would, as soon as they should be\nsufficiently instructed, enable him to do without me. I nevertheless\nadhered to my agreement. I put the office in order, which was in the\nutmost confusion, and brought his people by degrees, to pay attention\nto their work, and to execute it in a more masterly style.\n\nIt was singular to see an Oxford scholar in the condition of a\npurchased servant. He was not more than eighteen years of age,\nand the following are the particulars he gave me of himself. Born\nat Gloucester, he had been educated at a grammar-school, and had\ndistinguished himself among the scholars by his superior style of\nacting, when they represented dramatic performances. He was a member\nof a literary club in the town; and some pieces of his composition,\nin prose as well as in verse, had been inserted in the Gloucester\npapers. From hence he was sent to Oxford, where he remained about\na year: but he was not contented, and wished above all things to\nsee London, and become an actor. At length, having received fifteen\nguineas to pay his quarter's board, he decamped with the money, from\nOxford, hid his gown in a hedge, and travelled to London. There,\nhaving no friend to direct him, he fell into bad company, soon\nsquandered his fifteen guineas, could find no way of being introduced\nto the actors, became contemptible, pawned his cloaths, and was in\nwant of bread. As he was walking along the streets, almost famished\nwith hunger, and not knowing what to do, a recruiting-bill was put\ninto his hand, which offered an immediate treat and bounty-money to\nwhoever was disposed to serve in America. He instantly repaired to\nthe house of rendezvous, inlisted himself, was put on board a ship\nand conveyed to America, without ever writing a line to inform his\nparents what was become of him. His mental vivacity, and good natural\ndisposition, made him an excellent companion; but he was indolent,\nthoughtless, and to the last degree imprudent.\n\nJohn, the Irishman, soon ran away. I began to live very agreeably\nwith the rest. They respected me, and the more so as they found\nKeimer incapable of instructing them, and as they learned something\nfrom me every day. We never worked on a Saturday, it being Keimer's\nSabbath, so that I had two days a week for reading.\n\nI increased my acquaintance with persons of information and knowledge\nin the town. Keimer himself treated me with great civility, and\napparent esteem; and I had nothing to give me uneasiness but my debt\nto Vernon, which I was unable to pay, my savings as yet being very\nlittle. He had the goodness, however, not to ask me for the money.\n\nOur press was frequently in want of the necessary quantity of letter,\nand there was no such trade as that of letter-founder in America. I\nhad seen the practice of this art at the house of James, in London,\nbut had at the time paid it very little attention; I however,\ncontrived to fabricate a mould. I made use of such letters as we had\nfor punches, founded new letters of lead in mattrices of clay, and\nthus supplied in a tolerable manner the wants that were most pressing.\n\nI also, upon occasion, engraved various ornaments, made ink, gave an\neye to the shop--in short, I was in every respect the _factotum_. But\nuseful as I made myself, I perceived that my services became every\nday of less importance, in proportion as the other men improved;\nand when Keimer paid me my second quarter's wages, he gave me to\nunderstand they were too heavy, and that he thought I ought to make\nan abatement. He became by degrees less civil, and assumed more the\ntone of master. He frequently found fault, was difficult to please,\nand seemed always on the point of coming to an open quarrel with me.\n\nI continued, however, to bear it patiently, conceiving that his ill\nhumour was partly occasioned by the derangement and embarrassment of\nhis affairs. At last a slight incident broke our connection. Hearing\na noise in the neighbourhood, I put my head out at the window, to see\nwhat was the matter. Keimer being in the street, observed me, and in\na loud and angry tone bid me to mind my work; adding some reproachful\nwords, which piqued me the more, as they were uttered in the street;\nand the neighbours, whom the same noise attracted to the windows,\nwere witnesses of the manner in which I was treated. He immediately\ncame up to the printing-room, where he continued to exclaim against\nme. The quarrel became warm on both sides, and he gave me notice to\nquit him at the expiration of three months, as had been agreed upon\nbetween us; regretting that he was obliged to give me so long a term.\nI told him that his regret was superfluous, as I was ready to quit\nhim instantly; and I took my hat and came out of the house, begging\nMeredith to take care of some things which I left, and bring them to\nmy lodgings.\n\nMeredith came to me in the evening. We talked for some time upon the\nquarrel that had taken place. He had conceived a great veneration\nfor me, and was sorry I should quit the house, while he remained in\nit. He dissuaded me from returning to my native country, as I began\nto think of doing. He reminded me that Keimer owed more than he\npossessed; that his creditors began to be alarmed; that he kept his\nshop in a wretched state, often selling things at prime cost for the\nsake of ready money, and continually giving credit without keeping\nany accounts; that of consequence he must very soon fail, which would\noccasion a vacancy from which I might derive advantage. I objected my\nwant of money. Upon which he informed me that his father had a very\nhigh opinion of me, and, from a conversation that had passed between\nthem, he was sure he would advance whatever might be necessary to\nestablish us, if I was willing to enter into partnership with him.\n\"My time with Keimer,\" added he, \"will be at an end next spring. In\nthe mean time we may send to London for our press and types. I know\nthat I am no workman; but if you agree to the proposal, your skill in\nthe business will be balanced by the capital I shall furnish, and we\nwill share the profits equally.\" His proposal was reasonable, and I\nfell in with it. His father, who was then in town, approved of it. He\nknew that I had some ascendancy over his son, as I had been able to\nprevail on him to abstain for a long time from drinking brandy; and\nhe hoped that, when more closely connected with him, I should cure\nhim entirely of this unfortunate habit.\n\nI gave the father a list of what it would be necessary to import\nfrom London. He took it to a merchant, and the order was given. We\nagreed to keep the secret till the arrival of the materials, and\nI was in the mean time to procure work, if possible, in another\nprinting-house; but there was no place vacant, and I remained idle.\nAfter some days, Keimer having the expectation of being employed\nto print some New Jersey money-bills, that would require types and\nengravings which I only could furnish, and fearful that Bradford, by\nengaging me, might deprive him of this undertaking, sent me a very\ncivil message, telling me that old friends ought not to be disunited\non account of a few words, which were the effect only of a momentary\npassion, and inviting me to return to him. Meredith persuaded me to\ncomply with the invitation, particularly as it would afford him more\nopportunities of improving himself in the business, by means of my\ninstructions. I did so; and we lived upon better terms than before\nour separation.\n\nHe obtained the New Jersey business; and, in order to execute it, I\nconstructed a copper-plate printing-press! the first that had been\nseen in the country. I engraved various ornaments and vignettes for\nthe bills; and we repaired to Burlington together, where I executed\nthe whole to the general satisfaction; and he received a sum of money\nfor this work, which enabled him to keep his head above water for a\nconsiderable time longer.\n\nAt Burlington I formed an acquaintance with the principal personages\nof the province; many of whom were commissioned by the assembly to\nsuperintend the press, and to see that no more bills were printed\nthan the law had prescribed. Accordingly they were constantly with\nus, each in his turn; and he that came, commonly brought with him\na friend or two to bear him company. My mind was more cultivated\nby reading than Keimer's; and it was for this reason, probably,\nthat they set more value on my conversation. They took me to their\nhouses, introduced me to their friends, and treated me with the\ngreatest civility; while Keimer, though master, saw himself a little\nneglected. He was, in fact, a strange animal, ignorant of the common\nmodes of life, apt to oppose with rudeness generally received\nopinions, an enthusiast in certain points of religion, disgustingly\nunclean in his person, and a little knavish withal.\n\nWe remained there nearly three months, and at the expiration of\nthis period I could include in the list of my friends, Judge Allen,\nSamuel Bustil, secretary of the province, Isaac Pearson, Joseph\nCooper, several of the Smiths, all members of the assembly, and Isaac\nDecon, inspector-general. The last was a shrewd and subtle old man.\nHe told me, that, when a boy, his first employment had been that of\ncarrying clay to the brick-makers; that he did not learn to write\ntill he was somewhat advanced in life; and that he was afterwards\nemployed as an underling to a surveyor, who taught him his trade,\nand that by industry he had at last acquired a competent fortune.\n\"I foresee,\" said he one day to me, \"that you will soon supplant\nthis man,\" speaking of Keimer, \"and get a fortune in the business at\nPhiladelphia.\" He was wholly ignorant at the time, of my intention of\nestablishing myself there, or any where else. These friends were very\nserviceable to me in the end, as was I also, upon occasion, to some\nof them; and they have continued ever since their esteem for me.\n\nBefore I relate the particulars of my entrance into business, it may\nbe proper to inform you what was at that time the state of my mind\nas to moral principles, that you may see the degree of influence they\nhad upon the subsequent events of my life.\n\nMy parents had given me betimes religious impressions; and I received\nfrom my infancy a pious education in the principles of Calvinism.\nBut scarcely was I arrived at fifteen years of age, when, after\nhaving doubted in turn of different tenets, according as I found\nthem combated in the different books that I read, I began to doubt\nof revelation itself. Some volumes against deism fell into my hands.\nThey were said to be the substance of sermons preached at Boyle's\nlecture. It happened that they produced on me an effect precisely\nthe reverse of what was intended by the writers; for the arguments\nof the deists, which were cited in order to be refuted, appeared\nto me much more forcible than the refutation itself. In a word, I\nsoon became a perfect deist. My arguments perverted some other young\npersons, particularly Collins and Ralph. But in the sequel, when I\nrecollected that they had both used me extremely ill, without the\nsmallest remorse; when I considered the behaviour of Keith, another\nfree-thinker, and my own conduct towards Vernon and Miss Read, which\nat times gave me great uneasiness, I was led to suspect that this\ndoctrine, though it might be true, was not very useful. I began to\nentertain a less favourable opinion of my London pamphlet to which I\nhad prefixed as a motto, the following lines of Dryden:\n\n    Whatever is--is right; though purblind man\n    Sees but a part of the chain, the nearest link,\n    His eyes not carrying to the equal beam\n    That poises all above.\n\nAnd of which the object was to prove, from the attributes of God,\nhis goodness, wisdom, and power, that there could be no such thing\nas evil in the world; that vice and virtue did not in reality exist,\nand were nothing more than vain distinctions. I no longer regarded it\nas so blameless a work as I had formerly imagined; and I suspected\nthat some error must have imperceptibly glided into my argument, by\nwhich all the inferences I had drawn from it had been affected, as\nfrequently happens in metaphysical reasonings. In a word, I was at\nlast convinced that truth, probity, and sincerity in transactions\nbetween man and man, were of the utmost importance to the happiness\nof life; and I resolved from that moment, and wrote the resolution in\nmy journal, to practise them as long as I lived.\n\nRevelation, indeed, as such, had no influence on my mind; but I was\nof opinion that, though certain actions could not be bad merely\nbecause revelation had prohibited them, or good because it enjoined\nthem, yet it was probable that those actions were prohibited because\nthey were bad for us, or enjoined because advantageous in their\nnature, all things considered. This persuasion, divine providence,\nor some guardian angel, and perhaps a concurrence of favourable\ncircumstances co-operating, preserved me from all immorality, or\ngross and _voluntary_, injustice, to which my want of religion was\ncalculated to expose me, in the dangerous period of youth, and in\nthe hazardous situations in which I sometimes found myself, among\nstrangers, and at a distance from the eye and admonitions of my\nfather. I may say _voluntary_, because the errors into which I had\nfallen, had been in a manner the forced result either of my own\ninexperience, or the dishonesty of others. Thus, before I entered\non my new career, I had imbibed solid principles, and a character\nof probity. I knew their value; and I made a solemn engagement with\nmyself never to depart from them.\n\nI had not long returned from Burlington before our printing materials\narrived from London. I settled my accounts with Keimer, and quitted\nhim, with his own consent, before he had any knowledge of our plan.\nWe found a house to let near the market. We took it; and to render\nthe rent less burdensome, (it was then twenty-four pounds a year, but\nI have since known it let for seventy,) we admitted Thomas Godfrey, a\nglazier, with his family, who eased us of a considerable part of it;\nand with him we agreed to board.\n\nWe had no sooner unpacked our letters, and put our press in order,\nthan a person of my acquaintance, George House, brought us a\ncountryman, whom he had met in the streets enquiring for a printer.\nOur money was almost exhausted by the number of things we had\nbeen obliged to procure. The five shillings we received from this\ncountryman, the first fruits of our earnings, coming so seasonably,\ngave me more pleasure than any sum I have since gained; and the\nrecollection of the gratitude I felt on this occasion to George\nHouse, has rendered me often more disposed, than perhaps I should\notherwise have been, to encourage young beginners in trade.\n\nThere are in every country morose beings, who are always\nprognosticating ruin. There was one of this stamp at Philadelphia.\nHe was a man of fortune, declining in years, had an air of wisdom,\nand a very grave manner of speaking. His name was Samuel Mickle. I\nknew him not; but he stopped one day at my door, and asked me if I\nwas the young man who had lately opened a new printing-house. Upon\nmy answering in the affirmative, he said he was very sorry for me,\nas it was an expensive undertaking, and the money that had been\nlaid out upon it would be lost, Philadelphia being a place falling\ninto decay; its inhabitants having all, or nearly all of them,\nbeen obliged to call together their creditors. That he knew, from\nundoubted fact, the circumstances which might lead us to suppose the\ncontrary, such as new buildings, and the advanced price of rent, to\nbe deceitful appearances, which, in reality, contributed to hasten\nthe general ruin; and he gave me so long a detail of misfortunes,\nactually existing, or which were soon to take place, that he left me\nalmost in a state of despair. Had I known this man before I entered\ninto trade, I should doubtless never have ventured. He continued,\nhowever, to live in this place of decay, and to declaim in the same\nstyle, refusing for many years to buy a house because all was going\nto wreck; and in the end I had the satisfaction to see him pay five\ntimes as much for one as it would have cost him had he purchased it\nwhen he first began his lamentations.\n\nI ought to have related, that, during the autumn of the preceding\nyear, I had united the majority of well-informed persons of my\nacquaintance into a club, which we called by the name of the _Junto_,\nand the object of which was to improve our understandings. We met\nevery Friday evening. The regulations I drew up, obliged every member\nto propose, in his turn, one or more questions upon some point of\nmorality, politics, or philosophy, which were to be discussed by\nthe society; and to read, once in three months, an essay of his\nown composition, on whatever subject he pleased. Our debates were\nunder the direction of a president, and were to be dictated only by\na sincere desire of truth; the pleasure of disputing, and the vanity\nof triumph having no share in the business; and in order to prevent\nundue warmth, every expression which implied obstinate adherence to\nan opinion, and all direct contradiction, were prohibited, under\nsmall pecuniary penalties.\n\nThe first members of our club were Joseph Breintnal, whose occupation\nwas that of a scrivener. He was a middle-aged man, of a good natural\ndisposition, strongly attached to his friends, a great lover of\npoetry, reading every thing that came in his way, and writing\ntolerably well, ingenious in many little trifles, and of an agreeable\nconversation.\n\nThomas Godfrey, a skilful, though self-taught mathematician, and\nwho was afterwards the inventor of what now goes by the name of\nHadley's quadrant; but he had little knowledge out of his own line,\nand was insupportable in company, always requiring, like the majority\nof mathematicians that had fallen in my way, an unusual precision\nin every thing that is said, continually contradicting, or making\ntrifling distinctions; a sure way of defeating all the ends of\nconversation. He very soon left us.\n\nNicholas Scull, a surveyor, and who became afterwards,\nsurveyor-general. He was fond of books, and wrote verses.\n\nWilliam Parsons, brought up to the trade of a shoe-maker, but who,\nhaving a taste for reading, had acquired a profound knowledge of\nmathematics. He first studied them with a view to astrology, and\nwas, afterwards, the first to laugh at his folly. He also became\nsurveyor-general.\n\nWilliam Mawgridge, a joiner, and very excellent mechanic; and in\nother respects a man of solid understanding.\n\nHugh Meredith, Stephen Potts, and George Webb, of whom I have already\nspoken.\n\nRobert Grace, a young man of fortune; generous, animated, and witty;\nfond of epigrams, but more fond of his friends.\n\nAnd lastly, William Coleman, at that time a merchant's clerk, and\nnearly of my own age. He had a cooler and clearer head, a better\nheart, and more scrupulous morals, than almost any other person\nI have ever met with. He became a very respectable merchant, and\none of our provincial judges. Our friendship subsisted, without\ninterruption, for more than forty years, till the period of his\ndeath; and the club continued to exist almost as long.\n\nThis was the best school of politics and philosophy that then existed\nin the province; for our questions, which were read a week previous\nto their discussion, induced us to peruse attentively such books\nas were written upon the subjects proposed, that we might be able\nto speak upon them more pertinently. We thus acquired the habit of\nconversing more agreeably; every object being discussed conformably\nto our regulations, and in a manner to prevent mutual disgust. To\nthis circumstance may be attributed the long duration of the club;\nwhich I shall have frequent occasion to mention as I proceed.\n\nI have introduced it here, as being one of the means on which I had\nto count for success in my business, every member exerting himself\nto procure work for us. Breintnal, among others, obtained for us,\non the part of the Quakers, the printing of forty sheets of their\nhistory; of which the rest was to be done by Keimer. Our execution\nof this work was by no means masterly; as the price was very low.\nIt was in folio, upon _pro patria_ paper, and in the _pica_ letter,\nwith heavy notes in the smallest type. I composed a sheet a-day, and\nMeredith put it to the press. It was frequently eleven o'clock at\nnight, sometimes later, before I had finished my distribution for the\nnext day's task; for the little things which our friends occasionally\nsent us, kept us back in this work: but I was so determined to\ncompose a sheet a-day, that one evening, when my form was imposed,\nand my day's work, as I thought, at an end, an accident having broken\nthis form, and deranged two complete folio pages, I immediately\ndistributed, and composed them anew before I went to bed.\n\nThis unwearied industry, which was perceived by our neighbours,\nbegan to acquire us reputation and credit. I learned, among other\nthings, that our new printing-house being the subject of conversation\nat a club of merchants, who met every evening, it was the general\nopinion that it would fail; there being already two printing-houses\nin the town, Keimer's and Bradford's. But Dr. Bard, whom you and I\nhad occasion to see, many years after, at his native town of St.\nAndrew's, in Scotland, was of a different opinion. \"The industry of\nthis Franklin, (said he,) is superior to any thing of the kind I\never witnessed. I see him still at work when I return from the club\nat night, and he is at it again in the morning before his neighbours\nare out of bed.\" This account struck the rest of the assembly, and\nshortly after, one of its members came to our house, and offered to\nsupply us with articles of stationary; but we wished not as yet to\nembarrass ourselves with keeping a shop. It is not for the sake of\napplause that I enter so freely into the particulars of my industry,\nbut that such of my descendants as shall read these memoirs may know\nthe use of this virtue, by seeing in the recital of my life the\neffects it operated in my favour.\n\nGeorge Webb, having found a friend who lent him the necessary sum to\nbuy out his time of Keimer, came one day to offer himself to us as\na journeyman. We could not employ him immediately; but I foolishly\ntold him, under the rose, that I intended shortly to publish a\nnew periodical paper, and that we should then have work for him.\nMy hopes of success, which I imparted to him, were founded on the\ncircumstance, that the only paper we had in Philadelphia at that\ntime, and which Bradford printed, was a paltry thing, miserably\nconducted, in no respect amusing, and which yet was profitable. I\nconsequently supposed that a good work of this kind could not fail\nof success. Webb betrayed my secret to Keimer, who, to prevent me,\nimmediately published the _prospectus_ of a paper that he intended to\ninstitute himself, and in which Webb was to be engaged.\n\nI was exasperated at this proceeding, and, with a view to counteract\nthem, not being able at present to institute my own paper, I wrote\nsome humourous pieces in Bradford's, under the title of the Busy\nBody[5]; and which was continued for several months by Breintnal.\nI hereby fixed the attention of the public upon Bradford's paper;\nand the _prospectus_ of Keimer, which we turned into ridicule, was\ntreated with contempt. He began, notwithstanding, his paper; and\nafter continuing it for nine months, having at most not more than\nninety subscribers, he offered it me for a mere trifle. I had for\nsome time been ready for such an engagement; I therefore instantly\ntook it upon myself, and, in a few years, it proved extremely\nprofitable to me.\n\nI perceive that I am apt to speak in the first person, though our\npartnership still continued. It is, perhaps, because, in fact, the\nwhole business devolved upon me. Meredith was no compositor, and\nbut an indifferent pressman; and it was rarely that he abstained\nfrom hard drinking. My friends were sorry to see me connected with\nhim; but I contrived to derive from it the utmost advantage the case\nadmitted.\n\nOur first number produced no other effect than any other paper\nwhich had appeared in the province, as to type and printing; but\nsome remarks, in my peculiar style of writing, upon the dispute\nwhich then prevailed between governor Burnet and the Massachusetts\nassembly, struck some persons as above mediocrity, caused the paper\nand its editors to be talked of, and in a few weeks, induced them to\nbecome our subscribers. Many others followed their example; and our\nsubscription continued to increase. This was one of the first good\neffects of the pains I had taken to learn to put my ideas on paper. I\nderived this farther advantage from it, that the leading men of the\nplace, seeing in the author of this publication a man so well able\nto use his pen, thought it right to patronize and encourage me.\n\nThe votes, laws, and other public pieces, were printed by Bradford.\nAn address of the house of assembly to the governor had been executed\nby him in a very coarse and incorrect manner. We reprinted it\nwith accuracy and neatness, and sent a copy to every member. They\nperceived the difference; and it so strengthened the influence of our\nfriends in the assembly, that we were nominated its printer for the\nfollowing year.\n\nAmong these friends I ought not to forget one member in particular,\nMr. Hamilton, whom I have mentioned in a former part of my narrative,\nand who was now returned from England. He warmly interested\nhimself for me on this occasion, as he did likewise on many others\nafterwards; having continued his kindness to me till his death.\n\nAbout this period Mr. Vernon reminded me of the debt I owed him, but\nwithout pressing me for payment. I wrote a handsome letter on the\noccasion, begging him to wait a little longer, to which he consented;\nand as soon as I was able I paid him, principal and interest, with\nmany expressions of gratitude; so that this error of my life was in a\nmanner atoned for.\n\nBut another trouble now happened to me, which I had not the smallest\nreason to expect. Meredith's father, who, according to our agreement,\nwas to defray the whole expence of our printing materials, had\nonly paid a hundred pounds. Another hundred was still due, and the\nmerchant being tired of waiting, commenced a suit against us. We\nbailed the action, but with the melancholy prospect, that, if the\nmoney was not forthcoming at the time fixed, the affair would come\nto issue, judgment be put in execution, our delightful hopes be\nannihilated, and ourselves entirely ruined; as the type and press\nmust be sold, perhaps, at half their value, to pay the debt.\n\nIn this distress, two real friends, whose generous conduct I\nhave never forgotten, and never shall forget while I retain the\nremembrance of any thing, came to me separately, without the\nknowledge of each other, and without my having applied to either of\nthem. Each offered me whatever money might be necessary to take the\nbusiness into my own hands, if the thing was practicable, as they\ndid not like I should continue in partnership with Meredith, who,\nthey said, was frequently seen drunk in the streets, and gambling\nat ale-houses, which very much injured our credit. These friends\nwere William Coleman and Robert Grace. I told them, that while there\nremained any probability that the Merediths would fulfil their part\nof the compact, I could not propose a separation, as I conceived\nmyself to be under obligations to them for what they had done\nalready, and were still disposed to do, if they had the power; but,\nin the end, should they fail in their engagement, and our partnership\nbe dissolved, I should then think myself at liberty to accept the\nkindness of my friends.\n\nThings remained for some time in this state. At last, I said one\nday to my partner, \"Your father is, perhaps, dissatisfied with your\nhaving a share only in the business, and is unwilling to do for two,\nwhat he would do for you alone. Tell me frankly if that be the case,\nand I will resign the whole to you, and do for myself as well as I\ncan.\"--\"No, (said he,) my father has really been disappointed in his\nhopes; he is not able to pay, and I wish to put him to no farther\ninconvenience. I see that I am not at all calculated for a printer;\nI was educated as a farmer, and it was absurd in me to come here,\nat thirty years of age, and bind myself apprentice to a new trade.\nMany of my countrymen are going to settle in North Carolina, where\nthe soil is exceedingly favourable. I am tempted to go with them,\nand to resume my former occupation. You will doubtless find friends\nwho will assist you. If you will take upon yourself the debts of the\npartnership, return my father the hundred pounds he has advanced, pay\nmy little personal debts, and give me thirty pounds and a new saddle,\nI will renounce the partnership, and consign over the whole stock to\nyou.\"\n\nI accepted this proposal without hesitation. It was committed to\npaper, and signed and sealed without delay. I gave him what he\ndemanded, and he departed soon after for Carolina, from whence he\nsent me, in the following year, two long letters, containing the best\naccounts that had yet been given of that country, as to climate,\nsoil, agriculture, &c. for he was well versed in these matters. I\npublished them in my newspaper, and they were received with great\nsatisfaction.\n\nAs soon as he was gone, I applied to my two friends, and not wishing\nto give a disobliging preference to either of them, I accepted\nfrom each, half what he had offered me, and which it was necessary\nI should have. I paid the partnership debts, and continued the\nbusiness on my own account; taking care to inform the public, by\nadvertisement, of the partnership being dissolved. This was, I\nthink, in the year 1729, or thereabout.\n\nNearly at the same period, the people demanded a new emission of\npaper money; the existing and only one that had taken place in the\nprovince, and which amounted to fifteen thousand pounds, being soon\nto expire. The wealthy inhabitants, prejudiced against every sort of\npaper currency, from the fear of its depreciation, of which there\nhad been an instance in the province of New England, to the injury\nof its holders, strongly opposed the measure. We had discussed this\naffair in our Junto, in which I was on the side of the new emission;\nconvinced that the first small sum, fabricated in 1723, had done\nmuch good in the province, by favouring commerce, industry, and\npopulation, since all the houses were now inhabited, and many others\nbuilding; whereas I remembered to have seen, when I first paraded\nthe streets of Philadelphia eating my roll, the majority of those\nin Walnut-street, Second-street, Fourth-street, as well as a great\nnumber in Chesnut and other streets, with papers on them signifying\nthat they were to be let; which made me think at the time that the\ninhabitants of the town were deserting it one after another.\n\nOur debates made me so fully master of the subject, that I wrote\nand published an anonymous pamphlet, entitled, \"An Enquiry into the\nNature and Necessity of a Paper currency.\" It was very well received\nby the lower and middling class of people; but it displeased the\nopulent, as it increased the clamour in favour of the new emission.\nHaving, however, no writer among them capable of answering it,\ntheir opposition became less violent; and there being in the house\nof assembly a majority for the measure, it passed. The friends I\nhad acquired in the house, persuaded that I had done the country\nessential service on this occasion, rewarded me by giving me the\nprinting of the bills. It was a lucrative employment, and proved a\nvery seasonable help to me; another advantage which I derived from\nhaving habituated myself to write.\n\nTime and experience so fully demonstrated the utility of paper\ncurrency, that it never after experienced any considerable\nopposition; so that it soon amounted to 55,000_l._ and in the year\n1739, to 80,000_l._ It has since risen, during the last war, to\n350,000_l._, trade, buildings and population, having in the interval\ncontinually increased: but I am now convinced that there are limits\nbeyond which paper money would be prejudicial.\n\nI soon after obtained, by the influence of my friend Hamilton, the\nprinting of the Newcastle paper money, another profitable work,\nas I then thought it, little things appearing great to persons of\nmoderate fortune; and they were really great to me, as proving great\nencouragements. He also procured me the printing of the laws and\nvotes of that government, which I retained as long as I continued in\nthe business.\n\nI now opened a small stationer's shop. I kept bonds and agreements of\nall kinds, drawn up in a more accurate form than had yet been seen in\nthat part of the world; a work in which I was assisted by my friend\nBreintnal. I had also paper, parchment, pasteboard, books, &c. One\nWhitemash, an excellent compositor, whom I had known in London, came\nto offer himself, I engaged him: and he continued constantly and\ndiligently to work with me. I also took an apprentice, the son of\nAquila Rose.\n\nI began to pay, by degrees, the debt I had contracted; and, in order\nto insure my credit and character as a tradesman, I took care not\nonly to be _really_ industrious and frugal, but also to avoid every\nappearance of the contrary. I was plainly dressed, and never seen in\nany place of public amusement. I never went a fishing or hunting. A\nbook, indeed, enticed me sometimes from my work, but it was seldom,\nby stealth, and occasioned no scandal; and to show that I did not\nthink myself above my profession, I conveyed home, sometimes in a\nwheelbarrow, the paper I purchased at the warehouses.\n\nI thus obtained the reputation of being an industrious young man, and\nvery punctual in his payments. The merchants who imported articles\nof stationary solicited my custom; others offered to furnish me with\nbooks, and my little trade went on prosperously.\n\nMeanwhile the credit and business of Keimer diminishing every day,\nhe was at last forced to sell his stock to satisfy his creditors;\nand he betook himself to Barbadoes, where he lived for sometime in\na very impoverished state. His apprentice, David Harry, whom I had\ninstructed while I worked for Keimer, having bought his materials,\nsucceeded him in the business. I was apprehensive, at first, of\nfinding in Harry a powerful competitor, as he was allied to an\nopulent and respectable family; I therefore proposed a partnership,\nwhich, happily for me, he rejected with disdain. He was extremely\nproud, thought himself a fine gentleman, lived extravagantly, and\npursued amusements which suffered him to be scarcely ever at home; of\nconsequence he became in debt, neglected his business, and business\nneglected him. Finding in a short time nothing to do in the country,\nhe followed Keimer to Barbadoes, carrying his printing materials with\nhim. There the apprentice employed his old master as a journeyman.\nThey were continually quarrelling; and Harry still getting in debt,\nwas obliged at last to sell his press and types, and return to his\nold occupation of husbandry in Pennsylvania. The person who purchased\nthem employed Keimer to manage the business; but he died a few years\nafter.\n\nI had now at Philadelphia no competitor but Bradford, who, being in\neasy circumstances, did not engage in the printing of books, except\nnow and then as workmen chanced to offer themselves; and was not\nanxious to extend his trade. He had, however, one advantage over me,\nas he had the direction of the post-office, and was of consequence\nsupposed to have better opportunities of obtaining news. His paper\nwas also supposed to be more advantageous to advertising customers;\nand in consequence of that supposition, his advertisements were\nmuch more numerous than mine: this was a source of great profit to\nhim, and disadvantageous to me. It was to no purpose that I really\nprocured other papers, and distributed my own, by means of the post;\nthe public took for granted my inability in this respect; and I was\nindeed unable to conquer it in any other mode than by bribing the\npost-boys, who served me only by stealth, Bradford being so illiberal\nas to forbid them. This treatment of his excited my resentment; and\nmy disgust was so rooted, that, when I afterwards succeeded him in\nthe post-office, I took care to avoid copying his example.\n\nI had hitherto continued to board with Godfrey, who, with his wife\nand children, occupied part of my house, and half of the shop for\nhis business; at which indeed he worked very little, being always\nabsorbed by mathematics. Mrs. Godfrey formed a wish of marrying\nme to the daughter of one of her relations. She contrived various\nopportunities of bringing us together, till she saw that I was\ncaptivated; which was not difficult, the lady in question possessing\ngreat personal merit. The parents encouraged my addresses, by\ninviting me continually to supper, and leaving us together, till at\nlast it was time to come to an explanation. Mrs. Godfrey undertook\nto negociate our little treaty. I gave her to understand, that I\nexpected to receive with the young lady a sum of money that would\nenable me at least to discharge the remainder of the debt for my\nprinting materials. It was then, I believe, not more than a hundred\npounds. She brought me for answer, that they had no such sum at their\ndisposal. I observed that it might easily be obtained, by a mortgage\non their house. The reply to this was, after a few days interval,\nthat they did not approve of the match; that they had consulted\nBradford, and found that the business of a printer was not lucrative;\nthat my letters would soon be worn out, and must be supplied with new\nones; that Keimer and Harry had failed, and that, probably, I should\ndo so too. Accordingly they forbade me the house, and the young lady\nwas confined. I know not if they had really changed their minds, or\nif it was merely an artifice, supposing our affections to be too\nfar engaged for us to desist, and that we should contrive to marry\nsecretly, which would leave them at liberty to give or not as they\npleased. But, suspecting this motive, I never went again to their\nhouse.\n\nSome time after, Mrs. Godfrey informed me that they were very\nfavourably disposed towards me, and wished me to renew the\nacquaintance; but I declared a firm resolution never to have any\nthing more to do with the family. The Godfreys expressed some\nresentment at this: and as we could no longer agree, they changed\ntheir residence, leaving me in possession of the whole house. I\nthen resolved to take no more lodgers. This affair having turned\nmy thoughts to marriage, I looked around me, and made overtures of\nalliance in other quarters: but I soon found that the profession of a\nprinter being generally looked upon as a poor trade, I could expect\nno money with a wife, at least, if I wished her to possess any other\ncharm. Meanwhile, that passion of youth, so difficult to govern, had\noften drawn me into intrigues with despicable women who fell in my\nway; which were not unaccompanied with expence and inconvenience,\nbesides the perpetual risk of injuring my health, and catching a\ndisease which I dreaded above all things. But I was fortunate enough\nto escape this danger.\n\nAs a neighbour and old acquaintance, I had kept up a friendly\nintimacy with the family of Miss Read. Her parents had retained\nan affection for me from the time of my lodging in their house. I\nwas often invited thither; they consulted me about their affairs,\nand I had been sometimes serviceable to them. I was touched with\nthe unhappy situation of their daughter, who was almost always\nmelancholy, and continually seeking solitude. I regarded my\nforgetfulness and inconstancy, during my abode in London, as the\nprincipal cause of her misfortune, though her mother had the candour\nto attribute the fault to herself, rather than to me, because after\nhaving prevented our marriage previously to my departure, she had\ninduced her to marry another in my absence.\n\nOur mutual affection revived; but there existed great obstacles\nto our union. Her marriage was considered, indeed, as not being\nvalid, the man having, it was said, a former wife still living in\nEngland; but of this it was difficult to obtain a proof at so great\na distance; and though a report prevailed of his being dead, yet we\nhad no certainty of it; and supposing it to be true, he had left\nmany debts, for the payment of which his successor might be sued. We\nventured, nevertheless, in spite of all these difficulties; and I\nmarried her on the 1st of September, 1730. None of the inconveniences\nwe had feared happened to us. She proved to me a good and faithful\ncompanion, and contributed essentially to the success of my shop. We\nprospered together, and it was our mutual study to render each other\nhappy. Thus I corrected, as well as I could, this great error of my\nyouth.\n\nOur club was not at that time established at a tavern. We held our\nmeetings at the house of Mr. Grace, who appropriated a room to\nthe purpose. Some member observed one day, that as our books were\nfrequently quoted in the course of our discussions, it would be\nconvenient to have them collected in the room in which we assembled,\nin order to be consulted upon occasion; and that, by thus forming a\ncommon library of our individual collections, each would have the\nadvantage of using the books of all the other members, which would\nnearly be the same as if he possessed them all himself. The idea\nwas approved, and we accordingly brought such books as we thought\nwe could spare, which were placed at the end of the club-room.\nThey amounted not to so many as we expected; and through we made\nconsiderable use of them, yet some inconveniences resulting, from\nwant of care, it was agreed, after about a year, to discontinue the\ncollection; and each took away such books as belonged to him.\n\nIt was now that I first started the idea of establishing, by\nsubscription, a public library, I drew up the proposals, had them\ningrossed in form by Brockden the attorney, and my project succeeded,\nas will be seen in the sequel.\n\n\n  [The life of Dr. Franklin, as written by himself, so far as it\n  has yet been communicated to the world, breaks off in this place.\n  We understand that it was continued by him somewhat farther,\n  and we hope that the remainder will, at some future period, be\n  communicated to the public. We have no hesitation in supposing that\n  every reader will find himself greatly interested by the frank\n  simplicity and the philosophical discernment by which these pages\n  are so eminently characterized. We have therefore thought proper,\n  in order as much as possible to relieve his regret, to subjoin the\n  following continuation, by one of the Doctor's intimate friends.\n  It is extracted from an American periodical publication, and was\n  written by the late Dr. Stuber,[6] of Philadelphia.]\n\n\nThe promotion of literature had been little attended to in\nPennsylvania. Most of the inhabitants were too much immersed in\nbusiness to think of scientific pursuits; and those few, whose\ninclinations led them to study, found it difficult to gratify them,\nfrom the want of libraries sufficiently large. In such circumstances,\nthe establishment of a public library was an important event. This\nwas first set on foot by Franklin, about the year 1731. Fifty persons\nsubscribed forty shillings each, and agreed to pay ten shillings\nannually. The number increased; and in 1742, the company was\nincorporated by the name of \"The Library Company of Philadelphia.\"\nSeveral other companies were formed in this city in imitation of\nit. These were all at length united with the Library Company of\nPhiladelphia, which thus received a considerable accession of books\nand property. It now contains about eight thousand volumes on all\nsubjects, a philosophical apparatus, and a well-chosen collection of\nnatural and artificial curiosities. For its support the company now\npossesses landed property of considerable value. They have lately\nbuilt an elegant house in Fifth-street, in the front of which will be\nerected a marble statue of their founder, Benjamin Franklin.\n\nThis institution was greatly encouraged by the friends of literature\nin America and in Great Britain. The Penn family distinguished\nthemselves by their donations. Amongst the earliest friends of\nthis institution must be mentioned the late Peter Collinson,\nthe friend and correspondent of Dr. Franklin. He not only made\nconsiderable presents himself, and obtained others from his friends,\nbut voluntarily undertook to manage the business of the Company\nin London, recommending books, purchasing and shipping them. His\nextensive knowledge, and zeal for the promotion of science, enabled\nhim to execute this important trust with the greatest advantage.\nHe continued to perform these services for more than thirty years,\nand uniformly refused to accept of any compensation. During this\ntime, he communicated to the directors every information relative to\nimprovements and discoveries in the arts, agriculture, and philosophy.\n\nThe beneficial influence of this institution was soon evident. The\nterms of subscription to it were so moderate that it was accessible\nto every one. Its advantages were not confined to the opulent. The\ncitizens in the middle and lower walks of life were equally partakers\nof them. Hence a degree of information was extended amongst all\nclasses of people. The example was soon followed. Libraries were\nestablished in various places, and they are now become very numerous\nin the United States, and particularly in Pennsylvania. It is to\nbe hoped that they will be still more widely extended, and that\ninformation will be every where increased. This will be the best\nsecurity for maintaining our liberties. A nation of well informed\nmen, who have been taught to know and prize the rights which God has\ngiven them, cannot be enslaved. It is in the regions of ignorance\nthat tyranny reigns. It flies before the light of science. Let the\ncitizens of America, then, encourage institutions calculated to\ndiffuse knowledge amongst the people; and amongst these, public\nlibraries are not the least important.\n\nIn 1732, Franklin began to publish Poor Richard's Almanack. This\nwas remarkable for the numerous and valuable concise maxims which\nit contained, all tending to exhort to industry and frugality. It\nwas continued for many years. In the almanack for the last year, all\nthe maxims were collected in an address to the reader, entitled, The\nWay to Wealth. This has been translated into various languages, and\ninserted in different publications. It has also been printed on a\nlarge sheet, and may be seen framed in many houses in this city. This\naddress contains, perhaps, the best practical system of economy that\never has appeared. It is written in a manner intelligible to every\none, and which cannot fail of convincing every reader of the justice\nand propriety of the remarks and advice which it contains. The demand\nfor this almanack was so great, that ten thousand have been sold in\none year; which must be considered as a very large number, especially\nwhen we reflect, that this country was, at that time, but thinly\npeopled. It cannot be doubted that the salutary maxims contained in\nthese almanacks must have made a favourable impression upon many of\nthe readers of them.\n\nIt was not long before Franklin entered upon his political career.\nIn the year 1736, he was appointed clerk to the general assembly\nof Pennsylvania, and was re-elected by succeeding assemblies for\nseveral years, until he was chosen a representative for the city of\nPhiladelphia.\n\nBradford, the printer, mentioned above, was possessed of some\nadvantages over Franklin, by being post-master, thereby having an\nopportunity of circulating his paper more extensively, and thus\nrendering it a better vehicle for advertisements, &c. Franklin, in\nhis turn, enjoyed these advantages, by being appointed post-master\nof Philadelphia in 1737. Bradford, while in office, had acted\nungenerously towards Franklin, preventing as much as possible the\ncirculation of his paper. He had now an opportunity of retaliating;\nbut his nobleness of soul prevented him from making use of it.\n\nThe police of Philadelphia had early appointed watchmen, whose duty\nit was to guard the citizens against the midnight robber, and to\ngive an immediate alarm in case of fire. This duty is, perhaps, one\nof the most important that can be committed to any set of men. The\nregulations, however, were not sufficiently strict. Franklin saw the\ndangers arising from this cause, and suggested an alteration, so as\nto oblige the guardians of the night to be more watchful over the\nlives and property of the citizens. The propriety of this was\nimmediately perceived, and a reform was effected.\n\nThere is nothing more dangerous to growing cities than fires. Other\ncauses operate slowly, and almost imperceptibly; but these in a\nmoment render abortive the labours of ages. On this account there\nshould be, in all cities, ample provisions to prevent fires from\nspreading. Franklin early saw the necessity of these; and, about\nthe year 1728, formed the first fire company in this city. The\nexample was soon followed by others; and there are now numerous fire\ncompanies in the city and liberties. To these may be attributed in\na great degree the activity in extinguishing fires, for which the\ncitizens of Philadelphia are distinguished, and the inconsiderable\ndamage this city has sustained from this cause. Some time after,\nFranklin suggested the plan for an association for insuring houses\nfrom losses by fire, which was adopted; and the association continues\nto this day. The advantages experienced from it have been great.\n\nFrom the first settlement of Pennsylvania, a spirit of dispute\nappears to have prevailed among its inhabitants. During the life-time\nof William Penn, the constitution had been three times altered. After\nthis period the history of Pennsylvania is little else than a recital\nof the quarrels between the proprietaries, or their governors,\nand the assembly. The proprietaries contended for the right of\nexempting their land from taxes; to which the assembly would by no\nmeans consent. This subject of dispute interfered in almost every\nquestion, and prevented the most salutary laws from being enacted.\nThis at times subjected the people to great inconveniences. In the\nyear 1774, during a war between France and Great Britain, some\nFrench and Indians had made inroads upon the frontier inhabitants\nof the province, who were unprovided for such an attack. It became\nnecessary that the citizens should arm for their defence. Governor\nThomas recommended to the assembly, who were then sitting, to pass\na militia law. To this they would agree only upon condition, that\nhe should give his assent to certain laws, which appeared to them\ncalculated to promote the interests of the people. As he thought\nthese laws would be injurious to the proprietaries, he refused his\nassent to them; and the assembly broke up without passing a militia\nbill. The situation of the province was at this time truly alarming:\nexposed to the continual inroad of an enemy, and destitute of every\nmeans of defence. At this crisis Franklin stepped forth, and proposed\nto a meeting of the citizens of Philadelphia, a plan of a voluntary\nassociation for the defence of the province. This was approved\nof, and signed by twelve hundred persons immediately. Copies were\ncirculated without delay through the province; and in a short time\nthe number of signatures amounted to ten thousand. Franklin was\nchosen colonel of the Philadelphia regiment; but he did not think\nproper to accept of the honour.\n\nPursuits of a different nature now occupied the greatest part of\nhis attention for some years. He engaged in a course of electrical\nexperiments, with all the ardor and thirst for discovery which\ncharacterized the philosophers of that day. Of all the branches of\nexperimental philosophy, electricity had been least explored. The\nattractive power of amber is mentioned by Theophrastus and Pliny,\nand from them, by later naturalists. In the year 1600, Gilbert, an\nEnglish physician, enlarged considerably the catalogue of substances\nwhich have the property of attracting light bodies. Boyle, Otto\nGuericke, a burgomaster of Magdeburg, celebrated as the inventor\nof the air-pump, Dr. Wall, and Sir Isaac Newton added some facts.\nGuericke first observed the repulsive power of electricity, and the\nlight and noise produced by it. In 1709, Hawkesbec communicated\nsome important observations and experiments to the world. For\nseveral years electricity was entirely neglected, until Mr. Grey\napplied himself to it, in 1728, with great assiduity. He and his\nfriend Mr. Wheeler, made a great variety of experiments, in which\nthey demonstrated, that electricity may be communicated from one\nbody to another, even without being in contact, and in this way may\nbe conducted to a great distance. Mr. Grey afterwards found, that,\nby suspending rods of iron by silk or hair lines, and bringing\nan excited tube under them, sparks might be drawn, and a light\nperceived at the extremities in the dark. M. du Faye, intendant\nof the French king's gardens, made a number of experiments, which\nadded not a little to the science. He made the discovery of two\nkinds of electricity, which he called _vitreous_ and _resinous_; the\nformer produced by rubbing glass, the latter from excited sulphur,\nsealing-wax, &c. But this he afterwards gave up as erroneous. Between\nthe years 1739 and 1742, Desaguliers made a number of experiments,\nbut added little of importance. He first used the terms _conductors_\nand _electrics per se_. In 1742, several ingenious Germans engaged\nin this subject, of these the principal were, professor Boze\nof Wittemberg, professor Winkler of Leipsic, Gordon, a Scotch\nBenedictine monk, professor of philosophy at Erfurt, and Dr. Ludolf,\nof Berlin. The result of their researches astonished the philosophers\nof Europe. Their apparatus was large, and by means of it they were\nenabled to collect large quantities of the electric fluid, and thus\nto produce phenomena which had been hitherto unobserved. They killed\nsmall birds, and set spirits on fire. Their experiments excited the\ncuriosity of other philosophers. Collinson, about the year 1745,\nsent to the Library Company of Philadelphia, an account of these\nexperiments, together with a tube, and directions how to use it.\nFranklin, with some of his friends, immediately engaged in a course\nof experiments, the result of which is well known. He was enabled\nto make a number of important discoveries, and to propose theories\nto account for various phenomena, which have been universally\nadopted, and which bid fair to endure for ages. His observations\nhe communicated in a series of letters, to his friend Collinson,\nthe first of which is dated March 28, 1747. In these he shews the\npower of points in drawing and throwing off the electrical matter,\nwhich had hitherto escaped the notice of electricians. He also made\nthe grand discovery of a _plus_ and _minus_, or of a _positive_ and\n_negative_ state of electricity. We give him the honour of this,\nwithout hesitation; although the English have claimed it for their\ncountryman, Dr. Watson. Watson's paper is dated January 21, 1748;\nFranklin's July 11, 1747: several months prior. Shortly after,\nFranklin, from his principles of the plus and minus state, explained,\nin a satisfactory manner, the phenomena of the Leyden phial, first\nobserved by Mr. Cuneus, or by professor Muschenbroeck, of Leyden,\nwhich had much perplexed philosophers. He shewed clearly, that when\ncharged, the bottle contained no more electricity than before, but\nthat as much was taken from one side as was thrown on the other;\nand that, to discharge it, nothing was necessary but to produce a\ncommunication between the two sides, by which the equilibrium might\nbe restored, and that then no signs of electricity would remain.\nHe afterwards demonstrated, by experiments, that the electricity\ndid not reside in the coating, as had been supposed, but in the\npores of the glass itself. After a phial was charged, he removed\nthe coating, and found that upon applying a new coating, the shock\nmight still be received. In the year 1749, he first suggested his\nidea of explaining the phenomena of thunder-gusts, and of the aurora\nborealis, upon electrical principles. He points out many particulars\nin which lightning and electricity agree; and he adduces many\nfacts, and reasonings from facts, in support of his positions. In\nthe same year he conceived the astonishingly bold and grand idea of\nascertaining the truth of his doctrine, by actually drawing down\nthe lightning, by means of sharp-pointed iron rods, raised into the\nregion of the clouds. Even in this uncertain state, his passion\nto be useful to mankind, displayed itself in a powerful manner.\nAdmitting the identity of electricity and lightning, and knowing the\npower of points in repelling bodies charged with electricity, and in\nconducting their fire silently and imperceptibly, he suggested the\nidea of securing houses, ships, &c. from being damaged by lightning,\nby erecting pointed rods, that should rise some feet above the most\nelevated part, and descend some feet into the ground or the water.\nThe effect of these, he concluded, would be either to present a\nstroke by repelling the cloud beyond the striking distance, or by\ndrawing off the electrical fire which it contained; or, if they could\nnot effect this, they would at least conduct the electric matter to\nthe earth, without any injury to the building.\n\nIt was not until the summer of 1752, that he was enabled to complete\nhis grand and unparalleled discovery by experiment. The plan, which\nhe had originally proposed, was, to erect on some high tower, or\nother elevated place, a centry-box, from which should rise a pointed\niron rod, insulated by being fixed in a cake of resin. Electrified\nclouds passing over this, would, he conceived, impart to it a\nportion of their electricity, which would be rendered evident to the\nsenses by sparks being emitted, when a key, the knuckle, or other\nconductor was presented to it. Philadelphia at this time afforded\nno opportunity of trying an experiment of this kind. While Franklin\nwas waiting for the erection of a spire, it occurred to him that he\nmight have more ready access to the region of clouds by means of a\ncommon kite. He prepared one by fastening two cross sticks to a silk\nhandkerchief, which would not suffer so much from the rain as paper.\nTo the upright stick was affixed an iron point. The string was, as\nusual, of hemp, except the lower end, which was silk. Where the\nhempen string terminated, a key was fastened. With this apparatus, on\nthe appearance of a thunder-gust approaching, he went out into the\ncommons, accompanied by his son, to whom alone he communicated his\nintentions, well knowing the ridicule which, too generally for the\ninterest of science, awaits unsuccessful experiments in philosophy.\nHe placed himself under a shade, to avoid the rain--his kite was\nraised--a thunder-cloud passed over it--no sign of electricity\nappeared. He almost despaired of success, when, suddenly, he observed\nthe loose fibres of his string to move towards an erect position. He\nnow presented his knuckle to the key, and received a strong spark.\nHow exquisite must his sensations have been at this moment! On this\nexperiment depended the fate of his theory. If he succeeded, his\nname would rank high among those who had improved science; if he\nfailed, he must inevitably be subjected to the derision of mankind,\nor, what is worse, their pity, as a well-meaning man, but a weak,\nsilly projector. The anxiety with which he looked for the result\nof his experiment, may be easily conceived. Doubts and despair\nhad begun to prevail, when the fact was ascertained in so clear a\nmanner, that even the most incredulous could no longer withhold\ntheir assent.--Repeated sparks were drawn from the key, a phial\nwas charged, a shock given, and all the experiments made which are\nusually performed with electricity.\n\nAbout a month before this period, some ingenious Frenchman had\ncompleted the discovery in the manner originally proposed by Dr.\nFranklin. The letters which he sent to Mr. Collinson, it is said,\nwere refused a place in the Transactions of the Royal Society of\nLondon. However this may be, Collinson published them in a separate\nvolume, under the title of \"New Experiments and Observations on\nElectricity, made at Philadelphia, in America.\" They were read\nwith avidity, and soon translated into different languages. A very\nincorrect French translation fell into the hands of the celebrated\nBuffon, who, notwithstanding the disadvantages under which the work\nlaboured, was much pleased with it, and repeated the experiments\nwith success. He prevailed on his friend, M. D'Alibard, to give his\ncountrymen a more correct translation of the works of the American\nelectrician. This contributed much towards spreading a knowledge\nof Franklin's principles in France. The king, Louis XV., hearing\nof these experiments, expressed a wish to be a spectator of them.\nA course of experiments was given at the seat of the D'Ayen, at\nSt. Germain, by M. de Lor. The applauses which the king bestowed\nupon Franklin, excited in Buffon, D'Alibard, and De Lor, an earnest\ndesire of ascertaining the truth of his theory of thunder-gusts.\nBuffon erected his apparatus on the tower of Montbar, M. D'Alibard\nat Marly-la-ville, and De Lor at his house in the _Estrapade_ at\nParis, some of the highest ground in that capital. D'Alibard's\nmachine first shewed signs of electricity. On the 10th of May, 1752,\na thunder cloud passed over it, in the absence of M. D'Alibard, and\na number of sparks were drawn from it by Coiffier, joiner, with whom\nD'Alibard had left directions how to proceed, and by M. Raulet, the\nprior of Marly-la-ville. An account of this experiment was given to\nthe Royal Academy of Sciences, by M. D'Alibard, in a Memoir dated May\n13th, 1752. On the 18th of May, M. de Lor proved equally successful\nwith the apparatus erected at his own house. These philosophers soon\nexcited those of other parts of Europe to repeat the experiment;\namongst whom, none signalised themselves more than Father Beccaria,\nof Turin, to whose observations science is much indebted. Even the\ncold regions of Russia were penetrated by the ardor for discovery.\nProfessor Richman bade fair to add much to the stock of knowledge on\nthis subject, when an unfortunate flash from his conductor, put a\nperiod to his existence. The friends of science will long remember\nwith regret, the amiable martyr to electricity.\n\nBy these experiments Franklin's theory was established in the\nmost convincing manner. When the truth of it could no longer\nbe doubted, envy and vanity endeavoured to detract from its\nmerit. That an American, an inhabitant of the obscure city of\nPhiladelphia, the name of which was hardly known, should be able\nto make discoveries, and to frame theories, which had escaped\nthe notice of the enlightened philosophers of Europe, was too\nmortifying to be admitted. He must certainly have taken the idea\nfrom some one else. An American, a being of an inferior order, make\ndiscoveries!--Impossible. It was said, that the Abb\u00e9 Nollet, 1748,\nhad suggested the idea of the similarity of lightning and electricity\nin his _Le\u00e7ons de Physique_. It is true that the Abb\u00e9 mentions the\nidea, but he throws it out as a bare conjecture, and proposes no\nmode of ascertaining the truth of it. He himself acknowledges, that\nFranklin first entertained the bold thought of bringing lightning\nfrom the heavens, by means of pointed rods fixed in the air. The\nsimilarity of lightning and electricity is so strong, that we need\nnot be surprised at notice being taken of it, as soon as electrical\nphenomena became familiar. We find it mentioned by Dr. Wall and\nMr. Grey, while the science was in its infancy. But the honour of\nforming a regular theory of thunder-gusts, of suggesting a mode of\ndetermining the truth of it by experiments, and of putting these\nexperiments in practice, and thus establishing the theory upon a firm\nand solid basis, is incontestibly due to Franklin. D'Alibard, who\nmade the first experiments in France, says, that he only followed the\ntract which Franklin had pointed out.\n\nIt has been of late asserted, that the honour of completing the\nexperiment with the electrical kite, does not belong to Franklin.\nSome late English paragraphs have attributed it to some Frenchman,\nwhose name they do not mention; and the Abb\u00e9 Bertholon gives it to M.\nde Romas, assessor to the presideal of Nerac; the English paragraphs\nprobably refer to the same person. But a very slight attention will\nconvince us of the injustice of this procedure: Dr. Franklin's\nexperiment was made in June 1752; and his letter, giving an account\nof it, is dated October 19, 1752. M. de Romas made his first attempt\non the 14th of May, 1753, but was not successful until the 7th of\nJune; a year after Franklin had completed the discovery, and when it\nwas known to all the philosophers in Europe.\n\nBesides these great principles, Franklin's letters on electricity\ncontain a number of facts and hints, which have contributed greatly\ntowards reducing this branch of knowledge to a science. His friend\nMr. Kinnersley communicated to him a discovery of the different\nkinds of electricity, excited by rubbing glass and sulphur. This,\nwe have said, was first observed by M. Du Faye; but it was for many\nyears neglected. The philosophers were disposed to account for the\nphenomena, rather from a difference in the quantity of electricity\ncollected, and even Du Faye himself seems at last to have adopted\nthis doctrine. Franklin at first entertained the same idea; but upon\nrepeating the experiments, he perceived that Mr. Kinnersley was\nright; and that the _vitreous_ and _resinous_ electricity of du Faye\nwere nothing more than the _positive_, and _negative_ states which he\nhad before observed; and that the glass globe charged _positively_ or\nincreased the quantity of electricity on the prime conductor, while\nthe globe of sulphur diminished its natural quantity, or charged\n_negatively_. These experiments and observations opened a new field\nfor investigation, upon which electricians entered with avidity; and\ntheir labours have added much to the stock of our knowledge.\n\nIn September, 1752, Franklin entered upon a course of experiments,\nto determine the state of electricity in the clouds. From a number\nof experiments he formed this conclusion:--\"That the clouds of a\nthunder-gust are most commonly in a negative state of electricity,\nbut sometimes in a positive state;\" and from this it follows, as a\nnecessary consequence, \"that, for the most part, in thunder-strokes,\nit is the earth that strikes into the clouds, and not the clouds that\nstrike into the earth.\" The letter containing these observations is\ndated in September, 1753; and yet the discovery of ascending thunder\nhas been said to be of a modern date, and has been attributed to the\nAbb\u00e9 Bertholon, who published his memoir on the subject in 1776.\n\nFranklin's letters have been translated into most of the European\nlanguages, and into Latin. In proportion as they have become known,\nhis principles have been adopted. Some opposition was made to his\ntheories, particularly by the Abb\u00e9 Nollet, who was, however, but\nfeebly supported, while the first philosophers in Europe stepped\nforth in defence of Franklin's principles, amongst whom D'Alibard and\nBeccaria were the most distinguished. The opposition has gradually\nceased, and the Franklinian system is now universally adopted, where\nscience flourishes.\n\nThe important practical use which Franklin made of his discoveries,\nthe securing of houses from injury by lightning, has been already\nmentioned. Pointed conductors are now very common in America; but\nprejudice has hitherto prevented their general introduction into\nEurope, notwithstanding the most undoubted proofs of their utility\nhave been given. But mankind can with difficulty be brought to lay\naside practices, or to adopt new ones. And perhaps we have more\nreason, to be surprised, that a practice however rational, which was\nproposed about forty years ago, should in that time have been adopted\nin so many places, than that it has not universally prevailed. It is\nonly by degrees that the great body of mankind can be led into new\npractices, however salutary their tendency. It is now nearly eighty\nyears since inoculation was introduced into Europe and America; and\nit is so far from being general at present, that it will, require one\nor two centuries to render it so.\n\nIn the year 1745, Franklin published an account of his new-invented\nPennsylvania fire-places, in which he minutely and accurately states\nthe advantages of different kinds of fire-places; and endeavours to\nshow that the one which he describes is to be preferred to any other.\nThis contrivance has given rise to the open stoves now in general\nuse, which, however, differ from it in construction, particularly in\nnot having an air-box at the back, through which a constant supply of\nair, warmed in its passage, is thrown into the room. The advantages\nof this are, that as a stream of warm air is continually flowing into\nthe room, less fuel is necessary to preserve a proper temperature,\nand the room may be so tightened as that no air may enter through\ncracks--the consequence of which are colds, tooth-aches, &c.\n\nAlthough philosophy was a principal object of Franklin's pursuit for\nseveral years, he confined himself not to this. In the year 1747, he\nbecame a member of the general assembly of Pennsylvania, as a burgess\nfor the city of Philadelphia. Warm disputes subsisted at this time\nbetween the assembly and the proprietaries; each contending for\nwhat they conceived to be their just rights. Franklin, a friend to\nthe rights of man from his infancy, soon distinguished himself as a\nsteady opponent of the unjust schemes of the proprietaries. He was\nsoon looked up to as the head of the opposition; and to him have\nbeen attributed many of the spirited replies of the assembly, to the\nmessages of the governors. His influence in the body was very great.\nThis arose not from any superior powers of eloquence; he spoke but\nseldom, and he never was known to make any thing like an elaborate\nharangue. His speeches often consisted of a single sentence, or\nof a well-told story, the moral of which was always obviously to\nthe point. He never attempted the flowery fields of oratory. His\nmanner was plain and mild. His style in speaking was, like that of\nhis writings, simple, unadorned, and remarkably concise. With this\nplain manner, and his penetrating and solid judgment, he was able to\nconfound the most eloquent and subtle of his adversaries, to confirm\nthe opinions of his friends, and to make converts of the unprejudiced\nwho had opposed him. With a single observation, he has rendered of no\navail an elegant and lengthy discourse, and determined the fate of a\nquestion of importance.\n\nBut he was not contented with thus supporting the rights of the\npeople. He wished to render them permanently secure, which can\nonly be done by making their value properly known; and this must\ndepend upon increasing and extending information to every class of\nmen. We have already seen that he was the founder of the public\nlibrary, which contributed greatly towards improving the minds\nof the citizens. But this was not sufficient. The schools then\nsubsisting were in general of little utility. The teachers were men\nill qualified for the important duty which they had undertaken; and,\nafter all, nothing more could be obtained than the rudiments of a\ncommon English education. Franklin drew up a plan of an academy, to\nbe erected in the city of Philadelphia, suited to \"the state of an\ninfant country;\" but in this, as in all his plans, he confined not\nhis views to the present time only. He looked forward to the period\nwhen an institution on an enlarged plan would become necessary. With\nthis view, he considered his academy as \"a foundation for posterity\nto erect a seminary of learning more extensive, and suitable to\nfuture circumstances.\" In pursuance of this plan, the constitutions\nwere drawn up and signed on the 13th of November, 1749. In these,\ntwenty-four of the most respectable citizens of Philadelphia were\nnamed as trustees. In the choice of these, and in the formation of\nhis plan, Franklin is said to have consulted chiefly with Thomas\nHopkinson, Esq; the Rev. Richard Peters, then secretary of the\nprovince, Tench Francis, Esq. attorney-general, and Dr. Phineas Bond.\n\nThe following article shews a spirit of benevolence worthy of\nimitation; and, for the honour of our city, we hope that it continues\nto be in force.\n\n\"In case of the disability of the _rector_, or any master\n(established on the foundation by receiving a certain salary) through\nsickness, or any other natural infirmity, whereby he may be reduced\nto poverty, the trustees shall have power to contribute to his\nsupport, in proportion to his distress and merit, and the stock in\ntheir hands.\"\n\nThe last clause of the fundamental rules is expressed in language so\ntender and benevolent, so truly parental, that it will do everlasting\nhonour to the hearts and heads of the founders.\n\n\"It is hoped and expected that the trustees will make it their\npleasure, and in some degree their business, to visit the academy\noften; to encourage and countenance the youth, to countenance and\nassist the masters, and, by all means in their power, advance the\nusefulness and reputation of the design; that they will look on\nthe students as, in some measure, their own children, treat them\nwith familiarity and affection; and when they have behaved well,\ngone through their studies, and are to enter the world, they shall\nzealously unite, and make all the interest that can be made to\npromote and establish them, whether in business, offices, marriages,\nor any other thing for their advantage, in preference to all other\npersons whatsoever, even of equal merit.\"\n\nThe constitutions being signed and made public, with the names of\nthe gentlemen proposing themselves as trustees and founders, the\ndesign was so well approved of by the public-spirited citizens of\nPhiladelphia, that the sum of eight hundred pounds per annum, for\nfive years, was in the course of a few weeks subscribed for carrying\nit into execution; and in the beginning of January following (viz.\n1750) three of the schools were opened, namely, the Latin and\nGreek schools, the Mathematical school, and the English school.\nIn pursuance of an article in the original plan, a school for\neducating sixty boys and thirty girls (in the charter since called\nthe Charitable School) was opened; and amidst all the difficulties\nwith which the trustees have struggled in respect to their funds,\nhas still been continued full for the space of forty years; so that\nallowing three years education for each boy and girl admitted into\nit, which is the general rule, at least twelve hundred children\nhave received in it the chief part of their education, who might\notherwise, in a great measure, have been left without the means of\ninstruction. And many of those who have been thus educated, are now\nto be found among the most useful and reputable citizens of this\nstate.\n\nThe institution, thus successfully begun, continued daily to\nflourish, to the great satisfaction of Dr. Franklin; who,\nnotwithstanding the multiplicity of his other engagements and\npursuits, at that busy stage of his life, was a constant attendant\nat the monthly visitations and examinations of the schools, and made\nit his particular study, by means of his extensive correspondence\nabroad, to advance the reputation of the seminary, and to draw\nstudents and scholars to it from different parts of America and\nthe West Indies. Through the interposition of his benevolent and\nlearned friend, Peter Collinson, of London, upon the application\nof the trustees, a charter of incorporation, dated July 13, 1753,\nwas obtained from the honourable proprietors of Pennsylvania,\nThomas Penn and Richard Penn, Esqrs. accompanied with a liberal\nbenefaction of five hundred pounds sterling; and Dr. Franklin now\nbegan in good earnest to please himself with the hopes of a speedy\naccomplishment of his original design, viz. the establishment of\na perfect institution, upon the plan of the European colleges and\nuniversities; for which his academy was intended as a nursery or\nfoundation. To elucidate this fact, is a matter of considerable\nimportance in respect to the memory and character of Dr. Franklin\nas a philosopher, and as the friend and patron of learning and\nscience; for, notwithstanding what is expressly declared by him in\nthe preamble to the constitutions, viz. that the academy was begun\nfor \"teaching the Latin and Greek languages, with all useful branches\nof the arts and sciences, suitable to the state of an infant country,\nand laying a foundation for posterity to erect a seminary of learning\nmore extensive, and suitable to their future circumstances;\" yet it\nhas been suggested of late, as upon Dr. Franklin's authority, that\nthe Latin and Greek, or the dead languages, are an incumbrance upon\na scheme of liberal education, and that the engrafting or founding a\ncollege, or more extensive seminary, upon his academy, was without\nhis approbation or agency, and gave him discontent. If the reverse\nof this does not already appear from what has been quoted above,\nthe following letters will put the matter beyond dispute. They were\nwritten by him to a gentleman, who had at that time published the\nidea of a college, suited to the circumstances of a young country\n(meaning New-York) a copy of which having been sent to Dr. Franklin\nfor his opinion, gave rise to that correspondence which terminated\nabout a year afterwards, in erecting the college upon the foundation\nof the academy, and establishing that gentleman at the head of both,\nwhere he still continues, after a period of thirty-six years, to\npreside with distinguished reputation.\n\nFrom these letters also, the state of the academy, at that time, will\nbe, seen.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1] As a proof that Franklin was anciently the common name of an\norder or rank in England, see Judge Fortesque, _De laudibus legum\nAngli\u00e6_, written about the year 1412, in which is the following\npassage, to shew that good juries might easily be formed in any part\nof England:\n\n\"Regio etiam ilia, ita respersa refertaque est _posessoribus\nterrarum_ et agrorum, quod in ea, villula tam parva reperiri non\npoterit, in qua non est _miles_, _armiger_, vel pater-familias,\nqualis ibidem _franklin_ vulgariter nuncupatur, magnis ditatus\npossessionibus, nec non libere tenentes et alii _valecti_ plurimi,\nsuis patrimoniis sufficientes, ad faciendum juratam, in forma\npr\u00e6notata.\"\n\n\"Moreover, the same country is so filled and replenished with landed\nmenne, that therein so small a thorpe cannot be found wherein\ndwelleth not a knight, an esquire, or such a householder as is there\ncommonly called a _franklin_, enriched with great possessions; and\nalso other freeholders and many yeomen, able for their livelihoods to\nmake a jury in form aforementioned.\"\n\n        OLD TRANSLATION.\n\nChaucer too, calls his country gentleman a _franklin_; and, after\ndescribing his good housekeeping, thus characterizes him:\n\n    This worthy franklin bore a purse of silk\n    Fix'd to his girdle, white as morning milk;\n    Knight of the shire, first justice at th' assize,\n    To help the poor, the doubtful to advise.\n    In all employments, generous, just he prov'd,\n    Renown'd for courtesy, by all belov'd.\n\n\n[2] Town in the island of Nantucket.\n\n[3] Probably the Dunciad, where we find him thus immortalized by the\nauthor:\n\n    Silence, ye wolves, while Ralph to Cynthia howls,\n    And makes night hideous--answer him, ye owls!\n\n[4] Printing houses in general are thus denominated by the workmen:\nthe _spirit_ they call by the name of _Ralph_.\n\n[5] A manuscript note in the file of the American Mercury, preserved\nin the Philadelphia library, says, that Franklin wrote the five first\nnumbers, and part of the eighth.\n\n[6] Dr. Stuber was born in Philadelphia, of German parents. He was\nsent, at an early age, to the university, where his genius, diligence\nand amiable temper, soon acquired him the particular notice and\nfavour of those under whose immediate direction he was placed. After\npassing through the common course of study, in a much shorter time\nthan usual, he left the university, at the age of sixteen, with great\nreputation. Not long after, he entered on the study of physic; and\nthe zeal with which he pursued it, and the advances he made, gave\nhis friends reason to form the most flattering prospects of his\nfuture eminence and usefulness in the profession. As Dr. Stuber's\ncircumstances were very moderate, he did not think this pursuit well\ncalculated to improve them. He therefore relinquished it, after he\nhad obtained a degree in the profession, and qualified himself to\npractise with credit and success; and immediately entered on the\nstudy of the law. While in pursuit of the last mentioned object, he\nwas prevented by a premature death from reaping the fruit of those\ntalents with which he was endowed, and of a youth spent in the ardent\nand successful pursuit of useful and elegant literature.\n\n\n\n\n  \"_Philad. April 19th, 1753._\n\n  \"SIR,\n\n\"I received your favour of the 11th instant, with your new[7] piece\non _Education_, which I shall carefully peruse, and give you my\nsentiments of it, as you desire, by next post.\n\n\"I believe the young gentlemen, your pupils, may be entertained and\ninstructed here, in mathematics and philosophy, to satisfaction. Mr.\nAlison[8] (who was educated at Glasgow) has been long accustomed\nto teach the latter, and Mr. Grew[9] the former; and I think their\npupils make great progress. Mr. Alison has the care of the Latin and\nGreek school, but as he has now three good assistants,[10] he can\nvery well afford some hours every day for the instruction of those\nwho are engaged in higher studies. The mathematical school is pretty\nwell furnished with instruments. The English library is a good one;\nand we have belonging to it a middling apparatus for experimental\nphilosophy, and propose speedily to complete it. The Loganian\nlibrary, one of the best collections in America, will shortly be\nopened; so that neither books nor instruments will be wanting; and\nas we are determined always to give good salaries, we have reason to\nbelieve we may have always an opportunity of choosing good masters;\nupon which indeed, the success of the whole depends. We are obliged\nto you for your kind offers in this respect, and when you are settled\nin England, we may occasionally make use of your friendship and\njudgment.--\n\n\"If it suits your conveniency to visit Philadelphia before you return\nto Europe, I shall be extremely glad to see and converse with you\nhere, as well as to correspond with you after your settlement in\nEngland; for an acquaintance and communication with men of learning,\nvirtue, and public spirit, is one of my greatest enjoyments.\n\n\"I do not know whether you ever happened to see the first proposals\nI made for erecting this academy. I send them inclosed. They had\n(however imperfect) the desired success, being followed by a\nsubscription of four thousand pounds, towards carrying them into\nexecution. And as we are fond of receiving advice, and are daily\nimproving by experience, I am in hopes we shall, in a few years, see\na _perfect institution_.\n\n    \"I am, very respectfully, &c.\n\n        \"B. FRANKLIN.\n\n  \"_Mr. W. Smith, Long-Island._\"\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[7] A general idea of the college of Mirania.\n\n[8] The Rev. and learned Mr. Francis Alison, afterwards D. D. and\nvice-provost of the college.\n\n[9] Mr. Theophilus Grew, afterwards professor of mathematics in the\ncollege.\n\n[10] Those assistants were at that time Mr. Charles Thomson, late\nsecretary to congress, Mr. Paul Jackson, and Mr. Jacob Duche.\n\n\n\n\n  \"_Philad. May 3d, 1753._\n\n  \"SIR,\n\n\"Mr. Peters has just now been with me, and we have compared notes on\nyour new piece. We find nothing in the scheme of education, however\nexcellent, but what is, in our opinion, very practicable. The\ngreat difficulty will be to find the Aratus[11], and other suitable\npersons, to carry it into execution; but such may be had if proper\nencouragement be given. We have both received great pleasure in the\nperusal of it. For my part, I know not when I have read a piece that\nhas more affected me--so noble and just are the sentiments, so warm\nand animated the language; yet as censure from your friends may be\nof more use, as well as more agreeable to you than praise, I ought\nto mention, that I wish you had omitted not only the quotation from\nthe Review[12], which you are now justly dissatisfied with, but those\nexpressions of resentment against your adversaries, in pages 65 and\n79. In such cases, the noblest victory is obtained by neglect, and by\nshining on.\n\n\"Mr. Allen has been out of town these ten days; but before he went he\ndirected me to procure him six copies of your piece. Mr. Peters has\ntaken ten. He proposed to have written to you; but omits it, as he\nexpects so soon to have the pleasure of seeing you here. He desires\nme to present his affectionate compliments to you, and to assure\nyou that you will be very welcome to him. I shall only say, that\nyou may depend on my doing all in my power to make your visit to\nPhiladelphia agreeable to you.\n\n    \"I am, &c.\n\n        \"B. FRANKLIN.\n\n  \"_Mr. Smith._\"\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[11] The name given to the principal or head of the ideal college,\nthe system of education in which hath nevertheless been nearly\nrealized, or followed as a model, in the college and academy of\nPhiladelphia, and some other American seminaries, for many years past.