27 DECEMBER 1890, Page 26

In the elegant little series of "Knickerbocker Nuggets" (G. P.

Putnam's Sons), we have republished, under the editorial care of Mr. Paul Leicester Ford, The Prefaces, Proverbs, and Poems of Ben- jamin Franklin, as Originally Printed in "Poor Richard's" Almanac. The Almanac was the result of a very characteristic episode in Franklin's life. For some years he had published an almanac, with the help of a certain Thomas Godfrey, a man of some scientific attainments. Unfortunately, a proposed marriage between Franklin and a kinswoman of Godfrey was broken off (Franklin wanted £100 with the lady, to pay off the remaining debt upon his printing-house, and the money was not forthcoming). Godfrey left him in the lurch, and he had to trust to himself. The first issue of "Poor Richard" was for the year 1733, and it was continued for just a quarter of a century.