as Poor Richard fays. How much more than is neceffary do we spend in fleep! forgetting that, "The fleeping fox catches no poultry, and that there will be fleeping enough in the grave," as Poor Richard fays.

"If time be of all things the most precious, wafting time must be," as Poor Richard fays, "the greatest prodigality;" fince, as he elsewhere tells us, "Loft time is never found again; and what we call time enough, always proves little enough" let us then up and be doing, and doing to the purpofe; fo by diligence fhall we do more with lefs perplexity. "Sloth makes all things difficult, but industry all eafy; and, He that rifeth late, muft trot all day, and shall scarce overtake his business at night; while laziness travels fo flowly, that poverty foon overtakes him. Drive thy business, let not that drive thee; and early to bed, and early to rife, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wife," as Poor Richard fays.

So what fignifies wishing and hoping for better times? We may make these times better, if we beftir ourselves. "Industry need not wifh, and he that lives upon hope will die fafting. There are no gains without pains; then help hands, for I have "He that no lands," or, if I have, they are smartly taxed.

hath a trade, hath an eftate; and he that hath a calling, hath an office of profit and honour," as Poor Richard says; but then the trade must be worked at, and the calling well followed, or, neither the eftate nor the office will enable us to pay our taxes. -If we are induftrious, we shall never ftarve; for," at the working man's houfe hunger looks in, but dares not enter." Nor will the bailiff or the conftable enter, for "Induftry pays debts, while Despair increaseth them." What though you have found no treasure, nor has any rich relation left you a legacy, "Diligence is the mother of good luck, and God gives all things to industry. Then plow deep, while fluggards fleep, and you fhall have corn to fell and to keep." Work while it is called to-day, for you know not how much you may be hindered tomorrow. "One to-day is worth two to-morrows," as Poor Richard fays; and farther, "Never leave that till to-morrow, which you can do to-day." If you were a fervant, would you not be afhamed that a good mafter fhould catch you idle? Are you then your own mafter? be afhamed to catch yourself idle, when there is fo much to be done for yourself, your family, Handle your country, and your king. tools without mittens, remember, that, "The cat in gloves catches no mice,” as Poor Richard fays. It is true, there is much to be done, and, perhaps, you are weak-handed; but ftick to it fteadily, and you will fee great effects; for "Conftant dropping wears away ftones; and by diligence and patience the moufe ate in two the cable; and little strokes fell great oaks."

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On

On the subject of frugality, Father Abraham, who strings his proverbs much more clofely, and to the purpofe, than Sancho, fays, among many other good things, what follows:

If you would be wealthy, think of faving, as well as of getting. The Indies have not made Spain rich, because her outgoes are greater than her incomes.'

Away then, with your expenfive follies, and you will not then have so much caufe to complain of hard times, heavy taxes, and chargeable families; for

Women and wine, game and deceit,

"Make the wealth fmall, and the want great."

And farther, "What maintains one vice, would bring up two children." You may think, perhaps, that a little tea, or a little punch now and then, diet a little more coftly, clothes a little finer, and a little entertainment now and then, can be no great matter; but remember, "Many a little makes a mickle." Beware of little expences; "A fmall leak will fink a great ship," as Poor Richard fays; and again, "Who dainties love hall beggars prove ;" and moreover, "Fools make feafts, and wife men eat them."

Here you are all got together to this fale of fineries and nick-nacks. You call them goods; but, if you do not take care, they will prove evils to fome of you. You expect they will be fold cheap, and, perhaps, they may for less than they coft; but, if you have no occafion for them, they must be dear to you. Remember what Poor Richard fays, "Buy what thou haft no need of, and ere long thou fhalt fell thy neceffaries." And again," At a great pennyworth paufe a while." He means, that perhaps the cheapnefs is apparent only, and not real; or the bargain, by ftraitening thee in thy bufinefs, may do thee more harm than good. For in another place he fays, "Many have been ruined by buying good pennyworths." Again, "It is foolish to lay out money in a purchase of repentance;" and yet this folly is practifed every day at auctions, for want of minding the Almanack. Many a one, for the fake of finery on the back, have gone with a hungry belly, and half starved their families; "Silks and fattins, fcarlet and velvets, put out the kitchen-fire," as Poor Richard fays.'

