nguage in half the time occupied by his senior. His
leisure time out of school, when not given up to practice on the oboe
and the violin, was devoted to the acquisition, of Latin and arithmetic.

His father in 1743 was present at the battle of Dettingen; and the
exposure consequent on a night spent on the rain-soaked battle-field
afflicted him with an asthmatic complaint and a partial paralysis of
the limbs, which darkened for years the musician's peaceful household.
He himself, however, was greatly cheered by the musical proficiency of
his two sons, and the intellectual refinement of Frederick William. "My
brothers," says Caroline Herschel, "were often introduced as solo
performers and assistants in the orchestra of the court; and I remember
that I was frequently prevented"--she was then a child about five years
old--"from going to sleep by the lively criticism on music on [their]
coming from a concert, or conversations on philosophical subjects, which
lasted frequently till morning, in which my father was a lively
partaker, and assistant of my brother William by contriving self-made
instruments." She adds that she often kept herself awake in order to
listen to their animating remarks, feeling inexpressibly happy in
_their_ happiness,--an indication of that devoted and unselfish
affection which afterwards consecrated her whole life. But, generally,
their conversation branched out into philosophical subjects; and
father and son argued with so much fervour, that the fond mother's
interference became necessary,--the immortal names of Leibnitz, Newton,
and Euler ringing with a clarion-like peal that boded ill for the repose
of the younger members of the family. "But it seems," says Caroline,
"that on the brothers retiring to their own room, where they shared the
same bed, my brother William had still a great deal to say; and
frequently it happened that, when he stopped for an assent or a reply,
he found his hearer had gone to sleep; and I suppose it was not till
then that he bethought himself to do the same. The recollection of these
happy scenes confirms me in the belief that, had my brother William not
then been interrupted in his philosophical pursuits, we should have had
much earlier proofs of his inventive genius. My father," she continues,
"was a great admirer of astronomy, and had some knowledge of that
science; for I remember him taking me, on a clear frosty night, into
the street, to make me acquainted with several