534 ROBERT TREAT PAINE, 



of these occultations as he could, he observed three transits of Mercury 

 and one of Venus. When a boy of nineteen, he computed the elements 

 of all the eclipses of the sun visible in the city of Boston between 

 the years 1822 and 1900. Mr. Paine spared no efforts to observe as 

 many total and annular eclipses of the sun as possible. He succeeded 

 in observing no less than nine, a record that has probably never been 

 equalled by any other observer. Some of these observations involved 

 great personal discomfort, or even danger ; but no ordinary difficulties 

 could daunt him when an eclipse was to be observed. Only a few 

 months before his death he planned travelling alone to Montana to 

 observe the eclipse of March 16, 1885. 



The dates of the five annular and four total eclipses observed by 

 Mr. Paine are as follows : — 



1. Annular, Feb. 12, 1831. Lighthouse at Chatham, Conn. In 

 order to reach this point INIr. Paine was obliged to make an inclement 

 passage by sea of seven miles in an open rowboat. 



2. Total. Nov. 30, 1834. Beaufort Arsenal, S. C. 



3. Annular. Sept. 18, 1838. Capitol at Washington, D, C. 



4. Annular. May 26, 1854. Middlebury, Conn. 



5. Annular. Oct, 18, 1865. St. Michael's Church, Charleston, S. C. 



6. Total. Aug. 7, 1869. Booneborough, Iowa. 



7. Annular. Sept. 28, 1875. Brookline, Mass. 



8. Total. July 29, 1878. Denver, Col. Mr. Paine describes his 

 condition at this time as " sick and nearly blind." 



9. Total. Feb. 15, 1880. Sycamore, Cal. Mr. Paine's indomi- 

 table energy is in no way better shown than by his observation of 

 this eclipse. Although seventy-six years of age and comparatively 

 infirm, he crossed the continent alone. On reaching his destination, 

 he was left by the train on a treeless prairie, with no human being in 

 sight or within many miles. The duration of totality was only thirty- 

 seven seconds, and his main object was to determine this with certainty. 

 He did not dare to devote any of this short interval to the examina- 

 tion of the grand physical phenomena visible only during a total eclipse, 

 and therefoi'e gave his attention exclusively to retaining the correct 

 count of seconds by the chronometer. He returned, after his journey 

 of six thousand miles, entirely satisfied, since he had secured his ob- 

 servations, although he can scarcely be said to have seen the eclipse. 



Besides these central eclipses, Mr. Paine observed no less than fif- 

 teen partial eclipses of the sun from Boston and its vicinity. During 

 sixty years no solar eclipse occurred in Boston which was not looked 

 for by him, and observed, unless he was prevented by the weather. 



