tions if they need the man. Q When William Herschel LITTLE 

 landed at Dover he had in his pocket a single crown JOURNEYS 

 piece, and his luggage consisted of the clothes he wore 

 and a violin. 



The violin secured him board and lodging along the 

 road as he walked to London, just as Oliver Gold- 

 smith paid his way with a similar legal tender. 

 In London Herschel's musical skill quickly got him 

 an engagement at one of the theatres. 

 In a few months we hear of his playing solos at Bra- 

 bandt's aristocratic concerts. 



Little journeys were taken by the orchestra to which 

 Herschel belonged in "the provinces." Among other 

 places visited was Bath, and here the troupe was 

 booked for a two-weeks' engagement. 

 At this time Bath was run wide open. 

 Bath was a rendezvous for the gouty dignitaries of 

 Church and State who had grown swag through sloth 

 and much travel by the gorge route. 

 There were ministers of state, soldiers, admirals-of- 

 the-sea, promoters, preachers, philosophers, poets, 

 players, polite gamblers and buffoons. They idled, 

 fiddled, danced, gabbled, gadded and gossiped. The 

 School for Scandal was written on the spot with mod- 

 els drawn from life. It wasn't a play it was a cross- 

 section of Bath society. 



Bath was a clearing-house for the wit, learning and 

 folly of all England the combined Hot Springs, Coney 

 Island, Saratoga and Old Point Comfort of the King- 

 dom. The most costly church of its size in America is 



131 



