Chapter XI: The Constitution-Maker

Almost immediately on Franklin's return to Philadelphia he was made President of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, under the extraordinary constitution he had helped to make before he went to France in 1776. This office was somewhat like that of the modern governor. He held it for three years, by annual re-elections, but without being involved in any notable questions or controversies.

He was at this period of his life still genial and mellow, in spite of disease, and full of anecdotes, learning, and curious experiences. His voice is described as low and his countenance open, frank, and pleasing.

He enjoyed what to him was one of the greatest pleasures of life, children and grandchildren. He had six grandchildren, and no doubt often wished that he had a hundred. He had no patience with celibacy, and was constantly urging marriage on his friends. To John Sargent he wrote,--

"The account you give me of your family is pleasing, except that
your eldest son continues so long unmarried. I hope he does not
intend to live and die in celibacy. The wheel of life that has
rolled down to him from Adam without interruption should not
stop with him. I would not have one dead unbearing branch in the
genealogical tree of the Sargents. The married state is, after
all our jokes, the happiest."

Sir Samuel Romilly, who visited him in Paris shortly before his return to America, says in his journal,--

"Of all the celebrated persons whom in my life I have chanced to
see, Dr. Franklin, both from his appearance and his
conversation, seemed to me the most remarkable. His venerable
patriarchal appearance, the simplicity of his manner and
language, and the novelty of his observations, at least the
novelty of them at that time to me, impressed me with an opinion
of him as one of the most extraordinary men that ever existed."
(Life of Romilly. By his Sons. Vol. i. p. 50.)

He lived in a large house in Philadelphia, situated on a court long afterwards called by his name, a little back from the south side of Market Street, between Third and Fourth Streets. There was a small garden attached to it, and also a grass-plot on which was a large mulberry-tree, under which he often sat and received visitors on summer afternoons. He built a large addition to the house, comprising a library, a room for the meetings of the American Philosophical Society, with some bedrooms in the third story. Here he passed the closing years of his life with his daughter and six grandchildren, reading, writing, receiving visits from distinguished men, and playing cards in the winter evenings.

"I have indeed now and then," he writes to Mrs. Hewson, "a
little compunction in reflecting that I spend time so idly; but
another reflection comes to relieve me, whispering, '_You know
that the soul is immortal; why then should you be such a niggard
of a little time, when you have a whole eternity before you?_'
So, being easily convinced, and, like other reasonable
creatures, satisfied with a small reason, when it is in favor of
doing what I have a mind to, I shuffle the cards again, and
begin another game."

He was soon, however, given very important employment in spite of his age. He had made himself famous in many varied spheres, from almanacs and stove-making to treaties of alliance. Nothing seemed to be too small or too great for him. He invented an apparatus for taking books from high shelves. He suggested that sailors could mitigate thirst by sitting in the salt water or soaking their clothes in it. The pores of the skin, he said, while large enough to admit the water, are too small to allow the salt to penetrate; and the experiment was successfully tried by shipwrecked crews. He suggested that bread and flour could be preserved for years in air-tight bottles, and Captain Cook tried it with good results in his famous voyage. It is certainly strange that the man who was so passionately interested in such subjects should enter the great domain of constitution-making and, in spite of many blunders, excel those who had made it their special study.

He had no knowledge of technical law, either in practice or as a science. He was once elected a justice of the peace in Philadelphia, but soon resigned, because, as he said, he knew nothing of the rules of English common law. It was perhaps the only important domain of human knowledge in which he was not interested.

As a public man of long experience he had considerable knowledge of general laws and their practical effect. He was a law-maker rather than a law-interpreter. He understood colonial rights, and knew every phase of the controversy with Great Britain, and he had fixed opinions as to constitutional forms and principles. Some of his ideas on constitution-making were unsound; but it is astonishing what an important part he played during his long life in American constitutional development.

I have shown in another volume, called "The Evolution of the Constitution of the United States," how the principles and forms of that instrument were developed out of two hundred years' experience with more than forty colonial charters and Revolutionary constitutions and more than twenty plans of union. The plans of union were devised from time to time with the purpose of uniting the colonies under one general government. None of them was put into actual practice until the "Articles of Confederation" were adopted during the Revolution. But although unsuccessful in the sense that no union was formed under any of them, they contributed ideas and principles which finally produced the federalism of the national Constitution under which we now live.

Two of these plans of union were prepared by Franklin. No other American prepared more than one, and Franklin's two were the most important of all. Not only was he the originator of the two most important plans, but he lived long enough to take part in framing the final result of all the plans, the national Constitution, and he was the author of one of the most valuable provisions in it.

The first plan of union which he drafted was the one adopted by the Albany Conference of 1754, that had been called to make a general treaty with the Indians which would obviate the confusion of separate treaties made by the different colonies. Such a general treaty, by controlling the Indians, would, it was hoped, assist in resisting the designs of the French in Canada. It was obvious, also, that if the colonies were united under a general government they would be better able to withstand the French. Franklin had advocated this idea of union in his _Gazette_, and had published a wood-cut representing a wriggling snake separated into pieces, each of which had on it the initial letter of one of the colonies, and underneath was written, "Join or die."

He was sent to the conference as one of the delegates from Pennsylvania, and his plan of union, which was adopted, was a distinct improvement on all others that had preceded it, and contained the germs of principles which are now a fundamental part of our political system. In 1775, while a member of the Continental Congress, he drafted another plan, which, though not adopted, added new suggestions and developments. But as both of these plans are fully discussed in "The Evolution of the Constitution,"[29] it is unnecessary to say more about them here.

He was a member of the convention which in 1776 framed a new constitution for Pennsylvania, and in this instrument he secured the adoption of two of his favorite ideas. He believed that a Legislature should consist of only one House, and that the executive authority, instead of being vested in a single person, should be exercised by a committee. The executive department of Pennsylvania became, therefore, a Supreme Executive Council of twelve members elected by the different counties. In order to make up for the lack of a double House, there was a sort of makeshift provision providing that every bill must pass two sessions of the Assembly before it became a law. There was also a curious body called the Council of Censors, two from each city and county, who were to see that the constitution was not violated and that all departments of government did their duty. It was a crude and awkward attempt to prevent unconstitutional legislation, and proved an utter failure. The whole constitution was a most bungling contrivance which wrought great harm to the State and was replaced by a more suitable one in 1790.

