VOYAGE TO ALGERIA. 157 



In our rehearsals Elliot stood beside me, watch in 

 hand, and furnished with a lantern. He called out at 

 the end of each interval, while I moved from telscope 

 to finder, from finder to polariscope, from polariscope 

 to naked eye, from naked eye back to finder, from 

 finder to telescope, abandoning the instrument finally 

 to observe the retreating shadow. All this we went 

 over twenty times, while looking at the actual sun, and 

 keeping him in the middle of the field. It was my 

 object to render the repetition of the lesson so mechan- 

 ical as to leave no room for flurry, forgetfulness, or ex- 

 citement. Volition was not to be called upon, nor judg- 

 ment exercised, but a well-beaten path of routine was 

 to be followed. Had the opportunity occurred, I 

 think the programme would have been strictly carried 

 out. 



But the opportunity did not occur. For several 

 days the weather had been ill-natured. We had wind 

 so strong as to render the hawsers at the stern of the 

 ' Urgent ' as rigid as iron, and to destroy the navigating 

 lieutenant's sleep. We had clouds, a thunder-storm, 

 and some rain. Still the hope was held out that the at- 

 mosphere would cleanse itself, and if it did we were 

 promised air of extraordinary limpidity. Early on the 

 22nd we were all at our posts. Spaces of blue in the 

 early morning gave us some encouragement, but all de- 

 pended on the relation of these spaces to the surround- 

 ing clouds. Which of them were to grow as the day ad- 

 vanced? The wind was high, and to secure the steadi- 

 ness of my instrument I was forced to retreat behind a 

 projection of the bastionet, place stones upon its stand, 

 and, further, to avail myself of the shelter of a sail. My 

 practised men fastened the sail at the top, and loaded 

 it with boulders at the bottom. It was tried severely, 

 but it stood firm. 



