sisted of ten households; and every particular person, thus mutually bound, was called decenner. This custom was so strictly observed that the sheriffs, in every county, did from time to time take the oaths of young ones as they grew to the age of fourteen years, and see that they combined in one decenna; this branch of the sheriff's authority was called visus franciplegii, view of frankpledge.

FRANKED LETTERS. The privilege of letters passing free of postage to and from members of parliament was claimed by the house of commons in 1660, when the first legal settlement of the present post-office was made; but afterwards dropped, upon a private assurance from the crown that this privilege should be allowed the members. Accordingly a warrant was constantly issued to the postmaster-general, directing the allowance thereof to the extent of two ounces in weight: till at length it was expressly confirmed by 4 Geo. III. c. 24, which added many new regulations, rendered necessary by the great abuses in franking; whereby the annual amount of franked letters had increased from £23,600 in the year 1715, to £170,700 in the year 1763. Other regulations afterwards took place; in particular, franks were required to be dated (the month written at length), and put into the office the same day; notwithstanding which, the revenue still lost by its privilege above £80,000 per annum. The following are the regulations of franking required by 35 Geo. III., and now in force. No letter directed by or to any M. P. shall be exempted from postage if it exceeds one oz. in weight. No letter directed by any member shall be exempted, unless he shall actually be in the post town, or within the limits of its delivery of letters, or within twenty miles of it on the day, or the day before it, on which the letter shall be put into the office. No member shall be entitled to send free from postage more than ten letters in one day, nor to receive more than fifWhenever the number of letters sent or received by such member in one day shall exceed the number exempted, and the postage upon any of them shall differ, the letters chargeable with a higher postage shall be included in the number exempted, in preference to any chargeable with a lower postage, and the remainder shall be chargeable with the postage to which commcn letters are now chargeable. Persons who may now in right of their offices send and receive letters free may continue so to do. Printed votes or proceedings in parliament, and printed newspapers, may also be sent as usual. No single letter sent by the post from any non-commis sioned officer, seaman, or private, in the navy, army, militia, fencible regiments, artillery, or marines, shall be charged with more postage than one penny, but must be paid at the time of putting it into the post office; and such letter must have written thereon, in the hand writing of, and signed by, the commanding officer, the name of such commanding officer, and of the ship, vessel, corps, regiment, or detachment. Also no single letter directed to any such non-commissioned officer, seaman, or private, shall be charged with more postage than one penny, to be paid on the delivery thereof; but such letter must be directed

teen.

to such persons, specifying the ship, vessel, regiment, troop, corps, company, or detachment, to which they belong: and the postmaster must deliver such letter either to the party to whom it shall be directed, or to some person appointed to receive the same by the commanding officer, and to no other. Every cover containing patterns or samples of goods, not exceeding one ounce, shall be charged only as a single letter, if sent open at the sides, and without any letter or writing therewith, other than the name of the person sending the same, the place of his abode, and the prices of the articles.

FRANKEN (Francis), commonly called Old Frank, a famous Flemish painter, supposed to have been born about A. D. 1544. He painted historical subjects from the Old and New Testaments; and was remarkable for introducing a great number of figures into his compositions, which he had the address to group very distinctly. Vandyck greatly commended his works.

FRANKEN (Francis), or Young Frank, the son of the former, born in 1580, was instructed by his father, whose style he adopted so closely, that their works are not easily distinguished. He travelled into Italy for improvement in coloring. His chief performances are, a Scriptu ral piece in the church of Notre Dame at Antwerp, and another of Solomon's idolatry. He died in 1642.

FRANKENBERG, a town of Hesse-Cassel, Germany, on the Eder. It contains 2700 inhabitants, and is the chief place of a district, which once had some gold and silver mines, and still contains lead ore. Thirty-five miles south-west of Cassel.

FRANKENBERG, a town of Upper Saxony, in Erzgeburg, nine miles west of Freyberg, and seven N. N. E. of Chemnitz. It is a place of great antiquity, and contains at the present time some flourishing woollen, cotton, and leather manufactories. Charlemagne fortified it against the Saxons.

FRANKENDAL, a strong town of France, in the department of Mont Tonnerre, late of Getmany, in the dominions of the elector palatine. It was taken by the Spaniards in 1623, by the Swedes in 1632, and burnt by the French in 1688. It has a good trade in porcelain, cloth, silks, &c.; and a navigable canal to the Rhine. It lies eight miles north-west of Manheim, and eight south of Worms. Long. 8° 29′ E., Int. 49° 25' N.

FRANKENHAUSEN, a town of Germany, in the principality of Schwartzburg-Rudolstadt, having extensive salt works, and 3000 inhabitants. It stands on the Wipper, ten miles east of Sonderhausen, and twenty-six north of Erfurt.

FRANKENIA, in botany, a genus of the monogynia order, and hexandria class of plants; natural order seventeenth, calycanthema: CAL quinquefid, funnel-shaped; petals five; stigma sexpartite: CAPS. unilocular and trivalvular. Species four; two natives of our own country, one of the Cape, and one of Siberia.

FRANKENSTEIN, a town of Silesia, on the Bautze, containing a flourishing linen manufac tory. It is twelve mile; S. S. W. of Glatz, and has 4150 inhabitants.

FRANKENTHAL, a town in the province of the Rhine, Bavaria, which was destroyed in 1688, with several other towns of the palatinate, but rebuilt. It suffered also greatly in the wars of 1794 and 1795. Its present population is about 3500, engaged in the linen and woollen manufactory. Here is a canal which communicates with the Rhine. Twelve miles from Heidelberg.

FRANKFORT, a town of the United States, on the river and in the state of Kentucky. Long. 83° 12′ W., lat. 38° 3′ N.

FRANKFORT ON THE MAINE, a considerable city of Germany, the seat of the Germanic diet, is situated on the Maine, about twenty miles above its influx into the Rhine, over which is a good stone bridge. It is divided by the Maine into two parts: the one on the north bank, by much the larger, called Frankfort Proper; the other Sachsenhausen. Frankfort was formerly fortified, but most of its works are now converted into promenades or gardens. The houses are partly of wood, but the principal streets, 'the Zeile' in particular, are wide; there are also three noble squares. This town, the residence of ancient electors, princes, and counts, is now divided, in religion, between the Catholics, who have nine churches, the Lutherans seven, the Calvinists two. The Jews are said to amount to

between 7000 and 9000. They formerly lived in a quarter of the city blocked up at one end, and regularly shut in at night; but since 1796 they are at liberty to live in any part of the town, though they are still not exempt from vexatious treatment. Population 41,000.

Frankfort is much frequented by travellers, and carries on a great trade in books and printing. It is the birth-place of Goethe. It contains, among its public establishments, a Lutheran academy, and Catholic gymnasium. The library of St. Bartholomew has some valuable MSS., and there are also several great private collections. Two great fairs are held here annually in spring and autumn; and its commercial activity is always great. Merchandise of all kinds arrives by the Rhine from all parts of Europe, and the exchange transactions are very considerable. The local manufactures, however, are on a smal. scale; the principal are in silk, velvet, and cotton stuffs.

Frankfort, long a free city, was under the iron yoke of Buonaparte from 1806 to 1813: its constitution at present is a mixture of democracy and aristocracy, affording a perfect equality to the different denominations of Christians, and a final appeal to the Diet. The town possesses an adjacent territory of 110 square miles, with a population of 48,000; its yearly revenue is about £80,000 sterling, but it is burdened with a debt of more than £300,000, chiefly the result of the forced contributions of the French. It is twenty miles E.N. E. of Mentz, and fifty south-east of Cologne.

FRANKFORT, GRAND DUCHY OF, is the name of a temporary sovereignty formed in Germany in 1806 by Buonaparte, in favor of the archchancellor or elector of Mentz, who was named prince primate of the confederation of the Rhine. He added to this territory the city of Frankfort VOL. IX.

At the congress of Vienna, the primate was deprived of his states, and treated as the secularised bishops of 1803, receiving an annual peusion of 100,000 florins from those powers who obtained his possessions.

