to 1757. He was urged by many friends after his return home in 1785 to go on and finish it to 1790. But he was ill, and crowded with work too much for his old age. He promised and promised, but failed to accomplish. He however revised, altered and amended what was already written and sent copies to Paris and to London, retaining the original draft, a good deal corrected. The 'mutilations' therefore were Dr Franklin's own revisions and amendments. He was anxious to improve it, and even asked his friend Benjamin Vaughan to look it over and suggest corrections, for he said, in his old age he had not confidence in his own judgment.

Temple Franklin in 1790 brought the original draft MS. of the Autobiography to London and soon after exchanged it for the revised copy, both belonging to himself, deposited with M. le Veillard. He unquestionably did right in printing from Franklin's own corrected copy instead of the autographic original draft. That his old friend might possess a substantial memorial of Franklin the grandson left the original draft with the Veillard family. The writer saw it in 1852 at Amiens in the possession of M. de Senarmont, a relative by marriage of M. le Veillard, who had been beheaded in 1794. He spent two days with that amiable gentleman and his family, and was permitted to collate the autograph draft with Temple Franklin's printed text of the autobiography. The manuscript was then the undivided property of three persons. They were all there, but on consultation were not willing to sell it unless they could obtain a sum worth dividing. A small price therefore was no temptation. They did not then care to dispose of the other autograph papers or the portrait by Duplesis. The writer left a standing offer of £200 for it, they wanting £600. As it was not an unpublished paper, the purchase was not completed, though considerable friendly correspondence followed. It is an important relic of the great American Statesman and Philosopher, but it would manifestly have been wrong under all the circumstances for Temple Franklin to print the original draft (though somewhat corrected) instead of the copy revised and corrected by the author. Franklin himself may have erred in judgment sometimes and chosen a secondary word, but in almost every instance the last construction of the sentence and the word substituted rest on good foundations. Temple Franklin therefore may be discharged as not guilty.

At all events it is now abundantly evident that the British Government never tampered with Mr Temple Franklin, that Temple Franklin never squeezed £7000, as was said, or any other sum, out of John Bull, for suppressing the manuscripts of Dr Franklin, or that he ever sold, lost or destroyed these historical papers, which now appear in this our collection, safe and well cared for, to speak for themselves, to the honour of Temple Franklin, and the glory of America and her favourite son. The truth is now manifest, that the British Government in 1793, or 1800 or 1806, or later, had nothing to fear from the disclosure of private matters or public interests by the publication of anything more from the pen of Dr Franklin, her old colonial sage, who had been in his grave since 1790. The whole mystery is now revealed and explained. William Temple Franklin was a slow coach, honest, earnest, proud of his charge, opinion. ated, laborious and fussy; but at the same time he was an unmethodical muddler, an incompetent editor, and uncommonly dilatory in his habits. He had been an industrious and trusted assistant under his grandfather, but for

himself he was not born to finish anything. Mr Colburn, his publisher, was for years finding this out, but when at last he saw how matters stood he delicately prevailed upon the thin-skinned editor to employ a clerk to aid him in the fag of his editorial work. Young Franklin consented and Mr Colburn provided him with an assistant, who was ostensibly to be a mere clerk, but who was in reality a competent editor.

Under this arrangement matters advanced more regularly and rapidly, so that by the year 1818, when the work had been in hand more than a quarter of a century two editions were issued, the one in 6 volumes in octavo, and the other, with same contents, in 3 volumes in quarto. The materials were so abundant, and Franklin was so conservative against cutting down or leaving out anything, that Mr Colburn and the clerk had to employ all their dexterity to omit judiciously and abridge with discretion, at the same time making the editor believe that Hercules was performing his own labours. But a still greater difficulty arose. Temple Franklin, having little experience of editorial work, and having for many years been the confidential assistant and private secretary of his grandfather, felt that as the manuscripts had been left to him, and he himself had been magna pars in all his grandfather's public and private affairs, he had a right to alter, cut about, re-arrange, enlarge or abridge the papers as he thought needful for publication. But he did this with no dishonest purpose. Some curious and many strange instances of this literary gerrymandering appear still in the original manuscripts; and many more will be developed by comparing the original MSS with the printed copy, the alterations being made with scissors or pins, but without destroying anything. Though the original manuscripts were cut about and pasted into long slips for the printer, they have been carefully and with great expense soaked apart and rearranged in their proper places, little the worse for their adventures. From the outset Mr Colburn was unwilling to venture beyond an octavo edition of six volumes. This led to much discussion until Temple Franklin consented to consider these six volumes as a first instalment or half of the work, the other half to be put to the press if the success of the sale warranted. It was thus that the first half of Temple Franklin's important edition of Dr Franklin's Life and Works first saw the light, not from any impediment on the part of the British Government. The delay arose simply out of the inexperience, incompetence and procrastination of the editor and proprietor, in addition to the difficulties he had to encounter in those momentous war times to find a disinterested publisher who could afford to undertake so large a work in the face of the innumerable minor editions already before the public. The second half never appeared, and outsiders never knew how imperfect the work was, or what was left behind for posterity to develope.

