SKETCH OF R. A. PROCTOR. 489 



cal reading, Mr. Proctor is reported as standing high in the university 

 among the "wranglers." We have wranglers in this country, and keep 

 a whole Congress of them for public exhibition, as gladiators were ex- 

 hibited at the Roman shows. But in the English universities this 

 term is applied to a limited group of first-class students or honor-men 

 who go in on the final scramble for the highest places in a numerical 

 gradation. He who beats all the rest is called " senior wrangler." 

 This is the highest position of university honor, and the struggle to 

 reach it is so long and severe that it is said to " use up " the success- 

 ful candidate, so that the " senior wrangler " is rarely heard of in after- 

 life. Then come second, third, and fourth wrangler, and so on, and 

 even tenth wrangler is regarded as a highly-honorable rank, as in fact 

 it is to be a wrangler at all. Fortunately for astronomy and American 

 lecturing, Proctor did not win the headship in the wrangle of his year, 

 but he is quoted as being close on the heels of the leaders. 



Mr. Proctor's first literary effort, a nine-page article on " Double 

 Stars," appeared in the Cornhill Magazine for December, 1863, ten 

 years ago. His next attempt was an " Essay on the Rings of Saturn," 

 which was declined, as not sufficiently popular for the readers of the 

 Cornhill Magazine. This led to the writing of his first book, "Saturn 

 and its System," a work chiefly remarkable for the fullness of the 

 relations presented by a single planet, which are discussed in almost 

 every conceivable aspect. The construction of maps to illustrate 

 Saturn led Mr. Proctor to form his " Gnomonic Star Atlas," planned 

 on an altogether original system. The sphere is supposed to be in- 

 closed in a dodecahedron, on whose twelve pentagonal faces the stars 

 are projected. A third work, called " The Handbook of the Stars," 

 was also ready for the press in 1866. In this year an event occurred 

 which rendered literary and scientific labor, hitherto pursued as an 

 amusement, a necessity of existence. The bank in which he had all 

 his fortune broke and left him worse than bankrupt, for he was liable 

 for many thousand pounds, and from this liability he has but very 

 recently obtained release. The three years following were marked 

 with struggles, difficulties, and severe domestic bereavements, which 

 interrupted literary work. In 1867 " Constellation-Seasons" (now out 

 of print), and "Sun Yiews of the Earth," were produced, as well as 

 charts of the planetary orbits, projections of Mars, and other maps. 

 In 1868 appeared " Half-Hours with the Telescope," and in 1869 "Half- 

 Hours with the Stars." But the chief occupation of Mr. Proctor's 

 time for the three years consisted in essay-writing for the magazines, 

 and in the preparation of works which publishers rejected at the time, 

 but which have since met with a success altogether unusual in scien- 

 tific literature. 



In 1868 Mr. Proctor commenced writing popular science essays for 

 the London Daily News, and has continued to do so until the present 

 time. In 1870 appeared " Other Worlds than Ours," which had a 



