THOUGH we remember that Benjamin Franklin was the son of christian parents, and had been given to the Lord in baptism only a few hours after his birth, he had never owned himself to be a sinner needing a Savior. His naturally kind and generous disposition had made him a favorite not only in the home circle, but among the young people of Boston; but he had no sure guide, or any higher wisdom than his own in which to trust, so we shall not be surprised to find that under the pressure of great temptation he was easily led into wrong-doing.
Having chosen the business of a printer, he put his whole heart into his work, and soon became a skilful compositor. We must not linger over the first two or three years of his apprenticeship; they were far from being happy ones. His elder brother James, who was also his master, treated him with great unkindness, never seeming to be pleased with him, even when he had tried very hard to please him, and often giving him a severe beating.
That James was jealous of the ability his younger brother had displayed as a writer there is hardly any room for doubt. This may have been one cause of his unkindness and unbrotherly conduct. Then a year or two later, when James got into trouble with the council, and was forbidden to edit his newspaper, Benjamin took up the work, and for six months, though at the time he was not quite seventeen years of age, proved himself an able editor. His success only made his brother more angry. As an apprentice Benjamin would not have been allowed to edit a paper; so he was obliged, though unwillingly, to give his brother his indentures.
After some months James was again the editor. But things in the printing office seemed to get from bad to worse. The jealousy of James allowed his angry feelings towards his brother to grow into actual dislike, till at last Ben made up his mind that he could and would no longer put up with his brother's unkindness, but would run away from home and go to New York, a journey of not less than three hundred miles.
There was only one person to whom he ventured to say a word about his intention, and that one was his boy friend, John Collins, who kept his secret, and as far as he could helped to secure a passage. The sloop on which Benjamin had taken passage was a slow sailor, and it was almost three days before it anchored in the harbor of New York. During the voyage he had plenty of time to think, and to ask himself if he had acted rightly in leaving the home and friends of his boyhood in the way that he had done. His mother! When he thought of her tears filled his eyes, and he had to force back a great sob, for he knew she would be almost brokenhearted as days grew into weeks, and there was no letter from her absent boy. His father too would be sad and anxious, and his brothers and sisters would miss him, oh, so much! Yet he thought he could not, dared not write.
When he landed on the quay at New York, he felt that he was indeed a stranger in a strange city. He had very little money left, and he did not know one person. His first care must be to try to find employment, if he could, in a printing office.
He had heard of a Mr. Bradford, a printer who had removed from Philadelphia to New York some time before, and his first call was upon him.
“Can I get employment in your office?" he asked.
“I am not in want of any extra help at present," was Mr. Bradford's somewhat discouraging reply. "Are you a printer?”
“Yes, sir; I have been three years in a printing office.”
“Three years! You ought to have learned your trade thoroughly. I am sorry I cannot employ you, but things here are very dull just now.”
“Do you think I shall be able to find work in any other office here?”
“I am afraid not. Everything is very quiet. I believe you might if you could get to Philadelphia. My son has an office there on the same lines as mine; his best workman died only a week ago, and if you could get there, I think it is very likely he would employ you.”
“How far is it to Philadelphia?"
"About a hundred miles.”
“Thank you, sir; if I cannot get work here I'll go to Philadelphia, even if I have to walk the whole way.”
He tried to get employment at every office he could find or hear of, but with no better success, and so in a few days his pockets were almost empty.
“What is the best way of getting to Philadelphia?" he asked.
“You can get a boat for half the distance, and then take another. You have my good wishes, and I hope you will soon get work. Trade is not so quiet there as it is here.”