it all the more interesting on that account.
Probably to them it is like the English which we have heard in America
from the lips of certain Frenchmen. How fortunate it is that I learned
to speak the language of France in my boyhood!

"From the silver-tongued Mirabeau I got further knowledge of Franklin,
with which I, his friend and fellow countryman, should have been
acquainted, save that the sacrifices of the patriot are as common as
mother's milk and cause little comment among us. The great orator was
expected to display his talents, if there were any excuse for it,
wherever he might be, so the ladies set up a demand for a toast. He
spoke of Franklin, 'The Thrifty Prodigal,' saying;

"'He saves only to give. There never was such a squanderer of his own
immeasurable riches. For his great inventions and discoveries he has
never received a penny. Twice he has put his personal fortune at the
disposal of his country. Once when he paid the farmers for their
horses and wagons to transport supplies for the army of Braddock, and
again when he offered to pay for the tea which was thrown into Boston
Harbor.'

"The great man turned to me and added:

"'I have learned of these things, not from him, but from others who
know the truth, and we love him in France because we are aware that he
is working for Human Liberty and not for himself or for any greedy
despot in the 'west.'

"It is all so true, yet in America nothing has been said of this.

"As the dinner proceeded the Abbe Raynal asked the Doctor if it was
true that there were signs of degeneracy in the average male American.

"'Let the facts before us be my answer," said Franklin. "There are at
this table four Frenchmen and four Americans. Let these gentlemen
stand up."

"The Frenchmen were undersized, the Abbe himself being a mere shrimp of
a man. The Americans, Carmichael, Harmer, Humphries and myself, were
big men, the shortest being six feet tall. The contrast raised a laugh
among the ladies. Then said Franklin in his kindest tones:

"'My dear Abbe, I am aware that manhood is not a matter of feet and
inches. I only assure you that these are average Americans and that
they are pretty well filled with brain and spirit.'

"The Abbe spoke of a certain printed story on which he had based his
judgment.

"Franklin laughed and answered: 'I know that is a fable, because I
wrote it myself one day, long ago, when we were short of news.'"

The guests having