\n\n[12] The quotation alluded to (from the London Monthly Review for\n1749,) was judged to reflect too severely on the discipline and\ngovernment of the English universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and\nwas expunged from the following editions of this work.\n\n\n\n\n  \"_Philad. Nov. 27th, 1753._\n\n  \"DEAR SIR,\n\n\"Having written you fully, _via_ Bristol, I have now little to\nadd. Matters relating to the academy remain in _statu quo_. The\ntrustees would be glad to see a rector established there, but they\ndread entering into new engagements till they are got out of debt;\nand I have not yet got them wholly over to my opinion, that a good\nprofessor, or teacher of the higher branches of learning, would\ndraw so many scholars as to pay great part, if not the whole of his\nsalary. Thus, unless the proprietors (of the province) shall think\nfit to put the finishing hand to our institution, it must, I fear,\nwait some few years longer before it can arrive at that state of\nperfection, which to me it seems now capable of; and all the pleasure\nI promised myself in seeing you settled among us, vanishes into smoke.\n\n\"But good Mr. Collinson writes me word, that no endeavours of his\nshall be wanting; and he hopes, with the archbishop's assistance, to\nbe able to prevail with our proprietors[13]. I pray God grant them\nsuccess.\n\n\"My son presents his affectionate regards, with, dear Sir,\n\n    \"Your's, &c.\n\n        \"B. FRANKLIN.\n\n\"P. S. I have not been favoured with a line from you since your\narrival in England.\"\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[13] Upon the application of archbishop Herring and P. Collinson,\nEsq. at Dr. Franklin's request, (aided by the letters of Mr. Allen\nand Mr. Peters,) the Hon. Thomas Penn, Esq. subscribed an annual sum,\nand afterwards gave at least 5000_l._ to the founding or engrafting the\ncollege upon the academy.\n\n\n\n\n  \"_Philad. April 18th, 1754._\n\n  \"DEAR SIR,\n\n\"I have had but one letter from you since your arrival in\nEngland, which was but a short one, _via_ Boston, dated October\n18th, acquainting me that you had written largely by Captain\nDavis.--Davis was lost, and with him your letters, to my great\ndisappointment.--Mesnard and Gibbon have since arrived here, and I\nhear nothing from you. My comfort is, an imagination that you only\nomit writing because you are coming, and propose to tell me every\nthing _viva voce_. So not knowing whether this letter will reach you,\nand hoping either to see or hear from you by the Myrtilla, Captain\nBudden's ship, which is daily expected, I only add, that I am, with\ngreat esteem and affection\n\n    \"Your's, &c.\n\n      \"B. FRANKLIN.\n\n  \"_Mr. Smith._\"\n\n\nAbout a month after the date of this last letter, the gentleman to\nwhom it was addressed arrived in Philadelphia, and was immediately\nplaced at the head of the seminary; whereby Dr. Franklin and the\nother trustees were enabled to prosecute their plan, for perfecting\nthe institution, and opening the college upon the large and liberal\nfoundation on which it now stands; for which purpose they obtained\ntheir additional charter, dated May 27th, 1755.\n\nThus far we thought it proper to exhibit in one view Dr. Franklin's\nservices in the foundation and establishment of this seminary. He\nsoon afterwards embarked for England, in the public service of his\ncountry; and having been generally employed abroad, in the like\nservice, for the greatest part of the remainder of his life, (as\nwill appear in our subsequent account of the same) he had but few\nopportunities of taking any further active part in the affairs of\nthe seminary, until his final return in the year 1785, when he found\nits charters violated, and his ancient colleagues, the original\nfounders, deprived of their trust, by an act of the legislature; and\nalthough his own name had been inserted amongst the new trustees,\nyet he declined to take his seat among them, or any concern in the\nmanagement of their affairs, till the institution was restored by\nlaw to its original owners. He then assembled his old colleagues at\nhis own house, and being chosen their president, all their future\nmeetings were, at his request, held there, till within a few months\nof his death, when with reluctance, and at their desire, lest he\nmight be too much injured by his attention to their business, he\nsuffered them to meet at the college.\n\nFranklin not only gave birth to many useful institutions himself,\nbut he was also instrumental in promoting those which had originated\nwith other men. About the year 1752, an eminent physician of this\ncity, Dr. Bond, considering the deplorable state of the poor when\nvisited with disease, conceived the idea of establishing an hospital.\nNotwithstanding very great exertions on his part, he was able to\ninterest few people so far in his benevolent plan, as to obtain\nsubscriptions from them. Unwilling that his scheme should prove\nabortive, he sought the aid of Franklin, who readily engaged in\nthe business, both by using his influence with his friends, and by\nstating the advantageous influence of the proposed institution in his\npaper. These efforts were attended with success. Considerable sums\nwere subscribed; but they were still short of what was necessary.\nFranklin now made another exertion. He applied to the assembly; and,\nafter some opposition, obtained leave to bring in a bill, specifying,\nthat as soon as two thousand pounds were subscribed, the same sum\nshould be drawn from the treasury by the speaker's warrant, to be\napplied to the purposes of the institution. The opposition, as the\nsum was granted upon a contingency which they supposed would never\ntake place, were silent, and the bill passed. The friends of the plan\nnow redoubled their efforts, to obtain subscriptions to the amount\nstated in the bill, and were soon successful. This was the foundation\nof the Pennsylvanian Hospital, which, with the Bettering-house, and\nDispensary, bears ample testimony of the humanity of the citizens of\nPhiladelphia.\n\nDr. Franklin had conducted himself so well in the office of\npost-master, and had shown himself to be so well acquainted with\nthe business of that department, that it was thought expedient to\nraise him to a more dignified station. In 1753 he was appointed\ndeputy post-master general for the British colonies. The profits\narising from the postage of letters formed no inconsiderable part\nof the revenue, which the crown of Great Britain derived from these\ncolonies. In the hands of Franklin, it is said, that the post-office\nin America, yielded annually thrice as much as that of Ireland.\n\nThe American colonies were much exposed to depredations on their\nfrontiers, by the Indians; and more particularly whenever a war took\nplace between France and England. The colonies, individually, were\neither too weak to take efficient measures for their own defence,\nor they were unwilling to take upon themselves the whole burden of\nerecting forts and maintaining garrisons, whilst their neighbours,\nwho partook equally with themselves of the advantages, contributed\nnothing to the expence. Sometimes also the disputes, which subsisted\nbetween the governors and assemblies, prevented the adoption of means\nof defence; as we have seen was the case in Pennsylvania in 1745.\nTo devise a plan of union between the colonies, to regulate this\nand other matters, appeared a desirable object. To accomplish this,\nin the year 1754, commissioners from New Hampshire, Massachussets,\nRhode Island, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, met at Albany.\nDr. Franklin attended here, as a commissioner from Pennsylvania,\nand produced a plan, which, from the place of meeting, has been\nusually termed, \"The Albany plan of Union.\" This proposed, that\napplication should be made for an act of parliament, to establish\nin the colonies a general government, to be administered by a\npresident-general, appointed by the crown, and by a grand council,\nconsisting of members, chosen by the representatives of the different\ncolonies; their number to be in direct proportion to the sums paid\nby each colony into the general treasury, with this restriction,\nthat no colony should have more than seven, nor less than two\nrepresentatives. The whole executive authority was committed to\nthe president-general. The power of legislation was lodged in the\ngrand council and president-general jointly; his consent being made\nnecessary to passing a bill into a law. The power vested in the\npresident and council was, to declare war and peace, and to conclude\ntreaties with the Indian nations; to regulate trade with, and to make\npurchases of vacant lands from them, either in the name of the crown,\nor of the union; to settle new colonies, to make laws for governing\nthese until they should be erected into separate governments; and\nto raise troops, build forts, and fit out armed vessels, and to use\nother means for the general defence; and, to effect these things, a\npower was given to make laws, laying such duties, imposts, or taxes,\nas they should find necessary, and as would be least burdensome\nto the people. All laws were to be sent to England for the king's\napprobation; and unless disapproved of within three years, were to\nremain in force. All officers in the land or sea service were to be\nnominated by the president-general, and approved of by the general\ncouncil; civil officers were to be nominated by the council, and\napproved of by the president. Such are the outlines of the plan\nproposed, for the consideration of the congress, by Dr. Franklin.\nAfter several days' discussion, it was unanimously agreed to by the\ncommissioners, a copy transmitted to each assembly, and one to the\nking's council. The fate of it was singular. It was disapproved of by\nthe ministry of Great Britain, because it gave too much power to the\nrepresentatives of the people; and it was rejected by every assembly,\nas giving to the president-general, the representative of the crown,\nan influence greater than appeared to them proper, in a plan of\ngovernment intended for freemen. Perhaps this rejection, on both\nsides, is the strongest proof that could be adduced of the excellence\nof it, as suited to the situation of America and Great Britain at\nthat time. It appears to have steered exactly in the middle between\nthe opposite interests of both.\n\nWhether the adoption of this plan would have prevented the separation\nof America from Great Britain, is a question which might afford much\nroom for speculation. It may be said, that, by enabling the colonies\nto defend themselves, it would have removed the pretext upon which\nthe stamp-act, tea-act, and other acts of the British parliament,\nwere passed; which excited a spirit of opposition, and laid the\nfoundation for the separation of the two countries. But, on the other\nhand, it must be admitted, that the restriction laid by Great Britain\nupon our commerce, obliging us to sell our produce to her citizens\nonly, and to take from them various articles, of which, as our\nmanufactures were discouraged, we stood in need, at a price greater\nthan that for which they could have been obtained from other nations,\nmust inevitably produce dissatisfaction, even though no duties were\nimposed by the parliament; a circumstance which might still have\ntaken place. Besides, as the president-general was to be appointed\nby the crown, he must, of necessity, be devoted to its views, and\nwould, therefore, refuse his assent to any laws, however salutary\nto the community, which had the most remote tendency to injure the\ninterests of his sovereign. Even should they receive his assent, the\napprobation of the king was to be necessary; who would indubitably,\nin every instance, prefer the advantage of his home dominions to\nthat of his colonies. Hence would ensue perpetual disagreements\nbetween the council and the president-general, and thus, between\nthe people of America and the crown of Great Britain:--While the\ncolonies continued weak, they would be obliged to submit, and as soon\nas they acquired strength they would become more urgent in their\ndemands, until, at length, they would shake off the yoke, and declare\nthemselves independent.\n\nWhilst the French were in possession of Canada, their trade with\nthe natives extended very far; even to the back of the British\nsettlements. They were disposed, from time to time, to establish\nposts within the territory, which the English claimed as their own.\nIndependent of the injury to the fur trade, which was considerable,\nthe colonies suffered this further inconvenience, that the Indians\nwere frequently instigated to commit depredations on their frontiers.\nIn the year 1753, encroachments were made upon the boundaries of\nVirginia. Remonstrances had no effect. In the ensuing year, a body\nof men were sent out under the command of Mr. Washington, who,\nthough a very young man, had, by his conduct in the preceding year,\nshewn himself worthy of such an important trust. Whilst marching\nto take possession of the post at the junction of the Allegany and\nMonongahela, he was informed that the French had already erected\na fort there. A detachment of their men marched against him. He\nfortified himself as strongly as time and circumstances would\nadmit. A superiority of numbers soon obliged him to surrender _Fort\nNecessity_. He obtained honourable terms for himself and men, and\nreturned to Virginia. The government of Great Britain now thought\nit necessary to interfere. In the year 1755, General Braddock, with\nsome regiments of regular troops, and provincial levies, was sent\nto dispossess the French of the posts upon which they had seized.\nAfter the men were all ready, a difficulty occurred, which had nearly\nprevented the expedition. This was the want of waggons. Franklin now\nstepped forward, and with the assistance of his son, in a little time\nprocured a hundred and fifty. Braddock unfortunately fell into an\nambuscade, and perished, with a number of his men. Washington, who\nhad accompanied him as an aid-de-camp, and had warned him, in vain,\nof his danger, now displayed great military talents in effecting a\nretreat of the remains of the army, and in forming a junction with\nthe rear, under colonel Dunbar, upon whom the chief command now\ndevolved. With some difficulty they brought their little body to a\nplace of safety; but they found it necessary to destroy their waggons\nand baggage, to prevent them falling into the hands of the enemy. For\nthe waggons which he had furnished, Franklin had given bonds to a\nlarge amount. The owners declared their intention of obliging him to\nmake a restitution of their property. Had they put their threats in\nexecution, ruin must inevitably have been the consequence. Governor\nShirley, finding that he had incurred these debts for the service of\ngovernment, made arrangements to have them discharged, and released\nFranklin from his disagreeable situation.\n\nThe alarm spread through the colonies, after the defeat of Braddock,\nwas very great. Preparations to arm were every where made. In\nPennsylvania, the prevalence of the Quaker interest prevented the\nadoption of any system of defence, which would compel the citizens\nto bear arms. Franklin introduced into the assembly a bill for\norganizing a militia, by which every man was allowed to take arms or\nnot, as to him should appear fit. The Quakers, being thus left at\nliberty, suffered the bill to pass; for although their principles\nwould not suffer them to fight, they had no objection to their\nneighbours fighting for them. In consequence of this act a very\nrespectable militia was formed. The sense of impending danger infused\na military spirit in all, whose religious tenets were not opposed to\nwar. Franklin was appointed colonel of a regiment in Philadelphia,\nwhich consisted of 1200 men.\n\nThe north-western frontier being invaded by the enemy, it became\nnecessary to adopt measures for its defence. Franklin was directed\nby the governor to take charge of this. A power of raising men,\nand of appointing officers to command them, was vested in him. He\nsoon levied a body of troops, with which he repaired to the place\nat which their presence was necessary. Here he built a fort, and\nplaced a garrison in such a posture of defence, as would enable them\nto withstand the inroads, to which the inhabitants had previously\nbeen exposed. He remained here for some time, in order the more\ncompletely to discharge the trust committed to him. Some business of\nimportance at length rendered his presence necessary in the assembly,\nand he returned to Philadelphia.\n\nThe defence of her colonies was a great expence to Great Britain.\nThe most effectual mode of lessening this was, to put arms into the\nhands of the inhabitants, and to teach them their use. But England\nwished not that the Americans should become acquainted with their\nown strength. She was apprehensive, that, as soon as this period\narrived, they would no longer submit to that monopoly of their trade,\nwhich to them was highly injurious, but extremely advantageous to the\nmother-country. In comparison with the profits of this, the expence\nof maintaining armies and fleets to defend them was trifling. She\nfought to keep them dependent upon her for protection; the best plan\nwhich could be devised for retaining them in peaceable subjection.\nThe least appearance of a military spirit was therefore to be guarded\nagainst, and, although a war then raged, the act for organizing a\nmilitia was disapproved of by the ministry. The regiments which had\nbeen formed under it were disbanded, and the defence of the province\nentrusted to regular troops.\n\nThe disputes between the proprietaries and the people continued in\nfull force, although a war was raging on the frontiers. Not even\nthe sense of danger was sufficient to reconcile, for ever so short\na time, their jarring interests. The assembly still insisted upon\nthe justice of taxing the proprietary estates, but the governors\nconstantly refused their assent to this measure, without which no\nbill could pass into a law. Enraged at the obstinacy, and what\nthey conceived to be unjust proceedings of their opponents, the\nassembly at length determined to apply to the mother-country for\nrelief. A petition was addressed to the king, in council, stating\nthe inconveniencies under which the inhabitants laboured, from the\nattention of the proprietaries to their private interests, to the\nneglect of the general welfare of the community, and praying for\nredress. Franklin was appointed to present this address, as agent\nfor the province of Pennsylvania, and departed from America in June,\n1757. In conformity to the instructions which he had received from\nthe legislature, he held a conference with the proprietaries who\nthen resided in England, and endeavoured to prevail upon them to\ngive up the long contested point. Finding that they would harken to\nno terms of accommodation, he laid his petition before the Council.\nDuring this time governor Denny assented to a law imposing a tax,\nin which no discrimination was made in favour of the estates of the\nPenn family. They, alarmed at this intelligence, and Franklin's\nexertions, used their utmost endeavours to prevent the royal sanction\nbeing given to this law, which they represented as highly iniquitous,\ndesigned to throw the burden of supporting government upon them, and\ncalculated to produce the most ruinous consequences to them and their\nposterity. The cause was amply discussed before the privy Council.\nThe Penns found here some strenuous advocates; nor were there wanting\nsome who warmly espoused the side of the people. After some time\nspent in debate, a proposal was made, that Franklin should solemnly\nengage, that the assessment of the tax should be so made, as that the\nproprietary estates should pay no more than a due proportion. This\nhe agreed to perform; the Penn family withdrew their opposition, and\ntranquillity was thus once more restored to the province.\n\nThe mode in which this dispute was terminated is a striking proof\nof the high opinion entertained of Franklin's integrity and honour,\neven by those who considered him as inimical to their views. Nor\nwas their confidence ill-founded. The assessment was made upon the\nstrictest principles of equity; and the proprietary estates bore only\na proportionable share of the expences of supporting government.\n\nAfter the completion of this important business, Franklin remained\nat the court of Great Britain, as agent for the province of\nPennsylvania. The extensive knowledge which he possessed of the\nsituation of the colonies, and the regard which he always manifested\nfor their interests, occasioned his appointment to the same office by\nthe colonies of Massachussets, Maryland, and Georgia. His conduct,\nin this situation, was such as rendered him still more dear to his\ncountrymen.\n\nHe had now an opportunity of indulging in the society of those\nfriends, whom his merits had procured him while at a distance. The\nregard which they had entertained for him was rather increased by\na personal acquaintance. The opposition which had been made to his\ndiscoveries in philosophy gradually ceased, and the rewards of\nliterary merit were abundantly conferred upon him. The Royal Society\nof London, which had at first refused his performances admission into\nits transactions, now thought it an honour to rank him amongst its\nfellows. Other societies of Europe were equally ambitious of calling\nhim a member. The university of St. Andrew's, in Scotland, conferred\nupon him the degree of Doctor of Laws. Its example was followed by\nthe universities of Edinburgh and Oxford. His correspondence was\nsought for by the most eminent philosophers of Europe. His letters\nto these abound with true science, delivered in the most simple\nunadorned manner.\n\nThe province of Canada was at this time in the possession of the\nFrench, who had originally settled it. The trade with the Indians,\nfor which its situation was very convenient, was exceedingly\nlucrative. The French traders here found a market for their\ncommodities, and received in return large quantities of rich\nfurs, which they disposed of at a high price in Europe. Whilst\nthe possession of this country was highly advantageous to France,\nit was a grievous inconvenience to the inhabitants of the British\ncolonies. The Indians were almost generally desirous to cultivate the\nfriendship of the French, by whom they were abundantly supplied with\narms and ammunition. Whenever a war happened, the Indians were ready\nto fall upon the frontiers: and this they frequently did, even when\nGreat Britain and France were at peace. From these considerations, it\nappeared to be the interest of Great Britain to gain the possession\nof Canada. But the importance of such an acquisition was not well\nunderstood in England. Franklin about this time published his\nCanada pamphlet, in which he, in a forcible manner, pointed out the\nadvantages which would result from the conquest of this province.\n\nAn expedition against it was planned, and the command given to\nGeneral Wolfe. His success is well known. At the treaty in 1762,\nFrance ceded Canada to Great Britain, and by her cession of\nLouisiana, at the same time, relinquished all her possessions on the\ncontinent of America.\n\nAlthough Dr. Franklin was now principally occupied with political\npursuits, he found time for philosophical studies. He extended\nhis researches in electricity, and made a variety of experiments,\nparticularly on the tourmalin. The singular properties which this\nstone possesses of being electrified on one side positively and on\nthe other negatively, by heat alone, without friction, had been but\nlately observed.\n\nSome experiments on the cold produced by evaporation, made by Dr.\nCullen, had been communicated to Dr. Franklin, by Professor Simpson,\nof Glasgow. These he repeated, and found, that, by the evaporation\nof \u00e6ther in the exhausted receiver of an air-pump, so great a degree\nof cold was produced in a summer's day, that water was converted\ninto ice. This discovery he applied to the solution of a number of\nphenomena, particularly a singular fact, which philosophers had\nendeavoured in vain to account for, viz. that the temperature of the\nhuman body, when in health, never exceeds 96 degrees of Fahrenheit's\nthermometer, though the atmosphere which surrounds it may be heated\nto a much greater degree. This he attributed to the increased\nperspiration, and consequent evaporation, produced by the heat.\n\nIn a letter to Mr. Small, of London, dated in May, 1760, Dr. Franklin\nmakes a number of observations, tending to show that, in North\nAmerica, north-east storms begin in the south-west parts. It appears,\nfrom actual observations, that a north-east storm, which extended a\nconsiderable distance, commenced at Philadelphia near four hours\nbefore it was felt at Boston. He endeavoured to account for this,\nby supposing that, from heat, some rarefaction takes place about\nthe gulph of Mexico, that the air further north rushes in, and is\nsucceeded by the cooler and denser air still farther north, and that\nthus a continual current is at length produced.\n\nThe tone produced by rubbing the brim of a drinking-glass with a wet\nfinger, had been generally known. A Mr. Puckeridge, an Irishman,\nby placing on a table a number of glasses of different sizes, and\ntuning them by partly filling them with water, endeavoured to form an\ninstrument capable of playing tunes. He was prevented by an untimely\nend, from bringing his invention to any degree of perfection. After\nhis death some improvements were made upon his plan. The sweetness of\nthe tones induced Dr. Franklin to make a variety of experiments; and\nhe at length formed that elegant instrument which he has called the\n_Armonica_.\n\nIn the summer of 1762, he returned to America. On his passage he\nobserved the singular effect produced by the agitation of a vessel,\ncontaining oil, floating on water. The surface of the oil remains\nsmooth and undisturbed, whilst the water is agitated with the utmost\ncommotion. No satisfactory explanation of this appearance has, we\nbelieve, ever been given.\n\nDr. Franklin received the thanks of the assembly of Pennsylvania,\n\"as well for the faithful discharge of his duty to that province in\nparticular, as for the many and important services done to America in\ngeneral, during his residence in Great Britain.\" A compensation of\n5000_l._, Pennsylvania currency, was also decreed him for his services\nduring six years.\n\nDuring his absence he had been annually elected member of the\nassembly. On his return to Pennsylvania he again took his seat in\nthis body, and continued a steady defender of the liberties of the\npeople.\n\nIn December 1762, a circumstance which caused great alarm in the\nprovince took place. A number of Indians had resided in the county of\nLancaster, and conducted themselves uniformly as friends to the white\ninhabitants. Repeated depredations on the frontiers had exasperated\nthe inhabitants to such a degree, that they determined on revenge\nupon every Indian. A number of persons, to the number of about 120,\nprincipally inhabitants of Donegal and Peckstang or Paxton township,\nin the county of York, assembled; and, mounted on horseback,\nproceeded to the settlement of these harmless and defenceless\nIndians, whose number had now been reduced to about twenty. The\nIndians had received intelligence of the attack which was intended\nagainst them, but disbelieved it. Considering the white people as\ntheir friends, they apprehended no danger from them. When the party\narrived at the Indian settlement, they found only some women and\nchildren, and a few old men, the rest being absent at work. They\nmurdered all whom they found, and amongst others the chief Shaheas,\nwho had been always distinguished for his friendship to the whites.\nThis bloody deed excited much indignation in the well-disposed part\nof the community.\n\nThe remainder of these unfortunate Indians, who by absence, had\nescaped the massacre, were conducted to Lancaster, and lodged in\nthe gaol as a place of security. The governor issued a proclamation\nexpressing the strongest disapprobation of the action, offering\na reward for the discovery of the perpetrators of the deed, and\nprohibiting all injuries to the peaceable Indians in future. But,\nnotwithstanding this, a party of the same men shortly after marched\nto Lancaster, broke open the gaol, and inhumanly butchered the\ninnocent Indians, who had been placed there for security. Another\nproclamation was issued, but it had no effect. A detachment marched\ndown to Philadelphia, for the express purpose of murdering some\nfriendly Indians, who had been removed to the city for safety. A\nnumber of the citizens armed in their defence. The quakers, whose\nprinciples are opposed to fighting, even in their own defence, were\nmost active upon this occasion. The rioters came to Germantown. The\ngovernor fled for safety to the house of Dr. Franklin, who, with\nsome others, advanced to meet the Paxton boys, as they were called,\nand had influence enough to prevail upon them to relinquish their\nundertaking, and return to their homes.\n\nThe disputes between the proprietaries and the assembly, which, for\na time, had subsided, were again revived. The proprietaries were\ndissatisfied with the concessions made in favour of the people, and\nmade great struggles to recover the privilege of exempting their\nestates from taxation, which they had been induced to give up.\n\nIn 1763, the assembly passed a militia-bill, to which the governor\nrefused to give his assent, unless the assembly would agree to\ncertain amendments which he proposed. These consisted in increasing\nthe fines, and in some cases, substituting death for fines. He wished\ntoo, that the officers should be appointed altogether by himself,\nand not be nominated by the people, as the bill had proposed. These\namendments the assembly considered as inconsistent with the spirit of\nliberty. They would not adopt them--the governor was obstinate, and\nthe bill was lost.\n\nThese, and various other circumstances, encreased the uneasiness\nwhich subsisted between the proprietaries and the assembly, to such\na degree, that, in 1764, a petition to the king was agreed to by\nthe house, praying an alteration from a _proprietary_ to a _regal_\ngovernment. Great opposition was made to this measure, not only in\nthe house, but in the public prints. A speech of Mr. Dickenson on\nthe subject was published, with a preface by Dr. Smith, in which\ngreat pains were taken to show the impropriety and impolicy of this\nproceeding. A speech of Mr. Galloway, in reply to Mr. Dickenson,\nwas published, accompanied with a preface by Dr. Franklin, in\nwhich he ably opposed the principles laid down in the preface to\nMr. Dickenson's speech. This application to the throne produced no\neffect. The proprietary government was still continued.\n\nAt the election of a new assembly, in the fall of 1764, the friends\nof the proprietaries made great exertions to exclude those of the\nadverse party; and they obtained a small majority in the city of\nPhiladelphia. Franklin now lost his seat in the house, which he had\nheld for fourteen years. On the meeting of the assembly, it appeared\nthere was still a decided majority of Franklin's friends. He was\nimmediately appointed provincial agent, to the great chagrin of his\nenemies, who made a solemn protest against his appointment, which was\nrefused admission upon the minutes, as being unprecedented. It was,\nhowever, published in the papers, and produced a spirited reply from\nhim, just before his departure for England.\n\nThe disturbances produced in America by Mr. Grenville's stamp-act,\nand the opposition made to it, are well known. Under the marquis\nof Rockingham's administration, it appeared expedient to endeavour\nto calm the minds of the colonists; and the repeal of the odious\ntax was contemplated. Amongst other means of collecting information\non the disposition of the people to submit to it, Dr. Franklin was\ncalled to the bar of the house of commons. The examination which\nhe underwent was published, and contains a striking account of the\nextent and accuracy of his information, and the facility with which\nhe communicated his sentiments. He represented facts in so strong a\npoint of view, that the inexpediency of the act must have appeared\nclear to every unprejudiced mind. The act, after some opposition, was\nrepealed, about a year after it was enacted, and before it had ever\nbeen carried into execution.\n\nIn the year 1766, he made a visit to Holland and Germany, and\nreceived the greatest marks of attention from men of science. In\nhis passage through Holland he learned from the watermen the effect\nwhich a diminution of the quantity of water in canals has, in\nimpeding the progress of boats. Upon his return to England, he was\nled to make a number of experiments, all of which tended to confirm\nthe observation. These, with an explanation of the phenomenon, he\ncommunicated in a letter to his friend, Sir John Pringle, which will\nbe found among his philosophical pieces.\n\nIn the following year he travelled into France, where he met a no\nless favorable reception than he had experienced in Germany. He was\nintroduced to a number of literary characters, and to the king, Louis\nXV.\n\nSeveral letters written by Hutchinson, Oliver, and others, to persons\nin eminent stations in Great Britain, came into the hands of Dr.\nFranklin. These contained the most violent invectives against the\nleading characters of the state of Massachussets, and strenuously\nadvised the prosecution of vigorous measures, to compel the people\nto obedience to the measures of the ministry. These he transmitted\nto the legislature, by whom they were published. Attested copies of\nthem were sent to Great Britain, with an address, praying the king\nto discharge from office persons who had rendered themselves so\nobnoxious to the people, and who had shown themselves so unfriendly\nto their interests. The publication of these letters produced a\nduel between Mr. Whately and Mr. Temple, each of whom was suspected\nof having been instrumental in procuring them. To prevent any\nfarther disputes on this subject, Dr. Franklin, in one of the public\npapers, declared that he had sent them to America, but would give no\ninformation concerning the manner in which he had obtained them--nor\nwas this ever discovered.\n\nShortly after, the petition of the Massachussets assembly was taken\nup for examination, before the privy council. Dr. Franklin attended,\nas agent for the assembly; and here a torrent of the most violent\nand unwarranted abuse was poured upon him by the solicitor-general,\nWedderburne, who was engaged as council for Oliver and Hutchinson.\nThe petition was declared to be scandalous and vexatious, and the\nprayer of it refused.\n\nAlthough the parliament of Great Britain had repealed the stamp-act,\nit was only upon the principle of expediency. They still insisted\nupon their right to tax the colonies; and, at the same time that\nthe stamp-act was repealed, an act was passed, declaring the\nright of parliament to bind the colonies in all cases whatsoever.\nThis language was used even by the most strenuous opposers of the\nstamp-act: and, amongst others, by Mr. Pitt. This right was never\nrecognized by the colonists; but, as they flattered themselves that\nit would not be exercised, they were not very active in remonstrating\nagainst it. Had this pretended right been suffered to remain\ndormant, the colonists would cheerfully have furnished their quota\nof supplies, in the mode to which they had been accustomed; that\nis, by acts of their own assemblies, in consequence of requisitions\nfrom the secretary of state. If this practice had been pursued, such\nwas the disposition of the colonies towards their mother-country,\nthat, notwithstanding the disadvantages under which they laboured,\nfrom restraints upon their trade, calculated solely for the benefit\nof the commercial and manufacturing interests of Great Britain,\na separation of the two countries might have been a far distant\nevent. The Americans, from their earliest infancy, were taught to\nvenerate a people from whom they were descended; whose language,\nlaws, and manners, were the same as their own. They looked up to them\nas models of perfection; and, in their prejudiced minds, the most\nenlightened nations of Europe were considered as almost barbarians,\nin comparison with Englishmen. The name of an Englishman conveyed to\nan American the idea of every thing good and great. Such sentiments\ninstilled into them in early life, what but a repetition of unjust\ntreatment could have induced them to entertain the most distant\nthought of separation! The duties on glass, paper, leather, painters'\ncolours, tea, &c. the disfranchisement of some of the colonies;\nthe obstruction to the measures of the legislature in others, by\nthe king's governors; the contemptuous treatment of their humble\nremonstrances, stating their grievances, and praying a redress of\nthem, and other violent and oppressive measures, at length excited an\nardent spirit of opposition. Instead of endeavouring to allay this\nby a more lenient conduct, the ministry seemed resolutely bent upon\nreducing the colonies to the most slavish obedience to their decrees.\nBut this only tended to aggravate. Vain were all the efforts made\nuse of to prevail upon them to lay aside their designs, to convince\nthem of the impossibility of carrying them into effect, and of the\nmischievous consequences which must ensue from a continuance of the\nattempts. They persevered, with a degree of inflexibility scarcely\nparalleled.\n\nThe advantages which Great Britain derived from her colonies were\nso great, that nothing but a degree of infatuation, little short of\nmadness, could have produced a continuance of measures calculated to\nkeep up a spirit of uneasiness, which might occasion the slightest\nwish for a separation. When we consider the great improvements in the\nscience of government, the general diffusion of the principles of\nliberty amongst the people of Europe, the effects which these have\nalready produced in France, and the probable consequences which will\nresult from them elsewhere, all of which are the offspring of the\nAmerican revolution, it cannot but appear strange, that events of so\ngreat moment to the happiness of mankind, should have been ultimately\noccasioned by the wickedness or ignorance of a British ministry.\n\nDr. Franklin left nothing untried to prevail upon the ministry to\nconsent to a change of measures. In private conversations, and in\nletters to persons in government, he continually expatiated upon\nthe impolicy and injustice of their conduct towards America; and\nstated, that, notwithstanding the attachment of the colonists to\nthe mother-country, a repetition of ill treatment must ultimately\nalienate their affections. They listened not to his advice. They\nblindly persevered in their own schemes, and left to the colonists\nno alternative, but opposition, or unconditional submission. The\nlatter accorded not with the principles of freedom, which they had\nbeen taught to revere. To the former they were compelled, though\nreluctantly, to have recourse.\n\nDr. Franklin, finding all efforts to restore harmony between Great\nBritain and her colonies useless, returned to America in the year\n1775; just after the commencement of hostilities. The day after his\nreturn he was elected by the legislature of Pennsylvania a delegate\nto congress. Not long after his election a committee was appointed,\nconsisting of Mr. Lynch, Mr. Harrison, and himself, to visit the camp\nat Cambridge, and, in conjunction with the commander in chief, to\nendeavour to convince the troops, whose term of enlistment was about\nto expire, of the necessity of their continuing in the field, and\npersevering in the cause of their country.\n\nIn the fall of the same year he visited Canada, to endeavour to unite\nthem in the common cause of liberty; but they could not be prevailed\nupon to oppose the measures of the British government. M. Le Roy,\nin a letter annexed to Abb\u00e9 Fauchet's eulogium of Dr. Franklin,\nstates, that the ill success of this negociation was occasioned, in a\ngreat degree, by religious animosities, which subsisted between the\nCanadians and their neighbours, some of whom had at different times\nburnt their chapels.\n\nWhen Lord Howe came to America, in 1776, vested with power to treat\nwith the colonists, a correspondence took place between him and\nDr. Franklin, on the subject of a reconciliation. Dr. Franklin was\nafterwards appointed, together with John Adams, and Edward Rutledge,\nto wait upon the commissioners, in order to learn the extent of their\npowers. These were found to be only to grant pardons upon submission.\nSuch terms which could not be accepted; and the object of the\ncommissioners was not obtained.\n\nThe momentous question of independence was shortly after brought\ninto view, at a time when the fleets and armies, which were sent to\nenforce obedience, were truly formidable. With an army, numerous\nindeed, but ignorant of discipline, and entirely unskilled in\nthe art of war, without money, without a fleet, without allies,\nand with nothing but the love of liberty to support them, the\ncolonists determined to separate from a country, from which they had\nexperienced a repetition of injury and insult. In this question, Dr.\nFranklin was decidedly in favour of the measure proposed, and had\ngreat influence in bringing others to his sentiments.\n\nThe public mind had been prepared for this event, by Mr. Paine's\ncelebrated pamphlet, _Common Sense_. There is good reason to\nbelieve that Dr. Franklin had no inconsiderable share, at least, in\nfurnishing materials for this work.\n\nIn the convention which assembled at Philadelphia in 1776, for\nthe purpose of establishing a new form of government for the\nstate of Pennsylvania, Dr. Franklin was chosen president. The\nlate constitution of this state, which was the result of their\ndeliberations, may be considered as a digest of his principles of\ngovernment. The single legislature, and the plural executive, seem to\nhave been his favourite tenets.\n\nIn the latter end of 1776, Dr. Franklin was appointed to assist in\nthe negociation which had been set on foot by Silas Deane at the\ncourt of France. A conviction of the advantages of a commercial\nintercourse with America, and a desire of weakening the British\nempire by dismembering it, first induced the French court to listen\nto proposals of an alliance. But they shewed rather a reluctance\nto the measure, which, by Dr. Franklin's address, and particularly\nby the success of the American arms against general Burgoyne, was\nat length overcome; and in February, 1778, a treaty of alliance,\noffensive and defensive, was concluded; in consequence of which\nFrance became involved in the war with Great Britain.\n\nPerhaps no person could have been found more capable of rendering\nessential services to the United States at the court of France, than\nDr. Franklin. He was well known as a philosopher, and his character\nwas held in the highest estimation. He was received with the greatest\nmarks of respect by all the literary characters; and this respect was\nextended amongst all classes of men. His personal influence was hence\nvery considerable. To the effects of this were added those of various\nperformances which he published, tending to establish the credit and\ncharacter of the United States. To his exertions in this way, may, in\nno small degree, be ascribed the success of the loans negociated in\nHolland and France, which greatly contributed to bring the war to a\nconclusion.\n\nThe repeated ill success of their arms, and more particularly the\ncapture of Cornwallis and his army, at length convinced the British\nnation of the impossibility of reducing the Americans to subjection.\nThe trading interest particularly became clamorous for peace. The\nministry were unable longer to oppose their wishes. Provisional\narticles of peace were agreed to, and signed at Paris on the 30th of\nNovember, 1782, by Dr. Franklin, Mr. Adams, Mr. Jay, and Mr. Laurens,\non the part of the United States; and by Mr. Oswald on the part of\nGreat Britain. These formed the basis of the definitive treaty, which\nwas concluded the 3d of September, 1783, and signed by Dr. Franklin,\nMr. Adams, and Mr. Jay, on the one part, and by Mr. David Hartly on\nthe other.\n\nOn the third of April, 1783, a treaty of amity and commerce, between\nthe United States and Sweden, was concluded at Paris, by Dr. Franklin\nand the Count Von Krutz.\n\nA similar treaty with Prussia was concluded in 1785, not long before\nDr. Franklin's departure from Europe.\n\nDr. Franklin did not suffer his political pursuits to engross his\nwhole attention. Some of his performances made their appearance in\nParis. The object of these was generally the promotion of industry\nand economy.\n\nIn the year 1784, when animal magnetism made great noise in the\nworld, particularly at Paris, it was thought a matter of such\nimportance, that the king appointed commissioners to examine into\nthe foundation of this pretended science. Dr. Franklin was one of\nthe number. After a fair and diligent examination, in the course of\nwhich Mesmer repeated a number of experiments, in the presence of\nthe commissioners, some of which were tried upon themselves, they\ndetermined that it was a mere trick, intended to impose upon the\nignorant and credulous--Mesmer was thus interrupted in his career to\nwealth and fame, and a most insolent attempt to impose upon the human\nunderstanding baffled.\n\nThe important ends of Dr. Franklin's mission being completed by the\nestablishment of American independence, and the infirmities of age\nand disease coming upon him, he became desirous of returning to\nhis native country. Upon application to congress to be recalled,\nMr. Jefferson was appointed to succeed him in 1785. Some time in\nSeptember of the same year Dr. Franklin arrived in Philadelphia. He\nwas shortly after chosen member of the supreme executive council for\nthe city; and soon after was elected president of the same.\n\nWhen a convention was called to meet in Philadelphia, in 1787, for\nthe purpose of giving more energy to the government of the union, by\nrevising and amending the articles of confederation, Dr. Franklin was\nappointed a delegate from the State of Pennsylvania. He signed the\nconstitution which they proposed for the union, and gave it the most\nunequivocal marks of his approbation.\n\nA society for political enquiries, of which Dr. Franklin was\npresident, was established about this period. The meetings were\nheld at his house. Two or three essays read in this society were\npublished. It did not long continue.\n\nIn the year 1787, two societies were established in Philadelphia,\nfounded on the principles of the most liberal and refined\nhumanity--_The Philadelphia Society for alleviating the miseries\nof public prisons; and the Pennsylvania Society for promoting the\nabolition of slavery, the relief of free negroes unlawfully held in\nbondage, and the improvement of the condition of the African race._\nOf each of these Dr. Franklin was president. The labours of these\nbodies have been crowned with great success; and they continue to\nprosecute, with unwearied diligence, the laudable designs for which\nthey were established.\n\nDr. Franklin's increasing infirmities prevented his regular\nattendance at the council-chamber; and, in 1788, he retired wholly\nfrom public life.\n\nHis constitution had been a remarkably good one. He had been little\nsubject to disease, except an attack of the gout occasionally, until\nabout the year 1781, when he was first attacked with symptoms of the\ncalculous complaint, which continued during his life. During the\nintervals of pain from this grievous disease, he spent many cheerful\nhours, conversing in the most agreeable and instructive manner. His\nfaculties were entirely unimpaired, even to the hour of his death.\n\nHis name, as president of the abolition society, was signed to the\nmemorial presented to the house of representatives of the United\nStates, on the 12th of February, 1789, praying them to exert the full\nextent of power vested in them by the constitution, in discouraging\nthe traffic of the human species. This was his last public act. In\nthe debates to which this memorial gave rise, several attempts were\nmade to justify the trade. In the Federal Gazette of March 25th,\nthere appeared an essay, signed Historicus, written by Dr. Franklin,\nin which he communicated a speech, said to have been delivered in\nthe Divan of Algiers, in 1687, in opposition to the prayer of the\npetition of a sect called _Erika_, or purists, for the abolition of\npiracy and slavery. This pretended African speech was an excellent\nparody of one delivered by Mr. Jackson, of Georgia. All the arguments\nurged in favour of negro slavery, are applied with equal force to\njustify the plundering and enslaving of Europeans. It affords, at\nthe same time, a demonstration of the futility of the arguments in\ndefence of the slave trade, and of the strength of mind and ingenuity\nof the author, at his advanced period of life. It furnished too, a no\nless convincing proof of his power of imitating the style of other\ntimes and nations, than his celebrated parable against persecution.\nAnd as the latter led many persons to search the scriptures with a\nview to find, it, so the former caused many persons to search the\nbook-stores and libraries, for the work from which it was said to be\nextracted.\n\nIn the beginning of April following, he was attacked with a fever\nand complaint of his breast, which terminated his existence. The\nfollowing account of his last illness was written by his friend and\nphysician, Dr. Jones.\n\n\"The stone, with which he had been afflicted for several years, had\nfor the last twelve months confined him chiefly to his bed; and\nduring the extremely painful paroxysms, he was obliged to take large\ndoses of laudanum to mitigate his tortures--still, in the intervals\nof pain, he not only amused himself with reading and conversing\ncheerfully with his family, and a few friends who visited him, but\nwas often employed in doing business of a public as well as private\nnature, with various persons who waited on him for that purpose; and\nin every instance displayed, not only that readiness and disposition\nof doing good, which was the distinguishing characteristic of his\nlife, but the fullest and clearest possession of his uncommon mental\nabilities; and not unfrequently indulged himself in those _jeux\nd'esprit_ and entertaining anecdotes, which were the delight of all\nwho heard him.\n\n\"About sixteen days before his death, he was seized with a feverish\nindisposition, without any particular symptoms attending it, till\nthe third or fourth day, when he complained of a pain in the left\nbreast, which increased till it became extremely acute, attended\nwith a cough and laborious breathing. During this state, when the\nseverity of his pains sometimes drew forth a groan of complaint,\nhe would observe--that he was afraid he did not hear it as he\nought--acknowledged his grateful sense of the many blessings he had\nreceived from the Supreme Being, who had raised him from small and\nlow beginnings to such high rank and consideration among men--and\nmade no doubt but his present afflictions were kindly intended to\nwean him from a world, in which he was no longer fit to act the part\nassigned him. In this frame of body and mind he continued till five\ndays before his death, when his pain and difficulty of breathing\nentirely left him, and his family were flattering themselves with\nthe hopes of his recovery, when an imposthumation, which had formed\nitself in his lungs, suddenly burst and discharged a great quantity\nof matter, which he continued to throw up while he had sufficient\nstrength to do it, but, as that failed, the organs of respiration\nbecame gradually oppressed--a calm lethargic state succeeded--and, on\nthe 17th of April, 1790, about eleven o'clock at night, he quietly\nexpired, closing a long and useful life of eighty-four years and\nthree months.\"\n\nIt may not be amiss to add to the above account, that Dr. Franklin,\nin the year 1735, had a severe pleurisy, which terminated in an\nabscess of the left lobe of his lungs, and he was then almost\nsuffocated with the quantity and suddenness of the discharge. A\nsecond attack of a similar nature happened some years after this,\nfrom which he soon recovered, and did not appear to suffer any\ninconvenience in his respiration from these diseases.\n\nThe following epitaph on himself, was written by him many years\nprevious to his death:--\n\n\n  THE BODY\n\n  OF\n\n  _BENJAMIN FRANKLIN_,\n\n  PRINTER.\n\n  (LIKE THE COVER OF AN OLD BOOK,\n\n  ITS CONTENTS TORN OUT,\n\n  AND STRIPT OF ITS LETTERING AND GILDING)\n\n  LIES HERE FOOD FOR WORMS;\n\n  YET THE WORK ITSELF SHALL NOT BE LOST,\n\n  FOR IT WILL (AS HE BELIEVED) APPEAR ONCE MORE\n\n  IN A NEW\n\n  AND MORE BEAUTIFUL EDITION\n\n  CORRECTED AND AMENDED\n\n  BY\n\n  THE AUTHOR.[14]\n\n\n\n\n_EXTRACTS_\n\nFROM THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF\n\nDR. FRANKLIN.\n\nWith regard to my books, those I had in France, and those I left in\nPhiladelphia, being now assembled together here, and a catalogue made\nof them, it is my intention to dispose of the same as follows:\n\nMy \"History of the Academy of Sciences,\" in sixty or seventy volumes\nquarto, I give to the philosophical society of Philadelphia, of which\nI have the honour to be president. My collection in folio of \"_Les\nArts et les Metiers_,\" I give to the American philosophical society,\nestablished in New England, of which I am a member. My quarto edition\nof the same, \"_Arts et Metiers_,\" I give to the library company\nof Philadelphia. Such and so many of my books as I shall mark, in\nthe said catalogue, with the name of my grandson Benjamin Franklin\nBache, I do hereby give to him: and such and so many of my books,\nas I shall mark in the said catalogue with the name of my grandson\nWilliam Bache, I do hereby give to him: and such as shall be marked\nwith the name of Jonathan Williams, I hereby give to my cousin of\nthat name. The residue and remainder of all my books, manuscripts,\nand papers, I do give to my grandson William Temple Franklin. My\nshare in the library company of Philadelphia I give to my grandson\nBenjamin Franklin Bache, confiding that he will permit his brothers\nand sisters to share in the use of it.\n\nI was born in Boston, New England, and owe my first instructions in\nliterature to the free grammar-schools established there. I therefore\ngive one hundred pounds sterling to my executors, to be by them,\nthe survivors or survivor of them, paid over to the managers or\ndirectors of the free-schools in my native town of Boston, to be by\nthem, or the person or persons who shall have the superintendance\nand management of the said schools, put out to interest, and so\ncontinued at interest for ever; which interest annually shall be\nlaid out in silver medals, and given as honorary rewards annually\nby the directors of the said free-schools, for the encouragement of\nscholarship in the said schools, belonging to the said town, in such\nmanner as to the discretion of the select men of the said town shall\nseem meet.\n\nOut of the salary that may remain due to me, as president of the\nstate, I give the sum of two thousand pounds to my executors, to be\nby them, the survivors or survivor of them, paid over to such person\nor persons as the legislature of this state, by an act of assembly,\nshall appoint to receive the same, in trust, to be employed for\nmaking the Schuylkil navigable.\n\nDuring the number of years I was in business as a stationer, printer,\nand post-master, a great many small sums became due to me for books,\nadvertisements, postage of letters, and other matters, which were not\ncollected, when, in 1757, I was sent by the assembly to England as\ntheir agent--and, by subsequent appointments, continued there till\n1775--when, on my return, I was immediately engaged in the affairs of\ncongress, and sent to France in 1776, where I remained nine years,\nnot returning till 1785; and the said debts not being demanded in\nsuch a length of time, are become in a manner obsolete, yet are\nnevertheless justly due.--These as they are stated in my great\nfolio ledger, E, I bequeath to the contributors of the Pennsylvania\nhospital; hoping that those debtors, and the descendants of such as\nare deceased, who now, as I find, make some difficulty of satisfying\nsuch antiquated demands as just debts, may, however, be induced to\npay or give them as charity to that excellent institution. I am\nsensible that much must inevitably be lost; but I hope something\nconsiderable may be recovered. It is possible too, that some of the\nparties charged may have existing old unsettled accounts against me:\nin which case the managers of the said hospital will allow and deduct\nthe amount, or pay the balance, if they find it against me.\n\nI request my friends, Henry Hill, Esq. John Jay, Esq. Francis\nHopkinson, Esq. and Mr. Edward Duffield, of Bonfield, in Philadelphia\ncounty, to be the executors of this my last will and testament, and I\nhereby nominate and appoint them for that purpose.\n\nI would have my body buried with as little expence or ceremony as may\nbe.\n\n  PHILADELPHIA,\n\n  July 17, 1778.\n\n\nCODICIL.\n\nI BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, in the foregoing or annexed last will and\ntestament, having further considered the same, do think proper to\nmake and publish the following codicil, in addition thereto.\n\nIt having long been a fixed and political opinion of mine, that in a\ndemocratical state, there ought to be no offices of profit, for the\nreasons I had given in an article of my drawing in our constitution,\nit was my intention, when I accepted the office of president, to\ndevote the appointed salary to some public use; accordingly I had\nalready, before I made my last will in July last, given large sums of\nit to colleges, schools, building of churches, &c.; and in that will\nI bequeathed two thousand pounds more to the state, for the purpose\nof making the Schuylkil navigable; but understanding since, that such\na sum will do but little, towards accomplishing such a work, and that\nproject is not likely to be undertaken for many years to come--and\nhaving entertained another idea, which I hope may be more extensively\nuseful, I do hereby revoke and annul the bequest, and direct that\nthe certificates I have of what remains due to me of that salary, be\nsold towards raising the sum of two thousand pounds sterling, to be\ndisposed of as I am now about to order.\n\nIt has been an opinion, that he who receives an estate from his\nancestors, is under some obligation to transmit the same to\nposterity. This obligation lies not on me, who never inherited a\nshilling from any ancestor or relation. I shall, however, if it is\nnot diminished by some accident before my death, leave a considerable\nestate among my descendants and relations. The above observation is\nmade merely as some apology to my family, for my making bequests that\ndo not appear to have any immediate relation to their advantage.\n\nI was born in Boston, New England, and owe my first instructions in\nliterature to the free grammar schools established there. I have,\ntherefore, considered those schools in my will.\n\nBut I am also under obligations to the state of Massachussets, for\nhaving, unasked, appointed me formerly their agent, with a handsome\nsalary, which continued some years; and although I accidentally lost\nin their service, by transmitting governor Hutchinson's letters, much\nmore than the amount of what they gave me, I do not think that ought\nin the least to diminish my gratitude. I have considered that, among\nartisans, good apprentices are most likely to make good citizens, and\nhaving myself been bred to a manual art, printing, in my native town,\nand afterwards assisted to set up my business in Philadelphia by kind\nloans of money from two friends there, which was the foundation of\nmy fortune, and of all the utility in life that may be ascribed to\nme--I wish to be useful even after my death, if possible, in forming\nand advancing other young men, that may be serviceable to their\ncountry in both these towns.\n\nTo this end I devote two thousand pounds sterling, which I give,\none thousand thereof to the inhabitants of the town of Boston, in\nMassachussets, and the other thousand to the inhabitants of the\ncity of Philadelphia, in trust, to and for the uses, intents, and\npurposes, herein after mentioned and declared.\n\nThe said sum of one thousand pounds sterling, if accepted by the\ninhabitants of the town of Boston, shall be managed under the\ndirection of the select men, united with the ministers of the oldest\nepiscopalian, congregational, and presbyterian churches in that town,\nwho are to let out the same at five per cent. per annum, to such\nyoung married artificers, under the age of twenty-five years, as have\nserved an apprenticeship in the said town, and faithfully fulfilled\nthe duties required in their indentures, so as to obtain a good moral\ncharacter from at least two respectable citizens, who are willing to\nbecome sureties in a bond, with the applicants, for the re-payment of\nthe money so lent, with interest, according to the terms hereinafter\nprescribed; all which bonds are to be taken for Spanish milled\ndollars, or the value thereof in current gold coin: and the manager\nshall keep a bound book, or books, wherein shall be entered the\nnames of those who shall apply for, and receive the benefit of this\ninstitution, and of their sureties, together with the sums lent,\nthe dates, and other necessary and proper records, respecting the\nbusiness and concerns of this institution: and as these loans are\nintended to assist young married artificers, in setting up their\nbusiness, they are to be proportioned by the discretion of the\nmanagers, so as not to exceed sixty pounds sterling to one person,\nnor to be less than fifteen pounds.\n\nAnd if the number of appliers so entitled should be so large as that\nthe sum will not suffice to afford to each as much as might otherwise\nnot be improper, the proportion to each shall be diminished, so as\nto afford to every one some assistance. These aids may, therefore,\nbe small at first, but as the capital increases by the accumulated\ninterest, they will be more ample. And in order to serve as many as\npossible in their turn, as well as to make the re-payment of the\nprincipal borrowed more easy, each borrower shall be obliged to pay\nwith the yearly interest, one tenth part of the principal; which sums\nof principal and interest so paid in, shall be again let out to fresh\nborrowers. And it is presumed, that there will be always found in\nBoston virtuous and benevolent citizens, willing to bestow a part of\ntheir time in doing good to the rising generation, by superintending\nand managing this institution gratis; it is hoped that no part of the\nmoney will at any time lie dead, or be diverted to other purposes,\nbut be continually augmenting by the interest, in which case, there\nmay in time be more than the occasion in Boston may require; and\nthen some may be spared to the neighbouring or other towns, in the\nsaid state of Massachusetts, which may desire to have it, such towns\nengaging to pay punctually the interest, and the proportion of the\nprincipal annually to the inhabitants of the town of Boston. If\nthis plan is executed, and succeeds, as projected, for one hundred\nyears, the sum will then be one hundred and thirty thousand pounds,\nof which I would have the managers of the donation to the town of\nBoston then lay out, at their discretion, one hundred thousand pounds\nin public works, which may be judged of most general utility to the\ninhabitants; such as fortifications, bridges, aqueducts, public\nbuildings, baths, pavements, or whatever may make living in the\ntown more convenient to its people, and render it more agreeable to\nstrangers resorting thither for health, or a temporary residence. The\nremaining thirty-one thousand pounds I would have continued to be let\nout to interest, in the manner above directed, for one hundred years;\nas I hope it will have been found that the institution has had a good\neffect on the conduct of youth, and been of service to many worthy\ncharacters and useful citizens. At the end of this second term, if\nno unfortunate accident has prevented the operation, the sum will\nbe four millions and sixty-one thousand pounds sterling, of which I\nleave one million and sixty-one thousand pounds to the disposition\nand management of the inhabitants of the town of Boston, and the\nthree millions to the disposition of the government of the state--not\npresuming to carry my views farther.\n\nAll the directions herein given respecting the disposition and\nmanagement of the donation to the inhabitants of Boston, I would\nhave observed respecting that to the inhabitants of Philadelphia;\nonly, as Philadelphia is incorporated, I request the corporation\nof that city to undertake the management, agreeable to the said\ndirections: and I do hereby vest them with full and ample powers\nfor that purpose. And having considered that the covering its\nground-plat with buildings and pavements, which carry off most of\nthe rain, and prevent its soaking into the earth, and renewing and\npurifying the springs, whence the water of the wells must gradually\ngrow worse, and in time be unfit for use, as I find has happened in\nall old cities; I recommend, that, at the end of the first hundred\nyears, if not done before, the corporation of the city employ a part\nof the hundred thousand pounds in bringing by pipes the water of\nWissahickon-creek into the town, so as to supply the inhabitants,\nwhich I apprehend may be done without great difficulty, the level\nof that creek being much above that of the city, and may be made\nhigher by a dam. I also recommend making the Schuylkil completely\nnavigable. At the end of the second hundred years, I would have\nthe disposition of the four millions and sixty-one thousand pounds\ndivided between the inhabitants of the city of Philadelphia and the\ngovernment of Pennsylvania, in the same manner as herein directed\nwith respect to that of the inhabitants of Boston and the government\nof Massachusetts. It is my desire that this institution should\ntake place, and begin to operate within one year after my decease,\nfor which purpose due notice should be publicly given, previous\nto the expiration of that year, that those for whose benefit this\nestablishment is intended may make their respective applications:\nand I hereby direct my executors, the survivor or survivors of them,\nwithin six months after my decease, to pay over the said sum of two\nthousand pounds sterling to such persons as shall be duly appointed\nby the select men of Boston, and the corporation of Philadelphia,\nto receive and take charge of their respective sums of one thousand\npounds each, for the purposes aforesaid. Considering the accidents\nto which all human affairs and projects are subject in such a\nlength of time, I have, perhaps, too much flattered myself with a\nvain fancy, that these dispositions, if carried into execution, will\nbe continued without interruption, and have the effects proposed:\nI hope, however, that if the inhabitants of the two cities should\nnot think fit to undertake the execution, they will at least accept\nthe offer of these donations, as a mark of my good will, token of\nmy gratitude, and testimony of my desire to be useful to them even\nafter my departure. I wish, indeed, that they may both undertake to\nendeavour the execution of my project, because I think, that, though\nunforeseen difficulties may arise, expedients will be found to remove\nthem, and the scheme be found practicable. If one of them accepts the\nmoney with the conditions, and the other refuses, my will then is,\nthat both sums be given to the inhabitants of the city accepting;\nthe whole to be applied to the same purposes, and under the same\nregulations directed for the separate parts; and, if both refuse, the\nmoney remains of course in the mass of my estate, and it is to be\ndisposed of therewith, according to my will made the seventeenth day\nof July, 1788.\n\nMy fine crab-tree walking-stick, with a gold head curiously wrought\nin the form of the cap of Liberty, I give to my friend, and the\nfriend of mankind, General Washington. If it was a sceptre, he has\nmerited it, and would become it.\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[14] This epitaph first appeared in a Boston news-paper established\nand printed by Dr. Franklin. E.\n\n\n\n\n  LETTERS AND PAPERS\n\n  ON\n\n  _ELECTRICITY_.\n\n\n\n\n_It may not be improper to present the reader with the following\nextract from the preface to the first edition of Dr. Franklin's\npapers on electricity, which, as we have stated in the advertisement,\nformed a pamphlet only._\n\n_\"The following observations and experiments were not drawn up with a\nview to their being made public, but were communicated at different\ntimes, and most of them in letters, written on various topics, as\nmatters only of private amusement._\n\n_\"But some persons, to whom they were read, and who had themselves\nbeen conversant in electrical disquisitions, were of opinion, they\ncontained so many curious and interesting particulars relative\nto this affair, that it would be doing a kind of injustice to\nthe public, to confine them solely to the limits of a private\nacquaintance._\n\n_\"The editor was therefore prevailed upon to commit such extracts of\nletters and other detached pieces as were in his hands to the press,\nwithout waiting for the ingenious author's permission so to do; and\nthis was done with the less hesitation, as it was apprehended the\nauthor's engagements in other affairs would scarce afford him leisure\nto give the public his reflections and experiments on the subject,\nfinished with that care and precision, of which the treatise before\nus shows he is alike studious and capable.\"_\n\n_With respect to the general merit and originality of the experiments\nand hypothesis of Dr. Franklin, as described and explained in these\nletters, the following is the testimony of one of the first natural\nphilosophers of his age--the late Dr. Priestly, in his History of\nElectricity._\n\n_\"Nothing was ever written upon the subject of electricity which was\nmore generally read and admired in all parts of Europe than these\nletters. There is hardly any European language into which they have\nnot been translated; and, as if this were not sufficient to make\nthem properly known, a translation of them has lately been made into\nLatin. It is not easy to say, whether we are most pleased with the\nsimplicity and perspicuity with which these letters are written, the\nmodesty with which the author proposes every hypothesis of his own,\nor the noble frankness with which he relates his mistakes, when they\nwere corrected by subsequent experiments._\n\n_\"Though the English have not been backward in acknowledging the\ngreat merit of this philosopher, he has had the singular good fortune\nto be, perhaps, even more celebrated abroad than at home; so that,\nto form a just idea of the great and deserved reputation of Dr.\nFranklin, we must read the foreign publications on the subject of\nelectricity; in many of which the terms_ Franklinism, Franklinist,\n_and the_ Franklinian system, _occur in almost every page. In\nconsequence of this, Dr. Franklin's principles bid fair to be handed\ndown to posterity as equally expressive of the true principles of\nelectricity, as the Newtonian philosophy is of the true system of\nnature in general.\"_\n\n\n\n\n_LETTERS AND PAPERS_\n\nON\n\nPHILOSOPHICAL SUBJECTS.\n\n\n_ELECTRICITY._\n\n\n\n\nTO PETER COLLINSON, ESQ. F. R. S. LONDON.\n\n  INTRODUCTORY LETTER.\n\n\n  _Philadelphia, March 28, 1747._\n\n  SIR,\n\nYour kind present of an electric tube, with directions for using it,\nhas put several of us[15] on making electrical experiments, in which\nwe have observed some particular phenomena that we look upon to be\nnew. I shall therefore communicate them to you in my next, though\npossibly they may not be new to you, as among the numbers daily\nemployed in those experiments on your side the water, it is probable\nsome one or other has hit on the same observations. For my own part,\nI never was before engaged in any study that so totally engrossed my\nattention and my time as this has lately done; for what with making\nexperiments when I can be alone, and repeating them to my friends and\nacquaintance, who, from the novelty of the thing, come continually\nin crowds to see them, I have, during some months past, had little\nleisure for any thing else.\n\n\n  I am, &c.\n\n  B. FRANKLIN.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[15] i. e. of the _Library-Company_, an institution of the author's,\nfounded 1730. To which company the present was made[16].\n\n[16] Where notes occur without a signature, in the Philosophical, or\nother Papers, they are generally notes of the author.--EDITOR.\n\n\n\n\nTO PETER COLLINSON, ESQ. F. R. S. LONDON.\n\n  _Wonderful Effect of Points.--Positive and negative\n  Electricity.--Electrical Kiss.--Counterfeit Spider.--Simple and\n  commodious electrical Machine._\n\n\n  _Philadelphia, July 11, 1747._\n\n  SIR,\n\nIn my last I informed you that, in pursuing our electrical enquiries,\nwe had observed some particular phenomena, which we looked upon to\nbe new, and of which I promised to give you some account, though I\napprehended they might not possibly be new to you, as so many hands\nare daily employed in electrical experiments on your side the water,\nsome or other of which would probably hit on the same observations.\n\nThe first is the wonderful effect of pointed bodies, both in _drawing\noff_ and _throwing off_ the electrical fire. For example,\n\nPlace an iron shot of three or four inches diameter on the mouth of\na clean dry glass bottle. By a fine silken thread from the cieling,\nright over the mouth of the bottle, suspend a small cork-ball, about\nthe bigness of a marble; the thread of such a length, as that the\ncork-ball may rest against the side of the shot. Electrify the shot,\nand the ball will be repelled to the distance of four or five inches,\nmore or less, according to the quantity of electricity.--When in this\nstate, if you present to the shot the point of a long, slender, sharp\nbodkin, at six or eight inches distance, the repellency is instantly\ndestroyed, and the cork flies to the shot. A blunt body must be\nbrought within an inch, and draw a spark to produce the same effect.\nTo prove that the electrical fire is _drawn off_ by the point, if\nyou take the blade of the bodkin out of the wooden handle, and fix\nit in a stick of sealing-wax, and then present it at the distance\naforesaid, or if you bring it very near, no such effect follows; but\nsliding one finger along the wax till you touch the blade, and the\nball flies to the shot immediately.--If you present the point in the\ndark, you will see, sometimes at a foot distance and more, a light\ngather upon it, like that of a fire-fly, or glow-worm; the less sharp\nthe point, the nearer you must bring it to observe the light; and at\nwhatever distance you see the light, you may draw off the electrical\nfire, and destroy the repellency.--If a cork-ball so suspended be\nrepelled by the tube, and a point be presented quick to it, though\nat a considerable distance, it is surprising to see how suddenly it\nflies back to the tube. Points of wood will do near as well as those\nof iron, provided the wood is not dry; for perfectly dry wood will no\nmore conduct electricity than sealing-wax.\n\nTo shew that points will _throw off_[17] as well as _draw off_ the\nelectrical fire; lay a long sharp needle upon the shot, and you\ncannot electrise the shot so as to make it repel the cork-ball.--Or\nfix a needle to the end of a suspended gun-barrel, or iron-rod, so as\nto point beyond it like a little bayonet[18]; and while it remains\nthere, the gun-barrel, or rod, cannot by applying the tube to the\nother end be electrised so as to give a spark, the fire continually\nrunning out silently at the point. In the dark you may see it make\nthe same appearance as it does in the case before-mentioned.\n\nThe repellency between the cork-ball and the shot is likewise\ndestroyed. 1. By sifting fine sand on it; this does it gradually.\n2. By breathing on it. 3. By making a smoke about it from burning\nwood[19]. 4. By candle-light, even though the candle is at a foot\ndistance: these do it suddenly.--The light of a bright coal from\na wood fire; and the light of a red-hot iron do it likewise; but\nnot at so great a distance. Smoke from dry rosin dropt on hot iron,\ndoes not destroy the repellency; but is attracted by both shot and\ncork-ball, forming proportionable atmospheres round them, making them\nlook beautifully, somewhat like some of the figures in Burnet's or\nWhiston's Theory of the Earth.\n\n_N.B._ This experiment should be made in a closet, where the air is\nvery still, or it will be apt to fail.\n\nThe light of the sun thrown strongly on both cork and shot by\na looking-glass for a long time together, does not impair the\nrepellency in the least. This difference between fire-light and\nsun-light is another thing that seems new and extraordinary to us[20].\n\nWe had for some time been of opinion, that the electrical fire was\nnot created by friction, but collected, being really an element\ndiffused among, and attracted by other matter, particularly by water\nand metals. We had even discovered and demonstrated its afflux to\nthe electrical sphere, as well as its efflux, by means of little\nlight windmill-wheels made of stiff paper vanes, fixed obliquely, and\nturning freely on fine wire axes.\n\nAlso by little wheels of the same matter, but formed like\nwater-wheels. Of the disposition and application of which wheels,\nand the various phenomena resulting, I could, if I had time, fill\nyou a sheet[21]. The impossibility of electrising one's self (though\nstanding on wax) by rubbing the tube, and drawing the fire from it;\nand the manner of doing it, by passing the tube near a person or\nthing standing on the floor, &c. had also occurred to us some months\nbefore Mr. Watson's ingenious _Sequel_ came to hand, and these were\nsome of the new things I intended to have communicated to you.--But\nnow I need only mention some particulars not hinted in that piece,\nwith our reasonings thereupon: though perhaps the latter might well\nenough be spared.\n\n1. A person standing on wax, and rubbing the tube, and another person\non wax drawing the fire, they will both of them (provided they do\nnot stand so as to touch one another) appear to be electrised, to a\nperson standing on the floor; that is, he will perceive a spark on\napproaching each of them with his knuckle.\n\n2. But if the persons on wax touch one another during the exciting of\nthe tube, neither of them will appear to be electrised.\n\n3. If they touch one another after exciting the tube, and drawing the\nfire as aforesaid, there will be a stronger spark between them than\nwas between either of them and the person on the floor.\n\n4. After such strong spark, neither of them discover any electricity.\n\nThese appearances we attempt to account for thus: We suppose, as\naforesaid, that electrical fire is a common element, of which every\none of the three persons abovementioned has his equal share, before\nany operation is begun with the tube. _A_, who stands on wax and\nrubs the tube, collects the electrical fire from himself into the\nglass; and his communication with the common stock being cut off\nby the wax, his body is not again immediately supplied. _B_,(who\nstands on wax likewise) passing his knuckle along near the tube,\nreceives the fire which was collected by the glass from _A_; and\nhis communication with the common stock being likewise cut off, he\nretains the additional quantity received.--To _C_, standing on the\nfloor, both appear to be electrised: for he having only the middle\nquantity of electrical fire, receives a spark upon approaching _B_,\nwho has an over quantity; but gives one to _A_, who has an under\nquantity. If _A_ and _B_ approach to touch each other, the spark is\nstronger, because the difference between them is greater: After such\ntouch there is no spark between either of them and _C_, because the\nelectrical fire in all is reduced to the original equality. If they\ntouch while electrising, the equality is never destroyed, the fire\nonly circulating. Hence have arisen some new terms among us; we say\n_B_, (and bodies like circumstanced) is electrised _positively_; _A_,\n_negatively_. Or rather, _B_ is electrised _plus_; _A_, _minus_. And\nwe daily in our experiments electrise bodies _plus_ or _minus_, as\nwe think proper.--To electrise _plus_ or _minus_, no more needs to\nbe known than this, that the parts of the tube or sphere that are\nrubbed, do, in the instant of the friction, attract the electrical\nfire, and therefore take it from the thing rubbing: the same parts\nimmediately, as the friction upon them ceases, are disposed to give\nthe fire they have received, to any body that has less. Thus you may\ncirculate it, as Mr. Watson has shewn; you may also accumulate or\nsubtract it, upon, or from any body, as you connect that body with\nthe rubber or with the receiver, the communication with the common\nstock being cut off. We think that ingenious gentleman was deceived\nwhen he imagined (in his _Sequel_) that the electrical fire came down\nthe wire from the cieling to the gun-barrel, thence to the sphere,\nand so electrised the machine and the man turning the wheel, &c. We\nsuppose it was _driven off_, and not brought on through that wire;\nand that the machine and man, &c. were electrised _minus_; _i. e._\nhad less electrical fire in them than things in common.\n\nAs the vessel is just upon sailing, I cannot give you so large an\naccount of American electricity as I intended: I shall only mention\na few particulars more.--We find granulated lead better to fill the\nphial with, than water, being easily warmed, and keeping warm and\ndry in damp air.--We fire spirits with the wire of the phial.--We\nlight candles, just blown out, by drawing a spark among the smoke\nbetween the wire and snuffers.--We represent lightning, by passing\nthe wire in the dark, over a china plate that has gilt flowers, or\napplying it to gilt frames of looking-glasses, &c.--We electrise a\nperson twenty or more times running, with a touch of the finger on\nthe wire, thus: He stands on wax. Give him the electrised bottle in\nhis hand. Touch the wire with your finger, and then touch his hand\nor face; there are sparks every time[22].--We encrease the force of\nthe electrical kiss vastly, thus: Let _A_ and _B_ stand on wax; or\n_A_ on wax, and _B_ on the floor; give one of them the electrised\nphial in hand; let the other take hold of the wire; there will be\na small spark; but when their lips approach, they will be struck\nand shock'd. The same if another gentleman and lady, _C_ and _D_,\nstanding also on wax, and joining hands with _A_ and _B_, salute or\nshake hands. We suspend by fine silk thread a counterfeit spider,\nmade of a small piece of burnt cork, with legs of linnen thread, and\na grain or two of lead stuck in him, to give him more weight. Upon\nthe table, over which he hangs, we stick a wire upright, as high as\nthe phial and wire, four or five inches from the spider: then we\nanimate him, by setting the electrified phial at the same distance\non the other side of him; he will immediately fly to the wire of\nthe phial, bend his legs in touching it, then spring off, and fly\nto the wire in the table, thence again to the wire of the phial,\nplaying with his legs against both, in a very entertaining manner,\nappearing perfectly alive to persons unacquainted. He will continue\nthis motion an hour or more in dry weather.--We electrify, upon wax\nin the dark, a book that has a double line of gold round upon the\ncovers, and then apply a knuckle to the gilding; the fire appears\nevery where upon the gold like a flash of lightning: not upon the\nleather, nor, if you touch the leather instead of the gold. We rub\nour tubes with buckskin, and observe always to keep the same side to\nthe tube, and never to sully the tube by handling; thus they work\nreadily and easily, without the least fatigue, especially if kept in\ntight pasteboard cases, lined with flannel, and sitting close to the\ntube[23]. This I mention, because the European papers on electricity\nfrequently speak of rubbing the tube as a fatiguing exercise. Our\nspheres are fixed on iron axes, which pass through them. At one end\nof the axis there is a small handle, with which you turn the sphere\nlike a common grind-stone. This we find very commodious, as the\nmachine takes up but little room, is portable, and may be enclosed in\na tight box, when not in use. It is true, the sphere does not turn\nso swift as when the great wheel is used: but swiftness we think\nof little importance, since a few turns will charge the phial, &c.\nsufficiently[24].\n\n  I am, &c.\n\n  B. FRANKLIN.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[17] This power of points to _throw off_ the electrical fire, was\nfirst communicated to me by my ingenious friend Mr. Thomas Hopkinson,\nsince deceased, whose virtue and integrity, in every station of life,\npublic and private, will ever make his memory dear to those who knew\nhim, and knew how to value him.\n\n[18] This was Mr. Hopkinson's experiment, made with an expectation\nof drawing a more sharp and powerful spark from the point, as from a\nkind of focus, and he was surprised to find little or none.\n\n[19] We suppose every particle of sand, moisture, or smoke, being\nfirst attracted and then repelled, carries off with it a portion\nof the electrical fire; but that the same still subsists in those\nparticles, till they communicate it to something else, and that it is\nnever really destroyed. So when water is thrown on common fire, we do\nnot imagine the element is thereby destroyed or annihilated, but only\ndispersed, each particle of water carrying off in vapour its portion\nof the fire, which it had attracted and attached to itself.