The matter was thus allowed to rest until the middle of the present century, when Lassell, in the pure sky at Malta, endeavored to reobserve the satellites with a two-foot reflector. This instrument was considered superior to Herschel's telescope; and the atmosphere at this station being decidedly more suitable for such delicate observations than in England, it was removed there for the express purpose of dealing successfully with objects of extreme difficulty. The results were very important. Mr. Lassell became convinced that Uranus had only four satellites, and that if any others existed they remained to be discovered. Two of these were found to be identical with those seen by Herschel in 1787, and now called Titania and Oberon. The other two, Ariel and Umbriel, could not be identified with any of those alleged to have been previously detected by Herschel, so that the inference was that they were new bodies, and that the priority of discovery was due to Mr. Lassell; whence it also followed that the older observations were erroneous, and that in fact Herschel had been entirely mistaken with regard to the four satellites he believed he had detected subsequently to 1787. In November, 1873, a fine twenty-six-inch object glass, by Alvan Clark, was mounted at the U. S. Naval Observatory at Washington, and it was soon employed upon the difficult task of solving the problem as to the exact periods of the Uranian satellites. This was very satisfactorily effected, and with distinct and conclusive favor to Mr. Lassell, whose observations were fully corroborated. Only four satellites could be distinguished by the American observers, and their periods, as computed from a valuable series of measures, agreed with those previously derived at Malta. In Appendix I. to the "Washington Observations" for 1873, Prof. Newcomb gave a valuable summary of results--the first obtained, be it noted, with that splendid instrument which soon afterward, in 1877, revealed the satellites of Mars--which included the elements of the satellites of Uranus as follows: Mean Longitude. Satellite. Epoch 1871. Radius of Period of Dec. 31, W.M.T. Orbit. Revolution in days. I. Ariel........ 21.83° 13.78" 2.52038 II. Umbriel..... 13.52 19.20 4.14418 III. Titania..... 229.93 31.48 7.70590 IV. Oberon...... 154.83 42.10 13.43327 Speaking of the comparative brightness of the satellites, Prof. Newcomb says: