Evening journal., 1898-12-22
AND his SISTER.
There Was an Ardent Affection Ex-
listing Between the
Two.

/
OF all his sisters, the youngest, Jane,
was, so Franklin told her ever my Pc
culiar favorite;" and he took pride in
the news that she had grown a cele-
bratcd beauty" Evidently il was not
merely a fratsrnal 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 1 considered the char
acter Of good housewife was far pref
erable to that Of being pretty gentle
woman, concluded to send you 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 IL 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 perfections Of body
and mind in the same person. II makes
the woman more lovely than an angel.
/ Excuse this freedom, and use the same
with me. am, dear Jenny, your lev
ing brother"
very large progeny resulted from
The marriage, in all of whom Franklin
took an interest. "My compliments TO
my new niece, Miss Abiah, and pray her
to accept the inclosed piece of goldto
cut her teeth; Il may afterwards buy
nuts for them to crack" he wrote OF
one arrival; and gave material help TO
Tie children as they grew up, aiding
one to sell the soap he made; taking O
second as an apprentice in his printing
Office, and afterwards assisting In his
establishmentinth in that business; endeav-
oring to get government position for
third; and, on the marriage Of a
fourth, send 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:
"Mv 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 sim
cere and hearty Thanks, with prom
ise, that your Kindness shall ever be
gratefully remembered and your do
nation be made the best use OF"
e Jane herself carried this admiration
a even to the point of veneration; yet
2 when absent from her brother she ex-
pressed her regret, having had time
10 reflect and see my error, in that
I suffered my dihdence or the awe of
Sbur superiority to prevent the famil-
Z iarity L might have taken with YOU,
and which your kindness to me might
9 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
q answer that "you need not be afraid
4 | in writing TO me about your bad spell
ing; for, in my opinion, rs our alpha
bet now stands, The bad spelling, OF
what Is called so, is generally
the best, as conforming TO the
nl sound Of the letters and of the
If words" Her husbands death left her
S a large family to rear, and but for
Beniamin's constant eking OF heI
means il would have Jared hard with
the widow. She told her brother that
her happiness was derived from "yi
le Bounty without wich must have beer
II distressed as much as many others,
and assured him that she could not
find suitable expression to acknowl
'' edge my gratitude; howIam by my deal
brother enabled to live at ease in my
old nge." 'My self and children have
q always been tax upon you," she
~ wrote to him, "but your great and un
! common goodness has carried yo'
~ cheerfully under it,"
T. Jane and Benjamin outlivei all theii
II brothers and sisters, and Franklin
TX upon the death of one of the last, sale
IN TO her: "Of these thirteen there nov
Ia remain but three. AS our number di
,e minishes, let our affection to eacl
other rather increase" In one of he
later letters the sister recurred TO this
writing: "You once told me, my dea
brother, that as our number of bre IN
" rem and sisters lcssened the affection
~ Of those Of MS that remained shoul
an increase to each other. You and
- - are now left; my affection for yo
i has always been so great / see n
Al room for increase, and you have mani
,d Tested yours for me in such large meas
r. ure that / have no reason to suspec
,a its strength" Jane Mecom alone O
~ Josiah Franklin's seventeen childre
iv survived the famous son, and in hi
viii Franklin left 10 her "a house an
N lot I have in Unity street, Boston,
lie gave her "the yearly sum Of fit
pounds sterling" and left a small SUI
IN Of money to her descendants-Pat
re, Leicester Ford, in Century.