LIFE IN BATH; 1772-1782.
It was to a busy life in Bath that HERSCHEL took his sister CAROLINA,
then twenty-two years old. She was a perfectly untried girl, of very
small accomplishments and outwardly with but little to attract. The
basis of her character was the possibility of an unchanging devotion to
one object; for the best years of her life this object was the happiness
and success of her brother WILLIAM, whom she profoundly loved. Her love
was headstrong and full of a kind of obstinate pride, which refused to
see anything but the view she had adopted. As long as her life continued
to be with her dearest brother, all was well with her. She had a noble
aim, and her heart was more than full. Later on, this very singleness of
character brought her other years of wretchedness. It is necessary to
understand the almost spaniel-like allegiance she gave, in order to
comprehend the value which her services were to HERSCHEL. She supplied
him with an aid which was utterly loyal, entire, and devoted. Her
obedience was unquestioning, her reverence amounted almost to adoration.
In their relation, he gave everything in the way of incentive and
initiative, and she returned her entire effort loyally.
At first her business was to gain a knowledge of the language, and to
perfect herself in singing, so that she might become a soloist in the
concerts and oratorios which he was constantly giving.
In the beginning it was not easy.
. . . "As the season for the arrival of visitors to the baths does
not begin till October, my brother had leisure to try my capacity for
becoming a useful singer for his concerts and oratorios, and being
very well satisfied with my voice, I had two or three lessons every
day, and the hours which were not spent at the harpsichord, were
employed in putting me in the way of managing the family. . . .
On the second morning, on meeting my brother at breakfast, he began
immediately to give me a lesson in English and arithmetic, and
showed me the way of booking and keeping accounts of cash received
and laid out. . . . By way of relaxation we talked of astronomy and
the bright constellations with which I had made acquaintance during
the fine nights we spent on the postwagen travelling through Holland.
"My brother ALEXANDER, who had been some time in England, boarded
and lodged with his elder brother, and, with myself, occupied the
attic. The first floor, which was furnished in the newest and most
handsome style, my brother kept for himself. The front room,
containing the harpsichord, was always in order to receive his
musical friends and scholars at little private concerts or
rehearsals. . . . Sundays I received a sum for the weekly expenses,
of which my housekeeping book (written in English) showed the amount
laid out, and my purse the remaining cash. One of the principal
things required was to market, and about six weeks after coming to
England I was sent alone among fishwomen, butchers, basket-women,
etc., and I brought home whatever in my fright I could pick up. . . .
My brother ALEX., who was now returned from his summer engagement,
used to watch me at a distance, unknown to me, till he saw me safe
on my way home. But all attempts to introduce any order in our
little household proved vain, owing to the servant my brother then
had. And what still further increased my difficulty was, that my
brother's time was entirely taken up with business, so that I only
saw him at meals. Breakfast was at seven o'clock or before--much too
early for me, who would rather have remained up all night than be
obliged to rise at so early an hour. . . .
"The three winter months passed on very heavily. I had to struggle
against _heimwehe_ (home sickness) and low spirits, and to answer my
sister's melancholy letters on the death of her husband, by which
she became a widow with six children. I knew too little English to
derive any consolation from the society of those who were about me,
so that, dinner-time excepted, I was entirely left to myself."
So the winter passed.
"The time when I could hope to receive a little more of my brother's
instruction and attention was now drawing near; for after Easter,
Bath becomes very empty, only a few of his scholars, whose families
were resident in the neighborhood, remaining. But I was greatly
disappointed; for, in consequence of the harassing and fatiguing
life he had led during the winter months, he used to retire to bed
with a basin of milk or glass of water, and SMITH'S _Harmonics_ and
_Optics_, FERGUSON'S _Astronomy_, etc., and so went to sleep buried
under his favorite authors; and his first thoughts on rising were
how to obtain instruments for viewing those objects himself of which
he had been reading. There being in one of the shops a
two-and-a-half-foot Gregorian telescope to be let, it was for some
time taken in requisition, and served not only for viewing the
heavens, but for making experiments on its construction. . . . It soon
appeared that my brother was not contented with knowing what former
observers had seen, for he began to contrive a telescope eighteen or
twenty feet long (I believe after HUYGHENS' description). . . . I was
much hindered in my musical practice by my help being continually
wanted in the execution of the various contrivances, and I had to
amuse myself with making the tube of pasteboard for the glasses,
which were to arrive from London, for at that time no optician had
settled at Bath. But when all was finished, no one besides my
brother could get a glimpse of Jupiter or Saturn, for the great
length of the tube would not allow it to be kept in a straight line.
