, from twelve to twenty-one. During the last year he was to
receive a journeyman's wages. The following extract from this form of
indenture of apprenticeship, which was in common use in the reign of
George the First, will be read with interest.

"He shall neither buy nor sell without his master's license.
Taverns, inns, or ale-houses he shall not haunt. At cards,
dice, tables, or any other unlawful game he shall not play.
Matrimony he shall not contract; nor from the service of his
said master day nor night absent himself, but in all things,
as an honest and faithful apprentice, shall and will demean
and behave himself towards his said master and all his,
during said term. And the said James Franklin, the master,
for and in consideration of the sum of ten pounds of lawful
British money to him in hand paid by the said Josiah
Franklin, the father, the receipt of which is hereby
acknowledged, the said apprentice in the art of a printer
which he now useth, shall teach and instruct or cause to be
taught and instructed the best way and manner that he can,
finding and allowing unto the said apprentice, meat, drink,
washing, lodging and all other necessaries during the said
term."

Benjamin devoted himself with great assiduity to learn the trade of a
printer. The office in which he worked, stood at the corner of
Franklin avenue and Court street. For three years, Franklin was thus
employed, apparently never seeking recreation, and never having a
moment of leisure save such as he could rescue from sleep or from his
meals. There were at that time several bookstores in Boston. The
eminent men of that province had brought with them to the New World,
literary and scientific tastes of a high order. Even then the axe of
the settler had been heard but at a short distance in the primeval
forests, which still encircled all the large towns. Bears were not
unfrequently shot from Long Wharf, as they swam from island to island,
or endeavored to cross the solitary bay. It is said that at that time
twenty bears were often shot in a week.

Benjamin Franklin, inspired by his love of reading, cultivated
friendly relations with the clerks in the bookstores. From them he
borrowed interesting volumes, which he took home in the evening with
the utmost care, and having spent most of the night in reading, would
return them at an early hour in the morning, before the