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diff --git a/12340-h/12340-h.htm b/12340-h/12340-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b5f34d6 --- /dev/null +++ b/12340-h/12340-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,2326 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<html> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Story Of The Herschels, author unknown. + </title> + <style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ +<!-- + P {margin-top: .75em; margin-bottom: .75em;} + H1,H2,H3,H5{text-align: center} + HR {width: 33%; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;} + BODY{margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + a:link {color:blue; text-decoration:none} + link {color:blue; text-decoration:none} + a:visited {color:blue; text-decoration:none} + a:hover {color:red} + + .note {margin-left: 2em; margin-right: 2em; margin-bottom: 1em;} + .blkquot {margin-left: 4em; margin-right: 4em;} + .ctr {text-align:center} + .poem {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem p {margin: 0; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem p.i2 {margin-left: 2em;} + .poem p.i4 {margin-left: 4em;} + + img.firstletter { margin-right: 10px; float: left;} + // --> + /* XML end ]]>*/ + </style> + </head> +<body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12340 ***</div> + +<h1>THE STORY OF THE<br> +HERSCHELS</h1> + +<h2>A FAMILY OF ASTRONOMERS</h2> +<br> +<h3>SIR WILLIAM HERSCHEL<br> +SIR JOHN HERSCHEL<br> +CAROLINE HERSCHEL</h3> +<br> + + +<p class="ctr"> +<span style="text-indent: 14em;">"Stars</span><br> +Numberless, as thou seest, and how they move;<br> +Each has his place appointed, each his course." +<p class="ctr"> +<span style="text-indent: 20em;">MILTON.</span></p> +<br> + +<h3>1886</h3> + +<p> </p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;"> +<a name="PREFATORY_NOTE"></a><h2>PREFATORY NOTE</h2> +<br> + +<p><img src="images/f.png" class="firstletter" width="80" height="80" +alt="F">rom the best available sources have been gathered the following +biographical particulars of a remarkable family of astronomers—the +Herschels.</p> + +<p>They will serve to show the young reader how great a pleasure may be +found in the acquisition of knowledge, and how solid a happiness in +quietly pursuing the path of duty.</p> + +<p>On the value of biography it is unnecessary to insist. It is now well +understood that we may learn to make our own lives good and honest and +true, by carefully and diligently following the example of the good and +honest and true who have gone before us. And certain it is that the +lessons taught by the lives of the Herschels are such as young readers +will do well to lay to heart.</p> + +<p> </p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;"> +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> +<br> + <a href="#PREFATORY_NOTE"><b>PREFATORY NOTE</b></a><br><br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_I"><b>CHAPTER I.</b></a><br> +<div class="blkquot"><p>The study of astronomy a source of intellectual pleasure—By + contemplating the heavens, the mind is led to wonder and adore—A + proof of the existence of a Creator is afforded by creation—"We + praise thee, O Lord!"—The beauty of Nature—Intellectual + curiosity—"Order is Heaven's first law"—Value of astronomical + study</p></div> + <a href="#CHAPTER_II"><b>CHAPTER II.</b></a><br> +<div class="blkquot"><p>Herschel's parents—The two brothers—A musical family—An + inventive genius—The brothers in England—Herschel as an + organist—A laborious life—Mechanical ingenuity of William + Herschel—Telescope-making—A Sunday misadventure—Constructing a + twenty-foot telescope—A domestic picture—Discovery of a new + planet—Herschel's combined musical and astronomical pursuits—A + thirty-foot telescope—Casting the mirror—An explosion</p></div> +<br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_III"><b>CHAPTER III.</b></a><br> +<div class="blkquot"><p>The house at Datchet—Housekeeping details—A devoted + sister—Life at Datchet—Herschel's astronomical + observations—Testing and trying "eyepieces"—The colossal + telescope—Miss Herschel's accident—Removed to + Slough—Constructing a forty-foot telescope—Brother and + sister—Heroic self-denial—Occupations at Slough—Royal + liberality—An astronomer's triumphs—About the + nebulae—Investigation of the sun's constitution—The solar + spots, and their influence—Physical constitution of the + moon—Lunar volcanoes—Arago's explanation—Herschel's study of + the planets—Satellites of Saturn—Discovery of Uranus—And of + its six satellites—Study of Pigott's comet and the comet of + 1811—Description of the latter—An uneventful life—Herschel's + marriage—His honours—Extracts from his sister's diary—Decaying + strength—Herschel removes to Bath—Last days of an + astronomer—Illustration of the ruling passion—Death of Sir + William Herschel—His achievements</p></div> +<br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_IV"><b>CHAPTER IV.</b></a><br> +<div class="blkquot"><p>Birth and education of Sir John Herschel—Honours at + Cambridge—First publication—Continues his scientific + studies—His numerous literary contributions—His devotion to + his father's reputation—The forty-foot telescope—Herschel's + observations on the double and triple stars—On the refraction + and polarization of light—Catalogue of nebulae and + star-clusters—Voyage to Cape Town—Letter to Miss + Herschel—Study of the southern heavens—Return to + England—Distinctions conferred upon him—His "Familiar Lectures + on Scientific Subjects"—His description of volcanoes and + earthquakes—Continual changes in the configuration of the + earth—Violent earthquakes—Phenomena of volcanic eruptions—In + Mexico—In the island of Sumbawa—Herschel's theory of volcanic + forces—His character</p></div> +<br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_V"><b>CHAPTER V.</b></a><br> +<div class="blkquot"><p>Caroline Herschel's devotion to her brother William—Her grief + and solitariness at his death—Reflections on the mutability of + human things—Aunt and nephew—A parsimonious government—Miss + Herschel's gold medal—South on Sir William's discoveries—On + Miss Herschel's devotion—Her own astronomical discoveries—Her + life at Hanover—Her wonderful memory—Anecdotes of Sir John + Herschel—Correspondence between aunt and nephew—The path of + duty—Sir John's visit to Miss Herschel—Reminiscences of early + years—A nonogenarian—A Christmas in Hanover—Last days of + Caroline Herschel—Her death—Her epitaph</p></div> +<br> +<p> </p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;"> +<a name="THE_STORY_OF_THE_HERSCHELS"></a><h2>THE STORY OF THE HERSCHELS.</h2> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;"> +<a name="CHAPTER_I"></a><h2>CHAPTER I.</h2> +<br> + +<p><img src="images/o.png" class="firstletter" width="80" height="80" +alt="O">f all the sciences, none would seem to yield a purer intellectual +gratification than that of Astronomy. Man cannot but feel a sense of +pleasure, and even of power, when, through the instruments constructed by +his ingenuity, he finds himself brought within reach, as it were, of the +innumerable orbs that roll through the domains of space. He cannot but +feel a sense of pleasure, and even of power, when the telescope reveals +to his gaze not only the worlds that constitute his own so-called Solar +System, but the suns that light up the borders of the Universe, system +upon system, sun upon sun, covering the unbounded area almost as thickly +as the daisies cover a meadow in spring. He cannot but feel a sense of +pleasure, and even, of power, when he tracks the course of the flashing +comet, examines into the physical characteristics of the Sun and Moon, +and records the various phases of the distant planets. But if such be his +feeling, it is certainly tempered with awe and wonder as he contemplates +the phenomena of the heavens,—the beauty of the stars, the immensity of +their orbits, the regularity with which each bright world performs its +appointed course, the simplicity of the laws which govern its motions, +and the mystery which attends its far-off existence. It has been, said +that "an undevout astronomer is mad;" and if Astronomy, of all the +sciences, be the one most calculated to gratify the intellect, surely it +is the one which should most vividly awaken the religious sentiment. Is +it possible to look upon all those worlds within worlds, all those +endless groups of mighty suns, all those strange and marvellous +combinations of coloured stars, all those remote nebulous clusters,—to +look upon them in their perfect order and government,—to consider their +infinite number and astonishing dimensions,—without acknowledging the +fulness of the power of an everlasting God, who created them, set them in +their appointed places, and still controls them? Is it possible to be an +astronomer and an atheist? Is it possible not to see in their relations +to one another and to our own little planet an Almighty Wisdom as well as +an Almighty Love? Could any "fortuitous concourse of atoms" have strewed +the depths of space with those mighty and beautiful orbs, and defined for +each the exact limits of its movements? Alas! to human folly and human +vanity everything is possible; and men may watch the stars in their +courses, and delight in the beauty of Sun and Moon, and perceive all the +wonders of the sunrise and all the glories of the sunset, without any +recognition in their hearts of Him who made them—of Him in whom we and +they alike live and move and have our being! Yet it is not the less true +that only the devout and thankful heart can adequately and thoroughly +sympathize with the love and wisdom and power which are written in such +legible characters on the face of heaven. Astronomy gives up <i>all</i> its +treasures only to him who enters upon its study in a reverent spirit. It +affords the purest intellectual gratification only when its pursuits are +undertaken with a humble acknowledgment of the littleness of man and the +greatness of God. Half the wonder, half the mystery of creation is lost, +when we fail to recognize the truth that it is governed by eternal laws +springing from an Almighty Intelligence. Take the Creator out of +creation, and it becomes a hopeless puzzle—a dreary problem, incapable +of solution. But we restore to it all its brightness, all its beauty, all +its charm, when we are able to lift up our hearts with the Psalmist and +to say: "Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the Lord from the heavens; praise +him in the heights. Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars +of light. Let them praise the name of the Lord: for his name alone is +excellent: his glory is above the earth and heaven."</p> + +<p>And it is to be observed that the soul cannot be satisfied without this +religious view of Nature. The heavens and the earth are as nothing to +man, if they do not excite his awe and call forth his thanksgiving. We +might almost suppose that it is for this purpose that the sea rolls its +waves on the shore, and the violet smiles by the wayside, and the moon +floods the night with its silver radiance. As a recent writer has +observed,<a name="FNanchor_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1">[1]</a> +the beauty of Nature is necessary for the perfection of +<i>praise</i>; without it the praise of the Creator would be essentially +weakened; our hearts must be roused and excited by what we see. "It may +seem extraordinary," adds our authority, "but it is the case, that, +though we certainly look at contrivance or machinery in Nature with a +high admiration, still, with all its countless and multitudinous uses, +which we acknowledge with gratitude, there is nothing in it which raises +the mind's interest in nearly the same degree that beauty does. It is an +awakening sight; and one way in which it acts is by exciting a certain +curiosity about the Deity. In what does God possess character, feelings, +relations to us?—all unanswerable questions, but the very entertainment +of which is an excitement of the reason, and throws us upon the thought +of what there is behind the veil. This curiosity is a strong part of +worship and of praise. To think that we know everything about God, is to +benumb and deaden worship; but mystical thought quickens worship, and the +beauty of Nature raises mystical thought. So long as a man is probing +Nature, and in the thick of its causes and operations, he is too busy +about his own inquiries to receive this impress from her; but place the +picture before him, and he becomes conscious of a veil and curtain which +has the secrets of a moral existence behind it,—interest is inspired, +curiosity is awakened, and worship is raised. 'Surely thou art a God that +hidest thyself.' But if God simply hid himself and nothing more, if we +knew nothing, we should not wish to know more. But the veil suggests that +it <i>is</i> a veil, and that there is something behind it which it conceals."</p> + +<a name="Footnote_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1">[1]</a><div class="note"> +Professor Mozley, "University Sermons," pp. 145, 146.</div> + +<p>Now, this is the feeling which the study of Astronomy very certainly +awakens. Every day the astronomer discovers something which quickens his +curiosity to discover more. Every day he catches new glimpses of the +Almighty Wisdom, which stimulate his desire for a further revelation. +And all he learns, and all he anticipates learning, combine to produce in +him an emotion of awe. What grandeur lies before him in that endless +procession of worlds—in that array of suns and stars extending beyond +the limits of the most powerful telescopic vision! How marvellous it is! +How beautiful! Observe the combination of simplicity with power; note how +a great principle of "law" underlies the apparent intricacy of eccentric +and intersecting orbits. And then the field of inquiry is inexhaustible. +The astronomer has no fear of feeling the satiety of an Alexander, when +he lamented that he had no more worlds to conquer. What Newton said of +himself is true of every astronomer,—he is but as a child on the +sea-shore, picking up a shell here and a shell there, but unable to grasp +a full conception of the mighty ocean that thunders in his ears!</p> + +<p>And, therefore, because Astronomy cherishes the feelings of awe and +reverence and praise, because it inspires a continual yearning after +additional knowledge, because it reveals to us something of the +character of God, we conceive that of all the sciences it affords the +purest intellectual gratification. Certainly it is one of the most +absorbing. Its attraction seems to be irresistible. Once an astronomer, +always an astronomer; the stars, we may fancy, will not relax the spell +they lay upon their votary. He willingly withdraws himself from the din +and gaiety of social life, to shut himself up in his chamber, and, with +the magic tube due to the genius of a Galileo, survey with ever-new +delight the celestial wonders. So was it with Tycho Brahé, and +Copernicus, and Kepler; so was it, as the following pages will show, with +that remarkable family of astronomers—astronomers for three +generations—the HERSCHELS.</p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;"> +<a name="CHAPTER_II"></a><h2>CHAPTER II.</h2> +<br> + +<p><img src="images/i.png" class="firstletter" width="80" height="80" +alt="I">n the quiet city of Hanover, nearly a century and a half ago, lived a +professor of music, by name Isaac Herschel, a Protestant in religion, +though presumably of Jewish descent. He had been left an orphan at the +early age of eleven, and his friends wished him to adopt the vocation of +a landscape-gardener; but being passionately fond of music, and having +acquired some skill on the violin, he left Dresden, his birthplace, in +order to seek his fortune; wandering from place to place, until at +Hanover, in 1731, he obtained an engagement in the band of the Guards. +Soon afterwards he married; and by his wife, Anna Ilse Moritzen, had ten +children, four of whom died in infancy. Of the others, two—a brother and +a sister—lived to distinguish themselves by their intellectual power; +and all true lovers of science will regard with reverence the memories +of William and Caroline Herschel.</p> + +<p>Frederick William Herschel was born on the 15th of November 1738. Like +his father, he displayed an innate musical ability, which was sedulously +cultivated and constantly developed; while his general mental training +was left to the care of the master of the garrison-school. Those who are +gifted with a love and a capacity for music sometimes show to little +advantage in other pursuits; but such was not the case with William +Herschel, who progressed so rapidly in all his studies that the pupil +soon outstripped the teacher. Although, we are told, four years younger +than his brother Jacob, the two began French together, and William +mastered the language in half the time occupied by his senior. His +leisure time out of school, when not given up to practice on the oboe and +the violin, was devoted to the acquisition, of Latin and arithmetic.