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suddenly discovered to be running on the Scilly rocks. Mr. Kennedy was one of the first on deck, and perceiving the danger, ordered the ship instantly to wear round, sails standing, by which means she just escaped striking on the rocks. They were so near," says Franklin, “that the light on the light-house appeared to him as large as a cart-wheel." On the morning of the 17th of July, the fog clearing up, disclosed the town of Falmouth with England's beautiful fields and crowding vessels before them. It seems to have been Sunday morning, and Franklin's heart responded to the sound of Sabbath bells. "On landing," he says, "the bell ringing for church, we went thither immediately, and with hearts full of gratitude, returned sincere thanks to God for the mercies we had received. Were I a Roman Catholic, perhaps I should on this occasion vow to build a chapel to some saint; but as I am not, if I were to vow at all, it should be to build a light-house." He set out immediately with his son William, who had accompanied him from America, only stopping by the way a little to view the remarkable Druidical remains of Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain, and Lord Pembroke's house and gardens, with the very curious antiquities at Wilton. They arrived in the metropolis the 27th July, 1757.*

PRECAUTIONS FOR THE USE OF VOYAGERS.

It cannot be a misplaced extract, if we here introduce Franklin's "Precautions to be used by those who are about to undertake a Sea Voyage." He thus writes:-"when you intend to take a long voyage, nothing is better than to keep it a secret till the moment of your departure. Without this, you will be continually interrupted and tormented by visits from friends and acquaintances, who not only make you lose your valuable time, but make you forget a thousand things which you wish to remember; so that when you are embarked and fairly at sea, you recollect with much uneasiness, affairs which you had not terminated, accounts which you have not settled, and a number of things which you proposed to carry with you, and which you find the want of every moment. Would it not be attended with the best consequences to reform

* Here close Dr. Franklin's Memoirs as written by himself, which have been closely followed in the present life. From several passages in his letters, it would seem that he had intended to extend the autobiography. Public business, however, for a time, and afterwards declining health, prevented him from fulfilling his purpose.

such a custom, and to suffer a traveller, without deranging him to make his preparations in quietness, to set apart a few days, when these are finished, to take leave of his friends, and to receive their good wishes for his happy return?

"It is not always in one's power, to choose a captain; though great part of the pleasure and happiness of the passage depends upon this choice, and though one must for a time be confined to his company, and be in some measure under his command. If he is a social, sensible man, obliging, and of a good disposition, you will be so much the happier. One sometimes meets with people of this description, but they are not common; however, if yours be not of this number, if he be a good seaman, attentive, careful, and active in the management of his vessel, you must dispense with the rest, for these are the most essential qualities.

"Whatever right you may have, by your agreement with him, to the provisions he has taken on board for the use of the passengers, it is always proper to have some private store, which you may make use of occasionally. You ought, therefore, to provide good water, that of the ship being often bad; but you must put it into bottles, without which you cannot expect to keep it sweet. You ought also to carry with you good tea, ground coffee, chocolate, wine of the sort which you like best, cider, dried raisins, almonds, sugar, capillaire, citrons, rum, eggs dipped in oil, portable soup, bread twice baked. With regard to poultry, it is almost useless to carry any with you, unless you resolve to undertake the office of feeding and fattening them yourself. With the little care which is taken of them on board a ship, they are almost all sickly, and their flesh is as tough as leather.

"All sailors entertain an opinion, which undoubtedly originated formerly from a want of water, and when it has been found necessary to be sparing of it, that poultry never know when they have drunk enough, and that when water is given them at discretion they generally kill themselves by drinking beyond measure. In consequence of this opinion they give them water only once in two days, and even then in small quantities: but as they pour this water into troughs inclining on one side, which occasions it to run to the lower part, it thence happens that they are obliged to mount one upon the back of another in order to reach it; and there are some which cannot even dip their beaks in it. Thus continually tantalized and tormented by thirst, they are unable to digest their food, which is very dry, and they soon fall sick and die.

Some of them are found thus every morning, and are thrown into the sea; while those which are killed for the table are scarcely fit to be eaten. To remedy this inconvenience it will be necessary to divide their troughs into small compartments, in such a manner that each of them may be capable of containing water, but this is seldom or never done. On this account sheep and hogs are to be considered as the best fresh provisions that one can have at sea; mutton there being generally very good, and pork excellent.

"It may happen that some of the provisions and stores which I have mentioned may become almost useless by the care which the captain has taken to lay in a proper stock, but in such a case you may dispose of it to relieve the poor passengers, who, paying less for their passage, are stowed among the common sailors, and have no right to the captain's provision, except such part of them as is used for feeding the crew. These passengers are sometimes sick, melancholy, and dejected; and there are often women and children among them, neither of whom have an opportunity of procuring those things which I have mentioned, and of which perhaps they have the greatest need. By distributing amongst them a part of your superfluity, you may be of the greatest assistance to them. You may restore their health, save their lives, and in short, render them happy, which always affords the liveliest sensation to a feeling mind.

