32 HERSCHEL AND HIS WORK 



bread not have become a race for riches instead of a 

 race for fame? She herself had hopes of becoming 

 a prima donna in the music world. Her friends 

 cherished the same hope. But neither for her nor for 

 her brother William did the race for fame lead along 

 that road. For her brother Jacob, her detestation, it 

 might possibly have so led. Dr. Burney, the author of 

 a General History of Music and other works, was also 

 of that opinion. William Herschel to him was the 

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

 writes : " Herschel, master of the King's band at Han- 

 over, and brother of the great astronomer, is an excel- 

 lent instrumental composer in a more serious and 

 simple style than the present." 1 Other women are 

 mentioned by Dr. Burney among the singers of fame 

 in those days, but Miss Herschel gets no such honour- 

 able mention in the annals of music. 



For some years following her arrival in England 

 the lives of the two Herschels are so intermingled 

 that the history of Caroline is to a large extent the 

 history of William also. They were both running 

 the same course, and the one was holding out a 

 helping 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 mind, 

 had entered it, and continued to diffuse a pleasant 

 savour in the household at Bath, Alexander, 2 about 

 five years older than his sister. He was of great 

 assistance both as a violinist and a mechanician. 

 Alexander was not of the same cheery, hopeful nature 

 as William. On the contrary, he went amongst 



1 History, iv. 603. 2 Born November 13, 1745. 



