letter-founder in America, he would contrive to form new letters of lead in matrices of clay, using the old letters for punches, and thus produced tolerable substitutes. He was also occasionally the engraver of various ornaments, made printer's ink, gave an eye to the shop and to the warehouse, and was in every respect a factotum. But he was destined to exhibit the versatility of his genius upon a larger scale. Keimer began to speculate upon the possibility of doing without him; became imperious, uncivil, and difficult to please; and on the payment of his second quarter's wages, gave him to understand they were too heavy.

Franklin says he bore with his ill-humour for a length of time patiently, observing his affairs to be deranged. They finally quarrelled, and parted upon the following occasion. Our young printer, hearing a noise in the street, left his work to see what was the matter; which Keimer observing, commanded him, in a noisy, reproachful manner, to return to it.

This taking place in the public street, piqued our philosopher not a little. He went in, the master following. "The quarrel became warm on both sides; and he gave me," says Franklin, "notice to quit him at the expiration of three months, as had been agreed upon between us; regretting that he was obliged to give me so long a term. I told him that his regret was superfluous, as I was ready to quit him instantly; and I took my hat and came out of the house, begging Meredith to take care of some things which I left, and bring them to my lodgings."

In the evening, Meredith came to Franklin; and the conversation naturally turned upon the difference, and the state of Keimer's affairs. Meredith predicted that Franklin's departure would be the master's ruin, as his creditors were already alarmed; and dissuaded him from returning to New England, as he proposed; observing that, by waiting for the opportunity, a vacancy of great advantage to him must soon occur in Phila

he observed, that his (Meredith's) father had a very high opinion of him, and, from a conversation that had already passed between them, he was sure that he would advance whatever might be necessary to establish them in partnership. "My time with Keimer," added he, "will be at an end next spring. In the mean time, we may send to London for our press and types. I know that I am no workman; but if you agree to the proposal, your skill in the business will be balanced by the capital I shall furnish; and we will share the profits equally." "His proposal was seasonable, and I fell in with it. His father," adds Franklin, "who was then in the town, approved of it. He knew that I had some ascendancy over his son, as I had been able to prevail on him to abstain a long time from drinking brandy; and he hoped that, when more closely connected with him, I should cure him entirely of this unfortunate habit."

The father took a list from Franklin of what would be necessary to furnish an office, which he immediately directed one of the merchants to procure upon his credit; the young men agreeing to keep their arrangement secret until the materials should arrive: our author was to find work in the mean time at the other printing-house. This however he could not obtain; and Keimer, being pressed with some printing from New Jersey, sent a civil message to Franklin, telling him that old friends ought not to be disunited on account of a few words which were the effect of a momentary passion, and inviting him to return. Meredith joined in the invitation, particularly as it would afford him the opportunity of improving himself in the business; and the parties soon lived upon better terms than before their separation.

The New Jersey business was in fact the printing of money-bills for that colony, and required both types and engravings which Keimer could not supply without Franklin's aid. He now therefore had to furnish these as before, and, finally, to repair to Burlington with Keimer, where, the whole being executed

satisfactorily, the latter received a sum of money, which upheld his credit for some time.

Here Franklin's acquaintance became numerous and respectable. Several distinguished persons of the province having been appointed a committee to attend the press, and see that no more bills were printed than were directed by law, they were with Franklin and his employer continually; and the former evidently possessing the more cultivated and fertile mind, a greater value was set on his company and conversation. Franklin was invited to their houses, introduced to their friends, and honoured with civilities from which Keimer was excluded. The subject of our memoir was indeed placed by the side of no very formidable rival; Keimer evinced great practical ignorance of life, was rude in his manners, dirty and slovenly in his person, and enthusiastic in that sort of religion which permitted him to be no small knave. Among his friends, Franklin could, at length, enumerate judge Allen, Bustil, the secretary of the province, Messrs Pearson and Cooper, several of the Smiths, who were members of the assembly, and Isaac Decow, the surveyor-general. These friends, all obtained during the short interval of three months in which he remained at Burlington, continued more or less connected with him during the whole of his future life. Decow was a keen old man, whose history was not greatly dissimilar to that of Franklin. He told him, that when young he was employed in wheeling clay for the brickmakers; that he learnt to write after he was of age; then carried the chain for the surveyors, who taught him their art; and that he had now by his industry acquired a good estate. "I foresee," said he, "that you will soon work this man Keimer out of his business, and make a fortune in it at Philadelphia." At this time he had not the least intimation of Franklin's intention to set up anywhere.

