An International Chess Party

En !international Cbess partig By Amelia M. Gummere. ^¦fc^HERE wasrecently tobe seen on exhibitioninPhiladelphia, / 1 among relics belonging to Benjamin Franklin, gathered ^^J^to celebrate the bicentennial of his birth, a silver cream pot of delicate workmanship, which is the memento of an international episode. The cup was made, we are told by experts in hall-marks, in 1 765, by Smith and Sharp of London. Its marks f T) S are three ;—the initials i ^z' )f· in a framed, or shaped escutcheon, signifying Daniel Smith and Robert Sharp, makers, well known London silversmiths, still in business in 1791 ; a leopard's head, with the lion accompanying, mark of the Goldsmith's Company; an old English or black-letter "2C" the sign for the year 1765.* The cup is in the form of an egg, standing upon three claw-shaped feet, and truncated slightly above the centre to form the lid, which has an extension over the lip ; these together form the spout. A delicate knob on top lifts the lid. A very graceful handle is richly ornamented, and in front of this, partly upon the lid and partly upon the body of the cup, is engraved the chain of friendship , with the motto below "Keep btight the Chain." This relic was presented by Dr. John Fothergill, scientist, philanthropist and Court physician, to Dr. Benjamin Franklin, upon the departure of the latter for America in 1775, after fruitless efforts upon the part of both to avert the American Revolution—efforts which it is the purpose of this paper to describe. John Fothergill was the sou of a Yorkshire Quaker of the same name, who was well-to-do, and gave his son a good education . He was born in 171 1, five years later than Franklin, and took his Doctor's degree in medicine at Edinburgh, studying also in Paris and Leyden, cities at that time leading the world in the healing art. Distinguished for his ability, he came np to London in 1740, and almost at once became a leader in his profession,«Another registered piece by Smith & Sharp of ?,??a??, of 1761, is a silver basin or christening bowl owned by Mrs. Apthorp, of Cambridge, Massachusetts. 4 writing much upon medical and scientific subjects for some years. About fifty works and pamphlets testify to his industry, covering philosophical, scientific and philanthropic interests, as well as medicine. His essay on '" Ulcerated Sore Throat," in 1748, first suggested the proper treatment of that scourge, diphtheria ; it went into eight English editions, and was published in every European language. The pamphlet on ' ' Weather and Diseases' (1751) sounds today very modern, and obtained much attention. Dr. Fothergill was a noted philanthropist, a friend of John Howard , and consulted by the great and wise of his day. Social questions much engaged his attention, and he was interested in public baths, schools, and the establishment of cemeteries instead of city grave-yards—an idea then quite in advance of the time. He was made Court physician, and died the year in which appeared anonymously his "English Freeholder's Address to his Countrymen." The personal appearance of Dr. Fothergill must have been unique and interesting. We are to imagine a spare, rather attenuated man of medium height, sensitively organized, alert and quick in his movements, with a tendency to lean forward in walking. His eye was brilliant and expressive, and his face singularly mobile. While delicate in appearance, he was seldom ill. Fothergill wore the distinctive dress of the physician of his day, including a carefully curled and powdered wig with cocked hat and cane, and clothing which was very light in color, approaching a greyish white. Having once adopted this costume, he wore it to his dying day, "thinking it unworthy a man of sense," says his contemporary, Dr. Elliott, ' 'and inconsistent with his character, to suffer himself to be led by the whim of fashion and become the slave of its caprices ! ' ' The good Doctor might have been seen any day driving about London in a great green coach, with horses sleek and fat, and with tails docked short, driven by a highly respectable coachman weighing no less than sixteen stone, or...