This _Indenture witnesseth, That_ R. B.
_Son of_ J. B. , _Citizen of_ London,
_doth put himself_ (that is, by his own free and voluntary
choice) _apprentice to_ A. A. _Citizen and
of_ London, _to learn his Art, and with him
after the manner of an Apprentice to serve_ (that is, to live
with him in the capacity of a learner and servant, doing all
such work as belongs to his trade, and as Apprentices by
custom are obliged to do) _from the date hereof, unto the
full end and term of years from thence next
following to be fully complete and ended;_ that is, not at
the beginning only, or for part of the time, but so long as
his Indenture shall continue in force, which must be for
seven years at least.
_During which term the said Apprentice his said Master
faithfully shall serve;_ that is, he shall be true and just
to his Master in all his dealings, both in word and deed;
he must not only keep his hands from picking and stealing,
and his tongue from lying and slandering; he must not only
abstain from doing him any manner of injury, by idleness,
negligence, or carelessness; by deceiving, defaming, or any
kind of evil speaking: but, he must learn and labour to do
him true and real service.
Ye must be faithful in all things. 1 Tim. i.
In all your labours let no iniquity be found. Hosea xii. 8.
Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one
to another. Lev. xix. 11.
Speak every man truth to his neighbour. Eph. iv. 25.
All that do unrighteously are an abomination to the Lord
thy God. Deut. xxv. 16.
He that uttereth a slander is a fool. Prov. x. 18.
The lip of truth shall be established for ever, but a lying
tongue is but for a moment; for the mouth of them who speak
lies shall be stopped. Chap. xii. 19.
To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord
than sacrifice; (for) they who deal truly are his delight.
Chap. xxi. 3, chap. xii. 22.
_His secrets keep;_ that is, conceal the particular secrets
of his art, trade, or science, without divulging or making
any one privy to them to the detriment of his Master, whose
interest may very much depend on a peculiar management and
knowledge of his business. To behave thus, is to serve
faithfully; and fidelity is the glory and perfection of a
Servant, as his want of it is his greatest discredit and
reproach.
Discover not a secret to another, lest he that heareth it
putteth thee to shame, and the infamy turn not away. Prov.
xxv. 9, 10.
_His lawful commands every where gladly do;_ that is, he
shall readily and cheerfully obey him in all things lawful,
without murmuring, hesitation, or reluctance; for obedience
from a Servant to his Master, is a duty established by all
laws, human and divine; and is founded likewise in the
very nature of things; it being impossible to preserve any
superiority in the one over the other, unless the inferior
submits himself to the direction of his superior in all such
things as he has a right to command him to do; that is, all
things lawful: he is indeed, properly speaking, no longer a
Servant than while he obeys his Master’s commands; so that
the covenanted obedience of an Apprentice is on all accounts
indispensably necessary; and the more cheerfully he performs
it, the more perfectly he fulfils his duty, and the greater
will be the reward as well as pleasure of his obedience;
for his Master will doubtless take all opportunities of
encouraging him on account of his willingness; he will
contrive to make his work as easy to him as he can; he
will treat him with all the kindness, and shew him all the
favour that is consistent with the relation between them;
whereby his servitude will be rendered a kind of freedom;
the necessary labours of it a delight; and the time of
its duration short and pleasant: he will beside gain the
advantage of being trusted and confided in by his Master,
which must necessarily give him a quick and thorough insight
into his trade, whereby he will become duly qualified for the
power and dignity of a Master himself, and establish such
a reputation and character as will gain him the esteem and
friendship of all who know him; and can therefore have no
other than a comfortable prospect of advancing his station
and fortune in the world. The quite contrary of all which
must be the lot of the disobedient, churlish, and murmuring
Servant; who will, in all probability, end his days as a
Master (if ever he arrives at that honour) in the same
discontented, uneasy, and disregarded manner, in which he
lived as a Servant; feared by very few, beloved by none.
Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own Masters, and
to please them well in all things, _not answering again_.
Titus ii. 9.
His servants ye are whom ye obey. Rom. vi. 16.
Servants, obey in all things your Masters, according to
the flesh; not only to the good and gentle, but also the
froward. Col. iii. 22.
And when ye be buffeted for well-doing, take it patiently;
for this is thank-worthy and acceptable with God. 1 Pet.
ii. 20.
With good-will doing service. Ephes. vi. 7.
Not with eye-service, as men-pleasers, but in singleness of
heart, fearing God. Col. iii. 22.
If any would not work, neither should he eat. 2 Thes. iii.
10.
In all labour there is profit; and the thoughts of the
diligent tend only to plenteousness. Prov. xiv. 23.
The hand of the diligent maketh rich.—An idle soul shall
suffer hunger. Chap. x. 4.—Chap. xix. 15.
