was an additional fund for buying books. But I had another advantage in it. My brother and the rest going from the printing-house to their meals, I remained there 5 alone, and dispatching presently my light repast, which often was no more than a biscuit or a slice of bread, a handful of raisins or a tart from the pastry-cook's, and a glass of water, had the rest of the time till their return for study, in which I made the greater progress, from that greater clearness of head and quicker apprehension which usually attend temperance in eating and drinking.

lecting and using them, which I thought I
should have acquired before that time if I
had gone on making verses; since the con-
tinual occasion for words of the same im-
port, but of different length, to suit the
measure, or of different sound for the
rhyme, would have laid me under a con-
stant necessity of searching for variety,
and also have tended to fix that variety in
my mind, and make me master of it. 10
Therefore I took some of the tales and
turned them into verse; and, after a time,
when I had pretty well forgotten the
prose, turned them back again. I also
sometimes jumbled my collection of hints 15
into confusion, and after some weeks en-
deavored to reduce them into the best or-
der, before I began to form the full sen-
tences and complete the paper. This was
to teach me method in the arrangement of 20
thoughts. By comparing my work after-
wards with the original, I discovered many
faults and amended them; but I sometimes
had the pleasure of fancying that, in cer-
tain particulars of small import, I had
been lucky enough to improve the method
or the language, and this encouraged me
to think I might possibly in time come to be
a tolerable English writer, of which I was
extremely ambitious. My time for these 30
exercises and for reading was at night,
after work, or before it began in the morn-
ing, or on Sundays, when I contrived to be
in the printing-house alone, evading as
much as I could the common attendance
on public worship which my father used
to exact of me when I was under his care,
and which indeed I still thought a duty,
though I could not, as it seemed to me,
afford time to practice it.

25

35

And now it was that, being on some occasion made ashamed of my ignorance in figures, which I had twice failed in learning when at school, I took Cocker's book of Arithmetic, and went through the whole by myself with great ease. I also read Seller's and Shermy's books of Navigation, and became acquainted with the little geometry they contain; but never proceeded far in that science. And I read about this time Locke On Human Understanding and the Art of Thinking by Messrs. du Port Royal.

While I was intent on improving my language, I met with an English grammar (I think it was Greenwood's), at the end of which there were two little sketches of the arts of rhetoric and logic, the latter finishing with a specimen of a dispute in the Socratic method; and soon after I procured Xenophon's Memorable Things of Socrates, wherein there are many instances of the same method. I was charmed with it, adopted it, dropped my abrupt contradiction and positive argu40 mentation, and put on the humble inquirer and doubter. And being then, from reading Shaftesbury and Collins, become a real doubter in many points of our religious doctrine, I found this method safest for myself and very embarrassing to those against whom I used it; therefore I took a delight in it, practised it continually, and grew very artful and expert in drawing people, even of superior knowledge, into concessions the consequences of which they did not foresee, entangling them in difficulties out of which they could not extricate themselves, and so obtaining victories that neither myself nor my cause always deserved. I continued this method some few years, but gradually left it, retaining only the habit of expressing myself in terms of modest diffidence; never

When about sixteen years of age I happened to meet with a book, written by one Tryon, recommending a vegetable diet, I determined to go into it. My brother, being yet unmarried, did not keep house, 45 but boarded himself and his apprentices in another family. My refusing to eat flesh caused an inconveniency, and I was frequently chid for my singularity. I made myself acquainted with Tryon's manner of 50 preparing some of his dishes, such as boiling potatoes or rice, making hasty pudding, and a few others, and then proposed to my brother that if he would give me, weekly, half the money he paid for my 55 board, I would board myself. He instantly agreed to it, and I presently found I could save half what he paid me. This

Now, is not want of sense (where a ma.. is so unfortunate as to want it) son.. apology for this want of modesty? and would not the lines stand more justly 5 thus?

'Immodest words admit but this defense,
That want of modesty is want of sense.'
This, however, I should submit to better

My brother had, in 1720 or 1721, begun to print a newspaper. It was the second that appeared in America, and was called the New England Courant. The only one before it was the Boston News-Letter. I remember his being dissuaded by some of his friends from the undertaking, as not likely to succeed, one newspaper being, in their judgment, enough for America. At this time (1771) there are not less than five-and-twenty. He went on, however, with the undertaking, and after having worked in composing the types and printing off the sheets, I was employed to carry the papers through the streets to the customers.

