engaged from private business, I find myself still fully occupied. The association, lottery, and batteries fill up at present a great part of my time. I thank you for communicating the sheet on the first principles of morality, the continuation of which I shall be glad to see. I am, &c. B. FRANKLIN. SIR, 75. TO JAMES LOGAN Philadelphia, January 27, 1748. I have not yet found the book, but suppose I shall tomorrow. The post goes out to-day, which allows me no time to look for it. We have a particular account from Boston of the guns there. They are in all thirty-nine, Spanish make and new; fifteen of them are twenty-eight pounders, and twenty-four are fourteen pounders. We offer by this post £1500, this currency, for them all, and suppose we shall get them. The insurers, in consideration of the premium of twenty per cent, engage thus: that, if the prizes arising against the tickets insured do not, one with another, make in the whole a sum equal to the first cost of the tickets, they will make up the deficiency. They now think it a disadvantageous agreement, and have left off insuring; for though they would gain, as you observe, £1000, if they insured the whole at that rate, in one lot, yet it will not be so when they insure a number of separate lots, as ten, twenty, or one hundred tickets in a lot; because the prizes, falling in one lot, do not help to make up the deficiencies in another. The person that in sured your one hundred and twenty-five, did the next day give the whole premium to another with six and a quarter per cent more, to be reinsured two thirds of them. I have not insured for anybody, so I shall neither lose nor gain that way. I will send the policy, that you may see it, with the book. I am, Sir, &c. B. FRANKLIN. SIR, 76. TO JAMES LOGAN Philadelphia, January 30, 1748. I send you herewith the book, and enclosed is the policy. Here is no news but what is bad, namely, the taking of Mesnard, an account of which we have by way of Lisbon. He was carried into St. Malo. And just now we have advice from New York, that an express was arrived there from New England to inform the government that two prisoners, who had escaped from different parts of Canada and arrived in New England, agreed in declaring, that three thousand men were getting ready to march against Albany, which they intended to besiege and take; and that they were to be joined by a great body of Indians. They write from New York, that the advice is credited there. I wish, it may not prove too true, the wretched divisions and misunderstandings among the principal men in that government giving the enemy too much encouragement and advantage. I hope you and your good family continue well, being with sincere respect and affection, &c. B. FRANKLIN. SIR, 77. TO JAMES LOGAN Philadelphia, April 6, 1748. I have a letter from Mr. Samuel Laurens, of New York, who undertook to ship the guns for us, informing me that two small vessels had been agreed with to bring them round; but a sloop arriving there on Sunday last, that had been chased in latitude thirty-six by a ship and brigantine, which were supposed to be the Don Pedro with a consort coming on this coast, the Governor and Council thought it more advisable to send them to Brunswick, which we since hear is done. Captain Wallace, a discreet old sea commander of this place, goes to-day or to-morrow to receive them there, and provide carriages to bring them to Philadelphia. The postmaster at New York, and another correspondent there, write me, that the ship seen was certainly the Don Pedro, the captain of the vessel chased knowing her well, having often seen her at the Havana, where he has been several voyages with a flag of truce. He was very near being taken, but escaped by favour of the night. We are glad to hear the Don is come out with one consort only, as by some accounts we apprehended he intended to bring a small fleet with him. It now looks as if his design was more against our trade than our city. With this I send you a packet from London, and a pamphlet from Sweden, both left with me for you by the new Swedish missionary, Mr. Sandin. You must have heard that Mr. James Hamilton is appointed our governor; an event that gives us the more pleasure, as we esteem him a benevolent and upright, as well as a sensible man. I hope he will arrive here early in the summer, and bring with him some cannon from the Proprietors. I am, Sir, &c. B. FRANKLIN. SIR, 78. TO CADWALLADER COLDEN Philadelphia, September 29, 1748. I received your favour of the 12th instant, which gave me the greater pleasure, as it was so long since I had heard from you. I congratulate you on your return to your beloved retirement. I, too, am taking the proper measures for obtaining leisure to enjoy life and my friends, more than heretofore, having put my printing-house under the care of my partner, David Hall, absolutely left off bookselling, and removed to a more quiet part of the town, where I am settling my old accounts, and hope soon to be quite master of my own time, and no longer, as the song has it, at every one's call but my own. If health continue, I hope to be able in another year to visit the most distant friend I have, without inconvenience. With the same views I have refused engaging further in public affairs. The share I had in the late Association, &c., having given me a little present run of popularity, there was a pretty general intention of choosing me a representative of the city at the next election of Assembly men; but I have desired all my friends, who spoke to me about it, to discourage it, declaring that I should not serve, if chosen. Thus you see I am in a fair way of having no other tasks, than such as I shall like to give myself, and of enjoying what I look upon as a great happiness, leisure to read, study, make experiments, and converse at large with such ingenious and worthy men, as are pleased to honour me with their friendship or acquaintance, on such points as may produce something for the common benefit of mankind, uninterrupted by the little cares and fatigues of business. Among other pleasures I promise myself, that of corresponding more frequently and fully with Dr. Colden is none of the least. I shall only wish that what must be so agreeable to me may not prove troublesome to you. I thank you for your kind recommending of me to Mr. Osborne. Mr. Read would readily have put the books into my hands, but, it being now out of my way to dispose of them, I propose to Mr. Hall the taking of them into his shop; but he, having looked over the invoice, says they are charged so extravagantly high, that he cannot sell them for any profit to himself, without hurting the character of his shop. He will, however, at my request, take the copies of the Indian History and put them on sale; but the rest of the cargo must lie, I believe, for Mr. Osborne's further orders. I shall write to him by our next vessels. I am glad you have had an opportunity of gaining the friendship of Governor Shirley, with whom though I have not the honour of being particularly acquainted, I take him to be a wise, good, and worthy man. He is now a fellow sufferer with you, in being made the subject of some public, virulent, and senseless libels. I hope they give him as little pain. Mr. Bartram continues well. Here is a Swedish gentleman,1 a professor of botany, lately arrived, and I suppose 1 This gentleman was Peter Kalm, the Swedish traveller, who spent some |