In the Days of Poor Richard

  3

  "I am like the land of Goshen amid the plagues of Egypt," saidFranklin, when the young man was admitted to his office. "My gout isgone and I am in good spirits in spite of your adventure."

  "And I suppose you will scold me for the adventure."

  "You will scold yourself when the consequences have arrived. They willbe sure to give you a spanking. The deed is done, and well done. Onthe whole I think it has been good for the cause, but bad for you."

  "Why?"

  "You may have to run out of England to save your neck and the face ofthe King. He was there, I believe?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "The injured lad is in a bad way. The wound caught an infection.Intense fever and swelling have set in. I helped Sir John Pringle toamputate the arm this afternoon, but even that may not save thepatient. Here is a storm to warn the wandering linnet to his shade. Aship goes to-morrow evening. Get ready to take it. In that case yourmarriage will have to be delayed. Rash men are often compelled to liveon hope and die fasting."

  "With Sir Benjamin, the duel has been a help instead of a hindrance,"said the young man. "My stubborn soul has been the great obstacle."

  Then he told of his interview with Sir Benjamin Hare.

  Franklin put his hand on Jack's shoulder and said with a smile:

  "My son, I love you. I could wish you to be no different. Cheer up.Time will lay the dust, and perhaps sooner than you think."

  "I hope to see Margaret to-morrow morning."

  "Ah, then, 'what Grecian arts of soft persuasion!'" Franklin quoted."I hope that she, too, will follow the great star in the west!"

  "I hope so, but I greatly fear that our meeting will be prevented."

  "Did you get my note of to-day at your lodgings?" Franklin asked.

  "No," said Jack. "I left there soon after ten."

  "Lord Chatham has kindly offered to secure admission for you and me tothe House of Lords. He is making an important motion. Come, let us goand see the hereditary legislators."

  Lord Stanhope met them at the door of the House of Lords. There was agreat bustle among the officers when His Lordship announced their namesand his desire to have them admitted. The officers hurried in aftermembers and there was some delay, in the course of which the Americanswere turned from the division reserved for eldest sons and brothers ofpeers. Not less than ten minutes were consumed in the process ofseating Franklin and his friend.

  Soon Lord Chatham arose and moved that His Majesty's forces bewithdrawn from Boston. With a singular charm of personality andaddress, the great dissenter made his speech. Jack wrote in his diarythat evening: "The most captivating figure that ever I saw is awell-bred Englishman trained in the art of public speaking." The wordswere no doubt inspired by the impressive speech of Chatham, which isnow an imperishable part of the history of England. These words fromit the young man remembered:

  "If the ministers thus persevere in misleading and misadvising theKing, I will not say that they can alienate the affection of hissubjects from his crown, but I will affirm that they will make hiscrown not worth his wearing; I will not say that the King is betrayed,but I will say that the kingdom is undone."

  Lord Sandwich in a petulant speech declared that the motion ought notto be received. He could never believe it the production of a Britishpeer. Turning toward Franklin, he flung out:

  "I fancy that I have in my eye the person who drew it up--one of thebitterest and most mischievous enemies this country has ever known."

  "Franklin sat immovable and without the slightest change in hiscountenance," Jack wrote in a letter to _The Pennsylvania Gazette_.

  Chatham declared that the motion was his own, and added:

  "If I were the first minister of this country, charged with thesettling of its momentous business, I should not be ashamed to call tomy assistance a man so perfectly acquainted with all American affairs,as the gentleman so injuriously referred to--one whom all Europe holdsin high estimation for his knowledge and wisdom, which are an honor,not only to England, but to human nature."

  "Franklin told me that this was harder for him to bear than the abuse,but he kept his countenance as blank as a sheet of white paper," Jackwrote. "There was much vehement declamation against the measure and itwas rejected.

  "When we had left the chamber, Franklin said to me:

  "'That motion was made by the first statesman of the age, who took thehelm of state when the latter was in the depths of despondency and ledit to glorious victory through a war with two of the mightiest kingdomsin Europe. Only a few of those men had the slightest understanding ofits merits. Yet they would not even consider it in a second reading.They are satisfied with their ignorance. They have nothing to learn.Hereditary legislators! There would be more propriety in hereditaryprofessors of mathematics! Heredity is a great success with only onekind of creature.'

  "'What creature?' I asked.

  "'The ass,' he answered, with as serious a countenance as I have seenhim wear.

  "No further word was spoken as we rode back to his home," the young manwrote. "We knew the die had been cast. We had seen it fall carelesslyout of the hand of Ignorance, obeying intellects swelled withhereditary passion and conceit. I now had something to say to mycountrymen."