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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/19309-8.txt b/19309-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a4249c0 --- /dev/null +++ b/19309-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11474 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Reminiscences of an Astronomer, by Simon +Newcomb + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: The Reminiscences of an Astronomer + + +Author: Simon Newcomb + + + +Release Date: September 17, 2006 [eBook #19309] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE REMINISCENCES OF AN +ASTRONOMER*** + + +E-text prepared by Ferdinand van Aartsen + + + +THE REMINISCENCES OF AN ASTRONOMER + +by + +SIMON NEWCOMB + +1903 + + + + + + + +PREFACE + + +The earlier chapters of this collection are so much in the nature +of an autobiography that the author has long shrunk from the idea of +allowing them to see the light during his lifetime. His repugnance +has been overcome by very warm expressions on the subject uttered +by valued friends to whom they were shown, and by a desire that +some at least who knew him in youth should be able to read what he +has written. + +The author trusts that neither critic nor reader will object +because he has, in some cases, strayed outside the limits of his +purely personal experience, in order to give a more complete view +of a situation, or to bring out matters that might be of historic +interest. If some of the chapters are scrappy, it is because he +has tried to collect those experiences which have afforded him most +food for thought, have been most influential in shaping his views, +or are recalled with most pleasure. + + + + +CONTENTS + + +I +THE WORLD OF COLD AND DARKNESS + Ancestry.--Squire Thomas Prince.--Parentage.--Early Education.-- + Books read. + +II +DR. FOSHAY + A Long Journey on Foot.--A Wonderful Doctor.--The Botanic System of + Medicine.--Phrenology.--A Launch into the World.--A Disillusion.-- + Life in Maryland.--Acquaintance with Professor Henry.--Removal + to Cambridge. + +III +THE WORLD OF SWEETNESS AND LIGHT + The American Astronomical Ephemeris.--The Men who made it.-- + Harvard in the Middle of the Century.--A Librarian of the Time.-- + Professor Peirce.--Dr. Gould, the "Astronomical Journal," and the + Dudley Observatory.--W. P. G. Bartlett.--John D. Runkle and the + "Mathematical Monthly."--A Mathematical Politician.--A Trip to + Manitoba and a Voyage up the Saskatchewan.--A Wonderful Star. + +IV +LIFE AND WORK AT AN OBSERVATORY + A Professor, United States Navy.--The Naval Observatory in 1861.-- + Captain Gilliss and his Plans.--Admiral Davis.--A New Instrument + and a New Departure.--Astronomical Activity.--The Question of + Observatory Administration.--Visit from the Emperor of Brazil.-- + Admiral John Rodgers.--Efforts to improve the Work of the + Observatory. + +V +GREAT TELESCOPES AND THEIR WORK + Curious Origin of the Great Washington Telescope.--Congress + is induced to act.--A Case of Astronomical Fallibility.-- + The Discovery of the Satellites of Mars.--The Great Telescope + of the Pulkova Observatory.--Alvan Clark and his Sons.--A Sad + Astronomical Accident. + +VI +THE TRANSITS OF VENUS + Old Transits of Venus.--An Astronomical Expedition in the 18th + Century.--Father Hell and his Observations.--A Suspected Forger + vindicated.--The American Commission on the Transit of Venus.-- + The Photographic Method to be applied.--Garfield and the + Appropriation Committee.--Weather Uncertainties.--Voyage to + the Cape of Good Hope.--The Transit of 1882.--Our Failure to + publish our Observations. + +VII +THE LICK OBSERVATORY + James Lick and his Ideas.--Mr. D. O. Mills.--Plans for the Lick + Observatory.--Edward E. Barnard.--Professor Holden.--Wonderful + Success of the Observatory. + +VIII +THE AUTHOR'S SCIENTIFIC WORK + The Orbits of the Asteroids.--The Problems of Mathematical + Astronomy.--The Motion of the Moon and its Perplexing + Inequalities.--A Visit to the Paris Observatory to search for + Forgotten Observations.--Wonderful Success in finding Them.-- + The Paris Commune.--The History of the Moon's Motion carried back + a Century.--The Harvard Observatory.--The "Nautical Almanac" Office + and its Work.--Mr. George W. Hill and his Work.--A Wonderful + Algebraist.--The Meridian Conference of 1884, and the Question + of Universal Time.--Tables of the Planets completed.-- + The Astronomical Constants.--Work unfinished. + +IX +SCIENTIFIC WASHINGTON + Professor Henry and the Smithsonian Institution.-- + Alumni Associations.--The Scientific Club.--General Sherman.-- + Mr. Hugh McCulloch.--A Forgotten Scientist.--The National Academy of + Sciences.--The Geological Survey of the Territories.--The Government + Forestry System.--Professor O. C. Marsh.--Scientific Humbugs.-- + Life on the Plains. + +X +SCIENTIFIC ENGLAND + My First Trip to Europe.--Mr. Thomas Hughes.--Mr. John Stuart Mill. + --Mr. Gladstone and the Royal Society Dinner.--Other Eminent + Englishmen.--Professors Cayley and Adams.--Professor Airy and + the Greenwich Observatory.--A Visit to Edinburgh. + +XI +MEN AND THINGS IN EUROPE + A Voyage to Gibraltar with Professor Tyndall.--The Great Fortress. + --"Whispering Boanerges."--A Winter Voyage in the Mediterranean.-- + Malta and Messina.--Advantage of not understanding a Language.-- + German Astronomers.--The Pulkova Observatory.--A Meeting which + might have been Embarrassing.--From Germany to Paris at the Close + of the War.--Experiences at Paris during the Commune.--The Greatest + Astronomer of France.--The Paris Observatory. + +XII +THE OLD AND THE NEW WASHINGTON + Washington during the Civil War.--Secretary Stanton.-- + The Raid of General Early.--A Presidential Levee in 1864.-- + The Fall of Richmond.--The Assassination of President Lincoln.-- + Negro Traits and Education.--Senator Sumner.--An Ambitious Academy. + --President Garfield and his Assassination.--Cooling the White House + during his Illness.--The Shepherd Régime in Washington. + +XIII +MISCELLANEA + The Great Star-Catalogue Case.--Professor Peters and the + Almagest of Ptolemy.--Scientific Cranks.--The Degrees of the + French Universities.--A Virginia Country School.--Political Economy + and Education.--Exact Science in America before the Johns Hopkins + University.--Professor Ely and Economics.--Spiritualism and + Psychic Research.--The Georgia Magnetic Girl. + + + + +THE REMINISCENCES OF AN ASTRONOMER + + + + +I + +THE WORLD OF COLD AND DARKNESS + + +I date my birth into the world of sweetness and light on one +frosty morning in January, 1857, when I took my seat between two +well-known mathematicians, before a blazing fire in the office +of the "Nautical Almanac" at Cambridge, Mass. I had come on from +Washington, armed with letters from Professor Henry and Mr. Hilgard, +to seek a trial as an astronomical computer. The men beside me +were Professor Joseph Winlock, the superintendent, and Mr. John +D. Runkle, the senior assistant in the office. I talked of my +unsuccessful attempt to master the "Mécanique Céleste" of Laplace +without other preparation than that afforded by the most meagre +text-books of elementary mathematics of that period. Runkle spoke +of the translator as "the Captain." So familiar a designation of +the great Bowditch--LL. D. and a member of the Royal Societies of +London, Edinburgh, and Dublin--quite shocked me. + +I was then in my twenty-second year, but it was the first time I +had ever seen any one who was familiar with the "Mécanique Céleste." +I looked with awe upon the assistants who filed in and out as upon men +who had all the mysteries of gravitation and the celestial motions at +their fingers' ends. I should not have been surprised to learn that +even the Hibernian who fed the fire had imbibed so much of the spirit +of the place as to admire the genius of Laplace and Lagrange. My own +rank was scarcely up to that of a tyro; but I was a few weeks later +employed on trial as computer at a salary of thirty dollars a month. + +How could an incident so simple and an employment so humble be +in itself an epoch in one's life--an entrance into a new world? +To answer this question some account of my early life is necessary. +The interest now taken in questions of heredity and in the study of +the growing mind of the child may excuse a word about my ancestry +and early training. + +Though born in Nova Scotia, I am of almost pure New England descent. +The first Simon Newcomb, from whom I am of the sixth generation, was +born in Massachusetts or Maine about 1666, and died at Lebanon, Conn., +in 1745. His descendants had a fancy for naming their eldest sons +after him, and but for the chance of my father being a younger son, +I should have been the sixth Simon in unbroken lineal descent. [1] + +Among my paternal ancestors none, so far as I know, with the exception +of Elder Brewster, were what we should now call educated men. Nor did +any other of them acquire great wealth, hold a high official position, +or do anything to make his name live in history. On my mother's side +are found New England clergymen and an English nonconformist preacher, +named Prince, who is said to have studied at Oxford towards the end +of the seventeenth century, but did not take a degree. I do not +know of any college graduate in the list. + +Until I was four years old I lived in the house of my paternal +grandfather, about two miles from the pretty little village of +Wallace, at the mouth of the river of that name. He was, I believe, +a stonecutter by trade and owner of a quarry which has since become +important; but tradition credits him with unusual learning and with +having at some time taught school. + +My maternal grandfather was "Squire" Thomas Prince, a native of Maine, +who had moved to Moncton, N. B., early in his life, and lived there +the rest of his days. He was an upright magistrate, a Puritan in +principle, and a pillar of the Baptist Church, highly respected +throughout the province. He came from a long-lived family, and one +so prolific that it is said most of the Princes of New England are +descended from it. I have heard a story of him which may illustrate +the freedom of the time in matters of legal proceedings before a +magistrate's court. At that time a party in a suit could not be a +witness. In the terse language of the common people, "no man could +swear money into his own pocket." The plaintiff in the case advised +the magistrate in advance that he had no legal proof of the debt, +but that defendant freely acknowledged it in private conversation. + +"Well," said the magistrate, "bring him in here and get him to talk +about it while I am absent." + +The time came. + +"If you had n't sued me I would have paid you," said the defendant. + +On the moment the magistrate stepped from behind a door with the +remark,-- + +"I think you will pay him now, whether or no." + +My father was the most rational and the most dispassionate of men. +The conduct of his life was guided by a philosophy based on Combe's +"Constitution of Man," and I used to feel that the law of the +land was a potent instrument in shaping his paternal affections. +His method of seeking a wife was so far unique that it may not be +devoid of interest, even at this date. From careful study he had +learned that the age at which a man should marry was twenty-five. +A healthy and well-endowed offspring should be one of the main +objects in view in entering the marriage state, and this required +a mentally gifted wife. She must be of different temperament from +his own and an economical housekeeper. So when he found the age of +twenty-five approaching, he began to look about. There was no one in +Wallace who satisfied the requirements. He therefore set out afoot +to discover his ideal. In those days and regions the professional +tramp and mendicant were unknown, and every farmhouse dispensed its +hospitality with an Arcadian simplicity little known in our times. +Wherever he stopped overnight he made a critical investigation of +the housekeeping, perhaps rising before the family for this purpose. +He searched in vain until his road carried him out of the province. +One young woman spoiled any possible chance she might have had by a +lack of economy in the making of bread. She was asked what she did +with an unnecessarily large remnant of dough which she left sticking +to the sides of the pan. She replied that she fed it to the horses. +Her case received no further consideration. + +The search had extended nearly a hundred miles when, early one +evening, he reached what was then the small village of Moncton. +He was attracted by the strains of music from a church, went into +it, and found a religious meeting in progress. His eye was at once +arrested by the face and head of a young woman playing on a melodeon, +who was leading the singing. He sat in such a position that he could +carefully scan her face and movements. As he continued this study +the conviction grew upon him that here was the object of his search. +That such should have occurred before there was any opportunity to +inspect the doughpan may lead the reader to conclusions of his own. +He inquired her name--Emily Prince. He cultivated her acquaintance, +paid his addresses, and was accepted. He was fond of astronomy, and +during the months of his engagement one of his favorite occupations +was to take her out of an evening and show her the constellations. +It is even said that, among the daydreams in which they indulged, one +was that their firstborn might be an astronomer. Probably this was +only a passing fancy, as I heard nothing of it during my childhood. +The marriage was in all respects a happy one, so far as congeniality +of nature and mutual regard could go. Although the wife died at the +early age of thirty-seven, the husband never ceased to cherish her +memory, and, so far as I am aware, never again thought of marrying. + +My mother was the most profoundly and sincerely religious woman +with whom I was ever intimately acquainted, and my father always +entertained and expressed the highest admiration for her mental +gifts, to which he attributed whatever talents his children might +have possessed. The unfitness of her environment to her constitution +is the saddest memory of my childhood. More I do not trust myself +to say to the public, nor will the reader expect more of me. + +My father followed, during most of his life, the precarious occupation +of a country school teacher. It was then, as it still is in many +thinly settled parts of the country, an almost nomadic profession, +a teacher seldom remaining more than one or two years in the same +place. Thus it happened that, during the first fifteen years of +my life, movings were frequent. My father tried his fortune in a +number of places, both in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. +Our lot was made harder by the fact that his ideas of education +did not coincide with those prevalent in the communities where +he taught. He was a disciple and admirer of William Cobbett, and +though he did not run so far counter to the ideas of his patrons as +to teach Cobbett's grammar at school, he always recommended it to +me as the one by which alone I could learn to write good English. +The learning of anything, especially of arithmetic and grammar, by +the glib repetition of rules was a system that he held in contempt. +With the public, ability to recite the rules of such subjects as +those went farther than any actual demonstration of the power to +cipher correctly or write grammatically. + +So far as the economic condition of society and the general mode of +living and thinking were concerned, I might claim to have lived in +the time of the American Revolution. A railway was something read +or heard about with wonder; a steamer had never ploughed the waters +of Wallace Bay. Nearly everything necessary for the daily life of +the people had to be made on the spot, and even at home. The work +of the men and boys was "from sun to sun,"--I might almost say from +daylight to darkness,--as they tilled the ground, mended the fences, +or cut lumber, wood, and stone for export to more favored climes. +The spinning wheel and the loom were almost a necessary part of the +furniture of any well-ordered house; the exceptions were among people +rich enough to buy their own clothes, or so poor and miserable that +they had to wear the cast-off rags of their more fortunate neighbors. +The women and girls sheared the sheep, carded the wool, spun the +yarn, wove the homespun cloth, and made the clothes. In the haying +season they amused themselves by joining in the raking of hay, in +which they had to be particularly active if rain was threatened; +but any man would have lost caste who allowed wife or daughter to +engage in heavy work outside the house. + +The contrast between the social conditions and those which surround +even the poorest classes at the present day have had a profound +influence upon my views of economic subjects. The conception which +the masses of the present time have of how their ancestors lived in +the early years of the century are so vague and shadowy as not to +influence their conduct at the present time. + +What we now call school training, the pursuit of fixed studies +at stated hours under the constant guidance of a teacher, I could +scarcely be said to have enjoyed. For the most part, when I attended +my father's school at all, I came and went with entire freedom, +and this for causes which, as we shall see, he had reasons for +deeming good. + +It would seem that I was rather precocious. I was taught the alphabet +by my aunts before I was four years old, and I was reading the Bible +in class and beginning geography when I was six. + +One curious feature of my reading I do not remember to have seen +noticed in the case of children. The printed words, for the most +part, brought no well-defined images to my mind; none at least that +were retained in their connection. I remember one instance of this. +We were at Bedeque, Prince Edward Island. During the absence of my +father, the school was kept for a time by Mr. Bacon. The class in +reading had that chapter in the New Testament in which the treason +of Judas is described. It was then examined on the subject. To the +question what Judas did, no one could return an answer until it +came my turn. I had a vague impression of some one hanging himself, +and so I said quite at random that he hanged himself. It was with +a qualm of conscience that I went to the head of the class. + +Arithmetic was commenced at the age of five, my father drawing me +to school day by day on a little sled during the winter. Just what +progress I made at that time I do not recall. Long years afterward, +my father, at my request, wrote me a letter describing my early +education, extracts from which I shall ask permission to reproduce, +instead of attempting to treat the matter myself. The letter, +covering twelve closely written foolscap pages, was probably dashed +off at a sitting without supposing any eye but my own would ever +see it:-- + + June 8th, '58. + + I will now proceed to write, according to your request, + about your early life. + + While in your fifth year, your mother spoke several times + of the propriety of teaching you the first rudiments of + book-learning; but I insisted that you should not be taught + the first letter until you became five. [2] I think, though, + that at about four, or four and a half I taught you to count, + as far, perhaps, as 100. + + When a little over four and a half, one evening, as I came + home from school, you ran to me, and asked, "Father, is not + 4 and 4 and 4 and 4, 16?" "Yes, how did you find it out?" + You showed me the counterpane which was napped. The spot + of four rows each way was the one you had counted up. + After this, for a week or two, you spent a considerable + number of hours every day, making calculations in addition + and multiplication. The rows of naps being crossed and + complexed in various ways, your greatest delight was to + clear them out, find how many small ones were equal to one + large one, and such like. After a space of two or three + weeks we became afraid you would calculate yourself "out + of your head," and laid away the counterpane. + + Winter came, and passed along, and your birthday came; + on that day, having a light hand-sled prepared, I fixed + you on it, and away we went a mile and a half to school. + + According to my belief in educational matters "that the + slate should be put into the child's hands as soon as the + book is," you of course had your slate, and commenced making + figures and letters the first day. + + In all cases, after you had read and spelled a lesson, and + made some figures, and worked a sum, suppose one hour's + study, I sent you out, telling you to run about and play + a "good spell." To the best of my judgment you studied, + during the five months that this school lasted, nearly four + hours a day, two being at figures. + + * * * * * + + During the year that I taught at Bedeque, you studied + about five hours a day in school; and I used to exercise + you about an hour a day besides, either morning or evening. + This would make six hours per day, nearly or quite two and + a half hours of that time at numbers either at your slate + or mentally. When my school ended here, you were six and a + half years of age, and pretty well through the arithmetic. + You had studied, I think, all the rules preceding including + the cube root. . . . + +I had frequently heard, during my boyhood, of a supposed mental +breakdown about this period, and had asked my father for a description +of it in the letter from which I am quoting. On this subject the +letter continues:-- + + You had lost all relish for reading, study, play, or talk. + Sat most of the day flat on the floor or hearth. When sent + of an errand, you would half the time forget what you went + for. I have seen you come back from Cale Schurman's crying, + [3] and after asking you several times you would make out to + answer, you had not been all the way over because you forgot + what you went for. You would frequently jump up from the + corner, and ask some peculiar question. I remember three + you asked me. + + 1st. Father, does form mean shape? Yes. Has everything + some shape? Yes. Can it be possible for anything to be + made that would not have any shape? I answered no; and then + showed you several things, explaining that they all had some + shape or form. You now brightened up like a lawyer who had + led on a witness with easy questions to a certain point, + and who had cautiously reserved a thunderbolt question, to + floor the witness at a proper time; proceeded with, "Well, + then, how could the world be without form when God made it?" + + * * * * * + + 3d. Does Cale Schurman's big ram know that he has such big + crooked horns on him? Does he know it himself, I mean? + Does he know himself that he has such horns on him? + + You were taken down suddenly I think about two or three days + from the first symptoms until you were fairly in the corner. + Your rise was also rapid, I think about a week (or perhaps + two weeks) from your first at recovery, until you seemed + to show nothing unusual. From the time you were taken down + until you commenced recovery was about a month. + + We returned to Prince Edward Island, and after a few weeks I + began to examine you in figures, and found you had forgotten + nearly all you had ever learned. + + * * * * * + + While at New London I got an old work on Astronomy; you + were wonderfully taken with it, and read it with avidity. + While here you read considerable in "Goldsmith's History + of England." We lived two years in New London; I think + you attended school nearly one year there. I usually asked + you questions on the road going to school, in the morning, + upon the history you had read, or something you had studied + the day previous. While there, you made a dozen or two of + the folks raise a terrible laugh. I one evening lectured + on astronomy at home; the house was pretty well filled, I + suppose about twenty were present. You were not quite ten + years old and small at that. Almost as soon as I was done + you said: "Father, I think you were wrong in one thing." + Such a roar of laughter almost shook the house. + + You were an uncommon child for _truth_. I never knew you + to deviate from it in one single instance, either in infancy + or youth. + + From your infancy you showed great physical courage in going + along the woods or in places in the dark among cattle, + and I am surprised at what you say about your fears of a + stove-pipe and trees. + + Perhaps I should have said "mental" instead of physical + courage, for in one respect you were uncommonly deficient + in that sort of courage necessary to perform bodily labor. + Until nine or ten years of age you made a most pitiful + attempt at any sort of bodily or rather "handy" work. + + * * * * * + + An extraordinary peculiarity in you was never to leap past + a word you could not make out. I certainly never gave + you any particular instructions about this, or the fact + itself would not at the time have appeared so strange to me. + I will name one case. After a return to Wallace (you were + eleven) I, one day, on going from home for an hour or so, + gave you a borrowed newspaper, telling you there was a fine + piece; to read it, and tell me its contents when I returned. + On my return you were near the house chopping wood. "Well, + Simon, did you read the piece?" "No, sir." "Why not?" + "I came to a word I did not know." This word was just + about four lines from the commencement. + + At thirteen you read Phrenology. I now often impressed upon + you the necessity of bodily labor; that you might attain + a strong and healthy physical system, so as to be able to + stand long hours of study when you came to manhood, for it + was evident to me that you would not labor with the hands + for a business. On this account, as much as on account of + poverty, I hired you out for a large portion of the three + years that we lived at Clements. + + At fifteen you studied Euclid, and were enraptured with it. + It is a little singular that all this time you never showed + any self-esteem; or spoke of getting into employment at some + future day, among the learned. The pleasure of intellectual + exercise in demonstrating or analyzing a geometrical problem, + or solving an algebraic equation, seemed to be your only + object. No Junior, Seignour or Sophomore class, with annual + honors, was ever, I suppose, presented to your mind. + + Your almost intuitive knowledge of geography, navigation, + and nautical matters in general caused me to think most + ardently of writing to the Admiral at Halifax, to know if + he would give you a place among the midshipmen of the navy; + but my hope of seeing you a leading lawyer, and finally + a judge on the bench, together with the possibility that + your mother would not consent, and the possibility that + you would not wish to go, deterred me: although I think I + commenced a letter. + + +Among the books which profoundly influenced my mode of life and +thought during the period embraced in the foregoing extracts were +Fowler's "Phrenology" and Combe's "Constitution of Man." It may +appear strange to the reader if a system so completely exploded as +that of phrenology should have any value as a mental discipline. +Its real value consisted, not in what it taught about the position +of the "organs," but in presenting a study of human nature which, +if not scientific in form, was truly so in spirit. I acquired the +habit of looking on the characters and capabilities of men as the +result of their organism. A hot and impulsive temper was checked +by the reflection that it was beneath the dignity of human nature +to allow a rush of blood to the organs of "combativeness" and +"destructiveness" to upset one's mental equilibrium. + +That I have gotten along in life almost without making (so far as I am +aware) a personal enemy may be attributed to this early discipline, +which led me into the habit of dealing with antagonism and personal +opposition as I would deal with any physical opposition--evade it, +avoid it, or overcome it. It goes without saying, however, that no +discipline of this sort will avail to keep the passions of a youth +always in check, and my own were no exception. When about fifteen I +once made a great scandal by taking out my knife in prayer meeting +and assaulting a young man who, while I was kneeling down during +the prayer, stood above me and squeezed my neck. He escaped with a +couple of severe though not serious cuts in his hand. He announced +his intention of thrashing me when we should meet again; so for +several days thereafter I tried, so far as possible, in going afield +to keep a pitchfork within reach, determined that if he tried the job +and I failed to kill him, it would be because I was unable to do so. +Fortunately for both of us he never made the attempt. + +I read Combe's "Constitution of Man" when between ten and twelve +years of age. Though based on the ideas of phrenology and not, +I believe, of high repute as a system of philosophy, it was as good +a moral tonic as I can imagine to be placed in the hands of a youth, +however fallacious may have been its general doctrines. So far as I +can recall, it taught that all individual and social ills were due +to men's disregard of the laws of Nature, which were classified as +physical and moral. Obey the laws of health and we and our posterity +will all reach the age of one hundred years. Obey the moral law and +social evils will disappear. Its reading was accompanied by some +qualms of conscience, arising from the non-accordance of many of its +tenets with those of the "Catechism" and the "New England Primer." +The combination of the two, however, led to the optimistic feeling +that all wrongs would be righted, every act of injustice punished, +and truth and righteousness eventually triumph through the regular +processes of Nature and Society. I have been led to abandon this +doctrine only by much experience, some of which will be found in +the following pages. + +In the direction of mathematical and physical science and reading +generally, I may add something to what I have quoted from my +father. My grandfather Simon had a small collection of books in +the family. Among those purely literary were several volumes of "The +Spectator" and "Roderick Random." Of the former I read a good deal. +The latter was a story which a boy who had scarcely read any other +would naturally follow with interest. Two circumstances connected +with the reading, one negative and the other positive, I recall. +Looking into the book after attaining years of maturity, I found it +to contain many incidents of a character that would not be admitted +into a modern work. Yet I read it through without ever noticing +or retaining any impression of the indelicate side of the story. +The other impression was a feeling of horror that a man fighting a +duel and finding himself, as he supposed, mortally wounded by his +opponent, should occupy his mind with avenging his own death instead +of making his peace with Heaven. + +Three mathematical books were in the collection, Hammond's Algebra, +Simpson's Euclid, and Moore's Navigator, the latter the predecessor +of Bowditch. The first was a miserable book, and I think its methods, +which were crude in the extreme, though not incorrect, were rather +more harmful than beneficial. The queer diagrams in Euclid had in +my early years so little attraction for me that my curiosity never +led me to examine its text. I at length did so in consequence of a +passage in the algebra which referred to the 47th proposition of the +First Book. It occurred to me to look into the book and see what +this was. It was the first conception of mathematical proof that +I had ever met with. I saw that the demonstration referred to a +previous proposition, went back to that, and so on to the beginning. +A new world of thought seemed to be opened. That principles so +profound should be reached by methods so simple was astonishing. +I was so enraptured that I explained to my brother Thomas while +walking out of doors one day how the Pythagorean proposition, as it +is now called, could be proved from first principles, drawing the +necessary diagrams with a pencil on a piece of wood. I thought that +even cattle might understand geometry could they only be communicated +with and made to pay attention to it. + +Some one at school had a copy of Mrs. Marcet's "Conversations on +Natural Philosophy." With this book I was equally enraptured. +Meagre and even erroneous though it was, it presented in a pleasing +manner the first principles of physical science. I used to steal into +the schoolhouse after hours to read a copy of the book, which belonged +to one of the scholars, and literally devoured it in a few evenings. + +My first undertaking in the way of scientific experiment was in +the field of economics and psychology. When about fourteen I spent +the winter in the house of an old farmer named Jefferson. He and +his wife were a very kindly couple and took much interest in me. +He was fond of his pipe, as most old farmers are. I questioned +whether anything else would not do just as well as tobacco to smoke, +and whether he was not wasting his money by buying that article +when a cheap substitute could be found. So one day I took his pipe, +removed the remains of the tobacco ashes, and stuffed the pipe with +tea leaves that had been steeped, and which in color and general +appearance looked much like tobacco. I took care to be around when +he should again smoke. He lit the pipe as usual and smoked it with, +seemingly, as much satisfaction as ever, only essaying the remark, +"This tobacco tastes like tea." My conscience pricked me, but I +could say nothing. + +My father bought a copy of Lardner's "Popular Lectures on Science +and Art." In this I first read of electricity. I recall an incident +growing out of it. In Lardner's description of a Leyden jar, water +is the only internal conductor. The wonders of the newly invented +telegraph were then explained to the people in out of the way places +by traveling lecturers. One of these came to Clements, where we then +lived, with a lot of apparatus, amongst which was what I recognized +as a Leyden jar. It was coated with tin-foil on the outside, but I +did not see the inner coating, or anything which could serve as the +necessary conductor. So with great diffidence I asked the lecturer +while he was arranging his things, if he was not going to put water +into the jar. + +"No, my lad," was his reply, "I put lightning into it." + +I wondered how the "lightning" was going to be conveyed to the +interior surface of the glass without any conductor, such as water, +but was too much abashed to ask the question. + +Moore's "Navigator" taught not only a very crude sort of trigonometry, +but a good deal about the warship of his time. To a boy living on +the seacoast, who naturally thought a ship of war one of the greatest +works of man, the book was of much interest. + +Notwithstanding the intellectual pleasure which I have described, +my boyhood was on the whole one of sadness. Occasionally my +love of books brought a word of commendation from some visitor, +perhaps a Methodist minister, who patted me on the head with a word +of praise. Otherwise it caused only exclamations of wonder which +were distasteful. + +"You would n't believe what larnin' that boy has got. He has more +larnin' than all the people around here put together," I heard +one farmer say to another, looking at me, in my own view of the +case, as if I were some monster misshapen in the womb. Instead of +feeling that my bookish taste was something to be valued, I looked +upon myself as a _lusus naturæ_ whom Nature had cruelly formed to +suffer from an abnormal constitution, and lamented that somehow I +never could be like other boys. + +The maladroitness described by my father, of which I was fully +conscious, added to the feeling of my unfitness for the world around +me. The skill required on a farm was above my reach, where efficiency +in driving oxen was one of the most valued of accomplishments. +I keenly felt my inability to acquire even respectable mediocrity in +this branch of the agricultural profession. It was mortifying to +watch the dexterous motions of the whip and listen to the torrent +of imperatives with which a young farmer would set a team of these +stolid animals in motion after they had failed to respond to my +gentle requests, though conveyed in the best of ox language. + +I had indeed gradually formed, from reading, a vague conception +of a different kind of world,--a world of light,--where dwelt men +who wrote books and people who knew the men who wrote books,--where +lived boys who went to college and devoted themselves to learning, +instead of driving oxen. I longed much to get into this world, but +no possibility of doing so presented itself. I had no idea that it +would be imbued with sympathy for a boy outside of it who wanted to +learn. True, I had once read in some story, perhaps fictitious, how +a nobleman had found a boy reading Newton's "Principia," and not only +expressed his pleased surprise at the performance, but actually got +the boy educated. But there was no nobleman in sight of the backwoods +of Nova Scotia. I read in the autobiography of Franklin how he had +made his way in life. But he was surrounded with opportunities from +which I was cut off. It does seem a little singular that, well known +as my tastes were to those around me, we never met a soul to say, +"That boy ought to be educated." So far as I know, my father's +idea of making me a lawyer met with nothing but ridicule from the +neighbors. Did not a lawyer have to know Latin and have money to +pursue his studies? In my own daydreams I was a farmer driving his +own team; in my mother's a preacher, though she had regretfully to +admit that I might never be good enough for this profession. + +[1] The actual sixth was my late excellent and esteemed cousin, +Judge Simon Bolivar Newcomb, of New Mexico. + +[2] He had evidently forgotten the home instruction from my aunts, +received more than a year previous to the date he mentions. + +[3] The grandfather of President Schurman of Cornell University. +I retain a dreamy impression of two half-grown or nearly grown boys, +perhaps between fourteen and eighteen years of age, one of whom +became, I believe, the father of the president. + + + + +II + +DOCTOR FOSHAY + + +In the summer of 1851, when I had passed the age of sixteen, we +lived in a little school district a mile or two from the town of +Yarmouth, N. S. Late in the summer we had a visit from a maternal +uncle and aunt. As I had not seen Moncton since I was six years old, +and as I wanted very much to visit my grandfather Prince once more, +it was arranged that I should accompany them on their return home. +An additional reason for this was that my mother's health had quite +failed; there was no prospect of my doing anything where I was, and it +was hoped that something might turn up at Moncton. There was but one +difficulty; the visitors had driven to St. John in their own little +carriage, which would hold only two people; so they could not take +me back. I must therefore find my own way from St. John to Moncton. + +We crossed the Bay of Fundy in a little sailing vessel. Among the +passengers was an English ship captain who had just been wrecked +off the coast of Newfoundland, and had the saved remnant of his crew +with him. On the morning of our departure the weather was stormy, +so that our vessel did not put to sea--a precaution for which the +captain passenger expressed great contempt. He did not understand +how a vessel should delay going to see on account of a little storm. + +The walk of one hundred miles from St. John to Moncton was for me, +at that time, a much less formidable undertaking than it would appear +in our times and latitude. A thirty-mile tramp was a bagatelle, +and houses of entertainment--farmhouses where a traveler could rest +or eat for a few pennies--were scattered along the road. But there +was one great difficulty at the start. My instructions had been to +follow the telegraph wires. I soon found that the line of telegraph +came into the town from one direction, passed through it, and then +left, not in the opposite direction, but perhaps at right angles +to it. In which direction was the line to be followed? It was +difficult to make known what I wanted. "Why, my boy, you can't +walk to Moncton," was one answer. In a shop the clerks thought I +wanted to ride on the telegraph, and, with much chuckling, directed +me to the telegraph office where the man in charge would send me on. +I tried in one direction which I thought could not be right, then +I started off in the opposite one; but it soon became evident that +that branch led up the river to Frederickton. So I had to retrace +my steps and take the original line, which proved to be the right one. + +The very first night I found that my grandfather's name was one to +conjure with. I passed it with a hearty old farmer who, on learning +who I was, entertained me with tales of Mr. Prince. The quality +which most impressed the host was his enormous physical strength. +He was rather below the usual stature and, as I remember him, very +slightly built. Yet he could shoulder a barrel of flour and lift +a hogshead of molasses on its end, feats of strength which only the +most powerful men in the region were equal to. + +On reaching my destination, I was not many days in learning that my +grandfather was a believer in the maxims of "Poor Richard's Almanac," +and disapproved of the aimless way in which I had been bred. He began +to suggest the desirableness of my learning to do something to make +a living. I thought of certain mechanical tastes which had moved +me in former years to whittle and to make a reel on which to wind +yarn, and to mend things generally. So I replied that I thought +the trade of a carpenter was the one I could most easily learn. +He approved of the idea, and expressed the intention of finding a +carpenter who would want my services; but before he did so, I was +started in a new and entirely different direction. + +On her last visit to her birthplace, my mother brought back glowing +reports of a wonderful physician who lived near Moncton and effected +cures of the sick who had been given up by other doctors. I need +hardly remark that physicians of wonderful proficiency--Diomeds of +the medical profession, before whose shafts all forms of disease +had to fall--were then very generally supposed to be realities. +The point which specially commended Dr. Foshay to us was that he +practiced the botanic system of medicine, which threw mineral and all +other poisons out of the materia medica and depended upon the healing +powers of plants alone. People had seen so much of the evil effects +of calomel, this being the favorite alternative of the profession, +that they were quite ready to accept the new system. Among the +remarkable cures which had given Dr. Foshay his great reputation was +one of a young man with dyspepsia. He was reduced to a shadow, and +the regular doctors had given him up as incurable. The new doctor +took him to his home. The patient was addicted to two practices, +both of which had been condemned by his former medical advisers. +One was that of eating fat pork, which he would do at any hour of +the day or night. The new doctor allowed him to eat all he wanted. +Another was getting up in the night and practicing an ablution of +the stomach by a method too heroic to be described in anything but +a medical treatise. [1] He was now allowed to practice it to his +heart's content. The outcome of the whole proceeding was that he +was well in a few months, and, when I saw him, was as lusty a youth +as one could desire to meet. + +Before Mr. Prince could see a carpenter, he was taken ill. I was +intensely interested to learn that his physician was the great doctor +I had heard of, who lived in the village of Salisbury, fifteen miles +on the road to St. John. + +One of my aunts had an impression that the doctor wanted a pupil or +assistant of some kind, and suggested that a possible opening might +here be offered me. She promised to present me to the doctor on +his next visit, after she had broached the subject to him. + +The time for which I waited impatiently at length arrived. +Never before had I met so charming a man. He was decidedly what we +should now call magnetic. There was an intellectual flavor in his +talk which was quite new to me. What fascinated me most of all was +his speaking of the difficulties he encountered in supplying himself +with sufficient "reading matter." He said it as if mental food was +as much a necessity as his daily bread. He was evidently a denizen +of that world of light which I had so long wished to see. He said +that my aunt was quite right in her impression, and our interview +terminated in the following liberal proposition on his part:-- + +S. N. to live with the doctor, rendering him all the assistance in +his power in preparing medicines, attending to business, and doing +generally whatever might be required of him in the way of help. + +The doctor, on his part, to supply S. N.'s bodily needs in food +and clothing, and teach him medical botany and the botanic system +of medicine. The contract to terminate when the other party should +attain the age of twenty-one. + +After mentioning the teaching clause, he corrected himself a moment, +and added: "At least all I know about it." + +All he knows about it! What more could heart desire or brain hold? + +The brilliancy of the offer was dimmed by only a single consideration; +I had never felt the slightest taste for studying medicine or caring +for the sick. That my attainments in the line could ever equal +those of my preceptor seemed a result too hopeless to expect. But, +after all, something must be done, and this was better than being +a carpenter. + +Before entering upon the new arrangement, a ratification was required +on both sides. The doctor had to make the necessary household +arrangements, and secure the consent of his wife. I had to ask the +approval of my father, which I did by letter. Like General Grant +and many great men, he was a man of exceptional sagacity in matters +outside the range of his daily concerns. He threw much cold water on +the scheme, but consented to my accepting the arrangement temporarily, +as there was nothing better to be done. + +I awaited the doctor's next visit with glowing anticipation. In due +course of time I stepped with him into his gig for the long drive, +expecting nothing less on the journey than a complete outline of the +botanic system of medicine and a programme of my future studies. +But scarcely had we started when a chilling process commenced. +The man erstwhile so effusive was silent, cold, impassive,--a marble +statue of his former self. I scarcely got three sentences out of +him during the journey, and these were of the most commonplace kind. +Could it be the same man? + +There was something almost frightful in being alongside a man who knew +so much. When we reached our destination the horse had to be put away +in the stable. I jumped up to the haymow to throw down the provender. +It was a very peculiar feeling to do so under the eye of a man who, +as he watched me, knew every muscle that I was setting in operation. + +A new chill came on when we entered the house and I was presented +to its mistress. + +"So you 're the boy that's come to work for the doctor, are you?" + +"I have come to study with him, ma'am"' was my interior reply, +but I was too diffident to say it aloud. Naturally the remark +made me very uncomfortable. The doctor did not correct her, +and evidently must have told her something different from what +he told me. Her tone was even more depressing than her words; +it breathed a coldness, not to say harshness, to which I had not +been accustomed in a woman. There was nothing in her appearance +to lessen the unpleasant impression. Small in stature, with florid +complexion, wide cheek bones that gave her face a triangular form, +she had the eye and look of a well-trained vixen. + +As if fate were determined to see how rapid my downfall should be +before the close of the day, it continued to pursue me. I was left +alone for a few minutes. A child some four years old entered and +made a very critical inspection of my person. The result was clearly +unfavorable, for she soon asked me to go away. Finding me indisposed +to obey the order, she proceeded to the use of force and tried to +expel me with a few strong pushes. When I had had enough of this, +I stepped aside as she was making a push. She fell to the floor, +then picked herself up and ran off crying, "Mamma." The latter soon +appeared with added ire infused into her countenance. + +"What did you hit the child for?" + +"I did n't hit her. What should I want to strike a child like +that for?" + +"But she says you hit her and knocked her down." + +"I did n't, though--she was trying to push me and fell and hurt +herself." + +A long piercing look of doubt and incredulity followed. + +"Strange, very strange. I never knew that child to tell a lie, +and she says you struck her." + +It was a new experience--the first time I had ever known my word to +be questioned. + +During the day one thought dominated all others: where are those +treasures of literature which, rich though they are, fail to satisfy +their owner's voracious intellectual appetite? As houses were then +built, the living and sleeping rooms were all on one main floor. +Here they comprised a kitchen, dining room, medicine room, a little +parlor, and two small sleeping rooms, one for the doctor and one +for myself. Before many hours I had managed to see the interior of +every one except the doctor's bedroom, and there was not a sign of a +book unless such common ones as a dictionary or a Bible. What could +it all mean? + +Next day the darkness was illuminated, at least temporarily, +by a ray of light. The doctor had been absent most of the day +before on a visit to some distant patient. Now he came to me +and told me he wanted to show me how to make bilious powders. +Several trays of dried herbs had been drying under the kitchen +stove until their leaves were quite brittle. He took these and I +followed him to the narrow stairway, which we slowly ascended, he +going ahead. As I mounted I looked for a solution of the difficulty. +Here upstairs must be where the doctor kept his books. At each step +I peered eagerly ahead until my head was on a level with the floor. +Rafters and a window at the other end had successively come into +view and now the whole interior was visible. Nothing was there but +a loft, at the further end of which was a bed for the housemaid. +The floor was strewn with dried plants. Nothing else was visible. +The disillusion seemed complete. My heart sank within me. + +On one side of the stairway at a level with the floor was screwed a +large coffee mill. The doctor spread a sheet of paper out on the +floor on the other side, and laid a line sieve upon it. Then he +showed me how to grind the dry and brittle leaves in the coffee mill, +put them into the sieve, and sift them on the paper. This work +had a scientific and professional look which infused a glimmer of +light into the Cimmerian darkness. The bilious powders were made of +the leaves of four plants familiarly known as spearmint, sunflower, +smartweed, and yarrow. In his practice a heaping teaspoonful of the +pulverized leaves was stirred in a cup of warm water and the grosser +parts were allowed to settle, while the patient took the finer parts +with the infusion. This was one of Dr. Foshay's staple remedies. +Another was a pill of which the principal active ingredient was +aloes. The art of making these pills seemed yet more scientific +than the other, and I was much pleased to find how soon I could +master it. Beside these a number of minor remedies were kept in +the medicine room. Among them were tinctures of lobelia, myrrh, +and capsicum. There was also a pill box containing a substance +which, from its narcotic odor, I correctly inferred to be opium. +This drug being prohibited by the Botanic School I could not but +feel that Dr. Foshay's orthodoxy was painfully open to question. + +Determined to fathom the mystery in which the doctor's plans for my +improvement were involved, I announced my readiness to commence the +study of the botanic system. He disappeared in the direction of +his bedroom, and soon returned with--could my eyes believe it?--a +big book. It was one which, at the time of its publication, some +thirty or forty years before, was well known to the profession,--Miner +and Tully on the "Fevers of the Connecticut Valley." He explained +bringing me this book. + +"Before beginning the regular study of the botanic system, you must +understand something of the old system. You can do so by reading +this book." + +A duller book I never read. There was every sort of detail about +different forms of fever, which needed different treatment; yet +calomel and, I think, opium were its main prescriptions. In due +time I got through it and reported to my preceptor. + +"Well, what do you think of the book?" + +"It praises calomel and opium too much. But I infer from reading +it that there are so many kinds of fever and other diseases that +an immense amount of study will be required to distinguish and +treat them." + +"Oh, you will find that all these minute distinctions are not +necessary when we treat the sick on the botanic system." + +"What is the next thing for me? Can I not now go on with the study +of the botanic system?" + +"You are not quite ready for it yet. You must first understand +something about phrenology. One great difference between us and +doctors of the old school is that they take no account of difference +of temperament, but treat the lymphatic and bilious in the same way. +But we treat according to the temperament of the patient and must +therefore be expert in distinguishing temperaments." + +"But I studied phrenology long ago and think I understand it quite +well." + +He was evidently surprised at this statement, but after a little +consideration said it was very necessary to be expert in the subject, +and thought I had better learn it more thoroughly. He returned to +his bedroom and brought a copy of Fowler's "Phrenology," the very +book so familiar to me. I had to go over it again, and did so +very carefully, paying special attention to the study of the four +temperaments,--nervous, bilious, lymphatic, and sanguine. + +Before many days I again reported progress. The doctor seemed a +little impatient, but asked me some questions about the position +of the organs and other matters pertaining to the subject, which I +answered promptly and correctly by putting my fingers on them on +my own head. But though satisfied with the answers, it was easy +to see that he was not satisfied with me. He had, on one or two +previous occasions, intimated that I was not wise and prudent in +worldly matters. Now he expressed himself more plainly. + +"This world is all a humbug, and the biggest humbug is the best man. +That 's the Yankee doctrine, and that 's the reason the Yankees +get along so well. You have no organ of secretiveness. You have +a window in your breast that every one can look into and see what +you are thinking about. You must shut that window up, like I do. +No one can tell from my talk or looks what I am thinking about." + +It may seem incredible to the reader that I marveled much at +the hidden meaning of this allegorical speech, and never for one +moment supposed it to mean: "I, Dr. Foshay, with my botanic system +of medicine, am the biggest humbug in these parts, and if you are +going to succeed with me you must be another." But I had already +recognized the truth of his last sentence. Probably neither of us +had heard of Talleyrand, but from this time I saw that his hearty +laugh and lively talk were those of a manikin. + +His demeanor toward me now became one of complete gravity, formality, +and silence. He was always kindly, but never said an unnecessary +word, and avoided all reference to reading or study. The mystery +which enveloped him became deeper month after month. In his presence +I felt a certain awe which prevented my asking any questions as to +his intentions toward me. + +It must, of course, be a matter of lifelong regret that two years +so important in one's education should have been passed in such a +way,--still, they were not wholly misspent. From a teacher named +Monroe, [2] who then lived near Salisbury, I borrowed Draper's +Chemistry, little thinking that I would one day count the author among +my friends. A book peddler going his rounds offered a collection of +miscellaneous books at auction. I bought, among others, a Latin and a +Greek grammar, and assiduously commenced their study. With the first +I was as successful as could be expected under the circumstances, +but failed with the Greek, owing to the unfamiliarity of the alphabet, +which seemed to be an obstacle to memory of the words and forms. + +But perhaps the greatest event of my stay was the advent of a +botanic druggist of Boston, who passed through the region with a +large wagonload of medicines and some books. He was a pleasant, +elderly gentleman, and seemed much interested on learning that +I was a student of the botanic system. He had a botanic medical +college in or near Boston, and strongly urged me to go thither as +soon as I could get ready to complete my studies. From him the +doctor, willing to do me a favor, bought some books, among them the +"Eclectic Medical Dispensary," published in Cincinnati. Of this +book the doctor spoke approvingly, as founded on the true system +which he himself practiced, and though I never saw him read it, +he was very ready to accept the knowledge which I derived from it. +The result was quite an enlargement of his materia medica, both in the +direction of native plants and medicines purchased from his druggist. + +On one occasion this advance came near having serious consequences. +I had compounded some pills containing a minute quantity of elaterium. +The doctor gave them to a neighboring youth affected with a slight +indisposition in which some such remedy was indicated. The directions +were very explicit,--one pill every hour until the desired effect +was produced. + +"Pshaw," said the patient's brother, "there's nothin' but weeds in +them pills, and a dozen of them won't hurt you." + +The idea of taking weed pills one at a time seemed too ridiculous, +and so the whole number were swallowed at a dose. The result was, +happily, not fatal, though impressive enough to greatly increase +the respect of the young man's family for our medicines. + +The intellectual life was not wholly wanting in the village. A lodge +of a temperance organization, having its headquarters in Maine, +was formed at a neighboring village. It was modeled somewhat after +the fashion of the Sons of Temperance. The presiding officer, with +a high sounding title, was my mother's cousin, Tommy Nixon. He was +the most popular young man of the neighborhood. The rudiments of a +classical education gained at a reputable academy in Sackville had not +detracted from his qualities as a healthy, rollicking young farmer. +The lodge had an imposing ritual of which I well remember one feature. +At stated intervals a password which admitted a member of any +one lodge to a meeting of any other was received from the central +authority--in Maine, I believe. It was never to be pronounced except +to secure admission, and was communicated to the members by being +written on a piece of paper in letters so large that all could read. +After being held up to view for a few moments, the paper was held in +the flame of a candle with these words: "This paper containing our +secret password I commit to the devouring element in token that it no +longer exists save in the minds of the faithful brethren." The fine +sonorous voice of the speaker and his manly front, seen in the lurid +light of the burning paper, made the whole scene very impressive. + +There was also a society for the discussion of scientific questions, +of which the founder and leading spirit was a youth named Isaac +Steves, who was beginning the study of medicine. The president +was a "Worthy Archon." Our discussions strayed into the field +of physiological mysteries, and got us into such bad odor with +Mrs. Foshay and, perhaps, other ladies of the community, that the +meetings were abandoned. + +A soil like that of the Provinces at this time was fertile in odd +characters including, possibly, here and there, a "heart pregnant +with celestial fire." One case quite out of the common line was +that of two or three brothers employed in a sawmill somewhere up the +river Petticodiac. According to common report they had invented a +new language in order to enable them to talk together without their +companions knowing what they were saying. I knew one of them well +and, after some time, ventured to inquire about this supposed tongue. +He was quite ready to explain it. The words were constructed out +of English by the very simple process of reversing the syllables or +the spelling. Everything was pronounced backward. Those who heard +it, and knew the key, had no difficulty in construing the words; +to those who did not, the words were quite foreign. + +The family of the neighborhood in which I was most intimate was that +of a Scotch farmer named Parkin. Father, mother, and children were +very attractive, both socially and intellectually, and in later years +I wondered whether any of them were still living. Fifty years later +I had one of the greatest and most agreeable surprises of my life +in suddenly meeting the little boy of the family in the person of +Dr. George R. Parkin, the well-known promoter of imperial federation +in Australia and the agent in arranging for the Rhodes scholarships +at Oxford which are assigned to America. + +My duties were of the most varied character. I composed a little +couplet designating my professions as those of + + Physician, apothecary, chemist, and druggist, + Girl about house and boy in the barn. + +I cared for the horse, cut wood for the fire, searched field and +forest for medicinal herbs, ordered other medicines from a druggist +[3] in St. John, kept the doctor's accounts, made his pills, and +mixed his powders. This left little time for reading and study, +and such exercises were still farther limited by the necessity of +pursuing them out of sight of the housewife. + +As time passed on, the consciousness that I was wasting my growing +years increased. I long cherished a vague hope that the doctor +could and would do something to promote my growth into a physician, +especially by taking me out to see his patients. This was the +recognized method of commencing the study of medicine. But he never +proposed such a course to me, and never told me how he expected me +to become a physician. Every month showed my prospects in a less +hopeful light. I had rushed into my position in blind confidence in +the man, and without any appreciation of the requirements of a medical +practitioner. But these requirements now presented themselves to +my mind with constantly increasing force. Foremost among them was +a knowledge of anatomy, and how could that be acquired except at a +medical school? It was every day more evident that if I continued +in my position I should reach my majority without being trained for +any life but that of a quack. + +While in this state of perplexity, an event happened which suggested +a way out. One day the neighborhood was stirred by the news that +Tommy Nixon had run away--left his home without the consent of his +parents, and sailed for the gold fields of Australia. I was struck +by the absence of any word of reprobation for his act. The young men +at least seemed to admire the enterprising spirit he had displayed. +A few weeks after his departure a letter which he wrote from London, +detailing his adventures in the great metropolis, was read in my +presence to a circle of admiring friends with expressions of wonder +and surprise. This little circumstance made it clear to me that +the easiest way out of my difficulty was to out the Gordian knot, +run away from Dr. Foshay, and join my father in New England. + +No doubt the uppermost question in the mind of the reader will be: +Why did you wait so long without having a clear understanding with +the doctor? Why not ask him to his face how he expected you to +remain with him when he had failed in his pledges, and demand that +he should either keep them or let you go? + +One answer, perhaps the first, must be lack of moral courage to face +him with such a demand. I have already spoken of the mystery which +seemed to enshroud his personality, and of the fascination which, +through it, he seemed to exercise over me. But behind this was +the conviction that he could not do anything for me were he ever so +well disposed. That he was himself uneducated in many essentials of +his profession had gradually become plain enough; but what he knew +or possibly might know remained a mystery. I had heard occasional +allusions, perhaps from Mrs. Foshay rather than from himself, to an +institution supposed to be in Maine, where he had studied medicine, +but its name and exact location were never mentioned. Altogether, +if I told him of my intention, it could not possibly do any good, +and he might be able to prevent my carrying it out, or in some other +way to do much harm. And so I kept silent. + +Tuesday, September 13, 1853, was the day on which I fixed for the +execution of my plan. The day previous I was so abstracted as to +excite remarks both from Mrs. Foshay and her girl help, the latter +more than once declaring me crazy when I made some queer blunder. +The fact is I was oppressed by the feeling that the step about to +be taken was the most momentous of my life. I packed a few books +and clothes, including some mementoes of my mother, and took the box +to the stage and post-office in the evening, to be forwarded to an +assumed name in St. John the next afternoon. This box I never saw +again; it was probably stopped by Foshay before being dispatched. +My plan was to start early in the morning, walk as far as I could +during the day, and, in the evening, take the mail stage when it +should overtake me. This course was necessitated by the fact that +the little money that I had in my pocket was insufficient to pay my +way to Boston, even when traveling in the cheapest way. + +I thought it only right that the doctor should be made acquainted +with my proceeding and my reason for taking it, so I indited a short +letter, which I tried to reproduce from memory ten years later with +the following result:-- + + Dear Doctor,--I write this to let you know of the step I am + about to take. When I came to live with you, it was agreed + that you should make a physician of me. This agreement you + have never shown the slightest intention of fulfilling since + the first month I was with you. You have never taken me + to see a patient, you have never given me any instruction + or advice whatever. Beside this, you must know that your + wife treats me in a manner that is no longer bearable. + + I therefore consider the agreement annulled from your failure + to fulfill your part of it, and I am going off to make my + own way in the world. When you read this, I shall be far + away, and it is not likely that we shall ever meet again. + +If my memory serves me right, the doctor was absent on a visit to +some distant patient on the night in question, and I did not think it +likely that he would return until at least noon on the following day. +By this time my box would have been safely off in the stage, and +I would be far out of reach. To delay his receiving the letter as +much as possible, I did not leave it about the house, but put it in +the window of a shop across the way, which served the neighbors as +a little branch post-office. + +But he must have returned sooner than I expected, for, to my great +regret, I never again saw or heard of the box, which contained, +not only the entire outfit for my journey, but all the books of my +childhood which I had, as well as the little mementoes of my mother. +The postmaster who took charge of the goods was a Mr. Pitman. +When I again passed through Salisbury, as I did ten years later, +he had moved away, no one could tell me exactly where. + +I was on the road before daybreak, and walked till late at night, +occasionally stopping to bathe my feet in a brook, or to rest for +a few minutes in the shadow of a tree. The possibility of my being +pursued by the doctor was ever present to my mind, and led me to keep +a sharp lookout for coming vehicles. Toward sunset a horse and buggy +appeared, coming over a hill, and very soon the resemblance of vehicle +and driver to the turnout of the doctor became so striking that I +concealed myself in the shrubbery by the wayside until the sound of +the wheels told me he was well past. The probability that my pursuer +was in front of me was an added source of discomfort which led me +to avoid the road and walk in the woods wherever the former was not +visible to some distance ahead. But I neither saw nor heard anything +more of the supposed pursuer, though, from what I afterward learned, +there can be little doubt that it was actually Foshay himself. + +The advent of darkness soon relieved me of the threatened danger, +but added new causes of solicitude. The evening advanced, and the +lights in the windows of the houses were becoming fewer and fewer, +and yet the stage had not appeared. I slackened my pace, and made +many stops, beginning to doubt whether I might not as well give up the +stage and look for an inn. It was, I think, after ten o'clock when +the rattling of wheels announced its approach. It was on a descending +grade, and passed me like a meteor, in the darkness, quite heedless +of my calls and gesticulations. Fortunately a house was in sight +where I was hospitably entertained, and I was very soon sound asleep, +as became one who had walked fifty miles or more since daylight. + +Thus ended a day to which I have always looked back as the most +memorable of my life. I felt its importance at the time. As I +walked and walked, the question in my mind was, what am I doing and +whither am I going? Am I doing right or wrong? Am I going forward +to success in life, or to failure and degradation? Vainly, vainly, +I tried to peer into the thick darkness of the future. No definite +idea of what success might mean could find a place in my mind. +I had sometimes indulged in daydreams, but these come not to a mind +occupied as mine on that day. And if they had, and if fancy had +been allowed its wildest flight in portraying a future, it is safe +to say that the figure of an honorary academician of France, seated +in the chair of Newton and Franklin in the palace of the Institute, +would not have been found in the picture. + +As years passed away I have formed the habit of looking back upon that +former self as upon another person, the remembrance of whose emotions +has been a solace in adversity and added zest to the enjoyment of +prosperity. If depressed by trial, I think how light would this have +appeared to that boy had a sight of the future been opened up to him. +When, in the halls of learning, I have gone through the ceremonies +which made me a citizen of yet another commonwealth in the world of +letters, my thoughts have gone back to that day; and I have wished +that the inexorable law of Nature could then have been suspended, +if only for one moment, to show the scene that Providence held +in reserve. + +Next morning I was on my way betimes, having still more than thirty +miles before me. And the miles seemed much longer than they did the +day before, for my feet were sore and my limbs stiff. Quite welcome, +therefore, was a lift offered by a young farmer, who, driving a +cart, overtook me early in the forenoon. He was very sociable, +and we soon got into an interesting conversation. + +I knew that Dr. Foshay hailed from somewhere in this region, where +his father still lived, so I asked my companion whether he knew a +family of that name. He knew them quite well. + +"Do you know anything of one of the sons who is a doctor?" + +"Yes indeed; I know all about him, but he ain't no doctor. He tried +to set up for one in Salisbury, but the people there must a' found +him out before this, and I don't know where he is now." + +"But I thought he studied medicine in Fredericton or Maine or +somewhere on the border." + +"Oh, he went off to the States and pretended to study, but he never +did it. I tell you he ain't no more a doctor nor I am. He ain't +smart enough to be a doctor." + +I fell into a fit of musing long enough to hear, in my mind's +ear, with startling distinctness, the words of two years before: +"This world is all a humbug, and the biggest humbug is the best man. +. . . You have a window in your breast and you must close that window +before you can succeed in life." Now I grasped their full meaning. + +Ten years later I went through the province by rail on my wedding +journey. At Dorchester, the next village beyond Moncton, I was +shown a place where insolvent debtors were kept "on the limits." + +"By stopping there," said my informant, "you can see Dr. Foshay." + +I suggested the question whether it was worth while to break our +journey for the sake of seeing him. The reply of my informant +deterred me. + +"It can hardly be worth while to do so. He will be a painful object +to see,--a bloated sot, drinking himself to death as fast as he can." + +The next I heard of him was that he had succeeded. + +I reached St. John on the evening that a great celebration of the +commencement of work on the first railway in the province was in +progress. When things are undecided, small matters turn the scale. +The choice of my day for starting out on my adventurous journey was +partly fixed by the desire to reach St. John and see something of +the celebration. Darkness came on when I was yet a mile or two from +the city; then the first rocket I had ever beheld rose before me in +the sky. Two of what seemed like unfortunate incidents at the time +were most fortunate. Subsequent and disappointing experience showed +that had I succeeded in getting the ride I wished in the stage, +the resulting depletion of my purse would have been almost fatal +to my reaching my journey's end. Arriving at the city, I naturally +found all the hotels filled. At length a kindly landlady said that, +although she had no bed to give me, I was quite welcome to lie on a +soft carpeted floor, in the midst of people who could not find any +other sleeping place. No charge was made for this accommodation. +My hope of finding something to do which would enable me to earn +a little money in St. John over and above the cost of a bed and a +daily loaf of bread was disappointed. The efforts of the next week +are so painful to recall that I will not harrow the feelings of the +reader by describing them. Suffice it to say that the adventure was +wound up by an interview at Calais, a town on the Maine border, a +few miles from Eastport, with the captain of a small sailing vessel, +hardly more than a boat. He was bound for Salem. I asked him the +price of a passage. + +"How much money have you?" he replied. + +I told him; whether it was one or two dollars I do not recall. + +"I will take you for that if you will help us on the voyage." + +The offer was gladly accepted. The little craft was about as near the +opposite of a clipper ship as one can imagine, never intended to run +in any but fair winds, and even with that her progress was very slow. +There was a constant succession of west winds, and the result was that +we were about three weeks reaching Salem. Here I met my father, who, +after the death of my mother, had come to seek his fortune in the +"States." He had reached the conclusion, on what grounds I do not +know, that the eastern part of Maryland was a most desirable region, +both in the character of its people and in the advantages which it +offered us. The result was that, at the beginning of 1854, I found +myself teacher of a country school at a place called Massey's Cross +Roads in Kent County. After teaching here one year, I got a somewhat +better school at the pleasant little village of Sudlersville, a few +miles away. + +Of my abilities as a manager and teacher of youth the reader can +judge. Suffice it to say that, looking back at those two years, I +am deeply impressed with the good nature of the people in tolerating +me at all. + +My most pleasant recollection is that of two of my best pupils of +Sudlersville, nearly my own age. One was Arthur E. Sudler, for +whose special benefit some chemical apparatus was obtained from +Philadelphia. He afterwards studied medicine at the University of +Pennsylvania and delighted me by writing that what I had taught him +placed him among the best in his class in chemistry. The other was +B. S. Elliott, who afterward became an engineer or surveyor. + +One of my most vivid recollections at Massey's relates to a subject +which by no means forms a part of one's intellectual development, +and yet is at the bottom of all human progress, that of digestion. +The staple food of the inhabitants of a Southern farming region was +much heartier than any to which I had been accustomed. "Pork and +pone" were the staples, the latter being a rather coarse cake with +little or no seasoning, baked from cornmeal. This was varied +by a compound called "shortcake," a mixture of flour and lard, +rapidly baked in a pan, and eaten hot. Though not distasteful, +I thought it as villainous a compound as a civilized man would put +into his stomach. + +Quite near my school lived a young bachelor farmer who might be +designated as William Bowler, Esq., though he was better known as +Billy Bowler. He had been educated partly at Delaware College, +Newark, and was therefore an interesting young man to know. +In describing his experiences at the college, he once informed me +that they were all very pleasant except in a single point; that was +the miserably poor food that the students got to eat. He could not, +he declared, get along without good eating. This naturally suggested +that my friend was something of a gourmand. Great, therefore, +was my delight when, a few weeks later, he expressed a desire to +have me board with him. I accepted the offer as soon as possible. +Much to my disappointment, shortcake was on the table at the first +meal and again at the second. It proved to be the principal dish +twice, and I am not sure but three times a day. The other staple +was fried meat. On the whole this was worse than pork and pone, +which, if not toothsome, was at least wholesome. As the days grew +into weeks, I wondered what Delaware College could give its students +to eat. To increase the perplexity, there were plenty of chickens +in the yard and vegetables in the garden. I asked the cook if she +could not boil some vegetables and bring them on the table. + +"Mas'er Bowler don't like wegetable." + +Then I found that the chickens were being consumed in the kitchen +and asked for one. + +"Mas'er Bowler don't like chicken," was the reply, with an added +intimation that the chickens belonged to the denizens of the kitchen. + +The mystery was now so dark and deep that I determined to fathom it. +I drew Mr. Bowler into conversation once more about Delaware College, +and asked him what the students had to eat when there. + +He had evidently forgotten his former remark and described what +seemed to me a fairly well provided students' table. Now I came +down on him with my crusher. + +"You told me once that the table was miserably poor, so that you +could hardly stand it. What fault had you to find with it?" + +He reflected a moment, apparently recalling his impression, then +replied: "Oh, they had no shortcake there!" + +In 1854 I availed myself of my summer vacation to pay my first +visit to the national capital, little dreaming that it would ever be +my home. I went as far as the gate of the observatory, and looked +wistfully in, but feared to enter, as I did not know what the rules +might be regarding visitors. I speculated upon the possible object +of a queer red sandstone building, which seemed so different from +anything else, and heard for the first time of the Smithsonian +Institution. + +On the very beginning of my work at Massey's the improvement in my +position was so remarkable that I felt my rash step of a few months +before fully justified. I wrote in triumph to my favorite aunt, +Rebecca Prince, that leaving Dr. Foshay was the best thing I had +ever done. I was no longer "that boy," but a respectable young man +with a handle to my name. + +Just what object I should pursue in life was still doubtful; the +avenues of the preferment I would have liked seemed to be closed +through my not being a college graduate. I had no one to advise me as +to the subjects I should pursue or the books I should study. On such +books as I could get, I passed every spare hour. My father sent me +Cobbett's English Grammar, which I found amusing and interesting, +especially the criticisms upon the grammar found here and there in +royal addresses to Parliament and other state papers. On the whole +I am not sure but that the book justified my father's good opinion, +although I cannot but think that it was rather hypercritical. I had +been taught the rudiments of French in Wallace when quite a child by +a Mr. Oldright, of whose methods and pronunciation my memory gives +me a most favorable impression. I now got Cobbett's French Grammar, +probably a much less commendable book than his English one. I had +never yet fathomed the mysteries of analytic geometry or the calculus, +and so got Davies' books on those subjects. That on the calculus +was perhaps the worst that could be put into the hands of a person +situated as I was. Two volumes of Bezout's Mathematics, in French, +about a century old, were, I think, rather better. Say's Political +Economy was the first book I read on that subject, and it was quite +a delight to see human affairs treated by scientific methods. + +I finally reached the conclusion that mathematics was the study I +was best fitted to follow, though I did not clearly see in what way I +should turn the subject to account. I knew that Newton's "Principia" +was a celebrated book, so I got a copy of the English translation. +The path through it was rather thorny, but I at least caught the +spirit here and there. No teacher at the present time would think +of using it as a text-book, yet as a mental discipline, and for +the purpose of enabling one to form a mental image of the subject, +its methods at least are excellent. I got a copy of the "American +Journal of Science," hoping it might enlighten me, but was frightened +by its big words, and found nothing that I could understand. + +During the year at Sudlersville I made several efforts which, +though they were insignificant so far as immediate results were +concerned, were in some respects of importance for my future work. +With no knowledge of algebra except what was derived from the meagre +text-books I could pick up,--not having heard even the name of +Abel, or knowing what view of the subject was taken by professional +mathematicians,--I made my first attempt at a scientific article, "A +New Demonstration of the Binomial Theorem." This I sent to Professor +Henry, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, to see if he deemed +it suitable for publication. He promptly replied in the negative, but +offered to submit it to a professional mathematician for an opinion +of its merits. I gladly accepted this proposal, which was just what +I wanted. In due course a copy of the report was sent me. One part +of the work was praised for its elegance, but a lack of completeness +and rigor was pointed out. It was accompanied by a pleasant note +from Professor Henry remarking that, while not so favorable as I might +have expected, it was sufficiently so to encourage me in persevering. + +The other effort to which I refer was of quite a different character. +A copy of the "National Intelligencer," intended for some subscriber +who had left Sudlersville, came to the post-office for several months, +and, there being no claimant, I frequently had an opportunity to +read it. One of its features was frequent letters from volunteer +writers on scientific subjects. Among these was a long letter +from one G. W. Eveleth, the object of which was to refute the +accepted theory of the universe, especially the view of Copernicus. +For aught I knew Mr. Eveleth held as high a position as any one else +in the world of science and letters, so I read his article carefully. +It was evidently wholly fallacious, yet so plausible that I feared +the belief of the world in the doctrine of Copernicus might suffer +a severe shock, and hastened to the rescue by writing a letter over +my own name, pointing out the fallacies. This was published in the +"National Intelligencer"--if my memory serves me right--in 1855. +My full name, printed in large capitals, in a newspaper, at the bottom +of a letter, filled me with a sense of my temerity in appearing so +prominently in print, as if I were intruding into company where I +might not be wanted. + +My letter had two most unexpected and gratifying results. One was +a presentation of a copy of Lee's "Tables and Formulæ," which came +to me a few days later through the mail with the compliments of +Colonel Abert. Not long afterward came a letter from Professor +J. Lawrence Smith, afterward a member of the National Academy of +Sciences, transmitting a copy of a pamphlet by him on the theory +that meteorites were masses thrown up from the volcanoes of the moon, +and asking my opinion on the subject. + +I had not yet gotten into the world of light. But I felt as one who, +standing outside, could knock against the wall and hear an answering +knock from within. + +The beginning of 1856 found me teaching in the family of a planter +named Bryan, residing in Prince George County, Md., some fifteen or +twenty miles from Washington. This opened up new opportunities. +I could ride into Washington whenever I wished, leave my horse +at a livery stable, and see whatever sights the city offered. +The Smithsonian Library was one of the greatest attractions. +Sometime in May, 1856, I got permission from the attendant in charge +to climb into the gallery and see the mathematical books. Here I +was delighted to find the greatest treasure that my imagination had +ever pictured,--a work that I had thought of almost as belonging +to fairyland. And here it was right before my eyes--four enormous +volumes,--"Mécanique Céleste, by the Marquis de Laplace, Peer of +France; translated by Nathaniel Bowditch, LL. D., Member of the +Royal Societies of London, Edinburg, and Dublin." I inquired as to +the possibility of my borrowing the first volume, and was told that +this could be done only by special authority of Professor Henry. +I soon got the necessary authority through Mr. Rhees, the chief +clerk, whose kindness in the matter deeply impressed me, signed a +promise to return it within one month, and carried it in triumph +to my little schoolhouse. I dipped into it here and there, but at +every step was met by formulæ and methods quite beyond the power of +one who knew so little of mathematics. In due time I brought the +book back as promised. + +Up to this time I think I had never looked upon a real live +professor; certainly not upon one of eminence in the scientific +world. I wondered whether there was any possibility of my making the +acquaintance of so great a man as Professor Henry. Some time previous +a little incident had occurred which caused me some uneasiness on +the subject. I had started out very early on a visit to Washington, +or possibly I had stayed there all night. At any rate, I reached +the Smithsonian Building quite early, opened the main door, stepped +cautiously into the vestibule, and looked around. Here I was met +by a short, stout, and exceedingly gruff sort of a man, who looked +upon my entrance with evident displeasure. He said scarcely a word, +but motioned me out of the door, and showed me a paper or something +in the entrance which intimated that the Institution would be open +at nine o'clock. It was some three minutes before that hour so I +was an intruder. The man looked so respectable and so commanding +in his appearance that I wondered if he could be Professor Henry, +yet sincerely hoped he was not. I afterward found that he was only +"Old Peake," the janitor. [4] When I found the real Professor Henry +he received me with characteristic urbanity, told me something of +his own studies, and suggested that I might find something to do in +the Coast Survey, but took no further steps at that time. + +The question whether I was fitted for any such employment now became +of great interest. The principal question was whether one must know +celestial mechanics in order to secure such a position, so, after +leaving Professor Henry, I made my way to the Coast Survey office, and +was shown to the chief clerk, as the authority for the information. +I modestly asked him whether a knowledge of physical astronomy was +necessary to a position in that office. Instead of frankly telling +me that he did not know what physical astronomy was, he answered in +the affirmative. So I left with the impression that I must master +the "Mécanique Céleste" or some similar treatise before finding any +opening there. + +I could not, of course, be satisfied with a single visit to such +a man, and so called several times during the year. One thing +I wondered about was whether he would remember me when he again +saw me. On one occasion I presented him with a plan for improving +the Cavendish method of determining the density of the earth, +which he took very kindly. I subsequently learned that he was much +interested in this problem. On another occasion he gave me a letter +to Mr. J. E. Hilgard, assistant in charge of the Coast Survey office. +My reception by the latter was as delightful as that by Professor +Henry. I found from my first interview with him that the denizens +of the world of light were up to the most sanguine conceptions I +ever could have formed. + +At this time, or probably some time before, I bought a copy of the +"American Ephemeris" for 1858, and amused myself by computing on +a slate the occultations visible at San Francisco during the first +few months of the year. At this time I had learned nothing definite +from Mr. Hilgard as to employment in his office. But about December, +1856, I received a note from him stating that he had been talking +about me to Professor Winlock, superintendent of the "Nautical +Almanac," and that I might possibly get employment on that work. +When I saw him again I told him that I had not yet acquired +such a knowledge of physical astronomy as would be necessary for +the calculations in question; but he assured me that this was no +drawback, as formulæ for all the computations would be supplied me. +I was far from satisfied at the prospect of doing nothing more than +making routine calculations with formulæ prepared by others; indeed, +it was almost a disappointment to find that I was considered qualified +for such a place. I could only console myself by the reflection that +the ease of the work would not hinder me from working my way up. +Shortly afterward I understood that it was at least worth while to +present myself at Cambridge, and so started out on a journey thither +about the last day of the year 1856. + +At that time even a railroad journey was quite different from what it +is now. The cars were drawn through Baltimore by horses. At Havre +de Grace the train had to stop and the passengers were taken across +the river in a ferryboat to another train. At Philadelphia the city +had to be traversed by transfer coaches. Looking around for this +conveyance, I met a man who said he had it. He shoved me into it +and drove off. I remarked with suspicion that no other coaches were +accompanying us. After a pretty long drive the speed of the horses +gradually began to slacken. At length it came to a complete stop in +front of a large building, and I got out. But it was only a freight +station, locked up and dark throughout. The driver mumbled something +about his fare, then rolled back on his seat, seemingly dead drunk. +The nearest sign of life was at a tavern a block or two away. There I +found that I was only a short distance from the station of departure, +and reached my train barely in time. + +Landing in New York at the first glimmer of dawn, near the end of the +line of passengers I was momentarily alarmed to see a man pick up what +seemed to be a leather purse from right between my feet. It was brown +and, so far as I could see, just like my own. I immediately felt +the breast pocket of my coat and found that my own was quite safe. +The man who picked up the purse inquired in the politest tone possible +if it was mine, to which I replied in the negative. He retreated a +short distance and then a bystander came up and chided me in a whisper +for my folly in not claiming the purse. The only reply he got was, +"Oh, I'm up to all your tricks." On a repetition of this assurance +the pair sneaked away. + +Arriving at Cambridge, I sought out Professor Winlock and was +informed that no immediate employment was open at his office. +It would be necessary for him to get authority from Washington. +After this was obtained some hope might be held out, so I appeared +in the office from time to time as a visitor, my first visit being +that described in the opening chapter. + +[1] I may remark, for the benefit of any medical reader, that it +involved the use of two pails, one full of water, the other empty. +When he got through the ablution, one pail was empty, and the other +full. My authority for the actuality of this remarkable proceeding +was some inmate of the house at the time, and I give credence to +the story because it was not one likely to be invented. + +[2] Rev. Alexander H. Monroe, who, I have understood, afterward +lived in Montreal. I have often wished to find a trace of him, +but do not know whether he is still living. + +[3] Our druggist was Mr. S. L. Tilley, afterward Sir Leonard Tilley, +the well-known Canadian Minister of Finance. + +[4] Peake, notwithstanding his official title, would seem to have +been more than an ordinary janitor, as he was the author of a Guide +to the Smithsonian Institution. + + + + +III + +THE WORLD OF SWEETNESS AND LIGHT + + +The term "Nautical Almanac" is an unfortunate misnomer for what is, +properly speaking, the "Astronomical Ephemeris." It is quite a +large volume, from which the world draws all its knowledge of times +and seasons, the motions of the heavenly bodies, the past and future +positions of the stars and planets, eclipses, and celestial phenomena +generally which admit of prediction. It is the basis on which the +family almanac is to rest. It also contains the special data needed +to enable the astronomer and navigator to determine their position on +land or sea. The first British publication of the sort, prepared by +Maskelyne, Astronomer Royal, a century ago, was intended especially +for the use of navigators; hence the familiar appellation, which I +call unfortunate because it leads to the impression that the work +is simply an enlargement and improvement of the household almanac. + +The leading nations publish ephemerides of this sort. The +introductions and explanations are, of course, in the languages of +the respective countries; but the contents of the volume are now so +much alike that the duplication of work involved in preparing them +seems quite unnecessary. Yet national pride and emulation will +probably continue it for some time to come. + +The first appropriation for an American ephemeris and nautical +almanac was made by Congress in 1849. Lieutenant Charles Henry +Davis, as a leader and moving spirit in securing the appropriation, +was naturally made the first superintendent of the work. At that time +astronomical science in our country was so far from being reduced to +a system that it seemed necessary to have the work prepared at some +seat of learning. So, instead of founding the office in Washington, +it was established at Cambridge, the seat of Harvard University, +where it could have the benefit of the technical knowledge of experts, +and especially of Professor Benjamin Peirce, who was recognized as +the leading mathematician of America. Here it remained until 1866, +when conditions had so far changed that the office was removed to +Washington, where it has since remained. + +To this work I was especially attracted because its preparation seemed +to me to embody the highest intellectual power to which man had ever +attained. The matter used to present itself to my mind somewhat in +this way: Supply any man with the fundamental data of astronomy, the +times at which stars and planets cross the meridian of a place, and +other matters of this kind. He is informed that each of these bodies +whose observations he is to use is attracted by all the others with +a force which varies as the inverse square of their distance apart. +From these data he is to weigh the bodies, predict their motion in +all future time, compute their orbits, determine what changes of form +and position these orbits will undergo through thousands of ages, +and make maps showing exactly over what cities and towns on the +surface of the earth an eclipse of the sun will pass fifty years +hence, or over what regions it did pass thousands of years ago. +A more hopeless problem than this could not be presented to the +ordinary human intellect. There are tens of thousands of men who +could be successful in all the ordinary walks of life, hundreds who +could wield empires, thousands who could gain wealth, for one who +could take up this astronomical problem with any hope of success. +The men who have done it are therefore in intellect the select few +of the human race,--an aristocracy ranking above all others in the +scale of being. The astronomical ephemeris is the last practical +outcome of their productive genius. + +On the question whether the world generally reasoned in this way, +I do not remember having any distinct idea. This was certainly +not because I was indifferent to the question, but because it never +strongly presented itself to my mind. From my point of view it would +not have been an important one, because I had already formed the +conviction that one should choose that sphere in life to which he was +most strongly attracted, or for which his faculties best fitted him. + +A few months previous to my advent Commander Davis had been +detached from the superintendency and ordered to command the +sloop St. Mary's. He was succeeded by Professor Joseph Winlock, +who afterward succeeded George P. Bond as director of the Harvard +Observatory. Most companionable in the society of his friends, +Winlock was as silent as General Grant with the ordinary run of men. +Withal, he had a way of putting his words into exact official form. +The following anecdote of him used to be current. While he was +attached to the Naval Academy, he was introduced one evening at a +reception to a visiting lady. He looked at the lady for a decorous +length of time, and she looked at him; then they parted without +saying a word. His introducer watched the scene, and asked him, +"Why did you not talk to that lady?" + +"I had no statement to make to her," was the reply. + +Dr. Gould told me this story was founded on fact, but when, after +Winlock's death, it was put off on me with some alterations, I felt +less sure. + +The following I believe to be authentic. It occurred several +years later. Hilgard, in charge of the Coast Survey office, +was struck by the official terseness of the communications he +occasionally received from Winlock, and resolved to be his rival. +They were expecting additions to their families about the same time, +and had doubtless spoken of the subject. When Hilgard's arrived, +he addressed a communication to Winlock in these terms:-- + +"Mine's a boy. What's yours?" + +In due course of time the following letter was received in reply:-- + +Dear Hilgard:-- + _Boy._ + Yours, etc., J. Winlock. + +When some time afterward I spoke to Winlock on the subject, and +told him what Hilgard's motive was, he replied, "It was not fair +in Hilgard to try and take me unawares in that way. Had I known +what he was driving at, I might have made my letter still shorter." +I did not ask him how he would have done it. It is of interest that +the "boy" afterward became one of the assistant secretaries of the +Smithsonian Institution. + +One of the most remarkable features of the history of the "Nautical +Almanac" is the number of its early assistants who have gained +prominence or distinction in the various walks of life. It would +be difficult to find so modest a public work to exceed it in this +respect. + +John D. Runkle, who lived till 1902, was, as I have said, the +senior and leading assistant in the office. He afterward became a +professor in the Institute of Technology, and succeeded Rogers as +its president. In 1876 he started the school of manual training, +which has since been one of the great features of the Institute. +He afterward resigned the presidency, but remained its principal +professor of mathematics. He was the editor and founder of the +"Mathematical Monthly," of which I shall presently have more to say. + +The most wonderful genius in the office, and the one who would have +been the most interesting subject of study to a psychologist, was +Truman Henry Safford. In early childhood he had excited attention +by his precocity as what is now sometimes called a "lightning +calculator." A committee of the American Academy of Arts and Science +was appointed to examine him. It very justly and wisely reported that +his arithmetical powers were not in themselves equal to those of some +others on record, especially Zerah Colburn, but that they seemed to +be the outcome of a remarkable development of the reasoning power. +When nine years old, he computed almanacs, and some of his work +at this age is still preserved in the Harvard University Library. +He graduated at Harvard in 1854, and was soon afterward taken into +the Nautical Almanac Office, while he also worked from time to time +at the Cambridge observatory. It was found, however, that the power +of continuous work was no greater in him than in others, nor did he +succeed in doing more than others in the course of a year. + +The mental process by which certain gifted arithmetical computers +reach almost in an instant the results of the most complicated +calculations is a psychological problem of great interest, +which has never been investigated. No more promising subject for +the investigation could ever have been found than Safford, and I +greatly regret having lost all opportunities to solve the problem. +What was of interest in Safford's case was the connection of this +faculty with other remarkable mental powers of an analogous but +yet different kind. He had a remarkable faculty for acquiring, +using, and reading languages, and would have been an accomplished +linguist had he turned his attention in that direction. He was a +walking bibliography of astronomy, which one had only to consult in +order to learn in a moment what great astronomers of recent times had +written on almost any subject, where their work was published, and on +what shelf of the Harvard Library the book could be found. But the +faculty most closely connected with calculation was a quickness and +apprehension of vision, of which the following is an example:-- + +About 1876 he visited the Naval Observatory in Washington for the +first time in his life. We wanted a certain catalogue of stars and +went together into the library. The required catalogue was on one +of a tier of shelves containing altogether a hundred, or perhaps +several hundred volumes. "I do not know whether we have the book," +said I, "but if we have, it is on one of these shelves." I began +to go through the slow process of glancing at the books one by one +until my eyes should strike the right title. He stood back six +or eight feet and took in all the shelves seemingly at one glance, +then stepped forward and said, "Here it is." I might have supposed +this an accident, but that he subsequently did practically the same +thing in my office, selecting in a moment a book we wanted to see, +after throwing a rapid glance over shelves containing perhaps a +hundred volumes. + +An example of his apprehension and memory for numbers was narrated +by Mr. Alvan Clark. When the latter had completed one of his great +telescopes for the University of Chicago, Safford had been named +as director, and accompanied the three members of the firm to the +city when they carried the object glass thither. On leaving the +train all four took their seats in a hotel omnibus, Safford near +the door. Then they found that they had forgotten to give their +baggage checks to the expressman; so the other three men passed +their checks to Safford, who added his own and handed all four to +the conductor of the omnibus. When it was time for the baggage to +come to the hotel, there was such a crowd of new arrivals that the +attendants could not find it. The hotel clerk remarked on inquiry, +"If I only knew the numbers of your checks, I would have no difficulty +in tracing your trunks." Safford at once told off the four numbers, +which he had read as he was passing the checks to the conductor. + +The great fire practically put an end to the activity of the Chicago +Observatory and forced its director to pursue his work in other +fields. That he failed to attain that commanding position due to his +genius is to be ascribed to a cause prevalent among us during all the +middle part of the century; perhaps that from which most brilliant +intellects fail to reach eminence: lack of the power of continuous +work necessary to bring important researches to a completion. + +Another great intellect of the office was Chauncey Wright. +If Wright had systematically applied his powers, he might have +preceded or supplanted Herbert Spencer as the great exponent of the +theory of evolution. He had graduated at Harvard in 1853, and was +a profound student of philosophy from that time forward, though I am +not aware that he was a writer. When in 1858 Sir William Hamilton's +"Lectures on Metaphysics" appeared, he took to them with avidity. +In 1859 appeared Darwin's "Origin of Species," and a series of +meetings was held by the American Academy, the special order of +which was the discussion of this book. Wright and myself, not yet +members, were invited to be present. To judge of the interest it is +only necessary to remark that Agassiz and Gray were the two leading +disputants, the first taking ground against Darwin, the other in his +favor. Wright was a Darwinist from the very beginning, explaining +the theory in private conversation from a master's point of view, +and soon writing upon it in the "North American Review" and in other +publications. Of one of his articles Darwin has been quoted as saying +that it was the best exposition of his theory that had then appeared. +After his untimely death in 1875, Wright's papers were collected and +published under the title of "Philosophical Discussions." [1] Their +style is clear-cut and faultless in logical form, yet requiring such +close attention to every word as to be less attractive to the general +reader of to-day than that of Spencer. In a more leisurely age, +when men wanted to think profoundly as they went along in a book, +and had little to disturb the current of their thoughts, it would +have commanded wide attention among thinking men. + +A singular peculiarity which I have sometimes noticed among men of +intelligence is that those who are best informed on the subject +may be most reckless as regards the laws of health. Wright did +all of his office work in two or three months of the year. During +those months he worked at his computations far into the hours of +the morning, stimulating his strength with cigars, and dropping +his work only to take it up when he had had the necessary sleep. +A strong constitution might stand this for a few years, as his did. +But the ultimate result hardly needs to be told. + +Besides the volume I have mentioned, Wright's letters were collected +and printed after his death by the subscription of his friends. +In these his philosophic views are from time to time brought out +in a light, easy way, much more charming than the style of his +elaborate discussions. It was in one of his letters that I first +found the apothegm, "Men are born either Platonists or Aristotelians," +a happy drawing of the line which separates the hard-headed scientific +thinker of to-day from the thinkers of all other classes. + +William Ferrell, a much older man than myself, entered the office +about the same time as I did. He published papers on the motions +of fluids on the earth's surface in the "Mathematical Monthly," +and became one of the great authorities on dynamic meteorology, +including the mathematical theory of winds and tides. He was, I +believe, the first to publish a correct theory of the retardation +produced in the rotation of the earth by the action of the tides, +and the consequent slow lengthening of the day. + +James Edward Oliver might have been one of the great mathematicians of +his time had he not been absolutely wanting in the power of continuous +work. It was scarcely possible to get even his year's office +work out of him. Yet when I once wrote him a question on certain +mathematical forms which arise in the theory of "least squares," +he replied in a letter which, with some developments and change of +form, would have made a worthy memoir in any mathematical journal. +As a matter of fact, the same thoughts did appear some years after, +in an elaborate paper by Professor J. W. L. Glaisher, of England, +published by the Royal Astronomical Society. + +Oliver, who afterward became professor of higher mathematics at +Cornell University, was noted for what I think should be considered +the valuable quality of absent-mindedness. It was said of him that +he was once walking on the seashore with a small but valuable gold +watch loose in his pocket. While deep in thought he started a kind +of distraction by picking up flat stones and skipping them on the +water. Taking his watch from his pocket he skipped it as a stone. +When I became well acquainted with him I took the liberty of asking +him as to the correctness of this story. He could not positively +say whether it was true or not. The facts were simply that he had +the watch, that he had walked on the seashore, had skipped stones, +missed the watch at some subsequent time, and never saw it again. + +More definite was an observation made on his movements one afternoon +by a looker-out from a window of the Nautical Almanac Office. +Across the way the road was bounded by no fence, simply passing +along the side of an open field. As Oliver got near the office, +his chin on his breast, deep in thought, he was seen gradually to +deviate from the sidewalk, and direct his steps along the field. +He continued on this erratic course until he ran almost against the +fence at the other end. This awoke him from his reverie, and he +started up, looked around, and made his way back to the road. + +I have spoken only of the men who were employed at the office at +the time I entered. Previous to my time were several who left to +accept professorships in various parts of the country. Among them +were Professors Van Vleck, of Middletown, and Hedrick and Kerr, of +North Carolina. Not desiring to leave upon the mind of the reader the +impression that all of whom I have not spoken remained in obscurity, +I will remark that Mr. Isaac Bradford rose to the position of mayor +of the city of Cambridge, and that fugitive pieces in prose and +poetry by Mr. E. J. Loomis were collected in a volume. [2] + +The discipline of the public service was less rigid in the office +at that time than at any government institution I ever heard of. +In theory there was an understanding that each assistant was +"expected" to be in the office five hours a day. The hours might be +selected by himself, and they generally extended from nine until two, +the latter being at that time the college and family dinner hour. +As a matter of fact, however, the work was done pretty much where +and when the assistant chose, all that was really necessary being +to have it done on time. + +It will be seen that the excellent opportunities offered by this +system were well improved by those who enjoyed them--improved in a way +that I fear would not be possible in any other surroundings. I took +advantage of them by enrolling myself as a student of mathematics in +the Lawrence Scientific School. On this occasion I well remember +my pleasant reception by Charles W. Eliot, tutor in mathematics, +and E. N. Horsford, professor of chemistry, and, I believe, dean of +the school. As a newcomer into the world of light, it was pleasant +to feel the spirit with which they welcomed me. The departments of +chemistry and engineering were about the only ones which, at that +time, had any distinct organization. As a student of mathematics +it could hardly be said that anything was required of me either in +the way of attendance on lectures or examinations until I came up +for the degree of Bachelor of Science. I was supposed, however, +to pursue my studies under the direction of Professor Peirce. + +So slight a connection with the university does not warrant me in +assuming an authoritative position as an observer of its men or +its workings. Yet there are many features associated with it which +I have not seen in print, which have probably disappeared with the +progress of the age, and to which, therefore, allusion may be made. +One, as it presents itself to my memory, is the great variety and +picturesqueness of character which the university then presented. +I would like to know whether the changes in men which one fancies he +sees during his passage from youth to age are real, or only relative +to his point of view. If my impressions are correct, our educational +planing mill cuts down all the knots of genius, and reduces the best +of the men who go through it to much the same standard. Does not the +Harvard professor of to-day always dine in a dress coat? Is he not +free from every eccentricity? Do the students ever call him "Benny" +or "Tobie"? Is any "Old Soph" [3] now ambulant on the college green? +Is not the administration of the library a combination of liberality +and correctness? Is such a librarian as John Langdon Sibley possible? + +Mr. Sibley, under a rough exterior, was one of the best-hearted and +most admirable of men, with whom I ultimately formed an intimate +friendship. But our first acquaintance was of a very unfavorable +kind. It came about in this way: not many days after being taken +into the Nautical Almanac Office I wanted a book from the university +library, and asked a not over-bright old gentleman in the office +what formalities were necessary in order to borrow it. + +"Just go over and tell them you want it for the Nautical Almanac." + +"But they don't know me at the library, and surely will not give +a book to any stray caller because he says he wants it for the +Nautical Almanac." + +"You have only to say 'Nautical Almanac' and you will get the book." + +I argued the matter as stoutly as courtesy admitted, but at length, +concluding that I was new to the rules and regulations of the place, +accepted the supposedly superior knowledge of my informer and went +over to the library with a due measure of assurance. The first +attendant whom I addressed referred me to the assistant librarian, +and he again to the librarian. After these formalities, conducted +with impressive gravity, my assurance wilted when I was ushered into +the august presence of the chief librarian. + +As the mental picture of the ensuing scene has shaped itself through +more than forty years it shows a personage of imposing presence, +gigantic features, and forbidding countenance, standing on a dais +behind a desk, expounding the law governing the borrowing of books +from the library of Harvard College to an abashed youth standing +before him. I left without the book, but with a valuable addition +to my knowledge of library management. We both remembered this +interview, and exchanged impressions about it long years after. + +"I thought you the most crusty and disobliging old man I had ever +seen." + +"And I thought _you_ the most presumptuous youth that had ever +appeared in the library." + +One of Mr. Sibley's professional doctrines was that at least one copy +of everything printed was worth preserving. I strove to refute him, +but long failed. Half in derision, I offered the library the stub +of my wash-book. Instead of throwing it into the wastebasket he +kept it, with the remark that the wash-book of a nineteenth century +student would at some future time be of interest to the antiquarian. +In due time I received a finely engraved acknowledgment of the gift. +But I forced him from his position at last. He had to admit that +copies of the theatre posters need not all be preserved. It would +suffice to keep a few specimens. + +Professor Peirce was much more than a mathematician. Like many men +of the time, he was a warm lover and a cordial hater. It could not +always be guessed which side of a disputed question he would take; +but one might be fairly sure that he would be at one extreme or +the other. As a speaker and lecturer he was very pleasing, neither +impressive nor eloquent, and yet interesting from his earnestness +and vivacity. For this reason it is said that he was once chosen +to enforce the views of the university professors at a town meeting, +where some subject of interest to them was coming up for discussion. +Several of the professors attended the meeting, and Peirce made +his speech. Then a townsman rose and took the opposite side, +expressing the hope that the meeting would not allow itself to be +dictated to by these nabobs of Harvard College. When he sat down, +Peirce remained in placid silence, making no reply. When the meeting +broke up, some one asked Peirce why he had not replied to the man. + +"Why! did you not hear what he called us? He said we were nabobs! +I so enjoyed sitting up there and seeing all that crowd look up to +me as a nabob that I could not say one word against the fellow." + +The first of the leading astronomers whose acquaintance I made +was Dr. Benjamin Apthorp Gould. Knowing his eminence, I was +quite surprised by his youthful vivacity. His history, had I time +to recount it, might be made to serve well the purpose of a grave +lesson upon the conditions required, even by the educated public, of +a scientific investigator, capable of doing the highest and best work +in his branch. The soul of generosity and the pink of honor, ever +ready to lend a hand to a struggling youth whom he found deserving +of help, enthusiastically devoted to his favorite science, pursuing +it in the most exalted spirit, animated by not a single mean motive, +it might have been supposed that all the facilities the world could +offer would have been open to him in his career. If such was not the +case to the extent one might have wished, I do not mean to intimate +that his life can be regarded as a failure. In whatever respect +the results may have fallen off from his high ideal, it is more to +be regretted on the score of science than on his own. + +Scorning pretense and charlatanry of all kinds, believing that +only the best were to be encouraged, he was far from being a man +of the people. Only a select few enjoyed his favor, but these few +well deserved it. That no others would have deserved it I should +be far from intimating. The undisguised way in which he expressed +his sentiments for any one, no matter how influential, who did not +come up to the high standard he set, was not adapted to secure the +favor even of the most educated community. Of worldly wisdom in +this matter he seemed, at least in his early days, to know nothing. + +He graduated at Harvard in 1845, in one of the very distinguished +classes. Being fond of astronomy, he was struck with the backward +condition of that science in our country. He resolved to devote his +life to building up the science in America. He went to Germany, +then the only country in which astronomy was pursued in its most +advanced form, studied under Gauss and Argelander, and took his +degree at Göttingen in 1848. Soon after his return he founded the +"Astronomical Journal," and also took a position as Chief of the +Longitude Department in the Coast Survey. + +The great misfortune of his life, and temporarily at least, a severe +blow to American astronomy, were associated with his directorship of +the Dudley Observatory at Albany. This institution was founded by +the munificence of a wealthy widow of Albany. The men to whom she +intrusted the administration of her gift were among the most prominent +and highly respected citizens of the place. The trustees went wisely +to work. They began by forming an advisory scientific council, +consisting of Bache, Henry, and Peirce. Under the direction of this +council the observatory was built and equipped with instruments. +When ready for active work in 1857, Gould moved thither and took +personal charge. Very soon rumors of dissension were heard. +The affair gradually grew into a contest between the director and +the trustees, exceeding in bitterness any I have ever known in the +world of learning or even of politics. It doubtless had its origin +in very small beginnings. The policy of the director recognized no +end but scientific efficiency. The trustees, as the responsible +administrators of the trust, felt that they had certain rights in +the matter, especially that of introducing visitors to inspect the +institution and look through the telescope. How fatal the granting +of such courtesies is to continuous work with an instrument only +astronomers know; and one of the most embarrassing difficulties the +director of such an institution meets with is to effect a prudent +compromise between the scientific efficiency of his institution and +the wishes of the public. But Gould knew no such word as compromise. +It was humiliating to one in the position of a trustee to send some +visitor with a permit to see the observatory, and have the visitor +return with the report that he had not been received with the most +distinguished courtesy, and, perhaps, had not seen the director at +all, but had only been informed by an assistant of the rules of the +place and the impossibility of securing admission. + +This spark was enough to kindle a fire. When the fire gathered +strength, the director, instead of yielding, called on the scientific +council for aid. It is quite likely that, had these wise and prudent +men been consulted at each step, and their advice been followed, he +would have emphasized his protest by resigning. But before they were +called in, the affair had gone so far that, believing the director +to be technically right in the ground he had taken and the work he +had done, the council felt bound to defend him. The result was a +war in which the shots were pamphlets containing charges, defenses, +and rejoinders. The animosity excited may be shown by the fact +that the attacks were not confined to Gould and his administration, +but extended to every institution with which he and the president of +the council were supposed to be connected. Bache's administration of +the Coast Survey was held up to scorn and ridicule. It was supposed +that Gould, as a Cambridge astronomer, was, as a matter of course, +connected with the Nautical Almanac Office, and paid a high salary. +This being assumed, the office was included in the scope of attack, +and with such success that the item for its support for the year 1859, +on motion of Mr. Dawes, was stricken out of the naval bill. How far +the fire spread may be judged by the fact that a whole edition of the +"Astronomical Journal," supposed to have some mention of the affair +in the same cover, was duly sent off from the observatory, but never +reached its destination through the mails. Gould knew nothing of +this fact until, some weeks later, I expressed my surprise to him +at not receiving No. 121. How or by whom it was intercepted, I do +not know that he ever seriously attempted to inquire. The outcome +of the matter was that the trustees asserted their right by taking +forcible possession of the observatory. + +During my first year at Cambridge I made the acquaintance of a +senior in the college whose untimely death seven years later I have +never ceased to deplore. This was William P. G. Bartlett, son of a +highly esteemed Boston physician, Dr. George Bartlett. The latter +was a brother of Sidney Bartlett, long the leader of the Boston bar. +Bartlett was my junior in years, but his nature and the surrounding +circumstances were such that he exercised a powerful influence +upon me. His virile and aggressive honesty could not be exceeded. +His mathematical abilities were of a high order, and he had no +ambition except to become a mathematician. Had he entered public +life at Washington, and any one had told me that he was guilty of a +dishonest act, I should have replied, "You might as well tell me that +he picked up the Capitol last night and carried it off on his back." +The fact that one could say so much of any man, I have always looked +upon as illustrating one of the greatest advantages of having a youth +go through college. The really important results I should look for +are not culture or training alone, but include the acquaintance of +a body of men, many of whom are to take leading positions in the +world, of a completeness and intimacy that can never be acquired +under other circumstances. The student sees his fellow students +through and through as he can never see through a man in future years. + +It was, and I suppose still is, the custom for the members of a +graduating class at Harvard to add to their class biographies a +motto expressing their aspirations or views of life. Bartlett's was, +"I love mathematics and hate humbug." What the latter clause would +have led to in his case, had he gone out into the world, one can +hardly guess. + +"I have had a long talk with my Uncle Sidney," he said to me one day. +"He wants me to study law, maintaining that the wealth one can thereby +acquire, and the prominence he may assume, will give him a higher +position in society and public esteem than mere learning ever can. +But I told him that if I could stand high in the esteem of twenty such +men as Cayley, Sylvester, and Peirce, I cared nothing to be prominent +in the eyes of the rest of the world." Such an expression from an +eminent member of the Boston bar, himself a Harvard graduate, was the +first striking evidence I met with that my views of the exalted nature +of astronomical investigation were not shared by society at large. +One of the greatest advantages I enjoyed through Bartlett was an +intimate acquaintance with a cultured and refined Boston family. + +In 1858 Mr. Runkle founded the "Mathematical Monthly," having +secured, in advance, the coöperation of the leading professors +of the subject in the country. The journal was continued, under +many difficulties, for three years. As a vehicle for publishing +researches in advanced mathematics, it could not be of a high order, +owing to the necessity of a subscription list. Its design was +therefore to interest students and professors in the subject, and +thus prepare the way for the future growth of mathematical study +among us. Its principal feature was the offer of prize problems +to students as well as prizes for essays on mathematical subjects. +The first to win a prize for an essay was George W. Hill, a graduate +of Rutgers just out of college, who presented a memoir in which the +hand of the future master was evident throughout. + +In the general conduct of the journal Bartlett and myself, though not +ostensibly associate editors, were at least assistants. Simple though +the affair was, some of our experiences were of an interesting and, +perhaps, instructive nature. + +Soon after the first number appeared, a contribution was offered by +a professor in a distant State. An important part of the article +was found to be copied bodily from Walton's "Problems in Mechanics," +an English book which, it might be supposed, was not much known in +this country. Runkle did not want to run the risk of injuring his +subscription list by offending one occupying an influential position +if he could help it with honor to the journal. Of course it was not +a question of publishing the paper, but only of letting the author +know why he did not do so,--"letting him down easy." + +Bartlett's advice was characteristic. "Just write to the fellow +that we don't publish stolen articles. That's all you need say." + +I suggested that we might inflict on him all necessary humiliation +by letting him know in the gentlest manner possible that we saw +the fraud. Of course Runkle preferred this course, and wrote him, +calling his attention to a similarity between his treatment of +the subject and that of Walton, which materially detracted from the +novelty of the former. I think it was suggested that he get the book, +if possible, and assure himself on the subject. + +A vigorous answer came by return of mail. He was a possessor of +Walton's book, knew all about the similar treatment of the subject by +Walton, and did not see that that should be any bar to the publication +of the article. I think it was he who wound up his letter with the +statement that, while he admitted the right of the editor to publish +what he pleased, he, the writer, was too busy to spend his time in +writing rejected articles. + +An eminent would-be contributor was a prominent Pennsylvania +politician, who had read a long and elaborate article, before some +teachers' association, on an arithmetical problem about oxen eating +grass, the power to solve which was taken as the highest mark of +mathematical ability, among school teachers during the first half +of the century. The association referred the paper to the editor +of the "Mathematical Monthly," by whom it was, I believe, consigned +to the wastebasket. The result was a good deal of correspondence, +such a proceeding being rather humiliating to a man of eminence +who had addressed so distinguished an assembly. The outcome of the +matter was that the paper, which was much more in the nature of a +legal document than of a mathematical investigation, was greatly +reduced in length by its author, and then still further shorn by the +editor, until it would fill only two or three pages of the journal; +thus reduced, it was published. + +The time was not yet ripe for the growth of mathematical science +among us, and any development that might have taken place in that +direction was rudely stopped by the civil war. Perhaps this may +account for the curious fact that, so far as I have ever remarked, +none of the student contributors to the journal, Hill excepted, +has made himself known as a mathematical investigator. Not only +the state of mathematical learning, but the conditions of success +at that time in a mathematical text-book, are strikingly illustrated +by one of our experiences. + +One of the leading publishing houses of educational text-books in +the country issued a very complete and advanced series, from the +pen of a former teacher of the subject. They were being extensively +introduced, and were sent to the "Mathematical Monthly" for review. +They were distinguished by quite apt illustrations, well fitted, +perhaps, to start the poorly equipped student in the lower branches of +the work, but the advanced works, at least, were simply ridiculous. +A notice appeared in which the character of the books was pointed +out. The evidence of the worthlessness of the entire series was +so strong that the publishers had it entirely rewritten by more +competent authors. Now came the oddest part of the whole affair. +The new series was issued under the name of the same author as the +old one, just as if the acknowledgment of his total failure did not +detract from the value of his name as an author. + +In 1860 a total eclipse of the sun was visible in British America. +The shadow of the moon, starting from near Vancouver's Island, +crossed the continent in a northeast direction, passed through the +central part of the Hudson Bay region, crossed Hudson Bay itself and +Greenland, then inclining southward, swept over the Atlantic to Spain. +As this was the first eclipse of the kind which had recently been +visible, much interest was taken in its observation. On the part of +the Nautical Almanac Office I computed the path of the shadow and +the times of crossing certain points in it. The results were laid +down on a map which was published by the office. One party, fitted +out in connection with the American Association for the Advancement +of Science, was sent to Greenland. Admiral Davis desired to send +another, on behalf of his own office, into the central regions of +the continent. As members of this party Mr. Ferrel and myself were +chosen. At the request of Professor Agassiz one of the assistants in +the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy, Mr. Samuel H. Scudder, accompanied +us. More than twenty years later Mr. Scudder published a little book +describing some of our adventures, which was illustrated with sketches +showing the experiences of a party in the wild West at that time. + +Our course lay from St. Paul across Minnesota to the Red River of +the North, thence north to Fort Garry near the southern end of Lake +Winnipeg, then over the lake and some distance up the Saskatchewan +River. At St. Paul we paid our respects to Governor Ramsey, afterward +Senator from Minnesota and Secretary of War. We were much surprised +at the extraordinary deference paid by the community to a Mr. Burbank, +a leading citizen of the town, and owner of the stages which we had +to engage for our journey across the country. He seemed to be a man +whom every one was afraid to offend. Even the local newspapers were +careful what they printed about matters in which he was interested. + +The two or three days which we passed in getting things ready +to start were rather dull. The morning after our arrival I saw, +during a morning walk, on a hill just outside the town, a large new +building, on which the word "Athenæum" was conspicuously shown. +The Boston Athenæum had a very fine library; is it not possible +that this may have a beginning of something of the same sort? +Animated by this hope, I went up the hill and entered the building, +which seemed to be entirely vacant. The first words that met my +eyes were "Bar Room" painted over a door. It was simply a theatre, +and I left it much disappointed. + +Here we were joined by a young Methodist clergyman,--Edward +Eggleston,--and the four of us, with our instruments and appliances, +set out on our journey of five days over the plains. On the +first day we followed partly the line of a projected railway, of +which the embankments had been completed, but on which work had, +for some reason, been stopped to await a more prosperous season. +Here was our first experience of towns on paper. From the tone in +which the drivers talked of the places where we were to stop over +night one might have supposed that villages, if not cities, were +plentiful along our track. One example of a town at that time will +be enough. The principal place on our route, judging from the talk, +was Breckenridge. We would reach it at the end of the fourth day, +where we anticipated a pleasant change after camping out in our tent +for three nights. It was after dark before we arrived, and we looked +eagerly for signs of the town we were approaching. + +The team at length stopped in front of an object which, on careful +examination in the darkness, appeared to be the most primitive +structure imaginable. It had no foundations, and if it had a +wall at all, it was not more than two or three feet in height. +Imagine the roof taken off a house forty feet long and twenty feet +wide and laid down on the ground, and you have the hotel and only +building, unless perhaps a stable, in Breckenridge at that time. +The entrance was at one end. Going in, a chimney was seen in the +middle of the building. The floor was little more than the bare +ground. On each side of the door, by the flickering light of a fire, +we saw what looked like two immense boxes. A second glance showed +that these boxes seemed to be filled with human heads and legs. +They were, in fact, the beds of the inhabitants of Breckenridge. +Beds for the arriving travelers, if they existed at all, which I do +not distinctly remember, were in the back of the house. I think the +other members of the party occupied that portion. I simply spread +my blanket out on the hearth in front of the fire, wrapped up, +and slept as soundly as if the bed was the softest of a regal palace. + +At Fort Garry we were received by Governor McTavish, with whom Captain +Davis had had some correspondence on the subject of our expedition, +and who gave us letters to the "factors" of the Hudson Bay Company +scattered along our route. We found that the rest of our journey +would have to be made in a birch bark canoe. One of the finest craft +of this class was loaned us by the governor. It had been, at some +former time, the special yacht of himself or some visiting notable. +It was manned by eight half-breeds, men whose physical endurance I +have never seen equaled. + +It took three or four days to get everything ready, and this interval +was, of course, utilized by Scudder in making his collections. +He let the fishermen of the region know that he wanted specimens of +every kind of fish that could be found in the lake. A very small +reward stirred them into activity, and, in due time, the fish were +brought to the naturalist,--but lo! all nicely dressed and fit for +cooking. They were much surprised when told that all their pains in +dressing their catch had spoiled it for the purposes of the visiting +naturalist, who wanted everything just as it was taken from the water. + +Slow indeed was progress through the lake. A canoe can be paddled +only in almost smooth water, and we were frequently stormbound on some +desolate island or point of land for two or three days at a time. +When, after many adventures, some of which looked like hairbreadth +escapes, we reached the Saskatchewan River, the eclipse was only three +or four days ahead, and it became doubtful whether we should reach +our station in time for the observation. It was to come off on the +morning of July 18, and, by dint of paddling for twenty-four hours +at a stretch, our men brought us to the place on the evening before. + +Now a new difficulty occurred. In the wet season the Saskatchewan +inundates the low flat region through which it flows, much like +the Nile. The country was practically under water. We found the +most elevated spot we could, took out our instruments, mounted +them on boxes or anything else in the shallow puddles of water, and +slept in the canoe. Next morning the weather was hopelessly cloudy. +We saw the darkness of the eclipse and nothing more. + +Astronomers are greatly disappointed when, having traveled halfway +around the world to see an eclipse, clouds prevent a sight of it; +and yet a sense of relief accompanies the disappointment. You are +not responsible for the mishap; perhaps something would have broken +down when you were making your observations, so that they would +have failed in the best of weather; but now you are relieved from +all responsibility. It was much easier to go back and tell of +the clouds than it would have been to say that the telescope got +disarranged at the critical moment so that the observations failed. + +On our return across Minnesota we had an experience which I have +always remembered as illustrative of the fallacy of all human +testimony about ghosts, rappings, and other phenomena of that +character. We spent two nights and a day at Fort Snelling. Some of +the officers were greatly surprised by a celestial phenomenon of a +very extraordinary character which had been observed for several +nights past. A star had been seen, night after night, rising in +the east as usual, and starting on its course toward the south. +But instead of continuing that course across the meridian, as stars +invariably had done from the remotest antiquity, it took a turn +toward the north, sunk toward the horizon, and finally set near the +north point of the horizon. Of course an explanation was wanted. +My assurance that there must be some mistake in the observation could +not be accepted, because this erratic course of the heavenly body +had been seen by all of them so plainly that no doubt could exist on +the subject. The men who saw it were not of the ordinary untrained +kind, but graduates of West Point, who, if any one, ought to be free +from optical deceptions. I was confidently invited to look out that +night and see for myself. We all watched with the greatest interest. + +In due time the planet Mars was seen in the east making its way +toward the south. "There it is!" was the exclamation. + +"Yes, there it is," said I. "Now that planet is going to keep right +on its course toward the south." + +"No, it is not," said they; "you will see it turn around and go down +towards the north." + +Hour after hour passed, and as the planet went on its regular course, +the other watchers began to get a little nervous. It showed no +signs of deviating from its course. We went out from time to time +to look at the sky. + +"There it is," said one of the observers at length, pointing to +Capella, which was now just rising a little to the east of north; +"there is the star setting." + +"No, it is n't," said I; "there is the star we have been looking at, +now quite inconspicuous near the meridian, and that star which you +think is setting is really rising and will soon be higher up." + +A very little additional watching showed that no deviation of the +general laws of Nature had occurred, but that the observers of +previous nights had jumped at the conclusion that two objects, +widely apart in the heavens, were the same. + +I passed more than four years in such life, surroundings, and +activities as I have described. In 1858 I received the degree of +D. S. from the Lawrence Scientific School, and thereafter remained +on the rolls of the university as a resident graduate. Life in the +new atmosphere was in such pleasant and striking contrast to that +of my former world that I intensely enjoyed it. I had no very well +marked object in view beyond continuing studies and researches in +mathematical astronomy. Not long after my arrival in Cambridge some +one, in speaking of Professor Peirce, remarked to me that he had a +European reputation as a mathematician. It seemed to me that this +was one of the most exalted positions that a man could attain, and I +intensely longed for it. Yet there was no hurry. Reputation would +come to him who deserved it by his works; works of the first class +were the result of careful thought and study, and not of hurry. +A suggestion had been made to me looking toward a professorship in +some Western college, but after due consideration, I declined to +consider the matter. Yet the necessity of being on the alert for +some opening must have seemed quite strong, because in 1860 I became +a serious candidate for the professorship of physics in the newly +founded Washington University at St. Louis. I was invited to visit +the university, and did so on my way to observe the eclipse of 1860. +My competitor was Lieutenant J. M. Schofield of the United States +Army, then an instructor at West Point. It will not surprise the +reader to know that the man who was afterward to command the army +of the United States received the preference, so I patiently waited +more than another year. + +[1] Henry Holt & Co.: New York, 1877. + +[2] _Wayside Sketches_, by E. J. Loomis. Roberts: Boston + +[3] Evangelinus Apostolides Sophocles, a native Greek and a learned +professor of the literature of his country. + + + + +IV + +LIFE AND WORK AT AN OBSERVATORY + + +In August, 1861, while I was passing my vacation on Cape Ann, +I received a letter from Dr. Gould, then in Washington, informing +me that a vacancy was to be filled in the corps of professors of +mathematics attached to the Naval Observatory, and suggesting that +I might like the place. I was at first indisposed to consider +the proposition. Cambridge was to me the focus of the science +and learning of our country. I feared that, so far as the world +of learning was concerned, I should be burying myself by moving +to Washington. The drudgery of night work at the observatory would +also interfere with carrying on any regular investigation. But, on +second thought, having nothing in view at the time, and the position +being one from which I could escape should it prove uncongenial, +I decided to try, and indited the following letter:-- + + Nautical Almanac Office, + Cambridge, Mass., August 22, 1861. + + Sir,--I have the honor to apply to you for my appointment + to the office of Professor of Mathematics in the United + States Navy. I would respectfully refer you to Commander + Charles Henry Davis, U. S. N., Professor Benjamin Peirce, + of Harvard University, Dr. Benjamin A. Gould, of Cambridge, + and Professor Joseph Henry, Secretary of the Smithsonian + Institution, for any information respecting me which will + enable you to judge of the propriety of my appointment. + + With high respect, + Your obedient servant, + Simon Newcomb, + Assistant, Nautical Almanac. + + Hon. Gideon Welles, + Secretary of the Navy, + Washington, D. C. + +I also wrote to Captain Davis, who was then on duty in the Navy +Department, telling him what I had done, but made no further effort. +Great was my surprise when, a month later, I found in the post-office, +without the slightest premonition, a very large official envelope, +containing my commission duly signed by Abraham Lincoln, President +of the United States. The confidence in the valor, abilities, etc., +of the appointee, expressed in the commission, was very assuring. +Accompanying it was a letter from the Secretary of the Navy +directing me to report to the Bureau of Ordnance and Hydrography, +in Washington, for such duty as it might assign me. I arrived on +October 6, and immediately called on Professor J. S. Hubbard, who was +the leading astronomer of the observatory. On the day following I +reported as directed, and was sent to Captain Gilliss, the recently +appointed Superintendent of the Naval Observatory, before whom I +stood with much trepidation. In reply to his questions I had to +confess my entire inexperience in observatory work or the making +of astronomical observations. A coast survey observer had once +let me look through his transit instrument and try to observe the +passage of a star. On the eclipse expedition mentioned in the last +chapter I had used a sextant. This was about all the experience +in practical astronomy which I could claim. In fact I had never +been inside of an observatory, except on two or three occasions at +Cambridge as a visitor. The captain reassured me by saying that +no great experience was expected of a newcomer, and told me that I +should go to work on the transit instrument under Professor Yarnall, +to whose care I was then confided. + +As the existence of a corps of professors of mathematics is peculiar +to our navy, as well as an apparent, perhaps a real, anomaly, +some account of it may be of interest. Early in the century--one +hardly knows when the practice began--the Secretary of the Navy, +in virtue of his general powers, used to appoint men as professors +of mathematics in the navy, to go to sea and teach the midshipmen +the art of navigation. In 1844, when work at the observatory was +about to begin, no provision for astronomers was made by Congress. +The most convenient way of supplying this want was to have the +Secretary appoint professors of mathematics, and send them to the +observatory on duty. + +A few years later the Naval Academy was founded at Annapolis, and a +similar course was pursued to provide it with a corps of instructors. +Up to this time the professors had no form of appointment except +a warrant from the Secretary of the Navy. Early in the history of +the academy the midshipmen burned a professor in effigy. They were +brought before a court-martial on the charge of disrespect to a +superior officer, but pleaded that the professor, not holding a +commission, was not their superior officer, and on this plea were +acquitted. Congress thereupon took the matter up, provided that +the number of professors should not exceed twelve, and that they +should be commissioned by the President by and with the advice +and consent of the Senate. This raised their rank to that of a +commissioned corps in the navy. They were to perform such duty as +the Secretary of the Navy might direct, and were, for the most part, +divided between the Naval Academy and the Observatory. + +During the civil war some complaint was made that the midshipmen +coming from the academy were not well trained in the duties of a +seagoing officer; and it was supposed that this was due to too much +of their time being given to scientific studies. This was attributed +to the professors, with the result that nearly all those attached to +the academy were detached during the four years following the close +of the civil war and ordered elsewhere, mostly to the observatory. +Their places were taken by line officers who, in the intervals between +their turns of sea duty, were made heads of departments and teachers +of the midshipmen in nearly every branch. + +This state of things led to the enactment of a law (in 1869, I think), +"that hereafter no vacancy in the grade of professors of mathematics +in the navy shall be filled." + +In 1873 this provision was annulled by a law, again providing +for a corps of twelve professors, three of whom should have the +relative rank of captain, four of commander, and the remainder of +lieutenant-commander or lieutenant. + +Up to 1878 the Secretary of the Navy was placed under no restrictions +as to his choice of a professor. He could appoint any citizen whom +he supposed to possess the necessary qualifications. Then it was +enacted that, before appointment, a candidate should pass a medical +and a professional examination. + +I have said that the main cause of hesitation in making my +application arose from my aversion to very late night work. It soon +became evident that there was less ground than I had supposed for +apprehension on this point. There was a free and easy way of carrying +on work which was surprising to one who had supposed it all arranged +on strict plans, and done according to rule and discipline. Professor +Yarnall, whose assistant I was, was an extremely pleasant gentleman +to be associated with. Although one of the most industrious workers +at the observatory, there was nothing of the martinet about him. +He showed me how to handle the instrument and record my observations. +There was a Nautical Almanac and a Catalogue of Stars. Out of these +each of us could select what he thought best to observe. + +The custom was that one of us should come on every clear evening, +make observations as long as he chose, and then go home. The transit +instrument was at one end of the building and the mural circle, in +charge of Professor Hubbard, at the other. He was weak in health, +and unable to do much continuous work of any kind, especially the +hard work of observing. He and I arranged to observe on the same +nights; but I soon found that there was no concerted plan between +the two sets of observers. The instruments were old-fashioned +ones, of which mine could determine only the right ascension of a +star and his only its declination; hence to completely determine +the position of a celestial body, observations must be made on the +same object with both instruments. But I soon found that there was +no concert of action of this kind. Hubbard, on the mural circle, +had his plan of work; Yarnall and myself, on the transit, had ours. +When either Hubbard or myself got tired, we could "vote it cloudy" +and go out for a plate of oysters at a neighboring restaurant. + +In justice to Captain Gilliss it must be said that he was not in +any way responsible for this lack of system. It grew out of the +origin and history of the establishment and the inaction of Congress. +The desirableness of our having a national observatory of the same +rank as those of other countries was pointed out from time to time by +eminent statesmen from the first quarter of the century. John Quincy +Adams had, both while he filled the presidential office and afterward, +made active efforts in this direction; but there were grave doubts +whether Congress had any constitutional authority to erect such an +institution, and the project got mixed up with parties and politics. +So strong was the feeling on the subject that, when the Coast Survey +was organized, it was expressly provided that it should not establish +an astronomical observatory. + +The outcome of the matter was that, in 1842, when Congress at length +decided that we should have our national observatory, it was not +called such, but was designated as a "house" to serve as a depot +for charts and instruments for the navy. But every one knew that +an observatory was meant. Gilliss was charged with its erection, +and paid a visit to Europe to consult with astronomers there on +its design, and to order the necessary instruments. When he got +through with this work and reported it as completed he was relieved, +and Lieutenant Matthew F. Maury was appointed superintendent of the +new institution. + +Maury, although (as he wrote a few years later) quite without +experience in the use of astronomical instruments, went at his work +with great energy and efficiency, so that, for two or three years, +the institution bade fair to take a high place in science. Then he +branched off into what was, from a practical standpoint, the vastly +more important work of studying the winds and currents of the ocean. +The epoch-making character of his investigations in this line, +and their importance to navigation when ships depended on sails for +their motive power, were soon acknowledged by all maritime nations, +and the fame which he acquired in pursuing them added greatly to +the standing of the institution at which the work was done, though +in reality an astronomical outfit was in no way necessary to