hard for Franklin only while he was in the gristle of his youth. The case was thus: among the myriads of books which came to his eager tooth, there was a most unluckly one on deism, written, 'tis said, by Shaftesbury, a man admirably calculated to pervert the truth; or, as Milton says of one of his fallen spirits, to make "the worse appear the better reason." Mark now this imposing writer -he does not utter you a word against religion; not he indeed: no, not for the world. Why, sirs, he's the best friend of religion. He praises it up to the skies, as the sole glory of man, the strong pillar of his virtues, and the inexhaustible fountain of all his hopes. But then he cannot away with that false religion, that detestable superstition called christianity. And here, to set his readers against it, he gives them a most horrible catalogue of the cruelties and bloody persecutions it has always occasioned in the world, nay, he goes so far as to assert that christians are the natural enemies of mankind; "vainly concerting themselves," says he, "to be the favorites of heaven, they look on the rest of the world but as "heathen dogs" whom it is "doing God service to kill,” and whose goods it is right to seize on, as spoil for the Lord's people! "Who," asks he crowingly, "filled Asia with fire and sword in the bloody wars of the Crusades? The christians. Who depopulated the fine negro-coasts of Africa? The christians. Who extirpated many of the once glorious Indian nations of America? The christians; nay," continues he, "so keen are those christians for blood, that when they can't get their 'heathen dogs' to fall on, they fall on one another: witness the papist christians destroying the protestants, and the protestant christians destroying the papists. And still greater shame," says he, "to these sweet followers of the Lamb; these papist and protestant christians, when they can no longer worry each other, will worry those of their own party, as in numberless and shameful cases of the calvinists and arminians; nay, so prone are the christians to hate, that their greatest doctors even their pulpits, instead of exhorting to piety and those godlike virtues, that make men honor and love one another, will fix on the vainest speculations; which, though not understood by one soul among them, yet serve abun

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dantly to set them all by the ears; yes, they can hate one another:

For believing that there are three persons in the Godhead; or only one person.

For believing that there are children in hell not a span long: or for not believing it.

For believing that every body will be saved; or for believing that scarcely any body will be saved.

For baptizing in mill ponds; or only out of china bowls.

For taking the sacrament in both elements; or only in the bread.

For praying in Latin; or for praying only in English.

For praying with a book; or for praying without a book.

For praying standing; or for praying kneeling.

For reading the Bible by themselves; or for reading it only with a priest.

For wearing long beards; or for shaving their beards. For preaching up predestination; or for preaching up free will.

"Now," continues our writer, "barely to hate one's neighbours for such notions as these, were enough, one would think, to make any common devil blush; but these christians, as if to out d-1 Satan himself, can not only hate but actually murder one another for these contradictory notions! yes, and ob, horrible to think! not only murder, but even glory in it: at every shower of cruel bullets on their flying victims; or at every plunge of the reeking spear into the bodies of shrieking mothers and infants, they can cheer each other to the glorious spot with animating huzzas! and even when the infernal tragedy is closed, they can write congratulatory letters, and sing Te deums, giving glory to God that the MONSTERS-the BEASTS-the HERETICS, are rooted

out."

Such was the prince of infidels. And it was the very argument to stagger Ben, even the dangerous argument of example, which young as he was, he had learned to consider as a short way of coming at men's real princi ples.

"Example is a living law, whose way

Men more than all the living laws obey."

Or as Hudibras has it,

"Men oft prove it by their practice
No argument like matter of fact is.
And we are, best of all, led to

Men's principles, by what they do."

'Tis true, that to tax the gospel with these accursed deeds of mad papists and protestants is just about as good logic as to accuse our excellent civil code with all the crimes of gamblers and horse thieves-the very rascals it aims to hang. Or like charging the sun as the cause of darkness, which indeed it was given to dispel.

But Ben was too young yet, to know every thing. And besides, led altogether as he was by the strongest feelings of sympathy, it is not much to be wondered at, that this popular argument "the barbarities of christians," should have excited so lasting prejudice against christianity. As some men of delicate natures who have taken an emetic, though in the best madeira, can never afterwards bear the smell of that generous liquor; so christianity, steeped in tears and blood, excited, in Ben an aversion that stuck by, him a long time. In short, Ben became an unbeliever. And like Paul of Tarsus, during the reign of his unbelief, "he thought verily he ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth, which things he also did," arguing powerfully for natural religion.

