Mr. Duché was an ardent patriot, but he afterwards became discouraged, and on October 8, 1777, he wrote a letter to General Washington urging him to negotiate with the English for America, at the head of his army. This caused Washington to speak in a very uncomplimentary manner of traitors in general and of Mr. Duché in particular. Soon afterwards Mr. Duché returned to England with his Tory friend, the Rev. Thomas Coombe.

The Rev. William White, the only patriot remaining of the three Philadelphia Episcopal ministers, was then appointed rector of Christ Church. He was a Philadelphian by birth, was baptized in infancy in Christ Church, and his name is held, as sacred as the institution itself. He was a true patriot as well as a distinguished churchman. The story is told that when he went to take the oath of allegiance to the United States, one of his acquaintances made a sign that he would lose his head, but he passed on without comment. After taking the oath he returned to the gentleman, and said: "I perceived by your gesture that you thought I was exposing my neck to great danger by the step which I have taken, but I have taken it with full deliberation. I know my danger, and that it is the greater on account of my being a clergyman of the Church of England. But I trust in Providence. The cause is a just one, and, I am persuaded will be protected."

It was Bishop White who first advised the union of the church into an Episcopacy, by reason of which he is often spoken of as the "Father of the American Church." It was in Christ Church in 1785 that the first General Convention met and took action toward securing an American

bishop. In 1786 a special meeting of the convention was held, and the Rev. William White was elected Bishop of Pennsylvania. He was consecrated to the office of bishop in England, February 4, 1787, and thus became the first bishop of English consecration in the United States. He was ordained in Christ Church May 28 of the same year. He died July 17, 1836, at the age of eighty-nine years, having spent sixty-five years in the ministry. His remains were placed in the family vault at Christ Church. 1882 they were transferred to a tomb beneath the chancel of the church.

In

The attitude of Christ Church congregation toward the mother church in England had changed with the times. The church had always favored a strong government, and the king was the acknowledged head of the church. When the sons of William Penn united with the Church of England, the governing power passed with them from the Quakers to the Episcopal Church, and over the governor's pew were placed the royal arms. A profile bust in relief of George II. was placed in the great arched window on the east side of the chancel wall, and on the steeple was placed the king's crown. On July 4, 1776, the vestry met and decided to omit the petitions in the liturgy wherein the King of Great Britain is prayed for, as inconsistent with the Declaration "made by the honorable Continental Congress." Historians claim that after the Revolution the figure of the king was removed by order of the vestry, and thrown into the street, from whence it was taken by Zaccheus Collins and given to the Philadelphia Library. In 1872 the Philadelphia Library restored the effigy to the vestry, who placed it, in 1896, on

the exterior of the eastern end of the church, above the chancel window, while the crown, tradition says, was struck by lightning and destroyed. In 1787, the bishop's miter was substituted for the crown; this had on it thirteen stars, representing the thirteen original States, and bore the inscription, "The Right Rev. William White, D.D., consecrated Bishop of the Episcopal Church of Pennsylvania, February 4, 1787." After peace had been declared, the coat of arms over the governor's pew was removed to the vestry room, where, with other relics, it may be seen by the visitor.

Many of Philadelphia's most famous men and women. attended Christ Church during the Revolutionary period. Here assembled many patriots to pray for the cause of freedom. Here the "Father of his Country," George Washington, worshiped. In fancy we can see him coming down the street in his elegant French coach, with his sturdy German driver in high cocked hat and queue, drawing the reins over two, and sometimes four or six, beautiful Virginia bays in glittering harness. How the people would press forward to catch a glimpse of this "nobleman of nature!" When he reached the church he would alight with all that grace and dignity for which he was noted, and, bowing, present his hand to Lady Washington, after which he would lead the way to the family pew. It was to Christ Church that the Continental Congress came in a body from the Statehouse on July 20, 1775, and also on May 17, 1776, to attend the service of fasting and prayer. Here worshiped John Adams, the second President of the United States; Lafayette, the celebrated French general and statesman, and America's dearest guest; Benjamin

Franklin, the greatest of our early statesmen and scientists; Betsy Ross, the maker of the first American flag; Francis Hopkinson, the distinguished patriot, who acted for a time as warden and organist; and Robert Morris, the great financier. Nearly all the provincial officers worshiped in Christ Church, and a special pew was reserved for their use; this was afterwards occupied by the Presidents of the Federal and State Congresses.

In Christ Church, in the yard adjoining, and in the cemetery belonging to the church, at Fifth and Arch streets, lie the remains of many of Philadelphia's most illustrious men and women, who were once the center of interest and influence in church and state, in public and in- social life. Among these are Robert Morris, the financier of the American Revolution; Benjamin Franklin and his wife; Peyton Randolph, the first president of the Continental Congress; William Bainbridge and Richard Dale, names renowned in American naval annals; General Charles Lee, a noted military commander; General William Irwin, a native of Ireland, who from a surgeon in the British navy became a major general in the American army; Francis Hopkinson, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence; and Philip Syng Physick and Benjamin Rush, both famous physicians in Philadelphia.

Her people

Christ Church has ever been prosperous. continue to hold firmly to the faith of their fathers, and to honor the noble deeds of her illustrious sons. The venerable building is a center of interest to all churchmen, and is an object of reverence to every patriotic American. It is especially noted as the first Protestant Episcopal cathedral in the United States.

FRANKLIN IN PHILADELPHIA.

Na bright Sunday morning in October, 1723, a

ON

young man walked up Market Street, the chief avenue of the city, eating a penny roll, and carrying a similar roll under each arm. He wore low shoes, woolen stockings, and knee breeches of buckskin, and a large overcoat, the capacious pockets of which were crammed with shirts and stockings. As he passed on, a pretty young woman of eighteen, who was standing at the door of her home, saw him, and laughed at his comical appearance. This young man was Benjamin Franklin, and the young woman who laughed at him was Deborah Read, who afterwards became his wife.

Benjamin Franklin had just arrived from Boston, where he was born January 17, 1706. He was the son of Josiah and Abiah Franklin, and the fifteenth child in a family of seventeen children, of whom seven were Josiah's by a former marriage. His early education was limited, as his father found that with the expense of a large family he could not afford to give his son a liberal education. At an early age he was taken from school to assist his father in the soap-manufacturing business. As a boy Franklin was fond of books, and spent much of his time in reading. At the age of twelve he was bound to his brother James for nine years, to learn the trade of a printer. At the end of three years of this apprenticeship his brother issued a newspaper called the "New England Courant." Franklin greatly aided in this enterprise, and in time became a contributor to the paper. He wrote an article, but, fearing his