Chapter II (1)

LIFE OF RUMFORD AFTER THE FOUNDATION OF THE INSTITUTION.

1799 to 1814.

The history of the life of Count Rumford in 1799, 1800, 1801 to May 1802 is chiefly the history of the Royal Institution. The foundation of it forms an episode which must be separated from the rest of his career. But some of the letters and events of these years which are more closely related to his future life will be recorded here.

Before he began the Institution he had almost determined to go to America, and before the building was finished he wrote to his daughter regarding the time ‘when I shall be at liberty,’ and soon after he spoke of going to Munich, but before his plans for the Institution were carried out he went to Paris, where new attractions put an end to all he intended to do in America and in England, and he never revisited his native or his adopted country.

On June 9, 1800, Sir C. Blagden wrote to Rumford’s daughter in America:

It will give me great pleasure to see you again either here or in
America. Do not depend upon the Count’s going to visit you there.
It is indeed possible that the fancy may suddenly strike him, and
then he will set off in an instant, almost without giving notice.
But his favourite child, the Institution, cannot yet walk alone,
and, if he quits it at the time he talks of, will be a helpless
cripple, even if it should continue to exist at all. I still see
with regret his time and powers wasted on an object so inferior, in
my opinion, to those which presented themselves to him in America.
But he views the thing in a different light, and I suspect will be
led on to stay here one year after another, till you are worn out
with expecting him, and the opportunity of distinguishing himself
in a rising country will be past.

Count Rumford thus wrote to his daughter:

Royal Institution, London, March 2, 1801.

MY DEAR CHILD,--I am still established at the Institution. I have
been exceedingly busy, but desire to be thankful that all is now
nearly completed, when I shall be at liberty. We have found a nice
able man for this place as lecturer--Humphry Davy. Lectures are
given, frequented by crowds of the first people. Lady Palmerston
and her two daughters, Frances and Elizabeth, are pretty constant
attendants.

They would not receive me as minister here, but seem disposed
now to make it up to me by the respect they show the
Institution--originally and chiefly my work. Bernard says they
are crazy about it. It was certainly gratifying to me to see the
honourable list of lords, dukes, &c., as fifty-guinea subscribers.
It is a very extensive establishment, and will cost a great deal
of money; but I hope it will be an equal advantage to the world,
as the expense and labour of forming it have been great. To strive
for good things I view as a laudable ambition, as I hope you do, my
dear Sally. But I hope, above all, to hear of your being well and
happy, not doubting the rest.

I hope to be undisturbed by visitors this morning, or workmen,
from my being thought to be at Harrogate, and to be allowed quietly
to fill this sheet. You can form no idea of the bustle in which I
live since I have taken up my residence in this place. In short,
the Royal Institution is not only the fashion but the rage. I am
very busy indeed in striving to turn the disposition of the moment
to a good account for the permanent benefit of society.

I have the unspeakable satisfaction to find that my labours have
not been in vain. In this moment of scarcity and general alarm
the measures I have recommended in my writings for relieving the
distresses of the poor are very generally adopted, and public
kitchens have been erected in all the great towns in England and
Scotland. Upwards of sixty thousand persons are fed daily from the
different public kitchens in London.

The plan has lately been adopted in France, and a very large public
kitchen for feeding the poor was opened in Paris three weeks since.
A gentleman present tells me that the founders of the institution
did me the honour to put my name at the head of the tickets
given to the poor authorising them to receive soup at the public
kitchens. At Geneva they have done still more to show me respect.
They have marked their tickets with a stamp on which my portrait
and my name are engraved.

I am not vain, my dear Sally, but it is utterly impossible
not to feel deeply affected at these distinguished marks of
honour conferred on me by nations at war with Great Britain,
and in countries where I have never been, or know little of the
inhabitants. But my greatest delight arises from the silent
contemplation of having succeeded in schemes and labours for the
benefit of mankind.

Sir C. Blagden wrote to Rumford’s daughter, September 10, 1801:

Your father is indeed going to Munich, and talks of setting out in
a fortnight. I had at one time almost settled to go with him, but
he then proposed to stay there all this winter and next summer. Two
or three weeks ago he changed his plan, and determined to make this
only a preparatory visit, and to return hither within three months.
For my own part I sincerely wish that he had found it expedient to
make a voyage to America instead of this journey on the Continent.
I would then certainly have accompanied him across the Atlantic,
notwithstanding the unsettled state of affairs here. He every day
talks more and more coolly about going to America, and though I
really think that he means to make _you_ a visit there some time
or other, yet it does not seem as if he promised himself much
satisfaction besides.

As to his health, it is nearly the same as usual, except that he
is rather thinner, having lived long upon a very spare diet. The
constant agitation of his mind, and the irritable constitution with
which it is connected, will necessarily prevent him from enjoying a
regular state of good health.

Again, in September, writing to his daughter, Rumford says that the new Elector has invited him to return with assurances of his warm friendship, and ‘that though many salaries and pensions have been suspended through the war, his shall be paid.’ He says he is going to Munich, ‘but that if the Elector will excuse him he does not intend to stay long, the Royal Institution still requiring his oversight.’

