THE LIFE OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. VOL. II. A CONTINUATION TO B. FRANKLIN'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. BY JARED SPARKS. AUTHORIZED EDITION. DESSAU: KATZ BROTHERS. 1854. BERLIN: A. ASHER & Co. HAMBURGH: PERTHES-BESSER & MAUKE. TURIN: CH. SCHIEPATTI. PREFACE. IN writing this Continuation, it has been the author's aim to follow out the plan of the Autobiography, by confining himself strictly to a narrative of the principal events and incidents in Franklin's life, as far as these could be ascertained from his writings, his public acts, and the testimony of his contemporaries. In executing this task, he has had access to a large mass of papers left by Franklin, including his correspondence with many persons in various parts of the world, and also to copious materials, of much value, procured in England, France, and the United States, all of which were for several years in his possession, while he was preparing for the press a new and complete edition of Franklin's Works. As he has spared no pains in his researches, or in his endeavours to make their results useful to the public, he trusts that his efforts have not been wholly without success, and that they will be regarded as having added something to the tribute justly due to the memory of the philosopher, statesman, and philanthropist, whose fame is an honor not more to the land of his birth, than to the age in which he lived. JARED SPARKS. CONTENTS. Page - Defects of the Government. Legis- lation. Conduct of the Proprietaries. Object of Franklin's Agency in England. Collinson, Miss Stevenson, Strahan, Governor Shirley, Beccaria, Musschenbroek. Franklin's Interview with the Proprietaries. He causes a Letter to be published respecting Pennsylvania. - Delays in his public Business. He travels in various Parts of England. Visits the Place in which his Ancestors were born. Forms an Acquain- vania." - -- far Franklin claimed to be its Author. favorable Termination. Lord Mansfield's Agency in the Affair. -Experiments to prove the Electrical Properties of the Tourmalin. - Cold produced by Evaporation. Ingenious Theory for explaining the Causes of Northeast Storms. Invents a Musical Instrument, called the Ar- monica. - His Son appointed Governor of New Jersey. Returns to 15 |