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84

PREFERENCE OF BOWS AND ARROWS TO FIRE-ARMS.

a great deal of business on my hands. The whitewash buckets are paraded, the brushes are ready, my husband is gone off-so much the better; when we are upon a thorough cleaning, the first dirty thing to be removed is one's husband. I am called for again. Adieu.

FINAL SPEECH OF DR FRANKLIN IN THE
LATE FEDERAL CONVENTION.

and turn our future thoughts and endeavours to the means of having it well administered.

On the whole, Sir, I cannot help expressing a wish, that every member of the convention who may still have objections, would with me, on this occasion, doubt a little of his own infallibility, and, to make manifest our unanimity, put his name to this instrument.

[The motion was then made for adding the last formula, viz. :

Done in convention, by the unanimous consent, &c., which was agreed to, and added accordingly.]

PREFERENCE OF BOWS AND ARROWS IN
WAR TO FIRE-ARMS.

TO MAJOR-GENERAL LEE.

Philadelphia, February 11, 1776. DEAR SIR,-The bearer, Monsieur Arundel, is directed by the Congress to repair to General Schuyler, in order to be employed by him in the artillery service. He proposes to wait on you in his way, and has requested me to introduce him by line to you. He has been an officer in the French service, as you will see by his commissions; and, professing a good will to our cause, I hope he may be useful in instructing our gunners and matrosses: perhaps he may advise in opening the nailed cannon.

MR PRESIDENT,-I confess that I do not entirely approve of this constitution at present; but, Sir, I am not sure I shall never approve it-for having lived long, I have experienced many instances of being obliged, by better information, or fuller consideration, to change opinions even on important subjects, which I once thought right, but found to be otherwise. It is, therefore, that the older I grow, the more apt I am to doubt my own judgment, and to pay more respect to the judgment of others. Most men, indeed, as well as most sects in religion, think themselves in possession of all truth, and that whenever others differ from them, it is so far error. Steel, a protestant, in a dedication, tells the pope that "the only difference between our two churches, in their opinions of the certainty of their doctrines, is, the Romish church is infallible, and the church of England never in the wrong." But though many private persons think almost as highly of their own infallibility as that of their sect, few express it so I received the inclosed the other day from an officer, naturally as a certain French lady, who, in a little dis- Mr Newland, who served in the two last wars, and was pute with her sister, said, "I don't know how it hap-known by General Gates, who spoke well of him to me pens, sister, but I meet with nobody but myself that when I was at Cambridge. He is desirous now of enis always in the right;"-Il n'y a que moi qui a toujours tering into your service. I have advised him to wait raison. In these sentiments, Sir, I agree to this con- upon you at New York. stitution, with all its faults, if they are such; because I think a general government necessary for us, and there is no form of government but what may be a blessing, if well administered; and I believe farther, that this is likely to be well administered for a course of years, and can only end in despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic government, being incapable of any other. I doubt, too, whether any other convention we can obtain may be able to make a better constitution: for when you assemble a number of men, to have the advantage of their joint wisdom, you inevitably assemble with those men all their prejudices, their passions, their errors of opinion, their local interests, and their selfish views. From such as assembly can a perfect production be expected? It therefore astonishes me, Sir, to find this system approaching so near to perfection as it does; and I think it will astonish our enemies, who are waiting with confidence to hear that our councils are confounded, like those of the builders of Babel, and that our states are on the point of separation, only to meet hereafter for the purpose of cutting each other's throats.

Thus I consent, Sir, to this constitution, because I expect no better, and because I am not sure that this is not the best. The opinions I have had of its errors I sacrifice to the public good. I have never whispered a syllable of them abroad. Within these walls they were born, and here they shall die. If every one of us, in returning to our constituents, were to report the objections he has had to it, and endeavour to gain partisans in support of them, we might prevent its being generally received, and thereby lose all the salutary effects and great advantages resulting naturally in our favour among foreign nations, as well as among ourselves, from our real apparent unanimity. Much of the strength and efficiency of any government, in procuring and securing happiness to the people, depends on opinion on the general opinion of the goodness of that government, as well as of the wisdom and integrity of its governors.

I hope, therefore, that for our own sakes, as a part of the people, and for the sake of our posterity, we shall act heartily and unanimously in recommending this constitution, wherever our influence may extend,

They still talk big in England, and threaten hard; but their language is somewhat more civil, at least not quite so disrespectful to us. By degrees they come to their senses; but too late, I fancy, for their interest.

