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wLich dcbUiutcJ his conllitution, and rendered it incapable 

 of relilting an attack of low fever, by which he was earned 

 off in Augnft 1B14, in his 63d year. By his firft wife he 

 had one daujjhtcr, now relident at Bolton. 



Although count Rumford was not a learned man, he ac- 

 quired by his kninvledge of the French and German lan- 

 guages, and by his extentive acquaintance, and frequent con- 

 verfation with htcrary nu-n, a large itock of literature and 

 fcicnce. His peculiar talent was that of contrivnig niftru- 

 ments, and deviling experiments for facilitating his refearches 

 ill ihofe branches of economics and fcicntific philofophy to 

 which his attention was dircded. He was alfo diilinguilhed 

 by a lleadinefs and perfeverance of purfuit, wliich were fa- 

 vourable to his attainment of the objeCls which he had in 

 view. As to his pcrfon, his llature was above the mid- 

 dle iize, his countenance was dignified and pleafing, and his 

 manner and tone of voice mild and gentle. He was, never- 

 thclefs, ambitious of diftinftion, and too prone to diftate in 

 Uanfadtions with regard to which other perfons were jointly 

 concerned with himfelf. The papers which he communi- 

 cated both to the Royal Society and French Inftitute, and 

 vfhich are publi/lied in their Tranfadlions and Memoirs, are 

 numerous. The only feparate publication of count Rum- 

 ford was a fcries of " Eflays, Experimental, Political, Eco- 

 nomical, and Philofophical," commencing with the year 

 1796, and continued to 18 in number, and occapying 4 vols. 

 8*0. Gent. Mag. for Oftober 1814. 



TuoMPSON, in Geography, a town of America, in the. ftate 

 of New York, the capital of Sullivan county ; bounded N. 

 by Wawerfing and Neverlink, E. by Mamakating, S. by 

 Deerpark in Orange county, and W. by the Mongaup, which 

 feparates it from Lumberland, Bethel, and Liberty. Its 

 length N. and S. is about 34 miles, and breadth 1 2. The 

 principal fettlements are Thompfon, Monticello, Bridgeville, 

 ar.d Concord. The whole area of Thompfon is 139,500 

 acres ; and the population by the cenfus of 1810, confided 

 of 1 290 perfons. The principal ftreams are the Neverfink, 

 Mongaup, and Sheldrake — Alfo, a townlhip of Connefticut, 

 in the county of Windham ; 20 miles N.N.E. of Windham : 

 the place contains 2467 inhabitants. 



Thompson'^ Creek, a river of South Carolina, wliich runs 



into the Atlantic, N. lat. 34° 44'. W. long. 79° 46' 



Alfo, a river of Weft Florida, which runs into the MifTiffippi, 

 N. lat. 30° 59'. W. long. gi° 30'. 



Thompsos'j Harbour, a harbour in Hudfon's Bay. N. 

 lat. 60' 20'. W. long. 78'. 



Thompson'^ IJland, a fmallifland of Upper Canada, at 

 the entrance of the river St. Claire. 



THOMPSONSBOROUGH, a town of America, in 

 the diftrift of Maine ; 30 miles N.E. of Portland. 

 ^ THOMSI, a town of Hungary ; 1 1 miles S.W. of 

 Cinifcha. 



THOMSON, James, in Biography, a popular English 

 poet, was born at Ednam, near Kelfo, in Scotland, in the 

 year 1700, being one of the nine children of the minifter 

 of that place. Whilft he was at fchool at Jedburgh, he 

 manifefted no powers fuperior to thofe of other boys, ex- 

 "P>'n.atafte for poetry, which he betimes indulged, and 

 which introduced him, during his vacations, to the fociety 

 of fome neighbouring gentlemen. Of his produdions, how- 

 ever, he thought fo humbly, that on New-yeai's day he 

 ';°^°""<'d to the flames thofe of each preceding year. From 

 Jedburgh he was removrd to the univerfity of Edinburgh, 

 where he perfevcred in the cultivation and exercife of his 

 poetical talents ; but upon the death of his father, he com- 

 plied with the wifhes of his friends by entering on a courfe 

 01 divinity. His probationary exercife was the explanation 



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of a pfalm, which was written in a ftyle fo fplendid, as to 

