28 HERSCHEL AND HIS WORK 



of all the young nn-n ly hrr In-auty and 



m.-iiU. Offer after offer was hand. hut 



was giv.-n l.y li.-i- I'ath.T. for reasons not 



en di table to him, to a suitor very much older than she 



hnt immensely wealthy. With difficulty tin 

 was persuaded to agree to the match. Six \v i 1 1 1< 1 1 \\ 

 fp'in all public en-a^eiuents. :tnl nothing \vas talked 

 of in I'.uth hut tli.- ap{.i-....cliiii- wedding. \Vliil.- the 

 town was in this state of expectation, William Herschcl, 

 M-ring that great prizes were in prospect for attractive 

 singers, bethought himself .l' his sistrr Caroline, tlu-n 

 two or three years older than Miss Linley. He proposed 

 that she should join him at Bath, after receiving lessons 

 from their eldest brother, Jacob, in the hope that she 

 iiii^ht become a useful singer for his winter concerts 

 and oratorios." Should the experiment not succeed, 

 he promised to brin^ her back to Hanover at the end 

 of two years. Evidently Jacob h< ( ribed as 



'brilliant" had been a failure in Bath. A bully, 

 such as he was, could not help fe.-lin^ that it was a 

 reflection on him to suggest she mi^ht sucr-ccd \\hnv 

 he had failed. Without ever lii-arin^ tin- u r irl MULT. 

 he "turned the whole scheme into ri<lieul< . I nit ^h 

 resented his conduct "by taking every opportunity 

 wh< 11 all wt re from home to imitate, with a gag be- 

 tween my teeth, the solo parts of concertos, sfiake and 

 all, such as I had heard them play on the violin ; in 

 consequence I had gained a tolerable execution before 

 I knew how to sing." The cruelty or stupidity of th< 

 eldest brother had no effect on William, except to 

 deepen his determination to make this experiment. 



Meanwhile, strange things were happening at Bath. 

 Miss Linley's admirer threw up his engagement, and, 