</p> + +<p>His father in 1743 was present at the battle of Dettingen; and the +exposure consequent on a night spent on the rain-soaked battle-field +afflicted him with an asthmatic complaint and a partial paralysis of the +limbs, which darkened for years the musician's peaceful household. He +himself, however, was greatly cheered by the musical proficiency of his +two sons, and the intellectual refinement of Frederick William. "My +brothers," says Caroline Herschel, "were often introduced as solo +performers and assistants in the orchestra of the court; and I remember +that I was frequently prevented"—she was then a child about five years +old—"from going to sleep by the lively criticism on music on [their] +coming from a concert, or conversations on philosophical subjects, which +lasted frequently till morning, in which my father was a lively partaker, +and assistant of my brother William by contriving self-made instruments." +She adds that she often kept herself awake in order to listen to their +animating remarks, feeling inexpressibly happy in <i>their</i> happiness,—an +indication of that devoted and unselfish affection which afterwards +consecrated her whole life. But, generally, their conversation branched +out into philosophical subjects; and father and son argued with so much +fervour, that the fond mother's interference became necessary,—the +immortal names of Leibnitz, Newton, and Euler ringing with a clarion-like +peal that boded ill for the repose of the younger members of the family. +"But it seems," says Caroline, "that on the brothers retiring to their +own room, where they shared the same bed, my brother William had still a +great deal to say; and frequently it happened that, when he stopped for +an assent or a reply, he found his hearer had gone to sleep; and I +suppose it was not till then that he bethought himself to do the same. +The recollection of these happy scenes confirms me in the belief that, +had my brother William not then been interrupted in his philosophical +pursuits, we should have had much earlier proofs of his inventive genius. +My father," she continues, "was a great admirer of astronomy, and had +some knowledge of that science; for I remember him taking me, on a clear +frosty night, into the street, to make me acquainted with several of the +most beautiful constellations, after we had been gazing at a comet which +was then visible. And I well remember with what delight he used to +assist my brother William in his various contrivances in the pursuit of +his philosophical studies; among which was a neatly-turned four-inch +globe, upon which the equator and ecliptic were engraved by my brother."</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;"> + +<p>In 1755, the tranquil family circle was broken up—the Hanoverian +regiment in whose band William and Jacob were engaged having been ordered +to England. The parting was very sorrowful; for the invalid father had +derived much support as well as enjoyment from the company of his sons. +At first, the English experiences of the young Germans were somewhat +severe. They endured all the pangs of poverty; pangs endured with heroic +composure, while William relaxed not a whit in his devotion to the +pursuit of knowledge. Happily, however, his musical proficiency attracted +the attention of Lord Durham, who offered him the appointment of +bandmaster to a militia regiment stationed in the north of England. In +this position he gradually formed a connection among the wealthier +families of Leeds, Pontefract, and Doncaster, where he taught music, and +conducted the public concerts and oratorios with equal zeal and success. +In 1764 he paid a brief but happy visit to his family, much to the joy of +his faithful sister, Caroline. Returning to England, for which country he +cherished a strong affection, he resumed his career of patient industry, +and in 1765 was appointed organist at Halifax. He was now in receipt of +an income which secured him due domestic comforts, and enabled him to +remedy the defects of his early education. With the help of a grammar and +a dictionary he mastered Italian. He also studied mathematics and the +scientific theory of music, losing no opportunity of adding to his stores +of knowledge.</p> + +<p>In 1766 he obtained the lucrative post of organist to the Octagon Chapel +at Bath. Increased emoluments, however, brought with them increased +obligations. He was required to play almost incessantly, either at the +oratorios or in the rooms at the Baths, at the theatre, and in the public +concerts. When his sister Caroline joined him, in 1772, she found him +immersed in his various labours. For the choir of the Octagon Chapel he +composed anthems, chants, and complete morning and evening services. A +part of every day was occupied in giving lessons to his numerous pupils. +In truth, he was one of the busiest men in England; yet in all his +arrangements he was so methodical that he found time for everything—and +time, more particularly, for the studies in which his soul delighted. His +life furnishes an admirable example of what may be accomplished by a man +with a firm will and a strong purpose, who sets before himself an end to +be attained, and controls all his efforts towards its attainment. He +toiled so hard as a musician, because he wanted to be something more. +Every spare moment of the day, and frequently many hours of the night, he +gave up to the pursuits which were gradually leading him into the path +best fitted for his genius. The study of mathematics proved but a +preliminary to the study of optics; and an accident made him once for all +an astronomer.</p> + +<p>A common two-foot telescope falling into his hands, revealed to him the +wonders of the heavens. His imagination was inspired by their +contemplation; with ever-increasing enthusiasm he gazed on the revolving +planets, on the flashing stars; he determined to fathom more profoundly +the constellated depths. A larger instrument was necessary, and Herschel +wrote to London for it; but the price demanded proved far beyond the +resources of the sanguine organist. What should he do? He was not the man +to be beaten back by a difficulty: as he could not buy a telescope, he +resolved to make one; an instrument eighteen or twenty feet long, which +would reveal to him the phases of the remotest planets. And straightway +the musician entered on a multitude of ingenious experiments, so as to +discover the particular metallic alloys that reflected light with the +greatest intensity, the best means of giving the parabolic figure to the +mirrors, the necessary degree of polish, and other practical details. In +his eager pursuit he enlisted the services of his loving and intelligent +sister. "I was much hindered in my musical practice," she writes, "by my +help being continually wanted in the execution of the various +contrivances; and I had to amuse myself by 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."</p> + +<p>The work went on famously, as might be expected from so much ardour, +perseverance, and ingenuity. Of a Quaker resident at Bath, the +musician-astronomer purchased a quantity of patterns, tools, hones, +polishers, and unfinished mirrors. Every room in the house was converted +into a workshop. In a handsomely-furnished drawing-room might be seen a +cabinetmaker constructing a tube and stands of all descriptions; while +Herschel's brother Alex was engaged in a bedroom in putting up a gigantic +turning-machine. Meantime, the claims of music could not be ignored: +there were frequent rehearsals for the public concerts; lessons to +pupils; the composition of glees and catches, and the like; the +superintendence of the practice of the chapel choir; and the study of +sonatas and concertos for public performance. But all the leisure that +could be made or stolen was occupied in labours which proved their own +reward. Straight from the concert-platform rushed the musician to his +workshop, and many a lace ruffle was torn by nails or bespattered by +molten pitch; to say nothing of the positive danger to which Herschel +continually exposed himself by the precipitancy of his movements. For +example: one Saturday evening, when the two brothers returned from a +concert between eleven and twelve o'clock, William amused himself all the +way home with the idea of being at liberty to spend the next day, except +the few hours' duty at chapel, at the turning-bench; but recollecting +that the tools wanted sharpening, they ran with them and a lantern to +their landlord's grindstone in a public yard, where, very naturally, they +did not wish to be seen on a Sunday morning. But William was soon brought +back by his brother, almost swooning with the loss of one of his +finger-nails.</p> + +<p>This incident took place in the winter of 1775, at a house situated near +Walcot turnpike, to which Herschel had removed in the summer of the +previous year. Here, on a grass plot behind the house, he made active +preparations for the erection of a twenty-foot telescope. So assiduous +was his devotion to this work, that while he was engaged in polishing the +mirror, his sister was constantly obliged to feed him by putting his +victuals into his mouth. Otherwise he would have reduced himself to a +condition of positive emaciation! Once, when finishing a seven-foot +mirror, he did not take his hands from it for sixteen consecutive hours; +for in these days machinery had not been devised as a substitute for +manual toil. He was seldom unemployed at meals; but at such times +employed himself in contriving or making drawings of whatever occurred to +his fertile fancy. Usually his sister Caroline read to him while he was +engaged at the turning-lathe, or polishing mirrors; choosing such books +as "Don Quixote," the "Arabian Nights," the novels of Sterne and +Fielding; and tea and supper were served without any interruption to the +task in which Herschel was absorbed.</p> + +<p>In Miss Herschel's charming letters we find a vivid sketch of the family +avocations at this period:—-</p> + + +<div class="blkquot"><p>"My brother 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 against a mirror 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, weights, &c., 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 + about 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, &c, and sometimes whole papers which were + lent [to] him for his perusal. Among them was one by Mr. Michel, + 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, or a fire to + be kept up, or a dish of coffee necessary during a night's long + watching, I undertook with pleasure what others might have + thought a hardship."</p></div> + +<p>The astronomer-musician's patient survey of the heavens was rewarded, on +the 13th of March 1781, by the discovery of a new planet, situated on the +borders of our Solar System. In every way this was a discovery of signal +importance. It broke up the traditional conservatism of astronomers, +which had almost refused to regard as possible the existence of any +planets beyond the orbit of Saturn, because for so many years none had +revealed themselves to the watchful gaze. Men's minds were widened, so to +speak, at a bound; their conceptions strengthened and enlarged; for the +discovery of Georgium Sidus—as the new planet was designated by its +discoverer, in honour of George III.—rendered possible and probable the +discovery of other planets, and thus extended immeasurably the limits of +the Solar System. Herschel, whose reputation as a musician had hitherto +been local, now sprang into world-wide fame as an astronomer. George +III., who was a true lover of science, and not disinclined to bestow his +patronage on men and things of Hanoverian origin, summoned him to his +presence; and was so much pleased with his modest and interesting account +of the long labours which had led to the great result, that, after a +brief interval, he bestowed upon him an annual pension of three hundred +guineas, and a residence, first at Clay Hall, and then at Slough.</p> + +<p>But before this well-deserved good fortune fell to him, Herschel +continued his industrious career as both musician and astronomer. During +the concert season, which lasted five or six months, he had never a night +disengaged, but was conducting oratorios at Bath or Bristol, arranging +for public concerts, attending rehearsals, and superintending the +performances of his choir. As soon as a lull came, the indomitable man, +assisted by his faithful sister, returned to his astronomical pursuits. +To gain a fuller and clearer knowledge of the starry worlds scattered +over the vast fields of space, Herschel from the first had seen that +instruments of much greater power were necessary than any hitherto used +by astronomers. He set to work, therefore, on the construction of a +thirty-foot telescope; the metallic mirror of which must, of course, be +of proportionate dimensions. This huge mirror was to be cast in a mould +of loam prepared from horse-dung, of which an immense quantity was to be +pounded in a mortar, and sifted through a fine sieve; an arduous and +almost endless task, undertaken by Caroline Herschel and her brother +Alex. Then a furnace was erected in a back-room on the ground-floor; and +every preparation having been made, a day was set apart for the casting. +The day came, and Herschel and his collaborateurs looked forward to the +consummation of their hopes. The metal was placed in the furnace; but, +unfortunately, just when it was ready for pouring in a molten stream into +the mould, it began to leak, and both the Herschels, and the caster with +his men, were compelled to fly from the apartment, the stone flooring +exploding, and flying about in all directions, as high as the ceiling. +The astronomer, exhausted with heat and exertion, fell on a heap of +brickbats; exhausted, but not dismayed. The work was renewed; and a +second casting being attempted, it proved entirely successful, and a very +perfect metal was formed in the mould.</p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;"> +<a name="CHAPTER_III"></a><h2>CHAPTER III.</h2> +<br> + +<p><img src="images/i.png" class="firstletter" width="80" height="80" +alt="I">n August 1782 the Herschels removed to Datchet. Their new home was "a +large neglected place; the house in a deplorably ruinous condition, the +garden and grounds overgrown with weeds." Nor were the domestic +arrangements more favourable. For a fortnight the little family were +without a female servant; and an old woman, the gardener's wife, showed +Miss Herschel the shops, where the high prices of every article, from +coals to butcher's meat, appalled her. But of these inconveniences +Herschel took no account. Enough for him that he was released from the +drudgery of teaching, and free thenceforth to devote himself to the +heavens and their wonders. A man whose thoughts are always with the stars +can hardly be expected to trouble himself about the price of +tallow-candles! Were there not capacious stables in which mirrors of any +size could be ground; and a roomy laundry capable of easy conversion into +a library, with one door opening on a large lawn, where the "small +twenty-foot" was to take its stand? Compared with advantages such as +these, what mattered the scarcity of "butcher's meat"? Herschel +laughingly assured his sister that they could live on eggs and bacon; +which, he confidently asserted, would cost next to nothing, now that they +were really in the country!</p> + +<p>And so he settled down to a life of quiet, industry at Datchet; his +admirable sister being formally adopted as his assistant and secretary. +Never had master a more devoted, a more enthusiastic, or a more +intelligent servant! She shared in all his night-watches, with her eye +constantly on the clock, and the pencil in her hand; with unerring +accuracy she made all the complex calculations so frequently required; +she made three or four copies of every observation in separate registers, +co-ordinating, classifying, and analyzing them. If the scientific world, +says Arago, saw with astonishment the unexampled rapidity with which +Herschel's works succeeded one another for many years, they were greatly +indebted for this affluence of production to the affectionate ardour of +his sister Caroline. Her enthusiasm never failed; her industry knew no +check; and her brother's fame was dearer to her than life.