. There he learned, not only the three R's, but also a little
French and English. Still, the boy was not content with these ordinary
studies; in his own playtime he took lessons in Latin and mathematics
privately with the regimental schoolmaster. The young Herschels,
indeed, were exceptionally fortunate in the possession of an excellent
and intelligent father, who was able to direct their minds into
channels which few people of their position in life have the
opportunity of entering. Isaac Herschel was partly of Jewish descent,
and he inherited in a marked degree two very striking Jewish gifts--a
turn for music, and a turn for philosophy. The Jews are probably the
oldest civilized race now remaining on earth; and their musical
faculties have been continuously exercised from a time long before the
days of David, so that now they produce undoubtedly a far larger
proportion of musicians and composers than any other class of the
population whatsoever. They are also deeply interested in the same
profound theological and philosophical problems which were discussed
with so much acuteness and freedom in the Book of Ecclesiastes and the
subtle argument of Job and his friends. There has never been a time
when the Jewish mind has not exercised itself profoundly on these deep
and difficult questions; and the Hanover bandsman inherited from his
Jewish ancestry an unusual interest in similar philosophical subjects.
Thus, while the little ones were sleeping in the same common room at
night, William and his father were often heard discussing the ideas of
such abstruse thinkers as Newton and Leibnitz, whose names must have
sounded strange indeed to the ordinary frequenters of the Hanover
barracks. On such occasions good dame Herschel was often compelled to
interpose between them, lest the loudness of their logic should wake
the younger children in the crib hard by.

William, however, possessed yet another gift, which he is less likely
to have derived from the Jewish side of the house. He and his brother
Alexander were both distinguished by a natural taste for mechanics, and
early gave proof of their learning by turning neat globes with the
equator and ecliptic accurately engraved upon them, or by making model
instruments for their own amusement out of bits of pasteboard. Thus,
in early opportunities and educational advantages, the young Herschels
certainly started in life far better equipped than most working men's
sons; and,