He reached Munich by way of Mannheim, and thence wrote to his daughter:

Munich, October 2, 1801.

MY DEAR SALLY,--I arrived here late last evening, and early this
morning went to pay my respects to the Elector, who received me
with all imaginable kindness. He appears to have plenty of business
for me in an academy he is about building, but, as things are not
yet in readiness to begin, I am excused from remaining; instead
of which I return to England, to put an end to the work begun
there--that of the Royal Institution. I owe so much to the Elector,
it is my duty to do all in my power to give him satisfaction.
Besides, he says I shall be president of the academy when done.

In another letter he speaks of the kindness he met with in Bavaria.

He left Munich on October 13, and again wrote to his daughter on his arrival in Paris on the 25th. His daughter says this was her father’s first visit to Paris. The reception he met with was ‘simply enchantment.’ His inventions were in common use; his name was familiar to everyone. He made a multitude of acquaintances; parties were made for him every day; and he particularly liked one lady. Two letters written to Sir Joseph Banks from Paris in 1801 are of great interest.

Hôtel de Caraman, Paris, November 11.

MY DEAR SIR JOSEPH,--I arrived here from Munich about a fortnight
ago, and I purpose staying here three weeks longer. My reception
has been very flattering, and I find many interesting objects
of curiosity that engage my attention. I have already made the
personal acquaintance of most of the men of eminence in science,
and I have attended several of the meetings of the National
Institute. At the last meeting of the mathematical and physical
class the First Consul came in, and, fortunately for the complete
gratification of my curiosity, he happened to come and seat himself
very near me. One person only (Lagrange) was between us. He stayed
about an hour--till the meeting was over. Volta read a memoir on
Galvanism and explained his theory of the action of the voltaic
pile or battery. His opinion is that all the appearances that are
called galvanic are owing to the action of an electric fluid, and
he says that the simple tact of two metals--silver and zinc, for
instance--is sufficient to set the electric fluid in motion; and
if the metals are insulated, one of them will become electrified
positively and the other negatively. This assertion was proved by
an experiment which was made before the assembly, and this fact is
the foundation on which his explanation of the phenomena of the
galvanic pile is established. After Volta had finished his memoir
the First Consul demanded leave from the President to speak, which,
being granted, he proposed to the meeting to reward M. Volta with
a gold medal, and to appoint a committee to confer with M. Volta
on the subject of his experiments and investigations respecting
galvanism, and to make such new experiments as may bid fair to lead
to further discoveries. He delivered his sentiments with great
perspicuity and displayed a degree of eloquence which surprised
me. He is certainly a very extraordinary man and is possessed of
uncommon abilities. The expression of his countenance is strong,
and it is easy to perceive by his looks that he can pronounce the
magic words ‘je le veux’ with due energy. I was presented to him by
the Bavarian minister at his last public audience, and was received
by him with marked attention. He gave me to understand that he knew
me by reputation very well, and intimated that the French nation
had adopted several of the improvements I had recommended. A few
minutes after I came home from the audience I received a note from
him, inviting me to come and dine with him that day. The foreign
ministers dined with him, but no other stranger except myself was
invited; consequently my being invited was considered as a marked
distinction. It was the next day that I saw him again at the
National Institute.

I have had opportunities of making the acquaintance of several of
the most distinguished characters now in power in this country.
I am very intimate with Chaptal, the Minister of the Interior,
and frequently see Talleyrand, the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
I have dined with both of them, and visit them often. Laplace and
Bertholet are very civil and attentive to me, and have each of them
given me a dinner, where I met most of the men of science of the
first distinction in Paris. Fourcroy has also given me a dinner. In
short, I am treated with the utmost civility, and I spend my time
very agreeably and very usefully. I hope to see you in London about
the 6th or 8th of December.

Ever yours most faithfully,
RUMFORD.

He again wrote:

November 22, 1801.

MY DEAR SIR JOSEPH,--I do wrong perhaps, but I cannot help telling
you that your name is at the head of the list of those ten persons
whom the Class of Mathematics and Physics have resolved to present
to the National Institute at their next general meeting, in order
to their being elected foreign members of the Institute. You were
proposed to the class by the Section of Botany. Your name is
followed by those of Maskelyne, Cavendish, Herschel, Priestly,
Pallas, Volta, and three others. I was present when the ballot of
the class was taken, and had the satisfaction to see that all the
votes agreed in placing your name at the head of the list. I was
politely told that my name would have been near that of my friend,
had it not been that the second class of the Institute had claimed
me as belonging to them and had placed me on their list. The three
first names on that list are, I am told, Mr. Jefferson, President
of the United States, Count Rumford, and Major Rennell; the others
I did not learn.

I was proposed to the class by the Section of Political Economy.
The classes propose to the Institute, and the Institute elects at
a general meeting. The number of foreign members is limited to
twenty-four. As the election will not take place for some weeks to
come, I beg you would make the most prudent use of the information
I have given you. I shall not mention the subject to anybody but
yourself.

I hope to see you in London in about three weeks from this time.