This difficulty, however, was soon removed by substituting tin
tubes. . . . My brother wrote to inquire the price of a reflecting
mirror for (I believe) a five or six foot telescope. The answer was,
there were none of so large a size, but a person offered to make one
at a price much above what my brother thought proper to give. . . .
About this time he bought of a Quaker, resident at Bath, who had
formerly made attempts at polishing mirrors, all his rubbish of
patterns, tools, hones, polishers, unfinished mirrors, etc., but all
for small Gregorians, and none above two or three inches diameter.
"But nothing serious could be attempted, for want of time, till the
beginning of June, when some of my brother's scholars were leaving
Bath; and then, to my sorrow, I saw almost every room turned into a
workshop. A cabinet-maker making a tube and stands of all
descriptions in a handsomely furnished drawing-room; ALEX. putting
up a huge turning machine (which he had brought in the autumn from
Bristol, where he used to spend the summer) in a bedroom, for
turning patterns, grinding glasses, and turning eye-pieces, etc. At
the same time music durst not lie entirely dormant during the
summer, and my brother had frequent rehearsals at home, where Miss
FARINELLI, an Italian singer, was met by several of the principal
performers he had engaged for the winter concerts."
Finally, in 1774, he had made himself a Gregorian telescope,[10] and
had begun to view the heavens. He was then thirty-six years old.
The writer in the _European Magazine_ describes this period:
"All this time he continued his astronomical observations, and
nothing now seemed wanting to complete his felicity, but sufficient
leisure to enjoy his telescopes, to which he was so much attached,
that at the theatre he used frequently to run from the harpsichord
to look at the stars, during the time between the acts."
In an extract from his _Journal No. 1_, now at the rooms of the Royal
Society, may be seen a copy of his first observation of the Nebula of
_Orion_, on March 4, 1774. This was made with his five-and-a-half-foot
Gregorian reflector.
It was at this time (1775), between the acts of the theatre, that he
made his first review of the heavens, with a Newtonian telescope, of an
aperture of four and a half inches and a magnifying power of 222 times.
This telescope was one of the first made by himself. The review
consisted of the examination of every star in the sky of the first,
second, third, and fourth magnitudes, and of all planets visible. There
are no records of these observations now extant, and they are noteworthy
only as a preparation for more serious work.
He was carrying out his resolve to see everything for himself. His
assiduity may be judged of by the fact that between 1774 and 1781
HERSCHEL had observed a single object--the Nebula of _Orion_--no less
than fourteen times.
The success of his first telescopes incited him to new efforts. His
house became a complete _atelier_, where everything that could tend to
excellence in this manufacture was tried and re-tried a hundred
different ways. When a difficulty arose, experiments were begun which
continued till it was conquered. When a success was gained, it was
prosecuted to the utmost.
In 1775 the first seven-foot reflector was made, in 1777 a ten-foot was
finished, in 1778 a "very good" ten-foot took its place. It must not be
thought that the telescopes mentioned were the only ones completed. On
the contrary, they were but the best ones selected out of many.
In 1774 a new house had been engaged, which had "more room for
workshops," and whose roof gave space for observing. The grass-plat near
it was soon utilized to hold the stand of a twenty-foot telescope, which
he had even then projected. His projects were unending, no success was
final; his mind was at the height of activity; his whole effort was
thrown into every undertaking.
The mirrors for all these telescopes were made by hand. Every portion
of the grinding down to rough dimensions, the shaping to something near
the correct form, the polishing till the accurately exact curves were
obtained, all this must be done by hand. The machines for the purpose
were not invented until 1788.[11]
ALEXANDER and WILLIAM worked together at this, but most of the work was
done by the latter. The sister's part was to attend in the workshop and
lend a hand wherever and whenever it was needed.
. . . "My time was taken up with copying music and practising, besides
attendance on my brother when polishing, since by way of keeping him
alive I was constantly obliged to feed him by putting the victuals by
bits into his mouth. This was once the case when, in order to finish
a seven-foot mirror, he had not taken his hands from it for sixteen
hours together. In general he was never unemployed at meals, but was
always at those times contriving or making drawings of whatever
came in his mind. Generally I was obliged to read to him whilst
he was at the turning-lathe, or polishing mirrors, _Don Quixote_,
_Arabian Nights' Entertainment_, the novels of STERNE, FIELDING,
etc.; serving tea and supper without interrupting the work with
which he was engaged, . . . and sometimes lending a hand. I became,
in time, as useful a member of the workshop as a boy might be to
his master in the first year of his apprenticeship. . . . But as
I was to take a part the next year in the oratorios, I had, for a
whole twelvemonth, two lessons per week from Miss FLEMING, the
celebrated dancing-mistress, to drill me for a gentlewoman (God
knows how she succeeded). So we lived on without interruption.