</p> + +<p>In one of her letters she describes with graphic simplicity the +"interior" at Datchet:—</p> + + +<div class="blkquot"><p>"I found that I was to be trained for an assistant-astronomer; + and by way of encouragement, a telescope adapted for 'sweeping' + (or rapidly surveying a wide extent of space), consisting of a + tube with two glasses, was given [to] me. I was to 'sweep for + comets;' and I see by my journal that I began August 22nd, 1782, + to write down and describe all remarkable appearances I saw in my + 'sweeps.' But it was not till the last two months of the same + year that I felt the least encouragement to spend the starlit + nights on a grass-plot covered with dew or hoar-frost, without a + human being near enough to be within call. I knew too little of + the real heavens to be able to point out every object so as to + find it again without losing too much time by consulting the + Atlas. But all these troubles were removed when I knew my brother + to be at no great distance, making observations with his various + instruments on double stars, planets, and the like; and I could + have his assistance immediately when I found a nebula, or cluster + of stars, of which I intended to give a catalogue. I had the + comfort to see," she continues, "that my brother was satisfied + with my endeavours to assist him when he wanted another person + either to run to the clocks, write down a memorandum, fetch and + carry instruments, or measure the ground with poles,—of which + something of the kind every moment would occur."</p></div> + +<p>The conscientious care and assiduous industry with which Herschel made +his measurements of the diameter of the Georgium Sidus (now called +Uranus), and his interesting observations of other planets, of double +stars with their coloured light, of cometary and nebulous appearances, +were truly remarkable; as may be seen by the various papers which he +wrote at this time for the Royal Society. In addition to all this labour, +he perfected a twelve-inch speculum of vast magnifying power before the +spring of 1784; and many hours were spent at the turning-bench, as not a +night clear enough for observing ever passed without the devising of +improvements in the mounting and motion of the various instruments then +in use, or the test and trial of newly-constructed "eyepieces," most of +which were executed by Herschel's own hands. "Wishing to save his time, +he began to have some work of that kind done by a watchmaker, who had +retired from business, and lived on Datchet Common; but the work was so +bad, and the charges [were] so unreasonable, that he could not be +employed. It was not till some time afterwards, in his frequent visits to +the meetings of the Royal Society (made in moonlight nights), that he had +an opportunity of looking about for mathematical workmen, opticians, and +founders. But the work seldom answered expectation, and it was kept to be +executed with improvements by Alexander during the few months he spent +with us."</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;"> + +<p>In July 1783 Herschel began his observations with his large twenty-foot +telescope, though it was in an unfinished state; and his sister watched +and waited with much apprehension when she knew him to be elevated some +fifteen feet or more on a temporary crossbeam instead of a safe gallery. +Here it is needful to explain, perhaps, that these huge astronomical +telescopes are not used like ordinary glasses, to one end of which the +observer applies his eye; the objects towards which the tube is directed +being thrown upon a large mirror, which is attached to it externally at +some distance from the ground. The observer, therefore, needs to be +mounted on an elevated platform or gallery, from which he can +conveniently inspect the mirror. One night, in a very high wind, Herschel +had scarcely descended from his station before the whole apparatus came +down; and his sister was in continual apprehension of some serious +accident. One such, indeed, occurred, and to herself. The evening of the +31st of December had been cloudy, but as a few stars shone forth about +ten o'clock, hurried preparations were made for observing. Herschel, +standing at the front of the telescope, directed his sister to make a +certain alteration in the lateral motion, which was done by machinery, on +which the point of support of the tube and mirror rested. At each end of +the machine or trough was an iron hook, such as butchers use for +suspending their joints of meat; and having to run in the dark across +ground covered a foot deep with melting snow, Miss Herschel fell on one +of these hooks, which entered her right leg above the knee. To her +brother's injunction, "Make haste!" she could answer only by a pitiful +cry, "I am hooked!" He and the workmen hastened immediately to her +assistance, but they could not disentangle her without leaving nearly two +ounces of her flesh behind. For some weeks she was an invalid, and at one +time it was feared that amputation might be necessary.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;"> + +<p>Not satisfied with the magnifying power of any of the instruments he had +hitherto constructed, Herschel resolved, in 1784, to attempt a forty-foot +telescope. Such a work, however, was far beyond his limited private +resources; and he did not venture to undertake it until promised a royal +bounty of £2000. Then he removed from Datchet to Clay Hall, Old Windsor; +and again, in 1786, to Slough, where he finally settled, and succeeded in +erecting a commodious and well-equipped observatory. "We may confidently +assert," says Arago, "relative to the little house and garden of Slough, +that it is the spot of all the world where the greatest number of +discoveries have been made. The name of that village will never perish: +science will transmit it religiously to our latest posterity."</p> + +<p>At Slough, as at Datchet, prevailed the most enthusiastic industry; and +the house was soon as full of well-ordered labour as a bee-hive. Smiths +were kept constantly at work on different parts of the new telescopic +leviathan; and a whole troop of labourers was engaged in grinding the +tools required for shaping and polishing its mirror. Had not a cloudy or +moonlight night sometimes intervened, Herschel and his sister must have +died of sheer exhaustion, for they toiled with unremitting ardour both +day and night. With the morning came the workpeople, of whom no fewer +than between thirty and forty were at work for upwards of three months +together: some employed in felling and rooting out trees, some digging +and preparing the ground for the bricklayers, who were laying the +foundation for the telescope. Then there were the carpenter and his men; +and, meanwhile, the smith was converting a wash-house into a forge, and +manufacturing complete sets of tools for his own share of the labour. In +short, the place was at one time a complete workshop for the manufacture +of optical instruments; and it was a pleasure to enter it for the +purpose of observing the fervour of the great astronomer, and the +reverent attention given to his orders.</p> + +<p>It is impossible not to refer here to the sisterly devotion of Caroline +Herschel, who was in every respect worthy of her noble-minded, +tender-hearted, and enthusiastic brother.</p> + +<p>She stood beside him to the last, sharing his labours, brightening his +life. In the days, says her biographer, when Herschel gave up a lucrative +career that he might dedicate all his energies to astronomical pursuits, +it was through her care and thriftiness that he was spared from the +unrest of pecuniary anxieties. As she had been his helper and assistant +during his career as a popular musician, so she became his helper and +assistant when he gave himself up, like the Chaldeans of old, to the +study of the stars. By dint of a resolute will and a love that shrank +from no sacrifice or exertion, she acquired such a knowledge of +mathematics and calculations, mysterious as these generally seem to the +feminine mind, that she was able to formulate with exactness the result +of her brother's researches. She never failed to be his willing +fellow-labourer in the workshop; she helped him to grind and polish his +mirrors; she stood beside his telescope, in order to record his +observations, during the dark and bitter mid-winter nights, when the very +ink was frozen in the bottle. It may be said, without exaggeration, that +she kept him alive by her care: thinking nothing of herself, she lived +for him, and him alone. She loved him, she believed in him, she aided him +with all her heart and all her strength. Her mental powers were very +considerable; and undoubtedly she might have attained to eminence on her +own account, for she herself discovered no fewer than eight comets. But +she shunned self-glorification; she desired to live in her brother's +shadow; she worked for him, never for herself; and in her elevated +character no feature more strongly demands our admiration than her heroic +though unconscious self-denial. Happy the man who has such a sister; +happy the sister whose brother is worthy of so much devotion! It is +pleasant to know that William Herschel deserved the love so lavishly +poured out at his feet; that great as were his achievements in science, +lofty and broad as was his genius, they were fully sustained and ennobled +by the beauty and worth of his inner life. Who can contemplate their +twofold career in all its singleness of purpose, its purity, its +unselfishness, its sublime disregard of worldly pleasures, without +emotion? The lessons told by such a life are worth all the moral +treatises ever written.</p> + +<p>To Miss Herschel's diary we again refer, for a glimpse of the occupations +of her brother and herself at Slough in the first two years of their +residence. These two years, to use an apt expression of her own, were +spent in a perfect chaos of business. The garden and workrooms swarmed +with labourers and workmen—smiths and carpenters speeding to and fro +between the forge and the forty-foot machinery; and so incessant was the +vigilance of Herschel, that not a screw-bolt in the whole apparatus was +fixed except under his eye. "I have seen him," writes his sister, "lying +stretched many an hour in the burning sun, across the top beam, whilst +the iron-work for the various motions [of the great telescope] was being +fixed." At one time no fewer than twenty-four men, in relays of twelve +each, were engaged in grinding and polishing day and night; and Herschel +never left them, taking his food without allowing himself time to sit +down to table.</p> + +<div class="blkquot"><p>"In August 1787," writes the diarist, "an additional man-servant + was engaged, who would be wanted at the handles of the motions of + the forty-foot,"—that is, to raise or lower it, or move it from + side to side, as might be required,—"for which the mirror in the + beginning of July was so far finished as to be used for + occasional observations on trial. Such a person was also + necessary for showing the telescopes to the curious strangers, as + by their numerous visits my brother and myself had for some time + past been much incommoded. In consequence of an application made + through Sir J. Banks to the king, my brother had in August a + second sum of £2000 granted for completing the forty-foot, and + £200 yearly for the expense of repairs; such as ropes, painting, + &c., and the keep and clothing of the men who attended at night. + A salary of £50 a year was also settled on me, as an assistant to + my brother. A great uneasiness was by this means removed from my + mind; for though I had generally (and especially during the last + busy six years) been almost the keeper of my brother's purse, + with a charge to provide for my personal wants, only annexing in + my accounts the memorandum '<i>For Car</i>.' to the sums so laid out. + When cast up, they hardly amounted to seven or eight pounds per + year since the time we had left Bath. Nothing but bankruptcy had + all the while been running through my silly head, when looking at + the sums of my weekly accounts, and knowing they could be but + trifling in comparison with what had been and had yet to be paid + in town. I will only add, that from this time the utmost activity + prevailed to forward the completion of the forty-foot."</p></div> + +<p>In recognition of his scientific triumphs, the honorary degree of LL.D +was conferred upon Herschel, in 1786, by the University of Oxford. They +were triumphs that well merited such a recognition. He had already made +some important observations on the nature of double stars, on the +dimensions of the telescopic planets, and had begun his famous +investigations into the composition of the nebulae,—those clusters of +stars and nebulous matter which had previously proved such a problem to +astronomers. The remarkable phenomenon of a periodical change of +intensity in certain stars, which wax and wane in radiance like a +revolving light, had also excited his attention. Further, he had entered +upon the experiments which ultimately showed that the Sun positively +moves; that in this, as in other respects, the magnificent orb of day +must be ranged among the stars; that the apparently inextricable +irregularities of numerous sidereal proper motions arise in great part +from the displacement of the Solar System; that, in short, the point of +space toward which Earth and its sister planets are annually advancing, +is situated in the constellation of Hercules.</p> + +<p>"Let us," says a French writer, "to these immortal labours add the +ingenious ideas that we owe to Herschel on the nebulae, on the +constitution of the Milky Way, on the Universe as a whole,—ideas which +almost by themselves constitute the actual history of the formation of +the worlds,—and we cannot but have a deep reverence for that powerful +genius that scarcely ever erred, notwithstanding the ardour of its +imagination."</p> + +<p>The ordinary spectator, looking upon the face of the heavens through a +telescope, had, prior to Herschel's time, felt his curiosity excited by +the appearance here and there of filmy patches, vague in structure and +irregular in shape, which, from their resemblance to clouds, received the +name of <i>nebulae</i>. What these were, no astronomer had succeeded in +defining. It was left for Herschel, with his rare powers of patient and +discriminating observation, assisted by the more powerful instruments +which his ingenuity succeeded in constructing, to discern in them +innumerable groups of worlds, in various stages of formation! A new light +was thrown upon the history of the Universe. Man was able to assist, as +it were, at the process of creation, and to watch the development of a +mass of incoherent matter into a perfect star. This alone was a discovery +which might well have immortalised the name of Herschel.</p> + +<p>But we owe to him the elements of our knowledge of the Sun's physical +constitution. He swept aside the erroneous theories and conjectures which +had previously prevailed, and guided the astronomical inquirer into the +right path. He convinced himself, by long and patient researches, that +the luminous envelope of the great "orb of day" was neither a liquid nor +an elastic fluid; that it was in certain respects analogous to the clouds +which wreathe our mountain-summits and fertilize our plains; that it +floated in the solar atmosphere. Thence he came to the conclusion that +the Sun has two atmospheres, endowed with motions quite independent of +each other. An elastic fluid, now known as the <i>photosphere</i>, is in +course of continual formation on the dark rugged surface of the solar +mass; and rising, on account of its specific lightness, it forms the +<i>pores</i> in the stratum of reflecting clouds; then, combining with other +gases, it produces the irregularities or furrows in the luminous +cloud-region. When the ascending currents are powerful, they create those +appearances which astronomers designate the <i>nuclei</i>, the <i>penumbrae</i>, +the <i>faculae</i>.</p> + +<p>Such was Herschel's explanation of the mode of formation of the solar +spots; and allowing it to be well-founded, we must expect to find—what +is, indeed, the case—that the Sun does not always and regularly pour +forth equal quantities of light and heat. It is true that Herschel's +hypothesis has been modified by later astronomers; but his is the credit +of having directed them into the right course of inquiry and observation.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;"> + +<p>The physical constitution of the Moon was a subject which also engaged +the attention of our indefatigable enthusiast. As early as 1780 he +attempted the measurement of the lunar mountains, and came to the +conclusion that few of them exceeded 2600 feet in height. Later research, +however, has proved these figures to be inadequate. Next he addressed +himself to a study of the lunar volcanoes, three of which he declared to +be in a state of ignition; two of them apparently on the decline, the +third still active. He was so convinced of the reality of the phenomenon, +that on the 20th of April 1787 he wrote:—"The volcano burns with greater +violence than it did last night." The real diameter of the volcanic light +he estimated at 16,400 feet. Its intensity he described as superior to +that of the nucleus of a comet then flashing across our system. The +objects situated near the crater were fully illuminated by the glare of +its burning matter.