My health is much improved, and is still improving every day. My
stay in Paris has afforded me much amusement, but I begin to be
impatient to see my friends in England. I hope everything is going
on well at the Royal Institution.

I am, my dear Sir Joseph, with unalterable esteem and attachment,
yours most faithfully,

RUMFORD.

In another letter to his daughter, written January 15, 1802, he says that he returned to Brompton on December 20, and that he was three months on the Continent and seven weeks of the time in Paris. He spoke of his intention to enjoy again the delights of the French capital on his way, in the course of the summer, to Munich and to get excused from any longer residence at Munich. The Elector continued friendly to him, and had lately written to him a very gracious letter, in which he expresses his pleasure at the cordiality extended towards Rumford in France, and advises him to cultivate an acquaintance with a certain lady there, who, among other attractions, was said to have great wealth. When he made this second visit to Paris, the Count accepted an invitation which he had received to stay with the Bavarian ambassador.

Before he left England again, May 9, 1802, he published the third volume of his essays.

His tenth essay was on ‘Kitchen Fire-Places and Utensils;’ his eleventh on ‘Chimney Fire-Places.’

His twelfth on the ‘Salubrity of Warm Rooms in Cold Weather;’ his thirteenth on the ‘Salubrity of Bathing and the Construction of Warm Baths.’ His fourteenth consisted of ‘Supplementary Observations on the Management of Fires;’ his fifteenth was on the ‘Use of Steam for Transporting Heat.’

In May 1802 he also published a volume of his philosophical papers, with a dedication to his Most Serene Highness Maximilian Joseph, Elector Palatine of Bavaria. In this he says he must ever feel himself greatly indebted to his Most Serene Electoral Highness

for the kind assurances you gave me of your esteem, protection, and
friendship on your succeeding to your present Bavarian dominions on
the death of your late uncle, my kind friend and benefactor; but I
am bound to you still more, if it be possible, by the flattering
invitation you have lately given me to come to you and reside at
your Court and assist in the local work of carrying into execution
the vast plans you have formed for promoting the prosperity of your
subjects.

From Brompton, May 6, 1802, he writes to his daughter: ‘In three days I shall set out for Dover, on my way to Paris, where I expect to stay four or five weeks, and then to proceed to Munich.’ He sent by way of Holland two carriages and much baggage.

On May 20 Sir C. Blagden wrote from Paris to Sir Joseph Banks: ‘Count Rumford arrived here last Friday (the 14th) in remarkably good health. Travelling agrees with him, and he seems very happy. We purpose to set out for Bavaria before the middle of next month.’

Writing to his daughter, June 25, Rumford says: ‘I did not propose to stay here long, but the Elector has written commissioning me to transact some business for him of a political nature in which he is much interested.’

On June 8 Sir C. Blagden writes to Sir Joseph Banks: ‘I was preparing everything to set off for Germany, and had even applied to Mr. Merry for a passport, when Count Rumford told me he had received permission from the Elector to stay a few weeks longer at Paris. This considerably deranges my plans.’

On July 19 Rumford wrote to Sir Joseph Banks:

Rue de Clichy, 356, July 19, 1802.

MY DEAR SIR JOSEPH,--The print[9] you sent me has afforded me
much amusement, and, even more than that, it has given me real
satisfaction. It is just that ‘those who take up the sword should
perish by the sword.’ I never had a doubt who was the author of
another print which certainly was not designed to give me pleasure.
Although it has long been said, and I believe with truth, that
those who render themselves conspicuous by their superior genius,
their talents, and, above all, by their usefulness to society,
must necessarily be exposed to the shafts of envy and to the
hatred of all bad men, yet, much as I am desirous of deserving the
approbation of mankind, so far from feeling any secret satisfaction
at seeing myself distinguished by those miscreants, who may justly
be considered as the vermin of society, I lament that I am not
permitted to finish my days in peace and quietness. But the
established order of things cannot be changed, and I must endeavour
to support with patience and dignity all those evils which cannot
be avoided.

I continue to pass my time here in Paris very agreeably. The
society in which I live most is very pleasant, and I am surrounded
by a great variety of interesting objects of curiosity. I have very
often the satisfaction of hearing your name mentioned, and always
in terms of the highest possible respect. No individual was ever in
more complete possession of the enlightened world than yourself. It
is indeed true that no man ever deserved it more.

An extraordinary meeting of the first class of the Institute was
held on Saturday last for the purpose of deciding a dispute which
had arisen among the Ingénieurs des Ponts et Chaussées relative
to an intended canal from Cambray to St. Quentin, to form a
communication by water between the Belgique and the interior of
France. Two plans had been proposed, one by a M. Laurent and the
other by M. Vicque.

Laurent proposed to form the junction by one straight subterranean
canal about six French leagues in length; Vicque proposed to
avail himself of a valley, in order to diminish the length of
the subterranean passage to about three leagues. The latter was
almost unanimously approved by the Institute, though the total
length of the canal of Vicque is more than a third greater than
that of Laurent, and though it has two subterranean passages
instead of one. The First Consul was present at the discussion of
this question by the Institute, and took a very active part in
the debate. He displayed very uncommon abilities. He is indeed a
very extraordinary man. He hears with patience and with the utmost
attention every argument opposed to his own opinions, and he states
the question in dispute in so clear a light, and divests it so
completely from every consideration that is not essential, that
every difficulty seems to be removed and the decision rendered
quite plain and obvious.

