vely as they rose before him, and he
must have selected the fifteen useful observations, which we have
mentioned, from this troublesome multitude. The chance in such a
selection would have been against him; the time employed in the
examination and rejection of all the unnecessary recollections, would
have been absolutely wasted.

We must wish that it were in our power, when we make observations upon
nature, or when we read the reflections of others, to arrange our
thoughts so as to be ready when we want to reason or invent. When
cards are dealt to us, we can sort our hand according to the known
probabilities of the game, and a new arrangement is easily made when
we hear what is trumps.

In collecting and sorting observations, Dr. Franklin particularly
excelled; therefore we may safely continue to take him for our
example. Wherever he happened to be, in a boat, in a mine, in a
printer's shop, in a crowded city, or in the country, in Europe or
America, he displays the same activity of observation. When any thing,
however trifling, struck him which he could not account for, he never
rested till he had traced the effect to its cause. Thus, after having
made one remark, he had fresh motive to collect facts, either to
confirm or refute an hypothesis; his observations tending consequently
to some determinate purpose, they were arranged in the moment they
were made, in the most commodious manner, both for his memory and
invention; they were arranged either according to their obvious
analogies, or their relation to each other as cause and effect. He had
two useful methods of judging of the value of his own ideas; he either
considered how they could be immediately applied to practical
improvements in the arts, or how they could lead to the solution of
any of the great problems in science. Here we must again observe, that
judgment saved the labour of memory. A person, who sets about to
collect facts at random, is little better than a magpie, who picks up
and lays by any odd bits of money he can light upon, without knowing
their use.

Miscellaneous observations, which are made by those who have no
philosophy, may accidentally lead to something useful; but here we
admire the good fortune, and not the genius, of the individuals who
make such discoveries: these are prizes drawn from the lottery of
science, which ought not to seduce us from the paths of sober
industry. How long may an observation, fortunately made, continue to
be