Omaha daily bee., 1898-02-27

"FAIRE GREEN LANE"
The Favorite story of Ben Franklin
in His Boy hood.

| in His Boyhood.
It Is related that Benjamin Franklin once
had the boy fever to go to sea. This fever
was kind of epidemic among the boys of
| the time, a disease of the imagination, as 1t
were 1t was largely owing to the stories
that were told them-Robinson Crusoe and
| sailors yarns. But there was one house in
| Boston that in itself was a story. 1t was
| made of brick and rose over the town, at the
| North End, in the "Faire Green Lane" now
I decaying Chatham street. In it lived Sir
William Phipps, the first provincial governor
! under the chartec which he himself uad
| brought from England. Sir William had
| been born poor, in Maine, and had made his
great fortune by an adventure on the sea
| The story of Sndbad the Sailor was hardly
more than a match for his with it's realities
He was one of a family OF twenty-six chill
dren; he had been taught to cead and write
when uearly grown up; had come to Boston
as an adventurer and had found friend III
@ comely and sympathetic widow, who helped
to educate him and to whom he used to say:
"Al in good time we will come to live in
the brick house in Faire Green Lane"
This was one of the favorte stories of
Benjamin Franklin and it was cae of several
that so haunted the minds of Boston boys Of
that day that it caused their pulses to beut
and longing for the sea to so rise in them
that not few ran away, ca tried to.
Let us suppose it to be a cold winters
hight Wuen the WluuS uuu tIle
clouds fly over the moon. Josiah Frouklin
has played his violin, the family has sung
Martyrs the fire is falling down and "peo
pie are going to meeting" as a running of
sparks among the SCOT was called, when such
a thing happened in the back OF the chin
ney. Little Ben's Inauguration is hungry and
ne asks for the twice-told tale of Sir Will
liam. He would be another Sir William him
self some day. By the dying Goals Uncle Ben
tells the stccy. What story 1t was! No
wonder that 1t made an inexperienced boy
want to go to sea, and especially such boys
es led an uneventful life in the Copewalk or
in the candle shop.
Let us e,luggle down by the fire on this
cold might in Boston town, beside little Ben
and Jennie. and listen to the story. Uncle
Ben, mayhap, shakes his snuffbox and says;
THAT boy dreamed dreams In the day
time, but he was an honest man" Uncle
Ben rang these words like a bell In his
story. "He was an honest man; but man
in this world must save or be slave. and
young Williams mind went sailing far away
from the New England coast and a-sailing
went he, What did he find? Wonders!
Listen. and l will tell you. William Phips
or Phipps went to the Spanish main, and he
began to hear a marvellous story there. The
sailors lettering in the ports loved to tell
the legend OF a certain Spanish treasure ship
that had gore down In a storm, and they
imagined themselves finding 1t and becoming
rich The legend seized upon the fancy of
William, the sailor, and entered his dreams
1t was only vague fancy at first, but in
the twilight OF one burning day cool island
OF PAINS appeared, and as 1t faded away a
sailor who stood watching 1t said TO him:
a" There is a sunken reef off this coaGt
somewhere; We are steering for 1t, and ]
have been told that 1t was on that reef that
the Spanish treasure ship went down. They
say that ship had millions OF gold ON board
wonder If anybody will ever find herr"
William was an honest man.
1T was early evening at sea. The shadows
OF night fell on the Bahama Islands. The
sea and the heavens seemed to mingle. The
stars were in the water; the heavens were
there A stranger on the planet could not
have told which was the sea and which was
the sky The sails were limp. There was
silence round The ship seemed to move
through some region OF space. william
Phipps sat by himself on the deck and
dreamed. Many people dream, but 1t Is no
use to dream unless you do, He seemed to
see her again who had been the good angel
OF his life; he saw the gabled house in the
bowery lane, and two faces looking out OF
the same window over Boston town. VIII
liam was honest.
HE dreamed that he himself was the
master OF ship. He saw himself in Eng
land, In the presence OF the king He was
master of an expedition now, in his sea
dream He finds the sunken treasure ship,
He is made rich by II, and returns to Bos-
ton and finds the glbled house in the cool
green lane by the sea, An honest man was
Sir William. He was not Sir William then.
He returned to Boston with his dream.
William stayed in port for a time and then
prepared for a long voyage; but before he
went away he obtained promise from the
widow that II she ever married any one
Il should be himself. There was nothing
wrong in that The ship owners saw that
he had honor, and that they could trust
him. He was adyaEeed In the service. and
be learned how to command a ship. He
returned and married the widow. and went
forth again TO try and reap the harvest OF