and exhibited in his own conduct a fair instance of Whitfield's success, as an advocate for works of charity. He had advised him to build his orphanhouse at Philadelphia, rather than in the state of Georgia, as it would be much easier to transfer the children to the former place, than materials and workmen to the latter; but Whitfield rejected his counsel, and therefore Franklin refused to contribute to his scheme. In this temper he attended one of his charity sermons for the funds of the orphanhouse; and having in his pocket a handful of copper money, three or four dollars in silver, and five pistoles in gold, he resolved to give him no part of them. In the progress of the sermon, Whitfield so far shook his resolution, that our philosopher determined to afford him the copper; at another successful stroke of his oratory, the silver he thought must go; and so admirable was the final appeal, "that I emptied my pockets wholly," he says, " into the collector's dish, gold and all!" We do not remember to have met with a fairer proof of the triumph of clerical eloquence than this. Franklin was ordinarily of no enthusiastic temperament; he was, on this occasion, averse from the immediate object of the preacher, and indifferent, at least, to the religious basis of his arguments.

We must give our readers an instance of superior caution in this affair, on the part of one of Franklin's friends. This gentleman, being of the same opinion as Franklin about the Georgian orphan-house, emptied his pocket before he left home, lest he should be led into temptation. But being moved at the meeting equally with his friend, he applied to a Quaker who stood by, for a loan of money to contribute. Any other time, friend Hopkinson,' he replied, "I would lend to thee freely; but not now, for thou seemest to me to be out of thy right senses.' By frequently hearing him, Franklin asserts, he could accurately distinguish the sermons Mr Whitfield had delivered repeatedly, from those which were composed

for the occasion; and he gave a decided preference to the former; certain points of the argument and emphatical passages being pressed with a dexterity much improved by repetition, until every accent and modification of the voice, he says, was in inimitable musical cadence.

Franklin became an intimate private aequaintance of Whitfield, and took an active part in procuring a large covered building for the accommodation of his congregation. On a subsequent occasion he offered to accommodate him at his house during his stay at Philadelphia, and continued to correspond with him at intervals during the rest of the preacher's life. He says nobly, that while some of his enemies affected to suppose Whitfield had sinister views in his public collections, he, who knew him intimately (being employed in printing his sermons, journals, &c.) never suspected it, but believed him to be in all his conduct decidedly an honest man. Franklin however blames him for committing himself so often to paper, and contends that he would have left a much more numerous and respectable body of admirers, had he never written any thing for the press. The following letter is too characteristic of the writer, and too excellent in its sentiments, to be here omitted:

Mr FRANKLIN to the Rev. George Whitfield.

Philadelphia, June 6, 1753. SIR, I received your kind letter of the 2nd instant, and am glad to hear that you increase in strength. I hope you will continue mending till you recover your former health and firmness. Let me know whether you still use the cold bath, and what

effect it has.

As to the kindness you mention, I wish it could have been of more service to you. But if it had, the only thanks I should desire is, that you would always be equally ready to serve any other person that may

need your assistance, and so let good offices go round, for mankind are all of a family.

For my own part, when I am employed in serving others, I do not look upon myself as conferring favours, but as paying debts. In my travels, and since my settlement, I have received much kindness from men to whom I shall never have any opportu nity of making the least direct return, and numberless mercies from God, who is infinitely above being benefited by our services. Those kindnesses from men I can therefore only return to their fellow-men, and I can only shew my gratitude for these mercies from God, by a readiness to help his other children, and my brethren. For I do not think that thanks and compliments, though repeated weekly, can discharge our real obligations to each other, and much less those to our Creator. You will see, in this my notion of good works, that I am far from expecting to merit heaven by them. By heaven we understand a state of happiness, infinite in degree, and eternal in duration. I can do nothing to deserve such rewards. He that, for giving a draught of water to a thirsty person, should expect to be paid with a good plantation, would be modest in his demands, compared with those who think they deserve heaven for the little good they do on earth. Even the mixed imperfect pleasures we enjoy in this world, are rather from God's goodness than our merit : how much more such happiness of heaven! For my part, I have not the vanity to think I deserve it, the folly to expect it, nor the ambition to desire it; but content myself in submitting to the will and disposal of that God who made me, who has hitherto preserved and blessed me, and in whose fatherly goodness I may well confide, that he will never make me miserable, and that even the afflictions I may at any time suffer shall tend to my benefit.

The faith you mention has certainly its use in the world. I do not desire to see it diminished, nor would I endeavour to lessen it in any man. But I

wish it were more productive of good works than I have generally seen it. I mean real good works; works of kindness, charity, mercy, and public spirit; not holiday-keeping, sermon-reading and hearing; performing church ceremonies, or making long prayers filled with flatteries and compliments, despised even by wise men, and much less capable of pleasing the Deity. The worship of God is a duty; the hearing and reading of sermons may be useful; but if men rest in hearing and praying, as too many do, it is as if a tree should value itself on being watered and putting forth leaves, though it never produced fruit.

Your great Master thought much less of these outward appearances and professions, than many of his modern disciples. He preferred the doers of the word to the mere hearers; the son that seemingly refused to obey his father, and yet performed his commands, to him that professed his readiness but neglected the work; the heretical but charitable Samaritan to the uncharitable though orthodox priest, and sanctified Levite; those who gave food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, raiment to the naked, entertainment to the stranger, and relief to the sick, though they never heard of his name, he declares shall in the last day be accepted; when those who cry, Lord! Lord! who value themselves upon their faith, though great enough to perform miracles, but have neglected good works, shall be rejected. He professed that he came not to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance; which implied his modest opinion that there were some in his time who thought themselves so good, that they need not hear even him for improvement; but now-a-days we have scarce a little parson that does not think it the duty of every man within his reach to sit under his petty ministrations, and that whoever omits them offends God. I wish to such more humility, and to you health and happiness; being

Your friend and servant,

B. FRANKLIN.

Franklin acted in every thing upon system, as far as his knowledge and opportunities permitted. His partnership business at Charlestown having fully answered his expectations, he carried out the principle on a wider scale, in proportion as he found neighbouring colonies in want of printers. The plan he adopted was, to select one of the most competent and discreet of his own workmen, and enter into explicit articles of partnership with him for six years; Franklin furnishing all the capital for materials, &c. in the first instance, and his partner devoting himself to procure and conduct the business. He speaks with great satisfaction of the general issue of these engagements; they remunerated him for his money, and established several respectable families in the different colonies; most of his partners being able to pur chase his interest at the end of their term, and the connexion ending in all cases, he assures us, with personal good-will. Men of business will con sider this no slight proof both of his discretion and good fortune. In his personal narration, he endea vours to show from these circumstances, the import→ ance of very specific articles being in all cases drawn up between partners in trade.

His situation in the capital of Pennsylvania gave Franklin full opportunity for the display of his powers as a rising tradesman, politician, and philosopher:-points of his character essentially depending on each other. He was too prudent not to secure first (let all men of business observe) those pecuniary advantages, and that opulent ease, by which alone he could have become the important public man we find him. His newspaper, about the year 1740, was almost the only one in great demand in the central states of America, and became very lucrative; he therefore found the pleasing truth of one of his proverbial sayings, that "after getting the first hundred pounds, it is much easier to get the second, and realize, at least, three-fourths of another. Learning is to the studious, riches to the careful; as well as favour to the bold, and heaven to the virtuous.”