C018/Y01737.json

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{"created_timestamp": "01-01-1737", "downloaded_timestamp": "10-18-2021", "url": "https://founders.archives.gov/API/docdata/Franklin/01-02-02-0028", "content": "Title: Poor Richard, 1737\nFrom: Franklin, Benjamin\nTo: \nCourteous and kind Reader,\nThis is the fifth Time I have appear\u2019d in Publick, chalking out the future Year for my honest Countrymen, and foretelling what shall, and what may, and what may not come to pass; in which I have the Pleasure to find that I have given general Satisfaction. Indeed, among the Multitude of our astrological Predictions, \u2019tis no wonder if some few fail; for, without any Defect in the Art itself, \u2019tis well known that a small Error, a single wrong Figure overseen in a Calculation, may occasion great Mistakes: But however we Almanack-makers may miss it in other Things, I believe it will be generally allow\u2019d That we always hit the Day of the Month, and that I suppose is esteem\u2019d one of the most useful Things in an Almanack.\nAs to the Weather, if I were to fall into the Method my Brother J----n sometimes uses, and tell you, Snow here or in New England,\u2014Rain here or in South-Carolina, \u2014Cold to the Northward, \u2014Warm to the Southward, and the like, whatever Errors I might commit, I should be something more secure of not being detected in them: But I consider, it will be of no Service to any body to know what Weather it is 1000 miles off, and therefore I always set down positively what Weather my Reader will have, be he where he will at the time. We modestly desire only the favourable Allowance of a day or two before and a day or two after the precise Day against which the Weather is set; and if it does not come to pass accordingly, let the Fault be laid upon the Printer, who, \u2019tis very like, may have transpos\u2019d or misplac\u2019d it, perhaps for the Conveniency of putting in his Holidays: And since, in spight of all I can say, People will give him great part of the Credit of making my Almanacks, \u2019tis but reasonable he should take some share of the Blame.\nI must not omit here to thank the Publick for the gracious and kind Encouragement they have hitherto given me: But if the generous Purchaser of my Labours could see how often his Fi\u2019-pence helps to light up the comfortable Fire, line the Pot, fill the Cup and make glad the Heart of a poor Man and an honest good old Woman, he would not think his Money ill laid out, tho\u2019 the Almanack of his Friend and Servant\n  R. Saunders\n  were one half blank Paper.\nRattle-Snake Herb.\nThe Indians long made a Secret of the Herb they used in curing the Bite of that venemous Reptile a Rattle-Snake: but since some curious Persons among the English have fully discover\u2019d and are now well acquainted with it, I hope it will be an acceptable Service to these Parts of the World, if I make it more publick by the following Description, with the Figure of a Leaf of it.\nThe Top and Branches of the Plant are thick set with small yellow flowers in August and September. It is a Species of Golden-Rod, known from the other Sorts by the smoothness of the Leaf, and its pungent Taste, and occasioning when chewed and swallow\u2019d, a small Stoppage of the Breath, and Contraction in the Throat; and the Stalk, which is in some Places less than a yard in height when at full Growth, in others more, is of a dull purple colour, and smooth, and cover\u2019d with a fine blue Dust, like that on many of the English Plums. It grows in most Wood-Lands, but under the Shade of Trees is seldom rank or large, or with more than one, two or three Stalks. It is also found on the Banks of dry Ditches, and sometimes in them, and in Hedge-Rows: But it is most luxuriant near to Run Sides, if the Soil be rich, and not too moist, nor too much shaded. The Root continues over the Winter, and if set in a good Garden, will send forth (in the 2d or 3d Year) at least 50 Stalks. The Plant shoots early in the Spring and withers late in the Fall.\nThe Indians use it variously; sometimes they bruise it between Stones, sometimes chew it and spit in the Patient\u2019s Mouth, some lay it to the Wound, others about the Wound, sometimes they boil it and give the Water to drink, washing the Wound with it likewise: but always some of it is to be swallowed, either with the Spittle or with Water.\nThe Leaf figur\u2019d in the Margin is one of the largest; for the most part they are not near so big though the Shape be the same.\nHints for those that would be Rich.\nThe Use of Money is all the Advantage there is in having Money.\nFor \u00a36 a Year, you may have the Use of \u00a3100 if you are a Man of known Prudence and Honesty.\nHe that spends a Groat a day idly, spends idly above \u00a36 a year, which is the Price of using \u00a3100.\nHe that wastes idly a Groat\u2019s worth of his Time per Day, one Day with another, wastes the Privilege of using \u00a3100 each Day.\nHe that idly loses 5s. worth of time, loses 5s. and might as prudently throw 5s. in the River.\nHe that loses 5s. not only loses that Sum, but all the Advantage that might be made by turning it in Dealing, which by the time that a young Man becomes old, amounts to a comfortable Bag of Money.\nAgain, He that sells upon Credit, asks a Price for what he sells, equivalent to the Principal and Interest of his Money for the Time he is like to be kept out of it: therefore\nHe that buys upon Credit, pays Interest for what he buys.\nAnd he that pays ready Money, might let that Money out to Use: so that\nHe that possesses any Thing he has bought, pays Interest for the Use of it.\nConsider then, when you are tempted to buy any unnecessary Housholdstuff, or any superfluous thing, whether you will be willing to pay Interest, and Interest upon Interest for it as long as you live; and more if it grows worse by using.\nYet, in buying Goods, \u2019tis best to pay ready Money, because,\nHe that sells upon Credit, expects to lose 5 per Cent. by bad Debts; therefore he charges, on all he sells upon Credit, an Advance that shall make up that Deficiency.\nThose who pay for what they buy upon Credit, pay their Share of this Advance.\nHe that pays ready Money, escapes or may escape that Charge.\nA Penny sav\u2019d is Twopence clear, A Pin a day is a Groat a Year. Save and have. Every little makes a mickle.