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the rhyme, would have obliged me to seek for a va riety of synonyms, and have rendered me master of them. From this belief, I took some of the tales of the Spectator and turned them into verse; and after a time, when I had sufficiently forgotten them, I ar gain converted them into prose. Sometimes also I mingled all my summaries together; and a few weeks after endeavoured to arrange them in the best order, before I attempted to form the periods and complete the essays. This I did with a view of acquiring method in the arrangement of my thoughts. On comparing afterwards my performance with the original, many faults were apparent, which I corrected; but I had sometimes the satisfaction to think, that, in certain particulars of little importance, Í had been fortunate enough to improve the order of thought or the style; and this encouraged me to hope that I should succeed, in time, in writing de cently in the English language, which was one of the great objects of my ambition. The time which I devoted to these exercises, and to reading, was the evening after my day's labour was finished, the morning before it began, and Sundays, when I could es. cape attending divine service." With a passion for reading and writing, he imbibed the kindred one of disputing. This met with fuel from his familiarity with a youth of similar turn, and he was for a time a very doughty and dogmatic polemic. The perusal of a translation of Xenophon's " Memorabilia," soft. ened him into a Socratic, and he became very dex. terious in the sly mode of confuting or confounding an antagonist by a series of questions. In sucha course of mental exercise he became a sceptic with respect to the religion in which he had been educated; and with the zeal of a convert, took all opportunities of

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propagating his unbelief. These doubts he appears

never to have been able to remove; but he took care strongly to fortify himself with such moral principles of conduct as directed him to the most valuable ends by honourable means. "When about sixteen years of age," says he "Tryon's "Way to Health, Long Life and Happiness," fell into my hands, in which he recommends vegetable diet. I determined to observe it. My brother being a bachelor, did not keep house, but boarded with his apprentices in a neighbouring family. My refusing to eat animal food was found inconvenient, and I was often abused for my singularity. I attended to the mode in which Tryon prepared some of his dishes, particularly how to boil potatoes and rice, and make hasty-puddings. I then said to my brother, that if he would allow me per week half of what he paid for my board, I would undertake to maintain myself. The offer was instantly embraced, and I soon found that of what he gave me I was able to save half. This was a new fund for the purchase of books; and other advantages resulted to me from the plan. When my brother and his workmen left the printing house to go to dinner, I remained behind; and dispatching my frugal meal, which frequently consisted of a biscuit only, or a slice of bread and a bunch of raisins, or a bun from the pastrycook's with a glass of water. I had the rest of the time, till their return, for study; and my progress therein was proportioned to that clearness of ideas, and quickness of conception, which are the fruits of temperance in eating and drinking." His mother being asked why her son had adopted so singular a plan of diet, replied, "Because he had read a foolish phil osopher called Plutarch; however," added she, I let him take his own way.” During this time Frank

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lin improved himself in arithmetic and other branches of science, as well as in composition, by writing anonymous essays for his brother's paper, "The New England Courant," and which, being much admired, were for some time of advantage to it. But one of

them, on a political subject, happening to give offence to the assembly, his brother was taken up, imprisoned for a month, and prohibited from printing his newspaper. The paper was then continued under the name of Benjamin Franklin, whose indentures were resigned, and a new secret contract agreed on. "At length," says our author, in the account of his own life, 66 a new difference arising between my brother and me, I ventured to take advantage of my liberty, presuming that he would not dare to produce the new contract. It was undoubtedly dishonourable to avail myself of this circumstance, and I reckon this action as one of the first errors of my life; but I was little capable of estimating it at it's true value, embittered as my mind has been by the recollection of the blows I had received. Exclusively of his passionate treatment of me, my brother was by no means a man of an ill temper, and perhaps my manners had too much of impertinence not to afford it a very natural pretext." At the age of seventeen, therefore, Franklin emigrated to Philadelphia, where he arrived after several trifling accidents in the passage, escaping the danger of being taken up as a run-away servant, &c. and without knowing a single individual in the place. We cannot omit here an anecdote which discovers the native unostentatious simplicity of his manners. Walking through Market-street, he met a child with a loaf of bread, and he enquired where they were sold, for he had often made a dinner of dry bread.

He asked for three penny-worth.

The baker gave him three large rolls.

He had no

room in his pockets, so put one roll under each arm, and walked on, eating the third. After taking some water, he found himself well satisfied with his first roll, he gave the other two to a poor woman and her child. At Philadelphia, he soon obtained employment from Bradford and Keimer, the only print ers then in the city. He here contracted an acquaintance with several young men attached to literary pursuits, in whose society he spent many of his evenings. He was afterwards introduced, by his brother in law, Captain Holmes, to Sir Wm. Keith, governor of the province, who promised to do much for him, but, except entertaining him occasionally, in his own house, or at a tavern, performed nothing. Towards the end of April 1724, he set out to pay a visit to his parents. On his return, "At Newport," says Franklin, 66 we took on board a number of passengers; among whom were two young women, and a grave, sensible, quaker lady, with her servants. I had shewn an obliging forwardness in rendering the quaker some trifling services, which lead her, proba bly, to feel an interest in my welfare; for when she saw a familiarity take place, and every day increase, between the two young women and me, she took me aside and said, “Young man, I am in pain for thee. Thou hast no parent to watch over thy conduct, and thou seemest to be ignorant of the world. Rely on what I tell thee; those are women of bad charac ters; I perceive it in all their actions. If thou dost not take care they will lead thee into danger. I advise thee to form no connection with them." As I appeared at first, not to think so ill of them as she did, she related many things which she had seen and heard, that had escaped my attention, but which

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convinced me she was in the right. I thanked her for her obliging advice, and promised to follow it. When we arrived at New-York, they informed me where they lodged, and invited me to come and see them. It was, however, well I did not go, for the next day the captain missing a silver spoon and some other things, which had been taken from the cabin, he procured a search-warrant, found the stolen goods, and had them punished. Thus, after having been preserved from one rock concealed under water, upon which the vessel struck, during our passage, I escaped another of a more dangerous nature." It must not be omitted, that in this passage, during a calm which stopped the vessel above Block-island, the crew employed themselves in fishing for cod, of which they caught a great number. Franklin had hitherto adhered to his resolution of abstaining from eating every thing which had lived and moved. "I considered says he, "agreeably to the maxims of my master Tryon, that the capture of every fish was a murder committed without provocation; since these animals had neither done, nor were capable of doing, the smallest injury to any one, that could jus. tify such a measure. This mode of reasoning I conceived to be unanswerable. 1 had formerly been fond of fish, and when one of these cod were taken out of the frying-pan, I thought it's flavour delicious. Hesitating, for some time, between princi. ple and inclination, I recollected that when the cod had been opened some small fish had been found in it's belly. I then argued, if fish eat each other, why may they not be eaten? I then dined on the

cod, and have continued since to eat like mankind in general, returning only occasionally to my veget. ablediet. How convenient it proves to be a RATIONAL

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