ise saws Franklin gathered
from far and wide, often, however, reshaping them and marking them,
with the stamp of his peculiar genius. As might be expected, they are
chiefly directed to instill the precepts of industry and frugality. On
ceasing to edit the almanac in 1757 Franklin gathered together the best
of these proverbs and wove them into a continuous narrative, which he
pretends to have heard spoken at an auction by an old man called Father
Abraham. This speech of Father Abraham became immediately famous, was
reprinted in England, was translated into the languages of Europe, and
still lives. It made the name of Poor Richard a household word the
world over.

Franklin, however, had many intellectual interests besides reading and
writing. He was always interested in music, himself playing the guitar
and harp and violin; and one of his proudest achievements was the
perfection of a musical instrument called the armonica, which consisted
of a series of glasses so designed as to give forth the notes of the
musical scale when chafed with the moistened finger.

He was moreover sensitive in his own way to the various spiritual
movements that swept over the country. This was the period of wild
revivals, when religion, entering into the converted soul with
inconceivable violence, found expression in gasping shrieks, rigid
faintings, and strong convulsions; and the leader of this movement,
strange as it may seem, was a warm friend of Franklin's. George
Whitefield first visited Philadelphia in 1739, and immediately filled
the city with enthusiasm by his powerful oratory. Franklin was
astonished at the hold he got on the people, especially as he assured
them they were naturally half beasts and half devils; but our
philosopher admits that he himself succumbed once to the preacher's
spell. Whitefield was preaching a begging sermon for a project which
Franklin did not approve, and the latter made a silent resolve that he
would not contribute. He had in his pocket a handful of copper money,
three or four silver dollars, and five pistoles in gold. As the orator
proceeded, he began to soften and concluded to give the copper. Another
stroke of eloquence made him ashamed of that and determined him to give
the silver; and the peroration was so admirable that he emptied his
pocket wholly into the collector's dish, gold and all. But he was never
too much carried away to omit analyzing and observing; and on one
occasion, when Whitefield wa