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difference what his abilities may be, be tempted to hazard in any enterprise, no matter how flattering the prospects to make money out of it seem, that which he needs as a protection from the poorhouse. Let him be prudent as well as ambitious. It is said that fortune is blind. This may be true, but her favorites never are. It is said that ambition has the eye of the eagle, prudence that of the lynx; the first looks through the air, the last along the ground.

Plutarch said that the temple of Artemis at Ephesus gave asylum and security from their creditors to debtors when they took refuge in it, but he added that the asylum and sanctuary of frugality was everywhere open to the sober-minded, affording them joyful, and honorable, and ample space for much ease.

Many men fail to get rich, because they cannot sit still in their offices. They are too impatient or too inattentive to the details of business, and trust too largely to the aid of subordinates. "Keep your shop, and your shop will keep you," is still as true as it is a wise saying.

A disregard of order prevents many people from succeeding in life. The homely rule, "Have a place for everything, and keep everything in its place," is a most excellent one. Xenophon said that disorder seemed to him as if a husbandman should throw into his granary barley and wheat and peas together, and then when he wants barley bread, or wheaten bread, or pea soup, should have to abstract them grain by grain instead of having them separately laid up for his use.

Money is the Aladdin's lamp of to-day. It has many legitimate uses. But it should be kept in the head and not in the heart. Money, some one has said, is the sovereign of sovereigns. When a man has money, he must know how to spend it, so that he will derive the greatest amount of enjoyment from it. Or what is nobler, do the greatest amount of good with it. It requires intelligence and taste to extract from gold its

uses.

We often speak of the power of knowledge, but we can purchase with money whatever knowledge can invent. Gold will not give us the brain of the author, the ear of the musician, the eye of the painter, nor, as has been aptly said, that inner sixth

sense of beauty and truth which the poet unites in himself, philosopher, painter, musician; but with the aid of gold we can enjoy, refine, and exalt our existence with all the creations of author, musician, and painter. But better than the sweet strains of music, than galleries teeming with the treasures of art, and libraries whose shelves groan beneath the weight of books, with money we can build homes for the worthy indigent and schools for youth. We can rescue the meritorious from obscurity, and cause knowledge, rich with the spoils of time, to unroll her ample page to their eager eyes.

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THE MAN OF BUSINESS

Advice to a Young Tradesman

By BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

[Benjamin Franklin, philosopher, statesman, scientist, and didactic writer, was born at Boston, January 16, 1706. His father was a tallowchandler, but apprenticed him to the printing trade, though his desire then and for several years afterward was for the sea. Becoming displeased with the treatment he received, he ran away from Boston and went to Philadelphia, where he engaged with a printer. On December 24, 1724, he went to London, where he remained, working as a printer until July 23, 1726, when he returned to America. By industry and the most rigid economy he established himself in business, and on September 25, 1729, founded the "Pennsylvania Gazette." He was instrumental in many public works, founded the first public library and the Academy that has developed into the University of Pennsylvania. In 1732 he established "Poor Richard's Almanac," which he conducted for twenty-six years. He was the author of the first "Plan of Union," which was presented to representatives of the colonies at Albany in 1754, and in 1757 the Pennsylvania Assembly made him their emissary to the king respecting the taxing of the Penn proprietary estates for the defense of the province against the French and Indians. After five years diplomatic negotiations he effected a compromise. In 1764 he was again sent to urge the repeal of the stamp duties, but his eleven years in England did not bring about their relinquishment. He sat in the Continental Congress, was one of the five who drafted the Declaration of Independence in July 1776, and in September went on a mission to enlist the aid of France and the sympathy of continental Europe for the colonies in their strife with George III. He remained in Paris for nearly nine years, first as commissioner, then as minister plenipotentiary. Returning in 1785 he served as president of Pennsylvania for three years and was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1789. His discoveries in electricity and his various scientific writings made him a member of many learned societies in Europe. Besides his "Poor Richard Maxims,” which are full of common sense and homely wisdom, he wrote a quaint and interesting autobiography, telling the story of his life down to the year 1757. He died at Philadelphia April 17, 1790.]

T

O MY FRIEND A. B.: As you have desired it of me, I write the following hints, which have been of service to me,

and may, if observed, be so to you.

Remember that time is money.

He that can earn ten shil

lings a day by his labor, and goes abroad or sits idle one-half of that day, though he spends but sixpence during his diversion or idleness, ought not to reckon that the only expense; he has really spent, or, rather, thrown away, five shillings besides.

Remember that credit is money. If a man lets his money lie in my hands after it is due, he gives me the interest, or so much as I can make of it during that time. This amounts to a considerable sum where a man has good and large credit, and makes good use of it.

Remember that money is of the prolific, generating nature. Money can beget money, and its offspring can beget more, and so on. Five shillings turned is six, turned again it is seven and threepence, and so on till it becomes a hundred pounds. The more there is of it, the more it produces every turning, so that the profits rise quicker and quicker. He that kills a breeding sow destroys all her offspring to the thousandth generation. He that murders a crown destroys all that it might have produced, even scores of pounds.

Remember that six pounds a year is but a groat a day. For this little sum (which may be daily wasted either in time or expense unperceived) a man of credit may, on his own security, have the constant possession and use of a hundred pounds. So much in stock, briskly turned by an industrious man, produces great advantage.

Remember this saying, The good paymaster is lord of another man's purse. He that is known to pay punctually and exactly to the time he promises, may at any time, and on any occasion, raise all the money his friends can spare. This is sometimes of great use After industry and frugality, nothing contributes more to the raising of a young man in the world than punctuality and justice in all his dealings; therefore never keep borrowed money an hour beyond the time you promised, lest a disappointment shut up your friend's purse forever.

The most trifling actions that affect a man's credit are to be regarded. The sound of your hammer at five in the morning or nine at night, heard by a creditor, makes him easy six months longer; but if he sees you at a billiard table or hears your voice at a tavern when you should be at work, he sends

for his money the next day; demands it, before he can receive it, in a lump.

It shows, besides, that you are mindful of what you owe; it makes you appear careful as well as an honest man, and that

still increases your credit.

Beware of thinking all your own that you possess, and of living accordingly. It is a mistake that many people who have credit fall into. To prevent this, keep an exact account for some time both of your expenses and your income. If you take the pains at first to mention particulars, it will have this good effect: you will discover how wonderfully small trifling expenses mount up to large sums, and will discern what might have been, and may for the future be saved, without occasioning any great inconvenience.

In short, the way to wealth, if you desire it, is as plain as the way to market. It depends chiefly on two words, industry and frugality; that is, waste neither time nor money, but make the best use of both. Without industry and frugality nothing will do, and with them everything. He that gets all he can honestly, and saves all he gets (necessary expenses excepted), will certainly become rich, if that Being who governs the world, to whom all should look for a blessing in their honest endeavors, doth not, in His wise providence, otherwise determine. AN OLD TRADESMAN.

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