1 42 MR. J. N.- LOCKYER AND DR. SCHUSTER ON 
Mr. Arthur Schuster. 
Mr. R. Meldola. 
Mr. Frank Edward Lott. 
Mr. Frederick Beasley. 
Mr. J. Reynolds. 
They were joined at Suez by Dr. H. W. Vogel, of Berlin. 
At Galle Messrs. Meldola, Reynolds, and Dr. Vogel separated from the rest, and 
waited for the Government steamer which should carry them to Camorta. 
The remainder of the party arrived in Singapore 24 hours late, and at once 
communicated with the Governor of the Straits Settlement, in order to avoid any 
possible delays in the journey. Sir Andrew Clarke placed H.M.S. ‘Lapwing’ at 
the disposal of the expedition, but he could not tell when the steamer would be able 
to start. As the Siamese merchant steamer ‘ Kromahtah ’ left Singapore the same 
night for Bangkok, the expedition took Sir Andrew Clarke’s advice to take a 
passage in this boat, especially as it was urged that she would complete the passage in 
less time than the ‘ Lapwing.’ 
Dr. Schuster, however, forwarded a request to Sir Andrew Clarke to send the 
‘ Lapwing ’ as soon as she was ready to the spot of observation, so that the expedition 
might profit by the help of the officers and crew. The expedition has also to 
acknowledge the assistance they have received by the valuable advice of the 
Honourable Major McNair, a gentleman who is well acquainted with the country of 
Siam. 
The S.S. ‘ Kromahtah ’ arrived in front of the bar which prevents the entrance into 
the Meinam river at low water at noon, on Sunday, the 28th March. A slight 
accident to the engine had caused a delay of several hours, in consequence of which 
the steamer could not enter the river before nightfall. It was late in the night when 
the expedition at last arrived at Bangkok, after a journey of 45 days. In spite of the 
inconvenient hour, two boats were, by order of His Majesty the King of Siam, on the 
look out for the expedition to convey them to the residence of Mr. Alabaster. 
It was past one o’clock in the morning when they arrived there, but several 
important points were settled during the night in order to secure a speedy journey to 
the observatory, which, under the superintendence of Captain Loftus, had been 
already built on the spot suggested by the Committee of the Royal Society. It 
became, however, apparent next morning that it was impossible to leave on that day. 
Several important points had to be settled with the Siamese authorities, the instru- 
ments had to be transhipped, and owing to the state of tide it was useless to leave 
after eleven o’clock in the mornmg. Much to their regret the expedition were com- 
pelled to defer their departure until Tuesday morning. The day, however, was not 
lost. The observatory had been built on a lonely spot on the sea coast, and the 
expedition was, therefore, entirely dependent for any help on the capital. Arrange- 
ments were made for regular communications with the capital. 
