THE EXPEDITION AT TALNI. 21 



saw the first indication of the u Flash," and exposed his plate. 

 A moment later .Mr. Smith and I, both of us waiting for the 

 actual contact, gave the signal that totality had begun. Mr. 

 Ramrao Suharao, clerk to Mr. Morris, who was taking charge of 

 the eclipse clock, started it sharply, and as it rang out at each 

 tenth second called out in a loud clear voice the number of 

 seconds that yet remained to us. His call of " ninety," " eighty," 

 " seventy," v the sharp ting of the clock bell, and the subdued 

 wailing that came from the village beyond the grove, were the 

 only sounds. The cry of " ten " had gone by but six seconds 

 when a bright yellow star shone out on the south-west edge of 

 the moon, wavered for a moment, then spread itself like a 

 bursting shell, and totality was over. 



We took little heed of the remaining partial eclipse. My 

 wife, indeed, according to our programme, exposed one plate 

 upon the sun about forty seconds after the return of sunlight ; 

 but, speaking generally, our work was over. Whether it was 

 done well or ill we had yet to learn. For my wife and myself, 

 whose chief hope was that we might succeed in photographing 

 for the first time some of the faint extensions of the corona, we 

 had marked with much discouragement the great brightness of 

 the skv during the eclipse. It was an exceptionally bright one, 

 much brighter than the brightest night at the full of the moon. 



The eclipse was over. What secrets our photographic plates 

 held for us, of course we did not yet know ; but we had carried 

 out our full programmes, and now we became sensible how 

 severe had been the nervous strain. We might not, however, 

 yet give way to it. We had to journey down to the railway 

 -ration, and for nearly four hours we were standing in the little 

 triangular tent that had been hastily pitched over the portable 

 telegraph instrument, beneath a sun that seemed all the hotter 

 for his recent concealment, receiving and despatching telegrams 

 about the eclipse, not only to our many friends in India, but 

 also hom : e to England. 



That night Talni village was en fete. Throughout the dread 

 two minutes of totality we were dimly conscious of an undertone 

 of cries and wailing from the distant village, hidden from our 

 sight by the trees, and the shout of relief and welcome with 

 which the villagers greeted the return of sunlight was borne to 

 us loud and clear ; and now that the crisis was past, the villagers 

 gave themselves up to unrestrained rejoicings. After dinner 

 we were invited out to see the illuminations and the fireworks. 

 Who arranged these I do not know, but they certainly did 

 great credit to the organiser. Hundreds of native lamps were 

 distributed about, some on the ground, marking out the paths, 

 others on frames in long lines of light. This illumination was 

 arranged on the south-east side of our camp area, that is to say, 

 at the corner nearest the village. In the foreground, midway 