My brother ALEX. was absent from Bath for some months every summer,
but when at home he took much pleasure in executing some turning or
clockmaker's work for his brother."
News from Hanover put a sudden stop, for a time, to all these labors.
The mother wrote, in the utmost distress, to say that DIETRICH had
disappeared from his home, it was supposed with the intention of going
to India "with a young idler not older than himself." His brother
immediately left the lathe at which he was turning an eye-piece in
cocoa-nut, and started for Holland, whence he proceeded to Hanover,
failing to meet his brother, as he expected. Meanwhile the sister
received a letter to say that DIETRICH was "laid up very ill" at an inn
in Wapping. ALEXANDER posted to town, removed him to a lodging, and,
after a fortnight's nursing, brought him to Bath, where, on his brother
WILLIAM'S return, he found him being well cared for by his sister.
About this time another change was made to the house 19 New King Street,
which was the last move in Bath. It was here that the _Georgium Sidus_
was discovered.
The music still went on. The oratorios of the _Messiah_, _Judas
Maccabeus_, and _Samson_ were to be performed under HERSCHEL'S
direction, with an orchestra of nearly one hundred pieces. The scores
and vocal parts of these CAROLINA copied with her own hands, and the
_soprani_ were instructed by her, she being the leading soloist. Along
with the music went the astronomy. Not only were new telescopes made,
but they were made for immediate use.
The variable star _Mira Ceti_ was observed, and a long series of lunar
observations begun.
"In 1779, 1780, and 1781 I measured the heights of about one hundred
mountains of the moon, by three different methods.
"Some of these observations are given in _Philosophical
Transactions_, vol. LXX., but most remain uncalculated in my journal
_till some proper opportunity."[12]_
While HERSCHEL was measuring these lunar mountains, in December, 1779,
he made by chance an acquaintance of much value to him. Dr. WILLIAM
WATSON, a Fellow of the Royal Society, distinguished for his researches
in electricity, happened to see him at his telescope, and this led to a
visit and an invitation to HERSCHEL to join the Philosophical Society of
Bath, then forming. This he gladly did, and it was of use to him in many
ways.
He there formed acquaintance with men of his own way of thinking, and he
himself became known. Better than all, he learned to measure himself
with other men, and by his early papers read to the Society, he gained
skill in putting his thoughts before his hearers. This skill he never
lost, and the merely literary art of his memoirs would make his papers
remarkable without their other merits. He is always clear, and in his
early papers especially, he appeals to his particular audience--the
Royal Society--in a way which shows that he is conscious of all its
weaknesses as well as of its dignity. Later, his tone slightly changed.
He became less anxious to win his audience, for he had become an
authority. This knowledge lent a quiet strength to his style, but never
induced the slightest arrogance of spirit or manner.
The Bath Philosophical Society has left no printed proceedings. HERSCHEL
was one of its earliest members, and many papers were communicated to it
by his hand. These appear to have been of a very miscellaneous nature.
Some of them at least would be of the highest interest to us now.
In the _Philosophical Transactions_ for 1789, p. 220, HERSCHEL tells us
that he communicated to that Society "certain mathematical papers"
relating to central forces other than the force of gravity, which are or
may be concerned in the construction of the sidereal heavens. This early
idea was still entertained by HERSCHEL in 1789, and the mathematical
papers referred to must be contained in the _Minutes_ of the Society,
which on its dissolution were torn from the Minute-book and returned to
the writers.
The earliest published writing of HERSCHEL is the answer to the prize
question in the "Ladies' Diary" for 1779, proposed by the celebrated
LANDEN, namely:
"The length, tension, and weight of a musical string being given,
it is required to find how many vibrations it will make in a given
time, when a small given weight is fastened to its middle and
vibrates with it."
In the _Philosophical Transactions_ of the Royal Society for 1780, are
two papers of his. The title of the first is, _Astronomical Observations
on the Periodical Star in Collo Ceti_, by Mr. WILLIAM HERSCHEL, of Bath.
This was communicated to the Society by Dr. WILLIAM WATSON, Jr., and
was read May 11, 1780, at the same time as the other paper on the
mountains of the moon. It is to be noted that HERSCHEL was at this time
plain "Mr. WILLIAM HERSCHEL, of Bath." It was only in 1786 that he
became "Dr. HERSCHEL," through the Oxford degree of LL.D.
Neither of these two papers is specially remarkable on its purely
astronomical side. The problems examined were such as lay open before
all, and the treatment of them was such as would naturally be suggested.