</p> + +<p>It may seem strange that, after observations so exact and minute, few +astronomers now admit the existence of active volcanoes in the Moon. The +reasons for their incredulity are thus stated:—</p> + +<p>The various parts of the Moon do not all reflect with the same intensity. +Here, that intensity may be dependent on the form; elsewhere, on the +nature of the materials. Those persons who have examined the lunar orb +with telescopes, know how very considerable the difference arising from +these two causes may be,—with how much keener and stronger a radiance +one point of the Moon will sometimes shine than those around it. Well, it +would seem to be obvious that the ratio of intensity between the +brilliant parts and the faint parts must always be the same, whatever the +origin of the illuminating light. In that portion of the lunar sphere +which receives the glow and glory of the sun, we know that some points +exist, the brightness of which is extraordinary compared with the feeble +flickering gleam of those around them. And these same points, when seen +in the dim reflection of the Earth, will still predominate in intensity +over the neighbouring regions. In this way Arago and others explain the +observations of Herschel, without admitting the existence of active +volcanoes in the Moon. That volcanoes there are, is a familiar fact; but +they would seem to have exhausted their activity in long-past ages. The +lunar surface is now a dreary waste of rugged lava and ashes, covered +with the matter ejected from craters once in a state of furious eruption. +The Moon, in fact, is a world which has burned itself out. How strange +the thought that in a far-back period the inhabitants of Earth, had Earth +then been inhabited, might have seen the glare of countless volcanoes +diffused, lurid and threatening, over the face of their satellite! How +strange the thought that the once active fires should all have died away, +and the Moon have thus been prepared for the better reception and +reflection of the solar radiance in order to illuminate the nights of +Earth!</p> + +<p>The planets, needless to say, were the objects of Herschel's assiduous +attention. Mercury was the one which least interested him; but he +ascertained the perfect circularity of its disc. With respect to Venus, +he endeavoured to determine the time of its rotation from 1777. We owe to +him the discovery of the true shape of the "red planet Mars,"—that, like +the Earth, it is an oblate spheroid, or flattened at the poles. After +Piazzi, Olbers, and Harding had discovered the small planets, Ceres, +Pallas, Juno, and Vesta, he applied himself to the measurement of their +angular diameters. His researches led him to the conclusion that these +four new bodies could not properly be ranked with the planets, and he +proposed to call them Asteroids—a name now generally adopted. Since +Herschel's time, the number of these minor planets known to astronomers +has increased to upwards of one hundred.</p> + +<p>With respect to Jupiter, our astronomer arrived at some important facts +in connection with the duration of its rotation. He also made numerous +observations on the intensities and comparative magnitudes of its +satellites.</p> + +<p>We come next in order to Saturn, the gloomy planet which the ancient +astrologers regarded with so much dislike. Here, too, we find traces of +Herschel's labours. Not only has he enlarged our knowledge of its +equatorial compression, of its physical constitution, and of the rotation +of its luminous belt or ring, but he added two to the number of its +satellites. Five only of these were known at the close of the seventeenth +century; of which Cussiric discovered four, and Huygens one. It was +universally believed that the subject was exhausted.</p> + +<p>But, on the 28th of August 1780, Herschel's colossal tube revealed to his +delighted gaze a satellite nearer to the Saturnian ring than those +previously observed. And a few days later, on the 17th of September, a +seventh and last satellite crossed his field of vision. It was situated +between the former and the ring; that is, it is the nearest to it of the +seven.</p> + +<p>But the most remarkable of Herschel's achievements was the discovery of +the planet Uranus, and the detection of its satellites.</p> + +<p>On the 13th of March 1781, between ten and eleven o'clock at night, the +great astronomer was engaged in examining the small stars near H in the +constellation Gemini, with a seven-foot telescope, bearing a magnifying +power of two hundred and twenty-seven times. It appeared to him that one +of these stars was of an unusual diameter; and he came to the conclusion, +therefore, that it was a comet. It was under this denomination that it +was discussed at the meeting of the Royal Society. But the researches of +Herschel at a later period showed that the orbit of the new body was +circular, and accordingly it was elevated to the rank of a planet. As +already stated, Herschel named it, in compliment to George III., the +Georgium Sidus; in this copying the example of Galileo with his +"Medicaean stars." Afterwards, astronomers christened it Herschel, and +subsequently Uranus, in conformity with the mythological nomenclature of +the other planets.</p> + +<p>The immense distance of Uranus from our Earth, its small angular +diameter, and the feebleness of its light, seemed to preclude the hope +that, if it were attended by satellites of the same dimensions in +proportion to its own magnitude as those of the satellites of Jupiter and +Saturn in proportion to <i>their</i> magnitude, they could be descried by any +human observer. The patient, persevering, reverent temper of Herschel +took no account, however, of any discouraging or unpropitious +circumstances. What he did was to substitute for telescopes of the +ordinary construction the new and gigantic forty-foot tube already +described; and, thus, with unremitting vigilance and intense zeal, he +arrived at the discovery (between January 4, 1787, and February 28, +1794) of the <i>six</i> satellites of Uranus; in other words, he revealed to +man the completeness of a new system,—a system which will always be +identified with his name.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;"> + +<p>Those singular meteors, the comets, which flash through heaven with long +trails of light, and of old astonished the nations as if they were +harbingers of some overwhelming calamity, were also the frequent subjects +of our astronomer's investigations. He brought some of his fine and +powerful instruments to bear on a comet discovered by Mr. Pigott in 1807, +and closely and carefully investigated its physical constitution.</p> + +<p>The nucleus, or head, was circular and well determined, and evidently +shone by its own light. Very small stars seemed to grow pale, "to hide +their diminished heads," when seen through its <i>coma</i> or tail. It is +true, however, that this faintness may have been only apparent, and due +to the circumstance of the stars being projected on a luminous +background. Such was Herschel's explanation. A gaseous medium, capable +of absorbing sufficient solar radiance to efface the light of some +"lesser stars," appeared to him to possess in each stratum a sensible +quantity of matter. Hence it would cause a real diminution of the light +transmitted, though nothing would indicate the existence of such a +cause.<a name="FNanchor_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2">[2]</a></p> + +<a name="Footnote_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2">[2]</a><div class="note"> +This conclusion is disputed by many astronomers.</div> + +<p>Herschel examined the beautiful comet of 1811 with equal accuracy. "Large +telescopes showed him, in the midst of the gaseous head, a rather reddish +body of planetary appearance, which bore strong magnifying powers, and +showed no sign of <i>phase</i> (that is, of change of aspect, as in the case +of the Moon). Hence Herschel concluded that it was self-luminous. Yet, if +we reflect that the planetary body under consideration was not a second +in diameter, the absence of a phase," says Arago, "does not appear a +demonstrative argument."</p> + +<p>The same writer adds:—</p> + +<div class="blkquot"><p>"The light of the head had a bluish-green tint." Was this a real + tint, or did the central reddish body, only through contrast, + make the surrounding vapour appear to be coloured? Herschel did + not examine the question from this point of view.</p> + +<p> "The head of the comet appeared to be enveloped at a certain + distance, on the side towards the Sun, by a brilliant narrow + zone, embracing about a semicircle, and of a yellowish colour. + From the two extremities of the semicircle arose, towards the + region away from the Sun, two long luminous streaks which limited + the tail. Between the brilliant circular semi-ring and the head, + the cometary substance appeared to be dark, of great rarity, and + very diaphanous.</p> + +<p> "The luminous self-ring floated: one day it seemed to be + suspended in the diaphanous atmosphere by which the head of the + comet was surrounded, at a distance of 322,000 English miles from + the nucleus.</p> + +<p> "This distance was not constant. The matter of the semi-annular + envelope seemed even to be precipitated by slow degrees through + the diaphanous atmosphere; finally, it reached the nucleus; the + earlier appearances vanished; the comet was reduced to a globular + nebula.</p> + +<p> "During its period of dissolution, the ring appeared sometimes to + have several branches.</p> + +<p> "The luminous shreds of the tail apparently underwent rapid, + frequent, and considerable variations of length. Herschel + discerned symptoms of a rotatory movement both in the comet and + its tail; a movement which carried unequal shreds from the centre + towards the border, and the border towards the centre. On + examining at intervals the same region of the tail—the border, + for example—sensible changes of length must have been + perceptible; which, however, had no reality in them. Herschel + thought that both the comet of 1811 and that of 1807 were + self-luminous. The second comet of 1811 appeared to him to shine + only by borrowed light. It must be acknowledged that these + conjectures did not rest on anything demonstrative.</p> + +<p> "In attentively comparing the comet of 1807 with the beautiful + comet of 1811, relative to the changes of distance from the Sun, + and the modifications resulting thence, Herschel put it beyond + doubt that these modifications have something individual in + them,—something relative to a special state of the nebulous + matter. On one celestial body the changes of distance produce an + enormous effect, on another the modifications are insignificant."</p></div> + +<p>We have reproduced these observations by a distinguished French +astronomer, in order to show the reader what was the nature, and how +great was the importance, of Herschel's labours, and in how remarkable +and comprehensive a manner he conducted his survey of the celestial +phenomena. We now return to our brief narrative of his life.</p> + +<p>Such a life, absorbed in tranquil and incessant studies, presents no +curious, romantic, or surprising incidents. It was the life of a +reverent, patient, gentle, and devoted man of genius, who dedicated +himself to the task of making known the "wondrous works of God" to his +fellow-men, and who in all his social and domestic relations was without +blot or stain.</p> + +<p>In 1788 he married the widow of John Pitt, Esq., with whom he received a +considerable fortune, and thus for the remainder of his life he was +enabled to give himself up to his favourite pursuits unembarrassed by +pecuniary anxieties. His marriage was in every respect a happy one, and +effectually secured his domestic peace. By his wife he had an only +son,—the late Sir John Herschel,—who worthily maintained the scientific +dignity of his name.</p> + +<p>It is said, by the highest of all authority, that a prophet is not +honoured in his own country. But our astronomer was not without the +reward of his work, even in his lifetime. The University of Oxford +conferred upon him the illustrious honorary degree of D.C.L. In 1816 he +received the Guelphic order of knighthood; and in 1820 he was chosen the +first president of the Astronomical Society.</p> + +<p>From his sister's diary we gather a few particulars illustrative of his +mode of life.</p> + +<p>On the 4th of October 1806 she writes:—</p> + + +<div class="blkquot"><p>"My brother came from Brighton. The same night two parties from + the castle [Windsor] came to see the comet, and during the whole + month my brother had not an evening to himself. As he was then in + the midst of polishing the forty-foot mirror, rest became + absolutely necessary after a day spent in that most laborious + work; and it has ever been my opinion, that on the 14th of + October his nerves received a shock of which he never got the + better afterwards; for on that day (in particular) he had hardly + dismissed his troop of men, when visitors assembled, and from the + time it was dark till past midnight he was on the grass-plot, + surrounded by between fifty and sixty persons, without having had + time for putting on proper clothing, or for the least nourishment + passing his lips.</p> + +<p> "<i>February 6th, 1807</i>.—When I came to Slough to assist my + brother in polishing the forty-foot mirror, I found my nephew<a name="FNanchor_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3">[3]</a> + very ill with an inflammatory sore throat and fever.</p> + +<p> "<i>February 9th</i>.—Still very ill; and my brother obliged to go on + with the polishing of the great mirror, as every arrangement had + been made for that purpose.—<i>Mem</i>. I believe my brother had + reasons for choosing the cold season for this laborious work, the + exertion of which alone must put any man into a fever, if he were + ever so strong.</p> + +<p> "<i>February 10th</i>.—From this day my nephew's health kept on + mending.</p> + +<p> "<i>February 19th</i>.—My nephew mending, but my brother not well.</p> + +<p> "<i>February 26th</i>.—My brother so ill that I was not allowed to + see him, and till March 8th his life was despaired of; and by + March 10th I was permitted to see him, but only for two or three + minutes, as he was not allowed to speak.</p> + +<p> "<i>March 22nd</i>.—He (Sir William) went for the first time into his + library, but could only remain for a few moments."</p> + + <a name="Footnote_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3">[3]</a><div class="note"> + Afterwards Sir John Herschel.</div></div> + +<p>From this dangerous attack Sir William recovered, but thenceforth it was +clear to his friends that his strength gradually decreased, though not +his enthusiasm or his industry. He persevered in his life-long labours +with all his old intellectual force. What failed him was neither his +tender affections nor his mental powers; but his body refused to answer +all the demands made upon it by the resolute will,—the sword was slowly +but surely wearing out the scabbard. Under the date of April 2, 1819, we +meet with an ominous entry in his loving and faithful sister's diary:—</p> + + +<div class="blkquot"><p>"My brother left Slough, accompanied by Lady Herschel, for Bath, + he being very unwell; and the constant complaint of giddiness in + the head so much increased, that they were obliged to be four + nights on the road both going and coming. The last moments before + he stepped into the carriage were spent in walking with me + through his library and workrooms, pointing with anxious looks to + every shelf and drawer, desiring me to examine all, and to make + memorandums of them as well as I could. He was hardly able to + support himself; and his spirits were so low, that I found + difficulty in commanding my voice so far as to give him the + assurance he should find on his return that my time had not been + misspent.</p> + +<p> "When I was left alone, I found that I had no easy task to + perform, for there were packets of writings to be examined which + had not been looked at for the last forty years. But I did not + pass a single day without working in the library as long as I + could read a letter without candlelight, and taking with me + papers to copy, which employed me for best part of the night; and + thus I was enabled to give my brother a clear account of what had + been done at his return. But (May 1) he returned home much worse + than he went, and for several days hardly noticed my handiwork."</p></div> + +<p>To this same year of decay and decline (1819) belongs a small slip of +yellow paper, inscribed with the following lines in a tremulous and +feeble handwriting, which is jealously preserved by the illustrious +astronomer's descendants:—</p> + + +<div class="blkquot"><p>"LINA,—There is a great comet. I want you to assist me. Come to + dine, and spend the day here. If you can come soon after one + o'clock, we shall have time to prepare maps and telescopes. I saw + its situation last night,—it has a long tail.