h success; but this prophetic
utterance was of the nature of a soliloquy rather than of a
communication, and remained hidden away in an unpublished journal until
1859, when it was brought to light in a general ransacking of
archives.[350]

Indeed, Schwabe himself was far from anticipating the discovery which
fell to his share. He compared his fortune to that of Saul, who, seeking
his father's asses, found a kingdom.[351] For the hope which inspired
his early resolution lay in quite another direction. His patient ambush
was laid for a possible intramercurial planet, which, he thought, must
sooner or later betray its existence in crossing the face of the sun. He
took, however, the most effectual measures to secure whatever new
knowledge might be accessible. During forty-three years his
"imperturbable telescope"[352] never failed, weather and health
permitting, to bring in its daily report as to how many, or if any,
spots were visible on the sun's disc, the information obtained being day
by day recorded on a simple and unvarying system. In 1843 he made his
first announcement of a probable decennial period,[353] but it met with
no general attention; although Julius Schmidt of Bonn (afterwards
director of the Athens Observatory) and Gautier of Geneva were impressed
with his figures, and Littrow had himself, in 1836,[354] hinted at the
likelihood of some kind of regular recurrence. Schwabe, however, worked
on, gathering each year fresh evidence of a law such as he had
indicated; and when Humboldt published in 1851, in the third volume of
his _Kosmos_,[355] a table of the sun-spot statistics collected by him
from 1826 downwards, the strength of his case was perceived with, so to
speak, a start of surprise; the reality and importance of the discovery
were simultaneously recognised, and the persevering Hofrath of Dessau
found himself famous among astronomers. His merit--recognised by the
bestowal of the Astronomical Society's Gold Medal in 1857--consisted in
his choice of an original and appropriate line of work, and in the
admirable tenacity of purpose with which he pursued it. His resources
and acquirements were those of an ordinary amateur; he was distinguished
solely by the unfortunately rare power of turning both to the best
account. He died where he was born and had lived, April 11, 1875, at the
ripe age of eighty-six.

Meanwhile an investigation of a totally different character, and
conducted by totally different means,