\n\n[20] This different effect probably did not arise from any difference\nin the light, but rather from the particles separated from the\ncandle, being first attracted and then repelled, carrying off the\nelectric matter with them; and from the rarefying the air, between\nthe glowing coal or red-hot iron, and the electrised shot, through\nwhich rarefied air the electric fluid could more readily pass.\n\n[21] These experiments with the wheels, were made and communicated\nto me by my worthy and ingenious friend Mr. Philip Syng; but we\nafterwards discovered that the motion of those wheels was not owing\nto any afflux or efflux of the electric fluid, but to various\ncircumstances of attraction and repulsion. 1750.\n\n[22] By taking a spark from the wire, the electricity within the\nbottle is diminished; the outside of the bottle then draws some from\nthe person holding it, and leaves him in the negative state. Then\nwhen his hand or face is touched, an equal quantity is restored to\nhim from the person touching.\n\n[23] Our tubes are made here of green glass, 27 or 30 inches long, as\nbig as can be grasped.\n\n[24] This simple easily-made machine was a contrivance of Mr. Syng's.\n\n\n\n\nTO PETER COLLINSON, ESQ. F. R. S. LONDON.\n\n  _Observations on the Leyden Bottle, with Experiments proving the\n  different electrical State of its different Surfaces._\n\n\n  _Philadelphia, Sept. 1, 1747._\n\n  SIR,\n\nThe necessary trouble of copying long letters, which, perhaps, when\nthey come to your hands, may contain nothing new, or worth your\nreading, (so quick is the progress made with you in electricity) half\ndiscourages me from writing any more on that subject. Yet I cannot\nforbear adding a few observations on M. Muschenbroek's wonderful\nbottle.\n\n1. The non-electric contained in the bottle differs, when electrised,\nfrom a non-electric electrised out of the bottle, in this: that the\nelectrical fire of the latter is accumulated _on its surface_, and\nforms an electrical atmosphere round it of considerable extent; but\nthe electrical fire is crowded _into the substance_ of the former,\nthe glass confining it[25].\n\n2. At the same time that the wire and the top of the bottle, &c.\nis electrised _positively_ or _plus_, the bottom of the bottle is\nelectrised _negatively_ or _minus_, in exact proportion: _i. e._\nwhatever quantity of electrical fire is thrown in at the top, an\nequal quantity goes out of the bottom[26]. To understand this,\nsuppose the common quantity of electricity in each part of the\nbottle, before the operation begins, is equal to 20; and at every\nstroke of the tube, suppose a quantity equal to 1 is thrown in; then,\nafter the first stroke, the quantity contained in the wire and upper\npart of the bottle will be 21, in the bottom 19. After the second,\nthe upper part will have 22, the lower 18, and so on, till, after 20\nstrokes, the upper part will have a quantity of electrical fire equal\nto 40, the lower part none: and then the operation ends: for no more\ncan be thrown into the upper part, when no more can be driven out of\nthe lower part. If you attempt to throw more in, it is spewed back\nthrough the wire, or flies out in loud cracks through the sides of\nthe bottle.\n\n3. The equilibrium cannot be restored in the bottle by _inward_\ncommunication or contact of the parts; but it must be done by a\ncommunication formed _without_ the bottle, between the top and\nbottom, by some non-electric, touching or approaching both at the\nsame time; in which case it is restored with a violence and quickness\ninexpressible; or, touching each alternately, in which case the\nequilibrium is restored by degrees.\n\n4. As no more electrical fire can be thrown into the top of the\nbottle, when all is driven out of the bottom, so in a bottle not\nyet electrised, none can be thrown into the top, when none _can_\nget out at the bottom; which happens either when the bottom is too\nthick, or when the bottle is placed on an electric _per se_. Again,\nwhen the bottle is electrised, but little of the electrical fire can\nbe _drawn out_ from the top, by touching the wire, unless an equal\nquantity can at the same time _get in_ at the bottom[27]. Thus, place\nan electrised bottle on clean glass or dry wax, and you will not,\nby touching the wire, get out the fire from the top. Place it on a\nnon-electric, and touch the wire, you will get it out in a short\ntime; but soonest when you form a direct communication as above.\n\nSo wonderfully are these two states of electricity, the _plus_ and\n_minus_, combined and balanced in this miraculous bottle! situated\nand related to each other in a manner that I can by no means\ncomprehend! If it were possible that a bottle should in one part\ncontain a quantity of air strongly comprest, and in another part a\nperfect vacuum, we know the equilibrium would be instantly restored\n_within_. But here we have a bottle containing at the same time\na _plenum_ of electrical fire, and a _vacuum_ of the same fire;\nand yet the equilibrium cannot be restored between them but by a\ncommunication _without!_ though the _plenum_ presses violently to\nexpand, and the hungry vacuum seems to attract as violently in order\nto be filled.\n\n5. The shock to the nerves (or convulsion rather) is occasioned by\nthe sudden passing of the fire through the body in its way from the\ntop to the bottom of the bottle. The fire takes the shortest[28]\ncourse, as Mr. Watson justly observes: But it does not appear from\nexperiment that in order for a person to be shocked, a communication\nwith the floor is necessary: for he that holds the bottle with one\nhand, and touches the wire with the other, will be shocked as much,\nthough his shoes be dry, or even standing on wax, as otherwise. And\non the touch of the wire, (or of the gun-barrel, which is the same\nthing) the fire does not proceed from the touching finger to the\nwire, as is supposed, but from the wire to the finger, and passes\nthrough the body to the other hand, and so into the bottom of the\nbottle.\n\n\n_Experiments confirming the above._\n\n\nEXPERIMENT I.\n\nPlace an electrised phial on wax; a small cork-ball suspended by a\ndry silk thread held in your hand, and brought near to the wire,\nwill first be attracted, and then repelled: when in this state of\nrepellency, sink your hand, that the ball may be brought towards\nthe bottom of the bottle; it will be there instantly and strongly\nattracted, till it has parted with its fire.\n\nIf the bottle had a _positive_ electrical atmosphere, as well as the\nwire, an electrified cork would be repelled from one as well as from\nthe other.\n\n[Illustration: (of the experiments below)\n\n  _Plate I._        _Vol. I. page 182._\n\n_Published as the Act directs, April 1, 1806, by Longman, Hurst, Rees\n& Orme, Paternoster Row._]\n\n\nEXPERIMENT II.\n\nFIG. 1. From a bent wire (_a_) sticking in the table, let a small\nlinen thread (_b_) hang down within half an inch of the electrised\nphial (_c_). Touch the wire or the phial repeatedly with your finger,\nand at every touch you will see the thread instantly attracted by\nthe bottle. (This is best done by a vinegar cruet, or some such\nbellied-bottle). As soon as you draw any fire out from the upper\npart, by touching the wire, the lower part of the bottle draws an\nequal quantity in by the thread.\n\n\nEXPERIMENT III.\n\nFIG. 2. Fix a wire in the lead, with which the bottom of the bottle\nis armed (_d_) so as that bending upwards, its ring-end may be level\nwith the top or ring-end of the wire in the cork (_e_) and at three\nor four inches distance. Then electrise the bottle, and place it on\nwax. If a cork suspended by a silk thread (_f_) hang between these\ntwo wires, it will play incessantly from one to the other, till the\nbottle is no longer electrised; that is, it fetches and carries fire\nfrom the top to the bottom[29] of the bottle, till the equilibrium is\nrestored.\n\n\nEXPERIMENT IV.\n\nFIG. 3. Place an electrised phial on wax; take a wire (_g_) in\nform of a _C_, the ends at such a distance when bent, as that the\nupper may touch the wire of the bottle, when the lower touches the\nbottom: stick the outer part on a stick of sealing-wax (_h_), which\nwill serve as a handle; then apply the lower end to the bottom of\nthe bottle, and gradually bring the upper end near the wire in the\ncork. The consequence is, spark follows spark till the equilibrium\nis restored. Touch the top first, and on approaching the bottom,\nwith the other end, you have a constant stream of fire from the wire\nentering the bottle. Touch the top and bottom together, and the\nequilibrium will instantly be restored, the crooked wire forming the\ncommunication.\n\n\nEXPERIMENT V.\n\nFIG. 4. Let a ring of thin lead, or paper, surround a bottle (_i_)\neven at some distance from or above the bottom. From that ring let a\nwire proceed up, till it touch the wire of the cork (_k_). A bottle\nso fixt cannot by any means be electrised: the equilibrium is never\ndestroyed: for while the communication between the upper and lower\nparts of the bottle is continued by the outside wire, the fire only\ncirculates: what is driven out at bottom, is constantly supplied\nfrom the top[30]. Hence a bottle cannot be electrised that is foul\nor moist on the outside, if such moisture continue up to the cork or\nwire.\n\n\nEXPERIMENT VI.\n\nPlace a man on a cake of wax, and present him the wire of the\nelectrified phial to touch, you standing on the floor, and holding\nit in your hand. As often as he touches it, he will be electrified\n_plus_; and any one standing on the floor may draw a spark from him.\nThe fire in this experiment passes out of the wire into him; and at\nthe same time out of your hand into the bottom of the bottle.\n\n\nEXPERIMENT VII.\n\nGive him the electrical phial to hold; and do you touch the wire; as\noften as you touch it he will be electrified _minus_, and may draw a\nspark from any one standing on the floor. The fire now passes from\nthe wire to you, and from him into the bottom of the bottle.\n\n\nEXPERIMENT VIII.\n\nLay two books on two glasses, back towards back, two or three inches\ndistant. Set the electrified phial on one, and then touch the wire;\nthat book will be electrified _minus_; the electrical fire being\ndrawn out of it by the bottom of the bottle. Take off the bottle, and\nholding it in your hand, touch the other with the wire; that book\nwill be electrified _plus_; the fire passing into it from the wire,\nand the bottle at the same time supplied from your hand. A suspended\nsmall cork-ball will play between these books till the equilibrium is\nrestored.\n\n\nEXPERIMENT IX.\n\nWhen a body is electrised _plus_, it will repel a positively\nelectrified feather or small cork-ball. When _minus_ (or when in the\ncommon state) it will attract them, but stronger when _minus_ than\nwhen in the common state, the difference being greater.\n\n\nEXPERIMENT X.\n\nThough, as in _Experiment_ VI, a man standing on wax may be\nelectrised a number of times by repeatedly touching the wire of an\nelectrised bottle (held in the hand of one standing on the floor)\nhe receiving the fire from the wire each time: yet holding it in his\nown hand, and touching the wire, though he draws a strong spark, and\nis violently shocked, no electricity remains in him; the fire only\npassing through him, from the upper to the lower part of the bottle.\nObserve, before the shock, to let some one on the floor touch him to\nrestore the equilibrium in his body; for in taking hold of the bottom\nof the bottle, he sometimes becomes a little electrised _minus_,\nwhich will continue after the shock, as would also any _plus_\nelectricity, which he might have given him before the shock. For\nrestoring the equilibrium in the bottle, does not at all affect the\nelectricity in the man through whom the fire passes; that electricity\nis neither increased nor diminished.\n\n\nEXPERIMENT XI.\n\nThe passing of the electrical fire from the upper to the lower\npart[31] of the bottle, to restore the equilibrium, is rendered\nstrongly visible by the following pretty experiment. Take a book\nwhose covering is filletted with gold; bend a wire of eight or ten\ninches long, in the form of (_m_) Fig. 5; slip it on the end of\nthe cover of the book, over the gold line, so as that the shoulder\nof it may press upon one end of the gold line, the ring up, but\nleaning towards the other end of the book. Lay the book on a glass\nor wax[32], and on the other end of the gold lines set the bottle\nelectrised; then bend the springing wire, by pressing it with a\nstick of wax till its ring approaches the ring of the bottle wire,\ninstantly there is a strong spark and stroke, and the whole line\nof gold, which completes the communication, between the top and\nbottom of the bottle, will appear a vivid flame, like the sharpest\nlightning. The closer the contact between the shoulder of the wire,\nand the gold at one end of the line, and between the bottom of the\nbottle and the gold at the other end, the better the experiment\nsucceeds. The room should be darkened. If you would have the whole\nfilletting round the cover appear in fire at once, let the bottle and\nwire touch the gold in the diagonally opposite corners.\n\n  I am, &c.\n\n  B. FRANKLIN.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[25] See this opinion rectified in \u00a7 16 and 17 of the next letter.\nThe fire in the bottle was found by subsequent experiments not to be\ncontained in the non-electric, but _in the glass_. 1748.\n\n[26] What is said here, and after, of the _top_ and _bottom_ of the\nbottle, is true of the _inside_ and _outside_ surfaces, and should\nhave been so expressed.\n\n[27] See the preceding note, relating to _top_ and _bottom_.\n\n[28] Other circumstances being equal.\n\n[29] _i. e._ from the inside to the outside.\n\n[30] See the preceding note, relating to _top_ and _bottom_.\n\n[31] _i. e._ From the _inside_ to the _outside_.\n\n[32] Placing the book on glass or wax is not necessary to produce the\nappearance; it is only to show that the visible electricity is not\nbrought up from the common stock in the earth.\n\n\n\n\nTO PETER COLLINSON, ESQ. F. R. S. LONDON.\n\n  _Farther Experiments confirming the preceding Observations.--Leyden\n  Bottle analysed.--Electrical Battery.--Magical Picture.--Electrical\n  Wheel or Jack.--Electrical Feast._\n\n\n  _Philadelphia, 1748._\n\n  SIR,\n\n\u00a7 1. There will be the same explosion and shock if the electrified\nphial is held in one hand by the hook, and the coating touched with\nthe other, as when held by the coating, and touched at the hook.\n\n2. To take the charged phial safely by the hook, and not at the same\ntime diminish its force, it must first be set down on an electric\n_per se_.\n\n3. The phial will be electrified as strongly, if held by the hook,\nand the coating applied to the globe or tube; as when held by the\ncoating, and the hook applied[33].\n\n4. But the _direction_ of the electrical fire being different in the\ncharging, will also be different in the explosion. The bottle charged\nthrough the hook, will be discharged through the hook; the bottle\ncharged through the coating, will be discharged through the coating,\nand not otherways; for the fire must come out the same way it went in.\n\n5. To prove this, take two bottles that were equally charged through\nthe hooks, one in each hand: bring their hooks near each other, and\nno spark or shock will follow; because each hook is disposed to\ngive fire, and neither to receive it. Set one of the bottles down\non glass, take it up by the hook, and apply its coating to the hook\nof the other; then there will be an explosion and shock, and both\nbottles will be discharged.\n\n6. Vary the experiment, by charging two phials equally, one through\nthe hook, the other through the coating: hold that by the coating\nwhich was charged through the hook; and that by the hook which was\ncharged through the coating: apply the hook of the first to the\ncoating of the other, and there will be no shock or spark. Set that\ndown on glass which you held by the hook, take it up by the coating,\nand bring the two hooks together: a spark and shock will follow, and\nboth phials be discharged.\n\nIn this experiment the bottles are totally discharged, or the\nequilibrium within them restored. The _abounding_ of fire in one of\nthe hooks (or rather in the internal surface of one bottle) being\nexactly equal to the _wanting_ of the other: and therefore, as each\nbottle has in itself the _abounding_ as well as the _wanting_,\nthe wanting and abounding must be equal in each bottle. See \u00a7 8,\n9, 10, 11. But if a man holds in his hands two bottles, one fully\nelectrified, the other not at all, and brings their hooks together,\nhe has but half a shock, and the bottles will both remain half\nelectrified, the one being half discharged, and the other half\ncharged.\n\n7. Place two phials equally charged on a table at five or six inches\ndistance. Let a cork-ball, suspended by a silk thread, hang between\nthem. If the phials were both charged through their hooks, the\ncork, when it has been attracted and repelled by the one, will not\nbe attracted, but equally repelled by the other. But if the phials\nwere charged, the one through the hook, and the other[34] through\nthe coating, the ball, when it is repelled from one hook, will be as\nstrongly attracted by the other, and play vigorously between them,\nfetching the electric fluid from the one, and delivering it to the\nother, till both phials are nearly discharged.\n\n8. When we use the terms of _charging_ and _discharging_ the phial,\nit is in compliance with custom, and for want of others more\nsuitable. Since we are of opinion that there is really no more\nelectrical fire in the phial after what is called its _charging_,\nthan before, nor less after its _discharging_; excepting only the\nsmall spark that might be given to, and taken from the non-electric\nmatter, if separated from the bottle, which spark may not be equal to\na five hundredth part of what is called the explosion.\n\nFor if, on the explosion, the electrical fire came out of the bottle\nby one part, and did not enter in again by another, then, if a man,\nstanding on wax, and holding the bottle in one hand, takes the spark\nby touching the wire hook with the other, the bottle being thereby\n_discharged_, the man would be _charged_; or whatever fire was lost\nby one, would be found in the other, since there was no way for its\nescape: but the contrary is true.\n\n9. Besides, the phial will not suffer what is called a _charging_,\nunless as much fire can go out of it one way, as is thrown in by\nanother. A phial cannot be charged standing on wax or glass, or\nhanging on the prime conductor, unless a communication be formed\nbetween its coating and the floor.\n\n10. But suspend two or more phials on the prime conductor, one\nhanging on the tail of the other; and a wire from the last to the\nfloor, an equal number of turns of the wheel shall charge them all\nequally, and every one as much as one alone would have been. What is\ndriven out at the tail of the first, serving to charge the second;\nwhat is driven out of the second charging the third; and so on. By\nthis means a great number of bottles might be charged with the same\nlabour, and equally high, with one alone; were it not that every\nbottle receives new fire, and loses its old with some reluctance, or\nrather gives some small resistance to the charging, which in a number\nof bottles becomes more equal to the charging power, and so repels\nthe fire back again on the globe, sooner in proportion than a single\nbottle would do.\n\n11. When a bottle is charged in the common way, its _inside_ and\n_outside_ surfaces stand ready, the one to give fire by the hook,\nthe other to receive it by the coating; the one is full, and ready\nto throw out, the other empty and extremely hungry; yet as the\nfirst will not _give out_, unless the other can at the same instant\n_receive in_; so neither will the latter receive in, unless the first\ncan at the same instant give out. When both can be done at once, it\nis done with inconceivable quickness and violence.\n\n12. So a straight spring (though the comparison does not agree in\nevery particular) when forcibly bent, must, to restore itself,\ncontract that side which in the bending was extended, and extend that\nwhich was contracted; if either of these two operations be hindered,\nthe other cannot be done. But the spring is not said to be _charged_\nwith elasticity when bent, and discharged when unbent; its quantity\nof elasticity is always the same.\n\n13. Glass, in like manner, has, within its substance, always the\nsame quantity of electrical fire, and that a very great quantity in\nproportion to the mass of glass, as shall be shewn hereafter.\n\n14. This quantity, proportioned to the glass, it strongly and\nobstinately retains, and will have neither more nor less, though it\nwill suffer a change to be made in its parts and situation; _i. e._\nwe may take away part of it from one of the sides, provided we throw\nan equal quantity into the other.\n\n15. Yet when the situation of the electrical fire is thus altered in\nthe glass; when some has been taken from one side, and some added to\nthe other, it will not be at rest or in its natural state, till it\nis restored to its original equality. And this restitution cannot\nbe made through the substance of the glass, but must be done by a\nnon-electric communication formed without, from surface to surface.\n\n16. Thus, the whole force of the bottle, and power of giving a\nshock, is in the GLASS ITSELF; the non-electrics in contact with the\ntwo surfaces, serving only to _give_ and _receive_ to and from the\nseveral parts of the glass; that is, to give on one side, and take\naway from the other.\n\n17. This was discovered here in the following manner: Purposing to\nanalyse the electrified bottle, in order to find wherein its strength\nlay, we placed it on glass, and drew out the cork and wire which\nfor that purpose had been loosely put in. Then taking the bottle\nin one hand, and bringing a finger of the other near its mouth, a\nstrong spark came from the water, and the shock was as violent as\nif the wire had remained in it, which shewed that the force did not\nlie in the wire. Then to find if it resided in the water, being\ncrowded into and condensed in it, as confined by the glass, which\nhad been our former opinion, we electrified the bottle again, and\nplacing it on glass, drew out the wire and cork as before; then\ntaking up the bottle, we decanted all its water into an empty bottle,\nwhich likewise stood on glass; and taking up that other bottle, we\nexpected, if the force resided in the water, to find a shock from\nit; but there was none. We judged then that it must either be lost\nin decanting, or remain in the first bottle. The latter we found to\nbe true; for that bottle on trial gave the shock, though filled up\nas it stood with fresh unelectrified water from a tea-pot.--To find,\nthen, whether glass had this property merely as glass, or whether\nthe form contributed any thing to it; we took a pane of sash-glass,\nand laying it on the hand, placed a plate of lead on its upper\nsurface; then electrified that plate, and bringing a finger to it,\nthere was a spark and shock. We then took two plates of lead of equal\ndimensions, but less than the glass by two inches every way, and\nelectrified the glass between them, by electrifying the uppermost\nlead; then separated the glass from the lead, in doing which, what\nlittle fire might be in the lead was taken out, and the glass being\ntouched in the electrified parts with a finger, afforded only very\nsmall pricking sparks, but a great number of them might be taken from\ndifferent places. Then dextrously placing it again between the leaden\nplates, and compleating a circle between the two surfaces, a violent\nshock ensued.--Which demonstrated the power to reside in glass as\nglass, and that the non-electrics in contact served only, like the\narmature of a loadstone, to unite the force of the several parts, and\nbring them at once to any point desired: it being the property of a\nnon-electric, that the whole body instantly receives or gives what\nelectrical fire is given to or taken from any one of its parts.\n\n18. Upon this we made what we called an _electrical-battery_,\nconsisting of eleven panes of large sash-glass, armed with thin\nleaden plates, pasted on each side, placed vertically, and supported\nat two inches distance on silk cords, with thick hooks of leaden\nwire, one from each side, standing upright, distant from each other,\nand convenient communications of wire and chain, from the giving\nside of one pane, to the receiving side of the other; that so the\nwhole might be charged together, and with the same labour as one\nsingle pane; and another contrivance to bring the giving sides,\nafter charging, in contact with one long wire, and the receivers\nwith another, which two long wires would give the force of all the\nplates of glass at once through the body of any animal forming the\ncircle with them. The plates may also be discharged separately, or\nany number together that is required. But this machine is not much\nused, as not perfectly answering our intention with regard to the\nease of charging, for the reason given, _Sec. 10._ We made also of\nlarge glass panes, magical pictures, and self-moving animated wheels,\npresently to be described.\n\n19. I perceive by the ingenious Mr. Watson's last book, lately\nreceived, that Dr. Bevis had used, before we had, panes of glass to\ngive a shock[35]; though, till that book came to hand, I thought to\nhave communicated it to you as a novelty. The excuse for mentioning\nit here is, that we tried the experiment differently, drew different\nconsequences from it (for Mr. Watson still seems to think the fire\n_accumulated on the non-electric_ that is in contact with the glass,\np. 72) and, as far as we hitherto know, have carried it farther.\n\n20. The magical picture[36] is made thus. Having a large metzotinto\nwith a frame and glass, suppose of the KING (God preserve him) take\nout the print, and cut a pannel out of it near two inches distant\nfrom the frame all round. If the cut is through the picture it is not\nthe worse. With thin paste, or gum-water, fix the border that is cut\noff on the inside the glass, pressing it smooth and close; then fill\nup the vacancy by gilding the glass well with leaf-gold, or brass.\nGild likewise the inner edge of the back of the frame all round,\nexcept the top part, and form a communication between that gilding\nand the gilding behind the glass: then put in the board, and that\nside is finished. Turn up the glass, and gild the fore side exactly\nover the back gilding, and when it is dry, cover it, by pasting on\nthe pannel of the picture that hath been cut out, observing to bring\nthe correspondent parts of the border and picture together, by which\nthe picture will appear of a piece, as at first, only part is behind\nthe glass, and part before. Hold the picture horizontally by the\ntop, and place a little moveable gilt crown on the king's head. If\nnow the picture be moderately electrified, and another person take\nhold of the frame with one hand, so that his fingers touch its inside\ngilding, and with the other hand endeavour to take off the crown, he\nwill receive a terrible blow, and fail in the attempt. If the picture\nwere highly charged, the consequence might perhaps be as fatal[37] as\nthat of high treason, for when the spark is taken through a quire of\npaper laid on the picture by means of a wire communication, it makes\na fair hole through every sheet, that is, through forty-eight leaves,\nthough a quire of paper is thought good armour against the push of\na sword, or even against a pistol bullet, and the crack is exceeding\nloud. The operator, who holds the picture by the upper end, where\nthe inside of the frame is not gilt, to prevent its falling, feels\nnothing of the shock, and may touch the face of the picture without\ndanger, which he pretends is a test of his loyalty.--If a ring of\npersons take the shock among them, the experiment is called, _The\nConspirators_.\n\n21. On the principle, in _Sec. 7_, that hooks of bottles, differently\ncharged, will attract and repel differently, is made an electrical\nwheel, that turns with considerable strength. A small upright shaft\nof wood passes at right angles through a thin round board, of about\ntwelve inches diameter, and turns on a sharp point of iron, fixed\nin the lower end, while a strong wire in the upper end, passing\nthrough a small hole in a thin brass plate, keeps the shaft truly\nvertical. About thirty _radii_ of equal length, made of sash-glass,\ncut in narrow strips, issue horizontally from the circumference of\nthe board, the ends most distant from the centre, being about four\ninches apart. On the end of every one, a brass thimble is fixed. If\nnow the wire of a bottle electrified in the common way, be brought\nnear the circumference of this wheel, it will attract the nearest\nthimble, and so put the wheel in motion; that thimble, in passing\nby, receives a spark and thereby being electrified is repelled, and\nso driven forwards; while a second being attracted, approaches the\nwire, receives a spark, and is driven after the first, and so on till\nthe wheel has gone once round, when the thimbles before electrified\napproaching the wire, instead of being attracted as they were at\nfirst, are repelled, and the motion presently ceases.--But if\nanother bottle, which had been charged through the coating, be placed\nnear the same wheel, its wire will attract the thimble repelled by\nthe first, and thereby double the force that carries the wheel round;\nand not only taking out the fire that had been communicated to the\nthimbles by the first bottle, but even robbing them of their natural\nquantity, instead of being repelled when they come again towards the\nfirst bottle, they are more strongly attracted, so that the wheel\nmends its pace, till it goes with great rapidity twelve or fifteen\nrounds in a minute, and with such strength, as that the weight of one\nhundred Spanish dollars with which we once loaded it, did not seem in\nthe least to retard its motion.--This is called an electrical jack;\nand if a large fowl were spitted on the upright shaft, it would be\ncarried round before a fire with a motion fit for roasting.\n\n22. But this wheel, like those driven by wind, water, or weights,\nmoves by a foreign force, to wit, that of the bottles. The\nself-moving wheel, though constructed on the same principles, appears\nmore surprising. It is made of a thin round plate of window-glass,\nseventeen inches diameter, well gilt on both sides, all but two\ninches next the edge. Two small hemispheres of wood are then fixed\nwith cement to the middle of the upper and under sides, centrally\nopposite, and in each of them a thick strong wire eight or ten\ninches long, which together make the axis of the wheel. It turns\nhorizontally on a point at the lower end of its axis, which rests on\na bit of brass cemented within a glass salt-cellar. The upper end\nof its axis passes through a hole in a thin brass plate cemented to\na long strong piece of glass, which keeps it six or eight inches\ndistant from any non-electric, and has a small ball of wax or metal\non its top, to keep in the fire. In a circle on the table which\nsupports the wheel, are fixed twelve small pillars of glass, at\nabout four inches distance, with a thimble on the top of each. On\nthe edge of the wheel is a small leaden bullet, communicating by\na wire with the gilding of the _upper_ surface of the wheel; and\nabout six inches from it is another bullet, communicating in like\nmanner with the _under_ surface. When the wheel is to be charged\nby the upper surface, a communication must be made from the under\nsurface to the table. When it is well charged it begins to move; the\nbullet nearest to a pillar moves towards the thimble on that pillar,\nand passing by electrifies it, and then pushes itself from it; the\nsucceeding bullet, which communicates with the other surface of the\nglass, more strongly attracts that thimble, on account of its being\nbefore electrified by the other bullet; and thus the wheel encreases\nits motion till it comes to such a height as that the resistance of\nthe air regulates it. It will go half an hour, and make one minute\nwith another twenty turns in a minute, which is six hundred turns\nin the whole; the bullet of the upper surface giving in each turn\ntwelve sparks to the thimbles, which makes seven thousand two hundred\nsparks: and the bullet of the under surface receiving as many from\nthe thimbles; those bullets moving in the time near two thousand five\nhundred feet.--The thimbles are well fixed, and in so exact a circle,\nthat the bullets may pass within a very small distance of each of\nthem.--If instead of two bullets you put eight, four communicating\nwith the upper surface, and four with the under surface, placed\nalternately, which eight, at about six inches distance, completes the\ncircumference, the force and swiftness will be greatly increased, the\nwheel making fifty turns in a minute; but then it will not continue\nmoving so long.--These wheels may be applied, perhaps, to the ringing\nof chimes,[38] and moving of light-made orreries.\n\n23. A small wire bent circularly, with a loop at each end; let one\nend rest against the under surface of the wheel, and bring the other\nend near the upper surface, it will give a terrible crack, and the\nforce will be discharged.\n\n24. Every spark in that manner drawn from the surface of the wheel,\nmakes a round hole in the gilding, tearing off a part of it in coming\nout; which shews that the fire is not accumulated on the gilding, but\nis in the glass itself.\n\n25. The gilding being varnished over with turpentine varnish, the\nvarnish, though dry and hard, is burnt by the spark drawn through\nit, and gives a strong smell and visible smoke. And when the spark\nis drawn thro' paper, all round the hole made by it, the paper will\nbe blacked by the smoke, which sometimes penetrates several of the\nleaves. Part of the gilding torn off is also found forcibly driven\ninto the hole made in the paper by the stroke.\n\n26. It is amazing to observe in how small a portion of glass a\ngreat electrical force may lie. A thin glass bubble, about an inch\ndiameter, weighing only six grains, being half filled with water,\npartly gilt on the outside, and furnished with a wire hook, gives,\nwhen electrified, as great a shock as a man can well bear. As the\nglass is thickest near the orifice, I suppose the lower half, which\nbeing gilt was electrified and gave the shock, did not exceed two\ngrains; for it appeared, when broken, much thinner than the upper\nhalf.--If one of these thin bottles be electrified by the coating,\nand the spark taken out through the gilding, it will break the glass\ninwards, at the same time that it breaks the gilding outwards.\n\n27. And allowing (for the reasons before given, \u00a7 8, 9, 10,) that\nthere is no more electrical fire in a bottle after charging, than\nbefore, how great must be the quantity in this small portion of\nglass! It seems as if it were of its very substance and essence.\nPerhaps if that due quantity of electrical fire so obstinately\nretained by glass, could be separated from it, it would no longer\nbe glass; it might lose its transparency, or its brittleness, or\nits elasticity.--Experiments may possibly be invented hereafter, to\ndiscover this.\n\n27. We were surprised at the account given in Mr. Watson's book, of a\nshock communicated through a great space of dry ground, and suspect\nthere must be some metalline quality in the gravel of that ground;\nhaving found that simple dry earth, rammed in a glass tube, open at\nboth ends, and a wire hook inserted in the earth at each end, the\nearth and wires making part of a circuit, would not conduct the least\nperceptible shock, and indeed when one wire was electrified the other\nhardly shewed any signs of its being in connection with it[39]. Even\na thoroughly wet packthread sometimes fails of conducting a shock,\nthough it otherwise conducts electricity very well. A dry cake of\nice, or an icicle held between two in a circle, likewise prevents the\nshock, which one would not expect, as water conducts it so perfectly\nwell.--Gilding on a new book, though at first it conducts the shock\nextremely well, yet fails after ten or a dozen experiments, though it\nappears otherwise in all respects the same, which we cannot account\nfor[40].\n\n28. There is one experiment more which surprises us, and is not\nhitherto satisfactorily accounted for; it is this: Place an iron\nshot on a glass stand, and let a ball of damp cork, suspended by a\nsilk thread, hang in contact with the shot. Take a bottle in each\nhand, one that is electrified through the hook, the other through\nthe coating: Apply the giving wire to the shot, which will electrify\nit _positively_, and the cork shall be repelled: then apply the\nrequiring wire, which will take out the spark given by the other;\nwhen the cork will return to the shot: Apply the same again, and take\nout another spark, so will the shot be electrified _negatively_,\nand the cork in that case shall be repelled equally as before. Then\napply the giving wire to the shot, and give the spark it wanted, so\nwill the cork return: Give it another, which will be an addition to\nits natural quantity, so will the cork be repelled again: And so\nmay the experiment be repeated as long as there is any charge in\nthe bottles. Which shews that bodies, having less than the common\nquantity of electricity, repel each other, as well as those that have\nmore.\n\nChagrined a little that we have been hitherto able to produce nothing\nin this way of use to mankind; and the hot weather coming on, when\nelectrical experiments are not so agreeable, it is proposed to put\nan end to them for this season, somewhat humorously, in a party of\npleasure, on the banks of _Skuylkil_[41]. Spirits, at the same time,\nare to be fired by a spark sent from side to side through the river,\nwithout any other conductor than the water; an experiment which we\nsome time since performed, to the amazement of many[42].\n\nA turkey is to be killed for our dinner by the _electrical shock_,\nand roasted by the _electrical jack_, before a fire kindled by\nthe _electrified bottle_: when the healths of all the famous\nelectricians in England, Holland, France, and Germany are to be drank\nin _electrified bumpers_[43], under the discharge of guns from the\n_electrical battery_.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[33] This was a discovery of the very ingenious Mr. Kinnersley, and\nby him communicated to me.\n\n[34] To charge a bottle commodiously through the coating, place it on\na glass stand; form a communication from the prime conductor to the\ncoating, and another from the hook to the wall or floor. When it is\ncharged, remove the latter communication before you take hold of the\nbottle, otherwise great part of the fire will escape by it.\n\n[35] I have since heard that Mr. Smeaton was the first who made use\nof panes of glass for that purpose.\n\n[36] Contrived by Mr. Kinnersley.\n\n[37] We have since found it fatal to small animals, though not to\nlarge ones. The biggest we have yet killed is a hen. 1750.\n\n[38] This was afterwards done with success by Mr. Kinnersley.\n\n[39] Probably the ground is never so dry.\n\n[40] We afterwards found that it failed after one stroke with a large\nbottle; and the continuity of the gold appearing broken, and many of\nits parts dissipated, the electricity could not pass the remaining\nparts without leaping from part to part through the air, which always\nresists the motion of this fluid, and was probably the cause of the\ngold's not conducting so well as before; the number of interruptions\nin the line of gold, making, when added together, a space larger,\nperhaps, than the striking distance.\n\n[41] The river that washes one side of Philadelphia, as the Delaware\ndoes the other; both are ornamented with the summer habitations of\nthe citizens, and the agreeable mansions of the principal people of\nthis colony.\n\n[42] As the possibility of this experiment has not been easily\nconceived, I shall here describe it.--Two iron rods, about three\nfeet long, were planted just within the margin of the river, on the\nopposite sides. A thick piece of wire, with a small round knob at\nits end, was fixed on the top of one of the rods, bending downwards,\nso as to deliver commodiously the spark upon the surface of the\nspirit. A small wire fastened by one end to the handle of the spoon,\ncontaining the spirit, was carried a-cross the river, and supported\nin the air by the rope commonly used to hold by, in drawing the\nferry-boats over. The other end of this wire was tied round the\ncoating of the bottle; which being charged, the spark was delivered\nfrom the hook to the top of the rod standing in the water on that\nside. At the same instant the rod on the other side delivered a spark\ninto the spoon, and fired the spirit; the electric fire returning to\nthe coating of the bottle, through the handle of the spoon and the\nsupported wire connected with them.\n\nThat the electric fire thus actually passes through the water, has\nsince been satisfactorily demonstrated to many by an experiment of\nMr. Kinnersley's, performed in a trough of water about ten feet long.\nThe hand being placed under water in the direction of the spark\n(which always takes the strait or shortest course, if sufficient, and\nother circumstances are equal) is struck and penetrated by it as it\npasses.\n\n\n\n\nTO PETER COLLINSON, ESQ. F. R. S. LONDON.\n\n  _Observations and Suppositions, towards forming a new Hypothesis,\n  for explaining the several Phenomena of Thunder-Gusts._[44]\n\n\n  SIR,\n\n\nNon-electric bodies, that have electric fire thrown into them, will\nretain it till other electrics, that have less, approach; and then it\nis communicated by a snap, and becomes equally divided.\n\n2. Electrical fire loves water, is strongly attracted by it, and they\ncan subsist together.\n\n3. Air is an electric _per se_, and when dry will not conduct the\nelectrical fire; it will neither receive it, nor give it to other\nbodies: otherwise no body surrounded by air, could be electrified\npositively and negatively: for should it be attempted positively, the\nair would immediately take away the overplus; or negatively, the air\nwould supply what was wanting.\n\n4. Water being electrified, the vapours arising from it will be\nequally electrified; and floating in the air, in the form of clouds,\nor otherwise, will retain that quantity of electrical fire, till they\nmeet with other clouds or bodies not so much electrified, and then\nwill communicate as before-mentioned.\n\n5. Every particle of matter electrified is repelled by every other\nparticle equally electrified. Thus the stream of a fountain,\nnaturally dense and continual, when electrified, will separate and\nspread in the form of a brush, every drop endeavouring to recede from\nevery other drop. But on taking out the electrical fire they close\nagain.\n\n6. Water being strongly electrified (as well as when heated by common\nfire) rises in vapours more copiously; the attraction of cohesion\namong its particles being greatly weakened, by the opposite power of\nrepulsion introduced with the electrical fire; and when any particle\nis by any means disengaged, it is immediately repelled, and so flies\ninto the air.\n\n7. Particles happening to be situated as _A_ and _B_, (FIG. VI.\n_representing the profile of a vessel of water_) are more easily\ndisengaged than _C_ and _D_, as each is held by contact with three\nonly, whereas _C_ and _D_ are each in contact with nine. When the\nsurface of the water has the least motion, particles are continually\npushed into the situation represented by _A_ and _B_.\n\n8. Friction between a non-electric and an electric _per se_ will\nproduce electrical fire; not by _creating_, but _collecting_ it:\nfor it is equally diffused in our walls, floors, earth, and the\nwhole mass of common matter. Thus the whirling glass globe, during\nits friction against the cushion, draws fire from the cushion, the\ncushion is supplied from the frame of the machine, that from the\nfloor on which it stands. Cut off the communication by thick glass or\nwax, placed under the cushion, and no fire can be _produced_, because\nit cannot be _collected_.\n\n9. The ocean is a compound of water, a non-electric, and salt an\nelectric _per se_.\n\n10. When there is a friction among the parts near its surface, the\nelectrical fire is collected from the parts below. It is then plainly\nvisible in the night; it appears in the stern and in the wake of\nevery sailing vessel; every dash of an oar shews it, and every surf\nand spray: in storms the whole sea seems on fire.--The detached\nparticles of water then repelled from the electrified surface,\ncontinually carry off the fire as it is collected; they rise and form\nclouds, and those clouds are highly electrified, and retain the fire\ntill they have an opportunity of communicating it.\n\n11. The particles of water, rising in vapours, attach themselves to\nparticles of air.\n\n12. The particles of air are said to be hard, round, separate and\ndistant from each other; every particle strongly repelling every\nother particle, whereby they recede from each other, as far as common\ngravity will permit.\n\n13. The space between any three particles, equally repelling each\nother, will be an equilateral triangle.\n\n14. In air compressed, these triangles are smaller; in rarified air\nthey are larger.\n\n15. Common fire, joined with air, increases the repulsion, enlarges\nthe triangles, and thereby makes the air specifically lighter. Such\nair, among denser air, will rise.\n\n16. Common fire, as well as electrical fire, gives repulsion to the\nparticles of water, and destroys their attraction of cohesion; hence\ncommon fire, as well as electrical fire, assists in raising vapours.\n\n17. Particles of water, having no fire in them, mutually attract each\nother. Three particles of water then, being attached to the three\nparticles of a triangle of air, would, by their mutual attraction\noperating against the air's repulsion, shorten the sides and lessen\nthe triangle, whereby that portion of air made denser, would sink to\nthe earth with its water, and not rise to the formation of a cloud.\n\n18. But if every particle of water attaching itself to air brings\nwith it a particle of common fire, the repulsion of the air being\nassisted and strengthened by the fire, more than obstructed by the\nmutual attraction of the particles of water, the triangle dilates,\nand that portion of air, becoming rarer and specifically lighter,\nrises.\n\n19. If the particles of water bring electrical fire when they attach\nthemselves to air, the repulsion between the particles of water\nelectrified, joins with the natural repulsion of the air, to force\nits particles to a greater distance, whereby the triangles are\ndilated, and the air rises, carrying up with it the water.\n\n20. If the particles of water bring with them portions of _both\nsorts_ of fire, the repulsion of the particles of air is still more\nstrengthened and increased, and the triangles farther enlarged.\n\n21. One particle of air may be surrounded by twelve particles of\nwater of equal size with itself, all in contact with it; and by more\nadded to those.\n\n22. Particles of air, thus loaded, would be drawn nearer together by\nthe mutual attraction of the particles of water, did not the fire,\ncommon or electrical, assist their repulsion.\n\n23. If air, thus loaded, be compressed by adverse winds, or by being\ndriven against mountains, &c. or condensed by taking away the fire\nthat assisted it in expanding; the triangles contract, the air with\nits water will descend as a dew; or, if the water surrounding one\nparticle of air comes in contact with the water surrounding another,\nthey coalesce and form a drop, and we have rain.\n\n24. The sun supplies (or seems to supply) common fire to vapours,\nwhether raised from earth or sea.\n\n25. Those vapours, which have both common and electrical fire in\nthem, are better supported than those which have only common fire in\nthem; for when vapours rise into the coldest region above the earth,\nthe cold will not diminish the electrical fire, if it doth the common.\n\n26. Hence clouds, formed by vapours, raised from fresh waters within\nland, from growing vegetables, moist earth, &c. more speedily and\neasily deposite their water, having but little electrical fire to\nrepel and keep the particles separate. So that the greatest part of\nthe water raised from the land, is let fall on the land again; and\nwinds blowing from the land to the sea are dry; there being little\nuse for rain on the sea, and to rob the land of its moisture, in\norder to rain on the sea, would not appear reasonable.\n\n27. But clouds, formed by vapours raised from the sea, having both\nfires, and particularly a great quantity of the electrical, support\ntheir water strongly, raise it high, and being moved by winds, may\nbring it over the middle of the broadest continent from the middle of\nthe widest ocean.\n\n28. How these ocean clouds, so strongly supporting their water, are\nmade to deposite it on the land where it is wanted, is next to be\nconsidered.\n\n29. If they are driven by winds against mountains, those mountains\nbeing less electrified attract them, and on contact take away their\nelectrical fire (and being cold, the common fire also;) hence the\nparticles close towards the mountains and towards each other. If the\nair was not much loaded, it only falls in dews on the mountain tops\nand sides, forms springs, and descends to the vales in rivulets,\nwhich, united, make larger streams and rivers. If much loaded,\nthe electrical fire is at once taken from the whole cloud; and,\nin leaving it, flashes brightly and cracks loudly; the particles\ninstantly coalescing for want of that fire, and falling in a heavy\nshower.\n\n30. When a ridge of mountains thus dams the clouds, and draws the\nelectrical fire from the cloud first approaching it; that which next\nfollows, when it comes near the first cloud, now deprived of its\nfire, flashes into it, and begins to deposite its own water; the\nfirst cloud again flashing into the mountains; the third approaching\ncloud, and all succeeding ones, acting in the same manner as far back\nas they extend, which may be over many hundred miles of country.\n\n31. Hence the continual storms of rain, thunder, and lightning on\nthe east side of the Andes, which running north and south, and being\nvastly high, intercept all the clouds brought against them from the\nAtlantic ocean by the trade winds, and oblige them to deposite their\nwaters, by which the vast rivers Amazons, La Plata, and Oroonoko\nare formed, which return the water into the same sea, after having\nfertilized a country of very great extent.\n\n32. If a country be plain, having no mountains to intercept the\nelectrified clouds, yet it is not without means to make them deposite\ntheir water. For if an electrified cloud, coming from the sea,\nmeets in the air a cloud raised from the land, and therefore not\nelectrified; the first will flash its fire into the latter, and\nthereby both clouds shall be made suddenly to deposite water.\n\n33. The electrified particles of the first cloud close when they lose\ntheir fire; the particles of the other clouds close in receiving\nit: in both, they have thereby an opportunity of coalescing into\ndrops.--The concussion, or jerk given to the air, contributes also to\nshake down the water, not only from those two clouds, but from others\nnear them. Hence the sudden fall of rain immediately after flashes of\nlightning.\n\n34. To shew this by an easy experiment: Take two round pieces of\npasteboard two inches diameter; from the centre and circumference of\neach of them suspend by fine silk threads eighteen inches long, seven\nsmall balls of wood, or seven peas equal in goodness: so will the\nballs appending to each pasteboard, form equal equilateral triangles,\none ball being in the centre, and six at equal distances from that,\nand from each other; and thus they represent particles of air.\nDip both sets in water, and some adhering to each ball, they will\nrepresent air loaded. Dexterously electrify one set, and its ball\nwill repel each other to a greater distance, enlarging the triangles.\nCould the water supported by seven balls come into contact, it would\nform a drop or drops so heavy as to break the cohesion it had with\nthe balls, and so fall. Let the two sets then represent two clouds,\nthe one a sea cloud electrified, the other a land cloud. Bring them\nwithin the sphere of attraction, and they will draw towards each\nother, and you will see the separated balls close thus; the first\nelectrified ball that comes near an unelectrified ball by attraction\njoins it, and gives it fire; instantly they separate, and each flies\nto another ball of its own party, one to give, the other to receive\nfire; and so it proceeds through both sets, but so quick as to be in\na manner instantaneous. In the cohesion they shake off and drop their\nwater, which represents rain.\n\n35. Thus when sea and land clouds would pass at too great a distance\nfor the flash, they are attracted towards each other till within that\ndistance; for the sphere of electrical attraction is far beyond the\ndistance of flashing.\n\n36. When a great number of clouds from the sea meet a number of\nclouds raised from the land, the electrical flashes appear to strike\nin different parts; and as the clouds are jostled and mixed by the\nwinds, or brought near by the electrical attraction, they continue\nto give and receive flash after flash, till the electrical fire is\nequally diffused.\n\n37. When the gun-barrel, (in electrical experiments) has but little\nelectrical fire in it, you must approach it very near with your\nknuckle before you can draw a spark. Give it more fire, and it will\ngive a spark at a greater distance. Two gun-barrels united, and as\nhighly electrified, will give a spark at a still greater distance.\nBut if two gun-barrels electrified will strike at two inches\ndistance, and make a loud snap, to what a great distance may 10,000\nacres of electrified cloud strike and give its fire, and how loud\nmust be that crack?\n\n38. It is a common thing to see clouds at different heights passing\ndifferent ways, which shews different currents of air one under the\nother. As the air between the tropics is rarefied by the sun, it\nrises, the denser northern and southern air pressing into its place.\nThe air so rarefied and forced up, passes northward and southward,\nand must descend in the polar regions, if it has no opportunity\nbefore, that the circulation may be carried on.\n\n39. As currents of air, with the clouds therein, pass different ways,\nit is easy to conceive how the clouds, passing over each other,\nmay attract each other, and so come near enough for the electrical\nstroke. And also how electrical clouds may be carried within land\nvery far from the sea, before they have an opportunity to strike.\n\n40. When the air, with its vapours raised from the ocean between\nthe tropics, comes to descend in the polar regions, and to be in\ncontact with the vapours arising there, the electrical fire they\nbrought begins to be communicated, and is seen in clear nights,\nbeing first visible where it is first in motion, that is, where\nthe contact begins, or in the most northern part; from thence the\nstreams of light seem to shoot southerly, even up to the zenith of\nnorthern countries. But though the light seems to shoot from the\nnorth southerly, the progress of the fire is really from the south\nnortherly, its motion beginning in the north, being the reason that\nit is there seen first.\n\nFor the electrical fire is never visible but when in motion, and\nleaping from body to body, or from particle to particle through the\nair. When it passes through dense bodies it is unseen. When a wire\nmakes part of the circle, in the explosion of the electrical phial,\nthe fire, though in great quantity, passes in the wire invisibly; but\nin passing along a chain, it becomes visible as it leaps from link to\nlink. In passing along leaf gilding it is visible: for the leaf-gold\nis full of pores; hold a leaf to the light and it appears like a\nnet, and the fire is seen in its leaping over the vacancies.--And as\nwhen a long canal filled with still water is opened at one end, in\norder to be discharged, the motion of the water begins first near\nthe opened end, and proceeds towards the close end, though the water\nitself moves from the close towards the opened end: so the electrical\nfire discharged into the polar regions, perhaps from a thousand\nleagues length of vaporised air, appears first where it is first\nin motion, _i. e._ in the most northern part, and the appearance\nproceeds southward, though the fire really moves northward. This is\nsupposed to account for the _aurora borealis_.\n\n41. When there is great heat on the land, in a particular region\n(the sun having shone on it perhaps several days, while the\nsurrounding countries have been screened by clouds) the lower air is\nrarefied and rises, the cooler denser air above descends; the clouds\nin that air meet from all sides, and join over the heated place; and\nif some are electrified, others not, lightning and thunder succeed,\nand showers fall. Hence thunder-gusts after heats, and cool air after\ngusts; the water and the clouds that bring it, coming from a higher\nand therefore a cooler region.\n\n42. An electrical spark, drawn from an irregular body at some\ndistance is scarcely ever strait, but shows crooked and waving in the\nair. So do the flashes of lightning; the clouds being very irregular\nbodies.\n\n43. As electrified clouds pass over a country, high hills and high\ntrees, lofty towers, spires, masts of ships, chimneys, &c. as so many\nprominencies and points, draw the electrical fire, and the whole\ncloud discharges there.\n\n44. Dangerous, therefore, is it to take shelter under a tree, during\na thunder-gust. It has been fatal to many, both men and beasts.\n\n45. It is safer to be in the open field for another reason. When the\ncloaths are wet, if a flash in its way to the ground should strike\nyour head, it may run in the water over the surface of your body;\nwhereas, if your cloaths were dry, it would go through the body,\nbecause the blood and other humours, containing so much water, are\nmore ready conductors.\n\nHence a wet rat cannot be killed by the exploding electrical bottle,\nwhen a dry rat may[45].\n\n46. Common fire is in all bodies, more or less, as well as electrical\nfire. Perhaps they may be different modifications of the same\nelement; or they may be different elements. The latter is by some\nsuspected.\n\n47. If they are different things, yet they may and do subsist\ntogether in the same body.\n\n48. When electrical fire strikes through a body, it acts upon the\ncommon fire contained in it, and puts that fire in motion; and if\nthere be a sufficient quantity of each kind of fire, the body will be\ninflamed.\n\n49. When the quantity of common fire in the body is small, the\nquantity of the electrical fire (or the electrical stroke) should be\ngreater: if the quantity of common fire be great, less electrical\nfire suffices to produce the effect.\n\n50. Thus spirits must be heated before we can fire them by the\nelectrical spark.[46] If they are much heated, a small spark will do;\nif not, the spark must be greater.\n\n51. Till lately we could only fire warm vapours; but now we can burn\nhard dry rosin. And when we can procure greater electrical sparks,\nwe may be able to fire not only unwarmed spirits, as lightning does,\nbut even wood, by giving sufficient agitation to the common fire\ncontained in it, as friction we know will do.\n\n52. Sulphureous and inflammable vapours, arising from the earth,\nare easily kindled by lightning. Besides what arise from the earth,\nsuch vapours are sent out by stacks of moist hay, corn, or other\nvegetables, which heat and reek. Wood, rotting in old trees or\nbuildings, does the same. Such are therefore easily and often fired.\n\n53. Metals are often melted by lightning, though perhaps not from\nheat in the lightning, nor altogether from agitated fire in the\nmetals.--For as whatever body can insinuate itself between the\nparticles of metal, and overcome the attraction by which they cohere\n(as sundry menstrua can) will make the solid become a fluid, as\nwell as fire, yet without heating it: so the electrical fire, or\nlightning, creating a violent repulsion between the particles of the\nmetal it passes through, the metal is fused.\n\n54. If you would, by a violent fire, melt off the end of a nail,\nwhich is half driven into a door, the heat given the whole nail,\nbefore a part would melt, must burn the board it sticks in; and the\nmelted part would burn the floor it dropped on. But if a sword can\nbe melted in the scabbard, and money in a man's pocket by lightning,\nwithout burning either, it must be a cold fusion[47].\n\n55. Lightning rends some bodies. The electrical spark will strike a\nhole through a quire of strong paper.\n\n56. If the source of lightning, assigned in this paper, be the true\none, there should be little thunder heard at sea far from land. And\naccordingly some old sea-captains, of whom enquiry has been made, do\naffirm, that the fact agrees perfectly with the hypothesis; for that\nin crossing the great ocean, they seldom meet with thunder till they\ncome into soundings; and that the islands far from the continent have\nvery little of it. And a curious observer, who lived thirteen years\nat Bermudas, says, there was less thunder there in that whole time\nthan he has sometimes heard in a month at Carolina.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[43] An _electrified bumper_ is a small thin glass tumbler, nearly\nfilled with wine, and electrified as the bottle. This when brought to\nthe lips gives a shock, if the party be close shaved, and does not\nbreath on the liquor.--April 29, 1749.\n\n[44] Thunder-gusts are sudden storms of thunder and lightning, which\nare frequently of short duration, but sometimes produce mischievous\neffects.\n\n[45] This was tried with a bottle, containing about a quart. It is\nsince thought that one of the large glass jars, mentioned in these\npapers, might have killed him, though wet.\n\n[46] We have since fired spirits without heating them, when the\nweather is warm. A little, poured into the palm of the hand, will be\nwarmed sufficiently by the hand, if the spirit be well rectified.\nEther takes fire most readily.\n\n[47] These facts, though related in several accounts, are now\ndoubted; since it has been observed that the parts of a bell-wire\nwhich fell on the floor, being broken and partly melted by lightning,\ndid actually burn into the boards. (See Philosophical Transactions,\nVol. LI. part I.) And Mr. Kinnersley has found that a fine iron wire,\nmelted by Electricity, has had the same effect.\n\n\n\n\nTO PETER COLLINSON, ESQ. F. R. S. LONDON.\n\n  _Introductory Letter to some additional Papers._\n\n\n  _Philadelphia, July 29, 1750._\n\n  SIR,\n\nAs you first put us on electrical experiments, by sending to our\nLibrary Company a tube, with directions how to use it; and as our\nhonorable Proprietary enabled us to carry those experiments to a\ngreater height, by his generous present of a complete electrical\napparatus; it is fit that both should know, from time to time, what\nprogress we make. It was in this view I wrote and sent you my former\npapers on this subject, desiring, that as I had not the honour of a\ndirect correspondence with that bountiful benefactor to our library,\nthey might be communicated to him through your hands. In the same\nview I write and send you this additional paper. If it happens to\nbring you nothing new, (which may well be, considering the number of\ningenious men in Europe, continually engaged in the same researches)\nat least it will shew, that the instruments put into our hands are\nnot neglected; and that if no valuable discoveries are made by us,\nwhatever the cause may be, it is not want of industry and application.\n\n  I am, Sir,\n\n  Your much obliged humble Servant,\n\n  B. FRANKLIN.\n\n\n\n\n  _Opinions and Conjectures, concerning the Properties and\n  Effects of the electrical Matter, and the Means of preserving\n  Buildings, Ships, &c. from Lightning, arising from Experiments and\n  Observations made at Philadelphia, 1749.--Golden Fish.--Extraction\n  of effluvial Virtues by Electricity impracticable._\n\n\n\u00a7 1. The electrical matter consists of particles extremely subtile\nsince it can permeate common matter, even the densest metals, with\nsuch ease and freedom as not to receive any perceptible resistance.\n\n2. If any one should doubt whether the electrical matter passes\nthrough the substance of bodies, or only over and along their\nsurfaces, a shock from an electrified large glass jar, taken through\nhis own body, will probably convince him.\n\n3. Electrical matter differs from common matter in this, that the\nparts of the latter mutually attract, those of the former mutually\nrepel each other. Hence the appearing divergency in a stream of\nelectrified effluvia.\n\n4. But though the particles of electrical matter do repel each other,\nthey are strongly attracted by all other matter[48].\n\n5. From these three things, the extreme subtilty of the electrical\nmatter, the mutual repulsion of its parts, and the strong attraction\nbetween them and other matter, arise this effect, that, when a\nquantity of electrical matter is applied to a mass of common matter,\nof any bigness or length, within our observation (which hath not\nalready got its quantity) it is immediately and equally diffused\nthrough the whole.\n\n6. Thus, common matter is a kind of spunge to the electrical fluid.\nAnd as a spunge would receive no water, if the parts of water were\nnot smaller than the pores of the spunge; and even then but slowly,\nif there were not a mutual attraction between those parts and the\nparts of the spunge; and would still imbibe it faster, if the\nmutual attraction among the parts of the water did not impede, some\nforce being required to separate them; and fastest, if, instead of\nattraction, there were a mutual repulsion among those parts, which\nwould act in conjunction with the attraction of the spunge: so is the\ncase between the electrical and common matter.\n\n7. But in common matter there is (generally) as much of the\nelectrical as it will contain within its substance. If more is\nadded, it lies without upon the surface, and forms what we call an\nelectrical atmosphere; and then the body is said to be electrified.\n\n8. It is supposed, that all kinds of common matter do not attract and\nretain the electrical, with equal strength and force, for reasons\nto be given hereafter. And that those called electrics _per se_, as\nglass, &c. attract and retain it strongest, and contain the greatest\nquantity.\n\n9. We know that the electrical fluid is _in_ common matter, because\nwe can pump it _out_ by the globe or tube. We know that common\nmatter has near as much as it can contain, because, when we add a\nlittle more to any portion of it, the additional quantity does not\nenter, but forms an electrical atmosphere. And we know that common\nmatter has not (generally) more than it can contain, otherwise all\nloose portions of it would repel each other, as they constantly do\nwhen they have electric atmospheres.\n\n10. The beneficial uses of this electric fluid in the creation we are\nnot yet well acquainted with, though doubtless such there are, and\nthose very considerable; but we may see some pernicious consequences\nthat would attend a much greater proportion of it. For, had this\nglobe we live on, as much of it in proportion as we can give to a\nglobe of iron, wood, or the like, the particles of dust and other\nlight matters that get loose from it, would, by virtue of their\nseparate electrical atmospheres, not only repel each other, but be\nrepelled from the earth, and not easily be brought to unite with it\nagain; whence our air would continually be more and more clogged with\nforeign matter, and grow unfit for respiration. This affords another\noccasion of adoring that wisdom which has made all things by weight\nand measure!\n\n11. If a piece of common matter be supposed entirely free from\nelectrical matter, and a single particle of the latter be brought\nnigh, it will be attracted, and enter the body, and take place in the\ncentre, or where the attraction is every way equal. If more particles\nenter, they take their places where the balance is equal between the\nattraction of the common matter, and their own mutual repulsion. It\nis supposed they form triangles, whose sides shorten as their number\nencreases; till the common matter has drawn in so many, that its\nwhole power of compressing those triangles by attraction, is equal to\ntheir whole power of expanding themselves by repulsion; and then will\nsuch piece of matter receive no more.\n\n12. When part of this natural proportion of electrical fluid is\ntaken out of a piece of common matter, the triangles formed by the\nremainder, are supposed to widen by the mutual repulsion of the\nparts, until they occupy the whole piece.\n\n13. When the quantity of electrical fluid, taken from a piece of\ncommon matter, is restored again, it enters, the expanded triangles,\nbeing again compressed till there is room for the whole.\n\n14. To explain this: take two apples, or two balls of wood or other\nmatter, each having its own natural quantity of the electrical fluid.\nSuspend them by silk lines from the cieling. Apply the wire of a\nwell-charged vial, held in your hand, to one of them (A) _Fig. 7_,\nand it will receive from the wire a quantity of the electrical fluid;\nbut will not imbibe it, being already full. The fluid therefore will\nflow round its surface, and form an electrical atmosphere. Bring A\ninto contact with B, and half the electrical fluid is communicated,\nso that each has now an electrical atmosphere, and therefore they\nrepel each other. Take away these atmospheres, by touching the balls,\nand leave them in their natural state: then, having fixed a stick of\nsealing-wax to the middle of the vial to hold it by, apply the wire\nto A, at the same time the coating touches B. Thus will a quantity\nof the electrical fluid be drawn out of B, and thrown on A. So that\nA will have a redundance of this fluid, which forms an atmosphere\nround, and B an exactly equal deficiency. Now, bring these balls\nagain into contact, and the electrical atmosphere will not be divided\nbetween A and B, into two smaller atmospheres as before; for B will\ndrink up the whole atmosphere of A, and both will be found again in\ntheir natural state.\n\n15. The form of the electrical atmosphere is that of the body it\nsurrounds. This shape may be rendered visible in a still air, by\nraising a smoke from dry rosin dropt into a hot tea-spoon under the\nelectrified body, which will be attracted, and spread itself equally\non all sides, covering and concealing the body[49]. And this form it\ntakes, because it is attracted by all parts of the surface of the\nbody, though it cannot enter the substance already replete. Without\nthis attraction, it would not remain round the body, but dissipate in\nthe air.\n\n16. The atmosphere of electrical particles surrounding an electrified\nsphere, is not more disposed to leave it, or more easily drawn off\nfrom any one part of the sphere than another, because it is equally\nattracted by every part. But that is not the case with bodies of any\nother figure. From a cube it is more easily drawn at the corners\nthan at the plane sides, and so from the angles of a body of any\nother form, and still most easily from the angle that is most acute.\nThus, if a body shaped as A, B, C, D, E, in Fig. 8. be electrified,\nor have an electrical atmosphere communicated to it, and we consider\nevery side as a base on which the particles rest, and by which they\nare attracted, one may see, by imagining a line from A to F, and\nanother from E to G, that the portion of the atmosphere included\nin F, A, E, G, has the line A, E, for its basis. So the portion of\natmosphere included in H, A, B, I, has the line A B for its basis.\nAnd likewise the portion included in K, B, C, L, has B, C, to rest\non; and so on the other side of the figure. Now if you would draw\noff this atmosphere with any blunt smooth body, and approach the\nmiddle of the side A, B, you must come very near, before the force\nof your attracter exceeds the force or power with which that side\nholds its atmosphere. But there is a small portion between I, B, K,\nthat has less of the surface to rest on, and to be attracted by,\nthan the neighbouring portions, while at the same time there is a\nmutual repulsion between its particles, and the particles of those\nportions, therefore here you can get it with more ease, or at a\ngreater distance. Between F, A, H, there is a larger portion that has\nyet a less surface to rest on, and to attract it; here, therefore,\nyou can get it away still more easily. But easiest of all between\nL, C, M, where the quantity is largest, and the surface to attract\nand keep it back the least. When you have drawn away one of these\nangular portions of the fluid, another succeeds in its place, from\nthe nature of fluidity, and the mutual repulsion before-mentioned;\nand so the atmosphere continues flowing off at such angle, like a\nstream, till no more is remaining. The extremities of the portions\nof atmosphere over these angular parts, are likewise at a greater\ndistance from the electrified body, as may be seen by the inspection\nof the above figure; the point of the atmosphere of the angle C,\nbeing much farther from C, than any other part of the atmosphere\nover the lines C, B, or B, A: and, besides the distance arising\nfrom the nature of the figure, where the attraction is less, the\nparticles will naturally expand to a greater distance by their mutual\nrepulsion. On these accounts we suppose electrified bodies discharge\ntheir atmospheres upon unelectrified bodies more easily, and at a\ngreater distance from their angles and points than from their smooth\nsides.--Those points will also discharge into the air, when the\nbody has too great an electrical atmosphere, without bringing any\nnon-electric near, to receive what is thrown off: For the air, though\nan electric _per se_, yet has always more or less water and other\nnon-electric matters mixed with it: and these attract and receive\nwhat is so discharged.\n\n17. But points have a property, by which they _draw on_ as well as\n_throw off_ the electrical fluid, at greater distances than blunt\nbodies can. That is, as the pointed part of an electrified body will\ndischarge the atmosphere of that body, or communicate it farthest to\nanother body, so the point of an unelectrified body will draw off\nthe electrical atmosphere from an electrified body, farther than a\nblunter part of the same unelectrified body will do. Thus, a pin\nheld by the head, and the point presented to an electrified body,\nwill draw off its atmosphere at a foot distance; where, if the head\nwere presented instead of the point, no such effect would follow. To\nunderstand this, we may consider, that if a person standing on the\nfloor would draw off the electrical atmosphere from an electrified\nbody, an iron crow and a blunt knitting-needle held alternately in\nhis hand, and presented for that purpose, do not draw with different\nforces in proportion to their different masses. For the man, and\nwhat he holds in his hand, be it large or small, are connected with\nthe common mass of unelectrified matter; and the force with which\nhe draws is the same in both cases, it consisting in the different\nproportion of electricity in the electrified body, and that common\nmass. But the force with which the electrified body retains its\natmosphere by attracting it, is proportioned to the surface over\nwhich the particles are placed; _i. e._ four square inches of that\nsurface retain their atmosphere with four times the force that one\nsquare inch retains its atmosphere. And as in plucking the hairs from\nthe horse's tail, a degree of strength not sufficient to pull away a\nhandful at once, could yet easily strip it hair by hair; so a blunt\nbody presented cannot draw off a number of particles at once, but a\npointed one, with no greater force, takes them away easily, particle\nby particle.\n\n18. These explanations of the power and operation of points, when\nthey first occurred to me, and while they first floated in my mind,\nappeared perfectly satisfactory; but now I have written them, and\nconsidered them more closely, I must own I have some doubts about\nthem; yet, as I have at present nothing better to offer in their\nstead, I do not cross them out: for, even a bad solution read, and\nits faults discovered, has often given rise to a good one, in the\nmind of an ingenious reader.\n\n19. Nor is it of much importance to us to know the manner in\nwhich nature executes her laws; it is enough if we know the laws\nthemselves. It is of real use to know that china left in the air\nunsupported will fall and break; but _how_ it comes to fall and _why_\nit breaks are matters of speculation. It is a pleasure indeed to\nknow them, but we can preserve our china without it.\n\n20. Thus in the present case, to know this power of points may\npossibly be of some use to mankind, though we should never be able\nto explain it. The following experiments, as well as those in my\nfirst paper, show this power. I have a large prime conductor, made\nof several thin sheets of clothier's pasteboard, formed into a tube,\nnear ten feet long and a foot diameter. It is covered with Dutch\nembossed-paper, almost totally gilt. This large metallic surface\nsupports a much greater electrical atmosphere than a rod of iron of\n50 times the weight would do. It is suspended by silk lines, and\nwhen charged will strike, at near two inches distance, a pretty hard\nstroke, so as to make ones knuckle ach. Let a person standing on the\nfloor present the point of a needle at 12 or more inches distance\nfrom it, and while the needle is so presented, the conductor cannot\nbe charged, the point drawing off the fire as fast as it is thrown\non by the electrical globe. Let it be charged, and then present the\npoint at the same distance, and it will suddenly be discharged. In\nthe dark you may see the light on the point, when the experiment is\nmade. And if the person holding the point stands upon wax, he will\nbe electrified by receiving the fire at that distance. Attempt to\ndraw off the electricity with a blunt body, as a bolt of iron round\nat the end, and smooth (a silversmith's iron punch, inch thick, is\nwhat I use) and you must bring it within the distance of three inches\nbefore you can do it, and then it is done with a stroke and crack. As\nthe pasteboard tube hangs loose on silk lines, when you approach it\nwith the punch-iron, it likewise will move towards the punch, being\nattracted while it is charged; but if, at the same instant, a point\nbe presented as before, it retires again, for the point discharges\nit. Take a pair of large brass scales, of two or more feet beam, the\ncords of the scales being silk. Suspend the beam by a pack-thread\nfrom the cieling, so that the bottom of the scales may be about a\nfoot from the floor: the scales will move round in a circle by the\nuntwisting of the pack-thread. Set the iron punch on the end upon\nthe floor, in such a place as that the scales may pass over it in\nmaking their circle: then electrify one scale, by applying the wire\nof a charged phial to it. As they move round, you see that scale\ndraw nigher to the floor, and dip more when it comes over the punch;\nand if that be placed at a proper distance, the scale will snap and\ndischarge its fire into it. But if a needle be stuck on the end of\nthe punch, its point upwards, the scale, instead of drawing nigh to\nthe punch, and snapping, discharges its fire silently through the\npoint, and rises higher from the punch. Nay, even if the needle be\nplaced upon the floor near the punch, its point upwards, the end of\nthe punch, though so much higher than the needle, will not attract\nthe scale and receive its fire, for the needle will get it and convey\nit away, before it comes nigh enough for the punch to act. And this\nis constantly observable in these experiments, that the greater\nquantity of electricity on the pasteboard-tube, the farther it\nstrikes or discharges its fire, and the point likewise will draw it\noff at a still greater distance.\n\nNow if the fire of electricity and that of lightning be the same,\nas I have endeavoured to shew at large, in a former paper, this\npasteboard tube and these scales may represent electrified clouds.\nIf a tube of only ten feet long will strike and discharge its fire\non the punch at two or three inches distance, an electrified cloud\nof perhaps 10,000 acres may strike and discharge on the earth at a\nproportionably greater distance. The horizontal motion of the scales\nover the floor, may represent the motion of the clouds over the\nearth; and the erect iron punch, a hill or high building; and then\nwe see how electrified clouds passing over hills or high buildings\nat too great a height to strike, may be attracted lower till within\ntheir striking distance. And lastly, if a needle fixed on the punch\nwith its point upright, or even on the floor below the punch, will\ndraw the fire from the scale silently at a much greater than the\nstriking distance, and so prevent its descending towards the punch;\nor if in its course it would have come nigh enough to strike, yet\nbeing first deprived of its fire it cannot, and the punch is thereby\nsecured from the stroke; I say, if these things are so, may not the\nknowledge of this power of points be of use to mankind, in preserving\nhouses, churches, ships, &c. from the stroke of lightning, by\ndirecting us to fix on the highest parts of those edifices, upright\nrods of iron made sharp as a needle, and gilt to prevent rusting, and\nfrom the foot of those rods a wire down the outside of the building\ninto the ground, or down round one of the shrouds of a ship, and down\nher side till it reaches the water? Would not these pointed rods\nprobably draw the electrical fire silently out of a cloud before it\ncame nigh enough to strike, and thereby secure us from that most\nsudden and terrible mischief?\n\n21. To determine the question, whether the clouds that contain\nlightning are electrified or not, I would propose an experiment to\nbe tried where it may be done conveniently. On the top of some high\ntower or steeple, place a kind of centry-box (as in FIG. 9) big\nenough to contain a man and an electrical stand. From the middle of\nthe stand let an iron rod rise and pass bending out of the door, and\nthen upright 20 or 30 feet, pointed very sharp at the end. If the\nelectrical stand be kept clean and dry, a man standing on it, when\nsuch clouds are passing low, might be electrified and afford sparks,\nthe rod drawing fire to him from a cloud. If any danger to the man\nshould be apprehended (though I think there would be none) let him\nstand on the floor of his box, and now and then bring near to the rod\nthe loop of a wire that has one end fastened to the leads, he holding\nit by a wax handle; so the sparks, if the rod is electrified, will\nstrike from the rod to the wire, and not affect him.\n\n22. Before I leave this subject of lightning, I may mention some\nother similarities between the effects of that, and those of\nelectricity. Lightning has often been known to strike people blind.\nA pigeon that we struck dead to appearance by the electrical shock,\nrecovering life, drooped about the yard several days, eat nothing,\nthough crumbs were thrown to it, but declined and died. We did not\nthink of its being deprived of sight; but afterwards a pullet, struck\ndead in like manner, being recovered by repeatedly blowing into its\nlungs, when set down on the floor, ran headlong against the wall, and\non examination appeared perfectly blind. Hence we concluded that the\npigeon also had been absolutely blinded by the shock. The biggest\nanimal we have yet killed, or tried to kill, with the electrical\nstroke, was a well-grown pullet.\n\n23. Reading in the ingenious Dr. Miles's account of the thunder-storm\nat Stretham, the effect of the lightning in stripping off all the\npaint that had covered a gilt moulding of a pannel of wainscot,\nwithout hurting the rest of the paint, I had a mind to lay a coat of\npaint over the filletting of gold on the cover of a book, and try\nthe effect of a strong electrical flash sent through that gold from\na charged sheet of glass. But having no paint at hand, I pasted a\nnarrow strip of paper over it; and when dry, sent the flash through\nthe gilding, by which the paper was torn off from end to end, with\nsuch force, that it was broke in several places, and in others\nbrought away part of the grain of the Turky-leather in which it was\nbound; and convinced me, that had it been painted, the paint would\nhave been stript off in the same manner with that on the wainscot at\nStretham.\n\n24. Lightning melts metals, and I hinted in my paper on that subject,\nthat I suspected it to be a cold fusion; I do not mean a fusion by\nforce of cold, but a fusion without heat[50]. We have also melted\ngold, silver, and copper, in small quantities, by the electrical\nflash. The manner is this: Take leaf-gold, leaf-silver, or leaf-gilt\ncopper, commonly called leaf-brass, or Dutch gold; cut off from the\nleaf long narrow strips, the breadth of a straw. Place one of these\nstrips between two strips of smooth glass that are about the width of\nyour finger. If one strip of gold, the length of the leaf, be not\nlong enough for the glass, add another to the end of it, so that you\nmay have a little part hanging out loose at each end of the glass.\nBind the pieces of glass together from end to end with strong silk\nthread; then place it so as to be part of an electrical circuit, (the\nends of gold hanging out being of use to join with the other parts of\nthe circuit) and send the flash through it, from a large electrified\njar or sheet of glass. Then if your strips of glass remain whole,\nyou will see that the gold is missing in several places, and instead\nof it a metallic stain on both the glasses; the stains on the upper\nand under glass exactly similar in the minutest stroke, as may be\nseen by holding them to the light; the metal appeared to have been\nnot only melted, but even vitrified, or otherwise so driven into\nthe pores of the glass, as to be protected by it from the action of\nthe strongest _aqua fortis_, or _aqua regia_. I send you enclosed\ntwo little pieces of glass with these metallic stains upon them,\nwhich cannot be removed without taking part of the glass with them.