</p> + +<p> "<i>July 4, 1819</i>."</p></div> + +<p>Then follows:—</p> + + +<div class="blkquot"><p>"I keep this as a relic! Every line <i>now</i> traced by the hand of + my dear brother becomes a treasure to me.</p> + +<p> "C. HERSCHEL."</p></div> + +<p>We know of nothing more touching in literary history than this noble, +self-sacrificing, generous affection of the sister towards her eminent +brother. Such instances of absolute self-denial and all-absorbing love +elevate our opinion of human nature generally, and prove that something +of the Divine image lingers in it still.</p> + +<p>Herschel was now bordering upon the ripe old age of eighty, and it is no +wonder that, after a life of incessant study, his strength should daily +diminish. In 1822 it became painfully evident to his attached relatives +and friends that the end was not far off; and on the 25th of August he +passed away to his rest. We owe an account of his last days to his +sister, but for whose pious care, indeed, very little of his private life +would have been known, and Herschel could have been judged only from the +recorded results of his immense labours.</p> + + +<div class="blkquot"><p>"<i>May 20th</i>.—The summer proved very hot; my brother's feeble + nerves were very much affected, and there being in general much + company, added to the difficulty of choosing the most airy rooms + for his retirement.</p> + +<p> "<i>July 8th</i>.—I had a dawn of hope that my brother might regain + once more a little strength, for I have a memorandum in my + almanac of his walking with a firmer step than usual above three + or four times the distance from the dwelling-house to the + library, in order to gather and eat raspberries, in his garden, + with me. But I never saw the like again.</p> + +<p> "The latter end of July I was seized by a bilious fever, and I + could for several days only rise for a few hours to go to my + brother about the time he was used to see me. But one day I was + entirely confined to my bed, which alarmed Lady Herschel and the + family <i>on my brother's account</i>. Miss Baldwin [a niece of Lady + Herschel] called and found me in despair about my own confused + affairs, which I never had had time to bring into any order. The + next day she brought my nephew to me, who promised to fulfil all + my wishes which I should have expressed on paper; he begged me + not to exert myself, for his father's sake, of whom he believed + <i>it would be the immediate death if anything should happen to + me</i>."</p></div> + +<p>Afterwards she wrote:—</p> + + +<div class="blkquot"><p>"Of my dear nephew's advice I could not avail myself, for I knew + that at that time he had weighty concerns on his mind. And, + besides, my whole life almost has passed away in the delusion + that, next to my eldest brother, none but Dietrich was capable of + giving me advice where to leave my few relics, consisting of a + few books and my sweeper [that is, the seven-foot telescope with + which she was accustomed to sweep the heavens for comets]. And + for the last twenty years I kept to the resolution of never + opening my lips to my dear brother William about worldly + concerns, let me be ever so much at a loss for knowing right from + wrong."</p></div> + +<p>Miss Herschel proceeds to note that on the afternoons of the 11th, 12th, +13th, and 14th of August, she, "as usual," spent some hours with her +brother.</p> + +<p>On the 15th she hastened to the accustomed place, where she generally +found him, with the newspaper which she was to read aloud for his +amusement. But, instead, she found assembled there several of his nearest +friends, who informed her that her aged brother had been compelled to +return to his room. She lost no time in seeking him. He was attended by +Lady Herschel and his housekeeper, who were administering everything +which was likely to keep up his failing strength.</p> + +<p>Miss Herschel observed that he was much irritated, with the irritation +natural to old age and extreme bodily feebleness, at his inability to +grant a friend's request for some token of remembrance for his father. No +sooner did he see Miss Herschel, the loving companion and fellow-worker +of so many years, than he characteristically employed her to fetch one of +his last papers, and a plate (or map) of the forty-foot telescope. "But, +for the universe," says Miss Herschel, "I could not have looked twice at +what I had snatched from the shelf; and when he faintly asked if the +breaking up of the Milky Way<a name="FNanchor_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4">[4]</a> +was in it, I said, 'Yes,' and he looked +content." I cannot help remembering this circumstance; it was the last +time I was sent to the library on such an occasion. That the anxious care +for his papers and workrooms never ended but with his life, was proved by +his frequent whispered inquiries if they were locked and the key safe; of +which I took care to assure him that they were, and the key in Lady +Herschel's hands.</p> + +<a name="Footnote_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4">[4]</a><div class="note"> +The <i>Via Lactea</i>, or "Milky Way," had long been supposed to +consist of a nebulous, vague, luminous matter, but Herschel showed that +it was really made up of stars and systems of stars.</div> + +<p>After struggling for some thirty minutes against his rapidly increasing +weakness, the great astronomer, bowed by his burden of years and labours, +was forced to retire to his bed, with little hope that he would ever rise +from it again. For ten days and nights his wife and sister watched by his +side in painful suspense, until, on the 25th of August, the end came. +Peacefully closed a life which had passed in a peace and quietness not +often vouchsafed to man.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;"> + +<p>Herschel, says a brother astronomer, will never cease to occupy an +eminent place in the small group of our contemporary men of genius, while +his name will descend to the most distant posterity. The variety and the +magnificence of his labours vie with their extent. The more they are +studied, the more they are admired. For it is with great men as it is +with great movements in the Arts and in national history,—we cannot +understand them without observing them from different points of view.</p> + +<p>What a brilliant roll of achievements is recalled to the mind by the name +of William Herschel! The discovery of Uranus, and of its satellites; of +the fifth and sixth satellites of Saturn; of the many spots at the poles +of Mars; of the rotation of Saturn's ring; of the belts of Saturn; of the +rotation of Jupiter's satellites; of the daily period of Saturn and +Venus; and of the motions of binary sidereal systems,—added to his +investigations into nebulae, the Milky Way, and double, triple, and +multiple stars;—all this we owe to his patient, his persevering, his +daring genius! He may almost be styled the Father of Modern Astronomy.</p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;"> +<a name="CHAPTER_IV"></a><h2>CHAPTER IV.</h2> +<br> + +<p><img src="images/w.png" class="firstletter" width="80" height="80" +alt="W"> +e now propose to furnish a brief sketch of the life of Sir John +Frederick William Herschel, the only son of Sir William, and not less +illustrious as a man of science.</p> + +<p>He was born at Slough, in the year 1792. Evincing considerable talents at +a very early age, he received a careful private education under Mr. +Rogers, a Scottish mathematician of distinguished merit; and afterwards +was sent to St. John's College, Cambridge, always famous as a nursery of +mathematical and scientific prodigies! Here he pursued his studies with +remarkable success, suffering no obstacles to daunt him, and wasting no +opportunities of improvement. His fellow-collegians regarded him as one +who would add to the high repute of the college, and rejoiced at the +brilliant ease with which he passed every examination. In 1813 he took +his degree of B.A., and consummated a long series of successes by +becoming "senior wrangler," and "Smith's prizeman;" these being the two +highest distinctions to which a Cambridge scholar can attain.</p> + +<p>In the same year, when he was hardly twenty-one, he published a work +entitled, "A Collection of Examples of the Application of the Calculus to +Finite Differences." To our young readers such a title will convey no +meaning; and we refer to it here only to illustrate the industry and +careful thought of the young student, which had rendered possible such a +result.</p> + +<p>Returning to Slough, he continued his studies in mathematics, chemistry, +and natural philosophy, and in various publications exhibited that +faculty of observation and analyzation, that intelligence and +scrupulousness in collecting facts, and that boldness in deducing new +inferences from them, which were characteristic of his illustrious +father. The subjects he took up were so abstruse, that we could not hope +to make our readers understand what he accomplished, or how far he +excelled his predecessors in his grasp and comprehension of them. For +instance: if we tell them that in 1820 he wrote a paper "On the Theory +and Summation of Series;" communicated to the Cambridge Philosophical +Society his discovery that the two kinds of rotatory polarization in rock +crystal were related to the plagihedral faces of that mineral; and issued +an able treatise "On Certain Remarkable Instances of Deviation from +Newton's Tints in the Polarized Tints of Uniaxal Crystals,"—they will +gain no very distinct idea of the significance or value of these +researches. Again: it will not be very intelligible to them to be +informed that, in 1822, he communicated to the Royal Society of Edinburgh +a paper "On the Absorption of Light by Coloured Media", in which he +enunciated a new method of measuring the dispersion of transparent bodies +by stopping the green, yellow, and most refrangible red rays, and thus +rendering visible the rays situated rigorously at the end of the +spectrum. But they will understand that these results could have been +attained only by the most assiduous industry and the most unflinching +perseverance. And it is on account of this industry and this perseverance +that we recommend Herschel as an example to our readers. They may not +make the same progress in science, or achieve the same reputation. It is +not necessary they should. Humble work is not less honourable, if it be +done conscientiously, and with a sincere desire to do the best that it is +in our power to do.</p> + +<p>An interesting feature in the younger Herschel's character was his loving +care for his father's fame. He was ever most anxious that the full +measure of his services to science should be recognized and appreciated. +Thus, in 1823, he writes to his aunt:—</p> + + +<div class="blkquot"><p>"I have been long threatening to send you a long letter, but have + always been prevented by circumstances and want of leisure from + executing my intention. The truth is, I have been so much + occupied with astronomy of late, that I have had little time for + anything else—the reduction of those double stars, and the + necessity it has put me under of looking over the journals, + reviews, &c, for information on what has already been done, and + in many cases of re-casting up my father's measures, swallows up + a great deal of time and labour. But I have the satisfaction of + being able to state that our results in most instances confirm + and establish my father's views in a remarkable manner. These + inquiries have taken me off the republication of his printed + papers for the present.</p> + +<p> "I think I shall be adding more to his fame by pursuing and + verifying his observations than by reprinting them. But I have by + no means abandoned the idea. Meanwhile, I am not sorry to hear + they are about to be translated into German.... I hope this + season to commence a series of observations with the twenty-foot + reflector, which is now in fine order. The forty-foot is no + longer capable of being used, but I shall suffer it to stand as a + monument."</p></div> + +<hr style="width: 45%;"> + +<p>In reference to this famous telescope, we may digress to state that its +remains have been carefully preserved.</p> + +<p>The metal tube of the instrument, carrying at one end the recently +cleaned mirror of four feet ten inches in diameter, has been placed +horizontally in the meridian line, on solid piles of masonry, in the +midst of the circle where the apparatus used in manoeuvring it was +formerly placed. On the 1st of January 1840, Sir John Herschel, his wife, +their seven children, and some old family servants, assembled at Slough. +Exactly at noon the party walked several times in procession round the +instrument; they then entered the gigantic tube, seated themselves on +benches previously prepared, and chanted a requiem with English words +composed by Sir John Herschel himself. Then issuing from the tube, they +ranged themselves around it, while its opening was hermetically sealed.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;"> + +<p>In March 1821, the younger Herschel, in conjunction with Sir James South, +undertook a series of observations on the distances and positions of +three hundred and eighty double and triple stars, by means of two +splendid achromatic telescopes of five and seven focal length. These were +continued during 1822 and 1823, and have proved of great service to +astronomers.</p> + +<p>Having pursued with much zeal the study of optics, and experimented +largely and carefully on the double refraction and polarization of light, +he compiled a treatise on the subject for the "Encyclopaedia +Metropolitana" It has been translated into French by M. Quetelet; and +both foreign and English men of science have been accustomed to regard it +as indicating a new point of departure in the important branch of science +to which it is devoted.</p> + +<p>Astronomy, however, became for him, as for his father, the great pursuit +of his laborious life; and having constructed telescopes of singular +magnitude and power, he entered upon a study of the Sidereal World. In +1825 he commenced a careful re-examination of the numerous nebulae and +starry clusters which had been discovered by his father, and described in +the "Philosophical Transactions," fixing their positions and +investigating their aspects. He devoted eight years to this <i>magnum +opus</i>, completing it in 1832. The catalogue which he then contributed to +the "Philosophical Transactions" includes 2306 nebulae and star-clusters, +of which 525 were discovered by himself. While engaged in this difficult +task, Herschel discovered between three and four thousand double stars, +which he described in the Memoirs of the Astronomical Society. His +observations were made with an excellent Newtonian telescope, twenty feet +in focal length, and eighteen and a half inches in aperture; and having +obtained, to use his own expression, "a sufficient mastery over the +instrument," the idea occurred to him of making it available for a survey +of the southern heavens. Accordingly, he left England on the 13th of +November 1833, and arrived at Cape Town on the 16th of January 1834. Five +days later he wrote to his aunt as follows:—</p> + + +<div class="blkquot"><p>"Here we are safely lauded and comfortably housed at the far end + of Africa; and having secured the landing and final storage of + all the telescopes and other matters, as far as I can see, + without the slightest injury, I lose no time in reporting to you + our good success <i>so far</i>. M——<a name="FNanchor_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5">[5]</a> + and the children are, thank + God, quite well; though, for fear you should think her too good a + sailor, I ought to add that she continued sea-sick, at intervals, + during the whole passage. We were nine weeks and two days at sea, + during which period we experienced only one day of contrary wind. + We had a brisk breeze 'right aft' all the way from the Bay of + Biscay (which we never entered) to the 'calm latitudes;' that is + to say, to the space about five or six degrees broad near the + equator, where the trade-winds cease, and where it is no unusual + thing for a ship to lie becalmed for a month or six weeks, frying + under a vertical sun. Such, however, was not our fate. We were + detained only three or four days by the calms usual in that zone, + but never <i>quite</i> still, or driven out of our course; and + immediately on crossing 'the line' got a good breeze (the + south-east trade-wind), which carried us round Trinidad; then + exchanged it for a north-west wind, which, with the exception of + one day's squall from the south-east, carried us straight into + Table Bay. On the night of the 14th we were told to prepare to + see the Table Mountain. Next morning (<i>N.B.