s indeed first in the hearts of his countrymen. Washington has
no detractors. There may come a time when another will take first place in
the affections of the people, but that time is not yet ripe. Lincoln
stood between men who now live and the prizes they coveted; thousands
still tread the earth whom he benefited, and neither class can forgive,
for they are of clay. But all those who lived when Washington lived are
gone; not one survives; even the last body-servant, who confused memory
with hearsay, has departed babbling to his rest.

We know all of Washington we will ever know; there are no more documents
to present, no partisan witnesses to examine, no prejudices to remove. His
purity of purpose stands unimpeached; his steadfast earnestness and
sterling honesty are our priceless examples.

We love the man.

We call him Father.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

I will speak ill of no man, not even in matter of truth; but
rather excuse the faults I hear charged upon others, and upon
proper occasion speak all the good I know of everybody.
--_Franklin's Journal_

[Illustration: BENJAMIN FRANKLIN]

Benjamin Franklin was twelve years old. He was large and strong and fat
and good-natured, and had a full-moon face and red cheeks that made him
look like a country bumpkin. He was born in Boston within twenty yards of
the church called "Old South," but the Franklins now lived at the corner
of Congress and Hanover Streets, where to this day there swings in the
breeze a gilded ball, and on it the legend, "Josiah Franklin,
Soap-Boiler."

Benjamin was the fifteenth child in the family; and several having grown
to maturity and flown, there were thirteen at the table when little Ben
first sat in the high chair. But the Franklins were not superstitious, and
if little Ben ever prayed that another would be born, just for luck, we
know nothing of it. His mother loved him very much and indulged him in
many ways, for he was always her baby boy, but the father thought that
because he was good-natured he was also lazy and should be disciplined.

Once upon a time the father was packing a barrel of beef in the cellar,
and Ben was helping him, and as the father always said grace at table, the
boy suggested he ask a blessing, once for all, on the barrel of beef and
thus economize breath. But economics along that line did not appeal to
Josiah Franklin, for this was early in Seventeen Hundred Eighteen, and
Josiah was a Presby