COUNT RUMFOKD. 121 



Verona, where he committed himself to the planning of 

 soup-kitchens. He made similar plans for other cities, 

 BO that to call his absence a holiday would be a mis- 

 nomer. He returned to Munich in August 1794, slowly 

 recovering, but not able to resume the management 

 of his various institutions. In September 1795 he re- 

 turned to London, after an absence of eleven years. 

 Dr. Ellis describes him as * the victim of an outrage ' on 

 his arrival, the meaning of which seems to be that the 

 trunk containing his papers, which was carried behind 

 his carriage, was appropriated by London thieves. ' By 

 this cruel robbery,' he says, ' I have been deprived of 

 the fruits of the labours of my whole life. . . . It is 

 the more painful to me, as it has clouded my mind with 

 suspicions that can never be cleared up.' What the 

 suspicions were we do not know. 



Soon afterwards he was invited by Lord Pelham, then 

 Secretary of State for Ireland, to visit him in Dublin ; 

 he went, and during his two months' stay there busied 

 himself with improvements of warming, cooking, and 

 ventilation, in the hospitals and workhouses of the city. 

 He left behind him a number of models of useful 

 mechanism. The Eoyal Irish Academy elected him a 

 member. The grand jury of Dublin presented him 

 with an address ; while the Viceroy and the Lord Mayor 

 wrote to him officially to thank him for his services. 

 Dr. Ellis has not been able to find these documents, 

 but they were seen by Pictet, who describes them as 

 ' rilled with the most flattering expressions of esteem 

 and gratitude.' 



In Rumford's case the life of the intellect appeared 

 to have interfered with the life of the affections. When 

 he quitted America, he left his wife and infant daughter 

 behind him, and whether any communication after- 

 wards occurred between him and them is not known, 



