Maria Mitchell: Life, Letters, and Journals - Maria Mitchell
"Dinner was announced immediately, and Dr. Whewell escorted me
downstairs, across an immense hall, to the dining-room, outside of which
stood the waiters, six in number, arranged in a straight line, in
livery, of course. One of them had a scarlet vest, short clothes, and
drab coat.
"As I sat next to the master, I had a good deal of talk with him. He was
very severe upon Americans; he said that Emerson did not write good
English, and copied Carlyle! I thought his severity reached really to
discourtesy, and I think he perceived it when he asked me if I knew
Emerson personally, and I replied that I did, and that I valued my
acquaintance with him highly.
"I got a little chance to retort, by telling him that we had outgrown
Mrs. Hemans in America, and that we now read Mrs. Browning more. He
laughed at it, and said that Mrs. Browning's poetry was so coarse that
he could not tolerate it, and he was amused to hear that any people had
got above Mrs. Hemans; and he asked me if we had outgrown Homer! To
which I replied that they were not similar cases.
"Altogether, there was a tone of satire in Dr. Whewell's remarks which I
did not think amiable.
"There were, as there are very commonly in English society, some dresses
too low for my taste; and the wine-drinking was universal, so that I had
to make a special point of getting a glass of water, and was afraid I
might drink all there was on the table!
"Before the dessert came on, saucers were placed before each guest, and
a little rose-water dipped into them from a silver basin; then each
guest washed his face thoroughly, dipping his napkin into the saucer.
Professor Willis, who sat next to me, told me that this was a custom
peculiar to Cambridge, and dating from its earliest times.
"The finger bowls came on afterwards, as usual.
"It is customary for the lady of the house or the 'first lady' to turn
to her nearest neighbor at the close of dinner and say, 'Shall we retire
to the drawing-room?' Now, there was no lady of the house, and I was in
the position of first lady. They might have sat there for a thousand
years before I should have thought of it. I drew on my gloves when the
other ladies drew on theirs, and then we waited. Mrs. Airy saw the
dilemma, made the little speech, and the gentlemen escorted us to the
door, and then returned to their wine.
"We went back to the drawing-room and had coffee; after coffee new
guests began to come, and we went into the magnificent room with the
oriel windows.
"Professor Sedgwick came early--an old man of seventy-four, already a
little shattered and subject to giddiness. He is said to be very fond of
young ladies even now, and when younger made some heartaches; for he
could not give up his fellowship and leave Cambridge for a wife; which,
to me, is very unmanly. He is considered the greatest geologist in
England, and of course they would say 'in the world,' and is much loved
by all who know him. He came to Cambridge a young man, and the elms
which he saw planted are now sturdy trees. It is pleasant to hear him
talk of Cambridge and its growth; he points to the stately trees and
says, 'Those trees don't look as old as I, and they are not.'
"I did not see Professor Adams at that time, but I spent the whole of
Monday morning walking about the college with him. I asked him to show
me the place where he made his computations for Neptune, and he was
evidently well pleased to do so.
"We laughed over a roll, which we saw in the College library, containing
a list of the ancestors of Henry VIII.; among them was Jupiter.
"Professor Adams tells me that in Wales genealogical charts go so far
back that about half-way between the beginning and the present day you
find this record: 'About this time the world was created'!
"November 2. At lunch to-day Dr. Whewell was more interesting than I had
seen him before. He asked me about Laura Bridgman, and said that he knew
a similar case. He contended, in opposition to Mrs. Airy and myself,
that loss of vision was preferable to loss of hearing, because it shut
one out less from human companionship.
"Dr. Whewell's self-respect and immense self-esteem led him to
imperiousness of manner which touches the border of discourtesy. He
loves a good joke, but his jests are serious. He writes verses that are
touchingly beautiful, but it is difficult to believe, in his presence,
that he writes them. Mrs. Airy said that Dr. Whewell and I _riled_ each
other!
"I was at an evening party, and the Airy boys, young men of eighteen and
twenty, were present. They stood the whole time, occasionally leaning
against a table or the piano, in their blue silk gowns. I urged them to
sit. 'Of course not,' they said; 'no undergraduate sits in the master's
presence!'
"I went to three services on 'Scarlet Sunday,' for the sake of seeing
all the sights.
