The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1898-12-01
FRANKLIN AND HIS SISTER.
There Was an Ardent Affection Eek
listing Between the
Two.

OF all his sisters, the youngest, Jane,
was, so Franklin told her, lever my pc
culiar favorite;" and he took pride in
the news that she had grown cele7
brated beauty" Evidently it was not
merely a fraternal view, for the girl
was married at Is, the brother writing
her, upon the event, that he had al
most determined" to send her "a tea
table, but when l considered the char
acter of a good housewife was far pref
cradle to that of being pretty gentle
woman, concluded to send you "a spin
ming wheel, which hope you will ac-
cept as small token of my sincere love
and affection" And in this monitory
strain the aged brother of 20 continued:
"Sister, farewell, and remember that
modesty as it makes the most homely
virtue amiable and charming, so the
want of it renders the most perfect
beauty disagreeable and odious. But
when that brightest of female virtues
shines among other projections of body
and mind in the same person, it makes
the woman more lovely than an angel.
Excuse this freedom, and use the same
with me. l am, dear Jenny, your low
ing brother"
A very large progeny resulted from
the marriage, in all of whom Franklin
took an interest. MY compliments :
my new niece, Miss Abiah, and pray her
to accept the inclosed piece of gold to
cut her teeth; it may afterwards buy
nuts for them to crack" he wrote OF
one arrival; and gave material help to
the children as they grew up, aiding
one to sell the soap he made; taking
second as an apprentice in his printing
office, and afterwards assisting in his
establishmentin that business; endeav-
oring to get government position tor
third; and, on the marriage of
fourth, send a gift of fifty pounds,
lawful money" to be laid out in fur
n:ture as my sister shall think proper.
From this niece he received an eX-
uberant acknowledgment, declaring
that:
MY Heart has ever been suscepti-
BILE of the warmest gratitude for your
frequent Benefactions to the whole
Family, but your last kind, unexpect-
ed, as well as undeserved, Noble pres
ents in particular to me, calls for
particular acknowledgment from me.
Except then, dearest sir, my most sin
cere and hearty Thanks, with prom
Use, that your Kindness shall ever be
gratefully remembered and your do
nation be made the best use Of"
Jane herself carried this admiration
even to the point of generations; yet
when absent from her brother she ex-
pressed her regret, having had time
to reflect and see my error, in that
l suffered my diflidence or the awe of
your superiority to prevent the famil-
iarity | might have taken with you,
and which your kindness to me might
have convinced me would be accepta
BILE" Her feeling was further shown
by her oft-repeated prayer that he
pardon my bad writing and confused
composure," which led the brother to
answer that you need not be afraid
in writing to me about your bad spell
ing; for, in my opinion, as our alpha
bet now stands, the bad spelling, or
what is called so, is generally
the best, as conforming to the
sound of the letters and of the
words" Her husbands death left her
a large family to rear, and but for
Benjamin's constant eking of her
means it would have Jared hard with
the widow. She told her brother that
lp,, Il 4
Bounty without witch must have been
distressed as much as many others"
and assured him that she could not
find suitable expression to acknowl-
edge my gratitude; how lam by my dear
brother enabled to live at ease in my
old age" my self and children have
always been a tax upon you" she
wrote to him, but your great and I'M
common goodness has carried you
cheerfully under it,
Jane and Benjamin outlive1 all their
brothers and sisters, and Franklin,
upon the death of one of the last, said
to her: "Of these thirteen there now
remain but three. AS our number d.
minishes, let our affection to each
other rather increase" In one of her
later letters the sister required to this.
writing: You once told me, my Dear
brother, that as our number of breth-
rem and sisters lcssened the affection
Of those Of us that remained should
increase TO each other. You and
are now left; my affection for you
has always been so great | see no
room for increase, and you have mani
tested yours for me in such large meas
ure that | have no reason to suspect
its strength" Jane Mecom alone of
Josiah Franklin's seventeen children
survived the famous son, and in his
will Franklin left to her "a house and
lot l have in Unity street, Boston"
gave her "the yearly sum of fifty
pounds sterling,' and left a small sum
of money TO her descendants.-Paul
Leicester Ford, in Century.
In fTI- UNuk