Accordingly, he immediately took a large silk handkerchief, and stretching it over two cross sticks, formed in this manner his simple apparatus for drawing down the lightning from its cloud. Soon after, seeing a thunder-storm approaching, he took a walk into a field in the neighbourhood of the city, in which there was a shed, communicating his intentions, however, to no one but his son, whom he took with him. This was in June, 1752.

The kite being raised, he fastened a key to the lower extremity of the hempen string, and then, insulating it by attaching it to a post by means of silk, he placed himself under the shed, and waited the result. For some time no electricity appeared. A cloud, apparently charged with lightning, had even passed over them without producing any effect. At length, however, just as Franklin was beginning to despair, he observed some loose threads of the hempen string rise and stand erect, exactly as if they had been repelled from each other by being charged with electricity. Presenting his knuckle to the key, to his inexpressible delight, he drew from it the well known electrical spark. His emotion was so great at this completion of a discovery which was to make his name immortal, that he heaved a deep sigh, and felt that he could that moment have willingly died. As the rain increased, the cord became a better conductor, and the key gave out its electricity copiously. Had the hemp been thoroughly wet, the bold experimentor might, as he was contented to do, have paid for his discovery with his life.

He afterwards brought down lightning into his house by means of an insulated iron rod, and performed with it, at his leisure, all the experiments that could be performed with electricity. His active and practical mind was not satisfied even with the splendid discovery, until he had turned it to some useful purpose. It suggested to him the idea of a method of preserving buildings from lightning; consisting in nothing more than attaching to the building the well-known pointed metallic rod.

In one of his letters to Mr, Collinson, dated so early as 1784, he thus expresses himself.-"Chagrined a little that we have hitherto been able to produce nothing in this way of use to mankind, and the hot weather coming on, when electrical experiments are not so agreeable, it is proposed to put an end to them for the season somewhat humorously, in a party of pleasure on the banks of the Skuylkill, spirits at the same time are to be fired by a spark sent from side to side through the river, without any other conductor than the water--an experiment which we have some time since performed to the amazement of many. A turkey is to be killed for dinner by the electrical shock, and roasted by the electrical jack, before a fire kindled by the electrical bottle; when the healths of all the famous electricians in England, Holland, France, and Germany, are to be drunk in electrified bumpers under the discharge of guns from the electrified battery."

The account of Franklin's experiments, struck Buffon so forciby, that he had them translated into French, and printed in Paris. The Royal Society was induced to resume the consideration of the papers that had formerly been read to them. One of their members verified the grand experiment of bringing down lightning from the clouds; and upon his reading to them an account of his success, 66 they soon," says Franklin, "made me more than amends for the slight with which they had before treated me. Without my having made any application for that honour, they chose me a member; and

voted that I should be excused the customary payments, which would have amounted to twenty-five guineas; and ever since have given me their transactions gratis. They also presented me with the gold medal of Sir Godfrey Copley, the delivery of which was accompanied with a very handsome speech of the President, Lord Macclesfield, wherein I was highly honoured." Some years afterwards, when he was in this country with his son, the University of St. Andrew conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Laws; and the example was followed by the Universities of Edinburgh and Oxford. He was also elected a member of many of the learned societies throughout Europe.

Upon the breaking out of the fatal disturbances, in consequence of Mr. Grenville's Stamp Act, Franklin had again returned to England, as agent for Pennsylvania and other states. He was every where received with respect, as a writer and philosopher. Finding all his endeavours ineffectual to induce a reconciliation between the mother-country and the colonies, he returned to America in 1775. In 1778, he was sent as ambassador to the court of France, after hostilities had commenced, when he brought about an alliance between that nation and the North American States. Upon the recognition cf their independence, the definitive treaty to that effect was signed at Paris on the 3rd of September, 1783, by Dr. Franklin, Mr. Adams, and Mr. Jay on the part of the States. Franklin continued at Paris for the two following years; but at his own urgent request was recalled. Shortly after his return he was elected President of the Supreme Executive Council, and lent all his still perfect energies to consolidating the infant government. Age and infirmities, however, obliged him, in 1788, to retire altogether from public life; his last act-and it was one in beautiful accordance with the whole tenor of his life-was putting his signature as President of the Anti-Slavery Society, to a memorial presented to the house of Representatives, praying them to exert the full powers intrusted to them to discourage the revolting traffic in the human species. From this day forward, he was confined almost constantly to his bed with the stone, from which he suffered the most excruciating agony. Sinking gradually into a lethargic state, he quietly expired on the 17th of April, 1790, at the age of eighty four years and three months. The following epitaph, written by himself many years previous to his death, was inscribed on his tomb-stone:

"The body of Benjamin Franklin, Printer,-like the cover of an old book, its contents torn out, and stript of its lettering and gilding,-lies here food for worms; yet the work itself shall not be lost; for it will, as he believed, appear once more in a new and more beautiful edition, corrected and amended by the Author."

No philosopher of the age stood on a prouder eminence than this extraordinary man, who had originally been one of the most obscure of the people, and had raised himself to all this distinction almost without the aid of any education but such as he had given himself. Who will say, after reading his story, that any thing more is necessary for the attainment of knowledge, than the determination to attain it. The secret of Franklin's success in the cultivation of his mental powers was, that he was ever awake and active in that business; that he suffered no opportunity of forwarding it to escape him unimproved; that, however poor, he found at least a few pence, were it even by diminishing his scanty meals, to pay for the loan of the books he could not buy; that however hard he wrought, he found a few hours in the

week to read and study them. Others may not have his presence of mind; but his industry, his perseverance, his self-command, are for the imitation of all mankind.

During this time, Franklin was once challenged to fight a duel, the circumstances of which were not a little curious, and were as follows. He was one night in a coffee house in London, in company with a number of literary and scientific gentlemen, who greatly admired his conversational powers, both for force and originality. A stranger, who was afflicted with a most offensive odour, and who seemed pleased with the conversation, came into the box in which the party was assembled. Franklin proposed that his friends should remove to another box, to escape the horrid smell. They did so, but the stranger followed them. Again, at Franklin's instance, they removed; and again the stranger followed: when, the former's patience getting exhausted, he addressed him, requesting him not to follow them again, for his scent was so offensive it could not be borne. He of the smell took this as a gross insult, and challenged Franklin, the next morning, to a duel. The latter thus replied to the challenge--"If I accept your challenge, and we fight, and you kill me, I shall, in a few days, smell as bad as you do now; if I kill you, you, will, if possible, smell worse than you do at present. In neither case can I see how any benefit can result to ourselves and others, and therefore I decline the challenge."-At this answer, Franklin's friends could not restrain their laughter, while the challenger thought it best to retire, rather than stand the brunt of the ridicule he had thus deservedly inspired.

Upon receiving a letter once from a friend, who apologized for his bad spelling, Franklin in replying to it, comforts him in the following humorous

manner:

"You need not be concerned, in writing to me about your bad spelling; for in my opinion, what is called bad spelling is generally the best, as conforming to the sound of the letters. To give you an instance, a gentleman received a letter in which were these words: Not finding Brown at hom I delivered your messeg to his Yf. The gentleman called his wife to help him to read it. Between them they picked out all but the yf, which they could not understand. The lady proposed calling her chamber-maid, 'because Betty,' says she, has the best knack of reading bad spelling of any I know.' Betty came, and was surprised that neither of them could tell what yf was. "Why," she replied, yf spells wife-what else can it spell?'And, indeed, it is much better, as well as, a shorter method than doubleyou, i, f, e, which, in reality, spells doublewife"

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