At the Library

Today is a good day for me - Ellen suggested that I spend it at the Amherst College Library, and I quickly agreed. There is not much in this world I enjoy more than being in a college library. And I was particularly interested in looking up the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin after reading Frederick Barnes Tolles' very commendatory review of it - of the Yale University ediion of it, that is, edited by Leonard Labaree, et al. I was able very quickly to put my hands on the Papers of Benjamin Franklin in the stacks, which FBT reviewed when Volume I appeared. In the Frost Library catalogue, the Autobiography did not appear on the shelves. It was an eBook. If you wanted it as a printed book, you had to go to the Smith college or UMass library. I wanted it as a printed book, so I settled for another edition that was new, and seemed to use the Yale University edition for its text. I didn't start at the beginning, I started at a point at which Franklin is 17 years old and is just moving from Boston to Phiadelphia, looking to enter the printing trade there, and eventually set up his own shop. I read maybe 40 pages or so, and found it very interesing. What was particularly interesting was what he chose to write about. A great deal of it dealt with assessing the character of people he meets, young and old, men and women alike. It becomes clear, after reading a while, that judging character accurately is essential to survival. Who can one trust? Who can one believe? To whom should one loan money? Who is likely to become a true friend? Who should one avoid, no matter how charming they might be? The importance of judging character acccurately is probably why "Poor Richard's Almanac" was so popular. It is a handy guide to character. Just as an example, when Franklin arrives in Philadelphia, he comes to the attention of the governor of Pennsylvania, Gov. Keith. Here is a summary of their relationship: A letter written by the young newcomer (I.e., Franklin) fell into Keith's hands and pleased him so much that he thought such ability ought to be rewarded. He saw Franklin and won his confidence by his smooth and plausible ways, advising him to go to London to improve himself and promising him letters which would aid him to make his way in that great city. They were to be sent on board the ship in which Franklin had taken passage, but the letters failed to appear and Franklin reached London with little cash and no credit. Franklin's story about Keith has given that gentleman a wider fame than any other provincial governor ever had. Yet it is hard to believe that he set out deliberately to send adrift a young man who was likely to be a great credit to the city under his control. It may have been carelessness or forgetfulness on the part of Keith, or he may have promised more than he was able to perform, but, however it was, Keith certainly did not act like an honorable man in this instance. This is particularly interesting because otherwise, Keith had a very good reputation, especially in his managemment of paper currency, and in his relations with indigenous tribes. Franklin also talks about his friends, some of whom are charming and share his literary interests, but waste money on beer and get into trouble. Franklin is quick to admit that he has made a mistake in judgment. It all makes for a very good read.

The 40 volumes of the Yale Universty Edition< of The Papers of Benjamin Franklin , on the shelf in the stacks of the Frost Library, Amherst College.

Volume One of the series. FBT praises the beauty of the volume in his review. That beauty is marred somewhat, I feel, by the stickers the library has stuck onto it.

Franklin's birthplace in Boston.

The title-page of Vol. I.