Life of Count Rumford. 13 



leaving to his own development and use of opportunities 

 the chance of rising, as so many children around him 

 and under similar circumstances with himself had risen, 

 to any more conspicuous position. The lands which 

 had been allotted to his progenitor, in the first settle- 

 ment of the town, had of course been divided from time 

 to time in the partition of his estate among the steadily 

 increasing number of his descendants. But some of 

 them had added to their respective shares, and clearing 

 and tillage had made portions of the original acres more 

 valuable than the whole had been. The child's grand- 

 father had died previously to October 16, 1755, ^ or t ^ le 

 agreement among his heirs, including that of the guar- 

 dians of a minor son and of Benjamin, the grandson, 

 bears that date. 



By this instrument, it was provided that his mother, 

 Ruth, should have the improvement "of one half of the 

 garden at the west end " of the house where her child 

 and she had been living with his grandparents, and " the 

 privilege of land to raise beans for sauce." The guar- 

 dian of her child's minor uncle was likewise to "give 



o 



the said widow eighty weight of beef, eight bushels of 

 rye, two bushels of malt, and two barrels of cider for 

 the .present year"; while she also had the " liberty of 

 gathering apples to bake, and three bushels of apples for 

 winter, yearly and every year." (See Appendix.) 



When the boy was taken to his step-father's, Mr. 

 Pierce, according to the custom of the time and com- 

 munity, covenanted with the child's guardian for an 

 allowance of two shillings and fivepence, old tenor, per 

 week, for maintenance, till his step-son should be seven 

 years old. 



If Pictet and Cuvier received an impression from the 



