48 HERSCHEL AND HIS WORK 



and invited me to become a member of it, to which I 

 readily consented." The house in front of which this 

 discovery of an astronomer was made, was in River 

 Street, 1 and the discoverer of Herschel was Dr. Watson, 

 a distinguished Fellow of the Royal Society of Lon- 

 don, 2 and a man of whom Herschel afterwards spoke 

 in his printed papers with the highest respect and 

 gratitude. 



A look through a telescope in a street-observatory 

 was not uncommon then even for a rising philosopher. 

 As Humphry Davy " was passing through the streets 

 one fine night, he observed a man showing the moon 

 through a telescope. He stopped to look at the earth's 

 satellite, and tendered a penny to the exhibitor. But 

 the latter, on learning that his customer was no less 

 a person than the great Davy, exclaimed with an 

 important air, that ' he could not think of taking 

 money from a brother-philosopher/ " 



Dr. Watson and his father, Sir William Watson, 

 were well-known members of the Royal Society. 

 To the father in 1745 was awarded the Copley 

 Medal for "surprising discoveries in electricity, 

 exhibited in his late experiments." His portrait also 

 is one of those in the Royal Society's keeping. The 

 son became a Fellow in 1770. Like his father, he 

 had a leaning towards the study of electricity. In 

 1756, when the Society honoured itself by electing 

 Benjamin Franklin, "although not an inhabitant of 

 this island," a Fellow, the certificate recommending 

 that this be done was signed by the President and 



1 He soon afterwards removed to 19 New King Street. 



2 Dr. Watson seems to have done a similar kindness to others. See 

 Annual Register for 1783 [58-60]. 



