_AMERICAN PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS._
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
A PICTURE OF THE
STRUGGLES OF OUR INFANT NATION,
ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO.
BY
JOHN S. C. ABBOTT.
"Print me as I am."--CROMWELL.
ILLUSTRATED.
NEW YORK:
DODD, MEAD & COMPANY.
751 BROADWAY.
COPYRIGHT,
DODD, MEAD & COMPANY.
1876
PREFACE.
Next to George Washington, we must write, upon the Catalogue
of American Patriots, the name of Benjamin Franklin. He had so
many virtues that there is no need of exaggerating them; so few
imperfections that they need not be concealed. The writer has
endeavored to give a perfectly accurate view of his character, and of
that great struggle, in which he took so conspicuous a part, which
secured the Independence of the United States. Probably there can no
where be found, within the same limits, so vivid a picture of Life in
America, one hundred years ago, as the career of Franklin presents.
This volume is the twelfth of the Library Series of Pioneers and
Patriots. The series presents a graphic history of our country from
its discovery.
1. _Christopher Columbus_ reveals to us the West Indies, and gives a
narrative of wonders unsurpassed in fact or fable.
2. _De Soto_ conducts us to Florida, and leads us through scenes of
romance, crime, blood and woe--through many Indian tribes, across the
continent, to the Mississippi, where he finds his melancholy grave.
3. _La Salle_, and his heroic companions, traversed thousands of miles
of majestic lakes and unknown rivers, and introduces us to innumerable
barbaric tribes. There is no other writer, who, from his own personal
observation, can give one so vivid an idea of Life in the Indian
village and wigwam.
4. _Miles Standish_ was the Captain of the Pilgrims. He conducts us in
the May Flower, across the Atlantic, lands us at Plymouth, and tells
the never to be forgotten story of the heroism of our fathers in
laying the foundations of this great republic.
5. _Captain Kidd_, and the Buccaneers, reveal to us the awful
condition of North and South America, when there was no protecting law
here, and when pirates swept sea and land, inflicting atrocities, the
narrative of which causes the ear which hears it to tingle.
6. _Peter Stuyvesant_ takes us by the hand, and introduces us to the
Dutch settlement at the mouth of the Hudson, conveys us, in his
schooner, up the solitary river, along whose forest-covered banks
Indian villages were scattered; and reveals to us all the struggles,
by which the Dutch New Amsterdam was converted into the English New
York.
7. _Benjamin Franklin_ should chronologically take his place
here. There is probably not, in the compass of all literature, a
biography more full of entertainment and valuable thought, than
a truthful sketch of the career of Benjamin Franklin. He leads us to
Philadelphia, one hundred and fifty years ago, and makes us perfectly
familiar with life there and then. He conducts us across the Atlantic
to the Court of St. James, and the Court of Versailles. There is no
writer, French or English, who has given such vivid sketches of the
scenes which were witnessed there, as came from the pen of Benjamin
Franklin. For half a century Franklin moved amid the most stupendous
events, a graphic history of which his pen has recorded.
8. _George Washington_ has no superior. Humanity is proud of his name.
He seems to have approached as near perfection as any man who ever
lived. In his wonderful career we became familiar with all the
struggles of the American Revolution. With a feeble soldiery,
collected from a population of less than three millions of people, he
baffled all the efforts of the fleets and armies of Great Britain, the
most powerful empire upon this globe.
9. _Daniel Boone_ was the Cowper of the wilderness; a solitary man
loving the silent companionship of the woods. He leads us across the
Alleghanies to the fields of Kentucky, before any white man's foot
had traversed those magnificent realms. No tale of romance could ever
surpass his adventures with the Indians.
10. _Kit Carson_ was the child of the wilderness. He was by nature a
gentleman, and one of the most lovable of men. His weird-like life
passed rapidly away, before the introduction of railroads and
steamboats. His strange, heroic adventures are ever read with
astonishment, and they invariably secure for him the respect and
affection of all who become familiar with his name.
11. _Paul Jones_ was one of the purest patriots, and perhaps the most
heroic naval hero, to whom any country has given birth. He has been so
traduced, by the Tory press of Great Britain, that even the Americans
have not yet done him full justice. This narrative of his astonishing
achievements will, it is hoped, give him rank, in the opinion of every
reader, with Washington, Franklin, Jefferson and Lafayette.