 incur reproof from the theological profefFor, as being alto- 

 gether unfuitable to the audience w hich might probably attend 

 his future minillry. Having no great inclination for the 

 office, tliis admonition induced him to devote himfelf en- 

 tirely to poetry : and after fpending fome time as private 

 tutor 111 the family of lord Binning, he determined, at the 

 fuggeftion of a lady, who was his mother's friend, to try 

 his fortune in London. In 1725 he came to London, and 

 meeting with his college acquaintance Mallet, he fhewed him 

 his poem of " Winter," in an impcrfe£l ftate ; who advifcd 

 him to finifti and publifh it. Mr. Millai-, a well-known 

 London bookfeller, bought it for a fmall fum, and pub- 

 liihed it in 1726. At firft it attracted little attention ; but 

 Mr. Whateley, a gentleman of acknowledged tafte, giving a 

 favourable account of it, brought the poem and its author 

 into notice. The author was introduced to Pope, and re- 

 commended by bifhop Rundle to lord chancellor Talbot. 

 In 1727 he pubhfhedhis " Summer," and in the fame year 

 " A Poem facred to the Memory of Sir Ifaac Newton," 

 juft deceafed, and alfo his " Britannia." His " Spring" was 

 publiflied in 1728 ; and in 1730 the Seafons were completed 

 by " Autumn," and publiflied collectively. In 1728 Thom- 

 fon, aipiring to the popularity and emolument of dramatic 

 compofition, fucceedcd in introducing upon the ftage of 

 Drury-lane his tragedy of " Sophonifba." Its reception, 

 however, was not very flattering. Soon after he was ap- 

 pointed, by the recommendation of Dr. Rundle, travelling 

 companion to the Hon. Mr. Talbot, the eldeft fon of the 

 chancellor, and had an opportunity of vifiting moft of the 

 courts and countries of the European continent. During 

 this tour, the idea of his poem on " Liberty" was fuggefted 

 to him, and he employed two years in completing it. In 

 confequence of this excurfion, he obtained, by the intereft of 

 Mr. Talbot, the place of fecretaiy of the briefs, which, 

 being almoft a finecure, afforded him leifure for his private 

 literary purfuits. His poem on " Liberty" was more coolly 

 received than the natui-e of the fubjeft led him to expeft. 

 When lord Hardwick fucceeded the lord chancellor Talbot, 

 Thomfon loft his place ; but upon being queftioned by the 

 prince of W.-Jes, to whom he was introduced, by Mr. (after- 

 wards lord ) Lyttelton, as to his circumftances, a penfion of 

 100/. a year was granted to him. 



Upon the introduftion of his fecond tragedy, " Agamem- 

 non," to Drury-lane, in 1738, he was fo anxious concerning 

 its fuccefs, that he is faid to have been thrown into a copious 

 perfpiration. His " Edward and Elconora" was prevented 

 from appearing by the interference of the lord chamberlain. 

 The " Mafque of Alfred," performed before the prince at 

 Chefden-houfe, in 1 740, was the joint produftion of himfelf 

 and Mallet ; and in this piece was introduced the famous 

 fong of " Rule Britannia," the produftion of one or other 

 of thefe two perfons. The moft fuccefsful of Thomfon's 

 dramatic pieces was his "Tancred aad Sigifmunda," which 

 appeared at Drury-lane in 1 745 ; but hia " crowning perform- 

 ance," as one of his biographers calls it, was " The Caftle 

 of Indolence," publifhed in 1746. Our poet was now ren- 

 dered independent by the intereft of Mr. Lyttelton, who 

 obtained for him the ofpice of fmveyor-general of the Lee- 

 ward iflands, which, after payment of a deputy, yielded 

 him about 300/. a year. Death, however, in confequence 

 of a fever occafioned by a cold, deprived him, in Augufl 

 1748, of the comparative affluence derived from this ap- 

 pointment. His remains were interred in Richmond church, 

 without any memorial ; but in 1762 amonument was ereSed 

 in Weftminfter Abbey, the expence of which was defrayed 

 out of the profits of an edition of his works, publifhed by 



Mr 



