taking. Those communities which are the first to follow the example of the capital are honourably mentioned in the newspapers; and such individuals as distinguish themselves by their zeal and activity upon those occasions are praised and rewarded.

A worthy curate (Mr. Lechner), preacher in one of the churches in Munich, who, of his own accord, had taken upon himself to defend the measures adopted with regard to the poor, and to recommend them in the most earnest manner from the pulpit, was sent for by the Elector into his closet, and thanked for his exertions.

This transaction being immediately made known (an account of it having been published in the newspapers), tended not a little to engage the clergy in all parts of the country to exert themselves in support of the institution.

It is not my intention to insinuate that the clergy in Bavaria stood in need of any such motive to stimulate them to action in a cause so important to the happiness and well-being of mankind, and consequently so nearly connected with the sacred duties of their office; on the contrary, I should be wanting in candour, as well as gratitude, were I not to embrace this opportunity of expressing publicly the obligations I feel myself under to them for their support and assistance.

The number of excellent sermons which have been preached, in order to recommend the measures adopted by the government for making provision for the poor, show how much this useful and respectable body of men have had it at heart to contribute to the success of this important measure; and their readiness to co-operate with me (a Protestant) upon all occasions where their

assistance has been asked, not only does honour to the liberality of their sentiments, but calls for my personal acknowledgments and particular thanks.

I shall conclude this essay with an account of the progress which some of the improvements introduced at Munich are now making in other countries. During my late journey in Italy for the recovery of my health, I visited Verona; and becoming acquainted with the principal directors of two large and noble hospitals, la Pietà, and la Misericorde, in that city, the former containing about 350, and the latter near 500 poor, I had frequent occasions to converse with them upon the subject of those establishments, and to give them an account of the arrangements that had been made at Munich. I likewise took the liberty of proposing some improvements, and particularly in regard to the arrangements for feeding these poor, and in the management of the fires employed for cooking. Firewood, the only fuel used in that country, is extremely scarce and dear, and made a very heavy article in the expenses of those institutions.

Though this scarcity of fuel, which had prevailed for ages in that part of Italy, had rendered it necessary to pay attention to the economy of fuel, and had occasioned some improvements to be made in the management of heat; yet I found, upon examining the kitchens of these two hospitals, and comparing the quantities of fuel consumed with the quantities of victuals cooked, that seveneighths of the firewood they were then consuming might be saved. Having communicated the result of those inquiries to the directors of these two hospitals, and

I found upon examining the famous kitchen of the great hospital at Flor. ence, that the waste of fuel there is still greater.

offered my service to alter the kitchens, and arrange them upon the principles of that in the House of Industry at Munich (which I described to them), they accepted my offer, and the kitchens were rebuilt under my immediate direction; and have both succeeded, even beyond my most sanguine expectations. That of the hospital of la Pietà is the most complete kitchen I have ever built; and I would recommend it as a model, in preference to any I have ever seen. I shall give a more particular description of it, with plans and estimates, in my Essay on the Management of Heat.

During the time I was employed in building the new kitchen in the hospital of la Pietà, I had an opportunity of making myself acquainted with all the details of the clothing of the poor belonging to that establishment; and I found that very great savings might be made in that article of expense. I made a proposal to the directors of that hospital to furnish them with clothing for their poor, ready made up, from the House of Industry at Munich; and upon my return to Munich, I sent them twelve complete suits of clothing of different sizes as a sample, and accompanied them with an estimate of the prices at which we could afford to deliver them at Verona.

The success of this little adventure has been very flattering, and has opened a very interesting channel for commerce, and for the encouragement of industry in Bavaria. This sample of clothing being approved, and, with all the expenses of carriage added, being found to be near twenty per cent cheaper than that formerly used, orders have been received from Italy by the House of Industry at Munich to a considerable amount, for clothing the poor. In the beginning of September last, a

few days before I left Munich to come to England, I had the pleasure to assist in packing up and sending off, over the Alps, by the Tyrol, sIX HUNDRED articles of clothing of different kinds for the poor of Verona; and hope soon to see the poor of Bavaria growing rich by manufacturing clothing for the poor of Italy.

[This paper is printed from the English edition of Rumford's Essays, Vol. I., pp. 1–112.]