assumed on his arrival in New England, because he found that his dyeing trade, being in little request, would not maintain his family. Accordingly, I was employed in cutting wicks for the candles, filling the moulds for cast candles, attending the shop, going of errands, etc.

I disliked the trade, and had a strong inclination to go to sea; but my father declared against it. But, residing near the water, I was much in it and on it. I learned to swim well and to manage boats; and, when embarked with other boys, I was commonly allowed to govern, especially in any case of difficulty; and upon other occasions I was generally the leader among the boys, and sometimes led them into scrapes, of which I will mention one instance, as it shows an early projecting public spirit, though not then justly conducted. There was a salt marsh, which bounded part of the mill-pond, on the edge of which, at high water, we used to stand to fish for minnows. By much trampling we had made it a mere quagmire. My proposal was to build a wharf there for us to stand upon, and I showed my comrades a large heap of stones, which were intended for a new house near the marsh, and which would very well suit our purpose. Accordingly in the evening, when the workmen were gone home, I assembled a number of my play-fellows, and we worked diligently like so many emmets, sometimes two or three to a stone, till we brought

them all to make our little wharf. The next morning the workmen were surprised at missing the stones, which had formed our wharf. Inquiry was made after the authors of this transfer; we were discovered, complained of and corrected by our fathers; and, though I demonstrated the utility of our work, mine convinced me, that that which was not honest, could not be truly useful.

I suppose you may like to know what kind of a man my father was. He had an excellent constitution, was of a middle stature, well set, and very strong. He could draw prettily, and was skilled a little in music. His voice was sonorous and agreeable, so that when he played on his violin, and sung withal, as he was accustomed to do after the business of the day was over, it was extremely agreeable to hear. He had some knowledge of mechanics, and on occasion was very handy with other tradesmen's tools. But his great excellence was his sound understanding, and his solid judgment in prudential matters, both in private and public affairs. It is true he was never employed in the latter, the numerous family he had to educate, and the straitness of his circumstances, keeping him close to his trade; but I remember well his being frequently visited by leading men, who consulted him for his opinion in public affairs, and those of the church he belonged to; and who showed a great respect for his judgment and advice.

He was also much consulted by private persons about their affairs, when any difficulty occurred, and frequently chosen an arbitrator between contending parties. At his table he liked to have, as often as he could, some sensible friend or neighbour to converse with, and always took care to start some ingenious or useful topic for discourse, which might tend to improve the minds of his children. By this means he turned our attention to what was good, just, and prudent, in the conduct of life; and little or no notice was ever taken of what related to the victuals on the table; whether it was well or ill-dressed, in or out of season, of good or bad flavour, preferable or inferior to this or that other thing of the kind; so that I was brought up in such a perfect inattention to those matters as to be quite indifferent what kind of food was set before me. Indeed, I am so unobservant of it, that to this day I can scarce tell a few hours after dinner of what dishes it consisted. This has been a great convenience to me in travelling, where my companions have been sometimes very unhappy for want of a suitable gratification of their more delicate, because better instructed, tastes and appetites.

My mother had likewise an excellent constitution; she suckled all her ten children. I never knew either my father or mother to have any sickness, but that of which they died; he at eighty-nine, and she at eighty-five years of age. They lie buried together at

Boston, where I some years since placed a marble over their grave, with this inscription:

JOSIAH FRANKLIN

and

ABIAH his wife,

Lie here interred.

They lived lovingly together in wedlock,
Fifty-five years;

And without an estate or any gainful employment,
But constant labour, and honest industry,
(With God's blessing.)

Maintained a large family comfortably;

And brought up thirteen children and seven grandchildren Reputably.

From this instance, Reader,

Be encouraged to diligence in thy calling,
And distrust not Providence.

He was a pious and prudent man,
She a discreet and virtuous woman.
Their youngest son,

In filial regard to their memory,
Places this stone.

J. F. born 1655; died 1744. Æt. 89.

A. F. born 1667; died 1752.

Et. 85.*

The marble stone on which this inscription was en graved, having become decayed, and the inscription itself defaced by time, a more durable monument has been erected over the graves of the father and mother of Franklin. The suggestion was first made at a meeting of the building committee of the Bunker Hill Monument Association, in the autumn of 1826, and it met with universal approbation. A committee of management was organized, and an amount

By my rambling digressions, I perceive myself to be grown old. I used to write more methodically.

of money adequate to the object was soon contributed by the voluntary subscriptions of a large number of the citizens of Boston. The corner-stone was laid on the 15th of June, 1827, and an address appropriate to the occasion was pronounced by General Henry A. S. Dearborn.

The monument is an obelisk of granite, twenty-one feet high, which rests on a square base, measuring seven feet on each side, and two feet in height. The obelisk is composed of fire massive blocks of granite placed one above another. On one side is the name of Franklin in large bronze letters, and a little below is a tablet of bronze, thirtytwo inches long and sixteen wide, sunk into the stone. On this tablet is engraved Dr. Franklin's original inscription, as quoted in the text, and beneath it are the following lines:

The marble tablet,

Bearing the above inscription,

Having been dilapidated by the ravages of time,
A number of citizens,

Entertaining the most profound veneration
For the memory of the illustrious
Benjamin Franklin,

And desirous of reminding succeeding generations,
That he was born in Boston, A. D. MDCCVI,

Erected this
Obelisk

Over the graves of his parents.

MDCCCXXVII.

A silver plate was deposited under the corner-stone, with an inscription commemorative of the occasion; a part of