eans of giving the parabolic figure to the mirrors,
on the causes that in the operation of polishing affect the regularity
of the figure, &c. So rare a degree of perseverance at last receives its
reward. In 1774 Herschel has the happiness of being able to examine the
heavens with a Newtonian telescope of five English feet focus, entirely
made by himself. This success tempts him to undertake still more
difficult enterprises. Other telescopes of seven, of eight, of ten, and
even of twenty feet focal distance, crown his efforts. As if to answer
in advance those critics who would have accused him of a superfluity of
apparatus, of unnecessary luxury, in the large size of the new
instruments, and his extreme minutiae in their execution, Nature granted
to the astronomical musician, on the 13th of March 1781, the unheard-of
honour of commencing his career of observation with the discovery of a
new planet, situated on the confines of our solar system. Dating from
that moment, Herschel's reputation, no longer in his character of
musician, but as a constructor of telescopes and as an astronomer,
spread throughout the world. The King, George III., a great lover of
science, and much inclined besides to protect and patronize both men and
things of Hanoverian origin, had Herschel presented to him; he was
charmed with the simple yet lucid and modest account that he gave of his
repeated endeavours; he caught a glimpse of the glory that so
penetrating an observer might reflect on his reign, ensured to him a
pension of 300 guineas a year, and moreover a residence near Windsor
Castle, first at Clay Hall and then at Slough. The visions of George
III. were completely realized. We may confidently assert, relative to
the little house and garden of Slough, that it is the spot of all the
world where the greatest number of discoveries have been made. The name
of that village will never perish; science will transmit it religiously
to our latest posterity.

I will avail myself of this opportunity to rectify a mistake, of which
ignorance and idleness wish to make a triumphant handle, or, at all
events, to wield in their cause as an irresistible justification. It has
been repeated to satiety, that at the time when Herschel entered on his
astronomical career he knew nothing of mathematics. But I have already
said, that during his residence at Bath, the organist of the Octagon
Chapel had familiarized himself with the principles of geometry and
algebra;