The second of these two contained, however, a short description of his
Newtonian telescope, and he speaks of it with a just pride: "I believe
that for distinctness of vision this instrument is perhaps equal to any
that was ever made." He was, at least, certain of having obtained
excellence in the making of his instruments.
In his next paper, however, read January 11, 1781, a subject is
approached which shows a different kind of thought. It is the first
obvious proof of the truth of the statement which he made long
afterwards (1811), when he said: "A knowledge of the construction of
the heavens has always been the ultimate object of my observations."
The title of this paper was _Astronomical Observations on the Rotation
of the Planets round their Axes, made with a view to determine whether
the Earth's diurnal motion is perfectly equable_. Here the question is a
difficult and a remote one, and the method adopted for its solution is
perfectly suitable in principle. It marks a step onward from mere
observations to philosophizing upon their results. In practical
astronomy, too, we note an advance. Not only are his results given, but
also careful estimates of the errors to be feared in them, and a
discussion of the sources of such errors. The same volume of the
_Philosophical Transactions_ which contains this paper, also contains
another, _Account of a Comet_, read April 26, 1781. This comet was the
major planet _Uranus_, or, as HERSCHEL named it, _Georgium Sidus_.
He had found it on the night of Tuesday, March 13, 1781. "In examining
the small stars in the neighborhood of H _Geminorum_, I perceived one that
appeared visibly larger than the rest; being struck with its uncommon
appearance, I compared it to H _Geminorum_ and the small star in the
quartile between _Auriga_ and _Gemini_, and finding it so much larger
than either of them, I suspected it to be a comet." The "comet" was
observed over all Europe. Its orbit was computed by various astronomers,
and its distance from the sun was found to be nineteen times that of our
earth. This was no comet, but a new major planet. The discovery of the
amateur astronomer of Bath was the most striking since the invention of
the telescope. It had absolutely no parallel, for every other major
planet had been known from time immemorial.[13]
The effect of the discoveries of GALILEO was felt almost more in the
moral than in the scientific world. The mystic number of the planets was
broken up by the introduction of four satellites to _Jupiter_. That
_Venus_ emulated the phases of our moon, overthrew superstition and
seated the Copernican theory firmly. The discovery of "an innumerable
multitude of fixed stars" in the Milky Way confounded the received
ideas. This was the great mission of the telescope in GALILEO'S hands.
The epoch of mere astronomical discovery began with the detection of the
large satellite of _Saturn_ by HUYGHENS, in 1655. Even then superstition
was not dead. HUYGHENS did not search for more moons, because by that
discovery he had raised the number of known satellites to six,[14] and
because these, with the six planets, made "the perfect number twelve."
From 1671 to 1684 CASSINI discovered four more moons revolving about
_Saturn_. Since 1684 no new body had been added to the solar system.
It was thought complete for nearly a century.
In England, the remarkable discoveries of BRADLEY (1727-62) had been in
the field of practical astronomy, and his example had set the key-note
for further researches. France was just about beginning the brilliant
period of her discoveries in mathematical astronomy, and had no
observatory devoted to investigations like HERSCHEL'S, with the possible
exception of DARQUIER'S and FLAUGERGUES'. The observatories of SCHROETER
and VON HAHN, in Germany, were not yet active. The field which HERSCHEL
was created to fill was vacant, the whole world over. It was especially
so in England. The Royal Observatory at Greenwich, under MASKELYNE,
a skilful observer, whose work was mostly confined to meridian
observations, was no rival to a private observatory like HERSCHEL'S. The
private observatories themselves were but small affairs; those of the
king, at Kew, of Dr. WILSON, at Glasgow, of Mr. AUBERT, at Loampit Hill,
of the Count VON BRUHL, in London, being perhaps the most important.
The whole field was open. What was perhaps more remarkable, there was in
England, during HERSCHEL'S lifetime, no astronomer, public or private,
whose talents, even as an observer, lay in the same direction.
It hardly need be said that as a philosopher in his science, he had then
no rival, as he has had none since. His only associates even, were
MICHELL and WILSON.[15]
Without depreciating the abilities of the astronomers of England, his
cotemporaries, we may fairly say that HERSCHEL stood a great man among a
group of small ones.
