Page:Works of the Late Doctor Benjamin Franklin (1793).djvu/100

90 of ſtationary ſolicited my cuſtom; others offered to furniſh me with books, and my little trade went on proſperouſly. Meanwhile the credit and buſineſs of Keimer diminiſhing every day, he was at laſt forced to ſell his ſtock to ſatisfy his creditors; and he betook himſelf to Barbadoes, where he lived for ſome time in a very impoveriſhed ſtate. His apprentice, David Harry, whom I had inſtructed while I worked with Keimer, having bought his materials, ſucceeded him in the buſineſs. I was apprehensive, at firſt, of finding in Harry a powerful competitor, as he was allied to an opulent and reſpectable family; I therefore propoſed a partnerſhip, which, happily for me, he rejected with diſdain. He was extremely proud, thought himſelf a fine gentleman, lived extravagantly, and purſued amuſements which ſuffered him to be ſcarcely ever at home; of conſequence he became in debt, neglected his buſineſs, and buſineſs neglected him. Finding in a ſhort time nothing to do in the country, he followed Keimer to Barbadoes, carrying his printing materials with him. There the apprentice employed his old maſter as a journeyman. They were continually quarrelling; and Harry ſtill getting in debt, was obliged at laſt to ſell his preſs and types, and return to his old occupation of huſbandry in Pennſylvania. The perſon who purchaſed them employed Keimer to manage the buſineſs; but he died a few years after.

I had now at Philadelphia no competitor but Bradford, who, being in eaſy circumſtances, did not engage in the printing of books, except now and then as workmen chanced to offer themſelves; and was not anxious to extend his trade. He had, however, one advantage over me, as he had the direction of the poſt office, and was of