FRANKFORT ON THE ODER is a considerable

town of Prussia, and the capital of the middle mark of Brandenburg. It is defended by a fort, standing on the bridge of the Oder. The town is well built, and has a university, founded in 1506; but the number of students is seldom more than 200. It has three annual fairs, and

is a place of considerable trade, communicating with the North Sea by the Muhlrose canal; 2000 boats and barges are said to be employed

on that canal and on the Oder. Here are manu

ware.

factures of silks, woollens, leather, and earthenThe neighbourhood was the scene of a sanguinary battle between the Prussians and Russians in 1759. It is twelve miles S. S. W. of Custrin, and forty-eight east of Berlin. Popula

tion 12,000.

United States of North America, is situated in FRANKFORT, the metropolis of Kentucky, Franklin county, on the north-east bank of Kentucky River, about twenty-four miles from its junction with the Ohio. It is a flourishing and regularly built town, with a handsome statehouse. Population, in 1816, 1099. Twenty-five miles north by west of Danville.

FRANK'INCENSE, n. s.

'Frank and in

cense;' so called perhaps from its liberal disThomson more probably from Goth. ve, holy, tribution of odor; says Dr. Johnson. Mr. and rauck; Teut. rauch, smoke or odor.

Take unto thee sweet spices, with pure frankincense. Erodus.

I find in Dioscorides record of frankincense gotten in India. Brerewood on Language. See how it weeps! the tears do come, Sad, slowly dropping like a gum. So weeps the wounded balsam; so The holy frankincense doth flow. The brotherless Heliades

Marvell.

Melt in such amber tears as these. Black ebon only will in India grow, And od'rous frankincense on the Sabæan bough. Dryden's Virgil.

Cedar and frankincense, an odʼrous pile, Flamed on the hearth, and wide perfumed the isle. Pope.

drops, of a pale yellowish white color; a strong smell, but not disagreeable, and a bitter, acrid, and resinous taste. It is very inflammable. The earliest histories inform us, that frankincense was used among the sacred rites and sacrifices, as it continues to be in many parts. We are still uncertain as to the place whence frankincense is brought, and as to the tree which proHill.

Frankincense is a dry resinous substance in pieces o

duces it

2Q

FRANKLAND'S ISLANDS, a cluster of islands in the South Pacific, on the north-east coast of New Holland, about six miles from the land. Long. 146° E., lat. 17° 12′ S.

FRANK'LIN, n. s. From frank, a freeholder; an ancient name for a freeholder of considerable property. Fortescue (de L L. Ang. c. 29) describes a Franklin to be a pater familias, magnis ditatus possessionibus. He is classed with, but after, the miles and armiger, and is distinguished from the liberé tenentes and valecti; though as it should seem the only real distinction between him and other freeholders consisted in the largeness of his estate. Spelman, in v. Franklein, quotes the following passage from Trivet's Fr. Chronicle (M S. Bibl. R. S. n. 56). Thomas de Brotherton, filius, Edwardi I. (Mareschallus Anglia), apres la mort resposa la fille de un Francheslyn apelée Alice. There appears no foundation for Dr. Johnson's definition of a franklin as 'a gentleman servant, steward, or bailiff.' A modern life of Dr. Franklin, whose memorable name with that of various other English families has been derived from this word, alludes to the following passage from Chaucer as contradicting our lexicographer :

A frankelein was in this compagnie
White was his berd as is the dayesie-
An householder and that a grete was he
Seint Julian he was in his contree-
At sessions ther was he lord and sire,
Full often time he was knight of the shire
An anelace and a gipciere all of silk
Heng at his gerdel white as morwe milk.

Charicer.

A spacious court they see, Both plain and pleasant to be walked in Where them does meet a franklin fair and frec. Faerie Queene.

FRANKLIN (Benjamin), LL.D. and F. R. S., one of the most celebrated philosophers and politicians of the eighteenth century, was born at Boston, January 6th, 1706. He was the son of Josias Franklin, a tallow-chandler, descended from an ancient English family, who had resided upwards of three centuries at Ecton in Northamptonshire, possessing a small freehold estate of thirty acres, and the eldest son whereof had been uniformly bred up to the profession of a blacksmith. This family had early embraced the opinions of the reformation, and were in danger of suffering for them, under the bloody reign of queen Mary I. Josias was the youngest branch of this family. He had joined the nonconformists, and upon the prohibition of conventicles, under Charles II., emigrated with his wife and family to New England in 1682; where, on the death of his first wife, he married Abiah Folger, daughter of Peter Folger, author of several tracts on liberty of conscience, who bore him nine children besides the subject of the present memoir. Benjamin early acquired reading and writing, but made no progress in arithmetic, as he states in his Life written by himself. From ten to twelve years of age he worked at his father's business; but his inclination for books determined the latter to make him a printer, though his elder brother James was already of that profession. To this

