SKETCH OF STEPHEN J. PERRY. 839 



communicated a paper on the subject to the British Association 

 of 1875, illustrating his remarks by diagrams of the sun and the 

 planet as seen from various stations, and was attentively listened 

 to. The Americans had anticipated his party and taken the posi- 

 tion they had intended to occupy, but they found a better one ; 

 and the three British detachments and the Americans co-oper- 

 ated, making four stations on the island. The weather was finer 

 than they had anticipated from the accounts of the climate of 

 Kerguelen, and from his station they were able to get observa- 

 tions of the internal and external contacts at egress. He was 

 also a member of the observing party of the transit of Venus of 

 1882, in Madagascar, which was selected as one of the ingress 

 stations. In 1886 he observed the eclipse of August 29th, at Car- 

 riacou, a small island to the north of Grenada ; and in 1887 the 

 eclipse of August 19th, in Russia. 



In November, 1889, he sailed for the Isles de Salut to witness 

 the solar eclipse of December 22d, and died soon after the observa- 

 tion. According to the account given of these, his last days, by 

 Father Strickland, S. J., in The Tablet, he suffered much during 

 the voyage from seasickness, and was in rather an exhausted con- 

 dition when he reached the island. He nevertheless, intent upon 

 his work, went ashore at once to inspect the proposed point of 

 observation and introduce himself to the authorities. He was 

 advised and urged to continue to live on the vessel (the Comus), 

 going ashore only in the day. Father Strickland expressed the 

 belief that if he had done this "his life would not have been 

 sacrificed to the one anxious desire to do everything for the best 

 for the success of the work confided to him." He preferred, 

 however, to abide in the hospital, and said nothing of the illness 

 which he felt. The road from the hospital to the observatory 

 was steep and difiicult, but he traversed it on foot four times a 

 day. He complained the Friday before the eclipse of sickness, 

 but worked till nearly three o'clock in the morning ; lay down in 

 a hammock in the tent to get a little rest where he was ; was up 

 again before six o'clock to take the position of the sun at rising ; 

 and superintended at half past seven a careful and successful 

 rehearsal of the operations and duties that were to be performed 

 in the observation of the eclipse the next morning. " Every one 

 was surprised at Father Perry's exactitude in contributing to 

 carry out his own orders, and his courage in facing fatigue. His 

 readiness to sacrifice himself and his own convenience in order 

 to save trouble to others endeared him to all who worked with 

 him, and challenged their utmost efforts to secure success for 

 their work in spite of the oppressive climate and surroundings." 

 About noon on Saturday he was found much exhausted by a 

 ship's officer who visited him, but was again at his post in the 



