Dear Sonhoid什么意思, agfa I have ever had a pleasure in obtaining any little anecdotes of my ancestors. You may remember the enquiries I made among the remains of my relations when you were with me in England and the journey I undertook for that purpo. Imagining it may be equally agreeable to you to know the circumstances of my life — many of which you are yet unacquainted with — and expecting a week's uninterrupted Leisure in my prent country retirement, I sit down to write them for you. Besides, there are some other inducements that excite me to this undertaking. From the poverty and obscurity in which I was born and in which I pasd my earliest years, I have raid mylf to a state of affluence and some degree of celebrity in the world. As constant good fortune has accompanied me even to an advanced period of life, my posterity will perhaps be desirous of learning the means, which I employed, and which, thanks to Providence , so well succeeded with me. They may also deem them fit to be imitated, should any of them find themlves in similar circumstances. That good fortune, when I reflected on it, which is frequently the ca, has induced me sometimes to say that were it left to my choice , I should have no objection to go over the same life from its beginning to the end, only asking the advantage authors have of correcting in a cond edition some faults of the first. So would I also wish to change some incidents of it for others more favorable. Notwithstanding, if this condition were denied, I should still accept the offer. But as this repetition is not to be expected, that which rembles most living one's life over again, ems to be to recall all the circumstances of it；and, to render this remembrance more durable, to record them in writing. In thus employing mylf I shall yield to the inclination so natural to old men of talking of themlves and their own actions, and I shall indulge it, without being tiresome to tho who, from respect to my age, might conceive themlves obliged to listen to me, since they will be always free to read me or not. And lastly (I may as well confess it, as the denial of it would be believed by nobody) I shall perhaps not a little gratify my own vanity. Indeed, I never heard or saw the introductory words," Without Vanity I may say," etc., but some vain thing immediately followed. Most people dislike vanity in others whatever share they have of it themlves, but I give it fair quarter wherever I meet with it, being persuaded that it is often productive of good to the posssor and to others who are within his sphere of action. And therefore, in many cas it would not be altogether absurd if a man were to thank God for his vanity among the other comforts of life. And now I speak of thanking God, I desire with all humility to acknowledge that I owe the mentioned happiness of my past life to his divine providence , which led me to the means I ud and gave them success. My belief of this induces me to hope, though I must not presume, that the same goodness will still be exercid towards me in continuing that happiness or in enabling me to bear a fatal rever, which I may experience as others have done — the complexion of my future fortune being known to him only, and in who power it is to bless to us even our afflictions.
[Following the altercation with his older brother to whom Franklin had been apprenticed (and who oppressive treatment of Franklin, the latter says, gave him "that aversion to arbitrary power that has stuck to me through my whole life"), and after a brush with the law, the venteen-year-old lad leaves Boston and comes to Philadelphia, the city who first citizen he would eventually become.] This might be one occasion of the differences we began to have about this time. Though a brother, he considered himlf as my master and me as his apprentice, and accordingly expected the same rvices from me as he would from another; while I thought he degraded me too much in some he required of me, who from a brother expected more indulgence. Our disputes were often brought before our father, and I fancy I was either generally in the right or el a better pleader, becau the judgment was generally in my favor. But my brother was passionate and had often beaten me, which I took extremely amiss. I fancy his harsh and tyrannical treatment of me might be a means of impressing me with that aversion to arbitrary power that has stuck to me through my whole life. Thinking my apprenticeship very tedious, I was continually wishing for some opportunity of shortening it, which at length offered in a manner unexpected. One of the pieces in our newspaper on some political point which I have now forgotten, gave offence to the Asmbly . He was taken up, censured, and imprisoned for a month by the Speaker's warrant, I suppo becau he would not discover the author. I, too, was taken up and examined before the Council; but though I did not give them any satisfaction, they contented themlves with admonishing me and dismisd me, considering me, perhaps, as an apprentice who was bound to keep his master's crets. During my brother's confinement, which I rented a good deal notwithstanding our private differences, I had the management of the paper, and I made bold to give our rulers some rubs 你是人间的四月天 林徽因. in it, which my brother took very kindly, while others began to consider me in an unfavorable light as a young genius that had a turn for libeling and satire. My brother's discharge was accompanied with an order from the Hou (a very odd one) that "James Franklin should no longer print the paper called the New England Courant." There was a consultation held in our printing hou amongst his friends in this conjuncture. Some propod to elude the order by changing the name of the paper; but my brother eing inconveniences in that, it was finally concluded on as a better way to let it be