How many converts he made to infidelity I have never been able exactly to learn. But certain it is, he made two, viz. John Collins and James Ralph. As to Collins, we have seen already that in converting him to scepticism, he soon drew down an old house over his head, his pupil quickly turning out a most impudent drunkard and swindler. And though he expected better luck from Ralph, yet he quickly discovered in him also certain very dismal symptoms of the cloven foot.

Some short time before the sailing of the Annis, Ben, in the warmth of his heart, told Ralph of the immense affair which sir William Keith had engaged him in, viz. to make him the KING'S PRINTER in Philadelphia. And also that he was about to sail in a few days on that very

errand for London. Ralph suddenly turned serious, the next day he came and told Ben that he had made up his mind to go with him. "How can that be," said Ben "seeing you have a young wife and child?" To this Ralph replied, with an oath, that "that should be no obstacle." "It was true," he said, "he had married the wench, but it was only for her money. But since the old rascal, her father, would not give it to him, he was determined to be revenged on him, by leaving his daughter and grandchild on his hands for life."

Ben, though greatly shocked by this trait in his character, was yet so blindly partial to Ralph that he could not find in his heart to spurn him from his acquaintance. But for this, as he afterwards called it, great error in his life," he received a chastisement, which, though pretty severe, was not one stripe more than he richly deserved.

CHAPTER XXIV.

THE day at length arrives, the long wished day for the sailing of the Annis: And Ben gladly hails it as the fairest he had ever seen.

All in the stream the ship she lies,
Her topsails loosen'd from above;
When Ben to DEBBY fondly flies

To bid farewell to his TRUE LOVE.

But brightly as shone the day, yet in this as in all the past, he found a canker. If the season served his ambition, it crossed his love. The reader will please be reminded that the Debby, immortalized in the lines above, was the beautiful Miss Deborah Read, who had at first so heartily laughed at Ben for munching his roll along the street; but afterwards had fallen very much in love with him. And on the other hand, living in her father's family and daily a spectator of her prudence and sweetness of spirit, he had become equally partial to her; and had even asked her in marriage, before he set out for London. The old gentleman, her father, was quite keen

for the match, it having always been his opinion, he said, that in choosing a husband for his daughter, it was better to get a man without money than money without a man.

But old Mrs. Read flatly refused her consent; or, at any rate until his return, when, as she said, it would be full time enough for "such young people to marry.” The truth is, the printing trade, then in its infancy in Pennsylvania, was of such little account that the old lady had her fears that her daughter would starve if she married Ben.

Having taken leave of his fair sweetheart, with many a vow of love and swift return, Ben, accompanied by Ralph, hastened on board the ship, which fell down the river for Newcastle. Immediately on his arrival at this place, he went on shore to see his dear friend the governor, who was come down to dispatch the packet. The governor could not be seen! This was a sad shock to Ben, and would have been much more so, but for the attentions of the governor's secretary, doctor Bar, who, with the finest smile imaginable, presented the "GOVERNOR's compliments to his young friend Mr. Franklinwas extremely sorry indeed he could not see him; owing to a press of business, among which was that of writing some letters for his own special service, which should be sent on board to him-but though his ExCELLENCY could not enjoy the pleasure of seeing Mr. Franklin, yet begged he would accept the assurances of his eternal friendship, with the best wishes of his prosperous voyage and speedy return; and above all, his earnest hopes that he would continue to improve his extraordinary talents."

Though this was to Ben somewhat like a sugar plumb to a child after a dose of wormwood, yet could it not so entirely take off the bitter, but that he was at first prodigiously in a humour to break with the governor. His characteristic prudence, however, came to his aid; and fortunately recollecting that it was not a common man, but a GOVERNOR, he was dealing with, and that such great men have their ways of doing things quite different from little people, he smothered his resentment and went peaceably on board the ship-not even yet suspecting any fraud on the part of the governor. When we consider how dear to the young and virtuous bosom