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BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN is, perhaps, one of the most striking instances, not only of a self-educated man, but of a man raising himself entirely by his own

exertions from poverty and obscurity to wealth and fame. Yet wealth and fame could hardly have been the chief objects of his ambition through his life, the greater part of which was spent in

serving his country and in promoting the good of his fellow-creatures.

Of the early part of Franklin's life there is a most interesting account (which we shall often quote) written by himself, in the form of a letter to his son; and his works have been collected and published, together with the history of his life, by many different authors, both here and in America.

Benjamin Franklin was born at Boston, in the United States, on the 6th of January 1706. His father, who had emigrated from England about twenty years before, followed the trade of a tallowchandler. Benjamin was the youngest, except two daughters, of a family of seventeen children. His brothers were all apprenticed to different trades, but Benjamin's unusual quickness in learning to read determined his father to educate him for the church, and, when he was eight years old, he was sent to a grammar-school. He made great progress at this school; but had scarcely been there a year, when his father, who had given up the idea of educating him for the church, finding it too expensive, took him away from the grammarschool, and sent him to a more humble school, where he remained till he had learned to write. At ten years old he was taken to assist his father in the business, and was employed in cutting wicks for the candles, and in filling the moulds with tallow. But he disliked his work so much, that his father, fearing he might run away to sea, as one of his brothers had done,

took him round the town to see the various trades, that he might choose one which he liked, and it ended in his being apprenticed to his brother James, who had just set up as a printer. Though only twelve years old, he soon learnt the business, and became very useful to his brother. At the same time, the fondness which he had always shown for reading increased so much, that all his spare time was devoted to it, and he often sat up half the night to read books which he had borrowed from his friends.

Soon after this he made his first attempt at writing poetry, and two of his ballads on some popular subject, which his brother printed, and which Benjamin himself sold in the streets, were so successful that he would have turned poet, had not his father discouraged him by telling him that verse-makers were generally beggars.

He now took pains to improve himself in prose writing, and having bought an odd volume of the Spectator, he made notes of some of the essays, put the book aside for some days, and then tried to re-write the ideas in the same language. Another of his plans for teaching himself composition was to turn a piece of prose into verse, and, after a few days, to turn it back again into prose. At his early age such perseverance in thus teaching himself was extraordinary. When about sixteen, he hit upon a plan for saving money wherewith to increase his small stock of books. Happening to

meet with a book recommending a vegetable diet, he determined to adopt this diet on account of its cheapness, and for many years he lived entirely on vegetables, and contrived to save half the small allowance which his brother gave him for his food. "This," he says, 66 was an additional fund for buying books; but I had another advantage in it. My brother and the rest going from the printing-house to their meals, I remained there alone, and despatching presently my light repast, (which was no more than a biscuit or a slice of bread, a handful of raisins, or a tart from the pastry-cook's, and a glass of water,) had the rest of the time till their return for study."

Soon after this, James Franklin began to publish a newspaper, which Benjamin helped to print, and afterwards carried round to the customers. Unknown to his brother, Benjamin wrote some little pieces for this paper, which were accepted by James, who read them, with the other contributions, to some of his literary friends when they came to the printing-house in the morning, as was their custom, to talk over the articles. Benjamin had the delight of hearing them praise his papers, and attribute them to men well known in the town for learning and talent. "Encouraged by this attempt," he says, "I wrote and sent in the same way to the press several other pieces that were equally approved, and I kept my secret till all my fund of sense for such performances was ex

hausted, and then discovered it, when I began to be considered a little more by my brother's acquaintances."

His success, however, seems to have increased the ill-will which already existed between himself and his brother, who, he tells us, "used an undue severity," which Franklin did something to provoke by his impertinence. Their constant disputes, and the harsh treatment he endured, made Benjamin very anxious to free himself from his apprenticeship, which had been made for nine years; and an opportunity now occurred for him to do so, though in a way which he himself declares to have been dishonourable. On account of some political opinions in his newspaper, James was forbidden by the government to print it any longer; but he evaded the prohibition by having the paper printed in the name of Benjamin Franklin, and, in order that it might not appear that James was screening himself behind one of his apprentices, Benjamin's indentures were cancelled, but at the same time a private agreement was made, that he should continue to serve his full time as apprentice. A new quarrel arising soon after this, Benjamin took advantage of this foolish and false plan to release himself altogether from his brother. Finding that James had so represented the matter among the other printers in the town, that none of them would employ him, he now determined to seek for work elsewhere, and, having procured a little money by selling his

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