CHAPTER XVII.

Signs of a severe Winter--The Little Auk or Auklet--The Gadwall--Falcons being trained by the Prussians to intercept the Paris Carrier Pigeons--Ballooning--The King of Prussia's Piety--John Forster--Solar Eclipse of 22d December 1870--The Government and the Eclipse--Large Solar Spots--Visible to the naked eye--Rev. Dr. Cumming--November Meteors, 94