Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

"Here lie

"JOSIAS FRANKLIN and ABIAн his wife: They "lived together with reciprocal affection for fifty"nine years; and without private fortune, with"out lucrative employment, by affiduous labour "and honeft induftry, decently fupported a numerous family, and educated, with fuccefs, "thirteen children, and seven grand-children. "Let this example, reader, encourage thee dili"gently to discharge the duties of thy calling, "and to rely on the fupport of Divine Provi"dence.

"He was pious and prudent,

"She difcreet and virtuous.

"Their youngest fon, from a fentiment of filial duty, confecrates this ftone

66

"To their memory."

I perceive, by my rambling digreffions, that I ám growing old. But we do not drefs for a private company as for a formal ball. This deferves perhaps the name of negligence.

To return. I thus continued employed in my father's trade for the space of two years; that is to fay, till I arrived at twelve years of age. About this time my brother John, who had ferved his apprenticeship in London, having quitted my father, and being married and fettled in bufinefs on his own account at Rhode Ifland, I was deftined, to all appearance, to fupply his place, and be a candle-maker all my life: but my diflike of this occupation continuing, my father was apprehenfive, that, if a more agreeable one were not offered me, I might play the truant and efcape to fea; as, to his extreme mortification, my brother Jofias had done. He therefore took me fometimes to see mafons, coopers, braziers, joiners, and other mechanics, employed at their

work;

work; in order to discover the bent of my inclination, and fix it if he could upon fome occupation that might retain me on fhore. I have fince, in confequence of thefe vifits, derived no fmall pleasure from seeing skilful workmen handle their tools; and it has proved of confiderable benefit, to have acquired thereby fufficient knowledge to be able to make little things for myself, when I have had no mechanic at hand, and to construct small machines for my experiments, while the idea I have conceived has been fresh and ftrongly impreffed on my imagination.

My father at length decided that I should be a cutler, and I was placed for fome days upon trial with my coufin Samuel, fon of my uncle Benjamin, who had learned this trade in London, and had eftablifhed himself at Bofton. But the premium he required for my apprenticeship difpleafing my father, I was recalled home.

From my earliest years I had been paffionately fond of reading, and I laid out in books all the little money I could procure. I was particularly pleafed with accounts of voyages. My firft acquifition was Bunyan's collection in fmall feparate volumes. Thefe I afterwards fold in order to buy an hiftorical collection by R. Burton, which confifted of fmall cheap volumes, amounting in all to about forty or fifty. My father's little library was principally made up of books of prac tical and polemical theology. I read the greatest part of them. I have fince often regretted, that at a time when I had fo great a thirst for knowledge, more eligible books had not fallen into my hands, as it was then a point decided that I should not be educated for the church. There was also among my father's books Plutarch's Lives, in which I read continually, and I ftill regard as advantageously employed the time I devoted to

them.

them. I found besides a work of De Foe's, entitled, an Effay on Projects, from which, perhaps, I derived impreffions that have fince influenced fome of the principal events of my life.

My inclination for books at laft determined my father to make me a printer, though he had already a fon in that profeffion. My brother had returned from England in 1717, with a prefs and types, in order to eftablish a printing-house at Boston. This business pleased me much better than that of my father, though I had still a predilection for the fea. To prevent the effects which might refult from this inclination, my father was impatient to fee me engaged with my brother. I held back for fome time; at length however I fuffered myself to be perfuaded, and figned my indentures, being then only twelve years of age. It was agreed that I fhould ferve

as apprentice to the age of twenty-one, and fhould receive journeyman's wages only during the last year.

pro

In a very fhort time I made great proficiency in this bufinefs, and became very ferviceable to my brother. I had now an opportunity of curing better books. The acquaintance I neceffarily formed with bookfellers' apprentices, enabled me to borrow a volume now and then, which I never failed to return punctually and without injury. How often has it happened to me to pafs the greater part of the night in reading by my bed-fide, when the book had been lent me in the evening, and was to be returned the next morning, left it might be miffed or wanted!

At length, Mr. Matthew Adams, an ingenious tradefman, who had a handfome collection of books, and who frequented our printing-houfe, took notice of me. He invited me to fee his li

brary,

brary, and had the goodness to lend me any books I was defirous of reading. I then took a ftrange fancy for poetry, and compofed feveral little pieces. My brother, thinking he might find his account in it, encouraged me, and engaged me to write two ballads. One, called the Lighthoufe Tragedy, contained an account of the shipwreck of captain Worthilake and his two daughters; the other was a failor's fong on the capture of the noted pirate called Teach, or Black-beard. They were wretched verfes in point of ftyle, mere blind-men's ditties. When printed, he difpatched me about the town to fell them. The first had a prodigious run, because the event was recent, and had made a great noise.

My vanity was flattered by this fuccefs; but my father checked my exultation, by ridiculing my productions, and telling me that verfifiers were always poor. I thus efcaped the misfortune of being, probably, a very wretched poet. But as the faculty of writing profe has been of great fervice to me in the course of my life, and principally contributed to my advancement, I fhalf relate by what means, fituated as I was, I acquired the fmall skill I may poffefs in that way.

There was in the town another young man, a great lover of books, of the name of John Collins, with whom I was intimately connected. We frequently engaged in difpute, and were indeed fond of argumentation, that nothing was fo agreeable to us as a war of words. This contentious temper, I would obferve by the by, is in danger of becoming a very bad habit, and frequently renders a man's company infupportable, as being no otherwife capable of indulgence than by indifcriminate contradiction. Independently of the acrimony and difcord it introduces into converfation, it is often productive of diflike,

and

and even hatred, between perfons to whom friendfhip is indifpenfably neceffary. I acquired it by reading, while I lived with my father, books of religious controverfy. I have fince remarked, that men of fenfe feldom fall into this error; lawyers, fellows of univerfities, and perfons of every profeffion educated at Edinburgh, excepted.

Collins and I fell one day into an argument relative to the education of women; namely, whether it were proper to inftruct them in the fciences, and whether they were competent to the study. Collins fupported the negative, and affirmed that the task was beyond their capacity. I maintained the oppofite opinion, a little perhaps for the pleasure of difputing. He was naturally more eloquent than I; words flowed copioufly from his lips; and frequently I thought myfelf vanquished, more by his volubility than by the force of his arguments. We separated without coming to an agreement upon this point; and as we were not to fee each other again for fome time, I committed my thoughts to paper, made a fair copy, and fent it him. He anfwered, and I replied. Three or four letters had been written by each, when my father chanced to light upon my papers and read them. Without entering into the merits of the cause, he embraced the opportunity of speaking to me upon my manner of writing. He obferved, that though I had the advantage of my adversary in correct fpelling and pointing, which I owed to my occupation, I was greatly his inferior in elegance of expreffion, in arrangement, and perfpicuity. Of this he convinced me by feveral examples. I felt the juftice of his remarks, became more attentive to language, and refolved to make every effort to improve my ftyle. Amidst these

C

refolves

« ZurückWeiter »