"The most disagreeable thing at sea is the cooking; for there is not, properly speaking, any professed cook on board. The worst sailor is generally chosen for that purpose, who for the most part is equally dirty. Hence comes the proverb, used among the English sailors, that 'God sends meat, and the devil sends cooks.' Those, however, who have a better opinion of Providence will think otherwise. Knowing that sea air, and the exercise or motion which they receive from the rolling of the ship, have a wonderful effect in whetting the appetite, they will say that, Providence has given sailors bad cooks to prevent them from eating too much, or that, knowing they would have bad cooks, he has given them a good appetite to prevent them from dying of hunger. However, if you have no confidence in these succours of Providence, you may yourself, with a lamp and a boiler, by the help of a little spirits of wine, prepare some food, such as soup, hash, &c. A small oven made of tin-plate is not a bad piece of furniture; your servant may roast in it a piece of mutton or pork. If you are ever tempted to eat salt beef, which is often very good, you will find that cider is the best liquor to quench the thirst generally caused by salt meat or salt fish. Sea biscuit,

which is too hard for the teeth of some people, may be softened by steeping it; but bread double baked is the best: for being made of good loaf-bread cut into slices and baked a second time, it readily imbibes water, becomes soft, and is easily digested: it consequently forms excellent nourishment, much superior to that of biscuit which has not been fermented.

"I must here observe that this doubled-baked bread was originally the real biscuit prepared to keep at sea; for the word biscuit in French signifies twice baked. Peas often boil badly and do not become soft, in such a case, by putting a two-pound shot into the kettle, the rolling of the vessel, by means of the bullet, will convert the peas into a porridge like mustard.

"Having often seen soup, when put upon the table at sea in broad flat dishes, thrown out on every side by the rolling of the vessel, I have wished that our tinmen would make our soup-basins with divisions or compartments, forming small plates, proper for containing soup for one person only. By this disposition the soup, in an extraordinary roll, would not be thrown out of the plate, and would not fall into the breasts of those who are at table, and scald them."

SECOND VISIT TO ENGLAND, IN 1757.

On his arrival in England, Franklin lost no time in laying before the Privy Council the question in dispute between the colonists of Pensylvania generally and the landholders or proprietaries. This party who claimed exemption from taxation on no rational principle, were either the descendants of Penn, the original founder of the colony, or their successors in their estates, and it was against the united force of these persons and their friends that Franklin had to make head. Indeed he had to encounter in England many disheartening circumstances. The prejudices of the public mind were strong against the colonies, in consequence of the misrepresentations of interested individuals, who filled the public papers with "intelligence from Philadelphia," manufactured in London, which always described the Assembly as turbulent, illiberal, and unprincipled. The ministry were also too deeply occupied at the time with European politics, and the fluctuating warfare on the continent, to afford much attention to the discussion of complex provincial affairs, and were very reluctant to interfere between the colonial governments and the proprietaries. However, the agent for Philadelphia did

not pause long over his difficulties. By means of that very press which ne found so remarkably busy with Pensylvanian affairs, he was determined to make that appeal to the public which he had never hitherto attempted in vain.

A paper which appeared about this time in the General Advertiser, which Franklin immediately saw through as being a fabrication, in fact a cunning scheme of the proprietary to destroy the effect of his mission to the imperial government, drew from him a reply. However, as the object of that mission was to bring affairs to an amicable issue, he thought it would be premature to enter too formally into a refutation of the calumnies; and therefore his answer, which bore his son's name, was very cautiously framed. This paper being skilfully constructed and with such fairness, and so clear a statement of facts as could not fail to awaken the attention of thinking men, became popular; nor was any attempt made to refute it. Still, the delays attending all affairs of the kind as that in which the Pensylvanian agent was engaged, left no room to hope for a speedy termination. In a letter to his wife, dated January 21st, 1758, he thus writes:-"I begin to think I shall hardly be able to return before this time twelvemonths. I am for doing effectually what I came about, and I find it requires both time and patience. You may think, perhaps, that I can find many amusements here to pass the time agreeably. It is true the regard and friendship I meet with from persons of worth, and the conversation of ingenious men, give me no small pleasure; but, at this time of life, domestic comforts afford the most solid satisfaction, and my uneasiness at being absent from my family, and longing desire to be with them, make me often sigh in the midst of cheerful company."

In order to expedite the important business upon which he was engaged, Franklin at length drew up an "Historical Review of Pensylvania, from its Origin; so far as regards the Several Points of Controversy, which have from time to time arisen between the Several Governors of Pensylvania and their several Assemblies,-founded on Authentic Documents." The motto prefixed to it was, "Those who give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." This work though anonymous, was immediately ascribed to the pen of Franklin by the partisans of the proprietaries, both in England and America; and no doubt, he was essentially the author of it.

The "Historical Review" began silently to operate on public opinion,