Nassau Senior relates that "the smaller speculum of the great telescope had been broken, and no one except Lord Rosse himself could polish it, which he had not yet had time to do; but we have been able to use the 3-feet reflector."[1] The necessity of this personal labour from the owner himself, hard manual labour, was one great drawback to the value of these magnificent instruments.
Kings and princes and men of science paid handsome sums to Herschel for telescopes made by his own hand. While the great telescope was in progress, George III. presented the Observatory of Göttingen with a reflector, which Herschel took to Hanover along with his brother. He also ordered other 10-feet for himself, and many 7-feet besides had been bespoke; but the finest and costliest was one for the King of Spain, ordered in 1796 and not sent off till October 1801. It cost £3150. Other two for the Prince of Canino brought £2310. But this was telescope-selling, not star-observing. It cost time and trouble, that might have been devoted to better purpose. No wonder that his sister grumbled. She was hindered in her proper work by the packing of the Spanish reflector, "which was done at the barn and rickyard at Upton, her room being all the while filled with the optical apparatus."[2] It was small satisfaction to her that the University of Edinburgh conferred the degree of LL.D. on her brother in 1786. She did not consider that reward at all equal to his merits. She echoed the words of General Komarzewski, spoken by him probably in fun, but received by her in earnest, that Herschel should be honoured as the Duke of
