Into what companies will he hereafter go with an unembarrassed face, or
the honest intrepidity of virtue? Men will watch him with a jealous eye;
they will hide their papers from him, and lock up their escrutoires; he
will henceforth esteem it a libel to be called a man of letters; _homo
trium literarum_! He not only took away the letters from one brother,
but kept himself concealed till he nearly occasioned the murder of the
other. It is impossible to read his account, expressive of the coolest
and most deliberate malice, without horror." Wedderburne concluded with
this indignant burst of feeling:--"Amidst tranquil events, here is a
man who, with the utmost insensibility of remorse, stands up and avows
himself the author of all. I can compare him only to Zanga, in Dr.
Young''s Revenge:--
'Know, then, 'twas I. I forged the letter--I disposed the picture--I
hated--I despised--and I destroy'
I ask, my lords, whether the revengeful temper attributed to the
bloody African, is not surpassed by the coolness and apathy of the wily
American?"
It is said that during this celebrated invective the members of the
council laughed with exultation; none preserving a decent gravity,
except Lord North. On the other hand, Franklin is said to have heard it
all with composure, standing erect in one corner of the room, and not
suffering the slightest alteration of his countenance to be visible. The
words of Wedderburne, however, coupled with the derisive and exulting
laugh of the council, sank deep into the soul of Franklin.
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