\nSometimes the stain spreads a little wider than the breadth of the\nleaf, and looks brighter at the edge, as by inspecting closely you\nmay observe in these. Sometimes the glass breaks to pieces; once the\nupper glass broke into a thousand pieces, looking like coarse salt.\nThe pieces I send you were stained with Dutch gold. True gold makes\na darker stain, somewhat reddish; silver, a greenish stain. We once\ntook two pieces of thick looking-glass, as broad as a Gunter's scale,\nand six inches long; and placing leaf-gold between them, put them\nbetween two smoothly-plained pieces of wood, and fixed them tight\nin a book-binder's small press; yet though they were so closely\nconfined, the force of the electrical shock shivered the glass into\nmany pieces. The gold was melted, and stained into the glass, as\nusual. The circumstances of the breaking of the glass differ much\nin making the experiment, and sometimes it does not break at all:\nbut this is constant, that the stains in the upper and under pieces\nare exact counterparts of each other. And though I have taken up the\npieces of glass between my fingers immediately after this melting, I\nnever could perceive the least warmth in them.\n\n25. In one of my former papers, I mentioned, that gilding on a\nbook, though at first it communicated the shock perfectly well, yet\nfailed after a few experiments, which we could not account for. We\nhave since found that one strong shock breaks the continuity of\nthe gold in the filletting, and makes it look rather like dust of\ngold, abundance of its parts being broken and driven off; and it\nwill seldom conduct above one strong shock. Perhaps this may be\nthe reason: When there is not a perfect continuity in the circuit,\nthe fire must leap over the vacancies: there is a certain distance\nwhich it is able to leap over according to its strength; if a number\nof small vacancies, though each be very minute, taken together\nexceed that distance, it cannot leap over them, and so the shock is\nprevented.\n\n26. From the before-mentioned law of electricity, that points as\nthey are more or less acute, draw on and throw off the electrical\nfluid with more or less power, and at greater or less distances, and\nin larger or smaller quantities in the same time, we may see how\nto account for the situation of the leaf of gold suspended between\ntwo plates, the upper one continually electrified, the under one\nin a person's hand standing on the floor. When the upper plate is\nelectrified, the leaf is attracted, and raised towards it, and\nwould fly to that plate, were it not for its own points. The corner\nthat happens to be uppermost when the leaf is rising, being a sharp\npoint, from the extreme thinness of the gold, draws and receives\nat a distance a sufficient quantity of the electric fluid to give\nitself an electric atmosphere, by which its progress to the upper\nplate is stopped, and it begins to be repelled from that plate, and\nwould be driven back to the under plate, but that its lowest corner\nis likewise a point, and throws off or discharges the overplus of\nthe leaf's atmosphere, as fast as the upper corner draws it on.\nWere these two points perfectly equal in acuteness, the leaf would\ntake place exactly in the middle space, for its weight is a trifle\ncompared to the power acting on it: but it is generally nearest\nthe unelectrified plate, because, when the leaf is offered to the\nelectrified plate, at a distance, the sharpest point is commonly\nfirst affected and raised towards it; so _that_ point, from its\ngreater acuteness, receiving the fluid faster than its opposite can\ndischarge it at equal distances, it retires from the electrified\nplate, and draws nearer to the unelectrified plate, till it comes to\na distance where the discharge can be exactly equal to the receipt,\nthe latter being lessened, and the former encreased; and there it\nremains as long as the globe continues to supply fresh electrical\nmatter. This will appear plain, when the difference of acuteness in\nthe corners is made very great. Cut a piece of Dutch gold, (which\nis fittest for these experiments on account of its great strength)\ninto the form of FIG. 10, the upper corner a right angle, the two\nnext obtuse angles, and the lowest a very acute one; and bring this\non your plate under the electrified plate, in such a manner as\nthat the right-angled part may be first raised (which is done by\ncovering the acute part with the hollow of your hand) and you will\nsee this leaf take place much nearer to the upper than the under\nplate; because without being nearer, it cannot receive so fast at\nits right-angled point, as it can discharge at its acute one. Turn\nthis leaf with the acute part uppermost, and then it takes place\nnearest the unelectrified plate; because, otherwise, it receives\nfaster at its acute point, than it can discharge at its right-angled\none. Thus the difference of distance is always proportioned to the\ndifference of acuteness. Take care in cutting your leaf, to leave no\nlittle ragged particles on the edges, which sometimes form points\nwhere you would not have them. You may make this figure so acute\nbelow, and blunt above, as to need no under plate, it discharging\nfast enough into the air. When it is made narrower, as the figure\nbetween the pricked lines, we call it the _golden fish_, from its\nmanner of acting. For if you take it by the tail, and hold it at a\nfoot or greater horizontal distance from the prime conductor, it\nwill, when let go, fly to it with a brisk but wavering motion, like\nthat of an eel through the water; it will then take place under the\nprime conductor, at perhaps a quarter or half an inch distance, and\nkeep a continual shaking of its tail like a fish, so that it seems\nanimated. Turn its tail towards the prime conductor, and then it\nflies to your finger, and seems to nibble it. And if you hold a plate\nunder it at six or eight inches distance, and cease turning the globe\nwhen the electrical atmosphere of the conductor grows small, it will\ndescend to the plate and swim back again several times with the same\nfish-like motion, greatly to the entertainment of spectators. By a\nlittle practice in blunting or sharpening the heads or tails of these\nfigures, you may make them take place as desired, nearer or farther\nfrom the electrified plate.\n\n27. It is said in Section 8, of this paper, that all kinds of common\nmatter are supposed not to attract the electrical fluid with equal\nstrength; and that those called electrics _per se_, as glass, &c.\nattract and retain it strongest, and contain the greatest quantity.\nThis latter position may seem a paradox to some, being contrary to\nthe hitherto received opinion; and therefore I shall now endeavour to\nexplain it.\n\n28. In order to this, let it first be considered, _that we cannot\nby any means we are yet acquainted with, force the electrical fluid\nthrough glass_. I know it is commonly thought that it easily pervades\nglass; and the experiment of a feather suspended by a thread, in\na bottle hermetically sealed, yet moved by bringing a rubbed tube\nnear the outside of the bottle, is alleged to prove it. But, if the\nelectrical fluid so easily pervades glass, how does the phial become\n_charged_ (as we term it) when we hold it in our hands? Would not the\nfire, thrown in by the wire, pass through to our hands, and so escape\ninto the floor? Would not the bottle in that case be left just as we\nfound it, uncharged, as we know a metal bottle so attempted to be\ncharged would be? Indeed, if there be the least crack, the minutest\nsolution of continuity in the glass, though it remains so tight that\nnothing else we know of will pass, yet the extremely subtile electric\nfluid flies through such a crack with the greatest freedom, and such\na bottle we know can never be charged: what then makes the difference\nbetween such a bottle and one that is sound, but this, that the fluid\ncan pass through the one, and not through the other[51]?\n\n29. It is true, there is an experiment that at first sight would\nbe apt to satisfy a slight observer, that the fire, thrown into\nthe bottle by the wire, does really pass through the glass. It is\nthis: place the bottle on a glass stand, under the prime conductor,\nsuspend a bullet by a chain from the prime conductor, till it comes\nwithin a quarter of an inch right over the wire of the bottle; place\nyour knuckle on the glass stand, at just the same distance from\nthe coating of the bottle, as the bullet is from its wire. Now let\nthe globe be turned, and you see a spark strike from the bullet to\nthe wire of the bottle, and the same instant you see and feel an\nexactly equal spark striking from the coating on your knuckle, and\nso on, spark for spark. This looks as if the whole received by the\nbottle was again discharged from it. And yet the bottle by this\nmeans is charged[52]! And therefore the fire that thus leaves the\nbottle, though the same in quantity, cannot be the very same fire\nthat entered at the wire, for if it were, the bottle would remain\nuncharged.\n\n30. If the fire that so leaves the bottle be not the same that is\nthrown in through the wire, it must be fire that subsisted in the\nbottle (that is, in the glass of the bottle) before the operation\nbegan.\n\n31. If so, there must be a great quantity in glass, because a great\nquantity is thus discharged, even from very thin glass.\n\n32. That this electrical fluid or fire is strongly attracted by\nglass, we know from the quickness and violence with which it is\nresumed by the part that had been deprived of it, when there is an\nopportunity. And by this, that we cannot from a mass of glass, draw a\nquantity of electric fire, or electrify the whole mass _minus_, as we\ncan a mass of metal. We cannot lessen or increase its whole quantity,\nfor the quantity it has it holds; and it has as much as it can hold.\nIts pores are filled with it as full as the mutual repellency of the\nparticles will admit; and what is already in, refuses, or strongly\nrepels, any additional quantity. Nor have we any way of moving the\nelectrical fluid in glass, but one; that is, by covering part of the\ntwo surfaces of thin glass with non-electrics, and then throwing an\nadditional quantity of this fluid on one surface, which spreading in\nthe non-electric, and being bound by it to that surface, acts by its\nrepelling force on the particles of the electrical fluid contained\nin the other surface, and drives them out of the glass into the\nnon-electric on that side from whence they are discharged, and then\nthose added on the charged side can enter. But when this is done,\nthere is no more in the glass, nor less than before, just as much\nhaving left it on one side as it received on the other.\n\n33. I feel a want of terms here, and doubt much whether I shall be\nable to make this part intelligible. By the word _surface_, in this\ncase, I do not mean mere length and breadth without thickness; but\nwhen I speak of the upper or under surface of a piece of glass, the\nouter or inner surface of the phial, I mean length, breadth, and\nhalf the thickness, and beg the favour of being so understood. Now\nI suppose, that glass in its first principles, and in the furnace,\nhas no more of this electrical fluid than other common matter: that\nwhen it is blown, as it cools, and the particles of common fire leave\nit, its pores become a vacuum: that the component parts of glass are\nextremely small and fine, I guess from its never showing a rough\nface when it breaks, but always a polish; and from the smallness of\nits particles I suppose the pores between them must be exceedingly\nsmall, which is the reason that aqua-fortis, nor any other menstruum\nwe have, can enter to separate them and dissolve the substance; nor\nis any fluid we know of, fine enough to enter, except common fire,\nand the electric fluid. Now the departing fire, leaving a vacuum, as\naforesaid, between these pores, which air nor water are fine enough\nto enter and fill, the electric fluid (which is every where ready\nin what we call the non-electrics, and in the non-electric mixtures\nthat are in the air) is attracted in; yet does not become fixed with\nthe substance of the glass, but subsists there as water in a porous\nstone, retained only by the attraction of the fixed parts, itself\nstill loose and a fluid. But I suppose farther, that in the cooling\nof the glass, its texture becomes closest in the middle, and forms\na kind of partition, in which the pores are so narrow, that the\nparticles of the electrical fluid, which enter both surfaces at the\nsame time, cannot go through, or pass and repass from one surface to\nthe other, and so mix together; yet, though the particles of electric\nfluid, imbibed by each surface, cannot themselves pass through to\nthose of the other, their repellency can, and by this means they\nact on one another. The particles of the electric fluid have a\nmutual repellency, but by the power of attraction in the glass they\nare condensed or forced nearer to each other. When the glass has\nreceived, and, by its attraction, forced closer together so much of\nthis electric fluid, as that the power of attracting and condensing\nin the one, is equal to the power of expansion in the other, it can\nimbibe no more, and that remains its constant whole quantity; but\neach surface would receive more, if the repellency of what is in\nthe opposite surface did not resist its entrance. The quantities of\nthis fluid in each surface being equal, their repelling action on\neach other is equal; and therefore those of one surface cannot drive\nout those of the other; but, if a greater quantity is forced into\none surface than the glass would naturally draw in, this increases\nthe repelling power on that side, and overpowering the attraction\non the other, drives out part of the fluid that had been imbibed by\nthat surface, if there be any non-electric ready to receive it: such\nthere is in all cases where glass is electrified to give a shock.\nThe surface that has been thus emptied, by having its electrical\nfluid driven out, resumes again an equal quantity with violence, as\nsoon as the glass has an opportunity to discharge that over quantity\nmore than it could retain by attraction in its other surface, by the\nadditional repellency of which the vacuum had been occasioned. For\nexperiments favouring (if I may not say confirming) this hypothesis,\nI must, to avoid repetition, beg leave to refer you back to what is\nsaid of the electrical phial in my former papers.\n\n34. Let us now see how it will account for several other\nappearances.--Glass, a body extremely elastic, (and perhaps its\nelasticity may be owing in some degree to the subsisting of so great\na quantity of this repelling fluid in its pores) must, when rubbed,\nhave its rubbed surface somewhat stretched, or its solid parts\ndrawn a little farther asunder, so that the vacancies in which the\nelectrical fluid resides, become larger, affording room for more of\nthat fluid, which is immediately attracted into it from the cushion\nor hand rubbing, they being supplied from the common stock. But the\ninstant the parts of the glass so opened and filled, have passed the\nfriction, they close again, and force the additional quantity out\nupon the surface, where it must rest till that part comes round to\nthe cushion again, unless some non-electric (as the prime conductor,\nfirst presents to receive it[53]). But if the inside of the globe\nbe lined with a non-electric, the additional repellency of the\nelectrical fluid, thus collected by friction on the rubbed part\nof the globe's outer surface, drives an equal quantity out of the\ninner surface into that non-electric lining, which receiving it, and\ncarrying it away from the rubbed part into the common mass, through\nthe axis of the globe, and frame of the machine, the new collected\nelectrical fluid can enter and remain in the outer surface, and none\nof it (or a very little) will be received by the prime conductor. As\nthis charged part of the globe comes round to the cushion again,\nthe outer surface delivers its overplus fire into the cushion, the\nopposite inner surface receiving at the same time an equal quantity\nfrom the floor. Every electrician knows that a globe wet within\nwill afford little or no fire, but the reason has not before been\nattempted to be given, that I know of.\n\n34. So if a tube lined with a non-electric be rubbed[54], little or\nno fire is obtained from it; what is collected from the hand, in the\ndownward rubbing stroke, entering the pores of the glass, and driving\nan equal quantity out of the inner surface into the non-electric\nlining: and the hand in passing up to take a second stroke, takes out\nagain what had been thrown into the outer surface, and then the inner\nsurface receives back again what it had given to the non-electric\nlining. Thus the particles of electrical fluid belonging to the\ninside surface go in and out of their pores every stroke given to the\ntube. Put a wire into the tube, the inward end in contact with the\nnon-electric lining, so it will represent the Leyden bottle. Let a\nsecond person touch the wire while you rub, and the fire driven out\nof the inward surface when you give the stroke, will pass through him\ninto the common mass, and return through him when the inner surface\nresumes its quantity, and therefore this new kind of Leyden bottle\ncannot be so charged. But thus it may: after every stroke, before\nyou pass your hand up to make another, let a second person apply his\nfinger to the wire, take the spark, and then withdraw his finger;\nand so on till he has drawn a number of sparks; thus will the inner\nsurface be exhausted, and the outer surface charged; then wrap a\nsheet of gilt paper close round the outer surface, and grasping it\nin your hand you may receive a shock by applying the finger of the\nother hand to the wire: for now the vacant pores in the inner surface\nresume their quantity, and the overcharged pores in the outer surface\ndischarge that overplus; the equilibrium being restored through your\nbody, which could not be restored through the glass[55]. If the tube\nbe exhausted of air, a non-electric lining, in contact with the\nwire, is not necessary; for _in vacuo_ the electrical fire will fly\nfreely from the inner surface, without a non-electric conductor: but\nair resists in motion; for being itself an electric _per se_, it\ndoes not attract it, having already its quantity. So the air never\ndraws off an electric atmosphere from any body, but in proportion to\nthe non-electrics mixed with it: it rather keeps such an atmosphere\nconfined, which, from the mutual repulsion of its particles, tends to\ndissipation, and would immediately dissipate _in vacuo_.--And thus\nthe experiment of the feather inclosed in a glass vessel hermetically\nsealed, but moving on the approach of the rubbed tube, is explained.\nWhen an additional quantity of the electrical fluid is applied to\nthe side of the vessel by the atmosphere of the tube, a quantity\nis repelled and driven out of the inner surface of that side into\nthe vessel, and there affects the feather, returning again into its\npores, when the tube with its atmosphere is withdrawn; not that the\nparticles of that atmosphere did themselves pass through the glass to\nthe feather. And every other appearance I have yet seen, in which\nglass and electricity are concerned, are, I think, explained with\nequal ease by the same hypothesis. Yet, perhaps, it may not be a true\none, and I shall be obliged to him that affords me a better.\n\n35. Thus I take the difference between non-electrics, and glass, an\nelectric _per se_, to consist in these two particulars. 1st, That a\nnon-electric easily suffers a change in the quantity of the electric\nfluid it contains. You may lessen its whole quantity, by drawing\nout a part, which the whole body will again resume; but of glass\nyou can only lessen the quantity contained in one of its surfaces;\nand not that, but by supplying an equal quantity at the same time\nto the other surface: so that the whole glass may always have the\nsame quantity in the two surfaces, their two different quantities\nbeing added together. And this can only be done in glass that is\nthin; beyond a certain thickness we have yet no power that can make\nthis change. And, 2dly, that the electric fire freely removes from\nplace to place, in and through the substance of a non-electric, but\nnot so through the substance of glass. If you offer a quantity to\none end of a long rod of metal, it receives it, and when it enters,\nevery particle that was before in the rod pushes its neighbour quite\nto the farther end, where the overplus is discharged; and this\ninstantaneously where the rod is part of the circle in the experiment\nof the shock. But glass, from the smallness of its pores, or stronger\nattraction of what it contains, refuses to admit so free a motion:\na glass rod will not conduct a shock, nor will the thinnest glass\nsuffer any particle entering one of its surfaces to pass through to\nthe other.\n\n36. Hence we see the impossibility of success in the experiments\nproposed, to draw out the effluvial virtues of a non-electric, as\ncinnamon, for instance, and mixing them with the electric fluid, to\nconvey them with that into the body, by including it in the globe,\nand then applying friction, &c. For though the effluvia of cinnamon,\nand the electric fluid should mix within the globe, they would never\ncome out together through the pores of the glass, and so go to the\nprime conductor; for the electric fluid itself cannot come through;\nand the prime conductor is always supplied from the cushion, and that\nfrom the floor. And besides, when the globe is filled with cinnamon,\nor other non-electric, no electric fluid can be obtained from its\nouter surface, for the reason before-mentioned. I have tried another\nway, which I thought more likely to obtain a mixture of the electric\nand other effluvia together, if such a mixture had been possible. I\nplaced a glass plate under my cushion, to cut off the communication\nbetween the cushion and floor; then brought a small chain from the\ncushion into a glass of oil of turpentine, and carried another chain\nfrom the oil of turpentine to the floor, taking care that the chain\nfrom the cushion to the glass, touched no part of the frame of the\nmachine. Another chain was fixed to the prime conductor, and held in\nthe hand of a person to be electrified. The ends of the two chains\nin the glass were near an inch distant from each other, the oil of\nturpentine between. Now the globe being turned could draw no fire\nfrom the floor through the machine, the communication that way being\ncut off by the thick glass plate under the cushion: it must then\ndraw it through the chains whose ends were dipped in the oil of\nturpentine. And as the oil of turpentine, being an electric _per\nse_, would not conduct, what came up from the floor was obliged to\njump from the end of one chain to the end of the other, through the\nsubstance of that oil, which we could see in large sparks, and so\nit had a fair opportunity of seizing some of the finest particles\nof the oil in its passage, and carrying them off with it: but no\nsuch effect followed, nor could I perceive the least difference in\nthe smell of the electric effluvia thus collected, from what it has\nwhen collected otherwise, nor does it otherwise affect the body\nof a person electrised. I likewise put into a phial, instead of\nwater, a strong purgative liquid, and then charged the phial, and\ntook repeated shocks from it, in which case every particle of the\nelectrical fluid must, before it went through my body, have first\ngone through the liquid when the phial is charging, and returned\nthrough it when discharging, yet no other effect followed than if\nit had been charged with water. I have also smelt the electric fire\nwhen drawn through gold, silver, copper, lead, iron, wood, and the\nhuman body, and could perceive no difference: the odour is always the\nsame, where the spark does not burn what it strikes; and therefore I\nimagine it does not take that smell from any quality of the bodies\nit passes through. And indeed, as that smell so readily leaves the\nelectric matter, and adheres to the knuckle receiving the sparks, and\nto other things; I suspect that it never was connected with it, but\narises instantaneously from something in the air acted upon by it.\nFor if it was fine enough to come with the electric fluid through the\nbody of one person, why should it stop on the skin of another?\n\nBut I shall never have done, if I tell you all my conjectures,\nthoughts, and imaginations on the nature and operations of this\nelectric fluid, and relate the variety of little experiments we\nhave tried. I have already made this paper too long, for which I\nmust crave pardon, not having now time to abridge it. I shall only\nadd, that as it has been observed here that spirits will fire by\nthe electric spark in the summer time, without heating them, when\nFahrenheit's thermometer is above 70; so when colder, if the operator\nputs a small flat bottle of spirits in his bosom, or a close pocket,\nwith the spoon, some little time before he uses them, the heat of his\nbody will communicate warmth more than sufficient for the purpose.\n\n\nADDITIONAL EXPERIMENTS:\n\n  _Proving that the Leyden Bottle has no more electrical Fire in\n  it when charged, than before: nor less when discharged: that, in\n  discharging, the Fire does not issue from the Wire and the Coating\n  at the same Time, as some have thought, but that the Coating always\n  receives what is discharged by the Wire, or an equal Quantity; the\n  outer Surface being always in a negative State of Electricity, when\n  the inner Surface is in a positive State._\n\n\nPlace a thick plate of glass under the rubbing cushion, to cut off\nthe communication of electrical fire from the floor to the cushion;\nthen if there be no fine points or hairy threads sticking out from\nthe cushion, or from the parts of the machine opposite to the\ncushion, (of which you must be careful) you can get but a few sparks\nfrom the prime conductor, which are all the cushion will part with.\n\nHang a phial then on the prime conductor, and it will not charge\nthough you hold it by the coating.--But,\n\nForm a communication by a chain from the coating to the cushion, and\nthe phial will charge.\n\nFor the globe then draws the electric fire out of the outside surface\nof the phial and forces it through the prime conductor and wire of\nthe phial into the inside surface.\n\nThus the bottle is charged with its own fire, no other being to be\nhad while the glass plate is under the cushion.\n\nHang two cork balls by flaxen threads to the prime conductor; then\ntouch the coating of the bottle, and they will be electrified and\nrecede from each other.\n\nFor just as much fire as you give the coating, so much is discharged\nthrough the wire upon the prime conductor, whence the cork balls\nreceive an electrical atmosphere.--But,\n\nTake a wire bent in the form of a C, with a stick of wax fixed to\nthe outside of the curve, to hold it by; and apply one end of this\nwire to the coating, and the other at the same time to the prime\nconductor, the phial will be discharged; and if the balls are not\nelectrified before the discharge, neither will they appear to be so\nafter the discharge, for they will not repel each other.\n\nIf the phial really exploded at both ends, and discharged fire from\nboth coating and wire, the balls would be _more_ electrified, and\nrecede _farther_; for none of the fire can escape, the wax handle\npreventing.\n\nBut if the fire with which the inside surface is surcharged be\nso much precisely as is wanted by the outside surface, it will\npass round through the wire fixed to the wax handle, restore the\nequilibrium in the glass, and make no alteration in the state of the\nprime conductor.\n\nAccordingly we find, that if the prime conductor be electrified,\nand the cork balls in a state of repellency before the bottle is\ndischarged, they continue so afterwards. If not, they are not\nelectrified by that discharge.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[48] See the ingenious Essays on Electricity, in the Transactions, by\nMr. Ellicot.\n\n[49] See page 173.\n\n[50] See note in page 214.\n\n[51] See the first sixteen Sections of the former paper, called\n_Farther Experiments_, &c.\n\n[52] See Sect. 10, of _Farther Experiments_, &c.\n\n[53] In the dark the electric fluid may be seen on the cushion in two\nsemi-circles or half-moons, one on the fore-part, the other on the\nback part of the cushion, just where the globe and cushion separate.\nIn the fore crescent the fire is passing out of the cushion into the\nglass; in the other it is leaving the glass, and returning into the\nback part of the cushion. When the prime conductor is applied to take\nit off the glass, the back crescent disappears.\n\n[54] Gilt paper, with the gilt face next the glass, does well\n\n[55] See _Further Experiments_, Sect. 15.\n\n\n\n\nTO PETER COLLINSON, ESQ. F. R. S. LONDON.\n\n  _Accumulation of the electrical Fire proved to be in the\n  electrified Glass.--Effect of Lightning on the Needle of Compasses,\n  explained.--Gunpowder fired by the electric Flame._\n\n  _Philadelphia, July 27, 1750._\n\n  SIR,\n\nMr. Watson, I believe, wrote his Observations on my last paper\nin haste, without having first well considered the experiments\nrelated \u00a7. 17[56], which still appear to me decisive in the\nquestion,--_Whether the accumulation of the electrical fire be in the\nelectrified glass, or in the non-electric matter connected with the\nglass?_ and to demonstrate that it is really in the glass.\n\nAs to the experiment that ingenious gentleman mentions, and which he\nthinks conclusive on the other side, I persuade myself he will change\nhis opinion of it, when he considers, that as one person applying\nthe wire of the charged bottle to warm spirits, in a spoon held by\nanother person, both standing on the floor, will fire the spirits,\nand yet such firing will not determine whether the accumulation\nwas in the glass or the non-electric; so the placing another person\nbetween them, standing on wax, with a bason in his hand, into which\nthe water from the phial is poured, _while he at the instant of\npouring_ presents a finger of his other hand to the spirits, does not\nat all alter the case; the stream from the phial, the side of the\nbason, with the arms and body of the person on the wax, being all\ntogether but as one long wire, reaching from the internal surface of\nthe phial to the spirits.\n\n_June 29, 1751._ In Capt. Waddell's account of the effects of\nlightning on his ship, I could not but take notice of the large\ncomazants (as he calls them) that settled on the spintles at the\ntop-mast heads, and burnt like very large torches (before the\nstroke.) According to my opinion, the electrical fire was then\ndrawing off, as by points, from the cloud; the largeness of the flame\nbetokening the great quantity of electricity in the cloud: and had\nthere been a good wire communication from the spintle heads to the\nsea, that could have conducted more freely than tarred ropes, or\nmasts of turpentine wood, I imagine there would either have been no\nstroke, or, if a stroke, the wire would have conducted it all into\nthe sea without damage to the ship.\n\nHis compasses lost the virtue of the load-stone, or the poles were\nreversed; the north point turning to the south.--By electricity we\nhave (_here_ at _Philadelphia_) frequently given polarity to needles,\nand reversed it at pleasure. Mr. Wilson, at London, tried it on too\nlarge masses, and with too small force.\n\nA shock from four large glass jars, sent through a fine\nsewing-needle, gives it polarity, and it will traverse when laid\non water.--If the needle, when struck, lies east and west, the end\nentered by the electric blast points north.--If it lies north and\nsouth, the end that lay towards the north will continue to point\nnorth when placed on water, whether the fire entered at that end, or\nat the contrary end.\n\nThe polarity given is strongest when the needle is struck lying north\nand south, weakest when lying east and west; perhaps if the force was\nstill greater, the south end, entered by the fire (when the needle\nlies north and south) might become the north, otherwise it puzzles us\nto account for the inverting of compasses by lightning; since their\nneedles must always be found in that situation, and by our little\nexperiments, whether the blast entered the north and went out at the\nsouth end of the needle, or the contrary, still the end that lay to\nthe north should continue to point north.\n\nIn these experiments the ends of the needles are sometimes finely\nblued like a watch-spring by the electric flame.--This colour given\nby the flash from two jars only, will wipe off, but four jars fix\nit, and frequently melt the needles. I send you some that have had\ntheir heads and points melted off by our mimic lightning; and a pin\nthat had its point melted off, and some part of its head and neck\nrun. Sometimes the surface on the body of the needle is also run,\nand appears blistered when examined by a magnifying glass: the jars\nI make use off hold seven or eight gallons, and are coated and lined\nwith tin foil; each of them takes a thousand turns[57] of a globe\nnine inches diameter to charge it.\n\nI send you two specimens of tin-foil melted between glass, by the\nforce of two jars only.\n\nI have not heard that any of your European electricians have ever\nbeen able to fire gun-powder by the electric flame. We do it here\nin this manner:--A small cartridge is filled with dry powder, hard\nrammed, so as to bruise some of the grains; two pointed wires are\nthen thrust in, one at each end, the points approaching each other in\nthe middle of the cartridge till within the distance of half an inch;\nthen, the cartridge being placed in the circuit, when the four jars\nare discharged, the electric flame leaping from the point of one wire\nto the point of the other, within the cartridge amongst the powder,\n_fires it_, and the explosion of the powder is at the same instant\nwith the crack of the discharge.\n\n  Your's, &c.\n\n  B. FRANKLIN.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[56] See the paper entitled, _Farther Experiments, &c._\n\n[57] The cushion being afterwards covered with a long flap of\nbuckskin, which might cling to the globe; and care being taken to\nkeep that flap of a due temperature, between too dry and too moist,\nwe found so much more of the electric fluid was obtained, as that 150\nturns were sufficient. 1753.\n\n\n\n\nTO C. C[58]. ESQ. AT NEW-YORK, COMMUNICATED TO MR. COLLINSON.\n\n  _Unlimited Nature of the electric Force._\n\n\n  _Philadelphia, 1751._\n\n  SIR,\n\nI inclose you answers, such as my present hurry of business will\npermit me to make, to the principal queries contained in your's of\nthe 28th instant, and beg leave to refer you to the latter piece\nin the printed collection of my papers, for farther explanation\nof the difference between what is called _electrics per se_, and\n_non-electrics_. When you have had time to read and consider these\npapers, I will endeavour to make any new experiments you shall\npropose, that you think may afford farther light or satisfaction to\neither of us; and shall be much obliged to you for such remarks,\nobjections, &c. as may occur to you.--I forget whether I wrote to you\nthat I have melted brass pins and steel needles, inverted the poles\nof the magnetic needle, given a magnetism and polarity to needles\nthat had none, and fired dry gunpowder by the electric spark. I have\nfive bottles that contain eight or nine gallons each, two of which\ncharged are sufficient for those purposes: but I can charge and\ndischarge them altogether. There are no bounds (but what expence and\nlabour give) to the force man may raise and use in the electrical\nway: for bottle may be added to bottle _in infinitum_, and all united\nand discharged together as one, the force and effect proportioned to\ntheir number and size. The greatest known effects of common lightning\nmay, I think, without much difficulty, be exceeded in this way, which\na few years since could not have been believed, and even now may\nseem to many a little extravagant to suppose.--So we are got beyond\nthe skill of Rabelais's devils of two years old, who, he humourously\nsays, had only learnt to thunder and lighten a little round the head\nof a cabbage.\n\n  I am, with sincere respect,\n\n  Your most obliged humble servant,\n\n  B. FRANKLIN.\n\n\nQUERIES AND ANSWERS REFERRED TO IN THE FOREGOING LETTER.\n\n  _The Terms, electric per se, and non-electric, improper.--New\n  Relation between Metals and Water.--Effects of Air in electrical\n  Experiments.--Experiment for discovering more of the Qualities of\n  the electric Fluid._\n\n\n_Query_, Wherein consists the difference between an _electric_ and a\n_non-electric_ body?\n\n_Answer._ The terms electric _per se_, and non-electric, were first\nused to distinguish bodies, on a mistaken supposition that those\ncalled electrics _per se_, alone contained electric matter in their\nsubstance, which was capable of being excited by friction, and of\nbeing produced or drawn from them, and communicated to those called\nnon-electrics, supposed to be destitute of it: for the glass, &c.\nbeing rubbed, discovered signs of having it, by snapping to the\nfinger, attracting, repelling, &c. and could communicate those signs\nto metals and water.--Afterwards it was found, that rubbing of\nglass would not produce the electric matter, unless a communication\nwas preserved between the rubber and the floor; and subsequent\nexperiments proved that the electric matter was really drawn from\nthose bodies that at first were thought to have none in them. Then\nit was doubted whether glass, and other bodies called _electrics per\nse_, had really any electric matter in them, since they apparently\nafforded none but what they first extracted from those which had\nbeen called non-electrics. But some of my experiments show, that\nglass contains it in great quantity, and I now suspect it to be\npretty equally diffused in all the matter of this terraqueous globe.\nIf so, the terms _electric per se_, and _non-electric_, should be\nlaid aside as improper: and (the only difference being this, that\nsome bodies will conduct electric matter, and others will not) the\nterms _conductor_ and _non-conductor_ may supply their place. If\nany portion of electric matter is applied to a piece of conducting\nmatter, it penetrates and flows through it, or spreads equally on\nits surface; if applied to a piece of non-conducting matter, it will\ndo neither. Perfect conductors of electric matter are only metals\nand water. Other bodies conducting only as they contain a mixture\nof those; without more or less of which they will not conduct at\nall[59]. This (by the way) shews a new relation between metals and\nwater heretofore unknown.\n\nTo illustrate this by a comparison, which, however, can only give\na faint resemblance. Electric matter passes through conductors as\nwater passes through a porous stone, or spreads on their surfaces as\nwater spreads on a wet stone; but when applied to non-conductors, it\nis like water dropt on a greasy stone, it neither penetrates, passes\nthrough, nor spreads on the surface, but remains in drops where it\nfalls. See farther on this head, in my last printed piece, entitled,\n_Opinions and Conjectures, &c._ 1749.\n\n_Query_, What are the effects of air in electrical experiments?\n\n_Answer._ All I have hitherto observed are these. Moist air receives\nand conducts the electrical matter in proportion to its moisture,\nquite dry air not at all: air is therefore to be classed with the\nnon-conductors.\n\nDry air assists in confining the electrical atmosphere to the body\nit surrounds, and prevents its dissipating: for in vacuo it quits\neasily, and points operate stronger, _i. e._ they throw off or\nattract the electrical matter more freely, and at greater distances;\nso that air intervening obstructs its passage from body to body\nin some degree. A clean electrical phial and wire, containing air\ninstead of water, will not be charged nor give a shock, any more\nthan if it was filled with powder of glass; but exhausted of air, it\noperates as well as if filled with water. Yet an electric atmosphere\nand air do not seem to exclude each other, for we breathe freely\nin such an atmosphere, and dry air will blow through it without\ndisplacing or driving it away. I question whether the strongest dry\nnorth-wester[60] would dissipate it. I once electrified a large\ncork-ball at the end of a silk thread three feet long, the other end\nof which I held in my fingers, and whirl'd it round, like a sling one\nhundred times, in the air, with the swiftest motion I could possibly\ngive it, yet it retained its electric atmosphere, though it must have\npassed through eight hundred yards of air, allowing my arm in giving\nthe motion to add a foot to the semi-diameter of the circle.--By\nquite dry air, I mean the dryest we have: for perhaps we never have\nany perfectly free from moisture. An electrical atmosphere raised\nround a thick wire, inserted in a phial of air, drives out none of\nthe air, nor on withdrawing that atmosphere will any air rush in, as\nI have found by a curious experiment[61] accurately made, whence we\nconcluded that the air's elasticity was not affected thereby.\n\n\nAN EXPERIMENT TOWARDS DISCOVERING MORE OF THE QUALITIES OF THE\nELECTRIC FLUID.\n\nFrom the prime conductor, hang a bullet by a wire hook; under the\nbullet, at half an inch distance, place a bright piece of silver\nto receive the sparks; then let the wheel be turned, and in a few\nminutes, (if the repeated sparks continually strike in the same spot)\nthe silver will receive a blue stain, nearly the colour of a watch\nspring.\n\nA bright piece of iron will also be spotted, but not with that\ncolour; it rather seems corroded.\n\nOn gold, brass, or tin, I have not perceived it makes any impression.\nBut the spots on the silver or iron will be the same, whether the\nbullet be lead, brass, gold, or silver.\n\nOn a silver bullet there will also appear a small spot, as well as on\nthe plate below it.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[58] Cadwallader Colden, who was afterwards lieutenant-governor of\nNew-York. _Editor._\n\n[59] This proposition is since found to be too general; Mr. Wilson\nhaving discovered that melted wax and rosin will also conduct.\n\n[60] A cold dry wind of North America.\n\n[61] The experiment here mentioned was thus made. An empty phial\nwas stopped with a cork. Through the cork passed a thick wire,\nas usual in the Leyden experiment, which wire almost reached the\nbottom. Through another part of the cork passed one leg of a small\nglass syphon, the other leg on the outside came down almost to the\nbottom of the phial. This phial was first held a short time in the\nhand, which, warming, and of course rarefying the air within, drove\na small part of it out through the syphon. Then a little red ink\nin a tea-spoon was applied to the opening of the outer leg of the\nsyphon; so that as the air within cooled, a little of the ink might\nrise in that leg. When the air within the bottle came to be of the\nsame temperature of that without, the drop of red ink would rest in\na certain part of the leg. But the warmth of a finger applied to the\nphial would cause that drop to descend, as the least outward coolness\napplied would make it ascend. When it had found its situation, and\nwas at rest, the wire was electrified by a communication from the\nprime conductor. This was supposed to give an electric atmosphere to\nthe wire within the bottle, which might likewise rarefy the included\nair, and of course depress the drop of ink in the syphon. But no such\neffect followed.\n\n\n\n\nTO C. C[62]. ESQ. AT NEW YORK.\n\n  _Mistake, that only Metals and Water were Conductors,\n  rectified.--Supposition of a Region of electric Fire above our\n  Atmosphere.--Theorem concerning Light.--Poke-Weed a Cure for\n  Cancers._\n\n  Read at the Royal Society, Nov. 11, 1756.\n\n\n  _Philadelphia, April 23, 1752._\n\n  SIR,\n\nIn considering your favour of the 16th past, I recollected my\nhaving wrote you answers to some queries concerning the difference\nbetween electrics _per se_, and non-electrics, and the effects of\nair in electrical experiments, which, I apprehend, you may not have\nreceived. The date I have forgotten.\n\nWe have been used to call those bodies electrics _per se_, which\nwould not conduct the electric fluid: We once imagined that only\nsuch bodies contained that fluid; afterwards that they had none of\nit, and only educed it from other bodies: but further experiments\nshewed our mistake. It is to be found in all matter we know of; and\nthe distinctions of electrics _per se_, and non-electrics, should now\nbe dropt as improper, and that of _conductors_ and _non-conductors_\nassumed in its place, as I mentioned in those answers.\n\nI do not remember any experiment by which it appeared that high\nrectified spirit will not conduct; perhaps you have made such. This\nI know, that wax, rosin, brimstone, and even glass, commonly reputed\nelectrics _per se_, will, when in a fluid state, conduct pretty\nwell. Glass will do it when only red hot. So that my former position,\nthat only metals and water were conductors, and other bodies more or\nless such, as they partook of metal or moisture, was too general.\n\nYour conception of the electric fluid, that it is incomparably more\nsubtle than air, is undoubtedly just. It pervades dense matter\nwith the greatest ease; but it does not seem to mix or incorporate\nwillingly with mere air, as it does with other matter. It will not\nquit common matter to join with air. Air obstructs, in some degree,\nits motion. An electric atmosphere cannot be communicated at so\ngreat a distance, through intervening air, by far, as through a\nvacuum.--Who knows then, but there may be, as the ancients thought,\na region of this fire above our atmosphere, prevented by our air,\nand its own too great distance for attraction, from joining our\nearth? Perhaps where the atmosphere is rarest, this fluid may be\ndensest, and nearer the earth where the atmosphere grows denser,\nthis fluid may be rarer; yet some of it be low enough to attach\nitself to our highest clouds, and thence they becoming electrified,\nmay be attracted by, and descend towards the earth, and discharge\ntheir watry contents, together with that etherial fire. Perhaps the\n_auror\u00e6 boreales_ are currents of this fluid in its own region, above\nour atmosphere, becoming from their motion visible. There is no end\nto conjectures. As yet we are but novices in this branch of natural\nknowledge.\n\nYou mention several differences of salts in electrical experiments.\nWere they all equally dry? Salt is apt to acquire moisture from a\nmoist air, and some sorts more than others. When perfectly dried by\nlying before a fire, or on a stove, none that I have tried will\nconduct any better than so much glass.\n\nNew flannel, if dry and warm, will draw the electric fluid from\nnon-electrics, as well as that which has been worn.\n\nI wish you had the convenience of trying the experiments you seem to\nhave such expectations from, upon various kinds of spirits, salts,\nearth, &c. Frequently, in a variety of experiments, though we miss\nwhat we expected to find, yet something valuable turns out, something\nsurprising, and instructing, though unthought of.\n\nI thank you for communicating the illustration of the theorem\nconcerning light. It is very curious. But I must own I am much in\nthe _dark_ about _light_. I am not satisfied with the doctrine that\nsupposes particles of matter called light, continually driven off\nfrom the sun's surface, with a swiftness so prodigious! Must not\nthe smallest particle conceivable have, with such a motion, a force\nexceeding that of a twenty-four pounder, discharged from a cannon?\nMust not the Sun diminish exceedingly by such a waste of matter; and\nthe planets, instead of drawing nearer to him, as some have feared,\nrecede to greater distances through the lessened attraction. Yet\nthese particles, with this amazing motion, will not drive before\nthem, or remove, the least and lightest dust they meet with: And the\nSun, for aught we know, continues of his antient dimensions, and his\nattendants move in their antient orbits.\n\nMay not all the phenomena of light be more conveniently solved, by\nsupposing universal space filled with a subtle elastic fluid, which,\nwhen at rest, is not visible, but whose vibrations affect that fine\nsense in the eye, as those of air do the grosser organs of the ear?\nWe do not, in the case of sound, imagine that any sonorous particles\nare thrown off from a bell, for instance, and fly in strait lines to\nthe ear; why must we believe that luminous particles leave the sun\nand proceed to the eye? Some diamonds, if rubbed, shine in the dark,\nwithout losing any part of their matter. I can make an electrical\nspark as big as the flame of a candle, much brighter, and, therefore,\nvisible further; yet this is without fuel; and, I am persuaded,\nno part of the electric fluid flies off in such case to distant\nplaces, but all goes directly, and is to be found in the place to\nwhich I destine it. May not different degrees of the vibration of\nthe above-mentioned universal medium, occasion the appearances of\ndifferent colours? I think the electric fluid is always the same; yet\nI find that weaker and stronger sparks differ in apparent colour,\nsome white, blue, purple, red; the strongest, white; weak ones red.\nThus different degrees of vibration given to the air produce the\nseven, different sounds in music, analagous to the seven colours, yet\nthe medium, air, is the same.\n\nIf the Sun is not wasted by expence of light, I can easily conceive\nthat he shall otherwise always retain the same quantity of matter;\nthough we should suppose him made of sulphur constantly flaming. The\naction of fire only _separates_ the particles of matter, it does not\n_annihilate_ them. Water, by heat raised in vapour, returns to the\nearth in rain; and if we could collect all the particles of burning\nmatter that go off in smoak, perhaps they might, with the ashes,\nweigh as much as the body before it was fired: and if we could put\nthem into the same position with regard to each other, the mass would\nbe the same as before, and might be burnt over again. The chymists\nhave analysed sulphur, and find it composed, in certain proportions,\nof oil, salt, and earth; and having, by the analysis, discovered\nthose proportions, they can, of those ingredients, make sulphur.\nSo we have only to suppose, that the parts of the Sun's sulphur,\nseparated by fire, rise into his atmosphere, and there being freed\nfrom the immediate action of the fire, they collect into cloudy\nmasses, and growing, by degrees, too heavy to be longer supported,\nthey descend to the Sun, and are burnt over again. Hence the spots\nappearing on his face, which are observed to diminish daily in size,\ntheir consuming edges being of particular brightness.\n\nIt is well we are not, as poor Galileo was, subject to the\ninquisition for _philosophical heresy_. My whispers against the\northodox doctrine, in private letters, would be dangerous; but your\nwriting and printing would be highly criminal. As it is, you must\nexpect some censure, but one heretic will surely excuse another.\n\nI am heartily glad to hear more instances of the success of the\npoke-weed, in the cure of that horrible evil to the human body, a\ncancer. You will deserve highly of mankind for the communication. But\nI find in Boston they are at a loss to know the right plant, some\nasserting it is what they call _Mechoachan_, others other things.\nIn one of their late papers it is publicly requested that a perfect\ndescription may be given of the plant, its places of growth, &c. I\nhave mislaid the paper, or would send it to you. I thought you had\ndescribed it pretty fully[63].\n\n  I am, Sir, &c.\n\n  B. FRANKLIN.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[62] Cadwallader Colden. See note, page 250. _Editor._\n\n[63] As the poke-weed, though out of place, is introduced here, we\nshall translate and insert two extracts of letters from Dr. Franklin\nto M. Dubourg, the French translator of his works, on the same\nsubject.\n\n  \"LONDON, MARCH 27, 1773.\n\n\"I apprehend that our poke-weed is what the botanists term\n_phytolacca_. This plant bears berries as large as peas; the skin is\nblack, but it contains a crimson juice. It is this juice, thickened\nby evaporation in the sun, which was employed. It caused great pain,\nbut some persons were said to have been cured. I am not quite certain\nof the facts; all that I know is, that Dr. Colden had a good opinion\nof the remedy.\"\n\n  \"LONDON, APRIL 23, 1773.\n\n\"You will see by the annexed paper by Dr. Solander, that this herb,\npoke-weed, in which has been found a specific remedy for cancers, is\nthe most common species of phytolacca. (Phytolacca decandra L.)\"\n\n  _Editor._\n\n\n\n\nMR. E. KINNERSLEY, AT BOSTON, TO BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, ESQ. AT\nPHILADELPHIA.\n\n  _New Experiments.--Paradoxes inferred from them.--Difference\n  in the Electricity of a Globe of Glass charged, and a Globe of\n  Sulphur.--Difficulty of ascertaining which is positive and which\n  negative._\n\n\n  _Feb. 3, 1752._\n\n  SIR,\n\nI have the following experiments to communicate: I held in one hand a\nwire, which was fastened at the other end to the handle of a pump, in\norder to try whether the stroke from the prime conductor, through my\narms, would be any greater than when conveyed only to the surface of\nthe earth, but could discover no difference.\n\nI placed the needle of a compass on the point of a long pin, and\nholding it in the atmosphere of the prime conductor, at the distance\nof about three inches, found it to whirl round like the flyers of a\njack, with great rapidity.\n\nI suspended with silk a cork ball, about the bigness of a pea, and\npresented to it rubbed amber, sealing-wax, and sulphur, by each of\nwhich it was strongly repelled; then I tried rubbed glass and china,\nand found that each of these would attract it, until it became\nelectrified again, and then it would be repelled as at first; and\nwhile thus repelled by the rubbed glass or china, either of the\nothers when rubbed would attract it. Then I electrified the ball,\nwith the wire of a charged phial, and presented to it rubbed glass\n(the stopper of a decanter) and a china tea-cup, by which it was as\nstrongly repelled as by the wire; but when I presented either of the\nother rubbed electrics, it would be strongly attracted, and when I\nelectrified it by either of these, till it became repelled, it would\nbe attracted by the wire of the phial, but be repelled by its coating.\n\nThese experiments surprised me very much, and have induced me to\ninfer the following paradoxes.\n\n1. If a glass globe be placed at one end of a prime-conductor, and\na sulphur one at the other end, both being equally in good order,\nand in equal motion, not a spark of fire can be obtained from the\nconductor; but one globe will draw out, as fast as the other gives in.\n\n2. If a phial be suspended on the conductor, with a chain from its\ncoating to the table, and only one of the globes be made use of at\na time, 20 turns of the wheel, for instance, will charge it; after\nwhich, so many tarns of the other wheel will discharge it; and as\nmany more will charge it again.\n\n3. The globes being both in motion, each having a separate conductor,\nwith a phial suspended on one of them, and the chain of it fastened\nto the other, the phial will become charged; one globe charging\npositively, the other negatively.\n\n4. The phial being thus charged, hang it in like manner on the other\nconductor; set both wheels a going again, and the same number of\nturns that charged it before, will now discharge it; and the same\nnumber repeated, will charge it again.\n\n5. When each globe communicates with the same prime conductor, having\na chain hanging from it to the table, one of them, when in motion\n(but which I cannot say) will draw fire up through the cushion, and\ndischarge it through the chain; the other will draw it up through the\nchain, and discharge it through the cushion.\n\nI should be glad if you would send to my house for my sulphur globe,\nand the cushion belonging to it, and make the trial; but must caution\nyou not to use chalk on the cushion, some fine powdered sulphur will\ndo better. If, as I expect, you should find the globes to charge the\nprime conductor differently, I hope you will be able to discover some\nmethod of determining which it is that charges positively.\n\n  I am, &c.\n\n  E. KINNERSLEY.\n\n\n\n\nTO MR. E. KINNERSLEY, AT BOSTON.\n\n  _Probable Cause of the Different Attractions and Repulsions of the\n  two electrified Globes mentioned in the two preceding Letters._\n\n\n  _Philadelphia, March 2, 1752._\n\n  SIR,\n\nI thank you for the experiments communicated. I sent immediately for\nyour brimstone globe, in order to make the trials you desired, but\nfound it wanted centres, which I have not time now to supply; but the\nfirst leisure I will get it fitted for use, try the experiments, and\nacquaint you with the result.\n\nIn the mean time I suspect, that the different attractions and\nrepulsions you observed, proceeded rather from the greater or smaller\nquantities of the fire you obtained from different bodies, than from\nits being of a different _kind_, or having a different _direction_.\nIn haste,\n\n  I am, &c.\n\n  B. FRANKLIN.\n\n\n\n\nTO MR. E. KINNERSLEY, AT BOSTON.\n\n  _Reasons for supposing, that the glass Globe charges positively,\n  and the Sulphur negatively.--Hint respecting a leather Globe for\n  Experiments when travelling._\n\n\n  _Philadelphia, March 16, 1752._\n\n  SIR,\n\nHaving brought your brimstone globe to work, I tried one of the\nexperiments you proposed, and was agreeably surprised to find, that\nthe glass globe being at one end of the conductor, and the sulphur\nglobe at the other end, both globes in motion, no spark could be\nobtained from the conductor, unless when one globe turned slower, or\nwas not in so good order as the other; and then the spark was only\nin proportion to the difference, so that turning equally, or turning\nthat slowest which worked best, would again bring the conductor to\nafford no spark.\n\nI found also, that the wire of a phial charged by the glass globe,\nattracted a cork ball that had touched the wire of a phial charged\nby the brimstone globe, and _vice versa_, so that the cork continued\nto play between the two phials, just as when one phial was charged\nthrough the wire, the other through the coating, by the glass globe\nalone. And two phials charged, the one by the brimstone globe, the\nother by the glass globe, would be both discharged by bringing their\nwires together, and shock the person holding the phials.\n\nFrom these experiments one may be certain that your 2d, 3d, and 4th\nproposed experiments, would succeed exactly as you suppose, though I\nhave not tried them, wanting time. I imagine it is the glass globe\nthat charges positively, and the sulphur negatively, for these\nreasons: 1. Though the sulphur globe seems to work equally well\nwith the glass one, yet it can never occasion so large and distant\na spark between my knuckle and the conductor, when the sulphur\none is working, as when the glass one is used; which, I suppose,\nis occasioned by this, that bodies of a certain bigness cannot so\neasily part with a quantity of electrical fluid they have and hold\nattracted _within_ their substance, as they can receive an additional\nquantity _upon_ their surface by way of atmosphere. Therefore so\nmuch cannot be drawn _out_ of the conductor, as can be thrown _on_\nit. 2. I observe that the stream or brush of fire, appearing at the\nend of a wire, connected with the conductor, is long, large, and\nmuch diverging, when the glass globe is used, and makes a snapping\n(or rattling) noise: but when the sulphur one is used, it is short,\nsmall, and makes a hissing noise; and just the reverse of both\nhappens, when you hold the same wire in your hand, and the globes\nare worked alternately: the brush is large, long, diverging, and\nsnapping (or rattling) when the sulphur globe is turned; short,\nsmall, and hissing, when the glass globe is turned.--When the brush\nis long, large, and much diverging, the body to which it joins seems\nto me to be throwing the fire out; and when the contrary appears, it\nseems to be drinking in. 3. I observe, that when I hold my knuckle\nbefore the sulphur globe, while turning, the stream of fire between\nmy knuckle and the globe seems to spread on its surface, as if it\nflowed from the finger; on the glass globe it is otherwise. 4. The\ncool wind (or what was called so) that we used to feel as coming from\nan electrified point, is, I think, more sensible when the glass globe\nis used, than when the sulphur one.--But these are hasty thoughts. As\nto your fifth paradox, it must likewise be true, if the globes are\nalternately worked; but if worked together, the fire will neither\ncome up nor go down by the chain, because one globe will drink it as\nfast as the other produces it.\n\nI should be glad to know, whether the effects would be contrary if\nthe glass globe is solid, and the sulphur globe is hollow; but I have\nno means at present of trying.\n\nIn your journeys, your glass globes meet with accidents, and sulphur\nones are heavy and inconvenient.--_Query._ Would not a thin plane of\nbrimstone, cast on a board, serve on occasion as a cushion, while a\nglobe of leather stuffed (properly mounted) might receive the fire\nfrom the sulphur, and charge the conductor positively? Such a globe\nwould be in no danger of breaking[64]. I think I can conceive how it\nmay be done; but have not time to add more than that I am,\n\n  Yours, &c.\n\n  B. FRANKLIN.\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[64] The discoveries of the late ingenious Mr. Symmer, on the\npositive and negative electricity produced by the mutual friction of\nwhite and black silk, &c. afford hints for farther improvements to be\nmade with this view.\n\n\n  [In Mr. Collinson's edition, several papers followed here, by\n  the Abb\u00e9 Mazeas, and others, upon the subject of Dr. Franklin's\n  experiments, which, that the letters of our author might not be too\n  much interrupted, we have thought proper to transfer to an Appendix.\n  A subsequent paper by Mr. David Colden, entitled Remarks on the Abb\u00e9\n  Nollet's Letters to Benjamin Franklin, esq. on Electricity, will be\n  found transferred in the same manner.]\n\n\n\n\nTO PETER COLLINSON, ESQ. F. R. S. LONDON.\n\n  _Electrical Kite._\n\n\n  _Philadelphia, Oct. 19, 1752._\n\n  SIR,\n\nAs frequent mention is made in public papers from Europe of the\nsuccess of the Philadelphia experiment for drawing the electric\nfire from clouds by means of pointed rods of iron erected on high\nbuildings, &c. it may be agreeable to the curious to be informed that\nthe same experiment has succeeded in Philadelphia, though made in a\ndifferent and more easy manner, which is as follows:\n\nMake a small cross of two light strips of cedar, the arms so long as\nto reach to the four corners of a large thin silk handkerchief when\nextended; tie the corners of the handkerchief to the extremities\nof the cross, so you have the body of a kite; which being properly\naccommodated with a tail, loop, and string, will rise in the air,\nlike those made of paper; but this being of silk is fitter to bear\nthe wet and wind of a thunder-gust without tearing. To the top of\nthe upright stick of the cross is to be fixed a very sharp pointed\nwire, rising a foot or more above the wood. To the end of the twine,\nnext the hand, is to be tied a silk ribbon, and where the silk and\ntwine join, a key may be fastened. This kite is to be raised when a\nthunder-gust appears to be coming on, and the person who holds the\nstring must stand within a door or window, or under some cover, so\nthat the silk ribbon may not be wet; and care must be taken that the\ntwine does not touch the frame of the door or window. As soon as\nany of the thunder clouds come over the kite, the pointed wire will\ndraw the electric fire from them, and the kite, with all the twine,\nwill be electrified, and the loose filaments of the twine will stand\nout every way, and be attracted by an approaching finger. And when\nthe rain has wetted the kite and twine, so that it can conduct the\nelectric fire freely, you will find it stream out plentifully from\nthe key on the approach of your knuckle. At this key the phial may\nbe charged; and from electric fire thus obtained, spirits may be\nkindled, and all the other electric experiments be performed, which\nare usually done by the help of a rubbed glass globe or tube, and\nthereby the sameness of the electric matter with that of lightning\ncompletely demonstrated.\n\n  B. FRANKLIN.\n\n\n\n\nTO PETER COLLINSON, ESQ. F. R. S. LONDON.\n\n  _Hypothesis, of the Sea being the grand Source of Lightning,\n  retracted. Positive, and sometimes negative, Electricity of the\n  Clouds discovered.--New Experiments and Conjectures in Support of\n  this Discovery.--Observations recommended for ascertaining the\n  Direction of the electric Fluid.--Size of Rods for Conductors to\n  Buildings.--Appearance of a Thunder-Cloud described._\n\n\n  _Philadelphia, September, 1753._\n\n  SIR,\n\nIn my former paper on this subject, written first in 1747, enlarged\nand sent to England in 1749, I considered the sea as the grand source\nof lightning, imagining its luminous appearance to be owing to\nelectric fire, produced by friction between the particles of water\nand those of salt. Living far from the sea, I had then no opportunity\nof making experiments on the sea-water, and so embraced this opinion\ntoo hastily.\n\nFor in 1750, and 1751, being occasionally on the sea-coast, I found,\nby experiments, that sea-water in a bottle, though at first it would\nby agitation appear luminous, yet in a few hours it lost that virtue:\n_hence and from this_, that I could not by agitating a solution of\nsea-salt in water produce any light, I first began to doubt of my\nformer hypothesis, and to suspect that the luminous appearance in\nsea-water must be owing to some other principles.\n\nI then considered whether it were not possible, that the particles\nof air, being electrics _per se_, might, in hard gales of wind,\nby their friction against trees, hills, buildings, &c. as so many\nminute electric globes, rubbing against non-electric cushions, draw\nthe electric fire from the earth, and that the rising vapours might\nreceive that fire from the air, and by such means the clouds become\nelectrified.\n\nIf this were so, I imagined that by forcing a constant violent stream\nof air against my prime conductor, by bellows, I should electrify it\n_negatively_; the rubbing particles of air, drawing from it part of\nits natural quantity of the electric fluid. I accordingly made the\nexperiment, but it did not succeed.\n\nIn September 1752, I erected an iron rod to draw the lightning\ndown into my house, in order to make some experiments on it, with\ntwo bells to give notice when the rod should be electrified: a\ncontrivance obvious to every electrician.\n\nI found the bells rang sometimes when there was no lightning or\nthunder, but only a dark cloud over the rod; that sometimes after\na flash of lightning they would suddenly stop; and at other times,\nwhen they had not rang before, they would, after a flash, suddenly\nbegin to ring; that the electricity was sometimes very faint, so\nthat when a small spark was obtained, another could not be got for\nsome time after; at other times the sparks would follow extremely\nquick, and once I had a continual stream from bell to bell, the size\nof a crow-quill: even during the same gust there were considerable\nvariations.\n\nIn the winter following I conceived an experiment, to try whether the\nclouds were electrified _positively_ or _negatively_; but my pointed\nrod, with its apparatus, becoming out of order, I did not refit it\ntill towards the spring, when I expected the warm weather would bring\non more frequent thunder-clouds.\n\nThe experiment was this: To take two phials; charge one of them with\nlightning from the iron rod, and give the other an equal charge by\nthe electric glass globe, through the prime conductor: when charged,\nto place them on a table within three or four inches of each other,\na small cork ball being suspended by a fine silk thread from the\ncieling, so as it might play between the wires. If both bottles then\nwere electrified _positively_, the ball being attracted and repelled\nby one, must be also repelled by the other. If the one _positively_,\nand the other _negatively_; then the ball would be attracted and\nrepelled alternately by each, and continue to play between them as\nlong as any considerable charge remained.\n\nBeing very intent on making this experiment, it was no small\nmortification to me, that I happened to be abroad during two of the\ngreatest thunder-storms we had early in the spring, and though I had\ngiven orders in my family, that if the bells rang when I was from\nhome, they should catch some of the lightning for me in electrical\nphials, and they did so, yet it was mostly dissipated before my\nreturn, and in some of the other gusts, the quantity of lightning\nI was able to obtain was so small, and the charge so weak, that I\ncould not satisfy myself: yet I sometimes saw what heightened my\nsuspicions, and inflamed my curiosity.\n\nAt last, on the 12th of April, 1753, there being a smart gust of some\ncontinuance, I charged one phial pretty well with lightning, and the\nother equally, as near as I could judge, with electricity from my\nglass globe; and, having placed them properly, I beheld, with great\nsurprize and pleasure, the cork ball play briskly between them; and\nwas convinced that one bottle was electrised _negatively_.\n\nI repeated this experiment several times during the gust, and in\neight succeeding gusts, always with the same success; and being\nof opinion (for reasons I formerly gave in my letter to Mr.\nKinnersley, since printed in London) that the glass globe electrises\n_positively_, I concluded that the clouds are _always_ electrised\n_negatively_, or have always in them less than their natural quantity\nof the electric fluid.\n\nYet notwithstanding so many experiments, it seems I concluded too\nsoon; for at last, June the 6th, in a gust which continued from five\no'clock, P. M. to seven, I met with one cloud that was electrised\npositively, though several that passed over my rod before, during the\nsame gust, were in the negative state. This was thus discovered:\n\nI had another concurring experiment, which I often repeated, to prove\nthe negative state of the clouds, viz. while the bells were ringing,\nI took the phial charged from the glass globe, and applied its wire\nto the erected rod, considering, that if the clouds were electrised\n_positively_, the rod which received its electricity from them must\nbe so too; and then the additional _positive_ electricity of the\nphial would make the bells ring faster:--But, if the clouds were in a\n_negative_ state, they must exhaust the electric fluid from my rod,\nand bring that into the same negative state with themselves, and then\nthe wire of a positively charged phial, supplying the rod with what\nit wanted (which it was obliged otherwise to draw from the earth by\nmeans of the pendulous brass ball playing between the two bells) the\nringing would cease till the bottle was discharged.\n\nIn this manner I quite discharged into the rod several phials that\nwere charged from the glass globe, the electric fluid streaming from\nthe wire to the rod, till the wire would receive no spark from the\nfinger; and, during this supply to the rod from the phial, the bells\nstopped ringing; but by continuing the application of the phial wire\nto the rod, I exhausted the natural quantity from the inside surface\nof the same phials, or, as I call it, charged them _negatively_.\n\nAt length, while I was charging a phial by my glass globe, to repeat\nthis experiment, my bells, of themselves, stopped ringing, and, after\nsome pause, began to ring again.--But now, when I approached the\nwire of the charged phial to the rod, instead of the usual stream\nthat I expected from the wire to the rod, there was no spark; not\neven when I brought the wire and the rod to touch; yet the bells\ncontinued ringing vigorously, which proved to me, that the rod was\nthen _positively_ electrified, as well as the wire of the phial, and\nequally so; and, consequently, that the particular cloud then over\nthe rod was in the same positive state. This was near the end of the\ngust.\n\nBut this was a single experiment, which, however, destroys my first\ntoo general conclusion, and reduces me to this: _That the clouds of\na thunder-gust are most commonly in a negative state of electricity,\nbut sometimes in a positive state._\n\nThe latter I believe is rare; for though I soon after the last\nexperiment set out on a journey to Boston, and was from home most\npart of the summer, which prevented my making farther trials and\nobservations; yet Mr. Kinnersley returning from the Islands just as I\nleft home, pursued the experiments during my absence, and informs me\nthat he always found the clouds in the _negative_ state.\n\nSo that, for the most part, in thunder-strokes, _it is the earth that\nstrikes into the clouds, and not the clouds that strike into the\nearth_.\n\nThose who are versed in electric experiments, will easily conceive,\nthat the effects and appearances must be nearly the same in either\ncase; the same explosion, and the same flash between one cloud and\nanother, and between the clouds and mountains, &c. the same rending\nof trees, walls, &c. which the electric fluid meets with in its\npassage, and the same fatal shock to animal bodies; and that pointed\nrods fixed on buildings, or masts of ships, and communicating with\nthe earth or sea, must be of the same service in restoring the\nequilibrium silently between the earth and clouds, or in conducting a\nflash or stroke, if one should be, so as to save harmless the house\nor vessel: for points have equal power to throw off, as to draw on\nthe electric fire, and, rods will conduct up as well as down.\n\nBut though the light gained from these experiments makes no\nalteration in the practice, it makes a considerable one in the\ntheory. And now we as much need an hypothesis to explain by what\nmeans the clouds become negatively, as before to shew how they\nbecame positively electrified.\n\nI cannot forbear venturing some few conjectures on this occasion:\nthey are what occur to me at present, and though future discoveries\nshould prove them not wholly right, yet they may in the mean time be\nof some use, by stirring up the curious to make more experiments, and\noccasion more exact disquisitions.\n\nI conceive then, that this globe of earth and water, with its plants,\nanimals, and buildings, have diffused throughout their substance, a\nquantity of the electric fluid, just as much as they can contain,\nwhich I call the _natural quantity_.\n\nThat this natural quantity is not the same in all kinds of common\nmatter under the same dimensions, nor in the same kind of common\nmatter in all circumstances; but a solid foot, for instance, of one\nkind of common matter, may contain more of the electric fluid than a\nsolid foot of some other kind of common matter; and a pound weight of\nthe same kind of common matter may, when in a rarer state, contain\nmore of the electric fluid than when in a denser state.\n\nFor the electric fluid, being attracted by any portion of common\nmatter, the parts of that fluid, (which have among themselves a\nmutual repulsion) are brought so near to each other by the attraction\nof the common matter that absorbs them, as that their repulsion is\nequal to the condensing power of attraction in common matter; and\nthen such portion of common matter will absorb no more.\n\nBodies of different kinds having thus attracted and absorbed what I\ncall their _natural quantity, i. e._ just as much of the electric\nfluid as is suited to their circumstances of density, rarity, and\npower of attracting, do not then show any signs of electricity among\neach other.\n\nAnd if more electric fluid be added to one of these bodies, it does\nnot enter, but spreads on the surface, forming an atmosphere; and\nthen such body shews signs of electricity.\n\nI have in a former paper compared common matter to a spunge, and the\nelectric fluid to water: I beg leave once more to make use of the\nsame comparison, to illustrate farther my meaning in this particular.\n\nWhen a spunge is somewhat condensed by being squeezed between the\nfingers, it will not receive and retain so much water as when in its\nmore loose and open state.\n\nIf _more_ squeezed and condensed, some of the water will come out of\nits inner parts, and flow on the surface.\n\nIf the pressure of the fingers be entirely removed, the spunge will\nnot only resume what was lately forced out, but attract an additional\nquantity.\n\nAs the spunge in its rarer state will _naturally_ attract and absorb\n_more_ water, and in its denser state will _naturally_ attract and\nabsorb _less_ water; we may call the quantity it attacks and absorbs\nin either state, its _natural quantity_, the state being considered.\n\nNow what the spunge is to water, the same is water to the electric\nfluid.\n\nWhen a portion of water is in its common dense state, it can hold no\nmore electric fluid than it has: if any be added, it spreads on the\nsurface.\n\nWhen the same portion of water is rarefied into vapour, and forms\na cloud, it is then capable of receiving and absorbing a much\ngreater quantity; there is room for each particle to have an electric\natmosphere.\n\nThus water, in its rarefied state, or in the form of a cloud, will\nbe in a negative state of electricity; it will have less than its\n_natural quantity_; that is, less than it is naturally capable of\nattracting and absorbing in that state.\n\nSuch a cloud, then, coming so near the earth as to be within the\nstriking distance, will receive from the earth a flash of the\nelectric fluid; which flash, to supply a great extent of cloud, must\nsometimes contain a very great quantity of that fluid.\n\nOr such a cloud, passing over woods of tall trees, may from the\npoints and sharp edges of their moist top leaves, receive silently\nsome supply.\n\nA cloud being by any means supplied from the earth, may strike into\nother clouds that have not been supplied, or not so much supplied;\nand those to others, till an equilibrium is produced among all the\nclouds that are within striking distance of each other.\n\nThe cloud thus supplied, having parted with much of what it first\nreceived, may require and receive a fresh supply from the earth,\nor from some other cloud, which by the wind is brought into such a\nsituation as to receive it more readily from the earth.\n\nHence repeated and continual strokes and flashes till the clouds have\nall got nearly their natural quantity as clouds, or till they have\ndescended in showers, and are united again with this terraqueous\nglobe, their original.\n\nThus, thunder-clouds are generally in a negative state of electricity\ncompared with the earth, agreeable to most of our experiments; yet\nas by one experiment we found a cloud electrised positively, I\nconjecture that, in that case, such cloud, after having received\nwhat was, in its rare state, only its _natural quantity_, became\ncompressed by the driving winds, or some other means, so that part\nof what it had absorbed was forced out, and formed an electric\natmosphere around it in its denser state. Hence it was capable of\ncommunicating positive electricity to my rod.\n\nTo show that a body in different circumstances of dilatation and\ncontraction is capable of receiving and retaining more or less of\nthe electric fluid on its surface, I would relate the following\nexperiment: I placed a clean wine glass on the floor, and on it a\nsmall silver can. In the can I put about three yards of brass chain;\nto one end of which I fastened a silk thread, which went right up to\nthe cieling, where it passed over a pulley, and came down again to\nmy hand, that I might at pleasure draw the chain up out of the can,\nextending it till within a foot of the cieling, and let it gradually\nsink into the can again.--From the cieling, by another thread of\nfine raw silk, I suspended a small light lock of cotton, so as that\nwhen it hung perpendicularly, it came in contact with the side of\nthe can.--Then approaching the wire of a charged phial to the can,\nI gave it a spark, which flowed round in an electric atmosphere;\nand the lock of cotton was repelled from the side of the can to the\ndistance of about nine or ten inches. The can would not then receive\nanother spark from the wire of the phial; but as I gradually drew\nup the chain, the atmosphere of the can diminished by flowing over\nthe rising chain, and the lock of cotton accordingly drew nearer and\nnearer to the can; and then, if I again brought the phial wire near\nthe can, it would receive another spark, and the cotton fly off\nagain to its first distance; and thus, as the chain was drawn higher,\nthe can would receive more sparks; because the can and extended chain\nwere capable of supporting a greater atmosphere than the can with\nthe chain gathered up into its belly.--And that the atmosphere round\nthe can was diminished by raising the chain, and increased again by\nlowering it, is not only agreeable to reason, since the atmosphere\nof the chain, must be drawn from that of the can, when it rose, and\nreturned to it again when it fell; but was also evident to the eye,\nthe lock of cotton always approaching the can when the chain was\ndrawn up, and receding when it was let down again.\n\nThus we see that increase of surface makes a body capable of\nreceiving a greater electric atmosphere: but this experiment does\nnot, I own, fully demonstrate my new hypothesis; for the brass and\nsilver still continue in their solid state, and are not rarefied into\nvapour, as the water is in clouds. Perhaps some future experiments on\nvapourized water may set this matter in a clearer light.\n\nOne seemingly material objection arises to the new hypothesis, and it\nis this: If water, in its rarefied state, as a cloud, requires, and\nwill absorb more of the electric fluid than when in its dense state\nas water, why does it not acquire from the earth all it wants at the\ninstant of its leaving the surface, while it is yet near, and but\njust rising in vapour? To this difficulty I own I cannot at present\ngive a solution satisfactory to myself: I thought, however, that I\nought to state it in its full force, as I have done, and submit the\nwhole to examination.\n\nAnd I would beg leave to recommend it to the curious in this branch\nof natural philosophy, to repeat with care and accurate observation\nthe experiments I have reported in this and former papers relating to\n_positive_ and _negative_ electricity, with such other relative ones\nas shall occur to them, that it may be certainly known whether the\nelectricity communicated by a glass globe, be _really positive_. And\nalso I would request all who may have an opportunity of observing the\nrecent effects of lightning on buildings, trees, &c. that they would\nconsider them particularly with a view to discover the direction. But\nin these examinations, this one thing is always to be understood,\nviz. that a stream of the electric fluid passing through wood,\nbrick, metal, &c. while such fluid passes in _small quantity_, the\nmutually repulsive power of its parts is confined and overcome by the\ncohesion of the parts of the body it passes through, so as to prevent\nan explosion; but when the fluid comes in a quantity too great to\nbe confined by such cohesion, it explodes, and rends or fuses the\nbody that endeavoured to confine it. If it be wood, brick, stone,\nor the like, the splinters will fly off on that side where there is\nleast resistance. And thus, when a hole is struck through pasteboard\nby the electrified jar, if the surfaces of the pasteboard are not\nconfined or compressed, there will be a bur raised all round the hole\non both sides the pasteboard; but if one side be confined, so that\nthe bur cannot be raised on that side, it will be all raised on the\nother, which way soever the fluid was directed. For the bur round the\noutside of the hole, is the effect of the explosion every way from\nthe centre of the stream, and not an effect of the direction.\n\nIn every stroke of lightning, I am of opinion that the stream of the\nelectric fluid, moving to restore the equilibrium between the cloud\nand the earth, does always previously find its passage, and mark out,\nas I may say, its own course, taking in its way all the conductors\nit can find, such as metals, damp walls, moist wood, &c. and will go\nconsiderably out of a direct course, for the sake of the assistance\nof good conductors; and that, in this course, it is actually moving,\nthough silently and imperceptibly, before the explosion, in and among\nthe conductors; which explosion happens only when the conductors\ncannot discharge it as fast as they receive it, by reason of their\nbeing incomplete, dis-united, too small, or not of the best materials\nfor conducting. Metalline rods, therefore, of sufficient thickness,\nand extending from the highest part of an edifice to the ground,\nbeing of the best materials and complete conductors, will, I think,\nsecure the building from damage, either by restoring the equilibrium\nso fast as to prevent a stroke, or by conducting it in the substance\nof the rod as far as the rod goes, so that there shall be no\nexplosion but what is above its point, between that and the clouds.