to his son here, who had just lost a good hand by death. Very unexpectedly, on the next day, he started for Philadelphia on horseback, and when I called upon his son this morning I found him there. His son had just hired a man ; and so he directed me to you, and his father offered to come and introduce me."

"Well, all that is natural enough, but it is pretty hard in me," answered Keimer. "If I had known that was Bradford's father, I should have kept my mouth shut, of

course.

"You opened it pretty wide to him, and he took advantage of it, as most men will do. But I guess no harm is done. He and his son both appear to be friendly to you; they would not have proposed that I should come here for work, if they had not been."

"That looks so, I must confess," said Keimer; "but I have learned one good lesson from it: never to divulge secrets to a stranger. When I do that again I shall not be in my right mind. But I wanted to ask you about your Boston experience in a printing office; what office was you in ?"

"My brother's, James Franklin. He published a paper, the New England Courant. He did a large business."

"Yes, our paper here gave some account of it. The editor had some trouble with the Government, did he not ?"

"Yes, and a serious trouble it was. He believed in the freedom of the press, and the officials did not; so there was a collision. He determined to fight the censorship of the press, and he was imprisoned for it. Then I edited and published the paper in my own name."

"You run it!" exclaimed Keimer, in a tone of wonder and unbelief.

"Yes, I run it,—without letting up one jot in attacking the intolerant Government. It was a hot contest, but the common people, true Americans, rallied to our support

and left the aristocratic officials to toady to the English Government."

"A new order of things when a boy edits and publishes a paper in a straight fight with Great Britain," was all th t Keimer said, in reply, evidently not believing a word of Benjamin's story about the Courant. However, the more he talked with the new comer, the more he was impressed with his intelligence and manly character. He found that his clothes were the poorest part of him, that underneath his shabby garments there dwelt a soul of large possessions and aspirations.

Benjamin learned at Keimer's office what a blessing it was to him to have practised doing things well. Thoroughness in learning the printer's art, as well as in studying the use of language and composition, characterized him in Boston, as we have seen. Now he was reaping the benefits of it. He handled the composing-stick so dexterously, and answered every question so intelligently and promptly, that Keimer saw at once he was really an expert. Many boys are satisfied if they can only "pass muster." Their ambition rises no higher than that. But not so with Benjamin. sought to understand the business to which he attended, and to do as well as possible the work he undertook. The consequence was that he was a thorough workman, and in five minutes he was able to satisfy Keimer of the fact. This was greatly in his favour; and such a young man is never long out of business. Doctor Johnson said, “What is worth doing at all, is worth doing well."

He

Samuel Budgett said, "In whatever calling a man is found, he ought to strive to be the best in that calling; if only a shoeblack, he should try to be the best shoeblack in the neighbourhood." Budgett conducted his immense business, in which he employed six hundred men, on this principle. When a boy was introduced into his warehouse he was set to straightening old nails. If he straightened nails well, he was promoted to bag-mending; if he did not

do it well, he was dismissed. The thorough nail-straightener and bag-mender moved upwards into larger and higher fields of work; and so the great English merchant could boast of having the most efficient and faithful class of employés in the British realm. Training them to do their best did it.

James Parton said to David Maydole, inventor of the modern hammer and manufacturer of the best hammers in the world, "By this time you ought to be able to make a pretty good hammer." Maydole replied, "No, I can't. I can't make a pretty good hammer, I make the best that's made." Once a party applied for several hammers, to whom Maydole was indebted for some favour, and the party said to him, "You ought to make my hammers a little better than the others." Maydole responded, "I can't make any better ones. When I make a thing, I make it as well as I can, no matter whom it is for." Doing his best every time led him on to fortune. He never pushed his business. He never advertised. Making the best hammer in the market created all the business he wanted.

XXI.

GETTING ON.

"YOUR

over.

to

YOUR press is rather dilapidated, I see," remarked Benjamin to Mr. Keimer, after he had looked it "Second-hand, I conclude?"

"Yes, I had to buy what I could get cheap, as I had little money to begin with. I guess it can be fixed up to answer my purpose."

"That is so; it can be improved very much with little expense," replied Benjamin.

"Do you understand a printing-press well enough to repair it?"

“I can repair that one well enough; I see what is wanted. You can't do good work with it as it is," Benjamin answered. "Then I can employ you at once, and you may go right about putting it in order if you please."

"I will do it," Benjamin replied in his emphatic way. "It is not a long job, by any means."

"Perhaps you will have it done by the time I get the Elegy set up, and then you may print it.” Keimer's interest was deepening since he found that the Boston printer-boy could repair a printing-press. He was getting more than he bargained for.

Benjamin went to work upon the old press, saying, “I may as well go about it at once, and work till dinner time. Mr. Bradford will expect me back then; but I will keep at it until it is done."

"Well, I hope you will not expose any secrets as I did," remarked Mr. Keimer, humorously. "Old Bradford will