\nXI Mon. January hath xxxi days.\nGod offer\u2019d to the Jews Salvation\nAnd \u2019twas refus\u2019d by half the Nation:\nThus, (tho\u2019 \u2019tis Life\u2019s great Preservation)\nMany oppose Inoculation.\nWe\u2019re told by one of the black Robe\nThe Devil inoculated Job:\nSuppose \u2019tis true, what he does tell;\nPray, Neighbours, Did not Job do well?\nThe greatest monarch on the proudest throne, is oblig\u2019d to sit upon his own arse.\n  The Master piece of Man, is to live to the purpose.\n  He that steals the old man\u2019s supper, do\u2019s him no wrong.\nXII Mon. February hath xxviii days.\nThe Thracian Infant, entring into Life,\nBoth Parents mourn for, both receive with Grief:\nThe Thracian Infant snatch\u2019d by Death away,\nBoth Parents to the Grave with Joy convey.\nThis, Greece and Rome, you with Derision view;\nThis is meer Thracian Ignorance to you:\nBut if you weigh the Custom you despise,\nThis Thracian Ignorance may teach the wise.\n  A countryman between 2 Lawyers, is like a fish between two cats.\n  He that can take rest is greater than he that can take cities.\n  The misers cheese is wholesomest.\n  Felix quem, &c.\nI Mon. March hath xxxi days.\nDoris, a Widow, past her Prime,\nHer Spouse long dead, her Wailing doubles;\nHer real Griefs increase by Time;\nWhat might abate, improves her Troubles.\nThose Pangs her prudent Hopes supprest,\nImpatient now, she cannot smother,\nHow should the helpless Woman rest?\nOne\u2019s gone; \u2014 nor can she get another.\n  Love and lordship hate companions.\n  The nearest way to come at glory, is to do that for conscience which we do for glory.\n  There is much money given to be laught at, though the purchasers don\u2019t know it; witness A\u2019s fine horse, and B\u2019s fine house.\nII Mon. April hath xxx days.\nA Nymph and a Swain to Apollo once pray\u2019d;\nThe Swain had been jilted, the Nymph been betray\u2019d.\nThey came for to try if his Oracle knew\nE\u2019er a Nymph that was chast or a Swain that was true.\nApollo stood mute, and had like t\u2019have been pos\u2019d;\nAt length he thus sagely the question disclos\u2019d:\nHe alone may be true in whom none will confide,\nAnd the nymph may be chast that has never been tryd.\n  He that can compose himself, is wiser than he that composes books.\n  Poor Dick, eats like a well man, and drinks like a sick.\n  After crosses and losses men grow humbler and wiser.\nLove, Cough, and a Smoke, can\u2019t well be hid.\nIII Mon. May hath xxxi days.\nRich Gripe does all his Thoughts and Cunning bend\nT\u2019encrease that Wealth he wants the Soul [to] spend:\nPoor Shifter does his whole Contrivance set,\nTo spend that Wealth he wants the Sense to get.\nHow happy would appear to each his Fate,\nHad Gripe his Humour, or he Gripe\u2019s Estate?\nKind Fate and Fortune, blend \u2019em if you can,\nAnd of two Wretches make one happy Man.\n  Well done is better than well said.\nFine linnen, girls and gold so bright,\nChuse not to take by candle-light.\n  He that can travel well afoot, keeps a good horse.\n  There are no ugly Loves, nor handsome Prisons.\n  No better relation than a prudent and faithful Friend.\nIV Mon. June hath xxx days.\nBoy, bring a Bowl of China here,\nFill it with Water cool and clear:\nDecanter with Jamaica right,\nAnd Spoon of Silver clean and bright,\nSugar twice-fin\u2019d, in pieces cut,\nKnife, Sieve and Glass, in order put,\nBring forth the fragrant Fruit, and then\nWe\u2019re happy till the Clock strikes Ten.\n  A Traveller should have a hog\u2019s nose, deer\u2019s legs, and an ass\u2019s back.\n  At the working man\u2019s house hunger looks in but dares not enter.\n  A good Lawyer a bad Neighbour.\nV Mon. July hath xxxi days.\nImpudent Jack, who now lives by his Shifts,\nBorrowing of Driblets, boldly begging Gifts;\nFor Twenty Shillings lent him t\u2019other Day\n(By one who ne\u2019er expected he would pay)\nOn his Friend\u2019s Paper fain a Note wou\u2019d write;\nHis Friend, as needless, did refuse it quite;\nPaper was scarce, and \u2019twas too hard, it\u2019s true,\nTo part with Cash, and lose his Paper too.\nCertainlie these things agree,\nThe Priest, the Lawyer, and Death all three:\nDeath takes both the weak and the strong.\nThe lawyer takes from both right and wrong,\nAnd the priest from living and dead has his Fee.\n  The worst wheel of the cart makes the most noise.\nVI Mon. August hath xxxi days.\nOn his Death-bed poor Lubin lies;\nHis Spouse is in Despair;\nWith frequent Sobs, and mutual Cries,\nThey both express their Care.\nA diff\u2019rent Cause, says Parson Sly,\nThe same Effect may give;\nPoor Lubin fears that he shall die;\nHis Wife, that he may live.\n  Don\u2019t misinform your Doctor nor your Lawyer.\nI never saw an oft-transplanted tree,\nNor yet an oft-removed family,\nThat throve so well as those that settled be.\nVII Mon. September hath xxx days.\nTo-morrow you\u2019ll reform, you always cry;\nIn what far Country does this Morrow lie,\nThat \u2019tis so mighty long e\u2019er it arrive?\nBeyond the Indies does this Morrow live?\n\u2019Tis so far-fetch\u2019d, this Morrow, that I fear,\n\u2019Twill be both very old, and very dear.\nTo-morrow I\u2019ll reform, the Fool does say:\nTo day it self\u2019s too late; the Wise did yesterday.\n  Let the Letter stay for the Post, and not the Post for the Letter.\n  Three good meals a day is bad living.\n  Tis better leave for an enemy at one\u2019s death, than beg of a friend in one\u2019s life.\nTo whom thy secret thou dost tell,\nTo him thy freedom thou dost sell.\n  VIII Mon. October hath xxxi days.\nOn T.T. who destroy\u2019d his Landlord\u2019s fine Wood.\nIndulgent Nature to each kind bestows,\nA secret Instinct to discern its Foes:\nThe Goose, a silly Bird, avoids the Fox;\nLambs fly from Wolves; and Sailors steer from rocks;\nA Rogue the Gallows, as his Fate, foresees,\nAnd bears the like Antipathy to Trees.\n  If you\u2019d have a Servant that you like, serve your self.\n  He that pursues two Hares at once, does not catch one and lets t\u2019other go.\n  If you want a neat wife, chuse her on a Saturday.\n  If you have time dont wait for time.\nIX Mon. November hath xxx days.\nYou say you\u2019ll spend Five hundred Pound\nThe World and Men to know,\nAnd take a Tour all Europe round,\nImproving as you go.\nDear Sam, in search of others Sense,\nDiscover not your own;\nBut wisely double the Expence\nThat you may pass unknown.\nTell a miser he\u2019s rich, and a woman she\u2019s old, you\u2019ll get no money of one, nor kindness of t\u2019other.\n  Don\u2019t go to the doctor with every distemper, nor to the lawyer with every quarrel, nor to the pot for every thirst.\nX Mon. December hath xxxi days.\nWomen are Books, and Men the Readers be,\nWho sometimes in those Books Erratas see;\nYet oft the Reader\u2019s raptur\u2019d with each Line,\nFair Print and Paper fraught with Sense divine;\nTho\u2019 some neglectful seldom care to read,\nAnd faithful Wives no more than Bibles heed.\nAre Women Books? says Hodge, then would mine were\nAn Almanack, to change her every Year.\n  The Creditors are a superstitious sect, great observers of set days and times.\n  The noblest question in the world is What Good may I do in it?\n  Nec sibi, sed toto, genitum se credere mundo.\n  Nothing so popular as Goodness.\n    Of the Eclipses, 1737.\nThere will be four Eclipses this Year, two of the Sun and two of the Moon.\nThe first is a great and visible Eclipse of the Sun, Feb. 18. beginning at 8 h. 1 m. A.M. middle at 9 h. 11 m. end at 10 h. 20 m. Digits eclipsed near nine, on the upper side of the Sun.\nThe second is of the Moon, March 5. at 10 h. 34 m. in the morning, therefore invisible here.\nThe third is of the Sun, Aug. 14. at 7 h. 30 m. P.M. invisible also.\nThe fourth is a visible Defect of the Moon, Aug. 28. beginning 9 h. 40 m. P.M. the middle at 10 h. 51 m. End near midnight. Digits eclipsed five and a quarter.\nIn my last, on the second Eclipse which was of the Moon, March 1736, celebrated in \u264e\ufe0e or the Balance, I hinted, That Germany would be weighed and found wanting. The Course of the Year (I speak without Boasting) has verified that Prediction; for that Empire now weighed in the Balance of Europe, is found to want two Kingdoms, to wit Naples and Sicily. May the Doubts I expressed concerning the Empire itself, prove groundless as to Germany, and be verified in the Turkish Dominion. Tekel, Peres.\nIn my last I published some Enigmatical Prophecies, which I did not expect any one would take for serious Predictions. The Explanation I promised, follows, viz.\n1. The Water of the Sea and Rivers is raised in Vapours by the Sun, is form\u2019d into Clouds in the Air, and thence descends in Rain. Now when there is Rain overhead, (which frequently happens when the Wind is at N.E.) the Cities and Places on the Earth below, are certainly under Water.\n2. The Power with which we were not then at War, but which, it was said, would take many full laden Vessels out of our Ports before the End of the Year, is The Wind, whose Forces also are not descried either coming or going.\n3. The Army which it was said would land in Virginia, Maryland, and the Lower Counties on Delaware, were not Musketeers with Guns on their Shoulders as some expected; but their Namesakes, in Pronunciation, tho\u2019 truly spelt Moschitos, arm\u2019d only with a sharp Sting. Every one knows they are Fish before they fly, being bred in the Water; and therefore may properly be said to land before they become generally troublesome.\nA Wonderful Prophecy\nFor January 1737, which consists entirely of odd Figures.\nE\u2019er of this odd odd Year one Month has roll\u2019d,\nWhat Wonders, Reader, shall the World behold!\nFour Kings with mighty Force shall Albion\u2019s Isle\nInfest with Wars and Tumults for a while;\nThen some shall unexpected Treasures gain,\nWhile some mourn o\u2019er an empty Purse in vain:\nAnd many a christian\u2019s Heart shall ake for Fear,\nWhen they the dreadful Sound of Trump shall hear.\nDead Bones shall then be tumbled up and down,\nIn every City and in every Town.", "culture": "English", "source_dataset": "Pile_of_Law", "source_dataset_detailed": "Pile_of_Law_founding_docs", "source_dataset_detailed_explanation": "Letters from U.S. founders.", "creation_year": 1737},
{"created_timestamp": "01-13-1737", "downloaded_timestamp": "10-18-2021", "url": "https://founders.archives.gov/API/docdata/Franklin/01-02-02-0029", "content": "Title: The Drinker\u2019s Dictionary, 13 January 1737\nFrom: Franklin, Benjamin\nTo: \nIn his Silence Dogood Letter, No. 12 (see above, I, 39) Franklin listed nineteen terms signifying drunkenness. Fifteen of them, some with slight changes, appear in The Drinker\u2019s Dictionary. This congruity is the principal reason for attributing the piece to Franklin.\nNothing more like a Fool than a drunken Man. Poor Richard.\n  \u2019Tis an old Remark, that Vice always endeavours to assume the Appearance of Virtue: Thus Covetousness calls itself Prudence; Prodigality would be thought Generosity; and so of others. This perhaps arises hence, that, Mankind naturally and universally approve Virtue in their Hearts, and detest Vice; and therefore, whenever thro\u2019 Temptation they fall into a Practice of the latter, they would if possible conceal it from themselves as well as others, under some other Name than that which properly belongs to it.\nBut Drunkenness is a very unfortunate Vice in this respect. It bears no kind of Similitude with any sort of Virtue, from which it might possibly borrow a Name; and is therefore reduc\u2019d to the wretched Necessity of being express\u2019d by distant round-about Phrases, and of perpetually varying those Phrases, as often as they come to be well understood to signify plainly that a Man is drunk.\nTho\u2019 every one may possibly recollect a Dozen at least of the Expressions us\u2019d on this Occasion, yet I think no one who has not much frequented Taverns would imagine the number of them so great as it really is. It may therefore surprize as well as divert the sober Reader, to have the Sight of a new Piece, lately communicated to me, entitled\nThe Drinkers Dictionary.\nHe is Addled,\nHe\u2019s casting up his Accounts,\nHe\u2019s Afflicted,\nHe\u2019s in his Airs.\nB\nHe\u2019s Biggy,\nBewitch\u2019d,\nBlock and Block,\nBoozy,\nBowz\u2019d,\nBeen at Barbadoes,\nPiss\u2019d in the Brook,\nDrunk as a Wheel-Barrow,\nBurdock\u2019d,\nBuskey,\nBuzzey,\nHas Stole a Manchet out of the Brewer\u2019s Basket,\nHis Head is full of Bees,\nHas been in the Bibbing Plot,\nHas drank more than he has bled,\nHe\u2019s Bungey,\nAs Drunk as a Beggar,\nHe sees the Bears,\nHe\u2019s kiss\u2019d black Betty,\nHe\u2019s had a Thump over the Head with Sampson\u2019s Jawbone,\nHe\u2019s Bridgey.