1 8 THE WORLD'S WORKERS. 



subject which was to interest her more than anything 

 else, and through familiarity with which she was to 

 become famous. This subject was Algebra ; but until 

 this time Mary Fairfax was entirely ignorant of it. 



Mary's introduction to algebra was made very 

 curiously. As a matter of course, the young lady went 

 Jvith her mother to the tea-parties which used to be 

 very frequently given in the sort of social circle to 

 which Mrs. Fairfax belonged. As might have been 

 expected, Mary did not enjoy these gatherings. She 

 found them very tedious ; and when fortunate enough 

 to meet with young companions of her own age, she 

 was doubtless glad to escape for an hour from the 

 society of her elders, and to talk of something else 

 than cards. 



One day when she had escaped in this way, she 

 went off with a young friend Miss Ogilvie by name 

 to look at some fancy-work done by the latter. After 

 these elegant trifles had been duly admired, a certain 

 monthly magazine was brought out, with coloured 

 plates of ladies' dresses, charades, and puzzles. The 



two girls examined these, and then . But the 



incident shall be told in Mrs. Somerville's own words : 



" At the end of a page I read what appeared to 

 me to be simply an arithmetical question, but on 

 turning the page, I was surprised to see strange- 

 looking lines mixed with letters, chiefly ^r's and ys, 

 and asked ' What is that ? ' ' Oh,' said Miss Ogilvie, 

 ' it is a kind of arithmetic ; they call it algebra, but I 