I was at the public audience of the 14th of July, and dined with
the First Consul, and also stayed and spent the evening at the
Tuileries. We sat down to table about 240 persons, and about 60
or 80 of the company stayed and spent the evening. There were a
few card tables--not more than four or five. The First Consul did
not play, but walked about and talked to the company. He went out
two or three times upon an elevated terrace, or rather large open
platform, on the level of the apartment we were in to see the
illuminations of the gardens. As often as he appeared, the crowd
below saluted him by clapping hands.

He went to the opera the next evening, and, instead of occupying
his private box, which is grillé, he went and took his place in the
front of Madame Bonaparte’s box, where he was exposed to the view
of the whole house. The applause he received was quite enthusiastic
and lasted near a quarter of an hour. ‘Vive Bonaparte!’ was heard
from every part of the theatre, and the actors were obliged to
stop for some time. These applauses were again repeated when he
went away. He came to the meeting of the Institute on Saturday
without any guards, and accompanied only by his brother-in-law,
General Murat. I followed him down the stairs when he went away.
I found his carriage waiting for him, surrounded by about ten or
twelve grenadiers, who kept the crowd at a small distance from the
carriage and formed a line from the foot of the staircase. He was
received by the populace with shouts of applause, and he drove away
without guards and with a single footman behind his carriage, which
was a coach.

Thursday Morning, July 31.

This letter will be forwarded by M. d’Ifeffel, the Elector’s chargé
d’affaires at London, who will leave Paris this evening. My stay
at Paris is very uncertain; I fancy, however, that I shall set
out for Munich in the course of three or four weeks. The Elector
writes me the kindest and most flattering letters, and I have the
satisfaction to think that my stay here has been of some use to
him. I avoid most carefully every appearance of interfering in
public business, but I now and then find opportunities of putting
in a word privately where it is not lost. I fancy the Elector will
be well treated in the general arrangement which is about to take
place.

I thank you for the information you have given me relative to the
Royal Institution. It is impossible for me not to feel very deeply
interested in its fate. I hope it will prosper; I know it will if
you can support and protect it. It would grieve me to see it fall
to the ground. My health is much improved since I have been in
France. I am, indeed, now quite well. I continue to spend my time
here very agreeably. If there should be anything I could do for you
here, I hope and trust that you will have no scruples in favouring
me with your commands.

I am, and shall ever be, my dear Sir Joseph, with unalterable
attachment, yours most faithfully,

RUMFORD.

On August 10, Tuesday, Sir C. Blagden writes: ‘I am on the point of setting out with Count Rumford for Munich. We go first to Mannheim, and I expect to be there next Sunday; afterwards, perhaps, through that tract of country bordering on Switzerland which will be ceded to the Elector as a compensation, so as to reach Munich about the latter end of this month.’

On August 30, from Munich, Sir C. Blagden wrote to Sir Joseph Banks:

I wrote to you from Paris on the day of our departure, and left the
letter to be sent by post next day. Our journey hither was made
during the hottest time of this summer; we had the thermometer
in the carriage one day at 93°, and several days within a degree
or two of it; but this great heat did not injure our health or
materially impair our spirits or appetite.

It is really pleasant to see with what respect and affection Count
Rumford is treated here by all ranks of people. I do not mean to
say that he is without enemies, for surely he has many, but all,
as far as I can learn, from envy, jealousy, or competition of
interests. The great mass of the people consider him as a public
benefactor, and would rejoice to see the government of the country
thrown into his hands. This, however, as far as I can judge from
what he says, as well as from his actions, is by no means his own
wish, and, indeed, I think he can do as much good, leading at the
same time a vastly pleasant life, if he remains simply as the
Elector’s friend. In our way we called at a convent in Bavaria, and
it was surprising to see how much attachment the monks show to him,
though they must consider him as a heretic. In spite of religious
differences he has found the means to persuade them of his general
good intentions. The Elector and every person in his family behave
to the Count with great respect, and are extremely gracious to me,
evidently for the purpose of showing regard to his introduction.

On September 1, Rumford wrote to his daughter that he found his English Garden grown more beautiful than ever, the Elector sparing no expense upon it. But his House for the Poor had not been well attended to, though there were few or no beggars to be met with in the streets. The Count says that he was received by the public with the most flattering marks of esteem and respect. The Emperor of Russia sent him an invitation to visit St. Petersburg, but the Count could not make up his mind to the undertaking. He writes:

My health requires that I should keep more quiet. It is all I
ask here. I have and ask no augmentation of appointments. Many
cannot understand why I am not more anxious for places and money.
People even pretend I am going to be Minister of State; but for a
certainty I am not, neither do I desire to be. I want only quiet.

In her summary of a letter from her father, dated from Mannheim, November 30, 1802, his daughter says that ‘he alludes to his love concern: says he has got into full employment at Munich, but would rather be in Paris; and the _certain lady_ would rather have him there.’

