Memoir and Correspondence of Caroline HerschelHerschel, John, Mrs.
History
Memoir and Correspondence of Caroline Herschel
Herschel, John, Mrs.
Herschel, Caroline Lucretia, 1750-1848
This evening, as the King and Queen are gone to Kew, the Princesses were
desirous of seeing my telescope, but wanted to know if it was possible
to see without going out on the grass, and were much pleased when they
heard that my telescope could be carried into any place they liked best
to have it. About 8 o’clock it was moved into the Queen’s apartments,
and we waited some time in hopes of seeing Jupiter or Saturn. Meanwhile
I showed the Princesses, and several other ladies who were present, the
speculum, the micrometers, the movements of the telescope, and other
things that seemed to excite their curiosity. When the evening appeared
to be totally unpromising, I proposed an artificial Saturn as an object,
since we could not have the real one. I had beforehand prepared this
little piece, as I guessed by the appearance of the weather in the
afternoon we should have no stars to look at. This being accepted with
great pleasure, I had the lamps lighted up which illuminated the picture
of a Saturn (cut out in pasteboard) at the bottom of the garden wall.
The effect was fine, and so natural that the best astronomer might have
been deceived. Their royal highnesses and other ladies seemed to be much
pleased with the artifice.
I remained in the Queen’s apartment with the ladies till about half
after ten, when in conversation with them I found them extremely well
instructed in every subject that was introduced, and they seemed to be
most amiable characters. To-morrow evening they hope to have better
luck, and nothing will give me greater happiness than to be able to show
them some of those beautiful objects with which the heavens are so
gloriously ornamented.
Sir William Watson returned to Bath after a fortnight or three weeks’
stay. From him we heard that my brother was invited to Greenwich with
the telescope, where he was met by a numerous party of astronomical and
learned gentlemen, and trials of his instrument were made. In these
letters he complained of being obliged to lead an idle life, having
nothing to do but to pass between London and Greenwich. Sir William
received many letters which he was so kind as to communicate to us. By
these, and from those to Alexander or to me, we learned that the King
wished to see the telescope at Windsor. At last a letter, dated July 2,
arrived from Therese, and from this and several succeeding ones we
gathered that the King would not suffer my brother to return to his
profession again, and by his writing several times for a supply of money
we could only suppose that he himself was in uncertainty about the time
of his return.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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