"ESTEEMED FRIEND: Thy kind letter of the 10th instant reached me duly. No steps were taken by my daughter in claim of the medal of the Danish king. On the night of the discovery, I was fully satisfied that it was a comet from its location, though its real motion at this time was so nearly opposite to that of the earth (the two bodies approaching each other) that its apparent motion was scarcely appreciable. I urged very strongly that it should be published immediately, but she resisted it as strongly, though she could but acknowledge her conviction that it was a comet. She remarked to me, 'If it is a new comet, our friends, the Bonds, have seen it. It may be an old one, so far as relates to the discovery, and one which we have not followed.' She consented, however, that I should write to William C. Bond, which I did by the first mail that left the island after the discovery. This letter did not reach my friend till the 6th or 7th, having been somewhat delayed here and also in the post-office at Cambridge. "Referring to my journal I find these words: 'Maria will not consent to have me announce it as an original discovery.' "The stipulations of His Majesty have, therefore, not been complied with, and the peculiar circumstances of the case, her sex, and isolated position, may not be sufficient to justify a suspension of the rules. Nevertheless, it would gratify me that the generous monarch should know that there is a love of science even in this to him remote corner of the earth. "I am thine, my dear friend, most truly, "WILLIAM MITCHELL." * * * * * HON. EDWARD EVERETT TO PROFESSOR SCHUMACHER, AT ALTONA. "Cambridge, 15th January, 1848. "DEAR SIR: Your letter of the 27th October, accompanying the 'Planeten-Circulär,' reached me but a few days since. If you would be so good as to forward to the care of John Miller, Esq., 26 Henrietta street, Covent Garden, London, any letter you may do me the favor to write to me, it would reach me promptly. "The regulations relative to the king of Denmark's medal have not hitherto been understood in this country. I shall take care to give publicity to them. Not only has Mr. Bond lost the medal to which you think he would have been entitled, [Footnote: Mr. Schumacher had remarked to me, in his letter of the 27th of October, that Mr. George P. Bond would have received the medal for the comet first seen by him as a nebulous object on the 18th of February, 1846, if his observation made at that time had been communicated, according to the regulations, to the trustees of the medal.] but I fear the same has happened to Miss Mitchell, of Nantucket, who discovered the comet of last October on the first day of that month. I think it was not seen in Europe till the third. "I remain, dear sir, with great respect, faithfully yours, "EDWARD EVERETT." * * * * * HON. EDWARD EVERETT TO HON. WILLIAM MITCHELL. "Cambridge, 18th January, 1848.