\nC\nHe\u2019s Cat,\nCagrin\u2019d,\nCapable,\nCramp\u2019d,\nCherubimical,\nCherry Merry,\nWamble Crop\u2019d,\nCrack\u2019d,\nConcern\u2019d,\nHalf Way to Concord,\nHas taken a Chirriping-Glass,\nGot Corns in his Head,\nA Cup too much,\nCoguy,\nCopey,\nHe\u2019s heat his Copper,\nHe\u2019s Crocus,\nCatch\u2019d,\nHe cuts his Capers,\nHe\u2019s been in the Cellar,\nHe\u2019s in his Cups,\nNon Compos,\nCock\u2019d,\nCurv\u2019d,\nCut,\nChipper,\nChickery,\nLoaded his Cart,\nHe\u2019s been too free with the Creature,\nSir Richard has taken off his Considering Cap,\nHe\u2019s Chap-fallen.\nD\nHe\u2019s Disguiz\u2019d,\nHe\u2019s got a Dish,\nKill\u2019d his Dog,\nTook his Drops,\nIt is a Dark Day with him,\nHe\u2019s a Dead Man,\nHas Dipp\u2019d his Bill,\nHe\u2019s Dagg\u2019d,\nHe\u2019s seen the Devil.\nE\nHe\u2019s Prince Eugene,\nEnter\u2019d,\nWet both Eyes,\nCock Ey\u2019d,\nGot the Pole Evil,\nGot a brass Eye,\nMade an Example,\nHe\u2019s Eat a Toad and half for Breakfast,\nIn his Element.\nF\nHe\u2019s Fishey,\nFox\u2019d,\nFuddled,\nSore Footed,\nFrozen,\nWell in for \u2019t,\nOwes no Man a Farthing,\nFears no Man,\nCrump Footed,\nBeen to France,\nFlush\u2019d,\nFroze his Mouth,\nFetter\u2019d,\nBeen to a Funeral,\nHis Flag is out,\nFuzl\u2019d,\nSpoke with his Friend,\nBeen at an Indian Feast.\nG\nHe\u2019s Glad,\n   Groatable,\nGold-headed,\nGlaiz\u2019d,\nGenerous,\nBooz\u2019d the Gage,\nAs Dizzy as a Goose,\nBeen before George,\nGot the Gout,\nHad a Kick in the Guts,\nBeen with Sir John Goa,\nBeen at Geneva,\nGlobular,\nGot the Glanders.\nH\nHalf and Half,\nHardy,\nTop Heavy,\nGot by the Head,\nHiddey,\nGot on his little Hat,\nHammerish,\nLoose in the Hilts,\nKnows not the way Home,\nGot the Hornson,\nHaunted with Evil Spirits,\nHas Taken Hippocrates grand Elixir.\nI\nHe\u2019s Intoxicated,\nJolly,\nJagg\u2019d,\nJambled,\nGoing to Jerusalem,\nJocular,\nBeen to Jerico,\nJuicy.\nK\nHe\u2019s a King,\nClips the King\u2019s English,\nSeen the French King,\nThe King is his Cousin,\nGot Kib\u2019d Heels,\nKnapt,\nHet his Kettle.\nL\nHe\u2019s in Liquor,\nLordly,\nHe makes Indentures with his Leggs,\nWell to Live,\nLight,\nLappy,\nLimber.\nM\nHe sees two Moons,\nMerry,\nMiddling,\nMoon-Ey\u2019d,\nMuddled,\nSeen a Flock of Moons,\nMaudlin,\nMountous,\nMuddy,\nRais\u2019d his Monuments,\nMellow.\nN\nHe\u2019s eat the Cocoa Nut,\n   Nimptopsical,\nGot the Night Mare.\nO\nHe\u2019s Oil\u2019d,\nEat Opium,\nSmelt of an Onion,\nOxycrocium,\nOverset.\nP\nHe drank till he gave up his Half-Penny,\nPidgeon Ey\u2019d,\nPungey,\nPriddy,\nAs good conditioned as a Puppy,\nHas Scalt his Head Pan,\nBeen among the Philistines,\nIn his Prosperity,\nHe\u2019s been among the Philippians,\nHe\u2019s contending with Pharaoh,\nWasted his Paunch,\nHe\u2019s Polite,\nEat a Pudding Bagg.\nQ\nHe\u2019s Quarrelsome.\nR\nHe\u2019s Rocky,\nRaddled,\nRich,\nReligious,\nLost his Rudder,\nRagged,\nRais\u2019d,\nBeen too free with Sir Richard,\nLike a Rat in Trouble.\nS\nHe\u2019s Stitch\u2019d,\nSeafaring,\nIn the Sudds,\nStrong,\nBeen in the Sun,\nAs Drunk as David\u2019s Sow\nSwampt,\nHis Skin is full,\nHe\u2019s Steady,\nHe\u2019s Stiff,\nHe\u2019s burnt his Shoulder,\nHe\u2019s got his Top Gallant Sails out,\nSeen the yellow Star,\nAs Stiff as a Ring-bolt,\nHalf Seas over,\nHis Shoe pinches him,\nStaggerish,\nIt is Star-light with him,\nHe carries too much Sail,\nStew\u2019d,\nStubb\u2019d,\nSoak\u2019d,\nSoft,\nBeen too free with Sir John Strawberry,\nHe\u2019s right before the Wind with all his Studding Sails out,\nHas Sold his Senses.\nT\nHe\u2019s Top\u2019d,\nTongue-ty\u2019d,\nTann\u2019d,\nTipium Grove,\nDouble Tongu\u2019d,\nTopsy Turvey,\nTipsey,\nHas Swallow\u2019d a Tavern Token,\nHe\u2019s Thaw\u2019d,\nHe\u2019s in a Trance,\nHe\u2019s Trammel\u2019d.\nV\nHe makes Virginia Fence, Valiant,\nGot the Indian Vapours.\nW\nThe Malt is above the Water,\nHe\u2019s Wise,\nHe\u2019s Wet,\nHe\u2019s been to the Salt Water,\nHe\u2019s Water-soaken,\nHe\u2019s very Weary,\n   Out of the Way.\nThe Phrases in this Dictionary are not (like most of our Terms of Art) borrow\u2019d from Foreign Languages, neither are they collected from the Writings of the Learned in our own, but gather\u2019d wholly from the modern Tavern-Conversation of Tiplers. I do not doubt but that there are many more in use; and I was even tempted to add a new one my self under the Letter B, to wit, Brutify\u2019d: But upon Consideration, I fear\u2019d being guilty of Injustice to the Brute Creation, if I represented Drunkenness as a beastly Vice, since, \u2019tis well-known, that the Brutes are in general a very sober sort of People.", "culture": "English", "source_dataset": "Pile_of_Law", "source_dataset_detailed": "Pile_of_Law_founding_docs", "source_dataset_detailed_explanation": "Letters from U.S. founders.", "creation_year": 1737},
{"created_timestamp": "10-05-1737", "downloaded_timestamp": "10-18-2021", "url": "https://founders.archives.gov/API/docdata/Franklin/01-02-02-0030", "content": "Title: Philadelphia Post Office Record Books, 1737\u201353\nFrom: Franklin, Benjamin\nTo: \n\u201cIn 1737,\u201d Franklin wrote in his autobiography, \u201cCol. Spotswood, late Governor of Virginia, and then Post-master, General, being dissatisfied with the Conduct of his Deputy at Philadelphia, respecting some Negligence in rendering, and Inexactitude of his Accounts, took from him the Commission and offered it to me. I accepted it readily, and found it of great Advantage.\u201d Franklin\u2019s commission has not been found and the exact date of his appointment has not been determined. The earliest entries in his surviving record books are dated October 5, 1737, and the Gazette of October 6 advertises goods \u201cto be sold by B. Franklin at the Post-Office in Market Street\u201d, so it may be assumed that he began his new duties early in October 1737. He held the office until he was commissioned (with William Hunter) joint deputy postmaster general for North America in 1753. The last date entered in his surviving Philadelphia post office records is June 19, 1753.