ro RISEN BY PERSEVERANCE. 



arose on the abilities of women, and the propriety of giving 

 them a learned education. ColHns maintained their natural 

 unfitness for any of the severer studies, while Franklin took 

 the contrary side of the question, — ' perhaps,' he says, ' a little 

 for dispute sake.' His antagonist had always the greater 

 plenty of words ; but Franklin thought that, on this occasion 

 in particular, his own arguments were rather the stronger ; 

 and on their parting without settling the point, he sat down 

 and put a summary of what he advanced in writing, which he 

 copied out and sent to Collins. This gave a new form to the 

 discussion, which was now carried on for some time by letters, 

 of which three or four had been written on both sides, when 

 the correspondence fell into the hands of FrankHn's father. 

 His natural acuteness and good sense enabled him here again 

 to render an essential service to his son, by pointing out to 

 him how far he fell short of his antagonist in elegance oi 

 expression, in method, and in perspicuity, though he had the 

 advantage of him in correct spelling and punctuation, which he 

 evidently owed to his experience in the printing-office. From 

 that moment Franklin determined to spare no pains in en- 

 deavouring to improve his style ; and we shall give, in his own 

 words, the method he pursued for that end. 



'About this time,' says he, 'I met with an odd volume of 

 the Spectator: I had never before seen any of them. I bought 

 it, read it over and over, and was much delighted with it I 

 thought the writing excellent, and wished, if possible, to imitate 

 it. With that view I took some of the papers, and making 

 short hints of the sentiments in each sentence, laid them by a 

 few days, and then, without looking at the book, tried to com- 

 plete the papers again by expressing each hinted sentiment at 

 length, and as fully as it had been expressed before, in any 



