New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-08-09
THE UERSCUEIS AND Won LIEBIG

In Maxwell Is shown the Of a man Of
genius. whose bent was decided from his earliest
wears In the Hersches Sir William and his de-
voted sister Caroline and his son Sir John, al
most anything might have been predicted OF
them rather than that they should be the fore
most group of astronomers OF their age. Sir
William might have lived and died clever mu-
stefan. his sister might have been known only as
a good housekceper, and his son only as man OF
great and versatile powers of mind If it had not
been for an Unforeseen series Of Incidents. As a
boy William Hershel showed great aptitude in
learning. Necessity made him an oboist in the
military band which his father led. Even when
he escaped from the Hanoveran service TO Eng
land his life seemed marked out for him. First
a performer various Instruments then an or
ganist and finally director of the public concerts
az Bath: by the time he reached the last post he
was man in middle life and nobody knew more
Of him than that he expert linguist
well as a musician. Few imagined that 1t
his desire to learn everything. and that he
knowing in mathematics as in languages. When
he came to astronomy in his review of sciences.
he paused with decision to learn all about It.
Books failed HIM. He determined 10 things
with his eyes. Then telescopes failed him.
and he decided to make his own. In a compare
lively short time he made better telescopes than
had ever been known before. 1t was indispensable
that he should have better Instruments for
he had once aimed at a review OF all sciences, so
now be aimed to review the whole heaven. One
night while he was studying the moon with a
seven foot reflector Of his own making an in
qusitve gentleman came by. asked for the priv
ilege of look. and the next day he again
to begin friendship which was lifelong, and
which introduced Hersche to the scientists Of
g
meeting with Sir William Watson helped to de-
termine Herschel's future.
Then came the discovery Of the planet
Uranus Fellowship in the Royal Society,
and finally the position of Royal Astronomer As
a musician he was at the head Of his profess
sion in Great Britain. but he abandoned it all
for salary of 900 year grant Of e. 900
for new telescope and annual allowance of
goo TO keep it in repair improved the affairs
OF the enthusiastic astronomer Fortunately
he did not have to hire expert assistant. His
sister with versatility equal to his own, be-
came a skilful compliant and finally a dis
coverer on her own account. She never studied
astronomy in books But she learned it by
incessant practice never allowing new fact TO
escape till she had noted ii in q commonplace
book Her record a dsrovcrer of comets
would have made the repute Of any ordinary
astronomer in her time. and yet her only care
for the science due to her devotion to her
brother. To her. well TO him. is due
however. the fame OF his work; for without her
he could never have accomplished the tremen-
dous task Of outlining the study which astrono-
ners since his time have been busily filling M
with details. The magnitude Of this labor cast
a heritage of astronomical investigation upon
his son, whose preferences young scholar
seem to have been for mathematics His ia
Their wished him TO enter the Church; he chose
law but his thoughts turned to natural philoso-
ply. At first he took up chemistry and optics
but he found that he could not let star-gazing-
his phrase-alone in a household where
little else mentioned. The absorption of the
father determined the lifework of the son, who
confessed that his mind of the desultory
sort Yet his present hiographer Insists that If
"the whole Of Sir John Herschels astronomical
career he obliterated and the whole OF his con-
tribution u pure mathematics be forgotten he
would still merit celebrity as n physicist" That
U.s. he had in full degree the versatility OF his
father He had considerable talent as a poet
too. his translation OF the Had into English
heXameters being remarkable for Its faithful
ness But these would not have created the
romantic figure In science which his long study
OF the Southern sky from "A tenn orary observa-
tory at the Cape OF Good Hope made him
Turning from Maxwell and the HcTschels to
Justus Won Liebig. come ugon one OF those
traditional figures In literature or science who
are supposed at the outset to be mere ounces.