it. +The new work was so absorbing that he seemed to have lost interest +in the astronomical side of the establishment, which he left to his +assistants. The results were that on this side things fell into the +condition I have described, and stayed there until Maury resigned his +commission and cast his fortunes with the Confederacy. Then Gilliss +took charge and had to see what could be done under the circumstances. + +It soon became evident to him that no system of work of the first +order of importance could be initiated until the instrumental +equipment was greatly improved. The clocks, perfection in +which is almost at the bottom of good work, were quite unfit +for use. The astronomical clock with which Yarnall and I made +our observations kept worse time than a high-class pocket watch +does to-day. The instruments were antiquated and defective in +several particulars. Before real work could be commenced new ones +must be procured. But the civil war was in progress, and the times +were not favorable to immediately securing them. That the work of +the observatory was kept up was due to a feeling of pride on the +part of our authorities in continuing it without interruption through +the conflict. The personnel was as insufficient as the instruments. +On it devolved not only the making of the astronomical observations, +but the issue of charts and chronometers to the temporarily immense +navy. In fact the observatory was still a depot of charts for the +naval service, and continued to be such until the Hydrographic Office +was established in 1866. + +In 1863 Gilliss obtained authority to have the most pressing wants +supplied by the construction of a great transit circle by Pistor and +Martins in Berlin. He had a comprehensive plan of work with this +instrument when it should arrive, but deferred putting any such plan +in operation until its actual reception. + +Somehow the work of editing, explaining, and preparing for the +press the new series of observations made by Yarnall and myself with +our old transit instrument devolved on me. To do this in the most +satisfactory way, it was necessary to make a careful study of the +methods and system at the leading observatories of other countries +in the line we were pursuing, especially Greenwich. Here I was +struck by the superiority of their system to ours. Everything was +there done on an exact and uniform plan, and one which seemed to +me better adapted to get the best results than ours was. For the +non-astronomical reader it may be remarked that after an astronomer +has made and recorded his observations, a large amount of calculation +is necessary to obtain the result to which they lead. Making such +calculations is called "reducing" the observations. Now in the +previous history of the observatory, the astronomers fell into the +habit of every one not only making his observations in his own way, +but reducing them for himself. Thus it happened that Yarnall had +been making and reducing his observations in his own way, and I, +on alternate nights, had been making and reducing mine in my way, +which was modeled after the Greenwich fashion, and therefore quite +different from his. Now I suddenly found myself face to face with +the problem of putting these two heterogeneous things together so +as to make them look like a homogeneous whole. I was extremely +mortified to see how poor a showing would be made in the eyes of +foreign astronomers. But I could do nothing more than to describe +the work and methods in such a way as to keep in the background the +want of system that characterized them. + +Notwithstanding all these drawbacks of the present, the prospect +of future success seemed brilliant. Gilliss had the unlimited +confidence of the Secretary of the Navy, had a family very popular +in Washington society, was enthusiastically devoted to building +up the work of the observatory, and was drawing around him the +best young men that could be found to do that work. He made it a +point that his relations with his scientific subordinates should +be not only official, but of the most friendly social character. +All were constantly invited to his charming family circle. It was +from the occasional talks thus arising that I learned the details +of his plan of work with the coming instrument. + +In 1862 Gilliss had the working force increased by the appointment of +four "aides," as they were then called,--a number that was afterwards +reduced to three. This was the beginning of the corps of three +assistant astronomers, which is still maintained. It will be of +interest to know that the first aide was Asaph Hall; but before his +appointment was made, an impediment, which for a time looked serious, +had to be overcome. Gilliss desired that the aide should hold a +good social and family position. The salary being only $1000, this +required that he should not be married. Hall being married, with +a growing family, his appointment was long objected to, and it was +only through much persuasion on the part of Hubbard and myself that +Gilliss was at length induced to withdraw his objections. Among other +early appointees were William Harkness and John A. Eastman, whose +subsequent careers in connection with the observatory are well known. + +The death of Professor Hubbard in 1863 led to my taking his place, +in charge of the mural circle, early in September of that year. +This gave me an opportunity of attempting a little improvement +in the arrangements. I soon became conscious of the fact, which +no one had previously taken much account of, that upon the plan of +each man reducing his own observations, not only was there an entire +lack of homogeneity in the work, but the more work one did at night +the more he had to do by day. It was with some trepidation that I +presented the case to Gilliss, who speedily saw that work done with +the instruments should be regarded as that of the observatory, and +reduced on a uniform plan, instead of being considered as the property +of the individual who happened to make it. Thus was introduced the +first step toward a proper official system. + +In February, 1865, the observatory sustained the greatest loss +it had ever suffered, in the sudden death of its superintendent. +What it would have grown to had he lived it is useless to guess, +but there is little doubt that its history would have been quite +different from what it is. + +Soon afterward Admiral Davis left his position as Chief of the +Bureau of Navigation to take the subordinate one of Superintendent +of the Observatory. This step was very gratifying to me, Davis had +not only a great interest in scientific work, especially astronomy, +but a genuine admiration of scientific men which I have never seen +exceeded, accompanied with a corresponding love of association with +them and their work. + +In October, 1865, occurred what was, in my eyes, the greatest event +in the history of the observatory. The new transit circle arrived +from Berlin in its boxes. Now for the first time in its history, the +observatory would have a meridian instrument worthy of it, and would, +it was hoped, be able to do the finest work in at least one branch +of astronomy. To my great delight, Davis placed me in charge of it. +The last three months of the year were taken up with mounting it +in position and making those investigations of its peculiarities +which are necessary before an instrument of the kind is put into +regular use. On the 1st day of January, 1866, this was all done, +and we were ready to begin operations. An opportunity thus arose +of seeing what we could do in the way of a regular and well-planned +piece of work. In the greater clearness of our sky, and the more +southern latitude of our observatory, we had two great advantages +over Greenwich. Looking back at his first two or three years of +work at the observatory, Maury wrote to a friend, "We have beaten +Greenwich hollow." It may be that I felt like trying to do the +same thing over again. At any rate, I mapped out a plan of work +the execution of which would require four years. + +It was a piece of what, in astronomy, is called "fundamental work," +in which results are to be obtained independent of any previously +obtained by other observers. It had become evident to me from our +own observations, as well as from a study of those made at European +observatories, that an error in the right ascension of stars, so +that stars in opposite quarters of the heavens would not agree, might +very possibly have crept into nearly all the modern observations at +Greenwich, Paris, and Washington. The determination of this error +was no easy matter. It was necessary that, whenever possible, +observations should be continued through the greater part of the +twenty-four hours. One observer must be at work with comparative +steadiness from nine o'clock in the morning until midnight or even +dawn of the morning following. This requirement was, however, less +exacting than might appear when stated. One half the nights would, +as a general rule, be cloudy, and an observer was not expected to +work on Sunday. Hence no one of the four observers would probably +have to do such a day's work as this more than thirty or forty times +in a year. + +All this was hard work enough in itself, but conditions existed which +made it yet harder. No houses were then provided for astronomers, +and the observatory itself was situated in one of the most unhealthy +parts of the city. On two sides it was bounded by the Potomac, then +pregnant with malaria, and on the other two, for nearly half a mile, +was found little but frame buildings filled with quartermaster's +stores, with here and there a few negro huts. Most of the observers +lived a mile or more from the observatory; during most of the time I +was two miles away. It was not considered safe to take even an hour's +sleep at the observatory. The result was that, if it happened to +clear off after a cloudy evening, I frequently arose from my bed +at any hour of the night or morning and walked two miles to the +observatory to make some observation included in the programme. + +This was certainly a new departure from the free and easy way in which +we had been proceeding, and it was one which might be unwelcome to +any but a zealous astronomer. As I should get the lion's share of +credit for its results, whether I wanted to or not, my interest in the +work was natural. But it was unreasonable to expect my assistants, +one or two of whom had been raised to the rank of professor, to feel +the same interest, and it is very creditable to their zeal that we +pursued it for some time as well as we did. If there was any serious +dissatisfaction with the duty, I was not informed of that fact. + +During the second year of this work Admiral Davis was detached and +ordered to sea. The question of a successor interested many besides +ourselves. Secretary Welles considered the question what policy +should be pursued in the appointment. Professor Henry took part in +the matter by writing the secretary a letter, in which he urged the +appointment of an astronomer as head of the institution. His position +prevented his supporting any particular candidate; so he submitted +a list of four names, any one of which would be satisfactory. +These were: Professor William Chauvenet, Dr. B. A. Gould, Professor +J. H. C. Coffin, U. S. N., and Mr. James Ferguson. The latter held +a civil position at the observatory, under the title of "assistant +astronomer," and was at the time the longest in service of any of +its force. + +A different view was urged upon the secretary in terms substantially +these: "Professors so able as those of the observatory require no +one to direct their work. All that the observatory really needs +is an administrative head who shall preserve order, look after +its business generally, and see that everything goes smoothly." +Such a head the navy can easily supply. + +The secretary allowed it to be given out that he would be glad to +hear from the professors upon the subject. I thereupon went to +him and expressed my preference for Professor Coffin. He asked me, +"How would it do to have a purely administrative head?" + +I replied that we might get along for a time if he did not interfere +with our work. + +"No," said the secretary, "he shall not interfere. That shall +be understood." + +As I left him there was, to my inexperienced mind, something very +odd in this function, or absence of function, of the head of an +establishment; but of course I had to bow to superior wisdom and +could say nothing. + +The policy of Commodore (afterward Rear-Admiral) Sands, the incoming +superintendent, toward the professors was liberal in the last degree. +Each was to receive due credit for what he did, and was in every way +stimulated to do his best at any piece of scientific work he might +undertake with the approval of the superintendent. Whether he wanted +to observe an eclipse, determine the longitude of a town or interior +station, or undertake some abstruse investigation, every facility +for doing it and every encouragement to go on with it was granted him. + +Under this policy the observatory soon reached the zenith of +its fame and popularity. Whenever a total eclipse of the sun was +visible in an accessible region parties were sent out to observe it. +In 1869 three professors, I being one, were sent to Des Moines, +Iowa, to observe the solar eclipse which passed across the country +in June of that year. As a part of this work, I prepared and the +observatory issued a detailed set of instructions to observers in +towns at each edge of the shadow-path to note the short duration of +totality. The object was to determine the exact point to which the +shadow extended. At this same eclipse Professor Harkness shared with +Professor Young of Princeton the honor of discovering the brightest +line in the spectrum of the sun's corona. The year following parties +were sent to the Mediterranean to observe an eclipse which occurred +in December, 1870. I went to Gibraltar, although the observation of +the eclipse was to me only a minor object. Some incidents connected +with this European trip will be described in a subsequent chapter. + +The reports of the eclipse parties not only described the scientific +observations in great detail, but also the travels and experiences, +and were sometimes marked by a piquancy not common in official +documents. These reports, others pertaining to longitude, and +investigations of various kinds were published in full and distributed +with great liberality. All this activity grew out of the stimulating +power and careful attention to business of the head of the observatory +and the ability of the young professors of his staff. It was very +pleasant to the latter to wear the brilliant uniform of their rank, +enjoy the protection of the Navy Department, and be looked upon, +one and all, as able official astronomers. The voice of one of our +scientific men who returned from a visit abroad declaring that one +of our eclipse reports was the laughing-stock of Europe was drowned +in the general applause. + +In the latter part of 1869 I had carried forward the work with +the transit circle as far as it could be profitably pursued under +existing conditions. On working up my observations, the error which +I had suspected in the adopted positions of the stars was proved +to be real. But the discovery of this error was due more to the +system of observation, especially the pursuit of the latter through +the day and night, than it was to any excellence of the instrument. +The latter proved to have serious defects which were exaggerated by +the unstable character of the clayey soil of the hill on which the +observatory was situated. Other defects also existed, which seemed +to preclude the likelihood that the future work of the instrument +would be of a high class. I had also found that very difficult +mathematical investigations were urgently needed to unravel one +of the greatest mysteries of astronomy, that of the moon's motion. +This was a much more important work than making observations, and +I wished to try my hand at it. So in the autumn I made a formal +application to the Secretary of the Navy to be transferred from +the observatory to the Nautical Almanac Office for the purpose of +engaging in researches on the motion of the moon. On handing this +application to the superintendent he suggested that the work in +question might just as well be done at the observatory. I replied +that I thought that the business of the observatory was to make and +reduce astronomical observations with its instruments, and that the +making of investigations of the kind I had in view had always been +considered to belong to the Nautical Almanac Office. He replied that +he deemed it equally appropriate for the observatory to undertake it. +As my objection was founded altogether on a principle which he +refused to accept, and as by doing the work at the observatory +I should have ready access to its library, I consented to the +arrangement he proposed. Accordingly, in forwarding my application, +he asked that my order should be so worded as not to detach me from +the observatory, but to add the duty I asked for to that which I +was already performing. + +So far as I was personally concerned, this change was fortunate +rather than otherwise. As things go in Washington, the man who +does his work in a fine public building can gain consideration for +it much more readily than if he does it in a hired office like that +which the "Nautical Almanac" then occupied. My continued presence +on the observatory staff led to my taking part in two of the great +movements of the next ten years, the construction and inauguration +of the great telescope and the observations of the transit of Venus. +But for the time being my connection with the regular work of the +observatory ceased. + +On the retirement of Admiral Sands in 1874, Admiral Davis returned +to the observatory, and continued in charge until his death in +February, 1877. The principal event of this second administration +was the dispatch of parties to observe the transit of Venus. Of this +I shall speak in full in a subsequent chapter. + +One incident, although of no public importance, was of some interest +at the time. This was a visit of the only emperor who, I believe, +had ever set foot on our shores,--Dom Pedro of Brazil. He had +chosen the occasion of our Centennial for a visit to this country, +and excited great interest during his stay, not only by throwing +off all imperial reserve during his travels, but by the curiosity +and vigor with which he went from place to place examining and +studying everything he could find, and by the singular extent of +his knowledge on almost every subject of a scientific or technical +character. A Philadelphia engineer with whom he talked was quoted +as saying that his knowledge of engineering was not merely of the +ordinary kind to be expected in an intelligent man, but extended +to the minutest details and latest improvements in the building of +bridges, which was the specialty of the engineer in question. + +Almost as soon as he arrived in Washington I received the following +letter by a messenger from the Arlington Hotel:-- + + Mr.: + En arrivant à Washington j'ai tout-de-suite songé à votre + observatoire, où vous avez acquis tant de droit à l'estime + de tout ceux qui achèvent la science. Je m'y rendrai donc + aujourd'hui à 7 heures du soir, et je compte vous y trouver, + surtout pour vous remercier de votre beau mémoire que j'ai + reçu peu avant mon départ de mon pays, et que je n'ai pas + pu, par conséquent, apprécier autant que je l'aurais voulu. + En me plaisant de l'espoir de vous connaître personnellement + je vous prie de me compter parmi vos affectionnés. + D. Pedro D'Alcantara. + 7 Mai, 1876. + +Like other notes which I subsequently received from him, it was in +his own autograph throughout: if he brought any secretary with him +on his travels I never heard of it. + +The letter placed me in an embarrassing position, because its being +addressed to me was in contravention of all official propriety. +Of course I lost no time in calling on him and trying to explain the +situation. I told him that Admiral Davis, whom he well knew from +his being in command of the Brazilian station a few years before, +was the head of the observatory, and hinted as plainly as I could +that a notification of the coming of such a visitor as he should +be sent to the head of the institution. But he refused to take +the hint, and indicated that he expected me to arrange the whole +matter for him. This I did by going to the observatory and frankly +explaining the matter to Admiral Davis. Happily the latter was not +a stickler for official forms, and was cast in too large a mould to +take offense where none was intended. At his invitation I acted as +one of the receiving party. The carriage drove up at the appointed +hour, and its occupant was welcomed by the admiral at the door with +courtly dignity. The visitor had no time to spend in preliminaries; +he wished to look through the establishment immediately. + +The first object to meet his view was a large marble-cased clock +which, thirty years before, had acquired some celebrity from being +supposed to embody the first attempt to apply electricity to the +recording of astronomical observations. It was said to have cost +a large sum, paid partly as a reward to its inventor. Its only +drawbacks were that it would not keep time and had never, so far as +I am aware, served any purpose but that of an ornament. The first +surprise came when the visitor got down on his hands and knees in +front of the clock, reached his hands under it, and proceeded to +examine its supports. We all wondered what it could mean. When he +arose, it was explained. He did not see how a clock supported in this +way could keep the exact time necessary in the work of an astronomer. +So we had to tell him that the clock was not used for this purpose, +and that he must wait until we visited the observing rooms to see +our clocks properly supported. + +The only evidence of the imperial will came out when he reached the +great telescope. The moon, near first quarter, was then shining, +but the night was more than half cloudy, and there was no hope of +obtaining more than a chance glimpse at it through the clouds. +But he wished to see the moon through the telescope. I replied +that the sky was now covered, and it was very doubtful whether we +should get a view of the moon. But he required that the telescope +should be at once pointed at it. This was done, and at that moment a +clear space appeared between the clouds. I remarked upon the fact, +but he seemed to take it as a matter of course that the cloud would +get out of the way when he wanted to look. + +I made some remark about the "vernier" of one of the circles on +the telescope. + +"Why do you call it a vernier?" said he. "Its proper term is a +nonius, because Nonius was its inventor and Vernier took the idea +from him." + +In this the national spirit showed itself. Nonius, a Portuguese, +had invented something on a similar principle and yet essentially +different from the modern vernier, invented by a Frenchman of +that name. + +Accompanying the party was a little girl, ten or twelve years old, +who, though an interested spectator, modestly kept in the background +and said nothing. On her arrival home, however, she broke her +silence by running upstairs with the exclamation,-- + +"Oh, Mamma, he's the funniest emperor you ever did see!" + +My connection with the observatory ceased September 15, 1877, when +I was placed in charge of the Nautical Almanac Office. It may not, +however, be out of place to summarize the measures which have since +been taken both by the Navy Department and by eminent officers of +the service to place the work of the institution on a sound basis. +One great difficulty in doing this arises from the fact that neither +Congress nor the Navy Department has ever stated the object which +the government had in view in erecting the observatory, or assigned +to it any well-defined public functions. The superintendent and his +staff have therefore been left to solve the question what to do from +time to time as best they could. + +In the spring of 1877 Rear-Admiral John Rodgers became the +superintendent of the observatory. As a cool and determined fighter +during the civil war he was scarcely second even to Farragut, and he +was at the same time one of the ablest officers and most estimable +men that our navy ever included in its ranks. "I would rather be +John Rodgers dead than any other man I know living," was said by +one of the observatory assistants after his death. Not many months +after his accession he began to consider the question whether the wide +liberty which had been allowed the professors in choosing their work +was adapted to attain success. The Navy Department also desired to +obtain some expressions of opinion on the subject. The result was +a discussion and an official paper, not emanating from the admiral, +however, in which the duty of the head of the observatory was defined +in the following terms:-- + +"The superintendent of the observatory should be a line officer of +the navy, of high rank, who should attend to the business affairs +of the institution, thus leaving the professors leisure for their +proper work." + +Although he did not entirely commit himself to this view, he was under +the impression that to get the best work out of the professors their +hearts must be in it; and this would not be the case if any serious +restraint was placed upon them as to the work they should undertake. + +After Rodgers's death Vice-Admiral Rowan was appointed superintendent. +About this time it would seem that the department was again disposed +to inquire into the results of the liberal policy heretofore pursued. +Commander (since Rear-Admiral) William T. Sampson was ordered to the +observatory, not as its head, but as assistant to the superintendent. +He was one of the most proficient men in practical physics that the +navy has ever produced. I believe that one reason for choosing +so able and energetic an officer for the place was to see if any +improvement could be made on the system. As I was absent at the +Cape of Good Hope to observe the transit of Venus during the most +eventful occasion of his administration, I have very little personal +knowledge of it. It seems, however, that newspaper attacks were made +on him, in which he was charged with taking possession of all the +instruments of the observatory but two, and placing them in charge +of naval officers who were not proficient in astronomical science. +In reply he wrote an elaborate defense of his action to the "New +York Herald," which appeared in the number for February 13, 1883. +The following extract is all that need find a place in the present +connection. + + When I came here on duty a little more than a year since, + I found these instruments disused. The transit instrument + had not been used since 1878, and then only at intervals for + several years previous; the mural circle had not been used + since 1877; the prime vertical had not been used since 1867. + These instruments had been shamefully neglected and much + injured thereby. . . . The small equatorial and comet + seeker were in the same disgraceful condition, and were + unfit for any real work. + +Admiral Franklin was made superintendent sometime in 1883, I believe, +and issued an order providing that the work of the observatory should +be planned by a board consisting of the superintendent, the senior +line officer, and the senior professor. Professors or officers +in charge of instruments were required to prepare a programme for +their proposed work each year in advance, which programme would be +examined by the board. Of the work of this board or its proceedings, +no clear knowledge can be gleaned from the published reports, nor +do I know how long it continued. + +In 1885 Secretary Whitney referred to the National Academy of Sciences +the question of the advisability of proceeding promptly with the +erection of a new naval observatory upon the site purchased in 1880. +The report of the academy was in the affirmative, but it was added +that the observatory should be erected and named as a national +one, and placed under civilian administration. The year following +Congress made the preliminary appropriation for the commencement of +the new building, but no notice was taken of the recommendation of +the academy. + +In 1891 the new buildings were approaching completion, and Secretary +Tracy entered upon the question of the proper administration of +the observatory. He discussed the subject quite fully in his annual +report for that year, stating his conclusion in the following terms:-- + + I therefore recommend the adoption of legislation which + shall instruct the President to appoint, at a sufficient + salary, without restriction, from persons either within or + outside the naval service, the ablest and most accomplished + astronomer who can be found for the position of + superintendent. + +At the following session of Congress Senator Hale introduced an +amendment to the naval appropriation bill, providing for the expenses +of a commission to be appointed by the Secretary of the Navy, +to consider and report upon the organization of the observatory. +The House non-concurred in this amendment, and it was dropped from +the bill. + +At the same session, all the leading astronomers of the country +united in a petition to Congress, asking that the recommendation of +the Secretary of the Navy should be carried into effect. After a +very patient hearing of arguments on the subject by Professor Boss +and others, the House Naval Committee reported unanimously against +the measure, claiming that the navy had plenty of officers able to +administer the observatory in a satisfactory way, and that there +was therefore no necessity for a civilian head. + +Two years later, Senator Morrill offered an amendment to the +legislative appropriation bill, providing that the superintendent of +the observatory should be selected from civil life, and be learned +in the science of astronomy. He supported his amendment by letters +from a number of leading astronomers of the country in reply to +questions which he had addressed to them. + +This amendment, after being approved by the Senate Naval Committee, +was referred by the Committee on Appropriations to the Secretary +of the Navy. He recommended a modification of the measure so +as to provide for the appointment of a "Director of Astronomy," +to have charge of the astronomical work of the observatory, which +should, however, remain under a naval officer as superintendent. +This arrangement was severely criticised in the House by Mr. Thomas +B. Reed, of Maine, and the whole measure was defeated in conference. + +In 1892, when the new observatory was being occupied, the +superintendent promulgated regulations for its work. These set forth +in great detail what the observatory should do. Its work was divided +into nine departments, each with its chief, besides which there +was a chief astronomical assistant and a chief nautical assistant +to the superintendent, making eleven chiefs in all. The duties of +each chief were comprehensively described. As the entire scientific +force of the observatory numbered some ten or twelve naval officers, +professors, and assistant astronomers, with six computers, it may +be feared that some of the nine departments were short-handed. + +In September, 1894, new regulations were established by the Secretary +of the Navy, which provided for an "Astronomical Director," who +was to "have charge of and to be responsible for the direction, +scope, character, and preparation for publication of all work purely +astronomical, which is performed at the Naval Observatory." As there +was no law for this office, it was filled first by the detail of +Professor Harkness, who served until his retirement in 1899, then +by the detail of Professor Brown, who served until March, 1901. + +In 1899 the Secretary of the Navy appointed a Board of Visitors +to the observatory, comprising Senator Chandler, of New Hampshire, +Hon. A. G. Dayton, House of Representatives, and Professors Pickering, +Comstock, and Hale. This board, "in order to obviate a criticism +that the astronomical work of the observatory has not been prosecuted +with that vigor and continuity of purpose which should be shown in +a national observatory," recommended that the Astronomical Director +and the Director of the Nautical Almanac should be civil officers, +with sufficient salaries. A bill to this effect was introduced +into each House of Congress at the next session, and referred to +the respective naval committees, but never reported. + +In 1901 Congress, in an amendment to the naval appropriation bill, +provided a permanent Board of Visitors to the observatory, in whom +were vested full powers to report upon its condition and expenditures, +and to prescribe its plan of work. It was also provided in the same +law that the superintendent of the observatory should, until further +legislation by Congress, be a line officer of the navy of a rank not +below that of captain. In the first annual report of this board is +the following clause:-- + +"We wish to record our deliberate and unanimous judgment that the +law should be changed so as to provide that the official head of +the observatory--perhaps styled simply the Director--should be an +eminent astronomer appointed by the President by and with the consent +of the Senate." + +Although the board still has a legal existence, Congress, in +1902, practically suspended its functions by declining to make any +appropriation for its expenses. Moreover, since the detachment of +Professor Brown, Astronomical Director, no one has been appointed to +fill the vacancy thus arising. At the time of the present writing, +therefore, the entire responsibility for planning and directing +the work of the observatory is officially vested in the naval +superintendent, as it was at the old observatory. + + + + +V + +GREAT TELESCOPES AND THEIR WORK + + +One hardly knows where, in the history of science, to look for an +important movement that had its effective start in so pure and simple +an accident as that which led to the building of the great Washington +telescope, and went on to the discovery of the satellites of Mars. +Very different might have been a chapter of astronomical history, +but for the accident of Mr. Cyrus Field, of Atlantic cable fame, +having a small dinner party at the Arlington Hotel, Washington, in the +winter of 1870. Among the guests were Senators Hamlin and Casserly, +Mr. J. E. Hilgard of the Coast Survey, and a young son of Mr. Field, +who had spent the day in seeing the sights of Washington. Being +called upon for a recital of his experiences, the youth described his +visit to the observatory, and expressed his surprise at finding no +large telescope. The only instrument they could show him was much +smaller and more antiquated than that of Mr. Rutherfurd in New York. + +The guests listened to this statement with incredulity, and applied to +Mr. Hilgard to know whether the visitor was not mistaken, through a +failure to find the great telescope of the observatory. Mr. Hilgard +replied that the statement was quite correct, the observatory having +been equipped at a time when the construction of great refracting +telescopes had not been commenced, and even their possibility was +doubted. + +"This ought not to be," said one of the senators. "Why is it so?" + +Mr. Hilgard mentioned the reluctance of Congress to appropriate +money for a telescope. + +"It must be done," replied the senator. "You have the case properly +represented to Congress, and we will see that an appropriation goes +through the Senate at least." + +It chanced that this suggestion had an official basis which was not +known to the guests. Although Mr. Alvan Clark had already risen into +prominence as a maker of telescopes, his genius in this direction +had not been recognized outside of a limited scientific circle. +The civil war had commenced just as he had completed the largest +refracting telescope ever made, and the excitement of the contest, +as well as the absorbing character of the questions growing out +of the reconstruction of the Union, did not leave our public men +much time to think about the making of telescopes. Mr. Clark had, +however, been engaged by Captain Gilliss only a year or two after the +latter had taken charge of the observatory, to come to Washington, +inspect our instruments, and regrind their glasses. The result +of his work was so striking to the observers using the instruments +before and after his work on them, that no doubt of his ability could +be felt. Accordingly, in preparing items for the annual reports of +the observatory for the years 1868 and 1869, I submitted one to the +superintendent setting forth the great deficiency of the observatory +in respect to the power of its telescope, and the ability of Mr. Clark +to make good that deficiency. These were embodied in the reports. +It was recommended that authority be given to order a telescope of +the largest size from Mr. Clark. + +It happened, however, that Secretary Welles had announced in his +annual reports as his policy that he would recommend no estimates for +the enlargement and improvement of public works in his department, +but would leave all matters of this kind to be acted on by Congress +as the latter might deem best. As the telescope was thrown out of +the regular estimates by this rule, this subject had failed to be +considered by Congress. + +Now, however, the fact of the recommendation appearing in the annual +report, furnished a basis of action. Mr. Hilgard did not lose a +day in setting the ball in motion. + +He called upon me immediately, and I told him of the recommendations +in the last two reports of the superintendent of the observatory. +Together we went to see Admiral Sands, who of course took the warmest +interest in the movement, and earnestly promoted it on the official +side. Mr. Hilgard telegraphed immediately to some leading men of +science, who authorized their signatures to a petition. In this paper +attention was called to the wants of the observatory, as set forth +by the superintendent, and to the eminent ability of the celebrated +firm of the Clarks to supply them. The petition was printed and put +into the hands of Senator Hamlin for presentation to the Senate only +three or four days after the dinner party. The appropriation measure +was formally considered by the Committee on Naval Affairs and that on +Appropriations, and was adopted in the Senate as an amendment to the +naval appropriation bill without opposition. The question then was +to get the amendment concurred in by the House of Representatives. +The session was near its close, and there was no time to do much work. + +Several members of the House Committee on Appropriations were +consulted, and the general feeling seemed to be favorable to +the amendment. Great, therefore, was our surprise to find the +committee recommending that the amendment be not concurred in. +To prevent a possible misapprehension, I may remark that the present +system of non-concurring in all amendments to an appropriation bill, +in order to bring the whole subject into conference, had not then +been introduced, so that this action showed a real opposition to the +movement. One of the most curious features of the case is that the +leader in the opposition was said to be Mr. Washburn, the chairman +of the committee, who, not many years later, founded the Washburn +Observatory of the University of Wisconsin. There is, I believe, +no doubt that his munificence in this direction arose from what he +learned about astronomy and telescopes in the present case. + +It happened, most fortunately, that the joint committee of conference +included Drake of the Senate and Niblack of the House, both earnestly +in favor of the measure. The committee recommended concurrence, +and the clause authorizing the construction became a law. The price +was limited to $50,000, and a sum of $10,000 was appropriated for +the first payment. + +No sooner were the Clarks consulted than difficulties were found +which, for a time, threatened to complicate matters, and perhaps delay +the construction. In the first place, our currency was then still +on a paper basis. Gold was at a premium of some ten or fifteen per +cent., and the Clarks were unwilling to take the contract on any but +a gold basis. This, of course, the Government could not do. But the +difficulty was obviated through the action of a second one, which +equally threatened delay. Mr. L. J. McCormick, of reaping-machine +fame, had conceived the idea of getting the largest telescope that +could be made. He had commenced negotiations with the firm of Alvan +Clark & Sons before we had moved, and entered into a contract while +the appropriation was still pending in Congress. If the making of +one great telescope was a tedious job, requiring many years for its +completion, how could two be made? + +I was charged with the duty of negotiating the government contract +with the Clarks. I found that the fact of Mr. McCormick's +contract being on a gold basis made them willing to accept one +from the Government on a currency basis; still they considered that +Mr. McCormick had the right of way in the matter of construction, +and refused to give precedence to our instrument. On mature +consideration, however, the firm reached the conclusion that two +instruments could be made almost simultaneously, and Mr. McCormick +very generously waived any right he might have had to precedence in +the matter. + +The question how large an instrument they would undertake was, of +course, one of the first to arise. Progress in the size of telescopes +had to be made step by step, because it could never be foreseen how +soon the limit might be met; and if an attempt were made to exceed it, +the result would be not only failure for the instrument, but loss +of labor and money by the constructors. The largest refracting +telescope which the Clarks had yet constructed was one for the +University of Mississippi, which, on the outbreak of the civil war, +had come into the possession of the Astronomical Society of Chicago. +This would have been the last step, beyond which the firm would not +have been willing to go to any great extent, had it not happened that, +at this very time, a great telescope had been mounted in England. +This was made by Thomas Cooke & Sons of York, for Mr. R. S. Newall of +Gateshead on Tyne, England. The Clarks could not, of course, allow +themselves to be surpassed or even equaled by a foreign constructor; +yet they were averse to going much beyond the Cooke telescope in size. +Twenty-six inches aperture was the largest they would undertake. +I contended as strongly as I could for a larger telescope than +Mr. McCormick's, but they would agree to nothing of the sort,--the +supposed right of that gentleman to an instrument of equal size being +guarded as completely as if he had been a party to the negotiations. +So the contract was duly made for a telescope of twenty-six inches +clear aperture. + +At that time Cooke and Clark were the only two men who had ever +succeeded in making refracting telescopes of the largest size. But in +order to exercise their skill, an art equally rare and difficult +had to be perfected, that of the glassmaker. Ordinary glass, +even ordinary optical glass, would not answer the purpose at all. +The two disks, one of crown glass and the other of flint, must be not +only of perfect transparency, but absolutely homogeneous through and +through, to avoid inequality of refraction, and thus cause all rays +passing through them to meet in the same focus. It was only about the +beginning of the century that flint disks of more than two or three +inches diameter could be made. Even after that, the art was supposed +to be a secret in the hands of a Swiss named Guinand, and his family. +Looking over the field, the Clarks concluded that the only firm that +could be relied on to furnish the glass was that of Chance & Co., of +Birmingham, England. So, as soon as the contracts were completed, +one of the Clark firm visited England and arranged with Chance & +Co. to supply the glass for the two telescopes. The firm failed in +a number of trials, but by repeated efforts finally reached success +at the end of a year. The glasses were received in December, +1871, and tested in the following month. A year and a half more +was required to get the object glasses into perfect shape; then, +in the spring or summer of 1873, I visited Cambridge for the purpose +of testing the glasses. They were mounted in the yard of the Clark +establishment in a temporary tube, so arranged that the glass could +be directed to any part of the heavens. + +I have had few duties which interested me more than this. The +astronomer, in pursuing his work, is not often filled with those +emotions which the layman feels when he hears of the wonderful power +of the telescope. Not to say anything so harsh as that "familiarity +breeds contempt," we must admit that when an operation of any sort +becomes a matter of daily business, the sentiments associated with +it necessarily become dulled. Now, however, I was filled with +the consciousness that I was looking at the stars through the most +powerful telescope that had ever been pointed at the heavens, and +wondered what mysteries might be unfolded. The night was of the +finest, and I remember, sweeping at random, I ran upon what seemed +to be a little cluster of stars, so small and faint that it could +scarcely have been seen in a smaller instrument, yet so distant +that the individual stars eluded even the power of this instrument. +What cluster it might have been it was impossible to determine, +because the telescope had not the circles and other appliances +necessary for fixing the exact location of an object. I could +not help the vain longing which one must sometimes feel under such +circumstances, to know what beings might live on planets belonging +to what, from an earthly point of view, seemed to be a little colony +on the border of creation itself. + +In his report dated October 9, 1873, Admiral Sands reported +the telescope as "nearly completed." The volume of Washington +observations showed that the first serious observations made with it, +those on the satellites of Neptune, were commenced on November 10 +of the same year. Thus, scarcely more than a month elapsed from +the time that the telescope was reported still incomplete in the +shop of its makers until it was in regular nightly use. + +Associated with the early history of the instrument is a chapter +of astronomical history which may not only instruct and amuse the +public, but relieve the embarrassment of some astronomer of a future +generation who, reading the published records, will wonder what became +of an important discovery. If the faith of the public in the absolute +certainty of all astronomical investigation is thereby impaired, +what I have to say will be in the interest of truth; and I have no +fear that our science will not stand the shock of the revelation. +Of our leading astronomical observers of the present day--of such +men as Burnham and Barnard--it may be safely said that when they +see a thing it is there. But this cannot always be said of every +eminent observer, and here is a most striking example of this fact. + +When the telescope was approaching completion I wrote to the head of +one of the greatest European observatories, possessing one of the best +telescopes of the time, that the first thing I should attempt with +the telescope would be the discovery of the companion of Procyon. +This first magnitude star, which may be well seen in the winter +evenings above Orion, had been found to move in an exceedingly small +orbit, one too small to be detected except through the most refined +observations of modern precision. The same thing had been found in +the case of Sirius, and had been traced to the action of a minute +companion revolving around it, which was discovered by the Clarks +a dozen years before. There could be no doubt that the motion of +Procyon was due to the same cause, but no one had ever seen the +planet that produced it, though its direction from the star at any +time could be estimated. + +Now, it happened that my European friend, as was very natural, had +frequently looked for this object without seeing it. Whether my +letter set him to looking again, or whether he did not receive +it until a later day, I do not know. What is certain is that, +in the course of the summer, he published the discovery of the +long-looked-for companion, supplemented by an excellent series of +observations upon it, made in March and April. + +Of course I was a little disappointed that the honor of first +finding this object did not belong to our own telescope. Still I was +naturally very curious to see it. So, on the very first night on +which the telescope could be used, I sat up until midnight to take +a look at Procyon, not doubting that, with the greater power of our +telescope, it would be seen at the first glance. To my great concern, +nothing of the sort was visible. But the night was far from good, +the air being somewhat thick with moisture, which gave objects seen +through it a blurred appearance; so I had to await a better night and +more favorable conditions. Better nights came and passed, and still +not a trace of the object could be seen. Supposing that the light +of the bright star might be too dazzling, I cut it off with a piece +of green glass in the focus. Still no companion showed itself. +Could it be that our instrument, in a more favorable location, +would fail to show what had been seen with one so much smaller? +This question I could not answer, but wrote to my European friend +of my unavailing attempts. + +He replied expressing his perplexity and surprise at the occurrence, +which was all the greater that the object had again been seen and +measured in April, 1874. A fine-looking series of observations +was published, similar to those of the preceding year. What made +the matter all the more certain was that there was a change in the +direction of the object which corresponded very closely to the motion +as it had been predicted by Auwers. The latter published a revision +of his work, based on the new observations. + +A year later, the parties that had been observing the transit of Venus +returned home. The head of one of them, Professor C. H. F. Peters +of Clinton, stopped a day or two at Washington. It happened that +a letter from my European friend arrived at the same time. I found +that Peters was somewhat skeptical as to the reality of the object. +Sitting before the fire in my room at the observatory, I read to +him and some others extracts from the letter, which cited much +new evidence to show the reality of the discovery. Not only had +several of his own observers seen the object, but it had been seen +and measured on several different nights by a certain Professor Blank, +with a telescope only ten or twelve inches aperture. + +"What," said Peters, "has Blank seen it?" + +"Yes, so the letter says." + +"Then it is n't there!" + +And it really was not there. The maker of the discovery took it +all back, and explained how he had been deceived. He found that the +telescope through which the observations were made seemed to show a +little companion of the same sort alongside of every very bright star. +Everything was explained by this discovery. Even the seeming motion +of the imaginary star during the twelve months was accounted for by +the fact that in 1873 Procyon was much nearer the horizon when the +observations were made than it was the year following. [1] + +There is a sequel to the history, which may cause its revision by some +astronomer not many years hence. When the great telescope was mounted +at the Lick Observatory, it is understood that Burnham and Barnard, +whose eyes are of the keenest, looked in vain for the companion +of Procyon. Yet, in 1895, it was found with the same instrument +by Schaeberle, and has since been observed with the great Yerkes +telescope, as well as by the observers at Mount Hamilton, so that the +reality of the discovery is beyond a doubt. The explanation of the +failure of Burnham and Barnard to see it is very simple: the object +moves in an eccentric orbit, so that it is nearer the planet at some +points of its orbit than at others. It was therefore lost in the +rays of the bright star during the years 1887-94. Is it possible +that it could have been far enough away to be visible in 1873-74? +I need scarcely add that this question must be answered in the +negative, yet it may be worthy of consideration, when the exact +orbit of the body is worked out twenty or thirty years hence. + +In my work with the telescope I had a more definite end in view +than merely the possession of a great instrument. The work of +reconstructing the tables of the planets, which I had long before +mapped out as the greatest one in which I should engage, required +as exact a knowledge as could be obtained of the masses of all +the planets. In the case of Uranus and Neptune, the two outer +planets, this knowledge could best be obtained by observations on +their satellites. To the latter my attention was therefore directed. +In the case of Neptune, which has only one satellite yet revealed +to human vision, and that one so close to the planet that the +observations are necessarily affected by some uncertainty, it was +very desirable that a more distant one should be found if it existed. +I therefore during the summer and autumn of 1874 made most careful +search under the most favorable conditions. But no second satellite +was found. I was not surprised to learn that the observers with +the great Lick telescope were equally unsuccessful. My observations +with the instrument during two years were worked up and published, +and I turned the instrument over to Professor Hall in 1875. + +The discovery of the satellites of Mars was made two years later, +in August, 1877. As no statement that I took any interest in the +discovery has ever been made in any official publication, I venture, +with the discoverer's permission, to mention the part that I took +in verifying it. + +One morning Professor Hall confidentially showed me his first +observations of an object near Mars, and asked me what I thought +of them. I remarked, "Why, that looks very much like a satellite." + +Yet he seemed very incredulous on the subject; so incredulous +that I feared he might make no further attempt to see the object. +I afterward learned, however, that this was entirely a misapprehension +on my part. He had been making a careful search for some time, +and had no intention of abandoning it until the matter was cleared +up one way or the other. + +The possibility of the object being an asteroid suggested itself. +I volunteered to test this question by looking at the ephemerides +of all the small planets in the neighborhood of Mars. A very little +searching disproved the possibility of the object belonging to this +class. One such object was in the neighborhood, but its motion was +incompatible with the measures. + +Then I remarked that, if the object were really a satellite, the +measures already made upon it, and the approximately known mass of +the planet, would enable the motion of the satellite to be determined +for a day or two. Thus I found that on that night the satellite would +be hidden in the early evening by the planet, but would emerge after +midnight. I therefore suggested to Professor Hall that, if it was +not seen in the early evening, he should wait until after midnight. +The result was in accordance with the prediction,--the satellite +was not visible in the early evening, but came out after midnight. +No further doubt was possible, and the discovery was published. +The labor of searching and observing was so exhausting that Professor +Hall let me compute the preliminary orbit of the satellites from +his early observations. + +My calculations and suggestions lost an importance they might +otherwise have claimed, for the reason that several clear nights +followed. Had cloudy weather intervened, a knowledge of when to +look for the object might have greatly facilitated its recognition. + +It is still an open question, perhaps, whether a great refracting +telescope will last unimpaired for an indefinite length of time. +I am not aware that the twin instruments of Harvard and Pulkowa, +mounted in 1843, have suffered from age, nor am I aware that any +of Alvan Clark's instruments are less perfect to-day than when they +left the hands of their makers. But not long after the discovery of +the satellites of Mars, doubts began to spread in some quarters as to +whether the great Washington telescope had not suffered deterioration. +These doubts were strengthened in the following way: When hundreds of +curious objects were being discovered in the heavens here and there, +observers with small instruments naturally sought to find them. +The result was several discoveries belonging to the same class +as that of the satellite of Procyon. They were found with very +insignificant instruments, but could not be seen in the large ones. +Professor Hall published a letter in a European journal, remarking +upon the curious fact that several objects were being discovered +with very small instruments, which were invisible in the Washington +telescope. This met the eye of Professor Wolf, a professor at the +Sorbonne in Paris, as well as astronomer at the Paris Observatory. +In a public lecture, which he delivered shortly afterward, he lamented +the fact that the deterioration of the Washington telescope had gone +so far as that, and quoted Professor Hall as his authority. + +The success of the Washington telescope excited such interest the +world over as to give a new impetus to the construction of such +instruments. Its glass showed not the slightest drawbacks from its +great size. It had been feared that, after a certain limit, the +slight bending of the glass under its own weight would be injurious +to its performance. Nothing of the kind being seen, the Clarks were +quite ready to undertake much larger instruments. A 30-inch telescope +for the Pulkova Observatory in Russia, the 36-inch telescope of the +Lick Observatory in California, and, finally, the 40-inch of the +Yerkes Observatory in Chicago, were the outcome of the movement. + +Of most interest to us in the present connection is the history +of the 30-inch telescope of the Pulkova Observatory, the object +glass of which was made by Alvan Clark & Sons. It was, I think, +sometime in 1878 that I received a letter from Otto Struve, [2] +director of the Pulkova Observatory, stating that he was arranging +with his government for a grant of money to build one of the largest +refracting telescopes. In answering him I called his attention to +the ability of Alvan Clark & Sons to make at least the object glass, +the most delicate and difficult part of the instrument. The result +was that, after fruitless negotiations with European artists, Struve +himself came to America in the summer of 1879 to see what the American +firm could do. He first went to Washington and carefully examined +the telescope there. Then he proceeded to Cambridge and visited the +workshop of the Clarks. He expressed some surprise at its modest +dimensions and fittings generally, but was so well pleased with what +he saw that he decided to award them the contract for making the +object glass. He was the guest of the Pickerings at the Cambridge +Observatory, and invited me thither from where I was summering on +the coast of Massachusetts to assist in negotiating the contract. + +He requested that, for simplicity in conference, the preliminary terms +should be made with but a single member of the firm to talk with. +George B. Clark, the eldest member, was sent up to represent the firm. +I was asked to take part in the negotiations as a mutual friend of +both parties, and suggested the main conditions of the contract. +A summary of these will be found in the publication to which I have +already referred. + +There was one provision the outcome of which was characteristic +of Alvan Clark & Sons. Struve, in testing some object glasses +which they had constructed and placed in their temporary tube, +found so great physical exertion necessary in pointing so rough +an instrument at any heavenly body with sufficient exactness, +that he could not form a satisfactory opinion of the object glass. +As he was to come over again when the glass was done, in order to +test it preliminary to acceptance, he was determined that no such +difficulty should arise. He therefore made a special provision +that $1000 extra, to be repaid by him, should be expended in making +a rough equatorial mounting in which he could test the instrument. +George Clark demurred to this, on the ground that such a mounting as +was necessary for this purpose could not possibly cost so much money. +But Struve persistently maintained that one to cost $1000 should +be made. The other party had to consent, but failed to carry out +this provision. The tube was, indeed, made large enough to test not +only Struve's glass but the larger one of the Lick Observatory, which, +though not yet commenced, was expected to be ready not long afterward. +Yet, notwithstanding this increase of size, I think the extra cost +turned out to be much less than $1000, and the mounting was so rough +that when Struve came over in 1883 to test the glass, he suffered +much physical inconvenience and met, if my memory serves me aright, +with a slight accident, in his efforts to use the rough instrument. + +In points like this I do not believe that another such business firm +as that of the Clarks ever existed in this country or any other. +Here is an example. Shortly before the time of Struve's visit, +I had arranged with them for the construction of a refined and +complicated piece of apparatus to measure the velocity of light. +As this apparatus was quite new in nearly all its details, it was +impossible to estimate in advance what it might cost; so, of course, +they desired that payment for it should be arranged on actual cost +after the work was done. I assured them that the government would +not enter into a contract on such terms. There must be some maximum +or fixed price. This they fixed at $2500. I then arranged with +them that this should be taken as a maximum and that, if it was +found to cost less, they should accept actual cost. The contract +was arranged on this basis. There were several extras, including +two most delicate reflecting mirrors which would look flat to the +eye, but were surfaces of a sphere of perhaps four miles diameter. +The entire cost of the apparatus, as figured up by them after it was +done, with these additions, was less than $1500, or about forty per +cent. below the contract limit. + +No set of men were ever so averse to advertising themselves. +If anybody, in any part of the world, wanted them to make a telescope, +he must write to them to know the price, etc. They could never be +induced to prepare anything in the form of a price catalogue of the +instruments they were prepared to furnish. The history of their +early efforts and the indifference of our scientific public to their +skill forms a mortifying chapter in our history of the middle of the +century. When Mr. Clark had finished his first telescope, a small +one of four inches aperture, which was, I have no reason to doubt, +the best that human art could make, he took it to the Cambridge +Observatory to be tested by one of the astronomers. The latter +called his attention to a little tail which the glass showed as +an appendage of a star, and which was, of course, non-existent. +It was attributed to a defect in the glass, which was therefore +considered a failure. Mr. Clark was quite sure that the tail was +not shown when he had previously used the glass, but he could not +account for it at the time. He afterwards traced it to the warm air +collecting in the upper part of the tube and producing an irregular +refraction of the light. When this cause was corrected the defect +disappeared. But he got no further encouragement at home to pursue +his work. The first recognition of his genius came from England, +the agent being Rev. W. R. Dawes, an enthusiastic observer of double +stars, who was greatly interested in having the best of telescopes. +Mr. Clark wrote him a letter describing a number of objects which +he had seen with telescopes of his own make. From this description +Mr. Dawes saw that the instruments must be of great excellence, and +the outcome of the matter was that he ordered one or more telescopes +from the American maker. Not until then were the abilities of the +latter recognized in his own country. + +I have often speculated as to what the result might have been had +Mr. Clark been a more enterprising man. If, when he first found +himself able to make a large telescope, he had come to Washington, +got permission to mount his instrument in the grounds of the capitol, +showed it to members of Congress, and asked for legislation to +promote this new industry, and, when he got it, advertised himself +and his work in every way he could, would the firm which he founded +have been so little known after the death of its members, as it +now unhappily is? This is, perhaps, a rather academic question, +yet not an unprofitable one to consider. + +In recent years the firm was engaged only to make object glasses +of telescopes, because the only mountings they could be induced to +make were too rude to satisfy astronomers. The palm in this branch +of the work went to the firm of Warner & Swasey, whose mounting of +the great Yerkes telescope of the University of Chicago is the last +word of art in this direction. + +During the period when the reputation of the Cambridge family was +at its zenith, I was slow to believe that any other artist could +come up to their standard. My impression was strengthened by a +curious circumstance. During a visit to the Strasburg Observatory +in 1883 I was given permission to look through its great telescope, +which was made by a renowned German artist. I was surprised to find +the object glass affected by so serious a defect that it could not be +expected to do any work of the first class. One could only wonder +that European art was so backward. But, several years afterward, +the astronomers discovered that, in putting the glasses together after +being cleaned, somebody had placed one of them in the wrong position, +the surface which should have been turned toward the star being now +turned toward the observer. When the glass was simply turned over +so as to have the right face outward, the defect disappeared. + +[1] In justice to Mr. Blank, I must say that there seems to have been +some misunderstanding as to his observations. What he had really +seen and observed was a star long well known, much more distant from +Procyon than the companion in question. + +[2] Otto Struve was a brother of the very popular Russian minister to +Washington during the years 1882-92. He retired from the direction +of the Pulkowa Observatory about 1894. The official history of +his negotiations and other proceedings for the construction of the +telescope will be found in a work published in 1889 in honor of the +jubilee of the observatory. + + + + +VI + +THE TRANSITS OF VENUS + + +It was long supposed that transits of Venus over the sun's disk +afforded the only accurate method of determining the distance of the +sun, one of the fundamental data of astronomy. Unfortunately, these +phenomena are of the rarest. They come in pairs, with an interval +of eight years between the transits of a pair. A pair occurred +in 1761 and 1769, and again in 1874 and 1882. Now the whole of +the twentieth century will pass without another recurrence of the +phenomenon. Not until the years 2004 and 2012 will our posterity +have the opportunity of witnessing it. + +Much interesting history is associated with the adventures of the +astronomers who took part in the expeditions to observe the transits +of 1761 and 1769. In the almost chronic warfare which used to rage +between France and England during that period, neither side was +willing to regard as neutral even a scientific expedition sent out +by the other. The French sent one of their astronomers, Le Gentil, +to observe the transit at Pondicherry in the East Indies. As he +was nearing his station, the presence of the enemy prevented him +from making port, and he was still at sea on the day of the transit. +When he at length landed, he determined to remain until the transit +of 1769, and observe that. We must not suppose, however, that he +was guilty of the eccentricity of doing this with no other object in +view than that of making the observation. He found the field open +for profitable mercantile enterprise, as well as interesting for +scientific observations and inquiries. The eight long years passed +away, and the morning of June 4, 1769, found him in readiness for +his work. The season had been exceptionally fine. On the morning +of the transit the sun shone in a cloudless sky, as it had done for +several days previous. But, alas for all human hopes! Just before +Venus reached the sun, the clouds gathered, and a storm burst upon +the place. It lasted until the transit was over, and then cleared +away again as if with the express object of showing the unfortunate +astronomer how helpless he was in the hands of the elements. + +The Royal Society of England procured a grant of £800 from King +George II. for expeditions to observe the transit of 1761. [1] +With this grant the Society sent the Rev. Nevil Maskelyne to the +island of St. Helena, and, receiving another grant, it was used to +dispatch Messrs. Mason and Dixon (those of our celebrated "line") +to Bencoolen. The admiralty also supplied a ship for conveying the +observers to their respective destinations. Maskelyne, however, +would not avail himself of this conveyance, but made his voyage +on a private vessel. Cloudy weather prevented his observations of +the transit, but this did not prevent his expedition from leaving +for posterity an interesting statement of the necessaries of an +astronomer of that time. His itemized account of personal expenses +was as follows:-- + + One year's board at St. Helena . . £109 10s. 0d. + Liquors at 5s. per day . . . . 91 5 0 + Washing at 9d. per day . . . . 13 13 9 + Other expenses . . . . . . 27 7 6 + Liquors on board ship for six months 50 0 0 + --- --- --- + £291 16s. 3d. + +Seven hundred dollars was the total cost of liquors during the +eighteen months of his absence. Admiral Smyth concludes that +Maskelyne "was not quite what is now ycleped a teetotaler." He was +subsequently Astronomer Royal of England for nearly half a century, +but his published observations give no indication of the cost of +the drinks necessary to their production. + +Mason and Dixon's expedition met with a mishap at the start. +They had only got fairly into the English Channel when their ship +fell in with a French frigate of superior force. An action ensued in +which the English crew lost eleven killed and thirty-eight wounded. +The Frenchman was driven off, but the victorious vessel had to return +to Plymouth for repairs. This kind of a scientific expedition was +more than the astronomers had bargained for, and they wrote from +Plymouth to the Royal Society, describing their misfortune and +resigning their mission. But the Council of the Society speedily +let them know that they were unmoved by the misfortunes of their +scientific missionaries, and pointed out to them in caustic terms +that, having solemnly undertaken the expedition, and received money +on account of it, their failure to proceed on the voyage would +be a reproach to the nation in general, and to the Royal Society +in particular. It would also bring an indelible scandal upon their +character, and probably end in their utter ruin. They were assured +that if they persisted in the refusal, they would be treated with the +most inflexible resentment, and prosecuted with the utmost severity +of the law. + +Under such threats the unfortunate men could do nothing but accept +the situation and sail again after their frigate had been refitted. +When they got as far as the Cape of Good Hope, it was found very +doubtful whether they would reach their destination in time for +the transit; so, to make sure of some result from their mission, +they made their observations at the Cape. + +One of the interesting scraps of history connected with the transit +of 1769 concerns the observations of Father Maximilian Hell, S. J., +the leading astronomer of Vienna. He observed the transit at Wardhus, +a point near the northern extremity of Norway, where the sun did not +set at the season of the transit. Owing to the peculiar circumstances +under which the transit was observed,--the ingress of the planet +occurring two or three hours before the sun approached the northern +horizon, and the end of the transit about as long afterward,--this +station was the most favorable one on the globe. Hell, with two or +three companions, one of them named Sajnovics, went on his mission +to this isolated place under the auspices of the king of Denmark. +The day was cloudless and the observations were made with entire +success. He returned to Copenhagen, where he passed several months +in preparing for the press a complete account of his expedition and +the astronomical observations made at the station. + +Astronomers were impatient to have the results for the distance of +the sun worked out as soon as possible. Owing to the importance of +Hell's observations, they were eagerly looked for. But he at first +refused to make them known, on the ground that, having been made +under the auspices of the king of Denmark, they ought not to be made +known in advance of their official publication by the Danish Academy +of Sciences. This reason, however, did not commend itself to the +impatient astronomers; and suspicions were aroused that something +besides official formalities was behind the delay. It was hinted +that Hell was waiting for the observations made at other stations in +order that he might so manipulate his own that they would fit in with +those made elsewhere. Reports were even circulated that he had not +seen the transit at all, owing to cloudy weather, and that he was +manufacturing observations in Copenhagen. The book was, however, +sent to the printer quite promptly, and the insinuations against its +author remained a mere suspicion for more than sixty years. Then, +about 1833, a little book was published on the subject by Littrow, +Director of the Vienna Observatory, which excited much attention. +Father Hell's original journal had been conveyed to Vienna on his +return, and was still on deposit at the Austrian National Observatory. +Littrow examined it and found, as he supposed, that the suspicions +of alterations in observations were well founded; more especially +that the originals of the all-important figures which recorded the +critical moment of "contact" had been scraped out of the paper, +and new ones inserted in their places. The same was said to be +the case with many other important observations in the journal, and +the conclusion to which his seemingly careful examination led was +that no reliance could be placed on the genuineness of Hell's work. +The doubts thus raised were not dispelled until another half-century +had elapsed. + +In 1883 I paid a visit to Vienna for the purpose of examining the +great telescope which had just been mounted in the observatory there +by Grubb, of Dublin. The weather was so unfavorable that it was +necessary to remain two weeks, waiting for an opportunity to see +the stars. One evening I visited the theatre to see Edwin Booth, +in his celebrated tour over the Continent, play King Lear to the +applauding Viennese. But evening amusements cannot be utilized to +kill time during the day. Among the tasks I had projected was that +of rediscussing all the observations made on the transits of Venus +which had occurred in 1761 and 1769, by the light of modern science. +As I have already remarked, Hell's observations were among the most +important made, if they were only genuine. So, during my almost +daily visits to the observatory, I asked permission of Director +Weiss to study Hell's manuscript. + +At first the task of discovering anything which would lead to a +positive decision on one side or the other seemed hopeless. To a +cursory glance, the descriptions given by Littrow seemed to cover the +ground so completely that no future student could turn his doubt into +certainty. But when one looks leisurely at an interesting object, +day after day, he continually sees more and more. Thus it was in +the present case. One of the first things to strike me as curious +was that many of the alleged alterations had been made before the +ink got dry. When the writer made a mistake, he had rubbed it out +with his finger, and made a new entry. + +The all-important point was a certain suspicious record which Littrow +affirmed had been scraped out so that the new insertion could +be made. As I studied these doubtful figures, day by day, light +continually increased. Evidently the heavily written figures, which +were legible, had been written over some other figures which were +concealed beneath them, and were, of course, completely illegible, +though portions of them protruded here and there outside of the +heavy figures. Then I began to doubt whether the paper had been +scraped at all. To settle the question, I found a darkened room, +into which the sun's rays could be admitted through an opening in the +shutter, and held the paper in the sunlight in such a way that the +only light which fell on it barely grazed the surface of the paper. +Examining the sheet with a magnifying glass, I was able to see the +original texture of the surface with all its hills and hollows. +A single glance sufficed to show conclusively that no eraser had +ever passed over the surface, which had remained untouched. + +The true state of the case seemed to me almost beyond doubt. +It frequently happened that the ink did not run freely from the +pen, so that the words had sometimes to be written over again. +When Hell first wrote down the little figures on which, as he +might well suppose, future generations would have to base a very +important astronomical element, he saw that they were not written +with a distinctness corresponding to their importance. So he wrote +them over again with the hand, and in the spirit of a man who was +determined to leave no doubt on the subject, little weening that +the act would give rise to a doubt which would endure for a century. + +This, although the most important case of supposed alteration, was by +no means the only one. Yet, to my eyes, all the seeming corrections +in the journal were of the most innocent and commonplace kind,--such +as any one may make in writing. + +Then I began to compare the manuscript, page after page, with +Littrow's printed description. It struck me as very curious that +where the manuscript had been merely retouched with ink which was +obviously the same as that used in the original writing, but looked +a little darker than the original, Littrow described the ink as of +a different color. In contrast with this, there was an important +interlineation, which was evidently made with a different kind of +ink, one that had almost a blue tinge by comparison; but in the +description he makes no mention of this plain difference. I thought +this so curious that I wrote in my notes as follows:-- + +"That Littrow, in arraying his proofs of Hell's forgery, should +have failed to dwell upon the obvious difference between this ink +and that with which the alterations were made leads me to suspect +a defect in his sense of color." + +Then it occurred to me to inquire whether, perhaps, such could have +been the case. So I asked Director Weiss whether anything was known +as to the normal character of Littrow's power of distinguishing +colors. His answer was prompt and decisive. "Oh, yes, Littrow was +color blind to red. He could not distinguish between the color of +Aldebaran and that of the whitest star." No further research was +necessary. For half a century the astronomical world had based an +impression on the innocent but mistaken evidence of a color-blind +man respecting the tints of ink in a manuscript. + +About the middle of the nineteenth century other methods of measuring +the sun's distance began to be developed which, it was quite possible, +might prove as good as the observation in question. But the relative +value of these methods and of transits of Venus was a subject on which +little light could be thrown; and the rarity of the latter phenomena +naturally excited universal interest, both among the astronomers +and among the public. For the purpose in question it was necessary +to send expeditions to different and distant parts of the globe, +because the result had to depend upon the times of the phases, +as seen from widely separated stations. + +In 1869 the question what stations should be occupied and what +observations should be made was becoming the subject of discussion +in Europe, and especially in England. But our country was still +silent on the subject. The result of continued silence was not hard +to foresee. Congress would, at the last moment, make a munificent +appropriation for sending out parties to observe the transit. +The plans and instruments would be made in a hurry, and the parties +packed off without any well-considered ideas of what they were to +do; and the whole thing would end in failure so far as results of +any great scientific value were concerned. + +I commenced the discussion by a little paper on the subject in the +"American Journal of Science," but there was no one to follow it up. +So, at the spring meeting of the National Academy of Sciences, in +1870, I introduced a resolution for the appointment of a committee to +consider the subject and report upon the observations which should +be made. This resolution was adopted, and a few days afterward +Professor Henry invited me to call at his office in the evening to +discuss with himself and Professor Peirce, then superintendent of +the Coast Survey, the composition of the committee. + +At the conference I began by suggesting Professor Peirce himself +for chairman. Naturally this met with no opposition; then I waited +for the others to go on. But they seemed determined to throw the +whole onus of the matter on me. This was the more embarrassing, +because I believe that, in parliamentary law and custom, the mover +of a resolution of this sort has a prescribed right to be chairman +of the committee which he proposes shall be appointed. If not +chairman, it would seem that he ought at any rate to be a member. +But I was determined not to suggest myself in any way, so I went on +and suggested Admiral Davis. This nomination was, of course, accepted +without hesitation. Then I remarked that the statutes of the academy +permitted of persons who were not members being invited to serve on a +committee, and as the Naval Observatory would naturally take a leading +part in such observations as were to be made, I suggested that its +superintendent, Admiral Sands, should be invited to serve as a member +of the committee. "There," said Peirce, "we now have three names. +Committees of three are always the most efficient. Why go farther?" + +I suggested that the committee should have on it some one practiced +in astronomical observation, but he deemed this entirely unnecessary, +and so the committee of three was formed. I did not deem it advisable +to make any opposition at the time, because it was easy to foresee +what the result would be. + +During the summer nothing was heard of the committee, and in the +autumn I made my first trip to Europe. On my return, in May, 1871, +I found that the committee had never even held a meeting, and that +it had been enlarged by the addition of a number of astronomers, +among them myself. But, before it went seriously to work, it was +superseded by another organization, to be described presently. + +At that time astronomical photography was in its infancy. Enough had +been done by Rutherfurd to show that it might be made a valuable +adjunct to astronomical investigation. Might we not then photograph +Venus on the sun's disk, and by measurements of the plates obtain the +desired result, perhaps better than it could be obtained by any kind +of eye observation? This question had already suggested itself to +Professor Winlock, who, at the Cambridge Observatory, had designed +an instrument for taking the photographs. It consisted of a fixed +horizontal telescope, into which the rays of the sun were to be +thrown by a reflector. This kind of an instrument had its origin +in France, but it was first practically applied to photographing +the sun in this country. As whatever observations were to be made +would have to be done at governmental expense, an appropriation of +two thousand dollars was obtained from Congress for the expense of +some preliminary instruments and investigations. + +Admiral Sands, superintendent of the observatory, now took an +active part in the official preparations. It was suggested to +him, on the part of the academy committee, that it would be well +to join hands with other organizations, so as to have the whole +affair carried on with unity and harmony. To this he assented. +The result was a provision that these and all other preparations for +observing the transit of Venus should be made under the direction +of a commission to be composed of the superintendent of the Naval +Observatory, the superintendent of the United States Coast Survey, the +president of the National Academy of Sciences, and two professors of +mathematics attached to the Naval Observatory. Under this provision +the commission was constituted as follows: Commodore B. F. Sands, +U. S. N., Professor Benjamin Peirce, Professor Joseph Henry, Professor +Simon Newcomb, Professor William Harkness. + +The academy committee now surrendered its functions to the commission, +and the preparations were left entirely in the hands of the latter. + +So far as scientific operations were concerned, the views of the +commission were harmonious through the whole of their deliberations. +It was agreed from the beginning that the photographic method +offered the greatest promise of success. But how, with what sort +of instruments, and on what plan, must the photographs be taken? +Europeans had already begun to consider this question, and for the +most part had decided on using photographic telescopes having no +distinctive feature specially designed for the transit. In fact, +one might almost say that the usual observations with the eye +were to be made on the photograph instead of on the actual sun. +The American commissioners were of opinion that this would lead to +nothing but failure, and that some new system must be devised. + +The result was a series of experiments and trials with Professor +Winlock's instrument at the Cambridge Observatory. The outcome of +the matter was the adoption of his plan, with three most important +additions, which I shall mention, because they may possibly yet be +adopted with success in other branches of exact astronomy if this +telescope is used, as it seems likely it may be. + +The first feature was that the photographic telescope should be +mounted exactly in the meridian, and that its direction should be +tested by having the transit instrument mounted in front of it, +in the same line with it. In this way the axis of the telescope +was a horizontal north and south line. + +The next feature was that, immediately in front of the photographic +plate, in fact as nearly in contact with it as possible without +touching it, a plumb line of which the thread was a very fine silver +wire should be suspended, the bob of which passed down below, and +was immersed in a vessel of water to prevent vibration. In this way +the direction of the north and south line on the plate admitted of +being calculated with the greatest exactness, and the plumb line being +photographed across the disk of the sun, the position angle could be +measured with the same precision that any other measure could be made. + +The third feature was that the distance between the photographic +plate and the object glass of the telescope should be measured by +a long iron rod which was kept in position above the line of sight +of the telescope itself. This afforded the means of determining +to what angle a given measure on the plate would correspond. +The whole arrangement would enable the position of the centre of +Venus with respect to the centre of the sun to be determined by +purely geometric methods. One reason for relying entirely on this +was that the diameter of the sun, as photographed, would be greater +the greater the intensity of the photographic impression, so that +no reliance could be placed upon its uniformity. + +Ours were the only parties whose photographic apparatus was fitted +up in this way. The French used a similar system, but without the +essentials of the plumb line and the measurement of the length of +the telescope. The English and Germans used ordinary telescopes +for the purpose. + +One of the earliest works of the commission was the preparation +and publication of several papers, which were published under the +general title, "Papers relating to the Transit of Venus in 1874." +The first of these papers was a discussion of our proposed plan of +photographing, in which the difficulties of the problem, and the +best way of surmounting them, were set forth. The next, called +Part II., related to the circumstances of the transit, and was +therefore entirely technical. Part III. related to the corrections +of Hansen's table of the moon, and was published as a paper relating +to the transit of Venus, because these corrections were essential +in determining the longitudes of the stations by observations of +the moon. + +In England the preparations were left mostly in the hands of +Professor Airy, Astronomer Royal, and, I believe, Captain Tupman, +who at least took a leading part in the observations and their +subsequent reduction. In France, Germany, and Russia, commissions +were appointed to take charge of the work and plan the observations. + +As coöperation among the parties from different countries would be +generally helpful, I accepted an invitation to attend a meeting of the +German commission, to be held at Hanover in August, 1873. Hansen was +president of the commission, while Auwers was its executive officer. +One of my main objects was to point out the impossibility of obtaining +any valuable result by the system of photographing which had been +proposed, but I was informed, in reply, that the preparations had +advanced too far to admit of starting on a new plan and putting it +in operation. + +From the beginning of our preparations it began to be a question +of getting from Congress the large appropriations necessary for +sending out the expeditions and fitting them up with instruments. +The sum of $50,000 was wanted for instruments and outfit. Hon. James +A. Garfield was then chairman of the committee on appropriations. +His principles and methods of arranging appropriations for the +government were, in some features, so different from those generally +in vogue that it will be of interest to describe them. + +First of all, Garfield was rigidly economical in grants of money. +This characteristic of a chairman of a committee on appropriations +was almost a necessary one. But he possessed it in a different +way from any other chairman before or since. The method of the +"watch dogs of the treasury" who sometimes held this position was to +grant most of the objects asked for, but to cut down the estimated +amounts by one fourth or one third. This was a very easy method, +and one well fitted to impress the public, but it was one that the +executive officers of the government found no difficulty in evading, +by the very simple process of increasing their estimate so as to +allow for the prospective reduction. [2] + +Garfield compared this system to ordering cloth for a coat, +but economizing by reducing the quantity put into it. If a new +proposition came before him, the question was whether it was advisable +for the government to entertain it at all. He had to be thoroughly +convinced before this would be done. If the question was decided +favorably all the funds necessary for the project were voted. + +When the proposition for the transit of Venus came before him, +he proceeded in a manner which I never heard of the chairman of an +appropriation committee adopting before or since. Instead of calling +upon those who made the proposition to appear formally before the +committee, he asked me to dinner with his family, where we could +talk the matter over. One other guest was present, Judge Black +of Pennsylvania. He was a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat, wielding +as caustic a pen as was ever dipped into ink, but was, withal, +a firm personal friend and admirer of Garfield. As may readily be +supposed, the transit of Venus did not occupy much time at the table. +I should not have been an enthusiastic advocate of the case against +opposition, in any case, because my hopes of measuring the sun's +distance satisfactorily by that method were not at all sanguine. +My main interest lay in the fact that, apart from this, the transit +would afford valuable astronomical data for the life work which I +had mainly in view. So the main basis of my argument was that other +nations were going to send out parties; that we should undoubtedly +do the same, and that they must be equipped and organized in the +best way. + +It appears that Judge Black was an absent-minded man, as any man +engaged in thought on very great subjects, whether of science, +jurisprudence, or politics, has the right to be. Garfield asked him +whether it was true that, on one occasion, when preparing an argument, +and walking up and down the room, his hat chanced to drop on the floor +at one end of the room, and was persistently used as a cuspidor until +the argument was completed. Mr. Black neither affirmed nor denied +the story, but told another which he said was true. While on his +circuit as judge he had, on one occasion, tried a case of theft in +which the principal evidence against the accused was the finding of +the stolen article in his possession. He charged the jury that this +fact was _prima facie_ evidence that the man was actually the thief. +When through his business and about to leave for home, he went +into a jeweler's shop to purchase some little trinket for his wife. +The jeweler showed him a number of little articles, but finding none +to suit him, he stepped into his carriage and drove off. In the +course of the day he called on a street urchin to water his horse. +Reaching into his pocket for a reward, the first thing he got hold of +was a diamond ring which must have been taken from the shop of the +jeweler when he left that morning. "I wondered," said the judge, +"how I should have come out had I been tried under my own law." + +The outcome of the matter was that the appropriations were duly made; +first, in 1872, $50,000 for instruments, then, the year following, +$100,000 for the expeditions. In 1874, $25,000 more was appropriated +to complete the work and return the parties to their homes. + +The date of the great event was December 8-9, 1874. To have the +parties thoroughly drilled in their work, they were brought together +at Washington in the preceding spring for practice and rehearsal. +In order that the observations to be made by the eye should not +be wholly new, an apparatus representing the transit was mounted +on the top of Winder's building, near the War Department, about +two thirds of a mile from the observatory. When this was observed +through the telescope from the roof of the observatory, an artificial +black Venus was seen impinging upon an artificial sun, and entering +upon its disk in the same way that the actual Venus would be seen. +This was observed over and over until, as was supposed, the observers +had gotten into good practice. + +In order to insure the full understanding of the photographic +apparatus, the instruments were mounted and the parties practiced +setting them up and going through the processes of photographing the +sun. To carry out this arrangement with success, it was advisable to +have an expert in astronomical photography to take charge of the work. +Dr. Henry Draper of New York was invited for this purpose, and gave +his services to the commission for several weeks. + +This transit was not visible in the United States. It did not begin +until after the sun had set in San Francisco, and it was over before +the rising sun next morning had reached western Europe. All the +parties had therefore to be sent to the other side of the globe. +Three northern stations were occupied,--in China, Japan, and Siberia; +and five southern ones, at various points on the islands of the +Pacific and Indian oceans. This unequal division was suggested +by the fact that the chances of fair weather were much less in the +southern hemisphere than in the northern. + +The southern parties were taken to their destinations in the +U. S. S. Swatara, Captain Ralph Chandler, U. S. N., commanding. +In astronomical observations all work is at the mercy of the elements. +Clear weather was, of course, a necessity to success at any station. +In the present case the weather was on the whole unpropitious. +While there was not a complete failure at any one station, the number +or value of the observations was more or less impaired at all. +Where the sky was nearly cloudless, the air was thick and hazy. +This was especially the case at Nagasaki and Pekin, where from +meteorological observations which the commission had collected through +our consuls, the best of weather was confidently expected. What made +this result more tantalizing was that the very pains we had taken to +collect the data proved, by chance, to have made the choice worse. +For some time it was deliberated whether the Japanese station should +be in Nagasaki or Yokohama. Consultation with the best authorities +and a study of the records showed that, while Yokohama was a favorable +spot, the chances were somewhat better at Nagasaki. So to Nagasaki +the party was sent. But when the transit came, while the sky was +of the best at Yokohama, it was far from being so at Nagasaki. + +Something of the same sort occurred at the most stormy of all the +southern stations, that at Kerguelen Island. The British expeditions +had, in the beginning, selected a station on this island known as +Christmas Harbor. We learned that a firm of New London, Conn., +had a whaling station on the island. It was therefore applied to to +know what the weather chances were at various points in the island. +Information was obtained from their men, and it was thus found that +Molloy Point, bad though the weather there was, afforded better +chances than Christmas Harbor; so it was chosen. But this was not +all; the British parties, either in consequence of the information +we had acquired, or through what was learned from the voyage of the +Challenger, established their principal station near ours. But it +happened that the day at Christmas Harbor was excellent, while +the observations were greatly interfered with by passing clouds at +Molloy Point. + +After the return of the parties sent out by the various nations, +it did not take long for the astronomers to find that the result was +disappointing, so far, at least, as the determination of the sun's +distance was concerned. It became quite clear that this important +element could be better measured by determining the velocity of +light and the time which it took to reach us from the sun than it +could by any transit of Venus. It was therefore a question whether +parties should be sent out to observe the transit of 1882. On this +subject the astronomers of the country at large were consulted. +As might have been expected, there was a large majority in favor +of the proposition. The negative voices were only two in number, +those of Pickering and myself. I took the ground that we should +make ample provisions for observing it at various stations in +our own country, where it would now be visible, but that, in view +of the certain failure to get a valuable result for the distance +of the sun by this method, it was not worth while for us to send +parties to distant parts of the world. I supposed the committee on +appropriations might make careful inquiry into the subject before +making the appropriation, but a representation of the case was all +they asked for, and $10,000 was voted for improving the instruments +and $75,000 for sending out parties. + +Expeditions being thus decided upon, I volunteered to take charge of +that to the Cape of Good Hope. The scientific personnel of my party +comprised an officer of the army engineers, one of the navy, and a +photographer. The former were Lieutenant Thomas L. Casey, Jr., Corps +of Engineers, U. S. A., and Lieutenant J. H. L. Holcombe, U. S. N. +We took a Cunard steamer for Liverpool about the middle of September, +1882, and transported our instruments by rail to Southampton, there +to have them put on the Cape steamship. At Liverpool I was guilty +of a remissness which might have caused much trouble. Our apparatus +and supplies, in a large number of boxes, were all gathered and +piled in one place. I sent one of my assistants to the point to +see that it was so collected that there should be no possibility +of mistake in getting it into the freight car designed to carry it +to Southampton, but did not require him to stay there and see that +all was put on board. When the cases reached Southampton it was +found that one was missing. It was one of the heaviest of the lot, +containing the cast-iron pier on which the photoheliograph was to +be mounted. While it was possible to replace this by something else, +such a course would have been inconvenient and perhaps prejudicial. +The steamer was about to sail, but would touch at Plymouth next day. +Only one resource was possible. I telegraphed the mistake to +Liverpool and asked that the missing box be sent immediately by +express to Plymouth. We had the satisfaction of seeing it come on +board with the mail just as the steamer was about to set sail. + +We touched first at Madeira, and then at Ascension Island, the latter +during the night. One of the odd things in nomenclature is that this +island, a British naval station, was not called such officially, +but was a "tender to Her Majesty's ship Flora," I believe. It had +become astronomically famous a few years before by Gill's observations +of the position of Mars to determine the solar parallax. + +We touched six hours at St. Helena, enough to see the place, but +scarcely enough to make a visit to the residence of Napoleon, even had +we desired to see it. The little town is beautifully situated, and +the rocks around are very imposing. My most vivid recollection is, +however, of running down from the top of a rock some six hundred or +eight hundred feet high, by a steep flight of steps, without stopping, +or rather of the consequences of this imprudent gymnastic performance. +I could scarcely move for the next three days. + +Cape Town was then suffering from an epidemic of smallpox, mostly +confined to the Malay population, but causing some disagreeable +results to travelers. Our line of ships did not terminate their +voyage at the Cape, but proceeded thence to other African ports east +of the Cape. Here a rigid quarantine had been established, and it +was necessary that the ships touching at the Cape of Good Hope should +have had no communication with the shore. Thus it happened that we +found, lying in the harbor, the ship of our line which had preceded +us, waiting to get supplies from us, in order that it might proceed +on its voyage. Looking at a row-boat after we had cast anchor, we +were delighted to see two faces which I well knew: those of David +Gill, astronomer of the Cape Observatory, and Dr. W. L. Elkin, now +director of the Yale Observatory. The latter had gone to the Cape as +a volunteer observer with Gill, their work being directed mostly to +parallaxes of stars too far south to be well observed in our latitude. +Our friends were not, however, even allowed to approach the ship, +for fear of the smallpox, the idea appearing to be that the latter +might be communicated by a sort of electric conduction, if the boat +and the ship were allowed to come into contact, so we had to be put +ashore without their aid. + +We selected as our station the little town of Wellington, some forty +miles northeast of Cape Town. The weather chances were excellent +anywhere, but here they were even better than at the Cape. The most +interesting feature of the place was what we might call an American +young ladies' school. The Dutch inhabitants of South Africa are +imbued with admiration of our institutions, and one of their dreams +is said to be a United States of South Africa modeled after our +own republic. Desiring to give their daughters the best education +possible, they secured the services of Miss Ferguson, a well-known +New England teacher, to found a school on the American model. +We established our station in the grounds of this school. + +The sky on the day of the transit was simply perfect. Notwithstanding +the intensity of the sun's rays, the atmosphere was so steady that I +have never seen the sun to better advantage. So all our observations +were successful. + +On our departure we left two iron pillars, on which our apparatus for +photographing the sun was mounted, firmly imbedded in the ground, as +we had used them. Whether they will remain there until the transit +of 2004, I do not know, but cannot help entertaining a sentimental +wish that, when the time of that transit arrives, the phenomenon +will be observed from the same station, and the pillars be found in +such a condition that they can again be used. + +All the governments, except our own, which observed the two transits +of Venus on a large scale long ago completed the work of reduction, +and published the observations in full. On our own part we have +published a preliminary discussion of some observations of the transit +of 1874. Of that of 1882 nothing has, I believe, been published +except some brief statements of results of the photographs, which +appeared in an annual report of the Naval Observatory. Having need in +my tables of the planets of the best value of the solar parallax that +could be obtained by every method, I worked up all the observations +of contacts made by the parties of every country, but, of course, +did not publish our own observations. Up to the present time, +twenty-eight years after the first of the transits, and twenty +years after the second, our observations have never been officially +published except to the extent I have stated. The importance of +the matter may be judged by the fact that the government expended +$375,000 on these observations, not counting the salaries of its +officers engaged in the work, or the cost of sailing a naval ship. +As I was a member of the commission charged with the work, and must +therefore bear my full share of the responsibility for this failure, +I think it proper to state briefly how it happened, hoping thereby +to enforce the urgent need of a better organization of some of our +scientific work. + +The work of reducing such observations, editing and preparing them for +the press, involved much computation to be done by assistants, and I, +being secretary of the commission, was charged with the execution +of this part of the work. The appropriations made by Congress for +the observations were considered available for the reduction also. +There was a small balance left over, and I estimated that $3000 more +would suffice to complete the work. This was obtained from Congress +in the winter of 1875. + +About the end of 1876 I was surprised to receive from the Treasury +Department a notification that the appropriation for the transit +of Venus was almost exhausted, when according to my accounts, more +than $3000 still remained. On inquiry it was found that the sum +appropriated about two years before had never been placed to the +credit of the transit of Venus commission, having been, in fact, +inserted in a different appropriation bill from that which contained +the former grant. + +I, as secretary of the commission, made an application to the Treasury +Department to have the sum, late though it was, placed to our credit. +But the money had been expended and nothing could be now done in the +matter. [3] The computers had therefore to be discharged and the work +stopped until a new appropriation could be obtained from Congress. + +During the session of 1876-77, $5000 was therefore asked for for +the reduction of the observations. It was refused by the House +committee on appropriations. I explained the matter to Mr. Julius +H. Seelye, formerly president of Amherst College, who was serving a +term in Congress. He took much interest in the subject, and moved +the insertion of the item when the appropriation bill came up before +the House. Mr. Atkins, chairman of the appropriations committee, +opposed the motion, maintaining that the Navy Department had under +its orders plenty of officers who could do the work, so there was +no need of employing the help of computers. But the House took +a different view, and inserted the item over the heads of the +appropriations committee. + +Now difficulties incident to the divided responsibility of the +commission were met with. During the interim between the death of +Admiral Davis, in February, 1877, and the coming of Admiral John +Rodgers as his successor, a legal question arose as to the power +of the commission over its members. The work had to stop until +it was settled, and I had to discharge my computers a second time. +After it was again started I discovered that I did not have complete +control of the funds appropriated for reducing the observations. +The result was that the computers had to be discharged and the work +stopped for the third time. This occurred not long before I started +out to observe the transit in 1882. For me the third hair was the +one that broke the camel's back. I turned the papers and work over +to Professor Harkness, by whom the subject was continued until he +was made astronomical director of the Naval Observatory in 1894. + +I do not know that the commission was ever formally dissolved. +Practically, however, its functions may be said to have terminated +in the year 1886, when a provision of law was enacted by which all +its property was turned over to the Secretary of the Navy. + +What the present condition of the work may be, and how much of it +is ready for the press, I cannot say. My impression is that it +is in that condition known in household language as "all done but +finishing." Whether it will ever appear is a question for the future. +All the men who took part in it or who understood its details are +either dead or on the retired list, and it is difficult for one not +familiar with it from the beginning to carry it to completion. + +[1] For the incidents connected with the English observations of +this transit, the author is indebted to Vice-Admiral W. H. Smyth's +curious and rare book, _Speculum Hartwellianum_, London, 1860. +It and other works of the same author may be described as queer and +interesting jumbles of astronomical and other information, thrown +into an interesting form; and, in the case of the present work, +spread through a finely illustrated quarto volume of nearly five +hundred pages. + +[2] "The War Department got ahead of us in the matter of furniture," +said an officer of the Navy Department to me long afterwards, when +the furniture for the new department building was being obtained. +"They knew enough to ask for a third more than they wanted; we reduced +our estimate to the lowest point. Both estimates were reduced one +third by the Appropriations Committee. The result is that they have +all the furniture they want, while we are greatly pinched." + +[3] As this result would not be possible under our present system, +which was introduced by the first Cleveland administration, I might +remark that it resulted from a practice on the part of the Treasury +of lumping appropriations on its books in order to simplify the +keeping of the accounts. + + + + +VII + +THE LICK OBSERVATORY + + +In the wonderful development of astronomical research in our country +during the past twenty years, no feature is more remarkable than +the rise on an isolated mountain in California of an institution +which, within that brief period, has become one of the foremost +observatories of the world. As everything connected with the early +history of such an institution must be of interest, it may not be +amiss if I devote a few pages to it. + +In 1874 the announcement reached the public eye that James Lick, an +eccentric and wealthy Californian, had given his entire fortune to +a board of trustees to be used for certain public purposes, one of +which was the procuring of the greatest and most powerful telescope +that had ever been made. There was nothing in the previous history +of the donor that could explain his interest in a great telescope. +I am sure he had never looked through a telescope in his life, and +that if he had, and had been acquainted with the difficulties of an +observation with it, it is quite likely the Lick Observatory would +never have existed. From his point of view, as, indeed, from that of +the public very generally, the question of telescopic vision is merely +one of magnifying power. By making an instrument large and powerful +enough we may hope even to discover rational beings on other planets. + +The president of the first board of trustees was Mr. D. O. Mills, +the well-known capitalist, who had been president of the Bank of +California. Mr. Mills visited Washington in the summer or autumn of +1874, and conferred with the astronomers there, among others myself, +on the question of the proposed telescope. I do not think that an +observatory properly so called was, at first, in Mr. Lick's mind; +all he wanted was an immense telescope. + +The question was complicated by the result of some correspondence +between Mr. Lick and the firm of Alvan Clark & Sons. The latter +had been approached to know the cost of constructing the desired +telescope. Without making any exact estimate, or deciding upon the +size of the greatest telescope that could be constructed, they named +a very large sum, $200,000 I believe, as the amount that could be +put into the largest telescope it was possible to make. Mr. Lick +deemed this estimate exorbitant, and refused to have anything more +to do with the firm. The question now was whether any one else +besides the Clarks could make what was wanted. + +I suggested to Mr. Mills that this question was a difficult one to +answer, as no European maker was known to rival the Clerks in skill in +the desired direction. It was impossible to learn what could be done +in Europe except by a personal visit to the great optical workshops +and a few observatories where great telescopes had been mounted. + +I also suggested that a director of the new establishment should +be chosen in advance of beginning active work, so that everything +should be done under his supervision. As such director I suggested +that very likely Professor Holden, then my assistant on the great +equatorial, might be well qualified. At least I could not, at the +moment, name any one I thought would be decidedly preferable to him. +I suggested another man as possibly available, but remarked that +he had been unfortunate. "I don't want to have anything to do +with unfortunate men," was the reply. The necessity of choosing +a director was not, however, evident, but communication was opened +with Professor Holden as well as myself to an extent that I did not +become aware of until long afterward. + +The outcome of Mr. Mills's visit was that in December, 1874, I was +invited to visit the European workshops as an agent of the Lick +trustees, with a view of determining whether there was any chance of +getting the telescope made abroad. The most difficult and delicate +question arose in the beginning; shall the telescope be a reflector +or a refractor? The largest and most powerful one that could be made +would be, undoubtedly, a reflector. And yet reflecting telescopes +had not, as a rule, been successful in permanent practical work. +The world's work in astronomy was done mainly with refracting +telescopes. This was not due to any inherent superiority in the +latter, but to the mechanical difficulties incident to so supporting +the great mirror of a reflecting telescope that it should retain its +figure in all positions. Assuming that the choice must fall upon a +refractor, unless proper guarantees for one of the other kind should +be offered, one of my first visits was to the glass firm of Chance & +Co. in Birmingham, who had cast the glass disks for the Washington +telescope. This firm and Feil of Paris were the only two successful +makers of great optical disks in the world. Chance & Co. offered +the best guarantees, while Feil had more enthusiasm than capital, +although his skill was of the highest. Another Paris firm was quite +willing to undertake the completion of the telescope, but it was also +evident that its price was suggested by the supposed liberality of an +eccentric California millionaire. I returned their first proposal +with the assurance that it would be useless to submit it. A second +was still too high to offer any inducement over the American firm. +Besides, there was no guarantee of the skill necessary to success. + +In Germany the case was still worse. The most renowned firm there, +the successors of Fraunhofer, were not anxious to undertake such +a contract. The outcome of the matter was that Howard Grubb, of +Dublin, was the only man abroad with whom negotiations could be +opened with any chance of success. He was evidently a genius who +meant business. Yet he had not produced a work which would justify +unlimited confidence in his ability to meet Mr. Lick's requirements. +The great Vienna telescope which he afterward constructed was then +only being projected. + +Not long after my return with this not very encouraging report, +Mr. Lick suddenly revoked his gift, through some dissatisfaction with +the proceedings of his trustees, and appointed a new board to carry +out his plans. This introduced legal complications, which were soon +settled by a friendly suit on the part of the old trustees, asking +authority to transfer their trust. The president of the new board was +Mr. Richard S. Floyd, a member of the well-known Virginia family of +that name, and a graduate, or at least a former cadet, of the United +States Naval Academy. I received a visit from him on his first trip +to the East in his official capacity, early in 1876, I believe. Some +correspondence with Mr. Lick's home representative ensued, of which +the most interesting feature was the donor's idea of a telescope. +He did not see why so elaborate and expensive a mounting as that +proposed was necessary, and thought that the object glass might be +mounted on the simplest kind of a pole or tower which would admit of +its having the requisite motions in connection with the eyepiece. +Whether I succeeded in convincing him of the impracticability of +his scheme, I do not know, as he died before the matter was settled. + +This left the trustees at liberty to build and organize the +institution as they deemed best. It was speedily determined that +the object glass should be shaped by the Clarks, who should also be +responsible for getting the rough disks. This proved to be a very +difficult task. Chance & Co. were unwilling to undertake the work and +Feil had gone out of business, leaving the manufacture in the hands +of his son. The latter also failed, and the father had to return. +Ultimately the establishment was purchased by Mantois, whose success +was remarkable. He soon showed himself able to make disks not only +of much larger size than had ever before been produced, but of a +purity and transparency which none before him had ever approached. +He died in 1899 or 1900, and it is to be hoped that his successor +will prove to be his equal. + +The original plan of Mr. Lick had been to found the observatory +on the borders of Lake Tahoe, but he grew dissatisfied with this +site and, shortly before his death, made provisional arrangements +for placing it on Mount Hamilton. In 1879 preparations had so far +advanced that it became necessary to decide whether this was really +a suitable location. I had grave doubts on the subject. A mountain +side is liable to be heated by the rays of the sun during the day, +and a current of warm air which would be fatal to the delicacy of +astronomical vision is liable to rise up the sides and envelope the +top of the mountain. I had even been informed that, on a summer +evening, a piece of paper let loose on the mountain top would be +carried up into the air by the current. But, after all, the proof of +the pudding is in the eating, and Holden united with me in advising +that an experienced astronomer with a telescope should be stationed +for a few weeks on the mountain in order to determine, by actual +trial, what the conditions of seeing were. The one best man for +this duty was S. W. Burnham of Chicago, who had already attained +a high position in the astronomical world by the remarkable skill +shown in his observations of double stars. So, in August, 1879, +huts were built on the mountain, and Burnham was transported thither +with his telescope. I followed personally in September. + +We passed three nights on the mountain with Captain Floyd, studying +the skies by night and prospecting around in the daytime to see +whether the mountain top or some point in the neighboring plateau +offered the best location for the observatory. So far as the +atmospheric conditions were concerned, the results were beyond our +most sanguine expectations. What the astronomer wants is not merely +a transparent atmosphere, but one of such steadiness that the image +of a star, as seen in a telescope, may not be disturbed by movements +of the air which are invisible to the naked eye. + +Burnham found that there were forty-two first-class nights during his +stay, and only seven which would be classed as low as medium. In the +East the number of nights which he would call first-class are but few +in a year, and even the medium night is by no means to be counted on. +No further doubt could remain that the top of the mountain was one +of the finest locations in the world for an astronomical observatory, +and it was definitely selected without further delay. + +Sometime after my return Mr. Floyd sent me a topographical sketch +of the mountain, with a request to prepare preliminary plans for the +observatory. As I had always looked on Professor Holden as probably +the coming director, I took him into consultation, and the plans +were made under our joint direction in my office. The position and +general arrangement of the buildings remain, so far as I am aware, +much as then planned; the principal change being the omission of a +long colonnade extending over the whole length of the main front in +order to secure an artistic and imposing aspect from the direction +of San José. + +In the summer of 1885, as I was in New York in order to sail +next day to Europe, I was surprised by a visit from Judge Hagar, +a prominent citizen of San Francisco, a member of the Board of +Regents of the University of California, and an active politician, +who soon afterward became collector of the port, to consult me on the +question of choosing Professor Holden as president of the university. +This was not to interfere with his becoming director of the Lick +Observatory whenever that institution should be organized, but was +simply a temporary arrangement to bridge over a difficulty. + +In the autumn of 1887 I received an invitation from Mr. Floyd to go +with him to Cleveland, in order to inspect the telescope, which was +now nearly ready for delivery. It was mounted in the year following, +and then Holden stepped from the presidency of the university into +the directorship of the observatory. + +The institution made its mark almost from the beginning. I know of no +example in the world in which young men, most of whom were beginners, +attained such success as did those whom Holden collected around him. +The names of Barnard, Campbell, and Schaeberle immediately became +well known in astronomy, owing to the excellence of their work. +Burnham was, of course, no beginner, being already well known, +nor was Keeler, who was also on the staff. + +In a few years commenced the epoch-making work of Campbell, in the +most refined and difficult problem of observational astronomy,--that +of the measurement of the motion of stars to or from us. Through the +application of photography and minute attention to details, this +work of the Lick Observatory almost immediately gained a position +of preëminence, which it maintains to the present time. If any +rival is to appear, it will probably be the Yerkes Observatory. +The friendly competition which we are likely to see between these +two establishments affords an excellent example of the spirit of +the astronomy of the future. Notwithstanding their rivalry, each +has done and will do all it can to promote the work of the other. + +The smiles of fortune have been bestowed even upon efforts that seemed +most unpromising. After work was well organized, Mr. Crossley, +of England, presented the observatory with a reflecting telescope +of large size, but which had never gained a commanding reputation. +No member of the staff at first seemed ambitious to get hold of such +an instrument, but, in time, Keeler gave it a trial in photographing +nebulæ. Then it was found that a new field lay open. The newly +acquired reflector proved far superior to other instruments for this +purpose, the photographic plates showing countless nebulæ in every +part of the sky, which the human eye was incapable of discerning in +the most powerful of telescopes. + +In 1892, only four years after the mounting of the telescope, came +the surprising announcement that the work of Galileo on Jupiter had +been continued by the discovery of a fifth satellite to that planet. +This is the most difficult object in the solar system, only one or two +observers besides Barnard having commanded the means of seeing it. +The incident of my first acquaintance with the discoverer is not +flattering to my pride, but may be worth recalling. + +In 1877 I was president of the American Association for the +Advancement of Science at the meeting held in Nashville. There I was +told of a young man a little over twenty years of age, a photographer +by profession, who was interested in astronomy, and who desired to see +me. I was, of course, very glad to make his acquaintance. I found +that with his scanty earnings he had managed either to purchase or +to get together the materials for making a small telescope. He was +desirous of doing something with it that might be useful in astronomy, +and wished to know what suggestions I could make in that line. I did +not for a moment suppose that there was a reasonable probability of +the young man doing anything better than amuse himself. At the same +time, feeling it a duty to encourage him, I suggested that there +was only one thing open to an astronomical observer situated as he +was, and that was the discovery of comets. I had never even looked +for a comet myself, and knew little about the methods of exploring +the heavens for one, except what had been told me by H. P. Tuttle. +But I gave him the best directions I could, and we parted. It is +now rather humiliating that I did not inquire more thoroughly into +the case. It would have taken more prescience than I was gifted +with to expect that I should live to see the bashful youth awarded +the gold medal of the Royal Astronomical Society for his work. + +The term of Holden's administration extended through some ten +years. To me its most singular feature was the constantly growing +unpopularity of the director. I call it singular because, if we +confine ourselves to the record, it would be difficult to assign +any obvious reason for it. One fact is indisputable, and that +is the wonderful success of the director in selecting young men +who were to make the institution famous by their abilities and +industry. If the highest problem of administration is to select +the right men, the new director certainly mastered it. So far as +liberty of research and publication went, the administration had +the appearance of being liberal in the extreme. Doubtless there +was another side to the question. Nothing happens spontaneously, +and the singular phenomenon of one who had done all this becoming a +much hated man must have an adequate cause. I have several times, +from pure curiosity, inquired about the matter of well-informed men. +On one occasion an instance of maladroitness was cited in reply. + +"True," said I, "it was not exactly the thing to do, but, after all, +that is an exceedingly small matter." + +"Yes," was the answer, "that was a small thing, but put a thousand +small things like that together, and you have a big thing." + +A powerful factor in the case may have been his proceeding, within +a year of his appointment, to file an astounding claim for the sum +of $12,000 on account of services rendered to the observatory in +the capacity of general adviser before his appointment as director. +These services extended from the beginning of preparations in 1874 +up to the completion of the work. The trustees in replying to the +claim maintained that I had been their principal adviser in preparing +the plans. However true this may have been, it was quite evident, +from Holden's statement, that they had been consulting him on a much +larger scale than I had been aware of. This, however, was none of +my concern. I ventured to express the opinion that the movement +was made merely to place on record a statement of the director's +services; and that no serious intention of forcing the matter to a +legal decision was entertained. This surmise proved to be correct, +as nothing more was heard of the claim. + +Much has been said of the effect of the comparative isolation of such +a community, which is apt to be provocative of internal dissension. +But this cause has not operated in the case of Holden's successors. +Keeler became the second director in 1897, and administered his office +with, so far as I know, universal satisfaction till his lamented +death in 1900. It would not be a gross overstatement to say that his +successor was named by the practically unanimous voice of a number +of the leading astronomers of the world who were consulted on the +subject, and who cannot but be pleased to see how completely their +advice has been justified by the result of Campbell's administration. + + + + +VIII + +THE AUTHOR'S SCIENTIFIC WORK + + +Perhaps an apology is due to the reader for my venturing to devote a +chapter to my own efforts in the scientific line. If so, I scarcely +know what apology to make, unless it is that one naturally feels +interested in matters relating to his own work, and hopes to share +that interest with his readers, and that it is easier for one to write +such an account for himself than for any one else to do it for him. + +Having determined to devote my life to the prosecution of exact +astronomy, the first important problem which I took up, while at +Cambridge, was that of the zone of minor planets, frequently called +asteroids, revolving between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. It was +formerly supposed that these small bodies might be fragments of a +large planet which had been shattered by a collision or explosion. +If such were the case, the orbits would, for a time at least, all +pass through the point at which the explosion occurred. When only +three or four were known, it was supposed that they did pass nearly +through the same point. When this was found not to be the case, +the theory of an explosion was in no way weakened, because, owing +to the gradual changes in the form and position of the orbits, +produced by the attraction of the larger planets, these orbits would +all move away from the point of intersection, and, in the course of +thousands of years, be so mixed up that no connection could be seen +between them. This result was that nothing could be said upon the +subject except that, if the catastrophe ever did occur, it must have +been many thousand years ago. The fact did not in any way militate +against the theory because, in view of the age of the universe, the +explosion might as well have occurred hundreds of thousands or even +millions of years ago as yesterday. To settle the question, general +formulæ must be found by which the positions of these orbits could +be determined at any time in the past, even hundreds of thousands of +years back. The general methods of doing this were known, but no +one had applied them to the especial case of these little planets. +Here, then, was an opportunity of tracing back the changes in these +orbits through thousands of centuries in order to find whether, at +a certain epoch in the past, so great a cataclysm had occurred as +the explosion of a world. Were such the case, it would be possible +almost to set the day of the occurrence. How great a feat would it +be to bring such an event at such a time to light! + +I soon found that the problem, in the form in which it had been +attacked by previous mathematicians, involved no serious difficulty. +At the Springfield meeting of the American Association for the +Advancement of Science, in 1859, I read a paper explaining the +method, and showed by a curve on the blackboard the changes +in the orbit of one of the asteroids for a period, I think, of +several hundred thousand years,--"beyond the memory of the oldest +inhabitants"--said one of the local newspapers. A month later it was +extended to three other asteroids, and the result published in the +"Astronomical Journal." In the following spring, 1860, the final +results of the completed work were communicated to the American +Academy of Arts and Sciences in a paper "On the Secular Variations +and Mutual Relations of the Orbits of the Asteroids." The question +of the possible variations in the orbits and the various relations +amongst them were here fully discussed. One conclusion was that, +so far as our present theory could show, the orbits had never passed +through any common point of intersection. + +The whole trend of thought and research since that time has been +toward the conclusion that no such cataclysm as that looked for ever +occurred, and that the group of small planets has been composed of +separate bodies since the solar system came into existence. It was, +of course, a great disappointment not to discover the cataclysm, but +next best to finding a thing is showing that it is not there. This, +it may be remarked, was the first of my papers to attract especial +notice in foreign scientific journals, though I had already published +several short notes on various subjects in the "Astronomical Journal." + +At this point I may say something of the problems of mathematical +astronomy in the middle of the last century. It is well known that +we shall at least come very near the truth when we say that the +planets revolve around the sun, and the satellites around their +primaries according to the law of gravitation. We may regard all +these bodies as projected into space, and thus moving according to +laws similar to that which governs the motion of a stone thrown +from the hand. If two bodies alone were concerned, say the sun +and a planet, the orbit of the lesser around the greater would be +an ellipse, which would never change its form, size, or position. +That the orbits of the planets and asteroids do change, and that they +are not exact ellipses, is due to their attraction upon each other. +The question is, do these mutual attractions completely explain all +the motions down to the last degree of refinement? Does any world +move otherwise than as it is attracted by other worlds? + +Two different lines of research must be brought to bear on the +question thus presented. We must first know by the most exact and +refined observations that the astronomer can make exactly how a +heavenly body does move. Its position, or, as we cannot directly +measure distance, its direction from us, must be determined as +precisely as possible from time to time. Its course has been +mapped out for it in advance by tables which are published in the +"Astronomical Ephemeris," and we may express its position by its +deviation from these tables. Then comes in the mathematical problem +how it ought to move under the attraction of all other heavenly bodies +that can influence its motion. The results must then be compared, +in order to see to what conclusion we may be led. + +This mathematical side of the question is of a complexity beyond +the powers of ordinary conception. I well remember that when, +familiar only with equations of algebra, I first looked into a +book on mechanics, I was struck by the complexity of the formulæ. +But this was nothing to what one finds when he looks into a work on +celestial mechanics, where a single formula may fill a whole chapter. +The great difficulty arises from the fact that the constant action +upon a planet exerted at every moment of time through days and +years by another planet affects its motion in all subsequent time. +The action of Jupiter upon our earth this morning changes its motion +forever, just as a touch upon a ball thrown by a pitcher will change +the direction of the ball through its whole flight. + +The wondrous perfection of mathematical research is shown by the +fact that we can now add up, as it were, all these momentary effects +through years and centuries, with a view of determining the combined +result at any one moment. It is true that this can be done only in an +imperfect way, and at the expense of enormous labor; but, by putting +more and more work into it, investigating deeper and deeper, taking +into account smaller and smaller terms of our formulæ, and searching +for the minutest effects, we may gradually approach, though we may +never reach, absolute exactness. Here we see the first difficulty +in reaching a definite conclusion. One cannot be quite sure that +a deviation is not due to some imperfection in mathematical method +until he and his fellows have exhausted the subject so thoroughly +as to show that no error is possible. This is hard indeed to do. + +Taking up the question on the observational side, a source of +difficulty and confusion at once presented itself. The motions +of a heavenly body from day to day and year to year are mapped out +by comparative observations on it and on the stars. The question +of the exact positions of the stars thus comes in. In determining +these positions with the highest degree of precision, a great variety +of data have to be used. The astronomer cannot reach a result by a +single step, nor by a hundred steps. He is like a sculptor chiseling +all the time, trying to get nearer and nearer the ideal form of his +statue, and finding that with every new feature he chisels out, +a defect is brought to light in other features. The astronomer, +when he aims at the highest mathematical precision in his results, +finds Nature warring with him at every step, just as if she wanted +to make his task as difficult as possible. She alters his personal +equation when he gets tired, makes him see a small star differently +from a bright one, gives his instrument minute twists with heat and +cold, sends currents of warm or cold air over his locality, which +refract the rays of light, asks him to keep the temperature in which +he works the same as that outside, in order to avoid refraction when +the air enters his observing room, and still will not let him do it, +because the walls and everything inside the room, being warmed up +during the day, make the air warmer than it is outside. With all +these obstacles which she throws in his way he must simply fight the +best he can, exerting untiring industry to eliminate their effects +by repeated observations under a variety of conditions. + +A necessary conclusion from all this is that the work of all observing +astronomers, so far as it could be used, must be combined into a +single whole. But here again difficulties are met at every step. +There has been, in times past, little or no concert of action among +astronomers at different observatories. The astronomers of each +nation, perhaps of each observatory, to a large extent, have gone +to work in their own way, using discordant data, perhaps not always +rigidly consistent, even in the data used in a single establishment. +How combine all the astronomical observations, found scattered +through hundreds of volumes, into a homogeneous whole? + +What is the value of such an attempt? Certainly if we measure value +by the actual expenditure of nations and institutions upon the work, +it must be very great. Every civilized nation expends a large annual +sum on a national observatory, while a still greater number of such +institutions are supported at corporate expense. Considering that +the highest value can be derived from their labors only by such a +combination as I have described, we may say the result is worth an +important fraction of what all the observatories of the world have +cost during the past century. + +Such was, in a general way, the great problem of exact astronomy +forty or fifty years ago. Its solution required extended coöperation, +and I do not wish to give the impression that I at once attacked it, +or even considered it as a whole. I could only determine to do my +part in carrying forward the work associated with it. + +Perhaps the most interesting and important branch of the problem +concerned the motion of the moon. This had been, ever since the +foundation of the Greenwich Observatory, in 1670, a specialty +of that institution. It is a curious fact, however, that while +that observatory supplied all the observations of the moon, +the investigations based upon these observations were made almost +entirely by foreigners, who also constructed the tables by which the +moon's motion was mapped out in advance. The most perfect tables +made were those of Hansen, the greatest master of mathematical +astronomy during the middle of the century, whose tables of the +moon were published by the British government in 1857. They were +based on a few of the Greenwich observations from 1750 to 1850. +The period began with 1750, because that was the earliest at which +observations of any exactness were made. Only a few observations +were used, because Hansen, with the limited computing force at +his command,--only a single assistant, I believe,--was not able to +utilize a great number of the observations. The rapid motion of the +moon, a circuit being completed in less than a month, made numerous +observations necessary, while the very large deviations in the +motion produced by the attraction of the sun made the problem of the +mathematical theory of that motion the most complicated in astronomy. +Thus it happened that, when I commenced work at the Naval Observatory +in 1861, the question whether the moon exactly followed the course +laid out for her by Hansen's tables was becoming of great importance. + +The same question arose in the case of the planets. So from a +survey of the whole field, I made observations of the sun, moon, +and planets my specialty at the observatory. If the astronomical +reader has before him the volume of observations for 1861, he will, +by looking at pages 366-440, be able to infer with nearly astronomical +precision the date when I reported for duty. + +For a year or two our observations showed that the moon seemed +to be falling a little behind her predicted motion. But this soon +ceased, and she gradually forged ahead in a much more remarkable way. +In five or six years it was evident that this was becoming permanent; +she was a little farther ahead every year. What could it mean? +To consider this question, I may add a word to what I have already +said on the subject. + +In comparing the observed and predicted motion of the moon, +mathematicians and astronomers, beginning with Laplace, have been +perplexed by what are called "inequalities of long period." For a +number of years, perhaps half a century, the moon would seem to be +running ahead, and then she would gradually relax her speed and fall +behind. Laplace suggested possible causes, but could not prove them. +Hansen, it was supposed, had straightened out the tangle by showing +that the action of Venus produced a swinging of this sort in the +moon; for one hundred and thirty years she would be running ahead +and then for one hundred and thirty years more falling back again, +like a pendulum. Two motions of this sort were combined together. +They were claimed to explain the whole difficulty. The moon, having +followed Hansen's theory for one hundred years, would not be likely +to deviate from it. Now, it was deviating. What could it mean? + +Taking it for granted, on Hansen's authority, that his tables +represented the motions of the moon perfectly since 1750, was there no +possibility of learning anything from observations before that date? +As I have already said, the published observations with the usual +instruments were not of that refined character which would decide +a question like this. But there is another class of observations +which might possibly be available for the purpose. + +Millions of stars, visible with large telescopes, are scattered +over the heavens; tens of thousands are bright enough to be seen +with small instruments, and several thousand are visible to any +ordinary eye. The moon, in her monthly course around the heavens, +often passes over a star, and of course hides it from view during +the time required for the passage. The great majority of stars +are so small that their light is obscured by the effulgence of +the moon as the latter approaches them. But quite frequently the +star passed over is so bright that the exact moment when the moon +reaches it can be observed with the utmost precision. The star then +disappears from view in an instant, as if its light were suddenly +and absolutely extinguished. This is called an occultation. +If the moment at which the disappearance takes place is observed, +we know that at that instant the apparent angle between the centre +of the moon and the star is equal to the moon's semi-diameter. +By the aid of a number of such observations, the path of the moon in +the heavens, and the time at which she arrives at each point of the +path, can be determined. In order that the determination may be of +sufficient scientific precision, the time of the occultation must be +known within one or two seconds; otherwise, we shall be in doubt how +much of the discrepancy may be due to the error of the observation, +and how much to the error of the tables. + +Occultations of some bright stars, such as Aldebaran and Antares, +can be observed by the naked eye; and yet more easily can those of +the planets be seen. It is therefore a curious historic fact that +there is no certain record of an actual observation of this sort +having been made until after the commencement of the seventeenth +century. Even then the observations were of little or no use, +because astronomers could not determine their time with sufficient +precision. It was not till after the middle of the century, when the +telescope had been made part of astronomical instruments for finding +the altitude of a heavenly body, and after the pendulum clock had +been invented by Huyghens, that the time of an occultation could be +fixed with the required exactness. Thus it happens that from 1640 +to 1670 somewhat coarse observations of the kind are available, and +after the latter epoch those made by the French astronomers become +almost equal to the modern ones in precision. + +The question that occurred to me was: Is it not possible that such +observations were made by astronomers long before 1750? Searching +the published memoirs of the French Academy of Sciences and the +Philosophical Transactions, I found that a few such observations were +actually made between 1660 and 1700. I computed and reduced a few of +them, finding with surprise that Hansen's tables were evidently much +in error at that time. But neither the cause, amount, or nature of +the error could be well determined without more observations than +these. Was it not possible that these astronomers had made more +than they published? The hope that material of this sort existed +was encouraged by the discovery at the Pulkowa Observatory of an +old manuscript by the French astronomer Delisle, containing some +observations of this kind. I therefore planned a thorough search +of the old records in Europe to see what could be learned. + +The execution of this plan was facilitated by the occurrence, +in December, 1870, of an eclipse of the sun in Spain and along the +Mediterranean. A number of parties were going out from this country +to observe it, two of which were fitted out at the Naval Observatory. +I was placed in charge of one of these, consisting, practically, +of myself. The results of my observation would be of importance +in the question of the moon's motion, but, although the eclipse was +ostensibly the main object, the proposed search of the records was +what I really had most in view. In Paris was to be found the most +promising mine; but the Franco-Prussian war was then going on, and +I had to wait for its termination. Then I made a visit to Paris, +which will be described in a later chapter. + +At the observatory the old records I wished to consult were placed +at my disposal, with full liberty not only to copy, but to publish +anything of value I could find in them. The mine proved rich beyond +the most sanguine expectation. After a little prospecting, I found +that the very observations I wanted had been made in great numbers +by the Paris astronomers, both at the observatory and at other points +in the city. + +And how, the reader may ask, did it happen that these observations +were not published by the astronomers who made them? Why should they +have lain unused and forgotten for two hundred years? The answer to +these questions is made plain enough by an examination of the records. +The astronomers had no idea of the possible usefulness and value of +what they were recording. So far as we can infer from their work, +they made the observations merely because an occultation was an +interesting thing to see; and they were men of sufficient scientific +experience and training to have acquired the excellent habit of +noting the time at which a phenomenon was observed. But they +were generally satisfied with simply putting down the clock time. +How they could have expected their successors to make any use of +such a record, or whether they had any expectations on the subject, +we cannot say with confidence. It will be readily understood that no +clocks of the present time (much less those of two hundred years ago) +run with such precision that the moment read from the clock is exact +within one or two seconds. The modern astronomer does not pretend +to keep his clock correct within less than a minute; he determines +by observation how far it is wrong, on each date of observation, +and adds so much to the time given by the clock, or subtracts it, +as the case may be, in order to get the correct moment of true time. +In the case of the French astronomers, the clock would frequently +be fifteen minutes or more in error, for the reason that they used +apparent time, instead of mean time as we do. Thus when, as was often +the case, the only record found was that, at a certain hour, minute, +and second, by a certain clock, _une étoile se cache par la lune_, +a number of very difficult problems were presented to the astronomer +who was to make use of the observations two centuries afterward. +First of all, he must find out what the error of the clock was at the +designated hour, minute, and second; and for this purpose he must +reduce the observations made by the observer in order to determine +the error. But it was very clear that the observer did not expect +any successor to take this trouble, and therefore did not supply +him with any facilities for so doing. He did not even describe +the particular instrument with which the observations were made, +but only wrote down certain figures and symbols, of a more or less +hieroglyphic character. It needed much comparison and examination +to find out what sort of an instrument was used, how the observations +were made, and how they should be utilized for the required purpose. + +Generally the star which the moon hid was mentioned, but not in all +cases. If it was not, the identification of the star was a puzzling +problem. The only way to proceed was to calculate the apparent +position of the centre of the moon as seen by an observer at the Paris +Observatory, at the particular hour and minute of the observation. +A star map was then taken; the points of a pair of dividers were +separated by the length of the moon's radius, as it would appear +on the scale of the map; one point of the dividers was put into +the position of the moon's centre on the map, and with the other a +circle was drawn. This circle represented the outline of the moon, +as it appeared to the observer at the Paris Observatory, at the hour +and minute in question, on a certain day in the seventeenth century. +The star should be found very near the circumference of the circle, +and in nearly all cases a star was there. + +Of course all this could not be done on the spot. What had to be +done was to find the observations, study their relations and the +method of making them, and copy everything that seemed necessary +for working them up. This took some six weeks, but the material I +carried away proved the greatest find I ever made. Three or four +years were spent in making all the calculations I have described. +Then it was found that seventy-five years were added, at a single +step, to the period during which the history of the moon's motion +could be written. Previously this history was supposed to commence +with the observations of Bradley, at Greenwich, about 1750; now it +was extended back to 1675, and with a less degree of accuracy thirty +years farther still. Hansen's tables were found to deviate from +the truth, in 1675 and subsequent years, to a surprising extent; +but the cause of the deviation is not entirely