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Foucault's pendulum, the equatorial bulge of the earth, the fixed senses of rotation of cyclones and anticyclones, and the gyro-compass. It does this by its admission of definite stratifications of nature which are disclosed by the very character of our knowledge of it.
Laurence had left the flat under exactly what circumstances Sophia knew not, but she guessed that it must have been in consequence of a scene elaborating the tiff caused by Madame Foucault's resentment against Laurence. The brief, factitious friendliness between Laurence and Sophia had gone like a dream, and Laurence had gone like a dream.
For a double reason Sophia was exasperated: by Madame Foucault's absurd desire, and by a natural objection to the role of a subject for philanthropy. She would not admit that Madame Foucault's devotion as a nurse entitled her to the satisfaction of being a philanthropist when there was no necessity for philanthropy. "How long have I been here?" asked Sophia.
I confess that I did not think of it chiefly as a sacred edifice, or as the resting-place, more or less secure, of the "grands hommes" to whom it is dedicated. I was thinking much more of Foucault's grand experiment, one of the most sublime visible demonstrations of a great physical fact in the records of science.
"He has chucked me!" stammered Madame Foucault. "And he's the last. I have no one now!" She rolled over in the most grotesque manner, kicking up her legs, with a fresh outburst of sobs. Sophia felt quite ashamed for her. "Come and lie down. Come now!" she said, with a touch of sharpness. "You musn't lie there like that." Madame Foucault's behaviour was really too outrageous.
The influence of these forces can be demonstrated by many facts on the earth's surface, Foucault's pendulum, the shape of the earth, the fixed directions of the rotations of cyclones and anticyclones. It is difficult to take seriously the suggestion that these domestic phenomena on the earth are due to the influence of the fixed stars.
This room too was lit in crimson, by a small lamp that stood on the night-table, and though the shade of the lamp was cracked, the general effect of the great chamber was incontestably romantic. Only the pillows of the wide bed and a small semi-circle of floor were illuminated, all the rest lay in shadow. Madame Foucault's head had dropped between the pillows.
It will surprise many, perhaps, to learn that in Foucault's original mode of suspension the upper end of the wire bearing the pendulum bob was fastened to a metal plate by means of a screw. It might be supposed that the torsion of the wire would appreciably affect the result. In reality, however, the torsion was very small.
Madame Foucault and a man very much younger than Madame Foucault got out of it. Sophia fled. After all, this prying into other people's rooms was quite inexcusable. She dropped on to her own bed and picked up a book, in case Madame Foucault should come in. In the evening, just after night had fallen, Sophia on the bed heard the sound of raised and acrimonious voices in Madame Foucault's room.
Sophia nodded and smiled, and Madame Foucault also nodded and smiled. But Madame Foucault's face quickly resumed its anxious expression. "The servant's brother marries himself to-day, and she implored me to accord her two days what would you? Madame Laurence is out. And I must go out. It is four o'clock. I shall re-enter at six o'clock striking. Therefore ..." "Perfectly," Sophia concurred.
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