The surroundings among which the young astronomer was reared afforded
him an excellent training for that career on which he was to enter,
and in which he was destined to attain a fame only less brilliant
than that of his father. The circumstances of his youth permitted
him to enjoy one great advantage which was denied to the elder
Herschel. He was able, from his childhood, to devote himself almost
exclusively to intellectual pursuits. William Herschel, in the early
part of his career, had only been able to snatch occasional hours for
study from his busy life as a professional musician. But the son,
having been born with a taste for the student's life, was fortunate
enough to have been endowed with the leisure and the means to enjoy
it from the commencement. His early years have been so well
described by the late Professor Pritchard in the "Report of the
Council of the Royal Astronomical Society for 1872," that I venture
to make an extract here:--

"A few traits of John Herschel's boyhood, mentioned by himself in his
maturer life, have been treasured up by those who were dear to him,
and the record of some of them may satisfy a curiosity as pardonable
as inevitable, which craves to learn through what early steps great
men or great nations become illustrious. His home was singular, and
singularly calculated to nurture into greatness any child born as
John Herschel was with natural gifts, capable of wide development. At
the head of the house there was the aged, observant, reticent
philosopher, and rarely far away his devoted sister, Caroline
Herschel, whose labours and whose fame are still cognisable as a
beneficent satellite to the brighter light of her illustrious
brother. It was in the companionship of these remarkable persons,
and under the shadow of his father's wonderful telescope, that John