MARIA MITCHELL. 329 vanity. She has, as a Vassar girl remarks, " little patience with fancy theories." She lodges at the observatory with one or two assist- ants, and takes her meals at the college. Men are employed at the observatory only for heavy lifting, all the intellectual work being accomplished by Miss Mitchell and her students. It is the duty of one of these to photograph the sun at noon every pleasant day, and daily observations are several times taken upon the tem- perature, clouds, and rainfall. Miss Mitchell's "Dome Party" which recurs every June a few days before commencement, is the unique social event of the college year. All present and former students who are in town receive an invitation to attend, and are expected to appear with mathematical accuracy at the appointed hour. The guests are received in a pretty parlor, whose furniture satisfies the requirements of both society and science. Behind a railing at one end stand the chronograph and sidereal clock, while between them in a window framed with vines, is placed a bust of Mrs. Somerville, presented to the college by Frances Power Cobbe. Near by are two tall bookcases containing a miscellaneous collection of books, including a little of everything from poetry to the Principia. When all have arrived breakfast is announced, and the company form in a procession, ranging themselves accord- ing to the year of graduation. Two large baize doors then swing open, and the party, mounting a short flight of stairs, find themselves in the dome itself, with the great equatorial telescope overhead, pointing to the sky. Here the repast is served, upon tables arranged in a circle around the walls, a rosebud and a tiny photograph of the dome being laid at each plate. The meal is pleas- ant both to the palate and to the social sense ; but it is not until the tables are cleared that the most enjoyable part of the entertainment begins.
