by Congress; and yesterday I received a high additional pleasure, by being informed that the National Assembly of France had determined to go into mourning for him. -What a glorious scene is opened there! The annals of the world furnish no parallel to it. One of the ho- humble servant, RICHARD PRICE." CONTENTS, LIFE OF DOCTOR BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, &c. MY DEAR SON, I HAVE amused myself with collecting fome little anecdotes of my family. You may remember the enquiries I made, when you were with me in England, among fuch of my relations as were then living; and the journey I undertook for that purpose. To be acquainted with the particulars of my parentage and life, many of which are unknown to you, I flatter myself, will afford the fame pleasure to you as to me. I shall relate them upon paper: it will be an agreeable employment of a week's uninterrupted leifure, which I promise myself during my present retirement in the country. There are alfo other motives which induce me to the undertaking. From the bosom of poverty and obscurity, in which I drew my first breath and spent my earliest years, I have raised myself to a state of opulence and to fome degree of celebrity in the B P 1 the world. A constant good fortune has attended me through every period of life to my present advanced age; and my descendants may be defirous of learning what were the means of which I made use, and which, thanks to the assisting hand of Providence, have proved so eminently successful. They may also, should they ever be placed in a fimilar situation, derive fome advantage from my narrative. When I reflect, as I frequently do, upon the felicity I have enjoyed, I sometimes say to myself, that, were the offer made me, I would engage to run again, from beginning to end, the fame career of life. All I would ask should be the privilege of an author, to correct, in a second edition, certain errors of the first. I could wish, likewife, if it were in my power, to change fome trivial incidents and events for others more favourable. Were this however denied me, still would I not decline the offer. But since a repetition of life cannot take place, there is nothing which, in my opinion, so nearly resembles it, as to call to mind all its circumstances, and, to render their remembrance more durable, commit them to writing. By thus employing myself, I shall yield to the inclination, so natural in old men, to talk of themselves and their exploits, and may freely follow my bent, without being tiresome to those who, from respect to my age, might think themselves obliged to listen to me; as they will be at liberty to read me or not as they please. In fine-and I may as well avow it, fince nobody would believe me were I to deny itshall perhaps, by this employment, gratify my vanity. Scarcely indeed have I ever heard or read the introductory phrafe, " I may say without vanity," but fome striking and characteristic instance of vanity has immediately followed. Tης generality |