</i>, we had not seen + land before since leaving England), at dawn, the welcome word + land' was heard; and there stood this magnificent hill, with all + its attendant mountain-range down to the farthest point of South + Africa, full in view, with a clear blue ghost-like outline; and + that night we cast anchor within the Bay. Next morning early we + landed, under escort of Dr. Stewart, M——'s brother, and you may + imagine the meeting. We took up our quarters at a most + comfortable lodging-house (Miss Robe's), and I proceeded, without + loss of time, to unship the instruments. This was no trifling + operation, as they filled (with the rest of our luggage) fifteen + large boats; and, owing to the difficulty of getting them up from + the hold of the ship, required several days to complete the + landing. During the whole time (and indeed up to this moment) not + a single south-east gale, the summer torment of this harbour, has + occurred. This is a thing almost unheard of here, and has indeed + been most fortunate, since otherwise it is not at all unlikely + that some of the boats, laden as they were to the water's edge, + might have been lost, and the whole business crippled.</p> + + <p> "For the last two or three days we have been looking at houses, + and have all but agreed for one—a most beautiful place within + four or five miles out of town, called 'The Grove.' In point of + situation it is a perfect paradise, in rich and magnificent + mountain-scenery, and sheltered from all winds, even the fierce + south-easter, by thick surrounding woods. I must reserve for my + next all description of the gorgeous display of flowers which + adorns this splendid country, as well as of the astonishing + brilliancy of the constellations, which the calm, clear nights + show off to great advantage."</p> + + <a name="Footnote_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5">[5]</a><div class="note"> + Herschel married a Miss Stewart in February 1826.</div> + </div> + +<p>Mr. Herschel settled at Feldhausen, about 142 feet above the sea, and in +long. 22° 46' 9".11 E., and lat. 33° 58' 26".59 S. Here he entered upon +his great series of observations of the southern heavens, which he +continued with unwearied ardour for a period of four years. The results +were afterwards published, at the cost of the Duke of Northumberland, in +a work entitled "Results of Astronomical Observations made in +1834-35-36-37-38, at the Cape of Good Hope." In this superb work, which +placed its author on an equality with the most brilliant and illustrious +astronomers, he defined and described 4015 of the nebulae and star-groups +in the southern hemisphere, and 2995 of the double stars; besides +entering into a variety of valuable particulars relative to Halley's +comet, the solar spots, the satellites of Saturn, and the measurement of +the apparent magnitude of stars.</p> + +<p>On his return to England (in 1838) the astronomer received a noble +welcome. Honours poured in upon him. The Gold Medal of the Astronomical +Society was conferred upon him for a second time. William IV. had +previously distinguished him with the Hanoverian order of K.H.; but, on +the coronation of Queen Victoria, he received a baronetcy; and in 1839 +the University of Oxford made him a D.C.L.</p> + +<p>Continuing his career of scientific industry, he issued, in 1849, his +important and very valuable treatise entitled "Outlines of Astronomy." In +1845, he was appointed President of the British Association; and in 1848, +of the Royal Astronomical Society. To his other honours was added that of +Chevalier of the Prussian order, "Pour la Mérite," founded by Frederick +the Great, and bestowed at all times with a discrimination which renders +it a deeply-coveted distinction. Of the academies and leading scientific +institutions of the Continent and the United States, he was also an +honorary or corresponding member.</p> + +<p>Besides his works on meteorology and physical geography, he published, in +1867, an admirable little volume—"Familiar Lectures on Scientific +Subjects." In this he showed that he could write with as much ease and +intelligibility for the general public as for the higher order of +scientific inquirers. His style in this valuable manual of information +has a charm of its own, and entices the reader into the consideration of +subjects apparently abstruse. He is earned on from page to page without +any great mental effort, and finds himself rapidly mastering difficulties +which he had been accustomed to regard as insuperable.</p> + +<p>Let us take the first lecture on "Volcanoes and Earthquakes," and obtain +a glimpse of Herschel's mode of treatment. He refers to the greater and +more permanent agencies which affect the configuration of our planet. +Everywhere, he says, and along every coast-line, we see the sea warring +against the land, and overcoming it; wearing it and eating it down, and +battering it to pieces; grinding those pieces to powder; carrying that +powder away, and spreading it out over its own bottom, by the continued +effect of the tides and currents. What a scene of continual activity is +presented by the chalk-cliffs of Old England! How they are worn, and +broken up, and fantastically sculptured by the influence of winds and +waters! Precipices cut down to the sea-beach, constantly hammered by the +waves, and constantly crumbling; the beach itself made of the flints +outstanding after the softer chalk has been ground down and washed away; +themselves grinding one another under the same ceaseless +discipline—first rounded into pebbles, then worn into sand, and then +carried further and further down the slope, to be replaced by fresh ones +from the same source. Here the likeness of an old Gothic cathedral, with +lofty arch, and shapely pinnacle; there the similitude of a mass of +medieval fortifications, with crumbling battlements and shattered towers!</p> + +<p>The same thing, the same waste and wear, is going on everywhere, round +every coast. The rivers contribute their share to the great work of +change. Look at the sand-banks at the mouth of the Thames. What are they, +says Sir John Herschel, but the materials of our island carried out to +sea by the stream? The Ganges carries away from the soil of India, and +delivers into the sea, twice as much solid substance weekly as is +contained in the Great Pyramid of Egypt. The Irawaddy sweeps off from +Burmah sixty-two cubic feet of earth in every second of time, on an +average Sometimes vast amount of earthy materials is transferred from one +locality to another by river agency, as is the case in the deltas of the +Nile and the Mississippi.</p> + +<p>These changes operate silently, continuously, and unperceived by the +ordinary observer; but Nature does not limit herself always and +everywhere to such peaceful agencies. At times, and in certain places, +she acts with startling abruptness and extraordinary violence. Let the +volcano and the earthquake attest the immensity of her power. Let the +earthquake tell how, within the memory of man, the whole coast-line of +Chili, for 100 miles about Valparaiso, with the mighty chain of the +Andes, was hoisted at one blow, and in a single night (November 19, +1822), from two to seven feet above its former level, leaving the beach +below the old low-water mark high and dry. One of the Andean peaks +upheaved on this occasion was the colossal mass of Aconcagua, which +overlooks Valparaiso, and measures nearly 24,000 feet in height. On the +same occasion, at least 10,000 square miles of country were estimated as +having been upheaved; and the upheaval was not confined to the land, but +extended far away to sea,—which was proved by the soundings off +Valparaiso and along the coast having been found considerably shallower +than they were before the shock.</p> + +<p>In the year 1819, in an earthquake in India, in the district of Cutch, +bordering on the Indus, a tract of country more than fifty miles long and +sixteen miles broad was suddenly raised <i>ten feet</i> above its former +level. The raised portion still stands up above the unraised, like a long +perpendicular rampart, known by the name of Ullah Bund, or God's Wall.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;"> + +<p>With a similar fertility of illustration, Herschel sets before us the +phenomena of volcanic eruptions and their extraordinary effects.</p> + +<p>In a district of Mexico, between the two streams of the Cintimba and the +San Pedro, on the 28th of September 1789, a whole tract of ground, from +three to four miles in extent, surged up like a foam-bubble, or the swell +of a wave, to a height of upwards of 500 feet. Flames, lurid and +crackling, broke forth over a surface of more than half a square league; +and the earth, as if softened by heat, was seen to rise and sink like the +rolling tide. Vast chasms opened in the earth, into which the two rivers +poured their waters headlong; reappearing afterwards at no great distance +from a cluster of <i>hornitos</i>, or small volcanic cones, which sprang out +of the mighty mud-torrent that gradually covered the entire plain. +Wonderful and awful as were these phenomena, they were surpassed by the +sudden opening of a chasm which vomited forth fire, and red-hot stones +and ashes, until they accumulated in a range of six large mountain +masses,—one of which, now known as the volcano of Jorullo, attains an +altitude of 1690 feet above the ancient level.</p> + +<p>In like manner Sir John proceeds to describe an eruption of Mount +Tomboro, in the island of Sumbawa, the influence of which was felt to a +distance of 1000 miles from its centre, in strange tremulous motions of +the earth, and in the clash and clang of loud explosions. He says that he +had seen it computed that the quantity of ashes and lava ejected in the +course of this tremendous eruption would have formed three mountains of +the size of Mont Blanc.</p> + +<p>As to the nature of the forces which operate to produce this astounding +result, Herschel puts forward a theory of singular simplicity and +directness.</p> + +<p>"The origin," he says, "of such an enormous power thus occasionally +exerting itself, will no doubt seem very marvellous—little short, +indeed, of miraculous intervention; but the mystery, after all, is not +quite so great as at first it seems. We are permitted to look a little +way into these great secrets of Nature; not far enough, indeed, to clear +up every difficulty, but quite enough to penetrate us with admiration of +that wonderful system of counterbalances and compensations, that +adjustment of causes and consequences, by which, throughout all nature, +evils are made to work their own cure, life to spring out of death, and +renovation to tread in the steps and efface the vestiges of decay." And +he finds the clew to the secret, the key of the whole matter, in the +earth's vast central heat. This it is which produces the convulsions that +change the terrestrial configuration, and fill the minds of men with fear +and awe. Conceive of "a sea of fire, on which we are all floating, land +and sea,"—a boiling, seething, incandescent reservoir in the centre of +our planet; and the solution of the problem will seem to you not +difficult. Such a sea would necessarily roll its liquid matter to and +fro; and the removal of ever so small a portion from one point to another +on the earth's surface would tend to disturb the equilibrium of the +floating mass; just as, when a ship is launched into the river, the water +it displaces is carried to the opposite bank with greater or less +violence, according to the amount of displacement.</p> + +<p>It is impossible, adds Herschel, but that this increase of pressure in +some places and relief in others must be very unequal in their bearings. +So that at some point or another our planet's floating crust must be +brought into a state of strain, and if there be a weak or a soft part a +crack will at last take place. This is exactly what happened in the +earthquake which originated the Allah Bund, or God's Wall, in Cutch.</p> + +<p>Volcanic eruptions are easily explicable on this principle,—the volcano +being simply a vent for the passage of heated and molten matter, which +the elevating pressure of the liquid below tends to eject. It is a +well-known fact that volcanoes and earthquake-centres are nearly all +situated on the borders or in the immediate neighbourhood of seas and +oceans; and the reason would seem to be, that at such positions the +accumulation of transported matter would necessarily attain its maximum, +to whatever cause it might be due. Then again, as Herschel points out, +the eruption of scorite and lava from the mouths of volcanoes, the result +of the upward movement of the fiery liquid below, compensates in some +degree for the downward transfer of material by detritus and alluvial +deposits. Hence it may be inferred that, on the whole, the quantity of +solid matter above the ocean-level probably remains nearly always at the +same amount.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;"> + +<p>It is with this ease and lucidity that Sir John deals with scientific +subjects of the greatest importance,—his genius resembling the +elephant's trunk, which can balance a straw or rend an oak. In private +life he displayed a simplicity of manner in harmony with the general +unassumingness of his character. In his books as in society, in society +as in his books, he was the same,—that is, free from all ostentation, +free from self-pride, free from the arrogance of superior knowledge, and +as ready to unbend himself to a child as to discourse with men of +science.</p> + +<p>His career was a tranquil and a prosperous one, and, apart from the +record of his discoveries and his honours, presents nothing of interest. +He was peculiarly happy in his domestic relations; and in the wide circle +of friends attracted by the mingled charm of his intellect and manners. A +devout Christian, a man of generosity and culture, a philosopher of great +breadth of view and infinite patience of research,—we can place few +better or brighter examples before our English youth than Sir John +Herschel.</p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;"> +<a name="CHAPTER_V"></a><h2>CHAPTER V.</h2> +<br> + +<p><img src="images/w.png" class="firstletter" width="80" height="80" +alt="W">e could not conclude our notice of this remarkable family without some +further allusion to its not least remarkable member—Caroline Lucretia +Herschel.</p> + +<p>To her varied accomplishments, her astronomical researches, and, above +all, to her unwearied and unselfish devotion to her brother William, we +have already made frequent allusion. She seemed to live for him and in +him, to live for his fame and prosperity; and she poured out at his feet +the treasures of an inexhaustible affection. To assist him in his +labours, at whatever sacrifice, was her sole object in life; and she was +certainly more careful for his reputation than was he himself. During his +declining years she was his principal stay and support, and she was in +daily attendance to note down or to calculate the results of his +observations. His death was a severe blow to her; but, with +characteristic courage, she retired to Hanover, gave herself up to +scientific pursuits, and in comparative solitude spent her later years.</p> + +<p>Her biographer writes:—</p> + +<div class="blkquot"><p>"When all was over, her only desire seems to have been to hurry + away. Hardly was her brother laid in his grave than she collected + the few things she cared to keep, and left for ever the country + where she had spent fifty years of her life, living and toiling + for him and him only. 'If I should leave off making memorandums + of such events as affect or are interesting to me, I should feel + like what I am,—namely, a person that has nothing more to do in + this world.' Mournful words! doubly mournful, when we know that + the writer had nearly half an ordinary lifetime still between her + and that grave which she made haste to prepare, in the hope that + her course was nearly run. Who can think of her, at the age of + seventy-two, heart-broken and desolate, going back to the home of + her youth in the fond expectation of finding consolation, without + a pang of sympathetic pity? She found everything changed."</p></div> + +<p><i>That</i>, indeed, is to all of us the greatest grief, when we return to the +home of our youth. It is as if, during the years of our absence, we had +expected everything to stand as still as in the palace of the Sleeping +Beauty while the charm rested upon it. We are fain to see the trees in +their young greenness as when they sheltered our childhood, to find the +hedgerows blooming with the same violets, to hear the mill-stream +murmuring with the same music. Time furrows our brows with wrinkles, and +streaks our hair with silver; our hearts grow colder; our minds lose +their elasticity and freshness; our friends pass away from our side. But +still we think to ourselves that in the old scenes all things are as they +were. We say to ourselves: The bird sings as of old in the elm-trees at +the garden-foot; the rose-bush blossoms as of old against our favourite +window.