WOMEN IN MATHEMATICS 159 



pursued my studies with increased assiduity; concealment 

 was no longer necessary, nor was it attempted. I was con- 

 sidered eccentric and foolish, and my conduct was highly 

 disapproved of by many, especially by some members of 

 my own family. ' ' 1 



In March, 1827, Mrs. Somerville received a letter from 

 Lord Brougham, who had heard of her remarkable acquire- 

 ments, begging her to prepare for English readers a popu- 

 lar exposition of Laplace 's great work Mecanique Celeste. 

 She was overwhelmed with astonishment at this request, for 

 her modesty made her diffident of her powers ; and she felt 

 that her self-acquired knowledge of science was so far in- 

 ferior to that of university men that it would be sheer pre- 

 sumption for her to undertake the task proposed to her. 

 She was, however, finally persuaded to make the attempt, 

 with the proviso that her manuscript should be consigned 

 to the flames unless it fulfilled the expectations of those 

 who urged its production. 



In less than a year her work, to which she gave the name 

 of The Mechanism of the Heavens, was ready for the press. 

 But it was far more than a translation and epitome, as 

 originally intended by its projector, Lord Brougham; for, 

 in addition to the views of Laplace, it contained the inde- 

 pendent opinions of the translator respecting the proposi- 

 tions of the illustrious French savant. No sooner was the 

 work published than Mrs. Somerville found herself famous. 

 She had, as Sir John Herschel expressed it, " written for 

 posterity," and her book placed her at once among the 

 leading scientific writers and thinkers of the day. She was 

 elected an honorary member of the Royal Astronomical 

 Society at the same time as Caroline Herschel, they being 

 the first two women thus honored. Her bust, by Chantry, 

 was placed in the great hall of the Eoyal Society, and she 

 was made a member of many other scientific societies in Eu- 



i Personal Recollections, From Early Life to Old Age, of Mary 

 Somerville, p. 80, Boston, 1874. 



