igns. And yet he had the art of covering all so thick,
that with almost all men in general, while he lived he passed
for a saint. In short, I believe it is impossible for a man,
though he has all the cunning of a devil, to live and die a
villain, and yet conceal it so well as to carry the name of
an honest fellow to the grave with him, but some one by some
accident or other, shall discover him. Truth and sincerity
have a certain distinguishing, native lustre about them,
which cannot be perfectly counterfeited. They are like fire
and flame that cannot be painted."

We should infer, from some intimations in Franklin's diary, that he
was troubled by some qualms of conscience, in view of his abandonment
of Miss Read, and his irregular life in London. He has left a paper in
which he stated that he had never formed any regular plan for the
control of his conduct: that he was now about to enter on a new life;
and that he was resolved that henceforth he would speak the truth, be
industrious in his business, and speak ill of no man. These were
rather meagre resolutions for a young man under these circumstances to
adopt.

Soon after landing at Philadelphia, Franklin chanced to meet Sir
William Keith in the streets. The governor seemed much embarrassed,
and passed by without speaking. It does not appear that the
acquaintance was ever resumed. The governor lived nearly twenty-five
years afterward, a dishonored and ruined man, and died in the extreme
of poverty.

Poor Miss Read, heart-broken, and deeming herself forever abandoned,
yielded to the importunities of her friends and married a mechanic by
the name of Rogers. He proved to be a thoroughly worthless fellow. His
unconcealed profligacy, and unfaithfulness to his wife, compelled her,
after a few months of wretchedness, to return to her mother, and to
resume her maiden name. The profligate husband fled from his creditors
to the West Indies. Rumors soon reached Philadelphia of his death,
leaving probably another wife.

Franklin entered upon his duties as clerk of Mr. Denham, with his
accustomed energy and skill. He carried into his new vocation, all his
intellectual sagacity, and speedily won not only the confidence but
the affection of his employer. He lived with Mr. Denham, and being
always disposed to look upon the bright side of everything, even of
his own imperfections, notwithstanding his infidelity to Miss Read, he
seems t