franklins autobiography 1000027251
DESCRIPTION
BiographyTRANSCRIPT
ECLECTIC ENGLISH CLASSICS
"033.2-
^ FRANKLIN'S
AUTOBIOGRAPHY
EDITED BY
O. LEON REID
HEAD OF ENGLISH DEPARTMENT, LOUISVILLE MALE
HIGH SCHOOL, LOUISVILLE, KY,
NEW YORK ":" CINCINNATI -:" CHICAGO
AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY
Copyright, 1896 and1910, by
American Book Company
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
W. P. 7
THE LIBRARY
BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITT
PROVO, UTAH
INTRODUCTION.
When Franklin was born, in 1706, Queen Anne was on the \
English throne, and Swift and Defoe were pamphleteering. The
one had not yet written " Gulliver's Travels," nor the other "Rob-inson
Crusoe ;" neither had Addison and Steele and other wits of
Anne's reign begun the " Spectator." Pope was eighteen years
old.
At that time ships bringing news, food and raiment, and laws
and governors to the ten colonies of America, ran grave chances
of fallinginto the hands of the pirateswho infested the waters of
the shores. In Boston Cotton Mather was persecuting witches.
There were no stage coaches in the land," merely a bridle path led
from New York to Philadelphia," and a printingpress through-out
the colonies was a raree-show.
Only six years before Franklin's birth,the first newspaper re-port
for the first newspaper in the country was written on the death
of Captain Kidd and six of his companions near Boston, when
the editor of the " News-Letter " told the story of the hanging of
the pirates,detailingthe exhortations and prayers and their taking-
off. Franklin links us to another world of action.
His boyhood in Boston was a stern beginning of the habit of
hard work and rigid economy which marked the man. For a
year he went to the Latin Grammar School on School Street,but
5
6 INTRODUCTION.
left off at the age of ten to helphis father in making soap and
candles. He persistedin showing such "bookish inclination,"
however, that at twelve his father apprenticedhim to learn the
printer'strade. At seventeen he ran off to Philadelphiaand there
began his independentcareer.
In the main he led such a lifeas the maxims of " Poor Richard " *
enjoin.The pages of the Autobiographyshow few deviations
from such a course. He felt the need of school trainingand
set to work to educate himself. He had an untiringindustry,
and love of the approvalof his neighbor; and he knew that more
thingsfailthroughwant of care than want of knowledge. His
practicalimaginationwas continuallyformingprojects; and,for-tunately
for the world,his greatphysicalstrengthand activitywere
alwayssettinghis ideas in motion. He was human-hearted,and
this strong sympathyof his,alongwith his strengthand zeal and
"projectinghead" (asDefoe calls such a spirit),devised much
that helpedlife to amenityand comfort. In politicshe had
the outlook of the self-reliantcolonist whose devotion to the
mother institutionsof England was finallyalienated by the ex-cesses
of a power which thoughtitselfall-powerful.
In this AutobiographyFranklin tells of his own life to the
year 1757, when he went to England to support the petitionof
the legislatureagainstPenn's sons. The grievanceof the colo-nists
was a very considerable one, for the proprietariesclaimed
that taxes should not be levied upon a tract greater than the
whole State of Pennsylvania.
Franklin was received in England with applause.His experi-ments
in electricityand his inventions had made him known, and
the sayingsof " Poor Richard "were alreadyin the mouths of the
1 See pp. 198-206.
INTRODUCTION. 7
people0But he waited nearlythree years before he could obtain
a hearingfor the matter for which he had crossed the sea.
During the delayhe visited the ancient home of his family,
and made the acquaintanceof men of mark,receivingalso that
degreeof Doctor of Civil Law by which he came to be known
as Dr. Franklin. In thistime,too, he found how prejudicedwas
the common Englishestimate of the value of the colonies. He
wrote Lord Karnes in 1760,after the defeat of the French in
Canada: "No one can more sincerelyrejoicethan I do on the
reduction of Canada ; and this is not merelyas I am a colonist,
but as I am a Briton. I have longbeen of opinionthat the foun-dations
ofthefuturegrandeurand stabilityofthe British empirelie
in America; and though,like other foundations,theyare low and
littlenow, theyare, nevertheless,broad and strongenough to sup-port
the greatestpoliticalstructure that human wisdom ever yet
erected. I am, therefore,by no means for restoringCanada. If
we keep it allthe country from the St. Lawrence to the Missis-sippi
willin another centurybe filledwith Britishpeople.Britain
itselfwillbecome vastlymore populousby the immense increase
of itscommerce ; the Atlantic sea willbe covered with your trad-ing
ships; and your naval power, thence continuallyincreasing,
will extend your influence round the whole globeand awe the
world!. . o
But I refrain,for I see you begin to think my
notions extravagant, and look upon them as the ravingsof a
madman."
At last Franklin won the king'ssignatureto a billby the terms
of which the surveyedlands of the proprietariesshould be as-sessed,
and, his business accomplished,he returned to Phila-delphia.
"You requiremy history,"he wrote to Lord Karnes," from the time I set sailfor America. I leftEnglandabout the
8 INTRODUCTION.
end of August,1762,in company with ten sailof merchant ships
under a convoy of a man-of-war. We had a pleasantpassage
to Madeira.. . .
Here we furnished ourselves with fresh provi-sions,
and refreshments of all kinds ; and,after a few days,pro-ceeded
on our voyage, runningsouthward until wre got into the
trade winds,and then with them westward tillwe drew near the
coast of America. The weather was so favorable that there were
few days in which we could not visitfrom shipto ship,dining
with each other and on board of the man-of-war ; which made
the time pass agreeably,much more so than when one goes in a
singleship; for this was like travelingin a moving village,with
allone's neighborsabout one.
" On the 1st of November I arrived safe and well at my own
home, after an absence of near six years, found my wife and
daughterwell," the lattergrown quitea woman, with many ami-able
accomplishmentsacquiredin my absence," and my friends as
heartyand affectionateas ever, with whom my house was filled
for many days to congratulateme on my return. I had been
chosen yearlyduringmy absence to representthe cityof Phila-delphia
in our Provincial Assembly;and on my appearance in
the House,theyvoted me three thousand poundssterlingfor my
services in England,and their thanks,delivered by the Speaker.
In Februaryfollowing,my son arrived with my new daughter;
for,with my consent and approbation,he married,soon after I left
England,a very agreeableWest India lady,with whom he isvery
happy. I accompaniedhim to his government [New Jersey],
where he met with the kindest receptionfrom the peopleof all
ranks,and has lived with them ever since in the greatestharmony.
A river onlyparts that provinceand ours, and his residence is
within seventeen miles of me, so that we frequentlysee each other.
INTRODUCTION. 9
" In the spring of 1 763 I set out on a tour throughallthe north-ern
colonies to inspectand regulatethe post officesin the several
provinces.In thisjourneyI spent the summer, traveled about
sixteen hundred miles,and did not get home tillthe beginningof
November. The Assemblysittingthroughthe followingwinter,
and warm disputesarisingbetween them and the governor, I be-came
whollyengaged in publicaffairs; for,besides my dutyas
an Assemblyman,I had another trust to execute, that of being
one of the commissioners appointedby law to disposeof the pub-lic
money appropriatedto the raisingand payingan army to act
againstthe Indians and defend the frontiers. And then,in De-cember,
we had two insurrectionsof the back inhabitants of our
province.. . .Governor Penn made my house for some time
his headquarters,and did everythingby my advice ; so that for
about forty-eighthours I was a very great man, as I had been
once some years before,in a time of publicdanger.1" But the fightingface we put on and the reasoningwe used
with the insurgents. . . havingturned them back and restored
quietto the city,I became a less man than ever; for I had by
thistransaction made myselfmany enemies among the populace;
and the governor, . . . thinkingita favorable opportunity,joined
the whole weightof the proprietaryinterestto get me out of the
Assembly; which was accordinglyeffected at the lastelectionby
a majorityof about twenty-fivein four thousand voters. The
House,however,when theymet in October,approvedof the reso-lutions
taken,while I was Speaker,of petitioningthe Crown for
a change of government, and requestedme to return to England
to prosecutethat petition; which service I accordinglyundertook,
and embarked at the beginningof November last,beingaccom-
1 The time of Braddock's defeat.
I o IN TROD UCTION.
paniedto the ship,sixteen miles,by a cavalcade of three hundred
of my friends,who filledour sailswith their good wishes,and I
arrived in thirtydaysat London."
Instead of givinghis effortsto the proposedchangeof govern-ment
Franklin found greater duties. The debt which England
had incurred duringthe war with the French in Canada she now
looked to the colonistsfor aid in removing.At home taxes were
levied by every device. The whole country was in distressand
laborers starving.In the colonies there was the thriftthat comes
from narrowest means ; but the peoplerefused to answer parlia-mentary
levies and claimed that theywould laytheir own taxes
throughtheirown legislatures.They resistedso successfullythe
enforcement of the Stamp Act that Parliament began to discuss
itsrepeal.At this junctureFranklin was examined before the
Commons in regardto the results of the act.
Q. Do you not think the peopleof America would submit to pay the stamp
dutyif it was moderated?
A. No, never, unless compelledby force of arms. . . .
Q. What was the temper of America toward Great Britain before the year
1763?1
A. The best in the world. They submitted willinglyto the government
of the Crown, and paid,in their courts, obedience to the acts of Parliament.
Numerous as the peopleare in the several old provinces,theycost you nothing
in forts,citadels,garrisons,or armies,to keep them in subjection.They
were governedby this country at the expense onlyof a littlepen, ink,and
paper ; theywere led by a thread. They had not onlya respectbut an affec-tion
for Great Britain,for its laws,its customs and manners, and even a
fondness for its fashions that greatlyincreased the commerce. Natives of
Britain were alwaystreated with particularregard;to be an" Old England
1 When the old duties "
upon all rum, spirits,molasses,syrups, sugar,"etc.,were renewed, and extended to other articles.
IN TROD UCTION. 1 1
man"
was, of itself,a character of some respect,and gave a kind of rank
among us.
Q. And what is their temper now?
A. Oh, very much altered.. . .
Q. If the Stamp Act should be repealed,would itinduce the assemblies
of America to acknowledgethe rightof Parliament to tax them, and would
theyerase their resolutions?
A, No, never.
Q. Are there no means of obligingthem to erase those resolutions?
A, None that I know of; theywill never doit unless compelledby force
of arms.
Q, Is there a power on earth that can force them to erase them?
A. No power, how great soever, can force men to change their opin-ions.
...
Q. What used to be the prideof the Americans?
A. To indulgein the fashions and manufactures of Great Britain.
Q. What is now their pride?
A. To wear their old clothes over again,tilltheycan make new ones.
After the repealof the act,Franklin wrote to his wife :" I am
willingyou should have a new gown, which you may suppose I
did not send sooner as I knew you would not liketo be finer than
your neighborsunless in a gown of your own spinning.Had the
trade between the two countries totallyceased,it was a comfort
to me to recollectthat I had once been clothed from head to foot
in woolen and linen of my wife'smanufacture,that I never was
prouderof any dress in my life,and that she and her daughter
mightdo itagainif itwas necessary."
Franklin stayedten years in England. In 1774 he presented
to the king the petitionof the first Continental Congress,in
which the petitioners,who protestedtheirloyaltyto Great Britain,
claimed the rightof taxingthemselves. But,findingthis and
other efforts at adjustmentof littleavail,he returned to Phila-
1 2 IN TROD UCTION.
delphiain May, 1775. On the 5thof Julyhe wrote to Mr. Stra-
han,an old friend in London :" You are a member of Parliament,
and one of that majoritywhich has doomed my country to de-struction.
You have begun to burn our towns and murder our
people. Look upon your hands ; theyare stained with the blood
of your relations! You and I were longfriends; you are now
my enemy, and I am yours."
After the Declaration of Independenceand the establishment
of the States as a nation,Franklin was chosen as representative
to France. "I am old and good for nothing,"he said,when
told of the choice,"but, as the storekeeperssay of their rem-nants
of cloth,I am but a fag-end; you may have me for what
you please."
It was a most importantpost. France was the ancient enemy
of England,and the contingentof men and aid of money which
Franklin gainedserved to the successful issue of the Revolution.
He lived while in France at Passy,near Paris,from which he
wrote to a friend in England:" You are too early...
in call-ing
me rebel ; you should wait for the event which will determine
whether it is a rebellion or only a revolution....
I know you
wish you could see me ; but,as you cannot, I will describe my-self
to you. Figureme in your mind as jollyas formerly,and as
strong and hearty,onlya few years older ; very plainlydressed,
wearingmy thin,gray, straighthair,that peeps out under my only
coiffure,a fine fur cap which comes down my forehead almost to
my spectacles.Think how this must appear among the powdered
heads of Paris! I wish every lady and gentlemanin France
would onlybe so obligingas to follow my fashion,comb their
own heads as I do mine,dismiss their friseurs,and pay me half
the money theypay to them."
INTRO D UCTION. 1 3
At last, in 1785, he came home, old and broken in health. He
was chosen president, or governor, of Pennsylvania, and the faith
of the people in his wisdom made him delegate to the conven-tion
which framed the Constitution in 1787. He died in 1790,
and was buried by his wife in the graveyard of Christ Church,
Philadelphia.
The epitaph which he had written when a printer was not put
uponhis tomb :
THE BODY
OF
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN,
PRINTER
(Like the cover of an old book,
Its contents torn out,
And stript of its lettering and gilding,)
Lies here, food for worms.
But the work shall not be lost,
For it will (as he believed) appear once more
In a new and elegant edition,
Revised and corrected
by
The Author.
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY
OF
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
" I. PARENTAGE AND BOYHOOD.
Twyford,1 at the Bishop of St. Asaph's, 1 771.
DEAR SON:2 I have ever had pleasure in obtaining any
little anecdotes of my ancestors. You may remember the
inquiriesI made among the remains of my relations when you
were with me in England, and the journey I undertook for that
purpose. Imagining it may be equallyagreeable to you to know
the circumstances of my life,many of which you are yet unac-quainted
with, and expecting the enjoyment of a week's uninter-rupted
leisure in my present country retirement,I sit down to
write them for you. To which I have besides some other induce-ments.
Having emerged from the poverty and obscurityin which
I was born and bred, to a state of affluence and some degree of
reputationin the world, and having gone so far through life with
a considerable share of felicity,the conducing means I made use
of,which with the blessingof God so well succeeded, my poster-
1 A villagenear Winchester, Hampshire, England, where Dr. Jonathan
Shipley had his country house. Dr. Shipley was Bishop of St. Asaph's in
Wales, and Franklin's friend.
2 Franklin's only livingson, William, who in 1762 had been made royal
governor of New Jersey,with the hope of detaching Franklin from the cause
of the colonists.
15
1 6 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
itymay like to know, as theymay find some of them suitableto
their own situations,and therefore fitto be imitated.
That felicity,when I reflected on it,has induced me sometimes
to say that,were it offered to my choice,I should have no objec-tion
to a repetitionof the same lifefrom itsbeginning,onlyask-ing
the advantagesauthors have in a second edition to correct
some faults of the first.So I might,besides correctingthe faults,
change some sinisteraccidents and events of it for others more
favorable. But thoughthis were denied,I should stillaccept the
offer. Since such a repetitionis not to be expected,the next
thinglike livingone's lifeover againseems to be a recollection
of that life,and to make that recollection as durable as possible
by puttingit down in writing.
Hereby,too, I shall indulgethe inclination,so natural in old
men, to be talkingof themselves and their own past actions ; and
I shallindulgeitwithout beingtiresome to others," who,through
respect to age, might conceive themselves obligedto giveme a
hearing," since thismay be read or not as any one pleases.And,
lastly,(Imay as well confess it,since my denial of itwill be be-lieved
by nobody,)perhapsI shall a good deal gratifymy own
vanity.Indeed,I scarce ever heard or saw the introductorywords,"Without vanity,I may say,"etc.,but some vain thingimmedi-ately
followed. Most peopledislike vanityin others,whatever
share theymay have of it themselves ; but I giveit fair quarterwherever I meet with it,beingpersuadedthat itis often produc-tive
of good to the possessor, and to others that are within his
sphereof action ; and therefore,in many cases, itwould not be
altogetherabsurd if a man were to thank God for his vanity
among the other comforts of life.
And now I speakof thankingGod, I desire with allhumilityto acknowledgethat I owe the mentioned happinessof my pastlifeto his kind providence,which led me to the means I used and
gave them success. My belief of thisinduces me to hope,thoughI must not presume, that the same goodnesswill stillbe exercised
toward me in continuingthat happiness,or enablingme to bear
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 17
a fatalreverse, which I may experienceas others have done ; the
complexionof my future fortune being known to Him onlyin
whose power itis to bless to us even our afflictions.
The notes one of my uncles (who had the same kind of curiosityin collectingfamilyanecdotes)once put into my hands furnished
me with several particularsrelatingto our ancestors. From these
notes I learned that the familyhad lived in the same village,
Ecton, in Northamptonshire,11for three hundred years, and how
much longerhe knew not, (perhapsfrom the time when the name
of Franklin,that before was the name of an order of people,1was
assumed by them as a surname when others took surnames all
over the kingdom,)on a freehold of about thirtyacres, aided bythe smith's business,which had continued in the familytillhis
time,the eldest son beingalwaysbred to that business," a custom
which he and my father followed as to their eldest sons. When
I searched the registersat Ecton, I found an account of their
births,marriages,and burialsfrom the year 1555 only,there beingno registerskept in that parishat any time preceding.By that
registerI perceivedthat I was the youngest son of the youngest
son for five generationsback. My grandfather,Thomas, who was
born in 1598,lived at Ecton tillhe grew too old to follow busi-ness
longer,when he went to live with his son John,a dyerat
Banbury,in Oxfordshire,with whom my father served an appren-ticeship.
There my grandfatherdied and liesburied. We saw
hisgravestonein 1 758. His eldestson, Thomas, lived in the house
at Ecton,and left itwith the land to his onlychild,a daughter,
who, with her husband,one Fisher,of Wellingborough,sold it to
Mr. Isted,now lord of the manor there. My grandfatherhad
four sons that grew up, namely,Thomas, John,Benjamin,and
n (hereand elsewhere)See Note at end of book, pp. 203-205.1 A franklin was a freeman, or freeholder,or owner of the land on which
he dwelt. The franklins were by their possessionsfittedfor becomingsher-iffs,
knights,etc. After the Norman Conquest,men in Englandtook,in ad-dition
to the firstname, another which was suggestedby their condition in
life,their trade,or some personalpeculiarity.See Note, p. 203.
1 8 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
Josiah. I willgiveyou what account I can of them,at this dis-tance
from my papers, and ifthese are not lostin my absence,you
will among them find many more particulars.Thomas was bred a smith under his father ; but,beingingen-ious,
and encouragedin learning(asallmy brothers were)by an
Esquirex Palmer,then the principalgentlemanin that parish,he
qualifiedhimself for the business of scrivener;2became a consid-erable
man in the county ; was a chief mover of allpublic-spirited
undertakingsfor the county or town of Northamptonand his own
village,of which many instances were related of him ; and much
taken notice of and patronizedby the then Lord Halifax. He
died in 1702, Jan.6, old style,3justfour years to a day before
I was born. The account we received of his lifeand character
from some old peopleat Ecton,I remember,struck you as some-thing
extraordinary,from itssimilarityto what you knew of mine.
"Had he died on the same day,"you said,"one might have
supposeda transmigration."4
John was bred a dyer,I believe,of woolens. Benjamin was
bred a silkdyer,servingan apprenticeshipat London. He was
an ingeniousman. I remember him well,for when I was a boyhe came over to my father in Boston,and lived in the house with
us some years. He lived to a great age. His grandson,Samuel
Franklin,now livesin Boston. He leftbehind him two quarto vol-umes,
inmanuscript,of his own poetry,consistingof littleoccasional
piecesaddressed to his friends and relations,of which the follow-ing,
sent to me, is a specimen.5He had formed a shorthand of
his own, which he taughtme, but,never practicingit,I have now
1 A titlegivenin Englandin Franklin's time to the descendants of knightsand noblemen.
2 A writer whose duties were similar to those of our notary.3 " Old style,"i.e.,the method of reckoningtime which formerlyprevailed
and which had caused an error of eleven days. The new styleof reckoningwas adoptedin Englandin 1752.
4 The passage of the soul into another body; one might have supposedthat the soul of the uncle had taken up abode in Franklin's body.
5 Franklin omitted the verses.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 19
forgotit. I was named after thisuncle,there beinga particularaffectionbetween him and my father. He was very pious,a great
attender of sermons of the best preachers,which he took down
in his shorthand,and had with him many volumes of them. He
was also much of a politician; too much, perhaps,for his station.
There felllatelyinto my hands,in London, a collection he had
made of all the principalpamphletsrelatingto publicaffairs,from
1 64 1 to 1 71 7 ; many of the volumes are wanting,as appears bythe numbering,but there stillremain eightvolumes in folio and
twenty-fourin quarto and octavo. A dealer in old books met
with them,and knowingme by my sometimes buyingof him, he
broughtthem to me. It seems my uncle must have left them
here when he went to America,which was above fiftyyears since.
There are many of his notes in the margins.This obscure familyof ours was earlyin the Reformation,and
continued Protestants throughthe reignof Queen Mary,1when
theywere sometimes in dangerof trouble on account of theirzeal
againstthe queersreligion.They had got an EnglishBible,and
to conceal and secure it,itwas fastened open with tapesunder and
within the cover of a jointstool.2 When my great-great-grand-fatherread itto his family,he turned up the jointstool upon his
knees,turningover the leaves then under the tapes. One of the
children stood at the door to givenotice ifhe saw the apparitor
coming,who was an officerof the spiritualcourt. In that case
the stoolwas turned down againupon itsfeet,when the Bible re-mained
concealed under itas before. This anecdote I had from
my uncle Benjamin."
The familycontinued all of the Church of England tillabout
the end of Charles II.'sreign,when some of the ministers that
had been outed for nonconformity,3holdingconventicles in
1 Who was queen from 1553 to 1558.2 " Jointstool,"i.e.,a stool made of partsfittedtogether.3 " Outed for nonconformity,"i.e.,turned out of the church for not con-forming
to the usages of the Church of Englandand for holdingmeetingsof
dissenters for publicworship.
20 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
Northamptonshire,Benjaminand Josiahadhered to them,and so
continued alltheirlives; the rest of the familyremained with the
EpiscopalChurch.
Josiah,my father,married young, and carried his wife,with
three children,into New England,about 1682. The conventicles
havingbeen forbidden by law,and frequentlydisturbed,induced
some considerable men of hisacquaintanceto remove to that coun-try,
and he was prevailedwith to accompany them thither,where
theyexpectedto enjoytheirmode of religionwith freedom. By
the same wife he had four children more born there,and by a
second wife ten more." in allseventeen, of which I remember thir-teen
sittingat one time at his table,who all grew up to be men
and women and married. I was the youngestson, and the young-est
child but two, and was born in Boston, New England.1 My
mother,the second wife,was Abiah Folger,daughterof Peter
Folger,one of the firstsettlersof New England,of whom honor-able
mention is made by Cotton Mather,in his Church historyof
that country entitled " MagnaliaChristiAmericana,"as "
a goodlylearned Englishman,"if I remember the words rightly.I have
heard that he wrote sundrysmall occasional pieces,but onlyone
of them was printed,which I saw now many years since. It was
written in 1675,in the homespun verse of that time and people,and addressed to those then concerned in the government there.
It was in favor of libertyof conscience,and in behalf of the Bap-tists,Quakers,and other sectariesthat had been under persecu-tion,2
ascribingthe Indian wars, and other distressesthat had be-fallen
the country, to that persecution,as so many judgmentsof
God to punishso heinous an offense,and exhortinga repealof
those uncharitable laws. The whole appearedto me as written
with a good deal of decent plainnessand manly freedom. The
1 Franklin was born Sunday,Jan. 17, 1706 (Jan.6, old style).The
familythen lived in a small house on Milk Street,near the Old South Church,where the Boston Post buildingnow stands.
2 The persecutionwhich the firstsettlerspracticedagainstallwho differed
with them in religiousdoctrines.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 21
six concludinglines I remember,thoughI have forgottenthe two
firstof the stanza ; but the purportof them was that his censures
proceededfrom good will,and,therefore,he would be known to
be the author.
" Because to be a libeler[sayshe]I hate itwith my heart ;
From Sherburne1 town, where now I dwell,
My name I do put here ;
Without offense your real friend,
It is Peter Folgier."2
My elder brothers wrere all put apprenticesto differenttrades.
I was put to the grammar school 3 at eightyears of age, my father
intendingto devote me, as the tithe of his sons, to the service of
the church. My earlyreadiness in learningto read,(whichmusthave been very early,as I do not remember when I could %not
read,)and the opinionof all his friends that I should certainlymake a good scholar,encouragedhim in thispurpose of his. Myuncle Benjamin,too,approvedof it,and proposedto giveme all
his shorthand volumes of sermons, I suppose as a stock to set up
with,if 1 would learn his character.4 I continued,however,at
the grammar school not quiteone year, thoughin that time I had
risen graduallyfrom the middle of the class of that year to be
the head of it,and,further,was removed into the next class above
1 Sherburne is now called Nantucket.
2 The lines which Dr. Franklin had forgottenare these :
M I am for peace and not for war,
And that's the reason whyI write more plainthan some men do,
That used to daub and lie.
But I shall cease, and set my name
To what I here insert,Because to be a libeler
I hate itwith my heart."
3 In Franklin's time the grammar school was a school for teachingLatin,which was begunby committingthe grammar to memory.
4 Characters,or method of writingshorthand.
2 2 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
itin order to go with that into the third at the end of the year.
But my father in the mean time,from a view of the expense of a
collegeeducation,which,havingso largea family,he could not
well afford,and the mean livingmany so educated were after-ward
able to obtain," reasons that he gave to his friends in my
hearing," altered his firstintention,took me from the grammar
school,and sent me to a school for writingand arithmetic,kept
by a ^en famous man, Mr. GeorgeBrownell,very successful in
Kfcprofessiongenerally,and that by mild,encouragingmethods.
"Under him I acquiredfairwritingprettysoon, but I failed in the
arithmetic,and made no progress in it. At ten years old I was
taken home to assistmy father in his business,which was that of
a tallow chandler and soap boiler,a business he was not bred to,
but had assumed on his arrival in New England,and on findinghis dyeingtrade would not maintain his family,beingin littlere-quest.
Accordingly,I was employed in cuttingwick for the
candles,fillingthe dippingmold and the molds for cast candles,1
attendingthe shop,goingof errands,etc.
I disliked the trade,and had a strong inclinationfor the sea,
but my father declared againstit. However, livingnear the water,
I was much in and about it,learned earlyto swim well and to
manage boats ; and when in a boat or canoe with other boys I
was commonly allowed to govern, especiallyin any case of diffi-culty
; and upon other occasions I was generallya leader among
the boys,and sometimes led them into scrapes, of which I will
mention one instance,as it shows an earlyprojectingpublic
spirit,thoughnot then justlyconducted.
There was a salt marsh that bounded part of the mill pond, on
the edge of which,at highwater, we used to stand to fish for
minnows. By much tramplingwe had made it a mere quagmire.
My proposalwas to build a wharf there fitfor us to stand upon,
and I showed my comrades a largeheap of stones which were in-tended
for a new house near the marsh and which would very well
1 Candles were made by dippingwicks in the fat a number of times,and
also by settingthe wicks in a mold and pouringthe fat round them.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 23
suit our purpose. Accordingly,in the evening,when the work-men
were gone, I assembled a number of my playfellows,and
workingwith them diligentlylike so many emmets,1sometimes
two or three to a stone, we broughtthem all away and built our
littlewharf. The next morningthe workmen were surprisedat
missingthe stones, which were found in our wharf. Inquirywasmade after the removers; we were discovered and complainedof ; several of us were corrected by our fathers ; and, thoughI
pleadedthe usefulness of the work, mine convinced me that
nothingwas useful which was not honest.
# I think you may like to know somethingof hisperson and char-acter.
He had an excellent constitutionof body,was of middle
stature,but well set and very strong. He was ingenious,could
draw prettily,was skilled a littlein music,and had a clear,pleas-ing
voice,so that when he playedpsalmtunes on his violinand
sung withal,as he sometimes did in an eveningafter the business
of the day was over, itwas extremelyagreeableto hear. He had
a mechanical genius,too,and on occasion was very handyin the
use of other tradesmen's tools ; but his greatexcellence layin a
sound understandingand solid judgmentin prudentialmatters,both in privateand publicaffairs. In the latter,indeed,he was
never employed,the numerous familyhe had to educate and the
straitnessof his circumstances keepinghim close to his trade ; but
I remember well his beingfrequentlyvisitedby leadingpeople,who consulted him for his opinionin affairsof the town or of the
church he belongedto,and showed a good deal of respectfor his
judgment and advice ; he was also much consulted by private
persons about theiraffairswhen any difficultyoccurred,and fre-quently
chosen an arbitratorbetween contendingparties.At his
table he liked to have as often as he could some sensible friend
or neighborto converse with,and alwaystook care to start some
ingeniousor useful topicfor discourse,which might tend to im-prove
the minds of his children. By this means he turned our
attention to what was good,just,and prudentin the conduct of
1 Ants.
24 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
life,and littleor no notice was ever taken of what related to the
victuals on the table,whether it was well or illdressed,in or out
of season, of good or bad flavor,preferableor inferior to thisor
that other thingof the kind,so that I was broughtup in such a
perfectinattentionto those matters as to be quiteindifferentwhat
kind of food was set before me, and so unobservant of itthat to
thisday if I am asked I can scarce tell a few hours after dinner
what I dined upon. This has been a convenience to me in travel-ing,
where my companionshave been sometimes very unhappyfor want of a suitablegratificationof their more delicate,because
better instructed,tastes and appetites.
_My mother had likewise an excellent constitution. I never
knew either my father or mother to have any sickness but that
of which theydied,he at eighty-nineand she at eighty-fiveyears
of age. They lieburied togetherat Boston,where I some years
since placeda marble 1over their grave with thisinscription:
JosiahFranklin,and
Abiah his wife,liehere interred.
They lived lovinglytogetherin wedlock
fifty-fiveyears.
Without an estate, or any gainfulemployment,
By constant labor and industry,with God's blessing,
They maintained a largefamily
comfortably,and broughtup thirteen children
and seven grandchildren
reputably.From this instance,reader,
Be encouragedto diligencein thycalling,And distrust not Providence.
1 The marble havingcrumbled, a largerstone was placedover the grave
in 1827, and Franklin's inscriptionrepeated.It stands in the GranaryBury-ingGround.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 2$
He was a piousand prudentman ;
She, a discreet and virtuous woman.
Their youngest son,
In filialregardto their memory,
Places this stone.
J. F. born 1655,died 1744, aetat189.A. F. born 1667,died 1752, 85.
By my ramblingdigressionsI perceivemyselfto be grown old.
I used to write more methodically.But one does not dress for
privatecompany as for a publicball. Tis perhapsonlynegli-gence.
To return : I continued thus employedin my father'sbusiness
for two years,that is,tillI was twelve years old ; and my brother
John,who was bred to that business,havingleftmy father,mar-ried,
and set up for himself at Rhode Island,there was all appear-ance
that I was destined to supplyhis placeand become a tal-low
chandler. But my disliketo the trade continuing,my father
was under apprehensionsthat if he did not find one for me more
agreeableI should break away and get to sea, as his son Josiahhad done,to his greatvexation.He therefore sometimes took me
to walk with him,and see joiners,bricklayers,turners,brasiers,2
etc.,at theirwork,that he might observe my inclinationand en-deavor
to fix it on some trade or other on land. It has ever since
been a pleasureto me to see good workmen handle their tools ;
and ithas been useful to me, havinglearned so much by itas to
be able to do littlejobsmyselfin my house when a workman could
not readilybe got,and to construct littlemachines for my experi-mentswhile the intention of making the experimentwas fresh
and warm in my mind. My father at lastfixed upon the cutler's
trade,and my uncle Benjamin'sson, Samuel,who was bred to that
business in London, beingabout that time established in Boston,I was sent to be with him some time on liking.But his expecta-
1 Aged.* A joineris a mechanic who does the woodwork of houses,etc. ; a turner,
one who works with a lathe ; a brasier,a worker in brass.
26 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
tions of a fee with me displeasingmy father,I was taken home
again.From a child I was fond of reading,and all the littlemoney
that came into my hands was ever laid out in books. Pleased
with the " Pilgrim'sProgress,"my firstcollection was of John
Bunyan'sworks in separatelittlevolumes. I afterward sold them
to enable me to buy R. Burton's " Historical Collections;"they
were small chapmen's1 books,and cheap,fortyor fiftyin all. Myfather's littlelibraryconsisted chieflyof books in polemicdivin-ity,
most of which I read,and have since often regrettedthat,at
a time when I had such a thirstfor knowledge,more proper books
had not fallen in my way, since it was now resolved I should not
be a clergyman." Plutarch's Lives " there was, in which I read
abundantly,and I stillthink that time spent to greatadvantage.There was also a book of Defoe's called an
"
Essayon Projects,"and another of Dr. Mather's called " Essaysto Do Good," which
perhapsgave me a turn of thinkingthat had an influence on some
of the principalfuture events of my life.
This bookish inclination at lengthdetermined my father to make
me a printer,thoughhe had alreadyone son (James)of that pro-fession.
In 1 717 my brother James returned from Englandwith
a press and lettersto set up his business in Boston. I liked it
much better than that of my father,but stillhad a hankeringfor
the sea. To prevent the apprehendedeffect of such an inclina-tion,
my father was impatientto have me bound to my brother.
I stood out some time,but at last wras persuadedand signedthe
indentures 2 when I was yet but twelve years old. I was to serve
as an apprenticetillI was twenty-oneyears of age, onlyI was to
be allowed journeyman'swages duringthe last year. In a little
time I made greatproficiencyin the business,and became a use-ful
hand to my brother. I now had access to better books. An
acquaintancewith the apprenticesof booksellers enabled me some-
1 A chapman was a peddler.2 Agreementswritten upon sheets,the edgesof which were cut or indented
to match each other,for securityand identification.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 27
times to borrow a small one, which I was careful to return soon
and clean. Often I sat up in my room readingthe greatestpart
of the night,when the book was borrowed in the eveningand to
be returned earlyin the morning,lestitshould be missed or wanted.
" And after some time an ingenioustradesman,Mr. Matthew
Adams, who had a prettycollectionof books,and who frequentedour printinghouse,took notice of me, invited me to his library,and very kindlylent me such books as I chose to read. I now
took a fancyto poetry,and made some littlepieces;my brother,
thinkingit might turn to account, encouragedme, and put me
on composingoccasional ballads. One was called " The Light-house
Tragedy,"and contained an account of the drowningof
CaptainWorthilake with histwo daughters; the other was a sailor's
song on the takingof Teach (orBlackbeard),the pirate.Theywere wretched stuff,in the Grub Street 1 ballad style; and when
theywere printedhe sent me about the town to sellthem. The
firstsold wonderfully,the event beingrecent,havingmade a greatnoise. This flattered my vanity; but my father discouragedme
by ridiculingmy performancesand tellingme verse makers were
generallybeggars. So I escapedbeinga poet, most probablya
very bad one ; but as prose writinghas been of great use to me in
the course of my life,and was a principalmeans of my advance-ment,
I shalltellyou how, in such a situation,I acquiredwhat
littleabilityI have in that way.
There was another bookish lad in the town, John Collins by
name, with whom I was intimatelyacquainted.We sometimes
disputed,and very fond we were of argument and very desirous
of confutingeach other ; which disputatiousturn,by the way, is
apt to become a very bad habit,nmaking peopleoften extremely
disagreeablein company by the contradiction that isnecessary to
bringitinto practice; and thence,besides souringand spoiling
1 A street in London in which many writers of small abilityor reputation,or of unhappyfortune,had lodgings." Grub Street style,"therefore,means
poor or worthless in literaryvalue. The term, which alwaysimplieda sneer,
was made current by Pope and Swift and their coterie.
28 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
the conversation,is productiveof disgustsand perhapsenmitieswhere you may have occasion for friendship.I had caught it
by readingmy father's books of disputeabout religion.Persons
of good sense, I have since observed,seldom fallinto it,except
lawyers,universitymen, and men of all sorts that have been bred
at Edinburgh.A questionwas once, somehow or other,started between Col-lins
and me, of the proprietyof educatingthe female sex in learn-ing,
and their abilitiesfor study. He was of opinionthat itwas
improper,and that theywere naturallyunequalto it. I took the
contrary side,perhapsa littlefor dispute'ssake. He was natu-rally
more eloquent,had a readyplentyof words,and sometimes,as I thought,bore me down more by his fluencythan by the
strengthof his reasons. As we partedwithout settlingthe point,and were not to see each other againfor some time,I sat down
to put my arguments in writing,which I copiedfair and sent to
him. He answered,and I replied.Three or four lettersof a
side had passed,when my father happened to find my papers and
read them. Without enteringinto the discussion,he took occa-sion
to talk to me about the manner of my writing.He observed
that,though I had the advantageof my antagonistin correct
spellingand pointing(whichI owed to the printinghouse),I fell
far short in eleganceof expression,in method,and in perspicuity,of which he convinced me by several instances. I saw the jus-tice
of his remarks,and thence grew more attentive to the manner
in writing,and determined to endeavor at improvement.About thistime I met with an odd volume of the " Spectator."1
It was the third. I had never before seen any of them. I bought
it,read it over and over, and was much delightedwith it. I
thoughtthe writingexcellent,and wished,ifpossible,to imitate it.
With thisview,I took some of the papers, and,making short hints
1 A paper publishedin London every week day from the 1st of March,
1711, to the 6th of December, 1712, and made up for the most partof essays
by Addison, Steele,and their friends. It held aloof from politics,and dealt
with the manners of the time and with literature.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 29
i
of the sentiment in each sentence, laid them by a few days,and
then,without lookingat the book, tried to completethe papers
again,by expressingeach hinted sentiment at length,and as fullyas ithad been expressedbefore,in any suitablewords that should
cohie to hand. Then I compared my" Spectator" with the orig-inal,
discovered some of my faults,and corrected them. But I
found I wanted a stock of words,or a readiness in recollectingand usingthem,which I thoughtI should have acquiredbefore
that time if I had gone on making verses ; since the continual
occasion for words of the same import,but of differentlengthto
suitthe measure, or of different sound for the rhyme,would have
laid me under a constant necessityof searchingfor variety,andalso have tended to fixthat varietyin my mind and make me mas-ter
of it. Therefore I took some of the tales and turned them
into verse ; and, after a time,when I had prettywell forgottenthe prose, turned them back again. I also sometimes jumbled
my collectionsof hints into confusion,and after some weeks en-deavored
to reduce them into the best order before I began to
form the fullsentences and completethe paper. This was to teach
me method in the arrangement of thoughts.By comparingmywork afterward with the original,I discovered many faults and
amended them ; but I sometimes had the pleasureof fancyingthat in certain particularsof small importI had been lucky
enough to improvethe method or the language,and this encour-aged
me to think I mightpossiblyin time come to be a tolerable
Englishwriter,of which I was extremelyambitious. My time
for these exercises and for readingwas at nightafter work, or
before itbegan in the morning,or on Sundays,when I contrived
to be in the printinghouse alone,evadingas much as I could the
common attendance on publicworship,which my father used to
exact of me when I was under his care, and which indeed I still
thoughta duty,though I could not, as it seemed to me, afford
time to practiceit.When about sixteen years of age I happened to meet with a
book,written by one Tryon,recommending a vegetablediet. I
30 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
determined to go into it. My brother,beingyet unmarried,did
not keephouse,but boarded himself and hisapprenticesin another
family.My refusal to eat fleshoccasioned an inconveniency,and
I was frequentlychid for my singularity.I made myselfac-quainted
with Tryon'smanner of preparingsome of his dishes,such as boilingpotatoesor rice,makinghastypudding,and a few
others,and then proposedto my brother that if he would giveme weeklyhalf the money he paidfor my board I would board
myself. He instantlyagreedto it,and I presentlyfound that I
could save half what he paidme. This was an additional fund
for buying books. But I had another advantagein it. Mybrother and the rest goingfrom the printinghouse to theirmeals,I remained there alone,and, dispatchingpresentlymy lightre-past,
which often was no more than a biscuitor a sliceof bread,
a handful of raisins,or a tart from the pastrycook's,and a glassof water, had the rest of the time tilltheir return for study,in
which I made the greaterprogress from that greaterclearness of
head and quickerapprehensionwhich usuallyattend temperance
in eatingand drinking.And now it was that,beingon some occasion made ashamed
of my ignorancein figures,which I had twice failed in learningwhen at school,I took Cocker's book of arithmetic,and went
throughthe whole by myselfwith great ease. I also read Seller's
and Shermy'sbooks of navigation,and became acquaintedwiththe littlegeometry theycontain,but never proceededfar in that
science. And I'read about this time Locke " On the Human
Understanding,"and the " Art of Thinking,"by Messrs. du Port
Royal.1
fWhile I was intent on improvingmy language,I met with an
nglishgrammar (Ithink itwas Greenwood's),at the end of which
there were two littlesketches of the arts of rhetoric and logic,the latter finishingwith a specimenof a disputein the Socratic
1 These gentlemenof Port Royal lived.
in the old convent of Port Royaldes Champs, near Paris. They were learned men who, with other works*
preparedschoolbooks,among which was the " Art of Thinking,"a logic.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 31
method;1 and soon after I procuredXenophon's"Memorable
Thingsof Socrates,"wherein there are many instancesof the same
method. I was charmed with it,adoptedit,droppedmy abruptcontradiction and positiveargumentation,and put on the hum-ble
inquirerand doubter. And beingthen,from readingShaftes-bury
and Collins,become a real doubter in many pointsof our re-ligious
doctrine,I found this method safest for myselfand very
embarrassingto those againstwhom I used it. Therefore I took
a delightin it,practiceditcontinually,and grew very artful and
expert in drawingpeople,even of superiorknowledge,into con-cessions
the consequences of which theydid not foresee,entan-gling
them in difficultiesout of which theycould not extricate
themselves,and so obtainingvictoriesthat neither myselfnor my
cause alwaysdeserved.
I continued this method some few years, but graduallyleftit,
retainingonlythe habit of expressingmyselfin terms of modest
diffidence ; never using,when I advanced anythingthat may pos-sibly
be disputed,the words " certainly,""
undoubtedly,"or any
others that givethe air of positivenessto an opinion; but rather
saying," I conceive "
or" apprehend" a thingto be so and so ;
" it appears to me," or" I should think itso or so,"for such and
such reasons ; or" I imagineit to be so ;
"or
" it is so, ifI am
not mistaken." This habit,I believe,has been of greatadvantageto me when I have had occasion to inculcate my opinions,and
persuademen into measures that I have been from time to .time
engagedin promoting; and,as the chief ends of conversation are
to inform or to be informed,to pleaseor to persuade,I wish well-
meaning,sensiblemen would not lessentheirpower of doinggood
by a positive,assumingmanner, that seldom failsto disgust,tends
to create opposition,and to defeat every one of those purposes for
which speechwas givento us, " to wit,givingor receivinginforma-tion
or pleasure.For ifyou would inform,a positiveand dogmat-
1 " The Socratic method,'' i.e.,the method of modest questioning,which
Socrates used with pupilsand opponents alike,and by which he led them to
concessions and unforeseen conclusions.
32 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
ical manner in advancingyour sentiments may provokecontra-diction
and prevent a candid attention. If you wish information
and improvementfrom the knowledge of others,and yet at the
same time express yourselfas firmlyfixed in your presentopinions,
modest,sensible men, who do not love disputation,will probablyleave you undisturbed in the possessionof your error. And bysuch a manner you can seldom hope to recommend yourselfin
pleasingyour hearers,or to persuadethose whose concurrence you
desire. Pope says judiciously:
" Men must be taughtas if you taughtthem not,
And thingsunknown propos'das thingsforgot;"
further recommending to us to
" Speak,though sure, with seemingdiffidence."
And he might have coupledwith this line that which he has
coupledwith another,I think,less properly:
p" For want of modestyis want of sense."
If you ask why less properly,I must repeat the lines:
" Immodest words admit of no defense,
For want of modestyis want of sense." *
Now, is not"
want of sense" (wherea man is so unfortunate as
to want it)some apologyfor his "want of modesty?" and would
not the lines stand more justlythus?
" Immodest words admit but this defense,
That want of modestyis want of sense."
This,however,I should submit to better judgments.
My brother had,in 1720 or 1721, begun to printa newspaper.
It was the second that appearedin America,and was called the
" New England Courant."2 The onlyone before itwas the " Bos-
1 These lines are not Pope's,but Lord Roscommon's, slightlymodified.2 " The New England Courant was the fourth newspaper that appearedin
America. The firstnumber of the Boston News-Letter was publishedApril
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 33
ton News-Letter." I remember his beingdissuaded by some of
his friends from the undertaking,as not likelyto succeed,one
newspaper being,in their judgment,enough for America. At
thistime (1771)there are not less than fiveand twenty. He went
on, however,with the undertaking,and after havingworked in
composingthe typesand printingoff the sheets,I was employedto carry the papers throughthe streets to the customers.
