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born. The recital that was made us of his life and character, by some aged persons of the village, struck you, I remember, as extraordinary, from its analogy to what you knew of myself. "Had he died," said you, "just four years later, one might have supposed a transmigration of souls."

John, to the best of my belief, was brought up to the trade of a wool-dier.

Benjamin served his apprenticeship in London to silk-dier. He was an industrious man: I remem ber him well; for, while I was a child, he joined my father at Boston, and lived for some years in the house with us. A particular affection had always subsisted between my father and him; and I was his god-son. He arrived to a great age. He left behind him two quarto volumes of poems in manuscript, consisting of little fugitive pieces addressed to his friends. He had invented a short-hand, which he taught me, but, having never made use of it, I have now forgotten it. He was a man of piety, and a constant attendant on the best preachers, whose sermons he took a pleasure in writing down according to the expeditory method he had devised. Many volumes were thus collected by him. He was also extremely fond of politics; too much so, perhaps, for his situation. I lately found in London a collection which he had made of all the principal pamphlets relative to public affairs, from the year 1641 to 1717. Many volumes are wanting, as appears by the series of numbers; but there still remain eight in folio, and twenty-four in quarto and Octavo. The collection had fallen into the hands of a second-hand bookseller, who, knowing me by hav ng sold me some books, brought it to me. My uncle, it seems, had left it behind on his departure for Ameri ca, about fifty years ago. I found various notes of his writing in the margins. His grandson, Samuel, is now living at Boston.

Our humble family had early embraced the Reformation. They remained faithfully attached during the reign of Queen Mary, when they were in danger of being molested on account of their zeal against po pery. They had an English Bible, and, to conceal it the more securely, they couceived the project of

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fastening it, open, with pack-threads across the leaves, on the inside of the lid of the close-stool. When my great-grandfather wished to read to his family, he re versed the lid of the close-stool upon his knees, and passed the leaves from one side to the other, which were held down on each by the pack-thread. One of the children was stationed at the door, to give no tice if he saw the proctor (an officer of the spiritual court) make his appearance: in that case, the lid was restored to its place, with the Bible concealed under it as before. I had this anecdote from my uncle Benjamin.

The whole family preserved its attachment to the Church of England till towards the close of the reign of Charles II. when certain ministers, who had been rejected as nonconformists, having held conventicles in Northamptonshire, they were joined by Benjamin and Josias, who adhered to them ever after. The rest of the family continued in the episcopal church.

My father, Josias, married early in life. He went, with his wife and three children, to New-England, about the year 1682. Couvent.cles being at that time prohibited by law, and frequently disturbed, some considerable persons of his acquaintance determined to go to America, where they hoped to enjoy the free exercise of their religion, and my father was prevailed on to accompany them.

My father had also, by the same wife, four children born in America, and ten others by a second wife, making in all seventeen. 1 remember to have seen thirteen seated together at his table, who all arrived at years of maturity, and were married. I was the last of the sons, and the youngest child, excepting two daughters. I was born at Boston, in New-Eng land. My mother, the second wife, was Abiah Folger, daughter of Peter Folger, one the first colonists of New England, of whom Cotton Mather makes honourable mention, in his Ecclesiastical History of that province, as "a pious and learned Englishman,' if I rightly recollect his expression. I have been told of nis having written a variety of little pieces; but there appears to be only one in print, which I met with many years ago. It was published in the year 1675,

and is in familiar verse, agreeably to the taste of the times and the country. The author addresses himself to the governors for the time being, speaks for liberty of conscience, and in favour of the anabaptists, quakers, and other sectaries, who had suffered persecution. To this persecution he attributes the wars with the natives, and other calamities which afflicted the country, regarding them as the judgments of God in punishment of so odious an offence, and he exhorts the government to the repeal of laws so contrary to charity. The poem appeared to be written with a manly freedom and a pleasing simplicity. I recollect the six concluding lines, though I have forgotten the order of words of the two firs; the sense of which was, that his censures were dictated by benevolence, and that, of consequence, he wished to be known as the author; because, said he, I hate from my very soul dissimulation.

