, 1876-04-29
CAHOgGNE uuEIeSCIIEL.

\ paper in Temple Br on Caroline Her
Schcl (sistcr Of the great astronomer Sir
William Hcrschcl,) which was prompted 10y
the recent publication ot the memoirs and
Correspondence" of this gifted lady, is OF
great int rest. We select from it few pas
sages illustrative of the sisters remarkable
devotion to her brother;
Entire umconsciousncss of any worth or
merit in herself was one of her remarkable
characteristics She was endowed with n
royal instinct for serving Others to the ut
most of her powers, doing this ms n simple
matter of course, feeling only that all she
could do was much less than was needed.
This sense of short coming was q constant
source of regret and etfcclunlly checked all
emotions of clf,compHccncy. The one ruling
idea that governed her whole lite was to
work wherever she was placed and to obey
those in authority over her, The daughter
of soldier, the spirit OF discipline was born
with her. Her obedience, however, was not
from cunStruint or feeling Of scrvilude-
she willingly Offered herself for the
service of those who had II claim upon her
services, and her sympathy with whatever
work she had in hand gave to all she dld the
freedom which works from love. From early
chilhood she took on herself the weight of
the family cares and OnNictics which she only
dimly comprchended, but which she felt, be-
cause they troubled her parents. y
But the deep wcll.spring of love and self.
devotion which lay in the heart of Caroline
IIerschcl never went forth from its innost
depths, except toward her brother William.
Her whole life and being were given to him,
and throughout the record she gives of the
period while they were together he seems to
have been entirely worthy of her love. The
incidental light thrown upon his character
by his sisters memoirs reveals nature so
noble that his gmndC,t discoveries and great
achievements in science seem only the natu-
raj growth and outcome of the noble inner
life from which they sprung The love OF
music in William lIersrhel was only second
TO his love of science. He had already begun
to invent wonderful instruments for obscrv-
ing and measuring the distances Of stars, ETC.;
more and more time was gradually taken
fiom music TO be devoted to astronomy.
Caroline was quietly expected to nsSist him
She hnd to learn, as well as she could, the
mysteries Of lOgnrithms, calculations, how to
compute distances, and how to reduce side
real time into mean time, and other things
still more abstrusc, which, to ond unlcarned,
sounds more like making incnnta,ions than
anything else. Caroline lIcrschel learned to
do all this, and more! In letter, written
long years after, she says; "NIy dear broth
er, William, was my only teacher, and we
began generally with what we should have
ended, he supposing | knew all that went
before; and perhaps | might have done so
once, but my memory he used to compare
with sand, in which everything could be in
scribed. but rs easily cfnced.' 1t was only
ut odd times and mt meals that she was able
10 obtain even this iragmcntary instruction.
She owns to never having been able to say
the multiphcation-table, but carrying a
copy in her pocket for reference. Her Indus
try and truly German perseverance carried
her through these seemingly impossible tasks
The second brother, Alexander Hcrschel, Il
man of rare gits, both as musician an 0
mechaniCian, wns'a very efficient assistant tC
his brother; but he was not endowed Will
patience, and could not be kept long con
fined to the same occupation. 1t was there
fore, to Caroline that her brother turned fo
help in the construction of the tools ant
woodwork Tor grinding and polishing lense
and mirrors etc. Ii was she Who made tn
pasteboard tube that was to hold the frs
large mirror, and the dexterity of her fingers
and the desire to he useful, which as lttl
child, helped her to make " bags and sword
knots" made her now, as she expresses il
almost as useful as a boy in tho first yea
of his apprenticeship