"Perhaps not. Such appears to be your prospect now, though I cannot say that God may not open a way hereafter; I hope he will. You are but nine years old, and there is time yet for a way to be provided."
"Why can I not attend school till I am old enough to help you?"
"You are old enough to help me now. I could find a plenty for you to do every day, so that you could make yourself very useful."
In those days boys were put to work much earlier than they are now. They had very small opportunities for acquiring knowledge, and the boys who did not go to school after they were ten years old were more in number than those who did. Besides, the schools were very poor in comparison with those of the present age. They offered very limited advantages to the young. It was not unusual, therefore, for lads as young as Benjamin to be made to work.
"But I do not intend to set you to work immediately," continued Mr. Franklin. "You ought to give some attention to penmanship and arithmetic, and I shall send you to Mr. Brownwell's writing-school for a season."
"I shall like that, for I want to know how to write well. Some of the boys no older than I am have been to his school some time."
"It is equally important that you learn to cipher, and Mr. Brownwell is an excellent teacher of arithmetic. It will not take you many months to become a good penman under his tuition, and to acquire considerable knowledge of numbers."
"I care more about writing than I do about arithmetic," said Benjamin. "I don't think I shall like arithmetic very well."
"Boys have to study some things they don't like," responded his father. "It is the only way they can qualify themselves for usefulness. You would not make much of an appearance in the world without some acquaintance with numbers."
"I know that," said Benjamin; "and I shall try to master it, even if I do not like it. I am willing to do what you think is best."