latter led many persons to search the Scriptures with a view to find it, so the former caused many persons to search the book-stores and libraries for the work from which it was said to be extracted.* In the beginning of April following, he was attacked with fever and a complaint of his breast, which ter minted his existence. The following account of his last illness was written by his friend and physician, Dr. Jones. "The stone, with which he had been afflicted fo several years, had for the last twelve months confin d him chiefly to his bed; and, during the extreme painful paroxysms, he was obliged to take large doses of laudanum to mitigate his tortures-still, in the ntervals of pain, he not only amused himself with eading and conversing cheerfully with his family, and a few friends who visited him, but was often -employed in doing business of a public as well as private nature, with various persons who waited on him for that purpose; and in every instance displayed, not only that readiness and disposition of doing good, which was the distinguished characterestic of his life, but the fullest and clearest possession of his uncommon mental abilities; and not unfrequently Indulged himself in those jeux d'esprit and entertaining anecdotes, which were the delight of all who heard him. "About sixteen days before his death, he was seized with a feverish indisposition, without any particular symptoms attending it, till the third o fourth day, when he complained of a pain in the left breast, which increased till it became extremely acute, attended with a cough and laborious breath ing. During this state, when the severity of his pains sometimes drew forth a groan of complaint, he would observe-that he was afraid he did not bear them as he ought -acknowledged his grateful sense of the many blessings he had received from that Supreme Being, who had raised hun from small and low beginnings to such high rank and consideration * This speech will be found among his Essays among men and made no doubt but his present af flictions were kindly intended to wean him from a world, in which he was no longe fit to act the part assigned him. In this frame of body and mind he continued till five days before his death, when his pain and difficulty of breathing entirely left him, and his family were flattering themselves with the hoper of his recovery, when an imposthumnation, which Ead formed itself in his lungs, suddenly burst, and dis charged a great quantity of matter, which he con tinued to throw up, while he had sufficient strength to do it; but, as that failed, the organs of respiration became gradually oppressed -a calm lethargic state succeeded-and, on the 17th of April, 1790, about eleven o'clock at night, he quietly expired, closing a long and useful life of eighty-four years and three Imonths." It may not be amiss to add to the above account, that Dr. Franklin, in the year 1735, had a severe pleurisy, which terminated in an abscess of the left lobe of his lungs, and he was then almost suffocated with the quantity and suddenness of the discharge. A second attack, of a similar nature, happened some years after this, from which he soun recovered, and did not appear to suffer any inconvenience in his respiration from these events. The following epitaph on himself, was ritten by him many years previous to his death THE BODY of BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, Printer, (like the cover of an old book, its contents torn out, and stript of its lettering and gilding yet the work itself shall not be lost, for it will (as ne believed) appear once more in a new and more beautiful edition, by THE AUTHOR. EXTRACTS FROM THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF DR. FRANKLIN. WITH regard to my hooks, those I had in France, and those I left in Philadelphia, being now assembled together here, and a catalogue made of them, it is my intention to dispose of the same as follows: My "History of the Academy of Sciences," in sixty or seventy volumes quarto, I give to the philosophical society of Philadelphia, of which I have the honour to be president. My collection in folio of "Les Arts et les Metiers," I give to the American philosophical society, established in New England, of which I am a member. My quarto edition of the sanie, "Arts et Metiers," I give to the linrary company of Philadelphia. Such and so many of my books as I shall mark, in the said catalogue, with the name of my grandson, Benjamin Franklin Bache, I do hereby give to him: and such and so many of my bocks as I shall mark in the said catalogue with the name of my grandson William Bache, I do hereby give to him and such as shall be marked with the name of Jonathan Williams, I hereby give to my Cousin of that name. The residue and remainder of all my books, manuscripts and papers, I do give to iny grandson Willian Temple Franklin. My share in the library company of Philadelphia I give to my grandson Benjamin Franklin Bache, confiding that he will permit his brothers and sisters to share in the use of it. 1 was born in Boston, in New England, and owe my first instructions in literature to the free grannar. schools established there. therefore give one hundred pounds sterling to my executors, to be by them, the survivors or survior of them, paid over to the managers or directors of the free-sc. ols in my native town of Boston, to be by them, or the person or persons, who shall have the superintendence and nianagement of the said schools, put out to interest, and so continued at interest forever; which interest annually shall be laid out in silver medals, and given as honorary rewards annually by the directors of the said free schools, for the encouragement of scholarship in the said schools, belonging to the said town, in such manner as to the discretion of the select men of the said town shall seem meet. Out of the salary that may remain due to me, as president of the state, I give the sum of two thousand pounds to my executors, to be by them, the survivors or survivor of them, paid over to such person or per sons as the legislature of this state, by an act of the assembly, shall appomt to receive the same, in trust, to be employed for making the Schuylkill navigable. During the number of years I was in business as a stationer, printer, and post-master, a great many small sums became due to me, for books, advertisements, postage of letters, and other matters, which were not collected, when, in 1757, I was sent by the Assembly to England as their agent-and by subsequent appointments continued there till 1775-when, on my return, I was immediately engaged in the affairs of congress, and sent to France in 1776, where I remained nine years, not returning till 1785; and the said debts not being demanded in such a length of time, have become in a manner obsolete, yet are nevertheless justly due. These as they are stated in my great folio ledger, E, I bequeath to the contributors of the Pennsylvania hospital, noping that those debtors, and the descendants of such as are deceased, who now, as I find, make some difficulty of satisfying such antiquated demands as just debts, may, how ever, be induced to pay or give them as charity to I am sensible that much that excellent institution. must be inevitably lost; but I hope something considerable may be recovered. It is possible, too, that some of the parties charged may have existing old unsettled accounts against me; in which case the managers of the said hospital will allow and deduct the amount, or pay the balance, if they find it against me. I request my freinds, Henry Hill, Esq. John Jay, Esq. Francis Hopkinson, and Mr. Edward Duffield of Bonfield, in Philadelphia county, to be the execu tors of this my last will and testament, and I hereby nominate and appoint them for that purpose. I would have my body buried with as little expense or ceremony as may be. PHILADELPHIA, CODICIL, I, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, in the foregoing or annexed ast will and testament, having further considered the saine, do think proper to make and publish the fol lowing codicil, or addition thereto : It having long been a fixed and political opinion of mine, that in a democratical state there ought to be no offices of profit, for the reason I had given in an article of my drawing in our constitution, it was my intention, when I accepted the office of president, to devote the appointed salary to some public use: accordingly I had already, before I made my last will, in July last, given large sums of it to colleges, schools, building of churches, &c. and in that will I bequeath. ed two thousand pounds more to the state, for the purpose of making the Schuylkill navigable; but understanding since, that such a sum would do but little towards accomplishing such a work, and that the project is not likely to be undertaken for many years to come and having entertained another idea, which I hope may be more extensively useful, I do hereby revoke and annul the bequest, and direct that the |