Chapter I: Preface

This book is designed to illustrate the familiar maxim, that "THE BOY IS FATHER TO THE MAN." The early life of Franklin is sketched from his childhood to the time he was established in business, thus showing what he was in boyhood and youth; and the achievements of his manhood are summed up in a closing chapter, to substantiate the truth of the above proverb.

The author believes that the lives of distinguished men may be incorporated into a story, uniting narrative and dialogue so as to be more attractive to the young. John Bunyan was the first to adopt this style, and his inimitable Pilgrim's Progress charms the young reader, not only by its graphic imagery, but also by its alternation of narrative and dialogue. Since his day, others have adopted a similar style, particularly in works of fiction, with success. Why may not truth appear in such a dress as successfully as fiction? Why may not _actual_ lives be presented in this manner as vividly as _imaginary_ ones? The young mind will seize upon a truth or fact that is conveyed in a story, when it will remain wholly indifferent to it as it appears in a simple statement. So the life of an eminent man may engage the attention of this class, if he is made to speak and act for himself, when they would not be interested in it, if it were presented to them in a plain summary of facts.

In this volume, the actual, early life of Franklin is wrought into a story. The imagination has done no more than weave the facts of his boyhood and youth into a "tale of real life." It makes Benjamin and his associates speak and do what biographers say they spoke and did. It simply paints the scenes and acts of which other writers have _told_.

A conspicuous place is given in the work to the maxims of Franklin, for the purpose of conveying important lessons in regard to the formation of character, and thus stimulating the young in the path of well-doing. Whole volumes of meaning are condensed into many of his wise and pithy sayings.

W. M. T.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I.

THE WHISTLE.

The Holiday--The Coppers in Benjamin Franklin's Pocket--Inquiry--
Bounding Out--The Toy-Shop Then and Now--The Boy and his
Whistle--Resolved to Purchase--The Bargain--Going Home--Making
Music--Discussion about the Price--A Pocketful of Good Things--
Benjamin crying over his Whistle--A Benefit--What Franklin said
of it Sixty Years after--Boys do not Learn from the Past--Other
Ways of paying too dear for a Whistle--Deceit and Falsehood--
Tippling--Worldly Pleasure 1-8

CHAPTER II.

AT SCHOOL.

Talk about School--Brothers at Trades--Benjamin for the Church--
Early learned to Read--Long Process of Preparation for the
Ministry--"Uncle Benjamin's" Remarks and Offer--Who is "Uncle
Benjamin"--A Hundred Years Ago--When Benjamin was Born--Baptized on
Same Day he was Born--The Record--Description of his Birthplace--
Early Love of Books--His Father's Violin--Poor but Industrious--
Seventeen Children--Decision to Enter School--Where it was, and by
Whom kept--His Rapid Progress--Mr. Franklin's Trust in Providence--
At the Head of his Class--The Boy Father to the Man--Daniel
Webster--David Rittenhouse and George Stephenson--Hopes of
Benjamin 9-18

CHAPTER III.

A CHANGE.

Conversation between Mr. and Mrs. Franklin--Decision to Remove
Benjamin from School--Trials of Ministers--Bread before
Learning--Subject opened to Benjamin--His Feelings--Character of
Schools then--Mr. Brownwell's Writing-school--Benjamin's
Obedience--His Father Strict--Keeping the Sabbath--Lore and Respect
for his Father--Rebuking the Inquisitive Landlord--Erecting Marble
Stone to the Memory of his Parents--The Stone replaced by Citizens
of Boston--Obedience of the Peel Boys--Harry Garland--Stephenson's
Noble Act to his Parents--The Eight Brothers at Inauguration of the
Franklin Statue--Progress in Penmanship--Beloved by Teacher 19-28

CHAPTER IV.

MAKING CANDLES.

Put to Candle-making at Ten Years of Age--His Father a Tallow-
chandler--Benjamin opposed to it--Importance of Industry--His
Father's Hive without Drones--Benjamin's Maxims about Industry in
Later Life--"The used key always bright."--"Diligence the Mother of
Good Luck"--Bad Luck--Bible View--No Schooling after Ten Years of
Age--Cutting Candle-wicks--Where was the Shop--Benjamin desires to
go to Sea--His Mother's Veto--An Older Brother went to Sea--Talk
with his Father--His Father's Veto--Promise of another Pursuit--
Respect for a Paternal "No"--His Sports on the Water--No Prospect
of Fame--Giotti Marking in the Sand--Webster's Pocket-handkerchief--
Roger Sherman at his Bench--Boys not excused from School by these
Examples--Benefit of a Little Knowledge--Saved Benjamin Russell
in Thunder-storm--How Stephenson felt for his Son 29-43

CHAPTER V.

THE ROGUE'S WHARF.

"All Abroad"--The Quagmire--Proposal to build a Wharf--The Heap of
Stones--Plan to steal them--Time set in the Evening--The Plan
executed--The Wharf done--Keeping the Secret--Benjamin's Father
finds him out--Benjamin in a tight place--Promises to do better--How
the Boys were found out--Benjamin's Reading Habits--What Books
liked--Mather's "Essays to Do Good"--Letter to Mather's Son--Boys
should be at Home in Evenings--Advantage of Reading--Letter to a
Girl on the Subject 44-54

CHAPTER VI.

TABLE TALK.

Interview with a Friend--His Ancestors--Their Hardships--Denied
Liberty of Conscience--The Bible under the Stool--Leaving the Church
of England--Emigration for Religious Freedom--Conversation on Useful
Themes at Table--No Complaints allowed about Food--Guests introduced
and sensible Remarks made--Effect on Benjamin--The Washburne
Family--Benefit of Good Conversation--His Father's Remarks about
Food--Benjamin Temperate in Eating and Drinking--"The Water-
American"--No Temperance Societies then--Table Talk now--A
Table Scene 55-63

CHAPTER VII.