But Franklin heartily approved of it, and in 1790 protested most earnestly against a change. He argued at length against a single executive and in favor of a single house Legislature in the teeth of innumerable facts proving the utter impracticability of both. No other important public men of the time believed in them, and they had been rejected in the national Constitution. He was, however, as humorous and clever in this argument as if he had been in the right. A double-branch Legislature would, he said, be too weak in each branch to support a good measure or obstruct a bad one.

"Has not the famous political fable of the snake with two heads
and one body some useful instruction contained in it? She was
going to a brook to drink, and in her way was to pass through a
hedge, a twig of which opposed her direct course; one head chose
to go on the right side of the twig, the other on the left; so
that time was spent in the contest, and, before the decision was
completed, the poor snake died with thirst." (Bigelow's Works of
Franklin, vol. x. p. 186.)

After Franklin had taken part in framing the Pennsylvania constitution of 1776 and had gone to Paris as ambassador to France, he had all the new Revolutionary constitutions of the American States translated into French and widely circulated. Much importance has been attached to this translation by some writers, Thomas Paine saying that these translated constitutions "were to liberty what grammar is to language: they define its parts of speech and practically construct them into syntax;" and both he and some of Franklin's biographers ascribe to them a vast influence in shaping the course of the French Revolution. Franklin wrote to the Rev. Dr. Cooper, of Boston, that the French people read the translations with rapture, and added,--

"There are such numbers everywhere who talk of removing to
America with their families and fortunes as soon as peace and
our independence shall be established that it is generally
believed we shall have a prodigious addition of strength, wealth
and arts from the emigration of Europe; and it is thought that
to lessen or prevent such emigration the tyrannies established
there must relax and allow more liberty to their people. Hence
it is a common observation here that our cause is the cause of
all mankind and that we are fighting for their liberty in
defending our own."

As there was none of the vast emigration out of France which he speaks of, and the great emigration from Europe did not begin until after the year 1820, it may very well be that both he and his biographers have exaggerated the effect of the translations. But there seems to be no doubt that the translations must, on general principles, have had a stimulating effect on liberal ideas, although we may not be able to measure accurately the full force of their influence. They also were valuable in arousing the enthusiasm of the French forces, and making more sure of their assistance and alliance.

His last work in constitution-making was in 1787, when the convention met at Philadelphia to frame the national document which was to take the place of the old Articles of Confederation, and this was also the last important work of his life. He was then eighty-one years old, and suffering so much from the gout and stone that he could not remain standing for any length of time. His important speeches he usually wrote out and had his colleague, Mr. Wilson, read them to the convention. This was in some respects an advantage, for these speeches have been preserved entire in Madison's notes of the debates, while what was said by the other members was written by Madison from memory or much abbreviated. It was Franklin's characteristic good luck attending him to the last.

Considering his age and infirmity, one would naturally not expect much from him, and, as we go over the debates, some propositions which he advocated and his treatment by the other members incline us at first to the opinion that he had passed his days of great usefulness, and that he was in the position of an old man whose whims are treated with kindness.

One of the principles which he advocated most earnestly was that the President, or whatever the head of the government should be called, should receive no salary. He moved to amend the part relating to the salary by substituting for it "whose necessary expenses shall be defrayed, but who shall receive no salary, stipend, fee, or reward whatsoever for their services."

He wrote an interesting speech in support of his amendment. But it is easy to see that his suggestion is not a wise one. No one familiar with modern politics would approve of it, and scarcely any one in the convention looked upon it with favor. Madison records that Hamilton seconded the motion merely to bring it before the House and out of regard for Dr. Franklin. It was indefinitely postponed without debate, and Madison adds that "it was treated with great respect, but rather for the author of it than from any apparent conviction of its expediency or practicability."

He also clung steadfastly to his old notions that the executive authority should be vested in a number of persons,--a sort of council, like the absurd arrangement in Pennsylvania,--and that the Legislature should consist of only one House. These two propositions he advocated to the end of the session. We find, moreover, that he seconded the motion giving the President authority to suspend the laws for a limited time, certainly a most dangerous power to give, and very inconsistent with Franklin's other opinions on the subject of liberty.

On the other hand, however, we find him opposing earnestly any restrictions on the right to vote. He was always urging the members to a spirit of conciliation and a compromise of their violent opinions on the ground that it was only by this means that a national government could be created. It was for this purpose that he proposed the daily reading of prayers by some minister of the Gospel, which was rejected by the convention, because, as they had not begun in this way, their taking it up in the midst of their proceedings would cause the outside world to think that they were in great difficulties.

He was strongly in favor of a clause allowing the President to be impeached for misdemeanors, which would, he said, be much better than the ordinary old-fashioned way of assassination; and he was opposed to allowing the President an absolute veto on legislation. All matters relating to money should, he thought, be made public; there should be no limitation of the power of Congress to increase the compensation of the judges, and very positive proof should be required in cases of treason. In these matters he was in full accord with the majority of the convention.

But his great work was done in settling the question of the amount of representation to be given to the smaller States, and was accomplished in a curious way. John Dickinson, of Delaware, was the champion of the interests of the small commonwealths, which naturally feared that if representation in both Houses of Congress was to be in proportion to population, their interests would be made subordinate to those of the States which outnumbered them in inhabitants. This was one of the most serious difficulties the convention had to face, and the strenuousness with which the small States maintained their rights came near breaking up the convention.

Franklin was in favor of only one House of Congress, with the representation in it proportioned to population, and he made a most ingenious and fallacious argument to show that there was more danger of the smaller States absorbing the larger than of the larger swallowing the smaller. But, in the hope of conciliating Dickinson and his followers, he suggested several compromises, the first one of which was very cumbersome and impracticable and need not be mentioned here. It seemed to take for granted that there was to be only one House of Congress.

