Personal Recollections, from Early Life to Old Age, of Mary Somerville Part 8

Somerville still held his place at the army medical board, and was now appointed physician to Chelsea Hospital; so we left our cheerful, comfortable house and went to reside in a government house in a very dreary and unhealthy situation, far from all our friends, which was a serious loss to me, as I was not a good walker, and during the whole time I lived at Chelsea I suffered from sick headaches. Still we were very glad of the appointment, for at this time we lost almost the whole of our fortune, through the dishonesty of a person in whom we had the greatest confidence.

All the time we lived at Chelsea we had constant intercourse with Lady Noel Byron and Ada, who lived at Esher, and when I came abroad I kept up a correspondence with both as long as they lived. Ada was much attached to me, and often came to stay with me. It was by my advice that she studied mathematics. She always wrote to me for an explanation when she met with any difficulty. Among my papers I lately found many of her notes, asking mathematical questions. Ada Byron married Lord King, afterwards created Earl of Lovelace, a college companion and friend of my son.

Somerville had formed a friends.h.i.+p with Sir Henry Bunbury when he had a command in Sicily, and we went occasionally to visit him at Barton in Suffolk. I liked Lady Bunbury very much; she was a niece of the celebrated Charles Fox, and had a turn for natural history. I had made a collection of native sh.e.l.ls at Burntisland, but I only knew their vulgar names; now I learnt their scientific arrangement from Lady Bunbury. Her son, Sir Charles Bunbury, is an authority for fossil botany. The first Pinetum I ever saw was at Barton, and in 1837 I planted a cedar in remembrance of one of our visits.

Through Lady Bunbury we became intimate with all the members of the ill.u.s.trious family of the Napiers, as she was sister of Colonel, afterwards General Sir William Napier, author of the "History of the Peninsular War." One day Colonel Napier, who was then living in Sloane Street, introduced Somerville and me to his mother, Lady Sarah Napier.

Her manners were distinguished, and though totally blind, she still had the remains of great beauty; her hand and arm, which were exposed by the ancient costume she wore, were most beautiful still. The most sincere friends.h.i.+p existed between Richard Napier and his wife and me through life; I shall never forget their kindness to me at a time when I was in great sorrow. All the brothers are now gone. Richard and his wife were long in bad health, and he was nearly blind; but his wife never knew it, through the devoted attachment of Emily s.h.i.+rriff, daughter of Admiral s.h.i.+rriff, who was the comfort and consolation of both to their dying day.

Maria Edgeworth came frequently to see us when she was in England. She was one of my most intimate friends, warm-hearted and kind, a charming companion, with all the liveliness and originality of an Irishwoman.

For seventeen years I was in constant correspondence with her. The cleverness and animation as well as affection of her letters I cannot express; certainly women are superior to men in letter-writing.

[The following is an extract from a letter from Maria Edgeworth to a friend concerning my mother:--]

MARIA EDGEWORTH TO MISS .....

BEECHWOOD PARK, _January 17th, 1822_.

We have spent two days pleasantly here with Dr. Wollaston, our own dear friend Mrs. Marcet, and the Somervilles. Mrs. Somerville is the lady who, Laplace says, is the only woman who understands his works.

She draws beautifully, and while her head is among the stars her feet are firm upon the earth.

Mrs. Somerville is little, slightly made, fairish hair, pink colour, small, grey, round, intelligent, smiling eyes, very pleasing countenance, remarkably soft voice, strong, but well-bred Scotch accent; timid, not disqualifying timid, but naturally modest, yet with a degree of self-possession through it which prevents her being in the least awkward, and gives her all the advantage of her understanding, at the same time that it adds a prepossessing charm to her manner and takes off all dread of her superior scientific learning.

While in London I had a French maid for my daughters, and on coming to Chelsea I taught them a little geometry and algebra, as well as Latin and Greek, and, later, got a master for them, that they might have a more perfect knowledge of these languages than I possessed. Keenly alive to my own defects, I was anxious that my children should never undergo the embarra.s.sment and mortification I had suffered from ignorance of the common European languages. I engaged a young German lady, daughter of Professor Becker, of Offenbach, near Frankfort, as governess, and was most happy in my choice; but after being with us for a couple of years, she had a very bad attack of fever, and was obliged to return home. She was replaced by a younger sister, who afterwards married Professor Trendelenburg, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Berlin.

