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made its appearance in America, and was entitled the New-England Courant. The only one that existed before was the Boston News Letter. Some of his friends, I remember, would have diffuaded him from this undertaking, as a thing. that was not likely to fucceed; a fingle newipaper being, in their opinion, sufficient for all America, At prefent, however, in 1777, there. are no less than twenty-five. But he carried his project into execution, and I was employed in diftributing the copies to his customers, after having affifted in compofing and working them off.

Among his friends he had a number of literary characters, who, as an amusement, wrote fhort ellays for the paper, which gave it reputation and increased its fale. These gentlemen came frequently to our houfe. I heard the converfa, tion that paffed, and the accounts they gave of the favourable reception of their writings with the public. I was tempted to try my hand among them; but, being still a child as it were, I was fearful that my brother might be unwilling to print in his paper any performance of which he fhould know me to be the author. I therefore contrived to difguife my hand, and having written an anonymous piece, I placed it at night under the door of the printing-houfe, where it was found the next morning. My brother communicated it to his friends, when they came as ufual to see him, who read it, commented upon it within my hearing, and I had the exquifite pleasure to find that it met with their approbation, and that, in the various conjectures

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they made refpecting the author, no one was mentioned who did not enjoy a high reputation in the country for talents and genius. I now fuppofed myself fortunate in my judges, and began to fufpect that they were not fuch excellent writers as I had hitherto fuppofed them. Be that as it may, encouraged by this little adventure, I wrote and fent to the prefs, in the same way, many other pieces, which were equally approved; keeping the fecret till my flender ftock of information and knowledge for fuch performances was pretty completely exhausted, when I made myself known.

My brother upon this dilcovery, began to entertain a little more respect for me; but he still regarded himself as my mafter, and treated me like an apprentice. He thought himself entitled to the fame fervices from me as from any other perfon. On the contrary, I conceived that, in many inftances, he was too rigorous, and that on the part of a brother, I had a right to expect greater indulgence. Our difputes were frequently brought before my father; and either my brother was generally in the wrong, or I was the better pleader of the two, for judgment was commonly given in my favour. But my brother was paffionate, and often had recourfe to blows; a circumstance which I took in very ill part. This fevere and tyrannical treatment contributed, I believe, to imprint on my mind that averfion to arbitrary power, which during my whole life I have ever preferved. My apprenticeship became infupportable to me, and I continually fighed for an opportunity of fhoitening it, which at length unexpectedly offered.

An article inferted in our paper upon fome political fubject which I have now forgotten, gave offence to the Affembly. My brother was taken into custody, cenfured, and ordered into confinement for a month, because, as I prefume, he would not discover the author. I was alfo taken up, and examined before the council; but, though I gave them no fatisfaction, they contented themselves with reprimanding, and then difmiffing me; confidering me probably as bound, in quality of apprentice, to keep my master's fecrets.

The imprisonment of my brother kindled my resentment, notwithstanding our private quarrels. During its continuance the management of the paper was entrusted to me, and I was bold enough to infert fome pafquerades against the governors; which highly pleafed my brother, while others began to look upon me in an unfavourable point of view, confidering me as a young wit inclined to fatire and lampoon.

My brother's enlargement was accompanied with an arbitrary order from the houfe of affembly, "That James Franklin fhould no longer "print the newspaper entitled the New-England "Courant." In this conjuncture, we held a confultation of our friends at the printing-house, in order, to determine what was proper to be done. Some proposed to evade the order, by changing the title of the brother paper: but my foreseeing inconveniences that would refult from this step, thought it better that it should in future be printed in the name of Benjamin Franklin; and to avoid the cenfure of the affembly, who

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might charge him with ftill printing the paper himself, under the name of his apprentice, it was refolved that my old indentures fhould be given e up to me, with a full and entire discharge writ ten on the back, in order to be produced upon an emergency: but that, to secure to my brother the benefit of my service, I fhould fign a new con tract, which fhould be kept fecret during the remainder of the term. This was a very fhal

low arrangement. It was, however, carried into immediate execution, and the paper conti nued, in confequence, to make its appearance for fome months in my name. At length a new difference arifing between my brother and me, I ventured to take advantage of my liberty, prefuming that he would not dare to produce the new contract. It was undoubtedly difhonorable to avail myself of this circumftance, and I reckon this action as one of the firft errors of my life; but I was little capable of eftimating it at its true value, embittered as my mind had been by the recollection of the blows I had received. Exclufively of his paffionate treatment of me, my brother was by no means a man of an ill temper, and perhaps my manners had too much of impertinence not to afford it a very natural pretext.

When he knew that it was my determination to quit him, he wifhed to prevent my finding employment elsewhere. He went to all the printing houfes in the town, and prejudiced the mafters against me; who accordingly refused to employ me. The idea then fuggefted itfelf to me of going to New-York, the neareft town in which there was a printing-office. Farther red

tion confirmed me in the defign of leaving

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Bofton, where I had already rendered myself an object of fufpicion to the governing party. It was probable, from the arbitrary proceedings of the affembly in the affair of my brother, that, by remaining, I fhould foon have been exposed to difficulties, which I had the greater reafon to apprehend, as, from my indifcreet difputes upon. the fubject of religion, I begun to be regarded, by pious fouls, with horror, either as an apoftate or an atheift. I came therefore to a refolution; but my father, in this inftance, fiding with my brother, I prefumed that if I attempted to depart openly, measures would be taken to prevent me. My friend Collins undertook to favour my flight. He agreed for my paffage with the Captain of a New-York floop, to whom he represented me as a young man of his acquaintance, who had had an-affair with a girl of bad character, whose parents wished to compel me to marry her, and that of confequence I could neither make my appearance or go off publicly. I fold part of my books to procure a small sum of money, and went privately on board the floop. By favour of a good wind, I found myself in three days at NewYork, nearly three hundred miles from my home, at the age only of feventeen years, without knowing an individual in the place, and with very little money in my pocket.

The inclination I had felt for a feafaring life was entirely fubfided, or I should now have been able to gratify it; but having another trade, and believing myself to be a tolerable workman, I hefitated not to offer my fervices to the old M. William Bradford, who had been the first printer

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