From Benjamin Franklin to Lord Stanhope, 23 January 1775
To Lord Stanhope8
AL (draft): Chevening Estate, Sevenoaks, Kent (1958); copy:9 Library of Congress
Cravenstreet, Jan. 23. 75.
Dr. Franklin presents his best Respects to Lord Stanhope, with many Thanks to his Lordship and Lord Chatham for the Communication of so authentic a Copy of the Motion. Dr. F. is fill’d with Admiration of that truly great Man. He has seen in the Course of Life, sometimes Eloquence without Wisdom, and often Wisdom without Eloquence; in the present Instance he sees both united, and both as he thinks, in the highest Degree possible.
8. In reply to his letter above, Jan. 21, 1775.
9. The draft contains minor, incompleted interlineations that BF struck out. “No 10” at the head of the page shows that he meant to have it inserted in his journal of negotiations, where he numbered consecutively the places for such insertions. The copy of the journal in the Library of Congress contains the letter in finished form, which may suggest that the draft was with BF’s MS when the copy was made; but if so it disappeared. In 1857 it was in the possession of Sir Walter Trevelyan, the naturalist, at the family seat at Wallington: 2 Notes & Queries, III (1857), 204. It subsequently, somehow, came into the hands of the Stanhopes at Chevening; and we are grateful to the administrative trustees of the estate for providing us a photocopy.