Letter from Mary Somerville to John Murray, 28 March 1857 [Library reference: MS.41131].
Mary Somerville enjoyed passing on gossip.
In this letter from 1857 she wrote to tell John Murray of the recent marriage of a scientist to a younger woman:
'David Brewster 76 years old was married a few days ago to Miss Parnell aged 26'.
Somerville had exaggerated the facts: David Brewster was actually 75, not 76, and Miss Parnell was 30 years old, not 26.