printed for the future under the name of "Benjamin Franklin"; and to avoid the censure of the Asmbly that might fall on him as still printing it by his apprentice, the contrivance was that my old indenture should be returned to me with a full discharge on the back of it, to show in ca of necessity; but to cure to him the benefit of my rvice, I should sign new indentures for the remainder of the term, which were to be kept private. A very flimsy scheme it was, but, however, it was immediately executed, and the paper went on accordingly under my name for veral months. At length a fresh difference arising between my brother and me, I took upon me to asrt my freedom, presuming that he would not venture to produce the new indentures. It was not fair in me to take this advantage, and this I therefore reckon one of the first errata of my life. But the unfairness of it weighed little with me, when under the impressions of rentment for the blows his passion too often urged him to bestow upon me, though he was otherwi not an ill-natured man. Perhaps I was too saucy and provoking. When he found I would leave him, he took care to prevent my getting employment in any other printing hou of the town by going round and speaking to every master, who accordingly refud to give me work. I then thought of going to New York as the nearest place where there was a printer; and I was the rather inclined to leave Boston when I reflected that I had already made mylf a little obnoxiousto the governing party; and from the arbitrary proceedings of the Asmbly in my brother's ca, it was likely I might if I stayed soon bring mylf into scrapes, and further that my indiscreet disputations about religion began to make me pointed at with horror by good people as an infidel or atheist. I determined on the point, but my father now siding with my brother, I was nsible that if I attempted to go openly, means would be ud to prevent me. My friend Collins therefore undertook to manage my flight. He agreed with the captain of a New York sloop for my passage, under pretence of my being a young man of his acquaintance that had had an intrigue with a girl of bad character, who parents would compel me to marry her and therefore I could not appear or come away publicly, I sold some of my books to rai a little money, was taken on board the sloop privately, had a fair wind, and in three days found mylf at New York, near three hundred miles from my home, at the age of venteen, without the least recommendation to or knowledge of any person in the place, and with very little money in my pocket. The inclination I had had for the a was by this time done away, or I might now have gratified it. But having another profession and conceiving mylf a pretty good workman, I offered my rvices to the printer of the place, old Mr. Wm. Bradford (who had been the first printer in Pennsylvania, but had removed thence in conquence of a quarrel with the Governor, Geo. Keith). He could give me no employment, having little to do and hands enough already. "But," says he, "my son at Philadelphia has lately lost his principal hand, Aquila Ro, by death. If you go thither I believe he may employ you." Philadelphia was a hundred miles farther. I t out, however, in a boat for Amboy , leaving my chest and things to follow me round by a. In crossing the bay we met with a squall that tore our rotten sails to pieces, prevented our getting into the kill, and drove us upon Long Island. In our way a drunken Dutchman, who was a pasnger, too, fell overboard; when he was sinking, I reached through the water to his shock pate and drew him up so that we got him in again. His ducking sobered him a little, and he went to sleep, taking first out of his pocket a book which he desired I would dry for him. It proved to be my old favorite author Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress in Dutch, finely printed on good paper with copper cuts, a dress better than I had ever en it wear in its own language. I have since found that it has been translated into most of the languages of Europe, and suppo it has been more generally read than any other book except, perhaps, the Bible. Honest John was the first that I know of who mixes narration and, dialogue, a method of writing very engaging to the reader, who in the most interesting parts finds himlf, as it were, admitted into the company and prent at the conversation. Defoe. has imitated him successfully in his Robinson Crusoe, in his Moll Flanders, and other pieces; and Richardson has done the same in his Pamela , etc. 英语课本剧 On approaching the island, we found it was in a place where there could be no landing, there being a great turf on the stony beach. So we dropped anchor and swung out our cable towards the shore. Some people came down to the water edge and hallooed to us, as we did to them, but the wind was so high and the surf so loud that we could not understand each other. There were some canoes on the shore, and we made signs and called to them to fetch us, but they either did not comprehend us or thought it impracticable so they went off. Night approaching, we had no remedy but to have patience till the wind abated, and in the meantime the boatman and I concluded to sleep if we could, and so we crowded into the scuttle with the Dutchman who was still wet, and the spray breaking over the head of our boat leaked through to us, so that we were soon almost as wet as he. In this manner we lay all night with very little rest; but the wind abating the next day, we made a shift to reach Amboy before night, having been thirty hours on the water without victuals or any drink but a bottle of filthy rum, the water we sailed on being salt. In the evening I found mylf very feverish and went to bed; but having read somewhere that cold water drank plentifully was good for a fever, I followed the prescription, sweat