The Reminiscences of an Astronomer

ncle and aunt. As I had not seen Moncton since I was six years old, and as I wanted very much to visit my grandfather Prince once more, it was arranged that I should accompany them on their return

r own little carriage, which would hold only two people; so they could no

dland, and had the saved remnant of his crew with him. On the morning of our departure the weather was stormy, so that our vessel did not put to sea-a prec

o follow the telegraph wires. I soon found that the line of telegraph came into the town from one direction, passed through it, and then left, not in the opposite direction, but perhaps at right angles to it. In which direction was the line to be followed? It was difficult to make known what I wanted. "Why, my boy, you can't walk to Moncton," was one answer. In a shop the clerks thought I wanted

s of Mr. Prince. The quality which most impressed the host was his enormous physical strength. He was rather below the usual stature and, as I remember him, very slightly

my learning to do something to make a living. I thought of certain mechanical tastes which had moved me in former years to whittle and to make a reel on which to wind yarn, and to mend things generally. So I replied that I thought the tra

ons out of the materia medica and depended upon the healing powers of plants alone. People had seen so much of the evil effects of calomel, this being the favorite alternative of the profession, that they were quite ready to accept the new system. Among the remarkable cures which had given Dr. Foshay his great reputation was one of a young man with dyspepsia. He was reduced to a shadow, and the regular doctors had given him up as incurable. The new doctor took him to his home. The patient was addicted to two practices, both of which ha

nterested to learn that his physician was the great doctor I had heard of, w

kind, and suggested that a possible opening might here be offered me. She promised to

o me. What fascinated me most of all was his speaking of the difficulties he encountered in supplying himself with sufficient "reading matter." He said it as if mental food was as much a necessity as his daily bread. H

n his power in preparing medicines, attending to business, and do

g, and teach him medical botany and the botanic system of medicine. The con

he corrected himself a moment, and a

What more could heart

ying medicine or caring for the sick. That my attainments in the line could ever equal those of my preceptor seemed

f his wife. I had to ask the approval of my father, which I did by letter. Like General Grant and many great men, he was a man of exceptional sagacity in matters outside

te outline of the botanic system of medicine and a programme of my future studies. But scarcely had we started when a chilling process commenced. The man erstwhile so effusive was silent

horse had to be put away in the stable. I jumped up to the haymow to throw down the provender. It was a very pecul

entered the house and I wa

hat's come to work fo

e told her something different from what he told me. Her tone was even more depressing than her words; it breathed a coldness, not to say harshness, to which I had not been accustomed in a woman. There was n

inspection of my person. The result was clearly unfavorable, for she soon asked me to go away. Finding me indisposed to obey the order, she proceeded to the use of force and tried to expel me with a few strong pushes.

ou hit the

should I want to strike

u hit her and kn

as trying to push me and

ok of doubt and in

r knew that child to tell a li

first time I had ever know

t, the living and sleeping rooms were all on one main floor. Here they comprised a kitchen, dining room, medicine room, a little parlor, and two small sleeping rooms, one for the doctor and one for myself.

their leaves were quite brittle. He took these and I followed him to the narrow stairway, which we slowly ascended, he going ahead. As I mounted I looked for a solution of the difficulty. Here upstairs must be where the doctor kept his books. At each step I peered eagerly ahead until my head was on a level with the floo

of the leaves of four plants familiarly known as spearmint, sunflower, smartweed, and yarrow. In his practice a heaping teaspoonful of the pulverized leaves was stirred in a cup of warm water and the grosser parts were allowed to settle, while the patient took the finer parts with the infusion. This was one of Dr. Foshay's staple remedies. Another was a pill of which the principal active ingredient was aloes. The art of making these pills seemed yet more

m. He disappeared in the direction of his bedroom, and soon returned with-could my eyes believe it?-a big book. It was one which, at the time of its publication,

ic system, you must understand something of the

of fever, which needed different treatment; yet calomel and, I think, opium were

do you think

that there are so many kinds of fever and other diseases that an imm

e distinctions are not necessary when w

? Can I not now go on with the

doctors of the old school is that they take no account of difference of temperament, but treat the lymphatic and bilious in the

y long ago and think I u

ad better learn it more thoroughly. He returned to his bedroom and brought a copy of Fowler's "Phrenology," the very book so familiar to me. I had to

ng to the subject, which I answered promptly and correctly by putting my fingers on them on my own head. But though satisfied with the answers, it was easy to see that h

es get along so well. You have no organ of secretiveness. You have a window in your breast that every one can look into and see wh

y, with my botanic system of medicine, am the biggest humbug in these parts, and if you are going to succeed with me you must be another." But I had already recognized

an unnecessary word, and avoided all reference to reading or study. The mystery which enveloped him became deeper month

wed Draper's Chemistry, little thinking that I would one day count the author among my friends. A book peddler going his rounds offered a collection of miscellaneous books at auction. I bought, among others, a Latin and a Greek grammar, and assid

