82 ON THE TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE SUN, JULY, 1851. [15 



that it appeared uneven in several places,, and two mountains were parti- 

 cularly noticed on the edge, about 5 apart and near the eastern extremity 

 of the Moon's horizontal diameter. The cusps, too, as they were approaching 

 each other, occasionally appeared to be somewhat blunted. I could see no 

 trace of the Moon's limb extending beyond the Sun's disc. As the crescent 

 became very narrow, it seemed to be in a state of violent agitation, and 

 at last, just before the totality, it broke up into several parts. These, how- 

 ever, were not like the " beads " described by Mr Baily, but were quite 

 irregular, being evidently occasioned by the inequalities on the Moon's limb. 

 As the totality approached, the gloom rapidly increased ; still, enough light 

 remained up to the moment of total obscuration to render the change which 

 then took place very marked and startling. For a few moments I felt 

 somewhat confused, and did not immediately remove the dark glass. I then 

 applied my eye to the finder, and saw the corona surrounding the dark 

 body of the Moon. The light of the corona was pale, not sensibly coloured, 

 and gradually faded away in receding from the Moon's edge. Its average 

 breadth was perhaps about a third of the Moon's diameter, but it extended 

 considerably farther in some directions than in others, its boundary being 

 very irregular. It did not appear to consist of rays, and there was no 

 marked annularity of structure, so that I could not decide whether it was 

 concentric with the Sun or the Moon. 



I now quitted the telescope and looked first at the Moon and then 

 around on the sky. The appearance of the corona, shining with a cold 

 unearthly light, made an impression on my mind which can never be effaced, 

 and an involuntary feeling of loneliness and disquietude came upon me. I 

 had previously ascertained the position of the principal stars and planets, 

 but none of them could be seen on account of the clouds. I did not 

 notice any peculiarity in the colours of surrounding objects. The light 

 remaining was only just sufficient to enable me to read off the face of a 

 box chronometer which I had with me. A party of haymakers, who had 

 been laughing and chatting merrily at their work during the early part of 

 the eclipse, were now seated on the ground, in a group near the telescope, 

 watching what was taking place with the greatest interest, and preserving 

 a profound silence. 



About forty or fifty seconds after the commencement of the totality, 

 I returned to the telescope, and cast my eye round the disc of the Moon. 

 The light of the corona did not seem to be uniformly diffused round it, 

 there being a patch brighter than the rest near the point where the Sun's 