He had some ingeniousmen among his friends,who amused
themselves by writinglittlepiecesfor thispaper, which gainedit
credit and made it more in demand ; and these gentlemenoften
visited us. Hearing their conversations and their accounts of
the approbationtheir papers were received with,I was excited to
trymy hand among them ; but,beingstilla boy,and suspectingthat my brother would objectto printinganythingof mine in his
paper ifhe knew it to be mine,I contrived to disguisemy hand,
and,writingan anonymous paper, I put it in at nightunder the
door of the printinghouse. It was found in the morning,and
communicated to hiswritingfriendswhen theycalled in as usual.
They read it,commented on itin my hearing,and I had the ex-quisite
pleasureof findingitmet with theirapprobation,and that,in theirdifferentguesses at the author,none were named but men
of some character among us for learningand ingenuity.I sup-pose
now that I was rather luckyin my judges,and that per-haps
theywere not reallyso very good ones as I then esteemed
them.
Encouraged,however,by this,I wrote and conveyedin the
same way to the press several more papers, which were equally
approved; and I keptmy secret tillmy small fund of sense for
such performanceswas prettywell exhausted,and then I dis-
24, 1704. This was the firstnewspaper in America. The Boston Gazette
commenced Dec. 21, 1719; the American Weekly Mercury,at Philadelphia,Dec. 22, 1719; the New England Courant,Aug. 21, 1721. Dr. Franklin's
error of memory probablyoriginatedin the circumstance of his brother havingbeen the printerof the Boston Gazette when it was firstestablished. This
was the second newspaper publishedin America." " Sparks.
34 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
covered l it,when I began to be considered a littlemore by my
brother's acquaintance,and in a manner that did not quiteplease
him,as he thought,probablywith reason, that ittended to make
me too vain. And perhapsthis might be one occasion of the
differences that we began to have about this time. Though a
brother,he considered himself as my master and me as his ap-prentice,
and accordinglyexpectedthe same services from me as
he would from another,while I thoughthe demeaned 2me too
much in some he requiredof me, who from a brother expectedmore indulgence.Our disputeswere often broughtbefore our
father,and I fancyI was either generallyin the rightor else a
better pleader,because the judgmentwas generallyin my favor.
But my brother was passionate,and had often beaten me, which
I took extremelyamiss;and, thinkingmy apprenticeshipverytedious,I was continuallywishingfor some opportunityof short-ening
it,which at lengthoffered in a manner unexpected.One of the piecesin our newspaper, on some politicalpoint
which I have now forgotten,gave offense to the Assembly.3He
was taken up, censured,and imprisonedfor a month, by the
Speaker'swarrant, I suppose, because he would not discover his
author. I,too, was taken up and examined before the council ;
but,thoughI did not givethem any satisfaction,theycontented
themselves with admonishingme, and dismissed me, considering
me, perhaps,as an apprentice,who was bound to keephis mas-ter's
secrets.
Duringmy brother'sconfinement,which I resented a good deal,
notwithstandingour privatedifferences,I had the management of
the paper ; and I made bold to giveour rulers some rubs in it,which my brother took very kindly,while others began to con-sider
me in an unfavorable light,as a young geniusthat had a
turn for libelingand satire. My brother's dischargewas accom-panied
with an order of the House (a very odd one)that JamesFranklin should no longerprintthe paper called the " New Eng-land
Courant."
1 Told. 2 Lowered ; put down. n 3 The legislature.
.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 35
There was a consultation held in our printinghouse among his
friends what he should do in this case. Some proposedto evade
the order by changingthe name of the paper; but my brother
seeinginconveniences in that,it was finallyconcluded on, as a
better way, to let it be printedfor the future under the name of
BenjaminFranklin;and to avoid the censure of the Assemblythat might fall on him as stillprintingit by his apprentice,the
contrivance was that my old indenture should be returned to me,
with a fulldischargeon the back of it,to be shown on occasion ;
but to secure to him the benefit of my service I was to signnewindentures for the remainder of the term, which were to be keptprivate.A very flimsyscheme it was ; however,it was immedi-ately
executed,and the paper went on accordinglyunder my
name for several months.
At length,a fresh differencearisingbetween my brother and me,
I took upon me to assert my freedom,presumingthat he would
not venture to producethe new indentures. It was not fairin
me to take thisadvantage,and thisI therefore reckon one of the
firsterrata x of my life; but the unfairness of itweighedlittlewith
me when under the impressionsof resentment for the blows his
passiontoo often urged him to bestow upon me, thoughhe was
otherwise not an ill-naturedman. PerhapsI was too saucy and
provoking.When he found I would leave him, he took care to prevent
my gettingemployment in any other printinghouse of the town,
by goinground and speakingto every master, who accordinglyrefused to giveme work. I then thoughtof goingto New York,
as the nearest placewhere there was a printer; and I was rather
inclined to leave Boston when I reflected that I had alreadymade myselfa littleobnoxious to the governingparty,and,from
the arbitraryproceedingsof the Assemblyin my brother's case,
it was likelyI might,if I stayed,soon bringmyselfinto scrapes ;
and,further,that my indiscreetdisputationsabout religionbeganto make me pointedat with horror by good peopleas an infidel
l Errors; mistakes.
36 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
or atheist. I determined on the point,but,my father now sidingwith my brother,I was sensible that,if I attemptedto go openly,means would be used to prevent me. My friend Collins,there-fore,
undertook to manage a littlefor me. He agreedwith the
captainof a New York sloopfor my passage, under the notion of
my beinga young acquaintanceof his that had got into trouble,and therefore I could not appear or come away publicly.So I
sold some of my books to raise a littlemoney, was taken on board
privately,and, as we had a fair wind,in three daysI found my-self
in New York, near three hundred miles from home, a boyof but seventeen, without the least recommendation to,or knowl-edge
of,any person in the place,and with very littlemoney in
my pocket.
" 2. SEEKS HIS FORTUNE.
MY inclinationsfor the sea were by this time worn out, or I
mightnow have gratifiedthem. But,havinga trade,and
supposingmyselfa prettygood workman, I offered my service to
the printerin the place,old Mr. William Bradford,who had been
the firstprinterin Pennsylvania,but removed from thence upon
the quarrelof GeorgeKeith. He could giveme no employment,
havinglittleto do and helpenough already; but says he, "
Myson at Philadelphiahas latelylost his principalhand, Aquila
Rose,by death ; if you go thither I believe he may employyou."
Philadelphiawas a hundred miles farther ; I set out, however,in
a boat for Amboy, leavingmy chest and thingsto follow me
round by sea.
In crossingthe bay we met with a squallthat tore our rotten
sailsto pieces,preventedour gettinginto the Kill,1and drove us
upon Long Island. In our way, a drunken Dutchman, who was
a passenger too,felloverboard. When he was sinking,I reached
1 Kill von Kull,the straitbetween Staten Island and New Jersey.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 37
throughthe water to his shock pate,and drew him up so that we
got him in again.His duckingsobered him a little,and he went
to sleep,takingfirstout of his pocketa book,which he desired
I would dry for him. It provedto be my old favoriteauthor,
Bunyan's" Pilgrim'sProgress,"in Dutch,finelyprintedon good
paper, with copper cuts,a dress better than I had ever seen it
wear in its own language. I have since found that ithas been
translated into most of the languagesof Europe,and suppose it
has been more generallyread than any other book, except,per-haps,
the Bible. Honest John} was the firstthat I know of who
mixed narration and dialogue; a method of writingvery engagingto the reader,who in the most interestingpartsfinds himself,as
itwere, broughtinto the company and present at the discourse.
Defoe n in his "Crusoe/'his "Moll Flanders," " ReligiousCourt-ship,"
" FamilyInstructor,"and other pieces,has imitated itwith
success ; and Richardson has done the same in his " Pamela,"etc.When we drew near the island we found itwas at a placewhere
there could be no landing,there beinga great surf on the stony
beach. So we dropped anchor,and swung round toward the
shore. Some peoplecame down to the water edgeand hallooed
to us, as we did to them ; but the wind was so highand 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 theyshould fetch us ; but theyeitherdid not understand us
or thoughtitimpracticable,so theywent away, and nightcom-ing
on, we had no remedy but to wait tillthe wind should abate.
In the mean time,the boatman and I concluded to sleepif we
could,and so crowded into the scuttlewith the Dutchman, who
was stillwet, and the spray beatingover the head of our boat
leaked throughto us, so that we were soon almost as wet as he.
In thismanner we layallnight,with very littlerest ; but the wind
abatingthe next day,we made a shift to reach Amboy before
night,havingbeen thirtyhours on the water,without victuals,or any
drink but a bottle of filthyrum, the water we sailed on beingsalt.
l That is,John Bunyan,the author of the book.
38 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
In the eveningI found myself-very feverish,and went in to
bed ; but,havingread somewhere that cold water, drunk plenti-fully,was good for a fever,I followed the prescription,sweat
plentifullymost of the night,my fever leftme, and in the morn-ing,
crossingthe ferry,I proceededon my journeyon foot,hav-ing
fiftymiles to Burlington,1where I was told I should find boats
that would carry me the rest of the way to Philadelphia.It rained very hard allthe day. I was thoroughlysoaked,and
by noon a good deal tired,so I stoppedat a poor inn,where I
stayedallnight,beginningnow to wish that I had never lefthome.
I cut so miserable a figure,too, that I found,by the questionsasked me, I was suspectedto be some runaway servant and in
dangerof beingtaken up on that suspicion.However, I pro-ceeded
the next day,and got in the eveningto an inn,within
eightor ten miles of Burlington,keptby one Dr. Brown. He
entered into conversation with me while I took some refreshment,
and,findingI had read a little,became very sociable and friendly.Our acquaintancecontinued as longas he lived.11 He had been,I imagine,an itinerantdoctor ; for there was no town in England,or countryin Europe,of which he could not givea very particu-lar
account. He had some letters,2and was ingenious,but much
of an unbeliever,and wickedlyundertook,some years after,to
travestythe Bible in doggerelverse, as Cotton had done Virgil.
By this means he set many of the facts in a very ridiculous light,and mighthave hurt weak minds if his work had been published;but it never was.
At his house I laythat night,and the next morning reached
Burlington,but had the mortification to find that the regularboats
were gone a littlebefore my coming,and no other expectedto
go before Tuesday,this beingSaturday; wherefore I returned to
an old woman in the town of whom I had boughtgingerbreadto
eat on the water, and asked her advice. She invited me to lodgeat her house tilla passage by water should offer; and,beingtired
with my foot traveling,I acceptedthe invitation. She,under-
1 In New Jersey 2 Learning.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 39
standingI was a printer,would have had me stay at that town
and follow my business,beingignorantof the stock necessary to
beginwith. She was very hospitable,gave me a dinner of ox
cheek with great good will,acceptingonlyof a pot of ale in re-turn;
and I thoughtmyselffixed tillTuesday should come.
However, walkingin the eveningby the side of the river,a boat
came by,which I found was goingtoward Philadelphia,with sev-eral
peoplein her. Theytook me in,and,as there was no wind,we
rowed all the way, and about midnight,not havingyet seen the
city,some of the company were confident we must have passedit,and would row no farther. The others knew not where we
were ; so we put toward the shore,got into a creek,and landed
near an old fence,with the railsof which we made a fire,the
nightbeingcold,in October,and there wTe remained tilldaylight.Then one of the company knew the placeto be Cooper'sCreek,
a littleabove Philadelphia,which we saw as soon as we got out
of the creek,and arrived there about eightor nine o'clock on the
Sunday morning,and landed at the Market Street wharf.
I have been the more particularin thisdescriptionof my jour-ney,and shall be so of my firstentry into that city,that you may
in your mind compare such unlikelybeginningswith the figureI have since made there. I was in my workingdress,my best
clothes beingto come round by sea. I was dirtyfrom my jour-ney
; my pocketswere stuffed out with shirtsand stockings,and
I knew no soul,nor where to look for lodging. I was fatiguedwith traveling,rowing,and want of rest ; I was very hungry; and
my whole stock of cash consisted of a Dutch dollar and about a
shillingin copper.1 The latter I gave the peopleof the boat for
my passage, who at firstrefused it,on account of my rowing; but
I insisted on their takingit,a man beingsometimes more gen-erous
when he has but a littlemoney than when he has plenty,
perhapsthroughfear of beingthoughtto have but little.
Then I walked up the street,gazingabout,tillnear the market
1 Englishpenny pieces.The coin money used by the colonists was at
this time of foreignmake.
40 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
house I met a boy with bread. I had made many a meal on
bread,and,inquiringwhere he got it,I went immediatelyto the
baker's he directed me to,in Second Street,and asked for biscuit,
intendingsuch as we had in Boston; but they,it seems, were
not made in Philadelphia.Then I asked for a threepennyloaf,and was told theyhad none such. So not consideringor know-ing
the difference of money and the greatercheapness,nor the
names of his bread,I bade him giveme threepennyworth of any
sort. He gave me, accordingly,three great puffyrolls. I was
surprisedat the quantity,but took it,and,havingno room in my
pockets,walked off with a roll under each arm, and eatingtheother. Thus I went up Market Street as far as Fourth Street,
passingby the door of Mr. Read, my future wife's father ; when
she,standingat the door,saw me, and thoughtI made, as I cer-tainly
did,a most awkward, ridiculousappearance. Then I turned
and went down Chestnut Street and part of Walnut Street,eat-ing
my rollall the way, and,cominground,found myselfagainat Market Street wharf,near the boat I came in,to which I went
for a draughtof the riverwater ; and,beingfilledwith one of my
rolls,gave the other two to a woman and her child that came
down the riverin the boat with us, and were waitingto go farther.
Thus refreshed,I walked againup the street,which by this
time had many clean-dressed peoplein it,who were all walkingthe same way. I joinedthem,and therebywas led into the great
meetinghouseof the Quakers near the market.1 I sat down
among them,and,after lookinground awhile and hearingnoth-ing
said,beingvery drowsy throughlabor and want of rest the
precedingnight,I fellfast asleep,and continued so tillthe meet-ing
broke up, when one was kind enough to rouse me. This was,
therefore,the firsthouse I was in,or sleptin,in Philadelphia.Walkingdown againtoward the river,and lookingin the faces
of people,I met a young Quaker man, whose countenance I liked,
and,accostinghim,requestedhe would tellme where a strangercould get lodging. We were then near the signof the Three
1 This market stood on the southwest corner of Second and Market Streets.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 41
Mariners. " Here,"says he," is one placethat entertainsstran-gers,
but itis not a reputablehouse ; ifthee wilt walk with me I'll
show thee a better." He broughtme to the Crooked Billet,in
Water Street. Here I got a dinner,and while I was eatingitseveralslyquestionswere asked me, as itseemed to be suspectedfrom my youthand appearance that I mightbe some runaway.
After dinner my sleepinessreturned ; and, beingshown to a
bed,I laydown without undressingand slepttillsix in the even-ing,
was called to supper, went to bed againvery early,and sleptsoundlytillnext morning. Then I made myselfas tidyas I
could,and went to Andrew Bradford the printer's.I found in
the shopthe old man, his father,whom I had seen at New York,and who, travelingon horseback,had got to Philadelphiabefore
me. He introduced me to his son, who received me civilly,and
gave me a breakfast,but told me he did not at present want a
hand,beinglatelysuppliedwith one ; but there was another printerin town, latelyset up, one Keimer,who, perhaps,mightemployme ; if not, I should be welcome to lodgeat his house,and he
would giveme a littlework to do now and then tillfullerbusiness
should offer.
The old gentlemansaid he would go with me to the new
printer;and when we found him, " Neighbor,"says Bradford," I
have broughtto see you a young man of your business ; perhaps
you may want such a one." He asked me a few questions,puta composingstick1 in my hand to see how I worked,and then
said he would employ me soon, thoughhe had justthen nothingfor me to do ; and,takingold Bradford,whom he had never seen
before,to be one of the townspeoplethat had a good willfor him,he entered into a conversation on his present undertakingand
prospects; while Bradford,not discoveringthat he was the other
printer'sfather,on Keimer's sayinghe expectedsoon to get the
greatestpart of the business into his own hands,drew him on by
1 A composingstick is a small tray which the compositorholds in his left
hand and in which he arranges the type that he picksout of the cases with his
righthand.
42 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
artfulquestions,and startinglittledoubts,to explainallhisviews,what interesthe relied on, and in what manner he intended to pro-ceed.
I,who stood by and heard all,saw immediatelythat one
of them was a craftyold sophister,1and the other a mere novice.
Bradford left me with Keimer,who was greatlysurprisedwhen I
told him who the old man was.
Keimer's printinghouse,I found,consisted of an old shattered
press and one small,worn-out font of English,2which he was
then usinghimself,composingan elegyon AquilaRose, before
mentioned,an ingeniousyoung man of excellentcharacter,much
respectedin the town, clerk of the Assembly,and a prettypoet.
Keimer made verses too, but very indifferently.He could not
be said to write them,for his manner was to compose them in the
types,directlyout of his head. So,there beingno copy,3but one
pairof cases, and the elegylikelyto requireallthe letter,no one
could helphim. I endeavored to put hispress (whichhe had not
yet used and of which he understood nothing)into order fitto
be worked with ; and,promisingto come and printoff his elegyas soon as he should have got itready,I returned to Bradford's,
who gave me a littlejobto do for the present,and there I lodgedand dieted.4 A few daysafter Keimer sent for me to printoff
the elegy. And now he had got another pairof cases, and a
pamphletto reprint,on which he set me to"work.
These two printersI found poorlyqualifiedfor theirbusiness.
Bradford had not been bred to it,and was very illiterate; and
Keimer,thoughsomethingof a scholar,was a mere compositor,
knowingnothingof press work. Pie had been one of the French
prophets,5and could act their enthusiasticagitations.At this
time he did not professany particularreligion,but somethingof
1 A false reasoner, and hence a deceiver.
2 The name of a kind of type.3 Manuscriptor printingof originalmatter. 4 Boarded.
5 The Camisards, who broke away from the state religionof France, and
suffered persecutionat the hands of Louis XIV. They showed their spirit-ual
zeal by the propheticmania and by working miracles,as well as by a
stout attachment to their creed.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 43
all on occasion, was very ignorantof the world,and had,as I
afterward found,a good deal of the knave in his composition.He did not like my lodgingat Bradford's while I worked with
him. He had a house,indeed,but without furniture,so he could
not lodgeme ; but he got me a lodgingat Mr. Read's,before
mentioned,who was the owner of his house ; and,my chest and
clothes beingcome by thistime,I made rather a more respect-able
appearance in the eyes of Miss Read than I had done when
she firsthappenedto see me eatingmy rollin the street.
"piI begannow to have some acquaintanceamong the young peo-pleof the town that were lovers of reading,with whom I spent
my eveningsvery pleasantly; and,gainingmoney by my industryand frugality,I lived very agreeably,forgettingBoston as much
as I could,and not desiringthat any there should know where I
resided,except my friend Collins,who was in my secret and keptit when I wrote to him. At lengthan incident happened that
sent me back againmuch sooner than I had intended. I had a
brother-in-law,Robert Holmes, master of a sloopthat traded be-tween
Boston and Delaware. He beingat Newcastle,fortymiles
below Philadelphia,heard there of me, and wrote me a letter,men-tioning
the concern of my friends in Boston at my abruptdepar-ture,
assuringme of their gdod will to me and that everythingwould be accommodated to my mind if I would return,to which
he exhorted me very earnestly.I wrote an answer to his letter,
thanked him for his advice,but stated my reasons for quittingBoston fullyand in such a lightas to convince him I was not so
wrong as he had apprehended.Sir William Keith,governor of the province,was then at New-castle;
and CaptainHolmes, happeningto be in company with
him when my lettercame to hand,spoketo him of me and showed
him the letter. The governor read it,and seemed surprisedwhen
he was told my age. He said I appeareda young man of prom-ising
parts,and therefore should be encouraged; the printersat
Philadelphiawere wretched ones ; and, if I would set up there,
he made no doubt I should succeed : for his part,he would pro-
44 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
cure me the publicbusiness,and do me every other servicein his
power. This my brother-in-law afterward told me in Boston,
but I knew as yet nothingof itwhen, one day,Keimer and I
beingat work togethernear the window, we saw the governor
and another gentleman(whichproved to be Colonel French of
Newcastle),finelydressed,come directlyacross the street to our
house,and heard them at the door.
Keimer ran down immediately,thinkingit a visitto him ; but
the governor inquiredfor me, came up, and with a condescension
and politenessI had been quiteunused to, made me many com-pliments,
desired to be acquaintedwith me, blamed me kindlyfor
not havingmade myselfknown to him when I firstcame to the
place,and would have me away with him to the tavern,where he
was goingwith Colonel French to taste,as he said,some excellent
Madeira. I was not a littlesurprised,and Keimer stared like a
pigpoisoned.I went, however,with the governor and Colonel
French to a tavern at the corner of Third Street,and over the
Madeira he proposedmy settingup my business,laid before me
the probabilitiesof success, and both he and Colonel French as-sured
me I should have theirinterestand influence in procuringthe publicbusiness of both governments.1 On my doubtingwhether my father would assistme in it,SirWilliam said he would
giveme a letterto him, in which he would state the advantages,and he did not doubt of prevailingwith him. So itwas concluded
I should return to Boston in the firstvessel,with the governor's
letterrecommendingme to my father. In the mean time the inten-tion
was to be kepta secret,and I went on workingwith Keimer
as usual,the governor sendingfor me now and then to dine
with him, a very great honor I thoughtit,and conversingwith
me in the most affable,familiar,and friendlymanner imagin-able.
About the end of April,1724, a littlevessel offered for Boston.
I took leave of Keimer as goingto see my friends. The governor
gave me an ample letter,sayingmany flatteringthingsof me to
1 " Both governments,"i.e.,both Pennsylvaniaand Delaware.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 45
my father,and stronglyrecommendingthe projectof my setting
up at Philadelphiaas a thingthat must make my fortune. We
struck on a shoal in goingdown the bay,and sprung a leak ; we
had a blusteringtime at sea, and were obligedto pump almost
continually,at v/hich I took my turn. We arrived safe,however,at Boston in about a fortnight.I had been absent seven months,and my friends had heard nothingof me ; for my brother Holmes
was not yetreturned,and had not written about me. My unex-pected
appearance surprisedthe family; all were, however,verygladto see me, and made me welcome, except my brother. I
went to see him at his printinghouse. I was betterdressed than
ever while in his service,havinga genteelnew suit from head to
foot,a watch,and my pocketslined with near five pounds ster-ling
in silver. He received me not very frankly,looked me all
over, and turned to his work again.The journeymenwere inquisitivewhere I had been,what sort
of a country it was, and how I liked it. I praiseditmuch, and
the happy lifeI led in it,expressingstronglymy intention of re-turning
to it; and one of them askingwhat kind of money we had
there,I produceda handful of silverand spreadit before them,
which was a kind of raree-show 1 theyhad not been used to,paper
beingthe money of Boston. Then I took an opportunityof let-ting
them see my watch ; and lastly(my brother stillgrum and sul-len)
I gave them a pieceof eight2 to drink,and took my leave.
This visitof mine offended him extremely; for,when my mother
some time after spoketo him of a reconciliation,and of her wishes
to see us on good terms together,and that we mightlivefor the
future as brothers,he said I had insulted him in such a manner
before his peoplethat he could never forgetor forgiveit. In
this,however,he was mistaken.
My father received the governor'sletter with some apparent
surprise,but said littleof it to me for several days,when, Captain
1 Peep show.
2 " Piece of eight,"i.e.,the Spanishdollar,containingeightreals. The
presentvalue of a real is about five cents.
4" THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
Holmes returning,he showed itto him,asked him ifhe knew Keith,-and what kind of man he was, addinghis opinionthat he must
be of small discretionto think of settinga boyup in businesswho
wanted yet three years of beingat man's estate. Holmes said
what he could in favor of the project,but my father was clear in
the improprietyof it,and at last gave a flatdenial to it. Then he
wrote a civilletterto SirWilliam,thankinghim for the patronagehe had so kindlyoffered me, but decliningto assistme as yet in
settingup, I being,in his opinion,too young to be trusted with
the management of a business so important,and for which the
preparationmust be so expensive.
My friend and companion,Collins,who was a clerk in the post
office,pleasedwith the account I gave him of my new country,determined to go thither also ; and,while I waited for my father's
determination,he set out before me by land to Rhode Island,
leavinghis books,which were a prettycollectionof mathematics
and natural philosophy,to come with mine and me to New York,where he proposedto wait for me.
My father,thoughhe did not approve SirWilliam's proposition,was yet pleasedthat I had been able to obtain so advantageousa character from a person of such note where I had resided,and
that I had been so industrious and careful as to equipmyselfso
handsomelyin so short a time ; therefore,seeingno prospect of
an accommodation between my brother and me, he gave his con-sent
to my returningagainto Philadelphia,advised me to behave
respectfullyto the peoplethere,endeavor to obtain the general
esteem, and avoid lampooningand libeling,to which he thoughtI had too much inclination; tellingme that by steadyindustryand a prudentparsimonyI mightsave enoughby the time I was
one and twenty to set me up ; and that,if I came near the mat-ter,
he would helpme out with the rest. This was all I could
obtain,except some small giftsas tokens of his and my mother's
love,when I embarked againfor New York, now with their ap-probation
and theirblessing.The sloopputtingin at Newport, Rhode Island,I visitedmy
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 47
brotherJohn,who had been married and settled there some years.
He received me very affectionately,for he alwaysloved me. A
friend of his,one Vernon, having some money due to him in
Pennsylvania,about thirty-fivepounds currency, desired I would
receive it for him, and keep it tillI had his directionswhat to
remit itin. Accordingly,he gave me an order. This afterward
occasioned me a good deal of uneasiness.
At Newport we took in a number of passengers for New York,
among which were two young women, companions,and a grave,
sensible,matronlike Quaker woman, with her attendants. I had
shown an obligingreadiness to do her some littleservices,which
impressedher,I suppose, with a degreeof good willtoward me ;
therefore,when she saw a dailygrowingfamiliaritybetween me
and the two young women, which theyappearedto encourage,
she took me aside,and said," Young man, I am concerned for
thee,as thou hast no friend with thee,and seems not to know
much of the world,or of the snares youthisexposedto. Depend
upon it,those are very bad women; I can see it in all their
actions ; and if thee art not upon thyguard,theywill draw thee
into some danger.They are strangersto thee,and I advise thee,in a friendlyconcern for thywelfare,to have no acquaintancewith them." As I seemed at firstnot to think so illof them as
she did,she mentioned some thingsshe had observed and heard
that had escapedmy notice,but now convinced me she was right.I thanked her for her kind advice,and promisedto follow it.
When we arrived at New York, theytold me where theylived,and invited me to come and see them ; but I avoided it,and it
was well I did ; for the next daythe captainmissed a silverspoon
and some other things,that had been taken out of his cabin,and
he got a warrant to search theirlodgings,found the stolen goods,
and had the thieves punished. So,though we had escapeda
sunken rock,which we scrapedupon in the passage, I thoughtthis
escape of rather more importanceto me.
At New York I found my friend Collins,who had arrived there
some time before me. We had been intimate from children,and
43 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
had read the same books together; but he had the advantageof
more time for readingand studying,and a wonderful geniusfor
mathematical learning,in which he far outstrippedme. While I
lived in Boston most of my hours of leisure for conversation were
spentwith him,and he continued a sober as well as an industrious
lad,was much respectedfor his learningby several of the clergyand other gentlemen,and seemed to promisemaking a good fig-ure
in life. But,duringmy absence,he had acquireda habit of
sottingwith brandy; and I found,by his own account, and what
I heard from others,that he had been drunk every day since his
arrival at New York,and behaved very oddly. He had gamed,
too, and lost his money, so that I was obligedto dischargehis
lodgings,and defrayhis expenses to and at Philadelphia,which
provedextremelyinconvenient to me.
The then governor of New York, Burnet (sonof BishopBur-net),
hearingfrom the captainthat a young man, one of his pas-sengers,
had a great many books,desired he would bringme to
see him. I waited upon him accordingly,and should have taken
Collinswith me but that he was not sober. The governor treated
me with great civility,showed me his library,which was a very
largeone, and we had a good deal of conversation about books
and authors. This was the second governor who had done me
the honor to take notice of me ; which,to a poor boy like me,
was very pleasing.We proceededto Philadelphia.I received on the way Vernon's
money, without which we could hardlyhave finished our journey.Collins wished to be employed in some countinghouse; but,whether theydiscovered his dramming by his breath or by his
behavior,thoughhe had some recommendations he met with no
success in any application,and continued lodgingand boardingat the same house with me and at my expense. Knowing I had
that money of Vernon's,he was continuallyborrowingof me, still
promisingrepayment as soon as he should be in business. At
lengthhe had got so much of it that I was distressed to think
what I should do in case of beingcalled on to remit it.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 49
His drinkingcontinued,about which we sometimes quarreled;for,when a littleintoxicated,he was very fractious. Once, in a
boat on the Delaware with some other young men, he refused to
row in his turn." I will be rowed home," says he. " We will not
row you,"says I. " You must, or stay all nighton the water,"
says he; "justas you please."The others said,"Let us row;
what signifiesit?" But, my mind beingsoured with his other
conduct,I continued to refuse. So he swore he would make
me row, or throw me overboard ; and comingalong,steppingonthe thwarts,1toward me, when he came up and struck at me I
clutched him,and?rising,pitchedhim headforemost into the river.
I knew he was a good swimmer, and so was under littleconcern
about him ; but betore he could getround to layhold of the boat,we had with a few strokes pulledher out of his reach ; and ever
when he drew near the boat,we asked if he would row, strikinga few strokes to slideher away from him. He was readyto die
with vexation,and obstinatelywould not promiseto row. How-ever,
seeinghim at lastbeginningto tire,we lifted him in and
broughthim home drippingwet in the evening. We hardlyex-changed
a civilword afterward,and a West India captain,who
had a commission to procure a tutor for the sons of a gentlemanat Barbadoes,happeningto meet with him,agreedto carry him
thither. He leftme then,promisingto remit me the firstmoney
he should receive in order to dischargethe debt ; but I never
heard of him after.
The breakinginto thismoney of Vernon's was one of the first
great errata of my life; and this affairshowed that my father was
not much out in his judgmentwhen he supposedme too young
to manage business of importance.But SirWilliam,on readinghis letter,said he was too prudent. There was great difference
in persons, and discretiondid not alwaysaccompany years, nor
was youthalwayswithout it. "And since he will not set you
up,"says he," I will do itmyself. Give me an inventoryof the
thingsnecessary to be had from England,and I willsend for them.
1 The seats across the boat on which the oarsmen sit.
50 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
You shallrepay me when you are able ; I am resolved to have a
good printerhere,and I am sure you must succeed." This was
spokenwith such an appearance of cordialitythat I had not the
least doubt of his meaningwhat he said. I had hithertokeptthe
propositionof my settingup a secret in Philadelphia,and I still
keptit. Had it been known that I depended on the governor,
probablysome friend that knew him better would have advised
me not to relyon him, as I afterward heard it as his known
character to be liberalof promiseswhich he never meant to keep.
Yet,unsolicited as he was by me, how could I think his gener-ous
offers insincere? I believed him one of the best men in the
world.1
I presentedhim an inventoryof a littleprintinghouse,amount-ing,
by my computation,to about one hundred pounds sterling.He liked it,but asked me ifmy beingon the spot in Englandto
choose the types,and see that everythingwas good of the kind,
mightnot be of some advantage." Then,"says he," when there
you may make acquaintances,and establishcorrespondencesin
the booksellingand stationeryway." I agreedthat thismightbe advantageous.
" Then," says he, "
get yourselfreadyto go
with Annis,"2which was the annual ship,and the onlyone at
that time usuallypassingbetween London and Philadelphia.But
itwould be some months before Annis sailed,so I continued work-ing
with Keimer,frettingabout the money Collins had got from
me, and in dailyapprehensionsof beingcalled upon by Vernon ;
which,however,did not happen for some years after.
I believe I have omitted mentioningthat,in my firstvoyage
from Boston,beingbecalmed off Block Island,our peopleset
about catchingcod,and hauled up a good many. Hitherto I had
stuck to my resolutionof not eatinganimal food ; and on this oc-casion
I considered,with my master Tryon,the takingevery fish
as a kind of unprovokedmurder,since none of them had,or ever
could,do us any injurythat mightjustifythe slaughter.All this
1 For Governor Keith's character and popularity,see p. 58.2 CaptainAnnis, commander of the ship,is here referred to.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 51
seemed very reasonable ; but I had formerlybeen a great lover
of fish,and when this came hot out of the fryingpan it smelled
admirablywell. I balanced some time between principleand in-clination,
tillI recollected that,when the fishwere opened,I saw
smaller fish taken out of their stomachs ; then thoughtI," If you
eat one another,I don't see why we mayn'teat you." So I dined
upon cod very heartily,and continued to eat with other people,returningonlynow and then occasionallyto a vegetablediet. So
convenient a. thingitis to be a" reasonable "
creature,sinceiten-ables
one to find or make a reason for everythingone has a mind
to do.
Keimer and I lived on a prettygood,familiarfooting,and
agreedtolerablywell,for he suspectednothingof my settingup.He retained a great deal of his old enthusiasms,and loved argu-mentation.
We therefore had many disputations.I used to
work him so with my Socratic method, and had trepanned* him
so often by questionsapparentlyso distant from any pointwehad in hand and yet by degreesled to the point,and broughthim into difficultiesand contradictions,that at last he grew ridic-ulously
cautious,and would hardlyanswer me the most common
questionwithout askingfirst," What do you intend to infer from
that ? " However, itgave him so highan opinionof my abilities
in the confutingway that he seriouslyproposedmy beinghis col-league
in a projecthe had of settingup a new sect. He was
to preachthe doctrines,and I was to confound all opponents.
When he came to explainwith me upon the doctrines,I found
several conundrums which I objectedto,unless I mighthave my
way a littletoo,and introduce some of mine.
Keimer wore his beard at full length,because somewhere in
the Mosaic law itissaid," Thou shalt not mar the corners of thybeard." 2 He likewise keptthe seventh day Sabbath ; and these
two pointswere essentialswith him. 'I dislikedboth,but agreed
to admit them upon condition of hisadoptingthe doctrine of using
no animal food. " I doubt,"said he, "
my constitutionwill not
1 Entrapped. 2 Lev. xix. 27.
52 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
bear that." I assured him itwould,and that he would be better
for it. He was usuallya great glutton,and I promisedmyselfsome diversionin half starvinghim. He agreedto trythe prac-tice
if I would keephim company. I did so, and we held itfor
three months. We had our victualsdressed and broughtto us
regularlyby a woman in the neighborhood,who had from me a
listof fortydishes,to be preparedfor us at differenttimes,in all
which there was neither fish,flesh,nor fowl ; and the whim suited
me the better at thistime from the cheapnessof it,not costingusabove eighteenpence sterlingeach per week. I have since keptseveral Lents most strictly,leavingthe common diet for that,and
that for the common, abruptly,without the leastinconvenience,so
that I think there islittlein the advice of making those changes
by easy gradations.I went on pleasantly,but poor Keimer suf-fered
grievously,tired of the project,longedfor the flesh pots of
Egypt,and ordered a roast pig. He invited me and two women
friends to dine with him; but,it beingbroughttoo soon upon
table,he could not resist the temptation,and ate the whole be-fore
we came.
I had made some courtshipduringthistime to Miss Read. I
had a great respect and affection for her,and had some reason
to believe she had the same for me ; but,as I was about to take
a longvoyage, and we were both very young, " onlya littleabove
eighteen," itwas thoughtmost prudentby her mother to prevent
our goingtoo far at present,as a marriage,ifitwas to take place,would be more convenient after my return,when I should be,as
I expected,set up in my business. Perhaps,too,she thoughtmy
expectationsnot so well founded as I imaginedthem to be.
My chief acquaintancesat this time were Charles Osborne,
JosephWatson,and James Ralph,alllovers of reading.The two
firstwere clerks to an eminent scrivener or conveyancer in the
town, Charles Brogden; the other was clerk to a merchant.
Watson was a pious,sensibleyoung man, of great integrity; the
others rather more lax in their principlesof religion,particularly
Ralph,who, as well as Collins,had been unsettledbyme, for which
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 53
theyboth made me suffer. Osborne was sensible,candid,frank ;
sincere and affectionateto hisfriends,but,in literarymatters,too
fond of criticising.Ralph was ingenious,genteelin his manners,
and extremelyeloquent; I think I never knew a prettiertalker.Both of them were greatadmirers of poetry,and beganto trytheir
hands in littlepieces.Many pleasantwalks we four had togetheron Sundaysinto the woods,near Schuylkill,where we read to one
another and conferred on what we read.
Ralphwas inclined to pursue the studyof poetry,not doubtingbut he might become eminent in it,and make his fortune by it,allegingthat the best poets must, when theyfirstbegan to write,make as many faults as he did. Osborne dissuaded him,assured
him he had no geniusfor poetry, and advised him to think of
nothingbeyond the business he was bred to ; that,in the mercan-tile
way, thoughhe had no stock,he might,by his diligenceand
punctuality,recommend himself to employmentas a factor,1and
in time acquirewherewith to trade on his own account. I ap-proved
the amusingone's self with poetry now and then,so far
as to improveone's language,but no farther.
On thisitwas proposedthat we should each of us, at our next
meeting,producea pieceof our own composing,in order to im-prove
by our mutual observations,criticisms,and corrections. As
languageand expressionwere what we had in view,we excluded
allconsiderationsof invention by agreeingthat the task should be
a version of the eighteenthPsalm,which describes the descent of
Deity. When the time of our meetinggrew nigh,Ralph called
on me first,and let me know, his piecewas ready. I told him I
had been busy,and, havinglittleinclination,had done nothing.He then showed me his piecefor my opinion,and I much ap-proved
it,as it appearedto me to have great merit. " Now,"
says he," Osborne never willallow the least merit in anythingof
mine,but makes a thousand criticisms out of mere envy. He is
not so jealousof you ; I wish,therefore,you would take thispiece,and produceit as yours ; I will pretendnot to have had time,and
1 An agent or commission merchant.
54 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
so producenothing. We shallthen see what he will say to it."
It was agreed,and I immediatelytranscribed it that itmightap-pear
in my own hand.
We met; Watson's performancewas read; there were some
beauties in it,but many defects. Osborne's was read ; itwas much
better ; Ralphdid itjustice;remarked some faults,but applaudedthe beauties. He himself had nothingto produce. I was back-ward
; seemed desirous of beingexcused ; had not had sufficient
time to correct,etc. But no excuse would be admitted ; produceI must. It was read and repeated; Watson and Osborne gave
up the contest,and joinedin applaudingit. Ralph onlymade
some criticisms,and proposedsome amendments ; but I defended
my text. Osborne was againstRalph,and told him he was no
better a criticthan poet, so he droppedthe argument. As they
two went home together,Osborne expressedhimself stillmore
stronglyin favor of what he thoughtmy production,havingre-strained
himself before,as he said,lest I should think itflattery."But who would have imagined,"said he, "that Franklin had
been capableof such a performance; such painting,such force,
such fire! He has even improvedthe original.In his common
conversation he seems to have no choice of words ; he hesitates
and blunders;and yet,good heavens! how he writes!" When
we next met, Ralph discovered the trickwe had playedhim,and
Osborne was a littlelaughedat.
This transaction fixed Ralph in his resolution of becoming a
poet. I did all I could to dissuade him from it,but he continued
scribblingverses tillPope cured him.1 He became,however, a
prettygood prose writer. More of him hereafter. But,as I may
l In 1728Alexander Pope publishedhis Dunciad, and in Book III. lines
165,166,he refers to Ralph,who was then livingin London:
M Silence,ye wolves ! while Ralph to Cynthiahowls,
And makes nighthideous" answer him, ye owls !"
Later,his Historyof England duringthe Reigns of King William, Queen
Anne, and King George I. was highlypraised(seepp. 177, 178).
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 55
not have occasion againto mention the other two, I shalljustre-mark
here that Watson died in my arms a few years after,much
lamented,beingthe best of our set. Osborne went to the West
Indies,where he became an eminent lawyerand made money,but died young. He and I had made a serious agreement that
the one who happened firstto die should,if possible,make a
friendlyvisitto the other,and acquainthim how he found thingsin that separate state. But he never fulfilledhis promise,
The governor, seemingto like my company, had me frequentlyto his house,and his settingme up was alwaysmentioned as a
fixed thing. I was to take with me lettersrecommendatoryto a
number of his friends,besides the letter of credit to furnish me
with the necessary money for purchasingthe press and types,
paper, etc. For these lettersI was appointedto call at different
times,when theywere to be ready; but a future time was still
named. Thus he went on tillthe ship,whose departure,too,had
been several times postponed,was on the pointof sailing.Then,when I called to take my leave and receive the letters,his secre-tary,
Dr. Baird,came out to me and said the governor was ex-tremely
busyin writing,but would be down at Newcastle before
the ship,and there the letterswould be delivered to me.
Ralph,thoughmarried,and havingone child,had determined
to accompany me on thisvoyage. It was thoughthe intended to
establisha correspondence,and obtain goods to sellon commis-sion
; but I found afterward that,throughsome discontent with
his wife'srelations,he proposedto leave her on theirhands,and
never return again. Having taken leave of my friends,and in-terchanged
some promiseswith Miss Read, I leftPhiladelphiain
the ship,which anchored at Newcastle. The governor was there ;
but when I went to his lodging,the secretarycame to me from
him with the civilestmessage in the world,that he could not then
see me, beingengagedin business of the utmost importance,but
should send the lettersto me on board,and wished me heartilya
good voyage and a speedyreturn, etc. I returned on board a
littlepuzzled,but stillnot doubting.
56 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
" 3. FIRST VISIT TO LONDON.
MR.ANDREW HAMILTON, a famous lawyerof Phila-delphia,
had taken passage in the same shipfor himself and
son, and with Mr. Denham, a Quaker merchant,and Messrs. Onion
and Russel,masters of an iron work in Maryland,had engaged
the greatcabin ; so that Ralph and I were forced to take up with
a berth in the steerage,and,none on board knowingus, were con-sidered
as ordinarypersons. But Mr. Hamilton and his son (it
was James,since governor)returned from Newcastle to Phila-delphia,
the father beingrecalled by a greatfee to pleadfor a
seized ship; and,justbefore we sailed,Colonel French coming
on board,and showingme greatrespect,I was more taken notice
of,and,with my friend Ralph,invitedby the other gentlemento
come into the cabin,there being now room. Accordingly,we
removed thither.
Understandingthat Colonel French had broughton board the
governor'sdispatches,I asked the captainfor those lettersthat
were to be put under my care. He said allwere put intothe bag
together,and he could not then come at them ; but,before we
landed in England,I should have an opportunityof pickingthem
out ; so I was satisfiedfor the present,and we proceededon our
voyage. We had a sociable company in the cabin,and lived un-commonly
well,havingthe addition of all Mr. Hamilton's stores,
who had laid in plentifully.In this passage Mr. Denham con-tracted
a friendshipfor me that continued duringhis life. The
voyage was otherwisenot a pleasantone, as we had a greatdeal
of bad weather.
When we came intothe Channel the captainkepthisword with
me, and gave me an opportunityof examiningthe bag for the
governor'sletters. I found none upon which my name was put
as under my care. I pickedout six or seven, that,by the hand-writing,
I thoughtmightbe the promisedletters,especiallyas one
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 57
of them was directed to Basket,the king'sprinter,and another to
some stationer.
We arrived in London the 24thof December, 1724. I waited
upon the stationer,who came firstin my way, deliveringthe letter
as from Governor Keith. " I don't know such a person,"sayshe; but,openingthe letter,"Oh! this is from Riddlesden. I
have latelyfound him to be a completerascal,and I will have
nothingto do with him, nor receive any lettersfrom him." So,
puttingthe letterinto my hand,he turned on his heel and leftme,
to serve some customer. I was surprisedto find these were not
the governor'sletters; and,after recollectingand comparingcir-cumstances,
I began to doubt his sincerity.I found my friend
Denham, and opened the whole affairto him. He let me into
Keith's character ; told me there was not the leastprobabilitythat
he had written any lettersfor me ; that no one who knew him had
the smallest dependenceon him ; and he laughedat the notion
of the governor'sgivingme a letterof credit,having,as he said,
no credit to give. On my expressingsome concern about what
I should do,he advised me to endeavor gettingsome employmentin the way of my business. "
Among the printershere,"said he,"
you willimproveyourself,and when you return to America you
willset up to greateradvantage."We both of us happenedto know, as well as the stationer,that
Riddlesden,the attorney,was a very knave. He had half ruined
Miss Read's father bypersuadinghim to be bound * for him. Bythis letteritappearedthere was a secret scheme on foot to the
prejudiceof Hamilton* (supposedto be then coming over with
us),and that Keith was concerned in itwith Riddlesden. Den-ham,
who was a friend of Hamilton's,thoughthe ought to be
acquaintedwith it; so, when he arrived in England,which was
soon after,partlyfrom resentment and illwillto Keith and Rid-dlesden
and partlyfrom good will to him, I waited on him,and
gave him the letter. He thanked me cordially,the informa-tion
beingof importanceto him ; and from that time he became
1 Responsiblefor the payment of a note.
58 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
my friend,greatlyto my advantageafterward on many occa-sions.