anic medical college in or near Boston, and strongly urged me to go thither as soon as I could get ready to complete my studies. From him the doctor, willing to do me a favor, bought some books, among them the "Eclectic Medical Dispensary," published in Cincinnati. Of this book the doctor spoke approving

antity of elaterium. The doctor gave them to a neighboring youth affected with a slight indisposition in which some su

there's nothin' but weeds in them pill

number were swallowed at a dose. The result was, happily, not fatal, though impressi

in Sackville had not detracted from his qualities as a healthy, rollicking young farmer. The lodge had an imposing ritual of which I well remember one feature. At stated intervals a password which admitted a member of any one lodge to a meeting of any other was received from the central authority-in Maine, I believe. It was never to be pronounced except to secure admission, and was communicated to the members by being written on a piece of paper

es, who was beginning the study of medicine. The president was a "Worthy Archon." Our discussions strayed into the field of physiological

According to common report they had invented a new language in order to enable them to talk together without their companions knowing what they were saying. I knew one of them well and, after some time, ventured to inquire about this supposed tongue. He was quite ready to explain i

later years I wondered whether any of them were still living. Fifty years later I had one of the greatest and most agreeable surprises of my life in suddenly meeting the little boy of the family

racter. I composed a little couplet d

hecary, chemist

ouse and boy

druggist [3] in St. John, kept the doctor's accounts, made his pills, and mixed his powders. This left little time for readi

e never proposed such a course to me, and never told me how he expected me to become a physician. Every month showed my prospects in a less hopeful light. I had rushed into my position in blind confidence in the man, and without any appreciation of the requirements of a medical practitioner. But these requirements now

k by the absence of any word of reprobation for his act. The young men at least seemed to admire the enterprising spirit he had displayed. A few weeks after his departure a letter which he wrote from London, detailing his adventures in the great metropolis, was rea

aving a clear understanding with the doctor? Why not ask him to his face how he expected you to remai

thing for me were he ever so well disposed. That he was himself uneducated in many essentials of his profession had gradually become plain enough; but what he knew or possibly might know remained a mystery. I had heard occasional allusions, perhaps from Mrs. Foshay rather than from himself, to an instit

to be taken was the most momentous of my life. I packed a few books and clothes, including some mementoes of my mother, and took the box to the stage and post-office in the evening, to be forwarded to an assumed name in St. John the next afternoon. This box I never saw again; it was probably stopped by Foshay before being dis

roceeding and my reason for taking it, so I indited a short letter, which I

me. This agreement you have never shown the slightest intention of fulfilling since the first month I was with you. You have never taken me to see a patie

part of it, and I am going off to make my own way in the world. When you read

til at least noon on the following day. By this time my box would have been safely off in the stage, and I would be far out of reach. To delay his receiving the lette

e outfit for my journey, but all the books of my childhood which I had, as well as the little mementoes of my mother. The postmaster who took charge

nset a horse and buggy appeared, coming over a hill, and very soon the resemblance of vehicle and driver to the turnout of the doctor became so striking that I concealed myself in the shrubbery by the wayside until the sound of the wheels told me he was well past. The probability that my pursuer was in front of me

my pace, and made many stops, beginning to doubt whether I might not as well give up the stage and look for an inn. It was, I think, after ten o'clock when the rattling of wheels announced its approach. It was on a descending grade, and passed m

e, or to failure and degradation? Vainly, vainly, I tried to peer into the thick darkness of the future. No definite idea of what success might mean could find a place in my mind. I had sometimes indulged in daydreams, but these come not to a mind occupied as mine on that day.

ed by trial, I think how light would this have appeared to that boy had a sight of the future been opened up to him. When, in the halls of learning, I have gone through the ceremonies which made me a citizen of yet another common

did the day before, for my feet were sore and my limbs stiff. Quite welcome, therefore, was a lift offered by a young farmer,

, where his father still lived, so I asked my companion whe

ng of one of the so

ried to set up for one in Salisbury, but the people there must

icine in Fredericton or Maine

, but he never did it. I tell you he ain't no more a

wo years before: "This world is all a humbug, and the biggest humbug is the best man. . . . You have a window

g journey. At Dorchester, the next village beyond Moncton, I was

said my informant, "y

while to break our journey for the sake of see

ll be a painful object to see,-a bloated sot,

of him was that

most fortunate. Subsequent and disappointing experience showed that had I succeeded in getting the ride I wished in the stage, the resulting depletion of my purse would have been almost fatal to my reaching my journey's end. Arriving at the city, I naturally found all the hotels filled. At length a kindly landlady said that, although she had no bed to give me, I was quite welcome to lie on a soft carpeted floor, in the midst of people who could not find any other sleeping place. No charge was made for this accommodation. My hope of fi

ney have you

it was one or two do

that if you will he

weeks reaching Salem. Here I met my father, who, after the death of my mother, had come to seek his fortune in the "States." He had reached the conclusion, on what grounds I do not know, that the eastern part of Maryland was a most desirable region, both in the character of its people and in the adv