using, when I advanced anything that may
possibly be disputed, the words certainly,
undoubtedly, or any others that give the
air of positiveness to an opinion; but
rather say, I conceive or apprehend a
thing to be so and so; it appears to me, or
I should think it so or so, for such and
such reasons; or I imagine it to be so; or
it is so if I am not mistaken. This habit,
I believe, has been of great advantage to to judgments.
me when I have had occasion to inculcate
my opinions, and persuade men into meas-
ures that I have been from time to time
engaged in promoting: and as the chief
ends of conversation are to inform or to 15
be informed, to please or to persuade, I
wish well-meaning, sensible men would
not lessen their power of doing good by a
positive, assuming manner, that seldom
fails to disgust, tends to create opposi- 20
tion, and to defeat every one of those pur-
poses for which speech was given to us,
to wit, giving or receiving information or
pleasure. For if you would inform, a
positive and dogmatical manner in ad- 25
vancing your sentiments may provoke con-
tradiction and prevent a candid attention.
If you wish information and improvement
from the knowledge of others, and yet at
the same time express yourself as firmly 30
fixed in your present opinions, modest,
sensible men who do not love disputation
will probably leave you undisturbed in the
possession of your error. And by such a
manner you can seldom hope to recom- 35
mend yourself in pleasing your hearers,
or to persuade those whose concurrence
you desire. Pope says, judiciously:-
'Men should be taught as if you taught them 40

not,

And things unknown propos'd as things forgot';

farther recommending to us

'To speak, tho' sure, with seeming diffidence.'

He had some ingenious men among his friends, who amused themselves by writing little pieces for this paper, which gained it credit and made it more in demand, and these gentlemen often visited us. Hearing their conversations, and their accounts of the approbation their papers were received with, I was excited to try my hand among them; but being still a boy, and suspecting that my brother would object to printing anything of mine in his paper if he knew it to be mine, I contrived to disguise my hand, and writing an anonymous paper, I put it in at night under the door of the printing-house. It was found in the morning, and communicated to his writing friends when they called in as usual. They read it, 45 commented on it in my hearing, and I had the exquisite pleasure of finding it met with their approbation, and that in their different guesses at the author, none were named but men of some character among us for learning and ingenuity. I suppose now that I was rather lucky in my judges, and that perhaps they were not really so very good ones as I then esteemed them.

And he might have coupled with this line that which he has coupled with another. 50 I think less properly,

'For want of modesty is want of sense.'

If you ask, Why less properly? I must repeat the lines,

'Immodest words admit of no defense, For want of modesty is want of sense.'

Encouraged, however, by this, I wrote 55 and conveyed in the same way to the press several more papers which were equally approved and I kept my secret till my small fund of sense for such performances

was pretty well exhausted, and then I dis-
covered it, when I began to be consid-
ered a little more by my brother's ac-
quaintance, and in a manner that did not
quite please him, as he thought, probably
with reason, that it tended to make me too
vain. And, perhaps, this might be one
occasion of the differences that we began
to have about this time. Though a
brother, he considered himself as my mas- 10
ter, and me as his apprentice, and, ac-
cordingly, expected the same services
from me as he would from another, while
I thought he demeaned me too much in
some he required of me, who from a 15
brother expected more indulgence. Our
disputes were often brought before our
father, and I fancy I was either generally
in the right, or else a better pleader, Le-
cause the judgment was generally in my 20
favor. But my brother was passionate,
and had often beaten me, which I took ex-
tremely amiss; and, thinking my appren-
ticeship very tedious, I was continually
wishing for some opportunity of shorten- 25
ing it, which at length offered in a man-
ner unexpected.

One of the pieces in our newspaper on
some political point, which I have now
forgotten, gave offense to the Assembly. 30
He was taken up, censured, and impris-
oned for a month, by the speaker's war-
rant, I suppose, because he would not dis-
cover his author. I too was taken up and
examined before the council; but, though
I did not give them any satisfaction, they
contented themselves with admonishing
me, and dismissed me, considering me,
perhaps, as an apprentice, who was bound
to keep his master's secrets.

35

40

45

During my brother's confinement, which I resented a good deal, notwithstanding our private differences, I had the management of the paper; and I made bold to give our rulers some rubs in it, which my brother took very kindly, while others began to consider me in an unfavorable light, as a young genius that had a turn for libelling and satire. My brother's discharge was accompanied with an order 50 of the House (a very odd one), that 'James Franklin should no longer print the paper called the New England Cour

ant.'

