for the admonition of little children, what older ones may well ponder : "Whatever brawls disturb the street, "Birds in their little nests agree; Fall out, and chide, and fight. "Hard names, at first, and threat'ning words, That are but noisy breath, May grow to clubs and naked swords, To murder and to death." At this crisis of Benjamin's life, it seemed as if he was on the highway to ruin. There is scarcely one similar case in ten, where the runaway escapes the vortex of degradation. Benjamin would not have been an exception, but for his early religious culture and the grace of God. The case of William Hutton, who was the son of very poor parents, is not altogether unlike that of Benjamin Franklin. He was bound to his uncle for a series of years, but was treated by him so harshly that he ran away, at seventeen years of age. The record is, that "on the 12th day of July, 1741, the ill-treatment he received from his uncle, in the shape of a brutal flogging, with a birch-broom handle of white hazel, which CHAPTER XVI. ANOTHER TRIP AND ITS TRIALS. On arriving at New York, Benjamin applied to a well known printer, Mr. William Bradford, for work. "Where are you from?" he inquired. "From Boston," was Benjamin's reply. "Yes, that is my trade. I have worked at it several years." "I am sorry I cannot employ you. Just now my business is small, and I have all the help I need." "What do you think of the prospect of getting work at some other office in the town?" inquired Benjamin. "Not very flattering, I am sorry to say. Dull times, my son, very dull indeed. But I can tell you where you can find employment, I think. My son carries on the printing business in Philadelphia, and one of his men died the other day. I think he would be glad to employ you." "How far is it to Philadelphia?” "It is a hundred miles," replied Mr. Brad |