BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

PROBABLY A GREATER MAN THAN Benjamin Franklin never lived, regarded with that analytical discrimination which distinguishes true greatness in inherent qualities rather than in brilliant external displays; and in almost every particular characteristic of a man, he presented a model of excellence of the highest standard.

Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on the seventeenth day of January, 1706. His father was a true Puritan, and emigrated hither from England, in 1682. He soon afterward married Miss Folger, a native of Boston. Being neither a mechanic nor farmer, he turned his attention to the business of a soap-boiler and tallow-chandler, which was his occupation for life.

The parents of Benjamin wished him to be a minister of the gospel, and they began to educate him with that end in view, but their slender means were not adequate for the object, and the intention was abandoned. He was kept at a common school for a few years, and then taken into the service of his father. The business did not please the boy, and he was entered, on probation, with a cutler. The fee for his admission to apprenticeship was too high, and he abandoned that pursuit also, and was put under the instruction of an elder brother, who was a printer. There he continued until he became quite proficient, and all the while he was remarkable for his studiousness, seldom spending an hour from his books, in idle amusement. At length the harmony between himself and brother was interrupted, and he left his service and went on board of a vessel in the harbor, bound for New York. In that city he could not obtain employment, and he proceeded on foot to Philadelphia, where he arrived on a Sabbath morning. He was then but seventeen years old, friendless and alone, with but a single dollar in his pocket. He soon found employment as compositor in one of the two printing establishments then in Philadelphia, and was at once noticed and esteemed by his employers, for his industry and studious habits.

Having written a letter to a friend at New Castle, in Delaware, in which he gave a graphic account of his journey from Boston to Philadelphia, which letter was shown to Governor Keith, of that province, that functionary became much interested in the young journeyman printer, and invited him to his mansion. Friendship succeeded the first interview, and the governor advised him to set up business for himself, and offered his patronage. The plan of operation was rather an extensive one, and involved the necessity of making a voyage to England for materials. Franklin went to London, but found Sir William Keith’s patronage of so little avail, that he was obliged to seek employment for his daily bread. He obtained a situation as journeyman printer in one of the principal offices there, and by the same line of industry, studiousness, punctuality, and frugality, he soon won to himself numerous friends. Unfortunately he was thrown in the way of some distinguished infidels while he was in London, (among whom was Lord Mandeville,) and received flattering attentions from them. His mind became tinctured with their views, and he was induced to write a pamphlet upon deistical metaphysics, a performance which he afterward regretted, and candidly condemned.

With the fruits of his earnings Franklin resolved to take a trip to the Continent, but just as he was on the point of departure, he received an offer from a mercantile friend about to sail for America, to accompany him as a clerk. He accepted it, and embarked for home in July, 1726.

With his new employer, at Philadelphia, Franklin had before him a prospect of prosperity and wealth, but soon a heavy cloud obscured the bright vision. His friend died, and once more Franklin became a journeyman printer with his old employer. In a short time he formed a partnership with another printer, and commenced business in Philadelphia, where his character, habits, and talents, soon gained him warm friends, public confidence, and a successful business. So multifarious were the public and private labors of usefulness of this great man, from this period until his death, that our circumscribed limits will permit us to notice them only in brief chronological order.

In 1732, Franklin began his useful annual, called “Poor Richard’s Almanac.” It was widely circulated in the Colonies, and in England, and was translated into several Continental languages of Europe. It continued until 1757. About the same time he commenced a newspaper, which soon became the most popular one in the Colonies. By constant, persevering study, he acquired a knowledge of the Latin, French, Spanish, and Italian languages. He projected a literary club, called the Junto, and the books which they collected for their use, formed the nucleus of the present extensive Philadelphia Library. He wrote many pamphlets containing essays upon popular subjects, which were read with avidity, and made him very popular. With his popularity, his business increased, and his pecuniary circumstances became easy in a few years.

In 1734, he was appointed government printer for Pennsylvania, and in 1736 he received the appointment of Clerk of the General Assembly. The next year he was made postmaster of Philadelphia. The income arising from these offices, and from his business, relieved him from constant drudgery, and left him leisure for philosophical pursuits, and the advancement of schemes for the public good.

In 1741, he commenced the publication of the “General Magazine and Historical Chronicle, for the British Plantations,” which had a wide circulation. In 1744 he was elected a member of the General Assembly, and was annually re-elected, for ten consecutive years. It was about this time that he made some of his philosophical discoveries, upon the mysterious wings of which his fame spread world-wide.

In 1753 he was appointed a commissioner to treat with the Indians at Carlisle. In 1754, he was a delegate from Pennsylvania to a Convention of representatives of the Colonies that met at Albany to consult upon the general defence and security against the French. He there proposed an admirable plan of union. About this time he was appointed deputy Postmaster General. He was also active in improving the military affairs of the colony, and rendered General Braddock distinguished service in providing material for his expedition against Fort Du Quesne. In 1757, Franklin was sent by the General Assembly of the Province, to London, as its counsel in a dispute with the governor; and he so managed the case as to obtain a verdict for the Assembly. He remained a resident agent for the Colony, in England, for five years, and formed many valuable acquaintances while there. On his return, he was publicly thanked by the General Assembly, and the sum of twenty thousand dollars was presented to him as compensation for his important services.

In 1764, he was again sent to England as agent for the Colony, upon business similar to that for which he was first sent, and he was there when the Stamp Act was passed, loudly and boldly protesting against it. His opinions had great weight there; and, having been appointed agent for several of the Colonies, the eyes of statesmen at home and abroad were turned anxiously to him, as the storm of the Revolution rapidly gathered in dark and threatening clouds. He labored assiduously to effect conciliation, and he did much to arrest for a long time the blow that finally severed the Colonies from the mother country. Satisfied at length that war was inevitable, he returned home in 1775, and was at once elected a delegate to the General Congress. He was again elected in 1776, and was one of the committee appointed to draft a Declaration of Independence, voted for its adoption, and signed it on the second of August.

In September Franklin was appointed one of three commissioners to meet Lord Howe in conference on Staten Island, and hear his propositions for peace. The attempt at conciliation proved abortive, and hostilities commenced. About this time a Convention was called in Pennsylvania, for the purpose of organizing a State government, according to the recommendation of the General Congress. Franklin was chosen its President, and his wisdom was manifested in the Constitution which followed. He was appointed by Congress a Commissioner to the Court of France, to negotiate a treaty of alliance. Although then over seventy years of age, he accepted the appointment, and sailed in October, 1776. He was received with distinguished honors, and strong expressions of sympathy in behalf of his country were made; yet the French ministry were so cautious, that it was not until after the news of the capture of Burgoyne a reached 1777, them, and American affairs looked brighter, that they would enter into a formal negotiation. A treaty was finally concluded, and was signed by Franklin and the French Minister, in February, 1778. America was acknowledged independent, and the French government openly espoused her cause. Franklin was invested by Congress with almost unlimited discretionary powers, and his duties were very arduous and complex; yet he discharged them with a fidelity and skill which excited the admiration of Europe. Great Britain at length yielded, and consented to negotiate a treaty of peace upon the basis of American independence; and on the third day of September, 1783, Doctor Franklin had the pleasure of signing a definitive treaty to that effect.

Franklin now asked leave of Congress to return home to his family, but he was detained there until the arrival of Mr. Jefferson, his successor, in 1785. His return to America was received with every demonstration of joy and...