S IR W IL L IA

H IS

H E RS C H EL

L I FE A ND W O R K S

I
R
S

W ILL IAM H ERS CH EL

L I FE A ND W O RKS

H IS

BY

ED W A R D s

U N TE
I

T TE N
A

H O L D EN

O BS

AVA L

ER T R
VA

Y,

A S H I NG TO N

E xpI o

NEW

OR K
C H A R L E S S C R I B NE R S S O NS
N 745 B R A D A
743
Y

SS

$
02

C R T
C H A R LE S S C R I N ER S
O PY

BY

IGH

1 8 80 ,

SO

NS

PR E FA C E

I N th e followin g accou nt of th e l ife an d

work s of S ir W I L L IA M H E RS CH EL I have
been obli g ed to d epen d strictly u pon data

al ready i n print th e Memoir of h is sister

hi s ow n sc ien t i c writi n g s and the mem o irs
and diaries of h is cotemporaries Th e re
view of h is publ ished work s will I trust be
I t is based u pon a carefu l S tu dy of
of u se
all h is papers i n the P i/osopk z ca l T ra nsa c
i z on s an d elsewhere
A life of H ERSCH E L whi ch shall b e satis
facto ry i n every particu lar can o n ly b e writ
ten after a full exam inatio n Of the materials
which are preserved at the fam ily seat i n
En g lan d bu t as two g eneratio ns have passed
since h is d eath an d as n o bi o g raphy yet exists
wh ich approaches to completeness n o apol
ogy seems to me to be n eeded for a c o n s c ie n
,

'

vi

te

tio us attempt to ma k e the best use of the

scanty material wh ich we do poss e ss
T his stu dy will I trust serve to exh ibit so
mu ch of h is life as belon gs to th e whole pub
l ic H is private life belon g s to his family
u ntil the time is come to let the world k now
more of th e g reatest of practical ast ronomers
and of th e in n er life of one of its most pro

fou n d philosophers O f a g reat an d ardent

m i nd whose achievements are an d will re
mai n the g lory of E n g lan d
.

C O NT E NT S

C H A PT ER
Y

EA RS

1 7 3 24
I

IN BAT H ;

772

l
C H A PT ER I L

17 7 2

33

C H A PT E R I II
A T D A T C H ET C L A Y H A LL A N D S L U H ;
.

82 2

I EW

7S 2
68

C H A FT E R I V
F T H E S C I EN T I FI C L A B R
O

OF

H ERS C H EL

I OG RA PH Y ,

EX O F

NA MES

1 18

I5

35

L I FE

A ND

W OR K S

OF

I L L IA M

ERS CH EL

C H A P T ER I

E A R L Y Y E A RS

73

8 1

2
77

th e g reat m odern ph ilosophers that

is W I L L IA M
on e of whom least i s k n own
H E RSCH EL W e may appropriate the wo rds
which escaped h i m whe n the barren re g io n
of the s k y n ear th e body of S corp io was
pass in g slowly th rou g h the eld of h is g reat
reector d u ri n g o n e of h is sweeps to ex
press ou r ow n sense of absence o f l i g h t an d
k nowled g e H ie "
L
o
/
z zm
z s t wa k rk a tz
o
f g
OF

zm

mel

L ife

a nd

H E RSCH EL prepared abou t the year 1 8 1 8

a bio g raph ical mem orandu m wh ich h is sister
C A ROL I N A placed amon g h is papers
Th is has n ever been m ade public The
only thorou ghly authentic sou rces of in for
mat io n i n possessio n of th e world are a letter
written by H E RSCH E L h i mself i n answer to a
pressin g requ est for a s k etch of h is l ife and
the Mem oir a n d Correspon dem e of C A ROL I N E
H E RSCH EL ( L ondon
a preciou s me
morial n ot o nly of h is l ife bu t of on e wh ich
oth erwise wo u ld have remain ed almost u n
k nown and on e too w hich th e world cou ld ill
affo rd to lose The latter wh ich has been
ably edited by M rs MA RY C O RN W A LL I S H E R
*
SCH EL is the o nly sou rce of k nowled g e i n
re g ard to the early years of the g reat astro n
om er and to g et he r with th e all too scanty
materials to be g ai n ed from a dili g en t search
throu g h th e bio g raphy of the ti me affords
the data for those perso nal details of h is l ife
h abits and character wh ich s eem to co m
l
t
e
the
disti
nct
thou
g
h
partial
con
ceptio
n
e
p
,

ran

if

of

son of

J H N H ER H E L
W I LL I A M

Maj or

S ir

SC

of

th e

Roya

En

gi

n e e rs,

W illia m H

ersc e

him wh ich the stu den t of his ph ilosoph ical

writin g s acqu ires
The letter referre d to was publishe d i n the
G Otting e n M a g az ine of S cien ce an d L itera
ture I I I 4 sho rtly after the n am e of H E R
SCHE L had become fam iliar to every ear
throu g h h is discovery of Ura n u s bu t wh ile
th e circu mstan ces of the d iscovery an d the
condit io n of the amateu r who ma d e it were
still enti rely u n k nown
Th e edito r ( L I CH T EN B E RG ) says
Of

H e rr

H ER C H EL w good eno gh to end m

S

as

ome

time sin c e thro gh H err M A G ELL A N c o p ie s of h is D is

se rtation s on Do u ble S tar s on the P arallax of the Fixed
S tars and on a new M i c rometer I n the letter whi h
c onv e yed to h im my than k s for h i
g ift I req e sted
him to note down a few fac t s in re g ard to h is life for
p u bli c ation in thi s mag a ine sin c e va rio s ac c o nt s more
or le ss in c orre c t had app eared in several jo rnal s I n
an swer I rec eived a very obli g in g letter from him and
what follow s is that p ortion of it relatin g to my req e st
whi c h was sen t m e with f ll permi ssion to mak e it

p bli c
D A T H E T N EA R W I N D R
,

Nov

was

fath e r

born

wh o was

in

H anov e r

1 5 , 1 7 83 .

N ovember

a m si ian de stined
u

SO

738

m e to th e

My
same

L ife

and

profe ssion hen c e I was in stru c ted betim e s in h is art

That I mi ght a q ire a perfe t k nowled g e of the theory
e t at an early
as wel l as of the pra c ti e of m u si c I w

i
t
s
a g e to st dy mathemati c s in all
bran he s al g ebra
innite simal analy i s and the re st
c on i c se t i on
The in satiable de sire f or k nowled g e th s awak ened
re su lted next in a c o r se of lan g u a g e s I learn ed
Fren c h E n gli sh and L atin and steadfa stly re solved
hen c eforth to devot e my se l f wholly to tho se sc ien c e s
from the p u r su i t of whi c h I alone loo k ed f or all my
f t u re happine ss and enjoyment I have never been
either ne e ssitated or di po ed to alter th i s re solve M y
father who se mean s were l i mited and who on sequ ently
o ld not be as l i beral to h is h i ldren as he wo ld
have de sired w s ompelled to di po se of them in on e
way or another at an early a g e c on seq e n tly in my f
te e n th year I enl i sted i n military servi e only remai n i n g
in the army however nt i l I rea hed my nineteenth
year when I re si g ned and went over to E n gland
M y famil i ar i ty w i th the or gan wh i c h I had aref lly
ma stered previo sly oon pro red f or me the po sition
of or g ani st in Y or k shire w hi h I nally ex han g ed for a
Similar si t at i on at Bath i n 7 6 6 and wh i le here the pe
c li r
ir m tan c e s of m y po st s a g reeable s i t w s
l c rat i ve made i t po i ble f or me to o py my self on e
more w i th my st d i e e pe ially w i th mathemat i
W hen in the o r e f t i me I too k p a stronomy I de
te rm in e d to a
ept noth i n g on faith b t to e e w i th my
own eye s everythin g whi h other s had seen before me
.

as

s,

cu

cu

c cu

ss

s,

cc

cs

W illia m H

H avin g al re ady

opti
and

ors o ol

om e k now l e d g e of th e sc ien c e of
I re solved to man fac t u re my own tele sc ope s
s

c s,

ly

eeded in c om p let i n g a so alled N ewtonian in str

ment seven feet i n len g th From th i s I advan ed to
on e of ten feet and at la st to one of twenty for I had
fu lly made p my m ind to c arry on the improv ement of
my tele sco p e s as far as it o ld possibly b e done W hen
I had c aref lly and thoro ghly perfe c ted the g reat in
se of it in
stru ment in all its part s I made sy stemati
my ob servation s of the heaven s r t formin g a deter
mination never to pas by any the smalle st portion of
them witho t du e inve sti g ation Thi s habit p e rsi sted
in led to the di c overy of the n e w p lanet ( Georg ian:
Thi s was by no mean s the re s lt of han e b u t
i )
S r
a simple on seq en c e of the po sition of the planet on
that p arti u lar evenin g sin e i t o pied pre c i sely that
wh i c h ame in the order of the
spot i n the heaven
m i n u te ob servation s that I had previo sly mapped ou t
for m y self H ad I not seen it j st when I did I m u st
inevitably have ome u pon it soon after in c e my tele
s ope w as S O perfe c t that I was able to di stin gu i sh it
f rom a x e d star in the r st min te of ob servation
Now to brin g thi s sk et c h to a c lo se A S the k in g had
expre ssed a de si re to se e my tele sc ope I too k it by h is
ommand to G reenwi h where it was ompared with
the in tru ment s of my ex c ellent frie n d Dr M A S K ELYNE
not only by him self b t by other expert s who p ro
n o n c e d it as thei r o p inion that my in str u ment was
su c c

"

I.

'

us

ccu

if

a nd

ors

perior to all th e re st There pon the k in g ordere d

that the in str ment be bro u ght to W ind sor and Sin c e it
there met with mark ed approval h i maj e sty g ra i o ly
awarded me a yearly pen sion that I mi ght be enabl e d to
relinq u i sh my profe ssion of m si c and devote my whole
time to a stronomy and the improvement of the tele
sc o p e
G ratit de as well s other c on sideration s spe c i
e d by me in a paper pre sented to the R oyal S o iet y
of whi c h I am a member h as ind c ed me to c all th e
n e w p lanet G or i m S io
g
su

us

G
An

e org u m

S du s

us

j am

n u n c assu e sc e v oc ari

Virgi l

d I hope it will re t in the name

a

k now

bu t l ittl e of th e fam ily of H E R

SCH EL Th e n am e is u ndoubtedly J ewish
an d is fou n d i n Polan d G erm an y an d E n g
lan d W e learn that th e an cestors of th e
presen t bran ch left M oravia abou t th e b e
g i n n in g of the X V I I th centu ry on accou n t
Of th ei r chan g e Of reli g ion to Protestantism
They b ecame possessors of lan d i n S axony
H A N S H ERSCH E L th e g reat g ra n dfather of
W I LL IA M was a brewer i n Pirn a ( a small
town n ear D resden ) O f th e tw o sons of
H A NS on e A B R A H A M ( born i n 1 6 5 1 die d
e

W
illi
a
m
f

orsok ol

was employe d in the royal g ar d ens at

D res d en an d seems to have been a man O f
taste an d s k ill i n h is call in g O f h is eldest
son E U SE B I U S th ere appears t o be little trace
i n th e records of the fam ily The S eco n d
son B E N J A M I N d ie d i n in fan cy ; the th ird
I S AA C was born i n 1 70 7 ( J an
an d was
thu s an orphan at eleven years o f a g e
I S AA C was th e father of the g reat a s tron o
mer
H e appears to h ave early had a passionate
fon dness for mu sic an d th is added to a dis
taste for h is fath er s call in g d etermi n ed h is
career H e was tau g h t m u sic by an O boe
player in the royal band and he also learne d
the v iol in A t the a g e of twenty on e he
stu died mu sic fo r a year u n der the C appel
meister PA B RI C H at Potsdam an d i n A u
1 73 1
ust
he
became
oboist
i
n
th
e
ban
d
o
f
g
the G u ards at H an ove r I n A u g u st 1 7 3 2
he married A N N A I LSE M O R I T Z E N S h e ap
pears to h ave been a careful an d busy wife
and mother possessed O f no special facul ties
which wou ld lead u s to attribute to her care
any g reat part of the ab ilities of her s on
,

if

a nd

or s

S he

cou l d n ot h erself write th e letters wh ich

she sen t to her h u sband du rin g h is absences
with h is re g imen t I t was her rm belief
that th e separatio ns an d some of the sorrows
O f th e fam il y cam e fro m too mu ch learn in g ;
an d wh ile she could n ot h in der th e edu cation
of th e sons of th e fam ily she prevented
their sisters from learn in g French an d danc
in g I t is but j ust to say that the u seful
accomplishm ents of coo k in g sewin g an d th e
care of a h ousehold were thorou g hly tau g ht
by h er to h er two dau g hters Th e father
I S AA C appears to have been of a d i fferent
m oul d an d to h im n o doubt th e ch ief i ntel
l ectual characteristics Of the fam ily are du e
H is po siti o n obl i g e d h im to b e often absent
from H anover with h is re g imen t bu t h i s
hand appears to have been always presen t
smooth i n g ove r d i f cultie s an d en cou rag in g
h is S ons to su ch learn in g an d i mprovement
as was to be ha d
H is health was seriou sly inj u red by the ex
su re s o f th e campai g ns an d h e was left
o
p
after th e S even Y ears W ar with a bro k en
co n stitu tion
.

W illia m H

om o/ M
l

A fter

h is nal retu rn home i n

dau g hter g ives th is record of hi m

h is

6
0
7 ,

opyin g m u si em p loy e d eve ry va c an t moment

even sometime s thro gho t half the ni ght
W it h

my brother [ DI ET RI C H j n ow a little en ga g in g c reat re

of between fo u r and ve year s o l d h e was ver y m c h
pleased and [ on the rst e venin g of h is arrival at home ]
before h e w e nt to re st the A de m pk e n ( a l i ttle violin )
was ta k en from the shelf and newly str n g and the daily
l esson s immediately c ommen c ed
I do not re ol
le c t that h e ever de sire d any other so c iety than what
h e had op p ort nit i e s of enjoyin g in many of the partie s
where he was introd ed by h is profe ssion tho g h f ar
from bein g of a moro se di spo sition he wo ld freq entl y
en c o u ra ge m y mother in k eepin g p a so c ial inter
c o u r se amon g a f e w a c q u aintan c e s whil st h is afte rnoon
ho u r s ge nerally were tak en p in givin g le sson s to some
sc holar s at home who g ladly sav e d him th e tro u b l e some
e xertion of wal k in g
H e a l so fo nd great p le as
u re in seein g D I T R I C H S im p rovement who yo u n g as he
E
w s and of the mo st lively temper ima g inable was alway s
ready to re c eive h is le sson s leavin g h is little c ompanion s
with the g reate st heerf lne ss to go to h is father who was
so plea sed with h is performan c e s that he made h i m play
a solo on the A de m pk e n in R AK E S on ert be i n g pla ed
on a table before a c rowded c ompany for whi c h h e was
very m c h app lau ded an d c are ssed parti c u larly by an
E n gli sh l ady who pu t a g old c oin in h is little po c k e t
C

uc

L if e

IO

and

I t w not l on g before my father had

many sc hol
A n d when they as
ars a he c o ld nd time to attend
sembled at my father s to mak e little c on c ert s I was f re
q u ently c alled to jo i n the se c ond violin in an overt re
for my father fo u nd plea su re in g ivin g me sometime a
l e sson before the in str ment s were laid by after pra tis
in g with D I E T R I C H for I never was mi ssi n g at tho se
ho rs ittin g in a c orne r wi th my k nittin g and li ste nin g

all the while

as

as

H ere as i n all her writin g C A ROL I N A is

S imple tru e direct to aw k wardn ess an d u n
consciously pathet i c even i n j oy
7
The fam ily of I S AA C an d A N N
A H E RSCH E L
consisted of ten ch ildren S ix of these l ived
to adult ag e They were
1
S O PH IA EL I Z A B E T H ; born 1 7 3 3 married
G R I ES B A CH a m usician i n the G u ard by
wh om sh e had ch il d ren F ive O f h er so ns
were afte rwar d s m usicians at th e cou rt i n
E n gland wh ere they O btai ned places th rou g h
the i n u ence Of W I LL IA M
H EN RY A N T ON j A CO B ; born 1 7 3 4 N O
2
,

vem

be r

2 0

F
REDE
R
I
C
W
I
LL
IA
M
4

th
e
astro
no
mer
)
(

born

8
73 ,

N ovember

8
16

13

74 5

N ovem

C A ROL I N A L UCRE T IA ; born

II

om o/Eel

J OH N A LE X A ND E R ; born

ber

W illia m H

M arch

1 7 5 0,

I O D I E T R I CH ; bo rn 1 7 5 5 S eptember 1 3
f
th
is
fam
ily
g
rou
p
the
important

g
u
res
(i
to u s are W I LL IA M A LE X A N DER an d C A RO
LI NA
J A CO B was org an ist at the G arrison C hu rch
of H an over i n 1 7 5 3 a member of th e G u ards
band i n 1 7 5 5 an d rst violi n i n the H an over
C ou rt O rchestra i n 1 7 5 9
A fte rwards h e
j oined h is brother W I LL IA M in Bath bu t ag ai n
retu rned to H anover I n 1 7 7 1 h e publ ishe d
i n A msterdam h is O pu s
a set O f six quar
tettes an d later i n L o ndo n he published
two symph on ies and six trios H e appears to
.

have been a cleve r mu sician and h is letters

to h is you n g er b rother W I LL IA M are fu ll of
discu ss io n on points of mu sical composition
etc H e d ied i n 1 7 9 2
D I E T R I CH the you n g est b rother shared in
the musical abilities of h is fam ily an d when
only fteen years O ld was so far a d van ced as
to be able to su pply h is b rother J A CO B S pl ace
,

L if

12

ar
za

ors

in the Cou rt O rchestra and to g ive h is le s

sons to private pupils Th ere is no on e of
the family except th e eldest dau g hter whom
we do n ot k now to have possessed mark ed
ability i n mu sic and th is taste desce nde d
truly for fou r g en erations I n th e letters of
%
C hevalier B UN S E N
h e describes m eetin g in
184 7
th e eldest g randdau g hter of W I LL IA M

H E RSCH EL w h o he says is a mu sical g en iu s

Three m embers Of th e fam ily W I LL IA M
A LE X A N DER an d C A ROL I N A form ed a g rou p
wh ich was i nseparable for many years an d
while th e pro g ress of th e l ives of A LE X A NDE R
and C A ROL I N A was determ in ed by the en erg y
an d e fforts of W I LL IA M these two len t h im an
aid with ou t wh ich h is career would have been
stran g ely di fferen t I t is necessary to u nder
stand a little better the early life of all three
The sons of th e H ERSCH EL fam ily all a t
tended the g arrison s ch ool in H an over u n til
they were abou t fou rteen years O ld They
were tau g ht th e ordinary ru diments of k n owl

ed g e to read to write to cipher an d a

,

Pg
a

e 12

W illia m H

I3

orsolz ol

k nowle d g e

of Fren ch an d E n g l ish was added

W I LL IA M especially d isti n g u ished h imse lf in
his stu dies learn in g Fr en ch very rapidly an d
studyin g L atin an d arithmeti c with h is mas
ter ou t of hou rs The hou sehold l ife seems
to have bee n active harmon iou s an d in te lli
g ent especially durin g the presen ce of th e
father who too k a g reat deli g ht i n th e rapi d
pro g ress of all h is so ns i n mu sic an d wh o
encoura g ed th em with his compan io nsh ip i n
their studies an d i n their readi n g on all i ntel
lectual subj ects
From the Mem oir of C A ROL I N A o n wh ich
we must depend for O u r k nowled g e of th is
early l ife we ta k e the followi n g parag raph
.

o l o p erform
e rs and a ssi tant s in the or c he stra of the
o rt and I
remember that I was freq ently p revented from g oin g to
Sleep by the lively c riti i sm on m u si on c omin g from a
c on ert or by c onver sation s on ph i lo sophi al
u bj e c t s
whi h la sted freq ently till mornin g i n whi h my father
was a l i vely p arta k er and a ssi stant of my b rother W I L
L IA M by Contriv i n g self made i n str ment s
Often
I wo u ld k eep my self awak e that I m i ght li ten to their
animatin g remark for it made m o [ ppy to se e t/ om
so o y
B
t
g enerally the i r onversation wo ld bran h
pp
M y brothe rs were often introd u c ed

as s

s,

e s

za

L if e

'

14

o ma

W ors

on philo sophi c al s bje c t s when my broth e r W I LL IA M

and my father O ften arg ed with s h warmth that my
mother interferen e be ame ne c e ssary whe n the name
L E I B NI T z NE WT O N and E U LER so nded rather too lo d
f or the re p o se of her l i ttle one s who o ght to be in
hool by seven in the mornin g B t it seem s that on
the brothers retir i n g to their own room where they
shared the same bed my brother W I LL IA M had st i ll a
g reat deal to say and freq ently it hap p ened that when
h e stopped for an a ssent or reply he fo nd h is hearer
w s g one to Sleep and I s ppo se it was not till then that
he betho g ht h i m self to do the same
The re olle t i on of the se happy s ene s onrm s me
in the belief that had my brother W I LL IA M not then
been in terru pted i n h is ph ilo sop hi al p r s it s we Sho ld
have had m c h earlier proofs of h is inventive g eni u
M y father was a g reat admirer of a stronomy and had
some k nowled g e
of that sc ien c e ; for I remember h is
tak i n g me on a lear fro sty n i ght into the street to
mak e me a c q ainted with e veral of the mo st bea t i f l
on stellation s after we had be en ga in g at a c omet
whi h was then vi sible A n d I well remember with
what del i ght he sed to a ssi st my brother W I LL IA M in
h is vario s ontr i van e s in the p r su it of h is philo soph
i c al st d i e s amon g wh i h w s a neatly t rned 4 in h
globe pon whi c h the equ ato r and e lipti c were en g raved

by my brother
ou t

uc

sc

Th e mechan ical g en ius was

n ot

con ned

W illia m H

I5

ors olz ol

to W I L L IA M for we read that A LE X A NDE R

s it by u s and amuse u s an d
u sed often to
h imself by m a k in g all sorts of th in g s ou t o f
pasteboard or co ntriv in g h ow to m a k e a

twelv e hou r cu c k oo cloc k g o a wee k

This
abil ity of A LE X A ND E R S was tu rned later to
the best accou n t when he became h is brothe r
VVI L L I A M S ri gh t han d i n the m an u factu re o f
M
re flectors eye pieces and stands i n E n g land
H is ab ilitia wg e
m i g ht oth eg vise have
p
p lied th rou g h th e you n g er brother s ardo r i n
all that he u ndertoo k
H is musical talen t was remar k able ; h e

playe d d ivinely on the v iolon cello

He
return ed to H an ove r in I 8 1 6 where h e lived
in comfortable i ndepen dence throu g h the

never failin g g enerosity of h is broth er u n til

his death i n 1 8 2 1 A notice of h i m I n a B ris
tol pape r says : D ied M arch 1 5 1 8 2 1 at
H an ove r A LE X A N D ER H E RSCH EL Es q r well
k nown to th e public of B ath and B ristol as a
perform er an d ele g an t mu sician an d who for
forty seven years was the adm iratio n of th e
frequ enters of concerts an d theatres of both
,

I6

fe

W orks

and

th ose cities as p ri ncipal violoncello T o the

extraordinary merits o f M r H ERSCH E L was
u n i ted co nsiderable acqu iremen t i n th e su peri
o r branches o f mechan ics an d ph ilosophy and
h is a f n ity to h is brother S ir W I LL IA M H ER

SCH EL was n ot less in science than i n blood

W e sh all learn m ore of th e s ister C A RO
L I N A as tim e g oes on N ow in th ese early
years sh e was a sil ent an d persi stent ch ild
g rowin g u p with a feel in g that sh e was u n
cared fo r an d n e g lected and l avish in g all her
ch ildish affection as she d id all that of her
woman ly l ife on h er broth er W I LL IA M

Throu g hou t her lon g l ife my brother was

W I LL I A M my n eph ew k is son
The brothers J A CO B and W I LL IA M were
with thei r father m embers of the ban d of
th e G u ards i n 1 7 5 5 when the re g imen t was
ordered to E n gland an d they were absen t
fro m H an over a year
W I LL IA M ( then seventeen years O ld ) wen t
as obo ist and ou t Of h is scan ty pay brou g h t
back to H an over i n 1 7 5 6 o nly o n e memento

of h is stay a copy of L OC K E 0n lk o H n m a n
.

Un a ors la n a ing

W illia m H

orsok ol

H e appears to have served with the G u ard

durin g part of the campai g n of 1 7 5 7 H is
health was then del icate and h is parents de
te rm in e d to rem ove him from the service a

step atten ded by n o small di fculties

Th is removal was hu rriedly an d safely

e ffected so hu rriedly that th e C opy of L OC K E
was not pu t i n th e parcels sen t after hi m to
H ambu rg by h is mothe r ;
she dear wo
man k new n o other wants than g ood l ine n

and cloth in g
Thus at last th e you n g W I LL IA M H E R
SCH EL th e so n of an oboe player i n the
K i n g s G u ard is lau nched i n life for h imself
i n the year 1 7 5 7 at th e a g e of n i neteen
g ood li nen an d
A ll h is equ ipment is the

cloth in g a k nowled g e of French L ati n an d

E n g lish some s k ill i n playi n g the v ioli n the
org an an d the oboe an d an u n com mo n pre

c i ita n c
i
n
doin
g
what
there
is
to
be
do
ne
p
y
.

C A R L I NA H ER H E L p
S i G E R E AI R

m v l
A t m R y l l t i th A d m th t th i
d ti
t l d by th D k f S x th t th
h w
w
t i i t f H ER H E L t th k i g ft th di v y f th G
b
h
i
m
i
S
t
p
d
H
ER
H
E
L
h
d
d
m
i
h
f
w
t
y th
g
k i g h i m l f w i tt
f m
ti d
*

Memo r of

s ron o

as a

rs

o a

er

e se r

on , as

v s

a n s,

se

re a e s
e

SC

SC

as

e n ou

ca

ue

10

er

SC

ar on o

as

or

v
e

sc o

an

er

o a

re

u sse

Y,

on

eor

L if

18

a na

orks

slen d er ou tt truly ; bu t we are n ot to

overloo k what he said of h imself on another
occasion
I have n everth eless several re
sou rces i n V i ew and do n ot d espair o f su c

c e e din
pretty
well
i
n
the
end
g

F rom 1 7 5 7 to 1 7 6 0 th ree years w e

k n ow nothin g of h is l ife
W e can ima g in e
what it was H is previou s v isi t t o E n g lan d
had g iven h im a g ood k nowled g e of the lan
g u a g e an d perhaps a few u n in u e n tial ac
O
n h is retu rn h e would natu
u a in ta n c e s
q
rally see k these ou t and by means of h is
music h e cou ld g ain a l ivel ihood W e rst
hear of h i m as charg ed with th e o rg an i zatio n
of th e music of a co rps of th e m ilitia of D u r
ham u n der th e ausp ices of the EA RL O F
L a man i ere do nt i1 remplit
D A RL I NG T ON
cette m ission le t c on n aitre avanta g euse
The natu re of the service of these
m il itia corps wh ich were th en form in g all
over E n gland is well describe d in the A uto
b io g raphy O f G I BB ON
E very cou nty g en
tle m a n felt constrai n e d to serve h is cou ntry
.

FET

4I

IS

; B iog rapk io

n n iw rsolle aos

m u sicians ,

om e

(1 83 9 )

I9

orsokol

W illia m H

an d th e re g imental mess rooms were lle d

with men O f ran k an d fash ion
I n 1 7 6 0 we h ear of h im a g ai n H e has
attracte d the n otice of th ose abou t h im
-

bo u t th e y e ar 1 7 60 as M I LLER was dinin g at Pon

te f ra t with the of e r s of the D u rham militi a on e of
them k nowin g h i love of m u si c to l d him they had a
yo n g G erman in their band as a p e rformer on the ha t
b oy who had only been a few month s in E n g land and
yet sp o k e E n gl i sh almo st as well as a native and who
the o f e r
was al so an ex ellent p erformer on the violin
added that if M I LLER wo ld c ome into anoth e r room
thi s G erman sho u ld entertain him with a solo T h e in
v itation was g ladly a c c e p ted and M I LLER heard a so l o
of G I A R D I NI S exe c u ted in a manner that s rp ri sed him
H e afterward s too k an opport nity of havin g some pri
vate c onversation with the yo u n g m u si c ian and a sk ed
him whether he had e n ga g ed him self for any lon g p eriod
to the D u rham mil i tia The an swe r was Only fro m
month to month
L eave them then said the o rgani st
and c ome and liv e with me I am a sin gle man and
thin k we shall b e happ y to g eth e r ; and do u btle ss yo r
merit w i ll soon entitle y o to a more eli gible sit ation
The offer was a c c e p ted as fran k ly as it was made and
the reader m ay imag ine with what sati fa tion Dr M I L

"

Dr

c aste r

MI LLER

td g it

a no e

or an s

an d a

ft w d h i t i
er

ar s

s or an of

D on

L ife

20

orks

a na

m u st hav e remembered thi s ac t of g en e rou s feelin g

when he hears that thi s yo u n g G erman w s H ER S C H EL
M y h u mble man i on say s M I LLER
th e A stronomer
on si sted at that time b t of two room s H owever
p oor as I was my c ott ge c on tain e d a library of well
ho sen boo k s ; and it m u st appear sin g lar that a
forei gner who had been so short a time in E n gland
nderstand even the p e c liaritie s of the lan gu a g e
sho ld
"
to x u pon S W I FT f or h is favorite a thor
so well
H e too k an early opport nity of introd u in g h is new
friend at M r CR O PL EY S c on c ert s ; the rst violin w s
re si g ned to him ; and never say s the or g an i st had I
heard the c on erto s of CO RELL I G EM I N IA N I and A V I
S ON or the overt re s of H A N D EL performed more c ha ste
ly or mo re a c c ord i n g to the ori g i nal intention of the
than by M r H ER S C H EL I oon lo st my
c om p o ser s
ompan i on ; h i fame was pre sently spread abroad ; he
had the offer of p pil s and was soli ited to lead the
p bli c on ert s both at W ak eeld and H alifax A new
or g an for the pari sh c h u r h of H alifax w b ilt abo t
thi s time and H ER S C H EL was on e of the seven and i date s
la c e They drew lot s how they were
f or the or g ani st s p
to perform in s e ssion H ERS C H EL drew the third the
se ond fell to Dr W AI N W R I G H T of M an he ster who se
n g er was so rapid that old S NET Z L ER the org an b i lder
ran abo u t the h u r h ex c laimin g T l v l t t r/ l l k e

L ER

'

'

as

as

ucc

"

ra n over i e

key s like

on e eat

k e will

e e

not g ive

e e

my pzpk es

room

D
rin
g
M
r
W
AI
N
W
R
I
G
H
T
perform
S
p
f
an c e say s M I LLER I was standin g in th e middle ai sle
or

to

s/z ea k

W illia m H

ersek e l

2 1

with H ER S C H EL
W hat han c e have y o aid I to
follow th i s man " H e repl i ed I don t k now ; I am
s re n g er
will n ot do O n wh i h he a s ended the
or g an loft and p rod ed from the or gan so n ommon a
f lne ss su c h a vol me of Slow solemn harmony that I
c o u ld by no mean s a
o nt for the effe t A fter thi s
short ex t mpor eff sion he ni hed w i th the O ld H u n
dre dth p salm t ne wh i h he p layed better than h is Op
ponent
Ay ay c ried old S NET Z L ER tisk is v ry g oof v ry
u,

uc

cc

o
o
t
i
n
a
e
e
t
;
g

or to s/z ea k

vil

lnf tis/i ma n, f

or li e

es my
i
i /zes
v
g
pp

H avin g afterward s a sk ed M r

room

H ER C H EL
S

by what mean s in the be g innin g of h is performan c e he

prod ed so n c ommon an effe t he replied I told you
n g er s wo u ld n ot do and prod u c in g two pie e s of lead
from h i wai st oat po k et one of the se said he I
pla ed on the lowe st k ey of the org an and the other
u pon the
o c tave above ; th s by a ommodatin g the
harmony I prod u c ed the effe c t of fo u r hand s in stead
,

uc

cc

The dates in th is e xtract a re n ot so well

de ned as m i g h t be W ished H E RSCH EL had
certainly been m ore than a few mo nth s i n
E n g land at th e t im e of h is m eetin g with D r
M I LLER wh ich was probably abou t 1 7 6 0
The appo i n tme n t as org an ist at H al ifax was
.

T n."D oc tor ;

by R ERT S UT H E
OB

Y, e

di i

t on of 1 8 4 8 ,

1 40

L ife

2 2

ana

orks

i n 1 7 6 5 an d th e pupils an d public concerts

must h ave lled u p th e i ntervenin g ve
years D u ri n g a part of th is time h e l ived
i n L eeds wi th the fam ily of M r B U LM A N
whom h e afterwards provided with a place
as clerk to th e O ctag on C hapel i n h is u su al
g en erous man n er
A ll du rin g h is l ife h e was placin g some of
th e less fortu nate an d ener g etic members of
h is fam ily
W e can not be too g rate fu l to D r M I L
LE R W h o seei n g h is O pportu n ity u sed it
Their fran k frien dsh ip does h onor to both
H E RSCH EL S org an playin g which n o doubt
had been be g u n when h is broth er was th e
org an ist Of the garrison chapel at H anove r
mu st h ave been perfected at th is time
and it was throu g h h is org an playin g that
h e was abl e to leave the n eedy life i n Y or k
sh i re
H e was su re to h ave emerg ed soo n er or
l ater bu t every year spared to h im as a
stru gg l in g mu sician was a year saved to A s
,

tro n om y

D u rin g

all th is period a con stan t corre

,

/ l

W illia m H

e rse z e

was main tai ned between th e fam ily

at H anover an d the absen t son
M any Of W I LL IA M S letters were written i n
E n g l ish an d addresse d to h is brother J A CO B
an d treated of su ch subj ects as the Theory of
M usic i n which h e was al ready far advan ced
H is l ittle sister was still faithfu l to the
m emory of h er a ea resl brother and h is
father whose health was steadily d ecl i n in g
became painfully e ag er fo r h is retu rn I n
A
t
pril
he
retu
rned
H
an
over
o
1 764
o
n
(
a very brief vis it H e was attached to E n g
land h e was prosperin g there an d he had
no i ncl i nat io n towards retu rn i n g to a l ife i n
H anover H is s ister says
s

n de n c e
o
p

the joy s and plea su re s whi h all felt at thi s lon g

wi shed for meetin g w i th m y let me s y my d re t

brother b t a small portion c o u ld fall to my share for
w i th my on stant attendan e at h r h and s hool b
ide s the time I was employed in doin g the dr d g ery of
the s llery it w s b u t eldom I o ld mak e on e in the
gro p when the fam i ly were a s embled to g ether
I n the r t wee k some of the or he stra were invited
to a on c ert at whi c h some of my brother W I LL IA M S
c ompo sit i on
overt re e t and some of my elde st
brother J A C OB s were performe d to the g reat deli g ht of
Of

ea

cu

s,

s,

L ife

ana

or ks

my dear father who hoped and expe c ted that they

wo ld be t u rned to some prot by p u bli shin g them b t
there was no printer wh o b i d hi gh eno gh

h
a
s
S nday the 8 t w the to me eventf l day of
my c onrmation and I left home not a little pro d
and en c o u ra g ed by my d e ar brother W I LL IA M S app ro

b ation of my appearan c e in my new g own

,

The en g a g emen t of H E RSCH E L at H al i fa x

did n ot lon g contin u e I n 1 7 6 6 h e obtai ned
an advanta g eou s en g ag ement as oboist at
B ath an d soo n after th e positio n of org an ist
at th e O ctag on C hapel was O ffered to hi m
and accepted Th is was a g reat an d impor
tan t chan g e
B ath was then as n ow on e O f the most
beau tiful cities i n E n g lan d and the resort of
the fash io n and ran k of the k in g dom who
came to ta k e the waters I t is beau tifu lly sit
u a te d on both sides O f th e A von
an d has
many ne wal k s an d publ ic bu ild in g s Th e
aspect o f the city is m ar k edly cheerful an d
brilliant owi n g to th e natu re of th e W h ite
ston e of wh ich th e prin cipal hou ses are bu ilt
an d to the exqu is ite amph itheatre of h ills i n
wh ich they lie
.

W illia m H

k el

e rs e

Th e society was then g ay and polite and

H ERSCH EL was at once thrown i nto a far
more i ntelli g ent atmosphere than that he
had j ust left i n Y or k shire I t was easy to
g et n ew boo k s to see n ew faces to hear
n ew th in g s The A ssembly Room s ( bu ilt i n
1 77 1
were
note
d
fo
r
th
ei
r
siz
e
an
d
ele
g
an
ce
;
)
the theatre was the best ou t of L ondon
H is posit io n as o rg an ist of the fash ionable
chapel place d h i m i n th e cu rrent H is
charm in g and en ga g in g man ners made h i m
friends H is talents brou g h t h im ad mi rers
*
and pu pils an d pupils brou g h t h i m m oney
H e be g an i n I 7 6 6 a l ife of u n ceasin g ac tiv
ity wh ich co nti n ued I n 1 7 6 8 he pu blished
in L o ndo n a symph o ny ( i n C ) fo r two vio
lins v iola bass two O boes an d two horns
and i n th e same year two m ilitary co ncertos
for two O boes two h orns two tr u mpets an d
two b ass oon sj
H e wrote p ieces fo r th e
,

f q
re

p pi l th i
di g
1A
h b li f h
d th
tk

to

c c or

to t
a

s at

e n , an

l y g v th i ty

u en t

a e

t me

F ET I A
T I wh
t t FE
t th
w i ti g
S

S,

ve

an d

th i ty i gh t l
r

-e

e ss on s a

w k
ee

to

e se

se arc

is

hf

in

L d
t
on

on

h as le d m e

lly v y
i h
by JA H ER H EL

u su a

s are

or t e se
er

COB

a c c u ra e ,

SC

e re

m is

L ife

and

or ks

catches and

harp g lees
other son g s fo r
th e voice O n e of these th e E eko Ca iek was
publ ished an d had even considerable vo g u e

om p etent m si c al c riti c wri te s to me of thi s work :

The c o nterp oint is Clear and owin g and is manag ed
with c on siderable taste and effe c t I t wo ld be di f c lt
to explain the g reat c leverne ss Sho wn in the c on stru c tion
of th i s C lok witho u t dia g ram s to ill strate the movement s
of the p art s I t is c ertainly an in g enio u s bit of m si c al

writin g
A

W hen h e left B ath ( i n

many of
these musical writin g s were lost i n h is g reat
haste to ta k e u p h is n ew profession O n e
specially h is sister rem embers to have written
o u t for th e printer
bu t h e could n ot n d a
m oment to send it O ff n or to answer th e print

er s letters
This was a fou r part son g I n

thee I bear so dear a part

H e wrote very
man y anthems chants and psalm tu nes for
the excellen t cathedral cho ir O f th e O ctag o n
C hapel
Un fortu nately most O f th is music
is n ot n ow to be fou n d
A n otice of H E RSCH EL S l ife wh ich ap
e are d i n the E u ro
p
for
1
i
n
e
8
z
ea
M
a
a
n
p
7 5
g
J anuary g ives a very l ively pictu re of h is l ife
,

W illia m H

kel

erse

th is time an d it is especially valuabl e as

showin g h ow he appeared to h is c ote m po
raries

at

ltho u g h M r H ER S C H EL lov e d m si c to an ex c e ss
and made a c on si derable pro g re ss i n it he yet determined
with a sort of enth sia sm to devote every moment he
c o ld spare from b u sin e ss to the p u r su it of k nowled g e
wh ic h he re g arded as the soverei gn g ood and in whi c h
he re solved to pla c e all h is view s of fu t u re happ ine ss in

it u at i on at the Oc ta gon Chapel proved a very

p rotable one as he soon fell into all the p bli b si
n ess of the c on c e rt s the R oom s the Th eatre and the
orato rio s be side s many sc holar s and p ri vate on ert s
Thi s gr e at ru n of b u i ne ss in stead of le ssenin g h is
p rop en sity to st dy in c rease d it so that many time s
after a fati g u in g day of fo rteen or sixteen ho u r sp ent
in his vo c ation he wo u ld retire at ni ght with the g reat
e st avidity to
if it may be so c alled
no
ena t/ e mina
with a few p ro p o sition s in MA C L A UR I N S Flu xions or

other boo k s of that sort

H is

I t was i n these years that he mastered

I talian and made som e pro g ress i n G ree k
.

