390 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERT. 



ity, heads of golden and ruby-colored light flashed almost entirely arotmd 

 the moon, not constant even for a second at one point, but fitfully flashing, 

 as reflection from rippled water, and as mutable in the respective places of 

 the colors. This bead-thread broke up suddenly, when, for the first time, 

 protuberances were noticed beyond the following limb of the moon. The 

 largest one was in the form of a flattened cone or pyramid of cumulus cloud, 

 about one minute in height by two minutes broad at the base. The cloud was 

 not a uniform mass, but apparently an aggregation of small ones, and its 

 general tint was a rosy pink, with occasional spots and edges of yellowish 

 white light, as though sunlight shone obliquely through them. This was an 

 extremely beautiful sight, and occupied Mr. Gillis so intently that he lost the 

 beat of the chronometer. It was then so dark that he could not see the 

 second-dial on the gold chronometer without a lantern. " Raising my face 

 to the telescope," says Lieutenant Gillis, " a most extraordinary scene was 

 apparent. Over the moon's black disk colors of the spectrum flashed in 

 intersecting circles of equal diameter with that body, and each apparently 

 revolving towards the lunar centre. The moving colors were not visible be- 

 yond the moon, but a halo of virgin white light encircled it, which was quite 

 uniformly traceable more than a semi-diameter beyond the black outline. 

 This corona was composed of radial beams, or streamers, having slightly 

 darker or fainter interstices rather than a disk of regularly diminishing or 

 suffusing light ; but the gorgeous appearance of the spectrum circles, with 

 their incessantly changing bands of crimson, violet, yellow, and green, 

 thoroughly startled me from the equanimity with which the preceding phe- 

 nomena had been observed. Nor were these colors physiological results 

 from a change of position of the body, or of preceding strain of sight in 

 efforts to recognize the division of the second's dial, in darkness, and subse- 

 quent direction of the eye towards the sunlight, for they continued visible 

 with the telescope at least ten seconds longer. As near as it was possible to 

 estimate, the breadth of each spectrum circle was about two minutes. The 

 green colors were not darker than the tint usually called pea-green, and were 

 on the edges farthest from their respective centres; but neither of the lines 

 seemed to retain a definite position, and I was irresistibly drawn to their con- 

 templation, to the neglect of all the changes that might have been taking 

 place in the protuberance and corona. 



" They vanished with the first appearance of sunlight beyond the western 

 limb of the moon, their sudden obliteration causing me to utter an exclama- 

 tion which was regarded as the signal for noting the time, a datum whose 

 importance had been wholly forgotten in the fascination thus caused. I 

 cannot liken them to anything so nearly as to the image seen in the kaleido- 

 scope." 



An expedition to the mouth of Saskatchewan River, Lake Winnipeg, was 

 disappointed in the weather, and made no scientific observations, the sun, 

 during the eclipse, being obscured with thick clouds. 



In Europe, the only point where the obscuration of the sun's disk was 

 total was Spain; and here the most eminent astronomers of almost every 

 country in Europe gathered the British government alone placing two 

 steamers at the disposal of their scientific corps. About fifty stations were 

 occupied, by several hundred observers, among whom were LeVerrier, Airy, 

 "VVhcwell, Struve', Madler, Secchi, and others. 



Before totality commenced, the colors in the sky and on the hills are de- 

 scribed as having been magnificent beyond all description; the clear sky in 