brother he was accordingly bound apprentice, and by his rapid proficiency in the business soon became of great use to him, though he was often treated rather tyrannically. Meantime he improved himself in arithmetic and other branches of science, as well as in composition, by writing anonymous essays for his brother's paper, The New England Courant, and which, being much admired, were for some time of advantage to it. But one of them, upon a political subject, happening to give offence to the Assembly, his brother was taken up, imprisoned for a month, and prohibited from printing his newspaper. The paper was then continued under the name of Benjamin Franklin, whose indentures were discharged, and a new secret contract agreed upon: but fresh differences afterwards arising between the brothers, our author, at the age of seventeen, emigrated to Philadelphia, where he arrived, without knowing a single individual in it, after escaping the danger of being taken up as a runaway servant, and various other adventures, which he humorously describes in his Memoirs. Here he soon obtained employment from Bradford and Keimer, the only two printers then in the city. After this he was introduced by his brother-in-law, Captain Holmes, to Sir William Keith, governor of the province, who promised to do much for him, but, except entertaining him occasionally, in his own house or a tavern, performed nothing. By his advice, however, he paid a visit to his parents, and in the end of 1724, sailed for London, where by his own merit, without Sir William's promised letters of recommendation and credit, he obtained the best employment, first in Palmer's printing office, and afterwards in Watt's. At this time our author falling in with some Deistical companions, renounced the religious principles in which he had been educated, commenced sceptic, and published a Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain, wherein he endeavoured to prove that there is no difference between virtue and vice; which he afterwards considered as one of the grand errors of his life. This work, however, introduced him to the acquaintance of Drs. Mandeville, and Pemberton, Sir Hans Sloane, and other celebrated authors. But he had been only eighteen months in London, during which time, living very temperately, or rather abstemiously, he had begun to lay up money, when a proposal was made to him by his friend, Mr. Denham, of returning to Philadelphia. This gentleman had been formerly a mercnant in Bristol, and, having failed, emigrated to Ame rica, where he made a fortune; then returned, invited his creditors to a feast, and paid their ba lances with interest. He engaged Franklin as his clerk and book-keeper, and to superintend the goods he was carrying back to America. They accordingly sailed on the 3d of July, 1726, and arrived at Philadelphia, October 11; but Denham dying in February, 1727, our author engaged once more as a printer with Keimer; whom he also served as a letter-founder, inkmaker, engraver, and copper-plate printer; as well as constructor of a press for that purpose. This press, which was the first that had been seen in the country, was erected

by Mr. Franklin, at Burlington, to print some New Jersey money-bills; and proved the means of his acquaintance with judge Allen, and several other members of the assembly, who were afterwards of great service to him. After this, he commissioned types from London, set up a printing-office, in company with Hugh Meredith, a fellow-workman, whose father advanced some money for them; and, at the same time, Franklin established a weekly club, for mutual improvement, which proved an excellent school of philosophy. This society, which was called the Junto, lasted nearly forty years. Mean time his industry, which was habitual, receiving additional energy from the idea of working for himself, rapidly advanced his credit, and Keimer, being unable to continue his newspaper, sold the copyright to Franklin for a mere trifle; who, by his improvements in the conduct and execution of it, soon raised it to a high degree of celebrity. After this, his accurate and elegant manner of printing recommended him to the employment of the assembly: and his partner Meredith, giving up the printing, turned farmer, and thus left Franklin sole proprietor of the business in 1729. Whereupon his friends, Messrs. Coleman and Grace, offered him money to carry it on extensively, and he accepted of half the offered sum from each. Soon after, a new emission of paper currency being wished for by the public, but opposed by the opulent part of the assembly, Franklin published a pamphlet on the subject, which, being unanswerable, occasioned the measure to be carried through, and himself to be rewarded by being employed to print the bills. Public and private employment now flowing upon him more and more, he, in 1730, married a lady, whose maiden name was Read, for whom he had entertained an affection before he went to London, and whose attachment was mutual: although, during his absence, she had been prevailed on by her mother, to marry one Rogers, a potter, who had used her so ill, that she did not so much as bear his name. (See Franklin's Life, written by himself, and published by Dr. Price). To our author she proved an excellent wife, and contributed much to the success of his shop. In 1731 Franklin's love of literature led him to set on foot, first a private, and afterwards a public library, which, in 1742, was incorpoporated by the name of the Library Company of Philadelphia; which now consists of many thousand volumes, besides a philosophical apparatus, &c. In 1732 he began to publish Poor Richard's Almanack, a work which he rendered remarkable by its numerous valuable and concise moral maxims, recommending industry and economy, and which he at last collected into one humorous address to the reader, entitled The Way to Wealth, which has since been translated into various languages. In 1736 he entered on his political career, by being appointed clerk to the general assembly of Pennsylvania. In 1737 he was appointed post-master. In 1738 he formed the first company for preventing damages by fires, and soon after got an insurance office erected. In 1744, during the war between France and Britain, the French and Indians having made inroads upon the frontiers of the province, he

