A friend of Franklin's, named Ralph, accompanied him from America, and the two took lodgings together in Little Britain at three shillings and sixpence per week. Franklin immediately obtained employment at Palmer's printing-office, in Bartholomew Close; but Ralph, who knew no trade, but aimed at literature, was unable to get any work. He could not obtain employment, even among the law stationers as a copying clerk, so for some time the wages which Franklin earned had to support the two. At Palmer's Franklin was employed in composing Wollaston's "Religion of Nature." On this he wrote a short critique, which he printed. it was entitled "A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain." The publication of this he afterwards regretted, but it obtained for him introductions to some literary persons in London. Subsequently he left Palmer's and obtained work at Watts's printing-office, where he remained during the rest of his stay in London. The beer-drinking capabilities of some of his fellow-workmen excited his astonishment. He says:—
We had an alehouse boy who attended always in the house to supply the workmen. My companion at the press drank every day a pint before breakfast, a pint at breakfast with his bread and cheese, a pint between breakfast and dinner, a pint at dinner, a pint in the afternoon about six o'clock, and another when he had done his day's work. I thought it a detestable custom, but it was necessary, he suppos'd, to drink strong beer, that he might be strong to labour. I endeavoured to convince him that the bodily strength afforded by beer could only be in proportion to the grain or flour of the barley dissolved in the water of which it was made; that there was more flour in a pennyworth of bread; and therefore, if he would eat that with a pint of water, it would give him more strength than a quart of beer. He drank on, however, and had four or five shillings to pay out of his wages every Saturday night for that muddling liquor; an expense I was free from. And thus these poor devils keep themselves always under.
Afterwards Franklin succeeded in persuading several of the compositors to give up "their muddling breakfast of beer and bread and cheese," for a porringer of hot-water gruel, with pepper, breadcrumbs, and butter, which they obtained from a neighbouring house at a cost of three halfpence.
Among Franklin's fellow-passengers from Philadelphia to England was an American merchant, a Mr. Denham, who had formerly been in business in Bristol, but failed and compounded with his creditors. He then went to America, where he soon acquired a fortune, and returned in Franklin's ship. He invited all his old creditors to dine with him. At the dinner each guest found under his plate a cheque for the balance which had been due to him, with interest to date. This gentleman always remained a firm friend to Franklin, who, during his stay in London, sought his advice when any important questions arose. When Mr. Denham returned to Philadelphia with a quantity of merchandise, he offered Franklin an appointment as clerk, which was afterwards to develop into a commission agency. The offer was accepted, and, after a voyage of nearly three months, Franklin reached Philadelphia on October 11, 1726. Here he found Governor Keith had been superseded by Major Gordon, and, what was of more importance to him, that Miss Read, to whom he had become engaged before leaving for England, and to whom he had written only once during his absence, had married. Shortly after starting in business, Mr. Denham died, and thus left Franklin to commence life again for himself. Keimer had by this time obtained a fairly extensive establishment, and employed a number of hands, but none of them were of much value; and he made overtures to Franklin to take the management of his printing-office, apparently with the intention of getting his men taught their business, so that he might afterwards be able to dispense with the manager. Franklin set the printing-house in order, started type-founding, made the ink, and, when necessary, executed engravings. As the other hands improved under his superintendence, Keimer began to treat his manager less civilly, and apparently desired to curtail his stipend. At length, through an outbreak of temper on the part of Keimer, Franklin left, but was afterwards induced to return in order to prepare copper-plates and a press for printing paper money for New Jersey.
While working for Keimer, Franklin formed a club, which was destined to exert considerable influence on American politics. The club met on Friday evenings, and was called the Junto. It was essentially a debating society, the subject for each evening's discussion being proposed at the preceding meeting. One of the rules was that the existence of the club should remain a secret, and that its members should be limited to twelve. Afterwards other similar clubs were formed by its members; but the existence of the Junto was kept a secret from them. The club lasted for about forty years, and became the nucleus of the American Philosophical Society, of which Franklin was the first president. This, and the fact that many of the great questions that arose previously to the Declaration of Independence were discussed in the Junto in the first instance, give to the club a special importance. The following are specimens of subjects discussed by the club:—
"Is sound an entity or body?"
"How may the phenomena of vapours be explained?"
"Is self-interest the rudder that steers mankind, the universal monarch to whom all are tributaries?"
"Which is the best form of government? and what was that form which first prevailed among mankind?"
"Can any one particular form of government suit all mankind?"