244 Proceedings of Royal Society of Edinburgh. [sess. 
and, I believe, published by the town crier, that at the call, 
“silencio,” as totality was approaching, silence would be the 
best compliment our friends could pay us. The effect of this 
arrangement was most remarkable, and most creditable to the 
courteous character of the people. Before the eclipse and during 
the partial phase the volume of sound which reached our ears 
can be adequately compared only to the Tower of Babel, or the 
Falls of Niagara. But the moment one of our party, in stentorian, 
tones, shouted the single word “silencio,” the effect was like magic. 
Not a sound was heard from all the crowd of perhaps 2000 
people till totality was passed, and we announced by our cheers 
that the great event was over and our programme successfully 
accomplished. 
I would now like to say a word or two as to what the nature of' 
our observations was, though, as my own negatives are still un- 
developed, I am unable to say any more about them. Dr Cope- 
land had arranged for a long series of exposures with the 40-foot 
telescope, and these were successfully made by Mr M‘Pherson 
securing a series of ten short exposures on a sliding plate im- 
mediately before and after the beginning of totality, with the 
object, if possible, of obtaining the spectrum of the flash. Then., 
three exposures on 18-inch plates of the corona, the prism being 
removed at the proper moment by an assistant. Next, another 
sliding plate received ten exposures with the prism as totality was 
about to end, and further five exposures on separate 18 -inch plates 
of the spectrum of the returning crescent. 
My own programme was less ambitious. All I attempted was 
four photographs of the corona during totality, with the 6-inch 
triple object-glass referred to before- The plates are whole-plate 
size, 8J x 6J inches, and are of the triple-coated Sandell type on 
Chance’s glass. I regret that I have not yet had time since my 
return home on Tuesday night to get these plates developed, but I 
hope to do so immediately, and to lay them before this Society at 
the earliest possible opportunity. 
Mr Franklin-Adams’ programme was made up of long exposure 
photographs of the corona with his three portrait lenses. Two of 
these were mounted on an equatorial stand belonging to the Boyal 
Observatory, Edinburgh, and the third was mounted on the stand . 
