The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-01-03

In quaint Boston house. on the
nth day of tho new year. 1908. there
was born a little baby. Probably he
looked much like other little babies,
and cried like them. and later. laughed
and kicked and crowed like them. But
that same little baby grew to be so
great and wise man that we stiil talk
about him and wish we could be as good
and great and wise. This little boy.
who was born and grew to be young
man In the city of Boston. was Benja-
min Franklin.
The house In which he was born was
a bare, plain, wooden building, with
small paned windows. like big eyes, in
front, and door way around to one
side The roof was high and steep.
The house didn't look bit like shoe
But for all that. Ben's father must have
felt sometimes little like the "Old
Woman" who lived in one. For there
was all seventeen little FrankIins, big,
little, and midle sized brothers and
sisters. And they all had to have bread
and milk and meat and clothes and
shoes wonder their father didn't
know what to do, sometimes, to get
enough to go around.
And soon as they were big enugh--
and boys were big enough to work.
In those far-off days, when they were
still quite smalI---the Franklin boys
had to help. Little Ben went into his
fhther's shop when he was only ten
years old. Ho never-went- to school
more than two years in all his life.
Ben's father made soap and candles.
don't know whether little Ben liked
to help make these things or not,
The thing he liked best of all to do
was to read. Does this make you
think of another little boy who couldn't
go to schools His home was \ log
cabin In Kentucky, His name was Abe.
and he used to do his reading sometimes
by the light Of pine knot. Perhaps
little Ben made candles to yead by.
Anyhow, he read everything he could
get to read. The books he liked best
were about the great ocean.
Little Ben's head got SO full of salt
water and ships and sailors. that his
father was afraid he'd run away and
| 20 TO Sea- - boys had . way OF doing
in those days. So. knowing how much
Ben loved books. he took him out of
| the soap and candle business. and put
him into his older brothers printing
office. where he could find out some
thing OF how books were made.
| Ben liked this. He learned to set
type. But his happiest hours were
spent In the book shop picking out
books to read in the evening when his
! work was done BY and by, he made
up his mind he could write himself
| He wrote some Iittls verses His
| brother printed them and sent the little
boy out to sell his own poems. / don,
know how well they sold. but to think
they were really In book print nearly
turned the young poets head. His
father laughed at him ana told him
that people who made verses didn',
usually make much money.
Maybe this decided Ben to write
prose instead of verse. He began &c
write little articles for his brothers
paper. ell didn't want anyone to know
who wrote them. So he used to stea
to the office after dark and slip his
| writings under the door. When he
heard someone In the office say they
| were good. he was a very proud boy.
BY and by. Ben decided to leave Bos.
ton and go to Philadelphia-"theq uain,
old Quaker Town" He walked most
of the way. carrying his baggage In
his pockets. When he reached the city