Mr William Temple Franklin died in Paris in 1823, and the same year the Papers, edited and inedited, became buried in complete obscurity. To all subsequent writers from Sparks to Bigelow, they have still been lost. Temple Franklin's authoritative edition has always been considered the standard as far as it went, but no one has ever accounted for its meagreness and shortcomings except by accusing the editor of dishonourable connivance with the British Government in suppressing the cream of the papers. No doubt it was the editor's intention had he lived to bring out the rest of the previously printed

miscellaneous and scientific works, together with the better and later half of the correspondence and diplomatic achievements of that nine years in France, the crowning glory of his grandfather's career, which added the key-stone to the fabric of the Western Republic. Temple Franklin's experience with the 'trade' of London since 1790 had cautioned him not to show his hand, or permit editors or publishers to examine or learn what more papers that old family iron-bound chest contained. He knew well that his grandfather never looked after his writings, and took no stock in the copyrights of his numerous mental offspring. So in 1818, when his first series was published, he again locked the old chest in the vaults of his bankers, where the papers had been deposited for safety well nigh a quarter of a century, and went off to France, awaiting the progress of his venture in the hands of Mr Colburn.

In Paris Temple Franklin lived, married, and after a short time died. Mrs Franklin, as his executrix, administered on his estate, took possession of what property there was, and on the 27th of September, 1823, removed the precious deposits from the bankers. And this was all that Temple Franklin, in conspiracy with the ever abused British Government, did towards 'suppressing' his grandfather's writings. Man proposes, God disposes. Nearly a century has passed since Franklin died. His enemies and envious rivals have done their best to stifle his merits. The Centennial has passed, and even yet editors and collectors, regardless of copyright and the unused material that lie 'latent' still continue to prate of William Temple Franklin mutilating his grandfather's Autobiography' and selling his patrimony to Mr Bull! It is now the old philosopher's turn. The lightning rods that he put in pickle a hundred years ago are abundantly sufficient to protect himself and his grandson now and hereafter. Here is one of them, given as a sample, to show how the old man of fourscore could considerately apply the beach seal' to an indiscreet youngster. Beginning at six o'clock in the morning the doctor wrote four letters to Mr William Jackson the same day on the same subject and to the same purport. Temple Franklin, and after him Mr Sparks, have given us the first three, but this fourth good letter has been kept until now. This, with hundreds of other papers, were, we think, wisely withheld for Mr Colburn's second Series of six volumes, The letter will explain itself.

"Passy, July 10, 1781.

Sir,-Last night I received your fourth letter on the same subject. You are anxious to carry the money with you, because it will reanimate the credit of America. My situation, and long acquaintance with affairs relating to the public credit, enable me, I think, to judge better than you can do, who are a novice in them, what employment of it will most conduce to that end; and I imagine the retaining it to pay the Congress drafts has infinitely the advantage. You repeat that the ship is detained by my refusal. You forget your having written to me expressly, that she waited for my convoy. You remind me of the great expense the detention of the ship occasions. Who has given orders to stop her? It was not me. I had no authority to do it. Have you? And do you imagine, if you have taken such authority upon you, that the Congress ought to bear the expense occasioned by your imprudence? and that the blame of detaining the necessary stores the ship contains will be excused by your fond desire of carrying the money? The noise you have rashly made about this matter, contrary to the advice of Mr Adams, which you asked and received, and which was to comply with my requisition, has already done great

