keeping, sermon-reading or hearing; performing church ceremonies, or making long prayers, filled with flatteries and compliments, despised even by wise men, and much less capable of pleasing the Deity. The worship of God is a duty; the hearing and reading of sermons may be useful; but, if men rest in hearing and praying, as too many do, it is as if a tree should value itself on being watered and putting forth leaves, though it never produced any fruit.

Your great master thought much less of these outward appearances and professions, than many of his modern disciples. He preferred the doers of the word, to the mere hearers; the son that seemingly refused to obey his father, and yet performed his commands, to him that professed his readiness, but neglected the work; the heretical but charitable Samaritan, to the uncharitable though orthodox priest and sanctified Levite; and those who gave food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, raiment to the naked, entertainment to the stranger, and relief to the sick, though they never heard of his name, he declares shall in the last day be accepted; when those who cry Lord! Lord! who value themselves upon their faith, though great enough to perform miracles, but have neglected good works, shall be rejected. He professed, that he came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance; which implied his modest opinion, that there were some in his time so good, that they need not hear even him for improvement;* but now-a-days we have scarce a

* In all the printed copies which I have seen, this passage is found as follows; —" which implied his modest opinion, that there were some in his time, who thought themselves so good, that they need not hear even him for improvement." The words here Italicized are not contained in the original draft. They must, of course, have been interpolated by some later hand. The sense evidently requires that they should be omitted.

little parson, that does not think it the duty of every man within his reach to sit under his petty ministrations; and that whoever omits them offends God.

I wish to such more humility, and to you health and happiness, being your friend and servant,

B. FRANKLIN.*

TO JAMES BOWDOIN.

Treaty with the Indians. - Their Complaints.

DEAR SIR,

Philadelphia, 18 October, 1753.

I recollect that I promised to send you Dr. Brownrigg's Treatise on Common Salt. You will receive it herewith. I hope it may be of use in the affair of your fishery. Please to communicate it to Captain Erwin, Mr. Pitts, Mr. Boutineau, or any other of your friends, who may be desirous of seeing it.

Since my return from Boston, I have been to our western frontiers on a treaty with the Ohio Indians. They complained much of the abuses they suffer from our traders, and earnestly requested us to put the trade under some regulation. If you can procure and send me your truckhouse law, and a particular account of the manner of executing it, with its consequences, &c., so that we may have the benefit of your experience,

Soon after writing this letter, Franklin set out on a tour to New England. In writing from Boston, July 16th, to his friend Hugh Roberts, he said; "I have had a delightful journey hither, and have felt but one hot day since my arrival. On the road I often thought of you, and wished for your company, as I passed over some of the best punning ground perhaps in the universe. My respects to Mrs. Roberts, and to all our old friends of the JUNTO, Hospital, and Insurance. I purpose to set out on my return in about ten days." Mr. Roberts, it seems, excelled in the art of punning, some amusing specimens of which are found in his letters to Franklin.

G*

you will much oblige me; and if you have found it a useful law, I am in hopes we shall be induced to follow your good example.*

My compliments to Mrs. Bowdoin and all inquiring friends. With much respect and esteem, I am, dear Sir, &c. B. FRANKLIN.

* Mr. Bowdoin replied as follows, in a letter dated at Boston, November 12th."Our Indians formerly (as yours now) made great complaints of the abuses they suffered from private traders, which induced the government to erect truckhouses for them; where they have since been supplied with the goods they wanted in a much better manner both in regard of the quality and price of them, and with more certainty than the private traders could. The government used to put an advance on the goods supplied, but now they let the Indians have them in the small quantities they want at the same rate they are purchased here in the wholesale way, and allow them for their peltry what it sells for here; and, notwithstanding, they are frequently complaining about the prices of the exchanged commodities, and say that the French supply them at a cheaper rate, and allow them more for their skins than we do; but some allowance is to be made for this account of theirs.

"The best method we can go into, is to supply them with what they want at the cheapest rate possible, which will not only undermine the French trade with them, but in proportion thereto bring them into our interest and friendship against the French; for trade and commerce between nation and nation, especially when carried on to mutual advantage, have a natural tendency to beget and confirm a mutual and lasting friendship. Another good effect of this method is, that it prevents the Indians from being concerned with private traders; for, not being able to supply them at so low a rate as the government, the Indians will not trade with them, and it is therefore a more effectual bar against private trade, than all the laws that can be invented.

"Our truckhouses are built in form of a square, each side one hundred and fifty feet or more, at each corner a flanker, in which is a couple of cannon; three sides of the square are built upon to accommodate the garrison and for storehouses, the whole being surrounded with palisades."

TO CADWALLADER COLDEN.

Indian Affairs.-Abbé Nollet's Book, and Dalibard's

Answer.

Philadelphia, 25 October, 1753.

SIR,

This last summer, I have enjoyed very little of the pleasure of reading or writing. I made a long journey to the eastward, which consumed ten weeks; and two journeys to our western frontier. One of them, to meet and hold a treaty with the Ohio Indians, in company with Mr. Peters and Mr. Norris.* I shall send you a copy of that treaty, as soon as it is published. I should be glad to know whether the Act, mentioned in your "History of the Five Nations," to prevent the people of New York from supplying the French with Indian goods, still subsists, and is duly executed.†

I left your book with Mr. Bowdoin, in Boston. I hope you will hear from him this winter. I observed extracts from it in all the Magazines, and in the Monthly Review, but I see no observations on it. I send

* This treaty, or rather conference, was held at Carlisle, in Pennsylvania, with deputies from several tribes of western Indians. See SPARKS's Life of Washington, 2d edition, p. 25.

To this inquiry Mr. Colden replied, November 19th. -"We have at present no law in this province for restraining the trade to Canada, except that by which a duty is laid on Indian goods sold out of the city of Albany, and applied for support of the garrison at Oswego. It is certain, that a very considerable trade is carried on between Albany and Canada by means of the Caghnawaga, or French Indians, all of them deserters from the Five Nations. When I was last at Albany there were at least two hundred of them, stout young fellows, at one time in the town. The Indians have passports from the governor of Canada, and I therefore conclude that this trade is thought beneficial to the French interest, and it may be a great inducement to our Indians to desert, by the benefit they receive from it; for none are allowed to be the carriers between Albany and Canada, but French Indians."

you herewith Nollet's book. M. Dalibard writes me, that he is just about to publish an answer to it, which, perhaps, may save me the trouble.

I hope soon to find time to finish my new Hypothesis of Thunder and Lightning, which I shall immediately communicate to you. I sent you, by our friend Bartram, some meteorological conjectures for your amusement. When perused, please to return them, as I have no copy.* With sincere esteem and respect, I am, dear Sir, &c.

B. FRANKLIN.

DEAR SIR,

TO WILLIAM SMITH.

Concerning the Academy.

Philadelphia, 27 November, 1753.

Having written to you fully, via Bristol, I have now little to add. Matters relating to the Academy remain in statu quo. The trustees would be glad to see a rector established there, but they dread entering into new engagements, till they are got out of debt; and I have not yet got them wholly over to my opinion, that a good professor, or teacher of the higher branches of learning, would draw so many scholars as to pay great part, if not the whole of his salary. Thus, unless the Proprietors of the province shall think fit to put the finishing hand to our institution, it must, I fear, wait some few years longer, before it can arrive at that state of perfection, which to me it seems now capable of; and all the pleasure I promised myself in seeing you settled among us vanishes into smoke.

*The abovementioned Hypothesis of Thunder and Lightning may be seen in Vol. V. pp. 300-314; and the Meteorological Conjectures, in Vol. VI. p. 127.