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DEARSOX:'I have ever had pleasure in obtaining an!- little anecdotes of my ancestors. You may remember the inquiries I made among the remains of my relations ~vhen you were with me in England, and the journey I undertook for that purpose. Imagining it may be equally agreeable to you to know the circumstances of mv life, many of ~1-11ich you are yet llnacquairlted with, and expecting the knjoyrnent' of a week's uninterrupted leisure in In!- present country retirement, I sit down to ~vrite them for you To which I have besides some other inducements. Having emerged from the poverty and obscurity in ~1-11ich I was born and bred, to a state of affluence and some degree of reputation in the world, and having gone so far through life ~vith a considerable share of felicit!., the conducing rneans I made use of, ~vhich ~vith the blessing of God so well succeeded, I n ! - posterity ma!- like to know, as they ma!- find some of them suitable to their own situations, and therefore fit to be imitated. That felicity,when I reflected on it, has induced me sometinles to say, that were it offered to my choice, I should have no objection to a repetition of the same life from its beginning, onl!- asking the advantages authors have in a second edition to correct some faults of the first. So I might, besides correcting the faults, change some sinister accidents and events of it for others more faourable. But though this were denied, I should still accept the offer. Since such a repetition is not to be expected, the next thing nlost like living one's life over again seems to be a recollection of that life, and to make that recollection as durable as possible by putting it down in writing. Hereby, too, I shall indulge the inclination so natural in old men, to be talking of themselves and their own past actions; and I shall indulge it TI-ithout being tiresome to others, who, through respect to age, might conceive themselves obliged to give me a hearing, since this may be read or not as any one pleases. And, lastly (I ma!- as well confess it, since my denial of it will be believed by nobod!-), perhaps I shall a good deal gratify my o~vn uanitj. Indeed, I scarce ever heard or saw the introductoi-y 8 The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin words, "Tl'ithout vanitj I tlzaj saj, "etc., but sorne vain thing immediately follo~ced. Most people dislike vanity in others, chate ever share they have of it themselves; but I give it fair quarter wherever I meet with it, being persuaded that it is often productive of good to the possessor, and to others that are TI-ithin his sphere of action; and therefore, in many cases, it could not be altogether absllrd if a Inan were to thank God for his vanity among the other colnforts of life. And now I speak of thanking God, I desire wit11 all humility to ackno~vledge that I owe the mentioned happiness of my past life to His kind providence, which lead me to the means I used and gave them success . M y belief of this induces me to hop& though I must not pr.csli~?ze, that the same goodness will still be exercised to~card me, in continuing that happiness, or enabling me to bear a fatal reverse, ~chich I may experience as others have done; the colnplexion of In!- filture fortune being known to Him only in TI-hose power it is to bless to us even our afflictions . The notes of one of my uncles (who had the same kind of curiosity in collecting farnil!- anecdotes) once put into my hands, furnished me &th several particulars to our ancestors. Frorn these notes I learned that the family had lived in the same village, Ecton, in Northamptonshire, for three hundred years, and how nluch longer he knew not (perhapsfrom the time TI-henthe name of Franklin,:' that before was the name of an order of people, leas assumed by thern as a surnarne when others took surrlarnes all over the kingdom), on a fi-eehold of about thirt!- acres, aided b ! - the smith's business, ~chich had continued in the farnil!- till his time, the eldest son being always bred to that business; a custom which he and my father fol10~1-ed as to their eldest sons. T~Vhen I searched...

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