204 WOMAN IN SCIENCE 



passed the ordeal to which she was subjected in a manner 

 that excited the admiration and won the plaudits of all 

 present. Cardinal Lambertini was so impressed with the 

 brilliant defence which she had made against the five 

 trained dialecticians and the evidence she gave of varied 

 and profound learning that he paid her a special visit the 

 next day in her own home to renew his congratulations on 

 her signal triumph and to encourage her to continue the 

 prosecution of her studies. 



In less than a month after this interesting event Laura 

 Bassi, in response to the expressed desire of the whole 

 of Bologna, presented herself as a candidate for the doc- 

 torate in philosophy. This was the occasion for a still 

 more brilliant and imposing ceremony. It was held in the 

 spacious Hall of Hercules in the Communal Palace, which 

 was magnificently decorated for the splendid function. In 

 addition to the distinguished personages who had been 

 spectators of the fair student's triumph a few weeks be- 

 fore, there was present in the vast audience the noted 

 French ecclesiastic, Cardinal Polignac, who was on his 

 way from Rome to France. 



The heroine of the hour, dressed in a black gown, was 

 ushered into the great hall, preceded by two college beadles 

 and accompanied by two of the most prominent ladies of 

 the Bolognese nobility. She was given a seat between the 

 chancellor and the prior of the university, who, in turn, 

 were flanked by the professors and officials of the in- 

 stitution. 



After the usual preliminaries of the function were over 

 the prior of the university, Doctor Bazzani, rose and pro- 

 nounced an eloquent discourse in Latin to which Laura 

 made a suitable response in the same language. She was 

 then crowned with a laurel wreath exquisitely wrought in 

 silver, and had thrown round her the vajo, or university 

 gown, both symbols of the doctorate. After this the young 

 doctor proceeded to where the three cardinals were seated, 