Seest thou a man diligent, he shall stand before kings, he
shall not stand before mean men. A slothful man is compared
to a filthy stone, and every one will hiss him out to his
disgrace. Chap. xxii. 29. Eccl. xxii. 1.
They that plough iniquity, and sow wickedness, shall reap
the same. Job iv. 8.
The Lord will make them contemptible and base, before all
the people, according as they have not kept his ways.
Malachi ii. 9.
_He shall do no damage to his said Master, nor see it to be
done of others, but that he to his power shall let_ (that is,
prevent or hinder) _or forthwith give warning to his said
Master of the same. He shall not waste the goods of his said
Master, or lend them unlawfully to any._ It is not sufficient
that the Apprentice does not wrong his Master himself, by
cheating, pilfering, purloining, wasting, spoiling, lending,
or giving away any of his goods; by sloth and idleness, by
neglecting his business, and loitering away his time; it
is not enough that he does his Master no kind of damage
himself; but he must be watchful that he is not injured in
any kind by his fellow-servants and others; and be sure to
do what in him lies to prevent or discover it to his Master;
for he cannot be indifferent or careless in such a case, or
connive and conceal any thing of this kind, without breach of
covenant, and incurring the guilt and shame that is due to
unfaithfulness.
Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness,
but rather reprove them. Ephes. v. 11.
Beware of evil workers, and be not thou partaker with them.
Thou shalt not suffer sin in thy brother, but by any means
reprove him. Phil. iii. 2.
When thou sawest a thief thou consentedst with him. Psalm
l. 18.
_He shall not commit fornication._ This vice has been the
bane of so many young men in all ages and places, that every
one’s memory must furnish him with divers instances of its
fatal effects; the Sessions papers are filled with numberless
accounts of unhappy persons who are brought by it to public
shame and infamous ends; and indeed nothing is so destructive
to the morals and happiness of youth, as the having any
kind of commerce with lewd and shameless women; for such
conversation infallibly destroys the health, consumes the
fortune, blasts the credit, and extinguishes that modesty
which is the principal ornament and surest preservative of
youth from the vices and dangers they are most exposed to.
Flee fornication: He that committeth fornication, sinneth
against his own body. 1 Cor. vi. 18.
Keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the
tongue of the strange woman: lust not after her beauty in
thy heart, neither let her take thee with her eye-lids;
lest thou give thine honour to others: lest strangers
be filled with thy wealth; and thou mourn at the last,
when thy flesh and thy body are consumed. Prov. vi. 24,
25.—Prov. v. 10, 11.
Let not thy heart decline to her ways, for her house is the
way to hell. Thou goest after her as an ox goeth to the
slaughter, till a dart strike through thy liver; as a bird
hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his
life. Prov. vii. 25, 27, 22, 23.
Neither fornicators nor adulterers shall inherit the
kingdom of God. 1 Cor. vi. 9.
Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. Heb. xiii. 4.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Matt. v. 8.
_Nor contract matrimony within the said term._ Marriage is a
very improper state for Apprentices, but is too often entered
into rashly without consideration, or the consent of friends
and relations; and therefore is very seldom advantageous,
and generally unhappy. The necessary expense and charge
which attends a growing family, must quite consume a small
fortune, very much lessen a good one, and entail heavy debts
and lasting misery on the generality of married Apprentices,
who cannot hope to avoid a jail; and it is well if that is
their worst misfortune. At best such a marriage is an act of
great disobedience and contempt towards parents and friends,
of injustice towards the Master, and must be attended with
the loss of their esteem and friendship, if not with their
heavy displeasure. It is a direct violation of this covenant,
_a forfeiture of their right to the freedom of_ London, and
tends to unsettle and alienate the mind from business, and to
disable the Apprentice from ever becoming a complete master
of his trade.
_He shall not play at cards, dice, tables, or any other
unlawful game, whereby his said Master may have any loss._
All sorts of gaming for money is prohibited by this covenant;
it being a habit of the most pernicious consequence. Those
who have an itch for gaming, very rarely have any relish for
business; the dispositions and qualifications for the one,
being quite inconsistent with the other. Modesty, caution,
industry, frugality, and strict integrity, are indispensably
necessary to the forming a good and successful tradesman;
but no man ever made his fortune by play, without corrupting
his morals and forfeiting his character; for the gamester
must be bold and adventurous, extravagant and profuse,
fraudulent, tricking, and deceitful, of scandalous life, and
infamous reputation; and such will the unwary and thoughtless
Apprentice soon become, who is addicted to this vice; who
begins with it under pretence of amusement, but suffers the
love of it to grow on him till it becomes habitual; and what
assurance has he, that the loss of his own money, and the
flattering hopes of better fortune, will not tempt him to
steal and hazard what is his Master’s? What hopes can he have
that he shall escape the rock on which so many have perished?