. Suffice it to say that, looking back at those two years, I am deeply

some chemical apparatus was obtained from Philadelphia. He afterwards studied medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and delighted me by writing th

inhabitants of a Southern farming region was much heartier than any to which I had been accustomed. "Pork and pone" were the staples, the latter being a rather coarse cake with little or no seasoning, baked from cornmeal. Th

o eat. He could not, he declared, get along without good eating. This naturally suggested that my friend was something of a gourmand. Great, therefore, was my delight when, a few weeks later, he expressed a desire to have me board with him. I accepted the offer as soon as possible. Much to my disappointment, shortcake was on the table at the first meal and again at the second. It proved to be the principal dish twice, and I am not

er don't lik

ns were being consumed in th

reply, with an added intimation that the chi

it. I drew Mr. Bowler into conversation once more about Delawar

cribed what seemed to me a fairly well provided stud

rably poor, so that you could hardly stan

calling his impression, then replied

the gate of the observatory, and looked wistfully in, but feared to enter, as I did not know what the rules might be regarding visitors. I speculated upon the

of a few months before fully justified. I wrote in triumph to my favorite aunt, Rebecca Prince, that leaving Dr. Fosh

royal addresses to Parliament and other state papers. On the whole I am not sure but that the book justified my father's good opinion, although I cannot but think that it was rather hypercritical. I had been taught the rudiments of French in Wallace when quite a child by a Mr. Oldright, of whose methods and pronunciation my memory gives me a most favorable impression. I now got Cobbett's French Grammar, probably a much less commendable book than his English one. I

of the English translation. The path through it was rather thorny, but I at least caught the spirit here and there. No teacher at the present time would think of using it as a text-book, yet as a mental discipline, and for the purpose of enab

ofessional mathematicians,-I made my first attempt at a scientific article, "A New Demonstration of the Binomial Theorem." This I sent to Professor Henry, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, to see if he deemed it suitable for publication. He promptly replied in the negative, but offered to submit it to a professional mathematician for an opinion of its merits. I gladly ac

e G. W. Eveleth, the object of which was to refute the accepted theory of the universe, especially the view of Copernicus. For aught I knew Mr. Eveleth held as high a position as any one else in the world of science and letters, so I read his article carefully. It was evidently wholly fallacious, yet so plausible that I feared the belief of the world in the doctrine of Copernicus might suffer a severe shoc

he mail with the compliments of Colonel Abert. Not long afterward came a letter from Professor J. Lawrence Smith, afterward a member of the National Academy of Scien

felt as one who, standing outside, could knock again

e the mathematical books. Here I was delighted to find the greatest treasure that my imagination had ever pictured,-a work that I had thought of almost as belonging to fairyland. And here it was right before my eyes-four enormous volumes,-"Mécanique Céleste, by the Marquis de Laplace, Peer of France; translated by Nathaniel Bowditch, LL. D., Member of the Royal Societies of London, Edinburg, and Dublin." I inquired as to the possibility of my borrowing the first volume, and was tol

the Smithsonian Building quite early, opened the main door, stepped cautiously into the vestibule, and looked around. Here I was met by a short, stout, and exceedingly gruff sort of a man, who looked upon my entrance with evident displeasure. He said scarcely a word, but motioned me out of the door, and showed me a paper or something in the entrance which intimated that the Institution would be open at nine o'clock. It was some three minutes before that hour

made my way to the Coast Survey office, and was shown to the chief clerk, as the authority for the information. I modestly asked him whether a knowledge of physical astronomy was necessary to a position in that office. Instead of

mproving the Cavendish method of determining the density of the earth, which he took very kindly. I subsequently learned that he was much interested in this problem. On another occasion he gave me a letter to Mr. J. E. Hilgard, assistant in charge

uperintendent of the "Nautical Almanac," and that I might possibly get employment on that work. When I saw him again I told him that I had not yet acquired such a knowledge of physical astronomy as would be necessary for the calculations in question; but he assured me that this was no drawback, as formul? for all the computations would be supplied me. I was far from satisfied at the prospect of doing nothing more than making routi

for this conveyance, I met a man who said he had it. He shoved me into it and drove off. I remarked with suspicion that no other coaches were accompanying us. After a pretty long drive the speed of the horses gradually began to slacken. At length it came to a complete stop in front of a large building, and I got out. But it wa

e, just like my own. I immediately felt the breast pocket of my coat and found that my own was quite safe. The man who picked up the purse inquired in the politest tone possible if it was mine, to which I replied in the negative. He ret

ce. It would be necessary for him to get authority from Washington. After this was obtained some hope might be held out,

y. When he got through the ablution, one pail was empty, and the other full. My authority for the actuality of this remarkable pr

terward lived in Montreal. I have often wished to find a

, afterward Sir Leonard Tilley, the w

em to have been more than an ordinary janitor, as he wa