At Christmas he was still at Mannheim, and thence he wrote to the clerk at the Institution: ‘As I have no correspondent but you who can inform me how you are going on at the Royal Institution, you will oblige me very much by writing to me now and then, and letting me know what you are doing, and how the Institution stands in the public opinion. You will easily believe that I must be very anxious to hear of its welfare and prosperity.’ He said that he hoped to be back in April or May. In January he sent his compliments to Dr. Young and to Mr. Davy.

Writing to his daughter again from Munich, January 22, 1803, Rumford says he is unsettled there, and therefore that he cannot conveniently have her with him, but that at a future time, not far distant, he will attempt it. He spoke of the style in which he was living, having his servants, the Aichners, with him, with his carriages. While he was at Munich he was joined by Madame Lavoisier.

Sir C. Blagden wrote to Sir Joseph Banks:

Paris, October 15, 1802.

As a good occasion of making the journey to Paris presented itself,
I left Munich about a week sooner than I originally intended, and
have now been some days in this capital.

Count Rumford was in very good health, and proposed to spend the
winter at Munich; he was going into a magnificent house, or rather
palace, lent him by one of the nobility, an old friend, in which
he meant to give concerts as he used to do. The Elector continued
to treat him with the most marked distinction, but he did not seem
to be engaging in any public business. Indeed, the country was
rather in a state of alarm, on account of the menacing appearances
of the Emperor, who evidently wants part of Bavaria as a further
compensation to the Grand Duke. The Count’s opinion when I quitted
him was that he should be in Paris next spring, and thence return
to England.

Two months later Sir C. Blagden said: ‘The Count finds the climate of Mannheim much milder and more suitable to his constitution than that of Munich, which is really sharp and trying.’ And afterwards he wrote regarding the French Institute:

Count Rumford has been removed from the third class to the first, a
change which I believe he very much desired. In consequence there
is now only one vacancy to be filled up in the first class, and I
think that Volta will be the man chosen at the next election.

Unless we are all sent away by the war, I shall probably stay near
a fortnight longer than the 5th of April.

The Count expects to be in England some time in the summer. He is
very busy making experiments on heat, and says his new-invented
instruments have already put him in possession of several new and
interesting facts.

Sir C. Blagden wrote to Rumford’s daughter from London, August 8, 1803:

When my letter of last June was written I thought your father
pretty much fixed at Munich, and therefore ventured to suggest to
you that it might contribute to your happiness if you were to be
established at that Court. But I learn since that the Elector has
set him more at his liberty, and that in consequence he intends to
return to England this autumn. Political difficulties may possibly
stand in the way of this journey, but he hopes to avoid them. I am
still as much at a loss as I was in June to answer your question
whether your father be going to marry. He is now, as I told you in
that letter, making the tour of Switzerland with a very amiable
French lady. But I have no reason to think that they have any idea
of matrimonial connexion. When the Count comes to England she is to
return to Paris; at least so he writes me word.

He wrote to Sir Joseph Banks:

Count Rumford has sent me a letter from Mannheim, dated the 13th
of September. He had applied for leave to pass through France to
England, but was refused. I suppose the French Government thought
that he too would act the spy.[10]

He professes himself still uncertain whether he should not attempt
the journey by the north of Germany, but I am myself pretty well
satisfied that he will not. In the meantime he desires me to
assure you that he will certainly contrive to send the paper on
Heat before Christmas. The King and Queen of Sweden were then at
Mannheim. He had been presented to and had dined with them.

Later he wrote:

Soho Square, September 29.

My last letter from Count Rumford was of July 31, but I have
learned otherwise that he was at Geneva about the 20th of
August, setting out for a tour to the icy mountains of Savoy. He
has permission, therefore, to travel in that part of the French
territory. Whether he will be allowed to return to England through
France, or whether he will come at all, I do not yet know.

Whilst in Switzerland Rumford wrote ‘Some Observations on the Glaciers of Chamouni, and on the Propagation of Heat in Liquids.’ This paper was sent to the Royal Society, of which he was then vice-president, December 15. It was published in the ‘Philosophical Transactions’ for 1804.

On December 5, 1803, Sir C. Blagden again wrote to Rumford’s daughter:

All I can tell you about your father is this: He continued
travelling with the French lady till about the middle of September,
when she left him at Mannheim and returned to Paris. Your father
had applied to the French Government for leave to come to England
through France, but was refused. In consequence he remained at
Mannheim till the middle of October, when, having by some means,
I do not know how, induced the French Government to change their
resolution, and allow him to travel in France, he set out for
Paris; and I know that he was in that city on the 1st of November.
In the last letter I received from him, which was written the day
before he set out from Mannheim, he said that he had great hopes
of being in England before the end of this year. Since that time I
have heard nothing from him. He continues very intimate with the
lady, but whether it will end in a marriage I cannot say. My own
opinion is rather inclined to the negative, yet I have no good
foundation for it.

Since this was written I have received a letter from your father,
dated at Paris, November 11. By this it is evident that he expects
to marry the French lady, though nothing is yet finally determined.

