Eulogy of his character would here
be unnecessary; but, if he takes due care of his health, we shall
hear more of him.[11]
More astronomers in humble life! There seems to to be no end of
them. There must be a great fascination in looking up to the
heavens, and seeing those wondrous worlds careering in the
far-off infinite. Let me look back to the names I have
introduced in this chapter of autobiography. First, there was my
worthy porter friend at Coupar Angus station, enjoying himself
with his three-inch object-glass. Then there was the shoemaker
and teacher, and eventually the first-rate maker of achromatic
instruments. Look also at the persons whom he supplied with his
best telescopes. Among them we find princes, baronets,
clergymen, professors, doctors, solicitors, manufacturers, and
inventors. Then we come to the portrait painter, who acquired
the highest supremacy in the art of telescope making; then to Mr.
Lassell, the retired brewer, whose daughters presented his
instrument to the nation; and, lastly, to the extraordinary young
schoolmaster of Bainbridge, in Yorkshire. And now before I
conclude this last chapter, I have to relate perhaps the most
extraordinary story of all--that of another astronomer in humble
life, in the person of a slate counter at Port Penrhyn, Bangor,
North Wales.
While at Birnam, I received a letter from my old friend the Rev.
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