"There is not much danger that you will do that," said John. "Present
appearances rather indicate that the religious opinions of your father
will be blown sky-high,"--though John did not mean quite so much as
his language denotes.

"You do not understand me. I respect my parents and their religious
opinions, though I doubt some of the doctrines they have taught, and
which I never carefully examined until recently."

"I must go," said John; "at another time, I will hear more;"--and he
hurried away to his business, which was waiting for him.

Benjamin had read carefully the works of Collins and Shaftesbury,
which were well suited to unsettle his religious belief. At the time
of this interview, he was really a doubter, though not avowedly
opposed to religion. The fact shows the necessity of using care in
selecting books to be read, and the danger of tampering with those
that speak lightly of the Gospel. Even a mind as strong as that of
Benjamin was warped by the sophistries of such a book, and it was some
years before he recovered wholly from the sad effects of such reading.
His early religious culture, however, and his disposition and ability
to perceive the truth, finally saved him from the abyss of infidelity,
as will appear more evident in the pages that follow.

CHAPTER XII.

THE NEWSPAPER.

On the seventeenth day of January, 1721, James Franklin began to issue
a newspaper, called "THE NEW ENGLAND COURANT." It was the third one at
the time in the whole country. The first paper--"THE BOSTON
NEWSLETTER"--was established in 1704, two years before the birth of
Benjamin. It was only a half-sheet of paper, about the size of an
eight by twelve inch pane of glass, "in two pages folio, with two
columns on each page." Consequently, it could not have contained more
printed matter than is now compressed into half a page of one of the
Boston dailies. Yet it was considered a very important undertaking for
the times.

When James Franklin proposed to start the third paper in America, some
of his friends thought it was a wild project, and endeavoured to
dissuade him from it. They saw nothing but ruin before him, and used
every persuasion to lead him to abandon the enterprise. They thought
that two newspapers, such as would now excite a smile by their
inferior size, were quite enough for the country. Take this fact, in
connection with the present abundance of papers, and the contrast
presents a striking view of the pro