Page:Works of the Late Doctor Benjamin Franklin (1793).djvu/21

11 four of us uniting our ſtrength to carry a ſingle ſtone, we removed them all, and conſtructed our little quay. The workmen were ſurpriſed the next morning at not finding their ſtones, which had been conveyed to our wharf. Enquiries were made reſpecting the authors of this conveyance; we were diſcovered; complaints were exhibited againſt us; many of us underwent correction on the part of our parents; and though I ſtrenuouſly defended the utility of the work, my father at length convinced me, that nothing which was not ſtrictly honeſt could be uſeful. It will not, perhaps, be unintereſting to you to know what ſort of a man my father was. He had an excellent conſtitution, was of a middle ſize, but well made and ſtrong, and extremely active in whatever he undertook. He deſigned with a degree of neatneſs, and knew a little of muſic. His voice was ſonorous and agreeable; ſo that when he ſung a pſalm or hymn, with the accompaniment of his violin, as was his frequent practice in an evening, when the labours of the day were finiſhed, it was truly delightful to hear him. He was verſed alſo in mechanics, and could, upon occaſion, uſe the tools of a variety of trades. But his greateſt excellence was a ſound underſtanding and ſolid judgment, in matters of prudence, both in public and private life. In the former indeed he never engaged, becauſe his numerous family, and the mediocrity of his fortune, kept him unremittingly employed in the duties of his proſeſſion. But I very well remember, that the leading men of the place uſed frequently to come and aſk his advice reſpecting affairs of the town, or of the church to which he belonged, and that they paid much deference to his opinion. Individuals were alſo in