Richard improved.' Dr. Franklin, who is faid for many years to have published Poor Richard's Almanack, in Penfylvania, furnifhed it with various fentences and proverbs, principally relating to the topics of induftry, attention to one's own bufinefs, and frugality. The whole, or chief of these fentences and proverbs, fays the Editor, he at laft collected and digefted in the abovementioned general preface. As he is at present our enemy, we naturally with, as British patriots, to turn his arms against himself, by applying them to our own defence. And as the prefent fituation of our country will render more taxes, as well as more œconomy, neceffary; and certain murmurings on that account are, at this time, growing louder than usual; we fhall first felect what our late countryman fays on the article of industry. The preface begins thus;

Courteous Reader,

I have heard, that nothing gives an author fo great pleafure, as to find his works refpectfully quoted by others. Judge, then, how much I must have been gratified by an incident I am going to relate to you. I ftopped my horfe lately, where a great number of people were collected at an auction of merchants goods. The hour of the fale not being come, they were converfing on the bad nefs of the times; and one of the company called to a plain, clean Old Man, with white locks, "Pray, Father Abraham, what think you of the times? Will not these heavy taxes quite ruin the country? How fhall we ever be able to pay them? What would you advise us to?"-Father Abraham stood up, and replied, If you would have my advice, I will give it you in fhort; " for a word to the wife is enough," as Poor Richard fays.' They joined in defiring him to speak his mind, and gathering round him, he proceeded as follows:

Friends, fays, he, the taxes are, indeed, very heavy, and, if those laid on by the government were the only ones we had to pay, we might more cafily discharge them; but we have many others, and much more grievous to fome of us. We are taxed twice as much by our idleness, three times as much by our pride, and four times as much by our folly; and from thefe taxes the commiffioners cannot cafe or deliver us, by allowing an abatement. However, let us hearken to good advice, and fomething may be done for us; "God helps them that help them felves," as Poor Richard fays.

It would be thought a hard government that should tax its people one-tenth part of their time, to be employed in its fervice: but idlenefs taxes many of us much more; floth, by bringing on difeafes, abfolutely fhortens life. "Sloth, like ruft, confumes fafter than labour wears, while the used key is always bright," as Poor Richard fays. "But doft thou love life, then do not fquander time, for that is the ftuff life is made of,"

as Poor Richard fays. How much more than is neceffary do we fpend in fleep! forgetting that, "The fleeping fox catches no poultry, and that there will be fleeping enough in the grave," as Poor Richard fays.

"If time be of all things the most precious, wafting time must be," as Poor Richard fays, "the greateft prodigality;' fince, as he elsewhere tells us, "Loft time is never found again; and what we call time enough, always proves little enough" let us then up and be doing, and doing to the purpofe; fo by diligence fhall we do more with lefs perplexity.

Sloth makes all things difficult, but induftry all eafy; and, He that rifeth late, must trot all day, and shall scarce overtake his bufinefs at night; while laziness travels fo flowly, that poverty foon overtakes him. Drive thy bufinefs, let not that drive thee; and early to bed, and early to rife, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wife," as Poor Richard lays.

So what fignifies wishing and hoping for better times? We may make these times better, if we beftir ourselves. "Industry need not wifh, and he that lives upon hope will die fafting. There are no gains without pains; then help hands, for I have no lands," or, if I have, they are fmartly taxed. He that hath a trade, hath an eftate; and he that hath a calling, hath an office of profit and honour," as Poor Richard fays; but then the trade must be worked at, and the calling well followed, or neither the eftate nor the office will enable us to pay our taxes. -If we are induftrious, we shall never starve; for," at the working man's houfe hunger looks in, but dares not enter." Nor will the bailiff or the conftable enter, for "Industry pays debts, while Despair increaseth them." What though you have found no treasure, nor has any rich relation left you a legacy, "Diligence is the mother of good luck, and God gives all things to induftry. Then plow deep, while fluggards fleep, and you fhall have corn to fell and to keep." Work while it is called to-day, for you know not how much you may be hindered tomorrow. One to-day is worth two to-morrows," as Poor Richard fays; and farther, "Never leave that till to-morrow, which you can do to day." If you were a fervant, would you not be ashamed that a good mafter fhould catch you idle? Are you then your own mafter? be ashamed to catch yourself idle, when there is fo much to be done for yourself, your family, your country, and your king. Handle your tools without mittens, remember, that, "The cat in gloves catches no mice," as Poor Richard fays. It is true, there is much to be done, and, perhaps, you are weak-handed; but stick to it fteadily, and you will fee great effects; for "Conftant dropping wears away ftones; and by diligence and patience the moufe ate in two the cable; and little ftrokes fell great oaks.'

On the fubject of frugality, Father Abraham, who strings his proverbs much more clofely, and to the purpose, than Sancho, lays, among many other good things, what follows:

If you would be wealthy, think of faving, as well as of getting. The Indies have not made Spain rich, because her outgoes are greater than her incomes.'

Away then, with your expenfive follies, and you will not then have fo much caufe to complain of hard times, heavy taxes, and chargeable families; for

Women and wine, game and deceit,

"Make the wealth fmall, and the want great."

And farther, "What maintains one vice, would bring up two children." You may think, perhaps, that a little tea, or a little punch now and then, diet a little more coftly, clothes a little finer, and a little entertainment now and then, can be no great matter; but remember, "Many a little makes a mickle.” Beware of little expences; "A fmall leak will fink a great fhip," as Poor Richard fays; and again, "Who dainties love fhall beggars prove ;" and moreover, "Fools make feafts, and wife

men eat them."

