but I am now convinced that there are limits beyond which paper money would be prejudicial. I foon after obtained, by the influence of my friend Hamilton, the printing of the Newcastle paper money, another profitable work, as I then thought it, little things appearing great to perfons of moderate fortune; and they were really great to me, as proving great encouragements. He also procured me the printing of the laws and votes of that government, which I retained as I continued in the business.

I now opened a small ftationer's fhop. I kept bonds and agreements of all kinds, drawn up in a more accurate form than had yet been feen in that part of the world; a work in which I was affifted by my friend Breintnal. I had alfo paper, parchment, pafteboard, books, &c. One Whitemash, an excellent compofitor, whom I had known in London, came to offer himself. I engaged him; and he continued conftantly and diligently to work with me. I alfo took an apprentice, the fon of Aquila Rose.

I began to pay, by degrees, the debt I had contracted; and in order to infure my credit and character as a tradesman, I took care not only to be really industrious and frugal, but also to avoid every appearance of the contrary. I was plainly dreffed, and never feen in any place of public amufement. I never went a fishing or hunting. A book indeed enticed me fometimes from my work, but it was feldom, by ftealth, and occafioned no fcandal; and to fhow that I did not think myself above my profeffion, I conveyed home fometimes in a wheelbarrow the paper I purchased at the warehouses.

I thus obtained the reputation of being an induftrious young man, and very punctual in his payments. The merchants who imported arti

cles

cles of ftationary folicited my cuftom; others offered to furnish me with books, and my little trade went on profperously.

Meanwhile the credit and bufinefs of Keimer diminishing every day, he was at laft forced to fell his ftock to fatisfy his creditors; and he betook himself to Barbadoes, where he lived for fome time in a very impoverished ftate. His apprentice, David Harry, whom I had inftructed while I worked with Keimer, having bought his materials, fucceeded him in the bufinefs. I was apprehensive, at first, of finding in Harry a powerful competitor, as he was allied to an opulent and refpectable family; I therefore propofed a partnership, which, happily for me, he rejected with difdain. He was extremely proud, thought himself a fine gentleman, lived extravagantly, and purfued amusements which fuffered him to be scarcely ever at home; of confequence he became in debt, neglected his business, and business 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 Harry ftill getting in debt, was obliged at laft to fell his prefs and types, and return to his old occupation of husbandry in Pennsylvania. The person 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 eafy circumftances, 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. had, however, one advantage over me, as he had the direction of the poft office, and was of confequence

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fequence fuppofed to have better opportunities of obtaining news. His paper was alfo fuppofed to be more advantageous to advertising cuftomers; and in confequence of that fuppofition, his advertisements were much more numerous than mine: this was a fource of great profit to him, and difadvantageous to me. It was to no purpose that I really procured other papers, and distributed my own, by means of the poft; the public took for granted my inability in this refpect; 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 difguft 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 houfe, and half of the fhop for his bufinefs; at which indeed he worked very little, being always abforbed by mathematics. Mrs. Godfrey formed a wifh of marrying me to the daughter of one of her relations. She contrived various opportunities of bringing us together, till The 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 last it was time to come to an explanation. Mrs. Godfrey undertook to negociate our little treaty. I gave her to understand, that I expected to receive with the young lady a fum of money that would enable me at least to discharge the remainder of my debt for my printing materials. It was then, I believe, not more than a hundred pounds. She brought

brought me for anfwer, that they had no fuch fum at their difpofal. I obferved that it might eafily be obtained, by a mortgage on their house. The reply to 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 fupplied by new ones; that Keimer and Harry had failed, and that, probably, I fhould do fo too. Accordingly they forbade me the houfe, 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 fecretly, which would leave them at liberty to give or not as they pleased. But, fufpecting this motive, I never went again to their houfe.

Some time after Mrs. Godfrey informed me that they were very favourably difpofed towards me, and wifhed 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 house. 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 poffefs 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 unaccompanied

with expence and inconvenience, befides the perpetual risk of injuring my health, and catching a disease which I dreaded above all things. But I was fortunate enough to escape this danger. As a neighbour and old acquaintance, I had kept up a friendly intimacy with the family of Mifs Read. Her parents had retained an affection for me from the time of my lodging in their houfe. I was often invited thither; they con-fulted me about their affairs, and I had been fometimes ferviceable to them. I was touched with the unhappy fituation of their daughter, who was almost always melancholy, and continually feeking folitude. I regarded my forgetfulness and inconftancy, during my abode in London, as the principal caufe of her misfortune; though her mother had the candour to attribute the fault to herself, rather than to me, because, after having prevented our marriage previously to my departure, fhe had induced her to marry another in my abfence.

Our mutual affection revived; but there ex ifted 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 distance; 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 fued. We ventured nevertheless, in fpite of all these difficulties; and I married her on the firft of September 1730.. 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.