FRA 



FRA 



ink : it is made of the lees of wine, 

 burnt, washed in water, and ground in 

 mills, together with ivory, or the stones 

 from peaches and other fruit. The best 

 is that made at Frankfort on the Maine, 

 though a great deal is made at Mentz, 

 Strasburg, and different parts of France. 



FRANKINCENSE, is a gummy resin, 

 the product of the juniperus lycia, con- 

 sisting of equal parts of gum and resin ; 

 the first is soluble in water, the other in 

 alcohol. It is brought from Turkey and 

 the East Indies, but is principally collect- 

 ed in Arabia. It usually comes to us 

 in drops, but in a very impure state, a 

 hundred pounds not yielding more than 

 from forty to fifty pounds of pure frank- 

 incense. 



FRANKLIN, (Da. BENJAMIN), in bio- 

 graphy, one of the most celebrated phi- 

 losophers and politicians of the eigh- 

 teenth century, was born in Boston, in 

 North America, in the year 1706, being 

 the youngest of thirteen children. His 

 father was a tallow-chandler in Boston, 

 and young Franklin was taken away from 

 school, at ten years of age, to assist him in 

 his business. In this situation he conti- 

 nued two years, but disliking this occu- 

 pation, he was bound apprentice to an 

 elder brother, who was then a printer in 

 Boston, but had learned that business in 

 London, and who, in the year 1721, be- 

 gan to print a newspaper, being the se- 

 cond ever published in America ; the co- 

 pies of which our author was sent to dis- 

 tribute, after having assisted in composing 

 and printing- it. Upon tin's occasion our 

 young philosopher enjoyed the secret 

 and singular pleasure of being the much- 

 admired author of many essays in this pa- 

 per, a circumstance which he had the ad- 

 dress to keep a secret even from his bro- 

 ther himself, and this when he was only 

 fifteen years of age. The frequent ill 

 usage from his brother induced young 

 Franklin to quit his service, which he 

 did at the age of seventeen, and went to 

 New-York ; but not meeting employment 

 here, he went forward to Philadelphia, 

 where he worked with a printer a short 

 time ; after which, at the instance of Sir 

 William Keith, governor of the province, 

 he returned to Boston, to solicit pecunia- 

 ry assistance from his father to set up a 

 printing-house for himself at Philadel- 

 phia, upon the promise of great encou- 

 ragementfrom Sir William, &c. His father 

 thought fit, however, to refuse such aid, 

 alleging that he was yet too young (eigh- 

 teen years old) to be entrusted with such 

 * concern, and our author again returned 



to Philadelphia without it. Upon this Sir 

 William said he would advance the sum 

 himself, and our young philosopher 

 should go to England and purchase all 

 the types and materials himself, for which 

 purpose he would give him letters of cre- 

 dit. He could never, however, get these 

 letters, yet, by dint of fair promises of 

 their being sent on board the ship after 

 him, he sailed for England, expecting 

 these letters of credit were in the gover- 

 nor's packet, which he was to receive 

 upon its being opened. In this he was 

 cruelly deceived, and thus he was sent to 

 London, without money, friends, or cre- 

 dit, at the age of eighteen. 



He soon found employment, however, 

 as a journeyman printer," first at Mr. Pal- 

 mer's, and afterwards with Mr Watts, 

 with whom he worked a considerable 

 time, and by whom he was greatly es- 

 teemed, being also treated with such 

 kindness that it was always most grateful- 

 ly remembered by our philosopher. 



After a stay of eighteen months in Lon- 

 don, he returned to Philadelphia, viz. in 

 1726, along with a merchant of that town, 

 as a clerk, on a salary of fifty pounds a 

 year. But his master dying a year after, 

 he again engaged to direct the printing 

 business of the same person with whom 

 he had worked before. After continuing 

 with him the best part of a year, our phi- 

 losopher, in partnership with another 

 young man, at length set up a printing- 

 house himself. 



Before this time young Franklin had 

 graduallly associated a number of persons 

 like himself, of a rational and philosophi- 

 cal turn of mind, and formed them into 

 a club or society, to hold meetings, to 

 converse and communicate their senti- 

 ments together, for their mutual improve- 

 ment in "all kinds of useful knowledge, 

 which was in much repute for many years 

 afterwards. Among many other useful re- 

 gulations, they agreed to bring such 

 books as they had into one place, to form 

 a common library. This resource being 

 found defective, at Franklin's persuasion, 

 they resolved to contribute a small sum 

 monthly towards the purchase of books 

 for their use from London. Thus their 

 stock began to increase rapidly, and the 

 inhabitants of Philadelphia, being desi- 

 rous of having a share in their literary 

 knowledge, proposed that the books 

 should be lent out for paying a small sum 

 for the indulgence. Thus, in a few 

 years, the society became rich, and pos- 

 sessed more books than were, perhaps, 

 to be found in all the other colonies. The 



