vi Preface. 



clearness and skill than in either German or French. Several 

 of the Count's papers which will be found in this edition 

 appear to have been never before published in English, and 

 of others the committee had access to only French or Ger- 

 man versions. Both for the sake of uniformity and also in 

 order to render the work more accessible to his own country- 

 men, the committee decided to print the whole in the Count's 

 vernacular language. All the new* translations from the 

 French and German have been made by Professor W. R. 

 NICHOLS, of Boston, and not without difficulty ; for not only 

 was the foreign text in many cases obscure, so different from 

 the clear English style of the author, but, moreover, it was 

 often evident that the German or French version was itself 

 a translation from a draft written originally in English. Pro- 

 fessor Nichols has also prepared for the press the copy of the 

 last three volumes, and had charge of the revision of the proof ; 

 and on him the larger part of the labor of editing these volumes 

 has devolved. In order to make the edition as complete as 

 possible, Professor Nichols made during the last summer a 

 careful examination of the various editions and manuscripts 

 of Count Rumford's writings in the libraries of London, Paris, 

 and Munich, and this search resulted in the discovery of two 

 inedited manuscript papers, which are for the first time pub- 

 lished in this volume, pages 692 and 790. It would appear, 

 from Cuvier's Eloge, that near the close of his life Count 

 Rumford prepared an essay on "The Nature and Effects of 

 Order," and also a paper on "Meteorites." These papers 

 were never published, and the committee have been unable 

 to trace the manuscripts. With these exceptions, no writings 

 of Count Rumford not included in this edition of his works 

 have come to the knowledge of the Rumford Committee, 

 although they have been untiring in their search and in- 

 quiries. In editing these volumes, the committee have been 

 indebted for assistance to several gentlemen whose kindness 



* The English copies, from which some of the papers have been re- 

 printed, were translations of French originals, and not always the most 

 elegant, although made under Rumford's supervision. 



