74 ROUGH WAYS MADE SMOOTH. 



upon expeditions for observing the recent transit and the 

 approaching transit of the year 1882. 



I doubt whether many, even among British astronomers, 

 will accept the new value. Already the Superintendent of 

 the Nautical Almanac has given his opinion upon it in 

 terms which cannot be regarded as favourable. ' It is well 

 known,' he says (I quote at least from an article which has been 

 attributed to him without contradiction on his part), ' that 

 some astronomers have not expected our knowledge of the 

 sun's distance to be greatly improved from the observations 

 of the transit of Venus. Many, we can imagine, will regard 

 with some suspicion ' so great a value as 93,300,000 miles 

 (I substitute these words for technical expressions identical 

 in real meaning). ' Nevertheless, whatever degree of 

 doubt might be entertained by competent authorities, it 

 appears to have been felt by those immediately responsible 

 for action, in different civilised nations where science is 

 encouraged, that so rare a phenomenon as a transit of Venus 

 could not be allowed to pass without every exertion being 

 made to utilise it' 



Sir George Airy, very naturally, attaches more value to 

 the result of the British expeditions, or at least of that part 

 of the operations for which he was responsible, than others 

 are disposed to do. In an address to the Astronomical 

 Society, he expressed the opinion that * the results now pre- 

 sented are well worthy of very great confidence. . . . Con- 

 sidering that the number of observers was eighteen, and 

 that they made fifty-four observations, and considering also 

 the degree of training they had, and their zeal, and the 

 extreme care that was taken in the choice of stations, I 

 think,' he said, ' that there will not be anything to compete 

 with the value which has been deduced.' This is, as I have 

 said, very naturally his opinion ; and although ordinarily 

 it is rather for the employers than for the employed to esti- 

 mate the value of the results sent in, yet at least we cannot 

 object to his just and generous praise of those who have 

 worked under his orders. 



