Personal Recollections, from Early Life to Old Age, of Mary Somerville Part 21

In the events of my life it may be seen how much I have been honoured by the scientific societies and universities of Italy, many of whom have elected me an honorary member or a.s.sociate; but the greatest honour I have received in Italy has been the gift of the first gold medal hitherto awarded by the Geographical Society at Florence, and which was coined on purpose, with my name on the reverse. I received it the other day, accompanied by the following letter from General Menabrea, President of the Council, himself a distinguished mathematician and philosopher:--

FROM GENERAL MENABREA TO MRS. SOMERVILLE.

FLORENCE, _30 Juin, 1869_.

MADAME,

J'ai pris connaissance avec le plus grand interet de la belle edition de votre dernier ouvrage sur la Geographie Physique, et je desire vous donner un temoignage d'haute estime pour vos travaux. Je vous prie donc, Madame, d'accepter une medaille d'or a l'effigie du Roi Victor Emmanuel, mon auguste souverain. C'est un souvenir de mon pays dans lequel vous comptez, comme chez toutes les nations ou la science est honore, de nombreux amis et admirateurs. Veuillez croire, Madame, que je ne cesserai d'etre l'un et l'autre en meme temps que je suis,

Votre tres devoue Serviteur, MENABREA.

At a general a.s.sembly of the Italian Geographical Society, at Florence, on the 14th March, 1870, I was elected by acclamation an Honorary a.s.sociate of that distinguished society. I am indebted to the President, the Commendatore Negri, for having proposed my name, and for a very kind letter, informing me of the honour conferred upon me.

I have still (in 1869) the habit of studying in bed from eight in the morning till twelve or one o'clock; but, I am left solitary; for I have lost my little bird who was my constant companion for eight years. It had both memory and intelligence, and such confidence in me as to sleep upon my arm while I was writing. My daughter, to whom it was much attached, coming into my room early, was alarmed at its not flying to meet her, as it generally did, and at last, after a long search, the poor little creature was found drowned in the jug.

On the 4th October, while at dinner, we had a shock of earthquake. The vibrations were nearly north and south; it lasted but a few seconds, and was very slight; but in Calabria, &c., many villages and towns were overthrown, and very many people perished. The shocks were repeated again and again; only one was felt at Naples; but as it occurred in the night, we were unconscious of it. At Naples, it was believed there would be an eruption of Vesuvius; for the smoke was particularly dense and black, and some of the wells were dried up.

I can scarcely believe that Rome, where I have spent so many happy years, is now the capital of united Italy. I heartily rejoice in that glorious termination to the vicissitudes the country has undergone, and only regret that age and infirmity prevent me from going to see Victor Emmanuel triumphantly enter the capital of his kingdom. The Pope's reliance on foreign troops for his safety was an unpardonable insult to his countrymen.

The month of October this year (1870), seems to have been remarkable for displays of the Aurora Borealis. It seriously interfered with the working of the telegraphs, particularly in the north of England and Ireland. On the night of the 24th October, it was seen over the greater part of Europe. At Florence, the common people were greatly alarmed, and at Naples, the peasantry were on their knees to the Madonna to avert the evil. Unfortunately, neither I nor any of my family saw the Aurora; for most of our windows have a southern aspect. The frequent occurrence of the Aurora in 1870 confirms the already known period of maximum intensity and frequency, every ten or twelve years, since the last maximum occurred in 1859.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 15: The _Resistance_, ironclad, commanded by Captain Chamberlayne, then absent on sick leave.]

[Footnote 16: Captain Henry Fairfax, my mother's nephew, then Commander on board the _Resistance_, senior officer in the absence of the captain.]

[Footnote 17: Professor of Geology at Bologna.]

CHAPTER XVIII.

ECLIPSE--VISITS OF SCIENTIFIC MEN--LIFE AT NAPLES--DARWIN'S BOOKS--REMARKS ON CIVILIZATION--FINE AURORA BOREALIS--DEATH OF HERSCHEL--SUMMER AT SORRENTO--BILL FOR PROTECTION OF ANIMALS--NINETY-SECOND YEAR--LETTER FROM PROFESSOR SEDGWICK--GRAND ERUPTION OF VESUVIUS--LAST SUMMER AT SORRENTO, PLANTS FOUND THERE--CONCLUSION.

The summer of 1870 was unusually cool; but the winter has been extremely gloomy, with torrents of rain, and occasionally such thick fogs, that I could see neither to read nor to write. We had no storms during the hot weather; but on the afternoon of the 21st December, there was one of the finest thunderstorms I ever saw; the lightning was intensely vivid, and took the strangest forms, darting in all directions through the air before it struck, and sometimes darting from the ground or the sea to the clouds. It ended in a deluge of rain, which lasted all night, and made us augur ill for the solar eclipse next day; and, sure enough, when I awoke next morning, the sky was darkened by clouds and rain.

