FRA 
funnel-form ; petals five ; stigma six-parted ; 
capsule one-celled, three- valved. There are 
three species. 
FRANKFORT black, is the chief in* 
gredient in the copper-plate printer’s 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 Mayn, though a great 
deal is made at Mentz, Strasburg, and dif- 
ferent parts of France. 
FRANKINCENSE, is a gummy resin, 
tire product of the juniperus lycia, consist- 
ing of equal parts of gum and resin ; the 
first is soluble in water, the other in alco- 
hol. It is brought from Turkey and the 
East Indies, but is principally collected 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 frankincense. 
FRANKLIN (Dr. Benjamin), in bio- 
graphy, one of the most celebrated philoso- 
phers and politicians of the eighteenth cen- 
tury, was born in Boston, in North Ame- 
rica, in the year 1706, being the youngest 
of thirteen children. His father was a tal- 
low-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 continued two years, but dis- 
liking this occupation, 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, began to print a newspaper, 
being the second ever published in Ame- 
rica ; the copies of which our author was 
sent to distribute after having assisted in 
composing and printing it. Upon this occa- 
sion our young philosopher enjoyed the se- 
cret and singular pleasure of being the 
much-admired author of many essays in this 
paper, a circumstance which he had the 
address 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 for- 
ward to Philadelphia, where he worked 
with a printer a short time ; after which, at 
the instance of Sir William Keith, gover- 
nor of the province, he returned to Bos- 
ton to solicit pecuniary assistance from his 
father to set up a printing-house for himself 
at Philadelphia, upon the promise of great 
FRA 
encouragement from Sir William, &c. His 
father thought fit, however, to refuse such 
aid, alleging that he was yet top young 
(eighteen years old) to be entrusted with 
such a concern, and our author again re- 
turned 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 pur- 
pose he would give him letters of credit. 
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 cre- 
dit were in the governor’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 credit, at the age of eighteen. 
He soon found employment, however, as 
a journeyman printer, first at Mr. Palmer’s, 
and afterwards with Mr. Watts, with whom 
he worked a considerable time, and by 
whom he was greatly esteemed, being also 
treated with such kindness that it was 
always most gratefully remembered by our 
philosopher. 
After a stay of eighteen months in Lon- 
don, he returned to Philadelphia, viz. ia 
1726, along with a merchant of that town, 
as his clerk, on a salary of fifty pounds a 
year. But his master dying a year after, he 
again engaged to direct the printing busi- 
ness of the same person with whom he had 
worked before. After continuing with 
him the best part of a year, our philoso- 
pher, in partnership with another young 
man, at length set up a printing-house him- 
self. 
Before this time young Franklin had gra- 
dually associated a number of persons like 
himself, of a rational and philosophical turn 
of mind, and formed them into a club or 
society, to hold meetings to converse and 
communicate their sentiments together for 
their mutual improvement in all kinds of 
useful knowledge, which was in much re- 
pute for many years afterwards. Among 
many other useful regulations, they agreed 
to bring such books as they had into one 
place, to form a common library. This re- 
source 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, beipg de- 
sirous of having a share in their literary 
