Caroline Herschel
CAROLINE HERSCHEL.
Is there anything favorable to longevity in the study of Astronomy? Two ladies in recent times have attained
universal celebrity for their knowledge of the heavenly bodies, Caroline Herschel and Mrs. Somerville, both of
whom lived to an extraordinary age. Mrs. Somerville died at ninety-two, and Miss Herschel at ninety-eight:
and both of them appear to have had lives as happy as they were long.
Imagine Caroline Herschel, first of all, as a very little German girl, seven years of age, living at Hanover in her
father's house, with plenty of brothers and sisters about her. Her father was a musician and brought up all his
children to music. It appears to have been a musical race, for we hear of a good many Herschels, musicians, and about the courts of George the Second and George the
Third, kings of Hanover and England. She grew up, then, in an atmosphere of music ; and, about the time of
her birth, her brother William, a boy of fourteen, obtained the appointment of' flageolet player in the king's own
hand—a joyful event, doubtless, in the poor musician's large family.
But Caroline is seven years of age, and an event is about to take place in the household the opposite of joyful.
Her brother, William, a youth now of nineteen, is going to England, in quest of better fortune. He departs, and
the affairs of the family resume their usual course. Letters arrive, from time to time, from the adventurer in
England relating his good and ill fortune, and meanwhile Caroline grows up to womanhood. She is twenty-two
years of age, when word comes from her brother that he is well established at Bath as organist and music-master,
and that he would gladly have his sister come to him and preside over his home.
She joins him at Bath, then in the full tide of its prosperity as a fashionable watering-place. Her brother, as I
have before related, shared this prosperity, played the organ at a church, gave lessons and concerts, and had
some leisure left for reading and study. Both sister and brother became enthusiastic students of astronomy through
the lectures and writings of Ferguson, the popular astronomer of that day. The brother makes a telescope for
himself; makes another; succeeds very happily; makes dozens and scores of telescopes; and among others, makes
one for his sister, Caroline, with which she begins to scrutinize the heavens. She discovers a comet, to her
great delight. This success leads her to sweep the whole heavens in search of comets, and by the time she had
reached middle life she had discovered eight, five of which had never before been observed.
Meanwhile her brother, from making telescopes turns more and more to using them, and becomes the most diligent, resolute, and successful observer in Europe; discovers a planet ; becomes famous all over the world ;
receives a pension and a house from the king of England ; and brother and sister go to live in the house near Windsor, almost in the shadow of Windsor Castle, the king's
own abode. There is not a happier pair in the world than they, for it seems their burning zeal for astronomy had much embarrassed their affairs, and their good fortune came just in time to save them from ruin. So, at
least, Madame D'Arblay says, who was then attached to the court, and occasionally visited them.
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"Mr. Herschel," she says," is perfectly unassuming, yet openly happy, and happy in the success of those studies which would render a mind less excellently formed presumptuous and arrogant. The king has not a happier
subject than this man, who owes wholly to his majesty that he is not wretched ; for, such was his eagerness to quit all other pursuits to follow astronomy solely, that he was in danger of ruin, when his great and uncommon genius
attracted the king's patronage."
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Very soon Miss Herschel had the pleasure of showing her comet to the king and royal family. It became,
indeed, a common thing for the Herschel's to be invited to the castle to display some of the wonders they had
discovered. Madame D'Arblay once was asked by the princess Augusta to go into the garden and take a peep at
"Miss Herschel's comet," and she gladly accepted the invitation.
"We found Mr. Herschel at his telescope," she reports, "and I mounted some steps to look through it. The comet was very small, and had nothing grand or striking in its appearance; but it is the first lady's comet, and I was very desirous to see it."
The same interesting diarist describes Caroline Herschel as very small in stature, very gentle in her manners,
perfectly modest as to her acquirements, as well as frank and ingenuous. Her manners were those of a person
unaccustomed to the great world, not at all afraid of it, yet desirous both to enjoy and return its good will. It
was as though she had said to the princes and nobles who came to her house: " I give you a hearty welcome.
I am glad to see you, but my brother and my telescope are sufficient for me."
"Are you still comet hunting," Madame D'Arblay asked, "or are you now content with the moon ?"
"I have charge of the moon," said Dr. Herschel, "but I leave it to my sister to sweep the heavens for comets."
But while each had particular and favorite objects, they worked habitually in concert, and they invented a mode
of doing this with effect. The great telescope which the king enabled Herschel to construct was set up in the
garden of their house. When the night was favorable for observations, he would muffle himself up in warm clothing and take his scat at the mighty instrument, while she sat in the nearest room, pen iii hand, to record
his observations. To facilitate the business they had a system of signs and signals of such a nature that the
record was made instantaneously and exactly, he having his eye at the telescope, and she hers upon the chronometer. This system was the more important, as in England
there are only a very few hours in a month when good observations can be taken. If William Herschel was one of the most successful of astronomical explorers he
owed very much of his success to the sympathy and the intelligent cooperation of his sister Caroline. It was a common occurrence for her early visitors to be told that
"Miss Herschel had been engaged at the telescope all night and had just gone to bed."
Besides assisting to produce her brother's catalogue of stars, she published at length a supplementary catalogue
of her own, which contained five hundred and sixty stars not previously recorded in similar works. It was
published at the expense of the Royal Society, of which she was afterwards elected a member. Mrs. Somerville and
herself were elected members on the same day, two illustrious ladies, the first of their sex to win this distinction.
In 1822 her brother died, leaving one son, John, aged thirty-one. She was then seventy-two years of age.
Soon after the death of her brother she went back to her native Hanover, where she lived for the rest of her life.
On her ninety-eighth birthday, she was still in the enjoyment of her mental faculties and a comfortable degree
of health. That day was celebrated at Hanover with eclat. A lady who lived near her, wrote to her English
nephew, Sir John Herschel:
"Upon passing her door I first saw a beautiful and most comfortable velvet arm-chair, a cake, and a magnificent nosegay carried up to her, and soon after met the
gracious donor, our kind crown-princess, with the crown-prince and the royal child, driving to her house. They
staid nearly two hours, Miss Herschel conversing with them without relaxation, and even singing to them a composition of Sir William Herschel, ' Suppose we sing a catch. The king sent his message by Countess Grote. On the seventeenth I found her more revived than
exhausted, in a new gown and smart cap. I ran over (since writing the last sentence) to ask for Miss Herschel's
own message, before I send. I am to give her best love to her clear nephew, niece, and the children, and to say
that she often wished to be with them, often felt alone, did not quite like old age with its weaknesses and infirmities, but that she, too, sometimes laughed at the world,
liked her meals, and was satisfied with (her servant) Betty's services."
The cheerful old lady lived ten months longer, enjoying life to her last day, January 9, 1848. She suffered
little even during her last hours, and softly breathed out her life without an effort. The guns seven hours before
her death announced the birth of a princess. She opened her eyes for the last time, recognized the happy
event, fell again into sleep, and so passed away. Few ladies have been either able or disposed to sing a song
on their ninety-eighth birthday
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