Page images
PDF
EPUB

well received by the lower and middling clafs of people; but it displeased the opulent, as it increaled the clamour in favour of the new emiffion.Having, however, no writer among them capable of anfwering it; their oppofition became lefs violent; and there being in the houfe of affembly a majority for the meafure, it paffed. The friends I had acquired in the house, perfuaded that I had done the country effential fervice on this occafion, rewarded me by giving me the printing of the bills. It was a lucrative employment, and proved a very seasonable help to me; another advantage which I derived from having habituated myself to write.

Time and experience fo fully demonftrated the utility of paper currency, that it never after experienced any confiderable oppofition; fo that it foen amounted to 55,000l. and in the year 1739 to 80,000l. It has fince rifen, during the lait war, to 350,000l. trade, buildings and population having in the interval continually increased; but I am now convinced that there are limits beyond which paper money would be prejudicial.

I foon after obtained, by the influence of my friend Hamilton, the printing of the Newcastle paper money, another profitable work, as I then thought it, little things appearing great to perfons of moderate fortune; and they were really great to me, as proving great encouragements. He also procured me the printing of the laws and votes of that government which I retained as long as I continued in the bufinefs.

I now opened a fmall ftationer's fhop. I kept bonds and agreements of all kinds, drawn up in a more accurate form than had yet been feen in that 138347

part

means of the poft; the public took for granted my inability in this refpect; and I was indeed unable to conquer it in any other mode than by bribing the poft-boys, who ferved me only by ftealth, Bradford being fo illiberal as to forbid them.This treatment of his excited my refentment; and my difguft was fo rooted, that, when I afterwards fucceeded him in the poft-office, I took care to avoid copying his example.

I had hitherto continued to board with Godfrey, who, with his wife and children, occupied part of my houfe, and half of the fhop for his bufinefs; at which indeed he worked very little, being always abforbed by mathematics. Mrs. Godfrey formed a wifh of marrying me to the daughter of one of her relations. She contrived various opportunities of bringing us together, till fhe faw that I was captivated; which was not difficult, the lady in queftion poffeffing great perfonal merit. The parents encouraged my addreffes, by inviting me continually to fupper, and leaving us together, till at laft it was time to come to an explanation. Mrs. Godfrey undertook to negociate our little treaty. I gave her to understand, that I expected to receive with the young lady a fum of money that would enable me at leaft to dif charge the remainder of my debt for my printing materials. It was then, I believe, not more than a hundred pounds. She brought me for answer, that they had no fuch fum at their disposal. 1 obferved that it might eafily be obtained, by a mortgage on their houte. The reply of this was, after a few days interval, that they did not approve of the match; that they had confed Bradford, and found that the business of a printe

was not lucrative; that my letters would foon be worn out, and must be fupplied by new ones; that Keimer and Harry had failed, and that, probably, I fhould do fo too. Accordingly they forbade me the house, and the young lady was confined. I know not if they had really changed their minds, or if it was merely an artifice, fuppofing our affections to be too far engaged for us to defift, and that we should contrive to marry fecretly, which would leave them at liberty to give or not as they pleafed. But, fufpecting this motive, I never went again to their house.

Some time after Mrs. Godfrey informed me that they were favourably difpofed towards me, and. wifhed me to renew the acquaintance; but I declared a firm refolution never to have any thing more to do with the family. The Godfrey's expreffed fome refentment at this; and as we could no longer agree, they changed their refidence, leaving me in poffeffion of the whole house. I then refolved to take no more lodgers. This affair having turned my thoughts to marriage, I looked around me, and made overtures of alliance in other quarters; but I foon found that the profeffion of a printer being generally looked upon as a poor trade. I could expect no money with a wife, at least if I wished her to poff is any other charm. Meanwhile, that paffion of youth, fo difficult to govern, had often drawn me into intrigues with defpicable women who fell in my way; which were not unaccompanied with expence and inconvenience, befides the perpetual. rifk of injuring my health, and catching a difeafe when I dreaded above all things. But I was fortunate enough to escape this danger.

As a neighbour and old acquaintance, I kept up a friendly intimacy with the family of Mifs Read. Her parents had retained an affection for me from the time of my lodging in their house. I was often invited thither; they confulted me about their affairs, and I had been fometimes ferviceable to them. I was touched with the unhappy fituation of their daughter, who was almost always melancholy, and continually feeking folitude. I regarded my forgetfulness and inconftancy, during my abode in London, as the principal caufe of her misfortune; though her mother had the candour to attribute the fault to herself, rather than to me, because, after having prevented our marriage previous to my departure, fhe had induced her to marry another in my abfence.

Our mutual affection revived; but there exifted great obftacles to our union. Her marriage was confidered, indeed, as not being valid, the man having, it was faid, a former wife ftill living in England; but of this it was difficult to obtain al proof at fo great a distance; and though a report prevailed of his being dead, yet we had no certainty of it; and fuppofing it to be true, he had left many debts, for the payment of which his fuc-. ceffor might be fued. We ventured neverthelefs, in spite of all these difficulties, and I married her on the first of September 1730. None of the inconveniences we had feared happened to usShe proved to me a good and faithful companion, and contributed effentially to the fuccefs of my fhop. We profpered together, and it was our mutual ftudy to render each other happy. Thus I corrected, as well as I could, this great error of my youth..

ur club was not at that time eftablifhed at a rn. We held our meetings at the house of Grace, who appropriated a room to the pur

[ocr errors]

Some member obferved one day, that as our As were frequently quoted in the course of our fions, it would be convenient to have them collected in the room in which we affembled, in order to be confulted upon occafion; and that, by thus forming a common library of our individual collections, each would have the advantage of using the books of all the other members, which would nearly be the fame as if he poffeffed them all himself. The idea was approved, and we ac cordingly brought fuch books as we thought we could fpare, which were placed at the end of the club-room. They amounted not to fo many as we expected; and though we made confiderable uf of them, yet fome inconveniencies refulting, from want of care, it was agreed, after about a year, to deftroy the collection; and each took away fuch books as belonged to him.

It was now that I firit ftated the idea of establithing, by fubfcription, a public library, I drew up the propofals, had them ingroffed in form by Brockden the attorney, and my project fucceeded, as will be feen in the fequel

**

[The life of Dr. Franklin, as written by himfelf, fo far as it has yet been communicated to the world, breaks off in this place. We understand that it was continued by him fomewhat further and we hope that the remainder will, at fome future period, be communicated to the public. We have no nefitation in fuppofing that every reader will find himfelf greatly interefted by the frank

« PreviousContinue »