There was a consultation held in our 55 printing-house among his triends, what he should do in this case. Some proposed to evade the order by changing the name

5

of the paper; but my brother, seeing inconveniences in that, it was finally concluded on as a better way, to let it be printed for the future under the name of BENJAMIN FRANKLIN; and to avoid the censure of the Assembly, that might fall on him as still printing it by his apprentice, the contrivance was that my old indenture should be returned to me, with a full discharge on the back of it, to be shown on occasion, but to secure to him the benefit of my service, I was to sign new indentures for the remainder of the term, which were to be kept private. A very flimsy scheme it was; however, it was immediately executed, and the paper went on accordingly, under my name for several months.

At length, a fresh difference arising between my brother and me, I took upon me to assert my freedom, presuming that he would not venture to produce the new indentures. It was not fair in me to take this advantage, and this I therefore reckon one of the first errata of my life; but the unfairness of it weighed little with me, when under the impressions of resentment for the blows his passion too often urged him to bestow upon me, though he was otherwise not an ill-natured man: perhaps I was too saucy and provoking.

When he found I would leave him, he took care to prevent my getting employment in any other printing-house of the town, by going round and speaking to every master, who accordingly refused to give me work. I then thought of going to New York, as the nearest place where there was a printer; and I was rather inclined to leave Boston when I reflected that I had already made myself a little obnoxious to the governing party, and from the arbitrary proceedings of the Assembly in my brother's case, it was likely I might, if I stayed, soon bring myself into scrapes; and further, that my indiscreet disputations about religion began to make me pointed at with horror by good people as an infidel or atheist. I determined on the point, but my father now siding with my brother, I was sensible that if I attempted to go openly, means would be used to prevent me. My friend Collins, therefore, undertook to manage a little for me. He agreed with the captain of a New York sloop for my passage, under the notion of my being a young acquaintance of his who had got a naughty

girl with child, whose friends would compel me to marry her, and therefore I could not appear or come away publicly. So I sold some of my books to raise a little money, was taken on board privately, and as we had a fair wind, in three days I found myself in New York, near three hundred miles from home, a boy of but seventeen, without the least recommendation to, or knowledge of, any person in the place, and with very little money in my pocket.

Courtship, Family Instructor, and other
pieces, has imitated it with success, and
Richardson has done the same in his
Pamela, etc.

5 When we drew near the island, we found it was at a place where there could be no landing, there being a great surf on the stony beach. So we dropped anchor, and swung round towards the shore. Some people came down to the water edge and hallooed to us, as we did to them; but the wind was so high, and the surf so loud, that we could not hear so as to understand each other. There were canoes, on the shore, and we made signs, and hallooed that they should fetch us; but they either did not understand us, or thought it impracticable, so they went away, and night coming on, we had no remedy but to wait till the wind should abate; and, in the mean time, the boatman and I concluded to sleep, if we could; and so crowded into the scuttle, with the Dutchman, who was still wet; and the spray beating over the head of our boat, leaked through to us, so that we were soon almost as wet as he. In this manner we lay all night, with very little rest; but the wind abating the next day, we made a shift to reach Amboy be30 fore night, having been thirty hours on the water, without victuals, or any drink but a bottle of filthy rum, the water we sailed on being salt.

My inclinations for the sea were by this time worn out, or I might now have gratified them. But, having a trade, and 15 supposing myself a pretty good workman, I offered my service to the printer in the place, old Mr. William Bradford, who had been the first printer in Pennsylvania, but removed from thence upon the quarrel of.o George Keith. He could give me no employment, having little to do, and help enough already; but says he, My son at Philadelphia has lately lost his principal hand, Aquila Rose, by death; if you go 25 thither, I believe he may employ you.' Philadelphia was a hundred miles further; I set out, however, in a boat for Amboy, leaving my chest and things to follow me round by sea.

In crossing the bay, we met with a squall that tore our rotten sails to pieces, prevented our getting into the Kill, and drove us upon Long Island. In our way, a drunken Dutchman, who was a passen- 35 ger too, fell overboard; when he was sinking, I reached through the water to his shock pate, and drew him up, so that we got him in again. His ducking sobered him a little, and he went to sleep, taking 40 first out of his pocket a book, which he desired I would dry for him. It proved to be my old favorite author, Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, in Dutch, finely printed on good paper, with copper cuts, a dress bet- 45 ter than I had ever seen it wear in its own language. I have since found that it has been translated into most of the languages of Europe, and suppose it has been more generally read than any other book, 50 except perhaps the Bible. Honest John. was the first that I know of who mixed narration and dialogue; a method of writing very engaging to the reader, who in the most interesting parts finds himself, as 55 it were, brought into the company and present at the discourse. De Foe in his Crusoe, his Moll Flanders, Religious

In the evening I found myself very feverish, and went in to bed; but having read somewhere that cold water drank plentifully was good for a fever, I followed the prescription, sweat plentifully most of the night, my fever left me, and in the morning, crossing the ferry, I proceeded on my journey on foot, having fifty miles to Burlington, where I was told I should find boats that would carry me the rest of the way to Philadelphia.

