At night, Mr. Herschel, by the king’s command, came to exhibit to his majesty and the royal family the new comet lately discovered by his sister, Miss Herschel; and while I was playing at piquet with Mrs. Schwellenberg, the Princess Augusta came into the room, and asked her if she chose to go into the garden and look at it.  She declined the offer, and the princess then made it to me.  I was glad to accept it, for all Sorts Of reasons.

We found him at his telescope, and I mounted some steps to look through it.  The comet was very small, and had nothing grand or striking in its appearance ; but it is the first lady’s comet, and I was very desirous to see it.  Mr. Herschel then showed me some of his new-discovered universes, with all the good humour with which he would have taken the same trouble for a brother or a sister-astronomer :  there is no possibility of admiring his genius more than his gentleness.

EffusiveMADAMF de la Roche.

I come now to introduce to you, with a new character, some new perplexities from my situation.  Madame de la Fite called the next morning, to tell me she must take no denial to forming me a new acquaintance—­Madarne de la Roche, a German by birth, but married to a Frenchman;—­an authoress, a woman of talents and distinction, a character highly celebrated, and unjustly suffering from an adherence to the Protestant religion.(218)

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“She dies with eagerness to see you,” she added, in French, “.and I have invited her to Windsor, where I have told her I have no other feast prepared for her but to show her Dr. Herschel and Miss Burney.”

I leave you to imagine if I felt competent to fulfil such a promise :  openly, on the contrary, I assured her I was quite unequal to it.  She had already, she said, written to Madame de la Roche, to come the next day, and if I would not meet her she must be covered with disgrace.  Expostulation was now vain; I could only say that to answer for myself was quite, out of my own power.

“And why?—­and wherefore?—­and what for?—­and surely to me!—­and surely for Madame de la Roche!—­une femme d’esPrit—­mon amie—­ l’amie de Madame de Genlis,” etc., etc., filled up a hurried conference in the midst of my dressing for the queen, till a summons interrupted her, and forced me, half dressed, and all too late, to run away from her, with an extorted promise to wait upon her if I possibly could.

Accordingly I went, and arrived before Madame de la Roche.  Poor Madame de la Fite received me in transport; and I soon witnessed another transport, at least equal, to Madame de la Roche, which happily was returned with the same warmth; and it was not till after a thousand embraces, and the most ardent professions—­“Ma digne amie!—­est il possible?—­te vois-je?” etc.—­that I discovered they had never before met in their lives!—­they had corresponded, but, no more!(219)