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itself in his lungs, fuddenly burft, and discharged a great quantity of matter, which he continued to throw up while he had fufficient strength to do it; but, as that failed, the organs of refpiration be came gradually oppreffed-a calm lethargic ftate fucceeded and on the 17th of April, 1790, a bout eleven o'clock at night, he quietly expired, clofing a long and useful life of eighty-four years and three months.

"It may not be amifs to add to the above ac count, that Dr. Franklin, in the year 1735, had a fevere pleurify, which terminated in an abfcefs of the left lobe of his lungs, and he was then al moft fuffocated with the quantity and fuddennels of the difcharge. A fecond attack of a fimilar na ture happened fome years after this, from which he foon recovered, and did not appear to fuffer any inconvenience in his refpiration from thefe difeafes."

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The following epitaph on himself, was written by him many years previous to his death;

THE BODY

of

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, Printer,
(Like the cover of an old book,
Its contents torn out
And ftript of its lettering and gilding)
Lies here food for worms;

Yet the work itfelf fhall not be loft,
For it will as he believed) appear once more,

In a new

And more beautiful edition,.
Corrected and amended

by

The Author..

EXTRACTS from the lafl Will and Teftament of Dr.. FRANKLIN.

WITH regard to my books, those I had in France, and those I left in Philadelphia, being now affembled together here, and a catalogue made of them, it is my intention to difpofe of the fame as follows:

My hiftory of the academy of Sciences, in fixty or feventy volumes quarto, I give to the philofophical fociety of Philadelphia, of which I have the honour to be prefident. My collection in folio of Les Arts & Les Metiers, I give to the philofophical fociety, established in New England, of which I am a member. My quarto edition of the fame Arts and Metiers, I give to the library company of Philadelphia. Such and fo many of my books as I fhall mark, in the faid catalogue, with the name of my grandfon, Benjamin Franklin Bache, 1 do hereby give to him: and fuch and so many of my books, as I fhall mark in the faid catalogue with the name of my grandfon William Bache, I do hereby give to him: and fuch as fhall be marked with the name of Jonathan Williams, I hereby give to my coufin of that name. The refidue and remainder of all my books, manufcripts and papers, Ido give to my grandfon William Temple Frank

lin.

My share in the library company of Philadelphia I give to my grandfon Benjamin Franklin Bache, confiding that he will permit his Brothers and fifters to fhare in the use of it.

I was born in Bofton, New England, and owe my first instructions in literature to the free grammar-schools established there.. I therefore give one hundred pounds fterling to my executors, to be by them, the furvivors or furvivor of them, paid over to the managers or directors of the free fchools in my native town of Boston, to be by them, or the perfon or perfons who fhall have the fuperintendance and management of the faid fchools, put out to intereft, and fo continued at intereft for ever; which intereft annually fhall be laid out in filver medals, and given as honorary rewards annu ally by the directors of the faid free schools, for the encouragement of scholarship in the faid fchools, belonging to the said town, in fuch manner as to the difcretion of the felect men of the faid town fhall feem meet.

Out of the falary that may remain due to me, as prefident of the ftate, I give the fum of two thousand pounds to my executors, to be by them, the furvivors or furvivor of them, paid over to fuch perfon or perfons as the legiflature of this ftate, by an act of affembly, fhall appoint to receive the fame, i truft, to be employed for making the Schuylkil navigable,

During the number of years I was in business as a ftationer, printer, and poftmafter, a great many fmall fums became due to me, for books, advertifements, poftage of letters, and other matters, which were not collected, when, in 1757, I was fent by the affembly to England as their agent

and, by fubfequent appointments continued there till 1775-when, on my return, I was immediately engaged in the affairs of congrefs, and fent to France in 1776, where I remained nine years, not returning till 1785; and the faid debts not being demanded in fuch a length of time, are become in a manner obfolcte, yet are nevertheless jufily due.-Thefe as they are stated in my great folio ledger, E, I bequeath to the contributors of the Pennfylvania hofpital; hoping that these debtors, and the defcendants of fuch as are deceafed, who now, as I find, make fome difficulty of fatisfying uch antiquated demands as juft debts, may however be induced to pay or give them as charity to hat excellent inflitution. I am fenfible that much muft inevitably be loft; but I hope fomething coniderable may be recovered. It is poffible too that ome of the parties charged may have exifting old infettled accounts against me; in which cafe the nanagers of the faid hofpital will allow and dedu& he amount, and pay the balance, if they find it gainst me.

I request my friends Henry Hill, Efq. John Jay, Efq. Francis Hopkinfon, Efq. and Mr. Edward Duffield, of Bonfield, in Philadelphia county, to be the executors of this my laft will and teftament, and I hereby nominate and appoint them for that purpose.

I would have my body buried with as little expence or ceremony as may be.

Philadelphia, July 17, 1788.

CODICIL.

I Benjamin Franklin, in the foregoing or an

nexed laft will and teftament, having further con fidered the fame, do think proper to make and publish the following codicil, or addition thereto:

Ir having long been a fixed political opinion of mine, that in a democratical ftate there ought to be no offices of profit, for the reasons I had given. in an article of my drawing in our conftitution, it was my intention, when I accepted the office of prefident, to devote the appointed falary to fome public ufe: Accordingly I had already, before I made my laft will, in July laft, given large fums of it to colleges, fchools, building of churches, &c. and in that willl bequeathed two thousand pounds more to the ftate, for the purpose of making the Schuylkil navigable; but understanding fince, that fuch a fum will do but little towards accomplish ing fuch a work, and that the project is not likely to be undertaken for many years to come-and having entertained another idea, which I hope may be found more extenfively ufeful, I do hereby re voke and annul the bequeft and direct that the certificates. I have for what remains due to me of that falary, be fold. towards raising the fum of two thousand pounds fterling, to be difpofed of as I am now about to order..

It has been an opinion, that he who receives an eftate from his ancestors, is under fome obliga tion to tranfmit the fame to pofterity. This obligation lies not on me, who never inherited a fhil. ling from any ancestor or relation. I fhall, howe ver, if it is not diminished by fome accident before my death, leave a confiderable estate among my defcendants and relations. The above obfervation is made merely as fome apology to my family, f

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