THE CHILDREN OF THE NEW FOREST. 179 



lor 



a hideous shriek, executed a -pas de a&ul expressive of 

 astonishment, and employing, as is his custom when 

 tcited, language more remarkable for energy than 



elegance, cried out ' that it was a thundering big 

 >met, as safe as the bank ! ' And so it proved to be. 

 jfo more forest for us that night ; but out came the 

 elescope, the sextants, and the not«-book, and the whole 

 evening was passed in taking observations and running 

 ito the house to record them. As the comet 

 bretched its mighty train over the zenith, great was 

 ae excitement as its vast proportions expanded with 

 le darkness of night. ' Fll get its angles with the 



B,' cried my friend, ' and you measure its length.' 



' to the house at full run. 



' How many degrees ? ' 



' Eighty-two and a half.' 



' Humbug ! I don't believe it.' 



* Look for yourself then.' 



* Must have been wrongly handled ; I'll measure it 

 lyself.' 



Off rushes the excited astronomer, sextant in hand, 

 id in five minutes is back again. 



* How many degrees is it now ? * 



* Eighty-six I make it.' 

 And in this manner we spent the greater part of 



lat night, the comet seeming to lengthen with every 

 It was certainly a most startling occurrence, 

 fo one expects to walk out of a house according to 

 custom, and to meet a full-blown comet in the 



