DATE OF THE FOUNDATION OF THE SOCIETY. 191 



two groups of men, both of which refer to themselves 

 as the Junto, does not it is true rise to an actual demon- 

 stration, but, added to the doubt left from a study of 

 the minutes, it amounts, in my mind at least, to an ab- 

 solute conviction. With the opposite view on this ques- 

 tion taken in the report of the committee, I cannot 

 therefore agree. The two groups of men have very 

 much in common, including the use of the name Junto, 

 but they were two groups of men, nevertheless. 



The third piece of substantive evidence, the letter 

 written by Charles Thomson to Franklin, November 6, 

 1768, not only confirms the impression of the existence 

 of two societies, but contributes to the solution of the 

 difficulty involved in their contemporary existence. In 

 this letter Thomson, who had been the most active 

 member of the Society of which we have the minutes, 

 at least since 1758, tells Franklin of its recent revival, 

 the extension of its membership and its new plans, and 

 begs his advice and assistance in carrying out these 

 plans. He tells him that he, Franklin, has within the 

 last few months been elected to membership and still 

 more recently to its presidency. This is all in accord- 

 ance with what we already know from a study of the 

 minutes, and discloses no new fact. Incidentally, how- 

 ever, he tells what the minutes do not tell us, that the 

 Society was begun in 1750. This is a simple concrete 

 statement and there is no reason to doubt that it means 

 just what it says. The society of which we have the 

 minutes was " begun in 1750. " 8 



s Keport, pp. 153-5. 