Afterwards, when it was definitely decided to have two Houses, the question as to the position of the smaller States was again raised in deciding how the Senate was to be composed. Some were for making its representation proportional to population, like that of the lower House, and this the small States resisted. Franklin said that the trouble seemed to be that with proportional representation in the Senate the small States thought their liberties in danger, and if each State had an equal vote in the Senate the large States thought their money was in danger. He would, therefore, try to unite the two factions. Let each State have an equal number of delegates in the Senate, but when any question of appropriating money arose, let these delegates "have suffrage in proportion to the sums which their respective States do actually contribute to the treasury." This was not very practical, but it proved to be a step which led him in the right direction.

A few days afterwards, in a committee appointed to consider the question, he altered his suggestion so that in the lower House the representation should be in proportion to population, but in the Senate each State should have an equal vote, and that money bills should originate only in the lower House. The committee reported in favor of his plan, and it was substantially adopted in the Constitution. The lower House was given proportional representatives, and the Senate was composed of two Senators from each State, which gave absolute equality of representation in that body to all the States. Money bills were allowed to originate only in the lower House, but the Senate could propose or concur with amendments as on other bills.

Thus the great question was settled by one of those strokes of Franklin's sublime luck or genius. He disapproved of the whole idea of a double-headed Congress, and thought the fears of the small States ridiculous; but, for the sake of conciliation and compromise with John Dickinson and his earnest followers, his masterful intellect worked out an arrangement which satisfied everybody and is one of the most important fundamental principles of our Constitution. Without it there would be no federal union. We would be a mere collection of warring, revolutionary communities like those of South America. It has never been changed and in all human probability never will be so long as we retain even the semblance of a republic.

This was Franklin's greatest and most permanent service to his country, more valuable than his work in England or France, and a fitting close to his long life. The most active period of his life, as he has told us, was between his seventieth and eighty-second years. How much can be done in eighty vigorous years, and what labors had he performed and what pleasures and vast experiences enjoyed in that time! Few men do their best work at such a great age. Moses, however, we are told, was eighty years old before he began his life's greatest work of leading the children of Israel out of Egypt. But it would be difficult to find any other instances in history except Franklin.

After the Constitution as prepared by the convention had been engrossed and read, it became a question whether all the members of the convention could be persuaded to sign it, and Franklin handed one of his happy speeches to Mr. Wilson to be read. He admitted that the Constitution did not satisfy him; it was not as he would have had it prepared; but still he would sign it. With all its faults it was better than none. A new convention would not make a better one, for it would merely bring together a new set of prejudices and passions. He was old enough, he said, to doubt somewhat the infallibility of his own judgment. He was willing to believe that others might be right as well as he; and he amused the members with his humor and the witty story of the French lady who, in a dispute with her sister, said, "I don't know how it happens, sister, but I meet with nobody but myself that is always in the right."

"It therefore astonishes me, sir, to find this system
approaching so near to perfection as it does; and I think it
will astonish our enemies, who are waiting with confidence to
hear that our councils are confounded, like those of the
builders of Babel, and that our States are on the point of
separation, only to meet hereafter for the purpose of cutting
one another's throats....

"On the whole, sir, I cannot help expressing a wish, that every
member of the Convention who may still have objections to it,
would with me on this occasion doubt a little of his own
infallibility, and, to make _manifest_ our _unanimity_, put his
name to this instrument."

At the close of the reading of his speech Franklin moved that the Constitution be signed, and offered as a convenient form,--

"Done in Convention by the unanimous consent of the States
present the 17th day of September, etc. In witness whereof we
have hereunto subscribed our names."

Madison explains that this form, with the words "consent of the States," had been drawn up by Gouverneur Morris to gain the doubtful States' rights party. It was given to Franklin, he says, "that it might have the better chance of success."

"Whilst the last members were signing," says Madison, "Dr.
Franklin, looking towards the president's chair, at the back of
which a rising sun happened to be painted, observed to a few
members near him that painters had found it difficult to
distinguish in their art a rising from a setting sun. 'I have,'
said he, 'often and often in the course of the session and the
vicissitudes of my hopes and fears as to its issue, looked at
that behind the president, without being able to tell whether it
was rising or setting, but now at length I have the happiness to
know that it is a rising and not a setting sun.'"

So Franklin, from whose life picturesqueness and charm were seldom absent, gave, in his easy manner, to the close of the dry details of the convention a touch of beautiful and true sentiment which can never be dissociated from the history of the republic he had helped to create.

FOOTNOTES:

[29] Pp. 218, 231-236.

Appendix to Page 104

FRANKLIN'S DAUGHTER, MRS. FOXCROFT

It was impossible in the text at page 104 to give in full all the letters which showed that Mrs. Foxcroft was Franklin's daughter. Most of them, however, were cited. It seems necessary now to give them in full, because since the book was first published the correctness of the statement in the text has been questioned; and the reasons for questioning it have been set forth by a reviewer in a New York newspaper called _The Nation_. A reply to this review appeared in _Lippincott's Magazine_ for May, 1899, and this reply, so far as it relates to Mrs. Foxcroft, was as follows:

The best way to discuss the above statement, and a great deal
more nonsense that the reviewer has written on this subject, is
to give in full the letters and reasons which have led the
members of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania to believe
that a certain manuscript letter in the possession of the
society showed that Franklin had an illegitimate daughter.

The letter itself, which Mr. Fisher gives in his book, is
addressed to Franklin at his Craven Street lodgings in London,
and is as follows:

PHILADA. Feby. 2d, 1772.

Dear Sir:

I have the happiness to acquaint you that your daughter was
safely brot to Bed the 20th ulto. and presented me with a
sweet little girl, they are both in good spirits and are
likely to do very well.

I was seized with a Giddyness in my head the Day before
yesterday as I had 20 oz. of blood taken from me and took
physick wch does not seem in the least to have relieved me.

