But strangely changed, for somehow he had lost
    Body and voice:  the courtiers, as he crost
    The royal chambers, whispered,—­“The King’s Ghost!”

* * * * *

MONOGRAPH FROM AN OLD NOTE-BOOK; WITH A POSTSCRIPT.

“ERIPUIT COELO FULMEN, SCEPTRUMQUE TYRANNIS.”

In a famous speech, made in the House of Lords, March 16, 1838, against the Eastern slave-trade, Lord Brougham arrests the current of his eloquence by the following illustrative diversion:—­

“I have often heard it disputed among critics, which of all quotations was the most appropriate, the most closely applicable to the subject-matter illustrated; and the palm in generally awarded to that which applied to Dr. Franklin the line in Claudian,—­

    ‘Eripuit fulmen coelo, mox sceptra tyrannis’;

yet still there is a difference of opinion, and even that citation, admirably close as it is, has rivals.”

The British orator errs in attributing this remarkable verse to Claudian; and he errs also in the language of the verse itself, which he fails to quote with entire accuracy.  And this double mistake becomes more noticeable, when it appears not merely in the contemporary report, but in the carefully prepared collection of speeches, revised at leisure, and preserved in permanent volumes.[6]

The beauty of this verse, even in its least accurate form, will not be questioned, especially as applied to Franklin, who, before the American Revolution, in which it was his fortune to perform so illustrious a part, had already awakened the world’s admiration by drawing the lightning from the skies.  But beyond its acknowledged beauty, this verse has an historic interest which has never been adequately appreciated.  Appearing at the moment it did, it is closely associated with the acknowledgment of American Independence.  Plainly interpreted, it calls George III. “tyrant,” and announces that the sceptre has been snatched from his hands.  It was a happy ally to Franklin in France, and has ever since been an inspiring voice.  Latterly it has been adopted by the city of Boston, and engraved on granite in letters of gold,—­in honor of its greatest child and citizen.  It may not be entirely superfluous to recount the history of a verse which has justly attracted so much attention, and which, in the history of civilization, has been of more value than the whole State of South Carolina.

From its first application to Franklin, this verse has excited something more than curiosity.  Lord Brougham tells us that it is often discussed in private circles.  There is other evidence of the interest it has created.  For instance, in an early number of “Notes and Queries"[7] there is the following inquiry:—­

    “Can you tell me who wrote the line on Franklin, ’Eripuit,’etc.?

    “HENRY H. BREEN.

    “St. Lucia.”