THE DEDICATION.
Soon after Nat entered the factory, a hall was erected in the village,
and dedicated to literary purposes. Nat was all the more interested in
the event because it was built under the auspices of the manufacturing
company for whom he worked, and their library was to be somehow
connected with the institute that would meet there.
"No reading to-morrow night," said he to Charlie, as they closed their
studies on the evening before the dedication. "We must go to the
dedication of the hall without fail. I want to know what is to be done
there."
"They say the library is going up there," answered Charlie. "Have you
heard so?"
"Yes; but we shall have just the same privileges that we do now, and I
expect the library will be increased more rapidly, because they are
going to make provisions for others to take out books by paying, and the
money goes to enlarge the library."
"But the more persons there are to take out books, the more difficult it
will be to get such books as we want," said Charlie. "Do you not see it?
"Yes; but then 'beggars must not be choosers,' I suppose," Nat answered
with a quizzical look. "_Your_ chance will be poorer than mine in that
respect, for you read more books than I do, and of course you will want
more."
Nat was in season at the dedication, and secured a seat near the
platform, where he could see and hear the speaker to the best advantage.
He was not there, as doubtless some boys were, just to see what was
going on; but he was there to _hear_. An address was to be delivered by
a gentleman whose reputation would naturally create the expectation of
an intellectual treat, and that address was what Nat wanted to hear. It
was singular that the lecture should be upon the life and character of a
self-made man, of the stamp of Dr. Franklin and others, whose
biographies our young hearer had read with the deepest interest. But so
it was. The subject of the address was Count Rumford; and you might know
that Nat swallowed every word, from the leading points of it, which were
in substance as follows:--
The real name of Count Rumford was Benjamin Thompson. He was born in
Woburn, Mass., in the year 1752. His father was a farmer in humble
circumstances, and he died when Benjamin was an infant. His mother was
only able, when he attained a suitable age, to send him to the common
school. He was a bright boy, though he was not so much inclined to study
books. He preferred mechanical tools, with which he exhibited
considerable ingenuity in constructing various articles, particularly
rough drafts of machinery. Among other things he sought to produce a
model of perpetual motion. He was sure he could do it, and he set to
work with a resolution worthy of a nobler enterprise. When one attempt
failed, he tried again, and yet again, until his friends and neighbors
called him a "simpleton," and openly rebuked him for his folly. His
mother began to think he never would learn any craft by which he could
gain a livelihood, and she was really discouraged. He was not vicious
nor indolent. He had energy and perseverance, intelligence and tact; and
still he was not inclined to choose any of "the thrifty occupations of
human industry." At thirteen years of age he was apprenticed Mr.
Appleton, a merchant of Salem, where he distinguished himself only by
neatly cutting his name, "Benjamin Thompson," on the frame of a shop
slate. He cared less for his new business than he did for the tools of
the workshop and musical instruments, for which he had a decided taste.
He soon returned to Woburn.
When he was about seventeen years of age, he began to think more
seriously of studying, though most youth in poverty would have said, it
is useless to try. But he had great self-reliance, and now he began to
think that he could do what had been done by others. It would cost him
nothing to attend the lectures on Natural Philosophy at Cambridge
college, so he resolved to walk over there, a distance of nine miles, a
step which laid the foundation of his future fame. In all weathers he
persevered in attending the lectures, and was always punctual to a
minute.
Soon after, he commenced teaching school in Bradford, Mass., and
subsequently in Concord, N. H. In the latter place he became acquainted
with the rich widow of Col. Rolfe, and, though only nineteen years of
age, married her. But this calamity he survived, and acted a conspicuous
part in the American Revolution. Soon after the battle of Bunker Hill,
having lost his wife, he embarked for England, bearing despatches to the
English government. There he soon became distinguished as a learned man
and philosopher, and was elected a member of the Royal Society. He was
knighted in 1784.
The King of Bavaria became acquainted with him, and, attracted by his
marked abilities, appointed him to a high office of trust and
responsibility in his court. There he reformed the army and established
a system of common schools. He was strictly economical, and saved
thousands of dollars to the Bavarian government, by "appropriating the
paper used to teach writing in the military schools, to the
manufacturing of cartridges by the soldiery."
He was a man of great kindness and benevolence, by which he was prompted
to establish a reformatory institution for the mendicants of Bavaria,
and so great was its success that it became renowned all over Europe.
The sovereign conferred one honor after another upon him, and finally
"created him a count by the name of Rumford, in honor of Concord, New
Hampshire, whose original name was Rumford."
His writings upon philosophical subjects were valued highly, and widely
circulated. He was a leader in founding the Royal Society of Great
Britain. He gave five thousand dollars to the Academy of Arts and
Sciences of Massachusetts to establish a premium to encourage
improvement and discoveries, and a like sum to the Royal Society of
Great Britain. He died in 1814, at the age of sixty-two, and by his will
"bequeathed $1,000 annually and the reversion of his estate, to found
the Rumford Professorship of Cambridge College, Mass.," to which
University he felt much indebted for his early instruction in Natural
Philosophy.
