232 



NATURE 



[January 4, 1900 



They were also of opinion that a man-of-war of some 

 three thousand tons could lie practically alongside the 

 fort ; that there was sleeping and other accommodation 

 in a third-class cruiser for any number of shore hands ; 

 and finally, that it was open to anybody to walk on board 

 and claim it. 



The phantasmagoria of telegrams ceased on Saturday, 

 and Captain Batten, who had insisted on sending his 

 steward on shore to look after us, was no v no longer de- 

 pendent on the wardroom mess for his meals. As we had 

 no servants and could not get any, he sent two Seedie 

 boys to look after us and see to the lamps at night, which 

 they did most satisfactorily. I was once more in the land 

 of pantomime, and again came to the conclusion that 

 after all spoken language may be a needless survival. 

 The Collector, camping out some little distance away 

 from the observatory, was now our host, and we had to 

 thank him for unceasing forethought and kindness. We 

 lunched and dined with him, and he supplied me with 

 an interpreter, which facilitated matters greatly. 



It took us some time to get through all Customs for- 

 malities, and the difference between Ceylon and Bombay 

 methods we found curious. At Colombo, before the Lusi- 

 tania had come to her moorings, Mr. Halliday, an officer 

 of the Customs Department, came on board with a letter 

 fron» Mr. Lionel F. Lee, the principal Collector of Cus- 

 toms, offering all possible assistance in landing and 

 trans-shipping baggage and instruments. The Bombay 

 officials were evidently of the opinion that the Melpomene, 

 instead of coming from her station at Calcutta, had 

 arrived straight from home full of contraband. The 

 local official followed me round the camp with a bundle 

 of forms, until at last, in despair, I mformed him that, 

 to my regret, I did not know the precise value of each 

 article of wearing apparel brought out, but that all 

 trunks could be opened for inspection on landing, and 

 I would make any payment he might demand. 



Our quarters in the fort were not without interest. 

 They were in a building much more modern than the fort 

 itself, and consisted of two rooms and a verandah on the 

 first floor, approached by external stone steps. The 

 ground floor, a little, below . the general level, we de- 

 voted to a dark room and a general store-room for the 

 more delicate parts of the instrumental equipment. In 

 each of the upper rooms, which were white-washed, 

 with sanded floors, there was a bedstead, a chair and 

 a tub ; and after all, what more does one really want? 

 I should add that there was also a looking-glass of much 

 more gorgeous make, which did good service by 

 blocking a door of which the fastening had given way. 

 Further, in one of the bed-rooms there was a small table, 

 now used for gastronomic and now for astronomic pur- 

 poses. But the real furniture, both of rooms and 

 verandah, were the pictures on, or rather in its walls. 

 I mean the views from the windows when the jalousies 

 were opened, especially some little time before sunrise 

 and after sunset. I have never seen such effects of 

 gorgeous, indescribable colours. Why was Lippmann not 

 there to catch these colours, unknown in Europe — the 

 fierce contrasts between the water and the land; between 

 the beautiful river valley and the open sea; between the 

 hard outlines of the. gloomy ramparts below and the 

 delicate landscapes which seem to float above them in 

 the gloaming : and, finally, between the pure white of the 

 Melpomene and the blue water on which she floated— a 

 blue which at certain times of the day put the blue of 

 the Mediterranean mto the shade I 



Of mosquitoes there were none ; indeed, the absence of 

 insect life was remarkable ; of snakes we saw few, though 

 the region has a very bad reputation, so bad that in 1876 

 the sum of 441/. was expended in killing 141,000. Of 

 course, precautions were taken. Dr. Lauder Brunton 

 and Prof. Fraser were good enough to provide me with 

 the latest things in remedies, including serum anti- 



NO. 1575, VOL. 61] 



veneux, which I handed over to Dr. Nolan, who posted 

 up full instructions as to their use ; but as this is a matter 

 where prevention is better than cure, leggings by day 

 and lamps by night were used by everybody. 



And now a itw words about the growth of the camp. 

 The first shelter erected was for the use of the signal- 

 men, for one of the guiding principles has been that no 

 one need work in the sun unless he likes, and at the very 

 first it was necessary that there should be signalmen to 

 connect the camp with the ship. In relation to this first 

 shelter, an idiosyncrasy of the blue-jacket, which I had 

 a previous opportunity of studying at Kio, came out. 

 On landing in the morning I found this shelter already 

 christened " Flaggies \1lla " ; the sailors on the staff of 

 the other instruments were not going to be outdone, and 

 as their shelters went up one got the idea of a village 

 fair, for each carried a sign as I have previously men- 

 tioned : the 6-inch equatorial, of which Prof. Pedler 

 arrived to take charge on the 13th, was the " Town Hall " ; 

 the 9-inch prismatic camera lived in " Mainsail Hall"; 

 the 6-inch prismatic camera under Mr. Fowler's charge 

 was accommodated in the " Central Hotel." The very 

 much occupied hut which covered the coelostat and the in- 

 struments which it feeds with light, that is, the integrating 

 spectroscope and the two coronagraphs, was named the 

 " Empire Palace." The whole fort was named " Batten's 

 Camp," and the wall on which the discs were placed was 

 called the "Common Hard"— the ship hailed from Ports- 

 mouth—and so on. In three or four days there was not 

 a place which had not a name, and a very good name 

 too. 



The Lectures and Drills. 



The lectures went on steadily from January 5 to 17. 

 They were given by many of the ship's officers as well 

 as by members of the Expedition. 



The first drills of the work to be done at the chief 

 instruments during the eclipse took place on the 13th. 

 This statement, perhaps, requires some explanation. 

 When a large instrument is brought out so great a dis- 

 tance to observe a fleeting phenomenon it is natural to 

 tty and get out of it the greatest possible amount of 

 work. To secure this the greatest possible division of 

 labour is the first and indeed the chief requirement. 

 This means that many heads and hands must be employed 

 in each of the operations necessary, and this spells drill, 

 unceasing drill. 



Now, if this crowd does not work together without 

 the slightest hitch, failure is certain. I do not think I 

 I need say more as to the necessity for constant drill, 

 but with regard to the complete operations something 

 more than drill is necessary. With about 120 observers 

 and helpers, on the principle of cutting the coat accord- 

 ing to the cloth, a pretty large programme is permissible. 

 When once this is settled, and the volunteers have 

 selected a branch of the work in which they think they 

 can render most efficient help, instruction as to the 

 special points must be imparted. This was done without 

 stint and almost entirely by the officers, and with such a 

 will and skill that my own superfluity on the stage 

 became increasmgly obvious day by day. While this 

 set one thinking in one direction along lines not untinged 

 with regrets, in another there was great cause for 

 rejoicing, for it will be a grand day for solar physics 

 when the observations of eclipses will be among the 

 recognised duties of a ship, such as the present one, on 

 the station with a sufficient crew to tackle it. 



While the instruments were being set up, one of the 

 chief thmgs accomplished was to organise the whole 

 effort, so that when things were ready everybody could 

 work together. .As the number of volunteers was so 

 large, I pointed out to Captain Batten, who had volun- 

 teered to aid in a special branch of the work, the 