\n\nIf it be asked, what thickness of a metalline rod may be supposed\nsufficient? In answer, I would remark, that five large glass jars,\nsuch as I have described in my former papers, discharge a very great\nquantity of electricity, which nevertheless will be all conducted\nround the corner of a book, by the fine filleting of gold on the\ncover, it following the gold the farthest way about, rather than\ntake the shorter course through the cover, that not being so good\na conductor. Now in this line of gold, the metal is so extremely\nthin as to be little more than the colour of gold, and on an octavo\nbook is not in the whole an inch square, and therefore not the\nthirty-sixth part of a grain, according to M. Reaumur; yet it is\nsufficient to conduct the charge of five large jars, and how many\nmore I know not. Now, I suppose a wire of a quarter of an inch\ndiameter to contain about five thousand times as much metal as there\nis in that gold line, and if so, it will conduct the charge of\ntwenty-five thousand such glass jars, which is a quantity, I imagine,\nfar beyond what was ever contained in any one stroke of natural\nlightning. But a rod of half an inch diameter would conduct four\ntimes as much as one of a quarter.\n\nAnd with regard to conducting, though a certain thickness of metal\nbe required to conduct a great quantity of electricity, and, at the\nsame time, keep its own substance firm and unseparated; and a less\nquantity, as a very small wire for instance, will be destroyed by\nthe explosion; yet such small wire will have answered the end of\nconducting that stroke, though it become incapable of conducting\nanother. And considering the extreme rapidity with which the electric\nfluid moves without exploding, when it has a free passage, or\ncompleat metal communication, I should think a vast quantity would\nbe conducted in a short time, either to or from a cloud, to restore\nits equilibrium with the earth, by means of a very small wire; and\ntherefore thick rods should seem not so necessary.--However, as\nthe quantity of lightning discharged in one stroke, cannot well be\nmeasured, and, in different strokes, is certainly very various, in\nsome much greater than others; and as iron (the best metal for the\npurpose, being least apt to fuse) is cheap, it may be well enough\nto provide a larger canal to guide that impetuous blast than we\nimagine necessary: for, though one middling wire may be sufficient,\ntwo or three can do no harm. And time, with careful observations\nwell compared, will at length point out the proper size to greater\ncertainty.\n\nPointed rods erected on edifices may likewise often prevent a stroke,\nin the following manner: An eye so situated as to view horizontally\nthe under side of a thunder-cloud, will see it very ragged, with a\nnumber of separate fragments, or petty clouds, one under another,\nthe lowest sometimes not far from the earth. These, as so many\nstepping-stones, assist in conducting a stroke between the cloud\nand a building. To represent these by an experiment, take two or\nthree locks of fine loose cotton, connect one of them with the prime\nconductor by a fine thread of two inches (which may be spun out of\nthe same lock by the fingers) another to that, and the third to the\nsecond, by like threads.--Turn the globe and you will see these locks\nextend themselves towards the table (as the lower small clouds do\ntowards the earth) being attracted by it: but on presenting a sharp\npoint erect under the lowest, it will shrink up to the second, the\nsecond to the first, and all together to the prime conductor, where\nthey will continue as long as the point continues under them. May\nnot, in like manner, the small electrised clouds, whose equilibrium\nwith the earth is soon restored by the point, rise up to the main\nbody, and by that means occasion so large a vacancy, as that the\ngrand cloud cannot strike in that place?\n\nThese thoughts, my dear friend, are many of them crude and hasty;\nand if I were merely ambitious of acquiring some reputation\nin philosophy, I ought to keep them by me, till corrected and\nimproved by time, and farther experience. But since even short\nhints and imperfect experiments in any new branch of science,\nbeing communicated, have oftentimes a good effect, in exciting the\nattention of the ingenious to the subject, and so become the occasion\nof more exact disquisition, and more compleat discoveries, you are\nat liberty to communicate this paper to whom you please; it being of\nmore importance that knowledge should increase, than that your friend\nshould be thought an accurate philosopher.\n\n  B. FRANKLIN.\n\n\n\n\nTO PETER COLLINSON, ESQ. F. R. S. LONDON.\n\n  _Additional Proofs of the positive and negative State of\n  Electricity in the Clouds.--New Method of ascertaining it._\n\n\n  _Philadelphia, April 18, 1754._\n\n  SIR,\n\nSince September last, having been abroad on two long journeys, and\notherwise much engaged, I have made but few observations on the\n_positive_ and _negative_ state of electricity in the clouds. But Mr.\nKinnersley kept his rod and bells in good order, and has made many.\n\nOnce this winter the bells rang a long time, during a fall of snow,\nthough no thunder was heard, or lightning seen. Sometimes the flashes\nand cracks of the electric matter between bell and bell were so\nlarge and loud as to be heard all over the house: but by all his\nobservations, the clouds were constantly in a negative state, till\nabout six weeks ago, when he found them once to change in a few\nminutes from the negative to the positive. About a fortnight after\nthat, he made another observation of the same kind; and last Monday\nafternoon, the wind blowing hard at S. E. and veering round to N. E.\nwith many thick driving clouds, there were five or six successive\nchanges from negative to positive, and from positive to negative,\nthe bells stopping a minute or two between every change. Besides\nthe methods mentioned in my paper of September last, of discovering\nthe electrical state of the clouds, the following may be used. When\nyour bells are ringing, pass a rubbed tube by the edge of the bell,\nconnected with your pointed rod: if the cloud is then in a negative\nstate, the ringing will stop; if in a positive state, it will\ncontinue, and perhaps be quicker. Or, suspend a very small cork-ball\nby a fine silk thread, so that it may hang close to the edge of the\nrod-bell: then whenever the bell is electrified, whether positively\nor negatively, the little ball will be repelled, and continue at some\ndistance from the bell. Have ready a round-headed glass stopper of a\ndecanter, rub it on your side till it is electrified, then present\nit to the cork-ball. If the electricity in the ball is positive, it\nwill be repelled from the glass stopper as well as from the bell. If\nnegative, it will fly to the stopper.\n\n  B. FRANKLIN.\n\n\n\n\nELECTRICAL EXPERIMENTS,\n\n  _With an attempt to account for their several ph\u00e6nomena. Together\n  with some observations on thunder-clouds, in further confirmation\n  of Mr. Franklin's observations on the positive and negative\n  electrical state of the clouds, by John Canton, M. A. and F. R. S._\n\n\n  _Dec. 6, 1753._\n\nEXPERIMENT I.\n\nFrom the cieling, or any convenient part of a room, let two\ncork-balls, each about the bigness of a small pea, be suspended by\nlinen threads of eight or nine inches in length, so as to be in\ncontact with each other. Bring the excited glass tube under the\nballs, and they will be separated by it, when held at the distance\nof three or four feet; let it be brought nearer, and they will stand\nfarther apart; entirely withdraw it, and they will immediately come\ntogether. This experiment may be made with very small brass balls\nhung by silver wire; and will succeed as well with sealing-wax made\nelectrical, as with glass.\n\n\nEXPERIMENT II.\n\nIf two cork-balls be suspended by dry silk threads, the excited tube\nmust be brought within eighteen inches before they will repel each\nother; which they will continue to do, for some time, after the tube\nis taken away.\n\nAs the balls in the first experiment are not insulated, they cannot\nproperly be said to be electrified: but when they hang within the\natmosphere of the excited tube, they may attract and condense the\nelectrical fluid round about them, and be separated by the repulsion\nof its particles. It is conjectured also, that the balls at this\ntime contain less than their common share of the electrical fluid,\non account of the repelling power of that which surrounds them;\nthough some, perhaps, is continually entering and passing through\nthe threads. And if that be the case, the reason is plain why the\nballs hung by silk, in the second experiment, must be in a much more\ndense part of the atmosphere of the tube, before they will repel each\nother. At the approach of an excited stick of wax to the balls, in\nthe first experiment, the electrical fire is supposed to come through\nthe threads into the balls, and be condensed there, in its passage\ntowards the wax; for, according to Mr. Franklin, excited glass\n_emits_ the electrical fluid, but excited wax _receives_ it.\n\n\nEXPERIMENT III.\n\nLet a tin tube, of four or five feet in length, and about two inches\nin diameter, be insulated by silk; and from one end of it let the\ncork-balls be suspended by linen threads. Electrify it, by bringing\nthe excited glass tube near the other end, so as that the balls\nmay stand an inch and an half, or two inches, apart: then, at the\napproach of the excited tube, they will, by degrees, lose their\nrepelling power, and come into contact; and as the tube is brought\nstill nearer, they will separate again to as great a distance as\nbefore: in the return of the tube they will approach each other\ntill they touch, and then repel as at first. If the tin tube be\nelectrified by wax, or the wire of a charged phial, the balls will be\naffected in the same manner at the approach of excited wax, or the\nwire of the phial.\n\n\nEXPERIMENT IV.\n\nElectrify the cork-balls as in the last experiment by glass, and\nat the approach of an excited stick of wax their repulsion will be\nincreased. The effect will be the same, if the excited glass be\nbrought towards them, when they have been electrified by wax.\n\nThe bringing the excited glass to the end, or edge of the tin-tube,\nin the third experiment, is supposed to electrify it positively, or\nto add to the electrical fire it before contained; and therefore\nsome will be running off through the balls, and they will repel each\nother. But at the approach of excited glass, which likewise _emits_\nthe electrical fluid, the discharge of it from the balls will be\ndiminished; or part will be driven back, by a force acting in a\ncontrary direction: and they will come nearer together. If the tube\nbe held at such a distance from the balls, that the excess of the\ndensity of the fluid round about them, above the common quantity in\nair, be equal to the excess of the density of that within them, above\nthe common quantity contained in cork; their repulsion will be quite\ndestroyed. But if the tube be brought nearer; the fluid without being\nmore dense than that within the balls, it will be attracted by them,\nand they will recede from each other again.\n\nWhen the apparatus has lost part of its natural share of this fluid,\nby the approach of excited wax to one end of it, or is electrified\nnegatively; the electrical fire is attracted and imbibed by the balls\nto supply the deficiency; and that more plentifully at the approach\nof excited glass; or a body positively electrified, than before;\nwhence the distance between the balls will be increased, as the\nfluid surrounding them is augmented. And in general, whether by the\napproach or recess of any body; if the difference between the density\nof the internal and external fluid be increased, or diminished; the\nrepulsion of the balls will be increased, or diminished, accordingly.\n\n\nEXPERIMENT V.\n\nWhen the insulated tin tube is not electrified, bring the excited\nglass tube towards the middle of it, so as to be nearly at right\nangles with it, and the balls at the end will repel each other;\nand the more so, as the excited tube is brought nearer. When it\nhas been held a few seconds, at the distance of about six inches,\nwithdraw it, and the balls will approach each other till they touch;\nand then separating again, as the tube is moved farther off, will\ncontinue to repel when it is taken quite away. And this repulsion\nbetween the balls will be increased by the approach of excited\nglass, but diminished by excited wax; just as if the apparatus had\nbeen electrified by wax, after the manner described in the third\nexperiment.\n\n\nEXPERIMENT VI.\n\nInsulate two tin tubes, distinguished by A and B, so as to be in\na line with each other, and about half an inch apart; and at the\nremote end of each, let a pair of cork balls be suspended. Towards\nthe middle of A, bring the excited glass tube, and holding it a short\ntime, at the distance of a few inches, each pair of balls will be\nobserved to separate: withdraw the tube, and the balls of A will\ncome together, and then repel each other again; but those of B will\nhardly be affected. By the approach of the excited glass tube, held\nunder the balls of A, their repulsion will be increased: but if the\ntube be brought, in the same manner, towards the balls of B, their\nrepulsion will be diminished.\n\nIn the fifth experiment, the common stock of electrical matter in the\ntin tube, is supposed to be attenuated about the middle, and to be\ncondensed at the ends, by the repelling power of the atmosphere of\nthe excited glass tube, when held near it. And perhaps the tin tube\nmay lose some of its natural quantity of the electrical fluid, before\nit receives any from the glass; as that fluid will more readily run\noff from the ends and edges of it, than enter at the middle: and\naccordingly, when the glass tube is withdrawn, and the fluid is again\nequally diffused through the apparatus, it is found to be electrified\nnegatively: for excited glass brought under the balls will increase\ntheir repulsion.\n\nIn the sixth experiment, part of the fluid driven out of one tin tube\nenters the other; which is found to be electrified positively, by the\ndecreasing of the repulsion of its balls, at the approach of excited\nglass.\n\n\nEXPERIMENT VII.\n\nLet the tin tube, with a pair of balls at one end, be placed three\nfeet at least from any part of the room, and the air rendered very\ndry by means of a fire: electrify the apparatus to a considerable\ndegree; then touch the tin tube with a finger, or any other\nconductor, and the balls will, notwithstanding, continue to repel\neach other; though not at so great a distance as before.\n\nThe air surrounding the apparatus to the distance of two or three\nfeet, is supposed to contain more or less of the electrical fire,\nthan its common share, as the tin tube is electrified positively,\nor negatively; and when very dry, may not part with its overplus,\nor have its deficiency supplied so suddenly, as the tin; but may\ncontinue to be electrified, after that has been touched for a\nconsiderable time.\n\n\nEXPERIMENT VIII.\n\nHaving made the Torricellian vacuum about five feet long, after the\nmanner described in the _Philosophical Transactions_, vol. xlvii. p.\n370, if the excited tube be brought within a small distance of it,\na light will be seen through more than half its length; which soon\nvanishes, if the tube be not brought nearer; but will appear again,\nas that is moved farther off. This may be repeated several times,\nwithout exciting the tube afresh.\n\nThis experiment may be considered as a kind of ocular demonstration\nof the truth of Mr. Franklin's hypothesis; that when the electrical\nfluid is condensed on one side of thin glass, it will be repelled\nfrom the other, if it meets with no resistance. According to which,\nat the approach of the excited tube, the fire is supposed to be\nrepelled from the inside of the glass surrounding the vacuum, and to\nbe carried off through the columns of mercury; but, as the tube is\nwithdrawn, the fire is supposed to return.\n\n\nEXPERIMENT IX.\n\nLet an excited stick of wax, of two feet and an half in length, and\nabout an inch in diameter, be held near its middle. Excite the glass\ntube, and draw it over one half of it; then, turning it a little\nabout its axis, let the tube be excited again, and drawn over the\nsame half; and let this operation be repeated several times: then\nwill that half destroy the repelling power of balls electrified by\nglass, and the other half will increase it.\n\nBy this experiment it appears, that wax also may be electrified\npositively and negatively. And it is probable, that all bodies\nwhatsoever may have the quantity they contain of the electrical\nfluid, increased, or diminished. The clouds, I have observed, by a\ngreat number of experiments, to be some in a positive, and others\nin a negative state of electricity. For the cork balls, electrified\nby them, will sometimes close at the approach of excited glass; and\nat other times be separated to a greater distance. And this change\nI have known to happen five or six times in less than half an hour;\nthe balls coming together each time and remaining in contact a few\nseconds, before they repel each other again. It may likewise easily\nbe discovered, by a charged phial, whether the electrical fire be\ndrawn out of the apparatus by a negative cloud, or forced into it\nby a positive one: and by which soever it be electrified, should\nthat cloud either part with its overplus, or have its deficiency\nsupplied suddenly, the apparatus will lose its electricity: which\nis frequently observed to be the case, immediately after a flash of\nlightning. Yet when the air is very dry, the apparatus will continue\nto be electrised for ten minutes, or a quarter of an hour, after\nthe clouds have passed the zenith; and sometimes till they appear\nmore than half-way towards the horizon. Rain, especially when the\ndrops are large, generally brings down the electrical fire: and\nhail, in summer, I believe never fails. When the apparatus was last\nelectrified, it was by the fall of thawing snow, which happened so\nlately, as on the 12th of November; that being the twenty-sixth\nday, and sixty-first time it has been electrified, since it was\nfirst set up; which was about the middle of May. And as Fahrenheit's\nthermometer was but seven degrees above freezing, it is supposed the\nwinter will not entirely put a stop to observations of this sort.\nAt London, no more than two thunder-storms have happened during the\nwhole summer; and the apparatus was sometimes so strongly electrified\nin one of them, that the bells, which have been frequently rung by\nthe clouds, so loud as to be heard in every room of the house (the\ndoors being open) were silenced by the almost constant stream of\ndense electrical fire, between each bell and the brass ball, which\nwould not suffer it to strike.\n\nI shall conclude this paper, already too long, with the following\nqueries:\n\n1. May not air, suddenly rarefied, give electrical fire to, and air\nsuddenly condensed, receive electrical fire from, clouds and vapours\npassing through it?\n\n2. Is not the _aurora borealis_, the flashing of electrical fire from\npositive, towards negative clouds at a great distance, through the\nupper part of the atmosphere, where the resistance is least?\n\n\n\n\nEXPERIMENTS\n\n  _Made in Pursuance of those made by Mr. Canton, dated December 6,\n  1753; with Explanations, by Mr. Benjamin Franklin._\n\n  Read at the Royal Society, Dec. 18, 1755.\n\n\n  _Philadelphia, March 14, 1755._\n\nPRINCIPLES.\n\nI. Electric atmospheres, that flow round non-electric bodies, being\nbrought near each other, do not readily mix and unite into one\natmosphere, but remain separate, and repel each other.\n\nThis is plainly seen in suspended cork balls, and other bodies\nelectrified.\n\nII. An electric atmosphere not only repels another electric\natmosphere, but will also repel the electric matter contained in the\nsubstance of a body approaching it; and without joining or mixing\nwith it, force it to other parts of the body that contained it.\n\nThis is shewn by some of the following experiments.\n\nIII. Bodies electrified negatively, or deprived of their natural\nquantity of electricity, repel each other, (or at least appear to do\nso, by a mutual receding) as well as those electrified positively, or\nwhich have electric atmospheres.\n\nThis is shewn by applying the negatively charged wire of a phial to\ntwo cork balls, suspended by silk threads, and many other experiments.\n\n\nPREPARATION.\n\nFix a tassel of fifteen or twenty threads, three inches long, at one\nend of a tin prime conductor (mine is about five feet long, and four\ninches diameter) supported by silk lines.\n\nLet the threads be a little damp, but not wet.\n\n\nEXPERIMENT I.\n\n  _Pass an excited glass tube near the other end of the prime\n  conductor, so as to give it some sparks, and the threads will\n  diverge._\n\nBecause each thread, as well as the prime conductor, has acquired an\nelectric atmosphere, which repels and is repelled by the atmospheres\nof the other threads: if those several atmospheres would readily mix,\nthe threads might unite, and hang in the middle of one atmosphere,\ncommon to them all.\n\n  _Rub the tube afresh, and approach the prime conductor therewith,\n  crossways, near that end, but not nigh enough to give sparks; and\n  the threads will diverge a little more._\n\nBecause the atmosphere of the prime conductor is pressed by the\natmosphere of the excited tube, and driven towards the end where the\nthreads are, by which each thread acquires more atmosphere.\n\n  _Withdraw the tube, and they will close as much._\n\nThey close as much, and no more; because the atmosphere of the glass\ntube not having mixed with the atmosphere of the prime conductor, is\nwithdrawn intire, having made no addition to, or diminution from it.\n\n  _Bring the excited tube under the tuft of threads, and they will\n  close a little._\n\nThey close, because the atmosphere of the glass tube repels their\natmospheres, and drives part of them back on the prime conductor.\n\n  _Withdraw it, and they will diverge as much._\n\nFor the portion of atmosphere which they had lost, returns to them\nagain.\n\n\nEXPERIMENT II.\n\n  _Excite the glass tube, and approach the prime conductor with\n  it, holding it across, near the end opposite to that on which\n  the threads hang, at the distance of five or six inches. Keep it\n  there a few seconds, and the threads of the tassels will diverge.\n  Withdraw it, and they will close._\n\nThey diverge, because they have received electric atmospheres\nfrom the electric matter before contained in the substance of the\nprime conductor; but which is now repelled and driven away, by the\natmosphere of the glass tube, from the parts of the prime conductor\nopposite and nearest to that atmosphere, and forced out upon the\nsurface of the prime conductor at its other end, and upon the threads\nhanging thereto. Were it any part of the atmosphere of the glass\ntube that flowed over and along the prime conductor to the threads,\nand gave them atmospheres (as is the case when a spark is given to\nthe prime conductor from the glass tube) such part of the tube's\natmosphere would have remained, and the threads continue to diverge;\nbut they close on withdrawing the tube, because the tube takes with\nit _all its own atmosphere_, and the electric matter, which had\nbeen driven out of the substance of the prime conductor, and formed\natmospheres round the threads, is thereby permitted to return to its\nplace.\n\n  _Take a spark from the prime conductor near the threads, when they\n  are diverged as before, and they will close._\n\nFor by so doing you take away their atmospheres, composed of the\nelectric matter driven out of the substance of the prime conductor,\nas aforesaid, by the repellency of the atmosphere of the glass tube.\nBy taking this spark you rob the prime conductor of part of its\nnatural quantity of the electric matter; which part so taken is not\nsupplied by the glass tube, for when that is afterwards withdrawn, it\ntakes with it its whole atmosphere, and leaves the prime conductor\nelectrised negatively, as appears by the next operation.\n\n  _Then withdraw the tube, and they will open again._\n\nFor now the electric matter in the prime conductor, returning to its\nequilibrium, or equal diffusion, in all parts of its substance, and\nthe prime conductor having lost some of its natural quantity, the\nthreads connected with it lose part of theirs, and so are electrised\nnegatively, and therefore repel each other, by _Pr. III._\n\n  _Approach the prime conductor with the tube near the same place as\n  at first, and they will close again._\n\nBecause the part of their natural quantity of electric fluid, which\nthey had lost, is now restored to them again, by the repulsion of the\nglass tube forcing that fluid to them from other parts of the prime\nconductor; so they are now again in their natural state.\n\n  _Withdraw it, and they will open again._\n\nFor what had been restored to them, is now taken from them again,\nflowing back into the prime conductor, and leaving them once more\nelectrised negatively.\n\n  _Bring the excited tube under the threads, and they will diverge\n  more._\n\nBecause more of their natural quantity is driven from them into the\nprime conductor, and thereby their negative electricity increased.\n\n\nEXPERIMENT III.\n\n  _The prime conductor not being electrified, bring the excited tube\n  under the tassel, and the threads will diverge._\n\nPart of their natural quantity is thereby driven out of them into the\nprime conductor, and they become negatively electrised, and therefore\nrepel each other.\n\n  _Keeping the tube in the same place with one hand, attempt to touch\n  the threads with the finger of the other hand, and they will recede\n  from the finger._\n\nBecause the finger being plunged into the atmosphere of the glass\ntube, as well as the threads, part of its natural quantity is\ndriven back through the hand and body, by that atmosphere, and the\nfinger becomes, as well as the threads, negatively electrised,\nand so repels, and is repelled by them. To confirm this, hold a\nslender light lock of cotton, two or three inches long, near a\nprime conductor, that is electrified by a glass globe, or tube. You\nwill see the cotton stretch itself out towards the prime conductor.\nAttempt to touch it with the finger of the other hand, and it will be\nrepelled by the finger. Approach it with a positively charged wire of\na bottle, and it will fly to the wire. Bring it near a negatively\ncharged wire of a bottle, it will recede from that wire in the same\nmanner that it did from the finger; which demonstrates the finger to\nbe negatively electrised, as well as the lock of cotton so situated.\n\n\n\n\n  _Turkey killed by Electricity_.--_Effect of a Shock on the Operator\n  in making the Experiment._\n\n\nAs Mr. Franklin, in a former letter to Mr. Collinson, mentioned his\nintending to try the power of a very strong electrical shock upon a\nturkey, that gentleman accordingly has been so very obliging as to\nsend an account of it, which is to the following purpose.\n\nHe made first several experiments on fowls, and found, that two\nlarge thin glass jars gilt, holding each about six gallons, were\nsufficient, when fully charged, to kill common hens outright; but\nthe turkeys, though thrown into violent convulsions, and then lying\nas dead for some minutes, would recover in less than a quarter of\nan hour. However, having added three other such to the former two,\nthough not fully charged, he killed a turkey of about ten pounds\nweight, and believes that they would have killed a much larger. He\nconceited, as himself says, that the birds killed in this manner eat\nuncommonly tender.\n\nIn making these experiments, he found, that a man could, without\ngreat detriment, bear a much greater shock than he had imagined: for\nhe inadvertently received the stroke of two of these jars through his\narms and body, when they were very near fully charged. It seemed\nto him an universal blow throughout the body from head to foot, and\nwas followed by a violent quick trembling in the trunk, which went\noff gradually, in a few seconds. It was some minutes before he could\nrecollect his thoughts, so as to know what was the matter; for he\ndid not see the flash, though his eye was on the spot of the prime\nconductor, from whence it struck the back of his hand; nor did he\nhear the crack, though the by-standers said it was a loud one; nor\ndid he particularly feel the stroke on his hand, though he afterwards\nfound it had raised a swelling there, of the bigness of half a\npistol-bullet. His arms and the back of the neck felt somewhat numbed\nthe remainder of the evening, and his breast was sore for a week\nafter as if it had been bruised. From this experiment may be seen the\ndanger, even under the greatest caution, to the operator, when making\nthese experiments with large jars; for it is not to be doubted, but\nseveral of these fully charged would as certainly, by increasing\nthem, in proportion to the size, kill a man, as they before did a\nturkey.\n\n_N. B._ The original of this letter, which was read at the Royal\nSociety, has been mislaid.\n\n\n\n\nTO DR. L----[65], AT CHARLES TOWN, SOUTH CAROLINA.\n\n  _Differences in the Qualities of Glass.--Account of Domien, an\n  Electrician and Traveller.--Conjectures respecting the Pores of\n  Glass.--Origin of the Author's Idea of drawing down Lightning.--No\n  satisfactory Hypothesis respecting the Manner in which Clouds\n  become electrified.--Six Men knocked down at once by an electrical\n  Shock.--Reflections on the Spirit of Invention._\n\n\n  _Philadelphia, March 18, 1755._\n\n  SIR,\n\nI send you enclosed a paper containing some new experiments I have\nmade, in pursuance of those by Mr. Canton that are printed with my\nlast letters. I hope these, with my explanation of them, will afford\nyou some entertainment[66].\n\nIn answer to your several enquiries. The tubes and globes we use\nhere, are chiefly made here. The glass has a greenish cast, but is\nclear and hard, and, I think, better for electrical experiments than\nthe white glass of London, which is not so hard. There are certainly\ngreat differences in glass. A white globe I had made here some years\nsince, would never, by any means, be excited. Two of my friends tried\nit, as well as myself, without success. At length, putting it on an\nelectric stand, a chain from the prime conductor being in contact\nwith it, I found it had the properties of a non-electric; for I could\ndraw sparks from any part of it, though it was very clean and dry.\n\nAll I know of Domien, is, that by his own account he was a native of\nTransylvania, of Tartar descent, but a priest of the Greek church:\nhe spoke and wrote Latin very readily and correctly. He set out\nfrom his own country with an intention of going round the world, as\nmuch as possible by land. He travelled through Germany, France, and\nHolland, to England. Resided some time at Oxford. From England he\ncame to Maryland; thence went to New England; returned by land to\nPhiladelphia; and from hence travelled through Maryland, Virginia,\nand North Carolina to you. He thought it might be of service to him\nin his travels to know something of electricity. I taught him the\nuse of the tube; how to charge the Leyden phial, and some other\nexperiments. He wrote to me from Charles-Town, that he had lived\neight hundred miles upon electricity, it had been meat, drink, and\ncloathing to him. His last letter to me was, I think, from Jamaica,\ndesiring me to send the tubes you mention, to meet him at the\nHavannah, from whence he expected to get a passage to La Vera Cruz;\ndesigned travelling over land through Mexico to Acapulco; thence to\nget a passage to Manilla, and so through China, India, Persia, and\nTurkey, home to his own country; proposing to support himself chiefly\nby electricity. A strange project! But he was, as you observe, a very\nsingular character. I was sorry the tubes did not get to the Havannah\nin time for him. If they are still in being, please to send for them,\nand accept of them. What became of him afterwards I have never heard.\nHe promised to write to me as often as he could on his journey, and\nas soon as he should get home after finishing his tour. It is now\nseven years since he was here. If he is still in New Spain, as\nyou imagine from that loose report, I suppose it must be that they\nconfine him there, and prevent his writing: but I think it more\nlikely that he may be dead.\n\nThe questions you ask about the pores of glass, I cannot answer\notherwise, than that I know nothing of their nature; and\nsuppositions, however ingenious, are often mere mistakes. My\nhypothesis, that they were smaller near the middle of the glass, too\nsmall to admit the passage of electricity, which could pass through\nthe surface till it came near the middle, was certainly wrong: For\nsoon after I had written that letter, I did, in order to _confirm_\nthe hypothesis (which indeed I ought to have done before I wrote it)\nmake an experiment. I ground away five-sixths of the thickness of the\nglass, from the side of one of my phials, expecting that the supposed\ndenser part being so removed, the electric fluid might come through\nthe remainder of the glass, which I had imagined more open; but I\nfound myself mistaken. The bottle charged as well after the grinding\nas before. I am now, as much as ever, at a loss to know how or where\nthe quantity of electric fluid, on the positive side of the glass, is\ndisposed of.\n\nAs to the difference of conductors, there is not only this, that some\nwill conduct electricity in small quantities, and yet do not conduct\nit fast enough to produce the shock; but even among those that will\nconduct a shock, there are some that do it better than others. Mr.\nKinnersley has found, by a very good experiment, that when the charge\nof a bottle hath an opportunity of passing two ways, _i. e._ straight\nthrough a trough of water ten feet long, and six inches square; or\nround about through twenty feet of wire, it passes through the wire,\nand not through the water, though that is the shortest course; the\nwire being the better conductor. When the wire is taken away, it\npasses through the water, as may be felt by a hand plunged in the\nwater; but it cannot be felt in the water when the wire is used at\nthe same time. Thus, though a small phial containing water will give\na smart shock, one containing the same quantity of mercury will give\none much stronger, the mercury being the better conductor; while one\ncontaining oil, only, will scarce give any shock at all.\n\nYour question, how I came first to think of proposing the experiment\nof drawing down the lightning, in order to ascertain its sameness\nwith the electric fluid, I cannot answer better than by giving you an\nextract from the minutes I used to keep of the experiments I made,\nwith memorandums of such as I purposed to make, the reasons for\nmaking them, and the observations that arose upon them, from which\nminutes my letters were afterwards drawn. By this extract you will\nsee that the thought was not so much \"an out-of-the-way one,\" but\nthat it might have occurred to an electrician.\n\n\"Nov. 7, 1749. Electrical fluid agrees with lightning in these\nparticulars: 1. Giving light. 2. Colour of the light. 3. Crooked\ndirection. 4. Swift motion. 5. Being conducted by metals. 6. Crack or\nnoise in exploding. 7. Subsisting in water or ice. 8. Rending bodies\nit passes through. 9. Destroying animals. 10. Melting metals. 11.\nFiring inflammable substances. 12. Sulphureous smell.--The electric\nfluid is attracted by points.--We do not know whether this property\nis in lightning.--But since they agree in all the particulars\nwherein we can already compare them, is it not probable they agree\nlikewise in this?--Let the experiment be made.\"\n\nI wish I could give you any satisfaction in the article of clouds. I\nam still at a loss about the manner in which they become charged with\nelectricity; no hypothesis I have yet formed perfectly satisfying me.\nSome time since, I heated very hot a brass plate, two feet square,\nand placed it on an electric stand. From the plate a wire extended\nhorizontally four or five feet, and, at the end of it, hung, by linen\nthreads, a pair of cork balls. I then repeatedly sprinkled water over\nthe plate, that it might be raised from it in vapour, hoping that if\nthe vapour either carried off the electricity of the plate, or left\nbehind it that of the water (one of which I supposed it must do, if,\nlike the clouds, it became electrised itself, either positively or\nnegatively) I should perceive and determine it by the separation of\nthe balls, and by finding whether they were positive or negative; but\nno alteration was made at all, nor could I perceive that the steam\nwas itself electrised, though I have still some suspicion that the\nsteam was not fully examined, and I think the experiment should be\nrepeated. Whether the first state of electrised clouds is positive or\nnegative, if I could find the cause of that, I should be at no loss\nabout the other, for either is easily deduced from the other, as one\nstate is easily produced by the other. A strongly positive cloud may\ndrive out of a neighbouring cloud much of its natural quantity of the\nelectric fluid, and, passing by it, leave it in a negative state. In\nthe same way, a strongly negative cloud may occasion a neighbouring\ncloud to draw into itself from others, an additional quantity, and,\npassing by it, leave it in a positive state. How these effects may\nbe produced, you will easily conceive, on perusing and considering\nthe experiments in the enclosed paper: and from them too it appears\nprobable, that every change from positive to negative, and from\nnegative to positive, that, during a thunder-gust, we see in the\ncork-balls annexed to the apparatus, is not owing to the presence\nof clouds in the same state, but often to the absence of positive\nor negative clouds, that, having just passed, leave the rod in the\nopposite state.\n\nThe knocking down of the six men was performed with two of my large\njars not fully charged. I laid one end of my discharging rod upon the\nhead of the first; he laid his hand on the head of the second; the\nsecond his hand on the head of the third, and so to the last, who\nheld, in his hand, the chain that was connected with the outside of\nthe jars. When they were thus placed, I applied the other end of my\nrod to the prime conductor, and they all dropped together. When they\ngot up, they all declared they had not felt any stroke, and wondered\nhow they came to fall; nor did any of them either hear the crack, or\nsee the light of it. You suppose it a dangerous experiment; but I\nhad once suffered the same myself, receiving, by accident, an equal\nstroke through my head, that struck me down, without hurting me: and\nI had seen a young woman that was about to be electrified through the\nfeet (for some indisposition) receive a greater charge through the\nhead, by inadvertently stooping forward to look at the placing of her\nfeet, till her forehead (as she was very tall) came too near my prime\nconductor: she dropped, but instantly got up again, complaining of\nnothing. A person so struck, sinks down doubled, or folded together\nas it were, the joints losing their strength and stiffness at once,\nso that he drops on the spot where he stood, instantly, and there is\nno previous staggering, nor does he ever fall lengthwise. Too great\ncharge might, indeed, kill a man, but I have not yet seen any hurt\ndone by it. It would certainly, as you observe, be the easiest of all\ndeaths.\n\nThe experiment you have heard so imperfect an account of, is merely\nthis: I electrified a silver pint can, on an electric stand, and then\nlowered into it a cork ball, of about an inch diameter, hanging by a\nsilk string, till the cork touched the bottom of the can. The cork\nwas not attracted to the inside of the can as it would have been\nto the outside, and though it touched the bottom, yet, when drawn\nout, it was not found to be electrified by that touch, as it would\nhave been by touching the outside. The fact is singular. You require\nthe reason; I do not know it. Perhaps you may discover it, and then\nyou will be so good as to communicate it to me[67]. I find a frank\nacknowledgment of one's ignorance is not only the easiest way to get\nrid of a difficulty, but the likeliest way to obtain information,\nand therefore I practise it: I think it an honest policy. Those who\naffect to be thought to know every thing, and so undertake to explain\nevery thing, often remain long ignorant of many things that others\ncould and would instruct them in, if they appeared less conceited.\n\nThe treatment your friend has met with is so common, that no man\nwho knows what the world is, and ever has been, should expect to\nescape it. There are every where a number of people, who, being\ntotally destitute of any inventive faculty themselves, do not readily\nconceive that others may possess it: they think of inventions as of\nmiracles; there might be such formerly, but they are ceased. With\nthese, every one who offers a new invention is deemed a pretender: he\nhad it from some other country, or from some book: a man of _their\nown acquaintance_; one who has no more sense than themselves, could\nnot possibly, in their opinion, have been the inventor of any thing.\nThey are confirmed, too, in these sentiments, by frequent instances\nof pretensions to invention, which vanity is daily producing. That\nvanity too, though an incitement to invention, is, at the same time,\nthe pest of inventors. Jealousy and envy deny the merit or the\nnovelty of your invention; but vanity, when the novelty and merit\nare established, claims it for its own. The smaller your invention\nis, the more mortification you receive in having the credit of it\ndisputed with you by a rival, whom the jealousy and envy of others\nare ready to support against you, at least so far as to make the\npoint doubtful. It is not in itself of importance enough for a\ndispute; no one would think your proofs and reasons worth their\nattention: and yet, if you do not dispute the point, and demonstrate\nyour right, you not only lose the credit of being in that instance\n_ingenious_, but you suffer the disgrace of not being _ingenuous_;\nnot only of being a plagiary, but of being a plagiary for trifles.\nHad the invention been greater it would have disgraced you less;\nfor men have not so contemptible an idea of him that robs for gold\non the highway, as of him that can pick pockets for half-pence\nand farthings. Thus, through envy, jealousy, and the vanity of\ncompetitors for fame, the origin of many of the most extraordinary\ninventions, though produced within but a few centuries past, is\ninvolved in doubt and uncertainty. We scarce know to whom we are\nindebted for the _compass_, and for _spectacles_, nor have even\n_paper_ and _printing_, that record every thing else, been able to\npreserve with certainty the name and reputation of their inventors.\nOne would not, therefore, of all faculties, or qualities of the\nmind, wish, for a friend, or a child, that he should have that of\ninvention. For his attempts to benefit mankind in that way, however\nwell imagined, if they do not succeed, expose him, though very\nunjustly, to general ridicule and contempt; and, if they do succeed,\nto envy, robbery, and abuse.\n\n  I am, &c.\n\n  B. FRANKLIN.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[65] Dr. Lining.--EDITOR.\n\n[66] See page 286, for the paper here mentioned.\n\n[67] Mr. F. has since thought, that, possibly, the mutual repulsion\nof the inner opposite sides of the electrised can may prevent the\naccumulating an electric atmosphere upon them, and occasion it to\nstand chiefly on the outside. But recommends it to the farther\nexamination of the curious.\n\n\n\n\nTO MONS. DALIBARD, AT PARIS, INCLOSED IN A LETTER TO MR. PETER\nCOLLINSON, F. R. S.\n\n  _Beccaria's Work on Electricity.--Sentiments of Franklin on pointed\n  Rods, not fully understood in Europe.--Effect of Lightning on the\n  Church of Newbury, in New England.--Remarks on the Subject._\n\n  Read at the Royal Society, Dec. 18, 1755.\n\n\n  _Philadelphia, June 29, 1755._\n\n  SIR,\n\nYou desire my opinion of Pere Beccaria's Italian book[68]. I have\nread it with much pleasure, and think it one of the best pieces on\nthe subject that I have seen in any language. Yet as to the article\nof water-spouts, I am not at present of his sentiments; though I must\nown with you, that he has handled it very ingeniously. Mr. Collinson\nhas my opinion of whirlwinds and water-spouts at large, written some\ntime since. I know not whether they will be published; if not, I\nwill get them transcribed for your perusal[69]. It does not appear\nto me that Pere Beccaria doubts of the _absolute impermeability\nof glass_ in the sense I meant it; for the instances he gives of\nholes made through glass by the electric stroke are such as we have\nall experienced, and only show that the electric fluid could not\npass without making a hole. In the same manner we say, glass is\nimpermeable to water, and yet a stream from a fire-engine will force\nthrough the strongest panes of a window. As to the effect of points\nin drawing the electric matter from clouds, and thereby securing\nbuildings, &c. which, you say, he seems to doubt, I must own I think\nhe only speaks modestly and judiciously. I find I have been but\npartly understood in that matter. I have mentioned it in several of\nmy letters, and except once, always in the _alternative, viz_. that\npointed rods erected on buildings, and communicating with the moist\nearth, would either _prevent_ a stroke, _or_, if not prevented, would\n_conduct_ it, so as that the building should suffer no damage. Yet\nwhenever my opinion is examined in Europe, nothing is considered but\nthe probability of those rods _preventing_ a stroke or explosion,\nwhich is only a _part_ of the use I proposed for them; and the\nother part, their conducting a stroke, which they may happen not to\nprevent, seems to be totally forgotten, though of equal importance\nand advantage.\n\nI thank you for communicating M. de Buffon's relation of the effect\nof lightning at Dijon, on the 7th of June last. In return, give me\nleave to relate an instance I lately saw of the same kind. Being in\nthe town of Newbury in New England, in November last, I was shewn\nthe effect of lightning on their church, which had been struck a\nfew months before. The steeple was a square tower of wood, reaching\nseventy feet up from the ground to the place where the bell hung,\nover which rose a taper spire, of wood likewise, reaching seventy\nfeet higher, to the vane of the weather-cock. Near the bell was fixed\nan iron hammer to strike the hours; and from the tail of the hammer\na wire went down through a small gimlet-hole in the floor that the\nbell stood upon, and through a second floor in like manner; then\nhorizontally under and near the plaistered cieling of that second\nfloor, till it came near a plaistered wall; then down by the side of\nthat wall to a clock, which stood about twenty feet below the bell.\nThe wire was not bigger than a common knitting-needle. The spire was\nsplit all to pieces by the lightning, and the parts flung in all\ndirections over the square in which the church stood, so that nothing\nremained above the bell.\n\nThe lightning passed between the hammer and the clock in the\nabove-mentioned wire, without hurting either of the floors, or\nhaving any effect upon them (except making the gimlet-holes, through\nwhich the wire passed, a little bigger,) and without hurting the\nplaistered wall, or any part of the building, so far as the aforesaid\nwire and the pendulum wire of the clock extended; which latter\nwire was about the thickness of a goose-quill. From the end of the\npendulum, down quite to the ground, the building was exceedingly\nrent and damaged, and some stones in the foundation-wall torn out,\nand thrown to the distance of twenty or thirty feet. No part of the\nafore-mentioned long small wire, between the clock and the hammer,\ncould be found, except about two inches that hung to the tail of\nthe hammer, and about as much that was fastened to the clock; the\nrest being exploded, and its particles dissipated in smoke and air,\nas gunpowder is by common fire, and had only left a black smutty\ntrack on the plaistering, three or four inches broad, darkest in\nthe middle, and fainter toward the edges, all along the cieling,\nunder which it passed, and down the wall. These were the effects and\nappearances; on which I would only make the few following remarks,\nviz.\n\n1. That lightning, in its passage through a building, will leave wood\nto pass as far as it can in metal, and not enter the wood again till\nthe conductor of metal ceases.\n\nAnd the same I have observed in other instances, as to walls of brick\nor stone.\n\n2. The quantity of lightning that passed through this steeple must\nhave been very great, by its effects on the lofty spire above the\nbell, and on the square tower all below the end of the clock pendulum.\n\n3. Great as this quantity was, it was conducted by a small wire and\na clock pendulum, without the least damage to the building so far as\nthey extended.\n\n4. The pendulum rod being of a sufficient thickness, conducted the\nlightning without damage to itself; but the small wire was utterly\ndestroyed.\n\n5. Though the small wire was itself destroyed, yet it had conducted\nthe lightning with safety to the building.\n\n6. And from the whole it seems probable, that if even such a small\nwire had been extended from the spindle of the vane to the earth,\nbefore the storm, no damage would have been done to the steeple by\nthat stroke of lightning, though the wire itself had been destroyed.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[68] This work is written conformable to Mr. Franklin's theory, upon\nartificial and natural electricity, which compose the two parts\nof it. It was printed in Italian, at Turin, in 4to. 1753; between\nthe two parts is a letter to the Abb\u00e9 Nollet, in defence of Mr.\nFranklin's system. _J. Bevis._\n\n[69] These papers will be found in Vol II. _Editor._\n\n\n\n\nTO PETER COLLINSON, ESQ. F. R. S. LONDON.\n\n  _Notice of another Packet of Letters._\n\n\n  _Philadelphia, Nov. 23, 1753_.\n\n  DEAR FRIEND.\n\nIn my last, via Virginia, I promised to send you per next ship, a\nsmall philosophical packet: but now having got the materials (old\nletters and rough drafts) before me, I fear you will find it a great\none. Nevertheless, as I am like to have a few days leisure before\nthis ship sails, which I may not have again in a long time, I shall\ntranscribe the whole, and send it; for you will be under no necessity\nof reading it all at once, but may take it a little at a time, now\nand then of a winter evening. When you happen to have nothing else to\ndo (if that ever happens) it may afford you some amusement[70].\n\n  B. FRANKLIN.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[70] These letters and papers are a philosophical correspondence\nbetween Mr. Franklin and some of his American Friends[71]. Mr.\nCollinson communicated them to the Royal Society, where they were\nread at different meetings during the year 1756. But Mr. Franklin\nhaving particularly requested that they might not be printed, none\nof them were inserted in the transactions. Mr. F. had at that time\nan intention of revising them, and pursuing some of the enquiries\nfarther; but finding that he is not like to have sufficient leisure,\nhe has at length been induced, imperfect as they are, to permit their\npublication, as some of the hints they contain may possibly be useful\nto others in their philosophical researches. Note in Mr. Collinson's\nedition.\n\n[71] As some of these papers are upon subjects not immediately\nconnected with electricity, we have taken such papers from the order\nin which they were placed by Mr. Collinson, and transferred them to\nother parts of the work. _Editor._\n\n\n\n\n  _Extract of a Letter from a Gentleman in Boston[72], to Benjamin\n  Franklin, Esq. concerning the crooked Direction, and the Source of\n  Lightning, and the Swiftness of the electric Fire._\n\n\n  _Boston, Dec. 21, 1751._\n\n  SIR,\n\nThe experiments Mr. K. has exhibited here, have been greatly pleasing\nto all sorts of people that have seen them; and I hope, by the time\nhe returns to Philadelphia, his tour this way will turn to good\naccount. His experiments are very curious, and I think prove most\neffectually your doctrine of electricity; that it is a real element,\nannexed to, and diffused among all bodies we are acquainted with;\nthat it differs in nothing from lightning, the effects of both being\nsimilar, and their properties, so far as they are known, the same, &c.\n\nThe remarkable effect of lightning on iron, lately discovered, in\ngiving it the magnetic virtue, and the same effect produced on\nsmall needles by the electrical fire, is a further and convincing\nproof that they are both the same element; but, which is very\nunaccountable, Mr. K. tells me, it is necessary to produce this\neffect, that the direction of the needle and the electric fire should\nbe north and south; from either to the other, and that just so far\nas they deviate therefrom, the magnetic power in the needle is less,\ntill their direction being at right angles with the north and south,\nthe effect entirely ceases. We made at Faneuil Hall, where Mr.\nK----'s apparatus is, several experiments to give some small needles\nthe magnetic virtue; previously examining, by putting them in water,\non which they will be supported, whether or not they had any of that\nvirtue; and I think we found all of them to have some small degree of\nit, their points turning to the north: we had nothing to do then but\nto invert the poles, which accordingly was done, by sending through\nthem the charge of two large glass jars; the eye of the needle\nturning to the north, as the point before had done; that end of the\nneedle which the fire is thrown upon, Mr. K. tells me always points\nto the north.\n\nThe electrical fire passing through air has the same crooked\ndirection as lightning[73]. This appearance I endeavour to account\nfor thus: Air is an electric _per se_, therefore there must be a\nmutual repulsion betwixt air and the electrical fire. A column\nor cylinder of air, having the diameter of its base equal to the\ndiameter of the electrical spark, intervenes that part of the body\nwhich the spark is taken from, and of the body it aims at. The spark\nacts upon this column, and is acted upon by it, more strongly than\nany other neighbouring portion of air.\n\nThe column, being thus acted upon, becomes more dense, and, being\nmore dense, repels the spark more strongly; its repellency being in\nproportion to its density: Having acquired, by being condensed, a\ndegree of repellency greater than its natural, it turns the spark out\nof its strait course; the neighbouring air, which must be less dense,\nand therefore has a smaller degree of repellency, giving it a more\nready passage.\n\nThe spark, having taken a new direction, must now act on, or most\nstrongly repel the column of air which lies in that direction, and\nconsequently must condense that column in the same manner as the\nformer, when the spark must again change its course, which course\nwill be thus repeatedly changed, till the spark reaches the body that\nattracted it.\n\nTo this account one objection occurs; that as air is very fluid and\nelastic, and so endeavours to diffuse itself equally, the supposed\naccumulated air within the column aforesaid, would be immediately\ndiffused among the contiguous air, and circulate to fill the space\nit was driven from; and consequently that the said column, on the\ngreater density of which the phenomenon is supposed to depend, would\nnot repel the spark more strongly than the neighbouring air.\n\nThis might be an objection, if the electrical fire was as sluggish\nand inactive as air. Air takes a sensible time to diffuse\nitself equally, as is manifest from winds which often blow for\na considerable time together from the same point, and with a\nvelocity even in the greatest storms, not exceeding, as it is\nsaid, sixty miles an hour: but the electric fire seems propagated\ninstantaneously, taking up no perceptible time in going very great\ndistances. It must then be an inconceivably short time in its\nprogress from an electrified to an unelectrified body, which, in the\npresent case, can be but a few inches apart: but this small portion\nof time is not sufficient for the elasticity of the air to exert\nitself, and therefore the column aforesaid must be in a denser state\nthan its neighbouring air.\n\nAbout the velocity of the electric fire more is said below, which\nperhaps may more fully obviate this objection. But let us have\nrecourse to experiments. Experiments will obviate all objections,\nor confound the hypothesis. The electric spark, if the foregoing be\ntrue, will pass through a vacuum in a right line. To try this, let a\nwire be fixed perpendicularly on the plate of an air pump, having a\nleaden ball on its upper end; let another wire, passing through the\ntop of a receiver, have on each end a leaden ball; let the leaden\nballs within the receiver, when put on the air pump, be within two\nor three inches of each other: the receiver being exhausted, the\nspark given from a charged phial to the upper wire will pass through\nrarefied air, nearly approaching to a vacuum, to the lower wire, and\nI suppose in a right line, or nearly so; the small portion of air\nremaining in the receiver, which cannot be entirely exhausted, may\npossibly cause it to deviate a little, but perhaps not sensibly,\nfrom a right line. The spark also might be made to pass through air\ngreatly condensed, which perhaps would give a still more crooked\ndirection. I have not had opportunity to make any experiments of this\nsort, not knowing of an air-pump nearer than Cambridge, but you can\neasily make them. If these experiments answer, I think the crooked\ndirection of lightning will be also accounted for.\n\nWith respect to your letters on electricity, * * * * * * * * * * *\n* * * *. Your hypothesis in particular for explaining the phenomena\nof lightning is very ingenious. That some clouds are highly charged\nwith electrical fire, and that their communicating it to those that\nhave less, to mountains and other eminencies, makes it visible and\naudible, when it is denominated lightning and thunder, is highly\nprobable: but that the sea, which you suppose the grand source of\nit, can collect it, I think admits of a doubt: for though the sea be\ncomposed of salt and water, an electric _per se_ and non-electric,\nand though the friction of electrics _per se_ and non-electrics,\nwill collect that fire, yet it is only under certain circumstances,\nwhich water will not admit. For it seems necessary, that the\nelectrics _per se_ and non-electrics rubbing one another, should\nbe of such substances as will not adhere to, or incorporate with\neach other. Thus a glass or sulphur sphere turned in water, and so\na friction between them, will not collect any fire; nor, I suppose,\nwould a sphere of salt revolving in water; the water adhering to,\nor incorporating with those electrics _per se_. But granting that\nthe friction between salt and water would collect the electrical\nfire, that fire, being so extremely subtle and active, would be\nimmediately communicated, either to those lower parts of the sea\nfrom which it was drawn, and so only perform quick revolutions; or\nbe communicated to the adjacent islands or continent, and so be\ndiffused instantaneously through the general mass of the earth. I say\ninstantaneously, for the greatest distances we can conceive within\nthe limits of our globe, even that of the two most opposite points,\nit will take no sensible time in passing through: and therefore\nit seems a little difficult to conceive how there can be any\naccumulation of the electrical fire upon the surface of the sea or\nhow the vapours arising from the sea should have a greater share of\nthat fire than other vapours.\n\nThat the progress of the electrical fire is so amazingly swift, seems\nevident from an experiment you yourself (not out of choice) made,\nwhen two or three large glass jars were discharged through your body.\nYou neither heard the crack, was sensible of the stroke, nor, which\nis more extraordinary, saw the light; which gave you just reason to\nconclude, that it was swifter than sound, than animal sensation, and\neven light itself. Now light (as astronomers have demonstrated) is\nabout six minutes passing from the sun to the earth; a distance, they\nsay, of more than eighty millions of miles. The greatest rectilinear\ndistance within the compass of the earth is about eight thousand\nmiles, equal to its diameter. Supposing then, that the velocity of\nthe electric fire be the same as that of light, it will go through a\nspace equal to the earth's diameter in about 2/60 of one second of a\nminute. It seems inconceivable then, that it should be accumulated\nupon the sea, in its present state, which, as it is a non-electric,\nmust give the fire an instantaneous passage to the neighbouring\nshores, and they convey it to the general mass of the earth. But such\naccumulation seems still more inconceivable when the electrical fire\nhas but a few feet depth of water to penetrate, to return to the\nplace from whence it is supposed to be collected.\n\nYour thoughts upon these remarks I shall receive with a great deal of\npleasure. I take notice that in the printed copies of your letters\nseveral things are wanting which are in the manuscript you sent me. I\nunderstand by your son, that you had writ, or was writing, a paper\non the effect of the electrical fire on loadstones, needles, &c.\nwhich I would ask the favour of a copy of, as well as of any other\npapers on electricity, written since I had the manuscript, for which\nI repeat my obligations to you.\n\n  I am, &c.\n\n  J. B.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[72] Mr. Badouin. _Editor._\n\n[73] This is most easily observed in large strong sparks taken at\nsome inches distance.\n\n\n\n\nTO J. B. AT BOSTON.\n\n  _Observations on the Subjects of the preceding Letter.--Reasons for\n  supposing the Sea to be the grand source of Lightning.--Reasons for\n  doubting this hypothesis.--Improvement in a Globe for raising the\n  Electric Fire._\n\n  Read at the Royal Society, May 27, 1756.\n\n\n  _Philadelphia, Jan. 24, 1752._\n\n  SIR,\n\nI am glad to learn, by your favour of the 21st past, that Mr.\nKinnersley's lectures have been acceptable to the gentlemen of\nBoston, and are like to prove serviceable to himself.\n\nI thank you for the countenance and encouragement you have so kindly\nafforded my fellow-citizen.\n\nI send you enclosed an extract of a letter containing the substance\nof what I observed concerning the communication of magnetism to\nneedles by electricity. The minutes I took at the time of the\nexperiments are mislaid. I am very little acquainted with the nature\nof magnetism. Dr. Gawin Knight, inventor of the steel magnets, has\nwrote largely on that subject, but I have not yet had leisure to\nperuse his writings with the attention necessary to become master of\nhis doctrine.\n\nYour explication of the crooked direction of lightning appears to\nme both ingenious and solid. When we can account as satisfactorily\nfor the electrification of clouds, I think that branch of natural\nphilosophy will be nearly complete.\n\nThe air, undoubtedly, obstructs the motion of the electric fluid. Dry\nair prevents the dissipation of an electric atmosphere, the denser\nthe more, as in cold weather. I question whether such an atmosphere\ncan be retained by a body _in vacuo_. A common electrical phial\nrequires a non-electric communication from the wire to every part of\nthe charged glass; otherwise, being dry and clean, and filled with\nair only, it charges slowly, and discharges gradually, by sparks,\nwithout a shock: but, exhausted of air, the communication is so open\nand free between the inserted wire and surface of the glass, that it\ncharges as readily, and shocks as smartly as if filled with water:\nand I doubt not, but that in the experiment you propose, the sparks\nwould not only be near strait _in vacuo_, but strike at a greater\ndistance than in the open air, though perhaps there would not be a\nloud explosion. As soon as I have a little leisure, I will make the\nexperiment, and send you the result.\n\nMy supposition, that the sea might possibly be the grand source\nof lightning, arose from the common observation of its luminous\nappearance in the night, on the least motion; an appearance never\nobserved in fresh water. Then I knew that the electric fluid may be\npumped up out of the earth, by the friction of a glass globe, on\na non-electric cushion; and that, notwithstanding the surprising\nactivity and swiftness of that fluid, and the non-electric\ncommunication between all parts of the cushion and the earth, yet\nquantities would be snatched up by the revolving surface of the\nglobe, thrown on the prime conductor, and dissipated in air. How\nthis was done, and why that subtle active spirit did not immediately\nreturn again from the globe, into some part or other of the cushion,\nand so into the earth, was difficult to conceive; but whether from\nits being opposed by a current setting upwards to the cushion, or\nfrom whatever other cause, that it did not so return was an evident\nfact. Then I considered the separate particles of water as so many\nhard spherules, capable of touching the salt only in points, and\nimagined a particle of salt could therefore no more be wet by a\nparticle of water, than a globe by a cushion; that there might\ntherefore be such a friction between these originally constituent\nparticles of salt and water, as in a sea of globes and cushions; that\neach particle of water on the surface might obtain from the common\nmass, some particles of the universally diffused, much finer, and\nmore subtle electric fluid, and forming to itself an atmosphere of\nthose particles, be repelled from the then generally electrified\nsurface of the sea, and fly away with them into the air. I thought\ntoo, that possibly the great mixture of particles electric _per se_,\nin the ocean water, might, in some degree, impede the swift motion\nand dissipation of the electric fluid, through it to the shores,\n&c.--But having since found, that salt in the water of an electric\nphial does not lessen the shock; and having endeavoured in vain to\nproduce that luminous appearance from a mixture of salt and water\nagitated; and observed, that even the sea-water will not produce it\nafter some hours standing in a bottle; I suspect it to proceed from\nsome principle yet unknown to us (which I would gladly make some\nexperiments to discover, if I lived near the sea) and I grow more\ndoubtful of my former supposition, and more ready to allow weight to\nthat objection (drawn from the activity of the electric fluid, and\nthe readiness of water to conduct) which you have indeed stated with\ngreat strength and clearness.\n\nIn the mean time, before we part with this hypothesis, let us think\nwhat to substitute in its place. I have sometimes queried whether the\nfriction of the air, an electric _per se_, in violent winds, among\ntrees, and against the surface of the earth, might not pump up, as so\nmany glass globes, quantities of the electric fluid, which the rising\nvapours might receive from the air, and retain in the clouds they\nform? on which I should be glad to have your sentiments. An ingenious\nfriend of mine supposes the land-clouds more likely to be electrified\nthan the sea-clouds. I send his letter for your perusal, which please\nto return me.\n\nI have wrote nothing lately on electricity, nor observed any thing\nnew that is material, my time being much taken up with other affairs.\nYesterday I discharged four jars through a fine wire, tied up between\ntwo strips of glass: the wire was in part melted, and the rest broke\ninto small pieces, from half an inch long, to half a quarter of an\ninch. My globe raises the electric fire with greater ease, in much\ngreater quantities, by the means of a wire extended from the cushion,\nto the iron pin of a pump handle behind my house, which communicates\nby the pump spear with the water in the well.\n\nBy this post I send to ****, who is curious in that way, some\nmeteorological observations and conjectures, and desire him to\ncommunicate them to you, as they may afford you some amusement, and\nI know you will look over them with a candid eye. By throwing our\noccasional thoughts on paper, we more readily discover the defects\nof our opinions, or we digest them better and find new arguments to\nsupport them. This I sometimes practise: but such pieces are fit only\nto be seen by friends.\n\n  I am, &c.\n\n  B. FRANKLIN.\n\n\n\n\nFROM J. B. ESQ. OF BOSTON, TO BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, ESQ. AT PHILADELPHIA.\n\n  _Effect of Lightning on Captain Waddel's Compass, and the Dutch\n  Church at New York._\n\n  Read at the Royal Society, June 3, 1756.\n\n\n  _Boston, March 2, 1752._\n\n  SIR,\n\n\nI have received your favour of the 24th of January past, inclosing\nan extract from your letter to Mr. Collinson, and ****'s letter to\nyourself, which I have read with a great deal of pleasure, and am\nmuch obliged to you for. Your extract confirms a correction Mr.\nKinnersley made a few days ago, of a mistake I was under respecting\nthe polarity given to needles by the electrical fire, \"that the end\nwhich receives the fire always points north;\" and, \"that the needle\nbeing situated east and west, will not have a polar direction.\" You\nfind, however, the polarity strongest when the needle is shocked\nlying north and south; weakest when lying east and west; which makes\nit probable that the communicated magnetism is less, as the needle\nvaries from a north and south situation. As to the needle of Captain\nWaddel's compass, if its polarity was reversed by the lightning,\nthe effect of lightning and electricity, in regard of that, seems\ndissimilar; for a magnetic needle in a north and south situation (as\nthe compass needle was) instead of having its power reversed, or even\ndiminished, would have it confirmed or increased by the electric\nfire. But perhaps the lightning communicated to some nails in the\nbinnacle (where the compass is placed) the magnetic virtue, which\nmight disturb the compass.\n\nThis I have heard was the case; if so, the seeming dissimilarity\nvanishes: but this remarkable circumstance (if it took place) I\nshould think would not be omitted in Captain Waddel's account.\n\nI am very much pleased that the explication I sent you, of the\ncrooked direction of lightning, meets with your approbation.\n\nAs to your supposition about the source of lightning, the luminous\nappearance of the sea in the night, and the similitude between the\nfriction of the particles of salt and water, as you considered them\nin their original separate state, and the friction of the globe and\ncushion, very naturally led you to the ocean, as the grand source of\nlightning: but the activity of lightning, or the electric element,\nand the fitness of water to conduct it, together with the experiments\nyou mention of salt and water, seem to make against it, and to\nprepare the way for some other hypothesis. Accordingly you propose\na new one, which is very curious, and not so liable, I think, to\nobjections as the former. But there is not as yet, I believe, a\nsufficient variety of experiments to establish any theory, though\nthis seems the most hopeful of any I have heard of.\n\nThe effect which the discharge of your four glass jars had upon a\nfine wire, tied between two strips of glass, puts me in mind of a\nvery similar one of lightning, that I observed at New-York, October,\n1750, a few days after I left Philadelphia. In company with a number\nof gentlemen, I went to take a view of the city from the Dutch\nchurch steeple, in which is a clock about twenty or twenty-five feet\nbelow the bell. From the clock went a wire through two floors, to\nthe clock-hammer near the bell, the holes in the floor for the wire\nbeing perhaps about a quarter of an inch diameter. We were told, that\nin the spring of 1750, the lightning struck the clock hammer, and\ndescended along the wire to the clock, melting in its way several\nspots of the wire, from three to nine inches long, through one-third\nof its substance, till coming within a few feet of the lower end, it\nmelted the wire quite through, in several places, so that it fell\ndown in several pieces; which spots and pieces we saw. When it got to\nthe end of the wire, it flew off to the hinge of a door, shattered\nthe door, and dissipated. In its passage through the holes of the\nfloors it did not do the least damage, which evidences that wire is a\ngood conductor of lightning (as it is of electricity) provided it be\nsubstantial enough, and might, in this case, had it been continued to\nthe earth, have conducted it without damaging the building.[74]\n\nYour information about your globe's raising the electric fire in\ngreater quantities, by means of a wire extended from the cushion to\nthe earth, will enable me, I hope, to remedy a great inconvenience\nI have been under, to collect the fire with the electrifying glass\nI use, which is fixed in a very dry room, three stories from the\nground. When you send your meteorological observations to ****, I\nhope I shall have the pleasure of seeing them.\n\n  I am, &c.\n\n  J. B.\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[74] The wire mentioned in this account was re-placed by a small\nbrass chain. In the summer of 1763, the lightning again struck that\nsteeple, and from the clock-hammer near the bell, it pursued the\nchain as it had before done the wire, went off to the same hinge,\nand again shattered the same door. In its passage through the same\nholes of the same floors, it did no damage to the floors, nor to the\nbuilding during the whole extent of the chain. But the chain itself\nwas destroyed, being partly scattered about in fragments of two or\nthree links melted and stuck together, and partly blown up or reduced\nto smoke, and dissipated. [See an account of the same effect of\nlightning on a wire at Newbury, p. 311.] The steeple, when repaired,\nwas guarded by an iron conductor, or rod, extending from the foot of\nthe vane-spindle down the outside of the building, into the earth.\nThe newspapers have mentioned, that in 1765, the lightning fell a\nthird time on the same steeple, and was safely conducted by the rod;\nbut the particulars are not come to hand.\n\n\n\n\n  _Proposal of an Experiment to measure the Time taken up by an\n  Electric Spark, in moving through any given Space. By J. A.[75]\n  Esq. of New-York._\n\n  Read at the Royal Society, Dec 26, 1756.\n\n\nIf I remember right, the Royal Society made one experiment to\ndiscover the velocity of the electric fire, by a wire of about four\nmiles in length, supported by silk, and by turning it forwards and\nbackwards in a field, so that the beginning and end of the wire were\nat only the distance of two people, the one holding the Leyden bottle\nand the beginning of the wire, and the other holding the end of the\nwire and touching the ring of the bottle; but by this experiment no\ndiscovery was made, except that the velocity was extremely quick.\n\nAs water is a conductor as well as metals, it is to be considered\nwhether the velocity of the electric fire might not be discovered by\nmeans of water; whether a river, or lake, or sea, may not be made\npart of the circuit through which the electric fire passes? instead\nof the circuit all of wire, as in the above experiment.\n\nWhether in a river, lake, or sea, the electric fire will not\ndissipate and not return to the bottle? or, will it proceed in strait\nlines through the water the shortest courses possible back to the\nbottle?\n\nIf the last, then suppose one brook that falls into Delaware doth\nhead very near to a brook that falls into Schuylkil, and let a wire\nbe stretched and supported as before, from the head of the one brook\nto the head of the other, and let the one end communicate with the\nwater, and let one person stand in the other brook, holding the\nLeyden bottle, and let another person hold that end of the wire not\nin the water, and touch the ring of the bottle.--If the electric fire\nwill go as in the last question, then will it go down the one brook\nto Delaware or Schuylkill, and down one of them to their meeting,\nand up the other and the other brook; the time of its doing this\nmay possibly be observable, and the further upwards the brooks are\nchosen, the more observable it would be.\n\nShould this be not observable, then suppose the two brooks falling\ninto Sasquehana and Delaware, and proceeding as before, the electric\nfire may, by that means, make a circuit round the North Cape of\nVirginia, and go many hundreds of miles, and in doing that, it would\nseem it must take some observable time.\n\nIf still no observable time is found in that experiment, then\nsuppose the brooks falling the one into the Ohio, and the other into\nSasquehana, or Potomack, in that the electric fire would have a\ncircuit of some thousands of miles to go down Ohio to Mississippi,\nto the Bay of Mexico, round Florida, and round the South Cape of\nVirginia; which, I think, would give some observable time, and\ndiscover exactly the velocity.\n\nBut if the electric fire dissipates, or weakens in the water, as I\nfear it does, these experiments will not answer.\n\n\n  _Answer to the foregoing_.\n\n  Read at the Royal Society, Dec. 25, 1756.\n\nSuppose a tube of any length open at both ends, and containing a\nmoveable wire of just the same length, that fills its bore. If I\nattempt to introduce the end of another wire into the same tube, it\nmust be done by pushing forward the wire it already contains; and the\ninstant I press and move one end of that wire, the other end is also\nmoved; and in introducing one inch of the same wire, I extrude, at\nthe same time, an inch of the first, from the other end of the tube.\n\nIf the tube be filled with water, and I inject an additional inch of\nwater at one end, I force out an equal quantity at the other, in the\nvery same instant.\n\nAnd the water forced out at one end of the tube is not the very same\nwater that was forced in at the other end at the same time, it was\nonly in motion at the same time.\n\nThe long wire, made use of in the experiment to discover the velocity\nof the electric fluid, is itself filled with what we call its natural\nquantity of that fluid, before the hook of the Leyden bottle is\napplied to one end of it.\n\nThe outside of the bottle being at the time of such application\nin contact with the other end of the wire, the whole quantity of\nelectric fluid contained in the wire is, probably, put in motion at\nonce.\n\nFor at the instant the hook, connected with the inside of the bottle,\n_gives out_; the coating, or outside of the bottle, _draws in_ a\nportion of that fluid.\n\nIf such long wire contains precisely the quantity that the outside\nof the bottle demands, the whole will move out of the wire to the\noutside of the bottle, and the over quantity which the inside of the\nbottle contained, being exactly equal, will flow into the wire, and\nremain there, in the place of the quantity the wire had just parted\nwith to the outside of the bottle.\n\nBut if the wire be so long as that one-tenth (suppose) of its natural\nquantity is sufficient to supply what the outside of the bottle\ndemands, in such case the outside will only receive what is contained\nin one-tenth of the wire's length, from the end next to it; though\nthe whole will move so as to make room at the other end for an equal\nquantity issuing, at the same time, from the inside of the bottle.\n\nSo that this experiment only shews the extreme facility with which\nthe electric fluid moves in metal; it can never determine the\nvelocity.\n\nAnd, therefore, the proposed experiment (though well imagined, and\nvery ingenious) of sending the spark round through a vast length of\nspace, by the waters of Susquehannah, or Potowmack, and Ohio, would\nnot afford the satisfaction desired, though we could be sure that the\nmotion of the electric fluid would be in that tract, and not under\nground in the wet earth by the shortest way.\n\n  B. FRANKLIN.\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[75] James Alexander. _Editor._\n\n\n\n\nFROM MR. KINNERSLEY TO B. FRANKLIN, ESQ.\n\n  _Experiments on boiling Water, and Glass heated by boiling\n  Water.--Doctrine of Repulsion in electrised Bodies\n  doubted.--Electricity of the Atmosphere at different\n  Heights.--Electrical Horse-race.--Electrical Thermometer.--In\n  what Cases the electrical Fire produces Heat.--Wire lengthened by\n  Electricity.--Good Effect of a Rod on the House of Mr. West, of\n  Philadelphia._\n\n\n  _Philadelphia, March 12, 1761._\n\n  SIR,\n\nHaving lately made the following experiments, I very chearfully\ncommunicate them, in hopes of giving you some degree of pleasure,\nand exciting you to further explore your favorite, but not quite\nexhausted subject, _electricity_.\n\nI placed myself on an electric stand, and, being well electrised,\nthrew my hat to an unelectrised person, at a considerable distance,\non another stand, and found that the hat carried some of the\nelectricity with it; for, upon going immediately to the person who\nreceived it, and holding a flaxen thread near him, I perceived he was\nelectrised sufficiently to attract the thread.\n\nI then suspended, by silk, a broad plate of metal, and electrised\nsome boiling water under it at about four feet distance, expecting\nthat the vapour, which ascended plentifully to the plate, would,\nupon the principle of the foregoing experiment, carry up some of the\nelectricity with it; but was at length fully convinced, by several\nrepeated trials, that it left all its share thereof behind. This I\nknow not how to account for; but does it not seem to corroborate your\nhypothesis, That the vapours of which the clouds are formed, leave\ntheir share of electricity behind, in the common stock, and ascend in\nthe negative state?\n\nI put boiling water into a coated Florence flask, and found that\nthe heat so enlarged the pores of the glass, that it could not\nbe charged. The electricity passed through as readily, to all\nappearance, as through metal; the charge of a three-pint bottle\nwent freely through, without injuring the flask in the least. When\nit became almost cold, I could charge it as usual. Would not this\nexperiment convince the Abb\u00e9 Nollet of his egregious mistake? For\nwhile the electricity went fairly through the glass, as he contends\nit always does, the glass could not be charged at all.\n\nI took a slender piece of cedar, about eighteen inches long, fixed\na brass cap in the middle, thrust a pin horizontally and at right\nangles, through each end (the points in contrary directions) and hung\nit, nicely balanced, like the needle of a compass, on a pin, about\nsix inches long, fixed in the centre of an electric stand. Then,\nelectrising the stand, I had the pleasure of seeing what I expected;\nthe wooden needle turned round, carrying the pins with their heads\nforemost. I then electrised the stand negatively, expecting the\nneedle to turn the contrary way, but was extremely disappointed, for\nit went still the same way as before. When the stand was electrised\npositively, I suppose that the natural quantity of electricity in\nthe air being increased on one side, by what issued from the points,\nthe needle was attracted by the lesser quantity on the other side.\nWhen electrised negatively, I suppose that the natural quantity of\nelectricity in the air was diminished near the points; in consequence\nwhereof, the equilibrium being destroyed, the needle was attracted by\nthe greater quantity on the opposite side.\n\nThe doctrine of repulsion, in electrised bodies, I begin to be\nsomewhat doubtful of. I think all the phenomena on which it is\nfounded, may be well enough accounted for without it. Will not cork\nballs, electrised negatively, separate as far as when electrised\npositively? And may not their separation in both cases be accounted\nfor upon the same principle, namely, the mutual attraction of the\nnatural quantity in the air, and that which is denser or rarer in the\ncork balls? it being one of the established laws of this fluid, that\nquantities of different densities shall mutually attract each other,\nin order to restore the equilibrium.\n\nI can see no reason to conclude that the air has not its share of\nthe common stock of electricity, as well as glass, and perhaps, all\nother electrics _per se_. For though the air will admit bodies to\nbe electrised in it either positively or negatively, and will not\nreadily carry off the redundancy in the one case, or supply the\ndeficiency in the other, yet let a person in the negative state,\nout of doors in the dark, when the air is dry, hold, with his arm\nextended, a long sharp needle, pointing upwards, and he will soon\nbe convinced that electricity may be drawn out of the air; not\nvery plentifully, for, being a bad conductor, it seems loth to part\nwith it, but yet some will evidently be collected. The air near the\nperson's body, having less than its natural quantity, will have\nnone to spare; but, his arm being extended, as above, some will be\ncollected from the remoter air, and will appear luminous, as it\nconverges to the point of the needle.\n\nLet a person electrised negatively present the point of a needle,\nhorizontally, to a cork ball, suspended by silk, and the ball will be\nattracted towards the point, till it has parted with so much of its\nnatural quantity of electricity as to be in the negative state in the\nsame degree with the person who holds the needle; then it will recede\nfrom the point, being, as I suppose, attracted the contrary way by\nthe electricity of greater density in the air behind it. But, as this\nopinion seems to deviate from electrical orthodoxy, I should be glad\nto see these phenomena better accounted for by your superior and more\npenetrating genius.