will goad and provoke us. You defpife us too much; and you are infenfible of the Italian adage, that there is no little enemy.'

We meet with no perfonalities in our Author's productions refpecting the American conteft. Indeed a candid looker on will perhaps infer, that the measures that have been purfued, in this country, with respect to America, are not to be wholly afcribed to any particular fet of men, in or out of place;-for perfons of both these descriptions have contributed to the bringing matters to the present formidable crifis :—but to the monopolifing fpirit of a rich, proud, warlike, and commercial NATION, operating with the fpirit of their rulers for the time being. The nation will perhaps, to a philofophic eye, appear to have been equally criminal with the minifters of the day, in anticipating a catastrophe which muft, however, probably have taken place, under any management whatever, though at a later period. In fact, we are now little more than commenting on a paffage contained in a letter of Dr. Franklin's.

Speaking of the British nation, in the letter to Lord Howe above alluded to, the Author fays I know too well her abounding pride and deficient wifdom, to believe she will ever take fuch falutary measures' [meaning the repairing the mifchiefs. done to America, previous to, and during the course of, the war. Her fondnefs for conqueft as a warlike nation; her luft of dominion as an ambitious one; and her thirst for a gainful monopoly as a commercial one (none of them legitimate caufes of war) will join to hide from her eyes every view of her true intereft; and continually goad her on in these ruinous diftant expeditions, fo deftructive both of lives and of treasure, that they must prove as pernicious to her in the end, as the croifades formerly were to most of the nations of Europe:'He then adds- I have not the vanity, my Lord, to think of intimidating, by thus predicting the effects of this war; for I know it will in England have the fate of all my former predictions; nor be believed till the event shall verify it.'

But enough of thefe gloomy and mortifying politics :- yet before we quit the political part of this collection, we owe an act of justice to their Author; whose moral character has long suffered moft severely, on account of certain transactions in the year 1773, while he refided here as agent for the colony of the Maffachufett's Bay. We allude to his having, by fome means or other, procured and tranfmitted to his conftituents at Boston, certain letters of Governor Huchinfon, &c. :-to the fubfequent duel fought, in confequence of mifapprehenfions on both fides, between Mr. Whately and Mr. Temple; and to Dr. Franklin's afterwards declaring the perfect innocence of these two gentlemen, in a letter printed in the Public Advertiser; and

avowing

avowing that he alone was the perfon who obtained and tranfmitted to Bofton the letters in question.

To mark the politics of the times, and the nature of the cenfures paffed in England upon Dr. Franklin's conduct,' the Editor has collected into one page, the most licentious parts of Mr. Wedderburn's fhameful Philippic, pronounced on this occafion before the Privy Council; Dr. Franklin being all the time prefent. Here are fome traits of this intemperate oration. "I hope, my Lords, you will mark [and brand] the man, for the honour of this country, of Europe, and of mankind. "He has forfeited all the respect of focieties and of men. Into what companies will he hereafter go with an unembarraffed face, or the honeft intrepidity of virtue? Men will watch him with a jealous eye; they will hide their papers from him, and lock up their efcrutoires. He will henceforth efteem it a libel to be called a man of letters; homo trium literarum?" [FUR, or thief.]

Alluding to the duel, and Dr. Franklin's fubfequent printed letter above mentioned, he exclaims-" It is impoffible to read his account, expreffive of the coolest and most deliberate malice, without horror-Amidft thefe tragical events, of one perfon nearly murdered; of another anfwerable for the iffue; of a worthy Governor hurt in his dearest interests; the fate of America in fufpence; here is a man, who, with the utmost infenfibility of remorse, ftands up, and avows himself the Author of all. I can compare it only to Zanga, in Dr. Young's Revenge: "Know then, 'twas-1:

I forged the letter, I difpoled the picture;

I hated, I defpifed, and I destroy."

"I afk, my Lords, whether the revengeful temper attributed," by poetic fiction only, to the bloody African, is not furpaffed by the coolness and apathy of the wily American?"

These horrid charges are refuted by the Editor-firft, with regard to the duel-by obferving, that the letter of provocation appeared in the morning, and the parties met in the afternoon. Dr. Franklin was not then in town: it was after fome interval that he received the intelligence. What had paffed he could not forefee; he endeavoured to prevent what ftill might follow.'

With respect to his procuring the letters, he informs us, that Dr. Franklin afterwards took an oath in Chancery, that at the time that he tranfmitted the letters, he was ignorant of the party to whom they had been addreffed; having himfelf received them from a third perfon, and for the exprefs purpose of their being conveyed to America.'-It was not perhaps fingular, the Editor afterwards adds, that, as a man of honour, Dr.

Franklin

Franklin fhould furrender his name to public fcrutiny, in order to prevent mischief to others; and yet not betray his coadjutor, (even to the present moment) to relieve his own fame from the fevereft obloquy: but perhaps it belonged to few befides Dr. Franklin, to poffefs mildness and magnanimity enough, to refrain from intemperate expreffions and measures, against Mr. Wedderburn and his fupporters, after all that had paffed.'

Quitting thefe contentious fcenes, and this unworthy treatment of fo venerable a character, we fhall relieve the indignant reader, and introduce him into better and more edifying company; by inftantly tranfporting him into a club-room in Philadelphia; where whilom, in more ferene and happy times, a fociety met, governed by fuch regulations as, to ufe nearly the words of the Editor, carry indeed along with them an air of fingularity; but accompanied with fuch operative good fenfe and philanthropy, as characterise them to be the production of Dr. Franklin. This club is faid to have been composed of men confiderable for their influence and difcretion. Previous to admiffion, the candidate was to ftand up, lay his hand on. his breaft, and answer the four following questions:

1. Have you any particular difrefpect to any present members? Anfwer. I have not.'

2. Do you fincerely declare that you love mankind in general; of what profeffion or religion foever? Anf. I do.' · 3. Do you think any perfon ought to be harmed in his body, name, or goods, for mere fpeculative opinions, or his external way of worship?-Anf. No.'

