188 SEPAKATE KEPOET ON THE 



with several intermissions, a society consisting of 12 

 members, meeting on Friday evenings, discussing mat- 

 ters of scientific or other serious interest, making use 

 of a well established entrance ceremony and by-laws, 

 and referred to from time to time in its records as the 

 Junto. 1 The name, organization, objects, number of 

 members, time of meeting and other practices of this 

 society immediately suggest the Junto organized by 

 Franklin in 1727 and described by him in his autobiog- 

 raphy and some early papers; 2 and seem to indicate 

 that this body is nothing more nor less than a continua- 

 tion of that Society. A slight misgiving is perhaps 

 aroused by the fact that in the minute book no one of 

 the members of Franklin's Society is mentioned as a 

 member or visitor, although at least five were still living 

 through most of this period ; that they speak of them- 

 selves in 1768 only as having ' ' existed for some years, ' ' 3 

 and nowhere make a claim of very early origin; and 

 that in 1768 Benjamin Franklin himself was elected to 

 membership. 4 Nevertheless these somewhat discon- 

 certing facts can perhaps be explained away, and if we 

 had no source of information except these minute books, 

 I have little doubt they would be looked upon as frag- 

 mentary records of the club which Franklin founded in 

 1727. 



When, however, we take up the ten letters between 

 Franklin, Eoberts, and Syng, which I have spoken of 



1 Abstract from Junto Minute book, Report, pp. 99, 101, 103-106, etc. 



2 Report, p. 126. 

 s Eeport, p. 115. 

 4 Eeport, p. 118. 



