three successions of a set of a thousand each, in every kingaom of Europe, (gentlemen too, of equal or superior fortune,) no one of which sets, in the course of their lives, has done the good effected by this man alone! Good, not only to his own nation, and to his contemporaries, but to distant countries, and to late posterity; for such must be the effect of his multiplying and distributing copies of the works of our best English writers, on subjects the most important to the welfare of society. I knew him personally but little. I sometimes met with him at the Royal Society and the Society of Arts; but he appeared shy of my acquaintance, though he often sent me valuable presents, such as Hamilton's Works,* Sidney's Works, &c., which are now among the most precious ornaments of my library. We might possibly, if we had been more intimate, have concerted some useful operations together; but he loved to do his good alone and secretly; and I find besides, in perusing these Memoirs, that I was a doubtful character with him. I do not respect him less for his error; and I am obliged to the editors for the justice they have done me. They have made a little mistake in page 400, where a letter, which appeared in a London paper, January 7th, 1768, is said to have been written by Mr. Adams. It was written by me, and is reprinted in Mr. Vaughan's Collection of my Political Pieces, p. 231. This erratum is of no great importance, but may be corrected in a future edition. I see Mr. Hollis had a collection of curious medals. There is here probably a fault of memory in regard to the name of the author; or perhaps an error of the press. The work alluded to, may have been "Toland's Life of Milton," an elegant edition of which was published by Thomas Hollis. If he had been still living, I should certainly have sent him one of the medals that I have caused to be struck here. I think the countenance of my Liberty would have pleased him. I suppose you possess the collection, and have the same taste. I beg you therefore to accept of one of these medals as a mark of my respect, and believe me to be, with sincere esteem, &c. B. FRANKLIN. FROM THE COUNT DE BRUHL TO B. FRANKLIN.* SIR, Petworth, 10 October, 1783. I was very much flattered with the letter I had the pleasure to receive from your Excellency by means of the ingenious M. de Kempel's arrival in this country. The favorable opinion you entertain of his tal * Count de Bruhl was the minister of the Elector of Saxony to the court of Great Britain. † Kempel, the celebrated inventor of the Automaton Chess-player, was introduced to Dr. Franklin by letters from Vienna. M. Valltravers wrote to him ; "The occasion of this letter is furnished me by a very ingenious gentleman, M. Kempel, counsellor of his Imperial Majesty's finances for the kingdom of Hungary, who, on a furlough obtained for two years, is ready to set out for Paris, Brussels, and England, attended by his whole family, his lady, two sons, and two daughters; not only to satisfy his own curiosity, but also in a great measure that of the public. Endowed with a peculiar taste and genius for mechanical inventions and improvements, for which he sees no manner of encouragement in these parts, he means to impart several of his most important discoveries and experiments wherever they shall be best received and rewarded. As an amusing specimen of his skill in mechanics, and as a means at the same time of supporting his travelling charges, he intends to exhibit the figure of a Turk playing at chess with any player; and answering, by pointing at the letters of an alphabet, any question made to him. I saw him play twice without discovering his intelligent director anywhere in or about him. If there were nothing but the organization of his arm, hand, and fingers, besides the motions of his head, that alone would entitle him to no small admiration. "Besides his chess-player, M. Kempel has amused himself with form ents is alone sufficient to convince me of their extent and usefulness. I cannot find words to express the gratitude I feel for the honor of your remembrance. I shall, therefore, only beg leave to assure you, that it will be the pride of my life to have been noticed by one of the most distinguished characters of the age, and I shall endeavour, upon all occasions, to contribute my small mite of admiration to the universal applause, which your eminent qualities, as a philosopher and a politician, are so well entitled to. I have the honor to be, with great respect, Sir, &c. THE COUNT DE BRUHL. ing the figure of a child, uttering the first articulate sounds of elocution. Of these I have heard it pronounce distinctly upwards of thirty words and phrases. There remain but five or six letters of the alphabet, the expression of which he intends to complete at Paris.". December 24th, 1782. Vienna, Chess was a favorite amusement with Dr. Franklin, and one of his best papers is written on that subject. See Vol. II. p. 187. He was pleased with the performance of the automaton. In a short letter, soon after his arrival in Paris, M. Kempel said to him; "If I have not, immediately on my return from Versailles, renewed my request, that you will be present at a representation of my automaton chess-player, it was only to gain a few days in which I might make some progress in another very interesting machine, upon which I have been employed, and which I wish you to see at the same time." This machine was probably the speaking figure mentioned by Mr. Valltravers. The inventor's name occurs with a various orthography, as Kempelen, Kemple, Kempl, but his autograph is Kempel. FROM SAMUEL COOPER TO B. FRANKLIN. Impost of Five per Cent agreed to by the Legislature of Massachusetts. SIR, Boston, 16 October, 1783. The consul general of France kindly informing me, that a vessel was on the point of sailing for Brest, I have only a moment to inform you, that the House of Representatives for this State have this moment passed an act for a duty 'of five per cent, on all goods imported, for paying the interest of our national debt, according to the requisition of Congress. This measure has met with uncommon opposition here. Congress having voted to the officers of the army five years' whole pay after the war, instead of half-pay for life, a great popular disgust took place in the New England States. At the beginning of the present session of the General Court, a great majority of the Lower House were warmly determined against granting the impost to Congress, knowing that part of it would be applied to the payment of the officers. Near forty towns in this State had expressly instructed their representatives against such an impost. The Senate, however, judging more wisely, were almost unanimous in favor of it. Both Houses remained firm in their opinion, and it was concluded nothing could be done on this business, at least in the present session. At this juncture, the Governor, who had before, in his speech to both Houses at the meeting of the Court, endeavoured to impress them with the importance of supporting public credit, made a second address to them, of the same import. It produced a conference between both Houses, and the effect of all has been a decision in the House of Representa VOL. X. 4 с tives in favor of the impost. The Senate will no doubt concur, and the Governor will give his consent immediately. The struggle has been hard; seventyfive against sixty-eight. I hope the other States will come into the same measure, and lay a foundation for the support of our national credit. We have yet no account of the conclusion of the definitive treaty. The vessel waiting for this letter, I have only time to subscribe myself most respectfully and affectionately yours, SAMUEL COOPER. TO DAVID HARTLEY. MY DEAR FRIEND, Passy, 16 October, 1783. I have nothing material to write to you respecting public affairs; but I cannot let Mr. Adams, who will see you, go without a line to inquire after your welfare, to inform you of mine, and assure you of my constant respect and attachment. I think with you, that your Quaker article is a good one, and that men will in time have sense enough to adopt it, but I fear that time is not yet come. What would you think of a proposition, if I should make it, of a compact between England, France, and America? America would be as happy as the Sabine girls, if she could be the means of uniting in perpetual peace her father and her husband. What repeated follies are those repeated wars! You do not want to conquer and govern one another. Why then should you be continually employed in injuring and destroying one another? How many excellent things might have been done to promote the internal welfare of each country; what bridges, roads, canals, and other |