But what shall we think of a governor'splayingsuch pitifultricks,and imposingso grosslyon a poor ignorantboy! It was
a habit he had acquired.He wished to pleaseeverybody; and,
havinglittleto give,he gave expectations.He was otherwise an
ingenious,sensibleman, a prettygood writer,and a good gov-ernor
for the people,thoughnot for his constituents,the proprie-taries,1whose instructionshe sometimes disregarded.Several of
our best laws were of his planning,and passedduringhis admin-istration.
Ralph and I were inseparablecompanions.We took lodgings
togetherin LittleBritain 2 at three shillingsand sixpencea week,
"as much as we could then afford. He found some relations,but theywere poor, and unable to assisthim. He now let me
know his intentions of remainingin London, and that he never
meant to return to Philadelphia.He had broughtno money with
him, the whole he could muster havingbeen expendedin pay-ing
his passage. I had fifteenpistoles;3so he borrowed occasion-ally
of me to subsistwhile he was lookingout for business. He.
firstendeavored to get into the playhouse,believinghimself quali-fiedfor an actor ; but Wilkes,4to whom he applied,advised him
candidlynot to think of that employment,as it was impossiblehe should succeed in it. Then he proposedto Roberts,a pub-lisher
in Paternoster Row, to write for him a weeklypaper like
the "
Spectator,"on certain conditions which Roberts did not ap-prove.
Then he endeavored to get employment as a hackneywriter,5to copy for the stationersand lawyersabout the Temple,6but could find no vacancy.
1 The owners or proprietorsof Pennsylvania,which Charles II. had givenWilliam Penn, were Penn's sons. They lived in England.
2 A street in London.
3 A pistolewas a Spanishgoldcoin worth about four dollars.
4 A comedian of some note.
5 A hackneywriter,or hack writer,is one employedto write accordingto
direction. 6 Inns of Court in London, occupiedby lawyers.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 59
I immediatelygot into work at Palmer's,then a famous printinghouse in Bartholomew Close,and here I continued near a year.
I was prettydiligent,but spent with Ralph a good deal of my
earningsin goingto playsand other placesof amusement. We
had togetherconsumed all my pistoles,and now justrubbed on
from hand to mouth. He seemed quiteto forgethis wife and
child,and I,by degrees,my engagements with Miss Read, to
whom I never wrote more than one letter,and that was to let her
know I was not likelysoon to return. This was another of the
greaterrata of my life,which I should wish to correct ifI were
to live it over again. In fact,by our expenses I was constantlykeptunable to pay my passage.
At Palmer's I was employedin composing1 for the second edi-tion
of Wollaston's " Religionof Nature." Some of his reason-ings
not appearingto me well founded,I wrote a littlemetaphys-ical
piece,in which I made remarks on them. It was entitled," Dissertation on Libertyand Necessity,Pleasure and Pain." I
inscribed it to my friend Ralph; I printeda small number. It
occasioned my beingmore considered by Mr. Palmer as a young
man of some ingenuity,though he seriouslyexpostulatedwith
me upon the principlesof my pamphlet,which to him appearedabominable. My printingthispamphletwas another erratum.
While I lodgedin Little Britain I made an acquaintancewith
one Wilcox,a bookseller,whose shop was at the next door. He
had an immense collection of secondhand books. Circulatinglibrarieswere not then in use ; but we agreedthat,on certainrea-sonable
terms, which I have now forgotten,I mighttake,read,and return any of his books. This I esteemed a greatadvantage,and I made as much use of itas I could.
My pamphletfallinginto the hands of one Lyons,a surgeon,
author of a book entitled " The Infallibilityof Human Judgment,'^it occasioned an acquaintancebetween us. He took greatnotice
of me, called on me often to converse on those subjects,carried
me to the Horns, a pale-alehouse in Lane, Cheapside,and
1 Settingtype.
60 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
introduced me to Dr. Mandeville,author of the " Fable of the
Bees,"who had a club there,of which he was the soul,beinga most facetious,entertainingcompanion. Lyons,too,introduced
me to Dr. Pemberton,at Batson's Coffee-house,who promisedto giveme an opportunity,some time or other,of seeingSir
Isaac Newton, of which I was extremelydesirous ; but this never
happened.I had broughtover a few curiosities,among which the princi-palwas a purse made of the asbestos,which purifiesby fire. Sir
Hans Sloane * heard of it,came to see me, and invited me to his
house in BloomsburySquare,where he showed me allhis curios-ities,
and persuadedme to let him add that to the number, for
which he paidme handsomely.P In our house there lodgeda young woman, a milliner,who, I
think,had a shopin the Cloisters. She had been genteellybred,was sensibleand lively,and of most pleasingconversation. Ralphread playsto her in the evenings; theygrew intimate ; she took
another lodging,and he followed her. They lived togethersometime ; but,he beingstillout of business,and her income not suf-ficient
to maintain them with her child,he took a resolution of
goingfrom London to tryfor a countryschool,which he thoughthimself well qualifiedto undertake,as he wrote an excellent hand,and was a master of arithmetic and accounts. This,however,he deemed a business below him ; and,confident of future better
fortune,when he should be unwillingto have itknown that he
once was so meanly employed,he changed his name, and did
me the honor to assume mine ; for I soon after had a letterfrom
him,acquaintingme that he was settled in a small village,(in
1 A celebrated physicianand naturalist. To him Franklin wrote :
" Sir : Havinglatelybeen in the northern partsof America, I have broughtfrom thence a purse made of the asbestos,. . .
calledby the inhabitants ' sala-mander
cotton.' As you are noted to be a lover of curiosities,I have informed
you of this ; and ifyou have any inclination to purchaseor see it,let me know
your pleasureby a line for me at the Golden Fan, Little Britain,and I will
wait upon you with it. I am, sir,your most humble servant," B. Franklin."
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 61
Berkshire,I think itwas, where he taughtreadingand writingtoten or a dozen boys,at sixpenceeach per week,)recommendingMrs. T to my care, and desiringme to write to him,directingfor Mr. Franklin,Schoolmaster,at such a place.
He continued to write frequently,sendingme largespecimensof an epicpoem which he was then composing,and desiringmyremarks and corrections. These I gave him from time to time,but endeavored rather to discouragehis proceeding.One of
Young'sn satires was then justpublished.I copiedand sent him
a greatpart of it,which set in a strong lightthe follyof pursuingthe Muses with any hope of advancement by them. All was in
vain ; sheets of the poem continued to come by every post.A breach at last arose between us ; and,when he returned again
to London, he let me know he thoughtI had canceled all the
obligationshe had been under to me. So I found I was never to
expect his repayingme what I lent to him or advanced for him.
This,however,was not then of much consequence, as he was
totallyunable ; and in the loss of his friendshipI found myselfrelieved from a burden, I now began to think of gettinga little
money beforehand ; and,expectingbetter work,I leftPalmer's to
work at Watts's,near Lincoln's Inn Fields,a stillgreaterprint-inghouse. Here I continued all the rest of my stay in London.
" At my firstadmission into thisprintinghouse I took to work-ing
at press,1imaginingI felta want of the bodilyexerciseI had
been used to in America,where press work ismixed with compos-ing.
I drank onlywater ; the other workmen, near fiftyin num-ber,
were great guzzlersof beer. On occasion,I carried up and
down stairsa largeform of typesin each hand,when others car-ried
but one in both hands. They wondered to see, from this
and several instances,that the "Water- American,"as theycalled
me, was strongerthan themselves,who drank strong beer! We
had an alehouse boy who attended alwaysin the house to sup-ply
the workmen. My companion at the press drank every day
a pintbefore breakfast,a pintat breakfast with his bread and
1 This press is now preservedat the Patent Office in Washington.
62 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
cheese,a pintbetween breakfast and dinner,a pintat dinner,a
pintin the afternoon about sixo'clock,and another when he had
done his day'swork. I thoughtit a detestable custom ; but it
was necessary, he supposed,to drink strong beer that he mightbe
strong to labor. I endeavored to convince him that the bodilystrengthafforded by beer could onlybe in proportionto the
grainor flour of the barleydissolved in the water of which it
was made ; that there was more flour in a pennyworthof bread ;
and therefore,ifhe would eat that with a pintof water,itwould
givehim more strengththan a quart of beer. He drank on, how-ever,
and had four or five shillingsto pay out of his wages every
Saturdaynightfor that muddlingliquor"an expense I was free
from. And thus these poor devils keep themselves alwaysunder.
Watts after some weeks desiringto have me in the composing
room, I left the pressmen ; a new bien venu^-or sum for drink,
beingfive shillings,was demanded of me by the compositors.I
thoughtitan imposition,as I had paidbelow ; the master thought
so too, and forbade my payingit. I stood out two or three
weeks,was accordinglyconsidered as an excommunicate,and had
so many littlepiecesof privatemischief done me, by mixingmysorts,2transposingmy pages, breakingmy matter, etc.,if I were
ever so littleout of the room, and all ascribed to the chapel3
ghost,which theysaid ever haunted those not regularlyadmitted;
that,notwithstandingthe master's protection,I found myself
obligedto comply and pay the money, convinced of the follyof
beingon illterms with those one is to livewith continually.I was now on a fairfootingwith them,and soon acquiredcon*
siderable influence. I proposedsome reasonable alterationsin
theirchapellaws,and carried them againstallopposition.From
1 A French expressionmeaning" welcome."
2 Pieces in a font of type.3 " A printinghouse used to be called a chapelby the workmen, and a
journeyman,on enteringa printinghouse, was accustomed to pay one oi
more gallonsof beer' forthe goodof the chapel/"" W. F. Franklin, quoted
by Bigelow.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 63
my example,a greatpart of them lefttheir muddlingbreakfastofbeer and bread and cheese,findingtheycould with me be sup-plied
from a neighboringhouse with a largeporringerof hot
water gruel,sprinkledwith pepper, crumbed with bread,and a bit
of butter in it,for the priceof a pintof beer,namely,three half-pence.
This was a more comfortable as well as cheaperbreak-fast,
and kepttheirheads clearer. Those who continued sottingwith beer all day were often,by not paying,out of credit at the
alehouse,and used to make interestwith me to get beer,their" light,"as theyphrasedit," beingout." I watched the pay table
on Saturdaynight,and collected what I stood engagedfor them,
havingto pay sometimes near thirtyshillingsa week on their ac-counts.
This,and my beingesteemed a prettygood " riggite,"" that
is,a jocularverbal satirist," supportedmy consequence in the so-ciety.
My constant attendance (Inever making a SaintMonday !)recommended me to the master; and my uncommon quicknessat composingoccasioned my being put upon all work of dis-patch,
which was generallybetter paid. So I went on now very
agreeably.
My lodgingin LittleBritain beingtoo remote, I found another
in Duke Street,oppositeto the Romish Chapel.It was two pairof stairsbackward,at an Italian warehouse. A widow ladykeptthe house ; she had a daughter,and a maidservant,and a journey-man
who attended the warehouse,but lodged abroad. After
sendingto inquiremy character at the house where I lastlodged,she agreedto take me in at the same rate,three shillingsand six-pence
per week ; cheaper,as she said,from the protectionshe ex-pected
in havinga man lodgein the house. She was a widow, an
elderlywoman ; had been bred a Protestant,beinga clergyman's
daughter,but was converted to the Catholic religionby her hus-band,
whose memory she much revered ; had lived much among
peopleof distinction,and knew a thousand anecdotes of them as
1 "Never making,"etc.,i.e.,never making a holidayof Monday. The
heavy drinkers of Saturdaynightand Sunday needed Monday to recover
from their excesses.
%
64 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
far back as the time of Charles II. She was lame in her knees
with the gout, and,therefore,seldom stirredout of her room, so
sometimes wanted company; and hers was so highlyamusingto me that I was sure to spendan eveningwith her whenever she
desired it. Our supper was onlyhalf an anchovyeach,on a very
littlestripof bread and butter,and half a pintof ale between us ;
but the entertainment was in her conversation. My alwayskeep-ing
good hours,and givinglittletrouble in the family,made her
unwillingto part with me ; so that,when I talked of a lodgingIhad heard of,nearer my business,for two shillingsa week,which,intent as I now was on savingmoney, made some difference,she
bid me not think of it,for she would abate me two shillingsa
week for the future ; so I remained with her at one shillingand
sixpenceas longas I stayedin London.
In a garretof her house there lived a maiden lady of seventy,in the most retired manner, of whom my landladygave me this
account : she was a Roman Catholic,had been sent abroad when
young, and lodged in a nunnery with an intent of becominga nun ; but,the country not agreeingwith her,she returned to
England,where,there beingno nunnery, she had vowed to lead
the life of a nun, as near as might be done in those circum-stances.
Accordingly,she had givenallher estate to charitable
uses, reservingonlytwelve pounds a year to live on, and out of
this sum she stillgave a great deal in charity,livingherself on
water gruelonly,and usingno firebut to boil it. She had lived
many years in that garret,beingpermittedto remain there gratis
by successive Catholic tenants of the house below, as theydeemed it a blessingto have her there. A priestvisitedher to
confess her every day." I have asked her,"says my landlady,
" how she,as she lived,could possiblyfind so much employmentfor a confessor." " Oh," said she,"it isimpossibleto avoid vain
thoughts."I was permittedonce to visither. She was cheerful
and polite,and conversed pleasantly.The room was clean,but
had no other furniture than a mattress,a table with a crucifixand
book,a stool which she gave me to siton, and a pictureover the
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 65
chimneyof St. Veronica * displayingher handkerchief,with the
miraculous figureof Christ's bleedingface on it,which she ex-plained
to me with great seriousness. She looked pale,but was
never sick; and I giveitas another instance on how small an in-come
lifeand health may be supported.At Watts's printinghouse I contracted an acquaintancewith
an ingeniousyoung man, one Wygate,who, havingwealthyrela-tions,
had been better educated than most printers," was a toler-able
Latinist,spokeFrench,and loved reading. I taughthim
and a friend of histo swim at twice goinginto the river,and theysoon became good swimmers. They introduced me to some gen-tlemen
from the country,who went to Chelsea 2 by water to see
the collegeand Don Saltero's3curiosities. In our return,at the
requestof the company, whose curiosityWygate had excited,I
strippedand leapedinto the river,and swam from near Chelsea
to Blackfriar's,4performingon the way many feats of activity,both upon and under the water, that surprisedand pleasedthose
to whom theywere novelties.
I had from a child been ever delightedwith thisexercise,had
studied and practicedall Thevenot's motions and positions,and
added some of my own, aimingat the gracefuland easy as well as
the useful. All these I took thisoccasion of exhibitingto the com-pany,
and was much flatteredby theiradmiration ; and Wygate,who was desirous of becoming a master, grew more and more at-tached
to me on that account, as well as from the similarityof
our studies. He at lengthproposedto me travelingall over
Europetogether,supportingourselves everywhereby workingat
our business. I was once inclined to it; but,mentioningit to
1 The woman who, accordingto legend,wiped the face of Jesuson his
way to Calvary,and carried away the likeness of his face,which had been
miraculouslyprintedon the cloth.
2 A suburb of London, north of the Thames.
3 Don Saltero had been a servant to Sir Hans Slpane,and had learned
from him to treasure curiosities. He now had a coffeehouse at Chelsea.
4 A name givento a partof London. The distance Franklin swam was
about three miles.
66 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
my good friend,Mr. Denham, with whom I often spent an hour
when I had leisure,he dissuaded me from it,advisingme to think
onlyof returningto Pennsylvania,which he was now about to do.
I must record one traitof this good man's character. He had
formerlybeen in business at Bristol,but failed,in debt to a num-ber
of people,compounded,and went to America. There,by a
close applicationto business as a merchant,he acquireda plenti-fulfortune in a few years. Returningto Englandin the shipwith
me, he invited his old creditorsto an entertainment,at which he
thanked them for the easy composition1 theyhad favored him
with,and,when theyexpectednothingbut the treat,every man
at the firstremove found under his platean order on a banker
for the full amount of the unpaidremainder,with interest.
He now told me he was about to return to Philadelphia,and
should carry over a great quantityof goods,in order to open a
store there. He proposedto take me over as his clerk,to keephis books (inwhich he would instructme),copy his letters,and
attend the store. He added that,as soon as I should be ac-quainted
with mercantile business,he would promote me by send-ing
me with a cargo of flour and bread,etc.,to the West Indies,and procure me commissions from others which would be profit-able;
and, if I managed well,would establish me handsomely.The thingpleasedme, for I was grown tiredof London, remem-bered
with pleasurethe happy months I had spent in Pennsyl-vania,and wished againto see it; therefore I immediatelyagreed
on the terms of fiftypounds a year, Pennsylvaniamoney ; less,
indeed,than my presentgettingsas a compositor,but affording
a better prospect.I now took leave of printing,as I thought,forever,and was
dailyemployedin my new business,goingabout with Mr. Den-ham
among the tradesmen to purchasevarious articles,and see-ing
them packed up, doing errands,callingupon workmen to
dispatch,etc. ; arid,when all was on board,I had a few days'leisure. On one of these days,I was, to my surprise,sent for by
l Settlement.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 67
a greatman I knew onlyby name, a Sir William Wyndham, and
I waited upon him. He had heard by some means or other of
my swimming from Chelsea to Blackfriar's,and of my teachingWygate and another young man to swim in a few hours. He
had two sons about to set out on their travels; he wished to have
them firsttaughtswimming,and proposed to gratify1 me hand-somely
if I would teach them. They were not yet come to town,and my staywas uncertain,so I could not undertake it; but from
thisincident I thoughtitlikelythat,if I were to remain in Eng-landand open a swimmingschool,I might get a good deal of
money ; and itstruck me so stronglythat,had the overture been
sooner made me, probablyI should not so soon have returned to
America. After many years, you and I had somethingof more
importanceto do with one of these sons of Sir William Wynd-ham,become Earl of Egremont,which I shall mention in its
place.Thus I spent about eighteenmonths in London ; most part of
the time I worked hard at my business,and spent but littleupon
myselfexcept in seeingplaysand in books. My friend Ralphhad kept me poor; he owed me about twenty-sevenpounds,which I was now never likelyto receive," a greatsum out of my
small earnings!I loved him,notwithstanding,for he had many
amiable qualities.I had by no means improvedmy fortune;
but I had pickedup some very ingeniousacquaintance,whose
conversation was of greatadvantageto me ; and I had read con-siderably.
We sailedfrom Gravesend on the 23d of July,1726. For the
incidents of the voyage I refer you to my journal,where you will
find them allminutelyrelated. Perhapsthe most importantpartof that journalis the plan2to be found in it,which I formed at
sea, for regulatingmy future conduct in life. It isthe more re-markable,
as beingformed when I was so young, and yet being
prettyfaithfullyadhered to quitethroughto old age.
1 Pay. 2 This planhas never been found.
68 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
" 4. IN PHILADELPHIA AND IN BUSINESS FOR HIMSELF.
WE landed in Philadelphiaon the nth of October,where I
found sundryalterations. Keith was no longergovernor,
beingsupersededby Major Gordon. I met him walkingthe streets
as a common citizen. He seemed a littleashamed at seeingme,but passedwithout sayinganything.I should have been as much
ashamed at seeingMiss Read, had not her friends,despairingwith reason of my return after the receiptof my letter,persuadedher to marry another,one Rogers,a potter,which was done in
my absence. With him, however, she was never happy,and
soon partedfrom him,refusingto bear his name, it beingnow
said that he had another wife. He was a worthless fellow,
thoughan excellent workman, which was the temptationto her
friends. He got into debt,ran away in 1727 or 1728,went to
the West Indies,and died there. Keimer had got a betterhouse,
a shop well suppliedwith stationery,plentyof new types,a
number of hands,thoughnone good,and seemed to have a great
deal of business.
Mr. Denham took a store in Water Street,where we opened
our goods; I attended the business diligently,studied accounts,
and grew, in a littletime,expert at selling.We lodged and
boarded together; he counseled me as a father,havinga sincere
regardfor me. I respectedand loved him,and we mighthave
gone on togethervery happy; but,in the beginningof February,
1 72-f-j1when I had justpassedmy twenty-firstyear, we were both
taken ill. My distemperwas a pleurisy,which very nearlycar-ried
me off. I suffered a good deal,gave up the pointin my own
mind,and was rather disappointedwhen I found myselfrecover-
1 This method of expressionwas adoptedon the reformation of the calen-dar
in Englandin 1752. It shows in this case that the Februarywas of the
year 1726accordingto the old style,and 1727 accordingto the new calendar.
The year 1751 began on the 25thof March, the former New-Year's Day,and
ended,by act of Parliament,at the 1st of January,1752.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 69
ing,regretting,in some degree,that I must now, some time or
other,have all that disagreeablework to do over again.I forgetwhat his distemperwas ; itheld him a longtime,and at lengthcarried him off. He leftme a small legacyin a nuncupative1 will,as a token of his kindness for me, and he left me once more to
the wide world ; for the store was taken into the care of his ex-ecutors,
and my employmentunder him ended.
My brother-in-law,Holmes,beingnow at Philadelphia,advised
my return to my business ; and Keimer temptedme, with an offer
of largewages by the year, to come and take the management
of his printinghouse,that he mightbetter attend his stationer's
shop. I had heard a bad character of him in London from his
wife and her friends,and was not fond of havingany more to do
with him. I triedfor further employmentas a merchant's clerk ;
but,not readilymeetingwith any, I closed againwith Keimer.
I found in his house these hands: Hugh Meredith,a Welsh
Pennsylvanian,thirtyyears of age, bred to country work ; honest,
sensible,had a greatdeal of solid observation,was somethingof
a reader,but givento drink. StephenPotts,a young country-man
of fullage, bred to the same, of uncommon natural parts,
and greatwit and humor, but a littleidle. These he had agreedwith at extremelylow wages per week, to be raised a shilling
every three months,as theywould deserve by improvingin their
business;and the expectationof these highwages, to come on
hereafter,was what he had drawn them in with. Meredith was
to work at press, Potts at bookbinding,which he,by agreement,
was to teach them, though he knew neither one nor the other.
John ,a wild Irishman,broughtup to no business,whose
service,for four years, Keimer had purchased2 from the captainof a ship; he,too, was to be made a pressman. George Webb,
an Oxford scholar,whose time for four years he had likewise
1 Declared by word of mouth, not written.
2 Those who were unable to pay for their passage by shipfrom one coun-try
to another,sometimes sold their service for a term of years to the captain
who broughtthem over.
70 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
bought,intendinghim for a compositor,of whom more presently;and David Harry,a country boy,whom he had taken apprentice.
I soon perceivedthat the intention of engagingme at wages
so much higherthan he had been used to givewas to have these
raw, cheaphands formed throughme ; and, as soon as I had in-structed
them, then theybeingall articled x to him,he should be
able to do without me. I went on, however,very cheerfully,puthis printinghouse in order,which had been in great confusion,and broughthis hands by degreesto mind their business and to
do itbetter.
It was an odd thingto find an Oxford scholar in the situation
of a bought servant. He was not more than eighteenyearsof age, and gave me this account of himself: he was born in
Gloucester,educated at a grammar school there,and had been dis-tinguished
among the scholars for some apparent superiorityin
performinghis part when theyexhibited plays. He belongedto
the WittyClub there,and had written some piecesin prose and
verse, which were printedin the Gloucester newspapers. Thence
he was sent to Oxford,where he continued about a year, but not
well satisfied,wishingof allthingsto see London, and become a
player.At length,receivinghis quarterlyallowance of fifteen
guineas,2instead of discharginghis debts he walked out of town,
hid his gown in a furze bush,and footed it to London, where,
havingno friends to advise him, he fellinto bad company, soon
spent his guineas,found no means of beingintroduced among
the players,grew necessitous,pawned his clothes,and wanted
bread. Walking the street very hungry,and not knowing what
to do with himself,a crimp's3 billwas put into his hand,offeringimmediate entertainment and encouragement to such as would
bind themselves to serve in America. He went directly,signedthe indentures,was put into the ship,and came over, never writ-
1 Bound by articlesof apprenticeship.2 The guineacontains twenty-one shillings,while the pound has twenty.3 A crimpis one who bringsrecruits to the army or sailors to shipsby false
inducements.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 71
inga line to acquainthis friends what was become of him. He
was lively,witty,good-natured,and a pleasantcompanion,but
idle,thoughtless,and imprudentto the last degree.
John,the Irishman,soon ran away ; with the rest I began to
live very agreeably,for theyall respectedme the more as theyfound Keimer incapableof instructingthem, and that from me
theylearned somethingdaily.We never worked on Saturday,that beingKeimer's Sabbath,so I had two days for reading.
My acquaintancewith ingeniouspeoplein the town increased.
Keimer himself treated me wTithgreat civilityand apparent re-gard,
and nothingnow made me uneasy but my debt to Vernon,which I was yet unable to pay, beinghitherto but a poor econo-mist.
He, however,kindlymade no demand of it.
Our printinghouse often wanted sorts,and there was no let-ter
foundei in America. I had seen types cast at James'sin
London, but without much attention to the manner ; however,I
now contrived a mold, made use of the letterswe had as punch-eons,struck the matrices 1 in lead,and thus suppliedin a pretty
tolerable way alldeficiencies. I also engravedseveral thingsonoccasion ; I made the ink ; I was warehouseman,2and everything,
and,in short,quitea factotum.
But,however serviceable I mightbe,I found that my services
became every day of lessimportance,as the other hands improvedin the business;and when Keimer paid my second quarter's
wages he letme know that he feltthem too heavy,and thoughtI should make an abatement. He grew by degreeslesscivil,puton more of the master, frequentlyfound fault,was captious,and
seemed readyfor an outbreaking.I went on, nevertheless,with
a good deal of patience,thinkingthat his encumbered circum-stances
were partlythe cause. At lengtha triflesnapped our
connections ; for,a great noise happeningnear the courthouse,I put my head out of the window to see what was the matter.
Keimer,beingin the street,looked up and saw me, and called out
to me in a loud voice and angry tone to mind my business,adding1 Molds. 2 Here used for salesman.
72 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
some reproachfulwords that nettled me the more for their pub-licity,all the neighbors,who were lookingout on the same occa-sion,
beingwitnesses how I was treated. He came up immedi-ately
into the printinghouse ; continued the quarrel; highwords
passedon both sides. He gave me the quarter'swarningwe had
stipulated,expressinga wish that he had not been obligedto so
longa warning. I told him that his wish was unnecessary, for
I would leave him that instant; and so, takingmy hat,walked
out of doors,desiringMeredith,whom I saw below,to take care
of some thingsI left,and bringthem to my lodgings.Meredith came accordinglyin the evening,when we talked my
affair over. He had conceived a greatregardfor me, and was
very unwillingthat I should leave the house while he remained
in it. He dissuaded me from returningto my native country,which I began to think of; he reminded me that Keirner was in
debt for allhe possessed; that his creditorsbegan to be uneasy ;
that he kepthis shop miserably,sold often without profitfor
readymoney, and often trusted without keepingaccounts ; that
he must therefore fail,which would make a vacancy I might
profitof. IKobjectedmy want of money. He then letme know
that his father had a highopinionof me, and, from some dis-course
that had passedbetween them,he was sure wc old advance
money to set us up, if I would enter into partnershipwith him.
" My time,"says he," willbe out with Keimer in the spring; by
that time we may have our press and typesin from London. I
am sensible I am no workman ; if you like it,your skill in the
business shall be set againstthe stock I furnish,and we will share
the profitsequally."The proposalwas agreeable,and I consented. His father was
in town, and approvedof it,the more as he saw I had great in-fluence
with his son, had prevailedon him to abstain longfrom
dram drinking,and he hoped mightbreak him of that wretched
habit entirelywhen we came to be so closelyconnected. I gave
an inventoryto the father,who carried it to a merchant; the
thingswere sent for,the secret was to be kept tilltheyshould
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 73
arrive,and in the mean time I was to get work,if I could,atthe other printinghouse. But I found no vacancy there,and so
remained idle a few days,when Keimer, on a prospect of beingemployedto printsome paper money in New Jersey,which would
requirecuts and various typesthat I onlycould supply,and ap-prehendingBradford mightengage me and get the jobfrom him,
sent me a very civilmessage, that old friends should not part for
a few words,the effect of sudden passion,and wishingme to re-
tunio Meredith persuadedme to comply,as itwould givemore
opportunityfor his improvementunder my dailyinstructions; so
I returned,and we went on more smoothlythan for some time
before. The New Jerseyjob was obtained,I contrived a cop-perplate
press for it,the firstthat had been seen in the country;I cut several ornaments and checks 1 for the bills. We went to-gether
to Burlington,where I executed the whole to satisfaction;
and he received so largea sum for the work as to be enabled
therebyto keephis head much longerabove waterc
At BurlingtonI made an acquaintancewith many principalpeopleof the province0Several of them had been appointedbythe Assemblya committee to attend the press, and take care that
no more billswere printedthan the law directed. They were
therefore,by turns,constantlywith us, and generallyhe who at-tended
broughtwith him a friend or two for company. My mind
havingbeen much more improvedby readingthan Keimer's,I
suppose it was for that reason my conversation seemed to be
more valued. They had me to their houses,introduced me to
theirfriends,and showed me much civility; while he,thoughthe
master,was a littleneglected.In truth,he was an odd fish; igno-rantof common life,fond of rudelyopposingreceived opinions,
slovenlyto extreme dirtiness,enthusiasticin some pointsof re-ligion,
and a littleknavish withal.
We continued there near three months ; and by that time I could
reckon among my acquiredfriendsJudge Allen,Samuel Bustill,
the secretaryot the province,Isaac Pearson,JosephCooper,and
1 Marks or registersby which a billmay be identified.
74 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
severalof the Smiths,members of Assembly,and Isaac Decow,
the surveyor general.The latter was a shrewd,sagaciousold
man, who told me that he began for himself,when young, by
wheelingclayfor the brickmakers,learned to write after he was
of age, carried the chain for surveyors, who taughthim survey-ing,
and he had now by his industryacquireda good estate ; and
says he, " I foresee that you will soon work thisman out of his
business,and make a fortune in itat Philadelphia."He had not
then the least intimation of my intention to set up there or any-where.
These friends were afterward of greatuse to me, as I
occasionallywas to some of them. They allcontinued theirre-gard
for me as longas theylived.
Before I enter upon my publicappearance in business,it maybe well to let you know the then state of my mind with regard
to my principlesand morals,that you may see how far those in-fluenced
the future events of my life. My parents had early
given me religiousimpressions,and brought me throughmychildhood piouslyin the Dissenting1 way. But I was scarce fif-teen
when, after doubtingby turns of several points,as I found
them disputedin the different books I read,I began to doubt of
revelationitself.Some books againstDeism 2 fellinto my hands ;
theywere said to be the substance of sermons preachedat Boyle'sLectures. It happenedthat theywroughtan effecton me quite
contrary to what was intended by them; for the arguments of
the Deists,which were quoted to be refuted,appearedto me
much stronger than the refutations; in short,I soon became a
thoroughDeist. My arguments pervertedsome others,particu-larlyCollins and Ralph; but,each of them having afterward
wronged me greatlywithout the leastcompunction,and recollect-ing
Keith's conduct toward me (who was another freethinker),and my own toward Vernon and Miss Read, which at times
gave me great trouble,I began to suspect that this doctrine,
1 See Note 3, p. 19.2 Belief in the existence of a personalGod,but denyingrevelation.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 75
thoughitmightbe true,was not very useful. My London pam-phlet,
which had for itsmotto these lines of Dryden :
" Whatever is,isright. Though purblindmanSees but a part o* the chain,the nearest link:
His eyes not carryingto the equalbeamThat poisesallabove; "l
and from the attributes of God, his infinitewisdom,goodness,and power, concluded that nothingcould possiblybe wrong in
the world,and that vice and virtue were empty distinctions,no
such thingsexisting,appearednow not so clever a performanceas I once thoughtit; and I doubted whether some error had not
insinuated itselfunperceivedinto my argument, so as to infectall
:.that followed,as is common in metaphysicalreasonings.
J/ I grew convinced that truth,sincerity,and integrityin dealingsbetween man and man were of the utmost importanceto the felic-ity
of life; and I formed written resolutions,which stillremain
in my journalbook, to practicethem ever while I lived. Reve-lation
had indeed no weightwith me as such ; but I entertained
an opinionthat,M;houghcertain actions mightnot be bad because
theywere forbidden by it,or good because itcommanded them,
yetprobablythose actions mightbe forbidden because theywere
bad for us, or commanded because theywere beneficialto us, in
their own natures,all the circumstances of thingsconsidered^And thispersuasion,with the kind hand of Providence,or some
guardianangel,or accidental favorable circumstances and situa-tions,
or alltogether," preservedme, throughthisdangeroustime
of youthand the hazardous situationsI was sometimes in among
strangers,remote from the eye and advice of my father,without
1 " Whatever is,is in its causes just,Since allthingsare by fate. But purblindmanSees but a parto' the chain,the nearest links ;
His eyes not carryingto the equalbeam
That poisesallabove."
Dryden, (Edipus,act iii.sc. I.
76 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
any willful grossimmoralityor injustice,that might have been
expectedfrom my want of religion.I say willful,because the
instances I have mentioned had somethingof necessityin them,from my youth,inexperience,and the knaveryof others. I had,
therefore,a tolerable character to beginthe world with ; I valued
itproperly,and determined to preserve it.
We had not been longreturned to Philadelphiabefore the new
types arrived from London. We settled with Keimer, and left
him by his consent before he heard of it. We found a house to
hire near the market,and took it. To lessen the rent,which was
then but twenty-fourpounds a year, thoughI have since known
it to let for seventy,we took in Thomas Godfrey,a glazier,and
his family,who were to pay a considerable part of it to us, and
we to board with them. We had scarce opened our lettersand
put our press in order,before George House, an acquaintanceof
mine,broughta countryman to us, whom he had met in the street
inquiringfor a printer.All our cash was now expendedin the
varietyof particularswe had been obligedto procure, and this
countryman'sfive shillings,beingour firstfruits,and coming so
seasonably,gave me more pleasurethan any crown I have since
earned ; and the gratitudeI felttoward House has made me often
more readythan perhapsI should otherwise have been to assist
young beginners.There are croakers in every country,alwaysboding itsruin.
Such a one then lived in Philadelphia,a person of note, an
elderlyman, with a wise look and a very grave manner of speak-ing.His name was Samuel Mickle. This gentleman,a stranger
to me, stoppedone day at my door,and asked me if I was the
young man who had latelyopened a new printinghouse. Beinganswered in the affirmative,he said he was sorry for me, because
itwas an expensiveundertaking,and the expense would be lost;
for Philadelphiawas a sinkingplace,the peoplealreadyhalf
bankrupts,or near being so, all appearances to the contrary,such as new buildingsand the riseof rents,beingto his certain
knowledgefallacious;for theywere, in fact,among the things
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 77
that would soon ruin us. And he gave me such a detailof mis-fortunes
now existing,or that were soon to exist,that he left me
half melancholy. Had I known him before I engaged in this
business,probablyI never should have done it. This man con-tinued
to live in thisdecayingplace,and to declaim in the same
strain,refusingfor many years to buy a house there,because all
was goingto destruction; and at lastI had the pleasureof seeinghim givefive times as much for one as he mighthave boughtitfor when he firstbegan his croaking.
I should have mentioned before,that in the autumn of the
precedingyear I had formed most of my ingeniousacquaint-anceinto a club of mutual improvement,which we called the
" Junto."1 We met on Fridayevenings.The rules that I drew up
requiredthat every member, in his turn,should produceone or
more querieson any pointof morals,politics,or natural philoso-phy,to be discussed by the company ; and once in three months
produceand read an essay of his own writing,on any subjecthe
pleased.Our debates were to be under the direction of a presi-dent,and to be conducted in the sincere spiritof inquiryafter
truth,without fondness for disputeor desire of victory; and, to
prevent warmth, all expressionsof positivenessin opinions,ordirectcontradiction,were after some time made contraband,and
prohibitedunder small pecuniarypenalties.11The firstmembers were : JosephBreintnal,a copierof deeds
for the scriveners,a good-natured,friendly,middle-agedman, a
great lover of poetry,readingall he could meet with,and writ-ing
some that was tolerable;very ingeniousin many littleknick-
knackeries,and of sensible conversation. Thomas Godfrey,a
self-taughtmathematician,great in his way, and afterward in-ventor
of what is now called Hadley'sQuadrant.2 But he
knew littleout of his way, and was not a pleasingcompanion;
as, likemost greatmathematicians I have met with,he expected
1 The word means an assemblyof persons engagedfor a common pur-pose.
It is from the Spanishjunta(" a council ").2 An instrument used in navigationfor measuringthe altitude of the sun.
78 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
universal precisionin everythingsaid,or was forever denyingor distinguishingupon trifles,to the disturbance of all con-versation.
He soon left us. Nicholas Scull,a surveyor, after-ward
surveyor general,who loved books,and sometimes made
a few verses. William Parsons,bred a shoemaker,but loving
reading,had acquireda considerable share of mathematics,
which he firststudied with a view to astrologythat he after-ward
laughedat. He also became surveyor general.William
Maugridge,a joiner,a most exquisitemechanic,and a solid,
sensible man. Hugh Meredith,StephenPotts,and GeorgeWebb
I have characterized before. Robert Grace,a young gentlemanof some fortune,generous, lively,and witty; a lover of punningand of hisfriends. And William Coleman,then a merchant's clerk,
about my age, who had the coolest,clearesthead,the best heart,
and the exactest morals of almost any man I ever met with. He
became afterward a merchant of great note, and one of our pro-vincial
judges.Our friendshipcontinued without interruptionto
his death,upward of fortyyears ; and the club continued almost
as long,and was the best school of philosophy,morality,and poli-ticsthat then existed in the province; for our queries,which were
read the week precedingtheir discussion,put us upon readingwith
attention upon the several subjects,that we mightspeakmore to
the purpose ; and here,too,we acquiredbetter habits of conversa-tion,
everythingbeingstudied in our rules which mightpreventour disgustingeach other. From hence the longcontinuance of
the club,which I shall have frequentoccasion to speakfurther of
hereafter.
But my givingthisaccount of ithere is to show somethingof
the interestI had, every one of these exertingthemselves in
recommending business to us. Breintnal particularlyprocured
us from the Quakersthe printingfortysheets of their history,the
rest beingto be done by Keimer ; and upon thiswe worked ex-ceedingly
hard,for the pricewas low. It was a folio,pro patria
size,in pica,with longprimernotes. I composedof it a sheet a
day,and Meredith worked itoff at press ; itwas often eleven at
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 79
night,and sometimes later,before I had finishedmy distribution1
for the next day'swork,for the littlejobs sent in by our other
friends now and then put us back. But so determined I was to
continue doing a sheet a day of the foliothat one night,when,
havingimposed2 my forms,I thoughtmy day'swork over, one
of them by accident was broken,and two pages reduced to pi,3I immediatelydistributed and composed it over againbefore I
went to bed ; and thisindustry,visibleto our neighbors,beganto
giveus character and credit; particularly,I was told,that men-tion
beingmade of the new printingoffice at the merchants'
Every-NightClub,the generalopinionwas that itmust fail,there
beingalreadytwo printersin the place,Keimer and Bradford ; but
Dr. Baird (whom you and I saw many years after at his native
place,St. Andrew's,in Scotland)gave a contraryopinion:" For
the industryof that Franklin,"says he, " is superiorto anythingI ever saw of the kind ; I see him stillat work when I go home
from club,and he is at work againbefore his neighborsare out
of bed." This struck the rest,and we soon after had offers from
one of them to supplyus with stationery; but as yet we did not
choose to engage in shopbusiness.
I mention this industrythe more particularlyand the more
freely,thoughit seems to be talkingin my own praise,that those
of my posteritywho shallread itmay know the use of that virtue,when theysee itseffectsin my favor throughoutthisrelation.
GeorgeWebb, who had found a female friend that lent him
wherewith to purchasehistime of Keimer,now came to offerhim-self
as a journeymanto us. We could not then employhim ; but
I foolishlylethim know, as a secret,that I soon intended to begina newspaper, and might then have work for him. My hopesof success, as I told him,were founded on this: that the then only
newspaper, printedby Bradford,was a paltrything,wretchedly
managed,no way entertaining,and yet was profitableto him ; I
therefore thoughta good paper would scarcelyfail of good en-
1 Puttingthe types no longerneeded for printinginto the proper boxes.
2 Set up for printing. 3 Type in a jumbledmass.
80 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
couragement. I requestedWebb not to mention this; but he
told it to Keimer, who immediately,to be beforehand with me,
publishedproposalsfor printingone himself,on which Webb was
to be employed. I resented this;and, to counteract them, as
I could not yet beginour paper, I wrote several piecesof en-tertainment
for Bradford's paper, under the titleof the "
Busy
Body,"which Breintnal continued some months. By this means
the attention of the publicwas fixed on that paper, and Keimer's
proposals,which were burlesquedand ridiculed,were disregarded.He began his paper, however,and, after carryingit on three
quartersof a year, with at most onlyninetysubscribers,he offered
itto me for a trifle; and I,havingbeen readysome time to go
on with it,took it in hand directly,and itprovedin a few years
extremelyprofitableto me.1
1 perceivethat I am apt to speakin the singularnumber,
though our partnershipstillcontinued ; the reason may be that,
in fact,the whole management of the business lay upon me.
Meredith was no compositor,a poor pressman, and seldom sober.
My friends lamented my connection with him,but I was to make
the best of it.
Our firstpapers made a quitedifferent appearance from any
before in the province;a better type,and better printed;but
some spiritedremarks of my writing,on the dispute2 then going
on between Governor Burnet and the Massachusetts Assembly,
1 " This paper was called The Universal Instructor in allArts and Sciences
and PennsylvaniaGazette. Keimer printedhis last number " the thirty-ninth" on the twenty-fifthday of September,1729."" Bigelow.
2 The governor broughtinstructions from the kingthat his salaryshouldbe one thousand pounds. The legislatureclaimed the libertyof fixingthe
sum themselves. Franklin ended his articlewith this sentence :" Their happy
mother country will perhapsobserve with pleasurethat,thoughher gallantcocks and matchless dogsabate their natural fire and intrepiditywhen trans-ported
to a foreignclime (asthis nation is),yet her sons in the remotest partof the earth,and even to the third and fourth descent,stillretain that ardent
spiritof liberty,and that undaunted courage, which has in every age so
gloriouslydistinguishedBritons and Englishmenfrom the rest of mankind."
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 8 1
struck the principalpeople,occasioned the paper and the manager
of it to be much talked of,and in a few weeks broughtthem all
to be our subscribers.
" Their example was followed by many, and our number went
on growingcontinually.This was one of the firstgood effects
of my havinglearned a littleto scribble;n another was that the
leadingmen, seeinga newspaper now in the hands of one who
could also handle a pen, thoughtitconvenient to obligeand en-courage
me. Bradford stillprintedthe votes and laws and other
publicbusiness. He had printedan address of the House to the
governor in a coarse, blunderingmanner; we reprintedit ele-gantly
and correctly,and sent one to every member. Theywere sensible of the difference; itstrengthenedthe hands of our
friendsin the House, and theyvoted us theirprintersfor the year
ensuing.
Among my friends in the House I must not forgetMr. Ham-ilton,
before mentioned,who was then returned from England,and had a seat in it. He interested himself for me stronglyin
that instance,as he did in many others afterward,continuinghis
patronage tillhis death.1
Mr. Vernon,about thistime,put me in mind of the debt I owed
him,but did not press me. I wrote him an ingenuousletterof
acknowledgment,craved his forbearance a littlelonger,which
he allowed me, and as soon as I was able I paidthe principle,with interest,and many thanks ; so that erratum was in some de-gree
corrected.
But now another difficultycame upon me which I had never
the least reason to expect. Mr. Meredith's father,who was to
have paidfor our printinghouse,accordingto the expectations
givenme, was able to advance onlyone hundred pounds cur-rency,
which had been paid; and a hundred more was due to the
merchant,who grew impatient,and sued us all. We gave bail,but saw that,if the money could not be raised in time,the suit
1 Franklin's Note." I got his son once fivehundred pounds.
82 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
must soon come to a judgmentand execution,and our hopeful
prospects must, with us, be ruined,as the press and lettersmust
be sold for payment, perhapsat half price.In this distresstwo true friends,whose kindness I have never
forgotten,nor ever shallforgetwhile I can remember anything,came to me separately,unknown to each other,and,without any
applicationfrom me, offeringeach of them to advance me all the
money that should be necessary to enable me to take the whole
business upon myself,ifthat should be practicable; but theydid
not like my continuingthe partnershipwith Meredith,who, as
theysaid,was often seen drunk in the streets,and playingat low
games in alehouses,much to our discredit. These two friends
were William Coleman and Robert Grace. I told them I could
not propose a separationwhile any prospect remained of the
Merediths' fulfillingtheirpart of our agreement, because I thought
myselfunder great obligationsto them for what theyhad done
and would do if theycould; but,if theyfinallyfailed in their
performance,and our partnershipmust be dissolved,I should
then think myselfat libertyto accept the assistance of my
friends.
Thus the matter rested for some time,when I said to my part-ner," Perhapsyour father is dissatisfiedat the part you have
undertaken in thisaffairof ours, and is unwillingto advance for
you and me what he would for you alone. If that is the case,
tellme, and I will resignthe whole to you, and go about my busi-
ness." " No," said he,"
my father has reallybeen disappointed,and isreallyunable ; and I am unwillingto distresshim further.
I see thisisa business I am not fitfor. I was bred a farmer,and
it was a follyin me to come to town, and put myself,at thirty
years of age, an apprenticeto learn a new trade. Many of our
Welsh peopleare goingto settlein North Carolina,where land is
cheap. I am inclined to go with them,and follow my old em-ployment.
You may find friends to assistyou. If you will take
the debts of the company upon you, return to my father the hun-dred
pounds he has advanced,pay my littlepersonaldebts,and
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 83
giveme thirtypounds and a new saddle,I will relinquishthe
partnership,and leave the whole in your hands." I agreedto
thisproposal; itwas drawn up in writing,signed,and sealed im-mediately.
I gave him what he demanded, and he went soon
after to Carolina,from whence he sent me next year two long
letters,containingthe best account that had been givenof that
country,the climate,the soil,husbandry,etc.,for in those mat-ters
he was very judicious.I printedthem in the papers, and
theygave great satisfactionto the public.As soon as he was gone, I recurred to my two friends;and
because I would not givean unkind preferenceto either,I took
half of what each had offered and I wanted of one, and half of
the other,paidoff the company'sdebts,and went on with the
business in my own name, advertisingthat the partnershipwasdissolved. I think thiswas in or about the year 1729.
About this time there was a cry among the peoplefor more
paper money, onlyfifteen thousand pounds beingextant in the
province,and that soon to be sunk. The wealthyinhabitants
opposedany addition,beingagainstall paper currency, from an
apprehensionthat it would depreciate,as it had done in New
England,to the prejudiceof all creditors. We had discussed
thispointin our Junto,where I was on the side of an addition,
beingpersuadedthat the firstsmall sum struck in 1723 had done
much good by increasingthe trade,employment,and number of
inhabitants in the province,since I now saw all the old houses
inhabited and many new ones building; whereas,I remembered
well that when I firstwalked about the streets of Philadelphia,
eatingmy roll,I saw most of the houses in Walnut Street,be-tween
Second and Front Streets,with billson their doors," To
be Let;" and many likewise in Chestnut Street and other streets,
which made me then think the inhabitants of the citywere desert-ing
itone after another.
Our debates possessedme so fullyof the subjectthat I wrote
and printedan anonymous pamphleton it,entitled," The Nature
and Necessityof a Paper Currency." It was well received by
84 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
the common peoplein general; but the rich men disliked it,for
it increased and strengthenedthe clamor for more money, and
they,happeningto have no writers among them that were able to
answer it,their oppositionslackened,and the pointwas carried
by a majorityin the House. My friends there,who conceived I
had been of some service,thoughtfitto reward me by employingme in printingthe money, " a very profitablejoband a greathelpto me. This was another advantagegainedby my beingable to
write.
The utilityof this currency became by time and experienceso
evident as never afterward to be much disputed; so that it grew
soon to fifty-fivethousand pounds,and in 1739 to eightythousand
pounds,since which it rose duringwar to upward of three hun-dred
and fiftythousand pounds,trade,building,and inhabitants
allthe while increasing,thoughI now think there are limits,beyondwhich the quantitymay be hurtful.1
I soon after obtained,throughmy friend Hamilton,the print-ingof the Newcastle paper money, another profitablejob,as I
then thoughtit,small thingsappearinggreat to those in small
circumstances ; and these,to me, were reallygreatadvantages,as
theywere great encouragements. He procuredfor me, also,the
printingof the laws and votes of that government,2which contin-ued
in my hands as longas I followed the business.
I now openeda littlestationer'sshop. I had in itblanks of all
sorts,the correctest that ever appearedamong us, beingassisted
in that by my friend Breintnal. I had also paper, parchment,
chapmen'sbooks, etc. One Whitemash, a compositorI had
known in London, an excellent workman, now came to me, and
worked with me constantlyand diligently; and I took an appren-tice,
the son of AquilaRose.
I began now graduallyto pay off the debt I was under for the
printinghouse. In order to secure my credit and character as a
tradesman,I took care not onlyto be in realityindustrious and
1 This money had not the fullvalue of the pound sterling.2 That is,the government of Delaware.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 8 tj
frugal,but to avoid all appearances to the contrary. I dressed
plainly; I was seen at no placesof idle diversion; I never went
out a-fishingor shooting; a book,indeed,sometimes debauched
me from my work,but that was seldom,snug,1and gave no scan-dal
; and,to show that I was not above my business,I sometimes
broughthome the paper I purchasedat the stores throughthe
streets on a wheelbarrow. Thus,beingesteemed an industrious,
thrivingyoung man, and payingduly for what I bought,the
merchants who importedstationerysolicitedmy custom ; others
proposedsupplyingme with books,and I went on swimmingly.In the mean time,Keimer's credit and business decliningdaily,he was at last forced to sellhis printinghouse to satisfyhis cred-itors.
He went to Barbadoes,and there lived some years in very
poor circumstances.
His apprentice,David Harry,whom I had instructed while I
worked with him, set up in his placeat Philadelphia,having
boughthis materials. I was at firstapprehensiveof a powerfulrivalin Harry,as his friends were very able and had a good deal
of interest. I therefore proposeda partnershipto him,which he,
fortunatelyfor me, rejectedwith scorn. He was very proud,dressed like a gentleman,lived expensively,took much diversion
and pleasureabroad,ran in debt,and neglectedhis business ;
upon which,all business left him ; and,findingnothingto do,he
followed Keimer to Barbadoes,takingthe printinghouse with
him. There this apprenticeemployed his former master as a
journeyman;theyquarreledoften;Harry went continuallybe-hindhand,
and at lengthwas forced to sellhis typesand return
to his country work in Pennsylvania.The person that boughtthem employedKeimer to use them,but in a few years he died.
There remained now no competitorwith me at Philadelphiabut the old one, Bradford,who was rich and easy, did a little
printingnow and then by stragglinghands,but was not very
anxious about the business. However, as he keptthe post office,it was imaginedhe had better opportunitiesof obtainingnews.
1 In secret.
86 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
His paper was thoughta better distributerof advertisements than
mine,and therefore had many more, which was a profitablethingto him, and a disadvantageto me ; for,thoughI did indeed re-ceive
and send papers by post,yet the publicopinionwas other-wise,
for what I did send was by bribingthe riders,1who took
them privately,Bradford beingunkind enoughto forbid it,which
occasioned some resentment on my part; and I thoughtso
meanly of him for itthat,when I afterward came into his situ-ation,
I took care never to imitate it.
yI had hitherto continued to board with Godfrey,who lived in
part of my house with his wife and children,and had one side of
the shopfor his glazier'sbusiness,thoughhe worked little,being
alwaysabsorbed in his mathematics. Mrs. Godfreyprojectedamatch for me with a relation'sdaughter,and took opportunitiesof bringingus often together,tilla serious courtshipon my part
ensued,the girlbeingin herself very deserving.The old folks
ncouragedme by continual invitationsto supper, and by leav-ing
us together,tillat lengthitwas time to explain.Mrs. God-frey
managed our littletreaty. I let her know that I expectedasmuch money
n with theirdaughteras would pay off my remainingdebt for the printinghouse,which I believe was then above a
hundred pounds. She broughtme word theyhad no such sum to
spare. I said theymightmortgage their house in the loan office.
The answer to this,after some days,was that theydid not ap-prove
the match ; that,on inquiryof Bradford,theyhad been
informed the printingbusiness was not a profitableone ; the typeswould soon be worn out and more wanted ; that S. Keimer and
D. Harry had failed one after the other,and I should probably
soon follow them ; and therefore I was forbidden the house,and
the daughtershut up.
Whether thiswas a real change of sentiment,or onlyartifice,
on a suppositionof our beingtoo far engagedin affection to re-tract,
and therefore that we should steal a marriage,which would
leave them at libertyto giveor withhold what theypleased,I
1 Men on horseback who carried the mail.
*"
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 87
know not ; but I suspectedthe latter,resented it,and went no
more. Mrs. Godfreybroughtme afterward some more favor-able
accounts of theirdisposition,and would have drawn me on
again; but I declared absolutelymy resolution to have nothingmore to do with that family.This was resented by the God-freys
; we differed,and theyremoved,leavingme the whole house,
and I resolved to take no more inmates.
But thisaffairhavingturned my thoughts\n mam's pp, I looked
round me and made overtures of acquaintancein other places;but soon found that,the business of a printerbeinggenerally
thoughta poor one, I was not to expect money with a wife,un-less
with such a one as I should not otherwise think agreeable.In the mean time a friendlycorrespondenceas neighborsand old
acquaintanceshad continued between me and Mr. Read's family,who all had a regardfor me from the time of my firstlodgingin their house. I was often invited there and consulted in their
affairs,wherein I sometimes was of service. I pitiedpoor Miss
Read's unfortunate situation,who was generallydejected,seldom
cheerful,and avoided company. I considered my giddinessand
inconstancywhen in London as in a greatdegreethe cause of
her unhappiness,though the mother was good enough to think
the fault more her own than mine, as she had preventedour
marryingbefore I went thither,and persuadedthe other match in
my absence. Our mutual affectionwas revived,but there were
now greatobjectionsto our union. The match 1 was indeed looked
upon as invalid,a precedingwife beingsaid to be livingin Eng-land
; but thiscould not easilybe provedbecause of the distance ;
and thoughthere was a report of his death,it was not certain.
Then,thoughitshould be true,he had leftmany debts,which his
successor mightbe called upon to pay. We ventured,however,
over all these difficulties,and I took her to wife Sept.1, 1730.
None of the inconveniences happenedthat we had apprehended;she proveda good and faithfulhelpmate,assisted me much by
attendingshop,we throve together,and have ever mutuallyen-1 Miss Reed's firstmarriage.
SS THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
deavored to make each other happy. Thus I corrected that
great erratum as well as I could.1
About this time,our club meetingnot at a tavern but in a
littleroom of Mr. Grace's set apart for that purpose, a proposi-tionwas made by me that,since our books were often referred
to in our disquisitionsupon the queries,it might be convenient
to us to have them all togetherwhere we met, that upon occa-sion
theymight be consulted;and by thus clubbingour books
to a common library,we should,while we liked to keepthem to-gether,
have each of us the advantageof usingthe books of all
the other members,which would be nearlyas beneficial as if each
owned the whole. It was liked and agreedto,and we filledone
end of the room with such books as we could best spare. The
number was not so greatas we expected; and thoughtheyhad
been of great use, yet,some inconveniences occurringfor want
of due care of them, the collection,after about a year, was sep-arated,
and each took his books home again.And now I set on foot my firstprojectof a publicnature," that
1 Mrs. Franklin died Dec. 19, 1774. Franklin celebrated his wife in a
song, of which the followingverses are a part :
" Of their Chloes and Phyllisespoets may prate,
I sing my plaincountry Joan,These twelve years my wife,stillthe joy of my life,
Blest day that I made her my own.
Am I loaded with care, she takes off a largeshare,That the burden ne'er makes me to reel ;
Does good fortune arrive,the joyof my wife
Quite doubles the pleasureI feel.
Some faults have we all,and so has my Joan,But then they'reexceedinglysmall ;
And, now I'm grown used to them, so like my own,
I scarcelycan see them at all.
Were the finestyoung princesswith millions in purse,
To be had in exchange for my Joan,I could not get better wife,might get a worse,
So I'llstick to my dearest old Joan."
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 89
for a subscriptionlibrary.11I drew up the proposals,got them
put into form by our greatscrivener,Brockden,and,by the helpof my friends in the Junto,procuredfiftysubscribers of forty
shillingseach to beginwith,and ten shillingsa year for fifty
years, the term our company was to continue. We afterward
obtained a charter,the company beingincreased to one hun-dred.
This was the mother of all the North American subscrip-tionlibraries,now so numerous. It is become a great thing
itself,and continuallyincreasing.These librarieshave improvedthe generalconversation of the Americans,made the common
tradesmen and farmers as intelligentas most gentlemenfrom
other countries,and perhapshave contributed in some degreetothe stand so generallymade throughoutthe colonies in defense
of their privileges.1
Continuation of the Account of my Life,Begun at
Passy,near Paris,1784.
It is some time since I received the above letters,2but I have
been too busy tillnow to think of complyingwith the request
theycontain. It might,too, be much better done if I were at
home among my papers, which would aid my memoiy, and helpto ascertain dates; but my return beinguncertain,and havingjustnow a littleleisure,I will endeavor to recollect and write
what I can ; if I live to get home, itmay there be corrected and
improved.Not havingany copy here of what is alreadywritten,I know
not whether an account isgivenof the means I used to establish
the PhiladelphiaPublic Library,which,from a small beginning,
1 Franklin's Memorandum." Thus far was written with the intention
expressedin the beginning,and therefore contains several littlefamilyanec-dotes
of no importanceto others. What follows was written many yearsafter in compliancewith the advice contained in these letters(seep. 192),and accordinglyintended for the public.The affairs of the Revolution
occasioned the interruption. 2 See Note 1.
90 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
is now become so considerable,thoughI remember to have come
down to near the time of that transaction (1730).I will there-fore
beginhere with an account of it,which may be struck out
iffound to have been alreadygiven.At the time I establishedmyselfin Pennsylvaniathere was not
a good bookseller'sshopin any of the colonies to the southward
of Boston. In New York and Philadelphiathe printerswere
indeed stationers;theysold onlypaper, etc.,almanacs,ballads,
and a few common schoolbooks. Those who loved readingwere
obligedto send for their books from England; the members of
the Junto had each a few. We had left the alehouse where
we firstmet, and hired a room to hold our club in. I proposedthat we should all of us bringour books to that room, where
theywould not onlybe readyto consult in our conferences,but
become a common benefit,each of us beingat libertyto borrow
such as he wished to read at home. This was accordinglydone,and for some time contented us.
Findingthe advantage of this littlecollection,I proposedto
render the benefit from books more common by commencing a
publicsubscriptionlibrary.I drew a sketch of the plan and
rules that would be necessary, and got a skillfulconveyancer,
Mr. Charles Brockden,to put the whole in form of articlesof
agreement to be subscribed,by which each subscriber engagedto
pay a certain sum down for the firstpurchaseof books,and an
annual contribution for increasingthem. So few were the read-ers
at that time in Philadelphia,and the majorityof us so poor,
that I was not able,with greatindustry,to find more than fifty
persons, mostlyyoung tradesmen,willingto pay down for this
purpose fortyshillingseach and ten shillingsper annum.
On thislittlefund we began. The books were imported; the
librarywas opened one day in the week for lendingto the sub-scribers,
on theirpromissorynotes to pay double the value if not
dulyreturned. The institutionsoon manifested itsutility,was
imitated by other towns and in other provinces.The libraries
were augmentedby donations ; readingbecame fashionable ; and
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 91
our people,havingno publicamusements to divert their atten-tion
from study,became better acquaintedwith books,and in a
few years were observed by strangersto be better instructed and
more intelligentthan peopleof the same rank generallyare in
other countries.
When we were about to signthe above-mentioned articles,which were to be bindingon us, our heirs,etc.,for fiftyyears,Mr. Brockden,the scrivener,said to us :
" You are young men,
but itisscarcelyprobablethat any of you will liveto see the ex-piration
of the term fixed in the instrument." A number of us,
however,are yet living; but the instrument was, after a few years,
rendered null by a charter that incorporatedand gave perpetuityto the company.1
The objectionsand reluctances I met with in solicitingthe
subscriptionsmade me soon feel the improprietyof presentingone's self as the proposer of any useful projectthat might be
supposedto raise one's reputationin the smallest degreeabove
that of one's neighbors,when one has need of their assistanceto
accomplishthat project.I therefore put myselfas much as I
could out of sight,and stated it as a scheme of a" number of
1 The PhiladelphiaLibrarywas incorporatedin 1742. In its buildingis
a tablet which reads as follows :
Be itremembered,in honor of the Philadelphiayouth
(thenchieflyartificers),thatinMDCCXXXI.
theycheerfully,
at the instance of Benjamin Franklin,
one of their number,
instituted the PhiladelphiaLibrary,which, though small at first,
is become highlyvaluable and extensivelyuseful,and which the walls of this edifice
are now destined to contain and preserve ;
the firststone of whose foundation
was here placedthe thirty-firstday of August, 1789.
The inscription,save the mention of himself,was preparedby Franklin.
92 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
friends,"who had requestedme to go about and propose itto such
as theythoughtlovers of reading. In this way my affairwent
on more smoothly,and I ever after practicedit on such occa-sions,
and,from my frequentsuccesses, can heartilyrecommend
it. The presentlittlesacrificeof your vanitywill afterward be
amplyrepaid. If itremains awhile uncertain to whom the merit
belongs,some one more vain than yourselfwill be encouraged
to claim it,and then even envy will be disposedto do you justice
by pluckingthose assumed feathers,and restoringthem to their
rightowner.This libraryafforded me the means of improvementby con-stant
study,for which I set apart an hour or two each day,and
thus repairedin some degreethe loss of the learned education
my father once intended for me. Reading was the onlyamuse-ment
I allowed myself. I spent no time in taverns, games, or
frolicsof any kind ; and my industryin my business continued
as indefatigableas it was necessary. I was indebted for my
printinghouse ; I had a young familycoming on to be educated,
and I had to contend for business with two printers,who were
establishedin the placebefore me. My circumstances,however,
grew dailyeasier. My originalhabits of frugalitycontinuing,and
my father having,among his instructionsto me when a boy,fre-quently
repeateda proverbof Solomon," Seest thou a man diligent
in hisbusiness? he shallstand before kings; he shallnot stand be-fore
mean men," * I from thence considered industryas a means
of obtainingwealth and distinction,which encouragedme, thoughI did not think that I should ever literally" stand before kings; "
which,however,has since happened,for I have stood before five,
and even had the honor of sittingdown with one (theKing of
Denmark) to dinner.11
"jfWehave an Englishproverbthat says," He that would thrive
must ask his wife." It was luckyfor me that I had one as much
disposedto industryand frugalityas myself.She assisted me
cheerfullyin my business,foldingand stitchingpamphlets,tend-
1 See Prov. xxii. 29.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 93
ing shop,purchasingold linen rags for the paper makers,etc.
We kept no idle servants, our table was plainand simple,ourfurniture of the cheapest.For instance,my breakfast was a
long time bread and milk (notea),and I ate it out of a two-penny
earthen porringer,with a pewter spoon. But mark how
luxurywill enter familiesand make a progress in spiteof princi-ple.Beingcalled one morningto breakfast,I found itin a china
bowl with a spoon of silver! They had been boughtfor me with-out
my knowledgeby my wife,and had cost her the enormous
sum of three-and-twentyshillings,for which she had no other ex-cuse
or apologyto make but that she thoughther husband de-served
a silverspoon and china bowl as well as any of his neigh-bors.This was the firstappearance of plateand china in our
house,which afterward,in a course of years, as our wealth in-creased,
augmented graduallyto several hundred pounds in
value.
I had been religiouslyeducated as a Presbyterian; and,thoughI earlyabsented myselffrom the publicassemblies of the sect,
Sundaybeingmy studyingday,I never was without some re-ligious
principles.I never doubted,for instance,the existence
of the Deity; that he made the world,and governedit by his
providence; that the most acceptableservice of God was the
doinggood to man ; that our souls are immortal ; and that all
crime willbe punished,and virtuerewarded,eitherhere or here-after.
These I esteemed the essentialsof every religion;and
beingto be found in allthe religionswe had in our country,I
respectedthem all,thoughwith different degreesof respect as
I found them more or lessmixed with other articleswhich,without
any tendencyto inspire,promote, or confirm morality,served
principallyto divide us, and make us unfriendlyto one another.
This respectto all,with an opinionthat the worst had some good
effects,induced me to avoid all discourse that might tend to
lessen the good opinionanother mighthave of his own religion;and as our provinceincreased in people,and new placesof wor-ship
were continuallywanted,and generallyerected by voluntary
94 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
contribution,my mite for such purpose, whatever mightbe the
sect,was never refused.
Though I seldom attended any publicworship,I had stillan
opinionof itsproprietyand of itsutilitywhen rightlyconducted,and I regularlypaid my annual subscriptionfor the support of
the onlyPresbyterianminister or meetingwe had in Philadel-phia.
He used to visitme sometimes as a friend,and admonish
me to attend his administrations,and I was now and then pre-vailed
on to do so, once for five Sundayssuccessively.Had he
been in my opiniona good preacher,perhapsI mighthave con-tinued,
notwithstandingthe occasion I had for the Sunday'slei-sure
in my course of study; but his discourses were chieflyeither
polemicarguments or explicationsof the peculiardoctrines of
our sect,and were all to me very dry,uninteresting,and unedify-
ing,since not a singlemoral principlewas inculcated or enforced,their aim seeming to be rather to make us Presbyteriansthan
good citizens.
At lengthhe took for his text that verse of the fourth chapterof Philippians:
" Finally,brethren,whatsoever thingsare true,
whatsoever thingsare honest,whatsoever thingsare just,whatso-ever
thingsare pure, whatsoever thingsare lovely,whatsoever
thingsare of good report; ifthere be any virtue,and ifthere be
any praise,think on these things;"and I imagined,in a sermon
on such a text, we could not miss of having some morality.But he confined himself to five pointsonly,as meant by the
apostle:i. Keeping holythe Sabbath day. 2. Beingdiligentin
readingthe holyScriptures.3. Attendingdulythe publicwor-ship.
4. Partakingof the sacrament. 5. Payinga due respect
to God's ministers. These mightbe all good things; but,as theywere not the kind of good thingsthat I expectedfrom that text,
I despairedof ever meetingwith them from any other,was dis-gusted,
and attended his preachingno more. I had some years
before composeda littleliturgy,or form of prayer, for my own
privateuse (in1728),entitled " Articles of Belief and Acts of
Religion."I returned to the use of this,and went no more to
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 95
the publicassemblies. My conduct might be blamable,but I
leave itwithout attemptingfurther to excuse it,my present pur-pose
beingto relate facts,and not to make apologiesfor them.
"5. CONTINUED SELF-EDUCATION.
ITwas about this time I conceived the bold and arduous pro-jectof arrivingat moral perfection.I wished to live with-out
committingany fault at any time ; I would conquer all that
either natural inclination,custom, or company might lead me
into. As I knew, or thoughtI knew,what was rightand wrong,
I did not see why I might not alwaysdo the one and avoid the
other. But I soon found I had undertaken a task of more diffi-culty
than I had imagined* While my care was employedin
guardingagainstone fault,I was often surprisedby another;habit took the advantageof inattention; inclinationwas some-times
too strong for reason. I concluded at lengththat the
mere speculativeconviction that it was our interestto be com-pletely
virtuous was not sufficientto prevent our slipping; and
that the contraryhabits must be broken,and good ones acquiredand established,before we can have any dependenceon a steady,uniform rectitudeof conduct. For thispurpose I therefore con-trived
the followingmethod.In the various enumerations of the moral virtues I had met
with in my reading,I found the cataloguemore or less numer-ous,
as differentwriters included more or fewer ideas under the
same name. Temperance, for example,was by some confined
to eatingand drinking,while by others itwas extended to mean
the moderatingevery other pleasure,appetite,inclination,or
passion,bodilyor mental,even to our avarice and ambition. I
proposedto myself,for the sake of clearness,to use rather more
names, with fewer ideas annexed to each,than a few names with
96 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
more ideas ; and I included under thirteen names of virtues all
that at that time occurred to me as necessary or desirable,and
annexed to each a short precept,which fullyexpressedthe extent
I gave to itsmeaning.These names of virtues,with theirprecepts,were :
i .Temperance.
Eat not to dullness ; drink not to elevation.
2. Silence.
Speaknot but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid tri-fling
conversation.
3. Order.
Let all your thingshave their places; let each part of your
business have itstime.
4. Resolution.
Resolve to performwhat you ought; performwithout fail
what you resolve.
5. Frugality.
Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself;i.e.,waste nothing.
6. Industry.
Lose no time; be alwaysemployed in somethinguseful;cut
off all unnecessary actions.
7. Sincerity.
Use no hurtful deceit; think innocentlyand justly; and,if youspeak,speakaccordingly.
8. Justice.
Wrong none by doinginjuriesor omittingthe benefits that are
your duty.
9. Moderation.
Avoid extremes ; forbear resentinginjuriesso much as you
think theydeserve.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 97
10. Cleanliness.
Tolerate no uncleanliness in body,clothes,or habitation.
11. Tranquillity.
Be not disturbed at trifles,or at accidents common or unavoid-able.
12. Chastity.
13. Humility.
Imitate Jesusand Socrates.
My intentionbeingto acquirethe habitude of all these virtues,I judgeditwould be well not to distract my attention byattempt-ing
the whole at once, but to fix it on one of them at a time ; and,when I should be master of that,then to proceedto another,and so on, tillI should have gone throughthe thirteen; and, as
the previousacquisitionof some might facilitatethe acquisitionof certain others,I arrangedthem with that view as theystandabove. Tpnipprnr"rpfirst,as ittends to procure that coolness and
clearness of head which is so necessary where constant vigilancewas to be keptup, and guaxdmaintained againstthe unremittingattraction of ancient habits and the force of perpetualtempta-tions.
This beingacquiredand established, Silence.would be
more easy ; and my desire beingto gainknowledgeat the same
time that I improvedin virtue,and consideringthat in conver-sation
itwas obtained rather by the use of the ears than of the
tongue,and thereforewishingto break a habit I was gettingintoof prattling,punning,and joking,which onlymade me accept-able
to triflingcompany, I gave Silence the second place. This
and the next,.Order,I expectedwould allow me more time for
attendingto my projectand my studies. 'Reso1iiHonJonce be-come
habitual,would keep me firm in my endeavors to obtain all
the subsequentvirtues;-Frugalityand IndustryT freeingme from
my remainingdebt,and producingaffluence and independence,would make more easy the practiceof Sincerityand Just.ir.ejetc.
0*5 TiXE AUTO^BIt \{APHY OF
Conceivingthen that,agreeablyto the advice of Pythagorasin
his " Golden Verses,"1dailyexamination would be necessary, I
contrived the followingmethod for conductingthat examination.
I made a littlebook,2in which I allotted a page for each of
the virtues. I ruled each page with red ink,so as to have seven
columns, one for each day of the week, marking each column
with a letterfor the day. I crossed these columns with thirteen
red lines,markingthe beginningof each line with the firstletter
of one of the virtues,on which line,and in itsproper column,I
mightmark,by a littleblack spot,every fault I found upon exami-nation
to have been committed respectingthat virtueupon that day.I determined to givea week's strictattention to each of the
virtuessuccessively.Thus,in the firstweek my greatguardwas
to avoid every (theleast)offense againstTemperance,leavingthe
other virtues to theirordinarychance,onlymarkingevery even-ing
the faults of the day. Thus,ifin the firstweek I could keep
my firstline,marked T.,clear of spots,I supposedthe habit of
that virtue so much strengthened,and itsoppositeweakened,that
1 The followingis taken from the commentary of Hierocles upon the
Golden Verses of Pythagoras. The Englishversion is givenby Bigelowin
his edition of the Autobiography:" He [Pythagoras,who lived in the sixth century B.C.] requiresalso
that this gygrniflfitinnhe dailyrepeated,The time which he recommends for
this work is about even or bedtime, that we may conclude the action of the
day with the judgmentof conscience,making the examination of our conver-sation
an eveningsong to God. Wherein have I transgressed?What have I
done? What dutyhave I omitted? So shall we measure our livesby rules.
" We should have our parentsand relationsin highesteem, love and em-brace
good men, raise ourselves above corporealaffections,everywherestand
in awe of ourselves,carefullyobserve justice,consider the frailtyof riches and
momentary life,embrace the lot which fallsto us by divine judgment,delightin a divine frame of spirit,convert our mind to what is most excellent,love
good discourses,not lieopen to impostures,not be servilelyaffected in the
possessionof virtue,advise before action to preventrepentance,free ourselves
from uncertain opinions,live with knowledge,and lastly,that we should
adaptour bodies and the thingswithout to the exercise of virtue. These are
the thingswhich the lawgivingmind has implantedin the souls of men."
2 It is dated JulyI, 1733.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 99
I mightventure extendingmy attention to include the next,and
for the followingweek keep both lines clear of spots. Proceed-ing
thus to the last,I could go througha course completein thir-teen
weeks, and four courses in a year. And, like him who, hav-ing
a gardento weed, does not attempt to eradicate all the bad
FORM OF THE PAGES.
herbs at once, which would exceed hisreach and hisstrength,but
works on one of the beds at a time,and, havingaccomplishedthe first,proceedsto a second,so I should have, I hoped,the
encouragingpleasureof seeingon my pages the progress I made
in virtue,by clearingsuccessivelymy lines of their spots,tillin
the end,by a number of courses, I should be happy in viewinga
ioo THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
clean book, after a thirteen-weeks'dailyexamination. My little
book had for itsmotto these linesfrom Addison's " Cato :"
u Here will I hold. If there's a power above us
(And that there is,all Nature cries aloud
Thro' all her works),He must delightin virtue;And that which He delightsin must be happy."
Another from Cicero :
"O vitae Philosophiadux! O virtuturn indagatrixexpultrixquevitiorum ! Unus dies,bene et ex praeceptistuis actus, peccantiim-mortalitati est anteponendus."1
Another from the Proverbs of Solomon,speakingof wisdom or
virtue:
" Length of daysis in her righthand ; and in her lefthand riches
and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness,and allher pathsare
peace." (Hi.16,17.)
And, conceivingGod to be the fountain of wisdom,I thoughtitrightand necessary to solicithis assistancefor obtainingit. To
this end I formed the followinglittleprayer, which was prefixedto my tables of examination,for dailyuse :
"O powerfulGoodness! bountiful Father! merciful Guide! In-crease
in me thatwisdom which discovers my truest interest. Strength-en
my resolutions to performwhat that wisdom dictates. Accept my
kind offices to thy other children as the onlyreturn in my power for
thycontinual favors to me."
I used also sometimes a littleprayer which I took from Thom-son's
Poems :
" Father of lightand life,thou Good Supreme !
O teach me what is good ; teach me Thyself!Save me from folly,vanity,and vice,
From every low pursuit; and fillmy soul
With knowledge,conscious peace, and virtue pure;
Sacred,substantial,never-fadingbliss!"
1 " O philosophy,thou guideof life! O thou searcher aftervirtue and ban-
isher of vice ! One day lived well and in obedience to thypreceptsshould be
preferredto an eternityof sin."
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN IOI
The preceptof Order requiringthat every part of my business
should have itsallotted time,one page in my littlebook contained
the followingscheme of employmentfor the twenty-fourhours of
a natural day.
The Morning.
Question.What goodshallI do this day?
910
ii
Rise,wash,and address Power-ful
Goodness!11 Contrive day'sbusiness,and take the resolution
of the day ; prosecute the presentstudy,and breakfast.
y Work.
Noon. \-\
Evening.
Question.What goodhaveI done to-day?
Night.
2
3
4
5)
78
910
ii
12
I
2
3
4J
Read, or overlook my ac
counts, and dine.
Work.
Put things in their places.Supper. Music or diversion,oiconversation. Examination o/
the day.
Sleep.
I entered upon the execution of thisplanfor self-examination,
and continued it,with occasional intermissions,for some time. 1
was surprisedto find myselfso much fuller of faults than I had
imagined;but I had the satisfactionof seeingthem diminish,
To avoid the trouble of renewingnow and then my littlebook,
which,by scrapingout the marks on the paper of old faults to
make room for new ones in a new course, became fullof holes,I
transferred my tables and precepts to the ivoryleaves of a mem-
102 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
orandum book, on which the lines were drawn with red ink,that
made a durable stain,and on those lines I marked my faultswith
a black lead pencil,which marks I could easilywipe out with a
wet sponge. After a while I went throughone course onlyin a
year, and afterward only one in several years, tillat lengthI
omitted them entirely,beingemployed in voyages and business
abroad,with a multiplicityof affairsthat interfered ; but I alwayscarried my littlebook with me.
My scheme of Order gave me the most trouble ; and I found
that,thoughitmight be practicablewhere a man's business was
such as to leave him the dispositionof his time," that of a jour-neyman
printer,for instance," it was not possibleto be exactlyobserved by a master, who must mix with the world,and often
receive peopleof business at their own hours. Order,too,with
regardto placesfor things,papers, etc.,I found extremelydiffi-cult
to acquire.I had not been earlyaccustomed to it,and,hav-ing
an exceedinggood memory, I was not so sensibleof the in-convenience
attendingwant of method. This article,therefore,
cost me so much painfulattention,and my faults in itvexed me
so much, and I made so littleprogress in amendment and had
such frequentrelapses,that I was almost readyto giveup the at-tempt,
and content myselfwith a faultycharacter in that respect,
like the man who, in buyingan ax of a smith,my neighbor,de-sired
to have the whole of itssurface as brightas the edge. The
smith consented to grindit brightfor him if he would turn the
wheel. He turned,while the smith pressedthe broad face of the
ax hard and heavilyon the stone,which made the turningof it
very fatiguing.The man came every now and then from the
wheel to see how the work went on, and at lengthwould take
his ax as itwas, without farther grinding." No," said the smith,"turn on, turn on ; we shall have itbrightby and by ; as yet,it
is onlyspeckled.""Yes," says the man, "but I think I like a
speckledax best." And I believe this may have been the case
with many, who, having,for want of some such means as I em-ployed,
found the difficultyof obtaininggood and breakingbad
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 103
habits in other pointsof vice and virtue,have givenup the strug-gle,and concluded that a
"
speckledax "was best. For something,
that pretendedto be reason, was every now and then suggestingto me that such extreme nicetyas I exacted of myselfmightbe a
kind of fopperyin morals,which,if itwere known, would make
me ridiculous ; that a perfectcharacter might be attended with
che inconvenience of beingenvied and hated ; and that a benevo-lent
man should allow a few faultsin himself,to keephis friendsin countenance.
In truth,I found myselfincorrigiblewith respect to order;
and,now I am grown old and my memory bad, I feel very sen-sibly
the want of it. But on the whole,thoughI never arrived
at the perfectionI had been so ambitious of obtaining,but fell
far short of it,yet I was, by the endeavor,a better and a happierman than I otherwise should have been if I had not attemptedit; as those who aim at perfectwritingby imitatingthe engravedcopies,thoughtheynever reach the wished-for excellence of
those copies,theirhand ismended by the endeavor,and istoler-able
while itcontinues fairand legible.It may be well my posterityshould be informed that to thislittle"
artifice,with the blessingof God, theirancestor owed the constant
^^felicjtyof his life,down to his seventy-ninthyear, in which thisis.
written. What reverses may attend the remainder isin the hand
of Providence ; but,iftheyarrive,the reflectionon pasthappiness
enjoyedoughtto helphis bearingthem with more resignation.To temperance he ascribes his long-continuedhealth,and what is
stillleftto him of a good constitution; to industryand frugality,the earlyeasinessof his circumstances and acquisitionof his for-tune,
with allthat knowledgethat enabled him to be a useful citi-zen,
and obtained for him some degreeof reputationamong the
learned;to sincerityand justice,the confidence of his country,
and the honorable employsit conferred upon him ; and to the
jointinfluence of the whole mass of the virtues,even in the im-perfect
state he was able to acquirethem,allthat evenness of tem-per
and that cheerfulness in conversation which makes hiscompany
104 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
stillsoughtfor,and agreeableeven to his younger acquaintance.I hope,therefore,that some of my descendants may follow the
exampleand reap the benefit. "-^
It will be remarked that,though my scheme was not whollywithout religion,there was in it no mark of any of the distin-guishing
tenets of any particularsect. I had purposelyavoided
them ; for,beingfullypersuadedof the utilityand excellencyof
my method, and that it mightbe serviceable to peoplein all re-ligions,
and intendingsome time or other to publishit,I would
not have anythingin it that should prejudiceany one, of any
sect,againstit. I purposedwritinga littlecomment on each vir-tue,
in which I would have shown the advantagesof possessing
it,and the mischiefs attendingits oppositevice ; and I should
have called my book " The Art of Virtue,"1 because it would
have shown the means and manner of obtainingvirtue,which
would have distinguishedit from the mere exhortation to be
good,that does not instructand indicate the means, but is like
the apostle'sman of verbal charity,who only,without showing
to the naked and hungryhow or where theymightget clothes or
victuals,exhorted them to be fed and clothed. (Jamesii.15, 16.)But itso happenedthat my intentionof writingand publishing
this comment was never fulfilled. I did,indeed,from time to
time,put down short hints of the sentiments,reasonings,etc.,to
be made use of in it,some of which I have stillby me ; but the
necessary close attention to privatebusiness in the earlierpartof
my life,and publicbusiness since,has occasioned my postpon-ing
it; for,itbeingconnected in my mind with a great and exten-sive
project,that requiredthe whole man to execute,and which
an unforeseen succession of employspreventedmy attendingto,ithas hitherto remained unfinished.
In thispieceitwas my designto explainand enforce thisdoc-trine,
that vicious actions are not hurtful because theyare forbid-den,
but forbidden because theyare hurtful,the nature of man
1 Franklin's Note. " Nothing so likelyto make a man's fortune as
virtue.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 105
alone considered ; that itwas, therefore,every one's interest to
be virtuous who wished to be happy even in this world ; and I
should,from thiscircumstance,(therebeingalwaysin the world a
number of rich merchants,nobility,states,and princes,who have
need of honest instruments for the management of theiraffairs,and such beingso rare,)have endeavored to convince young per-sons
that no qualitieswere so likelyto make a poor man's fortune
as those of probityand integrity.
My listof virtuescontained at firstbut twelve ; but a Quakerfriend havingkindlyinformed me that I was generallythought
proud; that my prideshowed itselffrequentlyin conversation ;
that I was not content with beingin the rightwhen discussing
any point,but was overbearingand rather insolent,of which he
convinced me by mentioningseveral instances," I determined
endeavoringto cure myself,ifI could,of thisvice or follyamongthe rest,and I added Humilityto my list,givingan extensive mean-ing
to the word.
I cannot boast of much success in acquiringthe realityof this
virtue,but I had a good deal with regardto the appearance of it.
I made ita rule to forbear alldirectcontradiction to the sentiments
of others,and allpositiveassertionof my own. I even forbade
myselfj agreeablyto the.old laws of our Junto,the use of every
word or expressionin the languagethat importeda fixed opinion,such as
" certainly,""undoubtedly,"etc.,and I adopted,instead of
them," I conceive,"" I apprehend,"or " I imagine" a thingto be so
or so ; or" itso appears to me at present."When another asserted
somethingthat I thoughtan error, I denied myselfthe pleasureof
contradictinghim abruptly,and of showingimmediatelysome ab-surdity
in his proposition; and in answeringI beganby observingthat in certain cases or circumstances his opinionwould be right,but in the presentcase there " appeared" or
" seemed "to me some
difference,etc./J soon found the advantageof this changein mymanner : the conversations I engagedin went on more pleasantly;the modest way in which I proposedmy opinionsprocuredthem
a readier receptionand less contradiction; I had less mortiSca-
106 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
tion when I was found to be in the wrong; and I more easilyprevailedwith others to giveup their mistakes and joinwith me
when I happenedto be in the right.And thismode, which I at firstput on with some violence to
natural inclination,became at lengthso easy and so habitual to
me, that perhapsfor these fiftyyears past no one has ever heard
a dogmaticalexpressionescape me. And to thishabit (aftermycharacter of integrity)I think itprincipallyowingthat I had earlyso much weightwith my fellow-citizenswhen I proposednew in-stitutions,
or alterationsin the old,and so much influencein publiccouncilswhen I became a member ; for I was but a bad speaker,never eloquent,subjectto much hesitationin my choice of words,
hardlycorrect in language,and yetI generallycarried my points.In realitythere is,perhaps,no one of our natural passionsso
hard to subdue as pride. Disguiseit,strugglewith it,beat itdown,
stifleit,mortifyit as much as one pleases,itisstillalive,and will
every now and then peep out and show itself.You will see it,
perhaps,often in thishistory; for,even if I could conceive that
I had completelyovercome it,I should probablybe proud of my
humility.1
["I AM NOW ABOUT TO WRITE AT HOME, AUGUST, 1 788, BUT
CANNOT HAVE THE HELP EXPECTED FROM MY PAPERS, MANY
OF THEM BEING LOST IN THE WAR.2 I HAVE, HOWEVER,
FOUND THE FOLLOWING."]
Having mentioned a greatand extensive projectwhich I had
conceived,it seems proper that some account should be here
givenof that projectand itsobject.Its firstrise in my mind ap-pears
in the followinglittlepaper, accidentallypreserved: i
Observations on my ReadingHistory,in Library,May 19, 1731.
u That the greataffairsof the world," the wars, revolutions,etc.,"
are carried on and effectedby parties." That the view of these partiesis'theirpresentgeneralinterest,or
what theytake to be such.
1 Thus far written at Passy,1784. 2 The Revolution.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN'
107
"That the differentviews of these different partiesoccasion all
confusion." That while a party is carryingon a generaldesign,each man has
his particularprivateinterest in view.
" That as soon as a party has gained itsgeneralpoint,each mem-ber
becomes intent upon his particularinterest;which,thwarting
others,breaks that party into divisions,and occasions more confusion.
" That few in publicaffairsact from a mere view of the goodof their
country, whatever theymay pretend; and though their actingsbringreal good to their country, yet men primarilyconsider that their own
and their country'sinterest is united,and do not act from a principleof benevolence.
" That fewer still,in publicaffairs,act with a view to the good of
mankind.
" There seems to me at present to be great occasion for raisingaUnited Partyfor Virtue,by formingthe virtuous and good men of all
nations into a regularbody,to be governedby suitable good and wise
rules,which good and wise men may probablybe more unanimous in
their obedience to than common peopleare to common laws." I at present think that whoever attempts this aright,and is well
qualified,cannot failof pleasingGod, and of meetingwith success.
B. F."
Revolvingthis projectin my mind,as to be undertaken here-after,
when my circumstances should afford me the necessary
leisure,I put down from time to time,on piecesof paper, such
thoughtsas occurred to me respectingit. Most of these are lost;
but I find one purportingto be the substance of an intended
creed,containing,as I thought,the essentials of every known
religion,and beingfree of everythingthat might shock the pro-fessors
of any religion.It isexpressedin these words :
" That there is one God, who made allthings." That he governs the world by his providence."That he ought to be worshipedby adoration,prayer, and
thanksgiving." But that the most acceptableserviceof God isdoinggood to
man.
H That the soul is immortal.
108 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
" And that God will certainlyreward virtue and punishvice,either here or hereafter."
My ideas at that time were that the sect should be begun and
spreadat firstamong young and singlemen only;that each
person to be initiated should not onlydeclare his assent to such
creed,but should have exercised himself with the thirteen-weeks*
examination and practiceof the virtues,as in the before-men-tioned
model ; that the existence of such a societyshould be kepta secret tillit was become considerable,to prevent solicitations
for the admission of improperpersons, but that the members
should each of them search among his acquaintancefor ingenu-ous,
well-disposedyouths,to whom, with prudentcaution,the
scheme should be graduallycommunicated ; that the members
should engage to afford theiradvice,assistance,and support to
each other in promotingone another's interests,business,and
advancement in life; that,for distinction,we should be called
" The Societyof the Free and Easy :" free,as being,by the gen-eral
practiceand habit of the virtues,free from the dominion of
vice ; and particularly,by the practiceof industryand frugality,free from debt,which exposes a man to confinement and a speciesof slaveryto his creditors.
