Chapter 21

Chapter 215,311 wordsPublic domain

TRANSITS AND OCCULTATIONS.

No book professing to deal with eclipses would be complete without a few words of mention of "transits" and "occultations." A transit is the passing of a primary planet across the Sun, or of a secondary planet (_i.e._ satellite) across its primary, whilst an occultation is the concealment of a star by the Moon, or of a secondary planet (_i.e._ satellite) by its primary. A little thought given to this definition will make it clear that a transit is essentially the same in principle as an eclipse of the Sun by the Moon--one body comes in front of another, and the former conceals in succession parts of the latter.

Practically the word "transit" in this connection is more especially applied to passages of the inferior planets, Mercury and Venus, across the Sun, or of the satellites of Jupiter across the disc of Jupiter, whilst the word "occultation" more particularly calls to mind the concealment of a star (apparently a little body) by the Moon (apparently a big body) or of a satellite of Jupiter (a little body) by Jupiter (a big body), the star and the satellite in each respective case passing behind the occulting body and being concealed for a shorter or longer time. Commonly the occulted body will remain hidden for an hour or two, more or less. In the case of Jupiter the satellites of that planet may also, on occasions, be seen to undergo eclipse in the shadow cast by Jupiter itself. An eclipse of a Jovian satellite is therefore on all fours in principle the same as an eclipse of the Moon, caused, as we know, by the Moon passing for a short time into the dark shadow cast by the Earth. The conditions just laid down in respect of Jupiter and its satellites also find a counterpart in the case of the satellites of Saturn, but whilst these phenomena are incessantly occurring and visible in the case of Jupiter, they are exceedingly rare in the case of Saturn owing to its greater distance and the difficulty of seeing most of its satellites because of their small apparent size.

Having regard to the circumstance that transits of Mercury and Venus only happen at intervals of many years, it is not worth while for the purposes of this work to devote any great amount of space to them. In point of fact, whilst the next three transits of Mercury are as remote as 1907, 1914 and 1924, there will be no transit of Venus at all during the 20th century; not another indeed until A.D. 2004.

From the standpoint of an amateur astronomer the various phenomena which attend the movements of the satellites of Jupiter, constitute an endless variety of interesting scenes, which are the more deserving of attention in that they can be followed with the aid of a telescope of very moderate size and capabilities.[169]

Occultations of planets and stars by the Moon may also be recommended to the notice of the owners of small telescopes as events which are constantly happening and which may be readily observed. The Moon being rapidly in motion it will happen in point of fact that stars are occulted by it, one may say every day, but of course the Moon's light entirely blots out the smaller stars and only those as large as, say, about the 5th magnitude are as a rule worth trying to see in this connection. A table of the occultations of such stars, copied from the _Nautical Almanac_, will be found in such almanacs as _Whitaker's_ and the _British_. If such a table is consulted it will be found that never does a lunation pass without a few stars being noted as undergoing occultation, and now and then a planet. An occultation of a planet is obviously still more interesting than that of a star.

From the epoch of New to Full Moon the Moon moves with its dark edge foremost from the epoch of Full to New with its illuminated edge foremost. During therefore the first half of a lunation the objects occulted disappear at the dark edge and reappear at the illuminated edge, during the second half of a lunation things are _vice versa_. The most interesting time for watching occultations is with a young Moon no more than, say, from 2 to 6 days old, because under such circumstances the star occulted is suddenly extinguished at a point in the sky where there seems nothing to interfere with it.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 169: For details as to these matters, see my _Handbook of Astronomy_, 4th ed., vol. i. pp. 186-196.]

APPENDIX.

THE TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE SUN OF MAY 28, 1900.

This Appendix deals solely with geographical and transport matters as to which accurate information is not easily obtainable, the European _locus in quo_ of the Eclipse being in the benighted and somewhat untravelled countries of Portugal and Spain.

The intending Eclipse excursionist must first make his choice between (practically) a journey of all sea or of all land. The several sea routes are one and all very much cheaper than any possible land journey, and almost as quick in point of time, with the minimum amount of personal knocking about. But (some persons will say) sea is sea, and so it is. On the other hand the land journey is exceedingly expensive; and beyond France the trains are very incommodious as regards hours, speed, and connections. Moreover, there being more frontiers than one to cross, there are extra opportunities for Custom-house squabbles, and Spain especially is famous for this sort of thing.