unfolded even now. + +During the time I was doing this work, Paris was under the reign +of the Commune and besieged by the national forces. The studies +had to be made within hearing of the besieging guns; and I could +sometimes go to a window and see flashes of artillery from one of the +fortifications to the south. Nearly every day I took a walk through +the town, occasionally as far as the Arc. As my observations during +these walks have no scientific value, I shall postpone an account +of what I saw to another chapter. + +One curious result of this work is that the longitude of the moon may +now be said to be known with greater accuracy through the last quarter +of the seventeenth century than during the ninety years from 1750 to +1840. The reason is that, for this more modern period, no effective +comparison has been made between observations and Hansen's tables. + + +Just as this work was approaching completion I was called upon to +decide a question which would materially influence all my future +activity. The lamented death of Professor Winlock in 1875 left vacant +the directorship of the Harvard Observatory. A month or two later I +was quite taken by surprise to receive a letter from President Eliot +tendering me this position. I thus had to choose between two courses. +One led immediately to a professorship in Harvard University, +with all the distinction and worldly advantages associated with it, +including complete freedom of action, an independent position, and +the opportunity of doing such work as I deemed best with the limited +resources at the disposal of the observatory. On the other hand +was a position to which the official world attached no importance, +and which brought with it no worldly advantages whatever. + +I first consulted Mr. Secretary Robeson on the matter. The force with +which he expressed himself took me quite by surprise. "By all means +accept the place; don't remain in the government service a day longer +than you have to. A scientific man here has no future before him, and +the quicker he can get away the better." Then he began to descant on +our miserable "politics" which brought about such a state of things. + +Such words, coming from a sagacious head of a department who, one +might suppose, would have been sorry to part with a coadjutor of +sufficient importance to be needed by Harvard University, seemed to +me very suggestive. And yet I finally declined the place, perhaps +unwisely for myself, though no one who knows what the Cambridge +Observatory has become under Professor Pickering can feel that +Harvard has any cause to regret my decision. An apology for it on +my own behalf will seem more appropriate. + +On the Cambridge side it must be remembered that the Harvard +Observatory was then almost nothing compared with what it is now. +It was poor in means, meagre in instrumental outfit, and wanting in +working assistants; I think the latter did not number more than three +or four, with perhaps a few other temporary employees. There seemed +little prospect of doing much. + +On the Washington side was the fact that I was bound to Washington +by family ties, and that, if Harvard needed my services, surely +the government needed them much more. True, this argument was, +for the time, annulled by the energetic assurance of Secretary +Robeson, showing that the government felt no want of any one in +its service able to command a university professorship. But I was +still pervaded by the optimism of youth in everything that concerned +the future of our government, and did not believe that, with the +growth of intelligence in our country, an absence of touch between +the scientific and literary classes on the one side, and "politics" +on the other, could continue. In addition to this was the general +feeling by which I have been actuated from youth--that one ought to +choose that line of activity for which Nature had best fitted him, +trusting that the operation of moral causes would, in the end, +right every wrong, rather than look out for place and preferment. +I felt that the conduct of government astronomy was that line of +activity for which I was best fitted, and that, in the absence +of strong reason to the contrary, it had better not be changed. +In addition to these general considerations was the special point +that, in the course of a couple of years, the directorship of the +Nautical Almanac would become vacant, and here would be an unequaled +opportunity for carrying on the work in mathematical astronomy I +had most at heart. Yet, could I have foreseen that the want of +touch which I have already referred to would not be cured, that I +should be unable to complete the work I had mapped out before my +retirement, or to secure active public interest in its continuance, +my decision would perhaps have been different. + +On September 15, 1877, I took charge of the Nautical Almanac Office. +The change was one of the happiest of my life. I was now in a +position of recognized responsibility, where my recommendations met +with the respect due to that responsibility, where I could make plans +with the assurance of being able to carry them out, and where the +countless annoyances of being looked upon as an important factor in +work where there was no chance of my being such would no longer exist. +Practically I had complete control of the work of the office, and +was thus, metaphorically speaking, able to work with untied hands. +It may seem almost puerile to say this to men of business experience, +but there is a current notion, spread among all classes, that because +the Naval Observatory has able and learned professors, therefore +they must be able to do good and satisfactory work, which may be +worth correcting. + +I found my new office in a rather dilapidated old dwelling-house, +about half a mile or less from the observatory, in one of those +doubtful regions on the border line between a slum and the lowest +order of respectability. If I remember aright, the only occupants +of the place were the superintendent, my old friend Mr. Loomis, +senior assistant, who looked after current business, a proof-reader +and a messenger. All the computers, including even one copyist, +did their work at their homes. + +A couple of changes had to be made in the interest of efficiency. +The view taken of one of these may not only interest the reader, +but give him an idea of what people used to think of government +service before the era of civil service reform. The proof-reader +was excellent in every respect except that of ability to perform +his duty. He occupied a high position, I believe, in the Grand +Army of the Republic, and thus wielded a good deal of influence. +When his case was appealed to the Secretary of the Navy, apellant +was referred to me. I stated the trouble to counsel,--he did not +appear to see figures, or be able to distinguish whether they were +right or wrong, and therefore was useless as a proof-reader. + +"It is not his fault," was the reply; "he nearly lost his eyesight +in the civil war, and it is hard for him to see at all." In the +view of counsel that explanation ought to have settled the case in +his favor. It did not, however, but "influence" had no difficulty +in making itself more successful in another field. + +Among my first steps was that of getting a new office in the top of +the Corcoran Building, then just completed. It was large and roomy +enough to allow quite a number of assistants around me. + +Much of the work was then, as now, done by the piece, or annual +job, the computers on it very generally working at their homes. +This offers many advantages for such work; the government is not +burdened with an officer who must be paid his regular monthly salary +whether he supplies his work or not, and whom it is unpleasant and +difficult to get rid of in case of sickness or breakdown of any +sort. The work is paid for when furnished, and the main trouble of +administration saved. It is only necessary to have a brief report +from time to time, showing that the work is actually going on. + +I began with a careful examination of the relation of prices to work, +making an estimate of the time probably necessary to do each job. +Among the performers of the annual work were several able and eminent +professors at various universities and schools. I found that they +were being paid at pretty high professional prices. I recall with +great satisfaction that I was able to reduce the prices and, step by +step, concentrate all the work in Washington, without detriment to +the pleasant relations I sustained with these men, some of them old +and intimate friends. These economies went on increasing year by +year, and every dollar that was saved went into the work of making +the tables necessary for the future use of the Ephemeris. + +The programme of work which I mapped out, involved, as one branch of +it, a discussion of all the observations of value on the positions +of the sun, moon, and planets, and incidentally, on the bright fixed +stars, made at the leading observatories of the world since 1750. +One might almost say it involved repeating, in a space of ten or +fifteen years, an important part of the world's work in astronomy for +more than a century past. Of course, this was impossible to carry out +in all its completeness. In most cases what I was obliged practically +to confine myself to was a correction of the reductions already made +and published. Still, the job was one with which I do not think +any astronomical one ever before attempted by a single person could +compare in extent. The number of meridian observations on the sun, +Mercury, Venus, and Mars alone numbered 62,030. They were made at the +observatories of Greenwich, Paris, Königsberg, Pulkowa, Cape of Good +Hope,--but I need not go over the entire list, which numbers thirteen. + +The other branches of the work were such as I have already +described,--the computation of the formulæ for the perturbation of +the various planets by each other. As I am writing for the general +reader, I need not go into any further technical description of this +work than I have already done. Something about my assistants may, +however, be of interest. They were too numerous to be all recalled +individually. In fact, when the work was at its height, the office +was, in the number of its scientific employees, nearly on an equality +with the three or four greatest observatories of the world. + +One of my experiences has affected my judgment on the general morale +of the educated young men of our country. In not a single case did I +ever have an assistant who tried to shirk his duty to the government, +nor do I think there was more than a single case in which one tried +to contest my judgment of his own merits, or those of his work. +I adopted the principle that promotion should be by merit rather than +by seniority, and my decisions on that matter were always accepted +without complaint. I recall two men who voluntarily resigned when +they found that, through failure of health or strength, they were +unable to properly go on with their work. In frankness I must admit +that there was one case in which I had a very disagreeable contest in +getting rid of a learned gentleman whose practical powers were so far +inferior to his theoretical knowledge that he was almost useless in +the office. He made the fiercest and most determined fight in which +I was ever engaged, but I must, in justice to all concerned, say that +his defect was not in will to do his work but in the requisite power. +Officially I was not without fault, because, in the press of matters +requiring my attention, I had entrusted too much to him, and did +not discover his deficiencies until some mischief had been done. + + +Perhaps the most eminent and interesting man associated with me +during this period was Mr. George W. Hill, who will easily rank as +the greatest master of mathematical astronomy during the last quarter +of the nineteenth century. The only defect of his make-up of which +I have reason to complain is the lack of the teaching faculty. +Had this been developed in him, I could have learned very much +from him that would have been to my advantage. In saying this +I have one especial point in mind. In beginning my studies in +celestial mechanics, I lacked the guidance of some one conversant +with the subject on its practical side. Two systems of computing +planetary perturbations had been used, one by Leverrier, while the +other was invented by Hansen. The former method was, in principle, +of great simplicity, while the latter seemed to be very complex and +even clumsy. I naturally supposed that the man who computed the +direction of the planet Neptune before its existence was known, must +be a master of the whole subject, and followed the lines he indicated. +I gradually discovered the contrary, and introduced modified methods, +but did not entirely break away from the old trammels. Hill had never +been bound by them, and used Hansen's method from the beginning. +Had he given me a few demonstrations of its advantages, I should +have been saved a great deal of time and labor. + +The part assigned to Hill was about the most difficult in the whole +work,--the theory of Jupiter and Saturn. Owing to the great mass of +these "giant planets," the inequalities of their motion, especially +in the case of Saturn, affected by the attraction of Jupiter, is +greater than in the case of the other planets. Leverrier failed to +attain the necessary exactness in his investigation of their motion. +Hill had done some work on the subject at his home in Nyack Turnpike +before I took charge of the office. He now moved to Washington, +and seriously began the complicated numerical calculations which +his task involved. I urged that he should accept the assistance of +less skilled computers; but he declined it from a desire to do the +entire work himself. Computers to make the duplicate computations +necessary to guard against accidental numerical errors on his part +were all that he required. He labored almost incessantly for about +ten years, when he handed in the manuscript of what now forms Volume +IV. of the "Astronomical Papers." + +A pleasant incident occurred in 1884, when the office was honored +by a visit from Professor John C. Adams of England, the man who, +independently of Leverrier, had computed the place of Neptune, but +failed to receive the lion's share of the honor because it happened to +be the computations of the Frenchman and not his which led immediately +to the discovery of the planet. It was of the greatest interest to +me to bring two such congenial spirits as Adams and Hill together. + +It would be difficult to find a more impressive example than +that afforded by Hill's career, of the difficulty of getting the +public to form and act upon sane judgments in such cases as his. +The world has the highest admiration for astronomical research, and +in this sentiment our countrymen are foremost. They spend hundreds +of thousands of dollars to promote it. They pay good salaries to +professors who chance to get a certain official position where they +may do good work. And here was perhaps the greatest living master in +the highest and most difficult field of astronomy, winning world-wide +recognition for his country in the science, and receiving the salary +of a department clerk. I never wrestled harder with a superior +than I did with Hon. R. W. Thompson, Secretary of the Navy, about +1880, to induce him to raise Mr. Hill's salary from $1200 to $1400. +It goes without saying that Hill took even less interest in the +matter than I did. He did not work for pay, but for the love of +science. His little farm at Nyack Turnpike sufficed for his home, +and supplied his necessities so long as he lived there, and all +he asked in Washington was the means of going on with his work. +The deplorable feature of the situation is, that this devotion to +his science, instead of commanding due recognition on the public +and official side, rather tended to create an inadequate impression +of the importance of what he was doing. That I could not secure +for him at least the highest official consideration is among the +regretful memories of my official life. + +Although, so far as the amount of labor is concerned, Mr. Hill's +work upon Jupiter and Saturn is the most massive he ever undertook, +his really great scientific merit consists in the development of a +radically new method of computing the inequalities of the moon's +motion, which is now being developed and applied by Professor +E. W. Brown. His most marked intellectual characteristic is the +eminently practical character of his researches. He does not aim +so much at elegant mathematical formulæ, as to determine with the +greatest precision the actual quantities of which mathematical +astronomy stands in need. In this direction he has left every +investigator of recent or present time far in the rear. + +After the computations on Jupiter and Saturn were made, it was +necessary to correct their orbits and make tables of their motions. +This work I left entirely in Mr. Hill's hands, the only requirement +being that the masses of the planets and other data which he +adopted should be uniform with those I used in the rest of the +work. His tables were practically completed in manuscript at the +beginning of 1892. When they were through, doubtless feeling, as +well he might, that he had done his whole duty to science and the +government, Mr. Hill resigned his office and returned to his home. +During the summer he paid a visit to Europe, and visiting the +Cambridge University, was honored with the degree of Doctor of Laws, +along with a distinguished company, headed by the Duke of Edinburgh. +One of the pleasant things to recall was that, during the fifteen +years of our connection, there was never the slightest dissension +or friction between us. + +I may add that the computations which he made on the theory of +Jupiter and Saturn are all preserved complete and in perfect form +at the Nautical Almanac Office, so that, in case any question should +arise respecting them in future generations, the point can be cleared +up by an inspection. + + +In 1874, three years before I left the observatory, I was informed +by Dr. Henry Draper that he had a mechanical assistant who showed +great fondness for and proficiency in some work in mathematical +astronomy. I asked to see what he was doing, and received a +collection of papers of a remarkable kind. They consisted mainly +of some of the complicated developments of celestial mechanics. +In returning them I wrote to Draper that, when I was ready to begin +my work on the planetary theories, I must have his man,--could he +possibly be spared? But he came to me before the time, while I was +carrying on some investigations with aid afforded by the Smithsonian +Institution. Of course, when I took charge of the Nautical Almanac +Office, he was speedily given employment on its work. His name +was John Meier, a Swiss by birth, evidently from the peasant class, +but who had nevertheless been a pupil of Professor Rudolph Wolf at +Zurich. Emigrating to this country, he was, during the civil war, +an engineer's mate or something of that grade in the navy. He was +the most perfect example of a mathematical machine that I ever had +at command. Of original power,--the faculty of developing new methods +and discovering new problems, he had not a particle. Happily for his +peace of mind, he was totally devoid of worldly ambition. I had only +to prepare the fundamental data for him, explain what was wanted, +write down the matters he was to start with, and he ground out +day after day the most complicated algebraic and trigonometrical +computations with untiring diligence and almost unerring accuracy. + +But a dark side of the picture showed itself very suddenly and +unexpectedly in a few years. For the most selfish reasons, if for +no others, I desired that his peace of mind should be undisturbed. +The result was that I was from time to time appealed to as an +arbitrator of family dissensions, in which it was impossible to +say which side was right and which wrong. Then, as a prophylactic +against malaria, his wife administered doses of whiskey. The rest +of the history need not be told. It illustrates the maxim that +"blood will tell," which I fear is as true in scientific work as in +any other field of human activity. + +A man of totally different blood, the best in fact, entered the +office shortly before Meier broke down. This was Mr. Cleveland +Keith, son of Professor Reuel Keith, who was one of the professors +at the observatory when it was started. His patience and ability +led to his gradually taking the place of a foreman in supervising +the work pertaining to the reduction of the observations, and the +construction of the tables of the planets. Without his help, I fear +I should never have brought the tables to a conclusion. He died in +1896, just as the final results of the work were being put together. + + +High among the troublesome problems with which I had to deal while +in charge of the Nautical Almanac, was that of universal time. +All but the youngest of my readers will remember the period when every +railway had its own meridian, by the time of which its trains were +run, which had to be changed here and there in the case of the great +trunk lines, and which seldom agreed with the local time of a place. +In the Pennsylvania station at Pittsburg were three different times; +one that of Philadelphia, one of some point farther west, and the +third the local Pittsburg time. The traveler was constantly liable +to miss a train, a connection, or an engagement by the doubt and +confusion thus arising. + +This was remedied in 1883 by the adoption of our present system of +standard times of four different meridians, the introduction of which +was one of the great reforms of our generation. When this change +was made, I was in favor of using Washington time as the standard, +instead of going across the ocean to Greenwich for a meridian. +But those who were pressing the measure wanted to have a system for +the whole world, and for this purpose the meridian of Greenwich was +the natural one. Practically our purpose was served as well by the +Greenwich meridian as it would have been by that of Washington. + +The year following this change an international meridian conference +was held at Washington, on the invitation of our government, to +agree upon a single prime meridian to be adopted by the whole world +in measuring longitudes and indicating time. + +Of course the meridian of Greenwich was the only one that would +answer the purpose. This had already been adopted by several leading +maritime nations, including ourselves as well as Great Britain. +It was merely a question of getting the others to fall into line. +No conference was really necessary for this purpose, because the +dissentients caused much more inconvenience to themselves than to any +one else by their divergent practice. The French held out against the +adoption of the Greenwich meridian, and proposed one passing through +Behring Strait. I was not a member of the conference, but was invited +to submit my views, which I did orally. I ventured to point out to +the Frenchmen that the meridian of Greenwich also belonged to France, +passing near Havre and intersecting their country from north to south. +It was therefore as much a French as an English meridian, and could +be adopted without any sacrifice of national position. But they +were not convinced, and will probably hold out until England adopts +the metric system, on which occasion it is said that they will be +prepared to adopt the Greenwich meridian. + +One proceeding of the conference illustrates a general characteristic +of reformers. Almost without debate, certainly without adequate +consideration, the conference adopted a recommendation that +astronomers and navigators should change their system of reckoning +time. Both these classes have, from time immemorial, begun the day +at noon, because this system was most natural and convenient, when +the question was not that of a measure of time for daily life, but +simply to indicate with mathematical precision the moment of an event. +Navigators had begun the day at noon, because the observations of the +sun, on which the latitude of a ship depends, are necessarily made at +noon, and the run of the ship is worked up immediately afterward. +The proposed change would have produced unending confusion in +astronomical nomenclature, owing to the difficulty of knowing in all +cases which system of time was used in any given treatise or record +of observations. I therefore felt compelled, in the general interest +of science and public convenience, to oppose the project with all my +power, suggesting that, if the new system must be put into operation, +we should wait until the beginning of a new century. + +"I hope you will succeed in having its adoption postponed until +1900," wrote Airy to me, "and when 1900 comes, I hope you will +further succeed in having it again postponed until the year 2000." + +The German official astronomers, and indeed most of the official ones +everywhere, opposed the change, but the efforts on the other side +were vigorously continued. The British Admiralty was strongly urged +to introduce the change into the Nautical Almanac, and the question +of doing this was warmly discussed in various scientific journals. + +One result of this movement was that, in 1886, Rear-Admiral +George H. Belknap, superintendent of the Naval Observatory, +and myself were directed to report on the question. I drew up a +very elaborate report, discussing the subject especially in its +relations to navigation, pointing out in the strongest terms I +could the danger of placing in the hands of navigators an almanac +in which the numbers were given in a form so different from that to +which they were accustomed. If they chanced to forget the change, +the results of their computations might be out to any extent, to the +great danger and confusion of their reckoning, while not a solitary +advantage would be gained by it. + +There is some reason to suppose that this document found its way +to the British Admiralty, but I never heard a word further on the +subject except that it ceased to be discussed in London. A few years +later some unavailing efforts were made to revive the discussion, but +the twentieth century is started without this confusing change being +introduced into the astronomical ephemerides and nautical almanacs +of the world, and navigators are still at liberty to practice the +system they find most convenient. + + +In 1894 I had succeeded in bringing so much of the work as pertained +to the reduction of the observations and the determination of the +elements of the planets to a conclusion. So far as the larger planets +were concerned, it only remained to construct the necessary tables, +which, however, would be a work of several years. + +With the year 1896 came what was perhaps the most important event +in my whole plan. I have already remarked upon the confusion which +pervaded the whole system of exact astronomy, arising from the +diversity of the fundamental data made use of by the astronomers of +foreign countries and various institutions in their work. It was, +I think, rather exceptional that any astronomical result was based +on entirely homogeneous and consistent data. To remedy this state of +things and start the exact astronomy of the twentieth century on one +basis for the whole world, was one of the objects which I had mapped +out from the beginning. Dr. A. M. W. Downing, superintendent of the +British Nautical Almanac, was struck by the same consideration and +animated by the same motive. He had especially in view to avoid +the duplication of work which arose from the same computations +being made in different countries for the same result, whereby much +unnecessary labor was expended. The field of astronomy is so vast, +and the quantity of work urgently required to be done so far beyond +the power of any one nation, that a combination to avoid all such +waste was extremely desirable. When, in 1895, my preliminary results +were published, he took the initiative in a project for putting the +idea into effect, by proposing an international conference of the +directors of the four leading ephemerides, to agree upon a uniform +system of data for all computations pertaining to the fixed stars. +This conference was held in Paris in May, 1896. After several days +of discussion, it resolved that, beginning with 1901, a certain set +of constants should be used in all the ephemerides, substantially +the same as those I had worked out, but without certain ulterior, +though practically unimportant, modifications which I had applied +for the sake of symmetry. My determination of the positions and +motions of the bright fixed stars, which I had not yet completed, +was adopted in advance for the same purpose, I agreeing to complete +it if possible in time for use in 1901. I also agreed to make a new +determination of the constant of precession, that which I had used in +my previous work not being quite satisfactory. All this by no means +filled the field of exact astronomy, yet what was left outside of it +was of comparatively little importance for the special object in view. + +More than a year after the conference I was taken quite by surprise +by a vigorous attack on its work and conclusions on the part of +Professor Lewis Boss, director of the Dudley Observatory, warmly +seconded by Mr. S. C. Chandler of Cambridge, the editor of the +"Astronomical Journal." The main grounds of attack were two +in number. The time was not ripe for concluding upon a system of +permanent astronomical standards. Besides this, the astronomers of +the country should have been consulted before a decision was reached. + +Ultimately the attack led to a result which may appear curious to +the future astronomer. He will find the foreign ephemerides using +uniform data worked out in the office of the "American Ephemeris and +Nautical Almanac" at Washington for the years beginning with 1901. +He will find that these same data, after being partially adopted in +the ephemeris for 1900, were thrown out in 1901, and the antiquated +ones reintroduced in the main body of the ephemeris. The new ones +appear simply in an appendix. + +As, under the operation of law, I should be retired from active +service in the March following the conference, it became a serious +question whether I should be able to finish the work that had been +mapped out, as well as the planetary tables. Mr. Secretary Herbert, +on his own motion so far as I know, sent for me to inquire into the +subject. The result of the conference was a movement on his part +to secure an appropriation somewhat less than the highest salary of +a professor, to compensate me for the completion of the work after +my retirement. The House Committee on Appropriations, ever mindful +of economy in any new item, reduced the amount to a clerical salary. +The committee of conference compromised on a mean between the two. +It happened that the work on the stars was not specified in the +law,--only the tables of the planets. In consequence I had no legal +right to go on with the former, although the ephemerides of Europe +were waiting for the results. After much trouble an arrangement +was effected under which the computers on the work were not to be +prohibited from consulting me in its prosecution. + +Astronomical work is never really done and finished. The questions +growing out of the agreement or non-agreement of the tables with +observations still remain to be studied, and require an immense amount +of computation. In what country and by whom these computations will +be made no one can now tell. The work which I most regretted to leave +unfinished was that on the motion of the moon. As I have already +said, this work is complete to 1750. The computations for carrying +it on from 1750 to the present time were perhaps three fourths done +when I had to lay them aside. In 1902, when the Carnegie Institution +was organized, it made a grant for supplying me with the computing +assistance and other facilities necessary for the work, and the +Secretary of the Navy allowed me the use of the old computations. +Under such auspices the work was recommenced in March, 1903. + +So far as I can recall, I never asked anything from the government +which would in any way promote my personal interests. The only +exception, if such it is, is that during the civil war I joined with +other professors in asking that we be put on the same footing with +other staff corps of the navy as regarded pay and rank. So far as +my views were concerned, the rank was merely a _pro forma_ matter, +as I never could see any sound reason for a man pursuing astronomical +duties caring to have military rank. + +In conducting my office also, the utmost economy was always studied. +The increase in the annual appropriations for which I asked was so +small that, when I left the office in 1877, they were just about the +same as they were back in the fifties, when it was first established. +The necessary funds were saved by economical administration. All this +was done with a feeling that, after my retirement, the satisfaction +with which one could look back on such a policy would be enhanced by +a feeling on the part of the representatives of the public that the +work I had done must be worthy of having some pains taken to secure +its continuance in the same spirit. + +I do not believe that the men who conduct our own government are a +whit behind the foremost of other countries in the desire to promote +science. If after my retirement no special measures were deemed +necessary to secure the continuance of the work in which I had been +engaged, I prefer to attribute it to adventitious circumstances rather +than to any undervaluation of scientific research by our authorities. + + + + +IX + +SCIENTIFIC WASHINGTON + + +It is sometimes said that no man, in passing away, leaves a place +which cannot be equally well filled by another. This is doubtless +true in all ordinary cases. But scientific research, and scientific +affairs generally at the national capital, form an exception to many +of the rules drawn from experience in other fields. + +Professor Joseph Henry, first secretary of the Smithsonian +Institution, was a man of whom it may be said, without any reflection +on men of our generation, that he held a place which has never +been filled. I do not mean his official place, but his position +as the recognized leader and exponent of scientific interests at +the national capital. A world-wide reputation as a scientific +investigator, exalted character and inspiring presence, broad views +of men and things, the love and esteem of all, combined to make him +the man to whom all who knew him looked for counsel and guidance +in matters affecting the interests of science. Whether any one +could since have assumed this position, I will not venture to say; +but the fact seems to be that no one has been at the same time able +and willing to assume it. + +On coming to Washington I soon became very intimate with Professor +Henry, and I do not think there was any one here to whom he set +forth his personal wishes and convictions respecting the policy +of the Smithsonian Institution and its relations to the government +more freely than he did to me. As every point connected with the +history and policy of this establishment is of world-wide interest, +and as Professor Henry used to put some things in a different light +from that shed upon the subject by current publications, I shall +mention a few points that might otherwise be overlooked. + +It has always seemed to me that a deep mystery enshrouded the act +of Smithson in devising his fortune as he did. That an Englishman, +whose connections and associations were entirely with the intellectual +classes,--who had never, so far as is known, a single American +connection, or the slightest inclination toward democracy,--should, +in the intellectual condition of our country during the early +years of the century, have chosen its government as his trustee +for the foundation of a scientific institution, does of itself seem +singular enough. What seems yet more singular is that no instructions +whatever were given in his will or found in his papers beyond the +comprehensive one "to found an institution at Washington to be +called the Smithsonian Institution for the increase and diffusion +of knowledge among men." No plan of the institution, no scrap +of paper which might assist in the interpretation of the mandate, +was ever discovered. Not a word respecting his intention was ever +known to have been uttered. Only a single remark was ever recorded +which indicated that he had anything unusual in view. He did at one +time say, "My name shall live in the memory of men when the titles +of the Northumberlands and the Percys are extinct and forgotten." + +One result of this failure to indicate a plan for the institution was +that, when the government received the money, Congress was at a loss +what to do with it. Some ten years were spent in discussing schemes +of various kinds, among them that of declining the gift altogether. +Then it was decided that the institution should be governed by a +Board of Regents, who should elect a secretary as their executive +officer and the administrator of the institution. The latter was to +include a library, a museum, and a gallery of art. The plans for +the fine structure, so well known to every visitor to the capital, +were prepared, the building was started, the regents organized, +and Professor Henry made secretary. + +We might almost say that Henry was opposed to every special function +assigned to the institution by the organic law. He did not agree +with me as to any mystery surrounding the intentions of the founder. +To him they were perfectly clear. Smithson was a scientific +investigator; and the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men +could be best promoted on the lines that he desired, by scientific +investigation and the publication of scientific researches. For this +purpose a great building was not necessary, and he regretted all the +money spent on it. The library, museum, and gallery of art would +be of only local advantage, whereas "diffusion among men" implied +all men, whether they could visit Washington or not. It was clearly +the business of the government to supply purely local facilities for +study and research, and the endowment of Smithson should not be used +for such a purpose. + +His opposition to the building tinged the whole course of his thought. +I doubt whether he was ever called upon by founders of institutions +of any sort for counsel without his warning them to beware of spending +their money in bricks and mortar. The building being already started +before he took charge, and the three other objects being sanctioned +by law, he was, of course, hampered in carrying out his views. +But he did his utmost to reduce to a minimum the amount of the fund +that should be devoted to the objects specified. + +This policy brought on the most animated contest in the history +of the institution. It was essential that his most influential +assistants should share his views or at least not thwart them. This, +he found, was not the case. The librarian, Mr. C. C. Jewett, an able +and accomplished man in the line of his profession, was desirous of +collecting one of the finest scientific libraries. A contest arose, +to which Professor Henry put an end by the bold course of removing +the librarian from office. Mr. Jewett denied his power to do this, +and the question came before the board of regents. The majority of +these voted that the secretary had the power to remove his assistants. +Among the minority was Rufus Choate, who was so strongly opposed to +the action that he emphasized his protest against it by resigning +from the board. + +A question of legal interpretation came in to make the situation +yet more difficult. The regents had resolved that, after the +completion of the building, one half the income should be devoted +to those objects which Professor Henry considered most appropriate. +Meanwhile there was no limit to the amount that might be appropriated +to these objects, but Mr. Jewett and other heads of departments +wished to apply the rule from the beginning. Henry refused to do so, +and looked with entire satisfaction on the slowness of completion +of what was, in his eyes, an undesirable building. + +It must be admitted that there was one point which Professor +Henry either failed to appreciate, or perhaps thought unworthy +of consideration. This is, the strong hold on the minds of men +which an institution is able to secure through the agency of an +imposing building. Saying nothing of the artistic and educational +value of a beautiful piece of architecture, it would seem that such +a structure has a peculiar power of impressing the minds of men with +the importance of the object to which it is devoted, or of the work +going on within it. Had Professor Henry been allowed to perform +all the functions of the Smithsonian Institution in a moderate-sized +hired house, as he felt himself abundantly able to do, I have very +serious doubts whether it would have acquired its present celebrity +and gained its present high place in the estimation of the public. + +In the winter of 1865 the institution suffered an irreparable +loss by a conflagration which destroyed the central portion of +the building. At that time the gallery of art had been confined to +a collection of portraits of Indians by Stanley. This collection +was entirely destroyed. The library, being at one end, remained +intact. The lecture room, where courses of scientific lectures +had been delivered by eminent men of science, was also destroyed. +This event gave Professor Henry an opportunity of taking a long +step in the direction he desired. He induced Congress to take the +Smithsonian library on deposit as a part of its own, and thus relieve +the institution of the cost of supporting this branch. + +The Corcoran Art Gallery had been founded in the mean time, and +relieved the institution of all necessity for supporting a gallery +of art. He would gladly have seen the National Museum made a separate +institution, and the Smithsonian building purchased by the government +for its use, but he found no chance of carrying this out. + +After the death of Professor Henry the Institution grew rapidly +into a position in which it might almost claim to be a scientific +department of the government. The National Museum, remaining under +its administration, was greatly enlarged, and one of its ramifications +was extended into the National Zoölogical Park. The studies of +Indian ethnology, begun by Major J. W. Powell, grew into the Bureau +of Ethnology. The Astrophysical Observatory was established, in +which Professor Langley has continued his epoch-making work on the +sun's radiant heat with his wonderful bolometer, an instrument of +his own invention. + +Before he was appointed to succeed Professor Henry, Professor Baird +was serving as United States Fish Commissioner, and continued to fill +this office, without other salary than that paid by the Smithsonian +Institution. The economic importance of the work done and still +carried on by this commission is too well known to need a statement. +About the time of Baird's death, the work of the commission was +separated from that of the Institution by providing a salary for +the commissioner. + +We have here a great extension of the idea of an institution for +scientific publications and research. I recall once suggesting +to Professor Baird the question whether the utilization of the +institution founded by Smithson for carrying on and promoting such +government work as that of the National Museum was really the right +thing to do. He replied, "It is not a case of using the Smithsonian +fund for government work, but of the government making appropriations +for the work of the Smithsonian Institution." Between the two sides +of the question thus presented,--one emphasizing the honor done to +Smithson by expanding the institution which bears his name, and the +other aiming solely at the best administration of the fund which we +hold in trust for him,--I do not pretend to decide. + + +On the academic side of social life in Washington, the numerous +associations of alumni of colleges and universities hold a prominent +place. One of the earliest of these was that of Yale, which has held +an annual banquet every year, at least since 1877, when I first became +a member. Its membership at this time included Mr. W. M. Evarts, then +Secretary of State, Chief Justice Waite, Senator Dawes, and a number +of other men prominent in political life. The most attractive speaker +was Mr. Evarts, and the fact that his views of education were somewhat +conservative added much to the interest of his speeches. He generally +had something to say in favor of the system of a prescribed curriculum +in liberal education, which was then considered as quite antiquated. +When President Dwight, shortly after his accession to office, visited +the capital to explain the modernizing of the Yale educational system, +he told the alumni that the college now offered ninety-five courses to +undergraduates. Evarts congratulated the coming students on sitting +at a banquet table where they had their choice of ninety-five courses +of intellectual aliment. + +Perhaps the strongest testimonial of the interest attached to these +reunions was unconsciously given by President Hayes. He had received +an honorary degree from Yale, and I chanced to be on the committee +which called to invite him to the next banquet. He pleaded, as I +suppose Presidents always do, the multiplicity of his engagements, +but finally said,-- + +"Well, gentlemen, I will come, but it must be on two well-understood +conditions. In the first place, I must not be called to my feet. +You must not expect a speech of me. The second condition is, I must +be allowed to leave punctually at ten o'clock." + +"We regret your conditions, Mr. President," was the reply, "but must, +of course, accede to them, if you insist." + +He came to the banquet, he made a speech,--a very good, and not a +very short one,--and he remained, an interested hearer, until nearly +two o'clock in the morning. + +In recent years I cannot avoid a feeling that a change has come over +the spirit of such associations. One might gather the impression +that the apothegm of Sir William Hamilton needed a slight amendment. + + On earth is nothing great but Man, + In Man is nothing great but Mind. + +Strike out the last word, and insert "Muscle." The reader will +please not misinterpret this remark. I admire the physically +perfect man, loving everything out of doors, and animated by the +spirit that takes him through polar snows and over mountain tops. +But I do not feel that mere muscular practice during a few years of +college life really fosters this spirit. + + +Among the former institutions of Washington of which the memory is +worth preserving, was the Scientific Club. This was one of those +small groups, more common in other cities than in Washington, of men +interested in some field of thought, who meet at brief intervals at +one another's houses, perhaps listen to a paper, and wind up with +a supper. When or how the Washington Club originated, I do not know, +but it was probably sometime during the fifties. Its membership seems +to have been rather ill defined, for, although I have always been +regarded as a member, and am mentioned in McCulloch's book as such, +[1] I do not think I ever received any formal notice of election. +The club was not exclusively scientific, but included in its list the +leading men who were supposed to be interested in scientific matters, +and whose company was pleasant to the others. Mr. McCulloch himself, +General Sherman, and Chief Justice Chase are examples of the members +of the club who were of this class. + +It was at the club meetings that I made the acquaintance of General +Sherman. His strong characteristics were as clearly seen at these +evening gatherings as in a military campaign. His restlessness +was such that he found it hard to sit still, especially in his +own house, two minutes at a time. His terse sentences, leaving +no doubt in the mind of the hearer as to what he meant, always +had the same snap. One of his military letters is worth reviving. +When he was carrying on his campaign in Georgia against Hood, the +latter was anxious that the war should damage general commercial +interests as little as possible; so he sent General Sherman a letter +setting forth the terms and conditions on which he, Hood, would +refrain from burning the cotton in his line of march, but leave it +behind,--at as great length and with as much detail as if it were +a treaty of peace between two nations. Sherman's reply was couched +in a single sentence: "I hope you will burn all the cotton you can, +for all you don't burn I will." When he introduced two people, +he did not simply mention their names, but told who each one was. +In introducing the adjutant-general to another officer who had just +come into Washington, he added, "You know his signature." + +Mr. McCulloch, who succeeded Mr. Chase as Secretary of the Treasury, +was my beau idéal of an administrator. In his personal make-up, +he was as completely the opposite of General Sherman as a man +well could be. Deliberate, impassive, heavy of build, slow in +physical movement, he would have been supposed, at first sight, +a man who would take life easy, and concern himself as little +as possible about public affairs. But, after all, there is a +quality in the head of a great department which is quite distinct +from sprightliness, and that is wisdom. This he possessed in the +highest degree. The impress which he made on our fiscal system was +not the product of what looked like energetic personal action, but +of a careful study of the prevailing conditions of public opinion, +and of the means at his disposal for keeping the movement of things +in the right direction. His policy was what is sometimes claimed, +and correctly, I believe, to embody the highest administrative wisdom: +that of doing nothing himself that he could get others to do for him. +In this way all his energies could be devoted to his proper work, +that of getting the best men in office, and of devising measures +from time to time calculated to carry the government along the lines +which he judged to be best for the public interests. + +The name of another attendant at the meetings of the club has from +time to time excited interest because of its connection with a +fundamental principle of evolutionary astronomy. This principle, +which looks paradoxical enough, is that up to a certain stage, +as a star loses heat by radiation into space, its temperature +becomes higher. It is now known as Lane's Law. Some curiosity +as to its origin, as well as the personality of its author, has +sometimes been expressed. As the story has never been printed, +I ask leave to tell it. + +Among the attendants at the meetings of the Scientific Club was +an odd-looking and odd-mannered little man, rather intellectual in +appearance, who listened attentively to what others said, but who, +so far as I noticed, never said a word himself. Up to the time +of which I am speaking, I did not even know his name, as there was +nothing but his oddity to excite any interest in him. + +One evening about the year 1867, the club met, as it not +infrequently did, at the home of Mr. McCulloch. After the +meeting Mr. W. B. Taylor, afterward connected with the Smithsonian +Institution in an editorial capacity, accompanied by the little man, +set out to walk to his home, which I believe was somewhere near the +Smithsonian grounds. At any rate, I joined them in their walk, +which led through these grounds. A few days previous there had +appeared in the "Reader," an English weekly periodical having a +scientific character, an article describing a new theory of the sun. +The view maintained was that the sun was not a molten liquid, as had +generally been supposed up to that time, but a mass of incandescent +gas, perhaps condensed at its outer surface, so as to form a sort of +immense bubble. I had never before heard of the theory, but it was +so plausible that there could be no difficulty in accepting it. So, +as we wended our way through the Smithsonian grounds, I explained the +theory to my companions in that _ex cathedra_ style which one is apt +to assume in setting forth a new idea to people who know little or +nothing of the subject. My talk was mainly designed for Mr. Taylor, +because I did not suppose the little man would take any interest +in it. I was, therefore, much astonished when, at a certain point, +he challenged, in quite a decisive tone, the correctness of one of +my propositions. In a rather more modest way, I tried to maintain +my ground, but was quite silenced by the little man informing us that +he had investigated the whole subject, and found so and so--different +from what I had been laying down. + +I immediately stepped down from the pontifical chair, and asked the +little man to occupy it and tell us more about the matter, which +he did. Whether the theorem to which I have alluded was included +in his statement, I do not recall. If it was not, he told me about +it subsequently, and spoke of a paper he had published, or was about +to publish, in the "American Journal of Science." I find that this +paper appeared in Volume L. in 1870. + +Naturally I cultivated the acquaintance of such a man. His name +was J. Homer Lane. He was quite alone in the world, having neither +family nor near relative, so far as any one knew. He had formerly +been an examiner or something similar in the Patent Office, but +under the system which prevailed in those days, a man with no more +political influence than he had was very liable to lose his position, +as he actually did. He lived in a good deal such a habitation and +surroundings as men like Johnson and Goldsmith lived in in their time. +If his home was not exactly a garret, it came as near it as a lodging +of the present day ever does. + +After the paper in question appeared, I called Mr. Lane's attention +to the fact that I did not find any statement of the theorem which +he had mentioned to me to be contained in it. He admitted that it +was contained in it only impliedly, and proceeded to give me a very +brief and simple demonstration. + +So the matter stood, until the centennial year, 1876, when Sir +William Thomson paid a visit to this country. I passed a very +pleasant evening with him at the Smithsonian Institution, engaged +in a discussion, some points of which he afterwards mentioned in +an address to the British Association. Among other matters, I +mentioned this law, originating with Mr. J. Homer Lane. He did not +think it could be well founded, and when I attempted to reproduce +Mr. Lane's verbal demonstration, I found myself unable to do so. +I told him I felt quite sure about the matter, and would write to +him on the subject. When I again met Mr. Lane, I told him of my +difficulty and asked him to repeat the demonstration. He did so +at once, and I sent it off to Sir William. The latter immediately +accepted the result, and published a paper on the subject, in which +the theorem was made public for the first time. + +It is very singular that a man of such acuteness never achieved +anything else of significance. He was at my station on one occasion +when a total eclipse of the sun was to be observed, and made a report +on what he saw. At the same time he called my attention to a slight +source of error with which photographs of the transit of Venus might +be affected. The idea was a very ingenious one, and was published +in due course. + +Altogether, the picture of his life and death remains in my memory +as a sad one, the brightest gleam being the fact that he was elected +a member of the National Academy of Sciences, which must have been +to him a very grateful recognition of his work on the part of his +scientific associates. When he died, his funeral was attended only +by a few of his fellow members of the academy. Altogether, I feel +it eminently appropriate that his name should be perpetuated by the +theorem of which I have spoken. + + +If the National Academy of Sciences has not proved as influential a +body as such an academy should, it has still taken such a place in +science, and rendered services of such importance to the government, +that the circumstances connected with its origin are of permanent +historic interest. As the writer was not a charter member, he cannot +claim to have been "in at the birth," though he became, from time to +time, a repository of desultory information on the subject. There is +abundant internal and circumstantial evidence that Dr. B. A. Gould, +although his name has, so far as I am aware, never been mentioned +in this connection, was a leading spirit in the first organization. +On the other hand, curiously enough, Professor Henry was not. I was +quite satisfied that Bache took an active part, but Henry assured me +that he could not believe this, because he was so intimate with Bache +that, had the latter known anything of the matter, he would surely +have consulted him. Some recent light is thrown on the subject +by letters of Rear-Admiral Charles H. Davis, found in his "Life," +as published by his son. Everything was carried on in the greatest +secrecy, until the bill chartering the body was introduced by Senator +Henry Wilson of Massachusetts. Fifty charter members were named, +and this number was fixed as the permanent limit to the membership. +The list did not include either George P. Bond, director of the +Harvard Observatory, perhaps the foremost American astronomer of the +time in charge of an observatory, nor Dr. John W. Draper. Yet the +total membership in the section of astronomy and kindred sciences was +very large. A story to which I give credence was that the original +list, as handed to Senator Wilson, did not include the name of +William B. Rogers, who was then founding the Institute of Technology. +The senator made it a condition that room for Rogers should be found, +and his wish was acceded to. It is of interest that the man thus +added to the academy by a senator afterward became its President, +and proved as able and popular a presiding officer as it ever had. + +The governmental importance of the academy arose from the fact +that its charter made it the scientific adviser of the government, +by providing that it should "investigate, examine, experiment, +and report upon any subject of science or art" whenever called +upon by any department of the government. In this respect it was +intended to perform the same valuable functions for the government +that are expected of the national scientific academies or societies +of foreign countries. + +The academy was empowered to make its own constitution. That first +adopted was sufficiently rigid and complex. Following the example of +European bodies of the same sort, it was divided into two classes, +one of mathematical and physical, the other of natural science. +Each of these classes was divided into sections. A very elaborate +system of procedure for the choice of new members was provided. +Any member absent from four consecutive stated meetings of the +academy had his name stricken from the roll unless he communicated +a valid reason for his absence. Notwithstanding this requirement, +the academy had no funds to defray the traveling expenses of members, +nor did the government ever appropriate money for this purpose. + +For seven years it became increasingly doubtful whether the +organization would not be abandoned. Several of the most eminent +members took no interest whatever in the academy,--did not attend +the meetings, but did tender their resignations, which, however, +were not accepted. This went on at such a rate that, in 1870, +to avoid a threatened dissolution, a radical change was made in +the constitution. Congress was asked to remove the restriction upon +the number of members, which it promptly did. Classes and sections +were entirely abandoned. The members formed but a single body. +The method of election was simplified,--too much simplified, in fact. + +The election of new members is, perhaps, the most difficult and +delicate function of such an organization. It is one which cannot be +performed to public satisfaction, nor without making many mistakes; +and the avoidance of the latter is vastly more difficult when the +members are so widely separated and have little opportunity to discuss +in advance the merits of the men from whom a selection is to be made. +An ideal selection cannot be made until after a man is dead, so that +his work can be summed up; but I think it may fairly be said that, +on the whole, the selections have been as good as could be expected +under the conditions. + +Notwithstanding the indifference of the government to the possible +benefits that the academy might render it, it has--in addition to +numerous reports on minor subjects--made two of capital importance +to the public welfare. One of these was the planning of the United +States Geological Survey, the other the organization of a forestry +system for the United States. + +During the years 1870-77, besides several temporary surveys or +expeditions which had from time to time been conducted under the +auspices of the government, there were growing up two permanent +surveys of the territories. One of these was the Geographical +Survey of territories west of the 100th meridian, under the Chief +of Engineers of the Army; the other was the Geological Survey of +the territories under the Interior Department, of which the chief +was Professor F. V. Hayden. + +The methods adopted by the two chiefs to gain the approval of the +public and the favoring smiles of Congress were certainly very +different. Wheeler's efforts were made altogether by official +methods and through official channels. Hayden considered it his +duty to give the public every possible opportunity to see what he +was doing and to judge his work. His efforts were chronicled at +length in the public prints. His summers were spent in the field, +and his winters were devoted to working up results and making every +effort to secure influence. An attractive personality and extreme +readiness to show every visitor all that there was to be seen in his +collections, facilitated his success. One day a friend introduced +a number of children with an expression of doubt as to the little +visitors being welcome. "Oh, I always like to have the children +come here," he replied, "they influence their parents." He was so +successful in his efforts that his organization grew apace, and soon +developed into the Geological Survey of the Territories. + +Ostensibly the objects of the two organizations were different. +One had military requirements mainly in view, especially the mapping +of routes. Hayden's survey was mainly in the interests of geology. +Practically, however, the two covered the same field in all points. +The military survey extended its scope by including everything +necessary for a complete geographical and geological atlas. +The geological survey was necessarily a complete topographical and +geological survey from the beginning. Between 1870 and 1877, both +were engaged in making an atlas of Colorado, on the maps of which +were given the same topographical features and the same lines of +communication. Parties of the two surveys mounted their theodolites +on the same mountains, and triangulated the same regions. The Hayden +survey published a complete atlas of Colorado, probably more finely +gotten up than any atlas of a State in the Union, while the Wheeler +survey was vigorously engaged in issuing maps of the same territory. +No effort to prevent this duplication of work by making an arrangement +between the two organizations led to any result. Neither had any +official knowledge of the work of the other. Unofficially, the one +was dissatisfied with the political methods of the other, and claimed +that the maps which it produced were not fit for military purposes. +Hayden retorted with unofficial reflections on the geological +expertness of the engineers, and maintained that their work was +not of the best. He got up by far the best maps; Wheeler, in the +interests of economy, was willing to sacrifice artistic appearance +to economy of production. We thus had the curious spectacle of the +government supporting two independent surveys of the same region. +Various compromises were attempted, but they all came to nothing. +The state of things was clear enough to Congress, but the repugnance +of our national legislature to the adoption of decisive measures of +any sort for the settlement of a disputed administrative question +prevented any effective action. Infant bureaus may quarrel with each +other and eat up the paternal substance, but the parent cannot make +up his mind to starve them outright, or even to chastise them into +a spirit of conciliation. Unable to decide between them, Congress +for some years pursued the policy of supporting both surveys. + +The credit for introducing a measure which would certainly lead to +unification is due to Mr. A. S. Hewitt, of New York, then a member +of the Committee on Appropriations. He proposed to refer the whole +subject to the National Academy of Sciences. His committee accepted +his view, and a clause was inserted in the Sundry Civil Bill of June +30, 1878, requiring the academy at its next meeting to take the matter +into consideration and report to Congress "as soon thereafter as may +be practicable, a plan for surveying and mapping the territory of +the United States on such general system as will, in their judgment, +secure the best results at the least possible cost." + +Several of the older and more conservative members of the academy +objected that this question was not one of science or art, with +which alone the academy was competent to deal, but was a purely +administrative question which Congress should settle for itself. +They feared that the academy would be drawn into the arena of +political discussion to an extent detrimental to its future and +welfare and usefulness. Whether the exception was or was not well +taken, it was felt that the academy, the creature of Congress, could +not join issue with the latter as to its functions, nor should an +opportunity of rendering a great service to the government be lost +for such a reason as this. + +The plan reported by the academy was radical and comprehensive. +It proposed to abolish all the existing surveys of the territories +except those which, being temporary, were completing their work, +and to substitute for them a single organization which would include +the surveys of the public lands in its scope. The interior work +of the Coast and Geodetic Survey was included in the plan, it being +proposed to transfer this bureau to the Interior Department, with its +functions so extended as to include the entire work of triangulation. + +When the proposition came up in Congress at the following session, +it was vigorously fought by the Chief of Engineers of the army, +and by the General Land Office, of which the surveying functions +were practically abolished. The Land Office carried its point, +and was eliminated from the scheme. General Humphreys, the Chief of +Engineers, was a member of the academy, but resigned on the ground +that he could not properly remain a member while contesting the +recommendations of the body. But the academy refused to accept the +resignation, on the very proper ground that no obligation was imposed +on the members to support the views of the academy, besides which, +the work of the latter in the whole matter was terminated when its +report was presented to Congress. + +Although this was true of the academy, it was not true of the +individual members who had taken part in constructing the scheme. +They were naturally desirous of seeing the plan made a success, and, +in the face of such vigorous opposition, this required constant +attention. A dexterous movement was that of getting the measure +transferred from one appropriation bill to another when it passed +over to the Senate. The measure at length became a law, and thus +was established the Geological Survey of the United States, which +was to be governed by a Director, appointed by the President, by +and with the advice and consent of the Senate. + +Then, on March 4, 1879, an important question arose. The right man +must be placed at the head of the new bureau. Who is he? At first +there seemed to be but one voice on the subject, Professor Hayden had +taken the greatest pains to make known the work of his survey, not +only to Congress, but to every scientific society, small and great, +the world over. Many of these had bestowed their approbation upon it +by electing its director to honorary membership. It has been said, +I do not know how truly, that the number of these testimonials +exceeded that received by any other scientific man in America. +If this were so, they would have to be counted, not weighed. It was, +therefore, not surprising that two thirds of the members of Congress +were said to have sent a recommendation to the President for the +appointment of so able and successful a man to the new position. +The powerful backing of so respectable a citizen as Hon. J. D. Cox, +formerly Secretary of the Interior, was also heartily proffered. +To these forces were added that of a certain number of geologists, +though few or none of them were leaders in the science. Had it not +been for a private intimation conveyed to Secretary Schurz that the +scientific men interested might have something to say on the subject, +Hayden might have been appointed at the very moment the bill was +signed by the President. + +Notwithstanding all of Hayden's merits as the energetic head of a +survey, the leaders in the movement considered that Mr. Clarence King +was the better qualified for the duties of the new position. It is +not unlikely that a preference for a different method of influencing +Congress than that which I have described, was one of the reasons in +favor of Mr. King. He was a man of charming personality and great +literary ability. Some one said of him that he could make a more +interesting story out of what he saw during a ride in a street car +than most men could with the best material at their disposal. His +"Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevadas" was as interesting an account +of Western exploration as has ever been published. I understand it +was suppressed by the author because some of the characters described +in it were much hurt by finding themselves painted in the book. + +Hopeless though the contest might have seemed, an effort was made +by three or four of the men most interested to secure Mr. King's +appointment. If I wanted to show the fallacy of the common impression +that scientific men are not fitted for practical politics, I could +not do it better than by giving the internal history of the movement. +This I shall attempt only in the briefest way. The movers in the +matter divided up the work, did what they could in the daytime, +and met at night at Wormley's Hotel to compare notes, ascertain the +effect of every shot, and decide where the next one should be fired. +As all the parties concerned in the matter have now passed off the +stage, I shall venture to mention one of these shots. One eminent +geologist, whose support was known to be available, had not been +called in, because an impression had been formed that President +Hayes would not be willing to consider favorably what he might say. +After the matter had been discussed at one or two meetings, one +of the party proposed to sound the President on the subject at his +next interview. So, when the occasion arose, he gently introduced +the name of the gentleman. + +"What view does he take?" inquired the President. + +"I think he will be favorable to Mr. King," was the reply; "but +would you give great weight to his opinion?" + +"I would give great weight to it, very great weight, indeed," was +the reply. + +This expression was too decided in its tone to leave any doubt, +and the geologist in question was on his way to Washington as soon +as electricity could tell him that he was wanted. When the time +finally came for a decision, the President asked Secretary Schurz +for his opinion. Both agreed that King was the man, and he was +duly appointed. + +The new administration was eminently successful. But King was +not fond of administrative work, and resigned the position at the +end of a year or so. He was succeeded by John W. Powell, under +whom the survey grew with a rapidity which no one had anticipated. +As originally organized, the survey was one of the territories only, +but the question whether it should not be extended to the States as +well, and prepare a topographical atlas of the whole country, was +soon mooted, and decided by Congress in the affirmative. For this +extension, however, the original organizers of the survey were in +no way responsible. It was the act of Congress, pure and simple. + +If the success of an organization is to be measured by the public +support which it has commanded, by the extension of its work and +influence, and by the gradual dying out of all opposition, it must be +admitted that the plan of the academy was a brilliant success. It is +true that a serious crisis had once to be met. While Mr. Cleveland +was governor of New York, his experience with the survey of that +State had led him to distrust the methods on which the surveys +of the United States were being conducted. This distrust seems +to have pervaded the various heads of the departments under his +administration, and led to serious charges against the conduct of +both the Coast and Geological surveys. An unfavorable report upon +the administration of the former was made by a committee especially +appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury, and led to the resignation +of its superintendent. But, in the case of the Geological Survey, +the attacks were mostly conducted by the newspapers. At length, +Director Powell asked permission of Secretary Lamar to write him a +letter in reply. His answers were so sweeping, and so conclusive +on every point, that nothing more was heard of the criticisms. + +The second great work of the academy for the government was that +of devising a forestry system for the United States. The immediate +occasion for action in this direction was stated by Secretary Hoke +Smith to be the "inadequacy and confusion of existing laws relating +to the public timber lands and consequent absence of an intelligent +policy in their administration, resulting in such conditions as may, +if not speedily stopped, prevent the proper development of a large +part of our country." + +Even more than in the case of the Geological Survey might this +work seem to be one of administration rather than of science. +But granting that such was the case, the academy commanded great +advantages in taking up the subject. The commission which it formed +devoted more than a year to the study, not only of the conditions +in our own country, but of the various policies adopted by foreign +countries, especially Germany, and their results. As in the case +of the Geological Survey, a radically new and very complete system +of forestry administration was proposed. Interests having other +objects than the public good were as completely ignored as they had +been before. + +The soundness of the conclusions reached by the Academy Commission +were challenged by men wielding great political power in their +respective States. For a time it was feared that the academy would +suffer rather than gain in public opinion by the report it had made. +But the moral force behind it was such that, in the long run, some of +the severest critics saw their error, and a plan was adopted which, +though differing in many details from that proposed, was, in the main, +based on the conclusion of the commission. The Interior department, +the Geological Survey, and the Department of Agriculture all have +their part in the work. + +Notwithstanding these signal demonstrations of the valuable service +which the academy may render to the government, the latter has done +nothing for it. The immediate influence of the leading scientific men +in public affairs has perhaps been diminished as much in one direction +as it has been increased in another by the official character of +the organization. The very fact that the members of the academy +belong to a body which is, officially, the scientific adviser of +the government, prevents them from coming forward to exercise that +individual influence which they might exercise were no such body +in existence. + +The academy has not even a place of meeting, nor is a repository +for its property and records provided for it. Although it holds +in trust large sums which have been bequeathed from time to time by +its members for promoting scientific investigation, and is, in this +way, rendering an important service to the progress of knowledge, +it has practically no income of its own except the contributions of +its own members, nearly all of whom are in the position described +by the elder Agassiz, of having "no time to make money." + +Among the men who have filled the office of president of the academy, +Professor O. C. Marsh was perhaps the one whose activity covered the +widest field. Though long well known in scientific circles, he first +came into public prominence by his exposure of the frauds practiced +by contractors in furnishing supplies for the Indians. This business +had fallen into the hands of a small ring of contractors known as the +"Indian ring," who knew the ropes so well that they could bid below +any competitor and yet manage things so as to gain a handsome profit +out of the contracts. In the course of his explorations Marsh took +pains to investigate the whole matter, and published his conclusions +first in the New York "Tribune," and then more fully in pamphlet +form, taking care to have public attention called to the subject so +widely that the authorities would have to notice it. In doing so, +Mr. Delano, Secretary of the Interior, spoke of them as charges made +by "a Mr. Marsh." This method of designating such a man was made +effective use of by Mr. Delano's opponents in the case. + +Although the investigation which followed did not elicit all the +facts, it had the result of calling the attention of succeeding +Secretaries of the Interior to the necessity of keeping the best +outlook on the administration of Indian affairs. What I believe to +have been the final downfall of the ring was not brought about until +Cleveland's first administration. Then it happened in this way. +Mr. Lamar, the Secretary of the Interior, was sharply on the lookout +for frauds of every kind. As usual, the lowest bid for a certain +kind of blanket had been accepted, and the Secretary was determined +to see whether the articles furnished actually corresponded with +the requirements of the contract. It chanced that he had as his +appointment clerk Mr. J. J. S. Hassler, a former manufacturer of +woolen goods. Mr. Hassler was put on the board to inspect the +supplies, and found that the blankets, although to all ordinary +appearance of the kind and quality required, were really of a much +inferior and cheaper material. The result was the enforced failure +of the contractor, and, I believe, the end of the Indian ring. + +Marsh's explorations in search of fossil remains of the animals which +once roamed over the western parts of our continent were attended +by adventures of great interest, which he long had the intention of +collecting and publishing in book form. Unfortunately, he never did +it, nor, so far as I am aware, has any connected narrative of his +adventures ever appeared in print. This is more to be regretted, +because they belong to a state of things which is rapidly passing +away, leaving few records of that lifelike sort which make the most +impressive picture. + +His guide during his early explorations was a character who +has since become celebrated in America and Europe by the vivid +representations of the "Wild West" with which he has amused and +instructed the dwellers on two continents. Marsh was on his way to +explore the region in the Rocky Mountains where he was to find the +fossils which have since made his work most celebrated. The guide +was burning with curiosity as to the object of the expedition. +One night over the campfire he drew his chief into a conversation on +the subject. The latter told him that there was once a time when the +Rocky Mountains did not exist, and that part of the continent was a +level plain. In the course of long ages mountains rose, and animals +ran over them. Then the mountains split open; the animals died and +left their bones in the clefts. The object of his expedition was +now to search for some of these bones. + +The bones were duly discovered, and it was not many years thereafter +before the Wild West Exhibition was seen in the principal Eastern +cities. When it visited New Haven, its conductor naturally renewed +the acquaintance of his former patron and supporter. + +"Do you remember, professor," said he, "our talk as we were going on +your expedition to the Rockies,--how you told me about the mountains +rising up and being split open and the bones of animals being lost +in there, and how you were going to get them?" + +"Oh, yes," said the other, "I remember it very well." + +"Well, professor, do you know, when you told me all that I r'ally +thought you was puttin' up a job on me." + +The result was a friendship between the two men, which continued +during Marsh's whole life. When the one felt that he ought no longer +to spend all the money he earned, he consulted Marsh on the subject of +"salting it down," and doubtless got good advice. + +As an exposer of humbugs Marsh took a prominent place. One of these +related to the so-called "Cardiff Giant." Sometime in 1869 the +newspapers announced the discovery in northern New York, near the +Canadian border, of an extraordinary fossil man, or colossal statue, +people were not sure which, eight or ten feet high. It was found +several feet below the ground while digging a well. Men of some +scientific repute, including even one so eminent as Professor James +Hall, had endorsed the genuineness of the find, and, on the strength +of this, it was taken around to show the public. In the course of +a journey through New York State, Marsh happened to pass through +the town where the object was on exhibition. His train stopped +forty minutes for dinner, which would give him time to drive to the +place and back, and leave a margin of about fifteen minutes for an +examination of the statue. Hardly more than a glance was necessary +to show its fraudulent character. Inside the ears the marks of a +chisel were still plainly visible, showing that the statue had been +newly cut. One of the most curious features was that the stone +had not been large enough to make the complete statue, so that +the surface was, in one place, still in the rough. The object had +been found in wet ground. Its material was sulphate of lime, the +slight solubility of which would have been sufficient to make it +dissolve entirely away in the course of centuries. The absence of +any degradation showed that the thing was comparatively new. On the +strength of this, Marsh promptly denounced the affair as a humbug. +Only a feeble defense was made for it, and, a year or two later, the +whole story came out. It had been designed and executed somewhere in +the Northwest, transported to the place where discovered, and buried, +to be afterward dug up and reported as a prehistoric wonder. + +Only a few years ago the writer had an opportunity of seeing +with what wonderful ease intelligent men can be imposed upon by +these artificial antiquities. The would-be exhibitor of a fossil +woman, found I know not where, appeared in Washington. He had not +discovered the fossil himself, but had purchased it for some such +sum as $100, on the assurance of its genuine character. He seems, +however, to have had some misgivings on the subject, and, being an +honest fellow, invited some Washington scientific men to examine it +in advance of a public exhibition. The first feature to strike the +critical observer was that the arms of the fossil were crossed over +the breast in the most approved undertaker's fashion, showing that +if the woman had ever existed, she had devoted her dying moments to +arranging a pose for the approval of posterity. Little more than a +glance was necessary to show that the fossil was simply baked clay. +Yet the limbs were hard and stiff. One of the spectators therefore +asked permission of the owner to bore with an auger into the leg and +see what was inside. A few moments' work showed that the bone of the +leg was a bar of iron, around which clay had been moulded and baked. +I must do the crestfallen owner the justice to say that his anxiety +to convince the spectators of his own good faith in the matter far +exceeded his regret at the pecuniary loss which he had suffered. + +Another amusing experience that Marsh had with a would-be fossil +arose out of the discovery here and there in Connecticut of the +fossil footprints of birds. Shortly after a find of this kind had +been announced, a farmer drove his wagon up in front of the Peabody +Museum, called on the professor, and told him he had dug up something +curious on his farm, and he wished the professor would tell him what +it was. He thought it looked like the footprints of a bird in a +stone, but he was not quite sure. + +Marsh went out and looked at the stone. A single glance was enough. + +"Oh, I see what they are. They are the footprints of the domestic +turkey. And the oddest part of it is, they are all made with the +right foot." + +The simple-minded countryman, in making the prints with the turkey's +foot, had overlooked the difference between the right and left foot, +and the consequent necessity of having the tracks which pertained +to the two feet alternate. + + +Washington is naturally a centre of information on all subjects +relating to the aboriginal tribes of America and to life on the plains +generally. Besides the Geological Survey, the Bureau of Ethnology +has been an active factor in this line. An official report cannot +properly illustrate life in all its aspects, and therefore should +be supplemented by the experiences of leading explorers. This is +all the more necessary if, as seems to be the case, the peculiar +characteristics of the life in question are being replaced by those +more appropriate to civilization. Yet the researches of the bureau in +question are not carried on in any narrow spirit, and will supply the +future student of humanity with valuable pictures of the most heroic +of all races, and yet doomed, apparently, to ultimate extinction. +I do not think I ever saw a more impressive human figure and face +than those of Chief Joseph as he stood tall, erect, and impassive, +at a President's reception in the winter of 1903. He was attired +in all the brilliancy of his official costume; but not a muscle of +his strongly marked face betrayed the sentiments with which he must +have gazed on the shining uniforms passing before him. + +[1] _Men and Measures of Half a Century_, by Hugh McCulloch. +New York: Chas. Scribner's Sons, 1889. + + + + +X + +SCIENTIFIC ENGLAND + + +My first trip to Europe, mentioned in the last chapter, was made with +my wife, when the oldest transatlantic line was still the fashionable +one. The passenger on a Cunarder felt himself amply compensated for +poor attendance, coarse food, and bad coffee by learning from the +officers on the promenade deck how far the ships of their line were +superior to all others in strength of hull, ability of captain, and +discipline of crew. Things have changed on both sides since then. +Although the Cunard line has completed its half century without +having lost a passenger, other lines are also carefully navigated, +and the Cunard passenger, so far as I know, fares as well as any +other. Captain McMickan was as perfect a type of the old-fashioned +captain of the best class as I ever saw. His face looked as if the +gentlest zephyr that had ever fanned it was an Atlantic hurricane, +and yet beamed with Hibernian good humor and friendliness. He read +prayers so well on Sunday that a passenger assured him he was born +to be a bishop. One day a ship of the North German Lloyd line was +seen in the offing slowly gaining on us. A passenger called the +captain's attention to the fact that we were being left behind. +"Oh, they're very lightly built, them German ships; built to carry +German dolls and such like cargo." + +In London one of the first men we met was Thomas Hughes, of Rugby +fame, who made us feel how worthy he was of the love and esteem +bestowed upon him by Americans. He was able to make our visit +pleasant in more ways than one. Among the men I wanted to see was +Mr. John Stuart Mill, to whom I was attracted not only by his fame +as a philosopher and the interest with which I had read his books, +but also because he was the author of an excellent pamphlet on the +Union side during our civil war. + +On my expressing a desire to make Mr. Mill's acquaintance, Mr. Hughes +immediately offered to give me a note of introduction. Mill lived at +Blackheath, which, though in an easterly direction down the Thames, +is one of the prettiest suburbs of the great metropolis. His dwelling +was a very modest one, entered through a passage of trellis-work in a +little garden. He was by no means the grave and distinguished-looking +man I had expected to see. He was small in stature and rather +spare, and did not seem to have markedly intellectual features. +The cordiality of his greeting was more than I could have expected; +and he was much pleased to know that his work in moulding English +sentiment in our favor at the commencement of the civil war was so +well remembered and so highly appreciated across the Atlantic. + +As a philosopher, it must be conceded that Mr. Mill lived at an +unfortunate time. While his vigor and independence of thought led +him to break loose from the trammels of the traditional philosophy, +modern scientific generalization had not yet reached a stage favorable +to his becoming a leader in developing the new philosophy. Still, +whatever may be the merits of his philosophic theories, I believe +that up to a quite recent time no work on scientific method appeared +worthy to displace his "System of Logic." + +A feature of London life that must strongly impress the scientific +student from our country is the closeness of touch, socially as +well as officially, between the literary and scientific classes on +the one side and the governing classes on the other. Mr. Hughes +invited us to make an evening call with him at the house of a cabinet +minister,--I think it was Mr. Goschen,--where we should find a number +of persons worth seeing. Among those gathered in this casual way +were Mr. Gladstone, Dean Stanley, and our General Burnside, then +grown quite gray. I had never before met General Burnside, but his +published portraits were so characteristic that the man could scarcely +have been mistaken. The only change was in the color of his beard. +Then and later I found that a pleasant feature of these informal +"at homes," so universal in London, is that one meets so many people +he wants to see, and so few he does not want to see. + +Congress had made a very liberal appropriation for observations of the +solar eclipse,--the making of which was one object of my visit,--to +be expended under the direction of Professor Peirce, superintendent +of the Coast Survey. Peirce went over in person to take charge +of the arrangements. He arrived in London with several members of +his party a few days before we did, and about the same time came an +independent party of my fellow astronomers from the Naval Observatory, +consisting of Professors Hall, Harkness, and Eastman. The invasion of +their country by such an army of American astronomers quite stirred up +our English colleagues, who sorrowfully contrasted the liberality of +our government with the parsimony of their own, which had, they said, +declined to make any provision for the observations of the eclipse. +Considering that it was visible on their own side of the Atlantic, +they thought their government might take a lesson from ours. +Of course we could not help them directly; and yet I suspect that +our coming, or at least the coming of Peirce, really did help them a +great deal. At any rate, it was a curious coincidence that no sooner +did the American invasion occur than it was semi-officially discovered +that no application of which her Majesty's government could take +cognizance had been made by the scientific authorities for a grant +of money with which to make preparations for observing the eclipse. +That the scientific authorities were not long in catching so broad +a hint as this goes without saying. A little more of the story came +out a few days later in a very unexpected way. + +In scientific England, the great social event of the year is the +annual banquet of the Royal Society, held on St. Andrew's day, +the date of the annual meeting of the society, and of the award of +its medals for distinguished work in science. At the banquet the +scientific outlook is discussed not only by members of the society, +but by men high in political and social life. The medalists are +toasted, if they are present; and their praises are sung, if, as is +apt to be the case with foreigners, they are absent. First in rank +is the Copley medal, founded by Sir Godfrey Copley, a contemporary of +Newton. This medal has been awarded annually since 1731, and is now +considered the highest honor that scientific England has to bestow. +The recipient is selected with entire impartiality as to country, +not for any special work published during the year, but in view of +the general merit of all that he has done. Five times in its history +the medal has crossed the Atlantic. It was awarded to Franklin in +1753, Agassiz in 1861, Dana in 1877, and J. Willard Gibbs in 1902. +The long time that elapsed between the first and the second of these +awards affords an illustration of the backwardness of scientific +research in America during the greater part of the first century of +our independence. The year of my visit the medal was awarded to +Mr. Joule, the English physicist, for his work on the relation of +heat and energy. + +I was a guest at the banquet, which was the most brilliant function +I had witnessed up to that time. The leaders in English science +and learning sat around the table. Her Majesty's government was +represented by Mr. Gladstone, the Premier, and Mr. Lowe, afterward +Viscount Sherbrooke, Chancellor of the Exchequer. Both replied +to toasts. Mr. Lowe as a speaker was perhaps a little dull, but +not so Mr. Gladstone. There was a charm about the way in which his +talk seemed to display the inner man. It could not be said that he +had either the dry humor of Mr. Evarts or the wit of Mr. Depew; but +these qualities were well replaced by the vivacity of his manner and +the intellectuality of his face. He looked as if he had something +interesting he wanted to tell you; and he proceeded to tell it in +a very felicitous way as regarded both manner and language, but +without anything that savored of eloquence. He was like Carl Schurz +in talking as if he wanted to inform you, and not because he wanted +you to see what a fine speaker he was. With this he impressed one +as having a perfect command of his subject in all its bearings. + +I did not for a moment suppose that the Premier of England could have +taken any personal interest in the matter of the eclipse. Great, +therefore, was my surprise when, in speaking of the relations of +the government to science, he began to talk about the coming event. +I quote a passage from memory, after twenty-seven years: "I had the +pleasure of a visit, a few days since, from a very distinguished +American professor, Professor Peirce of Harvard. In the course of +the interview, the learned gentleman expressed his regret that her +Majesty's government had declined to take any measures to promote +observations of the coming eclipse of the sun by British astronomers. +I replied that I was not aware that the government had declined to +take such measures. Indeed, I went further, and assured him that any +application from our astronomers for aid in making these observations +would receive respectful consideration." I felt that there might +be room for some suspicion that this visit of Professor Peirce was a +not unimportant factor in the changed position of affairs as regarded +British observations of the eclipse. + +Not only the scene I have described, but subsequent experience, has +impressed me with the high appreciation in which the best scientific +work is held by the leading countries of Europe, especially England +and France, as if the prosecution were something of national +importance which men of the highest rank thought it an honor to +take part in. The Marquis of Salisbury, in an interval between two +terms of service as Premier of England, presided over the British +Association for the Advancement of Science, and delivered an address +showing a wide and careful study of the generalizations of modern +science. + +In France, also, one great glory of the nation is felt to be the +works of its scientific and learned men of the past and present. +Membership of one of the five academies of the Institute of France +is counted among the highest honors to which a Frenchman can aspire. +Most remarkable, too, is the extent to which other considerations than +that of merit are set aside in selecting candidates for this honor. +Quite recently a man was elected a member of the Academy of Sciences +who was without either university or official position, and earned a +modest subsistence as a collaborator of the "Revue des Deux Mondes." +But he had found time to make investigations in mathematical astronomy +of such merit that he was considered to have fairly earned this +distinction, and the modesty of his social position did not lie in +his way. + + +At the time of this visit Lister was an eminent member of the medical +profession, but had not, so far as I am aware, been recognized as +one who was to render incalculable service to suffering humanity. +From a professional point of view there are no two walks in life +having fewer points of contact than those of the surgeon and the +astronomer. It is therefore a remarkable example of the closeness +of touch among eminent Englishmen in every walk of life, that, in +subsequent visits, I was repeatedly thrown into contact with one +who may fairly be recommended as among the greatest benefactors of +the human race that the nineteenth century has given us. This was +partly, but not wholly, due to his being, for several years, the +president of the Royal Society. I would willingly say much more, +but I am unable to write authoritatively upon the life and work of +such a man, and must leave gossip to the daily press. + +For the visiting astronomer at London scarcely a place in London has +more attractions than the modest little observatory and dwelling house +on Upper Tulse Hill, in which Sir William Huggins has done so much +to develop the spectroscopy of the fixed stars. The owner of this +charming place was a pioneer in the application of the spectroscope +to the analysis of the light of the heavenly bodies, and after nearly +forty years of work in this field, is still pursuing his researches. +The charm of sentiment is added to the cold atmosphere of science by +the collaboration of Lady Huggins. Almost at the beginning of his +work Mr. Huggins, analyzing the light of the great nebula of Orion, +showed that it must proceed from a mass of gas, and not from solid +matter, thus making the greatest step possible in our knowledge of +these objects. He was also the first to make actual measures of the +motions of bright stars to or from our system by observing the wave +length of the rays of light which they absorbed. Quite recently an +illustrated account of his observatory and its work has appeared in +a splendid folio volume, in which the rigor of science is tempered +with a gentle infusion of art which tempts even the non-scientific +reader to linger over its pages. + +In England, the career of Professor Cayley affords an example of the +spirit that impels a scientific worker of the highest class, and of +the extent to which an enlightened community may honor him for what +he is doing. One of the creators of modern mathematics, he never +had any ambition beyond the prosecution of his favorite science. +I first met him at a dinner of the Astronomical Society Club. +As the guests were taking off their wraps and assembling in the +anteroom, I noticed, with some surprise, that one whom I supposed +to be an attendant was talking with them on easy terms. A moment +later the supposed attendant was introduced as Professor Cayley. +His garb set off the seeming haggardness of his keen features so +effectively that I thought him either broken down in health or just +recovering from some protracted illness. The unspoken words on +my lips were, "Why, Professor Cayley, what has happened to you?" +Being now in the confessional, I must own that I did not, at the +moment, recognize the marked intellectuality of a very striking face. +As a representation of a mathematician in the throes of thought, +I know nothing to equal his portrait by Dickenson, which now hangs +in the hall of Trinity College, Cambridge, and is reproduced in the +sixth volume of Cayley's collected works. His life was that of a +man moved to investigation by an uncontrollable impulse; the only +sort of man whose work is destined to be imperishable. Until forty +years of age he was by profession a conveyancer. His ability was +such that he might have gained a fortune by practicing the highest +branch of English law, if his energies had not been diverted in +another direction. The spirit in which he pursued his work may +be judged from an anecdote related by his friend and co-worker, +Sylvester, who, in speaking of Cayley's even and placid temper, +told me that he had never seen him ruffled but once. Entering his +office one morning, intent on some new mathematical thought which +he was discussing with Sylvester, he opened the letter-box in his +door and found a bundle of papers relating to a law case which he +was asked to take up. The interruption was too much. He flung the +papers on the table with remarks more forcible than complimentary +concerning the person who had distracted his attention at such an +inopportune moment. In 1863 he was made a professor at Cambridge, +where, no longer troubled with the intricacies of land tenure, he +published one investigation after another with ceaseless activity, +to the end of his life. + +Among my most interesting callers was Professor John C. Adams, of +whom I have spoken as sharing with Leverrier the honor of having +computed the position of the planet Neptune before its existence +was otherwise known. The work of the two men was prosecuted at +almost the same time, but adopting the principle that priority of +publication should be the sole basis of credit, Arago had declared +that no other name than that of Leverrier should even be mentioned +in connection with the work. If repute was correct, Leverrier was +not distinguished for those amiable qualities that commonly mark the +man of science and learning. His attitude toward Adams had always +been hostile. Under these conditions chance afforded the latter +a splendid opportunity of showing his superiority to all personal +feeling. He was president of the Royal Astronomical Society when +its annual medal was awarded to his French rival for his work in +constructing new tables of the sun and planets. It thus became his +duty to deliver the address setting forth the reasons for the award. +He did this with a warmth of praise for Leverrier's works which +could not have been exceeded had the two men been bosom friends. + +Adams's intellect was one of the keenest I ever knew. The most +difficult problems of mathematical astronomy and the most recondite +principles that underlie the theory of the celestial motions were +to him but child's play. His works place him among the first +mathematical astronomers of the age, and yet they do not seem to do +his ability entire justice. Indeed, for fifteen years previous to +the time of my visit his published writings had been rather meagre. +But I believe he was justly credited with an elaborate witticism +to the following effect: "In view of the fact that the only human +being ever known to have been killed by a meteorite was a monk, we +may concede that after four hundred years the Pope's bull against +the comet has been justified by the discovery that comets are made +up of meteorites." + +Those readers who know on what imperfect data men's impressions are +sometimes founded will not be surprised to learn of my impression +that an Englishman's politics could be inferred from his mental +and social make-up. If all men are born either Aristotelians or +Platonists, then it may be supposed that all Englishmen are born +Conservatives or Liberals. + +The utterances of English journalists of the Conservative party about +American affairs during and after our civil war had not impressed +me with the idea that one so unfortunate as to be born in that +party would either take much interest in meeting an American or +be capable of taking an appreciative view of scientific progress. +So confident was I of my theory that I remarked to a friend with +whom I had become somewhat intimate, that no one who knew Mr. Adams +could have much doubt that he was a Liberal in politics. + +An embarrassed smile spread over the friend's features. "You would +not make that conclusion known to Mr. Adams, I hope," said he. + +"But is he not a Liberal?" + +"He is not only a Conservative, but declares himself 'a Tory of +the Tories.'" + +I afterward found that he fully justified his own description. +At the university, he was one of the leading opponents of those +measures which freed the academic degrees from religious tests. +He was said to have been among those who objected to Sylvester, +a Jew, receiving a degree. + + +I had decided to observe the eclipse at Gibraltar. In order that +my results, if I obtained any, might be utilized in the best way, it +was necessary that the longitude of the station should be determined +by telegraph. This had never been done for Gibraltar. How great +the error of the supposed longitude might have been may be inferred +from the fact that a few years later, Captain F. Green of the United +States Navy found the longitude of Lisbon on the Admiralty charts +to be two miles in error. The first arrangements I had to make +in England were directed to this end. Considering the relation +of the world's great fortress to British maritime supremacy, it +does seem as if there were something presumptuous in the coolness +with which I went among the authorities to make arrangements for +the enterprise. Nevertheless, the authorities permitted the work, +with a cordiality which was of itself quite sufficient to remove +any such impression, had it been entertained. The astronomers did, +indeed, profess to feel it humiliating that the longitude of such +a place as Gibraltar should have to be determined from Greenwich by +an American. They did not say "by a foreigner," because they always +protested against Americans looking upon themselves as such. Still, +it would not be an English enterprise if an American carried it out. +I suspect, however, that my proceedings were not looked upon with +entire dissatisfaction even by the astronomers. They might prove +as good a stimulant to their government in showing a little more +enterprise in that direction as the arrival of our eclipse party did. + +The longitude work naturally took me to the Royal Observatory which +has made the little town of Greenwich so famous. It is situated some +eight miles east from Charing Cross, on a hill in Greenwich Park, +with a pleasant outlook toward the Thames. From my youth up I had +been working with its observations, and there was no institution +in the world which I had approached, or could approach, with the +interest I felt in ascending the little hill on which it is situated. +When the Calabria was once free from her wharf in New York harbor, +and on her way down the Narrows, the foremost thought was, "Off for +Europe; we shall see Greenwich!" The day of my arrival in London +I had written to Professor Airy, and received an answer the same +evening, inviting us to visit the observatory and spend an afternoon +with him a day or two later. + +I was shown around the observatory by an assistant, while my wife +was entertained by Mrs. Airy and the daughters inside the dwelling. +The family dined as soon as the day's work was over, about the middle +of the afternoon. After the meal, we sat over a blazing fire and +discussed our impressions of London. + +"What place in London interested you most?" said Airy to my wife. + +"The first place I went to see was Cavendish Square." + +"What was there in Cavendish Square to interest you?" + +"When I was a little girl, my mother once gave me, as a birthday +present, a small volume of poems. The first verse in the book was:-- + + "'Little Ann and her mother were walking one day + Through London's wide city so fair; + And business obliged them to go by the way + That led them through Cavendish Square.'" + +To our astonishment the Astronomer Royal at once took up the thread:-- + + "'And as they passed by the great house of a lord, + A beautiful chariot there came, + To take some most elegant ladies abroad, + Who straightway got into the same,'" + +and went on to the end. I do not know which of the two was more +surprised: Airy, to find an American woman who was interested in his +favorite ballad, or she to find that he could repeat it by heart. +The incident was the commencement of a family friendship which has +outlived both the heads of the Airy family. + +We may look back on Airy as the most commanding figure in the +astronomy of our time. He owes this position not only to his +early works in mathematical astronomy, but also to his ability as +an organizer. Before his time the working force of an observatory +generally consisted of individual observers, each of whom worked to a +greater or less extent in his own way. It is true that organization +was not unknown in such institutions. Nominally, at least, the +assistants in a national observatory were supposed to follow the +instructions of a directing head. This was especially the case +at Greenwich. Still, great dependence was placed upon the judgment +and ability of the observer himself, who was generally expected to +be a man well trained in his specialty, and able to carry on good +work without much help. From Airy's point of view, it was seen +that a large part of the work necessary to the attainment of the +traditional end of the Royal Observatory was of a kind that almost +any bright schoolboy could learn to do in a few weeks, and that in +most of the remaining part plodding industry, properly directed, was +more important than scientific training. He could himself work out +all the mathematical formulæ and write all the instructions required +to keep a small army of observers and computers employed, and could +then train in his methods a few able lieutenants, who would see that +all the details were properly executed. Under these lieutenants was a +grade comprising men of sufficient technical education to enable them +to learn how to point the telescope, record a transit, and perform the +other technical operations necessary in an astronomical observation. +A third grade was that of computers: ingenious youth, quick at +figures, ready to work for a compensation which an American laborer +would despise, yet well enough schooled to make simple calculations. +Under the new system they needed to understand only the four rules of +arithmetic; indeed, so far as possible Airy arranged his calculations +in such a way that subtraction and division were rarely required. +His boys had little more to do than add and multiply. Thus, so far +as the doing of work was concerned, he introduced the same sort of +improvement that our times have witnessed in great manufacturing +establishments, where labor is so organized that unskilled men +bring about results that formerly demanded a high grade of technical +ability. He introduced production on a large scale into astronomy. + +At the time of my visit, it was much the fashion among astronomers +elsewhere to speak slightingly of the Greenwich system. The +objections to it were, in substance, the same that have been made to +the minute subdivision of labor. The intellect of the individual +was stunted for the benefit of the work. The astronomer became a +mere operative. Yet it must be admitted that the astronomical work +done at Greenwich during the sixty years since Airy introduced his +system has a value and an importance in its specialty that none +done elsewhere can exceed. All future conclusions as to the laws +of motion of the heavenly bodies must depend largely upon it. + +The organization of his little army necessarily involved a +corresponding change in the instruments they were to use. Before his +time the trained astronomer worked with instruments of very delicate +construction, so that skill in handling them was one of the requisites +of an observer. Airy made them in the likeness of heavy machinery, +which could suffer no injury from a blow of the head of a careless +observer. Strong and simple, they rarely got out of order. It is +said that an assistant who showed a visiting astronomer the transit +circle some times hit it a good slap to show how solid it was; but +this was not done on the present occasion. The little army had its +weekly marching orders and made daily reports of progress to its +commander, who was thus enabled to control the minutest detail of +every movement. + +In the course of the evening Airy gave me a lesson in method, which +was equally instructive and entertaining. In order to determine the +longitude of Gibraltar, it was necessary that time signals should +be sent by telegraph from the Royal Observatory. Our conversation +naturally led us into a discussion of the general subject of such +operations. I told him of the difficulties we had experienced in +determining a telegraphic longitude,--that of the Harvard Observatory +from Washington, for example,--because it was only after a great deal +of talking and arranging on the evening of the observation that the +various telegraph stations between the two points could have their +connections successfully made at the same moment. At the appointed +hour the Washington operator would be talking with the others, +to know if they were ready, and so a general discussion about the +arrangements might go on for half an hour before the connections +were all reported good. If we had such trouble in a land line, +how should we get a connection from London to the Gibraltar cable +through lines in constant use? + +"But," said Airy, "I never allow an operator who can speak with the +instruments to take part in determining a telegraphic longitude." + +"Then how can you get the connections all made from one end of the +line to the other, at the same moment, if your operators cannot talk +to one another?" + +"Nothing is simpler. I fix in advance a moment, say eight +o'clock Greenwich mean time, at which signals are to commence. +Every intermediate office through which the signals are to pass is +instructed to have its wires connected in both directions exactly +at the given hour, and to leave them so connected for ten minutes, +without asking any further instructions. At the end of the line +the instruments must be prepared at the appointed hour to receive +the signals. All I have to do here is to place my clock in the +circuit and send on the signals for ten minutes, commencing at +eight o'clock. They are recorded at the other end of the line +without further trouble." + +"But have you never met with a failure to understand the +instructions?" + +"No; they are too simple to be mistaken, once it is understood that +no one has anything to do but make his connections at the designated +moment, without asking whether any one else is ready." + +Airy was noted not less for his ability as an organizer than for his +methodical habits. The care with which he preserved every record led +Sir William Rowan Hamilton to say that when Airy wiped his pen on a +blotter, he fancied him as always taking a press copy of the mark. +His machinery seemed to work perfectly, whether it was constructed +of flesh or of brass. He could prepare instructions for the most +complicated piece of work with such effective provision against +every accident and such completeness in every detail that the work +would go on for years without further serious attention from him. +The instruments which he designed half a century ago are mostly in +use to this day, with scarcely an alteration. + +Yet there is some reason to fear that Airy carried method a little +too far to get the best results. Of late years his system has been +greatly changed, even at Greenwich. It was always questionable +whether so rigid a military routine could accomplish the best that +was possible in astronomy; and Airy himself, during his later years, +modified his plan by trying to secure trained scientific men as his +assistants, giving them liberty to combine independent research, on +their own account, with the work of the establishment. His successor +has gone farther in the same direction, and is now gathering around +him a corps of young university men, from whose ability much may +be expected. Observations with the spectroscope have been pursued, +and the observatory has taken a prominent part in the international +work of making a photographic map of the heavens. Of special +importance are the regular discussions of photographs of the sun, +taken in order to determine the law of the variation of the spots. +The advantage of the regular system which has been followed for +more than fifty years is seen in the meteorological observations; +these disprove some theories of the relation between the sun and +the weather, in a way that no other set of meteorological records +has done. While delicate determinations of the highest precision, +such as those made at Pulkova, are not yet undertaken to any great +extent, a regular even if slow improvement is going on in the general +character of the observations and researches, which must bear fruit +in due time. + +One of the curious facts we learned at Greenwich was that astronomy +was still supposed to be astrology by many in England. That a belief +in astrology should survive was perhaps not remarkable, though I +do not remember to have seen any evidence of it in this country. +But applications received at the Royal Observatory, from time to +time, showed a widespread belief among the masses that one of the +functions of the astronomer royal was the casting of horoscopes. + + +We went to Edinburgh. Our first visit was to the observatory, +then under the direction of Professor C. Piazzi Smyth, who was also +an Egyptologist of repute, having made careful measurements of the +Pyramids, and brought out some new facts regarding their construction. +He was thus led to the conclusion that they bore marks of having been +built by a people of more advanced civilization than was generally +supposed,--so advanced, indeed, that we had not yet caught up to them +in scientific investigation. These views were set forth with great +fullness in his work on "The Antiquity of Intellectual Man," as well +as in other volumes describing his researches. He maintained that the +builders of the Pyramids knew the distance of the sun rather better +than we did, and that the height of the Great Pyramid had been so +arranged that if it was multiplied by a thousand millions we should +get this distance more exactly than we could measure it in these +degenerate days. With him, to believe in the Pyramid was to believe +this, and a great deal more about the civilization which it proved. +So, when he asked me whether I believed in the Pyramid, I told him +that I did not think I would depend wholly upon the Pyramid for the +distance of the sun to be used in astronomy, but should want its +indications at least confirmed by modern researches. The hint was +sufficient, and I was not further pressed for views on this subject. + +He introduced us to Lady Hamilton, widow of the celebrated +philosopher, who still held court at Edinburgh. The daughter of the +family was in repute as a metaphysician. This was interesting, +because I had never before heard of a female metaphysician, +although there were several cases of female mathematicians +recorded in history. First among them was Donna Maria Agnesi, +who wrote one of the best eighteenth-century books on the calculus, +and had a special dispensation from the Pope to teach mathematics +at Bologna. We were therefore very glad to accept an invitation +from Lady Hamilton to spend an evening with a few of her friends. +Her rooms were fairly filled with books, the legacy of one of whom +it was said that "scarcely a thought has come down to us through +the ages which he has not mastered and made his own." + +The few guests were mostly university people and philosophers. +The most interesting of them was Professor Blackie, the Grecian +scholar, who was the liveliest little man of sixty I ever saw; +amusing us by singing German songs, and dancing about the room like +a sprightly child among its playmates. I talked with Miss Hamilton +about Mill, whose "Examination of Sir William Hamilton's Philosophy" +was still fresh in men's minds. Of course she did not believe in this +book, and said that Mill could not understand her father's philosophy. +With all her intellect, she was a fine healthy-looking young lady, +and it was a sad surprise, a few years later, to hear of her death. +Madame Sophie Kovalevsky afterward appeared on the stage as the +first female mathematician of our time, but it may be feared that +the woman philosopher died with Miss Hamilton. + + +A large party of English astronomers were going to Algeria to observe +the eclipse. The government had fitted up a naval transport for their +use, and as I was arranging for a passage on a ship of the Peninsular +and Oriental Line we received an invitation to become the guests of +the English party. Among those on board were Professor Tyndall; +Mr. Huggins, the spectroscopist; Sir Erastus Ommaney, a retired +English admiral, and a fellow of the Royal Society; Father Perry, +S. J., a well-known astronomer; and Lieutenant Wharton, who afterward +became hydrographer to the Admiralty. + +The sprightliest man on board was Professor Tyndall. He made up +for the absence of mountains by climbing to every part of the ship +he could reach. One day he climbed the shrouds to the maintop, +and stood surveying the scene as if looking out from the top of +the Matterhorn. A sailor followed him, and drew a chalk-line around +his feet. I assume the reader knows what this means; if he does not, +he can learn by straying into the sailors' quarters the first time he +is on board an ocean steamer. But the professor absolutely refused +to take the hint. + +We had a rather rough passage, from which Father Perry was the +greatest sufferer. One day he heard a laugh from the only lady on +board, who was in the adjoining stateroom. "Who can laugh at such +a time as this!" he exclaimed. He made a vow that he would never +go on the ocean again, even if the sun and moon fought for a month. +But the vows of a seasick passenger are forgotten sooner than any +others I know of; and it was only four years later that Father Perry +made a voyage to Kerguelen Island, in the stormiest ocean on the +globe, to observe a transit of Venus. + +Off the coast of Spain, the leading chains of the rudder got loose, +during a gale in the middle of the night, and the steering apparatus +had to be disconnected in order to tighten them. The ship veered +round into the trough of the sea, and rolled so heavily that a table, +twenty or thirty feet long, in the saloon, broke from its fastenings, +and began to dance around the cabin with such a racket that some of +the passengers feared for the safety of the ship. + +Just how much of a storm there was I cannot say, believing that it +is never worth while for a passenger to leave his berth, if there +is any danger of a ship foundering in a gale. But in Professor +Tyndall's opinion we had a narrow escape. On arriving at Gibraltar, +he wrote a glowing account of the storm to the London Times, in +which he described the feelings of a philosopher while standing on +the stern of a rolling ship in an ocean storm, without quite knowing +whether she was going to sink or swim. The letter was anonymous, +which gave Admiral Ommaney an excellent opportunity to write as +caustic a reply as he chose, under the signature of "A Naval Officer." +He said that sailor was fortunate who could arrange with the clerk +of the weather never to have a worse storm in crossing the Bay of +Biscay than the one we had experienced. + +We touched at Cadiz, and anchored for a few hours, but did not go +ashore. The Brooklyn, an American man-of-war, was in the harbor, +but there was no opportunity to communicate with her, though I knew +a friend of mine was on board. + +Gibraltar is the greatest babel in the world, or, at least, the +greatest I know. I wrote home: "The principal languages spoken at +this hotel are English, Spanish, Moorish, French, Italian, German, +and Danish. I do not know what languages they speak at the other +hotels." Moorish and Spanish are the local tongues, and of course +English is the official one; but the traders and commercial travelers +speak nearly every language one ever heard. + +I hired a Moor--who bore some title which indicated that he was a +descendant of the Caliphs, and by which he had to be addressed--to do +chores and act as general assistant. One of the first things I did, +the morning after my arrival, was to choose a convenient point on +one of the stone parapets for "taking the sun," in order to test the +running of my chronometer. I had some suspicion as to the result, +but was willing to be amused. A sentinel speedily informed me that +no sights were allowed to be taken on the fortification. I told him +I was taking sights on the sun, not on the fortification. But he was +inexorable; the rule was that no sights of any sort could be taken +without a permit. I soon learned from Mr. Sprague, the American +consul, who the proper officer was to issue the permit, which I +was assured would be granted without the slightest difficulty. +The consul presented me to the military governor of the place, +General Sir Fenwick Williams of Kars. I did not know till long +afterward that he was born very near where I was. He was a man whom +it was very interesting to meet. His heroic defense of the town whose +name was added to his own as a part of his title was still fresh in +men's minds. It had won him the order of the Bath in England, the +Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor and a sword from Napoleon III., and +the usual number of lesser distinctions. The military governor, the +sole authority and viceroy of the Queen in the fortress, is treated +with the deference due to an exalted personage; but this deference +so strengthens the dignity of the position that the holder may be +frank and hearty at his own pleasure, without danger of impairing it. +Certainly, we found Sir Fenwick a most genial and charming gentleman. +The Alabama claims were then in their acute stage, and he expressed +the earnest hope that the two nations would not proceed to cutting +each other's throats over them. + +There was no need of troubling the governor with such a detail as +that of a permit to take sights; but the consul ventured to relate +my experience of the morning. He took the information in a way +which showed that England, in making him a general, had lost a +good diplomatist. Instead of treating the matter seriously, which +would have implied that we did not fully understand the situation, he +professed to be greatly amused, and said it reminded him of the case +of an old lady in "Punch" who had to pass a surveyor in the street, +behind a theodolite. "Please, sir, don't shoot till I get past," +she begged. + +Before leaving England, I had made very elaborate arrangements, +both with the Astronomer Royal and with the telegraph companies, +to determine the longitude of Gibraltar by telegraphic signals. +The most difficult part of the operation was the transfer of the +signals from the end of the land line into the cable, which had to +be done by hand, because the cable companies were not willing to +trust to an automatic action of any sort between the land line and +the cable. It was therefore necessary to show the operator at the +point of junction how signals were to be transmitted. This required +a journey to Port Curno, at the very end of the Land's End, several +miles beyond the terminus of the railway. It was the most old-time +place I ever saw; one might have imagined himself thrown back into the +days of the Lancasters. The thatched inn had a hard stone floor, with +a layer of loose sand scattered over it as a carpet in the bedroom. +My linguistic qualities were put to a severe test in talking with +the landlady. But the cable operators were pleasing and intelligent +young gentlemen, and I had no difficulty in making them understand +how the work was to be done. + +The manager of the cable was Sir James Anderson, who had formerly +commanded a Cunard steamship from Boston, and was well known to +the Harvard professors, with whom he was a favorite. I had met +him, or at least seen him, at a meeting of the American Academy ten +years before, where he was introduced by one of his Harvard friends. +After commanding the ship that laid the first Atlantic cable, he was +made manager of the cable line from England to Gibraltar. He gave me +a letter to the head operator at Gibraltar, the celebrated de Sauty. + +I say "the celebrated," but may it not be that this appellation can +only suggest the vanity of all human greatness? It just occurs to me +that many of the present generation may not even have heard of the-- + + Whispering Boanerges, son of silent thunder, + Holding talk with nations, + +immortalized by Holmes in one of his humorously scientific poems. +During the two short weeks that the first Atlantic cable transmitted +its signals, his fame spread over the land, for the moment obscuring +by its brilliancy that of Thomson, Field, and all others who had +taken part in designing and laying the cable. On the breaking down +of the cable he lapsed into his former obscurity. I asked him if he +had ever seen Holmes's production. He replied that he had received a +copy of "The Atlantic Monthly" containing it from the poet himself, +accompanied by a note saying that he might find in it something +of interest. He had been overwhelmed with invitations to continue +his journey from Newfoundland to the United States and lecture on +the cable, but was sensible enough to decline them. + +The rest of the story of the telegraphic longitude is short. +The first news which de Sauty had to give me was that the cable was +broken,--just where, he did not know, and would not be able soon to +discover. After the break was located, an unknown period would be +required to raise the cable, find the place, and repair the breach. +The weather, on the day of the eclipse, was more than half cloudy, +so that I did not succeed in making observations of such value as +would justify my waiting indefinitely for the repair of the cable, +and the project of determining the longitude had to be abandoned. + + + + +XI + +MEN AND THINGS IN EUROPE + + +We went from Gibraltar to Berlin in January by way of Italy. +The Mediterranean is a charming sea in summer, but in winter is +a good deal like the Atlantic. The cause of the blueness of its +water is not completely settled; but its sharing this color with +Lake Geneva, which is tinged with detritus from the shore, might +lead one to ascribe it to substances held in solution. The color is +noticeable even in the harbor of Malta, to which we had a pleasant +though not very smooth passage of five days. + +Here was our first experience of an Italian town of a generation +ago. I had no sooner started to take a walk than a so-called +guide, who spoke what he thought was English, got on my track, +and insisted on showing me everything. If I started toward a shop, +he ran in before me, invited me in, asked what I would like to buy, +and told the shopman to show the gentleman something. I could not +get rid of him till I returned to the hotel, and then he had the +audacity to want a fee for his services. I do not think he got it. +Everything of interest was easily seen, and we only stopped to take +the first Italian steamer to Messina. We touched at Syracuse and +Catania, but did not land. + +Ætna, from the sea, is one of the grandest sights I ever saw. +Its snow-covered cone seems to rise on all sides out of the sea +or the plain, and to penetrate the blue sky. In this it gives an +impression like that of the Weisshorn seen from Randa, but gains by +its isolation. + +At Messina, of course, our steamer was visited by a commissionnaire, +who asked me in good English whether I wanted a hotel. I told him +that I had already decided upon a hotel, and therefore did not need +his services. But it turned out that he belonged to the very hotel +I was going to, and was withal an American, a native-born Yankee, in +fact, and so obviously honest that I placed myself unreservedly in +his hands,--something which I never did with one of his profession +before or since. He said the first thing was to get our baggage +through the custom-house, which he could do without any trouble, +at the cost of a franc. He was as good as his word. The Italian +custom-house was marked by primitive rigor, and baggage was commonly +subjected to a very thorough search. But my man was evidently well +known and fully trusted. I was asked to raise the lid of one trunk, +which I did; the official looked at it, with his hands in his pockets, +gave a nod, and the affair was over. My Yankee friend collected one +franc for that part of the business. He told us all about the place, +changed our money so as to take advantage of the premium on gold, +and altogether looked out for our interests in a way to do honor to +his tribe. I thought there might be some curious story of the way +in which a New Englander of such qualities could have dropped into +such a place, but it will have to be left to imagination. + +We reached the Bay of Naples in the morning twilight, after making +an unsuccessful attempt to locate Scylla and Charybdis. If they +ever existed, they must have disappeared. Vesuvius was now and +then lighting up the clouds with its intermittent flame. But we +had passed a most uncomfortable night, and the morning was wet and +chilly. A view requires something more than the objective to make +it appreciated, and the effect of a rough voyage and bad weather +was such as to deprive of all its beauty what is considered one of +the finest views in the world. Moreover, the experience made me so +ill-natured that I was determined that the custom-house officer at the +landing should have no fee from me. The only article that could have +been subject to duty was on top of everything in the trunk, except +a single covering of some loose garment, so that only a touch was +necessary to find it. When it came to the examination, the officer +threw the top till contemptuously aside, and devoted himself to a +thorough search of the bottom. The only unusual object he stumbled +upon was a spyglass inclosed in a shield of morocco. Perhaps a +gesture and a remark on my part aroused his suspicions. He opened +the glass, tried to take it to pieces, inspected it inside and out, +and was so disgusted with his failure to find anything contraband +in it that he returned everything to the trunk, and let us off. + +It is commonly and quite justly supposed that the more familiar the +traveler is with the language of the place he visits, the better he +will get along. It is a common experience to find that even when +you can pronounce the language, you cannot understand what is said. +But there are exceptions to all rules, and circumstances now and then +occur in which one thus afflicted has an advantage over the native. +You can talk to him, while he cannot talk to you. There was an +amusing case of this kind at Munich. The only train that would take +us to Berlin before nightfall of the same day left at eight o'clock +in the morning, by a certain route. There was at Munich what we +call a union station. I stopped at the first ticket-office where I +saw the word "Berlin" on the glass, asked for a ticket good in the +train that was going to leave at eight o'clock the next morning for +Berlin, and took what the seller gave me. He was a stupid-looking +fellow, so when I got to my hotel I showed the ticket to a friend. +"That is not the ticket that you want at all," said he; "it will +take you by a circuitous route in a train that does not leave until +after nine, and you will not reach Berlin until long after dark." +I went directly back to the station and showed my ticket to the agent. + +"I--asked--you--for--a--ticket--good--in--the--train--which-- +leaves--at--eight--o'--clock. This--ticket--is--not--good-- +in--that--train. Sie--haben--mich--betrügen. I--want--you-- +to--take--the--ticket--back--and--return--me--the--money. +What--you--say--can--I--not--understand." + +He expostulated, gesticulated, and fumed, but I kept up the +bombardment until he had to surrender. He motioned to me to step +round into the office, where he took the ticket and returned the +money. I mention the matter because taking back a ticket is said +to be quite unusual on a German railway. + + +At Berlin, the leading astronomers then, as now, were Förster, +director of the observatory, and Auwers, permanent secretary of the +Academy of Sciences. I was especially interested in the latter, +as we had started in life nearly at the same time, and had done +much work on similar lines. It was several days before I made his +acquaintance, as I did not know that the rule on the Continent +is that the visitor must make the first call, or at least make +it known by direct communication that he would be pleased to see +the resident; otherwise it is presumed that he does not wish to +see callers. This is certainly the more logical system, but it is +not so agreeable to the visiting stranger as ours is. The art of +making the latter feel at home is not brought to such perfection on +the Continent as in England; perhaps the French understand it less +than any other people. But none can be pleasanter than the Germans, +when you once make their acquaintance; and we shall always remember +with pleasure the winter we passed in Berlin. + +To-day, Auwers stands at the head of German astronomy. In him is +seen the highest type of the scientific investigator of our time, +one perhaps better developed in Germany than in any other country. +The work of men of this type is marked by minute and careful research, +untiring industry in the accumulation of facts, caution in propounding +new theories or explanations, and, above all, the absence of effort +to gain recognition by being the first to make a discovery. When men +are ambitious to figure as Newtons of some great principle, there is +a constant temptation to publish unverified speculations which are +likely rather to impede than to promote the advance of knowledge. +The result of Auwers's conscientiousness is that, notwithstanding +his eminence in his science, there are few astronomers of note whose +works are less fitted for popular exposition than his. His specialty +has been the treatment of all questions concerning the positions and +motions of the stars. This work has required accurate observations +of position, with elaborate and careful investigations of a kind that +offer no feature to attract public attention, and only in exceptional +cases lead to conclusions that would interest the general reader. +He considers no work as ready for publication until it is completed +in every detail. + + +The old astronomical observations of which I was in quest might +well have been made by other astronomers than those of Paris, so +while awaiting the end of the war I tried to make a thorough search +of the writings of the mediæval astronomers in the Royal Library. +If one knew exactly what books he wanted, and had plenty of time +at his disposal, he would find no difficulty in consulting them +in any of the great Continental libraries. But at the time of my +visit, notwithstanding the cordiality with which all the officials, +from Professor Lepsius down, were disposed to second my efforts, +the process of getting any required book was very elaborate. +Although one could obtain a book on the same day he ordered it, +if he went in good time, it was advisable to leave the order the +day before, if possible. When, as in the present case, one book +only suggests another, this a third, and so on, in an endless chain, +the carrying on of an extended research is very tedious. + +One feature of the library strongly impressed me with the +comparatively backward state of mathematical science in our own +country. As is usual in the great European libraries, those books +which are most consulted are placed in the general reading-room, where +any one can have access to them, at any moment. It was surprising to +see amongst these books a set of Crelle's "Journal of Mathematics," +and to find it well worn by constant use. At that time, so far +as I could learn, there were not more than two or three sets of +the Journal in the United States; and these were almost unused. +Even the Library of Congress did not contain a set. There has +been a great change since that time,--a change in which the Johns +Hopkins University took the lead, by inviting Sylvester to this +country, and starting a mathematical school of the highest grade. +Other universities followed its example to such an extent that, +to-day, an American student need not leave his own country to hear +a master in any branch of mathematics. + + +I believe it was Dr. B. A. Gould who called the Pulkova Observatory +the astronomical capital of the world. This institution was founded +in 1839 by the Emperor Nicholas, on the initiative of his greatest +astronomer. It is situated some twelve miles south of St. Petersburg, +not far from the railway between that city and Berlin, and gets its +name from a peasant village in the neighborhood. From its foundation +it has taken the lead in exact measurements relating to the motion +of the earth and the positions of the principal stars. An important +part of its equipment is an astronomical library, which is perhaps the +most complete in existence. This, added to all its other attractions, +induced me to pay a visit to Pulkova. Otto Struve, the director, +had been kind enough to send me a message, expressing the hope that +I would pay him a visit, and giving directions about telegraphing +in advance, so as to insure the delivery of the dispatch. The time +from Berlin to St. Petersburg is about forty-eight hours, the only +through train leaving and arriving in the evening. On the morning +of the day that the train was due I sent the dispatch. Early in +the afternoon, as the train was stopping at a way station, I saw +an official running hastily from one car to another, looking into +each with some concern. When he came to my door, he asked if I had +sent a telegram to Estafetta. I told him I had. He then informed +me that Estafetta had not received it. But the train was already +beginning to move, so there was no further chance to get information. +The comical part of the matter was that "Estafetta" merely means a +post or postman, and that the directions, as Struve had given them, +were to have the dispatch sent by postman from the station to Pulkova. + +It was late in the evening when the train reached Zarsko-Selo, +the railway station for Pulkova, which is about five miles away. +The station-master told me that no carriage from Pulkova was waiting +for me, which tended to confirm the fear that the dispatch had not +been received. After making known my plight, I took a seat in the +station and awaited the course of events, in some doubt what to do. +Only a few minutes had elapsed when a good-looking peasant, well +wrapped in a fur overcoat, with a whip in his hand, looked in at +the door, and pronounced very distinctly the words, "Observatorio +Pulkova." Ah! this is Struve's driver at last, thought I, and I +followed the man to the door. But when I looked at the conveyance, +doubt once more supervened. It was scarcely more than a sledge, +and was drawn by a single horse, evidently more familiar with hard +work than good feeding. This did not seem exactly the vehicle that +the great Russian observatory would send out to meet a visitor; +yet it was a far country, and I was not acquainted with its customs. + +The way in which my doubt was dispelled shows that there is one +subject besides love on which difference of language is no bar to +the communication of ideas. This is the desire of the uncivilized +man for a little coin of the realm. In South Africa, Zulu chiefs, +who do not know one other word of English, can say "shilling" with +unmistakable distinctness. My Russian driver did not know even this +little English word, but he knew enough of the universal language. +When we had made a good start on the snow-covered prairie, he stopped +his horse for a moment, looked round at me inquiringly, raised his +hand, and stretched out two fingers so that I could see them against +the starlit sky. + +I nodded assent. + +Then he drew his overcoat tightly around him with a gesture of +shivering from the cold, beat his hands upon his breast as if to +warm it, and again looked inquiringly at me. + +I nodded again. + +The bargain was complete. He was to have two rubles for the drive, +and a little something to warm up his shivering breast. So he could +not be Struve's man. + +There is no welcome warmer than a Russian one, and none in any +country warmer than that which the visiting astronomer receives at an +observatory. Great is the contrast between the winter sky of a clear +moonless night and the interior of a dining-room, forty feet square, +with a big blazing fire at one end and a table loaded with eatables +in the middle. The fact that the visitor had never before met one +of his hosts detracted nothing from the warmth of his reception. + +The organizer of the observatory, and its first director, was Wilhelm +Struve, father of the one who received me, and equally great as man +and astronomer. Like many other good Russians, he was the father of a +large family. One of his sons was for ten years the Russian minister +at Washington, and as popular a diplomatist as ever lived among us. +The instruments which Struve designed sixty years ago still do as +fine work as any in the world; but one may suspect this to be due more +to the astronomers who handle them than to the instruments themselves. + +The air is remarkably clear; the entrance to St. Petersburg, ten or +twelve miles north, is distinctly visible, and Struve told me that +during the Crimean war he could see, through the great telescope, +the men on the decks of the British ships besieging Kronstadt, +thirty miles away. + +One drawback from which the astronomers suffer is the isolation of +the place. The village at the foot of the little hill is inhabited +only by peasants, and the astronomers and employees have nearly all +to be housed in the observatory buildings. There is no society but +their own nearer than the capital. At the time of my visit the +scientific staff was almost entirely German or Swedish, by birth +or language. In the state, two opposing parties are the Russian, +which desires the ascendency of the native Muscovites, and the German, +which appreciates the fact that the best and most valuable of the +Tsar's subjects are of German or other foreign descent. During the +past twenty years the Russian party has gradually got the upper hand; +and the result of this ascendency at Pulkova will be looked for with +much solicitude by astronomers everywhere. + +Once a year the lonely life of the astronomers is enlivened by a +grand feast--that of the Russian New Year. One object of the great +dining-room which I have mentioned, the largest room, I believe, in +the whole establishment, was to make this feast possible. My visit +took place early in March, so that I did not see the celebration; +but from what I have heard, the little colony does what it can to +make up for a year of ennui. Every twenty-five years it celebrates +a jubilee; the second came off in 1889. + +There is much to interest the visitor in a Russian peasant +village, and that of Pulkova has features some of which I have +never seen described. Above the door of each log hut is the name +of the occupant, and below the name is a rude picture of a bucket, +hook, or some other piece of apparatus used in extinguishing fire. +Inside, the furniture is certainly meagre enough, yet one could +not see why the occupants should be otherwise than comfortable. +I know of no good reason why ignorance should imply unhappiness; +altogether, there is some good room for believing that the less +civilized races can enjoy themselves, in their own way, about as +well as we can. What impressed me as the one serious hardship of +the peasantry was their hours of labor. Just how many hours of +the twenty-four these beings find for sleep was not clear to the +visitor; they seemed to be at work all day, and at midnight many of +them had to start on their way to St. Petersburg with a cartload +for the market. A church ornamented with tinsel is a feature of +every Russian village; so also are the priests. The only two I saw +were sitting on a fence, wearing garments that did not give evidence +of having known water since they were made. One great drawback to +the growth of manufactures in Russia is the number of feast days, +on which the native operators must one and all abandon their work, +regardless of consequences. + +The astronomical observations made at Pulkova are not published +annually, as are those made at most of the other national +observatories; but a volume relating to one subject is issued whenever +the work is done. When I was there, the volumes containing the +earlier meridian observations were in press. Struve and his chief +assistant, Dr. Wagner, used to pore nightly over the proof sheets, +bestowing on every word and detail a minute attention which less +patient astronomers would have found extremely irksome. + +Dr. Wagner was a son-in-law of Hansen, the astronomer of the little +ducal observatory at Gotha, as was also our Bayard Taylor. My first +meeting with Hansen, which occurred after my return to Berlin, was +accompanied with some trepidation. Modest as was the public position +that he held, he may now fairly be considered the greatest master of +celestial mechanics since Laplace. In what order Leverrier, Delaunay, +Adams, and Hill should follow him, it is not necessary to decide. +To many readers it will seem singular to place any name ahead of +that of the master who pointed out the position of Neptune before +a human eye had ever recognized it. But this achievement, great +as it was, was more remarkable for its boldness and brilliancy than +for its inherent difficulty. If the work had to be done over again +to-day, there are a number of young men who would be as successful +as Leverrier; but there are none who would attempt to reinvent +the methods of Hansen, or even to improve radically upon them. +Their main feature is the devising of new and refined methods of +computing the variations in the motions of a planet produced by the +attraction of all the other planets. As Laplace left this subject, +the general character of these variations could be determined without +difficulty, but the computations could not be made with mathematical +exactness. Hansen's methods led to results so precise that, if they +were fully carried out, it is doubtful whether any deviation between +the predicted and the observed motions of a planet could be detected +by the most refined observation. + +At the time of my visit Mrs. Wagner was suffering from a severe +illness, of which the crisis passed while I was at Pulkova, and +left her, as was supposed, on the road to recovery. I was, of +course, very desirous of meeting so famous a man as Hansen. He was +expected to preside at a session of the German commission on the +transit of Venus, which was to be held in Berlin about the time of +my return thither from Pulkova. The opportunity was therefore open +of bringing a message of good news from his daughter. Apart from +this, the prospect of the meeting might have been embarrassing. +The fact is that I was at odds with him on a scientific question, +and he was a man who did not take a charitable view of those who +differed from him in opinion. + +He was the author of a theory, current thirty or forty years ago, +that the farther side of the moon is composed of denser materials +than the side turned toward us. As a result of this, the centre +of gravity of the moon was supposed to be farther from us than the +actual centre of her globe. It followed that, although neither +atmosphere nor water existed on our side of the moon, the other +side might have both. Here was a very tempting field into which +astronomical speculators stepped, to clothe the invisible hemisphere +of the moon with a beautiful terrestrial landscape, and people it as +densely as they pleased with beings like ourselves. If these beings +should ever attempt to explore the other half of their own globe, +they would find themselves ascending to a height completely above +the limits of their atmosphere. Hansen himself never countenanced +such speculations as these, but confined his claims to the simple +facts he supposed proven. + +In 1868 I had published a little paper showing what I thought a +fatal defect, a vicious circle in fact, in Hansen's reasoning on +this subject. Not long before my visit, Delaunay had made this paper +the basis of a communication to the French Academy of Sciences, in +which he not only indorsed my views, but sought to show the extreme +improbability of Hansen's theory on other grounds. + +When I first reached Germany, on my way from Italy, I noticed +copies of a blue pamphlet lying on the tables of the