160 .FRAGMENTS OF SCIENCE. 



the mist vanished more and more, and finally all the 

 lamps shone through it They formed a bright foil to 

 the sombre mass of rock above them. The sea was so 

 calm and the scene so lovely that Mr. Huggins and my- 

 self stayed on deck till near midnight, when the ship was 

 moored. During our walking to and fro a striking 

 enlargement of the disk of Jupiter was observed, when- 

 ever the heated air of the funnel came between us and 

 the planet. On passing away from the heated air, the 

 flat dim disk would immediately shrink to a luminous 

 point. The effect was one of visual persistence. The 

 retinal image of the planet was set quivering in all 

 azimuths by the streams of heated air, describing in 

 quick succession mi ante lines of light, which summed 

 themselves to a disk of sensible area. 



At six o'clock next morning, the gun at the Signal 

 Station on the summit of the rock, boomed. At eight 

 the band on board the ' Trafalgar ' training-ship, which 

 was in the harbour, struck up the national anthem ; and 

 immediately afterwards a crowd of mite-like cadets 

 swarmed up the rigging. After the removal of the 

 apparatus belonging to the Gibraltar party we went on 

 shore. Winter was in England when we left, but here 

 we had the warmth of summer. The vegetation was 

 luxuriant palm-trees, cactuses, and aloes, all ablaze 

 with scarlet flowers. A visit to the Governor was pro- 

 posed, as an act of necessary courtesy, and I accom- 

 panied Admiral Ommaney and Mr. Huggins to * the 

 Convent,' or Government House. We sent in our cards, 

 waited for a time, and were then conducted by an 

 orderly to his Excellency. He is a fine old man, over 

 six feet high, and of frank military bearing. He re- 

 ceived us and conversed with us in a very genial 

 manner. He took us to see his garden, his palms, his 

 shaded promenades, and his orange-trees loaded witt 