As the Eclipse shadow will strike Europe in Portugal and quit Europe in Spain the intending traveller must first decide for himself whether he will prefer to go to Portugal or Spain. This settled, he will have the choice of several sea routes and, in particular, of two land routes. But before considering these further it will be well to state what are the chief of the various places which are available as observing stations for mixed travelling parties of ladies and gentlemen who have no desire to rough it in out-of-the-way parts of the country.

The line of central eclipse passes across the Peninsula diagonally from N.W. to S.E. It enters Portugal on the coast not far from Oporto in latitude 40 deg. 50' N., longitude 8 deg. 38' W. of Greenwich. It quits Spain on the coast at Cape Santa Pola, not far from Alicante, in latitude 38 deg. 13' N., longitude 0 deg. 30' W. At Ovar in Portugal (pop. 11,000), 23m. S. of Oporto the duration of the total phase will be 1m. 331/2s., and the Sun's altitude at totality will be 42 deg.. At Talavera de la Reina in Spain (pop. 9700) the duration will be 1m. 271/2s., and the altitude 39 deg.; whilst at Alicante (pop. 40,000) the duration will be still less, 1m. 19s., and the Sun's altitude only 34 deg.. The three towns of Ovar, Talavera and Alicante are selected _Nautical Almanac_ Eclipse stations, for which special calculations have been made.

Hotel accommodation may be had at all the foregoing places, Oporto, Ovar, Talavera and Alicante, as will be stated later on, but the Hotels at Ovar and Talavera are not of much account.

Other towns more or less handy for the central line are few in number, and as a rule deficient in lodging accommodation conforming to the English standard. Amongst such possible alternative places the following may be named (in order of position from N.W. to S.E.) as accessible by railway:--

VIZEU (pop. 7000; hotels, _Mabilia_, _Cadite_), on a branch of the Beira Alta Railway 31m. from Santa Comba Dao Junction, which itself is 88m. from Oporto.

MANGUALDE (pop. 3000), on the Beira Alta Railway, 115m. from Oporto, and 49m. from Pampilhosa Junction.

PLASENCIA (pop. 6000; hotel, _F. de Eusebio Sierra_), 6m. N. of the station of that name on the Lisbon and Madrid Railway.

NAVALMORAL (pop. 3300, buffet), a station on the Lisbon and Madrid Railway about 8m. W. of the central line of eclipse.

URDA, a small station on the Madrid and Ciudad Real Railway, crossed by the central line. The nearest accommodation would seem to be at Ciudad Real (pop. 14,000; hotel, _Baltasar Garcia_), 33m. to the S.

ALCAZAR DE SAN JUAN Junction (pop. 8400; good buffet; hotel, _Casa Briseno_). Alcazar is 92m. S. of Madrid; the central line crosses the railway about 15m. to the S. of the town.

TOBARRA (pop. 7500), a station on the Chinchilla and Cartagena Railway, 212m. S. of Madrid, and 115m. N. of Cartagena, lies about 6m. S. of the central line.

NOVELDA (pop. 8000), a station on the Alicante and Madrid Railway, in a beautiful valley about 20m. N. of Alicante.

In addition to the above places it must not be forgotten that both Oporto at one end of the zone of totality and Alicante at the other are within the track of the shadow, but the question of the meteorological conditions of the atmosphere at these places (on the seaboard as they virtually are) has to be considered.

A traveller from England to Portugal or Spain by sea has the following choice of routes:--

1. _Southampton to Oporto_, fortnightly, on Fridays, by the steamers of the "Royal Mail Steam Packet Co." Fare, first-class return, about L11. Time, about 54h. The return tickets are conveniently grouped in various ways, _e.g._ Southampton to Oporto, and back from Vigo or Lisbon; or Southampton to Lisbon and back, or back from Vigo (_but not back from Oporto_). Where the booking is to Vigo, or Lisbon, of course the local railway fares have to be paid in addition. Lisbon is 209m. S. of Oporto; Vigo, 110m. N. of Oporto. One objection to making any use of Vigo is the extra Custom-house formalities which have to be gone through on the frontier, and Spanish Custom-house officials are specially objectionable.

