CHAPTER III. 



THE EXPEDITION AT BUXAR* 



FT must be confessed that when, on December 8th, I parted 

 JL with my co-secretary on board the Ballaarat, and wished 

 him and his party God-speed, things appeared anything but 

 promising for the two British Astronomical Association Eclipse 

 Expeditions. With one fell stroke our long discussed and 

 carefully laid plans had been swept to the winds, and we 

 found ourselves at the moment of departure scarcely more 

 advanced in our arrangements than we had been a year pre- 

 viously. In the fortnight that elapsed between the sailing of 

 Mr. Thwaites's contingent and our own no fresh developments 

 occurred. Indeed, this was hardly possible, and when on 

 December 23rd we embarked at Tilbury on board the R.M.S. 

 Egypt we had but the vaguest ideas as to how our future course 

 might shape itself. 



We left England a party of ten members Miss Dixon, 

 Mr. W. B. Gibbs, Mr. E. W." Johnson, Mr. H. Keatley Moore, 

 Mr. and Mrs. Nicolson, and Mr. F. Lys Smith besides my 

 own family party. We were joined at Marseilles by Mrs. 

 and Miss Bevan and the Rev. S. Hebert, and being further 

 reinforced at Brindisi by Mr. and Mrs. Oakes, our number 

 attained its full complement of fifteen. 



Our start from Tilbury can hardly pass without mention. 

 A week or more of heavy fogs culminated with one of excep- 

 tional denseness on the day of our departure. The railway 

 traffic was seriously disorganised, and the special from Liverpool 

 Street did not leave till long after its appointed hour ; though 

 this was of small consequence, for, arrived at the river, we found 

 an impenetrable wall of fog, through which the tender pushed 

 its way to our ship, lying in mid-stream and absolutely 

 invisible to us till its great black hull loomed dark above 

 our heads. 



We were advertised to sail at noon, but as the day wore on 

 the fog continued to increase, and advices reaching us that it 

 was thicker yet down stream, we were perforce obliged to remain 

 where we were, enveloped by a pall of mist through which the bells 



* By the Rev. John M. Bacon, Secretary. 

 si 



