122 HERSCHEL AND HIS WORK 



Nassau Senior relates that "the smaller speculum of 

 the great telescope had been broken, and no one except 

 Lord Rosse himself could polish it, which he had not 

 yet had time to do ; but we have been able to use the 

 3-feet reflector." x The necessity of this personal 

 labour from the owner himself, hard manual labour, 

 was one great drawback to the value of these magnifi- 

 cent instruments. 



Kings and princes and men of science paid handsome 

 sums to Herschel for telescopes made by his own hand. 

 While the great telescope was in progress, George in. 

 presented the Observatory of Gottingen with a reflector, 

 which Herschel took to Hanover along with his brother. 

 He also ordered other 10-feet for himself, and many 

 7-feet besides had been bespoke; but the finest and 

 costliest was one for the King of Spain, ordered in 1796 

 and not sent off till October 1801. It cost 3150. 

 Other two for the Prince of Canino brought 2310. 

 But this was telescope-selling, not star-observing. It 

 cost time and trouble, that might have been devoted to 

 better purpose. No wonder that his sister grumbled. 

 She was hindered in her proper work by the packing 

 of the Spanish reflector, " which was done at the barn 

 and rickyard at Upton, her room being all the while 

 filled with the optical apparatus." 2 It was small satis- 

 faction to her that the University of Edinburgh con- 

 ferred the degree of LL.D. on her brother in 1786. She 

 did not consider that reward at all equal to his merits. 

 She echoed the words of General Komarzewski, spoken 

 by him probably in fun, but received by her in earnest, 

 that Herschel should be honoured as the Duke of 



1 Journals, etc., relating to Ireland, ii. 247. 



2 Memoirs, p. 110. 



