SKETCH OF R. A. PROCTOR. 491 



respecting the solar theory of the corona in 1870 and 1871 was blamed 

 by some and misunderstood by many, who failed to perceive his rea- 

 son for urging arguments so strongly on a matter seemingly theoreti- 

 cal. That reason was stated by Mr. Proctor in the preface to the first 

 edition of the " Other Worlds," where he expresses his anxiety lest 

 doubt and confusion, prevailing as to a matter really demonstrated, 

 might cause the opportunities presented by the great solar eclipses of 

 1870 and 1871 to be frittered away. Mr. Proctor's confidence on the 

 one hand and his anxiety on the other were fully justified by the 

 event. Every astronomer now accepts the solar theory of the corona, 

 and few are ignorant how, at the eclipse of 1871, two-thirds of the 

 observers were set by the chief believer in the terrestrial theory to 

 make observations which proved nothing, and which, but for faith in 

 that exploded theory, would never have been thought of. 



The controversy respecting the transits of Yenus, begun in 1869, 

 and brought to a close quite recently, led to unpleasant relations be- 

 tween Mr. Proctor and the Astronomer Royal. Indeed, it must be 

 admitted that in conducting this controversy after February, 1873, 

 Mr. Proctor exhibited a zeal which at times seemed uncalled for. But 

 some explanation may be found in the fact that, having remained qui- 

 escent, at the Astronomer Royal's special request, for a long time, his 

 renewal of the discussion led immediately to the statement that it was 

 now too late for any change of plan. Fortunately, the results of the 

 inquiries of American, Russian, and German astronomers, as well as 

 the nature of the schemes proposed by them, fortified Mr. Proctor's 

 position ; and, even while the Astronomer Royal was proclaiming his 

 conviction that no other nation would adopt the same opinions as Mr. 

 Proctor, news reached England that America, Russia, and Germany, 

 were in accord in these matters. It cannot be wondered at that, at 

 the Greenwich Board of Visitation, Prof. Adams proposed, and the 

 Board unanimously voted, the point which Mr. Proctor had urged in 

 1869, viz., that it was desirable to apply Halley's method (respecting 

 which Airy had said, in December, 1868, that it " failed totally "). In 

 this matter, as in the controversy respecting the sun's corona — the 

 only controversies in which Mr. Proctor has engaged — there was this 

 obvious reason for pressing the discussion, that eclipses and transits 

 will wait for no man. In his main subject of original investigation — 

 the constitution of the heavens — Mr. Proctor has wisely avoided con- 

 troversy, contenting himself with advancing and advocating his views, 

 collecting evidence, weighing objections, and endeavoring to progress 

 toward the solution of the difficult but interesting problems associ- 

 ated with the subject. 



