New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-10-21
HISTORY AND ROMANCE.
Mr.. PAUL LEICESTER FORD AS B1oGRA-
PIER AND NOVELIST
THE MANY SIDED FRANKLIN BY Paw
Ieicester Eord. IlMstratod. OClaNo. ~ ~

The existence Of Mr. Fishers well written
hook THE True benjamin Franklin. when
was published only a year ago, might seem Al
first blush to have rendered supernuous MT
Ford's minute study OF the great American
But the author Of The Many sided Franklin
knows his subject too wei. and has too sh''l"
a way Of writing about It. for US TO receive the
outcome Of his labors with anything hu' warm
appreciation. He gives a persuasive portrait ol
his famous original. RETAINING from her"
worship where the absence ~ il IS. Indeed III
perative II we 20 see Franklin as ne ie""E
was At the same time Il is made very plain in
this volume that II Franklin was sometimes d'S-
posed to NEEDLE with more things than he was
actually qualified "a master he remained Il
miracle Of common sense For the indiscrm-
nate laudation Of his wisdom which We SO often
encounter he was never himself to blame. II
he had any vanity at all IL ala not lie very deep
Dealing triumphanty with life at many points
he nevertheless was careful not to take himse"
TOO seriously. Dr Jones the physician who at
tended him in his last days. maintained iha'
"he fell sacrifice at last not to the stone but
70 his own theory. having caught the Nio'n'
cold which finally chokcd him. by sitting for
some hours at d window. with tho cold air blow
ing upon him" Yet from one end Of his book
Of Franklin's mind. his refusal 20 make feuch
OF any one ~ his theories
The charge Of Inconsistency could never have
meant ANYTHING to Franklin He had too vigor-
GUS an intellect and If ne was fond Of emnodY-
ing broad principles In dogmatic epigrams ne
was also wiling 10 test each matter that came
up for consideration 10y the circumstances re-
lated 10 H. He who takes wife. takes care
Is one Of the aphorisms in Poor Richards Al
manack" and we know with what candor ne
spoke Of the conventional epitaph. az the eX-
IRENE form 81 falsehood"; but there was no
cvnicism no dubiety. in his own attitude toward
family lie. Himself the very soul Of indepen-
dence Of prudence Of pracucalty. he yet bore
with good nature whatever contrary impulses
actuated his knsfolk. The author Of many
weighty and sententious observations on the
conduct Of life he was the kind Of man from
whom one would have expected a certain hard
ness: yet when his eldest sister in her eisht'eth
year. was very poor. and the family thought Of
selling her house and fine things" Franklin
wrote this considerate letter.
As having their own way is one Of the great
est comforts Of life TO old people. ! think heir
friends should endeavor TO accommodate them
IN that as well as in anything else. When they
have long lived in house IL becomes natural
70 them: they are almost as closely connected
with II as the tortoise with his shell. they die
II you tear them out of II, old folks ana Oh
trees II YOU remove them. X is ten TO one that
you kin them, 50 let our good old sister ne no
more importuned on that head. We are grow
ing old fast ourselves and shall expect the same
kind Of lndulgencrs' u We CIV" Wen' we s.'al
nave 'ISHl - 'V'r' ,f1 "'' ,l ~" h - a., trs
rieb, ,ot - sci Nom and for the reason she
gives that they viii fetch but little; when that
little is spent they would DE OF no iuilh'i use
%, t. "tt nDo aoa,n ma, ,~aka mai nerson
tender and careful of her and helpful 10 her to
the amount If ten times their value II So 'Nel
are put 10 the 'eS' USE 'l''H p''9'"'' '"'
II this is a humane letter. il is also an IN
tcnsely shrewc one. And that faculty which #
illustrates Of Judging each question on its merits
ho~l,t,,~ i...l. ,oToDtf.aiiN "a some