\nAmong the Franklin Papers in the American Philosophical Society are seven record books which Franklin kept for the business of the local Philadelphia post office. None of them shows his accountings with Spotswood or later deputy postmasters general; all concern his local operations. Since postage was rarely prepaid in the eighteenth century, the addressee was almost always liable for the charge. Small change was scarce and the postmaster had to extend credit to the many individuals and business firms in his area for whom letters arrived in his office. Most of Franklin\u2019s books are therefore the records of the letters received and the charges entered against their addressees. The thousands of entries are individually of no historical importance and are not reproduced here; rather, each book is described in sufficient detail to make clear its nature and to suggest the light it may shed on Franklin\u2019s operations as postmaster at Philadelphia.\n1. Post Office Ledger, No. 1, October 5, 1737\u2013September 29, 1742. A thin volume of 92 unnumbered pages with thumb index, inscribed on the marbled cover \u201cPost-Office Leidger No. 1.\u201d More than 350 names are listed by their initial letters with dated entries after each name showing charges for letters received and notations of payment. While many individuals received only one letter each during these five years, others ran up substantial debts; the largest accumulated charge stands against the name of the merchant Peter Baynton for a total of \u00a336 15s. 11d. which, like some others, was \u201cCarry\u2019d to New Ledger.\u201d\n2. Post Office Ledger, No. 2, September 29, 1742\u2013June 19, 1753. A stout volume of 324 unnumbered pages with board covers and index tabs, inscribed on the first page \u201cPhiladelphia Sepr 29.1742 Sept B. Franklin,\u201d above which is the notation \u201cThere is a Post Office Leidger preceding this, being a thin 8vo Book in Marble Cover.\u201d This book carries on the record begun in No. 1 above. In a few instances, charges dated before September 29, 1742, are transferred individually; more often the accumulated debit total is brought over from the first ledger. The last charges entered are dated June 19, 1753. In most of the accounts which stretch over a considerable period subtotals of charges are entered from time to time, especially in 1743 and 1748 (see Nos. 3 and 4 below). Some accounts are marked \u201cPaid,\u201d others are struck through, presumably to indicate the same thing; but the great majority are noted at the bottom as \u201cCarried to Leger E. fo.\u2014,\u201d or more briefly \u201cL.E.,\u201d followed by a folio number. These entries are explained by a memorandum at the back of the book, probably in William Temple Franklin\u2019s hand: \u201cEvery Account is transfer\u2019d to Leger E. Philadelphia: May 11th 1786.\u201d\nThe extent to which postal business in eighteenth-century America operated on credit is indicated by the totals of these transfers. After sixteen years as postmaster of Philadelphia Franklin had nearly 700 outstanding and unpaid accounts for letters received entered in this ledger, totaling more than \u00a3800. Most of these debts were for small sums: thirteen men owed less than a shilling apiece, and two-thirds of all the accounts were for under 10 shillings. On the other hand, some individuals and firms allowed their postal debts to accumulate for very long periods and to reach surprisingly large totals. The longest and largest account was that of the merchant Israel Pemberton, which ran with no credit entries from November 8, 1739, to June 14, 1753, when it amounted to \u00a380 15s. 6d. The columns of dates and figures are struck through, so one can assume that Pemberton eventually paid what he owed. The largest uncollected account transferred to Ledger E was that of William Vanderspiegle, another merchant, who ran up a debt of \u00a356 16s. 1d. between 1741 and 1753; it was still unpaid in 1786. Altogether, 119 men owed more than \u00a31 apiece, 19 of them more than \u00a310.\nFranklin, of course, was under obligation to transmit to the general postal authorities the money due for mail received in the Philadelphia office. In the absence of his accounts with the deputy postmaster general or the comptroller, we can merely assume that in his periodic accounting he entered the total due as a debit against himself, paid in whatever balance was owing, and hoped to reimburse himself from future collections. That he regarded the outstanding debts for letters received and delivered as money owing to himself personally is indicated by the fact that he transferred these accounts in 1786 to Ledger E, in which he also entered all other small debts accumulated during his personal business career and still unpaid. As an efficient businessman Franklin certainly tried to collect these postal debts, sometimes individually and as opportunity offered, again systematically and in organized fashion, as the next two record books show.\n3. Post Office Accounts, November 1743. A small volume of 56 unnumbered pages with marbled paper covers inscribed on the first page \u201cPost Office Accounts drawn out Nov. 1743.\u201d There follows a list of 372 names, arranged by initial letters, opposite each of which is placed the sum due for letters received as shown at this time in the ledger described as No. 2 above. A slip of paper is attached to the inside back cover, on which Franklin wrote: \u201cThis Bundle contains two Books [i.e., this No. 3, and No. 4 described below], One with the Foot of the Post-Office Accounts as they stood when L. Evans posted them: The other as they stood when Jos. Kent posted them; Also a Number of Accounts drawn out, but not yet deliver\u2019d.\u201d Against nearly half of the names on this list are penciled notations of \u201cdd Acct\u201d (i.e., \u201cdelivered Account\u201d), \u201cPaid,\u201d or both, or occasionally something else such as \u201cdd Acct to his Boy,\u201d \u201cmischarged,\u201d or \u201cdenyes the Acct.\u201d The totals due, entered at the bottom of each page, amount to \u00a3417 2s. 8d. for the entire record, of which Franklin succeeded in collecting \u00a342 9s. 3d. at this time.\n4. Post Office Accounts, May 18, 1748. A volume of 68 unnumbered pages similar to No. 3, and clearly the second book referred to in the memorandum attached to No. 3. The first page is inscribed simply \u201cPost Office Accounts,\u201d but the date is shown by the first entry: \u201cMr. Wm. Allens Account to May 18 48 \u00a365. 