whole life.

One of the pieces in our newspaper on some political point, which I
have now forgotten, gave offense to the Assembly. He was taken up,
censur'd, and imprison'd for a month, by the speaker's warrant,
I suppose, because he would not discover his author. I too was taken
up and examin'd before the council; but, tho' I did not give them
any satisfaction, they content'd themselves with admonishing me,
and dismissed me, considering me, perhaps, as an apprentice, who was
bound to keep his master's secrets.

During my brother's confinement, which I resented a good deal,
notwithstanding our private differences, I had the management
of the paper; and I made bold to give our rulers some rubs in it,
which my brother took very kindly, while others began to consider
me in an unfavorable light, as a young genius that had a turn
for libelling and satyr. My brother's discharge was accompany'd
with an order of the House (a very odd one), that "James Franklin
should no longer print the paper called the New England Courant."

There was a consultation held in our printing-house among
his friends, what he should do in this case. Some proposed to
evade the order by changing the name of the paper; but my brother,
seeing inconveniences in that, it was finally concluded on as a
better way, to let it be printed for the future under the name
of BENJAMIN FRANKLIN; and to avoid the censure of the Assembly,
that might fall on him as still printing it by his apprentice,
the contrivance was that my old indenture should be return'd to me,
with a full discharge on the back of it, to be shown on occasion,
but to secure to him the benefit of my service, I was to sign new