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Meldrum at Mauritius that increased rainfall and atmospheric agitation attend spot-maxima; while Herschel's conjecture of a more copious emission of light and heat about the same epochs has recently obtained some countenance from Savélieff's measures showing a gain in the strength of the sun's radiation pari passu with increase in the number of spots visible on his surface.
During the latter part of Darwin's residence at Cambridge the prospect of entering the Church, though the plan was never formally renounced, seems to have grown very shadowy. Humboldt's "Personal Narrative," and Herschel's "Introduction to the Study of Natural Philosophy," fell in his way and revealed to him his real vocation. The impression made by the former work was very strong.
In Miss Herschel's charming letters we find a vivid sketch of the family avocations at this period: "My brother applied himself to perfect his mirrors, erecting in his garden a stand for his twenty-foot telescope: many trials were necessary before the required motions for such an unwieldy machine could be contrived.
Whewell, I read again Sir J. Herschel's Discourse on the Study of Natural Philosophy: and I was able to measure the progress my mind had made, by the great help I now found in this work though I had read and even reviewed it several years before with little profit. I now set myself vigorously to work out the subject in thought and in writing.
Indeed, they seemed to be sensible of this themselves, and they now yielded to the force of Herschel's arguments so far as to show themselves in the new character of nebulae spangled with stars; these are the stellar nebulae; quite as much as you could expect in so short a time: Rome was not built in a day: and one must have some respect to stellar feelings. He made a clean breast of it.
As to what kind of vapour it might be by which Herschel's conjecture of a "shining fluid" diffused at large throughout the cosmos was thus unexpectedly verified, an answer only partially satisfactory could be afforded.
Many, also, of the nebulae contained in Sir William Herschel's catalogues were detected by her keen and accurate gaze during these nights of lonely observation. Indeed, as South remarked, when looking at the joint-labours of these two enthusiasts, we scarcely know whether the warmer praise should be given to the intellectual might of the brother or the ardent industry of the sister.
Bath society now took up astronomy as a fad, and fashionable ladies named the planets both backward and forward from a blackboard list set up in the Pump-House by Fanny Burney, the clever one. Herschel was invited to give popular lectures on the music of the spheres. Herschel's music-parlors were besieged by good people who wanted to make engagements with him to look through his telescope.
There are several of Herschel's memoirs on comets. In analyzing them, we shall see that this great observer could not touch any thing without making further discoveries in the subject. Herschel applied some of his fine instruments to the study of the physical constitution of a comet discovered by Mr. Pigott, on the 28th September, 1807. The nucleus was round and well determined.
This was virtually settled by Sir J. Herschel's description in 1847 of the structure of the Magellanic clouds; but it was not until Whewell, in 1853, and Herbert Spencer, in 1858, enforced the conclusions necessarily to be derived therefrom that the conception of the nebulæ as remote galaxies, which Lord Rosse's resolution of many into stellar points had appeared to support, began to withdraw into the region of discarded and half-forgotten speculations.
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