124: COUNT RUMFORD. 



Thus late, where poverty with rapine dwelt, 

 Rumford's kind genius the Bavarian felt, 

 Not by romantic charities beguiled, 

 But calm in project, and in mercy mild ; 

 Where'er his wisdom guided, none withstood, 

 Content with peace and practicable good ; 

 Round him the labourers throng, the nobles wait, 

 Friend of the poor, and guardian of the State. 



The pall of smoke which habitually hung over Lon- 

 don, " covering all its prominent edifices with a dingy 

 and sooty mantle/' curiously and anxiously interested 

 him. He " saw in that smoke the unused material which 

 was turned equally to waste and made a means of annoy- 

 ance and insalubrity." He would bind himself, if the 

 opportunity were allowed him, " to prove that from the 

 heat, and the material of heat, which were thus wasted, 

 he would cook all the food used in the city, warm every 

 apartment, and perform all the mechanical work done 

 by means of fire." Under this wasted heat Eumford 

 would doubtless comprise both the imperfectly-con- 

 sumed gases, such as carbonic oxide, and the heated air 

 and other gases discharged by the chimneys. 



There is no doubt that the present age has entered 

 largely into the labours of Eumford. Many of the 

 devices and conveniences now employed in our kitchens 

 owe their origin to him. The practical needs and 

 mechanical ingenuity of his own countrymen have 

 caused them to follow his lead with conspicuous success. 

 We have, for example, in our modest little kitchen in 

 the Alps, an American oven which, with the expenditure 

 of an extremely small amount of firewood, heats our 

 baths, cooks our meat, bakes our bread, boils our 

 clothes, and contributes to the warmth and comfort of 

 the house. This arrangement traces its pedigree to 

 Eumford. 