Let us endeavor to appreciate the change effected in the state of
astronomy not only in England but in the whole world, simply by the
discovery of _Uranus_. Suppose, for example, that the last planet in our
system had been _Saturn_. No doubt HERSCHEL would have gone on. In spite
of one and another difficulty, he would have made his ten-foot, his
twenty-foot telescopes. His forty-foot would never have been built, and
the two satellites which he found with it might not have been
discovered. Certainly _Mimas_ would not have been. His researches on the
construction of the heavens would have been made; those were in his
brain, and must have been ultimated. The mass of observations of
_Saturn_, of _Jupiter_, of _Mars_, of _Venus_, would have been made and
published. The researches on the sun, on the "invisible rays" of heat,
on comets and nebulae--all these might have been made, printed, and read.
But these would have gone into the _Philosophical Transactions_ as the
work of an amateur astronomer, "Mr. HERSCHEL, of Bath." They would have
been praised, and they would have been doubted. It would have taken a
whole generation to have appreciated them. They would have been severely
tried, entirely on their merits, and finally they would have stood where
they stand to-day--unrivalled. But through what increased labors these
successes would have been gained! It is not merely that the patronage of
the king, the subsidies for the forty-foot telescope (L4,000), the
comparative ease of HERSCHEL'S life would have been lacking. It is more
than this. It would have been necessary for him to have created the
audience to which he appealed, and to have conquered the most persistent
of enemies--indifference.
Certainly, if HERSCHEL'S mind had been other than it was, the discovery
of _Uranus_, which brought him honors from every scientific society in
the world, and which gave him authority, might have had a hurtful
effect. But, as he was, there was nothing which could have aided his
career more than this startling discovery. It was needed for him. It
completed the solar system far more by affording a free play to a
profoundly philosophical mind, than by occupying the vacant spaces
beyond _Saturn_.
His opportunities would have been profoundly modified, though his
personal worth would have been the same.
"The Star that from the zenith darts its beams,
Visible though it be to half the earth,
Though half a sphere be conscious of its brightness,
Is yet of no diviner origin,
No purer essence, than the One that burns
Like an untended watchfire, on the ridge
Of some dark mountain; or than those that seem
Humbly to hang, like twinkling winter lamps,
Among the branches of the leafless trees."
To show how completely unknown the private astronomer of Bath was at
this time, I transcribe a sentence from BODE'S account of the discovery
of _Uranus_.
"In the _Gazette Litteraire_ of June, 1781, this worthy man is
called MERSTHEL; in JULIUS' _Journal Encyclopedique_, HERTSCHEL;
in a letter from Mr. MASKELYNE to M. MESSIER, HERTHEL; in another
letter of MASKELYNE'S to Herr MAYER, at Mannheim, HERRSCHELL; M.
DARQUIER calls him HERMSTEL. What may his name be? He must have been
born a _German_."[16]
This obscurity did not long continue. The news spread quickly from
fashionable Bath to London. On the 6th of December, 1781, HERSCHEL was
elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, to which he was formally
"admitted" May 30, 1782. He was forty-three years old.
He also received the Copley medal in 1781 for his "discovery of a new
and singular star."[17]
. . . "He was now frequently interrupted by visitors who were
introduced by some of his resident scholars, among whom I remember
Sir HARRY ENGELFIELD, Dr. BLAGDEN, and Dr. MASKELYNE. With the
latter he was engaged in a long conversation, which to me sounded
like quarrelling, and the first words my brother said after he was
gone were: 'That is a devil of a fellow.'. . .
"I suppose their names were often not known, or were forgotten; for
it was not till the year 1782 or 1783 that a memorandum of the names
of visitors was thought of.". . . "My brother now applied himself to
perfect his mirrors, erecting in his garden a stand for his
twenty-foot telescope; many trials were necessary before the
required motions for such an unwieldy machine could be contrived.
Many attempts were made by way of experiment before an intended
thirty-foot telescope could be completed, for which, between whiles
(not interrupting the observations with seven, ten, and twenty-foot,
and writing papers for both the Royal and Bath Philosophical
Societies), gauges, shapes, weight, etc., of the mirror were
calculated, and trials of the composition of the metal were made. In
short, I saw nothing else and heard nothing else talked of but these
things when my brothers were together. ALEX. was always very alert,
assisting when anything new was going forward, but he wanted
perseverance, and never liked to confine himself at home for many
hours together. And so it happened that my brother WILLIAM was
obliged to make trial of my abilities in copying for him catalogues,
tables, etc., and sometimes whole papers which were lent him for his
perusal. Among them was one by Mr. MICHELL and a catalogue of
CHRISTIAN MAYER, in Latin, which kept me employed when my brother
was at the telescope at night. When I found that a hand was
sometimes wanted when any particular measures were to be made with
the lamp micrometer, etc., or a fire to be kept up, or a dish of
coffee necessary during a long night's watching, I undertook with
pleasure what others might have thought a hardship. . . . Since the
discovery of the _Georgium Sidus_ [March 13, 1781], I believe few
men of learning or consequence left Bath before they had seen and
conversed with its discoverer, and thought themselves fortunate in
finding him at home on their repeated visits. Sir WILLIAM WATSON was
almost an intimate, for hardly a day passed but he had something to
communicate from the letters which he received from Sir JOSEPH
BANKS, and other members of the Royal Society, from which it
appeared that my brother was expected in town to receive the gold
medal. The end of November was the most precarious season for
absenting himself. But Sir WILLIAM WATSON went with him, and it was
arranged so that they set out with the diligence at night, and by
that means his absence did not last above three or four days, when
my brother returned alone, Sir WILLIAM remaining with his father.