12. _David Crockett_ was a unique man. There is no one like him. Under
no institutions but ours could such a character be formed. From a log
hut, more comfortless than the wigwam of the savage, and without being
able either to read or write, he enters legislative halls, takes his
seat in Congress, and makes the tour of our great cities, attracting
crowds to hear him speak. His life is a wild romance of undoubted
truth.
Such is the character of this little library of twelve volumes. The
writer, who has now entered the evening of life, affectionately
commends them to the young men of America, upon whose footsteps their
morning sun is now rising. The life of each one, if prolonged to three
score years and ten, will surely prove a stormy scene. But it may end
in a serene and tranquil evening, ushering in the glories of an
immortal day.
JOHN S. C. ABBOTT.
FAIR HAVEN, CONN.
As this is not improbably the last book I shall write, it may not be
improper for me to state that, at the age of twenty-four, I commenced
the career of an author, by writing "The Mother At Home." I have now
attained the age of three score years and ten. In the meantime I have
written fifty-four volumes of History or Biography. In every one it
has been my endeavor to make the inhabitants of this sad world more
brotherly,--better and happier.
The long series is probably closed with the biography of Benjamin
Franklin. Every page has been penned under this impression. A theme
more full of instruction and interest could not be chosen.
And now, in my declining years, as I feel that the battle has been
fought and, I hope, the victory won, it is an unspeakable comfort for
me to reflect, that, in all these fifty-four volumes, there is not one
line which, "dying, I could wish to blot."
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
_Parentage and Early Life._
PAGE
The parentage of Franklin--His parents emigrate to America--Character
of his father--Abiah Folger, his mother--Birth and baptism--Influence
of his Uncle Strong--Of the Whistle--Childish exploits--Uncongenial
employment--Skill in swimming--Early reading--Boston at that time--An
indentured apprentice--Form of Indenture--Enters a printing
office--Fondness for reading--Anecdotes--Habits of study--Fondness for
argument--Adopts a vegetable diet--The two creeds. 11
CHAPTER II.
_Developments of Character._
Views of the Sabbath--Writings of Collins and Shaftsbury--The creed
of Collins--Franklin at sixteen--The Courant--Denunciations of the
paper--Franklin's mode of acquiring the art of composition--His
success as a writer--The Editor prosecuted--Benjamin becomes Editor
and Publisher--Jealousy of his brother--The runaway apprentice--The
voyage to New York--Great disappointment--Eventful Journey to
Philadelphia--Gloomy prospects--The dawn of brighter days. 31
CHAPTER III.
_Excursion to England._
Attention to dress--Receives a visit from Gov. Keith--His visit to
Boston--Collins returns to Philadelphia with him--Sir William Keith's
aid--Excursions on the Sabbath--Difficulty with Collins--Spending Mr.
Vernon's money--His three friends--Engagement with Deborah
Read--Voyage to England--Keith's deceit--Ralph--Franklin enters a
printing house in London. 52
CHAPTER IV.
_Mental and Moral Conflicts._
Faithfulness to work--Neglect of Deborah Read--Treatise on Liberty
and Necessity--Skill in swimming--Return to America--Marriage of Miss
Read--Severe sickness--Death of Mr. Denham--Returns to Keimer's
employ--The Junto--His Epitaph--Reformation of his treatise on
Liberty and Necessity--Franklin's creed. 75
CHAPTER V.
_The Dawn of Prosperity._
Franklin takes a house--His first job--His industry--Plans a
Newspaper--Enters the list as a writer--Advocates a Paper
currency--Purchases Keimer's paper--Character of Meredith--Struggles
of the firm--Unexpected assistance--Dissolves partnership with
Meredith--Franklin's energetic conduct--His courtship, and
marriage--Character of Mrs. Franklin--Increase of luxury--Plans for
a library--Prosperity of Pennsylvania--Customs in Philadelphia--Style
of dress in 1726--Franklin's social position in Philadelphia--His
success--A hard student. 101
CHAPTER VI.
_Religious and Philosophic Views._
Studious habits--New religion--Personal habits--Church of the Free
and Easy--His many accomplishments--The career of Hemphall--Birth
and Death of Franklin's son--The Ministry of Whitefield--Remarkable
friendship between the philosopher and the preacher--Prosperity of
Franklin--His convivial habits--The defense of Philadelphia--Birth of
a daughter--The Philadelphia Academy. 126
CHAPTER VII.