I am hardly able to write this. Mrs. F. Joins me in best
affections to yourself and compts to Mrs. Stevenson and Mr.
and Mrs. Huson.

I am Dr Sir

yrs affectionately

JOHN FOXCROFT.

Mrs. Franklin, Mrs. Bache, little Ben & Family at Burlington
are all well. I had a letter from yr. Govr. yesterday.

J. F.

It is to be observed that the above letter is an entirely serious one from beginning to end; there is no attempt to joke or make sport, as some of Franklin's correspondents did; and the first sentence in the letter states that the writer's wife was Franklin's daughter and that she had given birth to a girl. The letter is apparently written to announce that event to Franklin. Such a statement, made by a man about his wife, is certainly deserving of serious consideration. Would he on such an occasion and in such a manner have said that she was Franklin's daughter unless he firmly believed that she was?

If she was Franklin's daughter, as her husband describes her, she must have been illegitimate, for it is well known that Franklin's only legitimate daughter was Mrs. Sarah Bache.

John Foxcroft, the writer of the letter, is well known as the deputy postmaster of Philadelphia at that time, and Franklin was postmaster-general of the Colonies. Foxcroft and Franklin were close friends and often corresponded on business matters. We shall give, therefore, the letters of Franklin to Foxcroft in which he refers to Mrs. Foxcroft as his daughter, and we shall give them in full, so that the connection can be seen. Some of these letters are in the collection of Franklin's papers in the State Department at Washington, and have been copied from that source. Others are from the collection of the American Philosophical Society at Philadelphia, and one or two can be found in Bigelow's "Works of Franklin."

American Philosophical Society Collection, vol. xlv., No. 46:

LONDON, Feb. 4, 1772.

MR. FOXCROFT,

Dear Friend

I have written two or three small letters to you since my return
from Ireland and Scotland. I now have before me your favours of
Oct. 1, Nov. 5 and Nov. 13.

Mr. Todd has not yet shown me that which you wrote to him about
the New Colony, tho he mentioned it and will let me see it, I
suppose, when I call on him. I told you in one of mine, that he
had advanced for your share what has been paid by others, tho I
was ready to [torn] and shall in the whole Affair take the same
care of your interests as of my own. You take notice that Mr.
Wharton's friends will not allow me _any Merit_ in this
transaction, but insist _the Whole_ is owing to his superior
Abilities. It is a common error in Friends when they would extol
their Friend to make comparison and depreciate the merit of
others. It was not necessary for his Friends to do so in this
case. Mr. Wharton will in truth have a good deal of Merit in the
Affair if it succeeds, he having been exceedingly active and
industrious in soliciting it, and in drawing up Memorials and
Papers to support the Application, remove objections &c. But tho
I have not been equally active (it not being thought proper that
I should appear much in the solicitation since I became a little
obnoxious to the Ministry on acct. of my Letters to America) yet
I suppose my Advice may have been thought of some use since it
has been asked in every step, and I believe that being longer
and better known here than Mr. Wharton, I may have lent some
weight to his Negotiations by joining in the Affair, from the
greater confidence men are apt to place in one they know than in
a stranger. However, as I neither ask or expect any particular
consideration for any service I may have done and only think I
ought to escape censure, I shall not enlarge on this invidious
topic. Let us all do our endeavours, in our several capacities,
for the common Service, and if one has the ability or
opportunity of doing more for his Friends than another let him
think that a happiness and be satisfied.

The Business is not yet quite completed and as many Things
happen between the Cup and the Lip, perhaps there may be nothing
of this kind for Friends to dispute about. For if no body should
receive any Benefit there would be no scrambling for the Honour.

Stavers is in the wrong to talk of my promising him the Rider's
Place again. I only told him that I would (as he requested it)
recommend him to Mr. Hubbard to be replaced if it could be done
without impropriety or inconveniency. This I did & the rather as
I had always understood him to have been a good honest punctual
Rider. His behaviour to you entitles him to no Favour, and I
believe any Application he may make here will be to little
purpose.

In yours from N York of July 3 you mention your intention of
purchasing a Bill to send hither as soon as you return home from
your journey. I have not since received any from you, which I
only take notice of to you, that if you have sent one you may
not blame me for not acknowledging the Receipt of it.

In mine of April 20 I explained to you what I had before
mentioned that in settling our private Account I had paid you
the sum of 389£ (or thereabouts) in my own Wrong, having before
paid it for you to the General Post Office. I hope that since
you have received your Books and looked over the Accounts you
are satisfied of this. I am anxious for your Answer upon it, the
sum being large and what cannot prudently for you or me be left
long without an Adjustment.

My Love to my Daughter and compliments to your Brother, I am
ever my dear Friend

Yours most affectionately

B FRANKLIN

The above letter is taken from the copy kept by Franklin in his own handwriting in the collection of the American Philosophical Society. The same letter, with some verbal differences and without the last clause relating to the daughter, appears in Bigelow's "Works of Franklin," vol. iv., p. 473.

Library of State Department, Washington, 11 R, 8:

LONDON, Oct. 7, 1772.

MR. FOXCROFT,

Dear Sir--

I had no line from you by this last Packet, but find with
Pleasure by yours to Mr. Todd that you and yours are well.

The affair of the Patent is in good Train and we hope, if new
Difficulties unexpected do not arise, we may get thro' it as
soon as the Board meet. We are glad you made no Bargain [torn]
your Share and hope none of our Partners [torn] do any such
thing; for the Report of such a Bargain before the Business is
completed might overset the whole.

Mr. Colden has promised by this Packet that we shall certainly
have the Accounts by the next. If they do not come I think we
shall be blamed, and he will be superseded; For their Lordships
our masters are incensed with the long Delay.

I hope you have by this time examined our private Accounts as
you promised, and satisfyd yourself that I did, as I certainly
did, pay you that Ballance of about 389£ in my own wrong. It
would relieve me of some uneasiness to have the Matter settled
between us, as it is a Sum of Importance and in case of Death
might be not so easily understood as while we are both living.

