As she had been his helper and
assistant during his career as a popular musician, so she became his
helper and assistant when he gave himself up, like the Chaldeans of old,
to the study of the stars. By dint of a resolute will and a love that
shrank from no sacrifice or exertion, she acquired such a knowledge of
mathematics and calculations, mysterious as these generally seem to the
feminine mind, that she was able to formulate with exactness the result
of her brother's researches. She never failed to be his willing
fellow-labourer in the workshop; she helped him to grind and polish his
mirrors; she stood beside his telescope, in order to record his
observations, during the dark and bitter mid-winter nights, when the
very ink was frozen in the bottle. It may be said, without exaggeration,
that she kept him alive by her care: thinking nothing of herself, she
lived for him, and him alone. She loved him, she believed in him, she
aided him with all her heart and all her strength. Her mental powers
were very considerable; and undoubtedly she might have attained to
eminence on her own account, for she herself discovered no fewer than
eight comets.
Pages:
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46