200 
POPULAR SCIENCE REVIEW. 
CAROLINE HERSCHEL.* 
T HERE are few who have any interest in astronomy who will not be 
delighted to read this charming life, told as it is nearly in the words of 
ts subject. It is, in fact, almost an autobiography, for the few remarks that 
Mrs. John Herschel has added do little more than serve to bind the various 
letters and statements of Caroline Herschel into something like a continuous 
record. What a wonderful old and young woman she appears to have been, 
and how marvellously she was devoted to her brother William, who was 
first musician and then astronomer ! She, says Mrs. Herschel, “ had been 
his helper and assistant in the days when he was a leading musician ; she 
became his helper and assistant when he gave himself up to astronomy.’' 
We think that Mrs. John Herschel has done well to have handed us down 
the life of her distinguished ancestor, as well because her subject deserves 
a biography as because that biography is full of interesting facts to the 
lovers of the stars. We had almost forgotten to mention that the frontis- 
piece is an excellent portrait of the old lady at the advanced age of ninety- 
two. 
ITH the assistance of Dr. W. S. Livesay, who has done the editing and 
illustration of this work, Mr. Lamont has given us an instructive 
sketch of his five voyages of sport and discovery in the districts of Spitz- 
bergen and Nova Zembla. There is not much to be said about the natural 
history of the book, save that some capital illustrations are given of the 
walrus, the bear, and the reindeer ; but as a work of travel the work has 
many points of interest, though not of novelty. Still it is a volume which 
from its illustrations alone, which are both numerous and good, must have 
an interest for all, and from its matter, which is told in a graphic manner, 
must especially excite those who care about adventure. In some cases the 
author was in extreme danger, and many incidents he records remind us of 
our brave sailors who are at the present moment exploring the polar regions. 
Readers who are members of the Royal Geographical Society should pur- 
chase this volume. 
* 11 Memoir and Correspondence of Caroline Herschel.” By Mrs. J. 
Herschel. With Portraits. London : J. Murray. 1876. 
t u Yachting in the Arctic Seas ; or, Notes of Five Voyages of Sport and 
Discovery in the Neighbourhood of Spitzbergen and Novaya Zemlya. By 
J. Lamont, F.G.S. Edited and Illustrated by W. Livesay, M.D. London : 
Chatto and Windus. 1876. 
ARCTIC YACHTING. + 