With love to my Daughter and best Wishes of Prosperity to you
both, and to the little one, I am ever my dear Friend

Yours most affectionately,
B. FRANKLIN

Library of State Department, Washington, 11 R, 12:

LONDON Nov 3 1772

MR. FOXCROFT

Dear Sir

I received your Favour of June 22d by Mr. Finlay and shall be
glad of an opportunity of rendering him any service on your
Recommendation. There does not at present appear to be any
Disposition in the Board to appoint a Riding Surveyor, nor does
Mr. Finlay seem desirous of such an Employment. Everything at
the Office remains as when I last wrote only the Impatience for
the Accounts seems increasing. I hope they are in the October
Packet now soon expected agreeable to Mr. Colden's last
promise.

I spent a Fortnight lately at West Wycomb with our good master
Lord Le Despencer and left him well.

The Board has begun to act again and I hope our Business will
again go forward.

My love to my Daughter concludes from

Your affectionate Friend
and humble servant
B. F.

There is a letter to Foxcroft in the Library of the State Department, Washington, 11 R, 8, dated London, December 2, 1772, which need not perhaps be given in full, because Franklin sends love to his daughter and then crosses it out as follows:

I can now only add my Love to my Daughter and best Wishes of
Happiness to you and yours from Dear Friend

Yours most affectionately
B. FRANKLIN.

He apparently struck out the words "Love to my Daughter and" because they were in effect included in the best wishes and happiness which followed.

Library of State Department, Washington, 11 R, 63:

LONDON Mar. 3, 73

MR. FOXCROFT,

Dear Friend--

I am favoured with yours of June 5, and am glad to hear that you
and yours are well. The Flour and Bisket came to hand in good
order. I am much obliged to you and your brother for your care
in sending them.

I believe I wrote you before that the Demand made upon us on
Acct. of the Packet Letters was withdrawn as being without
Foundation. As to the Ohio Affair we are daily amused with
Expectations that it is to be compleated at this and T'other
time, but I see no Progress made in it. And I think more and
more that I was right in never placing any great dependence on
it. Mr. Todd has received your 200£.

Mr. Finlay sailed yesterday for New York. Probably you will have
seen him before this comes to hand.

You misunderstood me if you thought I meant in so often
mentioning our Acct. to press an immediate Payment of the
Ballance. My Wish only was, that you would inspect the Account
and satisfy yourself that I had paid you when here that large
supposed Ballance in my own wrong. If you are now satisfied
about it and transmit me the Account you promise with the
Ballance stated I shall be easy and you will pay it when
convenient.

With my Love to my Daughter &c I am ever Dear Friend

Yours most affectionately
B. FRANKLIN

Bigelow's "Works of Franklin," vol. v. p. 201:

LONDON, 14 July, 1773.

TO MR. FOXCROFT.

Dear Friend:--I received yours of June 7th, and am glad to find
by it that you are safely returned from your Virginia journey,
having settled your affairs there to satisfaction, and that you
found your family well at New York.

I feel for you in the fall you had out of your chair. I have had
three of those squelchers in different journeys, and never
desire a fourth.

I do not think it was without reason that you continued so long
one of St. Thomas' disciples: for there was always some cause
for doubting. Some people always ride before the horse's head.
The draft of the patent is at length got into the hands of the
Attorney General, who must approve the form before it passes the
seals, so one would think much more time can scarce be required
to complete the business: but 'tis good not to be too sanguine.
He may go into the country, and the Privy Councillors likewise,
and some months elapse before they get together again:
therefore, if you have any patience, use it.

I suppose Mr. Finlay will be some time at Quebec in settling his
affairs. By the next packet you will receive a draft of
instructions for him.

In mine of December 2d, upon the post-office accounts to April,
1772, I took notice to you that I observed I had full credit for
my salary: but no charge appeared against me for money paid on
my account to Mrs. Franklin from the Philadelphia office. I
supposed the thirty pounds currency per month was regularly
paid, because I had had no complaint from her for want of money,
and I expected to find the charge in the accounts of the last
year--that is, to April 3, 1773: but nothing of it appearing
there, I am at a loss to understand it, and you take no notice
of my observation above mentioned. The great balance due from
that office begins to be remarked here, and I should have
thought the officer would, for his own sake, not have neglected
to lessen it by showing what he had paid on my account. Pray, my
dear friend, explain this to me.

I find by yours to Mr. Todd that you expected soon another
little one. God send my daughter a good time, and you a good
boy. Mrs. Stevenson is pleased with your remembrance of her, and
joins with Mr. and Mrs. Hewson and myself in best wishes for you
and yours.

I am ever yours affectionately,

B. FRANKLIN.

American Philosophical Society Collection, vol. xlv., No. 80:

LONDON Feb. 18, 1774

MR. FOXCROFT,

Dear Friend--

It is long since I have heard from you. I hope
nothing I have written has occasioned any coolness. We are no
longer Colleagues, but let us part as we have lived so long in
Friendship.

I am displaced unwillingly by our masters who were obliged to
comply with the orders of the Ministry. It seems I am too much
of an American. Take care of yourself for you are little less.

I hope my daughter continues well. My blessing to her. I
shall soon, God willing, have the Pleasure of seeing you, intending
homewards in May next. I shall only wait the Arrival of the April
Pacquet with the accounts, that I may settle them here before I go.
I beg you will not fail of forwarding them by that Opportunity,
which will greatly oblige.

Dear Friend

Yours most affectionately

It is to be observed of all these letters that, like the original letter of Foxcroft, they are entirely serious. They are business letters. They are not letters of amusement and pleasure, in which Franklin might joke and laugh with a young girl and in sport call her his daughter. They are not addressed to the woman in question but to her husband, and at the close of long details about business matters he simply says "give my love to my daughter," or he refers to her, as in the letter next to the last, as about to have another child. Read in connection with Foxcroft's original letter, they form very strong proof that Franklin believed Mrs. Foxcroft to be his daughter.

