22 HERSCHEL AND HIS WORK 



they seem to have been, appear to have viewed his 

 ability as cynically as it was viewed in England. 

 " We hear," Horace Walpole writes, " that the French 

 have recalled their green troops, which had advanced 

 for show, and have sent their oldest regiments against 

 the Duke." Twelve days later, he says : " This is not 

 the sole uneasiness at Kensington; they know the 

 proximity of the French to the Duke, and think that 

 by this time there may have been an action : the 

 suspense is not pleasant." Five weeks later came the 

 news, " We are in a piteous way ! The French have 

 passed the Weser, and a courier brought word yester- 

 day that the Duke was marching towards them ; and 

 within five miles: by this time his fate is decided." 

 A few days more, and tidings came that " the French 

 attacked the Duke for three days together, and at last 

 defeated him: I find it is called at Kensington an 

 encounter of fourteen squadrons." It took place at 

 Hastenbeck near Hameln, on the Weser, the scene of 

 the Pied Piper's exploit. Whether an encounter or a 

 battle, it was fatal to the reputation of the Duke, and 

 the English officers he had with him ; and it was fatal 

 to Hanover, which from first to last paid more than 

 two millions sterling to the victors. Above all, it was 

 fatal to William Herschel's soldiering ; for years also 

 it was fatal to his prospects in life, and to his peace of 

 mind as well as his sister's; but, at last, it was the 

 beginning of his endless fame. We can almost 

 sympathise with a deserter from such a general, 

 especially when he fled to his own King for pro- 

 tection, not to the enemies of his country. 



An anxious and far from sensible mother took 

 steps to save her delicate son. The French were 