2. _Liverpool_ to _Corunna_, _Carril_, _Vigo_ and _Oporto_, fortnightly, on Thursdays, by the steamers of the "Pacific Steam Navigation Co." Fares, to the Spanish ports, first-class single, L6, 10s., return, L9, 15s.; second-class single, L4. To the Portuguese ports, first-class single, L8, return, L12; second-class single, L5. Time, about 4 to 5 days. This does not mean that the steamers are very slow, but they call also at La Rochelle, in France.

3. _London_ (Irongate Wharf) to _Oporto_, at intervals of 3 weeks, on Thursdays, by the steamers of the "General Steam Navigation Co." Fares, first-class single, L4 (no return tickets issued; no second-class). The steamers of this line are inferior to all the others.

4. _London_ (Tilbury) to _Gibraltar_, weekly, on Thursdays, by the "P. & O." steamers. Fares, first-class single, L10, return, L16. Time, 4 to 5 days.

5. _London_ (Tilbury) and _Plymouth_ to _Gibraltar_, fortnightly, on Fridays, by the steamers of the "Orient Co." Fares and time the same as the "P. & O."

Travellers journeying to Oporto from England will probably not attempt to do any more local sight-seeing than what can be readily accomplished by simple railway trips in Portugal to or from Lisbon; but travellers landing at Gibraltar will have it within their power to visit some of the important towns of Southern Spain, such as Granada, Seville, Cordova, Toledo, Cadiz, Malaga, &c.

An Eclipse excursionist who finds himself at Gibraltar, and who wishes to avoid as much as possible land travelling in Spain by going on to Alicante and stationing himself in that neighbourhood, must take shipping locally at Gibraltar. There are Spanish steamer services from Gibraltar, and Malaga, to Alicante.

An overland traveller to Spain (it is presumed that none such will go as far as Portugal) has the choice of two routes to eclipse stations in Spain, both starting from Paris:--(1) _via_ Bordeaux, Hendaye, Vittoria, Burgos and Medina del Campo, to Madrid, and thence either W. to Talavera (84m. from Madrid), or S. towards Alcazar de San Juan (92m. from Madrid); (2) _via_ Lyons, Perpignan, Barcelona and Valencia to Alicante. The character of the train service on the second of these routes is almost prohibitive, so that it is almost a question of _via_ Madrid or not at all.

The foregoing paragraphs will furnish the reader with an outline of the whole problem of how to reach from England a suitable eclipse station in the Peninsula. This outline will pave the way for further details as to land journeys, which will be exhibited somewhat in the order of relative complexity and expense, beginning with the simplest.

VIGO TO OPORTO.

Chief stations and distances from Vigo:--Redondela (8m.), Guillarey Junct. (24m.), Tuy (26m.), Vianna (57m.), Famalicao Junct. (88m.), Oporto (108m.).

VIGO (pop. 17,000; hotel, _Continental_) is an important commercial centre with fine scenery all round. REDONDELA is one of the prettiest towns in Spain, especially as viewed from the railway viaducts. At GUILLAREY carriages may have to be changed for TUY, the last station in Spain and a Custom-house. There is a fine cathedral at Tuy. The boundary is formed by the river Minho, spanned by a magnificent bridge 400 yards long, railway above and carriage road underneath. Crossing it the train enters the Portuguese town of VALENCA, where there is a strong fortress and a custom-house. VIANNA (pop. 7000; hotel, _Central_). The river Lima is here spanned by a double bridge (rail and road) 700 ft. long. From FAMALICAO there is a loop line to Oporto running round the coast and 15m. longer than the main line. ERMEZINDE is the junction with the Spanish line to Barca d'Alva, Salamanca and France.

OPORTO TO OVAR AND LISBON.

From Oporto to Lisbon by the direct line it is 211m. Fares--first, single, L1, 11s.; second, single, L1, 3s. But forwards from Pampilhosa (66m.) there is a loop line to Lisbon, running along the coast, and 25m. longer than the direct line. If it is proposed to visit some of the sights which will be mentioned presently, the coast line must be taken.

Chief stations between Oporto and Lisbon by the coast line:--Ovar (23m.), Pampilhosa Junct. (66m.), Figueira da Foz (92m.), Leiria (132m.), Torres Vedras (192m.), Lisbon, Rocio station, (236m.).