"The costumes of Cambridge and Oxford are very amusing, and show, more
than anything I have seen, the old-fogyism of English ways. Dr. Whewell
wore, on this occasion, a long gown reaching nearly to his feet, of rich
scarlet, and adorned with flowing ribands. The ribands did not match the
robe, but were more of a crimson.
"I wondered that a strong-minded man like Dr. Whewell could tolerate
such trappings for a moment; but it is said that he is rather proud of
them, and loves all the etiquette of the olden time, as also, it is
said, does the queen.
"In these robes Dr. Whewell escorted me to church--and of course we were
a great sight!
"Before dinner, on this Scarlet Sunday, there was an interval when the
master was evidently tried to know what to do with me. At length he hit
upon an expedient. 'Boys,' he said to the young Airys, 'take Miss
Mitchell on a walk!'
"I was a little surprised to find myself on a walk, 'nolens volens;' so
as soon as we were out of sight of the master of Trinity, I said, 'Now,
young gentlemen, as I do not want to go to walk, we won't go!'
"It was hard for me to become accustomed to English ideas of caste. I
heard Professor Sedgwick say that Miss Herschel, the daughter of Sir
John and niece to Caroline, married a Gordon. 'Such a great match for
her!' he added; and when I asked what match could be great for a
daughter of the Herschels, I was told that she had married one of the
queen's household, and was asked to _sit_ in the presence of the queen!
"When I hear a missionary tell that the pariah caste sit on the ground,
the peasant caste lift themselves by the thickness of a leaf, and the
next rank by the thickness of a stalk, it seems to me that the heathen
has reached a high state of civilization--precisely that which Victoria
has reached when she permits a Herschel to sit in her presence!
"The University of Cambridge consists of sixteen colleges. I was told
that, of these, Trinity leads and St. John comes next.
"Trinity has always led in mathematics; it boasts of Newton and Byron
among its graduates. Milton belonged to Christ Church College; the
mulberry tree which he planted still flourishes.
"Even to-day, a young scholar of Trinity expressed his regret to me that
Milton did not belong to the college in which he himself studied. He
pointed out the rooms occupied by Newton, and showed us 'Newton's
Bridge,' 'which will surely fall when a greater man than he walks over
it'!
"Milton first planned the great poem, 'Paradise Lost,' as a drama, and
this manuscript, kept within a glass case, is opened to the page on
which the _dramatis personae_ are planned and replanned. On the opposite
page is a part of 'Lycidas,' neatly written and with few corrections.
"The most beautiful of the college buildings is King's Chapel. A
Cambridge man is sure to take you to one of the bridges spanning the
wretched little stream called the 'Silver Cam,' that you may see the
architectural beauties of this building.
"It is well to attend service in one or the other of the chapels, to see
assembled the young men, who are almost all the sons of the nobility or
gentry. The propriety of their conduct struck me.
"The fellows of the colleges are chosen from the 'scholars' who are most
distinguished, as the 'scholars' are chosen from the undergraduates.
They receive an income so long as they remain connected with the college
and unmarried.
"They have also the use of rooms in the college; they dine in the same
hall with the undergraduates, but their tables are placed upon a raised
dais; they have also little garden-places given them.
"'What are their duties?' I asked Mr. Airy. 'None at all; _they_ are the
college. It would not be a seat of learning without them.'
"They say in Cambridge that Dr. Whewell's book, 'Plurality of Worlds,'
reasons to this end: The planets were created for this world; this world
for man; man for England; England for Cambridge; and Cambridge for Dr.
Whewell!
"Ambleside, September 13. We have spent the Sunday in ascending a
mountain, I have a minute route marked out for me by Professor Airy, who
has rambled among the lakes and mountains of Cumberland and Westmoreland
for months, and says that no man lives who knows them better than he.
"In accordance with these directions, I took a one-horse carriage this
morning for Coniston Waters, in order to ascend the 'Old Man.' The
waiter at the 'Salutation' at Ambleside, which we made headquarters,
told me that I could not make the ascent, as the day would not be fine;
but I have not travelled six months for nothing, and I knew he was
saying, 'You are fine American geese; you are not to leave my house
until you have been well plucked!'--which threat he will of course keep,
but I shall see all the 'Old Men' that I choose. So I borrowed the
waiter's umbrella, when he said it would rain, and off we went in an
open carriage, a drive of seven miles, up hill and down dale, among
mountains and around ponds (lakes _they_ called them), in the midst of
rich lands and pretty mansions, with occasionally a castle, and once a
ruin, to diversify the scenery.
