CHAPTER VIII.

Franklin remains in England to await the Result of the Continental Congress.-Josiah Quincy, Junior.-Anecdotes. - Death of Dr. Franklin's Wife.-Family Incidents. He receives and presents the Petition of Congress.- Rejected by Parliament.Galloway's Plan of Union.-Franklin's Attempts to promote a Reconciliation between the two Countries.-Visits Lord Chatham. - Remarks on Independence. Mrs. Howe. He draws up Articles as the Basis of a Negotiation, at the Request of Dr. Fothergill and Mr. Barclay. - These Articles shown to the Ministers, and various Conferences concerning them. Interviews with Lord Howe respecting some Mode of Reconciliation. He drafts another Paper for that Purpose. - Lord Chatham's Approval of the Proceedings of Congress. — Lord Camden. Lord Chatham's Motion in Parliament. - Franklin's Interviews with him in forming a Plan of Reconciliation. This Plan offered to Parliament, and rejected. — Negotiation resumed and broken off. Franklin sails from England and arrives in Philadelphia.

In the mean time the news arrived, that a Continental Congress was about to convene, and, by the advice of his friends, Dr. Franklin concluded to wait the issue of that event. "My situation here," he observes, "is thought by many to be a little hazardous; for if, by some accident, the troops and people of New England should come to blows, I should probably be taken up; the ministerial people affecting everywhere to represent me as the cause of all the misunderstanding; and I have been frequently cautioned to secure my papers, and by some advised to withdraw. But I venture to stay, in compliance with the wish of others, till the result of the Congress arrives, since they suppose my being here might on that occasion be of use; and I confide in my innocence, that the worst which can happen to me will be an imprisonment upon suspicion, though that is a thing

I should much desire to avoid, as it may be expensive and vexatious, as well as dangerous to my health."

In this state of uncertainty and suspense he was greatly cheered by the arrival of Josiah Quincy, Junior, from Boston, the son of his old and valued friend, Josiah Quincy, of Braintree. Among the patriots of Massachusetts, who had signalized themselves in opposing the arbitrary acts of the British government, Josiah Quincy, Junior, was second to no one in talents, zeal, and activity. Having taken a conspicuous part in the late transactions, he was enabled to inform Dr. Franklin of all that had been done, and of the character and purposes of the prominent leaders; and it was a source of mutual satisfaction to find a perfect harmony of sentiment between themselves on the great subject, which had now become of vital importance to their country. In one of his letters, dated November 27th, Mr. Quincy says, "Dr. Franklin is an American in heart and soul; you may trust him; his ideas are not contracted within the narrow limits of exemption from taxes, but are extended upon the broad scale of total emancipation. He is explicit and bold upon the subject, and his hopes are as sanguine as my own, of the triumph of liberty in America."* Mr. Quincy was in England four months, and held almost daily intercourse with Dr. Franklin. He also visited Lord North, Lord Dartmouth, and some of the other ministers, at their request, conversed frequently with members of Parliament, and on all occasions defended the rights and conduct of his countrymen with

* Dr. Gordon, who had imbibed the prejudices of a party against Dr. Franklin, as is obvious in various parts of his History, omits in quoting this passage, the clause, "you may trust him," and also,"his hopes are as sanguine as my own, of the triumph of liberty in America."— GORDON'S History, 1st ed., Vol. I. p. 434.

the same freedom and firmness, that he would have used among his most intimate friends in Boston.*

While Dr. Franklin was making preparations to leave England early in the spring, and looking forward to a happy meeting with his family, from whom he had been separated ten years, he received the afflicting intelligence of the death of his wife. She was attacked with a paralytic stroke, which she survived only five days. For some months she had complained of occasional ill health, but nothing serious was apprehended by her friends, although she was

* He relates the following anecdote. "In the course of conversation Dr. Franklin said, that more than sixteen years ago, long before any dispute with America, the present Lord Camden, then Mr. Pratt, said to him, For all what you Americans say of your loyalty, and all that, I know you will one day throw off your dependence on this country; and, notwithstanding your boasted affection for it, you will set up for independence.' Dr. Franklin said that he answered him, 'No such idea was ever entertained by the Americans, nor will any such ever enter their heads, unless you grossly abuse them.' 'Very true,' replied Mr. Pratt, 'that is one of the main causes I see will happen, and will produce the event.'"-Journal, Dec. 14th.

