358 Rev. A. L Cortie [Feb. 26, 



of ItJll at Yavan, in the Tonga Islands, through thick clouds. But 

 at Hernosand we observed in a perfect translucent blue sky, though 

 had the eclipse taken place on any other day, during our three weeks' 

 stay, except on August 9, and the day of the eclipse, August 21, we 

 should have been baulked by clouds. But though exceptionally 

 favoured by weather conditions, we experienced our share of other 

 adventures. 



It had been proposed that Father O'Connor and myself should 

 join Professor Fowler's party intended for Kiev. But the reiterated 

 refusal of the Russian Government through the British Foreign Office 

 to allow the Jesuit Fathers to enter Russia necessitated the division 

 of the original expedition. It was arranged that we should form a 

 separate expedition to Hernosand, a station which had been excluded 

 from the original programme of British official expeditions, on account 

 of its inferior chances of good weather conditions. The permission 

 which was ultimately granted for our entrance into Russia, through 

 the intervention of Dr. Backlund, the Imperial Astronomer at 

 Pulkova, was fortunately not communicated to us. Had we accom- 

 panied Professor Fowler, with him we should have had the mortifi- 

 cation of abandoning our expedition at Riga, on account of the 

 impossibility of proceeding to Kiev, owing to the incidence of the 

 War and the consequent mobilization of troops. Even had we 

 succeeded in penetrating to Kiev we should have shared the ill- 

 fortune of Professor Campbell and the party from the Lick Observa- 

 tory, and been prevented from observing by clouds. 



Our return journey from Hernosand during the war was also 

 excitingly adventurous. Between Hernosand and Stockholm we 

 traversed two Swedish mine-fields, under the escort of armed vessels. 

 Arriving at Stockholm on August 26, we had to change our intended 

 homeward route via Gothenburg and Hull, and started via Christiania, 

 and thence by the truly magnificent mountain railway to Bergen . 

 Thence on August 29 we took a Norwegian steamer to cross the North 

 Sea to Newcastle. Had it not been for timely warnings given us in 

 the course of the succeeding day by British cruisers, we should in all 

 probability have run into a mine-field laid by the Germans some little 

 distance from the mouth of the Tyne. Accordingly we changed our 

 course for Peterhead, and came down the coast inside the mine- 

 field. Finally, we were escorted into Newcastle on the early morning 

 of August 31 by three torpedo-boats. The British Minister at 

 Stockholm, Sir Esme Howard, very kindly took charge of our 

 instruments, and subsequently transmitted them to the Vice-Consul 

 at Bergen, whence they were safely shipped to Hull. 



One experience of those who go on eclipse expeditions is invariable, 

 and that is of the kindliness and helpfulness of all with whom 

 observers are brought into contact. Professor B. Hasselburg, of the 

 Academy of Sciences at Stockholm, did everything in his power to 

 secure the success of the British expedition. He recommended 



