REVIEWS 699 



interest in the doings of all his assistants and in their families. On his return 

 from a visit to Europe all in turn would come in to see him down to the youngest. 

 The instrumental equipment was increased from a small transit-circle, a 7-inch 

 equatorial and an old photoheliograph, by the addition of two heliometers (4-inch 

 and 7-inch), a 6-inch refractor, the astrographic telescope, the Victoria spectro- 

 scopic telescope, the reversible transit-circle, a zenith telescope, and a 3-foot 

 altazimuth. Much care and thought was bestowed by Gill upon the design and 

 housing of these instruments, and his reversible transit with its wonderfully stable 

 meridian marks is probably the finest transit-circle in the world. All of them, 

 except one, were obtained by Gill from the guardians of the public purse by his 

 persuasive enthusiasm, his tireless energy, and his refusal to accept "no" as an 

 answer. The other telescope, the fine Victoria telescope, was a gift from a friend 

 and admirer. His method of dealing with Government officials is well illustrated 

 by the following account of the manner in which he obtained his heliometer : 



" On arriving at the Admiralty one morning he found that the question had 

 passed from the Hydrographic Department and that before reaching the Treasury 

 would pass through many hands and might be settled in about three weeks. 

 After careful inquiries on general procedure he traced the documents and cheerily 

 interviewed the official in whose hands they were and explained the importance 

 of the instrument and its uses. Thanked for his kindness in calling, he was told 

 the request would receive early attention and would probably be out of that room 

 in a week or so ; but Gill pointed out that it was essential that it should be 

 through all departments of the Admiralty and sanctioned by the Treasury to 

 enable him to announce to the Astronomical Society Meeting that evening that 

 the Government had sanctioned the purchase of the instrument. After suggesting 

 that the official could write his brief minute at once as well as a week later his 

 views prevailed, the minute was written, and he was entrusted with the documents 

 for conveyance to the officer who was to deal with them next. The process was 

 repeated and he hied him to the Treasury where he added to his former plea for 

 haste the example of the businesslike way the Admiralty had dealt with the matter. 

 The Treasury people humoured him, but the last man urged the utter impossi- 

 bility of final Treasury sanction as the Financial Secretary was not in his office. 

 Inquiry as to his whereabouts proved him to be at the House of Commons ; so 

 Gill hastened there and after explanations the Secretary agreed to the provision 

 of the heliometer, and a very happy Gill drove at once to the R.A.S. and made 

 his announcement." 



But the transformation which he brought about in the Cape Observatory is 

 but a small part of his work. The geodetic survey of South Africa is due to his 

 initiative, and its success to the manner in which he pulled it through on several 

 occasions when very near failure. He took the lead in various international 

 projects such as the organisation of the various observatories of the world for the 

 astrographic chart and catalogue. Every one consulted him and looked to him 

 for advice. Even more so was this the case after his retirement from the Cape 

 when he settled down in London. Nor must we forget the part which he took 

 in stimulating the enthusiasm of young astronomers ; several went out to the 

 Cape and worked and lived with him for a time, forming friendships which lasted 

 through life ; some of the credit for their subsequent work must be given to Gill. 



But his capacity lay not only in his powers of organisation and of directing and 

 stimulating others. He was himself pre-eminently a born observer ; he was never 

 happier than when observing, and in spells of fine weather would stay up night 

 after night observing with the heliometer into the early hours of the morning. As 

 Lady Gill wrote, "When David comes in after a night's work with his old 

 heliometer he is just daft, laughing and joking. He was just the same with the 