_The Tradesman becomes a Philosopher._
Franklin appointed Indian commissioner--Effects of Rum--Indian
logic--Accumulating honors--Benevolent enterprises--Franklin's
counsel to Tennent--Efforts for city improvement--Anecdotes--Franklin
appointed postmaster--Rumors of War--England enlists the Six Nations
in her cause--Franklin plans a Confederacy of States--Plans
rejected--Electrical experiments--Franklin's increase of
income--Fearful experiments--The kite--New honors--Views of the
French philosopher--Franklin's Religious views--His counsel to a
young pleader--Post-office Reforms. 147
CHAPTER VIII.
_The Rising Storms of War._
Aristocracy--Anecdote--Conflicting laws of Nations--Franklin's scheme
of colonization--Proposal of the British Court--The foresight of
Franklin--Braddock's campaign--Remonstrances of Franklin and
Washington--Franklin's interviews with Braddock--Franklin's
efficiency--Confidence of Braddock--The conflict with the
Proprietaries--The non-resistant Quakers--Fate of the
Moravian villages--The winter campaign--The camp of
Gaudenhutton--Anecdote--Renewal of the strife with the
Proprietaries--Franklin recalled to assist the Assembly--Destruction
of the Fort--Claim of the Proprietaries--The great controversy. 168
CHAPTER IX.
_Franklin's Mission to England._
New marks of respect--Lord Loudoun--Gov. Denny and Franklin--Visit
the Indians--Franklin commissioner to England--His constant good
nature--Loudoun's delays--Wise action of an English captain--The
voyagers land at Falmouth--Journey to London--Franklin's style of
living in London--His electrical experiments--He teaches the Cambridge
professor--Complimentary action of St. Andrews--Gov. Denny displaced,
and dark clouds arising--Franklin's successful diplomacy--His son
appointed Governor of New Jersey--Great opposition--The homeward
voyage--Savage horrors--Retaliating cruelties--Franklin's efforts in
behalf of the Moravian Indians. 190
CHAPTER X.
_Franklin's Second Mission to England._
Fiendish conduct of John Penn--Petition to the crown--Debt of
England--Two causes of conflict--Franklin sent to England--His
embarkation--Wise counsel to his daughter--The stamp act--American
resolves--Edmund Burke--Examination of Franklin--Words of Lord
Chatham--Dangers to English operatives--Repeal of the stamp act--Joy
in America--Ross Mackay--New taxes levied--Character of George
III--Accumulation of honors to Franklin--Warlike preparations--Human
conscientiousness--Unpopularity of William Franklin--Marriage of
Sarah Franklin--Franklin's varied investigations--Efforts to civilize
the Sandwich Islands. 215
CHAPTER XI.
_The Intolerance of King and Court._
Parties in England--Franklin the favorite of the opposition--Plans
of the Tories--Christian III--Letter of Franklin--Dr.
Priestley--Parisian courtesy--Louis XV--Visit to Ireland--Attempted
alteration of the Prayer Book--Letter to his son--Astounding letters
from America--Words of John Adams--Petition of the Assembly--Violent
conspiracy against Franklin--His bearing in the
court-room--Wedderburn's infamous charges--Letter of Franklin--Bitter
words of Dr. Johnson--Morals of English lords--Commercial value of
the Colonies--Dangers threatening Franklin. 240
CHAPTER XII.
_The Bloodhounds of War Unleashed._
The mission of Josiah Quincy--Love of England by the
Americans--Petition to the king--Sickness and death of Mrs.
Franklin--Lord Chatham--His speech in favor of the colonists--Lord
Howe--His interview with Franklin--Firmness of Franklin--His
indignation--His mirth--Franklin's fable--He embarks for
Philadelphia--Feeble condition of the colonies--England's expressions
of contempt--Franklin's reception at Philadelphia--His letter to
Edmund Burke--Post-office arrangements--Defection and conduct of
William Franklin--His arrest. 265
CHAPTER XIII.
_Progress of the War, both of Diplomacy and the Sword._
Letter of Henry Laurens--Franklin visits the army before
Boston--Letter of Mrs. Adams--Burning of Falmouth--Franklin's journey
to Montreal--The Declaration of Independence--Anecdote of the
Hatter--Framing the Constitution--Lord Howe's Declaration--Franklin's
reply--The Conference--Encouraging letter from France--Franklin's
embassy to France--The two parties in France--The voyage--The
reception in France. 292
CHAPTER XIV.
_The Struggles of Diplomacy._
Anecdote of Gibbon--John Adams--Residence at Passy--Lafayette
introduced--Cruise of the Reprisal--Paul Jones--Capture of
Burgoyne--Alliance with France--Anecdote of the Cake--Excitement
in England--Franklin's introduction to the king--Joy in
America--Extraordinary letter of Count Wissenstein--The
reply--Injustice to Paul Jones--French troops in America--Character
of John Adams--Franklin's mature views of human nature--Anecdote of
the Angel--Capture of Cornwallis--Its effect in England--Prejudices
of Mr. Jay--Testimony of Dr. Sparks--Jealousy of Franklin--Shrewd
diplomatic act--The treaty signed. 322
CHAPTER XV.
_Life's Closing Scenes._
Advice to Thomas Paine--Scenes at Passy--Journey to the Coast--Return
to America--Elected Governor of Pennsylvania--Attends the
Constitutional Convention--Proposes prayers--Remarkable
speech--Letter to Dr. Stiles--Christ on the Cross--Last sickness and
death. 356
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
CHAPTER I.
_Parentage and Early Life._
The parentage of Franklin--His parents emigrate to
America--Character of his father--Abiah Folger, his
mother--Birth and baptism--Influence of his Uncle Strong--Of
the Whistle--Childish exploits--Uncongenial employment--Skill
in swimming.--Early reading--Boston at that time--An
indentured apprentice--Form of Indenture--Enters a printing
office--Fondness for reading--Anecdotes--Habits of
study--Fondness for argument--Adopts a vegetable diet--The
two creeds.
About the year 1685, Josiah Franklin, with his wife and three
children, emigrated from Banbury, England, to seek his fortune in this
new world. He was in all respects a very worthy man, intelligent,
industrious, and influenced to conduct by high moral and religious
principles. Several of Josiah Franklin's neighbors accompanied him in
his removal.
Boston was then a straggling village, of five or six thousand
inhabitants. In front spread out its magnificent bay, with its
beautiful islands. In the rear the primeval forest extended, almost
unbroken, through unexplored wilds to the Pacific. His trade was that
of a dyer. Finding, however, but little employment in that business,
he set up as a tallow chandler and soap boiler. Four years of life's
usual joys and sorrows passed away when Mrs. Franklin died, leaving
six children. The eldest was but eleven years of age. This motherless
little family needed a maternal guardian. Within the year, Mr.
Franklin married Abiah Folger, of Nantucket. She was the youngest
daughter of Peter Folger, a man illustrious for many virtues, and of
whom it has been well said, that "he was worthy to be the grandfather
of Benjamin Franklin." She proved to be a noble woman, and was all
that either husband or children could wish for. Ten children were the
fruit of this union. Benjamin was born on the sixth of January, (O.
S.) 1706.
He was born in the morning of a Sabbath day. His father then resided
directly opposite the Old South Church, in Milk street. The same day,
the babe, whose renown it was then little imagined would subsequently
fill the civilized world, was wrapped in blankets, and carried by his
father across the street through the wintry air, to the Old South
Church, where he was baptized by the Rev. Dr. Willard. He was named
Benjamin, after a much beloved uncle then residing in England. This
uncle was a man of some property, of decided literary tastes, and of
the simple, fervent piety, which characterized the best people of
those days. He took an ever increasing interest in Benjamin. He
eventually came over to this country, and exerted a powerful influence
in moulding the character of his nephew, whose brilliant intellect he
appreciated.
Soon after the birth of Benjamin, his father removed to a humble but
comfortable dwelling at the corner of Hanover and Union streets. Here
he passed the remainder of his days. When Franklin had attained the
age of five years, a terrible conflagration took place, since known as
the Great Boston Fire. Just as the cold blasts of winter began to
sweep the streets, this great calamity occurred. The whole heart of
the thriving little town was laid in ashes. Over a hundred families
found themselves in destitution in the streets.
