COUNT RUMFORD. 133 



cess of his new scheme, he urged upon those with whom 

 he acted the necessity of making 'the indolent and 

 luxurious take an interest in it. Such persons, he 

 says, " must either be allured or shamed into action." 

 Hence, he urges, the necessity of making benevolence 

 " fashionable." 



It ought to be mentioned that Kumford, at this 

 time, could count on the sympathy and active support 

 of a number of excellent men, who, in advance of him, 

 had founded a " Society for Bettering the Condition and 

 Increasing the Comforts of the Poor/' The aid of the 

 committee of this society was now sought. It was agreed 

 on all hands that the proposed new Institution would 

 be too important to permit of its being made an ap- 

 pendage to any other. It was resolved that it should 

 stand alone. A committee consisting of eight members 

 of the above society was, however, appointed to confer 

 with Rumford regarding his plan. To each member of 

 this committee he submitted a statement of his views. 

 These are in part set forth in the title to his pamphlet 

 already quoted. The aim of the Institution, further- 

 more, was " to excite a spirit of improvement among 

 all ranks of society, and to afford the most effectual 

 assistance to those who are engaged in the various pur- 

 suits of useful industry." He begged, however, that His 

 Majesty's Ministers might be informed of the intention 

 of the founders of the Institution to accept his services. 

 This he deemed necessary because of his being, in the 

 first place, a subject of His Majesty, and also, by His 

 Majesty's special permission, the servant of a foreign 

 prince. The Government was to be fully informed, not 

 only as to the general aims, but also of the details of 

 the scheme. Xot till then did he ask for the counte- 

 nance and support necessary to carry it into execution. 



The committee met and ratified Rumford's pro- 



