MARIA MITCHELL. 341 



who have come under her influence, must far outweigh the possible 

 increase in astronomical fact that might have followed from these 

 twenty-three years, if devoted exclusively to the work of the telescope. 

 Her interest in the physical peculiarities of the larger planets de- 

 termined the lines of her observation at Vassar. Jupiter and Saturn 

 were her favorite study. She published several jiapers on these 

 planets, some printed in Silliman's Journal and some at her private 

 expense. When photography became an important agent in the study 

 of the solar surface, she constructed at her own cost the necessary 

 apparatus for photographing the sun, and placed in the hands of 

 older students, duly instructed in the process, the duty of taking sun 

 pictures every clear noon. These records of the sun's condition, made 

 by its own instantaneous im23ression, began as early as 1874." 



Maria Mitchell was selected as President of " The American Asso- 

 ciation for the Advancement of Women," at the meeting in Syracuse 

 of 1875, and again at the meeting in Philadelphia of 1876. And here 

 again we discover a logical relation to the conditions of her early life. 

 In what, long after, came to be called the " Woman's Movement," 

 Miss Mitchell's mother had taken a decided interest, and lent to it 

 her sympathy, at least to the extent that it sought to open to young 

 women larger opportunities for earning their living by intelligent, 

 labor. It was, to this extent, in the very genius of Quakerism and 

 consonant with its " Discipline." Miss Mitchell took many steps be- 

 yond her mother in this direction, but always with a quiet dignity 

 that became one whose life presented an illustration of the loftiest 

 purpose that the " movement " entertained. 



Among her academic honors, she received her first degree, LL. D., 

 from Hanover in 1853, and her last LL. D. from Columbia in 1887. 



From the eloquent and sincere tribute paid to her memory by Dr. 

 Taylor, the President of Vassar College, we quote the following as 

 indicating the spirit of her example and teaching : — 



" If I were to select for comment the one most striking trait of her 

 character, I should name her genuineness. There was no false note 

 in Maria Mitchell's thinking or utterance. Doubt she might, and she 

 might hnger in doubt, but false she could not be. Hers was a trans- 

 parent character and her genuineness influenced her every word and 

 deed. It was the key note of her independence ; it was the deep 

 source of her strength, and truth must be strong since God is truth. 

 It was this perfect genuineness which gave her the strong hold she 

 had on the admiration and affection of her students, — it was this in 

 her which attracted most of those who loved her best. She fulfilled 



