all winter for the result of Congress on the proposed Treaty, a plan of which was long sent, as also one for a Treaty with Portugal. I hope by the return of the Washington pacquet, we may receive some directions respecting them. I am, with sincere and great esteem, my Dear Friend, yours most affectionately, B. FRANKLIN.

SIR,

1496. TO JOHN WALTER 1

1

(L. C.)

Passy, April 17, 1784.

I have received a Book, for which I understand I am obliged to you, the "Introduction to Logography." I have read it

He

1 John Walter (1739-1812), founder of The Times, succeeded to his father's business as a coal merchant in the city of London. He abandoned it for that of an underwriter, failed in consequence of the American war, and announced his bankruptcy in 1782. Two years later he purchased the premises in Printing House Square, the site of the Blackfriars Theatre, which had been unoccupied since the removal of Eyre and Strahan in 1770, where he began business as a printer, using Johnson's invention of "logotypes" or founts composed of complete words, instead of separate letters. Some forty books were printed by the logographic process and sold by John Walter. also started a newspaper called The Daily Universal Register, of which the first number," printed logographically," was issued January 1, 1785. The ninehundred-and-fortieth number (January 1, 1788) was entitled The Times, or Daily Universal Register, and was also "printed logographically." A letter from John Walter to Lord Kenyon, July 6, 1799 (Hist. Mss. Comm. 14th Report App. Pt. IV, p. 551), contains the following interesting personal narrative. "Among many other projects which offered themselves to my view was a plan to print logographically. I sat down closely to digest it, and formed a fount which reduced the English language from ninety thousand words which were usually used in printing to about fifteen hundred. . . . By this means I was enabled to print much faster than by taking up single letters. . . . I was advised to get a number of nobility and men of letters . . . to patronise the plan, to which his Majesty was to have been the patron. But happening unfortunately as it turned out, to correspond with Dr. Franklin, then ambassa

VOL. IX-0

...

one that has lately been made by myself, and which I conceive may be of great utility.

I was the other evening in a grand company, where the new lamp of Messrs. Quinquet and Lange was introduced, and much admired for its splendour; but a general inquiry was made, whether the oil it consumed was not in proportion to the light it afforded, in which case there would be no saving in the use of it. No one present could satisfy us in that point, which all agreed ought to be known, it being a very desirable thing to lessen, if possible, the expense of lighting our apartments, when every other article of family expense was so much augmented.

I was pleased to see this general concern for economy, for I love economy exceedingly.

I went home, and to bed, three or four hours after midnight, with my head full of the subject. An accidental sudden noise waked me about six in the morning, when I was surprised to find my room filled with light; and I imagined at first, that a number of those lamps had been brought into it; but, rubbing my eyes, I perceived the light came in at the windows. I got up and looked out to see what might be the occasion of it, when I saw the sun just rising above the horizon, from whence he poured his rays plentifully into my chamber, my domestic having negligently omitted, the preceding evening, to close the shutters.

I looked at my watch, which goes very well, and found that it was but six o'clock; and still thinking it something extraordinary that the sun should rise so early, I looked into the

this article was written while that lamp was still exciting curiosity by its novelty. From page 186 it appears that the exact day of the composition was 20. 1784.-ED.

almanac, where I found it to be the hour given for his rising on that day. I looked forward, too, and found he was to rise still earlier every day till towards the end of June; and that at no time in the year he retarded his rising so long as till eight o'clock. Your readers, who with me have never seen any signs of sunshine before noon, and seldom regard the astronomical part of the almanac, will be as much astonished as I was, when they hear of his rising so early; and especially when I assure them, that he gives light as soon as he rises. I am convinced of this. I am certain of my fact. One cannot be more certain of any fact. I saw it with my own eyes. And, having repeated this observation the three following mornings, I found always precisely the same result.

Yet it so happens, that when I speak of this discovery to others, I can easily perceive by their countenances, though they forbear expressing it in words, that they do not quite believe me. One, indeed, who is a learned natural philosopher, has assured me that I must certainly be mistaken as to the circumstance of the light coming into my room; for it being well known, as he says, that there could be no light abroad at that hour, it follows that none could enter from without; and that of consequence, my windows being accidentally left open, instead of letting in the light, had only served to let out the darkness; and he used many ingenious arguments to show me how I might, by that means, have been deceived. I owned that he puzzled me a little, but he did not satisfy me; and the subsequent observations I made, as above mentioned, confirmed me in my first opinion.

This event has given rise in my mind to several serious and important reflections. I considered that, if I had not

been awakened so early in the morning, I should have slept six hours longer by the light of the sun, and in exchange have lived six hours the following night by candle-light; and, the latter being a much more expensive light than the former, my love of economy induced me to muster up what little arithmetic I was master of, and to make some calculations, which I shall give you, after observing that utility is, in my opinion the test of value in matters of invention, and that a discovery which can be applied to no use, or is not good for something, is good for nothing.

I took for the basis of my calculation the supposition that there are one hundred thousand families in Paris, and that these families consume in the night half a pound of bougies, or candles, per hour. I think this is a moderate allowance, taking one family with another; for though I believe some consume less, I know that many consume a great deal more. Then estimating seven hours per day as the medium quantity between the time of the sun's rising and ours, he rising during the six following months from six to eight hours before noon, and there being seven hours of course per night in which we burn candles, the account will stand thus;

In the six months between the 20th of March and the 20th of September, there are

Hours of each night in which we burn candles
Multiplication gives for the total number of

These 1,281 hours multiplied by 100,000, the number of inhabitants, give

183

1,281

128,100,000

One hundred twenty-eight millions and one hundred thousand hours, spent at Paris by

candle-light, which, at half a pound of wax

and tallow per hour, gives the weight of . 64,050,000 Sixty-four millions and fifty thousand of pounds,

which, estimating the whole at the medium

price of thirty sols the pound, makes the sum of ninety-six millions and seventy-five thousand livres tournois.

96,075,000

An immense sum! that the city of Paris might save every year, by the economy of using sunshine instead of candles.

If it should be said, that people are apt to be obstinately attached to old customs, and that it will be difficult to induce them to rise before noon, consequently my discovery can be of little use; I answer, Nil des perandum. I believe all who have common sense, as soon as they have learnt from this paper that it is daylight when the sun rises, will contrive to rise with him; and, to compel the rest, I would propose the following regulations;

First. Let a tax be laid of a louis per window, on every window that is provided with shutters to keep out the light of the sun.

Second. Let the same salutary operation of police be made use of, to prevent our burning candles, that inclined. us last winter to be more economical in burning wood; that is, let guards be placed in the shops of the wax and tallow chandlers, and no family be permitted to be supplied with more than one pound of candles per week.

Third. Let guards also be posted to stop all the coaches, &c. that would pass the streets after sun-set, except those of physicians, surgeons, and midwives.

Fourth. Every morning, as soon as the sun rises, let all the bells in every church be set ringing; and if that is not