16 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE ORIGIN OF THE 



fresh, and attracted the general attention. I think 

 then I am founded in my conjecture that such a book 

 existed, and that it was the one that was put into the 

 hands of Dr. Smith, which he forgot to return, or if 

 he returned it, was otherwise lost. 



This conjecture acquires strength when we consider 

 what little care was taken of those valuable docu- 

 ments. By the articles of union, on the 20th of 

 December 1768, it was agreed that the books etc. of 

 the two Societies should be placed at the disposal of 

 the United Society. But this stipulation was not 

 faithfully executed. I do not know how the first of the 

 two volumes above mentioned came into our posses- 

 sion, but the second and most important, as it con- 

 tains the proceedings of the new organization of the 

 Junto and the negotiations for the union of the two 

 Societies, remained eleven years after that union in 

 the hands of Mr. Eobert Strettell Jones, a member 

 of the Society, who, on the 26th of June, 1781, sent 

 it to one of the Secretaries, with other documents be- 

 longing to us, and with the only apology that he had 

 "found them among his papers. " See his letter to 

 Mr. [Timothy] Matlack, bound with the two volumes 

 of the proceedings of the Junto. 



I proceed now to examine the contents of those 

 volumes : 



In the first we recognize in every page the old 

 Junto, as established by Dr. Franklin. The minutes 

 that it contains are filled with questions to be dis- 