We have got a large quantity of saltpetre, one hundred and twenty tons, and thirty more expected. Powder mills are now wanting; I believe we must set to work and make it by hand. But I still wish, with you, that pikes could be introduced, and, I would add, bows and arrows: these were good weapons, and not wisely laid aside:-

1. Because a man may shoot as truly with a bow as with a common musket.

2. He can discharge four arrows in the time of charging and discharging one bullet.

3. His object is not taken from his view by the smoke of his own side.

4. A flight of arrows seen coming upon them terrifies and disturbs the enemy's attention to his business. 5. An arrow sticking in any part of a man, puts him hors du combat till it is extracted.

6. Bows and arrows are more easily provided every where than muskets and ammunition.

Polydore Virgil, speaking of one of our battles against the French in Edward III.'s reign, mentions the great confusion the enemy was thrown into, sagittarum nube, from the English; and concludes, Est res profecto dictu mirabilis ut tantus ac potens exercitus a solis ferè Anglicis sagittariis victus fuerit; adeo Anglus est sagittipotens, et id genus armorum valet. If so much execution was done by arrows when men wore some defensive armour, how much more might be done now that it is out of use !

I am glad you are come to New York, but I also wish you could be in Canada. There is a kind of suspense in men's minds here at present, waiting to see what terms will be offered from England. I expect none that we can accept; and when that is generally seen, we shall be more unanimous and more decisive: then your proposed solemn league and covenant will go better down, and perhaps most of our other strong measures be adopted.

I am always glad to hear from you, but I do not deserve your favours, being so bad a correspondent. My eyes will now hardly serve me to write by night, and

1

S

LETTER ON THE THEORY OF THE EARTH.

85

these short days have been all taken up by such variety | rest of our system. I will just mention, that your obof business that I seldom can sit down ten minutes without interruption. God give you success! I am, with the greatest esteem, yours affectionately, B. FRANKLIN.

ON THE THEORY OF THE EARTH.
TO ABBE SOULIAVE.

Passy, September 22, 1782. SP-I return the papers with some corrections. I did not find coal mines under the calcareous rock in Derbyshire. I only remarked, that at the lowest part of that rocky mountain which was in sight, there were oyster shells mixed with the stone; and part of the high country of Derby being probably as much above the level of the sea as the coal mines of Whitehaven were below, it seemed a proof that there had been a great overturning in the surface of that island, some part of it having been depressed under the sea, and ther parts, which had been under it, being raised above it. Such changes in the superficial parts of the globe seemed to me unlikely to happen, if the earth vere solid at the centre. I therefore imagined that the internal parts might be a fluid more dense, and of greater specific gravity, than any of the solids we are acquainted with, which therefore might swim in or upon that fluid. Thus, the surface of the globe would be a shell, capable of being broken and disordered by the violent movements of the fluid on which it rested. And as air has been compressed by art so as to be twice as dense as water-in which case, if such air and water could be contained in a strong glass vessel, the air would be seen to take the lowest place, and the water to float above and upon it; and, as we know not yet the degree of density to which air may be compressed-and M. Amontons calculated, that its density increasing as it approached the centre in the same proportion as above the surface, it would, at the depth of leagues, be heavier than gold-possibly the dense fluid occupying the internal parts of the globe might be air compressed. And as the force of expansion in dense air, when heated, is in proportion to its density, this central air might afford another agent to move the surface, as well as be of use in keeping alive the central fires; though, as you observe, the sudden rarefaction of water, coming into contact with those fires, may be an agent sufficiently strong for that purpose, when acting between the incumbent earth and the fluid on which it rests.

If one might indulge imagination in supposing how such a globe was formed, I should conceive, that all the elements in separate particles, being originally mixed in confusion, and occupying a great space, they would (as soon as the Almighty fiat ordained gravity, or the mutual attraction of certain parts, and the mutual repulsion of other parts, to exist) all move towards their common centre; that the air-being a fluid whose parts repel each other, though drawn to the common centre by their gravity-would be densest towards the centre, and rarer as more remote; consequently, all bodies lighter than the central parts of that air, and immersed in it, would recede from the centre, and rise till they arrive at that region of the air which was of the same specific gravity with themselves, where they would rest; while other matter mixed with the lighter air would descend, and the two meeting, would form the shell of the first earth, leaving the upper atmosphere nearly clear. The original movement of the parts towards their common centre would form a whirl there; which would continue in the turning of the newly formed globe upon its axis, and the greatest diameter of the shell would be in its equator. If, by any accident afterwards, the axis should be changed, the dense internal fluid, by altering its form, must burst the shell, and throw all its substance into the confusion in which we find it. I will not trouble you at present with my fancies concerning the manner of forming the