astronomers. +Apparently, the paper had been plentifully distributed; but it was +not until I reached Berlin that I found it was Hansen's defense +against my strictures,--a defense in which mathematics were not +unmixed with seething sarcasm at the expense of both Delaunay +and myself. The case brought to mind a warm discussion between +Hansen and Encke, in the pages of a scientific journal, some fifteen +years before. At the time it had seemed intensely comical to see two +enraged combatants--for so I amused myself by fancying them--hurling +algebraic formulæ, of frightful complexity, at each other's heads. +I did not then dream that I should live to be an object of the same +sort of attack, and that from Hansen himself. + +To be revised, pulled to pieces, or superseded, as science advances, +is the common fate of most astronomical work, even the best. +It does not follow that it has been done in vain; if good, it +forms a foundation on which others will build. But not every great +investigator can look on with philosophic calm when he sees his work +thus treated, and Hansen was among the last who could. Under these +circumstances, it was a serious question what sort of reception Hansen +would accord to a reviser of his conclusions who should venture to +approach him. I determined to assume an attitude that would show +no consciousness of offense, and was quite successful. Our meeting +was not attended by any explosion; I gave him the pleasant message +with which I was charged from his daughter, and, a few days later, +sat by his side at a dinner of the German commission on the coming +transit of Venus. + +As Hansen was Germany's greatest master in mathematical astronomy, +so was the venerable Argelander in the observational side of the +science. He was of the same age as the newly crowned Emperor, +and the two were playmates at the time Germany was being overrun +by the armies of Napoleon. He was held in love and respect by the +entire generation of young astronomers, both Germans and foreigners, +many of whom were proud to have had him as their preceptor. Among +these was Dr. B. A. Gould, who frequently related a story of the +astronomer's wit. When with him as a student, Gould was beardless, +but had a good head of hair. Returning some years later, he had +become bald, but had made up for it by having a full, long beard. +He entered Argelander's study unannounced. At first the astronomer +did not recognize him. + +"Do you not know me, Herr Professor?" + +The astronomer looked more closely. "Mine Gott! It is Gould mit +his hair struck through!" + +Argelander was more than any one else the founder of that branch of +his science which treats of variable stars. His methods have been +followed by his successors to the present time. It was his policy +to make the best use he could of the instruments at his disposal, +rather than to invent new ones that might prove of doubtful utility. +The results of his work seem to justify this policy. + +We passed the last month of the winter in Berlin waiting for the +war to close, so that we could visit Paris. Poor France had at +length to succumb, and in the latter part of March, we took almost +the first train that passed the lines. + +Delaunay was then director of the Paris Observatory, having succeeded +Leverrier when the emperor petulantly removed the latter from his +position. I had for some time kept up an occasional correspondence +with Delaunay, and while in England, the autumn before, had forwarded +a message to him, through the Prussian lines, by the good offices +of the London legation and Mr. Washburn. He was therefore quite +prepared for our arrival. The evacuation of a country by a hostile +army is rather a slow process, so that the German troops were met +everywhere on the road, even in France. They had left Paris just +before we arrived; but the French national army was not there, +the Communists having taken possession of the city as fast as the +Germans withdrew. As we passed out of the station, the first object +to strike our eyes was a flaming poster addressed to "Citoyens," +and containing one of the manifestoes which the Communist government +was continually issuing. + +Of course we made an early call on Mr. Washburn. His career in +Paris was one of the triumphs of diplomacy; he had cared for the +interests of German subjects in Paris in such a way as to earn the +warm recognition both of the emperor and of Bismarck, and at the +same time had kept on such good terms with the French as to be not +less esteemed by them. He was surprised that we had chosen such a +time to visit Paris; but I told him the situation, the necessity +of my early return home, and my desire to make a careful search +in the records of the Paris Observatory for observations made two +centuries ago. He advised us to take up our quarters as near to +the observatory as convenient, in order that we might not have to +pass through the portions of the city which were likely to be the +scenes of disturbance. + +We were received at the observatory with a warmth of welcome that +might be expected to accompany the greeting of the first foreign +visitor, after a siege of six months. Yet a tinge of sadness in +the meeting was unavoidable. Delaunay immediately began lamenting +the condition of his poor ruined country, despoiled of two of its +provinces by a foreign foe, condemned to pay an enormous subsidy +in addition, and now the scene of an internal conflict the end of +which no one could foresee. + +While I was mousing among the old records of the Paris Observatory, +the city was under the reign of the Commune and besieged by the +national forces. The studies had to be made within hearing of +the besieging guns; and I could sometimes go to a window and see +flashes of artillery from one of the fortifications to the south. +Nearly every day I took a walk through the town, occasionally as +far as the Arc de Triomphe. The story of the Commune has been so +often written that I cannot hope to add anything to it, so far as the +main course of events is concerned. Looking back on a sojourn at so +interesting a period, one cannot but feel that a golden opportunity +to make observations of historic value was lost. The fact is, +however, that I was prevented from making such observations not only +by my complete absorption in my work, but by the consideration that, +being in what might be described as a semi-official capacity, I did +not want to get into any difficulty that would have compromised +the position of an official visitor. I should not deem what we +saw worthy of special mention, were it not that it materially +modifies the impressions commonly given by writers on the history +of the Commune. What an historian says may be quite true, so far +as it goes, and yet may be so far from the whole truth as to give +the reader an incorrect impression of the actual course of events. +The violence and disease which prevail in the most civilized country +in the world may be described in such terms as to give the impression +of a barbarous community. The murder of the Archbishop of Paris and +of the hostages show how desperate were the men who had seized power, +yet the acts of these men constitute but a small part of the history +of Paris during that critical period. + +What one writes at the time is free from the suspicion that may +attach to statements not recorded till many years after the events +to which they relate. The following extract from a letter which I +wrote to a friend, the day after my arrival, may therefore be taken +to show how things actually looked to a spectator:-- + + Dear Charlie,--Here we are, on this slumbering volcano. + Perhaps you will hear of the burst-up long before you get + this. We have seen historic objects which fall not to the + lot of every generation, the barricades of the Paris streets. + As we were walking out this morning, the pavement along one + side of the street was torn up for some distance, and used + to build a temporary fort. Said fort would be quite strong + against musketry or the bayonet; but with heavy shot against + it, I should think it would be far worse than nothing, + for the flying stones would kill more than the balls. + + The streets are placarded at every turn with all sorts of + inflammatory appeals, and general orders of the Comité + Central or of the Commune. One of the first things I + saw last night was a large placard beginning "Citoyens!" + Among the orders is one forbidding any one from placarding + any orders of the Versailles government under the severest + penalties; and another threatening with instant dismissal + any official who shall recognize any order issuing from + the said government. + + I must do all hands the justice to say that they are all + very well behaved. There is nothing like a mob anywhere, so + far as I can find. I consulted my map this morning, right + alongside the barricade and in full view of the builders, + without being molested, and wife and I walked through the + insurrectionary districts without being troubled or seeing + the slightest symptoms of disturbance. The stores are all + open, and every one seems to be buying and selling as usual. + In all the cafés I have seen, the habitués seem to be + drinking their wine just as coolly as if they had nothing + unusual on their minds. + +From this date to that of our departure I saw nothing suggestive +of violence within the limited range of my daily walks, which were +mostly within the region including the Arc de Triomphe, the Hôtel +de Ville, and the observatory; the latter being about half a mile +south of the Luxembourg. The nearest approach to a mob that I +ever noticed was a drill of young recruits of the National Guard, +or a crowd in the court of the Louvre being harangued by an orator. +With due allowance for the excitability of the French nature, +the crowd was comparatively as peaceable as that which we may see +surrounding a gospel wagon in one of our own cities. A drill-ground +for the recruits happened to be selected opposite our first lodgings, +beside the gates of the Luxembourg. This was so disagreeable that we +were glad to accept an invitation from Delaunay to be his guests at +the observatory, during the remainder of our stay. We had not been +there long before the spacious yard of the observatory was also used +as a drill-ground; and yet later, two or three men were given _billets +de logement_ upon the observatory; but I should not have known of the +latter occurrence, had not Delaunay told me. I believe he bought +the men off, much as one pays an organ-grinder to move on. In one +of our walks we entered the barricade around the Hôtel de Ville, and +were beginning to make a close examination of a mitrailleuse, when a +soldier (beg his pardon, _un citoyen membre de la Garde Nationale_) +warned us away from the weapon. The densest crowd of Communists was +along the Rue de Rivoli and in the region of the Colonne Vendôme, +where some of the principal barricades were being erected. But even +here, not only were the stores open as usual, but the military were +doing their work in the midst of piles of trinkets exposed for sale +on the pavement by the shopwomen. The order to destroy the Column +was issued before we left, but not executed until later. I have no +reason to suppose that the shopwomen were any more concerned while +the Column was being undermined than they were before. To complete +the picture, not a policeman did we see in Paris; in fact, I was +told that one of the first acts of the Commune had been to drive +the police away, so that not one dared to show himself. + +An interesting feature of the sad spectacle was the stream of +proclamations poured forth by the Communist authorities. They +comprised not only decrees, but sensational stories of victories over +the Versailles troops, denunciations of the Versailles government, +and even elaborate legal arguments, including a not intemperate +discussion of the ethical question whether citizens who were not +adherents of the Commune should be entitled to the right of suffrage. +The conclusion was that they should not. The lack of humor on the +part of the authorities was shown by their commencing one of a rapid +succession of battle stories with the words, "Citoyens! Vous avez +soif de la vérité!" The most amusing decree I noticed ran thus:-- + +"Article I. All conscription is abolished. + +"Article II. No troops shall hereafter be allowed in Paris, except +the National Guard. + +"Article III. Every citizen is a member of the National Guard." + +We were in daily expectation and hope of the capture of the city, +little imagining by what scenes it would be accompanied. It did not +seem to my unmilitary eye that two or three batteries of artillery +could have any trouble in demolishing all the defenses, since a +wall of paving-stones, four or five feet high, could hardly resist +solid shot, or prove anything but a source of destruction to those +behind it if attacked by artillery. But the capture was not so easy +a matter as I had supposed. + +We took leave of our friend and host on May 5, three weeks before +the final catastrophe, of which he wrote me a graphic description. +As the barricades were stormed by MacMahon, the Communist line of +retreat was through the region of the observatory. The walls of +the building and of the yard were so massive that the place was +occupied as a fort by the retreating forces, so that the situation +of the few non-combatants who remained was extremely critical. +They were exposed to the fire of their friends, the national troops, +from without, while enraged men were threatening their lives within. +So hot was the fusillade that, going into the great dome after the +battle, the astronomer could imagine all the constellations of the +sky depicted by the bullet-holes. When retreat became inevitable, +the Communists tried to set the building on fire, but did not succeed. +Then, in their desperation, arrangements were made for blowing it up; +but the most violent man among them was killed by a providential +bullet, as he was on the point of doing his work. The remainder +fled, the place was speedily occupied by the national troops, and +the observatory with its precious contents was saved. + +The Academy of Sciences had met regularly through the entire Prussian +siege. The legal quorum being three, this did not imply a large +attendance. The reason humorously assigned for this number was that, +on opening a session, the presiding officer must say, _Messieurs, +la séance est ouverte_, and he cannot say _Messieurs_ unless there +are at least two to address. At the time of my visit a score of +members were in the city. Among them were Elie de Beaumont, the +geologist; Milne-Edwards, the zoölogist; and Chevreul, the chemist. +I was surprised to learn that the latter was in his eighty-fifth +year; he seemed a man of seventy or less, mentally and physically. +Yet we little thought that he would be the longest-lived man of equal +eminence that our age has known. When he died, in 1889, he was nearly +one hundred and three years old. Born in 1786, he had lived through +the whole French Revolution, and was seven years old at the time of +the Terror. His scientific activity, from beginning to end, extended +over some eighty years. When I saw him, he was still very indignant +at a bombardment of the Jardin des Plantes by the German besiegers. +He had made a formal statement of this outrage to the Academy of +Sciences, in order that posterity might know what kind of men were +besieging Paris. I suggested that the shells might have fallen in +the place by accident; but he maintained that it was not the case, +and that the bombardment was intentional. + +The most execrated man in the scientific circle at this time was +Leverrier. He had left Paris before the Prussian siege began, and had +not returned. Delaunay assured me that this was a wise precaution +on his part; for had he ventured into the city he would have been +mobbed, or the Communists would have killed him as soon as caught. +Just why the mob should have been so incensed against one whose +life was spent in the serenest fields of astronomical science was +not fully explained. The fact that he had been a senator, and was +politically obnoxious, was looked on as an all-sufficient indictment. +Even members of the Academy could not suppress their detestation +of him. Their language seemed not to have words that would fully +express their sense of his despicable meanness, not to say turpitude. + +Four years later I was again in Paris, and attended a meeting of +the Academy of Sciences. In the course of the session a rustle +of attention spread over the room, as all eyes were turned upon +a member who was entering rather late. Looking toward the door, +I saw a man of sixty, a decided blond, with light chestnut hair +turning gray, slender form, shaven face, rather pale and thin, but +very attractive, and extremely intellectual features. As he passed +to his seat hands were stretched out on all sides to greet him, and +not until he sat down did the bustle caused by his entrance subside. +He was evidently a notable. + +"Who is that?" I said to my neighbor. + +"Leverrier." + +Delaunay was one of the most kindly and attractive men I ever met. +We spent our evenings walking in the grounds of the observatory, +discussing French science in all its aspects. His investigation +of the moon's motion is one of the most extraordinary pieces of +mathematical work ever turned out by a single person. It fills two +quarto volumes, and the reader who attempts to go through any part +of the calculations will wonder how one man could do the work in +a lifetime. His habit was to commence early in the morning, and +work with but little interruption until noon. He never worked in +the evening, and generally retired at nine. I felt some qualms of +conscience at the frequency with which I kept him up till nearly ten. +I found it hopeless to expect that he would ever visit America, +because he assured me that he did not dare to venture on the ocean. +The only voyage he had ever made was across the Channel, to receive +the gold medal of the Royal Astronomical Society for his work. +Two of his relatives--his father and, I believe, his brother--had +been drowned, and this fact gave him a horror of the water. +He seemed to feel somewhat like the clients of the astrologists, +who, having been told from what agencies they were to die, took every +precaution to avoid them. I remember, as a boy, reading a history of +astrology, in which a great many cases of this sort were described; +the peculiarity being that the very measures which the victim took +to avoid the decree of fate became the engines that executed it. +The death of Delaunay was not exactly a case of this kind, yet it +could not but bring it to mind. He was at Cherbourg in the autumn +of 1872. As he was walking on the beach with a relative, a couple +of boatmen invited them to take a sail. Through what inducement +Delaunay was led to forget his fears will never be known. All we +know is that he and his friend entered the boat, that it was struck +by a sudden squall when at some distance from the land, and that +the whole party were drowned. + +There was no opposition to the reappointment of Leverrier to his old +place. In fact, at the time of my visit, Delaunay said that President +Thiers was on terms of intimate friendship with the former director, +and he thought it not at all unlikely that the latter would succeed +in being restored. He kept the position with general approval till +his death in 1877. + +The only occasion on which I met Leverrier was after the incident +I have mentioned, in the Academy of Sciences. I had been told that +he was incensed against me on account of an unfortunate remark I had +made in speaking of his work which led to the discovery of Neptune. +I had heard this in Germany as well as in France, yet the matter was +so insignificant that I could hardly conceive of a man of philosophic +mind taking any notice of it. I determined to meet him, as I had +met Hansen, with entire unconsciousness of offense. So I called +on him at the observatory, and was received with courtesy, but no +particular warmth. I suggested to him that now, as he had nearly +completed his work on the tables of the planets, the question of +the moon's motion would be the next object worthy of his attention. +He replied that it was too large a subject for him to take up. + +To Leverrier belongs the credit of having been the real organizer of +the Paris Observatory. His work there was not dissimilar to that +of Airy at Greenwich; but he had a much more difficult task before +him, and was less fitted to grapple with it. When founded by Louis +XIV. the establishment was simply a place where astronomers of the +Academy of Sciences could go to make their observations. There was +no titular director, every man working on his own account and in +his own way. Cassini, an Italian by birth, was the best known of +the astronomers, and, in consequence, posterity has very generally +supposed he was the director. That he failed to secure that honor +was not from any want of astuteness. It is related that the monarch +once visited the observatory to see a newly discovered comet through +the telescope. He inquired in what direction the comet was going to +move. This was a question it was impossible to answer at the moment, +because both observations and computations would be necessary before +the orbit could be worked out. But Cassini reflected that the king +would not look at the comet again, and would very soon forget what +was told him; so he described its future path in the heavens quite +at random, with entire confidence that any deviation of the actual +motion from his prediction would never be noted by his royal patron. + +One of the results of this lack of organization has been that the +Paris Observatory does not hold an historic rank correspondent to +the magnificence of the establishment. The go-as-you-please system +works no better in a national observatory than it would in a business +institution. Up to the end of the last century, the observations +made there were too irregular to be of any special importance. +To remedy this state of things, Arago was appointed director early in +the present century; but he was more eminent in experimental physics +than in astronomy, and had no great astronomical problem to solve. +The result was that while he did much to promote the reputation of +the observatory in the direction of physical investigation, he did +not organize any well-planned system of regular astronomical work. + +When Leverrier succeeded Arago, in 1853, he had an extremely difficult +problem before him. By a custom extending through two centuries, +each astronomer was to a large extent the master of his own work. +Leverrier undertook to change all this in a twinkling, and, if reports +are true, without much regard to the feelings of the astronomers. +Those who refused to fall into line either resigned or were driven +away, and their places were filled with men willing to work under the +direction of their chief. Yet his methods were not up to the times; +and the work of the Paris Observatory, so far as observations of +precision go, falls markedly behind that of Greenwich and Pulkova. + +In recent times the institution has been marked by an energy and a +progressiveness that go far to atone for its former deficiencies. +The successors of Leverrier have known where to draw the line +between routine, on the one side, and initiative on the part of the +assistants, on the other. Probably no other observatory in the world +has so many able and well-trained young men, who work partly on their +own account, and partly in a regular routine. In the direction of +physical astronomy the observatory is especially active, and it may +be expected in the future to justify its historic reputation. + + + + +XII + +THE OLD AND THE NEW WASHINGTON + + +A few features of Washington as it appeared during the civil war +are indelibly fixed in my memory. An endless train of army wagons +ploughed its streets with their heavy wheels. Almost the entire +southwestern region, between the War Department and the Potomac, +extending west on the river to the neighborhood of the observatory, +was occupied by the Quartermaster's and Subsistence Departments for +storehouses. Among these the astronomers had to walk by day and +night, in going to and from their work. After a rain, especially +during winter and spring, some of the streets were much like shallow +canals. Under the attrition of the iron-bound wheels the water +and clay were ground into mud, which was at first almost liquid. +It grew thicker as it dried up, until perhaps another rainstorm +reduced it once more to a liquid condition. In trying first one +street and then another to see which offered the fewest obstacles +to his passage, the wayfarer was reminded of the assurance given +by a bright boy to a traveler who wanted to know the best road to +a certain place: "Whichever road you take, before you get halfway +there you'll wish you had taken t' other." By night swarms of rats, +of a size proportional to their ample food supply, disputed the +right of way with the pedestrian. + +Across the Potomac, Arlington Heights were whitened by the tents of +soldiers, from which the discharges of artillery or the sound of the +fife and drum became so familiar that the dweller almost ceased to +notice it. The city was defended by a row of earthworks, generally +not far inside the boundary line of the District of Columbia, +say five or six miles from the central portions of the city. +One of the circumstances connected with their plans strikingly +illustrates the exactness which the science or art of military +engineering had reached. Of course the erection of fortifications +was one of the first tasks to be undertaken by the War Department. +Plans showing the proposed location and arrangements of the several +forts were drawn up by a board of army engineers, at whose head, +then or afterward, stood General John G. Barnard. When the plans +were complete, it was thought advisable to test them by calling in the +advice of Professor D. H. Mahan of the Military Academy at West Point. +He came to Washington, made a careful study of the maps and plans, +and was then driven around the region of the lines to be defended +to supplement his knowledge by personal inspection. Then he laid +down his ideas as to the location of the forts. There were but +two variations from the plans proposed by the Board of Engineers, +and these were not of fundamental importance. + +Willard's Hotel, then the only considerable one in the neighborhood of +the executive offices, was a sort of headquarters for arriving army +officers, as well as for the thousands of civilians who had business +with the government, and for gossip generally. Inside its crowded +entrance one could hear every sort of story, of victory or disaster, +generally the latter, though very little truth was ever to be gleaned. + +The newsboy flourished. He was a bright fellow too, and may have +developed into a man of business, a reporter, or even an editor. +"Another great battle!" was his constant cry. But the purchaser of +his paper would commonly read of nothing but a skirmish or some fresh +account of a battle fought several days before--perhaps not even this. +On one occasion an officer in uniform, finding nothing in his paper +to justify the cry, turned upon the boy with the remark,-- + +"Look here, boy, I don't see any battle here." + +"No," was the reply, "nor you won't see one as long as you hang around +Washington. If you want to see a battle you must go to the front." + +The officer thought it unprofitable to continue the conversation, +and beat a retreat amid the smiles of the bystanders. This story, +I may remark, is quite authentic, which is more than one can say +of the report that a stick thrown by a boy at a dog in front of +Willard's Hotel struck twelve brigadier generals during its flight. + +The presiding genius of the whole was Mr. Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary +of War. Before the actual outbreak of the conflict he had been, +I believe, at least a Democrat, and, perhaps, to a certain extent, +a Southern sympathizer so far as the slavery question was concerned. +But when it came to blows, he espoused the side of the Union, and +after being made Secretary of War he conducted military operations +with a tireless energy, which made him seem the impersonation of +the god of war. Ordinarily his character seemed almost savage +when he was dealing with military matters. He had no mercy on +inefficiency or lukewarmness. But his sympathetic attention, when +a case called for it, is strikingly shown in the following letter, +of which I became possessed by mere accident. At the beginning of +the war Mr. Charles Ellet, an eminent engineer, then resident near +Washington, tendered his services to the government, and equipped +a fleet of small river steamers on the Mississippi under the War +Department. In the battle of June 6, 1862, he received a wound from +which he died some two weeks later. His widow sold or leased his +house on Georgetown Heights, and I boarded in it shortly afterward. +Amongst some loose rubbish and old papers lying around in one of +the rooms I picked up the letter which follows. + + War Department, + Washington City, D. C., June 9, 1862. + + Dear Madam,--I understand from Mr. Ellet's dispatch to you + that as he will be unfit for duty for some time it will be + agreeable to him for you to visit him, traveling slowly so + as not to expose your own health. + + With this view I will afford you every facility within + the control of the Department, by way of Pittsburg and + Cincinnati to Cairo, where he will probably meet you. + + Yours truly, + Edwin M. Stanton, + _Secretary of War._ + +The interesting feature of this letter is that it is entirely in the +writer's autograph, and bears no mark of having been press copied. +I infer that it was written out of office hours, after all the clerks +had left the Department, perhaps late at night, while the secretary +was taking advantage of the stillness of the hour to examine papers +and plans. + +Only once did I come into personal contact with Mr. Stanton. +A portrait of Ferdinand R. Hassler, first superintendent of the +Coast Survey, had been painted about 1840 by Captain Williams of the +Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., a son-in-law of Mr. G. W. P. Custis, +and therefore a brother-in-law of General Lee. The picture at the +Arlington house was given to Mrs. Colonel Abert, who loaned it to +Mr. Custis. When the civil war began she verbally donated it to +my wife, who was Mr. Hassler's grand-daughter, and was therefore +considered the most appropriate depositary of it, asking her to get +it if she could. But before she got actual possession of it, the +Arlington house was occupied by our troops and Mr. Stanton ordered the +picture to be presented to Professor Agassiz for the National Academy +of Sciences. On hearing of this, I ventured to mention the matter +to Mr. Stanton, with a brief statement of our claims upon the picture. + +"Sir," said he, "that picture was found in the house of a rebel +in arms [General Robert E. Lee], and was justly a prize of war. +I therefore made what I considered the most appropriate disposition +of it, by presenting it to the National Academy of Sciences." + +The expression "house of a rebel in arms" was uttered with such +emphasis that I almost felt like one under suspicion of relations +with the enemy in pretending to claim the object in question. +It was clearly useless to pursue the matter any further at that time. +Some years later, when the laws were no longer silent, the National +Academy decided that whoever might be the legal owner of the picture, +the Academy could have no claim upon it, and therefore suffered it +to pass into the possession of the only claimant. + +Among the notable episodes of the civil war was the so-called raid +of the Confederate general, Early, in July, 1864. He had entered +Maryland and defeated General Lew Wallace. This left nothing but +the well-designed earthworks around Washington between his army +and our capital. Some have thought that, had he immediately made +a rapid dash, the city might have fallen into his hands. + +All in the service of the War and Navy departments who were supposed +capable of rendering efficient help, were ordered out to take part +in the defense of the city, among them the younger professors of the +observatory. By order of Captain Gilliss I became a member of a naval +brigade, organized in the most hurried manner by Admiral Goldsborough, +and including in it several officers of high and low rank. The rank +and file was formed of the workmen in the Navy Yard, most of whom +were said to have seen military service of one kind or another. +The brigade formed at the Navy Yard about the middle of the afternoon, +and was ordered to march out to Fort Lincoln, a strong earthwork built +on a prominent hill, half a mile southwest of the station now known +as Rives. The Reform School of the District of Columbia now stands +on the site of the fort. The position certainly looked very strong. +On the right the fort was flanked by a deep intrenchment running along +the brow of the hill, and the whole line would include in the sweep +of its fire the region which an army would have to cross in order +to enter the city. The naval brigade occupied the trench, while +the army force, which seemed very small in numbers, manned the front. + +I was not assigned to any particular duty, and simply walked round the +place in readiness to act whenever called upon. I supposed the first +thing to be done was to have the men in the trench go through some +sort of drill, in order to assure their directing the most effective +fire on the enemy should he appear. The trench was perhaps six feet +deep; along its bottom ran a little ledge on which the men had to +step in order to deliver their fire, stepping back into the lower +depth to load again. Along the edge was a sort of rail fence, the +bottom rail of which rested on the ground. In order to fire on an +enemy coming up the hill, it would be necessary to rest the weapon +on this bottom rail. It was quite evident to me that a man not +above the usual height, standing on the ledge, would have to stand +on tiptoe in order to get the muzzle of his gun properly directed +down the slope. If he were at all flurried he would be likely to +fire over the head of the enemy. I called attention to this state +of things, but did not seem to make any impression on the officers, +who replied that the men had seen service and knew what to do. + +We bivouacked that night, and remained all the next day and the night +following awaiting the attack of the enemy, who was supposed to be +approaching Fort Stevens on the Seventh Street road. At the critical +moment, General H. G. Wright arrived from Fort Monroe with his +army corps. He and General A. McD. McCook both took their stations +at Fort Lincoln, which it was supposed would be the point of attack. +A quarter or half a mile down the hill was the mansion of the Rives +family, which a passenger on the Baltimore and Ohio Railway can +readily see at the station of that name. A squad of men was detailed +to go to this house and destroy it, in case the enemy should appear. +The attack was expected at daybreak, but General Early, doubtless +hearing of the arrival of reinforcements, abandoned any project +he might have entertained and had beat a retreat the day before. +Whether the supposition that he could have taken the city with great +celerity has any foundation, I cannot say; I should certainly greatly +doubt it, remembering the large loss of life generally suffered +during the civil war by troops trying to storm intrenchments or +defenses of any sort, even with greatly superior force. + +I was surprised to find how quickly one could acquire the stolidity +of the soldier. During the march from the Navy Yard to the fort +I felt extremely depressed, as one can well imagine, in view of +the suddenness with which I had to take leave of my family and +the uncertainty of the situation, as well as its extreme gravity. +But this depression wore off the next day, and I do not think I +ever had a sounder night's sleep in my life than when I lay down on +the grass, with only a blanket between myself and the sky, with the +expectation of being awakened by the rattle of musketry at daybreak. + +I remember well how kindly we were treated by the army. +The acquaintance of Generals Wright and McCook, made under such +circumstances, was productive of a feeling which has never worn off. +It has always been a matter of sorrow to me that the Washington of +to-day does not show a more lively consciousness of what it owes to +these men. + + +One of the entertainments of Washington during the early years of +the civil war was offered by President Lincoln's public receptions. +We used to go there simply to see the people and the costumes, the +latter being of a variety which I do not think was ever known on +such occasions before or since. Well-dressed and refined ladies and +gentlemen, men in their working clothes, women arrayed in costumes +fanciful in cut and brilliant in color, mixed together in a way +that suggested a convention of the human race. Just where the +oddly dressed people came from, or what notion took them at this +particular time to don an attire like that of a fancy-dress ball, +no one seemed to know. + +Among the never-to-be-forgotten scenes was that following the news of +the fall of Richmond. If I described it from memory, a question would +perhaps arise in the reader's mind as to how much fancy might have +added to the picture in the course of nearly forty years. I shall +therefore quote a letter written to Chauncey Wright immediately +afterwards, of which I preserved a press copy. + + Observatory, April 7, 1865. + + Dear Wright,--Yours of the 5th just received. I heartily + reciprocate your congratulations on the fall of Richmond + and the prospective disappearance of the S. C. alias C. S. + + You ought to have been here Monday. The observatory is half + a mile to a mile from the thickly settled part of the city. + At 11 A. M. we were put upon the qui vive by an unprecedented + commotion in the city. From the barracks near us rose a + continuous stream of cheers, and in the city was a hubbub + such as we had never before heard. We thought it must be + Petersburg or Richmond, but hardly dared to hope which. + Miss Gilliss sent us word that it was really Richmond. + I went down to the city. All the bedlams in creation broken + loose could not have made such a scene. The stores were + half closed, the clerks given a holiday, the streets + crowded, every other man drunk, and drums were beating + and men shouting and flags waving in every direction. + I never felt prouder of my country than then, as I compared + our present position with our position in the numerous dark + days of the contest, and was almost ashamed to think that + I had ever said that any act of the government was not the + best possible. + +Not many days after this outburst, the city was pervaded by an equally +intense and yet deeper feeling of an opposite kind. Probably no +event in its history caused such a wave of sadness and sympathy as +the assassination of President Lincoln, especially during the few +days while bands of men were scouring the country in search of the +assassin. One could not walk the streets without seeing evidence of +this at every turn. The slightest bustle, perhaps even the running +away of a dog, caused a tremor. + +I paid one short visit to the military court which was trying +the conspirators. The court itself was listening with silence and +gravity to the reading of the testimony taken on the day previous. +General Wallace produced on the spectators an impression a little +different from the other members, by exhibiting an artistic +propensity, which subsequently took a different direction in +"Ben Hur." The most impressive sight was that of the conspirators, +all heavily manacled; even Mrs. Surratt, who kept her irons partly +concealed in the folds of her gown. Payne, the would-be assassin of +Seward, was a powerful-looking man, with a face that showed him ready +for anything; but the other two conspirators were such simple-minded, +mild-looking youths, that it seemed hardly possible they could have +been active agents in such a crime, or capable of any proceeding +requiring physical or mental force. + +The impression which I gained at the time from the evidence and +all the circumstances, was that the purpose of the original plot +was not the assassination of the President, but his abduction and +transportation to Richmond or some other point within the Confederate +lines. While Booth himself may have meditated assassination from the +beginning, it does not seem likely that he made this purpose known +to his fellows until they were ready to act. Then Payne alone had +the courage to attempt the execution of the programme. + +Two facts show that a military court, sitting under such +circumstances, must not be expected to reach exactly the verdict that +a jury would after the public excitement had died away. Among the +prisoners was the man whose business it was to assist in arranging the +scenery on the stage of the theatre where the assassination occurred. +The only evidence against him was that he had not taken advantage +of his opportunity to arrest Booth as the latter was leaving, +and for this he was sentenced to twenty years penal servitude. +He was pardoned out before a great while. + +The other circumstance was the arrest of Surratt, who was supposed +to stand next to Booth in the conspiracy, but who escaped from the +country and was not discovered until a year or so later, when he +was found to have enlisted in the papal guards at Rome. He was +brought home and tried twice. On the first trial, notwithstanding +the adverse rulings and charge of the judge, only a minority of +the jury were convinced of his guilt. On the second trial he was, +I think, acquitted. + +One aftermath of the civil war was the influx of crowds of the +newly freed slaves to Washington, in search of food and shelter. +With a little training they made fair servants if only their pilfering +propensities could be restrained. But religious fervor did not ensure +obedience to the eighth commandment. "The good Lord ain't goin' +to be hard on a poor darky just for takin' a chicken now and then," +said a wench to a preacher who had asked her how she could reconcile +her religion with her indifference as to the ownership of poultry. + +In the seventies I had an eight-year-old boy as help in my family. +He had that beauty of face very common in young negroes who have an +admixture of white blood, added to which were eyes of such depth and +clearness that, but for his color, he would have made a first-class +angel for a mediæval painter. + +One evening my little daughters had a children's party, and Zeke +was placed as attendant in charge of the room in which the little +company met. Here he was for some time left alone. Next morning a +gold pen was missing from its case in a drawer. Suspicion rested on +Zeke as the only person who could possibly have taken it, but there +was no positive proof. I thought so small and innocent-looking a +boy could be easily cowed into confessing his guilt; so next morning +I said to him very solemnly,-- + +"Zeke, come upstairs with me." + +He obeyed with alacrity, following me up to the room. + +"Zeke, come into this room." + +He did so. + +"Now, Zeke," I said sternly, "look here and see what I do." + +I opened the drawer, took out the empty case, opened it, and showed +it to him. + +"Zeke, look into my eyes!" + +He neither blinked nor showed the slightest abashment or hesitation +as his soft eyes looked steadily into mine with all the innocence +of an angel. + +"Zeke, where is the pen out of that case?" + +"Missr Newcomb," he said quietly, "I don't know nothin' about it." + +I repeated the question, looking into his face as sternly as I could. +As he repeated the answer with the innocence of childhood, "Deed, +Missr Newcomb, I don't know what was in it," I felt almost like a +brute in pressing him with such severity. Threats were of no avail, +and I had to give the matter up as a failure. + +On coming home in the afternoon, the first news was that the pen had +been found by Zeke's mother hidden in one corner of her room at home, +where the little thief had taken it. She, being an honest woman, +and suspecting where it had come from, had brought it back. + + +There was a vigorous movement, having its origin in New England, +for the education of the freedmen. This movement was animated by +the most philanthropic views. Here were several millions of blacks +of all ages, suddenly made citizens, or eligible to citizenship, +and yet savage so far as any education was concerned. A small army +of teachers, many, perhaps most of them, young women, were sent south +to organize schools for the blacks. It may be feared that there was +little adaptation of the teaching to the circumstances of the case. +But one method of instruction widely adopted was, so far as I can +learn, quite unique. It was the "loud method" of teaching reading +and spelling. The whole school spelled in unison. The passer-by +on the street would hear in chorus from the inside of the building, +"B-R-E-A-D--BREAD!" all at the top of the voice of the speakers. +Schools in which this method was adopted were known as "loud schools." + +A queer result of this movement once fell under my notice. I called +at a friend's house in Georgetown. In the course of the conversation, +it came out that the sable youngster who opened the door for me +filled the double office of scullion to the household and tutor in +Latin to the little boy of the family. + + +Probably the Senate of the United States never had a member more +conscientious in the discharge of his duties than Charles Sumner. +He went little into society outside the circles of the diplomatic +corps, with which his position as chairman of the Foreign Affairs +Committee placed him in intimate relations. My acquaintance with +him arose from the accident of his living for some time almost +opposite me. I was making a study of some historic subject, +pertaining to the feeling in South Carolina before the civil war, +and called at his rooms to see if he would favor me with the loan of +a book, which I was sure he possessed. He received me so pleasantly +that I was, for some time, an occasional visitor. He kept bachelor +quarters on a second floor, lived quite alone, and was accessible +to all comers without the slightest ceremony. + +One day, while I was talking with him, shortly after the surrender +of Lee, a young man in the garb of a soldier, evidently fresh from +the field, was shown into the room by the housemaid, unannounced, +as usual. Very naturally, he was timid and diffident in approaching +so great a man, and the latter showed no disposition to say anything +that would reassure him. He ventured to tell the senator that he +had come to see if he could recommend him for some public employment. +I shall never forget the tone of the reply. + +"But _I_ do not know _you_." The poor fellow was completely +dumfounded, and tried to make some excuses, but the only reply he +got was, "I cannot do it; I do not know you at all." The visitor +had nothing to do but turn round and leave. + +At the time I felt some sympathy with the poor fellow. He had +probably come, thinking that the great philanthropist was quite ready +to become a friend to a Union soldier without much inquiry into his +personality and antecedents, and now he met with a stinging rebuff. +But it must be confessed that subsequent experience has diminished +my sympathy for him, and probably it would be better for the country +if the innovation were introduced of having every senator of the +United States dispose of such callers in the same way. + +Foreign men of letters, with whom Sumner's acquaintance was very +wide, were always among his most valued guests. A story is told +of Thackeray's visit to Washington, which I distrust only for the +reason that my ideas of Sumner's make-up do not assign him the +special kind of humor which the story brings out. He was, however, +quoted as saying, "Thackeray is one of the most perfect gentlemen +I ever knew. I had a striking illustration of that this morning. +We went out for a walk together and, thoughtlessly, I took him +through Lafayette Square. Shortly after we entered it, I realized +with alarm that we were going directly toward the Jackson statue. +It was too late to retrace our steps, and I wondered what Thackeray +would say when he saw the object. But he passed straight by without +seeming to see it at all, and did not say one word about it." + +Sumner was the one man in the Senate whose seat was scarcely ever +vacant during a session. He gave the closest attention to every +subject as it arose. One instance of this is quite in the line of the +present book. About 1867, an association was organized in Washington +under the name of the "American Union Academy of Literature, Science, +and Art." Its projectors were known to few, or none, but themselves. +A number of prominent citizens in various walks of life had been +asked to join it, and several consented without knowing much about +the association. It soon became evident that the academy was desirous +of securing as much publicity as possible through the newspapers +and elsewhere. It was reported that the Secretary of the Treasury +had asked its opinion on some instrument or appliance connected +with the work of his department. Congress was applied to for an +act of incorporation, recognizing it as a scientific adviser of the +government by providing that it should report on subjects submitted +to it by the governmental departments, the intent evidently being +that it should supplant the National Academy of Sciences. + +The application to Congress satisfied the two requirements most +essential to favorable consideration. These are that several +respectable citizens want something done, and that there is no one to +come forward and say that he does not want it done. Such being the +case, the act passed the House of Representatives without opposition, +came to the Senate, and was referred to the appropriate committee, +that on education, I believe. It was favorably reported from the +committee and placed on its passage. Up to this point no objection +seems to have been made to it in any quarter. Now, it was challenged +by Mr. Sumner. + +The ground taken by the Massachusetts senator was comprehensive +and simple, though possibly somewhat novel. It was, in substance, +that an academy of literature, science, and art, national in its +character, and incorporated by special act of Congress, ought to be +composed of men eminent in the branches to which the academy related. +He thought a body of men consisting very largely of local lawyers, +with scarcely a man of prominence in either of the three branches to +which the academy was devoted, was not the one that should receive +such sanction from the national legislature. + +Mr. J. W. Patterson, of New Hampshire, was the principal advocate +of the measure. He claimed that the proposed incorporators were +not all unscientific men, and cited as a single example the name of +O. M. Poe, which appeared among them. This man, he said, was a very +distinguished meteorologist. + +This example was rather unfortunate. The fact is, the name in +question was that of a well-known officer of engineers in the +army, then on duty at Washington, who had been invited to join the +academy, and had consented out of good nature without, it seems, +much if any inquiry. It happened that Senator Patterson had, some +time during the winter, made the acquaintance of a West Indian +meteorologist named Poey, who chanced to be spending some time in +Washington, and got him mixed up with the officer of engineers. +The senator also intimated that the gentleman from Massachusetts had +been approached on the subject and was acting under the influence +of others. This suggestion Mr. Sumner repelled, stating that no one +had spoken to him on the subject, that he knew nothing of it until +he saw the bill before them, which seemed to him to be objectionable +for the very reasons set forth. On his motion the bill was laid on +the table, and thus disposed of for good. The academy held meetings +for some time after this failure, but soon disappeared from view, +and was never again heard of. + + +In the year 1862, a fine-looking young general from the West became +a boarder in the house where I lived, and sat opposite me at table. +His name was James A. Garfield. I believe he had come to Washington +as a member of the court in the case of General Fitz John Porter. +He left after a short time and had, I supposed, quite forgotten +me. But, after his election to Congress, he one evening visited +the observatory, stepped into my room, and recalled our former +acquaintance. + +I soon found him to be a man of classical culture, refined tastes, +and unsurpassed eloquence,--altogether, one of the most attractive of +men. On one occasion he told me one of his experiences in the State +legislature of Ohio, of which he was a member before the civil war. +A bill was before the House enacting certain provisions respecting +a depository. He moved, as an amendment, to strike out the word +"depository" and insert "depositary." Supposing the amendment to +be merely one of spelling, there was a general laugh over the house, +with a cry of "Here comes the schoolmaster!" But he insisted on his +point, and sent for a copy of Webster's Dictionary in order that the +two words might be compared. When the definitions were read, the +importance of right spelling became evident, and the laughing stopped. + +It has always seemed to me that a rank injustice was done to Garfield +on the occasion of the Credit Mobilier scandal of 1873, which came +near costing him his position in public life. The evidence was of +so indefinite and flimsy a nature that the credence given to the +conclusion from it can only illustrate how little a subject or a +document is exposed to searching analysis outside the precincts of a +law court. When he was nominated for the presidency this scandal was +naturally raked up and much made of it. I was so strongly impressed +with the injustice as to write for a New York newspaper, anonymously +of course, a careful analysis of the evidence, with a demonstration +of its total weakness. Whether the article was widely circulated, +or whether Garfield ever heard of it, I do not know; but it was +amusing, a few days after it appeared, to see a paragraph in an +opposition paper claiming that its contemporary had gone to the +trouble of hiring a lawyer to defend Garfield. + +No man better qualified as a legislator ever occupied a seat in +Congress. A man cast in the largest mould, and incapable of a petty +sentiment, his grasp of public affairs was rarely equaled, and his +insight into the effects of legislation was of the deepest. But on +what the author of the Autocrat calls the arithmetical side,--in +the power of judging particular men and not general principles; in +deciding who were the good men and who were not, he fell short of the +ideal suggested by his legislative career. The brief months during +which he administered the highest of offices were stormy enough, +perhaps stormier than any president before him had ever experienced, +and they would probably have been outdone by the years following, +had he lived. But I believe that, had he remained in the Senate, +his name would have gone into history among those of the greatest +of legislators. + +Sixteen years after the death of Lincoln public feeling was again +moved to its depth by the assassination of Garfield. The cry +seemed to pass from mouth to mouth through the streets faster than +a messenger could carry the news, "The President has been shot." +It chanced to reach me just as I was entering my office. I at once +summoned my messenger and directed him to go over to the White House, +and see if anything unusual had happened, but gave him no intimation +of my fears. He promptly returned with the confirmation of the +report. The following are extracts from my journal at the time:-- + + "July 2, Saturday: At 9.20 this morning President Garfield + was shot by a miserable fellow named Guiteau, as he was + passing through the Baltimore and Potomac R. R. station to + leave Washington. One ball went through the upper arm, + making a flesh wound, the other entered the right side + on the back and cannot be found; supposed to have lodged + in the liver. In the course of the day President rapidly + weakened, and supposed to be dying from hemorrhage." + + "Sunday morning: President still living and rallied during + the day. Small chance of recovery. At night alarming + symptoms of inflammation were exhibited, and at midnight + his case seemed almost hopeless." + + "Monday: President slightly better this morning, improving + throughout the day." + + "July 6. This P. M. sought an interview with Dr. Woodward + at the White House, to talk of an apparatus for locating + the ball by its action in retarding a rapidly revolving + el. magnet. I hardly think the plan more than theoretically + practical, owing to the minuteness of the action." + + "The President still improving, but great dangers are yet + to come, and nothing has been found of the ball, which + is supposed to have stayed in the liver because, were it + anywhere else, symptoms of irritation by its presence would + have been shown." + + "July 9. This is Saturday evening. Met Major Powell at + the Cosmos Club, who told me that they would like to have + me look at the air-cooling projects at the White House. + Published statement that the physicians desired some way to + cool the air of the President's room had brought a crowd of + projects and machines of all kinds. Among other things, + a Mr. Dorsey had got from New York an air compressor such + as is used in the Virginia mines for transferring power, + and was erecting machinery enough for a steamship at the + east end of the house in order to run it." + +Dr. Woodward was a surgeon of the army, who had been on duty at +Washington since the civil war, in charge of the Army Medical Museum. +Among his varied works here, that in micro-photography, in which +he was a pioneer, gave him a wide reputation. His high standing +led to his being selected as one of the President's physicians. +To him I wrote a note, offering to be of any use I could in the +matter of cooling the air of the President's chamber. He promptly +replied with a request to visit the place, and see what was being +done and what suggestions I could make. Mr. Dorsey's engine at the +east end was dispensed with after a long discussion, owing to the +noise it would make and the amount of work necessary to its final +installation and operation. + +Among the problems with which the surgeons had to wrestle was that +of locating the ball. The question occurred to me whether it was +not possible to do so by the influence produced by the action of +a metallic conductor in retarding the motion of a rapidly revolving +magnet, but the effect would be so small, and the apparatus to be made +so delicate, that I was very doubtful about the matter. If there +was any one able to take hold of the project successfully, I knew +it would be Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone. +When I approached him on the subject, he suggested that the idea +of locating the ball had also occurred to him, and that he thought +the best apparatus for the purpose was a telephonic one which had +been recently developed by Mr. Hughes. As there could be no doubt +of the superiority of his project, I dropped mine, and he went +forward with his. In a few days an opportunity was given him for +actually trying it. The result, though rather doubtful, seemed to +be that the ball was located where the surgeons supposed it to be. +When the autopsy showed that their judgment had been at fault, +Mr. Bell admitted his error to Dr. Woodward, adding some suggestion +as to its cause. "Expectant attention," was Woodward's reply. + +I found in the basement of the house an apparatus which had been +brought over by a Mr. Jennings from Baltimore, which was designed +to cool the air of dairies or apartments. It consisted of an iron +box, two or three feet square, and some five feet long. In this +box were suspended cloths, kept cool and damp by the water from +melting ice contained in a compartment on top of the box. The air +was driven through the box by a blower, and cooled by contact with +the wet cloths. But no effect was being produced on the temperature +of the room. + +One conversant with physics will see one fatal defect in this +appliance. The cold of the ice, if I may use so unscientific an +expression, went pretty much to waste. The air was in contact, +not with the ice, as it should have been, but with ice-water, which +had already absorbed the latent heat of melting. + +Evidently the air should be passed over the unmelted ice. +The question was how much ice would be required to produce the +necessary cooling? To settle this, I instituted an experiment. +A block of ice was placed in an adjoining room in a current of +air with such an arrangement that, as it melted, the water would +trickle into a vessel below. After a certain number of minutes +the melted water was measured, then a simple computation led to a +knowledge of how much heat was absorbed from the air per minute by +a square foot of the surface of the ice. From this it was easy to +calculate from the known thermal capacity of air, and the quantity +of the latter necessary per minute, how many feet of cooling surface +must be exposed. I was quite surprised at the result. A case of +ice nearly as long as an ordinary room, and large enough for men +to walk about in it, must be provided. This was speedily done, +supports were erected for the blocks of ice, the case was placed at +the end of Mr. Jennings's box, and everything gotten in readiness +for directing the air current through the receptacle, and into the +room through tubes which had already been prepared. + +It happened that Mr. Jennings's box was on the line along which the +air was being conducted, and I was going to get it out of the way. +The owner implored that it should be allowed to remain, suggesting +that the air might just as well as not continue to pass through it. +The surroundings were those in which one may be excused for not +being harsh. Such an outpouring of sympathy on the part of the +public had never been seen in Washington since the assassination +of Lincoln. Those in charge were overwhelmed with every sort of +contrivance for relieving the sufferings of the illustrious patient. +Such disinterested efforts in behalf of a public and patriotic +object had never been seen. Mr. Jennings had gone to the trouble +and expense of bringing his apparatus all the way from Baltimore to +Washington in order to do what in him lay toward the end for which all +were striving. To leave his box in place could not do the slightest +harm, and would be a gratification to him. So I let it stand, +and the air continued to pass through it on its way to the ice chest. + +While these arrangements were in progress three officers of engineers +of the navy reported under orders at the White House, to do what +they could toward the cooling of the air. They were Messrs. William +L. Baillie, Richard Inch, and W. S. Moore. All four of us coöperated +in the work in a most friendly way, and when we got through we made +our reports to the Navy Department. A few weeks later these reports +were printed in a pamphlet, partly to correct a wrong impression +about the Jennings cold-box. Regular statements had appeared in the +local evening paper that the air was being cooled by this useless +contrivance. Their significance first came out several months +later, on the occasion of an exhibition of mechanical or industrial +implements at Boston. Among these was Mr. Jennings's cold-box, +which was exhibited as the instrument that had cooled the air of +President Garfield's chamber. + +More light yet was thrown on the case when the question of rewarding +those who had taken part in treating the President, or alleviating +his sufferings in any way, came before Congress. Mr. Jennings was, +I believe, among the claimants. Congress found the task of making +the proper awards to each individual to be quite beyond its power +at the time, so a lump sum was appropriated, to be divided by the +Treasury Department according to its findings in each particular case. +Before the work of making the awards was completed, I left on the +expedition to the Cape of Good Hope to observe the transit of Venus, +and never learned what had been done with the claims of Mr. Jennings. +It might naturally be supposed that when an official report to +the Navy Department showed that he had no claims whatever except +those of a patriotic citizen who had done his best, which was just +nothing at all, to promote the common end, the claim would have +received little attention. Possibly this may have been the case. +But I do not know what the outcome of the matter was. + +Shortly after the death of the President, I had a visit from an +inventor who had patented a method of cooling the air of a room +by ice. He claimed that our work at the Executive Mansion was an +infringement on his patent. I replied that I could not see how +any infringement was possible, because we had gone to work in the +most natural way, without consulting any previous process whatever, +or even knowing of the existence of a patent. Surely the operation +of passing air over ice to cool it could not be patentable. + +He invited me to read over the statement of his claims. I found that +although this process was not patented in terms, it was practically +patented by claiming about every possible way in which ice could be +arranged for cooling purposes. Placing the ice on supports was one +of his claims; this we had undoubtedly done, because otherwise the +process could not have been carried out. In a word, the impression +I got was that the only sure way of avoiding an infringement would +have been to blindfold the men who put the ice in the box, and ask +them to throw it in pellmell. Every method of using judgment in +arranging the blocks of ice he had patented. + +I had to acknowledge that his claim of infringement might have +some foundation, and inquired what he proposed to do in the case. +He replied that he did not wish to do more than have his priority +recognized in the matter. I replied that I had no objection to his +doing this in any way he could, and he took his leave. Nothing more, +so far as I am aware, was done in his case. But I was much impressed +by this as by other examples I have had of the same kind, of the +loose way in which our Patent Office sometimes grants patents. + + +I do not think the history of any modern municipality can show an +episode more extraordinary or, taken in connection with its results, +more instructive than what is known as the "Shepherd régime" in +Washington. What is especially interesting about it is the opposite +views that can be taken of the same facts. As to the latter there +is no dispute. Yet, from one point of view, Shepherd made one of +the most disastrous failures on record in attempting to carry out +great works, while, from another point of view, he is the author of +the beautiful Washington of to-day, and entitled to a public statue +in recognition of his services. As I was a resident of the city +and lived in my own house, I was greatly interested in the proposed +improvements, especially of the particular street on which I lived. +I was also an eye-witness to so much of the whole history as the +public was cognizant of. The essential facts of the case, from the +two, opposing points of view, are exceedingly simple. + +One fact is the discreditable condition of the streets of Washington +during and after the civil war. The care of these was left entirely +to the local municipality. Congress, so far as I know, gave no aid +except by paying its share of street improvements in front of the +public buildings. It was quite out of the power of the residents, +who had but few men of wealth among them, to make the city what it +ought to be. Congress showed no disposition to come to the help of +the citizens in this task. + +In 1871, however, some public-spirited citizens took the matter in +hand and succeeded in having a new government established, which +was modeled after that of the territories of the United States. +There was a governor, a legislature, and a board of public works. +The latter was charged with the improvements of the streets, and +the governor was _ex officio_ its president. The first governor was +Henry D. Cooke, the banker, and Mr. Shepherd was vice-president of +the board of public works and its leading member. Mr. Cooke resigned +after a short term, and Mr. Shepherd was promoted to his place. +He was a plumber and gas-fitter by trade, and managed the leading +business in his line in Washington. Through the two or three years +of his administration the city directory still contained the entry-- + +Shepherd, Alex. R. & Co., plumbers and gas-fitters, 910 Pa. Ave. N. W. + +In recent years he had added to his plumbing business that of erecting +houses for sale. He had had no experience in the conduct of public +business, and, of course, was neither an engineer nor a financier. +But such was the energy of his character and his personal influence, +that he soon became practically the whole government, which he ran in +his own way, as if it were simply his own business enlarged. Of the +conditions which the law imposes on contracts, of the numerous and +complicated problems of engineering involved in the drainage and +street systems of a great city, of the precautions to be taken in +preparing plans for so immense a work, and of the legal restraints +under which it should be conducted, he had no special knowledge. +But he had in the highest degree a quality which will bear different +designations according to the point of view. His opponents would call +it unparalleled recklessness; his supporters, boldness and enterprise. + +Such were the preliminaries. Three years later the results of his +efforts were made known by an investigating committee of Congress, +with Senator Allison, a political friend, at its head. It was +found that with authority to expend $6,000,000 in the improvement +of the streets, there was an actual or supposed expenditure of +more than $18,000,000, and a crowd of additional claims which no +man could estimate, based on the work of more than one thousand +principal contractors and an unknown number of purchasers and +sub-contractors. Chaos reigned supreme. Some streets were still +torn up and impassable; others completely paved, but done so badly +that the pavements were beginning to rot almost before being pressed +by a carriage. A debt had been incurred which it was impossible +for the local municipality to carry and which was still piling up. + +For all this Congress was responsible, and manfully shouldered +its responsibility. Mr. Shepherd was legislated out of office as +an act of extreme necessity, by the organization of a government +at the head of which were three commissioners. The feeling on the +subject may be inferred from the result when President Grant, who +had given Shepherd his powerful support all through, nominated him as +one of the three commissioners. The Senate rejected the nomination, +with only some half dozen favorable votes. + +The three commissioners took up the work and carried it on in a +conservative way. Congress came to the help of the municipality by +bearing one half the taxation of the District, on the very sound +basis that, as it owned about one half of the property, it should +pay one half the taxes. + +The spirit of the time is illustrated by two little episodes. +The reservation on which the public library founded by Mr. Carnegie +is now built, was then occupied by the Northern Liberties Market, +one of the three principal markets of the city. Being a public +reservation, it had no right to remain there except during the +pleasure of the authorities. Due notice was given to the marketmen +to remove the structures. The owners were dilatory in doing so, and +probably could not see why they should be removed when the ground was +not wanted for any other purpose, and before they had time to find +a new location. It was understood that, if an attempt was made to +remove the buildings, the marketmen would apply to the courts for +an injunction. To prevent this, an arrangement was made by which +the destruction of the buildings was to commence at dinner-time. +At the same time, according to current report, it was specially +arranged that all the judges to whom an application could be made +should be invited out to dinner. However this may have been, a large +body of men appeared upon the scene in the course of the evening +and spent the night in destroying the buildings. With such energy +was the work carried on that one marketman was killed and another +either wounded or seriously injured in trying to save their wares +from destruction. The indignation against Shepherd was such that +his life was threatened, and it was even said that a body-guard of +soldiers had to be supplied by the War Department for his protection. + +The other event was as comical as this was tragic. It occurred +while the investigating committee of Congress was at its work. +The principal actors in the case were Mr. Harrington, secretary +of the local government and one of Mr. Shepherd's assistants, the +chief of police, and a burglar. Harrington produced an anonymous +letter, warning him that an attempt would be made in the course of +a certain night to purloin from the safe in which they were kept, +certain government papers, which the prosecutors of the case against +Shepherd were anxious to get hold of. He showed this letter to +the chief of police, who was disposed to make light of the matter. +But on Harrington's urgent insistence the two men kept watch about the +premises on the night in question. They were in the room adjoining +that in which the records were kept, and through which the robber +would have to pass. In due time the latter appeared, passed through +the room and proceeded to break into the safe. The chief wanted to +arrest him immediately, but Harrington asked him to wait, in order +that they might see what the man was after, and especially what he +did with the books. So they left and took their stations outside +the door. The burglar left the building with the books in a satchel, +and, stepping outside, was confronted by the two men. + +I believe every burglar of whom history or fiction has kept any +record, whether before or after this eventful night, when he broke +open a safe and, emerging with his booty, found himself confronted by +a policeman, took to his heels. Not so this burglar. He walked up +to the two men, and with the utmost unconcern asked if they could +tell him where Mr. Columbus Alexander lived. Mr. Alexander, it +should be said, was the head man in the prosecution. The desired +information being conveyed to the burglar, he went on his way +to Mr. Alexander's house, followed by the two agents of the law. +Arriving there, he rang the bell. + +In the ordinary course of events, Mr. Alexander or some member of his +family would have come to the door and been informed that the caller +had a bundle for him. A man just awakened from a sound sleep and +coming downstairs rubbing his eyes, would not be likely to ask any +questions of such a messenger, but would accept the bundle and lock +the door again. Then what a mess the prosecution would have been in! +Its principal promoter detected in collusion with a burglar in order +to get possession of the documents necessary to carry on his case! + +It happened, however, that Mr. Alexander and the members of his +household all slept the sleep of the just and did not hear the bell. +The patience of the policeman was exhausted and the burglar was +arrested and lodged in jail, where he was kept for several months. +Public curiosity to hear the burglar's story was brought to a +high pitch, but never gratified. Before the case came to trial +the prisoner was released on straw bail and never again found. +I do not think the bottom facts, especially those connected with +the anonymous letter, were ever brought to light. So every one +was left to form his own theory of what has since been known as the +"Safe Burglary Conspiracy." + +What seems at present the fashionable way of looking at the facts +is this: Shepherd was the man who planned the beautiful Washington +of to-day, and who carried out his project with unexampled energy +until he was stopped through the clamor of citizens who did not +want to see things go ahead so fast. Other people took the work up, +but they only carried out Shepherd's ideas. The latter, therefore, +should have all the credit due to the founder of the new Washington. + +The story has always seemed to me most interesting as an example +of the way in which public judgment of men and things is likely to +be influenced. Public sentiment during the thirty years which have +since elapsed has undergone such a revolution in favor of Shepherd +that a very likely outcome will be a monument to commemorate his work. +But it is worth while to notice the mental processes by which the +public now reaches this conclusion. It is the familiar and ordinarily +correct method of putting this and that together. + +_This_ is one of the most beautiful cities in the United States, +of which Americans generally are proud when they pay it a visit. + +_That_ is the recollection of the man who commenced the work of +transforming an unsightly, straggling, primitive town into the +present Washington, and was condemned for what he did. + +These two considerations form the basis of the conclusion, all +intermediate details dropping out of sight and memory. The reckless +maladministration of the epoch, making it absolutely necessary to +introduce a new system, has no place in the picture. + +There is also a moral to the story, which is more instructive +than pleasant. The actors in the case no doubt believed that if +they set about their work in a conservative and law-abiding way, +spending only as much money as could be raised, Congress would +never come to their help. So they determined to force the game, +by creating a situation which would speedily lead to the correct +solution of the problem. I do not think any observant person will +contest the proposition that had Shepherd gone about his work and +carried it to a successful conclusion in a peaceable and law-abiding +way,--had he done nothing to excite public attention except wisely +and successfully to administer a great public work,--his name would +now have been as little remembered in connection with what he did as +we remember those of Ketchem, Phelps, and the other men who repaired +the wreck he left and made the city what it is to-day. + +In my mind one question dominates all others growing out of the +case: What will be the moral effect on our children of holding up +for their imitation such methods as I have described? + + + + +XIII + +MISCELLANEA + + +If the "Great Star-Catalogue Case" is not surrounded with such mystery +as would entitle it to a place among _causes célèbres_, it may well +be so classed on account of the novelty of the questions at issue. +It affords an instructive example of the possibility of cases in +which strict justice cannot be done through the established forms +of legal procedure. It is also of scientific interest because, +although the question was a novel one to come before a court, it +belongs to a class which every leader in scientific investigation +must constantly encounter in meting out due credit to his assistants. + +The plaintiff, Christian H. F. Peters, was a Dane by birth, and +graduated at the University of Berlin in 1836. During the earlier +years of his manhood he was engaged in the trigonometrical survey +of the kingdom of Naples, where, for a time, he had charge of an +observatory or some other astronomical station. It is said that, like +many other able European youth of the period, he was implicated in +the revolution of 1848, and had to flee the kingdom in consequence. +Five years later, he came to the United States. Here his first +patron was Dr. B. A. Gould, who procured for him first a position +on the Coast Survey, and then one as his assistant at the Dudley +Observatory in Albany. He was soon afterward appointed professor +of astronomy and director of the Litchfield Observatory at Hamilton +College, where he spent the remaining thirty years of his life. +He was a man of great learning, not only in subjects pertaining +to astronomy, but in ancient and modern languages. The means at +his disposal were naturally of the slenderest kind; but he was the +discoverer of some forty asteroids, and devoted himself to various +astronomical works and researches with great ability. + +Of his personality it may be said that it was extremely agreeable so +long as no important differences arose. What it would be in such a +case can be judged by what follows. Those traits of character which +in men like him may be smoothed down to a greater or less extent +by marital discipline were, in the absence of any such agency, +maintained in all their strength to his latest years. + +The defendant, Charles A. Borst, was a graduate of the college and had +been a favorite pupil of Peters. He was a man of extraordinary energy +and working capacity, ready to take hold in a business-like way of +any problem presented to him, but not an adept at making problems for +himself. His power of assimilating learning was unusually developed; +and this, combined with orderly business habits, made him a most +effective and valuable assistant. The terms of his employment were +of the first importance in the case. Mr. Litchfield of New York was +the patron of the observatory; he had given the trustees of Hamilton +College a capital for its support, which sufficed to pay the small +salary of the director and some current expenses, and he also, when +the latter needed an assistant, made provision for his employment. +It appears that, in the case of Borst, Peters frequently paid his +salary for considerable periods at a time, which sums were afterward +reimbursed to him by Mr. Litchfield. + +I shall endeavor to state the most essential facts involved as they +appear from a combination of the sometimes widely different claims +of the two parties, with the hope of showing fairly what they were, +but without expecting to satisfy a partisan of either side. Where an +important difference of statement is irreconcilable, I shall point +it out. + +In his observations of asteroids Peters was continually obliged to +search through the pages of astronomical literature to find whether +the stars he was using in observation had ever been catalogued. +He long thought that it would be a good piece of work to search +all the astronomical journals and miscellaneous collections of +observations with a view of making a complete catalogue of the +positions of the thousands of stars which they contained, and +publishing it in a single volume for the use of astronomers situated +as he was. The work of doing this was little more than one of routine +search and calculation, which any well-trained youth could take up; +but it was naturally quite without the power of Peters to carry it +through with his own hand. He had employed at least one former +assistant on the work, Professor John G. Porter, but very little +progress was made. Now, however, he had a man with the persistence +and working capacity necessary to carry out the plan. + +There was an irreconcilable difference between the two parties as +to the terms on which Borst went to work. According to the latter, +Peters suggested to him the credit which a young man would gain as +one of the motives for taking up the job. But plaintiff denied +that he had done anything more than order him to do it. He did +not, however, make it clear why an assistant at the Litchfield +Observatory should be officially ordered to do a piece of work for +the use of astronomy generally, and having no special connection +with the Litchfield Observatory. + +However this may be, Borst went vigorously to work, repeating all the +calculations which had been made by Peters and former assistants, +with a view of detecting errors, and took the work home with him +in order that his sisters might make a great mass of supplementary +calculations which, though not involved in the original plan, +would be very conducive to the usefulness of the result. One or +two of these bright young ladies worked for about a year at the job. +How far Peters was privy to what they did was not clear; according +to his claim he did not authorize their employment to do anything +but copy the catalogue. + +By the joint efforts of the assistant and his two sisters, +working mostly or entirely at their own home, the work was +brought substantially to a conclusion about the beginning of 1888. +Borst then reported the completion to his chief and submitted a +proposed title-page, which represented that the work was performed +by Charles A. Borst under the direction of Christian H. F. Peters, +Professor of Astronomy, etc. According to Borst's account, Peters +tore up the paper, opened the stove door, put the fragments into +the fire, and then turned on the assistant with the simple order, +"Bring me the catalogue!" + +This was refused, and a suit in replevin was immediately instituted +by Peters. The ablest counsel were engaged on both sides. That of +the plaintiff was Mr. Elihu Root, of New York, afterward Secretary of +War, one of the leading members of the New York bar, and well known +as an active member of the reform branch of the Republican party of +that city. For the defendant was the law firm of an ex-senator of +the United States, the Messrs. Kernan of Utica. + +I think the taking of evidence and the hearing of arguments occupied +more than a week. One claim of the defendant would, if accepted, +have brought the suit to a speedy end. Peters was an employee +of the corporation of Hamilton College, and by the terms of his +appointment all his work at the Litchfield Observatory belonged to +that institution. Borst was summoned into the case as an official +employee of the Litchfield Observatory. Therefore the corporation of +the college was the only authority which had power to bring the suit. +But this point was disposed of by a decision of the judge that it was +not reasonable, in view of the low salary received by the plaintiff, +to deprive him of the right to the creations of his own talent. +He did not, however, apply this principle of legal interpretation to +the case of the defendant, and not only found for the plaintiff, but +awarded damages based on the supposed value of the work, including, +if I understand the case aright, the value of the work done by the +young ladies. It would seem, however, that in officially perfecting +the details of his decision he left it a little indefinite as to +what papers the plaintiff was entitled to, it being very difficult +to describe in detail papers many of which he had never seen. +Altogether it may be feared that the decision treated the catalogue +much as the infant was treated by the decision of Solomon. + +However this might he, the decision completely denied any right of +the defendant in the work. This feature of it I thought very unjust, +and published in a Utica paper a review of the case in terms not quite +so judicial as I ought to have chosen. I should have thought such a +criticism quite a breach of propriety, and therefore would never have +ventured upon it but for an eminent example then fresh in my mind. + +Shortly after the Supreme Court of the United States uttered its +celebrated decision upholding the constitutionality of the Legal +Tender Act, I happened to be conversing at an afternoon reception +with one of the judges, Gray, who had sustained the decision. +Mr. George Bancroft, the historian, stepped up, and quite surprised +me by expressing to the judge in quite vigorous language his strong +dissent from the decision. He soon afterward published a pamphlet +reviewing it adversely. I supposed that what Mr. Bancroft might do +with a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, a humbler +individual might be allowed to do with the decision of a local New +York judge. + +The defense appealed the case to a higher court of three judges, +where the finding of the lower court was sustained by a majority +of two to one. It was then carried to the Court of Appeals, the +highest in the State. Here the decision was set aside on what +seemed to me the common sense ground that the court had ignored +the rights of the defendant in the case, who certainly had some, +and it must therefore be remanded for a new trial. + +Meantime Peters had died; and it is painful to think that his death +may have been accelerated by the annoyances growing out of the suit. +One morning, in the summer of 1890, he was found dead on the steps of +his little dwelling, having apparently fallen in a fit of apoplexy +or heart failure as he was on his way to the observatory the night +before. His heirs had no possible object in pushing the suit; +probably his entire little fortune was absorbed in the attendant +expenses. + +When the difference with Borst was first heard of it was, I think, +proposed to Peters by several of his friends, including myself, that +the matter should be submitted to an arbitration of astronomers. +But he would listen to nothing of the sort. He was determined to +enforce his legal rights by legal measures. A court of law was, +in such a case, at an enormous disadvantage, as compared with +an astronomical board of arbitration. To the latter all the +circumstances would have been familiar and simple, while the +voluminous evidence, elucidated as it was by the arguments of +counsel on the two sides, failed to completely enlighten the court +on the points at issue. One circumstance will illustrate this. +Some allusion was made during the trial to Peters's work while he was +abroad, in investigating the various manuscripts of the Almagest of +Ptolemy and preparing a commentary and revised edition of Ptolemy's +Catalogue of Stars. This would have been an extremely important and +original work, most valuable in the history of ancient astronomy. +But the judge got it mixed up in his mind with the work before the +court, and actually supposed that Peters spent his time in Europe +in searching ancient manuscripts to get material for the catalogue +in question. He also attributed great importance to the conception of +the catalogue, forgetting that, to use the simile of a writer in the +"New York Evening Post," such a conception was of no more value than +the conception of a railroad from one town to another by a man who +had no capital to build it. No original investigation was required +on one side or the other. It was simply a huge piece of work done +by a young man with help from his sisters, suggested by Peters, +and now and then revised by him in its details. It seemed to me +that the solution offered by Borst was eminently proper, and I was +willing to say so, probably at the expense of Peters's friendship, +on which I set a high value. + + +I have always regarded the work on Ptolemy's catalogue of stars, +to which allusion has just been made, as the most important Peters +ever undertook. It comprised a critical examination and comparison +of all the manuscripts of the Almagest in the libraries of Europe, +or elsewhere, whether in Arabic or other languages, with a view +of learning what light might be thrown on the doubtful questions +growing out of Ptolemy's work. At the Litchfield Observatory I +had an opportunity of examining the work, especially the extended +commentaries on special points, and was so impressed by the learning +shown in the research as to express a desire for its speedy completion +and publication. In fact, Peters had already made one or more +communications to the National Academy of Sciences on the subject, +which were supposed to be equivalent to presenting the work to the +academy for publication. But before the academy put in any claim for +the manuscript, Mr. E. B. Knobel of London, a well-known member of +the Royal Astronomical Society, wrote to Peters's executors, stating +that he was a collaborator with Peters in preparing the work, and +as such had a claim to it, and wished to complete it. He therefore +asked that the papers should be sent to him. This was done, but +during the twelve years which have since elapsed, nothing more has +been heard of the work. No one, so far as I know, ever heard of +Peters's making any allusion to Mr. Knobel or any other collaborator. +He seems to have always spoken of the work as exclusively his own. + + +Among the psychological phenomena I have witnessed, none has appeared +to me more curious than a susceptibility of certain minds to become +imbued with a violent antipathy to the theory of gravitation. +The anti-gravitation crank, as he is commonly called, is a regular +part of the astronomer's experience. He is, however, only one of a +large and varied class who occupy themselves with what an architect +might consider the drawing up of plans and specifications for a +universe. This is, no doubt, quite a harmless occupation; but the +queer part of it is the seeming belief of the architects that the +actual universe has been built on their plans, and runs according to +the laws which they prescribe for it. Ether, atoms, and nebulæ are +the raw material of their trade. Men of otherwise sound intellect, +even college graduates and lawyers, sometimes engage in this business. +I have often wondered whether any of these men proved that, in all +the common schools of New York, the power which conjugates the verbs +comes, through some invisible conduit in the earth, from the falls +of Niagara. This would be quite like many of the theories propounded. + +Babbage's "Budget of Paradoxes" is a goodly volume descriptive of +efforts of this sort. It was supplemented a year or two ago by +a most excellent and readable article on eccentric literature, by +Mr. John Fiske, which appeared in the "Atlantic Monthly." Here the +author discussed the subject so well that I do not feel like saying +much about it, beyond giving a little of my own experience. + +Naturally the Smithsonian Institution was, and I presume still is, +the great authority to which these men send their productions. +It was generally a rule of Professor Henry always to notice +these communications and try to convince the correspondents of +their fallacies. Many of the papers were referred to me; but a +little experience showed that it was absolutely useless to explain +anything to these "paradoxers." Generally their first communication +was exceedingly modest in style, being evidently designed to lead on +the unwary person to whom it was addressed. Moved to sympathy with +so well-meaning but erring an inquirer, I would point out wherein +his reasoning was deficient or his facts at fault. Back would come +a thunderbolt demonstrating my incapacity to deal with the subject +in terms so strong that I could not have another word to say. + +The American Association for the Advancement of Science was another +attraction for such men. About thirty years ago there appeared at +one of its meetings a man from New Jersey who was as much incensed +against the theory of gravitation as if it had been the source of +all human woe. He got admission to the meetings, as almost any one +can, but the paper he proposed to read was refused by the committee. +He watched his chance, however, and when discussion on some paper was +invited, he got up and began with the words, "It seems to me that +the astronomers of the present day have gravitation on the brain." +This was the beginning of an impassioned oration which went on in an +unbroken torrent until he was put down by a call for the next paper. +But he got his chance at last. A meeting of Section Q was called; +what this section was the older members will recall and the reader +may be left to guess. A programme of papers had been prepared, +and on it appeared Mr. Joseph Treat, on Gravitation. Mr. Treat got +up with great alacrity, and, amid the astonishment and laughter of +all proceeded to read his paper with the utmost seriousness. + +I remember a visit from one of these men with great satisfaction, +because, apparently, he was an exception to the rule in being +amenable to reason. I was sitting in my office one morning when a +modest-looking gentleman opened the door and looked in. + +"I would like to see Professor Newcomb." + +"Well, here he is." + +"You Professor Newcomb?" + +"Yes." + +"Professor, I have called to tell you that I don't believe in Sir +Isaac Newton's theory of gravitation!" + +"Don't believe in gravitation! Suppose you jump out of that window +and see whether there is any gravitation or not." + +"But I don't mean that. I mean"-- + +"But that is all there is in the theory of gravitation; if you jump +out of the window you'll fall to the ground." + +"I don't mean that. What I mean is I don't believe in the Newtonian +theory that gravitation goes up to the moon. It does n't extend +above the air." + +"Have you ever been up there to see?" + +There was an embarrassing pause, during which the visitor began to +look a little sheepish. + +"N-no-o," he at length replied. + +"Well, I have n't been there either, and until one of us can get up +there to try the experiment, I don't believe we shall ever agree on +the subject." + +He took his leave without another word. + +The idea that the facts of nature are to be brought out by +observation is one which is singularly foreign not only to people +of this class, but even to many sensible men. When the great comet +of 1882 was discovered in the neighborhood of the sun, the fact was +telegraphed that it might be seen with the naked eye, even in the +sun's neighborhood. A news reporter came to my office with this +statement, and wanted to know if it was really true that a comet +could be seen with the naked eye right alongside the sun. + +"I don't know," I replied; "suppose you go out and look for yourself; +that is the best way to settle the question." + +The idea seemed to him to be equally amusing and strange, and on +the basis of that and a few other insipid remarks, he got up an +interview for the "National Republican" of about a column in length. + +I think there still exists somewhere in the Northwest a communistic +society presided over by a genius whose official name is Koresh, +and of which the religious creed has quite a scientific turn. +Its fundamental doctrine is that the surface of the earth on which +we live is the inside of a hollow sphere, and therefore concave, +instead of convex, as generally supposed. The oddest feature of +the doctrine is that Koresh professes to have proved it by a method +which, so far as the geometry of it goes, is more rigorous than any +other that science has ever applied. The usual argument by which we +prove to our children the earth's rotundity is not purely geometric. +When, standing on the seashore, we see the sails of a ship on +the sea horizon, her hull being hidden because it is below, the +inference that this is due to the convexity of the surface is based +on the idea that light moves in a straight line. If a ray of light +is curved toward the surface, we should have the same appearance, +although the earth might be perfectly flat. So the Koresh people +professed to have determined the figure of the earth's surface by +the purely geometric method of taking long, broad planks, perfectly +squared at the two ends, and using them as a geodicist uses his base +apparatus. They were mounted on wooden supports and placed end to +end, so as to join perfectly. Then, geometrically, the two would +be in a straight line. Then the first plank was picked up, carried +forward, and its end so placed against that of the second as to fit +perfectly; thus the continuation of a straight line was assured. +So the operation was repeated by continually alternating the planks. +Recognizing the fact that the ends might not be perfectly square, +the planks were turned upside down in alternate settings, so that +any defect of this sort would be neutralized. The result was that, +after they had measured along a mile or two, the plank was found to +be gradually approaching the sea sand until it touched the ground. + +This quasi-geometric proof was to the mind of Koresh positive. +A horizontal straight line continued does not leave the earth's +surface, but gradually approaches it. It does not seem that the +measurers were psychologists enough to guard against the effect of +preconceived notions in the process of applying their method. + +It is rather odd that pure geometry has its full share of paradoxers. +Runkle's "Mathematical Monthly" received a very fine octavo volume, +the printing of which must have been expensive, by Mr. James Smith, +a respectable merchant of Liverpool. This gentleman maintained that +the circumference of a circle was exactly 3 1/5 times its diameter. +He had pestered the British Association with his theory, and come +into collision with an eminent mathematician whose name he did +not give, but who was very likely Professor DeMorgan. The latter +undertook the desperate task of explaining to Mr. Smith his error, +but the other evaded him at every point, much as a supple lad might +avoid the blows of a prize-fighter. As in many cases of this kind, +the reasoning was enveloped in a mass of verbiage which it was very +difficult to strip off so as to see the real framework of the logic. +When this was done, the syllogism would be found to take this very +simple form:-- + +The ratio of the circumference to the diameter is the same in all +circles. Now, take a diameter of 1 and draw round it a circumference +of 3 1/5. In that circle the ratio is 3 1/5; therefore, by the +major premise, that is the ratio for all circles. + +The three famous problems of antiquity, the duplication of the cube, +the quadrature of the circle, and the trisection of the angle, have +all been proved by modern mathematics to be insoluble by the rule +and compass, which are the instruments assumed in the postulates +of Euclid. Yet the problem of the trisection is frequently attacked +by men of some mathematical education. I think it was about 1870 +that I received from Professor Henry a communication coming from +some institution of learning in Louisiana or Texas. The writer +was sure he had solved the problem, and asked that it might receive +the prize supposed to be awarded by governments for the solution. +The construction was very complicated, and I went over the whole +demonstration without being able at first to detect any error. +So it was necessary to examine it yet more completely and take it +up point by point. At length I found the fallacy to be that three +lines which, as drawn, intersected in what was to the eye the same +point on the paper, were assumed to intersect mathematically in +one and the same point. Except for the complexity of the work, +the supposed construction would have been worthy of preservation. + +Some years later I received, from a teacher, I think, a supposed +construction, with the statement that he had gone over it very +carefully and could find no error. He therefore requested me to +examine it and see whether there was anything wrong. I told him in +reply that his work showed that he was quite capable of appreciating +a geometric demonstration; that there was surely something wrong in +it, because the problem was known to be insoluble, and I would like +him to try again to see if he could not find his error. As I never +again heard from him, I suppose he succeeded. + +One of the most curious of these cases was that of a student, I am not +sure but a graduate, of the University of Virginia, who claimed that +geometers were in error in assuming that a line had no thickness. +He published a school geometry based on his views, which received +the endorsement of a well-known New York school official and, on +the basis of this, was actually endorsed, or came very near being +endorsed, as a text-book in the public schools of New York. + +From my correspondence, I judge that every civilized country has +its share of these paradoxers. I am almost constantly in receipt +of letters not only from America, but from Europe and Asia, setting +forth their views. The following are a few of these productions +which arrived in the course of a single season. + + Baltimore, Sept. 29, 1897. + 104 Collington Ave. + + Prof. Simon Newcomb: + + _Dear Sir_,--Though a stranger to you, Sir, I take the liberty + to enlist your interest in a Cause,--so grand, so beautiful, + as to eclipse anything ever presented to the highest tribunal + of human intellect and intuition. + + Trusting you to be of liberal mind, Sir, I have mailed you + specimen copy of the "Banner of Light," which will prove + somewhat explanatory of my previous remarks. + + Being a student of Nature and her wonderful laws, as they + operate in that subtle realm of human life,--the soul, + for some years, I feel well prepared to answer inquiries + pertaining to this almost unknown field of scientific + research, and would do so with much pleasure, as I am + desirous to contribute my mite to the enlightenment of + mankind upon this most important of all subjects. + + Yours very truly, ------ ------ + + P. S.--Would be pleased to hear from you, Sir. + + + Mexico, 16 Oct. 1897. + + Dear Sir,--I beg to inform you that I have forwarded by to + days mail to your adress a copy of my 20th Century planetary + spectacle with a clipping of a german newspaper here. + Thirty hours for 3000 years is to day better accepted than + it was 6 years ago when I wrote it, although it called even + then for some newspaper comment, especially after President + Cleveland's election, whose likeness has been recognized on + the back cover, so has been my comet, which was duly anounced + by an Italian astronomer 48 hours before said election. + A hint of Jupiters fifth satelite and Mars satelites is + also to be found in my planetary spectacle but the most + striking feature of such a profetic play is undoubtedly + the Allegory of the Paris fire my entire Mercury scene and + next to it is the Mars scene with the wholesale retreat of + the greecs that is just now puzzling some advanced minds. + Of cours the musical satelites represent at the same time the + european concert with the disgusted halfuroons face in one + corner and Egypt next to it and there can be no doubt that + the world is now about getting ready to applaud such a grand + realistic play on the stage after even the school children + of Chicago adopted a great part of my moral scuol-club + (act II) as I see from the Times Herald Oct. 3d. and they + did certainly better than the Mars Fools did in N. Y. 4 + years ago with that Dire play, A trip to Mars. The only + question now is to find an enterprising scientist to not + only recomend my play but put some 1500$ up for to stage + it at once perhaps you would be able to do so. + + Yours truly + G. A. Kastelic, Hotel Buenavista. + + +In the following Dr. Diaforus of the _Malade Imaginaire_ seems to +have a formidable rival. + + Chicago, Oct. 31, 1897. + + Mr. Newcombe: + + _Dear Sir_,--I forwarded you photographs of several + designs which demonstrate by illustrations in physics, + metaphysics, phrenology, mechanics, Theology, Law magnetism + Astronomy etc--the only true form and principles of universal + government, and the greatest life sustaining forces in this + universe, I would like to explain to you and to some of the + expert government detectives every thing in connection with + those illustrations since 1881; I have traveled over this + continent; for many years I have been persecuted. my object + in sending you those illustrations is to see if you could + influence some Journalist in this City, or in Washington to + illustrate and write up the interpretation of those designs, + and present them to the public through the press. + + You know that very few men can grasp or comprehend in what + relation a plumb line stands to the sciences, or to the + nations of this earth, at the present time, by giving the + correct interpretation of Christian, Hebrew, & Mohammedian + prophesy, this work presents a system of international law + which is destined to create harmony peace and prosperity. + + sincerely yours + ------ ------ + 1035 Monadnock Bld + Chicago Ill + + C/o L. L. Smith. + + P. S. The very law that moulds a tear; and bids it trickel + from its source; that law preserves this earth a sphere, + and guides the planets in their course. + + + Ord Neb Nove 18, 1897. + + Professor Simon Newcomb + + Washington D C + + _Dear Sir_,--As your labors have enabled me to protect my + honor And prove the Copernican Newton Keplar and Gallileo + theories false I solicit transportation to your department + so that I can come and explain the whole of Nature and so + enable you to obtain the true value of the Moon from both + latitudes at the same instant. + + My method of working does not accord with yours Hence will + require more time to comprehend I have asked Professor + James E Keeler to examine the work and forward his report + with this application for transportation + + Yours truly ------ ------ + + +One day in July, 1895, I was perplexed by the receipt of a cable +dispatch from Paris in the following terms:-- + + Will you act? Consult Gould. Furber. + +The dispatch was accompanied by the statement that an immediate answer +was requested and prepaid. Dr. Gould being in Cambridge, and I in +Washington, it was not possible to consult him immediately as to what +was meant. After consultation with an official of the Coast Survey, +I reached the conclusion that the request had something to do with +the International Metric Commission, of which Dr. Gould was a member, +and that I was desired to act on some committee. As there could be no +doubt of my willingness to do this, I returned an affirmative answer, +and wrote to Dr. Gould to know exactly what was required. Great was +my surprise to receive an answer stating that he knew nothing of +the subject, and could not imagine what was meant. The mystery +was dispelled a few days later by a visit from Dr. E. R. L. Gould, +the well-known professor of economics, who soon after extended his +activities into the more practical line of the presidency of the +Suburban Homes and Improvement Company of New York. He had just +arrived from Paris, where a movement was on foot to induce the French +government to make such modifications in the regulations governing +the instruction and the degrees at the French universities as would +make them more attractive to American students, who had hitherto +frequented the German universities to the almost entire exclusion +of those of France. It was desired by the movers in the affair to +organize an American committee to act with one already formed at +Paris; and it was desired that I should undertake this work. + +I at first demurred on two grounds. I could not see how, with +propriety, Americans could appear as petitioners to the French +government to modify its educational system for their benefit. +Moreover, I did not want to take any position which would involve me +in an effort to draw American students from the German universities. + +He replied that neither objection could be urged in the case. +The American committee would act only as an adviser to the French +committee, and its sole purpose was to make known to the latter +what arrangements as regarded studies, examinations, and degrees +would be best adapted to meet the views and satisfy the needs of +American students. There was, moreover, no desire to draw American +students from the German universities; it was only desired to give +them greater facilities in Paris. + +The case was fortified by a letter from M. Michel Bréal, member of +the Institute of France, and head of the Franco-American committee, +as it was called in Paris, expressing a very flattering desire that +I should act. + +I soon gave my consent, and wrote to the presidents of eight or +ten of our leading universities and several Washington officials +interested in education, to secure their adhesion. With a single +exception, the responses were unanimous in the affirmative, and +I think the exception was due to a misapprehension of the objects +of the movement. The views of all the adhering Americans were then +requested, and a formal meeting was held, at which they were put into +shape. It is quite foreign to my present object to go into details, +as everything of interest in connection with the matter will be +found in educational journals. One point may, however, be mentioned. +The French committee was assured that whatever system of instruction +and of degrees was offered, it must be one in which no distinction +was made between French and foreigners. American students would +not strive for a degree which was especially arranged for them alone. + +I soon found that the movement was a much more complex one than it +appeared at first sight, and that all the parties interested in Paris +did not belong to one and the same committee. Not long after we had +put our suggestions into shape, I was gratified by a visit from Dom +de la Tremblay, prior of the Benedictine Convent of Santa Maria, in +Paris, a most philanthropic and attractive gentleman, who desired to +promote the object by establishing a home for the American students +when they should come. Knowing the temptations to which visiting +youth would be exposed, he was desirous of founding an establishment +where they could live in the best and most attractive surroundings. +He confidently hoped to receive the active support of men of wealth +in this country in carrying out his object. + +It was a somewhat difficult and delicate matter to explain to the +philanthropic gentleman that American students were not likely to +collect in a home specially provided for them, but would prefer +to find their own home in their own way. I tried to do it with +as little throwing of cold water as was possible, but, I fear, +succeeded only gradually. But after two or three visits to New York +and Washington, it became evident to him that the funds necessary +for his plan could not be raised. + +The inception of the affair was still not clear to me. I learned +it in Paris the year following. Then I found that the movement +was started by Mr. Furber, the sender of the telegram, a citizen of +Chicago, who had scarcely attained the prime of life, but was gifted +with that indomitable spirit of enterprise which characterizes +the metropolis of the West. What he saw of the educational +institutions of Paris imbued him with a high sense of their value, +and he was desirous that his fellow-countrymen should share in the +advantages which they offered. To induce them to do this, it was only +necessary that some changes should be made in the degrees and in the +examinations, the latter being too numerous and the degrees bearing no +resemblance to those of Germany and the United States. He therefore +addressed a memorial to the Minister of Public Instruction, who was +much impressed by the view of the case presented to him, and actively +favored the formation of a Franco-American committee to carry out +the object. Everything was gotten ready for action, and it only +remained that the prime mover should submit evidence that educators in +America desired the proposed change, and make known what was wanted. + +Why I should have been selected to do this I do not know, but suppose +it may have been because I had just been elected a foreign associate +of the Institute, and was free from trammels which might have hindered +the action of men who held official positions in the government or +at the heads of universities. The final outcome of the affair was +the establishment in the universities of France of the degree of +Doctor of the University, which might be given either in letters +or in science, and which was expected to correspond as nearly as +possible to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Germany and America. + +One feature of the case was brought out which may be worthy of +attention from educators. In a general way it may be said that our +Bachelor's degree does not correspond to any well-defined stage of +education, implying, as it does, something more than that foundation +of a general liberal education which the degree implies in Europe, and +not quite so much as the Doctor's degree. I found it very difficult, +if not impossible, to make our French friends understand that our +American Bachelor's degree was something materially higher than the +Baccalaureate of the French Lycée, which is conferred at the end of +a course midway between our high school and our college. + + +From education at the Sorbonne I pass to the other extreme. +During a stay in Harper's Ferry in the autumn of 1887, I had an +object lesson in the state of primary education in the mountain +regions of the South. Accompanied by a lady friend, who, like +myself, was fond of climbing the hills, I walked over the Loudon +heights into a sequestered valley, out of direct communication with +the great world. After visiting one or two of the farmhouses, we +came across a school by the roadside. It was the hour of recess, +and the teacher was taking an active part in promoting the games +in which the children were engaged. It was suggested by one of us +that it would be of interest to see the methods of this school; so +we approached the teacher on the subject, who very kindly offered +to call his pupils together and show us his teaching. + +First, however, we began to question him as to the subjects of +instruction. The curriculum seemed rather meagre, as he went over it. +I do not think it went beyond the three R's. + +"But do you not teach grammar as well as reading?" I asked. + +"No, I am sorry to say, I do not. I did want to teach grammar, +but the people all said that they had not been taught grammar, and +had got along very well without it, and did not see why the time of +the children should be taken up by it." + +"If you do not teach grammar from the book, you could at least teach +it by practice in composition. Do you not exercise them in writing +compositions?" + +"I did try that once, and let me tell you how it turned out. They got +up a story that I was teaching the children to write love letters, +and made such a clamor about it that I had to stop." + +He then kindly offered to show us what he did teach. The school was +called together and words to spell were given out from a dictionary. +They had got as far as "patrimony," and went on from that word to a +dozen or so that followed it. The words were spelled by the children +in turn, but nothing was said about the definition or meaning of +the word. He did not explain whether, in the opinion of the parents, +it was feared that disastrous events might follow if the children +knew what a "patrimony" was, but it seems that no objections were +raised to their knowing how to spell it. + +We thanked him and took our leave, feeling that we were well repaid +for our visit, however it might have been with the teacher and +his school. + + +I have never been able to confine my attention to astronomy with +that exclusiveness which is commonly considered necessary to the +highest success in any profession. The lawyer finds almost every +branch of human knowledge to be not only of interest, but of actual +professional value, but one can hardly imagine why an astronomer +should concern himself with things mundane, and especially with +sociological subjects. But there is very high precedent for such +a practice. Quite recently the fact has been brought to light that +the great founder of modern astronomy once prepared for the government +of his native land a very remarkable paper on the habit of debasing +the currency, which was so prevalent during the Middle Ages. [1] The +paper of Copernicus is, I believe, one of the strongest expositions +of the evil of a debased currency that had ever appeared. Its tenor +may be judged by the opening sentence, of which the following is a +free translation:-- + + Innumerable though the evils are with which kingdoms, + principalities, and republics are troubled, there are four + which in my opinion outweigh all others,--war, death, famine, + and debasement of money. The three first are so evident that + no one denies them, but it is not thus with the fourth. + +A certain interest in political economy dates with me from the age of +nineteen, when I read Say's work on the subject, which was at that +time in very wide circulation. The question of protection and free +trade was then, as always, an attractive one. I inclined towards +the free trade view, but still felt that there might be another +side to the question which I found myself unable fully to grasp. +I remember thinking it quite possible that Smith's "Wealth of Nations" +might be supplemented by a similar work on the strength of nations, +in which not merely wealth, but everything that conduces to national +power should be considered, and that the result of the inquiry +might lead to practical conclusions different from those of Smith. +Very able writers, among them Henry C. Carey, had espoused the side +of protection, but for some years I had not time to read their works, +and therefore reserved my judgment until more light should appear. + +Thus the matter stood until an accident impelled me to look into +the subject. About 1862 or 1863 President Thomas Hill, of Harvard +University, paid a visit to Washington. I held him in very high +esteem. He was a mathematician, and had been the favorite student of +Professor Benjamin Peirce; but I did not know that he had interested +himself in political economy until, on the occasion in question, I +passed an evening with him at the house where he was a guest. Here he +told me that in a public lecture at Philadelphia, a few evenings +before, he had informed his hearers that they had amongst them one +of the greatest philosophers of the time, Henry C. Carey. He spoke +of his works in such enthusiastic terms, describing especially his +law of the tendency of mankind to be attracted towards the great +capitals or other centres of population, that I lost no time in +carefully reading Carey's "Principles of Social Science." + +The result was much like a slap in the face. With every possible +predisposition to look favorably on its teachings, I was unable to +find anything in them but the prejudiced judgments of a one-sided +thinker, fond of brilliant general propositions which really had +nothing serious to rest upon either in fact or reason. The following +parody on his method occurred to me:-- + +The physicians say that quinine tends to cure intermittent fever. +If this be the case, then where people use most quinine, they +will have least intermittent fever. But the facts are exactly +the opposite. Along the borders of the lower Mississippi, where +people take most quinine, they suffer most from fever; therefore +the effect of quinine is the opposite of that alleged. + +I earnestly wished for an opportunity to discuss the matter further +with Mr. Hill, but it was never offered. + +During the early years of the civil war, when the country was flooded +with an irredeemable currency, I was so much disturbed by what +seemed to me the unwisdom of our financial policy, that I positively +envied the people who thought it all right, and therefore were free +from mental perturbation on the subject. I at length felt that I +could keep silent no longer, and as the civil war was closing, I +devoted much time to writing a little book, "Critical Examination +of Our Financial Policy during the Southern Rebellion." I got +this published by the Appletons, but had to pay for the production. +It never yielded enough to pay the cost of printing, as is very apt +to be the case with such a hook when it is on the unpopular side +and by an unknown author. It had, however, the pleasant result of +bringing me into friendly relations with two of the most eminent +financiers of the country, Mr. Hugh McCulloch and Mr. George S. Coe, +the latter president of one of the principal banks of New York. +The compliments which these men paid to the book were the only +compensation I got for the time and money expended upon it. + + +In 1876 the "North American Review" published a centennial number +devoted to articles upon our national progress during the first +century of our existence. I contributed the discussion of our +work in exact science. Natural science had been cultivated among +us with great success, but I was obliged to point out our backward +condition in every branch of exact science, which was more marked +the more mathematical the character of the scientific work. In pure +mathematics we seemed hopelessly behind in the race. + +I suppose that every writer who discusses a subject with a view +of influencing the thought of the public, must be more or less +discouraged by the small amount of attention the best he can say is +likely to receive from his fellow-men. No matter what his own opinion +of the importance of the matters he discusses, and the results that +might grow out of them if men would only give them due attention, +they are lost in the cataract of utterances poured forth from the +daily, weekly, and monthly press. I was therefore much pleased, +soon after the article appeared, to be honored with a visit from +President Gilman, who had been impressed with my views, and wished +to discuss the practicability of the Johns Hopkins University, which +was now being organized, doing something to promote the higher forms +of investigation among us. + +One of the most remarkable mathematicians of the age, Professor +J. J. Sylvester, had recently severed his connection with the Royal +Military Academy at Woolich, and it had been decided to invite him +to the chair of mathematics at the new university. It was considered +desirable to have men of similar world-wide eminence in charge of the +other departments in science. But this was found to be impracticable, +and the policy adopted was to find young men whose reputation was +yet to be made, and who would be the leading men of the future, +instead of belonging to the past. + +All my experience would lead me to say that the selection of the +coming man in science is almost as difficult as the selection of +youth who are to become senators of the United States. The success +of the university in finding the young men it wanted, has been one +of the most remarkable features in the history of the Johns Hopkins +University. Of this the lamented Rowland affords the most striking, +but by no means the only instance. Few could have anticipated +that the modest and scarcely known youth selected for the chair of +physics would not only become the leading man of his profession in +our country, but one of the chief promoters of scientific research +among us. Mathematical study and research of the highest order +now commenced, not only at Baltimore, but at Harvard, Columbia, +and other centres of learning, until, to-day, we are scarcely behind +any nation in our contributions to the subject. + + +The development of economic study in our country during the last +quarter of the last century is hardly less remarkable than that of +mathematical science. A great impulse in this direction was given +by Professor R. T. Ely, who, when the Johns Hopkins University was +organized, became its leading teacher in economics. He had recently +come from Germany, where he had imbibed what was supposed to be +a new gospel in economics, and he now appeared as the evangelist +of what was termed the historical school. My own studies were of +course too far removed from this school to be a factor in it. But, +so far as I was able, I fought the idea of there being two schools, +or of any necessary antagonism between the results of the two methods. +It was true that there was a marked difference in form between them. +Some men preferred to reach conclusions by careful analysis of human +nature and study of the acts to which men were led in seeking to +carry out their own ends. This was called the old-school method. +Others preferred to study the problem on a large scale, especially +as shown in the economic development of the country. But there +could be no necessary difference between the conclusions thus reached. + +One curious fact, which has always been overlooked in the history +of economics in our country, shows how purely partisan was the idea +of a separation of the two schools. The fact is that the founder of +the historic school among us, the man who first introduced the idea, +was not Ely, but David A. Wells. Up to the outbreak of the civil +war, Mr. Wells had been a writer on scientific subjects without any +special known leaning toward economies; but after it broke out he +published a most noteworthy pamphlet, setting forth the resources of +our country for carrying on war and paying a debt, in terms so strong +as to command more attention than any similar utterance at the time. +This led to his appointment as Special Commissioner of Revenue, +with the duty of collecting information devising the best methods of +raising revenue. His studies in this line were very exhaustive, and +were carried on by the methods of the historic school of economics. +I was almost annoyed to find that, if any economic question was +presented to him, he rushed off to the experience of some particular +people or nation--it might be Sweden or Australia--instead of going +down to fundamental principles. But I could never get him interested +in this kind of analysis. + +One of Professor Ely's early movements resulted in the organization of +the American Economic Association. His original plan was that this +society should have something like a creed to which its members were +expected to subscribe. A discussion of the whole subject appeared +in the pages of "Science," a number of the leading economists of +the country being contributors to it. The outcome of the whole +matter has been a triumph for what most men will now consider reason +and good sense. The Economic Association was scarcely more than +organized when it broke loose from all creeds and admitted into +its ranks investigators of the subject belonging to every class. +I think the last discussion on the question of two schools occurred +at the New York meeting, about 1895, after which the whole matter +was dropped and the association worked together as a unit. + +As Professor Ely is still a leader on the stage, I desire to do him +justice in one point. I am able to do so because of what I have +always regarded as one of the best features of the Johns Hopkins +University--the unity of action which pervaded its work. There is +a tendency in such institutions to be divided up into departments, +not only independent of each other, but with little mutual help +or sympathy. Of course every department has the best wishes of +every other, and its coöperation when necessary, but the tendency +is to have nothing more than this. In 1884, after the resignation +of Professor Sylvester, I was invited by President Gilman to act as +head of the department of mathematics. I could not figure as the +successor of Sylvester, and therefore suggested that my title should +be professor of mathematics and astronomy. The examinations of +students for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy were then, as now, +all conducted by a single "Board of University Studies," in which +all had equal powers, although of course no member of the board took +an active part in cases which lay entirely outside of his field. +But the general idea was that of mutual coöperation and criticism +all through. Each professor was a factor in the department of +another in a helpful and not an antagonistic way, and all held +counsel on subjects where the knowledge of all was helpful to each. +I cannot but think that the wonderful success of the Johns Hopkins +University is largely due to this feature of its activity, which +tended to broaden both professors and students alike. + +In pursuance of this system I for several years took part in the +examinations of students of economics for their degrees. I found that +Professor Ely's men were always well grounded in those principles +of economic theory which seemed to me essential to a comprehension +of the subject on its scientific side. + +Being sometimes looked upon as an economist, I deem it not improper +to disclaim any part in the economic research of to-day. What I have +done has been prompted by the conviction that the greatest social want +of the age is the introduction of sound thinking on economic subjects +among the masses, not only of our own, but of every other country. +This kind of thinking I have tried to promote in our own country +by such books as "A Plain Man's Talk on the Labor Question," and +"Principles of Political Economy." + + +My talks with Professor Henry used to cover a wide field in scientific +philosophy. Adherence to the Presbyterian church did not prevent his +being as uncompromising an upholder of modern scientific views of the +universe as I ever knew. He was especially severe on the delusions +of spiritualism. To a friend who once told him that he had seen a +"medium" waft himself through a window, he replied, "Judge, you never +saw that; and if you think you did, you are in a dangerous mental +condition and need the utmost care of your family and your physician." + +Among the experiences which I heard him relate more than once, +I think, was one with a noted medium. Henry was quite intimate +with President Lincoln, who, though not a believer in spiritualism, +was from time to time deeply impressed by the extraordinary feats +of spiritualistic performers, and naturally looked to Professor +Henry for his views and advice on the subject. Quite early in his +administration one of these men showed his wonderful powers to the +President, who asked him to show Professor Henry his feats. + +Although the latter generally avoided all contact with such men, +he consented to receive him at the Smithsonian Institution. +Among the acts proposed was that of making sounds in various +quarters of the room. This was something which the keen senses +and ready experimental faculty of the professor were well qualified +to investigate. He turned his head in various positions while the +sounds were being emitted. He then turned toward the man with the +utmost firmness and said, "I do not know how you make the sounds, +but this I perceive very clearly: they do not come from the room but +from your person." It was in vain that the operator protested that +they did not, and that he had no knowledge how they were produced. +The keen ear of his examiner could not be deceived. + +Sometime afterward the professor was traveling in the east, and +took a seat in a railway car beside a young man who, finding who +his companion was, entered into conversation with him, and informed +him that he was a maker of telegraph and electrical instruments. +His advances were received in so friendly a manner that he went +further yet, and confided to Henry that his ingenuity had been called +into requisition by spiritual mediums, to whom he furnished the +apparatus necessary for the manifestations. Henry asked him by what +mediums he had been engaged, and was surprised to find that among +them was the very man he had met at the Smithsonian. The sounds +which the medium had emitted were then described to the young man, +who in reply explained the structure of the apparatus by which they +were produced, which apparatus had been constructed by himself. +It was fastened around the muscular part of the upper arm, and was +so arranged that clicks would be produced by a simple contraction +of the muscle, unaccompanied by any motion of the joints of the arm, +and entirely invisible to a bystander. + +During the Philadelphia meeting of the American Association for the +Advancement of Science, held in 1884, a few members were invited by +one of the foreign visitors, Professor Fitzgerald of Dublin, I think, +to a conference on the subject of psychical research. The English +society on this subject had been organized a few years before, and the +question now was whether there was interest enough among us to lead +to the organization of an American Society for Psychical Research. +This was decided in the affirmative; the society was soon after +formed, with headquarters in Boston, and I was elected its first +president, a choice which Powell, of Washington, declared to be +ridiculous in the highest degree. + +On accepting this position, my first duty was to make a careful study +of the publications of the parent society in England, with a view +of learning their discoveries. The result was far from hopeful. +I found that the phenomena brought out lacked that coherence +and definiteness which is characteristic of scientific truths. +Remarkable effects had been witnessed; but it was impossible to say, +Do so and so, and you will get such an effect. The best that could +be said was, perhaps you will get an effect, but more likely you +will not. I could not feel any assurance that the society, with +all its diligence, had done more than add to the mass of mistakes, +misapprehensions of fact, exaggerations, illusions, tricks, and +coincidences, of which human experience is full. In the course of a +year or two I delivered a presidential address, in which I pointed +out the difficulties of the case and the inconclusiveness of the +supposed facts gathered. I suggested further experimentation, and +called upon the English society to learn, by trials, whether the +mental influences which they had observed to pass from mind to mind +under specially arranged conditions, would still pass when a curtain +or a door separated the parties. Fifteen years have since elapsed, +and neither they nor any one else has settled this most elementary +of all the questions involved. The only conclusion seems to be that +only in exceptional cases does any effect pass at all; and when it +does, it is just as likely to be felt halfway round the world as +behind a curtain in the same room. + +Shortly after the conference in Philadelphia I had a long wished-for +opportunity to witness and investigate what, from the descriptions, +was a wonder as great as anything recorded in the history of psychic +research or spiritualism. Early in 1885 a tall and well-built young +woman named Lulu Hurst, also known as the "Georgia magnetic girl," +gave exhibitions in the eastern cities which equaled or exceeded the +greatest feats of the Spiritualists. On her arrival in Washington +invitations were sent to a number of our prominent scientific men to +witness a private exhibition which she gave in advance of her public +appearance. I was not present, but some who attended were so struck +by her performance that they arranged to have another exhibition +in Dr. Graham Bell's laboratory. I can give the best idea of the +case if I begin with an account of the performance as given by the +eye-witnesses at the first trial. We must remember that this was not +the account of mere wonder-seekers, but of trained scientific men. +Their account was in substance this:-- + +A light rod was firmly held in the hands of the tallest and most +muscular of the spectators. Miss Lulu had only to touch the +rod with her fingers when it would begin to go through the most +extraordinary manoeuvres. It jerked the holder around the room with +a power he was unable to resist, and finally threw him down into a +corner completely discomfited. Another spectator was then asked to +take hold of the rod, and Miss Lulu extended her arms and touched +each end with the tip of her finger. Immediately the rod began to +whirl around on its central axis with such force that the skin was +nearly taken off the holder's hands in his efforts to stop it. + +A heavy man being seated in a chair, man and chair were lifted +up by the fair performer placing her hands against the sides. +To substantiate the claim that she herself exerted no force, chair and +man were lifted without her touching the chair at all. The sitter +was asked to put his hands under the chair; the performer put her +hands around and under his in such a way that it was impossible +for her to exert any force on the chair except through his hands. +The chair at once lifted him up without her exerting any pressure +other than the touch upon his hands. + +Several men were then invited to hold the chair still. The performer +then began to deftly touch it with her finger, when the chair again +began to jump about in spite of the efforts of three or four men to +hold it down. + +A straw hat being laid upon a table crown downwards, she laid her +extended hands over it. It was lifted up by what seemed an attractive +force similar to that of a magnet upon an armature, and was in danger +of being torn to pieces in the effort of any one holding it to keep it +down, though she could not possibly have had any hold upon the object. + +Among the spectators were physicians, one or more of whom grasped +Miss Lulu's arms while the motions were going on, without finding +any symptoms of strong muscular action. Her pulse remained normal +throughout. The objects which she touched seemed endowed with a +force which was wholly new to science. + +So much for the story. Now for the reality. The party appeared at +the Volta Laboratory, according to arrangement. Those having the +matter in charge were not professional mystifiers of the public, +and showed no desire to conceal anything. There was no darkening of +rooms, no putting of hands under tables, no fear that spirits would +refuse to act because of the presence of some skeptic, no trickery +of any sort. + +We got up such arrangements as we could for a scientific investigation +of the movements. One of these was a rolling platform on which +Miss Lulu was requested to stand while the forces were exerted. +Another device was to seat her on a platform scale while the chair +was lifting itself. + +These several experiments were tried in the order in which I have +mentioned them. I took the wonderful staff in my hands, and Miss Lulu +placed the palms of her hands and extended them against the staff near +the ends, while I firmly grasped it with my two hands in the middle. +Of course this gave her a great advantage in the leverage. I was then +asked to resist the staff with all my force, with the added assurance +from Mrs. Hurst, the mother, that the resistance would be in vain. + +Although the performer began with a delicate touch of the staff, +I noticed that she changed the position of her hands every moment, +sometimes seizing the staff with a firm grip, and that it never +moved in any direction unless her hands pressed it in that direction. +As nearly as I could estimate, the force which she exerted might have +been equal to forty pounds, and this exerted first in one way and +then in another was enough to upset the equilibrium of any ordinary +man, especially when the jerks were so sudden and unexpected that +it was impossible for one to brace himself against them. After a +scene of rather undignified contortion I was finally compelled to +retire in defeat, but without the slightest evidence of any other +force than that exerted by a strong, muscular young woman. I asked +that the rod might be made to whirl in my hands in the manner which +has been described, but there was clearly some mistake in this whirl, +for Miss Lulu knew nothing on the subject. + +Then we proceeded to the chair performance, which was repeated a +number of times. I noticed that although, at the beginning, the +sitter held his fingers between the chair and the fingers of the +performer, the chair would not move until Miss Lulu had the ball +of her hand firmly in connection with it. Even then it did not +actually lift the sitter from the ground, but was merely raised up +behind, the front legs resting on the ground, whereupon the sitter +was compelled to get out. This performance was repeated a number +of times without anything but what was commonplace. + +In order to see whether, as claimed, no force was exerted on the +chair, the performer was invited to stand on the platform of the +scales while making the chair move. The weights had been so adjusted +as to balance a weight of forty pounds above her own. The result was +that after some general attempts to make the chair move the lever +clicked, showing that a lifting force exceeding forty pounds was +being exerted by the young woman on the platform. The click seemed +to demoralize the operator, who became unable to continue her efforts. + +The experiment of raising a hat turned out equally simple, and the +result of all the trials was only to increase my skepticism as to the +whole doctrine of unknown forces and media of communication between +one mind and another. I am now likely to remain a skeptic as to +every branch of "occult science" until I find some manifestation of +its reality more conclusive than any I have yet been able to find. + +[1] Prowe: Nicolaus Copernicus, Bd. ii. (Berlin, 1884), p. 33. + + + + +INDEX + + +Absence of mind, examples of, 73, 169. +Academy of Science, a would-be, 351. +Academy of Sciences, Paris, 327. +Adams, Prof. John C., 220; intellectual capacity, 282; politics, 283. +Agnesi, Donna Maria, 294. +Agassiz, Louis, discusses Origin of Species, 70. +Airy, Sir George B., Observations of Transit of Venus, 166; + hospitality, 285; poetic taste, 286; executive ability, 286; + methods of works, 289. +Alexander, Columbus, 368. +Anderson, Sir James, 300. +Angle, trisection of, 387. +Argelander, Prof., master of observational astronomy, 318, 319. +Atlantic Cable, the first, 300. +Auwers, the great astronomer, 306. + +Bacon, Mr., teacher at Bedeque, 9. +Baillie, William, U. S. engineer, 361. +Baird, Spencer F., 240. +Bancroft, George, reviews judicial decision of Star Catalogue case, + 378. +Barnard, E. E., 190. +Barnard, Gen. John G., 335. +Bartlett, William P. G., 83. +Belknap, Admiral G. H., 228. +Bell, Alexander Graham, tries to locate ball in Garfield's body, 358. +Black, Jeremiah, 168, 169. +Blackie, Prof. J. S., 294. +Bond, George P., 250. +Booth, Edwin, 157. +Borst, Charles A., 373. +Boss, Prof. Lewis, 124, 230. +Bowditch, Nathaniel, 1. +Bradford, Isaac, 74. +Brewster, Elder, 3. +Brown, Prof. S. J., 125. +Burnham, S. W., 188. + +Campbell, William W., 190. +Carey, Henry C., 400. +Cassey, Thomas L., Jr., 174. +Casserly, Eugene, 128. +Cassini, astronomer, of Paris Observatory, 331. +Cayley, Prof. Arthur, 280. +Chandler, Captain Ralph, U. S. N., 171. +Chandler, W. E., 126. +Chauvenet, William, 111. +Chevreul, M., his remarkable age, 327. +Circle, quadrature of, 387. +Clark, Alvan, 129, 144. +Clark, Alvan, & Sons, character of the firm, 147. +Cleveland, Keith, 224. +Cobbett, William, 7, 53. +Coe, George S., financier, 402. +Coffin, J. H. C., 111. +Combe, George, 4, 16. +Commune of Paris, 321-326. +Comstock, G. C., 126. +Cooke, Thomas, & Sons, 133. +Cox, Jacob D., 258. +Crank, the anti-gravitation, 381; a reasonable, 383. +Cranks, specimen letters from, 389. + +Darwin's "Origin of Species," discussion of, 70. +Dawes, Henry L., 82. +Dawes, Rev. W. R., 148. +Davis, Charles H., 63; becomes superintendent at Naval Observatory, + 107. +Dayton, A. G., 126. +Delaunay, Charles, indorses Prof. Newcomb, 317; director of Paris + Observatory, 319; attractive personality, 329, 330. +Draper, Dr. Henry, expert in astronomical photography, 171, 223. +Draper, Dr. John W., 250. +Dudley Observatory troubles, 80. + +Early, Gen. Jubal A., raid of, 339. +Eastman, John R., 107, 274. +Eclipse, solar, of 1860, journey to observe, 88. +Economics, studies in, 399; alleged schools of, 405. +Education in mountain regions of South, 397. +Eggleston, Edward, 89. +Eliot, Charles W., 74. +Elkin, Dr. W. L., 176. +Elliot, Benjamin S., 50. +Ely, Prof. R. T., as economist, 404; organizes American Economic + Association, 406; merits as a teacher, 408. +Evarts, William M., 241. +Eveleth, G. W., 55. + +Feil, maker of optical discs, 185. +Ferguson, James, 111. +Ferrell, William, 72, 88. +Field, Cyrus W., 128. +Fiske, John, on eccentric literature, 382. +Fixed stars, Paris conference regarding, 230. +Floyd, Richard S., 186. +France, universities of, 392. +Franklin, Admiral, 122. +Furber, Mr., starts movement for admission of American students + in French universities, 396. + +Garfield, James A., first acquaintance with, 353; his early life, + 354; injustice done him, 354; his intellectual gifts, 355; + assassination of, 356. +Geological Survey, circumstances leading to origin of, 252-255; + attacks on, 261. +Gibraltar, determination of the longitude of, 284, 299. +Gill, Sir David, 176. +Gillis, Capt. J. M., superintendent of Naval Observatory, 99; + obtains new transit circle, 105. +Gilman, Daniel C., 403. +Gladstone, William Ewart, meeting with, 273, 276. +Glaisher, J. W. L., 72. +Goldsborough, Admiral, 340. +Gould, Benjamin A., personality, 78; Dudley Observatory directorship, + 80; candidate for Naval Observatory director, 111. +Gould, Dr. E. R. L., 393. +Gravitation, detestable to some minds, 381. +Green, Capt. F. M., 284. +Greenwich Observatory, situation, 285; value of observations at, 288. +Grubb, Sir Howard J., 156, 185. + +Hagar, Judge, 189. +Hale, Eugene P., 123. +Hale, George E., 126. +Hall, Asaph, 107; discovers satellites of Mars, 141. +Hamlin, Hannibal, 128. +Harkness, William, appointed to Naval Observatory, 107; shares honor + of discovering brightest line in spectrum of sun's corona, 113; + director of Observatory, 180. +Harrington, attorney, 367. +Harvard Observatory, Prof. Newcomb called to directorship of, 211; + Pickering's directorship, 212. +Hassler, J. J. S., 264. +Hansen, Prof., greatest master of celestial mechanics, 315, 316. +Hayden, Prof. F. V., 253. +Hayes, Rutherford B., 242, 259. +Hedrick, Prof., 73. +Hell, Father Maximilian, his alleged forgery, 154. +Henry, Prof. Joseph, Prof. Newcomb's relations with, 1, 54, 58, 161; + characteristics, 234-237; on spiritualism, 408. +Herbert, Hilary A., 231. +Hewitt, A. S., 255. +Hilgard, J. E., 1, 59; in charge of Coast Survey, 65, 128. +Hill, George W., 218, 219, 221. +Hill, Thomas Prescott, 400. +Holcombe, Lieut. J. H. L., 174. +Holden, Prof. E. S., 184-194. +Horsford, E. N., 74. +Hubbard, Prof. J. S., head astronomer of Naval Observatory, 98; + in charge of mural circle, 102. +Huggins, Sir William, 279. +Hughes, Thomas, 272. +Humphreys, Gen., chief of engineers, 256. +Hurst, Lulu, the "Georgia magnetic girl," exhibitions of, 412-416. + +Illusion, an astronomical, 137. +Inch, Richard, United States engineer, 361. + +Jennings, Mr., cooling device of, 358. +Jewett, C. C., 237. + +Keeler, James E., 191. +Kelvin, Lord, 248. +Kerr, Prof., 73. +King, Clarence, 258, 259. +Knobel, E. B., 380. +Koresh, his theory, 385. + +Lamar, Judge Lucius, 264. +Langley, Prof. Samuel P., 240. +Language, advantage of not knowing a, 306. +Laplace, the "Mécanique Céleste" of, 1. +Lardner's "Popular Lectures on Science and Art," 19. +Lawrence, Prof. Smith J., 56. +Lee, Gen. Robert E., 339. +Lee's "Tables and Formulæ," 56. +Leverrier, M., two views of, 328; meeting with, 330; his merits, 331. +Leverrier and Hansen's systems of planetary computation, 219. +Lick, James, 182. +Lick Observatory, origin of, 182; location discussed, 187; telescope + at, 185; Holden's administration, 192; Keeler's administration, + 194; Campbell's administration, 194. +Lincoln, Pres., his war-time receptions, 342; assassination of, 344; + trial of assassins, 345. +Lister, Lord, 278. +Litchfield Observatory, founder of, 374. +Loomis, E. J., 74. +Lowe, Mr. (Viscount Sherbrooke), 276. + +Mahan, Prof. D. H., 335. +Mars, discovery of the satellites of, 141. +Marsh, Prof. O. C., exposure of Indian ring, 263; relation to "Wild + West," 265; exposure of Cardiff giant, 266; his modern fossil, 269. +Maskelyne, Rev. Nevil, 152. +"Mathematical Monthly," foundation of, 84. +Mathematics and exact sciences, state of, in America, 402. +Maury, Matthew F., work of, 103. +McCook, Gen. A. D., 341. +McCormick, L. J., 132. +McCulloch, Hugh, 244, 402. +McMickan, Captain, of Cunard Line, 271. +McTavish, Governor, 91. +"Mécanique Céleste," first sight of, 56. +Meier, John, 223. +Meridian conference of 1884, 226. +Mill, John Stuart, 272. +Mills, D. O., 183. +Miner and Tully's "Fevers of the Connecticut Valley," 33. +Monroe, Rev. Alexander H., 36 n. +Moore, Capt. W. S., 361. +Moore's Navigator, 17. +Morrill, Justin S., 124. + +National Academy of Science, early proceedings, 251; report of + Geological Survey, 255; report of Forestry System, 261. +"National Intelligencer," letter in, 55. +Natural Philosophy, Mrs. Marcet's Conversations on, 18. +Nautical Almanac, assistants on, 66; in charge of, 120. +Naval Observatory, early history of, 102; work at, 109; conditions + at, 110; civilian head proposed, 111; views of administration in + regard to, 112; reports of eclipse of 1870, 113; visit of Emperor + Dom Pedro, 117; efforts to improve, 122; Board of Visitors + appointed, 126; telescope of, 128; Congressional action regarding + new telescope, 131; observations of satellites of Neptune, 136, + 141; search for companion of Procyon, 138. +Negro, characteristics of, 346; education of, 348. +Neptune, observation of the satellites of, 136, 141. +Newall, R. S., 133. +Newcomb, John, father of Simon, characteristics and marriage, 4. +Newcomb, Simon, the first, 2. +Newcomb, Judge Simon B., 2. +Newcomb, Prof. Simon, ancestry, 2, 3; parentage, 6; early education + at Bedeque, 9; begins study of arithmetic, 10; influence of books, + 14-22; winter spent with farmer Jefferson, 18; residence at + Yarmouth, 23; ancestral home, 23; begins study of medicine, 27; + manufacture of botanic medicine under Dr. Foshay, 31, 32; joins + temperance lodge, 37; intimacy with Parkin family, 39; first sight + of Smithsonian, 52; reading in political economy, 53; study of + Newton's "Principia," 54; first attempt at mathematical paper, 54; + letter in "National Intelligencer," 55; Colonel Abert sends Lee's + "Tables and Formulæ," 56; letter from Prof. L. J. Smith, 56; + teaching in a planter's family, 56; first sight of "Mécanique + Céleste," 56; assistant on staff of Nautical Almanac, 66; + discussion of Darwin's "Origin of Species," 70; student in Lawrence + Scientific School, 74; acquaintance with Dr. B. A. Gould, 78; + friendship with William P. G. Bartlett, 83; journey in 1860 to + observe solar eclipse, 88; meets Governor Ramsey and Edward + Eggleston, 89; received by Governor McTavish, 91; Saskatchewan + journey, 92; candidate for professorship in Washington University, + 95; application for professorship in Naval Observatory, 97; early + experience at Observatory, 101; edits Yarnall's observations, 105; + in charge of mural circle, 107; journey to observe 1869 eclipse, + 113; new transit circle, 114; investigation of moon's motion, 115; + visit of Dom Pedro to Observatory, 117; assumes charge of Nautical + Almanac Office, 120; verification of satellites of Mars, 141; + transit of Venus expedition to Europe, 167; expedition to Cape of + Good Hope, 174; agent of Lick Observatory trustees, 184; first + meeting with Schaeberle, 190; study of orbits of asteroids, 195; + problems of astronomy, 198; motion of moon, 202; occultations of + stars, 207; offered Harvard Observatory directorship, 211; head of + Nautical Almanac Office, 214; policy of office, 216, 233; + computations for Planet Tables, 216; assistants, 218; suggestions + to Meridian Conference, 226; computations regarding fixed stars, + 230; member Yale Alumni Association, 241; member Washington + Scientific Club, 244; first trip to Europe, 271; meets Thomas + Hughes, 272; John Stuart Mill, 272; William Ewart Gladstone, 273; + General Burnside, 273; attends banquet of Royal Society, 276; visit + to Lord Lister, 278; meets Prof. Cayley, 280; Prof. J. C. Adams + calls, 281; determination of Gibraltar longitude, 284; visits + Greenwich, 285; friendship with Sir George Airy, 285-289; visits + Edinburgh, 292; meets Prof. Blackie, 294; joins party of English + astronomers bound for Algeria, 295; stormy voyage, 296; at + Gibraltar, 297; Sir James Anderson, an old acquaintance, 300; + Mediterranean trip, 302-305; Wilhelm Förster, a Berlin acquaintance, + 306; meets great astronomer Auwers, 306; visits Pulkova Observatory, + 309; winter ride in Russia, 310; first meeting with Hansen, 315; + arrives in Paris during German evacuation, 319; visits Paris + Observatory, 321; meets Leverrier, 330; Washington during Civil War + and after, 334-371; two days military service, 339; assassination + of Lincoln, 344; attends trial of conspirators, 345; acquaintance + with Sumner, 349; with President Garfield, 353; asked to device + means for cooling his sick chamber, 357; suggestions for location + of bullet, 358; experience with eccentric theorists, 381-389; + assists in obtaining entrance of American students to French + universities, 396; object lesson in regard to education in mountain + regions of South, 397; studies in economics, 399; publishes + "Critical Examination of our Financial Policy during the Southern + Rebellion," 402; contribution to "North American Review," 402; + conference with Prof. Daniel C. Gilman, 403; contributions to + economic literature: "A Plain Man's Talk on the Labor Question," + "Principles of Political Economy," 408; "Psychical Research," + 410-412. +Nixon, Thomas, 37, 41. + +Occultism, 93. +Old Peake, janitor of the Smithsonian, 58. +Oldright, Mr., 53. +Oliver, James E., 72. +Ommaney, Sir Erastus, 295. + +Paine, Thomas, 3. +Paradoxers, experience with, 382. +Paris Conference, conclusions of, 230; attacked by Prof. Boss and + S. C. Chandler, 230. +Paris Observatory, 321, 332. +Parkin, George R., 39. +Patent claim, a curious, 361. +Patterson, J. W., 352. +Peirce, Benjamin professor of mathematics, 75; personality, 77, 78; + chairman of committee on methods of observing transit of Venus, + 161; director of solar eclipse expedition, 274; presence in England + valuable to British astronomers, 277. +Peters, C. H. F., heads Transit of Venus expedition, 139; Star + Catalogue Case, 372; work on Ptolemy's Catalogue, 380. +Photoheliograph, horizontal 164. +Phrenology, study of, 14, 34. +Pickering, E. C., 126. +Pistor and Martin's transit circle, 105. +Poe, Gen. O. M., 352. +Powell, John W., 240; during Garfield's illness, 357. +"Principia," Newton's, 54. +Procyon, search for companion of, 138; at Lick Observatory, 140. +Professors in Navy, origin of corps of, 101. +"Psychical Research," 410. +Ptolemy's Star Catalogue, Peter's work on, 380. +Pulkova Observatory, object glass made by Alvan Clark & Sons, 144, + 145; foundation and situation, 309-313. + +Reed, Thomas B., 125. +Rhodes scholarships, 37. +Rodgers, Admiral John, 120. +Rogers, William B., 250. +Royal Society, banquet of, 275. +Runkle, John D., 1, 66. + +Safe burglary conspiracy, 367. +Safford, Truman H., 67. +Sampson, Admiral W. T., 121. +Sands, Admiral, superintendent of Naval Observatory, 112; retirement, + 116; assists in obtaining new telescope, 130. +Sauty, de, cable operator at Gibraltar, 300. +Schaeberle, assistant to Prof. Holden, 190. +Schofield, J. M., 96. +Schurman, Caleb, 11. +Schurman, Jacob Gould, 11 n. +Scientific Club, 244. +Scudder, Samuel H., 88. +Shepherd, Alexander H., career, 364-371. +Sherman, Gen. W. T., 243. +Sibley, J. Langdon, 76. +Smith, James, circle squarer, 387. +Smithson, James, 235. +Smithsonian Institution, policy of, 235, 236; difficulties in + administration, 237; expansion of scope, 240. +Smyth, Prof. C. Piazzi, 293. +Smyth, Admiral, W. H., 152. +Sophocles, Evangelinus Apostolides, 75. +Standard time, adoption of, 225, 226. +Stanton, Edwin M., 336; his tireless energy, 337; his law of war, 338. +Star Catalogue case, the great, 372. +Steeves, Isaac, 38. +Struve, Otto, 144, 309. +Struve, Wilhelm, 312. +Struve, Russian minister at Washington, 312. +Sudler, Dr. Arthur E., 50. +Sumner, Charles, characteristics, 349, 350; kills an incipient + "Academy," 352. +Sylvester, Prof. J. J., 403. + +Telescope, horizontal, planned by Prof. Winlock, 163. +Thomson, Sir William, 248. +Tilley, Sir Leonard, 40. +Tracy, Benjamin, 123. +Transit of Venus, early observations of, 151; observed by Mason + and Dixon, 153; Hell's alleged forgeries, 157; preparation for + observation of, 160; Committee of National Academy of Sciences to + consider subject, 161; transit commission, 163; appropriation for + observation station, 170, 171, 174; value of observations, 173; + observations at Cape Town, 177; publication of observations, 178. +Tremblay, Dom de la, 395. +Tuttle, H. P., 192. +Tyndall, Prof., 296. + +Van Vleck, Prof., 73. + +Wagner, Dr., 315. +Wallace, Gen. Lew, 339. +Washburn, Mr., minister to Paris, 320. +Washington, during the civil war, 334; newsboys of, 336; Early's raid + on, 339; after the fall of Richmond, 343; Shepherd régime, 363; + the new city, 366. +Weiss, director of Vienna Observatory, 157. +Welles, Gideon, 111. +Wells, David A., 405. +White House, incidents at, during Garfield's illness, 357. +Whitney, William C., 123. +Williams, Sir Fenwick, 298. +Wilson, Henry, 250. +Winlock, Prof. Joseph, superintendent Nautical Almanac, 59, 61; + personality, 65; constructs instrument for astronomical + photography, 163. +Wolf, Prof. Charles, 144. +Woodward, Dr. J. J., 357. +Wright, Chauncey, 70. +Wright, Gen. H. G., 341. + +Yale Alumni Association, 241. +Yarnall, Prof. M., characteristics, 101; observations of, 105. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE REMINISCENCES OF AN ASTRONOMER*** + + +******* This file should be named 19309-8.txt or 19309-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/9/3/0/19309 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. 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Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + diff --git a/19309-8.zip b/19309-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..71f74a9 --- /dev/null +++ b/19309-8.zip diff --git a/19309.txt b/19309.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ab994b9 --- /dev/null +++ b/19309.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11474 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Reminiscences of an Astronomer, by Simon +Newcomb + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: The Reminiscences of an Astronomer + + +Author: Simon Newcomb + + + +Release Date: September 17, 2006 [eBook #19309] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE REMINISCENCES OF AN +ASTRONOMER*** + + +E-text prepared by Ferdinand van Aartsen + + + +THE REMINISCENCES OF AN ASTRONOMER + +by + +SIMON NEWCOMB + +1903 + + + + + + + +PREFACE + + +The earlier chapters of this collection are so much in the nature +of an autobiography that the author has long shrunk from the idea of +allowing them to see the light during his lifetime. His repugnance +has been overcome by very warm expressions on the subject uttered +by valued friends to whom they were shown, and by a desire that +some at least who knew him in youth should be able to read what he +has written. + +The author trusts that neither critic nor reader will object +because he has, in some cases, strayed outside the limits of his +purely personal experience, in order to give a more complete view +of a situation, or to bring out matters that might be of historic +interest. If some of the chapters are scrappy, it is because he +has tried to collect those experiences which have afforded him most +food for thought, have been most influential in shaping his views, +or are recalled with most pleasure. + + + + +CONTENTS + + +I +THE WORLD OF COLD AND DARKNESS + Ancestry.--Squire Thomas Prince.--Parentage.--Early Education.-- + Books read. + +II +DR. FOSHAY + A Long Journey on Foot.--A Wonderful Doctor.--The Botanic System of + Medicine.--Phrenology.--A Launch into the World.--A Disillusion.-- + Life in Maryland.--Acquaintance with Professor Henry.--Removal + to Cambridge. + +III +THE WORLD OF SWEETNESS AND LIGHT + The American Astronomical Ephemeris.--The Men who made it.-- + Harvard in the Middle of the Century.--A Librarian of the Time.-- + Professor Peirce.--Dr. Gould, the "Astronomical Journal," and the + Dudley Observatory.--W. P. G. Bartlett.--John D. Runkle and the + "Mathematical Monthly."--A Mathematical Politician.--A Trip to + Manitoba and a Voyage up the Saskatchewan.--A Wonderful Star. + +IV +LIFE AND WORK AT AN OBSERVATORY + A Professor, United States Navy.--The Naval Observatory in 1861.-- + Captain Gilliss and his Plans.--Admiral Davis.--A New Instrument + and a New Departure.--Astronomical Activity.--The Question of + Observatory Administration.--Visit from the Emperor of Brazil.-- + Admiral John Rodgers.--Efforts to improve the Work of the + Observatory. + +V +GREAT TELESCOPES AND THEIR WORK + Curious Origin of the Great Washington Telescope.--Congress + is induced to act.--A Case of Astronomical Fallibility.-- + The Discovery of the Satellites of Mars.--The Great Telescope + of the Pulkova Observatory.--Alvan Clark and his Sons.--A Sad + Astronomical Accident. + +VI +THE TRANSITS OF VENUS + Old Transits of Venus.--An Astronomical Expedition in the 18th + Century.--Father Hell and his Observations.--A Suspected Forger + vindicated.--The American Commission on the Transit of Venus.-- + The Photographic Method to be applied.--Garfield and the + Appropriation Committee.--Weather Uncertainties.--Voyage to + the Cape of Good Hope.--The Transit of 1882.--Our Failure to + publish our Observations. + +VII +THE LICK OBSERVATORY + James Lick and his Ideas.--Mr. D. O. Mills.--Plans for the Lick + Observatory.--Edward E. Barnard.--Professor Holden.--Wonderful + Success of the Observatory. + +VIII +THE AUTHOR'S SCIENTIFIC WORK + The Orbits of the Asteroids.--The Problems of Mathematical + Astronomy.--The Motion of the Moon and its Perplexing + Inequalities.--A Visit to the Paris Observatory to search for + Forgotten Observations.--Wonderful Success in finding Them.-- + The Paris Commune.--The History of the Moon's Motion carried back + a Century.--The Harvard Observatory.--The "Nautical Almanac" Office + and its Work.--Mr. George W. Hill and his Work.--A Wonderful + Algebraist.--The Meridian Conference of 1884, and the Question + of Universal Time.--Tables of the Planets completed.-- + The Astronomical Constants.--Work unfinished. + +IX +SCIENTIFIC WASHINGTON + Professor Henry and the Smithsonian Institution.-- + Alumni Associations.--The Scientific Club.--General Sherman.-- + Mr. Hugh McCulloch.--A Forgotten Scientist.--The National Academy of + Sciences.--The Geological Survey of the Territories.--The Government + Forestry System.--Professor O. C. Marsh.--Scientific Humbugs.-- + Life on the Plains. + +X +SCIENTIFIC ENGLAND + My First Trip to Europe.--Mr. Thomas Hughes.--Mr. John Stuart Mill. + --Mr. Gladstone and the Royal Society Dinner.--Other Eminent + Englishmen.--Professors Cayley and Adams.--Professor Airy and + the Greenwich Observatory.--A Visit to Edinburgh. + +XI +MEN AND THINGS IN EUROPE + A Voyage to Gibraltar with Professor Tyndall.--The Great Fortress. + --"Whispering Boanerges."--A Winter Voyage in the Mediterranean.-- + Malta and Messina.--Advantage of not understanding a Language.-- + German Astronomers.--The Pulkova Observatory.--A Meeting which + might have been Embarrassing.--From Germany to Paris at the Close + of the War.--Experiences at Paris during the Commune.--The Greatest + Astronomer of France.--The Paris Observatory. + +XII +THE OLD AND THE NEW WASHINGTON + Washington during the Civil War.--Secretary Stanton.-- + The Raid of General Early.--A Presidential Levee in 1864.-- + The Fall of Richmond.--The Assassination of President Lincoln.-- + Negro Traits and Education.--Senator Sumner.--An Ambitious Academy. + --President Garfield and his Assassination.--Cooling the White House + during his Illness.--The Shepherd Regime in Washington. + +XIII +MISCELLANEA + The Great Star-Catalogue Case.--Professor Peters and the + Almagest of Ptolemy.--Scientific Cranks.--The Degrees of the + French Universities.--A Virginia Country School.--Political Economy + and Education.--Exact Science in America before the Johns Hopkins + University.--Professor Ely and Economics.--Spiritualism and + Psychic Research.--The Georgia Magnetic Girl. + + + + +THE REMINISCENCES OF AN ASTRONOMER + + + + +I + +THE WORLD OF COLD AND DARKNESS + + +I date my birth into the world of sweetness and light on one +frosty morning in January, 1857, when I took my seat between two +well-known mathematicians, before a blazing fire in the office +of the "Nautical Almanac" at Cambridge, Mass. I had come on from +Washington, armed with letters from Professor Henry and Mr. Hilgard, +to seek a trial as an astronomical computer. The men beside me +were Professor Joseph Winlock, the superintendent, and Mr. John +D. Runkle, the senior assistant in the office. I talked of my +unsuccessful attempt to master the "Mecanique Celeste" of Laplace +without other preparation than that afforded by the most meagre +text-books of elementary mathematics of that period. Runkle spoke +of the translator as "the Captain." So familiar a designation of +the great Bowditch--LL. D. and a member of the Royal Societies of +London, Edinburgh, and Dublin--quite shocked me. + +I was then in my twenty-second year, but it was the first time I +had ever seen any one who was familiar with the "Mecanique Celeste." +I looked with awe upon the assistants who filed in and out as upon men +who had all the mysteries of gravitation and the celestial motions at +their fingers' ends. I should not have been surprised to learn that +even the Hibernian who fed the fire had imbibed so much of the spirit +of the place as to admire the genius of Laplace and Lagrange. My own +rank was scarcely up to that of a tyro; but I was a few weeks later +employed on trial as computer at a salary of thirty dollars a month. + +How could an incident so simple and an employment so humble be +in itself an epoch in one's life--an entrance into a new world? +To answer this question some account of my early life is necessary. +The interest now taken in questions of heredity and in the study of +the growing mind of the child may excuse a word about my ancestry +and early training. + +Though born in Nova Scotia, I am of almost pure New England descent. +The first Simon Newcomb, from whom I am of the sixth generation, was +born in Massachusetts or Maine about 1666, and died at Lebanon, Conn., +in 1745. His descendants had a fancy for naming their eldest sons +after him, and but for the chance of my father being a younger son, +I should have been the sixth Simon in unbroken lineal descent. [1] + +Among my paternal ancestors none, so far as I know, with the exception +of Elder Brewster, were what we should now call educated men. Nor did +any other of them acquire great wealth, hold a high official position, +or do anything to make his name live in history. On my mother's side +are found New England clergymen and an English nonconformist preacher, +named Prince, who is said to have studied at Oxford towards the end +of the seventeenth century, but did not take a degree. I do not +know of any college graduate in the list. + +Until I was four years old I lived in the house of my paternal +grandfather, about two miles from the pretty little village of +Wallace, at the mouth of the river of that name. He was, I believe, +a stonecutter by trade and owner of a quarry which has since become +important; but tradition credits him with unusual learning and with +having at some time taught school. + +My maternal grandfather was "Squire" Thomas Prince, a native of Maine, +who had moved to Moncton, N. B., early in his life, and lived there +the rest of his days. He was an upright magistrate, a Puritan in +principle, and a pillar of the Baptist Church, highly respected +throughout the province. He came from a long-lived family, and one +so prolific that it is said most of the Princes of New England are +descended from it. I have heard a story of him which may illustrate +the freedom of the time in matters of legal proceedings before a +magistrate's court. At that time a party in a suit could not be a +witness. In the terse language of the common people, "no man could +swear money into his own pocket." The plaintiff in the case advised +the magistrate in advance that he had no legal proof of the debt, +but that defendant freely acknowledged it in private conversation. + +"Well," said the magistrate, "bring him in here and get him to talk +about it while I am absent." + +The time came. + +"If you had n't sued me I would have paid you," said the defendant. + +On the moment the magistrate stepped from behind a door with the +remark,-- + +"I think you will pay him now, whether or no." + +My father was the most rational and the most dispassionate of men. +The conduct of his life was guided by a philosophy based on Combe's +"Constitution of Man," and I used to feel that the law of the +land was a potent instrument in shaping his paternal affections. +His method of seeking a wife was so far unique that it may not be +devoid of interest, even at this date. From careful study he had +learned that the age at which a man should marry was twenty-five. +A healthy and well-endowed offspring should be one of the main +objects in view in entering the marriage state, and this required +a mentally gifted wife. She must be of different temperament from +his own and an economical housekeeper. So when he found the age of +twenty-five approaching, he began to look about. There was no one in +Wallace who satisfied the requirements. He therefore set out afoot +to discover his ideal. In those days and regions the professional +tramp and mendicant were unknown, and every farmhouse dispensed its +hospitality with an Arcadian simplicity little known in our times. +Wherever he stopped overnight he made a critical investigation of +the housekeeping, perhaps rising before the family for this purpose. +He searched in vain until his road carried him out of the province. +One young woman spoiled any possible chance she might have had by a +lack of economy in the making of bread. She was asked what she did +with an unnecessarily large remnant of dough which she left sticking +to the sides of the pan. She replied that she fed it to the horses. +Her case received no further consideration. + +The search had extended nearly a hundred miles when, early one +evening, he reached what was then the small village of Moncton. +He was attracted by the strains of music from a church, went into +it, and found a religious meeting in progress. His eye was at once +arrested by the face and head of a young woman playing on a melodeon, +who was leading the singing. He sat in such a position that he could +carefully scan her face and movements. As he continued this study +the conviction grew upon him that here was the object of his search. +That such should have occurred before there was any opportunity to +inspect the doughpan may lead the reader to conclusions of his own. +He inquired her name--Emily Prince. He cultivated her acquaintance, +paid his addresses, and was accepted. He was fond of astronomy, and +during the months of his engagement one of his favorite occupations +was to take her out of an evening and show her the constellations. +It is even said that, among the daydreams in which they indulged, one +was that their firstborn might be an astronomer. Probably this was +only a passing fancy, as I heard nothing of it during my childhood. +The marriage was in all respects a happy one, so far as congeniality +of nature and mutual regard could go. Although the wife died at the +early age of thirty-seven, the husband never ceased to cherish her +memory, and, so far as I am aware, never again thought of marrying. + +My mother was the most profoundly and sincerely religious woman +with whom I was ever intimately acquainted, and my father always +entertained and expressed the highest admiration for her mental +gifts, to which he attributed whatever talents his children might +have possessed. The unfitness of her environment to her constitution +is the saddest memory of my childhood. More I do not trust myself +to say to the public, nor will the reader expect more of me. + +My father followed, during most of his life, the precarious occupation +of a country school teacher. It was then, as it still is in many +thinly settled parts of the country, an almost nomadic profession, +a teacher seldom remaining more than one or two years in the same +place. Thus it happened that, during the first fifteen years of +my life, movings were frequent. My father tried his fortune in a +number of places, both in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. +Our lot was made harder by the fact that his ideas of education +did not coincide with those prevalent in the communities where +he taught. He was a disciple and admirer of William Cobbett, and +though he did not run so far counter to the ideas of his patrons as +to teach Cobbett's grammar at school, he always recommended it to +me as the one by which alone I could learn to write good English. +The learning of anything, especially of arithmetic and grammar, by +the glib repetition of rules was a system that he held in contempt. +With the public, ability to recite the rules of such subjects as +those went farther than any actual demonstration of the power to +cipher correctly or write grammatically. + +So far as the economic condition of society and the general mode of +living and thinking were concerned, I might claim to have lived in +the time of the American Revolution. A railway was something read +or heard about with wonder; a steamer had never ploughed the waters +of Wallace Bay. Nearly everything necessary for the daily life of +the people had to be made on the spot, and even at home. The work +of the men and boys was "from sun to sun,"--I might almost say from +daylight to darkness,--as they tilled the ground, mended the fences, +or cut lumber, wood, and stone for export to more favored climes. +The spinning wheel and the loom were almost a necessary part of the +furniture of any well-ordered house; the exceptions were among people +rich enough to buy their own clothes, or so poor and miserable that +they had to wear the cast-off rags of their more fortunate neighbors. +The women and girls sheared the sheep, carded the wool, spun the +yarn, wove the homespun cloth, and made the clothes. In the haying +season they amused themselves by joining in the raking of hay, in +which they had to be particularly active if rain was threatened; +but any man would have lost caste who allowed wife or daughter to +engage in heavy work outside the house. + +The contrast between the social conditions and those which surround +even the poorest classes at the present day have had a profound +influence upon my views of economic subjects. The conception which +the masses of the present time have of how their ancestors lived in +the early years of the century are so vague and shadowy as not to +influence their conduct at the present time. + +What we now call school training, the pursuit of fixed studies +at stated hours under the constant guidance of a teacher, I could +scarcely be said to have enjoyed. For the most part, when I attended +my father's school at all, I came and went with entire freedom, +and this for causes which, as we shall see, he had reasons for +deeming good. + +It would seem that I was rather precocious. I was taught the alphabet +by my aunts before I was four years old, and I was reading the Bible +in class and beginning geography when I was six. + +One curious feature of my reading I do not remember to have seen +noticed in the case of children. The printed words, for the most +part, brought no well-defined images to my mind; none at least that +were retained in their connection. I remember one instance of this. +We were at Bedeque, Prince Edward Island. During the absence of my +father, the school was kept for a time by Mr. Bacon. The class in +reading had that chapter in the New Testament in which the treason +of Judas is described. It was then examined on the subject. To the +question what Judas did, no one could return an answer until it +came my turn. I had a vague impression of some one hanging himself, +and so I said quite at random that he hanged himself. It was with +a qualm of conscience that I went to the head of the class. + +Arithmetic was commenced at the age of five, my father drawing me +to school day by day on a little sled during the winter. Just what +progress I made at that time I do not recall. Long years afterward, +my father, at my request, wrote me a letter describing my early +education, extracts from which I shall ask permission to reproduce, +instead of attempting to treat the matter myself. The letter, +covering twelve closely written foolscap pages, was probably dashed +off at a sitting without supposing any eye but my own would ever +see it:-- + + June 8th, '58. + + I will now proceed to write, according to your request, + about your early life. + + While in your fifth year, your mother spoke several times + of the propriety of teaching you the first rudiments of + book-learning; but I insisted that you should not be taught + the first letter until you became five. [2] I think, though, + that at about four, or four and a half I taught you to count, + as far, perhaps, as 100. + + When a little over four and a half, one evening, as I came + home from school, you ran to me, and asked, "Father, is not + 4 and 4 and 4 and 4, 16?" "Yes, how did you find it out?" + You showed me the counterpane which was napped. The spot + of four rows each way was the one you had counted up. + After this, for a week or two, you spent a considerable + number of hours every day, making calculations in addition + and multiplication. The rows of naps being crossed and + complexed in various ways, your greatest delight was to + clear them out, find how many small ones were equal to one + large one, and such like. After a space of two or three + weeks we became afraid you would calculate yourself "out + of your head," and laid away the counterpane. + + Winter came, and passed along, and your birthday came; + on that day, having a light hand-sled prepared, I fixed + you on it, and away we went a mile and a half to school. + + According to my belief in educational matters "that the + slate should be put into the child's hands as soon as the + book is," you of course had your slate, and commenced making + figures and letters the first day. + + In all cases, after you had read and spelled a lesson, and + made some figures, and worked a sum, suppose one hour's + study, I sent you out, telling you to run about and play + a "good spell." To the best of my judgment you studied, + during the five months that this school lasted, nearly four + hours a day, two being at figures. + + * * * * * + + During the year that I taught at Bedeque, you studied + about five hours a day in school; and I used to exercise + you about an hour a day besides, either morning or evening. + This would make six hours per day, nearly or quite two and + a half hours of that time at numbers either at your slate + or mentally. When my school ended here, you were six and a + half years of age, and pretty well through the arithmetic. + You had studied, I think, all the rules preceding including + the cube root. . . . + +I had frequently heard, during my boyhood, of a supposed mental +breakdown about this period, and had asked my father for a description +of it in the letter from which I am quoting. On this subject the +letter continues:-- + + You had lost all relish for reading, study, play, or talk. + Sat most of the day flat on the floor or hearth. When sent + of an errand, you would half the time forget what you went + for. I have seen you come back from Cale Schurman's crying, + [3] and after asking you several times you would make out to + answer, you had not been all the way over because you forgot + what you went for. You would frequently jump up from the + corner, and ask some peculiar question. I remember three + you asked me. + + 1st. Father, does form mean shape? Yes. Has everything + some shape? Yes. Can it be possible for anything to be + made that would not have any shape? I answered no; and then + showed you several things, explaining that they all had some + shape or form. You now brightened up like a lawyer who had + led on a witness with easy questions to a certain point, + and who had cautiously reserved a thunderbolt question, to + floor the witness at a proper time; proceeded with, "Well, + then, how could the world be without form when God made it?" + + * * * * * + + 3d. Does Cale Schurman's big ram know that he has such big + crooked horns on him? Does he know it himself, I mean? + Does he know himself that he has such horns on him? + + You were taken down suddenly I think about two or three days + from the first symptoms until you were fairly in the corner. + Your rise was also rapid, I think about a week (or perhaps + two weeks) from your first at recovery, until you seemed + to show nothing unusual. From the time you were taken down + until you commenced recovery was about a month. + + We returned to Prince Edward Island, and after a few weeks I + began to examine you in figures, and found you had forgotten + nearly all you had ever learned. + + * * * * * + + While at New London I got an old work on Astronomy; you + were wonderfully taken with it, and read it with avidity. + While here you read considerable in "Goldsmith's History + of England." We lived two years in New London; I think + you attended school nearly one year there. I usually asked + you questions on the road going to school, in the morning, + upon the history you had read, or something you had studied + the day previous. While there, you made a dozen or two of + the folks raise a terrible laugh. I one evening lectured + on astronomy at home; the house was pretty well filled, I + suppose about twenty were present. You were not quite ten + years old and small at that. Almost as soon as I was done + you said: "Father, I think you were wrong in one thing." + Such a roar of laughter almost shook the house. + + You were an uncommon child for _truth_. I never knew you + to deviate from it in one single instance, either in infancy + or youth. + + From your infancy you showed great physical courage in going + along the woods or in places in the dark among cattle, + and I am surprised at what you say about your fears of a + stove-pipe and trees. + + Perhaps I should have said "mental" instead of physical + courage, for in one respect you were uncommonly deficient + in that sort of courage necessary to perform bodily labor. + Until nine or ten years of age you made a most pitiful + attempt at any sort of bodily or rather "handy" work. + + * * * * * + + An extraordinary peculiarity in you was never to leap past + a word you could not make out. I certainly never gave + you any particular instructions about this, or the fact + itself would not at the time have appeared so strange to me. + I will name one case. After a return to Wallace (you were + eleven) I, one day, on going from home for an hour or so, + gave you a borrowed newspaper, telling you there was a fine + piece; to read it, and tell me its contents when I returned. + On my return you were near the house chopping wood. "Well, + Simon, did you read the piece?" "No, sir." "Why not?" + "I came to a word I did not know." This word was just + about four lines from the commencement. + + At thirteen you read Phrenology. I now often impressed upon + you the necessity of bodily labor; that you might attain + a strong and healthy physical system, so as to be able to + stand long hours of study when you came to manhood, for it + was evident to me that you would not labor with the hands + for a business. On this account, as much as on account of + poverty, I hired you out for a large portion of the three + years that we lived at Clements. + + At fifteen you studied Euclid, and were enraptured with it. + It is a little singular that all this time you never showed + any self-esteem; or spoke of getting into employment at some + future day, among the learned. The pleasure of intellectual + exercise in demonstrating or analyzing a geometrical problem, + or solving an algebraic equation, seemed to be your only + object. No Junior, Seignour or Sophomore class, with annual + honors, was ever, I suppose, presented to your mind. + + Your almost intuitive knowledge of geography, navigation, + and nautical matters in general caused me to think most + ardently of writing to the Admiral at Halifax, to know if + he would give you a place among the midshipmen of the navy; + but my hope of seeing you a leading lawyer, and finally + a judge on the bench, together with the possibility that + your mother would not consent, and the possibility that + you would not wish to go, deterred me: although I think I + commenced a letter. + + +Among the books which profoundly influenced my mode of life and +thought during the period embraced in the foregoing extracts were +Fowler's "Phrenology" and Combe's "Constitution of Man." It may +appear strange to the reader if a system so completely exploded as +that of phrenology should have any value as a mental discipline. +Its real value consisted, not in what it taught about the position +of the "organs," but in presenting a study of human nature which, +if not scientific in form, was truly so in spirit. I acquired the +habit of looking on the characters and capabilities of men as the +result of their organism. A hot and impulsive temper was checked +by the reflection that it was beneath the dignity of human nature +to allow a rush of blood to the organs of "combativeness" and +"destructiveness" to upset one's mental equilibrium. + +That I have gotten along in life almost without making (so far as I am +aware) a personal enemy may be attributed to this early discipline, +which led me into the habit of dealing with antagonism and personal +opposition as I would deal with any physical opposition--evade it, +avoid it, or overcome it. It goes without saying, however, that no +discipline of this sort will avail to keep the passions of a youth +always in check, and my own were no exception. When about fifteen I +once made a great scandal by taking out my knife in prayer meeting +and assaulting a young man who, while I was kneeling down during +the prayer, stood above me and squeezed my neck. He escaped with a +couple of severe though not serious cuts in his hand. He announced +his intention of thrashing me when we should meet again; so for +several days thereafter I tried, so far as possible, in going afield +to keep a pitchfork within reach, determined that if he tried the job +and I failed to kill him, it would be because I was unable to do so. +Fortunately for both of us he never made the attempt. + +I read Combe's "Constitution of Man" when between ten and twelve +years of age. Though based on the ideas of phrenology and not, +I believe, of high repute as a system of philosophy, it was as good +a moral tonic as I can imagine to be placed in the hands of a youth, +however fallacious may have been its general doctrines. So far as I +can recall, it taught that all individual and social ills were due +to men's disregard of the laws of Nature, which were classified as +physical and moral. Obey the laws of health and we and our posterity +will all reach the age of one hundred years. Obey the moral law and +social evils will disappear. Its reading was accompanied by some +qualms of conscience, arising from the non-accordance of many of its +tenets with those of the "Catechism" and the "New England Primer." +The combination of the two, however, led to the optimistic feeling +that all wrongs would be righted, every act of injustice punished, +and truth and righteousness eventually triumph through the regular +processes of Nature and Society. I have been led to abandon this +doctrine only by much experience, some of which will be found in +the following pages. + +In the direction of mathematical and physical science and reading +generally, I may add something to what I have quoted from my +father. My grandfather Simon had a small collection of books in +the family. Among those purely literary were several volumes of "The +Spectator" and "Roderick Random." Of the former I read a good deal. +The latter was a story which a boy who had scarcely read any other +would naturally follow with interest. Two circumstances connected +with the reading, one negative and the other positive, I recall. +Looking into the book after attaining years of maturity, I found it +to contain many incidents of a character that would not be admitted +into a modern work. Yet I read it through without ever noticing +or retaining any impression of the indelicate side of the story. +The other impression was a feeling of horror that a man fighting a +duel and finding himself, as he supposed, mortally wounded by his +opponent, should occupy his mind with avenging his own death instead +of making his peace with Heaven. + +Three mathematical books were in the collection, Hammond's Algebra, +Simpson's Euclid, and Moore's Navigator, the latter the predecessor +of Bowditch. The first was a miserable book, and I think its methods, +which were crude in the extreme, though not incorrect, were rather +more harmful than beneficial. The queer diagrams in Euclid had in +my early years so little attraction for me that my curiosity never +led me to examine its text. I at length did so in consequence of a +passage in the algebra which referred to the 47th proposition of the +First Book. It occurred to me to look into the book and see what +this was. It was the first conception of mathematical proof that +I had ever met with. I saw that the demonstration referred to a +previous proposition, went back to that, and so on to the beginning. +A new world of thought seemed to be opened. That principles so +profound should be reached by methods so simple was astonishing. +I was so enraptured that I explained to my brother Thomas while +walking out of doors one day how the Pythagorean proposition, as it +is now called, could be proved from first principles, drawing the +necessary diagrams with a pencil on a piece of wood. I thought that +even cattle might understand geometry could they only be communicated +with and made to pay attention to it. + +Some one at school had a copy of Mrs. Marcet's "Conversations on +Natural Philosophy." With this book I was equally enraptured. +Meagre and even erroneous though it was, it presented in a pleasing +manner the first principles of physical science. I used to steal into +the schoolhouse after hours to read a copy of the book, which belonged +to one of the scholars, and literally devoured it in a few evenings. + +My first undertaking in the way of scientific experiment was in +the field of economics and psychology. When about fourteen I spent +the winter in the house of an old farmer named Jefferson. He and +his wife were a very kindly couple and took much interest in me. +He was fond of his pipe, as most old farmers are. I questioned +whether anything else would not do just as well as tobacco to smoke, +and whether he was not wasting his money by buying that article +when a cheap substitute could be found. So one day I took his pipe, +removed the remains of the tobacco ashes, and stuffed the pipe with +tea leaves that had been steeped, and which in color and general +appearance looked much like tobacco. I took care to be around when +he should again smoke. He lit the pipe as usual and smoked it with, +seemingly, as much satisfaction as ever, only essaying the remark, +"This tobacco tastes like tea." My conscience pricked me, but I +could say nothing. + +My father bought a copy of Lardner's "Popular Lectures on Science +and Art." In this I first read of electricity. I recall an incident +growing out of it. In Lardner's description of a Leyden jar, water +is the only internal conductor. The wonders of the newly invented +telegraph were then explained to the people in out of the way places +by traveling lecturers. One of these came to Clements, where we then +lived, with a lot of apparatus, amongst which was what I recognized +as a Leyden jar. It was coated with tin-foil on the outside, but I +did not see the inner coating, or anything which could serve as the +necessary conductor. So with great diffidence I asked the lecturer +while he was arranging his things, if he was not going to put water +into the jar. + +"No, my lad," was his reply, "I put lightning into it." + +I wondered how the "lightning" was going to be conveyed to the +interior surface of the glass without any conductor, such as water, +but was too much abashed to ask the question. + +Moore's "Navigator" taught not only a very crude sort of trigonometry, +but a good deal about the warship of his time. To a boy living on +the seacoast, who naturally thought a ship of war one of the greatest +works of man, the book was of much interest. + +Notwithstanding the intellectual pleasure which I have described, +my boyhood was on the whole one of sadness. Occasionally my +love of books brought a word of commendation from some visitor, +perhaps a Methodist minister, who patted me on the head with a word +of praise. Otherwise it caused only exclamations of wonder which +were distasteful. + +"You would n't believe what larnin' that boy has got. He has more +larnin' than all the people around here put together," I heard +one farmer say to another, looking at me, in my own view of the +case, as if I were some monster misshapen in the womb. Instead of +feeling that my bookish taste was something to be valued, I looked +upon myself as a _lusus naturae_ whom Nature had cruelly formed to +suffer from an abnormal constitution, and lamented that somehow I +never could be like other boys. + +The maladroitness described by my father, of which I was fully +conscious, added to the feeling of my unfitness for the world around +me. The skill required on a farm was above my reach, where efficiency +in driving oxen was one of the most valued of accomplishments. +I keenly felt my inability to acquire even respectable mediocrity in +this branch of the agricultural profession. It was mortifying to +watch the dexterous motions of the whip and listen to the torrent +of imperatives with which a young farmer would set a team of these +stolid animals in motion after they had failed to respond to my +gentle requests, though conveyed in the best of ox language. + +I had indeed gradually formed, from reading, a vague conception +of a different kind of world,--a world of light,--where dwelt men +who wrote books and people who knew the men who wrote books,--where +lived boys who went to college and devoted themselves to learning, +instead of driving oxen. I longed much to get into this world, but +no possibility of doing so presented itself. I had no idea that it +would be imbued with sympathy for a boy outside of it who wanted to +learn. True, I had once read in some story, perhaps fictitious, how +a nobleman had found a boy reading Newton's "Principia," and not only +expressed his pleased surprise at the performance, but actually got +the boy educated. But there was no nobleman in sight of the backwoods +of Nova Scotia. I read in the autobiography of Franklin how he had +made his way in life. But he was surrounded with opportunities from +which I was cut off. It does seem a little singular that, well known +as my tastes were to those around me, we never met a soul to say, +"That boy ought to be educated." So far as I know, my father's +idea of making me a lawyer met with nothing but ridicule from the +neighbors. Did not a lawyer have to know Latin and have money to +pursue his studies? In my own daydreams I was a farmer driving his +own team; in my mother's a preacher, though she had regretfully to +admit that I might never be good enough for this profession. + +[1] The actual sixth was my late excellent and esteemed cousin, +Judge Simon Bolivar Newcomb, of New Mexico. + +[2] He had evidently forgotten the home instruction from my aunts, +received more than a year previous to the date he mentions. + +[3] The grandfather of President Schurman of Cornell University. +I retain a dreamy impression of two half-grown or nearly grown boys, +perhaps between fourteen and eighteen years of age, one of whom +became, I believe, the father of the president. + + + + +II + +DOCTOR FOSHAY + + +In the summer of 1851, when I had passed the age of sixteen, we +lived in a little school district a mile or two from the town of +Yarmouth, N. S. Late in the summer we had a visit from a maternal +uncle and aunt. As I had not seen Moncton since I was six years old, +and as I wanted very much to visit my grandfather Prince once more, +it was arranged that I should accompany them on their return home. +An additional reason for this was that my mother's health had quite +failed; there was no prospect of my doing anything where I was, and it +was hoped that something might turn up at Moncton. There was but one +difficulty; the visitors had driven to St. John in their own little +carriage, which would hold only two people; so they could not take +me back. I must therefore find my own way from St. John to Moncton. + +We crossed the Bay of Fundy in a little sailing vessel. Among the +passengers was an English ship captain who had just been wrecked +off the coast of Newfoundland, and had the saved remnant of his crew +with him. On the morning of our departure the weather was stormy, +so that our vessel did not put to sea--a precaution for which the +captain passenger expressed great contempt. He did not understand +how a vessel should delay going to see on account of a little storm. + +The walk of one hundred miles from St. John to Moncton was for me, +at that time, a much less formidable undertaking than it would appear +in our times and latitude. A thirty-mile tramp was a bagatelle, +and houses of entertainment--farmhouses where a traveler could rest +or eat for a few pennies--were scattered along the road. But there +was one great difficulty at the start. My instructions had been to +follow the telegraph wires. I soon found that the line of telegraph +came into the town from one direction, passed through it, and then +left, not in the opposite direction, but perhaps at right angles +to it. In which direction was the line to be followed? It was +difficult to make known what I wanted. "Why, my boy, you can't +walk to Moncton," was one answer. In a shop the clerks thought I +wanted to ride on the telegraph, and, with much chuckling, directed +me to the telegraph office where the man in charge would send me on. +I tried in one direction which I thought could not be right, then +I started off in the opposite one; but it soon became evident that +that branch led up the river to Frederickton. So I had to retrace +my steps and take the original line, which proved to be the right one. + +The very first night I found that my grandfather's name was one to +conjure with. I passed it with a hearty old farmer who, on learning +who I was, entertained me with tales of Mr. Prince. The quality +which most impressed the host was his enormous physical strength. +He was rather below the usual stature and, as I remember him, very +slightly built. Yet he could shoulder a barrel of flour and lift +a hogshead of molasses on its end, feats of strength which only the +most powerful men in the region were equal to. + +On reaching my destination, I was not many days in learning that my +grandfather was a believer in the maxims of "Poor Richard's Almanac," +and disapproved of the aimless way in which I had been bred. He began +to suggest the desirableness of my learning to do something to make +a living. I thought of certain mechanical tastes which had moved +me in former years to whittle and to make a reel on which to wind +yarn, and to mend things generally. So I replied that I thought +the trade of a carpenter was the one I could most easily learn. +He approved of the idea, and expressed the intention of finding a +carpenter who would want my services; but before he did so, I was +started in a new and entirely different direction. + +On her last visit to her birthplace, my mother brought back glowing +reports of a wonderful physician who lived near Moncton and effected +cures of the sick who had been given up by other doctors. I need +hardly remark that physicians of wonderful proficiency--Diomeds of +the medical profession, before whose shafts all forms of disease +had to fall--were then very generally supposed to be realities. +The point which specially commended Dr. Foshay to us was that he +practiced the botanic system of medicine, which threw mineral and all +other poisons out of the materia medica and depended upon the healing +powers of plants alone. People had seen so much of the evil effects +of calomel, this being the favorite alternative of the profession, +that they were quite ready to accept the new system. Among the +remarkable cures which had given Dr. Foshay his great reputation was +one of a young man with dyspepsia. He was reduced to a shadow, and +the regular doctors had given him up as incurable. The new doctor +took him to his home. The patient was addicted to two practices, +both of which had been condemned by his former medical advisers. +One was that of eating fat pork, which he would do at any hour of +the day or night. The new doctor allowed him to eat all he wanted. +Another was getting up in the night and practicing an ablution of +the stomach by a method too heroic to be described in anything but +a medical treatise. [1] He was now allowed to practice it to his +heart's content. The outcome of the whole proceeding was that he +was well in a few months, and, when I saw him, was as lusty a youth +as one could desire to meet. + +Before Mr. Prince could see a carpenter, he was taken ill. I was +intensely interested to learn that his physician was the great doctor +I had heard of, who lived in the village of Salisbury, fifteen miles +on the road to St. John. + +One of my aunts had an impression that the doctor wanted a pupil or +assistant of some kind, and suggested that a possible opening might +here be offered me. She promised to present me to the doctor on +his next visit, after she had broached the subject to him. + +The time for which I waited impatiently at length arrived. +Never before had I met so charming a man. He was decidedly what we +should now call magnetic. There was an intellectual flavor in his +talk which was quite new to me. What fascinated me most of all was +his speaking of the difficulties he encountered in supplying himself +with sufficient "reading matter." He said it as if mental food was +as much a necessity as his daily bread. He was evidently a denizen +of that world of light which I had so long wished to see. He said +that my aunt was quite right in her impression, and our interview +terminated in the following liberal proposition on his part:-- + +S. N. to live with the doctor, rendering him all the assistance in +his power in preparing medicines, attending to business, and doing +generally whatever might be required of him in the way of help. + +The doctor, on his part, to supply S. N.'s bodily needs in food +and clothing, and teach him medical botany and the botanic system +of medicine. The contract to terminate when the other party should +attain the age of twenty-one. + +After mentioning the teaching clause, he corrected himself a moment, +and added: "At least all I know about it." + +All he knows about it! What more could heart desire or brain hold? + +The brilliancy of the offer was dimmed by only a single consideration; +I had never felt the slightest taste for studying medicine or caring +for the sick. That my attainments in the line could ever equal +those of my preceptor seemed a result too hopeless to expect. But, +after all, something must be done, and this was better than being +a carpenter. + +Before entering upon the new arrangement, a ratification was required +on both sides. The doctor had to make the necessary household +arrangements, and secure the consent of his wife. I had to ask the +approval of my father, which I did by letter. Like General Grant +and many great men, he was a man of exceptional sagacity in matters +outside the range of his daily concerns. He threw much cold water on +the scheme, but consented to my accepting the arrangement temporarily, +as there was nothing better to be done. + +I awaited the doctor's next visit with glowing anticipation. In due +course of time I stepped with him into his gig for the long drive, +expecting nothing less on the journey than a complete outline of the +botanic system of medicine and a programme of my future studies. +But scarcely had we started when a chilling process commenced. +The man erstwhile so effusive was silent, cold, impassive,--a marble +statue of his former self. I scarcely got three sentences out of +him during the journey, and these were of the most commonplace kind. +Could it be the same man? + +There was something almost frightful in being alongside a man who knew +so much. When we reached our destination the horse had to be put away +in the stable. I jumped up to the haymow to throw down the provender. +It was a very peculiar feeling to do so under the eye of a man who, +as he watched me, knew every muscle that I was setting in operation. + +A new chill came on when we entered the house and I was presented +to its mistress. + +"So you 're the boy that's come to work for the doctor, are you?" + +"I have come to study with him, ma'am"' was my interior reply, +but I was too diffident to say it aloud. Naturally the remark +made me very uncomfortable. The doctor did not correct her, +and evidently must have told her something different from what +he told me. Her tone was even more depressing than her words; +it breathed a coldness, not to say harshness, to which I had not +been accustomed in a woman. There was nothing in her appearance +to lessen the unpleasant impression. Small in stature, with florid +complexion, wide cheek bones that gave her face a triangular form, +she had the eye and look of a well-trained vixen. + +As if fate were determined to see how rapid my downfall should be +before the close of the day, it continued to pursue me. I was left +alone for a few minutes. A child some four years old entered and +made a very critical inspection of my person. The result was clearly +unfavorable, for she soon asked me to go away. Finding me indisposed +to obey the order, she proceeded to the use of force and tried to +expel me with a few strong pushes. When I had had enough of this, +I stepped aside as she was making a push. She fell to the floor, +then picked herself up and ran off crying, "Mamma." The latter soon +appeared with added ire infused into her countenance. + +"What did you hit the child for?" + +"I did n't hit her. What should I want to strike a child like +that for?" + +"But she says you hit her and knocked her down." + +"I did n't, though--she was trying to push me and fell and hurt +herself." + +A long piercing look of doubt and incredulity followed. + +"Strange, very strange. I never knew that child to tell a lie, +and she says you struck her." + +It was a new experience--the first time I had ever known my word to +be questioned. + +During the day one thought dominated all others: where are those +treasures of literature which, rich though they are, fail to satisfy +their owner's voracious intellectual appetite? As houses were then +built, the living and sleeping rooms were all on one main floor. +Here they comprised a kitchen, dining room, medicine room, a little +parlor, and two small sleeping rooms, one for the doctor and one +for myself. Before many hours I had managed to see the interior of +every one except the doctor's bedroom, and there was not a sign of a +book unless such common ones as a dictionary or a Bible. What could +it all mean? + +Next day the darkness was illuminated, at least temporarily, +by a ray of light. The doctor had been absent most of the day +before on a visit to some distant patient. Now he came to me +and told me he wanted to show me how to make bilious powders. +Several trays of dried herbs had been drying under the kitchen +stove until their leaves were quite brittle. He took these and I +followed him to the narrow stairway, which we slowly ascended, he +going ahead. As I mounted I looked for a solution of the difficulty. +Here upstairs must be where the doctor kept his books. At each step +I peered eagerly ahead until my head was on a level with the floor. +Rafters and a window at the other end had successively come into +view and now the whole interior was visible. Nothing was there but +a loft, at the further end of which was a bed for the housemaid. +The floor was strewn with dried plants. Nothing else was visible. +The disillusion seemed complete. My heart sank within me. + +On one side of the stairway at a level with the floor was screwed a +large coffee mill. The doctor spread a sheet of paper out on the +floor on the other side, and laid a line sieve upon it. Then he +showed me how to grind the dry and brittle leaves in the coffee mill, +put them into the sieve, and sift them on the paper. This work +had a scientific and professional look which infused a glimmer of +light into the Cimmerian darkness. The bilious powders were made of +the leaves of four plants familiarly known as spearmint, sunflower, +smartweed, and yarrow. In his practice a heaping teaspoonful of the +pulverized leaves was stirred in a cup of warm water and the grosser +parts were allowed to settle, while the patient took the finer parts +with the infusion. This was one of Dr. Foshay's staple remedies. +Another was a pill of which the principal active ingredient was +aloes. The art of making these pills seemed yet more scientific +than the other, and I was much pleased to find how soon I could +master it. Beside these a number of minor remedies were kept in +the medicine room. Among them were tinctures of lobelia, myrrh, +and capsicum. There was also a pill box containing a substance +which, from its narcotic odor, I correctly inferred to be opium. +This drug being prohibited by the Botanic School I could not but +feel that Dr. Foshay's orthodoxy was painfully open to question. + +Determined to fathom the mystery in which the doctor's plans for my +improvement were involved, I announced my readiness to commence the +study of the botanic system. He disappeared in the direction of +his bedroom, and soon returned with--could my eyes believe it?--a +big book. It was one which, at the time of its publication, some +thirty or forty years before, was well known to the profession,--Miner +and Tully on the "Fevers of the Connecticut Valley." He explained +bringing me this book. + +"Before beginning the regular study of the botanic system, you must +understand something of the old system. You can do so by reading +this book." + +A duller book I never read. There was every sort of detail about +different forms of fever, which needed different treatment; yet +calomel and, I think, opium were its main prescriptions. In due +time I got through it and reported to my preceptor. + +"Well, what do you think of the book?" + +"It praises calomel and opium too much. But I infer from reading +it that there are so many kinds of fever and other diseases that +an immense amount of study will be required to distinguish and +treat them." + +"Oh, you will find that all these minute distinctions are not +necessary when we treat the sick on the botanic system." + +"What is the next thing for me? Can I not now go on with the study +of the botanic system?" + +"You are not quite ready for it yet. You must first understand +something about phrenology. One great difference between us and +doctors of the old school is that they take no account of difference +of temperament, but treat the lymphatic and bilious in the same way. +But we treat according to the temperament of the patient and must +therefore be expert in distinguishing temperaments." + +"But I studied phrenology long ago and think I understand it quite +well." + +He was evidently surprised at this statement, but after a little +consideration said it was very necessary to be expert in the subject, +and thought I had better learn it more thoroughly. He returned to +his bedroom and brought a copy of Fowler's "Phrenology," the very +book so familiar to me. I had to go over it again, and did so +very carefully, paying special attention to the study of the four +temperaments,--nervous, bilious, lymphatic, and sanguine. + +Before many days I again reported progress. The doctor seemed a +little impatient, but asked me some questions about the position +of the organs and other matters pertaining to the subject, which I +answered promptly and correctly by putting my fingers on them on +my own head. But though satisfied with the answers, it was easy +to see that he was not satisfied with me. He had, on one or two +previous occasions, intimated that I was not wise and prudent in +worldly matters. Now he expressed himself more plainly. + +"This world is all a humbug, and the biggest humbug is the best man. +That 's the Yankee doctrine, and that 's the reason the Yankees +get along so well. You have no organ of secretiveness. You have +a window in your breast that every one can look into and see what +you are thinking about. You must shut that window up, like I do. +No one can tell from my talk or looks what I am thinking about." + +It may seem incredible to the reader that I marveled much at +the hidden meaning of this allegorical speech, and never for one +moment supposed it to mean: "I, Dr. Foshay, with my botanic system +of medicine, am the biggest humbug in these parts, and if you are +going to succeed with me you must be another." But I had already +recognized the truth of his last sentence. Probably neither of us +had heard of Talleyrand, but from this time I saw that his hearty +laugh and lively talk were those of a manikin. + +His demeanor toward me now became one of complete gravity, formality, +and silence. He was always kindly, but never said an unnecessary +word, and avoided all reference to reading or study. The mystery +which enveloped him became deeper month after month. In his presence +I felt a certain awe which prevented my asking any questions as to +his intentions toward me. + +It must, of course, be a matter of lifelong regret that two years +so important in one's education should have been passed in such a +way,--still, they were not wholly misspent. From a teacher named +Monroe, [2] who then lived near Salisbury, I borrowed Draper's +Chemistry, little thinking that I would one day count the author among +my friends. A book peddler going his rounds offered a collection of +miscellaneous books at auction. I bought, among others, a Latin and a +Greek grammar, and assiduously commenced their study. With the first +I was as successful as could be expected under the circumstances, +but failed with the Greek, owing to the unfamiliarity of the alphabet, +which seemed to be an obstacle to memory of the words and forms. + +But perhaps the greatest event of my stay was the advent of a +botanic druggist of Boston, who passed through the region with a +large wagonload of medicines and some books. He was a pleasant, +elderly gentleman, and seemed much interested on learning that +I was a student of the botanic system. He had a botanic medical +college in or near Boston, and strongly urged me to go thither as +soon as I could get ready to complete my studies. From him the +doctor, willing to do me a favor, bought some books, among them the +"Eclectic Medical Dispensary," published in Cincinnati. Of this +book the doctor spoke approvingly, as founded on the true system +which he himself practiced, and though I never saw him read it, +he was very ready to accept the knowledge which I derived from it. +The result was quite an enlargement of his materia medica, both in the +direction of native plants and medicines purchased from his druggist. + +On one occasion this advance came near having serious consequences. +I had compounded some pills containing a minute quantity of elaterium. +The doctor gave them to a neighboring youth affected with a slight +indisposition in which some such remedy was indicated. The directions +were very explicit,--one pill every hour until the desired effect +was produced. + +"Pshaw," said the patient's brother, "there's nothin' but weeds in +them pills, and a dozen of them won't hurt you." + +The idea of taking weed pills one at a time seemed too ridiculous, +and so the whole number were swallowed at a dose. The result was, +happily, not fatal, though impressive enough to greatly increase +the respect of the young man's family for our medicines. + +The intellectual life was not wholly wanting in the village. A lodge +of a temperance organization, having its headquarters in Maine, +was formed at a neighboring village. It was modeled somewhat after +the fashion of the Sons of Temperance. The presiding officer, with +a high sounding title, was my mother's cousin, Tommy Nixon. He was +the most popular young man of the neighborhood. The rudiments of a +classical education gained at a reputable academy in Sackville had not +detracted from his qualities as a healthy, rollicking young farmer. +The lodge had an imposing ritual of which I well remember one feature. +At stated intervals a password which admitted a member of any +one lodge to a meeting of any other was received from the central +authority--in Maine, I believe. It was never to be pronounced except +to secure admission, and was communicated to the members by being +written on a piece of paper in letters so large that all could read. +After being held up to view for a few moments, the paper was held in +the flame of a candle with these words: "This paper containing our +secret password I commit to the devouring element in token that it no +longer exists save in the minds of the faithful brethren." The fine +sonorous voice of the speaker and his manly front, seen in the lurid +light of the burning paper, made the whole scene very impressive. + +There was also a society for the discussion of scientific questions, +of which the founder and leading spirit was a youth named Isaac +Steves, who was beginning the study of medicine. The president +was a "Worthy Archon." Our discussions strayed into the field +of physiological mysteries, and got us into such bad odor with +Mrs. Foshay and, perhaps, other ladies of the community, that the +meetings were abandoned. + +A soil like that of the Provinces at this time was fertile in odd +characters including, possibly, here and there, a "heart pregnant +with celestial fire." One case quite out of the common line was +that of two or three brothers employed in a sawmill somewhere up the +river Petticodiac. According to common report they had invented a +new language in order to enable them to talk together without their +companions knowing what they were saying. I knew one of them well +and, after some time, ventured to inquire about this supposed tongue. +He was quite ready to explain it. The words were constructed out +of English by the very simple process of reversing the syllables or +the spelling. Everything was pronounced backward. Those who heard +it, and knew the key, had no difficulty in construing the words; +to those who did not, the words were quite foreign. + +The family of the neighborhood in which I was most intimate was that +of a Scotch farmer named Parkin. Father, mother, and children were +very attractive, both socially and intellectually, and in later years +I wondered whether any of them were still living. Fifty years later +I had one of the greatest and most agreeable surprises of my life +in suddenly meeting the little boy of the family in the person of +Dr. George R. Parkin, the well-known promoter of imperial federation +in Australia and the agent in arranging for the Rhodes scholarships +at Oxford which are assigned to America. + +My duties were of the most varied character. I composed a little +couplet designating my professions as those of + + Physician, apothecary, chemist, and druggist, + Girl about house and boy in the barn. + +I cared for the horse, cut wood for the fire, searched field and +forest for medicinal herbs, ordered other medicines from a druggist +[3] in St. John, kept the doctor's accounts, made his pills, and +mixed his powders. This left little time for reading and study, +and such exercises were still farther limited by the necessity of +pursuing them out of sight of the housewife. + +As time passed on, the consciousness that I was wasting my growing +years increased. I long cherished a vague hope that the doctor +could and would do something to promote my growth into a physician, +especially by taking me out to see his patients. This was the +recognized method of commencing the study of medicine. But he never +proposed such a course to me, and never told me how he expected me +to become a physician. Every month showed my prospects in a less +hopeful light. I had rushed into my position in blind confidence in +the man, and without any appreciation of the requirements of a medical +practitioner. But these requirements now presented themselves to +my mind with constantly increasing force. Foremost among them was +a knowledge of anatomy, and how could that be acquired except at a +medical school? It was every day more evident that if I continued +in my position I should reach my majority without being trained for +any life but that of a quack. + +While in this state of perplexity, an event happened which suggested +a way out. One day the neighborhood was stirred by the news that +Tommy Nixon had run away--left his home without the consent of his +parents, and sailed for the gold fields of Australia. I was struck +by the absence of any word of reprobation for his act. The young men +at least seemed to admire the enterprising spirit he had displayed. +A few weeks after his departure a letter which he wrote from London, +detailing his adventures in the great metropolis, was read in my +presence to a circle of admiring friends with expressions of wonder +and surprise. This little circumstance made it clear to me that +the easiest way out of my difficulty was to out the Gordian knot, +run away from Dr. Foshay, and join my father in New England. + +No doubt the uppermost question in the mind of the reader will be: +Why did you wait so long without having a clear understanding with +the doctor? Why not ask him to his face how he expected you to +remain with him when he had failed in his pledges, and demand that +he should either keep them or let you go? + +One answer, perhaps the first, must be lack of moral courage to face +him with such a demand. I have already spoken of the mystery which +seemed to enshroud his personality, and of the fascination which, +through it, he seemed to exercise over me. But behind this was +the conviction that he could not do anything for me were he ever so +well disposed. That he was himself uneducated in many essentials of +his profession had gradually become plain enough; but what he knew +or possibly might know remained a mystery. I had heard occasional +allusions, perhaps from Mrs. Foshay rather than from himself, to an +institution supposed to be in Maine, where he had studied medicine, +but its name and exact location were never mentioned. Altogether, +if I told him of my intention, it could not possibly do any good, +and he might be able to prevent my carrying it out, or in some other +way to do much harm. And so I kept silent. + +Tuesday, September 13, 1853, was the day on which I fixed for the +execution of my plan. The day previous I was so abstracted as to +excite remarks both from Mrs. Foshay and her girl help, the latter +more than once declaring me crazy when I made some queer blunder. +The fact is I was oppressed by the feeling that the step about to +be taken was the most momentous of my life. I packed a few books +and clothes, including some mementoes of my mother, and took the box +to the stage and post-office in the evening, to be forwarded to an +assumed name in St. John the next afternoon. This box I never saw +again; it was probably stopped by Foshay before being dispatched. +My plan was to start early in the morning, walk as far as I could +during the day, and, in the evening, take the mail stage when it +should overtake me. This course was necessitated by the fact that +the little money that I had in my pocket was insufficient to pay my +way to Boston, even when traveling in the cheapest way. + +I thought it only right that the doctor should be made acquainted +with my proceeding and my reason for taking it, so I indited a short +letter, which I tried to reproduce from memory ten years later with +the following result:-- + + Dear Doctor,--I write this to let you know of the step I am + about to take. When I came to live with you, it was agreed + that you should make a physician of me. This agreement you + have never shown the slightest intention of fulfilling since + the first month I was with you. You have never taken me + to see a patient, you have never given me any instruction + or advice whatever. Beside this, you must know that your + wife treats me in a manner that is no longer bearable. + + I therefore consider the agreement annulled from your failure + to fulfill your part of it, and I am going off to make my + own way in the world. When you read this, I shall be far + away, and it is not likely that we shall ever meet again. + +If my memory serves me right, the doctor was absent on a visit to +some distant patient on the night in question, and I did not think it +likely that he would return until at least noon on the following day. +By this time my box would have been safely off in the stage, and +I would be far out of reach. To delay his receiving the letter as +much as possible, I did not leave it about the house, but put it in +the window of a shop across the way, which served the neighbors as +a little branch post-office. + +But he must have returned sooner than I expected, for, to my great +regret, I never again saw or heard of the box, which contained, +not only the entire outfit for my journey, but all the books of my +childhood which I had, as well as the little mementoes of my mother. +The postmaster who took charge of the goods was a Mr. Pitman. +When I again passed through Salisbury, as I did ten years later, +he had moved away, no one could tell me exactly where. + +I was on the road before daybreak, and walked till late at night, +occasionally stopping to bathe my feet in a brook, or to rest for +a few minutes in the shadow of a tree. The possibility of my being +pursued by the doctor was ever present to my mind, and led me to keep +a sharp lookout for coming vehicles. Toward sunset a horse and buggy +appeared, coming over a hill, and very soon the resemblance of vehicle +and driver to the turnout of the doctor became so striking that I +concealed myself in the shrubbery by the wayside until the sound of +the wheels told me he was well past. The probability that my pursuer +was in front of me was an added source of discomfort which led me +to avoid the road and walk in the woods wherever the former was not +visible to some distance ahead. But I neither saw nor heard anything +more of the supposed pursuer, though, from what I afterward learned, +there can be little doubt that it was actually Foshay himself. + +The advent of darkness soon relieved me of the threatened danger, +but added new causes of solicitude. The evening advanced, and the +lights in the windows of the houses were becoming fewer and fewer, +and yet the stage had not appeared. I slackened my pace, and made +many stops, beginning to doubt whether I might not as well give up the +stage and look for an inn. It was, I think, after ten o'clock when +the rattling of wheels announced its approach. It was on a descending +grade, and passed me like a meteor, in the darkness, quite heedless +of my calls and gesticulations. Fortunately a house was in sight +where I was hospitably entertained, and I was very soon sound asleep, +as became one who had walked fifty miles or more since daylight. + +Thus ended a day to which I have always looked back as the most +memorable of my life. I felt its importance at the time. As I +walked and walked, the question in my mind was, what am I doing and +whither am I going? Am I doing right or wrong? Am I going forward +to success in life, or to failure and degradation? Vainly, vainly, +I tried to peer into the thick darkness of the future. No definite +idea of what success might mean could find a place in my mind. +I had sometimes indulged in daydreams, but these come not to a mind +occupied as mine on that day. And if they had, and if fancy had +been allowed its wildest flight in portraying a future, it is safe +to say that the figure of an honorary academician of France, seated +in the chair of Newton and Franklin in the palace of the Institute, +would not have been found in the picture. + +As years passed away I have formed the habit of looking back upon that +former self as upon another person, the remembrance of whose emotions +has been a solace in adversity and added zest to the enjoyment of +prosperity. If depressed by trial, I think how light would this have +appeared to that boy had a sight of the future been opened up to him. +When, in the halls of learning, I have gone through the ceremonies +which made me a citizen of yet another commonwealth in the world of +letters, my thoughts have gone back to that day; and I have wished +that the inexorable law of Nature could then have been suspended, +if only for one moment, to show the scene that Providence held +in reserve. + +Next morning I was on my way betimes, having still more than thirty +miles before me. And the miles seemed much longer than they did the +day before, for my feet were sore and my limbs stiff. Quite welcome, +therefore, was a lift offered by a young farmer, who, driving a +cart, overtook me early in the forenoon. He was very sociable, +and we soon got into an interesting conversation. + +I knew that Dr. Foshay hailed from somewhere in this region, where +his father still lived, so I asked my companion whether he knew a +family of that name. He knew them quite well. + +"Do you know anything of one of the sons who is a doctor?" + +"Yes indeed; I know all about him, but he ain't no doctor. He tried +to set up for one in Salisbury, but the people there must a' found +him out before this, and I don't know where he is now." + +"But I thought he studied medicine in Fredericton or Maine or +somewhere on the border." + +"Oh, he went off to the States and pretended to study, but he never +did it. I tell you he ain't no more a doctor nor I am. He ain't +smart enough to be a doctor." + +I fell into a fit of musing long enough to hear, in my mind's +ear, with startling distinctness, the words of two years before: +"This world is all a humbug, and the biggest humbug is the best man. +. . . You have a window in your breast and you must close that window +before you can succeed in life." Now I grasped their full meaning. + +Ten years later I went through the province by rail on my wedding +journey. At Dorchester, the next village beyond Moncton, I was +shown a place where insolvent debtors were kept "on the limits." + +"By stopping there," said my informant, "you can see Dr. Foshay." + +I suggested the question whether it was worth while to break our +journey for the sake of seeing him. The reply of my informant +deterred me. + +"It can hardly be worth while to do so. He will be a painful object +to see,--a bloated sot, drinking himself to death as fast as he can." + +The next I heard of him was that he had succeeded. + +I reached St. John on the evening that a great celebration of the +commencement of work on the first railway in the province was in +progress. When things are undecided, small matters turn the scale. +The choice of my day for starting out on my adventurous journey was +partly fixed by the desire to reach St. John and see something of +the celebration. Darkness came on when I was yet a mile or two from +the city; then the first rocket I had ever beheld rose before me in +the sky. Two of what seemed like unfortunate incidents at the time +were most fortunate. Subsequent and disappointing experience showed +that had I succeeded in getting the ride I wished in the stage, +the resulting depletion of my purse would have been almost fatal +to my reaching my journey's end. Arriving at the city, I naturally +found all the hotels filled. At length a kindly landlady said that, +although she had no bed to give me, I was quite welcome to lie on a +soft carpeted floor, in the midst of people who could not find any +other sleeping place. No charge was made for this accommodation. +My hope of finding something to do which would enable me to earn +a little money in St. John over and above the cost of a bed and a +daily loaf of bread was disappointed. The efforts of the next week +are so painful to recall that I will not harrow the feelings of the +reader by describing them. Suffice it to say that the adventure was +wound up by an interview at Calais, a town on the Maine border, a +few miles from Eastport, with the captain of a small sailing vessel, +hardly more than a boat. He was bound for Salem. I asked him the +price of a passage. + +"How much money have you?" he replied. + +I told him; whether it was one or two dollars I do not recall. + +"I will take you for that if you will help us on the voyage." + +The offer was gladly accepted. The little craft was about as near the +opposite of a clipper ship as one can imagine, never intended to run +in any but fair winds, and even with that her progress was very slow. +There was a constant succession of west winds, and the result was that +we were about three weeks reaching Salem. Here I met my father, who, +after the death of my mother, had come to seek his fortune in the +"States." He had reached the conclusion, on what grounds I do not +know, that the eastern part of Maryland was a most desirable region, +both in the character of its people and in the advantages which it +offered us. The result was that, at the beginning of 1854, I found +myself teacher of a country school at a place called Massey's Cross +Roads in Kent County. After teaching here one year, I got a somewhat +better school at the pleasant little village of Sudlersville, a few +miles away. + +Of my abilities as a manager and teacher of youth the reader can +judge. Suffice it to say that, looking back at those two years, I +am deeply impressed with the good nature of the people in tolerating +me at all. + +My most pleasant recollection is that of two of my best pupils of +Sudlersville, nearly my own age. One was Arthur E. Sudler, for +whose special benefit some chemical apparatus was obtained from +Philadelphia. He afterwards studied medicine at the University of +Pennsylvania and delighted me by writing that what I had taught him +placed him among the best in his class in chemistry. The other was +B. S. Elliott, who afterward became an engineer or surveyor. + +One of my most vivid recollections at Massey's relates to a subject +which by no means forms a part of one's intellectual development, +and yet is at the bottom of all human progress, that of digestion. +The staple food of the inhabitants of a Southern farming region was +much heartier than any to which I had been accustomed. "Pork and +pone" were the staples, the latter being a rather coarse cake with +little or no seasoning, baked from cornmeal. This was varied +by a compound called "shortcake," a mixture of flour and lard, +rapidly baked in a pan, and eaten hot. Though not distasteful, +I thought it as villainous a compound as a civilized man would put +into his stomach. + +Quite near my school lived a young bachelor farmer who might be +designated as William Bowler, Esq., though he was better known as +Billy Bowler. He had been educated partly at Delaware College, +Newark, and was therefore an interesting young man to know. +In describing his experiences at the college, he once informed me +that they were all very pleasant except in a single point; that was +the miserably poor food that the students got to eat. He could not, +he declared, get along without good eating. This naturally suggested +that my friend was something of a gourmand. Great, therefore, +was my delight when, a few weeks later, he expressed a desire to +have me board with him. I accepted the offer as soon as possible. +Much to my disappointment, shortcake was on the table at the first +meal and again at the second. It proved to be the principal dish +twice, and I am not sure but three times a day. The other staple +was fried meat. On the whole this was worse than pork and pone, +which, if not toothsome, was at least wholesome. As the days grew +into weeks, I wondered what Delaware College could give its students +to eat. To increase the perplexity, there were plenty of chickens +in the yard and vegetables in the garden. I asked the cook if she +could not boil some vegetables and bring them on the table. + +"Mas'er Bowler don't like wegetable." + +Then I found that the chickens were being consumed in the kitchen +and asked for one. + +"Mas'er Bowler don't like chicken," was the reply, with an added +intimation that the chickens belonged to the denizens of the kitchen. + +The mystery was now so dark and deep that I determined to fathom it. +I drew Mr. Bowler into conversation once more about Delaware College, +and asked him what the students had to eat when there. + +He had evidently forgotten his former remark and described what +seemed to me a fairly well provided students' table. Now I came +down on him with my crusher. + +"You told me once that the table was miserably poor, so that you +could hardly stand it. What fault had you to find with it?" + +He reflected a moment, apparently recalling his impression, then +replied: "Oh, they had no shortcake there!" + +In 1854 I availed myself of my summer vacation to pay my first +visit to the national capital, little dreaming that it would ever be +my home. I went as far as the gate of the observatory, and looked +wistfully in, but feared to enter, as I did not know what the rules +might be regarding visitors. I speculated upon the possible object +of a queer red sandstone building, which seemed so different from +anything else, and heard for the first time of the Smithsonian +Institution. + +On the very beginning of my work at Massey's the improvement in my +position was so remarkable that I felt my rash step of a few months +before fully justified. I wrote in triumph to my favorite aunt, +Rebecca Prince, that leaving Dr. Foshay was the best thing I had +ever done. I was no longer "that boy," but a respectable young man +with a handle to my name. + +Just what object I should pursue in life was still doubtful; the +avenues of the preferment I would have liked seemed to be closed +through my not being a college graduate. I had no one to advise me as +to the subjects I should pursue or the books I should study. On such +books as I could get, I passed every spare hour. My father sent me +Cobbett's English Grammar, which I found amusing and interesting, +especially the criticisms upon the grammar found here and there in +royal addresses to Parliament and other state papers. On the whole +I am not sure but that the book justified my father's good opinion, +although I cannot but think that it was rather hypercritical. I had +been taught the rudiments of French in Wallace when quite a child by +a Mr. Oldright, of whose methods and pronunciation my memory gives +me a most favorable impression. I now got Cobbett's French Grammar, +probably a much less commendable book than his English one. I had +never yet fathomed the mysteries of analytic geometry or the calculus, +and so got Davies' books on those subjects. That on the calculus +was perhaps the worst that could be put into the hands of a person +situated as I was. Two volumes of Bezout's Mathematics, in French, +about a century old, were, I think, rather better. Say's Political +Economy was the first book I read on that subject, and it was quite +a delight to see human affairs treated by scientific methods. + +I finally reached the conclusion that mathematics was the study I +was best fitted to follow, though I did not clearly see in what way I +should turn the subject to account. I knew that Newton's "Principia" +was a celebrated book, so I got a copy of the English translation. +The path through it was rather thorny, but I at least caught the +spirit here and there. No teacher at the present time would think +of using it as a text-book, yet as a mental discipline, and for +the purpose of enabling one to form a mental image of the subject, +its methods at least are excellent. I got a copy of the "American +Journal of Science," hoping it might enlighten me, but was frightened +by its big words, and found nothing that I could understand. + +During the year at Sudlersville I made several efforts which, +though they were insignificant so far as immediate results were +concerned, were in some respects of importance for my future work. +With no knowledge of algebra except what was derived from the meagre +text-books I could pick up,--not having heard even the name of +Abel, or knowing what view of the subject was taken by professional +mathematicians,--I made my first attempt at a scientific article, "A +New Demonstration of the Binomial Theorem." This I sent to Professor +Henry, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, to see if he deemed +it suitable for publication. He promptly replied in the negative, but +offered to submit it to a professional mathematician for an opinion +of its merits. I gladly accepted this proposal, which was just what +I wanted. In due course a copy of the report was sent me. One part +of the work was praised for its elegance, but a lack of completeness +and rigor was pointed out. It was accompanied by a pleasant note +from Professor Henry remarking that, while not so favorable as I might +have expected, it was sufficiently so to encourage me in persevering. + +The other effort to which I refer was of quite a different character. +A copy of the "National Intelligencer," intended for some subscriber +who had left Sudlersville, came to the post-office for several months, +and, there being no claimant, I frequently had an opportunity to +read it. One of its features was frequent letters from volunteer +writers on scientific subjects. Among these was a long letter +from one G. W. Eveleth, the object of which was to refute the +accepted theory of the universe, especially the view of Copernicus. +For aught I knew Mr. Eveleth held as high a position as any one else +in the world of science and letters, so I read his article carefully. +It was evidently wholly fallacious, yet so plausible that I feared +the belief of the world in the doctrine of Copernicus might suffer +a severe shock, and hastened to the rescue by writing a letter over +my own name, pointing out the fallacies. This was published in the +"National Intelligencer"--if my memory serves me right--in 1855. +My full name, printed in large capitals, in a newspaper, at the bottom +of a letter, filled me with a sense of my temerity in appearing so +prominently in print, as if I were intruding into company where I +might not be wanted. + +My letter had two most unexpected and gratifying results. One was +a presentation of a copy of Lee's "Tables and Formulae," which came +to me a few days later through the mail with the compliments of +Colonel Abert. Not long afterward came a letter from Professor +J. Lawrence Smith, afterward a member of the National Academy of +Sciences, transmitting a copy of a pamphlet by him on the theory +that meteorites were masses thrown up from the volcanoes of the moon, +and asking my opinion on the subject. + +I had not yet gotten into the world of light. But I felt as one who, +standing outside, could knock against the wall and hear an answering +knock from within. + +The beginning of 1856 found me teaching in the family of a planter +named Bryan, residing in Prince George County, Md., some fifteen or +twenty miles from Washington. This opened up new opportunities. +I could ride into Washington whenever I wished, leave my horse +at a livery stable, and see whatever sights the city offered. +The Smithsonian Library was one of the greatest attractions. +Sometime in May, 1856, I got permission from the attendant in charge +to climb into the gallery and see the mathematical books. Here I +was delighted to find the greatest treasure that my imagination had +ever pictured,--a work that I had thought of almost as belonging +to fairyland. And here it was right before my eyes--four enormous +volumes,--"Mecanique Celeste, by the Marquis de Laplace, Peer of +France; translated by Nathaniel Bowditch, LL. D., Member of the +Royal Societies of London, Edinburg, and Dublin." I inquired as to +the possibility of my borrowing the first volume, and was told that +this could be done only by special authority of Professor Henry. +I soon got the necessary authority through Mr. Rhees, the chief +clerk, whose kindness in the matter deeply impressed me, signed a +promise to return it within one month, and carried it in triumph +to my little schoolhouse. I dipped into it here and there, but at +every step was met by formulae and methods quite beyond the power of +one who knew so little of mathematics. In due time I brought the +book back as promised. + +Up to this time I think I had never looked upon a real live +professor; certainly not upon one of eminence in the scientific +world. I wondered whether there was any possibility of my making the +acquaintance of so great a man as Professor Henry. Some time previous +a little incident had occurred which caused me some uneasiness on +the subject. I had started out very early on a visit to Washington, +or possibly I had stayed there all night. At any rate, I reached +the Smithsonian Building quite early, opened the main door, stepped +cautiously into the vestibule, and looked around. Here I was met +by a short, stout, and exceedingly gruff sort of a man, who looked +upon my entrance with evident displeasure. He said scarcely a word, +but motioned me out of the door, and showed me a paper or something +in the entrance which intimated that the Institution would be open +at nine o'clock. It was some three minutes before that hour so I +was an intruder. The man looked so respectable and so commanding +in his appearance that I wondered if he could be Professor Henry, +yet sincerely hoped he was not. I afterward found that he was only +"Old Peake," the janitor. [4] When I found the real Professor Henry +he received me with characteristic urbanity, told me something of +his own studies, and suggested that I might find something to do in +the Coast Survey, but took no further steps at that time. + +The question whether I was fitted for any such employment now became +of great interest. The principal question was whether one must know +celestial mechanics in order to secure such a position, so, after +leaving Professor Henry, I made my way to the Coast Survey office, and +was shown to the chief clerk, as the authority for the information. +I modestly asked him whether a knowledge of physical astronomy was +necessary to a position in that office. Instead of frankly telling +me that he did not know what physical astronomy was, he answered in +the affirmative. So I left with the impression that I must master +the "Mecanique Celeste" or some similar treatise before finding any +opening there. + +I could not, of course, be satisfied with a single visit to such +a man, and so called several times during the year. One thing +I wondered about was whether he would remember me when he again +saw me. On one occasion I presented him with a plan for improving +the Cavendish method of determining the density of the earth, +which he took very kindly. I subsequently learned that he was much +interested in this problem. On another occasion he gave me a letter +to Mr. J. E. Hilgard, assistant in charge of the Coast Survey office. +My reception by the latter was as delightful as that by Professor +Henry. I found from my first interview with him that the denizens +of the world of light were up to the most sanguine conceptions I +ever could have formed. + +At this time, or probably some time before, I bought a copy of the +"American Ephemeris" for 1858, and amused myself by computing on +a slate the occultations visible at San Francisco during the first +few months of the year. At this time I had learned nothing definite +from Mr. Hilgard as to employment in his office. But about December, +1856, I received a note from him stating that he had been talking +about me to Professor Winlock, superintendent of the "Nautical +Almanac," and that I might possibly get employment on that work. +When I saw him again I told him that I had not yet acquired +such a knowledge of physical astronomy as would be necessary for +the calculations in question; but he assured me that this was no +drawback, as formulae for all the computations would be supplied me. +I was far from satisfied at the prospect of doing nothing more than +making routine calculations with formulae prepared by others; indeed, +it was almost a disappointment to find that I was considered qualified +for such a place. I could only console myself by the reflection that +the ease of the work would not hinder me from working my way up. +Shortly afterward I understood that it was at least worth while to +present myself at Cambridge, and so started out on a journey thither +about the last day of the year 1856. + +At that time even a railroad journey was quite different from what it +is now. The cars were drawn through Baltimore by horses. At Havre +de Grace the train had to stop and the passengers were taken across +the river in a ferryboat to another train. At Philadelphia the city +had to be traversed by transfer coaches. Looking around for this +conveyance, I met a man who said he had it. He shoved me into it +and drove off. I remarked with suspicion that no other coaches were +accompanying us. After a pretty long drive the speed of the horses +gradually began to slacken. At length it came to a complete stop in +front of a large building, and I got out. But it was only a freight +station, locked up and dark throughout. The driver mumbled something +about his fare, then rolled back on his seat, seemingly dead drunk. +The nearest sign of life was at a tavern a block or two away. There I +found that I was only a short distance from the station of departure, +and reached my train barely in time. + +Landing in New York at the first glimmer of dawn, near the end of the +line of passengers I was momentarily alarmed to see a man pick up what +seemed to be a leather purse from right between my feet. It was brown +and, so far as I could see, just like my own. I immediately felt +the breast pocket of my coat and found that my own was quite safe. +The man who picked up the purse inquired in the politest tone possible +if it was mine, to which I replied in the negative. He retreated a +short distance and then a bystander came up and chided me in a whisper +for my folly in not claiming the purse. The only reply he got was, +"Oh, I'm up to all your tricks." On a repetition of this assurance +the pair sneaked away. + +Arriving at Cambridge, I sought out Professor Winlock and was +informed that no immediate employment was open at his office. +It would be necessary for him to get authority from Washington. +After this was obtained some hope might be held out, so I appeared +in the office from time to time as a visitor, my first visit being +that described in the opening chapter. + +[1] I may remark, for the benefit of any medical reader, that it +involved the use of two pails, one full of water, the other empty. +When he got through the ablution, one pail was empty, and the other +full. My authority for the actuality of this remarkable proceeding +was some inmate of the house at the time, and I give credence to +the story because it was not one likely to be invented. + +[2] Rev. Alexander H. Monroe, who, I have understood, afterward +lived in Montreal. I have often wished to find a trace of him, +but do not know whether he is still living. + +[3] Our druggist was Mr. S. L. Tilley, afterward Sir Leonard Tilley, +the well-known Canadian Minister of Finance. + +[4] Peake, notwithstanding his official title, would seem to have +been more than an ordinary janitor, as he was the author of a Guide +to the Smithsonian Institution. + + + + +III + +THE WORLD OF SWEETNESS AND LIGHT + + +The term "Nautical Almanac" is an unfortunate misnomer for what is, +properly speaking, the "Astronomical Ephemeris." It is quite a +large volume, from which the world draws all its knowledge of times +and seasons, the motions of the heavenly bodies, the past and future +positions of the stars and planets, eclipses, and celestial phenomena +generally which admit of prediction. It is the basis on which the +family almanac is to rest. It also contains the special data needed +to enable the astronomer and navigator to determine their position on +land or sea. The first British publication of the sort, prepared by +Maskelyne, Astronomer Royal, a century ago, was intended especially +for the use of navigators; hence the familiar appellation, which I +call unfortunate because it leads to the impression that the work +is simply an enlargement and improvement of the household almanac. + +The leading nations publish ephemerides of this sort. The +introductions and explanations are, of course, in the languages of +the respective countries; but the contents of the volume are now so +much alike that the duplication of work involved in preparing them +seems quite unnecessary. Yet national pride and emulation will +probably continue it for some time to come. + +The first appropriation for an American ephemeris and nautical +almanac was made by Congress in 1849. Lieutenant Charles Henry +Davis, as a leader and moving spirit in securing the appropriation, +was naturally made the first superintendent of the work. At that time +astronomical science in our country was so far from being reduced to +a system that it seemed necessary to have the work prepared at some +seat of learning. So, instead of founding the office in Washington, +it was established at Cambridge, the seat of Harvard University, +where it could have the benefit of the technical knowledge of experts, +and especially of Professor Benjamin Peirce, who was recognized as +the leading mathematician of America. Here it remained until 1866, +when conditions had so far changed that the office was removed to +Washington, where it has since remained. + +To this work I was especially attracted because its preparation seemed +to me to embody the highest intellectual power to which man had ever +attained. The matter used to present itself to my mind somewhat in +this way: Supply any man with the fundamental data of astronomy, the +times at which stars and planets cross the meridian of a place, and +other matters of this kind. He is informed that each of these bodies +whose observations he is to use is attracted by all the others with +a force which varies as the inverse square of their distance apart. +From these data he is to weigh the bodies, predict their motion in +all future time, compute their orbits, determine what changes of form +and position these orbits will undergo through thousands of ages, +and make maps showing exactly over what cities and towns on the +surface of the earth an eclipse of the sun will pass fifty years +hence, or over what regions it did pass thousands of years ago. +A more hopeless problem than this could not be presented to the +ordinary human intellect. There are tens of thousands of men who +could be successful in all the ordinary walks of life, hundreds who +could wield empires, thousands who could gain wealth, for one who +could take up this astronomical problem with any hope of success. +The men who have done it are therefore in intellect the select few +of the human race,--an aristocracy ranking above all others in the +scale of being. The astronomical ephemeris is the last practical +outcome of their productive genius. + +On the question whether the world generally reasoned in this way, +I do not remember having any distinct idea. This was certainly +not because I was indifferent to the question, but because it never +strongly presented itself to my mind. From my point of view it would +not have been an important one, because I had already formed the +conviction that one should choose that sphere in life to which he was +most strongly attracted, or for which his faculties best fitted him. + +A few months previous to my advent Commander Davis had been +detached from the superintendency and ordered to command the +sloop St. Mary's. He was succeeded by Professor Joseph Winlock, +who afterward succeeded George P. Bond as director of the Harvard +Observatory. Most companionable in the society of his friends, +Winlock was as silent as General Grant with the ordinary run of men. +Withal, he had a way of putting his words into exact official form. +The following anecdote of him used to be current. While he was +attached to the Naval Academy, he was introduced one evening at a +reception to a visiting lady. He looked at the lady for a decorous +length of time, and she looked at him; then they parted without +saying a word. His introducer watched the scene, and asked him, +"Why did you not talk to that lady?" + +"I had no statement to make to her," was the reply. + +Dr. Gould told me this story was founded on fact, but when, after +Winlock's death, it was put off on me with some alterations, I felt +less sure. + +The following I believe to be authentic. It occurred several +years later. Hilgard, in charge of the Coast Survey office, +was struck by the official terseness of the communications he +occasionally received from Winlock, and resolved to be his rival. +They were expecting additions to their families about the same time, +and had doubtless spoken of the subject. When Hilgard's arrived, +he addressed a communication to Winlock in these terms:-- + +"Mine's a boy. What's yours?" + +In due course of time the following letter was received in reply:-- + +Dear Hilgard:-- + _Boy._ + Yours, etc., J. Winlock. + +When some time afterward I spoke to Winlock on the subject, and +told him what Hilgard's motive was, he replied, "It was not fair +in Hilgard to try and take me unawares in that way. Had I known +what he was driving at, I might have made my letter still shorter." +I did not ask him how he would have done it. It is of interest that +the "boy" afterward became one of the assistant secretaries of the +Smithsonian Institution. + +One of the most remarkable features of the history of the "Nautical +Almanac" is the number of its early assistants who have gained +prominence or distinction in the various walks of life. It would +be difficult to find so modest a public work to exceed it in this +respect. + +John D. Runkle, who lived till 1902, was, as I have said, the +senior and leading assistant in the office. He afterward became a +professor in the Institute of Technology, and succeeded Rogers as +its president. In 1876 he started the school of manual training, +which has since been one of the great features of the Institute. +He afterward resigned the presidency, but remained its principal +professor of mathematics. He was the editor and founder of the +"Mathematical Monthly," of which I shall presently have more to say. + +The most wonderful genius in the office, and the one who would have +been the most interesting subject of study to a psychologist, was +Truman Henry Safford. In early childhood he had excited attention +by his precocity as what is now sometimes called a "lightning +calculator." A committee of the American Academy of Arts and Science +was appointed to examine him. It very justly and wisely reported that +his arithmetical powers were not in themselves equal to those of some +others on record, especially Zerah Colburn, but that they seemed to +be the outcome of a remarkable development of the reasoning power. +When nine years old, he computed almanacs, and some of his work +at this age is still preserved in the Harvard University Library. +He graduated at Harvard in 1854, and was soon afterward taken into +the Nautical Almanac Office, while he also worked from time to time +at the Cambridge observatory. It was found, however, that the power +of continuous work was no greater in him than in others, nor did he +succeed in doing more than others in the course of a year. + +The mental process by which certain gifted arithmetical computers +reach almost in an instant the results of the most complicated +calculations is a psychological problem of great interest, +which has never been investigated. No more promising subject for +the investigation could ever have been found than Safford, and I +greatly regret having lost all opportunities to solve the problem. +What was of interest in Safford's case was the connection of this +faculty with other remarkable mental powers of an analogous but +yet different kind. He had a remarkable faculty for acquiring, +using, and reading languages, and would have been an accomplished +linguist had he turned his attention in that direction. He was a +walking bibliography of astronomy, which one had only to consult in +order to learn in a moment what great astronomers of recent times had +written on almost any subject, where their work was published, and on +what shelf of the Harvard Library the book could be found. But the +faculty most closely connected with calculation was a quickness and +apprehension of vision, of which the following is an example:-- + +About 1876 he visited the Naval Observatory in Washington for the +first time in his life. We wanted a certain catalogue of stars and +went together into the library. The required catalogue was on one +of a tier of shelves containing altogether a hundred, or perhaps +several hundred volumes. "I do not know whether we have the book," +said I, "but if we have, it is on one of these shelves." I began +to go through the slow process of glancing at the books one by one +until my eyes should strike the right title. He stood back six +or eight feet and took in all the shelves seemingly at one glance, +then stepped forward and said, "Here it is." I might have supposed +this an accident, but that he subsequently did practically the same +thing in my office, selecting in a moment a book we wanted to see, +after throwing a rapid glance over shelves containing perhaps a +hundred volumes. + +An example of his apprehension and memory for numbers was narrated +by Mr. Alvan Clark. When the latter had completed one of his great +telescopes for the University of Chicago, Safford had been named +as director, and accompanied the three members of the firm to the +city when they carried the object glass thither. On leaving the +train all four took their seats in a hotel omnibus, Safford near +the door. Then they found that they had forgotten to give their +baggage checks to the expressman; so the other three men passed +their checks to Safford, who added his own and handed all four to +the conductor of the omnibus. When it was time for the baggage to +come to the hotel, there was such a crowd of new arrivals that the +attendants could not find it. The hotel clerk remarked on inquiry, +"If I only knew the numbers of your checks, I would have no difficulty +in tracing your trunks." Safford at once told off the four numbers, +which he had read as he was passing the checks to the conductor. + +The great fire practically put an end to the activity of the Chicago +Observatory and forced its director to pursue his work in other +fields. That he failed to attain that commanding position due to his +genius is to be ascribed to a cause prevalent among us during all the +middle part of the century; perhaps that from which most brilliant +intellects fail to reach eminence: lack of the power of continuous +work necessary to bring important researches to a completion. + +Another great intellect of the office was Chauncey Wright. +If Wright had systematically applied his powers, he might have +preceded or supplanted Herbert Spencer as the great exponent of the +theory of evolution. He had graduated at Harvard in 1853, and was +a profound student of philosophy from that time forward, though I am +not aware that he was a writer. When in 1858 Sir William Hamilton's +"Lectures on Metaphysics" appeared, he took to them with avidity. +In 1859 appeared Darwin's "Origin of Species," and a series of +meetings was held by the American Academy, the special order of +which was the discussion of this book. Wright and myself, not yet +members, were invited to be present. To judge of the interest it is +only necessary to remark that Agassiz and Gray were the two leading +disputants, the first taking ground against Darwin, the other in his +favor. Wright was a Darwinist from the very beginning, explaining +the theory in private conversation from a master's point of view, +and soon writing upon it in the "North American Review" and in other +publications. Of one of his articles Darwin has been quoted as saying +that it was the best exposition of his theory that had then appeared. +After his untimely death in 1875, Wright's papers were collected and +published under the title of "Philosophical Discussions." [1] Their +style is clear-cut and faultless in logical form, yet requiring such +close attention to every word as to be less attractive to the general +reader of to-day than that of Spencer. In a more leisurely age, +when men wanted to think profoundly as they went along in a book, +and had little to disturb the current of their thoughts, it would +have commanded wide attention among thinking men. + +A singular peculiarity which I have sometimes noticed among men of +intelligence is that those who are best informed on the subject +may be most reckless as regards the laws of health. Wright did +all of his office work in two or three months of the year. During +those months he worked at his computations far into the hours of +the morning, stimulating his strength with cigars, and dropping +his work only to take it up when he had had the necessary sleep. +A strong constitution might stand this for a few years, as his did. +But the ultimate result hardly needs to be told. + +Besides the volume I have mentioned, Wright's letters were collected +and printed after his death by the subscription of his friends. +In these his philosophic views are from time to time brought out +in a light, easy way, much more charming than the style of his +elaborate discussions. It was in one of his letters that I first +found the apothegm, "Men are born either Platonists or Aristotelians," +a happy drawing of the line which separates the hard-headed scientific +thinker of to-day from the thinkers of all other classes. + +William Ferrell, a much older man than myself, entered the office +about the same time as I did. He published papers on the motions +of fluids on the earth's surface in the "Mathematical Monthly," +and became one of the great authorities on dynamic meteorology, +including the mathematical theory of winds and tides. He was, I +believe, the first to publish a correct theory of the retardation +produced in the rotation of the earth by the action of the tides, +and the consequent slow lengthening of the day. + +James Edward Oliver might have been one of the great mathematicians of +his time had he not been absolutely wanting in the power of continuous +work. It was scarcely possible to get even his year's office +work out of him. Yet when I once wrote him a question on certain +mathematical forms which arise in the theory of "least squares," +he replied in a letter which, with some developments and change of +form, would have made a worthy memoir in any mathematical journal. +As a matter of fact, the same thoughts did appear some years after, +in an elaborate paper by Professor J. W. L. Glaisher, of England, +published by the Royal Astronomical Society. + +Oliver, who afterward became professor of higher mathematics at +Cornell University, was noted for what I think should be considered +the valuable quality of absent-mindedness. It was said of him that +he was once walking on the seashore with a small but valuable gold +watch loose in his pocket. While deep in thought he started a kind +of distraction by picking up flat stones and skipping them on the +water. Taking his watch from his pocket he skipped it as a stone. +When I became well acquainted with him I took the liberty of asking +him as to the correctness of this story. He could not positively +say whether it was true or not. The facts were simply that he had +the watch, that he had walked on the seashore, had skipped stones, +missed the watch at some subsequent time, and never saw it again. + +More definite was an observation made on his movements one afternoon +by a looker-out from a window of the Nautical Almanac Office. +Across the way the road was bounded by no fence, simply passing +along the side of an open field. As Oliver got near the office, +his chin on his breast, deep in thought, he was seen gradually to +deviate from the sidewalk, and direct his steps along the field. +He continued on this erratic course until he ran almost against the +fence at the other end. This awoke him from his reverie, and he +started up, looked around, and made his way back to the road. + +I have spoken only of the men who were employed at the office at +the time I entered. Previous to my time were several who left to +accept professorships in various parts of the country. Among them +were Professors Van Vleck, of Middletown, and Hedrick and Kerr, of +North Carolina. Not desiring to leave upon the mind of the reader the +impression that all of whom I have not spoken remained in obscurity, +I will remark that Mr. Isaac Bradford rose to the position of mayor +of the city of Cambridge, and that fugitive pieces in prose and +poetry by Mr. E. J. Loomis were collected in a volume. [2] + +The discipline of the public service was less rigid in the office +at that time than at any government institution I ever heard of. +In theory there was an understanding that each assistant was +"expected" to be in the office five hours a day. The hours might be +selected by himself, and they generally extended from nine until two, +the latter being at that time the college and family dinner hour. +As a matter of fact, however, the work was done pretty much where +and when the assistant chose, all that was really necessary being +to have it done on time. + +It will be seen that the excellent opportunities offered by this +system were well improved by those who enjoyed them--improved in a way +that I fear would not be possible in any other surroundings. I took +advantage of them by enrolling myself as a student of mathematics in +the Lawrence Scientific School. On this occasion I well remember +my pleasant reception by Charles W. Eliot, tutor in mathematics, +and E. N. Horsford, professor of chemistry, and, I believe, dean of +the school. As a newcomer into the world of light, it was pleasant +to feel the spirit with which they welcomed me. The departments of +chemistry and engineering were about the only ones which, at that +time, had any distinct organization. As a student of mathematics +it could hardly be said that anything was required of me either in +the way of attendance on lectures or examinations until I came up +for the degree of Bachelor of Science. I was supposed, however, +to pursue my studies under the direction of Professor Peirce. + +So slight a connection with the university does not warrant me in +assuming an authoritative position as an observer of its men or +its workings. Yet there are many features associated with it which +I have not seen in print, which have probably disappeared with the +progress of the age, and to which, therefore, allusion may be made. +One, as it presents itself to my memory, is the great variety and +picturesqueness of character which the university then presented. +I would like to know whether the changes in men which one fancies he +sees during his passage from youth to age are real, or only relative +to his point of view. If my impressions are correct, our educational +planing mill cuts down all the knots of genius, and reduces the best +of the men who go through it to much the same standard. Does not the +Harvard professor of to-day always dine in a dress coat? Is he not +free from every eccentricity? Do the students ever call him "Benny" +or "Tobie"? Is any "Old Soph" [3] now ambulant on the college green? +Is not the administration of the library a combination of liberality +and correctness? Is such a librarian as John Langdon Sibley possible? + +Mr. Sibley, under a rough exterior, was one of the best-hearted and +most admirable of men, with whom I ultimately formed an intimate +friendship. But our first acquaintance was of a very unfavorable +kind. It came about in this way: not many days after being taken +into the Nautical Almanac Office I wanted a book from the university +library, and asked a not over-bright old gentleman in the office +what formalities were necessary in order to borrow it. + +"Just go over and tell them you want it for the Nautical Almanac." + +"But they don't know me at the library, and surely will not give +a book to any stray caller because he says he wants it for the +Nautical Almanac." + +"You have only to say 'Nautical Almanac' and you will get the book." + +I argued the matter as stoutly as courtesy admitted, but at length, +concluding that I was new to the rules and regulations of the place, +accepted the supposedly superior knowledge of my informer and went +over to the library with a due measure of assurance. The first +attendant whom I addressed referred me to the assistant librarian, +and he again to the librarian. After these formalities, conducted +with impressive gravity, my assurance wilted when I was ushered into +the august presence of the chief librarian. + +As the mental picture of the ensuing scene has shaped itself through +more than forty years it shows a personage of imposing presence, +gigantic features, and forbidding countenance, standing on a dais +behind a desk, expounding the law governing the borrowing of books +from the library of Harvard College to an abashed youth standing +before him. I left without the book, but with a valuable addition +to my knowledge of library management. We both remembered this +interview, and exchanged impressions about it long years after. + +"I thought you the most crusty and disobliging old man I had ever +seen." + +"And I thought _you_ the most presumptuous youth that had ever +appeared in the library." + +One of Mr. Sibley's professional doctrines was that at least one copy +of everything printed was worth preserving. I strove to refute him, +but long failed. Half in derision, I offered the library the stub +of my wash-book. Instead of throwing it into the wastebasket he +kept it, with the remark that the wash-book of a nineteenth century +student would at some future time be of interest to the antiquarian. +In due time I received a finely engraved acknowledgment of the gift. +But I forced him from his position at last. He had to admit that +copies of the theatre posters need not all be preserved. It would +suffice to keep a few specimens. + +Professor Peirce was much more than a mathematician. Like many men +of the time, he was a warm lover and a cordial hater. It could not +always be guessed which side of a disputed question he would take; +but one might be fairly sure that he would be at one extreme or +the other. As a speaker and lecturer he was very pleasing, neither +impressive nor eloquent, and yet interesting from his earnestness +and vivacity. For this reason it is said that he was once chosen +to enforce the views of the university professors at a town meeting, +where some subject of interest to them was coming up for discussion. +Several of the professors attended the meeting, and Peirce made +his speech. Then a townsman rose and took the opposite side, +expressing the hope that the meeting would not allow itself to be +dictated to by these nabobs of Harvard College. When he sat down, +Peirce remained in placid silence, making no reply. When the meeting +broke up, some one asked Peirce why he had not replied to the man. + +"Why! did you not hear what he called us? He said we were nabobs! +I so enjoyed sitting up there and seeing all that crowd look up to +me as a nabob that I could not say one word against the fellow." + +The first of the leading astronomers whose acquaintance I made +was Dr. Benjamin Apthorp Gould. Knowing his eminence, I was +quite surprised by his youthful vivacity. His history, had I time +to recount it, might be made to serve well the purpose of a grave +lesson upon the conditions required, even by the educated public, of +a scientific investigator, capable of doing the highest and best work +in his branch. The soul of generosity and the pink of honor, ever +ready to lend a hand to a struggling youth whom he found deserving +of help, enthusiastically devoted to his favorite science, pursuing +it in the most exalted spirit, animated by not a single mean motive, +it might have been supposed that all the facilities the world could +offer would have been open to him in his career. If such was not the +case to the extent one might have wished, I do not mean to intimate +that his life can be regarded as a failure. In whatever respect +the results may have fallen off from his high ideal, it is more to +be regretted on the score of science than on his own. + +Scorning pretense and charlatanry of all kinds, believing that +only the best were to be encouraged, he was far from being a man +of the people. Only a select few enjoyed his favor, but these few +well deserved it. That no others would have deserved it I should +be far from intimating. The undisguised way in which he expressed +his sentiments for any one, no matter how influential, who did not +come up to the high standard he set, was not adapted to secure the +favor even of the most educated community. Of worldly wisdom in +this matter he seemed, at least in his early days, to know nothing. + +He graduated at Harvard in 1845, in one of the very distinguished +classes. Being fond of astronomy, he was struck with the backward +condition of that science in our country. He resolved to devote his +life to building up the science in America. He went to Germany, +then the only country in which astronomy was pursued in its most +advanced form, studied under Gauss and Argelander, and took his +degree at Goettingen in 1848. Soon after his return he founded the +"Astronomical Journal," and also took a position as Chief of the +Longitude Department in the Coast Survey. + +The great misfortune of his life, and temporarily at least, a severe +blow to American astronomy, were associated with his directorship of +the Dudley Observatory at Albany. This institution was founded by +the munificence of a wealthy widow of Albany. The men to whom she +intrusted the administration of her gift were among the most prominent +and highly respected citizens of the place. The trustees went wisely +to work. They began by forming an advisory scientific council, +consisting of Bache, Henry, and Peirce. Under the direction of this +council the observatory was built and equipped with instruments. +When ready for active work in 1857, Gould moved thither and took +personal charge. Very soon rumors of dissension were heard. +The affair gradually grew into a contest between the director and +the trustees, exceeding in bitterness any I have ever known in the +world of learning or even of politics. It doubtless had its origin +in very small beginnings. The policy of the director recognized no +end but scientific efficiency. The trustees, as the responsible +administrators of the trust, felt that they had certain rights in +the matter, especially that of introducing visitors to inspect the +institution and look through the telescope. How fatal the granting +of such courtesies is to continuous work with an instrument only +astronomers know; and one of the most embarrassing difficulties the +director of such an institution meets with is to effect a prudent +compromise between the scientific efficiency of his institution and +the wishes of the public. But Gould knew no such word as compromise. +It was humiliating to one in the position of a trustee to send some +visitor with a permit to see the observatory, and have the visitor +return with the report that he had not been received with the most +distinguished courtesy, and, perhaps, had not seen the director at +all, but had only been informed by an assistant of the rules of the +place and the impossibility of securing admission. + +This spark was enough to kindle a fire. When the fire gathered +strength, the director, instead of yielding, called on the scientific +council for aid. It is quite likely that, had these wise and prudent +men been consulted at each step, and their advice been followed, he +would have emphasized his protest by resigning. But before they were +called in, the affair had gone so far that, believing the director +to be technically right in the ground he had taken and the work he +had done, the council felt bound to defend him. The result was a +war in which the shots were pamphlets containing charges, defenses, +and rejoinders. The animosity excited may be shown by the fact +that the attacks were not confined to Gould and his administration, +but extended to every institution with which he and the president of +the council were supposed to be connected. Bache's administration of +the Coast Survey was held up to scorn and ridicule. It was supposed +that Gould, as a Cambridge astronomer, was, as a matter of course, +connected with the Nautical Almanac Office, and paid a high salary. +This being assumed, the office was included in the scope of attack, +and with such success that the item for its support for the year 1859, +on motion of Mr. Dawes, was stricken out of the naval bill. How far +the fire spread may be judged by the fact that a whole edition of the +"Astronomical Journal," supposed to have some mention of the affair +in the same cover, was duly sent off from the observatory, but never +reached its destination through the mails. Gould knew nothing of +this fact until, some weeks later, I expressed my surprise to him +at not receiving No. 121. How or by whom it was intercepted, I do +not know that he ever seriously attempted to inquire. The outcome +of the matter was that the trustees asserted their right by taking +forcible possession of the observatory. + +During my first year at Cambridge I made the acquaintance of a +senior in the college whose untimely death seven years later I have +never ceased to deplore. This was William P. G. Bartlett, son of a +highly esteemed Boston physician, Dr. George Bartlett. The latter +was a brother of Sidney Bartlett, long the leader of the Boston bar. +Bartlett was my junior in years, but his nature and the surrounding +circumstances were such that he exercised a powerful influence +upon me. His virile and aggressive honesty could not be exceeded. +His mathematical abilities were of a high order, and he had no +ambition except to become a mathematician. Had he entered public +life at Washington, and any one had told me that he was guilty of a +dishonest act, I should have replied, "You might as well tell me that +he picked up the Capitol last night and carried it off on his back." +The fact that one could say so much of any man, I have always looked +upon as illustrating one of the greatest advantages of having a youth +go through college. The really important results I should look for +are not culture or training alone, but include the acquaintance of +a body of men, many of whom are to take leading positions in the +world, of a completeness and intimacy that can never be acquired +under other circumstances. The student sees his fellow students +through and through as he can never see through a man in future years. + +It was, and I suppose still is, the custom for the members of a +graduating class at Harvard to add to their class biographies a +motto expressing their aspirations or views of life. Bartlett's was, +"I love mathematics and hate humbug." What the latter clause would +have led to in his case, had he gone out into the world, one can +hardly guess. + +"I have had a long talk with my Uncle Sidney," he said to me one day. +"He wants me to study law, maintaining that the wealth one can thereby +acquire, and the prominence he may assume, will give him a higher +position in society and public esteem than mere learning ever can. +But I told him that if I could stand high in the esteem of twenty such +men as Cayley, Sylvester, and Peirce, I cared nothing to be prominent +in the eyes of the rest of the world." Such an expression from an +eminent member of the Boston bar, himself a Harvard graduate, was the +first striking evidence I met with that my views of the exalted nature +of astronomical investigation were not shared by society at large. +One of the greatest advantages I enjoyed through Bartlett was an +intimate acquaintance with a cultured and refined Boston family. + +In 1858 Mr. Runkle founded the "Mathematical Monthly," having +secured, in advance, the cooperation of the leading professors +of the subject in the country. The journal was continued, under +many difficulties, for three years. As a vehicle for publishing +researches in advanced mathematics, it could not be of a high order, +owing to the necessity of a subscription list. Its design was +therefore to interest students and professors in the subject, and +thus prepare the way for the future growth of mathematical study +among us. Its principal feature was the offer of prize problems +to students as well as prizes for essays on mathematical subjects. +The first to win a prize for an essay was George W. Hill, a graduate +of Rutgers just out of college, who presented a memoir in which the +hand of the future master was evident throughout. + +In the general conduct of the journal Bartlett and myself, though not +ostensibly associate editors, were at least assistants. Simple though +the affair was, some of our experiences were of an interesting and, +perhaps, instructive nature. + +Soon after the first number appeared, a contribution was offered by +a professor in a distant State. An important part of the article +was found to be copied bodily from Walton's "Problems in Mechanics," +an English book which, it might be supposed, was not much known in +this country. Runkle did not want to run the risk of injuring his +subscription list by offending one occupying an influential position +if he could help it with honor to the journal. Of course it was not +a question of publishing the paper, but only of letting the author +know why he did not do so,--"letting him down easy." + +Bartlett's advice was characteristic. "Just write to the fellow +that we don't publish stolen articles. That's all you need say." + +I suggested that we might inflict on him all necessary humiliation +by letting him know in the gentlest manner possible that we saw +the fraud. Of course Runkle preferred this course, and wrote him, +calling his attention to a similarity between his treatment of +the subject and that of Walton, which materially detracted from the +novelty of the former. I think it was suggested that he get the book, +if possible, and assure himself on the subject. + +A vigorous answer came by return of mail. He was a possessor of +Walton's book, knew all about the similar treatment of the subject by +Walton, and did not see that that should be any bar to the publication +of the article. I think it was he who wound up his letter with the +statement that, while he admitted the right of the editor to publish +what he pleased, he, the writer, was too busy to spend his time in +writing rejected articles. + +An eminent would-be contributor was a prominent Pennsylvania +politician, who had read a long and elaborate article, before some +teachers' association, on an arithmetical problem about oxen eating +grass, the power to solve which was taken as the highest mark of +mathematical ability, among school teachers during the first half +of the century. The association referred the paper to the editor +of the "Mathematical Monthly," by whom it was, I believe, consigned +to the wastebasket. The result was a good deal of correspondence, +such a proceeding being rather humiliating to a man of eminence +who had addressed so distinguished an assembly. The outcome of the +matter was that the paper, which was much more in the nature of a +legal document than of a mathematical investigation, was greatly +reduced in length by its author, and then still further shorn by the +editor, until it would fill only two or three pages of the journal; +thus reduced, it was published. + +The time was not yet ripe for the growth of mathematical science +among us, and any development that might have taken place in that +direction was rudely stopped by the civil war. Perhaps this may +account for the curious fact that, so far as I have ever remarked, +none of the student contributors to the journal, Hill excepted, +has made himself known as a mathematical investigator. Not only +the state of mathematical learning, but the conditions of success +at that time in a mathematical text-book, are strikingly illustrated +by one of our experiences. + +One of the leading publishing houses of educational text-books in +the country issued a very complete and advanced series, from the +pen of a former teacher of the subject. They were being extensively +introduced, and were sent to the "Mathematical Monthly" for review. +They were distinguished by quite apt illustrations, well fitted, +perhaps, to start the poorly equipped student in the lower branches of +the work, but the advanced works, at least, were simply ridiculous. +A notice appeared in which the character of the books was pointed +out. The evidence of the worthlessness of the entire series was +so strong that the publishers had it entirely rewritten by more +competent authors. Now came the oddest part of the whole affair. +The new series was issued under the name of the same author as the +old one, just as if the acknowledgment of his total failure did not +detract from the value of his name as an author. + +In 1860 a total eclipse of the sun was visible in British America. +The shadow of the moon, starting from near Vancouver's Island, +crossed the continent in a northeast direction, passed through the +central part of the Hudson Bay region, crossed Hudson Bay itself and +Greenland, then inclining southward, swept over the Atlantic to Spain. +As this was the first eclipse of the kind which had recently been +visible, much interest was taken in its observation. On the part of +the Nautical Almanac Office I computed the path of the shadow and +the times of crossing certain points in it. The results were laid +down on a map which was published by the office. One party, fitted +out in connection with the American Association for the Advancement +of Science, was sent to Greenland. Admiral Davis desired to send +another, on behalf of his own office, into the central regions of +the continent. As members of this party Mr. Ferrel and myself were +chosen. At the request of Professor Agassiz one of the assistants in +the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Mr. Samuel H. Scudder, accompanied +us. More than twenty years later Mr. Scudder published a little book +describing some of our adventures, which was illustrated with sketches +showing the experiences of a party in the wild West at that time. + +Our course lay from St. Paul across Minnesota to the Red River of +the North, thence north to Fort Garry near the southern end of Lake +Winnipeg, then over the lake and some distance up the Saskatchewan +River. At St. Paul we paid our respects to Governor Ramsey, afterward +Senator from Minnesota and Secretary of War. We were much surprised +at the extraordinary deference paid by the community to a Mr. Burbank, +a leading citizen of the town, and owner of the stages which we had +to engage for our journey across the country. He seemed to be a man +whom every one was afraid to offend. Even the local newspapers were +careful what they printed about matters in which he was interested. + +The two or three days which we passed in getting things ready +to start were rather dull. The morning after our arrival I saw, +during a morning walk, on a hill just outside the town, a large new +building, on which the word "Athenaeum" was conspicuously shown. +The Boston Athenaeum had a very fine library; is it not possible +that this may have a beginning of something of the same sort? +Animated by this hope, I went up the hill and entered the building, +which seemed to be entirely vacant. The first words that met my +eyes were "Bar Room" painted over a door. It was simply a theatre, +and I left it much disappointed. + +Here we were joined by a young Methodist clergyman,--Edward +Eggleston,--and the four of us, with our instruments and appliances, +set out on our journey of five days over the plains. On the +first day we followed partly the line of a projected railway, of +which the embankments had been completed, but on which work had, +for some reason, been stopped to await a more prosperous season. +Here was our first experience of towns on paper. From the tone in +which the drivers talked of the places where we were to stop over +night one might have supposed that villages, if not cities, were +plentiful along our track. One example of a town at that time will +be enough. The principal place on our route, judging from the talk, +was Breckenridge. We would reach it at the end of the fourth day, +where we anticipated a pleasant change after camping out in our tent +for three nights. It was after dark before we arrived, and we looked +eagerly for signs of the town we were approaching. + +The team at length stopped in front of an object which, on careful +examination in the darkness, appeared to be the most primitive +structure imaginable. It had no foundations, and if it had a +wall at all, it was not more than two or three feet in height. +Imagine the roof taken off a house forty feet long and twenty feet +wide and laid down on the ground, and you have the hotel and only +building, unless perhaps a stable, in Breckenridge at that time. +The entrance was at one end. Going in, a chimney was seen in the +middle of the building. The floor was little more than the bare +ground. On each side of the door, by the flickering light of a fire, +we saw what looked like two immense boxes. A second glance showed +that these boxes seemed to be filled with human heads and legs. +They were, in fact, the beds of the inhabitants of Breckenridge. +Beds for the arriving travelers, if they existed at all, which I do +not distinctly remember, were in the back of the house. I think the +other members of the party occupied that portion. I simply spread +my blanket out on the hearth in front of the fire, wrapped up, +and slept as soundly as if the bed was the softest of a regal palace. + +At Fort Garry we were received by Governor McTavish, with whom Captain +Davis had had some correspondence on the subject of our expedition, +and who gave us letters to the "factors" of the Hudson Bay Company +scattered along our route. We found that the rest of our journey +would have to be made in a birch bark canoe. One of the finest craft +of this class was loaned us by the governor. It had been, at some +former time, the special yacht of himself or some visiting notable. +It was manned by eight half-breeds, men whose physical endurance I +have never seen equaled. + +It took three or four days to get everything ready, and this interval +was, of course, utilized by Scudder in making his collections. +He let the fishermen of the region know that he wanted specimens of +every kind of fish that could be found in the lake. A very small +reward stirred them into activity, and, in due time, the fish were +brought to the naturalist,--but lo! all nicely dressed and fit for +cooking. They were much surprised when told that all their pains in +dressing their catch had spoiled it for the purposes of the visiting +naturalist, who wanted everything just as it was taken from the water. + +Slow indeed was progress through the lake. A canoe can be paddled +only in almost smooth water, and we were frequently stormbound on some +desolate island or point of land for two or three days at a time. +When, after many adventures, some of which looked like hairbreadth +escapes, we reached the Saskatchewan River, the eclipse was only three +or four days ahead, and it became doubtful whether we should reach +our station in time for the observation. It was to come off on the +morning of July 18, and, by dint of paddling for twenty-four hours +at a stretch, our men brought us to the place on the evening before. + +Now a new difficulty occurred. In the wet season the Saskatchewan +inundates the low flat region through which it flows, much like +the Nile. The country was practically under water. We found the +most elevated spot we could, took out our instruments, mounted +them on boxes or anything else in the shallow puddles of water, and +slept in the canoe. Next morning the weather was hopelessly cloudy. +We saw the darkness of the eclipse and nothing more. + +Astronomers are greatly disappointed when, having traveled halfway +around the world to see an eclipse, clouds prevent a sight of it; +and yet a sense of relief accompanies the disappointment. You are +not responsible for the mishap; perhaps something would have broken +down when you were making your observations, so that they would +have failed in the best of weather; but now you are relieved from +all responsibility. It was much easier to go back and tell of +the clouds than it would have been to say that the telescope got +disarranged at the critical moment so that the observations failed. + +On our return across Minnesota we had an experience which I have +always remembered as illustrative of the fallacy of all human +testimony about ghosts, rappings, and other phenomena of that +character. We spent two nights and a day at Fort Snelling. Some of +the officers were greatly surprised by a celestial phenomenon of a +very extraordinary character which had been observed for several +nights past. A star had been seen, night after night, rising in +the east as usual, and starting on its course toward the south. +But instead of continuing that course across the meridian, as stars +invariably had done from the remotest antiquity, it took a turn +toward the north, sunk toward the horizon, and finally set near the +north point of the horizon. Of course an explanation was wanted. +My assurance that there must be some mistake in the observation could +not be accepted, because this erratic course of the heavenly body +had been seen by all of them so plainly that no doubt could exist on +the subject. The men who saw it were not of the ordinary untrained +kind, but graduates of West Point, who, if any one, ought to be free +from optical deceptions. I was confidently invited to look out that +night and see for myself. We all watched with the greatest interest. + +In due time the planet Mars was seen in the east making its way +toward the south. "There it is!" was the exclamation. + +"Yes, there it is," said I. "Now that planet is going to keep right +on its course toward the south." + +"No, it is not," said they; "you will see it turn around and go down +towards the north." + +Hour after hour passed, and as the planet went on its regular course, +the other watchers began to get a little nervous. It showed no +signs of deviating from its course. We went out from time to time +to look at the sky. + +"There it is," said one of the observers at length, pointing to +Capella, which was now just rising a little to the east of north; +"there is the star setting." + +"No, it is n't," said I; "there is the star we have been looking at, +now quite inconspicuous near the meridian, and that star which you +think is setting is really rising and will soon be higher up." + +A very little additional watching showed that no deviation of the +general laws of Nature had occurred, but that the observers of +previous nights had jumped at the conclusion that two objects, +widely apart in the heavens, were the same. + +I passed more than four years in such life, surroundings, and +activities as I have described. In 1858 I received the degree of +D. S. from the Lawrence Scientific School, and thereafter remained +on the rolls of the university as a resident graduate. Life in the +new atmosphere was in such pleasant and striking contrast to that +of my former world that I intensely enjoyed it. I had no very well +marked object in view beyond continuing studies and researches in +mathematical astronomy. Not long after my arrival in Cambridge some +one, in speaking of Professor Peirce, remarked to me that he had a +European reputation as a mathematician. It seemed to me that this +was one of the most exalted positions that a man could attain, and I +intensely longed for it. Yet there was no hurry. Reputation would +come to him who deserved it by his works; works of the first class +were the result of careful thought and study, and not of hurry. +A suggestion had been made to me looking toward a professorship in +some Western college, but after due consideration, I declined to +consider the matter. Yet the necessity of being on the alert for +some opening must have seemed quite strong, because in 1860 I became +a serious candidate for the professorship of physics in the newly +founded Washington University at St. Louis. I was invited to visit +the university, and did so on my way to observe the eclipse of 1860. +My competitor was Lieutenant J. M. Schofield of the United States +Army, then an instructor at West Point. It will not surprise the +reader to know that the man who was afterward to command the army +of the United States received the preference, so I patiently waited +more than another year. + +[1] Henry Holt & Co.: New York, 1877. + +[2] _Wayside Sketches_, by E. J. Loomis. Roberts: Boston + +[3] Evangelinus Apostolides Sophocles, a native Greek and a learned +professor of the literature of his country. + + + + +IV + +LIFE AND WORK AT AN OBSERVATORY + + +In August, 1861, while I was passing my vacation on Cape Ann, +I received a letter from Dr. Gould, then in Washington, informing +me that a vacancy was to be filled in the corps of professors of +mathematics attached to the Naval Observatory, and suggesting that +I might like the place. I was at first indisposed to consider +the proposition. Cambridge was to me the focus of the science +and learning of our country. I feared that, so far as the world +of learning was concerned, I should be burying myself by moving +to Washington. The drudgery of night work at the observatory would +also interfere with carrying on any regular investigation. But, on +second thought, having nothing in view at the time, and the position +being one from which I could escape should it prove uncongenial, +I decided to try, and indited the following letter:-- + + Nautical Almanac Office, + Cambridge, Mass., August 22, 1861. + + Sir,--I have the honor to apply to you for my appointment + to the office of Professor of Mathematics in the United + States Navy. I would respectfully refer you to Commander + Charles Henry Davis, U. S. N., Professor Benjamin Peirce, + of Harvard University, Dr. Benjamin A. Gould, of Cambridge, + and Professor Joseph Henry, Secretary of the Smithsonian + Institution, for any information respecting me which will + enable you to judge of the propriety of my appointment. + + With high respect, + Your obedient servant, + Simon Newcomb, + Assistant, Nautical Almanac. + + Hon. Gideon Welles, + Secretary of the Navy, + Washington, D. C. + +I also wrote to Captain Davis, who was then on duty in the Navy +Department, telling him what I had done, but made no further effort. +Great was my surprise when, a month later, I found in the post-office, +without the slightest premonition, a very large official envelope, +containing my commission duly signed by Abraham Lincoln, President +of the United States. The confidence in the valor, abilities, etc., +of the appointee, expressed in the commission, was very assuring. +Accompanying it was a letter from the Secretary of the Navy +directing me to report to the Bureau of Ordnance and Hydrography, +in Washington, for such duty as it might assign me. I arrived on +October 6, and immediately called on Professor J. S. Hubbard, who was +the leading astronomer of the observatory. On the day following I +reported as directed, and was sent to Captain Gilliss, the recently +appointed Superintendent of the Naval Observatory, before whom I +stood with much trepidation. In reply to his questions I had to +confess my entire inexperience in observatory work or the making +of astronomical observations. A coast survey observer had once +let me look through his transit instrument and try to observe the +passage of a star. On the eclipse expedition mentioned in the last +chapter I had used a sextant. This was about all the experience +in practical astronomy which I could claim. In fact I had never +been inside of an observatory, except on two or three occasions at +Cambridge as a visitor. The captain reassured me by saying that +no great experience was expected of a newcomer, and told me that I +should go to work on the transit instrument under Professor Yarnall, +to whose care I was then confided. + +As the existence of a corps of professors of mathematics is peculiar +to our navy, as well as an apparent, perhaps a real, anomaly, +some account of it may be of interest. Early in the century--one +hardly knows when the practice began--the Secretary of the Navy, +in virtue of his general powers, used to appoint men as professors +of mathematics in the navy, to go to sea and teach the midshipmen +the art of navigation. In 1844, when work at the observatory was +about to begin, no provision for astronomers was made by Congress. +The most convenient way of supplying this want was to have the +Secretary appoint professors of mathematics, and send them to the +observatory on duty. + +A few years later the Naval Academy was founded at Annapolis, and a +similar course was pursued to provide it with a corps of instructors. +Up to this time the professors had no form of appointment except +a warrant from the Secretary of the Navy. Early in the history of +the academy the midshipmen burned a professor in effigy. They were +brought before a court-martial on the charge of disrespect to a +superior officer, but pleaded that the professor, not holding a +commission, was not their superior officer, and on this plea were +acquitted. Congress thereupon took the matter up, provided that +the number of professors should not exceed twelve, and that they +should be commissioned by the President by and with the advice +and consent of the Senate. This raised their rank to that of a +commissioned corps in the navy. They were to perform such duty as +the Secretary of the Navy might direct, and were, for the most part, +divided between the Naval Academy and the Observatory. + +During the civil war some complaint was made that the midshipmen +coming from the academy were not well trained in the duties of a +seagoing officer; and it was supposed that this was due to too much +of their time being given to scientific studies. This was attributed +to the professors, with the result that nearly all those attached to +the academy were detached during the four years following the close +of the civil war and ordered elsewhere, mostly to the observatory. +Their places were taken by line officers who, in the intervals between +their turns of sea duty, were made heads of departments and teachers +of the midshipmen in nearly every branch. + +This state of things led to the enactment of a law (in 1869, I think), +"that hereafter no vacancy in the grade of professors of mathematics +in the navy shall be filled." + +In 1873 this provision was annulled by a law, again providing +for a corps of twelve professors, three of whom should have the +relative rank of captain, four of commander, and the remainder of +lieutenant-commander or lieutenant. + +Up to 1878 the Secretary of the Navy was placed under no restrictions +as to his choice of a professor. He could appoint any citizen whom +he supposed to possess the necessary qualifications. Then it was +enacted that, before appointment, a candidate should pass a medical +and a professional examination. + +I have said that the main cause of hesitation in making my +application arose from my aversion to very late night work. It soon +became evident that there was less ground than I had supposed for +apprehension on this point. There was a free and easy way of carrying +on work which was surprising to one who had supposed it all arranged +on strict plans, and done according to rule and discipline. Professor +Yarnall, whose assistant I was, was an extremely pleasant gentleman +to be associated with. Although one of the most industrious workers +at the observatory, there was nothing of the martinet about him. +He showed me how to handle the instrument and record my observations. +There was a Nautical Almanac and a Catalogue of Stars. Out of these +each of us could select what he thought best to observe. + +The custom was that one of us should come on every clear evening, +make observations as long as he chose, and then go home. The transit +instrument was at one end of the building and the mural circle, in +charge of Professor Hubbard, at the other. He was weak in health, +and unable to do much continuous work of any kind, especially the +hard work of observing. He and I arranged to observe on the same +nights; but I soon found that there was no concerted plan between +the two sets of observers. The instruments were old-fashioned +ones, of which mine could determine only the right ascension of a +star and his only its declination; hence to completely determine +the position of a celestial body, observations must be made on the +same object with both instruments. But I soon found that there was +no concert of action of this kind. Hubbard, on the mural circle, +had his plan of work; Yarnall and myself, on the transit, had ours. +When either Hubbard or myself got tired, we could "vote it cloudy" +and go out for a plate of oysters at a neighboring restaurant. + +In justice to Captain Gilliss it must be said that he was not in +any way responsible for this lack of system. It grew out of the +origin and history of the establishment and the inaction of Congress. +The desirableness of our having a national observatory of the same +rank as those of other countries was pointed out from time to time by +eminent statesmen from the first quarter of the century. John Quincy +Adams had, both while he filled the presidential office and afterward, +made active efforts in this direction; but there were grave doubts +whether Congress had any constitutional authority to erect such an +institution, and the project got mixed up with parties and politics. +So strong was the feeling on the subject that, when the Coast Survey +was organized, it was expressly provided that it should not establish +an astronomical observatory. + +The outcome of the matter was that, in 1842, when Congress at length +decided that we should have our national observatory, it was not +called such, but was designated as a "house" to serve as a depot +for charts and instruments for the navy. But every one knew that +an observatory was meant. Gilliss was charged with its erection, +and paid a visit to Europe to consult with astronomers there on +its design, and to order the necessary instruments. When he got +through with this work and reported it as completed he was relieved, +and Lieutenant Matthew F. Maury was appointed superintendent of the +new institution. + +Maury, although (as he wrote a few years later) quite without +experience in the use of astronomical instruments, went at his work +with great energy and efficiency, so that, for two or three years, +the institution bade fair to take a high place in science. Then he +branched off into what was, from a practical standpoint, the vastly +more important work of studying the winds and currents of the ocean. +The epoch-making character of his investigations in this line, +and their importance to navigation when ships depended on sails for +their motive power, were soon acknowledged by all maritime nations, +and the fame which he acquired in pursuing them added greatly to +the standing of the institution at which the work was done, though +in reality an astronomical outfit was in no way necessary to it. +The new work was so absorbing that he seemed to have lost interest +in the astronomical side of the establishment, which he left to his +assistants. The results were that on this side things fell into the +condition I have described, and stayed there until Maury resigned his +commission and cast his fortunes with the Confederacy. Then Gilliss +took charge and had to see what could be done under the circumstances. + +It soon became evident to him that no system of work of the first +order of importance could be initiated until the instrumental +equipment was greatly improved. The clocks, perfection in +which is almost at the bottom of good work, were quite unfit +for use. The astronomical clock with which Yarnall and I made +our observations kept worse time than a high-class pocket watch +does to-day. The instruments were antiquated and defective in +several particulars. Before real work could be commenced new ones +must be procured. But the civil war was in progress, and the times +were not favorable to immediately securing them. That the work of +the observatory was kept up was due to a feeling of pride on the +part of our authorities in continuing it without interruption through +the conflict. The personnel was as insufficient as the instruments. +On it devolved not only the making of the astronomical observations, +but the issue of charts and chronometers to the temporarily immense +navy. In fact the observatory was still a depot of charts for the +naval service, and continued to be such until the Hydrographic Office +was established in 1866. + +In 1863 Gilliss obtained authority to have the most pressing wants +supplied by the construction of a great transit circle by Pistor and +Martins in Berlin. He had a comprehensive plan of work with this +instrument when it should arrive, but deferred putting any such plan +in operation until its actual reception. + +Somehow the work of editing, explaining, and preparing for the +press the new series of observations made by Yarnall and myself with +our old transit instrument devolved on me. To do this in the most +satisfactory way, it was necessary to make a careful study of the +methods and system at the leading observatories of other countries +in the line we were pursuing, especially Greenwich. Here I was +struck by the superiority of their system to ours. Everything was +there done on an exact and uniform plan, and one which seemed to +me better adapted to get the best results than ours was. For the +non-astronomical reader it may be remarked that after an astronomer +has made and recorded his observations, a large amount of calculation +is necessary to obtain the result to which they lead. Making such +calculations is called "reducing" the observations. Now in the +previous history of the observatory, the astronomers fell into the +habit of every one not only making his observations in his own way, +but reducing them for himself. Thus it happened that Yarnall had +been making and reducing his observations in his own way, and I, +on alternate nights, had been making and reducing mine in my way, +which was modeled after the Greenwich fashion, and therefore quite +different from his. Now I suddenly found myself face to face with +the problem of putting these two heterogeneous things together so +as to make them look like a homogeneous whole. I was extremely +mortified to see how poor a showing would be made in the eyes of +foreign astronomers. But I could do nothing more than to describe +the work and methods in such a way as to keep in the background the +want of system that characterized them. + +Notwithstanding all these drawbacks of the present, the prospect +of future success seemed brilliant. Gilliss had the unlimited +confidence of the Secretary of the Navy, had a family very popular +in Washington society, was enthusiastically devoted to building +up the work of the observatory, and was drawing around him the +best young men that could be found to do that work. He made it a +point that his relations with his scientific subordinates should +be not only official, but of the most friendly social character. +All were constantly invited to his charming family circle. It was +from the occasional talks thus arising that I learned the details +of his plan of work with the coming instrument. + +In 1862 Gilliss had the working force increased by the appointment of +four "aides," as they were then called,--a number that was afterwards +reduced to three. This was the beginning of the corps of three +assistant astronomers, which is still maintained. It will be of +interest to know that the first aide was Asaph Hall; but before his +appointment was made, an impediment, which for a time looked serious, +had to be overcome. Gilliss desired that the aide should hold a +good social and family position. The salary being only $1000, this +required that he should not be married. Hall being married, with +a growing family, his appointment was long objected to, and it was +only through much persuasion on the part of Hubbard and myself that +Gilliss was at length induced to withdraw his objections. Among other +early appointees were William Harkness and John A. Eastman, whose +subsequent careers in connection with the observatory are well known. + +The death of Professor Hubbard in 1863 led to my taking his place, +in charge of the mural circle, early in September of that year. +This gave me an opportunity of attempting a little improvement +in the arrangements. I soon became conscious of the fact, which +no one had previously taken much account of, that upon the plan of +each man reducing his own observations, not only was there an entire +lack of homogeneity in the work, but the more work one did at night +the more he had to do by day. It was with some trepidation that I +presented the case to Gilliss, who speedily saw that work done with +the instruments should be regarded as that of the observatory, and +reduced on a uniform plan, instead of being considered as the property +of the individual who happened to make it. Thus was introduced the +first step toward a proper official system. + +In February, 1865, the observatory sustained the greatest loss +it had ever suffered, in the sudden death of its superintendent. +What it would have grown to had he lived it is useless to guess, +but there is little doubt that its history would have been quite +different from what it is. + +Soon afterward Admiral Davis left his position as Chief of the +Bureau of Navigation to take the subordinate one of Superintendent +of the Observatory. This step was very gratifying to me, Davis had +not only a great interest in scientific work, especially astronomy, +but a genuine admiration of scientific men which I have never seen +exceeded, accompanied with a corresponding love of association with +them and their work. + +In October, 1865, occurred what was, in my eyes, the greatest event +in the history of the observatory. The new transit circle arrived +from Berlin in its boxes. Now for the first time in its history, the +observatory would have a meridian instrument worthy of it, and would, +it was hoped, be able to do the finest work in at least one branch +of astronomy. To my great delight, Davis placed me in charge of it. +The last three months of the year were taken up with mounting it +in position and making those investigations of its peculiarities +which are necessary before an instrument of the kind is put into +regular use. On the 1st day of January, 1866, this was all done, +and we were ready to begin operations. An opportunity thus arose +of seeing what we could do in the way of a regular and well-planned +piece of work. In the greater clearness of our sky, and the more +southern latitude of our observatory, we had two great advantages +over Greenwich. Looking back at his first two or three years of +work at the observatory, Maury wrote to a friend, "We have beaten +Greenwich hollow." It may be that I felt like trying to do the +same thing over again. At any rate, I mapped out a plan of work +the execution of which would require four years. + +It was a piece of what, in astronomy, is called "fundamental work," +in which results are to be obtained independent of any previously +obtained by other observers. It had become evident to me from our +own observations, as well as from a study of those made at European +observatories, that an error in the right ascension of stars, so +that stars in opposite quarters of the heavens would not agree, might +very possibly have crept into nearly all the modern observations at +Greenwich, Paris, and Washington. The determination of this error +was no easy matter. It was necessary that, whenever possible, +observations should be continued through the greater part of the +twenty-four hours. One observer must be at work with comparative +steadiness from nine o'clock in the morning until midnight or even +dawn of the morning following. This requirement was, however, less +exacting than might appear when stated. One half the nights would, +as a general rule, be cloudy, and an observer was not expected to +work on Sunday. Hence no one of the four observers would probably +have to do such a day's work as this more than thirty or forty times +in a year. + +All this was hard work enough in itself, but conditions existed which +made it yet harder. No houses were then provided for astronomers, +and the observatory itself was situated in one of the most unhealthy +parts of the city. On two sides it was bounded by the Potomac, then +pregnant with malaria, and on the other two, for nearly half a mile, +was found little but frame buildings filled with quartermaster's +stores, with here and there a few negro huts. Most of the observers +lived a mile or more from the observatory; during most of the time I +was two miles away. It was not considered safe to take even an hour's +sleep at the observatory. The result was that, if it happened to +clear off after a cloudy evening, I frequently arose from my bed +at any hour of the night or morning and walked two miles to the +observatory to make some observation included in the programme. + +This was certainly a new departure from the free and easy way in which +we had been proceeding, and it was one which might be unwelcome to +any but a zealous astronomer. As I should get the lion's share of +credit for its results, whether I wanted to or not, my interest in the +work was natural. But it was unreasonable to expect my assistants, +one or two of whom had been raised to the rank of professor, to feel +the same interest, and it is very creditable to their zeal that we +pursued it for some time as well as we did. If there was any serious +dissatisfaction with the duty, I was not informed of that fact. + +During the second year of this work Admiral Davis was detached and +ordered to sea. The question of a successor interested many besides +ourselves. Secretary Welles considered the question what policy +should be pursued in the appointment. Professor Henry took part in +the matter by writing the secretary a letter, in which he urged the +appointment of an astronomer as head of the institution. His position +prevented his supporting any particular candidate; so he submitted +a list of four names, any one of which would be satisfactory. +These were: Professor William Chauvenet, Dr. B. A. Gould, Professor +J. H. C. Coffin, U. S. N., and Mr. James Ferguson. The latter held +a civil position at the observatory, under the title of "assistant +astronomer," and was at the time the longest in service of any of +its force. + +A different view was urged upon the secretary in terms substantially +these: "Professors so able as those of the observatory require no +one to direct their work. All that the observatory really needs +is an administrative head who shall preserve order, look after +its business generally, and see that everything goes smoothly." +Such a head the navy can easily supply. + +The secretary allowed it to be given out that he would be glad to +hear from the professors upon the subject. I thereupon went to +him and expressed my preference for Professor Coffin. He asked me, +"How would it do to have a purely administrative head?" + +I replied that we might get along for a time if he did not interfere +with our work. + +"No," said the secretary, "he shall not interfere. That shall +be understood." + +As I left him there was, to my inexperienced mind, something very +odd in this function, or absence of function, of the head of an +establishment; but of course I had to bow to superior wisdom and +could say nothing. + +The policy of Commodore (afterward Rear-Admiral) Sands, the incoming +superintendent, toward the professors was liberal in the last degree. +Each was to receive due credit for what he did, and was in every way +stimulated to do his best at any piece of scientific work he might +undertake with the approval of the superintendent. Whether he wanted +to observe an eclipse, determine the longitude of a town or interior +station, or undertake some abstruse investigation, every facility +for doing it and every encouragement to go on with it was granted him. + +Under this policy the observatory soon reached the zenith of +its fame and popularity. Whenever a total eclipse of the sun was +visible in an accessible region parties were sent out to observe it. +In 1869 three professors, I being one, were sent to Des Moines, +Iowa, to observe the solar eclipse which passed across the country +in June of that year. As a part of this work, I prepared and the +observatory issued a detailed set of instructions to observers in +towns at each edge of the shadow-path to note the short duration of +totality. The object was to determine the exact point to which the +shadow extended. At this same eclipse Professor Harkness shared with +Professor Young of Princeton the honor of discovering the brightest +line in the spectrum of the sun's corona. The year following parties +were sent to the Mediterranean to observe an eclipse which occurred +in December, 1870. I went to Gibraltar, although the observation of +the eclipse was to me only a minor object. Some incidents connected +with this European trip will be described in a subsequent chapter. + +The reports of the eclipse parties not only described the scientific +observations in great detail, but also the travels and experiences, +and were sometimes marked by a piquancy not common in official +documents. These reports, others pertaining to longitude, and +investigations of various kinds were published in full and distributed +with great liberality. All this activity grew out of the stimulating +power and careful attention to business of the head of the observatory +and the ability of the young professors of his staff. It was very +pleasant to the latter to wear the brilliant uniform of their rank, +enjoy the protection of the Navy Department, and be looked upon, +one and all, as able official astronomers. The voice of one of our +scientific men who returned from a visit abroad declaring that one +of our eclipse reports was the laughing-stock of Europe was drowned +in the general applause. + +In the latter part of 1869 I had carried forward the work with +the transit circle as far as it could be profitably pursued under +existing conditions. On working up my observations, the error which +I had suspected in the adopted positions of the stars was proved +to be real. But the discovery of this error was due more to the +system of observation, especially the pursuit of the latter through +the day and night, than it was to any excellence of the instrument. +The latter proved to have serious defects which were exaggerated by +the unstable character of the clayey soil of the hill on which the +observatory was situated. Other defects also existed, which seemed +to preclude the likelihood that the future work of the instrument +would be of a high class. I had also found that very difficult +mathematical investigations were urgently needed to unravel one +of the greatest mysteries of astronomy, that of the moon's motion. +This was a much more important work than making observations, and +I wished to try my hand at it. So in the autumn I made a formal +application to the Secretary of the Navy to be transferred from +the observatory to the Nautical Almanac Office for the purpose of +engaging in researches on the motion of the moon. On handing this +application to the superintendent he suggested that the work in +question might just as well be done at the observatory. I replied +that I thought that the business of the observatory was to make and +reduce astronomical observations with its instruments, and that the +making of investigations of the kind I had in view had always been +considered to belong to the Nautical Almanac Office. He replied that +he deemed it equally appropriate for the observatory to undertake it. +As my objection was founded altogether on a principle which he +refused to accept, and as by doing the work at the observatory +I should have ready access to its library, I consented to the +arrangement he proposed. Accordingly, in forwarding my application, +he asked that my order should be so worded as not to detach me from +the observatory, but to add the duty I asked for to that which I +was already performing. + +So far as I was personally concerned, this change was fortunate +rather than otherwise. As things go in Washington, the man who +does his work in a fine public building can gain consideration for +it much more readily than if he does it in a hired office like that +which the "Nautical Almanac" then occupied. My continued presence +on the observatory staff led to my taking part in two of the great +movements of the next ten years, the construction and inauguration +of the great telescope and the observations of the transit of Venus. +But for the time being my connection with the regular work of the +observatory ceased. + +On the retirement of Admiral Sands in 1874, Admiral Davis returned +to the observatory, and continued in charge until his death in +February, 1877. The principal event of this second administration +was the dispatch of parties to observe the transit of Venus. Of this +I shall speak in full in a subsequent chapter. + +One incident, although of no public importance, was of some interest +at the time. This was a visit of the only emperor who, I believe, +had ever set foot on our shores,--Dom Pedro of Brazil. He had +chosen the occasion of our Centennial for a visit to this country, +and excited great interest during his stay, not only by throwing +off all imperial reserve during his travels, but by the curiosity +and vigor with which he went from place to place examining and +studying everything he could find, and by the singular extent of +his knowledge on almost every subject of a scientific or technical +character. A Philadelphia engineer with whom he talked was quoted +as saying that his knowledge of engineering was not merely of the +ordinary kind to be expected in an intelligent man, but extended +to the minutest details and latest improvements in the building of +bridges, which was the specialty of the engineer in question. + +Almost as soon as he arrived in Washington I received the following +letter by a messenger from the Arlington Hotel:-- + + Mr.: + En arrivant a Washington j'ai tout-de-suite songe a votre + observatoire, ou vous avez acquis tant de droit a l'estime + de tout ceux qui achevent la science. Je m'y rendrai donc + aujourd'hui a 7 heures du soir, et je compte vous y trouver, + surtout pour vous remercier de votre beau memoire que j'ai + recu peu avant mon depart de mon pays, et que je n'ai pas + pu, par consequent, apprecier autant que je l'aurais voulu. + En me plaisant de l'espoir de vous connaitre personnellement + je vous prie de me compter parmi vos affectionnes. + D. Pedro D'Alcantara. + 7 Mai, 1876. + +Like other notes which I subsequently received from him, it was in +his own autograph throughout: if he brought any secretary with him +on his travels I never heard of it. + +The letter placed me in an embarrassing position, because its being +addressed to me was in contravention of all official propriety. +Of course I lost no time in calling on him and trying to explain the +situation. I told him that Admiral Davis, whom he well knew from +his being in command of the Brazilian station a few years before, +was the head of the observatory, and hinted as plainly as I could +that a notification of the coming of such a visitor as he should +be sent to the head of the institution. But he refused to take +the hint, and indicated that he expected me to arrange the whole +matter for him. This I did by going to the observatory and frankly +explaining the matter to Admiral Davis. Happily the latter was not +a stickler for official forms, and was cast in too large a mould to +take offense where none was intended. At his invitation I acted as +one of the receiving party. The carriage drove up at the appointed +hour, and its occupant was welcomed by the admiral at the door with +courtly dignity. The visitor had no time to spend in preliminaries; +he wished to look through the establishment immediately. + +The first object to meet his view was a large marble-cased clock +which, thirty years before, had acquired some celebrity from being +supposed to embody the first attempt to apply electricity to the +recording of astronomical observations. It was said to have cost +a large sum, paid partly as a reward to its inventor. Its only +drawbacks were that it would not keep time and had never, so far as +I am aware, served any purpose but that of an ornament. The first +surprise came when the visitor got down on his hands and knees in +front of the clock, reached his hands under it, and proceeded to +examine its supports. We all wondered what it could mean. When he +arose, it was explained. He did not see how a clock supported in this +way could keep the exact time necessary in the work of an astronomer. +So we had to tell him that the clock was not used for this purpose, +and that he must wait until we visited the observing rooms to see +our clocks properly supported. + +The only evidence of the imperial will came out when he reached the +great telescope. The moon, near first quarter, was then shining, +but the night was more than half cloudy, and there was no hope of +obtaining more than a chance glimpse at it through the clouds. +But he wished to see the moon through the telescope. I replied +that the sky was now covered, and it was very doubtful whether we +should get a view of the moon. But he required that the telescope +should be at once pointed at it. This was done, and at that moment a +clear space appeared between the clouds. I remarked upon the fact, +but he seemed to take it as a matter of course that the cloud would +get out of the way when he wanted to look. + +I made some remark about the "vernier" of one of the circles on +the telescope. + +"Why do you call it a vernier?" said he. "Its proper term is a +nonius, because Nonius was its inventor and Vernier took the idea +from him." + +In this the national spirit showed itself. Nonius, a Portuguese, +had invented something on a similar principle and yet essentially +different from the modern vernier, invented by a Frenchman of +that name. + +Accompanying the party was a little girl, ten or twelve years old, +who, though an interested spectator, modestly kept in the background +and said nothing. On her arrival home, however, she broke her +silence by running upstairs with the exclamation,-- + +"Oh, Mamma, he's the funniest emperor you ever did see!" + +My connection with the observatory ceased September 15, 1877, when +I was placed in charge of the Nautical Almanac Office. It may not, +however, be out of place to summarize the measures which have since +been taken both by the Navy Department and by eminent officers of +the service to place the work of the institution on a sound basis. +One great difficulty in doing this arises from the fact that neither +Congress nor the Navy Department has ever stated the object which +the government had in view in erecting the observatory, or assigned +to it any well-defined public functions. The superintendent and his +staff have therefore been left to solve the question what to do from +time to time as best they could. + +In the spring of 1877 Rear-Admiral John Rodgers became the +superintendent of the observatory. As a cool and determined fighter +during the civil war he was scarcely second even to Farragut, and he +was at the same time one of the ablest officers and most estimable +men that our navy ever included in its ranks. "I would rather be +John Rodgers dead than any other man I know living," was said by +one of the observatory assistants after his death. Not many months +after his accession he began to consider the question whether the wide +liberty which had been allowed the professors in choosing their work +was adapted to attain success. The Navy Department also desired to +obtain some expressions of opinion on the subject. The result was +a discussion and an official paper, not emanating from the admiral, +however, in which the duty of the head of the observatory was defined +in the following terms:-- + +"The superintendent of the observatory should be a line officer of +the navy, of high rank, who should attend to the business affairs +of the institution, thus leaving the professors leisure for their +proper work." + +Although he did not entirely commit himself to this view, he was under +the impression that to get the best work out of the professors their +hearts must be in it; and this would not be the case if any serious +restraint was placed upon them as to the work they should undertake. + +After Rodgers's death Vice-Admiral Rowan was appointed superintendent. +About this time it would seem that the department was again disposed +to inquire into the results of the liberal policy heretofore pursued. +Commander (since Rear-Admiral) William T. Sampson was ordered to the +observatory, not as its head, but as assistant to the superintendent. +He was one of the most proficient men in practical physics that the +navy has ever produced. I believe that one reason for choosing +so able and energetic an officer for the place was to see if any +improvement could be made on the system. As I was absent at the +Cape of Good Hope to observe the transit of Venus during the most +eventful occasion of his administration, I have very little personal +knowledge of it. It seems, however, that newspaper attacks were made +on him, in which he was charged with taking possession of all the +instruments of the observatory but two, and placing them in charge +of naval officers who were not proficient in astronomical science. +In reply he wrote an elaborate defense of his action to the "New +York Herald," which appeared in the number for February 13, 1883. +The following extract is all that need find a place in the present +connection. + + When I came here on duty a little more than a year since, + I found these instruments disused. The transit instrument + had not been used since 1878, and then only at intervals for + several years previous; the mural circle had not been used + since 1877; the prime vertical had not been used since 1867. + These instruments had been shamefully neglected and much + injured thereby. . . . The small equatorial and comet + seeker were in the same disgraceful condition, and were + unfit for any real work. + +Admiral Franklin was made superintendent sometime in 1883, I believe, +and issued an order providing that the work of the observatory should +be planned by a board consisting of the superintendent, the senior +line officer, and the senior professor. Professors or officers +in charge of instruments were required to prepare a programme for +their proposed work each year in advance, which programme would be +examined by the board. Of the work of this board or its proceedings, +no clear knowledge can be gleaned from the published reports, nor +do I know how long it continued. + +In 1885 Secretary Whitney referred to the National Academy of Sciences +the question of the advisability of proceeding promptly with the +erection of a new naval observatory upon the site purchased in 1880. +The report of the academy was in the affirmative, but it was added +that the observatory should be erected and named as a national +one, and placed under civilian administration. The year following +Congress made the preliminary appropriation for the commencement of +the new building, but no notice was taken of the recommendation of +the academy. + +In 1891 the new buildings were approaching completion, and Secretary +Tracy entered upon the question of the proper administration of +the observatory. He discussed the subject quite fully in his annual +report for that year, stating his conclusion in the following terms:-- + + I therefore recommend the adoption of legislation which + shall instruct the President to appoint, at a sufficient + salary, without restriction, from persons either within or + outside the naval service, the ablest and most accomplished + astronomer who can be found for the position of + superintendent. + +At the following session of Congress Senator Hale introduced an +amendment to the naval appropriation bill, providing for the expenses +of a commission to be appointed by the Secretary of the Navy, +to consider and report upon the organization of the observatory. +The House non-concurred in this amendment, and it was dropped from +the bill. + +At the same session, all the leading astronomers of the country +united in a petition to Congress, asking that the recommendation of +the Secretary of the Navy should be carried into effect. After a +very patient hearing of arguments on the subject by Professor Boss +and others, the House Naval Committee reported unanimously against +the measure, claiming that the navy had plenty of officers able to +administer the observatory in a satisfactory way, and that there +was therefore no necessity for a civilian head. + +Two years later, Senator Morrill offered an amendment to the +legislative appropriation bill, providing that the superintendent of +the observatory should be selected from civil life, and be learned +in the science of astronomy. He supported his amendment by letters +from a number of leading astronomers of the country in reply to +questions which he had addressed to them. + +This amendment, after being approved by the Senate Naval Committee, +was referred by the Committee on Appropriations to the Secretary +of the Navy. He recommended a modification of the measure so +as to provide for the appointment of a "Director of Astronomy," +to have charge of the astronomical work of the observatory, which +should, however, remain under a naval officer as superintendent. +This arrangement was severely criticised in the House by Mr. Thomas +B. Reed, of Maine, and the whole measure was defeated in conference. + +In 1892, when the new observatory was being occupied, the +superintendent promulgated regulations for its work. These set forth +in great detail what the observatory should do. Its work was divided +into nine departments, each with its chief, besides which there +was a chief astronomical assistant and a chief nautical assistant +to the superintendent, making eleven chiefs in all. The duties of +each chief were comprehensively described. As the entire scientific +force of the observatory numbered some ten or twelve naval officers, +professors, and assistant astronomers, with six computers, it may +be feared that some of the nine departments were short-handed. + +In September, 1894, new regulations were established by the Secretary +of the Navy, which provided for an "Astronomical Director," who +was to "have charge of and to be responsible for the direction, +scope, character, and preparation for publication of all work purely +astronomical, which is performed at the Naval Observatory." As there +was no law for this office, it was filled first by the detail of +Professor Harkness, who served until his retirement in 1899, then +by the detail of Professor Brown, who served until March, 1901. + +In 1899 the Secretary of the Navy appointed a Board of Visitors +to the observatory, comprising Senator Chandler, of New Hampshire, +Hon. A. G. Dayton, House of Representatives, and Professors Pickering, +Comstock, and Hale. This board, "in order to obviate a criticism +that the astronomical work of the observatory has not been prosecuted +with that vigor and continuity of purpose which should be shown in +a national observatory," recommended that the Astronomical Director +and the Director of the Nautical Almanac should be civil officers, +with sufficient salaries. A bill to this effect was introduced +into each House of Congress at the next session, and referred to +the respective naval committees, but never reported. + +In 1901 Congress, in an amendment to the naval appropriation bill, +provided a permanent Board of Visitors to the observatory, in whom +were vested full powers to report upon its condition and expenditures, +and to prescribe its plan of work. It was also provided in the same +law that the superintendent of the observatory should, until further +legislation by Congress, be a line officer of the navy of a rank not +below that of captain. In the first annual report of this board is +the following clause:-- + +"We wish to record our deliberate and unanimous judgment that the +law should be changed so as to provide that the official head of +the observatory--perhaps styled simply the Director--should be an +eminent astronomer appointed by the President by and with the consent +of the Senate." + +Although the board still has a legal existence, Congress, in +1902, practically suspended its functions by declining to make any +appropriation for its expenses. Moreover, since the detachment of +Professor Brown, Astronomical Director, no one has been appointed to +fill the vacancy thus arising. At the time of the present writing, +therefore, the entire responsibility for planning and directing +the work of the observatory is officially vested in the naval +superintendent, as it was at the old observatory. + + + + +V + +GREAT TELESCOPES AND THEIR WORK + + +One hardly knows where, in the history of science, to look for an +important movement that had its effective start in so pure and simple +an accident as that which led to the building of the great Washington +telescope, and went on to the discovery of the satellites of Mars. +Very different might have been a chapter of astronomical history, +but for the accident of Mr. Cyrus Field, of Atlantic cable fame, +having a small dinner party at the Arlington Hotel, Washington, in the +winter of 1870. Among the guests were Senators Hamlin and Casserly, +Mr. J. E. Hilgard of the Coast Survey, and a young son of Mr. Field, +who had spent the day in seeing the sights of Washington. Being +called upon for a recital of his experiences, the youth described his +visit to the observatory, and expressed his surprise at finding no +large telescope. The only instrument they could show him was much +smaller and more antiquated than that of Mr. Rutherfurd in New York. + +The guests listened to this statement with incredulity, and applied to +Mr. Hilgard to know whether the visitor was not mistaken, through a +failure to find the great telescope of the observatory. Mr. Hilgard +replied that the statement was quite correct, the observatory having +been equipped at a time when the construction of great refracting +telescopes had not been commenced, and even their possibility was +doubted. + +"This ought not to be," said one of the senators. "Why is it so?" + +Mr. Hilgard mentioned the reluctance of Congress to appropriate +money for a telescope. + +"It must be done," replied the senator. "You have the case properly +represented to Congress, and we will see that an appropriation goes +through the Senate at least." + +It chanced that this suggestion had an official basis which was not +known to the guests. Although Mr. Alvan Clark had already risen into +prominence as a maker of telescopes, his genius in this direction +had not been recognized outside of a limited scientific circle. +The civil war had commenced just as he had completed the largest +refracting telescope ever made, and the excitement of the contest, +as well as the absorbing character of the questions growing out +of the reconstruction of the Union, did not leave our public men +much time to think about the making of telescopes. Mr. Clark had, +however, been engaged by Captain Gilliss only a year or two after the +latter had taken charge of the observatory, to come to Washington, +inspect our instruments, and regrind their glasses. The result +of his work was so striking to the observers using the instruments +before and after his work on them, that no doubt of his ability could +be felt. Accordingly, in preparing items for the annual reports of +the observatory for the years 1868 and 1869, I submitted one to the +superintendent setting forth the great deficiency of the observatory +in respect to the power of its telescope, and the ability of Mr. Clark +to make good that deficiency. These were embodied in the reports. +It was recommended that authority be given to order a telescope of +the largest size from Mr. Clark. + +It happened, however, that Secretary Welles had announced in his +annual reports as his policy that he would recommend no estimates for +the enlargement and improvement of public works in his department, +but would leave all matters of this kind to be acted on by Congress +as the latter might deem best. As the telescope was thrown out of +the regular estimates by this rule, this subject had failed to be +considered by Congress. + +Now, however, the fact of the recommendation appearing in the annual +report, furnished a basis of action. Mr. Hilgard did not lose a +day in setting the ball in motion. + +He called upon me immediately, and I told him of the recommendations +in the last two reports of the superintendent of the observatory. +Together we went to see Admiral Sands, who of course took the warmest +interest in the movement, and earnestly promoted it on the official +side. Mr. Hilgard telegraphed immediately to some leading men of +science, who authorized their signatures to a petition. In this paper +attention was called to the wants of the observatory, as set forth +by the superintendent, and to the eminent ability of the celebrated +firm of the Clarks to supply them. The petition was printed and put +into the hands of Senator Hamlin for presentation to the Senate only +three or four days after the dinner party. The appropriation measure +was formally considered by the Committee on Naval Affairs and that on +Appropriations, and was adopted in the Senate as an amendment to the +naval appropriation bill without opposition. The question then was +to get the amendment concurred in by the House of Representatives. +The session was near its close, and there was no time to do much work. + +Several members of the House Committee on Appropriations were +consulted, and the general feeling seemed to be favorable to +the amendment. Great, therefore, was our surprise to find the +committee recommending that the amendment be not concurred in. +To prevent a possible misapprehension, I may remark that the present +system of non-concurring in all amendments to an appropriation bill, +in order to bring the whole subject into conference, had not then +been introduced, so that this action showed a real opposition to the +movement. One of the most curious features of the case is that the +leader in the opposition was said to be Mr. Washburn, the chairman +of the committee, who, not many years later, founded the Washburn +Observatory of the University of Wisconsin. There is, I believe, +no doubt that his munificence in this direction arose from what he +learned about astronomy and telescopes in the present case. + +It happened, most fortunately, that the joint committee of conference +included Drake of the Senate and Niblack of the House, both earnestly +in favor of the measure. The committee recommended concurrence, +and the clause authorizing the construction became a law. The price +was limited to $50,000, and a sum of $10,000 was appropriated for +the first payment. + +No sooner were the Clarks consulted than difficulties were found +which, for a time, threatened to complicate matters, and perhaps delay +the construction. In the first place, our currency was then still +on a paper basis. Gold was at a premium of some ten or fifteen per +cent., and the Clarks were unwilling to take the contract on any but +a gold basis. This, of course, the Government could not do. But the +difficulty was obviated through the action of a second one, which +equally threatened delay. Mr. L. J. McCormick, of reaping-machine +fame, had conceived the idea of getting the largest telescope that +could be made. He had commenced negotiations with the firm of Alvan +Clark & Sons before we had moved, and entered into a contract while +the appropriation was still pending in Congress. If the making of +one great telescope was a tedious job, requiring many years for its +completion, how could two be made? + +I was charged with the duty of negotiating the government contract +with the Clarks. I found that the fact of Mr. McCormick's +contract being on a gold basis made them willing to accept one +from the Government on a currency basis; still they considered that +Mr. McCormick had the right of way in the matter of construction, +and refused to give precedence to our instrument. On mature +consideration, however, the firm reached the conclusion that two +instruments could be made almost simultaneously, and Mr. McCormick +very generously waived any right he might have had to precedence in +the matter. + +The question how large an instrument they would undertake was, of +course, one of the first to arise. Progress in the size of telescopes +had to be made step by step, because it could never be foreseen how +soon the limit might be met; and if an attempt were made to exceed it, +the result would be not only failure for the instrument, but loss +of labor and money by the constructors. The largest refracting +telescope which the Clarks had yet constructed was one for the +University of Mississippi, which, on the outbreak of the civil war, +had come into the possession of the Astronomical Society of Chicago. +This would have been the last step, beyond which the firm would not +have been willing to go to any great extent, had it not happened that, +at this very time, a great telescope had been mounted in England. +This was made by Thomas Cooke & Sons of York, for Mr. R. S. Newall of +Gateshead on Tyne, England. The Clarks could not, of course, allow +themselves to be surpassed or even equaled by a foreign constructor; +yet they were averse to going much beyond the Cooke telescope in size. +Twenty-six inches aperture was the largest they would undertake. +I contended as strongly as I could for a larger telescope than +Mr. McCormick's, but they would agree to nothing of the sort,--the +supposed right of that gentleman to an instrument of equal size being +guarded as completely as if he had been a party to the negotiations. +So the contract was duly made for a telescope of twenty-six inches +clear aperture. + +At that time Cooke and Clark were the only two men who had ever +succeeded in making refracting telescopes of the largest size. But in +order to exercise their skill, an art equally rare and difficult +had to be perfected, that of the glassmaker. Ordinary glass, +even ordinary optical glass, would not answer the purpose at all. +The two disks, one of crown glass and the other of flint, must be not +only of perfect transparency, but absolutely homogeneous through and +through, to avoid inequality of refraction, and thus cause all rays +passing through them to meet in the same focus. It was only about the +beginning of the century that flint disks of more than two or three +inches diameter could be made. Even after that, the art was supposed +to be a secret in the hands of a Swiss named Guinand, and his family. +Looking over the field, the Clarks concluded that the only firm that +could be relied on to furnish the glass was that of Chance & Co., of +Birmingham, England. So, as soon as the contracts were completed, +one of the Clark firm visited England and arranged with Chance & +Co. to supply the glass for the two telescopes. The firm failed in +a number of trials, but by repeated efforts finally reached success +at the end of a year. The glasses were received in December, +1871, and tested in the following month. A year and a half more +was required to get the object glasses into perfect shape; then, +in the spring or summer of 1873, I visited Cambridge for the purpose +of testing the glasses. They were mounted in the yard of the Clark +establishment in a temporary tube, so arranged that the glass could +be directed to any part of the heavens. + +I have had few duties which interested me more than this. The +astronomer, in pursuing his work, is not often filled with those +emotions which the layman feels when he hears of the wonderful power +of the telescope. Not to say anything so harsh as that "familiarity +breeds contempt," we must admit that when an operation of any sort +becomes a matter of daily business, the sentiments associated with +it necessarily become dulled. Now, however, I was filled with +the consciousness that I was looking at the stars through the most +powerful telescope that had ever been pointed at the heavens, and +wondered what mysteries might be unfolded. The night was of the +finest, and I remember, sweeping at random, I ran upon what seemed +to be a little cluster of stars, so small and faint that it could +scarcely have been seen in a smaller instrument, yet so distant +that the individual stars eluded even the power of this instrument. +What cluster it might have been it was impossible to determine, +because the telescope had not the circles and other appliances +necessary for fixing the exact location of an object. I could +not help the vain longing which one must sometimes feel under such +circumstances, to know what beings might live on planets belonging +to what, from an earthly point of view, seemed to be a little colony +on the border of creation itself. + +In his report dated October 9, 1873, Admiral Sands reported +the telescope as "nearly completed." The volume of Washington +observations showed that the first serious observations made with it, +those on the satellites of Neptune, were commenced on November 10 +of the same year. Thus, scarcely more than a month elapsed from +the time that the telescope was reported still incomplete in the +shop of its makers until it was in regular nightly use. + +Associated with the early history of the instrument is a chapter +of astronomical history which may not only instruct and amuse the +public, but relieve the embarrassment of some astronomer of a future +generation who, reading the published records, will wonder what became +of an important discovery. If the faith of the public in the absolute +certainty of all astronomical investigation is thereby impaired, +what I have to say will be in the interest of truth; and I have no +fear that our science will not stand the shock of the revelation. +Of our leading astronomical observers of the present day--of such +men as Burnham and Barnard--it may be safely said that when they +see a thing it is there. But this cannot always be said of every +eminent observer, and here is a most striking example of this fact. + +When the telescope was approaching completion I wrote to the head of +one of the greatest European observatories, possessing one of the best +telescopes of the time, that the first thing I should attempt with +the telescope would be the discovery of the companion of Procyon. +This first magnitude star, which may be well seen in the winter +evenings above Orion, had been found to move in an exceedingly small +orbit, one too small to be detected except through the most refined +observations of modern precision. The same thing had been found in +the case of Sirius, and had been traced to the action of a minute +companion revolving around it, which was discovered by the Clarks +a dozen years before. There could be no doubt that the motion of +Procyon was due to the same cause, but no one had ever seen the +planet that produced it, though its direction from the star at any +time could be estimated. + +Now, it happened that my European friend, as was very natural, had +frequently looked for this object without seeing it. Whether my +letter set him to looking again, or whether he did not receive +it until a later day, I do not know. What is certain is that, +in the course of the summer, he published the discovery of the +long-looked-for companion, supplemented by an excellent series of +observations upon it, made in March and April. + +Of course I was a little disappointed that the honor of first +finding this object did not belong to our own telescope. Still I was +naturally very curious to see it. So, on the very first night on +which the telescope could be used, I sat up until midnight to take +a look at Procyon, not doubting that, with the greater power of our +telescope, it would be seen at the first glance. To my great concern, +nothing of the sort was visible. But the night was far from good, +the air being somewhat thick with moisture, which gave objects seen +through it a blurred appearance; so I had to await a better night and +more favorable conditions. Better nights came and passed, and still +not a trace of the object could be seen. Supposing that the light +of the bright star might be too dazzling, I cut it off with a piece +of green glass in the focus. Still no companion showed itself. +Could it be that our instrument, in a more favorable location, +would fail to show what had been seen with one so much smaller? +This question I could not answer, but wrote to my European friend +of my unavailing attempts. + +He replied expressing his perplexity and surprise at the occurrence, +which was all the greater that the object had again been seen and +measured in April, 1874. A fine-looking series of observations +was published, similar to those of the preceding year. What made +the matter all the more certain was that there was a change in the +direction of the object which corresponded very closely to the motion +as it had been predicted by Auwers. The latter published a revision +of his work, based on the new observations. + +A year later, the parties that had been observing the transit of Venus +returned home. The head of one of them, Professor C. H. F. Peters +of Clinton, stopped a day or two at Washington. It happened that +a letter from my European friend arrived at the same time. I found +that Peters was somewhat skeptical as to the reality of the object. +Sitting before the fire in my room at the observatory, I read to +him and some others extracts from the letter, which cited much +new evidence to show the reality of the discovery. Not only had +several of his own observers seen the object, but it had been seen +and measured on several different nights by a certain Professor Blank, +with a telescope only ten or twelve inches aperture. + +"What," said Peters, "has Blank seen it?" + +"Yes, so the letter says." + +"Then it is n't there!" + +And it really was not there. The maker of the discovery took it +all back, and explained how he had been deceived. He found that the +telescope through which the observations were made seemed to show a +little companion of the same sort alongside of every very bright star. +Everything was explained by this discovery. Even the seeming motion +of the imaginary star during the twelve months was accounted for by +the fact that in 1873 Procyon was much nearer the horizon when the +observations were made than it was the year following. [1] + +There is a sequel to the history, which may cause its revision by some +astronomer not many years hence. When the great telescope was mounted +at the Lick Observatory, it is understood that Burnham and Barnard, +whose eyes are of the keenest, looked in vain for the companion +of Procyon. Yet, in 1895, it was found with the same instrument +by Schaeberle, and has since been observed with the great Yerkes +telescope, as well as by the observers at Mount Hamilton, so that the +reality of the discovery is beyond a doubt. The explanation of the +failure of Burnham and Barnard to see it is very simple: the object +moves in an eccentric orbit, so that it is nearer the planet at some +points of its orbit than at others. It was therefore lost in the +rays of the bright star during the years 1887-94. Is it possible +that it could have been far enough away to be visible in 1873-74? +I need scarcely add that this question must be answered in the +negative, yet it may be worthy of consideration, when the exact +orbit of the body is worked out twenty or thirty years hence. + +In my work with the telescope I had a more definite end in view +than merely the possession of a great instrument. The work of +reconstructing the tables of the planets, which I had long before +mapped out as the greatest one in which I should engage, required +as exact a knowledge as could be obtained of the masses of all +the planets. In the case of Uranus and Neptune, the two outer +planets, this knowledge could best be obtained by observations on +their satellites. To the latter my attention was therefore directed. +In the case of Neptune, which has only one satellite yet revealed +to human vision, and that one so close to the planet that the +observations are necessarily affected by some uncertainty, it was +very desirable that a more distant one should be found if it existed. +I therefore during the summer and autumn of 1874 made most careful +search under the most favorable conditions. But no second satellite +was found. I was not surprised to learn that the observers with +the great Lick telescope were equally unsuccessful. My observations +with the instrument during two years were worked up and published, +and I turned the instrument over to Professor Hall in 1875. + +The discovery of the satellites of Mars was made two years later, +in August, 1877. As no statement that I took any interest in the +discovery has ever been made in any official publication, I venture, +with the discoverer's permission, to mention the part that I took +in verifying it. + +One morning Professor Hall confidentially showed me his first +observations of an object near Mars, and asked me what I thought +of them. I remarked, "Why, that looks very much like a satellite." + +Yet he seemed very incredulous on the subject; so incredulous +that I feared he might make no further attempt to see the object. +I afterward learned, however, that this was entirely a misapprehension +on my part. He had been making a careful search for some time, +and had no intention of abandoning it until the matter was cleared +up one way or the other. + +The possibility of the object being an asteroid suggested itself. +I volunteered to test this question by looking at the ephemerides +of all the small planets in the neighborhood of Mars. A very little +searching disproved the possibility of the object belonging to this +class. One such object was in the neighborhood, but its motion was +incompatible with the measures. + +Then I remarked that, if the object were really a satellite, the +measures already made upon it, and the approximately known mass of +the planet, would enable the motion of the satellite to be determined +for a day or two. Thus I found that on that night the satellite would +be hidden in the early evening by the planet, but would emerge after +midnight. I therefore suggested to Professor Hall that, if it was +not seen in the early evening, he should wait until after midnight. +The result was in accordance with the prediction,--the satellite +was not visible in the early evening, but came out after midnight. +No further doubt was possible, and the discovery was published. +The labor of searching and observing was so exhausting that Professor +Hall let me compute the preliminary orbit of the satellites from +his early observations. + +My calculations and suggestions lost an importance they might +otherwise have claimed, for the reason that several clear nights +followed. Had cloudy weather intervened, a knowledge of when to +look for the object might have greatly facilitated its recognition. + +It is still an open question, perhaps, whether a great refracting +telescope will last unimpaired for an indefinite length of time. +I am not aware that the twin instruments of Harvard and Pulkowa, +mounted in 1843, have suffered from age, nor am I aware that any +of Alvan Clark's instruments are less perfect to-day than when they +left the hands of their makers. But not long after the discovery of +the satellites of Mars, doubts began to spread in some quarters as to +whether the great Washington telescope had not suffered deterioration. +These doubts were strengthened in the following way: When hundreds of +curious objects were being discovered in the heavens here and there, +observers with small instruments naturally sought to find them. +The result was several discoveries belonging to the same class +as that of the satellite of Procyon. They were found with very +insignificant instruments, but could not be seen in the large ones. +Professor Hall published a letter in a European journal, remarking +upon the curious fact that several objects were being discovered +with very small instruments, which were invisible in the Washington +telescope. This met the eye of Professor Wolf, a professor at the +Sorbonne in Paris, as well as astronomer at the Paris Observatory. +In a public lecture, which he delivered shortly afterward, he lamented +the fact that the deterioration of the Washington telescope had gone +so far as that, and quoted Professor Hall as his authority. + +The success of the Washington telescope excited such interest the +world over as to give a new impetus to the construction of such +instruments. Its glass showed not the slightest drawbacks from its +great size. It had been feared that, after a certain limit, the +slight bending of the glass under its own weight would be injurious +to its performance. Nothing of the kind being seen, the Clarks were +quite ready to undertake much larger instruments. A 30-inch telescope +for the Pulkova Observatory in Russia, the 36-inch telescope of the +Lick Observatory in California, and, finally, the 40-inch of the +Yerkes Observatory in Chicago, were the outcome of the movement. + +Of most interest to us in the present connection is the history +of the 30-inch telescope of the Pulkova Observatory, the object +glass of which was made by Alvan Clark & Sons. It was, I think, +sometime in 1878 that I received a letter from Otto Struve, [2] +director of the Pulkova Observatory, stating that he was arranging +with his government for a grant of money to build one of the largest +refracting telescopes. In answering him I called his attention to +the ability of Alvan Clark & Sons to make at least the object glass, +the most delicate and difficult part of the instrument. The result +was that, after fruitless negotiations with European artists, Struve +himself came to America in the summer of 1879 to see what the American +firm could do. He first went to Washington and carefully examined +the telescope there. Then he proceeded to Cambridge and visited the +workshop of the Clarks. He expressed some surprise at its modest +dimensions and fittings generally, but was so well pleased with what +he saw that he decided to award them the contract for making the +object glass. He was the guest of the Pickerings at the Cambridge +Observatory, and invited me thither from where I was summering on +the coast of Massachusetts to assist in negotiating the contract. + +He requested that, for simplicity in conference, the preliminary terms +should be made with but a single member of the firm to talk with. +George B. Clark, the eldest member, was sent up to represent the firm. +I was asked to take part in the negotiations as a mutual friend of +both parties, and suggested the main conditions of the contract. +A summary of these will be found in the publication to which I have +already referred. + +There was one provision the outcome of which was characteristic +of Alvan Clark & Sons. Struve, in testing some object glasses +which they had constructed and placed in their temporary tube, +found so great physical exertion necessary in pointing so rough +an instrument at any heavenly body with sufficient exactness, +that he could not form a satisfactory opinion of the object glass. +As he was to come over again when the glass was done, in order to +test it preliminary to acceptance, he was determined that no such +difficulty should arise. He therefore made a special provision +that $1000 extra, to be repaid by him, should be expended in making +a rough equatorial mounting in which he could test the instrument. +George Clark demurred to this, on the ground that such a mounting as +was necessary for this purpose could not possibly cost so much money. +But Struve persistently maintained that one to cost $1000 should +be made. The other party had to consent, but failed to carry out +this provision. The tube was, indeed, made large enough to test not +only Struve's glass but the larger one of the Lick Observatory, which, +though not yet commenced, was expected to be ready not long afterward. +Yet, notwithstanding this increase of size, I think the extra cost +turned out to be much less than $1000, and the mounting was so rough +that when Struve came over in 1883 to test the glass, he suffered +much physical inconvenience and met, if my memory serves me aright, +with a slight accident, in his efforts to use the rough instrument. + +In points like this I do not believe that another such business firm +as that of the Clarks ever existed in this country or any other. +Here is an example. Shortly before the time of Struve's visit, +I had arranged with them for the construction of a refined and +complicated piece of apparatus to measure the velocity of light. +As this apparatus was quite new in nearly all its details, it was +impossible to estimate in advance what it might cost; so, of course, +they desired that payment for it should be arranged on actual cost +after the work was done. I assured them that the government would +not enter into a contract on such terms. There must be some maximum +or fixed price. This they fixed at $2500. I then arranged with +them that this should be taken as a maximum and that, if it was +found to cost less, they should accept actual cost. The contract +was arranged on this basis. There were several extras, including +two most delicate reflecting mirrors which would look flat to the +eye, but were surfaces of a sphere of perhaps four miles diameter. +The entire cost of the apparatus, as figured up by them after it was +done, with these additions, was less than $1500, or about forty per +cent. below the contract limit. + +No set of men were ever so averse to advertising themselves. +If anybody, in any part of the world, wanted them to make a telescope, +he must write to them to know the price, etc. They could never be +induced to prepare anything in the form of a price catalogue of the +instruments they were prepared to furnish. The history of their +early efforts and the indifference of our scientific public to their +skill forms a mortifying chapter in our history of the middle of the +century. When Mr. Clark had finished his first telescope, a small +one of four inches aperture, which was, I have no reason to doubt, +the best that human art could make, he took it to the Cambridge +Observatory to be tested by one of the astronomers. The latter +called his attention to a little tail which the glass showed as +an appendage of a star, and which was, of course, non-existent. +It was attributed to a defect in the glass, which was therefore +considered a failure. Mr. Clark was quite sure that the tail was +not shown when he had previously used the glass, but he could not +account for it at the time. He afterwards traced it to the warm air +collecting in the upper part of the tube and producing an irregular +refraction of the light. When this cause was corrected the defect +disappeared. But he got no further encouragement at home to pursue +his work. The first recognition of his genius came from England, +the agent being Rev. W. R. Dawes, an enthusiastic observer of double +stars, who was greatly interested in having the best of telescopes. +Mr. Clark wrote him a letter describing a number of objects which +he had seen with telescopes of his own make. From this description +Mr. Dawes saw that the instruments must be of great excellence, and +the outcome of the matter was that he ordered one or more telescopes +from the American maker. Not until then were the abilities of the +latter recognized in his own country. + +I have often speculated as to what the result might have been had +Mr. Clark been a more enterprising man. If, when he first found +himself able to make a large telescope, he had come to Washington, +got permission to mount his instrument in the grounds of the capitol, +showed it to members of Congress, and asked for legislation to +promote this new industry, and, when he got it, advertised himself +and his work in every way he could, would the firm which he founded +have been so little known after the death of its members, as it +now unhappily is? This is, perhaps, a rather academic question, +yet not an unprofitable one to consider. + +In recent years the firm was engaged only to make object glasses +of telescopes, because the only mountings they could be induced to +make were too rude to satisfy astronomers. The palm in this branch +of the work went to the firm of Warner & Swasey, whose mounting of +the great Yerkes telescope of the University of Chicago is the last +word of art in this direction. + +During the period when the reputation of the Cambridge family was +at its zenith, I was slow to believe that any other artist could +come up to their standard. My impression was strengthened by a +curious circumstance. During a visit to the Strasburg Observatory +in 1883 I was given permission to look through its great telescope, +which was made by a renowned German artist. I was surprised to find +the object glass affected by so serious a defect that it could not be +expected to do any work of the first class. One could only wonder +that European art was so backward. But, several years afterward, +the astronomers discovered that, in putting the glasses together after +being cleaned, somebody had placed one of them in the wrong position, +the surface which should have been turned toward the star being now +turned toward the observer. When the glass was simply turned over +so as to have the right face outward, the defect disappeared. + +[1] In justice to Mr. Blank, I must say that there seems to have been +some misunderstanding as to his observations. What he had really +seen and observed was a star long well known, much more distant from +Procyon than the companion in question. + +[2] Otto Struve was a brother of the very popular Russian minister to +Washington during the years 1882-92. He retired from the direction +of the Pulkowa Observatory about 1894. The official history of +his negotiations and other proceedings for the construction of the +telescope will be found in a work published in 1889 in honor of the +jubilee of the observatory. + + + + +VI + +THE TRANSITS OF VENUS + + +It was long supposed that transits of Venus over the sun's disk +afforded the only accurate method of determining the distance of the +sun, one of the fundamental data of astronomy. Unfortunately, these +phenomena are of the rarest. They come in pairs, with an interval +of eight years between the transits of a pair. A pair occurred +in 1761 and 1769, and again in 1874 and 1882. Now the whole of +the twentieth century will pass without another recurrence of the +phenomenon. Not until the years 2004 and 2012 will our posterity +have the opportunity of witnessing it. + +Much interesting history is associated with the adventures of the +astronomers who took part in the expeditions to observe the transits +of 1761 and 1769. In the almost chronic warfare which used to rage +between France and England during that period, neither side was +willing to regard as neutral even a scientific expedition sent out +by the other. The French sent one of their astronomers, Le Gentil, +to observe the transit at Pondicherry in the East Indies. As he +was nearing his station, the presence of the enemy prevented him +from making port, and he was still at sea on the day of the transit. +When he at length landed, he determined to remain until the transit +of 1769, and observe that. We must not suppose, however, that he +was guilty of the eccentricity of doing this with no other object in +view than that of making the observation. He found the field open +for profitable mercantile enterprise, as well as interesting for +scientific observations and inquiries. The eight long years passed +away, and the morning of June 4, 1769, found him in readiness for +his work. The season had been exceptionally fine. On the morning +of the transit the sun shone in a cloudless sky, as it had done for +several days previous. But, alas for all human hopes! Just before +Venus reached the sun, the clouds gathered, and a storm burst upon +the place. It lasted until the transit was over, and then cleared +away again as if with the express object of showing the unfortunate +astronomer how helpless he was in the hands of the elements. + +The Royal Society of England procured a grant of L800 from King +George II. for expeditions to observe the transit of 1761. [1] +With this grant the Society sent the Rev. Nevil Maskelyne to the +island of St. Helena, and, receiving another grant, it was used to +dispatch Messrs. Mason and Dixon (those of our celebrated "line") +to Bencoolen. The admiralty also supplied a ship for conveying the +observers to their respective destinations. Maskelyne, however, +would not avail himself of this conveyance, but made his voyage +on a private vessel. Cloudy weather prevented his observations of +the transit, but this did not prevent his expedition from leaving +for posterity an interesting statement of the necessaries of an +astronomer of that time. His itemized account of personal expenses +was as follows:-- + + One year's board at St. Helena . . L109 10s. 0d. + Liquors at 5s. per day . . . . 91 5 0 + Washing at 9d. per day . . . . 13 13 9 + Other expenses . . . . . . 27 7 6 + Liquors on board ship for six months 50 0 0 + --- --- --- + L291 16s. 3d. + +Seven hundred dollars was the total cost of liquors during the +eighteen months of his absence. Admiral Smyth concludes that +Maskelyne "was not quite what is now ycleped a teetotaler." He was +subsequently Astronomer Royal of England for nearly half a century, +but his published observations give no indication of the cost of +the drinks necessary to their production. + +Mason and Dixon's expedition met with a mishap at the start. +They had only got fairly into the English Channel when their ship +fell in with a French frigate of superior force. An action ensued in +which the English crew lost eleven killed and thirty-eight wounded. +The Frenchman was driven off, but the victorious vessel had to return +to Plymouth for repairs. This kind of a scientific expedition was +more than the astronomers had bargained for, and they wrote from +Plymouth to the Royal Society, describing their misfortune and +resigning their mission. But the Council of the Society speedily +let them know that they were unmoved by the misfortunes of their +scientific missionaries, and pointed out to them in caustic terms +that, having solemnly undertaken the expedition, and received money +on account of it, their failure to proceed on the voyage would +be a reproach to the nation in general, and to the Royal Society +in particular. It would also bring an indelible scandal upon their +character, and probably end in their utter ruin. They were assured +that if they persisted in the refusal, they would be treated with the +most inflexible resentment, and prosecuted with the utmost severity +of the law. + +Under such threats the unfortunate men could do nothing but accept +the situation and sail again after their frigate had been refitted. +When they got as far as the Cape of Good Hope, it was found very +doubtful whether they would reach their destination in time for +the transit; so, to make sure of some result from their mission, +they made their observations at the Cape. + +One of the interesting scraps of history connected with the transit +of 1769 concerns the observations of Father Maximilian Hell, S. J., +the leading astronomer of Vienna. He observed the transit at Wardhus, +a point near the northern extremity of Norway, where the sun did not +set at the season of the transit. Owing to the peculiar circumstances +under which the transit was observed,--the ingress of the planet +occurring two or three hours before the sun approached the northern +horizon, and the end of the transit about as long afterward,--this +station was the most favorable one on the globe. Hell, with two or +three companions, one of them named Sajnovics, went on his mission +to this isolated place under the auspices of the king of Denmark. +The day was cloudless and the observations were made with entire +success. He returned to Copenhagen, where he passed several months +in preparing for the press a complete account of his expedition and +the astronomical observations made at the station. + +Astronomers were impatient to have the results for the distance of +the sun worked out as soon as possible. Owing to the importance of +Hell's observations, they were eagerly looked for. But he at first +refused to make them known, on the ground that, having been made +under the auspices of the king of Denmark, they ought not to be made +known in advance of their official publication by the Danish Academy +of Sciences. This reason, however, did not commend itself to the +impatient astronomers; and suspicions were aroused that something +besides official formalities was behind the delay. It was hinted +that Hell was waiting for the observations made at other stations in +order that he might so manipulate his own that they would fit in with +those made elsewhere. Reports were even circulated that he had not +seen the transit at all, owing to cloudy weather, and that he was +manufacturing observations in Copenhagen. The book was, however, +sent to the printer quite promptly, and the insinuations against its +author remained a mere suspicion for more than sixty years. Then, +about 1833, a little book was published on the subject by Littrow, +Director of the Vienna Observatory, which excited much attention. +Father Hell's original journal had been conveyed to Vienna on his +return, and was still on deposit at the Austrian National Observatory. +Littrow examined it and found, as he supposed, that the suspicions +of alterations in observations were well founded; more especially +that the originals of the all-important figures which recorded the +critical moment of "contact" had been scraped out of the paper, +and new ones inserted in their places. The same was said to be +the case with many other important observations in the journal, and +the conclusion to which his seemingly careful examination led was +that no reliance could be placed on the genuineness of Hell's work. +The doubts thus raised were not dispelled until another half-century +had elapsed. + +In 1883 I paid a visit to Vienna for the purpose of examining the +great telescope which had just been mounted in the observatory there +by Grubb, of Dublin. The weather was so unfavorable that it was +necessary to remain two weeks, waiting for an opportunity to see +the stars. One evening I visited the theatre to see Edwin Booth, +in his celebrated tour over the Continent, play King Lear to the +applauding Viennese. But evening amusements cannot be utilized to +kill time during the day. Among the tasks I had projected was that +of rediscussing all the observations made on the transits of Venus +which had occurred in 1761 and 1769, by the light of modern science. +As I have already remarked, Hell's observations were among the most +important made, if they were only genuine. So, during my almost +daily visits to the observatory, I asked permission of Director +Weiss to study Hell's manuscript. + +At first the task of discovering anything which would lead to a +positive decision on one side or the other seemed hopeless. To a +cursory glance, the descriptions given by Littrow seemed to cover the +ground so completely that no future student could turn his doubt into +certainty. But when one looks leisurely at an interesting object, +day after day, he continually sees more and more. Thus it was in +the present case. One of the first things to strike me as curious +was that many of the alleged alterations had been made before the +ink got dry. When the writer made a mistake, he had rubbed it out +with his finger, and made a new entry. + +The all-important point was a certain suspicious record which Littrow +affirmed had been scraped out so that the new insertion could +be made. As I studied these doubtful figures, day by day, light +continually increased. Evidently the heavily written figures, which +were legible, had been written over some other figures which were +concealed beneath them, and were, of course, completely illegible, +though portions of them protruded here and there outside of the +heavy figures. Then I began to doubt whether the paper had been +scraped at all. To settle the question, I found a darkened room, +into which the sun's rays could be admitted through an opening in the +shutter, and held the paper in the sunlight in such a way that the +only light which fell on it barely grazed the surface of the paper. +Examining the sheet with a magnifying glass, I was able to see the +original texture of the surface with all its hills and hollows. +A single glance sufficed to show conclusively that no eraser had +ever passed over the surface, which had remained untouched. + +The true state of the case seemed to me almost beyond doubt. +It frequently happened that the ink did not run freely from the +pen, so that the words had sometimes to be written over again. +When Hell first wrote down the little figures on which, as he +might well suppose, future generations would have to base a very +important astronomical element, he saw that they were not written +with a distinctness corresponding to their importance. So he wrote +them over again with the hand, and in the spirit of a man who was +determined to leave no doubt on the subject, little weening that +the act would give rise to a doubt which would endure for a century. + +This, although the most important case of supposed alteration, was by +no means the only one. Yet, to my eyes, all the seeming corrections +in the journal were of the most innocent and commonplace kind,--such +as any one may make in writing. + +Then I began to compare the manuscript, page after page, with +Littrow's printed description. It struck me as very curious that +where the manuscript had been merely retouched with ink which was +obviously the same as that used in the original writing, but looked +a little darker than the original, Littrow described the ink as of +a different color. In contrast with this, there was an important +interlineation, which was evidently made with a different kind of +ink, one that had almost a blue tinge by comparison; but in the +description he makes no mention of this plain difference. I thought +this so curious that I wrote in my notes as follows:-- + +"That Littrow, in arraying his proofs of Hell's forgery, should +have failed to dwell upon the obvious difference between this ink +and that with which the alterations were made leads me to suspect +a defect in his sense of color." + +Then it occurred to me to inquire whether, perhaps, such could have +been the case. So I asked Director Weiss whether anything was known +as to the normal character of Littrow's power of distinguishing +colors. His answer was prompt and decisive. "Oh, yes, Littrow was +color blind to red. He could not distinguish between the color of +Aldebaran and that of the whitest star." No further research was +necessary. For half a century the astronomical world had based an +impression on the innocent but mistaken evidence of a color-blind +man respecting the tints of ink in a manuscript. + +About the middle of the nineteenth century other methods of measuring +the sun's distance began to be developed which, it was quite possible, +might prove as good as the observation in question. But the relative +value of these methods and of transits of Venus was a subject on which +little light could be thrown; and the rarity of the latter phenomena +naturally excited universal interest, both among the astronomers +and among the public. For the purpose in question it was necessary +to send expeditions to different and distant parts of the globe, +because the result had to depend upon the times of the phases, +as seen from widely separated stations. + +In 1869 the question what stations should be occupied and what +observations should be made was becoming the subject of discussion +in Europe, and especially in England. But our country was still +silent on the subject. The result of continued silence was not hard +to foresee. Congress would, at the last moment, make a munificent +appropriation for sending out parties to observe the transit. +The plans and instruments would be made in a hurry, and the parties +packed off without any well-considered ideas of what they were to +do; and the whole thing would end in failure so far as results of +any great scientific value were concerned. + +I commenced the discussion by a little paper on the subject in the +"American Journal of Science," but there was no one to follow it up. +So, at the spring meeting of the National Academy of Sciences, in +1870, I introduced a resolution for the appointment of a committee to +consider the subject and report upon the observations which should +be made. This resolution was adopted, and a few days afterward +Professor Henry invited me to call at his office in the evening to +discuss with himself and Professor Peirce, then superintendent of +the Coast Survey, the composition of the committee. + +At the conference I began by suggesting Professor Peirce himself +for chairman. Naturally this met with no opposition; then I waited +for the others to go on. But they seemed determined to throw the +whole onus of the matter on me. This was the more embarrassing, +because I believe that, in parliamentary law and custom, the mover +of a resolution of this sort has a prescribed right to be chairman +of the committee which he proposes shall be appointed. If not +chairman, it would seem that he ought at any rate to be a member. +But I was determined not to suggest myself in any way, so I went on +and suggested Admiral Davis. This nomination was, of course, accepted +without hesitation. Then I remarked that the statutes of the academy +permitted of persons who were not members being invited to serve on a +committee, and as the Naval Observatory would naturally take a leading +part in such observations as were to be made, I suggested that its +superintendent, Admiral Sands, should be invited to serve as a member +of the committee. "There," said Peirce, "we now have three names. +Committees of three are always the most efficient. Why go farther?" + +I suggested that the committee should have on it some one practiced +in astronomical observation, but he deemed this entirely unnecessary, +and so the committee of three was formed. I did not deem it advisable +to make any opposition at the time, because it was easy to foresee +what the result would be. + +During the summer nothing was heard of the committee, and in the +autumn I made my first trip to Europe. On my return, in May, 1871, +I found that the committee had never even held a meeting, and that +it had been enlarged by the addition of a number of astronomers, +among them myself. But, before it went seriously to work, it was +superseded by another organization, to be described presently. + +At that time astronomical photography was in its infancy. Enough had +been done by Rutherfurd to show that it might be made a valuable +adjunct to astronomical investigation. Might we not then photograph +Venus on the sun's disk, and by measurements of the plates obtain the +desired result, perhaps better than it could be obtained by any kind +of eye observation? This question had already suggested itself to +Professor Winlock, who, at the Cambridge Observatory, had designed +an instrument for taking the photographs. It consisted of a fixed +horizontal telescope, into which the rays of the sun were to be +thrown by a reflector. This kind of an instrument had its origin +in France, but it was first practically applied to photographing +the sun in this country. As whatever observations were to be made +would have to be done at governmental expense, an appropriation of +two thousand dollars was obtained from Congress for the expense of +some preliminary instruments and investigations. + +Admiral Sands, superintendent of the observatory, now took an +active part in the official preparations. It was suggested to +him, on the part of the academy committee, that it would be well +to join hands with other organizations, so as to have the whole +affair carried on with unity and harmony. To this he assented. +The result was a provision that these and all other preparations for +observing the transit of Venus should be made under the direction +of a commission to be composed of the superintendent of the Naval +Observatory, the superintendent of the United States Coast Survey, the +president of the National Academy of Sciences, and two professors of +mathematics attached to the Naval Observatory. Under this provision +the commission was constituted as follows: Commodore B. F. Sands, +U. S. N., Professor Benjamin Peirce, Professor Joseph Henry, Professor +Simon Newcomb, Professor William Harkness. + +The academy committee now surrendered its functions to the commission, +and the preparations were left entirely in the hands of the latter. + +So far as scientific operations were concerned, the views of the +commission were harmonious through the whole of their deliberations. +It was agreed from the beginning that the photographic method +offered the greatest promise of success. But how, with what sort +of instruments, and on what plan, must the photographs be taken? +Europeans had already begun to consider this question, and for the +most part had decided on using photographic telescopes having no +distinctive feature specially designed for the transit. In fact, +one might almost say that the usual observations with the eye +were to be made on the photograph instead of on the actual sun. +The American commissioners were of opinion that this would lead to +nothing but failure, and that some new system must be devised. + +The result was a series of experiments and trials with Professor +Winlock's instrument at the Cambridge Observatory. The outcome of +the matter was the adoption of his plan, with three most important +additions, which I shall mention, because they may possibly yet be +adopted with success in other branches of exact astronomy if this +telescope is used, as it seems likely it may be. + +The first feature was that the photographic telescope should be +mounted exactly in the meridian, and that its direction should be +tested by having the transit instrument mounted in front of it, +in the same line with it. In this way the axis of the telescope +was a horizontal north and south line. + +The next feature was that, immediately in front of the photographic +plate, in fact as nearly in contact with it as possible without +touching it, a plumb line of which the thread was a very fine silver +wire should be suspended, the bob of which passed down below, and +was immersed in a vessel of water to prevent vibration. In this way +the direction of the north and south line on the plate admitted of +being calculated with the greatest exactness, and the plumb line being +photographed across the disk of the sun, the position angle could be +measured with the same precision that any other measure could be made. + +The third feature was that the distance between the photographic +plate and the object glass of the telescope should be measured by +a long iron rod which was kept in position above the line of sight +of the telescope itself. This afforded the means of determining +to what angle a given measure on the plate would correspond. +The whole arrangement would enable the position of the centre of +Venus with respect to the centre of the sun to be determined by +purely geometric methods. One reason for relying entirely on this +was that the diameter of the sun, as photographed, would be greater +the greater the intensity of the photographic impression, so that +no reliance could be placed upon its uniformity. + +Ours were the only parties whose photographic apparatus was fitted +up in this way. The French used a similar system, but without the +essentials of the plumb line and the measurement of the length of +the telescope. The English and Germans used ordinary telescopes +for the purpose. + +One of the earliest works of the commission was the preparation +and publication of several papers, which were published under the +general title, "Papers relating to the Transit of Venus in 1874." +The first of these papers was a discussion of our proposed plan of +photographing, in which the difficulties of the problem, and the +best way of surmounting them, were set forth. The next, called +Part II., related to the circumstances of the transit, and was +therefore entirely technical. Part III. related to the corrections +of Hansen's table of the moon, and was published as a paper relating +to the transit of Venus, because these corrections were essential +in determining the longitudes of the stations by observations of +the moon. + +In England the preparations were left mostly in the hands of +Professor Airy, Astronomer Royal, and, I believe, Captain Tupman, +who at least took a leading part in the observations and their +subsequent reduction. In France, Germany, and Russia, commissions +were appointed to take charge of the work and plan the observations. + +As cooperation among the parties from different countries would be +generally helpful, I accepted an invitation to attend a meeting of the +German commission, to be held at Hanover in August, 1873. Hansen was +president of the commission, while Auwers was its executive officer. +One of my main objects was to point out the impossibility of obtaining +any valuable result by the system of photographing which had been +proposed, but I was informed, in reply, that the preparations had +advanced too far to admit of starting on a new plan and putting it +in operation. + +From the beginning of our preparations it began to be a question +of getting from Congress the large appropriations necessary for +sending out the expeditions and fitting them up with instruments. +The sum of $50,000 was wanted for instruments and outfit. Hon. James +A. Garfield was then chairman of the committee on appropriations. +His principles and methods of arranging appropriations for the +government were, in some features, so different from those generally +in vogue that it will be of interest to describe them. + +First of all, Garfield was rigidly economical in grants of money. +This characteristic of a chairman of a committee on appropriations +was almost a necessary one. But he possessed it in a different +way from any other chairman before or since. The method of the +"watch dogs of the treasury" who sometimes held this position was to +grant most of the objects asked for, but to cut down the estimated +amounts by one fourth or one third. This was a very easy method, +and one well fitted to impress the public, but it was one that the +executive officers of the government found no difficulty in evading, +by the very simple process of increasing their estimate so as to +allow for the prospective reduction. [2] + +Garfield compared this system to ordering cloth for a coat, +but economizing by reducing the quantity put into it. If a new +proposition came before him, the question was whether it was advisable +for the government to entertain it at all. He had to be thoroughly +convinced before this would be done. If the question was decided +favorably all the funds necessary for the project were voted. + +When the proposition for the transit of Venus came before him, +he proceeded in a manner which I never heard of the chairman of an +appropriation committee adopting before or since. Instead of calling +upon those who made the proposition to appear formally before the +committee, he asked me to dinner with his family, where we could +talk the matter over. One other guest was present, Judge Black +of Pennsylvania. He was a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat, wielding +as caustic a pen as was ever dipped into ink, but was, withal, +a firm personal friend and admirer of Garfield. As may readily be +supposed, the transit of Venus did not occupy much time at the table. +I should not have been an enthusiastic advocate of the case against +opposition, in any case, because my hopes of measuring the sun's +distance satisfactorily by that method were not at all sanguine. +My main interest lay in the fact that, apart from this, the transit +would afford valuable astronomical data for the life work which I +had mainly in view. So the main basis of my argument was that other +nations were going to send out parties; that we should undoubtedly +do the same, and that they must be equipped and organized in the +best way. + +It appears that Judge Black was an absent-minded man, as any man +engaged in thought on very great subjects, whether of science, +jurisprudence, or politics, has the right to be. Garfield asked him +whether it was true that, on one occasion, when preparing an argument, +and walking up and down the room, his hat chanced to drop on the floor +at one end of the room, and was persistently used as a cuspidor until +the argument was completed. Mr. Black neither affirmed nor denied +the story, but told another which he said was true. While on his +circuit as judge he had, on one occasion, tried a case of theft in +which the principal evidence against the accused was the finding of +the stolen article in his possession. He charged the jury that this +fact was _prima facie_ evidence that the man was actually the thief. +When through his business and about to leave for home, he went +into a jeweler's shop to purchase some little trinket for his wife. +The jeweler showed him a number of little articles, but finding none +to suit him, he stepped into his carriage and drove off. In the +course of the day he called on a street urchin to water his horse. +Reaching into his pocket for a reward, the first thing he got hold of +was a diamond ring which must have been taken from the shop of the +jeweler when he left that morning. "I wondered," said the judge, +"how I should have come out had I been tried under my own law." + +The outcome of the matter was that the appropriations were duly made; +first, in 1872, $50,000 for instruments, then, the year following, +$100,000 for the expeditions. In 1874, $25,000 more was appropriated +to complete the work and return the parties to their homes. + +The date of the great event was December 8-9, 1874. To have the +parties thoroughly drilled in their work, they were brought together +at Washington in the preceding spring for practice and rehearsal. +In order that the observations to be made by the eye should not +be wholly new, an apparatus representing the transit was mounted +on the top of Winder's building, near the War Department, about +two thirds of a mile from the observatory. When this was observed +through the telescope from the roof of the observatory, an artificial +black Venus was seen impinging upon an artificial sun, and entering +upon its disk in the same way that the actual Venus would be seen. +This was observed over and over until, as was supposed, the observers +had gotten into good practice. + +In order to insure the full understanding of the photographic +apparatus, the instruments were mounted and the parties practiced +setting them up and going through the processes of photographing the +sun. To carry out this arrangement with success, it was advisable to +have an expert in astronomical photography to take charge of the work. +Dr. Henry Draper of New York was invited for this purpose, and gave +his services to the commission for several weeks. + +This transit was not visible in the United States. It did not begin +until after the sun had set in San Francisco, and it was over before +the rising sun next morning had reached western Europe. All the +parties had therefore to be sent to the other side of the globe. +Three northern stations were occupied,--in China, Japan, and Siberia; +and five southern ones, at various points on the islands of the +Pacific and Indian oceans. This unequal division was suggested +by the fact that the chances of fair weather were much less in the +southern hemisphere than in the northern. + +The southern parties were taken to their destinations in the +U. S. S. Swatara, Captain Ralph Chandler, U. S. N., commanding. +In astronomical observations all work is at the mercy of the elements. +Clear weather was, of course, a necessity to success at any station. +In the present case the weather was on the whole unpropitious. +While there was not a complete failure at any one station, the number +or value of the observations was more or less impaired at all. +Where the sky was nearly cloudless, the air was thick and hazy. +This was especially the case at Nagasaki and Pekin, where from +meteorological observations which the commission had collected through +our consuls, the best of weather was confidently expected. What made +this result more tantalizing was that the very pains we had taken to +collect the data proved, by chance, to have made the choice worse. +For some time it was deliberated whether the Japanese station should +be in Nagasaki or Yokohama. Consultation with the best authorities +and a study of the records showed that, while Yokohama was a favorable +spot, the chances were somewhat better at Nagasaki. So to Nagasaki +the party was sent. But when the transit came, while the sky was +of the best at Yokohama, it was far from being so at Nagasaki. + +Something of the same sort occurred at the most stormy of all the +southern stations, that at Kerguelen Island. The British expeditions +had, in the beginning, selected a station on this island known as +Christmas Harbor. We learned that a firm of New London, Conn., +had a whaling station on the island. It was therefore applied to to +know what the weather chances were at various points in the island. +Information was obtained from their men, and it was thus found that +Molloy Point, bad though the weather there was, afforded better +chances than Christmas Harbor; so it was chosen. But this was not +all; the British parties, either in consequence of the information +we had acquired, or through what was learned from the voyage of the +Challenger, established their principal station near ours. But it +happened that the day at Christmas Harbor was excellent, while +the observations were greatly interfered with by passing clouds at +Molloy Point. + +After the return of the parties sent out by the various nations, +it did not take long for the astronomers to find that the result was +disappointing, so far, at least, as the determination of the sun's +distance was concerned. It became quite clear that this important +element could be better measured by determining the velocity of +light and the time which it took to reach us from the sun than it +could by any transit of Venus. It was therefore a question whether +parties should be sent out to observe the transit of 1882. On this +subject the astronomers of the country at large were consulted. +As might have been expected, there was a large majority in favor +of the proposition. The negative voices were only two in number, +those of Pickering and myself. I took the ground that we should +make ample provisions for observing it at various stations in +our own country, where it would now be visible, but that, in view +of the certain failure to get a valuable result for the distance +of the sun by this method, it was not worth while for us to send +parties to distant parts of the world. I supposed the committee on +appropriations might make careful inquiry into the subject before +making the appropriation, but a representation of the case was all +they asked for, and $10,000 was voted for improving the instruments +and $75,000 for sending out parties. + +Expeditions being thus decided upon, I volunteered to take charge of +that to the Cape of Good Hope. The scientific personnel of my party +comprised an officer of the army engineers, one of the navy, and a +photographer. The former were Lieutenant Thomas L. Casey, Jr., Corps +of Engineers, U. S. A., and Lieutenant J. H. L. Holcombe, U. S. N. +We took a Cunard steamer for Liverpool about the middle of September, +1882, and transported our instruments by rail to Southampton, there +to have them put on the Cape steamship. At Liverpool I was guilty +of a remissness which might have caused much trouble. Our apparatus +and supplies, in a large number of boxes, were all gathered and +piled in one place. I sent one of my assistants to the point to +see that it was so collected that there should be no possibility +of mistake in getting it into the freight car designed to carry it +to Southampton, but did not require him to stay there and see that +all was put on board. When the cases reached Southampton it was +found that one was missing. It was one of the heaviest of the lot, +containing the cast-iron pier on which the photoheliograph was to +be mounted. While it was possible to replace this by something else, +such a course would have been inconvenient and perhaps prejudicial. +The steamer was about to sail, but would touch at Plymouth next day. +Only one resource was possible. I telegraphed the mistake to +Liverpool and asked that the missing box be sent immediately by +express to Plymouth. We had the satisfaction of seeing it come on +board with the mail just as the steamer was about to set sail. + +We touched first at Madeira, and then at Ascension Island, the latter +during the night. One of the odd things in nomenclature is that this +island, a British naval station, was not called such officially, +but was a "tender to Her Majesty's ship Flora," I believe. It had +become astronomically famous a few years before by Gill's observations +of the position of Mars to determine the solar parallax. + +We touched six hours at St. Helena, enough to see the place, but +scarcely enough to make a visit to the residence of Napoleon, even had +we desired to see it. The little town is beautifully situated, and +the rocks around are very imposing. My most vivid recollection is, +however, of running down from the top of a rock some six hundred or +eight hundred feet high, by a steep flight of steps, without stopping, +or rather of the consequences of this imprudent gymnastic performance. +I could scarcely move for the next three days. + +Cape Town was then suffering from an epidemic of smallpox, mostly +confined to the Malay population, but causing some disagreeable +results to travelers. Our line of ships did not terminate their +voyage at the Cape, but proceeded thence to other African ports east +of the Cape. Here a rigid quarantine had been established, and it +was necessary that the ships touching at the Cape of Good Hope should +have had no communication with the shore. Thus it happened that we +found, lying in the harbor, the ship of our line which had preceded +us, waiting to get supplies from us, in order that it might proceed +on its voyage. Looking at a row-boat after we had cast anchor, we +were delighted to see two faces which I well knew: those of David +Gill, astronomer of the Cape Observatory, and Dr. W. L. Elkin, now +director of the Yale Observatory. The latter had gone to the Cape as +a volunteer observer with Gill, their work being directed mostly to +parallaxes of stars too far south to be well observed in our latitude. +Our friends were not, however, even allowed to approach the ship, +for fear of the smallpox, the idea appearing to be that the latter +might be communicated by a sort of electric conduction, if the boat +and the ship were allowed to come into contact, so we had to be put +ashore without their aid. + +We selected as our station the little town of Wellington, some forty +miles northeast of Cape Town. The weather chances were excellent +anywhere, but here they were even better than at the Cape. The most +interesting feature of the place was what we might call an American +young ladies' school. The Dutch inhabitants of South Africa are +imbued with admiration of our institutions, and one of their dreams +is said to be a United States of South Africa modeled after our +own republic. Desiring to give their daughters the best education +possible, they secured the services of Miss Ferguson, a well-known +New England teacher, to found a school on the American model. +We established our station in the grounds of this school. + +The sky on the day of the transit was simply perfect. Notwithstanding +the intensity of the sun's rays, the atmosphere was so steady that I +have never seen the sun to better advantage. So all our observations +were successful. + +On our departure we left two iron pillars, on which our apparatus for +photographing the sun was mounted, firmly imbedded in the ground, as +we had used them. Whether they will remain there until the transit +of 2004, I do not know, but cannot help entertaining a sentimental +wish that, when the time of that transit arrives, the phenomenon +will be observed from the same station, and the pillars be found in +such a condition that they can again be used. + +All the governments, except our own, which observed the two transits +of Venus on a large scale long ago completed the work of reduction, +and published the observations in full. On our own part we have +published a preliminary discussion of some observations of the transit +of 1874. Of that of 1882 nothing has, I believe, been published +except some brief statements of results of the photographs, which +appeared in an annual report of the Naval Observatory. Having need in +my tables of the planets of the best value of the solar parallax that +could be obtained by every method, I worked up all the observations +of contacts made by the parties of every country, but, of course, +did not publish our own observations. Up to the present time, +twenty-eight years after the first of the transits, and twenty +years after the second, our observations have never been officially +published except to the extent I have stated. The importance of +the matter may be judged by the fact that the government expended +$375,000 on these observations, not counting the salaries of its +officers engaged in the work, or the cost of sailing a naval ship. +As I was a member of the commission charged with the work, and must +therefore bear my full share of the responsibility for this failure, +I think it proper to state briefly how it happened, hoping thereby +to enforce the urgent need of a better organization of some of our +scientific work. + +The work of reducing such observations, editing and preparing them for +the press, involved much computation to be done by assistants, and I, +being secretary of the commission, was charged with the execution +of this part of the work. The appropriations made by Congress for +the observations were considered available for the reduction also. +There was a small balance left over, and I estimated that $3000 more +would suffice to complete the work. This was obtained from Congress +in the winter of 1875. + +About the end of 1876 I was surprised to receive from the Treasury +Department a notification that the appropriation for the transit +of Venus was almost exhausted, when according to my accounts, more +than $3000 still remained. On inquiry it was found that the sum +appropriated about two years before had never been placed to the +credit of the transit of Venus commission, having been, in fact, +inserted in a different appropriation bill from that which contained +the former grant. + +I, as secretary of the commission, made an application to the Treasury +Department to have the sum, late though it was, placed to our credit. +But the money had been expended and nothing could be now done in the +matter. [3] The computers had therefore to be discharged and the work +stopped until a new appropriation could be obtained from Congress. + +During the session of 1876-77, $5000 was therefore asked for for +the reduction of the observations. It was refused by the House +committee on appropriations. I explained the matter to Mr. Julius +H. Seelye, formerly president of Amherst College, who was serving a +term in Congress. He took much interest in the subject, and moved +the insertion of the item when the appropriation bill came up before +the House. Mr. Atkins, chairman of the appropriations committee, +opposed the motion, maintaining that the Navy Department had under +its orders plenty of officers who could do the work, so there was +no need of employing the help of computers. But the House took +a different view, and inserted the item over the heads of the +appropriations committee. + +Now difficulties incident to the divided responsibility of the +commission were met with. During the interim between the death of +Admiral Davis, in February, 1877, and the coming of Admiral John +Rodgers as his successor, a legal question arose as to the power +of the commission over its members. The work had to stop until +it was settled, and I had to discharge my computers a second time. +After it was again started I discovered that I did not have complete +control of the funds appropriated for reducing the observations. +The result was that the computers had to be discharged and the work +stopped for the third time. This occurred not long before I started +out to observe the transit in 1882. For me the third hair was the +one that broke the camel's back. I turned the papers and work over +to Professor Harkness, by whom the subject was continued until he +was made astronomical director of the Naval Observatory in 1894. + +I do not know that the commission was ever formally dissolved. +Practically, however, its functions may be said to have terminated +in the year 1886, when a provision of law was enacted by which all +its property was turned over to the Secretary of the Navy. + +What the present condition of the work may be, and how much of it +is ready for the press, I cannot say. My impression is that it +is in that condition known in household language as "all done but +finishing." Whether it will ever appear is a question for the future. +All the men who took part in it or who understood its details are +either dead or on the retired list, and it is difficult for one not +familiar with it from the beginning to carry it to completion. + +[1] For the incidents connected with the English observations of +this transit, the author is indebted to Vice-Admiral W. H. Smyth's +curious and rare book, _Speculum Hartwellianum_, London, 1860. +It and other works of the same author may be described as queer and +interesting jumbles of astronomical and other information, thrown +into an interesting form; and, in the case of the present work, +spread through a finely illustrated quarto volume of nearly five +hundred pages. + +[2] "The War Department got ahead of us in the matter of furniture," +said an officer of the Navy Department to me long afterwards, when +the furniture for the new department building was being obtained. +"They knew enough to ask for a third more than they wanted; we reduced +our estimate to the lowest point. Both estimates were reduced one +third by the Appropriations Committee. The result is that they have +all the furniture they want, while we are greatly pinched." + +[3] As this result would not be possible under our present system, +which was introduced by the first Cleveland administration, I might +remark that it resulted from a practice on the part of the Treasury +of lumping appropriations on its books in order to simplify the +keeping of the accounts. + + + + +VII + +THE LICK OBSERVATORY + + +In the wonderful development of astronomical research in our country +during the past twenty years, no feature is more remarkable than +the rise on an isolated mountain in California of an institution +which, within that brief period, has become one of the foremost +observatories of the world. As everything connected with the early +history of such an institution must be of interest, it may not be +amiss if I devote a few pages to it. + +In 1874 the announcement reached the public eye that James Lick, an +eccentric and wealthy Californian, had given his entire fortune to +a board of trustees to be used for certain public purposes, one of +which was the procuring of the greatest and most powerful telescope +that had ever been made. There was nothing in the previous history +of the donor that could explain his interest in a great telescope. +I am sure he had never looked through a telescope in his life, and +that if he had, and had been acquainted with the difficulties of an +observation with it, it is quite likely the Lick Observatory would +never have existed. From his point of view, as, indeed, from that of +the public very generally, the question of telescopic vision is merely +one of magnifying power. By making an instrument large and powerful +enough we may hope even to discover rational beings on other planets. + +The president of the first board of trustees was Mr. D. O. Mills, +the well-known capitalist, who had been president of the Bank of +California. Mr. Mills visited Washington in the summer or autumn of +1874, and conferred with the astronomers there, among others myself, +on the question of the proposed telescope. I do not think that an +observatory properly so called was, at first, in Mr. Lick's mind; +all he wanted was an immense telescope. + +The question was complicated by the result of some correspondence +between Mr. Lick and the firm of Alvan Clark & Sons. The latter +had been approached to know the cost of constructing the desired +telescope. Without making any exact estimate, or deciding upon the +size of the greatest telescope that could be constructed, they named +a very large sum, $200,000 I believe, as the amount that could be +put into the largest telescope it was possible to make. Mr. Lick +deemed this estimate exorbitant, and refused to have anything more +to do with the firm. The question now was whether any one else +besides the Clarks could make what was wanted. + +I suggested to Mr. Mills that this question was a difficult one to +answer, as no European maker was known to rival the Clerks in skill in +the desired direction. It was impossible to learn what could be done +in Europe except by a personal visit to the great optical workshops +and a few observatories where great telescopes had been mounted. + +I also suggested that a director of the new establishment should +be chosen in advance of beginning active work, so that everything +should be done under his supervision. As such director I suggested +that very likely Professor Holden, then my assistant on the great +equatorial, might be well qualified. At least I could not, at the +moment, name any one I thought would be decidedly preferable to him. +I suggested another man as possibly available, but remarked that +he had been unfortunate. "I don't want to have anything to do +with unfortunate men," was the reply. The necessity of choosing +a director was not, however, evident, but communication was opened +with Professor Holden as well as myself to an extent that I did not +become aware of until long afterward. + +The outcome of Mr. Mills's visit was that in December, 1874, I was +invited to visit the European workshops as an agent of the Lick +trustees, with a view of determining whether there was any chance of +getting the telescope made abroad. The most difficult and delicate +question arose in the beginning; shall the telescope be a reflector +or a refractor? The largest and most powerful one that could be made +would be, undoubtedly, a reflector. And yet reflecting telescopes +had not, as a rule, been successful in permanent practical work. +The world's work in astronomy was done mainly with refracting +telescopes. This was not due to any inherent superiority in the +latter, but to the mechanical difficulties incident to so supporting +the great mirror of a reflecting telescope that it should retain its +figure in all positions. Assuming that the choice must fall upon a +refractor, unless proper guarantees for one of the other kind should +be offered, one of my first visits was to the glass firm of Chance & +Co. in Birmingham, who had cast the glass disks for the Washington +telescope. This firm and Feil of Paris were the only two successful +makers of great optical disks in the world. Chance & Co. offered +the best guarantees, while Feil had more enthusiasm than capital, +although his skill was of the highest. Another Paris firm was quite +willing to undertake the completion of the telescope, but it was also +evident that its price was suggested by the supposed liberality of an +eccentric California millionaire. I returned their first proposal +with the assurance that it would be useless to submit it. A second +was still too high to offer any inducement over the American firm. +Besides, there was no guarantee of the skill necessary to success. + +In Germany the case was still worse. The most renowned firm there, +the successors of Fraunhofer, were not anxious to undertake such +a contract. The outcome of the matter was that Howard Grubb, of +Dublin, was the only man abroad with whom negotiations could be +opened with any chance of success. He was evidently a genius who +meant business. Yet he had not produced a work which would justify +unlimited confidence in his ability to meet Mr. Lick's requirements. +The great Vienna telescope which he afterward constructed was then +only being projected. + +Not long after my return with this not very encouraging report, +Mr. Lick suddenly revoked his gift, through some dissatisfaction with +the proceedings of his trustees, and appointed a new board to carry +out his plans. This introduced legal complications, which were soon +settled by a friendly suit on the part of the old trustees, asking +authority to transfer their trust. The president of the new board was +Mr. Richard S. Floyd, a member of the well-known Virginia family of +that name, and a graduate, or at least a former cadet, of the United +States Naval Academy. I received a visit from him on his first trip +to the East in his official capacity, early in 1876, I believe. Some +correspondence with Mr. Lick's home representative ensued, of which +the most interesting feature was the donor's idea of a telescope. +He did not see why so elaborate and expensive a mounting as that +proposed was necessary, and thought that the object glass might be +mounted on the simplest kind of a pole or tower which would admit of +its having the requisite motions in connection with the eyepiece. +Whether I succeeded in convincing him of the impracticability of +his scheme, I do not know, as he died before the matter was settled. + +This left the trustees at liberty to build and organize the +institution as they deemed best. It was speedily determined that +the object glass should be shaped by the Clarks, who should also be +responsible for getting the rough disks. This proved to be a very +difficult task. Chance & Co. were unwilling to undertake the work and +Feil had gone out of business, leaving the manufacture in the hands +of his son. The latter also failed, and the father had to return. +Ultimately the establishment was purchased by Mantois, whose success +was remarkable. He soon showed himself able to make disks not only +of much larger size than had ever before been produced, but of a +purity and transparency which none before him had ever approached. +He died in 1899 or 1900, and it is to be hoped that his successor +will prove to be his equal. + +The original plan of Mr. Lick had been to found the observatory +on the borders of Lake Tahoe, but he grew dissatisfied with this +site and, shortly before his death, made provisional arrangements +for placing it on Mount Hamilton. In 1879 preparations had so far +advanced that it became necessary to decide whether this was really +a suitable location. I had grave doubts on the subject. A mountain +side is liable to be heated by the rays of the sun during the day, +and a current of warm air which would be fatal to the delicacy of +astronomical vision is liable to rise up the sides and envelope the +top of the mountain. I had even been informed that, on a summer +evening, a piece of paper let loose on the mountain top would be +carried up into the air by the current. But, after all, the proof of +the pudding is in the eating, and Holden united with me in advising +that an experienced astronomer with a telescope should be stationed +for a few weeks on the mountain in order to determine, by actual +trial, what the conditions of seeing were. The one best man for +this duty was S. W. Burnham of Chicago, who had already attained +a high position in the astronomical world by the remarkable skill +shown in his observations of double stars. So, in August, 1879, +huts were built on the mountain, and Burnham was transported thither +with his telescope. I followed personally in September. + +We passed three nights on the mountain with Captain Floyd, studying +the skies by night and prospecting around in the daytime to see +whether the mountain top or some point in the neighboring plateau +offered the best location for the observatory. So far as the +atmospheric conditions were concerned, the results were beyond our +most sanguine expectations. What the astronomer wants is not merely +a transparent atmosphere, but one of such steadiness that the image +of a star, as seen in a telescope, may not be disturbed by movements +of the air which are invisible to the naked eye. + +Burnham found that there were forty-two first-class nights during his +stay, and only seven which would be classed as low as medium. In the +East the number of nights which he would call first-class are but few +in a year, and even the medium night is by no means to be counted on. +No further doubt could remain that the top of the mountain was one +of the finest locations in the world for an astronomical observatory, +and it was definitely selected without further delay. + +Sometime after my return Mr. Floyd sent me a topographical sketch +of the mountain, with a request to prepare preliminary plans for the +observatory. As I had always looked on Professor Holden as probably +the coming director, I took him into consultation, and the plans +were made under our joint direction in my office. The position and +general arrangement of the buildings remain, so far as I am aware, +much as then planned; the principal change being the omission of a +long colonnade extending over the whole length of the main front in +order to secure an artistic and imposing aspect from the direction +of San Jose. + +In the summer of 1885, as I was in New York in order to sail +next day to Europe, I was surprised by a visit from Judge Hagar, +a prominent citizen of San Francisco, a member of the Board of +Regents of the University of California, and an active politician, +who soon afterward became collector of the port, to consult me on the +question of choosing Professor Holden as president of the university. +This was not to interfere with his becoming director of the Lick +Observatory whenever that institution should be organized, but was +simply a temporary arrangement to bridge over a difficulty. + +In the autumn of 1887 I received an invitation from Mr. Floyd to go +with him to Cleveland, in order to inspect the telescope, which was +now nearly ready for delivery. It was mounted in the year following, +and then Holden stepped from the presidency of the university into +the directorship of the observatory. + +The institution made its mark almost from the beginning. I know of no +example in the world in which young men, most of whom were beginners, +attained such success as did those whom Holden collected around him. +The names of Barnard, Campbell, and Schaeberle immediately became +well known in astronomy, owing to the excellence of their work. +Burnham was, of course, no beginner, being already well known, +nor was Keeler, who was also on the staff. + +In a few years commenced the epoch-making work of Campbell, in the +most refined and difficult problem of observational astronomy,--that +of the measurement of the motion of stars to or from us. Through the +application of photography and minute attention to details, this +work of the Lick Observatory almost immediately gained a position +of preeminence, which it maintains to the present time. If any +rival is to appear, it will probably be the Yerkes Observatory. +The friendly competition which we are likely to see between these +two establishments affords an excellent example of the spirit of +the astronomy of the future. Notwithstanding their rivalry, each +has done and will do all it can to promote the work of the other. + +The smiles of fortune have been bestowed even upon efforts that seemed +most unpromising. After work was well organized, Mr. Crossley, +of England, presented the observatory with a reflecting telescope +of large size, but which had never gained a commanding reputation. +No member of the staff at first seemed ambitious to get hold of such +an instrument, but, in time, Keeler gave it a trial in photographing +nebulae. Then it was found that a new field lay open. The newly +acquired reflector proved far superior to other instruments for this +purpose, the photographic plates showing countless nebulae in every +part of the sky, which the human eye was incapable of discerning in +the most powerful of telescopes. + +In 1892, only four years after the mounting of the telescope, came +the surprising announcement that the work of Galileo on Jupiter had +been continued by the discovery of a fifth satellite to that planet. +This is the most difficult object in the solar system, only one or two +observers besides Barnard having commanded the means of seeing it. +The incident of my first acquaintance with the discoverer is not +flattering to my pride, but may be worth recalling. + +In 1877 I was president of the American Association for the +Advancement of Science at the meeting held in Nashville. There I was +told of a young man a little over twenty years of age, a photographer +by profession, who was interested in astronomy, and who desired to see +me. I was, of course, very glad to make his acquaintance. I found +that with his scanty earnings he had managed either to purchase or +to get together the materials for making a small telescope. He was +desirous of doing something with it that might be useful in astronomy, +and wished to know what suggestions I could make in that line. I did +not for a moment suppose that there was a reasonable probability of +the young man doing anything better than amuse himself. At the same +time, feeling it a duty to encourage him, I suggested that there +was only one thing open to an astronomical observer situated as he +was, and that was the discovery of comets. I had never even looked +for a comet myself, and knew little about the methods of exploring +the heavens for one, except what had been told me by H. P. Tuttle. +But I gave him the best directions I could, and we parted. It is +now rather humiliating that I did not inquire more thoroughly into +the case. It would have taken more prescience than I was gifted +with to expect that I should live to see the bashful youth awarded +the gold medal of the Royal Astronomical Society for his work. + +The term of Holden's administration extended through some ten +years. To me its most singular feature was the constantly growing +unpopularity of the director. I call it singular because, if we +confine ourselves to the record, it would be difficult to assign +any obvious reason for it. One fact is indisputable, and that +is the wonderful success of the director in selecting young men +who were to make the institution famous by their abilities and +industry. If the highest problem of administration is to select +the right men, the new director certainly mastered it. So far as +liberty of research and publication went, the administration had +the appearance of being liberal in the extreme. Doubtless there +was another side to the question. Nothing happens spontaneously, +and the singular phenomenon of one who had done all this becoming a +much hated man must have an adequate cause. I have several times, +from pure curiosity, inquired about the matter of well-informed men. +On one occasion an instance of maladroitness was cited in reply. + +"True," said I, "it was not exactly the thing to do, but, after all, +that is an exceedingly small matter." + +"Yes," was the answer, "that was a small thing, but put a thousand +small things like that together, and you have a big thing." + +A powerful factor in the case may have been his proceeding, within +a year of his appointment, to file an astounding claim for the sum +of $12,000 on account of services rendered to the observatory in +the capacity of general adviser before his appointment as director. +These services extended from the beginning of preparations in 1874 +up to the completion of the work. The trustees in replying to the +claim maintained that I had been their principal adviser in preparing +the plans. However true this may have been, it was quite evident, +from Holden's statement, that they had been consulting him on a much +larger scale than I had been aware of. This, however, was none of +my concern. I ventured to express the opinion that the movement +was made merely to place on record a statement of the director's +services; and that no serious intention of forcing the matter to a +legal decision was entertained. This surmise proved to be correct, +as nothing more was heard of the claim. + +Much has been said of the effect of the comparative isolation of such +a community, which is apt to be provocative of internal dissension. +But this cause has not operated in the case of Holden's successors. +Keeler became the second director in 1897, and administered his office +with, so far as I know, universal satisfaction till his lamented +death in 1900. It would not be a gross overstatement to say that his +successor was named by the practically unanimous voice of a number +of the leading astronomers of the world who were consulted on the +subject, and who cannot but be pleased to see how completely their +advice has been justified by the result of Campbell's administration. + + + + +VIII + +THE AUTHOR'S SCIENTIFIC WORK + + +Perhaps an apology is due to the reader for my venturing to devote a +chapter to my own efforts in the scientific line. If so, I scarcely +know what apology to make, unless it is that one naturally feels +interested in matters relating to his own work, and hopes to share +that interest with his readers, and that it is easier for one to write +such an account for himself than for any one else to do it for him. + +Having determined to devote my life to the prosecution of exact +astronomy, the first important problem which I took up, while at +Cambridge, was that of the zone of minor planets, frequently called +asteroids, revolving between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. It was +formerly supposed that these small bodies might be fragments of a +large planet which had been shattered by a collision or explosion. +If such were the case, the orbits would, for a time at least, all +pass through the point at which the explosion occurred. When only +three or four were known, it was supposed that they did pass nearly +through the same point. When this was found not to be the case, +the theory of an explosion was in no way weakened, because, owing +to the gradual changes in the form and position of the orbits, +produced by the attraction of the larger planets, these orbits would +all move away from the point of intersection, and, in the course of +thousands of years, be so mixed up that no connection could be seen +between them. This result was that nothing could be said upon the +subject except that, if the catastrophe ever did occur, it must have +been many thousand years ago. The fact did not in any way militate +against the theory because, in view of the age of the universe, the +explosion might as well have occurred hundreds of thousands or even +millions of years ago as yesterday. To settle the question, general +formulae must be found by which the positions of these orbits could +be determined at any time in the past, even hundreds of thousands of +years back. The general methods of doing this were known, but no +one had applied them to the especial case of these little planets. +Here, then, was an opportunity of tracing back the changes in these +orbits through thousands of centuries in order to find whether, at +a certain epoch in the past, so great a cataclysm had occurred as +the explosion of a world. Were such the case, it would be possible +almost to set the day of the occurrence. How great a feat would it +be to bring such an event at such a time to light! + +I soon found that the problem, in the form in which it had been +attacked by previous mathematicians, involved no serious difficulty. +At the Springfield meeting of the American Association for the +Advancement of Science, in 1859, I read a paper explaining the +method, and showed by a curve on the blackboard the changes +in the orbit of one of the asteroids for a period, I think, of +several hundred thousand years,--"beyond the memory of the oldest +inhabitants"--said one of the local newspapers. A month later it was +extended to three other asteroids, and the result published in the +"Astronomical Journal." In the following spring, 1860, the final +results of the completed work were communicated to the American +Academy of Arts and Sciences in a paper "On the Secular Variations +and Mutual Relations of the Orbits of the Asteroids." The question +of the possible variations in the orbits and the various relations +amongst them were here fully discussed. One conclusion was that, +so far as our present theory could show, the orbits had never passed +through any common point of intersection. + +The whole trend of thought and research since that time has been +toward the conclusion that no such cataclysm as that looked for ever +occurred, and that the group of small planets has been composed of +separate bodies since the solar system came into existence. It was, +of course, a great disappointment not to discover the cataclysm, but +next best to finding a thing is showing that it is not there. This, +it may be remarked, was the first of my papers to attract especial +notice in foreign scientific journals, though I had already published +several short notes on various subjects in the "Astronomical Journal." + +At this point I may say something of the problems of mathematical +astronomy in the middle of the last century. It is well known that +we shall at least come very near the truth when we say that the +planets revolve around the sun, and the satellites around their +primaries according to the law of gravitation. We may regard all +these bodies as projected into space, and thus moving according to +laws similar to that which governs the motion of a stone thrown +from the hand. If two bodies alone were concerned, say the sun +and a planet, the orbit of the lesser around the greater would be +an ellipse, which would never change its form, size, or position. +That the orbits of the planets and asteroids do change, and that they +are not exact ellipses, is due to their attraction upon each other. +The question is, do these mutual attractions completely explain all +the motions down to the last degree of refinement? Does any world +move otherwise than as it is attracted by other worlds? + +Two different lines of research must be brought to bear on the +question thus presented. We must first know by the most exact and +refined observations that the astronomer can make exactly how a +heavenly body does move. Its position, or, as we cannot directly +measure distance, its direction from us, must be determined as +precisely as possible from time to time. Its course has been +mapped out for it in advance by tables which are published in the +"Astronomical Ephemeris," and we may express its position by its +deviation from these tables. Then comes in the mathematical problem +how it ought to move under the attraction of all other heavenly bodies +that can influence its motion. The results must then be compared, +in order to see to what conclusion we may be led. + +This mathematical side of the question is of a complexity beyond +the powers of ordinary conception. I well remember that when, +familiar only with equations of algebra, I first looked into a +book on mechanics, I was struck by the complexity of the formulae. +But this was nothing to what one finds when he looks into a work on +celestial mechanics, where a single formula may fill a whole chapter. +The great difficulty arises from the fact that the constant action +upon a planet exerted at every moment of time through days and +years by another planet affects its motion in all subsequent time. +The action of Jupiter upon our earth this morning changes its motion +forever, just as a touch upon a ball thrown by a pitcher will change +the direction of the ball through its whole flight. + +The wondrous perfection of mathematical research is shown by the +fact that we can now add up, as it were, all these momentary effects +through years and centuries, with a view of determining the combined +result at any one moment. It is true that this can be done only in an +imperfect way, and at the expense of enormous labor; but, by putting +more and more work into it, investigating deeper and deeper, taking +into account smaller and smaller terms of our formulae, and searching +for the minutest effects, we may gradually approach, though we may +never reach, absolute exactness. Here we see the first difficulty +in reaching a definite conclusion. One cannot be quite sure that +a deviation is not due to some imperfection in mathematical method +until he and his fellows have exhausted the subject so thoroughly +as to show that no error is possible. This is hard indeed to do. + +Taking up the question on the observational side, a source of +difficulty and confusion at once presented itself. The motions +of a heavenly body from day to day and year to year are mapped out +by comparative observations on it and on the stars. The question +of the exact positions of the stars thus comes in. In determining +these positions with the highest degree of precision, a great variety +of data have to be used. The astronomer cannot reach a result by a +single step, nor by a hundred steps. He is like a sculptor chiseling +all the time, trying to get nearer and nearer the ideal form of his +statue, and finding that with every new feature he chisels out, +a defect is brought to light in other features. The astronomer, +when he aims at the highest mathematical precision in his results, +finds Nature warring with him at every step, just as if she wanted +to make his task as difficult as possible. She alters his personal +equation when he gets tired, makes him see a small star differently +from a bright one, gives his instrument minute twists with heat and +cold, sends currents of warm or cold air over his locality, which +refract the rays of light, asks him to keep the temperature in which +he works the same as that outside, in order to avoid refraction when +the air enters his observing room, and still will not let him do it, +because the walls and everything inside the room, being warmed up +during the day, make the air warmer than it is outside. With all +these obstacles which she throws in his way he must simply fight the +best he can, exerting untiring industry to eliminate their effects +by repeated observations under a variety of conditions. + +A necessary conclusion from all this is that the work of all observing +astronomers, so far as it could be used, must be combined into a +single whole. But here again difficulties are met at every step. +There has been, in times past, little or no concert of action among +astronomers at different observatories. The astronomers of each +nation, perhaps of each observatory, to a large extent, have gone +to work in their own way, using discordant data, perhaps not always +rigidly consistent, even in the data used in a single establishment. +How combine all the astronomical observations, found scattered +through hundreds of volumes, into a homogeneous whole? + +What is the value of such an attempt? Certainly if we measure value +by the actual expenditure of nations and institutions upon the work, +it must be very great. Every civilized nation expends a large annual +sum on a national observatory, while a still greater number of such +institutions are supported at corporate expense. Considering that +the highest value can be derived from their labors only by such a +combination as I have described, we may say the result is worth an +important fraction of what all the observatories of the world have +cost during the past century. + +Such was, in a general way, the great problem of exact astronomy +forty or fifty years ago. Its solution required extended cooperation, +and I do not wish to give the impression that I at once attacked it, +or even considered it as a whole. I could only determine to do my +part in carrying forward the work associated with it. + +Perhaps the most interesting and important branch of the problem +concerned the motion of the moon. This had been, ever since the +foundation of the Greenwich Observatory, in 1670, a specialty +of that institution. It is a curious fact, however, that while +that observatory supplied all the observations of the moon, +the investigations based upon these observations were made almost +entirely by foreigners, who also constructed the tables by which the +moon's motion was mapped out in advance. The most perfect tables +made were those of Hansen, the greatest master of mathematical +astronomy during the middle of the century, whose tables of the +moon were published by the British government in 1857. They were +based on a few of the Greenwich observations from 1750 to 1850. +The period began with 1750, because that was the earliest at which +observations of any exactness were made. Only a few observations +were used, because Hansen, with the limited computing force at +his command,--only a single assistant, I believe,--was not able to +utilize a great number of the observations. The rapid motion of the +moon, a circuit being completed in less than a month, made numerous +observations necessary, while the very large deviations in the +motion produced by the attraction of the sun made the problem of the +mathematical theory of that motion the most complicated in astronomy. +Thus it happened that, when I commenced work at the Naval Observatory +in 1861, the question whether the moon exactly followed the course +laid out for her by Hansen's tables was becoming of great importance. + +The same question arose in the case of the planets. So from a +survey of the whole field, I made observations of the sun, moon, +and planets my specialty at the observatory. If the astronomical +reader has before him the volume of observations for 1861, he will, +by looking at pages 366-440, be able to infer with nearly astronomical +precision the date when I reported for duty. + +For a year or two our observations showed that the moon seemed +to be falling a little behind her predicted motion. But this soon +ceased, and she gradually forged ahead in a much more remarkable way. +In five or six years it was evident that this was becoming permanent; +she was a little farther ahead every year. What could it mean? +To consider this question, I may add a word to what I have already +said on the subject. + +In comparing the observed and predicted motion of the moon, +mathematicians and astronomers, beginning with Laplace, have been +perplexed by what are called "inequalities of long period." For a +number of years, perhaps half a century, the moon would seem to be +running ahead, and then she would gradually relax her speed and fall +behind. Laplace suggested possible causes, but could not prove them. +Hansen, it was supposed, had straightened out the tangle by showing +that the action of Venus produced a swinging of this sort in the +moon; for one hundred and thirty years she would be running ahead +and then for one hundred and thirty years more falling back again, +like a pendulum. Two motions of this sort were combined together. +They were claimed to explain the whole difficulty. The moon, having +followed Hansen's theory for one hundred years, would not be likely +to deviate from it. Now, it was deviating. What could it mean? + +Taking it for granted, on Hansen's authority, that his tables +represented the motions of the moon perfectly since 1750, was there no +possibility of learning anything from observations before that date? +As I have already said, the published observations with the usual +instruments were not of that refined character which would decide +a question like this. But there is another class of observations +which might possibly be available for the purpose. + +Millions of stars, visible with large telescopes, are scattered +over the heavens; tens of thousands are bright enough to be seen +with small instruments, and several thousand are visible to any +ordinary eye. The moon, in her monthly course around the heavens, +often passes over a star, and of course hides it from view during +the time required for the passage. The great majority of stars +are so small that their light is obscured by the effulgence of +the moon as the latter approaches them. But quite frequently the +star passed over is so bright that the exact moment when the moon +reaches it can be observed with the utmost precision. The star then +disappears from view in an instant, as if its light were suddenly +and absolutely extinguished. This is called an occultation. +If the moment at which the disappearance takes place is observed, +we know that at that instant the apparent angle between the centre +of the moon and the star is equal to the moon's semi-diameter. +By the aid of a number of such observations, the path of the moon in +the heavens, and the time at which she arrives at each point of the +path, can be determined. In order that the determination may be of +sufficient scientific precision, the time of the occultation must be +known within one or two seconds; otherwise, we shall be in doubt how +much of the discrepancy may be due to the error of the observation, +and how much to the error of the tables. + +Occultations of some bright stars, such as Aldebaran and Antares, +can be observed by the naked eye; and yet more easily can those of +the planets be seen. It is therefore a curious historic fact that +there is no certain record of an actual observation of this sort +having been made until