His life illustrates not only what a poor boy may become, but also what
simple things a great man can do to promote the welfare of his fellow
men. The military classes of Bavaria, and indeed all the poor of
Europe, suffered for the want of food, and Count Rumford brought to
their notice two articles of food to which they were strangers,
healthful, nutritious, and cheap. The first was the use of the potato,
which was raised only to a limited extent; but, through his exertions it
came to be generally cultivated, much to the improvement of the
condition of the poor. He received the gratitude of thousands for his
efforts. The other blessing was the use of Indian corn in making
_hasty-pudding_, which is a live Yankee invention. His instructions on
this point shall be given in his own words, as they appeared in his
essay written for European readers.
"In regard to the most advantageous mode of using Indian corn, as food,
I would strongly recommend a dish made of it, that is in the highest
estimation throughout America, and which is really very good and
nourishing. This is called _hasty-pudding_, and is made in the following
manner: A quantity of water, proportioned to the quantity of pudding to
be made, is put over the fire, in an open iron pot or kettle, and a
proper quantity of salt, for seasoning; the salt being previously
dissolved in the water, Indian meal is stirred into it, little by
little, with a wooden spoon with a long handle, while the water goes on
to be heated and made to boil, great care being taken to put in the meal
in very small quantities, and by sifting it slowly through the fingers
of the left hand, and stirring the water about briskly at the same time
with the spoon in the right hand, to mix the meal with the water in such
a manner as to prevent lumps being formed. The meal should be added so
slowly that when the water is brought to boil, the mass should not be
thicker than water-gruel, and half an hour more at least, should be
employed to add the additional quantity of meal necessary for bringing
the pudding to be of the proper consistency, during which time it should
be stirred about continually, and kept constantly boiling. The method of
determining when the pudding has acquired a proper consistency, is this:
the wooden spoon used for stirring it being placed upright in the
kettle, if it falls down, more meal must be added; but if the pudding is
sufficiently thick and adhesive to support the spoon in a vertical
position, it is declared to be _proof_, and no more meal is added."
Then he goes on to teach them how to eat it. "The manner in which
hasty-pudding is eaten, with butter and sugar or molasses, in America,
is as follows: the hasty-pudding being spread out equally on a plate,
while hot, an excavation is made in the middle with a spoon, into which
excavation a piece of butter as large as a nutmeg is put, and upon it a
spoonful of brown sugar, or, more commonly, molasses. The butter being
soon melted by the heat of the pudding, mixes with the sugar or
molasses, and forms a sauce, which being confined in the excavation
made for it, occupies the middle of the plate. The pudding is then eaten
with a spoon; each spoonful of it being dipped into the sauce before it
is conveyed to the mouth; care being taken in eating it to begin on the
outside, or near the brim of the plate, and to approach the centre by
regular advances, in order not to demolish too soon the excavation which
forms the reservoir for the sauce."
A great man must be very benevolent and humble to condescend to instruct
the poor classes in raising potatoes and making hasty-pudding. The fact
magnifies the worth of the man.
"Well, Nat, how did you like the address?" inquired his mother, after
they reached home.
"Very much indeed," answered Nat. "I had no idea that the address was to
be about Count Rumford. He makes me think of Dr. Franklin."
"You see that it is not necessary for a boy to have a rich father to buy
him an education," continued his mother. "Where there is a will there is
a way."
"I couldn't help laughing," said Nat, "to think of that great man
teaching the people how to make hasty-pudding. I declare, I mean to draw
a picture of him stirring a kettle of pudding."
His mother was quite amused at this remark and responded,
"I think the lecturer was right, when he said that such a condescending
act by one so high in honor as Count Rumford, was a proof of his
greatness. You remember that he said, 'a truly great man will do any
thing necessary to promote the interests of his fellow-men.'"
Much more was said about the address, which we have not time to
rehearse, and on the following morning, as Nat met Charlie at the
factory, the latter remarked,
"What a fine lecture that was last night!"
"Yes," Nat replied; "it was just what I wanted to hear. My case is not
quite hopeless after all. I think I could make a good professor of
hasty-pudding."
Charlie laughed outright, and added, "I think I could learn to navigate
that ocean of butter and molasses that he got up on the plate. A man
ought to understand geometry and navigation to make and eat
hasty-pudding according to his rule."
"I suppose," said Nat, after he had shaken his sides sufficiently over
Charlie's last remark, "that he was applying Dr. Franklin's rule on
'FRUGALITY'--'make no expense but to do good to others or
yourself.' That is it, I believe."
The mill started, and the conversation broke like a pipe-stem; but the
lecture upon Count Rumford made a life-long impression upon Nat. It was
exactly to his taste, and greatly encouraged him in his early efforts
to acquire knowledge. It was much in his thoughts, and perhaps it had
somewhat to do with his plans, some years after, when he himself walked
to Cambridge to consult books in the library of the College, and to
Boston to visit the Athenæum for the same object.