Dear Aunt, your affectionate nephew,
J. F. W. Herschel.
1840. Anecdote of the Old Telescope.
MISS HERSCHEL TO LADY HERSCHEL.
Jan. 10, 1840.
My dearest Niece,—
* * * * *
Perhaps you may have heard that in the early part of its [the forty-foot telescope’s] existence, “God save the King” was sung in it by the whole company, who got up from dinner and went into the tube, among the rest two Misses Stows, the one a famous pianoforte player, some of the Griesbachs, who accompanied on the oboe, or any instrument they could get hold of, and I, you will easily imagine, was one of the nimblest and foremost to get in and out of the tube. But now!—lack-a-day!—I can hardly cross the room without help. But what of that? Dorcas, in the Beggar’s Opera, says, “One cannot eat one’s cake and have it too!”... I will only thank you once more for your charming letter, and beg to be kindly remembered to all who are dear to you, and to give an embrace extraordinary to the dear little ones around you, and not forgetting to include my dear nephew in the general hug! and believe me,
My dearest niece,
Yours and his most affectionate aunt,