In the Days of Poor Richard
CHAPTER VII
THE DAWN
The young man was elated by the look and sentiments which had gone withthe parting cup at Sir Benjamin's. But Franklin, whom he saw the nextday, liked not the attitude of the Baronet.
"He is one of the King's men on the Big chess board," said the oldphilosopher. "All that he said to you has the sound of strategy. Ihave reason to believe that they are trying to tow us into port andMargaret is only one of many ropes. Hare's attitude is not that of anhonest man."
"Is it not true that every one who touches the King gets some of thattar on him?" Jack queried.
"It would seem so and yet we must be fair to him. We are not to thinkthat the King is the only black pot on the fire. He is probably thebest of kings but I can not think of one king who would be respectablein Boston or Philadelphia. Their expenses have been great, their taxesrobbery, so they have had to study the magic arts of seeming to be justand righteous. They have been a lot of conjurers trained to createillusions."
"I suppose that Britain is no worse than other kingdoms," said theyoung man.
"On the whole she is the best of them. Under the surface here I findthe love of liberty and all good things. Chatham, Burke and Fox aretheir voices. We are not to wonder that Lord North puts a price onevery man. His is the soul of a past in which most men have had theirprice. It was the old way of removing difficulties in the managementof a state. It succeeded. A new day is at hand. Its forerunners arehere. He has not seen the signs in the sky or heard the cocks crowing.He is still asleep. I know many men in England whom he could not buy."
Only three days before the philosopher had had a talk with North at theurgent request of Howe, who, to his credit, was eager forreconciliation. The King's friend and minister was contemptuous.
"I am quite indifferent to war," he had cynically declared at last."The confiscations it would produce will provide for many of ourfriends."
It was an astonishing bit of frankness.
"I take this opportunity of assuring Your Lordship that for all theproperty you seize or destroy in America, you will pay to the lastfarthing," said Franklin.
This treatment was like that he had received from other members of thegovernment since the unfortunate publication of the Hutchinson, Rogersand Oliver letters. They seemed to entertain the notion that he hadforfeited the respect due a gentleman.
A few days after Franklin had given air to his suspicion that thegovernment party would try to tow him into port three stout Britishships had broken their cables on him. An invitation not likely to bereceived by one who had really forfeited the respect of gentlemen wasin his hands. The shrewd philosopher did not think twice about it. Heknew that here was the first step in a change of tactics. He could notproperly decline to accept it and so he went to dine and spend thenight with a most distinguished company at the country seat of LordHowe.
On his return he told his young friend of the portal and lodge in agreat triumphal arch marking the entrance to the estate of HisLordship; of the mile long road to the big house straight as a gunbarrel and smooth as a carpet; of the immense single oaks; of theartificial stream circling the front of the house and the beautifulbridge leading to its entrance; of the double flight of steps under thegrand portico; of the great hall with its ceiling forty feet high,supported by fluted Corinthian columns of red-veined alabaster; of therare old tapestries on a golden background in the saloon; of theimmense corridors connecting the wings of the structure. The dinnerand its guests and its setting were calculated to impress the son ofthe Boston soap boiler who represented the important colonies inAmerica.
Some of the best people were there--Lord and Lady Cathcart, Lord andLady Hyde, Lord and Lady Dartmouth. Sir William Erskine, Sir HenryClinton, Sir James Baird, Sir Benjamin Hare and their ladies were alsopresent. Doctor Franklin said that the punch was calculated to promotecheerfulness and high sentiment. As was the custom at like functions,the ladies sat together at one end of the table. Franklin being seatedat the right of Lady Howe, who was most gracious and entertaining. Thefirst toast was to the venerable philosopher.
"My Ladies, Lords and gentlemen," said the host, "we must look to ourconduct in the presence of one who talked with Sir William Wyndham andwas a visitor in the house of Sir Hans Sloane before we were born;whose tireless intellect has been a confidant of Nature, a playmate ofthe Lightning and an inventor of ingenious and useful things; whosewisdom has given to Philadelphia a public library, a work house, goodpaving, excellent schools, a protection against fire as efficient asany in the world and the best newspaper in the colonies. Good healthand long life to him and may his love of the old sod increase with hisyears."
The toast was drunk with expressions of approval, and Franklin onlyarose and bowed and briefly spoke his acknowledgments in a singlesentence, and then added:
"Lord Howe can assure you that public men receive more praise and moreblame than they really merit. I have heard much said for and againstBenjamin Franklin, but there could be no better testimony in his favorthan the good opinion of Lord Howe, for which I can never cease to begrateful. For years I have been weighing the evidence, and my verdictis that Franklin has meant well."