Though both these sisters were quite young, I had the most perfect confidence in them, from their strict conscientiousness and morality.

They were well educated, ladylike, and so amiable, that they gained the friends.h.i.+p of my children and the affection of us all.

As we could with perfect confidence leave the children to Miss Becker's care, Sir James Mackintosh, Somerville and I made an excursion to the Continent. We went to Brussels, and what lady can go there without seeing the lace manufactory? I saw, admired,--and bought none! We were kindly received by Professor Quetelet, whom we had previously known, and who never failed to send me a copy of his valuable memoirs as soon as they were published. I have uniformly met with the greatest kindness from scientific men at home and abroad. If any of them are alive when this record is published, I beg they will accept of my grat.i.tude. Of those that are no more I bear a grateful remembrance.

The weather was beautiful when we were at Brussels, and in the evening we went to the public garden. It was crowded with people, and very gay.

We sat down, and amused ourselves by looking at them as they pa.s.sed. Sir James was a most agreeable companion, intimate with all the political characters of the day, full of anecdote and historical knowledge. That evening his conversation was so brilliant that we forgot the time, and looking around found that everybody had left the garden, so we thought we might as well return to the hotel; but on coming to the iron-barred gate we found it locked. Sir James and Somerville begged some of those that were pa.s.sing to call the keeper of the park to let us out; but they said it was impossible, that we must wait till morning. A crowd a.s.sembled laughing and mocking, till at last we got out through the house of one of the keepers of the park.

At Bonn we met with Baron Humboldt, and M. Schlegel, celebrated for his translation of Shakespeare. On going up the Rhine, Sir James knew the history of every place and of every battle that had been fought. A professor of his acquaintance in one of the towns invited us to dinner, and I was astonished to see the lady of the house going about with a great bunch of keys dangling at her side, a.s.sisting in serving up the dinner, and doing all the duty of carving, her husband taking no part whatever in it. I was annoyed that we had given so much trouble by accepting the invitation. In my younger days in Scotland, a lady might make the pastry and jelly, or direct in the kitchen; but she took no part in cooking or serving up the dinner, and never rose from the table till the ladies went to the drawing-room. However, as we could not afford to keep a regular cook, an ill-dressed dish would occasionally appear, and then my father would say, "G.o.d sends food, but the devil sends cooks."

In our tour through Holland, Somerville was quite at home, and amused himself talking to the people, for he had learnt the Dutch language at the Cape of Good Hope. We admired the pretty quaint costumes of the women; but I was the only one who took interest in the galleries. Many of the pictures of the Dutch school are very fine; but I never should have made a collection exclusively of them as was often done at one time in England. Lord Granville was British Minister at the Hague, and dining at the Emba.s.sy one day we met with a Mrs.----, who, on hearing one of the attaches addressed as Mr. Abercromby,[9] said, "Pray, Lord Granville, is that a son of the great captain whom the Lord slew in the land of Egypt?'"

I never met with Madame de Stael, but heard a great deal about her during this journey from Sir James Mackintosh, who was very intimate with her. At that time the men sat longer at table after dinner than they do now; and on one occasion, at a dinner party at Sir James's house, when Lady Mackintosh and the ladies returned to the drawing-room, Madame de Stael, who was exceedingly impatient of women's society, would not deign to enter into conversation with any of the ladies, but walked about the room; then suddenly ringing the bell, she said, "Ceci est insupportable!" and when the servant appeared, she said: "Tell your master to come upstairs directly; they have sat long enough at their wine."

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 9: Afterwards Sir Ralph Abercromby, later Lord Dunfermline, minister first at Florence, then at Turin.]

CHAPTER XI.

LETTER FROM LORD BROUGHAM--WRITES "MECHANISM OF THE HEAVENS"--ANECDOTE OF THE ROMAN IMPROVISATRICE--LETTERS FROM SIR JOHN HERSCHEL AND PROFESSOR WHEWELL--ELECTED HON. MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY--NOTICE IN THE ACADeMIE DES SCIENCES, AND LETTER FROM M.

