SIR WILLIAM HUGGINS, K.C.B., O.M. 175 



It is interesting to read the early records of some of the 

 meetings at which Muggins's papers were communicated. As 

 an instance we may take one relating to a meeting of the Royal 

 Astronomical Society in January 1866. Huggins had given an 

 account of his spectroscopic observations of Tempel's comet, and 

 had recounted how the coma gave a continuous spectrum whilst 

 the nucleus exhibited bright lines indicating that it was self- 

 luminous. He added that probably the continuous spectrum is 

 only that of reflected sunlight and suggested that if this were the 

 case we may hope to see some of the solar lines in the spectra 

 of brighter comets. This hope, we may add parenthetically, 

 was realised by Huggins himself in the case of comets that 

 appeared in 1881 and 18S2. A question was asked by one in 

 the audience " whether the coma might not reflect the light of 

 the nucleus and not that of the sun." Huggins's reply in the 

 sense that "as the character of light is not changed by reflection, 

 if the light of the coma came originally from the nucleus the 

 spectra of both nucleus and coma would be alike, which they 

 were not," drew forth from the chairman the explanatory com- 

 mendation : " Mr. Huggins is very cautious in guarding the 

 spectroscope from saying more than he can v/arrant." At the 

 same meeting Pritchard asked whether there were any doubt 

 that the coma had emanated from the nucleus. This question 

 elicited the answer that the process generally appears to be 

 that the nucleus sends out jets of light which form successive 

 envelopes and probably cool down sufficiently to take other 

 forms than that of gas. Pritchard summarised the situation by 

 remarking that in his mastery of the subject Huggins proceeded 

 with a caution that was as rare as it was commendable. One 

 is perhaps too ready to attach a timorous significance to the 

 word "caution," so that we may submit that the quality by 

 which Huggins compelled our assent was his judgment rather 

 than his caution. 



But there is no need to labour the theme. No wondei 

 that we reverence the gift and are filled with regret when death 

 robs us of one who possessed it in full measure. It is not 

 only that the worker has ceased from his labour, but also that 

 other workers have lost the help of his wisdom and can no 

 longer appeal to his wide experience. All that is now accessible 

 is that small part of his knowledge which is committed to print. 

 The results of his technique are with us permanently, but if 