He said to Jack that he felt the need of being "as discreet as atombstone."
A member of that party has told in his memoirs how he kept the ladieslaughing with his merry jests.
"I see by _The Observer_ they are going to open cod and whale fisheriesin the great lakes of the Northwest," Lady Howe said to him.
He answered very gently: "Your Ladyship, has it never occurred to youthat it would be a sublime spectacle to stand at the foot of the greatfalls of Niagara and see the whales leaping over them?"
"What do you regard as your most important discovery?" one of theladies inquired.
"Well, first, I naturally think of the hospitality of this house andthe beauty and charm of the Lady Howe and her friends," Franklinanswered with characteristic diplomacy. "Then there is this wine," headded, lifting his glass. "Its importance is as great as its age andthis is old enough to command even my veneration. It reminds me ofanother discovery of mine: the value of the human elbow. I was tellingthe King's physician of that this morning and it seemed to amuse him.But for the human elbow every person would need a neck longer than thatof a goose to do his eating and drinking."
"I had never thought of that," Lady Howe laughingly answered. "Itsurely does have some effect on one's manners."
"And his personal appearance and the cost of his neckwear," saidFranklin. "Here is another discovery."
He took a leathern case from his pocket and removed from it a sealedglass tube half full of a colorless liquid.
"Kindly hold that in your hand and see what happens," he said to LadyHowe. "It contains plain water."
In half a moment the water began to boil.
"It shows how easily water boils in a vacuum," said Franklin as theladies were amusing themselves with this odd toy. "It enables us tounderstand why a little heat produces great agitation in certainintellects," he added.
"Doctor, we are neglecting politics," said Lord Hyde. "You lay muchstress upon thrift. Do you not agree with me that a man who has notthe judgment to practise thrift and acquire property has not thejudgment to vote?"
"Property is all right, but let's make it stay in its own stall," saidFranklin. "It should never be a qualification of the voter, because itwould lead us up to this dilemma: if I have a jackass I can vote. Ifthe jackass dies I can not vote. Therefore, my vote would representthe jackass and not me."
The dinner over, Lady Howe conducted Doctor Franklin to the library,where she asked him to sit down. There were no other persons in theroom. She sat near him and began to speak of the misfortunes of thecolony of Massachusetts Bay.
"Your Ladyship, we are all alike," he answered. "I have never seen aman who could not bear the misfortunes of another like a Christian.The trouble is our ministers find it too easy to bear them."
"I
wish you would speak with Lord Howe frankly of these troubles. Heis just by. Will you give me leave to send for him?"
"By all means, madame, if you think best." Lord Howe joined them in amoment. He was most polite.
"I am sensible of the fact that you have been mistreated by theministry," he said. "I have not approved of their conduct. I amunconnected with those men save through personal friendships. My zealfor the public welfare is my only excuse for asking you to open yourmind."
Lady Howe arose and offered to withdraw.
"Your Ladyship, why not honor us with your presence?" Franklin asked."For my part I can see no reason for making a secret of a business ofthis nature. As to His Lordship's mention of my mistreatment, thatdone my country is so much greater I dismiss all thought of the other.From the King's speech I judge that no accommodation can be expected."
"The plan is now to send a commission to the colonies, as you haveurged," said His Lordship.
Then said Lady Howe: "I wish, my brother Franklin, that you were to besent thither. I should like that much better than General Howe's goingto command the army there."
A rather tense moment followed. Franklin broke its silence by sayingin a gentle tone:
"I think, madame, they should provide the General with more honorableemployment. I beg that your Ladyship will not misjudge me. I am notcapable of taking an office from this government while it is actingwith so much hostility toward my country."
"The ministers have the opinion that you can compose the situation ifyou will," Lord Howe declared. "Many of us have unbounded faith inyour ability. I would not think of trying to influence your judgmentby a selfish motive, but certainly you may, with reason, expect anyreward which it is in the power of the government to bestow."
Then came an answer which should live in history, as one of the greatcredits of human nature, and all men, especially those of Englishblood, should feel a certain pride in it. The answer was:
"Your Lordship, I am not looking for rewards, but only for justice."
"Let us try to agree as to what is the justice of the matter," Howeanswered. "Will you not draft a plan on which you would be willing tocooperate?"
