he
Guard, by whom she had children. Five of her sons were afterwards
musicians at the court, in England, where they obtained places
through the influence of WILLIAM.

2. HENRY ANTON JACOB; born 1734, November 20.

4. FREDERIC WILLIAM (the astronomer) born 1738, November 15.

6. JOHN ALEXANDER; born 1745, November 13.

8. CAROLINA LUCRETIA; born 1750, March 16.

10. DIETRICH; born 1755, September 13.

Of this family group, the important figures to us are WILLIAM,
ALEXANDER, and CAROLINA.

JACOB was organist at the Garrison Church of Hanover in 1753, a member
of the Guards' band in 1755, and first violin in the Hanover Court
Orchestra in 1759. Afterwards he joined his brother WILLIAM in Bath, but
again returned to Hanover. In 1771 he published in Amsterdam his Opus
I., a set of six quartettes, and later, in London, he published two
symphonies and six trios. He appears to have been a clever musician, and
his letters to his younger brother WILLIAM are full of discussion on
points of musical composition, etc. He died in 1792.

DIETRICH, the youngest brother, shared in the musical abilities of his
family, and when only fifteen years old was so far advanced as to be
able to supply his brother JACOB'S place in the Court Orchestra, and to
give his lessons to private pupils. There is no one of the family,
except the eldest daughter, whom we do not know to have possessed marked
ability in music, and this taste descended truly for four generations.
In the letters of Chevalier BUNSEN,[2] he describes meeting, in 1847,
the eldest granddaughter of WILLIAM HERSCHEL, who, he says, "is a
musical genius."

Three members of the family, WILLIAM, ALEXANDER, and CAROLINA, formed a
group which was inseparable for many years, and while the progress of
the lives of ALEXANDER and CAROLINA was determined by the energy and
efforts of WILLIAM, these two lent him an aid without which his career
would have been strangely different. It is necessary to understand a
little better the early life of all three.

The sons of the HERSCHEL family all attended the garrison school in
Hanover until they were about fourteen years old. They were taught the
ordinary rudiments of knowledge--to read, to write, to cipher--and a
knowledge of French and English was added. WILLIAM especially
distinguished himself in his studies, learning French very rapidly, and
studying Latin and arithmetic with his master out of hours