BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. AUTOBIOGRAPHY

The Autobiography is in two parts. The first, which brings the narrative down to 1731, was written during a visit to the Bishop of St. Asaph in 1771; the second, which continues the narrative to 1757, was written, after much urging by his friends, at Passy, France, in 1788. Neither part was printed during its author's lifetime. The strange adventures of the two manuscripts before they finally passed into the possession of the United States Government are fully told in McMaster's Benjamin Franklin in the American Men of Letters Series. In 1791 the earlier part was issued in Paris in a French translation. The first appearance of any part of the Autobiography in English print was a translation into English of this earliest edition in 1792. The first publication of the original English was in Temple Franklin's edition of Franklin's Works in 1817. For this edition the editor garbled and emended and reworded the original text without scholarship or conscience. Again the manuscripts disappeared, to be discovered in 1840 and to be turned over to John Bigelow, the American Ambassador, in 1867. Bigelow's edition, published shortly afterwards, was the first edition to appear as Franklin wrote it.

The section which we print comprises about one third of the first part. The passage is complete so far as it goes. 3. a. 14. Polemic

divinity, religious controversy or disputation, an art much practised by the Puritans of New England. Franklin's father had earlier intended him for the church as the tithe of his sons.'

b. 5. Dr. Mather, Cotton Mather (1663-1728), the best known of the Puritan divines of Boston, author of the ponderous Magnalia Christi Americana and some four hundred other works.

4. a. 32. Grub Street, a street in London once much frequented by needy writers who eagerly turned their pens to any writing that would yield them enough to keep them from starvation. b. 41. The Spectator appeared daily from March 1, to December 6, 1712. It was resuscitated again for a short time in 1714. The first republication of the Spectator in book form was in seven volumes. When Franklin chanced upon the stray third volume shortly after 1718, it was decidedly one of the new books of the day. It is not unlikely that another copy could not be found in the Province of Massachusetts Bay.'- McMaster. 5. a. 42. The Earl of Shaftesbury (1671-1713) and Anthony Collins (1676-1729) were prominent English free thinkers, or deists, who, while denying

revelation and the authority of the church, still held to the general doctrines conecrning the Deity and the fundamentals of faith.

6. b. 12. The first newspaper to appear in America was Publick Occurrances, Boston, 1690. The fact that the General Court suppressed it after its first issue terming it a pamphlet which had come out contrary to law, undoubtedly explains why Franklin disregarded it. The Boston News-Letter was first published April 24, 1704. The Boston Gazette, which Franklin, who relied wholly on his memory for dates and facts while composing his Autobiography, evidently forgot, appeared in 1719. The New England Courant, 1721, was therefore the fourth newspaper to appear in America. 7. a. 1. I discovered it, I made it known. 25. I fancy his harsh and tyrannical treatment of me might be a means of impressing me with that aversion to arbitrary power that has stuck to me through my whole life.'— Franklin's note. 8. a. 33. Kill, the Dutch name for channel or for any long body of water. Here undoubtedly it refèrs to the Kill von Kull at the northern end of Staten Island.

57. All of these books first appeared during Franklin's youth or young manhood. Robinson Crusoe appeared in 1719, and 1720; Moll Flanders, 1722; and Richardson's Pamela, the first English novel, 1740.

9. a. 8. Letters, education, knowledge derived from books.

10. a. 32. Cases, shallow trays divided into com. partments for the various letters in a font of type. Franklin means here that Keimer had secured two more fonts.

52. One of the French Prophets, one of the followers of a religious fad at the time.

12. a. 25. Pieces of eight - Spanish coins so called because they had stamped on them the number 8, signifying that they were worth 8 reals or one dollar.

