[figure description] Page 153.[end figure description]

I carried a reque&longs;t to the
late Doctor Benjamin Franklin, then
pre&longs;ident of the &longs;tate of Penn&longs;ylvania, for
certain papers, I was to deliver further
&longs;outhward. I anticipated much plea&longs;ure,
from the interview with this truly great
man: To &longs;ee one, who, from &longs;mall
beginnings, by the &longs;ole exertion of native
genius, and indefatigable indu&longs;try, had
rai&longs;ed him&longs;elf to the pinnacle of politics
and letters; a man, who, from an humble
printer's boy, had elevated him&longs;elf to
be the de&longs;irable companion of the great

[figure description] Page 154.[end figure description]

ones of the earth: who, from trundling
a wheelbarrow in bye lanes, had been
advanced to pa&longs;s in &longs;plendour, through
the courts of kings; and, from hawking
vile ballads, to the contracting and signing
treaties, which gave peace and independence
to three millions of his fellow
citizens, was a &longs;ight intere&longs;ting in the extreme.

I found the doctor &longs;urrounded by company,
mo&longs;t of whom were young people.
He received me with the attention due
to a young &longs;tranger. He di&longs;patched a
per&longs;on for the papers I wanted; a&longs;ked
me politely to be &longs;eated; inquired after
the family I &longs;prang from; and told me a
plea&longs;ing anecdote of my brave ance&longs;tor,
Captain Underhill. I found, in the doctor,
all that &longs;implicity of language, which
is remarkable in the fragment of his life,
publi&longs;hed &longs;ince his decea&longs;e; and which
was con&longs;picuous in my medical preceptor.
I have &longs;ince been in a room a few

[figure description] Page 155.[end figure description]

hours with Governour Jay, of New
York; have heard of the late Governour
Living&longs;ton, of New Jer&longs;ey; and am now
confirmed in the opinion, I have suggested,
that men of genuine merit, as they
po&longs;&longs;e&longs;s the e&longs;&longs;ence, need not the parade
of great knowledge. A rich man
is often plain in his attire, and the man,
who has abundant trea&longs;ures of learning,
&longs;imple in his manners and &longs;tile.

The doctor, in early life, was economical
from principle; in his latter days,
perhaps from habit. Poor Richard held
the pur&longs;e &longs;trings of the pre&longs;ident of Pennsylvania.
Permit me to illu&longs;trate this
ob&longs;ervation, by an anecdote. Soon after
I was introduced, an airy, thoughtle&longs;s relation,
from a New England &longs;tate, entered
the room. It &longs;eems he was on
a party of plea&longs;ure, and had been &longs;o
much involved in it, for three weeks, as
not to have paid his re&longs;pects to his venerable
relative. The purpo&longs;e of his

[figure description] Page 156.[end figure description]

pre&longs;ent vi&longs;it was, to &longs;olicit the loan of a
&longs;mall &longs;um of money, to enable him to
pay his bills, and tran&longs;port him&longs;elf home.
He preluded his reque&longs;t, with a detail of
embarra&longs;&longs;ments, which might have befallen
the mo&longs;t circum&longs;pect. He &longs;aid that
he had loaded a ve&longs;&longs;el for B—, and as he
did not deal on credit, had purcha&longs;ed beyond
his current ca&longs;h, and could not readily
procure a draft upon home. The
doctor, inquiring how much he wanted,
he replied, with &longs;ome he&longs;itation, fifty
dollars. The benevolent old gentleman
went to his e&longs;critoir, and counted him
out an hundred. He received them with
many promi&longs;es of punctual payment, and
ha&longs;tily took up the writing implements,
to draught a note of hand, for the ca&longs;h.
The doctor, who &longs;aw into the nature of
the borrower's embarra&longs;&longs;ments, better
than he was aware; and was possessed
with the improbability of ever recovering
his ca&longs;h again, &longs;tepped acro&longs;s the

[figure description] Page 157.[end figure description]

room, laying his hand gently upon
his cou&longs;in's arm, &longs;aid, &longs;top cou&longs;in, we
will &longs;ave the paper; a quarter of a &longs;heet
is not of great value, but it is worth saving:
conveying, at once, a liberal gift
and gentle reprimand for the borrower's
prevarication and extravagance. Since
I am talking of Franklin, the reader may
be as unwilling to leave him as I was.
Allow me to relate another anecdote. I
do not recollect how the conver&longs;ation
was introduced; but a young per&longs;on in
company, mentioned his &longs;urprize, that
the po&longs;&longs;e&longs;&longs;ion of great riches &longs;hould ever
be attended with &longs;uch anxiety and solicitude;
and in&longs;tanced Mr. R—M—, who,
he &longs;aid, though in po&longs;&longs;e&longs;&longs;ion of unbounded
wealth, yet was as bu&longs;y and more
anxious, than the mo&longs;t a&longs;&longs;iduous clerk in
his counting hou&longs;e. The doctor took an
apple from a fruit ba&longs;ket, and pre&longs;ented
it to a little child, who could ju&longs;t totter about
the room. The child could &longs;carce

[figure description] Page 158.[end figure description]

gra&longs;p it in his hand. He then gave it
another, which occupied the other hand.
Then choo&longs;ing a third, remarkable for its
&longs;ize and beauty, he pre&longs;ented that al&longs;o.
The child, after many ineffectual attempts
to hold the three, dropped the la&longs;t on the
carpet, and bur&longs;t into tears. See there,
&longs;aid the philo&longs;opher; there is a little
man, with more riches than he can enjoy.

p407-166

Previous section

Next section