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"Ben Franklin"
Benjamin Franklin, Autobiography: Page 52
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considerable share of mathematics, which he first studied with a view to
astrology, that he afterwards laught at it. He also became surveyor-general.
William Maugridge, a joiner, a most exquisite mechanic, and a solid, sensible
man.
Hugh Meredith, Stephen Potts, and George Webb I have characteriz'd before.
Robert Grace, a young gentleman of some fortune, generous, lively, and witty; a
lover of punning and of his friends.
And William Coleman, then a merchant's clerk, about my age, who had the coolest,
dearest head, the best heart, and the exactest morals of almost any man I ever
met with. He became afterwards a merchant of great note, and one of our
provincial judges. Our friendship continued without interruption to his death,
upward of forty years; and the club continued almost as long, and was the best
school of philosophy, morality, and politics that then existed in the province;
for our queries, which were read the week preceding their discussion, put us
upon reading with attention upon the several subjects, that we might speak more
to the purpose; and here, too, we acquired better habits of conversation, every
thing being studied in our rules which might prevent our disgusting each other.
From hence the long continuance of the club, which I shall have frequent
occasion to speak further of hereafter.
But my giving this account of it here is to show something of the interest I
had, every one of these exerting themselves in recommending business to us.
Breintnal particularly procur'd us from the Quakers the printing forty sheets of
their history, the rest being to be done by Keimer; and upon this we work'd
exceedingly hard, for the price was low. It was a folio, pro patria size, in
pica, with long primer notes. I compos'd of it a sheet a day, and Meredith
worked it off at press; it was often eleven at night, and sometimes later,
before I had finished my distribution for the next day's work, for the little
jobbs sent in by our other friends now and then put us back. But so determin'd I
was to continue doing a sheet a day of the folio, that one night, when, having
impos'd my forms, I thought my day's work over, one of them by accident was
broken, and two pages reduced to pi, I immediately distributed and compos'd it
over again before I went to bed; and this industry, visible to our neighbors,
began to give us character and credit; particularly, I was told, that mention
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