The Apprentice therefore who would not expose himself to
guilt, to shame, punishment, and ruin, must religiously
observe this prohibition.
Wo onto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and
his chambers by wrong. Jer. xxii. 13.
Wo unto them that have made dishonest gain of their
neighbours, by extortion, or by the iniquity of their
traffic. Ezek. xxii. 12.
My soul come not thou into their secrets, unto their
assemblies my honour be not thou united. Gen. xlix.
We have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty,
therefore let us not walk in craftiness. (For) better is
a little with righteousness, than great revenues without
right. 2 Cor. iv.
Wealth got by vanity shall be diminished: but he that
gathereth by labour shall increase. Prov. xiii. 11.
If sinners entice thee, consent thou not. Walk not then in
the way with them; lest thou learn their ways, and get a
snare to thy soul. Prov. i. 10, 15.—Chap. xxii.
_With his own goods, or others, during the said term, without
license of his said Master, he shall neither buy nor sell._
The apprenticeship is a time of labour and improvement, not
of gain; it is the season wherein youth are to acquire a
thorough knowledge of trade, and to establish in themselves
such habits as will enable them to carry it on hereafter with
pleasure and profit. A liberty for the Apprentice to trade
on his own account, would, in most instances, be rather a
snare than an advantage to him; it would oftener increase his
acquaintance and expenses than his fortune; it would furnish
him with excuses for absenting himself from his Master’s
house and business, under pretence of promoting his own; and
lead him into company-keeping, and a large acquaintance,
before he hath judgment to make a proper choice; and it
is to be feared, would sometimes be the occasion of his
being unfaithful, and create continual jealousies and
misunderstandings between him and his Master. Upon all which
accounts this prohibition is for their mutual advantage;
and the breach of it on no account to be connived at by the
Master, nor practised by the Apprentice.
If ye have not been faithful in that which is another
man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?
_He shall not haunt taverns or play-houses, nor absent
himself from his said Master’s service day or night
unlawfully._ I have joined these three prohibitions together,
because of the connexion they have; the Apprentice cannot
commit the two first without being guilty of the last,
which is a great act of injustice; for the Master has not
a better title to his own money or goods than to the time
of his Apprentice. He therefore must not upon any pretence
whatsoever absent himself day or night from his Master’s
house, without his consent. He must not, when the common
business of the day is over, think himself at his own
disposal, and take the liberty of going on his pleasure,
without permission. Many things may occur which require
his presence: business sometimes offers very unexpectedly;
and the Apprentice should be always ready for his Master’s
service. Add to this, that the house, the shop, and effects
of his Master, are continually under his care, and the
looking well after them a duty always incumbent on him;
which such a one can never faithfully discharge who lists
himself in clubs, or haunts taverns, or any other kind of
tippling houses, or who frequents play-houses, and such like
diversions. These habits are not only attended with a great
waste of the Master’s time, but with an expense which few
Apprentices can afford, and will probably lead him from wrong
to robbery, when the Master’s money becomes as necessary
to his pleasures as his time; for, he who scruples not to
waste the one, will not be long before he makes free with the
other. It is therefore the interest and happiness of youth,
to be restrained from frequenting these places, where they
can only associate themselves with the young and giddy, the
raw and inexperienced, the loose and disorderly; for discreet
and prudent persons will not encourage Apprentices in such
unlawful haunts, by keeping them company. And what must be
the fruits of such society? what, but noisy empty mirth;
loose and licentious discourse, riot, intemperance, and
disorder; of the same pernicious kind are the pleasures they
receive from plays, interludes, and such like diversions.
These, to youthful and unsettled judgments, are but vain
and airy entertainments, which fill the head with romantic
and unnatural ideas of life and the world, and tend only
to alienate the mind from business, which is its proper,
and ought to be its chief entertainment; and to expose
youth to the danger of being corrupted by lewd and vicious
persons of both sexes, who always crowd such places. Upon
the whole, then, it is evident, the Apprentice cannot haunt
taverns, that is, any kind of public tippling-houses, or
frequent play-houses, nor absent himself day or night from
his Master’s service, without breach of covenant, nor indeed
without exposing himself to the loss of reputation (for such
as his companions and pleasures are, such will his character
be) and contracting vicious and expensive habits, which
will probably bring him to want and misery, to shame and
punishment.
He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful
also in much; and he that is unjust in the least, is unjust
also in much. Luke vi. 10.
That which is altogether just shalt thou follow. Deut. xvi.
20.
Blessed are those servants, whom their Lord, when he
cometh, shall find watching. Luke xii. 37.
Be ye therefore ready also. Luke xii. 40.
I wrote unto you not to accompany with fornicators. 1 Cor.
v. 9, 11.
If a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater,
or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner, with such a
one eat not.