THE WAY TO WEALTH

12. In 1783 I first published my Almanac, under the name of Richard Saunders; it was continued by me about twenty-five years, commonly called Poor Richard's Almanac. I endeavored to make it both entertaining and useful; and it accordingly came to be in such demand. that I reaped considerable profit from it, vending annually near ten thousand. And observing that it was generally read, scarce any neighborhood in the province being without it, I considered as a proper vehicle for convey. ing instruction among the common people, who bought scarcely any other books; I therefore filled

all the little spaces that occurred between the remarkable days in the calendar with proverbial sentences, chiefly such as inculcated industry and frugality as a means of procuring wealth, and thereby securing virtue; it being more difficult for a man in want to act always honestly, as, to use here one of those proverbs, it is hard for an empty sack to stand upright.

These proverbs, which contained the wisdom of many ages and nations, I assembled and formed into a connected discourse prefixed to the Almanac of 1757 [more accurately, 1758] as the harangue of a wise old man to the people attending an auction. The bringing all these scattered counsels thus into a focus enabled them to make greater impression. The piece, being universally approved, was copied in all the newspapers of the continent; reprinted in Britain on a broad side to be stuck up in houses; two translations were made of it in French, and great numbers were bought by the clergy and gentry, to distribute gratis among their poor parishionerss and tenants. In Pennsylvania, as it discouraged useless expense in foreign superfluities, some thought it had its share of influence in producing that growing plenty of money which was observable for several years after its publication. The Autobiography.

13. a. 14. V'endue -auction.

15. a. 38. Felix quem, etc., Happy the man whom the calamities of others make wise.

cution

a as

means

"The bible!

AN ADDITION TO THE BOOK OF GENESIS 17. It is recorded by Weems, the early biographer of Franklin, that in 1763 'just before he left London, Doctor Franklin was complimented by his friend Collinson with a large party at his house, chiefly of literary gentlemen.' The conversation turning at length upon religious and theological subjects, a noted doctor of divinity defended perse. out of stamping heresy. Franklin called out to him with an air of great surprise, Why my dear sir, I am astonished that you plead thus for persecution, when it is so diametrically opposite to your bible." echoed the clergyman, "there are in the gospel, sir, some passages in "Some passages, favor." your reverend sir! what is the whole gospel but love, the kindest love to our fellowmen and therefore no persecution? But is not the old testament against you as well, as the new: What think you of that remarkable chapter in the book of Genesis?" clergyman replied that he did not know what Franklin chapter in Genesis Doctor meant. He thought, he said, he knew something of the bible, but he did not recollect any chapter in Genesis, in point. "No, sir!" answered Franklin still with the look and voice of surprise. "not that memorable chapter concerning Abraham and the poor man! Pray, Mr. Collinson, favor us with your bible a minute or two. "With all my heart," replied the clergyman, "I should like to see that memorable chapter." The company, who had been very attentive all the while, now manifested a double solicitude for the issue of the pending controversy

The

the family bible was brought and laid on the

table by the side of Doctor Franklin. “Well, reverend sir," said he looking at the preacher, as he took up the bible," shall I read this chapter? Certainly," replied the divine, settling himself m his chair to listen - the eyes of all were fixed on Franklin, and their ears full wide to hear, when opening the bible and turning back the leaves to find the place, he thus audibly began:

'The twenty-seventh chapter of the first book of Moses, commonly called the book of Genesis.' Franklin's chapter followed.

WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS

18. Washington in the preparation of his address was aided by Madison, Hamilton, and Jay. Madison had helped prepare an address that was to have been delivered in 1792 at the close of the first administration, but it was laid aside. Four years later Washington wrote a first draught of a farewell address and submitted it to Hamilton, who completely rewrote it. Washington revised the copy and recopied it and then submitted it to Hamilton and Jay for further revision. It is impossible," says Duyckinck, to determine accurately the respective shares of Hamilton and Washington in the language. The idea of the whole was projected by Washington, and so far as can be learned, the parts were mostly contrived and put into shape by him. The deliberation and intelligent counsel bestowed upon the work, proved by the Madison, Hamilton, and Jay letters on the subject, so far from detracting from Washington's own labors, add further value to them. He had a public duty to perform, and he took pains to discharge it in the most effective manner. The pride of literary authorship sinks before such considerations. Yet the temper of this paper is preeminently Washingtonian. It is unlike any composition of Madison or Hamilton, in a certain considerate moral tone which distinguishes all Washington's writings. It is stamped by the position, the character, and the very turns of phrase of the great man who gave it to his country." PHILIP FRENEAU AND H. H. BRACKENBRIDGE: THE RISING GLORY OF AMERICA