proposed a voluntary association for its 'defence; which was approved of, and immediately signed by 1200 citizens, who chose Franklin their colonel. But he was then too deeply engaged in philosophical and political pursuits, to accept of that honor. In 1745 he published an account of his new invented fire-place (see FIRE-PLACE); and in 1725, was elected a member of the General Assembly, where he supported the rights of the citizens in opposition to the proprietaries. In 1749 he completed the plan of the Philadelphia Academy, upon the most lil eral principles, which was incorporated in 1753. Franklin had now conducted himself so well in his office of post-master to the province, that in 1765 he was appointed deputy post-master general for the British colonies; and, in his hands, this branch of the revenue soon yielded thrice as much, annually, as that of Ireland. Yet none of these public avocations prevented his making important discoveries in science. The Leyden experiment in electricity having rendered that science an object of general curiosity, Mr. Frankin applied himself to it, and soon distinguished himself so eminently in that science, as to attract the attention and applause of not only the count de Buffon, and other French philosophers, but even of Louis XV. himself. He was the first who thought of securing buildings from lightning; and he was also the first inventor of the electrical kite; having completed his experiment in June 1752, a full year before M. de Romas's discovery. His theory of positive and negative electricity has likewise received the sanction of public approbation; though many think it is not fully capable of supporting itself. See ELECTRICITY, index. His theories were at first opposed by the members of the Royal Society in London; but in 1755, when he returned to that city, they voted him the gold medal, which is annually given to the author of a memoir on the most curious and interesting subject. He was likewise admitted a member of the society, and had the degree of LL.D. conferred upon him by the universities of St. Andrews, Edinburgh, and Oxford. When the war broke out between Britain and France, he returned to America, to take a share in the public affairs of his native country. About 1753 he set on foot, and prevailed on the assembly to establish, the Pennsylvania hospital. In 1754, the American colonies having suffered much by the depredations of the Indians on their frontiers, he drew up, and presented to the commissioners from several colonies, a plan of union (called the Albany Plan, from the place where they met), which, though unanimously approved of by the commissioners, was at last rejected by the assemblies, as giving too much influence to the president, who was to be appointed by the king; and disapproved of by the British ministry, as giving too much power to the representatives of the people. This rejection on both sides affords the strongest proof of the excellency and impartiality of his plan, as suited to the situation of Britain and America at that period. It appears to have steered exactly between the opposite interests of both countries. In 1757 be restored tranquillity to the province, by an amicable and