W e may ha ard a nat ral onj e t re re p e tin g the

o r e of H ER C H EL S early t die M i ond ted
h i m to math mati or in other word impelled him to

c s,

s u

c u

us c c

s,

uc

L ife

a na

W orks

t dy S M I T H S H armonics N ow thi s R OB ER T S M I T H
was the a thor of A Compl t S y st m of Optics a ma sterly
work whi c h notwith standin g the rap id g rowth of that
bran h of the s ien c e is not yet wholly s perseded I t
to s not u nli k ely that H ER S C H EL st u dyin g the
seem
H a rmonics c on eived a reveren c e for the a thor who
was at that time still li vin g so that from the P/ ilo op/y
3 wor k on whi c h
t
i
s
he
pa
to
the
ssed
O
c
i
M
s
c
o
p
f
S M I T H S g reat re p tation c hiefly re sted and th u s u nd e
sign e dly prepared him self for the c areer on whi c h he

was shortly abo u t to enter with so m c h g lory

s u

e e

There is n o doubt that th is co nj ectu re is a

tru e o n e The Op tics of D r S M I T H is on e
of th e very few boo k s qu oted by H E RS CH E L
th rou gh ou t h is writi n g s and there is every
evidence of his complete fam iliarity with its
con clusions an d m ethods ; an d th is fam ili
a rity is O f th e k in d wh ich a stu den t acqu i res
with h is early text boo k s O n e other wor k
he qu otes i n th e same way L A L A NDE S A s
tron omy an d th is to o m ust have been deeply
stu died

D u rin g th e years 1 7 6 5 1 7 7 2 wh ile H ER

an d h is
S C H E L was followin g h is professio n
.

*9

Foreig n Qu arterly Revie w

vo u m e

31

W illia m H

ersck el

studies at B ath the fam ily life at H an over

went on i n mu ch th e same way
I n 1 7 6 5 h is fath er I S AA C had a stro k e o f
paralys is wh ich ended h is v ioli n playin g fo r
ever and forced h i m to depen d entirely upo n
pupils and copyin g of mu sic fo r a l ivelihood
H e d ied on M arch 2 2 1 7 6 7 leavin g beh ind
h im a g ood name and livi n g i n the a ffectio n
ate remembrance of h is Ch ildre n an d O f all
who k new h im
C A RO L I N A had n ow lost her best friend
and transferred to her broth er W I LL IA M the
affectio n she had before d ivi d ed between
h im an d her father
,

M y father wi shed to give me som e thin g li k e a pol

ish e d ed u c ation b t my mother was p arti c larly deter
mined that it sho u ld be a ro u gh b u t at the sam e time
a u se fu l one ; and nothin g farther sh e tho ght was
ne c e ssary b t to send me two or three month s to a
semp stre ss to be ta ght to mak e ho sehold linen
M y moth e r wo ld n ot c on sent to my bein g ta u ght
Fren c h and my brother Dietri h was even denied a
dan in g ma ster be c a se sh e wo ld not p ermit my learn
in g alon g with him tho u gh the entran c e ha d been pa i d
for s both so all my father c o ld do for me was to in
d lge me ( and p l e a se him self ) sometime s with a short

L ife

0
3

a nd

orks

l e sson on the violin when my mothe r was either in g ood

h mor or ou t of the way Tho gh I have often felt
my self ex eedin gly at a lo ss for the want of tho se few
ac c ompl i shment s of whi c h I was th u s by an erroneo u s
tho gh well meant opin i on of my mother depr i ved I
c o ld not help thin k in g b t that She had c a se for wi sh
in g me not to k now more than was ne c e ssary for bein g
sef l in the family ; f or it was her c ertain belief that
my brother W I LL IA M wo u ld have ret rned to h is c o u ntry
and my elde st brother not have loo k ed so h i gh if they
had had a little le s learnin g
,

>I<

ometime s I fo nd it sc arc ely p o ssible to g et

thro gh with the work req ired and felt very u nhap p y that
or
n o tim e at all was left f or im p rovin g my self in m u si
fan c y work in whi c h I had an o p port u nity of re c eivin g
some in str c tion from an in g enio s yo n g woman who se
p arent s lived in the sam e ho se with u s B t th e time
wanted for spendin g a few ho u rs to g ether c o u ld only b e
obtained by ou r m e etin g at daybreak b ec a se by the
t i me of the family s ri sin g at seven I was obli g ed to be
at my daily b sine ss Thou gh I had neither time nor
mean f or prod u in g an ythin g immediately either for
Show or se I was c ontent with k eepin g sample s of all
po ssible pattern s in needlework bead s b u gle s hor se
hair e t f or I o ld not hel p feelin g tro bled om e
time s abo t my f t re de stiny yet I c o ld not bea r the
idea of be i n g t u rned into an Abi ga i l or ho semaid and
tho ght that with the abov e and s h li k e a q irement s

But

u u

uc

W
illi
a
m
f

/ l

e rsc i e

a l i ttle notion of m si c I mi ght obtain a pla c e as

governe ss in some fam i ly where the want of a k nowl e d g e

of Fren c h wo u ld be no obj e ti on
with

chan g e was soo n to co me

too her brother W I LL IA M wrote
that sh e should j o i n h i m at Bath
A

In

to

her l ife
propose

to mak e the trial if by h is in str u c tion I mi ght

not be c ome a u sefu l Sin g er for h is winter c on c ert s and
oratorio s ; he advi sed my brother J A C O B to g i ve me some
le sson s by way of be g innin g b u t that if afte r a trial of
two years we sho u ld not nd it an swer o r ex p e c tation
he wo ld brin g m e ba c k a ga i n Thi s at rst seemed to
be ag reeable to all partie s b u t by the time I had se t my
heart u p on thi s c han g e in my sit u ation J A C OB be g an to
t u rn the whole sc heme into ridi c u le and of c o rse h e
never heard the so u nd of my voi c e e xc e p t in sp eak in g
and yet I was left in the hara ssin g u n c e rtainty whether I
w s to g o or not
I re solv e d at la st to prepare as far as
lay in my p ower for both c a se s by tak in g in the rst
pla e every o p port nity when all were from home to
i mitate with a ga g betwe en my teeth the solo p arts of
c on c e rto s sk ak
a na
ll su h as I had heard them p lay
on the viol i n ; in c on seq en c e I had g ained a tolerable
exe c u tion before I k new how to sin g I next be g an to
k nit r fe s whi c h were intended for my brother W I L
L IA M in c ase I r e mai ned at home el se they were to be
For my mother and brother D I k nitted as
J A C OB S

many c otton sto k in g s as wo ld la st two year s at l e ast

L ife

2
3

ana

orks

I n A u g u st 1 7 7 2 h er brother arrived
H an over to ta k e her bac k to E n g lan d with
h im Th e j ou rn ey to L on don was made b e
tween A u g ust I 6 th an d 2 6 th and soon after
th ey wen t to g ether to H ERSCH E L S hou se
N o 7 N ew K i n g s S treet B ath
,

W illia m H

ersc z el

C H A P T ER I I
LI F E I N BAT H

2
77

33

1 8 2
7

IT

was to a bu sy life i n B ath that H ER

S C H E L too k h is S ister C A ROL I N A th en twen ty
two years O ld S h e was a perfectly u ntried
g i rl of very sm all accomplish m ents an d ou t
w ardly with bu t l ittl e to attract
The basis
of her character was th e possibility of an u n
chan g in g devotio n to on e obj ect ; for th e
best years of her life th is obj ect was the
happiness and success of her brother W I L
L IA M whom sh e profou ndly loved H er love
was headstron g an d fu ll of a k in d of ob s ti
nate pride wh ich refuse d to see anythi n g
but th e v iew she had adopted A s lo n g as
her life conti n u ed to be with her dearest
brother all was well with her S h e had a
noble aim and her h eart was more than fu ll
,

L if

34

L ater

ana

orks

on th is very sin g leness Of ch aracte r

brou g ht her other years O f wretchedness I t
is n ecessary to u nderstand th e almost span
i el li k e alle g ian ce sh e g ave i n order to com
prehend th e valu e wh ich her services were
to H ERSCH EL S h e su pplied h im with an aid
wh ich was u tterly loyal en tire and devoted
H er O bedience was u n question in g h er rev
erence am ou nted almost to adoration I n
their relation h e g ave everyth in g i n the way
Of incentive an d i n itiative an d sh e retu rned
her enti re e ffort loyally
A t rst her bu si ness was to g ai n a k n owl
ed g e of th e lan g u ag e and t o perfect herself
i n sin g in g so that she m i g h t become a s o
loist i n the co ncerts an d oratorios which h e
was constantly g ivin g
I n th e be g in n i n g i t was n ot easy
,

the season for the arrival of vi sitor s to the

bath doe s not be g i n till O tober my brother had le i s re
to try my apa ity for be c omin g a sefu l si n g e r for h is
on ert s and orator i o s and bein g very well sati sed with
my voi e I had two or three le s on s every day and the
ho rs whi c h were not spent at the harp si c hord were em
ployed in p ttin g me in the way of mana gin g the family

As

W
illi
a
m
f

ors e/tel

35

the se ond mornin g on meetin g my brothe r

at break fa st he be g an immed i ately to give me a le son in
E n g l i sh and arithmeti c and howed me the way of boo k
in g and k eepin g a c o nt s of c ash re c eived and laid
By way of relaxation we tal k ed of a stron
o t
on stellation with whi h I had
om y and th e bri g ht
made a q aintan e d rin g the ne ni ght s we pent on
th e p o stwa g en travellin g thro g h H olland
M y broth e r A LEX A N D ER who had been some time in
E n g land boarded and lod g ed with h is elder brothe r
and with my self o c c u p ied the atti c The r st oor
whi c h was f rni shed in the newe st and mo st hand some
The front room c on
style my brother k ept for h i m self
tainin g the harp si hord was alway s in order to re c eiv e
h is m si c al f riend s and s holar at littl e p rivat e c on c e rt s
or rehearsal s
S nday s I re c eived a su m for the
wee k ly ex p en se s of whi c h my ho u se k e epin g boo k ( writ
ten in E n g li sh ) showed the amo u nt la i d o t and my
p u r se the remainin g c a sh One of the prin c i p al thin g s
requ ired was to mark et and abo t six wee k s aft er c om
in g to E n g land I was sent alone amon g h women
b u t hers bask et women e tc and I bro u ght home what
ever in my fri ght I c o ld pi k p
M y brother
A LEX who w s now ret u rned from h is su mm e r en g a g e
ment sed to wat h me at a di stan e n k nown to me
till he s w me safe on my way home B t all attem p t s
to introd e any order in o r l i ttl e ho u sehold proved
vain owin g to th e servant my brother then had A n d
what still f rther in c rea sed my di f c u lty was that my
On

uc

L ife

6
3

ana

or ks

brother time w s entirely tak en p with b si ne ss so

that I only s w him at meal s Break fa st w s at seven
o c lo k or before m c h too early for me who wo ld
rather have remained p all n i ght than be obl i g ed to ri se
at so early an ho r
The three w i nter month s pa s e d on very heavily I
had to str ggle aga i n st k mzo l (home si c k ne ss) and
low sp i r i t and to an swer my s i ter s melan c holy letters
h e be ame a
on the death of her h sband by wh i h
widow with six Ch i ldren I k new too l i ttle E n gl i sh to
der i ve any on solation from the so i ety of tho e who
were abo t me so that d i nner time ex e p ted I was e n

tire ly left to my self

ez

e ie

s,

S O the win ter passed

The time when I o u ld hope to re c eive a little more

of my brother
i n tr u t i on and attention wa now draw
i n g near ; f or after E a ter Bath be c ome s very empty
only a few O f h i holar s who se fam i lie s were re si dent in
the ne i ghborhood remai n i n g B t I was g reatly di p
pointed ; for i n c on equ en e of the hara s in g and f
tig in g life he had led d u r i n g the w i nter month s he
sed
to retire to bed w i th a ba sin O f mil k or g la ss of water
and S M I T H S H rmoni and Opti FERG U S O N S A
tronomy e t
and so went to sleep b ried nder h is
favorite a thor s ; and h is r st tho ght on r i in g were
h ow to obtain in str ment for viewin g tho e obj e t
him self of whi h he had been readin g There bein g in

s sc

sa

cs

cs,

c s

W
illi
a
m
f

e rsc

k el

37

of
the
ho
p
a
two
and
half
foot G re go rian tele
s
a
s
one
sc ope to be let it was for some time ta k en in req i sition
and served not only f or v i ew i n g the heaven s b u t for
mak in g experiment s on it on tru c tion
It
ontented w i th
s oon appeared that my broth e r was not
k now i n g what former ob server s had seen for he be g an
to c ontrive a tele sc ope ei ghteen or twenty feet lon g ( I
bel i eve after H UYG H EN S de s rip tion )
I ws
m h hindered in my m u si c al pra ti c e by my help b e in g
ontinu ally wanted in the exe c u t i on of the vario s c on
triv an c e s and I had to am se my self w i th ma k in g the
t u be of p a steboard for the gla sse wh i c h w e re to arrive
from L ondon for at that t i me no o p ti c ian had settled at
Bath B u t when all was n i sh e d no one be side s my
brother c o ld g et a glimp se of J piter or S at u rn f or the
great len g th of the t be wo ld not allow it to be k ept in a
Th i s di f c lty howeve wa soon removed
stra i g ht line
by su b stit u tin g tin t be s
M y brother wrot e to
inq ire the pr i c e of a ree c tin g mirror f or (I believe )
a ve or six foot tele sc ope The an swe r was there were
none of so larg e a si e b t a p erson offered to ma k e
on e at a pric e m u c h above what my brother tho ght
p roper to g ive
A bo u t thi s time he bo g ht of a
Q ak er re sident at Bath who had formerly made at
tempt s at p oli shin g mirrors all h is r bbi h of p attern s
tool s hon es p ol i shers u nni shed m i rro rs e t b u t all
for small G regorian s and non e above two or three
in c h e s d i ameter
B t nothin g se rio u s
o u ld be attem p ted for want
-

'

uc

s,

L ife

8
3

ana

W orks

of time till the be g innin g of J ne when some of my

brother sc holars were leavin g Bath ; and then to my
w almo st every room t rned into a wor k
sorrow I
A c abinet ma k er mak in g a t be and stand s of
shop
all de s ription s in a hand somely f rni shed drawin g
room A LEX p ttin g up a h ge t rnin g ma ghine ( whi h
tol where he
he had bro h n the a t mn from
sed to spend the s mmer ) in a bedroom f or t rnin g
pattern s g rindin g gla se s and t rn i n g eye pie c e s e tc
A t the ame time m si d u r st not l i e ent i rely dormant
d ri n g the su mmer and my brother had freq ent re
h e arsals at home where M i ss FA R I NELL I an I talian
sin g er was met by several of the prin c i p al
p e rfo rmers
h e had en g a g e d for th e win ter c on c ert s
u

sa

'

'

u u

Fi nally i n I 7 74 h e had made h imself a G re

e
g orian te le sc ope f and had be g u n to view the
heaven s H e was then th irty six years old
Th e writer i n th e E u ropea n Mag a z in e de
scribes th is period :
,

thi s time he ontin u e d h is astronomi c al ob se rva

tion s and nothin g now seemed wantin g to c omplete h is
fel i ity b u t s f ient lei s re to enjoy h is tele sc ope s to
wh i c h he was so m c h atta hed that at the the atre he
u sed freq ently to ru n fro m the har p si c hord to loo k at

the stars d u rin g the time between the a c t

A ll

P b bly
wh i h w
th
ro a

e re

on th e
en

th e

dl f
b i t

mo

e st

S H RT G g i t l
t
f th k i d

on e of

n s ru m e n s o

re

or an

e e sc o

e s,

W
illi
a
m
f

e rs c

k el

39

I n an extract fro m his y ou r n a l No I n ow

at the rooms of the Royal S oc iety may be
seen a copy of h is rst O bservatio n of the
N ebu la of Orion on M arch 4 1 7 74 Th is
was made with h is v e an d a hal f foot G re
g orian re ecto r
I t was at th is tim e
between the
acts of the theatre that h e made h is rst re
view of the h eaven s with a N ewton ian tele
scope O f an apertu re of fou r an d a h alf i nches
an d a ma g ni fyi n g power of 2 2 2 times Th is
telescope was on e of the rst made by h im
self The review consisted of the exam ina
tion O f every star i n th e s k y of th e rst
seco n d th ird an d fou rth ma g n itu des an d of
all planets visible Th ere are n o records
of these observat io ns now extant and they
are n oteworthy only as a preparatio n for
m ore serious wor k
H e was carryin g ou t h is resolve to see
everyth in g for h i mself H is assidu ity may
be j ud g ed of by th e fact th at between 1 7 74
an d 1 7 8 1 H ERSCH E L had observed a si n g le

O bj ect th e N ebu la of Orion n o less than

fou rteen times
.

if

0
4

a na

or ks

The su ccess of h is rst telescopes incited

h i m to n ew e fforts H is h ou se became a
compl ete a telier where everyth in g that could
tend to excellen ce i n th is manu factu re was
tried an d re tried a hu ndred d i fferen t ways
W h en a di fculty arose experi ments were
be g u n wh i ch con tin u e d t ill it was con qu ered
W h en a su ccess was g ai ned i t was prose
c u te d to the utmost
I n 1 7 7 5 the rst seven foot re ector was
made i n 1 7 7 7 a ten foot was n ished i n 1 7 7 8

a very g ood ten foot too k its place I t

mu st n ot b e thou g ht that the telescopes men
On
tion e d were the only o nes completed
th e contrary they were but the best o nes
sel ected ou t Of man y
I n 1 7 7 4 a new hou se had been en g ag ed

wh ich h ad more room for wor k sh ops and

wh ose roof g ave space for O bservi n g Th e
g rass plat n ear it was soon u til i z ed to hold
th e stan d of a twenty foot telescope wh ich
h e h ad even then proj ected H is proj ects
were u n en d in g n o su ccess was nal ; h is
m i n d was at th e hei g ht of act iv ity ; h is wh ole
e ffort was thrown in to every u nderta k in g
.

W illia m H

ersck el

1
4

The m i rrors for all these telescopes were

made by hand E very portio n of the g rin d
in g d own to rou g h d imensions the shapin g
to som ethi n g n ear th e correct form th e pol
is h ing till th e accu rately exact cu rves were
O btain ed all th is must be done by han d
T h e mach i nes for th e pu rpose were not in
*
vented u ntil 1 7 8 8
A LE X A NDE R an d W I LL IA M wor k ed to
g ether at th is bu t m ost of th e work was
don e by th e latter Th e sister s part was
to atten d in the work sho p an d len d a han d
wherever an d whe never it was n ee d e d
.

M y time was tak en u p with c opyin g m si c

and p ra c ti sin g , be side s attendan c e on my brother whe n
poli shin g sin e by way of k eep i n g h i m alive I was c on
stan tly obli g ed to fe e d him by p u ttin g the vi c t u al s by bit s
into h is mo th Thi s was on c e the c a se wh e n in ord er
to ni sh a seven foot mirror he had not tak en h is hand s
from it for sixteen ho r s to g ether I n g eneral h e was
n ev e r nemployed at meal s b t was alway s at tho se
t i me s c ontrivin g or mak in g drawin g s of whatever ame

For a
of

tl

ki g

ma

a e n ts,

se e

ip ti

e sc r

i p i t f H ER H EL p
t wh i h w i ll i ll t t h i
g m h i l
igh th di ti
ti l T l
i
y l p di B i
on of

th e

re e c ors ,

E nc

c o ce

ma

u s ra e

o n s o

ta n n

ca ,

SC

s tron

roc e sse s

ec

on , ar c e

an c a

e e

L ife

2
4

a na

orks

in h is mind Generally I was oblig ed to read to him

wh i l t he w s at the t rn i n g lathe or poli hin g mirrors
D on Q ixot A r bi n N gkt E nt rtainm nt the novel s of
S T ERNE FI EL D I N G e tc servin g tea and su pp er witho u t
interru p t i n g the work with whi c h he was en ga g ed
and sometime s lendin g a hand I be c ame in tim e as
u sef u l a member of the work sho p as a boy mi gh t b e to
h is ma ster in the r st year of h is app renti c e shi p
B t as I was to ta k e a part the next year in the oratorio s
I had f or a whole twelvemonth two le sson s per wee k
from M i ss FLEM I N G the elebrated dan c in g mi stre ss to
drill me for a g entlewoman (G od k now s how sh e su c
My
S o we lived on witho t interr ption
e e de d)
brother A LEX was ab sent from Bath for some month s
h plea su re
e very s mmer b t when at home h e too k m
in exe c tin g some t u rn in g or c lo c k ma k er s work for h is

b rother
.

e,

uc

N ews from H anover pu t a su dden stop

fo r a tim e to all these labors Th e mother

wrote i n th e u tmost distress to say that D I E T
R I CH had d isappeared from h is hom e it was
su pposed with th e i ntentio n of g oin g to I n
dia with a you n g idler not older than h im

self
H is brother immediately left th e lathe
at wh ich he was tu rn in g an eye piece i n c o
c oa nu t and started f o r H ollan d when ce he
proceeded to H anover fail in g to meet h is
.

'

W illia m H

ersc /i el

43

brother as h e e xpected M eanwh ile the sis

ter received a letter to say that D I E T R I CH

was laid u p v e ry ill at an i nn i n W appin g

A LE X A NDE R poste d to town removed h i m to
a lod g in g and after a fortni g ht s nursin g
brou g ht h im to Bath wh ere on h is brother
W I LL IA M S return he fou n d h im bei n g well
care d for by h is sister
A bout th is time another chan g e was made
to the hou s e 1 9 N ew K i n g S treet which was
the last move i n Bath
I t was here that th e
Georg iu m S ia u s was d iscovered
T he music still went on Th e oratorios of
th e Mess ia k 7 u das Ma cca eu s and S a mson
were to be performed u nder H ERSCH EL S di
rection with an orch estra of n early one hu n
dre d pieces The scores and vocal parts of
these C A ROL I N A copied with her own han d s
an d the sop ra n i were i nstru cted by her she
bein g the lea d i n g sol o ist
A lon g with th e
music we nt the astro nomy N ot o n ly were
new telescopes made bu t they were made
for immediate use
The variable star Mira Ceti was O bserve d
and a lon g series of l u nar O bservatio ns be g u n
.

44

or ks

8
and
I mea s red the hei ght s of
7
779
abo u t one h ndred mo ntain s of the moon by three d i f
f e re n t method
S ome of the se ob servat i on are g iven in P/ ilosop/ i l
T r n ction vol L X X b t mo st remain n al c ulated in

my jo rnal till some p roper O pport nity

In

if

a n cl

8
0
7 ,

sa

s,

4.

z ca

hile H E RSCH EL was m easu rin g th ese lu

nar mou ntai ns i n D ecember 1 7 7 9 he made
by cha n ce an acqu ai ntan ce of mu ch valu e to
D r W I LL IA M W A T SON a Fellow of
h im
the R oyal S ociety distin g u ished for h is re
searches i n electr icity happen ed to see h i m
at h is telescope and th is led to a visit and
an i nvitatio n to H E RSCH EL to j oi n th e Philo
soph ical S oci ety of B ath th en form i n g Th is
h e g ladly d id and it was of u se to h im i n
many ways
H e there forme d acquain tance with m en of
h is ow n way of th i n k i n g an d h e h imself b e
cam e k n own B etter than all he learn ed to
W

Th h v v b p bl i h d
d y wh
i gi m t
m
th y w l d b f y m i l v l
g ivi g h p f f H ER H E L
w
lw y m h h m k f t l
ti l th y w pp l i d t h p bl
e se

te re st
as a

ne

a e

e n ou r

ou

as

c on te n t u n

e en

er

n s tru

e asu r n

t e

ate r a

an

e re a

a ue

er o

o t e

i t l i k l y th i
g ly i m p d h t
i
l h gh f i
id i y d k i ll H
p f h w v

n or

e n s a re so

SC

roo s o

ore t an
e

to

ass

re at

e s,

at

rov e

sc e n c e , a

e e sc o

ro

is

t ou

an

or

as n e

e m s of as ron om y

er

W
illi
a
m
f

/ l

e rsc i e

m easure h imself with other m en and by his

early papers read to the S oc iety he g ained
s k ill in pu tt in g h is th ou g hts before h is hear
ers Th is s k ill he neve r lost an d the m erely
l iterary art o f h is memo i rs wou ld m a k e h is
papers remar k able with ou t th ei r oth er m er
its H e is always clear and i n h is early pa
pers especially h e appeals to h is particular

aud ien ce the Royal S ociety in a way

wh ich shows that h e is consciou s of all its
wea k nesses as well as of its di g n ity L ater
h is ton e sl i g htly chan g ed H e became less
anxiou s to wi n h is au dience f or he had b e
come an au thority Th is k nowled g e lent a
qu iet stre ng th to h is style bu t n ever i n du ced
the sli g htest arro g an ce of spi ri t or man ner
Th e Bath Ph ilosophical S ociety has left n o
printed proceed in g s H ERSCH E L was on e of
its earl iest memb ers an d m any papers were
com mu n icated to i t by h is han d These a p
pear to have been of a very m iscellaneou s
natu re S ome of them at least would be of
the h i g h est i nterest to u s n ow
I n the P/z ilosopkica l T ra nsactions for 1 7 8 9
p 2 2 0 H ERSCH EL tells u s that h e com m u n i
,

a nd

L ife

6
4

orks

to that S ociety certain m athe m at

ical papers relati n g to ce ntral f orce s other

than the fo rce of g ravity wh ich are or may
be co ncerned i n the co nstru ction of th e
s idereal heavens Th is early idea was still
entertain ed by H E RSCH E L i n 1 7 8 9 an d th e
mathematical papers referre d to mu st be con
tain e d i n th e Min u tes of th e S ociety wh ich
o n its dissolu tio n were torn from the M i nu te
boo k an d retu rned to th e writers
Th e earl iest published writin g Of H E R
S C H E L is th e answe r to the priz e qu estion i n

th e L adies D iary fo r 1 7 79 proposed by

the celebrated L A NDEN namely
c a te d

'

The len g th ten sion and we i ght of a m u si c al st rin g

bein g given it is req ired to nd how many v i bration s it
w i ll mak e i n a given time when a small g iven wei ght is

fa stened to its middle and vibrate s with it

I n th e Pk ilosopk ica l T ra n sa ctions of the

Royal S ociety f or I 7 8 0 are two papers of
his The titl e of the rst is A s tron omica l Ok
,

serva tion s on

tk o Pe r ioclica l S ta r in Collo Ceti,

by M r W I LL IA M H E RSCH EL of Bath Th is
was com mu n icate d to the S ociety by D r
.

W illia m H

/ l

e rs c te

47

W I LL IA M W A T SON J r an d was rea d M ay

I I 1 7 8 0 at th e sam e tim e as the other paper
on the mou n tains of the mo on I t is to be
noted that H ERSCH EL was at th is t ime plai n

M r W I LL IA M H ERSCH EL of B ath
I t was
Dr H E R
only in 1 7 8 6 t hat he becam e

SC H EL throu g h the O xford de g ree of L L D

N either of these two papers i s specially
remar k abl e on its pu rely astro n om ical side
The problem s exam i ned were such as lay
open before all and th e treatment of them
was such as wou l d natu rally be su gg ested
The secon d of these two co ntained how
ever a sho rt descriptio n of h is N ewton ian
telescope and he spea k s of it with a j ust pri d e :
I bel ieve that fo r d isti nctness of v isio n th is
i nstrumen t is perhaps equal to any that was

ever made
H e was at least certai n of
havin g O btain ed excellence i n the ma k in g of
his instru ments
I n h is next paper however read J an u
ary I I 1 7 8 1 a subj ect i s approached wh ich
S hows a differen t k in d of thou g ht
I t is th e
rst obviou s p roof of th e truth of th e state
ment wh ich h e made long afterwar d s ( I 8 1 1 )
.

L ife

8
4

an

d W

orks

when he said : A k nowled g e of th e con

structio n of the heavens has always been the

u ltimate O bj ect of my observation s

The title of th is paper was A s tron om ica l

Oserva tion s
I

r ou n a

m in e

tk e

on

R ota tion

t/z eir A x es , m a oe

z vk etk er

z oit

tke E a rtk

view

Pla n ets

tk e

a iu r n a l

to de te r

m oti on

is

perfectly egu a le H ere the qu estio n is a

di f cult and a remote o ne and th e method
adopted for its solu tio n is perfectly su itable i n
prin ciple I t mar k s a step o nward from m ere
observation s to ph ilosoph iz in g u po n thei r re
s u lts
I n practical astronomy too we note
an advance Not o nly are h is results g iven
bu t also carefu l estimates of th e errors to be
feared i n them an d a d iscu ssion of the
sou rces of su ch errors The same volu m e of
th e Pk ilosopk ica l T ra nsa ctions wh ich con
tain s th is paper also co ntains another A c
a
This
C
om et read A pril 2 6 1 7 8 1
cou n t o
f
comet was th e m aj o r plan et Ura n u s or as
H ERS CH E L named it Georg iu m S ia n s H e
had fou n d it on the n i g ht of Tu es d ay M arch
I n exam i nin g th e small stars i n
13
1 78 1
the n ei g hborhood of H Gem in oru m I per
.

W illia m H

/ l

e rs c i c

49

o ne that appeared visibly larg er than

the rest ; bein g stru c k with its u ncom mo n
appearance I com pared it to H Gem in oru m
an d the small star i n the qu artile betwee n
A u r ig a and Gem in i an d ndin g it so mu c h
larg er than either of them I su spected i t to

be a com et
Th e com et was observe d
over all E u rope I ts o rbi t was computed by
vario us astron omers an d its distance from
th e su n was fou n d to be n ineteen times that
o f ou r earth Th is was n o comet bu t a n ew
maj or planet The discovery of the amateu r
astro n ome r Of B ath was the m ost stri k in g
I t had
S in ce th e in ventio n Of the telescope
absol utely n o parallel for every other maj or
planet had bee n k nown fro m time im m e m o
*
rial
Th e e ffect of the d iscoveri es of G A L I LEO
c e iv e d

i p l i d h t i f H ER H EL h d di d h i t l p
U
ly l
dy
l i th h did h i di v y
w
ld h
p d h im i
h t tim ( M h
78 ) h
i
i
pl t w
d h d
l ti
m ti
h
Th i i
ti m i
p ti i h w p l t w d t t d
by i ph y i l pp
by i m ti
D
d
y

w
d i g l
pp h t
t r l i k th i w l d h v b
vi w d d h f g tt "
*

A RA

to

GO

h as m

ran u s

ou

on

av e

ts

on c e

ts

s ca

ose t a
e

e aran c e ,

an

en

no

an

an

s n

or o

n ot

u ar s a

en

arc

on

re a

ne

ts

ve

an e

on , s n c e t e

sc on c e

a ne

an

an

at

re c te

e ar e r

s nce

s ta t on ,

re

s an e n

su

e sc a

SC

e e ve n

as a t

an e

on
s

ou

e e sc o
sc o

to t
as

er

s tar.

e ec e

oe s an

on e

a e

ee n

a u ct

L ife

0
5

or ks

was felt almost more i n the moral than in

the scientic world T he mystic nu mber of
th e plan ets was bro k en u p by th e in trodu c
tion of fou r satellites to 7 upiter That Ven u s
emulated th e phases O f ou r moon overthrew
superstitio n an d seated the C opern ican the
ory rmly The d iscovery of an in n u m e r

able m u ltitu de of xe d stars in the M il ky

W ay con fou nded th e received ideas
Th is
was the g reat m ission of the telescope i n
G A L I LEO S hands
T he epoch of mere astro n omical discovery
be g an with the detectio n Of the larg e satel
l ite of S a tu rn by H U YGH EN S i n 1 6 5 5 E ven
then superstition was n ot dead H U YGH ENS
did not search for m ore m oo ns because by
that discovery he had raised the nu mber of
%
k nown satell ites to six
an d because these
wi th the s ix plan ets made the perfect nu m

ber twelve
F ro m 1 6 7 1 to 1 6 8 4 C A SS I N I discovered
fou r more m oon s revolvin g abou t S a tu rn
S in ce 1 6 8 4 n o n ew body had been added to
.

'

Fou r of y upiter

on e of th e e art

an d on e of

S a tu rn

m
W
illi
a
f

e rsc

kel

th e solar system I t was thou g ht complete

for n early a cen tu ry
I n E n g land the remar k able d iscoveries of

B R A DLEY ( 1 7 2 7 6 2 ) had been i n the eld of

practical astronomy an d h is example had
set the k e y n ote f or fu rther researches
Fran ce was j u st abou t be g i n n i n g the brill
ia n t period O f her discoveries i n m ath e m at
ical astron omy an d had n o observatory
devoted to i nvesti g atio ns li k e H ERSCH EL S
with the possible exceptio n of D A RQ UI E R S
an d FL A UG ERG U ES
The O bservato ries of
S CH RO E T ER an d V O N H A H N i n G ermany
were n o t yet act ive T he eld wh ich H E R
SCH EL was created to ll was vacan t th e
whole world over I t was especially so i n
E n g land Th e Royal O bservato ry at G reen
wich u nde r M A S K E LY N E a s k ilfu l O bserver
whose wo r k was mostly con n ed to m erid ian
observatio ns was n o rival to a private O b s e r
v ator
b
se r
l
i
k
e
H
ERSCH
EL
S
The
private
o
y
v atorie s themselves were bu t small affairs ;
those of the k in g at K e w of D r W I LSON
at G las g ow of M r A U B E R T at L oa m pit
H ill of the C ou n t V O N B RU H L i n L ondon
.

and

L ife

orks

bein g perhaps the m ost i mportant

The
whole el d was O pen W hat was perhaps
m ore remar k able there was i n E n gland du r
in g H E RSCH EL S lifetime n o astronomer pub
l ic or private whose talents even as an ob
server lay in th e s am e direction
I t hardly n eed be said that as a philoso
pher i n h is scien ce h e had then no rival as
h e has had n one s in ce H is only associates
even were M I CH ELL an d W I L S O N
W ithou t depreciatin g th e abilities of the
astro n omers of E n g land h is cotemporaries
we may fai rly say that H E RSCH E L stood a
g reat man amon g a g rou p O f small on es
L e t u s endeavor to appreciate th e ch an g e
effected i n th e state o f astro nomy n ot o nly
.

J H N MI H E LL h d b
O

ow n

di d

he

1 7 60
s

in

1 79

i
hd

b y h is m e m o

v e n tion

of

th e

i h

ee n a

m et

f or

was

th e

rs on

m em

di

e r of

ph il

s tan c e s

iig

e te rm n n

y l S i ty i
i
p h i l th i k
d by h i i
t
th
d i ty I t i
H ER H E L l th gh
Ro

th e
oso

oc e

e r, as

ca

s nce

th e s ars , an

of

th e

e ar

ens

lly k w t
h i w i ti g w
f m i l i t th l tt
d
A LEXAN DER W I L N w P f
fA t
m y t Gl g w
i hi y k
w t
by h i th y f th t f th l p t
wh i h w
d p t d d l g d by H ER H EL H di d i 7 86
b t th f m i l i
f W IL N
d H ER H E L
d l fi d
m i
n ot c e rta n
r

at h e
e re

w as

ar

SO

no

s c

as a

es o

an

no

e or

an

SC

s ron o

SC

e n a u re o

SC

e n ar e

SO

ou

e r.

ro e s sor o

as

o us

e rs on a

re

a ne

as

e so ar s

n 1

c ose

r en

an

o s,

s.

IVillia m H

ersc

k el

53

in E n g land bu t i n the whole wo rld simply

by the discovery of Ura n u s S uppose fo r
example that the last plan et in ou r syste m
had bee n S a tu rn
N o doubt H ERSCH E L
would have g o ne on I n spite of on e an d
an other d i f cu lty he wou ld have made h is
ten foot h is twenty foo t telescopes
H is
fo rty foot wou ld n ever have been bu ilt an d
the two satell ites wh ich h e fou n d with it
m i g ht not have been discovered
C ertai n
H is re
ly Mim a s wou l d n ot have been
searches on the co nstru ction of the heavens
wou ld have been made ; those were i n h is
brain an d m ust have been ul timated Th e
mass of O bservations o f S a tu rn of y upp
ter of Ma rs of Ven u s wo u ld have bee n
made and publ ished The researches o n th e
su n o n the
i nvisible rays of heat on

c om e ts a n d n eb u l ae
all th ese m i g h t have
been made printed and read
B u t these would have g one i nto th e Pk ilo
s o k ica l T ra n sa ction s as the wor k of an ama
p

te u r astro nomer
M r H E RSCH EL of B ath
They wou ld have been praised an d they
would have been doubte d I t wou ld have
,

L ife

54

ana

or ks

ta k en a whole g en eratio n to have appre c i

ated them
They would have been se
tried entirely on their merits an d
v e re ly
n ally they wou ld have stood where th ey

stan d to day u n rivalled B u t throu g h what

i ncreased labors these su ccesses would h ave
been g ai ned
I t is n ot merely that the pat
of the k i n g
th e subsidies for th e
ro n ag e
forty foot telescope
th e compara
tive ease of H E RSCH EL S l ife would have been
lac k in g I t i s more than th is I t would
have been n ecessary fo r h im to have created
the au d ience to wh ich h e appealed and
to have conqu ered th e m ost persistent of

enem ies i nd i fference

C ertain ly if H ERSCH E L S m in d had been
other than it was the d iscovery of Ura n u s
wh ich brou g ht h im ho no rs fro m every s e ien
ti c society in th e world an d wh ich g ave
h im au thority m i g ht have had a hurtful
e ffect B u t as h e was there was n oth i n g
wh ich cou ld have aided h is career more than
th is startlin g discovery I t was n eeded f or
h im I t completed the solar system far more
by afford in g a free play to a profou ndly ph il
.

"

W illia m H

e rsc

ke l

55

m i nd than by occupyi n g th e va
c an t spaces beyo nd S a tu r n
H is opportu n ities woul d have bee n pro
f ou n dly m odi ed thou g h h is perso nal worth
would have been the same
os oph ic al

t th t fr m th
i th d t it b m
gh i t b t h l f th
th
V i i bl th
Th gh h l f ph b
i f it b ight
divi
igi
I y t f
th th O th t b
N p
th
L ik
d d w t h
idg
t
Of m d k m t i
th th th t m
l mp
H m bly t h g l i k tw i k l i g w i t

A m g th b h f th l t

T he S

ar

ou

ou

no

e an u n e n

n,

an

so

on

an

ran c

es o

or

ea

n e ss,

u rn s

e r

an

re , on

a c

ou n a n

ar

ne

s,

e c on sc ou s o

n e r or

ea

e e ar

e re

u re r e sse n c e ,

a s

ar s

e z en

ose

n er

see
s,

ree s

e ss

T o show how completely u n k nown the pri

vate astronome r of B ath was at this ti me I
transcribe a sentence fro m B OD E S accou nt of
the d iscovery of Ura n u s
,

I n the

of J u n e 7 8 thi s wo rthy
man i c alled MERS T H EL ; in J UL I U S j o rna l E ncy clope
cliq e
H ER T S C H EL ; in a letter from M r M A S K ELYNE
to M M E S S I ER H ERT H EL ; in another letter of MA S
K EL Y NE S to H err M A YER at M annheim H ERRS C H EL L ;
M D A RQ UI ER c all s him H ERMS T EL What may h is

n ame be
H e m st have been born a German
Ga z ette L ittera ire

1,

B erliner

7 a /z rou c k

f or 1 7 84 h e is

ca

ll d
e

1 7 84 ,

2 11

O ROCH EL L E

I n th e Con na issance

aes

T ems

L ife

6
5

and

or ks

This O bscu rity did n ot l on g continu e

The n ews spread qu i c k ly fro m fa sh ionable
B ath to L on don O n th e 6 th Of D ecembe r
1 78 1
H E RSCH E L was elected a Fell ow of th e
Royal S ociety to wh ich he w a s fo rmally

adm itted M ay 3 0 1 7 8 2
H e was forty
th ree years old
H e also received the Copley m edal i n I 7 8 1
for h is discovery of a n ew an d sin g ular

9*
star
.

