The Beginner's American HistoryMontgomery, D. H. (David Henry)
History
The Beginner's American History
Montgomery, D. H. (David Henry)
United States -- History
113. Franklin's Sunday walk in Philadelphia; the rolls; Miss Read;
the Quaker meeting-house.--Franklin landed in Philadelphia on
Sunday morning (1723). He was tired and hungry; he had but a single
dollar in the world. As he walked along, he saw a bake-shop open.
He went in and bought three great, puffy rolls for a penny[11] each.
Then he started up Market Street, where he was one day to have his
newspaper office. He had a roll like a small loaf of bread tucked
under each arm, and he was eating the other as though it tasted good
to him. As he passed a house, he noticed a nice-looking young woman
at the door. She seemed to want to laugh; and well she might, for
Franklin appeared like a youthful tramp who had been robbing a
baker's shop. The young woman was Miss Deborah[12] Read. A number
of years later Franklin married her. He always said that he could
not have got a better wife.
[Illustration: Map of Franklin's route from Boston to Philadelphia.]
Franklin kept on in his walk until he came to the Delaware. He took
a hearty drink of river water to settle his breakfast, and then gave
away the two rolls he had under his arm to a poor woman with a child.
On his way back from the river he followed a number of people to a
Quaker meeting-house. At the meeting no one spoke. Franklin was tired
out, and, not having any preacher to keep him awake, he soon fell
asleep, and slept till the meeting was over. He says, "This was the
first house I was in, or slept in, in Philadelphia."
[Footnote 11: Penny: an English coin worth two cents.]
[Footnote 12: Deborah (Deb'o-rah).]
114. Franklin finds work; he goes back to Boston on a visit; he learns
to stoop.--The next day the young man found some work in a
printing-office. Six months afterward he decided to go back to Boston
to see his friends. He started on his journey with a good suit of
clothes, a silver watch, and a well-filled purse.
While in Boston, Franklin went to call on a minister who had written
a little book[13] which he had been very fond of reading. As he was
coming away from the minister's house, he had to go through a low
passage-way under a large beam. "Stoop! Stoop!" cried out the
gentleman; but Franklin did not understand him, and so hit his head
a sharp knock against the beam. "Ah," said his friend, as he saw him
rubbing his head, "you are young, and have the world before you;
_stoop_ as you go through it, and you will miss many hard thumps."
Franklin says that this sensible advice, which was thus beat into
his head, was of great use afterward; in fact, he learned then how
to stoop to conquer.
[Illustration: FRANKLIN LEARNING TO STOOP.]
[Footnote 13: The name of this book, written by the Rev. Cotton Mather,
was _Essays to do Good_.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account