Be not among wine bibbers, amongst riotous eaters of flesh.
Prov. xxiii. 20.
He that is a companion of riotous men, shameth his father.
Prov. xxviii. 7.
Look not thou on the wine when it is red, when it giveth
its colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright; at the
last it biteth as a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
Prov. xxiii. 31.
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging. Prov. xx. 1.
Withdraw yourself from every brother that walketh
disorderly. Thes. iii. 6.
He that followeth vain persons is void of understanding.
Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil. Exod. xxiii.
2.
Cease to hear instructions that causeth to err from the
words of knowledge. Prov. xix. 27.
He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth
wine and oil shall not be rich. Prov. xxi. 17.
Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contention? who
hath babbling? who hath wounds without a cause? who hath
redness of eyes? they who tarry long at the wine! they who
go to seek mixed wine: and men of strength to mingle strong
drink: that rise up early in the morning, that they may
follow strong drink.
It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man
to hear the song of fools. Prov. xxiii. 29.—Isaiah v. 22.
_But in all things, as a faithful Apprentice, he shall behave
himself towards his said Master, and all his, during the said
term._
That is, he shall faithfully and diligently perform the
covenants in this Indenture, and demean himself humbly,
dutifully, and obligingly to his Master and Mistress, with
civility and respect to their children, friends, relations,
and customers, and all who belong to them.
_And the said Master in consideration of
being the money
given with the said Apprentice, his said Apprentice, in the
same art and mystery which he useth, by the best means that
he can, shall teach, or instruct, or cause to be taught and
instructed, finding unto his said Apprentice, meat, drink,
apparel, lodging, and all other necessaries, according to
the custom of the City of_ London, _during the said term._
The end and design of Apprenticeship, is for the training
up of youth to the knowledge and practice of some art or
business; whereby they may learn to get their own living, and
become useful to the public; and for the promoting this good
and laudable design, the Master here covenants to furnish
the Apprentice with all necessaries during the term of his
Indenture, and to take especial care of his instruction and
improvement in the trade he follows. It is, therefore, the
indispensable duty of every Master to use _his best means_,
that is, to take all proper methods for performance of these
covenants. He must endeavour to render his Apprentice skilful
and industrious, by due information and constant employment:
he must enforce the duties of diligence, frugality, and
honesty, by his own example, by kind and gentle usage, and
by instilling into his mind the necessity and usefulness
of these and all other good and virtuous habits. He must
restrain him from whatever interferes with his duty or
obstructs his improvement, by advice, by exhortation,
by reproof, and (if need be) by moderate and reasonable
correction; and if all these prove ineffectual, he must apply
to the magistrate, and call to his assistance the authority
of the Chamberlain, who will judge indifferently between the
Master and the Apprentice, and oblige both parties to perform
the covenants of their Indentures.
Let as many servants as are under the yoke, count their own
masters worthy of all honour. 1 Tim.
Let not the child behave proudly against the ancients,
nor the base against the honourable. For by pride cometh
contention. Isai. iii. 5.
Honour widows. 1 Tim. v. 3.
A _soft answer_ turneth away wrath, and _yielding_
pacifieth great offences; (but) grievous words stir up
anger. Prov. xv. 1.—Eccl. x. 4.
Please them well in all things, _not answering again_.
Whereas thy servant worketh truly, treat him not evil.
Eccl. vii. 20.
Let my soul love a good servant. Ver. 21.
Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and
equal, forbearing threatening; knowing that ye have also a
Master in Heaven: neither is there respect of persons with
him. Gal. iv. 1.—Eph. vi. 9.
Despise not the cause of thy servants when they contend
with thee. Did not He that made thee in the womb, make him:
And did not one fashion us all in the womb? Job. xxxi.
13.—Ver. 15.
Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry. Eccl. vii. 9.
Ye shall not rule over one another with rigour, for ye are
brethren. Lev. xxv. 49.
Be thou an example of the believers, in word, in
conversation, in charity, in faith, in purity. 1 Tim. iv.
12.
Six days in the week shalt thou labour, and do all thy work.
Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy. In it thou shalt
not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor
thy servant, &c.
Why is the house of God forsaken?
Unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither shall ye
come, ye and your households.
That ye may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the
Lord their God, and observe to do all the words of his law.
According to the sentence of the law which they shall
teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall
tell thee, thou shalt do: thou shalt not decline from the
sentence which they shall shew thee, to the right hand or
to the left. Deut. xxxi. 12.
_And for the true performance of all and every the said
covenants and agreements, either of the said parties bindeth
himself unto the other by these presents. In witness whereof,
the parties above named of these Indentures, interchangeably
have put their hands and seals, the of
in the year of the Reign of our Sovereign,_
of the United Kingdom of _Great Britain_
and _Ireland, Defender of the
Faith_, and in the year of our Lord, _&c._