"Now a very busy winter was commencing; for my brother had engaged
himself to conduct the oratorios conjointly with RONZINI, and had
made himself answerable for the payment of the engaged performers,
for his credit ever stood high in the opinion of every one he had to
deal with. (He lost considerably by this arrangement.) But, though
at times much harassed with business, the mirror for the thirty-foot
reflector was never out of his mind, and if a minute could but be
spared in going from one scholar to another, or giving one the slip,
he called at home to see how the men went on with the furnace, which
was built in a room below, even with the garden.
"The mirror was to be cast in a mould of loam, of which an immense
quantity was to be pounded in a mortar and sifted through a fine
sieve. It was an endless piece of work, and served me for many an
hour's exercise; and ALEX. frequently took his turn at it, for we
were all eager to do something towards the great undertaking. Even
Sir WILLIAM WATSON would sometimes take the pestle from me when he
found me in the work-room, where he expected to find his friend, in
whose concerns he took so much interest that he felt much
disappointed at not being allowed to pay for the metal. But I do not
think my brother ever accepted pecuniary assistance from any one of
his friends, and on this occasion he declined the offer by saying it
was paid for already.
"Among the Bath visitors were many philosophical gentlemen who used
to frequent the levees at St. James's, when in town. Colonel WALSH,
in particular, informed my brother that from a conversation he had
had with His Majesty, it appeared that in the spring he was to come
with his seven-foot telescope to the king. Similar reports he
received from many others, but they made no great impression nor
caused any interruption in his occupation or study, and as soon as
the season for the concerts was over, and the mould, etc., in
readiness, a day was set apart for casting, and the metal was in the
furnace. Unfortunately it began to leak at the moment when ready for
pouring, and both my brothers and the caster, with his men, were
obliged to run out at opposite doors, for the stone flooring (which
ought to have been taken up) flew about in all directions as high as
the ceiling. Before the second casting was attempted, everything
which could insure success had been attended to, and a very perfect
metal was found in the mould.
"But a total stop and derangement now took place, and nearly six or
seven months elapsed before my brother could return to the
undisturbed enjoyment of his instruments and observations. For one
morning in Passion Week, as Sir WILLIAM WATSON was with my brother,
talking about the pending journey to town, my eldest nephew arrived
to pay us a visit, and brought the confirmation that his uncle was
expected with his instrument in town. . . . We had not one night in
the week, except Friday, but what was set apart for an oratorio either
at Bath or Bristol. Soon after Easter, a new organ being erected in
St. James's Church, it was opened with two performances of the
'Messiah;' this again took up some of my brother's time.". . .
In May of 1782 HERSCHEL went to London.
"But when almost double the time had elapsed which my brother could
safely be absent from his scholars, ALEX., as well as myself, were
much at a loss how to answer their inquiries, for, from the letters
we received, we could learn nothing but that he had been introduced
to the king and queen, and had permission to come to the concerts at
Buckingham House, where the king conversed with him about
astronomy."
It was during his absence at this time that the three following letters
were written and received:
"DEAR LINA:--
"I have had an audience of His Majesty this morning, and met with a
very gracious reception. I presented him with the drawing of the
solar system, and had the honor of explaining it to him and the
queen. My telescope is in three weeks' time to go to Richmond, and
meanwhile to be put up at Greenwich, where I shall accordingly carry
it to-day. So you see, LINA, that you must not think of seeing me in
less than a month. I shall write to Miss LEE myself; and other
scholars who inquire for me, you may tell that I cannot wait on them
till His Majesty shall be pleased to give me leave to return, or
rather to dismiss me, for till then I must attend. I will also write
to Mr. PALMER to acquaint him with it.
"I am in a great hurry, therefore can write no more at present.
