The discovery of the Georgian satellites caused many breaks in the sweeps which were made at the end of 1786 and beginning of 1787, by leaving off abruptly against the meridian passage of the planet, which occasioned much work, both in shifting of the instrument and booking the observations. Much confusion at first prevailed among the loose papers on which the first observations were noted, and some of them have perhaps been lost; for I remember several configurations of the situation of the satellites having been made by Sir William Watson and Mr. Marsden, and only one could be found....
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That the discovery of these satellites must have brought many nocturnal visitors to Slough may easily be imagined, and many times have I listened with pain to the conversation my brother held with his astronomical friends when quite exhausted by answering their numerous questions. For I well knew that on such occasions, instead of renewing his strength by going to rest, that there were too many who could not go on without his direction, among whom I often was included, for I very seldom could get a paper out of his hands time enough for finishing the copy against the appointed day for its being taken to town. But considering that no less than seven papers were delivered to the Royal Society in 1786-1787, it may easily be judged that my brother’s study had not been entirely deserted. I had always some kind of work in hand with which I could proceed without troubling him with questions; such as the temporary index which I began in June, 1787. Some years after, the index to Flamsteed’s observations, calculating the beginning and ending of sweeps and their breadth, for filling up the vacant places in the registers, and works of that kind, filled up the intervals when nothing more necessary was in hand.
My brother Jacob was with us from April till October, 1787, when he returned to Hanover again. Alexander came only for a short time to give his brother the meeting, Mrs. H. being too ill to be left long alone. (She died in January of 1788.)
Professor Snaidecky often saw some objects through the twenty-foot telescope, among others the Georgian satellites. He had taken lodgings in Slough for the purpose of seeing and hearing my brother whenever he could find him at leisure; he was a very silent man.
My brother’s bust was taken by Lochée, according to Sir Wm. Watson’s order. Professor Wilson and my brother Jacob[[11]] were present.
In August an additional man-servant was engaged, who would be wanted at the handles of the motions of the forty-foot, for which the mirror in the beginning of July was so far finished as to be used for occasional observations on trial.
1786-1787. Slough—Appointed Assistant Astronomer.
Such a person was also necessary for showing the telescopes to the curious strangers, as by their numerous visits my brother or myself had for some time past been much incommoded. In consequence of an application made through Sir J. Banks to the King, my brother had in August a second £2,000 granted for completing the forty-foot, and £200 yearly for the expense of repairs, such as ropes, painting, &c., &c., and the keep and clothing of the men who attended at night. A salary of fifty pounds a year was also settled on me as an assistant to my brother, and in October I received twelve pounds ten, being the first quarterly payment of my salary, and the first money I ever in all my lifetime thought myself to be at liberty to spend to my own liking. A great uneasiness was by this means removed from my mind, for though I had generally (and especially during the last busy six years) been almost the keeper of my brother’s purse, with a charge to provide for my personal wants, only annexing in my accounts the memorandum for Car. to the sums so laid out—when cast up, they hardly amounted to seven or eight pounds per year since the time we had left Bath. Nothing but bankruptcy had all the while been running through my silly head, when looking at the sums of my weekly accounts and knowing they could be but trifling in comparison with what had been and had yet to be paid in town, for my brother had not been fortunate enough to meet with a reasonable man for a caster who could also furnish the crane, &c., and his bills came in greatly overcharged. But more of this in another place. I will only add that from this time the utmost activity prevailed to forward the completion of the forty-foot. An additional optical workman was engaged, and preparation made for casting the second mirror. Journeys to town were made for moulding, and at the end of January a fine cast mirror arrived safely at Slough. Several seven-foot telescopes were finished and sent off.
The fine nights were not neglected, though observations were often interrupted by visitors. Messrs. Cassini, Mechain, Le Genre, and Carochet spent November 26th and 27th with my brother, and saw many objects in the twenty-foot and other instruments.