BIOT--PENSION--LETTER FROM SIR ROBERT PEEL--BEGINS TO WRITE ON THE CONNECTION OF THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES--VISIT TO CAMBRIDGE--LETTERS FROM PROFESSOR SEDGWICK AND LAPLACE.

[After my mother's return home my father received the following letter from Lord Brougham, which very importantly influenced the further course of my mother's life. It is dated March 27th, 1827:--]

LETTER FROM LORD BROUGHAM TO DR. SOMERVILLE.

MY DEAR SIR,

I fear you will think me very daring for the design I have formed against Mrs. Somerville, and still more for making you my advocate with her; through whom I have every hope of prevailing. There will be sent to you a prospectus, rules, and a preliminary treatise of our Society for Diffusing Useful Knowledge, and I a.s.sure you I speak without any flattery when I say that of the two subjects which I find it most difficult to see the chance of executing, there is one, which--unless Mrs. Somerville will undertake--none else can, and it must be left undone, though about the most interesting of the whole, I mean an account of the Mecanique Celeste; the other is an account of the Principia, which I have some hopes of at Cambridge.

The kind of thing wanted is such a description of that divine work as will both explain to the unlearned the sort of thing it is--the plan, the vast merit, the wonderful truths unfolded or methodized--and the calculus by which all this is accomplished, and will also give a somewhat deeper insight to the uninitiated. Two treatises would do this. No one without trying it can conceive how far we may carry ignorant readers into an understanding of the depths of science, and our treatises have about 100 to 800 pages of s.p.a.ce each, so that one might give the more popular view, and another the a.n.a.lytical abstracts and ill.u.s.trations. In England there are now not twenty people who know this great work, except by name; and not a hundred who know it even by name. My firm belief is that Mrs. Somerville could add two cyphers to each of those figures. Will you be my counsel in this suit? Of course our names are concealed, and no one of our council but myself needs to know it.

Yours ever most truly, H. BROUGHAM.

My mother in alluding to the above says:--

This letter surprised me beyond expression. I thought Lord Brougham must have been mistaken with regard to my acquirements, and naturally concluded that my self-acquired knowledge was so far inferior to that of the men who had been educated in our universities that it would be the height of presumption to attempt to write on such a subject or indeed on any other. A few days after this Lord Brougham came to Chelsea himself, and Somerville joined with him in urging me at least to make the attempt. I said, "Lord Brougham, you must be aware that the work in question never can be popularized, since the student must at least know something of the differential and integral calculi, and as a preliminary step I should have to prove various problems in physical mechanics and astronomy. Besides, La Place never gives diagrams or figures, because they are not necessary to persons versed in the calculus, but they would be indispensable in a work such as you wish me to write. I am afraid I am incapable of such a task: but as you both wish it so much, I shall do my very best upon condition of secrecy, and that if I fail the ma.n.u.script shall be put into the fire." Thus suddenly and unexpectedly the whole character and course of my future life was changed.

I rose early and made such arrangements with regard to my children and family affairs that I had time to write afterwards; not, however, without many interruptions. A man can always command his time under the plea of business, a woman is not allowed any such excuse. At Chelsea I was always supposed to be at home, and as my friends and acquaintances came so far out of their way on purpose to see me, it would have been unkind and ungenerous not to receive them. Nevertheless, I was sometimes annoyed when in the midst of a difficult problem some one would enter and say, "I have come to spend a few hours with you." However, I learnt by habit to leave a subject and resume it again at once, like putting a mark into a book I might be reading; this was the more necessary as there was no fire-place in my little room, and I had to write in the drawing-room in winter. Frequently I hid my papers as soon as the bell announced a visitor, lest anyone should discover my secret.

