COUNT RUMFORD. 



by it. My own experience, I may say, corroborates JL 

 this. Kumford took the senses of man as he found 

 them, and tried to enhance the gratifications thence 

 derived : " To increase the pleasure of a warm bath 

 he suggests the burning of sweet-scented woods and 

 aromatic gums and resins in small chafing-dishes in the 

 bathing-rooms, by which the air will be perfumed with 

 the most pleasant odours." He spiritedly defends this 

 counsel : " Effeminacy is no doubt very despicable, 

 especially in a person who aspires to the character and 

 virtues of a man. But I see no cause for calling any- 

 thing effeminate which has no tendency to diminish 

 either the strength of the body, the dignity of the 

 sentiments, or the energy of the mind. I see no good 

 reason for considering those grateful aromatic perfumes, 

 which in all ages have been held in such high estima- 

 tion, as a less elegant or less rational luxury than smok- 

 ing tobacco or stuffing the nose with snuff." 



Bumford, for a year or so, occupied rooms in the 

 Institution, but his private residence was in Brompton 

 Bow, described by his friend Pictet as being about a mile 

 from London. Grass and trees grew in front of the 

 house. The windows had a double glazing, and outside 

 were placed vases of flowers and odorous shrubs. Pictet, 

 who was Eumford's guest in 1801, minutely describes 

 the whole arrangement of the house. Into Bumford's 

 working-room, which overlooked the country, the light 

 came through a set of windows arranged on the arc of 

 a circle. The window-sills were arranged with flowers 

 and shrubs, so that you might suppose yourself to be in 

 the country, close to a garden bordered by a park. 

 Pictet goes on to describe the various strokes of inge- 

 nuity shown in the management of the fuel and fire- 

 places. The beds, moreover, were disguised as elegant 

 sofas. Under each sofa were two deep drawers contain- 