"That I will be glad to do."
Persisting in his misjudgment, Howe suggested:
"As you have friends here and constituents in America to keep wellwith, perhaps it would better not be in your handwriting. Send it toLady Howe and she will copy it and return the original."
Then said the sturdy old Yankee: "I desire, my friends, that thereshall be no secrecy about it."
Lord and Lady Howe showed signs of great disappointment as he bade themgood night and begged to be sent to his room.
"I am growing old, and have to ask for like indulgence from everyhostess," he pleaded.
Howe was not willing to leave a stone unturned. He could not dismissthe notion from his mind that the purchase could be effected if the bidwere raised. He drew the Doctor aside and said:
"We do not expect your assistance without proper consideration. Ishall insist upon generous and ample appointments for the men you takewith you and especially for you as well as a firm promise of_subsequent rewards_."
What crown had he in mind for the white and venerable brow of the manwho stood before him? Beneath that brow was a new type of statesman,born of the hardships and perils and high faith of a new world, andthen and there as these two faced each other--the soul of the past andthe soul of the future--a moment was come than which there had been nogreater in human history. In America, France and England the cocks hadbeen crowing and now the first light of the dawn of a new day fell uponthe figure of the man who in honor and understanding towered above hisfellows. Now, for a moment, on the character of this man theunfathomable plan of God for future ages would seem to have beenresting.
In his sixty-eight years he had discovered, among other things, thevanity of wealth and splendor. It was no more to him than the idlewind. These are his exact words as he stood with a gentle smile on hisface: "If you wish to use me, give me the propositions and dismiss allthought of rewards from your mind. They would destroy the influenceyou propose to use."
Howe, a good man as men went those days, had got beyond his depth. Hisphilosophy comprehended no such mystery. What manner of man was thisson of a soap boiler who had smiled and shaken his white head andspoken like a kindly father to the folly of a child when these offersof wealth and honor and power had been made to him? Did he notunderstand that it was really the King who had spoken?
The old gentleman climbed the great staircase and went to his chamber,while Lord Howe was, no doubt, communicating the result of hisinterview to his other guests. There were those among them who freelypredicted that war was inevitable.
In the morning at eight o'clock Franklin rode into town with Lord Howe.They discussed the motion of the Prime Minister under the terms ofwhich the colonies were to pay money into the British Treasury untilparliament should decide they had paid enough.
"It is impossible," said Franklin. "No chance is offered us to judgethe propriety of the measure or our ability to pay. These grants aredemanded under a claimed right to tax us at pleasure and compelpayments by armed force. Your Lordship, it is like the proposition ofa highwayman who presents a pistol at the window of your coach anddemands enough to satisfy his greed--no specific sum being named--orthere is the pistol."
"You are a most remarkable man, but you do not understand thegovernment," said His Lordship. "You will not let yourself see theother side of the proposition. You are highly esteemed in America andif you could but see the justice of our claim you would be as highlyesteemed here and honored and rewarded far beyond any expectation youare likely to have."
"If any one supposes that I could prevail upon my countrymen to takeblack for white or wrong for right, he does not know them or me," saidFranklin. "My people are incapable of being so imposed upon and I amincapable of attempting it."
Next evening came the good Doctor Barclay, a friend of Franklin, and anoted philanthropist. They played chess together, and after the game,while they were draining glasses of Madeira, the philanthropist said:
"Here's to peace and good will between England and her colonies. Theprosperity of both depends upon it."
They drank the toast and then Barclay proposed:
"Let us use our efforts to that end. Power is a great thing to haveand the noblest gift a government can bestow is within your reach."
"Barclay, this is what I would call spitting in the soup," saidFranklin. "It's excellent soup, too. I am sure the ministry wouldrather give me a seat in a cart to Tyburn than any other placewhatever. I would despise myself if I needed an inducement to serve agreat cause."
The philanthropist entered upon a wearisome argument, which lasted fornearly an hour.
"Barclay, your opinions on this problem remind me of the iron money ofLycurgus," observed Franklin.
The philanthropist desired to know why.
"Because of their bulk. A cart load of them is not worth a shilling."
In all parts of Britain those days one heard much ridicule of the NewEngland home and conscience. Now the ministry and its friends hadbegun to butt their heads against the immovable wall of character whichhad grown out of them and of which Lord Chatham had said:
"It has made certain of our able men look like school boys."