y to
support, and cannot afford the expense."

In fact, Mr. Franklin found it so difficult to provide bread for his
family, that, when the boy was ten years old, it became necessary to take
him from school. Ben was then employed in cutting candlewicks into equal
lengths, and filling the moulds with tallow; and many families in Boston
spent their evenings by the light of the candles which he had helped to
make. Thus, you see, in his early days, as well as in his manhood his
labors contributed to throw light upon dark matters.

Busy as his life now was, Ben still found time to keep company with his
former schoolfellows. He and the other boys were very fond of fishing, and
spent any of their leisure hours on the margin of the mill-pond, catching
flounders, perch, eels, and tom-cod, which came up thither with the tide.
The place where they fished is now, probably, covered with stone-pavements
and brick buildings, and thronged with people, and with vehicles of all
kinds. But, at that period, it was a marshy spot on the outskirts of the
town, where gulls flitted and screamed overhead, and salt meadow-grass
grew under foot. On the edge of the water there was a deep bed of clay, in
which the boys were forced to stand, while they caught their fish. Here
they dabbled in mud and mire like a flock of ducks.

"This is very uncomfortable," said Ben Franklin one day to his comrades,
while they were standing mid-leg deep in the quagmire.

"So it is," said the other boys. "What a pity we have no better place to
stand!"

If it had not been for Ben, nothing more would have been done or said
about the matter. But it was not in his nature to be sensible of an
inconvenience, without using his best efforts to find a remedy. So, as he
and his comrades were returning from the water-side, Ben suddenly threw
down his string of fish with a very determined air:

"Boys," cried he, "I have thought of a scheme, which will be greatly for
our benefit, and for the public benefit!"

It was queer enough, to be sure, to hear this little chap--this
rosy-cheeked, ten-year-old boy--talking about schemes for the public
benefit! Nevertheless, his companions were ready to listen, being assured
that Ben's scheme, whatever it was, would be well worth their attention.
They remembered how sagaciously he had conducted all their enterprises,
ever since he had been old enough to wear small-clothes.

They remembered, too, his wonderful contrivance of sailing acro