On March 12, 1804, he again writes from Liverpool:

The last account I received of your father was dated the 19th of
January. He was then at Paris, very assiduous in his attentions to
the French lady, with whom, indeed, he spent most of his time. But
I believe she had not then determined to marry him, and I am still
inclined to think she never will. In the meantime he is entirely
losing his interest in the country. His residence at Paris this
winter, whilst we were threatened with an invasion, is considered
by everyone as very improper conduct, and his numerous enemies do
not fail to make the most of it. He has quarrelled with Mr. Bernard
and others of his old friends at the Royal Institution, and they do
all they can to render him unpopular. Probably he has written to
you more than once by American ships since his residence at Paris.
To me he wrote on the 12th of November, about a fortnight after his
arrival there. But I expect no other letter from him, as it would
certainly be imprudent in him to keep up a correspondence with this
country during his residence in France.

On January 22, 1804, Rumford wrote to his daughter:

I shall withhold this information from you no longer. I really
do think of marrying, though I am not yet absolutely determined
on matrimony. I made the acquaintance of this very amiable woman
in Paris, who, I believe, would have no objection in having me
for a husband, and who in all respects would be a proper match
for me. She is a widow, without children, never having had any,
is about my own age, enjoys good health, is very pleasant in
society, has a handsome fortune at her own disposal, enjoys a most
respectable reputation, keeps a good house, which is frequented by
all the first philosophers and men of eminence in the science and
literature of the age, or rather of Paris, and, what is more than
all the rest, is goodness itself.... She is very clever (according
to the English signification of the word); in short, she is
another Lady Palmerston. She has been very handsome in her day, and
even now, at forty-six or forty-eight, is not bad-looking; of a
middling size, but rather _en bon point_ than thin. She has a great
deal of vivacity and writes incomparably well.

He soon after writes again of the lady: ‘She is fond of travelling, and wishes to make the tour of Italy with me. She appears to be most sincerely attached to me, and I esteem and love her very much.’

On February 7, 1804, the Count writes again from Paris. He and Madame Lavoisier were then making preparations for their marriage. She deposited in his name one hundred and twenty thousand _livres_ in the five per cent. French funds, which was to go to the survivor of the three--herself, himself, or his daughter. An income of six thousand a year out of her own property was secured to Madame Lavoisier. Her house in Paris, as well as the Count’s at Brompton, was to revert to the survivor of the two.

On July 2 he said:

MY DEAR SALLY,--This letter, which will be entirely devoted to very
serious and important business, will, no doubt, obtain your serious
attention.

In order to be able to complete in a _legal manner_ some domestic
arrangements of great importance to me and to you, I have lately
found, to my no small surprise, that certificates of my birth and
of the death of my former wife are indispensably necessary. You
can, no doubt, very easily procure them--the one from the town
clerk of Woburn, the other from the town clerk of Concord. And I
request that you would do it without loss of time, and send them
to me under cover, or rather in a letter addressed to me and sent
to the care of my bankers in London. As an accident may possibly
happen to that letter, I beg you would at the same time send
another set of these certificates directly to Paris, addressed to
me, rue de Clichy, No. 356.

On July 3 he wrote to Mr. Savage, the clerk of the Royal Institution:

With regard to the outstanding bills which you mention, as I intend
and expect to come to England soon, they may as well stand on till
my arrival. Some of the charges require examination. It gives me
great pleasure to hear that my house is kept in good order. I hope
to inhabit it next winter.

On August 10 the Count left Paris for Munich.

On May 1, 1805, he wrote to the clerk of the Royal Institution:

Munich, May 1.

I have written to Mr. Herries respecting the letting or selling
of my house. I hear that the Royal Institution is become a great
favourite with the public. I am sorry, however, to find that the
Journals of the Institution have not been continued. I desire you
would make my compliments to Mr. Davy, and tell him that I am still
employed in my researches on heat and light. I should be glad to
know what he is doing, for I am sure he cannot be idle. It is now
more uncertain than ever when I shall have it in my power to visit
England.

To his daughter he wrote, June 18, from Munich:

I left Paris the 9th of June, and arrived here the 16th. My stay
here is uncertain, for many things are yet wanting that are
indispensably necessary for the success of such an establishment
as the Academy of Arts and Sciences.[11] I continue to pursue my
philosophical researches, and that will ever be the most pleasing
occupation I can have.

On September 17 he was again in Paris.

He wrote to his daughter:

Rue d’Anjou, No. 39, Paris, October 25, 1805.

You will have intelligence by the papers of the events that have
lately taken place in Germany. Foreseeing the storm, I left Munich
the day before the Elector left it. I have brought Aichner and his
whole family, not being willing to leave them behind. I succeeded
in so winding up my affairs in Bavaria as in the future to be able
to live where I please. I shall, of course, go from time to time to
pay my respects to the Elector, for he has ever treated me with too
much respect for me to be negligent on that account towards him.

I have informed you before of the arrangements Madame Lavoisier
and I had made in case of our marriage, which, in fact, took place
yesterday.

