Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
- Pages
- about 273
- Category
- History
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 5 h at 250 wpm
From the opening
"I was employed to carry the papers thro' the streets
to the customers" 36
"She, standing at the door, saw me, and thought I
made, as I certainly did, a most awkward, ridiculous
appearance" 48
"I see him still at work when I go home from club" 120
"I regularly took my turn of duty there as a common
soldier" 204
"In the evening, hearing a great noise among them,
the commissioners walk'd out to see what was the
matter" 224
"Our axes ... were immediately set to work to
cut down trees" 278
"We now appeared very wide, and so far from each
other in our opinions as to discourage all hope
of agreement" 318
"You will find it stream out plentifully from the key
on the approach of your knuckle" 328
The end papers show, at the front, the Franklin arms and
the Franklin seal; at the back, the medal given by the
Boston public schools from the fund left by Franklin for
that purpose as provided in the following extract from his
will:
"I was born in Boston, New England, and owe my first
instructions in literature to the free grammar-schools
established there. I therefore give one hundred pounds
sterling to my executors, to be by them ... paid over to
the managers or directors of the free schools in my native
town of Boston, to be by them ... put out to interest, and
so continued at interest forever, which interest annually
shall be laid out in silver medals, and given as honorary
rewards annually by the directors of the said free schools
belonging to the said town, in such manner as to the
discretion of the selectmen of the said town shall seem
meet."
We Americans devour eagerly any piece of writing that purports to tell
us the secret of success in life; yet how often we are disappointed to
find nothing but commonplace statements, or receipts that we know by
heart but never follow.
A short sample. Read the whole book
More to read
- A Belated Guest (from Literary Friends and Acquaintance)William Dean HowellsHistory19 pages
- A Bit of Old ChinaCharles Warren StoddardHistory17 pages
- A Book of Remarkable CriminalsH. B. IrvingHistory341 pages
- A Book of ScoundrelsCharles WhibleyHistory202 pages
- A Brief History of the Internet The Bright Side: The Dark SideMichael HartHistory59 pages
Public-domain text from Project Gutenberg, Standard Ebooks or a similar open source. Copyright differs between countries. Rights holder? See our takedown process.