11. 10.\u201d This book contains 656 names, with the amounts owed by each corresponding to the subtotals entered in May 1748 in the ledger described above as No. 2. The total of outstanding charges was \u00a3964 14s. 9d. As there are no penciled notations next to the names as in No. 3 above, it is impossible to determine how much Franklin collected at this time, although a few items are noted in ink as paid\u2014one dated as late as April 16, 1764. A spot check of some of the entries with the corresponding ones in Ledger No. 2 suggests that very few of Franklin\u2019s postal debtors paid up what they owed him in this effort of 1748.\n5. List of Letters in the Post Office (c. 1741). A narrow volume of 52 unnumbered pages with thumb index, inscribed on the last page \u201cA List of Letters in the Post-Office,\u201d but without date. There are 680 names. No weights of letters or amounts of money due are entered with these names, but many of them are followed by \u201cPhiladel.,\u201d \u201cCity,\u201d \u201cP.,\u201d or \u201cB.C.,\u201d \u201cC.C.,\u201d \u201cL.C.,\u201d or \u201cP.C.,\u201d which stand for Bucks, Chester, Lancaster, or Philadelphia County respectively. A few note individual towns in Pennsylvania or nearby provinces, and others more distant places, such as \u201cN. England,\u201d \u201cN. Jersey,\u201d \u201cVirginia,\u201d or \u201cS. Carolina,\u201d and one is even marked \u201cIreland.\u201d The names correspond in part, but only in part, with a list of some 775 individuals printed in the Pennsylvania Gazette, January 15, 1741, as the addressees of letters \u201cwhich have been brought into the Post Office at Philadelphia, and remain unredeem\u2019d.\u201d Franklin warned that if they were not redeemed before March 25 following they would be \u201csent away as dead Letters to the General Post-Office.\u201d\n6. List of Letters, April 18, 1744. A small narrow booklet of 32 unnumbered pages dated at the top of the first page \u201c1744. 18 April,\u201d with 275 alphabetically arranged names, with corresponding figures indicating the weights in pennyweight and grains of one or more letters. Some entries also carry check marks. This list is presumably one of persons for whom letters had been received; it may have been prepared for a purpose similar to that of No. 5 above, but no comparable list of names was published in the Gazette. Some amounts, but not all, match entries in Ledger No. 2.\n7. Post Office Book, May 25, 1748. A tall narrow volume of 372 pages, of which only the first 15 were originally numbered, inscribed on the first page \u201cPost-Office Book, 1748, May 25.\u201d Except for the last few pages, it constitutes a record of the mails received in, or dispatched from, Philadelphia between May 25, 1748, and July 23, 1752. The kind of information this book contains can be shown by summarizing the entries for the week commencing June 21, 1749. On that day the post rider arrived in Philadelphia from the north bringing twenty-five letters from Boston, four from Rhode Island, thirty from New York, and one \u201cWay Letter\u201d picked up along the route. The names of the addressees are listed, with the weight of each letter in pennyweight and grains given in one column, and this weight translated into the postal charge in shillings and pence in another column. Four of the letters were recorded as \u201cfree,\u201d and two as prepaid; the total charges for the others add up to \u00a36 5s. 6d. (Postage rates in the colonies were high.) On June 22 the post rider from the south arrived with ten letters from Williamsburg, twelve from Annapolis, and one from Boyd\u2019s Hole on the Potomac. With one letter from Annapolis prepaid, the total charge to be collected from the addressees was \u00a32 6s. 5d. On the same day Franklin sent the northern rider off on his return trip, with letters for Boston, New York, Rhode Island, Perth Amboy, and Trenton in his saddlebags. Franklin\u2019s record of mail dispatched is shorter than that of mail received because he did not list individual addressees or the charges to be collected. Instead he entered for each destination the number of single-sheet, double-sheet, and triple-sheet letters, and the number of packets to be charged at the ounce rate. Then he added the total weight of mail for that town. Thus the mail for Boston on this day consisted of thirty single-sheet letters, nine double, and one triple, but no packets, for a total of 360 dwt. 16 grs. The mail for New York was made up of twenty-four single-sheet letters, nine double, no triple, and one packet, totaling 151 dwt. 8 grs., of which 6 dwt. had been paid for in advance. On June 27 the southern rider set off with nine letters for Annapolis and five for Williamsburg, recorded in the same way.\nThe northern post arrived and departed on a weekly schedule from April through November and on a biweekly schedule during the season of bad weather. The rider was commendably regular; except during the change-over periods between seasons he was a day late in reaching Philadelphia only eight times in more than four years. The southern post, which carried much less mail, operated at longer intervals and was much more irregular. At first the plan seems to have been that mail would reach Philadelphia once in about two weeks during the warmer months, but the rider by no means succeeded in meeting such a schedule. In 1750 he slowed down to an erratic monthly arrival in the summer, but managed to get back to a biweekly schedule with considerable success in 1751. In winter he put in an appearance in Philadelphia at intervals which varied from four weeks to as much as seven, and he sometimes brought very little mail when he did arrive. Philadelphia\u2019s most important postal business during these years was clearly with the northern colonies.\nFollowing the last regular entry in this volume and preceding some miscellaneous jottings and notes on the last few pages, appears a table listing by dates all mails received in Philadelphia from January 3, 1750, through June 19, 1753 (the last entry being about eleven months after the final entry in the main part of the book, and corresponding to the date of the latest entries in No. 2 above). In ruled columns there is recorded for each date the weight of mail received in Philadelphia that day, under the several headings of \u201cUnpaid Letters,\u201d \u201cPaid Letters,\u201d and \u201cForwarded Letters.