4. Do you love truth for truth's fake; and will you endeavour impartially to find and receive it yourself, and communicate it to others?-Anf. Yes.'

The rules of this inftitution are perfectly congenial to fo fenfible and liberal a teft as the preceding. They appear in the form of queries. The following may ferve as fpecimens:

Have you met with any thing in the Author you laft read, remarkable, or fuitable to be communicated to the Junto? particularly in hiftory, morality, poetry, phyfic, travels, mechanic arts, or other parts of knowledge?

Hath any citizen in your knowledge failed in his business lately; and what have you heard of the caufe?

Have you lately heard of any citizen's thriving well, and by what means?

'Do you think of any thing at present, in which the Junto may be ferviceable to mankind? to their country, to their friends, or to themselves?

Hath any deferving ftranger arrived in town fince last meeting, that you heard of? and what have you heard or observed of his character or merits; and whether think you, it lies in

the

the power of the Junto to oblige him, or encourage him as he deferves?

Do you know of any deferving young beginner, lately set up, whom it lies in the power of the Junto any way to encourage?

Have you lately obferved any defect in the laws of your country, of which it would be proper to move the legiflature for an amendment? Or do you know of any beneficial law that is wanting?

In what manner can the Junto, or any of them, affift you in any of your honourable defigns?

Is there any difficulty in matters of opinion, of justice and injuftice, which you would gladly have difcuffed at this time?'

The fifth and laft divifion of this valuable collection contains the miscellaneous, principally philofophical, pieces of Dr. Franklin. The firft, which is a Scheme for a new Alphabet and reformed Mode of Spelling,' will not admit of abridgment. The fecond is a letter to a friend, witten in 1748, on perufing Mr. Baxter's Treatife on the Soul; in which Dr. Franklin opposes the common doctrine of the vis inertia of matter, as inconfiftent with the phenomena of bodies in motion. An idea of the Author's reasoning on this subject may be collected from the following cafe.

It is acknowledged, that if a body, A, moving with the celerity, and the force 1 f, impinge againft another equal body, B, at reft; the two bodies will move on together after the ftroke, each with half the celerity and force of the first body; or each will move with, and f: but the celerity and force of both bodies added together is I c, and I f; that is, precifely the celerity and force of the body A, before the ftroke. In this cafe, there is no abatement of velocity or force :-Where then is the vis inertia? What does it, or how does it difcover itfelf?'

The next paper contains Experiments, Obfervations, and Facts, tending to fupport the Opinion of the Utility of long pointed Rods, for fecuring Buildings from Damage by Strokes of Lightning-and was read at the Committee of the Royal Society, appointed to confider the erecting conductors, to fecure the magazines at Purfleet, in Auguft 1772. The experiments, though valuable on account of that luminous fimplicity which diftinguishes all the productions of this great man-in politics, as well as in philofophy, cannot eafily be defcribed without the affiftance of the plate that accompanies them. An obfervation, however, of a more popular kind, and more generally intelligi ble, may be here inferted with propriety.

In oppofition to the advantages expected to be derived from the ufe of bigh painted rods, it may be alleged, that the means are

not

not adequate to the propofed end:-that though, in our small experiments, a fine pointed needle will filently, and almost inftantly, difcharge the electric matter from a charged prime conductor, or even an electrical battery, at the diftance of a few inches; no fuch advantages are to be hoped for, in any confiderable degree, from a pointed rod oppofed to a charged cloud, many acres in extent, at the diftance of half a mile, or a mile, or more, But that high pointed rods may rob a cloud of very great quantities of electric matter; and thereby poffibly difarm it of the power of doing mischief, is rendered evident by the following fact:

The Author's houfe at Philadelphia, was furnished with a rod extending nine feet above the top of the chimney. To this rod was connected a wire of the thickness of a goose quill, which defcended through the well of the ftair-cafe; where an interruption was made, fo that the ends of the wire, to each of which a little bell was fixed, were distant from each other about fix inches; an infulated brass ball hanging between the two bells. The Author was one night waked by loud cracks, proceeding from his apparatus in the ftair-cafe. He perceived, that the brass ball, inftead of vibrating as ufual between the bells, was repelled and kept at a distance from both; while the fire fometimes paffed in very large quick cracks directly from bell to bell and fometimes in a continued denfe white frcam, feemingly as large as his finger; by means of which the whole ftair-cafe was enlightened, as with fun-fhine,' so that he could fee to pick up a pin.-From the apparent quantity of electric matter of which the cloud was thus evidently robbed, by means of the pointed rod (and of which a blunt conductor would not have deprived it), the Author justly conceives, that a number of fuch conductors must confiderably leffen the quantity of electric fluid contained in any approaching cloud, before it comes so near as to deliver its contents in a general stroke.'

The last piece in this collection, is a paper under the modest title of Suppofitions and Conjectures towards forming an Hypothefis, for the Explanation of the Aurora Borealis.' Some idea of the Author's attempt to form an hypothefis on this fubject, may be collected from the following fhort sketch of it:

The air, heated between the tropics, and containing a great quantity of vapour, replete with electric matter, is rendered light, and accordingly rifes into the upper parts of the atmofphere; and after fpreading northwards and fouthwards, on the different fides of the equator, it finally defcends near the two poles: from whence an oppofite current of cool and dense air is, at the fame time, put in motion towards the equator, to

* Twelve were propofed on and near the magazines at Purfleet.

fupply