I

It rained very hard all the day; I was thoroughly soaked, and by noon a good deal tired; so I stopped at a poor inn, where I stayed all night, beginning now to wish that I had never left home. cut so miserable a figure, too, that I found, by the questions asked me, I was suspected to be some runaway servant, and in danger of being taken up on that suspicion. However, I proceeded the next day, and got in the evening to an inn, within eight or ten miles of Burlington, kept by one Dr. Brown. He entered into conversation with me while I took some

refreshment, and, finding I had read a little, became very sociable and friendly. Our acquaintance continued as long as he lived. He had been, I imagine, an itinerant doctor, for there was no town in England, or country in Europe, of which he could not give a very particular account. He had some letters, and was ingenious, but much of an unbeliever, and wickedly undertook, some years after, to travesty 10 the Bible in doggerel verse, as Cotton had done Virgil. By this means he set many of the facts in a very ridiculous light, and might have hurt weak minds if his work had been published; but it never was.

of my first entry into that city, that you may in your mind compare such unlikely beginnings with the figure I have since made there. I was in my working-dress, 5 my best clothes being to come round by sea. I was dirty from my journey; my pockets were stuffed out with shirts and stockings, and I knew no soul nor where to look for lodging. I was fatigued with traveling, rowing, and want of rest, I was very hungry; and my whole stock of cash consisted of a Dutch dollar, and about a shilling in copper. The latter I gave the people of the boat for my passage, who at 15 first refused it on account of my rowing; but I insisted on their taking it. A man being sometimes more generous when he has but a little money than when he has plenty, perhaps through fear of being thought to have but little.

At his house I lay that night, and the next morning reached Burlington, but had the mortification to find that the regular boats were gone a little before my coming, and no other expected to go before Tues- 20 day, this being Saturday; wherefore I returned to an old woman in the town, of whom I had bought gingerbread to eat on the water, and asked her advice. She invited me to lodge at her house till a 25 passage by water should offer; and being tired with my foot traveling, I accepted the invitation. She, understanding I was a printer, would have had me stay at that town and follow my business, being igno- 30 rant of the stock necessary to begin with. She was very hospitable, gave me a dinner of ox-cheek with great good-will, accepting only a pot of ale in return; and I thought myself fixed till Tuesday should 35 come. However, walking in the evening by the side of the river, a boat came by, which I found was going towards Fhiladelphia, with several people in her. They took me in, and, as there was no 40 wind, we rowed all the way; and about midnight, not having yet seen the city, some of the company were confident we must have passed it, and would row no farther; the others knew not where we 45 were; so we put toward the shore, got into a creek, landed near an old fence, with the rails of which we made a fire, the night being cold, in October, and there we remained till daylight. Then 50 boat I came in, to which I went for a

one of the company knew the place to be Cooper's Creek, a little above Philadelphia, which we saw as soon as we got out of the creek, and arrived there about eight or nine o'clock on the Sunday morning, 55 and landed at the Market Street wharf.

I have been the more particular in this description of my journey, and shall be so

Then I walked up the street, gazing about, till, near the market-house, I met a boy with bread. I had made many a meal on bread, and, inquiring where he got it, I went immediately to the baker's he directed me to, in Second Street, and asked for biscuit, intending such as we had in Boston; but they, it seems, were not made in Philadelphia. Then I asked for a threepenny loaf, and was told they had none such. So, not considering or knowing the difference of money, and the greater cheapness nor the names of his bread, I bade him give me three-penny worth of any sort. He gave me, accordingly, three great puffy rolls. I was surprised at the quantity, but took it, and, having no room in my pockets, walked off with a roll under each arm, and eating the other. Thus I went up Market Street as far as Fourth Street, passing by the door of Mr. Read, my future wife's father; when she, standing at the door, saw me, and thought I made, as I certainly did, a most awkward, ridiculous appearance. Then I turned and went down Chestnut Street, and part of Walnut Street, eating my roll all the way, and, coming round, found myself again at Market Street wharf, near the

draught of the river water; and, being filled with one of my rolls, gave the other two to a woman and her child that came down the river in the boat with us, and were waiting to go farther.

Thus refreshed, I walked again up the street, which by this time had many cleandressed people in it, who were all walking