conflict, the Indians desired to form a treaty of peace with the English. Accordingly, a convention composed of delegates from Virginia, Maryland, New York, and Massachusetts, met at Albany. For the first time, the northern and the southern colonies came together to consider the common welfare. The conference resulted in a treaty; and the Mohawk chief at its conclusion spoke better than he knew when he said: “We now plant a tree whose top will reach the sun, and its branches spread far abroad, so that it shall be seen afar off, and we shall shelter ourselves under it, and live in peace without molestation." 75. Attempts at Federation. The necessity of a closer general union gradually became more apparent. In 1698 William Penn proposed a plan of federation. In 1754 the Convention of Albany, composed of representatives from six of the colonies, resolved that a union ought to be formed, and accordingly recommended the adoption of a constitution, the outlines of which had been drawn up by Franklin. But this constitution was disapproved in England, because it allowed too much freedom to the colonies; and it was rejected by the colonies, because it gave too much authority to England. Thus, though the sentiment of union was steadily growing, it did not reach full practical realization. That consummation, which was to mark the birth of the American nation, was reserved for the following period. 76. Conditions Favorable to Literature. The changed conditions of American life during this period exerted a salutary influence upon literature. While the conditions were far from being ideal, they marked a considerable advance upon those of the earlier period, and thus gave a broader scope and better form to literary productions. The hard and unceasing struggle for existence characteristic of the greater part of the first colonial period had given place to comparative ease and comfort. While there was but little accumulation of wealth, there were, especially in the older colonies, many comfortable homes, in which books and leisure supplied the opportunity for culture. Several considerable cities - Boston, New York, and Philadelphia - served in some degree as literary centres. The. growing number of schools added to the popular intelligence. The newspapers furnished topics for general thought and discussion, while the closer relations and larger interests of the colonies gave a wider horizon to the intellectual life of the people. 77. Literary Expansion. As will be seen on examining the list of writers prefixed to this period, the development of American literature followed the growth of the colonies. The middle colonies, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, now come into prominence. Though Franklin and Edwards, who have been chosen for special study as representative writers, were born in New England, they both ended their lives in the middle colonies. Franklin's great life was spent chiefly in Philadelphia. The tide of authorship extended southward from Virginia; and in the Carolinas and Georgia there were men who could wield the pen as well as the axe and the sword. 78. Influence of Queen Anne Writers. As might be naturally expected, there is a gradual extension of the range of subjects, and a perceptible advancement in the matter of style. Though historical and theological subjects are still predominant, philosophy, science, and literary miscellany receive increasing attention. Authors become more numerous, and the number of writers in verse is surprising. The influence of the Queen Anne writers - Dryden, Pope, Addison - is discernible in an improved literary form. Franklin formed his style after the Spectator, and we catch an echo of Pope in Livingston's "Philosophic Solitude": "Let ardent heroes seek renown in arms, From noise remote, and ignorant of strife; 79. First American Drama. of the first American drama, This period saw the birth a tragedy entitled "The Prince of Parthia," written by Thomas Godfrey. It is an oriental story of love, lust, jealousy, murder, ruin, cast in the large mould of the Elizabethan dramatists, and its style shows that the author had studied Shakespeare to good purpose. Take the following passage in illustration of its poetic vigor :"Vardanes. Heaven! what a night is this! Lysias. 'Tis filled with terror; Perhaps Arsaces' fall; and angry heaven Vardanes. Terror indeed! It seems as sickening Nature BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 80. General Popularity.No other American, excepting only the Father of his Country, is more interesting to people of every class than Benjamin Franklin. His popularity has been extraordinary. Since his death, a little more than a hundred years ago, no decade has passed without the publication of a biography or a new edition of his works. His "Autobiography," the most popular historical work of America, possesses a perennial interest. It is replete not only with in BENJAMIN FRANKLIN teresting incident, but also with genial humor and profound practical wisdom. 81. Youth and Education. known that it is not necessary to dwell upon them. He was born in Boston, Jan. 17, 1706 the youngest of an old-fashioned family of ten children. From his father, who was a candle-maker and soap-boiler, he inherited not only a strong physical constitution, but his "solid judgment in prudential matters." He attended the free grammar schools of Boston about a year, and gave promise of becoming a good scholar; but owing to the straitened circumstances of his father, he was taken away in order to cut wicks, mould candles, and run errands - all which he heartily disliked. The facts of his life are so well 82. Fondness for Reading. From childhood he was passionately fond of reading, and he used the little money that came into his hands to buy books. His first purchase was Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress," which after being read and re-read was sold to buy Burton's " Historical Collections" a class of writ 66 ings of which he was specially fond. Among the books of this early reading were Plutarch's "Lives" and Mather's "Essay to do Good," which he specially mentions as exerting a salutary influence upon his mind and character. He did not escape the common temptation of bookish youths to attempt poetry, and wrote two ballads which, in spite of a flattering success at the time, he afterwards characterized, and no doubt justly, as "wretched stuff." From the danger of becoming a sorry poet he was timely rescued by his father, who with Philistine coldness called his attention to the fact that "verse-makers were generally beggars." 83. Fluency and Style. But his literary instincts were not to be quenched; and though he gave up poetry, he cultivated prose with great ardor. To increase his fluency, he was accustomed to engage in discussion with another literary lad by the name of Collins; but he had the good sense to escape the disputatious habit which this practice is in danger of developing, and which wise people, he tells us, seldom fall into. He modelled his style after Addison's Spectator, which was then a novelty in the colonies. But he had too much force of mind and character to become a mere imitator; and through a laborious apprenticeship he developed a style that is admirable for its simplicity, clearness, and force. 84. First Literary Effort. He was early encouraged in his literary efforts. At the age of twelve he had been apprenticed to his brother James to learn the printing business. Here he worked on the New England Courant, the second newspaper that appeared in America. Some of the contributors occasionally met in the office to discuss the little essays that had appeared in the paper. Having caught the mania for appearing in print, and fearing to have his productions rejected if the authorship |