Tell ALEXANDER that everything looks very likely as if I were to stay
here. The king inquired after him, and after my great speculum. He
also gave me leave to come to hear the GRIESBACHS play at the
private concert which he has every evening. My having seen the king
need not be kept a secret, but about my staying here it will be best
not to say anything, but only that I must remain here till His
Majesty has observed the planets with my telescope.
"Yesterday I dined with Colonel WALSH, who inquired after you. There
were Mr. AUBERT and Dr. MASKELYNE. Dr. MASKELYNE in public declared
his obligations to me for having introduced to them the high powers,
for Mr. AUBERT has so much succeeded with them that he says he looks
down upon 200, 300, or 400 with contempt, and immediately begins
with 800. He has used 2,500 very completely, and seen my fine double
stars with them. All my papers are printing, with the postscript and
all, and are allowed to be very valuable. You see, LINA, I tell you
all these things. You know vanity is not my foible, therefore I need
not fear your censure. Farewell.
"I am, your affectionate brother,
"WM. HERSCHEL.
"Saturday Morning,
"probably _May 25, 1782_."
TO MISS HERSCHEL.
"Monday Evening, _June 3, 1782._
"DEAR LINA:--
"I pass my time between Greenwich and London agreeably enough,
but am rather at a loss for work that I like. Company is not always
pleasing, and I would much rather be polishing a speculum. Last
Friday I was at the king's concert to hear GEORGE play. The king
spoke to me as soon as he saw me, and kept me in conversation for
half an hour. He asked GEORGE to play a solo-concerto on purpose
that I might hear him; and GEORGE plays extremely well, is very much
improved, and the king likes him very much. These two last nights I
have been star-gazing at Greenwich with Dr. MASKELYNE and Mr.
AUBERT. We have compared our telescopes together, and mine was found
very superior to any of the Royal Observatory. Double stars which
they could not see with their instruments I had the pleasure to show
them very plainly, and my mechanism is so much approved of that
Dr. MASKELYNE has already ordered a model to be taken from mine,
and a stand to be made by it to his reflector. He is, however, now
so much out of love with his instrument that he begins to doubt
whether it _deserves_ a new stand.
"I am introduced to the best company. To-morrow I dine at Lord
PALMERSTON'S, next day with Sir JOSEPH BANKS, etc., etc. Among
opticians and astronomers nothing now is talked of but _what they
call_ my great discoveries. Alas! this shows how far they are
behind, when such trifles as I have seen and done are called
_great_. Let me but get at it again! I will make such telescopes,
and see such things--that is, I will endeavor to do so."
TO MISS HERSCHEL.
"_July 3, 1782._"
"DEAR CAROLINA:--
"I have been so much employed that you will not wonder at my not
writing sooner. The letter you sent me last Monday came very safe to
me. As Dr. WATSON has been so good as to acquaint you and ALEXANDER
with my situation, I was still more easy in my silence to you. Last
night the King, the Queen, the Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal,
Princess SOPHIA, Princess AUGUSTA, etc., Duke of MONTAGUE, Dr.
HEBERDEN, M. DE LUC, etc., etc., saw my telescope, and it was a very
fine evening. My instrument gave general satisfaction. The king has
very good eyes, and enjoys observations with telescopes exceedingly.
"This evening, as the king and queen are gone to Kew, the princesses
were desirous of seeing my telescope, but wanted to know if it was
possible to see without going out on the grass, and were much
pleased when they heard that my telescope could be carried into any
place they liked best to have it. About eight o'clock it was moved
into the queen's apartments, and we waited some time in hopes of
seeing _Jupiter_ or _Saturn_. Meanwhile I showed the princesses, and
several other ladies who were present, the speculum, the
micrometers, the movements of the telescopes, and other things that
seemed to excite their curiosity. When the evening appeared to be
totally unpromising, I proposed an artificial _Saturn_ as an object,
since we could not have the real one. I had beforehand prepared this
little piece, as I guessed by the appearance of the weather in the
afternoon we should have no stars to look at. This being accepted
with great pleasure, I had the lamps lighted up which illuminated
the picture of a _Saturn_ (cut out in pasteboard) at the bottom of
the garden wall. The effect was fine, and so natural that the best
astronomer might have been deceived. Their royal highnesses and
other ladies seemed to be much pleased with the artifice.
"I remained in the queen's apartment with the ladies till about half
after ten; when in conversation with them I found them extremely
well instructed in every subject that was introduced, and they
seemed to be most amiable characters. To-morrow evening they hope to
have better luck, and nothing will give me greater happiness than to
be able to show them some of those beautiful objects with which the
heavens are so gloriously ornamented."
