... Now let me reply to your two letters of August 26 and October 10, the last of which, being so entirety in your old style, made us very happy. I now go so little to London, and then only on the business of the Royal Society respecting this magnetic expedition, that it has not yet been practicable for me to call on Dr. Küper, whom I well remember, however, at Cumberland Lodge, and since. As to sending either of our boys to Germany, it is time enough, as W. is yet only six years old, and I assure you he is now learning German very fast. M. desires me to tell you, in answer to your question whether she preserves your letters, that she does so, most carefully. She is sorry she omitted saying so in her last in which she replied to everything else. So do I, you may be sure. The Fables arrived safe, and W. must thank you for them himself, as well as for your care of him in Hanover. I had the honour to meet at dinner, at Sir Gore Ouseley’s, the other day, H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge. He was very particular in his enquiries after you. He is quite well, and his affable and agreeable manners make him generally beloved. Your letter of October 10th relieved us of much uneasiness, after the alarming account with which the former one was filled. When you once more begin to write about _die Gelehrten_, &c., I know all is well. So God bless you, and believe me, Dear Aunt, your affectionate nephew, J. F. W. HERSCHEL. [Sidenote: 1840. _Anecdote of the Old Telescope._] MISS HERSCHEL TO LADY HERSCHEL. _Jan. 10, 1840_. MY DEAREST NIECE,— * * * * * Perhaps you may have heard that in the early part of its [the forty-foot telescope’s] existence, “God save the King” was sung in it by the whole company, who got up from dinner and went into the tube, among the rest two Misses Stows, the one a famous pianoforte player, some of the Griesbachs, who accompanied on the oboe, or any instrument they could get hold of, and I, you will easily imagine, was one of the nimblest and foremost to get in and out of the tube. But now!—lack-a-day!—I can hardly cross the room without help. But what of that? Dorcas, in the _Beggar’s Opera_, says, “One cannot eat one’s cake and have it too!”... I will only thank you once more for your charming letter, and beg to be kindly remembered to all who are dear to you, and to give an embrace extraordinary to the dear little ones around you, and not forgetting to include my _dear_ nephew in the general hug! and believe me, My dearest niece, Yours and his most affectionate aunt, CAR. HERSCHEL.