260 HERSCHEL. 



Smith. This treatise, either explicitly or implicitly, sup- 

 posed the reader to possess some knowledge of algebra 

 and of geometry, which Herschel did not possess, but of 

 which he made himself master in a very short time. 



In 1766, Herschel obtained the appointment of organ- 

 ist to the Octagon Chapel at Bath. This was a more 

 lucrative post than that of Halifax, but new obligations 

 also devolved on the able pianist. He had to play inces- 

 santly either at the Oratorios, or in the rooms at the 

 baths, at the theatre, and in the public concerts. Then, 

 being immersed in the most fashionable circle in England, 

 Herschel could no longer refuse the numerous pupils who 

 wished to be instructed in his school. It is difficult to 

 imagine how, among so many duties, so many distractions 

 of various kinds, Herschel could continue so many studies, 

 which already at Halifax had required in him so much 

 resolution, so much perseverance, and a very uncommon 

 degree of talent. We have already seen that it was by 

 music that Herschel was led to mathematics ; mathe- 

 matics in their turn led him to optics, the principal and 

 fertile source of his illustrious career. The hour finally 

 struck, when his theoretic knowledge was to guide the 

 young musician into a laborious application of principles 

 quite foreign to his habits ; and the brilliant success of 

 which, as well as their excessive hardihood, will excite 

 reasonable astonishment. 



A telescope, a simple telescope, only two English feet 

 in length, falls into the hands of Herschel during his 

 residence at Bath. This instrument, however imperfect, 

 shows him a multitude of stars in the sky that the naked 

 eye cannot discern ; shows him also some of the known 

 objects, but now under their true dimensions ; reveals 

 forms to him that the richest imaginations of antiquity 