servation of the ferruginous nature of the lava which is thrown out from the depths of our volcanoes, gave me great pleasure. It has long been a supposition of mine, that the iron contained in the substance of the globe has made it capable of becoming, as it is, a great magnet; that the fluid of magnetism exists perhaps in all space so that there is a magnetical north and south of the universe, as well as of this globe-and that, if it were possible for a man to fly from star to star, he might govern his course by the compass: that it was by the power of this general magnetism this globe became a particular magnet. In soft or hot iron the fluid of magnetism is naturally diffused equally; when within the influence of a magnet, it is drawn to one end of the iron, made denser there and rarer at the other. While the iron continues soft and hot, it is only a temporary magnet; if it cools or grows hard in that situation, it becomes a permanent one, the magnetic fluid not easily resuming its equilibrium. Perhaps it may be owing to the permanent magnetism of this globe, which it had not at first, that its axis is at present kept parallel to itself, and not liable to the changes it formerly suffered, which occasioned the rupture of its shell, the submersions and emersions of its lands, and the confusion of its seasons. The present polar and equatorial diameters differing from each other near ten leagues, it is easy to conceive, in case some power should shift the axis gradually, and place it in the present equator, and make the new equator pass through the present poles, what a sinking of waters would happen in the present equatorial regions, and what a rising in the present polar regions; so that vast tracts would be discovered that now are under water, and others covered that now are dry, the water rising and sinking in the different extremes near five leagues! Such an operation as this possibly occasioned much of Europe-and, among the rest, of this mountain of Passy, on which I live, and which is composed of limestone, rock and sea shells-to be abandoned by the sea, and to change its ancient climate, which seems to have been a hot one. The globe being now become a perfect magnet, we are perhaps safe from any future change of its axis. But we are still subject to the accidents on the surface, which are occasioned by a wave in the internal, ponderous fluid: and such a wave is produced by the sudden violent explosion you mention, happening from the junction of water and fire under the earth, which not only lifts the incumbent earth that is over the explosion, but, impressing with the same force the fluid under it, creates a wave that may run a thousand leagues, lifting, and thereby shaking successively, all the countries under which it passes. I know not whether I have expressed myself so clearly, as not to get out of your sight in these reveries. If they occasion any new inquiries, and produce a better hypothesis, they will not be quite useless. You see I have given a loose to imagination, but I approve much more your

* [Ingenious as the conjecture is by which Franklin, in the preceding paper, accounts for the alterations which have taken

place on the surface of the globe, it is now generally believed that these are attributable to much more simple causes than the shifting of the equatorial axis through magnetic agency. It is believed, that all the superficial changes which the earth has undergone, are referable to influences operating on it at the present day with the same force as they have ever done. The action of the atmosphere of running waters, and of the ocean, according to this doctrine, is perpetually engaged in washing down and wearing away the existing matter of the earth's surface; while, on the other hand, there are counterbalancing forces, such as volcanoes and carthquakes, that act with equal constancy in elevating the worn-down materials to something like their original position, though, it may be, with altered forms. The appearances, is the chief difficulty in the way of its universal reception; but every additional ray of light thrown on the subject by the inquiries of man, tends more strongly to impress the conviction, that all the phenomena of the earth's surface, instead of having been produced by great and violent causes of short continuance, are the result of causes of little magnitude and intensity, operating through long successive ages.]

immensity of time required (by this theory) to explain geological

86

THOUGHTS ON THE UNIVERSAL FLUID.

method of philosophising, which proceeds upon actual observation, makes a collection of facts, and concludes no farther than those facts will warrant. In my present circumstances, that mode of studying the nature of the globe is out of my power, and therefore I have permitted myself to wander a little in the wilds of fancy. With great esteem, I have the honour to be, Sir, &c. B. FRANKLIN. P. S. I have heard that chemists can by their art decompose stone and wood, extracting a considerable quantity of water from the one, and air from the other. It seems natural to conclude from this, that water and air were ingredients in their original composition: for men cannot make new matter of any kind. In the same manner do we not suppose, that when we consume combustibles of all kinds, and produce heat or light, we do not create that heat or light-we only decompose a substance which received it originally as a part of its composition? Heat may thus be considered as originally in a fluid state; but, attracted by organised bodies in their growth, becomes a part of the solid. Besides this, I can conceive that, in the first assemblage of the particles of which this earth is composed, each brought its portion of the loose heat that had been connected with it, and the whole, when pressed together, produced the internal fire which still subsists.