equitable settlement of the differences that had long subsisted between the proprietaries and the people, as to taxation. In 1766 he travelled iuto Holland and Germany, and in 1767 he visited France; being every where received with the greatest marks of attention by men of science. He was introduced in the latter kingdom to Louis XV. Returning to England in 1767, he was examined before the house of commons concerning the stamp act. In 1773, having been appointed agent for Pennsylvania, he again came over to England, while the disputes between Great Britain and America were on the point of coming to extremities; when he attracted the public attention by a letter on the duel betwixt Mr. Whatley and Mr. Temple, concerning the publication of governor Hutchinson's letters. On the 28th January 1774 he was examined before the privy council on a petition he had presented long before, as agent for Massachusett's Bay, against Mr. Hutchinson; but this petition, being disagreeable to ministry, was precipitately rejected, and Dr. Franklin was soon after removed from his office of post-master general. He was now looked upon by government with such a jealous eye, that it was proposed to arrest him as a fomenter of rebellion. The Dr., however, departed for America in the beginning of 1775 with such privacy, that he had left England before it was suspected that he entertained any such design. Being elected a delegate to the continental Congress, he had a principal share in bringing about the revolution, and declaration of independency. In 1776 he was deputed by congress to Canada, to persuade the Canadians to throw off the British yoke; but they had been so much disgusted with the hot-headed zeal of the New Englanders, who had burnt some of their chapels, that they refused to listen to their proposals, though enforced by all the arguments Dr. Franklin could urge. On his return to Philadelphia, Congress, sensible how much he was esteemed in France, sent him to finish the negociations of Mr. Silas Dean. This important commission was readily accepted by the Dr., though then in the seventy-first year of his age. The event is well known; a treaty was signed between France and America; and M. le Rá asserts, that the Dr. strongly advised M. Maurepas not to lose a single moment, if he wished to secure the friendship of America, and to detach it from the mother country. In 1777 he was regularly appointed plenipotentiary from Congress to the French court. Having at last seen the full accomplishment of his wishes by the conclusion of the peace in 1783, which confirmed the independence of America, he requested to be recalled, and Mr. Jefferson was appointed to succeed him. Dr. Franklin arrived safe at Philadelphia in September 1785, and was received amidst the acclamations of a vast multitude, who conducted him in triumph to his own house. In a few days he was visited by the members of Congress and the principal inhabitants. He was afterwards twice elected president of the assembly. In 1787 he was appointed a delegate from Pennsylvania, for revising the articles of confederation; and signed the new

constitution in the name of the state. He was also chosen president of the Philadelphia Society for alleviating the miseries of prisons, and of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery. His last public act was signing a memorial on this subject, 12th February, 1789. During the greatest part of his life he had been very healthy. In 1735, indeed, he was attacked by a pleurisy, which ended in a suppuration of the left lobe of the lungs, so that he was almost suffocated by the quantity of matter thrown up. But from this, as well as another attack, he recovered so completely, that his breathing was not affected. As he advanced in years, however, he became subject to fits of the gout, to which, in 1782, a nephritic colic was added. From this time he became subject also to the stone; and during the last year of his life these complaints almost entirely confined him to his bed; notwithstanding which, neither his mental abilities, nor his cheerfulness forsook him. His memory was tenacious to the last; a remarkable instance of which is, that he learned to speak French after he was seventy. About sixteen days before he died, he was seized with a feverish disorder; which, about the third or fourth day, was attended with a pain in the left breast, accompanied with a cough and laborious breathing. Thus he continued for five days, when the painful symptoms ceased; but a new imposthume had now taken place in the lungs, which suddenly breaking, he was unable to expectorate the matter fully, and expired on the 17th April, 1790. He left one son, governor William Franklin, a zealous loyalist; and a daughter, married to Mr. Willlam Bache, merchant in Philadelphia, who waited upon him during his last illness. Dr. Franklin was sententious but not fluent in society; more inclined to listen than to talk; and an instructive rather than a pleasing companion. He was author of many tracts on electricity, and other branches of natural philosophy, on politics and miscellanecus subjects. The following epitaph on himself was written by Dr. Franklin many years before his death :

The Body of

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, PRINTER,
Like the cover of an old book,

Its contents torn out.
And stript of its lettering and gilding,
Lies here food for worms.

Yet the work itself shall not be lost;
For it will (as he believed) appear once more,
In a new and more beautiful Edition,
Corrected and amended

BY THE AUTHOR.

His funeral is said to have been more numerously and more respectably attended than any other that had ever taken place in America. The concourse of people assembled upon the occasion was immense. All the bells in the city were muffled, the newspapers published with black borders, &c. The body was interred amid peals of artillery, and nothing is said to have been omitted that could display the veneration of the citizens for so illustrious a character.

Congress ordered a public mourning through