1801. JEn. 48.] COUNT RUMFORD. 75 



Minister of the Interior, and frequently see Talleyrand, the 

 Minister for Foreign Affairs. I have dined with both of them, 

 and visit them often. Laplace and Bertholet are very civil 

 and attentive to me, and have each of them given me a 

 dinner, where I met most of the men of science of the first 

 distinction in Paris. Fourcroy has also given me a dinner. 

 In short, I am treated with the utmost civility, and I spend 

 my time very agreeably and very usefully. I hope to see 

 you in London about the 6th or 8th of December. 



Ever yours most faithfully, 



RUMFORD. 

 He again wrote : 



November 22, 18ol. 



MY DEAR SIR JOSEPH, I do wrong perhaps, but I cannot 

 help telling you that your name is at the head of the list of 

 those ten persons whom the Class of Mathematics and 

 Physics have resolved to present to the National Institute 

 at their next general meeting, in order to their being elected 

 foreign members of the Institute. You were proposed to 

 the class by the Section of Botany. Your name is followed 

 by those of Maskelyne, Cavendish, Herschel, Priestly, Pallas, 

 Yolta, and three others. I was present when the ballot of 

 the class was taken, and had the satisfaction to see that all 

 the votes agreed in placing your name at the head of the 

 list. I was politely told that my name would have been 

 near that of my friend, had it not been that the second class 

 of the Institute had claimed me as belonging to them and 

 had placed me on their list. The three first names on that 

 list are, I am told, Mr. Jefferson, President of the United 

 States, Count Rumford, and Major Rennell ; the others I 

 did not learn. 



I was proposed to the class by the Section of Political 

 Economy. The classes propose to the Institute, and the 

 Institute elects at a general meeting. The number of 

 foreign members is limited to twenty-four. As the election 

 will not take place for some weeks to come, I beg you would 



