56 Life of Count Rumford. 



against it in its war of freedom. Happily for him, 

 however, and for us, the . great work of his life and 

 his services to humanity lead us away from battle- 

 fields, and from the limitations of what is called pa- 

 triotism. 



It is probable, on the other hand, that the bent of 

 Thompson's genius, and the qualities of his natural 

 character and temperament, needed a foreign field for 

 their most favorable and congenial exercise. Like 

 Franklin, he knew that he would meet with a fuller 

 appreciation, and find a stimulus and an efficient patron- 

 age, only in the fellowship of men who had talent, 

 means, and leisure for scientific inquiries and pursuits. 



It becomes necessary now to set down a matter-of- 

 fact statement of the circumstances which led Thomp- 

 son to abandon his home, leaving behind him his wife, 

 to whom he owed so much, and whom he was never 

 to see again, and his infant child ; deserting, likewise, 

 the cause of his native country, though with no pur 

 pose at the time, as it would appear, of taking part 

 against it. I shall content myself with a relation of 

 those circumstances, not interposing any judgment of 

 my own as a plea in his defence or as a verdict of con- 

 demnation. The circumstances will have interest in 

 themselves, illustrating very pointedly, in the case of 

 an individual, an episode of history which bore with 

 great severity upon the fortunes of large numbers. 



Young Thompson was essentially a courtier. He 

 manifested in early manhood the tastes, aptitudes, and 

 cravings which prompt their possessor, however hum- 

 bly born, and under whatever repression from sur- 

 rounding influences, to push his way in the world by 

 seeking the acquaintance and winning the patronage 



