Note Type
DescriptionNote
Lord Kames likely sought Franklin's advice about the smoky chimney due to Franklin's invention of the "Franklin stove" around 1740. Franklin printed a small book about his stove in 1744, titled AN ACCOUNT OF THE NEW INVENTED PENNSYLVANIAN FIRE-PLACES, which was illustrated with diagrams by Lewis Evans and engraved plates by James Turner. It is unsurprising that Lord Kames would have been familiar with Franklin's work, and would seek his advice on a major issue related to his own fireplace. Here, Franklin expresses his distress at Kames' plight and then attempts to diagnose the issue of Kames' smoky chimney, posing a series of eleven detailed questions: "I am griev'd that you should live in a smoaky (sic) Room at Edinburgh, and that it is so difficult at this Distance to employ any Skill I may have in these Matters for your Relief. Perhaps I may be able to advise something after being inform'd of the following Particulars. Does the Chimney refuse constantly to carry Smoke, or is it only at particular Times? Is it in a calm Season, or only when Winds blow? If when Winds blow, what is its Situation? that is, What Point of the Compass does the Opening of the Chimney within your Room face towards, and what Winds chiefly affect it? Does the Smoke only come down in Puffs while the Wind blows, and at Times go well up, or does it constantly lag below and come continually into the Room more or less? Does it in calm Seasons smoke only when the Door is shut, and carry Smoke well up when a Door or Window is left open? What Distance is the Door from the Chimney, and how is it situated with respect to the Chimney? What is the Situation of your high Street in Edinburgh, with respect to the Compass? On which Side of the Street is the House you live in; and is the Room you speak of, in the Front or back Part of the House? Are there any Buildings near that are much higher than that you live in; and how are they situated with respect to it? What are the Dimensions of the Opening of your Chimney in the Room, and what the Dimensions of the Funnel? You will, I am afraid, hardly see a Reason for some of these Questions; and it would be too much for a Letter to explain them all properly." Franklin closes with his appraisal of the issue: "There are I think 5 or 6 different Cases of smoaky Chimnies (sic); all (except one) to be cured by different Means; & that one seems to me at present absolutely incurable. Chimneys in this Case, from what I remember of the Situation of Buildings in Edinburgh, I should fear you have more in proportion than any other Town in Britain. But Workmen, ignorant of Causes, are like Quacks, always tampering; applying the Remedy proper in one Case to another in which it is improper, as well as attempting the Cure of what from the Nature of Things is not to be cured." At this time, Franklin was preparing to embark on a voyage to return to Philadelphia and he hoped that upon his arrival he would have "reason to expect a good deal of Leisure, and purpose seizing the first Opportunity of compleating (sic) a Work which I flatter myself will be useful to many, and afford some Reputation to its Author." This clearly refers to the long-planned The Art of Virtue, a work centering on ethics that Franklin worked on beginning in 1732 and for decades afterwards, but failed to complete before his death in 1790. A few of Franklin's letters to Kames mention the work, as early as May 1760. Though the work was never finished, a portion regarding important virtues was published as part of Franklin's posthumous Autobiography. Near the end of the letter, Franklin congratulates Lord and Lady Kames on the marriage of their daughter, Jean, to the prosperous Patrick Heron. Little did either of them know that Jean would soon embark on an affair with James Boswell (and several others), leading to divorce in 1772 and exile to France by her parents. Franklin closes by thanking Lord Kames for his "kind Reception" of Franklin's friend John Morgan, a medical student from Philadelphia. At that time, Morgan was in Edinburgh, in the midst of a five-year European course of study to deepen his medical knowledge. In 1765, Morgan returned to Philadelphia to open the first medical school in America at the University of Pennsylvania. A cordial letter between friends, both of whom are paragons of the Enlightenment.