[My mother had a singular power of abstraction. When occupied with some difficult problem, or even a train of thought which deeply interested her, she lost all consciousness of what went on around her, and became so entirely absorbed that any amount of talking, or even practising scales and _solfeggi_, went on without in the least disturbing her. Sometimes a song or a strain of melody would recall her to a sense of the present, for she was pa.s.sionately fond of music. A curious instance of this peculiarity of hers occurred at Rome, when a large party were a.s.sembled to listen to a celebrated improvisatrice. My mother was placed in the front row, close to the poetess, who, for several stanzas, adhered strictly to the subject which had been given to her. What it was I do not recollect, except that it had no connection with what followed. All at once, as if by a sudden inspiration, the lady turned her eyes full upon my mother, and with true Italian vehemence and in the full musical accents of Rome, poured forth stanza after stanza of the most eloquent panegyric upon her talents and virtues, extolling them and her to the skies. Throughout the whole of this scene, which lasted a considerable time, my mother remained calm and unmoved, never changing countenance, which surprised not only the persons present but ourselves, as we well knew how much she disliked any display or being brought forward in public. The truth was, that after listening for a while to the improvising, a thought struck her connected with some subject she was engaged in writing upon at the time and so entirely absorbed her that she heard not a word of all that had been declaimed in her praise, and was not a little surprised and confused when she was complimented on it. I call this, advisedly, a power of hers, for although it occasionally led her into strange positions, such as the one above mentioned, it rendered her entirely independent of outward circ.u.mstances, nor did she require to isolate herself from the family circle in order to pursue her studies. I have already mentioned that when we were very young she taught us herself for a few hours daily; when our lessons were over we always remained in the room with her, learning grammar, arithmetic, or some such plague of childhood. Any one who has plunged into the mazes of the higher branches of mathematics or other abstruse science, would probably feel no slight degree of irritation on being interrupted at a critical moment when the solution was almost within his grasp, by some childish question about tense or gender, or how much seven times seven made. My mother was never impatient, but explained our little difficulties quickly and kindly, and returned calmly to her own profound thoughts. Yet on occasion she could show both irritation and impatience--when we were stupid or inattentive, neither of which she could stand. With her clear mind she darted at the solution, sometimes forgetting that we had to toil after her laboriously step by step. I well remember her slender white hand pointing impatiently to the book or slate--"Don't you see it? there is no difficulty in it, it is quite clear." Things were so clear to her! I must here add some other recollections by my mother of this very interesting portion of her life.]

I was a considerable time employed in writing this book, but I by no means gave up society, which would neither have suited Somerville nor me. We dined out, went to evening parties, and occasionally to the theatre. As soon as my work was finished I sent the ma.n.u.script to Lord Brougham, requesting that it might be thoroughly examined, criticised and destroyed according to promise if a failure. I was very nervous while it was under examination, and was equally surprised and gratified that Sir John Herschel, our greatest astronomer, and perfectly versed in the calculus, should have found so few errors. The letter he wrote on this occasion made me so happy and proud that I have preserved it.

LETTER FROM SIR JOHN HERSCHEL TO MRS. SOMERVILLE.

DEAR MRS. SOMERVILLE,

I have read your ma.n.u.script with the greatest pleasure, and will not hesitate to add, (because I am sure you will believe it sincere,) with the highest admiration. Go on thus, and you will leave a memorial of no common kind to posterity; and, what you will value far more than fame, you will have accomplished a most useful work.

What a pity that La Place has not lived to see this ill.u.s.tration of his great work! You will only, I fear, give too strong a stimulus to the study of abstract science by this performance.

I have marked as somewhat obscure a part of the ill.u.s.tration of the principle of virtual velocities.... Will you look at this point again? I have made a trifling remark in page 6, but it is a mere matter of metaphysical nicety, and perhaps hardly worth pencilling your beautiful ma.n.u.script for.

Ever yours most truly, J. HERSCHEL.

[In publis.h.i.+ng the following letter, I do not consider that I am infringing on the rule I have followed in obedience to my mother's wishes, that is, to abstain from giving publicity to all letters which are of a private and confidential character. This one entirely concerns her scientific writings, and is interesting as showing the confidence which existed between Sir John Herschel and herself. This great philosopher was my mother's truest and best friend, one whose opinion she valued above all others, whose genius and consummate talents she admired, and whose beautiful character she loved with an intensity which is better shown by some extracts from her letters to be given presently than by anything I can say.

This deep regard on her part he returned with the most chivalrous respect and admiration. In any doubt or difficulty it was his advice she sought, his criticism she submitted to; both were always frankly given without the slightest fear of giving offence, for Sir John Herschel well knew the spirit with which any remarks of his would be received.]

FROM SIR JOHN HERSCHEL TO MRS. SOMERVILLE.

SLOUGH, _Feb. 23rd, 1830_.

MY DEAR MRS. SOMERVILLE,