Similarities surfaced early. Around the time he turned 15, William ran off to join the crew of a ship docked in Philadelphia, from which his father retrieved him. Franklin could hardly argue with the dash for freedom, having made his own at 17. He too had longed, as a youth, for the sea. Shortly after his escapade, William was allowed to enlist in the British army. The concession seemed to affirm that he in no way suffered from the brand of “harsh and tyrannical treatment” that Franklin had known as a boy, treatment he thought might explain his later aversion to arbitrary power. He was, and knew he was, an indulgent parent. He once counseled a friend to give a child all he wanted, so that the child would develop a pleasant countenance. William was exceedingly handsome.