The Coolidge examiner., 1933-06-23
CHAPTER <
The Birth of a Giant.


to Philadelphia with messages to
congress and a letter 10 Mrs. Adams
from Mrs. Washington. There he
was the guest of Mr.. and Mrs John
Adams. At a dinner in their house
he spoke with rare discretion.
/ knowledge and elOqueuce of the
Commander in Chief qnd the con-
dition of the army. 1t was his
familiarity with the spirit of the
men in line which convinced Mr..
Adams that the young man could
render a service in Philadelphia.
This leader in the congress ad.
vised the Chief by post of his pur-
pose and detained the colonel.
Colin wrote to the Lady Washing.
ton:
Il have sat at table with the jolly
Doctor Franklin and drunk out of
his famous rolling punch keg that
rumbles around his board. The keg
is like his jokes that have stimu.
lating punch in them. The admir-
able Mr.. Richard Henry Lee of vir-
ginia remarked that he was sur.
prised to find such extravaganza in
the home of Poor Richard.
"'Well, il is easier TO recommend
! economy than il is TO practice it,
said the doctor. Moreover it is not
as important to me as ii once was.
| A time has come when we should
all praise the virtue of generosity
and practice the art of letting GO
often | see men who are con-
siderably but always decently drunk
at these Philadelphia dinner parties.
"Of all the great men | have met
| think that Franklin is the wisest.
would like to sit humbly at his
feet for a year and listen. | get
the feeling that he is somehow con-
nected with the great ineXhaustible
source of wisdom. One evening |
| sat alone with him on the porch
while Mrs. Lees guests were dane
ing. Looking up at the stars our
talk had become serious. asked
him If he believed in angels.
why not? he asked. From an
elephant down 10 an oyster one sees
a gradual diminution of faculties
and powers so small in each step
as to be scarcely perceptible. There
is no gap, but the gradation is com
plete. In ascending from a man to
the Infinite One there must be also
long gradation of beings of whom
we can nave no comprehension
Late one afternoon Mr.. Adams
and / went to call on an elderly
prominent citizen. We found him on
his front porch with friends. He
wore a white-lined purple coat with
wide cuffs and gold buttons and
cambric wrist ruffles. There was
a great silver tankard on a table
surrounded by glasses. The dear
old gentleman was much engaged
with the pouring. Often he would
say:
"'Oh, my friend, what Is the top
OF the glasses for?
THE servants are mostly Dutch
RedemptiOnists and Africans dressed
in homespun stuff. When their
terms expire the ladies have to do
their own work until other servants
can be engaged. In many streets
there are wells in every dooryard.
"The best people ride in coaches
with heraldic designs emblazoned
on their sides. In one of them !
was taken for a drive through the
near country where there are many
large and beautiful houses on well
titled farms. We saw Cliveden,
Stenton, Belmont mansion. Buck
| Hill.
'As an American | feel a GER
tain pride in this handsome city of
thirty thousand people. 1t is big
city, yet every man seems to know
every other man and his dog. It's
library, its hospital, its workhOuse,
its fire house and wagon tank and
volunteer company are monuments
to the wisdom and public spirit OF
Doctor Franklin and other good cit
liens. Christ church is an imposing
structure. All the pious folk de-
spise the Southfork theater where
we went to see a performance of
Romeo and Juliet by admirable To-
cal talent. 1t gave me melancholy
thoughts of my own romance. May
it have a better ending So think
ing of Pat and of you, my dear lady.
who have a tender interest in our
welfare, and lastly of my beloved
/ General, | sign this hurried letter
with Affection,
Colin Cabot"
In day of the debate on the res
olution for independence Colin sat
beside Doctor Franklin. Mr.. Pat
rick Henry, soon to go to Virginia
as its governor, was present. He
was dressed in peach blossom
coat. A black wig curled over his
ears. His aquiline nose supported
a pair of spectacles. Heesat silent
and demure. His rather square
looking head slanted vccy gradu
ally to quite prominence in the
rear.
"Will you kindly tell me what is
h IL i