the reign of Charles II. when certain ministers, who had been ejected as non-conformists, having held Conventicles in Northamptonshire, they were joined by Benjamin and Jofias, who adhered to them ever after. The rest of the family continued in the Epifcopal Church. My father, Jofias, married early in life. He went, with his wife and three children, to New England, about the year 1682. Conventicles being at that time prohibited by law, and frequently disturbed, fome confiderable perfons of his acquaintance determined to go to America, where they hoped to enjoy the free exercife of their religion, and my father was prevailed on to accompany them. My father had also by the fame wife four children born in America, and ten others by a fecond wife, making in all feventeen. I remember to have feen thirteen seated together at his table, who all arrived to years of maturity, and were married. I was the last of the fons, and the youngest child, excepting two daughters. I was born at Bofton in New England. My mother, the second wife, was Abiah Folger, daughter of Peter Folger, one of the first colonists of New England, of whom Cotton Mather makes honourable mention, in his Ecclefiaftical Hiftory of that province, as "a pious and learned Englishman," if I rightly recollect his expreffions. I have been told of his 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 verfe, agreeably to the taile of the times and the country. The author addreffes himself to the governors for the time being, fpeaks for liberty of confcience, and in favour of the anabaptifts, quakers, and other fertaries, who had fuffered perfecution. To this perfecution he attributes the wars with the natives, and other calamities which afflicted the country, regarding them as the judgments of God in punishment of fo odious an offence, and he exhorts the government to the repeal of laws fo contrary to charity. The poem appeared to be written with a manly freedom and a pleafing fimplicity. I recollect the fix concluding lines, though I have forgotten the order of words of the two first; the sense of which was, that his cenfures were dictated by benevolence, and that of confequence, he wished to be known as the author; because, faid he, I hate from my very foul diffimulation: From Sherburne, where I dwell, I therefore put my name, PETER FOLGER. My brothers were all put apprentice to different trades. With respect to myself, I was fent, at the age of eight years, to a grammar-fchool. My father destined me for the church, and already regarded me as the chaplain of the 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 affured him that I fhould one day certainly become a man of let *Town in the Ifland of Nantucket. ters, confirmed him in this defign. My uncle Benjamin approved alfo of the fcheme, and promiled to give me all his volumes of fermons, written, as I have faid, in the fhort-hand of his invention, if I would take the pains to learn it. I remained however scarcely a year at grammar fchool, although, in this fhort interval, I had rifen from the middle to the head of my clafs, from thence to the clafs immediately above, and was to pafs, at the end of the year, to the one next in order. But my father, burthened with a numerous family, found that he was incapable, without fubjecting himself to difficulties, of providing for the expence of a collegiate education, and confidering befides, as I heard him fay to his friends, that, perfons fo educated were often poorly provided for, he renounced his first intentions, took me from the grammar fchool, and fent me to a school for writing and arithmetic, kept by a Mr. George Brownwel, who was a skilful master, and fucceeded very well in his profeffion by employing gentle means only, and fuch as were calculated to encourage his fcholars. Under him I foon acquired an excellent hand; but I failed in arithmetic, and made therein no fort of progrefs. At ten years of age I was called home to affift my father in his occupation, which was that of a foap-boiler and tallow-chandler; a business to which he had ferved no apprenticeship, but which he embraced on his arrival in New-England, because he found his own, that of a dyer, in too little request to enable him to maintain his family. I was accordingly employed in cut their private affairs, and he was often chosen arbiter between contending parties. He was fond of having at his table, as often as poffible, fome friends, or well-informed neighbours, capable of rational conversation, and he was always careful to introduce afeful or ingenious topics of difcourfe, which might tend to form the minds of his children. By this means he early attracted our attention to what was juft, prudent, and beneficial in the conduct of life. He never talked of the meats which appeared upon the table, never difcuffed whether they were well or ill dreffed, of good or bad flavour, high-feafoned or otherwife, preferable or inferior to this or that difh of a fimilar kind. Thus accuftomed, from my infancy, to the utmost ináttention as to these objects, I have always been perfectly regardless of what kind of food we before me; and I pay fo little attention toît exon now, that it would be a hard matter for me to recollect, a few hours after I had dined, of what my dinner had confifted. When travelling, I have particularly experienced the advantage of this habit; for it has often happened to me to be in company with persons, who, having a more delicate, because a more exercised tafte, have fuffered in many cafes confiderable inconvenience; while, as to myseif, I have had nothing to defire. My mother was likewife poffeffed of an excellent conftitution. She fuckled all her ten children, and I never heard either her or my father complain of any other diforder than that of which they died: my father at the age of eighty-leven, and mother at eighty-five. They are buried to C gether at Boston where, a few years ago, I placed a marble over their grave, with this inscription: "Here lie 66 JOSIAS FRANKLIN and ABIAH his wife: They "lived together with reciprocal affection for fif"ty-nine years; and without private fortune, "without lucrative employment, by affiduous la"bour and honeft induftry, decently fupported "a numerous family, and educated with success, "thirteen children, and feven grand children: "Let this example, reader, encourage thee dili"gently to discharge the duties of thy calling, "and to rely on the fupport of divine provi"dence. "He was pious and prudent, "She difcreet and virtuous, "Their youngest son, from a fentiment of filial se J.... confecrates this ftone 1 "To their memory.” Irceive, by my rambling digreffions, that I arging old. But we do not dress for a private company as for a formal ball. This deferves perhaps the name of negligence. To return. I thus continued employed in my father's trade for the space of two years; that is to fay, till I arrived at twelve years of age. About this time my brother John, who had ferved his apprenticeship in London, having quitted my father, and being married and fettled in business on his own account at Rhode-Island, I was destined, to all appearance, to fupply his place, and be a candle-maker all my life: but my dislike of this occupation continuing, my Father was apprehensive, that if a more agreeable |