CAROLINA'S diary goes on:
"Sir WILLIAM WATSON returned to Bath after a fort-night or three
weeks' stay. From him we heard that my brother was invited to
Greenwich with the telescope, where he was met by a numerous party
of astronomical and learned gentlemen, and trials of his instrument
were made. In these letters he complained of being obliged to lead
an idle life, having nothing to do but to pass between London and
Greenwich. Sir WILLIAM received many letters, which he was so kind
as to communicate to us. By these, and from those to ALEXANDER or to
me, we learned that the king wished to see the telescope at Windsor.
At last a letter, dated July 2, arrived from THERESE, and from this
and several succeeding ones we gathered that the king would not
suffer my brother to return to his profession again, and by his
writing several times for a supply of money we could only suppose
that he himself was in uncertainty about the time of his return.
"In the last week of July my brother came home, and immediately
prepared for removing to Datchet, where he had taken a house with a
garden and grass-plat annexed, quite suitable for the purpose of an
observing-place. Sir WILLIAM WATSON spent nearly the whole time at
our house, and he was not the only friend who truly grieved at my
brother's going from Bath; or feared his having perhaps agreed to no
very advantageous offers; their fears were, in fact, not without
reason. . . . The prospect of entering again on the toils of teaching,
etc., which awaited my brother at home (the months of leisure being
now almost gone by), appeared to him an intolerable waste of time,
and by way of alternative he chose to be royal astronomer, with a
salary of L200 a year. Sir WILLIAM WATSON was the only one to whom
the sum was mentioned, and he exclaimed, 'Never bought monarch honor
so cheap!' To every other inquirer, my brother's answer was that the
king had provided for him."
On the 1st of August, 1782, the family removed to Datchet. The last
musical duty was performed on Whit-Sunday, 1782, in St. Margaret's
Chapel, Bath, when the anthem for the day was of HERSCHEL'S own
composition.
The end of the introductory epoch of his life is reached. Henceforth he
lived in his observatory, and from his forty-fourth year onwards he only
left it for short periods to go to London to submit his classic memoirs
to the Royal Society. Even for these occasions he chose periods of
moonlight, when no observations could be made.
He was a private man no longer. Henceforth he belongs to the whole
world.
FOOTNOTES:
[10] Probably on the model of one of SHORT'S Gregorian
telescopes, which were then the best instruments of the kind.
[11] For a description of the main points of HERSCHEL'S
processes of making reflectors, which will illustrate his strong
mechanical talents, see _Encyclopaedia Britannica_, eighth edition,
article _Telescope_.
[12] These have never been published, nor is it likely at this
day, when our measuring instruments are so greatly improved, that they
would be of any material value to science, although of interest as
giving the proofs of HERSCHEL'S assiduity and skill. He was always more
than the maker of telescopes, for he was never content until they were
applied to the problems of astronomy.
[13] ARAGO has implied that if HERSCHEL had directed his
telescope to _Uranus_ only eleven days earlier than he did, this
discovery would have escaped him, since at that time (March 2, 1781) the
planet was at its _station_, and had no motion relative to the star.
This is an entire misconception, since the new planet was detected by
its physical appearance, and not by its motion. Does any one suppose
that "a new and singular star" like this would have been once viewed and
then forgotten?
[14] Four of _Jupiter_, one of the earth, and one of _Saturn_.
[15] JOHN MICHELL had been a member of the Royal Society since
1760: he died in 1793. He was a philosophical thinker, as is shown by
his memoirs on the distances of the stars, and by his invention of the
method for determining the earth's density. It is not certain that he
was personally known to HERSCHEL, although his writings were familiar to
the latter.
ALEXANDER WILSON was Professor of Astronomy at Glasgow, and is chiefly
known to us by his theory of the nature of the solar spots, which was
adopted and enlarged by HERSCHEL. He died in 1786; but the families of
WILSON and HERSCHEL remained close friends.
[16] _Berliner Jahrbuch_, 1784, p. 211. In the _Connaissance
des Tems_ for 1784 he is called "HOROCHELLE."
[17] At the presentation Sir JOSEPH BANKS, the President of the
Royal Society, said: "In the name of the Royal Society I present to you
this gold medal, the reward which they have assigned to your successful
labors, and I exhort you to continue diligently to cultivate those
fields of science which have produced to you a harvest of so much honor.
Your attention to the improvement of telescopes has already amply repaid
the labor which you have bestowed upon them; but the treasures of the
heavens are well known to be inexhaustible. Who can say but your new
star, which exceeds _Saturn_ in its distance from the sun, may exceed
him as much in magnificence of attendance? Who knows what new rings, new
satellites, or what other nameless and numberless phenomena remain
behind, waiting to reward future industry and improvement?"