and carrying goods, which were to be brought at every fire. They also held a monthly meeting, to converse upon the subject of fires, and communicate such ideas as might be useful in their conduct on such occasions.

4. This company proved so useful, that another was soon formed; and thus went on, one new company after another, till they included most of the inhabitants who were men of property. The club first formed was called the and, we believe, still exists. been exceedingly useful in preserving property.

UNION FIRE COMPANY, These institutions have extinguishing fires and

5. In 1739, the Reverend Mr. Whitefield arrived in Philadelphia, from Ireland. This man had made himself very remarkable as a preacher, going about the country and discoursing, sometimes in churches, sometimes in the fields, to crowds of people, with great effect. He was, at first, permitted to preach in, some of the churches in Philadelphia, but the 'clergy soon took a dislike to him, and refused him their pulpits. This obliged him again to discourse in the streets and open fields.

6. Large multitudes collected to hear his sermons. "It was wonderful," says Franklin, "to see the change soon made in the manners of our inhabitants. From being thoughtless or indifferent about religion,

4. Was it useful? What was it called? 5. What is stated of the Reverend Mr. Whitefield? 6. What does Franklin say of the change in the manners of the inhabitants

it seemed as if all the world were growing religious, so that one could not walk through the town in an evening, without hearing psalms sung in different families of every street. And it being found inconvenient to assemble in the open air, subject to its inclemencies, the building of a house to meet in was no sooner proposed, and persons appointed to receive contributions, but sufficient sums were soon received to procure the ground and erect the building, which was one hundred feet long and seventy broad; and the work was carried on with such spirit, as to be finished in a much shorter time than could be expected."

7. On leaving Philadelphia, Mr. Whitefield went preaching all the way through the colonies to Georgia. The settlement of that province had then been recently commenced, and was made with people entirely unfit for such a service. They were unable to endure hardships, and perished in great numbers, leaving many helpless children, with nothing to feed or shelter them.

8. "The sight of their miserable situation," says Franklin, "inspired the benevolent heart of Mr. Whitefield with the idea of building an orphan house there, in which they might be supported and educated. Returning northward, he preached up this charity, and made large collections; for his eloquence had a wonderful power over the hearts and

7. Where did Mr. Whitefield go on leaving Philadelphia? 8 What charitable design did he form at this period?

purses of his hearers, of which I myself was an instance.

9. "I did not disapprove of the design, but as Georgia was then destitute of materials and workmen, and it was proposed to send them from Philadelphia, at a great expense, I thought it would have been better to have built the house at Philadelphia, and brought the children to it. This I advised, but he was resolute in his first project, rejected my counsel, and I, therefore, refused to contribute.

10. "I happened, soon after, to attend one of his sermons, in the course of which, I perceived he intended to finish with a collection, and I silently resolved he should get nothing from me. I had in my pocket a handful of copper money, three or four silver dollars, and five pistoles in gold; as he proceeded, I began to soften, and concluded to give the copper. Another stroke of his oratory made me ashamed of that, and determined me to give the silver; and he finished so admirably, that I emptied my pocket wholly into the collector's dish, gold and all!

11. "At this sermon there was also one of our club, who, being of my sentiments respecting the building in Georgia, and suspecting a collection might be intended, had, by precaution, emptied his pockets before he came from home; towards the

9. What was Franklin's opinion upon the subject? 10. What anecdote does Franklin relate of the collection 1 11. What aneedote of a member of the club ?

conclusion of the discourse, however, he felt a strong inclination to give, and applied to a neighbor who stood near him, to lend him some money for the purpose. The request was fortunately made to perhaps the only man in the company who had the firmness not to be affected by the preacher. His answer was, 'At any other time, friend Hopkinson, I would lend to thee freely; but not now, for thee seems to me to be out of thy right senses.'

12. "Some of Mr. Whitefield's enemies affected to suppose that he would apply these collections to his own private emolument; but I, who was intimately acquainted with him (being employed in printing his sermons, journals, &c.), never had the least suspicion of his integrity, but am to this day decidedly of opinion, that he was, in all his conduct, a perfectly honest man; and methinks my testimony in his favor ought to have the more weight, as we had no religious connection. Ours was a mere civil friendship, sincere on both sides, and lasted to his death.

13.The last time I saw Mr. Whitefield was in London, when he consulted me about his orphan house concern, and his purpose of appropriating it to the establishment of a college.

14. "He had a loud and clear voice, and articulated his words so perfectly that he might be heard

12. What does Franklin say of Mr. Whitefie d's character? 13. Where did Franklin see him for the last time' 14. What does he say of his eloquence?

and understood at a great distance; especially as his auditories observed the most perfect silence. He preached one evening from the top of the court house steps, which are in the middle of Market street, and on the west side of Second street, which crosses it at right angles. Both streets were filled with hearers to a considerable distance; being among the hindmost in Market street, I had the curiosity to learn how far he could be heard, by retiring backwards down the street towards the river, and I found his voice distinct till I came near Front street, when some noise in that street obscured it. I computed that he might well be heard by more than thirty thousand. This reconciled me to the newspaper accounts of his having preached to 25,000 people in the fields, and to the history of generals haranguing whole armies, of which I had sometimes doubted."

15. Franklin's business was now constantly increasing, and his newspaper had become very profitable. He began to feel the truth of the old proverb, "that after getting the first hundred pounds, it is more easy to get the second." Those of his workmen who behaved well, he established in printing houses in different colonies, on easy terms. of them did well, and were able to repay him what he had advanced, and go on working for themselves. 16. At this period, there were no preparations

Most

By how many did he compute that he might be heard at a time? 15. How were Franklin's affairs succeeding at this time?