This volume, which covers the late summer and autumn of 1780, shows Franklin responding to adversity with courage, dedication, and resilience. During this period Franklin finds himself "terrified and vexed" by the "Storm of Bills," "indisposed by continual Anxiety," and bedridden with gout as the volume ends. However, he receives some advice on his health in the form of a poem by his witty neighbor Madame Brillon, and soon his health and spirits will revive. Publication of this volume was assisted by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.