384 CAPTAIN ABNEY AND DR. THORPE ON THE SOLAR ECLIPSE OF 1886. 
eye-hole a narrow fringe of very bright white light all round the wooden disc, with 
marked extensions to the N.E, and N.W., which both just reached the outer wire, 
though the outer portion was very faint. The N.W. one was rather forked, the N.E. 
one pointed. To N.N.W. was a fainter thin extension, which reached to the first 
wire ; to S.E. was a similar one, also reaching to the first wire; and to S.W. was a 
very small double one, hardly reaching half way to the first wire. 
7. I then looked through a ship’s telescope I had on a stand near me, and I 
observed red jmominences under the N.W., N.N.W., and S.E. extensions, and also 
some prominences at North. To N.W. was a long tongue of flame about the colour of 
a candle flame, which appeared to be disconnected from the Sun’s limb, and to extend 
to about 10' from the limb; this estimation was made by aid of the afore-mentioned 
wires. 
8. On a cloud passing over towards the end of totality I looked at the stars over¬ 
head, but there were so many in sight that I could not pick out what they were ; I 
should say that, judging by the contrasts between their brightness, some of them 
must have been of the third or fourth magnitude. 
9. At the eye-hole a linear inch on the disc subtended an angle of 68 minutes: 
thus, supposing the Sun were concentric with the disc at the beginning of totality, 
the streamers to the N.W. and N.E. would be about 45' from the Sun’s limb, those to 
N.N.W. and S.E. about 30', that to S.W. about 22', and the general ring of light of 
the corona probably about 18'. 
10. I observed a light film of cloud to be passing over the corona for several seconds 
before it v/as hidden by the cloud. 
11. Explanation of the diagrams (p. 383) 
The upper figure represents the wooden disc with its supports and wires, and the 
ii’regular riug of the corona and streamers showing round it, as seen at the commence¬ 
ment of totality. The second figure is a reproduction of the first on a larger scale, 
with the disc removed; the dark circle represents the Moon, and the black dots show 
the prominences that were noticed. A scale of degrees and minutes is attached to 
each figure. The vertex is towards the top of the paper. 
ll.M.S. “ Fantomc,” Grenada, 
August, 1886. 
ItoBERT H. Arc’HER, Commander. 