We are loth to part with our inftructive friend, Father Abrabam, who fo excellently pouts his Wifdom of Nations, feasoned alternately with ferioufnefs and jocularity: but we must give a part of what this dry joker fays on the fubject of running in debt,

When you have got your bargain, you may, perhaps, think little of payment; but, as Poor Richard fays, Creditors have better memories than debtors; creditors are a fuperftitious fect, great obfervers of fet-days and times." The day comes round

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before you are aware, and the demand is made before you are prepared to fatisfy it; or, if you bear your debt in mind, the term, which at firft feemed fo long, will, as it leffens, appear. extremely fhort: Time will feem to have added wings to his heels as well as his fhoulders. "Thofe have a fhort Lent, who owe money to be paid at Eafter." At prefent, perhaps, you may think yourselves in thriving circumftances, and that you can bear a little extravagance without injury; but

"For age and want fave, while you may,

"No morning fun lafts a whole day."

Gain may be temporary and uncertain, but ever, while you live, expence is conftant and certain; and, "It is easier to build two chimneys, than to keep one in fuel," as Poor Richard fays; fo, "Rather go to bed fupperlefs, than rise in debt." "Get what you can, and what you get hold:

""Tis the ftone that will turn all your lead into gold." And when you have got the philofopher's ftone, fure you will no longer complain of bad times, or the difficulty of paying taxes.' Thus the Old Gentleman-fays Poor Richard, for he is now the speaker-ended, his harangue. The people heard it, and approved the doctrine; and immediately practifed the contrary, just as if it had been a common fermon; for the auction opened, and they began to buy extravagantly.-I found the good man had thorougly ftudied my Almanacks, and digefted all I had dropt on those topics during the courfe of twenty-five years. The frequent mention he made of me must have tired any one elfe; but my vanity was wonderfully delighted with it, though I was confcious, that not a tenth part of the wisdom was my own, which he afcribed to me, but rather the gleanings that I had made of the fenfe of all ages and nations. However, I refolved to be the better for the echo of it; and, though I had at first determined to buy ftuff for a new coat, I went away, refolved to wear my old one a little, longer. wilt do the fame, thy profit will be as great as mine.' RICHARD SAUNDERS.

Reader, if thou.

If every one of us, in our refpective ftations, would attend to, and immediately put in practice, the excellent advice given by poor Richard in this paper; each individual would, we apprehend, foon find a much more, fenfible alleviation of the weight that he bears in the burthens imposed by the state *, than is to be expected from even the prefent endeavours to procure relief, by the abolition of finecures, and the reduction of exorbitant

• The Reviewer is aware of an obvious objection: but the frugality of individuals can never injure the ftate, with refpect to revenue, lo much as it must fuffer, even as a ftate, by their idleness, diffipation, and the other political fins or failings, against which Father Abraham raises his truly patriotic voice in this oration. emoluments,

emoluments, how proper foever.-Be this as it may, we are glad to circulate a part of poor Richard's plain and wholesome precepts; and to extend the knowledge of them farther, by intimating that the whole of this excellent little piece has been printed on a fingle fheet of paper, of a small size, fit for framing, and may be had of the publifher of the present volume, at the fmall price of two-pence.