"Arrived at Coniston Hotel, the waiter said the same thing: 'It's too
cloudy to ascend the "Old Man;"' but as soon as it was found that if it
was too cloudy we did not intend to stay, it cleared off amazingly fast,
and the ponies were ordered. I thought at first of walking up, but,
having a value for my feet and not liking to misuse them, I mounted a
pony and walked him.
"He was beautifully stupid, but I could not help thinking of Henry
Colman, the agriculturist, who, when in England, went on a fox-hunt. He
said, 'Think of my poor wife's old husband leaping a fence!'
"But I soon forgot any fear, for the pony needed nothing from me or the
guide, but scrambled about any way he chose; and the scenery was
charming, for although the mountains are not very high, they are thrown
together very beautifully and remind me of those of the Hudson
Highlands. Then the little lakes were lovely, and occasionally we came
to a tarn or pond, and exceedingly small waterfalls were rushing about
everywhere, without any apparent object in view, but evidently looking
for something. And spite of the weatherwise head-waiter of the
'Salutation' and of him of Coniston Inn, the day was beautiful. We had
to give up the ponies when we were half a mile from the top, and clamber
up ourselves. The guide was very intelligent, and pointed out the lakes,
Windermere, Coniston; and the mountains, Helvellyn, Skiddaw, and
Saddleback; but at one time he spoke a name that I couldn't understand,
and forgetting that I was in England and not in America, I asked him to
_spell_ it. He replied, 'Theys call it so always.' He did not fail,
however, to ask questions like a Yankee, if he couldn't spell like one.
'Which way be ye coming?'--'From America.'--'Ye'll be going to Scotland
like?'--'Yes.'--'Ye'll be spending much money before ye are home again.'
"When we were quite on top of the mountain I asked what the white
glimmering was in the distance, and he said it was, what I supposed, an
arm of the sea.
"The shadows of the flying clouds were very pretty falling on the hills
around us, and the villages in the valleys beneath looked like white
dots on the green.
"Sunday, Sept. 20, 1857. We have been to see Miss Southey to-day. I sent
the letter which Mrs. Airy gave me yesterday, and with it a note saying
that I would call to-day if convenient.
"Miss Southey replied at once, saying that she should be happy to see
me. She lives in a straggling, irregular cottage, like most of the
cottages around Keswick, but beautifully situated, though far from the
lake.
"Southey himself lived at Greta Hall, a much finer place, for many
years, but he never owned it, and the gentleman who bought it will
permit no one to see it.
"Miss Southey's house is overgrown with climbing plants, has windows
opening to the ground, and is really a summer residence, not a good
winter home.
"When Southey, in his decline, married a second wife, the family
scattered, and this daughter, the only unmarried one, left him.
"We were shown into a pleasant parlor comfortably furnished, especially
with books and engravings, portraits of Southey, Wordsworth, and others.
"Miss Southey soon came down; she is really pretty, having the fresh
English complexion and fair hair. She seems to be a very simple,
pleasant person; chatty, but not too much so. She is much engrossed by
the care of three of her brother's children, an old aunt, and a servant,
who, having been long in the family, has become a dependant. Miss
Southey spoke at once of the Americans whom she had known, Ticknor being
one.
"The old aunt asked after a New York lady who had visited Southey at
Greta Hall, but her niece reminded her that it must have been before I
was born!
"Miss Southey said that her father felt that he knew as many Americans
as Englishmen, and that she wanted very much to go to America. I told
her that she would be in danger of being 'lionized;' she said, 'Oh, I
should like that, for of course it is gratifying to know how much my
father was valued there."
"I asked after the children, and Miss Southey said that the little boy
had called out to her, 'Oh! Aunt Katy, the Ameriky ladies have come!
"The three children were called in; the boy, about six years old, of
course wouldn't speak to me.
"The best portrait of Southey in his daughter's collection is a profile
in wax--a style that I have seen several times in England, and which I
think very pretty.
"We went down to Lodore, the scene of the poem, 'How does the Water come
Down,' etc., and found it about as large as the other waterfalls around
here--a little dripping of water among the stones.
COLLINGWOOD, Nov. 14, 1857.
MY DEAR FATHER: This is Sir John Herschel's place. I came last
night just at dusk.
