76 Mary Somerville. 



tomed to our Scotch Kirk, I never could sympathise 

 with the coldness and formality of the service of the 

 Church of England. However, I thought it my 

 duty to go to church and join where I could in 

 prayer with the congregation. 



There was no Italian Opera in Edinburgh ; the 

 first time I went to one was in London as chaperone 

 to Countess Catharine Woronzow, afterwards Coun- 

 tess of Pembroke, who was godmother to my eldest 

 son. I sometimes spent the evening with her, and 

 occasionally dined at the embassy ; but went nowhere 

 else till we became acquainted with the family of 

 Mr. Thomson Bouar, a rich Russian merchant, who 

 Jived in great luxury at a beautiful villa at Chisel- 

 hurst, in the neighbourhood of London, which has 

 since become the refuge of the ex-Emperor Napoleon 

 the Third and the Empress Eugenie. The family 

 consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Bonar, kind, excellent 

 people, with two sons and a daughter, all grown 

 up. We were invited from time to time to spend 

 ten days or a fortnight with them, which I enjoyed 

 exceedingly. I had been at a riding school in 

 Edinburgh, and rode tolerably, but had little prac- 

 tice, as we could not afford to keep horses. On our 

 first visit, Mrs. Bonar asked me if I would ride with 

 her, as there was a good lady's horse to spare, but I 

 declined. Next day I said, " I should like to ride 



