32 HERSCHEL AND HIS WORK 



bread not have become a ruc< 



race Cm fame? She herself had hop. s ,,f I.. ( -..min^ 

 donna in tin- music worM. llr I'ri.-mls 

 same hope. Hut neither fur ln-r n>r I'm- 

 her brother William li<l the race for fame lead nln^ 

 that roiul. F>r h.-r brother Jacob, her detestation, it 

 mii;ht possibly liave so led 1 )r. Burney, the author of 

 a General History of Music and other works, was also 

 <>t that opinion. William Herschel to him was the 

 "greatest astronomer" of the age, while of Jacob hr 

 : " 1 1. i-M-li.-l, master of tin- Kind's Land at Han- 

 over, and brother of the great astronom* 

 1. nt instrumental composer in a more serious and 

 simple style than tin- present." 1 Other women an 

 mentioned by Dr. Barney among tin- singers of lam< 

 in those days, but Miss Hersclu 1 p is no such honour- 

 able UK -ntion in the annals of mu 



For some years following IHT arrival in Englanl 

 the lives of the two Herschels are so intermingled 

 that the history of Caroline is to a large extnit tin 

 history of William also. They were both running 

 the same course, and the one was holding out a 

 h. Iping hand to the other in the same race, the race 

 for bread and the race for fame. Flighty, uncer- 

 tain, bullying Jacob sunk out of their life in October 

 1787; but another brother, more to Caroline's miml, 

 had entered it, and continued t<> <liflus- a ]! 

 savour in the household at Hath A I \ander, 2 about 

 five years older than his sister. He was of ; 

 assistance both as a violinist and a mechanic -ian. 

 Alexander was not of the same cheery, hopeful nature 

 as William. On the contrary, he went amongst 

 1 Hitiory, iv. 603. a Born Noveml>er 13, 1745. 



