"
"What kind of a place is it?"
"It is a fine place; I like it better than Boston."
"Going back?"
"Yes; very soon, too. No place like that for the printing business."
"Good pay?"
"Yes, better pay than in Boston."
"How large is the place?"
"Seven thousand inhabitants; smaller than Boston, but smarter."
"What kind of money do you have there?"
There was no established currency in the country at that time, and
paper money only was used in Boston. His interrogator wanted to know
what they used in Philadelphia.
"They use that," replied Benjamin, taking from his pocket nearly five
pounds sterling in silver and laying it on the table. "Rather heavier
stuff to carry than your Boston paper money."
"It looks as if you had struck a silver mine, Ben," remarked one.
"Some lucky hit, Ben," said another. "The printing business bring you
that?"
"No other did. I was a printer when I left, and I am now, and I expect
to be in the future. And, what is more, I have no desire for another
business."
"You sport a watch, I see," said one of the number.
"Yes, such as it is; a good companion, though."
"Let us see it," one suggested.
"You can." And Benjamin passed it to him, and all examined it.
"Can't afford such luxuries in Boston," one printer remarked.
"It is not a luxury by any means; it is a necessity," replied
Benjamin.
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