of business, and enjoy the conversation of my friends as usual.

Your project of transporting rather than drowning the good lady's eighteen cats, is very humane. The kind treatment they experience from their present mistress may possibly cause an unwillingness to hazard the change of situation; but if they are of the Angora breed, and can be informed how two of their tribe brought over by my grandson are caressed and almost adored here, they may possibly be induced to transport themselves rather than risque any longer the persecution of the Abbé's, which sooner or later must end in their condemnation. Their requêté is admirably well written; but their continually increasing in number will in time make their cause insupportable: their friends should, therefore, advise them to submit voluntarily either to transport or to castration.

The remarks of a grammarian on the particle on, are full of wit and just satire. My friends here who understand French have been highly entertained with them. They will do good if you publish them. They have had some effect upon me, as you will see in this letter; for when I spoke of the prosperous state of our affairs here, fearing you might suppose that I thought all well because I myself had a profitable place, I found it proper to add other reasons.

Your taking the pains of translating the addresses is a strong mark of the continuance of your friendship for me, which gave me as much pleasure as the addresses themselves had done, and that, you may well believe, was not a little: for indeed the recep

tion I met with on my arrival far exceeded my expectation. Popular favor, not the most constant thing in the world, still continues with regard to me, my election to the presidentship for the second year being unanimous. Whether it will hold out to the end of the third, is uncertain. A man in high place has so many occasions, which he cannot avoid, of disobliging, if he does his duty; and those he disobliges have so much more resentment, than those he obliges has gratitude, that it often happens when he is strongly attacked he is weakly defended. You will, therefore, not wonder if you should hear that I do not finish my political career with the same eclat that I began it.

It grieves me to learn that you have been afflicted with sickness. It is, as you say, the condition of living, but it seems a hard condition. I sometimes wonder that all good men and women are not by Providence kept free from pain and disease. In the best of all possible worlds, I should suppose it must be so; and I am piously inclined to believe that this world's not being better made was owing merely to the badness of the materials.

Embrace for me tenderly the good dame, whom I love as ever. I thought to have written to her and to Mr. Cab nis [Cabenis ?] by the pacquet, but must defer it to the next for want of time. I am, my dear friend, with sincere esteem and affection, yours ever, B. FRANKLIN.

Please to present my respects to M. Le Roy and others of the Wednesday's dining party, and love to

the Stars and to your family. My grandson joins me in best wishes.

МССССХІІІ

TO MRS. JANE MECOM

PHILADELPHIA, 8 April, 1786.

DEAR SISTER:-I received your kind letter of the 21st of February; I have also received the box of soap, the substance of which appears to be very good, but its consistence had probably been affected by the frost, for unless very tenderly and cautiously handled, the cakes would crumble into little pieces between one's fingers. However, having an opportunity of sending some to my friends, in France, who much admired what I had of you formerly, I with much difficulty took out 22 cakes, which I wrapped separately in spongy paper, hoping that, as they dried, they might consolidate, and the infinite number of little cracks that appeared in them be closed, and the parts again united, and so I sent them away in a small box. But having since dried a cake very gradually, I fear I shall be disappointed in that expectation, for it seems as crumbly as before, and comes to pieces in the water, so that I am sorry that I sent any of it away, till I had consulted you upon it, who probably must have met with the like accident before, and might know of some remedy.

Business having prevented my writing, Sally has been making an experiment. She put 3 or 4 pounds of the crumbs, about the size of chestnuts, into a

little kettle with some water, and over a slow fire, melted them together, and when the whole was uniformly fluid, laded it out into little paper pans of the size of the cakes. These grew stiff when cold, but were rather soft, and shrunk greatly in drying. Being now dry, they are exceedingly hard, closegrained, and solid, and appear to have all the qualities of excellent crown soap. Only in drying they are twisted and warped out of shape; wherefore I have not continued the process on the rest of the box, but was resolved to send you this particular account, thinking you may possibly teach me a better method.

Capt. All is just arrived here, who has given me the pleasure of hearing that you were very well a few weeks since; he says he does not remember you to have ever looked better, or to be more active. I continue much as I have been for some time past, and am always your affectionate brother,

B. FRANKLIN. Draw upon me for the expense of the soap, and your bill shall be paid on sight.

MCCCCXIV

TO MRS. JANE MECOM

PHILADELPHIA, April 25, 1786.

DEAR SISTER-I wrote you a long letter lately about the soap, which I supposed to have become crumbly by means of frost; and acquainting you that we had made some of the crumbs solid again by

remelting them with water. I further requested your advice whether to re-melt it all, and in what manner. That you may better understand the case, I send you herewith some of the crumbly soap, and a piece of that which we consolidated by remelting the crumbs. But since I wrote that letter, I find that a few of the cakes which appeared ready to fall to pieces, being set separately on their edges upon a shelf in a closet to dry gradually, seem now to have become very firm, and I have therefore this day taken all out of the box, and set them to dry in the same slow manner; perhaps they may all grow firm, and make the re-melting unnecessary.

I send also with this one of the books in which is printed my proposal of a new alphabet, which you desired to see.

I am ever your affectionate brother,

B. FRANKLIN.

MCCCCXV

TO MRS. MARY HEWSON

PHILADELPHIA, 6 May, 1786.

MY DEAR FRIEND:-A long winter has past, and I have not had the pleasure of a line from you, acquainting me with you and your children's welfare, since I left England. I suppose you have been in Yorkshire, out of the way and knowledge of opportunities; for I will not think that you have forgotten me.

To make me some amends, I received a few days