Soon after Franklin's return to Philadelphia, the new types which had been ordered arrived from London. He and Meredith left Keimer, and took a

twenty-four pounds a year. To lessen it, they parted off a portion of the house for Thomas Godfrey, a glazier; and had just put their press in order, and expended all their cash, when George House, an acquaintance of Franklin, brought a countryman to them who had been inquiring for a printer. The extent of his first order in business was about five shillings, which Franklin says gave him more pleasure than any equal sum he afterwards earned; and the gratitude which he felt on this occasion, inclined him, oftener than he should have been otherwise disposed, to assist beginners. Some persons however foreboded their speedy downfall. A gentleman named Samuel Mickle, in particular, of a solemn aspect and a very grave manner of speaking, stopped Franklin one day, and asked him if he were the young man who had lately opened a new printing-house? Being answered in the affirmative, he said that he was sorry for him, because Philadelphia was a sinking place, half the people already bankrupts or near being so; and added such a detail of existing and impending misfortunes, that he left Franklin half repentant of his new plans. This person however continued to live in the decaying place he had described, and to declaim in the same strain, refusing for many years to buy a house, because all was going to destruction. "Until at last," says Franklin," I had the pleasure of seeing him give five times as much for one as he might have bought it for when he first began croaking."

Early in his career as a printer, Franklin formed most of his acquaintance into a club called the JUNTO, which met on Friday evenings; and drew up for them a body of rules, requiring that each member should in kis turn produce one or more queries, to be discussed by the company, on any point of morals, politics, or natural philosophy; and should every three months read an essay of his own writing on some subject generally interesting. The meetings of the society were to be conducted by a president, in a sincere spirit of inquiry after truth, without fondness for dispute, or

desire of victory. To prevent distraction or division all positiveness of opinion, direct contradiction, &c., were prohibited under small pecuniary penalties. Some of the early members were-Joseph Breintual, a copier of law-deeds, a friendly, middle-aged man, fond of poetry, and a tolerable composer in that department of the belles-lettres, of sensible conversation, and an ingenious mechanic ;-Thomas Godfrey, an able self-taught mathematician, afterwards inventor of what is called Hadley's Quadrant, a man of contracted knowledge upon general subjects, and by no means a pleasing companion: like most other great mathematicians, Franklin says, he expected universal precision, and was for ever denying or distinguishing upon trifles, to the great annoyance of the society he soon left them;-Nicholas Scull, afterwards surveyor-general, a man of considerable reading, who acquired a considerable share of mathematical knowledge, with a view to the practice astrology, the delusions of which he soon discovered;-William Maguridge, a joiner, an excellent mechanic, and a judicious, worthy man;-Robert Grace, a young gentleman of fortune, who loved punning, and had some pretensions to true wit;-and W. Coleman, a merchant's clerk," about my own age," says Franklin, "who had the coolest and clearest head, the best heart, and the most exact morals, of almost any man I ever met with." He afterwards became a considerable merchant, and one of the provincial judges. A close friendship subsisted between him and Franklin for a period of forty years. The society continued nearly as long, and was throughout a flourishing school of philosophy, morality, and politics.

The original rules of this institution are worth preserving here, as exhibiting the honest struggles of growing intellect among the members. Instrumental as it was in the formation of many public measures, it existed for nearly thirty years without being publicly known.