TOTAL SOLAS ECLIPSE OF JULY 18, 1860. 
353 
means of screws affixed to the feet of the tripod-stand, and of a level attached to the 
vertical axis of the telescope, a distant mountain peak was made to run along one of the 
lines D A or C B by causing the telescope to turn on the vertical axis when the index 
of the eyepiece stood at zero ; and the position of the whole eyepiece was regulated by 
means of a slight axial adjustment of the sliding tube until the line in question, and 
the course of the object horizontally across the field, showed an absolute coincidence. 
The diagonal lines D and A were then each 45° from the zenith ; and the angle between 
the pole and the zenith at the period of totality being 47° 59', the wire D, to the west 
of the zenith, was 2° 59' east of the pole. This will readdy be seen by the annexed 
diagram, which shows the apparent positions of the zenith and of the east, west, and 
south points in the field of the eyepiece, the zenith being represented in its natural 
position, but the east and west points reversed, right for left ; so that, in referring any 
measurement to D, 2° 59' must be added to reduce them to positions from the north 
point towards the east. 
At last the eventful 18th of July arrived, and appeared hopelessly cloudy. The sky 
was watched with the most intense anxiety by us all ; and I am free to confess that my 
nerves were in the most feverish state of agitation. Not the slightest break in the 
clouds or mist was visible until about 10 o’clock, when a streak of clear sky gave us the 
first faint gleam of hope. At noon the sky began to clear very generally, not so much 
by the clouds being carried ofif by the wind, as by their melting away in the air. An 
attempt was made to get an observation of the sun ; but the clouds were so dense that it 
was only just as he was passing away from the field of the telescope that his following 
hmb could be made out. Soon after this the clouds, which had been dissolving and 
gradually becoming thinner, disappeared all at once ; and we had a magnificent sky, 
absolutely cloudless, except near the horizon. The heights towards the north in the 
direction of Pobes were perfectly free from mist ; moreover we could discern through 
the telescope Mr. Boxomi and Mr. J. Beck on a low hill a few miles to the west of our 
station, and it gave us pleasure to know that at least two of the several parties were as 
fortunate as ourselves. The mists surrounded the higher peaks of the Pyrenees so per- 
tinaciously that we expressed to each other great fears for our good friend Mr. Vignoles; 
for we were aware that he intended to carry out his plan of observations from one of 
the highest peaks, and we afterwards heard -with the greatest regret that our apprehen- 
sions had been realized. 
About twenty minutes before the commencement of the eclipse, an occurrence took 
place which very nearly brought all our labours to a calamitous termination. Mr. Pees- 
TON had placed at our disposal his excellent and handy servant Juan, whom we had 
always found obliging, and very ingenious in expedients whenever any temporary arrange- 
ments had to be made. In order that he might have an opportunity of looking at the 
echpse, I smoked a piece of glass for him with a wax lucifer-match, and he then, on his 
own account, prepared several pieces for the bystanders in a similar way. The demand 
soon increased so much, that he was scarcely able to keep pace with it, and at length 
became so excited that he threw away the matches in all directions without extinguish- 
ing them, and some, falling in the standing com, set it on fire. The corn was very thin. 