27. This poem was given originally as the graduating exercise of Freneau and H. H. Brackenbridge at Princeton College in 1771, Brackenbridge delivering it, and it was published in pamphlet form the following year. Brackenbridge in later years confessed that on his part it was a task of labor, while the verse of his associate flowed spontaneously Freneau printed his own part, with many modifications and additions in the first edition of his poems, 1786. The present selection, which is the closing part of the original and which constitutes nearly one-third of the whole poem, follows the text of the 1772 pamphlet edition.

71. Acapulco, the most important seaport on the Pacific coast of Mexico.

28. 93. It should be noted that the city of Washington was a wilderness when Congress in 1790 decreed that the capital of the United States should be on the Potomac.

110. The Boston Massacre took place March 5, 1770, a year and a half before the Princeton commencement of 1771.

29. 128. H. H. Brackenbridge, born in Scotland 1748, was brought by his parents to America when he was five years old. His boyhood years were spent in York County, Pennsylvania.

132. John Hampden (1594-1643) one of the most stalwart of the early opposers of the tyranny of Charles I.

135. Sir John Denham (1615-1668) in his long poem Cooper's Hill has in it a description of the river Thames which was greatly admired in its day. 137. The Tuscarora tribe of Indians originated in North Carolina.

39. To those who now read it as a detached text, and who do not recreate for themselves the very scene, the atmosphere, the needs, the moods, from the midst of which this song came into life, it will be but a ponderous and humdrum verse. Of course 'winged words these are not, and were not; and yet so true was this song to the very heart of its time that, up and above the hail and smoke and curses of the battle-field, it really lifted the hearts of men who were just then overburdened by a dreadful task, who were just then bewildered in the dust and cries of the fighting, and begrimed with its soilure and blood; and it actually gave to them, for some great moments, a clear vision of the triumphant issue of all this havoc and horror,- home, country, a new fatherland in the world, the last and the noblest of time.'- Tyler.

39. 11. The rights of man- Thomas Paine's book The Rights of Man did not appear until 1791. 40. 43. The gloom. The poem was written at the time when Burgoyne's invasion was filling the north with consternation. Dwight is said to have preached to the troops at this critical time from Joel ii: 20.

PSALM CXXXVII

40. In 1801 appeared The Psalms of David. Imitated in the Language of the new Testament, and applied to the Christian Use and Worship, by I. Watts, D. D. A New Edition, in which the Psalms omitted by Dr. Watts are versified anew, in proper Metres, By Timothy Dwight, D. D., President of Yale College.' This hymnal is significant only for the fact that to it Dwight contributed the one hymn that has survived from all the enormous mass of Puritan sacred songs written before the nineteenth century. I love thy kingdom, Lord' has found its way into all the hymnals of the world and is still popular.

THE CONTRAST

of

41. A contrast between the affected manners such shallow apers of the English smart set as Dimple and Charlotte, and the simple native worth of Colonel Manly and Maria is the theme of the play. The selections which we have chosen form a complete unit,- the sub-plot, which might be removed from the comedy entirely without affecting the continuity of the main story. They include practically the entire speaking parts of the servants Jessamy, Jonathan, and Jenny, who must do on a small scale precisely what their masters do on a larger scale.

41. The Prologue. There is internal evidence, as in lines 30-34, that this was not written by Tyler.

Who the Young Gentleman of New York' was, we may not conjecture.

