Original Letters of Dr. Franklin. 163 



1 conceive that the original constituent particles of water 

 are perfectly hard, round and smooth. If so, there must be 

 interstices, and yet the mass incompressible. A box filled 

 with small shot, has many interstices, and the shot may 

 be compressed, because they are not perfectly, hard. If 

 they were, the interstices would remain the same, notwith- 

 standing the greatest pressure, and would admit sand, &c. 

 as water admits salt. 



Our vessel, named the Argo, is gone for the north-west 

 passage; and the Capt. has borrowed my journals of the 

 last voyage, except one Vol. broken set, which I send you. 

 I enclose a letter from our friend Mr. CoUinson : and am 

 promised some speltz which I shall send per next post. 



The Tatler tells us of a girl who w^as observed to grow 

 suddenly proud, and none could guess the reason, till it 

 came to be known that she had got on a pair of new silk 

 garters. Lest you should be puzzled to guess the cause 

 when you observe any thing of the kind in me, I think I 

 will not hide my new garters under my petticoats, but take 

 the freedom to show them to you, in a paragraph of our 

 friend Collinson's last letter, viz. — But I ought to mortify, 

 and not indulge this vanity. — I will not transcribe the para- 

 graph. — Yet I cannot forbear. — "If any of thy friends (says 

 Peter,) "should take notice that thy head is held a little 

 higher up than formerly, let them know ; when the Grand 

 Monarch of France strictly commands the Abbe' Mazeas to 

 write a letter in the politest terms to the Royal Society, to 

 return the king's thanks and compliments in an express man- 

 ner, to Mr. Franklin of Philadelphia, for the useful discove- 

 ries in Electricity, and application of the pointed rods to 

 prevent the terrible effects of thunder storms : I say af- 

 ter all this, is not some allowance to be made if the crest is 

 a little elevated. There are four letters containing very cu- 

 rious experiments on thy doctrine of Points and its verifica- 

 tion, which will be printed in the New Translations, I 

 think now I have stuck a feather in thy cap, and I may be 

 allowed to conclude in wishing thee long to wear it. 



Thine P. COLLINSON." 



On reconsidering this paragraph, I fear I have not so much 

 reason to be proud as the girl had ; for a feather in the cap, 

 is not so useful a thing, or so serviceable to the wearer, as a 

 pair of good silk garters. The pride of man is very differ- 



