208 THE EOYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN. 



it. And in order tliat the proprietors and subscribers may be enabled to judge, 

 by experience, of the merit of such or encli method of cooking, or of any new 

 viand which may be suggested, a dining-i'oom has been provided at the Institu- 

 tion, ia which the directors will, fi'om time to time, prescribe experimental din- 

 ners, of which the proprietors and subscribers shall be invited to partake, the 

 whole at the expense of the guests. 



" A conversation-saloon has heen provided. * * * One of the divisions on 

 the ground floor has been assigned for a printing-office, which pertains exclu- 

 sively to the Institution. It is particularly designed for printing its journals,* 

 which will prol)ably be issued once a week, and of which three numbers have 

 already appeared. These memoirs will contain not only the detail of all that 

 is done at the Institution and in England relative to the introduction of inven- 

 tions or useful improvements, but also a selection from eveiything of foreign 

 production which can be of advantage to the country. * * * As the prin- 

 cipal object of the establishment is to promote improvements in the mechanical 

 arts, to stimulate and encourage the exercise of genius and industr}', bearing on 

 objects of practical and immediate utility, it has been decided to introduce 

 nothing which has reference to the three teamed professions : theology, law, and 

 medicine. 



"A department will shortly be arranged for the accommodation of 18 or 20 

 young persons destined for dillerent mechanical professions. An evening school 

 will be established with this view, in which will be taught the art of designing, 

 practical geometry, and the elements of mathematics." 



We are indebted to the BibliofJieque Britannique (vol. xx, 1802) for the state- 

 ments which follow, taken from the report of Count Rumford, April 26, 1802: 



''The new amphitheatre, where the lectures are given, is finished; notwith- 

 standing its large dimensions, a voice uttered in a low tone can be heard from 

 one extremity to the other, and neither echo nor resonance is remarked when a 

 high tone is employed. Light is admitted from al)ove l)y means of a cylindrical 

 lantern of double glass, and complete obscurity is obtained b}- lowering the 

 movable top of this lantern to the level of the ceiling. The saloon is of a 

 semi-circular form, with the addition of a parallelogram equal in length to the 

 diameter of the circular part (60 feet) and 15 feet in width. Eleven ranges of 

 seats ascend from the floor to a gallery which contains three additional ranges. 

 The amphitheatre is warmed in winter by steam, which is made to circulate in 

 tubes of copper conducted under the first range of benches. * * * 'T\\e 

 depot of models is a saloon 44 feet long by 33 wide, and comprises a large num- 

 ber of new and useful mechanical inventions. * * * The chemical laltora- 

 tory is finished, as are likewise the workshops, which are all in activity. The 

 great kitchen is in operation, and is furnished with a complete Itattery. * * 

 The price of subscription has been considerably advanced, so that while the 

 expenditure amounts to but c£3,894, (97,350 francs,) the receipts have risen to 

 d£S,484, (212,000 francs.) The Royal Institution may thus be considered as 

 completed and firmly established." 



V. — The engagement of humpheet datt. 



From what has been said above, we ma}' form an exact idea of the plan which 

 had been proposed by Count Rumford in creating the Royal Institution. This 

 plan, however, was destined soon to undergo essential modiiications, and nothing 

 more greatly contril)uted to the change than the engagement of Humphrey 

 Davy by Rumford himself. 



Mr. Underwood and Dr. Hope (their names deserve commemoration) having 

 spoken in the most eulogistic terms of the j'oung chemist of Penzance, Count 

 Rumford entered into negotiations with Davy in January, 1801, and, 16th Feb- 



*" Journals of the Royal Institution of Great Britain. 



