370 Poreign Laterature and Scvence. 
advantage, methinks, would arise from freely speaking our 
good thoughts of ourselves, viz. if we were wrong in them, 
somebody or other would readily set us right; but now, 
while we conceal so carefully our vain erroneous self-opin- 
ions, we may carry them to our graves, for who would of- 
fer physic to a man that seems to be in health? And the 
privilege of recounting freely our own good actions, might 
be an inducement to the doing of them, that we might be 
enabled to speak of them without being subject fo be justly 
contradicted or charged with falsehood: whereas now, as 
we are not allowed to mention them, and it is an uncertain- 
ty whether others will take due notice of them or not, we 
are perhaps the more indifferent about them : so that upon 
the whole I wish the out-of-fashion practice of praising our- 
selves, would, like other old fashions, come round in fash- 
ion again. But this I fear will not be in our time, so we 
must e’en be contented with what little praise we can get 
from one another. And I will endeavour to make you some 
amends for the trouble of reading this long scrawl, by tel- 
ling you, that I have the sincerest esteem for you, as an in- 
genious man, and a good one, which together make the val- 
uable member of society ; as such, I am with great respect 
and affection, Dr. Sir, ' 
¥our obliged humble serv’t. 
B. FRANKLIN. © 
INTELLIGENCE, &c. 
—<>- — 
1. Foreign Literature and Science. 
Comm «nicated by Prof. Griscom. 
Iceland.— Professor Menge de Hanau, ina tour which he 
inade in Iceland, writes from his tent in July 1819, at the 
very foot of the Geyser, a description of the phenomena 
which the boiling spring presented. A funnel of 700 feet 
circumference but of uneqiaal depth, is alternately filled with 
boiling water and thenemptied. In one of the intervals M. 
Menge had the courage to penetrate the interior and to col- 
