For  an  appreciation  of  the  French  feeling  for  Franklin  at  the


8      FRENCH   CRITICISM   OF   AMERICAN    LITERATURE

There  is  little  enough  in  these  notices  that  is
to  the  purpose  in  a  purely  literary  sense,  and
had  the  average  French  reader  of  the  period
been  questioned  about  Franklin,  he  would
probably  have  disposed  of  him  something  in
this  manner:  that  he  was  pre-eminent  as  a
scientist,  an  accomplished  and  successful  dip
lomat,  and  with  all  this,  a  charming  personality.