An incident took place when Franklin was about seven years of age,
which left so indelible an impression upon his mind, that it cannot be
omitted in any faithful record of his life. He gave the following
account of the event in his autobiography, written after the lapse of
sixty-six years:
"My friends, on a holiday, filled my pockets with coppers. I
went directly to a shop where they sold toys for children;
and being charmed with the sound of a whistle that I met by
the way in the hands of another boy, I voluntarily gave all
my money for one. I then came home and went whistling all
over the house, much pleased with my whistle, but disturbing
all the family. My brothers and sisters and cousins,
understanding the bargain I had made, told me that I had
given four times as much for it as it was worth; put me in
mind what good things I might have bought with the rest of
the money; and laughed at me so much for my folly, that I
cried with vexation; and the reflection gave me more chagrin
than the whistle gave me pleasure."
This story, as published by Franklin, with his keen practical
reflections, has become as a household word in all the families of
England and America; and has been translated into nearly all the
languages of modern Europe.
From early childhood Franklin was celebrated for his physical beauty,
his athletic vigor and his imperturbable good nature. His companions
invariably recognized him as their natural leader. He was in no
respect what would be called a religious boy, but in many things he
had a high sense of honor.
There was a marsh, flooded at high tides, where the boys used to fish
for minnows. Much trampling had converted the spot into a quagmire. A
man was about to build a house near by, and had carted a large
quantity of stones for the cellar. Franklin called the boys together
and suggested that they should go in the evening, take those stones,
and build a wharf upon which they could stand with dry feet. It was
done. And under the skilful engineering of the youthful Franklin, it
was quite scientifically done. Complaints and detection followed.
Josiah Franklin severely reproved Benjamin for the dishonest act, but
it does not appear that the conscience of the precocious boy was much
troubled. He argued very forcibly that the utility of the measure
proved its necessity.
At the age of eight years, Benjamin entered the Boston Grammar School.
His progress was very rapid, and at the close of the year he was at
the head of his class. The father had hoped to give his promising boy
a liberal education; but his large family and straitened circumstances
rendered it necessary for him to abandon the plan. At the age of ten
years his school life was completed, and he was taken into his
father's shop to run of errands, and to attend to the details of
candle-making, cutting wicks, filling moulds, and waiting upon
customers. He could write a good hand, could read fluently, could
express himself with ease on paper, but in all arithmetical studies
was very backward.
There is scarcely any sport which has such a charm for boys as
swimming. Franklin excelled all his companions. It is reported that
his skill was wonderful; and that at any time between his twelfth and
sixtieth year, he could with ease have swum across the Hellespont. In
his earliest years, in all his amusements and employments, his
inventive genius was at work in searching out expedients. To
facilitate rapidity in swimming he formed two oval pallets, much
resembling those used by painters, about ten inches long, and six
broad. A hole was cut for the thumb and they were bound fast to the
palm of the hand. Sandals of a somewhat similar construction were
bound to the soles of the feet. With these appliances Franklin found
that he could swim more rapidly, but his wrists soon became greatly
fatigued. The sandals also he found of little avail, as in swimming,
the propelling stroke is partly given by the inside of the feet and
ankles, and not entirely by the soles of the feet.
In the vicinity of Boston there was a pond a mile wide. Franklin made
a large paper kite, and when the wind blew strongly across the pond,
he raised it, and entering the water and throwing himself upon his
back was borne rapidly to the opposite shore. "The motion," he says,
"was exceedingly agreeable." A boy carried his clothes around.
Subsequently he wrote to M. Dubourg,
"I have never since that time practiced this singular mode
of swimming; though I think it not impossible to cross in
this manner from Dover to Calais. The packet boat, however,
is still preferable."[1]
[Footnote 1: Sparks' Life and Works of Franklin, Vol. 6, p. 291.]
The taste for reading of this wonderful boy was insatiable. He had
access, comparatively, to few books, but those he devoured with the
utmost eagerness. Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress was, so to speak, his
first love. Having read and re-read it until his whole spirit was
incorporated with its nature, he sold the volume and purchased
Burton's Historical Collections. This consisted of quite a series of
anecdotes and adventures, written in an attractive style, and
published at a low price. In those early years he read another book
which exerted a powerful influence in the formation of his character.
