The following epitaph was written by Dr. Franklin for himself, when he was only twenty three years of age, as appears by the original (with various corrections) found among his papers, and from which this is a faithful copy.

[Epitaph written 1728.]

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.

But the work shall not be lost,
For it will (as he believed) appear once more,
In a new, and more elegant edition,

Revised and corrected

by

THE AUTHOR.

Among Dr. Franklin's papers were also found the following lines, written likewise by himself, only six years previous to his decease; and intitled

B. F.'S ADIEU!

If Life's compared to a Feast,

Near fourscore years I've been a guest:

I've been regaled with the best,

And feel quite satisfied.

"Tis time that I retire to rest:

Landlord, I thank ye! Friends, good night! April 22, 1784.

The following are extracts from the will and codicil of Dr. Franklin:

"With regard to my books, those I had in France and those I left in Philadelphia, being now assembled together here, and a catalogue made of them, it is my intention to dispose of the same as follows. My History of the Academy of Sciences in sixty or seventy volumes quarto, I give to the Philosophical Society of Philadelphia, of which I have the honor to be president. My collection in folio of Les Arts et les Métiers, I give to the American Philosophical Society established in New England, of which I am a member. My quarto edition of the same Arts et Métiers, I give to the Library Company of Philadelphia.-Such and so many of my books as I shall mark on the said catalogue with the name of my grandson Benjamin Franklin Bache, I do hereby give to him, and such and so many of my books as I shall mark in the said catalogue with the name of my grandson William Bache, I do hereby give to him, and such as shall be marked with the name of Jonathan Williams, I hereby give to my cousin of that name.-The residue and remainder of all my books, manuscripts, and papers, I do give to my grandson William Temple Franklin. My share in the Library Company of Philadelphia, I give to my grandson Benjamin Franklin Bache, confiding that he will permit his brothers and sisters to share in the use of it,

I was born in Boston, New England, and owe my first instructions in literature to the free grammar schools established there: I therefore give one hundred pounds sterling to my executors, to be by them, the survivors or survivor of them, paid over to the managers or directors of the free schools in my native town of Boston, to be by them, or those person or persons who shall have the superintendence and management of the said schools, put out to interest, and so continued at interest for ever, which interest annually shall be laid out in silver medals, and given as honorary rewards annually by the directors of the said free schools for the encouragement of scholarship in the said schools, belonging to the said town, in such manner as to the discretion of the select men of the said town shall seem meet.-Out of the salary that may remain due to me as president of the state, I do give the sum of two thousand pounds to my executors, to be by them, the survivors or survivor of them, paid over to such person or persons as the legislature of this state by an act of assembly shall appoint to receive the same in trust, to be employed for making the river Schuylkill navigable.

"During the number of years I was in business, as a stationer, printer, and postmaster, a great many small sums becamé due to me for books, advertisements, postage of letters and other matters, which were not collected, when in 1757 I was sent by the assembly to England as their agent, and by subsequent appointments continued there till 1775, when on my return I was immediately engaged in the affairs of congress, and sent to France in 1776, where I remained nine years, not returning till 1785, and the said debts not being demanded in such a length of time, are become in a manner obsolete, yet are nevertheless justly due. These, as they are

stated in my great folio ledger E, I bequeath to the contributors of the Pennsylvania hospital, hoping that those debtors, and the descendants of such as are deceased, who nów, as I find, make some difficulty of satisfying such antiquated de mands, as just debts, may however be induced to pay or give them as charity to that excellent institution. I am sensible that much must inevitably be lost, but I hope something con sidérable may be received. It is possible, too, that some of the parties charged may have existing old unsettled accounts against me, in which case the managers of the said hospital will allow and deduct the amount or pay the balances if they find it against me.

"I request my friends Henry Hill, esquire, John Jay, esq., Francis Hopkinson, esquire, and Mr. Edward Duffield of Benfield, in Philadelphia county, to be the executors of this my last will and testament, and I hereby nominate and ap, point them for that purpose.

I would have my body buried with as little expense or ceremony as may be;"

Philadelphia, July 17, 1788.

CODICIL.

"I Benjamin Franklin, in the foregoing or annexed last will and testament named, having further considered the same, do think proper to make and publish the following codicil or addition thereto.

It having long been a fixed political opinion of mine, that in a democratical state there ought to be no offices of profit, for the reasons I had given in an article of my drawing in our constitution; it was my intention when I accepted the office of president to devote the appointed salary to some public

uses; accordingly, I had already, before I made my will in July last, given large sums of it to colleges, schools, building of churches, &c. and in that will I bequeathed two thousand pounds more to the state, for the purpose of making Schuyl kill navigable: but understanding since, that such a sum will do but little towards accomplishing such a work, and that the project is not likely to be undertaken for many years to come, and having entertained another idea that I hope may be more extensively useful, I do hereby revoke and annul that bequest, and direct that the certificates I have for what remains due to me of that salary, be sold towards raising the sum of two thousand pounds sterling, to be disposed of as I am now about to order.

It has been an opinion, that he who receives an estate from his ancestors, is under some kind of obligation to transmit the same to his posterity; this obligation does not lie on me whe never inherited a shilling from any ancestor or relation. I shall, however, if it is not diminished by some accident before my death, leave a considerable estate among my descendants and relations, The above observation is made merely as some apology to my family, for my making bequests that do not appear to have any immediate relation to their advantage.

I was born in Boston, New England, and owe my first instructions in literature to the free grammar schools established there: I have therefore already considered those schools in my will. But I am also under obligations to the state of Massachusetts, for having, unasked, appointed me formerly their agent in England, with a handsome salary, which continued some years, and although I accidentally lost in their service, by transmitting Governor Hutchinson's letters, much more than the amount of what they gave me, I do not think that ought in the least to diminish my gratitude.I have considered that among artisans good apprentices are most likely to make good citizens, and having myself been bred to a ma