3 Runaway

Chapter 3 Runaway Ben left home and went to work in his brother's shop. James taught him to set type. Ben was a fast learner and was soon printing booklets and songs. As the master, James had to pay for his apprentices' food and lodging. Ben moved in with a family. James's other apprentices lived there, too. James paid the family to provide Ben with meals and a bed. Ben thought of a way to raise some cash. He

proposed a deal. James should stop paying the family to feed Ben. Instead, James should give Ben the meal money. Ben would feed himself— on just half the money James had been paying the family for his meals. Ben asked only one thing. Any meal money he didn't spend, he could keep. James agreed to the deal. The young apprentice found a book on cooking with vegetables. He stopped eating meat. He lived on rice, boiled potatoes, and a

cornmeal mush called hasty pudding. To his brother's surprise, Ben was able to save part of his meal money. He spent it on books. Ben liked to read poetry. He decided to write a few poems of his own. In November 1718, the pirate known as Blackbeard was killed. Ben wrote a poem about it that began: Will you hear of a bloody battle, Lately fought upon the seas? It will make your ears rattle, And your admiration cease.

James printed Ben's poems. He sent Ben out into the streets to sell them. Ben's poem about a drowning became very popular. It was called "The Lighthouse Tragedy." Soon the people of Boston were talking about the twelve-year-old poet. Another of Ben's jobs was to help print the Boston Gazette. It was one of America's first newspapers. Then, in 1721, James began his own paper, the New England Courant. Ben printed the Courant and delivered copies to customers.

Ben enjoyed the work, but his brother was a harsh master. James wanted to show his other apprentices that he did not favor Ben. When Ben made mistakes, James beat him. Ben would then talk back. James would only beat him some more.

Around April Fools' Day of 1722, Ben decided to play a trick on his brother. He began writing funny articles about life in Boston. He didn't sign them with his own name. Instead, he made up a woman's name: Silence Dogood. Late at night, Ben slipped the articles under the door of the print shop. James found them. He liked Silence Dogood's articles so much that he printed them in the Courant. They appeared for half a year. People in Boston wondered: Who was Silence Dogood? Ben even heard James