In perufing the political pieces in this collection, though the Reader will frequently be reminded of Swift, when treating of the interests of Ireland; yet no two characters will be found more different in feveral refpects. Except in thofe parts of his writings where he treats of what may be called General Politics, Swift exhibits every mark of a difappointed, paffionate, and even cauftic party man; execrating minifters, and in short, almoft conftantly venting his fpleen in perfonalities against those who differ from him. Dr. Franklin, on the contrary, in the political writings now before us, appears almoft on every occafion the placid and difpaffionate philofopher ;-as much a philofopher, at least, as one, who is at the fame time a public man, and on very trying occafions, can be expected to be. His writings, before the American troubles commenced, every where breathe the fpirit of peace and conciliation. They exprefs an anxious defire to unite and blend the interefts of the parent country and its colonies, in one common mafs of vigour and public felicity; and to prevent every measure that thewed a tendency to alienate the two countries from each other. It is eyident likewife, from fome papers in this collection, that he earnestly wished to preferve the natural connection between this country and his own t; even after certain proceedings-(on both fides, it must be acknowledged) had created a distinction between them. In a letter to a friend, written from Philadelphia, October 3, 1775, when he was a member of the Continental Congrefs, he thus expreffes his fentiments on the subject :

I wish as ardently as you can do for peace, and should rejoice exceedingly in co-operating with you to that end. But every fhip from Britain brings fome intelligence of new meafures that tend more and more to exasperate; and it seems to me, that until you have found by dear experience the reducing us by force impracticable, you will think of nothing fair and reasonable. We have as yet refolved only on defensive meafures. If you would recall your forces and ftay at home, we fhould meditate nothing to injure you. A little time fo given for cooling, on both fides, would have excellent effects. But you

tDr. Franklin is an American; born at Boften, as we learn from an infcription under a buft of him, prefixed to this collection, in the year 1706.

will goad and provoke us. You defpife us too much; and you are infenfible of the Italian adage, that there is no little enemy.'

We meet with no perfonalities in our Author's productions respecting the American conteft. Indeed a candid looker on will perhaps infer, that the measures that have been pursued, in this country, with refpect to America, are not to be wholly afcribed to any particular fet of men, in or out of place;-for perfons of both thefe defcriptions have contributed to the bringing matters to the prefent formidable crifis :--but to the monopolifing spirit of a rich, proud, warlike, and commercial NATION, operating with the fpirit of their rulers for the time being. The nation will perhaps, to a philofophic eye, appear to have been equally criminal with the minifters of the day, in anticipating a catastrophe which muft, however, probably have taken place, under any management whatever, though at a later period. In fact, we are now little more than commenting on a paffage contained in a letter of Dr. Franklin's.

Speaking of the British nation, in the letter to Lord Howe above alluded to, the Author fays I know too well her abounding pride and deficient wisdom, to believe fhe will ever take fuch falutary measures' [meaning the repairing the mifchiefs done to America, previous to, and during the course of, the war. Her fondnefs for conqueft as a warlike nation; her luft of dominion as an ambitious one; and her thirst for a gainful monopoly as a commercial one (none of them legitimate causes of war) will join to hide from her eyes every view of her true intereft; and continually goad her on in these ruinous diftant expeditions, fo deftructive both of lives and of treasure, that they must prove as pernicious to her in the end, as the croifades formerly were to moft of the nations of Europe:'He then adds- I have not the vanity, my Lord, to think of intimidating, by thus predicting the effects of this war; for I know it will in England have the fate of all my former predictions; nor be believed till the event shall verify it.'

But enough of thefe gloomy and mortifying politics :-yet before we quit the political part of this collection, we owe an act of justice to their Author; whofe moral character has long fuffered most severely, on account of certain tranfactions in the year 1773, while he refided here as agent for the colony of the Máffachufett's Bay. We allude to his having, by fome means or other, procured and tranfmitted to his conftituents at Boston, certain letters of Governor Huchinfon, &c. :-to the fubfequent duel fought, in confequence of mifapprehenfions on both i fides, between Mr. Whately and Mr. Temple;-and to Dr. Franklin's afterwards declaring the perfect innocence of these two gentlemen, in a letter printed in the Public Advertifer; and

avowing