life, and the agreeable and instructive society we found there in such plenty has left so pleasing an impression on my memory that did not strong connexions draw me elsewhere, I believe Scotland would be the country I should choose to spend the remainder of my days in."

From early life Franklin had a passion for music, and he both studied it as a science and practised it as an art.

In London he saw for the first time an instrument consisting of musi cal glasses, upon which tunes were played by passing a wet finger round their brims. The tones so elicited are sweet, and when the glasses are tuned by putting water into them are capable of playing airs. After many trials Franklin succeeded in constructing an instrument of a different form, more commodious, and more extended in the compass of its notes. For some time this instrument was in much repute, having been named by its inventor the "Armonica," in honour of the musical language of the Italians, as he says in a letter to the celebrated Beccaria, in which it is minutely described.

Franklin's remarks on the harmony and melody of the old Scottish songs, have been much commended, and may here be advantageously introduced. They were addressed in a letter to Lord Kames.

"In my passage to America, I read your excellent work, the Elements of Criticism, in which I found great entertainment, much to admire, and nothing to reprove. I only wish you had examined more fully the subject of music, and demonstrated, that the pleasure which artists feel in hearing much of that composed in the modern taste is not the natural pleasure arising from melody or harmony of sounds, but of the same kind with the pleasure we feel on seeing the surprising feats of tumblers and rope-dancers who execute difficult things. For my part I take this to be really the case, and suppose it the reason why those who, being unpractised in music, and therefore unacquainted with those difficulties, have little or no pleasure in hearing this music. Many pieces of it are mere compositions of tricks. I have sometimes at a concert attended by a common audience, placed myself so as to see all their faces, and observed no signs of pleasure during the performance of much that was admired by the performers themselves; while a plain old Scottish tune which they disdained, and could scarce be prevailed on to play, gave manifest and general delight. Give me leave on this occasion to extend a little the sense of your position, that 'melody and harmony are separately agreeable, and in union delightful;' and to give it as my opinion, that the reason why the Scottish tunes have lived so long,

and will probably live for ever (if they escape being stifled in modern affected ornament), is merely this-that they are really compositions of melody and harmony united, or rather that their melody is harmony. As this will appear paradoxical, I must explain my meaning. In common acceptation indeed, only an agreeable succession of sounds, is called melody, and only the co-existence of agreeing sounds harmony. But since the memory is capable of retaining for some moments a perfect idea of the pitch of a past sound, so as to compare with it the pitch of a succeeding sound, and judge truly of their agreement or disagreement, there may, and does arise from thence a sense of harmony between present and past sounds, equally pleasing with that between two present sounds. Now, the construction of the old Scotch tunes is this, that almost every succeeding emphatical note is a third, a fifth, an octave, or in short, some note that is in concord with the preceding note. Thirds are chiefly used, which are very pleasing concords. I use the word emphatical to distinguish those notes which have a stress laid on them in singing the tune, from the lighter connecting notes, that serve merely, like grammar articles, to tack the others together. That we have a most perfect idea of a sound just past, I might appeal to all acquainted with music, who know how easy it is to repeat a sound in the same pitch with one just heard. In tuning an instrument, a good ear can as easily determine that two strings are in unison, by sounding them separately, as by sounding them together; their disagreement is also as easily, I believe, I may say, more easily and better distinguished, when sounded separately: for when sounded together, though you know by the beating that one is higher than the other, you cannot tell which it is. Further, when we consider by whom these ancient tunes were composed, and how they were first performed, we shall see that such harmonical succession of sounds was natural and even necessary in their construction. They were composed by the minstrels of those days, to be played on the harp accompanied by the voice. The harp was strung with wire, and had no contrivance like that in the modern harpsicord, by which the sound of a preceding note could be stopt the moment a succeeding note began. To avoid actual discord, it was therefore necessary that the succeeding emphatic note should be a chord with the preceding, as their sounds must exist at the same time. Hence arose that beauty in those tunes that has long pleased, and will please for ever, though men scarce know why. That they were originally composed for the harp, and of the most simple kind,-I mean a harp without

