Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1874-02-06
Benjamin Franklin.

This Is the anniversary OF franklin
birthday. 1t will be observed with grea
reverence by printers throughout tn
United States. The great mans memoir
will be drank in copious draughts of boi
tied lightning, in commemoration of tn
philosophers experiments with a fluid O
the same name but different qualities.
| Franklin will not take part in any O
the festivities in the printing offices to
day. He is, or rather would be, if HI
was here, too old for such hilarity. II,
would be 1853 years old, had he remained
with us. But long-continued habits O
early rising undermined his vigorous con
stitution, and he was suddenly cut off a.
the age of "a years, just 81 years ago
Let US not weep for him. If he had bu
lived few years longer, this bright
world, so full of life and hope and pleas
ures, would have been blighted and SCARED
with more dreary old maxims about
| going to bed at dark and sot4ing zap be
fore daylight and about earning dollar
by saving cent and always thinking q
week before we speak minute and SINH.
lar stuff than the United States census
could compile between now and the end
Of time.
Franklin's family must have led a
dreary life. The venerable philosopher,
| quoting his favorite maxim, "Early to
| bed"-would drive his helpless family of
| to their rooms at sunset while he would
go down to the post-off1ce for an hour or
two, and then come back and play with
an electrical machine for few hours and
then write on his Almanac until two
o'clock in the morning. He would then
devour a light, digestible lunch of cold
;nr3o 10 oft hiob
he would make everybody in the house
get up and dress, assemble in the sitting
room and sing
E" Early to bed and early to rise
Makes children healthy and wealthy and WISE"
Then bidding them go to work and re-
remember that the early bird caught the
worm, he would go to bed and sleep until
IL o'clock a. m. He always slept as much
as he could during the day time, for it
was one of his favorite sayings, "Never
put off till tomorrow what you can do to-
day." This custom, the great printer had
of sitting up all night and sleeping all
day, is what established the heathenish
hours observed by the morning papers to
this day.
The philosopher was man of the most
rigid temperance. He burned all the to-
bacco that was brought to his house
using large brier-wood pipe to accom-.
plish this destruction. If any tobacco
found its way into bis mouth he would
keep splitting it out until it was all gone
He could never be induced to eat tobacco
like bread, and was accordingly very Sc
we're in his denunciation of men who used
the filthy weed in any form.
He was born at an early age, and was
printer on compulsion. He held cases
in his brothers. office, after serving his
devilship, but because his brother took al
the PLAT, he went on a strike, rated the
office and went out on the tramp. One
evening he entered Philadelphia, on foot
with loaf of bread under his arm, anC
from which he was drawing liberal rations
| History makes no mention of the bottle
in his coat pocket. This is the first tramp
printer of whom there is any record.
| Franklin was great and good man il
his time, but he was slow He would no
have been suited to this busy, progressive
generation. He lacked the great compre
hensive, abstract elements of modern
American craftsmanship. Especially the
abstract. He would hardly have shCne il
Congress where the Hon. Cakes Anne:
and his Credit-Mobilier friends were his
colleagues. There is an anecdote illus
trative of his fidelity to the principles O
truth. His father was a tallow chandler
and soap boiler, and as he used a grea
deal of wood he strove to inculcate habits
of industry in his son by letting him saw
and split all the fuel. One day, young
Benjamin, was chopping wood with hi
little axe, in a very bad humor, because
his work prevented him from going of
with lot of the boys to steal peaches
His father came out to see that his sor
did not pick out all the easy pieces
to cut, and as he passed by, the
boy broke stick in two witt
terrific blow, and one of the piece.
whirling through the air like an aerolite
nestled on the part in the venerable mans
back-hair, raising lump like baseball
"Who could be so heartless as to hit
poor old man?' tenderly inquired tn,
stricken soap-boiler, while the member
of his frightened family supported hi
dropping frame and rubbed his lump will
camphor. "Father, dear father" sobbe(
the future philosopher, II cannot tell
lie. 1t was the boy who lives across th,
street, al he has just ran around the cor
ner." my son, my own boy" said hi
father, dashing pearly tear-drop from
his loving eyes, "You are cordially invited
to attend matinee, for children only
which will be held in the boiler-room il
ten minutes from this moment of speak
ing Positively no postponement on &C
to make things interesting for the audi
"-BurIsngtOn Haookeye, January II