under his care, and his diary is full of anxious thoughts and hopes for their recovery.  Although less than twenty-one years old at that time, he shows a realizing sense of the gravity of his position, and seems to have inspired confidence in all who came in contact with him.  In the midst of arduous labors he found time to write stiray articles for the magazines, among others an "Essay on Walking," which be believed would cure many disorders.  In the evenings he would take his violin and play old Scotch tunes by the hour.
He gave so much satisfaction at Bellevue, where he remained nearly three months, that on retiring from that institution in the autumn, he was offered a place as physician to the New Yoirk Dispensary, at a salary of a thousand dollars.  He declined the proffered honor, and returned to his old avocations.
   His sensitive spirit shuddered at the dreadful
responsibility resting upon the physician, and he was constantly thinking of the uncertainty attending every case.  Urged by bis parents, he continued to practise for some years, but it was always with reluctance, and he gladly seized the first opportunity to abandon an occupation repugnant to his feelings.  He speaks of this feeling in his diary for October 1795:

 
 

From "The Life of Benjamin Franklin," engraved by Dr. Anderson for Messrs. Cooledge & Brother, about 1848.