Aug. 1. {1873} St Petersburg is exceedingly strange. It is as if we had dropped down upon another planet . . . It was summer. The temperature was delightful, about like our October . . . Especially I noticed the excellence of the thermometers and I naturally stopped to read them. Figures are a common language, but it was clear that I was in another planet. I could not read the thermometers, I judged that the weather was warm enough for this to be 68. I read 16 . . .
This was Maria Mitchell’s second trip to Europe – her first being in 1857-1858. On this trip, Russia was her focus and she travelled with her younger sister Phebe Mitchell Kendall, Phebe’s husband, Joshua, and their son, William Mitchell (Willie) Kendall.
Maria would only recognize what was happening when she realize that the calendars in Russia appeared to be a week or so behind – as this was her birthday and she came across a calendar reading July 22. It was then she remember the difference of twelve days between the “old” and “new” calendars – Russia still using the “old” calendar. She then realized the issue with the thermometers. She was, “Obliged,” as she said, “To learn new lessons in science.”
JNLF
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