Red Wing sentinel. [volume] (Red Wing, M.T. [i.e. Minn.]) 1855-1861, 1860-08-22
RSACAULAY ON FRANKLIN.

! mACAtLAY ON FRANKLIN.
A better sketch Of our own immor.
tai Ben. Franklin than this, from the
gl.wing pen Of Macaulay, we do no,
remember to ha"sc seen or read. 1t
is richly worth the attention of every
reader in the land.
The new ambassador was BENJAMIN
,, Franklin, one of the foremost citizens
Of the older Republic of Science. lie
was Of an humble origin. Both in
Boston the place Of his birth, and in
Philadelphia the place of his adop-
tion he had worked as printer; nor
had he failed to derive great great
mental advantages fiom the art pre-.
scrvatiHc Of ali &1ts,7 and of which
the followers, like the ships that bear
spices and odors from the East re-
tain, something of those precious car.
goes which they are e&ployed to dis
tribute:
The clearness of his intellectual
perceptions was cqnalled by the clear.
ness ofhis moral perceptions. Under
the name of Poor Richard" he
spread abroad, through the humble
medium OF an almanac, system of
homely ethics in which the virtues of
industry, frugality and temperance are
extolled i'll ap''oriS,ns Of ingenious
terseness. Ills growin. fame soon OBJ
tanned for him others e>4 tr,1>t from the
colonies *s,tf ,hv Crown and when
partly owing t. criminal interference.
and partly to criminal neglect, diff.
cu!tirs arose between the colonies and
the crown, he c1crtcd himself, first to
prevent and next to remove such diff
ttrcsareS. Ess.t the hoisr for rcconcilia.
ton passed away. Ifc chen stoo1 III,
for war with the same courage with
which he ha+l stood e.et for peace.
Tic wa* one Of tie eossnittee shat
drafted! the "grea, Deetmration. lie
aas now sent to represent The good
cause at the Court of France and the
bar OF Europea" public opinion. An
extraordinary reception awaited him.
FL was j,ss'l !. ente widely known as
in eminent nhan Of science : anG rs
the Columbus of electrical discovery.
The French nation is fond, beyond all
other nations Of striking effects and
picturesque contrast, and nought could
be more striking or picturesque than
the spectacle now presented. a Qua
ker dipIomatist WAS to appear in the
most Artificial Of courts-a new Ar.
ehfsaiecs vas to como from the land
Of the Mohawk and the Natchez-a
Scion from a Republic Of yesterday
was to recall by his wisdom and ar
|pearance the sagcs of the ancient Re-
Publies. Naughty eourtiers bent with
emotion before him. Brilliant bean.
tics struggled for the privilege of a
kiss. Painters and sculptors spread
broad cast over the land their copies
of his august features. The academy
rang with applause when Turgot's
adalatory latin announced that the
distinguished guest had wrested ssthe
lightning from heaven and the scep-
tire FROM tyrants;' and, at a later day
a ship-of:war was fitted out at French
port, under the command of Paul Jones
bearing with pardonable inconsisten.
cy, the name Of Poor Richard.
The chief glory of Franklin is, that
he is the greatest ofthe pupils of Ba.
con; and be was indeed such a man
as Bacon would have delighted to
honor. To both master and pupil.
Philosophy was not the mystic divinity
Of Plato nor the impracticable vixen
of the schoolmen. But she was an
angel of bene6cence and minister of
mercy, an Elizabeth Fry or Florence
Nightingale. Her mission was to re.
lievc human suffering, and to advance
the good Of mans estate. OF these
principles, Franklin's long career
was a triumphant application. No
sooner had the electric spark slid
down the kite string than the lightning
rod was invented for its in1ocuons
descent The max;ma of nae- ID: