fequence fuppofed to have better opportunities of obtaining news. His paper was also fuppofed to be more advantageous to advertising customers; and in confequence of that fuppofition, his advertifements were much more numerous than mine: this was a fource of great profit to him, and difadvantageous to me. It was to no purpose that I really procured other papers, and diftributed my own, by means of the poft; the public took for granted my inability in this refpect; and I was indeed unable to conquer it in any other mode than by bribing the poft-boys, who served me only by ftealth, Bradford being fo illiberal as to forbid them. This treatment of his excited my resentment; and my disgust was fo rooted, that, when I afterwards fucceeded him in the post-office, I took care to avoid copying his example. I had hitherto continued to board with Godfrey, who, with his wife and children, occupied part of my house, and half of the fhop for his bufinefs; at which indeed he worked very little, being always abforbed by mathematics. Mrs. Godfrey formed a wifh of marrying me to the daughter of one of her relations. She contrived various opportunities of bringing us together, till fhe faw that I was captivated; which was not difficult, the lady in queftion poffeffing great perfonal merit. The parents encouraged my addreffes, by inviting me continually to fupper, and leaving us together, till at laft it was time to come to an explanation. Mrs. Godfrey undertook to negociate our little treaty. I gave her to understand, that I expected to receive with the young lady a fum of money that would enable me at leaft to discharge the remainder of my debt for my printing materials. It was then, I believe, not more than a hundred pounds. She brought brought me for answer, that they had no fuch fum at their difpofal. I obferved that it might eafily be obtained, by a mortgage on their house. The reply to this was, after a few days interval, that they did not approve of the match; that they had confulted Bradford; and found that the business of a printer was not lucrative; that my letters would foon be worn out, and muft be fupplied by new ones; that Keimer and Harry had failed, and that, probably, I should do fo too. Accordingly they forbade me the house, and the young lady was confined. I know not if they had really changed their minds, or if it was merely an artifice, fuppofing our affections to be too far engaged for us to defift, and that we should contrive to marry fecretly, which would leave them at liberty to give or not as they pleased. But, fufpecting this motive, I never went again to their houfe. Some time after Mrs. Godfrey informed me that they were very favourably difpofed towards me, and wifhed me to renew the acquaintance; but I declared a firm refolution never to have any thing more to do with the family. The Godfreys expreffed fome refentment at this; and as we could no longer agree, they changed their refidence, leaving me in poffeffion of the whole houfe. I then refolved to take no more lodgers. This affair having turned my thoughts to marriage, I looked around me, and made overtures of alliance in other quarters; but I foon found that the profeffion of a printer being generally looked upon as a poor trade, I could expect no money with a wife, at least if I wished her to poffefs any other charm. Meanwhile that paffion of youth, fo difficult to govern, had often drawn me into intrigues with defpicable women who fell in my way; which were not unaccompanied with with expence and inconvenience, befides the perpetual risk of injuring my health, and catching à disease which I dreaded above all things. But I was fortunate enough to escape this danger. As a neighbour and old acquaintance, I had kept up a friendly intimacy with the family of Mifs Read. Her parents had retained an affection for me from the time of my lodging in their houfe. I was often invited thither; they confulted me about their affairs, and I had been fometimes ferviceable to them. I was touched with the unhappy fituation of their daughter, who was almost always melancholy, and continually feeking folitude. I regarded my forgetfulness and inconftancy, during my abode in London, as the principal cause of her misfortune; though her mother had the candour to attribute the fault to herself, rather than to me, because, after having prevented our marriage previously to my departure, fhe had induced her to marry another in my abfence. Our mutual affection revived; but there ex ifted great obftacles to our union. Her marriage was confidered, indeed, as not being valid, the man having, it was faid, a former wife ftill living in England; but of this it was difficult to obtain a proof at fo great a distance; and though a report prevailed of his being dead, yet we had no certainty of it; and fuppofing it to be true, he had left many debts, for the payment of which his fucceffor might be fued. We ventured nevertheless, in fpite of all thefe difficulties; and I married her on the firft of September 1730. None of the inconveniences we had feared happened to us. She proved to me a good and faithful companion, and contributed effentially to the fuccefs of my shop. We profpered together, and it was our mutual ftudy to render each other happy. happy. Thus I corrected, as well as I could, this great error of my youth. Our club was not at that time established at a tavern. We held our meeting at the house of Mr. Grace, who appropriated a room to the purpose. Some member obferved one day, that as our books were frequently quoted in the course of our difcuffions, it would be convenient to have them collected in the room in which we affembled, in order to be confulted upon occafion; and that, by thus forming a common library of our individual collections, each would have the advantage of using the books of all the other members, which would nearly be the fame as if he poffeffed them all himself. The idea was approved, and we accordingly brought fuch books as we thought we could fpare, which were placed at the end of the club-room. They amounted not to fo many as we expected; and though we made confiderable ufe of them, yet fome inconveniences refulting, from want of care, it was agreed, after about a year, to deftroy the collection; and each took away fuch books as belonged to him. It was now that I firft ftarted the idea of eftablishing, by fubfcription, a public library. I drew up the propofals, had them ingroffed in form by Brockden the attorney, and my project fucceeded, as will be feen in the fequel [The life of Dr Franklin, as written by himfelf, fo far as it has yet been communicated to the world, breaks off in this place. We underftand that it was continued by him fomewhat farther, and we hope that the remainder will, at fome future period, be communicated to the pulic. We have no hesitation in fuppofing that every every reader will find himself greatly interested by the frank fimplicity and the philofophical discernment by which thefe pages are fo eminently characterised. We have therefore thought proper, in order as much as poffible to relieve his regret, to fubjoin the following continuation, by one of the Doctor's intimate friends. It is extracted from an American periodical publication, and was written by the late Dr. Stuber* of Philadelphia.] THE promotion of literature had been little at tended to in Penfylvania. Most of the inhabitants were too much immerfed in bufinefs to think of scientific pursuits; and those few, whose inclinations led them to ftudy, found it difficult to gratify them, from the want of fufficiently large libraries. In fuch circumftances, the efta * Dr. Stuber was born in Philadelphia, of German parents. He was fent, at an early age, to the univerfity, where his genius, diligence and amiable temper foon acquired him the particular notice and favour of thofe under whose immediate direction he was placed. After paffing through the common course of study, in a much fhorter time than ufual, he left the univerfity, at the age of fixteen, with great repu tation. Not long after, he entered on the ftudy of Phyfic; and the zeal with which he pursued it, and the advances he made, gave his friends reason to form the moft flattering profpects of his future eminence and usefulness in the profeffion. As Dr. Stuber's circumstances were very moderate, he did not think this purfuit well calculated to answer them. He therefore relinquished it, after he had obtained a degree in the profeffion, and qualified himself to practife with credit and fuccefs; and immediately entered on the ftudy of Law. In purfuit of the laft mentioned object, he was prematurely arrested, before he had an opportunity of reaping the fruit of thofe talents with which he was endowed, and of a youth spent in the ardent and fuccefsful purfuit of ufeful and elegant literature. blishment |