When eighty years of age he alludes as follows to this work in a
letter to Mr. Samuel Mather, who was son of the author, Cotton Mather,
"When I was a boy I met with a book entitled 'Essays to do
Good,' which I think was written by your father. It had
been so little regarded by a former possessor that several
leaves of it were torn out; but the remainder gave me such a
turn of thinking, as to have an influence on my conduct
through life; for I have always set a greater value on the
character of a doer of good, than on any other kind of a
reputation; and if I have been, as you seem to think, a
useful citizen, the public owe the advantage of it to that
book."[2]
[Footnote 2: This volume has been republished by the Mass. S. S.
Society.]
When Franklin was twelve years of age, the population of Boston had
increased to about ten thousand. An incident is recorded of Franklin
at this time, which strikingly illustrates the peculiarity of his
mental structure and the want of reverence with which he gradually
accustomed himself to regard religious things. His father's habit, in
the long graces which preceded each meal, rather wearied the temper of
his son. The precocious young skeptic, with characteristic
irreverence, ventured to say,
"I think, father, that if you were to say grace over the whole cask,
once for all, it would save time."[3]
[Footnote 3: Works of Dr. Franklin by W. Temple Franklin. Vol. I, p.
447.]
This was the remark of a boy but twelve years of age. Though it does
not indicate a very devout spirit, it certainly gives evidence of an
intellect of unusual acuteness.
Franklin ever spoke of his boyhood as the very happy period of a
remarkably happy life. His peculiar temperament enabled him to be
happy under circumstances in which others would have been very
miserable. His affections in after years ever yearned toward Boston;
he was accustomed to speak of it as "that beloved place." In one of
his letters to John Lathrop he wrote,
"The Boston manner, the turn of phrase, and even tone of
voice and accent in pronunciation, all please and seem to
revive and refresh me."
For two years Benjamin continued to assist his father in the business
of soap and candle making. He was continually looking for an
opportunity to escape the drudgery of that employment and enter upon
some more congenial business. Like most adventurous boys, he thought
much of the romance of a sea-life. An elder brother had run away, had
gone to sea, and for years had not been heard from. Benjamin's father
became very anxious as he witnessed the discontent of his son. This
anxiety was increased when an elder brother married, removed to Rhode
Island, and set up a soap and candle establishment for himself. This
seemed to Benjamin to rivet the chains which bound him at home.
Apparently his father could not spare him from the business. Thus he
seemed doomed to spend the remainder of his days in employment which
proved to him increasingly uncongenial.
The judicious father, apprehensive that his son might be lured
secretly to embark for some distant voyage, visited with his son all
the varied workshops of Boston, that he might select that trade which
to him would seem most desirable. Benjamin examined all these
workshops with intensest interest. He selected the employment of a
cutler, and entered upon the business for a few days; but at that time
a boy who was about to learn a trade was apprenticed to a master. As a
premium for learning the business he usually had to pay about one
hundred dollars. Then after a series of years, during which he worked
for nothing, he was entitled for a time to receive journeyman's wages.
But his father, Josiah Franklin, was unable to settle satisfactorily
the terms of indenture, and the cutlery trade was given up.
We have mentioned that Franklin was one of a large family of children.
By the two marriages of his father, there were sixteen sons and
daughters around the family hearth. One of the sons, James, had been
sent to London to learn the trade of a printer. He returned to Boston
and set up business on his own account, when Benjamin was eleven
years of age. It was decided to bind Benjamin to this business.
Reluctantly Benjamin consented to place himself in such subordination
to his brother. He was, however, bound to him for a period of nine
years, from twelve to twenty-one. During the last year he was to
receive a journeyman's wages. The following extract from this form of
indenture of apprenticeship, which was in common use in the reign of
George the First, will be read with interest.
"He shall neither buy nor sell without his master's license.
Taverns, inns, or ale-houses he shall not haunt. At cards,
dice, tables, or any other unlawful game he shall not play.
Matrimony he shall not contract; nor from the service of his
said master day nor night absent himself, but in all things,
as an honest and faithful apprentice, shall and will demean
and behave himself towards his said master and all his,
during said term. And the said James Franklin, the master,
for and in consideration of the sum of ten pounds of lawful
British money to him in hand paid by the said Josiah
Franklin, the father, the receipt of which is hereby
acknowledged, the said apprentice in the art of a printer
which he now useth, shall teach and instruct or cause to be
taught and instructed the best way and manner that he can,
finding and allowing unto the said apprentice, meat, drink,
washing, lodging and all other necessaries during the said
term."
