house's
attack on his confirmation of the existence of phlogiston, (p. 88). He
relished his discussions with Woodhouse and was confident that
eventually he would "overturn the French system of chemistry." He
further remarked to Rush--

Were you at liberty to make an excursion as far as these _back
woods_ I shall be happy to see you, and so would many others.

But at that particular moment Rush was too much engaged in combating
yellow fever, which again ravaged Philadelphia, and all who could, fled,
and the streets were "lifeless and dead." The prevalence of this fearful
plague was a potent factor in Priestley's failure to visit the City
during the year--the last year of a closing Century which did not end in
the prosperity anticipated for it in the hopeful months and years
following the war. It seemed, in many ways, to be the end of an era.
Washington died December 14, 1799, and the Federalists' tenure of power
was coming to a close. The Jeffersonians, aided by eight of the
electoral votes of Pennsylvania, won the victory, amid outbursts of
unprecedented political bitterness. It was, therefore, very wise that
the Doctor remained quietly at home in Northumberland with his
experiments and Church History.

The new Century--the 19th--found our beloved philosopher at times quite
proud of the success he had with his experiments and full of genuine
hope that "phlogiston" was established; and again dejected because of
the "coarse and low articles" directed against him by the prints of the
day. To offset, in a measure, the distrust entertained for him because
of the "intercepted letters" he addressed a series of _Letters_ to the
inhabitants of Northumberland and vicinity. These were explanatory of
his views. At home they were most satisfying but in the city they
brought upon him "more abuse." And, so, he translated a passage from
Petrarch which read--

By civil fueds exiled my native home,
Resign'd, though injured, hither I have come.
Here, groves and streams, delights of rural ease;
Yet, where the associates, wont to serve and please;
The aspect bland, that bade the heart confide?
Absent from these, e'en here, no joys abide.

And these were incorporated in his brochure.

Having alluded to the _Letters_ addressed to the Northumberland folks,
it may be proper to introduce a letter which Priestley received from Mr.
Jefferson, whom the former was disposed to hold as "in many res