plentifully most of the night, my fever left me, and in the morning crossing the ferry, I proceeded on my journey on foot, having fifty miles to Burlington , where I was told I should find boats that would carry me the rest of the way to Philadelphia. It rained very hard all the day, I was thoroughly soaked and by noon a good deal tired, so I stopped at a poor inn, where I stayed all night, beginning now to wish I had never left home. I made so mirable a figure, too, that I found by the questions asked me I was suspected to be some run-away rvant, and in danger of being taken up on that suspicion. However, I proceeded the next day, and got in the evening to an inn within eight or ten miles of Burlington, kept by one Dr. Brown .deepa是什么意思 He entered into conversation with me while I took some refreshment and, finding I had read a little, became very sociable and friendly. Our acquaintance continued all the rest of his life. He had been, I imagine, an itinerant doctor, for there was no town in England or any country in Europe of which he could not give a very particular account. He had some letters and was ingenious, but he was an infidel and wickedly undertook some years after to travesty the Bible in doggerel ver as Cotton had done with Virgil . By this means he t many of the facts in a very ridiculous light and might have done mischief with weak minds if his work had been published, but it never was. At his hou I lay that night, and the next morning reached Burlington, but had the mortification to find that the regular boats were gone a little before and no other expected to go before Tuesday, this being Saturday. Wherefore , I returned to an old woman in the town of whom I had bought some gingerbread , to eat on the water and asked her advice; she invited me to lodge at her hou till a passage by water should offer and being tired with my foot traveling, I accepted the invitation. Understanding I was a printer, she would have had me remain in that town and follow my business, being ignorant of the stock necessary to begin with. She was very hospitable, gave me a dinner of ox cheek with great goodwill, accepting only of a pot of ale in return. And I thought mylf fixed till Tuesday should come. However, walking in the evening by the side of the river, a boat came by, which I found was going towards Philadelphia with veral people in her. They took me in, and as there was no wind, we rowed all the way; and about midnight, not having yet en the city, some of the company were confident we must have pasd it and would row no farther; the others knew not where we were, so we put towards the shore, got into a creek, landed near an old fence, with the rails of which we made a fire, the night being cold in October, and there we remained till daylight. Then one of the company knew the place to be Cooper's Creek, a little above Philadelphia, which we saw as soon as we got out of the creek, and arrived there about eight or nine o'clock, on the Sunday morning and landed at he Market Street wharf. I have been the more particular in this description of my journey, and shall be so of my first entry into that city, that you may in your mind compare such unlikely beginnings with the figure I have since made there. I was in my working dress, my best clothes being to come round by a. I was dirty from my journey; my pockets were stuffed out with shirts and stockings; I knew no soul, nor where to look for lodging. Fatigued with walking, rowing, and want of sleep, I was very hungry, and my whole stock of cash consisted of a Dutch dollar and about a shilling in copper coin, which I gave to the boatmen for my passage. At first they refud it on account of my having rowed, but I insisted on their taking it. A man is sometimes more generous when he has little money than when he has plenty, perhaps through fear of being thought to have but little. I walked towards the top of the street, gazing about till near Market Street, where I met a boy with bread. I have often made a meal of dry bread, and inquiring where he had bought it, I went immediately to the baker's he directed me to. I asked for biscuit, meaning such as we had in Boston, but that sort, it ems, was not made in Philadelphia. I then asked for a three penny loaf and was told they had none such. Not knowing the different prices nor the names of the different sorts of any bread, I told him to give me three pennyworth of any sort. He gave me accordingly three great puffy rolls. I was surprid at the quantity but took it, and having no room in my pockets, walked off with a roll under each arm and eating the other. Thus I went up Market Street as far as Fourth Street, passing by the door of Mr. Read, my future wife's father, when she, standing at the door, saw me, and thought I made — as I certainly did — a most awkward, ridiculous appearance. Then I turned and went down Chestnut Street and part of Walnut Street, eating my roll all the way, and coming round, found mylf again at Market Street wharf near the boat I came in, to which I went for a draught of the river water, and being filled with one of my rolls, gave the other two to a woman and her child that came down the river in the boat with us and were waiting to go farther. Thus refreshed, I walked again up the street, which by this time had many clean dresd people in it who were all walking the same way; I joined them, and thereby was led into the great meetinghou of the Quakers near the market. I sat down among them, and after looking round awhile and hearing nothing said, being very drowsy through labor and want of rest the preceding night, I fell fast asleep and continued so till the meeting broke up, when someone was kind enough to rou me. This was therefore the first hou I was in or slept in, in Philadelphia. | ||||||
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