o have been a very happy and even jovial young man.

Four months after Franklin had entered upon his mercantile career,
both Mr. Denham and Franklin were seized with the pleurisy. Mr. Denham
died. Franklin, though brought near to the grave, recovered. He
writes:

"I suffered a great deal; gave up the point in my own mind;
and was at the time rather disappointed when I found myself
recovering; regretting in some degree that I must now,
sometime or other, have all that disagreeable work to do over
again."

The death of Mr. Denham broke up the establishment, and Franklin was
thrown out of employment. Keimer, in whose service he had formerly
been engaged, again made him an offer to superintend a printing
office. Franklin accepted the proposition. There were five inefficient
hands, whom Franklin was expected to transform into accomplished
printers. With these, and a few others, he organized a literary club,
called the "Junto; or the Leathern Apron Club," as nearly every member
was a mechanic.

The club met every Friday evening, and the wine cup, to stimulate
conviviality, passed freely among them. There were twenty-four
questions, which were every evening read, to which answers were to be
returned by any one who could answer them. Between each question, it
was expected that each member would fill, and empty, his glass. One
would think that the wine must have been very weak, or the heads of
these young men very strong, to enable them to quaff twenty-four
glasses unharmed. We give a few of the questions as specimens of their
general character.

1. "Have you met with anything in the author you last read?

3. "Has any citizen in your knowledge failed, and have you
heard the cause?

7. "What unhappy effects of intemperance have you lately
observed?

12. "Has any deserving stranger arrived in town since your
last meeting?

16. "Has anybody attacked your reputation lately?

23. "Is there any difficulty which you would gladly have
discussed at this time?"

Debates, declamation, and the reading of essays added to the
entertainment of these gatherings. Stories were told, and bacchanal
songs sung. No man could tell a better story, and few men could sing a
better song than Benjamin Franklin. No one was deemed a suitable
member of the club, who would not contribute his full quota to the
entertainment or instruction. The questions proposed by Frankl