I 34 
Notices of Books . 
[Jan uar y 
Six Months in Ascension ; or, an Unscientific Account of a Sci- 
entific Expedition. By Mrs. Gill. London : John Murray. 
The Introduction to Mrs. Gill’s “ Unscientific Account ” contains 
a short but most interesting history of the various attempts to 
measure our distance from the Sun, from that of Aristarchus of 
Samos, which gave about a twentieth part ol the real value, to 
the plans of modern times, which are expected to come within 
one-tenth of a million of miles of the truth. 
Mrs. Gill has said just enough to show some of the difficulties 
of this problem, and to increase the interest of her Expedition, 
without being technical and tedious ; so that the most unscientific 
reader must read her Introduction with pleasure. 
Mrs. Gill begins with a short description of the reasons and 
aims of her journey, and then goes on to their start at once, 
quite pathetically describing an accident that happened to Lord 
Lindsay’s heliometer in Burlington House. 
Ascension is an island in the Atlantic, about 800 miles north- 
west of St. Helena, and midway between the coasts of Africa 
and South America. It was discovered by Juan de Nova, on 
Ascension Day, 1501, whence it received its name. 
No Government cared to take possession of 38 square miles of 
barren volcanic ash till 1815, when England, being afraid to leave 
a standpoint so near to St. Helena unoccupied, seized Ascension, 
and placed a captain and crew on board the Flora tender , as it is 
called in the “ Naval Gazette.” 
The population consists of a company of marines, some 
St. Helena boys, and 70 or 80 Kroomen. The constitution is 
eminently monarchical, as the captain has the same power over 
his subjedls as a captain of a man-of-war. 
Mrs. Gill seems to have carried away the same impressions of 
Funchal as most other travellers ; but as they were compelled to 
stay some time at St. Helena, we have an interesting description 
of that island, but for some uncouth Latin botanical names. Poly- 
podium , for instance, is more like those dreadful things that 
frightened Hans Andersen’s mermaid than a pretty fern. 
Ascension gained, the first impressions of Garrison are not 
favourable. In spite of the Admiralty’s gracious permission to 
buy meat, very little seems to be forthcoming, and that of a most 
peculiar quality. Hill, the servant, informs'Mrs. Gill that as for 
sheep and bullocks “ hardly any were killed that have not fainted 
first.” 
The first thing is to get the observatory up, of course ; but no 
sooner is this done than envious clouds come in the way, and 
obscure the astronomer's view, till at last he decides to move his 
observatory, heliometer and all, across the “ clinker,” to another 
corner of the island, — a dangerous transit, for the clinker is rough, 
and the Kroomen insist on carrying the heliometer-case on their 