after the commencement of the seventeenth +century. Even then the observations were of little or no use, +because astronomers could not determine their time with sufficient +precision. It was not till after the middle of the century, when the +telescope had been made part of astronomical instruments for finding +the altitude of a heavenly body, and after the pendulum clock had +been invented by Huyghens, that the time of an occultation could be +fixed with the required exactness. Thus it happens that from 1640 +to 1670 somewhat coarse observations of the kind are available, and +after the latter epoch those made by the French astronomers become +almost equal to the modern ones in precision. + +The question that occurred to me was: Is it not possible that such +observations were made by astronomers long before 1750? Searching +the published memoirs of the French Academy of Sciences and the +Philosophical Transactions, I found that a few such observations were +actually made between 1660 and 1700. I computed and reduced a few of +them, finding with surprise that Hansen's tables were evidently much +in error at that time. But neither the cause, amount, or nature of +the error could be well determined without more observations than +these. Was it not possible that these astronomers had made more +than they published? The hope that material of this sort existed +was encouraged by the discovery at the Pulkowa Observatory of an +old manuscript by the French astronomer Delisle, containing some +observations of this kind. I therefore planned a thorough search +of the old records in Europe to see what could be learned. + +The execution of this plan was facilitated by the occurrence, +in December, 1870, of an eclipse of the sun in Spain and along the +Mediterranean. A number of parties were going out from this country +to observe it, two of which were fitted out at the Naval Observatory. +I was placed in charge of one of these, consisting, practically, +of myself. The results of my observation would be of importance +in the question of the moon's motion, but, although the eclipse was +ostensibly the main object, the proposed search of the records was +what I really had most in view. In Paris was to be found the most +promising mine; but the Franco-Prussian war was then going on, and +I had to wait for its termination. Then I made a visit to Paris, +which will be described in a later chapter. + +At the observatory the old records I wished to consult were placed +at my disposal, with full liberty not only to copy, but to publish +anything of value I could find in them. The mine proved rich beyond +the most sanguine expectation. After a little prospecting, I found +that the very observations I wanted had been made in great numbers +by the Paris astronomers, both at the observatory and at other points +in the city. + +And how, the reader may ask, did it happen that these observations +were not published by the astronomers who made them? Why should they +have lain unused and forgotten for two hundred years? The answer to +these questions is made plain enough by an examination of the records. +The astronomers had no idea of the possible usefulness and value of +what they were recording. So far as we can infer from their work, +they made the observations merely because an occultation was an +interesting thing to see; and they were men of sufficient scientific +experience and training to have acquired the excellent habit of +noting the time at which a phenomenon was observed. But they +were generally satisfied with simply putting down the clock time. +How they could have expected their successors to make any use of +such a record, or whether they had any expectations on the subject, +we cannot say with confidence. It will be readily understood that no +clocks of the present time (much less those of two hundred years ago) +run with such precision that the moment read from the clock is exact +within one or two seconds. The modern astronomer does not pretend +to keep his clock correct within less than a minute; he determines +by observation how far it is wrong, on each date of observation, +and adds so much to the time given by the clock, or subtracts it, +as the case may be, in order to get the correct moment of true time. +In the case of the French astronomers, the clock would frequently +be fifteen minutes or more in error, for the reason that they used +apparent time, instead of mean time as we do. Thus when, as was often +the case, the only record found was that, at a certain hour, minute, +and second, by a certain clock, _une etoile se cache par la lune_, +a number of very difficult problems were presented to the astronomer +who was to make use of the observations two centuries afterward. +First of all, he must find out what the error of the clock was at the +designated hour, minute, and second; and for this purpose he must +reduce the observations made by the observer in order to determine +the error. But it was very clear that the observer did not expect +any successor to take this trouble, and therefore did not supply +him with any facilities for so doing. He did not even describe +the particular instrument with which the observations were made, +but only wrote down certain figures and symbols, of a more or less +hieroglyphic character. It needed much comparison and examination +to find out what sort of an instrument was used, how the observations +were made, and how they should be utilized for the required purpose. + +Generally the star which the moon hid was mentioned, but not in all +cases. If it was not, the identification of the star was a puzzling +problem. The only way to proceed was to calculate the apparent +position of the centre of the moon as seen by an observer at the Paris +Observatory, at the particular hour and minute of the observation. +A star map was then taken; the points of a pair of dividers were +separated by the length of the moon's radius, as it would appear +on the scale of the map; one point of the dividers was put into +the position of the moon's centre on the map, and with the other a +circle was drawn. This circle represented the outline of the moon, +as it appeared to the observer at the Paris Observatory, at the hour +and minute in question, on a certain day in the seventeenth century. +The star should be found very near the circumference of the circle, +and in nearly all cases a star was there. + +Of course all this could not be done on the spot. What had to be +done was to find the observations, study their relations and the +method of making them, and copy everything that seemed necessary +for working them up. This took some six weeks, but the material I +carried away proved the greatest find I ever made. Three or four +years were spent in making all the calculations I have described. +Then it was found that seventy-five years were added, at a single +step, to the period during which the history of the moon's motion +could be written. Previously this history was supposed to commence +with the observations of Bradley, at Greenwich, about 1750; now it +was extended back to 1675, and with a less degree of accuracy thirty +years farther still. Hansen's tables were found to deviate from +the truth, in 1675 and subsequent years, to a surprising extent; +but the cause of the deviation is not entirely unfolded even now. + +During the time I was doing this work, Paris was under the reign +of the Commune and besieged by the national forces. The studies +had to be made within hearing of the besieging guns; and I could +sometimes go to a window and see flashes of artillery from one of the +fortifications to the south. Nearly every day I took a walk through +the town, occasionally as far as the Arc. As my observations during +these walks have no scientific value, I shall postpone an account +of what I saw to another chapter. + +One curious result of this work is that the longitude of the moon may +now be said to be known with greater accuracy through the last quarter +of the seventeenth century than during the ninety years from 1750 to +1840. The reason is that, for this more modern period, no effective +comparison has been made between observations and Hansen's tables. + + +Just as this work was approaching completion I was called upon to +decide a question which would materially influence all my future +activity. The lamented death of Professor Winlock in 1875 left vacant +the directorship of the Harvard Observatory. A month or two later I +was quite taken by surprise to receive a letter from President Eliot +tendering me this position. I thus had to choose between two courses. +One led immediately to a professorship in Harvard University, +with all the distinction and worldly advantages associated with it, +including complete freedom of action, an independent position, and +the opportunity of doing such work as I deemed best with the limited +resources at the disposal of the observatory. On the other hand +was a position to which the official world attached no importance, +and which brought with it no worldly advantages whatever. + +I first consulted Mr. Secretary Robeson on the matter. The force with +which he expressed himself took me quite by surprise. "By all means +accept the place; don't remain in the government service a day longer +than you have to. A scientific man here has no future before him, and +the quicker he can get away the better." Then he began to descant on +our miserable "politics" which brought about such a state of things. + +Such words, coming from a sagacious head of a department who, one +might suppose, would have been sorry to part with a coadjutor of +sufficient importance to be needed by Harvard University, seemed to +me very suggestive. And yet I finally declined the place, perhaps +unwisely for myself, though no one who knows what the Cambridge +Observatory has become under Professor Pickering can feel that +Harvard has any cause to regret my decision. An apology for it on +my own behalf will seem more appropriate. + +On the Cambridge side it must be remembered that the Harvard +Observatory was then almost nothing compared with what it is now. +It was poor in means, meagre in instrumental outfit, and wanting in +working assistants; I think the latter did not number more than three +or four, with perhaps a few other temporary employees. There seemed +little prospect of doing much. + +On the Washington side was the fact that I was bound to Washington +by family ties, and that, if Harvard needed my services, surely +the government needed them much more. True, this argument was, +for the time, annulled by the energetic assurance of Secretary +Robeson, showing that the government felt no want of any one in +its service able to command a university professorship. But I was +still pervaded by the optimism of youth in everything that concerned +the future of our government, and did not believe that, with the +growth of intelligence in our country, an absence of touch between +the scientific and literary classes on the one side, and "politics" +on the other, could continue. In addition to this was the general +feeling by which I have been actuated from youth--that one ought to +choose that line of activity for which Nature had best fitted him, +trusting that the operation of moral causes would, in the end, +right every wrong, rather than look out for place and preferment. +I felt that the conduct of government astronomy was that line of +activity for which I was best fitted, and that, in the absence +of strong reason to the contrary, it had better not be changed. +In addition to these general considerations was the special point +that, in the course of a couple of years, the directorship of the +Nautical Almanac would become vacant, and here would be an unequaled +opportunity for carrying on the work in mathematical astronomy I +had most at heart. Yet, could I have foreseen that the want of +touch which I have already referred to would not be cured, that I +should be unable to complete the work I had mapped out before my +retirement, or to secure active public interest in its continuance, +my decision would perhaps have been different. + +On September 15, 1877, I took charge of the Nautical Almanac Office. +The change was one of the happiest of my life. I was now in a +position of recognized responsibility, where my recommendations met +with the respect due to that responsibility, where I could make plans +with the assurance of being able to carry them out, and where the +countless annoyances of being looked upon as an important factor in +work where there was no chance of my being such would no longer exist. +Practically I had complete control of the work of the office, and +was thus, metaphorically speaking, able to work with untied hands. +It may seem almost puerile to say this to men of business experience, +but there is a current notion, spread among all classes, that because +the Naval Observatory has able and learned professors, therefore +they must be able to do good and satisfactory work, which may be +worth correcting. + +I found my new office in a rather dilapidated old dwelling-house, +about half a mile or less from the observatory, in one of those +doubtful regions on the border line between a slum and the lowest +order of respectability. If I remember aright, the only occupants +of the place were the superintendent, my old friend Mr. Loomis, +senior assistant, who looked after current business, a proof-reader +and a messenger. All the computers, including even one copyist, +did their work at their homes. + +A couple of changes had to be made in the interest of efficiency. +The view taken of one of these may not only interest the reader, +but give him an idea of what people used to think of government +service before the era of civil service reform. The proof-reader +was excellent in every respect except that of ability to perform +his duty. He occupied a high position, I believe, in the Grand +Army of the Republic, and thus wielded a good deal of influence. +When his case was appealed to the Secretary of the Navy, apellant +was referred to me. I stated the trouble to counsel,--he did not +appear to see figures, or be able to distinguish whether they were +right or wrong, and therefore was useless as a proof-reader. + +"It is not his fault," was the reply; "he nearly lost his eyesight +in the civil war, and it is hard for him to see at all." In the +view of counsel that explanation ought to have settled the case in +his favor. It did not, however, but "influence" had no difficulty +in making itself more successful in another field. + +Among my first steps was that of getting a new office in the top of +the Corcoran Building, then just completed. It was large and roomy +enough to allow quite a number of assistants around me. + +Much of the work was then, as now, done by the piece, or annual +job, the computers on it very generally working at their homes. +This offers many advantages for such work; the government is not +burdened with an officer who must be paid his regular monthly salary +whether he supplies his work or not, and whom it is unpleasant and +difficult to get rid of in case of sickness or breakdown of any +sort. The work is paid for when furnished, and the main trouble of +administration saved. It is only necessary to have a brief report +from time to time, showing that the work is actually going on. + +I began with a careful examination of the relation of prices to work, +making an estimate of the time probably necessary to do each job. +Among the performers of the annual work were several able and eminent +professors at various universities and schools. I found that they +were being paid at pretty high professional prices. I recall with +great satisfaction that I was able to reduce the prices and, step by +step, concentrate all the work in Washington, without detriment to +the pleasant relations I sustained with these men, some of them old +and intimate friends. These economies went on increasing year by +year, and every dollar that was saved went into the work of making +the tables necessary for the future use of the Ephemeris. + +The programme of work which I mapped out, involved, as one branch of +it, a discussion of all the observations of value on the positions +of the sun, moon, and planets, and incidentally, on the bright fixed +stars, made at the leading observatories of the world since 1750. +One might almost say it involved repeating, in a space of ten or +fifteen years, an important part of the world's work in astronomy for +more than a century past. Of course, this was impossible to carry out +in all its completeness. In most cases what I was obliged practically +to confine myself to was a correction of the reductions already made +and published. Still, the job was one with which I do not think +any astronomical one ever before attempted by a single person could +compare in extent. The number of meridian observations on the sun, +Mercury, Venus, and Mars alone numbered 62,030. They were made at the +observatories of Greenwich, Paris, Koenigsberg, Pulkowa, Cape of Good +Hope,--but I need not go over the entire list, which numbers thirteen. + +The other branches of the work were such as I have already +described,--the computation of the formulae for the perturbation of +the various planets by each other. As I am writing for the general +reader, I need not go into any further technical description of this +work than I have already done. Something about my assistants may, +however, be of interest. They were too numerous to be all recalled +individually. In fact, when the work was at its height, the office +was, in the number of its scientific employees, nearly on an equality +with the three or four greatest observatories of the world. + +One of my experiences has affected my judgment on the general morale +of the educated young men of our country. In not a single case did I +ever have an assistant who tried to shirk his duty to the government, +nor do I think there was more than a single case in which one tried +to contest my judgment of his own merits, or those of his work. +I adopted the principle that promotion should be by merit rather than +by seniority, and my decisions on that matter were always accepted +without complaint. I recall two men who voluntarily resigned when +they found that, through failure of health or strength, they were +unable to properly go on with their work. In frankness I must admit +that there was one case in which I had a very disagreeable contest in +getting rid of a learned gentleman whose practical powers were so far +inferior to his theoretical knowledge that he was almost useless in +the office. He made the fiercest and most determined fight in which +I was ever engaged, but I must, in justice to all concerned, say that +his defect was not in will to do his work but in the requisite power. +Officially I was not without fault, because, in the press of matters +requiring my attention, I had entrusted too much to him, and did +not discover his deficiencies until some mischief had been done. + + +Perhaps the most eminent and interesting man associated with me +during this period was Mr. George W. Hill, who will easily rank as +the greatest master of mathematical astronomy during the last quarter +of the nineteenth century. The only defect of his make-up of which +I have reason to complain is the lack of the teaching faculty. +Had this been developed in him, I could have learned very much +from him that would have been to my advantage. In saying this +I have one especial point in mind. In beginning my studies in +celestial mechanics, I lacked the guidance of some one conversant +with the subject on its practical side. Two systems of computing +planetary perturbations had been used, one by Leverrier, while the +other was invented by Hansen. The former method was, in principle, +of great simplicity, while the latter seemed to be very complex and +even clumsy. I naturally supposed that the man who computed the +direction of the planet Neptune before its existence was known, must +be a master of the whole subject, and followed the lines he indicated. +I gradually discovered the contrary, and introduced modified methods, +but did not entirely break away from the old trammels. Hill had never +been bound by them, and used Hansen's method from the beginning. +Had he given me a few demonstrations of its advantages, I should +have been saved a great deal of time and labor. + +The part assigned to Hill was about the most difficult in the whole +work,--the theory of Jupiter and Saturn. Owing to the great mass of +these "giant planets," the inequalities of their motion, especially +in the case of Saturn, affected by the attraction of Jupiter, is +greater than in the case of the other planets. Leverrier failed to +attain the necessary exactness in his investigation of their motion. +Hill had done some work on the subject at his home in Nyack Turnpike +before I took charge of the office. He now moved to Washington, +and seriously began the complicated numerical calculations which +his task involved. I urged that he should accept the assistance of +less skilled computers; but he declined it from a desire to do the +entire work himself. Computers to make the duplicate computations +necessary to guard against accidental numerical errors on his part +were all that he required. He labored almost incessantly for about +ten years, when he handed in the manuscript of what now forms Volume +IV. of the "Astronomical Papers." + +A pleasant incident occurred in 1884, when the office was honored +by a visit from Professor John C. Adams of England, the man who, +independently of Leverrier, had computed the place of Neptune, but +failed to receive the lion's share of the honor because it happened to +be the computations of the Frenchman and not his which led immediately +to the discovery of the planet. It was of the greatest interest to +me to bring two such congenial spirits as Adams and Hill together. + +It would be difficult to find a more impressive example than +that afforded by Hill's career, of the difficulty of getting the +public to form and act upon sane judgments in such cases as his. +The world has the highest admiration for astronomical research, and +in this sentiment our countrymen are foremost. They spend hundreds +of thousands of dollars to promote it. They pay good salaries to +professors who chance to get a certain official position where they +may do good work. And here was perhaps the greatest living master in +the highest and most difficult field of astronomy, winning world-wide +recognition for his country in the science, and receiving the salary +of a department clerk. I never wrestled harder with a superior +than I did with Hon. R. W. Thompson, Secretary of the Navy, about +1880, to induce him to raise Mr. Hill's salary from $1200 to $1400. +It goes without saying that Hill took even less interest in the +matter than I did. He did not work for pay, but for the love of +science. His little farm at Nyack Turnpike sufficed for his home, +and supplied his necessities so long as he lived there, and all +he asked in Washington was the means of going on with his work. +The deplorable feature of the situation is, that this devotion to +his science, instead of commanding due recognition on the public +and official side, rather tended to create an inadequate impression +of the importance of what he was doing. That I could not secure +for him at least the highest official consideration is among the +regretful memories of my official life. + +Although, so far as the amount of labor is concerned, Mr. Hill's +work upon Jupiter and Saturn is the most massive he ever undertook, +his really great scientific merit consists in the development of a +radically new method of computing the inequalities of the moon's +motion, which is now being developed and applied by Professor +E. W. Brown. His most marked intellectual characteristic is the +eminently practical character of his researches. He does not aim +so much at elegant mathematical formulae, as to determine with the +greatest precision the actual quantities of which mathematical +astronomy stands in need. In this direction he has left every +investigator of recent or present time far in the rear. + +After the computations on Jupiter and Saturn were made, it was +necessary to correct their orbits and make tables of their motions. +This work I left entirely in Mr. Hill's hands, the only requirement +being that the masses of the planets and other data which he +adopted should be uniform with those I used in the rest of the +work. His tables were practically completed in manuscript at the +beginning of 1892. When they were through, doubtless feeling, as +well he might, that he had done his whole duty to science and the +government, Mr. Hill resigned his office and returned to his home. +During the summer he paid a visit to Europe, and visiting the +Cambridge University, was honored with the degree of Doctor of Laws, +along with a distinguished company, headed by the Duke of Edinburgh. +One of the pleasant things to recall was that, during the fifteen +years of our connection, there was never the slightest dissension +or friction between us. + +I may add that the computations which he made on the theory of +Jupiter and Saturn are all preserved complete and in perfect form +at the Nautical Almanac Office, so that, in case any question should +arise respecting them in future generations, the point can be cleared +up by an inspection. + + +In 1874, three years before I left the observatory, I was informed +by Dr. Henry Draper that he had a mechanical assistant who showed +great fondness for and proficiency in some work in mathematical +astronomy. I asked to see what he was doing, and received a +collection of papers of a remarkable kind. They consisted mainly +of some of the complicated developments of celestial mechanics. +In returning them I wrote to Draper that, when I was ready to begin +my work on the planetary theories, I must have his man,--could he +possibly be spared? But he came to me before the time, while I was +carrying on some investigations with aid afforded by the Smithsonian +Institution. Of course, when I took charge of the Nautical Almanac +Office, he was speedily given employment on its work. His name +was John Meier, a Swiss by birth, evidently from the peasant class, +but who had nevertheless been a pupil of Professor Rudolph Wolf at +Zurich. Emigrating to this country, he was, during the civil war, +an engineer's mate or something of that grade in the navy. He was +the most perfect example of a mathematical machine that I ever had +at command. Of original power,--the faculty of developing new methods +and discovering new problems, he had not a particle. Happily for his +peace of mind, he was totally devoid of worldly ambition. I had only +to prepare the fundamental data for him, explain what was wanted, +write down the matters he was to start with, and he ground out +day after day the most complicated algebraic and trigonometrical +computations with untiring diligence and almost unerring accuracy. + +But a dark side of the picture showed itself very suddenly and +unexpectedly in a few years. For the most selfish reasons, if for +no others, I desired that his peace of mind should be undisturbed. +The result was that I was from time to time appealed to as an +arbitrator of family dissensions, in which it was impossible to +say which side was right and which wrong. Then, as a prophylactic +against malaria, his wife administered doses of whiskey. The rest +of the history need not be told. It illustrates the maxim that +"blood will tell," which I fear is as true in scientific work as in +any other field of human activity. + +A man of totally different blood, the best in fact, entered the +office shortly before Meier broke down. This was Mr. Cleveland +Keith, son of Professor Reuel Keith, who was one of the professors +at the observatory when it was started. His patience and ability +led to his gradually taking the place of a foreman in supervising +the work pertaining to the reduction of the observations, and the +construction of the tables of the planets. Without his help, I fear +I should never have brought the tables to a conclusion. He died in +1896, just as the final results of the work were being put together. + + +High among the troublesome problems with which I had to deal while +in charge of the Nautical Almanac, was that of universal time. +All but the youngest of my readers will remember the period when every +railway had its own meridian, by the time of which its trains were +run, which had to be changed here and there in the case of the great +trunk lines, and which seldom agreed with the local time of a place. +In the Pennsylvania station at Pittsburg were three different times; +one that of Philadelphia, one of some point farther west, and the +third the local Pittsburg time. The traveler was constantly liable +to miss a train, a connection, or an engagement by the doubt and +confusion thus arising. + +This was remedied in 1883 by the adoption of our present system of +standard times of four different meridians, the introduction of which +was one of the great reforms of our generation. When this change +was made, I was in favor of using Washington time as the standard, +instead of going across the ocean to Greenwich for a meridian. +But those who were pressing the measure wanted to have a system for +the whole world, and for this purpose the meridian of Greenwich was +the natural one. Practically our purpose was served as well by the +Greenwich meridian as it would have been by that of Washington. + +The year following this change an international meridian conference +was held at Washington, on the invitation of our government, to +agree upon a single prime meridian to be adopted by the whole world +in measuring longitudes and indicating time. + +Of course the meridian of Greenwich was the only one that would +answer the purpose. This had already been adopted by several leading +maritime nations, including ourselves as well as Great Britain. +It was merely a question of getting the others to fall into line. +No conference was really necessary for this purpose, because the +dissentients caused much more inconvenience to themselves than to any +one else by their divergent practice. The French held out against the +adoption of the Greenwich meridian, and proposed one passing through +Behring Strait. I was not a member of the conference, but was invited +to submit my views, which I did orally. I ventured to point out to +the Frenchmen that the meridian of Greenwich also belonged to France, +passing near Havre and intersecting their country from north to south. +It was therefore as much a French as an English meridian, and could +be adopted without any sacrifice of national position. But they +were not convinced, and will probably hold out until England adopts +the metric system, on which occasion it is said that they will be +prepared to adopt the Greenwich meridian. + +One proceeding of the conference illustrates a general characteristic +of reformers. Almost without debate, certainly without adequate +consideration, the conference adopted a recommendation that +astronomers and navigators should change their system of reckoning +time. Both these classes have, from time immemorial, begun the day +at noon, because this system was most natural and convenient, when +the question was not that of a measure of time for daily life, but +simply to indicate with mathematical precision the moment of an event. +Navigators had begun the day at noon, because the observations of the +sun, on which the latitude of a ship depends, are necessarily made at +noon, and the run of the ship is worked up immediately afterward. +The proposed change would have produced unending confusion in +astronomical nomenclature, owing to the difficulty of knowing in all +cases which system of time was used in any given treatise or record +of observations. I therefore felt compelled, in the general interest +of science and public convenience, to oppose the project with all my +power, suggesting that, if the new system must be put into operation, +we should wait until the beginning of a new century. + +"I hope you will succeed in having its adoption postponed until +1900," wrote Airy to me, "and when 1900 comes, I hope you will +further succeed in having it again postponed until the year 2000." + +The German official astronomers, and indeed most of the official ones +everywhere, opposed the change, but the efforts on the other side +were vigorously continued. The British Admiralty was strongly urged +to introduce the change into the Nautical Almanac, and the question +of doing this was warmly discussed in various scientific journals. + +One result of this movement was that, in 1886, Rear-Admiral +George H. Belknap, superintendent of the Naval Observatory, +and myself were directed to report on the question. I drew up a +very elaborate report, discussing the subject especially in its +relations to navigation, pointing out in the strongest terms I +could the danger of placing in the hands of navigators an almanac +in which the numbers were given in a form so different from that to +which they were accustomed. If they chanced to forget the change, +the results of their computations might be out to any extent, to the +great danger and confusion of their reckoning, while not a solitary +advantage would be gained by it. + +There is some reason to suppose that this document found its way +to the British Admiralty, but I never heard a word further on the +subject except that it ceased to be discussed in London. A few years +later some unavailing efforts were made to revive the discussion, but +the twentieth century is started without this confusing change being +introduced into the astronomical ephemerides and nautical almanacs +of the world, and navigators are still at liberty to practice the +system they find most convenient. + + +In 1894 I had succeeded in bringing so much of the work as pertained +to the reduction of the observations and the determination of the +elements of the planets to a conclusion. So far as the larger planets +were concerned, it only remained to construct the necessary tables, +which, however, would be a work of several years. + +With the year 1896 came what was perhaps the most important event +in my whole plan. I have already remarked upon the confusion which +pervaded the whole system of exact astronomy, arising from the +diversity of the fundamental data made use of by the astronomers of +foreign countries and various institutions in their work. It was, +I think, rather exceptional that any astronomical result was based +on entirely homogeneous and consistent data. To remedy this state of +things and start the exact astronomy of the twentieth century on one +basis for the whole world, was one of the objects which I had mapped +out from the beginning. Dr. A. M. W. Downing, superintendent of the +British Nautical Almanac, was struck by the same consideration and +animated by the same motive. He had especially in view to avoid +the duplication of work which arose from the same computations +being made in different countries for the same result, whereby much +unnecessary labor was expended. The field of astronomy is so vast, +and the quantity of work urgently required to be done so far beyond +the power of any one nation, that a combination to avoid all such +waste was extremely desirable. When, in 1895, my preliminary results +were published, he took the initiative in a project for putting the +idea into effect, by proposing an international conference of the +directors of the four leading ephemerides, to agree upon a uniform +system of data for all computations pertaining to the fixed stars. +This conference was held in Paris in May, 1896. After several days +of discussion, it resolved that, beginning with 1901, a certain set +of constants should be used in all the ephemerides, substantially +the same as those I had worked out, but without certain ulterior, +though practically unimportant, modifications which I had applied +for the sake of symmetry. My determination of the positions and +motions of the bright fixed stars, which I had not yet completed, +was adopted in advance for the same purpose, I agreeing to complete +it if possible in time for use in 1901. I also agreed to make a new +determination of the constant of precession, that which I had used in +my previous work not being quite satisfactory. All this by no means +filled the field of exact astronomy, yet what was left outside of it +was of comparatively little importance for the special object in view. + +More than a year after the conference I was taken quite by surprise +by a vigorous attack on its work and conclusions on the part of +Professor Lewis Boss, director of the Dudley Observatory, warmly +seconded by Mr. S. C. Chandler of Cambridge, the editor of the +"Astronomical Journal." The main grounds of attack were two +in number. The time was not ripe for concluding upon a system of +permanent astronomical standards. Besides this, the astronomers of +the country should have been consulted before a decision was reached. + +Ultimately the attack led to a result which may appear curious to +the future astronomer. He will find the foreign ephemerides using +uniform data worked out in the office of the "American Ephemeris and +Nautical Almanac" at Washington for the years beginning with 1901. +He will find that these same data, after being partially adopted in +the ephemeris for 1900, were thrown out in 1901, and the antiquated +ones reintroduced in the main body of the ephemeris. The new ones +appear simply in an appendix. + +As, under the operation of law, I should be retired from active +service in the March following the conference, it became a serious +question whether I should be able to finish the work that had been +mapped out, as well as the planetary tables. Mr. Secretary Herbert, +on his own motion so far as I know, sent for me to inquire into the +subject. The result of the conference was a movement on his part +to secure an appropriation somewhat less than the highest salary of +a professor, to compensate me for the completion of the work after +my retirement. The House Committee on Appropriations, ever mindful +of economy in any new item, reduced the amount to a clerical salary. +The committee of conference compromised on a mean between the two. +It happened that the work on the stars was not specified in the +law,--only the tables of the planets. In consequence I had no legal +right to go on with the former, although the ephemerides of Europe +were waiting for the results. After much trouble an arrangement +was effected under which the computers on the work were not to be +prohibited from consulting me in its prosecution. + +Astronomical work is never really done and finished. The questions +growing out of the agreement or non-agreement of the tables with +observations still remain to be studied, and require an immense amount +of computation. In what country and by whom these computations will +be made no one can now tell. The work which I most regretted to leave +unfinished was that on the motion of the moon. As I have already +said, this work is complete to 1750. The computations for carrying +it on from 1750 to the present time were perhaps three fourths done +when I had to lay them aside. In 1902, when the Carnegie Institution +was organized, it made a grant for supplying me with the computing +assistance and other facilities necessary for the work, and the +Secretary of the Navy allowed me the use of the old computations. +Under such auspices the work was recommenced in March, 1903. + +So far as I can recall, I never asked anything from the government +which would in any way promote my personal interests. The only +exception, if such it is, is that during the civil war I joined with +other professors in asking that we be put on the same footing with +other staff corps of the navy as regarded pay and rank. So far as +my views were concerned, the rank was merely a _pro forma_ matter, +as I never could see any sound reason for a man pursuing astronomical +duties caring to have military rank. + +In conducting my office also, the utmost economy was always studied. +The increase in the annual appropriations for which I asked was so +small that, when I left the office in 1877, they were just about the +same as they were back in the fifties, when it was first established. +The necessary funds were saved by economical administration. All this +was done with a feeling that, after my retirement, the satisfaction +with which one could look back on such a policy would be enhanced by +a feeling on the part of the representatives of the public that the +work I had done must be worthy of having some pains taken to secure +its continuance in the same spirit. + +I do not believe that the men who conduct our own government are a +whit behind the foremost of other countries in the desire to promote +science. If after my retirement no special measures were deemed +necessary to secure the continuance of the work in which I had been +engaged, I prefer to attribute it to adventitious circumstances rather +than to any undervaluation of scientific research by our authorities. + + + + +IX + +SCIENTIFIC WASHINGTON + + +It is sometimes said that no man, in passing away, leaves a place +which cannot be equally well filled by another. This is doubtless +true in all ordinary cases. But scientific research, and scientific +affairs generally at the national capital, form an exception to many +of the rules drawn from experience in other fields. + +Professor Joseph Henry, first secretary of the Smithsonian +Institution, was a man of whom it may be said, without any reflection +on men of our generation, that he held a place which has never +been filled. I do not mean his official place, but his position +as the recognized leader and exponent of scientific interests at +the national capital. A world-wide reputation as a scientific +investigator, exalted character and inspiring presence, broad views +of men and things, the love and esteem of all, combined to make him +the man to whom all who knew him looked for counsel and guidance +in matters affecting the interests of science. Whether any one +could since have assumed this position, I will not venture to say; +but the fact seems to be that no one has been at the same time able +and willing to assume it. + +On coming to Washington I soon became very intimate with Professor +Henry, and I do not think there was any one here to whom he set +forth his personal wishes and convictions respecting the policy +of the Smithsonian Institution and its relations to the government +more freely than he did to me. As every point connected with the +history and policy of this establishment is of world-wide interest, +and as Professor Henry used to put some things in a different light +from that shed upon the subject by current publications, I shall +mention a few points that might otherwise be overlooked. + +It has always seemed to me that a deep mystery enshrouded the act +of Smithson in devising his fortune as he did. That an Englishman, +whose connections and associations were entirely with the intellectual +classes,--who had never, so far as is known, a single American +connection, or the slightest inclination toward democracy,--should, +in the intellectual condition of our country during the early +years of the century, have chosen its government as his trustee +for the foundation of a scientific institution, does of itself seem +singular enough. What seems yet more singular is that no instructions +whatever were given in his will or found in his papers beyond the +comprehensive one "to found an institution at Washington to be +called the Smithsonian Institution for the increase and diffusion +of knowledge among men." No plan of the institution, no scrap +of paper which might assist in the interpretation of the mandate, +was ever discovered. Not a word respecting his intention was ever +known to have been uttered. Only a single remark was ever recorded +which indicated that he had anything unusual in view. He did at one +time say, "My name shall live in the memory of men when the titles +of the Northumberlands and the Percys are extinct and forgotten." + +One result of this failure to indicate a plan for the institution was +that, when the government received the money, Congress was at a loss +what to do with it. Some ten years were spent in discussing schemes +of various kinds, among them that of declining the gift altogether. +Then it was decided that the institution should be governed by a +Board of Regents, who should elect a secretary as their executive +officer and the administrator of the institution. The latter was to +include a library, a museum, and a gallery of art. The plans for +the fine structure, so well known to every visitor to the capital, +were prepared, the building was started, the regents organized, +and Professor Henry made secretary. + +We might almost say that Henry was opposed to every special function +assigned to the institution by the organic law. He did not agree +with me as to any mystery surrounding the intentions of the founder. +To him they were perfectly clear. Smithson was a scientific +investigator; and the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men +could be best promoted on the lines that he desired, by scientific +investigation and the publication of scientific researches. For this +purpose a great building was not necessary, and he regretted all the +money spent on it. The library, museum, and gallery of art would +be of only local advantage, whereas "diffusion among men" implied +all men, whether they could visit Washington or not. It was clearly +the business of the government to supply purely local facilities for +study and research, and the endowment of Smithson should not be used +for such a purpose. + +His opposition to the building tinged the whole course of his thought. +I doubt whether he was ever called upon by founders of institutions +of any sort for counsel without his warning them to beware of spending +their money in bricks and mortar. The building being already started +before he took charge, and the three other objects being sanctioned +by law, he was, of course, hampered in carrying out his views. +But he did his utmost to reduce to a minimum the amount of the fund +that should be devoted to the objects specified. + +This policy brought on the most animated contest in the history +of the institution. It was essential that his most influential +assistants should share his views or at least not thwart them. This, +he found, was not the case. The librarian, Mr. C. C. Jewett, an able +and accomplished man in the line of his profession, was desirous of +collecting one of the finest scientific libraries. A contest arose, +to which Professor Henry put an end by the bold course of removing +the librarian from office. Mr. Jewett denied his power to do this, +and the question came before the board of regents. The majority of +these voted that the secretary had the power to remove his assistants. +Among the minority was Rufus Choate, who was so strongly opposed to +the action that he emphasized his protest against it by resigning +from the board. + +A question of legal interpretation came in to make the situation +yet more difficult. The regents had resolved that, after the +completion of the building, one half the income should be devoted +to those objects which Professor Henry considered most appropriate. +Meanwhile there was no limit to the amount that might be appropriated +to these objects, but Mr. Jewett and other heads of departments +wished to apply the rule from the beginning. Henry refused to do so, +and looked with entire satisfaction on the slowness of completion +of what was, in his eyes, an undesirable building. + +It must be admitted that there was one point which Professor +Henry either failed to appreciate, or perhaps thought unworthy +of consideration. This is, the strong hold on the minds of men +which an institution is able to secure through the agency of an +imposing building. Saying nothing of the artistic and educational +value of a beautiful piece of architecture, it would seem that such +a structure has a peculiar power of impressing the minds of men with +the importance of the object to which it is devoted, or of the work +going on within it. Had Professor Henry been allowed to perform +all the functions of the Smithsonian Institution in a moderate-sized +hired house, as he felt himself abundantly able to do, I have very +serious doubts whether it would have acquired its present celebrity +and gained its present high place in the estimation of the public. + +In the winter of 1865 the institution suffered an irreparable +loss by a conflagration which destroyed the central portion of +the building. At that time the gallery of art had been confined to +a collection of portraits of Indians by Stanley. This collection +was entirely destroyed. The library, being at one end, remained +intact. The lecture room, where courses of scientific lectures +had been delivered by eminent men of science, was also destroyed. +This event gave Professor Henry an opportunity of taking a long +step in the direction he desired. He induced Congress to take the +Smithsonian library on deposit as a part of its own, and thus relieve +the institution of the cost of supporting this branch. + +The Corcoran Art Gallery had been founded in the mean time, and +relieved the institution of all necessity for supporting a gallery +of art. He would gladly have seen the National Museum made a separate +institution, and the Smithsonian building purchased by the government +for its use, but he found no chance of carrying this out. + +After the death of Professor Henry the Institution grew rapidly +into a position in which it might almost claim to be a scientific +department of the government. The National Museum, remaining under +its administration, was greatly enlarged, and one of its ramifications +was extended into the National Zoological Park. The studies of +Indian ethnology, begun by Major J. W. Powell, grew into the Bureau +of Ethnology. The Astrophysical Observatory was established, in +which Professor Langley has continued his epoch-making work on the +sun's radiant heat with his wonderful bolometer, an instrument of +his own invention. + +Before he was appointed to succeed Professor Henry, Professor Baird +was serving as United States Fish Commissioner, and continued to fill +this office, without other salary than that paid by the Smithsonian +Institution. The economic importance of the work done and still +carried on by this commission is too well known to need a statement. +About the time of Baird's death, the work of the commission was +separated from that of the Institution by providing a salary for +the commissioner. + +We have here a great extension of the idea of an institution for +scientific publications and research. I recall once suggesting +to Professor Baird the question whether the utilization of the +institution founded by Smithson for carrying on and promoting such +government work as that of the National Museum was really the right +thing to do. He replied, "It is not a case of using the Smithsonian +fund for government work, but of the government making appropriations +for the work of the Smithsonian Institution." Between the two sides +of the question thus presented,--one emphasizing the honor done to +Smithson by expanding the institution which bears his name, and the +other aiming solely at the best administration of the fund which we +hold in trust for him,--I do not pretend to decide. + + +On the academic side of social life in Washington, the numerous +associations of alumni of colleges and universities hold a prominent +place. One of the earliest of these was that of Yale, which has held +an annual banquet every year, at least since 1877, when I first became +a member. Its membership at this time included Mr. W. M. Evarts, then +Secretary of State, Chief Justice Waite, Senator Dawes, and a number +of other men prominent in political life. The most attractive speaker +was Mr. Evarts, and the fact that his views of education were somewhat +conservative added much to the interest of his speeches. He generally +had something to say in favor of the system of a prescribed curriculum +in liberal education, which was then considered as quite antiquated. +When President Dwight, shortly after his accession to office, visited +the capital to explain the modernizing of the Yale educational system, +he told the alumni that the college now offered ninety-five courses to +undergraduates. Evarts congratulated the coming students on sitting +at a banquet table where they had their choice of ninety-five courses +of intellectual aliment. + +Perhaps the strongest testimonial of the interest attached to these +reunions was unconsciously given by President Hayes. He had received +an honorary degree from Yale, and I chanced to be on the committee +which called to invite him to the next banquet. He pleaded, as I +suppose Presidents always do, the multiplicity of his engagements, +but finally said,-- + +"Well, gentlemen, I will come, but it must be on two well-understood +conditions. In the first place, I must not be called to my feet. +You must not expect a speech of me. The second condition is, I must +be allowed to leave punctually at ten o'clock." + +"We regret your conditions, Mr. President," was the reply, "but must, +of course, accede to them, if you insist." + +He came to the banquet, he made a speech,--a very good, and not a +very short one,--and he remained, an interested hearer, until nearly +two o'clock in the morning. + +In recent years I cannot avoid a feeling that a change has come over +the spirit of such associations. One might gather the impression +that the apothegm of Sir William Hamilton needed a slight amendment. + + On earth is nothing great but Man, + In Man is nothing great but Mind. + +Strike out the last word, and insert "Muscle." The reader will +please not misinterpret this remark. I admire the physically +perfect man, loving everything out of doors, and animated by the +spirit that takes him through polar snows and over mountain tops. +But I do not feel that mere muscular practice during a few years of +college life really fosters this spirit. + + +Among the former institutions of Washington of which the memory is +worth preserving, was the Scientific Club. This was one of those +small groups, more common in other cities than in Washington, of men +interested in some field of thought, who meet at brief intervals at +one another's houses, perhaps listen to a paper, and wind up with +a supper. When or how the Washington Club originated, I do not know, +but it was probably sometime during the fifties. Its membership seems +to have been rather ill defined, for, although I have always been +regarded as a member, and am mentioned in McCulloch's book as such, +[1] I do not think I ever received any formal notice of election. +The club was not exclusively scientific, but included in its list the +leading men who were supposed to be interested in scientific matters, +and whose company was pleasant to the others. Mr. McCulloch himself, +General Sherman, and Chief Justice Chase are examples of the members +of the club who were of this class. + +It was at the club meetings that I made the acquaintance of General +Sherman. His strong characteristics were as clearly seen at these +evening gatherings as in a military campaign. His restlessness +was such that he found it hard to sit still, especially in his +own house, two minutes at a time. His terse sentences, leaving +no doubt in the mind of the hearer as to what he meant, always +had the same snap. One of his military letters is worth reviving. +When he was carrying on his campaign in Georgia against Hood, the +latter was anxious that the war should damage general commercial +interests as little as possible; so he sent General Sherman a letter +setting forth the terms and conditions on which he, Hood, would +refrain from burning the cotton in his line of march, but leave it +behind,--at as great length and with as much detail as if it were +a treaty of peace between two nations. Sherman's reply was couched +in a single sentence: "I hope you will burn all the cotton you can, +for all you don't burn I will." When he introduced two people, +he did not simply mention their names, but told who each one was. +In introducing the adjutant-general to another officer who had just +come into Washington, he added, "You know his signature." + +Mr. McCulloch, who succeeded Mr. Chase as Secretary of the Treasury, +was my beau ideal of an administrator. In his personal make-up, +he was as completely the opposite of General Sherman as a man +well could be. Deliberate, impassive, heavy of build, slow in +physical movement, he would have been supposed, at first sight, +a man who would take life easy, and concern himself as little +as possible about public affairs. But, after all, there is a +quality in the head of a great department which is quite distinct +from sprightliness, and that is wisdom. This he possessed in the +highest degree. The impress which he made on our fiscal system was +not the product of what looked like energetic personal action, but +of a careful study of the prevailing conditions of public opinion, +and of the means at his disposal for keeping the movement of things +in the right direction. His policy was what is sometimes claimed, +and correctly, I believe, to embody the highest administrative wisdom: +that of doing nothing himself that he could get others to do for him. +In this way all his energies could be devoted to his proper work, +that of getting the best men in office, and of devising measures +from time to time calculated to carry the government along the lines +which he judged to be best for the public interests. + +The name of another attendant at the meetings of the club has from +time to time excited interest because of its connection with a +fundamental principle of evolutionary astronomy. This principle, +which looks paradoxical enough, is that up to a certain stage, +as a star loses heat by radiation into space, its temperature +becomes higher. It is now known as Lane's Law. Some curiosity +as to its origin, as well as the personality of its author, has +sometimes been expressed. As the story has never been printed, +I ask leave to tell it. + +Among the attendants at the meetings of the Scientific Club was +an odd-looking and odd-mannered little man, rather intellectual in +appearance, who listened attentively to what others said, but who, +so far as I noticed, never said a word himself. Up to the time +of which I am speaking, I did not even know his name, as there was +nothing but his oddity to excite any interest in him. + +One evening about the year 1867, the club met, as it not +infrequently did, at the home of Mr. McCulloch. After the +meeting Mr. W. B. Taylor, afterward connected with the Smithsonian +Institution in an editorial capacity, accompanied by the little man, +set out to walk to his home, which I believe was somewhere near the +Smithsonian grounds. At any rate, I joined them in their walk, +which led through these grounds. A few days previous there had +appeared in the "Reader," an English weekly periodical having a +scientific character, an article describing a new theory of the sun. +The view maintained was that the sun was not a molten liquid, as had +generally been supposed up to that time, but a mass of incandescent +gas, perhaps condensed at its outer surface, so as to form a sort of +immense bubble. I had never before heard of the theory, but it was +so plausible that there could be no difficulty in accepting it. So, +as we wended our way through the Smithsonian grounds, I explained the +theory to my companions in that _ex cathedra_ style which one is apt +to assume in setting forth a new idea to people who know little or +nothing of the subject. My talk was mainly designed for Mr. Taylor, +because I did not suppose the little man would take any interest +in it. I was, therefore, much astonished when, at a certain point, +he challenged, in quite a decisive tone, the correctness of one of +my propositions. In a rather more modest way, I tried to maintain +my ground, but was quite silenced by the little man informing us that +he had investigated the whole subject, and found so and so--different +from what I had been laying down. + +I immediately stepped down from the pontifical chair, and asked the +little man to occupy it and tell us more about the matter, which +he did. Whether the theorem to which I have alluded was included +in his statement, I do not recall. If it was not, he told me about +it subsequently, and spoke of a paper he had published, or was about +to publish, in the "American Journal of Science." I find that this +paper appeared in Volume L. in 1870. + +Naturally I cultivated the acquaintance of such a man. His name +was J. Homer Lane. He was quite alone in the world, having neither +family nor near relative, so far as any one knew. He had formerly +been an examiner or something similar in the Patent Office, but +under the system which prevailed in those days, a man with no more +political influence than he had was very liable to lose his position, +as he actually did. He lived in a good deal such a habitation and +surroundings as men like Johnson and Goldsmith lived in in their time. +If his home was not exactly a garret, it came as near it as a lodging +of the present day ever does. + +After the paper in question appeared, I called Mr. Lane's attention +to the fact that I did not find any statement of the theorem which +he had mentioned to me to be contained in it. He admitted that it +was contained in it only impliedly, and proceeded to give me a very +brief and simple demonstration. + +So the matter stood, until the centennial year, 1876, when Sir +William Thomson paid a visit to this country. I passed a very +pleasant evening with him at the Smithsonian Institution, engaged +in a discussion, some points of which he afterwards mentioned in +an address to the British Association. Among other matters, I +mentioned this law, originating with Mr. J. Homer Lane. He did not +think it could be well founded, and when I attempted to reproduce +Mr. Lane's verbal demonstration, I found myself unable to do so. +I told him I felt quite sure about the matter, and would write to +him on the subject. When I again met Mr. Lane, I told him of my +difficulty and asked him to repeat the demonstration. He did so +at once, and I sent it off to Sir William. The latter immediately +accepted the result, and published a paper on the subject, in which +the theorem was made public for the first time. + +It is very singular that a man of such acuteness never achieved +anything else of significance. He was at my station on one occasion +when a total eclipse of the sun was to be observed, and made a report +on what he saw. At the same time he called my attention to a slight +source of error with which photographs of the transit of Venus might +be affected. The idea was a very ingenious one, and was published +in due course. + +Altogether, the picture of his life and death remains in my memory +as a sad one, the brightest gleam being the fact that he was elected +a member of the National Academy of Sciences, which must have been +to him a very grateful recognition of his work on the part of his +scientific associates. When he died, his funeral was attended only +by a few of his fellow members of the academy. Altogether, I feel +it eminently appropriate that his name should be perpetuated by the +theorem of which I have spoken. + + +If the National Academy of Sciences has not proved as influential a +body as such an academy should, it has still taken such a place in +science, and rendered services of such importance to the government, +that the circumstances connected with its origin are of permanent +historic interest. As the writer was not a charter member, he cannot +claim to have been "in at the birth," though he became, from time to +time, a repository of desultory information on the subject. There is +abundant internal and circumstantial evidence that Dr. B. A. Gould, +although his name has, so far as I am aware, never been mentioned +in this connection, was a leading spirit in the first organization. +On the other hand, curiously enough, Professor Henry was not. I was +quite satisfied that Bache took an active part, but Henry assured me +that he could not believe this, because he was so intimate with Bache +that, had the latter known anything of the matter, he would surely +have consulted him. Some recent light is thrown on the subject +by letters of Rear-Admiral Charles H. Davis, found in his "Life," +as published by his son. Everything was carried on in the greatest +secrecy, until the bill chartering the body was introduced by Senator +Henry Wilson of Massachusetts. Fifty charter members were named, +and this number was fixed as the permanent limit to the membership. +The list did not include either George P. Bond, director of the +Harvard Observatory, perhaps the foremost American astronomer of the +time in charge of an observatory, nor Dr. John W. Draper. Yet the +total membership in the section of astronomy and kindred sciences was +very large. A story to which I give credence was that the original +list, as handed to Senator Wilson, did not include the name of +William B. Rogers, who was then founding the Institute of Technology. +The senator made it a condition that room for Rogers should be found, +and his wish was acceded to. It is of interest that the man thus +added to the academy by a senator afterward became its President, +and proved as able and popular a presiding officer as it ever had. + +The governmental importance of the academy arose from the fact +that its charter made it the scientific adviser of the government, +by providing that it should "investigate, examine, experiment, +and report upon any subject of science or art" whenever called +upon by any department of the government. In this respect it was +intended to perform the same valuable functions for the government +that are expected of the national scientific academies or societies +of foreign countries. + +The academy was empowered to make its own constitution. That first +adopted was sufficiently rigid and complex. Following the example of +European bodies of the same sort, it was divided into two classes, +one of mathematical and physical, the other of natural science. +Each of these classes was divided into sections. A very elaborate +system of procedure for the choice of new members was provided. +Any member absent from four consecutive stated meetings of the +academy had his name stricken from the roll unless he communicated +a valid reason for his absence. Notwithstanding this requirement, +the academy had no funds to defray the traveling expenses of members, +nor did the government ever appropriate money for this purpose. + +For seven years it became increasingly doubtful whether the +organization would not be abandoned. Several of the most eminent +members took no interest whatever in the academy,--did not attend +the meetings, but did tender their resignations, which, however, +were not accepted. This went on at such a rate that, in 1870, +to avoid a threatened dissolution, a radical change was made in +the constitution. Congress was asked to remove the restriction upon +the number of members, which it promptly did. Classes and sections +were entirely abandoned. The members formed but a single body. +The method of election was simplified,--too much simplified, in fact. + +The election of new members is, perhaps, the most difficult and +delicate function of such an organization. It is one which cannot be +performed to public satisfaction, nor without making many mistakes; +and the avoidance of the latter is vastly more difficult when the +members are so widely separated and have little opportunity to discuss +in advance the merits of the men from whom a selection is to be made. +An ideal selection cannot be made until after a man is dead, so that +his work can be summed up; but I think it may fairly be said that, +on the whole, the selections have been as good as could be expected +under the conditions. + +Notwithstanding the indifference of the government to the possible +benefits that the academy might render it, it has--in addition to +numerous reports on minor subjects--made two of capital importance +to the public welfare. One of these was the planning of the United +States Geological Survey, the other the organization of a forestry +system for the United States. + +During the years 1870-77, besides several temporary surveys or +expeditions which had from time to time been conducted under the +auspices of the government, there were growing up two permanent +surveys of the territories. One of these was the Geographical +Survey of territories west of the 100th meridian, under the Chief +of Engineers of the Army; the other was the Geological Survey of +the territories under the Interior Department, of which the chief +was Professor F. V. Hayden. + +The methods adopted by the two chiefs to gain the approval of the +public and the favoring smiles of Congress were certainly very +different. Wheeler's efforts were made altogether by official +methods and through official channels. Hayden considered it his +duty to give the public every possible opportunity to see what he +was doing and to judge his work. His efforts were chronicled at +length in the public prints. His summers were spent in the field, +and his winters were devoted to working up results and making every +effort to secure influence. An attractive personality and extreme +readiness to show every visitor all that there was to be seen in his +collections, facilitated his success. One day a friend introduced +a number of children with an expression of doubt as to the little +visitors being welcome. "Oh, I always like to have the children +come here," he replied, "they influence their parents." He was so +successful in his efforts that his organization grew apace, and soon +developed into the Geological Survey of the Territories. + +Ostensibly the objects of the two organizations were different. +One had military requirements mainly in view, especially the mapping +of routes. Hayden's survey was mainly in the interests of geology. +Practically, however, the two covered the same field in all points. +The military survey extended its scope by including everything +necessary for a complete geographical and geological atlas. +The geological survey was necessarily a complete topographical and +geological survey from the beginning. Between 1870 and 1877, both +were engaged in making an atlas of Colorado, on the maps of which +were given the same topographical features and the same lines of +communication. Parties of the two surveys mounted their theodolites +on the same mountains, and triangulated the same regions. The Hayden +survey published a complete atlas of Colorado, probably more finely +gotten up than any atlas of a State in the Union, while the Wheeler +survey was vigorously engaged in issuing maps of the same territory. +No effort to prevent this duplication of work by making an arrangement +between the two organizations led to any result. Neither had any +official knowledge of the work of the other. Unofficially, the one +was dissatisfied with the political methods of the other, and claimed +that the maps which it produced were not fit for military purposes. +Hayden retorted with unofficial reflections on the geological +expertness of the engineers, and maintained that their work was +not of the best. He got up by far the best maps; Wheeler, in the +interests of economy, was willing to sacrifice artistic appearance +to economy of production. We thus had the curious spectacle of the +government supporting two independent surveys of the same region. +Various compromises were attempted, but they all came to nothing. +The state of things was clear enough to Congress, but the repugnance +of our national legislature to the adoption of decisive measures of +any sort for the settlement of a disputed administrative question +prevented any effective action. Infant bureaus may quarrel with each +other and eat up the paternal substance, but the parent cannot make +up his mind to starve them outright, or even to chastise them into +a spirit of conciliation. Unable to decide between them, Congress +for some years pursued the policy of supporting both surveys. + +The credit for introducing a measure which would certainly lead to +unification is due to Mr. A. S. Hewitt, of New York, then a member +of the Committee on Appropriations. He proposed to refer the whole +subject to the National Academy of Sciences. His committee accepted +his view, and a clause was inserted in the Sundry Civil Bill of June +30, 1878, requiring the academy at its next meeting to take the matter +into consideration and report to Congress "as soon thereafter as may +be practicable, a plan for surveying and mapping the territory of +the United States on such general system as will, in their judgment, +secure the best results at the least possible cost." + +Several of the older and more conservative members of the academy +objected that this question was not one of science or art, with +which alone the academy was competent to deal, but was a purely +administrative question which Congress should settle for itself. +They feared that the academy would be drawn into the arena of +political discussion to an extent detrimental to its future and +welfare and usefulness. Whether the exception was or was not well +taken, it was felt that the academy, the creature of Congress, could +not join issue with the latter as to its functions, nor should an +opportunity of rendering a great service to the government be lost +for such a reason as this. + +The plan reported by the academy was radical and comprehensive. +It proposed to abolish all the existing surveys of the territories +except those which, being temporary, were completing their work, +and to substitute for them a single organization which would include +the surveys of the public lands in its scope. The interior work +of the Coast and Geodetic Survey was included in the plan, it being +proposed to transfer this bureau to the Interior Department, with its +functions so extended as to include the entire work of triangulation. + +When the proposition came up in Congress at the following session, +it was vigorously fought by the Chief of Engineers of the army, +and by the General Land Office, of which the surveying functions +were practically abolished. The Land Office carried its point, +and was eliminated from the scheme. General Humphreys, the Chief of +Engineers, was a member of the academy, but resigned on the ground +that he could not properly remain a member while contesting the +recommendations of the body. But the academy refused to accept the +resignation, on the very proper ground that no obligation was imposed +on the members to support the views of the academy, besides which, +the work of the latter in the whole matter was terminated when its +report was presented to Congress. + +Although this was true of the academy, it was not true of the +individual members who had taken part in constructing the scheme. +They were naturally desirous of seeing the plan made a success, and, +in the face of such vigorous opposition, this required constant +attention. A dexterous movement was that of getting the measure +transferred from one appropriation bill to another when it passed +over to the Senate. The measure at length became a law, and thus +was established the Geological Survey of the United States, which +was to be governed by a Director, appointed by the President, by +and with the advice and consent of the Senate. + +Then, on March 4, 1879, an important question arose. The right man +must be placed at the head of the new bureau. Who is he? At first +there seemed to be but one voice on the subject, Professor Hayden had +taken the greatest pains to make known the work of his survey, not +only to Congress, but to every scientific society, small and great, +the world over. Many of these had bestowed their approbation upon it +by electing its director to honorary membership. It has been said, +I do not know how truly, that the number of these testimonials +exceeded that received by any other scientific man in America. +If this were so, they would have to be counted, not weighed. It was, +therefore, not surprising that two thirds of the members of Congress +were said to have sent a recommendation to the President for the +appointment of so able and successful a man to the new position. +The powerful backing of so respectable a citizen as Hon. J. D. Cox, +formerly Secretary of the Interior, was also heartily proffered. +To these forces were added that of a certain number of geologists, +though few or none of them were leaders in the science. Had it not +been for a private intimation conveyed to Secretary Schurz that the +scientific men interested might have something to say on the subject, +Hayden might have been appointed at the very moment the bill was +signed by the President. + +Notwithstanding all of Hayden's merits as the energetic head of a +survey, the leaders in the movement considered that Mr. Clarence King +was the better qualified for the duties of the new position. It is +not unlikely that a preference for a different method of influencing +Congress than that which I have described, was one of the reasons in +favor of Mr. King. He was a man of charming personality and great +literary ability. Some one said of him that he could make a more +interesting story out of what he saw during a ride in a street car +than most men could with the best material at their disposal. His +"Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevadas" was as interesting an account +of Western exploration as has ever been published. I understand it +was suppressed by the author because some of the characters described +in it were much hurt by finding themselves painted in the book. + +Hopeless though the contest might have seemed, an effort was made +by three or four of the men most interested to secure Mr. King's +appointment. If I wanted to show the fallacy of the common impression +that scientific men are not fitted for practical politics, I could +not do it better than by giving the internal history of the movement. +This I shall attempt only in the briefest way. The movers in the +matter divided up the work, did what they could in the daytime, +and met at night at Wormley's Hotel to compare notes, ascertain the +effect of every shot, and decide where the next one should be fired. +As all the parties concerned in the matter have now passed off the +stage, I shall venture to mention one of these shots. One eminent +geologist, whose support was known to be available, had not been +called in, because an impression had been formed that President +Hayes would not be willing to consider favorably what he might say. +After the matter had been discussed at one or two meetings, one +of the party proposed to sound the President on the subject at his +next interview. So, when the occasion arose, he gently introduced +the name of the gentleman. + +"What view does he take?" inquired the President. + +"I think he will be favorable to Mr. King," was the reply; "but +would you give great weight to his opinion?" + +"I would give great weight to it, very great weight, indeed," was +the reply. + +This expression was too decided in its tone to leave any doubt, +and the geologist in question was on his way to Washington as soon +as electricity could tell him that he was wanted. When the time +finally came for a decision, the President asked Secretary Schurz +for his opinion. Both agreed that King was the man, and he was +duly appointed. + +The new administration was eminently successful. But King was +not fond of administrative work, and resigned the position at the +end of a year or so. He was succeeded by John W. Powell, under +whom the survey grew with a rapidity which no one had anticipated. +As originally organized, the survey was one of the territories only, +but the question whether it should not be extended to the States as +well, and prepare a topographical atlas of the whole country, was +soon mooted, and decided by Congress in the affirmative. For this +extension, however, the original organizers of the survey were in +no way responsible. It was the act of Congress, pure and simple. + +If the success of an organization is to be measured by the public +support which it has commanded, by the extension of its work and +influence, and by the gradual dying out of all opposition, it must be +admitted that the plan of the academy was a brilliant success. It is +true that a serious crisis had once to be met. While Mr. Cleveland +was governor of New York, his experience with the survey of that +State had led him to distrust the methods on which the surveys +of the United States were being conducted. This distrust seems +to have pervaded the various heads of the departments under his +administration, and led to serious charges against the conduct of +both the Coast and Geological surveys. An unfavorable report upon +the administration of the former was made by a committee especially +appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury, and led to the resignation +of its superintendent. But, in the case of the Geological Survey, +the attacks were mostly conducted by the newspapers. At length, +Director Powell asked permission of Secretary Lamar to write him a +letter in reply. His answers were so sweeping, and so conclusive +on every point, that nothing more was heard of the criticisms. + +The second great work of the academy for the government was that +of devising a forestry system for the United States. The immediate +occasion for action in this direction was stated by Secretary Hoke +Smith to be the "inadequacy and confusion of existing laws relating +to the public timber lands and consequent absence of an intelligent +policy in their administration, resulting in such conditions as may, +if not speedily stopped, prevent the proper development of a large +part of our country." + +Even more than in the case of the Geological Survey might this +work seem to be one of administration rather than of science. +But granting that such was the case, the academy commanded great +advantages in taking up the subject. The commission which it formed +devoted more than a year to the study, not only of the conditions +in our own country, but of the various policies adopted by foreign +countries, especially Germany, and their results. As in the case +of the Geological Survey, a radically new and very complete system +of forestry administration was proposed. Interests having other +objects than the public good were as completely ignored as they had +been before. + +The soundness of the conclusions reached by the Academy Commission +were challenged by men wielding great political power in their +respective States. For a time it was feared that the academy would +suffer rather than gain in public opinion by the report it had made. +But the moral force behind it was such that, in the long run, some of +the severest critics saw their error, and a plan was adopted which, +though differing in many details from that proposed, was, in the main, +based on the conclusion of the commission. The Interior department, +the Geological Survey, and the Department of Agriculture all have +their part in the work. + +Notwithstanding these signal demonstrations of the valuable service +which the academy may render to the government, the latter has done +nothing for it. The immediate influence of the leading scientific men +in public affairs has perhaps been diminished as much in one direction +as it has been increased in another by the official character of +the organization. The very fact that the members of the academy +belong to a body which is, officially, the scientific adviser of +the government, prevents them from coming forward to exercise that +individual influence which they might exercise were no such body +in existence. + +The academy has not even a place of meeting, nor is a repository +for its property and records provided for it. Although it holds +in trust large sums which have been bequeathed from time to time by +its members for promoting scientific investigation, and is, in this +way, rendering an important service to the progress of knowledge, +it has practically no income of its own except the contributions of +its own members, nearly all of whom are in the position described +by the elder Agassiz, of having "no time to make money." + +Among the men who have filled the office of president of the academy, +Professor O. C. Marsh was perhaps the one whose activity covered the +widest field. Though long well known in scientific circles, he first +came into public prominence by his exposure of the frauds practiced +by contractors in furnishing supplies for the Indians. This business +had fallen into the hands of a small ring of contractors known as the +"Indian ring," who knew the ropes so well that they could bid below +any competitor and yet manage things so as to gain a handsome profit +out of the contracts. In the course of his explorations Marsh took +pains to investigate the whole matter, and published his conclusions +first in the New York "Tribune," and then more fully in pamphlet +form, taking care to have public attention called to the subject so +widely that the authorities would have to notice it. In doing so, +Mr. Delano, Secretary of the Interior, spoke of them as charges made +by "a Mr. Marsh." This method of designating such a man was made +effective use of by Mr. Delano's opponents in the case. + +Although the investigation which followed did not elicit all the +facts, it had the result of calling the attention of succeeding +Secretaries of the Interior to the necessity of keeping the best +outlook on the administration of Indian affairs. What I believe to +have been the final downfall of the ring was not brought about until +Cleveland's first administration. Then it happened in this way. +Mr. Lamar, the Secretary of the Interior, was sharply on the lookout +for frauds of every kind. As usual, the lowest bid for a certain +kind of blanket had been accepted, and the Secretary was determined +to see whether the articles furnished actually corresponded with +the requirements of the contract. It chanced that he had as his +appointment clerk Mr. J. J. S. Hassler, a former manufacturer of +woolen goods. Mr. Hassler was put on the board to inspect the +supplies, and found that the blankets, although to all ordinary +appearance of the kind and quality required, were really of a much +inferior and cheaper material. The result was the enforced failure +of the contractor, and, I believe, the end of the Indian ring. + +Marsh's explorations in search of fossil remains of the animals which +once roamed over the western parts of our continent were attended +by adventures of great interest, which he long had the intention of +collecting and publishing in book form. Unfortunately, he never did +it, nor, so far as I am aware, has any connected narrative of his +adventures ever appeared in print. This is more to be regretted, +because they belong to a state of things which is rapidly passing +away, leaving few records of that lifelike sort which make the most +impressive picture. + +His guide during his early explorations was a character who +has since become celebrated in America and Europe by the vivid +representations of the "Wild West" with which he has amused and +instructed the dwellers on two continents. Marsh was on his way to +explore the region in the Rocky Mountains where he was to find the +fossils which have since made his work most celebrated. The guide +was burning with curiosity as to the object of the expedition. +One night over the campfire he drew his chief into a conversation on +the subject. The latter told him that there was once a time when the +Rocky Mountains did not exist, and that part of the continent was a +level plain. In the course of long ages mountains rose, and animals +ran over them. Then the mountains split open; the animals died and +left their bones in the clefts. The object of his expedition was +now to search for some of these bones. + +The bones were duly discovered, and it was not many years thereafter +before the Wild West Exhibition was seen in the principal Eastern +cities. When it visited New Haven, its conductor naturally renewed +the acquaintance of his former patron and supporter. + +"Do you remember, professor," said he, "our talk as we were going on +your expedition to the Rockies,--how you told me about the mountains +rising up and being split open and the bones of animals being lost +in there, and how you were going to get them?" + +"Oh, yes," said the other, "I remember it very well." + +"Well, professor, do you know, when you told me all that I r'ally +thought you was puttin' up a job on me." + +The result was a friendship between the two men, which continued +during Marsh's whole life. When the one felt that he ought no longer +to spend all the money he earned, he consulted Marsh on the subject of +"salting it down," and doubtless got good advice. + +As an exposer of humbugs Marsh took a prominent place. One of these +related to the so-called "Cardiff Giant." Sometime in 1869 the +newspapers announced the discovery in northern New York, near the +Canadian border, of an extraordinary fossil man, or colossal statue, +people were not sure which, eight or ten feet high. It was found +several feet below the ground while digging a well. Men of some +scientific repute, including even one so eminent as Professor James +Hall, had endorsed the genuineness of the find, and, on the strength +of this, it was taken around to show the public. In the course of +a journey through New York State, Marsh happened to pass through +the town where the object was on exhibition. His train stopped +forty minutes for dinner, which would give him time to drive to the +place and back, and leave a margin of about fifteen minutes for an +examination of the statue. Hardly more than a glance was necessary +to show its fraudulent character. Inside the ears the marks of a +chisel were still plainly visible, showing that the statue had been +newly cut. One of the most curious features was that the stone +had not been large enough to make the complete statue, so that +the surface was, in one place, still in the rough. The object had +been found in wet ground. Its material was sulphate of lime, the +slight solubility of which would have been sufficient to make it +dissolve entirely away in the course of centuries. The absence of +any degradation showed that the thing was comparatively new. On the +strength of this, Marsh promptly denounced the affair as a humbug. +Only a feeble defense was made for it, and, a year or two later, the +whole story came out. It had been designed and executed somewhere in +the Northwest, transported to the place where discovered, and buried, +to be afterward dug up and reported as a prehistoric wonder. + +Only a few years ago the writer had an opportunity of seeing +with what wonderful ease intelligent men can be imposed upon by +these artificial antiquities. The would-be exhibitor of a fossil +woman, found I know not where, appeared in Washington. He had not +discovered the fossil himself, but had purchased it for some such +sum as $100, on the assurance of its genuine character. He seems, +however, to have had some misgivings on the subject, and, being an +honest fellow, invited some Washington scientific men to examine it +in advance of a public exhibition. The first feature to strike the +critical observer was that the arms of the fossil were crossed over +the breast in the most approved undertaker's fashion, showing that +if the woman had ever existed, she had devoted her dying moments to +arranging a pose for the approval of posterity. Little more than a +glance was necessary to show that the fossil was simply baked clay. +Yet the limbs were hard and stiff. One of the spectators therefore +asked permission of the owner to bore with an auger into the leg and +see what was inside. A few moments' work showed that the bone of the +leg was a bar of iron, around which clay had been moulded and baked. +I must do the crestfallen owner the justice to say that his anxiety +to convince the spectators of his own good faith in the matter far +exceeded his regret at the pecuniary loss which he had suffered. + +Another amusing experience that Marsh had with a would-be fossil +arose out of the discovery here and there in Connecticut of the +fossil footprints of birds. Shortly after a find of this kind had +been announced, a farmer drove his wagon up in front of the Peabody +Museum, called on the professor, and told him he had dug up something +curious on his farm, and he wished the professor would tell him what +it was. He thought it looked like the footprints of a bird in a +stone, but he was not quite sure. + +Marsh went out and looked at the stone. A single glance was enough. + +"Oh, I see what they are. They are the footprints of the domestic +turkey. And the oddest part of it is, they are all made with the +right foot." + +The simple-minded countryman, in making the prints with the turkey's +foot, had overlooked the difference between the right and left foot, +and the consequent necessity of having the tracks which pertained +to the two feet alternate. + + +Washington is naturally a centre of information on all subjects +relating to the aboriginal tribes of America and to life on the plains +generally. Besides the Geological Survey, the Bureau of Ethnology +has been an active factor in this line. An official report cannot +properly illustrate life in all its aspects, and therefore should +be supplemented by the experiences of leading explorers. This is +all the more necessary if, as seems to be the case, the peculiar +characteristics of the life in question are being replaced by those +more appropriate to civilization. Yet the researches of the bureau in +question are not carried on in any narrow spirit, and will supply the +future student of humanity with valuable pictures of the most heroic +of all races, and yet doomed, apparently, to ultimate extinction. +I do not think I ever saw a more impressive human figure and face +than those of Chief Joseph as he stood tall, erect, and impassive, +at a President's reception in the winter of 1903. He was attired +in all the brilliancy of his official costume; but not a muscle of +his strongly marked face betrayed the sentiments with which he must +have gazed on the shining uniforms passing before him. + +[1] _Men and Measures of Half a Century_, by Hugh McCulloch. +New York: Chas. Scribner's Sons, 1889. + + + + +X + +SCIENTIFIC ENGLAND + + +My first trip to Europe, mentioned in the last chapter, was made with +my wife, when the oldest transatlantic line was still the fashionable +one. The passenger on a Cunarder felt himself amply compensated for +poor attendance, coarse food, and bad coffee by learning from the +officers on the promenade deck how far the ships of their line were +superior to all others in strength of hull, ability of captain, and +discipline of crew. Things have changed on both sides since then. +Although the Cunard line has completed its half century without +having lost a passenger, other lines are also carefully navigated, +and the Cunard passenger, so far as I know, fares as well as any +other. Captain McMickan was as perfect a type of the old-fashioned +captain of the best class as I ever saw. His face looked as if the +gentlest zephyr that had ever fanned it was an Atlantic hurricane, +and yet beamed with Hibernian good humor and friendliness. He read +prayers so well on Sunday that a passenger assured him he was born +to be a bishop. One day a ship of the North German Lloyd line was +seen in the offing slowly gaining on us. A passenger called the +captain's attention to the fact that we were being left behind. +"Oh, they're very lightly built, them German ships; built to carry +German dolls and such like cargo." + +In London one of the first men we met was Thomas Hughes, of Rugby +fame, who made us feel how worthy he was of the love and esteem +bestowed upon him by Americans. He was able to make our visit +pleasant in more ways than one. Among the men I wanted to see was +Mr. John Stuart Mill, to whom I was attracted not only by his fame +as a philosopher and the interest with which I had read his books, +but also because he was the author of an excellent pamphlet on the +Union side during our civil war. + +On my expressing a desire to make Mr. Mill's acquaintance, Mr. Hughes +immediately offered to give me a note of introduction. Mill lived at +Blackheath, which, though in an easterly direction down the Thames, +is one of the prettiest suburbs of the great metropolis. His dwelling +was a very modest one, entered through a passage of trellis-work in a +little garden. He was by no means the grave and distinguished-looking +man I had expected to see. He was small in stature and rather +spare, and did not seem to have markedly intellectual features. +The cordiality of his greeting was more than I could have expected; +and he was much pleased to know that his work in moulding English +sentiment in our favor at the commencement of the civil war was so +well remembered and so highly appreciated across the Atlantic. + +As a philosopher, it must be conceded that Mr. Mill lived at an +unfortunate time. While his vigor and independence of thought led +him to break loose from the trammels of the traditional philosophy, +modern scientific generalization had not yet reached a stage favorable +to his becoming a leader in developing the new philosophy. Still, +whatever may be the merits of his philosophic theories, I believe +that up to a quite recent time no work on scientific method appeared +worthy to displace his "System of Logic." + +A feature of London life that must strongly impress the scientific +student from our country is the closeness of touch, socially as +well as officially, between the literary and scientific classes on +the one side and the governing classes on the other. Mr. Hughes +invited us to make an evening call with him at the house of a cabinet +minister,--I think it was Mr. Goschen,--where we should find a number +of persons worth seeing. Among those gathered in this casual way +were Mr. Gladstone, Dean Stanley, and our General Burnside, then +grown quite gray. I had never before met General Burnside, but his +published portraits were so characteristic that the man could scarcely +have been mistaken. The only change was in the color of his beard. +Then and later I found that a pleasant feature of these informal +"at homes," so universal in London, is that one meets so many people +he wants to see, and so few he does not want to see. + +Congress had made a very liberal appropriation for observations of the +solar eclipse,--the making of which was one object of my visit,--to +be expended under the direction of Professor Peirce, superintendent +of the Coast Survey. Peirce went over in person to take charge +of the arrangements. He arrived in London with several members of +his party a few days before we did, and about the same time came an +independent party of my fellow astronomers from the Naval Observatory, +consisting of Professors Hall, Harkness, and Eastman. The invasion of +their country by such an army of American astronomers quite stirred up +our English colleagues, who sorrowfully contrasted the liberality of +our government with the parsimony of their own, which had, they said, +declined to make any provision for the observations of the eclipse. +Considering that it was visible on their own side of the Atlantic, +they thought their government might take a lesson from ours. +Of course we could not help them directly; and yet I suspect that +our coming, or at least the coming of Peirce, really did help them a +great deal. At any rate, it was a curious coincidence that no sooner +did the American invasion occur than it was semi-officially discovered +that no application of which her Majesty's government could take +cognizance had been made by the scientific authorities for a grant +of money with which to make preparations for observing the eclipse. +That the scientific authorities were not long in catching so broad +a hint as this goes without saying. A little more of the story came +out a few days later in a very unexpected way. + +In scientific England, the great social event of the year is the +annual banquet of the Royal Society, held on St. Andrew's day, +the date of the annual meeting of the society, and of the award of +its medals for distinguished work in science. At the banquet the +scientific outlook is discussed not only by members of the society, +but by men high in political and social life. The medalists are +toasted, if they are present; and their praises are sung, if, as is +apt to be the case with foreigners, they are absent. First in rank +is the Copley medal, founded by Sir Godfrey Copley, a contemporary of +Newton. This medal has been awarded annually since 1731, and is now +considered the highest honor that scientific England has to bestow. +The recipient is selected with entire impartiality as to country, +not for any special work published during the year, but in view of +the general merit of all that he has done. Five times in its history +the medal has crossed the Atlantic. It was awarded to Franklin in +1753, Agassiz in 1861, Dana in 1877, and J. Willard Gibbs in 1902. +The long time that elapsed between the first and the second of these +awards affords an illustration of the backwardness of scientific +research in America during the greater part of the first century of +our independence. The year of my visit the medal was awarded to +Mr. Joule, the English physicist, for his work on the relation of +heat and energy. + +I was a guest at the banquet, which was the most brilliant function +I had witnessed up to that time. The leaders in English science +and learning sat around the table. Her Majesty's government was +represented by Mr. Gladstone, the Premier, and Mr. Lowe, afterward +Viscount Sherbrooke, Chancellor of the Exchequer. Both replied +to toasts. Mr. Lowe as a speaker was perhaps a little dull, but +not so Mr. Gladstone. There was a charm about the way in which his +talk seemed to display the inner man. It could not be said that he +had either the dry humor of Mr. Evarts or the wit of Mr. Depew; but +these qualities were well replaced by the vivacity of his manner and +the intellectuality of his face. He looked as if he had something +interesting he wanted to tell you; and he proceeded to tell it in +a very felicitous way as regarded both manner and language, but +without anything that savored of eloquence. He was like Carl Schurz +in talking as if he wanted to inform you, and not because he wanted +you to see what a fine speaker he was. With this he impressed one +as having a perfect command of his subject in all its bearings. + +I did not for a moment suppose that the Premier of England could have +taken any personal interest in the matter of the eclipse. Great, +therefore, was my surprise when, in speaking of the relations of +the government to science, he began to talk about the coming event. +I quote a passage from memory, after twenty-seven years: "I had the +pleasure of a visit, a few days since, from a very distinguished +American professor, Professor Peirce of Harvard. In the course of +the interview, the learned gentleman expressed his regret that her +Majesty's government had declined to take any measures to promote +observations of the coming eclipse of the sun by British astronomers. +I replied that I was not aware that the government had declined to +take such measures. Indeed, I went further, and assured him that any +application from our astronomers for aid in making these observations +would receive respectful consideration." I felt that there might +be room for some suspicion that this visit of Professor Peirce was a +not unimportant factor in the changed position of affairs as regarded +British observations of the eclipse. + +Not only the scene I have described, but subsequent experience, has +impressed me with the high appreciation in which the best scientific +work is held by the leading countries of Europe, especially England +and France, as if the prosecution were something of national +importance which men of the highest rank thought it an honor to +take part in. The Marquis of Salisbury, in an interval between two +terms of service as Premier of England, presided over the British +Association for the Advancement of Science, and delivered an address +showing a wide and careful study of the generalizations of modern +science. + +In France, also, one great glory of the nation is felt to be the +works of its scientific and learned men of the past and present. +Membership of one of the five academies of the Institute of France +is counted among the highest honors to which a Frenchman can aspire. +Most remarkable, too, is the extent to which other considerations than +that of merit are set aside in selecting candidates for this honor. +Quite recently a man was elected a member of the Academy of Sciences +who was without either university or official position, and earned a +modest subsistence as a collaborator of the "Revue des Deux Mondes." +But he had found time to make investigations in mathematical astronomy +of such merit that he was considered to have fairly earned this +distinction, and the modesty of his social position did not lie in +his way. + + +At the time of this visit Lister was an eminent member of the medical +profession, but had not, so far as I am aware, been recognized as +one who was to render incalculable service to suffering humanity. +From a professional point of view there are no two walks in life +having fewer points of contact than those of the surgeon and the +astronomer. It is therefore a remarkable example of the closeness +of touch among eminent Englishmen in every walk of life, that, in +subsequent visits, I was repeatedly thrown into contact with one +who may fairly be recommended as among the greatest benefactors of +the human race that the nineteenth century has given us. This was +partly, but not wholly, due to his being, for several years, the +president of the Royal Society. I would willingly say much more, +but I am unable to write authoritatively upon the life and work of +such a man, and must leave gossip to the daily press. + +For the visiting astronomer at London scarcely a place in London has +more attractions than the modest little observatory and dwelling house +on Upper Tulse Hill, in which Sir William Huggins has done so much +to develop the spectroscopy of the fixed stars. The owner of this +charming place was a pioneer in the application of the spectroscope +to the analysis of the light of the heavenly bodies, and after nearly +forty years of work in this field, is still pursuing his researches. +The charm of sentiment is added to the cold atmosphere of science by +the collaboration of Lady Huggins. Almost at the beginning of his +work Mr. Huggins, analyzing the light of the great nebula of Orion, +showed that it must proceed from a mass of gas, and not from solid +matter, thus making the greatest step possible in our knowledge of +these objects. He was also the first to make actual measures of the +motions of bright stars to or from our system by observing the wave +length of the rays of light which they absorbed. Quite recently an +illustrated account of his observatory and its work has appeared in +a splendid folio volume, in which the rigor of science is tempered +with a gentle infusion of art which tempts even the non-scientific +reader to linger over its pages. + +In England, the career of Professor Cayley affords an example of the +spirit that impels a scientific worker of the highest class, and of +the extent to which an enlightened community may honor him for what +he is doing. One of the creators of modern mathematics, he never +had any ambition beyond the prosecution of his favorite science. +I first met him at a dinner of the Astronomical Society Club. +As the guests were taking off their wraps and assembling in the +anteroom, I noticed, with some surprise, that one whom I supposed +to be an attendant was talking with them on easy terms. A moment +later the supposed attendant was introduced as Professor Cayley. +His garb set off the seeming haggardness of his keen features so +effectively that I thought him either broken down in health or just +recovering from some protracted illness. The unspoken words on +my lips were, "Why, Professor Cayley, what has happened to you?" +Being now in the confessional, I must own that I did not, at the +moment, recognize the marked intellectuality of a very striking face. +As a representation of a mathematician in the throes of thought, +I know nothing to equal his portrait by Dickenson, which now hangs +in the hall of Trinity College, Cambridge, and is reproduced in the +sixth volume of Cayley's collected works. His life was that of a +man moved to investigation by an uncontrollable impulse; the only +sort of man whose work is destined to be imperishable. Until forty +years of age he was by profession a conveyancer. His ability was +such that he might have gained a fortune by practicing the highest +branch of English law, if his energies had not been diverted in +another direction. The spirit in which he pursued his work may +be judged from an anecdote related by his friend and co-worker, +Sylvester, who, in speaking of Cayley's even and placid temper, +told me that he had never seen him ruffled but once. Entering his +office one morning, intent on some new mathematical thought which +he was discussing with Sylvester, he opened the letter-box in his +door and found a bundle of papers relating to a law case which he +was asked to take up. The interruption was too much. He flung the +papers on the table with remarks more forcible than complimentary +concerning the person who had distracted his attention at such an +inopportune moment. In 1863 he was made a professor at Cambridge, +where, no longer troubled with the intricacies of land tenure, he +published one investigation after another with ceaseless activity, +to the end of his life. + +Among my most interesting callers was Professor John C. Adams, of +whom I have spoken as sharing with Leverrier the honor of having +computed the position of the planet Neptune before its existence +was otherwise known. The work of the two men was prosecuted at +almost the same time, but adopting the principle that priority of +publication should be the sole basis of credit, Arago had declared +that no other name than that of Leverrier should even be mentioned +in connection with the work. If repute was correct, Leverrier was +not distinguished for those amiable qualities that commonly mark the +man of science and learning. His attitude toward Adams had always +been hostile. Under these conditions chance afforded the latter +a splendid opportunity of showing his superiority to all personal +feeling. He was president of the Royal Astronomical Society when +its annual medal was awarded to his French rival for his work in +constructing new tables of the sun and planets. It thus became his +duty to deliver the address setting forth the reasons for the award. +He did this with a warmth of praise for Leverrier's works which +could not have been exceeded had the two men been bosom friends. + +Adams's intellect was one of the keenest I ever knew. The most +difficult problems of mathematical astronomy and the most recondite +principles that underlie the theory of the celestial motions were +to him but child's play. His works place him among the first +mathematical astronomers of the age, and yet they do not seem to do +his ability entire justice. Indeed, for fifteen years previous to +the time of my visit his published writings had been rather meagre. +But I believe he was justly credited with an elaborate witticism +to the following effect: "In view of the fact that the only human +being ever known to have been killed by a meteorite was a monk, we +may concede that after four hundred years the Pope's bull against +the comet has been justified by the discovery that comets are made +up of meteorites." + +Those readers who know on what imperfect data men's impressions are +sometimes founded will not be surprised to learn of my impression +that an Englishman's politics could be inferred from his mental +and social make-up. If all men are born either Aristotelians or +Platonists, then it may be supposed that all Englishmen are born +Conservatives or Liberals. + +The utterances of English journalists of the Conservative party about +American affairs during and after our civil war had not impressed +me with the idea that one so unfortunate as to be born in that +party would either take much interest in meeting an American or +be capable of taking an appreciative view of scientific progress. +So confident was I of my theory that I remarked to a friend with +whom I had become somewhat intimate, that no one who knew Mr. Adams +could have much doubt that he was a Liberal in politics. + +An embarrassed smile spread over the friend's features. "You would +not make that conclusion known to Mr. Adams, I hope," said he. + +"But is he not a Liberal?" + +"He is not only a Conservative, but declares himself 'a Tory of +the Tories.'" + +I afterward found that he fully justified his own description. +At the university, he was one of the leading opponents of those +measures which freed the academic degrees from religious tests. +He was said to have been among those who objected to Sylvester, +a Jew, receiving a degree. + + +I had decided to observe the eclipse at Gibraltar. In order that +my results, if I obtained any, might be utilized in the best way, it +was necessary that the longitude of the station should be determined +by telegraph. This had never been done for Gibraltar. How great +the error of the supposed longitude might have been may be inferred +from the fact that a few years later, Captain F. Green of the United +States Navy found the longitude of Lisbon on the Admiralty charts +to be two miles in error. The first arrangements I had to make +in England were directed to this end. Considering the relation +of the world's great fortress to British maritime supremacy, it +does seem as if there were something presumptuous in the coolness +with which I went among the authorities to make arrangements for +the enterprise. Nevertheless, the authorities permitted the work, +with a cordiality which was of itself quite sufficient to remove +any such impression, had it been entertained. The astronomers did, +indeed, profess to feel it humiliating that the longitude of such +a place as Gibraltar should have to be determined from Greenwich by +an American. They did not say "by a foreigner," because they always +protested against Americans looking upon themselves as such. Still, +it would not be an English enterprise if an American carried it out. +I suspect, however, that my proceedings were not looked upon with +entire dissatisfaction even by the astronomers. They might prove +as good a stimulant to their government in showing a little more +enterprise in that direction as the arrival of our eclipse party did. + +The longitude work naturally took me to the Royal Observatory which +has made the little town of Greenwich so famous. It is situated some +eight miles east from Charing Cross, on a hill in Greenwich Park, +with a pleasant outlook toward the Thames. From my youth up I had +been working with its observations, and there was no institution +in the world which I had approached, or could approach, with the +interest I felt in ascending the little hill on which it is situated. +When the Calabria was once free from her wharf in New York harbor, +and on her way down the Narrows, the foremost thought was, "Off for +Europe; we shall see Greenwich!" The day of my arrival in London +I had written to Professor Airy, and received an answer the same +evening, inviting us to visit the observatory and spend an afternoon +with him a day or two later. + +I was shown around the observatory by an assistant, while my wife +was entertained by Mrs. Airy and the daughters inside the dwelling. +The family dined as soon as the day's work was over, about the middle +of the afternoon. After the meal, we sat over a blazing fire and +discussed our impressions of London. + +"What place in London interested you most?" said Airy to my wife. + +"The first place I went to see was Cavendish Square." + +"What was there in Cavendish Square to interest you?" + +"When I was a little girl, my mother once gave me, as a birthday +present, a small volume of poems. The first verse in the book was:-- + + "'Little Ann and her mother were walking one day + Through London's wide city so fair; + And business obliged them to go by the way + That led them through Cavendish Square.'" + +To our astonishment the Astronomer Royal at once took up the thread:-- + + "'And as they passed by the great house of a lord, + A beautiful chariot there came, + To take some most elegant ladies abroad, + Who straightway got into the same,'" + +and went on to the end. I do not know which of the two was more +surprised: Airy, to find an American woman who was interested in his +favorite ballad, or she to find that he could repeat it by heart. +The incident was the commencement of a family friendship which has +outlived both the heads of the Airy family. + +We may look back on Airy as the most commanding figure in the +astronomy of our time. He owes this position not only to his +early works in mathematical astronomy, but also to his ability as +an organizer. Before his time the working force of an observatory +generally consisted of individual observers, each of whom worked to a +greater or less extent in his own way. It is true that organization +was not unknown in such institutions. Nominally, at least, the +assistants in a national observatory were supposed to follow the +instructions of a directing head. This was especially the case +at Greenwich. Still, great dependence was placed upon the judgment +and ability of the observer himself, who was generally expected to +be a man well trained in his specialty, and able to carry on good +work without much help. From Airy's point of view, it was seen +that a large part of the work necessary to the attainment of the +traditional end of the Royal Observatory was of a kind that almost +any bright schoolboy could learn to do in a few weeks, and that in +most of the remaining part plodding industry, properly directed, was +more important than scientific training. He could himself work out +all the mathematical formulae and write all the instructions required +to keep a small army of observers and computers employed, and could +then train in his methods a few able lieutenants, who would see that +all the details were properly executed. Under these lieutenants was a +grade comprising men of sufficient technical education to enable them +to learn how to point the telescope, record a transit, and perform the +other technical operations necessary in an astronomical observation. +A third grade was that of computers: ingenious youth, quick at +figures, ready to work for a compensation which an American laborer +would despise, yet well enough schooled to make simple calculations. +Under the new system they needed to understand only the four rules of +arithmetic; indeed, so far as possible Airy arranged his calculations +in such a way that subtraction and division were rarely required. +His boys had little more to do than add and multiply. Thus, so far +as the doing of work was concerned, he introduced the same sort of +improvement that our times have witnessed in great manufacturing +establishments, where labor is so organized that unskilled men +bring about results that formerly demanded a high grade of technical +ability. He introduced production on a large scale into astronomy. + +At the time of my visit, it was much the fashion among astronomers +elsewhere to speak slightingly of the Greenwich system. The +objections to it were, in substance, the same that have been made to +the minute subdivision of labor. The intellect of the individual +was stunted for the benefit of the work. The astronomer became a +mere operative. Yet it must be admitted that the astronomical work +done at Greenwich during the sixty years since Airy introduced his +system has a value and an importance in its specialty that none +done elsewhere can exceed. All future conclusions as to the laws +of motion of the heavenly bodies must depend largely upon it. + +The organization of his little army necessarily involved a +corresponding change in the instruments they were to use. Before his +time the trained astronomer worked with instruments of very delicate +construction, so that skill in handling them was one of the requisites +of an observer. Airy made them in the likeness of heavy machinery, +which could suffer no injury from a blow of the head of a careless +observer. Strong and simple, they rarely got out of order. It is +said that an assistant who showed a visiting astronomer the transit +circle some times hit it a good slap to show how solid it was; but +this was not done on the present occasion. The little army had its +weekly marching orders and made daily reports of progress to its +commander, who was thus enabled to control the minutest detail of +every movement. + +In the course of the evening Airy gave me a lesson in method, which +was equally instructive and entertaining. In order to determine the +longitude of Gibraltar, it was necessary that time signals should +be sent by telegraph from the Royal Observatory. Our conversation +naturally led us into a discussion of the general subject of such +operations. I told him of the difficulties we had experienced in +determining a telegraphic longitude,--that of the Harvard Observatory +from Washington, for example,--because it was only after a great deal +of talking and arranging on the evening of the observation that the +various telegraph stations between the two points could have their +connections successfully made at the same moment. At the appointed +hour the Washington operator would be talking with the others, +to know if they were ready, and so a general discussion about the +arrangements might go on for half an hour before the connections +were all reported good. If we had such trouble in a land line, +how should we get a connection from London to the Gibraltar cable +through lines in constant use? + +"But," said Airy, "I never allow an operator who can speak with the +instruments to take part in determining a telegraphic longitude." + +"Then how can you get the connections all made from one end of the +line to the other, at the same moment, if your operators cannot talk +to one another?" + +"Nothing is simpler. I fix in advance a moment, say eight +o'clock Greenwich mean time, at which signals are to commence. +Every intermediate office through which the signals are to pass is +instructed to have its wires connected in both directions exactly +at the given hour, and to leave them so connected for ten minutes, +without asking any further instructions. At the end of the line +the instruments must be prepared at the appointed hour to receive +the signals. All I have to do here is to place my clock in the +circuit and send on the signals for ten minutes, commencing at +eight o'clock. They are recorded at the other end of the line +without further trouble." + +"But have you never met with a failure to understand the +instructions?" + +"No; they are too simple to be mistaken, once it is understood that +no one has anything to do but make his connections at the designated +moment, without asking whether any one else is ready." + +Airy was noted not less for his ability as an organizer than for his +methodical habits. The care with which he preserved every record led +Sir William Rowan Hamilton to say that when Airy wiped his pen on a +blotter, he fancied him as always taking a press copy of the mark. +His machinery seemed to work perfectly, whether it was constructed +of flesh or of brass. He could prepare instructions for the most +complicated piece of work with such effective provision against +every accident and such completeness in every detail that the work +would go on for years without further serious attention from him. +The instruments which he designed half a century ago are mostly in +use to this day, with scarcely an alteration. + +Yet there is some reason to fear that Airy carried method a little +too far to get the best results. Of late years his system has been +greatly changed, even at Greenwich. It was always questionable +whether so rigid a military routine could accomplish the best that +was possible in astronomy; and Airy himself, during his later years, +modified his plan by trying to secure trained scientific men as his +assistants, giving them liberty to combine independent research, on +their own account, with the work of the establishment. His successor +has gone farther in the same direction, and is now gathering around +him a corps of young university men, from whose ability much may +be expected. Observations with the spectroscope have been pursued, +and the observatory has taken a prominent part in the international +work of making a photographic map of the heavens. Of special +importance are the regular discussions of photographs of the sun, +taken in order to determine the law of the variation of the spots. +The advantage of the regular system which has been followed for +more than fifty years is seen in the meteorological observations; +these disprove some theories of the relation between the sun and +the weather, in a way that no other set of meteorological records +has done. While delicate determinations of the highest precision, +such as those made at Pulkova, are not yet undertaken to any great +extent, a regular even if slow improvement is going on in the general +character of the observations and researches, which must bear fruit +in due time. + +One of the curious facts we learned at Greenwich was that astronomy +was still supposed to be astrology by many in England. That a belief +in astrology should survive was perhaps not remarkable, though I +do not remember to have seen any evidence of it in this country. +But applications received at the Royal Observatory, from time to +time, showed a widespread belief among the masses that one of the +functions of the astronomer royal was the casting of horoscopes. + + +We went to Edinburgh. Our first visit was to the observatory, +then under the direction of Professor C. Piazzi Smyth, who was also +an Egyptologist of repute, having made careful measurements of the +Pyramids, and brought out some new facts regarding their construction. +He was thus led to the conclusion that they bore marks of having been +built by a people of more advanced civilization than was generally +supposed,--so advanced, indeed, that we had not yet caught up to them +in scientific investigation. These views were set forth with great +fullness in his work on "The Antiquity of Intellectual Man," as well +as in other volumes describing his researches. He maintained that the +builders of the Pyramids knew the distance of the sun rather better +than we did, and that the height of the Great Pyramid had been so +arranged that if it was multiplied by a thousand millions we should +get this distance more exactly than we could measure it in these +degenerate days. With him, to believe in the Pyramid was to believe +this, and a great deal more about the civilization which it proved. +So, when he asked me whether I believed in the Pyramid, I told him +that I did not think I would depend wholly upon the Pyramid for the +distance of the sun to be used in astronomy, but should want its +indications at least confirmed by modern researches. The hint was +sufficient, and I was not further pressed for views on this subject. + +He introduced us to Lady Hamilton, widow of the celebrated +philosopher, who still held court at Edinburgh. The daughter of the +family was in repute as a metaphysician. This was interesting, +because I had never before heard of a female metaphysician, +although there were several cases of female mathematicians +recorded in history. First among them was Donna Maria Agnesi, +who wrote one of the best eighteenth-century books on the calculus, +and had a special dispensation from the Pope to teach mathematics +at Bologna. We were therefore very glad to accept an invitation +from Lady Hamilton to spend an evening with a few of her friends. +Her rooms were fairly filled with books, the legacy of one of whom +it was said that "scarcely a thought has come down to us through +the ages which he has not mastered and made his own." + +The few guests were mostly university people and philosophers. +The most interesting of them was Professor Blackie, the Grecian +scholar, who was the liveliest little man of sixty I ever saw; +amusing us by singing German songs, and dancing about the room like +a sprightly child among its playmates. I talked with Miss Hamilton +about Mill, whose "Examination of Sir William Hamilton's Philosophy" +was still fresh in men's minds. Of course she did not believe in this +book, and said that Mill could not understand her father's philosophy. +With all her intellect, she was a fine healthy-looking young lady, +and it was a sad surprise, a few years later, to hear of her death. +Madame Sophie Kovalevsky afterward appeared on the stage as the +first female mathematician of our time, but it may be feared that +the woman philosopher died with Miss Hamilton. + + +A large party of English astronomers were going to Algeria to observe +the eclipse. The government had fitted up a naval transport for their +use, and as I was arranging for a passage on a ship of the Peninsular +and Oriental Line we received an invitation to become the guests of +the English party. Among those on board were Professor Tyndall; +Mr. Huggins, the spectroscopist; Sir Erastus Ommaney, a retired +English admiral, and a fellow of the Royal Society; Father Perry, +S. J., a well-known astronomer; and Lieutenant Wharton, who afterward +became hydrographer to the Admiralty. + +The sprightliest man on board was Professor Tyndall. He made up +for the absence of mountains by climbing to every part of the ship +he could reach. One day he climbed the shrouds to the maintop, +and stood surveying the scene as if looking out from the top of +the Matterhorn. A sailor followed him, and drew a chalk-line around +his feet. I assume the reader knows what this means; if he does not, +he can learn by straying into the sailors' quarters the first time he +is on board an ocean steamer. But the professor absolutely refused +to take the hint. + +We had a rather rough passage, from which Father Perry was the +greatest sufferer. One day he heard a laugh from the only lady on +board, who was in the adjoining stateroom. "Who can laugh at such +a time as this!" he exclaimed. He made a vow that he would never +go on the ocean again, even if the sun and moon fought for a month. +But the vows of a seasick passenger are forgotten sooner than any +others I know of; and it was only four years later that Father Perry +made a voyage to Kerguelen Island, in the stormiest ocean on the +globe, to observe a transit of Venus. + +Off the coast of Spain, the leading chains of the rudder got loose, +during a gale in the middle of the night, and the steering apparatus +had to be disconnected in order to tighten them. The ship veered +round into the trough of the sea, and rolled so heavily that a table, +twenty or thirty feet long, in the saloon, broke from its fastenings, +and began to dance around the cabin with such a racket that some of +the passengers feared for the safety of the ship. + +Just how much of a storm there was I cannot say, believing that it +is never worth while for a passenger to leave his berth, if there +is any danger of a ship foundering in a gale. But in Professor +Tyndall's opinion we had a narrow escape. On arriving at Gibraltar, +he wrote a glowing account of the storm to the London Times, in +which he described the feelings of a philosopher while standing on +the stern of a rolling ship in an ocean storm, without quite knowing +whether she was going to sink or swim. The letter was anonymous, +which gave Admiral Ommaney an excellent opportunity to write as +caustic a reply as he chose, under the signature of "A Naval Officer." +He said that sailor was fortunate who could arrange with the clerk +of the weather never to have a worse storm in crossing the Bay of +Biscay than the one we had experienced. + +We touched at Cadiz, and anchored for a few hours, but did not go +ashore. The Brooklyn, an American man-of-war, was in the harbor, +but there was no opportunity to communicate with her, though I knew +a friend of mine was on board. + +Gibraltar is the greatest babel in the world, or, at least, the +greatest I know. I wrote home: "The principal languages spoken at +this hotel are English, Spanish, Moorish, French, Italian, German, +and Danish. I do not know what languages they speak at the other +hotels." Moorish and Spanish are the local tongues, and of course +English is the official one; but the traders and commercial travelers +speak nearly every language one ever heard. + +I hired a Moor--who bore some title which indicated that he was a +descendant of the Caliphs, and by which he had to be addressed--to do +chores and act as general assistant. One of the first things I did, +the morning after my arrival, was to choose a convenient point on +one of the stone parapets for "taking the sun," in order to test the +running of my chronometer. I had some suspicion as to the result, +but was willing to be amused. A sentinel speedily informed me that +no sights were allowed to be taken on the fortification. I told him +I was taking sights on the sun, not on the fortification. But he was +inexorable; the rule was that no sights of any sort could be taken +without a permit. I soon learned from Mr. Sprague, the American +consul, who the proper officer was to issue the permit, which I +was assured would be granted without the slightest difficulty. +The consul presented me to the military governor of the place, +General Sir Fenwick Williams of Kars. I did not know till long +afterward that he was born very near where I was. He was a man whom +it was very interesting to meet. His heroic defense of the town whose +name was added to his own as a part of his title was still fresh in +men's minds. It had won him the order of the Bath in England, the +Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor and a sword from Napoleon III., and +the usual number of lesser distinctions. The military governor, the +sole authority and viceroy of the Queen in the fortress, is treated +with the deference due to an exalted personage; but this deference +so strengthens the dignity of the position that the holder may be +frank and hearty at his own pleasure, without danger of impairing it. +Certainly, we found Sir Fenwick a most genial and charming gentleman. +The Alabama claims were then in their acute stage, and he expressed +the earnest hope that the two nations would not proceed to cutting +each other's throats over them. + +There was no need of troubling the governor with such a detail as +that of a permit to take sights; but the consul ventured to relate +my experience of the morning. He took the information in a way +which showed that England, in making him a general, had lost a +good diplomatist. Instead of treating the matter seriously, which +would have implied that we did not fully understand the situation, he +professed to be greatly amused, and said it reminded him of the case +of an old lady in "Punch" who had to pass a surveyor in the street, +behind a theodolite. "Please, sir, don't shoot till I get past," +she begged. + +Before leaving England, I had made very elaborate arrangements, +both with the Astronomer Royal and with the telegraph companies, +to determine the longitude of Gibraltar by telegraphic signals. +The most difficult part of the operation was the transfer of the +signals from the end of the land line into the cable, which had to +be done by hand, because the cable companies were not willing to +trust to an automatic action of any sort between the land line and +the cable. It was therefore necessary to show the operator at the +point of junction how signals were to be transmitted. This required +a journey to Port Curno, at the very end of the Land's End, several +miles beyond the terminus of the railway. It was the most old-time +place I ever saw; one might have imagined himself thrown back into the +days of the Lancasters. The thatched inn had a hard stone floor, with +a layer of loose sand scattered over it as a carpet in the bedroom. +My linguistic qualities were put to a severe test in talking with +the landlady. But the cable operators were pleasing and intelligent +young gentlemen, and I had no difficulty in making them understand +how the work was to be done. + +The manager of the cable was Sir James Anderson, who had formerly +commanded a Cunard steamship from Boston, and was well known to +the Harvard professors, with whom he was a favorite. I had met +him, or at least seen him, at a meeting of the American Academy ten +years before, where he was introduced by one of his Harvard friends. +After commanding the ship that laid the first Atlantic cable, he was +made manager of the cable line from England to Gibraltar. He gave me +a letter to the head operator at Gibraltar, the celebrated de Sauty. + +I say "the celebrated," but may it not be that this appellation can +only suggest the vanity of all human greatness? It just occurs to me +that many of the present generation may not even have heard of the-- + + Whispering Boanerges, son of silent thunder, + Holding talk with nations, + +immortalized by Holmes in one of his humorously scientific poems. +During the two short weeks that the first Atlantic cable transmitted +its signals, his fame spread over the land, for the moment obscuring +by its brilliancy that of Thomson, Field, and all others who had +taken part in designing and laying the cable. On the breaking down +of the cable he lapsed into his former obscurity. I asked him if he +had ever seen Holmes's production. He replied that he had received a +copy of "The Atlantic Monthly" containing it from the poet himself, +accompanied by a note saying that he might find in it something +of interest. He had been overwhelmed with invitations to continue +his journey from Newfoundland to the United States and lecture on +the cable, but was sensible enough to decline them. + +The rest of the story of the telegraphic longitude is short. +The first news which de Sauty had to give me was that the cable was +broken,--just where, he did not know, and would not be able soon to +discover. After the break was located, an unknown period would be +required to raise the cable, find the place, and repair the breach. +The weather, on the day of the eclipse, was more than half cloudy, +so that I did not succeed in making observations of such value as +would justify my waiting indefinitely for the repair of the cable, +and the project of determining the longitude had to be abandoned. + + + + +XI + +MEN AND THINGS IN EUROPE + + +We went from Gibraltar to Berlin in January by way of Italy. +The Mediterranean is a charming sea in summer, but in winter is +a good deal like the Atlantic. The cause of the blueness of its +water is not completely settled; but its sharing this color with +Lake Geneva, which is tinged with detritus from the shore, might +lead one to ascribe it to substances held in solution. The color is +noticeable even in the harbor of Malta, to which we had a pleasant +though not very smooth passage of five days. + +Here was our first experience of an Italian town of a generation +ago. I had no sooner started to take a walk than a so-called +guide, who spoke what he thought was English, got on my track, +and insisted on showing me everything. If I started toward a shop, +he ran in before me, invited me in, asked what I would like to buy, +and told the shopman to show the gentleman something. I could not +get rid of him till I returned to the hotel, and then he had the +audacity to want a fee for his services. I do not think he got it. +Everything of interest was easily seen, and we only stopped to take +the first Italian steamer to Messina. We touched at Syracuse and +Catania, but did not land. + +Etna, from the sea, is one of the grandest sights I ever saw. +Its snow-covered cone seems to rise on all sides out of the sea +or the plain, and to penetrate the blue sky. In this it gives an +impression like that of the Weisshorn seen from Randa, but gains by +its isolation. + +At Messina, of course, our steamer was visited by a commissionnaire, +who asked me in good English whether I wanted a hotel. I told him +that I had already decided upon a hotel, and therefore did not need +his services. But it turned out that he belonged to the very hotel +I was going to, and was withal an American, a native-born Yankee, in +fact, and so obviously honest that I placed myself unreservedly in +his hands,--something which I never did with one of his profession +before or since. He said the first thing was to get our baggage +through the custom-house, which he could do without any trouble, +at the cost of a franc. He was as good as his word. The Italian +custom-house was marked by primitive rigor, and baggage was commonly +subjected to a very thorough search. But my man was evidently well +known and fully trusted. I was asked to raise the lid of one trunk, +which I did; the official looked at it, with his hands in his pockets, +gave a nod, and the affair was over. My Yankee friend collected one +franc for that part of the business. He told us all about the place, +changed our money so as to take advantage of the premium on gold, +and altogether looked out for our interests in a way to do honor to +his tribe. I thought there might be some curious story of the way +in which a New Englander of such qualities could have dropped into +such a place, but it will have to be left to imagination. + +We reached the Bay of Naples in the morning twilight, after making +an unsuccessful attempt to locate Scylla and Charybdis. If they +ever existed, they must have disappeared. Vesuvius was now and +then lighting up the clouds with its intermittent flame. But we +had passed a most uncomfortable night, and the morning was wet and +chilly. A view requires something more than the objective to make +it appreciated, and the effect of a rough voyage and bad weather +was such as to deprive of all its beauty what is considered one of +the finest views in the world. Moreover, the experience made me so +ill-natured that I was determined that the custom-house officer at the +landing should have no fee from me. The only article that could have +been subject to duty was on top of everything in the trunk, except +a single covering of some loose garment, so that only a touch was +necessary to find it. When it came to the examination, the officer +threw the top till contemptuously aside, and devoted himself to a +thorough search of the bottom. The only unusual object he stumbled +upon was a spyglass inclosed in a shield of morocco. Perhaps a +gesture and a remark on my part aroused his suspicions. He opened +the glass, tried to take it to pieces, inspected it inside and out, +and was so disgusted with his failure to find anything contraband +in it that he returned everything to the trunk, and let us off. + +It is commonly and quite justly supposed that the more familiar the +traveler is with the language of the place he visits, the better he +will get along. It is a common experience to find that even when +you can pronounce the language, you cannot understand what is said. +But there are exceptions to all rules, and circumstances now and then +occur in which one thus afflicted has an advantage over the native. +You can talk to him, while he cannot talk to you. There was an +amusing case of this kind at Munich. The only train that would take +us to Berlin before nightfall of the same day left at eight o'clock +in the morning, by a certain route. There was at Munich what we +call a union station. I stopped at the first ticket-office where I +saw the word "Berlin" on the glass, asked for a ticket good in the +train that was going to leave at eight o'clock the next morning for +Berlin, and took what the seller gave me. He was a stupid-looking +fellow, so when I got to my hotel I showed the ticket to a friend. +"That is not the ticket that you want at all," said he; "it will +take you by a circuitous route in a train that does not leave until +after nine, and you will not reach Berlin until long after dark." +I went directly back to the station and showed my ticket to the agent. + +"I--asked--you--for--a--ticket--good--in--the--train--which-- +leaves--at--eight--o'--clock. This--ticket--is--not--good-- +in--that--train. Sie--haben--mich--betruegen. I--want--you-- +to--take--the--ticket--back--and--return--me--the--money. +What--you--say--can--I--not--understand." + +He expostulated, gesticulated, and fumed, but I kept up the +bombardment until he had to surrender. He motioned to me to step +round into the office, where he took the ticket and returned the +money. I mention the matter because taking back a ticket is said +to be quite unusual on a German railway. + + +At Berlin, the leading astronomers then, as now, were Foerster, +director of the observatory, and Auwers, permanent secretary of the +Academy of Sciences. I was especially interested in the latter, +as we had started in life nearly at the same time, and had done +much work on similar lines. It was several days before I made his +acquaintance, as I did not know that the rule on the Continent +is that the visitor must make the first call, or at least make +it known by direct communication that he would be pleased to see +the resident; otherwise it is presumed that he does not wish to +see callers. This is certainly the more logical system, but it is +not so agreeable to the visiting stranger as ours is. The art of +making the latter feel at home is not brought to such perfection on +the Continent as in England; perhaps the French understand it less +than any other people. But none can be pleasanter than the Germans, +when you once make their acquaintance; and we shall always remember +with pleasure the winter we passed in Berlin. + +To-day, Auwers stands at the head of German astronomy. In him is +seen the highest type of the scientific investigator of our time, +one perhaps better developed in Germany than in any other country. +The work of men of this type is marked by minute and careful research, +untiring industry in the accumulation of facts, caution in propounding +new theories or explanations, and, above all, the absence of effort +to gain recognition by being the first to make a discovery. When men +are ambitious to figure as Newtons of some great principle, there is +a constant temptation to publish unverified speculations which are +likely rather to impede than to promote the advance of knowledge. +The result of Auwers's conscientiousness is that, notwithstanding +his eminence in his science, there are few astronomers of note whose +works are less fitted for popular exposition than his. His specialty +has been the treatment of all questions concerning the positions and +motions of the stars. This work has required accurate observations +of position, with elaborate and careful investigations of a kind that +offer no feature to attract public attention, and only in exceptional +cases lead to conclusions that would interest the general reader. +He considers no work as ready for publication until it is completed +in every detail. + + +The old astronomical observations of which I was in quest might +well have been made by other astronomers than those of Paris, so +while awaiting the end of the war I tried to make a thorough search +of the writings of the medieval astronomers in the Royal Library. +If one knew exactly what books he wanted, and had plenty of time +at his disposal, he would find no difficulty in consulting them +in any of the great Continental libraries. But at the time of my +visit, notwithstanding the cordiality with which all the officials, +from Professor Lepsius down, were disposed to second my efforts, +the process of getting any required book was very elaborate. +Although one could obtain a book on the same day he ordered it, +if he went in good time, it was advisable to leave the order the +day before, if possible. When, as in the present case, one book +only suggests another, this a third, and so on, in an endless chain, +the carrying on of an extended research is very tedious. + +One feature of the library strongly impressed me with the +comparatively backward state of mathematical science in our own +country. As is usual in the great European libraries, those books +which are most consulted are placed in the general reading-room, where +any one can have access to them, at any moment. It was surprising to +see amongst these books a set of Crelle's "Journal of Mathematics," +and to find it well worn by constant use. At that time, so far +as I could learn, there were not more than two or three sets of +the Journal in the United States; and these were almost unused. +Even the Library of Congress did not contain a set. There has +been a great change since that time,--a change in which the Johns +Hopkins University took the lead, by inviting Sylvester to this +country, and starting a mathematical school of the highest grade. +Other universities followed its example to such an extent that, +to-day, an American student need not leave his own country to hear +a master in any branch of mathematics. + + +I believe it was Dr. B. A. Gould who called the Pulkova Observatory +the astronomical capital of the world. This institution was founded +in 1839 by the Emperor Nicholas, on the initiative of his greatest +astronomer. It is situated some twelve miles south of St. Petersburg, +not far from the railway between that city and Berlin, and gets its +name from a peasant village in the neighborhood. From its foundation +it has taken the lead in exact measurements relating to the motion +of the earth and the positions of the principal stars. An important +part of its equipment is an astronomical library, which is perhaps the +most complete in existence. This, added to all its other attractions, +induced me to pay a visit to Pulkova. Otto Struve, the director, +had been kind enough to send me a message, expressing the hope that +I would pay him a visit, and giving directions about telegraphing +in advance, so as to insure the delivery of the dispatch. The time +from Berlin to St. Petersburg is about forty-eight hours, the only +through train leaving and arriving in the evening. On the morning +of the day that the train was due I sent the dispatch. Early in +the afternoon, as the train was stopping at a way station, I saw +an official running hastily from one car to another, looking into +each with some concern. When he came to my door, he asked if I had +sent a telegram to Estafetta. I told him I had. He then informed +me that Estafetta had not received it. But the train was already +beginning to move, so there was no further chance to get information. +The comical part of the matter was that "Estafetta" merely means a +post or postman, and that the directions, as Struve had given them, +were to have the dispatch sent by postman from the station to Pulkova. + +It was late in the evening when the train reached Zarsko-Selo, +the railway station for Pulkova, which is about five miles away. +The station-master told me that no carriage from Pulkova was waiting +for me, which tended to confirm the fear that the dispatch had not +been received. After making known my plight, I took a seat in the +station and awaited the course of events, in some doubt what to do. +Only a few minutes had elapsed when a good-looking peasant, well +wrapped in a fur overcoat, with a whip in his hand, looked in at +the door, and pronounced very distinctly the words, "Observatorio +Pulkova." Ah! this is Struve's driver at last, thought I, and I +followed the man to the door. But when I looked at the conveyance, +doubt once more supervened. It was scarcely more than a sledge, +and was drawn by a single horse, evidently more familiar with hard +work than good feeding. This did not seem exactly the vehicle that +the great Russian observatory would send out to meet a visitor; +yet it was a far country, and I was not acquainted with its customs. + +The way in which my doubt was dispelled shows that there is one +subject besides love on which difference of language is no bar to +the communication of ideas. This is the desire of the uncivilized +man for a little coin of the realm. In South Africa, Zulu chiefs, +who do not know one other word of English, can say "shilling" with +unmistakable distinctness. My Russian driver did not know even this +little English word, but he knew enough of the universal language. +When we had made a good start on the snow-covered prairie, he stopped +his horse for a moment, looked round at me inquiringly, raised his +hand, and stretched out two fingers so that I could see them against +the starlit sky. + +I nodded assent. + +Then he drew his overcoat tightly around him with a gesture of +shivering from the cold, beat his hands upon his breast as if to +warm it, and again looked inquiringly at me. + +I nodded again. + +The bargain was complete. He was to have two rubles for the drive, +and a little something to warm up his shivering breast. So he could +not be Struve's man. + +There is no welcome warmer than a Russian one, and none in any +country warmer than that which the visiting astronomer receives at an +observatory. Great is the contrast between the winter sky of a clear +moonless night and the interior of a dining-room, forty feet square, +with a big blazing fire at one end and a table loaded with eatables +in the middle. The fact that the visitor had never before met one +of his hosts detracted nothing from the warmth of his reception. + +The organizer of the observatory, and its first director, was Wilhelm +Struve, father of the one who received me, and equally great as man +and astronomer. Like many other good Russians, he was the father of a +large family. One of his sons was for ten years the Russian minister +at Washington, and as popular a diplomatist as ever lived among us. +The instruments which Struve designed sixty years ago still do as +fine work as any in the world; but one may suspect this to be due more +to the astronomers who handle them than to the instruments themselves. + +The air is remarkably clear; the entrance to St. Petersburg, ten or +twelve miles north, is