any half notes but those in the natural scale, and with no more than two octaves of strings from C to C,-I conjecture from another circumstance, which is, that not one of those tunes really ancient, has a single artificial half-note in it; and that in tunes where it was most convenient for the voice to use the middle note of the harp, and place the key in F, there the B,-which if used, should be a B flat,-is always omitted by passing over it with a third. The connoisseurs in modern music will say I have no taste, but I cannot help adding that I believe our ancestors in hearing a good song distinctly articulated, sung to one of those tunes, and accompanied by the harp, felt more real pleasure than is communicated by the generality of modern operas, exclusive of that arising from the scenery and dancing. Most tunes of late composition not having the natural harmony united with their melody, have recourse to the artificial harmony of a bass, and other accompanying parts. This support, in my opinion, the old tunes do not need, and are rather confused than aided by it. Whoever has heard James Oswald play them on his violincello, will be less inclined to dispute this with me. I have more than once seen tears of pleasure in the eyes of his auditors; and yet I think even bis playing those tunes would please more, if he gave them less modern ornament."

David Hume, who amongst many others much regretted Dr. Franklin's departure for his native country, thus wrote on the occasion :— "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 was so plentiful, as to be of no more value in his country than the stones in the streets. You have here at present just such a plenty of wisdom. Your people are, therefore, not be censured for desir ing no more among them than they have; and, if 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, Franklin's son was appointed governor of New Jersey, although the appointment was not publicly announced for some time. It is evident from this act that the ministry had now no prejudice against the father, on account of the part he had taken in the Pensylvanian controversy. This proof of confidence was displeasing to the proprietaries; but they endeavoured to console themselves by thinking that the son would henceforward be obliged to obey instructions, and that the father could not oppose in Pensylvania what was done in New Jersey. This hope was of short duration. Franklin 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.

On the immediate eve of quitting England, Franklin thus expressed himself by letter from Portsmouth to Lord Kames;-"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."

RETURN TO AMERICA IN 1762.

Having, as we have seen, accomplished the object of his mission in England, Franklin returned to America in 1762. But as the following account of his voyage home, and of the events of his life, until his next visit to England, is given by himself in a letter to Lord Kames, dated Craven Street, London, June 2nd, 1765, it will be unnecessary to introduce anything else for the purpose of preserving the continuity and interest of his career for some time.

"You require my history from the time I set sail for America. I left England about the end of August, 1762, in company with ten sail of merchant ships, under convoy of a man of war. We had a pleasant passage to Madeira, where we were kindly received and entertained; our anation being then in high honour with the Portuguese, on account of the protection we were then affording them against the united invasions of France and Spain. 'Tis a fertile island, and the different heights ⚫ and situations among its mountains afford such different temperatures of air that all the fruits of northern and southern countries are produced

there; corn, grapes, apples, peaches, oranges, lemons, plantains, bananas, &c Here we furnished ourselves with fresh provisions, and refreshments of all kinds; and after a few days proceeded on our voyage, running southward, till we got into the trade winds, and then with them westward, till we drew near the coast of America. The weather was so favourable, that there were few days in which we could not visit from ship to ship, dining with each other, and on board the man of war; which made the time pass agreeably, much more so than when one goes in a single ship; for this was like travelling in a moving village, with all one's neighbours about one.

"On the 1st of November I arrived safe and well at my own house after an absence of near six years,-found my wife and daughter well, the latter grown quite a woman, with many amiable accomplishments acquired in my absence, and my friends as hearty and affectionate as ever; with whom my house was filled for many days, to congratulate me on my return. I had been chosen yearly during my absence to represent the city of Philadelphia in our Provincial Assembly; and on my appearance in the House they voted me £3,000 sterling for my services in England, and their thanks delivered by the speaker. In February following, my son arrived with my new daughter; for with my consent and approbation, he married soon after I left England, a very agreeable West India lady, with whom he is very happy. I accompanied him into his government, where he met with the kindest reception from the people of all ranks, and has lived with them ever since in the greatest harmony. A river only parts that province and ours, and his residence is within seventeen miles of me, so that we frequently see each other.

"In the spring of 1763, I set out on a tour through all the northern colonies to inspect and regulate the post offices in the several provinces. In this journey I spent the summer, travelled 1600 miles, and did not get home till the beginning of November. The Assembly sitting through the following winter, and warm disputes arising between them and the governor, I became wholly engaged in public affairs: for besides my duty as an Assembly man, I had another trust to execute, that of being one of the commissioners appointed by law to dispose of the public money appropriated to the raising and paying an army to act against the Indians, and defend the frontiers. And then, in December, we had two insurrections of the back inhabitants of our province, by whom twenty poor Indians were murdered, that had from the first settlement