I have the best-founded hopes of passing my days in peace and quiet
in this paradise of a place, made what it is by me--my money,
skill, and directions. In short, it is all but a paradise, removed
from the noise and bustle of the street, facing full to the south,
in the midst of a beautiful garden of more than two acres, well
planted with trees and shrubbery. The entrance from the street is
through an iron gate, by a beautiful winding avenue, well planted,
and the porter’s lodge is by the side of this gate; a great bell to
be rung in case of ceremonious visits.

The daughter’s comment on this letter is: ‘It seems there had been an acquaintance between these parties of four years before marriage. It might be thought a long space of time enough for perfect acquaintance. But, ah Providence! thy ways are past finding out.’

Dr. Ellis, the biographer of Rumford, says:

An interval, though a very brief one, of cheerfulness and
satisfaction, was enjoyed by the Count after his marriage. There
were but two letters to his daughter recognising this state of
content and pleasant anticipation. He informed her that he left
Munich under the pleasantest relations with the Bavarian sovereign
and his friends at that Court. He had received a letter from
Maximilian, congratulating him on his marriage and approving of
his settling himself in France, and at the same time adding four
thousand florins a year to his pay.

One letter was dated from Paris, December 20, 1805, two months after his marriage:

I gave up my lodgings on quitting Munich, and managed so as to
settle all concerns of business. I flatter myself I am settled
down here for life, far removed from wars and all arduous duties,
as a recompense for past services, with plenty to live upon and
at liberty to pursue my own natural propensities, such as have
occupied me through life--a life, as I try to fancy, that may come
under the denomination of a benefit to mankind.

Next spring we are going to travel into Italy and the south of
France, to be gone two years, so you must patiently stay where you
are for the present.

You will wish to know what sort of a place we live in. The house is
rather an old-fashioned concern, but in a plot of over two acres of
land, in the very centre and finest part of Paris, near the Champs
Elysées and the Tuileries and principal boulevards. I have already
made great alterations in our place, and shall do a vast deal more.
When these are done I think Madame de Rumford will find it in a
very different condition from that in which it was, that being very
pitiful with all her riches.

Our style of living is really magnificent. Madame is exceedingly
fond of company, and makes a splendid figure in it herself. But
she seldom goes out, keeping open doors; that is to say, to all
the great and worthy, such as the philosophers, members of the
Institute, ladies of celebrity, &c.

On Mondays we have eight or ten of the most noted of our associates
to dinner. Thursdays are devoted to evening company, of ladies and
gentlemen, without regard to numbers. Tea and fruits are given, the
guests continuing till twelve or after. Often superb concerts are
given, with the finest vocal and instrumental performers.

At this time Sir C. Blagden wrote to Sir Joseph Banks:

I have received a letter, dated November 22, from a lady in Paris,
which contains no kind of news except the following article about
Count Rumford and his lady: ‘Madame Lavoisier s’appelle à présent
Madame de Rumford. J’ai vu Madame de Rumford [the writer of the
letter has been returned to Paris only two days]. Ils ne donnent
ni l’un ni l’autre aucun détail sur leur mariage ni sur l’époque;
un jour ils l’ont dit à leurs amis, et il n’y a pas eu plus de
formalité que cela. Ils sont sur un pied fort amical, mais ils
étaient ainsi depuis longtemps. La maison de Mdme. de Rumford est
charmante. Elle l’embellit tous les jours et avec beaucoup de goût.’

On January 15, 1806, Rumford wrote to his daughter:

The newspapers will acquaint you with the other particulars of this
peace, which will occasion a great change in the political state of
Germany, as, in fact, of all Europe. I hope that I shall not, and
I do not think that I shall, lose by any of these changes. At all
events the Elector, or rather the new King, has just written me a
very kind letter, giving me hopes, rather than suggesting fears of
anything of a disagreeable nature. But dependencies like mine can
never be otherwise than uncertain, as I feel it, notwithstanding
my marriage. I may make a change, after all, but never certainly
to the disadvantage of anyone. Between you and myself, as a family
secret, I am not at all sure that two certain persons were not
wholly mistaken, in their marriage, as to each other’s characters.
Time will show. But two months barely expired, I forebode
difficulties. Already I am obliged to send my good Germans home--a
great discomfort to me and wrong to them.

On March 8, 1806, Sir C. Blagden, who had quarrelled with his friend because he thought that Count Rumford had not defended him from the imputation of acting as a spy in Paris in 1803, wrote to Rumford’s daughter regarding the marriage:

They are now living together in Paris, and, as far as I can learn,
very happily. I know nothing of it from your father himself, which
is not surprising, as I some time since intimated to him my wish
that our correspondence should cease. We are not, to the best of my
knowledge, on terms of enmity, but it is not likely that any kind
of confidence or friendship should subsist between us again.

