24 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE ORIGIN OF THE 



increased in population and wealth, and the inhabi 

 tants had made considerable progress in knowledge. 

 Tliis change of circumstances could not but strike the 

 minds of the leaders of the Junto, particularly of 

 Charles Thomson, who possessed a liberal and en 

 larged mind, and whom we find at this time acting 

 as the worthy successor of Franklin. He was a good 

 classical scholar, and possessed much general knowl 

 edge. He saw that the time was come for establish 

 ing a learned Society at Philadelphia, and that the 

 Junto might be its basis. We are going to see how 

 he labored for that purpose, and how, in the end, he 

 succeeded. 



The minutes of the Junto, contained in the second 

 of the two volumes in our possession, begin with the 

 25th of April 1766. The members at that time were 

 nine in number, to wit: Edmund Physick, Isaac 

 J&amp;gt;artram, Isaac Paschall, Moses Bart ram, James 

 Pearson, Isaac Lane, Joseph Paschall, Owen Biddle, 

 and Charles Thomson. Only three of these were 

 members at the breaking up four years before, but 

 among these were Charles Thomson and Edmund 

 Physick, who appear to have been the most active 

 and most efficient in former times. The others had 

 come in by successive elections. 



At the first opening of these minutes, it appears 

 that they are the continuation of former proceedings 

 of the old Junto. 



Little was done at the meetings, until the 23rd of 



