The Life of Roger Langdon, Told by himself. With additions by his daughter Ellen

The writing of this foreword to the biography of the late Mr. Roger Langdon should have devolved upon one of the notable personages who had an admiration for him and his work, but unhappily they have all, or nearly all, passed away. Long hours of duty at a little country station, the support and clothing of himself, his wife, and eight children who required to be educated and placed out in the world—all accomplished on a weekly wage, which from his marriage to old age averaged only 30s., and was in the earlier years much less—would have been enough to exhaust the energy and resources of any ordinary man. Nevertheless, Mr. Langdon found time and means to learn French, Greek, and Shorthand, to amuse his family and neighbors with lantern lectures, and to make and use effectively four telescopes, so that eventually his reputation spread to the Royal Astronomical Society, before which he read a paper on his discoveries and observations. Bear in mind that money was so scarce that he was practically reduced to make everything, even his tools, with his own hands from the crude materials, groping his way through the mists of uncertainty and disappointment to the haven of ultimate success.