42. 48. Are generous as just. Doubtless an echo from Charles Surface's Be just before you are generous.' The influence of Sheridan's play The School for Scandal, which had first appeared only ten years before, is everywhere evident in the comedy.

ACT SECOND. SCENE 2

42. a. 21. The Mall. Near Trinity Church was the Mall," or promenade for the fashionable set of the little colonial town. By an unwritten law none but the members of the ruling class used it; and on fine afternoons it was filled with a gayly dressed throng of young men and pretty girls, the latter attended by their negro waiting maids.'- New York by Theodore Roosevelt.

24. Ranelagh. 'Gardens formerly situated near the Thames, in Chelsea, London. They were noted for concerts from 1740 to 1805, and famous as the scenes of wild extravagant entertainments, masquerades, etc. They were closed in 1805, and no trace now remains. Century Dictionary.

b. 36. Insurgents. Shays' insurrection, which arose from the unsettled conditions after the Revolution, took place in western Massachusetts 111 1786. The author of The Contrast was fresh from the scenes of this rebellion when he wrote the play. 38. The bag to hold, referring to a crude practical joke sometimes practised in primitive regions. The victim is invited to go snipe hunting at night and is told that the method of capturing the birds is to stand in one of their run-ways in the swamp holding a bag while the rest of the party endeavors to drive the bewildered birds into it. The victim is left holding the bag while the rest of the party decamps for home.

42. Did think the sturgeons were right, meaning that Jonathan had at first sided with the insurgents. 43. a. 24. Took wit, became possessed of wit, or

is no shooting scene in The School for Scandal. 47. a. 54. Yankee Doodle. Tyler's delineation of the Yankee character in Jonathan was doubtless suggested by the Yankee greenhorn of this popular song of the Revolution.

48. b. 17. Grace. Jonathan, coming from New England, interprets the word in its religious and the ological sense: 'Inward spiritual gifts conferred by God through Jesus Christ.'

b. 54. Affettuoso, etc., common musical terms, meaning respectively affectingly,' 'softly,' and ' very loudly.'

THE BLIND PREACHER

61. From The Letters of the British Spy.

The "Blind Preacher," thus described by Mr. Wirt in 1803, was the Rev. James Waddel, born in Ireland in 1739, and brought here in his infancy by his parents, who settled in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. He became a fine classical scholar, and first concluded to devote his life to teaching. But, his views undergoing a change, he determined to enter the ministry, and was licensed in 1761 and settled over a Presbyterian church in Lancaster County. In 1776, he removed to Virginia; and, his salary being small, he received some pupils for classical instruction in his own house. He resided in Louisa County for twenty years, and died there. He lost his eyesight in the latter part of his life. Patrick Henry pronounced him the greatest orator he ever heard.'- C. D. Cleveland,

62. a. 6. Buffet, a blow with the hand. John xix:3. b. 22. Massillon, a celebrated French pulpit orator, 1663-1742.

23. Bourdaloue, French theologian, one of the most illustrious pulpit orators of France, 1632-1704. 63. a. 2. Sir Robert Boyle, English chemist and natural philosopher, 1627-1691.

27. Gray's... bard. This is a part of the second stanza of Gray's Pindaric ode The Bard, first published in 1757.

THE COMMON MOCKING BIRD

65. a. 3. Louisiana. It should be remembered that Audubon's early childhood had been passed 111 Louisiana. The mocking bird had been associated with his infancy.

6. As I at this moment do. Significant.

THE PASSENGER PIGEON

65. The sudden disappearance of the wild or pas senger pigeon is one of the most remarkable phenomena in zoological history. In 1888 the birds failed to appear in their customary breeding places and not a trace of them has been seen since. An offer of $3000 for a single pair has not yet been responded to.

SQUATTER LIFE ON THE AMERICAN RIVERS 67. From Audubon's journal as published in Mrs. Audubon's Life of John James Audubon, page 83. Audubon in his journeys through the wild cane brakes of the Mississippi had abundant opportunity of observing this pioneer stage of American life.