OPORTO (pop. 120,000; hotels, _Grande Hotel do Porto_, _Hotel de Paris_) is a busy commercial city with much English colouring; _e.g._ church, hospital, doctor, club, and full modern facilities for locomotion by tramways, cabs and excursion carriages. The chief sights are:--(1) Cathedral, (2) Bishop's Palace, (3) Church of St. Francisco, (4) Palacio da Bolsa, (5) Museu Portuense, (6) Museu Industrial, (7) Crystal Palace and Gardens, (8) Bridge of Don Luiz I., and (9) Convent immortalised by Wellington in 1809 when he made his celebrated "Passage of the Douro." The port for Oporto where the steamers from England load and discharge is Leixoes, about 4m. to the W., with a service of trains and trams into the city.

OVAR.--This town being the nearest eclipse centre to England may be expected to draw many travellers in 1900. Being only 22m. or 11/2 hours from Oporto, a day trip may be made thither from Oporto, and this will suit the convenience of those who prefer for lodgings a large city to a small provincial town. A train from Oporto at 7 a.m. returning at 7.45 p.m. will suffice for the requirements of all who will go armed only with small instruments.

PAMPILHOSA JUNCTION (Good Hotel).--Within 10m. to the N.-E. of this station is the first of the special sights which can be seen in connection with the Oporto-Lisbon railway. Take the train from Pampilhosa to Luzo (6m.), omnibus thence (1/2 hour) to Busaco (Good Hotel), and see the battlefield, the site of one of Wellington's least successful victories. The panoramic views in all directions are superb. The famous convent is now a Government School of Forestry. After seeing Busaco progress may be made to FIGUEIRA DA FOZ (38m. from Luzo--Good Hotel), where the tourist may pass the night, unless he prefers to stay at Pampilhosa. Figueira is a seaside bathing-place of repute on a branch line.

LEIRIA (pop. 3000, _Novo Hotel_).--Stay here two nights in order to have the whole of the intervening day available for a circular tour by road to the Dominican Monastery at Batalha (7m.), and to the Cistercian Monastery at Alcobaca (13m. from Batalha, and also 13m. from Leiria). The Batalha Monastery (built 1388-1515) is by common consent the finest piece of architecture in Portugal. The Alcobaca Monastery, the largest in the world, is of earlier date (1148-1222). The ch., 360 ft. long, is the most interesting example of early Christian art in Portugal, whilst the cloisters are reputed to be amongst the finest in Europe. Refreshments must be taken by the traveller, for none can be procured during the drive. Vallado is really the nearest station to Alcobaca (3m.), but there is no sleeping accommodation there.

LISBON (pop. 250,000; hotels--_Braganza_, _Avenida_, and some adjoining the railway station) owing to its great length from E. to W., and narrow breadth from N. to S., is a less easy city to find one's way in than many other cities. This difficulty is aggravated by the want of leading thoroughfares and an efficient system of street naming and numbering. The sights are the usual ones of every large Continental city, such as churches, museums, and picture galleries; _e.g._ the Church of San Roque, the Church of San Vincente with its remarkable Royal Mortuary Chapel, the church and convent at Belem, and the gardens of the Escola Polytechnica. But a day should certainly be set apart for a trip to Cintra (17m. by rail, trains about every hour). The town (pop. 5000, hotel--_Lawrence's_) is 1800 ft. above the sea. See the Royal or Moorish Palace in the town, the beautiful Pena Palace and grounds, and the gardens of Sir F. Cook at _Villa Montserrate_ (3m). These last are open daily to visitors who write their names at the entrance lodge. About 15 miles from Cintra is Mafra, with a palace, convent, and church of wonderful magnificence. An Eclipse excursionist planning a time-table for sight-seeing between Oporto and Lisbon inclusive, and with the intention of returning to England from Lisbon, must remember that the Royal Mail Company's boats only sail fortnightly (on Tuesdays or Wednesdays) from Lisbon. The boats anchor in the river, and are reached by a steam tender.

OPORTO TO PARIS.

This route for getting from or to possible eclipse stations in Northern Spain or Portugal is set out on the supposition that a certain number of Eclipse excursionists may wish to combine the Paris Exhibition with the eclipse. There is an International Express from Oporto (and Lisbon) every Tuesday and Friday, which does the journey to Paris in 40 hours, but no one travelling for pleasure would use this train, especially as much of the best scenery is traversed by night.

