Few people ever knew so many things as Franklin. Men said, “How did he
ever learn so many things?” For he had been a poor boy who had to work
for a living. He could not go to school at all after he was ten years
old.
His father made soap and candles. Little Ben Frank-lin had to cut wicks
for the candles. He also filled the candle molds. And he sold soap and
candles, and ran on errands. But when he was not at work he spent his
time in reading good books. What little money he got he used to buy
books with.
He read the old story of “Pil-grim’s Prog-ress,” and liked it so well
that he bought all the other stories by the same man. But as he wanted
more books, and had not money to buy them, he sold all of these books.
The next he bought were some little his-to-ry books. These were made to
sell very cheap, and they were sold by peddlers. He managed to buy
forty or fifty of these little books of his-to-ry.
Another way that he had of learning was by seeing things with his own
eyes. His father took him to see car-pen-ters at work with their saws
and planes. He also saw masons laying bricks. And he went to see men
making brass and copper kettles. And he saw a man with a turning lathe
making the round legs of chairs. Other men were at work making knives.
Some things people learn out of books, and some things they have to see
for them-selves.
As he was fond of books, Ben’s father thought that it would be a good
plan to send him to learn to print them. So the boy went to work in his
brother’s printing office. Here he passed his spare time in reading. He
borrowed some books out of the stores where books were sold. He would
sit up a great part of the night sometimes to read one of these books.
He wished to return it when the book-store opened in the morning. One
man who had many books lent to Ben such of his books as he wanted.
It was part of the bargain that Ben’s brother should pay his board. The
boy offered to board himself if his brother would give him half what it
cost to pay for his board.
[Illustration: Franklin at Study.]
His brother was glad to do this, and Ben saved part of the money and
bought books with it. He was a healthy boy, and it did not hurt him to
live mostly on bread and butter. Sometimes he bought a little pie or a
handful of raisins.
Long before he was a man, people said, “How much the boy knows!” This
was because—
He did not waste his time.
He read good books.
He saw things for himself.