336 MARIA MITCHELL. 



ones, as she awaited the transit of stars, hut she did not print them 

 with her reports. 



Sweeping the heavens with the telescope through the long hours 

 every clear night, as Miss Mitchell was wont to do, means healthy 

 courage and hopes that prophesy success. A great many times she 

 was deceived by the changes in the aspect even of familiar objects, and 

 made measures in vain ; but several new nebulous spots served to 

 keep up her enthusiasm, and the discovery of three comets, not quite 

 in time, but in advance of their announcements, excited expectation. 

 Fortune favors the faithful ; and in the autumn of 1847, a brand-new 

 object entered the field of her telescope and was immediately " deter- 

 mined " in position. This object, being again observed on the follow- 

 ing night, was found to be in motion among the stars, and, as it 

 proved, was a comet not yet seen in any other part of the world. 



In 1831, the same year that Maria Mitchell entered her astronomi- 

 cal apprenticeship as time-keeper at the " sublime " eclipse, Frederic 

 VI., King of Denmark, at the suggestion of Professor Schumacher of 

 Altona, founded a " gold medal of the value of twenty ducats to any 

 person who should first discover a telescopic comet." This medal 

 was awarded to Miss Mitchell, after considerable correspondence, con- 

 ducted mainly by Hon. Edward Everett, whose " Introductory Note " 

 to the letters, as finally compiled, reads as follows : — 



"On the 1st of October, 1847, at half past ten o'clock, p. m., a tele- 

 scopic comet was discovered by Miss Maria Mitchell of Nantucket, 

 nearly vertical above Polaris about five degrees. The farther prog- 

 ress and history of the discovery will sufficiently appear from the 

 following correspondence. On the 3d of October the same comet 

 was seen at half-past seven, p. m., at Rome, by Father de Vico, and 

 information of the fact was immediately communicated by him to 

 Professor Schumacher at Altona. On the 7th of October, at twenty 

 minutes past nine, p. m., it was observed by Mr. W. R. Dawes, at 

 Camden Lodge, Cranbrook, Kent, in England, and on the 11th it 

 was seen by Madame Riimker, the wife of the Director of the Obser- 

 vatory at Hamburg. Mr. Schumacher in announcing this last dis- 

 covery observes, ' Madam Riimker has for several years been on 

 the lookout for comets, and her persevering industry seemed at last 

 about to be rewarded, when a letter was received from Father de 

 Vico, addressed to the editor of this journal, from which it appeared 

 that the same comet had been observed by him on the 3d instant at 

 Rome.' 



" Not deeming it probable that his daughter had anticipated the 



