to his unlimited bounty;--I
cannot but wish to take this opportunity of expressing my sense of
gratitude by giving the name _Georgium Sidus_,

_Georgium Sidus
----jam nunc assuesce vocari,_
_Virg. Georg._

to a star which (with respect to us) first began to shine under his
auspicious reign.

"By addressing this letter to you, Sir, as President of the Royal
Society, I take the most effectual method of communicating that name
to the literati of Europe, which I hope they will receive with
pleasure.--I have the honour to be, with the greatest respect, Sir,
your most humble and most obedient servant,

W. HERSCHEL."

[Sidenote: Herschel.]

This letter reminds us how long it was since a new name had been required
for a new planet,--to find a similar occasion Herschel had to go to the
almost prehistoric past, when the names of heroes and divinities were
given to the planets. It is, perhaps, not unnatural that he should have
considered an entirely new departure appropriate for a discovery separated
by so great a length of time from the others; but his views were not
generally accepted, especially on the Continent. Lalande courteously
proposed the name of Herschel for the new planet, in honour of the
discoverer, and this name was used in France; but Bode, on the other hand,
was in favour of retaining the old practice simply, and calling the new
planet Uranus. All three names seem to have been used for many years. Only
the other day I was interested to see an old pack of cards, used for
playing a parlour game of Astronomy, in which the name Herschel is used.
The owner told me that they had belonged to his grandfather; and the date
of publication was 1829, and the place London, so that this name was in
common use in England nearly half a century after the actual discovery;
though in the "English Nautical Almanac" the name "the Georgian"
(apparently preferred to Herschel's _Georgium Sidus_) was being used
officially after 1791, and did not disappear from that work until 1851
(published in 1847.)

[Sidenote: Uranus finally adopted.]

It would appear to have been the discovery of Neptune, with which we shall
deal in the next chapter, which led to this official change; for in the
volume for 1851 is included Adams' account of his discovery with the
title--

"ON THE PERTURBATIONS OF URANUS,"

and there was th