The journey should therefore be performed in sections, which may be made up as follows:--

Miles. Oporto to Salamanca _via_ Pampilhosa 269 Salamanca to Burgos 150 Burgos to Biarritz 186 Biarritz to Paris 493

Use should be made as far as possible of the International Express. Where this is not done, and ordinary trains have to be taken, the delays are interminable and the combinations most exasperating to an Englishman. The hotel accommodation in all the smaller towns of Spain is so universally bad that it is not easy to suggest what otherwise would seem obvious, namely, how best to subdivide, at any rate, the first three of the above sections.

The International Express has a connection with Lisbon, the main train being made up or divided as the case may be at Pampilhosa Junction.

LISBON TO TALAVERA AND MADRID.

Observers who think they will be able to do better as regards a clear sky inland in Spain than near either the coast of Portugal or that of Spain will still find in many cases that Lisbon is their most convenient port for landing.

The chief stations on this route are:--Entroncamento Junction (67m.), Marvao (149m.), Valencia de Alcantara (159m.), *Plasencia (256m.), *Navalmoral (287m.), *Talavera de la Reina (328m.), Madrid, Delicias Stat. (412m.). The places marked (*) are all within the shadow track of the eclipse.

ENTRONCAMENTO (Good Buffet) is the junction station for the lines N. to Oporto and S.-E. to Badajos and most trains wait here: 8m. beyond, the Tagus is crossed by a fine bridge commanding good views.

MARVAO (Custom-house) is the last station in Portugal but the actual frontier is 6m. further on. VALENCIA DE ALCANTARA (Custom-house) is the first station in Spain. During the next 50m. the railway passes through much wild mountain scenery.

PLASENCIA, NAVALMORAL, and TALAVERA as eclipse stations have been mentioned on a previous page. Many celebrated struggles during the Peninsular War took place in this part of Spain, notably at Talavera in 1809 and at Almaraz in 1812.

MADRID (pop. 470,000; _Hotel de Paris_, _Hotel de la Paix_).

GIBRALTAR TO MADRID (WITH EXCURSIONS, ON THE WAY, TO GRANADA AND SEVILLE).

From Algeciras (opposite Gibraltar) there runs every Wednesday an International Express train to Madrid and Paris. The eclipse central line crosses this route about 15m. S. of Alcazar de San Juan Junction (pop. 8400; Good Buffet, Hotel, _Casa Briseno_) which is 368m. N. of Algeciras and 93m. S. of Madrid.

The chief stations between Algeciras and Madrid are:--Bobadilla Junct. (110m.), Cordova (185m.), Alcazar de San Juan (369m.), Aranjuez (430m.), and Madrid (461m.).

Bobadilla is a double junction. A line runs thence E. to Granada (75m.), and W. to Seville (104m.). A traveller visiting Granada must return to Bobadilla to get to Seville, but from Seville he can rejoin the main line at Cordova 75m. N. of Bobadilla, and avoid Bobadilla. From Seville to Cordova is 81m.

Algeciras is reached from Gibraltar by a local steamer. About one hour is allowed to make the connection with the train. Eclipse travellers going to this part of Spain who wish to take advantage of their proximity to Granada and Seville will find the following time-table usefully suggestive:--

May 16, W. Gibraltar to Granada, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. " 17, T. At Granada. " 18, F. At Granada. " 19, S. Granada to Seville, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. " 20, Sun. At Seville. " 21, M. At Seville. " 22, Tu. Seville to Cordova, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. " 23, W. At Cordova. " 24, T. Cordova to Alcazar, 2 a.m. to 3 p.m. " 25, F. At Alcazar. " 26, S. At Alcazar. " 27, Sun. At Alcazar. " 28, M. Eclipse day.

Corresponding to the above International train there is an express from Paris on Mondays reaching Algeciras on Wednesdays. This, of course, might suit the convenience of Eclipse travellers proposing to go to Spain _via_ France, and perhaps return _via_ Gibraltar. The time occupied by the International train between Paris and Algeciras and _vice versa_ is about 49 hours.

LONDON TO ALICANTE.

The central line of the eclipse quits Spain at Cape Santa Pola about 10m. S. of Alicante (pop. 40,000): it crosses the line of the Alicante and Madrid railway at Novelda (pop. 8000) a station about 20m. inland from Alicante.