In 1806 and 1807 Count Rumford sought for relief by the pursuit of science. He published in the Memoirs of the mathematical class of the Institute a continuation and extension of his investigations on light and heat. These were in the sixth, seventh, and eighth volumes, and made nine papers. 1. ‘A Description of a New Thermoscope or Differential Thermometer.’ 2. ‘Researches on Heat, Showing the Effect of Difference of Surface on Radiation.’ 3. ‘Further Experiments on the Effect of Blackening the Surface.’ 4. ‘Researches Continued on the Different Properties of Bodies with Respect to Radiation and to Conducting Powers.’ 5. ‘Further Researches on the Passage of Heat through Solids.’ 6. ‘Experiments on the Heat of the Solar Rays.’ 7. ‘Remarks on the Temperature of Water at the Maximum Density.’ He made it 41° F. or 5° C. This paper was published in the ‘Philosophical Transactions.’ 8. On the ‘Dispersion of the Light of Lamps by Screens of Ground Glass, Silk, and so forth, with a Description of a New Lamp.’ He had an illuminator constructed and presented to the Institute. This paper was published in England as his sixteenth essay on the ‘Management of Light in Illuminations.’ 9. On the ‘Cooling of Liquids in Vases of Porcelain, Gilt or not Gilt.’

In October 1806 he gave this sad account to his daughter:

MY DEAR CHILD,--This being the first year’s anniversary of my
marriage, from what I wrote two months after it, you will be
curious to know how things stand at present. I am sorry to say
that experience only serves to confirm me in the belief that in
character and natural propensities Madame de Rumford and myself
are totally unlike, and never ought to have thought of marrying.
We are, besides, both too independent, both in our sentiments
and habits of life, to live peaceably together--she having been
mistress all her days of her actions, and I, with no less liberty,
leading for the most part the life of a bachelor. Very likely she
is as much disaffected towards me as I am towards her. Little it
matters with me, but I call her a female dragon--simply by that
gentle name! We have got to the pitch of my insisting on one thing
and she on another.

It is possible that, had the war ceased raging, and had we gone
into Italy, where she is dying to go, and with me too, she having
heard me speak much of the delights of that country, she having
been very happy, too, in travelling with me in Switzerland, it
might have suspended difficulties, but never have effected a cure.
That is out of the question. Indeed, I have not the least idea of
continuing here, and, if possible, still less the wish, and am only
planning in my mind what steps I shall take next--to be hoped more
to my advantage. Communication with England is prohibited, and it
makes me sad.

He wrote more pitiably a year later:

Rue d’Anjou, Paris, October 24, 1807.

I can do no more, my dear Sally, than simply give you the latest
news upon this the anniversary of my marriage, for I am still here,
and so far from things getting better they become worse every day.
We are more violent and more open, and more public, as may really
be said, in our quarrels. If she does not mind publicity, for a
certainty I shall not. As I write the uncouth word _quarrels_, I
will give you an idea of one of them.

In the first place be it known that this estate is a joint concern.
I have as good a right to it as Madame, she having paid rather
more in the beginning, but I an immensity of money in repairs and
alterations, &c. &c., besides a great deal of my own time and care
spent while we have been here.

I am almost afraid to tell you the story, my good child, lest in
future you should not be good; lest what I am about relating should
set you a bad example, make you passionate, and so on. But I had
been made very angry. A large party had been invited I neither
liked nor approved of, and invited for the sole purpose of vexing
me. Our house being in the centre of the garden, walled around,
with iron gates, I put on my hat, walked down to the porter’s lodge
and gave him orders, on his peril, not to let anyone in. Besides, I
took away the keys. Madame went down, and when the company arrived
she talked with them, she on one side, they on the other, of the
high brick wall. After that she goes and pours boiling water on
some of my beautiful flowers.

And the wretched climax came the next year:

Rue d’Anjou, St. Honoré, No. 39, Paris, April 12, 1808.

After what you know, my dear Sally, of my domestic troubles you
will naturally be anxious to know the present state of things.
There are no alterations for the better. On the contrary, much
worse. I have suffered more than you can imagine for the last four
weeks; but my rights are incontestable, and I am determined to
maintain them. I have the misfortune to be married to one of the
most imperious, tyrannical, unfeeling women that ever existed, and
whose perseverance in pursuing an object is equal to her profound
cunning and wickedness in framing it.

It is impossible to continue in this way, and we shall separate. I
only wish it was well over. It is probable I shall take a house at
Auteuil, a very pleasant place, with the Seine on one side and the
Bois de Boulogne on the other, about a league from Paris. I have
seen a very handsome house there which I can have--rather dear,
but that matters little can I but find quiet. It would be truly
unfortunate, after the King of Bavaria’s late bounties joined to
former ones, if I could not live more independently than with this
unfeeling, cunning, tyrannical woman.

Little do we know people at first sight! Do you preserve my
letters? You will perceive that I have given very different
accounts of this woman, for _lady_ I cannot call her.

Now, my dear Sally, as soon as I get settled, enjoying again
independence, I shall wish you to join me.

In the meantime believe me your affectionate Father.

The Count bought the lease of his villa at Auteuil in April 1808.

For the last two or three months of his most miserable married life he was seriously ill. The nature of his illness is seen by the remedies that benefited him. He told his daughter that the King of Bavaria, having knowledge of his domestic discomforts, had recently written him a letter that had done him much good. ‘He speaks most kindly to me, and encourages me to bear my misfortunes like a man of firmness who has nothing to reproach himself with.’

The separation took place amicably on June 30, 1809. He soon after wrote to his daughter: