Chapter I: Preface

Next to George Washington, we must write, upon the Catalogue of American Patriots, the name of Benjamin Franklin. He had so many virtues that there is no need of exaggerating them; so few imperfections that they need not be concealed. The writer has endeavored to give a perfectly accurate view of his character, and of that great struggle, in which he took so conspicuous a part, which secured the Independence of the United States. Probably there can no where be found, within the same limits, so vivid a picture of Life in America, one hundred years ago, as the career of Franklin presents.

This volume is the twelfth of the Library Series of Pioneers and Patriots. The series presents a graphic history of our country from its discovery.

1. _Christopher Columbus_ reveals to us the West Indies, and gives a narrative of wonders unsurpassed in fact or fable.

2. _De Soto_ conducts us to Florida, and leads us through scenes of romance, crime, blood and woe--through many Indian tribes, across the continent, to the Mississippi, where he finds his melancholy grave.

3. _La Salle_, and his heroic companions, traversed thousands of miles of majestic lakes and unknown rivers, and introduces us to innumerable barbaric tribes. There is no other writer, who, from his own personal observation, can give one so vivid an idea of Life in the Indian village and wigwam.

4. _Miles Standish_ was the Captain of the Pilgrims. He conducts us in the May Flower, across the Atlantic, lands us at Plymouth, and tells the never to be forgotten story of the heroism of our fathers in laying the foundations of this great republic.

5. _Captain Kidd_, and the Buccaneers, reveal to us the awful condition of North and South America, when there was no protecting law here, and when pirates swept sea and land, inflicting atrocities, the narrative of which causes the ear which hears it to tingle.

6. _Peter Stuyvesant_ takes us by the hand, and introduces us to the Dutch settlement at the mouth of the Hudson, conveys us, in his schooner, up the solitary river, along whose forest-covered banks Indian villages were scattered; and reveals to us all the struggles, by which the Dutch New Amsterdam was converted into the English New York.

7. _Benjamin Franklin_ should chronologically take his place here. There is probably not, in the compass of all literature, a biography more full of entertainment and valuable thought, than a truthful sketch of the career of Benjamin Franklin. He leads us to Philadelphia, one hundred and fifty years ago, and makes us perfectly familiar with life there and then. He conducts us across the Atlantic to the Court of St. James, and the Court of Versailles. There is no writer, French or English, who has given such vivid sketches of the scenes which were witnessed there, as came from the pen of Benjamin Franklin. For half a century Franklin moved amid the most stupendous events, a graphic history of which his pen has recorded.

8. _George Washington_ has no superior. Humanity is proud of his name. He seems to have approached as near perfection as any man who ever lived. In his wonderful career we became familiar with all the struggles of the American Revolution. With a feeble soldiery, collected from a population of less than three millions of people, he baffled all the efforts of the fleets and armies of Great Britain, the most powerful empire upon this globe.

9. _Daniel Boone_ was the Cowper of the wilderness; a solitary man loving the silent companionship of the woods. He leads us across the Alleghanies to the fields of Kentucky, before any white man's foot had traversed those magnificent realms. No tale of romance could ever surpass his adventures with the Indians.

10. _Kit Carson_ was the child of the wilderness. He was by nature a gentleman, and one of the most lovable of men. His weird-like life passed rapidly away, before the introduction of railroads and steamboats. His strange, heroic adventures are ever read with astonishment, and they invariably secure for him the respect and affection of all who become familiar with his name.

11. _Paul Jones_ was one of the purest patriots, and perhaps the most heroic naval hero, to whom any country has given birth. He has been so traduced, by the Tory press of Great Britain, that even the Americans have not yet done him full justice. This narrative of his astonishing achievements will, it is hoped, give him rank, in the opinion of every reader, with Washington, Franklin, Jefferson and Lafayette.

12. _David Crockett_ was a unique man. There is no one like him. Under no institutions but ours could such a character be formed. From a log hut, more comfortless than the wigwam of the savage, and without being able either to read or write, he enters legislative halls, takes his seat in Congress, and makes the tour of our great cities, attracting crowds to hear him speak. His life is a wild romance of undoubted truth.

Such is the character of this little library of twelve volumes. The writer, who has now entered the evening of life, affectionately commends them to the young men of America, upon whose footsteps their morning sun is now rising. The life of each one, if prolonged to three score years and ten, will surely prove a stormy scene. But it may end in a serene and tranquil evening, ushering in the glories of an immortal day.

JOHN S. C. ABBOTT.

FAIR HAVEN, CONN.

As this is not improbably the last book I shall write, it may not be improper for me to state that, at the age of twenty-four, I commenced the career of an author, by writing "The Mother At Home." I have now attained the age of three score years and ten. In the meantime I have written fifty-four volumes of History or Biography. In every one it has been my endeavor to make the inhabitants of this sad world more brotherly,--better and happier.

The long series is probably closed with the biography of Benjamin Franklin. Every page has been penned under this impression. A theme more full of instruction and interest could not be chosen.

And now, in my declining years, as I feel that the battle has been fought and, I hope, the victory won, it is an unspeakable comfort for me to reflect, that, in all these fifty-four volumes, there is not one line which, "dying, I could wish to blot."

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

_Parentage and Early Life._

PAGE

The parentage of Franklin--His parents emigrate to America--Character of his father--Abiah Folger, his mother--Birth and baptism--Influence of his Uncle Strong--Of the Whistle--Childish exploits--Uncongenial employment--Skill in swimming--Early reading--Boston at that time--An indentured apprentice--Form of Indenture--Enters a printing office--Fondness for reading--Anecdotes--Habits of study--Fondness for argument--Adopts a vegetable diet--The two creeds. 11

CHAPTER II.

_Developments of Character._

Views of the Sabbath--Writings of Collins and Shaftsbury--The creed of Collins--Franklin at sixteen--The Courant--Denunciations of the paper--Franklin's mode of acquiring the art of composition--His success as a writer--The Editor prosecuted--Benjamin becomes Editor and Publisher--Jealousy of his brother--The runaway apprentice--The voyage to New York--Great disappointment--Eventful Journey to Philadelphia--Gloomy prospects--The dawn of brighter days. 31

CHAPTER III.

_Excursion to England._

Attention to dress--Receives a visit from Gov. Keith--His visit to Boston--Collins returns to Philadelphia with him--Sir William Keith's aid--Excursions on the Sabbath--Difficulty with Collins--Spending Mr. Vernon's money--His three friends--Engagement with Deborah Read--Voyage to England--Keith's deceit--Ralph--Franklin enters a printing house in London. 52

CHAPTER IV.

_Mental and Moral Conflicts._

Faithfulness to work--Neglect of Deborah Read--Treatise on Liberty and Necessity--Skill in swimming--Return to America--Marriage of Miss Read--Severe sickness--Death of Mr. Denham--Returns to Keimer's employ--The Junto--His Epitaph--Reformation of his treatise on Liberty and Necessity--Franklin's creed. 75

CHAPTER V.

_The Dawn of Prosperity._

Franklin takes a house--His first job--His industry--Plans a Newspaper--Enters the list as a writer--Advocates a Paper currency--Purchases Keimer's paper--Character of Meredith--Struggles of the firm--Unexpected assistance--Dissolves partnership with Meredith--Franklin's energetic conduct--His courtship, and marriage--Character of Mrs. Franklin--Increase of luxury--Plans for a library--Prosperity of Pennsylvania--Customs in Philadelphia--Style of dress in 1726--Franklin's social position in Philadelphia--His success--A hard student. 101

CHAPTER VI.

_Religious and Philosophic Views._

Studious habits--New religion--Personal habits--Church of the Free and Easy--His many accomplishments--The career of Hemphall--Birth and Death of Franklin's son--The Ministry of Whitefield--Remarkable friendship between the philosopher and the preacher--Prosperity of Franklin--His convivial habits--The defense of Philadelphia--Birth of a daughter--The Philadelphia Academy. 126

CHAPTER VII.

_The Tradesman becomes a Philosopher._

Franklin appointed Indian commissioner--Effects of Rum--Indian logic--Accumulating honors--Benevolent enterprises--Franklin's counsel to Tennent--Efforts for city improvement--Anecdotes--Franklin appointed postmaster--Rumors of War--England enlists the Six Nations in her cause--Franklin plans a Confederacy of States--Plans rejected--Electrical experiments--Franklin's increase of income--Fearful experiments--The kite--New honors--Views of the French philosopher--Franklin's Religious views--His counsel to a young pleader--Post-office Reforms. 147

CHAPTER VIII.

