were concerned, there is no doubt that they would have been essentially advanced by complying with Mr. Strahan's advice; but he had higher motives, and events proved that he judged wisely.

Before he left England he received the degree of Doctor of Laws from the Universities of Edinburgh and Oxford.* Other friends, besides Mr. Strahan, regretted his departure. Mr. Hume wrote; "I am very sorry, that you intend soon to leave our hemisphere. America has sent us many good things, gold, silver, sugar, tobacco, indigo, &c.; but you are the first philosopher, and indeed the first great man of letters, for whom we are beholden to her. It is our own fault, that we have not kept him; whence it appears, that we do not agree with Solomon, that wisdom is above gold; for we take care never to send back an ounce of the latter, which we once lay our fingers upon." Franklin replied; "Your compliment of gold and wisdom is very obliging to me, but a little injurious to your country. The various value of every thing in every part of this world arises, you know, from the various proportions of the quantity to the demand. We are told, that gold and silver in Solomon's time were so plenty, as to be of no more value in his country than the stones in the street. have here at present just such a plenty of wisdom. Your people are, therefore, not to be censured for desiring no more among them than they have; and, if

You

The date of the Oxford degree is April 30th, 1762. The following extract from the University records is found among Dr. Franklin's papers.

"February, 22d, 1762. Agreed, nem. con. at a meeting of the Heads of Houses, that Mr. Franklin, whenever he shall please to visit the University, shall be offered the compliment of the degree of D. C. L. honoris causâ. "I. BROWN, Vice-Can."

The degree of Master of Arts was likewise conferred on his son, William Franklin, at Oxford.

I have any, I should certainly carry it where, from its scarcity, it may probably come to a better market."

A few days before he sailed, his son was appointed governor of New Jersey, although the appointment was not publicly announced till some time afterwards. It is evident from this act of the ministry, that they had then conceived no prejudice against the father, on account of the part he had taken in the Pennsylvania controversy; for it could only have been through the influence of his character, and the interest made by his friends on this ground, that so high an office could have been obtained for the son, whose personal services had given him no adequate claims to such an elevation. This proof of confidence from the ministry was displeasing to the Proprietaries. They drew some consolation, however, even from so unpropitious a circumstance. Thomas Penn said, in a letter to Governor Hamilton, "I am told you will find Mr. Franklin more tractable, and I believe we shall, in matters of prerogative; as his son must obey instructions, and what he is ordered to do, the father cannot well oppose in Pennsylvania." This hope was of short duration. The father continued as untractable as ever, zealous in the people's cause, firm in its support, and active in every measure for establishing their rights on the basis of liberty and a just administration of the government.

The Proprietaries, suspicious of his designs, and dreading his influence, kept a watchful eye on him while he was in England; and they at least deserve the credit of candor for acquitting him of having been engaged in any practices, which they could censure. "I do not find," said Thomas Penn, in another letter to Governor Hamilton, "that he has done me any prejudice with any party, having had conversations with

all, in which I have studied to talk of these affairs; and I believe he has spent most of his time in philosophical, and especially in electrical matters, having generally company in a morning to see those experiments, and musical performances on glasses, where any one that knows him carries his friends." This declaration is honorable to both parties; and it shows that the agent, while performing his duty to his constituents, was not unmindful of a proper respect for the character and interests of his opponents.

Dr. Franklin sailed from England about the end of August, having resided there more than five years. In a letter, dated at Portsmouth on the 17th of that month, bidding farewell to Lord Kames, he said; "I am now waiting here only for a wind to waft me to America, but cannot leave this happy island and my friends in it without extreme regret, though I am going to a country and a people that I love. I am going from the old world to the new; and I fancy I feel like those, who are leaving this world for the next; grief at the parting; fear of the passage; hope of the future." He arrived at Philadelphia on the 1st of November. The fleet, in which he took passage, under the convoy of a man-of-war, touched at Madeira, and was detained there a few days. They were kindly received and entertained by the inhabitants, on account of the protection afforded them by the English fleet against the united invasion of France and Spain. Not long after his return to Philadelphia, he wrote to Mr. Richard Jackson a full account of the island of Madeira, its population, soil, climate, and productions; but the letter has never been published, and it is supposed to be lost.

W*

CHAPTER III.

-

Receives the Thanks of the Assembly.. - Tour through the Middle and Eastern Colonies. - Engages again in Public Affairs. - Massacre of Indians in Lancaster. - Franklin's Pamphlet on the Subject, and his Agency in pacifying the Insurgents. Colonel Bouquet's Account of his Public Services. — Disputes revived between the Governor and the Assembly. Militia Bill defeated. The Governor rejects a Bill in which the Proprietary Estates are taxed.-The Assembly resolve to petition the King for a Change of Government. - Petition drafted by Franklin. Chosen Speaker of the Assembly. - Norris, Dickinson, Galloway. Scheme for Stamp Duties opposed by the Assembly. — Franklin is not elected to the Assembly. Appointed Agent to the Court of Great Britain.-Sails for England.

No sooner was his arrival known in Philadelphia, than his friends, both political and private, whose attachment had not abated during his long absence, flocked around him to offer their congratulations on the success of his mission, and his safe return to his family. At each election, while he was abroad, he had been chosen a member of the Assembly, and he again took his seat in that body. The subject of his agency was brought before the House. A committee was appointed to examine his accounts, who reported that they were accurate and just; and a resolve was passed, granting him three thousand pounds sterling, as a remuneration for his services while engaged in the public employment. This resolve was followed by a vote of thanks "for his many services, not only to the province of Pennsylvania, but to America in general, during his late agency at the court of Great Britain."

As the contest was one, however, in which two parties were enlisted in opposition, with all the violence of zeal and acrimony of personal feeling, which usually attend controversies of this nature, he had the

misfortune to draw down upon himself the enmity of one party, in proportion to the applause which his successful endeavours elicited from the other. And it may here be observed, that the part he took in these proprietary quarrels for the defence and protection of popular rights, which he sustained by the full weight of his extraordinary abilities, was the foundation of the inveterate hostility against his political character, with which he was assailed in various ways to the end of his life, and the effects of which have scarcely disappeared at the present day. Yet no one, who now impartially surveys the history of the transactions in which he was engaged, can doubt the justice of the cause he espoused with so much warmth, and which he upheld to the last with unwavering constancy and firmness.

Circumstances raised him to a high position as a leader, his brilliant talents kept him there, and he thus became the object of a malevolence, which had been engendered by disappointment, and embittered by defeat. This he bore with a philosophical equanimity, and went manfully onward with the resolution of a stern and true patriot, forgiving his enemies, and never deserting his friends, faithful to every trust, and, above all, faithful to the liberties and best interests of his country.

In consequence of so long an absence from home, his private affairs required attention for some time. after his return. Holding the office of postmastergeneral in America, he spent five months of the year 1763, in travelling through the northern colonies for the purpose of inspecting the postoffices. He went eastward as far as New Hampshire, and the whole extent of his tour, in going and coming, was about sixteen hundred miles. In this journey he was ac