LIBRARY Dexter Fund Entered according to. Act of Congress, in the year 1800, by J. E. TILTON AND COMPANY, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts University Press, Cambridge: PREFACE. THIS book is one of a series, the design of which is to illustrate the familiar maxim, that "THE BOY IS FATHER OF THE MAN." The early life of Franklin is sketched from his childhood to the time he was established in business, thus showing what he was in boyhood and youth; and the achievements of his manhood are summed up in a closing chapter, to substantiate the truth of the above proverb. The author believes that the lives of distinguished men may be incorporated into a story, uniting narrative and dialogue so as to be more attractive to the young. John. Bunyan was the first to adopt this style, and his inimitable Pilgrim's Progress charms the young reader, not only by its graphic imagery, but also by its alternation of narrative and dialogue. Since his day, others have adopted a similar style, particularly in works of fiction, with success. Why may not truth appear in such a dress as successfully as fiction? Why may not actual lives be presented in this manner as vividly as imaginary ones? The young mind |