tely more difficult to him than it would otherwise be;
and he not only has new customers to seek, but has their characters to
seek also, and knows not who is good and who not, till he buys that
knowledge by his experience, and perhaps sometimes pays too dear for it.

It was an odd circumstance of a tradesman in this city a few years ago,
who, being out of his time, and going to solicit one of his master's
customers to trade with him, the chapman did not so much as know him, or
remember that he had ever heard his name, except as he had heard his
master call his apprentice Jacob. I know some masters diligently watch
to prevent their apprentices speaking to their customers, and to keep
them from acquainting themselves with the buyers, that when they come
out of their times they may not carry the trade away with them.

To hinder an apprentice from an acquaintance with the dealers of both
sorts, is somewhat like Laban's usage of Jacob, namely, keeping back the
beloved Rachel, whom he served his seven years' time for, and putting
him off with a blear-eyed Leah in her stead; it is, indeed, a kind of
robbing him, taking from him the advantage which he served his time for,
and sending him into the world like a man out of a ship set on shore
among savages, who, instead of feeding him, are indeed more ready to eat
him up and devour him.[7]

An apprentice who has served out his time faithfully and diligently,
ought to claim it as a debt to his indentures, that his master should
let him into an open acquaintance with his customers; he does not else
perform his promise to teach him the art and mystery of his trade; he
does not make him master of his business, or enable him as he ought to
set up in the world; for, as buying is indeed the first, so selling is
the last end of trade, and the faithful apprentice ought to be fully
made acquainted with them both.

Next to being acquainted with his master's customers and chapmen, the
apprentice, when his time is near expiring, ought to acquaint himself
with the books, that is to say, to see and learn his master's method of
book-keeping, that he may follow it, if the method is good, and may
learn a better method in time, if it is not.

The tradesman should not be at a loss how to keep his books, when he is
to begin his trade; that would be to put him to school when he is just
come from school; his apprenticeship is, and ought in justice to be, a
school to him, where he ought to learn ever