As Keimer is to make a considerable figure in the early part of Ben's
life, it may gratify the reader to be made acquainted with him. From
the account given of him by Ben, who had the best opportunity to know,
it appears that he possessed but little either of the amiable or
estimable in his composition. A man he was of but slender
talents--quite ignorant of the world--a wretched workman--and worse
than all yet, utterly destitute of religion, and therefore very uneven
and unhappy in his temper, and abundantly capable of playing the knave
whenever he thought it for his interest. Among other evidences of his
folly, he miserably envied his brother printer, Bradford, as if the
Almighty was not rich enough to maintain them both. He could not
endure, that while working with him, Ben should stay at Bradford's; so
he took him away, and having no house of his own, he put him to board
with Mr. Read, father of the young lady who of late had laughed so
heartily at him for eating his rolls along the street. But Miss Deborah
did not long continue in this wind. For on seeing the favourable change
in his dress, and marking also the wittiness of his conversation, and
above all, his close application to business, and the great respect
paid him on that account by her father, she felt a wonderful change in
his favour, and in place of her former sneers, conceived those tender
sentiments for him, which, as we shall see hereafter, accompanied her
through life.
Ben now began to contract acquaintance with all such young persons in
Philadelphia as were fond of reading, and spent his evenings with them
very agreeably: at the same time he picked up money by his industry,
and being quite frugal, lived so happy, that except for his parents, he
seldom ever thought of Boston nor felt any wish to see it. An affair,
however, turned up, which sent him home much sooner than he expected.
His brother-in-law, a captain Holmes, of a trading sloop from Boston to
Delaware, happening at Newcastle to hear that Ben was in Philadelphia,
wrote to him that his father was all but distracted on account of his
sudden elopement from home, and assured him that if he would but
return, which he earnestly pressed him to do, every thing should be
settled to his satisfaction. Ben immediately answered his letter,
thanked him for his advice, and stated his reasons for quitting Boston,
with a force and clearness that so highly delighted captain Holmes,
that he showed it to all his acquaintance at Newcastle, and among the
rest to sir William Keith, governor of the province, with whom he
happened to dine. The governor read it, and appeared surprised when he
learnt his age. "_Why, this must be a young man of extraordinary
talents, captain Holmes_," said the governor, "_very extraordinary
talents indeed, and ought to be encouraged; we have no printer in
Philadelphia now worth a fig, and if this young man will but set up,
there is no doubt of his success. For my part, I will give him all the
public business, and render him every other service in my power._"
One day as Keimer and Ben were at work near the window, they saw the
governor and colonel French cross the street, and make directly for the
printing-office. Keimer not doubting it was a visit to himself, hurried
down stairs to meet them. The Governor taking no notice of Keimer, but
eagerly inquiring for young Mr. FRANKLIN, came up stairs, and with a
condescension to which Ben had not been accustomed, introduced himself
to him--desired to become acquainted with him--and after obligingly
reproaching him for not having made himself known when he first came to
town, invited him to the tavern where he and colonel French were going
to break a bottle of old Madeira.
If Ben was surprised, old Keimer was thunderstruck. Ben went, however,
with the governor and the colonel to the tavern, where, while the
Madeira was circulating in cheerful bumpers, the governor proposed to
him to set up a printing-office, stating at the same time the great
chances of success, and promising that both himself and colonel French
would use their influence in procuring for him the public printing of
both governments. As Ben appeared to doubt whether his father would
assist him in this enterprize, sir William said that he would give the
old gentleman a letter, in which he would represent the advantages of
the scheme in a light that would, he'd be bound, determine him in his
favour. It was thus concluded that Ben should return to Boston by the
first vessel, with the governor's letter to good old Josias: in the
mean time Ben was to continue with Keimer, from whom this project was
to be kept a secret.
The governor sent every now and then to invite Ben to dine with him,
which he considered as a very great honour, especially as his
excellency always received and conversed with him in the most familiar
manner.
In April, 1724, Ben embarked for Boston, where, after a fortnight
passage, he arrived in safety. Having been absent seven months from his
relatives, who had never heard a syllable of him all that time, his
sudden appearance threw the family into a scream of joy, and excepting
his sour-faced brother James, the whole squad gave him a most hearty
welcome. After much embracing and kissing, and some tears shed on both
sides, as is usual at such meetings, Ben kindly inquired after his
_brother James_, and went to see him at his printing-office, not
without hopes of making a favourable impression on him by his dress,
which was handsome far beyond what he had ever worn in his brother's
service; a complete suit of broad cloth, branding new--an elegant
silver watch and chain--and his purse crammed with nearly five pound
sterling--all in silver dollars. But it would not all do to win over
James. Nor indeed is it to be wondered at; for in losing Ben he had
lost a most cheerful, obliging lad, whose rare genius and industry in
writing, printing, and selling his pamphlets and papers, had brought a
noble grist to his mill.
Ben's parade therefore of his fine clothes, and watch, and silver
dollars, only made things worse with James, serving but to make him the
more sensible of his loss; so after eyeing him from head to foot with a
dark side-long look, he turned again to his work without saying a
syllable to him. The behaviour of his own journeymen contributed still
the more to anger poor James: for instead of taking part with him in
his prejudices against Ben, they all appeared quite delighted with him;
and breaking off from their work and gathering around him, with looks
full of curiosity, they asked him a world of questions.
PHILADELPHIA! said they, O dear! have you been all the way
there to Philadelphia!
Ben said, yes.
Why Philadelphia must be a _tarnal nation way off_!
Four hundred miles, said Ben.
At this they stared on him in silent wonder, for having been four
hundred miles from Boston!
And so they have got a printing-office in Philadelphia!
Two or three of them, said Ben.
O la! why that will starve us all here in Boston.
Not at all, said Ben: their advertising "_lost pocket
books_"--"_runaway servants_" and "_stray cows_" in
Philadelphia, can no more starve you here in Boston, than the catfish
of Delaware, by picking up a few soft-crabs there, can starve our
catfish here in Boston harbour. The world's big enough for us all.
Well, I wonder now if they have any such thing as _money_ in
Philadelphia?
Ben thrust his hand into his pocket, and brought up a whole fist full
of dollars!
The dazzling silver struck them all speechless--gaping and gazing at
him and each other. Poor fellows, they had never, at once, seen so much
of that precious metal in Boston, the money there being nothing but a
poor paper proc.
To keep up their stare, Ben drew his silver watch, which soon had to
take the rounds among them, every one insisting to have _a look at
it_. Then, to crown all, he gave them a shilling to drink his
health; and after telling them what great things lay before them if
they would but continue _industrious_ and _prudent_, and make
themselves _masters of their trade_, he went back to the house.
This visit to the office stung poor James to the quick; for when his
mother spoke to him of a reconciliation with Ben, and said how happy
she should be to see them like brothers again before she died, he flew
into a passion and told her such a thing would never be, for that Ben
had so insulted him before his men that he would never forgive nor
forget it as long as he lived. But Ben had the satisfaction to live to
see that James was no prophet. For when James, many years after this,
fell behind hand and got quite low in the world, Ben lent him money,
and was a steady friend to him and his family all the days of his life.