But the reviewer says that Mr. Fisher notes in two places that women correspondents in writing to Franklin called him father and signed themselves "your daughter." Mr. Fisher notes on page 332 the letter of a girl written to Franklin in broken French and English, in which she begins by calling him "My dear father Americain," and signs herself "your humble servant and your daughter J. B. J. Conway." The letter is obviously childish and sportive. We do not find the other instance of a similar letter to which the reviewer alludes. The Conway letter is such a frivolous one that it amounts to nothing as proof to overcome the serious, solemn statements by Franklin and Foxcroft in their letters. A light-minded French girl calling Franklin her father is very different from serious, business-like statements by Franklin saying that a certain woman was his daughter.

The reviewer goes on to say that "a little more research would have shown him [Mr. Fisher] letters of Franklin couched in the same parental terms." The meaning of this is presumably that Franklin was in the habit of calling the young women he corresponded with his daughters. This, however, it will be observed, is quite a different matter from Franklin's writing to a husband and sending love to the husband's wife as his daughter. But there are some letters to young girls on which a reckless, slap-dash reviewer would be likely to base the statement that Franklin habitually called women his daughters. Let us look into these letters and see what they are.

Franklin's first correspondent of this sort was Miss Catherine Ray, of Rhode Island. They were great friends and exchanged some beautiful letters, almost unequalled in the English language. They are collected in Bigelow's "Works of Franklin," vol. ii. pp. 387, 414, 495. The letter at page 387 begins "Dear Katy," and ends "believe me, my dear girl, your affectionate faithful friend and humble servant." The letter at page 414 begins "My Katy," speaks of her as "dear girl," and ends with the same phrase as the previous one, except that the word "faithful" is left out. The one at page 495 begins "Dear Katy," and closes "Adieu dear good girl and believe me ever your affectionate friend." In none of these letters does he speak of her as his daughter.

The letters to Miss Catherine Louisa Shipley and to Miss Georgiana Shipley, the daughters of the Bishop of St. Asaph, are friendly but not very endearing in the terms used. He once calls Georgiana "My dear friend," and in the famous letter on the squirrel addresses her as "My dear Miss." He nowhere calls them his daughters.

The letters that come nearest to what the reviewer wants are those to Miss Mary Stevenson. There are quite a number of them, and she and Franklin were on the most affectionate terms. We will give the citations of them in Bigelow, although any one can look them up in the index: In vol. iii. pp. 34, 46, 54, 56, 62, 139, 151, 186, 187, 195, 209, 232, 238, 245; in vol. iv. pp. 17, 33, 212, 258, 264, 287, 332, 339; in vol. x. p. 285. These letters call Miss Stevenson "Dear Polly," "My dear friend," "My good girl," and "My dear good girl." The first of them, vol. iii. p. 34, begins by addressing her as "dear child," and another, vol. iii. p. 209, closes by saying "Adieu my dear child. I will call you so. Why should I not call you so, since I love you with all the tenderness of a father."

This may be what the reviewer had in his mind. But Franklin nowhere calls Miss Stevenson his daughter. The word daughter and child are very different. We all of us often call children we fancy "my child." Franklin's use of the word child as applied to Miss Stevenson has from the context of the letters a perfectly obvious meaning,--no one can mistake it; just as his use of the word daughter in the Foxcroft letters has, from the context and all the circumstances, a perfectly obvious meaning.

It would be endless to discuss all the reviewer's irrelevant and extravagant statements. We shall call attention to only one other illustration of his methods. He closes one of his wild paragraphs by saying that if "Mr. Fisher wishes further knowledge on this subject for 'speculation,' we recommend him to read Franklin's letter to Foxcroft of September 7, 1774."

The reviewer is careful not to quote from this letter or even to say where it may be found, and the inference the ordinary reader would draw from the way it is paraded is that it contains some very positive denial that Mrs. Foxcroft was Franklin's daughter. But when it is examined, it is found to be a business letter like the others, referring to the lady in question as "Mrs. Foxcroft" instead of as "my daughter," a perfectly natural way of referring to her and entirely consistent with the other letters. We give the letter in full. It is in the American Philosophical Society Collection, vol. xlv., No. 94:

LONDON Sept. 7, 1774.

MR. FOXCROFT,

Dear Friend--

Mr. Todd called to see me yesterday. I perceive there is good
deal of uneasiness at the office concerning the Delay of the
Accounts. He sent me in the Evening to read and return to him a
Letter he had written to you for the Mail. Friendship requires
me to urge earnestly your Attention to the contents, if you
value the Continuance of your Appointment; for these are times
of uncertainty, and I think it not unlikely that there is some
Person in view ready to step into your Shoes, if a tolerable
reason could be given for dismissing you. Mr. Todd is
undoubtedly your Friend. But everything is not always done as he
would have it This to yourself; and I confide that you will take
it as I mean it for your Good.

Several Packets are arrived since I have had a Line from you.
But I had the pleasure of seeing by yours to Mr. Todd that you
and Mrs. Foxcroft with your little Girl are all in good Health
which I pray may continue.

I am ever my dear old friend

Yours most affectionately

B. FRANKLIN.

Index

Academy established by Franklin, 74-5.

---- of Madame Helvetius, 330.

ADAMS, John, 295, 297, 303-5;
criticisms of Franklin, 306-12;
his difficulties with Vergennes, 321;
opposed to France, 322-3, 341-6;
Franklin criticises, 345-6.

----, Mrs. John, 328-9.

Advertising, Franklin's methods of, 141-2.

Air-baths, 25-6.

Albany Conference, 201, 352-3.

ALLEN, Chief-Justice, 122.

Alliance, treaty of, 299-303.

Almanac, Franklin's, 143-52.

American Philosophical Society, 196.

Amusements as a youth, 18, 20.

Ancestors of Franklin, 42, 132.

Aristocracy, colonial, opposed to Franklin, 124.

Arithmetic, Franklin learns, 51.