From Sherburn,* where I dwoll,

I therefore put my name,
Your friend, who means you well,

PETER FOLGER.

My brothers were all put apprentices to different trades. With respect to myself, I was sent, at the age of eight years, to a grammar-school. My father destined me for the church, and already regarded me as the chaplain of my family. The promptitude with which, from my infancy, I had learned to read, for I do not remember to have been ever without this acquirement, and the encouragement of his friends, who assured him that I should one day certainly be come a man of letters, confirmed him in this design. My uncle Benjamin approved also of the scheme, and promised to give me all his volumes of sermons, writ ien, as I have said, in the short-hand of his inven tion, if I would take the pains to learn it.

I remained, however, scarcely a year at the gram mar-school, although, in this short interval, I had risen from the middle to the head of my class, from thence

Town in the island of Nantucket.

to the class immediately above, and was to pass, at the end of the year, to the one next in order. But iny father, burdened with a numerous family, found that he was incapable, without subjecting himself to difficulties, of providing for the expenses of a colie giate education; and considering, besides, as I heard him say to his friends, that persons so educated were often poorly provided for, he renounced his first inten. tions, took me from the grammar-school, and sent me to a school for writing and arithmetic, kept by a Mr George Brownwell, who was a skilful master, and succeeded very well in his profession by employing; gentle means only, and such as were calculated to encourage his scholars. Under him, I soon acquired an excellent hand; but I failed in arithmetic, and made therein no sort of progress.

At ten years of age, I was called home to assist my father in his occupation, which was that of soap-boile and tallow-chandler; a business to which he had served no apprenticeship, but which he embraced ou his arrival in New England, because he found his own, that of dier, in too little request to enable him to maintain his family. I was accordingly employed in cutting the wicks, filling the moulds, taking care of the shop, carrying messages, &c.

This business displeased me, and I felt a strong inclination for a sea life; but my father set his face against it. The vicinity of the water, however, gave me frequent opportunities of venturing myself both upon and within it, and I soon acquired the art of swimming and of managing a boat. When embark. ed with other children, the helm was commonly de puted to me, particularly on difficult occasions; and, in every other project, I was almost always the lead. er of the troop, whom I sometimes involved in em barrassments. I shall give an instance of this, which demonstrates an early disposition of mind for public enterprises, though the one in question was not con ducted by justice.

The mill-pond was terminated on one side by a marsh, upon the borders of which we were secustomed to take our stand, at high water, to ase for small fish. By dint of walking, we had everted

perfect quagmire. My proposal was to erect a wharf hat should afford us firm footing; and I pointed out to my companions a large heap of stones, intended for the building a new house near the marsh, and which were well adapted for our purpose. Accondingly, when the workmen retired in the evening, 1 assembled a number of my play-fellows, and by la bouring diligently, like ants, sometimes four of us uni ting our strength to carry a single stone, we remove hem all, and constructed our little quay. The work men were surprised the next morning at not finding their stones, which had been conveyed to our wharf. Inquiries were made respecting the authors of this conveyance; we were discovered; complaints were exhibited against us; and many of us underwent correction on the part of our parents; and though I Strenuously defended the utility of the work, my fa ther at length convinced me, that nothing which was not strictly honest could be useful.

It will not, perhaps, be uninteresting to you to know what sort of a man my father was. He had an excellent constitution, was of a middle size, but well made and strong, and extremely active in whatever he undertook. He designed with a degree of neatness, and knew a little of music. His voice was sonorous and agreeable; so that when he sang a psalm or hymn, with the accompaniment of his violin, as was his frequent practice in an evening, when the labours of the day were finished, it was truly delightful to hear him. He was versed also in mechanics, and could, upon occasion, use the tools of a variety of trades. But his greatest excellence was a sound understanding and solid judgment, in matters of prudence, both in public and private life. In the former, indeed, he never engaged, because his numerous family, and the mediocrity of his fortune, kept him unre. mittingly employed in the duties of his profession. But I well remember, that the leading men of the place used frequently to come and ask his advice respecting the affairs of the town, or of the church to which he belonged, and that they paid much deference to his opinion. Individuals were also in the

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