don, requesting him to interest himself with Professor Schumacher
to obtain the medal for Miss Mitchell. Captain Smyth entered with great
readiness into the matter, and addressed a note on the subject to Mr.
Airy, the Astronomer Royal, at Greenwich. Mr. Airy kindly wrote to
Professor Schumacher without loss of time; but it was their united
opinion that a compliance with the condition relative to immediate
notice of a discovery was indispensable, and that it was consequently
out of their power to award the medal to Miss Mitchell. Mr. Schumacher
suggested, as the only means by which this difficulty could be overcome,
an application to the Danish government, through the American legation
at Copenhagen.

Conceiving that the correspondence could be carried on more promptly
through the Danish legation at Washington, I addressed a letter on the
20th of April to Mr. Steene-Bille, Charge d'Affaires of the king of
Denmark in this country, and sent with it copies of the documents which
had been forwarded to Professor Schumacher. Mr. Steene-Bille, however,
was of opinion that the application, if made at all, should be made
through the American legation at Copenhagen; but he expressed at the
same time a confident opinion that, owing to the condition and political
relations of Denmark, the application would necessarily prove
unavailing.

It was at this time that the difficulties in Schleswig-Holstein were at
their height, and it seemed hopeless at such a moment, and in face of
the opinion of the official representative of the Danish government in
this country, to engage its attention to an affair of this kind. No
further attempt was accordingly made by me, for some weeks, to pursue
the matter. In fact, a report reached the United States that the medal
had actually been awarded to Father de Vico. Although this was believed
by me to be an unfounded rumor, the regulations allowing one year for
the presentation of claims, there was reason to apprehend that it
proceeded from some quarter well informed as to what would probably take
place at the expiration of the twelvemonth.

On the 5th of August, Father de Vico, who had left Rome in the spring in
consequence of the troubles there, made a visit to Cambridge, in company
with the Right Rev. Bishop Fitzpatrick, of Boston, and on this occasion
informed me that he had received an intimation from Professor Schumacher
that the comet-medal would be awarded to Miss Mitchell. I was disposed
to t