According to English ways, I ought to have written a note,
naming the hour at which I should reach Etchingham, which is
four miles from Collingwood; but when I left Liverpool I went
directly on, and a letter would have arrived at the same time
that I did. I stopped in London one night only, changed my
lodging-house, that I might pay a pound a week only for letting
my trunk live in a room, instead of two pounds, and started off
again.
I reached Etchingham at ten minutes past four, took a cab, and
set off for Sir John's. It is a large brick house, no way
handsome, but surrounded by fine grounds, with beautiful trees
and a very large pond.
The family were at dinner, and I was shown into the
drawing-room.
There was just the light of a coal fire, and as I stood before
it Sir John bustled in, an old man, much bent, with perfectly
white hair standing out every way. He reached both hands to me,
and said, "We had no letter and so did not expect you, but you
are always welcome in this house." Lady Herschel followed--very
noble looking; she does not look as old as I, but of course must
be; but English women, especially of her station, do not wear
out as we do, who are "Jacks at all trades."
I found a fire in my room, and a cup of tea and crackers were
immediately sent up.
The Herschels have several children; I have not seen Caroline,
Louise, William, and Alexander, but Belle, and Amelie, and
Marie, and Julie, and Rosa, and Francesca, and Constance, and
John are at home!
The children are not handsome, but are good-looking, and well
brought up of course, and highly educated. The children all come
to table, which is not common in England. Think what a table
they must set when the whole twelve are at home!
The first object that struck me in the house was Borden's map of
Massachusetts, hanging in the hall opposite the entrance. Over
the mantelpiece in the dining-room is a portrait of Sir William
Herschel. In the parlor is a portrait of Caroline Herschel, and
busts of Sir William, Sir John, and the eldest daughter.
I spent the evening in looking at engravings, sipping tea, and
talking. Sir John is like the elder Mr. Bond, except that he
talks more readily; but he is womanly in his nature, not a
tyrant like Whewell. Sir John is a better listener than any man
I have met in England. He joins in all the chit-chat, is one of
the domestic circle, and tells funny little anecdotes. (So do
Whewell and Airy.)
The Herschels know Abbot Lawrence and Edward Everett--and
everywhere these two have left a good impression. But I am
certainly mortified by anecdotes that I hear of "pushing"
Americans. Mrs. ---- sought an introduction to Sir John Herschel
to tell him about an abridgment of his Astronomy which she had
made, and she intimated to him that in consequence of her
abridgment his work was, or would be, much more widely known in
America. Lady Herschel told me of it, and she remarked, "I
believe Sir John was not much pleased, for he does not like
abridgments." I told her that I had never heard of the
abridgment.
There are other guests in the house: a lady whose sister was
among those killed in India; and her husband, who is an officer
in the army. We have all been playing at "Spelling" this
evening, with the letters, as we did at home last winter.
Sunday, 15th. I thought of going to London to-day, but was
easily persuaded to stay and go with Lady Herschel to-morrow.
All this afternoon I have spent listening to Sir John, who has
shown me his father's manuscript, his aunt's, beautifully neat,
and he told me about his Cape observations.
The telescope used at the Cape of Good Hope lies in the barn
(the glass, of course, taken care of) unused; and Sir John now
occupies himself with writing only. He made many drawings at the
Cape, which he showed me, and very good ones they are. Lady
Herschel offers me a letter to Mrs. Somerville, who is godmother
to one of her children. I am afraid I shall have no letter to
Leverrier, for every one seems to dislike him. Lady Herschel
says he is one of the few persons whom she ever asked for an
autograph; he was her guest, and he refused!
Just as I was coming away, Sir John bustled up to me with a
sheet of paper, saying that he thought I would like some of his
aunt's handwriting and he would give it to me. He had before
given me one of his own calculations; he says if there were no
"war, pestilence, or famine," and one pair of human beings had
been put upon the globe at the time of Cheops, they would not
only now fill the earth, but if they stood upon each other's
heads, they would reach a hundred times the distance to
Neptune!
I turned over their scrap-books, and Sir John's poetry is much
better than many of the specimens they had carefully kept, by
Sir William Hamilton. Sir William Hamilton's sister had some
specimens in the book, and also Lady Herschel and her brother.
Lady Herschel is the head of the house--so is Mrs. Airy--so, I
suspect, is the wife in all well-ordered households! I perceived
that Sir John did not take a cup of tea until his wife said,
"You can have some, my dear."
