388 Astronomical Society. 



no lacunae — no long intervals of inactivity — nothing hurried or 

 sketchy j but the same pains-taking, laborious filling in, pervading 

 the whole,— marking that the observer's whole heart and soul were in 

 his work, and that each individual observation possessed its own pe- 

 culiar, though momentary, interest. Nor is this wonderful. The 

 heavens visible to Europeans, have been so thoroughly examined, 

 and their contents so carefully registered, that there is not the slight- 

 est rational probability of any thing new or uncommon offering itself 

 to instruments of moderate power in the ordinary course of observa- 

 tion. Here, however, all was new ; — for the optical power of La- 

 caille's telescope was far too feeble to afford much insight into the 

 physical constitution of the objects determined with it : and thus all 

 the excitement of discovery was maintained during every step in the 

 progress of the work. 



But to be susceptible of this excitement, so maintained, the ob- 

 server must be animated by the true spirit of the Astronomer ; and 

 few have possessed this spirit in a greater degree than Mr. Dunlop. 

 In a scientific point of view, therefore, he must be regarded as the 

 associate, rather than the assistant of his employer j and their diffe- 

 rence of situation becomes merged in their unity of sentiment and 

 object. — These considerations alone would have rendered it impos- 

 sible to your Council to disunite in any expression or mark of their 

 approbation, individuals who have thus, each in his sphere, gone 

 hand in hand together, towards the perfection of Southern Astro- 

 nomy, even had the labours of Mr. Dunlop been confined to the or- 

 dinary business of an observatory, or to observations with fixed in- 

 struments. But this is very far from having been the case. The 

 nebulous, as well as the sidereal heavens, have occupied his atten- 

 tion ; and in the prosecution of this most delicate and difficult branch 

 of Astronomy, he has availed himself entirely of his own resources, 

 in the most literal sense, — the instrument which he used being not 

 simply his own, but the work of his own hands ; and the observations 

 being performed by him after the departure of Sir Thomas Brisbane 

 from the colony, at a personal sacrifice of his private interests, and 

 in the face of difficulties which would have deterred any one not ani- 

 mated with a real and disinterested love of science from their prose- 

 cution. The results of these observations have been the description 

 and determination of the places of upwards of 600 nebulae and clus- 

 ters of stars. And when it is recollected that Lacaille was able to 

 observe not more than about 40 or 50 of these curious objects, we 

 may form some idea of the extent of this labour. In addition to these 

 interesting results, Mr. Dunlop has amassed a copious and valuable 

 collection of Southern double stars, which he is at present occupied 

 in reducing and arranging j and a variety of interesting and curious 

 particulars relative to the magnitudes, colours, and other peculia- 

 rities of all the more conspicuous single ones. 



Shut out as we are by our geographical situation from the actual 

 contemplation of these wonders, the astronomers of Europe may 

 view, with something approaching to envy, the lot of these their more 

 fortunate brethren. The feeling, if an unworthy, is, however, but a 



passing 



