him, etc., etc. I should be glad to have that account against my friend Grace, with all the little charges you have so cunningly accumulated on it, that I may communicate it to him; and doubt not but he will immediately order you payment. It appears not unlikely to me, that he may soon get through all his difficulties, and as I know him goodnatured and benevolent to a high degree, so I believe he will be above resenting the ill-treatment he has received from some that are now so fond of insulting him, and from whom he might have expected better things. But I think you would do well not to treat others in the same manner, for fortune's wheel is often turning, and all are not alike forgiving. I request, as soon as it suits your convenience, that you will take the proper measures with regard to Mr. Strahan's account, and I am your humble servant, B. FRANKLIN.

TO WILLIAM STRAHAN

PHILADELPHIA, 29 April, 1749.

SIR:-I suppose Mr. Hall will acquaint you that I have settled with him for those things you sent me that were charged in his invoice. Enclosed are the

which, with my son's wages and a remittance I ordered you from the West Indies, and suppose may be in your hands before this time, will, I imagine, near balance our account.

In a former letter I promised to write you largely about your affairs with Mr. Read, and the measures taken to recover your money. Before I received your power of attorney and account there was a misunderstanding between us, occasioned by his endeavoring to get a small office from me (Clerk to the Assembly), which I took the more amiss, as we had always been good friends, and the office could not have been of much service to him, the salary being small, but valuable to me, as a means of securing the public business to our printing-house. So as we were not on speaking terms when your account came to hand, and the influence I had over him as a friend was become little or nothing, it was some time before I mentioned it to him. But at length the ice was broke in the following manner. I have a friend in the country that assisted me when I first set up, whose affairs have lately been in some disorder (occasioned chiefly by his too great good nature), his creditors coming at the same time in a crowd upon him. I had made up with several of them for him, but Mr. Read being employed in one small case (a debt of £12 only) carried on (by some contrivance in the law which I don't understand) a private action against him, by summoning him in this county when he lives in another, and obtained a judgment against him without his or my knowing any thing of the matter; and then came to me, knowing I had a great

affection for Mr. Grace, and in a very insulting manner asked: "What shall I do with your friend Grace? I have got a judgment against him, and must take out execution if the debt is not immediately satisfied," etc. Upon enquiring into the matter and understanding how it had been carried on, I grew a little warm, blamed his practice as irregular and unfair, and his conduct towards Mr. Grace, to whom his father and family had been much obliged, as ungrateful; and said that since he looked on me as Mr. Grace's friend he should have told me of the action before he commenced it, that I might have prevented it, and saved the charges arising on it, and his not doing so could be only from a view of the small fees it produced him, in carrying it through all the courts, etc. He justified his practice, and said it was legal and frequent, denied that his father or family were under any obligation to Mr. Grace; alleged that Grace had used him ill in employing another lawyer in some of his own actions, when at the same time he owed him near £5; and added haughtily that he was determined to sue Grace on his own account if not speedily paid, and, so saying, left me very abruptly. I thought this a good opportunity of introducing your affair, imagining that a consciousness of his ill behavior to me and my friend would pique him to make immediate payment. Accordingly I wrote him a letter the next day, of which I send you the rough draft enclosed, together with his answer; since which several other letters passed on the same subject of which I have no copies. All I insisted on, since he declared his

inability to pay at present, was, that he should give you his bond, so that in case of his death you might come in for payment prior to common creditors, and that he should allow you interest from the time the money became due in the common course of payments. He agreed to give his bond, but it has been delayed from time to time till this day, when on my writing to him again to know what account I should send you, I received from him the enclosed billet, in which he refuses to allow interest for the time past. As he cannot be compelled to pay interest on a book account, I desired him then to fill up and execute a bond to you for the principal, and he might settle the affair of the interest with you hereafter. Accordingly he has just now done it, so that interest will arise for the time to come; but as he threatens to pay very speedily, and I am persuaded may easily do it by the help of his relations, who are wealthy, I hope you will not have much interest to receive. He has a great many good qualities for which I love him; but I believe he is, as you say, sometimes a little crazy. If the debt were to me I could not sue him; so I believe you will not desire me to do it for you; but he shall not want pressing (though I scarce ever dun for myself), because I think his relations may and will help him if properly applied to; and Mr. Hall thinks with me, that urging him frequently may make him more considerate, and induce him to abridge some of his unnecessary expenses. The bond is made payable in a month from the day; and, for your encouragement, I may add that notwithstanding what he affects to say of the

badness of his circumstances, I look on the debt to be far from desperate.

Please to send me Chambers' Dictionary, the best edition, and charge it in Mr. Hall's invoice. My compliments to good Mrs. Strahan: my dame writes to her. I am, with great esteem and affection, dear sir, your most obliged friend and humble servant, B. FRANKLIN.

TO WILLIAM STRAHAN

Philadelphia, 3 July, 1749.

DEAR SIR:-I wrote to you very fully per Arthur concerning your affair with Mr. Read, and shall have nothing to add on that subject till I hear further from you. I acquainted you that he had given his bond for the balance due to you, and that I do not look on the debt as desperate.

Enclosed I send you several second bills, having sent the first per Arthur. I hope to hear per next ship that you have received my son's pay, since I understand there was a Parliament in March last, for a sum to defray all the charges of the Canada expedition. If it should prove otherwise, I will send the balance from hence in the fall, and make you satisfaction for the delay and disappointment.

The Library Company send to Mr. Collinson by this ship for a parcel of books. I have recommended you to him on the occasion, and hope you will have the selling of them. If you should, and the Company judge your charges reasonable, I doubt not but you will keep their custom.