Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin; Written by Himself. [Vol. 1 of 2]: With His Most Interesting Essays, Letters, and Miscellaneous Writings; Familiar, Moral, Political, Economical, and Philosophical, Selected with Care from All His Published Productions, and Comprising Whatever Is Most Entertaining and Valuable to the General Reader — John Shaqi
Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin; Written by Himself. [Vol. 1 of 2]: With His Most Interesting Essays, Letters, and Miscellaneous Writings; Familiar, Moral, Political, Economical, and Philosophical, Selected with Care from All His Published Productions, and Comprising Whatever Is Most Entertaining and Valuable to the General ReaderFranklin, Benjamin
History
Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin; Written by Himself. [Vol. 1 of 2]: With His Most Interesting Essays, Letters, and Miscellaneous Writings; Familiar, Moral, Political, Economical, and Philosophical, Selected with Care from All His Published Productions, and Comprising Whatever Is Most Entertaining and Valuable to the General Reader
Franklin, Benjamin
Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790; Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790 -- Correspondence; Statesmen -- United States -- Biography
It rained very hard all the day; I was thoroughly soaked, and by noon a
good deal tired, so I stopped at a poor inn, where I stayed all night,
beginning now to wish I had never left home. I made so miserable a
figure too, that I found, by the questions asked me, I was suspected to
be some runaway indentured servant, and in danger of being taken up on
that suspicion. However, I proceeded next day, and got in the evening to
an inn within eight or ten miles of Burlington, kept by one Dr. Brown.
He entered into conversation with me while I took some refreshment, and,
finding I had read a little, became very obliging and friendly. Our
acquaintance continued all the rest of his life. He had been, I imagine,
an ambulatory quack doctor, for there was no town in England, or any
country in Europe, of which he could not give a very particular account.
He had some letters, and was ingenious; but he was an infidel, and
wickedly undertook, some years after, to turn the Bible into doggerel
verse, as Cotton had formerly done with Virgil. By this means he set
many facts in a ridiculous light, and might have done mischief with weak
minds if his work had been published; but it never was. At his house I
lay that night, and arrived the next morning at Burlington, but had the
mortification to find that the regular boats had gone a little before,
and no other expected to go before Tuesday, this being Saturday.
Wherefore I returned to an old woman in the town, of whom I had bought
some gingerbread to eat on the water, and asked her advice; she proposed
to lodge me till a passage by some other boat occurred. I accepted her
offer, being much fatigued by travelling on foot. Understanding I was a
printer, she would have had me remain in that town and follow my
business, being ignorant what stock was necessary to begin with. She was
very hospitable, gave me a dinner of ox-cheek with a great good-will,
accepting only of a pot of ale in return; and I thought myself fixed
till Tuesday should come. However, walking in the evening by the side of
the river, a boat came by which I found was going towards Philadelphia,
with several people in her. They took me in, and as there was no wind,
we rowed all the way; and about midnight, not having yet seen the city,
some of the company were confident we must have passed it, and would row
no farther: the others knew not where we were, so we put towards the
shore, got into a creek, landed near an old fence, with the rails of
which we made a fire, the night being cold, in October, and there we
remained till daylight. Then one of the company knew the place to be
Cooper's Creek, a little above Philadelphia, which we saw as soon as we
got out of the creek, and arrived there about eight or nine o'clock, on
the Sunday morning, and landed at Market-street wharf.
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