This is as much as I can now recollect of the project,exceptthat I communicated itin part to two young men, who adopteditwith some enthusiasm ; but my then narrow circumstances,and
the necessityI was under of stickingclose to my business,occa-sioned
my postponingthe further prosecutionof it at that time ;
and my multifarious occupations,publicand private,induced me
to continue postponing,so that ithas been omitted tillI have no
longerstrengthor activityleftsufficientfor such an enterprise;
thoughI am stillof opinionthat itwas a practicablescheme,and
mighthave been very useful,by forminga greatnumber of good
citizens; and I was not discouragedby the seemingmagnitudeof the undertaking,as I have alwaysthoughtthat one man of
tolerable abilitiesmay work greatchanges,and accomplishgreataffairsamong mankind,ifhe firstforms a good plan,and,cutting
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 109
off all amusements or other employmentsthat would divert his
attention,makes the execution of that same plan his sole studyand business,
fy In 1732 I firstpublishedmy Almanac,1 under the name of" Richard Saunders;" it was continued by me about twenty-five
years,and commonly called "Poor Richard's Almanac." I endeav-ored
to make it both entertainingand useful,and itaccordinglycame to be in such demand that I reapedconsiderable profitfrom
it,vendingannuallynear ten thousand. And observingthat itwas
generallyread,scarce any neighborhoodin the provincebeingwithout it,I considered it as a proper vehicle for conveyingin-struction
among the common people,who bought scarcelyanyother books. I therefore filledall the littlespaces that occurred
between the remarkable days in tne calendar with proverbialsentences,2chieflysuch as inculcated industryand frugalityasthe means of procuringwealth,and therebysecuringvirtue ; it
beingmore difficultfor a man in want to act alwayshonestly,as
(touse here one of those proverbs)" itis hard for an empty sack
to stand upright."These proverbs,which contained the wisdom of many ages and
nations,I assembled and formed into a connected discourse,3
prefixedto the Almanac of 1757 as the harangueof a wise old
1 Almanacs were the firstissues of the American press. It is not easy in
our day to understand their importanceto the earlycolonists,and their con-sequent
popularity.The makers, philomaths("lovers of learning")as Frank-lin
called them, set out their wares in every attractive form the taste and in-genuity
of the age could devise. They made them a diary,a receiptbook, a
jestbook, and a weather prophet,as well as a calendar book of dates. The
household was poor indeed which could not scrape up a twopence or a six-pence
for the annual copy. Once bought,it hung by the bigchimney-piece,or layupon the clock shelf with the Bible and a theologicaltract or two. It
was read by the lightthat shone from the blazinglogsof the fireplaceor the
homemade tallow dip. Its recipeshelpedthe mother in her dyeingor weav-ing
or cooking. Its warnings of " cold storms," "flurries of snow," cau-tioned
the farmer againsttoo earlyplantingof corn ; and its perennialjokesflavored the mirth of many a corn husking or appleparing.
2 See p. 201.3 See pp. 193-200.
no THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
man to the peopleattendingan auction. The bringingall these
scattered counsels thus into a focus enabled them to make greater
impression.The piece,beinguniversallyapproved,was copiedin all the newspapers of the Continent,reprintedin Britain on a
broadside,1to be stuck up in houses,two translationswere made of
itin French,and greatnumbers boughtby the clergyand gentry
to distributegratisamong their poor parishionersand tenants.
In Pennsylvania,as itdiscourageduseless expense in foreignsu-perfluities,
some thoughtit had itsshare of influence in producingthat growingplentyof money which was observable for several
years after itspublication.I considered my newspaper, also,as another means of com-municating
instruction,and in that view frequentlyreprintedin
it extracts from the " Spectator,"and other moral writers,and
sometimes publishedlittlepiecesof my own, which had been first
composed for readingin our Junto. Of these are a Socratic dia-logue,
tendingto prove that,whatever might be his parts and
abilities,a vicious man could not properlybe called a man of
sense ; and a discourse on self-denial,showingthat virtueis not
secure tillitspracticebecomes a habitude,and is free from the
oppositionof contrary inclinations. These may be found in the
papers about the beginningof 1735.
In the conduct of my newspaper, I carefullyexcluded alllibel-ing
and personalabuse,which isof late years become so disgrace-fulto our country. Whenever I was solicitedto insertanything
of that kind,and the writers pleaded,as theygenerallydid,the
libertyof the press, and that a newspaper was like a stagecoach,in which any one who would pay had a rightto a place,my an-swer
was that I would printthe pieceseparatelyif desired,andthe author mighthave as many copiesas he pleasedto distribute
himself,but that I would not take upon me to spreadhis detrac-tion
; and that,havingcontracted with my subscribers to furnish
them with what might be either useful or entertaining,I could
not filltheir papers with privatealtercation,in which theyhad
1 A sheet printedon one side onlyand without arrangement in columns.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. in
no concern, without doingthem manifest injustice.Now many
of our printersmake no scrupleof gratifyingthe malice of indi-viduals
by false accusations of the fairestcharacters among our-selves,
augmentinganimosityeven to the producingof duels ; and
are, moreover, so indiscreet as to printscurrilousreflectionsonthe government of neighboringstates,and even on the conduct
of our best national allies,which may be attended with the most
perniciousconsequences. These thingsI mention as a caution
to young printers,and that theymay be encouragednot to pollutetheir presses and disgracetheir professionby such infamous prac-tices,
but refuse steadily,as theymay see by my example that
such a course of conduct will not, on the whole,be injuriousto
theirinterests.
* In 1733 I sent one of my journeymento Charleston,South
Carolina,where a printerwas wanting. I furnished him with a
press and letters,on an agreement of partnershipby which I was
to receive one third of the profitsof the business,payingone third
of the expense. He was a man of learning,and honest but
ignorantin matters of account; and,thoughhe sometimes made
me remittances,I could get no account from him,nor any satis-factory
state of our partnershipwhile he lived. On his decease
the business was continued by his widow, who, beingborn and
bred in Holland,where,as I have been informed,the knowledgeof accounts makes a partof female education,11she not onlysent
me as clear a state 1as she could find of the transactions past,
but continued to account with the greatestregularityand exactness
every quarter afterward,and managed the business with such
success that she not onlybroughtup reputablya familyof chil-dren,
but,at the expirationof the term, was able to purchaseof
me the printinghouse,and establishher son in it.
I mention this affairchieflyfor the sake of recommendingthat
branch of education for our young women, as likelyto be of more
use to them and theirchildren,in case of widowhood, than either
music or dancing,by preservingthem from lossesby imposition1 Statement.
TI2 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
of craftymen, and enablingthem to continue,perhaps,a profit-ablemercantile house,with established correspondence,tilla son
is grown up fitto undertake and go on with it,to the lastingad-vantage
and enrichingof the family.About the year 1734 there arrived among us from Ireland a
young Presbyterianpreacher,named Hemphill,who delivered
with a good voice,and apparentlyextempore, most excellent dis-courses,
which drew togetherconsiderable numbers of different
persuasions,who joinedin admiringthem. Among the rest I
became one of his constant hearers,his sermons pleasingme, as
theyhad littleof the dogmaticalkind,but inculcated stronglythe practiceof virtue,or what in the religiousstyleare called
" goodworks." Those,however,of our congregationwho consid-ered
themselves as orthodox Presbyterians,disapprovedhis doc-trine,
and were joinedby most of the old clergy,who arraignedhim of heterodoxy1 before the synod,in order to have him silenced.
I became his zealous partisan,and contributed allI could to raise
a partyin his favor,and we combated for him awhile with some
hopesof success. There was much scribblingpro and con2upon
the occasion ; and findingthat,thoughan elegantpreacher,he
was but a poor writer,I lent him my pen and wrote for him two
or three pamphlets,and one piecein the " Gazette " of April,1 735. Those pamphlets,as isgenerallythe case with controver-sial
writings,thougheagerlyread at the time,were soon out of
vogue, and I questionwhether a singlecopy of them now exists.
Duringthe contest an unluckyoccurrence hurt his cause exceed-ingly.
One of our adversarieshavingheard him preacha sermon
that was much admired,thoughthe had somewhere read the ser-mon
before,or at least a part of it. On search,he found that
part quotedat lengthin one of the British Reviews,from a dis-course
of Dr. Foster's. This detection gave many of our party
disgust,who accordinglyabandoned his cause, and occasioned
our more speedydiscomfiture in the synod. I stuck by him,
* Departurefrom the faithheld by the members of the synodor assemblye2 '* Pro and con,"i.e.,for and against
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 113
however,as I rather approvedhis givingus good sermons com-posed
by others than bad ones of his own manufacture,thoughthe latter was the practiceof our common teachers. He after-ward
acknowledgedto me that none of those he preachedwere
his own, addingthat his memory was such as enabled him to re-tain
and repeat any sermon after one readingonly. On our de-feat,
he leftus in search elsewhere of better fortune,and I quittedthe congregation,never joiningitafter,thoughI continued many
years my subscriptionfor the support of itsministers.
,
I had begun in 1733 to studylanguages;I soon made myselfso much a master of the French as to be able to read the books
with ease. I then undertook the Italian. An acquaintance,who
was also learningit,used often to tempt me to playchess with
him. Findingthis took up too much of the time I had to spare
for study,I at lengthrefused to playany more, unless on this
condition : that the victor in every game should have a rightto
imposea task,either in partsof the grammar to be got by heart,
or in translations,etc.,which task the vanquishedwas to performon honor before our next meeting.*As we playedprettyequally,we thus beat one another into that language. I afterward,with
a littlepainstaking,acquiredas much of the Spanishas to read
their books also.
I have alreadymentioned that I had onlyone year'sinstruc-tion
in a Latin school,and that when very young, after which I
neglectedthat languageentirely.But,when I had attained an
acquaintancewith the French,Italian,and Spanish,I was sur-prised
to find,on lookingover a Latin Testament,that I under-stood
so much more of that languagethan I had imagined,which
encouragedme to applymyselfagainto the studyof it,and I met
with more success, as those precedinglanguageshad greatlysmoothed my way.
From these circumstances,I have thoughtthat there is some
inconsistencyin our common mode of teachinglanguages.11We
are told that it is proper to beginfirstwith the Latin,and,hav-ing
acquiredthat,it will be more easy to attain those modern
f.
114 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
languageswhich are derived from it; and yet we do not beginwith the Greek in order more easilyto acquirethe Latin. It is
true that,if you can clamber and get to the top of the staircase
without usingthe steps,you will more easilygainthem in de-scending
; but certainly,ifyou beginwith the lowest you willwith
more ease ascend to the top ; and I would therefore offer it to
the consideration of those who superintendthe education of our
youth,whether," since many of those who beginwith the Latin
quitthe same after spendingsome years without havingmade
any greatproficiency,and what theyhave learned becomes almost
useless,so that theirtime has been lost," itwould not have been
better to have begun with the French,proceedingto the Italian,
etc. ; for,though,after spendingthe same time,theyshould quitthe studyof languagesand never arrive at the Latin,theywould,
however,have acquiredanother tongue or two, that,being in
modern use, mightbe serviceable to them in common life.
After ten years'absence from Boston,and havingbecome easy
in my circumstances,I made a journeythither to visitmy rela-tions,
which I could not sooner well afford. In returning,I
called at Newport to see my brother,then settledthere with his
printinghouse. Our former differences were forgotten,and our
meetingwas very cordial and affectionate. He was fast declin-ing
in his health,and requestedof me that,in case of his death,
which he apprehendednot far distant,I would take home his son,
then but ten years of age, and bringhim up to the printingbusi-ness.
This I accordinglyperformed,sendinghim a few years to
school before I took him into the office. His mother carried on
the business tillhe was grown up, when I assisted him with an
assortment of new types,those of his father beingin a man-ner
worn out. Thus it was that I made my brother ampleamends for the service I had deprivedhim of by leavinghim
so early.In 1736 I lost one of my sons, a fine boy of four years old,by
the smallpox,taken in the common way. I longregrettedbit-terly,
and stillregret,that I had riot givenit to him by inocula-
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 1 1 5
tion.1 This I mention for the sake of parents who omit that
operationon the suppositionthat theyshould never forgivethem-selves
if a child died under it;my example showing that the
regretmay be the same eitherway, and that,therefore,the safer
should be chosen.
Our club,the Junto,was found so useful,and afforded such
satisfactionto the members, that several were desirous of intro-ducing
theirfriends,which could not well be done without exceed-ing
what we had settledas a convenient number,namely,twelve.
We had from the beginningmade it a rule to keepour institution
a secret,which was prettywell observed. The intention was to
avoid applicationsof improperpersons for admittance,some of
whom, perhaps,we mightfind it difficultto refuse. I was one of
those who were againstany addition to our number,but,instead
of it,made in writinga proposalthat every member separatelyshould endeavor to form a subordinate club,with the same rules
respectingqueries,etc.,and without informingthem of the con-nection
with the Junto. The advantagesproposedwere the im-provement
of so many more young citizensby the use of our in-stitutions
; our better acquaintancewith the generalsentiments of
the inhabitantson any occasion,as the Juntomember mightpro-pose
what querieswe should desire,and was to report to the
Juntowhat passedin his separateclub ; the promotionof our
particularinterestsin business by more extensive recommenda-tion
; and the increase of our influence in publicaffairsand our
power of doinggood by spreadingthroughthe several clubs the
sentiments of the Junto.The projectwas approved,and every member undertook to form
his club,but theydid not all succeed. Five or six onlywere
completed,which were called by different names, as" The Vine,"
" The Union,,, " The Band," etc. They were useful to them-selves,
and afforded us a good deal of amusement, information,
and instruction,besides answering,in some considerable degree,
1 Vaccination was not at this time known. By inoculation the smallpox
poisonwas introduced into the arm, and produceda milder form of the disease.11
Ii6 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
our views of influencingthe publicopinionon particularoccasions,of which I shall givesome instances in course of time as they
happened.
" 6. ENTERS PUBLIC LIFE.
MY firstpromotionwas my beingchosen,in 1736,clerkof the
General Assembly. The choice was made that year without
opposition; but the year foliowing,whenI was againproposed,(thechoice,like that of the members, beingannual,)a new member
made a longspeechagainstme, in order to favor some other
candidate. I was, however,chosen,which was the more agree-able
to me as, besides the pay for the immediate service as clerk,
the placegave me a better opportunityof keepingup an interest
among the members, which secured to me the business of print-ingthe votes,laws,paper money, and other occasional jobsfor
the public,that,on the whole,were very profitable.I therefore did not like the oppositionof thisnew member, who
was a gentlemanof fortune and education,with talents that were
likelyto givehim,in time,great influence in the House ; which,
indeed,afterward happened.'".I did not, however,aim at gaininghis favor by payingany servilerespectto him, but,after some
time,took this other method. Having heard that he had in his
librarya certain very scarce and curious book, I wrote a note to
him,expressingmy desire of perusingthat book,and requestinghe would do me the favor of lendingit to me for a few days.He sent itimmediately,and I returned itin about a week with an-other
note, expressingstronglymy sense of the favor. When we
next met in the House, he spoketo me (whichhe had never done
before),and with great civility; and he ever after manifested a
readiness to serve me on all occasions,so that we became great
friends,and our friendshipcontinued to his death. This is an-other
instance of the truth of an old maxim I had learned,which
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 117
says :" He that has once done you a kindness willbe more ready
to do you another than he whom you yourselfhave obliged."And
itshows how much more profitableitisprudentlyto remove, than
to resent,return,and continue,inimical proceedings.In 1737, Colonel Spotswood,late governor of Virginia,and
then postmaster-general,beingdissatisfiedwith the conduct of his
deputyat Philadelphiarespectingsome negligencein renderingand inexactitude of his accounts, took from him the commission
and offered itto me. I accepteditreadily,and found itof great
advantage; for,thoughthe salarywas small,itfacilitatedthe corre-spondence
thatimprovedmy newspaper and increased the number
demanded, as well as the advertisements to be inserted,so that it
came to afford me a considerable income. My old competitor's
newspaper declined proportionably,and I was satisfiedwithout
retaliatinghisrefusal,while postmaster,to permitmy papers beingcarried by the riders. Thus he suffered greatlyfrom his negleci:in due accounting; and I mention it as a lesson to those young
men who may be employed in managing affairsfor others,that
theyshould alwaysrender accounts and make remittances with
greatclearness and punctuality.The character of observingsuch
a conduct is the most powerfulof all recommendations to new
employmentsand increase of business.
I began now to turn my thoughtsa littleto publicaffairs,be-ginning,
however,with small matters. The citywatch was one
of the firstthingsthat I conceived to want regulation.It was
managed by the constables of the respectivewards in turn. The
constable warned a number of housekeepersto attend him for the
night.Those who chose never to attend,paidhim six shillings
a year to be excused,which was supposedto be for hiringsubsti-tutes,
but was, in reality,much more than was necessary for that
purpose, and made the constableshipa placeof profit; and the
constable,for a littledrink,often got such ragamuffinsabout him
as a watch that respectablehousekeepersdid not choose to mix
with them.n Walkingthe rounds,too, was often neglected,and
most of the nightsspent in tippling.I thereuponwrote a paper to
n8 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
be read in Junto,representingthese irregularities,but insistingmore particularlyon the inequalityof this six-shillingtax of the
constables respectingthe circumstances of those who paidit,since
a poor widow housekeeper,all whose property to be guardedbythe watch did not perhapsexceed the value of fiftypounds,paidas much as the wealthiestmerchant,who had thousands of pounds'worth of goodsin his stores.
J On the whole,I proposedas a more effectual watch the hiringr of proper men to serve constantlyin that business ; and as a more
equitableway of supportingthe charge,the levyinga tax that
should be proportionedto the property. This idea,beingap-proved
by the Junto,was communicated to the other clubs,but
as arisingin each of them ; and thoughthe planwas not imme-diately
carried into execution,yet,by preparingthe minds of peo-ple
for the change,itpaved the way for the law obtained a few
years after,when the members of our clubs were grown into more
influence.
About thistime I wrote a paper, (firstto be read in Junto,but
it was afterward published,)on the different accidents and care-lessnesses
by which houses were set on fire,with cautions against
them, and means proposedof avoidingthem. This was much
spokenof as a useful piece,and gave riseto a projectwhich soon
followed it,of forminga company for the more readyextinguish-ingof fires,and mutual assistance in removingand securingof
goodswhen in danger. Associates in thisscheme were presently
found,amountingto thirty.Our articlesof agreement obliged
every member to keep alwaysin good order,and fitfor use, a
" certain number of leather buckets,with strong bagsand baskets
(forpackingand transportingof goods),which were to be brought
to every fire; and we agreedto meet once a month and spenda
social eveningtogether,in discoursingand communicatingsuch
ideas as occurred to us upon the subjectof firesas mightbe use-ful
in our conduct on such occasions.
The utilityof this institutionsoon appeared,"and many more
desiringto be admitted than we thoughtconvenient for one com-
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 1 1 9
pany, theywere advised to form another,which was accordinglydone ; and this went on, one new company beingformed after
another,tilltheybecame so numerous as to include most of the
inhabitantswho were men of property; and now, at the time of
my writingthis,thoughupward of fiftyyears since itsestablish-ment,
that which I firstformed,called the "Union Fire Company,"stillsubsistsand flourishes,thoughthe firstmembers are all de-ceased
but myselfand one who is older by a year than I am.
The small finesthat have been paidby members for absence from
the monthlymeetingshave been appliedto the purchaseof fire
engines,ladders,firehooks,and other useful implementsfor each
company, so that I questionwhether there is a cityin the world
better providedwith the means of puttinga stop to beginning
conflagrations; and,in fact,since these institutions,the cityhas
never lostby firemore than one or two houses at a time,and the
flames have often been extinguishedbefore the house in which
theybegan has been half consumed.
In 1739 arrived among us from Ireland the Rev. Mr. White-
field,1who had made himself remarkable there as an itinerant
preacher.He was at firstpermittedto preachin some of our
churches ; but the clergy,takinga dislike to him,soon refused
him their pulpits,and he was obligedto preachin the fields.
The multitudes of all sects and denominations that attended his
sermons were enormous, and itwas matter of speculationto me,
who was one of the number, to observe the extraordinaryinfluence
of his oratoryon his hearers,and how much theyadmired and
respectedhim,notwithstandinghis common abuse of them by as-suring
them theywere naturally" half beasts and half devils." It
was wonderful to see the change soon made in the manners of
our inhabitants. From beingthoughtlessor indifferentabout re-ligion,
itseemed as if all the world were growingreligious,so that
one could not walk throughthe town in an eveningwithout
hearingpsalmssung in different families of every street.
1 GeorgeWhitefield,one of the founders of Methodism, who was born in
Gloucester,England,in 1714, and died in Newburyport,Mass.,in 1770.11
120 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
And, it beingfound inconvenient to assemble in the open air,
subjectto its inclemencies,the buildingof a house to meet in
was no sooner proposed,and persons appointedto receive con-tributions,
but sufficientsums were soon received to procure the
groundand erect the building,which was one hundred feet longand seventy broad,about the size of Westminster Hall;1and the
work was carried on with such spiritas to be finishedin a much
shorter time than could have been expected. Both house and
ground were vested in trustees,expresslyfor the use of any
preacherof any religiouspersuasionwho might desire to say
somethingto the peopleof Philadelphia; the designin buildingnot beingto accommodate any particularsect,but the inhabitants
in general;so that even if the Mufti of Constantinoplewere to
send a missionaryto preachMohammedanism to us, he would
find a pulpitat his service.
Mr. Whitefield,in leavingus, went preachingall the way
throughthe colonies to Georgia.The settlement of that provincehad latelybeen begun,but,instead of beingmade with hardy,industrioushusbandmen, accustomed to labor," the onlypeoplefit
for such an enterprise," itwas with families of broken shopkeepersand other insolvent debtors,many of indolent and idle habits,
taken out of the jails,who, beingset down in the woods,unquali-fiedfor clearingland and unable to endure the hardshipsof a
new settlement,perishedin numbers,leavingmany helplesschil-dren
unprovidedfor.2 The sightof their miserable situationin-spired
the benevolent heart of Mr. Whitefield with the idea of
buildingan orphanhouse 3 there,in which theymightbe supportedand educated. Returningnorthward,he preachedup thischar-ity,
and made largecollections,for his eloquencehad a wonder-
1 In London.
2 General Oglethorpefounded an Englishcolonyin Georgiain 1 732. He
wished to make an asylumto which debtors,whose libertythe laws of Eng-land
put into the hands of the creditor,(seeWay to Wealth, p. 204,)might
escape, and where those fleeingfrom religiouspersecutionmightbe safe from
their pursuers.3 This institutionwas established in Savannah,and called Bethesda.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 121
ful power over the hearts and purses of his hearers,of which I
myselfwas an instance.
I did not disapproveof the design,but,as Georgiawas then
destituteof materials and workmen, and it was proposedto send
them from Philadelphiaat a great expense, I thoughtit wouldhave been better to have built the house here,and broughtthechildren to it. This I advised ; but he was resolute in his first
project,rejectedmy counsel,and I therefore refused to contrib-ute.
I happened soon after to attend one of his sermons, in the
course of which I perceivedhe intended to finishwith a collec-tion,
and I silentlyresolved he should get nothingfrom me. I
had in my pocketa handful of copper money, three or four silver
dollars,and five pistolesin gold. As he proceededI began to
soften,and concluded to givethe coppers. Another stroke of
his oratorymade me ashamed of that,and determined me to givethe silver; and he finishedso admirablythat I emptiedmy pocket
whollyinto the collector'sdish,goldand all. At thissermon there
was also one of our club,who, beingof my sentiments respectingthe buildingin Georgia,and suspectinga collectionmightbe in-tended,
had,by precaution,emptiedhis pocketsbefore he came
from home. Toward the conclusion of the discourse,however,
he felta strong desireto give,and appliedto a neighborwho stood
near him,to borrow some money for the purpose. The application
was unfortunatelyto perhapsthe onlyman in the company who
had the firmness not to be affected by the preacher.His answer
was: "At any other time,friend Hopkinson,I would lend to
thee freely; but not now, for thee seems to be out of thyrightsenses."
Some of Mr. Whitefield'senemies affectedto suppose that hb
would applythese collectionsto his own privateemolument ; but
I,who was intimatelyacquaintedwith him, beingemployedin
printinghis sermons and journals,etc.,never had the least sus-picion
of his integrity,but am to this day decidedlyof opinionthat he was in all his conduct a perfectlyhonest man ; and me-
thinks my testimonyin his favor oughtto have the more weight
122 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
as we had no religiousconnection. He used,indeed,sometimes
to pray for my conversion,but he never had the satisfaction of
believingthat his prayers were heard. Ours was a mere civil
friendship,sincere on both sides,and lasted to his death.
The followinginstance will show somethingof the terms on
which we stood. Upon one of his arrivals from England at
Boston,he wrote to me that he should come soon to Philadelphia,but knew not where he could lodgewhen there,as he understood
his old friend and host,Mr. Benezet,was removed to German-
town. My answer was :" You know my house ; ifyou can make
shiftwith itsscanty accommodations,you will be most heartilywelcome." He repliedthat if I made that kind offer for Christ's
sake I should not miss of a reward ; and I returned :" Don't Jet
me be mistaken ; it was not for Christ'ssake,but for your own
sake." One of our common acquaintanceremarked that,know-ing
it to be the custom of the saints,when theyreceived any
favor,to shift the burden of the obligationfrom off their own
shoulders and placeit in heaven,I had contrived to fix it on
earth.
The last time I saw Mr. Whitefield was in London, when he
consulted me about his orphan house concern, and his purpose
of appropriatingitto the establishment of a college.He had a loud and clear voice,and articulatedhis words and
sentences so perfectlythat he might be heard and understood
at a great distance,especiallyas his auditors,however numerous,
observed the most exact silence. He preachedone eveningfrom
the top of the courthouse steps,which are in the middle of Market
Street,and on the west side of Second Street,which crosses itat
rightangles. Both streets were filledwith his hearers to a con-siderable
distance. Beingamong the hindmost in Market Street,I had the curiosityto learn how far he could be heard,by retir-ing
backward down the street toward the river;and I found
his voice distincttillI came near Front Street,when some noise
in that street obscured it. Imaginingthen a semicircle,of which
my distance should be the radius,and that it were filledwith
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 123
auditors,to each of whom I allowed two square feet,I computedthat he mightwell be heard by more than thirtythousand. This
reconciled me to the newspaper accounts of his havingpreachedto twenty-fivethousand peoplein the fields,and to the ancient
historiesof generalsharanguingwhole armies,of which I had
sometimes doubted.
By hearinghim often,I could distinguisheasilybetween ser-mons
newlycomposed and those which he had often preachedin
the course of his travels. His deliveryof the latter was so im-proved
by frequentrepetitionsthat every accent,every emphasis,
every modulation of voice,was so perfectlywell turned and well
placedthat,without beinginterested in the subject,one could
not helpbeingpleasedwith the discourse ; a pleasureof much the
same kind with that received from an excellent pieceof music.
This is an advantageitinerantpreachershave over those who are
stationary,as the latter cannot well improvetheir deliveryof a
sermon by so many rehearsals.
His writingand printingfrom time to time gave greatadvan-tage
to his enemies. Unguarded expressionsand even erroneous
opinions,delivered in preaching,might have been afterward ex-plained
or qualifiedby supposingothers that mighthave accom-panied
them,or theymighthave been denied ; but litem scriptamanet.1 Criticsattacked hiswritingsviolently,and with so much
appearance of reason as to diminish the number of his votaries
and preventtheirincrease ; so that I am of opinionifhe had never
written anything,he would have leftbehind him a much more nu-merous
and importantsect,and hisreputationmightin that case
have been stillgrowing,even after hisdeath ; as, there beingnoth-ing
of hiswritingon which to found a censure and givehim a lower
character,his proselyteswould be leftat libertyto feignfor him
as great a varietyof excellences as their enthusiasticadmiration
mightwish him to have possessed.
My business was now continuallyaugmenting,and my circum-stances
growingdailyeasier,my newspaper havingbecome very
1 Written words endure.
124 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
profitable,as beingfor a time almost the onlyone in thisand the
neighboringprovinces.I experienced,too, the truth of the ob-servation
that " after gettingthe firsthundred pounds it is more
easy to get the second,"money itselfbeingof a prolificnature.
The partnershipat Carolina havingsucceeded,I was encour-aged
to engage in others,and to promote several of my work-men
who had behaved well,by establishingthem with printinghouses in differentcolonies,on the same terms as that in Caro-lina.
Most of them did well,beingenabled at the end of our
term, six years, to purchasethe typesof me and go on workingfor themselves,by which means several familieswere raised. Part-nerships
often finish in quarrels; but I was happy in this,that
mine were all carried on and ended amicably,owing,I think,a
good deal to the precautionof havingvery explicitlysettled,in
our articles,everythingto be done by or expectedfrom each
partner,so that there was nothingto dispute,which precautionI would therefore recommend to allwho enter into partnership;for,whatever esteem partners may have for and confidence in
each other at the time of the contract, littlejealousiesand dis-gusts
may arise,with ideas of inequalityin the care and burden
of the business,etc.,which are attended often with breach of
friendshipand of the connection,perhapswith lawsuits and other
disagreeableconsequences. ^
I had, on the whole,abundant reason to be satisfiedwith my
being established in Pennsylvania.There were, however,two
thingswhich I regretted," there beingno provisionfor defense,nor
for a completeeducation of youth; no militia,nor any college.I therefore,in 1743, drew up a proposalfor establishingan acad-emy,
and at that time thinkingthe Rev. Mr. Peters,who was out
of employ,a fitperson to superintendsuch an institution,I com-municated
the projectto him; but he,having more profitableviews in the serviceof the proprietaries,which succeeded,declined
the undertaking; and, not knowing another at that time suitable
for such a trust,I let the scheme lie awhile dormant. I suc-ceeded
better the next year, 1744, in proposingand establishing
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 125
a philosophicalsociety.1The paper I wrote for that purpose will
be found among my writingswhen collected.
With respect to defense," Spainhavingbeen several years at
war againstGreat Britain,and beingat lengthjoinedby France,which broughtus into great danger,and the labored and long-continued endeavor of our governor, Thomas, to prevailwith our
Quaker Assembly2to pass a militialaw and make other provi-sionsfor the securityof the province,havingprovedabortive," I
determined to trywhat mightbe done by a voluntaryassociationof the people. To promote this I firstwrote and publisheda
pamphletentitled" Plain Truth,"in which I stated our defense-less
situationin strong lights,with the necessityof union and dis-cipline
for our defense,and promisedto propose in a few daysan
association,to be generallysignedfor that purpose. The pam-phlet
had a sudden and surprisingeffect. I was called upon for
the instrument of association,and havingsettled the draft of it
with a few friends,I appointeda meetingof the citizensin the
largebuildingbefore mentioned. The house was prettyfull. I
had prepareda number of printedcopies,and providedpens and
ink dispersedall over the room. I haranguedthem a littleon
the subject,read the paper and explainedit,and then distributed
the copies,which were eagerlysigned,not the least objection
beingmade.
When the company separatedand the papers were collected,
we found above twelve hundred hands ; and,other copiesbeing
dispersedin the country,the subscribers amounted at lengthto
1 This societycontinues. The planof it was discussed by the Junto,from
which came six of the nine originalmembers. Its investigationswere to be
in botany,medicine,mineralogyand mining,mathematics,chemistry,me-chanics,
arts,trades and manufactures,geography,topography,agriculture,and " all philosophicalexperimentsthat let lightinto the nature of things,tend to increase the power of man over matter, and multiplythe conveniences
and pleasuresof life.'' "
BenjaminFranklin,the writer of this proposal,offershimself to serve the societyas theirsecretarytilltheyshall be providedwith one more capable."
2 The Pennsylvanialegislature.
126 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
upward of ten thousand. These allfurnished themselves as soon
as theycould with arms, formed themselves into companiesand
regiments,chose their own officers,and met every week to be in-structed
in the manual exercise and other partsof militarydisci-pline.
The women, by subscriptionsamong themselves,providedsilkcolors,which theypresentedto the companies,paintedwithdifferentdevices and mottoes which I supplied.
The officersof the companiescomposingthe Philadelphiaregi-ment,being met, chose me for their colonel;but,conceiving
myselfunfit,I declined that station,and recommended Mr. Law-rence,
a fine person and man of influence,who was accordinglyappointed.I then proposeda lottery1 to defraythe expense of
buildinga batterybelow the town, and furnishingitwith cannon.
It filledexpeditiously,and the batterywas soon erected,the mer-lons2
beingframed of logsand filledwith earth. We boughtsome old cannon from Boston,but,these not beingsufficient,we
wrote to England for more, solicitingat the same time our pro-prietaries
for some assistance,though without much expectationof obtainingit.
Meanwhile Colonel Lawrence,William Allen,Abram Taylor,
Esq.,and myselfwere sent to New York by the associators,com-missioned
to borrow some cannon of Governor Clinton. He at
firstrefused us peremptorily; but at dinner with hiscouncil,where
there was greatdrinkingof Madeira wine,as the custom of that
placethen was, he softened by degrees,and said he would lend
us six. After a few more bumpers he advanced to ten, and at
lengthhe very good-naturedlyconceded eighteen.They were
fine cannon, eighteen-pounders,with their carriages,which we
soon transportedand mounted on our battery,where the associ-ators
kepta nightlyguardwhile the war lasted,and among the
rest I regularlytook my turn of dutythere as a common soldier.
1 At this time lotterieswere used for raisingmoney to supportthe govern-ment,
to carry on wars, and to build churches,colleges,roads,etc. Theywere not then looked upon as fosteringgambling.
2 The walls of defense between the openingsfor the cannon.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 1 27
My activityin these operationswas agreeableto the governor
and council ; theytook me into confidence,and I was consulted
by them in every measure wherein their concurrence was thoughtuseful to the association. Callingin the aid of religion,I pro-posed
to them the proclaiminga fast,to promote reformation
and implorethe blessingof Heaven on our undertaking.Theyembraced the motion ; but as itwas the firstfast ever thoughtofin the province,the secretaryhad no precedentfrom which to
draw the proclamation.My education in New England,where
a fast isproclaimedevery year, was here of some advantage. I
drew itin the accustomed style.It was translated into German,
printedin both languages,and divulgedthroughthe province.This gave the clergyof the differentsects an opportunityof influ-encing
theircongregationsto joinin the association,and itwould
probablyhave been generalamong all but Quakers if the peace
had not soon intervened.
It was thoughtby some of my friends that by my activityinthese affairsI should offend that sect,and therebylose my inter-est
in the Assemblyof the province,where theyformed a great
majority.A young gentlemanwho had likewise some friends in
the House, and wished to succeed me as their clerk,acquainted
me that itwas decided to displaceme at the next election,and
he therefore,in good will,advised me to resign,as more consist-ent
with my honor than beingturned out. My answer to him
was, that I had read or heard of some publicman who made it
a rule never to ask for an office and never to refuse one when
offered to him. " I approve,"says I," of his rule,and willprac-tice
itwith a small addition : I shall never ask,never refuse,nor
ever resignan office. If theywill have my officeof clerk to dis-pose
of to another,theyshalltake itfrom me. I willnot,by giv-ingit up, lose my rightof some time or other making reprisals1
on my adversaries." I heard,however,no more of this; I was
chosen againunanimously,as usual,at the next election.Possibly,
as theydisliked my late intimacywith the members of council,
1 Retaliation.
128 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
who had joinedthe governors in all the disputesabout militarypreparationswith which the House had longbeen harassed,they
might have been pleasedif I would voluntarilyhave leftthem ;
but theydid not care to displaceme on account merelyof my
zeal for the association,and theycould not well giveanother
reason.
Indeed I had some cause to believe that the defense of the
countrywas not disagreeableto any of them,providedtheywere
not requiredto assistin it. And I found that a much greater
number of them than I could have imagined,though againstoffensive war, were clearlyfor the defensive. Many pamphlets
pro and con were publishedon the subject,and some by good
Quakers in favor of defense,which I believe convinced most of
theiryounger people.A transaction in our firecompany gave me some insightinto
their prevailingsentiments. It had been proposedthat we should
encourage the scheme for buildinga battery,by layingout the
present stock,then about sixtypounds,in ticketsof the lottery.
By our rules no money could be disposedof tillthe next meetingafter the proposal.The company consisted of thirtymembers,of which twenty-two were Quakers,and eight,only,of other per-suasions.
We eightpunctuallyattended the meeting;but thoughwe thoughtthat some of the Quakers would joinus, we were
by no means sure of a majority.Only one Quaker, Mr. James
Morris,appearedto oppose the measure. He expressedmuch
sorrow that it had ever been proposed,as he said Friends were
allagainstit,and itwould create such discord as mightbreak up
the company. We told him that we saw no reason for that ; we
were the minority,and if Friends were againstthe measure, and
outvoted us, we must and should,agreeablyto the usage of allsoci-eties,
submit. When the hour for business arrived itwas moved
to put the vote. He allowed we might then do it by the rules,but as he could assure us that a number of members intended to
be present for the purpose of opposingit,itwould be but candid
to allow a littletime for their appearing.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 129
While we were disputingthis a waiter came to tellme two gen-tlemen
below desired to speakwith me. I went down and found
theywere two of our Quaker members. They told me that there
were eightof them assembled at a tavern justby ; that theywere
determined to come and vote with us if there should be occasion,
which theyhoped would not be the case, and desired we would
not call for their assistanceifwe could do without it,as their vot-ing
for such a measure mightembroil them with theirelders and
friends. Beingthus secure of a majority,I went up, and after a
littleseeminghesitationagreedto a delayof another hour. This
Mr. Morris allowed to be extremelyfair. Not one of his oppos-ing
friends appeared,at which he expressed,great surprise,and
at the expirationof the hour we carried the resolution eightto
one ; and as, of the twenty-twoQuakers,eightwere readyto vote
with us, and thirteen by their absence manifested that theywerenot inclined to oppose the measure, I afterward estimated the pro-portion
of Quakerssincerelyagainstdefense as one to twenty-one
only; for these were all regularmembers of that society,and in
goodreputationamong them,and had due notice of what was pro-posed
at that meeting.The honorable and learned Mr. Logan,who had alwaysbeen
of that sect,was one who wrote an address to them, declaringhis approbationof defensive war and supportinghis opinionby
many strong arguments. He put into my hands sixtypoundsto
be laid out in lotterytickets for the battery,with directions to
applywhat prizesmight be drawn whollyto that service. He
told me the followinganecdote of his old master, William Penn,
respectingdefense. He came over from England,when a young
man, with that proprietary,and as his secretary. It was war time,
and theirshipwas chased by an armed vessel,supposedto be an
enemy. Their captainpreparedfor defense,but told William
Penn and his company of Quakers that he did not expect their
assistance,and theymightretire into the cabin ; which theydid,
except James Logan,who chose to stayupon deck,and was quar-tered
to a gun. The supposedenemy proveda friend,so there
13" THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
was no fighting; but when the secretarywent down to communis
cate the intelligence,William Penn rebuked him severelyfor stay-ingupon deck and undertakingto assistin defendingthe vessel,
contrary to the principlesof Friends,especiallyas ithad not been
requiredby the captain.This reproof,beingbefore all the com-pany,
piqued the secretary,who answered :" I beingthy ser-vant,
why did thee not order me to come down? But thee was
willingenough that I should stayand helpto fightthe shipwhenthee thoughtthere was danger."
My beingmany years in the Assembly,the majorityof which
were constantlyQuakers,gave me frequentopportunitiesof see-ing
the embarrassment giventhem by their principleagainstwarwhenever applicationwas made to them,by order of the Crown,to grant aids for militarypurposes. They were unwillingtooffend government, on the one hand,by a directrefusal,and their
friends,the body of the Quakers,on the other,by a compliance
contraryto their principles; hence a varietyof evasions to avoid
complying,and modes of disguisingthe compliancewhen it be-came
unavoidable. The common mode at last was to grant
money under the phraseof itsbeing"for the King'suse,"and
never to inquirehow itwas applied.But ifthe demand was not directlyfrom the Crown, that phrase
was found not so proper, and some other was to be invented.
As,when powder was wanting(Ithink itwas for the garrisonat
Louisburg1),and the government of New England soliciteda
grant of some from Pennsylvania,which was much urgedon the
House by Governor Thomas, theycould not grant money to buy
powder,because that was an ingredientof war ; but theyvoted
an aid to New England of three thousand pounds,to be put into
the hands of the governor, and appropriateditfor the purchasingof bread,flour,wheat,or other grain. Some of the council,de-sirous
of givingthe House stillfurther embarrassment,advised
the governor not to accept provision,as not beingthe thinghe
had demanded ; but he replied: " I shalltake the money, for I
l See Note 2, p. 181.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 131
understand very well theirmeaning;' other grain' isgunpowder,"
which he accordinglybought,and theynever objectedto it.
It was in allusion to this fact that,when in our firecompany
we feared the success of our proposalin favor of the lottery,and
I had said to my friend Mr. Syng,one of our members :" If we
fail,let us move the purchaseof a fireenginewith the money ; the
Quakerscan have no objectionto that ; and then,ifyou nominate
me and I you as a committee for that purpose, we will buy a
great gun, which is certainlya fireengine,"" "I see,"says he,
"you have improved by beingso longin the Assembly;yourequivocalprojectwould be justa match for their' wheat or other
grain.'"
These embarrassments that the Quakers suffered from havingestablishedand publisheditas one of theirprinciplesthat no kind
of war was lawful,and which,beingonce published,theycould
not afterward,however theymightchangetheirminds,easilygetrid of,reminds me of what I think a more prudentconduct in
another sect among us, that of the Dunkers.1 I was acquaintedwith one of itsfounders,Michael Welfare,soon after itappeared.He complainedto me that theywere grievouslycalumniated bythe zealots of other persuasions,and chargedwith abominable
principlesand practicesto which they were utter strangers.I
told him thishad alwaysbeen the case with new sects,and that,
to put a stop to such abuse,I imagineditmightbe well to pub-lishthe articlesof their belief and the rules of their discipline.
He said that it had been proposedamong them,but not agreed
to,for this reason :" When we were firstdrawn togetheras a
society,"says he, " ithad pleasedGod to enlightenour minds so
far as to see that some doctrines,which we once esteemed truths,
were errors ; and that others,which we have esteemed errors, were
real truths. From time to time He has been pleasedto afford us
furtherlight,and our principleshave been improvingand our er-rors
diminishing.Now we are not sure that we are arrived at the
1 A sect of German-American Baptists,whose name comes from the Ger-man
tunken ("to immerse").
132 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
end of this progressionand at the perfectionof spiritualor theo-logical
knowledge,and we fear that if we should once printourconfession of faith we should feel ourselves as ifbound and con-fined
by it,and perhapsbe unwillingto receive further improve-ment,and our successors stillmore so, as conceivingwhat we,
their elders and founders,had done to be somethingsacred,neverto be departedfrom."
This modestyin a sect isperhapsa singularinstance in the his-tory
of mankind,every other sect supposingitselfin possessionofalltruth,and that those who differare so far in the wrong. Like
a man travelingin foggyweather ; those at some distance before
him on the road he sees wrappedup in the fog as well as those
behind him, and also the peoplein the fields on each side,but
near him all appears clear,thoughin truth he is as much in the
fog as any of them. To avoid this kind of embarrassment the
Quakers have of late years been graduallydecliningthe publicservice in the Assemblyand in the magistracy,choosingrather to
quittheir power than their principle.In order of time I should have mentioned before that,having
in 1742 invented an open stove 1 for the better warmingof rooms
and at the same time savingfuel,as the fresh air admitted was
warmed in entering,I made a presentof the model to Mr. Robert
Grace,one of my earlyfriends,who, having an iron furnace,found the castingof the platesfor these stoves a profitablething,as theywere growingin demand.11 To promote that demand I
wrote and publisheda pamphletentitled,"An Account of the
new-invented PennsylvaniaFireplaces;wherein their Construc-tion
and Manner of Operationis particularlyexplained;their
Advantagesabove every other Method of warmingRooms demon-strated
; and allObjectionsthat have been raised againstthe Use
of them answered and obviated," etc. This pamphlethad a goodeffect. Governor Thomas was so pleasedwith the construction
of this stove, as described in it,that he offered to giveme a
patent,for the sole vendingof them for a term of years ; but I de*
1 It is stillused, and called the " Franklin stove."
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 133
clined itfrom a principlewhich has ever weighedwith me on such
occasions ; namely,that as we enjoygreatadvantagesfrom the in-ventions
of others,we should be gladof an opportunityto serve
others by any invention of ours ; and thiswe should do freelyand
generously.An ironmongerin London, however,assuminga good deal of
my pamphlet,and workingitup into his own, and making some
small changesin the machine,which rather hurt itsoperation,gota patentfor itthere,and made, as I was told,a littlefortune byit. And thisisnot the onlyinstance of patentstaken out for myinventions by others,"thoughnot alwayswith the same success,
" which I never contested,as havingno desireof profitingby pat-ents
myself,and hatingdisputes.The use of these fireplacesin
very many houses,both of thisand the neighboringcolonies,has
been and is a greatsavingof wood to the inhabitants.
