Great Americans and their noble deeds; containing the lives of almost fifty of our nation's heroes and heroines .. . r with Great Britain by uniting openly with the American Colonies,although she hadgiven us secret aidfrom the first. Butwe needed more thanthat; we wanted afirm and open friend,and so, while was allow-ing himself to be thepet of French so-ciety, while he wasmaking the acquain-tance of the greatestpeople of the capital,and also interestingevery one by his ownpart in these things,he was still moreearnestly trying tobring about an agree-ment with the gov-ernment. After
Great Americans and their noble deeds; containing the lives of almost fifty of our nation's heroes and heroines .. . r with Great Britain by uniting openly with the American Colonies,although she hadgiven us secret aidfrom the first. Butwe needed more thanthat; we wanted afirm and open friend,and so, while was allow-ing himself to be thepet of French so-ciety, while he wasmaking the acquain-tance of the greatestpeople of the capital,and also interestingevery one by his ownpart in these things,he was still moreearnestly trying tobring about an agree-ment with the gov-ernment. After about ayear of toilsome busi-ness that taxed allhis resources as wellas his good temper,the object was se-cured, the treaty was made, and a fleet of sixteen war-vessels under CountDEstaing, and an army of four thousand men were sent to America inthe summer of 1778. Franklin was now able to buy vessels, which weremade into American cruisers. The next year he helped to fit out a fleetof vessels, which were sent out from PVance under command of John PaulJones, the story of whose gallant life I will tell you FRANKLIN AT THE AGE OP SKVENTY. 80 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. assiJ The agreements iu this treaty were most favorable to the UnitedStales and it has often been said that we owe onr independence to it did not secure rest or even smooth sailing for our old and busystatesman. During the remainder of the war, he stayed on at Paris,devoting himself to all the difficult and perplexing foreign affairs that fill^x<p. the pages of those years of our history. They wereAf. /^ of all kinds—civil, military, and naval, and kept Frauk-^ -^^ lin constantly at work ; smoothing, aiding, contriving, word and by pen, alwayshvays to the point, he steered the bark:ountry to the desired haven. His wit and humor rendered hisety acceptable to every occasion he was diningwith the English am-bassador, and a Frenchofficer at Paris. Theformer rose, and gavethe folloMing senti-ment : E
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookidgreatamerica, bookyear1901
