thoughts of ever returning to Philadelphia. He was totally without money; the little he had been able to raise having barely fufficed for his paffage. I had fifteen piftoles remaining; and to me he had from time to time recourfe, while he tried to get employment.

At first, believing himself poffeffed of talents for the ftage, he thought of turning actor; but Wilkes, to whom he applied, frankly advised him to renounce the idea, as it was impoffible he fhould fucceed. He next propofed to Roberts, a bookfeller in Paternofter-row, to write a weekly paper in the manner of the Spectator, upon terms to which Roberts would not liften. Laftly, he endeavoured to procure employment as a copyift, and applied to the lawyers and stationers. about the temple; but he could find no vacancy.

As to myfelf, I immediately got engaged at Palmer's, at that time a noted printer in Bartholomew Clofe, with whom I continued nearly a year. I applied very affiduoufly to my work; but I expended with Ralph almoft all that I earned. Plays, and other places of amusement which we frequented together, having exhaufted my piftoles, we lived after this from hand to mouth. He appeared to have entirely forgotten his wife and child, as I alfo, by degrees, forgot my engagements with Mifs Read, to whom I never wrote more than one letter, and that merely to inform her that I was not likely to return foon. This was another grand error of my life, which I fhould be defirous of correcting were I to begin my career again.

I was employed at Palmer's on the fecond edition of Woolafton's Religion of Nature. Some of his arguments appearing to me not to be well founded, I wrote a fmall metaphyfical treatise, in which I animadverted on thofe paffages. It

was

was entitled, a Differtation on Liberty and Neceffity, Pleasure and Pain. I dedicated it to my friend Ralph, and printed a small number of copies. Palmer upon this treated me with more confideration, and regarded me as a young man of talents; though he feriously took me to talk for the principles of my pamphlet, which he looked upon as abominable. The printing of this work was another error of my life.

While I lodged in Little Britain I formed ac-. quaintance with a bookfeller of the name of Wilcox, whose shop was next door to me.

Circula

ting libraries were not then in ufe. He had an immenfe collection of books of all forts. We agreed that, for a reasonable retribution, of which I have now forgotten the price, I fhould have free access to his library, and take what books I pleafed, which I was to return when I had read them. I confidered this agreement as a very great advantage; and I derived from it as much benefit as was in my power.

My pamphlet falling into the hands of a furgeon, of the name of Lyons, author of a book entitled, Infallibility of Human Judgment, was the occafion of a confiderable intimacy between

us.

He expreffed great efteem for me, came frequently to fee me, in order to converfe upon metaphyfical subjects, and introduced me to Dr. Mandeville, author of the Fable of Bees, who had inftituted a club at a tavern in Cheapfide, of which he was the foul: he was a facetious and very amusing character. He also introduced me, at Batfon's coffee-house, to Dr. Pemberton, who promised to give me an opportunity of feeing Sir Ifaac Newton, which I very ardently defired; but he never kept his word.

I had brought fome curiofities with me from America; the principal of which was a purfe made of the afbeftos, which fire only purifies.

Sir Hans Sloane hearing of it, called upon me, and invited me to his houfe in Bloomsburyfquare, where, after fhowing me every thing that was curious, he prevailed on me to add this piece to his collection; for which he paid me very handsomely.

There lodged in the fame house with us a young woman, a milliner, who had a fhop by the fide of the Exchange. Lively and fenfible, and having received an education fomewhat above her rank, her converfation was very agreeable. Ralph read plays to her every evening. They became intimate. She took another lodging, and he followed her. They lived for fome time together; but Ralph being without employment, the having a child, and the profits of her business not fufficing for the maintenance of three, he refolved to quit London, and try a country fchool. This was a plan in which he thought himself likely to fucceed, as he wrote a fine hand, and was verfed in arithmetic and accounts But confidering the office as beneath him, and expecting fome day to make a better figure in the world, when he should be afhamed of its being known that he had exercised a profeffion fo little honourable, he changed his name, and did me the honour of affuming mine. He wrote to me foon after his departure, informing me that he was fettled at a fmall village in Berkfhire. In his letter he recommended Mrs. T***, the milliner, to my care, and requested an anfwer, directed to Mr. Franklin, fchool-master at N***.

He continued to write to me frequently, fending me large fragments of an epic poem he was compofing, and which he requested me to criticife and correct. I did fo, but not without endeavouring to prevail on him to renounce this purfuit. Young had juft published one of his

Satires.

Satires. I copied and fent him a great part of its in which the author demonftrates the folly of cultivating the Mufes, from the hope, by their inftrumentality, of rifing in the world. It was all to no purpofe; paper after paper of his poem continued to arrive every poft.

Meanwhile Mrs. T*** having loft, on his account, both her friends and her business, was frequently in diftrefs. In this dilemma fhe had recourfe to me; and to extricate her from her difficulties, I lent her all the money I could fpare. I felt a little too much fondness for her. Having at that time no ties of religion, and taking advantage of her neceffitous fituation, I attempted liberties (another error of my life,) which the repelled with becoming indignation. She informed Ralph of my conduct; and the affair occafioned a breach between us. When he returned to London, he gave me to understand that he confidered all the obligations he owed me as annihilated by this proceeding; whence I concluded. that I was never to expect the payment of what money I had lent him, or advanced on his account. I was the lefs afflicted at this, as he was wholly unable to pay me; and as, by lofing his friendship, I was relieved at the fame time from a very heavy burden.

I now began to think of laying by fome money. The printing-houfe of Watts, near Lincoln's-Inn Fields, being a ftill more confiderable one than that in which I worked, it was probable I might find it more advantageous to be employed there. I offered myself, and was accepted; and in this house I continued during the remainder of my ftay in London.

On my entrance I worked at first as a preffman, conceiving that I had need of bodily exercife, to which I had been accuftomed in America,

where

where the printers work alternately as compofitors and at the prefs. I drank nothing but water. The other workmen, to the number of about fifty, were great drinkers of beer. I carried occafionally a large form of letters in each hand, up and down stairs, while the reft employed both hands to carry one. They were furprized to fee, by this and many other examples, that the American Aquatic, as they used to call me, was ftronger than thofe who drank porter. The beer-boy had fufficient employment during the whole day in ferving that houfe alone. My fellow-preffman drank every day a pint of beer before breakfaft, a pint with bread and cheese for breakfast, one between breakfast and dinner, one at dinner, one again about fix o'clock in the afternoon, and another after he had finished his day's work. This cuftom appeared to me abominable; but he had need, he said, of all this beer, in order to acquire ftrength to work.

I endeavoured to convince him that the bodily ftrength furnished by the beer, could only be in proportion to the folid part of the barley diffolved in the water of which the beer was compofed; that there was a larger portion of flour in a penny loaf, and that confequently if he eat this loaf, and drank a pint of water with it, he would derive more ftrength from it than from a pint of beer. This reafoning, however, did not prevent him from drinking his accustomed quantity of beer, and paying every Saturday night a score of four or five fhillings a week for this curfed beverage; an expence from which I was wholly exempt. Thus do these poor devils continue all their lives in a state of voluntary wretchedness and poverty.

At the end of a few weeks, Watts having occafion for me above stairs as a compofitor, I quit

ted