" 7. PROJECTS FOR THE PUBLIC GOODo
PEACEbeingconcluded,and the association business there-fore
at an end,I turned my thoughtsagainto the affairof
establishingan academy. The firststepI took was to associate
in the designa number of active friends,of whom the Juntofurnished a good part. The next was to write and publisha
pamphletentitled " Proposalsrelatingto the Education of Youth
in Pennsylvania."This I distributed among the principalin-habitants
gratis;and as soon as I could suppose their minds
a littlepreparedby the perusalof it,I set on foot a subscriptionfor openingand supportingan academy. It was to be paidin
quotas yearlyfor five years. By so dividingit I judgedthe sub-scription
mightbe larger,and I believe it was so, amountingto
no less,if I remember right,than five thousand pounds.In the introduction to these ProposalsI stated theirpublication,
not as an act of mine,but of some" public-spiritedgentlemen,"
134 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
avoidingas much as I could,accordingto my usual rule,the pre-senting
myselfto the publicas the author of any scheme for their
benefit.
The subscribers,to carry the projectinto immediate execution,
chose out of their number twenty-fourtrustees,and appointed
Mr. Francis,then attorney-general,and myselfto draw up con-stitutions
for the government of the academy ; which beingdone
and signed,a house was hired,masters engaged,and the schools
opened,I think,in the same year, 1749.
The scholars increasingfast,the house was soon found too
small,and we were lookingout for a pieceof ground,properly
situated,with intention to build,when Providence threw into our
way a largehouse readybuilt,which,with a few alterations,mightwell serve our purpose. This was the buildingbefore mentioned,
erected by the hearers of Mr. Whitefield,1and was obtained for
us in the followingmanner.It is to be noted that the contributions to thisbuildingbeing
made by peopleof different sects,care was taken in the nomina-tion
of trustees,in whom the buildingand ground was to be
vested,that a predominancyshould not be givento any sect,lest
in time that predominancymightbe a means of appropriatingthe
whole to the use of such sect,contraryto the originalintention.
It was therefore that one of each sect was appointed; namely,one Church of Englandman, one Presbyterian,one Baptist,one
Moravian,2etc. ; those,in case of vacancy by death,were to fill
itby election from among the contributors. The Moravian hap-penednot to pleasehiscolleagues,and on his death theyresolved
to have no other of that sect. The difficultythen was, how to
avoid havingtwo of some other sect by means of the new choice.
Several persons were named, and for that reason not agreedto.At lengthone mentioned me, with the observation that I was
1 It stood on Fourth Street,below Arch.
2 A member of a denomination which has itsname from Moravia, a divi-sion
of Austria- Hungary. For an account of their home and practices,see
pp. 168-170.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 135
merelyan honest man and of no sect at all,which prevailedwith
them to choose me. The enthusiasm which existed when the
house was built had longsince abated,and itstrustees had not
been able to procure fresh contributions for payingthe groundrent and dischargingsome other debts the buildinghad occa-sioned,
which embarrassed them greatly.Beingnow a member
of both sets of trustees,that for the buildingand that for the
academy,I had a goodopportunityof negotiatingwith both,and
broughtthem finallyto an agreement, by which the trustees for
the buildingwere to cede it to those of the academy,the latter
undertakingto dischargethe debt,to keep forever open in the
buildinga largehall for occasional preachers,accordingto the
originalintention,and maintain a free school for the instruction
of poor children. Writingswere accordinglydrawn,and on pay-ing
the debts the trustees of the academy were put in possessionof the premises; and by dividingthe greatand loftyhall into
stories,and different rooms above and below for the several
schools,and purchasingsome additional ground,the whole was
soon made fitfor our purpose, and the scholars removed into the
building.The care and trouble of agreeingwith the workmen,
purchasingmaterials,and superintendingthe work,fellupon me ;
and I went throughit the more cheerfullyas it did not then in-terfere
with my privatebusiness,havingthe year before taken a
very able,industrious,and honest partner,Mr. David Hall,with
whose character I was well acquainted,as he had worked for me
four years. He took off my hands all care of the printingoffice,
payingme punctuallymy share of the profits.This partnershipcontinued eighteenyears, successfullyfor us both.
The trustees of the academy after a while were incorporated
by a charter from the government ; theirfunds were increased bycontributions in Britainand grantsof land from the proprietaries,to which the Assemblyhas since made considerable addition ; and
thus was established the present Universityof Philadelphia.I
have been continued one of itstrustees from the beginning,now
near fortyyears, and have had the very greatpleasureof seeing
136 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
a number of the youthwho have received their education in it
distinguishedby their improvedabilities,serviceable in publicstations,and ornaments ^o their country.
When I disengagedmyselfas above mentioned from privatebusiness,I flatteredmyselfthat,by the sufficientthoughmoderatefortune I had acquired,I had secured leisure duringthe rest of
my lifefor philosophicalstudies and amusements. I purchasedall Dr. Spence'sapparatus,who had come from England to lec-ture
here,and I proceededin my electricalexperimentswith great
alacrity.But the public,now consideringme as a man of leisure,laid hold of me for theirpurposes, every part of our civilgovern-ment,
and almost at the same time,imposingsome dutyupon me.
The governor put me into the commission of the peace, the cor-poration
of the citychose me of the common council and soon
after an alderman,and the citizens at largechose me a burgessx
to representthem in Assembly. This latter station was the more
agreeableto me, as I was at lengthtired with sittingthere to hear
debates in which,as clerk,I could take no part,and which were
often so unentertainingthat I was induced to amuse myselfwith
makingmagicsquares 2or circles,or anythingto avoid weariness ;
and I conceived my becoming a member would enlargemy power
of doinggood. I would not, however,insinuate that my ambi-tion
was not flatteredby all these promotions. It certainly
was, for,consideringmy low beginning,theywere greatthingsto
me, and theywere stillmore pleasingas beingso many sponta-neous
testimonies of the publicgood opinion,and by me entirelyunsolicited.
The officeof justiceof the peace I tried a littleby attendinga
few courts and sittingon the bench to hear causes ; but finding
1 A representativein the lower house of the legislature.2 " Magicsquares,"i.e.,square figuresof a series of numbers so disposed
that the sums of each row or line,taken in any direction,are equal. Magic
squares are also formed of words or phrasesso arrangedas to read the same
in all directions. The magic circle is a modification of the magicsquare, one
form of which was devised by Franklin.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 137
that more knowledgeof the common law than I possessedwas
necessary to act in that stationwith credit,I graduallywithdrew
from it,excusingmyselfby my beingobligedto attend the higherduties of a legislatorin the Assembly. My election to this trust
was repeatedevery year for ten years without my ever askinganyelector for his vote, or signifying,either directlyor indirectly,any
desireof beingchosen. On takingmy seat in the House my son
was appointedtheir clerk.
The year following,a treatybeingto be held with the Indians
at Carlisle,the governor sent a message to the House, proposingthat theyshould nominate some of their members, to be joinedwith some members of council,as commissioners for that pur-pose.
The House named the speaker(Mr.Norris)and myself;
and,beingcommissioned,we went to Carlisle and met the Indians
accordingly.As those peopleare extremelyapt to get drunk,and when so
are very quarrelsomeand disorderly,we strictlyforbade the sell-ing
any liquorto them ; and when theycomplainedof thisrestric-tion,
we told them that if theywould continue sober duringthe
treaty,we would givethem plentyof rum when business was over.
They promisedthis,and theykept their promise,because theycould get no liquor,and the treatywas conducted very orderly,and concluded to mutual satisfaction. They then claimed and
received the rum.
This was in the afternoon ; theywere near one hundred men,
women, and children,and were lodgedin temporary cabins,built
in the form of a square, justwithout the town. In the evening,
hearinga great noise among them,the commissioners walked out
to see what was the matter. We found theyhad made a greatbonfire in the middle of the square. They were alldrunk,men
and women, quarrelingand fighting.Their dark colored bodies,half naked,seen onlyby the gloomy lightof the bonfire,runningafter and beatingone another with firebrands,accompaniedbytheir horrid yellings,formed a scene the most resemblingourideas of hell that could well be imagined. There was no appeas-
138 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
ingthe tumult,and we retired to our lodging. At midnightanumber of them came thunderingto our door,demanding more
rum, of which we took no notice.
The next day,sensibletheyhad misbehaved in givingus that
disturbance,theysent three of their old counselors to make their
apology. The orator acknowledgedthe fault,but laid it upon
the rum ; and then endeavored to excuse the rum by saying: " The
Great Spirit,who made allthings,made everythingfor some use,
and whatever use he designedanythingfor,that use it should
alwaysbe put to. Now when he made rum he said,* Let this
be for the Indians to get drunk with/and it must be so." And,
indeed,ifitbe the designof Providence to extirpatethese savages
in order to make room for cultivators of the earth,itseems not im-probable
that rum may be the appointedmeans. It has alreadyannihilated all the tribeswho formerlyinhabited the seacoast.
In 1 75 1 Dr. Thomas Bond, a particularfriend of mine, con-ceived
the idea of establishinga hospitalin Philadelphia(averybeneficent designwhich has been ascribed to me but was origi-nally
his)for the receptionand cure of poor sick persons, whether
inhabitantsof the provinceor strangers. He was zealous and ac-tive
in endeavoringto procure subscriptionsfor it,but the pro-posal
beinga noveltyin America,and at firstnot well understood,
he met with but small success.
At lengthhe came to me with -the complimentthat he found
here was no such thingas carryinga public-spiritedproject
throughwithout my beingconcerned in it. "
For,"says he, " I
am often asked by those to whom I propose subscribing,' Have
you consulted Franklin upon this business ? And what does he
think of it? ' And when I tellthem that I have not (supposingit rather out of your line),theydo not subscribe,but say theywill consider of it." I inquiredinto the nature and probable
utilityof his scheme,and receivingfrom him a very satisfactory
explanation,I not onlysubscribed to itmyself,but engagedheart-ily
in the designof procuringsubscriptionsfrom others. Previ-ously,
however, to the solicitation,I endeavored to prepare the
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 1 39
minds of the peopleby writingon the subjectin the newspapers,
which was my usual custom in such cases, but which he had
omitted.
The subscriptionsafterward were more free and generous ; but,
beginningto flag,I saw theywould be insufficientwithout some
assistancefrom the Assembly,and therefore proposedto petitionfor it,which was done. The country members did not at first
relishthe project.They objectedthat it could onlybe service-able
to the city,and therefore the citizensalone should be at the
expense of it; and theydoubted whether the citizensthemselves
generallyapprovedof it. My allegationon the contrary,that
it met with such approbationas to leave no doubt of our beingable to raise two thousand pounds by voluntarydonations,theyconsidered as a most extravagantsuppositionand utterlyim-possible.
On thisI formed my plan; and,askingleave to bringin a bill1
for incorporatingthe contributors accordingto the prayer of their
petition,and grantingthem a blank sum of money, which leave
was obtained chieflyon the consideration that the House could
throw the billout iftheydid not like it,I drew it so as to make
the importantclause a conditional one, namely:" And be it en-acted,
by the authorityaforesaid,that when the said contributors
shallhave met and chosen theirmanagers and treasurer,and shall
have raised bytheircontributions a capitalstockof value,(the
yearlyinterestof which isto be appliedto the accommodatingof
the sick poor in the said hospital,free of chargefor diet,attend-ance,
advice,and medicines,)and shall make the same appearto the
satisfactionofthe speakerofthe Assemblyforthe time bei?ig,that
then itshalland may be lawful for the said speaker,and he ishere-by
required,to signan order on the provincialtreasurer for the pay-ment
of two thousand pounds,in two yearlypayments,to the treas-urer
of the said hospital,to be appliedto the founding,building,and finishingof the same."
This condition carried the billthrough; for the members who
1 A form or draft of the law,presentedto the legislaturefor adoption.
140 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
had opposedthe grant,and now conceived theymighthave the
creditof beingcharitable without the expense, agreedto its pas-sage
; and then,in solicitingsubscriptionsamong the people,we
urged the conditional promiseof the law as an additional motive
to give,since every man's donation would be doubled ; thus the
clause worked both ways. The subscriptionsaccordinglysoonexceeded the requisitesum, and we claimed and received the
publicgift,which enabled us to carry the designinto execution.
A convenient and handsome buildingwas soon erected ; the
institutionhas,by constant experience,been found useful,and
flourishesto thisday ; and I do not remember any of my political
maneuvers the success of which gave me at the time more pleas-ure,or wherein,after thinkingof it,I more easilyexcused myself
for havingmade some use of cunning.It was about this time that another projector,the Rev. Gilbert
Tennent, came to me with a request that I would assisthim in
procuringa subscriptionfor erectinga new meetinghouse.It
was to be for the use of a congregationhe had gatheredamongthe Presbyterianswho were originallydisciplesof Mr. Whitefield.
Unwillingto make myselfdisagreeableto my fellow-citizens bytoo frequentlysolicitingtheir contributions,I absolutelyrefused.
He then desired I would furnish him with a list of the names
of persons I knew by experienceto be generous and public-
spirited.I thoughtit would be unbecoming in me, after their
kind compliancewith my solicitations,to mark them out to be
worried by other beggars,and therefore refused also to givesuch
a list. He then desired I would at least givehim my advice." That I willreadilydo,"said I ;
" and in the firstplace,I advise
you to applyto all those whom you know will givesomething;
next, to those whom you are uncertain whether theywillgiveany-thing
or not, and show them the listof those who have given; and,
lastly,do not neglectthose who you are sure will givenothing,for
in some of them you may be mistaken." He laughedand thanked
me, and said he would take my advice. He did so, for he asked of
everybody,and he obtained a much largersum than he expected,
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 141
with which he erected the capaciousand very elegantmeeting-housethat stands in Arch Street.1
Our city,thoughlaid out with a beautiful regularity,the streets
large,straight,and crossingeach other at rightangles,had the
disgraceof sufferingthose streets to remain longunpaved,and in
wet weather the wheels of heavycarriagesplowed them into a
quagmire,so that itwas difficultto cross them,and in dryweather
the dust was offensive. I had lived near what was called the
JerseyMarket,and saw with painthe inhabitants wadingin mud
while purchasingtheir provisions.A stripof ground down the
middle of that market was at lengthpaved with brick,so that,
beingonce in the market,theyhad firm footing,but were often
over shoes in dirt to get there. By talkingand writingon the
subjectI was at lengthinstrumental in gettingthe street pavedwith stone between the market and the bricked foot pavement that
was on each side next the houses. This for some time gave an
easy access to the market,dry-shod; but,the rest of the street not
beingpaved,whenever a carriagecame out of the mud upon this
pavement, it shook off and left itsdirt upon it,and it was soon
covered with mire,which was not removed, the cityas yet hav-ing
no scavengers.
After some inquiryI found a poor, industrious man, who was
willingto undertake keepingthe pavement clean by sweepingit
twice a week,carryingoff the dirt from before all the neighbors'doors for the sum of sixpenceper month to be paidby each
house.11 I then wrote and printeda paper settingforth the ad-vantages
to the neighborhoodthat might be obtained by this
small expense: the greater ease in keepingour houses clean,
so much dirt not beingbroughtin by people'sfeet ; the benefit
to the shopsby more custom, etc.,as buyerscould more easily
get at them, and by not having,in windy weather,the dust
blown in upon theirgoods,etc. I sent one of these papers to
each house,and in a day or two went round to see who would
1 The church of this societyis now on the corner of Walnut and Twenty-firstStreets.
H2 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
subscribe an agreement to pay these sixpences. It was unani-mously
signed,and for a time well executed. All the inhabitants
of the citywere delightedwith the cleanlinessof the pavementthat surrounded the market,it beinga convenience to all; and
thisraised a generaldesire to have all the streets paved,and made
the peoplemore willingto submit to a tax for that purpose.
After some time I drew a billfor pavingthe city,and broughtit into the Assembly. It was justbefore I went to England in
1757, and did not pass tillI was gone, and then with an altera-tion
in the mode of assessment which I thoughtnot for the better,but with an additional provisionfor lightingas well as pavingthe
streets,which was a great improvement. It was by a private
person, the late Mr. John Clifton,"his givinga sampleof the
utilityof lamps by placingone at his door,"that the peoplewere firstimpressedwith the idea of enlightingall the city.The
honor of this publicbenefit has also been ascribed to me, but it
belongstrulyto that gentleman. I did but follow his example,and have onlysome merit to claim respectingthe form of our
lamps,as differingfrom the globelampswe were at firstsuppliedwith from London. Those we found inconvenient in these re-spects
: theyadmitted no air below ; the smoke,therefore,did not
readilygo out above,but circulated in the globe,lodgedon its
inside,and soon obstructed the lighttheywere intended to afford,
giving,besides,the dailytrouble of wipingthem clean ; and an
accidental stroke on one of them would demolish it and render
ittotallyuseless. I therefore suggestedthe composingthem of
four flatpanes, with a longfunnel above to draw up the smoke,and crevices admittingair below to facilitatethe ascent of the
smoke. By this means theywere keptclean,and did not grow
dark in a few hours,as the London lamps do, but continued
brighttillmorning,and an accidental stroke would generallybreak but a singlepane, easilyrepaired.
I have sometimes wondered that the Londoners did not, from
the effectholes in the bottom of the globelampsused at Vauxhall 1
l Pleasure gardensin the London of Franklin's day.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 143
have in keepingthem clean,learn to have such holes in their
street lamps. But,these holes beingmade for another purpose,
namely,to communicate flame more suddenlyto the wick by a
littleflax hangingdown throughthem,the other use, of lettingin
air,seems not to have been thoughtof ; and therefore,after the
lampshave been lita few hours,the streets of London are very
poorlyilluminated.
The mention of these improvementsputs me in mind of one I
proposed,when in London, to Dr. Fothergill,who was among the
best men I have known, and a great promoter of useful projects.I had observed that the streets,when dry,were never swept,and
the lightdust carriedaway ; but itwas suffered to accumulate till
wet weather reduced it to mud, and then,after lyingsome daysso deep on the pavement that there was no crossingbut in paths
keptclean by poor peoplewith brooms,itwas with great labor
raked togetherand thrown up into carts open above,the sides of
which suffered some of the slush at every jolton the pavement to
shake out and fall,sometimes to the annoyance of foot passengers.
The reason givenfor not sweepingthe dustystreets was that the
dust would flyinto the windows of shopsand houses.
An accidental occurrence had instructed me how much sweep-ing
mightbe done in a littletime. I found at my door in Craven
Street 1 one morning,a poor woman sweepingmy pavement with
a birch broom. She appearedvery paleand feeble,as justcome
out of a fitof sickness. I asked who employedher to sweep
there. She said," Nobody ; but I am very poor and in distress,
and I sweeps before gentlefolksesdoors,and hopestheywillgiveme something."I bid her sweep the whole street clean,and I
would giveher a shilling.This was at nine o'clock ; at twelve she
came for the shilling.From the slowness I saw at firstin her
workingI could scarce believe that the work was done so soon,
and sent my servant to examine it,who reportedthat the whole
street was swept perfectlyclean,and all the dust placedin the
gutter,which was in the middle ; and the next rain washed it
1 A street in London in which Franklin had apartments.
144 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
quiteaway, so that the pavement, and even the kennel,1were
perfectlyclean.
I then judged that if that feeble woman could sweep such a
street in three hours,a strong,active man might have done itin
half the time. And here letme remark the convenience of havingbut one gutterin such a narrow street,runningdown itsmiddle,instead of two, one on each side,near the footway; for where all
the rain that fallson a street runs from the sides and meets in the
middle,itforms there a current strong enough to wash away all
the mud it meets with ; but when divided into two channels,itis
often too weak to cleanse either,and onlymakes the mud it finds
more fluid,so that the wheels of carriagesand feet of horses throw
and dash it upon the foot pavement, which is therebyrendered
foul and slippery,and sometimes splashit upon those who are
walking. My proposalcommunicated to the good doctor was as
follows :
" For the more effectual cleaningand keepingclean the streets
of London and Westminster 2 itisproposedthat the several watch-men
be contracted with to have the dust swept up in dryseasons,and the mud raked up at other times,each in the several streets
and lanes of his round ; that theybe furnished with brooms and
other proper instruments for these purposes, to be keptat their
respectivestands,readyto furnish the poor peopletheymay em-ploy
in the service." That in the drysummer months the dust be all swept up into
heapsat proper distances,before the shopsand windows of houses
are usuallyopened,when the scavengers, with close-covered carts,
shall also carry it all away." That the mud, when raked up, be not left in heaps to be
spreadabroad againby the wheels of carriagesand tramplingof
horses,but that the scavengers be providedwith bodies of carts,
not placedhighupon wheels,but low upon sliders,with lattice
bottoms,which,beingcovered with straw, will retain the mud
1 Little channel or gutter.2 Now a part of London, but formerlya separatecorporation.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. H5
thrown into them,and permitthe water to drain from it,wherebyitwill become much lighter,water making the greatestpartof its
weight; these bodies of carts to be placedat convenient distances,and the mud broughtto them in wheelbarrows,theyremainingwhere placedtillthe mud isdrained,and then horses broughttodraw them away."
I have since had doubts of the practicabilityof the latterpart
of thisproposal,on account of the narrowness of some streets,and
the difficultyof placingthe drainingsleds so as not to encumber
too much the passage ; but I am stillof opinionthat the former,
requiringthe dust to be swept up and carried away before the
shopsare open, isvery practicablein summer, when the daysare
long; for,in walkingthroughthe Strand and Fleet Street one
morningat seven o'clock,I observed there was not one shopopen,thoughit had been daylightand the sun up above three hours,
the inhabitants of London choosingvoluntarilyto live much by
candlelightand sleepby sunshine ; and yet theyoften complain,a littleabsurdly,of the duty on candles and the highpriceof
tallow.
Some may think these triflingmatters,not worth mindingor re-lating
; but when theyconsider that thoughdust blown into the
eyes of a singleperson, or into a singleshop,on a windyday is
but of small importance,yet the greatnumber of the instances in
a populouscity,and itsfrequentrepetitions,giveitweightand
consequence, perhapstheywill not censure very severelythose
who bestow some attentionto affairsof thisseeminglylow nature.
Human felicityisproducednot so much by greatpiecesof goodfortune that seldom happen,as by littleadvantagesthat occur
every day. Thus,ifyou teach a poor young man to shave him-self
and keephis razor in order,you may contribute more to the
happinessof his lifethan in givinghim a thousand guineas.The
money may be soon spent,the regretonlyremainingof having
foolishlyconsumed it; but in the other case, he escapes the fre-quent
vexation of waitingfor barbers,and of their sometimes
dirtyfingers,offensivebreathsvand dull razors. He shaves when
t n
146 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
most convenient to him,and enjoysdailythe pleasureof itsbeingdone with a good instrument.1 With these sentiments I have
hazarded the few precedingpages, hopingtheymay afford hints
which some time or other may be useful to a cityI love,havinglived many years in itvery happily,and perhapsto some of our
towns in America.
Having been for some time employedby the postmaster-gen-eralof America as his comptroller2 in regulatingseveral offices,
and bringingthe officers to account, I was, upon his death,in
1753, appointed,jointlywith Mr. William Hunter, to succeed
him,by a commission from the postmaster-generalin England.The American officenever had hitherto paidanythingto that of
Great Britain. We were to have six hundred poundsa year be-tween
us, if we could make that sum out of the profitsof the
office. To do this a varietyof improvementswere necessary.
Some of these were inevitablyat firstexpensive,so that in the
firstfour years the office became above nine hundred pounds in
1 u From the manuscriptjournalof Mr. Andrew Ellicott,"says Mr. John
Bigelowin one of his editions of the Autobiography," I have been kindlyfavored by Mr. J.C. G. Kennedy,of Washington,one of his descendants,with the followingextract,which was written three years before the preceding
paragraphin the Autobiography:" ' I found him [Franklin]in his littleroom among his papers. He received
me very politely,and immediatelyentered into conversation about the west-ern
country. His room makes a singularappearance, beingfilledwith old
philosophicalinstruments,papers, boxes, tables,and stools. About ten
o'clock he placedsome water on the fire,but not beingexpertthroughhis
greatage, I desired him to giveme the pleasureof assistinghim. He thanked
me, and repliedthat he ever made it a pointto wait upon himself,and,al-though
he began to find himself infirm,he was determined not to increase his
infirmitiesby givingway to them. After the water was hot,I observed his
objectwas to shave himself,which operationhe performedwithout a glassand with great expedition.I asked him if he ever employeda barber ; he
answered: "No; I think happinessdoes not consist so much in particular
piecesof good fortune,which perhapsoccasionallyfall to a man's lot,as .to
be able in his old age to do those littlethingswhich,beingunable to performhimself,would be done by others with a sparinghand." ' "
2 That is,he examined the accounts and managed the financialaffairs.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 147
debt to us ; but it soon after began to repay us, and before I
was displacedby a freak of the ministers,1of which I shall speakhereafter,we had broughtit to yieldthree times as much clear
revenue to the Crown as the post office of Ireland. Since that
imprudenttransaction they have received from it" not one
farthing!
.Y'Thebusiness of the post officeoccasioned my takinga journey
/"thisyear to New England,where the Collegeof Cambridge,2of
theirown motion,presentedme with the degreeof Master of Arts.
Yale College,in Connecticut,had before made me a similarcom-pliment.
Thus, without studyingin any college,I came to par-take
of their honors. They were conferred in consideration of
my improvementsand discoveriesin the electricbranch of natural
philosophy.In 1754, war with France beingagainapprehended,a congress
of commissioners from the different colonies was, by an order of
the Lords of Trade,3to be assembled at Albany,there to confer
with the chiefs of the Six Nations 4 concerningthe means of de-fending
both their country and ours. Governor Hamilton,hav-ing
received this order,acquaintedthe House with it,requesting
theywould furnish proper presentsfor the Indians,to be givenonthisoccasion,and naming the speaker(Mr.Norris)and myselfto
joinMr. Thomas Penn and Mr. SecretaryPeters as commissioners
to act for Pennsylvania.The House approvedthe nomination,and providedthe goodsfor the present,thoughtheydid not much
liketreatingout of the provinces; and we met the other commis-sioners
at Albany about the middle of June.In our way thither I projectedand drew a planfor the union
of all the colonies under one government, so far as might be"
1 The ministers of the Crown in London.
2 The collegein Cambridge,Harvard College.3 The commissioners of trade,who lived in England,and to whom the colo-nial
governors made their reportsand returns. Their dutywas"
to put
thingsinto a form and order of government that should alwayspreserve these
countries in obedience to the Crown."
* A union of six of the more considerable Indian tribes.
I48 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
necessary for defense and other importantgeneralpurposes. As
we passedthroughNew York I had there shown my projecttoMr. James Alexander and Mr. Kennedy,two gentlemenof great
knowledgein publicaffairs; and,beingfortifiedby theirapproba-tion,I ventured to layit before the congress. It then appeared
that several of the commissioners had formed plansof the same
kind. A previousquestionwas firsttaken,whether a union
should be established,which passedin the affirmative unani-mously.
A committee was then appointed,one member from
each colony,to consider the several plansand report. Mine
happened to be preferred,and,with a few amendments, was
accordinglyreported.
By thisplanthe generalgovernment was to be administered bya president-general,appointedand supportedby the Crown, and
a grandcouncil was to be chosen by the representativesof the
peopleof the several colonies,met in their respectiveassemblies.The debates upon itin congress went on daily,hand in hand with
the Indian business. Many objectionsand difficultieswere started,but at lengththeywere all overcome, and the planwas unani-mously
agreedto, and copiesordered to be transmitted to the
Board of Trade and to the assemblies of the several provinces.Its fate was singular; the assemblies did not adoptit,as theyall
thoughtthere was too much prerogative1 in it,and in Englandit
was judgedto have too much of the democratic.2 The Board of
Trade,therefore,did not approve of itnor recommend itfor the
approbationof his Majesty; but another scheme was formed,sup-posed
to answer the same purpose better,wherebythe governors
of the provinces,with some members of their respectivecouncils,
were to meet and order the raisingof troops,buildingof forts,
etc.,and to draw on the treasuryof Great Britain for the expense,
which was afterward to be refunded by an act of Parliament lay-inga tax on America. My plan,with my reasons in supportof
it,is to be found among my politicalpapers that are printed.
1 The power of the king.2 The government of the people.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 149
Beingthe winter followingin Boston,I had much conversation
with Governor Shirleyupon both the plans. Part of what passedbetween us on the occasion may also be seen among those papers.
The differentand contrary reasons of disliketo my planmake
me suspect that it was reallythe true medium, and I am stillof
opinionit would have been happyfor both sides the water if it
had been adopted. The colonies,so united,would have been
sufficientlystrong to defend themselves;there would then have
been no need of troopsfrom England. Of course the subsequent
pretensefor taxingAmerica,and the bloodycontest itoccasioned,would have been avoided. But such mistakes are not new ; his-tory
isfull of the errors of states and princes.
" Look round the habitable world,how few
Know their own good,or, knowing it,pursue ! "
Those who govern, havingmuch business on theirhands,do
not generallylike to take the trouble of consideringand carry-inginto execution new projects.The best publicmeasures are
therefore seldom adoptedfrom previouswisdom, but forced bythe occasion.
The governor of Pennsylvania,in sendingit down to the
Assembly,expressedhis approbationof the plan,as appearingto him to be drawn up with great clearness and strengthof judg-ment,
and therefore recommended it as "well worthyof their
closest and most seriousattention." The House,however,by the
management of a certain member, took itup when I happenedto
be absent,which I thoughtnot very fair,and reprobateditwithout
payingany attention to it at all,to my no small mortification.
In my journeyto Boston thisyear I met at New York with our
new governor, Mr. Morris,justarrived there from England,with
whom I had been before intimatelyacquainted.He broughta
commission to supersedeMr. Hamilton,who, tired with the dis-putes
his proprietaryinstructionssubjectedhim to,had resigned.Mr. Morris asked me if I thoughthe must expect as uncomfort-able
an administration. I said," No ; you may, on the contrary,
150 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
have a very comfortable one, if you will onlytake care not to
enter into any disputewith the Assembly." "
My dear friend,"
says he,pleasantly,"how can you advise my avoidingdisputes?You know I love disputing; it is one of my greatestpleasures.
However, to show the regardI have for your counsel,I promise
you I will,ifpossible,avoid them." He had some reason for lov-ing
to dispute,beingeloquent,an acute sophister,and therefore
generallysuccessful in argumentativeconversation. He had been
broughtup to it from a boy,his father,as I have heard,accus-toming
his children to disputewith one another for his diversion
while sittingat table after dinner. But I think the practicewas
not wise ; for in the course of my observation,these disputing,
contradicting,and confutingpeopleare generallyunfortunate in
their affairs. They get victorysometimes,but they never get
good will,which would be of more use to them. We parted,he
goingto Philadelphiaand I to Boston.
In returningI met at New York with the votes of the Assem-bly,
by which it appearedthat,notwithstandinghis promiseto
me, he and the House were alreadyin highcontention;and it
was a continual battle between them as long as he retained the
government.
I had my share of it; for,as soon as I got back to my seat
in the Assembly,I was put on every committee for answeringhis speechesand messages, and by the committees alwaysdesired
to make the drafts. Our answers, as well as his messages, were
often tart,and sometimes indecentlyabusive,and, as he knew I
wrote for the Assembly,one mighthave imaginedthat when we
met we could hardlyavoid cuttingthroats; but he was so good-natured a man that no personaldifference between him and me
was occasioned by the contest,and we often dined together.One afternoon,in the heightof thispublicquarrel,we met in
the street." Franklin,"says he, "
you must go home with me
and spend the evening; I am to have some company that you
will like;"and,takingme by the arm, he led me to his house. In
gay conversation over our wine after supper, he told us jokingly
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 151
that he much admired the idea of Sancho Panza,1who, when it
was proposed to givehim a government, requestedit might be a
government of blacks,as then, if he could not agree with his
people,he might sell them. One of his friends,who sat next
to me, says," Franklin,why do you continue to side with these
Quakers? Had not you better sell them? The proprietorwould
giveyou a good price." "The governor,"says I, "has not yetblacked them enough." He, indeed,had labored hard to blacken
the Assembly in all his messages, but they wiped off his coloring
as fast as he laid it on, and placeditin return thick upon his own
face ; so that,findinghe was likelyto be negrofiedhimself,he, as
well as Mr. Hamilton, grew tired of the contest, and quittedthe
government.
These publicquarrelswere all at bottom owing to the proprie-taries,
our hereditarygovernors, who, when any expense was to
be incurred for the defense of their province,with incredible
meanness instructed their deputies2 to pass no act for levyingthe necessary tax'es,unless their vast estates were in the same act
expresslyexcused,and they had even taken bonds of these dep-uties
to observe such instructions. The Assemblies for three
years held out againstthis injustice,though constrained to bend
at last. At lengthCaptain Denny, who was Governor Morris's
successor, ventured to disobeythose instructions. How that was
brought about I will show hereafter.
But I am got forward too fast with my story. There are still
some transactions to be mentioned that happened duringthe ad-ministration
of Governor Morris.
1 The squire of Don Quixote, to whom a duke jokinglygrantedthe
government of an island for a few days. This is one of the best-known
episodesin that amusing history.2 The governors of the provinces,who were appointedby the proprietaries
(seeNote 1, p. 58).
152 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
" 8. FRANKLIN ACTS IN CONCERT WITH BRADDOCK'S ARMY.
ORGANIZATION OF MILITIA.
WAR beingin a manner commenced with France,1the gov-ernment
of Massachusetts Bay projectedan attack upon
Crown Point,2and sent Mr. Quincyto Pennsylvania,and Mr.
Pownall,afterward Governor Pownall,to New York,to solicit
assistance. As I was in the Assembly,knew itstemper, and was
Mr. Quincy'scountryman,3he appliedto me for my influence
and assistance. I dictated his address to them,which was well
received. They voted an aid of ten thousand pounds,to be laid
out in provisions; but the governor refusinghis assent to their
bill(whichincluded thiswith other sums grantedfor the use of
the Crown),unless a clause were inserted exemptingthe proprie-taryestate 4 from bearingany part of the tax that would be neces-sary,
the Assembly,thoughvery desirous of making their grant
to New England effectual,were at a loss how to accomplishit.
Mr. Quincy labored hard with the governor to obtain his assent,
but he was obstinate.
I then suggesteda method of doingthe business without the
governor, by orders on the trustees of the Loan Office,5which,
by law,the Assemblyhad the rightof drawing. There was, in-deed,
littleor no money at that time in the office,and therefore
I proposedthat the orders should be payablein a year, and to
bear an interest of five per cent. With these orders I supposedthe provisionsmight easilybe purchased. The Assembly,with
very littlehesitation,adoptedthe proposal.The orders were
1 In 1752 the French began connectingtheir settlements on the Lakes
and on the Mississippiby a chain of forts on the Ohio. The Englishwarned
off the intruders upon what they deemed their territory,and sent General
Braddock to the colonists'aid. War was declared in 1756.2 A French fort upon the west side of Lake Champlain.3 That is,he was born in Boston.
4 The estate of the Penn family.5 Through which the peopleloaned money to the government.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 153
immediatelyprinted,and I was one of the committee directed to
signand disposeof them. The fund for payingthem was the
interestof all the paper currency then extant in the provinceuponloan,togetherwith the revenue arisingfrom the excise,1which
beingknown to be more than sufficient,theyobtained instant
credit,and were not onlyreceived in payment for the provisions,but many moneyed peoplewho had cash lyingby them invested
it in those orders,which theyfound advantageous,as theybore
interestwhile upon hand and mighton any occasion be used as
money ; so that theywere eagerlyall boughtup, and in a few
weeks none of them were to be seen. Thus this importantaffair
was by my means completed. Mr. Quincy returned thanks to
the Assemblyin a handsome memorial,went home highlypleasedwith the success of his embassy,and ever after bore for me the
most cordial and affectingfriendship.The British government, not choosingto permitthe union of
the colonies as proposedat Albany,and to trust that union with
theirdefense,lesttheyshould therebygrow too militaryand feel
their own strength,suspicionsand jealousiesat this time beingentertained of them, sent over General Braddock with two regi-ments
of regularEnglishtroopsfor that purpose. He landed at
Alexandria,in Virginia,and thence marched to Fredericktown,in
Maryland,where he halted for carriages.2Our Assembly,appre-hending
from some information that he had conceived violent
prejudicesagainstthem as averse to the service,wished me to
wait upon him,not as from them, but as postmaster-general,under the guiseof proposingto settlewith him the mode of con-ducting
with most celerityand certaintythe dispatchesbetween
him and the governors of the several provinces,with whom he
must necessarilyhave continual correspondence,and of which
theyproposedto pay the expense. My son accompaniedme on
thisjourney.We found the generalat Fredericktown,waitingimpatientlyfor
1 A tax or dutyon certain home productions.2 Gun carriages,transportwagons, etc.
154 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
the return of those he had sent throughthe back parts of Mary-landand Virginiato collect wagons. I stayedwith him several
days,dined with him daily,and had fullopportunityof removingall his prejudicesby the information of what the Assemblyhadbefore his arrivalactuallydone,and were stillwillingto do, to
facilitatehisoperations.When I was about to depart,the returns
of wagons to be obtained were broughtin,by which itappearedthat theyamounted onlyto twenty-five,and not all of those were
in serviceable condition. The generaland all the officerswere
surprised,declared the expeditionwTas then at an end,beingim-possible,
and exclaimed againstthe ministers1 for ignorantlylandingthem in a country destituteof the means of conveyingtheir stores,baggage,etc.,not less than one hundred and fiftywagons beingnecessary.
I happened to say I thoughtit was pitytheyhad not been
landed rather in Pennsylvania,as in that country almost everyfarmer had his wagon. The generaleagerlylaid hold of my
words,and said :" Then you, sir,who are a man of interestthere,
can probablyprocure them for us, and I beg you will undertake
it." I asked what terms were to be offered the owners of the
wagons, and I was desired to put on paper the terms that ap-peared
to me necessary. This I did,and theywere agreedto,and a commission and instructionsaccordinglypreparedimme-diately.
What those terms were will appear in the advertisement
1 publishedas soon as I arrived at Lancaster,which being,from
the great and sudden effect itproduced,a pieceof some curiosity,I shallinsertitat lengthas follows :
Advertisement.
Lancaster, April26, 1755.
Whereas, one hundred and fiftywagons, with four horses to each wagon,
and fifteenhundred saddle or packhorses,are wanted for the service of his
Majesty'sforces now about to rendezvous at Will's Creek,and his Excellency,General Braddock,havingbeen pleasedto empower me to contract for the
hire of the same, I herebygivenotice that I shall attend for that purpose at
1 Of the government at London, as on p. 147.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 155
Lancaster from this day to next Wednesday evening, and at York from next
Thursday morning tillFridayevening,where I shall be readyto agree for
wagons and teams, or singlehorses,on the followingterms, viz.: I. That
there shall be paidfor each wagon, with four goodhorses and a driver,fifteen
shillingsper diem j1and for each able horse with a packsaddle,or other sad-dle
and furniture,two shillingsper diem ; and for each able horse without a
saddle,eighteenpenceper diem. 2. That the pay commence from the time
of their joiningthe forces at Will's Creek, which must be on or before the
20th of May ensuing,and that a reasonable allowance be paidover and above
for the time necessary for their travelingto Will's Creek and home againafter
their discharge.3. Each wagon and team, and every saddle or packhorse,is to be valued by indifferent2 persons chosen between me and the owner ; and
in case of the loss of any wagon, team, or other horse in the service,the price
accordingto such valuation is to be allowed and paid. 4. Seven days'pay is
to be advanced and paidin hand by me to the owner of each wagon and team,
or horse,at the time of contracting,ifrequired,and the remainder to be paid
by General Braddock, or by the paymaster of the army, at the time of their
discharge,or from time to time,as it shall be demanded. 5. No drivers of
wagons, or persons takingcare of the hired horses,are on any account to be
called upon to do the dutyof soldiers,or be otherwise employedthan in con-ducting
or takingcare of their carriagesor horses. 6. All oats, Indian corn,
or other foragethat wagons or horses bringto the camp, more than is neces-sary
for the subsistence of the horses,is to be taken for the use of the army,
and a reasonable pricepaidfor the same.
Note. " My son, William Franklin,is empowered to enter into like con-tracts
with any person in Cumberland County.B. Franklin.
^To the Inhabitants of the Counties of Lancaster, York, and
Cumberland.
Friends and Countrymen : Beingoccasionallyat the camp at Frederick,
a few dayssince,I found the generaland officersextremelyexasperatedon ac-count
of their not beingsuppliedwith horses and carriages,which had been
expectedfrom this province,as most able to furnish them ; but,throughthe
dissensions between our governor and Assembly,money had not been pro-vided,
nor any stepstaken for that purpose.
It was proposedto send an armed force immediatelyinto these counties,to
seize as many of the best carriagesand horses as should be wanted, and com-pel
as many persons into the service as would be necessary to drive and take
care of them.
1 " Per diem,"i.e.,a day,or per day. 2 Disinterested.
6 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
I apprehendedthat the progress of British soldiers throughthese counties
on such an occasion,especiallyconsideringthe temper theyare in,and their
resentment againstus, would be attended with many and greatinconveniences
to the inhabitants,and therefore more willinglytook the trouble of tryingfirstwhat mightbe done by fair and equitablemeans. The peopleof these back
counties have latelycomplainedto the Assemblythat a sufficientcurrency was
wanting. You have an opportunityof receivingand dividingamong you a
very considerable sum ; for,ifthe service of this expeditionshould continue,
as itis more than probableitwill,for one hundred and twentydays,the hire
of these wagons and horses will amount to upwardof thirtythousand pounds,which will be paidyou in silver and goldof the king'smoney.
The service will be lightand easy, for the army will scarce march above
twelve miles per day,and the wagons and baggagehorses,as theycarry those
thingsthat are absolutelynecessary to the welfare of the army, must march
with the army, and no faster;and are, for the army'ssake,alwaysplacedwhere theycan be most secure, whether in a march or in a camp.
If you are really,as I believe you are, goodand loyalsubjectsto his Majesty,
you may now do a most acceptableservice,and make it easy to yourselves;for three or four of such as cannot separatelyspare from the business of their
plantationsa wagon and four horses and a driver,may do it together,one
furnishingthe wagon, another,one or two horses,and another,the driver,and divide the pay proportionatelybetween you ; but ifyou do not thisservice
to your king and country voluntarily,when such good pay and reasonable
terms are offered to you, your loyaltywill be stronglysuspected.The king'sbusiness must be done ; so many brave troops,come so far for your defense,must not stand idlethroughyour backwardness to do what may be reasonablyexpectedfrom you ; wagons and horses must be had ; violent measures will
probablybe used,and you will be leftto seek for a recompense where you can
find it,and your case, perhaps,be littlepitiedor regarded.I have no particularinterest in this affair,as, exceptthe satisfactionof en-deavoring
to do good,I shall have onlymy labor for my pains. If this
method of obtainingthe wagons and horses is not likelyto succeed,I am
obligedto send word to the generalin fourteen days; and I suppose Sir JohnSt. Clair,the hussar,!with a body of soldiers,will immediatelyenter the
provincefor the purpose, which I shall be sorry to hear,because I am very
sincerelyand trulyyour friend and wellwisher,B. Franklin.
I received of the generalabout eighthundred pounds,to be
disbursed in advance money to the wagon owners, etc. ; but that
1 A member of the lightcavalry.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 1 57
sum beinginsufficient,I advanced upward of two hundred pounds
more, and in two weeks the one hundred and fiftywagons, with
two hundred and fifty-ninecarryinghorses,1were on their march
for the camp. The advertisement promisedpayment accordingto the valuation,in case any wagon or horse should be lost. The
owners, however,allegingtheydid not know General Braddock,or what dependencemightbe had on his promise,insistedon my
bond for the performance,which I accordinglygave them.
While I was at the camp suppingone eveningwith the officers
of Colonel Dunbar's regiment,he representedto me his concern
foi'the subalterns,2who, he said,were generallynot in affluence,and could illafford,in this dear country,to layin the stores that
might be necessary in so long a march througha wilderness,where nothingwas to be purchased. I commiserated theircase,
and resolved to endeavor procuringthem some relief. I said
nothing,however,to him of my intention,but wrote the next
morningto the.committee of the Assemblywho had the disposi-tionof some publicmoney, warmly recommending the case of
these officersto theirconsideration,and proposingthat a present
should be sent them of necessaries and refreshments. My son,
who had some experienceof a camp lifeand of itswants, drew
up a listfor me, which I inclosed in my letter. The committee
approved,and used such diligencethat,conducted by my son, the
stores arrived at the camp as soon as the wagons. They consisted
of twenty parcels,each containing
6 lbs. loaf sugar, I Gloucester cheese,6 lbs. good Muscovado 3 do., I keg containing20 lbs. good butter,
I lb. good green tea, 2 doz. old Madeira wine,
I lb. goodbohea do., 2 gals.Jamaicaspirits,6 lbs. good groundcoffee, I bottle flour of mustard,
6 lbs. chocolate, 2 well-cured hams,
i cwt. best white biscuit, -Jdoz. dried tongues,
i lb. pepper, 6 lbs. rice,
I quart best white wine vinegar, 6 lbs. raisins.
l'" Carryinghorses,"i.e.,carryingpacksor burdens upon the back.
