his own life, which he commenced for the use of his son, and for the continuation of which we are indebted to the ardent solicitations of Monsieur le Veillard, one of his most intimate friends. It employed his leisure hours during the latter part of his life; but the bad state of his health and his excruciating pains, which gave him little respite, frequently interrupted his work; and the two copies one of which was sent by him to London, to Dr. Price and Mr. Vaughan, and the other to Monsieur le Veillard and me-reach no farther than the year 1757. He speaks of himself as he would have done of another person, delineating his thoughts, his actions, and even his errors and faults; and he describes the unfolding of his genius and talents with the simplicity of a great man, who knows how to do justice to himself, and with the testimony of a clear conscience, void of reproach and 'of offence toward God and toward man.'

His Memoirs, gentlemen, will be published as soon as we receive from America the additions he may have made to the manuscript in our possession; and we then intend to give a complete collection of his works."

The Duke had evidently derived his information in regard to the Memoirs exclusively from the letter last cited to M. le Veillard.

The Doctor died in a little less than six months after his letter of the 2d of November to Mr. Vaughan. By his will, made in the summer of 1788, he bequeathed his books, manuscripts, and papers, after deducting a few special bequests, to his grandson, William Temple Franklin. Among the manuscripts was the original text of these Memoirs. On the 22d of May, Wm. Temple wrote M. le Veil

lard, announcing his grandfather's death and the interest he had acquired in the Memoirs, which might be said to have owed their existence to M. le Veillard's pertinacity; his intention to prepare them for publication, and requesting M. le Veillard to show them to no one unless to the Academician who should be charged to make the eulogy of the deceased, and to permit no one to take a copy of what had been sent him. He adds that he himself has the original. This letter was written in French.*

“PHILADELPHIA, 22 May, 1790.

"You have already learned, my dear friend, the loss which you and I, and the world, have experienced, in the death of this good and amiable papa. Although we have long expected it, we were none the less shocked by it when it arrived. He loved you very tenderly, as he did all your family, and I do not doubt you will share my just sorrow. I intended writing you the details of his death by M. de Chaumont, but the duty of arranging his affairs, and especially his papers, prevents my answering your last, as well as the one which your daughter was pleased to write me, accompanying her work. I have been touched with this mark of her condescension and friendship, and I beg you to testify to her my gratitude until I have an opportunity of writing to her, which will certainly be by the first occasion for France. Now, as I am about writing, her goodness will awaken me. This letter will reach you by way of England.

"I feel it my duty to profit by this occasion to inform you that my grandfather, among other legacies, has left all his papers and manuscripts to me, with permission to

* Le Veillard Collection. For the original see Appendix, No. 6.

turn them to what profit I can. Consequently, I beg you, my dear friend, to show to no one that part of his Life which he sent you some time since, lest some one copy and publish it, which would infinitely prejudice the publication which I propose to make as soon as possible, of his entire Life and of his other works. As I have the original here of the part which you have, it will not be necessary for you to send it to me, but I beg you at all events to put it in an envelope, well sealed, addressed to me, in order that by no accident it may get into other hands.

"If, however, it should be necessary to assist the person who will pronounce his eulogy at the Academy, you may lend it for that purpose, with the stipulation that no copy of it shall be made, and with such other precautions as you deem necessary. The foreign representatives of our Government have not yet been named. It is possible I may be one, which would put me in the way to assist in the publication of my grandfather's works; but even if they think no more of me, it is very probable that I shall conclude to go to Europe, inasmuch as I am persuaded I can derive more advantage from the publication in England or in France than in this country.

"Adieu for the present. In two or three weeks I hope to be able to write to you directly, as well as to my other friends, male and female, in France. Love me, my dear friend. I have more need than ever of your friendship. "W. T. FRANKLIN."

In the course of a few months after this letter was written, William Temple Franklin arrived in London, where he pretended to be engaged in preparing an edition

of the Life and works of his grandfather, which he then expected to have ready in the course of the year. But it was ordained that this pre-eminently American work should be first presented to the world in a foreign tongue. A French translation appeared at Paris in 1791. It embraced only the first eighty-seven pages of the manuscript. In his preface the editor seems to question the good faith of William Temple's promise to publish the Memoirs entire. As this preface is not readily accessible, and as it constitutes an important link in the history of this manuscript, I need offer no apology for giving it entire :

"I shall not enter into an uninteresting detail relative to the manner in which the original manuscript of these Memoirs, which are written in the English language, came into my possession. They appeared to me to be so interesting that I did not hesitate a single moment to translate them into French.

"The name of Franklin will undoubtedly become a passport to a work of this nature, and the character of truth and simplicity discernible in every page must guarantee its authenticity. I have no manner of occasion to join other testimonies.

"If, however, any critic chooses to disbelieve my assertion, and is desirous to bring the existence of the original manuscript into doubt, I am ready to verify it by means of an immediate impression; but as I am not certain

* Mémoires de la vie privée de Benjamin Franklin, écrits par lui même et addressées a son fils, suivis d'un précis historique de la vie politique, et de plusieurs pièces, relatives, à ce père de la liberté. A Paris, chez Buisson, Libraire, Rue Hautefeuille, No. 20. 1791.

↑ "Those who may be desirous of reading the Memoirs of the public life of Franklin in the original are requested to leave their names with Buisson, bookseller, Rue Hautefeuille, No. 20. The work will be sent

of the sale of a work written in a foreign language, I cannot publish it in any other manner than by means of a subscription large enough to indemnify me for the money advanced.

"That part of the Memoirs of Franklin in my possession includes no more than the first period of a life, the remainder of which has become illustrious by events of the highest importance; it terminates at the epoch when, after having married, he began to render himself celebrated by plans and establishments of public utility.

"It is very possible that he may have written more of his history; for the portion of it which I now present to the public concludes, according to his own account, with the year 1771.*

"If this be the case, the heirs of that great man will not fail some day to publish it, either in England or in Pennsylvania, and we shall doubtless have a French translation, which will be received by the public with great eagerness; but I am persuaded that his family will not disclose any other than the most brilliant period of his life—that which is connected with the memorable part he acted in the world, both as a philosopher and a statesman. They will never be prevailed upon to narrate the humble details of his carly days and the simple but interesting anecdotes of his origin, the obscurity of which, although it enhances the talents and the virtues of this great man, may yet wound their own vanity.

to the press as soon as there are 400 subscribers. The price is 48 sols (or cents)."

* This date is erroneous. Dr. Franklin commenced writing his Memoirs in 1771, but in the portion of his Memoirs published in 1791 he did not bring down the narrative of his life beyond the year 1730.