"Armonica," the, 185.

Asaph, St., the Bishop of, 227, 348;
his daughters, 227-8.

Asbestos purse, the, 63.

Assembly, Franklin clerk of, 159;
elected a member of, 199.

"Associators," the, 199.

AUSTIN, Jonathan, 301.

Autobiography, Franklin's, 158.

BACHE, Sarah, 119, 265.

BAKER, Polly, 139.

Ballads by Franklin, 45.

BANCROFT, Dr. Edward, 288.

BARTRAM, John, 192.

BEAUMARCHAIS, 279-83.

Black Prince, the, 315.

BLAGDEN, Dr. Charles, 182.

Blood, causes of heat of, 29.

Books read by Franklin, 44.

Bows and arrows, Franklin suggests use of, 266.

BRADDOCK, Franklin visits, 200.

BRILLON, Madame, 325-7.

Broad jokes of Franklin, 125.

Broom-corn, 184.

BURGOYNE, surrender of, 301.

"Busy Body" papers, 135.

Canada, cession of, 336;
Franklin's journey to, 267-9.

CARROLL, Rev. John, 96, 267.

Celibacy, Franklin's dislike of, 106, 349.

CHATHAM, Lord, assists the Americans, 261.

CHAUMONT, Ray de, 275, 347.

Chevaux-de-frise devised by Franklin, 266.

Chimneys, smoky, 183.

Claims for extra service, 164-5.

Clerk of the Assembly, 159, 197.

COBBETT, his attack on Franklin, 123.

Colds, Franklin's theory of, 27-9.

College of Philadelphia founded, 74-6.

COLLINS, John, 19-20, 45, 57.

COLLINSON, Peter, 172-3, 177.

Constitution of Pennsylvania, 349, 353-4.

----, signing of, 361-2.

Constitutional Convention of 1787, 356.

Constitution-making, 349-63.

Constitutions, American, translated into French, 355.

Contentment of Franklin, 21.

CONWAY, Mademoiselle, 332.

_Courant, New England_, 80-1.

COVERLEY, Sir Roger de, 144-5.

Creed, Franklin's, 88-91.

DEANE, Silas, 270, 278, 288, 289-91.

Death of Franklin, 39-40.

Deep water, effect of, on vessels, 181.

DE FOE'S "Essay upon Projects," 193.

Deism, Franklin's, 80, 84, 91.

DENHAM, Mr., befriends Franklin, 59, 65, 133.

DESPENCER, Lord le, 98, 242.

Diseases of Franklin, 34-40.

Diurnal motion of the earth, 186-7.

"Dogood, Silence," 135.

Dreams, Franklin's fondness for, 26.

Edict of the King of Prussia, 241-2.

Education, defects of modern, 47-50.

Electricity, 172-8.

ELIOT, Jared, 170.

"Ephemera, The," 154-5, 325-6.

Epitaph of Franklin on himself, 153;
comic epitaphs, 154;
on the Penns, 223;
on Franklin, 224;
on the squirrel, 228.

Examination before Parliament, 234-9.

Exercise, Franklin's opinion of, 37.

"Fireplace, Pennsylvania," 170.

Fisheries, the, 337, 340-2.

FORD, Paul Leicester, his essay on the mother of Franklin's son,
106-7.

FOTHERGILL, Dr., 213.

FOXCROFT, John, 104-5.

France, willingness of, to assist America, 277-8;
loans from, 317-18;
Franklin's love for, 346;
appointed commissioner to, 270;
subserviency to, 343;
departure from, 347.

FRANKLIN, Mrs., 114-18, 120-1, 137.

----, William, 105-7, 113, 214.

----, William Temple, 106, 214.

Free ships, 316.

French, enthusiasm of the, for Franklin, 273-5.

----, Franklin's knowledge of, 71, 74, 325-6.

Fur cap, Franklin's, 274.

_Gazette, Pennsylvania_, founded by Franklin, 135-42;
advertisements in, 142.

Girls, Franklin's fondness for, 128-9, 332-3.

GODFREY, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas, 134, 143.

Gout, dialogue of the, with Franklin, 35.

Governor, the Assembly's contests with the, 204.

Governor's salary, contests about, 201.

"Great Empire, Rules for Reducing a," 240-1.

Gulf Stream, 181-2.

HALL, David, Franklin's partner, 160.

HARTLEY, David, 319.

"Hat Honor," 82-3.

HELVETIUS, Madame, 327-30.

HOPKINSON, Thomas, 173.

Hospital, the Pennsylvania, 123, 195.

HOUDETOT, Countess d', 332-4.

HOWE, Lord, 262, 269.

HUGHES, John, 232.

Hutchinson Letters, the, 245-60.

Illegitimate children of Franklin, 104.

Immorality, Franklin's, 103.

Indolence, Franklin's, 21.

IZARD, Ralph, 286-7.

"Jacobite, The Genealogy of a," 139.

JAY, John, 318, 338-9, 341-2.

Junto, the, 66-70.

KAMES, Lord, 158, 186, 215.

KEIMER, 54-5, 65, 133-5.

KEITH, Governor, 55, 56-9.

KINNERSLEY, Ebenezer, 173-4, 178.

Kite experiment, 175-6.

Languages, modern, 71-2.

Latin, Franklin learns, 71;
wants to abolish the study of, 72.

LEE, Arthur, 286, 291-5.

LEEDS, Titan, 145-6.

Legislature, Franklin clerk of, 159;
elected a member of, 199.

Lehigh Valley, expedition to, 207-9.

"Liberty and Necessity," Franklin's pamphlet on, 60-3, 85-6.

Library, the Philadelphia, 193-4.

Liturgy, Franklin's, 89-90.

Loans from France, 317-18.

London, Franklin's first visit to, 59;
his life there, 60-5.

LOUIS XVI. gives his portrait to Franklin, 347.

Love of money, Franklin's, 160.

MALTHUS, 190.

Manures, mineral, 184.

MARBOIS, 342.