Fortunately, it cleared up just as the eclipse began; we were all prepared for observing it, and we followed its progress through the opening in the clouds till at last there was only a very slender crescent of the sun's disc left; its convexity was turned upwards, and its horns were nearly horizontal. It was then hidden by a dense ma.s.s of clouds; but after a time they opened, and I saw the edge of the moon leave the limb of the sun. The appearance of the landscape was very lurid, but by no means very dark. The common people and children had a very good view of the eclipse, reflected by the pools of water in the streets.

Many of the astronomers who had been in Sicily observing the eclipse came to see me as they pa.s.sed through Naples. One of their princ.i.p.al objects was to ascertain the nature of the corona, or bright white rays which surround the dark lunar disc at the time of the greatest obscurity. The spectroscope showed that it was decidedly auroral, but as the aurora was seen on the dark disc of the moon it must have been due to the earth's atmosphere. Part of the corona was polarized, and consequently must have been material; the question is, Can it be the ethereal medium? A question of immense importance, since the whole theory of light and colours and the resistance of Encke's comet depends upon that hypothesis. The question is still in abeyance, but I have no doubt that it will be decided in the affirmative, and that even the cause of gravitation will be known eventually.

At this time I had the pleasure of a visit from Mr. Peirce, Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy, in the Harvard University, U.S., and Superintendent of the U.S. Coast Survey, who had come to Europe to observe the eclipse. On returning to America he kindly sent me a beautiful lithographed copy of a very profound memoir on linear and a.s.sociative algebra. Although in writing my popular books I had somewhat neglected the higher algebra, I have read a great part of the work; but as I met with some difficulties I wrote to Mr. Spottiswoode, asking his advice as to the books that would be of use, and he sent me Serret's "Cours d'Algebre Superieure," Salmon's "Higher Algebra," and Tait on "Quaternions;" so now I got exactly what I wanted, and I am very busy for a few hours every morning; delighted to have an occupation so entirely to my mind. I thank G.o.d that my intellect is still unimpaired.

I am grateful to Professor Peirce for giving me an opportunity of exercising it so agreeably. During the rest of the day I have recourse to Shakespeare, Dante, and more modern light reading, besides the newspapers, which always interested me much. I have resumed my habit of working, and can count the threads of a fine canvas without spectacles.

I receive every one who comes to see me, and often have the pleasure of a visit from old friends very unexpectedly. In the evening I read a novel, but my tragic days are over; I prefer a cheerful conversational novel to the sentimental ones. I have recently been reading Walter Scott's novels again, and enjoyed the broad Scotch in them. I play a few games at Bezique with one of my daughters, for honour and glory, and so our evenings pa.s.s pleasantly enough.

It is our habit to be separately occupied during the morning, and spend the rest of the day together. We are fond of birds and have several, all very tame. Our tame nightingales sing very beautifully, but, strange to say, not at night. We have also some solitary sparrows, which are, in fact, a variety of the thrush (t.u.r.dus cyaneus), and some birds which we rescued from destruction in spring, when caught and ill-used by the boys in the streets; besides, we have our dogs; all of which afford me amus.e.m.e.nt and interest.

Mr. Murray has kindly sent me a copy of Darwin's recent work on the "Descent of Man." Mr. Darwin maintains his theory with great talent and with profound research. His knowledge of the characters and habits of animals of all kinds is very great, and his kindly feelings charming. It is chiefly by the feathered race that he has established his law of selection relative to s.e.x. The males of many birds are among the most beautiful objects in nature; but that the beauty of nature is altogether irrelative to man's admiration or appreciation, is strikingly proved by the admirable sculpture on Diatoms and Foraminifera; beings whose very existence was unknown prior to the invention of the microscope. The Duke of Argyll has ill.u.s.trated this in the "Reign of Law," by the variety, graceful forms and beautiful colouring of the humming birds in forests which man has never entered.

In Mr. Darwin's book it is amusing to see how conscious the male birds are of their beauty; they have reason to be so, but we scorn the vanity of the savage who decks himself in their spoils. Many women without remorse allow the life of a pretty bird to be extinguished in order that they may deck themselves with its corpse. In fact, humming birds and other foreign birds have become an article of commerce. Our kingfishers and many of our other birds are on the eve of extinction on account of a cruel fashion.

I have just received from Frances Power Cobbe an essay, in which she controverts Darwin's theory,[18] so far as the origin of the moral sense is concerned. It is written with all the energy of her vigorous intellect as a moral philosopher, yet with a kindly tribute to Mr.

Darwin's genius. I repeat no one admires Frances Cobbe more than I do. I have ever found her a brilliant, charming companion, and a warm, affectionate friend. She is one of the few with whom I keep up a correspondence.

To Mr. Murray I am indebted for a copy of Tylor's "Researches on the Early History of Mankind, and the Development of Civilization"--a very remarkable work for extent of research, original views, and happy ill.u.s.trations. The gradual progress of the prehistoric races of mankind has laid a foundation from which Mr. Tylor proves that after the lapse of ages the barbarous races now existing are decidedly in a state of progress towards civilization. Yet one cannot conceive human beings in a more degraded state than some of them are still; their women are treated worse than their dogs. Sad to say, no savages are more gross than the lowest ranks in England, or treat their wives with more cruelty.

