254 Life of Count Rumford. 



" SIR, At a meeting of the American Academy of Arts 

 and Sciences, the gth instant, were communicated by the Presi- 

 dent your very acceptable favors of the I2th July. In reply to 

 which, permit me the honor to request your acceptance of the 

 thanks of the Academy for your very polite and obliging present 

 of the first volume of your ingenious and useful Essays, and for 

 the pleasing and elegant profile of their Author. I am also 

 charged by the Academy to give you every possible assurance, 

 not only of the lively emotions of gratitude inspired by your 

 generous and truly noble proposal of transferring to the Acad- 

 emy, for the important purposes expressed in your letter, five 

 thousand dollars of the three per cent stock of the United 

 States, but likewise of their conscious obligation and cheerful 

 readiness sacredly to apply the interest of the same as directed 

 by the munificent donor. Excuse my adding, that the Academy 

 is sensibly affected, not only by the liberality of this appropria- 

 tion, but by the delicate manner in which it is made. 

 . " Supposing it possible, though not probable, that you might 

 be unacquainted with the method of transferring American 

 stocks, the President suggested the expediency of enclosing an 

 abstract of the mode of making transfers at our offices. Ac- 

 cordingly, I waited on Mr. Appleton, the Loan Officer in this 

 State, and from his letter have transcribed the enclosed extract. 

 " Agreeably to Mr. Appleton's ideas I have also taken the 

 liberty of naming two gentlemen in the vicinity of Boston who 

 will be happy to execute your orders, if empowered to .transfer 

 the stock aforesaid to the c American Academy of Arts and 

 Sciences,' either jointly or severally, as you may think proper, 

 viz., the Rev. Joseph Willard, D. D., of Cambridge, and the 

 Hon. Loammi Baldwin, Esq., of Woburn, both in the county 

 of Middlesex. These gentlemen, or either of them, would, I 

 doubt not, faithfully and cheerfully discharge the trust, whether 

 the stock were issued from the office in Boston or from any 

 other office in the United States. But if some other gentle- 

 man will be more agreeable to* you, sir, he will be so to the 

 Academy. I have, however, to ask your pardon of this free- 

 dom, as my only object is to facilitate the business. 