mischief to our credit in Holland. Messrs Fizeaux have declared they will advance to him no more money on his bills upon me to assist in paying the Congress drafts on him. Your commodore, too, complains in a letter I have seen, that he finds it difficult to get money for my acceptances of your drafts in order to clear his ship, though before this proceeding of yours, bills on me were, as Mr Adams assures me, in as good credit on the Exchange of Amsterdam as those of any banker in Europe. I suppose the difficulty mentioned by the commodore is the true reason of the ship's stay, if in fact the convoy is gone without her. Credit is a delicate thing, capable of being blasted with a breath. The public talk you have occasioned about my stopping the money, and the conjectures of the reasons or necessity of doing it, have created doubts and suspicions of most pernicious consequences. It is a matter that should have passed in silence. You repeat as a reason for your conduct, that the money was obtained by the great exertions of Colonel Laurens. Who obtained the grant is a matter of no importance, though the use I propose to make of it is of the greatest. But the fact is not as you state it. I obtained it before he came. And if he were here I am sure I could convince him of the necessity of leaving it, especially after I should have informed him that you had made in Holland the enormous purchase of £40,000 sterling's worth of goods over and above the £10,000 worth, which I had agreed should be purchased by him on my credit; and that you had induced me to engage for the payment of your purchase by showing me a paper said to contain his order for making it, which I then took to be his handwriting, though I afterwards found it to be yours, and not signed by him. It would be additional reason with him when I should remind him that he himself, to induce me to come into the proposal of Commodore Guillon and the rest of the Holland transaction, to which I was averse, assured me he had mentioned it to the Minister, and that it was approved of. That on the contrary I find the Minister remembers nothing of it, very much dislikes it and absolutely refuses to furnish any money to discharge that amount. You finish your letter by telling me that the daily enhancement of expense to the United States from these difficulties is worthy the attention of those whose duty it is to economise the public money, and to whom the commonweal is entrusted without deranging the special department of another.' The ship's lying there with 500 or 600 men on board is undoubtedly a great daily expense, but it is you that occasion it; and the superior airs you give yourself, young gentleman, of reproof to me, and reminding me of my duty, do not become you, whose special department and employ in public affairs, of which you are so vain, is but of yesterday, and would never have existed but by my concurrence, and would have ended in disgrace if I had not supported your enormous purchases by accepting your drafts. The charging me with want of economy is particularly improper in you, when the only instance you know of it is my having indiscreetly complied with your demand in advancing you 120 louis for the expense of your journeys to Paris, and when the only instance I know of your economizing money is your sending me three expresses one after another on the same day all the way from Holland to Paris, each with a letter saying the same thing to the same purpose. This dispute is as useless as it is unpleasant. It can only create ill blood. Pray let us end it. I have the honour to be, &c. &c. Benj. Franklin."

We have intimated above that Temple Franklin sometimes omitted important words and even sentences. Here is a case in point, where for some insufficient reason he printed a letter of his grandfather to Mr William Carmichael, dated 12th April, 1781, giving 'threees' in the places of 'three names'. This was not fair, because it might throw suspicion on the wrong persons. Mr Sparks and Mr Bigelow were not able to fill up the chasms. A reference to the original manuscript supplies the names which are here printed in italics, thus removing suspicion from all others.

"I thank you much for your friendly

hints of the operations of my enemies, and of the means I might use to defeat them. Having in view at present no other point to gain but that of rest, I do not take their malice so much amiss, as it may further my project, and perhaps be some advantage to you. Lee and Izard are open, and so far honourable enemies; the Adamses, if enemies, are more covered. I never did any of them the least injury, and can conceive no other source of their malice but envy. To be sure the excessive respect shown me here by all ranks of people, and the little notice taken of them, was a mortifying circumstance; but it was what I could neither prevent nor remedy. Those who feel pain at seeing others enjoy pleasure, and are unhappy, must meet daily with so many causes of torment, that I conceive them to be already in a state of damnation; and, on that account, I ought to drop all resentment with regard to those two gentlemen. But I cannot help being concerned at the mischief their ill tempers will be continually doing in our public affairs, whenever they have any concern in them."

The following unpublished letter of Franklin to Vergennes shows how adroitly the old and trusted philosopher could extricate the Congress and himself from an awkward position into which one of his colleagues had contrived to place them with the Court of France. Most of the correspondence was published by Temple Franklin, but this, the real key to the mystery, was wisely reserved by him and his publisher to help sweeten up their proposed Second Series:-

"Passy, August 3, 1780. "Sir,-It was, indeed, with very great pleasure that I received the letter your Excellency did me the honour of writing to me, communicating that of the President of Congress, and the resolutions of that body relative to the succours then expected: for the sentiments therein expressed are so different from the language held by Mr. Adams in his late letters to your Excellency, as to make it clear that it was from his particular indiscretion alone, and not from any instructions received by him, that he has given such just cause of displeasure, and that it is impossible his conduct therein should be approved by his constituents. I am glad he has not admitted me to any participation of those writings, and that he has taken the resolution he expresses of not communicating with me, or making use of my intervention in his future correspondence; a resolution that I believe he will keep, as he has never yet communicated to me more of his business in Europe than I have seen in newspapers. I live upon terms of civility with him, not of intimacy. I shall, as you desire, lay before Congress the whole correspondence which you have sent me for that purpose. With the greatest and most sincere respect, I am sir, yours, &c. &c. B. Franklin."

Mr Sparks, aware from Franklin's will and many other sources, that the papers had been brought to London by the grandson, sought earnestly for them when he was in England, about 1834, while editing his 10 vol. edition, but he found little to fill up or correct in Temple Franklin's six volumes, and nothing whatever of the papers intended for the second series of six volumes. Mr Sparks returned believing them irrecoverably lost. He had no suspicion that they had been put aside for a second series.

In the preface to 'Franklin's Familiar Letters' Mr Sparks had previously written in 1833: "Few eminent men have been so unfortunate, in respect to the publications of their writings as Franklin. No edition of his works, nor of any part of them, except his early philosophical essays, was ever prepared by himself, or published under his own inspection. His letters and papers made their appearance from time to time, either as forced out by the interested motives of booksellers, or the importunity of friends. The papers left by him to his grandson were kept back from the public for more than twenty years