Benjamin devoted himself with great assiduity to learn the trade of a
printer. The office in which he worked, stood at the corner of
Franklin avenue and Court street. For three years, Franklin was thus
employed, apparently never seeking recreation, and never having a
moment of leisure save such as he could rescue from sleep or from his
meals. There were at that time several bookstores in Boston. The
eminent men of that province had brought with them to the New World,
literary and scientific tastes of a high order. Even then the axe of
the settler had been heard but at a short distance in the primeval
forests, which still encircled all the large towns. Bears were not
unfrequently shot from Long Wharf, as they swam from island to island,
or endeavored to cross the solitary bay. It is said that at that time
twenty bears were often shot in a week.
Benjamin Franklin, inspired by his love of reading, cultivated
friendly relations with the clerks in the bookstores. From them he
borrowed interesting volumes, which he took home in the evening with
the utmost care, and having spent most of the night in reading, would
return them at an early hour in the morning, before the master of the
shop had time to miss them.
Something in the demeanor of Franklin attracted the attention of a
merchant in Boston by the name of Matthew Adams. He invited him to his
library and loaned him books. The lad's Uncle Benjamin, in England,
who was very fond of composing rhymes which he called poetry, sent
many of his effusions to his favorite nephew, and opened quite a brisk
correspondence with him. Thus Benjamin soon became a fluent rhymester,
and wrote sundry ballads which were sold in the streets and became
quite popular. There was a great demand at that time for narratives of
the exploits of pirates, the doom of murderers, and wild love
adventures. It is said that one of the Boston publishers, in the sale
of ballads alone, found a very lucrative business. Benjamin, who found
it very easy to write doggerel verse, wrote one ballad called "The
Light-house Tragedy." It was a graphic, and what would be called at the
present day, a sensational account of a shipwreck, in which the
captain and his two daughters perished. He wrote another which was
still more captivating, and which in all its main features was
historically true. It was an account of the world-renowned pirate,
Edward Teach, usually called Blackbeard. The reader will find a minute
narrative of the career of that monster in the volume of this series
of Pioneers and Patriots entitled "Captain Kidd; or the early American
Buccaneers." One stanza has descended to us which it is said composed
a portion of this ballad, and which is certainly a fair specimen of
the popular style then in vogue.
"Come all you jolly sailors
You all so stout and brave,
Come hearken and I'll tell you,
What happened on the wave.
Oh 'tis of that bloody Blackbeard
I'm going now for to tell
And as how by gallant Maynard
He soon was sent to Hell.
With a down, down, derry down."
This was indeed wretched stuff, as Franklin afterwards admitted; but
it is to be remembered he was then but a boy of fifteen. Having
composed the ballad and set in type and printed it, he was then sent
to hawk it through the streets. This was certainly a remarkable
achievement for a lad of his years. The eagerness with which both of
the ballads were seized by the public must have greatly gratified the
self-esteem of the young writer.
Addison was a bungler in talk, but every sentence from his pen was
elegant. He once said, "I carry no loose change in my pocket, but I
can draw for a thousand pounds." Burke said of Goldsmith, "He writes
like an angel, but he talks like poor Poll." Franklin was by no means
a bungler in his speech, but he was not fluent. He hesitated, and was
at a loss for words, but whatever he wrote had a wonderful flow of
harmony. The right word was always in the right place. Doubtless had
he devoted as much attention to the acquirement of conversational
ease, as he did to skill in writing, he would have been as successful
in the one art as in the other. From early life it was his great
ambition to be not merely a fine but a forcible writer. He did not
seek splendor of diction, but that perspicuity, that transparency of
expression which would convey the thought most directly to the mind.
An odd volume of the Spectator fell in his way. He was charmed with
the style. Selecting some interesting incident, he would read it with
the closest care; he would then close the book, endeavoring to retain
the thought only without regard to the expression. Then with pen, in
hand, he would sit down and relate the anecdote or the incident in the
most forceful and graphic words his vocabulary would afford. This he
would correct and re-correct, minutely attending to the capitals and
the punctuation until he had made it in all respects as perfect as it
was in his power. He then compared his narrative with that in the
Spectator. Of course he usually found many faults which he had
committed, but occasionally he could not but admit he had improved
upon his original. This encouraged him with the hope that by long
continued practice, he might become an able writer of the English
language. This practice he continued for months, varying it in many
ways. He continued to rhyme, though he admitted that there was little
poetry in his verse. The exercise, however, he thought useful in
giving him a mastery of language.
