Franklin had done all that he could to persuade the English king to deal justly with the American colonies. But the king and his counsellors had refused to listen to him. During his ten years abroad he had not stayed all the time in England. He had traveled in many countries of Europe, and had visited Paris several times. Many changes had taken place while he was absent. His wife, Mrs. Deborah Franklin, had died. His parents and fifteen of his brothers and sisters had also been laid in the grave. The rest of his days were to be spent in the service of his country, to which he had already given nearly twenty years of his life. * * * * * XIV.--FRANKLIN'S WONDERFUL KITE. Benjamin Franklin was not only a printer, politician, and statesman, he was the first scientist of America. In the midst of perplexing cares it was his delight to study the laws of nature and try to understand some of the mysteries of creation. In his time no very great discoveries had yet been made. The steam engine was unknown. The telegraph had not so much as been dreamed about. Thousands of comforts which we now enjoy through the discoveries of science were then unthought of; or if thought of, they were deemed to be impossible. Franklin began to make experiments in electricity when he was about forty years old. He was the first person to discover that lightning is caused by electricity. He had long thought that this was true, but he had no means of proving it. He thought that if he could stand on some high tower during a thunder-storm, he might be able to draw some of the electricity from the clouds through a pointed iron rod. But there was no high tower in Philadelphia. There was not even a tall church spire. At last he thought of making a kite and sending it up to the clouds. A paper kite, however, would be ruined by the rain and would not fly to any great height. So instead of paper he used a light silk handkerchief which he fastened to two slender but strong cross pieces. At the top of the kite he placed a pointed iron rod. The string was of hemp, except a short piece at the lower end, which was of silk. At the end of the hemp string an iron key was tied. "I think that is a queer kind of kite," said Franklin's little boy. "What are you going to do with it?" "Wait until the next thunder-storm, and you will see," said Franklin. "You may go with me and we will send it up to the clouds." He told no one else about it, for if the experiment should fail, he did not care to have everybody laugh at him. At last, one day, a thunder-storm came up, and Franklin, with his son, went out into a field to fly his kite. There was a steady breeze, and it was easy to send the kite far up towards the clouds. Then, holding the silken end of the string, Franklin stood under a little shed in the field, and watched to see what would happen.