Mr. Airy waits and waits, and then says, "My dear, I shall lose
all my flesh if I don't have something to eat and drink."
I am hoping to get to Paris next week, about the 23d. I have had
just what I wanted in England, as to society.
"November 26. A few days ago I received a card, 'Mrs. Baden Powell, at
home November 25.' Of course I did not know if it was a tea party or a
wedding reception. So I appealed to Mrs. Airy. She said, 'It is a London
rout. I never went to one, but you'll find a crowd and a good many
interesting people.'
"I took a cab, and went at nine o'clock. The servant who opened the door
passed me to another who showed me the cloak-room. The girl who took my
shawl numbered it and gave me a ticket, as they would at a public
exhibition. Then she pointed to the other end of the room, and there I
saw a table with tea and coffee. I took a cup of coffee, and then the
servant asked my name, _yelled_ it up the stairs to another, and he
announced it at the drawing-room door just as I entered.
"Mrs. Powell and the professor were of course standing near, and Mrs.
Admiral Smyth just behind. To my delight, I met four English persons
whom I knew, and also Prof. Henry B. Rogers, who is a great society man.
"People kept coming until the room was quite full. I was very glad to be
introduced to Professor Stokes, who is called the best mathematician in
England, and is a friend of Adams. He is very handsome--almost all
Englishmen are handsome, because they look healthy; but Professor Stokes
has fine black eyes and dark hair and good features. He looks very young
and innocent. Stokes is connected with Cambridge, but lives in London,
just as Professor Powell is connected with Oxford, but also lives in
London. Several gentlemen spoke to me without a special
introduction--one told me his name was Dr. Townby [Qy., Toynbie], and he
was a great admirer of Emerson--the first case of the sort I have met.
"Dr. Townby is a young man not over thirty, full of enthusiasm and
progress, like an American. He really seemed to me all alive, and is
either a genius or crazy--the shade between is so delicate that I can't
always tell to which a person belongs! I asked him if Babbage was in the
room, and he said, 'Not yet,' so I hoped he would come.
"He told me that a fine-looking, white-headed, good-featured old man was
Roget, of the 'Thesaurus;' and another old man in the corner was Dr.
Arnott, of the 'Elements of Physics.' I had supposed he was dead long
ago. Afterwards I was introduced to him. He is an old man, but not much
over sixty; his hair is white, but he is full of vigor, short and stout,
like almost all Englishmen and Englishwomen. I have met only two women
taller than myself, and most of them are very much shorter. Dr. Arnott
told me he was only now finishing the 'Elements,' which he first
published in 1827. He intends now to publish the more mathematical
portions with the other volumes. He was very sociable, and I told him he
had twenty years ago a great many readers in America. He said he
supposed he had more there than in England, and that he believed he had
made young men study science in many instances.
"I asked him if Babbage was in the room, and he too said, 'Not yet.' Dr.
Arnott asked me if I wore as many stockings when I was observing as the
Herschels--he said Sir William put on twelve pairs and Caroline
fourteen!
"I stayed until eleven o'clock, then I said 'Good-by,' and just as I
stepped upon the threshold of the drawing-room to go out, a broad old
man stepped upon it, and the servant announced 'Mr. Babbage,' and of
course that glimpse was all I shall ever have!
"Edinboro', September 30. The people of Edinboro', having a passion for
Grecian architecture, and being very proud of the Athenian character of
their city, seek to increase the resemblance by imitations of ancient
buildings.
"Grecian pillars are seen on Calton Hill in great numbers, and the
observatory would delight an old Greek; its four fronts are adorned by
Grecian pillars, and it is indeed beautiful as a structure; but the
Greeks did not build their temples for astronomical observations; they
probably adapted their architecture to their needs.
"This beautiful building was erected by an association of gentlemen, who
raised a good deal of money, but, of course, not enough. They built the
Grecian temple, but they could not supply it with priests.
"About a hundred years ago Colin Maclaurin had laid the foundation of an
observatory, and the curious Gothic building, which still stands, is the
first germ. We laugh now at the narrow ideas of those days, which seemed
to consider an observatory a lookout only; but the first step in a work
is a great step--the others are easily taken. There was added to the
building of Maclaurin a very small transit room, and then the present
edifice followed.
"When the builders of the observatory found that they could not support
it, they presented it to the British government; so that it is now a
government child, but it is not petted, like the first-born of
Greenwich.