Though Franklin wrote ballads, he seemed to be mainly interested in
reading books of the most elevated and instructive character. Locke's
"Essay on the Human Understanding," he studied thoroughly. "The Art of
Thinking," by the Messrs. de Port Royal, engrossed all his energies.
But perhaps there was no book, at that time, which produced so deep
and abiding impression on his mind as the "Memorabilia of Socrates,"
by Xenophon.
Franklin was fond of arguing; he was naturally disputatious. With his
keen intellect, he was pretty sure to come off as victor, at least in
his own judgment, in discussions with his associates. But the Socratic
method of argumentation, so different from that in which he had been
accustomed to indulge, at once secured his approval and admiration.
Socrates was never guilty of the discourtesy of assailing an opponent
with flat contradiction or positive assertion. With a politeness which
never failed him, and a modesty of demeanor which won the regard of
all others, he would lead his fellow disputant, by a series of
questions, to assent to the views which he advocated. Franklin
immediately commenced practicing upon this newly discovered art. He
was remarkably successful, and became one of the most agreeable and
beloved of companions. But ere long he became satisfied of the folly
of these disputations, in which each party struggles, not for
truth, but for victory. It is simply an exercise of intellectual
gladiatorship, in which the man who has the most skill and muscle
discomfits his antagonist. Jefferson warned his nephew to avoid
disputation. He says, "I have never known, during my long life, any
persons' engage in a dispute in which they did not separate, each more
firmly convinced than before of the correctness of his own views."
Franklin enjoyed marvellous health. His digestive powers were perfect.
He could live upon any thing and almost upon nothing without
experiencing any inconvenience. A book advocating purely vegetable
diet accidentally fell into his hands. It urged the pecuniary economy
and the saving of time in adopting a vegetarian diet. Eagerly he
adopted the views presented. He could safely do so, had the author
advocated raw onions and carrots. The stomach of Franklin would have
received them and assimilated them without any remonstrance. He
succeeded in inducing his brother to relinquish one half of his board
and allow him to board himself. Benjamin found that in this way, he
saved much time and much money. A handful of raisins, a roll of bread,
and a glass of water afforded him a dinner. This he could dispose of
in from five to ten minutes, and have the remainder of the dinner hour
for reading.
The hours of the night were his own. He often sat up late and rose
early, his soul all absorbed in intellectual vigils.
There are two platforms of morality, in some respects inseparably
blended, in others quite distinctly separated from each other. The one
of these platforms constitutes the low standard of mere worldly
morality. It says,
You must not kill, you must not steal, you must not lie, you
must not slander your neighbor, you must not cheat him in a
bargain.
But there is another platform which not only includes all this, but
which introduces principles of an infinitely higher grade. It is the
platform enforced by Jesus Christ as essential to a life which shall
be pleasing to our Heavenly Father. Our Saviour says, You must love
God in whom you live and move and have your being: you must daily
pray to him with gratitude for the favors you receive. In the great
conflict, raging here below, between sin and holiness, your whole
heart must yearn with the desire that God's "kingdom may come and that
His will may be done on earth as in Heaven." Imitating the example of
your Saviour, who was God manifest in the flesh that by His life He
might show men how to live, you must do everything in your power to
lead your neighbors and friends to love God, to avoid everything in
thought, word, or deed, which you think will be displeasing to Him;
and you must do all in your power to prepare your heart for that world
of purity and love where the spirits of the just are made perfect. No
one can be blind to the fact that these principles are infinitely
above the principles of mere worldly morality. They are not a
substitute for those principles, but an addition to them.
At the age of sixteen, Franklin was disposed to adopt the lower of
these creeds as his rule of life; at times affirming that it was
superior to the teachings of Jesus Christ; while again there would be
the very clear and inconsistent avowal that, in this wicked world,
something more was needed than teachings which he could plainly see
seldom, if ever influenced a lost and degraded man, to be changed
from a Saul of Tarsus to a Paul the Apostle. No one can understand the
peculiar religious and moral character of Benjamin Franklin, without
bearing in mind these distinctions.