\u201d There are no daily totals, but there are totals for each category of mail for two entire years and again for the whole period. The last series shows that for the approximately three and a half years covered by the table the unpaid letters constituted 97.4 per cent by weight of all those received in Philadelphia, paid letters 1.8 per cent, and forwarded letters 0.8 per cent.\nThese seven bound volumes, which vary greatly in size and in detail, together with a few loose papers and fragmentary lists of little or no value, constitute the surviving records of Franklin\u2019s service as postmaster of Philadelphia from 1737 to 1753. Inadequate as they are for a complete reconstruction of his operations, they do shed some light on the conduct of an important colonial post office in the middle of the eighteenth century, and indicate some of the problems Franklin faced during his tenure of the Philadelphia postmastership.", "culture": "English", "source_dataset": "Pile_of_Law", "source_dataset_detailed": "Pile_of_Law_founding_docs", "source_dataset_detailed_explanation": "Letters from U.S. founders.", "creation_year": 1737},
{"created_timestamp": "01-01-1737", "downloaded_timestamp": "10-18-2021", "url": "https://founders.archives.gov/API/docdata/Franklin/01-02-02-0033", "content": "Title: From Benjamin Franklin to James Logan, 1737\nFrom: Franklin, Benjamin\nTo: Logan, James\nHaving read the Chapter on Moral Good or Virtue, with all the Attention I am Capable of, amidst the many little Cares that Continually infest me, I shall, as the Author Condescends to desire, give my Opinion of it, and that with all Sincerity and Freedom, neither apprehending the Imputation of Flattery on the one hand, nor that of Ill Manners on the other.\nI think the Design excellent\u2014and the Management of it in the Main, good; a short Summary of the Chapter plac\u2019d at the Beginning, and little Summaries of each Paragraph in the Margin being only necessary, and what will in my Opinion sufficiently remove any Disgust that the Authors dilate Manner of Writing may give to some Readers; And the whole is so curious and entertaining, that I know not where any thing can be spared.\nIt seems to me that the Author is a little too severe upon Hobbes, whose Notion, I imagine, is somewhat nearer the Truth than that which makes the State of Nature a State of Love: But the Truth perhaps lies between both Extreams.\nI think what is said upon Musick, might be enlarg\u2019d to Advantage by showing that what principally makes a Tune agreeable, is the Conformity between its Air or Genius, and some Motion, Passion or Affection of the Mind, which the Tune imitates.\nI should have been glad to have seen the Virtues enumerated, distinguish\u2019d, and the proper Ideas affix\u2019d to each Name; which I have not yet seen, scarce two Authors agreeing therein, some annexing more, others fewer and different Ideas to the Same Name. But I think there is some Incorrectness of Sentiment in what the Author has said of Temperance concerning which I have not time to explain myself in writing. [caetera desunt].", "culture": "English", "source_dataset": "Pile_of_Law", "source_dataset_detailed": "Pile_of_Law_founding_docs", "source_dataset_detailed_explanation": "Letters from U.S. founders.", "creation_year": 1737},
{"created_timestamp": "01-06-1737", "downloaded_timestamp": "10-18-2021", "url": "https://founders.archives.gov/API/docdata/Franklin/01-02-02-0034", "content": "Title: Extracts from the Gazette, 1737\nFrom: Franklin, Benjamin\nTo: \n\tThursday Evening last [should be Wednesday, Dec. 29], the Weather being very cold and clear, we had a fair and surprizing Appearance of the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Twilight. It was more red and luminous than that which we saw here about Six Years ago: Insomuch that People in the Southern Parts of the Town, imagin\u2019d there was some House on Fire near the North End; and some ran to assist in extinguishing it. The following Account of this kind of Meteor taken from the Philosophical Transactions, perhaps may not be disagreeable to our Readers. [January 6]\n\t  On Thursday last Died here, after a lingring Illness, in the 51st Year of his Age, and on Saturday last was decently Interr\u2019d, the Honourable Charles Read, Esq; of this Place. He was heretofore several Times elected Mayor, and Sheriff of this City, and one of the Representatives for the County; and \u2019till his Decease he held the Office of Judge of the Vice-Admiralty, one of the Council, one of the Commissioners of the Loan-Office, and several other Posts of Honour and Profit, in this Province, and Collector of the Port of Burlington in New-Jersey; always Discharging his respective Trusts with Applause, and has left behind him an excellent Character. [January 13]\n\t  Just Published, The Articles of Agreement made and concluded upon May 10. 1732, between the Right Honourable the Lord Proprietary of Maryland, and the Honourable the Proprietaries of Pennsylvania.... To which is prefixed a Map.... Printed and sold by B. Franklin, price 6d. [February 3]\n\t  There are several private Letters in Town from London, that mention the Appointment of Col. Thomas (a Gentleman of Antigua) to the Government of this Province. [May 19]\n\t  We hear from Burlington County, that on the 11th Inst. died there of a Stoppage in his Urine, Dr. John Browne, a Gentleman of singular Skill in the Profession of Surgery, which he practiced in those Parts many Years with great Success, and was well esteemed by all that knew him. [May 19]\n\t  The same Day [Monday last] arrived Capt. Farra, who has long been given over for lost. In his Voyage from Jamaica hither, he was cast away in Palachee Bay within Cape Florida, among the Cannibal Indians, who were extreamly kind and assisted in saving the Cargo, Rigging, &c. And News of the Wreck coming to Augustine, the Spaniards sent Periagua\u2019s and other small Vessels round to take in what was sav\u2019d, and bring it to that Port; where Capt. Farra hir\u2019d a Rhode-Island Sloop to bring it hither. Had this English Vessel been forc\u2019d ashore on the