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<p>"The varying year with blade and sheaf</p> +<p class="i2">Clothes and re-clothes the happy plains;</p> +<p>Here rests the sap within the leaf,</p> +<p class="i2">Here stays the blood along the veins.</p> +<p>Faint shadows, vapours lightly curled,</p> +<p class="i2">Faint murmurs from the meadows come,</p> +<p>Like hints and echoes of the world</p> +<p class="i2">To spirits folded in the womb."</p> +</div></div> + +<hr style="width: 45%;"> + +<p>But we regain the old familiar places, and, alas! we find that change has +been as busy with them as with us. The signs of decay are upon the trees; +the brook has ceased to flow; the rose-bush has withered to the ground. +There are trees as green and streams as musical and flowers as sweet as +in our youth; but they are not the streams or flowers or trees which +delighted us, and to us they can never be as dear. But a worse alteration +has taken place than any visible in the face of nature. We discover that +we have lost the old habits, the old capacity of enjoyment; and we soon +discover that it was the sympathies, the hopes, the aspirations of youth +which, after all, lent to these early scenes their rare and irrecoverable +attraction.</p> + +<p>And thus it was that Miss Herschel found everything changed. A life of +fifty years spent in a certain routine and upon certain objects, had +unfitted her to tread in the old paths. It soon became clear to her that +all her ideas and feelings had been shaped and influenced in a totally +different path. More bitter still, we are told, she came to know that in +her great sorrow and inextinguishable love she was all alone. And +bitterest of all was the feeling that, in losing her brother she had lost +the glory of her life, the source of her intellectual enjoyment. "You +don't know," she wrote to a friend, "the blank of life after having +lived within the radiance of genius." Yet to live in this blankness, and +to do the best she could with it, became the work of Caroline Lucretia +Herschel at the age of threescore years and ten,—an age when most of us +have already put off our cares and anxieties, but when she began to enter +on a new life, with new habits, new duties, and new associations.</p> + +<p>Her interest in astronomical pursuits never slackened, and she watched +with eagerness the labours and successes of her nephew. The respect paid +to her in society as a "woman of science" was not unwelcome, though she +affected to make light of it. "You must give me leave," she wrote to Sir +John, "to send you any publications you can think of, without mentioning +anything about paying for them. For it is necessary I should every now +and then lay out a little of my spare cash in that, for the sake of +supporting the reputation of being a learned lady; (there is for you!) +for I am not only looked at for such a one, but even stared at here in +Hanover!" It was with unaffected modesty she deprecated the honorary +membership of the Irish Academy, conferred on one who, she said, had not +for many years discovered even a comet; yet she was by no means +insensible to the distinction. Every man of scientific eminence who +visited Hanover visited this aged lady; and her presence in the theatre, +even in her latest years, was a constant source of attraction. Such was +the simple frugality of her habits, that she experienced an actual +difficulty in disposing of her income. She affirmed that the largest sum +she could spend upon herself was £50 a year; and the annual pension of +£100, left by her brother, she refused, or else devoted the quarterly or +half-yearly payment to the purchase of some handsome present for her +nephew or niece.</p> + +<p>Such was Caroline Lucretia Herschel; and as such she was a remarkable +proof that the rarest womanly gifts of affectionate forethought and +loving devotion may exist in combination with intellectual strength and +scientific enthusiasm.</p> + +<p>Of the force, keenness, and permanency of her sisterly love, an +illustration of a pathetic character occurs in a letter which she +addressed to her nephew, February 27, 1823:—</p> + + +<div class="blkquot"><p>"I am grown much thinner than I was six months ago: when I look + at my hands, they put me so in mind of what your dear father's + were, when I saw them tremble under my eyes, as we latterly + played at backgammon together."</p></div> + +<p>It has long been the reproach of England that she treats, or rather that +her Government treats, her men of science, her artists, and her +litterateurs with a disgraceful parsimony. It would appear from the +following letter that Sir William Herschel was inadequately rewarded, and +that his sister felt this keenly:—</p> + + +<div class="blkquot"><p>"There can be no harm," she says, "in telling my own dear nephew + that I never felt satisfied with the support your father received + towards his undertakings, and far less with the ungracious manner + in which it was granted. For the last sum came with a message + that more must never be asked for. (Oh! how degraded I felt, even + for myself, whenever I thought of it!) And after all it came too + late, and was not sufficient; for if expenses had been out of + question, there would not have been so much time, and labour, and + expense, for twenty-four men were at times by turns, day and + night, at work, wasted on the first mirror, which had come out + too light in the casting (Alex more than once would have + destroyed it secretly, if I had not persuaded him against it); + and without two mirrors, you know, such an instrument cannot be + always ready for observing.</p> + +<p> "But what grieved me most was that to the last your poor father + was struggling above his strength against difficulties which he + well knew might have been removed if it had not been attended + with too much expense. The last time the mirror was obliged to be + taken from the polisher on account of some obstacle, I heard him + say (in his usual manner of thinking aloud on such occasions), + 'It is impossible to make the machine act as required without a + room three times as large as this.'</p> + +<p> "I must say a few words of apology for the good King (George + III.), and ascribe the close bargains which were made between him + and my brother to the <i>shabby, mean-spirited advisers</i> who were + undoubtedly consulted on such occasions; but they are dead and + gone, and no more of them."</p></div> + +<p>In February 1828, the great services which this high-souled woman had +rendered to astronomical science were fitly rewarded by the presentation +to her of the Royal Astronomical Society's gold medal,—the greatest +honour which an astronomer can receive.</p> + +<p>Mr. South, himself an astronomer of deserved repute, was charged with the +duty of presenting the medal; and in the course of his address he dwelt +on the labours of her brother, and the share she had had in them.</p> + +<p>Sir William's first catalogue of new nebulae and clusters of stars, he +said, amounting in number to one thousand, was compiled with observations +made from a twenty-foot reflector in the years 1783, 1784, and 1785. By +the same instrument he was enabled to discover the positions of a second +thousand of these distant worlds in 1785 to 1788; while the places of +five hundred others were registered on the celestial map between 1788 and +1802. What, we may ask, were the discoveries of Columbus compared with +these? He revealed to Europe the existence of only a single continent; +Herschel unfolded to man the mysteries of the depths of the heavens.</p> + +<p>But, continued Mr. South, when we have thus enumerated the results +obtained in the course of "sweeps" with this instrument, and taken into +consideration the extent and variety of the other observations which were +at the same time in progress, a most important part yet remains untold. +Who participated in his toils? Who braved with him all the experiences of +inclement weather? Who shared, and consoled him in, his privations? A +woman. And who was she? His sister. Miss Herschel it was who by night +acted as his amanuensis; she it was whose pen conveyed to paper his +observations as they issued from his lips; she it was who noted the +various aspects and phenomena of the objects observed; she it was who, +after spending the still night beside the wonder-exhibiting instrument, +carried the rough, blurred manuscripts to her cottage at daybreak, and by +the morning produced a clean copy and register of the night's +achievements; she it was who planned the labour of each succeeding night; +she it was who reduced into exact form every calculation; she it was who +arranged the whole in systematic order; and she it was who largely +assisted her illustrious brother to obtain his imperishable renown.</p> + +<p>Miss Herschel's claims to the gratitude of men of science, and to the +admiration of all who can appreciate the beauty of self-sacrifice, did +not end here. She was herself an astronomer, and an original observer. At +times her brother was enabled to dispense with her attendance. You would +suppose that such leisure nights she would gladly give up to rest. Not +she. Her brother might, at some unforeseen moment, require her aid, and +consequently she preferred to be close at hand. A seven-foot telescope +planted on the lawn helped to while away the hours of waiting; and it was +to the occupation of these hours that science owed the discovery of the +comet of 1786, of the comet of 1788, of the comet of 1791, of the comet +of 1793, and of that of 1795, now connected with the name of Encke. Many, +also, of the nebulae contained in Sir William Herschel's catalogues were +detected by her keen and accurate gaze during these nights of lonely +observation. Indeed, as South remarked, when looking at the joint-labours +of these two enthusiasts, we scarcely know whether the warmer praise +should be given to the intellectual might of the brother or the ardent +industry of the sister.</p> + +<p>In 1797, continued her eulogist, she presented to the Royal Society a +catalogue of 560 stars, taken from Flamsteed's observations, the exact +positions of which had not been previously defined.</p> + +<p>Soon after the death of him to whom she had given up so much of her life, +her best energies, and her ripest faculties, she returned to +Hanover,—unwilling, however, to relinquish the astronomical researches +which had been so pure and permanent a source of pleasure. She undertook +and completed the laborious "reduction" or registration of the places of +2500 nebulae, down to the 1st of January 1800; thus presenting in one +view the results of all the observations Sir William Herschel had made +upon those wonderful bodies, and triumphantly bringing to a close half a +century of scientific toil.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;"> + +<p>We return to Miss Herschel's biography, in order to gather up a few +particulars of her last years, and to exhibit some of the tenderer +features of her character.</p> + +<p>On the occasion of her nephew's marriage, in 1829, she wrote to him in +the following terms:—</p> + + +<div class="blkquot"><p>"MY DEAREST NEPHEW,—I have spent four days in vain endeavours to + gain composure enough to give you an idea of the joyful sensation + your letter of February 5th has caused me. But I can at this + present moment find no words which would better express my + happiness than those which escaped in exclamation from my lips, + according to Simeon (see St. Luke ii. 29), 'Lord, now lettest + thou thy servant depart in peace.'</p> + +<p> "I have now some hopes of passing the few remainder of my days in + as much comfort as the separation from the land where I spent the + greatest portion of my life, and from all those which are most + dear to me, can admit. For, from the description given me of the + dear young lady of your choice, I am confident my dear nephew's + future happiness is now established.</p> + +<p> "I beg you will give my love to your dear lady, and best regards + to all your new connections where they are due, in the best terms + you can think of, for I am at present too unwell for writing all + I could wish to say.</p> + +<p> "I have suffered much during this severe winter, and have not + been able to leave my habitation above three or four times for + the last three months; and feel, moreover, much fatigued by + sitting eight times within the last ten days to Professor + Tiedemann for having my picture taken—which he did at my + apartment, and now he has taken it home to finish. I must + conclude, for I wish to say a few words to your dear mother. It + is now between eleven and twelve, and perhaps you are at this + very moment receiving the blessing of Dr. Jennings; in which I + most fervently join by saying, 'God bless you both!'"</p></div> + +<p>Though eighty-three years old, Miss Herschel retained all her old powers +of memory; and in a letter to her new niece, Lady Herschel, written in +1833, she narrated some amusing reminiscences of her nephew's early +childhood.</p> + +<p>He was only in his sixth year, she said, when she was separated for a +while from the family circle. But this did not hinder "John" and her from +remaining the most affectionate friends, and many a half or whole +holiday he spent with her, devoting it to chemical experiments, in which +all kinds of boxes, tops of tea-canisters, pepper-cruets, tea-cups, and +the like, served for the necessary vessels, and the sand-tub furnished +the matter to be analysed. Miss Herschel's task was to prevent the +introduction of water, which would have produced havoc on her carpet. For +his first notion of building, "John" was indebted to the affection of his +aunt, who, on his second or third birthday, lifted him in the trenches to +lay the south corner-stone of the building which was added to Sir +William's original house at Slough. On further reflection, she felt +convinced that this incident occurred in the second year of her nephew's +age, for she remembered being obliged to use "a deal of coaxing" to make +him part with the money he was to lay on the comer-stone.</p> + +<p>About the same time, when she was sitting near him one day, listening to +his prattle, her attention was drawn to his repeated and formidable +hammering. On investigating into its object, she found that it was the +continuation of the labour of many days, during which he had undermined +the ground about the corner of the house, had entirely removed the +corner-stone, and was zealously toiling to overthrow the next! His aunt +gave the alarm, and old John Wiltshire, a favourite carpenter, ran to the +spot, exclaiming, "Heaven bless the boy! if he is not going to pull the +house down!"</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;"> + +<p>In 1834, Sir John, as already stated, made a voyage to the Cape of Good +Hope, in order to undertake a series of observations of the southern +heavens. His aunt had now reached the ripe old age of eighty-four, an age +attained by few,—and when attained, bringing with it in almost every +case a painful diminution of physical energy, and a corresponding decline +in mental force. But such was not the case with this remarkable woman. +She still continued an active correspondence with her nephew, and +manifested the liveliest interest in all his movements. It is astonishing +to mark the vivacity and clearness of the letters she wrote at this +advanced period of her life. Thus, on the 1st of May 1834, she writes to +Sir John:—</p> + + +<div class="blkquot"><p>"Both yourself and my dear niece urged me to write often, and to + write always twice; but, alas! I could not overcome the + reluctance I felt of [at] telling you that it is over with me for + getting up at eight or nine o'clock, dressing myself, eating my + dinner alone without an appetite, falling asleep over a novel (I + am obliged to lay down to recover the fatigue of the morning's + exertions), awaking with nothing but the prospect of the trouble + of getting into bed, where very seldom I get above two hours' + sleep. It is enough to make a parson swear! To this I must add, I + found full employment for the few moments, when I could rouse + myself from a melancholy lethargy, to spend in looking over my + store of astronomical and other memorandums of upwards of fifty + years' collecting."