 One of his grandfather's quotes was "To be poor may be neither disgraceful nor fault" and "To be mean and dependent is always disgraceful".William left Cheltenham to return to his parents in London in 1774, where he was apprenticed out as a silversmith at the age of 13 years for 15/- a week.One day he agreed with his brother "to go and hear the devil's preach", for thus they spoke of an African man who was there preaching in open spaces in London.