civil, polite, hospitable, christian, protestant Coast of Great-Britain, Query, Might they have expected kinder Treatment from their own Countrymen? [June 2]\n\t  We hear that on Monday Night last, some People pretending to be Free-Masons, got together in a Cellar with a young Man who was desirous of being made one, and in the Ceremony, \u2019tis said, they threw some burning Spirits upon him either accidentally or to terrify him, which burnt him so that he was oblig\u2019d to take his Bed, and died this Morning. The Coroners inquest are now sitting on the Body. [June 16]\n\t  The Coroners Inquest on the Body of the young Man, mentioned in our last, found that his Death was occasioned by the burning Spirits thrown on him, but that, as far as it appeared to them by the Evidence they had, the Throwing those Spirits on him was accidental. \u2019Tis said however that since the Inquest, farther Evidence has been given to the Magistrates, that it was a voluntary Action. [June 23]\n\t  [Advertisement] Taken out of a Pew in the Church some Months since, a Common Prayer Book, bound in Red, gilt, and letter\u2019d DF on each Corner. The Person who took it, is desir\u2019d to open it and read the Eighth Commandment, and afterwards return it into the same Pew again; upon which no further Notice will be taken. [June 30]\n\t  Monday last, Sampson the Negro Man mentioned in our last, had his Tryal for burning the House near the President\u2019s Country Seat. He made a long, artful and pathetick Defence, which wanted nothing to make it effectual but good English and Truth. The Evidence was too clear against him. He was found guilty and received Sentence of Death. [September 1]\n\t  [Advertisement] Cyphering Slates and Pencils, Aleppo Ink and Holman\u2019s Ink-Powder, Linseed Oil, and Lampblack, sold by the Printer hereof. [September 8]\n\t  Just Published, A Treaty of Friendship held with the Chiefs of the Six Nations, at Philadelphia, in September and October, 1736. Printed and Sold by B. Franklin, price 8d. [September 22]\n\t  Just Published, Every Man his own Doctor, or, the Poor Planter\u2019s Physician. Prescribing Plain and Easy Means for Persons to cure themselves of all, or most of the Distempers, incident to this Climate, and with very little Charge, the Medicines being chiefly of the Growth and Production of this Country. With a Postscript containing a new discover\u2019d Method of curing the Pleurisy. Printed and Sold by the Printer hereof. Price One Shilling. [October 27]\n\t  Last Week Schich Sidi, the Eastern Prince arrived here, with his Attendants, and is treated with great Respect. \u2019Tis said he is recommended by His Majesty to the Charity of all good Christians. [November 3]\n\t  Notice is hereby given, that the Post-Office of Philadelphia, is now kept at B. Franklin\u2019s in Market-Street. And that Henry Pratt is appointed Riding Post-Master for all the Stages between Philadelphia and Newpost in Virginia, who sets out about the Beginning of each Month, and returns in 24 Days, by whom Gentlemen, Merchants and others, may have their Letters, &c. carefully convey\u2019d, and Business faithfully transacted, he having given good Security for the same to the Hon. Col. Spotswood, Post-Master General of all his Majesty\u2019s Dominions in America. [November 3]\n\t  Just Published, Poor Richard\u2019s Almanacks, For the Year 1738. Printed and Sold by the Printer hereof. [November 3]\n\t  Yesterday during the Fair, the House in which the eastern Prince lodges, took Fire, and alarm\u2019d the Neighbourhood, but was soon extinguished. It was occasioned by a Fire left in the Chamber above that of the Prince, part of which Fire falling on the Floor had spread over a great Part of the Room, and occasion\u2019d a great Heat in the Room below, by which Means it was discover\u2019d. [November 17]\n[Advertisement] A HONORARY Reward is proposed to any Cabalist, who shall demonstrate that the Letter Z contains more occult virtues than the Letter X.\nA PECUNIARY Gratification is offered to any of the learned or unlearned, who shall Mathematically prove, that a Man\u2019s having a Property in a Tract of Land, more or less, is thereby entitled to any Advantage, in point of understanding, over another Fellow, who has no other Estate, than \u201cThe Air\u2014\u2014to breath in, THE Earth\u2014\u2014to walk upon, and ALL THE Rivers OF THE World\u2014\u2014to drink of.\u201d [December 8]\n\t  [Advertisement] To be Sold by the Printer hereof, A Brief Narrative of the Case and Tryal of John Peter Zenger, Printer of the New- York Weekly-Journal. Price 2s. 6d. [December 8]\n\t  The Earthquake which surpriz\u2019d us here on Wednesday Night the 7th Inst. was not felt at Annapolis in Maryland, but the Accounts we have from New-Castle on Delaware, represent the Shake to be nearly as violent there as here. We have not as yet heard of it from any Place farther to the Southward than New-Castle. But it was felt at Conestogoe near 100 Miles Westward of this City, where some Clouds at the same time were seen to waver, dance, disappear and appear again in an uncommon and surprizing manner. And all the Accounts we have hitherto received from the Northward, make us suspect that the most violent Shock was in that Quarter. Three or four Evenings successively after the Earthquake an unusual Redness appeared in the Western Sky and southwards, continuing about an hour after Sunset, gradually declining. It reach\u2019d near 45 Degrees above the Horizon. [December 15]\n\t  Thursday last the Eastern Prince left this City, on board Capt. Loftus, bound for Barbadoes. [December 15]\n\t  We hear from Derby, that on Saturday Night last, a Woman there, was delivered of three Daughters, and all likely to live. [December 15]\n\t  [Advertisement] The Person who borrow\u2019d B. Franklin\u2019s Book of Laws of this Province, is desired to return it he having forgot to whom he lent it. [December 15]\nPhiladelphia: Printed by B. Franklin, Post-Master, at the New Printing-Office near the Market. Price 10s. a Year. Where Advertisements are taken in, and Book-Binding is done reasonably, in the best Manner.", "culture": "English", "source_dataset": "Pile_of_Law", "source_dataset_detailed": "Pile_of_Law_founding_docs", "source_dataset_detailed_explanation": "Letters from U.S. founders.", "creation_year": 1737}
]