</p></div> + +<p>Later in the year she writes:—</p> + + +<div class="blkquot"><p>"I know not how to thank you sufficiently for the cheering + account you give of the climate agreeing so well with you and all + who are so dear to me, and that you find all about you so + agreeable and comfortable;... so that I have nothing left to wish + for but a continuation of the same, and that I may only live to + see the handwriting of your dear Caroline, though I have my + doubts about lasting till then, for the thermometer standing 80° + and 90° for upwards of two mouths, day and night, in nay rooms + (to which I am mostly confined), has made great havoc in my + brittle constitution. I beg you will look to it that she learns + to make her figures as you find them in your father's MSS., such + as he taught me to make. The daughter of a mathematician must + write plain figures.</p> + +<p> "My little grand-nephew making alliance with your workmen shows + that he is taking after his papa. I see you now in idea, running + about in petticoats among your father's carpenters, working with + little tools of your own; and John Wiltshire (one of Pitt's men, + whom you may perhaps remember) crying out, 'Dang the boy, if he + can't drive in a nail as well as I can!'</p> + +<p> "I thank you for the astronomical portion of your letter, and for + your promise of future accounts of uncommon objects. It is not + <i>clusters of stars</i> I want you to discover in the body of the + Scorpion [the astronomical sign, so called], or thereabout, for + that does not answer my expectation, remembering having once + heard your father, after a long, awful silence, exclaim, 'Hier + ist wahrhaftig ein loch ein Himmel!' [Here, indeed, is a great + gap in Heaven!], and, as I said before, stopping afterwards at + the same spot, but leaving it unsatisfied."</p></div> + +<p>These extracts may seem trivial to some of our readers, but they are not +so, rightly considered. They illustrate the wonderful mental vivacity of +their venerable writer, and in this respect are useful; but still more +useful in showing how cheerfully she bore the burden of her years, and +with what intellectual serenity she looked forward to her end.</p> + +<p>We own that the lives of the Herschels are what the world would call +uneventful. The discovery of a new planet, or of the orbit of a star, +seems less romantic to the vulgar taste than the slaughter of ten +thousand men on a field of battle. It will seem to the unthinking that +the victorious general or the daring seaman, the leader of a forlorn +hope, or the captain who goes down with his sinking ship, affords an +example worthier of imitation than the patient, watchful, enthusiastic +astronomer or his devoted sister. <i>His</i>, they will say, was a noble life. +Be it so; but every life is noble which is spent in the path of duty. Do +what comes to your hand to do with all honesty and completeness, and you +will make <i>your</i> life noble. Subdue your passions, master your evil +thoughts, observe the laws of temperance and purity, be truthful, be +firm, be honest, and keep ever before you the law of Christ as the law of +your daily work, and you will make <i>your</i> life noble. We cannot all be +great commanders or daring captains, we cannot all be distinguished men +of science; but we can all be righteously-living men, endeavouring to +raise others by our example, and it is a higher aim to live purely than +to live successfully. We cannot all command the success, just as we do +not all enjoy the intellectual powers, of a Herschel; but we can emulate +the industry and perseverance of the astronomer, we can copy the devoted +affection and self-denial of his sister. The sorriest mistake of which +men can be guilty,—yet it is a mistake which has clouded many lives,—is +to suppose that duty is less imperative in its claims on the humble and +unknown than on men raised or born to eminent position. Let it be +understood and remembered that each one of us can rise to a standard of +true heroism, by cultivating the graces of the Christian character, and +doing the work which God has appointed.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;"> + +<p>Sir John Herschel returned to England in 1838, and in July of the same +year he and his little son paid a visit to Miss Herschel. It is +characteristic that her intense anxiety as to the proper treatment of her +little grand-nephew—his sleep, his food, his playthings—greatly +disturbed her peace. "I rather suffered him," she writes, "to hunger, +than would let him eat anything hurtful; indeed, I would not let him eat +anything at all unless his papa was present." Her biographer remarks, +that great as was her joy to see once more almost the only living being +upon whom she poured some of that wealth of affection with which her +heart never ceased to overflow, yet it was on the disappointments and +shortcomings of those few days, those precious days, that she chiefly +dwelt; and the abrupt termination of her nephew's visit filled her with +the deepest sorrow. With the generous, but, as it proved, mistaken +intention of sparing her feelings, her nephew left without informing her +beforehand of the exact time of his departure, simply bidding her +good-night prior to his return to his inn. Great was her distress when +she found that he and his son had quitted Hanover at four o'clock on the +following morning.</p> + +<p>Her introduction to her grand-nephew, as described by his father, Sir +John, was exceedingly quaint:—</p> + +<div class="blkquot"><p>"Now, let me tell you how things fell out. Dr. Groskopff took + Willie with him to Aunty, but without saying who he was. Says + she, 'What little boy is that?' Says he, 'The son of a friend of + mine. Ask him his name.' However, Willie would not tell his name. + 'Where do you come from, little fellow?' 'From the Cape of Good + Hope,' says Willie. 'What is that he says?' 'He says he comes + from the Cape of Good Hope.' 'Ay! and who is he? What is his + name?' 'His name is Herschel.' 'Yes,'says Willie. 'What is that + he says?' 'He says he comes from the Cape of Good Hope.' 'Ay! and + who is he? What is his name?' 'His name is Herschel.' 'Yes,' says + Willie, 'William James Herschel.' 'Ach, mem Gott! das nicht + möglich; ist dieser kleines neffeu's sohn?' And so it all came + out; and when I came to her all was understood, and we sat down + and talked as quietly as if we had parted but yesterday."</p></div> + +<hr style="width: 45%;"> + +<p>In a letter which she wrote to Lady Herschel in 1838, we find some +reminiscences of her early years. She says that when, at the age of +twenty-two, she first visited England, there was no kind of ornamental +needle-work, knitting, plaiting hair, stringing beads and bugles, and the +like, of which she did not make samples by way of mastering the art. As +she was the only girl, and consequently the Cinderella, of the family, +she could not find time, however, for much self-improvement. She was not, +for instance, a skilled musician, but she was able to play the second +violin part of an overture or easy quartette. And it is worth notice that +the Herschels were something more than astronomers only. Both Sir William +and his son, great as they were in their special department of science, +took care to cultivate their minds generally; were mathematicians, +chemists, geologists, and men of letters. And here is a lesson for our +younger readers. The mind should always be diverted towards one +particular object; it should be the aim of everybody to attain towards +supreme excellence, if possible, in some one pursuit. On the other hand, +he should gather knowledge, more or less, in every field, so as to avoid +narrowness of view and poverty of idea. Versatility does not necessarily +mean superficiality; we may know much of many things, and more of one +thing. A man who is only a botanist, shuts himself out from all the +truest and deepest pleasures of knowledge. It may be very clever for a +violinist to play on a single string; but he must play on <i>all</i>, if he +would bring out the full harmonies of his instrument, and do justice to +its extraordinary powers.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;"> + +<p>Miss Herschel's enjoyment of life, which, when not carried to an excess, +is a Christian duty, continued to the very last. When she was in her +ninetieth year, she rose as usual every day, dressed, ate, drank, rested +on her sofa, read and conversed with her numerous visitors; still taking +an interest in science and literature, even in public affairs, and still +occupying herself with all that concerned the evergrowing reputation of +her nephew. Of course, she could not escape the infirmities of old age, +but by cheerfulness and patience she did her best to alleviate them. In +recalling incidents of her early life, she frequently gave evidence of +her good-humoured contentment. In 1840, writing to her niece, she refers +to an incident which occurred in the early part of the forty-foot +telescope's existence, when "God save the King" was sung in it by her +brother and his guests, who rose from the dinner-table for the purpose, +and entered the tube in procession. She adds that among the company were +two Misses Stows, one of whom was a famous pianoforte player; some of the +Griesbachs (well-known musicians), who accompanied on the oboe, or any +instrument they could get hold of; and herself, who was one of the +nimblest and foremost to get in and out of the tube. "But now," she adds, +"lack-a-day! I can hardly cross the room without help. But what of that? +Dorcas, in the <i>Beggar's Opera</i>, says, 'One cannot eat one's cake and +have it too!'"</p> + +<p>She relates, in the same letter, a curious anecdote of the old and +celebrated tube. Before the optical apparatus was finished, many visitors +took a pleasure in walking through it,—among the rest, on one occasion, +King George III. and the Archbishop of Canterbury. The latter following +the king, and finding it difficult to proceed, his majesty turned and +gave him his hand, saying, "Come, my Lord Bishop; I will show you the way +to heaven!"</p> + +<p>Then, with that astonishing memory of hers, which kept its greenness +until the very last, she notes that this occurred on August 17, 1787, +when the King and Queen, the Duke of York, and some of the princesses +were of the company.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;"> + +<p>From another letter we take a lively little picture of a Christmas in +Hanover:—</p> + +<p>She had been told that keeping Christmas in the German sense was coming +to be very general in England; but her shrewd, practical turn of mind +induced her to hope that the English would never go "such lengths in +foolery." At Hanover, she wrote, the tradespeople had been for many weeks +in full employ, framing and mounting the embroideries of the ladies and +girls of all classes; of <i>all</i> classes, for not a folly or extravagancy +existed among the great but it was imitated by the little. The shops were +beautifully lighted up by gas, and the last three days before Christmas +all that could tempt or attract was exhibited in the market-places in +booths lighted up in the evening, whither everybody hastened to gaze and +to spend their money. Cooks and housemaids presented one another with +knitted bags and purses; the cobbler's daughter embroidered +"neck-cushions" for her friend the butcher's daughter. These were made up +by the upholsterer at great expense, lined with white satin; the upper +part, on which the back rested, being wrought with gold, silver, and +pearls.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;"> + +<p>But we must no longer delay the reader by our gossip. Enough has been +said to illustrate the character of a remarkable woman, and of those +features of it—her cheerfulness, her patience, her industry, her +devoted affection, her unselfishness—which all of us may be the better +for studying and imitating. Our limits compel us to draw our simple +narrative to a close, and we must pass over the delight with which she +received and read Sir John Herschel's great work, "Cape Observations,"—a +noble monument of the perseverance and strenuous labour of genius; but of +twofold interest to her, because it not only testified to the eminent +qualities of her nephew, but brought to a noble conclusion the vast +undertaking of that nephew's father and her own beloved brother—the +survey of the nebulous heavens.</p> + +<p>A letter written by her friend Miss Becksdorff, on the 6th of January +1848, describes Caroline Herschel's last days:—</p> + + +<div class="blkquot"><p>"Her decided objection to having her bed placed in a warmer room + had brought on a cold and cough; and so firm was her + determination to preserve her old customs, and not to yield to + increasing infirmities, that when, upon her doctor's positive + orders, I had a bed made up in her room, before she came to sit + in it one day, it was not till two o'clock in the night that + Betty could persuade her to lie down in it. Upon going to her the + next morning, I had the satisfaction, however, of finding her + perfectly reconciled to the arrangement; she now felt the comfort + of being undisturbed, and she has kept to her bed ever since. Her + mental and bodily strength is gradually declining. But a few days + ago she was ready for a joke. When Mrs. Clarke told her that + General Halkett sent his love, and 'hoped she would soon be so + well again that he might come and give her a kiss, as he had done + on her birthday,' she looked only archly at her, and said, 'Tell + the general that I have not tasted anything since I liked so + well.' I have just left her, and upon my asking her to give me a + message for her nephew, she said, 'Tell them I am good for + nothing,' and went to sleep again."</p></div> + +<p>On the 9th of January 1848 she breathed her last, passing away with a +Christian's tranquillity.<a name="FNanchor_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6">[6]</a></p> + +<a name="Footnote_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6">[6]</a><div class="note"> +The particulars recorded in the foregoing pages are chiefly +taken from Mrs. John Herschel's very interesting "Memoir and +Correspondence of Caroline Herschel."</div> + +<hr style="width: 45%;"> + +<p>Her body was followed to the grave by many of her relatives and friends, +the royal carriages forming part of the funeral procession. The coffin +was adorned with garlands of laurel and cypress and palm branches, sent +by the Crown-Princess from Herrnhausen; and the service was conducted in +that same garrison-church in which, nearly a century before, she had been +christened, and afterwards confirmed. And, as proving her love and +fidelity to the last, in her coffin were placed, by her express desire, +"a lock of her beloved brother's hair, and an old, almost obliterated +almanac that had been used by her father."</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;"> + +<p>May our readers be induced, by their perusal of these pages, to emulate +the Herschels—brother, sister, nephew—in all the bright and lovely +qualities that ennoble life; in their fixity of purpose, their elevation +of thought, their purity of character, their self-denial, their industry, +their hopefulness, and their faith!</p> + +<div class="blkquot"><p>[The following inscription is engraved on Miss Herschel's tomb. + It begins: "Hier ruhet die irdische Hülle von CAROLINA HERSCHEL, + Geboren zu Hannover den 16ten Marz 1750, Gestorben, den 9ten + Januar 1848." But, for the convenience of our young readers, we + give it in English:—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<p>HERE RESTS THE EARTHLY CASE OF</p> +<br> +<p class="i4" style="letter-spacing: .52em;">CAROLINE HERSCHEL.</p> +<br> +<p>BORN AT HANOVER, MARCH 10, 1750.</p> +<br> +<p class="i4">DIED JANUARY 9, 1848.</p> +</div></div> + +<p> "The eyes of her now glorified were, while here below, directed + towards the starry heavens. Her own discoveries of comets, and + her share in the immortal labours of her brother, William + Herschel, bear witness of this to succeeding ages.</p> + +<p> "The Royal Irish Academy of Dublin, and the Royal Astronomical + Society of London, enrolled her name among their members.</p> + +<p> "At the age of 97 years 10 months, she fell asleep in calm rest, + and in the full possession of her faculties; following into a + better life her father, Isaac Herschel, who lived to the age of + 60 years, 2 months, 17 days, and has lain buried not far off + since the 29th of March 1767."</p> + +<p> This epitaph was mainly written by Miss Herschel herself, and the + allusion to her brother is characteristic.]</p></div> + +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12340 ***</div> +</body> diff --git a/12340-h/images/f.png b/12340-h/images/f.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..4637419 --- /dev/null +++ b/12340-h/images/f.png diff --git a/12340-h/images/i.png b/12340-h/images/i.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..54fef13 --- /dev/null +++ b/12340-h/images/i.png diff --git a/12340-h/images/o.png b/12340-h/images/o.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..0155bdc --- /dev/null +++ b/12340-h/images/o.png diff --git a/12340-h/images/w.png b/12340-h/images/w.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..9821291 --- /dev/null +++ b/12340-h/images/w.png |
