Possibly, Dr. Watson shared the opinion of Franklin's friend, who wrote the epigram—
"While you, great George, for knowledge hunt,
And sharp conductors change for blunt,
The nation's out of joint :
Franklin a wiser course pursues,
And all your thunder useless views
By keeping to the point."[1]
Dr. Watson's discovery soon bore fruit. Herschel had been carefully studying the planet Saturn since the spring of 1774. He had also been observing the mountains on the moon's face and making calculations of their height. Besides, he had been watching a variable star in the neck of the constellation called The Whale. Four months after his introduction to Dr. Watson, he communicated to the Royal Society through him two papers, which were read on May 11, 1780, and modestly described as by Mr. William Herschel of Bath. The first of the two was "On the Periodical Star in Collo Ceti." The paper in itself was not of much consequence, and it was on an old and well-worn subject;[2] but it showed the books which had influenced him in his astronomical studies, as his sister had found by experience, and the carefulness with which he had for years been making observations on the stars. He had no desire to be considered an amateur. He was in thorough earnest, keeping a journal of what he saw in the skies, and carefully noting every change for future reference. On this Stella Mira, or Wonderful Star, as it was called from the "surprising appearances" it was known to present,
