4 8 



acter was shown by the fact that every night, during a period 

 of some hours, it was in connection with the Observatory at 

 Brussels, and received a continuous record of the indications of 

 the Brussels instruments. 



I had studied its construction with the benefit of M. Ryssel- 

 berghe's explanations, and satisfied myself that it was an in- 

 valuable instrument for enabling a director at a central station 

 to obtain the best data for weather predictions ; so when M. 

 Rysselberghe, in the fifth plenary sitting of the Congress, de- 

 scribed his system, and proposed that the Congress should re- 

 commend its general adoption, I was a sympathising listener. 



M. Mascart, director of the French meteorological office, 

 opposed the motion on the ground of the great expense which 

 the general adoption of the system would involve, and the little 

 experience that had yet been obtained of its operation. 



I saw that M. Rysselberghe was not likely to get what he 

 wanted, and I was loath to let so good a thing fall ; so while 

 M. Mascart was speaking I hastily drafted in English a resolu- 

 tion of a more moderate character, which, after being put into 

 French, was unanimously adopted, M. Rysselberghe having 

 withdrawn his own proposition in favour of it. It was, that the 

 commission on earth-currents and atmospheric electricity be 

 also charged with the duty of reporting on the practicability 

 of the automatic despatch of the indications of meteorological 

 instruments to distant stations by means of telegraphic currents. 



I may add that M. Rysselberghe, before leaving Paris, gave 

 me his warmest thanks both by letter and personally for my 

 action in the matter. 



Before the Congress had finished its sittings, the labours of 

 the jury began. There were 150 jurors — 75 for France, and 75 

 for the rest of the world ; England having 10 ; Germany, 10; 

 Belgium, 1 1 ; and the United States, 7. 



Their first meeting was held on the 26th October, when they 

 divided themselves into five groups, which at the next meeting 

 were subdivided into fourteen classes, corresponding to the 

 classes in which objects were arranged in the official catalogue. 



I was in group 1, which included classes 3, 8, 9, 14, class 3 