\n\nWhether the electricity in the air, in clear dry weather, be of the\nsame density at the height of two or three hundred yards, as near\nthe surface of the earth, may be satisfactorily determined by your\nold experiment of the kite. The twine should have throughout a very\nsmall wire in it, and the ends of the wire, where the several lengths\nare united, ought to be tied down with a waxed thread, to prevent\ntheir acting in the manner of points. I have tried the experiment\ntwice, when the air was as dry as we ever have it, and so clear that\nnot a cloud could be seen, and found the twine each time in a small\ndegree electrised positively. The kite had three metalline points\nfixed to it: one on the top, and one on each side. That the twine\nwas electrised, appeared by the separating of two small cork balls,\nsuspended on the twine by fine flaxen threads, just above where the\nsilk was tied to it, and sheltered from the wind. That the twine\nwas electrised positively, was proved, by applying to it the wire\nof a charged bottle, which caused the balls to separate further,\nwithout first coming nearer together. This experiment showed, that\nthe electricity in the air, at those times, was denser above than\nbelow. But that cannot be always the case; for you know we have\nfrequently found the thunder-clouds in the negative state, attracting\nelectricity from the earth; which state, it is probable, they are\nalways in when first formed, and till they have received a sufficient\nsupply. How they come afterwards, towards the latter end of the\ngust, to be in the positive state, which is sometimes the case, is a\nsubject for further enquiry.\n\nAfter the above experiments with the wooden needle, I formed a cross,\nof two pieces of wood, of equal length, intersecting each other at\nright angles in the middle, hung it horizontally upon a central\npin, and set a light horse with his rider, upon each extremity;\nwhereupon, the whole being nicely balanced, and each courser urged on\nby an electrised point of a pair of spurs, I was entertained with an\nelectrical horse-race.\n\nI have contrived an electrical air thermometer, and made several\nexperiments with it, that have afforded me much satisfaction and\npleasure. It is extremely sensible of any alteration in the state\nof the included air, and fully determines that controverted point,\nWhether there be any heat in the electric fire? By the enclosed\ndraught, and the following description, you will readily apprehend\nthe construction of it. (See Plate II.)\n\nA B is a glass tube, about eleven inches long, and one inch diameter\nin the bore. It has a brass ferrule cemented on each end, with a top\nand bottom part, C and D, to be screwed on, air-tight, and taken off\nat pleasure. In the centre of the bottom part D, is a male screw,\nwhich goes into a brass nut, in the mahogany pedestal E. The wires\nF and G are for the electric fire to pass through, darting from one\nto the other. The wire G extends through the pedestal to H, and may\nbe raised and lowered by means of a male screw on it. The wire F may\nbe taken out, and the hook I be screwed into its place. K is a glass\ntube, with a small bore, open at both ends, cemented in the brass\ntube L which screws into the top part C. The lower end of the tube\nK is immersed in water, coloured with cochineal, at the bottom of\nthe tube A B. (I used, at first, coloured spirits of wine, but in\none experiment I made, it took fire.) On the top of the tube K is\ncemented, for ornament, a brass ferrule, with a head screwed on it,\nwhich has a small air-hole through its side, at _a_. The wire _b_,\nis a small round spring, that embraces the tube K, so as to stay\nwherever it is placed. The weight M is to keep strait whatever may be\nsuspended in the tube A B, on the hook I. Air must be blown through\nthe tube K, into the tube A B, till enough is intruded to raise, by\nits elastic force, a column of the coloured water in the tube K, up\nto _c_, or thereabouts; and then, the gage-wire _b_, being slipt down\nto the top of the column, the thermometer is ready for use.\n\n[Illustration: (of the experiment below)\n\n  _Plate II._        _Vol. I. page 336._\n\n_Published as the Act directs, April 1, 1806, by Longman, Hurst, Rees\n& Orme, Paternoster Row._]\n\nI set the thermometer on an electric stand, with the chain N fixed\nto the prime conductor, and kept it well electrised a considerable\ntime; but this produced no sensible effect; which shews, that the\nelectric fire, when in a state of rest, has no more heat than the\nair, and other matter wherein it resides.\n\nWhen the wires F and G are in contact, a large charge of electricity\nsent through them, even that of my case of five and thirty bottles,\ncontaining above thirty square feet of coated glass, will produce no\nrarefaction of the air included in the tube A B; which shows that the\nwires are not heated by the fire's passing through them.\n\nWhen the wires are about two inches apart, the charge of a three\npint bottle, darting from one to the other, rarefies the air very\nevidently; which shows, I think, that the electric fire must produce\nheat in itself, as well as in the air, by its rapid motion.\n\nThe charge of one of my glass jars (which will contain about five\ngallons and a half, wine measure) darting from wire to wire, will,\nby the disturbance it gives the air, repelling it in all directions,\nraise the column in the tube K, up to _d_, or thereabouts; and\nthe charge of the above-mentioned case of bottles will raise it\nto the top of the tube. Upon the air's coalescing, the column, by\nits gravity, instantly subsides, till it is in equilibrio with the\nrarefied air; it then gradually descends as the air cools, and\nsettles where it stood before. By carefully observing at what height\nabove the gage-wire _b_, the descending column first stops, the\ndegree of rarefaction is discovered, which, in great explosions, is\nvery considerable.\n\nI hung in the thermometer, successively, a strip of wet writing\npaper, a wet flaxen and woollen thread, a blade of green grass, a\nfilament of green wood, a fine silver thread, a very small brass\nwire, and a strip of gilt paper; and found that the charge of the\nabove-mentioned glass jar, passing through each of these, especially\nthe last, produced heat enough to rarefy the air very perceptibly.\n\nI then suspended, out of the thermometer, a piece of small\nharpsichord wire, about twenty-four inches long, with a pound\nweight at the lower end, and sent the charge of the case of five\nand thirty bottles through it, whereby I discovered a new method of\nwire-drawing. The wire was red hot the whole length, well annealed,\nand above an inch longer than before. A second charge melted it;\nit parted near the middle, and measured, when the ends were put\ntogether, four inches longer than at first. This experiment, I\nremember, you proposed to me before you left Philadelphia; but I\nnever tried it till now. That I might have no doubt of the wire's\nbeing _hot_ as well as red, I repeated the experiment on another\npiece of the same wire, encompassed with a goose-quill, filled with\nloose grains of gun-powder; which took fire as readily as if it had\nbeen touched with a red hot poker. Also tinder, tied to another piece\nof the wire, kindled by it. I tried a wire about three times as big,\nbut could produce no such effects with that.\n\nHence it appears that the electric fire, though it has no sensible\nheat when in a state of rest, will, by its violent motion, and the\nresistance it meets with, produce heat in other bodies when passing\nthrough them, provided they be small enough. A large quantity will\npass through a large wire, without producing any sensible heat;\nwhen the same quantity passing through a very small one, being\nthere confined to a narrower passage, the particles crowding closer\ntogether, and meeting with greater resistance, will make it red hot,\nand even melt it.\n\nHence lightning does not melt metal by a cold fusion, as we formerly\nsupposed; but, when it passes through the blade of a sword, if the\nquantity be not very great, it may heat the point so as to melt it,\nwhile the broadest and thickest part may not be sensibly warmer than\nbefore.\n\nAnd when trees or houses are set on fire by the dreadful quantity\nwhich a cloud, or the earth, sometimes discharges, must not the heat,\nby which the wood is first kindled, be generated by the lightning's\nviolent motion, through the resisting combustible matter?\n\nIf lightning, by its rapid motion, produces heat in _itself_; as\nwell as in other bodies (and that it does I think is evident from\nsome of the foregoing experiments made with the thermometer) then\nits sometimes singeing the hair of animals killed by it, may easily\nbe accounted for. And the reason of its not always doing so, may,\nperhaps, be this: The quantity, though sufficient to kill a large\nanimal, may sometimes not be great enough, or not have met with\nresistance enough, to become, by its motion, burning hot.\n\nWe find that dwelling-houses, struck with lightning, are seldom set\non fire by it; but when it passes through barns, with hay or straw in\nthem, or store-houses, containing large quantities of hemp, or such\nlike matter, they seldom, if ever, escape a conflagration; which may,\nperhaps, be owing to such combustibles being apt to kindle with a\nless degree of heat than is necessary to kindle wood.\n\nWe had four houses in this city, and a vessel at one of the wharfs,\nstruck and damaged by lightning last summer. One of the houses was\nstruck twice in the same storm. But I have the pleasure to inform\nyou, that your method of preventing such terrible disasters, has, by\na fact which had like to have escaped our knowledge, given a very\nconvincing proof of its great utility; and is now in higher repute\nwith us than ever.\n\nHearing, a few days ago, that Mr. William West, merchant in this\ncity, suspected that the lightning in one of the thunder-storms last\nsummer had passed through the iron conductor, which he had provided\nfor the security of his house; I waited on him, to enquire what\nground he might have for such suspicion. Mr. West informed me, that\nhis family and neighbours were all stunned with a very terrible\nexplosion, and that the flash and crack were seen and heard at the\nsame instant. Whence he concluded, that the lightning must have been\nvery near, and, as no house in the neighbourhood had suffered by it,\nthat it must have passed through his conductor. Mr. White, his clerk,\ntold me that he was sitting, at the time, by a window, about two\nfeet distant from the conductor, leaning against the brick wall with\nwhich it was in contact; and that he felt a smart sensation, like an\nelectric shock, in that part of his body which touched the wall. Mr.\nWest further informed me, that a person of undoubted veracity assured\nhim, that, being in the door of an opposite house, on the other side\nof Water-street (which you know is but narrow) he saw the lightning\ndiffused over the pavement, which was then very wet with rain, to\nthe distance of two or three yards from the foot of the conductor;\nand that another person of very good credit told him, that he being\na few doors off on the other side of the street, saw the lightning\nabove, darting in such direction that it appeared to him to be\ndirectly over that pointed rod.\n\nUpon receiving this information, and being desirous of further\nsatisfaction, there being no traces of the lightning to be discovered\nin the conductor, as far as we could examine it below, I proposed to\nMr. West our going to the top of the house, to examine the pointed\nrod, assuring him, that if the lightning had passed through it, the\npoint must have been melted; and, to our great satisfaction, we found\nit so. This iron rod extended in height about nine feet and a half\nabove a stack of chimneys to which it was fixed (though I suppose\nthree or four feet would have been sufficient.) It was somewhat more\nthan half an inch diameter in the thickest part, and tapering to the\nupper end. The conductor, from the lower end of it to the earth,\nconsisted of square iron nail-rods, not much above a quarter of an\ninch thick, connected together by interlinking joints. It extended\ndown the cedar roof to the eaves, and from thence down the wall of\nthe house, four story and a half, to the pavement in Water-street,\nbeing fastened to the wall, in several places, by small iron hooks.\nThe lower end was fixed to a ring, in the top of an iron stake that\nwas drove about four or five feet into the ground.\n\nThe above-mentioned iron rod had a hole in the top of it, about two\ninches deep, wherein was inserted a brass wire, about two lines\nthick, and, when first put there, about ten inches long, terminating\nin a very acute point; but now its whole length was no more than\nseven inches and a half, and the top very blunt. Some of the metal\nappears to be missing, the slenderest part of the wire being, as I\nsuspect, consumed into smoke. But some of it, where the wire was a\nlittle thicker, being only melted by the lightning, sunk down, while\nin a fluid state, and formed a rough irregular cap, lower on one side\nthan the other, round the upper end of what remained, and became\nintimately united therewith.\n\nThis was all the damage that Mr. West sustained by a terrible stroke\nof lightning;--a most convincing proof of the great utility of this\nmethod of preventing its dreadful effects. Surely it will now be\nthought as expedient to provide conductors for the lightning, as for\nthe rain.\n\nMr. West was so good as to make me a present of the melted wire,\nwhich I keep as a great curiosity, and long for the pleasure of\nshewing it to you. In the mean time, I beg your acceptance of the\nbest representation I can give of it, which you will find by the side\nof the thermometer, drawn in its full dimensions as it now appears.\nThe dotted lines above are intended to shew the form of the wire\nbefore the lightning melted it.\n\nAnd now, Sir, I most heartily congratulate you on the pleasure you\nmust have in finding your great and well-grounded expectations so far\nfulfilled. May this method of security from the destructive violence\nof one of the most awful powers of nature, meet with such further\nsuccess, as to induce every good and grateful heart to bless God for\nthe important discovery! May the benefit thereof be diffused over the\nwhole globe! May it extend to the latest posterity of mankind, and\nmake the name of FRANKLIN, like that of NEWTON, _immortal_.\n\n  I am, Sir, with sincere respect,\n\n  Your most obedient and most humble servant,\n\n  EBEN. KINNERSLEY.\n\n\n\n\nTO MR. KINNERSLEY.\n\n  _Answer to some of the foregoing Subjects.--How long the Leyden\n  Bottle may be kept charged.--Heated Glass rendered permeable by the\n  electric Fluid.--Electrical Attraction and Repulsion.--Reply to\n  other Subjects in the preceding Paper.--Numerous Ways of kindling\n  Fire.--Explosion of Water.--Knobs and Points._\n\n\n  _London, Feb. 20, 1762._\n\n  SIR,\n\nI received your ingenious letter of the 12th of March last, and thank\nyou cordially for the account you give me of the new experiments you\nhave lately made in electricity.--It is a subject that still affords\nme pleasure, though of late I have not much attended to it.\n\nYour second experiment, in which you attempted, without success, to\ncommunicate positive electricity by vapour ascending from electrised\nwater, reminds me of one I formerly made, to try if negative\nelectricity might be produced by evaporation only. I placed a large\nheated brass plate, containing four or five square feet on an\nelectric stand; a rod of metal, about four feet long, with a bullet\nat its end, extended from the plate horizontally. A light lock of\ncotton, suspended a fine thread from the cieling, hung opposite to,\nand within an inch of the bullet. I then sprinkled the heated plate\nwith water, which arose fast from it in vapour. If vapour should be\ndisposed to carry off the electrical, as it does the common fire from\nbodies, I expected the plate would, by losing some of its natural\nquantity, become negatively electrised. But I could not perceive, by\nany motion in the cotton, that it was at all affected: nor by any\nseparation of small cork-balls suspended from the plate, could it be\nobserved that the plate was in any manner electrified.\n\nMr. Canton here has also found, that two tea-cups, set on electric\nstands, and filled, one with boiling, the other with cold water,\nand equally electrified, continued equally so, notwithstanding the\nplentiful evaporation from the hot water. Your experiment and his\nagreeing, show another remarkable difference between electric and\ncommon fire. For the latter quits most readily the body that contains\nit, where water, or any other fluid, is evaporating from the surface\nof that body, and escapes with the vapour. Hence the method, long in\nuse in the east, of cooling liquors, by wrapping the bottles round\nwith a wet cloth, and exposing them to the wind. Dr. Cullen, of\nEdinburgh, has given some experiments of cooling by evaporation; and\nI was present at one made by Dr. Hadley, then professor of chemistry\nat Cambridge, when, by repeatedly wetting the ball of a thermometer\nwith spirit, and quickening the evaporation by the blast of a\nbellows, the mercury fell from 65, the state of warmth in the common\nair, to 7, which is 22 degrees below freezing; and, accordingly,\nfrom some water mixed with the spirit, or from the breath of the\nassistants, or both, ice gathered in small spicula round the ball,\nto the thickness of near a quarter of an inch. To such a degree did\nthe mercury lose the fire it before contained, which, as I imagine,\ntook the opportunity of escaping, in company with the evaporating\nparticles of the spirit, by adhering to those particles.\n\nYour experiment of the Florence flask, and boiling water, is very\ncurious. I have repeated it, and found it to succeed as you describe\nit, in two flasks out of three. The third would not charge when\nfilled with either hot or cold water. I repeated it, because I\nremembered I had once attempted to make an electric bottle of a\nFlorence flask, filled with cold water, but could not charge it at\nall; which I then imputed to some imperceptible cracks in the small,\nextremely thin bubbles, of which that glass is full, and I concluded\nnone of that kind would do. But you have shown me my mistake.--Mr.\nWilson had formerly acquainted us, that red hot glass would conduct\nelectricity; but that so small a degree of heat, as that communicated\nby boiling water, would so open the pores of extremely thin glass, as\nto suffer the electric fluid freely to pass, was not before known.\nSome experiments similar to yours, have, however, been made here,\nbefore the receipt of your letter, of which I shall now give you an\naccount.\n\nI formerly had an opinion that a Leyden bottle, charged and then\nsealed hermetically, might retain its electricity for ever; but\nhaving afterwards some suspicion that possibly that subtle fluid\nmight, by slow imperceptible degrees, soak through the glass, and in\ntime escape, I requested some of my friends, who had conveniences for\ndoing it, to make trial, whether, after some months, the charge of a\nbottle so sealed would be sensibly diminished. Being at Birmingham,\nin September, 1760, Mr. Bolton of that place opened a bottle that\nhad been charged, and its long tube neck hermetically sealed in\nthe January preceding. On breaking off the end of the neck, and\nintroducing a wire into it, we found it possessed of a considerable\nquantity of electricity, which was discharged by a snap and spark.\nThis bottle had lain near seven months on a shelf, in a closet, in\ncontact with bodies that would undoubtedly have carried off all its\nelectricity, if it could have come readily through the glass. Yet\nas the quantity manifested by the discharge was not apparently so\ngreat as might have been expected from a bottle of that size well\ncharged, some doubt remained whether part had escaped while the neck\nwas sealing, or had since, by degrees, soaked through the glass. But\nan experiment of Mr. Canton's, in which such a bottle was kept under\nwater a week, without having its electricity in the least impaired,\nseems to show, that when the glass is cold, though extremely thin,\nthe electric fluid is well retained by it. As that ingenious and\naccurate experimenter made a discovery, like yours, of the effect\nof heat in rendering thin glass permeable by that fluid, it is but\ndoing him justice to give you his account of it, in his own words,\nextracted from his letter to me, in which he communicated it, dated\nOct. 31, 1760, _viz_.\n\n\"Having procured some thin glass balls, of about an inch and a\nhalf in diameter, with stems, or tubes, of eight or nine inches in\nlength, I electrified them, some positively on the inside, and others\nnegatively, after the manner of charging the Leyden bottle, and\nsealed them hermetically. Soon after I applied the naked balls to my\nelectrometer, and could not discover the least sign of their being\nelectrical, but holding them, before the fire, at the distance of\nsix or eight inches, they became strongly electrical in a very short\ntime, and more so when they were cooling. These balls will, every\ntime they are heated, give the electrical fluid to, or take it from\nother bodies, according to the _plus_ or _minus_ state of it within\nthem. Heating them frequently, I find will sensibly diminish their\npower; but keeping one of them under water a week did not appear\nin the least degree to impair it. That which I kept under water,\nwas charged on the 22d of September last, was several times heated\nbefore it was kept in water, and has been heated frequently since,\nand yet it still retains its virtue to a very considerable degree.\nThe breaking two of my balls accidentally gave me an opportunity of\nmeasuring their thickness, which I found to be between seven and\neight parts in a thousand of an inch.\n\nA down feather, in a thin glass ball, hermetically sealed, will not\nbe affected by the application of an excited tube, or the wire of a\ncharged phial, unless the ball be considerably heated; and if a glass\npane be heated till it begins to grow soft, and in that state be held\nbetween the wire of a charged phial, and the discharging wire, the\ncourse of the electrical fluid will not be through the glass, but on\nthe surface, round by the edge of it.\"\n\nBy this last experiment of Mr. Canton's, it appears, that though by\na moderate heat, thin glass becomes, in some degree, a conductor of\nelectricity, yet, when of the thickness of a common pane, it is not,\nthough in a state near melting, so good a conductor as to pass the\nshock of a discharged bottle. There are other conductors which suffer\nthe electric fluid to pass through them gradually, and yet will not\nconduct a shock. For instance, a quire of paper will conduct through\nits whole length, so as to electrify a person, who, standing on wax,\npresents the paper to an electrified prime conductor; but it will\nnot conduct a shock even through its thickness only; hence the shock\neither fails, or passes by rending a hole in the paper. Thus a sieve\nwill pass water gradually, but a stream from a fire engine would\neither be stopped by it, or tear a hole through it.\n\nIt should seem, that to make glass permeable to the electric fluid,\nthe heat should be proportioned to the thickness. You found the heat\nof boiling water, which is but 210, sufficient to render the extreme\nthin glass in a Florence flask permeable even to a shock.--Lord\nCharles Cavendish, by a very ingenious experiment, has found the heat\nof 400 requisite to render thicker glass permeable to the common\ncurrent.\n\n\"A glass tube, (See _Plate_ III.) of which the part C B was solid,\nhad wire thrust in each end, reaching to B and C.\n\n\"A small wire was tied on at D, reaching to the floor, in order to\ncarry off any electricity that might run along upon the tube.\n\n\"The bent part was placed in an iron pot, filled with iron filings;\na thermometer was also put into the filings; a lamp was placed under\nthe pot; and the whole was supported upon glass.\n\n\"The wire A being electrified by a machine, before the heat was\napplied, the corks at E separated, at first upon the principle of the\nLeyden phial.\n\n\"But after the part C B of the tube was heated to 600, the corks\ncontinued to separate, though you discharged the electricity by\ntouching the wire at E, the electrical machine continuing in motion.\n\n\"Upon letting the whole cool, the effect remained till the\nthermometer was sunk to 400.\"\n\n[Illustration: (of the experiment above)\n\n  _Plate III._        _Vol. I. page 348._\n]\n\nIt were to be wished, that this noble philosopher would communicate\nmore of his experiments to the world, as he makes many, and with\ngreat accuracy.\n\nYou know I have always looked upon and mentioned the equal repulsion\nin cases of positive and of negative electricity, as a phenomenon\ndifficult to be explained. I have sometimes, too, been inclined,\nwith you, to resolve all into attraction; but besides that\nattraction seems in itself as unintelligible as repulsion, there are\nsome appearances of repulsion that I cannot so easily explain by\nattraction; this for one instance. When the pair of cork balls are\nsuspended by flaxen threads, from the end of the prime conductor,\nif you bring a rubbed glass tube near the conductor, but without\ntouching it, you see the balls separate, as being electrified\npositively; and yet you have communicated no electricity to the\nconductor, for, if you had, it would have remained there, after\nwithdrawing the tube; but the closing of the balls immediately\nthereupon, shows that the conductor has no more left in it than its\nnatural quantity. Then again approaching the conductor with the\nrubbed tube, if, while the balls are separated, you touch with a\nfinger that end of the conductor to which they hang, they will come\ntogether again, as being, with that part of the conductor, brought\nto the same state with your finger, _i. e._ the natural state. But\nthe other end of the conductor, near which the tube is held, is not\nin that state, but in the negative state, as appears on removing the\ntube; for then part of the natural quantity left at the end near\nthe balls, leaving that end to supply what is wanting at the other,\nthe whole conductor is found to be equally in the negative state.\nDoes not this indicate that the electricity of the rubbed tube had\nrepelled the electric fluid, which was diffused in the conductor\nwhile in its natural state, and forced it to quit the end to which\nthe tube was brought near, accumulating itself on the end to which\nthe balls were suspended? I own I find it difficult to account for\nits quitting that end, on the approach of the rubbed tube, but on the\nsupposition of repulsion; for, while the conductor was in the same\nstate with the air, _i. e._ the natural state, it does not seem to\nme easy to suppose, that an attraction should suddenly take place\nbetween the air and the natural quantity of the electric fluid in the\nconductor, so as to draw it to, and accumulate it on the end opposite\nto that approached by the tube; since bodies, possessing only their\nnatural quantity of that fluid, are not usually seen to attract each\nother, or to affect mutually the quantities of electricity each\ncontains.\n\nThere are likewise appearances of repulsion in other parts of nature.\nNot to mention the violent force with which the particles of water,\nheated to a certain degree, separate from each other, or those of\ngunpowder, when touched with the smallest spark of fire, there is\nthe seeming repulsion between the same poles of the magnet, a body\ncontaining a subtle moveable fluid in many respects analagous to the\nelectric fluid. If two magnets are so suspended by strings, as that\ntheir poles of the same denomination are opposite to each other, they\nwill separate, and continue so; or if you lay a magnetic steel bar\non a smooth table, and approach it with another parallel to it, the\npoles of both in the same position, the first will recede from the\nsecond, so as to avoid the contact, and may thus be pushed (or at\nleast appear to be pushed) off the table. Can this be ascribed to the\nattraction of any surrounding body or matter drawing them asunder,\nor drawing the one away from the other? If not, and repulsion exists\nin nature, and in magnetism, why may it not exist in electricity? We\nshould not, indeed, multiply causes in philosophy without necessity;\nand the greater simplicity of your hypothesis would recommend it to\nme, if I could see that all appearances would be solved by it. But\nI find, or think I find, the two causes more convenient than one of\nthem alone. Thus I might solve the circular motion of your horizontal\nstick, supported on a pivot, with two pins at their ends, pointing\ncontrary ways, and moving in the same direction when electrified,\nwhether positively or negatively: when positively, the air opposite\nto the points being electrised positively, repels the points; when\nnegatively, the air opposite the points being also, by their means,\nelectrised negatively, attraction takes place between the electricity\nin the air behind the heads of the pins, and the negative pins, and\nso they are, in this case, drawn in the same direction that in the\nother they were driven.--You see I am willing to meet you half way,\na complaisance I have not met with in our brother Nollet, or any\nother hypothesis-maker, and therefore may value myself a little upon\nit, especially as they say I have some ability in defending even the\nwrong side of a question, when I think fit to take it in hand.\n\nWhat you give as an established law of the electric fluid, \"That\nquantities of different densities mutually attract each other, in\norder to restore the equilibrium,\" is, I think, not well founded,\nor else not well expressed. Two large cork balls, suspended by\nsilk strings, and both well and equally electrified, separate to a\ngreat distance. By bringing into contact with one of them another\nball of the same size, suspended likewise by silk, you will take\nfrom it half its electricity. It will then, indeed, hang at a less\ndistance from the other, but the full and the half quantities will\nnot appear to attract each other, that is, the balls will not come\ntogether. Indeed, I do not know any proof we have, that one quantity\nof electric fluid is attracted by another quantity of that fluid,\nwhatever difference there may be in their densities. And, supposing\nin nature, a mutual attraction between two parcels of any kind\nof matter, it would be strange if this attraction should subsist\nstrongly while those parcels were unequal, and cease when more matter\nof the same kind was added to the smallest parcel, so as to make it\nequal to the biggest. By all the laws of attraction in matter, that\nwe are acquainted with, the attraction is stronger in proportion to\nthe increase of the masses, and never in proportion to the difference\nof the masses. I should rather think the law would be, \"That the\nelectric fluid is attracted strongly by all other matter that we\nknow of, while the parts of that fluid mutually repel each other.\"\nHence its being equally diffused (except in particular circumstances)\nthroughout all other matter. But this you jokingly call \"electrical\northodoxy.\" It is so with some at present, but not with all; and,\nperhaps, it may not always be orthodoxy with any body. Opinions are\ncontinually varying, where we cannot have mathematical evidence of\nthe nature of things; and they must vary. Nor is that variation\nwithout its use, since it occasions a more thorough discussion,\nwhereby error is often dissipated, true knowledge is encreased, and\nits principles become better understood and more firmly established.\n\nAir should have, as you observe, \"its share of the common stock of\nelectricity, as well as glass, and, perhaps, all other electrics\n_per se_.\" But I suppose, that, like them, it does not easily part\nwith what it has, or receive more, unless when mixed with some\nnon-electric, as moisture for instance, of which there is some in our\ndriest air. This, however, is only a supposition; and your experiment\nof restoring electricity to a negatively electrised person, by\nextending his arm upwards into the air, with a needle between his\nfingers, on the point of which light may be seen in the night, is,\nindeed, a curious one. In this town the air is generally moister than\nwith us, and here I have seen Mr. Canton electrify the air in one\nroom positively, and in another, which communicated by a door, he has\nelectrised the air negatively. The difference was easily discovered\nby his cork balls, as he passed out of one room into another.--Pere\nBeccaria, too, has a pretty experiment, which shows that air may\nbe electrised. Suspending a pair of small light balls, by flaxen\nthreads, to the end of his prime conductor, he turns his globe some\ntime, electrising positively, the balls diverging and continuing\nseparate all the time. Then he presents the point of a needle to\nhis conductor, which gradually drawing off the electric fluid, the\nballs approach each other, and touch, before all is drawn from the\nconductor; opening again as more is drawn off, and separating nearly\nas wide as at first, when the conductor is reduced to the natural\nstate. By this it appears, that when the balls came together, the air\nsurrounding the balls was just as much electrised as the conductor\nat that time; and more than the conductor, when that was reduced to\nits natural state. For the balls, though in the natural state, will\ndiverge, when the air that surrounds them is electrised _plus_ or\n_minus_, as well as when that is in its natural state and they are\nelectrised _plus_ or _minus_ themselves. I foresee that you will\napply this experiment to the support of your hypothesis, and I think\nyou may make a good deal of it.\n\nIt was a curious enquiry of yours, Whether the electricity of the\nair, in clear dry weather, be of the same density at the height of\ntwo or three hundred yards, as near the surface of the earth; and\nI am glad you made the experiment. Upon reflection, it should seem\nprobable, that whether the general state of the atmosphere at any\ntime be positive or negative, that part of it which is next the earth\nwill be nearer the natural state, by having given to the earth in one\ncase, or having received from it in the other. In electrising the\nair of a room, that which is nearest the walls, or floor, is least\naltered. There is only one small ambiguity in the experiment, which\nmay be cleared by more trials; it arises from the supposition that\nbodies may be electrised positively by the friction of air blowing\nstrongly on them, as it does on the kite and its string. If at some\ntimes the electricity appears to be negative, as that friction is the\nsame, the effect must be from a negative state of the upper air.\n\nI am much pleased with your electrical thermometer, and the\nexperiments you have made with it. I formerly satisfied myself by an\nexperiment with my phial and syphon, that the elasticity of the air\nwas not increased by the mere existence of an electric atmosphere\nwithin the phial; but I did not know, till you now inform me, that\nheat may be given to it by an electric explosion. The continuance\nof its rarefaction, for some time after the discharge of your glass\njar and of your case of bottles, seem to make this clear. The\nother experiments on wet paper, wet thread, green grass, and green\nwood, are not so satisfactory; as possibly the reducing part of\nthe moisture to vapour, by the electric fluid passing through it,\nmight occasion some expansion which would be gradually reduced by\nthe condensation of such vapour. The fine silver thread, the very\nsmall brass wire, and the strip of gilt paper, are also subject to a\nsimilar objection, as even metals, in such circumstances, are often\npartly reduced to smoke, particularly the gilding on paper.\n\nBut your subsequent beautiful experiment on the wire, which you made\nhot by the electric explosion, and in that state fired gunpowder\nwith it, puts it out of all question, that heat is produced by our\nartificial electricity, and that the melting of metals in that way,\nis not by what I formerly called a cold fusion. A late instance here,\nof the melting a bell-wire, in a house struck by lightning, and parts\nof the wire burning holes in the floor on which they fell, has proved\nthe same with regard to the electricity of nature. I was too easily\nled into that error by accounts given, even in philosophical books,\nand from remote ages downwards, of melting money in purses, swords\nin scabbards, &c. without burning the inflammable matters that were\nso near those melted metals. But men are, in general, such careless\nobservers, that a philosopher cannot be too much on his guard in\ncrediting their relations of things extraordinary, and should never\nbuild an hypothesis on any thing but clear facts and experiments, or\nit will be in danger of soon falling, as this does, like a house of\ncards.\n\nHow many ways there are of kindling fire, or producing heat in\nbodies! By the sun's rays, by collision, by friction, by hammering,\nby putrefaction, by fermentation, by mixtures of fluids, by mixtures\nof solids with fluids, and by electricity. And yet the fire when\nproduced, though in different bodies it may differ in circumstances,\nas in colour, vehemence, &c. yet in the same bodies is generally the\nsame. Does not this seem to indicate that the fire existed in the\nbody, though in a quiescent state, before it was by any of these\nmeans excited, disengaged, and brought forth to action and to view?\nMay it not constitute a part, and even a principal part, of the\nsolid substance of bodies? If this should be the case, kindling fire\nin a body would be nothing more than developing this inflammable\nprinciple, and setting it at liberty to act in separating the parts\nof that body, which then exhibits the appearances of scorching,\nmelting, burning, &c. When a man lights an hundred candles from the\nflame of one, without diminishing that flame, can it be properly\nsaid to have _communicated_ all that fire? When a single spark from\na flint, applied to a magazine of gunpowder, is immediately attended\nwith this consequence, that the whole is in flame, exploding with\nimmense violence, could all this fire exist first in the spark? We\ncannot conceive it. And thus we seem led to this supposition, that\nthere is fire enough in all bodies to singe, melt, or burn them,\nwhenever it is, by any means, set at liberty, so that it may exert\nitself upon them, or be disengaged from them. This liberty seems to\nbe afforded it by the passage of electricity through them, which\nwe know can and does, of itself, separate the parts even of water;\nand perhaps the immediate appearances of fire are only the effects\nof such separations? If so, there would be no need of supposing that\nthe electric fluid _heats itself_ by the swiftness of its motion, or\nheats bodies by the resistance it meets with in passing through them.\nThey would only be heated in proportion as such separation could be\nmore easily made. Thus a melting heat cannot be given to a large wire\nin the flame of a candle, though it may to a small one; and this not\nbecause the large wire resists _less_ that action of the flame which\ntends to separate its parts, but because it resists it _more_ than\nthe smaller wire; or because the force being divided among more parts\nacts weaker on each.\n\nThis reminds me, however, of a little experiment I have frequently\nmade, that shows, at one operation, the different effects of the same\nquantity of electric fluid passing through different quantities of\nmetal. A strip of tinfoil, three inches long, a quarter of an inch\nwide at one end, and tapering all the way to a sharp point at the\nother, fixed between two pieces of glass, and having the electricity\nof a large glass jar sent through it, will not be discomposed in the\nbroadest part; towards the middle will appear melted in spots; where\nnarrower, it will be quite melted; and about half an inch of it next\nthe point will be reduced to smoke.\n\nYou were not mistaken in supposing that your account of the effect of\nthe pointed rod, in securing Mr. West's house from damage by a stroke\nof lightning, would give me great pleasure. I thank you for it most\nheartily, and for the pains you have taken in giving me so complete a\ndescription of its situation, form, and substance, with the draft of\nthe melted point. There is one circumstance, viz. that the lightning\nwas seen to diffuse itself from the foot of the rod over the wet\npavement, which seems, I think, to indicate, that the earth under\nthe pavement was very dry, and that the rod should have been sunk\ndeeper, till it came to earth moister, and therefore apter to receive\nand dissipate the electric fluid. And although, in this instance,\na conductor formed of nail rods, not much above a quarter of an\ninch thick, served well to convey the lightning, yet some accounts\nI have seen from Carolina, give reason to think, that larger may\nbe sometimes necessary, at least for the security of the conductor\nitself, which, when too small, may be destroyed in executing its\noffice, though it does, at the same time, preserve the house. Indeed,\nin the construction of an instrument so new, and of which we could\nhave so little experience, it is rather lucky that we should at first\nbe so near the truth as we seem to be, and commit so few errors.\n\nThere is another reason for sinking deeper the lower end of the\nrod, and also for turning it outwards under ground to some distance\nfrom the foundation; it is this, that water dripping from the eaves\nfalls near the foundation, and sometimes soaks down there in greater\nquantities, so as to come near the end of the rod, though the ground\nabout it be drier. In such case, this water may be exploded, that is,\nblown into vapour, whereby a force is generated, that may damage the\nfoundation. Water reduced to vapour, is said to occupy 14,000 times\nits former space. I have sent a charge through a small glass tube,\nthat has borne it well while empty, but when filled first with water,\nwas shattered to pieces and driven all about the room:--Finding no\npart of the water on the table, I suspected it to have been reduced\nto vapour; and was confirmed in that suspicion afterwards, when I\nhad filled a like piece of tube with ink, and laid it on a sheet of\nclean paper, whereon, after the explosion, I could find neither any\nmoisture nor any sully from the ink. This experiment of the explosion\nof water, which I believe was first made by that most ingenious\nelectrician, father Beccaria, may account for what we sometimes\nsee in a tree struck by lightning, when part of it is reduced to\nfine splinters like a broom; the sap vessels being so many tubes\ncontaining a watry fluid, which, when reduced to vapour, rends every\ntube lengthways. And perhaps it is this rarefaction of the fluids in\nanimal bodies killed by lightning or electricity, that, by separating\nits fibres, renders the flesh so tender, and apt so much sooner to\nputrify. I think too, that much of the damage done by lightning to\nstone and brick-walls may sometimes be owing to the explosion of\nwater, found, during showers, running or lodging in the joints or\nsmall cavities or cracks that happen to be in the walls.\n\nHere are some electricians that recommend knobs instead of points\non the upper end of the rods, from a supposition that the points\ninvite the stroke. It is true that points draw electricity at greater\ndistances in the gradual silent way; but knobs will draw at the\ngreatest distance a stroke. There is an experiment that will settle\nthis. Take a crooked wire of the thickness of a quill, and of such a\nlength as that one end of it being applied to the lower part of a\ncharged bottle, the upper may be brought near the ball on the top of\nthe wire that is in the bottle. Let one end of this wire be furnished\nwith a knob, and the other may be gradually tapered to a fine point.\nWhen the point is presented to discharge the bottle, it must be\nbrought much nearer before it will receive the stroke, than the\nknob requires to be. Points besides tend to repel the fragments of\nan electrised cloud, knobs draw them nearer. An experiment, which I\nbelieve I have shewn you, of cotton fleece hanging from an electrised\nbody, shows this clearly when a point or a knob is presented under it.\n\nYou seem to think highly of the importance of this discovery, as\ndo many others on our side of the water. Here it is very little\nregarded; so little, that though it is now seven or eight years\nsince it was made public, I have not heard of a single house as\nyet attempted to be secured by it. It is true the mischiefs done\nby lightning are not so frequent here as with us, and those who\ncalculate chances may perhaps find that not one death (or the\ndestruction of one house) in a hundred thousand happens from\nthat cause, and that therefore it is scarce worth while to be at\nany expence to guard against it.--But in all countries there are\nparticular situations of buildings more exposed than others to\nsuch accidents, and there are minds so strongly impressed with the\napprehension of them, as to be very unhappy every time a little\nthunder is within their hearing;--it may therefore be well to render\nthis little piece of new knowledge as general and as well understood\nas possible, since to make us _safe_ is not all its advantage, it is\nsome to make us _easy_. And as the stroke it secures us from might\nhave chanced perhaps but once in our lives, while it may relieve us\na hundred times from those painful apprehensions, the latter may\npossibly on the whole contribute more to the happiness of mankind\nthan the former.\n\nYour kind wishes and congratulations are very obliging. I return them\ncordially;--being, with great regard and esteem,\n\n  My dear Sir,\n\n  Your affectionate friend,\n\n  And most obedient humble servant,\n\n  B. FRANKLIN.\n\n\n\n\n  _Accounts from Carolina (mentioned in the foregoing Letter) of the\n  Effects of Lightning on two of the Rods commonly affixed to Houses\n  there, for securing them against Lightning_.\n\n\n  _Charlestown, Nov. 1, 1760._\n\n\"----It is some years since Mr. Raven's rod was struck by lightning.\nI hear an account of it was published at the time, but I cannot find\nit. According to the best information I can now get, he had fixed to\nthe outside of his chimney a large iron rod, several feet in length,\nreaching above the chimney; and to the top of this rod the points\nwere fixed. From the lower end of this rod, a small brass wire was\ncontinued down to the top of another iron rod driven into the earth.\nOn the ground-floor in the chimney stood a gun, leaning against the\nback-wall, nearly opposite to where the brass wire came down on the\noutside. The lightning fell upon the points, did no damage to the\nrod they were fixed to; but the brass wire, all down till it came\nopposite to the top of the gun-barrel, was destroyed[76]. There\nthe lightning made a hole through the wall or back of the chimney,\nto get to the gun-barrel[77], down which it seems to have passed,\nas, although it did not hurt the barrel, it damaged the butt of\nthe stock, and blew up some bricks of the hearth. The brass wire\nbelow the hole in the wall remained good. No other damage, as I can\nlearn, was done to the house. I am told the same house had formerly\nbeen struck by lightning, and much damaged, before these rods were\ninvented.\"----\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[76] A proof that it was not of sufficient substance to conduct with\nsafety to itself (though with safety _so far_ to the wall) so large a\nquantity of the electric fluid.\n\n[77] A more substantial conductor.\n\n\n\n\n  _Mr. William Maine's Account of the Effects of the Lightning on his\n  Rod, dated at Indian Land, in South Carolina, Aug. 28, 1760._\n\n\n----\"I had a set of electrical points, consisting of three prongs, of\nlarge brass wire tipt with silver, and perfectly sharp, each about\nseven inches long; these were rivetted at equal distances into an\niron nut about three quarters of an inch square, and opened at top\nequally to the distance of six or seven inches from point to point,\nin a regular triangle. This nut was screwed very tight on the top\nof an iron rod of above half an inch diameter, or the thickness of\na common curtain-rod, composed of several joints, annexed by hooks\nturned at the ends of each joint, and the whole fixed to the chimney\nof my house by iron staples. The points were elevated (_a_) six or\nseven inches above the top of the chimney; and the lower joint sunk\nthree feet in the earth, in a perpendicular direction.\n\nThus stood the points on Tuesday last about five in the evening, when\nthe lightning broke with a violent explosion on the chimney, cut\nthe rod square off just under the nut, and I am persuaded, melted\nthe points, nut, and top of the rod, entirely up; as after the most\ndiligent search, nothing of either was found (_b_), and the top\nof the remaining rod was cased over with a congealed solder. The\nlightning ran down the rod, starting almost all the staples (_c_),\nand unhooking the joints without affecting the rod (_d_), except on\nthe inside of each hook where the joints were coupled, the surface of\nwhich was melted (_e_), and left as cased over with solder.--No part\nof the chimney was damaged (_f_), only at the foundation (_g_), where\nit was shattered almost quite round, and several bricks were torn\nout (_h_). Considerable cavities were made in the earth quite round\nthe foundation, but most within eight or nine inches of the rod. It\nalso shattered the bottom weather-board (_i_) at one corner of the\nhouse, and made a large hole in the earth by the corner post. On the\nother side of the chimney, it ploughed up several furrows in the\nearth, some yards in length. It ran down the inside of the chimney\n(_k_), carrying only soot with it; and filled the whole house with\nits flash (_l_), smoke, and dust. It tore up the hearth in several\nplaces (_m_), and broke some pieces of china in the beaufet (_n_). A\ncopper tea-kettle standing in the chimney was beat together, as if\nsome great weight had fallen upon it (_o_); and three holes, each\nabout half an inch diameter, melted through the bottom (_p_). What\nseems to me the most surprising is, that the hearth under the kettle\nwas not hurt, yet the bottom of the kettle was drove inward, as if\nthe lightning proceeded from under it upwards (_q_), and the cover\nwas thrown to the middle of the floor (_r_). The fire dogs, an iron\nlogger-head, an Indian pot, an earthen cup, and a cat, were all in\nthe chimney at the time unhurt, though a great part of the hearth was\ntorn up (_s_). My wife's sister, two children, and a negro wench,\nwere all who happened to be in the house at the time: the first,\nand one child, sat within five feet of the chimney; and were so\nstunned, that they never saw the lightning nor heard the explosion;\nthe wench, with the other child in her arms, sitting at a greater\ndistance, was sensible of both; though every one was so stunned that\nthey did not recover for some time; however it pleased God that no\nfarther mischief ensued. The kitchen, at 90 feet distance, was full\nof negroes, who were all sensible of the shock; and some of them tell\nme, that they felt the rod about a minute after, when it was so hot\nthat they could not bear it in hand.\"\n\n\nREMARKS BY BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.\n\nThe foregoing very sensible and distinct account may afford a good\ndeal of instruction relating to the nature and effects of lightning,\nand to the construction and use of this instrument for averting the\nmischiefs of it. Like other new instruments, this appears to have\nbeen at first in some respects imperfect; and we find that we are, in\nthis as in others, to expect improvement from experience chiefly: but\nthere seems to be nothing in the account, that should discourage us\nin the use of it; since at the same time that its imperfections are\ndiscovered, the means of removing them are pretty easily to be learnt\nfrom the circumstances of the account itself; and its utility upon\nthe whole is manifest.\n\nOne intention of the pointed rod, is, to _prevent_ a stroke of\nlightning. (_See pages_ 283, 310.) But to have a better chance of\nobtaining this end, the points should not be too near to the top\nof the chimney or highest part of the building to which they are\naffixed, but should be extended five or six feet above it; otherwise\ntheir operation in silently drawing off the fire (from such fragments\nof cloud as float in the air between the great body of cloud and\nthe earth) will be prevented. For the experiment with the lock of\ncotton hanging below the electrified prime conductor shows, that a\nfinger under it, being a blunt body, extends the cotton, drawing its\nlower part downwards; when a needle, with its point presented to the\ncotton, makes it fly up again to the prime conductor; and that this\neffect is strongest when as much of the needle as possible appears\nabove the end of the finger; grows weaker as the needle is shortened\nbetween the finger and thumb; and is reduced to nothing when only a\nshort part below the point appears above the finger. Now it seems\nthe points of Mr. Maine's rod were elevated only (_a_) _six or seven\ninches above the top of the chimney_; which, considering the bulk of\nthe chimney and the house, was too small an elevation. For the great\nbody of matter near them would hinder their being easily brought into\na negative state by the repulsive power of the electrised cloud,\nin which negative state it is that they attract most strongly and\ncopiously the electric fluid from other bodies, and convey it into\nthe earth.\n\n(_b_) _Nothing of the points, &c. could be found._ This is a common\neffect. (_See page_ 312.) Where the quantity of the electric fluid\npassing is too great for the conductor through which it passes, the\nmetal is either melted, or reduced to smoke and dissipated; but where\nthe conductor is sufficiently large, the fluid passes in it without\nhurting it. Thus these three wires were destroyed, while the rod to\nwhich they were fixed, being of greater substance, remained unhurt;\nits end only, to which they were joined, being a little melted, some\nof the melted part of the lower ends of those wires uniting with it,\nand appearing on it like solder.\n\n(_c_)(_d_)(_e_) As the several parts of the rod were connected only\nby the ends being bent round into hooks, the contact between hook and\nhook was much smaller than the rod; therefore the current through\nthe metal being confined in those narrow passages, melted part of\nthe metal, as appeared on examining the inside of each hook. Where\nmetal is melted by lightning, some part of it is generally exploded;\nand these explosions in the joints appear to have been the cause of\nunhooking them; and, by that violent action, of starting also most of\nthe staples. We learn from hence, that a rod in one continued piece\nis preferable to one composed of links or parts hooked together.\n\n(_f_) _No part of the chimney was damaged_: because the lightning\npassed in the rod. And this instance agrees with others in showing,\nthat the second and principal intention of the rods is obtainable,\nviz. that of _conducting_ the lightning. In all the instances yet\nknown of the lightning's falling on any house guarded by rods, it\nhas pitched down upon the point of the rod, and has not fallen\nupon any other part of the house. Had the lightning fallen on this\nchimney, unfurnished with a rod, it would probably have rent it\nfrom top to bottom, as we see, by the effects of the lightning on\nthe points and rod, that its quantity was very great; and we know\nthat many chimneys have been so demolished. But _no part of this\nwas damaged, only_ (_f_)(_g_)(_h_) _at the foundation, where it was\nshattered and several bricks torn out_. Here we learn the principal\ndefect in fixing this rod. The lower joint being sunk but three feet\ninto the earth, did not it seems go low enough to come at water,\nor a large body of earth so moist as to receive readily from its\nend the quantity it conducted. The electric fluid therefore, thus\naccumulated near the lower end of the rod, quitted it at the surface\nof the earth, dividing in search of other passages. Part of it tore\nup the surface in furrows, and made holes in it: part entered the\nbricks of the foundation, which being near the earth are generally\nmoist, and, in exploding that moisture, shattered them. (_See page_\n358.) Part went through or under the foundation, and got under the\nhearth, blowing up great part of the bricks (_m_)(_s_), and producing\nthe other effects (_o_)(_p_)(_q_)(_r_). The iron dogs, loggerhead\nand iron pot were not hurt, being of sufficient substance, and they\nprobably protected the cat. The copper tea-kettle being thin suffered\nsome damage. Perhaps, though found on a sound part of the hearth,\nit might at the time of the stroke have stood on the part blown up,\nwhich will account both for the bruising and melting.\n\nThat _it ran down the inside of the chimney_ (_k_) I apprehend\nmust be a mistake. Had it done so, I imagine it would have brought\nsomething more than soot with it; it would probably have ripped off\nthe pargetting, and brought down fragments of plaster and bricks. The\nshake, from the explosion on the rod, was sufficient to shake down a\ngood deal of loose soot. Lightning does not usually enter houses by\nthe doors, windows, or chimneys, as open passages, in the manner that\nair enters them: its nature is, to be attracted by substances, that\nare conductors of electricity; it penetrates and passes _in_ them,\nand, if they are not good conductors as are neither wood, brick,\nstone nor plaster, it is apt to rend them in its passage. It would\nnot easily pass through the air from a cloud to a building, were it\nnot for the aid afforded it in its passage by intervening fragments\nof clouds below the main body, or by the falling rain.\n\nIt is said that _the house was filled with its flash_ (_l_).\nExpressions like this are common in accounts of the effects of\nlightning, from which we are apt to understand that the lightning\nfilled the house. Our language indeed seems to want a word to express\nthe _light_ of lightning as distinct from the lightning itself. When\na tree on a hill is struck by it, the lightning of that stroke exists\nonly in a narrow vein between the cloud and tree, but its light fills\na vast space many miles round; and people at the greatest distance\nfrom it are apt to say, \"The lightning came into our rooms through\nour windows.\" As it is in itself extremely bright, it cannot, when\nso near as to strike a house, fail illuminating highly every room\nin it through the windows; and this I suppose to have been the case\nat Mr. Maine's; and that, except in and near the hearth, from the\ncauses above-mentioned, it was not in any other part of the house;\n_the flash_ meaning no more than _the light_ of the lightning.--It is\nfor want of considering this difference, that people suppose there\nis a kind of lightning not attended with thunder. In fact there is\nprobably a loud explosion accompanying every flash of lightning,\nand at the same instant;--but as sound travels slower than light,\nwe often hear the sound some seconds of time after having seen the\nlight; and as sound does not travel so far as light, we sometimes see\nthe light at a distance too great to hear the sound.\n\n(_n_) The _breaking some pieces of china in the beaufet_, may\nnevertheless seem to indicate that the lightning was there: but as\nthere is no mention of its having hurt any part of the beaufet, or of\nthe walls of the house, I should rather ascribe that effect to the\nconcussion of the air, or shake of the house by the explosion.\n\nThus, to me it appears, that the house and its inhabitants were saved\nby the rod, though the rod itself was unjointed by the stroke; and\nthat, if it had been made of one piece, and sunk deeper in the earth,\nor had entered the earth at a greater distance from the foundation,\nthe mentioned small damages (except the melting of the points) would\nnot have happened.\n\n\n\n\nTO DR. H[78]. AT LONDON.\n\n  _On the Electricity of the Tourmalin._\n\n\n  _Craven-street, June 7, 1759._\n\n  SIR,\n\nI now return the smallest of your two tourmalins, with hearty thanks\nfor your kind present of the other, which, though I value highly for\nits rare and wonderful properties, I shall ever esteem it more for\nthe friendship I am honoured with by the giver.\n\nI hear that the negative electricity of one side of the tourmalin,\nwhen heated, is absolutely denied (and all that has been related of\nit ascribed to prejudice in favour of a system) by some ingenious\ngentlemen abroad, who profess to have made the experiments on the\nstone with care and exactness. The experiments have succeeded\ndifferently with me; yet I would not call the accuracy of those\ngentlemen in question. Possibly the tourmalins they have tried were\nnot properly cut; so that the positive and negative powers were\nobliquely placed, or in some manner whereby their effects were\nconfused, or the negative parts more easily supplied by the positive.\nPerhaps the lapidaries who have hitherto cut these stones, had no\nregard to the situation of the two powers, but chose to make the\nfaces of the stone where they could obtain the greatest breadth,\nor some other advantage in the form. If any of these stones, in\ntheir natural state, can be procured here, I think it would be\nright to endeavour finding, before they are cut, the two sides that\ncontain the opposite powers, and make the faces there. Possibly, in\nthat case, the effects might be stronger, and more distinct; for\nthough both these stones that I have examined have evidently the\ntwo properties, yet, without the full heat given by boiling water,\nthey are somewhat confused; the virtue seems strongest towards one\nend of the face; and in the middle, or near the other end, scarce\ndiscernible; and the negative, I think, always weaker than the\npositive.\n\nI have had the large one new cut, so as to make both sides alike,\nand find the change of form has made no change of power, but the\nproperties of each side remain the same as I found them before. It\nis now set in a ring in such a manner as to turn on an axis, that I\nmay conveniently, in making experiments, come at both side of the\nstone. The little rim of gold it is set in, has made no alteration in\nits effects. The warmth of my finger, when I wear it, is sufficient\nto give it some degree of electricity, so that it is always ready to\nattract light bodies.\n\nThe following experiments have satisfied me that M. \u00c6pinus's account\nof the positive and negative states of the opposite sides of the\nheated tourmalin is well founded.\n\nI heated the large stone in boiling water.\n\nAs soon as it was dry, I brought it near a very small cork ball, that\nwas suspended by a silk thread.\n\nThe ball was attracted by one face of the stone, which I call A, and\nthen repelled.\n\nThe ball in that state was also repelled by the positively charged\nwire of a phial, and attracted by the other side of the stone, B.\n\nThe stone being a-fresh heated, and the side B brought near the ball,\nit was first attracted, and presently after repelled by that side.\n\nIn this second state it was repelled by the negatively charged wire\nof a phial.\n\nTherefore, if the principles now generally received, relating to\npositive and negative electricity, are true, the side A of the large\nstone, when the stone is heated in water, is in a positive state of\nelectricity; and the side B, in a negative state.\n\nThe same experiments being made with the small stone stuck by one\nedge on the end of a small glass tube, with sealing-wax, the same\neffects are produced. The flat side of the small stone gives the\nsigns of positive electricity; the high side gives the signs of\nnegative electricity.\n\n  Again:\n\nI suspended the small stone by a silk thread.\n\nI heated it as it hung, in boiling water.\n\nI heated the large one in boiling water.\n\nThen I brought the large stone near to the suspended small one.\n\nWhich immediately turned its flat side to the side B of the large\nstone, and would cling to it.\n\nI turned the ring, so as to present the side A of the large stone, to\nthe flat side of the small one.\n\nThe flat side was repelled, and the small stone, turning quick,\napplied its high side to the side A of the large one.\n\nThis was precisely what ought to happen, on the supposition that the\nflat side of the small stone, when heated in water, is positive, and\nthe high side negative; the side A of the large stone positive, and\nthe side B negative.\n\nThe effect was apparently the same as would have been produced, if\none magnet had been suspended by a thread, and the different poles of\nanother brought alternately near it.\n\nI find that the face A, of the large stone, being coated with\nleaf-gold (attached by the white of an egg, which will bear dipping\nin hot water) becomes quicker and stronger in its effect on the cork\nball, repelling it the instant it comes in contact; which I suppose\nto be occasioned by the united force of different parts of the face,\ncollected and acting together through the metal.\n\n  I am, &c.\n\n  B. FRANKLIN.\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[78] Dr. Heberden. _Editor._\n\n\n\n\nFROM PROFESSOR WINTHROP, TO B. FRANKLIN.\n\n  _New Observation relating to Electricity in the Atmosphere._\n\n\n  _Cambridge, N. E. Sept. 29, 1762._\n\n  SIR,\n\nThere is an observation relating to electricity in the atmosphere,\nwhich seemed new to me, though perhaps it will not to you: however,\nI will venture to mention it. I have some points on the top of\nmy house, and the wire where it passes within-side the house is\nfurnished with bells, according to your method, to give notice of\nthe passage of the electric fluid. In summer, these bells, generally\nring at the approach of a thunder-cloud; but cease soon after it\nbegins to rain. In winter, they sometimes though not very often, ring\nwhile it is snowing; but never, that I remember, when it rains. But\nwhat was unexpected to me was, that, though the bells had not rung\nwhile it was snowing, yet, the next day, after it had done snowing,\nand the weather was cleared up, while the snow was driven about by\na high wind at W. or N. W. the bells rung for several hours (though\nwith little intermissions) as briskly as ever I knew them, and I drew\nconsiderable sparks from the wire. This phenomenon I never observed\nbut twice; viz. on the 31st of January, 1760, and the 3d of March,\n1762.\n\n  I am, Sir, &c.\n\n\n\n\nFROM MR. A. S[79]. TO B. F.\n\n  _Flash of Lightning that struck St. Bride's Steeple._\n\n\nI have just recollected that in one of our great storms of lightning,\nI saw an appearance, which I never observed before, nor ever heard\ndescribed. I am persuaded that I saw _the_ flash which struck St.\nBride's steeple. Sitting at my window, and looking to the north, I\nsaw what appeared to me a solid strait rod of fire, moving at a very\nsharp angle with the horizon. It appeared to my eye as about two\ninches diameter, and had nothing of the zig-zag lightning motion.\nI instantly told a person sitting with me, that some place must be\nstruck at that instant. I was so much surprized at the vivid distinct\nappearance of the fire, that I did not hear the clap of thunder,\nwhich stunned every one besides. Considering how low it moved, I\ncould not have thought it had gone so far, having St. Martin's, the\nNew Church, and St. Clements's steeples in its way. It struck the\nsteeple a good way from the top, and the first impression it made in\nthe side is in the same direction I saw it move in. It was succeeded\nby two flashes, almost united, moving in a pointed direction.\n\nThere were two distinct houses struck in Essex-street. I should have\nthought the rod would have fallen in Covent-Garden, it was so low.\nPerhaps the appearance is frequent, though never before seen by\n\n  Your's,\n\n  A. S.\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[79] Mr. Alexander Small. _Editor._\n\n\n\n\nTO MR. P. F[80]. NEWPORT.\n\n  _Best Method of securing a Powder Magazine from Lightning._\n\n\n----You may acquaint the gentleman that desired you to enquire\nmy opinion of the best method of securing a powder magazine from\nlightning, that I think they cannot do better than to erect a mast\nnot far from it, which may reach fifteen or twenty feet above the top\nof it, with a thick iron rod in one piece fastened to it, pointed at\nthe highest end, and reaching down through the earth till it comes\nto water. Iron is a cheap metal; but if it were dearer, as this is\na public thing the expence is insignificant; therefore I would have\nthe rod at least an inch thick, to allow for its gradually wasting by\nrust; it will last as long as the mast, and may be renewed with it.\nThe sharp point for five or six inches should be gilt.\n\nBut there is another circumstance of importance to the strength,\ngoodness, and usefulness of the powder, which does not seem to have\nbeen enough attended to: I mean the keeping it perfectly dry. For\nwant of a method of doing this, much is spoiled in damp magazines,\nand much so damaged as to become of little value.--If, instead of\nbarrels it were kept in cases of bottles well corked; or in large tin\ncanisters, with small covers shutting close by means of oiled paper\nbetween, or covering the joining on the canister; or if in barrels,\nthen the barrels lined with thin sheet lead; no moisture in either of\nthese methods could possibly enter the powder, since glass and metals\nare both impervious to water.\n\nBy the latter of these means you see tea is brought dry and crisp\nfrom China to Europe, and thence to America, though it comes all the\nway by sea in the damp hold of a ship. And by this method, grain,\nmeal, &c. if well dried before it is put up, may be kept for ages\nsound and good.\n\nThere is another thing very proper to line small barrels with; it\nis what they call tin-foil, or leaf-tin, being tin milled between\nrollers till it becomes as thin as paper, and more pliant, at the\nsame time that its texture is extremely close. It may be applied\nto the wood with common paste, made with boiling-water thickened\nwith flour; and, so laid on; will lie very close and stick well:\nbut I should prefer a hard sticky varnish for that purpose, made of\nlinseed oil much boiled. The heads might be lined separately, the tin\nwrapping a little round their edges. The barrel, while the lining is\nlaid on, should have the end hoops slack, so that the staves standing\nat a little distance from each other, may admit the head into its\ngroove. The tin-foil should be plyed into the groove. Then, one head\nbeing put in, and that end hooped tight, the barrel would be fit to\nreceive the powder, and when the other head is put in and the hoops\ndrove up, the powder would be safe from moisture even if the barrel\nwere kept under water. This tin-foil is but about eighteen pence\nsterling a pound, and is so extremely thin, that I imagine a pound of\nit would line three or four powder-barrels.\n\n  I am, &c.\n\n  B. FRANKLIN.\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[80] Peter Franklin. _Editor._\n\n\n\n\n  _Of Lightning, and the Methods (now used in America) of securing\n  Buildings and Persons from its mischievous Effects._\n\n\nExperiments made in electricity first gave philosophers a suspicion,\nthat the matter of lightning was the same with the electric matter.\nExperiments afterwards made on lightning obtained from the clouds by\npointed rods, received into bottles, and subjected to every trial,\nhave since proved this suspicion to be perfectly well founded;\nand that whatever properties we find in electricity, are also the\nproperties of lightning.\n\nThis matter of lightning, or of electricity, is an extreme subtile\nfluid, penetrating other bodies, and subsisting in them, equally\ndiffused.\n\nWhen by any operation of art or nature, there happens to be a greater\nproportion of this fluid in one body than in another, the body\nwhich has most will communicate to that which has least, till the\nproportion becomes equal; provided the distance between them be not\ntoo great; or, if it is too great, till there be proper conductors to\nconvey it from one to the other.\n\nIf the communication be through the air without any conductor, a\nbright light is seen between the bodies, and a sound is heard. In\nour small experiments, we call this light and sound the electric\nspark and snap; but in the great operations of nature, the light is\nwhat we call _lightning_, and the sound (produced at the same time,\nthough generally arriving later at our ears than the light does to\nour eyes) is, with its echoes, called _thunder_.\n\nIf the communication of this fluid is by a conductor, it may be\nwithout either light or sound, the subtle fluid passing in the\nsubstance of the conductor.\n\nIf the conductor be good and of sufficient bigness, the fluid passes\nthrough it without hurting it. If otherwise, it is damaged or\ndestroyed.\n\nAll metals, and water, are good conductors.--Other bodies may become\nconductors by having some quantity of water in them, as wood, and\nother materials used in building, but not having much water in them,\nthey are not good conductors, and therefore are often damaged in the\noperation.\n\nGlass, wax, silk, wool, hair, feathers, and even wood, perfectly dry\nare non-conductors: that is, they resist instead of facilitating the\npassage of this subtle fluid.\n\nWhen this fluid has an opportunity of passing through two conductors,\none good, and sufficient, as of metal, the other not so good, it\npasses in the best, and will follow it in any direction.\n\nThe distance at which a body charged with this fluid will discharge\nitself suddenly, striking through the air into another body that is\nnot charged, or not so highly charged, is different according to\nthe quantity of the fluid, the dimensions and form of the bodies\nthemselves, and the state of the air between them.--This distance,\nwhatever it happens to be between any two bodies, is called their\n_striking distance_, as, till they come within that distance of each\nother, no stroke will be made.\n\nThe clouds have often more of this fluid in proportion than the\nearth; in which case, as soon as they come near enough (that is,\nwithin the striking distance) or meet with a conductor, the fluid\nquits them and strikes into the earth. A cloud fully charged with\nthis fluid, if so high as to be beyond the striking distance from the\nearth, passes quietly without making noise or giving light; unless it\nmeets with other clouds that have less.\n\nTall trees, and lofty buildings, as the towers and spires of\nchurches, become sometimes conductors between the clouds and the\nearth; but not being good ones, that is, not conveying the fluid\nfreely, they are often damaged.\n\nBuildings that have their roofs covered with lead, or other metal,\nand spouts of metal continued from the roof into the ground to carry\noff the water, are never hurt by lightning, as, whenever it falls on\nsuch a building, it passes in the metals and not in the walls.\n\nWhen other buildings happen to be within the striking distance from\nsuch clouds, the fluid passes in the walls whether of wood, brick or\nstone, quitting the walls only when it can find better conductors\nnear them, as metal rods, bolts, and hinges of windows or doors,\ngilding on wainscot, or frames of pictures, the silvering on the\nbacks of looking-glasses, the wires for bells, and the bodies of\nanimals, as containing watery fluids. And in passing through the\nhouse it follows the direction of these conductors, taking as many\nin its way as can assist it in its passage, whether in a strait, or\ncrooked line leaping from one to the other, if not far distant from\neach other, only rending the wall in the spaces where these partial\ngood conductors are too distant from each other.\n\nAn iron rod being placed on the outside of a building, from the\nhighest part continued down into the moist earth, in any direction\nstrait or crooked, following the form of the roof or other parts of\nthe building, will receive the lightning at its upper end, attracting\nit so as to prevent its striking any other part; and, affording it a\ngood conveyance into the earth, will prevent its damaging any part of\nthe building.\n\nA small quantity of metal is found able to conduct a great quantity\nof this fluid. A wire no bigger than a goose-quill has been known\nto conduct (with safety to the building as far as the wire was\ncontinued) a quantity of lightning that did prodigious damage both\nabove and below it; and probably larger rods are not necessary,\nthough it is common in America, to make them of half an inch, some of\nthree quarters, or an inch diameter.\n\nThe rod may be fastened to the wall, chimney, &c. with staples of\niron.--The lightning will not leave the rod (a good conductor) to\npass into the wall (a bad conductor) through those staples.--It would\nrather, if any were in the wall, pass out of it into the rod to get\nmore readily by that conductor into the earth.\n\nIf the building be very large and extensive, two or more rods may be\nplaced at different parts, for greater security.\n\nSmall ragged parts of clouds, suspended in the air between the\ngreat body of clouds and the earth (like leaf gold in electrical\nexperiments) often serve as partial conductors for the lightning,\nwhich proceeds from one of them to another, and by their help comes\nwithin the striking distance to the earth or a building. It therefore\nstrikes through those conductors a building that would otherwise be\nout of the striking distance.\n\nLong sharp points communicating with the earth, and presented to\nsuch parts of clouds, drawing silently from them the fluid they are\ncharged with, they are then attracted to the cloud, and may leave the\ndistance so great as to be beyond the reach of striking.\n\nIt is therefore that we elevate the upper end of the rod six or eight\nfeet above the highest part of the building, tapering it gradually to\na fine sharp point, which is gilt to prevent its rusting.\n\nThus the pointed rod either prevents a stroke from the cloud, or,\nif a stroke is made, conducts it to the earth with safety to the\nbuilding.\n\nThe lower end of the rod should enter the earth so deep as to come\nat the moist part, perhaps two or three feet; and if bent when under\nthe surface so as to go in a horizontal line six or eight feet from\nthe wall, and then bent again downwards three or four feet, it will\nprevent damage to any of the stones of the foundation.\n\nA person apprehensive of danger from lightning, happening during the\ntime of thunder to be in a house not so secured, will do well to\navoid sitting near the chimney, near a looking glass, or any gilt\npictures or wainscot; the safest place is in the middle of the room\n(so it be not under a metal lustre suspended by a chain) sitting in\none chair and laying the feet up in another. It is still safer to\nbring two or three mattrasses or beds into the middle of the room,\nand, folding them up double, place the chair upon them; for they not\nbeing so good conductors as the walls, the lightning will not chuse\nan interrupted course through the air of the room and the bedding,\nwhen it can go through a continued better conductor, the wall. But\nwhere it can be had, a hammock or swinging bed, suspended by silk\ncords equally distant from the walls on every side, and from the\ncieling and floor above and below, affords the safest situation a\nperson can have in any room whatever; and what indeed may be deemed\nquite free from danger of any stroke by lightning.\n\n  B. FRANKLIN.\n\n  _Paris, Sept. 1767._\n\n\n\n\nFROM J. W.[81] ESQ. PROFESSOR OF NATURAL PHILOSOPHY AT CAMBRIDGE, IN\nNEW ENGLAND, JAN. 6, 1768.\n\n  _St. Bride's Steeple.--Utility of Electrical Conductors to\n  Steeples.--Singular kind of Glass tube._\n\n\n\"**** I have read in the Philosophical Transactions the account of the\neffects of lightning on St. Bride's steeple. It is amazing to me,\nthat after the full demonstration you had given, of the identity of\nlightning and of electricity, and the power of metalline conductors,\nthey should ever think of repairing that steeple without such\nconductors. How astonishing is the force of prejudice even in an age\nof so much knowledge and free enquiry!\"\n\n\nANSWER TO THE ABOVE.\n\n**** It is perhaps not so extraordinary that unlearned men, such as\ncommonly compose our church vestries, should not yet be acquainted\nwith, and sensible of the benefits of metal conductors in averting\nthe stroke of lightning, and preserving our houses from its violent\neffects, or that they should be still prejudiced against the use\nof such conductors, when we see how long even philosophers, men\nof extensive science and great ingenuity, can hold out against\nthe evidence of new knowledge, that does not square with their\npreconceptions; and how long men can retain a practice that is\nconformable to their prejudices, and expect a benefit from such\npractice, though constant experience shows its inutility. A late\npiece of the Abb\u00e9 Nollet, printed last year in the memoirs of the\nFrench Academy of Sciences, affords strong instances of this: for\nthough the very relations he gives of the effects of lightning in\nseveral churches and other buildings show clearly, that it was\nconducted from one part to another by wires, gildings, and other\npieces of metal that were _within_, or connected with the building,\nyet in the same paper he objects to the providing metalline\nconductors _without_ the building, as useless or dangerous.[82] He\ncautions people not to ring the church bells during a thunder-storm,\nlest the lightning, in its way to the earth, should be conducted down\nto them by the bell ropes,[83] which are but bad conductors; and yet\nis against fixing metal rods on the outside of the steeple, which\nare known to be much better conductors, and which it would certainly\nchuse to pass in, rather than in dry hemp. And though for a thousand\nyears past bells have been solemnly consecrated by the Romish\nchurch[84], in expectation that the sound of such blessed bells would\ndrive away those storms, and secure our buildings from the stroke\nof lightning; and during so long a period, it has not been found by\nexperience, that places within the reach of such blessed sound, are\nsafer than others where it is never heard; but that on the contrary,\nthe lightning seems to strike steeples of choice, and that at the\nvery time the bells are ringing[85]; yet still they continue to bless\nthe new bells, and jangle the old ones whenever it thunders.--One\nwould think it was now time to try some other trick;--and ours is\nrecommended (whatever this able philosopher may have been told to the\ncontrary) by more than twelve years experience, wherein, among the\ngreat number of houses furnished with iron rods in North America, not\none so guarded has been materially hurt with lightning, and several\nhave been evidently preserved by their means; while a number of\nhouses, churches, barns, ships, &c. in different places, unprovided\nwith rods, have been struck and greatly damaged, demolished or burnt.\nProbably the vestries of our English churches are not generally well\nacquainted with these facts; otherwise, since as good protestants\nthey have no faith in the blessing of bells, they would be less\nexcusable in not providing this other security for their respective\nchurches, and for the good people that may happen to be assembled\nin them during a tempest, especially as those buildings, from their\ngreater height, are more exposed to the stroke of lightning than our\ncommon dwellings.\n\nI have nothing new in the philosophical way to communicate to you,\nexcept what follows. When I was last year in Germany, I met with a\nsingular kind of glass, being a tube about eight inches long, half an\ninch in diameter, with a hollow ball of near an inch diameter at one\nend, and one of an inch and half at the other, hermetically sealed,\nand half filled with water.--If one end is held in the hand, and\nthe other a little elevated above the level, a constant succession\nof large bubbles proceeds from the end in the hand to the other\nend, making an appearance that puzzled me much, till I found that\nthe space not filled with water was also free from air, and either\nfilled with a subtle invisible vapour continually rising from the\nwater, and extremely rarefiable by the least heat at one end, and\ncondensable again by the least coolness at the other; or it is the\nvery fluid of fire itself, which parting from the hand pervades the\nglass, and by its expansive force depresses the water till it can\npass between it and the glass, and escape to the other end, where it\ngets through the glass again into the air. I am rather inclined to\nthe first opinion, but doubtful between the two. An ingenious artist\nhere, Mr. Nairne, mathematical instrument-maker, has made a number\nof them from mine, and improved them, for his are much more sensible\nthan those I brought from Germany.--I bored a very small hole through\nthe wainscot in the seat of my window, through which a little cold\nair constantly entered, while the air in the room was kept warmer\nby fires daily made in it, being winter time. I placed one of his\nglasses, with the elevated end against this hole; and the bubbles\nfrom the other end, which was in a warmer situation, were continually\npassing day and night, to the no small surprise of even philosophical\nspectators. Each bubble discharged is larger than that from which\nit proceeds, and yet that is not diminished; and by adding itself\nto the bubble at the other end, that bubble is not increased, which\nseems very paradoxical.--When the balls at each end are made large,\nand the connecting tube very small and bent at right angles, so that\nthe balls, instead of being at the ends, are brought on the side of\nthe tube, and the tube is held so as that the balls are above it,\nthe water will be depressed in that which is held in the hand, and\nrise in the other as a jet or fountain; when it is all in the other,\nit begins to boil, as it were, by the vapour passing up through it;\nand the instant it begins to boil, a sudden coldness is felt in the\nball held; a curious experiment, this, first observed and shown me by\nMr. Nairne. There is something in it similar to the old observation,\nI think mentioned by Aristotle, that the bottom of a boiling pot is\nnot warm; and perhaps it may help to explain that fact;--if indeed it\nbe a fact.