Two years before Mr. Quincy's voyage to England, he made a tour for his health through the southern and middle provinces. At Philadelphia he fell in company with some of the Proprietary party, who spoke disparagingly of Dr. Franklin, and he wrote down an opinion of that kind in his Journal. On the same page of the Journal he afterwards made the following record. — “London, January, 1775. I am now very well satisfied, that the above named Doctor has been grossly calumniated; and I have one more reason to induce me to be cautious how I hearken to the slander of envious or malevolent tongues. This minute I thought it but justice to insert, in order to take off any impression to the disadvantage of Dr. Franklin, who I am now fully convinced is one of the wisest and best of men upon earth; one, of whom it may be said that this world is not worthy."—MS. Journal. Mr. Quincy's health rapidly declined in England, and the voyage homeward exhausted him so much, that he died a few hours before the vessel entered the harbour of Cape Ann, on the 26th of April, 1775, at the early age of thirty-one. The Memoir of his Life, by his son, is a valuable tribute to his memory, interesting in its details, and a rich contribution to the history of the country.

heard to express a conviction, that she should not recover. They had been married forty-four years, and lived together in a state of uninterrupted harmony and happiness.

Their correspondence during his long absence, a great part of which has been preserved, is affectionate on both sides, exhibiting proofs of an unlimited confidence and devoted attachment. He omitted no opportunity to send her whatever he thought would contribute to her convenience and comfort, accompanied by numerous little tokens of remembrance and affection. So much did he rely on her prudence and capacity, that, when abroad, he intrusted to her the management of his private affairs. Many years after her death, in writing to a young lady, he said; "Frugality is an enriching virtue; a virtue I never could acquire myself; but I was once lucky enough to find it in a wife, who therefore became a fortune to me." The little song, which he wrote in her praise, is marked with a playful tenderness, and contains sentiments creditable to his feelings as a man and a husband. In his autobiography and letters he often mentions his wife, and always with a kindness and respect, which could proceed only from genuine sensibility and a high estimate of her character and virtues.*

A late English writer, who in the main has done justice to Franklin, thinks it strange, that so little has been said of his family connexions; and insinuates, that, in his days of prosperity, he was less attentive to his poor relations, than would be expected from one, so remarkable for benevolence and philanthropy in his

Mrs. Franklin died at Philadelphia, December 19th, 1774, and was buried in the cemetery of Christ's Church, on the side next to Arch Street.

intercourse with society and in all his public acts. To remove such a suspicion, it is only necessary to peruse his writings, and study his history. The tale of his early years is told by himself in his own simple and expressive language, and no one will say, that it is deficient in a lively concern for the welfare of his relatives, or in the natural sympathies of a son and a brother. His circumstances were as humble, and his fortunes as adverse, as those of any of his family; and, before he had gained a competency, many of them had passed off the stage. When his wife died, the last of his sixteen brothers and sisters, except the youngest, had been dead eight years, his father twenty-eight, and his mother twenty.

Neither his parents, nor more than two or three of his brothers and sisters, needed his assistance. His brother James died at Newport in Rhode Island, leaving a widow and children, whom he befriended and aided many years. His brother Peter died at an advanced age in Philadelphia, having been established there by Dr. Franklin, and assisted by him in procuring a support. His youngest sister, Jane, who married Edward Mecom, resided the most of her life in Boston, and was left a widow with several children. Her means of support were small, and her misfortunes many; but she was sustained by his affectionate kindness and liberal bounty as long as he lived, of which there are abundant evidences in her letters of grateful acknowledgment. More than any others of the family, she resembled him in the strength of her character and intellect. Her eldest son found a home in his family, till he had learned the printer's trade, when he was set up in business by his uncle. Dr. Franklin met in England a relation of the same name, but of another branch of the family, old and poor,