Alicante may be reached from England as follows:--(1) All sea, _via_ Gibraltar and Malaga; (2) all land, _via_ Paris, Biarritz and Madrid (1077m.), or Paris, Lyons and Perpignan (1126m.); or (3) part land and part sea, _via_ Paris and Marseilles, and thence by steamer to Barcelona and Valencia.

As regards the two land routes there is not very much to choose except that the Biarritz-Madrid route is somewhat shorter and much quicker than the Perpignan-Barcelona route. As regards the two sea routes both are probably bad from the standpoint of comfort, the steamers in which the voyage would have to be completed being Spanish coasting vessels, but it is difficult to obtain particulars of them in England.

The following are some of the chief places between Paris and Alicante on the Perpignan route:--Dijon (195m.), Lyons (318m.), Avignon (461m.), Nimes (490m.), Perpignan (623m.), Spanish frontier at Port Bou (650m.), Barcelona (758m.), Tarragona (825m.), Valencia (997m.), Alicante (1126m.). The journey from Paris to Barcelona is accomplished in 23h. by the International Express: the remaining 368 miles take 27 hours owing to the bad connections of the trains.

Madrid is 285m. from Alicante, the journey occupying about 29h.

USEFUL BOOKS FOR PORTUGAL AND SPAIN.

As the result of much inquiry and research, the following may be suggested:--

GUIDE-BOOKS.

_Handbook for Spain_, 2 vols. 20_s._ (J. Murray.)

_Handbook to Spain and Portugal_, Dr. Charnock. 7_s._ 6_d._ (W. J. Adams.)

_Guide to Spain and Portugal_, O'Shea and Lomas. 15_s._ (A. & C. Black.)

_Handbook for Portugal._ 12_s._ (J. Murray.)

DICTIONARIES.

JAeSCHKE, R. _English-Spanish Conversation Dictionary._ 3_s._ 6_d._ (Nutt.)

CASTRO DE LA FAYETTE. _Novo Diccionario Inglez-Portugueze._ 2 vols. 6_s._

GRAMMARS AND PHRASE BOOKS.

D'ORSEY, Rev. A. J. D. _Colloquial Portuguese._ 3_s._ 6_d._ (Kegan Paul.)

WALL, C. H. _Practical Portuguese Grammar._ 7_s._ (Nutt.)

THIMM, C. A. _Spanish Self-taught._ 1_s._ 6_d._ (Marlborough.)

_Spanish Conversation Book._ 1_s._ (Walter Scott.)

HUGO. _Spanish Simplified._ 2 Parts and Key. 1_s._ 6_d._ (1A Paternoster Row.)

VARIOUS.

CHAMBERS, G. F. _The Tourist's Pocket-Book._ [Vocabulary of 16 Languages]. 1_s._ (Philip.)

THIMM, C. A. _Spanish Washing Lists for both Sexes._ 6_d._ (Marlborough.)

INDEX.

*** The Eclipses referred to in the Chapters on History (VIII.-XIII.) are not, as regards dates, dealt with in this Index.

Aberdour, Lord, 159. Agathocles, The Eclipse of, 120. Ahaz, Dial of, 90, 96, 101. Airy, Sir G. B., 48, 74, 83, 84, 89, 110, 111, 113, 115, 123, 124, 144, 164, 167. _Almanac, British_, 219. _Almanac, Nautical_, 26, 35, 234, 238. Ammianus Marcellinus, 133. _Anglo-Saxon Chronicle_, 136, 137, 138, 142, 143, 146, 148, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209. _Annales Fuldenses_, 143, 207. Annular Eclipses of the Sun, 16. Apollonius of Tyana, 130. Arabian Records, 132, 138. Arago, 125, 164. Archilochus, 108. Aristophanes, 199. Ascending Node, 18. Asser, 144.

Baily, F., 57, 112, 122, 164. "Baily's Beads," 57, 64, 164. Barker, Sir R., 102. Bede, 205. Beer, 217. Bible, Eclipses mentioned in, 86. Biot, E., 80. "Black" Eclipses of the Moon, 189. Blackness of the Moon during Solar Eclipses, 43. Blake, 48. Boillot, 135. Bosanquet, J. W., 91, 95, 101.

