CONTENTS. Advice to a Young Tradesman To Mr. Dubourg, concerning the Dissentions Comparison of the Conduct of the Ancient LIFE or DR. FRANKLIN. MY DEAR SON, I HAVE amused myself with collecting some intlo anecdotes of my family. You may remember the inquiries I made, when you were with me in Eng land, among such of my relations as were then living; and the journey I undertook for that purpose. To be acquainted with the particulars of my parentage and life, many of which are unknown to you, I flatter myself will afford the same pleasure to you as to me. I shall relate them upon paper: it will be an agreeable employment of a week's uninterrupted leisure, which I promise myself during my present retirement in the country. There are also other mo tives which induce me to the undertaking. From the bosom of poverty and obscurity, in which I drew my first breath, and spent my earbest years, I have raised myself to a state of opulence, and to seine degree of celebrity in the world. A constant good fortune has attended me through every period of life to my oresent advanced age; and my descendants may be desirous of learning what were the means of which I made use, and which, thanks to the assisting hand of Providence, have proved so eminently successful.— They may also, should they ever be placed in a s milar situation, derive some advantage from my nam rative. When I reflect, as I frequently do, upon the felicity I have enjoyed, I sometimes say to myself, that were the offer made true I would engage to run again, from beginning to end, the same career of life. Al would ask, should be the privilege of an author, t correct, in a second edition, certain errors of the first. I could wish, likewise, if it were in my power, to change some trivial incidents and events for others moro favourable. Were this, however, denied me, still would I not decline the offer. But since a repetition of life cannot take place, there is nothing which, in my opinion, so nearly resembles it, as to call to mind all its circumstances, and, to render their remembrance more durable, cominit them to writing. By thus em'oying myself, I shall yield to the inclination, so natural in old men, to talk of themselves and their exploits, and may freely follow my bu, without being tiresome to those who, from respect to my age, might think themselves obliged to listen to me; as they will be at liberty to read me or not as they please. In fina-and I may as well avow it, since nobody would believe me were I to deny it— I shall, perhaps, by this employment, gratify my vani ty. Scarcely, indeed, have I ever heard or read the introductory phrase, “I may say without vanity," but some striking and characteristic instance of vanity has immediately followed. The generality of men hate vanity in others, however strongly they inay be tinctured with it themselves: for myself, I pay obeisance to it wherever I meet with it, persuaded that it is advantageous, as well to the individual whom it governs, as to those who are within the sphere of its Influence. Of consequence, it would, in many cases, not be wholly absurd, that a man should count his vanity among the other sweets of life, and give thanks to Providence for the blessing. And here let nie with all humility acknowledge that to Divine Providence I am indebted for the felicity! have hitherto enjoyed. It is that power alone which has furnished me with the means I have employed, and that has crowned them with success. My faith, in this respect, lends me to hope, though I cannot count upon it, that the Divine goodness will still be exercised towards me, either by prolonging the duraDon of my happiness to the close of life, or by giving ; me fortitude to support any melancholy reverse, which may happen to me, as to so many others. My futire fortune is unknown but to Him in whose haud is our destiny, and who can make our very afflictions subservient to our benefit. One of my uncles, desirous, like myself, of collecting anecdotes of our family, gave me some notes, from which I have derived many particulars respecting our ancestors. From these I learn, that they had lived in the sane village (Eaton, in Northampton shire,) upon a freehold vi about thirty acres, for the space at least of three hundred years. How long they had resided there, prior to that period, my uncle had been unable to discover; probably ever since the institution; of sumames, when they took the appella tion of Franklin, which had formerly been the name of a particular order of individuals.* This petty estate would not have sufficed for their, subsistence, had they not added the trade of black. As a proof that Franklin was anciently the common, name of an order or rank in England, see Judge Fortesque, De laudibus legum Anglia, written about the year 1412, in which is the following passage, to show that good juries. might easily be formed in any part of England. Regio etiam illa, ita respersa refertaque est possessoribus. terrarum et agrorum, quod in ea villula tam parva reperiri non poterit, in qua non est miles, armiger, vel pater-familias, qualis ibidem franklin vulgaritur nuncupatur, magnis ditatus, possessionibus, nec non libere tenentes et alii valecti plurimi, suis patrimoniis sufficientes, ad faciendum juratam, in forma prænotata." "Moreover, the same country is so filled and replenished with landed menne, that therein so small a thore cannot be found wherein dwelleth not a knight, an esquire, or such a householder as is there commonly called a franklin, en riched with great possessions, and also other freeholders and many yeomen, able for their livelihood to make a jury in form. aforementioned.' Old Translation. Chaucer ton calls his country-gentleman a franklin; and, after describing his good housekeeping, thus characterizes him: This worthy franklin bore a purse of silk * |