be a
scholar while he was a printer.

The "Junto" appears to have been copied in England, half a century
after this period. When the celebrated Canning was in his youth, being
educated at Oxford, a debating society was organized, limited to the
number of six, who met every Thursday evening at the rooms of the
members. At each meeting, before they separated, the subject for the
next meeting was voted and recorded. Here Canning and Jenkinson (who
became Earl of Liverpool) made their first speeches, and here they
received impulses that helped them on to fame.

Franklin began to think more of religion, and to raise some queries
respecting his former doubts, soon after he came back from England.
The two young men whose religious sentiments he corrupted and
unsettled turned out badly, and cheated him out of a sum of money, and
this led him to inquire if it was not because they ignored religious
principle. He witnessed other conduct among those who talked lightly
of religion, which caused him to inquire, whether, after all, his
parents were not in the right. He stayed away from meeting, and
devoted the Sabbath to study, which had a very bad look. Yet, he said,
"I never was without some religious principle. I never doubted the
existence of a Deity; that He made the world and governed it by his
providence; that the most acceptable service of God was the doing good
to man; that our souls are immortal; and that all crimes will be
punished, and virtue rewarded, either here or hereafter." He also
subscribed something for the support of the only Presbyterian meeting
in Philadelphia, and advocated the importance of sustaining public
worship.

The minister called upon him, and counselled him to attend church,
just when he was beginning to think better of it, and it had the
effect to bring him out occasionally. Once he went five Sabbaths in
succession. But the preacher was dull and uninteresting, so that
Franklin was not well pleased; still he continued to attend
occasionally, until, one Sabbath, the preacher took the following
text: "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, honest, just,
pure, lovely, or of good report, if there be any virtue, or any
praise, think on these things." The minister was usually doctrinal in
his style of preaching, but now Franklin thought he would have
something practical. Consequently he was sadly disappointed when he
found that the discourse embraced only the following points:--1.
Keeping holy