ON MR. DU PONCEAU S HISTORY. 79 



addressed to Franklin, dated March 1st, 176G, and 

 which was found among the Franklin papers, in the 

 possession of the Society. His words are &quot;The 

 Junto fainted last summer in the hot weather, and lias 

 not yet revived. Your presence might reanimate it, 

 without which I apprehend it will never recover&quot; 



This suspension of &quot;the Junto&quot; is referred to the 

 summer of 1765, and the question arises, does Philip 

 Syng refer to the Society- Junto ? Unfortunately, 

 the summer of 1765 is within the long period of 

 three and a half years, for which we have no minutes. 

 If it be said that the expression &quot;fainted last sum 

 mer,&quot; implies that the Junto alluded to met im 

 mediately before that period, the Committee are 

 willing to grant the inference; but the absence of 

 minutes of such meetings is not to be taken as proof 

 that the allusion cannot be to the Society- Junto ; for 

 the Committee have admitted it as probable, that 

 some meetings took place within the period of the 

 great chasm in the minutes, for reasons already 

 given. A passage in a letter of Hugh Roberts to 

 Franklin, dated May 20th, 1765, also found among 

 the Franklin papers, bears upon this point. He 

 says, &quot;I sometimes visit the worthy remains of the 

 ancient Junto, for whom I have a high esteem; but, 

 alas, the political, polemical divisions have, in some 

 measure, contributed to lessen that harmony we 

 there formerly enjoyed.&quot; Thus the &quot;Junto&quot; was 

 sometimes visited by Hugh Roberts in the spring of 



