fioned no fcandal; and to show that I did not think myself above my profeffion, I conveyed home fometimes in a wheelbarrow the paper I purchased at the warehoufes.

I thus obtained the reputation of being an induftrious young man, and very punctual in his payments. The merchants who imported articles of ftationary folicited my custom; others offered to furnish me with books, and my little trade went on profperously.

Meanwhile the credit and bufinefs of Keimer diminished every day, he was at laft forced to fell his flock to fatisfy his creditors; and he betook himself to Barbadoes, where he lived for foine time in a very impoverished state. His apprenice, David Hany, whom I had inftructed while I worked with Keimer, having bought his materials, fucceeded him in the bufinefs. I was apprehenfive, at firft, of finding in Harry a powerful competitor, as he was allied to an opulent and refpectable family; I therefore proposed a partnership, which, happily for me, he rejected with diídain. He was extremely proud, thought himlelf a fine gentleman, lived extravagantly, and purfued amufements which fuffered him to be icarcely ever at home; of confequence he became in debt, neglected his business, and bufinefs neglected him. Finding in a fhort time nothing to do in the country, he followed Keimer to Barbadoes, carrying his printing materials with him. There the apprentice employed his old mafter as a journeyman. They were continually quarrelling; and Hary, ftill getting in debt, was obliged at last to fell off his prefs and types, and

return to his old occupation of husbandry in Pennlylvania. The perfon who purchased them employed Keimer to manage the business; but he died a few years after.

I had now at Philadelphia no competitor but Bradford, who, being in easy circumstances, did not engage in the printing of books, except now and then as workmen chanced to offer themselves; and was not anxious to extend his trade. He had, however, one advantage over me, as he had the direction of the poft-office, and was of confequence fuppofed to have better opportunities of obtaining news. His paper was also fuppofed to be more advantageous to advertising cuftomers; and in confequence of that fuppoftion, his advertisements were much more numerous than mine: this was a fource of great profit to him, and disadvantageous to me. It was to no purpose that I really procured other papers, and diftributed my own, by means of the post; the public took for granted my inability in this respect; and I was indeed unable to conquer it in any other mode than by bribing the post-boys, who ferved me only by ftealth, Bradford being fo illiberal as to forbid them,-This treatment of his excited my refentment; and my disgust 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 house, and half of the fhop for his bufinefs; at which indeed he worked very little, being always abforbed by mathematics.

M

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 underftand, that I expected to receive with the young lady a fum of money that would enable me at leaft to discharge 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 difpofal. I obferved that it might easily be obtained by a mortgage on their house. The reply of this was, after a few days interval, that they did not approve of the match; that they had confulted Bradford, and found that the business of a printer was not lucrative; that my letters would foon be worn out, and must be supplied 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 secretly, which would leave them at liberty to give or not as they pleafed. But, fufpccting this motive, I never went again to eir house.

Some time after Mrs. Godfrey informed me that they were favourably difpofed towards me, and wished me to renew the acquaintance; but I declared a firm refolution never to have any thing more to do with the family. The Godfreys expreffed fome refentment at this; and as we could no longer agree, they changed their refidence, leaving me in poffeffion of the whole houfe. 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 poffels 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 unaccom panied with expence and inconvenience, befides the perpetual risk of injuring my health, and catching a difeafe which 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 Mis 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 almolt always melancholy, and continually feeking folitude. I regarded my forgetfulnefs and in

conftancy, during my abode in London, as the principal cause of her misfortune; though her mother had the candour to attribute the fault to herfelf, 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 a proof at fo great a diftance; 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 fucceffor might be sued. We ventured nevertheless, in fpite of all thefe difficulties, and I married her on the firft of September, 1739.. None of the inconveniences we had feared happened to us. She 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.

Our club was not at that time eftablished at a tavern. We held our meetings at the houfe of Mr. Grace, who appropriated a room to the purpofe. Some members obferved one day, that as our books were frequently quoted in the courfe of our difcuffions, it would be convenient to have them collected in the room in which we affèmbled, in order to be confulted upon occa