2 Juniorand subordinate officers. 3 Muscovado sugar is brown sugar,
158 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
These twenty parcels,well packed,were placedon as many
horses,each parcel,with the horse,beingintended as a present
for one officer. They were very thankfullyreceived,and the kind-ness
acknowledgedby letters to me from the colonels of both
regimentsin the most gratefulterms. The general,too, was
highlysatisfiedwith my conduct in procuringhim the wagons,
etc.,and readilypaidmy account of disbursements,thankingme
repeatedly,and requestingmy further assistancein sendingpro-visions
afterhim. I undertook thisalso,and was busilyemployedin ittillwe heard of his defeat,advancingfor the service,of my
own money, upward of one thousand poundssterling,of which I
sent him an account. It came to his hands,luckilyfor me, a few
daysbefore the battle,and he returned me immediatelyan order
on the paymaster for the round sum of one thousand pounds,
leavingthe remainder to the next account. I consider thispay-ment
as good luck,having never been able to obtain that re-mainder,
of which more hereafter.
This generalwas, I think,a brave man, and mightprobably
haye made a figureas a good officer in some European war.
But he had too much self-confidence,too highan opinionof the
validityof regulartroops,and too mean a one of both Americans
and Indians. GeorgeCroghan,our Indian interpreter,joinedhim
on his march with one hundred of those people,who mighthave
been of great use to his army as guides,scouts,etc.,if he had
treated them kindly; but he slightedand neglectedthem,and
theygraduallylefthim.
In conversation with him one day he was givingme some ac-count
of his intended progress." After takingFort Duquesne,"*
says he, " I am to proceedto Niagara; and,havingtaken that,
to Frontenac,ifthe season will allow time,and I suppose itwill,for Duquesne can hardlydetain me above three or four days;and then I see nothingthat can obstruct my march to Niagara."
Having before revolved in my mind the longline his army must
-1 Upon the siteof this fort Pittsburgis built. The French were also for-tified
at Niagaraand at Frontenac on Lake Ontario.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 159
make in theirmarch by a very narrow road,to be cut for them
throughthe woods and bushes,and also what I had read of a
former defeat of fifteenhundred French,who invaded the Iroquois
country, I had conceived some doubts and some fears for the
event of the campaign. But I ventured onlyto say: "To be
sure, sir,ifyou arrivewell before Duquesnewith thesefinetroops,
so well providedwith artillery,that place,not yet completelyfortified,and, as we hear,with no very strong garrison,can
probablymake but a short resistance. The onlydangerI appre-hend
of obstruction to your march isfrom ambuscades of Indians,
who, by constant practice,are dexterous in layingand executingthem ; and the slender line,near four miles long,which your army
must make, may expose itto be attacked by surprisein itsflanks,and to be cut like a thread into several pieces,which,from their
distance,cannot come up in time to support each other."
He smiled at my ignorance,and replied: " These savages may,
indeed,be a formidable enemy to your raw American militia,but
upon the king'sregularand disciplinedtroops,sir,itisimpossible
theyshould make any impression."I was conscious of an im-propriety
in my disputingwith a militaryman in matters of his
profession,and said no more. The enemy, however,did not take
the advantageof his army which I apprehendeditslongline of
march exposeditto,but let it advance without interruptiontill
within nine miles of the place; and then,when more in a body
(forithad justpasseda riverwhere the front had halted tillall
had come over),and in a more open partof the woods than any
it had passed,attacked itsadvance guardby a heavyfire from
behind trees and bushes,which was the firstintelligencethe gen-eral
had of an enemy'sbeingnear him. This guardbeingdis-ordered,
the generalhurried the troops up to their assistance,
which was done in greatconfusion,throughwagons, baggage,and
cattle; and presentlythe firecame upon theirflank. The officers,
beingon horseback,were more easilydistinguished,pickedout as
marks,and fellvery fast ; and the soldierswere crowded togetherin a huddle,havingor hearingno orders,and standingto be shot
l6o THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
at tilltwo thirds of them were killed; and then,beingseized with
a panic,the whole fled with precipitation.The wagoners took each a horse out of his team, and scam-pered
; theirexamplewas immediatelyfollowed by others,so that
all the wagons, provisions,artillery,and stores were leftto the
enemy. The general,beingwounded, was broughtoff with diffi-culty
; his secretary,Mr. Shirley,was killed by his side; and out
of eighty-sixofficers,sixty-threewere killedor wounded,and seven
hundred and fourteen men killed out of eleven hundred. .These
eleven hundred had been pickedmen from the whole army ; the
rest had been leftbehind with Colonel Dunbar,who was to follow
with the heavier part of the stores,provisions,and baggage. The
flyers,not beingpursued,arrived at Dunbar's camp, and the panic
theybroughtwith them instantlyseized him and allhis people;and thoughhe had now above one thousand men, and the enemy
who had beaten Braddock did not at most exceed four hundred
Indians and French together,instead of proceedingand endeav-oring
to recover some of the lost honor,he ordered allthe stores,
ammunition,etc.,to be destroyed,that he mighthave more horses
to assisthis flighttoward the settlements and lesslumber to re-move.
He was there met with requestsfrom the governors of
Virginia,Maryland,and Pennsylvania,that he would post his
troopson the frontiers so as to afford some protectionto the in-habitants;
but he continued his hastymarch throughall the
country,not thinkinghimself safe tillhe arrived at Philadelphia,where the inhabitants could protecthim. This whole transaction
gave us Americans the firstsuspicionthat our exalted ideas of the
prowess of British regularshad not been well founded.
In their firstmarch,too,from theirlandingtilltheygotbeyondthe settlements,theyhad plunderedand strippedthe inhabitants,
totallyruiningsome poor families,besides insulting,abusing,and
confiningthe peopleif theyremonstrated. This was enough to
put us out of conceit of such defenders,if we had reallywanted
any. How different was the conduct of our French friends in
1 781, who, duringa march throughthe most inhabited part of
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 161
our countryfrom Rhode Island to Virginia,near seven hundred
miles,occasioned not the smallest complaintfor the lossof a pig,a chicken,or even an apple.
CaptainOrme, who was one of the general'saids-de-camp,
and,beinggrievouslywounded, was broughtoff with him and
continued with him to his death,which happenedin a'few days,told me that he was totallysilentall the firstday,and at night
onlysaid: "Who would have thoughtit?" that he was silent
againthe followingday,sayingonlyat last: "We shall better
know how to deal with them another time,"and died in a few
minutes after.
The secretary'spapers, with all the general'sorders,instruc-tions,
and correspondence,fallinginto the enemy'shands,theyselected and translated into French a number of the articles,which theyprinted,to prove the hostile intentionsof the British
court before the declaration of war. Among these I saw some
lettersof the generalto the ministry,speakinghighlyof the great
service I had rendered the army, and recommendingme to their
notice. David Hume,1 too,who was some years after secretaryto Lord Hertford when minister in France,and afterward to*
General Conway when secretaryof state,told me he had seen,
among the papers in that office,letters from Braddock highlyrecommending me. But,the expeditionhavingbeen unfortu-nate,
my service,it seems, was not thoughtof much value,for
those recommendations were never of any use to me.
As to rewards from himself,I asked onlyone, which was that
he would giveorders to his officersnot to enlistany more of our
boughtservants,2and that he would dischargesuch as had been
alreadyenlisted. This he readilygranted,and several were ac-cordingly
returned to their masters on my application.Dunbar,when the command devolved on him,was not so generous. He
beingat Philadelphia,on his retreat,or rather flight,I applied
1 The historian and philosopher.He was born in 171 1 and died in 1776.2 " Bought servants,"i.e.,those whose service had been boughtfor a
term of years (seeNote 2, p. 69).
II
1 62 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
to him for the dischargeof the servants of three poor farmers
of Lancaster County that he had enlisted,remindinghim of the
late general'sorders on that head. He promisedme that,ifthe
masters would come to him at Trenton,where he should be in a
few days on his march to New York, he would there deliver
their men' to them. They accordinglywere at the expense and
trouble of goingto Trenton,and there he refused to performhis
promise,to theirgreat loss and disappointment.As soon as the loss of the wagons and horses was generally
known, all the owners came upon me for the valuation which I
had givenbond to pay. Their demands gave me a greatdeal of
trouble. My acquaintingthem that the money was readyin the
paymaster'shands,but that orders for payingitmust firstbe ob-tained
from General Shirley,and my assuringthem that I had
appliedto that generalby letter,but,he beingat a distance,an an-swer
could not soon be received,and theymust have patience,"
all thiswas not sufficientto satisfy,and some began to sue me.
General Shirleyat lengthrelieved me from thisterriblesituation
by appointingcommissioners to examine the claims,and order-ing
payment. They amounted to near twenty thousand pounds,which to pay would have ruined me.
Before we had the news of thisdefeat,the two Doctors Bond
came to me with a subscriptionpaper for raisingmoney to defraythe expense of a grand firework,which it was intended to
exhibit at a rejoicingon receiptof the news of our takingFort
Duquesne. I looked grave, and said it would, I thought,be
time enough to prepare for the rejoicingwhen we knew we
should have occasion to rejoice.They seemed surprisedthat I
did not immediatelycomply with theirproposal." Why," says
one of them, "
you surelydon't suppose that the fort willnot be
taken? " "I don't know that it will not be taken,but I know
that the events of war are subjectto greatuncertainty."I gave
them the reasons of my doubting; the subscriptionwas dropped,and the projectorstherebymissed the mortificationtheywould
have undergoneif the firework had been prepared. Dr. Bond,
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 1 63
on some other occasion afterward,said that he did not like
Franklin's forebodings.Governor Morris,who had continuallyworried the Assembly
with message after message, before the defeat of Braddock,to
beat them into the making of acts to raise money for the defense
of the provincewithout taxing,among others,the proprietaryestates,and had rejectedall their billsfor not havingsuch an
exemptingclause,now redoubled his attacks with more hope of
success, the dangerand necessitybeinggreater. The Assembly,however,continued firm,believingtheyhad justiceon theirside,and that itwould be givingup an essentialrightiftheysuffered
the governor to amend their money bills. In one of the last,
indeed,which was for grantingfiftythousand pounds,his pro-posed
amendment was onlyof a singleword. The billexpressedthat all estates,real and personal,were to be taxed,those of the
proprietariesnot excepted. His amendment was," for not read
only" " a small,but very material,alteration.
However, when the news of this disaster reached England,our
friends there,whom we had taken care to furnish with all the
Assembly'sanswers to the governor'smessages, raised a clamor
againstthe proprietariesfor theirmeanness and injusticein givingtheir governor such instructions; some goingso far as to say that,
by obstructingthe defense of theirprovince,theyforfeitedtheir
rightto it. They were intimidated by this,and sent orders to their
receiver-generalto add five thousand pounds of theirmoney to
whatever sum mightbe givenby the Assemblyfor such purpose.
This,beingnotifiedto the House, was acceptedin lieu of their
share of a generaltax,and a new billwas formed,with an ex-empting
clause,which passedaccordingly.By this act I was
appointedone of the commissioners for disposingof the money,
" sixtythousand pounds. I had been active in modelingthe bill
and procuringits passage, and had,at the same time,drawn a
billfor establishingand disciplininga voluntarymilitia,which I
carried throughthe House without much difficulty,as care was
taken in it to leave the Quakers at their liberty.To promote
164 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
the associationnecessary to form the militia,I wrote a dialogue,1
statingand answeringallthe objectionsI could think of to such
a militia,which was printed,and had,as I thought,great effect.
While the several companiesin the cityand country were
forming,and learningtheir exercise,the governor prevailedwith
me to take chargeof our northwestern frontier,which was in-fested
by the enemy, and providefor the defense of the inhabit-ants
by raisingtroops and buildinga line of forts. I undertook
this militarybusiness,though I did not conceive myselfwell
qualifiedfor it. He gave me a commission with full powers,
and a parcelof blank commissions for officers,to be givento
whom I thoughtfit. I had but littledifficultyin raisingmen,
havingsoon five hundred and sixtyunder my command. My
son, who had in the precedingwar been an officerin the army
raised againstCanada, was my aid-de-camp,and of great use to
me. The Indians had burned Gnadenhut, a villagesettledbythe Moravians,and massacred the inhabitants; but the placewas
thoughta good situationfor one of the forts.
In order to march thither,I assembled the companiesat Beth-lehem,2
the chief establishment of those people.I was surprised
to find it in so good a posture of defense ; the destruction of
Gnadenhut had made them apprehenddanger. The principal
buildingswere defended by a stockade,theyhad purchaseda
quantityof arms and ammunition from New York,and had even
placedquantitiesof small pavingstones between the windows of
their highstone houses,for theirwomen to throw down upon the
heads of any Indians that should attempt to force into them.
The armed brethren,too,keptwatch,and relieved3 as method-ically
as in any garrisontown. In conversation with the bishop,
Spangenberg,I mentioned this my surprise; for,knowing theyhad obtained an act of Parliament exemptingthem from military
1 This dialogueand the militia act are in the Gentleman's Magazinefor
Februaryand March, 1756.2 Fifty-fivemiles north of Philadelphia.3 Relieved one another in militaryduty.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 165
duties in the colonies,I had supposedtheywere conscientiouslyscrupulousof bearingarms. He answered me that it was not
one of their established principles,but that,at the time of their
obtainingthat act,itwas thoughtto be a principlewith many of
their people. On thisoccasion,however,they,to theirsurprise,found itadoptedby but a few. It seems theywere either de-ceived
in themselves or deceived the Parliament ; but common
sense, aided by presentdanger,willsometimes be too strongfor
whimsical opinions.It was the beginningof Januarywhen we set out upon this
business of buildingforts. I sent one detachment toward the
Minisink,1with instructionsto erect one for the securityof that
upper part of the country,and another to the lower part,with
similarinstructions; and I concluded to go myselfwith the rest
of my force to Gnadenhut,where a fort was thoughtmore im-mediately
necessary. The Moravians procuredme five wagons
for our tools,stores,baggage,etc.
Justbefore we leftBethlehem,eleven farmers,who had been
driven from theirplantationsby the Indians,came to me request-ing
a supplyof firearms,that theymightgo back and fetch off
theircattle. I gave them each a gun with suitableammunition.
We had not marched many miles before itbegan to rain,and it
continued rainingallday. There were no habitationson the road
to shelterus tillwe arrived,near night,at the house of a German,
where,and in his barn,we were all huddled together,as wet as
water could make us. It was well we were not attacked in our
march,for our arms were of the most ordinarysort,and our men
could not keep their gunlocksdry. The Indians are dexterous
in contrivances for that purpose, which we had not. They met
that day the eleven poor farmers above mentioned,and killedten
of them. The one who escapedinformed us that his and his com-panions'
guns would not go off,the priming2beingwet with the rain.
1 The exact location is not known.
2 The powder used to fire the cha *ge. It was ignitedby a sparkfrom the
flintlock. \
1 66 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
The next daybeingfair,we continued our march, and arrived
at the desolated Gnadenhut. There was a sawmill near, round
which were leftseveral pilesof boards,with which we soon hutted
ourselves,"an operationthe more necessary at that inclement
season as we had no tents. Our firstwork was to burymore
effectuallythe dead we found there,who had been half interred
by the countrypeople.The next morning our fort was plannedand marked out,the
circumference measuringfour hundred and fifty-fivefeet,which
would requireas many palisadesto be made of trees,one with
another,of a foot diameter each. Our axes, of which we had
seventy,were immediatelyset to work to cut down trees,and,
our men beingdexterous in the use of them, greatdispatchwasmade. Seeingthe trees fallso fast,I had the curiosityto look
at my watch when two men began to cut at a pine;in six
minutes theyhad itupon the ground,and I found itof fourteen
inches' diameter. Each pinemade three palisadesof eighteenfeet long,pointedat one end. While these were preparing,ourother men dug a trench all round,of three feet deep,in which
the palisadeswere to be planted; and our wagons, the bodies
beingtaken off,and the fore and hind wheels separatedby takingout the pinwhich united the two partsof the perch,1we had ten
carriages,with two horses each,to bringthe palisadesfrom the
woods to the spot. When theywere set up, our carpentersbuilt
a stage of boards all round within,about six feet high,for the
men to stand on when to firethroughthe loopholes.We had
one swivel gun,2which we mounted on one of the angles,and
fired it as soon as fixed,to let the Indians know, if any were
within hearing,that we had such pieces; and thus our fort,if
such a magnificentname may be givento so miserable a stock-ade,
was finished in a week,thoughitrained so hard every other
day that the men could not work.
This gave me occasion to observe that,when men are em-
i Pole.
2 " Swivel gun,"i.e.,a gun turningupon a swivel or pivotin any direction.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 167
ployed,theyare best contented ; for on the daystheyworked
theywere good-naturedand cheerful,and,with the conscious-ness
of havingdone a good day'swork,theyspent the eveningjollily; but on our idle daystheywere mutinous and quarrel-some,
findingfault with their pork,the bread,etc.,and in con-tinual
illhumor, which put me in mind of a sea captain,whose
rule itwas to keep his men constantlyat work ; and,when his
mate once told him that theyhad done everything,and there
was nothingfurtherto employthem about,"Oh,"says he," make
them scour the anchor."
This kind of fort,however contemptible,is a sufficientdefense
againstIndians,who have no cannon. Findingourselves now
postedsecurely,and havinga placeto retreat to on occasion,weventured out in partiesto scour the adjacentcountry. We met
with no Indians,but we found the placeson the neighboringhillswhere theyhad lain to watch our proceedings.There was
an art in theircontrivance of those placesthat seems worth men-tion.
It beingwinter,a firewas necessary for them ; but a com-mon
fire on the surface of the groundwould,by itslight,have
discovered theirpositionat a distance. They had therefore dugholes in the ground about three feet in diameter,and somewhat
deeper. We saw where theyhad with theirhatchets cut off the
charcoal from the sides of burnt logslyingin the woods. With
these coals theyhad made small firesin the bottom of the holes,and we observed among the weeds and grass the printsof their
bodies,made by their lyingall round,with their legshangingdown in the holes to keep theirfeet warm, which,with them,is
an essentialpoint. This kind of fire,so managed, could not
discover them, either by itslight,flame,sparks,or even smoke.
It appeared that their number was not great,and it seems theysaw we were too many to be attacked by them with prospect of
advantage.We had for our chaplaina zealous Presbyterianminister,Mr.
Beatty,who complainedto me that the men did not generallyattend his prayers and exhortations. When theyenlisted,they
1 68 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
were promised,besides pay and provisions,a gillof rum a day,which was punctuallyserved out to them,half in the morning,and the other half in the evening,and I observed theywere as
punctualin attendingto receive it;upon which I said to Mr.
Beatty:" It is,perhaps,below the dignityof your professionto
act as steward of the rum, but if you were to deal it out,and
onlyjustafter prayers, you would have them all about you."He liked the thought,undertook the office,and,with the helpof
a few hands to measure out the liquor,executed itto satisfaction,and never were prayers more generallyand more punctuallyattended ; so that I thoughtthis method preferableto the pun-ishment
inflictedby some militarylaws for nonattendance on
divine service.
I had hardlyfinished thisbusiness,and got my fort well stored
with provisions,when I received a letter from the governor,
acquaintingme that he had called the Assembly,and wished my
attendance there if the posture of affairson the frontierswas
such that my remainingthere was no longernecessary. My
friends,too, of the Assembly,pressingme by their lettersto be,
ifpossible,at the meeting,and my three intended fortsbeingnow
completed,and the inhabitants contented to remain on their
farms under that protection,I resolved to return ; the more will-ingly,
as a New England officer,Colonel Clapham,experiencedin Indian war, beingon a visitto our establishment,consented
to accept the command. I gave him a commission,and,parad-ingthe garrison,had itread before them, and introduced him
to them as an officerwho, from his skillin militaryaffairs,was
much more fitto command them than myself; and,givingthem
a littleexhortation,took my leave. I was escorted as far as
Bethlehem,where I rested a few daysto recover from the fatigueI had undergone. The firstnight,beingin a good bed,I could
hardlysleep,it was so different from my hard lodgingon the
floor of our hut at Gnaden, wrappedonlyin a blanket or two.
While at Bethlehem,I inquireda littleinto the practiceof the
Moravians ; some of them had accompaniedme, and all were
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 169
very kind to me. I found theyworked for a common stock,1
ate at common tables,and sleptin common dormitories,greatnumbers together.In the dormitories I observed loopholes,atcertain distances allalongjustunder the ceiling,which I thought
judiciouslyplacedfor change of air. I was at their church,where I was entertained with good music,the organ beingaccom-panied
with violins,hautboys,flutes,clarinets,etc. I understood
that their sermons were not usuallypreachedto mixed congrega-tions
of men, women, and children,as is our common practice,but that theyassembled sometimes the married men, at other
times their wives,then the young men, the young women, and
the littlechildren,each division by itself. The sermon I heard
was to the latter,who came in and were placedin rows on
benches; the boys under the conduct of a young man, their
tutor,and the girlsconducted by a young woman. The dis-course
seemed well adaptedto theircapacities,and was delivered
in a pleasing,familiar manner, coaxingthem, as it were, to be
good. They behaved very orderly,but looked pale and un-healthy,
which made me suspecttheywere kepttoo much within
doors,or not allowed sufficientexercise.
I inquiredconcerningthe Moravian marriages, whether the
report was true that theywere by lot. I was told that lots were
used onlyin particularcases ; that generally,when a young man
found himself disposedto marry, he informed the elders of his
class,who consulted the elder ladies that governedthe young
women. As these elders of the different sexes were well ac-quainted
with the tempers and dispositionsof their respective
pupils,theycould best judgewhat matches were suitable,and
their judgmentswere generallyacquiescedin ; but if,for exam-ple,
itshould happen that two or three young women were found
to be equallyproper for the young man, the lot was then recurred
to. I objected,if the matches are not made by the mutual
choice of the parties,some of them may chance to be very un-happy.
" And so theymay,"answered my informer," ifyou let
* Fund,
170 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
the partieschoose for themselves;"which,indeed,I could not
deny.
Beingreturned to Philadelphia,I found the association went
on swimmingly,the inhabitants that were not Quakers having
prettygenerallycome into it,formed themselves into companies,and chosen theircaptains,lieutenants,and ensigns,accordingto
the new law. Dr. B. visitedme, and gave me an account of the
painshe had taken to spreada generalgood likingto the law,and ascribed much to those endeavors. I had had the vanityto
ascribe all to my" Dialogue;"however,not knowingbut that he
mightbe in the right,I let him enjoyhis opinion,which I take
to be generallythe best way in such cases. The officers,meet-ing,
chose me to be colonel of the regiment,which I this time
accepted.I forgethow many companieswe had,but we paradedabout twelve hundred well-lookingmen, with a company of artil-lery,
who had been furnished with six brass fieldpieces,1which
theyhad become so expert in the use of as to firetwelve times
in a minute. The firsttime I reviewed my regimenttheyaccom-panied
me to my house,and would salute me with some rounds
firedbefore my door,which shook down and broke several glassesof my electricalapparatus. And my new honor proved not
much less brittle; for allour commissions were soon after broken
by a repealof the law in England.
During this short time of my colonelship,beingabout to set
out on a journeyto Virginia,the officersof my regimenttook it
into their heads that it would be proper for them to escort me
out of town, as far as the Lower Ferry. Justas I was gettingon horseback theycame to my door,between thirtyand forty,
mounted, and all in their uniforms. I had not been previously
acquaintedwith the project,or I should have preventedit,being
naturallyaverse to the assumingof state on any occasion ; and
I was a good deal chagrinedat theirappearance, as I could not
avoid their accompanyingme. What made it worse was that
as soon as we began to move, theydrew their swords and rode
1 Lightcannon mounted on ci
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. I ^ I
with them naked all the way. Somebody wrote an account of
this to the proprietor,and it gave him great offense. No such
honor had been paidhim when in the province,nor to any of his
governors, and he said it was onlyproper to princesof the blood
royal; which may be true for aughtI know, who was, and still
am, ignorantof the etiquettein such cases.
This sillyaffair,however,greatlyincreased his rancor against
me, which was before not a littleon account of my conduct in
the Assemblyrespectingthe exemptionof his estate from taxa-tion,
which I had alwaysopposedvery warmly,and not without
severe reflections on his meanness and injusticeof contendingfor
it. He accused me to the ministryas beingthe great obstacle
to the king'sservice,preventing,by my influence in the House,the proper form of the billsfor raisingmoney ; and he instanced
this paradewith my officersas a proofof my havingan intention
to take the government of the provinceout of his hands by force.
He alsoappliedto Sir Everard Fawkener,the postmaster-general,to depriveme of my office; but it had no other effect than to
procure from Sir Everard a gentleadmonition.
Notwithstandingthe continual wranglebetween the governor
and the House, in which I,as a member, had so largea share,there stillsubsisted a civilintercourse between that gentlemanand myself,and we never had any personaldifference. I have
sometimes since thoughtthat his littleor no resentment against
me for the answers it was known I drew up to his messages,
mightbe the effect of professionalhabit,and that,beingbred a
lawyer,he might consider us both as merelyadvocates for con-tending
clientsin a suit,he for the proprietariesand I for the
Assembly. He would,therefore,sometimes call in a friendly
way to advise with me on difficultpoints,and sometimes,thoughnot often,take my advice.
We acted in concert to supplyBraddock's army with provi-sions;and when the shockingnews arrived of his defeat,the
governor sent in haste for me to consult with him on measures
for preventingthe desertion of the back counties. I forgetnow
172 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OE
the advice I gave ; but I think it was that Dunbar should be
written to, and prevailedwith,if possible,to post his troops on
the frontiers for their protection,till,by reinforcements from the
colonies,he mightbe able to proceedon the expedition.And,after my return from the frontier,he would have had me under-take
the conduct of such an expeditionwith provincialtroops,for the reduction of Fort Duquesne,Dunbar and his men beingotherwise employed; and he proposedto commission me as
general.I had not so good an opinionof my militaryabilities
as he professedto have,and I believe his professionsmust have
exceeded his real sentiments ; but probablyhe might think that
my popularitywould facilitatethe raisingof the men, and my
influence in Assembly,the grant of money to pay them,and that,
perhaps,without taxingthe proprietaryestate. Findingme not
so forward to engage as he expected,the projectwas dropped,and he soon after leftthe government, beingsupersededby Cap-tain
Denny.Before I proceedin relatingthe part I had in publicaffairs
under this new governor'sadministration,it may not be amiss
here to givesome account of the rise and progress of my philo-sophical
reputation.
" 9. THE PHILADELPHIA EXPERIMENTS.
IN1746,beingat Boston,I met there with a Dr. Spence,who
was latelyarrived from Scotland,and showed me some elec-tric
experiments.They were imperfectlyperformed,as he was
not very expert; but,beingon a subjectquitenew to me, they
equallysurprisedand pleasedme. Soon after my return to Phil-adelphia,
our librarycompany received from Mr. Collinson,
Fellow of the RoyalSocietyof London, a presentof a glasstube,with some account of the use of it in making such experiments.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 173
I eagerlyseized the opportunityof repeatingwhat I had seen at
Boston ; and,by much practice,acquiredgreat readiness in per-forming
those,also,which we had an account of from England,
adding a number of new ones. I say much practice,for my
house was continuallyfull,for some time,with peoplewho came
to see these new wonders.
To divide a littlethisincumbrance among my friends,I caused
a number of similar tubes to be blown at our glasshouse,with
which theyfurnished themselves,so that we had at lengthseveral
performers.Among these,the principalwas Mr. Kinnersley,an
ingeniousneighbor,who, beingout of business,I encouragedto
undertake showingthe experimentsfor money, and drew up for
him two lectures,in which the experimentswere rangedin such
order,and accompaniedwith such explanationsin such method,
as that the foregoingshould assistin comprehendingthe follow-ing.
He procuredan elegantapparatus for the purpose, in which
all the littlemachines that I had roughlymade for myselfwere
nicelyformed by instrument makers. His lectures were well
attended,and gave great satisfaction; and after some time he
went throughthe colonies,exhibitingthem in every capitaltown,and pickedup some money. In the West India islands,indeed,it was with difficultythe experimentscould be made, from the
generalmoisture of the air.
Obligedas we were to Mr. Collinson for his present of the
tube,etc.,I thoughtitrighthe should be informed of our suc-cess
in usingit,and wrote him several letterscontainingaccountsof our experiments.He got them read in the Royal Society,where theywere not at firstthoughtworth so much notice as to
be printedin their " Transactions." One paper, which I wrote
for Mr. Kinnersley,on the sameness of lightningwith electricity,I sent to Dr. Mitchel,an acquaintanceof mine,and one of the
members also of that society,who wrote me word that it had
been read,but was laughedat by the connoisseurs. The papers,
however,beingshown to Dr. Fothergill,he thoughtthem of too
much value to be stifled,and advised the printingof them. Mr.
174 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
Collinson then gave them to Cave 1 for publicationin his " Gen-tleman's
Magazine;"but he chose to printthem separatelyin a
pamphlet,and Dr. Fothergillwrote the preface. Cave,it seems,
judgedrightlyfor his profit,for,by the additions that arrived
afterward,theyswelled to a quarto volume,which has had five
editions,and cost him nothingfor copy money.2It was, however,some time before those papers were much
taken notice of in England. A copy of them happeningto fall
into the hands of the Count de BufTon,a philosopherdeservedlyof great reputationin France,and, indeed,all over Europe,he
prevailedwith M.3 Dalibard to translatethem into French,and
theywere printedat Paris. The publicationoffended the Abbe 4
Nollet,preceptor in natural philosophyto the royalfamilyand
an able experimenter,who had formed and publisheda theoryof electricitywhich then had the generalvogue. He could not
at firstbelieve that such a work came from America,and said it
must have been fabricated by his enemies at Paris,to decryhis
system. Afterward,havingbeen assured that there reallyexisted
such a person as Franklin at Philadelphia,which he had doubted,
he wrote and publisheda volume of "
Letters,"chieflyaddressed
to me, defendinghis theory,and denyingthe verityof my experi-ments,and of the positionsdeduced from them.
I once purposedansweringthe abbe,and actuallybegan the
answer ; but,on consideration that my writingscontained a de-scription
of experimentswhich any one mightrepeat and verify,and if not to be verified,could not be defended ; or of observa-tions
offered as conjectures,and not delivered dogmatically,therefore not layingme under any obligationto defend them;
1 The publisher,Edward Cave (i691-1754),was the founder of the Gen-tleman's
Magazine,the earliestliteraryjournalof the kind.
2 "
Copy money," i.e.,money paidfor the copy or article.
3 Monsieur.
4 A titleformerlyassumed in France by a classof men who had slightcon-nections
with the church,and were employedas teachers or engagedin some
literarypursuit.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 1 75
and reflectingthat a disputebetween two persons writingin dif-ferent
languagesmightbe lengthenedgreatlyby mistranslations,and thence misconceptionsof one another's meaning,much of
one of the abbe's lettersbeingfounded on an error in the transla-tion,
I concluded to let my papers shiftfor themselves,believingit was better to spendwhat time I could spare from publicbusi-ness
in making new experiments,than in disputingabout those
alreadymade. I therefore never answered M. Nollet,and the
event gave me no cause to repent my silence;for my friend
M. le Roy, of the RoyalAcademy of Sciences,took up my cause
and refuted him, my book was translated into the Italian,Ger-man,
and Latin languages,and the doctrine it contained was bydegreesuniversallyadoptedby the philosophersof Europe,in
preferenceto that of the abbe ; so that he lived to see himself
the last of his sect,except Monsieur B,of Paris,his e'leve1
and immediate disciple.What gave my book the more sudden and generalcelebrity
was the success of one of its proposedexperiments,made byMessrs. Dalibard and De Lor at Marly,for drawinglightningfrom the clouds. This engagedthe publicattention everywhere.M. de Lor,who had an apparatusfor experimentalphilosophy,and lectured in that branch of science,undertook to repeatwhat
he called the "Philadelphiaexperiments,"and,aftertheywere per-formed
before the kingand court,allthe curious of Paris flocked
to see them. I will not swell this narrative with an account of
that capitalexperiment,nor of the infinitepleasureI received in
the success of a similar one I made soon after with a kite at Phil-adelphia,
as both are to be found in the historiesof electricity.Dr. Wright,an Englishphysician,when at Paris,wrote to a
friend 'who was of the Royal Society,an account of the highesteem my experiments11were in among the learned abroad,and
of their wonder that my writingshad been so littlenoticed in
England. The society,on this,resumed the consideration of the
lettersthat had been read to them ; and the celebrated Dr. Wat-
1 Pupil.
176 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
son drew up a summary account of them,and of all I had after-ward
sent to England on the subject,which he accompaniedwith some praiseof the writer. This summary was then printedin their "Transactions;"and some members of the societyin
London, particularlythe very ingeniousMr. Canton,havingveri-fied
the experimentof procuringlightningfrom the clouds by a
pointedrod,1and acquaintingthem with the success, theysoon
made me more than amends for the slightwith which theyhad
before treated me. Without my havingmade any applicationfor that honor,theychose me a member, and voted that I should
be excused the customary payments,which would have amounted
to twenty-fiveguineas,and ever since have givenme their " Trans-actions
" gratis.They also presentedme with the gold medal
of Sir GodfreyCopley for the year 1753, the deliveryof which
was accompaniedby a very handsome speechof the president,Lord Macclesfield,wherein I was highlyhonored.
Our new governor, CaptainDenny, broughtover for me the
before-mentioned medal from the Royal Society,which he pre-sented
to me at an entertainment givenhim by the city.He
accompaniedit with very politeexpressionsof his esteem for
me, having,as he said,been longacquaintedwith my character.
After dinner,when the company, as was customary at that time,
were engagedin drinking,he took me aside into another room,
and acquaintedme that he had been advised by his friends in
England to cultivatea friendshipwith me, as one who was capa-ble
of givinghim the best advice,and of contributingmost effec-tually
to the makinghis administration easy ; that he therefore de-sired
of allthingsto have a good understandingwith me, and he
beggedme to be assured of his readiness on alloccasions to render
me every service that mightbe in his power. He said much to
me, also,of the proprietor'sgood dispositiontoward the province,
1 The iron rod was on the kite which Franklin flew in a thunderstorm in
1752. A hemp cord conducted the electricityto a keynear his hand, and from
this he received the shock which provedthe truth of his theorythat lightningand electricityare one and the same.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. I 77
and of the advantageitmightbe to us all,and to me in particu-lar,ifthe oppositionthat had been so longcontinued to his meas-ures
was dropped,and harmony restored between him and the
people; in effectingwhich it was thoughtno one could be more
serviceable than myself,and I might depend on adequateac-knowledgments
and recompenses, etc. The drinkers,findingwe did not return immediatelyto the table,sent us a decanter
of Madeira,which the governor made liberaluse of,and in pro-portion
became more profuseof his solicitationsand promises.
My answers were to this purpose: that my circumstances,thanks to God, were such as to make proprietaryfavors unneces-sary
to me ; and that,beinga member of the Assembly,I could
not possiblyacceptof any ; that,however,I had no personalen-mity
to the proprietary,and that,whenever the publicmeasureshe proposedshould appear to be for the good of the people,no
one should espouse and forward them more zealouslythan my-self,
my past oppositionhavingbeen founded on this,that the
measures which had been urgedwere evidentlyintended to serve
the proprietaryinterest,with great prejudiceto that of the peo-ple
; that I was much obligedto him (thegovernor)for his pro-fessions
of regardto me, and that he mightrelyon everythingin
my power to make his administration as easy as possible,hopingat the same time that he had not broughtwith him the same un-fortunate
instructionshis predecessorhad been hamperedwith.
On thishe did not then explainhimself;but when he after-ward
came to do business with the Assembly,theyappearedagain,the disputes1were renewed,and I was as active as ever in
the opposition,beingthe penman, first,of the requestto have a
communication of the instructions,and then of the remarks upon
them,which may be found in the votes of the time,and in the
" Historical Review " I afterward published.But between us
personallyno enmityarose ; we were often together.He was a
man of letters,had seen much of the world,and was very enter-taining
and pleasingin conversation. He gave me the firstin-formation
that my old friend James Ralph was stillalive ; that
12
178 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
he was esteemed one of the best politicalwriters in England; had
been employedin the disputebetween Prince Frederic and the
king,and had obtained a pensionof three hundred a year ; that
his reputationwas indeed small as a poet, Pope havingdamned
.hispoetry in the " Dunciad,"but his prose was thoughtas goodas any man's.
The Assembly,finallyfindingthe proprietaryobstinatelyper-sisted
in manaclingtheirdeputies* with instructionsinconsistent
not onlywith the privilegesof the peoplebut with the service of
the Crown, resolved to petitionthe kingagainstthem, and ap-pointed
me theiragent to go over to England to presentand sup-port
the petition.The House had sent up a billto the governor,
grantinga sum of sixtythousand pounds for the king'suse, (tenthousand pounds of which was subjectedto the orders of the
then general,Lord Loudoun,)which the governor absolutelyre-fused
to pass, in compliancewith his instructions.
" 10. MISSION TO ENGLAND.
I HAD agreedwith CaptainMorris,of the packet2at New
York,for my passage, and my stores were put on board,when
Lord Loudoun arrived at Philadelphia,expressly,as he told me,
to endeavor an accommodation between the governor and Assem-bly,
that his Majesty'sservice might not be obstructed by their
dissensions. Accordingly,he desired the governor and myselfto
meet him,that he mighthear what was to be said on both sides.
We met and discussed the business. In behalf of the Assembly,I urgedall the various arguments that may be found in the pub-lic
papers of that time,which were of my writing,and are printedwith the minutes of the Assembly; and the governor pleadedhis
1 See Note 2, p. 151.2 A vessel startingat some set time and conveyinglettersand passengers
from country to country.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 179
instructions,the bond he had givento observe them,and his ruin
if he disobeyed,yet seemed not unwillingto hazard himself if
Lord Loudoun would advise it. This his lordshipdid not choose
to do,thoughI once thoughtI had nearlyprevailedwith him to
do it; but finallyhe rather chose to urge the complianceof the
Assembly,and he entreated me to use my endeavors with them
for that purpose, declaringthat he would spare none of the king's
troops for the defense of our frontiers,and that,if we did not
continue to providefor that defense ourselves,theymust remain
exposedto the enemy.
I acquaintedthe House with what had passed,,and, present-ingthem with a set of resolutions I had drawn up, declaringour
rights,and that we did not relinquishour claims to those rights,but onlysuspendedthe exerciseof them on this occasion throughforce,againstwhich we protested,theyat lengthagreedto dropthat bill,and frame another,conformable to the proprietaryin-structions.
This of course the governor passed,and I was then
at libertyto proceedon my voyage. But,in the mean time,the
packethad sailedwith my sea stores,which was some loss to me,
and my onlyrecompense was his lordship'sthanks for my serv-ice,
all the credit of obtainingthe accommodation fallingto his
share.
He set out for New York before me ; and,as the time for dis-patching
the packetboats was at his disposition,and there were
two then remainingthere,one of which,he said,was to sailvery
soon, I requestedto know the precisetime,that I mightnot miss
her by any delayof mine. His answer was :" I have givenout
that she is to sail on Saturdaynext; but I may let you know,entre nous,1that if you are there by Monday morning,you will
be in time,but do not delaylonger."By some accidental hin-drance
at a ferry,it was Monday noon before I arrived,and
I was much afraid she might have sailed,as the wind was fair;
but I was soon made easy by the information that she was stillin
the harbor,and would not move tillthe next day.1 Between ourselves.
180 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
One would imagine that I was now on the very pointof
departingfor Europe. I thoughtso; but I was not then so
well acquaintedwith his lordship'scharacter,of which indecision
was one of the strongestfeatures. I shall givesome instances.
It was about the beginningof Aprilthat I came to New York,and I think itwas near the end of June before we sailed. There
were then two of the packetboats,which had been longin port,
but were detained for the general'sletters,which were alwaysto be readyto-morrow. Another packetarrived;she too was
detained;and, before we sailed,a fourth was expected.Ours
was the firstto be dispatched,as having been there longest.
Passengerswere engaged in all,and some extremelyimpatientto be gone, and the merchants uneasy about their lettersand
the orders theyhad givenfor insurance (itbeingwar time)for
fallgoods; but theiranxietyavailed nothing; his lordship'sletters
were not ready;and yet whoever waited on him found him
alwaysat his desk,pen in hand, and concluded he must needs
write abundantly.
Going myselfone morningto pay my respects,I found in his
antechamber one Innis,a messenger of Philadelphia,who had
come from thence express with a packetfrom Governor Dennyfor the general.He delivered to me some lettersfrom my friends
there,which occasioned my inquirywhen he was to return,and
where he lodged,that I might send some letters by him. He
told me he was ordered to call to-morrow at nine for the general's
answer to the governor, and should set off immediately.I put
my lettersinto his hands the same day. A fortnightafter I met
him againin the same place. " So,you are soon returned,In-nis?
" " Returned! no, I am not gone yet."" How so? " " I
have calledhere by order every morningthese two weeks pastfor
his lordship'sletter,and it is not yet ready."" Is itpossible,
when he is so great a writer? for I see him constantlyat his
escritoire." "Yes," says Innis,"but he is like St. George on
the signs,alwayson horseback,and never rides on." This obser-vation
of the messenger was, it seems, well founded ; for,when
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN I Si
in England,I understood that Mr. Pitt1 gave it as one reason
for removing this general,and sendingGenerals Amherst and
Wolfe,that the minister never heard from him,and could not know
what he was doing.This dailyexpectationof sailing,and all the three packetsgo-ing
down to Sandy Hook, to jointhe fleet there,the passengers
thoughtitbest to be on board,lest by a sudden order the shipsshould sailand theybe left behind. There,ifI remember right,we were about six weeks,consumingour sea stores,and obligedto procure more. At lengththe fleet sailed,the generaland all
his army on board,bound to Louisburg,2with intent to besiegeand take that fortress; all the packetboats in company ordered
to attend the general'sship,readyto receive his dispatcheswhen
theyshould be ready. We were out five days before we got a
letterwith leave to part,and then our shipquittedthe fleetand
steered for England. The other two packetshe stilldetained,
carried them with him to Halifax,where he stayedsome time to
exercise the men in sham attacks upon sham forts,then altered
his mind as to besiegingLouisburg,and returned to New York
with allhis troops,togetherwith the two packetsabove men-tioned,
and all their passengers!Duringhis absence the French
and savages had taken Fort George,on the frontierof that prov-ince,
and the savages had massacred many of the garrisonafter
capitulation.I saw afterward in London CaptainBonnell,who commanded
one of those packets. He told me that,when he had been de-tained
a month, he acquaintedhis lordshipthat his shipwas
grown foul to a degreethat must necessarilyhinder her fast
sailing,a pointof consequence for a packetboat,and requested
an allowance of time to heave her down and clean her bottom.
He was asked how longtime that would require.He answered,
1 William Pitt (1708-78).See Macaulay'sEssayon the Earl of Chatham
(EclecticEnglishClassics,American Book Company).2 A possessionof the French in Cape Breton,Nova Scotia. It was taken
by the Englishin 1758. '
1 82 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
" Three days." The generalreplied: " If you can do it in one
day,I giveleave ; otherwise not ; for you must certainlysailthe
day after to-morrow." So he never obtained leave,thoughde-tained
afterward from day to day duringfullthree months.
I saw also in London one of Bonnell's passengers, who was so
enragedagainsthis lordshipfor deceivingand detaininghim so
long at New York,and then carryinghim to Halifax and back
again,that he swore he would sue him for damages. Whether
he did or not, I never heard ; but,as he representedthe injurytohis affairs,it was very considerable.
On the whole,I wondered much how such a man came to be
intrusted with so importanta business as the conduct of a great
army ; but,havingsince seen more of the great world,and the
means of obtainingand motives for givingplaces,my wonder is
diminished. General Shirley,on whom the command of the army
devolved upon the death of Braddock,would,in my opinion,if
continued in place,have made a much better campaignthan that
of Loudoun in 1757, which was frivolous,expensive,and dis-graceful
to our nation beyond conception; for,thoughShirleywas not a bred soldier,he was sensibleand sagaciousin himself,and attentive to good advice from others,capableof forming
judiciousplans,and quickand active in carryingthem into exe-cution.
Loudoun, instead of defendingthe colonies with his
great army, left them totallyexposed,while he paradedidlyat
Halifax,by which means Fort Georgewas lost. Besides,he de-ranged
allour mercantile operations,and distressedour trade,bya longembargo* on the exportationof provisions,on pretenseof
keepingsuppliesfrom beingobtained by the enemy, but in realityfor beatingdown theirpricein favor of the contractors,in whose
profits,it was said,perhapsfrom suspiciononly,he had a share.
And when at lengththe embargo was taken off by neglectingto
send notice of it to Charleston,the Carolina fleet was detained
near three months longer,wherebytheir bottoms were so much
1 A prohibitionto preventshipsleavingport.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 183
damaged by the worm x that a great part of them foundered in
theirpassage home.
