Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1880-08-26
Franklin as "A Writer.


His pen was as ready as his purse In the ser
vice OF ali human kindiinesS. And what pen
IL was! 1t could discourse metaphysics so
Clearly and lucidly as TO make them seem plain
by mere query. Ii could make simple tale
read like subtle argument He could be grave
and be could be gay In breath. lie could
spend as much Wit and humor on Craven
Street Gazette'-which was meant only 10
amuse an Old landlady away from home, and
PROBABLY fearful that the world or the Strand
would be out OF joint before her return from
Rochester-as on state paper designed TO fire
America and sting England In another tone
be translates Into human language. for the
amusement OF a court lady, the reflections, in
ephemera, 1ull seven hours old on the van
ity Of all Thugs. HIS Petition OF the Lett
Hard" might have been composed by Ad-
olson. In 1t the left hand bewails the
parliality which educates the right hand
exclusively. some OF Franklin's fables
aud tales have been so absorbed Into the thought
OF the weird that their source is absolutely Tor
gotten. only La this way can we account for
what was doubtless an unconscious plagiarism
by an eminent sanitary authority last year OF
Lranklln'S '.Econom!ca! Project for Diminishing
the Cost OF Light" The economy consisted
simply in rising at O'Clock instead Of 9 or 10
Wakefu Partisan Is represented as having
discovered to his great astonishment, that the
sun actually began TO shine at that hour. lie
calculated the saving to Paris In candle-light
should the city take advantage OF the fact az
81 million francs. But the philosophers OF the
common notoriety that there could have been no
light abroad at O'clock and therefore none could
lave entered from without. Their explanation
Was that the windows, being accidentally left
Cpen instead or letting In the light had only
served to let out the darkness" No enc who lis
tened last autumn to reproduction OF this
bright little satire appears to have suspects its
originality. That is a tribute to Its modern air.
But, In truth. Ideas such as Franklin's never be-
come superannuated. Again, not every one who
uses the expression, 80 pay dear for ones
" yy-aS
purchase made By Franklin. when seven years
old, with pocketfui OF pence Franklin's store
was too ahundan, for him TO mind, though some
OF his fame went astray. "You know. he tells
his daughter everything makes me recoilect
some story But II was not recollection so
much as fancy. His fancy clothed every idea In
served its turn, he was Indifferent what became
OF Ii. II he cared at all, 1t was that, when bor-
tu"td 10y newspaper or magazine, IL should
Rave It's proper allowance OF long tailed SIS and
italics, and capitals TO the Substantives. With
his Old printers preJudiceS, he could not under
staLd The modern ''fondness for an even and
uniform appearance OF characters In the line"
lie was less delighted at the complimentary
oeDsGre OF Lord Mansfield upon his witty
aLd bitter "Edict Of the king or Pru3.
han tndigrant TIT that te the ChToacIeH snoRid
have stripped II OF all the capitals and italics
lat Intimate the illusions and mark the
EMPHASIS OF written dlsc curse TO bring
thought Sucn appeals 10 the eye help TO raise
writer 10 the level or speaker. who has at his
command both accent and gesture to point his
periods. Franklin did liz Justice to himself when
he fancied he wanted any such mechanical aids
His English had been learned from the "Pi-
grfms Progress" and the spectator" 1t had
the force OF Bunyan without his ruggedneSS IL
had the serene light OF Addison with tenrold his
racineSs and vigor. Ii Sparkled with Sarcasms
as cutting as foltatre's, but all sweetened with
humanity. II a David Hume might condemn
here and there Sprinkling OF such words as
''pejcrate." Il WAS not from poverty but from
eNuberance OF diction that Franklin had eX-
posed his vocabulary to criticism. Many OF his
inventions or adaptationS-Such as ''colonIZe'-
have been stamped long since as current Eng
lish. But he did not covet the fame OF an In
Ventor, whether In language In morals or IN
politics. In language he was even declared a
foe TO innovation. Writing TO Noah Webster In
l.Ss, he protests against the new verbs no
tice." advocate and progress" He had as
little ambition TO be classic as to be an inno-
vator In English. He wrote because he had
something at the moment TO say, with view
10 procuring that something should at the
moment he done.