Calvisius, 133, 137, 146, 221. Carlini, 164. Carrington, R. C., 60. Cassini, 158. Caussin, 139. Cedrenus, 208. Celoria, Prof., 150. Chinese Eclipses of the Sun, 75. ---- of the Moon, 197. Chromosphere, 60. _Chronicon Scotorum_, 143. Churton, Archdeacon, 210. Cicero, 108, 109, 118. Classical History, Eclipses mentioned in, 107. Clavius, 64, 152. Columbus, 211. Confucius, 81. Conjunction of the Moon, 31. Copper colour of Moon in Lunar Eclipses, 192. Corona, 56, 62, 105, 130, 144, 157, 159, 161, 168, 169. Coronium, 69. Crabtree, W., 215. Crucifixion, The darkness at, 129.

Delambre, 81. De La Rue, W., 168. De Louville, 158. Descending Node, 18. Dial of Ahaz, 90, 96, 101. Digit explained, 28. Diodorus Siculus, 120. Diogenes Laertius, 94. Dion Cassius, 128, 130. Draconic Month, 20. Dreyer, J. L. E., 221. Du Sejour, 37, 39.

Earthquakes and Eclipses, 75. Earth-shine, 61. Eclipsareon, Ferguson's, 222. Eclipse, Derivation of the word, 11. ----, number of in a year, 13. ---- of the Moon, 11. ---- of the Sun, 11. ----, Theory of, 15. Eclipse of the Sun of May 28, 1900, 9, 40, 66, 71, 239. Ennius, 118.

Ferguson, J., 215, 221. Ferrer, Don J., 163. Flamsteed, J., 155, 215. Florence of Worcester, 143. Forster, 192. Freeman, Prof. E. A., 146. Full Moon, 13.

Gassendi, P., 215, 221. Gaubil, 80. Gemma Frisius, 152. Gilliss, Lieut. J. M., 168. Ginzel, 75, 131. Glaber, 145, 208. Glycas, 92. Grant, R., 131. Graydon, 174. Gregorius Turonensis, 135.

Hagen, 163. Halley, E., 148, 157. Hansen's Lunar Tables, 89, 118, 119, 124. Helium, 69. Helps, Sir A., 211. Herodotus, 109, 114, 116. Herschel, Sir J., 217. Herschel, Sir W., 161, 162. Hevelius, 215. Hezekiah, King of Judah, 90. Hinckes, Dr., 89. Hind, J. R., 38, 80, 89, 115, 116, 125, 138, 142, 143, 147, 148, 151, 153, 154, 167, 203, 204. Hitzig, 87. Homer's _Iliad_ quoted, 126. Homer's _Odyssey_ quoted, 94, 126. Huggins, Sir W., 131. Humboldt, A. Von, 133, 142, 217. Hunter, W., 102.

Ideler, 81.

Janssen, 169. Jesuit Missionaries in China, 81, 95. Johnson, Rev. S. J., 38, 80, 128, 131, 133, 135, 137, 138, 142, 144, 145, 150, 202, 210, 216, 222. Jones, Capt. F., 113. Josephus, 202. Justin, 121.

Kepler, 64, 152, 153, 213, 214, 220. Kerigan, F., 227. Kirchoff, 69.

Lalande, J. De, 224. Lander, R. and J., 228. Langley, Prof., 171. Lardner, D., His _Hand-book of Astronomy_ cited, 12. Lassell, W., 167. Layard, Sir A. H., 113. Leon of Corfu, 144. Le Verrier's Solar Tables, 89. Lewis, Sir G. C., 110. Liais, E., 44. Limits, Lunar Ecliptic, 190. Lingard, Dr., 150. Livy, 125, 202. Lockyer, Sir N., 178. Lynn, W. T., 115, 131.

Macartney, Lord, his Embassy to China, 224. Maclaurin, 151, 153, 159. Maedler, 217. Magnitude of an Eclipse, 29. Main, Rev. R., 88. Maraldi, 158. Matthew Paris, 210. Maunder, E. W., 104, 106. Meteorological effects of a solar eclipse, 54, 167. Millosevich, 109. Milton, J., 231. Moon, Eclipses of, 186.

