I wonder with you that the books are not arrived. Pray write and enquire about them.

When I put Dr. Jeffries' Memoir into the hands of Mr. Gerry, I fancied he was going to Boston, or as a Member of Congress would send it free of postage. But I see by the newspapers that he stays at New York to be married, and perhaps that important transaction has put the packet out of his mind. I am ever your affectionate uncle,

MCCCC

B. FRANKLIN.

DESCRIPTION OF AN INSTRUMENT FOR TAKING DOWN BOOKS FROM HIGH SHELVES

January, 1786.

Old men find it inconvenient to mount a ladder or steps for that purpose, their heads being sometimes subject to giddinesses, and their activity with the steadiness of their joints being abated by age, besides the trouble of removing the steps every time a book is wanted from a different part of their library. For a remedy, I have lately made the following simple machine, which I call the Long Arm.

A B, the Arm, is a stick of pine, an inch square and 8 feet long. C, D, the Thumb and Finger, are two pieces of ash lath, an inch and half wide, and a quarter of an inch thick. These are fixed by wood screws on opposite sides of the end A of the arm A B; the finger D being longer and standing out an inch and half farther than the thumb C. The outside of the ends of these laths are pared off sloping

and thin, that they may more easily enter between books that stand together on a shelf. Two small holes are bored through them at i, k. E F, the

H

sinew, is a cord of the size of a small goose-quill, with a loop at one end. When applied to the machine it passes through the two laths, and is stopped by a knot in its other end behind the longest at k. The hole at i is nearer the end of the arm than that at k,

VOL. XI.-15.

about an inch. A number of knots are also on the cord, distant three or four inches from each other.

To use this instrument; put one hand into the loop, and draw the sinew straight down the side of the arm; then enter the end of the finger between the book you would take down and that which is next to it. The laths being flexible, you may easily by a slight pressure sideways open them wider if the book is thick, or close them if it is thin by pulling the string, so as to enter the shorter lath or thumb between your book and that which is next to its other side, then push till the back of your book comes to touch the string. Then draw the string or sinew tight, which will cause the thumb and finger to pinch the book strongly, so that you may draw it out. As it leaves the other books, turn the instrument a quarter round, so that the book may lie flat and rest on its side upon the under lath or finger. The knots on the sinew will help you to keep it tight and close to the side of the arm as you take it down hand over hand, till the book comes to you; which would drop from between the thumb and finger if the sinew was let loose.

All new tools require some practice before we can become expert in the use of them. This requires very little.

Made in the proportions above given, it serves well for books in duodecimo or octavo. Quartos and folios are too heavy for it; but those are usually placed on the lower shelves within reach of hand.

The book taken down may, when done with, be put up again into its place by the same machine.

MCCCCI

FROM THE DUKE DE LA ROCHEFOUCAULD

PARIS, 8 February, 1786.

MY DEAR FRIEND:-I have heard of you through Mr. Jefferson and M. Le Veillard. The latter showed me the letter, in which you announced to him your nomination to the office of President, and I admired the resolution which determined you to take upon yourself an employment so fatiguing, but in which you can labor effectually for the happiness of Pennsylvania, and for that of the other States, upon which the example of your own will assuredly have a great influence. I know that two powerful and nearly equal parties support different principles as the basis of the Constitution; but nobody is better qualified than yourself to conciliate both of them, and to obtain, not perhaps the constitution most absolutely perfect, but at least, as Solon said, the best which your fellow-citizens are able to bear.

This is the critical moment for the Americans. The return of peace and the certainty of independence demand of them a general revision of their laws, and the formation of new codes, no longer a servile imitation of the laws of England, but dictated by reason, conformed to their actual situation, and adapted to insure the happiness of States and individuals. In legislation you must be the teachers of the world, which is expecting from you some important lessons.

I will not trespass upon the time of so busy a man as yourself, and will therefore close by offering you

the compliments of all my family, to which M. de Condorcet requests me to add his. That your life and health may be prolonged is the unanimous prayer of all those who have ever heard of you. All who have had the satisfaction of knowing you add the hope that they may retain a place in your friendship. I venture to believe that I deserve this by the sincere attachment and veneration which I feel for you.

DUKE DE LA ROCHEFOUCAULD.

MCCCCII

FROM THE MARQUIS DE LAFAYETTE

PARIS, 10 February, 1786.

MY DEAR FRIEND:-With unspeakable satisfaction I have heard of your safe arrival in America, and heartily wished I had been mingled in the happy crowd of your fellow-citizens, when they saw you set your foot on the shore of Liberty. When your friends in Paris meet together, their first talk is of you. The wishes for you of a fortunate voyage, and pleasing sight of your family and friends, became a national sentiment. In my tour through Germany, I have been asked a thousand questions about you, when I felt equally proud and happy to boast of our affectionate intimacy.

Prussia and the Austrian dominions, with some parts of the German empire, the liberties of which have been so much spoken of in treaties and so little