THE HERSCHELIAD 203 



gave audience to his verses : " Herschel was so humble 

 as to confess that I knew more of the history of 

 astronomy than he did, and had surprised him with 

 the mass of information I had got together. . . . He 

 thanked me for the entertainment and instruction 

 I had given him. ' Can anything be grander ? ' and 

 all this before he knows a word of what I have 

 said of himself all his discoveries, as you may 

 remember, being kept back for the twelfth and last 

 book." 



After an interval of seven months and more, a long 

 story follows of Herschel's patience and good humour 

 under repeated doses of poetry, conceit, and undue 

 self-importance from Dr. Burney. The latter's letter 

 to his daughter, then Madame D'Arblay, is dated, 

 " Slough, Monday morning, July 22, 1799, in bed 

 at Dr. Herschel's, half -past five, where I can neither 

 sleep nor lie idle," and runs thus: "I believe I told 

 you on Friday that I was going to finish the perusal 

 of my astronomical verses to the great astronomer 

 on Saturday." Burney had already read to him the 

 Newtoniad, and other pieces. He was now come to 

 the Herscheliad, about twenty years too soon, for 

 the astronomer had not reached the height of his 

 fame in 1799. "After tea Herschel proposed that 

 we two should retire into a quiet room in order to 

 resume the perusal of my work, in which no progress 

 has been made since last December. The evening was 

 finished very cheerfully ; and we went to our bowers 

 not much out of humour with each other or the 

 world." Much more follows, revealing the self-com- 

 placency and conceit of the man, along with the 

 modesty and retiring nature of Herschel. There were 



