In April, 1724, Ben embarked for Boston, where, after a fortnight passage, he arrived in safety. Having been absent seven months from his relatives, who had never heard a syllable of him all that time, his sudden appearance threw the family into a scream of joy, and excepting his sour-faced brother James, the whole squad gave him a most hearty welcome. After much embracing and kissing, and some tears shed on both sides, as is usual at such meetings, Ben kindly inquired after his _brother James_, and went to see him at his printing-office, not without hopes of making a favourable impression on him by his dress, which was handsome far beyond what he had ever worn in his brother's service; a complete suit of broad cloth, branding new--an elegant silver watch and chain--and his purse crammed with nearly five pound sterling--all in silver dollars. But it would not all do to win over James. Nor indeed is it to be wondered at; for in losing Ben he had lost a most cheerful, obliging lad, whose rare genius and industry in writing, printing, and selling his pamphlets and papers, had brought a noble grist to his mill. Ben's parade therefore of his fine clothes, and watch, and silver dollars, only made things worse with James, serving but to make him the more sensible of his loss; so after eyeing him from head to foot with a dark side-long look, he turned again to his work without saying a syllable to him. The behaviour of his own journeymen contributed still the more to anger poor James: for instead of taking part with him in his prejudices against Ben, they all appeared quite delighted with him; and breaking off from their work and gathering around him, with looks full of curiosity, they asked him a world of questions. PHILADELPHIA! said they, O dear! have you been all the way there to Philadelphia! Ben said, yes. Why Philadelphia must be a _tarnal nation way off_! Four hundred miles, said Ben. At this they stared on him in silent wonder, for having been four hundred miles from Boston! And so they have got a printing-office in Philadelphia! Two or three of them, said Ben. O la! why that will starve us all here in Boston. Not at all, said Ben: their advertising "_lost pocket books_"--"_runaway servants_" and "_stray cows_" in Philadelphia, can no more starve you here in Boston, than the catfish of Delaware, by picking up a few soft-crabs there, can starve our catfish here in Boston harbour. The world's big enough for us all. Well, I wonder now if they have any such thing as _money_ in Philadelphia? Ben thrust his hand into his pocket, and brought up a whole fist full of dollars! The dazzling silver struck them all speechless--gaping and gazing at him and each other. Poor fellows, they had never, at once, seen so much of that precious metal in Boston, the money there being nothing but a poor paper proc.