New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-01-21
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
nom az HpRsCHEL.

nrp WILLIAM HERsCBEL: HIS LIE AM MUnAS
~ aSwsaD p ssS Charles ser0nsi
sons IN. -.
The author Of this little volume frankly tells us
chat satisfactory life OF the great astronomer eau
x,ot be written at present. because the materials
,,,sse,vsd At the family seat in England are not
oman TO examination. As two generations nave
rasaed since Herschsps death, and no biography ex
ists which approaches 70 completeness be Thinks
however that no apology il needed for conscieh-
lions attempt 20 mako the best use OF the scsnty
material available. Nearly oil of this materi reases
70 she side Of Herscheps career which belongs 10 ING
pubhe OF his private life little can be written un-
ell the family consent to aid the task OF tne dog
rapher with the journals and correspondence In
their keeping The world would gladly kno"
great deal of the home ways and thoughts Oh one ol
its most profound philosophers but Tor the present
II must be content with the scanty stock
Mt information which Professor Holden
has gathered. When the barren region OF
the sky near the body of Scorpo was passing slowly
through the field OF Herscheps great reflector dur
ing one of his surveys Of the heavens he exclaimed:
"Hisr st ,oahrhaftig eia Loeb i'm HmHeI "A-here u
in truth hole in the sky The author appropriateS
fs,sse words TO express his own sense OF the
a,sence of light aud knowledge concerning the
astronomer. From the memoir and correspondence
Of Carolina Herschel, edited by Mary CORVALLIS
and published in London in 1875, from the brief
Biographical memorandum prepared by himself in
1918, and from his scientific writings and memoirs
and the diaries of his contemporaries small stock
of interesting data gathered for the present vol
ume; and to this is added thoughtful and com.
prehensiye view of his scientific labors and list OF
his published writings on astronomical SUBJECTS
This is very little but have reason to be thank
ful that 80 much concerning the life OF this great
explorer and student Of the heavens has been col
! lected and put in the convenient shape of single
volume.
The few gllmpses afforded Of the astronomers per-
sonal pecuIIarities we get chiefly from the memoirs
of Carolina, the younger sister, whose devotion and
rare intelligence we're of invaluable assistance to
him in his researches. She it is who tells us how
his musical studies led him to astronomy. He was
musician by profession, belonged with bis father
and his brothers, Jacob and William. to the band
of the Kings Hanoverian Guards as an ObOist at
the age of seventeen and at nineteen left Hanover
TO avoid further military service and went to Eng
land. He made his way in the world as player
and composer and it was when settled at Bath as
organist of the Octagon Chapel that no was led by
the study of Robert Smiths HarmoRics TO read the
same authors work onsOptics. The sister says that
he used to retire to bed with basin of milk and
glass of water, and Smfths HdrmoRics and Optics
Fergusons Astronomy and other books, and so 60 TO
sleep buried under his favorite authors. When he
rose in the morning his first thoughts were to obtain
instruments for viewing those objects himself OF
which he had been reading. With what zeal and
Persistence he devoted himself to making such
instruments all the world knows. Carolina,
who helped her brother both in polishing the mir
rors and in copying his music had often to feed
him by putting bits of victuas into his mouth for at
times when engrossed in his work he would not
IL, ksc aAnla npnn
finishing a seven-foot mirror he did not take his
hands from it for sixteen hours together. When
seated at dinner be would frequently engage in
drawing some object that came in his mind. Gener-
ally while he was at the turning-lathe she read to
him from ." Don Quixote." the Arabian Nights"
or the novels Of Sterne and Fielding.
From Bath Herschel removed to Datchet, in 1882,
after his discoveries had gained for him fame and
Court favor. The place looked desoate to Carolina,
but the brother delighted in laundry which
would serve as a library, stable which was just
the place for grinding mirrors, and grass plat
for his small twentyfoot reflector There they set
to work anew the brother on new telescope. and
the sister aidlug him and at odd times sweeping the
heavens for comets. She the first discoverer Of
no fewer than fiye In 1888 Herschel. then forty
Eve years old, married the daughter of James
Baldwin, q London merchant, and the widow Of
John Pitt. She Is described as a lady of
singular amsbilty and genteness of character, who
interested herself In his scientific pursuits and
brought him jointure which relieved him from all
trouble about money affairs. They had one child.
Frederick William, born in 1892. In 1875 the fam
lily moved to Clay Hall, Old Windsor. and In the fol-
loving year to Slough. where the astronomer built
an observatory, and where he remained until his
death in 1922. at the age of eghty-fCur. His later
years were almost wholly devoted to his observatory
labors delightful picture of him in his old age is
gwen by the poet Campbell in one of his letters,
from which the following is an extract:
Now for the old astronomer himself His sim
pliclrv his Kindness his anecdotes, his readiness TO
expain-and make perfectly conspicuous, tOo-his
own sublime conceptions OF the universe are nde-
scrbably charming. He is seventy-six, but fresh
and stout and there he sat- nearest the door, at his
friends house, alternately smiling at Joke or con-
fentsdy sitting without share or notice in the con-
yersatiOp Any train of conversation he follows i'm
plctiy; ANYTHING you ask, he labors with sort of
boysh earnestness to explain:
was anxious to get from him as many particulars
as could about bis interview with Benaparte. !
The latter, 1t was reported had astOnIshed him by 4
his astronomical knowledge.
by his quckness and versatility all subjects but
In science be seemed to know little more than any
weil-edncated gentleman, and OF astronomy much
less. for instance than our own King. His general
air. he said. (" was something like affecting TO know
more than he did know He was high. and tried to
and !. remarked said the astronomer, :" his hy-
pocrisy in concluding the conversation on astron-
Uroaf 81 q an Almighty WISDOM asked him Il he
thought the system of Laplace to be quite certain,
with regard 70 the total security Of the planetary
system from the effects of grayitation losing it's
present ba1ancef he said No; he thought by no
means that the universe was securedfrom thechance
of sudden losses Of parts.
lie was convinced that there had existed planet
between Mars and jupiter. IN our own system. OF
covered are Individually fragments; and Remem-
ber,n eaid he, " that though they have discovered
only four of those parts, there will be thousands-
perhaps 10000 more-yet discovered This planet