It is to be observed that the above letter is an entirely serious one from beginning to end; there is no attempt to joke or make sport, as some of Franklin’s correspondents did; and the first sentence in the letter states that the writer’s wife was Franklin’s daughter and that she had given birth to a girl. The letter is apparently written to announce that event to Franklin. Such a statement, made by a man about his wife, is certainly deserving of serious consideration. Would he on such an occasion and in such a manner have said that she was Franklin’s daughter unless he firmly believed that she was? If she was Franklin’s daughter, as her husband describes her, she must have been illegitimate, for it is well known that Franklin’s only legitimate daughter was Mrs. Sarah Bache. John Foxcroft, the writer of the letter, is well known as the deputy postmaster of Philadelphia at that time, and Franklin was postmaster-general of the Colonies. Foxcroft and Franklin were close friends and often corresponded on business matters. We shall give, therefore, the letters of Franklin to Foxcroft in which he refers to Mrs. Foxcroft as his daughter, and we shall give them in full, so that the connection can be seen. Some of these letters are in the collection of Franklin’s papers in the State Department at Washington, and have been copied from that source. Others are from the collection of the American Philosophical Society at Philadelphia, and one or two can be found in Bigelow’s “Works of Franklin.” American Philosophical Society Collection, vol. xlv., No. 46: LONDON, Feb. 4, 1772. MR. FOXCROFT, Dear Friend I have written two or three small letters to you since my return from Ireland and Scotland. I now have before me your favours of Oct. 1, Nov. 5 and Nov. 13.