Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1892-11-19

only two women in the world could under
stand his "Mecanique Celeste" Mrs. Greig
and Mrs. Somerville. This he probably
believed when he said it, but the truth was
that only one woman, SO far as known, had
appreciated his great work, and that one,
formerly Mrs. Greig, was then Mrs. Somer-
vile.
Mary Fairfax Somerville, born in 1880,
spent the most of her ninety-two years tin
study. As girl she had dancing, paint
ing and cooking lessons, and spent four or
five hours daily in piano practice. She
learned a good amount of Latin and enough
Greek to read Xenophon and part of
Heroditus. It was In pursuit of further
knowledge that the girl came upon curious
lines and letters, ''chiefy KS and VS." upon
a page of magazine, and upon inquiry
found that there was a study called alge-
bra. This was the beginning of her life
work. Before this she had risen early that
she might find time for her music,
now she found it necessary to sit up
late to study algebra. This lasted until
Miss Mary's candle at certain hour, not
because her health was being injured by
studying SO late, but because in so doing
she burned out too many candles. After
this she rose earlier and seated dressed up
on her bed, the blankets wrapped around
her in cold weather, she studied Euclid for
hours before breakfast time. Her days
were full of work. Beside the les
sons were household tasks; she
stitched fue linen shirts, made and
mended, embroidered, dsrned stockings
and worked lace. She learned how to tune
her piano, and how to mend its broken
strings; she fed the fowls, looked after the
dairy, picked currants, shelled peas and
beans and helped her father to lay carna
tions and prune trees. She had her amuse-
ments, too, for though she cared nothing
for dolls. she had an enthusiastic love for
birds and animals, and was fond of max
ing collections of wild flowers and shells
and birds eggs. At midnight she
must rise to study the consultations from
her window, and the hours were all too
short for what she had to do.
The difficulties in the way of her acquir-
ing thorough mathematical knowledge
would have seemed unconquersble to q lees
determined character, but with quiet per-
severance she surmounted all obstacles.
Maria Edgewolth said of her: "Her head
is among the stars, while her feet are firm
upon the earth" thus aptly describing the
intellectual and the practical side of her
nature. The woman who wrote SUM-
mary of La Places Mechanism of the
Heavens" work upon ''The Connection
of the Physical Sciences" "Physical &C.
ography, "Molecular and Microscopic Sci
ence," "The Theory of Differences" and
made many other valuable contributions to
the literature of science, was not a broken
down invalid, or coarsely masculine in ber
ways. She was, to the end of her life,
strong, gentle, sprightly in manner and
dainty in dress; fond of needlework, light
literature, music and painting; in short,
essentially feminine. Her husband de-
lighted in her, and the children whom she
reared 80 tenderly and taught so patiently
made her old age, according to her written
record, "perfectly happy" Her eyes were
not dim for all her study, since at ninety
she could count the threads of fine canvas
without glasses, nor was her natural force
abated, for in her ninetieth year she pub
lished one of her greatest works, and con-
tinued up to the very day of her death the
revision of her treatise, ''The Theory of
Differences" In 1872 she wrote:
81 am now in my ninety second year
still able to drive out for several hours.
am extremely deaf and my memory of
ordinary events, and especially of the
names of people, is failing, but not for
mathematical and scientific subjects. 1
am still able to read books on higher alge
bra for four or five hours in the morning,
and even to solve the problems. Some
times I fiud them difficult, but the old
obstinacy remains, for if l do not succeed
to- day attack them again tomorrow. ]
also enjoy reading about all the new dis
coveries and theories in the scientific
world, and on all branches of science"
This bright and busy old age following
upon such useful life is perhaps without
parallel, at least in the lives of women.
Vet it was that of the most highly edu-
Gated woman of the age, whose learning
was acquired with more of persistent,
obstinate struggle against disadvantages
than any college girl hereafter will have to
expend. 1t affords forcibls argument to
oppose against the doubts and structures of
the anti-higher education party.
THEY VOTED IN NEW JERSEY.
1t has been stated that the first presi-
dent of the United States elected in part
| a very small fraction of a fragment of a
part-by the votes of women is President
elect Cleveland.
The statement is incorrect, the first
president 30 elected being the first of all
| the line of presidents, George Washing
| ton, for whom the tax-paying women of
| New Jersey voted, that state having an
ticipated Wyoming, as regards woman
suffrage, by more than one hundred
years.
| The Quaker element was strong in old
| New Jersey, and through the influence of
Quaker preacher the convention that
framed the constitution under which New
Jersey came into the Union substituted for
the words "male freeholders" in the pro-
vincial charter the words call inhabitants
worth forty pounds" Under this provis-
ion tay-paying women voted twice for
| George Washington and third and last
time for John Adams. AS most of the
tax paying women of New Jersey were
Federalists they were said to have carried
the state for Adams consequently, when
Democratic legislature came into power,
it promptly abolished the property qualif-
cation, decreeing that suffrage should be
limited to "white male" citizens. Tax
paying women and tax-paying negroes
we're thus disfranchised, the real reason
being that they had, as rule, voted the
Federal ticket.
Wyoming women who entered with sc
much enthusiasm and 80 much intelligence
into the work of the last political campaign
are recommended to make note of this
1t is claimed that generally they voted fol
; President Harrison, remembering that il
was a Republican administration which
against great opposition, admitted the Ter
ritory as State, with clause in its con
stitution guaranteeing equal rights K
| women. A Democratic administration will
. remember this to your discredit
% women of Wyoming! Mr.. Cleve
, lands record shows him to hav
. been not altogether unfriendly to woman
t suffrage. This makes your sin against tn
? now victorious party SO much the darker
8 and judgment will sooner or later overtak
i you. The bristling, energetic, devastatin
I Democratic broom, "woman's weapon,
by the way, may sweep that equal right
clause out of your state constitution, an
whisk you into your political graves, wher
over you, as you lie voiceless, the Demo
cratic rooster will stun your ears with hi
shrillest, most defiant and most jubilar
growing. HILARY.
DISCOVERED.