7 oo SCIENCE PROGRESS 



telescope in his father's garden when we were first married. So it was at Dun 

 Echt, and exactly the same at Ascension. And so it will be as long as he can 

 look through a telescope." The excellence of the results which he obtained with 

 the heliometer, admittedly the most difficult of all astronomical instruments to use, 

 testifies to his skill. The value which he derived for the solar parallax is accepted 

 as the correct value to-day ; his determination of the Moon's mass is the best 

 yet made. To this actual skill in observing was added an inimitable skill in 

 discussing observations, in finding out all possible sources of error and in 

 arranging for their removal, and it was largely due to the excellence of his original 

 observations that it was possible in some instances to detect unsuspected sources 

 of error. 



Prof. Forbes has given us a delightful picture of the personal side of Gill's life, 

 illustrated by a large store of good anecdotes. One of the most prominent of his 

 traits was his love for good music ; on one occasion " Santley was singing ' Duncan 

 Grey' at a concert in Cape Town, and Sir David had his seat on a platform. 

 Each verse excited him more than the last, and, oblivious of all but the song, at 

 the close of each verse he pushed back his chair a little to catch the sound better, 

 until, to the horror of his wife, who sat in the body of the hall, he was within a few 

 inches of the stair leading down from the platform. Had there been one more 

 verse he must have turned a somersault down the steps, and all his friends were 

 relieved when the song ended without a catastrophe." He was also a keen art 

 critic. He loved outdoor sport, and was a first-class shot, and in his younger days 

 won many prizes and medals in competitions ; the book contains an excellent 

 account of his first deer-stalk, when he succeeded in killing the deer by an almost 

 impossible shot which his gillie had advised him not to attempt. His home life 

 was of the happiest, and between him and his wife there existed the most perfect 

 sympathy and understanding. The book must be read to appreciate all that his 

 wife was to him. 



Astronomers have to thank Prof. Forbes for writing such an excellent account 

 of the life of one who was pre-eminent in astronomy ; although it is the oldest of 

 the sciences, astronomy is now perhaps somewhat of a bypath in science, and the 

 general reader may be inclined to think that the life of an astronomer can be of 

 but little interest to him. If he will start to read this book his opinion will change 

 before he has proceeded very far, and he will realise why, when Gill died, to his 

 astronomical friends their regret " for the great loss to astronomy was over- 

 shadowed by a human sorrow in losing a friend of magnetic personality and 

 simple-hearted character." H. S. J. 



Dante and the Early Astronomers. By M. A. Orr (Mrs. John Evershed, 

 Kodaikanal). [Pp. xvi + 508, with 9 plates and 53 figures.] (London : 

 Gall & Inglis, 1914. Price i$s. net.) 

 There was probably no study which attracted Dante more than that ot 

 astronomy ; even in his earlier days, before learning had become to him the 

 passion which it was later, astronomy had a special fascination for him and 

 appealed to him in many ways. As Mrs. Evershed says, " the beauty of the skies 

 stirred his imagination, their suggested symbolism touched his religious sense ; 

 the harmony of the celestial movements and the accuracy with which they can 

 be foretold delighted his instinct for order and precision." The astronomical 

 references in his writings are very numerous, and indicate that Dante had read 

 all the best works on astronomy available to him, and was acquainted with all 

 the theories then held to explain the motions of the heavenly bodies. To the 