_Nautical Almanac_, 26, 35, 234, 238. Newcomb, S., 119, 127, 139, 144, 171. Newcomb, S., His _Astronomy_ cited, 26. New Moon, 13. Newton, Sir I., 198. Nicias, 199. Nineveh Tablets, 89. Nodes, 18, 19, 30.

Occultations, 10, 12, 235, 237. Ockley, S., 138. Oltmanns, 112. Oppolzer, T. Von, His _Canon_ cited, 35, 109, 218. Opposition of the Moon, 31. Orchard, Dr., 231.

Partial Eclipses of the Sun, 17. Pekin, Observatory at, 95. Penumbra in Lunar Eclipses, 188. Pepys, S., His _Diary_ cited, 155. Perry, S. J., 177, 193. Philostorgius, 134. Philostratus, 130. Pickering, E. H., 184. Pingre, 219. Planets, Primary, 12. ----, Secondary, 12. ----, Visibility of during Eclipses, 61. Pliny, 126, 200, 204, 213. Plutarch, _Lives_, 108, 115, 117, 120, 126, 131, 199, 200, 201. Polybius, 200. Pope, A., 94, 233. Powell, Sir G. B., 178. Prominences, 59. Pusey, Dr. E. B., 87, 88.

Rawlinson, Sir H. C., 88, 111. Red Flames, 59, 156, 159, 168. Ricciolus, J. B., 220, 222. Roger of Wendover, 149, 210. Roger de Hoveden, 205. Rothmann, R. W., 77. Ruemker, 48. Russell, S. M., 78, 79, 198, 225.

Santini, 164. "Saros," The, 14, 18, 112, 157. Schnurrer, 142. Schuster, 172. Season of Eclipses, 29. Seneca, 126. Shadow Bands, 46. Shadow of Moon on Earth, 36, 41, 49, 73. Shakespeare, W., 229. Smith, J. D., 48. Smyth, Admiral W. H., 217. Short, J., 159. Suetonius, 126. Snooke, W. D., 223. Spain, Eclipse of 1900 visible in, 10. Spots on the Sun, 67, 69. Stannyan, Capt., 60, 156. Staunton, Sir G., 224. Stockwell, J. N., 131, 202, 223. Stone, E. J., 193. "Stiklastad," "Eclipse of," 144. Struve, O., 164. Struyck, N., 221. Stukeley, Dr. W., 157, 160.

Tacitus, 203. Telegraph, Electric, and Eclipses, 179. "Thales," "Eclipse of," 103, 109, 123. Thirlwall, Bishop, 116. Thucydides, 117, 118. Tibullus, 126. Todd, Mrs. D. T., her _Total Eclipses_ cited, 25, 27, 50, 56, 65, 71, 136, 146, 173, 183, 223, 231. Totality, Approach of, 49. ----, Darkness of, 53. Transits, 10, 12, 235. Trithenius, 204. Trouvelot, 106. Tycho Brahe, 137, 143, 150, 152, 213, 214, 220.

Ulloa, Don A., 64, 161, 179. Usher, Archbishop, 87.

Valz, 164.

Wallis, Dr., 155. Wargentin, 216. Wesley, W. H., 66. William of Malmesbury, 145, 147. Williams, J., 81, 82, 83, 85, 86. Wolcott, Miss K. E., 106. Wyberd, Dr., 154.

Xenophon, 112, 113, 119.

Young, Prof., 178.

Zech, 119.

[Transriber's Note: The table below lists all corrections applied to the original text.

p. 014: [removed extra hyphen] more than 18-years -> 18 years p. 023: Phillipines -> Philippines p. 027: occuring at regular intervals -> occurring p. 048: Rumker mentions that -> Ruemer p. 059: every sufficiently skilled obersver -> observer p. 070: [added closing bracket] (SUN-SPOT MINIMUM.) p. 154: [removed comma] Greenock and Elgin, were near p. 217: in the Carribean Sea -> Caribbean p. 227: A certain Mr F. Kerigan -> Mr. F. Kerigan p. 230: [removed comma] As, stars with trains of fire p. 241: Casa Bris[~e]no -> Briseno p. 244: Vienna (57m.) -> Vianna p. 249: [normalized] Plasentia (256m.) -> Plasencia p. 250: Casa Bris[~e]no -> Briseno ]

End of Project Gutenberg's The Story of Eclipses, by George Chambers