board a ship and conveyed to America, without ever writing to inform his parents what was become of him. His mental vivacity, and good natural disposition, made him an excellent companion; but he was indolent, thoughtless, and to the last degree imprudent.

John, the Irishman, soon ran away. I began to live very agreeably with the rest. They respected, me, and the more so as they found Keimer incapable of instructing them, and as they learned something from me every day. We never worked on a Saturday, it being Keimer's Sabbath; so that I had two days a week for reading.

Keimer

I encreased my acquaintance with persons of knowledg and information in the town. himself treated me with grea civility and apparent esteem; and I had nothing to give me uneasiness but my debt to Vernon, which I was unable to pay, my savings as yet being very little. He had the goodness, however, not to ask me for the money.

Our press was frequently in want of the necessary quantitity of letter; and there was no such trade as that of letter-founder in America. I had seen the practice of this art at the house of James, in London; but had at the same time paid it very little attention. I however contrived to fabricate a mould. made use of such letters as we had for punches, founded new letters of lead in matrices of claw, and thus supplied, in a tolerable manner, the wants that were most pressing.

I

I also, uponoce sion, engraved various ornaments, made ink, gave an eye to the shop; in short, I was in every respect the factotum. But useful as I made myself, I perceived that my services became every day of Lese importance, in proportion as the other men improved; and when Keimer paid me my

ter.

He frequently found fault, was difficult to please, and seemed always on the point of coming to an open quarrel with me.

I continued, however, to bear it patiently, conceiving that his ill-humor was partly occasioned by the derangement and embarrassment of his affairs. At last a slight incident broke our connection. Hearing a noise in the neighborhood, I put my head. out of the window to see what was the matter. Keimer being in the street, observed me, and in a loud and angry tone told me to mind my work; adding some reproachful words, which piqued me the more as they were uttered in the street; and the neighbors, whom the noise had attracted to the windows, were witnesses of the manner in which I was treated. He immediately came up to the printe ing room, and continued to exclaim against me. The quarrel became warm on both sides, and he gave me notice to quit him at the expiration of three months, as had been agreed between us; regretting that he was obliged to give me so long a term. I told him that his regret was superfluous, as I was ready to quit him instantly; and I took my hat and came out of the house, begging Meredith to take care of some things which I left, and bring them to my lodgings.

Meredith came to me in the evening. We talked for some time upon the quarrel that had taken place. He had conceived a great veneration for me, and was sorry I should quit the house while he remained in it. He dissuaded me from returning to my native country, as I began to think of doing. He reminded me that Keimer owed more than he

possessed; that his creditors began to be alarmed; that he kept his shop in a wretched state, often selling things at prime cost for the sake of ready money, and continually giving credit without keeping any accounts; that of consequence he must very soon fail, which would occasion a vacancy from which I might derive advantage. I objected my want of money. Upon which he informed me that his father had a very high opinion of me, and from a conversation that had passed between them, he was sure that he would advance whatever might be necessary to establish us, if I was willing to enter into partnership with him. "My time with Keimer," added he, "will be at an end next spring. In the mean time we may send to London for our press and types. I know that I am no workman + but if you agree to the proposal, your skill in the business will be balanced by the capital I will furnish, and we will share the profits equally." proposal was reasonable, and I fell in with it. His father, who was then in the town, approved of it. He knew that I had some ascendency over his son, as I had been able to prevail on him to abstain a long time from drinking brandy; and he hoped that when more closely connected with him, I should cure him entirely of this unfortunate habit.

His

I gave the father a list of what it would be neces sary to import from London. He took it to a merchant, and the order was given. We agreed to keep the secret till the arrival of the materials, and I was in the mean time to procure work, if possible, in another printing-house; but there was no place vacant, and I remained idle. After some days, Keimer having the expectation of being employed to print some New Jersey money-bills, that would require types and engravings which I only could furnish, and fearful that Bradford, by engag

tary passion, and inviting me to return to him. Meredith persuaded me to comply with the invitation, particularly as it would afford him more opportunities of improving himself in the business by means of my instructions. I did so, and we lived upon better terms than before our separation.

He obtained the New-Jersey business; and in order to execute it, I constructed a copper plate printing-press; the first that had been seen in the country. I engraved various ornaments and vig nettes for the bills; and we repaired to Burlington together, where I executed the whole to the general satisfaction; and he received a sum of money for this work, which enabled him to keep his head above water for a considerable time longer.

At Burlington I formed acquaintance with the principal personages of the province; many of whom were commissioned by the assembly to su perintend the press, and to see that no more bills were printed than the law had prescribed. Accord ingly they were constantly with us, each in his turn; and he that came commonly brought with him a friend or two to bear him company. My mind was more cultivated by reading than Keimer's; and it was for this reason, probably, that they set more more value on my conversation. They took me to their houses, introduced me to their friends, and treated me with the greatest civility; while Keimer, though master, saw himself a little neglected He was, in fact, a strange animal, ignorant of the common modes of life, apt to oppose with rudeness general received opinions, an enthusiast in certain

points of religion, disgustingly unclean in his per .sun, and a little knavish withal.

We remained there nearly three months; and at the expiration of this period I could include in the list of my friends, Judge Allen, Samuel Bustil, secretary of the province, Isaac Pearson, Joseph Cooper, several of the Smiths, all members of the Assembly, and Isaac Deacon, inspector-general. The last was a shrewd and subtle old man. He told me, that, when a boy, his first employment had been that of carrying clay to brick-makers; that he did not learn to write till he was somewhat advanced in life; that he was afterwards employed as an underling to a surveyor, who taught him his trade, and that by industry he had at last acquired a competent for . tune. "I foresee," said he one day to me, "that you will soon supplant this man," speaking of Keimer, "and get a fortune in the business at Philadelphia." He was totally ignorant at the time of my intention of establishing myself there, or any where else. These friends were very serviceable to me in the end, as was I also, upon occasion, to some of them; and they have continued ever since their esteem for me.

Before I relate the particulars of my entrance into business, it may be proper to inform you what was at that time the state of my mind as to moral principles, that you may see the degree of influence they had upon subsequent events of my life.

"

But

My parents had given me betimes religious impressions; and I received from my infancy a pious education in the principles of Calvinism. scarcely was I arrived at fifteen years of age, when, after having doubted in turn of different tenets, according as I found them combated in the different books that I read, I began to doubt of revelation it