Maritime suggestions, 188-90.

Marriage, Franklin favors, 106, 349;
attempts it for himself, 109, 111;
marries Mrs. Rogers, 112-13.

MATHER, Cotton, 66, 68, 81, 158, 193.

MAURY, 187-8.

MECOM, Jane, 130.

_Mercury_, the, 134-5, 142.

MEREDITH, Hugh, 133, 136.

Militia, Franklin organizes the, 198.

---- law drafted by Franklin, 206.

Mississippi, navigation of the, 341.

Mistress, Franklin's advice on the choice of a, 126-7.

Modern languages, 71-2.

Molasses, export duty on, 302-3.

Money, Franklin's love of, 160.

Moral code, Franklin's, 102, 108.

Music, 185.

Nepotism, 164, 293.

Northeast storms, origin of, 169.

Nuncio, the papal, 96-7.

Oil, effect of, on waves, 182-3.

Ordination of bishops, 96-7.

OSWALD, commission of, 337-9.

Paper money, Franklin's pamphlet on, 70.

Parable against persecution, 155-8.

Paralytic people brought to Franklin, 331.

PARKER, Theodore, 106.

Passy, Franklin at, 275.

PASSY, Mademoiselle de, 306.

"Paxton Boys," 219-20.

Peace, proposals of, 319;
treaty of, 335.

"Pennsylvania Fireplace," 170.

---- Hospital, 195.

Peopling of countries, 190.

Perfumes, Franklin's letter on, 126.

Persecution, parable against, 155-8.

Philadelphia, Franklin's first journey to, 52-4.

---- Library, 193-4.

Plagiarism, 26, 152.

Plan of life, Franklin's, 85.

Polly Baker's speech, 139.

PONTIAC, conspiracy of, 218.

"Poor Richard," 143-52.

Portraits of Franklin, 30-3.

Postmaster of Philadelphia, 159.

Postmaster-General of the colonies, 162;
under Congress, 265.

Prayer-book, Franklin's revision of, 98-101.

PRIESTLEY, Joseph, 213.

Privateering, Franklin opposed to, 317.

Profits of business, 159-61, 163-5.

Proprietary estates, taxing of, 204-5, 209-10, 216-17, 221.

Proprietorship, abolition of, 221-6, 231.

RALPH, a friend of Franklin, 59, 64.

RAY, Miss Catharine, 128.

READ, Miss, 54, 58, 60, 65-6, 112.

Reading as a boy, 42.

Recommendation, letters of, 319-20.

"Reprisal," the, 271-2.

Retirement from business, 160-1.

RITTENHOUSE, David, 168.

Rolls, Franklin's story of the, 54.

ROMILLY, Sir Samuel, visits Franklin, 350.

Royal government, petition to, 221-6, 231.

"Rules for Reducing a Great Empire," 240-1.

Sabbath-breaker, Franklin as a, 78, 93.

Salaries of Franklin's offices, 163-4.

Salary of the President, Franklin opposes, 357.

School-days, 41.

Scotch-Irish, the, 219-20.

Sedentary life of Franklin, 22.

Self-made man, Franklin as a, 41.

Senate, composition of the, 360.

Shallow water, effect of, 181.

SLOANE, Sir Hans, 63.

Small-pox, inoculation for, 81.

SMITH, Rev. William, 76, 122.

Smoke-consuming stove, 184.

Smoky chimneys, 183.

Soldier, Franklin as a, 207.

Spain, her interests in the Mississippi, 340.

_Spectator, The_, analyzed by Franklin, 46.

Stamp Act, 231-9.

States, the smaller, 358.

STEVENSON, Miss Mary, 129.

----, Mrs., 211-12.

Storms from the northeast, 169.

STRAHAN, William, 213, 267.

Street-cleaning, 196.

Subserviency to France, 334-5, 343.

Swimming, 18-19.

SYNG, Philip, 173.

Taxing the estates, 204-5, 209-10, 216-17, 221.

Temperance, 24-5.

TEMPLE, John, his duel with Whately, 249.

THOMPSON, Mrs., calls Franklin a rebel, 331.

THUNDER, Marquis of, 306.

TRUXTON, Captain, 348.

TURGOT, 311-12.

Union, plans of, 352-3.

Vegetarianism, 22.

VEILLARD, Le, 347.

Ventilation, 29.

Venus, transit of, 168.

VERGENNES, 277, 281, 303, 321-2, 324, 338, 341, 344.

"Virtue, The Art of," planned by Franklin, 109.

VOLTAIRE, resemblance of, to Franklin, 280;
embraces Franklin, 306.

War, Franklin's opinion of, 191.

War, Quaker opinion of, 203.

Water, depth of, as affecting vessels, 181.

Water-drinking, 23.

Water-spouts, 180.

Wealth of Franklin, 165.

WEDDERBURN, 256-9.

WHATELY, Thomas, his duel with Temple, 249.

Whistle, story of the, 60.

WHITEFIELD, Rev. George, 94-5.

WILLIAMS, Jonathan, 293-8.

Writing, Franklin trains himself in, 46.

THE END.

Transcriber's Note.

Irregular spelling in quoted material is as per the original. Minor errors in punctuation corrected without note. The following typographical errors have been corrected:

Page 23: Original: "... other projects, to form a religous ..."
(changed to "religious")

Page 35: Original: "... ate and drank too freeely, and ..."
(changed to "freely")

Page 139: Original: "... American newsapers for half a ..."
(changed to "newspapers")

Page 291: Original: "... publication of Beamarchais's life ..."
(changed to "Beaumarchais's")

Page 293: Original: "... in a phamphlet, entitled ..."
(changed to "pamphlet")

Page 349: Original: "... Eripuit coelo fulmen septrumque ..."
(changed to "sceptrumque")

The section of text comparing Taylor's and Franklin's language (pp. 156-7) was printed side by side in the original. Oe ligatures in the original replaced with "oe" in this version.

End of Project Gutenberg's The True Benjamin Franklin, by Sydney George Fisher

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