He

freq en tly in te rru pted by vis

itors who were introd c ed by some of h is re sident sc hol
rs amon g whom I remember S i r H A RRY ENG E L FI EL D
Dr B L A G D EN and Dr M A S K E L Y NE W ith the latter he

n ow

was

p
i y id
S
hi g ld m d l

P id t f h R y l
I
m
f h R y l S
i yIp
h
y
h
ig d t y
w d wh i h th y h
f ll b
d I xh t y
i di l ig ly
l iv
h l d f i wh i h h p d d y h v f
m h h
Y
i t h im p v m f l p h
l d y m p ly p id h l b wh i h y h b w d p h m ;
b
h
f h h
ibl
w ll k
b i xh
w
W h
y
d S
w
wh i h x
i i di
yb
m y x
f m h
d h im m h i m g i
f
d
"W h k w wh w i g w lli wh t h
m l
mb l
d
ph m
m i b h i d w iti g

w d f t
i d y d imp v m t "
A t th e

oc e t

c e ss u

ro

an c e

e e ss an

ar

u u re

ou

ut

no

or

cee

at n e

e r e ss

u str

ou

an

no

as

r n

en o

ro e

av e

ce e
n

uc

s, n e
ena

en

re

sa te

a n

e sto

to

ou r su c

to

cu

e sc o

a tu rn

te s , or
e

ate

es

so

as

on t e
au s t

ne

c en c e

ou

te

to

ar e st o

ou a

en t o

ro e

s ta r,

ne

o a

re se n t

en t

to

u ce

o t e

e av e n s a re

ou r n e

nu

ro

en

ass

c on t n u e

av e

av e

to

re s

oc e t

o a

or

K S , th e

t e

e o

ou r a tte n t on

su n ,

OS

ar

e re

tre a su re s o

J E PH B AN

e na

re

S ir

sc e n c e

o c an sa

re

on or

a re a

na

ors , an

s o

uc

ut

t ose

re se n ta t on

sa

stan c e

ts

a tte n

ot e r

to

W illia m H

e rs c

k el

57

en g ag ed in a l on g c onver ation whi h to me so nded

l i k e q arrell i n g and the r t word my brother a i d after
he w g one were :T h at i a dev i l of a fellow
I s ppo se the i r name s were O ften n ot k nown or
were for g otten ; for i t w s n ot t i ll the year 7 8 or
7 8 3 that a memorand m O f the name of vi i tor s w

tho ght of
M y brother now appl i ed h i m elf
to p erfe t h is m i rrors ere t i n g i n h is g arden a stand
f or h is twenty foot tele s ope ; many tr i al were me c e
f or s h an
nw i eldy
sa ry before the req ired mot i on
ma c hine c o u ld be ontrived M any attempt were made
by way of experiment before an intended th i rty foot
tele sc ope c o u ld be c omple ted for whi c h between wh i le s
s
not
interr
p
tin
g
the
ob
ervation
with
even
ten
and
s
s
(
twenty foot and wr i tin g papers f or both the R oyal and
Bath Philo soph i c al S o ietie s) g a u g e s shape we i ght t
ompo
of the m i rror were c al c u lated and tr i al s of the
I n short I saw n oth
sition of the meta l were made
in g el se and heard nothin g el se tal k ed of b u t the se
th i n g s when my brother s were to g ether A LEX was al
way s ve ry alert a s i stin g when anythin g new was goin g
forward b t he wanted p erseveran c e and never lik ed to
And
c o n ne him self at home f or many ho r s to g ether
so it happened that my brother W I LL IA M w s obli g ed to
mak e tri al of my abiliti e in o p yin g for him atalo g e s
table s e tc and sometime s whole papers wh i h were lent
him f or h is peru sal A mon g them was one by M r
M I C H ELL and a c atalo g e of CH R I S T IA N M A YER in L atin
whi c h k e p t m e em p loyed when my brother was at th e
was

as

as

uc

s,

e c

L ife

8
5

and

or ks

tele s ope at n i ght W hen I fo nd that a hand was

lar mea s re s were to
somet i me s wanted when any parti
be made with the lamp mi rometer e t or a re to be
k e p t p or a d i h of offee ne c e ssary d rin g a lon g
n i ght s wat h i n g I ndertoo k with p lea s re what other s
m i ght have tho ght a hard h i p
S in c e the
d i s overy of the G o g i m S ia s [ M arc h 3
I
bel i eve few m en of learn in g or c on seq en c e left Bath
before they had seen and onversed w i th its di c overer
and tho ght them elve s fort nate in nd i n g h i m at home
S ir W I LL IA M W A T S O N w as
on the i r repeated v i i t s
almo t an i nt i mate f or hardly a day pa s ed b t he had
ometh i n g to omm n i ate from the letters whi h he
re eived from S ir J OS EP H B A N K S and other members of
the R oyal S o iety from whi h i t appeared that my
brother w expe ted in town to re c eive the gold
medal The end O f N ovember wa the mo st pre ario s
s ea son f or ab ent i n g h i m self
B t S i r W I LL IA M W A T
S O N went w i th him
and it w arran g ed so that they
s t o t with the d i l i g en e at ni ght and by that mean s
h i ab sen e d i d n ot la t above three or fo u r day s when
my brother ret rned alone S i r W I LL IA M remainin g with
h i father
Now a very b sy w i nter w s c ommen c in g ; for my
brother had en ga ged h i m elf to ond t the oratorio s
onjo i ntly w i th R O N Z I N I and had made h i m self an swe r
able f or the payment of the en ga g ed performer for h is
red i t ever stood h i gh in the opinion of every on e he had
to deal w i th ( H e lo t on si derably by th i s arran ge
c

cu

c ,
.

e r

as

as

uc

s,

W
illi
a
m
f

ersc k e

59

m ent ) B t tho u gh at time m h hara ssed with b u si

ne ss the mirror for the th i rty foot ree tor w s never
o ld b t be spared in
o t of h is m i nd and if a m i n te
g oin g from one s holar to another or g ivin g one the slip
he c alled at home to see how the men went on with the
fu rn a c e wh i c h was b ilt in a room below even with the
garden
The mirror was to b e c ast in a mo ld of loam of
whi h an immen e q antity w s to be po u nded in a
I t was an end
m ortar and si fted thro gh a ne sieve
le ss p ie c e of wo rk and e rv e d me f or many an ho r s
exerc i se ; and A LEX freq u ently too k h is t u rn at it for
we were all ea g er to do somethin g toward s the g reat
nderta k in g E ven S ir W I LL IA M W A T S ON wo ld some
time s tak e the p e stle from me when h e fo nd me in the
work room where he expe c ted to nd h is friend in
who e c on c e rn s he too k so m u c h intere st that he felt
m c h di sap p ointed at not bein g allowed to p ay f or th e
metal B u t I do not thin k my brother e ver ac c e p t e d
pe c niary a ssi stan c e from any on e of h is friend s and on
thi s o c c asion he de c l ined the offe r by sayin g it was p aid
for alre ady
A mon g the Bath vi sitor s we re many p hilo sophi c a l
g entlemen who sed to freq u ent the le vee s at S t Jame s s
when in town Colonel W A L S H in p arti c lar info rmed
my brother that from a onver sation he had had with
H is M aj e sty it appeared that in the S p rin g he was to
c om e with h is se ven foot tele sc o p e to the k in g
S imilar
re p ort s he re c eived from many others b t they made no
u

uc

L ife

60

ana

orks

great impre ion n or a ed any i nterr ption in h is

i
n
r
t
o
t dy and
oon the ea on for the on
o
p
ert w O ver and the mo ld t in rea di ne a day
wa
t a p art for a t i n g and the me tal w
in the f r
na e U nfort nately it be g an to lea k at the moment
when ready f or po rin g and both my brother and the
a ster w i th h i m n were obl i g ed to r n o t at op p
o it e
door for the tone oorin g (whi h o ght to have been
tak en p) ew abo t in all d i re tion s h i gh
the
e i lin g Before the se ond a t i n g wa atte m p ted every
thin g wh i h o ld i n re s e had been attended to
and a very p erfe t metal w fo nd in the mo ld
B t a total top and deran g ement n ow too k p la e
and nearly ix or even month s elap ed before my
brother o ld ret rn to the ndi t rbed enjoyment of
h i in str ment and O b ervat i on
For on morn i n g i n
P a i on W ee k
S ir W I LL IA M W A T S O N w with my
brother tal k in g abo t the pend i n g jo rney to town my
elde t nephew arr i ved to pay
a v i i t and bro ght the
onrmat i on that h is n le w expe ted w i th h i in tr
ment i n town
W e had n ot o n i ght in the
wee k ex ept Friday b t what w s t apart f or an or
torio either at Bath 0r Br i tol S oon after E a ter a new
org an bein g ere ted in S t Jame Ch r c h it w opened
w i th two performan e of the M e iah thi a gain too k

ome
f
my
brother
time
s
o
p
c

ss

cu

s u

as

as s

as

s se

us

e c

OC

ss,

as

s,

su

as

ucc

ss

as

ss

s u

as

as

us

as

ne

se

s s

ss

as

In

M ay of

B ut

2
8
7

H ERSCH EL wen t to

L on don

when almo st do ble the t i me had elap sed wh i h

u

W
illi
a
m
f

e rsc

k el

61

my brother c o u ld safely b e ab sen t from h is sc holar s

A LEX as well as my self were m h at a lo ss how to an
swer the i r inq irie s for from the letter s we re eived we
c o ld learn nothi n g b t that he had been introd u c ed to
the k in g and q een and had permi ssion to c ome to the
c on c ert s at B u k in g ham H o u se
where th e k in g c on

ver sed with him abo t a stronomy

,

uc

I t was du rin g h is absen ce at th i s t ime that

th e three followin g letters were writte n an d
received
D EA R LIN A
I have had an a u dien c e of H is M aj e sty thi s mom
in g and met with a very g ra c io u s re c ept i on I pre
sented h i m with the drawin g of the solar sy st e m and
had the honor of ex p lainin g i t to him and the q een
M y tele s ope is in three wee k s time to g o to R i c hmond
and meanwhile to be p t p at G re e nwi c h where I shall
a c c ord i n gly c arry it to day S o yo e e L I N A that
o
u
m
u
s
t
not
thin
k
f
ein
g
me
i
n
le
s
than
a
month
o
s
s
e
y
I Shall wr i te to M i ss L EE my self ; and other s holars
who inq u i re f or me you may tell that I c annot wait on
them ti ll H is M aj e sty shall be plea sed to g ive me leave
to ret u rn or rathe r to di smi ss me for t i ll then I m st
attend I will al so write to M r PA LMER to a c q u aint
him with it
I am in a g reat h u rry therefore c an w rite no more at
p r esent Tell A LEX A N D ER tha t ev erythin g loo k s very

L ife

62

a na

or ks

li k ely as if I w e re to stay here The k in g i nqu i re d

after him and after my g reat spe c u l m H e al so g ave
me leave to c ome to hear the G RI ES B A CH S p lay at the
p rivate c on c ert whi c h he h s every even i n g M y havin g
se en the k in g need not b e k ept a se c ret b u t abo t my
stayin g here it wil l be be st not to s y anythin g b u t only
that I m u st r e main here till H is M aj e sty h as ob served
the planet s with my tele s ope
Y e sterday I dined w i th Colonel W A L S H who inqu ired
after you There were M r A U B ER T and Dr M A S K E
LYNE Dr M A S K ELYNE in p bli de c lared h is obli g a
tion s to me for hav i n g introd c ed to them the h i gh
powers for M r A U B ER T h as so m c h s c eeded w i th
them that he say s he look s down u pon 0 3 0 or 40 0
with c ontem p t and immediately be g in s with 8
He
h as sed
very c ompletely and seen my ne do ble
A ll my paper s are p rintin g with th e
star s with them
p o st sc r i pt and all and are allowed to b e very val able
Y ou k now
Y o see L I N A I tell yo all th e se thin g s
van i ty is not my foible therefore I need n ot fear you r
c e n su re
Farewell
I am yo u r aff ec tionat e brother
WM H ER S C H EL
S t d y Mo i g
p rob b ly M y 5
.

0,

0,

00

rn n

a ur a

W illia m H

TO

MI S S

ersc/i el

63

H E RSCHE L
Mon d ay

v i g

en n

" u ne

3,

7 82

DEAR LINA
I pa ss my time between G reenwi h and L ondo n
a greeably eno u gh b t am rather at a lo ss f or work that
I l i k e Company is not al way s plea sin g and I wo u ld
m u c h rather be p oli shin g a sp e c l m L a st Friday I
The
was at the k in g s on ert to hear G E O RG E play
k i n g spo k e to me as soon a he saw me and k ept me in
onver ation for half an ho u r H e a sk ed G E O RG E to
p lay a solo c on erto on p u rpo e that I mi ght hear him
and GE O R G E play s extremely well is very m c h im
proved and the k i n g l i k e s him very m c h The se two
last ni ght s I have been star g a in g at G reenwi h with
Dr M A S K ELY NE and M r A U B ER T We have c om p a red
o r tele sc o p e s to g ethe r and mine was fo u nd very s pe
rior to any of th e R oyal O b servatory Do u bl e stars
whi c h they c o u l d not se e with the i r in stru ment s I had
the p leasu re to Show them ve ry p lainly and my me han
sm is so m u c h a p proved of that Dr M A S K ELYNE h a
already ordered a model to be tak en from mine and a
H e i however
stand to be made by it to h is ree c tor
now so m h o t of love with h is in st ru ment that he b e
g i n s to do bt whet her it deserves a n e w stand
I am introd c ed to the be t c ompany T O morrow
I dine at L ord PA L MERS T O N S n e xt day with S ir J O S EP H
B A N K S e t e t A mon g opti ian s and a stronomer s
nothin g now is tal k e d of b u t zo/ at t/z y call my g reat dis
c ove rie s
A la s thi s show s how far they are behind

u u

s,

uc

"

L ife

64

a na

or ks

h tri e s as I have seen and done are c alled

t g et at it a g ain
L
et
me
I
will
ma
k
e
b
ch
t
r
g
tele sc ope and se e s c h thin g s that is I will end e a vo r

to do so
when
ea

"

su c

s,

su

T O M I SS H ERSCHEL

uz
y

1 782

3,

D E A R CA R OL I N A
I have been so m c h em p l oyed that yo will not
wo n der at my not writin g sooner The letter y ou sent
me la st M onday ame very safe to me As Dr W A T S O N
and A LEX A N D ER
s to a q a i nt y o
h as been so g ood a
with my si t ation I was st i ll more ea sy in my silen e to
L
a
t
n
i
g
ht
the
K
i
n
g
the
u
een
the
P
rin
e
o
s
c
of
Q
y
W ale s the P ri n c e ss R oyal P rin c e ss S OP H IA P rin c e ss
AU G U S T A e t D k e of M O NT A G UE Dr H E B ER D EN M
et
saw my tele s ope and i t was a very
D E L U C e tc
ne even i n g M y i n str ment g ave g eneral sati sfa ti on
The k i n g h as very g ood eye and enj oys ob servation s
w i th tele ope s ex eedin gly
Thi even i n g as the k i n g and q u een are g one to
K e w the pr i n e se s were de si ro u s of see i n g my tele
s c ope b t wanted to k now i f it was po ssible to se e with
ou t g oin g o t on the g ra ss and were m u h plea sed when
they heard that my tele sc ope c o ld be arried into any
pla c e they li k ed be st to have it A bo t ei ght O lo c k it
wa moved into the q een s apartment s and we wa i ted
some time in hope s of see i n g j
i
t
or
t
rn
M
ean
a
e
r
S
p
while I showed the p rin c e sse s and several other lad i e s
wh o w e r e p re sent the sp e c u l u m th e mi c rometer s th e

s,

sc

W illia m H

ersc/z e

65

movement s of the tele s ope s and other thin gs that

seemed to ex c it e their
u r i o i ty
W hen the even i n g p
r
a
e d to be totally
npromi sin g I p ropo sed an arti i al
e
p
S t rn as an obj e c t si n c e we c o ld n ot have the real
one I had beforehand prepared th i little pie e s I
g e s ed by the appearan e of the weather in the after
noon we sho ld have no tar to loo k at Th i bein g
a epted with great plea re I had the lamp l i ghted p
whi h ill m i nated the pi t re of a S t rn ( t o t in
p a teboard ) at the bo ttom of the g arden wall The
e ff e c t w s ne and so nat ral that the be t a tronomer
m i ght have been de eived The i r royal h i ghne e s and
other lad i e s seemed to be m h pleased with the arti
c

a u

cc

su

cu

a u

ss

uc

c e

I remained i n the q een apartment with the ladie

till abo t half after ten when in c onversation with them

I fo nd them extremely well in tr ted in every bj e c t
that w introd ed and they eemed to be mo t amia
ble c hara c ter To morrow even in g they hope to have
better l k and noth i n g will g i ve me g reater hap p i ne ss
than to be able to Show them ome of tho se beau tifu l
obj e c t s with whi c h the heaven s are o g lorio u sly orna
u

uc

as

su

uc

uc

m e n te d

C A ROL I N A S diary g oes

on

S ir W I LL IA M W A T S O N ret rned to Bath after a fo rt

ni ght or three wee k s stay From him we heard that my
broth er was invited to Greenwi c h with the tele sc ope

L if e

66

an

d W

orks

where he w s met by a n u mero s party of astronomi al

and learned g entlemen and tr i al of h is in st r ment were
made I n the e letter s he omplained of be i n g obli g ed
to lead an idle life havin g noth i n g to do b t to p ass b e
tween L ondon and G reenw i c h S ir W I LL IA M re eived
many letter whi h he w s so k i nd s to omm n i c ate to
By the e and from tho se to A LEX A N D ER or to me
we learned that the k i n g w i shed to s e the tele c op e at
Wi nd sor A t la st a lett e r dated J ly arrived from
T H E R E S E and from thi s and several su c eed i n g one s we
g athered that the k i n g wo ld n ot ffer my brother to
ret rn to h is profe i on a g ai n and by h i writin g several
p p o se that
tiin e f or a s pply of money we o u ld only
he h i m self was in n ertainty abo t the t i me of h is
ret rn
I n the last wee k of J ly my brother ame home and
immediately pre p ared for removin g to Dat het where
he had tak en a ho se with a garden and g rass plat an
n e x d q i te su itable for the p rpo se of an O b se rvin g
p la c e S i r W I LL IA M W A T S O N spent nearly th e whole
t i me at o r ho e and he was n ot the only friend who
tr ly g r i eved at my brother s goin g from Bath or feared
h is hav i n g perhap s a g reed to no very advanta g eo u s
O ffer s ; the i r fear s were in fac t n ot w i tho t rea on
The pro pe t of enterin g a ga i n on the to i l s of tea hin g
e tc
wh i c h awaited my brother at home ( the month s of
lei su re bein g n ow almo st g one by ) ap p eared to h i m an
intolerable wa ste of time and by way of alternative he
c ho se to be royal a stronom e r with a salary of 0
a
u

s,

us

ss

su

su

us

W
illi
a
m
f

e rs c

k el

67

year S ir W I LL IA M W A T S O N was the o n ly on e to whom

the s m was me nt i oned and he ex laimed N ever
bo ght monar c h honor so c heap
To every other in
my
b
r
other
s an swer was that the k in g had
ro
r
r
i
u
e
q
p

v ide d f or him
.

the I s t of A u g ust 1 7 8 2 th e family re

moved to D atchet The last mu sical du ty
was perfo rmed on W h it S u n day 1 7 8 2 i n S t
M argaret s C hapel B ath when the anthem
f or the d ay was of H E RSCH E L S own com po
s itio u
The end of th e introdu ctory epoch of h is
l ife is reached H en ceforth he lived i n h is
observatory an d fro m h is forty fou rth year
o nwards he o nly left it for sho rt periods t o
g o to L on d o n to subm i t h is classic mem oirs
to th e Royal S ociety
Even fo r these oc
casions he chose perio d s of m oon l i g ht when
n o O bservations cou ld be made
H e was a private man n o lo n g er H ence
forth h e belo n g s to th e whole worl d
On

L ife

68

a na

W orks

C H A PT E R

III

L I F E A T D A T CH E T CL A Y H A LL A N D SLO U GH
,

1 78 2
182 2

n ew h ouse at D atch et wh ich was oc

was
a
sou
rce
f
c u ie d fro m 1 7 8 2 till 1 7 8 5
o
p
despai r to C A ROL I N A H E RSCH EL who loo k ed
upon its desolate an d isolated cond ition with
a hou se k eeper s eyes T h is was n oth i n g to
h er brother wh o g ayly con sented to live

u po n e gg s an d bacon n ow that h e was

free at last to m i n d the heaven s Th e ru i n
ou s state Of th e place had n o terrors i n h is
eyes for was th ere not a lau ndry wh ich would
serve as a lib rary a la rg e stabl e wh ich was
j u st the place for the g rin din g of m irrors
an d a g rass plat fo r the small twenty foot
re ecto r
H ere they set to wor k at astro nomy ; the
TH

"
-

e rsc /z e

lVillia m H

69

brothe r with the twenty foot the sister aid

in g h im and at odd times sweepin g fo r
comets I n the cou rse of h er l ife she dis
covered no less than ei g ht an d ve of th ese
were rst seen by her
-

I n 1 7 8 7 H E RSC H E L wrote h is paper O n

th ree V olcan oes i n th e M oo n wh ich he had

observed i n A pril of that year I n th i s h e
m entions p reviou s O bservatio n s O f th e same
sort I do n ot rem ember that th e followin g
accou n t of these has ever been pu t on reco r d
i n E n gl ish B aro n V O N ZA CH writes fro m
L on don to B ODE
P robably yo have heard al so of the vol c anoe s in
the moon whi h H ER S C H EL h as ob served
I
will g ive yo an ac c o u nt of it as I heard it from h is own
li p s Dr L I N D a worthy p hy si c ian in Wi nd sor who
h s made him self k nown thro g h h is two jo rney s in
China and who is a friend of o r H ER S C H EL S w s with
h is W f e on e evenin g on a vi sit to H ER S C H EL in Dat het
as to be an o
w
M
ay
thi
evenin
g
there
8
n
O
[ 7 3
Thi s w s
lt tion of a tar at the moon s dar k limb
ob served by H ER S C H EL and Do tor L I N D Mrs L I N D
wi shed al so to s e what was o rri n g and p lac ed her
self at a tele sc o p e and wat hed attentively

cu

ccu

B DE
O

t
n
r
u
c n,
y
a

1 7 88 ,

1 44

L ife

0
7

W orks

a na

S c ar c ely had the star di sa p peared before Mrs L I N D

tho ght sh e saw it a g ain and ex laime d that the star
had gone in front of and n ot behind the moon Thi s
p rovo k ed a short a stronom i c al le c t re on the q e stion
b u t still sh e wo u ld n ot c red i t it be a u se sh e s w d i ffer
ently Finally H ER S C H EL step p ed to the tele sc ope and
in fa c t he saw a bri ght point on the dark di sc of the
moon whi h he followed attentively I t g rad u ally b e

c ame fainter and nally vani shed

.

The life at
an noyance s

D atchet

was n ot free from its

M h of my brother s t i me was tak e n u p in goin g

when the evenin g s were c lear to the q een s lod g e to
Show the k irig e tc obj e t s thro gh the seven foot B u t
when the day s be g an to shorten thi s was fo u nd impos
sible for the tele s ope w as often ( at no small ex p en se
and r i k of dama ge ) obl i g ed to be tran sp orted in the
dark ba k to Dat het for the p u rpo se of spendin g th e
re st of the n i ght w i th ob servation s on do u ble stars for a
s e c ond
atal og u e M y broth e r was be side s obli g ed to
be ab sent f or a wee k or ten day s f or the p u r p o se of
brin gin g home the me tal of the c rac k ed thirty foot m i r
ror and the remainin g material s from h is work room
Before the f u rna e was tak en down at Bath a se c ond
twenty foot mirror twelve in c he d i ameter was c ast whi c h
happ en ed to be very fort nate for on the st of Jan u ary
1 7 8 3 a very n e one
ra c k e d b y fro st in the tu b e

uc

'

W
illi
a
m
f

/ l

e rs c i e

1
7

I n my brother s ab sen c e from home I was

of c o u r se left alone to am u se my self with my own
tho u ght s whi h were anythin g b u t c hee rf l I fo u nd I
was to be tra i ned for an a ssi stant a stronomer an d by
way of en c o u ra g ement a tele sc ope adapted for swee p
in g c on si st i n g of a t be with two g la sse s su c h as are
nder was given me I was to
c ommonly u sed in a
and I se e by my j o u rnal that I be g an
sweep for c omet s
to write down and de sc ribe all re
d 1 78
A u gu st
mark able ap pearan c es I saw in my swee ps whi c h were
ho ri ontal B u t it was not till th e la st two month s of th e
same year that I felt the l ea st en c o u ra g ement to sp end
th e star li g ht ni g ht s on a g ra ss plot c overed with dew or
b oar f ro st witho t a h u man bein g near eno u gh to be
within c all I k new too little of the real heaven s to b e
able to p oint o t eve ry obje c t so as to nd it a gain
witho u t lo sin g m u c h time by c on s ltin g the A tla s B t
all the se tro ble s we re removed when I k new my brothe r
to be at no g reat di stan c e mak in g ob servat i on s with h is
va rio u s in stru ment s on do ble star s plan et s e tc and
when I c o u ld have h i a s i stan c e immediately if I fo u nd
a neb u l a or c l ste r of stars of whi c h I intended to g ive a
c atalo g e ; b u t at th e e n d of 1 7 8 3 I had only mar k ed
fo rteen wh e n my sweepin g was interr pted by bein g
employed to w rite down my brother s ob servation s w i th
the lar g e twenty foot I had how ever the c omfort to
se e that my brother was
ati ed with my endeavor s to
a ssi st him when he wanted another person either to r n
to the c lo c k s w rite down a memorand m fet c h and

2 2

L ife

2
7

a na

or ks

arry in stru ment s or mea s re the g ro u nd with pole s e tc

of wh i h someth i n g of the k ind every moment wo ld
et
o c c r For the a i d u i ty with whi c h the meas remen ts
and ob servat i on s
on the d i ameter of the G org i m S ia n
e tc
were made was
of other planet s do ble star
et
in c redible as may be se e n by the vario s paper s that
were g iven to the R oyal S o c i ety in 1 7 8 3 whi h pape rs
were written in the dayt i me or when c lo dy n i ght s i nter
f e re d
Be side s thi s the twelve in c h spe l m was per
f e c te d before the spr i n g and many ho r s were pent at
the t rnin g ben h as n ot a n i ght lear eno g h for ob
serv i n g ever pa ssed b u t that some im p roveme n t
were
planned f or perfe t i n g the mo u ntin g and motion s of the
var i o s in str ment s then in se or some trial s were made
of n ew on str c ted eye pie e s whi h were mo stly exe
W i h i n g to save h is
c te d by my brothe r s own hand s
time he be g an to have some work of that k ind done by
a wat c h m ak er who had retired from b u sine ss and l i ved
on Dat c het Common ; b u t the wor k was so bad and the
c har g e s so u nrea sonable tha t he c o ld n ot be employed
I t was not till some time afterward s in h is freq ent vi sit s
to the meetin g s of the R oya l S o c iety ( made in moonli g ht
ni ght s) that he had an op p ort nity of loo k in g abo t for
mathemat i al work men opti c ian s and fo nder s B t
the work seldom an swered expe c tation and it w as k ept
to be exe c ted w i th improvement s by A LEX A N D ER d r
in g the few month s he pent with u s
The su mmer month s pa ssed in the mo st ac tive
p re p aration f or gettin g the larg e twenty foo t ready
c

ss

s,

s,

cu u

W
illi
a
m
f

ers c

k el

73

gain st the next winter T h e c arp en ters and smith of

Dat het were in daily req i ition and as soon a pat
tern for tool and m i rror were re ady my brother went
to town to have them a t and d rin g the three or fo r
month A LEX A N D ER o ld be ab sent from Bath the mir
ompleted
ror and opti al pa rt s were nearly
B t that the ni g ht s after a day of toil were n ot given
to r est may be een by the ob servation on M r of
whi h a paper dated De ember I 7 8 3 w s given to the
R oyal S o iety S ome tro u ble al so wa often thrown
away d rin g tho se ni ght s in the attem p t to tea h me to
remea re do ble tars with the ame mi c rometers with
whi h former mea re had been tak en and the small
twenty foot w s given me for that p rpo e
I
had al o to a erta i n the i r pla e by a tran it in str ment
lent f or that p rpo e by M r D A LRYMPLE ; b t after
many fr itle attempt it w een that the in tr ment

wa p erhap a m
h in fa lt a my ob ervation s
a

u s

su

ss

s,

sc

s,

su

u ,

s,

s,

as

uc

I n I 7 8 3 H E RSCH E L says

I have now ni hed my third review of the heaven

The r t w made w i th a N ewtonian tele o p e ome
th i n g le than even feet fo al len gth power O f
and an apert re of fo r and a half in he I t extended
only to t r of the r t e ond th i rd and fo rth magni
t de M y e ond review w made w i th an i n tr ment

s c

s c

2 2 2

of

2 2

in he s fo c u s
I t extended to all
c

as

m h s perior to the other

in c he s apert re and power
uc

s a s

sc

as

ss

th e

L ife

74

ana

W orks

tar s of H A RR I S S map s and the tele sc opi c one s near

them s far the e i ghth ma g nit de The Catalo g e of
Do ble S tars and the di s overy of the G org i m S i
were the re s lt s of that review The third was with the
same in str ment and a p ert re b t with a power of 4 6 0
T h i s review extended to all the stars of F L A MS T EED S
Catalo gu e to g ether with every small star abo t th e m to
the amo nt of a g reat many tho and s of stars I have
m any a ni ght in the c o u r se of eleven or t welve hou r s
aref lly and si n gly examined not le ss
of ob se rvat i on
than 4
ele stial obje t s be si de tak i n g mea s re s and
rtic l r star f or half an ho r
sometime s viewin g
p

to g ether

as

a u s,

us

00 c

u a

Th e fou rth review be g an with th e twenty

foot i n 1 7 8 4
.

M y brother be gan h is serie s of sweep s when the

in str ment w s yet i n a very nni shed tate and my
feelin gs were not very omfortable when every moment I
w s alarmed by a ra k or fall k nowin g him to be ele
ated fteen feet or more on a temporary ro ss beam in
tead of a afe gallery The ladders had not even their
bra c e s at the bottom ; and on e n i ght in a very h i g h
wind he had hardly to u hed the g ro u nd before the whole
apparat s ame down S ome labori n g men were c alled
u p to he lp in extr i at i n g th
m i rror whi h wa f ort
n ate ly
n i nj red b u t m h work was t o t f or r
f
o
n
t
r
e
e
next
day
I
o
ld
g
ive
a
pretty
lon
g
li
t
s
c
p
ac c ident s whi h were near p rovin g fatal to my brother s

uc

cu

s,

ca

W
illi
a
m
f

e rs c

k el

75

my se l f To mak e ob se rvation s with su c h larg e

mac hinery where all aro u nd is in dark ne ss is not nat
tend e d with dan g er e p e ially when p er onal safety is
the last thin g w i th whi h the m i nd is o c c p ied ; even
p oor PI A z z 1 d i d not g o home witho u t g ettin g brok e n
shin s by fallin g over the ra c k bar
I n the lon g day s of the s mmer month s many ten
and even foot mi rrors were ni shed there was nothin g
For ten foot
b t g rindin g and p oli shin g to be seen
several had been c a st with ribbed ba c k
by way of ex
t
r
i
m
e
n
e
to red u c e th e we i ght in lar g e mirror s
I n my
p
lei s re ho u rs I g ro u nd seven foot and plain mirror s from
ro u gh to nin g down and w s ina lg a with p oli shin g
and the last ni shin g of a very beau tif l mirror for S ir
W I LL IA M W A T S O N
A n a c c o nt of the di sc overie s made with the tw e nty
foot and the i mprovement s of the me hani al pa rt s of
the in str ment d rin g the winter of 7 8 5 i given with
n e w neb l a
By whi h
th e ata l o g e of th e r st
e
a c c o u nt it m u st p lainly ap pear that the expen se s of the se
improvement s and tho se whi c h were ye t to b e made in
the ap parat u s of the twenty foot ( whi c h in fa c t p roved
to b e a model of a larg er in stru ment ) c o u ld n ot be s p
plied ou t of a salary of 00 a year e spe c ially a m y
brother s nan c e s had been too m u c h red u ed d u rin g
the six month before he re c eived h is r t q arterly pay
ment of f ty po d ( wh i c h was M i haelmas
Travellin g from Bath to L ondon G reenwi h W ind sor
ba k ward s and forward s tran sp ortin g th e tele sc ope e tc
we ll

as

s,

un

L ife

6
7

ana

or ks

break i n g p h i e stabli hment at Bath and formin g a

new one near the o rt all thi even leavin g s h per
sonal
onvenien e s s he had for many year been ed
to o t of the q u e st i on o ld not be obtai ned for a
trie ; a good lar g e p i e e of g ro nd w s req i red for
the
of the in str ment s and a hab i tat i on in wh i h he
c o u ld re c eive and offer a bed to an a stronom i al friend
was ne c e ssary after a ni ght s ob ervation
I t se emed to be su p p o sed that eno gh had been
done when my brother w s enabled to leave h is pro te s
i on that he mi ght have time to mak e and sell tele
s ope
The k in g ordered fo r ten foot him self and
many seven foot be ide s had been be spo k e an d m h
time had already been expended on pol i shin g the mirrors
for the same B t all thi s wa only retard i n g the work
of a thirty or forty foot in str ment whi c h it was my
brother c hief obj e t to obtai n s soon a po ssible ; for
he was then on the wron g Side of forty ve and felt how
g reat an inj st i e he wo ld be doin g to h i m elf and to
the c a se of a stronomy by g iv i n g p h i time to mak i n g
tele ope s for other ob servers
S i r W I LL IA M W A T S O N who O ften in the lifetime of
h is father c ame to ma k e some tay w i th u s at Dat c het
ltie s and expre ssed g reat dis
saw my brother s di f
O n h is ret rn to Bath he met amon g the
sat i sfa tion
vi i tor there several belon gi n g to the o rt to whom he
g ave h is opin i on on ernin g h is friend and h is si t at i on
very freely I n c on equ en c e of thi s my brother had
after thro gh S ir J B A N K S the prom i se that
soon
s

uc

s,

u se

us

uc

sc

cu

/ l

W illia m H

e rsc i e

77

l
wo
ld
be
g
ranted
for
enab
in
g
h
i
m
to
ma
k
e
i
h
m
56
self
n in tr ment
I mmed i ately every preparat i on f or be ginnin g the
great wor k ommen ed A very in gen i o s m i th (C M
P I O N ) who w s ee k in g employment w s e red by my
brother and a temporary for g e ere ted in an p stairs
room
u

s cu

The sal e o f th ese telescopes o f H E R S CH E L S

mu st have pro d u ce d a larg e sum fo r he had
mad e before 1 7 9 5 more than two hu ndre d
seven feet on e h u ndre d an d fty ten feet
an d ei g hty twenty feet m irrors For many
of the telescopes sen t abroad no stands were
constructed
The m i rrors and eye pieces
alon e were fu rn ish ed and a drawin g of the
stand sen t w ith them by wh ich the m irrors
could be mou nted
I n 1 7 8 5 th e cost O f a seven fo ot telescope
stand
s ix an d fou r tenths i nches apertu re
eye pieces etc compl ete was two hu n d red
gu ineas a te n foot was six hu ndre d g u ineas
and a twenty foot abou t
to
gu i n
eas H e ha d m ade fou r ten foot telescopes
l i k e th is for th e k in g I n 1 7 8 7 S C H ROE T E R
t
th
e
m
irrors
and
eye
p
ieces
o
nly
for
a
fou
r
o
g

8
7

if

e ana

or ks

an d three qu a rteri nch reector for ve gu in

e a s ; those fo r h is seven foot telescope were
twent y three g u in eas L ater a seven foot tel
com
plete
was
sold
for
on
e
hu
ndred
e sc o e
p
g u ineas an d the twent y v e foot re ector
made for the M adri d O bservato ry cost them
29
fran cs
I t was ordered i n
1 79 6
bu t not del ivered for several years
th e S pan ish g overn m en t bei n g sho rt of
m on ey F or a ten an d a seven foot tel
e sc o e
th
e
P
rin
ce
an
i
no
paid
f
o
C
p
V O N M A GELL A N writes to B ODE concern
in g a visi t to H E RS CH E L i l
-

'

I pent the n i ght

the 6 th of Jan ary at H ER

S C H E L S in Dat het near W i n d sor and had the g ood l c k
to h i t on a ne even i n g H e h s h is twenty foot N ew
ton i n tele sc ope in the open a i r and mo nted in h is g ar
den very imp ly and c onveniently I t is moved by an
a s i tant wh o stand s below it
N ear the in str
ment is a c lo k re g lated to sidereal time
I n the
room near it i t s H ER S C H EL S i ter and sh e h s FL A M
open before her A s he g ive s her the
S T EE D S A tla
word sh e wri te s down the de lination and ri ght a seen
sion and the other
irc u m stan c e s of the ob servat i on I n

of

s s

s s

AH
BODE S

Mon atlic /z
y

nrou clz ,

Correspon den z ,
1 7 88 ,

161

1 802

56

W
illi
a
m
f

e rs ck el

79

th is way H ER S C H EL examine s th e whole sk y witho t

omitt i n g the lea st part H e ommonly ob serve s w i th a
ma gn i fyin g power of on e h ndred and fty and is s re
that after fo r or e year s he will have p assed in re
view every obje c t above ou r hor i z on H e showed me
the boo k in wh i c h h is ob servation s u p to thi s time a e
wr i tten and I am astoni shed at the g reat n u mb e r of
in
de
linat
i
on
and
c
them E a h swee p overs
5
he let ea h tar p a ss at lea st three t i me s thro gh the
eld of h is tele ope so that it is im p o ssib l e that any
thin g n e ape h i m H e h a already fo u nd abo u t 9 0 0
do ble stars and almo st as many neb u l a I w ent to b e d
abo t one o lo c k and p to that time he had fo u nd
that ni ght fo r or ve new neb l a The the rmom e t e r
in the g arden stood at 3 Fahrenheit ; b u t in spite of
thi s H ER S C H EL ob serve s the whole ni ght thro u gh ex c e p t
that he stop s every three or fo r hou r s and g oe in the
room for a few moment s For ome years H ER S C H EL
h s ob erved the heaven s every ho r when the weather is
lear and thi s alway in the o p en air be a u se he say s
that the tele s ope only perform s wel l when it is at the
H e prote c t s him self a g ain st
same temperat u re as the air
the weather by p u ttin g on more lothin g H e h an
ex ellent c on stit tion and thin k abo t nothin g el e in
the world b t the ele st i al bod i e s H e h as promi sed me
in the mo st c ordial way entirely in the servi e of a tron
om y and witho u t thin k i n g of h is own intere st to s e to the
tele ope I have ordered for E ropean ob servatori e s and

he will him self att end to the p reparation of the mirrors

u

sc

sc

ca

'

sc

as

L ife

80

and

or ks

I t was at th is t im e 1 7 8 3 M ay 8 that
H ERSCH EL m arried H is wife was the da u g h
ter of M r J A M ES B A LD W I N a merchant of
th e city of L ondo n and the widow of J OH N
S h e is described as a lady of
P I I T E sq
s i n g ular am iabil ity an d g en tlen ess of charac
ter S h e was en tirely i ntereste d i n h is sci
an d the j o i ntu re wh ich she
e n ti c pu rsu its
brou gh t rem oved all fu rther anxiety abou t
m on ey affairs They had bu t on e ch il d J OH N
FREDER I C K W I LL IA M born M arch 7
,