Shirleywas, I believe,sincerelygladof beingrelievedfrom so
burdensome a chargeas the conduct of an army must be to a
man unacquaintedwith militarybusiness. I was at the entertain-ment
givenby the cityof New York to Lord Loudoun, on his
takingupon him the command. Shirley,thoughtherebysuper-seded,
was presentalso. There was a great company of officers,
citizens,and strangers,and, some chairs havingbeen borrowed
in the neighborhood,there was one among them very low,which
fellto the lot of Mr. Shirley.Perceivingit as I sat by him, I
said," They have givenyou, sir,too low a seat." " No matter,"
says he," Mr. Franklin,I find a low seat the easiest."
While I was, as afore mentioned,detained at New York, I
received all the accounts of the provisions,etc.,that I had fur-nished
to Braddock,some of which accounts could not sooner
be obtained from the differentpersons I had employedto assist
in the business. I presentedthem to Lord Loudoun, desiringto
be paidthe balance. He caused them to be regularlyexamined
by the proper officer,who, after comparingevery articlewith its
voucher,certifiedthem to be right,and the balance due,for
which his lordshippromisedto giveme an order on the paymas-ter.
This was, however,put off from time to time ; and,thoughI called often for itby appointment,I did not get it. At length,
justbefore my departure,he told me he had,on better consider-ation,
concluded not to mix his accounts with those of his prede-cessors." And you,"says he, " when in England,have onlyto
exhibit your accounts at the treasury,and you willbe paidim-mediately."
I mentioned,but without effect,the great and unexpectedex-pense
I had been put to by beingdetained so longat New York,
as a reason for my desiringto be presentlypaid; and on my ob-serving
that itwas not rightI should be put to any further trou-ble
or delayin obtainingthe money I had advanced,as I charged1 The worm which eats into the wood bottoms of ships.
I "4 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
no commission for my service," 0 sir,"says he, "
you must not
think of persuadingus that you are no gainer;we understand
better those affairs,and know that every one concerned in supply-ingthe'armyfinds means, in the doingit,to fillhis own pockets.''
I assured him that was not my case, and that I had not pocketeda farthing,but he appeared clearlynot to believe me ; and,in-deed,
I have since learned that immense fortunes are often made
in such employments. As to my balance,I am not paidit tothis day,of which more hereafter.
Our captainof the packethad boasted much, before we sailed,of the swiftnessof his ship; unfortunately,when we came to sea,
she provedthe dullest of ninety-sixsail,to his no small mortifi-cation.
After many conjecturesrespectingthe cause, when we
were near another shipalmost as dull as ours, which,however,
gainedupon us, the captainordered all hands to come aft,and
stand as near the ensignstaff1 as possible.We were, passengers
included,about fortypersons. While we stood there,the shipmended her pace, and soon lefther neighborfar behind,which
provedclearlywhat our captainsuspected,that she was loaded
too much by the head. The casks of water, it seems, had been
allplacedforward ; these he therefore ordered to be moved far-ther
aft,on which the shiprecovered her character,and provedthe best sailerin the fleet.
The captainsaid she had once gone at the rate of thirteen
knots,which is accounted thirteen miles per hour. We had on
board,as a passenger, CaptainKennedy, of the navy, who con-tended
that it was impossible,that no shipever sailed so fast,and that there must have been some error, in the divisionof the
logline,2or some mistake in heavingthe log. A wager ensued
between the two captains,to be decided when there should be
sufficientwind. Kennedy thereupon examined rigorouslythe
logline,and,being satisfiedwith that,he determined to throw
1 " Ensignstaff,"i.e.,flagstaff.2 The log line is a line fastened to the log-chip,by which, when it is
thrown over the side of a vessel,the rate of speedis found.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 185
the loghimself. Accordingly,some days after,when the wind
blew very fairand fresh,and the captainof the packet,Lutwidge,said he believed she then went at the rate of thirteen knots,Ken-nedy
made the experiment,and owned his wager lost.
The above fact I givefor the sake of the followingobserva-tion.
It has been remarked,as an imperfectionin the art of ship
building,that it can never be known, tillshe is tried,whether a
new shipwill or will not be a good sailer; for that the model of
a good sailingshiphas been exactlyfollowed in a new one, which
has proved,on the contrary,remarkablydull. I apprehendthat
thismay partlybe occasioned by the differentopinionsof seamen
respectingthe modes of lading,rigging,and sailingof a ship.Each has his system ; and the same vessel,laden by the judgmentand orders of one captain,shall sailbetter or worse than when
by the orders of another. Besides,it scarce ever happensthat a
shipisformed,fittedfor the sea, and sailed by the same person.
One man builds the hull,another rigsher,a third lades and sails
her. No one of these has the advantageof knowingallthe ideas
and experienceof the others,and therefore cannot draw justcon-clusions
from a combination of the whole.
Even in the simpleoperationof sailingwhen at sea, I have
often observed different judgments in the officerswho com-manded
the successivewatches,1the wind beingthe same. One
would have the sailstrimmed sharperor flatterthan another,so
that theyseemed to have no certain rule to govern by. Yet I
think a set of experimentsmightbe instituted,11first,to determine
the most proper form of the hull for swiftsailing; next,the best
dimensions and properestplacefor the masts ; then the form and
quantityof sails,and their position,as the wind may be ; and,
lastly,the dispositionof the lading.This is an age of experi-ments,and I think a set accuratelymade and combined would
be of great use. I am persuaded,therefore,that ere longsome
ingeniousphilosopherwill undertake it,to whom I wish success.
1 A watch is a certain part of a vessel's officersand crew who have the
care and workingof her for a periodof time,commonly for four hours.
1 86 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
We were several times chased x in our passage, but outsailed
everything,and in thirtydays had soundings.2We had a good
observation,3and the captainjudged himself so near our port,
Falmouth,that,ifwe made a good run in the night,we mightbe
off the mouth of that harbor in the morning,and by runningin
the nightmightescape the notice of the enemy'sprivateers,4who
often cruised near the entrance of the channel. Accordingly,all
the sailwas set that we could possiblymake, and the wind being
very fresh and fair,we went rightbefore it,and made greatway.The captain,after his observation,shaped his course, as he
thought,so as to pass wide of the ScillyIsles; but itseems there
is sometimes a strong indraught5 settingup St. George'sChan-nel,
which deceives seamen and caused the loss of Sir CloudesleyShovel's squadron. This indraughtwas probablythe cause of
what happenedto us.
We had a watchman placedin the bow, to whom theyoften
called," Look well out before there,"and he as often answered,"
Ay,ay ;" but perhapshe had his eyes shut,and was half asleepat
the time,theysometimes answering,as issaid,mechanically; for
he did not see a lightjustbefore us, which had been hid by the
studdingsails6 from the man at the helm,and from the rest of
the watch,but by an accidental yaw of the shipwas discovered
and occasioned a greatalarm,we beingvery near it,the lightap-pearing
to me as bigas a cart wheel. It was midnight,and our
captainfast asleep; but CaptainKennedy,jumpingupon deck,
and seeingthe danger,ordered the shipto wear round,all sails
standing" an operationdangerousto the masts ; but itcarried us
1 By French vessels.
2 Measurements of the depthof the water with a plummet and line.
3 Of the sun's altitude in order to calculate the latitude (seeNote 2, p.
77).
4 Vessels armed and officeredby privatepersons, but actingunder a com-mission
from government.5 An inward current.
6 Studdingsails are sails set between the edges of the chief sguare sails
duringa fairwind.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 187
clear,and we escapedshipwreck,for we were runningrightuponthe rocks on which the lighthousewas erected. This deliverance
impressedme stronglywith the utilityof lighthouses,and made
me resolve to encourage the buildingof more of them in Amer-ica,
ifI should live to return there.
In the morningit was found by the soundings,etc.,that we
were near our port,but a thick foghid the land from our sight.About nine o'clock the fogbeganto rise,and seemed to be lifted
up from the water like the curtain at a playhouse,discoveringunderneath the town of Falmouth,the vessels in itsharbor,and
the fieldsthat surrounded it. This was a most pleasingspectacleto those who had been so longwithout any other prospectsthan
the uniform view of a vacant ocean, and it gave us the more
pleasureas we were now free from the anxietieswhich the state
of war occasioned.
I set out immediately,with my son, for London, and we onlystoppeda littleby the way to view Stonehengeon SalisburyPlain,and Lord Pembroke's house and gardens,with his very
curious antiquitiesat Wilton. We arrived in London the 27 th of
July,1757.1As soon as I was settledin a lodgingMr. Charles had provided
for me, I went to visitDr. Fothergill,to whom I was stronglyrecommended, and whose counsel respectingmy proceedingsI
was advised to obtain. He was againstan immediate complaintto government, and thoughtthe proprietariesshould firstbe
personallyappliedto,who might possiblybe induced by the
interpositionand persuasionof some privatefriends,to accom-modate
matters amicably.I then waited on my old friend and
correspondent,Mr. Peter Collinson,who told me that John Han-
bury,the greatVirginiamerchant,had requestedto be informed
when I should arrive,that he mightcarry me to Lord Granville's,
1 " Here terminates the Autobiography,as publishedby William TempleFranklin and his successors. What follows was written the lastyear of Dr.
Franklin's life,and was never before printedin English.""-BlGELOW's Auto-biography
ofFranklin, 1868,p. 350, note.
1 88 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
who was then President of the Council,and wished to see me as
soon as possible.I agreedto go with him the next morning.Accordingly,Mr. Hanbury called for me and took me in his car-riage
to that nobleman's,who received me with great civility;
and after some questionsrespectingthe present state of affairsin
America and discourse thereupon,he said to me :" You Amer-icans
have wrong ideas of the nature of your Constitution ; you
contend that the king'sinstructionsto his governors are not laws,and think yourselvesat libertyto regardor disregardthem at
your own discretion. But those instructions are not like the
pocketinstructionsgivento a minister goingabroad,for regu-lating
his conduct in some triflingpointof ceremony. They are
firstdrawn up by judgeslearned in the laws ; theyare then con-sidered,
debated,and perhapsamended in Council,after which
theyare signedby the king. They are then,so far as theyrelate
to you, the law of the land,for the king is the legislatorof
the colonies."
I told his lordshipthis was new doctrine to me. I had
alwaysunderstood from our charters that our laws were to be
made by our Assemblies,to be presentedindeed to the kingfor his royalassent, but that beingonce given,the kingcould
not repeal or alter them; and as the Assemblies could not
make permanent laws without his assent, so neither could he
make a law for them without theirs. He assured me I was to-tally
mistaken. I did not think so, however,and his lordship'sconversation havinga littlealarmed me as to what mightbe the
sentiments of the court concerningus, I wrote it down as soon
as I returned to my lodgings.I recollected that about twenty
years before,a clause in a bill broughtinto Parliament by the
ministryhad proposedto make the king'sinstructionslaws in
the colonies,but the clause was thrown out by the Commons,for which we adored them as our friends and friends of liberty,tillby their conduct toward us in 1765 it seemed that theyhad
refused that pointof sovereigntyto the kingonlythat theymightreserve itfor themselves.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 189
After some days,Dr. Fothergillhavingspokento the proprie-taries,theyagreedto a meetingwith me at Mr. T. Penn's house
in SpringGarden. The conversation at firstconsisted of mutual
declarations of dispositionto reasonable accommodations,but I
suppose each party had itsown ideas of what should be meant
by " reasonable." We then went into consideration of our several
pointsof complaint,which I enumerated. The proprietariesjus-tifiedtheir conduct as well as theycould,and I the Assembly's.
We now appearedvery wide,and so far from each other in our
opinionsas to discourageall hope of agreement. However,it
was concluded that I should givethem the heads of our com-plaints
in writing,and theypromisedthen to consider them. I
did so soon after,but theyput the paper into the hands of their
solicitor,Ferdinand John Paris,who managed for them all their
law business in their greatsuitwith the neighboringproprietaryof Maryland,Lord Baltimore,which had subsisted seventy years,
and who wrote for them all their papers and messages in their
disputewith the Assembly. He was a proud,angry man, and
as I had occasionallyin the answers of the Assemblytreated his
papers with some severity,theybeingreallyweak in pointof
argument and haughtyin expression,he had conceived a mortal
enmityto me, which discoveringitselfwhenever we met, I de-clined
the proprietaries'proposalthat he and I should discussthe
heads of complaintbetween our two selves,and refused treatingwith any one but them. They then by his advice put the paper
into the hands of the attorney and solicitor-general,for their
opinionand counsel upon it,where it layunanswered a year
wantingeightdays,duringwhich time I made frequentdemands
of an answer from the proprietaries,but without obtaininganyother than that theyhad not yet received the opinionof the at-torney
and solicitor-general.What itwas when theydid receive
itI never learned,for theydid not communicate it to me, but
sent a longmessage to the Assembly,drawn and signedby Paris,
recitingmy paper, complainingof itswant of formalityas a rude-ness
on my part,and givinga flimsyjustificationof theirconduct,
190 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
adding that theyshould be willingto accommodate matters if
the Assemblywould send out"
some person of candor "to treat
with them for that purpose, intimatingtherebythat I was not such.
The want of formality,or rudeness,was, probably,my not hav-ing
addressed the paper to them with their assumed titlesof
"True and Absolute Proprietariesof the Province of Pennsyl-vania,"which I omitted as not thinkingit necessary in a paper
the intention of which was onlyto reduce to a certaintyby writ-ing
what in conversation I had delivered viva voce.1
But duringthis delay,the Assembly havingprevailedwithGovernor Denny to pass an act taxingthe proprietaryestate in
common with the estates of the people,which was the grand
pointin dispute,theyomitted answeringthe message.
When this act,however, came over, the proprietaries,coun-seled
by Paris,determined to oppose itsreceivingthe royalas-sent.
Accordinglytheypetitionedthe king in Council,and a
hearingwas appointedin which two lawyerswere employedbythem againstthe act,and two by me in support of it. Theyallegedthat the act was intended to load the proprietaryestate
in order to spare those of the people,and that ifitwere suffered
to continue in force,and the proprietaries,who were in odium
with the people,left to their mercy in proportioningthe taxes,
theywould inevitablybe ruined. We repliedthat the act had
no such intention,and would have no such effect; that the asses-sors
were honest and discreet men under an oath to assess fairlyand equitably,and that any advantageeach of them might ex-pect
in lesseninghis own tax by augmentingthat of the proprie-tarieswas too triflingto induce them to perjurethemselves.
.This isthe purportof what I remember as urgedby both sides,
except that we insistedstronglyon the mischievous consequences
that must attend a repeal,for that the money, one hundred thou-sand
pounds,beingprintedand givento the king'suse, expendedin hisservice,and now spreadamong the people,the repealwould
strikeit dead in their hands to the ruin of many, and the total
1 By word of mouth.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 191
discouragementof future grants; and the selfishnessof the pro-prietors
in solicitingsuch a generalcatastrophe,merelyfrom a
groundlessfear of their estate beingtaxed too highly,was insisted
on in the strongestterms.
On this,Lord Mansfield,one of the counsel,rose, and beckon-ing
me, took me into the clerk's chamber, while the lawyerswere pleading,and asked me if I was reallyof opinionthat
no injurywould be done the proprietaryestate in the execution
of the act. I said," Certainly.""Then," says he, "you can
have littleobjectionto enter into an engagement to assure that
point." I answered," None at all." He then called in Paris,and after some discourse,his lordship'spropositionwas acceptedon both sides ; a paper to the purpose was drawn up by the clerk
of the Council,which I signedwith Mr. Charles,who was also an
agentof the provincefor their ordinaryaffairs,when Lord Mans-field
returned to the council chamber,where finallythe law was
allowed to pass. Some changeswere, however,recommended,and we also engagedtheyshould be made by a subsequentlaw,but the Assembly did not think them necessary ; for one year'stax havingbeen levied by the act before the order of Council
arrived,theyappointeda committee to examine the proceedingsof the assessors, and on thiscommittee theyput several particu-lar
friends of the proprietaries.After a fullinquiry,theyunani-mously
signeda reportthat theyfound the tax had been assessed
with perfectequity.The Assemblylooked upon my enteringinto the firstpartof the
engagement as an essential service to the province,since it se-cured
the credit of the paper money then spreadover all the
country. They gave me their thanks in form when I returned.
But the proprietarieswere enragedat Governor Denny for hav-ing
passedthe act, and turned him out with threats of suinghim
for breach of instructionswhich he had givenbond to observe.
He, however,havingdone it at the instance of the general,andfor his Majesty'sservice,and havingsome powerfulinterestat
court,despisedthe threats,and theywere never put in execution.
192 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
letters referred to on page 89.
From Mr. Abel James (Received in Paris).
" My dear and honored Friend : I have often been desirous
of writingto thee, but could not be reconciled to the thought that
the letter might fall into the hands of the British,lest some printeror
busybody should publish some part of the contents, and give our
friend pain, and myself censure.
" Some time since there fellinto my hands, to my great joy,about
twenty-threesheets in thy own handwriting,containingan account of
the parentage and life of thyself,directed to thy son, ending in the
year 1730; with which there were notes, likewise in thy writing;a
copy of which I inclose,in hopes it may be a means, ifthou continued
it up to a later period,that the firstand latter part may be put to-gether
; and if it is not yet continued, I hope thee will not delay it.
Life is uncertain,as the preacher tells us; and what will the world say
ifkind, humane, and benevolent Ben. Franklin should leave his friends
and the world deprivedof so pleasingand profitablea work; a work
which would be useful and entertainingnot only to a few,but to mil-lions
? The influence writingsunder that class have on the minds of
youth is very great, and has nowhere appeared to me so plain as
in our publicfriend's journals. It almost insensiblyleads the youthinto the resolution of endeavoringto become as good and eminent as
the journalist. Should thine,for instance,when published(and I
think it could not fail of it),lead the youth to equal the industryand
temperance of thy earlyyouth, what a blessingwith that class would
such a work be ! I know of no character living,nor many of them
put together,who has so much in his power as thyselfto promote a
greater spiritof industryand earlyattention to business,frugality,and
temperance with the American youth. Not that I think the work
would have no other merit and use in the world "far from it;but the
firstis of such vast importance that I know nothing that can equal it."
The other letter,from Mr. Benjamin Vaughan, gave similar advice.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 193
/ THE WAY TO WEALTH,
AS CLEARLY SHOWN IN THE PREFACE OF AN OLD PENNSYLVANIA
ALMANAC ENTITLED"
POOR RICHARD IMPROVED."
Courteous Reader : I have heard that nothinggivesan author so
greatpleasureas to find his works respectfullyquotedby other learned
authors. This pleasureI have seldom enjoyed; for,thoughI have been,ifI may say itwithout vanity,an eminent author (ofalmanacs)annually,now a fullquarterof a century,my brother authors in the same way, for
what reason I know not, have ever been very sparingin theirapplausesand no other author has taken the least notice of me ; so that,did not
my writingsproduceme some solid pudding,the great deficiencyof
praisewould have quitediscouragedme.I concluded at lengththat the peoplewere the best judgesof
my merit,for theybuy my works; and,besides,in my rambles where
I am not personallyknown, I have frequentlyheard one or other
of my adagesrepeatedwith u As Poor Richard says"at the end of
it. This gave me some satisfaction,as it showed not onlythat my
instructions were regarded,but discovered likewise some respect for
my authority; and I own that,to encourage the practiceof remember-ing
and readingthose wise sentences,I have sometimes quotedmyselfwith great gravity.Judge,then,how much I must have been gratifiedby an incident I
am goingto relate to you. I stoppedmy horse latelywhere a great
number of peoplewere collected at an auction of merchants' goods.The hour of the sale not being come, theywere conversingon the
badness of the times ; and one of the company called to a plain,clean
old man with white locks,"Pray, Father Abraham, what think you
of the times? Will not these heavy taxes quiteruin the country?How shall we ever be able to pay them ? What would you advise us
to do ? " Father Abraham stood up and replied," If you would have
my advice,I will giveit to you in short ; for A word to the wise is
enough,as Poor Richard says." They joinedin desiringhim to speakhis mind, and gatheringround him, he proceededas follows :
" Friends,"said he, " the taxes are indeed very heavy,and ifthose
laid on by the government were the only ones we had to pay, we
might more easilydischargethem ; but we have many others,and
much more grievousto some of us. We are taxed twice as much by
194 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
our idleness,three times as much by our pride,and four times as much
by our folly;and from these taxes the commissioners cannot ease
or deliver us by allowingan abatement. However, let us hearken to
good advice,and something may be done for us; God helpsthe_mthat helpthemselves,as Poor Richard says.
I. "It would be thought a hard government that should tax its
peopleone tenth part of their time,to be employed in itsservice ; but
idleness taxes many of us much more ; sloth,by bringingon diseases,
absolutelyshortens life. Sloth,like rust, consumes faster than labor
wears, while The used key is alwaysbright,as Poor Richard says.
But dost thou love life? Then do not squandertime,for that is the stuff
lifeis made of,as Poor Richard says. How much more than is neces-sary
do we spend in sleep,forgettingthat the sleepingfox catches no
poultry,and that there will be sleepingenough in the grave, as Poor
Richard says. If time be of all thingsthe most precious,wastingtime must be, as Poor Richard says, the greatestprodigality; since,as he elsewhere tellsus, Lost time is never found again,and what we
call time enough alwaysproves littleenough. Let us, then,be up and
be doing,and doingto the purpose ; so by diligenceshall we do more
with less perplexity.Sloth makes allthingsdifficult,but industry,all
easy ; and,He that riseth late must trot allda\ and shall scarce overtake
his business at night; while Laziness travels so slowlythat Povertysoon overtakes him. Drive thybusiness,let not that drive thee ; and,
Early to bed,and earlyto rise,makes a man healthy,wealthy,and
wise,as Poor Richard says.u So what signifieswishing and hoping for better times ? We
make these times better if we bestir ourselves. Industryneed not
wish,and he that livesupon hopeswill die fasting.There are no gainswithout pains;then help,hands,for I have no lands; or, if I have,
theyare smartlytaxed. He that hath a trade hath an estate ; and he
that hath a calling,hath an officeof profitand honor,as Poor Richard
says ; but then the trade must be worked at and the callingfollowed,or neither the estate nor the officewill enable us to pay our taxes. If
we are industrious,we shall never starve; for,At the workingman'shouse hunger looks in,but dares not enter. Nor will the bailiffor
the constable enter; for Industrypays debts,while Despairincreaseththem. What though you have found no treasure, nor has any rich
relation leftyou a legacy; Diligenceis the mother of good luck,andGod givesall thingsto Industry.Then plowdeep while sluggards
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN " 195
sleep,and you shall have corn to sell and to keep. Work while itis
called to-day,for you know not how much you may be hindered to-morrow.
One to-dayis worth two to-morrows, as Poor Richard says ;
and,further,Never leave that tillto-morrow which you can do to-day.If you were a good servant, would you not be ashamed that a goodmaster should catch you idle ? Are you, then,your own master ? Be
ashamed to catch yourselfidle,when there is so much to be done for
yourself,your family,your country, your kin. Handle your toolswith-out
mittens ; remember that The cat in glovescatches no mice,as Poor *
Richard says. It is true there is much to be done,and perhapsyouare weak-handed; but stick to itsteadily,and you will see great effects;
for,Constant dropping wears away stones ; and, By diligenceand
patiencethe mouse ate in two the cable;and,Little strokes fellgreatoaks.
~~
"Methinks I hear some of you say, Must a man afford himself no
leisure ? I will tell thee,my friend,what Poor Richard says : Em-ploy
thy time well,ifthou meanest to gainleisure ; and since thou art
not sure of a minute,throw not away an hour. Leisure is time for
doingsomethinguseful;this leisure the diligentman will obtain,but
the lazyman never ; for,A lifeof leisure and a lifeof laziness are two
things. Many, without labor,would live by their wits only,but theybreak for want of stock;whereas industrygivescomfort and plentyand respect. Fly pleasuresand theywill follow you. The diligentspinnerhas a largeshift; and now I have a sheepand a cow, every
one bids me good morrow. .a
II. " But with our industrywe must likewise be steadyand careful^and oversee our own affairswith our own eyes, and not trust too much
to others ; for,as Poor Richard says :
I never saw an oft-removed tree,
Nor yet an oft-removed family,That throve so well as those that settled be.
And again,Three removes are as bad as a fire; and again,Keep thyshop,and thyshopwill keep thee;and again,Ifyou would have your
business done,go ; ifnot, send ; and again:
^e^thatby the plow would thrive,Himself must either hold or drive.
196 " THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
And again,The eye of the master will do more work than both his
hands ; and again,Want of care does us more damage than want of
knowledge; and again,Not to oversee workmen isto leave them your
purse open. Trustingtoo much to others* care is the ruin of many ;
for,In the affairsof this world men are saved,not by faith,but by the
want of it. But a man's own care isprofitable; for,If you would have a
faithfulservant and one that you like,serve yourself.A littleneglect
may breed great mischief;for want of a nail the shoe was lost,for
want of a shoe the horse was lost,and for want of a horse the rider
was lost,beingovertaken and slain by the enemy; all for want of a
littlecare about a horseshoe nail.
III. " So much for industry,my friends,and attention to one's own
business ; but to these we must add frugality,ifwe would make our in-dustry
more certainlysuccessful. A man may, ifhe knows not how
to save as he gets,keephis nose all his lifeto the grindstone,and die
not worth a groat at last. A fat kitchen makes a lean will; and
Many estates are spent in the getting,Since women forsook spinningand knitting,And men for punch forsook hewing and splitting.
If you would be wealthy,think of savingas well as of getting.The
Indies have not made Spainrich,because her outgoes are greaterthan
her incomes.
"Away, then,with your expensivefollies,and you will not then
have so much cause to complainof hard times,heavytaxes,and charge-ablefamilies;for
Pleasure and wine,game and deceit,Make the wealth small,and the want great.
And further,What maintains one vice would bringup two children.
You may think,perhaps,that a littletea or a littlepunch now and
then,diet a littlemore costly,clothes a littlefiner,and a littleenter-tainment
now and then,can be no great matter ; but remember, Manya littlemakes a mickle. Beware of littleexpenses ; A small leak will
sink a greatship,as Poor Richard says; and again,Who dainties love
shall beggarsprove ; and moreover, Fools make feasts and wise men
eat them.
t" Here you are all got togetherat this sale of fineries and knick-
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 197
knacks. You call them goods;but,if you do not take care, theywill prove evils to some of you. You expect theywill be sold cheap,and perhapstheymay for less than theycost ; but,ifyou have no oc-casion
for them, theymust be dear to you. Remember what Poor
Richard says : Buy what thou hast no need of,and ere longthou shalt
sellthynecessaries. And again,At a great pennyworth pause awhile.
He means that perhaps the cheapnessis apparent only,and not
real;or, the bargain,by straiteningthee in thy business,may do
thee more harm than good. For in another placehe says, Manyhave been ruined bybuyinggood pennyworths. Again, It is foolish
to layout money in a purchase of repentance ; and yet this follyis
practicedevery day at auctions for want of mindingthe Almanac. 1
Many for the sake of fineryon the back have gone hungry and half-
starved their families. Silks and satins,scarlet and velvets,put out
thejdtchen fire,as Poor Richard says." These are not the necessaries of life; they can scarcelybe called
the conveniences ; and yet,onlybecause theylook pretty,how many
want to have them. By these and other extravagances the genteelare reduced to poverty,and forced to borrow of those whom theyfor-merly
despised,but who, throughindustryand frugality,have main-tained
their standing; in which case itappears plainlythat,A plow-manon his legsis higherthan a gentleman on his knees,as Poor
Richard says. Perhapstheyhave a small estate leftthem which theyknew not the gettingof; they think,It is day and it never will
be night; that a littleto be spent out of so much is not worth mind-ing
; but,Alwaystakingcut of the meal tub and never puttingin,sooncomes to the bottom, as Poor Richard says; and then,When the
well is dry,theyknow the worth of water. But this theymighthaveknown before,iftheyhad taken his advice. If you would know the
value of money, go and try to borrow some ; for,He that goes a-bor-
rowing goes a-sorrowing,as Poor Richard says ; and, indeed,so does
he that lends to such people,when he goes to get itin again. Poor
Dick further advises and says :
Fond prideof dress is sure a very curse ;
Ere fancyyou consult,consult your purse.
And again,Pride is as loud a beggar as Want, and a great deal more
1 Poor Richard's maxims in the Almanac,
198 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
saucy. When you have bought one fine thing,you must buy ten
more, that your appearance may be all of a piece;but Poor Dick says,
It is easier to suppress the firstdesire than to satisfyall that follow it.
And it is as trulyfollyfor the poor to ape the rich,as for the frogto
swell in order to equalthe ox.
Vessels largemay venture more,
But littleboats should keep near shore.
Itis,however, a follysoon punished; for,as Poor Richard says, Pride
that dines on vanity,sups on contempt. Pride breakfasted with
Plenty,dined with Poverty,and supped with Infamy. And, after all,
of what use is this prideof appearance, for which so much is risked,
so much is suffered? It cannot promote health nor ease pain; it
makes no increase of merit in the person ; itcreates envy ; ithastens
misfortune.
" But what madness must itbe to run in debt for these superfluities?
We are offered by the terms of this sale six months' credit;and
that,perhaps,has induced some of us to attend it,because we can-not
spare the readymoney, and hope now to be fine without it. But
ah ! think what you do when you run in debt ; you giveto another
power over your liberty.If you cannot pay at the time,you will be
ashamed to see your creditor ; you will be in fear when you speak to
him ; you will make poor, pitiful,sneakingexcuses, and by degrees
come to lose your veracity,and sink into base,downrightlying; for,
The second vice is lying,the first is running in debt,as Poor
Richard says ; and againto the same purpose, Lying rides upon debt's
back; whereas a freeborn Englishman ought not to be ashamed nor
afraid to see or speak to any man living.But poverty often deprives
a man of allspiritand virtue. It is hard for an empty bag to stand
upright." What would you think of that prince,or of that government, who
should issue an edict forbiddingyou to dress like a gentlemanor gen-tlewoman,
on pain of imprisonmentor servitude ? Would you not
say that you are free,have a rightto dress as you please,and that
such an edict would be a breach of your privilegesand such a govern-ment
tyrannical?And yet you are about to put yourselfunder such
tyranny, when you run in debt for such dress. Your creditor has
authority,at his pleasure,to depriveyou of your libertyby confin-ing
you in jailtillyou shall be able to pay him. When you have
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 1 99
got your bargain,you may, perhaps,think littleof payment; but,as
Poor Richard says, Creditors have better memories than debtors;
creditors are a superstitioussect,greatobservers of set daysand times.
The day comes round before you are aware, and the demand is made
before you are preparedto satisfyit; or, if you bear your debt in
mind, the term, which at firstseemed so long,will,as itlessens,ap-pear
extremelyshort. Time will seem to have added wings to his
heels as well as his shoulders. Those have a short Lent who owe
money to be paid at Easter. At present, perhaps,you may think
yourselvesin thrivingcircumstances,and that you can bear a little
extravagance without injury;but
For age and want save while you may ;
No morning sun lasts a whole day.
Gain may be temporary and uncertain,but ever, while you live,ex-pense
is constant and certain ; and, It is easier to build two chimneysthan to keep one in fuel,as Poor Richard says ; so, Rather go to bed
supperlessthan rise in debt.
Get what you can, and what you get,hold,'Tis the stone that will turn all your lead into gold.
And when you have got the philosopher'sstone, be sure you will no
longercomplainof bad times or the difficultyof paying taxes.
IV. "This doctrine,my friends,is reason and wisdom; but,after
all,do not depend too much upon your own industryand frugalityand prudence,though excellent things;for theymay all be blasted,without the blessingof Heaven ; and,therefore,ask that blessinghum-bly,
and be not uncharitable to those that at present seem to want it,but comfort and helpthem. Remember Job suffered,and was after-ward
prosperous." And now, to conclude,Experiencekeeps a dear school,but fools
will learn in no other,as Poor Richard says, and scarce in that ; for,it is true,we may giveadvice,but we cannot giveconduct. How-ever,
remember this: They that will not be counseled cannot be
helped; and further that,If you will not hear Reason, she will surely
rap your knuckles,as Poor Richard says."Thus the old gentleman ended his harangue. The peopleheard it,
and approved the doctrine,and immediatelypracticedthe contrary,
200 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
just as if it had been a common sermon ;for the auction opened and
they began to buy extravagantly. I found the good man had thor-oughly
studiedmy almanacs, and digested all I had dropped on these
topics during the course of twenty-five years.The frequent mention
he made of me must have tired any one else;but
my vanity was won-derfully
delighted with it, though I was conscious that not a tenth
part of the wisdom was my own which he ascribed to me,but rather
the gleanings that I had made of the sense of allages
and nations.
However, I resolved to be the better for the echo of it; and, though I
had at first determined to buy stuff for a new coat, I went away re-solved
to wear myold one a little longer. Reader, if thou wilt do the
same, thy profit will be as great as mine. I am, as ever,thine to
serve thee,
Richard Saunders.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 201
PROVERBS FROM POOR RICHARD'S ALMANAC.
The noblest questionin the world is,What good may I do in it?
The masterpieceof man is to live to the purpose.
The nearest way to come at gloryis to do that for conscience which
we do for glory.
Do not do that which you would not have known.
Well done is better than well said.
Who has deceived thee so oft as thyself?
Search others for their virtues,thyselffor thy vices.
He that can have patience,can have what he will.
After crosses and losses men grow humbler and wiser.
In a discreet man's mouth a publicthing is private.
Wealth is not his that has it,but his that enjoysit.
No better relation than a prudent and faithful friend.
He that can compose himself is wiser than he that composes books.
"Ie that can take rest is greater than he that can take cities.
None but the well-bred man knows how to confess a fault,or ac-knowledge
himself in error.
Read much, but not too many books.
None preaches better than the ant, and she says nothing."* Forewarned, forearmed.
To whom thy secret thou dost tell,
To him thy freedom thou dost sell.
Don't misinform your doctor or your lawyer.
He that pursues two hens at once, does not catch one and lets the
other go.
The worst wheel of the cart makes the most noise.
There are no gainswithout pains.If you know how to spend less than you get, you have the philoso-pher's
stone.
Every littlemakes a mickle.
He that can travel well a-foot keeps a good horse.
He is no clown that drives the plow, but he that doth clownish
things.
NOTES AND SUGGESTIONS
Though he did not consider himself a man of letters,Franklin
was throughouthis long lifea writer. His writingwas incidental to
his business as a journalistand statesman. He also corresponded
widelywith various classes of people. Fortunatelymany of these
writingshave been preserved,and from these and the Autobiographysl number of valuable liveshave been written. The student willfind
pleasurein referringto the Franklin volumes of the American States-men
Series and of the American Men of Letters Series. The three
volume lifeby Mr. John Bigelowand the one volume,The Many-sided Franklin,by Paul Leicester Ford, will supply the years of
Franklin's life not included in his autobiography,the writingof
which was several times interruptedby publicbusiness of the great-est
importance,and finallycut short by the longillnessthat precededhis death.
Read the pages devoted to Franklin in Brander Matthews' Intro-duction
to American Literature. Matthews says of him, "He was the
firstgreatAmerican " for Washington was twenty-sixyears younger.""He was the only man who signedthe Declaration of Independence,the Treaty of Alliance with France,the Treaty of Peace with Eng-land,
and the Constitution under which we stilllive."
As you read Franklin's pages be on the alert for material to sup-port
Mr. Matthews' statement, "Franklin was the firstof American
humorists,and to this day he has not been surpassedin his own
line." Will one of you report to the class on "Franklin's Humor"?
Franklin was far in advance of his times on many questions.In
1783,when concludingthe Treaty of Peace with England,he tried
to secure the adoptionof a clause protectingthe property of non-
belligerentsin subsequent wars. England would not accept this
advanced idea,but Frederick II of Prussia agreedto it,and since
that time all civilizedgovernments have united in embodying it in
the Law of Nations.
Franklin was one of the firstand, in proportionto his means, one
202
NOTES AND SUGGESTIONS, 203
of the greatestof American philanthropists.He said that he had
"a trick for doing a deal of good with a littlemoney." In lendingsome money to one who had appliedto him for assistance,he in-structed
the borrower to pass it on to some one else in distressas
soon as he could afford to repay it. "I hope it may thus go through
many hands,before it meets with a knave that will stop itsprogress."Mr. Bigelow'sLife of Franklin reproducesthe philosopher'sexact
spelling.He was one of the earlyspellingreformers. See his "Peti-tion
of the Letter Z,"p. 116,The Many-sidedFranklin.
{Inthefollowingnotes the numerals referto the pages ofthe text.)
Page 17. "Ecton, in Northamptonshire."In 1657 George Wash-ington's
grandfatheremigratedto Virginiafrom this same English
county.
"Franklin,... an order of people."Do you recallone of the
titlesof Cedric,the Saxon,in Scott'sIvanhoe?
27. Notice his judgmentregardingcontroversy. It will be profit-able,from time to time,to consider his remarks as throwinglight
on the subject,"Franklin,a Manager of Men."
28. Read carefullythe paragraphopening with a reference to
The Spectator,and usingFranklin's method,reproducethat para-graph.
Apply this method to other good Englishselectionsand try
to adaptitto your translationsfrom other languages.As you read Franklin's account of his self-education,ask yourself
what qualityit is in the student that givesbest assurance of final
success in securinga real education.
34. Is Franklin's use of the word "demeaned" good?
37. In his reference to Bunyan and Defoe,Franklin proves him-self
one of the firstcriticsto recognizethose writers as the fathers
of the modern novel.
38. "Our acquaintancecontinued as long as he lived." Few men
have placeda highervalue on friends than did Franklin. He took
the trouble necessary to make friends and to keep them.
61. Read parts of Young'sNightThoughts.
7*7.Carefullyobserve the planof the Junto and its subordinate
branches,and consider the value of such organizationsfor yourselfand friends. By referringto Bigelow'sLife of Franklin,Vol. I, p, 185,
you willfind detailed information concerningthe rules of the Junto.
204 NOTES AND SUGGESTIONS.
81. Years later,while in London in 1773, Franklin showed his
abilitywith his pen and put througha successful journalistichoax.
He publishedin The Public Advertiser what was for a time accepted
by many as an authentic edict of the King of Prussia. In this the
kingheld that the Englishwere German colonistssettled in Britain,and that theyshould be taxed for the benefit of the Prussian coffers.
What claims were the Englishmaking in 1773? By lookingthroughother livesof Franklin,you may find an account of another literaryhoax by which he helpedthe American cause.
86. Franklin's originaldetermination to secure money with his
wife should be judgedby the standards of his time.
89. Beginningwith the establishment of the Philadelphiapublic
library,keep a listof Franklin's plansand achievements for the
publicgood.
92. The highhonors accorded to Franklin by foreignnations have
never been extended to any other American, with the possibleex-ception
of Theodore Roosevelt.
101. "Address Powerful Goodness." Thomas Paine submitted
the manuscriptof hisAge ofReason to Franklin for criticism. Frank-lin
advised him to burn it and concluded,"If men are so wicked with
religion,what would theybe without it? "
A facsimileof Franklin's motion for prayers in the Federal Con-vention
of 1787,when agreement on the Constitution seemed hope-less,will be found on page 168 of The Many-sidedFranklin. The
convention,thoughmuch given to actingon Franklin's advice,wasallbut unanimous in defeatingthis motion.
in. Franklin's boyhood debate on the subjectof the education
of young women is reflectedhere as a settled conviction.
113. The great scholar and historian,Gibbon,agreedwith Frank-lin
concerningthe languages.
115. "Inoculation." Will you volunteer to make a reportto the
class on inoculation and vaccination? The two combine in makingone of the most interestingchaptersin the historyof medical science.
117. You will be interestedin comparingthe constable's watch
of ragamuffinswith the watch in Shakespeare'sMuch Ado About
Nothing.118. In many towns and cities there is much of interest con-nected
with the firedepartment. "The Historyof Our Fire De-
NOTES AND SUGGESTIONS. 205
partment," "Fire Fighting," and many other subjects may suggest
themselves to you for written or oral reports. Possibly some one
in the class may be able to tell in this connection how Crassus, the
friend of Julius Caesar, gained a great part of his wealth.
119. Have you read of the work of Whitefield and his associates
in England? See "The Methodist Movement" in Halleck's History
of English Literature,or in some good English history.
132. Your classmates will be interested in a report on the Franklin
stove. Make some simple drawings to illustrate its principles.
141. Find out definitely what system of street cleaning prevails
in your home town. Write a feature article on that system, as if
for a magazine. Some member of the class who has a camera will
secure illustrations for you. Also write an editorial for a newspaper,
an editorial inspired by the disclosures of the feature article.
175. Will several of you take up the subject of "Franklin's Electri-cal
Experiments" and make reports to the class?
185. Notice Franklin's alertness in suggesting the application of
scientific methods to practical affairs. Do you think that Emerson's
definition of "genius" as given in the first paragraph of his essay on
"Self-Reliance" can be justly applied to Franklin?
You will be interested in following Franklin's experiments in
determining the value of oil in stilling the waves, and also his in-vestigations
of the Gulf Stream and of the nature of storms. He
asked, "What signifies philosophy that does not apply to some
use?" Yet he had a wonderful imagination back of his practical
nature.
Emerson says that the chief use of a book is to inspire. On this
basis how do you rank the Autobiography in usefulness?
ECLECTIC ENGLISH CLASSICS
THE 20 CENT SERIES
Addison's SirRoger de CoverleyPapers(Underwood).$o 20
Arnold's Sohrab and Rustum (Tanner) 20
Bunyan's Pilgrim'sProgress(Jones and Arnold)...20
Burke's Conciliation with the American Colonies
(Clark) 20
Burns's Poems " Selections (Venable) 20
Byron's Childe Harold (Canto IV), Prisoner of Chil-
lon,Mazeppa, and other Selections (Venable).....
Carlyle'sEssay on Burns (Miller)Chaucer's Prologueand Knighte'sTale (Van Dyke)
. .
Coleridge'sRime of the Ancient Mariner (Garrigues).
Cooper'sPilot (Watrous). Double number
Defoe's Historyof the Plague in London (Syle)Robinson Crusoe (Stephens)
De Quincey'sRevolt of the Tartars
Dickens's Tale of Two Cities (Pearce). Double
number
Dryden'sPalamon and Arcite (Bates)Emerson's American Scholar, Self-Reliance,Com-pensation
(Smith)Franklin's Autobiography(Rdd)George Eliot'sSilas Marner (McKitrick)Goldsmith's Vicar of Wakefield (Hansen)
Deserted Village(See Gray's Elegy in a CountryChurchyard)
Gray's Elegy in a Country Churchyard, and Gold-smith's
Deserted Village(Van Dyke)Irving'sSketch Book " Selections (St.John)
Tales of a Traveler (Rutland). Double number.. .
Lincoln,Addresses and Letters (Moores)Address at Cooper Union (SeeMacaulay'sSpeeches
on Copyright)Macaulay'sEssay on Addison (Matthews)Essay on Milton (Mead)Essayson Lord Clive and Warren Hastings(Holmes)Double number
(s.95)
ECLECTIC ENGLISH CLASSICS
Lays of Ancient Rome and other Poems (Atkinson).$o 20
Life of Johnson (Lucas) 20
Speeches on Copyright and Lincoln's Address at
Cooper Union (Pittenger) 20
Milton's L' Allegro,II Penseroso, Comus, Lycidas(Buck) 20
Paradise Lost. Books I and II (Stephens) 20
Old Testament Narratives (Baldwin) 20
Poe's Selected Poems and Tales (Stott) 20,
Pope'sHomer's Iliad. Books I,VI, XXII, and XXIV 20
Rape of the Lock, and Essay on Man (Van Dyke). .
20
Scott'sAbbot. Double number 40 J"Ivanhoe (Schreiber).Double number 40Lady of the Lake (Bacon) 20
Marmion (Coblentz) 20
Quentin Durward (Norris).Double number 40Woodstock. Double number 40
Shakespeare'sAs You Like It (North) 20
Hamlet (Shower) 20
Henry V (Law) 20
JuliusCaesar (Baker) 20
Macbeth (Livengood) 20
Merchant of Venice (Blakely) 20
Midsummer Night'sDream (Haney) 20
i
Twelfth Night (Weld) 20
Southey'sLife of Nelson. Double number 40Stevenson's Inland Voyage,and Travels with a Don-key
(Armstrong) 20
Treasure Island (Fairley) 20
Swift's Gulliver's Travels (Gaston)#
20
Tennyson'sIdyllsof the King" Selections(Willard). .
20
Princess (Shryock) 20
Thackeray'sHenry Esmond (Bissell).Double num-ber
40
Washington's Farewell Address, and Webster's First
Bunker Hill Oration (Lewis). . .
20
Webster's Bunker Hill Orations (See also Washing-ton'sFarewell Address) 20
Wordsworth's Poems " Selections (Venable) 20
(S.9Sa)