M/fS. SOMERVILLE. 43 



letter from Lord Brougham, asking him to try and 

 use his influence to persuade her to write a popular 

 account of a book which had for some years past 

 completely revolutionised people's ideas about the 

 science of astronomy. This work, called " La 

 Mecanique Celeste," had been written by Laplace, 

 a Frenchman, one of the greatest mathematicians 

 and astronomers who ever lived, and whose dis- 

 coveries had earned for him the title of the Newton 

 of France. When Lord Brougham wrote this letter 

 Lapiace was just dead, and the cleverest men in 

 Europe were enthusiastic in his praise ; yet scientific 

 men in England had to confess that there were not 

 twenty Englishmen who knew of his great book at 

 all, except by name, and not a hundred who had 

 ever heard of it. The fact was, the " Me*canique 

 Celeste " was beyond the comprehension of ordinary 

 people. It was so difficult to understand that no one 

 who had not a profound knowledge of geometry 

 could possibly read it ; and it was said that, when 

 writing it, the author himself used sometimes to be 

 obliged to devote an hour's labour to gathering up 

 the thread which he had dropped when last he wrote. 

 Abstruse as the work was, Mrs. Somerville had 

 mastered its contents. She had read it with great 

 interest, and when in France she had made the 

 acquaintance of Laplace, and conversed with him 

 about astronomy : indeed, Laplace is reported to 

 have said that Mrs. Somerville was the only woman 



