Life of Count Rumford. 60 1 



obliged to avoid with the utmost care an appearance of 

 being concerned in the public transactions of the day." 

 The daughter writes : 



41 My father's establishment was not, of course, what it used 

 to be at Munich, he being there at home, useful in his way, 

 beloved and respected. Here, there being nothing of the kind, 

 made a great difference. I found him much changed since I 

 parted from him. He had been very ill, but was getting better. 

 The first salutations over, his hat being called for, we took a 

 walk in the extensive garden which he had laid out with great 

 care, and made very beautiful. He had written to me about it, 

 but I found it much finer than I had expected. It covered over 

 two acres, with tufted woods and winding paths, with grapes in 

 abundance, and fifty kinds of roses. A gardener was constantly 

 employed, with a laborer under him. My father was exceed- 

 ingly fond of flowers, and, in order to gratify him in making 

 things as agreeable as possible to him, a young person either 

 housekeeper, companion, or both put them in every place 

 where he was likely to set his foot or turn his eye. We dined 

 late, when candle-light was required. Luckily my eyesight 

 was strong, as appeared to be the case with my father, or it 

 must have been essentially injured by the glare of the lamps. 

 The singing birds which greeted our entrance to the dinner- 

 table made it a perfect enchantment. I used to think I would 

 count the number of the warblers the scene boasted of, but I 

 never came to the end of it. 



" The Count would often say that his home seemed to him 

 as it used to do. His daughter, not being at all of a melancholy 

 cast, would hit upon little ways to amuse him, and spend much 

 of her time in running about the garden with him. His horses 

 were so gay and fiery as to require an assistant to the coach- 

 man in taking care of them. The coachman not being equal 

 in skill to the one he had left at the house of his separated lady 

 in the Rue d'Anjou, the Count sent a proposition to Madame 

 to buy of him his span of fine horses. She consented to do so. 

 The Gaunt often told laughingly of the sale of these horses to 