In the course of my life Paris has been twice occupied by foreign troops, and still oftener has it been in a state of anarchy. I regret to see that La Place's house at Arcueil has been broken into, and his ma.n.u.scripts thrown into the river, from which some one has fortunately rescued that of the "Mecanique Celeste," which is in his own handwriting. It is greatly to the honour of French men of science that during the siege they met as usual in the hall of the Inst.i.tute, and read their papers as in the time of peace. The celebrated astronomer Janssen even escaped in a balloon, that he might arrive in time to observe the eclipse of the 22nd November, 1870.

We had a most brilliant display of the Aurora on the evening of Sunday, the 4th February, 1871, which lasted several hours. The whole sky from east to west was of the most brilliant flickering white light, from which streamers of red darted up to the zenith. There was also a lunar rainbow. The common people were greatly alarmed, for there had been a prediction that the world was coming to an end, and they thought the bright part of the Aurora was a piece of the moon that had already tumbled down! This Aurora was seen in Turkey and in Egypt.

I am deeply grieved and shaken by the death of Sir John Herschel, who, though ten years younger than I am, has gone before me. In him I have lost a dear and affectionate friend, whose advice was invaluable, and his society a charm. None but those who have lived in his home can imagine the brightness and happiness of his domestic life. He never presumed upon that superiority of intellect or the great discoveries which made him one of the most ill.u.s.trious men of the age; but conversed cheerfully and even playfully on any subject, though ever ready to give information on any of the various branches of science to which he so largely contributed, and which to him were a source of constant happiness. Few of my early friends now remain--I am nearly left alone.

We went to pa.s.s the summer and autumn at Sorrento, where we led a very quiet but happy life. The villa we lived in was at a short distance from and above the town, quite buried in groves of oranges and lemons, beyond which lay the sea, generally calm and blue, sometimes stormy; to our left the islands of Ischia and Procida, the Capo Miseno, with Baia, Pozzuoli, and Posilipo; exactly opposite to us, Naples, then Vesuvius, and all the little towns on that coast, and lastly, to our right, this wonderful panorama was bounded by the fine cliffs of the Monte Santangelo. It was beautiful always, but most beautiful when the sun, setting behind Ischia, sent a perfect glory over the rippling sea, and tinged the Monte Santangelo and the cliffs which bound the Piano di Sorrento literally with purple and gold. I spent the whole day on a charming terrace sheltered from the sun, and there we dined and pa.s.sed the evening watching the lights of Naples reflected in the water and the revolving lights of the different lighthouses. I often drove to Ma.s.sa till after sunset, for from that road I could see the island of Capri, and I scarcely know a more lovely drive. Besides the books we took with us we had newspapers, reviews, and other periodicals, so that we were never dull. On one occasion my daughters and I made an expedition up the hills to the Deserto, from whence one can see the Gulf of Salerno and the fine mountains of Calabria. My daughters rode and I was carried in a _portantina_. It was fine, clear, autumnal weather, and I enjoyed my expedition immensely, nor was I fatigued.

In November we returned to Naples, where I resumed my usual life. I had received a copy of Hamilton's Lectures on Quaternions from the Rev.

Whitewell Elwin. I am not acquainted with that gentleman, and am the more grateful to him. I have now a valuable library of scientific books and transactions of scientific societies, the greater part gifts from the authors.

Foreigners were so much shocked at the atrocious cruelty to animals in Italy, that an attempt was made about eight years ago to induce the Italian Parliament to pa.s.s a law for their protection, but it failed. As Italy is the only civilized country in Europe in which animals are not protected by law, another attempt is now being made; I have willingly given my name, and I received a kind letter from the Marchioness of Ely, from Rome, to whom I had spoken upon the subject at Naples, telling me that the Princess Margaret, Crown Princess of Italy, had been induced to head the pet.i.tion. Unless the educated cla.s.ses take up the cause one cannot hope for much change for a long time. Our friend, Mr. Robert Hay, who resided at Rome for many years, had an old horse of which he was very fond, and on leaving Rome asked a Roman prince, who had very large possessions in the Campagna, if he would allow his old horse to end his days on his gra.s.sy meadows. "Certainly," replied the prince, "but how can you care what becomes of an animal when he is no longer of use?" We English cannot boast of humanity, however, as long as our sportsmen find pleasure in shooting down tame pigeons as they fly terrified out of a cage.

I am now in my 92nd year (1872), still able to drive out for several hours; I 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. I am still able to read books on the higher algebra for four or five hours in the morning, and even to solve the problems. Sometimes I find them difficult, but my old obstinacy remains, for if I do not succeed to-day, I attack them again on the morrow. I also enjoy reading about all the new discoveries and theories in the scientific world, and on all branches of science.

Sir Roderick Murchison has pa.s.sed away, honoured by all, and of undying fame; and my amiable friend, almost my contemporary, Professor Sedgwick, has been obliged to resign his chair of geology at Cambridge, from age, which he had filled with honour during a long life.

[The following letter from her valued friend Professor Sedgwick, in 1869, is the last my mother received from him:--]

FROM PROFESSOR SEDGWICK TO MRS. SOMERVILLE.