--When the water stands at an equal height in both these\nballs, and all at rest; if you wet one of the balls by means of a\nfeather dipt in spirit, though that spirit is of the same temperament\nas to heat and cold with the water in the glasses, yet the cold\noccasioned by the evaporation of the spirit from the wetted ball will\nso condense the vapour over the water contained in that ball, as that\nthe water of the other ball will be pressed up into it, followed by a\nsuccession of bubbles, till the spirit is all dried away. Perhaps the\nobservations on these little instruments may suggest and be applied\nto some beneficial uses. It has been thought, that water reduced to\nvapour by heat was rarefied only fourteen thousand times, and on\nthis principle our engines for raising water by fire are said to be\nconstructed: but if the vapour so much rarefied from water is capable\nof being itself still farther rarefied to a boundless degree by the\napplication of heat to the vessels or parts of vessels containing\nthe vapour (as at first it is applied to those containing the water)\nperhaps a much greater power may be obtained, with little additional\nexpence. Possibly too, the power of easily moving water from one\nend to the other of a moveable beam (suspended in the middle like a\nscale-beam) by a small degree of heat, may be applied advantageously\nto some other mechanical purposes.****\n\n  I am, &c.\n\n  B. FRANKLIN.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[81] John Winthrop. _Editor._\n\n[82] Notre curiosit\u00e9 pourroit peut-\u00eatre s'applandir des recherches\nqu'elle nous a fait faire sur la nature du tonnerre, & sur la\nm\u00e9canisme de ses principaux effets, mais ce n'est point ce qu'il y a\nde plus important; il vaudroit bien mieux que nous puissions tronver\nquelque moyen de nous en garantir: on y a pens\u00e9; on s'est m\u00eame\nflatt\u00e9 d'avoir fait cette grande d\u00e9couverte; mais malheureusement\ndouze ann\u00e9es d'\u00e9preuves & un peu de r\u00e9flexion, nous apprennent\nqu'il ne faut pas compter sur les promesses qu'on nous a faites. Je\nl'ai dit, il y a long temps, and avec regret, toutes ces pointes de\nfer qu'on dresse en l'air, soit comme _\u00e9lectroscopes_, soit comme\npr\u00e9servatifs,----sont plus propre \u00e0 nous attirer le feu du tonnerre\nqu'\u00e0 nous en pr\u00e9server;----& je persiste \u00e2 dire que le projet\nd'\u00e9puiser une nu\u00e9e orageuse du feu dont elle est charg\u00e9e, n'est pas\ncelui d'un physicien,----. _Memoire sur les Effets du Tonnerre._\n\n[83] Les cloches, en vertu de leur b\u00e9n\u00e9diction, doivent \u00e9carter les\norages & nous preserver des coups de foudre; mais l'\u00e9glise permet\n\u00e0 la prudence humaine le choix des momens o\u00f9 il convient d'user de\nce pr\u00e9servatif. Je ne sais si le son, consid\u00e9r\u00e9 physiquement, est\ncapable ou non de faire crever une nu\u00e9e, & de causer l'\u00e9panchement\nde son feu vers les objets terrestres, mais il est certain & prouv\u00e9\npar l'exp\u00e9rience, que la tonnerre peut tomber sur un clocher, soit\nque l'on y sonne ou que l'on n'y sonne point; & si cela arrive dans\nle premier cas, les sonneurs sont en grand danger, parcequ'ils\ntiennent des cordes par lesquelles la commotion de la foudre peut se\ncommuniquer jusq'\u00e0 eux: il est donc plus sage de laisser les cloches\nen repos quand l'orage est arriv\u00e9 au-dessus de l'\u00e9glise. Ibid.\n\n[84] Suivant le rituel de Paris, lorsqu'on benit des cloches, on\nrecite les oraisons suivantes:\n\n_Benedic, Domine ... quotiescumque sonuerit, procul recedat virtus\ninsidiantium, umbra phantasmatis, incursio turbinum, percussio\nfulminum, l\u00e6sio tonitruum, calamitas tempestatum, omnisque spiritus\nprocellarum, &c._\n\n_Deus, qui per beatum Mo\u00efsen, &c. ... procul pellentur insidi\u00e6\ninimici, fragor grandinum, procella turbinum, impetus tempestatum,\ntemperentur infesta tonitrua. &c._\n\n_Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, &c. ... ut ante sonitum ejus effugentur\nignita jacula inimici, percussio fulminum, impetus lapidum, l\u00e6sio\ntempestatum, &c._\n\n[85] En 1718. M. Deslandes fit savoir \u00e0 l'Academie Royale des\nsciences, que la nuit du 14 ou 15 d'Avril de la m\u00e8me ann\u00e9e, le\ntonnerre \u00e9toit tomb\u00e9 sur vingtquatre \u00e9glises, dequis Landernau\njusqu'\u00e0 Saint-Pol-de-L\u00e9on en Bretagne; que ces \u00e9glises \u00e9toient\npr\u00e9cis\u00e9ment celles o\u00f9 l'on sonnoit, & que la foudre avoit \u00e9pargn\u00e9\ncelles ou l'on ne sonnoit pas: que dans celle de Gouisnon, qui fut\nenti\u00e8rement ruin\u00e9e, le tonnerre tua deux personnes de quatre qui\nsonnoient, &c. _Hist. du l'Ac. R. des Sci. 1719._\n\n\n\n\n  _Experiments, Observations, and Facts, tending to support the\n  Opinion of the Utility of long pointed Rods, for securing Buildings\n  from Damage by Strokes of Lightning._\n\nRead at the Committee appointed to consider the erecting Conductors\nto secure the Magazines at Purfleet, Aug. 27, 1772.\n\n\nEXPERIMENT I.\n\nThe prime conductor of an electric machine, A. B. (_See Plate_\nIV.) being supported about 10 inches and a half above the table by\na wax-stand, and under it erected a _pointed wire_ 7 inches and a\nhalf high, and one-fifth of an inch thick, and tapering to a sharp\npoint, and communicating with the table; when the _point_ (being\nuppermost) is _covered_ by the end of a finger, the conductor may be\nfull charged, and the electrometer c[86], will rise to the height\nindicating a full charge: but the moment the point is _uncovered_,\nthe ball of the electrometer drops, showing the prime conductor\nto be instantly discharged and nearly emptied of its electricity.\nTurn the wire its _blunt_ end upwards (which represents an unpointed\nbar) and no such effect follows, the electrometer remaining at its\nusual height when the prime conductor is charged.\n\n[Illustration: (of these experiments)\n\n  _Plate IV._        _Vol. I. page 388._\n\n_Published as the Act directs, April 1, 1806, by Longman, Hurst, Rees\n& Orme, Paternoster Row._]\n\n\nOBSERVATION.\n\n_What_ quantity of lightning, a high pointed rod well communicating\nwith the earth may be expected to discharge from the clouds silently\nin a short time, is yet unknown; but I have reason from a particular\nfact to think it may at some times be very great. In Philadelphia I\nhad such a rod fixed to the top of my chimney, and extending about\nnine feet above it. From the foot of this rod, a wire (the thickness\nof a goose-quill) came through a covered glass tube in the roof, and\ndown through the well of the stair-case; the lower end connected\nwith the iron spear of a pump. On the stair-case opposite to my\nchamber-door, the wire was divided; the ends separated about six\ninches, a little bell on each end; [and] between the bells a little\nbrass ball suspended by a silk thread, to play between and strike\nthe bells when clouds passed with electricity in them. After having\nfrequently drawn sparks and charged bottles from the bell of the\nupper wire, I was one night waked by loud cracks on the stair-case.\nStarting up and opening the door, I perceived that the brass ball,\ninstead of vibrating as usual between the bells, was repelled and\nkept at a distance from both; while the fire passed sometimes in very\nlarge quick cracks from bell to bell; and sometimes in a continued\ndense white stream, seemingly as large as my finger, whereby the\nwhole stair-case was enlightened as with sunshine, so that one\nmight see to pick up a pin[87]. And from the apparent quantity\nthus discharged, I cannot but conceive that a _number_[88] of such\nconductors must considerably lessen that of any approaching cloud,\nbefore it comes so near as to deliver its contents in a general\nstroke:--An effect not to be expected from bars _unpointed_; if the\nabove experiment with the blunt end of the wire is deemed pertinent\nto the case.\n\n\nEXPERIMENT II.\n\nThe pointed wire under the prime conductor continuing of the same\nheight, _pinch_ it between the thumb and finger near the top, so as\n_just to conceal_ the point; then turning the globe, the electrometer\nwill rise and mark the full charge. Slip the fingers down so as to\ndiscover about half an inch of the wire, then another half inch, and\nthen another; at every one of these motions _discovering more and\nmore_ of the pointed wire; you will see the electrometer fall quick\nand proportionably, stopping when you stop. If you slip down the\n_whole distance_ at once, the ball falls instantly down to the stem.\n\n\nOBSERVATION.\n\nFrom this experiment it seems that a greater effect in drawing off\nthe lightning from the clouds may be expected from _long_ pointed\nrods, than from _short_ ones; I mean from such as show the greatest\nlength, _above the building_ they are fixed on.\n\n\nEXPERIMENT III.\n\nInstead of pinching the point between the thumb and finger, as in\nthe last experiment, keep the thumb and finger each at _near an inch\ndistance_ from it, but at the _same height_, the point between them.\nIn this situation, though the point is fairly exposed to the prime\nconductor, it has little or no effect; the electrometer rises to\nthe height of a full charge.--But the moment the fingers are _taken\naway_, the ball falls quick to the stem.\n\n\nOBSERVATION.\n\nTo explain this, it is supposed, that one reason of the sudden effect\nproduced by a long naked pointed wire is, that (by the repulsive\npower of the positive charge in the prime conductor) the natural\nquantity of electricity contained in the pointed wire is driven down\ninto the earth, and the point of the wire made strongly _negative_;\nwhence it attracts the electricity of the prime conductor more\nstrongly than bodies in their natural state would do; the _small\nquantity of common matter_ in the point, not being able by its\nattractive force to retain its _natural quantity of the electric\nfluid_, against the force of that repulsion.--But the finger and\nthumb being substantial and blunt bodies, though as near the prime\nconductor, hold up better their _own_ natural quantity against the\nforce of that repulsion; and so, continuing nearly in the natural\nstate, they jointly operate on the electric fluid in the point,\nopposing its descent, and _aiding the point_ to retain it; contrary\nto the repelling power of the prime conductor, which would drive it\ndown.--And this may also serve to explain the different powers of the\npoint in the preceding experiment, on the slipping down the finger\nand thumb to different distances.\n\nHence is collected, that a pointed rod erected _between two tall\nchimnies_, and very little higher (an instance of which I have seen)\ncannot have so good an effect, as if it had been erected on one of\nthe chimneys, its whole length above it.\n\n\nEXPERIMENT IV.\n\nIf, _instead_ of a long pointed wire, a _large solid body_ (to\nrepresent a building without a point) be brought under and as near\nthe prime conductor, when charged; the ball of the electrometer will\n_fall_ a little; and on taking away the large body, will _rise again_.\n\n\nOBSERVATION.\n\nIts _rising again_ shows that the prime conductor lost little or\nnone of its electric charge, as it had done through the point: the\n_falling_ of the ball while the large body was under the conductor\ntherefore shows, that a quantity of its atmosphere was drawn from the\nend where the electrometer is placed to the part immediately over the\nlarge body, and there accumulated _ready_ to strike into it with its\nwhole undiminished force, as soon as within the striking distance;\nand, were the prime conductor moveable like a _cloud_, it would\napproach the body by attraction till within that distance. The swift\nmotion of clouds, as driven by the winds, probably prevents this\nhappening so often as otherwise it might do: for, though parts of\nthe cloud may stoop towards a building as they pass, in consequence\nof such attraction, yet they are carried forward beyond the striking\ndistance before they could by their descending come within it.\n\n\nEXPERIMENT V.\n\nAttach a small light _lock of cotton_ to the underside of the\nprime conductor, so that it may hang down towards the pointed wire\nmentioned in the first experiment. _Cover_ the point with your\nfinger, and the globe being turned, the cotton will extend itself,\nstretching down towards the finger, as at _a_; but on _uncovering_\nthe point, it instantly flies up to the prime conductor, as at _b_,\nand continues there as long as the point is uncovered. The moment\nyou cover it again, the cotton flies down again, extending itself\ntowards the finger; and the same happens in degree, if (instead of\nthe finger) you use, uncovered, the _blunt_ end of the wire uppermost.\n\n\nOBSERVATION.\n\nTo explain this, it is supposed that the cotton, by its connection\nwith the prime conductor, receives from it a quantity of its\nelectricity; which occasions its being attracted by the _finger_\nthat remains still in nearly its natural state. But when a _point_\nis opposed to the cotton, its electricity is thereby taken from it,\nfaster than it can at a distance be supplied with a fresh quantity\nfrom the conductor. Therefore being reduced _nearer_ to the natural\nstate, it is attracted _up_ to the electrified prime conductor;\n_rather than down_, as before, to the finger.\n\nSupposing farther that the prime conductor represents a cloud\ncharged with the electric fluid; the cotton, a ragged fragment of\ncloud (of which the underside of great thunder-clouds are seen to\nhave many) the finger, a chimney or highest part of a building.--We\nthen may conceive that when such a cloud passes over a _building_,\nsome one of its ragged under-hanging fragments may be drawn down\nby the chimney or other high part of the edifice; creating thereby\na _more easy communication_ between it and the great cloud.--But a\n_long pointed rod_ being presented to this fragment, may occasion\nits receding, like the cotton, up to the great cloud; and thereby\n_increase_, instead _of lessening_ the distance, so as often to make\nit greater than the striking distance. Turning the _blunt end of a\nwire_ uppermost (which represents the unpointed bar) it appears that\nthe same good effect is not from that to be expected. A long pointed\nrod it is therefore imagined, may _prevent_ some strokes; as well as\n_conduct_ others that fall upon it, when a great body of cloud comes\non so heavily that the above repelling operation on fragments cannot\ntake place.\n\n\nEXPERIMENT VI.\n\nOpposite the side of the prime conductor place _separately_, isolated\nby wax stems, Mr. Canton's two boxes with pith balls suspended by\nfine linen threads. On each box, lay a wire six inches long and\none-fifth of an inch thick, tapering to a sharp point; but so laid,\nas that four inches of the _pointed_ end of _one_ wire, and an equal\nlength of the _blunt_ end of the _other_, may project beyond the ends\nof the boxes; and both at eighteen inches distance from the prime\nconductor. Then charging the prime conductor by a turn or two of the\nglobe, the balls of each pair will separate; those of the box, whence\nthe point projects most, _considerably_; the others _less_. Touch the\nprime conductor, and those of the box with the _blunt_ point will\n_collapse_, and join. Those connected with the _point_ will at the\nsame time approach each other, _till_ within about an inch, and there\n_remain_.\n\n\nOBSERVATION.\n\nThis seems a proof, that though the small sharpened part of the wire\nmust have had a _less natural_ quantity in it before the operation,\nthan the thick blunt part; yet a greater quantity was _driven down\nfrom it_ to the balls. Thence it is again inferred, that the pointed\nrod is rendered _more negative_: and farther, that if a _stroke must\nfall_ from the cloud over a building, furnished with such a rod,\nit is more likely to be drawn to that pointed rod, than to a blunt\none; as being more strongly negative, and of course its attraction\nstronger. And it seems more eligible, that the lightning should fall\non the point of the conductor (provided to convey it into the earth)\nthan on any other part of the building, _thence_ to proceed to such\nconductor. Which end is also more likely to be obtained by the length\nand loftiness of the rod; as protecting more extensively the building\nunder it.\n\nIt has been _objected_, that erecting pointed rods upon _edifices_,\nis to _invite_ and draw the lightning into _them_; and therefore\ndangerous. Were such rods to be erected on buildings, _without\ncontinuing the communication_ quite down into the moist earth, this\nobjection might then have weight; but when such compleat conductors\nare made, the lightning is invited not into the building, but into\nthe _earth_, the situation it aims at, and which it always seizes\nevery help to obtain, even from broken partial metalline conductors.\n\nIt has also been suggested, that from such electric experiments\n_nothing certain can be concluded as to the great operations of\nnature_; since it is often seen, that experiments, which have\nsucceeded in small, in large have failed. It is true that in\nmechanics this has sometimes happened. But when it is considered\nthat we owe our first knowledge of the nature and operations of\nlightning, to observations on such small experiments; and that on\ncarefully comparing the most accurate accounts of former facts, and\nthe exactest relations of those that have occurred since, the effects\nhave surprizingly agreed with the theory; it is humbly conceived that\nin natural philosophy, in this branch of it at least, the suggestion\nhas not so much weight; and that the farther new experiments now\nadduced in recommendation of _long_ sharp-pointed rods, may have some\nclaim to credit and consideration.\n\nIt has been urged too, that though points may have considerable\neffects on a _small_ prime conductor at _small distances_; yet on\n_great_ clouds and at _great distances_, nothing is to be expected\nfrom them. To this it is answered, that in those _small_ experiments\nit is evident the points act at a greater than the _striking_\ndistance; and in the large way, their service is _only expected_\nwhere there is _such_ nearness of the cloud, as to _endanger a\nstroke_; and there, it cannot be doubted the points must have some\neffect. And if the quantity discharged by a single pointed rod may\nbe so considerable as I have shown it; the quantity discharged by a\nnumber will be proportionably greater.\n\nBut this part of the theory does not depend alone on _small_\nexperiments. Since the practice of erecting pointed rods in America\n(now near twenty years) five of them have been struck by lightning,\nviz. Mr. Raven's and Mr. Maine's in South Carolina; Mr. Tucker's in\nVirginia; Mr. West's and Mr. Moulder's in Philadelphia. Possibly\nthere may have been more that have not come to my knowledge. But in\nevery one of these, the lightning did _not_ fall upon the _body of\nthe house_, but precisely on the several _points_ of the rods; and,\nthough the conductors were sometimes _not sufficiently large and\ncomplete_, was conveyed into the earth, without any material damage\nto the buildings. Facts then _in great_, as far as we have them\nauthenticated, justify the opinion that is drawn from the experiments\n_in small_ as above related.\n\nIt has also been objected, that unless we knew the quantity that\nmight _possibly_ be discharged at one stroke from the clouds,\nwe cannot be sure we have provided _sufficient_ conductors; and\ntherefore cannot depend on their conveying away _all_ that may fall\non their points. Indeed we have nothing to form a judgment by in\nthis but past facts; and we know of no instance where a _compleat_\nconductor to the moist earth _has_ been insufficient, if half an\ninch diameter. It is probable that many strokes of lightning have\nbeen conveyed through the common leaden pipes affixed to houses to\ncarry down the water from the roof to the ground: and there is no\naccount of such pipes being melted and destroyed, as must sometimes\nhave happened if they had been insufficient. We can then only judge\nof the dimensions proper for a conductor of lightning, as we do of\nthose proper for a _conductor of rain_, by past observation. And as\nwe think a pipe of three inches bore sufficient to carry off the\nrain that falls on a square of 20 feet, because we never saw such a\npipe glutted by any shower; so we may judge a conductor of an inch\ndiameter, more than sufficient for any stroke of lightning that will\nfall on its point. It is true that if another deluge should happen\nwherein the windows of heaven are to be opened, such pipes may be\nunequal to the falling quantity; and if God for our sins should\nthink fit to rain fire upon us, as upon some cities of old, it is\nnot expected that our conductors of whatever size, should secure our\nhouses against a miracle. Probably as water drawn up into the air\nand there forming clouds, is disposed to fall again in _rain_ by\nits natural gravity, as soon as a number of particles sufficient to\nmake a drop can get together; so when the clouds are (by whatever\nmeans) over or under-charged [with the _electric fluid_] to a degree\nsufficient to attract them towards the earth, the equilibrium is\nrestored, before the difference becomes great beyond that degree.\nMr. Lane's _electrometer_, for limiting precisely the quantity of\na shock that is to be administered in a medical view, may serve to\nmake this more easily intelligible. The discharging knob does by a\nscrew approach the conductor to the distance intended, but there\nremains fixed. Whatever power there may be in the glass globe to\ncollect the fulminating fluid, and whatever capacity of receiving and\naccumulating it there may be in the bottle or glass jar; yet neither\nthe accumulation or the discharge ever exceeds the destined quantity.\nThus, were the _clouds_ always at a certain fixed distance from the\nearth, all discharges would be made when the quantity accumulated\nwas equal to the distance: But there is a circumstance which by\noccasionally lessening the distance, lessens the discharge; to wit,\nthe moveableness of the clouds, and their being drawn nearer to the\nearth by attraction when electrified; so that discharges are thereby\nrendered more frequent and of course less violent. Hence whatever the\nquantity may be in nature, and whatever the power in the clouds of\ncollecting it; yet an accumulation and force beyond what mankind has\nhitherto been acquainted with is scarce to be expected[89].\n\n  B. F.\n\n  _Aug. 27, 1772._\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[86] Mr. Henley's.\n\n[87] Mr. de Romas saw still greater quantities of lightning brought\ndown by the wire of his kite. He had \"explosions from it, the noise\nof which greatly resembled that of thunder, and were heard (from\nwithout) into the heart of the city, notwithstanding the various\nnoises there. The fire seen at the instant of the explosion had the\nshape of a spindle eight inches long and five lines in diameter.\nYet from the time of the explosion to the end of the experiment, no\nlightning was seen above, nor any thunder heard. At another time the\nstreams of fire issuing from it were observed to be an inch thick and\nten feet long.\"--_See Dr. Priestley's History of Electricity_, pages\n134-6, _first edition_.\n\n[88] Twelve were proposed on and near the magazines at Purfleet.\n\n[89] It may be fit to mention here, that the immediate occasion of\nthe dispute concerning the preference between pointed and blunt\nconductors of lightning, arose as follows:--A powder-mill having\nblown up at Brescia, in consequence of its being struck with\nlightning, the English board of ordnance applied to their painter,\nMr. Wilson, then of some note as an electrician, for a method to\nprevent the like accident to their magazines at Purfleet. Mr. Wilson\nhaving advised a blunt conductor, and it being understood that Dr.\nFranklin's opinion, formed upon the spot, was for a pointed one; the\nmatter was referred in 1772, to the Royal Society, and by them as\nusual, to a committee, who, after consultation, prescribed a method\nconformable to Dr. Franklin's theory. But a harmless stroke of\nlightning, having under particular circumstances, fallen upon one of\nthe buildings and its apparatus in May 1777; the subject came again\ninto violent agitation, and was again referred to the society, and\nby the society again referred to a new committee, which committee\nconfirmed the decision of the first committee.    B. V.[90]\n\n[90] Wherever this signature occurs, the note is taken from a volume\nof Dr. Franklin's writings, entitled Political, Miscellaneous, and\nPhilosophical Pieces, printed for Johnson, 1779. The editor of\nthat volume, though a young man at the time, had already evinced\nextraordinary talents, and was the friend and correspondent of our\nauthor. As he has chosen to withhold his name, we conceive ourselves\nnot entitled to disclose it: but we shall take the freedom of an\nacquaintance to use the notes occasionally, deeming them in many\ninstances valuable historical records. _Editor._\n\n\n\n\nTO PROFESSOR LANDRIANI, OF ITALY.\n\n  _On the Utility of Electrical Conductors._\n\n\n  _Philadelphia, Oct. 14, 1787._\n\n  SIR,\n\nI have received the excellent work, _Upon the Utility of electrical\nConductors_, which you had the goodness to send me. I read it with\ngreat pleasure, and beg you to accept my sincere thanks for it.\n\nUpon my return to this country, I found the number of conductors much\nincreased, many proofs of their efficacy in preserving buildings from\nlightning having demonstrated their utility. Among other instances,\nmy own house was one day attacked by lightning, which occasioned the\nneighbours to run in to give assistance, in case of its being on\nfire. But no damage was done, and my family was only found a good\ndeal frightened with the violence of the explosion.\n\nLast year, my house being enlarged, the conductor was obliged to be\ntaken down. I found, upon examination, that the pointed termination\nof copper, which was originally nine inches long, and about one third\nof an inch in diameter in its thickest part, had been almost entirely\nmelted; and that its connection with the rod of iron below was very\nslight. Thus, in the course of time, this invention has proved of use\nto the author of it, and has added this personal advantage to the\npleasure he before received, from having been useful to others.\n\nMr. Rittenhouse, our astronomer, has informed me, that having\nobserved with his excellent telescope, many conductors that are\nwithin the field of his view, he has remarked in various instances,\nthat the points were melted in like manner. There is no example of\na house, provided with a perfect conductor, which has suffered any\nconsiderable damage; and even those which are without them have\nsuffered little, since conductors have come common in this city.\n\n  B. FRANKLIN.\n\n\n\n\nTO JOHN PRINGLE, M. D. AND F. R. S.\n\n  _On the Effects of Electricity in paralytic Cases._\n\n\n  _Craven-street, Dec. 21, 1757._\n\n  SIR,\n\nIn compliance with your request, I send you the following account\nof what I can at present recollect relating to the effects of\nelectricity in paralytic cases, which have fallen under my\nobservation.\n\nSome years since, when the news-papers made mention of great cures\nperformed in Italy and Germany, by means of electricity, a number of\nparalytics were brought to me from different parts of Pensylvania,\nand the neighbouring provinces, to be electrised, which I did for\nthem at their request. My method was, to place the patient first in a\nchair, on an electric stool, and draw a number of large strong sparks\nfrom all parts of the affected limb or side. Then I fully charged\ntwo six-gallon glass jars, each of which had about three square feet\nof surface coated; and I sent the united shock of these through\nthe affected limb or limbs, repeating the stroke commonly three\ntimes each day. The first thing observed, was an immediate greater\nsensible warmth in the lame limbs that had received the stroke than\nin the others; and the next morning the patients usually related,\nthat they had in the night felt a pricking sensation in the flesh of\nthe paralytic limbs; and would sometimes show a number of small red\nspots, which they supposed were occasioned by those prickings. The\nlimbs, too, were found more capable of voluntary motion, and seemed\nto receive strength. A man, for instance, who could not the first day\nlift the lame hand from off his knee, would the next day raise it\nfour or five inches, the third day higher; and on the fifth day was\nable, but with a feeble languid motion, to take off his hat. These\nappearances gave great spirits to the patients, and made them hope\na perfect cure; but I do not remember that I ever saw any amendment\nafter the fifth day; which the patients perceiving, and finding\nthe shocks pretty severe, they became discouraged, went home, and\nin a short time relapsed; so that I never knew any advantage from\nelectricity in palsies that was permanent. And how far the apparent\ntemporary advantage might arise from the exercise in the patients\njourney, and coming daily to my house, or from the spirits given by\nthe hope of success, enabling them to exert more strength in moving\ntheir limbs, I will not pretend to say.\n\nPerhaps some permanent advantage might have been obtained, if the\nelectric shocks had been accompanied with proper medicine and\nregimen, under the direction a skilful physician. It may be, too,\nthat a few great strokes, as given in my method, may not be so proper\nas many small ones; since by the account from Scotland of a case, in\nwhich two hundred shocks from a phial were given daily, it seems,\nthat a perfect cure has been made. As to any uncommon strength\nsupposed to be in the machine used in that case, I imagine it could\nhave no share in the effect produced; since the strength of the shock\nfrom charged glass, is in proportion to the quantity of surface of\nthe glass coated; so that my shocks from those large jars, must have\nbeen much greater than any that could be received from a phial held\nin the hand.\n\n  I am, with great respect, Sir,\n\n  Your most obedient Servant,\n\n  B. FRANKLIN.\n\n\n\n\n  _Electrical Experiments on Amber._\n\n\n  _Saturday, July 3, 1762._\n\nTo try, at the request of a friend, whether amber finely powdered\nmight be melted and run together again by means of the electric\nfluid, I took a piece of small glass tube, about two inches and a\nhalf long, the bore about one-twelfth of an inch diameter, the glass\nitself about the same thickness; I introduced into this tube some\npowder of amber, and with two pieces of wire nearly fitting the\nbore, one inserted at one end, the other at the other, I rammed the\npowder hard between them in the middle of the tube, where it stuck\nfast, and was in length about half an inch. Then leaving the wires in\nthe tube, I made them part of the electric circuit, and discharged\nthrough them three rows of my case of bottles. The event was, that\nthe glass was broke into very small pieces and those dispersed with\nviolence in all directions. As I did not expect this, I had not, as\nin other experiments, laid thick paper over the glass to save my\neyes, so several of the pieces struck my face smartly, and one of\nthem cut my lip a little so as to make it bleed. I could find no\npart of the amber; but the table where the tube lay was stained very\nblack in spots, such as might be made by a thick smoke forced on it\nby a blast, and the air was filled with a strong smell, somewhat\nlike that from burnt gunpowder. Whence I imagined, that the amber\nwas burnt, and had exploded as gunpowder would have done in the same\ncircumstances.\n\nThat I might better see the effect on the amber, I made the next\nexperiment in a tube formed of a card rolled up and bound strongly\nwith packthread. Its bore was about one-eighth of an inch diameter.\nI rammed powder of amber into this as I had done in the other, and\nas the quantity of amber was greater, I increased the quantity of\nelectric fluid, by discharging through it at once five rows of my\nbottles. On opening the tube, I found that some of the powder had\nexploded, an impression was made on the tube, though it was not hurt,\nand most of the powder remaining was turned black, which I suppose\nmight be by the smoke forced through it from the burned part: some of\nit was hard; but as it powdered again when pressed by the fingers, I\nsuppose that hardness not to arise from melting any parts in it, but\nmerely from my ramming the powder when I charged the tube.\n\n  B. FRANKLIN.\n\n\n\n\nTO THOMAS RONAYNE, ESQ. AT CORKE[91].\n\n  _On the Electricity of the Fogs in Ireland._\n\n\n  _London, April 20, 1766._\n\n  SIR,\n\nI have received your very obliging and very ingenious letter by\nCaptain Kearney. Your observations upon the electricity of fogs and\nthe air in Ireland, and upon different circumstances of storms,\nappear to me very curious, and I thank you for them. There is not,\nin my opinion, any part of the earth whatever which is, or can be,\nnaturally in a state of negative electricity: and though different\ncircumstances may occasion an inequality in the distribution of\nthe fluid, the equilibrium is immediately restored by means of its\nextreme subtilty, and of the excellent conductors with which the\nhumid earth is amply provided. I am of opinion, however, that when\na cloud, well charged positively, passes near the earth, it repels\nand forces down into the earth that natural portion of electricity,\nwhich exists near its surface, and in buildings, trees, &c. so as\nactually to reduce them to a negative state before it strikes them.\nI am of opinion too, that the negative state in which you have\nfrequently found the balls, which are suspended from your apparatus,\nis not always occasioned by clouds in a negative state; but more\ncommonly by clouds positively electrified, which have passed over\nthem, and which in their passage have repelled and driven off a part\nof the electrical matter, which naturally existed in the apparatus;\nso that what remained after the passing of the clouds, diffusing\nitself uniformly through the apparatus, the whole became reduced to a\nnegative state.\n\nIf you have read my experiments made in continuation of those of Mr.\nCanton, you will readily understand this; but you may easily make\na few experiments, which will clearly demonstrate it. Let a common\nglass be warmed before the fire that it may continue very dry for\nsome time; set it upon a table, and place upon it the small box made\nuse of by Mr. Canton, so that the balls may hang a little beyond\nthe edge of the table. Rub another glass, which has previously been\nwarmed in a similar manner, with a piece of black silk or a silk\nhandkerchief, in order to electrify it. Hold then the glass above\nthe little box, at about the distance of three or four inches from\nthat part, which is most distant from the balls; and you will see\nthe balls separate from each other; being positively electrified\nby the natural portion of electricity, which was in the box, and\nwhich is driven to the further part of it by the repulsive power of\nthe atmosphere in the excited glass. Touch the box near the little\nballs (the excited glass continuing in the same state) and the balls\nwill again unite; the quantity of electricity which had been driven\nto this part being drawn off by your finger. Withdraw then both\nyour finger and the glass at the same instant, and the quantity of\nelectricity which remained in the box, uniformly diffusing itself,\nthe balls will again be separated; being now in a negative state.\nWhile things are in this situation, begin once more to excite your\nglass, and hold it above the box, but not too near, and you will\nfind, that when brought within a certain distance, the balls will\nat first approach each other, being then in a natural state. In\nproportion as the glass is brought nearer, they, will again separate,\nbeing positive. When the glass is moved beyond them, and at some\nlittle farther distance, they will unite again, being in a natural\nstate. When it is entirely removed, they will separate again,\nbeing then made negative. The excited glass in this experiment may\nrepresent a cloud positively charged, which you see is capable of\nproducing in this manner all the different changes in the apparatus,\nwithout the least necessity for supposing any negative cloud.\n\nI am nevertheless fully convinced, that these are negative clouds;\nbecause they sometimes absorb, through the medium of the apparatus,\nthe positive electricity of a large jar, the hundredth part of\nwhich the apparatus itself would have not been able to receive or\ncontain at once. In fact, it is not difficult to conceive, that a\nlarge cloud, highly charged positively, may reduce smaller clouds to\na negative state, when it passes above or near them, by forcing a\npart of their natural portion of the fluid either to their inferior\nsurfaces, whence it may strike into the earth, or to the opposite\nside, whence it may strike into the adjacent clouds; so that when\nthe large cloud has passed off to a distance, the small clouds\nshall remain in a negative state, exactly like the apparatus; the\nformer (like the latter) being frequently insulated bodies, having\ncommunication neither with the earth nor with other clouds. Upon the\nsame principle it may easily be conceived, in what manner a large\nnegative cloud may render others positive.\n\nThe experiment which you mention, of filing your glass, is analogous\nto one which I made in 1751, or 1752. I had supposed in my preceding\nletters, that the pores of glass were smaller in the interior parts\nthan near the surface, and that on this account they prevented the\npassage of the electrical fluid. To prove whether this was actually\nthe case or not, I ground one of my phials in a part where it was\nextremely thin, grinding it considerably beyond the middle, and very\nnear to the opposite superficies, as I found, upon breaking it after\nthe experiment. It was charged nevertheless after being ground,\nequally well as before, which convinced me, that my hypothesis on\nthis subject was erroneous. It is difficult to conceive where the\nimmense superfluous quantity of electricity on the charged side of a\nglass is deposited.\n\nI send you my paper concerning meteors, which was lately published\nhere in the Philosophical Transactions, immediately after a paper by\nMr. Hamilton on the same subject.\n\n  I am, Sir, &c.\n\n  B. FRANKLIN.\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[91] This letter is translated from the French edition of Dr.\nFranklin's works, as are also all that follow, to the Appendix, the\none to Miss Stephenson excepted. _Editor._\n\n\n\n\n  _Mode of ascertaining, whether the Power, giving a Shock to those\n  who touch either the Surinam Eel, or the Torpedo, be electrical._\n\n\n1. Touch the fish with a stick of dry sealing-wax, or a glass rod,\nand observe if the shock be communicated by means of those bodies.\n\nTouch the same fish with an iron, or other metalline rod.\n\nIf the shock be communicated by the latter body, and not by the\nothers, it is probably not the mechanical effect, as has been\nsupposed, of some muscular action in the fish, but of a subtile\nfluid, in this respect analogous at least to the electric fluid.\n\n2. Observe farther, whether the shock can be conveyed without the\nmetal being actually in contact with the fish, and if it can,\nwhether, in the space between, any light appear, and a slight noise\nor crackling be heard.\n\nIf so, these also are properties common to the electric fluid.\n\n3. Lastly, touch the fish with the wire of a small Leyden bottle, and\nif the shock can be received across, observe whether the wire will\nattract and repel light bodies, and you feel a shock, while holding\nthe bottle in one hand, and touching the wire with the other.\n\nIf so, the fluid, capable of producing such effects seems to have all\nthe known properties of the electric fluid.\n\n\nADDITION, _12th August, 1772,_\n\n  _In Consequence of the Experiments and Discoveries made in France\n  by Mr. Walsh, and communicated by him to Dr. Franklin._\n\nLet several persons, standing on the floor, hold hands, and let one\nof them touch the fish, so as to receive a shock. If the shock be\nfelt by all, place the fish flat on a plate of metal, and let one of\nthe persons holding hands touch this plate, while the person farthest\nfrom the plate touches the upper part of the fish with a metal rod:\nthen observe, if the force of the shock be the same as to all the\npersons forming the circle, or is stronger than before.\n\nRepeat this experiment with this difference: let two or three of the\npersons forming the circle, instead of holding by the hand, hold each\nan uncharged electrical bottle, so that the little balls at the end\nof the wires may touch, and observe, after the shock, if these wires\nwill attract and repel light bodies, and if a ball of cork, suspended\nby a long silk string between the wires, a little distance from the\nbottles, will be alternately attracted and repelled by them.\n\n\n\n\nTO M. DUBOURG.\n\n  _On the Analogy between Magnetism and Electricity._\n\n\n  _London, March 10, 1773._\n\n  SIR,\n\nAs to the magnetism, which seems produced by electricity, my real\nopinion is, that these two powers of nature have no affinity with\neach other, and that the apparent production of magnetism is purely\naccidental. The matter may be explained thus:\n\n1st, The earth is a great magnet.\n\n2dly, There is a subtile fluid, called the magnetic fluid, which\nexists in all ferruginous bodies, equally attracted by all their\nparts, and equally diffused through their whole substance; at least\nwhere the equilibrium is not disturbed by a power superior to the\nattraction of the iron.\n\n3dly, This natural quantity of the magnetic fluid, which is contained\nin a given piece of iron, may be put in motion so as to be more\nrarefied in one part and more condensed in another; but it cannot\nbe withdrawn by any force that we are yet made acquainted with, so\nas to leave the whole in a negative state, at least relatively to\nits natural quantity; neither can it be introduced so as to put the\niron into a positive state, or render it _plus_. In this respect,\ntherefore magnetism differs from electricity.\n\n4thly, A piece of soft iron allows the magnetic fluid which it\ncontains to be put in motion by a moderate force, so that being\nplaced in a line with the magnetic pole of the earth, it immediately\nacquires the properties of a magnet; its magnetic fluid being drawn\nor forced from one extremity to the other; and this effect continues\nas long as it remains in the same position, one of its extremities\nbecoming positively magnetised, and the other negatively. This\ntemporary magnetism ceases as soon as the iron is turned east and\nwest, the fluid immediately diffusing itself equally through the\nwhole iron, as in its natural state.\n\n5thly, The magnetic fluid in hard iron, or steel, is put in motion\nwith more difficulty, requiring a force greater than the earth to\nexcite it; and when once it has been forced from one extremity of the\nsteel to the other, it is not easy for it to return; and thus a bar\nof steel is converted into a permanent magnet.\n\n6thly, A great heat, by expanding the substance of this steel, and\nincreasing the distance between its particles, affords a passage\nto the electric fluid, which is thus again restored to its proper\nequilibrium; the bar appearing no longer to possess magnetic virtue.\n\n7thly, A bar of steel which is not magnetic, being placed in the same\nposition, relatively to the pole of the earth, which the magnetic\nneedle assumes, and in this position being heated and suddenly\ncooled, becomes a permanent magnet. The reason is, that while the bar\nwas hot, the magnetic fluid which it naturally contained was easily\nforced from one extremity to the other by the magnetic virtue of the\nearth; and that the hardness and condensation, produced by the sudden\ncooling of the bar, retained it in this state without permitting it\nto resume its original situation.\n\n8thly, The violent vibrations of the particles of a steel bar, when\nforcibly struck in the same position, separate the particles in such\na manner during their vibration, that they permit a portion of the\nmagnetic fluid to pass, influenced by the natural magnetism of the\nearth; and it is afterwards so forcibly retained by the re-approach\nof the particles when the vibration ceases, that the bar becomes a\npermanent magnet.\n\n9thly, An electric shock passing through a needle in a like position,\nand dilating it for an instant, renders it, for the same reason, a\npermanent magnet; that is, not by imparting magnetism to it, but by\nallowing its proper magnetic fluid to put itself in motion.\n\n10thly, Thus, there is not in reality more magnetism in a given\npiece of steel after it is become magnetic, than existed in it\nbefore. The natural quantity is only displaced or repelled. Hence it\nfollows, that a strong apparatus of magnets may charge millions of\nbars of steel, without communicating to them any part of its proper\nmagnetism; only putting in motion the magnetism which already existed\nin these bars.\n\nI am chiefly indebted to that excellent philosopher of Petersburgh,\nMr. \u00c6pinus, for this hypothesis, which appears to me equally\ningenious and solid. I say, _chiefly_, because, as it is many years\nsince I read his book, which I have left in America, it may happen,\nthat I may have added to or altered it in some respect; and if I have\nmisrepresented any thing, the error ought to be charged to my account.\n\nIf this hypothesis appears admissible, it will serve as an answer to\nthe greater part of your questions. I have only one remark to add,\nwhich is, that however great the force is of magnetism employed, you\ncan only convert a given portion of steel into a magnet of a force\nproportioned to its capacity of retaining its magnetic fluid in the\nnew position in which it is placed, without letting it return. Now\nthis power is different in different kinds of steel, but limited in\nall kinds whatever.\n\n  B. FRANKLIN.\n\n\n\n\nTO MESSRS. DUBOURG AND D'ALIBARD[92].\n\n  _Concerning the Mode of rendering Meat tender by Electricity._\n\n\n  MY DEAR FRIENDS,\n\nMy answer to your questions concerning the mode of rendering meat\ntender by electricity, can only be founded upon conjecture; for I\nhave not experiments enough to warrant the facts. All that I can\nsay at present is, that I think electricity might be employed for\nthis purpose, and I shall state what follows as the observations or\nreasons, which make me presume so.\n\nIt has been observed, that lightning, by rarefying and reducing\ninto vapour the moisture contained in solid wood, in an oak, for\ninstance, has forcibly separated its fibres, and broken it into small\nsplinters; that by penetrating intimately the hardest metals, as\niron, it has separated the parts in an instant, so as to convert a\nperfect solid into a state of fluidity: it is not then improbable,\nthat the same subtile matter, passing through the bodies of animals\nwith rapidity, should possess sufficient force to produce an effect\nnearly similar.\n\nThe flesh of animals, fresh killed in the usual manner, is firm,\nhard, and not in a very eatable state, because the particles adhere\ntoo forcibly to each other. At a certain period, the cohesion is\nweakened and in its progress towards putrefaction, which tends to\nproduce a total separation, the flesh becomes what we call tender, or\nis in that state most proper to be used as our food.\n\nIt has frequently been remarked, that animals killed by lightning\nputrify immediately. This cannot be invariably the case, since a\nquantity of lightning sufficient to kill, may not be sufficient to\ntear and divide the fibres and particles of flesh, and reduce them to\nthat tender state, which is the prelude to putrefaction. Hence it is,\nthat some animals killed in this manner will keep longer than others.\nBut the putrefaction sometimes proceeds with surprising celerity.\nA respectable person assured me, that he once knew a remarkable\ninstance of this: A whole flock of sheep in Scotland, being closely\nassembled under a tree, were killed by a flash of lightning; and\nit being rather late in the evening, the proprietor, desirous of\nsaving something, sent persons early the next morning to flay them;\nbut the putrefaction was such, and the stench so abominable, that\nthey had not the courage to execute their orders, and the bodies\nwere accordingly buried in their skins. It is not unreasonable to\npresume, that between the period of their death and that of their\nputrefaction, a time intervened in which the flesh might be only\ntender, and only sufficiently so to be served at table. Add to this,\nthat persons, who have eaten of fowls killed by our feeble imitation\nof lightning (electricity) and dressed immediately, have asserted,\nthat the flesh was remarkably tender.\n\nThe little utility of this practice has perhaps prevented its being\nmuch adopted. For though it sometimes happens, that a company\nunexpectedly arriving at a country-house, or an unusual conflux of\ntravellers to an inn, may render it necessary, to kill a number\nof animals for immediate use; yet as travellers have commonly a\ngood appetite, little attention has been paid to the trifling\ninconvenience of having their meat a little tough. As this kind of\ndeath is nevertheless more sudden, and consequently less severe, than\nany other, if this should operate as a motive with compassionate\npersons to employ it for animals sacrificed for their use, they may\nconduct the process thus:\n\nHaving prepared a battery of six large glass jars (each from 20 to\n24 pints) as for the Leyden experiment, and having established a\ncommunication, as usual, from the interior surface of each with the\nprime conductor, and having given them a full charge (which with a\ngood machine may be executed in a few minutes, and may be estimated\nby an electrometer) a chain which communicates with the exterior of\nthe jars must be wrapped round the thighs of the fowl; after which\nthe operator, holding it by the wings, turned back and made to touch\nbehind, must raise it so high that the head may receive the first\nshock from the prime conductor. The animal dies instantly. Let the\nhead be immediately cut off to make it bleed, when it may be plucked\nand dressed immediately. This quantity of electricity is supposed\nsufficient for a turkey of ten pounds weight, and perhaps for a\nlamb. Experience alone will inform us of the requisite proportions\nfor animals of different forms and ages. Probably not less will be\nrequired to render a small bird, which is very old, tender, than for\na larger one, which is young. It is easy to furnish the requisite\nquantity of electricity, by employing a greater or less number of\njars. As six jars, however, discharged at once, are capable of giving\na very violent shock, the operator must be very circumspect, lest he\nshould happen to make the experiment on his own flesh, instead of\nthat of the fowl.\n\n  B. FRANKLIN.\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[92] This letter has no date, but the one to which it is an answer is\ndated May 1, 1773. _Editor._\n\n\n\n\nTO M. DUBOURG.\n\n  _In Answer to some Queries concerning the Choice of Glass for the\n  Leyden Experiment._\n\n\n  _London, June 1, 1773._\n\n  SIR,\n\nI wish, with you, that some chemist (who should, if possible, be at\nthe same time an electrician) would, in pursuance of the excellent\nhints contained in your letter, undertake to work upon glass with\nthe view you have recommended. By means of a perfect knowledge of\nthis substance, with respect to its electrical qualities, we might\nproceed with more certainty, as well in making our own experiments,\nas in repeating those, which have been made by others in different\ncountries, which I believe have frequently been attended with\ndifferent success on account of differences in the glass employed,\nthence occasioning frequent misunderstandings and contrariety of\nopinions.\n\nThere is another circumstance much to be desired with respect to\nglass, and that is, that it should not be subject to break when\nhighly charged in the Leyden experiment. I have known eight jars\nbroken out of twenty, and at another time, twelve out of thirty-five.\nA similar loss would greatly discourage electricians desirous of\naccumulating a great power for certain experiments.--We have never\nbeen able hitherto to account for the cause of such misfortunes. The\nfirst idea which occurs is, that the positive electricity, being\naccumulated on one side of the glass, rushes violently through it, in\norder to supply the deficiency on the other side and to restore the\nequilibrium. This however I cannot conceive to be the true reason,\nwhen I consider, that a great number of jars being united, so as to\nbe charged and discharged at the same time, the breaking of a single\njar will discharge the whole; for, if the accident proceeded from the\nweakness of the glass, it is not probable, that eight of them should\nbe precisely of the same degree of weakness, as to break every one\nat the same instant, it being more likely, that the weakest should\nbreak first, and, by breaking, secure the rest; and again, when it is\nnecessary to produce a certain effect, by means of the whole charge\npassing through a determined circle (as, for instance, to melt a\nsmall wire) if the charge, instead of passing in this circle, rushed\nthrough the sides of the jars, the intended effect would not be\nproduced; which, however, is contrary to fact. For these reasons, I\nsuspect, that there is, in the substance of the glass, either some\nlittle globules of air, or some portions of unvitrified sand or salt,\ninto which a quantity of the electric fluid may be forced during the\ncharge, and there retained till the general discharge: and that the\nforce being suddenly withdrawn, the elasticity of the fluid acts upon\nthe glass in which it is inclosed, not being able to escape hastily\nwithout breaking the glass. I offer this only as a conjecture, which\nI leave to others to examine.\n\nThe globe which I had that could not be excited, though it was from\nthe same glass-house which furnished the other excellent globes\nin my possession, was not of the same frit. The glass which was\nusually manufactured there, was rather of the green kind, and chiefly\nintended for drinking-glasses and bottles; but the proprietors being\ndesirous of attempting a trial of white glass, the globe in question\nwas of this frit. The glass not being of a perfect white, the\nproprietors were dissatisfied with it, and abandoned their project.\nI suspected that too great a quantity of salt was admitted into the\ncomposition; but I am no judge of these matters.\n\n  B. FRANKLIN.\n\n\n\n\nTO MISS STEPHENSON.\n\n  _Concerning the Leyden Bottle._\n\n\n  _London, March 22, 1762._\n\nI must retract the charge of idleness in your studies, when I find\nyou have gone through the doubly difficult task of reading so big a\nbook, on an abstruse subject, and in a foreign language.\n\nIn answer to your question concerning the Leyden phial.--The hand\nthat holds the bottle receives and conducts away the electric fluid\nthat is driven out of the outside by the repulsive power of that\nwhich is forced into the inside of the bottle. As long as that power\nremains in the same situation, it must prevent the return of what it\nhad expelled; though the hand would readily supply the quantity if it\ncould be received.\n\n  Your affectionate friend,\n\n  B. FRANKLIN.\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX.\n\n\n\n\nNo. 1[93].\n\n  _The early_ LETTERS _of Dr. Franklin on Electricity having been\n  translated into French, and printed at Paris; the Abb\u00e9 Mazeas, in a\n  Letter to Dr. Stephen Hales, dated St. Germain, May 20, 1752, gives\n  the following Account (printed in the Philosophical Transactions)\n  of the Experiment made at Marly, in Pursuance of that proposed by\n  Mr. Franklin, Pages 227, 228._\n\n\n  SIR,\n\nThe Philadelphian experiments, that Mr. Collinson, a member of\nthe Royal Society, was so kind as to communicate to the public,\nhaving been universally admired in France, the king desired to see\nthem performed. Wherefore the Duke D'Ayen offered his majesty his\ncountry-house at St. Germain, where M. de Lor, master of experimental\nphilosophy, should put those of Philadelphia in execution. His\nmajesty saw them with great satisfaction, and greatly applauded\nMessieurs Franklin and Collinson. These applauses of his majesty\nhaving excited in Messieurs de Buffon, D'Alibard, and de Lor, a\ndesire of verifying the conjectures of Mr. Franklin, upon the\nanalogy of thunder and electricity, they prepared themselves for\nmaking the experiment.\n\nM. D'Alibard chose for this purpose, a garden situated at Marly,\nwhere he placed upon an electrical body a pointed bar of iron, of\nforty feet high. On the 10th of May, twenty minutes past two in\nthe afternoon, a stormy cloud having passed over the place where\nthe bar stood, those that were appointed to observe it, drew near,\nand attracted from it sparks of fire, perceiving the same kind of\ncommotions as in the common electrical experiments.\n\nM. de Lor, sensible of the good success of this experiment, resolved\nto repeat it at his house in the Estrapade, at Paris. He raised a\nbar of iron ninety-nine feet high, placed upon a cake of resin, two\nfeet square, and three inches thick. On the 18th of May, between four\nand five in the afternoon, a stormy cloud having passed over the\nbar, where it remained half an hour, he drew sparks from the bar,\nlike those from the gun barrel, when, in the electrical experiments,\nthe globe is only rubbed by the cushion, and they produced the same\nnoise, the same fire, and the same crackling. They drew the strongest\nsparks at the distance of nine lines, while the rain, mingled with\na little hail, fell from the cloud, without either thunder or\nlightning; this cloud being, according to all appearance, only the\nconsequence of a storm, which happened elsewhere.\n\n  I am, with a profound respect,\n\n  Your most humble and obedient servant,\n\n  G. MAZEAS.\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[93] See the paragraph between brackets, page 267.\n\n\n\n\n  _A more particular Account of the Circumstances and Success of\n  this extraordinary Experiment was laid before the Royal Academy\n  of Sciences at Paris, three Days afterwards, in a Memorial by M.\n  D'Alibard, viz._\n\n  EXTRAIT D'UN MEMOIRE\n\n  DE M. D'ALIBARD,\n\n  _L\u00fb \u00e0 l'Acad\u00e9mie Royale des Sciences, le 13 Mai, 1752._\n\n\n\"En suivant la route que M. Franklin nous a trac\u00e9e, j'ai obtenu une\nsatisfaction complette. Voici les pr\u00e9paratifs, le proc\u00e9d\u00e9 & le succ\u00e8s.\n\n\"1\u00ba. J'ai fait faire \u00e0 Marly-la-ville, situ\u00e9e \u00e0 six lieues de Paris\nau milieu d'une belle plaine dont le sol est fort \u00e9lev\u00e9, une verge de\nfer ronde, d'environ un pouce de diametre, longue de 40 pieds, & fort\npointue par son extr\u00e9mit\u00e9 sup\u00e9rieure; pour lui m\u00e9nager une pointe\nplus fine, je l'ai fait armer d'acier tremp\u00e9 & ensuite brunir, au\nd\u00e9faut de dorure, pour la pr\u00e9server de la rouille; outre cela, cette\nverge de fer est courb\u00e9e vers son extr\u00e9mit\u00e9 inf\u00e9rieure en deux coudes\n\u00e0 angles aigus quoiqu'arrondis; le premier coude est \u00e9loign\u00e9 de deux\npieds du bout inf\u00e9rieur, & le second est en sens contraire \u00e0 trois\npieds du premier.\n\n\"2\u00ba. J'ai fait planter dans un jardin trois grosses perches de 28\n\u00e0 29 pieds, dispos\u00e9es en triangle, & \u00e9loign\u00e9es les unes des autres\nd'environ huit pieds; deux de ces perches sont contre un mur, &\nla troisieme est au-dedans du jardin. Pour les affermir toutes\nensemble, l'on \u00e0 clou\u00e9 sur chacune des entretoises \u00e0 vingt pieds de\nhauteur; & comme le grand vent agitoit encore cette esp\u00e9ce d'\u00e9difice,\nl'on a attach\u00e9 au haut de chaque perche de longs cordages, qui tenant\nlieu d'aubans, r\u00e9pondent par le bas \u00e0 de bons piquets fortement\nenfonc\u00e9s en terre \u00e0 plus de 20 pieds des perches.\n\n\"3\u00ba. J'ai fait construire entres les deux perches voisines du mur, &\nadosser contre ce mur une petite guerite de bois capable de contenir\nun homme & une table.\n\n\"4\u00ba. J'ai fait placer au milieu de la gu\u00e9rite une petite table\nd'environ un demi-pied de hauteur; & sur cette table j'ai fait\ndresser & affermir un tabouret electrique. Ce tabouret n'est autre\nchose qu'une petite planche quarr\u00e9e, port\u00e9e sur trois bouteilles \u00e0\nvin; il n'est fait de cette matiere que pour suppl\u00e9er au defaut d'un\ng\u00e2teau de r\u00e9sine qui me manquoit.\n\n\"5\u00ba. Tout \u00e9tant ainsi pr\u00e9par\u00e9, j'ai fait elever perpendiculairement\nla verge de fer au milieu des trois perches, & je l'ai affermie en\nl'attachant \u00e0 chacune des perches avec de forts cordons de soie par\ndeux endroits seulement. Les premiers liens sont au haut des perches,\nenviron trois pouces au-dessous de leurs extr\u00e9mit\u00e9s sup\u00e9rieures; les\nseconds vers la moiti\u00e9 de leur hauteur. Le bout inf\u00e9rieur de la verge\nde fer est solidement appuy\u00e9 sur le milieu du tabouret electrique, o\u00f9\nj'ai fait creuser un trou propre \u00e0 le recevoir.\n\n\"6\u00ba. Comme il \u00e9toit important de garantir de la pluie te tabouret\n& les cordons de soie, parce qu'ils laisseroient passer la mati\u00e9re\n\u00e9lectrique s'ils etoient mouill\u00e9s, j'ai pris les pr\u00e9cautions\nnecessaires pour en emp\u00eacher. C'est dans cette vue que j'ai mis mon\ntabouret sous la gu\u00e9rite, & que j'avois fait courber ma verge de fer\n\u00e0 angles aigus; afin que l'eau qui pourroit couler le long de cette\nverge, ne p\u00fbt arriver jusques sur le tabouret. C'est aussi dans le\nm\u00eame dessein que j'ai fait clouer sur le haut & au milieu de mes\nperches, \u00e0 trois pouces au-dessus des cordons de soie, des especes de\nbo\u00eetes form\u00e9es de trois petites planches d'environ 15 pouces de long,\nqui couvrent par-dessus & par les c\u00f4tes une pareille longueur des\ncordons de soie, sans leur toucher.\n\n\"Il s'agissoit de faire, dans le tems de l'orage, deux observations\nsur cette verge de fer ainsi dispos\u00e9e; l'une \u00e9toit de remarquer \u00e0 sa\npointe une aigrette lumineuse, semblable \u00e0 celle que l'on apper\u00e7oit\n\u00e0 la pointe d'une aiguille, quand on l'oppose assez pr\u00e8s d'un corps\nactuellement \u00e9lectris\u00e9; l'autre \u00e9toit de tirer de la verge de fer des\n\u00e9tincelles, comme on en tire du canon de fusil dans les exp\u00e9riences\n\u00e9lectriques; & afin de se garantir des piq\u00fbres de ces \u00e9tincelles,\nj'avois attach\u00e9 le tenon d'un fil d'archal au cordon d'une longue\nfiole pour lui servir de manche....\n\n\"Le Mercredi 10 Mai 1752, entre deux & trois heures apr\u00e8s midi,\nle nomm\u00e9 Coiffier, ancien dragon, que j'avois charg\u00e9 de faire les\nobservations en mon absence, ayant entendu un coup de tonnerre\nassez fort, vole aussit\u00f4t \u00e0 la machine, prend la fiole avec le fil\nd'archal, pr\u00e9sente le tenon du fil \u00e0 la verge, en voit sortir une\npetite \u00e9tincelle brillante, & en entend le p\u00e9tillement; il tire une\nseconde \u00e9tincelle plus fort que la premiere & avec plus de bruit! il\nappelle ses voisins, & envoie chercher M. le Prieur. Celui-ci accourt\nde toutes ses forces; les paroissiens voyant la pr\u00e9cipitation de\nleur cur\u00e9, s'imaginent que le pauvre Coiffier a \u00e9t\u00e9 tu\u00e9 du tonnerre;\nl'allarme se r\u00e9pand dans le village: la gr\u00eale qui survient n'emp\u00eache\npoint le troupeau du suivre son pasteur. Cet honn\u00eate eccl\u00e9siastique\narrive pr\u00e8s de la machine, & voyant qu'il n'y avoit point de danger,\nmet lui-m\u00eame la main \u00e2 l'oeuvre & tire de fortes \u00e9tincelles. La\nnu\u00e9e d'orage & de gr\u00eale ne fut pas plus d'un quart-d'heure \u00e0 passer\nau z\u00e9nith de notre machine, & l'on n'entendit que ce seul coup\nde tonnerre. Sit\u00f4t que le nuage fut pass\u00e9, & qu'on ne tira plus\nd'\u00e9tincelles de la verge de fer, M. le Prieur de Marly fit partir le\nsieur Coiffier lui-m\u00eame, pour m'apporter la lettre suivante, qu'il\nm'ecrivit \u00e0 la h\u00e2te.\"\n\n\n_Je vous annonce, Monsieur, ce que veus attendez: l'exp\u00e9rience est\ncomplette. Aujourd'hui \u00e0 deux heures 20 minutes apr\u00e8s midi, le\ntonnerre a grond\u00e9 directement sur Marly; le coup a \u00e9t\u00e9 assez fort.\nL'envie de vous obliger, & la curiosit\u00e9 m'ont tir\u00e9 de mon faute\u00fcil,\no\u00f9 j'\u00eatois occup\u00e9 \u00e0 lire: je suis all\u00e9 chez Coiffier, qui d\u00e9ja\nm'avoit d\u00e9p\u00each\u00e9 un enfant que j'ai rencontr\u00e9 en chemin, pour me prier\nde veenir; j'ai doubl\u00e9 le pas \u00e0 travers un torrent de gr\u00eale. Arriv\u00e9\n\u00e0 l'endroit o\u00f9 est plac\u00e9e la tringle coud\u00e9e, j'ai pr\u00e9sent\u00e9 le fil\nd'archal, en evan\u00e7ant successivement vers la tringle, \u00e0 un pouce &\ndemi, ou environ; il est sorti de la tringle une petite colonne de\nfer bleu\u00e2tre sentant le soufre, qui venoit frapper avec une extr\u00eame\nvivacit\u00e9 le tenon du fil d'archal, & occasionnoit un bruit semblable\n\u00e0 celui qu'on feroit en frappant sur la tringle avec une clef. J'ai\nr\u00e9pet\u00e9 l'exp\u00e9rience au moins six fois dans l'espace d'environ quatre\nminutes, en pr\u00e9sence de plusieurs personnes, & chaque exp\u00e9rience\nque j'ai faite a dur\u00e9 l'espace d'un pater & d'un_ ave. _J'ai voulu\ncontinuer; l'action du feu s'est ralentie peu \u00e0 peu; j'ai approch\u00e9\nplus pr\u00e8s, & n'ai plus tir\u00e9 que quelques \u00e9tincelles, & enfin rien\nn'ai paru._\n\n_Le coup de tonnerre qui a occasionn\u00e9 cet \u00e9v\u00e9nement, n'a \u00e9t\u00e9 suivi\nd'aucun autre; tout s'est termin\u00e9 par une abondance de gr\u00eale. J'\u00e9tois\nsi occup\u00e9 dans le moment de l'exp\u00e9rience de ce que voyois, qu'ayant\n\u00e9t\u00e9 frapp\u00e9 au bras un peu au-dessus du coude, je ne puis dire si\nc'est en touchant au fil d'archal ou \u00e0 la tringle: je ne me suis pas\nplaint du mal que m'avoit fait le coup dans le moment que je l'ai\nre\u00e7u; mais comme la douleur continuoit, de retour chez moi, j'ai\nd\u00e9couvert mon bras en pr\u00e9sence de Coiffier, & nous avons apper\u00e7u une\nmeurtrissure tournante autour du brass, semblable \u00e0 celle que feroit\nun coup de fil d'archal, si j'en avois \u00e9t\u00e9 frapp\u00e9 \u00e0 nud. En revenant\nde chez Coiffier, j'ai recontr\u00e9 M. le Vicaire, M. de Milly, et le\nMa\u00eetre d'\u00e9cole, \u00e0 qui j'ai rapport\u00e9 ce qui venoit d'arriver; ils se\nsont plaints tous les trois qu'ils sentoient une odeur de soufre qui\nles frappait davantage \u00e0 mesure qu'ils s'approichient de moi: j'ai\nport\u00e9 chez moi la m\u00eame odeur, & mes domestiques s'en sont apper\u00e7us\nsans que je leur aye rien dit._\n\n_Voil\u00e0, Monsieur, un r\u00e9cit fait \u00e0 la h\u00e2te, mais naif & vrai que\nj'atteste, & vous pouvez assurer que je suis pr\u00eat \u00e0 rendre t\u00e9moignage\nde cet \u00e9v\u00e9nement dans toutes les occasions. Coiffier a \u00e9t\u00e9 le premier\nqui a fait l'exp\u00e9rience & l'a r\u00e9p\u00e9t\u00e9e, plusieurs fois; ce n'est\nqu'\u00e0 l'occasion de ce qu'il a vu qu'il m'a envoy\u00e9 prier de venir.\nS'il \u00e9toit besoin d'autres t\u00e9moins que de lui & de moi, vous les\ntrouveriez. Coiffier presse pour partir._\n\n_Je suis avec une respectueuse consid\u00e9ration, Monsieur, votre, &c.\nsign\u00e9_ RAULET, _Prieur de Marly. 10 Mai, 1752._\n\n\n\"On voit, par le d\u00e9tail de cette lettre, que le fait est assez bien\nconstat\u00e9 pour ne laisser aucun doute \u00e0 ce sujet. Le porteur m'a\nassur\u00e9 de vive voix qu'il avoit tir\u00e9 pendant pr\u00e8s d'un quart-d'heure\navant que M. le Prieur arriv\u00e2t, en pr\u00e9sence de cinq ou six\npersonnes, des \u00e9tincelles plus fortes & plus bruyantes que celles\ndont il est parl\u00e9 dans la lettre. Ces premieres personnes arrivant\nsuccessivement, n'osient approcher qu'\u00e0 10 ou 12 pas de la machine; &\n\u00e0 cette distance, malgr\u00e9 le plein soleil, ils voyoient les \u00e9tincelles\n& entendoient le bruit....\n\n\"Il r\u00e9sulte de toutes les exp\u00e9riences & observations que j'ai\nrapport\u00e9es dans ce m\u00e9moire, & surtout de la derni\u00e8re exp\u00e9rience faite\n\u00e0 Marly-la-ville, que la matiere du tonnerre est incontestablement la\nm\u00eame que celle de l'\u00e9lectricit\u00e9. L'id\u00e9e qu'en a eu M. Franklin cesse\nd'\u00eatre une conjecture: la voil\u00e0 devenue une r\u00e9alit\u00e9, & j'ose croire\nque plus on approfondira tout ce qu'il a publi\u00e9 sur l'\u00e9lectricit\u00e9,\nplus on reconno\u00eetra combien la physique lui est redevable pour cette\npartie.\"\n\n\n\n\n  _Letter of Mr. W. Watson, F. R. S. to the Royal Society, concerning\n  the electrical Experiments in England upon Thunder-Clouds._\n\n  Read Dec. 1752. Trans. Vol. XLVII.\n\n\n  GENTLEMEN,\n\nAfter the communications, which we have received from several of our\ncorrespondents in different parts of the continent, acquainting us\nwith the success of their experiments last summer, in endeavouring to\nextract the electricity from the atmosphere during a thunder-storm,\nin consequence of Mr. Franklin's hypothesis, it may be thought\nextraordinary, that no accounts have been yet laid before you, of our\nsuccess here from the same experiments. That no want of attention,\ntherefore, may be attributed to those here, who have been hitherto\nconversant in these enquiries, I thought proper to apprise you, that,\nthough several members of the Royal Society, as well as myself, did,\nupon the first advices from France, prepare and set up the necessary\napparatus for this purpose, we were defeated in our expectations,\nfrom the uncommon coolness and dampness of the air here, during the\nwhole summer. We had only at London one thunder-storm; viz. on July\n20; and then the thunder was accompanied with rain; so that, by\nwetting the apparatus, the electricity was dissipated too soon to be\nperceived upon touching those parts of the apparatus, which served\nto conduct it. This, I say, in general prevented our verifying Mr.\nFranklin's hypothesis: but our worthy brother, Mr. Canton, was more\nfortunate. I take the liberty, therefore, of laying before you an\nextract of a letter, which I received from that gentleman, dated from\nSpital-square, July 21, 1752.\n\n\"I had yesterday, about five in the afternoon, an opportunity of\ntrying Mr. Franklin's experiment of extracting the electrical fire\nfrom the clouds; and succeeded, by means of a tin tube, between three\nand four feet in length, fixed to the top of a glass one, of about\neighteen inches. To the upper end of the tin tube, which was not\nso high as a stack of chimnies on the same house, I fastened three\nneedles with some wire; and to the lower end was soldered a tin cover\nto keep the rain from the glass tube, which was set upright in a\nblock of wood. I attended this apparatus as soon after the thunder\nbegan as possible, but did not find it in the least electrified,\ntill between the third and fourth clap; when, applying my knuckle\nto the edge of the cover, I felt and heard an electrical spark; and\napproaching it a second time, I received the spark at the distance of\nabout half an inch, and saw it distinctly. This I repeated four or\nfive times in the space of a minute, but the sparks grew weaker and\nweaker; and in less than two minutes the tin tube did not appear to\nbe electrified at all. The rain continued during the thunder, but was\nconsiderably abated at the time of making the experiment.\" Thus far\nMr. Canton.\n\nMr. Wilson likewise of the Society, to whom we are much obliged for\nthe trouble he has taken in these pursuits, had an opportunity of\nverifying Mr. Franklin's hypothesis. He informed me, by a letter from\nnear Chelmsford, in Essex, dated August 12, 1752, that, on that day\nabout noon, he perceived several electrical snaps, during, or rather\nat the end of a thunder-storm, from no other apparatus than an iron\ncurtain rod, one end of which he put into the neck of a glass phial,\nand held this phial in his hand. To the other end of the iron he\nfastened three needles with some silk. This phial, supporting the\nrod, he held in one hand, and drew snaps from the rod with a finger\nof his other. This experiment was not made upon any eminence, but in\nthe garden of a gentleman, at whose house he then was.\n\nDr. Bevis observed, at Mr. Cave's, at St. John's Gate, nearly the\nsame phenomena as Mr. Canton, of which an account has been already\nlaid before the public.\n\nTrifling as the effects here mentioned are, when compared with those\nwhich we have received from Paris and Berlin, they are the only ones,\nthat the last summer here has produced; and as they were made by\npersons worthy of credit, they tend to establish the authenticity of\nthose transmitted from our correspondents.\n\nI flatter myself, that this short account of these matters will not\nbe disagreeable to you; and am,\n\n  With the most profound respect,\n\n  Your most obedient, humble servant,\n\n  W. WATSON.\n\n\n\n\nNo. 2.\n\n  _Remarks on the Abb\u00e9 Nollet's Letters to Benjamin Franklin, Esq. of\n  Philadelphia, on Electricity: by Mr. David Colden, of New York._\n\n\n  _Coldenham, in New York, Dec. 4, 1753._\n\n  SIR,\n\nIn considering the Abb\u00e9 Nollet's Letters to Mr. Franklin, I am\nobliged to pass by all the experiments which are made with, or in,\nbottles hermetically sealed, or exhausted of air; because, not being\nable to repeat the experiments, I could not second any thing which\noccurs to me thereon, by experimental proof. Wherefore, the first\npoint wherein I can dare to give my opinion, is in the Abb\u00e9's 4th\nletter, p. 66, where he undertakes to prove, that the electric matter\npasses from one surface to another through the entire thickness\nof the glass: he takes Mr. Franklin's experiment of the magical\npicture, and writes thus of it. \"When you electrise a pane of glass\ncoated on both sides with metal, it is evident that whatever is\nplaced on the side opposite to that which receives the electricity\nfrom the conductor, receives also an evident electrical virtue.\"\nWhich Mr. Franklin says, is that equal quantity of electric matter,\ndriven out of this side, by what is received from the conductor on\nthe other side; and which will continue to give an electrical virtue\nto any thing in contact with it, till it is entirely discharged of\nits electrical fire. To which the Abb\u00e9 thus objects; \"Tell me (says\nhe), I pray you, how much time is necessary for this pretended\ndischarge? I can assure you, that after having maintained the\nelectrisation for hours, this surface, which ought, as it seems to\nme, to be entirely discharged of its electrical matter, considering\neither the vast number of sparks that were drawn from it, or the time\nthat this matter had been exposed to the action of the expulsive\ncause; this surface, I say, appeared rather better electrised\nthereby, and more proper to produce all the effects of an actual\nelectric body.\" _P._ 68.\n\nThe Abb\u00e9 does not tell us what those effects were, all the effects\nI could never observe, and those that are to be observed can easily\nbe accounted for, by supposing that side to be entirely destitute\nof electric matter. The most sensible effect of a body charged with\nelectricity is, that when you present your finger to it, a spark will\nissue from it to your finger: now when a phial, prepared for the\nLeyden experiment, is hung to the gun-barrel or prime-conductor, and\nyou turn the globe in order to charge it; as soon as the electric\nmatter is excited, you can observe a spark to issue from the external\nsurface of the phial to your finger, which, Mr. Franklin says, is\nthe natural electric matter of the glass driven out by that received\nby the inner surface from the conductor. If it be only drawn out by\nsparks, a vast number of them may be drawn; but if you take hold of\nthe external surface with your hand, the phial will soon receive all\nthe electric matter it is capable of, and the outside will then be\nentirely destitute of its electric matter, and no spark can be drawn\nfrom it by the finger: here then is a want of that effect which all\nbodies, charged with electricity, have. Some of the effects of an\nelectric body, which I suppose the Abb\u00e9 has observed in the exterior\nsurface of a charged phial, are that all light bodies are attracted\nby it. This is an effect which I have constantly observed, but do not\nthink that it proceeds from an attractive quality in the exterior\nsurface of the phial, but in those light bodies themselves, which\nseem to be attracted by the phial. It is a constant observation,\nthat when one body has a greater charge of electric matter in it\nthan another (that is in proportion to the quantity they will hold)\nthis body will attract that which has less: now, I suppose, and it\nis a part of Mr. Franklin's system, that all those light bodies\nwhich appear to be attracted, have more electric matter in them than\nthe external surface of the phial has, wherefore they endeavour to\nattract the phial to them, which is too heavy to be moved by the\nsmall degree of force they exert, and yet being greater than their\nown weight, moves them to the phial. The following experiment will\nhelp the imagination in conceiving this. Suspend a cork ball, or a\nfeather, by a silk thread, and electrise it; then bring this ball\nnigh to any fixed body, and it will appear to be attracted by that\nbody, for it will fly to it: now, by the consent of electricians, the\nattractive cause is in the ball itself, and not in the fixed body to\nwhich it flies: this is a similar case with the apparent attraction\nof light bodies, to the external surface of a charged phial.\n\nThe Abb\u00e9 says, _p._ 69, \"that he can electrise a hundred men,\nstanding on wax, if they hold hands, and if one of them touch one\nof these surfaces (the exterior) with the end of his finger:\" this\nI know he can, while the phial is charging, but after the phial is\ncharged I am as certain he cannot: that is, hang a phial, prepared\nfor the Leyden experiment, to the conductor, and let a man, standing\non the floor, touch the coating with his finger, while the globe is\nturned, till the electric matter spews out of the hook of the phial,\nor some part of the conductor, which I take to be the certainest sign\nthat the phial has received all the electric matter it can: after\nthis appears, let the man, who before stood on the floor, step on a\ncake of wax, where he may stand for hours, and the globe all that\ntime turned; and yet have no appearance of being electrised. After\nthe electric matter was spewed out as above from the hook of the\nphial prepared for the Leyden experiment, I hung another phial, in\nlike manner prepared, to a hook fixed in the coating of the first,\nand held this other phial in my hand; now if there was any electric\nmatter transmitted through the glass of the first phial, the second\none would certainly receive and collect it; but having kept the\nphials in this situation for a considerable time, during which the\nglobe was continually turned, I could not perceive that the second\nphial was in the least charged, for when I touched the hook with\nmy finger, as in the Leyden experiment, I did not feel the least\ncommotion, nor perceive any spark to issue from the hook.\n\nI likewise made the following experiment: having charged two phials\n(prepared for the Leyden experiment) through their hooks; two persons\ntook each one of these phials in their hand; one held his phial by\nthe coating, the other by the hook, which he could do by removing\nthe communication from the bottom before he took hold of the hook.\nThese persons placed themselves one on each side of me, while I stood\non a cake of wax, and took hold of the hook of that phial which was\nheld by its coating (upon which a spark issued, but the phial was not\ndischarged, as I stood on wax) keeping hold of the hook, I touched\nthe coating of the phial that was held by its hook with my other\nhand, upon which there was a large spark to be seen between my finger\nand the coating, and both phials were instantly discharged. If the\nAbb\u00e9's opinion be right, that the exterior surface, communicating\nwith the coating, is charged, as well as the interior, communicating\nwith the hook; how can I, who stand on wax, discharge both these\nphials, when it is well known I could not discharge one of them\nsingly? Nay, suppose I have drawn the electric matter from both of\nthem, what becomes of it? For I appear to have no additional quantity\nin me when the experiment is over, and I have not stirred off the\nwax: wherefore this experiment fully convinces me, that the exterior\nsurface is not charged; and not only so, but that it wants as much\nelectric matter as the inner has of excess: for by this supposition,\nwhich is a part of Mr. Franklin's system, the above experiment is\neasily accounted for, as follows:\n\nWhen I stand on wax, my body is not capable of receiving all the\nelectric matter from the hook of one phial, which it is ready to\ngive; neither can it give as much to the coating of the other phial\nas it is ready to take, when one is only applied to me: but when both\nare applied, the coating takes from me what the hook gives: thus I\nreceive the fire from the first phial at B, the exterior surface of\nwhich is supplied from the hand at A: I give the fire to the second\nphial at C, whose interior surface is discharged by the hand at D.\nThis discharge at D may be made evident by receiving that fire into\nthe hook of a third phial, which is done thus: In place of taking\nthe hook of the second phial in your hand, run the wire of a third\nphial, prepared as for the Leyden experiment, through it, and hold\nthis third phial in your hand, the second one hanging to it, by\nthe ends of the hooks run through each other: when the experiment\nis performed, this third phial receives the fire at D, and will be\ncharged.\n\n[Illustration: (of the experiment above)]\n\nWhen this experiment is considered, I think, it must fully prove\nthat the exterior surface of a charged phial wants electric matter,\nwhile the inner surface has an excess of it. One thing more worthy\nof notice in this experiment is, that I feel no commotion or shock in\nmy arms, though so great a quantity of electric matter passes them\ninstantaneously: I only feel a pricking in the ends of my fingers.\nThis makes me think the Abb\u00e9 has mistook, when he says, that there\nis no difference between the shock felt in performing the Leyden\nexperiment, and the pricking felt on drawing simple sparks, except\nthat of greater to less. In the last experiment, as much electric\nmatter went through my arms, as would have given me a very sensible\nshock, had there been an immediate communication, by my arms, from\nthe hook to the coating of the same phial; because when it was taken\ninto a third phial, and that phial discharged singly through my arms,\nit gave me a sensible shock. If these experiments prove that the\nelectric matter does not pass through the entire thickness of the\nglass, it is a necessary consequence that it must always come out\nwhere it entered.\n\nThe next thing I meet with is in the Abb\u00e9's fifth letter, _p._\n88, where he differs from Mr. Franklin, who thinks that the whole\npower of giving a shock is in the glass itself, and not in the\nnon-electrics in contact with it. The experiments which Mr. Franklin\ngave to prove this opinion, in his _Observations on the Leyden\nBottle_, p. 179, convinced me that he was in the right; and what the\nAbb\u00e9 has asserted, in contradiction thereto, has not made me think\notherwise. The Abb\u00e9, perceiving, as I suppose, that the experiments,\nas Mr. Franklin had performed them, must prove his assertion, alters\nthem without giving any reason for it, and makes them in a manner\nthat proves nothing. Why will he have the phial, into which the,\nwater is to be decanted from a charged phial, held in a man's hand?\nIf the power of giving a shock is in the water contained in the\nphial, it should remain there though decanted into another phial,\nsince no non-electric body touched it to take that power off. The\nphial being placed on wax is no objection, for it cannot take the\npower from the water, if it had any, but it is a necessary means to\ntry the fact; whereas, that phial's being charged when held in a\nman's hand, only proves that water will conduct the electric matter.\nThe Abb\u00e9 owns, _p._ 94, that he had heard this remarked, but says,\nWhy is not a conductor of electricity an electric subject? This is\nnot the question; Mr. Franklin never said that water was not an\nelectric subject; he said, that the power of giving a shock was in\nthe glass, and not in the water; and this, his experiments fully\nprove; so fully, that it may appear impertinent to offer any more:\nyet as I do not know that the following has been taken notice of by\nany body before, my inserting of it in this place may be excused.\nIt is this: Hang a phial, prepared for the Leyden experiment, to\nthe conductor, by its hook, and charge it, which done, remove the\ncommunication from the bottom of the phial. Now the conductor shews\nevident signs of being electrised; for if a thread be tied round it,\nand its ends left about two inches long, they will extend themselves\nout like a pair of horns; but if you touch the conductor, a spark\nwill issue from it, and the threads will fall, nor does the conductor\nshew the least sign of being electrised after this is done. I think\nthat by this touch, I have taken out all the charge of electric\nmatter that was in the conductor, the hook of the phial, and water\nor filings of iron contained in it; which is no more than we see all\nnon-electric bodies will receive: yet the glass of the phial retains\nits power of giving a shock, as any one will find that pleases to\ntry. This experiment fully evidences, that the water in the phial\ncontains no more electric matter than it would do in an open bason,\nand has not any of that great quantity which produces the shock, and\nis only retained by the glass. If after the spark is drawn from the\nconductor, you touch the coating of the phial (which all this while\nis supposed to hang in the air, free from any non-electric body)\nthe threads on the conductor will instantly start up, and shew that\nthe conductor is electrised. It receives this electrisation from\nthe inner surface of the phial, which, when the outer surface can\nreceive what it wants from the hand applied to it, will give as much\nas the bodies in contact with it can receive, or if they be large\nenough, all that it has of excess. It is diverting to see how the\nthreads will rise and fall by touching the coating and conductor of\nthe phial alternately. May it not be that the difference between\nthe charged side of the glass, and the outer or emptied side, being\nlessened by touching the hook or the conductor; the outer side can\nreceive from the hand which touched it, and by its receiving, the\ninner side cannot retain so much; and for that reason so much as it\ncannot contain electrises the water, or filings and conductor: for\nit seems to be a rule, that the one side must be emptied in the same\nproportion that the other is filled: though this from experiment\nappears evident, yet it is still a mystery not to be accounted for.