THOUGHTS ON THE UNIVERSAL FLUID,

&c.

Passy, June 25, 1784. UNIVERSAL space, as far as we know of it, seems to be filled with subtle fluid, whose motion, or vibration, is called light.

This fluid may possibly be the same with that which, being attracted by, and entering into other more solid matter, dilates the substance, by separating the constituent particles, and so rendering some solids fluid, and maintaining the fluidity of others: of which fluid when our bodies are totally deprived, they are said to be frozen; when they have a proper quantity, they are in health, and fit to perform all their functions; it is then called natural heat: when too much, it is called fever; and when forced into the body in too great a quantity from without, it gives pain by separating and destroy: ing the flesh, and is then called burning-and the fluid so entering and acting is called fire.

While organised bodies, animal or vegetable, are augmenting in growth, or are supplying their continual waste, is not this done by attracting and consolidating this fluid called fire, so as to form of it a part of their substance? and is it not a separation of the parts of such substance, which, dissolving its solid state, sets that subtle fluid at liberty, when it again makes its appearance as fire?

For the power of man relative to matter seems limited to the dividing it, or mixing the various kinds of it, or changing its form and appearance by different compositions of it, but does not extend to the making or creating of new matter, or annihilating the old; thus, if fire be an original element, or kind of matter, its quantity is fixed and permanent in the world. We cannot destroy any part of it, or make addition to it; we can only separate it from that which confines it, and set it at liberty, as when we put wood in a situation to be burnt; or transfer it from one solid to another, as when we make lime by burning stone, a part of the fire dislodged from the wood being left in the stone. May

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not this fluid, when at liberty, be capable of penetrat ing and entering into all bodies, organised or not quitting easily in totality those not organised, and quit ting easily in part those which are the part assume and fixed remaining till the body is dissolved?

Is it not this fluid which keeps asunder the particle of air, permitting them to approach, or separatin them more, in proportion as its quantity is diminishe or augmented? Is it not the greater gravity of the particles of air, which forces the particles of this flui to mount with the matters to which it is attached, a smoke or vapour?

Does it not seem to have a great affinity with water since it will quit a solid to unite with that fluid, and g off with it in vapour, leaving the solid cold to the touch and the degree measurable by the thermometer? The vapour rises attached to this fluid; but at a certain height they separate, and the vapour descend in rain, retaining but little of it, in snow or hail less What becomes of that fluid? Does it rise above our atmosphere, and mix equally with the universal mas of the same kind? Or does a spherical stratum of it denser, or less mixed with air, attracted by this globe and repelled or pushed up only to a certain height fron its surface by the greater weight of air, remain there surrounding the globe, and proceeding with it round the sun?

In such case, as there may be a continuity or com munication of this fluid through the air quite down to the earth, is it not by the vibrations given to it by the sun that light appears to us; and may it not be, tha every one of the infinitely small vibrations, striking common matter with a certain force, enter its substance are held there by attraction, and augmented by suc ceeding vibrations, till the matter has received as much as their force can drive into it?

Is it not thus that the surface of this globe is con tinually heated by such repeated vibrations in the day, and cooled by the escape of the heat when those vibrations are discontinued in the night, or intercepted and reflected by clouds?

Is it not thus that fire is amassed, and makes the greatest part of the substance of combustible bodies?

Perhaps when this globe was first formed, and its original particles took their place at certain distances from the centre, in proportion to their greater or less gravity, the fluid fire, attracted towards that centre, might in great part be obliged, as lightest, to take place above the rest, and thus form the sphere of fire above supposed, which would afterwards be continually diminishing by the substance it afforded to organised bodies; and the quantity restored to it again by the burning or other separating of the parts of those bodies.

Is not the natural heat of animals thus produced, by separating in digestion the parts of food, and setting their fire at liberty?

Is it not this sphere of fire which kindles the wandering globes that sometimes pass through it in our course round the sun, have their surface kindled by it, and burst when their included air is greatly rarefied by the heat on their burning surfaces ?*

*[It is obvious from this paper, that the extraordinary points of similarity between the phenomena of heat and light, had struck forcibly the acute mind of Franklin. Since his time, the same idea has been entertained, and farther elucidated, by between these two elements have yet been arrived at. It has many men of science; but no clear views of the relation existing been held by some philosophers, that not only light and heat, but also electricity, galvanism, magnetism, and the nervous principle, are all modifications of one great and universal fluid.]

END OF FRANKLIN'S WORKS.

EDINBURGH: PRINTED BY W. AND R. CHAMBERS, 19, WATERLOO PLACE.

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