out Food--Guests introduced
and sensible Remarks made--Effect on Benjamin--The Washburne
Family--Benefit of Good Conversation--His Father's Remarks about
Food--Benjamin Temperate in Eating and Drinking--"The Water-
American"--No Temperance Societies then--Table Talk now--A
Table Scene 55-63

CHAPTER VII.

CHOOSING A TRADE.

Still Opposed to Candle-making--A Dirty, Simple Business--Wants to
do something that requires Ingenuity--His Father and Mother
conferring together--"A rolling stone gathers no moss"--Afraid he
will go to Sea--Benjamin's Views and Maxims--Opportunity to choose a
Trade--Going to see different Trades--Devotes a Day to it--Joiners',
Turners', and Bricklayers' Work--Cutlery Shop, his Cousin's--Which
Trade he chose--His Father's Decision--Arrangement to learn to make
Cutlery--Wise to Consult Taste and Tact of Benjamin--Handel the
Musician--Sir Joshua Reynolds--Father of John Smeaton--Opposing a
Child's Bent of Mind 64-75

CHAPTER VIII.

THE PRINTER-BOY.

Taken Away from Cousin Samuel--His Brother's Return from England--
Setting Up the Printing Business--Proposal to Benjamin--A Long
Apprenticeship--Benjamin disposed to turn Printer-boy--His Brother's
Offer to Teach Him the Art of Printing--Borrowing Books to read,
and sitting up at Night--Mr. Adams's Library and his Kindness--
Going to it for Books--Scarcity of Books--Compared with now--Two
and a half Books made in a Minute--No Libraries then--Their
enormous Size now--Habit of Reading made him punctual--Example of
Lord Brougham 76-84

CHAPTER IX.

FIRST LITERARY ENTERPRISE.

A Piece of Poetry--Pronounced Good--Proposition to Print his
Articles--"The Lighthouse Tragedy"--A Sailor's Song--Printing
them--Selling them in the Streets--A Successful Enterprise--His
Father opposes--Condemns Poetry in general and Benjamin's in
particular--A severe Rebuke--Crestfallen--Conference with James--
His Father's Censure a Benefit--Practice of writing Composition
excellent--How it Benefited Benjamin, even Pecuniarily--The Farmer's
Son and Minister 85-92

CHAPTER X.

THE DISPUTE.

Dispute with John Collins--A Bookish Fellow--The Education of
Girls--The Controversial Correspondence--H