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Amos and Ben arrive in a town outside Paris. To Amos’s astonishment, Ben is popular in France, especially among the ladies, and his maxims are quoted everywhere. Diplomats try to ascertain the reason for Ben’s presence, and Amos does his best to monitor them. With Amos’s help, Ben thwarts every plot against them and successfully arranges to borrow millions of francs to aid Washington’s army. Amos points out the irony of Ben’s role in France, considering his adage that discourages the practice of borrowing, and he believes Ben cannot be successful without him. They dine often with Madame Brillon, in whose wig lives a lovely white mouse from Versailles called Sophia. Sophia’s husband was exiled to America, and Sophia was forced to flee the court. He lives in Philadelphia, trying to establish a life for them, and Sophia serves Madame Brillon as Amos does Ben. Sophia’s children are held in a cell under the queen’s throne, and Amos promises to free them and reunite them all.
Amos isn’t sure how to accomplish this reunion. He and Ben learn that the colonies defeated the British army, and Amos is eager to return home. Amos forms a plan to enlist the peasant mice from their town and visits the embassies to request help. The Russians and Swedes pledge support. The king announces a ball in Ben’s honor, and Amos grows alarmed by Ben’s increasing vanity. Ben tells Amos that Jefferson is coming, and Amos is pleased by Red’s arrival. Red joins Amos’s cause, though he wishes for more “true-blue Yankees” (87) to join them. Amos plans to send a plea to the ship-rats of John Paul Jones, asking for aid, and Red will appeal to the city mice and sewer rats. That night, Ben wants to discuss his new coat, but Amos brushes him off.
July 4 arrives, and Red and Amos finalize their plans. Amos visits Sophia, who will direct the Russians and Swedes. The wooden ship inside Madame Brillon’s elaborate wig will hide many of them. Ben is so distracted by his pleasing appearance in his new clothes that he does not notice the mice Amos hides in his clothes. Amos has not heard from John Paul Jones’s ship-rats, but the plan will proceed without them. When Ben enters the ball, all eyes turn toward him. Just then, Amos gives the signal, and the mice leap from Ben’s clothes to the horror of onlookers. The palace guards are surprised, but the street mice and rats drop their weapons when they see the food. Suddenly, 50 ship-rats arrive, courtesy of John Paul Jones. They overtake the guards and chase off the deserters, reuniting Sophia with her children. Everyone treats Ben like he has the plague, and Amos encourages him to leave France soon.
Ben is depressed by the way the French snub him after the ball, so Amos reminds him that America waits to welcome him as a hero, which cheers Ben up. When they arrive, Sophia is reunited with her husband, and Amos is proud to have helped the colonies win. He is tired, and so is Ben. Sophia and her husband settle in Philadelphia, and three of Amos’s siblings marry Sophia’s children in a triple ceremony that brings him much joy.
Amos prefers to relax at home, and Ben seldom needs his advice now. As Ben approaches the age of 81, Amos notes that Ben no longer wishes to wear his “shabby” fur cap. For his birthday, Amos buys him a fine beaver hat in the French style and plans a big party with Amos’s whole family. On Ben’s birthday, every mouse brings Ben a gift. Sophia and her husband perform one of Ben’s poems, set to music. After the party, Ben notes that there is no place for Amos in this new hat, and Amos lists his many new responsibilities. At 81, Amos tells Ben he’s old enough to “get around by [him]self” (111).
Amos continues to characterize Ben as vain rather than focusing on Franklin’s oft-cited wit, cleverness, and sagacity, and the amusing images in these chapters contribute to Ben’s clownishness rather than his reputation as a model of political prowess and education. When Ben learns that the king and queen of France are planning a ball for him, “he [becomes] positively unbearable. He flutter[s] about from one tailor to another as excitedly as a young belle preparing her trousseau. The house [becomes] infested with hairdressers and shirtmakers. He even [has] his nails manicured” (84). As an old man, the comparison of Ben to a young woman gleefully preparing for her wedding makes him look particularly ridiculous. Likewise, the idea that Ben hires so many people to curate his look that it feels like a home “infest[ation]” is equally preposterous, especially in comparison to Franklin’s usual representation as a seasoned statesman concerned with ideas rather than appearances. Later, when Ben returns from a party, he boasts of his “delightful” evening while Amos mocks him for the discrepancies between his true nature and public persona. When Ben describes the way people admire his new coat, Amos says testily, “Don’t bother me […]. I have no time for mincing popinjays, I’m busy” (88). He compares Ben to a parrot, implying that Ben has no depth, preening and strutting around, chattering nonsensically. Moreover, Amos’s stress on the word “I’m” suggests his belief that while he is busy with important things, Ben’s time is occupied with decidedly less substantive concerns. Finally, on the night of the ball, Ben’s preoccupation with his new clothes permits Amos to stash dozens of mice on his person, allowing for the amusing—if grotesque—image of what happens when Amos gives the signal for his forces to attack. He says that “Ben fairly dripped mice!” (95), a sight that prompts the queen and 27 others to faint while the king, “pale and trembling” (95), attempts to flee. The comparison of the mice to a liquid being wrung from Ben’s clothing highlights just how distracted he was by his vain preparations, so much so that he becomes a ludicrous figure, unable to retain the favor of anyone in the French court. Thus, The Humanity of Heroes is emphasized throughout these chapters as Amos routinely presents Ben as comical, absurd, and deeply flawed.
The irony of Amos’s heroism and commitment to liberty and justice for all, when compared with Ben’s much more casual attitude toward this principle, further illuminates this theme. Mice are often regarded as timid, fearful creatures who cower at any threat. However, Amos not only accompanies Ben to France to assist Washington’s army, but he also adopts Sophia’s cause, at no personal benefit to himself. He vows to her that he will “never […] rest until [her] wrongs are righted and [she is] happily joined with [her] children and husband” (81). The mission’s motto, “LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOREVER” (90), foregrounds Amos’s (and Red’s) commitment to justice for all, not just for some. Thus, two mice successfully plan and mount a revolution against the French crown—foreshadowing the French Revolution of 1789—though Ben and Thomas Jefferson couldn’t even write the Declaration of Independence without the mice’s aid. While Ben takes more interest in fancy dinners and balls, Amos is busy spying on those who would thwart Ben’s mission and prevent the colonies’ success. Amos plots a coup while Ben plans an outfit. It is Amos, the mouse, who willingly encounters danger to defend his principles while Ben gets his nails done. Because readers are likely to expect the opposite, this reversal creates irony and humor, emphasizing Ben’s humanity rather than his heroism.
Ben’s success in France also highlights The Benefits of Collaboration, as does Amos’s victory over the Versailles palace guards. Amos admits that Ben is extremely popular in France, though he’s not sure why, and he says that many “politicians and spies […] were trying to find out what Ben was doing in France and, if possible, to prevent him from accomplishing it. Naturally, I was kept extremely busy watching all these people, and telling Ben what they were up to” (75). Amos goes through every ambassador’s mail and listens in on their conversations. And, armed with this information, Ben “gain[s] the reputation of being a brilliant diplomat” (76). This is truly a joint effort. Likewise, Amos could not launch his surprise attack to free Sophia’s children without hiding his troops in Ben’s clothes. Amos “stow[s] all [his] awkward band aboard [Ben]” (93), gaining entrance to the ball and access to the throne. Ben may have been an unwitting collaborator in this endeavor, but he is a collaborator, nonetheless. Although Amos’s plot doesn’t endanger Ben’s life, it does damage his standing in the court. Their alliance frequently demonstrates the benefits of collaboration.