1871. | Proceedings of the Asiatic Socvety. 151 
An amateur (in one sense we are all so) then, must before making 
up his mind to such a proceeding consider what he loses: I ven- 
ture to say that he will entirely lose the great sight. In order to 
see with the spectroscope, he must deliberately shut himself out 
from this. He may then see what others have seen before, but he 
can, without special means, add no material fact to what is known, 
and it is far more likely that he will lose the real sight without 
seeing so much. If heis in any degree anxious or nervous, 
it is pretty certain that he will have no clear idea of what he 
sees in the instrument. The case of aman who having carefully 
made up his mind to objects and methods of examination, provides 
himself with adequate apparatus, and deliberately gives up the 
sight for the chance of being of use, is of course quite different. I 
could not recommend any one going down to the Kclipse-line with- 
out due preparation ; to lose one of the most magnificent sights he 
can see, and to miss the opportunity of appreciating how much it 
has been given to man to penetrate into the mysteries of nature. 
I purpose, however, now, in pursuance of a promise to the President, 
to offer some suggestions to visitors who are not content with 
this. 
Any person possessing a chronometer and the means of finding 
its error, will do a service if he will simply note the four moments of 
contact of the Sun’s and Moon’s Limbs. As I explained before, the 
first contact is especially difficult to note, but the other three are 
comparatively easy. He has then only to mark his place accurate- 
ly on the Atlas of India, or some good map, and deduce his 
Latitude and Longitude and height above the Sea. These data will 
help towards the problem of determining the Solar and Lunar 
diameters and, if accurate, they cannot be too numerous. 
As Totality comes on; if he does not mean to take the moment 
of the Sun’s disappearance, I would advise him to lay aside his 
Telescope, and look for the strange fringes of colour or light and 
shade which mark the commencement of this Phase. I quote some 
accounts of this from Grant’s History of Physical Astronomy. 
In 1842, M. Fauvelle gives the following from Perpignan. “ At 
“the moment when the Eclipse was about to become Total, I per- 
“ceived the ast rays of the sun to undulate with great intensity and 
