e Seine. It was a lovely place
even in Franklin's day. Here have lived men of royal endowments--Rossini,
Bellini, Lamartine, Grisi. The arrival of Franklin there, where he lived
many years, made the place famous. For Franklin, as a wonder-worker of
science and as an apostle of human liberty, was looked upon more as a
god than a man in France--a Plato, a Cato, a Socrates, with the demeanor
of a Procion.

His one hope now was that he would be able to set the signature which he
had left on the Declaration of Independence on a Treaty of Alliance
between the States of America and his Most Christian Majesty the King of
France. Will he, O shade of the old schoolmaster of Boston town?

Jamie the Scotchman, the type of the man who ridicules and belittles
one, but claims the credit of his success when that one is successful,
was very old now. Fine old Mr. Calamity, who could only see things in
the light of the past, would prophesy no more. A young man with a
purpose is almost certain to meet men like these in his struggles. Not
all are able to pass such people in the Franklin spirit. He heard what
such men had to say, tried to profit by their criticism, but wasted no
time or energy in dispute or retaliation. The seedtime of life is too
short, and its hours are too few, to spend in baffling detraction. Time
makes changes pleasantly, and tells the truth concerning all men. A high
purpose seeking fulfillment under humble circumstances is sure to be
laughed at. It is that which stands alone that looks queer.

After Samuel Adams, Franklin was among the first of those leaders whose
heart sought the independence of the colonies. The resolution for
independence, passed on July 4, 1776, set ringing the Liberty Bell on
the State House of Philadelphia. Couriers rode with the great news of
the century and of the ages to Boston, which filled the old town with
joy.

They brought a copy of the Declaration with them, and a day was
appointed for the reading of it from the front window of the State
House, under the shadow of the king's arms, the classic inscription, and
the lion and the unicorn.

Old, tottering Jamie the Scotchman was among those who heard the great
news with an enkindled heart. He, who had so laughed at little Ben's
attempts for the public welfare, now claimed more and more to have been
the greatest friend of the statesman's youth. It was the delight of his
ninety or more years to make this claim wherever he went, and when t