writings produce me some solid pudding, the great deficiency of praise would have quite discouraged me.

I concluded at length that the people were the best judges of my merit, for they buy my works; and besides, in my rambles, where I am not personally known I have frequently heard one or other of my adages repeated, with as Poor Richard says at the end of it. This gave me some satisfaction, as it showed not only that my instructions were regarded, but discovered likewise some respect for my authority; and I own that, to encourage the practice of remembering and repeating those sentences, I have sometimes quoted myself with great gravity.

Judge, then, how much I must have been gratified by an incident I am

going to relate to you. I stopped my horse lately where a great number of people were collected at a vendue of merchant's goods. The hour of sale not being come, they were conversing on the badness of the times; and one of the company called to a plain, clean old man with white locks, Pray, Father Abraham, what think you of the times? Won't these heavy taxes quite ruin the country? How shall we ever be able to pay them? What would you advise us to?" Father Abraham stood up, and replied: "If you would have my advice, I will give it you in short; for 'a word to the wise is enough,' and 'many words won't fill a bushel,' as Poor Richard says." They all joined desiring him to speak his mind, and

7

gathering around him he proceeded as follows:

Friends and neighbours, the taxes are indeed very heavy, and if those laid on by the government were the only ones we had to pay, we might the more easily discharge them; but we have many others, and much more grievous to some of us. We are taxed twice as much by our Idleness, three times as much by our Pride, and four times as much by our Folly; and from these taxes the commissioners cannot ease or deliver us by allowing an abatement. However, let us hearken to good advice, and something may be done for us. "God helps them that help themselves," as Poor Richard says in his almanac of 1733.

It would be thought a hard govern

AC

as

se

he

ht

ut

re

ed

ee

ur

m

ot

ce

to

be

at

ys

7

ment that should tax its people one-
tenth part of their Time, to be em-
ployed in its service, but idleness taxes
many of us much more, if we reckon
all that is spent in absolute sloth or
doing of nothing, with that which is
spent in idle employments or amuse-
ments that amount to nothing. Sloth,
by bringing on diseases, absolutely
shortens life. "Sloth, like rust, con-
sumes faster than labour wears; while
the used key is always bright," as Poor
Richard says.
"But dost thou love
life? then do not squander time, for
that's the stuff life is made of," as Poor
Richard says.

How much more than is necessary
do we spend in sleep! forgetting that
"the sleeping fox catches no poultry," -
and that "there will be sleeping enough

in the grave," as Poor Richard says. If time be of all things the most precious, "wasting of time must be," as Poor Richard says, "the greatest prodigality;" since, as he elsewhere tells us, "lost time is never found again," and what we call "time enough! always proves little enough." Let us, then, up and be doing, and doing to the purpose; so by diligence shall we do more with less perplexity. "Sloth makes all things difficult, but industry all things easy," as Poor Richard says; and "He that riseth late must trot all day, and shall scarce overtake his business at night; while laziness travels so slowly that poverty soon overtakes him," as we read in Poor Richard; who adds, "Drive thy business! let not that drive thee!" and: