g (as all my uncles were) by an
Esquire, then the principal gentleman in that parish, he
qualified himself for the business of scrivener; became a
considerable man in the county; was a chief mover of all
public-spirited undertakings for the county or town of
Northampton, and his own village, of which many instances were
related of him, and much taken notice of and patronized by the
then Lord Halifax. He died in 1702, January 6, old style, just
four years to a day before I was born. The account we received
of his life and character from some old people at Ecton, I
remember, struck you as something extraordinary. "Had he died on
the same day," you said, "one might have supposed a
transmigration."

John was bred a dyer, I believe, of woolens. Benjamin was bred a
silk dyer, serving an apprenticeship at London. He was an
ingenious man. I remember him well, for when he was a boy he
came over to my father in Boston, and lived in the house with us
for some years. He lived to a great age. His grandson, Samuel
Franklin, now lives in Boston. He left behind him two quarto
volumes, MS., of his own poetry, consisting of little occasional
pieces addressed to his friends and relations. He had formed a
shorthand of his own, which he taught me; but, never practicing
it, I have now forgot it. I was named after this uncle, there
being a particular affection between him and my father. He was
very pious, a great attender of sermons of the best preachers,
which he took down in his shorthand. He was also much of a
politician.

VII. Topics for Oral Composition

1. What is an Esquire? A gentleman? A parish? A scrivener?

2. Explain the term "old style."

3. What is meant by transmigration?

4. What is an apprenticeship? An occasional piece?

5. Explain the terms "quarto," "folio," and "octavo."

VIII. Written Composition

Write an account of your uncles. Make it as rich as possible in concrete
facts, for facts are the life and soul of composition. Let the length be
about the same as that of the model. Note that Franklin discusses his
uncles in an order determined by the principle that first and last
places are the most conspicuous. He put the uncle about whom he knows
most in last place, so as to have a strong ending, which grows, so to
speak, to a climax; he puts the uncle who is entitled to second place
first in order o