Here you are all got together to this fale of fineries and nick-nacks. You call them goods; but, if you do not take care, they will prove evils to fome of you. You expect they will be fold cheap, and, perhaps, they may for less than they coft; but, if you have no occafion for them, they must be dear to you. Remember what Poor Richard fays, "Buy what thou haft no need of, and ere long thou fhalt fell thy neceffaries." And again, "At a great pennyworth paufe a while." He means, that perhaps the cheapnefs is apparent only, and not real; or the bargain, by ftraitening thee in thy bufinefs, may do thee more harm than good. For in another place he fays, "Many have been ruined by buying good pennyworths." Again, " It is foolish to lay out money in a purchase of repentance;" and yet this folly is practifed every day at auctions, for want of minding the Almanack. Many a one, for the fake of finery on the back, have gone with a hungry belly, and half ftarved their families; "Silks and fattins, fcarlet and velvets, put out the kitchen fire," as Poor Richard says.'

We are loth to part with our inftructive friend, Father Abraham, who fo excellently pouts his Wisdom of Nations, feasoned alternately with ferioufnefs and jocularity: but we must give a part of what this dry joker fays on the subject of running in debt.

When you have got your bargain, you may, perhaps, think little of payment; but, as Poor Richard fays, "Creditors have better memories than debtors; creditors are a fuperftitious fect, great obfervers of fet-days and times." The day comes round

4

before

before you are aware, and the demand is made before you are prepared to fatisfy it; or, if you bear your debt in mind, the term, which at firft seemed fo long, will, as it leffens, appear extremely fhort: Time will feem to have added wings to his heels as well as his fhoulders. "Those have a fhort Lent, who owe money to be paid at Eafter." At prefent, perhaps, you may think yourselves in thriving circumftances, and that you can bear a little extravagance without injury; but

"For age and want fave while you may,

"No morning fun lafts a whole day."

Gain may be temporary and uncertain, but ever, while you live, expence is conftant and certain; and, "It is easier to build two chimneys, than to keep one in fuel," as Poor Richard fays: fo, "Rather go to bed fupperlefs, than rife in debt." "Get what you can, and what you get hold :

""Tis the ftone that will turn all your lead into gold." And when you have got the philofopher's stone, fure you will no longer complain of bad times, or the difficulty of paying taxes.'

Thus the Old Gentleman-fays Poor Richard, for he is now the speaker-ended his harangue. The people heard it, and approved the doctrine; and immediately practifed the contrary, just as if it had been a common fermon; for the auction opened, and they began to buy extravagantly.I found the good man had thorougly ftudied my Almanacks, and digefted all I had dropt on thofe topics during the courfe of twenty-five years. The frequent mention he made of me must have tired any one elfe; but my vanity was wonderfully delighted with it, though I was conscious, that not a tenth part of the wisdom was my own, which he afcribed to me, but rather the gleanings that Í had made of the fenfe of all ages and nations. However, I refolved to be the better for the echo of it; and, though I had at firft determined to buy stuff for a new coat, I went away, refolved to wear my old one a little longer. Reader, if thou wilt do the fame, thy profit will be as great as mine.' RICHARD SAUNDERS.

If every one of us, in our respective stations, would attend to, and immediately put in practice, the excellent advice given by poor Richard in this paper; each individual would, we appre hend, foon find a much more fenfible alleviation of the weight that he bears in the burthens impofed by the ftate*, than is to be expected from even the prefent endeavours to procure relief, by the abolition of finecures, and the reduction of exorbitant

• The Reviewer is aware of an obvious objection: but the frugality of individuals can never injure the ftate, with refpect to revenue, fo much as it muft fuffer, even as a ftate, by their idleness, diffipation, and the other political fins or failings, against which Father Abraham raifes his truly patriotic voice in this oration,

emoluments,

emoluments, how proper foever.-Be this as it may, we are glad to circulate a part of poor Richard's plain and wholesome precepts; and to extend the knowledge of them farther, by intimating that the whole of this excellent little piece has been printed on a fingle fheet of paper, of a small fize, fit for framing, and may be had of the publisher of the prefent volume, at the fmall price of two-pence.

In perufing the political pieces in this collection, though the Reader will frequently be reminded of Swift, when treating of the interefts of Ireland; yet no two characters will be found more different in feveral refpects. Except in thofe parts of his writings where he treats of what may be called General Politics, Swift exhibits every mark of a disappointed, paffionate, and even cauftic party man; execrating minifters, and in short, almoft conftantly venting his fpleen in perfonalities against those who differ from him. Dr. Franklin, on the contrary, in the political writings now before us, appears almoft on every occafion the placid and difpaffionate philofopher ;-as much a philofopher, at leaft, as one, who is at the fame time a public man, and on very trying occafions, can be expected to be. His writings, before the American troubles commenced, every where breathe the fpirit of peace and conciliation. They exprefs an anxious defire to unite and blend the interests of the parent country and its colonies, in one common mass of vigour and public felicity; and to prevent every measure that thewed a tendency to alienate the two countries from each other. It is evident likewife, from fome papers in this collection, that he earnestly wished to preferve the natural connection between this country and his own t; even after certain proceedings-(on both fides, it must be acknowledged) had created a diftinction between them. In a letter to a friend, written from Philadelphia, October 3, 1775, when he was a member of the Continental Congrefs, he thus expreffes his fentiments on the subject:

I with as ardently as you can do for peace, and should rejoice exceedingly in co-operating with you to that end. But every fhip from Britain brings fome intelligence of new meafures that tend more and more to exafperate; and it seems to me, that until you have found by dear experience the reducing us by force impracticable, you will think of nothing fair and reasonable. We have as yet refolved only on defensive meafures. If you would recall your forces and stay at home, we fhould meditate nothing to injure you. A little time fo given for cooling, on both fides, would have excellent effects. But you

+ Dr. Franklin is an American; born at Bofton, as we learn from an infcription under a buft of him, prefixed to this collection, in the year 1706.