260 ; “HERSCHEL. 
Smith. This treatise, either explicitly or implicitly, sup- 
posed the reader to possess some knowledge of algebra 
and of geometry, which Herschel did not possess, but of 
which he made himself master in a very short time. 
In 1766, Herschel obtained the appointment of organ- 
ist to the Octagon Chapel at Bath. This was a more 
lucrative post than that of Halifax, but new obligations 
also devolved on the able pianist. He-had to play inces- 
santly either at the Oratorios, or in the rooms at the 
baths, at the theatre, and in the public concerts. Then, 
being immersed in the most fashionable circle in England, 
Herschel could no longer refuse the numerous pupils who 
wished to be instructed in his school. It is difficult to 
imagine how, among so many duties, so many distractions 
of various kinds, Herschel could continue so many studies, 
which already at Halifax had required in him so much 
resolution, so much perseverance, and a very uncommon 
degree of talent. We have already seen that it was by 
music that Herschel was led to mathematics; mathe- 
matics in their turn led him to optics, the principal and 
fertile source of his illustrious career. The hour finally 
struck, when his theoretic knowledge was to guide the 
young musician into a laborious application of principles 
quite foreign to his habits; and the brilliant success of 
which, as well as their excessive hardihood, will excite 
reasonable astonishment. 
A telescope, a simple telescope, only two English feet 
in length, falls into the hands of Herschel during his 
residence at Bath. This instrument, however imperfect, 
shows him a multitude of stars in the sky that the naked 
eye cannot discern ; shows him also some of the known, 
objects, but now under their true dimensions; reveals 
- forms to him that the richest imaginations of antiquity 