CHOOSING A TRADE.

Still Opposed to Candle-making--A Dirty, Simple Business--Wants to
do something that requires Ingenuity--His Father and Mother
conferring together--"A rolling stone gathers no moss"--Afraid he
will go to Sea--Benjamin's Views and Maxims--Opportunity to choose a
Trade--Going to see different Trades--Devotes a Day to it--Joiners',
Turners', and Bricklayers' Work--Cutlery Shop, his Cousin's--Which
Trade he chose--His Father's Decision--Arrangement to learn to make
Cutlery--Wise to Consult Taste and Tact of Benjamin--Handel the
Musician--Sir Joshua Reynolds--Father of John Smeaton--Opposing a
Child's Bent of Mind 64-75

CHAPTER VIII.

THE PRINTER-BOY.

Taken Away from Cousin Samuel--His Brother's Return from England--
Setting Up the Printing Business--Proposal to Benjamin--A Long
Apprenticeship--Benjamin disposed to turn Printer-boy--His Brother's
Offer to Teach Him the Art of Printing--Borrowing Books to read,
and sitting up at Night--Mr. Adams's Library and his Kindness--
Going to it for Books--Scarcity of Books--Compared with now--Two
and a half Books made in a Minute--No Libraries then--Their
enormous Size now--Habit of Reading made him punctual--Example of
Lord Brougham 76-84

CHAPTER IX.

FIRST LITERARY ENTERPRISE.

A Piece of Poetry--Pronounced Good--Proposition to Print his
Articles--"The Lighthouse Tragedy"--A Sailor's Song--Printing
them--Selling them in the Streets--A Successful Enterprise--His
Father opposes--Condemns Poetry in general and Benjamin's in
particular--A severe Rebuke--Crestfallen--Conference with James--
His Father's Censure a Benefit--Practice of writing Composition
excellent--How it Benefited Benjamin, even Pecuniarily--The Farmer's
Son and Minister 85-92

CHAPTER X.

THE DISPUTE.

Dispute with John Collins--A Bookish Fellow--The Education of
Girls--The Controversial Correspondence--His Father finds the
Letters--His Criticisms--Collins _versus_ Benjamin--Bought a Copy of
the Spectator and studied it laboriously--Sorry that he did not
continue to write Poetry--His Father's Counsel--His Economy of
Time--A Book always by his side--His Maxims on this Subject--
Violating the Sabbath to gain Time for Study--Useful Conversation
and Talking Nonsense--Hundreds ruined by a similar cause--Walter
Scott hiding Novels from his Father--Pope going to the Theatre--
Exceptions to the General Rule 93-103

CHAPTER XI.

PLAIN FARE.

Proposition to board Himself--Became a Vegetarian by Reading Tryon's
Book--Why he did it--How much Money he saved by doing it--Spent it
for Books--How much Time saved also--Cocker's Arithmetic--Other
Books read at odd moments--His Plan to save Time--His Maxims on
saving Time--Aim to be Useful--The English Grammar--Shaftesbury's
Works--Benjamin a Doubter--Makes known his Doubts to Collins--Danger
of Reading Attacks upon the Gospel 104-113

CHAPTER XII.

THE NEWSPAPER.

Starting the Third Newspaper in America--Opposition to it--Number of
Newspapers now--Forty Million Sheets from Eight Presses--Seventy-one
Miles a day of Newspapers from One Office--Almost enough to reach
around the Earth in a Year--Weigh these Papers--Four Million Pounds
in a Year--Two Thousand Two-Horse Loads--The New England Courant
started--Printer, News-carrier, and Collector--The Club--Incited to
write an Article--Tucks it under Printing-office Door--Hears it
favourably commented on--Writes other Articles--This an Incident
that decides his Career--Canning at Eton and the
"Microcosm"--Similar Paper in Seminaries now 114-122

CHAPTER XIII.

THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG.

Eager to Own the Pieces--Discloses the Authorship to James--
Interview with the Club--Surprise that Benjamin wrote them--
Treated with Attention by the Club--Oppressed by James--Trouble
with him--Benjamin resolves to leave him--The Printing-office
furnishes many Scholars--A New England Divine--Benjamin directed
in the Path to which his Native Endowments pointed--So of Lord
Nelson--Anecdote of him--Buxton, Wilberforce, and Others--Example
of the Author of the "Optic Library" 123-129

CHAPTER XIV.

THE ARREST.

Action of General Court to Arrest James Franklin for Libel--The
Legislative Order--James imprisoned four weeks, and Benjamin
arrested, but discharged--The immediate Cause of the Arrest--Meeting
of the Club--Decision to publish the Paper in Benjamin's Name--
Shrewd Evasion--Youngest Conductor of a Paper who ever lived--His
Thrusts at the Government--Benjamin born in troublous Times--
Attacks and Massacres by the Savages--Prepared thereby to act
in achieving Independence--Bears in Boston 130-136

CHAPTER XV.

THE RUNAWAY.

A Quarrel--Asserting his Freedom--Statement of the Case--Appeal to
his Father--His Father's Decision--Leaves his Brother--Fails to get
Work--Charged with being an Infidel--Plans to run away--Conference
with Collins--His Plan to get away--Collins's Talk with the Captain
of a New York Sloop, and his Base Lie--Benjamin Boards the
Sloop--Arrival in New York--His lonely Condition--Guilt of a
Runaway--Quarrel between Brothers painful--Case of William
Hutton--Lines of Dr. Watts 137-147