\n\nI am in many places of the Abb\u00e9's book surprised to find that\nexperiments have succeeded so differently at Paris, from what they\ndid with Mr. Franklin, and as I have always observed them to do. The\nAbb\u00e9, in making experiments to find the difference between the two\nsurfaces of a charged glass, will not have the phial placed on wax:\nfor, says he, don't you know that being placed on a body originally\nelectric, it quickly loses its virtue? I cannot imagine what should\nhave made the Abb\u00e9 think so; it certainly is contradictory to the\nnotions commonly received of electrics _per se_; and by experiment I\nfind it entirely otherwise: for having several times left a charged\nphial, for that purpose, standing on wax for hours, I found it to\nretain as much of its charge as another that stood at the same time\non a table. I left one standing on wax from ten o'clock at night\ntill eight the next morning, when I found it to retain a sufficient\nquantity of its charge, to give me a sensible commotion in my arms,\nthough the room in which the phial stood had been swept in that time,\nwhich must have raised much dust to facilitate the discharge of the\nphial.\n\nI find that a cork-ball suspended between two bottles, the one fully\nand the other but little charged, will not play between them, but is\ndriven into a situation that makes a triangle with the hooks of the\nphials: though the Abb\u00e9 has asserted the contrary of this, p. 101,\nin order to account for the playing of a cork-ball between the wire\nthrust into the phial, and one that rises up from its coating. The\nphial which is least charged must have more electric matter given to\nit, in proportion to its bulk, than the cork-ball receives from the\nhook of the full phial.\n\nThe Abb\u00e9 says, p. 103, \"That a piece of metal leaf hung to a silk\nthread and electrised, will be repelled by the bottom of a charged\nphial held by its hook in the air:\" this I find constantly otherwise,\nit is with me always first attracted and then repelled: it is\nnecessary in charging the leaf to be careful, that it does not fly\noff to some non-electric body, and so discharge itself when you think\nit is charged; it is difficult to keep it from flying to your own\nwrist, or to some part of your body.\n\nThe Abb\u00e9, p. 108, says, \"that it is not impossible, as Mr. Franklin\nsays it is, to charge a phial while there is a communication formed\nbetween its coating and its hook.\" I have always found it impossible\nto charge such a phial so as to give a shock: indeed, if it hang on\nthe conductor without a communication from it, you may draw a spark\nfrom it as you may from any body that hangs there, but this is very\ndifferent from being charged in such a manner as to give a shock. The\nAbb\u00e9, in order to account for the little quantity of electric matter\nthat is to be found in the phial, says, \"that it rather follows the\nmetal than the glass, and that it is spewed out into the air from\nthe coating of the phial.\" I wonder how it comes not to do so too,\nwhen it sifts through the glass, and charges the exterior surface,\naccording to the Abb\u00e9's system!\n\nThe Abb\u00e9's objections against Mr. Franklin's two last experiments, I\nthink, have little weight in them: he seems, indeed, much at a loss\nwhat to say, wherefore he taxes Mr. Franklin with having concealed a\nmaterial part of the experiment; a thing too mean for any gentleman\nto be charged with, who has not shown as great a partiality in\nrelating experiments, as the Abb\u00e9 has done.\n\n\n\n\n  END OF VOLUME THE FIRST.\n\n\n  J. CUNDEE, PRINTER,\n\n  IVY-LANE.\n\n\n\n\n  INDEX.\n\n\n  A.\n\n  _Accent_, or emphasis, wrong placing of, a fault in modern tunes, ii. 345.\n\n  _Accidents_ at sea, how to guard against, ii. 172.\n\n  _Adams_, Mr. Matthew, offers the use of his library to Franklin, i. 16.\n\n  _Addison_, Franklin an assiduous imitator of, in his youth, i. 13.\n\n  _Advice_ to youth in reading, ii. 378.\n      to emigrants to America, iii. 398.\n      to a crafty statesman, 430.\n      to a young tradesman, 463.\n      to a young married man, 477.\n      to players at chess, 490.\n\n  _\u00c6pinus_, his hypothesis of magnetism, i. 412.\n\n  _Agriculture_ takes place of manufactures till a country is fully settled,\n               iii. 107.\n      the great business of America, 393.\n\n  _Air_, some of the properties of, ii. 226.\n      its properties with respect to electricity, i. 204.\n      properties of its particles, 205. ii. 1.\n      its currents over the globe, i. 207.\n      resists the electric fluid and confines it to bodies, 241.\n      its effects in electrical experiments, 253.\n      its elasticity not affected by electricity, 254.\n      its friction against trees, 270, 323.\n      has its share of electricity, 333.\n      its electricity denser above than below, 335.\n      in rooms, electrified positively and negatively, 353.\n      attracts water, ii. 1.\n      when saturated with water precipitates it, 2.\n      dissolves water, and, when dry, oil, 4.\n      why suffocating, when impregnated with oil or grease, _ibid._\n      supports water, 5, 46, 49.\n      why less heated in the higher regions than near the earth's surface,\n               6.\n      how it creates hurricanes, _ibid._\n          winds, 8.\n          whirlwinds, 10.\n      effects of heat upon, 50.\n      its effects on the barometer, 92.\n      condensed, supposed to form the centre of the earth, 119, 127.\n      noxious, corrected by vegetation, 129.\n      observations on the free use of, 213.\n      rare, no bad conductor of sound, 337.\n      fresh, beneficial effects of, in bed-rooms, iii. 495.\n\n  _Air-thermometer_, electrical, experiments with, i. 336.\n\n  _Albany_ plan of union, short account of, i. 127.\n      its singular fate, 129.\n      papers relating to, iii. 3.\n      motives on which formed, 4.\n      rejects partial unions, 6.\n      its president and grand council, 9.\n      election of members, 12.\n      place of first meeting, 13.\n      new election, _ibid._\n      proportion of members after three years, 15.\n      meetings of the grand council and call, 16.\n      allowance to members, 17.\n      power of president and his duty, 18.\n      treaties of peace and war, _ibid._\n      Indian trade and purchases, 19.\n      new settlements, 21.\n      military establishments, 23.\n      laws and taxes, 24, 26.\n      issuing of money, 25.\n      appointment of officers, 27.\n      rejected in England, 29.\n\n  _Almanack._ _See Poor Richard._\n\n  _Alphabet_, a new one proposed, ii. 357.\n      examples of writing in it, 360.\n      correspondence on its merits, 361.\n\n  _Amber_, electrical experiments on, i. 403.\n\n  _America_, North, air of, drier than that of England and France, ii. 140.\n      why marriages are more frequent there than in Europe, 385.\n      why labour will long continue dear there, _ibid._\n      argument against the union of the colonies of, under one government,\n               401.\n      state of toleration there, 457.\n      reflections on the scheme of imposing taxes on, without its consent,\n               iii. 30.\n      thoughts on the representation of, in the British parliament, 37.\n      interest of Great Britain with regard to, 39.\n      forts in the back settlements of, no security against France, 99.\n      wars carried on there against the French, not merely in the cause of\n               the colonies, 105.\n      preference of the colonies of, to the West Indian colonies, 113.\n      great navigable rivers of, favourable to inland trade, 118.\n      what commodities the inland parts of, are fitted to produce, 119.\n      the productions of, do not interfere with those of Britain, 123.\n      union of the colonies of, in a revolt against Britain, impossible but\n               from grievous oppression, 132.\n      reasons given for restraining paper-bills of credit there, 144.\n      intended scheme of a bank there, described, 155.\n      attempts of Franklin for conciliation of Britain with, 286.\n      feeling of, as to Britain, in May 1775, 346.\n      conciliation of Britain with, hopeless, 355.\n      account of the first campaign of the British forces against, 357.\n      application of, to foreign courts, for aid in its independence, 360.\n      credit of, with that of Britain, in 1777, compared, 372.\n      true description of the interest and policy of, 391.\n      information to those emigrating thither, 398.\n      terms on which land may be obtained for new settlements there, 409.\n\n  _Americans_, their prejudices for whatever is English, i. 144.\n\n  _Anchor_, a swimming one proposed, ii. 181, 185.\n\n  _Ancients_, their experimental learning too often slighted, ii. 146.\n\n  _Anecdote_ of Franklin's early spirit of enterprise, i. 11.\n      of a Swedish clergyman among the Indians, iii. 386.\n      of an Indian who went to church, 389.\n\n  _Animal_ food, Franklin's abstinence from, i. 20.\n      return to, 47.\n      humorous instance of abstinence from, 49.\n      heat, whence it arises, ii. 79, 125.\n      magnetism, detected and exposed, i. 150.\n\n  _Animalcules_, supposed to cause the luminous appearance of sea-water,\n               ii. 89.\n\n  _Animals_, how to kill them by electricity, i. 415.\n\n  _Antifederalists_ of America, comparison of, to the ancient Jews,\n               iii. 410.\n\n  _Apprentices_ easier placed out in America than in Europe, iii. 407.\n      indentures of, how made in America, 408.\n\n  _Argumentation_, bad effects of, as a habit, i. 17.\n      best method of, 22.\n\n  _Armies_, best means of supporting them, ii. 400.\n\n  _Armonica_, musical instrument so called, described, ii. 330.\n      manner of playing on it, 334.\n\n  _Asbestos_, specimen of, sold by Franklin to Sir Hans Sloane, i. 60.\n      letter relating to it, iii. 513.\n\n  _Astrology_, letter to the Busy-body on, iii. 448.\n\n  _Atmosphere_ sometimes denser above than below, ii. 6.\n      electrical, its properties, i. 294.\n\n  _Aurora borealis_ explained, i. 212.\n      conjectures respecting, 257, ii. 69.\n      query concerning, i. 293.\n\n\n  B.\n\n  _Badoin_, Mr. letters from, i. 314, 324.\n\n  _Ballads_, two, written by Franklin in his youth, i. 16.\n\n  _Balls_ of fire in the air, remark concerning, ii. 337.\n\n  _Barometer_, how acted on by air, ii. 92.\n\n  _Barrels_ for gunpowder, new sort proposed, i. 376.\n\n  _Bass_, unnecessary in some tunes, ii. 343.\n\n  _Bathing_ relieves thirst, ii. 104.\n      observations on, 211.\n\n  _Battery_, electrical, its construction, i. 193.\n\n  _Baxter_, Mr. observations on his enquiry into the nature of the soul,\n               ii. 110.\n\n  _Beccaria_, character of his book on electricity, i. 310.\n\n  _Beer_, not conducive to bodily strength, i. 62.\n\n  _Bells_, form in consecrating them at Paris, i. 384.\n\n  _Belly-ache_, dry, lead a cause of, ii. 220.\n\n  _Bermuda_, little thunder there, i. 216.\n\n  _Bermudian_ sloops, advantages of their construction, ii. 173.\n\n  _Bernoulli_, Mr. his plan for moving boats, ii. 179.\n\n  _Bevis_, Dr. draws electricity from the clouds, i. 429.\n\n  _Bible_, anecdote of its concealment in the reign of Mary, i. 7.\n      travestied by Dr. Brown, 31.\n\n  _Bills_ of mortality, reasonings, formed on those for capital cities,\n               not applicable to the country, ii. 383.\n\n  _Birth_, noble, no qualification in America, iii. 400.\n\n  _Bishops_, none in America, and why, ii. 456, 458.\n\n  _Black clothes_ heat more and dry sooner than white, ii. 108.\n      not fit for hot climates, 109.\n\n  _Blacksmith_, trade of, hereditary in Franklin's family, i. 4.\n\n  _Blindness_ occasioned both by lightning and electricity, i. 228.\n\n  _Boats_, difference of their sailing in shoal and deep water, ii. 160.\n      management of, best understood by savages, 176.\n      how rowed by the Chinese, 177.\n      methods of moving them by machinery, _ibid._\n      improvement of Mr. Bernoulli's plan for moving them, 179.\n      proposal for a new mode of moving them, _ibid._\n      double, advantage of, 173, 174.\n      one built by Sir W. Petty, _ibid._\n\n  _Bodies_, electrified negatively, repel each other, ii. 294.\n      effect of blunt, compared with pointed ones, i. 172, 223.\n\n  _Body_, human, specifically lighter than water, ii. 208.\n      political and human, compared, iii. 115.\n\n  _Boerhaave_, his opinion of the propagation of heat, ii. 58.\n      of steam from fermenting liquors, 59.\n\n  _Boiling_ water, experiments with, i. 332, 344, 345.\n      pot, bottom of, why cold, 387.\n\n  _Bolton_, Mr. experiment by, i. 346.\n\n  _Books_ read by Franklin in his youth, i. 15, 18, 20, 21.\n\n  _Boston_, the birth-place of Franklin, i. 8.\n      why quitted by him in his youth, 27,\n      its inhabitants decrease, ii. 210.\n      preface to proceedings of the town meeting of, iii. 317.\n\n  _Boyle's_ lectures, effect of, on Franklin, i. 79.\n\n  _Braddock_, general, defeat of, i. 131.\n\n  _Bradford_, printer at Philadelphia, i. 34, 102.\n\n  _Brass_, hot, yields unwholesome steams, ii. 249\n\n  _Brientnal_, Joseph, a member of the Junto club, i. 83.\n\n  _Brimstone_, when fluid, will conduct electricity, i. 256.\n\n  _Bristol waters_, an alledged fact concerning, ii. 95.\n\n  _Britain_, incapacity of, to supply the colonies with manufactures,\n               ii. 386.\n\n  _British empire_, an union of several states, iii. 310.\n\n  _Brown_, Dr. acquaintance of Franklin's, i. 30.\n      travestied the bible, 31.\n\n  _Bubbles_ on the surface of water, hypothesis respecting, ii. 48.\n\n  _Buchan_, earl of, letter to, on the price of land for new settlements\n               in America, iii. 409.\n\n  _Buildings_, what kind safest from lightning, i. 379.\n\n  _Bullion_, causes of its variation in price, iii. 153.\n\n  _Bunyan's_ Voyages, a book early read by Franklin, i. 15, 28.\n\n  _Bur_, cause of, round a hole struck through pasteboard, i. 280.\n\n  _Burnet_, governor, his attention to Franklin in his youth, i. 44.\n\n  _Busy-body_, essays under the title of, i. 86. iii. 422.\n\n\n  C.\n\n  _Cabinet-work_, veneered in England, shrinks and flies in America,\n               ii. 140.\n\n  _Cables_, why apt to part when weighing anchor in a swell, ii. 167.\n      this defect of, remedied, 168.\n\n  _Cabot_, Sebastian, his commission from Henry VII., iii. 348.\n\n  _Calvinism_, Franklin educated in the principles of, i. 79.\n\n  _Campaign_ in America, account of the first, iii. 357.\n\n  _Canals_, observations on their depth, ii. 159.\n\n  _Canada_, importance of, to England, i. 136.\n      visited by Franklin, 147.\n      its extent, iii. 20.\n      pamphlet on the importance of, 89.\n      easily peopled without draining Britain, 139.\n\n  _Cancers_, specific for, i. 260, 261.\n\n  _Candles_ lighted by electricity, i. 176.\n      distance at which the flame of, may be seen, ii. 90.\n\n  _Cann_, silver, a singular experiment on, i. 307.\n\n  _Canoes_ of the American Indians, their advantages, ii. 176.\n\n  _Canton_, Mr. John, experiments by, i. 286, 346.\n      draws electricity from the clouds, 428.\n\n  _Capitals_, their use in printing, ii. 352.\n\n  _Caribbees_, possession of, only a temporary benefit, iii. 142.\n\n  _Carolina_, South, see _Lightning_.\n\n  _Cavendish_, lord Charles, his electrical experiments, i. 348.\n\n  _Cayenne_ would be a great acquisition to Britain, iii. 140.\n\n  _Centre_ of the earth, hypothesis concerning, ii. 119, 127.\n\n  _Cessions_ from an enemy, on what grounds may be demanded, iii. 93.\n\n  _Chapel_, nickname for a printing house, i. 63.\n\n  _Character_, remarks on the delineation of, iii. 445.\n\n  _Charcoal-fires_, hurtful, ii. 235.\n\n  _Charging_ and discharging, in electricity, explained, i. 190.\n      a number of bottles at once, how done, _ibid._\n\n  _Charters_ of the colonies could not be altered by parliament, iii. 332.\n\n  _Chess_, morals of, iii. 488.\n      not an idle amusement, _ibid._\n      teaches various virtues, 489.\n      advice to those who play, 490.\n      too intense an application to, injurious, 500.\n\n  _Chimnies_, different kinds of, enumerated, ii. 228.\n      inconvenience of the old-fashioned ones, 229.\n      defect of more modern ones, 230.\n      have not long been in use in England, 277.\n      Staffordshire, described, 285.\n      have a draft of air up and down, 289.\n      may be used for keeping provisions in summer, 290.\n      may be of use to miners, 291.\n      funnels to, what the best, 292, 295.\n      method of contracting them, 317.\n      smoky. See _Smoky_.\n\n  _China_, provision made there against famine, ii. 407.\n\n  _Chinese_ wisely divide the holds of their vessels by partitions, ii. 171.\n      how they row their boats, 177.\n      their method of warming ground floors, 292.\n      improvement in this method suggested, 293.\n      their method of making large paper, 349.\n\n  _Circle_, magical, account of, ii. 327, 328.\n\n  _Cities_, spring water gradually deteriorates in, i. 163.\n      do not supply themselves with inhabitants, ii. 384.\n\n  _Clark_, Dr. of Boston, quoted, on the instigation of the American\n               Indians against the English, iii. 95, 100, 102.\n\n  _Clothes_, wet, may preserve from lightning, i. 213.\n          will relieve thirst, ii. 104.\n          do not give colds, _ibid._\n      imbibe heat according to their colour, 108.\n      white, most suitable for hot climates, _ibid._\n\n  _Clothing_ does not give, but preserves, warmth, ii. 81.\n\n  _Clouds_, at land and at sea, difference between, i. 207.\n      formed at sea, how brought to rain on land, 208.\n          driven against mountains, form springs and rivers, 209.\n      passing different ways, accounted for, 211.\n      electrical, attracted by trees, spires, &c. 213.\n      manner in which they become electrised, 257, 305.\n      are electrised sometimes negatively and sometimes positively, 274,\n               277, 284, 292.\n      electricity drawn from them, at Marly, 420.\n          by Mr. Cauton, 428.\n          by Dr. Bevis, 429,\n          by Mr. Wilson, _ibid._\n      how supported in air, ii. 5.\n      how formed, 7.\n      whether winds are generated or can be confined in them, 57.\n      have little more solidity than fogs, _ibid._\n\n  _Club_, called the Junto, instituted by Franklin, i. 82.\n      rules of, ii. 366, 369.\n      questions discussed in, 369.\n\n  _Coal_, sea, letter on the nature of, ii. 128.\n\n  _Cold_, why seemingly greater in metals than in wood, ii. 56, 77.\n      sensation of, how produced, 57.\n      only the absence of heat, 81.\n      produced by chemical mixtures, _ibid._\n          evaporation. See _Evaporation_.\n\n  _Colden_, Mr. his remarks on Abb\u00e9 Nollet's letters, i. 430.\n      meteorological observations, ii. 51.\n      observations on water-spouts, 53.\n\n  _Colds_, causes of, ii. 214, 230.\n\n  _Coleman_, William, a member of the Junto club, i. 84, 89.\n\n  _Colica pictorum_, caused by lead, ii. 219.\n\n  _Collins_, John, an early friend of Franklin's, i. 17, 27, 41, 43, 44.\n\n  _Collinson_, Mr. some account of, iii. 514.\n\n  _Colonial_ governments in America of three kinds, iii. 50.\n\n  _Colonies_, the settlement of, does not diminish national numbers,\n               ii. 391.\n      their prosperity beneficial to the mother country, iii. 113.\n      are intitled to distinct governments, 303.\n      American, preferable to the West Indies, _ibid._\n          not dangerous to Britain, 132.\n          aids to government, how given by, 225, 226.\n          originally governed by the crown, independent of Parliament,\n               291.\n          not settled at the expence of Britain, 348.\n\n  _Colonists_ in America, double their number in 25 years, iii. 113.\n      from Britain, their rights, 299.\n\n  _Colours._ See _Clothes_.\n\n  _Comazants_, or corposants, are electrical appearances, i. 248.\n\n  _Commerce_, influence of, on the manners of a people, ii. 400.\n      is best encouraged by being left free, 415.\n      should not be prohibited in time of war, 417.\n      by inland carriage, how supported, iii. 116.\n\n  _Common-sense_, by Paine, Franklin supposed to have contributed to,\n               i. 148.\n\n  _Compass_, instances of its losing its virtue by lightning, i. 248.\n      how to remedy the want of, at sea, ii. 191.\n\n  _Conductors_ of lightning, very common in America, i. 113.\n          first suggestion of the utility of, 227.\n          construction of, 358.\n          particulars relating to, 377.\n      of electricity, difference in the action of, 200, 303.\n          which the most perfect, 253, 256.\n      and non-conductors, other terms substituted for, _ibid._\n      of common fire, their properties and differences, ii. 76, 77.\n          experiments on, ii. 77.\n\n  _Congress_, Franklin appointed a delegate to, i. 146.\n      proposed overture from, in 1775, iii. 347.\n\n  _Consecration_ of bells in France, form of, i. 384.\n\n  _Conspirators_, electrical, meaning of the term, i. 196.\n\n  _Controversy_, benefit of, iii. 92.\n\n  _Conversation_, advantage of useful topics of, at dinner, i. 12.\n\n  _Cook_, captain, circular letter concerning, iii. 515.\n      copy of the voyages of, presented to Franklin, by the Admiralty, 517.\n\n  Cookery, at sea, generally bad, ii. 194.\n\n  _Copper_, manner of covering houses with, ii. 318, 320, 322.\n\n  _Copper_ plate printing-press, the first in America, constructed by\n               Franklin, i. 77.\n\n  _Corn_, ill policy of laying restraints on the exportation of, ii. 413,\n               418.\n\n  _Countries_, distant and unprovided, a plan for benefiting, ii. 403.\n\n  _Creation_, conjectures as to, ii. 118.\n\n  _Credit_, that of America and Britain in 1777, compared, iii. 372.\n      depends on payment of loans, 373.\n         industry and frugality, 374.\n         public spirit, 375.\n         income and security, 376.\n         prospects of future ability, _ibid._\n         prudence, 377.\n         character for honesty, 378.\n      is money to a tradesman, 464.\n\n  _Criminal_ laws, reflections on, ii. 439.\n\n  _Crooked_ direction of lightning explained, i. 316.\n\n  _Cutler_, circumstance that prevented Franklin's being apprenticed to\n               one, i. 14.\n\n  _Currents_ at sea, often not perceivable, ii. 185.\n\n  _Cyder_, the best quencher of thirst, ii. 195.\n\n\n  D.\n\n  _Dalrymple_, Mr. scheme of a voyage under his command to benefit remote\n               regions, ii. 403.\n\n  _Damp_ air, why more chilling than dry air that is colder, ii. 56, 77.\n\n  _Dampier_, account of a water-spout by, ii. 33.\n      references to his voyage, on the subject of water-spouts, 58.\n\n  _Dampness_ on walls, cause of, ii. 50.\n\n  _Day-light_, proposal to use it instead of candle-light, iii. 470.\n\n  _Deacon_, Isaac, from an underling to a surveyor, becomes inspector-\n              general of America, i. 78.\n      prognosticates the future eminence in life of Franklin, _ib._\n\n  _Death_ of Franklin, i. 153.\n          letter from Dr. Price on, iii. 541.\n      of relatives, reflections on, 507.\n\n  _Deism_, effects on Franklin of books written against, i. 79.\n\n  _Deluge_, accounted for, ii. 127.\n\n  _Denham_, a quaker, a friend of Franklin's, i. 54.\n      extraordinary trait of honesty of, to his creditors, 67.\n      Franklin's engagement with, as a clerk, 68, 70.\n\n  _Denmark_, the people of, not subject to colds, ii. 244.\n\n  _Denny_, governor, remarks on his official conduct in Pensylvania,\n               iii. 170.\n\n  _Desaquiliers_, his experiment on the vapour of hot iron, ii. 249.\n\n  _Dew_, how produced, i. 207.\n\n  _Dialogue_, between Franklin and the gout, iii. 499.\n\n  _Dickenson_, Mr. his remarks on the views of England in framing laws\n               over the colonies, iii. 234.\n      remarks on his conduct, 192.\n          on his protest, 202.\n\n  _Discontented_ dispositions satirized, iii. 485.\n\n  _Discontents_ in America before 1768, causes of, iii. 225.\n\n  _Dissentions_ between England and America, letter on, iii. 310.\n\n  _Dissertation_, early one of Franklin's, that he repented having written,\n               i. 58.\n\n  _Disputation_, modesty in, recommended, i. 21. ii. 317.\n\n  _Disputes_ between Franklin and his brother, to whom he was apprenticed,\n               i. 24.\n\n  _Domien_, a traveller, short account of, i. 302.\n\n  _Drawling_, a defect in modern tunes, ii. 345.\n\n  _Dreams_, art of procuring pleasant ones, iii. 493.\n\n  _Dumas_, Monsieur, letter to, on the aid wanted by America in her struggle\n               for independence, iii. 360.\n\n  _Duna_ river, not to be confounded with the Dwina, iii. 119, note.\n\n  _Dust_, how raised and carried up into the air, ii. 3.\n\n  _Duties_, moral, the knowledge of, more important than the knowledge of\n               nature, ii. 95.\n\n  _Dutch_ iron stove, advantages and defects of, ii. 233.\n\n\n  E.\n\n  _Early_ impressions, lasting effect of, on the mind, iii. 478.\n\n  _Earth_ will dissolve in air, ii. 2.\n      dry, will not conduct electricity, i. 206.\n      the, sometimes strikes lightning into the clouds, 274.\n          grows no hotter under the summer sun, why, ii. 86.\n          different strata of, 116.\n          theory of, 117.\n\n  _Earthquakes_, general good arising from, ii. 116.\n      how occasioned, 120, 128.\n\n  _Eaton_, in Northamptonshire, residence of Franklin's family, i. 3.\n\n  _Ebb_ and flood, explanation of the terms, ii. 100.\n\n  _Economical_ project, iii. 469.\n\n  _Edinburgh_, an ordinance there against the purchase of prize-goods,\n               ii. 447.\n\n  _Education_ of women, controversy respecting, i. 17.\n\n  _Eel_, electrical, of Surinam, i. 408, 409.\n\n  _Effluvia_ of drugs, &c. will not pass through glass, i. 243.\n\n  _Electrical_ air-thermometer described, i. 336, _et seq._\n      atmosphere, how produced, 221.\n          how drawn off, 222.\n      atmospheres repel each other, 294.\n          repel electric matter in other bodies, _ib._\n      battery, its construction, 193.\n      clouds, experiment regarding, 229.\n      death, the easiest, 307.\n      experiments, Franklin's eager pursuit of, 104.\n          made in France, 109.\n          various, 182, 229, 254, 255, 261, 271, 278, 286, 294, 307, 327,\n               337, 348, 371, 434.\n      fire, not created by friction, but collected, 173.\n          passes through water, 202.\n          loves water and subsists in it, 203.\n          diffused through all matter, 205\n          visible on the surface of the sea, _ibid._\n          its properties and uses, 214, _et seq._\n          produces common fire, 214, 238, 356.\n          has the same crooked direction as lightning, 315.\n      fluid, its beneficial uses, 219.\n          is strongly attracted by glass, 236.\n          manner of its acting through glass hermetically sealed, 241.\n          a certain quantity of, in all kinds of matter, 275.\n          nature of its explosion, 280.\n          chooses the best conductor, 281, 378.\n      force, may be unboundedly increased, 251.\n      horse-race, 334.\n      jack for roasting, 197.\n      kiss, its force increased, 177.\n      kite, described, 268.\n      machine; simple and portable one, described, 178.\n      matter, its properties, 217, 294.\n      party of pleasure, 202.\n      phial, or Leyden bottle, its phenomena explained, 179.\n      shock, observations on, 182.\n          effects of a strong one on the human body, 297, 306.\n      spark, perforates a quire of paper, 195.\n      wheel, its construction, 196.\n          self-moving one, 198.\n\n  _Electricity_, summary of its progress, i. 104.\n      positive and negative, discovered, 106.\n          distinguished, 175.\n          in a tourmalin, 370.\n      does not affect the elasticity of the air, 254.\n      its similarity to lightning, 288.\n      its effects on paralysis, 401.\n      of fogs in Ireland, 405.\n      supposed affinity between, and magnetism, 410.\n\n  _Electrics per se_ and non-electrics, difference between, i. 242, 258.\n\n  _Electrified_ bumpers described, i. 203.\n\n  _Electrisation_, what constitutes the state of, i. 218.\n      various appearances of, 175.\n      variety of, 176.\n\n  _Electrising_ one's self, manner of, i. 174.\n\n  _Elocution_, how best taught, ii. 374.\n\n  _Embassador_ from the United States to France, Franklin appointed to the\n               office of, i. 148.\n\n  _Emblematical_ design illustrative of the American troubles, iii. 371.\n\n  _Emigrants_ to America, advice to, iii. 398.\n\n  _Empire_, rules for reducing a great one, iii. 334.\n\n  _England_, Franklin's first arrival in, i. 55.\n          second arrival in, as agent for the province of Pensylvania, 134.\n          third arrival in, as agent for the same province, 141.\n      its air moister than that of America, ii. 140.\n      decrease of population in, doubtful, 296.\n\n  _English_, effect of the ancient manners of, ii. 399.\n      language, innovations in, 351.\n\n  _Enterprises_, public, Franklin's early disposition for, i. 10.\n\n  _Ephemera_, an emblem of human life, iii. 508.\n\n  _Epitaph_ on Franklin's parents, i. 13.\n      on himself, 155.\n\n  _Episcopalians_, conduct of the American legislature towards, ii. 455.\n\n  _Errors_ of Franklin's early life, i. 45, 58, 61, 80, 97.\n\n  _Ether_, what, ii. 59.\n\n  _Evaporation_, cold produced by, i. 344, ii. 76, 83, 85.\n      of rivers, effects of, 106.\n\n  _Examination_ of Franklin before the house of commons, i. 142, iii. 245.\n      before the privy council, 328.\n      further particulars of, 551.\n\n  _Exchange_, rate of, between Philadelphia and Britain, iii. 252.\n\n  _Exercise_, should precede meals, iii. 493.\n\n  _Experiments_, to show the electrical effect of points, i. 171, 172.\n      to prove the electrical state of the Leyden phial, 182.\n      of firing spirits by a spark sent through a river, 202.\n      to show how thunder-storms produce rain, 209.\n      on the clouds, proposed, 228.\n      on drugs electrified, 243.\n      on the elasticity of the air, 254.\n      on the electric fluid, 255.\n      by Mr. Kennersley, 261.\n      on the electricity of the clouds, 271.\n      for increasing electricity, 278.\n      by Mr. Canton, 286.\n      in pursuance of those of Mr. Canton, 294.\n      on a silver cann, 307.\n      on the velocity of the electric fluid, 327, 329, 330.\n      for producing cold by evaporation, 344.\n      on the different effects of electricity, 357.\n      by lord Charles Cavendish, 348.\n      on the tourmalin, 371.\n      to show the utility of long pointed rods to houses, 389.\n      on amber, 403 _et seq._\n      on the Leyden phial, 434.\n      on different coloured cloths, ii. 108, 109.\n      on the sailing of boats, 160.\n\n  _Exportation_ of gold and silver, observations on, ii. 416.\n\n  _Exports_ to North America and the West Indies, iii. 127, 128.\n      to Pensylvania, 129, 250.\n      from ditto, 250.\n\n  _Eye_, retains the images of luminous objects, ii. 340.\n\n\n  F.\n\n  _Facts_, should be ascertained before we attempt to account for them,\n               ii. 96.\n\n  _Family_ of Franklin, account of, i. 5. _et seq._\n\n  _Famine_, how provided against in China, ii. 407.\n\n  _Fanning_, how it cools, ii. 87.\n\n  _Farmers_, remonstrance in behalf of, ii. 420.\n\n  _Federal_ constitution, speech on, iii. 416.\n\n  _Felons_, transportation of, to America, highly disagreeable to the\n               inhabitants, iii. 235.\n\n  _Fermenting_ liquors, their steam deleterious, ii. 59.\n\n  Fire, not destroyed by water, but dispersed, i. 172.\n      makes air specifically lighter, 206.\n      exists in all bodies, 214.\n      common and electrical, exist together, _ibid._\n      a region of, above our atmosphere, 257, ii. 124.\n      many ways of kindling it, i. 356.\n      exists in a solid or quiescent state in substances, _ibid._ ii. 80,\n               122.\n      recovers its fluidity by combustion, _ibid._\n      is a fluid permeating all bodies, 76.\n      conductors of, are also best conductors of the electric fluid, _ibid._\n          difference between, and electrical conductors, 77.\n      how diffused through substances, 78.\n      how generated in animated bodies, 79.\n      theory of, 122.\n      a fixed and permanent quantity of, in the universe, 123.\n      its properties, 227.\n      electrical, see _Electrical_.\n\n  _Fire-companies_, numerous at Philadelphia, i. 103.\n\n  _Fire-places_, Pensylvanian, account of, ii. 225.\n      large and open, inconvenient, 228.\n      hollow backed, by Gauger, 232.\n      Staffordshire, 285.\n      an ingenious one for serving two rooms, 296.\n\n  _Fires_, at sea, how often produced, ii. 174.\n      great and bright, damage the eyes and skin, 230.\n\n  _Fisheries_, value of those of Newfoundland, iii. 452.\n\n  _Flame_, preserves bodies from being consumed while surrounding them,\n               ii. 310, 311.\n\n  _Flaxseed_, amount of the exportation of from America to Ireland,\n               iii. 270.\n\n  _Flesh_, of animals, made tender by lightning and by electricity, i. 359,\n               414.\n\n  _Flies_, drowned in America, brought to life in England, ii. 223.\n\n  _Flood_ and ebb, explanation of the terms, ii. 100.\n\n  _Florence_ flask, when filled with boiling water, not chargeable with\n               electricity, i. 332, 345.\n\n  _Fog_, great, in 1783, ii. 68.\n      conjectures as to its cause, _ibid._\n\n  _Fogs_, how supported in air, ii. 5.\n      electricity of, in Ireland, i. 405.\n\n  _Folger_, family-name of Franklin's mother, i. 8.\n\n  _Foreigners_, the importation of, not necessary to fill up occasional\n               vacancies in population, ii. 390.\n\n  _Forts_ in the back settlements, not approved of, iii. 99.\n\n  _Foster_, judge, notes on his argument for the impress of seamen, ii. 437.\n\n  _Foundering_ at sea, accidents that occasion it, ii. 169, 170.\n\n  _Fountain_, when electrified, its stream separates, i. 206.\n\n  _Fowls_, improperly treated at sea, ii. 193.\n\n  _Fragments_, political, ii. 411.\n\n  _France_, its air moister than that of America, ii. 140.\n      effects of its military manners, 399.\n\n  _Franklin_, derivation of the name, i. 4.\n      genealogy of the family of, 5.\n\n  _Franks_, the improper use of, reprobated, ii. 435.\n\n  _Freezing_ to death in summer, possibility of, ii. 84.\n\n  _French_ language, its general use, ii. 353.\n\n  _Frontiers_, in America, the attack of, the common cause of the state,\n               iii. 109.\n\n  _Frugality_, advantages of, ii. 397.\n      observance of, in America, iii. 374\n\n  _Fruit-walls_, blacking them recommended, ii. 110.\n\n  _Fuel_, scarce in Philadelphia, ii. 225.\n\n  _Fulling-mills_ in America, iii. 270.\n\n  _Fusion_, cold, of metals, supposed, i. 215.\n      proves a mistake, 339.\n      error respecting it acknowledged, 355.\n\n\n  G.\n\n  _Galloway_, Mr, preface to his speech, iii. 163.\n\n  _Garnish-money_, practice among printers of demanding it, i. 63.\n\n  _Gauger_, M. his invention for fire-places, ii. 232.\n\n  _Genealogy_ of the Franklin family, i. 5.\n\n  _German_ stoves, advantages and disadvantages of, ii. 234.\n\n  _Germany_, why the several states of, encourage foreign manufactures in\n               preference to those of each other, iii. 118. note.\n\n  _Gilding_, its properties as a conductor, i. 201.\n      the effects of lightning and of electricity on, 229.\n      fails as a conductor after a few shocks, 231.\n\n  _Glass_, has always the same quantity of electrical fire, i. 191.\n      possesses the whole power of giving a shock, 192, 247.\n      in panes, when first used in an electrical experiment, 193, 194.\n      great force in small portions of, 199.\n      impermeable to the electric fluid, 234, 310.\n      strongly attracts the electric fluid, 236.\n      cannot be electrified negatively, _ibid._\n      its opposite surfaces, how affected, _ibid._\n      its component parts and pores extremely fine, 237.\n      manner of its operation in producing electricity, _ibid._\n      its elasticity, to what owing, 239.\n      thick, resists a change of the quantity of electricity of its\n               different sides, 242.\n      rod of, will not conduct a shock, _ibid._\n      when fluid, or red hot, will conduct electricity, 256.\n      difference in its qualities, 301.\n      error as to its pores, 302.\n      will admit the electric fluid, when moderately heated, 345, 347.\n      when cold retains the electric fluid, 346.\n      experiments on warm and cold, 348.\n      singular tube and ball of, 386.\n\n  _Glasses_, musical, described, ii. 330, _et seq._\n\n  _God_, saying in America respecting, iii. 401.\n\n  _Godfrey_, Thomas, a lodger with Franklin, i. 81.\n      a member of the Junto, 83.\n      inventor of Hadley's quadrant, _ibid._\n      wishes Franklin to marry a relation of his, 95.\n\n  _Gold_ and silver, remarks on exportation of, ii. 416.\n\n  _Golden_ fish, an electrical device, i. 233.\n\n  _Government_, free, only destroyed by corruption of manners, ii. 397.\n\n  _Gout_, dialogue with that disease, iii. 499.\n\n  _Grace_, Robert, member of the Junto club, i. 84, 89.\n\n  _Gratitude_ of America, letter on, iii. 239.\n\n  _Greasing_ the bottoms of ships, gives them more swiftness, ii. 180.\n\n  _Greece_, causes of its superiority over Persia, ii. 397.\n\n  _Greek_ empire, the destruction of, dispersed manufacturers over Europe,\n               iii. 122.\n\n  _Green_ and red, relation between the colours of, ii. 341.\n\n  _Greenlanders_, their boats best for rowing, ii. 176.\n\n  _Guadaloupe_, its value to Britain over-rated, iii. 139.\n\n  _Gulph-stream_, observations on, ii. 186.\n      whalers frequent its edges, _ibid._\n      long unknown to any but the American fishermen, _ibid._\n      how generated, 187.\n      its properties, _ibid._\n      tornadoes and water-spouts attending it, accounted for, 188.\n      how to avoid it, 197.\n      Nantucket whalers best acquainted with it, 198.\n      thermometrical observations on, 199.\n      journal of a voyage across, _ibid._\n\n  _Gunpowder_, fired by electricity, i. 250.\n      magazines of, how to secure them from lightning, 375.\n      proposal for keeping it dry, 376.\n\n\n  H.\n\n  _Habits_, effects of, on population, ii. 393. 394.\n\n  _Hadley's_ quadrant, by whom invented, i. 83, 95.\n\n  _Hail_, brings down electrical fire, i. 292.\n      how formed, ii. 66.\n\n  _Hamilton_, Mr. a friend of Franklin's, i. 54, 88.\n\n  _Handel_, criticism on one of his compositions, ii. 345.\n\n  _Harmony_, in music, what, ii. 339.\n\n  _Harp_, effect of, on the ancient Scotch tunes, ii. 340.\n\n  _Harry_, David, companion of Franklin's, i. 72, 93.\n\n  _Hats_, summer, should be white, ii. 109.\n      the manufacture of, in New England, in 1760, iii. 131.\n\n  _Health_ of seamen, Captain Cook's method of preserving it recommended,\n               ii. 190.\n\n  _Heat_, produced by electricity and by lightning, i. 338, 339.\n      better conducted by some substances than others, ii. 56, 58.\n      how propagated, 58.\n      the pain it occasions, how produced, 78.\n      in animals, how generated, 79, 125.\n      in fermentation, the same as that of the human body, 80.\n      great, at Philadelphia, in 1750, 85.\n      general theory of, 122.\n\n  _Herrings_, shoals of, perceived by the smoothness of the sea, ii. 150.\n\n  _Hints_ to those that would be rich, iii. 466.\n\n  _Holmes_, Robert, brother-in-law to Franklin, i. 37, 71.\n\n  _Honesty_, often a very partial principle of conduct, ii. 430.\n\n  _Honours_, all descending ones absurd, iii. 550.\n\n  _Hopkins_, governor, his report of the number of inhabitants in Rhode\n               Island, iii. 129.\n\n  _Horse-race_, electrical, i. 335.\n\n  _Hospital_, one founded by the exertions of Franklin, i. 126.\n\n  _Hospitals_, foundling, state of in England and France, iii. 544*, 548*.\n\n  _Hospitality_, a virtue of barbarians, iii. 391.\n\n  _Houses_, remarks on covering them with copper, ii. 318, 320.\n      many in Russia covered with iron plates, 319.\n      their construction in Paris renders them little liable to fires, 321.\n\n  _Howe_, lord, letter from, to Franklin, iii. 365.\n      Franklin's answer to, 367.\n\n  _Hudson's_ river, winds there, ii. 52, 59.\n\n  _Hunters_, require much land to subsist on, ii. 384.\n\n  _Hurricanes_, how produced, ii. 7.\n      why cold in hot climates, _ibid._\n\n  _Hutchinson_, governor, cause of the application for his removal,\n               iii. 323.\n      account of the letters of, 331, 551.\n\n  _Hygrometer_, best substances for forming one, ii. 136.\n      mahogany recommended for forming one, 141.\n\n\n  I. J.\n\n  _Jackson_, Mr. remarks on population by, ii. 392.\n\n  _Jamaica_, its vacant lands not easily made sugar lands, iii. 140.\n\n  _Javelle_, his machinery for moving boats, ii. 177.\n\n  _Ice_ will not conduct an electric shock, i. 201.\n\n  _Ice-islands_, dangerous to shipping, ii. 176.\n\n  _Idleness_, the heaviest tax on mankind, ii. 411, iii. 454.\n      encouraged by charity, ii. 422.\n      reflections on, iii. 428.\n\n  _Jefferson_, Mr. letter from, on the character of Franklin, iii. 545.\n\n  _Jesuits_, hostility of the Indians in America excited by, iii. 95.\n\n  _Ignorance_, a frank acknowledgment of, commendable, i. 308.\n\n  _Imports_ into Pensylvania from Britain before 1766, iii. 250.\n\n  _Impress_ of seamen, notes on Judge Foster's argument in favour of,\n               ii. 437.\n\n  _Inarticulation_ in modern singing, censured, ii. 348.\n\n  _Increase_ of mankind, observations on, ii. 383, and _seq._\n      what prevented by, 386, 387.\n      how promoted, 388, 389.\n      further observations on, 393.\n\n  _Indemnification_, just ground for requiring cessions from an enemy,\n               iii. 93.\n\n  _Independence_, soon acquired in America, iii. 402.\n\n  _Indian trade_ and affairs, remarks on a plan for the future management\n               of, iii. 216.\n      spirituous liquors the great encouragement of, 219.\n      the debts from, must be left to honour, 220.\n      not an American but a British interest, 275.\n\n  _Indians_, of North America, a number of, murdered, i. 139.\n      often excited by the French against the English, iii. 95.\n      list of fighting men in the different nations of, 221.\n      difference of their warfare from that of Europeans, 100.\n      remarks concerning, 383.\n      their mode of life, 384.\n          public councils, 385.\n          politeness in conversation, 386.\n          rules in visiting, 388.\n\n  _Industry_, effects of Franklin's, i. 85.\n      the cause of plenty, ii. 396.\n      essential to the welfare of a people, 411.\n      relaxed by cheapness of provisions, 415.\n      a greater portion of, in every nation, than of idleness, 396, 429,\n               iii. 396.\n      its prevalence in America, iii. 373.\n\n  _Inflammability_ of the surface of rivers, ii. 130.\n\n  _Inland_ commerce, instances of, iii. 120.\n\n  _Innovations_ in language and printing, ii. 351.\n\n  _Inoculation_, letter on the deaths occasioned by, ii. 215.\n      success of, in Philadelphia, 216, 217.\n\n  _Insects_, utility of the study of, ii. 93.\n\n  _Interrogation_, the mark of, how to be placed, ii. 356.\n\n  _Invention_, the faculty of, its inconveniences, i. 308.\n\n  _Inventions_, new, generally scouted, _ibid._\n\n  _Journal_ of a voyage, crossing the gulph-stream, ii. 199.\n      from Philadelphia to France, 200, 201.\n      from the channel to America, 202, _et seq._\n\n  _Iron_ contained in the globe, renders it a great magnet, ii. 119.\n      query whether it existed at the creation, 126.\n      hot, gives no bad smell, 247.\n          yields no bad vapours, 248.\n      rods, erected for experiments on the clouds, i. 270.\n          conduct more lightning in proportion to their thickness, 282.\n\n  _Islands_ far from a continent have little thunder, i. 216.\n\n  _Italic_ types, use of, in printing, ii. 355.\n\n  _Judges_, mode of their appointment in America, in 1768, iii. 23.\n\n  _Junto._ See _Club_.\n\n\n  K.\n\n  _Keimer_, a connection of Franklin's, some account of, i. 35, 70, 93.\n\n  _Keith_, sir William, Franklin patronized by, i. 39.\n          deceived by, 54.\n      character of, 57.\n\n  _Kinnersley_, Mr. electrical experiments by, i. 261, _et seq._, 331.\n\n  _Kiss_, electrical, i. 177.\n\n  _Kite_ used to draw electricity from the clouds, i. 108.\n      electrical, described, i. 268.\n\n  _Knobs_, not so proper as points, for conducting lightning, i. 359.\n\n\n  L.\n\n  _Labour_, why it will long continue dear in America, ii. 385.\n      its advantages, 427, 428.\n\n  _Land_, terms on which it may be obtained in America, by settlers,\n               iii. 409.\n\n  _Landing_ in a surf, supposed practicable, how, ii. 154.\n      tried without success, 155.\n\n  _Language_, remarks on innovations in, ii. 351, _et seq._\n\n  _Laughers_, satyrized, iii. 425.\n\n  _Law_, the old courts of, in the colonies, as ample in their powers, as\n               those in England, iii. 304.\n\n  _Law-expenses_, no discouragement to law-suits, iii. 270.\n\n  _Law-stamps_, a tax on the poor, iii. 269.\n\n  _Lead_, effects of, on the human constitution, ii. 219.\n\n  _Leaks_ in ships, why water enters by them most rapidly at first, ii. 109.\n      means to prevent their being fatal, 170.\n\n  _Leather_ globe, proposed, instead of glass, for electrical experiments,\n               i. 267.\n\n  _Left_ hand, a petition from, iii. 483.\n\n  _Leg_, handsome and deformed, humourous anecdote of, iii. 437.\n\n  _Legal_ tender of paper-money, its advantages, iii. 150.\n      further remarks on, 151.\n\n  _Lending_ money, new mode of, iii. 463.\n\n  _Letter-founding_ effected by Franklin in America, i. 74.\n\n  _Leutmann_, J. G. extract from his vulcanus famulans, ii. 298.\n\n  _Leyden_ bottle, its phenomena explained, i. 179.\n      analysed, 192.\n      experiment to prove its qualities, 245.\n      when sealed hermetically, retains long its electricity, 345.\n\n  _Liberty_ of the press, observations on, ii. 463.\n          abused, 465.\n      of the cudgel, should be allowed in return, 467.\n\n  _Libraries_, public, the first in America set on foot by Franklin, i. 99.\n      are now numerous in America, 100.\n      advantages of, to liberty, 101.\n\n  _Life_ and death, observations on the doctrines of, ii. 222.\n\n  _Light_, difference between that from the sun and that from a fire in\n               electrical experiments, i. 173.\n      difficulties in the doctrines of, i. 253.\n      queries concerning, _ibid._\n      visibility of its infinitely small particles computed, ii. 90.\n      new theory of, 122.\n\n  _Lighthouse-tragedy_, an early poem of Franklin's, i. 16.\n\n  _Lightning_, represented by electricity, i. 176.\n      drawn from the clouds, by a kite, 268.\n          by an iron rod, _ibid._\n      reasons for proposing the experiment on, 304.\n      its effects at Newbury, 310.\n      will leave other substances, to pass through metals, 312.\n      communicates magnetism to iron, 314.\n      objections to the hypothesis of its being collected from the sea,\n               318, 323.\n      effects of, on a wire at New York, 326.\n          on Mr. West's pointed rod, 340, _et seq._\n      how it shivers trees, 359.\n      effects of, on conductors in Carolina, 361, 362, 364.\n      does not enter through openings, 368.\n      should be distinguished from its light, 369.\n      an explosion always accompanies it, _ibid._\n      observations on its effects on St. Bride's church, 374, 382.\n      how to preserve buildings from, 377.\n      personal danger from, how best avoided, 381.\n      brought down by a pointed rod, in a large quantity, 389.\n      how to prevent a stroke of, at sea, ii. 175.\n\n  _Linn\u00e6us_, instance of public benefit arising from his knowledge\n  of insects, ii. 94.\n\n  _London_, atmosphere of, moister than that of the country, ii. 139.\n\n  _Loyalty_ of America before the troubles, iii. 237.\n\n  _Luxury_, beneficial when not too common, ii. 389.\n      definition of, 395, 425.\n      extinguishes families, 395.\n      not to be extirpated by laws, 401.\n      further observations on, 425.\n\n  _Lying-to_, the only mode yet used for stopping a vessel at sea, ii. 181.\n\n\n  M.\n\n  _Maddeson_, Mr. death of, lamented, iii. 544*.\n\n  _Magazine_ of powder, how to secure it from lightning, i. 375.\n\n  _Magical_ circle of circles, ii. 327.\n      picture, i. 195.\n      square of squares, ii. 324.\n\n  _Magnetism_, animal, detected and exposed, i. 150.\n      given by electricity, 248, 314.\n      and electricity, affinity between, 410.\n      supposed to exist in all space, ii. 119, 126.\n      conjectures as to its effects on the globe, 120.\n      enquiry how it first came to exist, 126.\n\n  _Mahogany_, expands and shrinks, according to climate, ii. 138.\n      recommended for an hygrometer, 141.\n\n  _Mandeville_, Franklin's acquaintance with, i. 39.\n\n  _Manners_, effects of, on population, ii. 393, _et seq._\n      letter to the Busy-body on the want of, iii. 432.\n\n  _Manufactures_, produce greater proportionate returns than raw materials,\n               ii. 410.\n      founded in the want of land for the poor, iii. 107.\n      are with difficulty transplanted from one country to another, 121.\n      hardly ever lost but by foreign conquest, 122.\n      probability of their establishment in America, 260.\n      want no encouragement from the government, if a country be ripe for\n               them, 405.\n\n  _Maritime_ observations, ii. 162.\n\n  _Marly_, experiments made at, for drawing lightning from the clouds,\n               i. 421.\n\n  _Marriage_ of Franklin, i. 97.\n\n  _Marriages_, where the greatest number take place, ii. 383.\n      why frequent and early in America, 385. iii. 113, 403.\n      early, letter on, iii. 475.\n\n  _Maryland_, account of a whirlwind there, ii. 61.\n      of paper bills formerly issued there, iii. 155.\n      its conduct in a French war, previous to the American troubles,\n               defended, 262.\n\n  _Massachusets_ bay, petition of the inhabitants of, to the king, iii. 325.\n\n  _Matter_, enquiry into the supposed vis inerti\u00e6 of, ii. 110.\n      man can neither create nor annihilate it, 123.\n\n  _Mawgridge_, William, member of the Junto club, i. 84.\n\n  _Maxims_, prudential, from poor Richard's almanack, iii. 453.\n\n  _Mazeas_, abbe, letter from, i. 420.\n\n  _Meal_, grain, &c. manner of preserving them good for ages, i. 376.\n               ii. 190.\n\n  _Mechanics_, advantages of an early attention to, i. 14.\n\n  _Mediocrity_, prevalence of, in America, iii. 399.\n\n  _Melody_ in music, what, ii. 340.\n\n  _Men_, six, struck down by an electric shock, i. 306.\n\n  _Mercer_, Dr. letter from, on a water-spout, ii. 34.\n\n  _Merchants_ and shopkeepers in America, iii. 394.\n\n  _Meredith_, Hugh, companion of Franklin, short account of, i. 72, 76, 89.\n\n  _Metalline_ rods, secure buildings from lightning, i. 281.\n      either prevent or conduct a stroke, 310.\n\n  _Metals_, melted by electricity and by lightning, i. 215, 229.\n      when melted by electricity, stain glass, 232.\n      polished, spotted by electrical sparks, 253.\n      feel colder than wood, why, ii. 56.\n\n  _Meteorological_ observations, ii. 1, 45, 66.\n\n  _Methusalem_ slept always in the open air, iii. 495.\n\n  _Mickle_, Samuel, a prognosticator of evil, i. 81.\n\n  _Military_ manners, effects of, ii. 398, 399.\n      power of the king, remarks on, iii. 307.\n\n  _Militia_ bill, Franklin the author of one, i. 132.\n      particular one, rejected by the governor of Pensylvania, 100.\n               iii. 157.\n\n  _Mines_, method of changing air in them, ii. 291.\n      of rock salt, conjectures as to their formation, 92.\n\n  _Mists_, how supported in air, ii. 5.\n\n  _Modesty_ in disputation recommended, ii. 317.\n\n  _Money_, how to make it plenty, iii. 467.\n      new mode of lending, 468.\n\n  _Moral_ principles, state of Franklin's mind respecting, on his entering\n               into business, i. 79.\n\n  _Morals_ of chess, iii. 488.\n\n  _Motion_, the communication and effects of, ii. 7, 8.\n      of vessels at sea, how to be stopped, 181.\n\n  _Mountains_, use of, in producing rain and rivers, i. 208.\n      why the summits of, are cold, ii. 6.\n      conjecture how they became so high, 91.\n\n  _Music_, harmony and melody of the old Scotish, ii. 338.\n      modern, defects of, 343.\n\n  _Musical_ glasses described, ii. 330.\n\n\n  N.\n\n  _Nantucket_ whalers best acquainted with the gulph-stream, ii. 198.\n\n  _National_ wealth, data for reasoning on, ii. 408.\n      three ways of acquiring, 410.\n\n  _Navigation_, difference of, in shoal and deep water, ii. 158.\n      observations on, 195, 196.\n      from Newfoundland to New York, 197.\n      inland, in America, iii. 118.\n\n  _Needle_ of a compass, its polarity reversed by lightning, i. 248, 325.\n      of wood, circular motion of, by electricity, 332, 351.\n\n  _Needles_, magnetised by electricity, i. 148.\n      and pins, melted by electricity, 249.\n\n  _Negatively_ electrised bodies repel each other, i. 294.\n\n  _Negroes_ bear heat better, and cold worse, than whites, ii. 86.\n\n  _Newbury_, effects of a stroke of lightning there, i. 310.\n\n  _New-England_, former flourishing state of, from the issue of paper money,\n               iii. 145.\n      circumstances which rendered the restriction of paper money there not\n               injurious, 148.\n      abolition of paper currency there, 263.\n\n  _Newfoundland_ fisheries, more valuable than the mines of Peru, iii. 452.\n\n  _Newspaper_, one sufficient for all America, in 1721, i. 23.\n      instance of one set up by Franklin at Philadelphia, 86.\n\n  _New-York_, effects of lightning there, i. 326.\n      former flourishing state of, from the issue of paper-money, iii. 146.\n      sentiments of the colonists on the act for abolishing the legislature\n               of, 232.\n      obtained in exchange for Surinam, 349.\n\n  _Nollet_, Abb\u00e9, Franklin's theory of electricity opposed by, i. 113.\n      remarks on his letters, 430.\n\n  _Non-conductors_ of electricity, i. 378.\n\n  _Non-electric_, its property in receiving or giving electrical fire,\n               i. 193.\n\n  _North-east_ storms in America, account of, ii. 68.\n\n  _Nurses_, office at Paris for examining the health of, iii. 549*.\n\n\n  O.\n\n  _Oak_ best for flooring and stair-cases, ii. 321.\n\n  _Ohio_, distance of its fort from the sea, iii. 119, note.\n\n  _Oil_, effect of heat on, ii. 4.\n      evaporates only in dry air, _ibid._\n      renders air unfit to take up water, _ibid._\n      curious instance of its effects on water in a lamp, 142.\n      stilling of waves by means of, 144, 145, 148, 150, 151, 154.\n\n  _Old_ man's wish, song so called quoted, iii. 546*.\n\n  _Onslow_, Arthur, dedication of a work to, by Franklin, iii. 59.\n\n  _Opinions_, vulgar ones too much slighted, ii. 146.\n      regard to established ones, thought wisdom in a government, iii. 226.\n\n  _Orthography_, a new mode of, ii. 359.\n\n  _Osborne_, a friend of Franklin's, i. 50, 53\n\n  _Oversetting_ at sea, how it occurs, ii. 172.\n      how to be prevented, _ibid._, 173.\n\n  _Outriggers_ to boats, advantages of, ii. 173.\n\n\n  P.\n\n  _Packthread_, though wet, not a good conductor, i. 200.\n\n  _Paine's_ Common Sense, Franklin supposed to have contributed to, i. 148.\n\n  _Paper_, how to make large sheets, in the Chinese way, ii. 349.\n      a poem, iii. 522.\n\n  _Paper-credit_, cannot be circumscribed by law, ii. 418.\n\n  _Paper-money_, pamphlet written by Franklin on, i. 91.\n      American, remarks and facts relative to, iii. 144.\n      advantages of, over gold and silver, iii. 152.\n\n  _Papers_ on philosophical subjects, i. 169, _et seq._ ii. 1, _et seq._\n      on general politics, ii. 383, _et seq._\n      on American subjects, before the revolution, iii. 3, _et seq._\n          during the revolution, iii. 225, _et seq._\n          subsequent to the revolution, iii. 383, _et seq._\n      on moral subjects, iii. 421, _et seq._\n\n  _Parable_ against persecution, ii. 450.\n\n  _Paradoxes_ inferred from some experiments, i. 262.\n\n  _Paralysis_, effects of electricity on, i. 401.\n\n  _Parliament_ of England, opinions in America, in 1766, concerning,\n               iii. 254.\n\n  _Parsons_, William, member of the Junto club, i. 83.\n\n  _Parties_, their use in republics, iii. 396.\n\n  _Party_ of pleasure, electrical, i. 202.\n\n  _Passages_ to and from America, how to be shortened, ii. 138.\n      why shorter from, than to, America, 189.\n\n  _Passengers_ by sea, instructions to, ii. 192.\n\n  _Patriotism_, spirit of, catching, iii. 90.\n\n  _Peace_, the victorious party may insist on adequate securities in the\n               terms of, iii. 96.\n\n  _Penn_, governor, remarks on his administration, iii. 183.\n      sold his legislative right in Pensylvania, but did not complete the\n               bargain, 189.\n\n  _Pensylvania_, Franklin appointed clerk to the general assembly of,\n               i. 102.\n          forms a plan of association for the defence of, 104.\n          becomes a member of the general assembly of, 114.\n      aggrievances of, iii. 50.\n      infraction of its charter, 52.\n      review of the constitution of, 59.\n      former flourishing state of, from the issue of paper-money, 146.\n      rate of exchange there, 154.\n      letter on the militia bill of, 157.\n      settled by English and Germans, 162.\n      English and German, its provincial languages, _ib._\n      pecuniary bargains between the governors and assembly of, 165.\n      taxes there, 246, 251.\n      number of its inhabitants, 249.\n      proportion of quakers, and of Germans, _ibid._\n      exports and imports, 250.\n      assembly of, in 1766, how composed, 252.\n\n  _Pensylvanian_ fire-places, account of, ii. 223.\n      particularly described, 235.\n      effects of, 239.\n      manner of using them, 241.\n      advantages of, 243.\n      objections to, answered, 247.\n      directions to bricklayers respecting, 251.\n\n  _Peopling_ of countries, observations on, ii. 383, _et seq._\n\n  _Perkins_, Dr. letter from, on water-spouts, ii. 11.\n      on shooting stars, 36.\n\n  _Persecution_, parable against, ii. 450.\n      of dissenters, letter on, 452.\n      of quakers in New England, 454.\n\n  _Perspirable_ matter, pernicious, if retained, ii. 50.\n\n  _Perspiration_, necessary to be kept up, in hot climates, ii. 86.\n      difference of, in persons when naked and clothed, 214.\n\n  _Petition_ from the colonists of Massachusets bay, iii. 325.\n      of the left hand, 483.\n\n  _Petty_, sir William, a double vessel built by, ii. 174.\n\n  _Philadelphia_, Franklin's first arrival at, i. 32.\n      account of a seminary there, instituted by Franklin, 116 to 127.\n      state of the public bank at, iii. 551*.\n\n  _Phytolacca_, or poke weed, a specific for cancers, i. 261.\n\n  _Picture_, magical, described, i. 195.\n\n  _Plain_ truth, Franklin's first political pamphlet, iii. 524.\n\n  _Plan_ for benefiting distant countries, ii. 403.\n      for settling two western colonies, iii. 41.\n      for the management of Indian affairs, remarks on, 216.\n      for improving the condition of the free blacks, 519.\n\n  _Planking_ of ships, improvement in, ii. 189.\n\n  _Pleurisy_, Franklin attacked by, i. 71, 154.\n\n  _Plus_ and minus electricity, in the Leyden bottle, i. 181.\n      in other bodies, 185.\n\n  _Pointed_ rods, secure buildings from lightning, i. 283, 381.\n      experiments and observations on, 388.\n      objections to, answered, 395, 396.\n\n  _Points_, their effects, i. 170.\n      property of, explained, 223.\n      experiment showing the effect of, on the clouds, 283.\n      mistake respecting, 310.\n\n  _Poke-weed_, a cure for cancers, i. 260, 261.\n\n  _Polarity_ given to needles by electricity, i. 248.\n\n  _Poles_ of the earth, if changed, would produce a deluge, ii. 127.\n\n  _Political_ fragments, ii. 411.\n\n  _Polypus_, a nation compared to, ii. 391.\n\n  _Poor_, remarks on the management of, ii. 418.\n      the better provided for, the more idle, 422.\n\n  _Poor_ Richard, maxims of, iii. 453.\n\n  _Pope_, criticism on two of his lines, i. 23.\n\n  _Population_, observations on, ii. 383.\n      causes which diminish it, 386.\n      occasional vacancies in, soon filled by natural generation, 390.\n      rate of its increase in America, 385. iii. 113, 250, 254.\n      why it increases faster there, than in England, iii. 255.\n\n  _Positions_ concerning national wealth, ii. 408.\n\n  _Positiveness_, impropriety of, ii. 318.\n\n  _Postage_, not a tax, but payment for a service, iii. 265.\n      state of, in America, in 1766, 279.\n\n  _Post-master_, and deputy post-master general, Franklin appointed to the\n               offices of, i. 102, 127.\n\n  _Potts_, Stephen, a companion of Franklin's, i. 72, 84.\n\n  _Poultry_, not good at sea, ii. 193.\n\n  _Powder-magazines_, how secured from lightning, i. 375.\n\n  _Power_ to move a heavy body, how to be augmented, ii. 191.\n\n  _Pownall_, governor, memorial of, to the Duke of Cumberland, iii. 41.\n      letter from, on an equal communication of rights to America, 243.\n      constitution of the colonies by, 299.\n\n  _Preface_ to Mr. Galloway's speech, iii. 163.\n      to proceedings of the inhabitants of Boston, 317.\n\n  _Presbyterianism_, established religion in New England, ii. 454.\n\n  _Press_, account of the court of, ii. 463.\n      liberty of, abused, 465.\n\n  _Pressing_ of seamen, animadversions on, ii. 437.\n\n  _Price_, Dr. letter from, on Franklin's death, iii. 541.\n\n  _Priestley_, Dr. letter from, on Franklin's character, iii. 547.\n\n  _Printers_ at Philadelphia before Franklin, i. 36.\n\n  _Printing_, Franklin apprenticed to the business of, i. 15.\n      works at it as a journeymen in England, 58, 62.\n      in America, 35, 71.\n      enters on the business of, as master, 78.\n      observations on fashions in, ii. 355.\n\n  _Prison_, society for relieving the misery of, i. 151.\n      not known among the Indians of America, iii. 220.\n\n  _Privateering_, reprobated, ii. 436.\n      further observations on, 446.\n      article to prevent it, recommended in national treaties, 448.\n      inserted in a treaty between America and Prussia, 449.\n\n  _Proas_, of the pacific ocean, safety of, ii. 173.\n      flying, superior to any of our sailing boats, 176.\n\n  _Produce_ of the inland parts of America, iii. 119.\n\n  _Products_ of America, do not interfere with those of Britain, iii. 124.\n\n  _Prose-writing_, method of acquiring excellence in, i. 18.\n\n  _Protest_ against Franklin's appointment as colonial agent, remarks on,\n               iii. 203.\n\n  _Provisions_, cheapness of, encourages idleness, ii. 415.\n\n  _Prussian_ edict, assuming claims over Britain, iii. 311.\n\n  _Public_ services and functions of Franklin, i. 125.\n      spirit, manifest in England, iii. 91.\n          different opinion respecting it expressed, 375.\n\n  _Punctuality_ of America in the payment of public debts, iii. 373.\n\n  _Puckridge_, Mr. inventor of musical glasses, i. 136.\n\n\n  Q.\n\n  _Quaker-lady_, good advice of one to Franklin in his youth, i. 42.\n\n  _Quakers_, persecution of, in New England, ii. 454.\n      proportion of, in Pensylvania, iii. 249.\n\n  _Quebec_, remarks on the enlargement of the province of, iii. 20, note.\n\n  _Queries_ concerning light, i. 258.\n      proposed at the Junto club, ii. 366.\n      from Mr. Strahan, on the American disputes, iii. 287.\n\n  _Questions_ discussed by the Junto club, ii. 369.\n\n\n  R.\n\n  _Rain_, how produced, i. 207.\n      generally brings down electricity, 292.\n      why never salt, ii. 32.\n      different quantities of, falling at different heights, 133.\n\n  _Ralph_, James, a friend of Franklin's, i. 50, 53, 54, 57, 60.\n\n  _Rarefaction_ of the air, why greater in the upper regions, ii. 6.\n\n  _Read_, maiden name of Franklin's wife, i. 33, 37, 49, 54, 59, 70, 96.\n\n  _Reading_, Franklin's early passion for, i. 15, 16.\n      how best taught, ii. 372.\n      advice to youth respecting, 378.\n\n  _Recluse_, a Roman Catholic one, in London, i. 65.\n\n  _Red_ and green, relation between the colours of, ii. 341.\n\n  _Regimen_, sudden alterations of, not prejudicial, i. 49.\n\n  _Religious_ sect, new one, intended establishment of, i. 48.\n\n  _Repellency_, electrical, how destroyed, i. 172.\n\n  _Representation_, American, in the British parliament, thoughts on,\n               iii. 37, 243.\n\n  _Repulsion_, electrical, the doctrine of, doubted, i. 333.\n      considerations in support of, 349.\n\n  _Revelation_, doubted by Franklin in his youth, i. 79.\n\n  _Rhode-Island_, purchased for a pair of spectacles, iii. 21.\n      its population at three periods, iii. 129.\n\n  _Rich_, hints to those that would be, iii. 466.\n\n  _Ridicule_, delight of the prince of Cond\u00e9 in, iii. 424.\n\n  _Rivers_, from the Andes, how formed, i. 209.\n      motion of the tides in, explained, ii. 96, 102.\n      do not run into the sea, 105.\n      evaporate before they reach the sea, 106.\n      inflammability of the surface of, 130.\n\n  _Rods_, utility of long pointed ones, to secure buildings from lightning,\n               i. 388.\n      See farther. _Iron._ _Lightning._ _Metalline._\n\n  _Rome_, causes of its decline enquired into, ii. 398.\n      political government of its provinces, iii. 136.\n\n  _Rooms_, warm, advantages of, ii. 249.\n      do not give colds, ibid.\n\n  _Roots_, edible, might be dried and preserved for sea-store, ii. 190.\n\n  _Rosin_, when fluid, will conduct electricity, i. 256.\n\n  _Rousseau_, his opinion of tunes in parts, ii. 342.\n\n  _Rowing_ of boats, Chinese method of, ii. 177.\n\n  _Rowley_, Dr. Franklin's obligations to, iii. 555*.\n\n\n  S.\n\n  _Sailing_, observations on, ii. 163.\n\n  _Sails_, proposed improvements in, ii. 164, 166.\n\n  _Saint_ Bride's church, stroke of lightning on, i. 374.\n\n  _Salt_, dry, will not conduct electricity, i. 258.\n      rock, conjectures as to its origin, ii. 91.\n\n  _Saltness_ of the sea-water considered, _ib._\n\n  _Savage_, John, a companion of Franklin's, i. 72.\n\n  _Savages_ of North America, remarks on, iii. 383, _et seq._\n\n  _School_, sketch of one, for Philadelphia, ii. 370.\n\n  _Scotch_ tunes, harmony of, and melody, ii. 338.\n\n  _Screaming_, a defect in modern tunes, ii. 345.\n\n  _Scull_, Nicholas, member of the Junto club, i. 83.\n\n  _Sea_, electrical qualities of its component parts, i. 205.\n      opinion, that it is the source of lightning, considered, 269, 321,\n               322.\n      supposed cause of its luminous appearance, ii. 88.\n      from what cause, salt, 91.\n      has formerly covered the mountains, _ib._\n\n  _Sea-coal_, has a vegetable origin, ii. 128.\n      prejudices against the use of, at Paris, 278.\n\n  _Sea-water_, soon loses its luminous quality, i. 269.\n      considerations on the distillation of, ii. 103.\n      how to quench thirst with, 104.\n      thermometrical observation on, 199, _et seq._\n\n  _Security_, a just ground to demand cessions from an enemy, iii. 93.\n\n  _Separation_ of the colonies from Britain, probability of, in 1775,\n               iii. 356.\n\n  _Servants_ in England, the most barren parts of the people, ii. 395.\n\n  _Settlements_, new, in America, letter concerning, iii. 409.\n\n  _Settlers_ of British colonies, their rights, iii. 299.\n\n  _Sheep_, a whole flock killed by lightning, i. 415.\n\n  _Ships_, abandoned at sea, often saved, ii. 169.\n      may be nicely balanced, 170.\n      accidents to, at sea, how guarded against, 172.\n\n  _Shirley_, governor, letters to, on the taxation of the colonies, iii. 30.\n      on American representation in the British parliament, 37.\n\n  _Shooting-stars_, letter on, ii. 36.\n\n  _Shop-keepers_ in America, iii. 394.\n\n  _Sides_ of vessels, the best construction of, ii. 172.\n\n  _Silver_ cann, experiment with, i. 307.\n      vessels, not so easily handled as glass, when filled with hot liquors,\n               ii. 57.\n\n  _Slavery_, society for the abolition of, i. 151.\n      address to the public on the abolition of, iii. 517.\n\n  _Slaves_, not profitable labourers, ii. 386.\n      diminish population, ii. 387.\n\n  _Slave-trade_, sentiment of a French moralist respecting, ii. 195.\n      parody on the arguments in favour of, 450.\n\n  _Sliding-plates_ for smoky chimnies described, ii. 287.\n\n  _Slitting-mills_ in America, iii. 270.\n\n  _Small_, Mr. Alexander, letter from, i. 374.\n\n  _Smell_ of electricity, how produced, i. 244.\n\n  _Smoke_, principle by which it ascends, ii. 257.\n      stove that consumes it, 296.\n      the burning of, useful in hot-houses, 316.\n\n  _Smoky_ chimnies, observation on the causes and cure of, ii. 256.\n      remedy for, if by want of air, 261, 262.\n          if by too large openings in the room, 266, 268.\n          if by too short a funnel, 269.\n          if by overpowering each other, 270, 271.\n          if by being overtopped, 271, 272.\n          if by improper situation of a door, 273.\n          if by smoke drawn down their funnels, 274, 275.\n          if by strong winds, 275, 276.\n      difficult sometimes to discover the cause of, 282.\n\n  _Smuggling_, reflections on, ii. 430.\n      encouragement of, not honest, 432.\n\n  _Snow_, singular instance of its giving electricity, i. 373.\n\n  _Soap-boiler_, part of Franklin's early life devoted to the business of,\n               i. 10, 14.\n\n  _Societies_, of which Franklin was president, i. 151.\n      learned, of which he was a member, 135.\n\n  _Socrates_, his mode of disputation, i. 21.\n\n  _Songs_, ancient, give more pleasure than modern, ii. 342.\n      modern, composed of all the defects of speech, 344.\n\n  _Soul_, argument against the annihilation of, iii. 548*.\n\n  _Sound_, best mediums for conveying, ii. 335.\n      observations on, 336.\n      queries concerning, 337.\n\n  _Sounds_ just past, we have a perfect idea of their pitch, ii. 340.\n\n  _Soup-dishes_ at sea, how to be made more convenient, ii. 195.\n\n  _Spain_, what has thinned its population, ii. 390.\n\n  _Specific_ weight, what, ii. 226.\n\n  _Spectacles_, double, advantages of, iii. 544*, 551*.\n\n  _Speech_, at Algiers, on slavery and piracy, ii. 450.\n      of Mr. Galloway, preface to, iii. 163.\n      last of Franklin, on the federal constitution, 416.\n\n  _Spelling_, a new mode of, recommended, ii. 359.\n\n  _Spheres_, electric, commodious ones, i. 178.\n\n  _Spider_, artificial, described, i. 177.\n\n  _Spirits_, fired without heating, i. 214, 245.\n      linen wetted with, cooling in inflammations, ii. 87.\n      should always be taken to sea in bottles, 175.\n\n  _Spots_ in the sun, how formed, i. 260.\n\n  _Squares_, magical square of, ii. 324.\n\n  _Staffordshire_ chimney, description of, ii. 285.\n\n  _Stamp-act_ in America stigmatized, iii. 228.\n      letter on the repeal of, iii. 239.\n      examination of Franklin on, 245.\n\n  _Stars._ See _Shooting_.\n\n  _State_, internal, of America, iii. 291.\n\n  _Storms_, causes of, ii. 65.\n\n  _Stove_, Dutch, its advantages and defects, ii. 233.\n      German, ditto, 234.\n      to draw downwards, by J. G. Leutmann, 298.\n      for burning pit-coal and consuming its smoke, 301, 304, 308.\n\n  _Strata_ of the earth, letter on, ii. 116.\n\n  _Strahan_, Mr. queries by, on American politics, iii. 287.\n      answer to the queries, 290.\n      letter to, disclaiming his friendship, iii. 354.\n\n  _Stuber_, Dr. continuator of Franklin's life, i. 98.\n\n  _Studies_ of trifles, should be moderate, ii. 95.\n\n  _Stuttering_, one of the affected beauties of modern tunes, ii. 245.\n\n  _Sugar_, cruelties exercised in producing it, ii. 196.\n\n  _Sulphur_ globe, its electricity different from that of the glass globe,\n               i. 265.\n\n  _Sun_, supplies vapour with fire, i. 207.\n      why not wasted by expense of light, 259.\n      effect of its rays on different coloured clothes, ii. 108.\n      light of, proposed to be used instead of candlelight, iii. 470, 473.\n      discovered to give light as soon as it rises, 471.\n\n  _Surfaces_ of glass, different state of its opposite ones, when\n               electrised, i. 191, 238.\n\n  _Swimming_, skill of Franklin in, i. 66.\n      art of, how to be acquired, ii. 206\n      how a person unacquainted with it may avoid sinking, 208.\n      a delightful and wholesome exercise, ii. 209, 211.\n      advantage of, to soldiers, 210.\n      inventions to improve it, _ibid._ 212.\n      medical effects of, _ibid._\n\n\n  T.\n\n  _Tariffs_, not easily settled in Indian trade, iii. 218.\n\n  _Tautology_, an affected beauty of modern songs, ii. 345.\n\n  _Taxation_, American, letters to governor Shirley on, iii. 30.\n      American, Dr. Franklin's examination on, iii. 246, 256.\n      internal and external, distinguished, 259.\n      on importation of goods and consumption, difference between, 266.\n\n  _Tea-act_, the duty on, in America, how considered there, iii. 261, 317,\n               319.\n      characterized by Mr. Burke, 319, _note_.\n\n  _Teach_, or Blackbeard, name of a ballad written by Franklin in his youth,\n               i. 16.\n\n  _Thanks_ of the assembly of Pensylvania to Franklin, iii. 214.\n\n  _Thanksgiving-days_ appointed in New England instead of fasts, iii. 392.\n\n  _Theory_ of the earth, ii. 117.\n      of light and heat, 122.\n\n  _Thermometer_, not cooled by blowing on, when dry, ii. 87.\n      electrical, described, and experiments with, ii. 336.\n\n  _Thermometrical_ observations on the gulph-stream, ii. 199.\n      on the warmth of sea-water, 200.\n\n  _Thirst_, may be relieved by sea-water, how, ii. 105.\n\n  _Thunder_ and lightning, how caused, i. 209.\n      seldom heard far from land, 216.\n      comparatively little at Bermuda, _ibid._\n      defined, 378.\n\n  _Thunder-gusts_, what, i. 203.\n      hypothesis to explain them, 203, _et seq._\n\n  _Tides_ in rivers, motion of, explained, ii. 96, 102.\n\n  _Time_, occasional fragments of, how to be collected, ii. 412.\n      is money to a tradesman, iii. 463.\n\n  _Toads_ live long without nourishment, ii. 223.\n\n  _Toleration_ in Old and New England compared, ii. 457.\n\n  _Torpedo_, how to determine its electricity, i. 408, 409.\n\n  _Tourmalin_, its singular electrical properties, i. 370.\n      experiments on it, 371, 372.\n\n  _Trade_, pleasure attending the first earnings in, i. 81.\n      should be under no restrictions, ii. 415.\n      exchanges in, may be advantageous to each party, 418.\n      inland carriage no obstruction, to, iii. 116.\n      great rivers in America, favourable to, 118.\n      bills of credit, in lieu of money, the best medium of, 156.\n      will find and make its own rates, 219.\n\n  _Tradesman_, advice to a young one, iii. 463.\n\n  _Transportation_ of felons to America, highly disagreeable to the\n               inhabitants there, iii. 235.\n\n  _Treaty_ between America and Prussia, humane article of, ii. 449.\n\n  _Treasures_, hidden, search after, ridiculed, iii. 450.\n\n  _Trees_, dangerous to be under, in thunder-storms, i. 213.\n      the shivering of, by lightning, explained, 359.\n      why cool in the sun, ii. 87.\n\n  _Tubes_ of glass, electrical, manner of rubbing, i. 178.\n      lined with a non-electric, experiment with, 240.\n      exhausted, electric fire moves freely in, 241.\n\n  _Tunes_, ancient Scotch, why give general pleasure, ii. 338.\n      composed to the wire-harp, 341.\n      in parts, Rousseau's opinion of, 342.\n      modern, absurdities of, 344, _et seq._\n\n  _Turkey_ killed by electricity, i. 299.\n\n  _Turks_, ceremony observed by, in visiting, iii. 436.\n\n\n  V. U.\n\n  _Vacuum_, Torricellian, experiment with, i. 291.\n      electrical experiment in, 317.\n\n  _Vapour_, electrical experiment on, i. 343.\n\n  _Vapours_ from moist hay, &c. easily fired by lightning, i. 215.\n      cause of their rising considered, ii. 46, 49.\n\n  _Vanity_, observation on, i. 2.\n\n  _Varnish_, dry, burnt by electric sparks, i. 199.\n\n  _Vattel's_ Law of Nations, greatly consulted by the American congress,\n               iii. 360.\n\n  _Vegetable_ diet, observed by Franklin, i. 20.\n      abandoned by Franklin, why, 47.\n\n  _Vegetation_, effects of, on noxious air, ii. 129.\n\n  _Velocity_ of the electric fire, i. 319.\n\n  _Virtue_ in private life exemplified, iii. 427.\n\n  _Vernon_, Mr. reposes a trust in Franklin, which he violates, i. 44.\n\n  _Vis_ inerti\u00e6 of matter, observations on, ii. 110.\n\n  _Visits_, unseasonable and importunate, letter on, iii. 432.\n\n  _Unintelligibleness_, a fault of modern singing, ii. 345.\n\n  _Union_, Albany plan of. See _Albany_.\n\n  _Union_ of America with Britain, letter on, iii. 239.\n\n  _United_ states of America, nature of the congress of, iii. 550*.\n\n  _Voyage_, from Boston to New York, i. 27.\n      from New York to Philadelphia, 28.\n      from Newfoundland to New York, remarks on, ii. 197.\n      crossing the gulph stream, journal of, 199.\n      from Philadelphia to France, 200, 201.\n      from the channel to America, 202.\n      to benefit distant countries, proposed, 403.\n\n  _Vulgar_ opinions, too much slighted, ii. 146.\n\n\n  W.\n\n  _Waggons_, number of, supplied by Franklin, on a military emergency,\n               i. 131.\n\n  _War_, civil, whether it strengthens a country considered, ii. 399.\n      observations on, 435.\n      laws of, gradually humanized, _ib._\n      humane article respecting, in a treaty between Prussia and America,\n               ii. 449.\n      French, of 1757, its origin, iii. 274.\n\n  _Warm_ rooms do not make people tender, or give colds, ii. 249.\n\n  _Washington_, early military talents of, i. 130.\n      Franklin's bequest to, 164.\n\n  _Water_, a perfect conductor of electricity, i. 201.\n      strongly electrified, rises in vapour, 204.\n      particles of, in rising, are attached to particles of air, 205.\n      and air, attract each other, 206.\n      exploded like gunpowder, by electricity, 358.\n      expansion of, when reduced to vapour, _ib._\n      saturated with salt, precipitates the overplus, ii. 2.\n      will dissolve in air, _ib._\n      expands when boiling, _ib._\n      how supported in air, 45.\n      bubbles on the surface of, hypothesis respecting, 48.\n      agitated, does not produce heat, 49, 96.\n      supposed originally all salt, 91.\n      fresh, produce of distillation only, _ib._\n      curious effects of oil on, 142.\n\n  _Water-casks_, how to dispose of, in leaky vessels, ii. 170.\n\n  _Water-spouts_, observations on, ii. 11.\n      whether they descend or ascend, 14, 23, 38.\n      various appearances of, 16.\n      winds blow from all points towards them, 21.\n      are whirlwinds at sea, _ib._\n      effect of one on the coast of Guinea, 33.\n      account of one at Antigua, 34.\n      various instances of, 38.\n      Mr. Colden's observations on, 53.\n\n  _Watson_, Mr. William, letter by, on thunder-clouds, i. 427.\n\n  _Waves_, stilled by oil, ii. 144, 145, 148.\n      greasy water, 146.\n\n  _Wax_, when fluid will conduct electricity, i. 256.\n      may be electrised positively and negatively, 291.\n\n  _Wealth_, way to, iii. 453.\n      national, positions to be examined concerning, ii. 408.\n          but three ways of acquiring it, 410.\n\n  _Webb_, George, a companion of Franklin's, i. 72, 84, 86.\n\n  _Wedderburn_, Mr. remarks on his treatment of Franklin before the privy\n               council, iii. 330, 332, notes; 550.\n\n  _West_, Mr. his conductor struck by lightning, i. 340.\n\n  _Western_ colonies, plan for settling them, iii. 41.\n\n  _Whatley_, Mr. four letters to, iii. 543*.\n\n  _Wheels_, electrical, described, i. 196.\n\n  _Whirlwinds_, how formed, ii. 10.\n      observations on, 20.\n      a remarkable one at Rome, 24.\n      account of one in Maryland, 61.\n\n  _Whistle_, a story, iii. 480.\n\n  _White_, fittest colour for clothes in hot climates, ii. 109.\n\n  _Will_, extracts from Franklin's, i. 155.\n\n  _Wilson_, Mr. draws electricity from the clouds, i. 429.\n\n  _Wind_ generated by fermentation, ii. 59.\n\n  _Winds_ explained, ii. 8, 9, 48.\n      the explanation objected to, 50, 51.\n      observations on, by Mr. Colden, 52.\n      whether confined to, or generated in, clouds, 57.\n      raise the surface of the sea above its level, 188.\n      effect of, on sound, 337.\n\n  _Winters_, hard, causes of, ii. 68.\n\n  _Winthrop_, professor, letters from, i. 373, 382.\n\n  _Wire_ conducts a great stroke of lightning, though destroyed itself,\n               i. 282.\n\n  _Wolfe_, general, i. 136.\n\n  _Women_ of Paris, singular saying respecting, as mothers, iii. 548*.\n\n  _Wood_, dry, will not conduct electricity, i. 172.\n      why does not feel so cold as metals, ii. 56.\n\n  _Woods_, not unhealthy to inhabit, ii. 130.\n\n  _Woollen_, why warmer than linen, ii. 57, 81.\n\n  _Words_, to modern songs, only a pretence for singing, ii. 348.\n\n  _Wygate_, an acquaintance of Franklin's, i. 66.\n\n  _Wyndham_, sir William, applies to Franklin to teach his sons swimming,\n               i. 69.\n\n\n\n\n  TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE\n\n  Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.\n\n  Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been\n  corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within\n  the text and consultation of external sources.\n\n  For consistency and clarity, the pound abbreviation 'l.' has been\n  italicized, so for example '123,321l.' has been replaced by\n  '123,321_l._' in the etext.\n\n  For consistency, the date and salutation at the beginning of each\n  letter, and the closing and name at the end of each letter,\n  have been put on separate lines (they were sometimes placed on the\n  same line in the original printed text).\n\n  A 'List of the Plates' has been created and added in front of\n  the Errata.\n\n  For consistency, all occurrences of 'Abbe' have been replaced by 'Abb\u00e9'.\n\n  One occurrence of the oe ligature replaced by oe (l'oeuvre).\n\n  Text omitted by the editor may be indicated by '***', '****' or '----'.\n\n  All the changes noted in the Errata (pg xiv) have been applied to\n  the text.\n\n  Except for those changes noted below, misspelling in the text, and\n  inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained.\n  For example, compleat; cieling; inclose; watry; spunge; negociate;\n  Pensylvania; Massachussets; newspaper, news-paper; farther, further.\n\n  In addition:\n  Pg v.  'works af' replaced by 'works of'.\n  Pg vi. 'side the' replaced by 'side of the'.\n  Pg xiv. 'anology' replaced by 'analogy'.\n  Pg xiv. Errata: '12 1:' replaced by '20 1:'.\n  Pg xiv. Errata: '29 3:' replaced by '28 3:'.\n  Pg xiv. Errata: '40 19:' replaced by '50 19:'.\n  Pg 5.  'frandfather' replaced by 'grandfather'.\n  Pg 48. 'oponent' replaced by 'opponent'.\n  Pg 74. 'tolera-manner' replaced by 'tolerable manner'.\n  Pg 102. 'over the the lives' replaced by 'over the lives'.\n  Pg 110. 'Mary-la-ville' replaced by 'Marly-la-ville'.\n  Pg 110. 'with a whom' replaced by 'with whom'.\n  Pg 131. 'a juncion with' replaced by 'a junction with'.\n  Pg 132. 'of governtment' replaced by 'of government'.\n  Pg 133. 'was appehensive' replaced by 'was apprehensive'.\n  Pg 139. 'in the goal' replaced by 'in the gaol'.\n  Pg 140. 'A num-of' replaced by 'A number of'.\n  Pg 142. 'be learned' replaced by 'he learned'.\n  Pg 144. 'stampt-act' replaced by 'stamp-act'.\n  Pg 170. 'in crouds' replaced by 'in crowds'.\n  Pg 173. 'o  bright' replaced by 'of a bright'.\n  Pg 222. 'with mose ease' replaced by 'with more ease'.\n  Pg 242. 'yerhaps' replaced by 'perhaps'.\n  Pg 244. 'does nor burn' replaced by 'does not burn'.\n  Pg 263. 'powdered sulpur' replaced by 'powdered sulphur'.\n  Pg 305. 'satisfation' replaced by 'satisfaction'.\n  Pg 310. 'appear to to me' replaced by 'appear to me'.\n  Pg 318. The * * * asterisks denote text omitted by the Editor.\n  Pg 356. 'and by electricty' replaced by 'and by electricity'.\n  Pg 358. 'above a a quarter' replaced by 'above a quarter'.\n  Pg 404. 'most of of the' replaced by 'most of the'.\n  Pg 406. 'silk handkercheif' replaced by 'silk handkerchief'.\n  Pg 418. 'and bottless' replaced by 'and bottles'.\n  Pg 424. '\u00e8 celle que' replaced by '\u00e0 celle que'.\n  Pg 424. 'piqu\u00fbres' replaced by 'piq\u00fbres'.\n  Pg 426. '\u00e9ven\u00e9nement' replaced by '\u00e9v\u00e9nement'.\n  Pg 440. 'and so dicharge' replaced by 'and so discharge'.\n  Index Pg 4i. 'Animalcnles' replaced by 'Animalcules'.\n  Index Pg 29i. 'relation batween' replaced by 'relation between'.\n\n  The Index covers all three volumes and was originally printed\n  at the end of Volume 1 only. It has been copied to the end of\n  Volume 2 and 3 as a convenience for the reader.\n\n  The Index had no page numbers in the original text; page numbers from\n  1i to 36i have been added for completeness. For clarity, some volume\n  identifiers (i. or ii. or iii.) have been added, or removed, in the\n  index. Only references within this volume have been hyperlinked.\n\n  The Index has some references to page numbers with a *, eg 551*.  These\n  are valid references; the book printer inserted pages 543*-556* between\n  pages 542 and 543 in Vol iii.","title":"The Complete Works in Philosophy, Politics and Morals of the late Dr. Benjamin Franklin, Vol. 1 [of 3]","tradition":"philosophy-ethics","translated_text":null,"word_count":140537}