D atch et

The h ou se at

becam e more an d

Th gh S i J N H ER H EL h i p
d
i i
i i g
d t f h i ly b yh d w h i h h w h
f h
g mi d
i d i h h h l d S l gh
hi y
h
W lk i g w i h h i f h
k d h im W h t w h l d t f
ll h i g
Th f h
pli d f h S i m
A d

pp i h l d t f ll h i g "T h b y w t
wh t d y
w
m
f l i hi
k p
wh
ld
th
m ll t
f m th g d w lk Th m y h i l d h i h
l d t f ll h h i g h t I
i ly k w O
h
i h f h k d hi
hi k
W h t
t f hi g d y

m t l i k "T h b y
pl i d T h l v f h m

m t l ik
h h
G th h
h df l f l v

h
w
f m h
i
d
p
h
i
l
p
h
h
wh i h
d
j

l ik M kly N i R y l A t m i l S i y l xxx ii
pg 3
rou

en

ou su

s on e

es

s on

ro

are a

e 12

tre e ,

es

ot e r

ot ces

ou

oso

o a

e r,

e o

an

ca

too

e re

t e

ou

t e

an

an ot e r oc c a

ea es

er

es

as n o

en ,

s ron o

as

tra n n

no

e r,

nc

a stron o

an n e r,

u s an

oc ra t c

sor

at

e re ,

re

n atu re

te r t e

c e rta n

to

re se rv e

ou se

e re on

s son ,

re o n e

on t

ar e n

e as

e rs ,

e ac

t e o

an s

ro

at

a t e r as

os

a re

os

a re

ose

at e r re

su c c e ss u

e re

at e r,

oo

re c e v e

SC

s e ar

ou n

OH

sa

oose t

oc et

vo

tre e

ea

o
.

es

W illia m H

e rs c

k el

81

more u n t for the needs of th e fam ily and

in J u n e 1 7 8 5 a m ove was ma d e to C lay
H all in O ld W i nd so r Th e residen ce he re
was bu t short an d n ally a last chan g e was
made to S lou g h on A pril 3 d 1 7 8 6
The ardor of the wor k du rin g these years
can be j ud g ed of by a si n g le sentence fro m
C A ROL I N A H E RSCH EL S diary
,

The la st ni ght at Clay H all was sp ent in sw e epin g

till dayli ght and by the next evenin g the tele sc o p e stood

ready for ob servation at S lo gh

F rom 1 7 8 6 u ntil h is death H ERSCH E L re

main ed at S lou g h ; h is life truly spea k in g
was i n h is observato ry
I t is i ndeed tru e as A R A GO has said i n h i s
eloqu ent tribute to hi m : O n peu t d ire
hardiment du j ar d in e t de la petite maiso n de
S lou g h qu e c est le l ieu du mo nde oh il a
L e no m de
t fait le plu s de d cou vertes
villa g e n e p rira pas ; le s sciences 1e
ce
transmettront reli g ieu sement a n os dern iers
,

n e v e u xf

H ERSCH E L S rst con tribu tio n to th e Pk il

was
prin
te
d
i
n
th
e
T
a n sa ction s
/
tica l
r
oso
p

L if e

82

an a

P
Vorks

volu me for 1 7 8 0 h is last i n that for 1 8 1 8

O f these th irty n in e volu mes there are o nly
two ( 1 8 1 3 an d 1 8 1 7) wh ich contai n no paper
from h is hand an d many volu mes contai n
more than o n e as he published n o less than
s ixt y ei g ht mem oirs i n th is place
A n d yet it mu st n ot be thou g h t that h is
was an austere an d g rave existence M u sic
wh ich he loved to enth u siasm was still a de
l i g ht to h im A ll th e m ore that h is devo
t io n was free T he g l impses wh ich we g et
of his l ife with h is friends S h ow h im alw a vS
cheerful arden t an d devoted E ven i n h is
later years h e had n ot lost a boyish ear
n e s tn e s s to explai n
h is simpl icity and the
charm of h is man ner stru c k every o n e
H ERSCH EL you k now an d everybody
k nows is o n e of th e m ost pleasin g an d well

bred natu ral ch aracters of the present ag e

says D r B U RN EY who had opportu n ity to
k now
T he portrait wh ich is g iven i n the frontis
p iece mu st have been pai nted abou t th is time
an d the eag er arden t face shows h is
i nn er l ife far better than any words can do
,

W illia m H

e rsck e

83

E ven i n h is scienti c writin g s wh ich eve ry

th in g conspi red to rende r g rave an d sober
the alm ost poetic natu re of his m in d shows
forth I n on e of h is ( u npubl ished ) note
boo k s now in the Royal S ociety s l ibrary I
fou nd th is en try
,

oth S wee p N ov e mber 8 7 86 T he n e b u l a of

Orion whi c h I saw by the front view was so g la rin g and
beau tif l that I c o u l d not th i n k of tak in g any p lac e of

its exten t
64

H e was qu ite alon e u n d er th e perfectly s i

len t s k y when th is was written an d he was
at h is post simply to ma k e th is an d other
su ch observations B u t th e s ky was beau ti
fu l to h im and his faithful sister C A ROL I N A
s itti n g below has preserved for u s th e words
as they dropped fro m h is l ips
O n th e 1 1 th of J an uary 1 7 8 7 H ERSCH E L
discovered two satell ites to Ura n u s
A fter h e had well assu red h imsel f of thei r
existen ce but befo re he comm u n icated h is
d isco very to the world he ma d e th is cru
c ia l test
H e prepared a s k etch of Ura n u s
atten de d by h is two satell ites as it wou ld ap
,

L ife

84

ana

W orks

pear on the n i g h t of February 1 0 1 7 8 7 an d

whe n the n i ght cam e the heaven s d isplaye d
th e ori g inal of my dra win g s by showin g i n
the situ atio n I had delin eated them tke Goor
i
a n p la n et a tten a ea 6
t
w
o
s a tellites
I
con
g
y
fess that th is scen e appeared to me with a d
dition al beau ty as th e l ittle secondary plan
ets seem ed to g ive a di g n ity to the primary
on e wh ich raises it in to a more con sp icu ou s
s ituatio n amon g th e g reat bodies of the solar

system
I n a memoir of 1 7 8 9 h e has a few sen
te n c e s wh i ch show th e l ivi n g way i n wh ich
the heavens appeared to h im
,

Thi s method of viewin g the heaven s seem s to throw

them into a n e w k ind of l i ght
They are now seen to re semble a l x riant garden
whi c h on ta i n s the g reate t variety of p rod t i on s in dif
f e re n t o ri shin g bed s ; and on e advanta g e we may at
l ea st reap from it is that we c an as it were extend the
ran g e of o r experien e to an immen se d u ration For
es
i it not almo st the same thi n g whether we l i ve
f
e
witne
the
g
ermination
bloomin
g
folia
g
e
i
l
s ve y to
ss
orr ption of a plant or
c u n dity fad i n g witherin g and
whether a va st n u mbe r of spe c imen s sele c ted from every
.

uc

su c c

W illia m H

e rsc

k el

85

ta g e thro gh whi c h the plant p a sses in th e c o u rse

its exi sten c e be bro ght at on c e to o r vi e w

"

of

The thou g ht here is n o less n ely e x

pressed than it is profou n d Th e sim ile is
perfect if we h ave the power to separate
amon g th e vast variety each state of bein g
from every other an d if the very luxu riance
of illustratio n i n th e h eavens does n ot bewil
der an d overpower the m i nd I t was precisely
th is discrim inati n g powe r that H E RSCH EL
possessed i n perfectio n
There is a k in d of hu mor i n the way h e
records a chan g e of O pin ion
.

I formerly

ppo sed the s rfa e of S at rn s rin g to

be ro gh owin g to l mino point l i k e mo ntain s seen
on i t t i ll on e of the se w s k ind eno gh to vent re off the

ed g e of the ri n g and appear as a satell i te

u

su

us

I n 1 7 8 2 he repl ies with a certain concealed

sharpness to the idea that h e u se d m ag nify
in g powers wh ich were too hi g h There is a
ton e almost of impatien ce as if he were co n
sciou s h e was replyin g to a crit icism based
o n i g n orance :

L ife

86

We

a na

W orks

told that we g ain nothin g by mag nifyin g too

m u c h I g rant it ; b u t shall never believe I magn i fy
too m c h t i ll by ex p erien e I nd that I c an see better

with a lower p ower

are

By 1 7 8 6 when h e retu rn s to this subj ect

in answer to a formal requ est to explai n h is
u se of h i g h m ag n i e rs he is qu ite over any
i rritatio n an d treats the subj ect almost with
playful ness
,

S oon after my rst e ssay of u sin g hi gh powers with

the N ewtonian tele sc o p e I be g an to do bt whether an
opinion wh i c h h been entertained by several em i nent
a thor that vi ion will g row indi stin c t when the opti c
pen c i l s are le ss than the ftieth part of an i n h wo ld
hold good in all a se s I per eived that a ordin g to
thi s riteri on I w s not ent i tled to se e d i tin tly with a
power of m h more th n abo t 3 in a seven foot tele
ope of an apert re of six and fo r tenth s in he s wherea s
in many ex p eriment s I fo nd my self very well plea sed with
m agn i e rs whi c h far ex c eeded s h narrow l i mit s Thi s
ind ed me as it were by way of apolo g y to my elf f or
see i n g well where I o g ht to have seen l e ss di stin c tly to

mak e a f ew ex p erim e n ts
u

as

s,

cc

uc

sc

20

uc

uc

I t is needless to say that th ese experiments

W illia m H

/ l

e rsc i e

87

p roved that from the poi nt of v iew tak en by

H ERSCH EL h e was qu ite ri ght an d that h is
h i g h powers had n u merou s valu able applica
tions H e g oes on to say
,

a lat e c onversation w i th some of

my hi ghly e steemed and learned friend s I mi ght proba
bly have l eft the papers on whi h the se ex p eriment s were
re c orded amon g the re st of tho se that are laid aside

when th e y have aff orded me the information I want

H ad it not been

f or

The last sente nce seems to b e a k in d of

n otice to h is learned friends that there is
yet m ore u nsaid A s a warn in g to th ose
to whose criticism s h e had repl ied he g ives
them th is p ictu re of th e k i n d of assidu ity
which wil l b e requ i red i f some of h is O b s e r
v ation s o n double stars are to be rep eated :
.

I t i in vain to loo k for the e tar if every ir m

s

cu

tan c e is not favorable The ob se rver s well s the in

str ment m st have been lon g eno g h ou t in the open
air to a q u ire the same temperat re I n very old

weather an ho u r at lea st will be req u ired

s

may g ain som e fu rther in s i g h t i nto h is

character fro m th e follow m g chance extracts
from h is writin g s
e

L if e

88

I ha

orks

a na

all alon g had tru th and reali ty in vi ew

sole obj e c t of my endeavor s

ve

as

th e

Not bein g

ati sed when I tho ght it po ssibl e to

obtain more a c c rate meas r es I em p loyed [ a more
deli c ate

thi s end I have already be g n a se rie s of ob ser

v ation s
p on several one s of do ble star and Sho ld
th e re s lt of them be a g a i n st the se c onje c t u re s I shall

be the r st to point o t their fallac y

To

s,

There is a g reat probab i l i ty of s c eed i n g still far

ther in thi s laborio u s b t del i ghtfu l re sear h so as to be
able at la st to say not only h ow m u h the ann al p aral

l ax is not b u t how m c h it really is

Th e n ature of h is ph ilosoph iz in g and th e

l im its wh ich h e set to h imself may be more
clearly seen i n fu rther extracts
,

By tak in g more time [ before p rintin g the se ob se rva

tion s] I ho ld ndo btedly be enabled to speak more
ondently of the int rior const tion of k v n
and of its vario u s n l ton and si dereal strata A s an
apolo g y for thi s premat u rity it may be said that the end
of all di s over i e s be i n g c omm ni c ation we
an never b e
too ready in givin g fa t s and ob servat i on s whatever we

may be in rea sonin g p on them

s

ru c

e a

ea

le

e s

W
illi
a
m
f

e rsc

k el

89

I n an inve sti g ation of thi s deli ate nat u re we o ght

I f we i nd l g e a fanei
to avoid two oppo si te extreme s
f u l ima ginat i on and b u i ld world s of ou r own we m s t
not wonder at o r g o i n g w i de from th e path of tr u th
and nat re On the other hand if we add ob servation
to ob se rvation w i tho t attemptin g to draw not only e r
tain c on c l sion s b u t al so c onj e c t ral view s from them
we offend a gain t the very end f or whi h only ob se r
I will endeavor to k ee p a
v ation s o g ht to be made
p roper medi m b u t if I sho u ld deviat e f rom that I

c o u ld wi sh not to fall in to the lat te r error

ob servation s aref lly made sho ld al way s tak e

the l ead of theo rie s I shall not be c on c erned if what I
have to say ontradi c t s what h as been said in my l ast

p aper on thi s s bj ec t

As

N o cou rse of reaso n in g cou ld be m ore si m

ple mo re exact m ore profou nd an d m ore
beau t ifu l th an th is wh ich follows
,

it h as been hown that the Sphe ri al gu re of a

c l ster is owin g to the a c tion of c entral power s it fol
low s that tho se c l ster s whi h c t ri p rio are the
mo st omplete in thi s g re m u st have been the lon g e st
expo sed to the a tion of the se au se s Th s the mat
rity of a sidereal sy stem may be j d g ed from the di sp o si
tion of the omponen t part s
H en c e p lanetary neb l a may be loo k ed on as very
As

a e

us,

L ife

a nd

orks

a g ed Tho u gh we c annot see any individ u al n eb u l a

pa s thro g h all its sta ge s of l i fe we c an sele c t partic u

lar one s in ea c h p e liar stag e

.

cu

There is someth in g almost g randiose an d

m aj estic i n h is statem en t of the u lti mate d es
t iny of th e G alaxy :

ft w k
i g on th k i t

T o h im th e

Of b

or s

S in c e

dim

a es

ov e r n

e re

n own

r s of s

e s

ac e

tar s of the M il k y W ay are permanently

e xpo sed to the a c tion of a power whereby they are irre
sistib ly drawn into g ro u p
we may b e c ertain that from
mere c l u sterin g stars they will b e g rad ally c ompre sed
e ssive stag e s of a c m lation till they c om e
thro g h s
u p to what
may be c alled the ripenin g pe riod of the
g lob lar form and total in s lation ; from whi h it is
evident that the M il k y W ay m u st be nally bro k en p
and c ea se to be a strat m of s attered star s
The state into whi c h the in c e ssant a tion of the c l s
terin g p ower h as bro ght it at p re sent is a k ind of e b ro
n om e te r that may be u sed to mea su re the time of its
p a st and f u t u re exi sten c e and altho u g h we do not
k now the rate of g oin g of thi s my st e rio s hronometer
it is neverthele ss c ertain that i n c e the break in g u p of
the M i l k y W ay afford s a p roof that it c annot la st forever
it eq ally bears witne ss that its pa st d ratio n c ann ot be

admitt e d to be innite
th e s

s,

ucc

cu

W illia m H

ersc

k el

H E RSCH E L S relations with h is c ote m pora

ries were u sually of th e most pleasant char
acter thou g h seldom i ntimate This peace
was bro k en bu t by on e u npleasan t occu r
ren ce I n th e Pk ilosopk ica l T ra nsa ctions for
S CH ROE T E R had com mu n icated a series
1 79 2
made with o n e of H E R
o f O bse rvations
S C H EL S ow n telescopes o n the atmospheres of
Ven u s the M oon etc
I t was n ot only an
accou nt of phen o men a wh ich had bee n seen
it was accompan ied by m easu res and th e
compu tations based o n these led to hei g hts
an d dimensio ns fo r m ou ntai ns o n Ve n u s
wh ich were to say th e least extravag ant
The adj ective will n ot seem too stron g when
we say that the very existence of the m ou n
tains themselves is to day m ore than d oubt
ful
The appearances seen by S CH ROE T E R were
described by h i m i n perfectly g ood faith and
sim ilar ones have been si nce recorde d H is
reaso n i n g u po n them was defective and th e
m easu res wh ich h e made were practically
valu eless Th i s paper pri nted i n th e T ra n s
a c tion s
of
th e Royal S ociety to which

L ife

a n cl

or ks

S CH ROE T E R had n ot befo re contributed

pears to have irritated H E RSCH E L

N o dou bt there were n ot wantin g mem
b ers of h is ow n society who h inted that on
th e C o nt in en t too th ere were to be fou n d
g reat observers an d that h ere at least H E R
SCH E L h ad been anticipated even i n h is own
eld I h ave always thou g ht that the m e
m oir of H E RSCH E L which appeared i n the next
volu m e of th e T ra n sa ctions
Okser
va tion s on tk o Pla n et Ven u s was a rej oi nder
i ntended far m ore for th e detractors at home
than for th e astro nomer abroad The re
v iew is con ce ived i n a severe spirit Th e
rst idea seems to be to cru sh an oppositio n
wh ich h e feels Th e truth is establ ished
bu t its establ ishm en t is hardly th e rs t ob
.

e et

I t seems as if H ERSCH EL had almost al

lowed h im self to be forced into a position of
arro g ance wh ich h is wh ole life S hows was e n
tire ly forei g n to h is n atu re
A ll throu g h th e
review h e d oes not o nce m en tion S CH ROET ER S
na m e H e says
,

W
illi
a
m
f

e rsc /z e

93

ob servat i on s on V n be g n by me i n
7 7 7 h s been ontin ed down to the pre sent t i me
The re s lt of my ob ervat i on s wo u ld have b een
c omm ni ated lon g a g o if I had n ot attered my self w i th
e ss c on ernin g the di rnal
th e ho p e of some better s
motion of V n s whi c h h st i ll el ded my on stan t
attention a far as c on ern s its per i od and d i re t ion
Even at thi s p re sent time I sho u ld he itate to
gi ve the followin g extrac t s if it did not seem in mbent
on me to exam i ne by wha t a c c ident I c ame to over loo k
mo ntain s in th i s planet of s c h enormo s h e i ght s to ex
c e e d fo r ve or even six t i me
the perpendi lar hei ght
of Chim b oraeo the hi ghe st of ou r mo ntain
The same paper c ontain s other part i c lars on c ernin g
Ven
and S t rn A ll of whi h bein g thin g s of wh i c h I
have never tak en any noti c e it w i ll not be ami s to Show
by what follow s that neither want of attention nor a de
ie n y of in st r ment s wo ld o c c a sion my not pe rc e iv
in g the se mo u ntain s of more than twenty three mile s i n
he i ght thi s ja gg ed border of Venus and the se at

sp heri c al form s on S a t rn

A
A pril

r es

se i

of

u s,

ucc

as

cu

cu

us

a u

The reply of S C H RO E T E R ( 1 7 9 5 ) is temper

ate an d j ust I t does h i m h o n or an d h e
g enerously g ives full j ustice to h is critic
I t would hardly be wo rth wh ile to mentio n
this sl i g ht in cide nt if it were n ot that du rin g
these years there certainly existed a feeli n g
.

L ife

94

a na

W orks

that H E RSCH EL u n d ervalu ed th e labors of h is

cotemp oraries
This impressio n was fostered n o doubt by
h is g eneral habit of n ot qu otin g previou s
authorities i n th e elds wh ich h e was wor k
i ng
A careful readin g of h is papers will I
th i n k show that h is d e n ite i ndebtedn ess
to h is cotempora ries was van ish in g ly small
Th e work of M I CH ELL and W I LSON h e al
lu des to a g ai n an d a g ain and always with
appreciatio n C ertainly h e seems to show a
vei n of an n oyan c e th at th e papers o f C H R I S
T IA N M A Y E R D e n ovis in cce lo s ia ereo pk g
n om en is
an d B eoa ck tu ng en von Fix
s te rn tr a a n te n
shoul d have been
qu oted to prove that the m ethod propose d
by H E RSCH E L i n 1 7 8 2 for ascertain in g the
parallax of the xed stars by means of ob
s e rv atio n s o f those wh ich were double was
n ot en tirely ori g i nal with h imself
"
There is direct proof that it was s of an d
if th is was n ot fo rthcom in g it would be u n
.

Mem oir o

C A R LI N E H ER H E L
O

SC

W illia m H

e rsc

k el

95

necessary as he has amply shown i n h is

C atalo g u e of D ouble S tars
O n e is rem inded
of h is remar k s on th e u se of the h i g h ma g n i
fy in g powers by th e impatience of h is com
m en ts
H is proposal to call th e n ewly discovere d
m in or planets a s teroids ( 1 8 0 2 ) was rece ive d
as a si g n that he wished to discrim inate b e
tween the d iscoveries of PI A z z r an d O L B E RS
*
an d h is own d iscovery of Ura n u s
H e ta k es pains to qu ietly pu t th is on on e
sid e in o n e of h is papers showin g that he
was co g n i z an t of the existen ce of su ch a feel
in g
I am tempted to resu rrect fro m a deserve d
obscu rity a n otice of H ERSCH E L S Ooser va tion s
,

D
i
s covered Celes tia l B odies
y

tk e T w o L

on

a tel

x p t ti h v b m th
m
i
d
t
h
h
l
by
di
v
y
no
f
w
h
f
p
l
y
b
di
f
t
t
p
l m t ll i th m p l
b t
m ll th t D
H ER H E L
f t h
th m w i th th m f p l t d h
ll
t
th m
t id th gh f wh t
it i t y t d t mi
l itb t d p iv th di
b di f y p
f th
f
ti g th m
t
l
h i gh i th l i t f t m i l di

o
h i m l f H i t y f th R y l S i ty by T H M A
T H M N p 3 5 8 Th i w k w p bl i h d i 8
d th
f d i g th l i f ti m f H ER H E L

Of l

ore

SO

ur n

so s

or
e

re ason

e o

or

o a

es o

n 1

ne,

an

re

ca

12

o ca

e er

as ron o

oc e

e s,

re

oose s

e as

e se

as

SC

s no

SC

an e a r

an e s, an

sc ov e re rs

s or

ou r

an a ec o

ore

ee n

an

e o

se v e s as

er

ac e

se

on s

ec a

e na

as

ou

s,

or ra

v e re rs

er

on or

u n e ss
en c e

sc o

e sa

as e ro

e se e

e ars

u se s

os

a te

an

e re

L ife

6
9

a nd

W orks

P
k
i
l
o
so k ica l T ra n sa ction s
(
p

pri n ted in

the rst volu m e of the E din u rg k R evie w

simply to S h ow the k ind of envy to wh ich
eve n h e the g lory of E n g land was subj ect
The reviewer sets fo rth the princ ipal re
su lts of H ERSCH EL S observations
and after
qu otin g h is de n ition of the n ew term aste
roid g oes on to say :
,

I f a new name m t be fo nd why not all them by

ome appe llat i on wh i h hall i n ome de g ree be de
riptive of o at l ea t on i tent with their propert i e
W hy not for in tan e all them Co t i Com t or

us

sc

s s

"

ncen r c

"

e s,

or Com ta ry Pl n t or if a sin gle

term m st be fo nd why may we not c oin s c h a phra se
s Pl n toid or Com toid 7

Pla neta ry Comets,

u

e s

Then follows a g eneral arrai g nmen t of

H E RSCH EL S m e thods of expression and
thou g ht as distin g u ished from h is powers of
mere O bservation Th is d isti n ction it m ay
be said exists only i n th e reviewer s m ind ;
there was n o such d isti n ction i n fact I f ever
a seri es of O bservati on s was d irected by pro
fou n d an d reaso nable thou g ht i t was H ER
S C H EL S own

W
illi
a
m
f

/ l

e rs c te

9 7

H ER C H EL S pa ion for oinin g word and i di

Dr

ss

oft e n str u c k u s as a weak ne ss wholly nworthy

of him The invent i on of a name is b u t a poor a hieve
ment for h i m who h as d i sc overed whole world s W hy
for in stan e do we hear him tal k in g of the sp p n tr t

ing pow r of h is in tr ment a ompo nd ep i thet and

metap hor whi h he o g ht to have left to the poet s who
in some f ut re a g e shall a q i re g lory by c elebratin g h is
name The other paper s of Dr H ER S C H EL in the late
vol me s of the T ra nsaction do n ot de erve s h par
H is c atalo g e of 5 0 new neb u l a
tic u lar attention
tho gh extremely val u able to the p ra t i al astronomer
lead s to no g eneral on l ion s of i mportanc e and
abo u nd s with the defe c t s whi c h are pe c liar to the D oc

tor s writin g s a g rea t p rol i x i ty and tedio sne ss of n ar

ration loo se and often n p h i lo soph i c al ree t i on s whi c h

g ive no very favo rable idea of h is sc ient i c powers how

h
ever g reat i merit may be as an ob server above al l
that idle fondne ss for invent in g name s witho u t any man
ner of o c c a sion to whi c h we have already all u ded and a
u se of novel and affe c ted idiom s
om s

h as

a ce -

e e

s,

uc

c us

"

"
T

1k

p e c l ati on s of the Do c tor on th e natu re of

the S u n we hav e many Similar obj e c tion s b u t they are
al l e c li p se d by the g rand ab s rdity whi c h he h as there
c ommitted in h is ha sty and erroneo u s theory c on c ernin g
th e in u en c e of the solar sp ot s on the p ri c e of g rain
S in c e the p u bli c ation of Gu lliver s voya g e to L ap ta
nothin g so ridi c lo u s h as ev e r been offe re d to th e world
To

th e s

L ife

8
9

a nd

orks

We heart i ly wi sh the Do tor had s ppre sed it ; or if

determ i ned to p bl i sh it that h had deta i led i t in lan

g ag e le ss ondent and ipp nt

c

is almost ashamed to g ive space and

cu rrency to a forg otten attac k but it yields a
k i nd of perspective ; an d it is instructive and
perhaps u sefu l to V iew H ERSCH EL S labors
from all s ides even from wron g an d envious
o ne s
Th e stu dy of the ori g in al papers to g eth er
with a k nowled g e of the circu mstances i n
wh ich th ey were written will abu ndantly
show that H ERSCH EL S ideas sprun g from a
profou n d meditatio n of the natu re Of th in g s
i n th emselves W hat th e ori g i n of trains of
thou g ht prosecute d for years may have been
we can not say n o r could h e h imself have ex
pressed it A n ew path i n science was to be
fou n d out an d he fou n d it I t was not i n h is
closet su rrou n ded by au thorities but u nder
the o pen sk y that he m editated th e constru e
tion of the heavens A s h e says M y situ a
tio n perm itted m e n ot to co nsu lt larg e l ibra
ries ; n or indeed was it very material ; for
as I intende d to vi ew the heavens myself
One

W
illi
a
m
f

e rsc

k el

99

N ature that g reat volu me appeare d to me

catalo g u e
,

to contai n the best

H is remar k able m emo irs on the i nvisible
an d other rays of th e solar spectru m were re
c e iv e d with doubt and with open den ial by
many of th e scienti c bod ies of E u rope
The reviews an d notices of his work i n this
di rectio n were often qu ite beyo nd th e bou n d s
of a proper scie nti c
criticism ; bu t H E R
SCH EL main tai ned a di g n ied silen ce T he
d iscoveries were tru e th e proofs were O pen
to all an d n o response was n eeded from h im
H e may have been sorely tem pted to reply
bu t I am apt to bel ieve that the ru mors that
reached h im from abroad an d at h om e did
n ot th e n affect h im as th ey m i g ht have don e
earl ier H e was at h is g ran d climacteri c
he had passed h is sixty th ird year h is tem
per was less hasty than it ha d been i n h is
youth an d h is n erves had n ot yet rece ived
th e severe strai n from whose effects h e su f
fe re d du rin g th e last years of h is l ife
.

W e have some g limpses of h is perso nal

L ife

1 00

a nd

orks

l ife i n the rem i n iscences of h im i n th e D ia ry

a n d L ette rs of M adame D A R B L A Y who k n ew
h im well

8
6
17
I n th e

evenin g M r H ER S C H EL c ame to tea

I had on c e seen that very extraordinary man at Mrs
D E L UC S b t was ha p py to se e him a g ain for h e h s n ot
more fame to awak en rio sity than sen se and mode sty
to g rat i fy it H e is p erfe c tly nassu min g yet O penly
hap p y and hap p y in the s c c e ss of tho se st die s whic h
wo ld render a mind le ss ex c ellently formed pre su m p
tu o s and arro g ant
The k in g h as n ot a happ er su bje c t than thi s man
who owe s it wholly to H is M aj e sty that he is not wre t c hed
for s h was h is e a g erne ss to q u it all o ther p u rsu it s to
follow a stronomy sol ely that he was in dan g er of r u in
when h is talent s and g reat and u n c ommon g eni s at
tra c ted the k in g s p atrona g e H e h as now n ot only h is
pen sion whi c h give s him the feli c ity of devoti n g al l h is
t i me to h is darlin g st dy b u t he is ind l g ed i n li c en se
from the k in g to mak e a t ele sc o p e a c ordin g to h is new
idea s and di sc overie s that i to have no o st spared in its
c on str u c tion and is wholly to be paid for by H is M aj e sty
Th i s se em s to have made him hap p ier even than the
p en sion as it enabl e s him to p t in exe tion all h is
wonderf l p roj e c t s from whi c h h is ex p e c tation s of fu t u re
di sc overie s are so san g u ine as to mak e h i pre sent exi st
M r L OC K E
e n c e a state of almo st p erfe c t enjoyment
him self wo u ld be q u ite c harmed with him

cu

uc

cu

W
illi
a
m
f

e rsc

k el

10 1

H e e m a man witho t a wi h tha t h it obj e t

in the terre trial g lobe A t ni ght M r H ER C H EL by the
k i n g ommand ame to exhib i t to H i M aj e ty and the
s e

s c

as

royal family the new c omet lately di s overed by h is sis

ter M i ss H ER S C H EL and while I was playin g at piqu et
with Mrs S CH W EL L ENB UR G the P rin c e ss A UG U S T A ame
into the room and a sk ed her if She ho se to g o into the
g ard e n and loo k at i t S he de l i ned the offer and the
p rin c ess then made it to me I was glad to a c ep t it for
all sort s of r e ason s We fo u nd h i m at h i tele sc ope
The c omet was very small and had nothin g g rand or
s t ri k in g in it appearan c e
b t it is the r st lady s c omet
and I was very de siro s to see it M r H ER S C H EL then
showed me some of h is new di sc overed u niver se s with
all the g ood h mor with whi c h he wo u ld have ta k en th e
same tro ble for a broth e r or a si ster a stronomer ; there
is no po ssi bility of admirin g h is g eni u s more than h is

g entlen ess
c

1 7 8 6 , D ecember 3 ot/z

Thi s mornin g my dear father

H ER S C H EL

That great and v e ry e x

traordin ary man re c e iv e d
s almo st with O p en arm s
H e is very fond of my father who is one of the c o n il of
At
the R oyal S oc iety thi s year as well as him self
thi s time of day there was nothin g to see b u t h is instru
ment s ; tho se however are c u rio sitie s s f ien t
I
bu t
wi hed very m c h to have seen h i si ster

sh e had b e en u
al
l
ni
g
ht
and
then
in
bed
w
a
p
c

ar ried me

to D r
.

8
7 7, S

m
o
p

te

en

Dr H ER S C H EL is a deli ghtf l man

.

L ife

102

a nd

W or ks

na ss min g with h i g reat k nowled g e so willin g to

di spen e it to the i gnorant and so heerf l and ea sy i n
h i g eneral manner s that were he no g eni u s it wo u ld be
impo ssible n ot to remark him as a plea sin g and sen sible
so u

m an

H
.

8
W
7 8 , Octol er 3 d

ret u rn e d to W ind sor at no on

and Mr D E L UC sent me a mo st p re ssi n g invitation to
tea and to hear a little m si c Two yo n g lad i e s were
to perform at her ho u se in a little c on c ert Dr H ER
and ac c ompanied them ve ry sweetly
S C H EL was there
on the violin ; h is new married wife w as with h im and
H is w i fe seem s g ood nat red ; sh e w s ri h
h is si ster
too l and a stronomer s are as able as other m en to dis

c ern that g old

an g litter as well as star s
1

DR

B URN E Y T O MADA ME D A RB L AY

S eptem ler
I

C H E L E A C LLE E
2

8,

79 8

>I<

39

><

'

I drov th ro gh S lo gh in order to

at Dr H ER
S C H EL S door when my vi sit wo u ld be lea st i n c onvenient
to him that n i ght or next mornin g The good so l
was at dinner b t c ame to the door him self to pre ss me
to ali ght immediately and partak e of h is family repa st
and thi s he did so heartily that I c o u ld not re si st
u

ask

>l
<

>l
<

><

I expe ted
c

n ot

k nowin g that H ER S C H EL

was

mar

W
illi
a
m
f

e rsc /ce

I 03

ied ) only to have fo nd M i ss H ER S C H EL ; b t there w s

a very old lady the mother I bel i eve of Mrs H E R
S C H E L who w s at the head of the table her elf and a
S ot s lady (a M i ss W I L S O N da ghter of Dr W I L S ON of
G la sg o w an eminent a tronomer ) M i ss H ER S C H EL and
a l i ttle boy They rejoi ed at the a ident whi h had
bro u ght m e there and hoped I wo ld send my arri a g e
away and tak e a bed with them They wer e sorry they
had no stable s for my horse s

We soon g re w a c q ainted I mean the ladie s and I

and before dinner was over we seemed old friend s j st
met after a lon g ab sen c e Mrs H ER S C H EL is sen sible
g ood h u mored u npret e ndin g and well bred M i s H ER
and virg i n mode sty ; the S c ot s lady
S C H EL all shyne s
sen sible and harmle ss ; and the little boy entertainin g
p romi sin g and c omi al H ER S C H EL you k no w and
everybody k n ow s is one of the mo st p leasin g and well
bred nat u ral hara c t er s of the pre sent a g e as well as th e
g reate t a stronomer
Y o r health was dru n k after dinner (pu t that into
yo u r p o k et ) and afte r m u h so ial onver sation and a
few hearty la gh s the ladie pro p o sed to tak e a walk in
order I bel i eve to leave H ER S C H EL and me to g ether
W e wal k ed and tal k ed ro nd h is g reat tele s ope s t i ll it
g rew damp and d sk then retreated in to h is st u dy to
p h i lo sophi e
r

cc

as

a<

=l<

H e made a di overy to me whi h had I k nown it

sc

ooner wo ld have overset me and prevented my read

L ife

1 04

and

or ks

in g any part of my work

H e sa i d that he had almo st
alway s had an aver sion to poetry wh i h he re g arded s
the arran gement of ne word s witho t any u sef l mean
in g or adheren e to tr th b t that when tr th and i
en e were n i ted to the se ne word s he li k ed poet ry

very well
*

sc

79 8 ,

DR

ec em

e r 1 0.

B URNEY T O M A D A ME D A RB LAY

H ER S C H EL

been in town f or short sp u rt s and

bac k a g ain two or three t i me leavin g Mrs H ER S C H EL
behind ( i n town ) to tran sac t law b sine ss I had him

here two whole day s

The readin g of th e man u sc ript of the Po tic l H i
and H ER S C H EL was
tory of A tronomy was c ontin ed
so h mble as to c onfe ss that I k new more of the h i
tory of a tronomy than he did and had s rp ri sed him
with the ma ss of informat i on I had g ot to gether
H e than k ed me for the enterta i nment and instr c
tion I had g iven h im
and
Can anythin g be grand e r
all thi s before he k now s a word of what I have said of

him self all h is di sc ove rie s as y o may remember bein g

k ept ba k for the twelfth and la st book

h as

s,

"
u

Poetica l f l istory of A stron omy

n e ve r

or e r t a t

te c

hi w k w

or

p b l i h d T h wh l f i w
d h B R N E m i gh h h b
h i l m

b u t w as
in

n ca

te r

o e o

av e t e

ene

pl d
d H ER H EL
hi
iiim i
ly

as n e ar

as re a

t of

c om

to

s cr

e te

SC

tc

on

ts

W illia m H

DR

B URNEY T O
S

O UG

idl

Monday
I

2
2
ul
y

79 9

H ER H E L h l f p t
i th l p li

SC

e re

D A R B L AY

m orn ing

Dr

at

wh

10

MADA ME

in b e d
ve ,

ersc k el

as

n or

e r s ee

c an n e

e.

M Y D E A R F A NNY I believe I told yo on Fr i day

that I was g oin g to n i sh the per sal of my astronom i c al
verse s to the great astronomer on S at rday
u

>1
4

=<

fter tea D r H ER S C H EL pro p o sed that we two sho u ld

retire into a q iet room i n order to re su me the per sal of
my work in whi h no p ro g re ss h s been made sin c e la st
De c ember The even i n g was ni shed very heerf lly ;
and we went to ou r bowers not m c h o t of h mor with
e a h other or the world
A fter dinner we all
a greed to go to the t e rrac e [ at W ind sor] Mr Mrs and
M i ss H with their ni c e littl e boy and three yo n g
ladie s H ere I met with almo t everybody I wi shed and
e xpe ted to se e previo u s to the k in g s ar rival
A

a:

now here c ome s W ill and I m st g et u p and

ma k e my self u p to g o down to the per sal of my la st

book entit l ed H rsc/zel S o g ood morrow

Bu t

C H EL EA T d y
N ot a moment o ld I get to write till now
I m st tell y o that H ER S C H EL propo sed to me to g o
S

u es a

1 06

if

i him to the k in g

a nd

W orks

on c er t at ni ght he havin g p er
mi ssion to g o when he hoo se s h is ve nephew s (G R I E S
B A C H S ) mak in g a prin c ipal par t of the band
And
I k no w you w i ll be wel c ome
say s he
w th

s c

An

i ntimacy was g radually establ ished b e

tween H ERSCH EL an d D r B U RNE Y They
saw each other O ften at the m eetin g s of th e
Royal S ociety a n d H E RSCH E L frequ ently
stayed at the doctor s h ou se
O n th e rst
even in g H ERSCH E L spen t at C helsea when I
called for my A RG A N D lamp H ERSCH EL who
had not seen on e of those lamps was su r
prised at the g reat e ffusio n of l i g ht an d im
m ediately calcu late d th e di fference between
that and a si n gl e can dle an d fou nd it six

teen to o n e
I n 1 7 9 3 we n d H ERSCH E L as a witn ess fo r
his frien d J A M ES W A TT i n th e celebrated
case of W A TT vs B U LL wh ich was tried in
th e C ou rt of C ommo n Pleas A n d fro m
M U I RH E A D S L ife of W A TT it appears that
H ERSCH EL visited W A TT at H e ath e ld i n
.

1 8 10

Memoirs of

Dr

B UR N E

Y,

vol

iii p
.

64

W illia m H

ersc/i el

10 7

d eli g htful pictu re of th e old ag e of H E R

by the poet C A MP B ELL
S C H E L is g iven
whose n atu re was tted to perceive th e
beauties of a g ran d an d S i mpl e character l i k e
H ERSCHE L S
A

b
B
R
I
H
T
N
m
8
t
S
5
3
[
] p
I wi h you had been with me the day b e
fore ye sterday when you wo u ld have joined me I am
imple g ood old man
s re deeply in admir i n g a g reat
Dr H ERS C H EL D o not th i n k me vain or at lea st p t
w
i
th
my
vanity
i
n
sayin g that I almo st atter my self
p
I have made h i m my friend I have got an i nv i tat i on
and a pre i n g one to g o to h i ho u e and the lady who
introd ed me to h i m say s he spo k e of me as if he
wo ld really be happy to s me
I spent all
H is son i a prodi g y
S nday with h i m and h i fam i ly
in sc ien e s and fond of poetry b t very u na s m i n g
N ow f or the O ld a tronomer him self H is sim
h
h
i
k
indne
i
ane
dote
read
i
ne
to
ex
l
i
i
h
i
ss
s
c
s
s
s
c
t
p
y
p lain an d mak e perfe c tly c on pi c o s too h is own
niverse are inde sc ri bably
s blime c on c eption s of the
harmin g H e is seventy six b t fre sh and to t ; and
there he s t neare st the door at h is friend s ho u se l
ternately sm i li n g at a jo k e or ontentedly sittin g witho t
Share or n ot i e i n the c onversation A n y train of on
G

er 1

ss

uc

ee

su

s,

an d

v ol.

ii

Lif
B EATT I E

T H M A C A M P ELL di t d by

e tte rs of

34

I LLI AM

and

L ife

1 08

or ks

v e r sa tion h e follow s impli c itly anythin g you ask he

labors with a so rt of boyi sh earne stne ss to explain
I wa anxio u s to ge t from him as many p arti c u lar s as
I c o u ld abo t h is inte rview with B U O N A P A R T E The
latter it was re p orted had a stoni shed him by h is a stro
n om ic al k nowled g e
N o he said the First Con su l did su rpri e me by h is
q i c k ne s and versatility on all su bje c t s b t in sc ien e
he seemed to k now l i ttle more than any well ed u c ated
g entleman and of a stronomy m u h le ss for in stan e than
o r own k in g
H is g eneral air he sa i d
w s somethin g
li k e affe tin g to k now more than he did k now H e was
hi gh and tr i ed to be g reat with H ER S C H EL I su ppo se
witho t s c e ss and I remark ed said the a stronomer
h is hypo c r sy n c on c l u din g the onver sation on a stron
om y by ob servin g how all the se g lorio s v i ew s g ave
proofs of an A lmi ghty W i sdom I a sk ed him if he
tho ght the sy stem of L A PL A CE to be q ite ertain with
re gard to the total se rity of the plane tary sy stem from
He
th e effe t s of g ravitation lo sin g its pre sent balan c e
he tho u ght by no mean s that the u niverse was
sa i d N
o
se c red from the c han e of su dden lo sse s of part s
H e was onvin e d that there had exi sted a planet b e
tween M r and j pit r in o r own sy stem of whi c h the
little a steroid s or plan e tkin s lately di s overed are in
d bitably fra gment s ; and R emember aid he that
.

cu

a s

S CH EL S

n te rv e w

ou rn e

m u st

yt P i
o

ar s

av e

k pl

ta

Th i i

en

ac e

in

1 8 02

av e n o ot e r re c or

d i g H ER

of

ur n

it

W illia m H

e rsc

k el

10

tho u gh they have di ov e red only fo u r of tho se p art

s
there wil l be tho u sand perhap s thirty tho sand more
yet d i sc overed Thi s planet he believed to have been
lo t by explo ion
Wi th great k i ndne ss and pat i en e he referred me in
the o rse of my attem p t to tal k with him to a theorem
in NE WT O N S P rin iple s of N at u ral P h i lo sophy in
whi c h the time that the li ght tak e s to travel from the n
is proved with a impli ity whi h req i re s b u t a few tep s
in rea son i n g I n tal k in g of some inc on eivably di tant
bod i e s he i ntrod ed the mention of thi s pla i n theorem
to rem i nd me that the pro g re s of li ght o ld be mea s red
in the one c a se as well as the other Then peakin g of
him self he sa i d with a mode sty of manner whi h q i t e
over ame me when ta k en to g ether with the g reatne ss of
the assertion I have look ed f rtk r into pac t/ n v r
k m n b ing did b f or m
I have ob se rved star s of
wh i c h the l i ght it n be proved m st tak e two m i llion s
of year s to rea h thi s earth
I really and nfe i g nedly felt at thi moment as if I had
been c onversin g with a s p ernat u ral intelli g en e N ay
more said he if tho e di stant bodie s had eased to
exi st two million s of years a g o we sho ld till e e them
s the li ght wo ld travel after the body w s g one
The e were H ER S C H EL S word ; and i f you had heard
him speak them yo wo u ld n ot thin k he w s ap t to tel l
more than the tr th
A fter leav i n g H ER S C H EL I felt elevated and over
c ome
and have in wri tin g to yo mad e only thi s memo
sc

s,

su

uc

e e

za

ca

1 10

ran du m

l i fe

if

and

orks

of some of the mo t i ntere t i n g moment s of my

s

C A M PB ELL S conscientious b io g rapher ap

pears to have felt th at th e valu e of this
charm in g accou nt of h is i nterview with H E R
SCH E L w a s in its report of astro n om ical facts
an d opin ions an d h e adds a foot n ote to
explai n that
H ERSCH EL S O pin io n n ever
am ou n ted to more than kypotk es is havin g
some de g ree of probabil ity S ir J OH N H E R
I f that
S C H E L remembers h is father sayi n g
hypothesis were tru e an d if th e planet de
stroyed were as larg e as the earth there
m u st have been at least thirty thousand su ch

fra g ments bu t always as an hypothesis h e

was n ever h eard to declare a n y de g ree of

convict io n that it was so

For u s th e valu e of th is sympath etic ac
cou n t o f a day i n H E RSCH EL S life is i n its
co nceptio n of the simplicit y the modesty

th e boyish earn estness the elevatio n of

thou g h t and speech of th e O ld ph ilosopher ;
and i n th e impress ion m ade o n the feelin g s
n ot the m i nd of the poet then th irty v e
years O ld

W
illi
a
m
f

e rsc tel

111

I n a letter to A L I SON C A M PB E L L reverts

with g reat pleasu re to the day spent with
H ERSCH EL
,

S DE N H AM D
Y

M Y D E A RE S T A L I S O N

ecem ber 1 2

as

1813.

as

as

I p ent three wee k with my family

B righton in
s
c harmin g weather and was m u c h p lea sed with as well
be neted by the pla e There I met a man with whom
o
s
will
tare
at
the
idea
of
my
bein
g
on
g
nial
hav
o
r
e
y
in g the van i ty to thin k my self so the g reat H ER S C H EL
H e is a si m p le g reat be i n g
I on c e in my life
loo k ed at NE WT O N S P rin ipi and attended an a stro
n om i
l la s at G la g ow ; wonderf l it seemed to m y
self that the
r
eat
man
onde
ended
to
nder
tand
my
s
g
q e stion ; to be ome ap p arently earne st in omm ni
c atin g to me as m u h informat i on
s my lim i ted
apa c ity
and preparation for s h k nowled g e wo ld admit H e
invited me to se him at h is own abode and so k indly
that I o u ld n ot believe that it was mere good breedin g
I had a f ll day
b t a si n c ere wi sh to se e me a g a i n
with him he de sc ribed to me h is whole interview with
B U O N A P A R T E ; said it was not tr e as reported that
B U O N A P A R T E nder tood astronomi c al s bj e t s deeply
b t affe ted more than he k new
I n speak i n g of h is g reat and hief tele sc ope he said
with an air not of the lea st pride b u t with a g re atne ss
s

at

ca

a,

sc

uc

L ife

112

and

or ks

and Simpli c ity of expre ssion that stru c k me with won

I have loo k ed f rther into spa e than ever h u man
de r
bein g did before me I have ob served star s of whi h
the li gh t tak e s t wo million of year s to trave l to thi s
g lobe I mean to p ay him a reverential vi si t at S lo gh

as soon as my boo k is ou t thi s winter

u

=I<

=I<

>k

><

r
:

I n 1 8 0 7 C A ROL I N A H E RSCH EL has th is

try in h er diary

en

ri g ht on
brother
am
from
B
The
c
e
y
s ame ni g ht two partie s from the Ca stl e c ame to se e th e
c omet and d rin g the whole month my brother had not
an evenin g to him self A s he was then in th e m i d st of
p oli shin g the forty foot mirror re st be c ame ab sol tely
n e c e ssary after a day spent in that mo s t laborio s wor k
and it h as ever been my opinion that on the 4 th of O c
tober his nerve s re eived a sho c k of whi c h he never got

the be tter afterward s

October 4

I n the sprin g of 1 8 0 8 h e was qu ite seri

o u s ly ill ; bu t i n M ay th e O bservin g wen t on
a g ain I n 1 8 09 an d 1 8 1 0 his pri n cipal in v e s
tig a tion s were u pon physical subj ects
N
EW
(
T ON S ri n g s ) an d i n 1 8 1 I the o nly lon g series
of observat io ns was u pon the comet O f that
year A fter 1 8 1 1 th e state of H ERSCH EL S
.

W
illi
a
m
f

e rs c

k el

1 13

health requ ired that h is observatio ns shoul d

be mu ch less frequ ent M u ch of th e time
after 1 8 1 1 h e was absen t an d h is wor k at
hom e co nsisted larg ely i n arran g in g the re
s u lts o f h is previou s labors an d i n compu ta
tio ns co n nected wi th them A ll throu g h the
years 1 8 1 4 to 1 8 2 2 H E RSCH E L S health was

very feeble Th e severe winter of 1 8 1 3 1 4

had told materially u po n h im I n 1 8 1 4
however h e u n dertoo k to repol ish the
forty foot m irro r but was obl i g ed to g ive it
.

ov e n

H e n ow fou n d it necessary to ma k e fre

qu en t l ittle excu rsio ns fo r chan g e of ai r an d
scene H is faithful s ister remai ne d at home
bri n g in g order i nto the masses of m anu
script and cop y in g the papers for th e Royal
S ociet y
S h e was sic k at heart fearin g th at each
t ime sh e saw her brother i t wou ld be th e last
I n 1 8 1 8 she says :
.

Feb
I went to my brother and remained with him
till the 3 d W e spent ou r time tho gh not in idlene ss
in sorrow and sadne ss H e is not only u nwell b u t low in

spirit s
.

1 1,

L ife

1 14

a nd

orks

I n 1 8 1 8 ( D ecember
H E RSCH E L went to
L o ndon to have h is portrait pai nted by A R
T A U D W h ile h e was i n L o ndon h is will was
ma d e
I n 1 8 1 9 there is a g l immer of th e old ti m e
l i g ht I n a n ote H E RSCH EL says :
.

LIN A

There is a g reat c ome t I want you to a ssi t

me Come to dine and spend the day her e I f y o n
c ome soon after on e o c lo c k we shall have time to pre

u ca

The w
T he

ill

of

H ER H E L w d t d D
l ff t w w
d
SC

e rson a

as

orn u n

e re s

ec s

e c em

a e

e r 1 7 th ,

1 818

p yh l d

T he

er

co

h l y i h C ty
d
hi
S l gh h d
wi h
i
f B k
t R d
dA ii
gi
hi b
h
h 3 p
J H ANN DI ET R I H d
ii f
h t h i b th
J H ANN A LE AN DER d h i i t C A R L I NA ;
h t hi
ph w d i
id (wi h h x p i f
d h
t
wh i h h d l
l p b
i
mi l i t m t
f
h
h gi
on
d
d g hi
f hi
p p
i i g h i di ) i l ft l ly L d y H ER
f

G l m
6
8
l x ii
ld g i
p 5
y t y h h w bly S i J H N H ER H E L
I i
t
d md h
d d i h im All h w l d k w f h i S
w f
h
m
h
h
h
i
h
p
l
d
i
i
w
h
f
H
S
y
m pl
d
bg
df h
h h
h
k y wh i h h d b
v by h m i
h d A gl
i hi f h
m
il f
h B i bl i g p h y
d f h i b k w i ll h w h
h
l p p by S i J H N w i wi h h l bj f d i g
hi f h
m pl
lb m
an d oth e rlan ds an d

at

s , an

uc

e r c en

ne

no

ca

n s ru

u r ose

S CH EL

re

ee

ve

n stru

at

at e r s

ors

ore c o

tte n
e te .

e c are s

or t e

SC

no

so e

an

as tro

son

er

s o

ur

e re v e

or t e n ort e rn

at e r s

oo

ro

e te

e ac

or

20

to

e te

co

u n an

22

so e

to

e co

rot e r

t on

ce

e,

no

e re

e n ts

e en

v an c e

es

n e, v o

az

to

ve n

se rv at on s, e c

ou n

son ,

t e

s a

e av e n s ,

e rs

e en

sa

a ve

1 00 e ac

ue

s tu

a re

e s, o

o sa

ou t e rn

o ra

an s j

tru st c on

e ra

e sc o

s s s er

e re s

n e c e ssar

e s

ens

to

t es o

ac c ou n t o

en t e

s no

to

c on t n u n

te

e n s,

t es

ann u

an

ve n ,

av e

n nu

n e c e s , an

s an

ec re e s

an

ou

uce

to

te n e m e n ts a t U ton - c u m

an c e

s.

ea

t t es o

ect o

re n

at

se v

er n

W
illi
a
m
f

p are map s and tele sc o p e s

I t h s a lon g tail

ers c

saw

I 15

kel

it u ation la st ni ght

its

ul
y

4,

Th is n ote has been carefully k ept by h is

sister an d o n it sh e has writte n
I k eep
th is as a rel ic E very l ine n ow traced by th e
hand of my dear brother becomes a treasure

to me
S o th e n ext th ree years passed away
S ir
W I LL I A M was daily more an d more feeble
H e spe nt h is t im e i n pu ttin g h is work s i n
ord e r but could devote only a few moments
each day to th is H is sister says
:

and 1 4t/
I went as s al
to pend some ho rs of the forenoon with my brother
A g 1 5 tb I ha stened to the spot where I w
wont
to nd him with the new spap er whi h I w s to read to
him B t in tead I fo nd Mr M O N S O N M i ss B A L D
W I N and M r B U LM A N from L eed s the g rand son of my
brother earlie t a q aintan c e in thi o ntry I w s
info rmed my brother had been obl i g ed to ret rn to h is
L ady H and the
room whither I ew immediately
ho e k ee p er were with him admini ter i n g everyth i n g
A ug

1 I

tlt,

12

t/z ,

1 3 tlz ,

as

us

w as

Od i
S
i yi

d k i gh f h R y l H
i G l ph i
dw
h
P id f h R y l A t m i l
hi
b i g i t F ig S
y

c re a te

r e r n 1 8 1 6 , an

oc e t

n 1 82 1 ,

as

t o

s son

rst

e n

t e

re s

ts

rs

an ov e r an

o a

en t o

ore

o a

e c re tar

ue

s ron o

ca

L ife

1 16

a nd

W orks

whi c h c o u ld be tho ght of f or su p portin g him I fo u nd

him m u h irritated at n ot bein g able to g rant M r B UL
M A N S req e st for some to k en of remembran c e f or h is
father A s soon s he saw me I was sent to the library
to fet c h one of h is la st pa p er s and a plate of the forty
foot tele s ope B t for the niver se I c o u ld not have
look ed twi c e at what I had snat hed from th e shelf and
when he faintly a sk ed if the break in g u p of the M il ky
Way was in it I said Y e s and he loo k ed c ontent I
c annot help rememberin g thi s c ir c u m stan c e
; it w s th e
last t i me I was sent to the l ibrary on s h an o c asion
That the anxio s c are for h is p ap e r s and work room s
never ended b t with h is life was proved by h is freq ent
whi spered inq u irie s if they wer e lo k ed and the k ey safe
of wh i h I too k
are to a ss re him that they we re and
the k ey in L ady H ER S C H EL S hand s
A fte r half an ho r s vain attempt to su pport him self
my brother w s obl i g ed to on sent to be pu t to bed

leavin g no hope ever to se e him ri se a g ain

u

uc

O n the 2 5 th of A u g ust 1 8 2 2 H ERSCH EL

d ied peacefully at th e a g e of ei g hty fou r
years
H is remains l ie i n the little chu rch at Up
ton n ear W i n dsor wh ere a m em orial tablet
has been erected by h is s on The epitaph is
as follows
,

B DE
O

r
ah

am /z ,

182

3,

222

W illia m H

SC

an ov ia

A n gliam

n a tu s

As tron om is

1 17

H ER H E L Eq

GUL I EL MUS
H

ersck e

Gu e lphic u s

ues

l git p t i m
a ra

e e

r
a
t
a
n
i
s
t
ssimis
p

a ta tis su a

Me ri to ann u m e ratu s

iv t
t i bi

Ut le viora sile an tu r

i ll xt S
P im d
vi i dj m
i
ip
gi

Plan e tam

No

ra

e e

Qu a

e n tis

l t

c au s r
a

p t
I g it

e n e ran s e t e xploran s s

Astron om oru m

ig

os astroru m

n co n

Cor

inn ixu s

tav t e t pe rf e c it

Coeloru m pe rru pit

oru m e t

sole rtia

qu a

h
a
n
t
asm atu m
p
s r

s n

s e

a u ra

en

Ultro
V e ra

S iq u ide m

te stan tu r

Non

nu s

u tile m

or e

b on i

vr

os e r

e re e

am ab ile m

ib

atu ra

e o su a

u am v irtu tib u s

ximi

s om n

i mm
XXV A g t i A D
[ Etatis

b idi

on om a

in n oc u am

us

f t p t i

tam e n
u

su

tr

e st as

et

di

q u ale s

in g e n iis

a o ra m e xitu

su s e t

Ne c

D ie

e a

f li i l b
Orn atam

Morte

u ur s

A gn osc e n t

e re cu n

h di

ft i

D e b itu ra

V tam

ac u s c on e c it

doc u it ple raq u e

qua

c e rtiora

lu c e n tiu m

av e rit

e ran s

e ss e

nes

au o au

n es

y t m ti o t i
N t midg
d
i
i
d
p
l
i
d
Q q
I g it t m p
v

E tra

p ti

oc u lis e t in te lle c tu i su b e c it

se du litate

Qu a

tam

or

a u rn

se e xc o

Et re m otiora

en a

e te xit

us

s art s a

am

us

de e n da

c lau sit

CI OI DCCCXXI I

L XXX I V

L ife

1 18

a nd

W orks

C H A P T ER

R EV I EW

IV

SC I EN T I F I C L A B O RS
H ERSCH EL
W I LL IA M

OF

OF

TH E

th is chapter I shall en deavor to g ive

su ch expl anatio ns as will enable the g eneral
reader to follo w the cou rse of discovery i n
each branch of astro nomy an d physics re g
th
rou
g
h
the
perio
d
of
H
E
RSCH
E
L
S
l
ife
u larl
y
an d u p to the state in wh ich h e left i t
A more detailed and precise accou nt
wh ich should appeal directly to th e profe s
s ion al astron omer will n ot b e n eeded sin ce
A R A GO has al ready fu llled th is want in h is
IN

se
na l
y

de la

vie et

des tra va u x de S ir W

published

[1

i n 1 8 4 2 Th e
few m isco nceptio ns there contai ned will be
easily corre cted by those to whom alone
th ey are of co nsequence T he latter class of

L IAM

E R S CH E L ,

W
illi
a
m
f

e rsc /i e

1 19

readers may also co nsult the abstracts of H E R

S C H E L S memo irs wh ich have bee n g iven i n
A S u bj ec t in dex a n d a S y n ops is of tb c S eie n

ti c

r iting s

S ir W

ILLIA

M H

E R S CH E L ,

prepared by D r H A S T I NGS and myself and

publ ished by the S m ithson ian I nst itu tion
A n accu rate s k etch of the state of a s tron o
my i n E n g land an d on th e C o nti nent i n the

years 1 7 8 0 1 8 2 0 n eed n ot be g iven I t will

be en ou g h if we remember that of th e ch ief
observatories of E u rope public and p rivate
n o on e was actively devoted to su ch labors
as were u nderta k en by H ERSCH EL at th e very
be g in n i n g of h is career
H is O bservatio ns o n variable stars in dee d
were i n th e same li n e as th ose of P I GO TT ;
FL A UGERG U ES and D A RQ UI E R i n F ran ce had
perhaps preceded h im i n m inute scru t iny o f
th e su n s su rface etc bu t even i n that de
he
at
on
ce
pu
t
an
m
r
t
e n t of observatio n
a
p
imm ense d istan ce between h imself an d others
by th e rapid an d extraordi nary advances i n
the s iz e an d i n th e excellen ce of h is tele
S cope s
B efore h is t ime the pri n cipal aids
to observatio n were the G re g oria n and N e w
.

L ife

12 0

and

W orks

telescopes of S HOR T an d the small

*
a c h rom a tic s of D OL L ON D
W e have seen in what g oe s before how
h is patien t z eal had su cceeded in i mprovi n g
u pon th ese Th ere was no delay and n o
rest S teadily the art of ma k in g reectors
was u rg ed fo rward u ntil he had nally i n h is
hands the forty foo t telescop e
I t m u st be adm itted th at th is was th e
l im it to wh ich th e manufactu re of powerfu l
telescopes cou ld be pushed i n h is g en eration
Th e optical an d mechan ical d i f culties wh ich
prevente d a farther advance requ ired time
f or their solutio n ; and i ndeed som e of these
d i fcu lties are scarcely solved at th is day
I t m ay fairly be said that no re ector larg er
than th ree feet i n apertu re has yet real iz e d
ou r expectations

ton ia n

JAM E S H R T

J H N D LL N D F R S
f t l
l b tdm k
p of th i
th m
t
w
( 7 6
d y
t
f S H RT ( p t
Th
i f t N wt i
i h ) d th f rty ix i h h m ti f D LL N D ( p t
i h ) w h i gh ly t m d T h R y l Ob v to y of G
I
mp
wi h p
d i 76 5
h l
t iv t i l
f
f H ER H E L t
p t G wi h d
t l
f S H RT
t l p th l tt w dj d g d g tly p i
S

es

nc

es

F R S (1 7 10

e re

nc

e e sc o e s ,

nc

es ee

osse sse

-s

e re

n 1

e e sc o

as a

ra e

re

e ac

re e n
u

cs o

o a

c ass

an

re a

e c ors

e rs

ro

ac

on e o

e, a

er

ce e

on an

an d

os

x- oo

an

e e sc o

se r a

on e o
su

e r or.

e r

es

e r u re

n a co

e r u re

re e n

ara

SC

ra

rs

W illia m H

T lie I mp rovem en t

ersckel

T elescopes

12

Op tica l

and

I t will be of i nterest to g ive in th is place

som e con n ected accou n t of the larg e forty
foot reector of fou r feet apertu re ma d e by
H E RSCH EL I ts h isto ry extends fro m 1 7 8 5
I ts man u factu re was considere d by
to 1 8 1 1
h is cotemporaries as h is g reatest triu mph A S
a m ach in e it was extremely in g en iou s i n all
its parts as may be seen fro m th e elaborate
descriptio n an d plates of it publ ished i n th e
O ne
Pk ilosopkica l T ra nsa ction s for 1 7 9 5
of its m irrors certainly ha d g oo d de n ition
f or by m eans of it th e two small satell ites of
S a tu rn ( Mim a s an d E ncela du s) were disc ov
ere d an d these discoveries alon e woul d ma k e
it famou s Perhaps m ore was expecte d of
it by th e publ ic in g eneral than it absolu tely
performed I ts m erits were after a wh ile
decrie d an d H E RSCH E L even felt obl i g ed to
state why h e d id n ot always employ i t i n h is
observatio ns H is reasons were perfectly
val i d an d su ch as any on e may u n derstan d
T h e ti me re qu ire d to g et so larg e a mach in e
,

L ife

12 2

a nd

W orks

i nto work in g order was a serious tax it re

qu ired mo re assistants than h is twenty foot
telescope an d he says I have made it a
rul e n ever to empl oy a larg er tel escope when

a smaller will answer the pu rpose

I t still remai ns as a remar k able feat of e u
i
n e e rin
an
d
an
example
of
g
reat
optical
g
g
an d mechan ical s k ill I t led the way to th e
larg e re ectors of L ord ROSSE some sixty
years later an d several of th e forty foot tele
scopes of th e presen t day even have don e
l ess u seful wor k
I ts g reat feat however
was to have added two satellites to th e solar
system From th e publish e d accou nts of i t
th e followin g is ta k en
-

'

Bath I had l on g been ac qu ain ted

with the theory of op ti s and me hani c s and wanted
only that ex p e rien c e so ne c e ssary in the pra ti c al part of
th e se sc i e n c e s
Thi s I ac q u ire d by de g r ee s at that pla c e
where in my l ei su re ho u r s by way of am se ment I mad e
se veral two foot v e foot seven foot ten foot and twenty
foot N ewtonian tel e sc ope s be side ot h er s of the G re go
rian form of ei ght twelv e and ei ghteen in h e s and two
three ve and ten feet fo c al len g th I n thi s way I
made n ot le ss than two h u ndre d seven foot one h u ndred

When I r id d
es

at

I Villia m H

k el

ersc

12

fty ten foot and ab ou t ei ghty tw e nty foot mirrors

not to me ntion the G re g orian tele sc o p e s
The n u mber of stand s I invented f or th e se tele
In 1 78 1
sc o p e s it wo ld n ot b e ea sy to a ssi gn
I be gan to on stru c t a thirty foot a eri al ree tor and hav
in g made a stand for it I c a st the mirror thirty six in he s
in diamete r Thi s was c ra k ed in c oolin g I c a st it a
se c ond time and th e f rna c e I had b u i l t in my ho se

bro k e
an d

S oo n after th e G eo rg ian plan et was

,

dis c ov

ered an d th is in terru pte d th e wor k fo r a tim e

,

I n the year 7 8 3 I ni shed a ve ry good twenty foo t

ree c tor with a lar g e a p e rt u re an d mo u nted it u p on the
p lan of my p re sent tele sc op e A fte r two years ob ser
vation with it th e g reat advan ta g e of su c h ape rt u re s
ap p eared so c l early to me that I re c u rr e d to my fo rmer
intention of in c reasin g th em stil l fu rthe r ; and b ein g
now su f c iently p rovided with e xp erien c e in the wor k
whi c h I wi shed to u ndertak e the P re sident of the R oya l
sef u l u nde r
S o c iety who is alway s ready to p romote
ta k in g s had th e g oodne ss to lay my de si g n b e fore th e
k in g H is M aj esty was g ra c io u sly p l e a sed to a p prove
of it and with h is u su al lib e rality to su pp o rt it with h is
royal bo u n ty
1

At l t
i t d
f gl
e as

ass

one of

n s ea

of

th
me

e se

tl

t l Pl il
a

e e sc o
z

es

h ad th e

i
l
oso
l
i
c
a
p

p i ip l m i
r nc

T ra n sac tion s,

rror

1 803 .

ma

if

12

W orks

a nd

I n on q n e of thi arran gement I be gan to

ue

se

c on

str c t the forty foo t tele sc ope abo u t the latter e n d of

The woodwor k of th e stand and ma c h i ne s f or
785
g ivin g the re q ired motion s to the in str ment were im
mediately pu t in hand I n the whole of the ap p arat u s
none b u t c ommon work men were e mployed for I mad e
drawin gs of eve ry p art of it by whi c h it was ea sy to ex
e c u te th e wor k as I c on stantly in sp e c ted and dire c ted
every p erson s labor ; thou gh somet i me s there were not
le ss than fo rty differen t work men em p loyed at the same
time W h i le the stand of th e tele sc ope was p reparin g I
al so be g an the c on str c tion of th e g reat mirror of whi c h
I in sp e ted the c a stin g g rindin g and pol i shin g and the
wor k w s in thi s manne r c arried on with no other int e r
ru ption than that o c c a s oned by the removal of all the
ap parat u s and material s from where I th e n lived to my
p re sent sit u ation at S lo gh
u

f ll wi g x t t f m F UR I ER Bl g f H ER H EL i
hi
ti
Th
m t pp p i t d b y h
ti
f i
d
m
ki g w
Th i w f w d i d
y l y w g iv f m i
f
i
di
aj m i l
p d pi a m
L hi
mm
g l eb [ LA LAN DE q i 1 m i i t d
i
t
d bl
d p l p g e d l t mi J f i l
d p
d l g
di t 1 i p q ll
t i ;
il m
l
q t a ll d i
d
l
t g
bl d
i
bj
th
lh m
t p i t d l m
L ALAN DE w
t i l i l di ff t H
y th k i g
x l i m d N t il p m i x m p l y
g t l q a
f i t d h mm
The

n te re s

ra n
ra

n t

u an

sto re

ce

es

es

ou r

u e rre ,

o n

es

es

ro

tt e

eu

re a

a su

e re n

es

c ou s

es

e s son

u e
e

so

es

r nce

cc

as ron o

on ore

e s, e

as

ou se

t e

an

arce

ra e

to

e rc a

es

s a

a re

e re

ar

n ac c ou n

e vau

es

a s

ro r s

es

e s sc e n c e s ,

uer

SC

'

a re

a n te n an c e

or

ro

te r ar s ra se

o t c on se rve r

e s a c c or

o e

rs

e su

as a

re

et n e co

c a

on

en

as

s c on n e c

e ar

er c

ro

rac

e n se s

as

2 00

a s

c e ssa re s

e s or onn e r

an

es

eu r

sa

o e r son ar e n

ce a

W illia m H

orse/tel

12

H e re oon after my arrival I be gan to lay th

fo ndation pon wh i h by de g ree the whole tr t re
w
rai ed
it now tand and the Spe l m be in g
h i ghly poli hed and p t into the t be I had the r t vie w
thro gh it on Febr ary 9 7 8 7 I do not however date
the ompletin g of the in tr ment t i ll m h later For
,

as

as

s,

cu u

uc u

uc

the rst spe c l u m by a mi smana g ement of the per son

who c ast it c ame ou t thinner on the c entre of the bac k
than w s intended and on a c o nt of its wea k ne ss wo u ld
not permit a g ood g re to be given to it
A se ond mirror w s c a st Jan ary 6 1 7 8 8 b u t it
ool i n g Febru ary 6 we re a st it and it
c ra c k ed in
p roved to be of a proper de g ree of stren gth Oc tober
2 4 it was bro u gh t to a p retty g ood g re and poli sh and
I ob served the planet S t n with it B t not bein g t
8
is e d I c ontin ed to wor k p on it t i ll A gu st 7
7 9
when it was tr i ed u pon the xed star and I fo nd it
to g ive a p retty shar p ima g e L arg e star were a little
aff e ted with sc attered li ght owin g to many remainin g
havin
g
sc rat c he s on the mirror
A g st th e 8 th
8
7 9
bro u ght the tele s ope to the p arallel of S tu rn I dis
c overed a ixt/ satellite of that p l anet and al so saw th e
sp ot s
p on S t rn better than I had ever seen th e m b e
fore o that I may date th e ni shin g of the forty foot

tele s o p e from that time

u

a ur

sa

s,

a u

A noth er

satell ite of S a tu rn was discov e re d

w ith th e forty foot o n the 1 7 th of S eptember
I t was u s ed fo r variou s O bservation s
-

12

if

and

orks

so late as 1 8 1 1 O n J anu ary 1 9 of that

year H ERSCH E L O bserved the nebula of Orion
w ith i t Th is was on e of h is last O bserva
t ions
Th e nal d isposition of the telescope is
told i n the followi n g extract from a letter of
S ir J OH N H E RSCH EL S to M r W E LD S ecretary
of th e R oyal S ociety :
.

C LL I N
D M / 3 84 7
I n r ep ly to yo r q erie re p e tin g the
forty foo t re e tin g tele ope on str ted by my father
I have to state that K in g G E O RGE III m n i n tly de
frayed the tir o st of tha t i n str ment (in l din g of
o u rse all preparatory o st in the nat re of on str tion
and of the apparat s for a stin g g rindin g and
of tool
g rin g the ree tor of whi c h two were on tr ted ) at
a total o t of
The woodwo r k of the tele sc o p e
bein g o far de ayed a to be dan g ero s in the year 8 3 9
I p lled it down and pier s were ere ted on whi h the
t be w s pla ed tkat bein g of iron and so well p re erved
that altho gh n ot more than on twentieth of an in h
thi k when in the hori ontal po ition it tained within
it all my family and ont i n e s to tain i n lo ed within
it to thi s day n ot only the heavier of the two ree tors
b t al so all the m ore im p ortant p ort i on s of the ma hinery
The other m irror and the re t of the p oli hin g
app arat s are on th e p r emi se s T h e iron g rindin g tool s
GW OO

s,

sc

a rc z 1

uc

e-

uc

s,

c u

ce

s,

uc

en

su s

su s

W illia m H

e rsc

k el

12

poli sh ers are p l ac e d u nd ern eath the t u b e let in to th e

gro nd and level with th e su rfa e of th e gravelle d area

in whi h it stand s

an d

Th e clos in g of the tube was d on e with

appropriate ceremo ny on N ew Y ear s D ay
1 8 40 when after a processio n th rou g h it by
the family at S lou gh a poem written by S ir
J OH N was read the mach i nery pu t i nto its
present position and the tube seale d
The memo ir on the forty foo t telescope
shows th rou gh ou t that H E RSCH EL S prim e
obj ect was n ot the ma k in g of th e telescope
itself bu t that h is m ind was co nstan tly d i
re c te d towards the u ses to wh ich it was to b e

p ut towards th e qu estions wh ich h e wishe d

i t to answer
A g ai n and a g ain i n h is variou s papers h e
retu rn s to th e qu estio n of th e lim it of vision
A s B ESSE L h as said

The nak ed eye h as its limit of vi sion in th e stars of

the sixth ma g nit de T h e li ght of fainter stars than the se
doe s n ot affe c t the retina eno u gh for them to be seen A
very small tele sc o p e p enetrate s to smaller and in g en
eral witho t do bt to more di stant stars A more pow
e rf u l one p e n e tra te s de e pe r into spa c e and as its p ow e r

12

if

a nd

W orks

in c rease d so th e bou ndarie s of th e vi sib l e u niverse are

widened and th e n u mber of star s in c rea se d to million s
and m i llion s W hoever h as followed the hi story of the
serie s of H ER S C H EL S tele sc ope s will have ob served thi s
B t H ER S C H EL w s n ot c ontent with the bar e fa c t b u t
strove e ve r to k now l ow f a r a tele sc ope of a
ertain c on
st ru c tion and si e c o ld p enetrate c om p ared with the
n a k ed and u na ssi sted eye
The se inve sti g ation s were
on c ernin g th e
n e ver for the di sc overy of new fa c t s
work in g of h is in str u ment s it was f or the k nowled g e of
th e di strib u tion of the xed star s in spa e it self that he
H ER S C H EL S in tru ment s were de si gned
strove
to aid vi sion to the la st extent
They w e re only see
H is effo rts w e r e
on darily f or the ta k in g of mea su re s
n ot for a k nowled g e of the motion
b u t of th e constitu

tion and constr ction of the heavenly bodie s

is

s,

B esi d es th e stan ds for h is telescopes wh ich

were b oth i n g en i ou s and conven ient H E R
SCH E L dev ised many form s of app aratu s for
facilitatin g th e art of O bservati on H is m i
c rom e te rs for measu rin g positio n an g les h is
lamp m icrom eter th e method of l im itin g
apertu res and th e m ethods he used for v iew
in g th e su n may be m ention ed am o n g these
Poi nts i n practi cal astron omy are c on s id
ered all th rou g h th e years of observation
,

l l

lVillia m H

ers c z e

12

referen ce to h is ori g inal papers will show

h ow n u m erou s how varied and h ow valuable
these are I can n ot forbear qu otin g here th e
accou n t of a precau tion observed du ri n g h is
exam inatio n of th e belts o n S a tu rn
I t is the most stri kin g example of h ow
fu lly H E RSCH E L realiz ed that the eye of th e
observer is a material part of th e O ptical ap
paratus of astro n omy S im ple as th is pri n
c i le m ay appear i t was an absolu te n ovelty
p
in h is day
I n ma k i n g these obs ervatio ns he says
,

I too k are to bend my head

to re c e ive the pic

t re of the belt in the same dire tion as I did formerly
Thi s w s a pre c au tion that o c rred to me as there w s
a po ssibility that the verti al diam e ter of the retina mi ght

be more or le ss sen sitive than the hori ontal one

c

S O as

cu

A stron om ers

will reco g n iz e i n th is the rst

su gg estio n of the processes wh ich have led
to importan t results in th e hands o f D r O TT O
S T RU V E an d others i n th e compariso n of the
measu res of do uble stars by d i fferen t ob s e rv
ers each of wh om has a person al habit of
observation wh i ch if n ot corrected may
.

L ife

1 30

and

W orks

affect h is results in the way wh ich H ERSCH E L

was strivin g to avo id
.

R es ea rck es

tk e

on

S ta rs

R ela tive B rzgk tn ess

:Va ria ble

S ta rs

M
f

N o research of H E RSCH EL S was more labo

riou s than th e elaborate classi cation of th e
stars accordin g to thei r comparative bri g ht
n ess wh ich h e executed du ri n g t he years
I t was d irec tly i n th e lin e of
1 7 9 6 to 1 7 9 9

h is mai n work to n d out th e constru ctio n

o f th e heavens
H is rst paper had b een u pon th e variable
star Mira Ceti H ere was a su n sh in in g by
i ts native bri g htn ess wh ich waxed and wan ed
l i k e the moon itself T h is star is peri odic
I t is for a lon g period i nvisibl e to th e u nas
sisted eye Then it can j u st be seen and in
creases in bri g htness f or a l ittle over a m onth
and attai ns a maxi mu m bri lliancy From th is
i t decreases for n early three m onths and after
becom in g i nvisible remai ns so for ve or six
mo nths I ts whole period is abou t 3 3 3 days
A re all other stars co nstant in bri g htness

"
.

W
illi
a
m
f

e rsc

k el

13 1

Th e example of Mira Ceti an d of other

k n own variables ma k es th is at least doubtful
B u t th e su n itself may vary for all that we
I t is a s imple star li k e the rest
k n ow
T h is qu estion o f variability i n g en eral is
an important o ne then I t can only be test
ed by m a k in g accu rate catalo g u es of th e rel
ative brillian ce O f stars at variou s times an d
by comparin g th ese N o su ch g eneral cat
alo g u e existed befo re H E RSCH EL S time an d
le d by the d iscrepanci es i n isolate d cases
wh ich he fou n d bet ween h is own estimates
an d those of h is pre d ecessors h e ma d e fro m
observation a series of fou r catalo g ues i n
wh ich were set down the o r d er of sequ en ce
of the stars of each co nstellation
T h e method adopted by H E RSCH EL was
perfectly simple i n pri n ciple thou g h m ost la
b oriou s i n practice
S u ppose any n u mber o f
stars A B C D E
etc n ear enou g h
to each other to be well compared Th e
pro cess consists simply i n writi n g down th e
n ames of the stars A B C etc i n th e or d er
of th ei r relative bri g htn ess
Thu s if fo r a
g rou p of ei g h t stars we have fou n d at on e
.

132

if

and

or ks

epoch A B C D E F G H an d if at
another time the order was A B C D F
E G H symptoms of variability are po int
ed ou t Repeated observation s where the
sam e star is fou nd i n d ifferen t sequ en ces
will decide the qu estion Thu s for th e stars
visible to th e na k e d eye we k n ow exactly the
state of the sk y i n H E RSCH E L S day n ow n ear
ly a centu ry a g o
A n y material chan g e can
n ot escape u s
Thes e catalo g u es have been
si n g u larly overloo k ed by th e O bservers of ou r
g eneration wh o have followed th is bran ch of
observation and it was n ot till 1 8 7 6 that they
received proper attentio n an d a su itable re
du ctio n ( at the han ds of M r C S P I E RCE )
W e ow e to H ERSCH E L th e rst tru stworthy
accou nt of th e stars v isibl e to the na k ed eye
an d si nce the date of h is labors ( abou t 1 8 00)
we h ave sim ilar v iews published by A RG E
L A N DE R
H EIS
A RGE L A N DE R
an d S CH ON F ELD
G OU LD ( 1 8 6 0 an d
and H O U Z E A U
Thu s h is la
bors h ave been well followed u p
I n th e prosecuti o n of th is work H E RSCH E L
fou nd stars whose li g h t was pro g ressive ly
,

W illia m H

kel

ers c

133

d im in ish in g others wh ich re g ularly i ncreased

a
o n e star whose l i g h t periodically varies
(
H e rcu lis) and at least on e star ( 5 5 H e rcu lis )
wh ich has u tterly disappeared O n O ctober
1 78 2
he observed this
1 0 1 7 8 1 and A pril 1 I
latter star but i n M ay 1 7 9 1 i t had totally
van ished There was n o trace remai n in g
Th e discovery of the variab ility of H er
cu lis was a more importan t on e than woul d
at rst si g ht appear Up to that time th e
o nly variable stars k nown were seven i n
n u mber Their perio d s were fou r h u ndre d
and n i nety fou r fou r hu n dred an d fou r three
h u ndred an d th irty fou r seven six ve an d
three days These periods seeme d to fall
i nto two g rou ps on e of fro m th ree hu ndre d
to ve hu n d re d days the other compara
tiv e ly m uch shorter o f th ree to seve n d ays
a H e rc u lis came to occu py th e m i d dle place
between these g rou ps its perio d bei n g abou t
s ixty days
The cau se of these stran g e an d re g ular v a
riation s of bri g htn ess was suppose d by H E R
SC H E L to be th e rotatio n of th e star bo d ily o n
an a xis by wh ich revolut io n di fferent parts
,

'

1 34

if

a nd

W or ks

its su rface of di fferent brill iancy were suc

c e s s iv e l
an
d
periodically
presen
ted
to
u
s
y
Th is explanatio n it m i g h t have been d i fcu l t
to receive wh en the periods of the k nown
variables were s o mar k edly variou s i n len g th
H is own discovery came to brid g e over the
i n terval an d qu ite con rmed him i n h is belief
H e retu rn ed to the subj ect of the revolutio n
of stars abou t their axes a g ai n an d ag ain an d
con nected it with the revolutio n of satell ites
H e fou n d that th e S atellites of 7 upiter
an d on e of S a tu rn s periodically chan g ed i n
bri g htn ess and by qu ite s imple m ean s S how
ed that their perio d s of rotatio n were at least
approximately the sam e as thei r periods of
revoluti o n abou t the ir primaries
I n th is
case as in every other h e considered a d is
i
n
each
and
every
o
ne
of
its
possible
c ov e r
y
beari n g s
There are n o instan ces where h e
h as s in g u larly overloo k e d th e co nsequences
of h is obse r vatio ns
of

R es ea rck es

on

D ou ble S ta rs

The d ouble stars were the subj ect of H E R

S CH E L s earl iest an d of h is latest papers
In

W
illi
a
m
f

e rsc

k el

35

he published h is Ca ta log u e of D ou ble

S ta rs an d h is last publ ished memo ir ( 1 8 2 2 )

was on the same subj ect
The qu estio n o f determ in in g th e parallax
of stars rst brou g ht H E RSCH E L to th e dis
c ov e ry of doubl e stars
I f two stars A an d
B appear very close to g ether an d if i n re
al ity the star B is very many times more dis
tant from the earth than A althou g h seen
alo n g the same lin e of si g ht then th e re v olu
tio n of th e earth i n its orbit will produ ce
chan g es i n the relative s itu atio n of A an d B
and in fact B will describe a small orbit
abou t A d u e to th is revolution Th is idea
had bee n proposed by G A L I L E O an d meas
u res on th is pl an ha d been m ade by L ONG
with ne g ative results B u t H E RSCH EL i n re
v iewin g th ei r wo rk d eclares that th e stars
chosen by L O NG were n ot su itable to th e pu r
pose I t is n ecessary amo n g oth er th in g s
to the su ccess of th is m eth o d that it shou l d
be certain th at the star B is really very mu ch
more d istant than the star A Th e o nly
g en eral test of the distance of stars is thei r
brill iancy an d H E RSCH E L deci d e d to u se o nly
1

2
8
7

L ife

1 36

a nd

W orks

stars fo r th is research wh ich ha d two compo

n e n ts very g reatly di fferent i n bri g htness
A
m ust be very bri g h t ( an d presu mably near to
u s ) an d B must be very close to A an d very
faint ( and thus presu mably very distant )
I t was i n th e search for su ch pairs of stars
that th e Ca ta log u e of D ou ble S ta rs ( 1 7 8 2 ) was
formed H ERSCH E L S rst i dea of a double
star made su ch pai rs as h e fou nd to consist
o f two stars a cc iden ta ll
n
ear
to
each
other
y
A was n ear to u s an d appeared proj ected i n
a certain place on th e celestial sph ere B
was many tim es m ore distant bu t by chance
was seen alo n g the same l in e an d made with
I f th e two stars were
A an op tica l double
at th e same distance from the earth if they
made part of the same physical system if
revolved arou n d th e other the n th is
on e
m ethod of g ai ni n g a k n owled g e of their dis
tance failed E ven i n h is rst m emoi r o n th e
subj ect a su rm ise th at th is latter state m i g ht
occu r i n som e cases was expressed by H E R
SCH EL T he n otes on some of th e pairs de
clare that a m otio n of on e of th em was su spect

ed Bu t th is moti on m i g ht be tru ly orbital of

.

W illia m H

ers c

k el

13 7

centre

star abou t the other as a

or it
m i g ht simply be that on e star was movin g by
its own p rop er m otio n and leav i n g th e other
behi nd I t was best to wait and see Th e
rst C atalo g u e of D ouble S tars co ntained two
hu ndred and th ree i nstan ces o f su ch associa
tions These were observed from time to
time an d n ew pairs d iscovered Th e paper of
M I CH ELL A n I nqu iry i nto th e probable Pa
rallax and M a g n itu de of th e F ixed S tars from
the Q uant ity of L i g h t wh ich they A fford and
the Particular C ircu mstances of their S itu

atio n ( r7 6 7 ) was rea d an d pondered B y

1 802
H E RSCH EL ha d be com e certai n that
there existed in th e heaven s real pairs of stars
both at th e same d istance from the earth
wh ich were physic ally con n ected with each
other
Th e arg u m ents of M I CH ELL have
been applie d by B E SSE L to th e case of on e Of
H E RSCH EL S dou ble stars i n mu ch th e sam e
order i n wh i ch th e arg u ment ran i n H E R
S C H E L S own m in d as follows
Th e star Ca stor (
Gem in or u m ) is a
double star where A is O
f th e second an d B
T o the na k ed eye
of the fou rth ma g n itu de
on e

L ife

13 8

and

W orks

these two appear as on e star W ith a tele

"
scope th is is seen to be two stars some 5
apart I n the wh ole s k y there are n ot above
fty such stars as th e bri g h ter of th e two
an d abou t fou r hu n dred of th e brill iancy of B
These fty and fou r hu n dred stars are scat
te re d over th e vaul t of heaven almost at
ran dom N O law has yet been trace d by
which we can say that h ere o r h ere there
shall be a bri g h t star l i k e A or a fai nter on e
l i k e B I n g en eral th e di stribu tio n appears
to be fortu itous H ow then can we accou n t
for on e of th e fou r h u ndred stars l i k e B place d
so close to on e of the fty l i k e A
The chan ces are over fou r hu ndred thou
san d to o n e that th e association i n positio n
is n ot accidental Th is ar g u men t becomes
overwhelmi n g wh en the sam e assoc iation is
fou n d i n many oth er cases Th ere were two
hu n dred an d th ree doubles in th e Catalo g u e
o f 1 7 8 2 alo n e and many th ousan d s are n ow
k nown
B y a process l i k e th is H E RSCH EL reached
h is g ran d d iscovery of tru e binary systems
where o ne su n revolves abou t another For
.

"

W
illi
a
m
f

/ l

e rs c z e

13

h e saw that if th e two stars are near to g ether

i n space th ey could n ot stand still i n face of
each other but that they m ust revolve in tru e
H ere was the discovery wh ich came
o rbits
to ta k e the place of the detection of the paral
laxes of the xed stars
H e h ad failed i n on e research bu t he was
led to g ran d con clu sions W as th e force
that these d istan t pairs of su ns obeyed th e
fo rce of g ravitatio n
Th i s h e coul d n o t
It
s ettle bu t h is su ccesso rs h ave don e so
was not t ill abou t 1 8 2 7 that S A V A RY of the
Paris O bservatory sh owed that one of H E R
S CH E L S doubles was subj ected to the law of
g ravitation and thu s exten ded th e power of
th is law from ou r system to th e u n iverse at
larg e H ERSCH E L himself l ived to see som e
o f h is double stars perform half a revolu tion
O f H E RSCH E L S d iscoveries A R A GO th in k s
th is has le plu s d av e n ir
I t m ay well be
s o The laws wh ich g overn ou r solar system
have been exten d e d th rou g h h is research es
to re g ion s of u n k nown distance
Th e b inary
stars will afford the larg est eld fo r research
into th e laws wh ich g overn them an d to
,

"

1 40

if

e a nd

orks

g ether with the clusters an d g roups they will

g ive a rm basis by wh ich to study the dis tri
b u tion of stars i n g eneral s i nce here we ha ve
the g reat advanta g e of k n owin g if n ot the
real d istance of the two stars from th e earth
at least that th is distan ce is ali k e fo r both
,

R esea rckes

on

Pla n ets

a nd

a tellites

H ERSCH E L S rst publ ication on th e

mou ntains of th e M oo n
ou r satellite
appears to have occup ied h im bu t l ittle The
observation of volcanoes ( 1 7 8 7) an d of a
lu nar ecl ipse are h is only publishe d on es
Th e planets Mercu ry Ve n u s Ma rs and f7 u
p iter althou g h they were often stu die d were
not the subj ects of his m ore important m e
mo i r s The planet S a tu rn on th e co ntrary
seems n ever to have been lost si g ht of from
the tim e of h is rst V i ew of i t i n 1 7 7 2
The eld of d iscovery always appears to be
completely occupied u ntil th e adven t of a
g reat man wh o even by h is way of pu ttin g
old an d fam iliar facts S hows th e paths alo n g
whi ch d iscoveries must come if at all Th is
Af ter

W illia m H

e rsc

I 41

kel

faculty com es from profou n d re ectio n on th e

natu re of th e subj ect itself from a sort of
transmutin g power wh ich chan g es th e wo rds
of the boo k s i nto the th in g s of real ity
H ER
S CH E L S paper o n S a tu rn i n 1 7 9 0 is an a d
m irable example of th is
H E RSCH EL S observation s o n S a tu rn be g an
i n 1 7 72
Fro m 1 7 9 0 to 1 8 0 8 h e publ ishe d
six memo irs on th e g u re the rin g and th e
satell ites of th is planet
Th e sphero idal
shape of th e ball was rst discovered by h im
and we owe m u ch of ou r certai n k nowled g e
of th e co nstitu tio n of th e ri n g s to h is wo r k
The sixth an d seve nth satellites Mim as an d
E n cela du s were d iscovered by h i m i n 1 7 8 9
Th e perio d s of rotatio n of th e ball an d of th e
rin g were also xe d I n h is co nclu sio ns as to
the real gu re of the ri n g s th ere is a de g ree
of sci entic caution wh ich is tru ly re m a rk a
ble an d wh ich to day seems almost excessive
I n his paper of 1 7 9 2 H E RSCH E L shows that

the most distant satellite of S a tu rn yapetu s

tu rn s o n c e o n its axis i n each revolu tion
about its primary j ust as ou r moo n d oes
H e says of th is :
,

142

if

a nd

orks

I annot h l p ree tin g with ome p l a

on th e
di sc overy of an analo g y whi c h show s that a c ertain
u niform pla n is c ar ri e d on amon g the se c ondary planet s
and we may c onj e c t u re that proba
of o r olar sy stem
bly mo st of the satellite s are g overn ed by the same law
e spe ially if it b e fo u nded on su c h a c on str uc tion of
their g u re as mak e s th e m mo re p ond ero u s to ward s their

p rimary p lanet s

e su re

I beli eve th e last su gg estion to h ave been

the rst statemen t of th e possibl e arran g e
m en t of matter i n satell ites which was after
wards s o forcibly maintain ed by H A NSE N i n
h is theory of the m oon H A NSEN S researches
S how th e co nsequ ences of su ch an arran g e
m ent althou g h they do not prove its exist
ence
I t sh oul d be recorded that th e explan atio n
wh i ch is to day rece ived of th e belts an d
bands u p o n y up iter is I bel ieve rst fou n d i n
H ERSCH EL S m emo ir o n Ven u s
H is
m emo ir of 1 7 9 7 o n the ch an g eable bri g htn ess
of th e satellites of y up iter has alrea d y been
referred to The times of th e rotatio n of the
satell ites on thei r axes was rst d eterm ine d
by H ERSCH EL from these observations wh ich
,

W
illi
a
m
f

ersc

k el

1 43

also contai n accou nts of the cu rious an d as

yet u nexplai ne d pheno men a attend in g their
appearan ces on th e disc of the planet
H ERSC H EL discovered in J anuary 1 7 8 7 the
tw o bri g hter satellites of Ura n u s n ow called
They are amo n g th e
Oberon an d T ita n ia
fai n test obj ects in the solar system A later
d iscu ssion of all h is observatio ns le d h i m to
the bel ief that th ere were fou r mo re an d h e
g ives h is observatio n s an d computation s i n
fu ll H e says that of the existen ce of a d
dition al satell ites he has n o doub t
O f these
fou r three were exterior to th e most distan t

satell ite Oberon th e oth er was i nterior to

,

T ita n ia

I t was

u n til 1 8 3 4 that even Oberon an d

T ita n ia were a g ain O bserved ( by S ir J OH N
H ERSCH EL) with a telescope of twen ty feet
sim ilar to that wh ich had d iscovered th em
and n ot u ntil 1 8 4 7 was the tru e state of th is
system k nown when M r L A SSELL d iscovered
A r iel a n d Um br iel two satellites i nterio r to
T ita n ia n either o f wh ich was H E RSCH EL S

interio r satellite I n 1 8 48 an d later years

M r L A SSELL by th e ai d o f telescopes con
n ot

1 44

if

and

orks

stru cted by h imself fully settle d th e fact

that only fou r satellites of th is plan et ex
is te d
I n 1 8 7 4 I exam in e d th e observa
tio ns of H E RSCH E L on h is supposed
inte

rio r satell ite thin k in g that it m i g h t be

possible that amon g the very few g limpses of
it wh ich h e recorded some m i g h t have b e
lon g ed to A riel an d some to Um briel an d
that by comb i n in g rare an d almost accidental
observation s of two satell ites wh ich really ex
is te d h e had com e to an nou n ce th e existence

in terior satell ite wh ich had n o exist

of an
ence i n fact S u ch I beli eve to be the case
I n 1 8 0 1 A pril 1 7 H E RSCH E L describes an
i nterior satelli te i n th e positio n an g le
distant 1 8 fro m th e plan et A t that instan t
Um br iel on e of M r L A SSE LL S satellites was
"
i n th e positio n
an d d istan t 2 1 from
Ura n u s in th e most favo rable positio n for
seein g it Th e O bservatio n of 1 7 9 4 M arch
2 7 ma
b
b
elon
g
to
th
e
A
el
A
t
e s t th e
r
i
y
i nvesti g ation is of passi n g i nterest only an d
has n oth in g to do with th e qu estion of th e
d iscovery of th e satellites H ERSCH EL dis
covere d the two bri g hter o nes an d it was
,

W illia m H

orse/tel

145

o nly sixty years later that th ey were properly

L A SSELL who has the
re O bserved by M r
g reat ho n or of havin g added as many mo re
an d wh o rst settled the vexed qu estio n of
satell ites ex ter ior to Oberon and this with a
re e Ctin g telescope made by h imself wh ich is
u nequalle d by any other of its d imensio ns
-

R esea rcltes

on

M Natu re of
e

tke S

I n th e i n trodu ction to h is pape r

Na tu re

and

Cons tr u ction

tke

un

on

th e
a nd

f
H E RSCH EL recou nts
Fired S ta rs
what was k nown of the natu re of the su n at
that ti me N E W T ON had shown that it was
the c entre of the system ; G A L I LEO and h is
su ccessors had determ i n e d its rotation th e
place of its equato r its real d iameter ma g
n itu de
de nsity distan ce an d the force of
g ravity on its su rface H e says :
o

un

I sho u l d not wonder if c on side rin g a ll thi s we we re

indu c e d to thin k that nothin g remain e d to be added ;
and yet we are still ve ry i gno rant in re ga rd to th e int e r
T h e sp ot s have been
nal c on stru c tion of the su n
,

L ife

1 46

a nd

W orks

ppo sed to b e solid bodie s the smok e of vol c anoe s the

opaq u e
sc m o t i n g on an o c ean of u id matter c lo d

ma sse s and to b e many other thin g s

The su n it elf
h as b een c alled a g lobe of re tho gh perhap s meta

phori c ally
I t is time n ow to prot by the ob serva
tion s we are in p o sse ssion of I have availed my self of
the labors of pre c edin g a stronomer s b u t have been in
du c e d thereto by my own a c tu al ob se rvation of the solar

phenomena
su

s,

H E RSCH E L then refers to the theories ad

P rof W I LSON of G las
v a n c e d by h is friend
g ow i n 1 7 74 W I LSON mai ntain ed that th e
spots were depressio n s below th e su n s atmos
h
e re vast hollows as it were at th e bases of
p
wh ich the tru e su rface of the su n coul d be
seen
Th e essence of h is theory was th e exist
en ce of two di fferen t k i n d s of matter i n

th e su n :on e solid an d n on lum i nou s th e

nu cleu s th e other g aseous an d i ncandescent
the atmosph ere V acan t places i n th e at
m osph e re h owever cau sed woul d show the
blac k su rface of th e sol id mass below T hese
were th e spots N O explan ati on could be
g iven of th e fa c u la bri g h t strea k s wh ich ap
,

W
illi
a
m
f

e rs c

k el

147

pear on the su n s su rface from tim e to time ;

bu t h is theory accou nte d for th e existence of
th e blac k n u clei of th e spots an d for th e ex
is te n c e of the p en u m bra abou t these
The
penu mbra o f a spot was formed by th e
th i n ner parts of the atmosph ere abou t th e
vacancy wh ich su rrou nded the n u cleus
This theory of W I LSON S was adopted by
H E RSCH E L as a basis for h is own an d h e
b rou gh t nu merous observation s to con rm
it i n the modi ed shape wh ich h e g ave to it
A ccordi n g to H E RSCH EL th e su n consiste d
F irst
of three essentially d i fferen t parts
there was a sol id n ucl eu s n o n lu m i nous
cool an d e v e n capable of bei n g i nhab ited
S eco n d above this was an atmosphere proper ;
and l astly outsi d e of th is was a layer i n wh ich
oated th e clou ds or b odies wh ich g ave to
the solar su rface its i n ten se brilliancy

ordin g to m y theory a dark spo t i n the su n is a

p lac e in its atmo sphere wh i c h happen s to b e free from

l u mino s de c ompo si tion s above it

Acc

Th e two atmospheric layers wh ich will

b e of varyin g th ic k n ess abou t a spot will
,

148

if

W orks

and

accou nt fo r all the sha d es of d ar k ness seen

i n the penu mbra A scendin g cu rrents fro m
th e solar su rface will elevate certai n re g ions
an d may in crease th e solar activity n ear by
and will thu s g ive rise to facu l a wh ich H E R
S C H E L shows to be el evated abo ve the g en
eral su rfac e I t will n ot be n ecessary to g ive
a fu rther accou n t of th is theory Th e data
i n the possessio n of th e m odern theorist is a
thou san d fold that to b e derived from H E R
S C H E L S observatio n s and wh il e the subj ect of
th e i nternal co n stru ctio n of th e su n is to day
u n settled we k n ow that many importan t e v e n
fu n dam ental portio ns of h is theory are u n
tenable A remark of h is should be re
corded however as it has played a g reat
part in su ch theori es :
.

That the emi ssion of li ght m u st wa ste the s n is not

a d i f c lty that c an b e oppo sed to o r hypothe si s M any
of the operat i on s of N at u re are c arried on in her g reat
laboratory whi h we c anno t omprehend P erhap s the
many tele s opi c omet s may re store to the s n what is

lo t by the emi ssion of li ght

A rg u ments

in favo r of th e habitability of
both su n an d moon are contain ed in th i s

W illia m H

ersck el

1 49

paper ; bu t they rest m ore on a m etaphysical

than a scientic basis an d are to day j ustly
fo rg otten
-

R esea rckes

on

tke

Motion of

tli e S

un

and o

tb c S ola r S y s tem in S pa ce

In
some

H ERSCH E L writes in re g ard to

h is discoveries of double stars

1 78 2

of

The se may serve another very im p ortant end I

will j u st m ention it tho g h it is forei g n to my pre sent
p rpo se S everal stars of the r st ma gnit u de have been
ob se rved or s sp e c ted to have a proper motion ; hen c e
we may su rmi e that ou r su n with all it planet s and
c omet s may al so have a motion toward s some p a rti c lar
point of the heaven s
I f thi s su rmi se sho u ld
have any fo ndation it will Show it elf in a se rie s of
some year s in a k ind of sy stemati c al p arallax or c han g e

d e to the motion of the whole solar sy stem

.

I n 1 7 8 3 h e publ ished his pape r On tb c

Prop er Motion of tli e S ola r S y s tem wh ich
contai ned the proofs of h is su rm ises of a year
before That certain of the stars had i n fact a
p roper m otion had been well established by
the astron omers of th e ei g hteen th cen tu ry
,

1 50

if

W orks

and

all allowan ces ha d bee n ma d e for th e

effects of precession an d othe r displacements
of a star s positio n wh ich were produced by
m otions of th e earth it was fou n d that th ere
were still small outstan din g di fferences wh ich
m u st be d u e to th e motion of the star itself
its proper m otio n Th e qu antity of th is m o
tio n was n ot well k nown fo r any star when
H E RSCH EL S r esearch es be g an B efore they
were con clu ded h owever M A S K ELY N E h ad de
du c e d the p roper m otio ns of t h irty six stars

the fu n damental stars so called wh ich

i n clu d ed i n thei r nu mber S iriu s Procy on
A rctu ru s an d g en erally th e bri g htest stars
I t is ap riori eviden t that stars i n g eneral
m ust have proper m otions wh en o nce we ad
m i t th e u n iversal ity of g ravitatio n
That
any xed star shou ld b e en tirely at rest woul d
requ i re that th e attractio ns on all sides of it
sh ould be exactly balan ced A n y chan g e in
th e position of th is star would brea k up th i s
balan ce an d thus i n g en eral i t follows that
stars mu st b e i n m otion sin ce all of them
cann ot occupy su ch a critical position as has
to be assum ed
I f but on e xed star is i n
A fter

W illia m H

e rsc k e

15 1

mo tion th is affects all the rest an d we can not

doubt bu t that every star ou r su n i n cluded is
i n motio n by an amou nt which varies fro m
small to g reat I f the su n alo n e had a motio n
an d the other stars were at rest the c on se
u e n c e O f th is wou ld be that all th e xed stars
q
wou ld appear to be retreatin g en m asse fro m
that po in t in the s ky towar d s wh ich we were
movin g Those n earest u s wou l d move mo re
rapi d ly those more d istan t less so A n d i n
the same way the stars fro m wh ich th e solar
system was recedin g wou l d seem to be ap
roac h in
each
othe
r
I
f
the
stars
i
nstead
p
g
o f bei n g qu ite at rest as j ust su ppose d had
motion s proper to themselves then we sh ou ld
have a d ouble com plexity T hey woul d still
appear to an O bserver i n the solar system
to have m otio ns an d part of th ese motions
wou ld be truly proper to th e stars an d part
wou ld be d u e to the a d vance of the su n itself
i n space
O bservatio n s can sh ow u s o nly the resu lt
a n t O f these two m otio ns
I t is for reaso n
i n g to separate th is resu ltant i nto its two
components A t rst th e questio n is to de
,

15 2

if e

a nd

orks

term i n e wh e th er th e resu lt s of observation

i ndicate any solar m otio n at all I f there is
n o ne th e proper m otion s of stars will be
directe d al o n g all possible l in e s I f th e su n
does truly m ove th en th ere will be a g eneral
a g reem en t i n th e resu ltan t motions of the
stars n ear the en ds of th e l i n e alon g wh ich
it m oves wh ile those at th e s ides so to
speak will show comparat ively less system
ati c e ffect I t is as if on e were ridin g i n th e
rear of a railway trai n an d watch in g th e
AS
rails over which i t has j us t passe d
we recede from any poi nt the rails at that
poi nt seem to come n earer an d n earer to
g ether
I f we were passin g throu g h a forest we
should see th e tru n k s of th e trees from wh ich
we were g o in g apparently com e n eare r an d
n earer to g ether wh ile th ose on th e sides of
u s woul d remai n at their consta n t distan ce
an d those i n front would g row fu rth er and
fu rth er apart
These ph enomena whi ch occu r i n a case
wh ere w e are se n sibl e of ou r ow n m otion
serve to show how we may dedu ce a m otion
.

W
illi
a
m
f

l l

ersc te

15

otherwise u n k n own from the appearances

wh ich are prese nted by the stars i n space
I n th is way actin g upo n su gg estio ns wh ich
had been th rown ou t previou sly to h is ow n
tim e by L A M B E R T M A Y E R an d B R A DLE Y
H ERSCH EL demonstrate d tha t the su n to
g ethe r with all its system was m ovi n g th rou g h
space i n an u n k nown an d m aj estic orb it of
its own Th e centre rou n d wh ich this m o
tion is directed can not yet be assi g ne d W e
can only k now th e poi n t i n the heave n s to
wards wh ich ou r cou rse is d irecte d
the

apex of solar motio n

B y a stu dy of th e proper motio ns ass i g ne d
by M A S K E L Y N E to th e bri g hter stars H E R
SCH E L was able to d e n e th e position of th e
solar ape x with an asto n ish in g d e g re e of ac
cu racy H is calculation s have been several
times repeated with th e a d vantag e of modern
analytical methods an d o f th e hu n dred fold
material n ow at ou r d ispositio n bu t n oth
in g essential has been added to h is results of
which were based upo n su ch scanty
1 80 5
data ; and h is paper of 1 7 8 2 co ntai ns the an
n ou n c e m e n t of th e d iscovery itsel f
,

154

if

and

orks

H is seco n d paper on the D irection and Ve

f
1
th
e
solar
system
is
th
e
best
o
8
0
locit
y
5)
(
example that can po ssibly be g iven of h is mar
v e llou s s k ill i n reach i n g the heart of a matter
an d it may be th e on e i n wh ich h is ph ilo
S oph ical powers appear i n their hi g hest e xe r
cise For su stain ed re ection an d h i gh ph il
os oph ic th ou g ht it i s to be ran k e d with the
researches of N E W T ON i n the Pr in cip ia
,

R esea rck es

on

tb c Con s tr u c tion

tke H

ea vens

H E RSC H E L S pap ers on th e Co nstru ctio n of

th e H eavens as h e named it exten ded over
h is wh ole scien ti c life B y th is h e specially
m eans the m ethod accordin g to wh ich th e
stars the clusters the n ebu l a are sprea d
th rou g h th e re g ion s of space the cau ses th at
hav e l ed to th is distribu tio n an d th e laws to
wh ich it is subj ected
N o sin g l e astro n omical fact is u n importan t
i n the l i g ht wh i ch it may th row on the
scheme of th e whol e an d each fact is to be
considered i n th is li g ht A s an instance
h is discovery of th e variable star a H ercu

W
illi
a
m
f

ers c

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155

wh ich has a period of sixty days was val

i n itself as addi n g on e more to th e
u ab le
n u mber of those stran g e su n s whose l i g ht is
i n a re g u lar and
n ow bri g hter n ow fain ter
periodic order B u t the ch ief valu e O f th e
d iscove ry was that n ow we had an i nstan ce
of a periodic star wh ich wen t throu g h all its
phases i n sixty days an d con n ected as i t
were the stars of sho rt periods ( three to
seven d ays ) with th ose of very lon g o nes
three
hu
ndred
to
ve
hu
ndred
d
ays
wh
ich
)
(
two g roups had u ntil then b ee n the only
o nes k n own I n the sam e way all h is re
searches on the parallaxes of stars were not
alo ne for the discovery of th e d istance of any
on e or two sin g le stars
bu t to g ain a u n it
of celest ial measu re by means o f wh i ch the
depths of space m i g ht be sou nded
A stro nomy i n H E RSCH E L S day considered
the bodies of th e solar system as separate d
from each other by d istan ces and as ll in g a
cubical space The ideas of n ear and far of u p
and down were preserved i n re g ard to them
by com mo n astron om ical terms B ut th e vast
number of stars seemed to be thou g h t of as
lis

6
5

if

and

or ks

th ey appear i n fact to exist lyin g o n the su r

face of a hollow sphere Th e im mediate f ol
lowers of B R A DLE Y u sed these xed stars as
po in ts of referen ce by wh ich th e m otions
withi n th e solar system cou l d be determ i ned
o r li k e
L A C AI LLE and L A L A N DE g athered
those imm ense catalo g u es of th eir pos itio n s
wh ich are so i ndispensable to th e science
M I CH ELL an d H ERSCH E L alon e i n E n glan d
occu pied their thou g hts with the natu re an d

constru ction of the heavens the on e i n h is

study th e oth er th rou g h O bservation
They
were co n cern e d with all three of th e dim e n
sions of space
I n h is memo ir of 1 7 8 4 H E RSCH EL says :
,

H i therto

id e re al heaven s have n ot inadequ ately

for the p u rpo se de si gned been repre sented by the c on
c ave su rfa c e of a Sphere in the c entre of whi c h the eye
of an ob server mi ght b e s ppo sed to b e pla c ed

th e s

i on

T h e m em o
tron om e rs

m ent

rom 1 7 5 0

of th e

th e

rs

to

hd

m et

p ll x
ara

e s of stars ,

w e re m a

1 8 00 ,

o s, or to th e

di

i ly di
n

sc ov e r

w r tte n

art c u ar s ar

s ar

e o

u an

oo

or e

to t

of t e

ara

o e,

o e r or

re su
es

S o se r at on s o

e,

v ar ou s as

d h im p
h p
ll x f
f Si i
v i

re c te

p i l t F x mp l L A A I LLE b
h d
lt d i p ll x
h C p
f G d H p
t q ti ty v f ty t im t l g

by

oo ar e

ara

of

rov e
s om e

r u s , at

"f or

ht

W illia m H

e rsc

kel

15

I t is tru e the va rio s ma gnit u de s of the xed stars

even then p lainly s gg e sted to u s and w ou ld have better
su i ted the idea of an ex p anded rm am e n t of three di
m e n sion s ; b u t the ob servation s pon whi c h I am now
g oin g to enter still farther ill strate and enforc e the n e
c e ssity of c on sider i n g the heaven s in thi s p oint of view
I n fu t u re therefore we shall loo k u p on tho se re gion s into
whi c h we may now penetrate by mean s of su c h l ar g e
tele sc ope s as a na tu rali st re gard s a ri c h extent of g ro u nd
or c hain of mo u n tain s c ontainin g strata vario u sly in c li ne d
and dire ted as well as c on si stin g of very diff erent ma
The s rfa c e of a g l obe or map therefore will
te rials

b u t ill delineate the inte rior p art s of the heaven s

H ERSCH E L S method of stu d y was fou nded

on a mo d e of observat io n wh ich h e calle d
n
au
i
I
t
co
nsisted
in
po
i
ntin
g
a
pow
s ta r
g g
g
e rf u l telescope toward vari ou s parts of the
heavens an d as certai n i n g by actual cou n t
h ow th ic k th e stars were i n each re g io n
H is twen ty fo ot re ecto r was provi d ed w ith
such an eye p iece that i n loo k in g i nto it h e
saw a port ion of th e heavens about 1 5 i n di
am e te r
A c ircle of th is size on the celestial
sphere h as abou t on e quarter th e appare nt
su rface of the su n or of th e full m oon O n
poin ti n g th e telescope i n any d irection a

'

L ife

158

a nd

orks

g reater or less n u mber of stars were visible

These were cou nted and th e directio n i n
wh ich th e telescope poi nted was noted
G au g es of th is k in d were made i n all parts
of th e sk y an d th e resu lts were tabulate d i n
th e o rder of ri g ht ascensio n
The followin g is an extract from the g au g es
and g ives th e avera g e nu mber of stars i n each
el d at th e po i nts noted i n ri g ht ascensio n
an d n orth polar d istance
.

R A
.

78

No

P
.

to
of

S tars

No

1 1

to
of

S tars

15

10

2 2

12

12

44

5
15

12

49

16

47
8

13

16

14

0
3

16

37

I n this small table it is plai n that a di ffer

ent law of clusterin g or of distribution ob
tain s i n th e two re g ion s S u ch d i fferences
are still m ore m ark ed if we compare th e ex
trem e cases fou n d by H E RSC H E L as R A
,

W illia m H

ersc

k el

159

N P D
nu
mber
f
o
74
h
stars per eld
an
d
R
A
8
8
1
6
;
5
N P D
1 13
n u mber of stars
The nu mber of stars i n certai n portion s is
very g reat For example i n th e M il k y W ay
n ear Orion six elds of v iew promiscuou sly
tak en g ave 1 1 0 6 0 70 9 0 70 an d 74 stars
each or a m ean of 7 9 stars per el d The
m ost vacan t space i n th is n ei g hborh ood g ave
6 0 stars S o that as H ERSCH E L S sweeps were
two de g rees wide i n decl in ation i n on e hou r
there woul d pass th rou g h th e el d of
h is telescope
or m o re stars I n som e
of the sweeps th is nu mber was as g reat as
stars i n a quarter of an hou r
1
W hen H E RSCH EL rst appl ied h is telescope
to th e M il k y W ay he bel ieved that i t com
l
e te ly resolve d th e whole wh itish appear
p
ance i nto small stars Th is con clusion h e
subsequ ently mod i e d H e says
19

I t i ve ry p robable that th g reat trat m alled th

i p la ed tho g h
M il k y W ay i that in whi h the
s

su n

p e rhap s not in the ve ry c entre of its thi c k n e ss

We g ather thi s from the ap p earan c e of the G alaxy
whi c h se e m s to en c ompa s the whol e heav e n s as it c e r
.

L ife

1 60

W orks

a nd

m u st do if the su n is within it For s ppo se a

n u mber of star arran g ed between two parallel plane s
indenitely extended every way b u t at a g iven c on sid
from ea c h other ; and c allin g thi s a
c rable d i stan c e
siderea l strat u m an e ye p la c ed somewhere wi thin it wil l
se e all the star s in th e dire c tion of th e p lane s of the
irc le whi c h will app ear
strat u m proj e c ted into a g reat
l u c id on a c c o u n t of the a c c u m u lation of the stars whil e
the re st of the heaven s at the side s will only seem to be
rowd e d
sc attered over with c on stellation s more or le ss
a c ordin g to the di stan e of the plane s or n mber of
star s c ontained in the thi k ne ss or side s of the strat u m
I f th e eye were p la c ed somewhere witho u t the stra
t m at no very g reat di stan c e the appearan c e of th e
star s within it wo u ld a ssu me the form of on e of the
smaller c ir c le s of the sphere whi c h wo u ld b e more or
l ess c ontra c ted ac c ordin g to the di stan c e of the eye ;
and if t h i s di stan c e were ex c eedin gly in c rea se d the
whole strat u m m ght at la st be drawn to g ether into a
l u c id spo t of any shape a c c ordin g to th e len g th bread th
and hei ght of the strat m
S u ppo se that a smaller stra t m sho u ld bran c h o t
from the form e r in a c ertain dire c tion and tha t it al so
is c ontained between two parallel plane s so that the eye
is c ontained within the g reat strat u m somewhere before
th e separation and not far from th e pla c e where the
st rata are still u nited
Then thi s se c ond strat u m will
n ot b e proj e c ted into a bri ght c ir c le li k e th e fo rm e r b u t
it will b e see n as a l u c id b ran c h p roc e edin g from th e

tain ly

W illia m H

e rsc

k el

16 1

rst and ret u rnin g into it a g ain at a d i stan e l e ss than a

I f the bo ndin g s rfa c e s are n ot parallel
semi c ir c le
p lane s b t irre g larly c rved s rfa c e analo go s ap pear

ane c s m u st re su lt
c

s,

Th e M il k y W ay as we see it presents the

aspect wh ich has been j ust accou nted for i n
its g eneral appearance of a g ir d l e arou nd the
h eaven s and i n its bifurcat io n at a certai n
point and H ERSCH E L S explanation of this
appearance as j ust g iven has n ever bee n
seriou sly questione d O n e doubtfu l poin t
remains are th e stars s cattered all th rou g h
space or are th ey n ear its bou n d i n g planes
o r clustered i n any way with in th is space so
as to produ ce th e same resu lt to th e eye as if
u n iformly distributed
H E RSCH E L assu me d that they were n early
equably arran g e d all th rou g h th e space i n
qu estion H e on ly e xam in e d o n e other ar
ran g eme nt viz that of a ri n g of stars su r
rou nd in g the su n an d h e pronou nced a g ai nst
su ch an arran g ement for th e reaso n that
there is absolutely n oth in g i n the siz e or
brilliancy of the su n to cau se u s to su ppose
it to be the centre of su ch a g i g ant ic sys
,

"

L ife

162

W orks

a nd

tem No reason except its importan ce to us

personally can be alle g ed for su ch a su pposi
tion E very star will have its own appear
ance Of a G alaxy or M il k y W ay wh ich will
vary accor d i n g to th e situ at io n of th e star
S u ch an explanatio n will accou nt for th e
g en eral appearan ces of the M il k y W ay an d
o f the rest of th e s k
su
pposin
g
the
stars
y
equally or n early e q ually dist ribu ted i n space
O n th is su ppos ition th e system mu st be
deeper wh ere th e stars appear m ost nu
.

m e rou s

H E RSCH E L endeavored i n h is early m e

m oirs to explai n th is in equ al ity of dis trib u
t io n on th e fu ndam ental assu mption that the
stars were n early equably d istributed i n spa c e
I f they we re s o distribu ted th en th e n u m
b er of stars visible i n any g a u g e would show
th e th ic k n ess of the stellar system i n the d i
rectio n i n wh ich th e telescope was p oi nted
A t each poi ntin g th e el d of v iew of th e in
stru m ent in clu des all th e v isible stars s itu
ated with in a con e havin g its vertex at th e
observer s eye an d its base at the ve ry l im its
of th e system th e an g le of the con e ( at th e
,

W
illi
a
m
f

l l

ersc i e

1 63

eye) be in g
Then the cubes of th e
perpe ndiculars let fall from th e eye on th e
plane of the bases of the variou s v isual
con e s are proport io nal to the sol id co ntents
of the co nes themselves or as the stars are
su pposed equally scattere d with in all the
cones th e cube roots of the nu mbers of stars
i n each of th e elds express th e relative
len g th s of the perpendicu lars A section of
the sidereal syste m alon g any g reat ci rcle can
be co nstru cted from the data fu rn ished by
th e g au g es i n th e followi n g way :
The solar system is with i n th e mass of
stars F ro m th is po i n t li nes are drawn alon g
the differen t directions i n wh ich the g au g in g
telescope was poi nted O n these l in es are
laid off l en g ths proportio nal to th e cub e
roots of the nu mber of stars i n each g au g e
The i rre g ular li ne j oin i n g the term inal
po ints wi ll be approximately th e bou ndin g
cu rve of th e stellar system i n th e g reat circle
chosen W ith i n th is li n e th e space is n early
u n if ormly lled with stars W ithout it is
empty space A sim ilar section can be co n
stru cted in any othe r g reat ci rcle an d a
,

L ife

1 64

combin ation

and

orks

of

all su ch woul d g ive a re pre

s e n tation of th e sh ape of ou r stellar system
The more n u merous an d carefu l the observa
tions th e m ore elaborate th e representati on
an d th e 8 6 3 g au g es of H E RSCH EL are su f
cien t to mark ou t with g reat p recision th e
mai n featu res of the M il k y W ay a n d even to
indicate som e of its ch ief irre g ularities
O n the fu n dam ental assu mption of H ER
SCH EL ( equable distribu tion ) n o other con
e lu sio n can b e drawn from h is statistics bu t
the on e laid d own by h im
Th is assu mption h e subsequ ently m o d ie d
in some de g ree an d was led to re g ard h is
g au g es as i ndicati n g n ot so mu ch the dept/t
t
k
l
o
o
s s tem i n any direction
as
the
u s ter
c
f
y
ing p ow er or ten den cy of the stars i n those
special re g ions I t is clear that if i n any g iven
part of th e s k y where o n th e avera g e there
are ten stars ( say ) to a eld we sh ou ld nd a
certain small portio n havi n g 1 00 o r m ore to
a eld th en on H E RSCH EL S rst hypothes is
ri g orou sly interpreted it would be n ecessary
to suppose a sp i k e shaped protuberan ce di
i n order to explai n
re c te d from th e earth
.

W illia m H

ersc

k el

165

th e in creased nu mber of stars I f m an y su ch

places could be fou nd the n th e probab il ity i s
g reat that this explanation is wro n g W e
shou ld more ratio nally su ppose som e real in
eq u ality of star distribu tio n here I t is i n
fact in j ust su ch details that the meth od of
H E RSCH E L brea k s d own an d a carefu l ex
am i nat io n of h is system leads to th e bel ief
th at it must be g reatly m odi ed to cove r
all th e k nown facts wh ile i t u n doubtedly
has i n th e main a stro n g basis
The stars are certainly not u n i fo rmly dis
tributed and any g ene ral th eo ry of th e side
real system mu st ta k e i nto accou nt th e varied
tendency to a gg re g at ion i n variou s parts of
the sk y
I n 1 8 1 7 H E RSCH E L publ ish ed an i mpo r
tan t mem oir on the same subj e ct i n wh ich
h is rst method was larg ely m od ied thou g h
not aban don ed I ts fu n damental p ri n c iple
was stated by h im as follows
.

I t is evident that we c annot m e an to afrm that the

and seventh ma gnit de s are
sixth
stars of the fth
really smaller than tho se of the r st se c ond or third and
that we m st a sc rib e the c a u se of th e differe n c e in the
,

I 66

if

W orks

and

apparent ma gnit de s of the star s to a differen e in their

relative di stan c e s from
On a o nt of the g re at
n mbe r of star in ea c h c la s we m st al so allow that
the star s of ea c h s c c eed i n g ma gnit de be ginnin g with
the r st are on e with another fu rther from s than
tho se of the ma g nit de immediately pre edin g The
relative ma g nit u de s g ive only relative di tan c e and n
afford no information s to the real di stan c e s at whi h
the stars are pla c ed
A tandard of referen c e f or the arran g ement of the
ompar i n g the i r d i strib tion to a
star s may b e had by
erta i n properly modied eq ality of sc atterin g T h e
eq al i ty wh i c h I propo se doe s n ot req ire that the stars
sho ld b e at eq u al di stan c e s from ea c h other nor is it
ne c e ssary that all tho se of th e same nominal mag nit u de

sho ld b e eq u ally d i stant from

s
c

us

cc

s,

ca

I t consiste d i n allotti n g a certai n equal po r

tion of space to every star so that on th e
whole each equal portion O f space with i n the
s tellar system contains an equ al nu mber of
stars The space about each star can be con
s ide re d sph erical
S u ppose su ch a sphere to
su rrou nd ou r ow n su n I ts radiu s w ill n ot
di ffer g reatly from th e distance of the near
est xe d star an d th is is ta k en as the u n it of
distan ce
,

W
illi
a
m
f

e rsc k el

16 7

uppose a series of larg er spheres all

drawn arou nd ou r su n as a centre and hav in g
the radi i 3 5 7 9 etc Th e conten ts of the
s ph e re s b e in g as th e cubes of their diameters
the rst sphere will have 3 x 3 x 3 : 2 7 times
the volu me of th e u n i t sphere and will there
fore be larg e enou g h to co ntai n 2 7 stars ; th e
seco n d will have 1 2 5 times th e volum e an d
will therefore co ntain 1 2 5 stars an d s o o n
with th e su ccessive sph eres For i nstan ce
the sphere of ra d iu s 7 has roo m for 3 4 3 stars
bu t of th is space 1 2 5 parts belon g to the
spheres i nside of it ; there is therefore ro om
fo r 2 1 8 stars between th e spheres of radi i 5
and 7
H E RSCH E L desi g nates th e several d istances
of these layers of stars as orders ; the stars
between spheres 1 and 3 are of th e rst
order of distance th ose between 3 an d 5 of
th e seco nd order an d so on Compari n g th e
room for stars between th e several spheres
with the nu mber of stars of th e several ma g
n itu de s wh ich actually exists i n the s k
he
y
fou n d the resu lt to b e as follows
S

168

ord

oPs

fg

nce

'

um

if
b

a nd

e r of

W orks

Magn i tu d e

S tars t e re is
Room f or
.

um

e r of

ta rs of

th t
a

Mag n i tu d e

57

2 06

h-

45 4

w
o

Th e result of th is comparison is that if

the order of mag n itu d es could i ndicate th e
distan ce of the stars i t woul d den ote at rst
a g ra d ual an d afterward a very abrupt con
den sation of them at an d b eyon d the re g io n
of th e s i xth ma g n itu de stars
I f we assu m e th e bri g htn ess of any star to
b e inversely propo rtional to th e square of
its d istance it leads to a scal e of distan ce dif
f e re n t from that adopte d by H E RSCH EL so
that a sixth ma g n itu de star on th e commo n
scale wou ld be abou t of the ei g hth order of

d istan ce accordin g to th is scheme that is

we mu st rem ove a star of th e rst mag n i
tu de to ei g ht times its actual d istance to
,

W illia m H

e rsc

k el

69

ma k e it sh ine l i k e a star of the sixth ma g

n itu de

the scheme here lai d down H E RSCH E L

subsequ ently assi g ned the order of distan ce
m ostly star clusters an d
of various obj ects
h is esti mates of thes e d istances are st ill
quoted T hey rest on th e fu n d amental h y
h
t
e s is wh ich has been e xplain ed an d th e
o
p
error in th e assu mptio n of equ al i n tri nsic
brilliancy for all stars affects th ese est imates
I t is perhaps probable that th e hypothesis
of equ al brilliancy for all stars is still more
erron eou s than th e hypo thesis of equal d is
trib u tio n an d i t may well be that there is a
very lar g e ran g e i ndeed i n th e actual dim e n
s ions an d in the i ntrinsic brilliancy of stars at
the same order of d istan ce from u s so that
the tenth ma g n itu de stars fo r example m ay
be scattered throu g h ou t the spheres wh ich
H E RSCH E L wou ld assi g n to th e seve nth
ei g hth n i nth tenth eleventh twelfth an d
th irteenth ma g n itudes H owever th is may
be the fact remains that it is from H E R
S C H EL S
g rou ndwo r k that futu re i nvesti g a
to rs m ust bu il d H e fou n d the whole sub
On

L ife

0
7

a nd

l/ Vorks

i
n
utter
confusion
By
h
is
O
bservations
j
data for the solu tion of som e O f the m ost
g eneral qu esti ons were accu mulated and in
h is memoirs wh ich S T RU V E well calls im

m ortal he brou g ht the scattered facts into

o rder an d g ave the rst bold outlin es of a
reasonable theory H e is th e fou nder of a
new bran ch of astronomy
ect

R esea rckes

or

Celes tia l

ca le o

D is ta n ces

tk e S ta rs

Ma

e su res

I f the stars are s upposed all of the sam e

absolute bri g htness thei r bri g htness to th e
eye will depen d on ly upo n thei r distance
from u s I f we call the bri g htn ess Of on e
o f th e xed stars at the d istance of S ir
iu s wh ich may be used as th e u n ity of dis
tance 1 then if it is moved to th e distan ce
2
its apparent bri g h tn ess will be on e fou rth ;
i f to th e distan ce 3 one n i nth ; if to the
distan ce 4 on e sixteen th and so on th e ap
paren t bri g h tness d im i n ish in g as th e square
of th e distan ce i ncreases
The distance may
b e ta k en as an order of ma g n itu de S tars
,

I Villia m H

e rsc

kel

171

at the dis ta n ces two three fou r etc H E R

SCH E L called of the seco nd th ird an d fou rth
ma g n itu des
By a series ( if experi ments the details of
which can n ot be g iven here H E RSCH EL deter
m i ned the space pen etratin g power of each of
h is telescopes The twenty foot would pen
e trate i nto space
seventy v e times farth er
than the na k ed eye ; th e twen ty v e foot
n in ety six times ; an d the fo rty foot one hu n
d red an d n in ety two times I f the seventh
ma g n itu de stars are those j u st v isible to the
na k ed eye an d if we still su ppose all stars to
be of equ al i ntri nsic bri g htness such seventh
ma g n itu d e stars woul d remai n v isible i n the
forty foot even if removed to
times
I
f
the distan ce of S iriu s
x
7
fu rther we su ppose that th e v isibil ity of a
star is strictly propo rtio nal to the total inte n
k
s it
f
the
li
g
ht
fro
m
it
wh
i
ch
stri
es
th
e
eye
o
y
then a con densed cluster Of
stars of
the 1 3 44th ma g n itude cou ld still be seen i n
the forty foot at a distan ce where each star
wou ld have become
t imes fai nter that
is at abou t 1 5 8 times the distance of S iriu s
,

L ife

2
7

a nd

orks

The
l
i
g
ht
from
the
(
n earest star requ i res some three years t o
reach th e earth Fro m a star
times
farth er it wou ld requ i re abou t
years
an d fo r su ch a clu ster as we have imag ined
n o less than
years are n eeded That
is the l i g ht by wh ich we see su ch a g roup has
n ot j ust n ow left it O n th e con trary it has
been travell i n g th rou g h space fo r centu ries
an d centu ries si n ce it rst darted forth I t
is the an cien t h istory Of su ch g roups that we
are stu dyi n g n ow an d it was thu s that H ER
declared that telescopes penetrated
S CH EL
in to time as well as in to space
O ther more exact researches on th e rela
t ive l i g ht of stars were made by H E RSCH EL
These we re o nly on e more attempt to obtai n
a scale of celestial distances accordin g to
which some n otio n O f th e l im its and of th e
i nte rior dim ensi on s of th e u n iverse could be
g ained T W O telescopes ex a ctly eg u a l i n
every re spect were chosen an d placed side
by s ide Pairs of stars wh ich were ex a ctly
e u a l were selected by means o f them
By
q
dim in ish i n g th e apertu re of o ne telescope
158 X 158

W
illi
a
m
f

/ l

e rsc z e

73

d irected to a bri g ht star an d k eepin g the

other telescope u nchan g ed an d d irected to a
fainter star the two stars cou ld be e qual iz ed
i n li g ht and fro m the relative siz e of th e
apertu res th e relative l i g ht of th is pai r of
stars could be accu rately co mpu ted and so
Th is was the rst use of
o n for other pairs
the metho d of lim iting apertu res H is g en
e ral resu lts were that th e s tars o f the rst
m a g n itude would still remai n visible to
th e na k ed eye even if they were at a dis
tance from u s tw elve times their actual d is
tance
T his method received a still fu rther de v e l
H
e
d
id
not
leave
it
O m e n t at his hands
p
u ntil he had g ained all the i n formatio n it
was capable of g ivi n g H e prepared a set of
telescopes collectin g 4 9 1 6 etc ( 2 X 2 3 X 3
X
times
as
much
l
i
g
ht
as
the
na
ed
k
4
4
eye These were to extend th e determi na
t io ns of distance to the te le s c 0pic stars Fo r
example a certain portion of th e h eavens
wh ich h e exam in ed co ntain ed no star visibl e
to the na k ed eye bu t many telescopic stars
W e can not say that n o o n e of these is as
,

L ife

1 74

an

d W

or ks

bri g ht i n itself as some of

rs t ma g n i
tu de stars T h e smallest telescope of the
set sh owed a larg e nu mber of stars ; these
must then be tw ice as far from u s on the
avera g e as the stars j u st v isible to th e na k e d
eye B u t rs t ma g n itu de stars l i k e S ir iu s
Procy on A rc tu r u s etc become j ust visible
to the eye if removed to twelve times th eir
presen t distan ce
H ence the stars seen i n
this rst telescope of the set were between
twelve an d twenty fou r times a s far from u s
as A rctu r u s for example

A t least
as H E RSCHE L says
we are
certain that if stars of th e size an d lu stre
o f S ir iu s A rctu r u s etc
were removed into
the profu n dity of space I have m en tioned
they would then appear l i k e the stars
wh ich I saw
W ith the n ext telescope
wh ich collected n in e times more l i g ht than
the eye an d brou g ht into vi ew O bj ects three
tim es m ore distant other an d new stars
appeared wh ich were then ( 3 x 1 2 ) thirty
farther fro m u s than A rctu r u s
S ix times
I n the sam e way the seven foot re ecto r
showe d stars 2 04 times th e ten foot 3 44
ou r

bVillia m H

ersck el

1 75

times the twenty foot 9 00 ti mes farther

fro m u s than the avera g e rs t ma g n itu de
star A s th e li g ht fro m su ch a star requ ires
th ree year s to reach us the l i g h t fro m the
faintest stars seen by the twenty foo t would
requ ire
years ( 3 X
B u t H E RSCHE L was n o w ( 1 8 1 7 ) co nvi nced
that th e twen ty foot telescope could n ot pen
e trate to the bou ndaries o f the M il k y W a y ;
the fain test stars o f th e G alaxy mus t th en
be farther fro m us even than n ine h u ndre d
times the d istance of A rctu r u s an d their
l i g ht m ust be at least
years o ld when
it reach es us
There is no escapi n g a certai n part O f the
consequ ences establ ished b y H E RSCH EL I t is
i ndeed true that u nless a particular star is of
the same i ntri nsic b ri g ht ness as o u r larg est
stars th is reason in g do es n o t apply to i t i n
j ust so far as th e averag e star is less bri g h t
than the averag e b ri g htness of ou r larg est
stars will th e nu mbers wh ich H E RSC H EL ob
ta in e d be d im i n ishe d
B ut for eve ry star of
wh ich h is hypoth esis is true we m ay asse rt
that h is con clu sio ns are tru e an d n o o ne
-

L ife

6
7

a nd

W or ks

can d en y with any show of reason th at on

the wh ole h is su pposition s mu st be valid
O n the whole th e stars wh ich we call fai nt
are farther from u s than th e bri g hter o nes ;
and on th e wh ole th e brilliancy of ou r
bri g htest an d n earest stars is n ot very far
from the brilliancy of th e avera g e star i n
space W e c a n not yet de ne th e wo rd very
by a n u meri cal ratio
Th e m et/rod stru c k o u t by H E RSCH EL was
correct ; it is for h is su ccessors to loo k for
th e special cases an d l imitatio n s to answer
th e qu estion A t a certai n distan ce from u s
what are th e variation s wh ich actu all y ta k e
place i n th e brillian c y a n d th e siz es of stars
T he an swer to this qu estio n is to b e fou n d
i n th e stu dy of the clu sters o f re gu lar forms
where we k n ow the stars to be all at the same
distan ce from u s
,

"
,

R esea rck es

on

/i t a n d H

ea t,

E tc

Frequ ently i n the cou rse of h is astro

n o m ic al work H E RSCH E L fou nd h imself con
fro nted by questi o ns of physics wh ich could
,

l l

W illia m H

ersc z e

77

be i mmediately answered i n th e state of

the science at that time I n h is e fforts to nd
a m ethod for determ i n i n g the d i m ens ion s of
the stellar u n iverse he was nally led as has
been show n to re g ard the bri g htn ess of a
star as i n g en eral the best attai n able m eas
u re o f its d istance from u s H is wor k h ow
ever was do ne with telescopes of various di
m e n s ion s and powers an d it was therefo re
n ecessary to n d so me law f o r com pari n g th e
d i fferen t resu lts amon g themselves as well as
with th ose g iven by observations with an
u nassisted e y e Th is n ecess i ty prompted an
investi g ati on publish ed in 1 8 00 i n wh ich
after d rawin g the d istin cti o n between a b s o
lute and i ntri nsic bri g htness H E RSCH E L g ave
an expressio n for the spa ce pen etra ting power
o f a telescope
The reason in g at the base
of th is conceptio n was as follows
Th e ratio of th e li g ht en terin g the e y e
when directed toward a star to th e whole
li g ht g iven ou t by th e star would be as th e
area of the pu pil o f the eye to th e area of
the whole sphere havin g th e star as a centre
and ou r distan ce from th e star as a radius
n ot

L ife

8
7

a nd

or ks

I f the eye is assisted by a telescope the rati o

is qu ite di fferent I n that case the ratio o f
the li g ht wh ich enters the eye to th e whol e
li ght would be as the area of th e m irror or
obj ect g lass to the area of the whole sphere
havi n g th e star as a centre and its distance
as a rad ius Thu s th e l i g h t received by the
e e i n the two cases would be as the area o f
y
the pup il is to th e area Of the obj ect g lass
F or instance if the pu pil has a diam eter of
two fth s of an inch and the m irror a diam
eter of fou r i n ches then a hu n dred time s
as m u ch li g ht would enter th e eye when
assisted by th e telescope as when u narmed
s ince th e a rea of th e pup il i s on e hu ndredth
th e a rea of the obj ective
I f a particular star i s j ust visible to th e
n ak ed eye it will b e qu ite bri g ht if v iewed
with th is special telescope wh ich mak es it
o n e hu ndre d times m ore brillian t i n appear
ance
I f we co uld m ove th e star bodily
away from u s to a d istance ten t im es its
p resent d istan ce we cou l d th u s redu ce its
bri g h tness as seen with th e telescope to
what it was at rst as seen with the eye
,

W illia m H

e rs c

k el

79

alon e i e to bare v isibil ity M ovi n g the

star to ten t imes its presen t d istance would
i ncrease the su rface of th e s phere wh ich i t
illum i nates a h u ndred fol d W e can not move
any special star bu t we can examin e stars
presu
mably
of all bri g htnesses an d thu s
of
(
)
all d istan ces
H ERSCH EL S arg u ment was then as follo w s
S ince with su ch a telescope on e can see a
star ten times as far off as is possible to the
na k ed eye th is telescope has th e power of
penetratin g i nto space ten t imes farthe r than
the eye alone B u t th is nu mber ten also
expresses the ratio of the diam eter Of the
obj e ctive to that of the pupil o f th e eye
consequ en tly the g eneral law is that the
sp a ce p en e tra tin
p
ow e r o f
a
telescope
is
g
fou nd by divid in g the d iameter of th e m ir
ro r i n inches by tw o f th s Th e diamete r of
th e pu pil of the eye ( two fth s of an inch )
H ERSCH EL determi n ed by man y measu res
Th is simple ratio wou ld o nl y hold g ood
howeve r prov i d ed n o mo re li g ht were lost
by th e repeated re ect ions and refractio n s i n
the telescope than i n th e eye That l i g ht
,

1 80

if

a nd

or ks

m ust b e so lost was eviden t bu t n o data ex

is te d f or determ in in g th e loss
H E RSCH EL
was thu s led to a lon g series of photometri c
experiments o n th e reectin g powers of th e
m etals u sed i n h is m i rrors and on the
amou n t o f l i g ht transm itted by lenses A p
plyin g the corr ections thu s dedu ced e xpe ri
m en tally h e fou nd that the space pe n e trat
in g power of h is twenty foot telescope with
wh ich h e m ade h is star g au g es was s ixty o n e
t imes that of th e u nassisted eye wh ile th e
space pen etratin g power of h is g reat forty
foot telescop e was on e hu ndred an d n in ety
two t im es that of th e eye I n support of
h is importan t conclu sions H ERSCH EL had an
alm ost u nlim ited amou n t of experimen tal
data i n th e records of h is observations of
wh ich h e made effect i ve us e
B y far th e most importan t o f H E RSCH EL S
wo rk i n th e domai n of pu re phys i cs was pub
an d related
lish e d i n th e sam e year
Th e i nvesti g ation o f th e
to radiant h eat
space pen etratin g powers of tel escopes was
u n dertak en for th e sol e pu rpose of aid i n g h im
i n m easu rin g the d imen sion s of the stellar
,

W
illi
a
m
f

ersc

k el

81

u n iverse and there was n o temptatio n for h im

to pu rsu e it beyon d the l im its of its imme
diat e u sefu lness B u t here thou g h th e rst
h in t leadin g to remar k able discoveries was a
d irect consequ e nce of h is astro nom ical wo rk
th e n ovelty an d i nterest of the phenom ena
observed indu ced h i m to follow the i nvesti
a tion very far beyon d th e m ere solu tio n o f
g
the practical questio n i n wh ich it ori g i nated
H av in g tried many varieties of sh ade
g lasses between th e eye piece of h is telescope
and the eye i n order to redu ce th e in ordi
nate de g ree of heat an d li g ht transm itted by
the i nstru ment when di rected towards th e
su n h e observed that certai n comb i natio ns
o f colored g lasses perm itted very l ittle l i g ht
to pass bu t transmitted so mu ch heat that
they cou ld n ot be u sed ; wh ile o n th e other
hand di fferen t co mbi natio ns and di fferently
colore d g lasses wou l d stop n early all th e
heat but allo w an i nco nven iently g reat
amo u nt of l i g h t to pass A t the sam e tim e
he n oticed i n th e variou s experime nts that
th e ima g es of the s u n were of d i fferen t
colo rs Th is su gg ested the questi o n as to
,

L ife

182

a nd

W orks

whether there was n ot a di fferent heatin g

power proper to each color of the spectru m
O n compari n g the read in g s of sensitive th er
;
m om e te rs exposed i n di fferent portions o f an
i nten se solar spectru m he fou nd that be g i n
n in g with the violet end he came to th e
maximu m of li g ht lon g before that of heat
wh ich lay at the othe r extrem ity that is n ear
the red By several experiments it appeared
that the maximu m of illu m ination i e the
yellow had l ittle more than half the heat of
the full red rays ; an d from other e xpe ri
m ents h e con clu de d that even th e full red
fell short of the maximu m of heat wh ich
perhaps lay even a l ittle beyond the li m its
of th e visible spectru m
.

I n thi a e he ay

radiant heat w i ll at lea st

partly if not h i ey on si st if I m y be perm i tted the
expre ssio n of invi sible li ght that is to say of ray s om
in g from the s n that have s h a moment m s to b e
nt for vi sion A n d admittin g s is hi ghly probable
that the or g an s of si ght are only adapted to re c e i ve
impre ssion s from parti le s of a ertain moment m i t

s,

H ER H E L
SC

ton ian or c or

u sc u ar

te

as

e or

p d did ll h i
l th y f l igh t

ac c e

ii

uc

t mp

co e

orar e s ,

th e

Ne w

W
illi
a
m
f

e rsc /i e

I 83

xplain s why the max i m u m of ill m i nat i on sho ld b e i n

the middle of the refran g i ble ray
tho se whi h have
g reater or le s momenta are li k ely to be c ome eq u ally

nt for the impre s i on of si g ht

e

as

I n h is seco nd paper on th is subj ect pub

lis h e d in the same year H E RSCH E L describes
the experi ments wh ich led to th e conclus io n
g iven above Th is paper co ntains a remark
ably in terestin g passa g e which ad m irabl y il
lu strates H E RSCH E L S ph ilosoph ic m ethod
,

on c l de if we all l i ght tho se ray s whi c h ill m i

nate obje c t s and radiant heat tho se wh i h heat bodie s
it may b e inq ired w hether li ght b e e s ent i ally different
from radiant heat I n an swer to whi h I wo ld s gge t
that we are not allowed by the r u le s of philo soph i in g
to adm i t two different a e s to ex p lain ertain effe t s if
they may be a c c o nted for by one
I f th i s be
a tr u e a c c o u nt of the solar heat for the s pport of whi h
I appeal to my experiment s i t rema i n s only f or s to
adm i t that s c h of the ray s of the s n as have the re f ran
tho
e
whi
h
are
c ontained in the pri mat i c
i
f
i
l
t
o
s
b
i
y
g
on str tion of the org an s of si ght are
spe c tr u m by the
admitted nder the appearan e of l i ght and olors and
that the re st bein g stopped i n the c oat n d h mor of the
eye ac t on them as they are k nown to do on ll the other

p art s of ou r body by o c asionin g a sen sation of heat

To

us

uc

s a

W e n ow k now that the reason in g an d co n

L ife

1 84

and

W or ks

l s i o n here g iven are entirely correct but

they have for their basis o nly a ph ilosoph ical
co n ception an d n ot a series o f experimen ts
d e si g n ed especially to test thei r correctness
S u ch an experim ental test of this important
question was the m otive fo r a th ird and l ast
paper i n th is department of physics T h is
paper was published i n volu m e n i nety of the
Pk ilosopk ica l T ra n sa ctions an d g ave th e re
s u lts o f two h u n dred an d n i n eteen quantita
t ive experi m ents
H ere we are at a loss to k now wh i ch to

admire most th e marvellous s k ill evinced in

acqu iri n g su ch accu rate data with su ch i nad
equ ate m eans an d i n varyin g an d testin g
su ch a n u mber of qu estio n s as were su g

g ested in th e cou rse of the investi g ation or

the i ntellectual power sh own in marshalli n g
an d redu ci n g to a system su ch intricate and
apparently self contradictory phenomena I t
is tru e that th is discussio n led h i m to a dif
f e re n t co n clu sion fro m that an no u nced i n th e
p reviou s paper and consequ ently to a false
co nclu sion bu t almost th e o nly escape from
h is cou rse of reason in g lay in a prin ciple
e u

W
illi
a
m
f

e rscli e

185

wh ich belon g s to a later period of inte lle c

tual develop m en t than that of H ERSCH EL S
own time
H ERSCH E L made a careful determ i nation of
the quan titative d istribu tion of l i g ht an d of
h eat i n th e prismatic spectru m and dis c ov
ered the su rprisin g fact that n ot only where
the li g ht was at a m aximu m the heat was
very i nconsi derable bu t that where there
was a maxi mu m exh ibition o f heat there was
n ot a trace of l i g ht

Th i on ideration he write

m u st alter the form of

o r pro p o sed i nq i ry ; for the q e stion bein g th u s at lea st
p artly de id e d si n c e it i a c ertained that we hav e ray s
bje t
of heat wh i c h give no l i g ht it an only be ome a
of inq iry whether some of the se heat ma k i n g ray s may
not have a power of renderin g obje c t s vi ible peradded
to their now already e stabl i hed p ower of heatin g bod i e s
Th i s be i n g the a se i t is evident that the on s probandi
o ght to l i e with tho se who are w i llin g to e stabli sh s h
an hypothe si s f or it doe s not appear that N at re i in
the hab i t of in g one and the same me c han i sm with any
two of o r sen se s W itne ss the vibration of ai r that
mak e s so u nd the e l v ia that o c a ion smell the par
e ta te the re si stan c e or rep l i ve pow
ti les that prod

h all the se are e vidently s ited

e rs that affe c t the to

to their re spe c t i ve org an s of sen se

sc

s,

su

su

uc

us

uc

s,

u s

uc

L ife

1 86

an

d W orks

I t is di f cu lt to see how the fallacy of th is

arg u men t could have been detecte d by a n y
o n e n ot fam iliar with the fu n damen tal physi
olo g ical law that th e natu re of a sensatio n is
i n n o wise determ ined by th e character of the
a g ent produ cin g it bu t on l y by the character
o f th e n erves acted u pon
b u t as already in
tii ate d this law belon g s to a later epoch
than th e on e we are consideri n g H ERSCH EL
thus nally con clu ded that l i g ht and radiant
h eat were of essentially di fferen t n atu res and
u po n this su ppositio n he explai n ed all of th e
phenomen a which h is nu merou s experiments
had sh own h im S o complete an d s atis fac
tory d id th is wor k appear to th e scienti c
world that for a lo n g tim e th e qu estion was
loo k ed upon as closed and n ot u ntil th irty
Then
v e years later was th ere an y dissent
th e I talian physicist MEL L O NI with in s tru
m en tal m ean s a thou sand tim es m ore deli
cate than that of H ERSCH EL and with a far
larg er store of co g n ate ph en o mena collected
du rin g the g eneration which had elapsed
to serve as a g u ide discovered the true law
T h is as we have seen was at rst adopted
,

W illia m H

e rsc

k el

187

by H E RSCH E L o n ph ilosoph ical g rou nds and

the n rej ected sin ce he did n ot at that tim e
possess the k e y wh ich alon e cou ld have e n
abled h im to p roperly i nterpret h is e xpe ri
me nts
I t is well to su mmariz e the cap i tal disc ov
eries i n th is eld made by H E RSCH EL more
particularly becau se h is claims as a dis c ov
erer seem to have been stran g ely overloo k ed
by h istorians of the development of physical
science [ H e befo re any othe r i nvesti g ator
showed that r adian t heat is refracted accord
i n g to th e laws g overn in g the refractio n of
l i g h t by transparen t m edia ; that a portio n
of the radiatio n fro m the su n is incapable
of excitin g the sen satio n of v ision an d that
th is po r tion is the less refran g ibl e ; that the
d i fferent colors of the spectru m possess very
u n equ al heatin g powers wh ich are n ot pro
port io nal to their lu m inosity ; that sub
stances d iffer very g reatly in thei r powe r
an d that th is
of tran sm ittin g radiant heat
power d oes n ot depend solely u po n thei r
color ; an d that the property of diffusin g
heat is possessed to a varyin g de g ree by dif
,

L ife

18 8

fe re n t

W orks

and

bodies i ndependently of their colo r

N or sh ould we n e g lect to emphasize i n th is
con nectio n th e importan ce of h is m eas u re
ments of the i ntensity of the heat an d l i g ht
i n the d i fferent portions o f the solar spec
tru m I t is the m ore n ecessary to state H ER
S C H E L S claims clearly as h is wo r k has been
n e g lected by those who should rst have don e

h im j ustice I n h is H istory of Physics

PO GG E ND O RFP has n o reference to H E RS CH EL
I n the collected wor k s of V ERDE T lon g
b ibli o g raph ical n otes are appende d t o each
chapter with the intention of exh ibitin g the
pro g ress and order of d iscovery B u t all of
H E RSCH EL S wor k is overloo k ed or i ndexed
u n der th e name of h is son O n e little refer
ence i n the text alon e shows that h is very
n am e was n ot u n k nown E ven i n the g reat
work of H ELM HOL T Z on phys iolo g ical optics
H E RSCH EL S labors are n ot ta k en accou nt of
I t is easy to accou nt fo r th is seem in g ly
stran g e n e g lect H E RSCH EL is k n own to th is
g en eratio n only as an astronomer A study
o f h is m emo irs will show that h is physical
work alo ne should g ive h im a very h i g h
,

W illia m H

e rs c

k el

89

ran k i ndeed an d I trust that the brief su m

maries wh ich alon e can be g iven h ere will
have made th is plain
,

W e may con clu de from the tim e e xpended

th e elaborate n atu re o f the experiments in
volved an d the character of th e papers d e
vote d to their con sideration that the portio n
of H ERSCH EL S researches in physics wh ich
i nterested h i m to th e g reatest de g ree was
the i nvest i g at io n of the optical phen omen a
k nown as N E W T ON S rin g s
I n 1 7 9 2 h e ob
tain e d the two obj ect g lasses of H U YGH ENS
wh ich were i n the possessio n of th e Royal
S ociety f or th e pu rpose of repeatin g NEW
T ON S experiments an d i n 1 8 1 0 he read th e
last of h is th ree papers o n the subj ect
S ir I S AA C N E W T ON had g iven some of h is
most vi g orous e fforts to th e stu dy of th e phe
n om e n a o f interferen ce of l i g ht wh ich are ex
e m li e d i n the colors of th i n an d of th ic k
p
plates The colo rs of th i n plates are most
co nveniently stu died i n the re g ular form
which the y present when pro d u ced by a th i n
plate Of air l im ited on o ne side by a plan e
,

L ife

19 0

and

W orks

pol ished su rface and o n the other by a

spherical su rface of lon g radiu s su ch as the
exterio r su rface of a convex lens for exam
ple The colo rs are then arran g ed i n con e e n
tric circles and thou g h others had so pro
du c e d th em before N E W T ON these rin g s have
ever since th e publicati o n of h is remark able
wo rk bee n k n own by h is name
To explai n th e ph enomena N E W T ON was
obl i g ed to su pplement h is theory of th e
corpu scu lar n atu re of l i g ht by su pposin g
that the in con ceivably m in ute particles c on
s titu tin
li
g
ht
are
n
ot
always
equally
su sc e
p
g
tible of re ection bu t that they have period

ic ally recu rrin g

ts of easy reection an d

of
easy transm ission
Th is conception
thou g h by n o m eans u n ph ilO S O ph ic al see m ed
to H ERSCH E L too articial and improbable
for ready acceptan ce an d h is effort was to
su pply a m ore probable explan ati on
The develop ments of optical science have
j ustied H E RSCH EL i n h is obj ections but we
cannot accord to h i m any co nsiderable part
i n ma k i n g clear the tr u e nature of the phe
n o m e n on
I n d ee d it must be reco g n i z ed that
,

W illia m H

e rs c i e l

h is positi on was distin ctly less advanced than

that of N E W T ON That g reat ph ilosopher a n
n ou n c e d the tru e law g overn i n g the relation
between the color an d the th ic k ness of the
lm H ERSCH EL did not reco g niz e such a re
lation
N E W T ON showed exactly how the
phenomeno n depended upo n the obliqu ity at
wh ich it was viewe d H ERSCH EL foun d no
place i n h is theory for th is evident varia
tion
I n the series of exp eriments described i n
the rst paper o n th is subj ect H E RSCH EL m is
too k the locu s of a certai n set of rin g s which
he was observin g This m ista k e thou g h so
sl i g ht as hardly to be detected without the
g u idance of the de n ite k nowled g e acqu ired
i n later times n ot only vitiated the concl u
sio n from the experim ents but gave an erro
n e ou s directio n to the whole investi g ation
To h im these experi ments proved that NEW
T ON S co nceptio n of a periodic phenomenon
was u ntenable
Thus cut loos e from all
hypothesis h is fertility i n ideas and in g enu ity
in experimen tation are as stri k in g as ever
H e tried the e ffect of havin g a polished
.

19 2

if

a nd

W orks

metal as one of t he su rfaces l imiti n g the thi n

plate of air O bservin g the S O called blu e

b ow of N E W T ON at the li mit of total re ec

tio n i n a prism he was led to the discovery

re d b ow by re frac
of its complement the
tion
H ere h e thou g ht h e had foun d the
solution of h is p roblem and attributed the
rin g s to the re ectio n of the l i g ht wh ich
passed throu g h in th e red bow
Thou g h
mistak en he had presen ted to the world of
science two experiments wh ich have since
played very prom i nent parts i n th e u n du la
tory theory of li g ht namely the rin g s formed
u po n polished metal an d the bands produced
by a th i n plate near the cri tical an g le
A s i n h is later researches upon th e natu re
o f radi ant heat he was wron g i n his conclu
sio ns and perhaps with less excu se
H is
experiments were s k ilfully devised and most
in g enious H is ph ilo sophi z in g was distinctly
faulty W e can see n ot only that he was
wron g but exactly where he be g an t o g o
wron g Y e t these papers are full of i nterest
to the physicist and by no means deserve the
ne g lect i nto wh ich they have fallen

R esea rck es

W illia m H

e rsc

I9 3

k el

t/i e D im en s ions o
t
k
e
f

on

ta rs

H E RSCH E L exam ine d a n u mber of bri g ht

stars usin g extremely h i g h mag n ifyin g pow
ers i n or d er to determ i n e whether the stars
have sensible d i me nsio ns I n a g ood tele
scope stars presen t rou n d and pretty u n i
formly illu min ated dis k s I f these d is k s re
ally represe n t the an g ular diamete r o f the
stars th ey shou ld adm it of m ag n ifyi n g li k e
o ther obj ects ; bu t in stead of this H E RSCH E L
fou n d that they appeared smaller as the tele
scopic power was i ncreased H e accordi n g ly
called the d is k of li g ht seen i n the telescope
a spu riou s dis k This sin g ular ph enomen on
g ave its discoverer a ready criterio n fo r de
te rm in in g whether a small bri g ht body has an
appreciable s ize or o nly imp resses th e sense
o f si g ht by v irtu e of its i ntrin sic bri g h tness
I f th e rst were the case the apparent siz e
would i n crease with i n creased m ag n ifyi n g
power wh ile if th e an g u lar dimens ions were
i nappreciable th e apparen t siz e would o n
the co ntrary dim i n ish with additional mag
n ify in
A
n
occasion
for
u
sin
g
th
is
criterion
g
,

94

if

and

or ks

cam e in th e rst years of this centu ry with

th e d iscovery of three small planets havi n g
orb its lyin g between those of Ma rs and y upi
ter
H E RSCH EL g ave th e nam e A s teroids to
th ese bo d ies A s the appropriateness of this
term had b een violently assailed th e dis
c ov e ry of Yu n o i n 1 8 04 th e th ird on e of th e
g roup led t o a careful experimental stu dy of
the de n in g power of th e telescope u sed an d
of th e laws g overn in g the ph en omen a of spu
ri o n s d is k s
W ith a telescope of abou t n in e i n ches i n
apertu re H E RSCH E L fou n d that if f7u n o su b
ten de d an an g l e g reater than a quarter of a
secon d of are a certain indication of th e
fact woul d have sh own itself i n the cou rse of
th e experimen ts Th is con clu sio n was a j u s
ti c ation of th e n am e A stero i d sin ce the
appearan ce of th e n ew planet was strictly
stellar O n oth er g rou nds a better name
m i g ht h av e been selected
I n th e paper g ivin g th e results of the ex
of
th
e
spu
riou
s
r
i
m
e n ts th e phen om ena
e
p
dis k s are very completely described ; bu t
they di d no t attract the attention wh ich they
,

W illia m H

/ l

ersc te

19

deserved an d they o n ly became an obj ect of

especial interest to stu dents of phys ics when
they were a g ai n stu died by th e famou s
G erm an optician F RA UNH O FER a g eneratio n
later
I n ci d entally the e xperim en ts are of interest
as yield in g u s a m easu re of th e excellence of
H E RSCH E L S telescopes and a measu re wh i ch
is qu ite i n depen d ent of th e k een n ess of h is
visio n F ro m them we m ay b e su re that th e
e f cien cy of th e n in e i nch m i rror u sed was
not sensibly less than t h at of the h i g hest
theoretically attainable excellen ce I n th is
con nection too we m ay refer to the P/i ilo
k
i
ca l T ra nsa ction s f or 1 7 9 0 pp 4 6 8 an d
so
p
where
H
E
RSC
H
E
L
g
ives
O
bservations
of
475
both E n cela du s an d Mimas seen i n contact
with the ball of S a tu rn I h ave n ever see n
so g oo d de n ition tel escopic an d atm osph e r
ic as he mu st have had o n these occasions
,

R esea rc kes

on

tk o S p ectra of tk e

Fix ed S

ta rs

The spectroscope was applied by SE CCH I

to the study of the spectra of th e xed stars

19

L ife

and

W orks

visible to the na k ed eye i n the years 1 8 6 3

to 1 8 66 H e exam ined the n ature of the
spectrum of each of the larg er stars an d
fo u nd that these s tars coul d be arran g ed in
three g eneral classes or typ es H is results
have been veri ed and extended by other
astronomers an d h is classicat i on has been
A ccordin g to S ECCH I
g enerally accepted
the lu cid stars may be separated i n t o three
g roups disti n g u ished by mark ed di fferences
i n their spectra S ECCH I S Type I contai ns
stars whose spectra are l i k e those of S iriu s
Procy on and
L y ra ; h is Type I I stars li k e
A rc tu ru s and A ldeba ra n ;
h is Type I I I
stars li k e Or ion is
H E RSCH E L also made some trials i n th is
d irection I n the Pk ilosopk ica l T ra nsactions
for 1 8 1 4 ( p
he says :
.

By some experiment on the li ght of a few of the

tars of the r st ma g n i t de mad e i n 1 7 9 8 by a pri sm
appl i ed to the eye gla sse s of my ree tor adj stable to
any an gle and to any dire c t i on I had the followin g
analy se s
The l i ght of S iri
on si st s of red oran g e yellow
g ree n bl e p u rple and violet
ontain s th e
Orioni

s,

us

W illia m H

e rs c

k el

19

ame c o l ors b u t the red i mo re i nten se and the oran g e

and yellow are le ss opio s i n proport i on than they are
in S iri s P ro y on ontain all the olor b t propor
tion t ly more bl e and p rple than S iri
A rct r s
c ontain s more red and oran g e and le s yellow in propor
tion than S iri
A ldeb r n onta i n s m h oran g e and
Ly r c ontain s m c h yellow g reen
very little yellow

bl e and p rple
s

us

us

s,

a e

uc

ce

H ere th e essential peculiarities of the spec

tru m of each of the stars i nvesti gated by
H ERSCH EL is po i nte d out and if we were to use
h is observatio ns alone to classify these stars
i nto types we should put S iriu s and Procy on
i nto on e type of stars which have all the

colors i n their spectra ; A rc tu ru s an d A ldeb

a ra n would represent another g rou p of stars
with a d eciency of yellow and an excess of
o ran g e an d red i n the spectru m an d a
Or ion is would stand as a type of th ose s tars
with an excess o f red and a deciency of
oran g e a L y ra would represent a sub g rou p
o f the rst class
H ERSCH E L S im mediate O bj ect was n ot clas
and hi s observatio ns are o nly re
s i c ation
corded in a passi n g way B ut the fact re
,

19

if

a nd

W orks

mai ns that he clearly disti n g u ishe d the essen

tial differences of t he spectra of these stars
an d that he ma d e these observations i n su p
port of h is statement that the xe d stars
li k e the planets also sh ine with differently
colored li g ht That of A rctu ru s an d A ldeb
a ra n
for instan ce is as di fferent from th e
l i g ht of S iriu s and Cap ella as that of Ma rs
and S a tu rn is from th e li g ht of Ven u s an d
,

t
i
er
p

Of

cou rse n o special discovery can b e

claimed for h i m on these few instances W e
can see h owever a g oo d e xampl e of th e
manner i n wh ich h e exam in e d a subj ect fro m
every side and used th e m ost remote evi
dence exactly in its proper place and time
,

R esea rck es

on tk e
and

Va ria ble E m iss ion

ea t

from

tk e S

un

L ig k t

I t is certai nly a remark abl e fact that H E R

SCH E L was t he rst observer to reco g n iz e th e
real importance of th e aperture or diameter
B efore h is time i t was g en
of a telescope
c on
assumed
that
this
element
only
e rall
y
.

W illi a m H

ersck el

19

the amou nt of l i g ht transm itted to

the eye or in other wor d s merely deter
m ined the bri g htness of t he i mag e H ence
the conclusio n that if an obj ect is su f cie ntly
bri g ht the telescope may be made as small
as desired withou t loss of power Thus i n
observin g the su n astron omers before H E R
SCH E L ha d bee n accusto me d to re d uce th e
apertu re of their telescopes i n or d er to
moderate the heat and li g ht transmitte d
S CH E I N E R i t is tru e n early two centu ries b e
fore the time we are consi d eri n g ha d in
vented a metho d for O bservi n g th e su n with
o u t d an g er still employi n g the full apertu re
This was by proj ecti n g the i ma g e of the su n
o n a wh ite screen beyon d t h e eye piece the
For
telescope bei n g sli g htly len g thene d
special purposes this in g en iou s metho d h as
e v e n bee n fou n d useful i n mo d er n times
thou g h f or sharpness of d e nitio n i t bears
m uch the same relation to the more usual
manner of obse rvi n g that a photo g raph ic p ic
ture d oes to direct visio n
A lthou g h H E RSC H E L saw th e a d vanta g es of
u sin g the whole apertu re of a tel escope i n

dition e d

2 00

if

a nd

orks

su ch O bservati o ns th e practical di fculties i n

th e way were very g reat W e have n oted
h is attempts to nd screens wh ich would e f
fe c tiv e ly cu t O ff a larg e portion of th e heat
and li g ht without impairin g vision and have
considered somewhat i n detail the remark
able discoveri es i n radiant heat to which
these attempts led h im H is efforts were n ot
u nsuccessful
A g reen g lass smo k ed and a
g lass cell co ntaini n g a solution of blac k writin g

in k i n water were fou nd to wor k admirably

Thu s provided with more powerful in stru
m ental m eans than ha d ever been applied to
the purpose H E RSCH EL tu rned h is atte ntio n
to th e su n I n a very short time he ex
h au ste d n early all there was t o be dis c ov
ered so that si nce th e publ ication of h is last
paper on th is subj ect i n 1 8 0 1 u ntil t h e
present ti me th ere has been bu t a sin g le
te le S CO pic phenomenon
con nected with th e
physical appearance of th e su n which was
u n k nown to H ERSCH EL That phen omenon
is the frequ ent occu rrence of a dark er central
sh ade or k ern el i n larg e spots d iscove red by
D A W ES abou t 1 8 5 8
,

W illia m H

e rsc

k el

201

H ERSCH EL thou g h observi n g a hu ndred

an d n inety years after the earliest discovery
of su n spots seems to have been the rst to
suspect their periodic character T o estab
lish this as a fact an d t o m easu re the period
was left for ou r own ti mes and for the i nde
fati g able observer S CH W A B E The probable
i mportance of such a period i n its relation to
terrestrial meteorolo gy was n o t o nly clearly
pointe d ou t by H ERSCH E L bu t he eve n at
tempte d to demonstrate from such data as
were obtai nable the character of this in u
e nce
Perhaps no o n e th i n g wh ich th is g reat ph i
losoph e r has d on e bet t er exh ibits the c ath o
l ic character of h is m ind than th is research
W hen th e possible co nnectio n of solar an d
terrestrial phen o mena occu rred to h i m as a
qu est ion t o be teste d there were no avail
able meteorolo g ical records and h e could
nd bu t fou r or ve short series of observa
tions widely separated i n ti me T o an or d i
nary th i n k er the tas k wou l d have seemed
hopeless u ntil more data had been collected
B u t H ERSCH E L S fertile m i nd thou g h it could
,

L ife

2 02

a nd

orks

n ot recall lost opportu n ities for solar ob se r

v a tion s did nd a substitute f or meteorolo g i
cal recor d s i n t he statistics Of th e prices of
g rai n d u ri n g the various epochs I t is clear
that th e price of wheat mu st have d epended
upon th e supply an d the supply i n turn
larg ely u pon t he character of the season
The metho d as i n g en ious as it is failed i n
H E RSCH EL S hands o n accou nt of the paucity
of solar statistics ; but it has si nce proved of
valu e and has ta k en its place as a reco g ni z ed
m ethod of research
,

R esea rc/i es

on

Nebu lae a n d

Clu sters

W he n H ERSCH EL rst be g an to observ e the

n ebul a i n I 7 7 4 there were very few of these
obj ects k nown The nebul a of Orion and
A n drom eda had bee n k nown i n E u rope only
a l ittl e over a hu ndred years
I n 1 7 8 4 M ESS I ER publ ished a l ist of sixty
ei g ht such obj ects wh ich h e had fou nd i n h is
search es for comets and twenty ei g ht nebul a
had been fou nd by L A C AI LLE i n h is observa
tio ns at the Cape of G ood H ope I n the
,

W
illi
a
m
f

e rsc k el

2 03

mere discovery of these obj ects H E RSCH EL

qu ic kly surpassed all others I n 1 7 8 6 h e
published a catalo g u e of one th ousan d n e w
nebul a i n 1 7 89 a catalo g u e of a second thou
sand and i n 1 8 0 2 on e of ve h undre d I n
all he discovered and described two thousan d
ve hu ndre d an d ei g h t new nebul a an d
clusters
Th is branch of astronomy may
almost be said to be prop er to th e H ER
S C H EL S
father an d son S ir J OH N H ERSCH EL
re observe d
all h is father s n ebul a i n the
n orthern h emisph ere and ad d ed many new
o nes an d i n h is astro nomical expedition t o
the Cape of G ood H ope he recorded almost
an equal nu mber i n th e south ern s ky
O f the six thou sand tw o hu n d re d nebul a
n ow k nown the H ERSCH ELS discovere d at least
ei g ht tenths The mere discovery of twen ty
v e hu ndre d nebul a would have been a brill
ian t ad d ition to ou r k nowled g e of celestial
statistics
H E RSCH EL d id more than merely poi nt ou t
th e existence an d position of these new
bo d ies E ach observ ation was accompan ie d
by a careful and mi nute descriptio n of the
.

2 04

if

and

W orks

obj ect vi ewed and with s k etches and diag rams

w h ich g ave the positio n of the small stars i n
it and near it
A s the nebul a an d clusters were disc ov
ered they were placed i n classes each class
coverin g those nebul a which resembled each
other i n their g eneral features E ven at the
telescope H ERSCH EL S obj ect was not disc ov
ery m erely but to k now the in ner c on stitu
,

i i lly i d i h
h
dg f h b l w lw y
d M y f h d
ip i
g i i h p bl i h d p p b h p bl i i f
h di g m w
ld b
im m
h lp hi b h f
my
D A RRE T i h i d i f H ER H E L
b l b
i ( 8 5 6) w i
G wi w a
m ho h
I
f
di E w i k l
g w l h h e li h h di
Zw ig d
b
b h
A
h l w i d w di H ER
d
mi
k
f ig
g i d A f h li h k i i w l h
h
B b h
v hi d
Ad
g
f lg l d k if li /
h d
id
hli
i h di W h i
E
ff
li h w d
B
ff d N b l k l bh f
d
w l h
h
i mJh h
h V ff li h g d 4
h di

a
w
I
g
i
h
i
g
i
d
h
i
h
w
S
g g
g
ll m
g wh h
k wl d g f h di i i wh i h w
m
d im p
l kf d
q i
i
h di f l
f
h di
h m i
h g f h b l Al m t
d h
h
m
ly id b l k d f f m h l d b
i m
f m h di g m
f ly y h h p bl i i f
dw m y
hi p i l m i l j
d w ld y
x d
i
b k f m 8 3 3 7 86 no l h f y
y
Th

ii

or on t e e

t on s

sc r

are

nt

te n

ac

S CH EL S c
e rsc

S n

v e rO

e tre

er

e ne

s ta r

au

u st

oo

e on

ro

ac

re e

or a

stan c e ,

to

su c

r c e e ss
ro

en

en

ec

av e a

v an c e s

ra

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oo

an

s,

ate r a

to 1

or

u st as

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cu

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sa e

s,

t an

n oc

ur e

t e ne

sa

ou

ort

at

c arr

se v e n

rte n

u a

u e st on s

os

se rv at on s

er o

on v or

u ne

ortan t

es o

en

u n sc

e r, sc

re c t on

v or an

e se r

u sse rt

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e r s1e ,

e c

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an

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an ,

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un

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e

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no

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se rv a

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as tron

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er a

z u

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er

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SC

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n t e c e n tre ,

an

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to t

tu ate

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re

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n t n ac

rz e

tu n

s n ote

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z u

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eu tu n

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u c t on

ss

e c

t ca

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s tron o

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as a

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ata

W z ZZz a m H

'

t i o n of

'

en c

h ]

2 05

h e av e n s H i s c l a ss e s w e r e ar
ran g e d w i t h t h i s e n d a n d t h e y are t o d ay
a d o p t e d Th e y w e re :
B r i g h t n e b u l ae ( 2 8 8 in all )
C L A SS
I
II
Fa i nt n e b u l ae ( 9 09 i n all )
V e ry fa i nt n e b u l ae ( 9 8 4 in
III
a ll )
IV
Pl a n e t ary n e bul ae s t ar s w i t h
b ur s w i t h m i l ky ch e v e
l ur e w i t h s h or t ray s re
m arkab le s ha pe s e tc ( 7 9
i n all )
V e ry larg e n e b u l ae ( 5 2 i n all )
V
VI
V e ry co m pr e ss e d a n d r i ch
c l u s t e r s of s t ar s ( 4 2 i n all )
VII
Pr e tt y m u ch
co m p r e ss e d
c l u s t e r s ( 6 7 i n all )
VIII
C oar s e l y s ca tt e r e d c l u s t e r s
of s t ar s ( 8 8 i n all )
T h e l i s t s of t h e s e c l a ss e s w e r e th e s t or e
hou s e s of r i ch m a t e r i a l fro m wh i ch H ER S CH E L
d re w th e e x a m pl e s b y wh i ch h i s l a t e r o pi n i o n s
o n th e phy s i ca l co n di t i o n s of n e b u l ou s m a tt e r
w e r e e n forc e d
A s th e n e b u l ae w e r e di s cov e r e d a n d c l a ss i
th e

2 06

a nd

th e y w e re

e
l
ac
d
u
o
n
a
s
t
ar
m
a
p
i
n
p
p
t h e i r p ro p e r p o s i t i o n s
a n d a s th e di s
c ov e rie s w e n t o n th e r e a l l a w s of th e dis tI I
b u tion of th e n e bul a a n d of th e c l u s t e r s ov e r
th e s u rfac e of th e s ky s how e d t h e m s e l v es
m o re a n d m o r e p l a in l y
I t was b y th i s
m e a n s t ha t H E R S CH E L w a s le d t o th e a n
n ou n c e m e n t of th e l a w t ha t th e s p ac e s ri ch
e s t i n n e b u l a are di st a nt fro m th e Mi l ky W a
y
B y n o o t h e r m e a n s co ul d h e hav e de
e tc
te c te d t h i s a n d I b e l i e v e t h i s t o hav e b e e n
th e r s t e x a m p l e of th e u se of th e g ra p h i ca l
m e t ho d n o w b e co m e co mm o n i n t re a t i ng
l arg e m a s s e s of s t a t i s t i c s
I t i s s t i ll in h i s ca p ac i t y of a n o b s e rv e r

a n ac ut e a n d w i s e on e
t ha t H ER S CH EL i s
co n s id e r e d B u t t h i s w a s th e l e a s t of h i s
g i ft s T h i s va s t m a ss of m a t e r i a l w a s n o t
l e f t i n t h i s s t a t e :i t s e rv e d h i m for a s t e p
pi ng s t o n e t o l a rg e r v i e w s of th e n a tu re a n d
e xt e nt of th e n e b u l ou s m a tt e r i t s e l f
H i s v i e w s o n th e n a tu r e of n e bul a u nd e r
w e nt s u cc e ss i v e cha ng e s A t r s t h e s u p
p o s e d all n e b u l a t o b e b u t agg r e g a t i o ns of
s t ar s T h e l o g i c wa s s i m pl e To th e n ak e d

he d

l
i
l
z
a
m
W
f
'

e ra

/26

"

2 07

t h e r e are m a n y g ro u p s of s t a r s w h i ch ap
P
e
e
m
es e e i s p e r ha p s th e b e s t
ar
n
bul
o
u
s
p

e xam p l e
T h e s l i g h t e s t t e l e s co p i c p o w e r ap
p l i e d t o s uch g ro u p s a lt e r s th e n e bul ou s ap
e a ran c e a nd s ho w s t ha t i t co m e s fro m th e
p
co mb i n e d a nd co n fu s e d l i g h t of di s cr e t e st ar s
O t h e r g ro u p s w h i ch r e m a in n e b u l ou s i n a
s e v e n foo t t e l e s co p e b e co m e s t e ll ar i n a te n
foo t T h e n e bul o s i t y of th e te n foo t ca n b e
r e s o l v e d i nt o s t ar s b y th e tw e nt y foo t a n d s o
o n T h e n e b u l a wh i ch r e m a i n e d s t i ll u n re
s o l v e d it w a s r e a s o n a bl e t o co n c l u d e wou ld
y i e l d t o h i g h e r p ow e r a n d g e n e ra ll y a n e bul a
w a s b u t a g rou p o f st ars r e m ov e d t o a g r e a t
di s t a n c e A n i n cre a s e of t e l e s co pi c p ow e r
*
w a s a l o n e n e c e ss ary t o d e m o n s t ra t e t h i s
e ye

s e l e c t e d so t h t an in s e n si b l e grada
t ion sh ll take pl ac e f rom a c oars e c l st e r l ik e th e Pi
a
y
down to a m i l k y n e b l os it y l ik e t h at in Orion e v e r
T h is te n ds to on
in t e rm e di at e st e p b e i n g re pre s e n t e d
rm th e h y pot h e s is t h at all are c ompos e d of st ars m ore

or l e ss re m ot
Neb u la

be

c an

es

ez

tr HE
E h d b n d n d th i i d i t ntin u d
u rr t m g t r n m r T h u
E tl
f L rd R
p p rp tu t d t th m i ddl f th nin t nth ntu ry rr
n
v i w wh i h H E E h d gi v n p in 7 9
3

sc o

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2 08

and

a t rs t H E R S CH EL b e l i e v e d t ha t h i s
t w e nt y foo t t e l e s co pe wa s of p ow e r s u f c i e nt
t o fa t h o m th e Mi l ky W ay t ha t i s t o s e e
t hrou g h i t a n d b e yo n d i t a n d t o re d u c e all
i t s n e b u l o s i t i e s t o t ru e g rou ps of s t ar s
I n I 7 9 1 h e pu b li s h e d a m e m o i r o n Ng w/0m
S ta rs i n w h i ch h i s v i e w s w e r e co m p l e t e l y
cha ng e d H e ha d fou n d a n e bul ou s s t ar th e
s i xt y n i nt h of h i s C l a ss I V t o wh i ch h i s
r e a s o n s wou l d n o t a ppl y I n th e c e nt r e of
i t wa s a b r i g h t s t ar ; arou n d th e s t ar wa s a
ha l o g ra d u a ll y di m i n i s h i ng i n b r i g h tn e ss fro m
It
th e s t ar ou t war d a n d pe rf e c tl y c ir cu l ar
wa s c l e ar th e t wo p ar t s s t ar a n d n e b u l a
w e r e co nn e c t e d a n d t hu s a t th e s a m e di s t a n ce
fro m u s
T h e r e w e re t wo p o ss i bl e s o l u t i o n s o nl y
E i t h e r the who l e m a ss wa s rs z co m po s e d
of s t ar s i n wh i ch ca s e th e n uc l e u s wou l d b e
e n or m ou s l y l ar g e r t ha n th e o t h e r s t ar s of i t s
s t e l lar m agn i t u d e e l s e wh e r e i n th e s ky or
th e s t ar s wh i ch m a d e u p th e ha l o i n d e n i t e l y
s m all ; or secon d th e c e n t ra l n u c l e u s wa s in
d e e d a s t ar b u t a s t ar s urrou n d e d w i t h a s h i n

i ng u id of a n a t ur e t o t a ll y un k n ow n t o u s
S

o,

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E
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2 09

l o ng s t ra t a of n e b u l a w h i ch h e ha d
b e fore d e s cr i b e d u n d e r th e n a m e of t e l e

s co pi c Mi l ky W ay s m i g h t w e ll b e accou nt e d
for b y m a ss e s of t h i s u id l y i ng b e yo n d th e
r e g i o n s of th e s e v e nt h m agn i t u d e s t ar s Th i s
u id m i g h t e x i s t i n d e p e n d e ntl y of s t ar s
If
i t i s s e l f l u m i n ou s i t s e e m s m ore t t o pro
d u c e a s t ar b y i t s co n d e n s a t i o n t ha n t o de
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s o m e t i m e s di s t i n c t fro m t h e m wa s a d o p t e d
a nd n e v e r ab a n d o n e d H ow w e ll th e s pe c
tros c ope ha s co n r m e d t h i s id e a 1t 13 n o t
n e c e ss ary t o s ay W e k n o w th e s h i n i ng u id
d o e s e x i s t a n d i n l a t e y e ar s w e hav e s e e n
th e r e v e r s e of th e p roc e ss i m a g i n e d b y H ER
SCH E L A s t ar ha s ac t ua ll y u n d e r ou r e y e s
b e co m e a pl a n e t ary n e b u l a a n d th e cyc l e of
wh i ch h e g av e th e r s t t e r m s i s co m ple t e
I n v e s e para t e m e m o i r s ( 1 8 0 2 I 8 1 I 1 8 1 4
18 1 7
a n d 1 8 1 8 ) H E R S C H E L e l ab ora t e d h i s
v i e w s of th e s id e r e a l s y s t e m T h e who l e e x
T he

2 10

W orks

and

t e n t of h i s v i e w s mu s t b e g a i n e d f r o m th e
e xt e n d e d
m e mo irs t h e m s e l v e s H e r e o nl y
th e m e r e s t ou tl i n e ca n b e g i v e n
I n 1 8 0 2 t h e re i s a m a r s ha l i ng of th e v a
t i o u s o b e c t s b e yo nd o u r s o l ar s y s t e m
h
T
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te rs a nd g ro u p s or t o g ra n d g r o u p s l i k e th e
Mi l ky W ay Ne bul a m ay h av e a n y of th e
for m s w h i ch hav e b e e n d e s cr i b e d ; a nd i n
1 8 1 1 h e g i v e s e x a m p l e s of i mm e n s e s p ac e s
i n th e s ky c ov e r e d w i t h di ff u s e d a n d v e ry
fa i nt n e bul o s i t y
I t s ab u n d a n c e e x c e e d s

all i m ag i n a t i o n
T h e s e m a ss e s of n e bul ar
m a tt e r are th e s e a t s of a tt rac t i ng forc e s
a n d t h e s e forc e s mu s t p ro d uc e co n d e n s a t i o n
W h e n a n e b u l a ha s m o r e t ha n on e pre pon
d e ra t i ng s e a t of a tt r ac t i ng m a tt e r i t m ay i n
t i m e b e di v id e d a n d th e d ou bl e n e b u l a hav e
.

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v n v r b n b rv d T h y h u l d b ugh t
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E r t r w r p i ll y p n t ill u i n pr du d
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lar i n for m a n d t h i s fo r m i s a t o n c e th e e ff e c t
a nd th e p roof of a g r av i t a t i ng ca u s e
T h e c e nt r a l b ri g h t n e ss of n e bul a p o in ts
ou t th e s e a t o f th e a tt rac t i o n ; a n d th e co m
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g r av i t a t i ng forc e s hav e b e e n a t work Tho s e
n e bul a ( a n d c lu s t e r s ) w h i ch are m o s t p e rfe c t
i n th e gl o b u l ar for m hav e b e e n l o ng e s t e x
p o s e d t o c e n t ra l forc e s T he p l a n e t a r y n e b
Th e y mu s t
u la are th e o l d e s t i n o u r s y s t e m
hav e a r o t a t o ry m o t i o n o n t h e i r a x e s
B y p ro g r e ss i v e co n d e n s a t i o n p l a n e t ary n e b
u la m ay b e s u cc e ss i v e l y co n v e r t e d i nt o b r i g h t
s t e ll ar n e b u la o r in t o n e bul o u s s t a rs a n d
t h e s e ag a i n b y th e e ffe c t s of th e s a m e ca u s e
i nt o i n s ul a t e d o r d o ubl e st a r s T h i s cha i n of
t h e o re ms l a id d o wn i n th e m e m o i r of I 8 1 I i s
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hu n d re d s of i n s t a n c e s i n h i s n o t e b ook s n e b
u la i n e v e ry s t a g e of pr o g r e ss a n d t rac e s th e
.

2 I 2

m o W orks

ff e c t of co nd e n s a t i o n a n d of c lust e rin g p o w e r
t hro ug h all i t s co u r s e e v e n t o the n a l b r e ak
i ng u p of th e Mi l ky W ay i t se l f
T h e m e m o i r s of 1 8 1 7 a n d 1 8 1 8 a dd l i ttl e
t o th e ge n e ra l v i e w of th e p hy s i ca l c on stitu
t i o n of th e h e av e n s T h e y are a tt e m p ts t o
g a i n a s ca l e of c e l e s t i a l m e a s u re s b y wh i ch we
m ay j u d ge of th e di s t a n c e s of th e s t ar s a nd
c l u s t e r s i n w h i ch t h e s e cha nge s are g o i ng o n
Th e r e i s l i ttl e t o cha ng e i n H E R S CH EL S
s t a t e m e nt of th e g e n e ra l co n s t ru c t i o n of th e
h e av e n s I t i s th e g ro un d w ork u p o n wh i ch we
hav e s t i ll t o b u i l d Ev e ry a s t ro n o m i ca l di s
c ov e ry a nd e v e ry p hy s i ca l fac t w e ll o b s e r v e d
i s m a t e r i a l for th e e l a b ora t i o n of i t s d e t a i l s or
for th e corr e c t i o n of s o m e of i t s m i n or p o i nt s
A s a s c i e n t i c co n c e p t i o n i t i s p e rha p s th e
g ra n d e s t t ha t ha s e v e r e nt e re d i nt o th e h u
m a n m i n d A s a s tu d y of th e h e i g h t t o wh i ch
th e e ffor t s of o n e m a n m ay g o i t i s a lm o s t
w i t h ou t a para ll e l T he p h i l o s o p h e r who w i ll
a dd t o i t t o d ay w i ll hav e h i s fac t s a nd h i s
m e t h o d s r e a d y t o h i s ha n d s H ER S CH E L pre
s e nt s th e a lm o s t u n i q u e e x a m pl e of a n e a g e r
o b s e rv e r m ar s ha li ng th e m u lt i t u d e of s i ngl e
e

W
illi
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om o/tol

2 13

i n s t a n c e s w h i ch h e h i m s e l f ha s l ab or i o u s l y
g a t h e r e d i nt o a co m p ac t a n d p h i l o s o p h i c
who l e I n s pi t e of m i n or e r r o r s a nd d e fe c t s
h i s id e a s of th e n a t ur e of th e s id e r e a l u n i
v e r s e h av e p r e va i l e d a n d are t o d ay th e u n ac
k n ow l e d g e d b a s i s of ou r e v e ry t hou g h t u p o n
i t S o m e of i t s m o s t s e cr e t p roc e ss e s h av e
b e e n w o rk e d o ut b y h i m a n d th e p a t h s w h i ch
h e p o in t e d o ut are t ho s e a l o ng wh i ch o u r ad
va n c e s m u s t b e m a d e
I n co n c lu di ng t h i s co n d e n s e d acco u n t of
H ER S C H E L S s c i e nt i c l a b o r s i t b e hov e s u s t o
re m e mb e r t ha t t h e re wa s n o t h i ng du e t o ac
H e w a s b or n w i t h
e id e n t i n h i s l o ng l i f e
th e facu lt i e s w h i ch tt e d h i m f or th e g i g a n t i c
l ab o rs wh i ch h e u nd e r t ook a nd h e ha d th e
r m b a s i s of e n e rg y a n d p r in c ip l e wh i ch k e p t
h i m s t e a di l y t o h i s w o rk
A s a p rac t i c a l a st ro n o m e r h e r e m a i n s w i t h
o ut a n e q ua l I n p rofo un d p h i l o s o p hy h e ha s
fe w s u p e ri or s
B y a k ind l y cha n c e h e ca n b e
c l a i m e d a s th e c i t i z e n of n o on e cou n t ry I n
v e ry t ru t h h i s i s on e of th e fe w n a m e s w h i ch
b e l o ng t o th e w ho l e w o r l d
,

B I B L I O G RA PH Y

I L I S T OF
.

LIAM

T
E
C
S
J

PUB L I S H ED W R I T IN GS O F W I L
H ER S CH EL O N A S T R ONO M I CA L S UB
TH E

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t k n from FL A MS T EED S obs ti ons

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A rtis t

8 vo

a c e rs a n

su

I LL I A M H ER S C H EL [t r n l t d f om P bli
tli h Co
t
d pr int d in ZA C H S Mo
p rt i p 7 t q ]
8

by

se

1 867

c h,

Dr W

th e

Z ac h ( F

(R )

III

i l c t t r
[ P 4 t g ont in
n
on t r u ti on of th
h
St P t
b u g 847 8 o
u r la v o e

a re .

us

av e

ee

rav e

re

L is t

Portra its

33

R D ON F rom th p inting b y A BB OTT in

it G ll y Eng
th N ti on l Po t
JOS EP H B R OW N
T hi
P b li h d i m m oi of C A R OL I NE H ER S C H EL
8 o
b o t S f onti p i
i o f th d t
7 88 o t h
E ng
M d l li on
r C MULLER
A rti t
4 to
L ady

A rtis t

r ra

a e 1

e re a

ra v e

Ar

ss a

g ph
ra

ee

I N H AS

ece
e

Eng ra v er
Eng ra v er
G REV ED ON
.

A rtis t

A rtis t

g ph
ra

L it h og rap h
F 01 L it ho

4 to

L e g e n d in

4to

Eng ra v er F MULLER Fol

A BB OTT Eng r v er RY D ER Fol 1 7 88
n ra v e r
L
L
Y
E
F 1 1 82 2
B
I
O
g
J

A rtis t

A r tis t

u s

u i n
ti t B AI S C H

Eng ra v er

ra v e r,

A rtis t

er

GO

L it ho

Eng ra v er J

A rtis t

DBY

GO

Fol

S
a n ri g i n a l s al wi th a h ad S i r
E
M
w i c h i s sh wn
ti tl ag th i s w r A c ut
b n c u rt u l y fu r n i s d by J N B R
In
a b ust H E R E was a d by L E S i r W M W T
A i c tu r H E R E was a in t d by M A R T ab ut b gi nn i ng
A rtra i t H E R E by A
is i n
N ati n al P r tra i t all ry
hr
d u b t an y th r a i n t ngs i n E ng l an d th u gh I c a n
L nd n
n ti c s t
nly
R y al S c i t y L n d n n a rl y a u n d r d
rtra i s m st d s ng u i sh d m mb rs b ut wn s n n S i r W M
R

IL L I A

h as

L UT W

eo

1 8 19

nd

of

po

S C H EL .

S CH

S CH

of

t of I ts

e a re

h e se
o

S CH

no

i ti

T he

th e

A UD

r.

B BOT T

NI NG Es q
OCK I
for
,

e tc .

ILL IA

th e

h as

o e of

S ON

of

it

of

of

of

e of

OW

e -p

OH

on th e

me

he

of

po

h as

of

1 7 87

E RS c H E L ,

ee

I D G E,

IL L I A

ER

I ND EX

1V B

in the body

the warh on ly ,

a n d n ot to

i ry (S i G rg ) 7
li n (S i A r h i b l d)
r g (Fr n c i ) 49 8 3 9
A rt
d
4
63
6
A ub r t (A l x n d r) 5
B l dw in ( M i )
5
p h ) 5 6 5 8 64
B n k (S i J
l (F
B
37
7
B l gd n
57
B n p r t (N
l n) 8
B dl y (J m
5
53
B u h l (C
t
) 5
B lm n
6
5
B u n n (Ch v li r)
A
A
A

eo

so

o s

ose

e sse

11

12

o a
ra

22

a
'

20

1 0 1 , 1 02

as

11

1 00 et seq

18

rry)

57

1 19

e
e

rg

11

12 6

e sc

as

n (P
4
t ing (C
9
b rd n
64
88
l mh l t z
r h l (Ab r h m) [ 6 5
6
r h l (A l x n d r)

an se

e sc

12

D arq u ie r, 5 1 , 1 1 9
D A rre st
2 04
a e s (W
2 00
De L u c
64

D w

lil
rg III
r b

H
H
H
H
H

1 00, 1 02

Ga e o, so, 1 3 5
64 , 7 7 , 1 2 4,
Ge o e
,
G ie s ac h (Ge o e ) , 6 3
G rie sb ac h s ( th e ) , 6 2 , 1 06

1 07

Fa e ( ss) 3 8
Flau ge rgu e s
51
F em
( ss) 4 2
Fo e
12 4
Frau e nh of e r
19 5

111

12

p b ll (T h m )
ini (J
5
r p l y (M )
D l rym p l ( M ) 7 3
D A b l y (M d m )
D r lingt n (E r l f)
e

10
.

11

82 ,

1 0 5 , 1 06

1, 1

v on

Cam
Cass
C o

occu rr ing

12 0

r in lli M i
l ing M i
uri r

es

ou n

B am e

c eo

se

En ge l e ld (S ir H

( Mrs )

B ibliog raphy

D oll on d

1, 1

ss

111

the

DeL u c

11

au

T his index is in te nded to ref er to the proper na mes

NA MES

OF

H
H

e
e

r
r

1 4,

[ 1 74 5
15,

35,

3 8 . 4 1 . 5 7 . 6 1 . 6 2 . 66 . 7 2 ,
7 3 , 1 14
sc h e ( B e
j am ) , 7
sc h e ( Ca o
a) [ 1 7 5 0
1 84 8 ]
2 , I O, 1 1 , 1 2 , 1 6 , 2 3 , 2 9

l
l

r lin

in

35

N
a m es
f

I n dex

6
3

i vr

3 3 , 4 1 , 4 3 , 6 8 ; d sc o e s
v e c om e s, 6 9 , 7 0 , 7 8 ,

l (W illi m) h i mu i l
w r i t ing 6
tudi S m i th h rm ni
d pti
8
v i i t H n v r Augu t
m ll t l
hir
p
37
m k
hi r t t l
p
( 7 7 4) 3 8
vi it H n v r ( 775 4
t r vi w
f th h v

e sch e

s, 2

115

l (C r lin )
d
u
t
9
q

e sch e

a o

o e

H
H
H
H

H
H
H

h e r l em oir

3. 2 3. 2 9 ,
5 7 . 6 1 . 63 .

3 1 . 34 . 3 6 . 4 1 .
64 . 6 5 . 7 0 . 7 4
sc h e
( e c h ), 9

r
r
r
r
r
r

e sc
e sc
e sc

e sc

e sc

l D i tri
h l ( Eu b i u ) 7
h l (H n ) i
h l (I
) 7 7
8
9
h l (J
b) [ 7 3 4
6
3 3
h l (S i
J h Fr
W illi m ) [ 7 9
e

se

1 1,

7,

o n

e de

ri k
c

80,

1 05 ,

1 14,

12

6,

7,

12

l (L dy) 8
3
h l (M j r J h )
M ry C rn w lli )
h l (M
h l ( S ph i
E li z b th ) b
7 3 3 m rr i d Gr i b h
r h l (W illi m ) b r 7 3 8
N v mb r 5
b i t in th b n d f th
dg
Gu r d
th
r t
t Engl n d f
ti m r t u rni g in 7 5 6
6
rt f r m th Gu rd
d
d g
t
Engl d
7
rg ni z th b n d f th
D rh m m ili t i
8
l v th b d d li v
w ith D r M ill r 9
l d th p ub li
rt
d H li
t W k ld
f
rg ni t tH li f x ( 7 6 5 )
rg i t f th O t g n
Ch p l tB th (
4

r
r
r
r

e sc h e

e sc

a o

e sc

rs

e sc

1 02

0,

o n

ac

es

I0

e sc

o e

or

es

an

oe s
I

ea es

ea

ax, 2 0
a

22

es

c on c e

an

an

oe s

an

e se

an

e,

IO

o o s

o n

an

an s

e a

c a

es

e e sc o

e,

e e sc o

o e

e n s,

ea

39 , 73
2 d re v ie w 0 f th c h e av e n s , 7 3
of th e h e a e s
3d e e
I
8
7
3). 7 3
(
of th e h e ave s
4th e e
(I 7 8 S ). 74

r vi w
r vi w

ma

vn

ac

12 2

12

mo

e e sc o

e s,

es

tl

e of

75 7 7
1 2 3 , 1 2 4,

nuf tu r

40 5 9

10

o e

es

I s

es

ac o

c s, 2

1 0,

11,

saa c

1 0,

c rca

1 03 ,

s ca

es

an

5,

12

6,

12

Ne w K ing S t

to 1 9

t
n u t r t ri f H
b gin t r n m i l m
( 7 7 9 % 44
in
P
h
il
p
h
i
l
i
t
y
S
j
f B th 4 5
r t p ub li h d i nti
w r i t i g ( 7 7 9 ) 46
r t m m u ni t i n t th
R y l S i ty
47
di
v ry f U
( 78
M r h 49
ff t
hi
r r
it
53
l t d m m b r f th
R y l S i ty
d r
i v th C p l y
m d l 56
t t m p t th i r t y f t
t
59
g
t
L nd n
78
(M y J u n J u l y ) 6
pp int d R y l A t
67
m
78
r m v t D t h t 7 82
67
A ugu t
B a h , 43
co d c s o
de l, 4 3

a o

os o

an

o o

ca

eas

s as

oso

sc e

o a

ra n u s

a c

oc e

sc o e

ca

co

oc e

ca

1,

ec

on

ca ee

e ec e

o a

an

e,

re

a c

o a

o es

oo

er

e c or,

es

oe s

oc e

ec e

s ron o

N
a m es
f

I n dex
H

i du i t y
7
77
h i m h ni l g n u
4
t f hi t l p 77
M J h n Pi tt
m rr i
B l dw in
8
8
nl y h il d b r
r m v t S l ugh ( 7 86 )

e rsc h e

l (W illi
2

c os

rs

es

n ee

e s,

un t

7S 6 47
of th e disc ov
I

ac c o

of

e ry

M rh
vr
di

t lli t

tw o sa e

sc o e s

Ura n u s

1 787,

to

es

11,

an .

o sa e

a u rn ,
e

oo

e e sc o

12 1

or

ec o s

es

ac

12

es

e,

ca

er

11

1 00 e

e a

a ac e

as

a o

e so

s s e

1,

e s

s s an c e

sc

se

s co e

porarie s , 8 5 8 6 , 8 7 , 9 1 ,
9 4. 9 5 . 9 6 . 9 7 . 9 8. 9 9
is of
i i
s
e a
to
h im an d to h is
o
s,
,

w r t ng r l t ing
w rk
5
h i li t r ry k ill 4 5
x mpl
f hi
ty l
83 t q
f il r
f h l th
t
r t d K nigh t f th
R y l H n v ri n
Gu l p h i O r d r
.

l t

22

e a

se

u e

C ea e

ea

1 12

o a

115

es

ca

11

11

2 1

o s, 1 1

sc e

an

es

a a

s a s,

e se a c

e se a c

e su n , 1

e se a c

so a

c on

ea

e as

c e es

ces

s a

es

e tc

1 76

e se a c h e s

on

e se a c
,

t e

es

s a s,

ac e ,

on

es

na

an

e s

s e

e n s,

on

es

e s,

sa e

e s on

e se a c

on

es

s a s,

s,

e ss o

s a s

sc a e

e e

e a

o e

12 1

sc e

s e

oc e

ea

es

o a

rs

sc o

sc o e s

i v r tw t lli t t
S t
7 8 9 A ugu t
S pt m b r
5
i v n t m h in f m k
ing r t r
4
b g n f rty f t t l p
7 8 5 ni h d i t
7 89
b i gr ph i l l tt r
3
li t f p ub li h d p r t r i t
f h im
3
v lu f h i i t r
i t
t h im 34
l tt r t C r lin H
6 3 64
h l 6
4
pr nl hr tr
hi
t
( 7 86
q
hi r l ti n t hi
tm
d

Uran u s ( 1 7 8 1

a c

84

l (S i W illi m ) t pr i
d n t f th R y l A t r
n m i l S i ty
5
h i w ill
4
h i d t h A u gu t
5 th
p i t ph 7
hi
li t f h i i n t i wr it
ing 5
r vi w f h i i nti
lb r 8
th
i m pr v m n t f t l
p
pp r t u
d
r l t i v b r igh t n f
th
t r ; v ri bl
th
tr 3
d ub l
r rh
t r 34
r rh
pl n t d
t lli t 4
r rh
th
tur
86
f th
45
98
h
f
l r
th
m ti n
y t m in p
49
th
r rh
t ru t i n f th b v
54
l f l ti l m
u r ; di t n
f th
tr 7
r rh
l igh t h t
s,

e sc h e

11

o n

LL D

h is

s, 1

o es

81

ass

e e sc o

ca

ec

h is
79 . 8 1

am

37

ea

th e dim e n

on

i n f th t r 9 3
p t r f th
th
x d t r 9 5
th
v ri b l m i i n
ligh t d h t f r m
tii
98
r rh
nb l d
lu t r
H u ygh n
89
5
K ing G rg III 6 4 7 7 4
s o

s o

on

on

e se a c

eo

ea

u a

an

0, 1

ss o

e s on

s e s , 2 02

an

e su n ,

12

ec

s a s,

e s a s,

12

L ac aill e (N
1 56
L al an de (J e r om e) 2 8
.

2 02

1 2 4, 1 5 6

I n dex

8
3

L am b e r t
L asse ll

Mi

L ee (
L ch e
L d(

1 53
1 43

ss

61
(H
an d

on

as

on

o n

11

en

o eo
o

19 1, 19 2

Olb r

e s

(W

illi

se

10

1 56

111

saac

95

Pab ric h (Cappelm e iste r) 7

Pa m e s o ( L o d) 64
ose ph ) , 7 5 , 9 5
Pa
P e c e Ch a e s
132
P o
1 19

l rt n r
i zz i
ir
rl
ig tt
.

1,

93

1,

wb
rt J
i t Dr R b rt
rr
t ru v O tt

S ch a e
2 01
h o ( am e s) , 1 2 0
m h (
o e ), 2 8
S n e tz le r ( H e ) , 2 0, 2 1
S
e (
o v on) , 1 2 9

saac

n (T h

T h om so

r t

V e de
19 0

om a s

95

1 88 .

in r ig t
l
lnl
t n
illi
tt J
l
il n l x n r
h (B r n
) 69

h
20
Wa w
\Va sh ( Co o e ) 6 2
am ) ,
W a so
( S ir W
44, 5 8
60. 6 4 . 6 5 . 66 . 6 7 . 7 5 . 7 6
W a ( am e s) , 1 06
12 6
W e d
W so (A e a de ) , 5 2 , 9 4, I 46
.

oe e

am

20

e o

12 2

e sc

2 0, 2 1 , 2 2

o so

62 ,

2 02

e ss e

ecc

1,

an

osse

1 8 8.

R n z ni (S ign r) 5 9
R ( L rd)
7
S v ry
39
h i (A g l )
S
95
96
S h in r
99
S hr t r
5
77
o

Pogge n dorff (

i t nb rg rr) 3
in D r
69
L g
35
M g ll n (H rr) 3 7 8
M k l yn (N v il) 5 5 5 7
M y r (Ch r i t i ) 9 4 5 3
M ll i
86
M ir
M i h ll (J h ) 5 9 4 3 7
M ill r
9
Mn n
5
M r it z (A nn I l ) n I
H r h l 7 8
Np l nI 8
N w t n (S i I ) 8 9
e

N
a m es
f

Z ac

T H E END .

a o

v on