_The Rising Storms of War._

Aristocracy--Anecdote--Conflicting laws of Nations--Franklin's scheme of colonization--Proposal of the British Court--The foresight of Franklin--Braddock's campaign--Remonstrances of Franklin and Washington--Franklin's interviews with Braddock--Franklin's efficiency--Confidence of Braddock--The conflict with the Proprietaries--The non-resistant Quakers--Fate of the Moravian villages--The winter campaign--The camp of Gaudenhutton--Anecdote--Renewal of the strife with the Proprietaries--Franklin recalled to assist the Assembly--Destruction of the Fort--Claim of the Proprietaries--The great controversy. 168

CHAPTER IX.

_Franklin's Mission to England._

New marks of respect--Lord Loudoun--Gov. Denny and Franklin--Visit the Indians--Franklin commissioner to England--His constant good nature--Loudoun's delays--Wise action of an English captain--The voyagers land at Falmouth--Journey to London--Franklin's style of living in London--His electrical experiments--He teaches the Cambridge professor--Complimentary action of St. Andrews--Gov. Denny displaced, and dark clouds arising--Franklin's successful diplomacy--His son appointed Governor of New Jersey--Great opposition--The homeward voyage--Savage horrors--Retaliating cruelties--Franklin's efforts in behalf of the Moravian Indians. 190

CHAPTER X.

_Franklin's Second Mission to England._

Fiendish conduct of John Penn--Petition to the crown--Debt of England--Two causes of conflict--Franklin sent to England--His embarkation--Wise counsel to his daughter--The stamp act--American resolves--Edmund Burke--Examination of Franklin--Words of Lord Chatham--Dangers to English operatives--Repeal of the stamp act--Joy in America--Ross Mackay--New taxes levied--Character of George III--Accumulation of honors to Franklin--Warlike preparations--Human conscientiousness--Unpopularity of William Franklin--Marriage of Sarah Franklin--Franklin's varied investigations--Efforts to civilize the Sandwich Islands. 215

CHAPTER XI.

_The Intolerance of King and Court._

Parties in England--Franklin the favorite of the opposition--Plans of the Tories--Christian III--Letter of Franklin--Dr. Priestley--Parisian courtesy--Louis XV--Visit to Ireland--Attempted alteration of the Prayer Book--Letter to his son--Astounding letters from America--Words of John Adams--Petition of the Assembly--Violent conspiracy against Franklin--His bearing in the court-room--Wedderburn's infamous charges--Letter of Franklin--Bitter words of Dr. Johnson--Morals of English lords--Commercial value of the Colonies--Dangers threatening Franklin. 240

CHAPTER XII.

_The Bloodhounds of War Unleashed._

The mission of Josiah Quincy--Love of England by the Americans--Petition to the king--Sickness and death of Mrs. Franklin--Lord Chatham--His speech in favor of the colonists--Lord Howe--His interview with Franklin--Firmness of Franklin--His indignation--His mirth--Franklin's fable--He embarks for Philadelphia--Feeble condition of the colonies--England's expressions of contempt--Franklin's reception at Philadelphia--His letter to Edmund Burke--Post-office arrangements--Defection and conduct of William Franklin--His arrest. 265

CHAPTER XIII.

_Progress of the War, both of Diplomacy and the Sword._

Letter of Henry Laurens--Franklin visits the army before Boston--Letter of Mrs. Adams--Burning of Falmouth--Franklin's journey to Montreal--The Declaration of Independence--Anecdote of the Hatter--Framing the Constitution--Lord Howe's Declaration--Franklin's reply--The Conference--Encouraging letter from France--Franklin's embassy to France--The two parties in France--The voyage--The reception in France. 292

CHAPTER XIV.

_The Struggles of Diplomacy._

Anecdote of Gibbon--John Adams--Residence at Passy--Lafayette introduced--Cruise of the Reprisal--Paul Jones--Capture of Burgoyne--Alliance with France--Anecdote of the Cake--Excitement in England--Franklin's introduction to the king--Joy in America--Extraordinary letter of Count Wissenstein--The reply--Injustice to Paul Jones--French troops in America--Character of John Adams--Franklin's mature views of human nature--Anecdote of the Angel--Capture of Cornwallis--Its effect in England--Prejudices of Mr. Jay--Testimony of Dr. Sparks--Jealousy of Franklin--Shrewd diplomatic act--The treaty signed. 322

CHAPTER XV.

_Life's Closing Scenes._

Advice to Thomas Paine--Scenes at Passy--Journey to the Coast--Return to America--Elected Governor of Pennsylvania--Attends the Constitutional Convention--Proposes prayers--Remarkable speech--Letter to Dr. Stiles--Christ on the Cross--Last sickness and death. 356

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.