Memoir and Correspondence of Caroline HerschelHerschel, John, Mrs.
History
Memoir and Correspondence of Caroline Herschel
Herschel, John, Mrs.
Herschel, Caroline Lucretia, 1750-1848
persisted to the end in ridiculing the bare suggestion that the Rosse
telescope could by any possibility be so good as _the_ forty-foot. The
homage paid to her as a _savante_ amused as well as gratified her. “You
must give me leave to send you any publication you can think of,” she
wrote to her nephew, “without mentioning anything about paying for them.
For it is necessary I should every now and then lay out a little of my
spare cash in that for the sake of supporting the reputation of being a
learned lady (there is for you!), for I am not only looked at for such a
one, but even stared at here in Hanover!” Her deprecation of the
membership of the Irish Academy, conferred on one who for so many years
had “_not even discovered a comet_,” was thoroughly sincere as well as
characteristic, but she found pleasure in receiving the homage which was
naturally paid to her; no man of any scientific eminence passed through
Hanover without visiting her; from the Royal Family she received the
most kind and graceful attentions; and it became a matter of public
concern to note the presence of the well-known tiny figure at the
Theatre, where her constant appearance in extreme old age was in itself
a marvel. The frugal simplicity of her habits made it a positive
perplexity to dispose of her income; she protested that £50 a-year was
all she could manage to spend on herself, and she pertinaciously
resisted receiving the pension of £100 per annum left to her by her
brother, often devoting the quarterly or half-yearly payment to the
purchase of some handsome present for her nephew or niece. She wrote
full instructions and made the most careful arrangements for every
detail of business in connection with her own burial and the disposal of
her property—that is of the little she reserved, for her generosity
towards her relations was as great as the expenditure on herself was
small.
In these last remarks I have anticipated events, and must now return to
the year 1822, when the correspondence begins.
[Sidenote: 1822. _Journey to Hanover._]
FROM MISS HERSCHEL TO LADY HERSCHEL.
ROTTERDAM, _Monday, Oct. 21, 1822_.
DEAR LADY HERSCHEL,—
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account