distinctly visible, and Struve told me that +during the Crimean war he could see, through the great telescope, +the men on the decks of the British ships besieging Kronstadt, +thirty miles away. + +One drawback from which the astronomers suffer is the isolation of +the place. The village at the foot of the little hill is inhabited +only by peasants, and the astronomers and employees have nearly all +to be housed in the observatory buildings. There is no society but +their own nearer than the capital. At the time of my visit the +scientific staff was almost entirely German or Swedish, by birth +or language. In the state, two opposing parties are the Russian, +which desires the ascendency of the native Muscovites, and the German, +which appreciates the fact that the best and most valuable of the +Tsar's subjects are of German or other foreign descent. During the +past twenty years the Russian party has gradually got the upper hand; +and the result of this ascendency at Pulkova will be looked for with +much solicitude by astronomers everywhere. + +Once a year the lonely life of the astronomers is enlivened by a +grand feast--that of the Russian New Year. One object of the great +dining-room which I have mentioned, the largest room, I believe, in +the whole establishment, was to make this feast possible. My visit +took place early in March, so that I did not see the celebration; +but from what I have heard, the little colony does what it can to +make up for a year of ennui. Every twenty-five years it celebrates +a jubilee; the second came off in 1889. + +There is much to interest the visitor in a Russian peasant +village, and that of Pulkova has features some of which I have +never seen described. Above the door of each log hut is the name +of the occupant, and below the name is a rude picture of a bucket, +hook, or some other piece of apparatus used in extinguishing fire. +Inside, the furniture is certainly meagre enough, yet one could +not see why the occupants should be otherwise than comfortable. +I know of no good reason why ignorance should imply unhappiness; +altogether, there is some good room for believing that the less +civilized races can enjoy themselves, in their own way, about as +well as we can. What impressed me as the one serious hardship of +the peasantry was their hours of labor. Just how many hours of +the twenty-four these beings find for sleep was not clear to the +visitor; they seemed to be at work all day, and at midnight many of +them had to start on their way to St. Petersburg with a cartload +for the market. A church ornamented with tinsel is a feature of +every Russian village; so also are the priests. The only two I saw +were sitting on a fence, wearing garments that did not give evidence +of having known water since they were made. One great drawback to +the growth of manufactures in Russia is the number of feast days, +on which the native operators must one and all abandon their work, +regardless of consequences. + +The astronomical observations made at Pulkova are not published +annually, as are those made at most of the other national +observatories; but a volume relating to one subject is issued whenever +the work is done. When I was there, the volumes containing the +earlier meridian observations were in press. Struve and his chief +assistant, Dr. Wagner, used to pore nightly over the proof sheets, +bestowing on every word and detail a minute attention which less +patient astronomers would have found extremely irksome. + +Dr. Wagner was a son-in-law of Hansen, the astronomer of the little +ducal observatory at Gotha, as was also our Bayard Taylor. My first +meeting with Hansen, which occurred after my return to Berlin, was +accompanied with some trepidation. Modest as was the public position +that he held, he may now fairly be considered the greatest master of +celestial mechanics since Laplace. In what order Leverrier, Delaunay, +Adams, and Hill should follow him, it is not necessary to decide. +To many readers it will seem singular to place any name ahead of +that of the master who pointed out the position of Neptune before +a human eye had ever recognized it. But this achievement, great +as it was, was more remarkable for its boldness and brilliancy than +for its inherent difficulty. If the work had to be done over again +to-day, there are a number of young men who would be as successful +as Leverrier; but there are none who would attempt to reinvent +the methods of Hansen, or even to improve radically upon them. +Their main feature is the devising of new and refined methods of +computing the variations in the motions of a planet produced by the +attraction of all the other planets. As Laplace left this subject, +the general character of these variations could be determined without +difficulty, but the computations could not be made with mathematical +exactness. Hansen's methods led to results so precise that, if they +were fully carried out, it is doubtful whether any deviation between +the predicted and the observed motions of a planet could be detected +by the most refined observation. + +At the time of my visit Mrs. Wagner was suffering from a severe +illness, of which the crisis passed while I was at Pulkova, and +left her, as was supposed, on the road to recovery. I was, of +course, very desirous of meeting so famous a man as Hansen. He was +expected to preside at a session of the German commission on the +transit of Venus, which was to be held in Berlin about the time of +my return thither from Pulkova. The opportunity was therefore open +of bringing a message of good news from his daughter. Apart from +this, the prospect of the meeting might have been embarrassing. +The fact is that I was at odds with him on a scientific question, +and he was a man who did not take a charitable view of those who +differed from him in opinion. + +He was the author of a theory, current thirty or forty years ago, +that the farther side of the moon is composed of denser materials +than the side turned toward us. As a result of this, the centre +of gravity of the moon was supposed to be farther from us than the +actual centre of her globe. It followed that, although neither +atmosphere nor water existed on our side of the moon, the other +side might have both. Here was a very tempting field into which +astronomical speculators stepped, to clothe the invisible hemisphere +of the moon with a beautiful terrestrial landscape, and people it as +densely as they pleased with beings like ourselves. If these beings +should ever attempt to explore the other half of their own globe, +they would find themselves ascending to a height completely above +the limits of their atmosphere. Hansen himself never countenanced +such speculations as these, but confined his claims to the simple +facts he supposed proven. + +In 1868 I had published a little paper showing what I thought a +fatal defect, a vicious circle in fact, in Hansen's reasoning on +this subject. Not long before my visit, Delaunay had made this paper +the basis of a communication to the French Academy of Sciences, in +which he not only indorsed my views, but sought to show the extreme +improbability of Hansen's theory on other grounds. + +When I first reached Germany, on my way from Italy, I noticed +copies of a blue pamphlet lying on the tables of the astronomers. +Apparently, the paper had been plentifully distributed; but it was +not until I reached Berlin that I found it was Hansen's defense +against my strictures,--a defense in which mathematics were not +unmixed with seething sarcasm at the expense of both Delaunay +and myself. The case brought to mind a warm discussion between +Hansen and Encke, in the pages of a scientific journal, some fifteen +years before. At the time it had seemed intensely comical to see two +enraged combatants--for so I amused myself by fancying them--hurling +algebraic formulae, of frightful complexity, at each other's heads. +I did not then dream that I should live to be an object of the same +sort of attack, and that from Hansen himself. + +To be revised, pulled to pieces, or superseded, as science advances, +is the common fate of most astronomical work, even the best. +It does not follow that it has been done in vain; if good, it +forms a foundation on which others will build. But not every great +investigator can look on with philosophic calm when he sees his work +thus treated, and Hansen was among the last who could. Under these +circumstances, it was a serious question what sort of reception Hansen +would accord to a reviser of his conclusions who should venture to +approach him. I determined to assume an attitude that would show +no consciousness of offense, and was quite successful. Our meeting +was not attended by any explosion; I gave him the pleasant message +with which I was charged from his daughter, and, a few days later, +sat by his side at a dinner of the German commission on the coming +transit of Venus. + +As Hansen was Germany's greatest master in mathematical astronomy, +so was the venerable Argelander in the observational side of the +science. He was of the same age as the newly crowned Emperor, +and the two were playmates at the time Germany was being overrun +by the armies of Napoleon. He was held in love and respect by the +entire generation of young astronomers, both Germans and foreigners, +many of whom were proud to have had him as their preceptor. Among +these was Dr. B. A. Gould, who frequently related a story of the +astronomer's wit. When with him as a student, Gould was beardless, +but had a good head of hair. Returning some years later, he had +become bald, but had made up for it by having a full, long beard. +He entered Argelander's study unannounced. At first the astronomer +did not recognize him. + +"Do you not know me, Herr Professor?" + +The astronomer looked more closely. "Mine Gott! It is Gould mit +his hair struck through!" + +Argelander was more than any one else the founder of that branch of +his science which treats of variable stars. His methods have been +followed by his successors to the present time. It was his policy +to make the best use he could of the instruments at his disposal, +rather than to invent new ones that might prove of doubtful utility. +The results of his work seem to justify this policy. + +We passed the last month of the winter in Berlin waiting for the +war to close, so that we could visit Paris. Poor France had at +length to succumb, and in the latter part of March, we took almost +the first train that passed the lines. + +Delaunay was then director of the Paris Observatory, having succeeded +Leverrier when the emperor petulantly removed the latter from his +position. I had for some time kept up an occasional correspondence +with Delaunay, and while in England, the autumn before, had forwarded +a message to him, through the Prussian lines, by the good offices +of the London legation and Mr. Washburn. He was therefore quite +prepared for our arrival. The evacuation of a country by a hostile +army is rather a slow process, so that the German troops were met +everywhere on the road, even in France. They had left Paris just +before we arrived; but the French national army was not there, +the Communists having taken possession of the city as fast as the +Germans withdrew. As we passed out of the station, the first object +to strike our eyes was a flaming poster addressed to "Citoyens," +and containing one of the manifestoes which the Communist government +was continually issuing. + +Of course we made an early call on Mr. Washburn. His career in +Paris was one of the triumphs of diplomacy; he had cared for the +interests of German subjects in Paris in such a way as to earn the +warm recognition both of the emperor and of Bismarck, and at the +same time had kept on such good terms with the French as to be not +less esteemed by them. He was surprised that we had chosen such a +time to visit Paris; but I told him the situation, the necessity +of my early return home, and my desire to make a careful search +in the records of the Paris Observatory for observations made two +centuries ago. He advised us to take up our quarters as near to +the observatory as convenient, in order that we might not have to +pass through the portions of the city which were likely to be the +scenes of disturbance. + +We were received at the observatory with a warmth of welcome that +might be expected to accompany the greeting of the first foreign +visitor, after a siege of six months. Yet a tinge of sadness in +the meeting was unavoidable. Delaunay immediately began lamenting +the condition of his poor ruined country, despoiled of two of its +provinces by a foreign foe, condemned to pay an enormous subsidy +in addition, and now the scene of an internal conflict the end of +which no one could foresee. + +While I was mousing among the old records of the Paris Observatory, +the city was under the reign of the Commune and besieged by the +national forces. The studies had to be made within hearing of +the besieging guns; and I could sometimes go to a window and see +flashes of artillery from one of the fortifications to the south. +Nearly every day I took a walk through the town, occasionally as +far as the Arc de Triomphe. The story of the Commune has been so +often written that I cannot hope to add anything to it, so far as the +main course of events is concerned. Looking back on a sojourn at so +interesting a period, one cannot but feel that a golden opportunity +to make observations of historic value was lost. The fact is, +however, that I was prevented from making such observations not only +by my complete absorption in my work, but by the consideration that, +being in what might be described as a semi-official capacity, I did +not want to get into any difficulty that would have compromised +the position of an official visitor. I should not deem what we +saw worthy of special mention, were it not that it materially +modifies the impressions commonly given by writers on the history +of the Commune. What an historian says may be quite true, so far +as it goes, and yet may be so far from the whole truth as to give +the reader an incorrect impression of the actual course of events. +The violence and disease which prevail in the most civilized country +in the world may be described in such terms as to give the impression +of a barbarous community. The murder of the Archbishop of Paris and +of the hostages show how desperate were the men who had seized power, +yet the acts of these men constitute but a small part of the history +of Paris during that critical period. + +What one writes at the time is free from the suspicion that may +attach to statements not recorded till many years after the events +to which they relate. The following extract from a letter which I +wrote to a friend, the day after my arrival, may therefore be taken +to show how things actually looked to a spectator:-- + + Dear Charlie,--Here we are, on this slumbering volcano. + Perhaps you will hear of the burst-up long before you get + this. We have seen historic objects which fall not to the + lot of every generation, the barricades of the Paris streets. + As we were walking out this morning, the pavement along one + side of the street was torn up for some distance, and used + to build a temporary fort. Said fort would be quite strong + against musketry or the bayonet; but with heavy shot against + it, I should think it would be far worse than nothing, + for the flying stones would kill more than the balls. + + The streets are placarded at every turn with all sorts of + inflammatory appeals, and general orders of the Comite + Central or of the Commune. One of the first things I + saw last night was a large placard beginning "Citoyens!" + Among the orders is one forbidding any one from placarding + any orders of the Versailles government under the severest + penalties; and another threatening with instant dismissal + any official who shall recognize any order issuing from + the said government. + + I must do all hands the justice to say that they are all + very well behaved. There is nothing like a mob anywhere, so + far as I can find. I consulted my map this morning, right + alongside the barricade and in full view of the builders, + without being molested, and wife and I walked through the + insurrectionary districts without being troubled or seeing + the slightest symptoms of disturbance. The stores are all + open, and every one seems to be buying and selling as usual. + In all the cafes I have seen, the habitues seem to be + drinking their wine just as coolly as if they had nothing + unusual on their minds. + +From this date to that of our departure I saw nothing suggestive +of violence within the limited range of my daily walks, which were +mostly within the region including the Arc de Triomphe, the Hotel +de Ville, and the observatory; the latter being about half a mile +south of the Luxembourg. The nearest approach to a mob that I +ever noticed was a drill of young recruits of the National Guard, +or a crowd in the court of the Louvre being harangued by an orator. +With due allowance for the excitability of the French nature, +the crowd was comparatively as peaceable as that which we may see +surrounding a gospel wagon in one of our own cities. A drill-ground +for the recruits happened to be selected opposite our first lodgings, +beside the gates of the Luxembourg. This was so disagreeable that we +were glad to accept an invitation from Delaunay to be his guests at +the observatory, during the remainder of our stay. We had not been +there long before the spacious yard of the observatory was also used +as a drill-ground; and yet later, two or three men were given _billets +de logement_ upon the observatory; but I should not have known of the +latter occurrence, had not Delaunay told me. I believe he bought +the men off, much as one pays an organ-grinder to move on. In one +of our walks we entered the barricade around the Hotel de Ville, and +were beginning to make a close examination of a mitrailleuse, when a +soldier (beg his pardon, _un citoyen membre de la Garde Nationale_) +warned us away from the weapon. The densest crowd of Communists was +along the Rue de Rivoli and in the region of the Colonne Vendome, +where some of the principal barricades were being erected. But even +here, not only were the stores open as usual, but the military were +doing their work in the midst of piles of trinkets exposed for sale +on the pavement by the shopwomen. The order to destroy the Column +was issued before we left, but not executed until later. I have no +reason to suppose that the shopwomen were any more concerned while +the Column was being undermined than they were before. To complete +the picture, not a policeman did we see in Paris; in fact, I was +told that one of the first acts of the Commune had been to drive +the police away, so that not one dared to show himself. + +An interesting feature of the sad spectacle was the stream of +proclamations poured forth by the Communist authorities. They +comprised not only decrees, but sensational stories of victories over +the Versailles troops, denunciations of the Versailles government, +and even elaborate legal arguments, including a not intemperate +discussion of the ethical question whether citizens who were not +adherents of the Commune should be entitled to the right of suffrage. +The conclusion was that they should not. The lack of humor on the +part of the authorities was shown by their commencing one of a rapid +succession of battle stories with the words, "Citoyens! Vous avez +soif de la verite!" The most amusing decree I noticed ran thus:-- + +"Article I. All conscription is abolished. + +"Article II. No troops shall hereafter be allowed in Paris, except +the National Guard. + +"Article III. Every citizen is a member of the National Guard." + +We were in daily expectation and hope of the capture of the city, +little imagining by what scenes it would be accompanied. It did not +seem to my unmilitary eye that two or three batteries of artillery +could have any trouble in demolishing all the defenses, since a +wall of paving-stones, four or five feet high, could hardly resist +solid shot, or prove anything but a source of destruction to those +behind it if attacked by artillery. But the capture was not so easy +a matter as I had supposed. + +We took leave of our friend and host on May 5, three weeks before +the final catastrophe, of which he wrote me a graphic description. +As the barricades were stormed by MacMahon, the Communist line of +retreat was through the region of the observatory. The walls of +the building and of the yard were so massive that the place was +occupied as a fort by the retreating forces, so that the situation +of the few non-combatants who remained was extremely critical. +They were exposed to the fire of their friends, the national troops, +from without, while enraged men were threatening their lives within. +So hot was the fusillade that, going into the great dome after the +battle, the astronomer could imagine all the constellations of the +sky depicted by the bullet-holes. When retreat became inevitable, +the Communists tried to set the building on fire, but did not succeed. +Then, in their desperation, arrangements were made for blowing it up; +but the most violent man among them was killed by a providential +bullet, as he was on the point of doing his work. The remainder +fled, the place was speedily occupied by the national troops, and +the observatory with its precious contents was saved. + +The Academy of Sciences had met regularly through the entire Prussian +siege. The legal quorum being three, this did not imply a large +attendance. The reason humorously assigned for this number was that, +on opening a session, the presiding officer must say, _Messieurs, +la seance est ouverte_, and he cannot say _Messieurs_ unless there +are at least two to address. At the time of my visit a score of +members were in the city. Among them were Elie de Beaumont, the +geologist; Milne-Edwards, the zoologist; and Chevreul, the chemist. +I was surprised to learn that the latter was in his eighty-fifth +year; he seemed a man of seventy or less, mentally and physically. +Yet we little thought that he would be the longest-lived man of equal +eminence that our age has known. When he died, in 1889, he was nearly +one hundred and three years old. Born in 1786, he had lived through +the whole French Revolution, and was seven years old at the time of +the Terror. His scientific activity, from beginning to end, extended +over some eighty years. When I saw him, he was still very indignant +at a bombardment of the Jardin des Plantes by the German besiegers. +He had made a formal statement of this outrage to the Academy of +Sciences, in order that posterity might know what kind of men were +besieging Paris. I suggested that the shells might have fallen in +the place by accident; but he maintained that it was not the case, +and that the bombardment was intentional. + +The most execrated man in the scientific circle at this time was +Leverrier. He had left Paris before the Prussian siege began, and had +not returned. Delaunay assured me that this was a wise precaution +on his part; for had he ventured into the city he would have been +mobbed, or the Communists would have killed him as soon as caught. +Just why the mob should have been so incensed against one whose +life was spent in the serenest fields of astronomical science was +not fully explained. The fact that he had been a senator, and was +politically obnoxious, was looked on as an all-sufficient indictment. +Even members of the Academy could not suppress their detestation +of him. Their language seemed not to have words that would fully +express their sense of his despicable meanness, not to say turpitude. + +Four years later I was again in Paris, and attended a meeting of +the Academy of Sciences. In the course of the session a rustle +of attention spread over the room, as all eyes were turned upon +a member who was entering rather late. Looking toward the door, +I saw a man of sixty, a decided blond, with light chestnut hair +turning gray, slender form, shaven face, rather pale and thin, but +very attractive, and extremely intellectual features. As he passed +to his seat hands were stretched out on all sides to greet him, and +not until he sat down did the bustle caused by his entrance subside. +He was evidently a notable. + +"Who is that?" I said to my neighbor. + +"Leverrier." + +Delaunay was one of the most kindly and attractive men I ever met. +We spent our evenings walking in the grounds of the observatory, +discussing French science in all its aspects. His investigation +of the moon's motion is one of the most extraordinary pieces of +mathematical work ever turned out by a single person. It fills two +quarto volumes, and the reader who attempts to go through any part +of the calculations will wonder how one man could do the work in +a lifetime. His habit was to commence early in the morning, and +work with but little interruption until noon. He never worked in +the evening, and generally retired at nine. I felt some qualms of +conscience at the frequency with which I kept him up till nearly ten. +I found it hopeless to expect that he would ever visit America, +because he assured me that he did not dare to venture on the ocean. +The only voyage he had ever made was across the Channel, to receive +the gold medal of the Royal Astronomical Society for his work. +Two of his relatives--his father and, I believe, his brother--had +been drowned, and this fact gave him a horror of the water. +He seemed to feel somewhat like the clients of the astrologists, +who, having been told from what agencies they were to die, took every +precaution to avoid them. I remember, as a boy, reading a history of +astrology, in which a great many cases of this sort were described; +the peculiarity being that the very measures which the victim took +to avoid the decree of fate became the engines that executed it. +The death of Delaunay was not exactly a case of this kind, yet it +could not but bring it to mind. He was at Cherbourg in the autumn +of 1872. As he was walking on the beach with a relative, a couple +of boatmen invited them to take a sail. Through what inducement +Delaunay was led to forget his fears will never be known. All we +know is that he and his friend entered the boat, that it was struck +by a sudden squall when at some distance from the land, and that +the whole party were drowned. + +There was no opposition to the reappointment of Leverrier to his old +place. In fact, at the time of my visit, Delaunay said that President +Thiers was on terms of intimate friendship with the former director, +and he thought it not at all unlikely that the latter would succeed +in being restored. He kept the position with general approval till +his death in 1877. + +The only occasion on which I met Leverrier was after the incident +I have mentioned, in the Academy of Sciences. I had been told that +he was incensed against me on account of an unfortunate remark I had +made in speaking of his work which led to the discovery of Neptune. +I had heard this in Germany as well as in France, yet the matter was +so insignificant that I could hardly conceive of a man of philosophic +mind taking any notice of it. I determined to meet him, as I had +met Hansen, with entire unconsciousness of offense. So I called +on him at the observatory, and was received with courtesy, but no +particular warmth. I suggested to him that now, as he had nearly +completed his work on the tables of the planets, the question of +the moon's motion would be the next object worthy of his attention. +He replied that it was too large a subject for him to take up. + +To Leverrier belongs the credit of having been the real organizer of +the Paris Observatory. His work there was not dissimilar to that +of Airy at Greenwich; but he had a much more difficult task before +him, and was less fitted to grapple with it. When founded by Louis +XIV. the establishment was simply a place where astronomers of the +Academy of Sciences could go to make their observations. There was +no titular director, every man working on his own account and in +his own way. Cassini, an Italian by birth, was the best known of +the astronomers, and, in consequence, posterity has very generally +supposed he was the director. That he failed to secure that honor +was not from any want of astuteness. It is related that the monarch +once visited the observatory to see a newly discovered comet through +the telescope. He inquired in what direction the comet was going to +move. This was a question it was impossible to answer at the moment, +because both observations and computations would be necessary before +the orbit could be worked out. But Cassini reflected that the king +would not look at the comet again, and would very soon forget what +was told him; so he described its future path in the heavens quite +at random, with entire confidence that any deviation of the actual +motion from his prediction would never be noted by his royal patron. + +One of the results of this lack of organization has been that the +Paris Observatory does not hold an historic rank correspondent to +the magnificence of the establishment. The go-as-you-please system +works no better in a national observatory than it would in a business +institution. Up to the end of the last century, the observations +made there were too irregular to be of any special importance. +To remedy this state of things, Arago was appointed director early in +the present century; but he was more eminent in experimental physics +than in astronomy, and had no great astronomical problem to solve. +The result was that while he did much to promote the reputation of +the observatory in the direction of physical investigation, he did +not organize any well-planned system of regular astronomical work. + +When Leverrier succeeded Arago, in 1853, he had an extremely difficult +problem before him. By a custom extending through two centuries, +each astronomer was to a large extent the master of his own work. +Leverrier undertook to change all this in a twinkling, and, if reports +are true, without much regard to the feelings of the astronomers. +Those who refused to fall into line either resigned or were driven +away, and their places were filled with men willing to work under the +direction of their chief. Yet his methods were not up to the times; +and the work of the Paris Observatory, so far as observations of +precision go, falls markedly behind that of Greenwich and Pulkova. + +In recent times the institution has been marked by an energy and a +progressiveness that go far to atone for its former deficiencies. +The successors of Leverrier have known where to draw the line +between routine, on the one side, and initiative on the part of the +assistants, on the other. Probably no other observatory in the world +has so many able and well-trained young men, who work partly on their +own account, and partly in a regular routine. In the direction of +physical astronomy the observatory is especially active, and it may +be expected in the future to justify its historic reputation. + + + + +XII + +THE OLD AND THE NEW WASHINGTON + + +A few features of Washington as it appeared during the civil war +are indelibly fixed in my memory. An endless train of army wagons +ploughed its streets with their heavy wheels. Almost the entire +southwestern region, between the War Department and the Potomac, +extending west on the river to the neighborhood of the observatory, +was occupied by the Quartermaster's and Subsistence Departments for +storehouses. Among these the astronomers had to walk by day and +night, in going to and from their work. After a rain, especially +during winter and spring, some of the streets were much like shallow +canals. Under the attrition of the iron-bound wheels the water +and clay were ground into mud, which was at first almost liquid. +It grew thicker as it dried up, until perhaps another rainstorm +reduced it once more to a liquid condition. In trying first one +street and then another to see which offered the fewest obstacles +to his passage, the wayfarer was reminded of the assurance given +by a bright boy to a traveler who wanted to know the best road to +a certain place: "Whichever road you take, before you get halfway +there you'll wish you had taken t' other." By night swarms of rats, +of a size proportional to their ample food supply, disputed the +right of way with the pedestrian. + +Across the Potomac, Arlington Heights were whitened by the tents of +soldiers, from which the discharges of artillery or the sound of the +fife and drum became so familiar that the dweller almost ceased to +notice it. The city was defended by a row of earthworks, generally +not far inside the boundary line of the District of Columbia, +say five or six miles from the central portions of the city. +One of the circumstances connected with their plans strikingly +illustrates the exactness which the science or art of military +engineering had reached. Of course the erection of fortifications +was one of the first tasks to be undertaken by the War Department. +Plans showing the proposed location and arrangements of the several +forts were drawn up by a board of army engineers, at whose head, +then or afterward, stood General John G. Barnard. When the plans +were complete, it was thought advisable to test them by calling in the +advice of Professor D. H. Mahan of the Military Academy at West Point. +He came to Washington, made a careful study of the maps and plans, +and was then driven around the region of the lines to be defended +to supplement his knowledge by personal inspection. Then he laid +down his ideas as to the location of the forts. There were but +two variations from the plans proposed by the Board of Engineers, +and these were not of fundamental importance. + +Willard's Hotel, then the only considerable one in the neighborhood of +the executive offices, was a sort of headquarters for arriving army +officers, as well as for the thousands of civilians who had business +with the government, and for gossip generally. Inside its crowded +entrance one could hear every sort of story, of victory or disaster, +generally the latter, though very little truth was ever to be gleaned. + +The newsboy flourished. He was a bright fellow too, and may have +developed into a man of business, a reporter, or even an editor. +"Another great battle!" was his constant cry. But the purchaser of +his paper would commonly read of nothing but a skirmish or some fresh +account of a battle fought several days before--perhaps not even this. +On one occasion an officer in uniform, finding nothing in his paper +to justify the cry, turned upon the boy with the remark,-- + +"Look here, boy, I don't see any battle here." + +"No," was the reply, "nor you won't see one as long as you hang around +Washington. If you want to see a battle you must go to the front." + +The officer thought it unprofitable to continue the conversation, +and beat a retreat amid the smiles of the bystanders. This story, +I may remark, is quite authentic, which is more than one can say +of the report that a stick thrown by a boy at a dog in front of +Willard's Hotel struck twelve brigadier generals during its flight. + +The presiding genius of the whole was Mr. Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary +of War. Before the actual outbreak of the conflict he had been, +I believe, at least a Democrat, and, perhaps, to a certain extent, +a Southern sympathizer so far as the slavery question was concerned. +But when it came to blows, he espoused the side of the Union, and +after being made Secretary of War he conducted military operations +with a tireless energy, which made him seem the impersonation of +the god of war. Ordinarily his character seemed almost savage +when he was dealing with military matters. He had no mercy on +inefficiency or lukewarmness. But his sympathetic attention, when +a case called for it, is strikingly shown in the following letter, +of which I became possessed by mere accident. At the beginning of +the war Mr. Charles Ellet, an eminent engineer, then resident near +Washington, tendered his services to the government, and equipped +a fleet of small river steamers on the Mississippi under the War +Department. In the battle of June 6, 1862, he received a wound from +which he died some two weeks later. His widow sold or leased his +house on Georgetown Heights, and I boarded in it shortly afterward. +Amongst some loose rubbish and old papers lying around in one of +the rooms I picked up the letter which follows. + + War Department, + Washington City, D. C., June 9, 1862. + + Dear Madam,--I understand from Mr. Ellet's dispatch to you + that as he will be unfit for duty for some time it will be + agreeable to him for you to visit him, traveling slowly so + as not to expose your own health. + + With this view I will afford you every facility within + the control of the Department, by way of Pittsburg and + Cincinnati to Cairo, where he will probably meet you. + + Yours truly, + Edwin M. Stanton, + _Secretary of War._ + +The interesting feature of this letter is that it is entirely in the +writer's autograph, and bears no mark of having been press copied. +I infer that it was written out of office hours, after all the clerks +had left the Department, perhaps late at night, while the secretary +was taking advantage of the stillness of the hour to examine papers +and plans. + +Only once did I come into personal contact with Mr. Stanton. +A portrait of Ferdinand R. Hassler, first superintendent of the +Coast Survey, had been painted about 1840 by Captain Williams of the +Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., a son-in-law of Mr. G. W. P. Custis, +and therefore a brother-in-law of General Lee. The picture at the +Arlington house was given to Mrs. Colonel Abert, who loaned it to +Mr. Custis. When the civil war began she verbally donated it to +my wife, who was Mr. Hassler's grand-daughter, and was therefore +considered the most appropriate depositary of it, asking her to get +it if she could. But before she got actual possession of it, the +Arlington house was occupied by our troops and Mr. Stanton ordered the +picture to be presented to Professor Agassiz for the National Academy +of Sciences. On hearing of this, I ventured to mention the matter +to Mr. Stanton, with a brief statement of our claims upon the picture. + +"Sir," said he, "that picture was found in the house of a rebel +in arms [General Robert E. Lee], and was justly a prize of war. +I therefore made what I considered the most appropriate disposition +of it, by presenting it to the National Academy of Sciences." + +The expression "house of a rebel in arms" was uttered with such +emphasis that I almost felt like one under suspicion of relations +with the enemy in pretending to claim the object in question. +It was clearly useless to pursue the matter any further at that time. +Some years later, when the laws were no longer silent, the National +Academy decided that whoever might be the legal owner of the picture, +the Academy could have no claim upon it, and therefore suffered it +to pass into the possession of the only claimant. + +Among the notable episodes of the civil war was the so-called raid +of the Confederate general, Early, in July, 1864. He had entered +Maryland and defeated General Lew Wallace. This left nothing but +the well-designed earthworks around Washington between his army +and our capital. Some have thought that, had he immediately made +a rapid dash, the city might have fallen into his hands. + +All in the service of the War and Navy departments who were supposed +capable of rendering efficient help, were ordered out to take part +in the defense of the city, among them the younger professors of the +observatory. By order of Captain Gilliss I became a member of a naval +brigade, organized in the most hurried manner by Admiral Goldsborough, +and including in it several officers of high and low rank. The rank +and file was formed of the workmen in the Navy Yard, most of whom +were said to have seen military service of one kind or another. +The brigade formed at the Navy Yard about the middle of the afternoon, +and was ordered to march out to Fort Lincoln, a strong earthwork built +on a prominent hill, half a mile southwest of the station now known +as Rives. The Reform School of the District of Columbia now stands +on the site of the fort. The position certainly looked very strong. +On the right the fort was flanked by a deep intrenchment running along +the brow of the hill, and the whole line would include in the sweep +of its fire the region which an army would have to cross in order +to enter the city. The naval brigade occupied the trench, while +the army force, which seemed very small in numbers, manned the front. + +I was not assigned to any particular duty, and simply walked round the +place in readiness to act whenever called upon. I supposed the first +thing to be done was to have the men in the trench go through some +sort of drill, in order to assure their directing the most effective +fire on the enemy should he appear. The trench was perhaps six feet +deep; along its bottom ran a little ledge on which the men had to +step in order to deliver their fire, stepping back into the lower +depth to load again. Along the edge was a sort of rail fence, the +bottom rail of which rested on the ground. In order to fire on an +enemy coming up the hill, it would be necessary to rest the weapon +on this bottom rail. It was quite evident to me that a man not +above the usual height, standing on the ledge, would have to stand +on tiptoe in order to get the muzzle of his gun properly directed +down the slope. If he were at all flurried he would be likely to +fire over the head of the enemy. I called attention to this state +of things, but did not seem to make any impression on the officers, +who replied that the men had seen service and knew what to do. + +We bivouacked that night, and remained all the next day and the night +following awaiting the attack of the enemy, who was supposed to be +approaching Fort Stevens on the Seventh Street road. At the critical +moment, General H. G. Wright arrived from Fort Monroe with his +army corps. He and General A. McD. McCook both took their stations +at Fort Lincoln, which it was supposed would be the point of attack. +A quarter or half a mile down the hill was the mansion of the Rives +family, which a passenger on the Baltimore and Ohio Railway can +readily see at the station of that name. A squad of men was detailed +to go to this house and destroy it, in case the enemy should appear. +The attack was expected at daybreak, but General Early, doubtless +hearing of the arrival of reinforcements, abandoned any project +he might have entertained and had beat a retreat the day before. +Whether the supposition that he could have taken the city with great +celerity has any foundation, I cannot say; I should certainly greatly +doubt it, remembering the large loss of life generally suffered +during the civil war by troops trying to storm intrenchments or +defenses of any sort, even with greatly superior force. + +I was surprised to find how quickly one could acquire the stolidity +of the soldier. During the march from the Navy Yard to the fort +I felt extremely depressed, as one can well imagine, in view of +the suddenness with which I had to take leave of my family and +the uncertainty of the situation, as well as its extreme gravity. +But this depression wore off the next day, and I do not think I +ever had a sounder night's sleep in my life than when I lay down on +the grass, with only a blanket between myself and the sky, with the +expectation of being awakened by the rattle of musketry at daybreak. + +I remember well how kindly we were treated by the army. +The acquaintance of Generals Wright and McCook, made under such +circumstances, was productive of a feeling which has never worn off. +It has always been a matter of sorrow to me that the Washington of +to-day does not show a more lively consciousness of what it owes to +these men. + + +One of the entertainments of Washington during the early years of +the civil war was offered by President Lincoln's public receptions. +We used to go there simply to see the people and the costumes, the +latter being of a variety which I do not think was ever known on +such occasions before or since. Well-dressed and refined ladies and +gentlemen, men in their working clothes, women arrayed in costumes +fanciful in cut and brilliant in color, mixed together in a way +that suggested a convention of the human race. Just where the +oddly dressed people came from, or what notion took them at this +particular time to don an attire like that of a fancy-dress ball, +no one seemed to know. + +Among the never-to-be-forgotten scenes was that following the news of +the fall of Richmond. If I described it from memory, a question would +perhaps arise in the reader's mind as to how much fancy might have +added to the picture in the course of nearly forty years. I shall +therefore quote a letter written to Chauncey Wright immediately +afterwards, of which I preserved a press copy. + + Observatory, April 7, 1865. + + Dear Wright,--Yours of the 5th just received. I heartily + reciprocate your congratulations on the fall of Richmond + and the prospective disappearance of the S. C. alias C. S. + + You ought to have been here Monday. The observatory is half + a mile to a mile from the thickly settled part of the city. + At 11 A. M. we were put upon the qui vive by an unprecedented + commotion in the city. From the barracks near us rose a + continuous stream of cheers, and in the city was a hubbub + such as we had never before heard. We thought it must be + Petersburg or Richmond, but hardly dared to hope which. + Miss Gilliss sent us word that it was really Richmond. + I went down to the city. All the bedlams in creation broken + loose could not have made such a scene. The stores were + half closed, the clerks given a holiday, the streets + crowded, every other man drunk, and drums were beating + and men shouting and flags waving in every direction. + I never felt prouder of my country than then, as I compared + our present position with our position in the numerous dark + days of the contest, and was almost ashamed to think that + I had ever said that any act of the government was not the + best possible. + +Not many days after this outburst, the city was pervaded by an equally +intense and yet deeper feeling of an opposite kind. Probably no +event in its history caused such a wave of sadness and sympathy as +the assassination of President Lincoln, especially during the few +days while bands of men were scouring the country in search of the +assassin. One could not walk the streets without seeing evidence of +this at every turn. The slightest bustle, perhaps even the running +away of a dog, caused a tremor. + +I paid one short visit to the military court which was trying +the conspirators. The court itself was listening with silence and +gravity to the reading of the testimony taken on the day previous. +General Wallace produced on the spectators an impression a little +different from the other members, by exhibiting an artistic +propensity, which subsequently took a different direction in +"Ben Hur." The most impressive sight was that of the conspirators, +all heavily manacled; even Mrs. Surratt, who kept her irons partly +concealed in the folds of her gown. Payne, the would-be assassin of +Seward, was a powerful-looking man, with a face that showed him ready +for anything; but the other two conspirators were such simple-minded, +mild-looking youths, that it seemed hardly possible they could have +been active agents in such a crime, or capable of any proceeding +requiring physical or mental force. + +The impression which I gained at the time from the evidence and +all the circumstances, was that the purpose of the original plot +was not the assassination of the President, but his abduction and +transportation to Richmond or some other point within the Confederate +lines. While Booth himself may have meditated assassination from the +beginning, it does not seem likely that he made this purpose known +to his fellows until they were ready to act. Then Payne alone had +the courage to attempt the execution of the programme. + +Two facts show that a military court, sitting under such +circumstances, must not be expected to reach exactly the verdict that +a jury would after the public excitement had died away. Among the +prisoners was the man whose business it was to assist in arranging the +scenery on the stage of the theatre where the assassination occurred. +The only evidence against him was that he had not taken advantage +of his opportunity to arrest Booth as the latter was leaving, +and for this he was sentenced to twenty years penal servitude. +He was pardoned out before a great while. + +The other circumstance was the arrest of Surratt, who was supposed +to stand next to Booth in the conspiracy, but who escaped from the +country and was not discovered until a year or so later, when he +was found to have enlisted in the papal guards at Rome. He was +brought home and tried twice. On the first trial, notwithstanding +the adverse rulings and charge of the judge, only a minority of +the jury were convinced of his guilt. On the second trial he was, +I think, acquitted. + +One aftermath of the civil war was the influx of crowds of the +newly freed slaves to Washington, in search of food and shelter. +With a little training they made fair servants if only their pilfering +propensities could be restrained. But religious fervor did not ensure +obedience to the eighth commandment. "The good Lord ain't goin' +to be hard on a poor darky just for takin' a chicken now and then," +said a wench to a preacher who had asked her how she could reconcile +her religion with her indifference as to the ownership of poultry. + +In the seventies I had an eight-year-old boy as help in my family. +He had that beauty of face very common in young negroes who have an +admixture of white blood, added to which were eyes of such depth and +clearness that, but for his color, he would have made a first-class +angel for a medieval painter. + +One evening my little daughters had a children's party, and Zeke +was placed as attendant in charge of the room in which the little +company met. Here he was for some time left alone. Next morning a +gold pen was missing from its case in a drawer. Suspicion rested on +Zeke as the only person who could possibly have taken it, but there +was no positive proof. I thought so small and innocent-looking a +boy could be easily cowed into confessing his guilt; so next morning +I said to him very solemnly,-- + +"Zeke, come upstairs with me." + +He obeyed with alacrity, following me up to the room. + +"Zeke, come into this room." + +He did so. + +"Now, Zeke," I said sternly, "look here and see what I do." + +I opened the drawer, took out the empty case, opened it, and showed +it to him. + +"Zeke, look into my eyes!" + +He neither blinked nor showed the slightest abashment or hesitation +as his soft eyes looked steadily into mine with all the innocence +of an angel. + +"Zeke, where is the pen out of that case?" + +"Missr Newcomb," he said quietly, "I don't know nothin' about it." + +I repeated the question, looking into his face as sternly as I could. +As he repeated the answer with the innocence of childhood, "Deed, +Missr Newcomb, I don't know what was in it," I felt almost like a +brute in pressing him with such severity. Threats were of no avail, +and I had to give the matter up as a failure. + +On coming home in the afternoon, the first news was that the pen had +been found by Zeke's mother hidden in one corner of her room at home, +where the little thief had taken it. She, being an honest woman, +and suspecting where it had come from, had brought it back. + + +There was a vigorous movement, having its origin in New England, +for the education of the freedmen. This movement was animated by +the most philanthropic views. Here were several millions of blacks +of all ages, suddenly made citizens, or eligible to citizenship, +and yet savage so far as any education was concerned. A small army +of teachers, many, perhaps most of them, young women, were sent south +to organize schools for the blacks. It may be feared that there was +little adaptation of the teaching to the circumstances of the case. +But one method of instruction widely adopted was, so far as I can +learn, quite unique. It was the "loud method" of teaching reading +and spelling. The whole school spelled in unison. The passer-by +on the street would hear in chorus from the inside of the building, +"B-R-E-A-D--BREAD!" all at the top of the voice of the speakers. +Schools in which this method was adopted were known as "loud schools." + +A queer result of this movement once fell under my notice. I called +at a friend's house in Georgetown. In the course of the conversation, +it came out that the sable youngster who opened the door for me +filled the double office of scullion to the household and tutor in +Latin to the little boy of the family. + + +Probably the Senate of the United States never had a member more +conscientious in the discharge of his duties than Charles Sumner. +He went little into society outside the circles of the diplomatic +corps, with which his position as chairman of the Foreign Affairs +Committee placed him in intimate relations. My acquaintance with +him arose from the accident of his living for some time almost +opposite me. I was making a study of some historic subject, +pertaining to the feeling in South Carolina before the civil war, +and called at his rooms to see if he would favor me with the loan of +a book, which I was sure he possessed. He received me so pleasantly +that I was, for some time, an occasional visitor. He kept bachelor +quarters on a second floor, lived quite alone, and was accessible +to all comers without the slightest ceremony. + +One day, while I was talking with him, shortly after the surrender +of Lee, a young man in the garb of a soldier, evidently fresh from +the field, was shown into the room by the housemaid, unannounced, +as usual. Very naturally, he was timid and diffident in approaching +so great a man, and the latter showed no disposition to say anything +that would reassure him. He ventured to tell the senator that he +had come to see if he could recommend him for some public employment. +I shall never forget the tone of the reply. + +"But _I_ do not know _you_." The poor fellow was completely +dumfounded, and tried to make some excuses, but the only reply he +got was, "I cannot do it; I do not know you at all." The visitor +had nothing to do but turn round and leave. + +At the time I felt some sympathy with the poor fellow. He had +probably come, thinking that the great philanthropist was quite ready +to become a friend to a Union soldier without much inquiry into his +personality and antecedents, and now he met with a stinging rebuff. +But it must be confessed that subsequent experience has diminished +my sympathy for him, and probably it would be better for the country +if the innovation were introduced of having every senator of the +United States dispose of such callers in the same way. + +Foreign men of letters, with whom Sumner's acquaintance was very +wide, were always among his most valued guests. A story is told +of Thackeray's visit to Washington, which I distrust only for the +reason that my ideas of Sumner's make-up do not assign him the +special kind of humor which the story brings out. He was, however, +quoted as saying, "Thackeray is one of the most perfect gentlemen +I ever knew. I had a striking illustration of that this morning. +We went out for a walk together and, thoughtlessly, I took him +through Lafayette Square. Shortly after we entered it, I realized +with alarm that we were going directly toward the Jackson statue. +It was too late to retrace our steps, and I wondered what Thackeray +would say when he saw the object. But he passed straight by without +seeming to see it at all, and did not say one word about it." + +Sumner was the one man in the Senate whose seat was scarcely ever +vacant during a session. He gave the closest attention to every +subject as it arose. One instance of this is quite in the line of the +present book. About 1867, an association was organized in Washington +under the name of the "American Union Academy of Literature, Science, +and Art." Its projectors were known to few, or none, but themselves. +A number of prominent citizens in various walks of life had been +asked to join it, and several consented without knowing much about +the association. It soon became evident that the academy was desirous +of securing as much publicity as possible through the newspapers +and elsewhere. It was reported that the Secretary of the Treasury +had asked its opinion on some instrument or appliance connected +with the work of his department. Congress was applied to for an +act of incorporation, recognizing it as a scientific adviser of the +government by providing that it should report on subjects submitted +to it by the governmental departments, the intent evidently being +that it should supplant the National Academy of Sciences. + +The application to Congress satisfied the two requirements most +essential to favorable consideration. These are that several +respectable citizens want something done, and that there is no one to +come forward and say that he does not want it done. Such being the +case, the act passed the House of Representatives without opposition, +came to the Senate, and was referred to the appropriate committee, +that on education, I believe. It was favorably reported from the +committee and placed on its passage. Up to this point no objection +seems to have been made to it in any quarter. Now, it was challenged +by Mr. Sumner. + +The ground taken by the Massachusetts senator was comprehensive +and simple, though possibly somewhat novel. It was, in substance, +that an academy of literature, science, and art, national in its +character, and incorporated by special act of Congress, ought to be +composed of men eminent in the branches to which the academy related. +He thought a body of men consisting very largely of local lawyers, +with scarcely a man of prominence in either of the three branches to +which the academy was devoted, was not the one that should receive +such sanction from the national legislature. + +Mr. J. W. Patterson, of New Hampshire, was the principal advocate +of the measure. He claimed that the proposed incorporators were +not all unscientific men, and cited as a single example the name of +O. M. Poe, which appeared among them. This man, he said, was a very +distinguished meteorologist. + +This example was rather unfortunate. The fact is, the name in +question was that of a well-known officer of engineers in the +army, then on duty at Washington, who had been invited to join the +academy, and had consented out of good nature without, it seems, +much if any inquiry. It happened that Senator Patterson had, some +time during the winter, made the acquaintance of a West Indian +meteorologist named Poey, who chanced to be spending some time in +Washington, and got him mixed up with the officer of engineers. +The senator also intimated that the gentleman from Massachusetts had +been approached on the subject and was acting under the influence +of others. This suggestion Mr. Sumner repelled, stating that no one +had spoken to him on the subject, that he knew nothing of it until +he saw the bill before them, which seemed to him to be objectionable +for the very reasons set forth. On his motion the bill was laid on +the table, and thus disposed of for good. The academy held meetings +for some time after this failure, but soon disappeared from view, +and was never again heard of. + + +In the year 1862, a fine-looking young general from the West became +a boarder in the house where I lived, and sat opposite me at table. +His name was James A. Garfield. I believe he had come to Washington +as a member of the court in the case of General Fitz John Porter. +He left after a short time and had, I supposed, quite forgotten +me. But, after his election to Congress, he one evening visited +the observatory, stepped into my room, and recalled our former +acquaintance. + +I soon found him to be a man of classical culture, refined tastes, +and unsurpassed eloquence,--altogether, one of the most attractive of +men. On one occasion he told me one of his experiences in the State +legislature of Ohio, of which he was a member before the civil war. +A bill was before the House enacting certain provisions respecting +a depository. He moved, as an amendment, to strike out the word +"depository" and insert "depositary." Supposing the amendment to +be merely one of spelling, there was a general laugh over the house, +with a cry of "Here comes the schoolmaster!" But he insisted on his +point, and sent for a copy of Webster's Dictionary in order that the +two words might be compared. When the definitions were read, the +importance of right spelling became evident, and the laughing stopped. + +It has always seemed to me that a rank injustice was done to Garfield +on the occasion of the Credit Mobilier scandal of 1873, which came +near costing him his position in public life. The evidence was of +so indefinite and flimsy a nature that the credence given to the +conclusion from it can only illustrate how little a subject or a +document is exposed to searching analysis outside the precincts of a +law court. When he was nominated for the presidency this scandal was +naturally raked up and much made of it. I was so strongly impressed +with the injustice as to write for a New York newspaper, anonymously +of course, a careful analysis of the evidence, with a demonstration +of its total weakness. Whether the article was widely circulated, +or whether Garfield ever heard of it, I do not know; but it was +amusing, a few days after it appeared, to see a paragraph in an +opposition paper claiming that its contemporary had gone to the +trouble of hiring a lawyer to defend Garfield. + +No man better qualified as a legislator ever occupied a seat in +Congress. A man cast in the largest mould, and incapable of a petty +sentiment, his grasp of public affairs was rarely equaled, and his +insight into the effects of legislation was of the deepest. But on +what the author of the Autocrat calls the arithmetical side,--in +the power of judging particular men and not general principles; in +deciding who were the good men and who were not, he fell short of the +ideal suggested by his legislative career. The brief months during +which he administered the highest of offices were stormy enough, +perhaps stormier than any president before him had ever experienced, +and they would probably have been outdone by the years following, +had he lived. But I believe that, had he remained in the Senate, +his name would have gone into history among those of the greatest +of legislators. + +Sixteen years after the death of Lincoln public feeling was again +moved to its depth by the assassination of Garfield. The cry +seemed to pass from mouth to mouth through the streets faster than +a messenger could carry the news, "The President has been shot." +It chanced to reach me just as I was entering my office. I at once +summoned my messenger and directed him to go over to the White House, +and see if anything unusual had happened, but gave him no intimation +of my fears. He promptly returned with the confirmation of the +report. The following are extracts from my journal at the time:-- + + "July 2, Saturday: At 9.20 this morning President Garfield + was shot by a miserable fellow named Guiteau, as he was + passing through the Baltimore and Potomac R. R. station to + leave Washington. One ball went through the upper arm, + making a flesh wound, the other entered the right side + on the back and cannot be found; supposed to have lodged + in the liver. In the course of the day President rapidly + weakened, and supposed to be dying from hemorrhage." + + "Sunday morning: President still living and rallied during + the day. Small chance of recovery. At night alarming + symptoms of inflammation were exhibited, and at midnight + his case seemed almost hopeless." + + "Monday: President slightly better this morning, improving + throughout the day." + + "July 6. This P. M. sought an interview with Dr. Woodward + at the White House, to talk of an apparatus for locating + the ball by its action in retarding a rapidly revolving + el. magnet. I hardly think the plan more than theoretically + practical, owing to the minuteness of the action." + + "The President still improving, but great dangers are yet + to come, and nothing has been found of the ball, which + is supposed to have stayed in the liver because, were it + anywhere else, symptoms of irritation by its presence would + have been shown." + + "July 9. This is Saturday evening. Met Major Powell at + the Cosmos Club, who told me that they would like to have + me look at the air-cooling projects at the White House. + Published statement that the physicians desired some way to + cool the air of the President's room had brought a crowd of + projects and machines of all kinds. Among other things, + a Mr. Dorsey had got from New York an air compressor such + as is used in the Virginia mines for transferring power, + and was erecting machinery enough for a steamship at the + east end of the house in order to run it." + +Dr. Woodward was a surgeon of the army, who had been on duty at +Washington since the civil war, in charge of the Army Medical Museum. +Among his varied works here, that in micro-photography, in which +he was a pioneer, gave him a wide reputation. His high standing +led to his being selected as one of the President's physicians. +To him I wrote a note, offering to be of any use I could in the +matter of cooling the air of the President's chamber. He promptly +replied with a request to visit the place, and see what was being +done and what suggestions I could make. Mr. Dorsey's engine at the +east end was dispensed with after a long discussion, owing to the +noise it would make and the amount of work necessary to its final +installation and operation. + +Among the problems with which the surgeons had to wrestle was that +of locating the ball. The question occurred to me whether it was +not possible to do so by the influence produced by the action of +a metallic conductor in retarding the motion of a rapidly revolving +magnet, but the effect would be so small, and the apparatus to be made +so delicate, that I was very doubtful about the matter. If there +was any one able to take hold of the project successfully, I knew +it would be Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone. +When I approached him on the subject, he suggested that the idea +of locating the ball had also occurred to him, and that he thought +the best apparatus for the purpose was a telephonic one which had +been recently developed by Mr. Hughes. As there could be no doubt +of the superiority of his project, I dropped mine, and he went +forward with his. In a few days an opportunity was given him for +actually trying it. The result, though rather doubtful, seemed to +be that the ball was located where the surgeons supposed it to be. +When the autopsy showed that their judgment had been at fault, +Mr. Bell admitted his error to Dr. Woodward, adding some suggestion +as to its cause. "Expectant attention," was Woodward's reply. + +I found in the basement of the house an apparatus which had been +brought over by a Mr. Jennings from Baltimore, which was designed +to cool the air of dairies or apartments. It consisted of an iron +box, two or three feet square, and some five feet long. In this +box were suspended cloths, kept cool and damp by the water from +melting ice contained in a compartment on top of the box. The air +was driven through the box by a blower, and cooled by contact with +the wet cloths. But no effect was being produced on the temperature +of the room. + +One conversant with physics will see one fatal defect in this +appliance. The cold of the ice, if I may use so unscientific an +expression, went pretty much to waste. The air was in contact, +not with the ice, as it should have been, but with ice-water, which +had already absorbed the latent heat of melting. + +Evidently the air should be passed over the unmelted ice. +The question was how much ice would be required to produce the +necessary cooling? To settle this, I instituted an experiment. +A block of ice was placed in an adjoining room in a current of +air with such an arrangement that, as it melted, the water would +trickle into a vessel below. After a certain number of minutes +the melted water was measured, then a simple computation led to a +knowledge of how much heat was absorbed from the air per minute by +a square foot of the surface of the ice. From this it was easy to +calculate from the known thermal capacity of air, and the quantity +of the latter necessary per minute, how many feet of cooling surface +must be exposed. I was quite surprised at the result. A case of +ice nearly as long as an ordinary room, and large enough for men +to walk about in it, must be provided. This was speedily done, +supports were erected for the blocks of ice, the case was placed at +the end of Mr. Jennings's box, and everything gotten in readiness +for directing the air current through the receptacle, and into the +room through tubes which had already been prepared. + +It happened that Mr. Jennings's box was on the line along which the +air was being conducted, and I was going to get it out of the way. +The owner implored that it should be allowed to remain, suggesting +that the air might just as well as not continue to pass through it. +The surroundings were those in which one may be excused for not +being harsh. Such an outpouring of sympathy on the part of the +public had never been seen in Washington since the assassination +of Lincoln. Those in charge were overwhelmed with every sort of +contrivance for relieving the sufferings of the illustrious patient. +Such disinterested efforts in behalf of a public and patriotic +object had never been seen. Mr. Jennings had gone to the trouble +and expense of bringing his apparatus all the way from Baltimore to +Washington in order to do what in him lay toward the end for which all +were striving. To leave his box in place could not do the slightest +harm, and would be a gratification to him. So I let it stand, +and the air continued to pass through it on its way to the ice chest. + +While these arrangements were in progress three officers of engineers +of the navy reported under orders at the White House, to do what +they could toward the cooling of the air. They were Messrs. William +L. Baillie, Richard Inch, and W. S. Moore. All four of us cooperated +in the work in a most friendly way, and when we got through we made +our reports to the Navy Department. A few weeks later these reports +were printed in a pamphlet, partly to correct a wrong impression +about the Jennings cold-box. Regular statements had appeared in the +local evening paper that the air was being cooled by this useless +contrivance. Their significance first came out several months +later, on the occasion of an exhibition of mechanical or industrial +implements at Boston. Among these was Mr. Jennings's cold-box, +which was exhibited as the instrument that had cooled the air of +President Garfield's chamber. + +More light yet was thrown on the case when the question of rewarding +those who had taken part in treating the President, or alleviating +his sufferings in any way, came before Congress. Mr. Jennings was, +I believe, among the claimants. Congress found the task of making +the proper awards to each individual to be quite beyond its power +at the time, so a lump sum was appropriated, to be divided by the +Treasury Department according to its findings in each particular case. +Before the work of making the awards was completed, I left on the +expedition to the Cape of Good Hope to observe the transit of Venus, +and never learned what had been done with the claims of Mr. Jennings. +It might naturally be supposed that when an official report to +the Navy Department showed that he had no claims whatever except +those of a patriotic citizen who had done his best, which was just +nothing at all, to promote the common end, the claim would have +received little attention. Possibly this may have been the case. +But I do not know what the outcome of the matter was. + +Shortly after the death of the President, I had a visit from an +inventor who had patented a method of cooling the air of a room +by ice. He claimed that our work at the Executive Mansion was an +infringement on his patent. I replied that I could not see how +any infringement was possible, because we had gone to work in the +most natural way, without consulting any previous process whatever, +or even knowing of the existence of a patent. Surely the operation +of passing air over ice to cool it could not be patentable. + +He invited me to read over the statement of his claims. I found that +although this process was not patented in terms, it was practically +patented by claiming about every possible way in which ice could be +arranged for cooling purposes. Placing the ice on supports was one +of his claims; this we had undoubtedly done, because otherwise the +process could not have been carried out. In a word, the impression +I got was that the only sure way of avoiding an infringement would +have been to blindfold the men who put the ice in the box, and ask +them to throw it in pellmell. Every method of using judgment in +arranging the blocks of ice he had patented. + +I had to acknowledge that his claim of infringement might have +some foundation, and inquired what he proposed to do in the case. +He replied that he did not wish to do more than have his priority +recognized in the matter. I replied that I had no objection to his +doing this in any way he could, and he took his leave. Nothing more, +so far as I am aware, was done in his case. But I was much impressed +by this as by other examples I have had of the same kind, of the +loose way in which our Patent Office sometimes grants patents. + + +I do not think the history of any modern municipality can show an +episode more extraordinary or, taken in connection with its results, +more instructive than what is known as the "Shepherd regime" in +Washington. What is especially interesting about it is the opposite +views that can be taken of the same facts. As to the latter there +is no dispute. Yet, from one point of view, Shepherd made one of +the most disastrous failures on record in attempting to carry out +great works, while, from another point of view, he is the author of +the beautiful Washington of to-day, and entitled to a public statue +in recognition of his services. As I was a resident of the city +and lived in my own house, I was greatly interested in the proposed +improvements, especially of the particular street on which I lived. +I was also an eye-witness to so much of the whole history as the +public was cognizant of. The essential facts of the case, from the +two, opposing points of view, are exceedingly simple. + +One fact is the discreditable condition of the streets of Washington +during and after the civil war. The care of these was left entirely +to the local municipality. Congress, so far as I know, gave no aid +except by paying its share of street improvements in front of the +public buildings. It was quite out of the power of the residents, +who had but few men of wealth among them, to make the city what it +ought to be. Congress showed no disposition to come to the help of +the citizens in this task. + +In 1871, however, some public-spirited citizens took the matter in +hand and succeeded in having a new government established, which +was modeled after that of the territories of the United States. +There was a governor, a legislature, and a board of public works. +The latter was charged with the improvements of the streets, and +the governor was _ex officio_ its president. The first governor was +Henry D. Cooke, the banker, and Mr. Shepherd was vice-president of +the board of public works and its leading member. Mr. Cooke resigned +after a short term, and Mr. Shepherd was promoted to his place. +He was a plumber and gas-fitter by trade, and managed the leading +business in his line in Washington. Through the two or three years +of his administration the city directory still contained the entry-- + +Shepherd, Alex. R. & Co., plumbers and gas-fitters, 910 Pa. Ave. N. W. + +In recent years he had added to his plumbing business that of erecting +houses for sale. He had had no experience in the conduct of public +business, and, of course, was neither an engineer nor a financier. +But such was the energy of his character and his personal influence, +that he soon became practically the whole government, which he ran in +his own way, as if it were simply his own business enlarged. Of the +conditions which the law imposes on contracts, of the numerous and +complicated problems of engineering involved in the drainage and +street systems of a great city, of the precautions to be taken in +preparing plans for so immense a work, and of the legal restraints +under which it should be conducted, he had no special knowledge. +But he had in the highest degree a quality which will bear different +designations according to the point of view. His opponents would call +it unparalleled recklessness; his supporters, boldness and enterprise. + +Such were the preliminaries. Three years later the results of his +efforts were made known by an investigating committee of Congress, +with Senator Allison, a political friend, at its head. It was +found that with authority to expend $6,000,000 in the improvement +of the streets, there was an actual or supposed expenditure of +more than $18,000,000, and a crowd of additional claims which no +man could estimate, based on the work of more than one thousand +principal contractors and an unknown number of purchasers and +sub-contractors. Chaos reigned supreme. Some streets were still +torn up and impassable; others completely paved, but done so badly +that the pavements were beginning to rot almost before being pressed +by a carriage. A debt had been incurred which it was impossible +for the local municipality to carry and which was still piling up. + +For all this Congress was responsible, and manfully shouldered +its responsibility. Mr. Shepherd was legislated out of office as +an act of extreme necessity, by the organization of a government +at the head of which were three commissioners. The feeling on the +subject may be inferred from the result when President Grant, who +had given Shepherd his powerful support all through, nominated him as +one of the three commissioners. The Senate rejected the nomination, +with only some half dozen favorable votes. + +The three commissioners took up the work and carried it on in a +conservative way. Congress came to the help of the municipality by +bearing one half the taxation of the District, on the very sound +basis that, as it owned about one half of the property, it should +pay one half the taxes. + +The spirit of the time is illustrated by two little episodes. +The reservation on which the public library founded by Mr. Carnegie +is now built, was then occupied by the Northern Liberties Market, +one of the three principal markets of the city. Being a public +reservation, it had no right to remain there except during the +pleasure of the authorities. Due notice was given to the marketmen +to remove the structures. The owners were dilatory in doing so, and +probably could not see why they should be removed when the ground was +not wanted for any other purpose, and before they had time to find +a new location. It was understood that, if an attempt was made to +remove the buildings, the marketmen would apply to the courts for +an injunction. To prevent this, an arrangement was made by which +the destruction of the buildings was to commence at dinner-time. +At the same time, according to current report, it was specially +arranged that all the judges to whom an application could be made +should be invited out to dinner. However this may have been, a large +body of men appeared upon the scene in the course of the evening +and spent the night in destroying the buildings. With such energy +was the work carried on that one marketman was killed and another +either wounded or seriously injured in trying to save their wares +from destruction. The indignation against Shepherd was such that +his life was threatened, and it was even said that a body-guard of +soldiers had to be supplied by the War Department for his protection. + +The other event was as comical as this was tragic. It occurred +while the investigating committee of Congress was at its work. +The principal actors in the case were Mr. Harrington, secretary +of the local government and one of Mr. Shepherd's assistants, the +chief of police, and a burglar. Harrington produced an anonymous +letter, warning him that an attempt would be made in the course of +a certain night to purloin from the safe in which they were kept, +certain government papers, which the prosecutors of the case against +Shepherd were anxious to get hold of. He showed this letter to +the chief of police, who was disposed to make light of the matter. +But on Harrington's urgent insistence the two men kept watch about the +premises on the night in question. They were in the room adjoining +that in which the records were kept, and through which the robber +would have to pass. In due time the latter appeared, passed through +the room and proceeded to break into the safe. The chief wanted to +arrest him immediately, but Harrington asked him to wait, in order +that they might see what the man was after, and especially what he +did with the books. So they left and took their stations outside +the door. The burglar left the building with the books in a satchel, +and, stepping outside, was confronted by the two men. + +I believe every burglar of whom history or fiction has kept any +record, whether before or after this eventful night, when he broke +open a safe and, emerging with his booty, found himself confronted by +a policeman, took to his heels. Not so this burglar. He walked up +to the two men, and with the utmost unconcern asked if they could +tell him where Mr. Columbus Alexander lived. Mr. Alexander, it +should be said, was the head man in the prosecution. The desired +information being conveyed to the burglar, he went on his way +to Mr. Alexander's house, followed by the two agents of the law. +Arriving there, he rang the bell. + +In the ordinary course of events, Mr. Alexander or some member of his +family would have come to the door and been informed that the caller +had a bundle for him. A man just awakened from a sound sleep and +coming downstairs rubbing his eyes, would not be likely to ask any +questions of such a messenger, but would accept the bundle and lock +the door again. Then what a mess the prosecution would have been in! +Its principal promoter detected in collusion with a burglar in order +to get possession of the documents necessary to carry on his case! + +It happened, however, that Mr. Alexander and the members of his +household all slept the sleep of the just and did not hear the bell. +The patience of the policeman was exhausted and the burglar was +arrested and lodged in jail, where he was kept for several months. +Public curiosity to hear the burglar's story was brought to a +high pitch, but never gratified. Before the case came to trial +the prisoner was released on straw bail and never again found. +I do not think the bottom facts, especially those connected with +the anonymous letter, were ever brought to light. So every one +was left to form his own theory of what has since been known as the +"Safe Burglary Conspiracy." + +What seems at present the fashionable way of looking at the facts +is this: Shepherd was the man who planned the beautiful Washington +of to-day, and who carried out his project with unexampled energy +until he was stopped through the clamor of citizens who did not +want to see things go ahead so fast. Other people took the work up, +but they only carried out Shepherd's ideas. The latter, therefore, +should have all the credit due to the founder of the new Washington. + +The story has always seemed to me most interesting as an example +of the way in which public judgment of men and things is likely to +be influenced. Public sentiment during the thirty years which have +since elapsed has undergone such a revolution in favor of Shepherd +that a very likely outcome will be a monument to commemorate his work. +But it is worth while to notice the mental processes by which the +public now reaches this conclusion. It is the familiar and ordinarily +correct method of putting this and that together. + +_This_ is one of the most beautiful cities in the United States, +of which Americans generally are proud when they pay it a visit. + +_That_ is the recollection of the man who commenced the work of +transforming an unsightly, straggling, primitive town into the +present Washington, and was condemned for what he did. + +These two considerations form the basis of the conclusion, all +intermediate details dropping out of sight and memory. The reckless +maladministration of the epoch, making it absolutely necessary to +introduce a new system, has no place in the picture. + +There is also a moral to the story, which is more instructive +than pleasant. The actors in the case no doubt believed that if +they set about their work in a conservative and law-abiding way, +spending only as much money as could be raised, Congress would +never come to their help. So they determined to force the game, +by creating a situation which would speedily lead to the correct +solution of the problem. I do not think any observant person will +contest the proposition that had Shepherd gone about his work and +carried it to a successful conclusion in a peaceable and law-abiding +way,--had he done nothing to excite public attention except wisely +and successfully to administer a great public work,--his name would +now have been as little remembered in connection with what he did as +we remember those of Ketchem, Phelps, and the other men who repaired +the wreck he left and made the city what it is to-day. + +In my mind one question dominates all others growing out of the +case: What will be the moral effect on our children of holding up +for their imitation such methods as I have described? + + + + +XIII + +MISCELLANEA + + +If the "Great Star-Catalogue Case" is not surrounded with such mystery +as would entitle it to a place among _causes celebres_, it may well +be so classed on account of the novelty of the questions at issue. +It affords an instructive example of the possibility of cases in +which strict justice cannot be done through the established forms +of legal procedure. It is also of scientific interest because, +although the question was a novel one to come before a court, it +belongs to a class which every leader in scientific investigation +must constantly encounter in meting out due credit to his assistants. + +The plaintiff, Christian H. F. Peters, was a Dane by birth, and +graduated at the University of Berlin in 1836. During the earlier +years of his manhood he was engaged in the trigonometrical survey +of the kingdom of Naples, where, for a time, he had charge of an +observatory or some other astronomical station. It is said that, like +many other able European youth of the period, he was implicated in +the revolution of 1848, and had to flee the kingdom in consequence. +Five years later, he came to the United States. Here his first +patron was Dr. B. A. Gould, who procured for him first a position +on the Coast Survey, and then one as his assistant at the Dudley +Observatory in Albany. He was soon afterward appointed professor +of astronomy and director of the Litchfield Observatory at Hamilton +College, where he spent the remaining thirty years of his life. +He was a man of great learning, not only in subjects pertaining +to astronomy, but in ancient and modern languages. The means at +his disposal were naturally of the slenderest kind; but he was the +discoverer of some forty asteroids, and devoted himself to various +astronomical works and researches with great ability. + +Of his personality it may be said that it was extremely agreeable so +long as no important differences arose. What it would be in such a +case can be judged by what follows. Those traits of character which +in men like him may be smoothed down to a greater or less extent +by marital discipline were, in the absence of any such agency, +maintained in all their strength to his latest years. + +The defendant, Charles A. Borst, was a graduate of the college and had +been a favorite pupil of Peters. He was a man of extraordinary energy +and working capacity, ready to take hold in a business-like way of +any problem presented to him, but not an adept at making problems for +himself. His power of assimilating learning was unusually developed; +and this, combined with orderly business habits, made him a most +effective and valuable assistant. The terms of his employment were +of the first importance in the case. Mr. Litchfield of New York was +the patron of the observatory; he had given the trustees of Hamilton +College a capital for its support, which sufficed to pay the small +salary of the director and some current expenses, and he also, when +the latter needed an assistant, made provision for his employment. +It appears that, in the case of Borst, Peters frequently paid his +salary for considerable periods at a time, which sums were afterward +reimbursed to him by Mr. Litchfield. + +I shall endeavor to state the most essential facts involved as they +appear from a combination of the sometimes widely different claims +of the two parties, with the hope of showing fairly what they were, +but without expecting to satisfy a partisan of either side. Where an +important difference of statement is irreconcilable, I shall point +it out. + +In his observations of asteroids Peters was continually obliged to +search through the pages of astronomical literature to find whether +the stars he was using in observation had ever been catalogued. +He long thought that it would be a good piece of work to search +all the astronomical journals and miscellaneous collections of +observations with a view of making a complete catalogue of the +positions of the thousands of stars which they contained, and +publishing it in a single volume for the use of astronomers situated +as he was. The work of doing this was little more than one of routine +search and calculation, which any well-trained youth could take up; +but it was naturally quite without the power of Peters to carry it +through with his own hand. He had employed at least one former +assistant on the work, Professor John G. Porter, but very little +progress was made. Now, however, he had a man with the persistence +and working capacity necessary to carry out the plan. + +There was an irreconcilable difference between the two parties as +to the terms on which Borst went to work. According to the latter, +Peters suggested to him the credit which a young man would gain as +one of the motives for taking up the job. But plaintiff denied +that he had done anything more than order him to do it. He did +not, however, make it clear why an assistant at the Litchfield +Observatory should be officially ordered to do a piece of work for +the use of astronomy generally, and having no special connection +with the Litchfield Observatory. + +However this may be, Borst went vigorously to work, repeating all the +calculations which had been made by Peters and former assistants, +with a view of detecting errors, and took the work home with him +in order that his sisters might make a great mass of supplementary +calculations which, though not involved in the original plan, +would be very conducive to the usefulness of the result. One or +two of these bright young ladies worked for about a year at the job. +How far Peters was privy to what they did was not clear; according +to his claim he did not authorize their employment to do anything +but copy the catalogue. + +By the joint efforts of the assistant and his two sisters, +working mostly or entirely at their own home, the work was +brought substantially to a conclusion about the beginning of 1888. +Borst then reported the completion to his chief and submitted a +proposed title-page, which represented that the work was performed +by Charles A. Borst under the direction of Christian H. F. Peters, +Professor of Astronomy, etc. According to Borst's account, Peters +tore up the paper, opened the stove door, put the fragments into +the fire, and then turned on the assistant with the simple order, +"Bring me the catalogue!" + +This was refused, and a suit in replevin was immediately instituted +by Peters. The ablest counsel were engaged on both sides. That of +the plaintiff was Mr. Elihu Root, of New York, afterward Secretary of +War, one of the leading members of the New York bar, and well known +as an active member of the reform branch of the Republican party of +that city. For the defendant was the law firm of an ex-senator of +the United States, the Messrs. Kernan of Utica. + +I think the taking of evidence and the hearing of arguments occupied +more than a week. One claim of the defendant would, if accepted, +have brought the suit to a speedy end. Peters was an employee +of the corporation of Hamilton College, and by the terms of his +appointment all his work at the Litchfield Observatory belonged to +that institution. Borst was summoned into the case as an official +employee of the Litchfield Observatory. Therefore the corporation of +the college was the only authority which had power to bring the suit. +But this point was disposed of by a decision of the judge that it was +not reasonable, in view of the low salary received by the plaintiff, +to deprive him of the right to the creations of his own talent. +He did not, however, apply this principle of legal interpretation to +the case of the defendant, and not only found for the plaintiff, but +awarded damages based on the supposed value of the work, including, +if I understand the case aright, the value of the work done by the +young ladies. It would seem, however, that in officially perfecting +the details of his decision he left it a little indefinite as to +what papers the plaintiff was entitled to, it being very difficult +to describe in detail papers many of which he had never seen. +Altogether it may be feared that the decision treated the catalogue +much as the infant was treated by the decision of Solomon. + +However this might he, the decision completely denied any right of +the defendant in the work. This feature of it I thought very unjust, +and published in a Utica paper a review of the case in terms not quite +so judicial as I ought to have chosen. I should have thought such a +criticism quite a breach of propriety, and therefore would never have +ventured upon it but for an eminent example then fresh in my mind. + +Shortly after the Supreme Court of the United States uttered its +celebrated decision upholding the constitutionality of the Legal +Tender Act, I happened to be conversing at an afternoon reception +with one of the judges, Gray, who had sustained the decision. +Mr. George Bancroft, the historian, stepped up, and quite surprised +me by expressing to the judge in quite vigorous language his strong +dissent from the decision. He soon afterward published a pamphlet +reviewing it adversely. I supposed that what Mr. Bancroft might do +with a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, a humbler +individual might be allowed to do with the decision of a local New +York judge. + +The defense appealed the case to a higher court of three judges, +where the finding of the lower court was sustained by a majority +of two to one. It was then carried to the Court of Appeals, the +highest in the State. Here the decision was set aside on what +seemed to me the common sense ground that the court had ignored +the rights of the defendant in the case, who certainly had some, +and it must therefore be remanded for a new trial. + +Meantime Peters had died; and it is painful to think that his death +may have been accelerated by the annoyances growing out of the suit. +One morning, in the summer of 1890, he was found dead on the steps of +his little dwelling, having apparently fallen in a fit of apoplexy +or heart failure as he was on his way to the observatory the night +before. His heirs had no possible object in pushing the suit; +probably his entire little fortune was absorbed in the attendant +expenses. + +When the difference with Borst was first heard of it was, I think, +proposed to Peters by several of his friends, including myself, that +the matter should be submitted to an arbitration of astronomers. +But he would listen to nothing of the sort. He was determined to +enforce his legal rights by legal measures. A court of law was, +in such a case, at an enormous disadvantage, as compared with +an astronomical board of arbitration. To the latter all the +circumstances would have been familiar and simple, while the +voluminous evidence, elucidated as it was by the arguments of +counsel on the two sides, failed to completely enlighten the court +on the points at issue. One circumstance will illustrate this. +Some allusion was made during the trial to Peters's work while he was +abroad, in investigating the various manuscripts of the Almagest of +Ptolemy and preparing a commentary and revised edition of Ptolemy's +Catalogue of Stars. This would have been an extremely important and +original work, most valuable in the history of ancient astronomy. +But the judge got it mixed up in his mind with the work before the +court, and actually supposed that Peters spent his time in Europe +in searching ancient manuscripts to get material for the catalogue +in question. He also attributed great importance to the conception of +the catalogue, forgetting that, to use the simile of a writer in the +"New York Evening Post," such a conception was of no more value than +the conception of a railroad from one town to another by a man who +had no capital to build it. No original investigation was required +on one side or the other. It was simply a huge piece of work done +by a young man with help from his sisters, suggested by Peters, +and now and then revised by him in its details. It seemed to me +that the solution offered by Borst was eminently proper, and I was +willing to say so, probably at the expense of Peters's friendship, +on which I set a high value. + + +I have always regarded the work on Ptolemy's catalogue of stars, +to which allusion has just been made, as the most important Peters +ever undertook. It comprised a critical examination and comparison +of all the manuscripts of the Almagest in the libraries of Europe, +or elsewhere, whether in Arabic or other languages, with a view +of learning what light might be thrown on the doubtful questions +growing out of Ptolemy's work. At the Litchfield Observatory I +had an opportunity of examining the work, especially the extended +commentaries on special points, and was so impressed by the learning +shown in the research as to express a desire for its speedy completion +and publication. In fact, Peters had already made one or more +communications to the National Academy of Sciences on the subject, +which were supposed to be equivalent to presenting the work to the +academy for publication. But before the academy put in any claim for +the manuscript, Mr. E. B. Knobel of London, a well-known member of +the Royal Astronomical Society, wrote to Peters's executors, stating +that he was a collaborator with Peters in preparing the work, and +as such had a claim to it, and wished to complete it. He therefore +asked that the papers should be sent to him. This was done, but +during the twelve years which have since elapsed, nothing more has +been heard of the work. No one, so far as I know, ever heard of +Peters's making any allusion to Mr. Knobel or any other collaborator. +He seems to have always spoken of the work as exclusively his own. + + +Among the psychological phenomena I have witnessed, none has appeared +to me more curious than a susceptibility of certain minds to become +imbued with a violent antipathy to the theory of gravitation. +The anti-gravitation crank, as he is commonly called, is a regular +part of the astronomer's experience. He is, however, only one of a +large and varied class who occupy themselves with what an architect +might consider the drawing up of plans and specifications for a +universe. This is, no doubt, quite a harmless occupation; but the +queer part of it is the seeming belief of the architects that the +actual universe has been built on their plans, and runs according to +the laws which they prescribe for it. Ether, atoms, and nebulae are +the raw material of their trade. Men of otherwise sound intellect, +even college graduates and lawyers, sometimes engage in this business. +I have often wondered whether any of these men proved that, in all +the common schools of New York, the power which conjugates the verbs +comes, through some invisible conduit in the earth, from the falls +of Niagara. This would be quite like many of the theories propounded. + +Babbage's "Budget of Paradoxes" is a goodly volume descriptive of +efforts of this sort. It was supplemented a year or two ago by +a most excellent and readable article on eccentric literature, by +Mr. John Fiske, which appeared in the "Atlantic Monthly." Here the +author discussed the subject so well that I do not feel like saying +much about it, beyond giving a little of my own experience. + +Naturally the Smithsonian Institution was, and I presume still is, +the great authority to which these men send their productions. +It was generally a rule of Professor Henry always to notice +these communications and try to convince the correspondents of +their fallacies. Many of the papers were referred to me; but a +little experience showed that it was absolutely useless to explain +anything to these "paradoxers." Generally their first communication +was exceedingly modest in style, being evidently designed to lead on +the unwary person to whom it was addressed. Moved to sympathy with +so well-meaning but erring an inquirer, I would point out wherein +his reasoning was deficient or his facts at fault. Back would come +a thunderbolt demonstrating my incapacity to deal with the subject +in terms so strong that I could not have another word to say. + +The American Association for the Advancement of Science was another +attraction for such men. About thirty years ago there appeared at +one of its meetings a man from New Jersey who was as much incensed +against the theory of gravitation as if it had been the source of +all human woe. He got admission to the meetings, as almost any one +can, but the paper he proposed to read was refused by the committee. +He watched his chance, however, and when discussion on some paper was +invited, he got up and began with the words, "It seems to me that +the astronomers of the present day have gravitation on the brain." +This was the beginning of an impassioned oration which went on in an +unbroken torrent until he was put down by a call for the next paper. +But he got his chance at last. A meeting of Section Q was called; +what this section was the older members will recall and the reader +may be left to guess. A programme of papers had been prepared, +and on it appeared Mr. Joseph Treat, on Gravitation. Mr. Treat got +up with great alacrity, and, amid the astonishment and laughter of +all proceeded to read his paper with the utmost seriousness. + +I remember a visit from one of these men with great satisfaction, +because, apparently, he was an exception to the rule in being +amenable to reason. I was sitting in my office one morning when a +modest-looking gentleman opened the door and looked in. + +"I would like to see Professor Newcomb." + +"Well, here he is." + +"You Professor Newcomb?" + +"Yes." + +"Professor, I have called to tell you that I don't believe in Sir +Isaac Newton's theory of gravitation!" + +"Don't believe in gravitation! Suppose you jump out of that window +and see whether there is any gravitation or not." + +"But I don't mean that. I mean"-- + +"But that is all there is in the theory of gravitation; if you jump +out of the window you'll fall to the ground." + +"I don't mean that. What I mean is I don't believe in the Newtonian +theory that gravitation goes up to the moon. It does n't extend +above the air." + +"Have you ever been up there to see?" + +There was an embarrassing pause, during which the visitor began to +look a little sheepish. + +"N-no-o," he at length replied. + +"Well, I have n't been there either, and until one of us can get up +there to try the experiment, I don't believe we shall ever agree on +the subject." + +He took his leave without another word. + +The idea that the facts of nature are to be brought out by +observation is one which is singularly foreign not only to people +of this class, but even to many sensible men. When the great comet +of 1882 was discovered in the neighborhood of the sun, the fact was +telegraphed that it might be seen with the naked eye, even in the +sun's neighborhood. A news reporter came to my office with this +statement, and wanted to know if it was really true that a comet +could be seen with the naked eye right alongside the sun. + +"I don't know," I replied; "suppose you go out and look for yourself; +that is the best way to settle the question." + +The idea seemed to him to be equally amusing and strange, and on +the basis of that and a few other insipid remarks, he got up an +interview for the "National Republican" of about a column in length. + +I think there still exists somewhere in the Northwest a communistic +society presided over by a genius whose official name is Koresh, +and of which the religious creed has quite a scientific turn. +Its fundamental doctrine is that the surface of the earth on which +we live is the inside of a hollow sphere, and therefore concave, +instead of convex, as generally supposed. The oddest feature of +the doctrine is that Koresh professes to have proved it by a method +which, so far as the geometry of it goes, is more rigorous than any +other that science has ever applied. The usual argument by which we +prove to our children the earth's rotundity is not purely geometric. +When, standing on the seashore, we see the sails of a ship on +the sea horizon, her hull being hidden because it is below, the +inference that this is due to the convexity of the surface is based +on the idea that light moves in a straight line. If a ray of light +is curved toward the surface, we should have the same appearance, +although the earth might be perfectly flat. So the Koresh people +professed to have determined the figure of the earth's surface by +the purely geometric method of taking long, broad planks, perfectly +squared at the two ends, and using them as a geodicist uses his base +apparatus. They were mounted on wooden supports and placed end to +end, so as to join perfectly. Then, geometrically, the two would +be in a straight line. Then the first plank was picked up, carried +forward, and its end so placed against that of the second as to fit +perfectly; thus the continuation of a straight line was assured. +So the operation was repeated by continually alternating the planks. +Recognizing the fact that the ends might not be perfectly square, +the planks were turned upside down in alternate settings, so that +any defect of this sort would be neutralized. The result was that, +after they had measured along a mile or two, the plank was found to +be gradually approaching the sea sand until it touched the ground. + +This quasi-geometric proof was to the mind of Koresh positive. +A horizontal straight line continued does not leave the earth's +surface, but gradually approaches it. It does not seem that the +measurers were psychologists enough to guard against the effect of +preconceived notions in the process of applying their method. + +It is rather odd that pure geometry has its full share of paradoxers. +Runkle's "Mathematical Monthly" received a very fine octavo volume, +the printing of which must have been expensive, by Mr. James Smith, +a respectable merchant of Liverpool. This gentleman maintained that +the circumference of a circle was exactly 3 1/5 times its diameter. +He had pestered the British Association with his theory, and come +into collision with an eminent mathematician whose name he did +not give, but who was very likely Professor DeMorgan. The latter +undertook the desperate task of explaining to Mr. Smith his error, +but the other evaded him at every point, much as a supple lad might +avoid the blows of a prize-fighter. As in many cases of this kind, +the reasoning was enveloped in a mass of verbiage which it was very +difficult to strip off so as to see the real framework of the logic. +When this was done, the syllogism would be found to take this very +simple form:-- + +The ratio of the circumference to the diameter is the same in all +circles. Now, take a diameter of 1 and draw round it a circumference +of 3 1/5. In that circle the ratio is 3 1/5; therefore, by the +major premise, that is the ratio for all circles. + +The three famous problems of antiquity, the duplication of the cube, +the quadrature of the circle, and the trisection of the angle, have +all been proved by modern mathematics to be insoluble by the rule +and compass, which are the instruments assumed in the postulates +of Euclid. Yet the problem of the trisection is frequently attacked +by men of some mathematical education. I think it was about 1870 +that I received from Professor Henry a communication coming from +some institution of learning in Louisiana or Texas. The writer +was sure he had solved the problem, and asked that it might receive +the prize supposed to be awarded by governments for the solution. +The construction was very complicated, and I went over the whole +demonstration without being able at first to detect any error. +So it was necessary to examine it yet more completely and take it +up point by point. At length I found the fallacy to be that three +lines which, as drawn, intersected in what was to the eye the same +point on the paper, were assumed to intersect mathematically in +one and the same point. Except for the complexity of the work, +the supposed construction would have been worthy of preservation. + +Some years later I received, from a teacher, I think, a supposed +construction, with the statement that he had gone over it very +carefully and could find no error. He therefore requested me to +examine it and see whether there was anything wrong. I told him in +reply that his work showed that he was quite capable of appreciating +a geometric demonstration; that there was surely something wrong in +it, because the problem was known to be insoluble, and I would like +him to try again to see if he could not find his error. As I never +again heard from him, I suppose he succeeded. + +One of the most curious of these cases was that of a student, I am not +sure but a graduate, of the University of Virginia, who claimed that +geometers were in error in assuming that a line had no thickness. +He published a school geometry based on his views, which received +the endorsement of a well-known New York school official and, on +the basis of this, was actually endorsed, or came very near being +endorsed, as a text-book in the public schools of New York. + +From my correspondence, I judge that every civilized country has +its share of these paradoxers. I am almost constantly in receipt +of letters not only from America, but from Europe and Asia, setting +forth their views. The following are a few of these productions +which arrived in the course of a single season. + + Baltimore, Sept. 29, 1897. + 104 Collington Ave. + + Prof. Simon Newcomb: + + _Dear Sir_,--Though a stranger to you, Sir, I take the liberty + to enlist your interest in a Cause,--so grand, so beautiful, + as to eclipse anything ever presented to the highest tribunal + of human intellect and intuition. + + Trusting you to be of liberal mind, Sir, I have mailed you + specimen copy of the "Banner of Light," which will prove + somewhat explanatory of my previous remarks. + + Being a student of Nature and her wonderful laws, as they + operate in that subtle realm of human life,--the soul, + for some years, I feel well prepared to answer inquiries + pertaining to this almost unknown field of scientific + research, and would do so with much pleasure, as I am + desirous to contribute my mite to the enlightenment of + mankind upon this most important of all subjects. + + Yours very truly, ------ ------ + + P. S.--Would be pleased to hear from you, Sir. + + + Mexico, 16 Oct. 1897. + + Dear Sir,--I beg to inform you that I have forwarded by to + days mail to your adress a copy of my 20th Century planetary + spectacle with a clipping of a german newspaper here. + Thirty hours for 3000 years is to day better accepted than + it was 6 years ago when I wrote it, although it called even + then for some newspaper comment, especially after President + Cleveland's election, whose likeness has been recognized on + the back cover, so has been my comet, which was duly anounced + by an Italian astronomer 48 hours before said election. + A hint of Jupiters fifth satelite and Mars satelites is + also to be found in my planetary spectacle but the most + striking feature of such a profetic play is undoubtedly + the Allegory of the Paris fire my entire Mercury scene and + next to it is the Mars scene with the wholesale retreat of + the greecs that is just now puzzling some advanced minds. + Of cours the musical satelites represent at the same time the + european concert with the disgusted halfuroons face in one + corner and Egypt next to it and there can be no doubt that + the world is now about getting ready to applaud such a grand + realistic play on the stage after even the school children + of Chicago adopted a great part of my moral scuol-club + (act II) as I see from the Times Herald Oct. 3d. and they + did certainly better than the Mars Fools did in N. Y. 4 + years ago with that Dire play, A trip to Mars. The only + question now is to find an enterprising scientist to not + only recomend my play but put some 1500$ up for to stage + it at once perhaps you would be able to do so. + + Yours truly + G. A. Kastelic, Hotel Buenavista. + + +In the following Dr. Diaforus of the _Malade Imaginaire_ seems to +have a formidable rival. + + Chicago, Oct. 31, 1897. + + Mr. Newcombe: + + _Dear Sir_,--I forwarded you photographs of several + designs which demonstrate by illustrations in physics, + metaphysics, phrenology, mechanics, Theology, Law magnetism + Astronomy etc--the only true form and principles of universal + government, and the greatest life sustaining forces in this + universe, I would like to explain to you and to some of the + expert government detectives every thing in connection with + those illustrations since 1881; I have traveled over this + continent; for many years I have been persecuted. my object + in sending you those illustrations is to see if you could + influence some Journalist in this City, or in Washington to + illustrate and write up the interpretation of those designs, + and present them to the public through the press. + + You know that very few men can grasp or comprehend in what + relation a plumb line stands to the sciences, or to the + nations of this earth, at the present time, by giving the + correct interpretation of Christian, Hebrew, & Mohammedian + prophesy, this work presents a system of international law + which is destined to create harmony peace and prosperity. + + sincerely yours + ------ ------ + 1035 Monadnock Bld + Chicago Ill + + C/o L. L. Smith. + + P. S. The very law that moulds a tear; and bids it trickel + from its source; that law preserves this earth a sphere, + and guides the planets in their course. + + + Ord Neb Nove 18, 1897. + + Professor Simon Newcomb + + Washington D C + + _Dear Sir_,--As your labors have enabled me to protect my + honor And prove the Copernican Newton Keplar and Gallileo + theories false I solicit transportation to your department + so that I can come and explain the whole of Nature and so + enable you to obtain the true value of the Moon from both + latitudes at the same instant. + + My method of working does not accord with yours Hence will + require more time to comprehend I have asked Professor + James E Keeler to examine the work and forward his report + with this application for transportation + + Yours truly ------ ------ + + +One day in July, 1895, I was perplexed by the receipt of a cable +dispatch from Paris in the following terms:-- + + Will you act? Consult Gould. Furber. + +The dispatch was accompanied by the statement that an immediate answer +was requested and prepaid. Dr. Gould being in Cambridge, and I in +Washington, it was not possible to consult him immediately as to what +was meant. After consultation with an official of the Coast Survey, +I reached the conclusion that the request had something to do with +the International Metric Commission, of which Dr. Gould was a member, +and that I was desired to act on some committee. As there could be no +doubt of my willingness to do this, I returned an affirmative answer, +and wrote to Dr. Gould to know exactly what was required. Great was +my surprise to receive an answer stating that he knew nothing of +the subject, and could not imagine what was meant. The mystery +was dispelled a few days later by a visit from Dr. E. R. L. Gould, +the well-known professor of economics, who soon after extended his +activities into the more practical line of the presidency of the +Suburban Homes and Improvement Company of New York. He had just +arrived from Paris, where a movement was on foot to induce the French +government to make such modifications in the regulations governing +the instruction and the degrees at the French universities as would +make them more attractive to American students, who had hitherto +frequented the German universities to the almost entire exclusion +of those of France. It was desired by the movers in the affair to +organize an American committee to act with one already formed at +Paris; and it was desired that I should undertake this work. + +I at first demurred on two grounds. I could not see how, with +propriety, Americans could appear as petitioners to the French +government to modify its educational system for their benefit. +Moreover, I did not want to take any position which would involve me +in an effort to draw American students from the German universities. + +He replied that neither objection could be urged in the case. +The American committee would act only as an adviser to the French +committee, and its sole purpose was to make known to the latter +what arrangements as regarded studies, examinations, and degrees +would be best adapted to meet the views and satisfy the needs of +American students. There was, moreover, no desire to draw American +students from the German universities; it was only desired to give +them greater facilities in Paris. + +The case was fortified by a letter from M. Michel Breal, member of +the Institute of France, and head of the Franco-American committee, +as it was called in Paris, expressing a very flattering desire that +I should act. + +I soon gave my consent, and wrote to the presidents of eight or +ten of our leading universities and several Washington officials +interested in education, to secure their adhesion. With a single +exception, the responses were unanimous in the affirmative, and +I think the exception was due to a misapprehension of the objects +of the movement. The views of all the adhering Americans were then +requested, and a formal meeting was held, at which they were put into +shape. It is quite foreign to my present object to go into details, +as everything of interest in connection with the matter will be +found in educational journals. One point may, however, be mentioned. +The French committee was assured that whatever system of instruction +and of degrees was offered, it must be one in which no distinction +was made between French and foreigners. American students would +not strive for a degree which was especially arranged for them alone. + +I soon found that the movement was a much more complex one than it +appeared at first sight, and that all the parties interested in Paris +did not belong to one and the same committee. Not long after we had +put our suggestions into shape, I was gratified by a visit from Dom +de la Tremblay, prior of the Benedictine Convent of Santa Maria, in +Paris, a most philanthropic and attractive gentleman, who desired to +promote the object by establishing a home for the American students +when they should come. Knowing the temptations to which visiting +youth would be exposed, he was desirous of founding an establishment +where they could live in the best and most attractive surroundings. +He confidently hoped to receive the active support of men of wealth +in this country in carrying out his object. + +It was a somewhat difficult and delicate matter to explain to the +philanthropic gentleman that American students were not likely to +collect in a home specially provided for them, but would prefer +to find their own home in their own way. I tried to do it with +as little throwing of cold water as was possible, but, I fear, +succeeded only gradually. But after two or three visits to New York +and Washington, it became evident to him that the funds necessary +for his plan could not be raised. + +The inception of the affair was still not clear to me. I learned +it in Paris the year following. Then I found that the movement +was started by Mr. Furber, the sender of the telegram, a citizen of +Chicago, who had scarcely attained the prime of life, but was gifted +with that indomitable spirit of enterprise which characterizes +the metropolis of the West. What he saw of the educational +institutions of Paris imbued him with a high sense of their value, +and he was desirous that his fellow-countrymen should share in the +advantages which they offered. To induce them to do this, it was only +necessary that some changes should be made in the degrees and in the +examinations, the latter being too numerous and the degrees bearing no +resemblance to those of Germany and the United States. He therefore +addressed a memorial to the Minister of Public Instruction, who was +much impressed by the view of the case presented to him, and actively +favored the formation of a Franco-American committee to carry out +the object. Everything was gotten ready for action, and it only +remained that the prime mover should submit evidence that educators in +America desired the proposed change, and make known what was wanted. + +Why I should have been selected to do this I do not know, but suppose +it may have been because I had just been elected a foreign associate +of the Institute, and was free from trammels which might have hindered +the action of men who held official positions in the government or +at the heads of universities. The final outcome of the affair was +the establishment in the universities of France of the degree of +Doctor of the University, which might be given either in letters +or in science, and which was expected to correspond as nearly as +possible to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Germany and America. + +One feature of the case was brought out which may be worthy of +attention from educators. In a general way it may be said that our +Bachelor's degree does not correspond to any well-defined stage of +education, implying, as it does, something more than that foundation +of a general liberal education which the degree implies in Europe, and +not quite so much as the Doctor's degree. I found it very difficult, +if not impossible, to make our French friends understand that our +American Bachelor's degree was something materially higher than the +Baccalaureate of the French Lycee, which is conferred at the end of +a course midway between our high school and our college. + + +From education at the Sorbonne I pass to the other extreme. +During a stay in Harper's Ferry in the autumn of 1887, I had an +object lesson in the state of primary education in the mountain +regions of the South. Accompanied by a lady friend, who, like +myself, was fond of climbing the hills, I walked over the Loudon +heights into a sequestered valley, out of direct communication with +the great world. After visiting one or two of the farmhouses, we +came across a school by the roadside. It was the hour of recess, +and the teacher was taking an active part in promoting the games +in which the children were engaged. It was suggested by one of us +that it would be of interest to see the methods of this school; so +we approached the teacher on the subject, who very kindly offered +to call his pupils together and show us his teaching. + +First, however, we began to question him as to the subjects of +instruction. The curriculum seemed rather meagre, as he went over it. +I do not think it went beyond the three R's. + +"But do you not teach grammar as well as reading?" I asked. + +"No, I am sorry to say, I do not. I did want to teach grammar, +but the people all said that they had not been taught grammar, and +had got along very well without it, and did not see why the time of +the children should be taken up by it." + +"If you do not teach grammar from the book, you could at least teach +it by practice in composition. Do you not exercise them in writing +compositions?" + +"I did try that once, and let me tell you how it turned out. They got +up a story that I was teaching the children to write love letters, +and made such a clamor about it that I had to stop." + +He then kindly offered to show us what he did teach. The school was +called together and words to spell were given out from a dictionary. +They had got as far as "patrimony," and went on from that word to a +dozen or so that followed it. The words were spelled by the children +in turn, but nothing was said about the definition or meaning of +the word. He did not explain whether, in the opinion of the parents, +it was feared that disastrous events might follow if the children +knew what a "patrimony" was, but it seems that no objections were +raised to their knowing how to spell it. + +We thanked him and took our leave, feeling that we were well repaid +for our visit, however it might have been with the teacher and +his school. + + +I have never been able to confine my attention to astronomy with +that exclusiveness which is commonly considered necessary to the +highest success in any profession. The lawyer finds almost every +branch of human knowledge to be not only of interest, but of actual +professional value, but one can hardly imagine why an astronomer +should concern himself with things mundane, and especially with +sociological subjects. But there is very high precedent for such +a practice. Quite recently the fact has been brought to light that +the great founder of modern astronomy once prepared for the government +of his native land a very remarkable paper on the habit of debasing +the currency, which was so prevalent during the Middle Ages. [1] The +paper of Copernicus is, I believe, one of the strongest expositions +of the evil of a debased currency that had ever appeared. Its tenor +may be judged by the opening sentence, of which the following is a +free translation:-- + + Innumerable though the evils are with which kingdoms, + principalities, and republics are troubled, there are four + which in my opinion outweigh all others,--war, death, famine, + and debasement of money. The three first are so evident that + no one denies them, but it is not thus with the fourth. + +A certain interest in political economy dates with me from the age of +nineteen, when I read Say's work on the subject, which was at that +time in very wide circulation. The question of protection and free +trade was then, as always, an attractive one. I inclined towards +the free trade view, but still felt that there might be another +side to the question which I found myself unable fully to grasp. +I remember thinking it quite possible that Smith's "Wealth of Nations" +might be supplemented by a similar work on the strength of nations, +in which not merely wealth, but everything that conduces to national +power should be considered, and that the result of the inquiry +might lead to practical conclusions different from those of Smith. +Very able writers, among them Henry C. Carey, had espoused the side +of protection, but for some years I had not time to read their works, +and therefore reserved my judgment until more light should appear. + +Thus the matter stood until an accident impelled me to look into +the subject. About 1862 or 1863 President Thomas Hill, of Harvard +University, paid a visit to Washington. I held him in very high +esteem. He was a mathematician, and had been the favorite student of +Professor Benjamin Peirce; but I did not know that he had interested +himself in political economy until, on the occasion in question, I +passed an evening with him at the house where he was a guest. Here he +told me that in a public lecture at Philadelphia, a few evenings +before, he had informed his hearers that they had amongst them one +of the greatest philosophers of the time, Henry C. Carey. He spoke +of his works in such enthusiastic terms, describing especially his +law of the tendency of mankind to be attracted towards the great +capitals or other centres of population, that I lost no time in +carefully reading Carey's "Principles of Social Science." + +The result was much like a slap in the face. With every possible +predisposition to look favorably on its teachings, I was unable to +find anything in them but the prejudiced judgments of a one-sided +thinker, fond of brilliant general propositions which really had +nothing serious to rest upon either in fact or reason. The following +parody on his method occurred to me:-- + +The physicians say that quinine tends to cure intermittent fever. +If this be the case, then where people use most quinine, they +will have least intermittent fever. But the facts are exactly +the opposite. Along the borders of the lower Mississippi, where +people take most quinine, they suffer most from fever; therefore +the effect of quinine is the opposite of that alleged. + +I earnestly wished for an opportunity to discuss the matter further +with Mr. Hill, but it was never offered. + +During the early years of the civil war, when the country was flooded +with an irredeemable currency, I was so much disturbed by what +seemed to me the unwisdom of our financial policy, that I positively +envied the people who thought it all right, and therefore were free +from mental perturbation on the subject. I at length felt that I +could keep silent no longer, and as the civil war was closing, I +devoted much time to writing a little book, "Critical Examination +of Our Financial Policy during the Southern Rebellion." I got +this published by the Appletons, but had to pay for the production. +It never yielded enough to pay the cost of printing, as is very apt +to be the case with such a hook when it is on the unpopular side +and by an unknown author. It had, however, the pleasant result of +bringing me into friendly relations with two of the most eminent +financiers of the country, Mr. Hugh McCulloch and Mr. George S. Coe, +the latter president of one of the principal banks of New York. +The compliments which these men paid to the book were the only +compensation I got for the time and money expended upon it. + + +In 1876 the "North American Review" published a centennial number +devoted to articles upon our national progress during the first +century of our existence. I contributed the discussion of our +work in exact science. Natural science had been cultivated among +us with great success, but I was obliged to point out our backward +condition in every branch of exact science, which was more marked +the more mathematical the character of the scientific work. In pure +mathematics we seemed hopelessly behind in the race. + +I suppose that every writer who discusses a subject with a view +of influencing the thought of the public, must be more or less +discouraged by the small amount of attention the best he can say is +likely to receive from his fellow-men. No matter what his own opinion +of the importance of the matters he discusses, and the results that +might grow out of them if men would only give them due attention, +they are lost in the cataract of utterances poured forth from the +daily, weekly, and monthly press. I was therefore much pleased, +soon after the article appeared, to be honored with a visit from +President Gilman, who had been impressed with my views, and wished +to discuss the practicability of the Johns Hopkins University, which +was now being organized, doing something to promote the higher forms +of investigation among us. + +One of the most remarkable mathematicians of the age, Professor +J. J. Sylvester, had recently severed his connection with the Royal +Military Academy at Woolich, and it had been decided to invite him +to the chair of mathematics at the new university. It was considered +desirable to have men of similar world-wide eminence in charge of the +other departments in science. But this was found to be impracticable, +and the policy adopted was to find young men whose reputation was +yet to be made, and who would be the leading men of the future, +instead of belonging to the past. + +All my experience would lead me to say that the selection of the +coming man in science is almost as difficult as the selection of +youth who are to become senators of the United States. The success +of the university in finding the young men it wanted, has been one +of the most remarkable features in the history of the Johns Hopkins +University. Of this the lamented Rowland affords the most striking, +but by no means the only instance. Few could have anticipated +that the modest and scarcely known youth selected for the chair of +physics would not only become the leading man of his profession in +our country, but one of the chief promoters of scientific research +among us. Mathematical study and research of the highest order +now commenced, not only at Baltimore, but at Harvard, Columbia, +and other centres of learning, until, to-day, we are scarcely behind +any nation in our contributions to the subject. + + +The development of economic study in our country during the last +quarter of the last century is hardly less remarkable than that of +mathematical science. A great impulse in this direction was given +by Professor R. T. Ely, who, when the Johns Hopkins University was +organized, became its leading teacher in economics. He had recently +come from Germany, where he had imbibed what was supposed to be +a new gospel in economics, and he now appeared as the evangelist +of what was termed the historical school. My own studies were of +course too far removed from this school to be a factor in it. But, +so far as I was able, I fought the idea of there being two schools, +or of any necessary antagonism between the results of the two methods. +It was true that there was a marked difference in form between them. +Some men preferred to reach conclusions by careful analysis of human +nature and study of the acts to which men were led in seeking to +carry out their own ends. This was called the old-school method. +Others preferred to study the problem on a large scale, especially +as shown in the economic development of the country. But there +could be no necessary difference between the conclusions thus reached. + +One curious fact, which has always been overlooked in the history +of economics in our country, shows how purely partisan was the idea +of a separation of the two schools. The fact is that the founder of +the historic school among us, the man who first introduced the idea, +was not Ely, but David A. Wells. Up to the outbreak of the civil +war, Mr. Wells had been a writer on scientific subjects without any +special known leaning toward economies; but after it broke out he +published a most noteworthy pamphlet, setting forth the resources of +our country for carrying on war and paying a debt, in terms so strong +as to command more attention than any similar utterance at the time. +This led to his appointment as Special Commissioner of Revenue, +with the duty of collecting information devising the best methods of +raising revenue. His studies in this line were very exhaustive, and +were carried on by the methods of the historic school of economics. +I was almost annoyed to find that, if any economic question was +presented to him, he rushed off to the experience of some particular +people or nation--it might be Sweden or Australia--instead of going +down to fundamental principles. But I could never get him interested +in this kind of analysis. + +One of Professor Ely's early movements resulted in the organization of +the American Economic Association. His original plan was that this +society should have something like a creed to which its members were +expected to subscribe. A discussion of the whole subject appeared +in the pages of "Science," a number of the leading economists of +the country being contributors to it. The outcome of the whole +matter has been a triumph for what most men will now consider reason +and good sense. The Economic Association was scarcely more than +organized when it broke loose from all creeds and admitted into +its ranks investigators of the subject belonging to every class. +I think the last discussion on the question of two schools occurred +at the New York meeting, about 1895, after which the whole matter +was dropped and the association worked together as a unit. + +As Professor Ely is still a leader on the stage, I desire to do him +justice in one point. I am able to do so because of what I have +always regarded as one of the best features of the Johns Hopkins +University--the unity of action which pervaded its work. There is +a tendency in such institutions to be divided up into departments, +not only independent of each other, but with little mutual help +or sympathy. Of course every department has the best wishes of +every other, and its cooperation when necessary, but the tendency +is to have nothing more than this. In 1884, after the resignation +of Professor Sylvester, I was invited by President Gilman to act as +head of the department of mathematics. I could not figure as the +successor of Sylvester, and therefore suggested that my title should +be professor of mathematics and astronomy. The examinations of +students for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy were then, as now, +all conducted by a single "Board of University Studies," in which +all had equal powers, although of course no member of the board took +an active part in cases which lay entirely outside of his field. +But the general idea was that of mutual cooperation and criticism +all through. Each professor was a factor in the department of +another in a helpful and not an antagonistic way, and all held +counsel on subjects where the knowledge of all was helpful to each. +I cannot but think that the wonderful success of the Johns Hopkins +University is largely due to this feature of its activity, which +tended to broaden both professors and students alike. + +In pursuance of this system I for several years took part in the +examinations of students of economics for their degrees. I found that +Professor Ely's men were always well grounded in those principles +of economic theory which seemed to me essential to a comprehension +of the subject on its scientific side. + +Being sometimes looked upon as an economist, I deem it not improper +to disclaim any part in the economic research of to-day. What I have +done has been prompted by the conviction that the greatest social want +of the age is the introduction of sound thinking on economic subjects +among the masses, not only of our own, but of every other country. +This kind of thinking I have tried to promote in our own country +by such books as "A Plain Man's Talk on the Labor Question," and +"Principles of Political Economy." + + +My talks with Professor Henry used to cover a wide field in scientific +philosophy. Adherence to the Presbyterian church did not prevent his +being as uncompromising an upholder of modern scientific views of the +universe as I ever knew. He was especially severe on the delusions +of spiritualism. To a friend who once told him that he had seen a +"medium" waft himself through a window, he replied, "Judge, you never +saw that; and if you think you did, you are in a dangerous mental +condition and need the utmost care of your family and your physician." + +Among the experiences which I heard him relate more than once, +I think, was one with a noted medium. Henry was quite intimate +with President Lincoln, who, though not a believer in spiritualism, +was from time to time deeply impressed by the extraordinary feats +of spiritualistic performers, and naturally looked to Professor +Henry for his views and advice on the subject. Quite early in his +administration one of these men showed his wonderful powers to the +President, who asked him to show Professor Henry his feats. + +Although the latter generally avoided all contact with such men, +he consented to receive him at the Smithsonian Institution. +Among the acts proposed was that of making sounds in various +quarters of the room. This was something which the keen senses +and ready experimental faculty of the professor were well qualified +to investigate. He turned his head in various positions while the +sounds were being emitted. He then turned toward the man with the +utmost firmness and said, "I do not know how you make the sounds, +but this I perceive very clearly: they do not come from the room but +from your person." It was in vain that the operator protested that +they did not, and that he had no knowledge how they were produced. +The keen ear of his examiner could not be deceived. + +Sometime afterward the professor was traveling in the east, and +took a seat in a railway car beside a young man who, finding who +his companion was, entered into conversation with him, and informed +him that he was a maker of telegraph and electrical instruments. +His advances were received in so friendly a manner that he went +further yet, and confided to Henry that his ingenuity had been called +into requisition by spiritual mediums, to whom he furnished the +apparatus necessary for the manifestations. Henry asked him by what +mediums he had been engaged, and was surprised to find that among +them was the very man he had met at the Smithsonian. The sounds +which the medium had emitted were then described to the young man, +who in reply explained the structure of the apparatus by which they +were produced, which apparatus had been constructed by himself. +It was fastened around the muscular part of the upper arm, and was +so arranged that clicks would be produced by a simple contraction +of the muscle, unaccompanied by any motion of the joints of the arm, +and entirely invisible to a bystander. + +During the Philadelphia meeting of the American Association for the +Advancement of Science, held in 1884, a few members were invited by +one of the foreign visitors, Professor Fitzgerald of Dublin, I think, +to a conference on the subject of psychical research. The English +society on this subject had been organized a few years before, and the +question now was whether there was interest enough among us to lead +to the organization of an American Society for Psychical Research. +This was decided in the affirmative; the society was soon after +formed, with headquarters in Boston, and I was elected its first +president, a choice which Powell, of Washington, declared to be +ridiculous in the highest degree. + +On accepting this position, my first duty was to make a careful study +of the publications of the parent society in England, with a view +of learning their discoveries. The result was far from hopeful. +I found that the phenomena brought out lacked that coherence +and definiteness which is characteristic of scientific truths. +Remarkable effects had been witnessed; but it was impossible to say, +Do so and so, and you will get such an effect. The best that could +be said was, perhaps you will get an effect, but more likely you +will not. I could not feel any assurance that the society, with +all its diligence, had done more than add to the mass of mistakes, +misapprehensions of fact, exaggerations, illusions, tricks, and +coincidences, of which human experience is full. In the course of a +year or two I delivered a presidential address, in which I pointed +out the difficulties of the case and the inconclusiveness of the +supposed facts gathered. I suggested further experimentation, and +called upon the English society to learn, by trials, whether the +mental influences which they had observed to pass from mind to mind +under specially arranged conditions, would still pass when a curtain +or a door separated the parties. Fifteen years have since elapsed, +and neither they nor any one else has settled this most elementary +of all the questions involved. The only conclusion seems to be that +only in exceptional cases does any effect pass at all; and when it +does, it is just as likely to be felt halfway round the world as +behind a curtain in the same room. + +Shortly after the conference in Philadelphia I had a long wished-for +opportunity to witness and investigate what, from the descriptions, +was a wonder as great as anything recorded in the history of psychic +research or spiritualism. Early in 1885 a tall and well-built young +woman named Lulu Hurst, also known as the "Georgia magnetic girl," +gave exhibitions in the eastern cities which equaled or exceeded the +greatest feats of the Spiritualists. On her arrival in Washington +invitations were sent to a number of our prominent scientific men to +witness a private exhibition which she gave in advance of her public +appearance. I was not present, but some who attended were so struck +by her performance that they arranged to have another exhibition +in Dr. Graham Bell's laboratory. I can give the best idea of the +case if I begin with an account of the performance as given by the +eye-witnesses at the first trial. We must remember that this was not +the account of mere wonder-seekers, but of trained scientific men. +Their account was in substance this:-- + +A light rod was firmly held in the hands of the tallest and most +muscular of the spectators. Miss Lulu had only to touch the +rod with her fingers when it would begin to go through the most +extraordinary manoeuvres. It jerked the holder around the room with +a power he was unable to resist, and finally threw him down into a +corner completely discomfited. Another spectator was then asked to +take hold of the rod, and Miss Lulu extended her arms and touched +each end with the tip of her finger. Immediately the rod began to +whirl around on its central axis with such force that the skin was +nearly taken off the holder's hands in his efforts to stop it. + +A heavy man being seated in a chair, man and chair were lifted +up by the fair performer placing her hands against the sides. +To substantiate the claim that she herself exerted no force, chair and +man were lifted without her touching the chair at all. The sitter +was asked to put his hands under the chair; the performer put her +hands around and under his in such a way that it was impossible +for her to exert any force on the chair except through his hands. +The chair at once lifted him up without her exerting any pressure +other than the touch upon his hands. + +Several men were then invited to hold the chair still. The performer +then began to deftly touch it with her finger, when the chair again +began to jump about in spite of the efforts of three or four men to +hold it down. + +A straw hat being laid upon a table crown downwards, she laid her +extended hands over it. It was lifted up by what seemed an attractive +force similar to that of a magnet upon an armature, and was in danger +of being torn to pieces in the effort of any one holding it to keep it +down, though she could not possibly have had any hold upon the object. + +Among the spectators were physicians, one or more of whom grasped +Miss Lulu's arms while the motions were going on, without finding +any symptoms of strong muscular action. Her pulse remained normal +throughout. The objects which she touched seemed endowed with a +force which was wholly new to science. + +So much for the story. Now for the reality. The party appeared at +the Volta Laboratory, according to arrangement. Those having the +matter in charge were not professional mystifiers of the public, +and showed no desire to conceal anything. There was no darkening of +rooms, no putting of hands under tables, no fear that spirits would +refuse to act because of the presence of some skeptic, no trickery +of any sort. + +We got up such arrangements as we could for a scientific investigation +of the movements. One of these was a rolling platform on which +Miss Lulu was requested to stand while the forces were exerted. +Another device was to seat her on a platform scale while the chair +was lifting itself. + +These several experiments were tried in the order in which I have +mentioned them. I took the wonderful staff in my hands, and Miss Lulu +placed the palms of her hands and extended them against the staff near +the ends, while I firmly grasped it with my two hands in the middle. +Of course this gave her a great advantage in the leverage. I was then +asked to resist the staff with all my force, with the added assurance +from Mrs. Hurst, the mother, that the resistance would be in vain. + +Although the performer began with a delicate touch of the staff, +I noticed that she changed the position of her hands every moment, +sometimes seizing the staff with a firm grip, and that it never +moved in any direction unless her hands pressed it in that direction. +As nearly as I could estimate, the force which she exerted might have +been equal to forty pounds, and this exerted first in one way and +then in another was enough to upset the equilibrium of any ordinary +man, especially when the jerks were so sudden and unexpected that +it was impossible for one to brace himself against them. After a +scene of rather undignified contortion I was finally compelled to +retire in defeat, but without the slightest evidence of any other +force than that exerted by a strong, muscular young woman. I asked +that the rod might be made to whirl in my hands in the manner which +has been described, but there was clearly some mistake in this whirl, +for Miss Lulu knew nothing on the subject. + +Then we proceeded to the chair performance, which was repeated a +number of times. I noticed that although, at the beginning, the +sitter held his fingers between the chair and the fingers of the +performer, the chair would not move until Miss Lulu had the ball +of her hand firmly in connection with it. Even then it did not +actually lift the sitter from the ground, but was merely raised up +behind, the front legs resting on the ground, whereupon the sitter +was compelled to get out. This performance was repeated a number +of times without anything but what was commonplace. + +In order to see whether, as claimed, no force was exerted on the +chair, the performer was invited to stand on the platform of the +scales while making the chair move. The weights had been so adjusted +as to balance a weight of forty pounds above her own. The result was +that after some general attempts to make the chair move the lever +clicked, showing that a lifting force exceeding forty pounds was +being exerted by the young woman on the platform. The click seemed +to demoralize the operator, who became unable to continue her efforts. + +The experiment of raising a hat turned out equally simple, and the +result of all the trials was only to increase my skepticism as to the +whole doctrine of unknown forces and media of communication between +one mind and another. I am now likely to remain a skeptic as to +every branch of "occult science" until I find some manifestation of +its reality more conclusive than any I have yet been able to find. + +[1] Prowe: Nicolaus Copernicus, Bd. ii. (Berlin, 1884), p. 33. + + + + +INDEX + + +Absence of mind, examples of, 73, 169. +Academy of Science, a would-be, 351. +Academy of Sciences, Paris, 327. +Adams, Prof. John C., 220; intellectual capacity, 282; politics, 283. +Agnesi, Donna Maria, 294. +Agassiz, Louis, discusses Origin of Species, 70. +Airy, Sir George B., Observations of Transit of Venus, 166; + hospitality, 285; poetic taste, 286; executive ability, 286; + methods of works, 289. +Alexander, Columbus, 368. +Anderson, Sir James, 300. +Angle, trisection of, 387. +Argelander, Prof., master of observational astronomy, 318, 319. +Atlantic Cable, the first, 300. +Auwers, the great astronomer, 306. + +Bacon, Mr., teacher at Bedeque, 9. +Baillie, William, U. S. engineer, 361. +Baird, Spencer F., 240. +Bancroft, George, reviews judicial decision of Star Catalogue case, + 378. +Barnard, E. E., 190. +Barnard, Gen. John G., 335. +Bartlett, William P. G., 83. +Belknap, Admiral G. H., 228. +Bell, Alexander Graham, tries to locate ball in Garfield's body, 358. +Black, Jeremiah, 168, 169. +Blackie, Prof. J. S., 294. +Bond, George P., 250. +Booth, Edwin, 157. +Borst, Charles A., 373. +Boss, Prof. Lewis, 124, 230. +Bowditch, Nathaniel, 1. +Bradford, Isaac, 74. +Brewster, Elder, 3. +Brown, Prof. S. J., 125. +Burnham, S. W., 188. + +Campbell, William W., 190. +Carey, Henry C., 400. +Cassey, Thomas L., Jr., 174. +Casserly, Eugene, 128. +Cassini, astronomer, of Paris Observatory, 331. +Cayley, Prof. Arthur, 280. +Chandler, Captain Ralph, U. S. N., 171. +Chandler, W. E., 126. +Chauvenet, William, 111. +Chevreul, M., his remarkable age, 327. +Circle, quadrature of, 387. +Clark, Alvan, 129, 144. +Clark, Alvan, & Sons, character of the firm, 147. +Cleveland, Keith, 224. +Cobbett, William, 7, 53. +Coe, George S., financier, 402. +Coffin, J. H. C., 111. +Combe, George, 4, 16. +Commune of Paris, 321-326. +Comstock, G. C., 126. +Cooke, Thomas, & Sons, 133. +Cox, Jacob D., 258. +Crank, the anti-gravitation, 381; a reasonable, 383. +Cranks, specimen letters from, 389. + +Darwin's "Origin of Species," discussion of, 70. +Dawes, Henry L., 82. +Dawes, Rev. W. R., 148. +Davis, Charles H., 63; becomes superintendent at Naval Observatory, + 107. +Dayton, A. G., 126. +Delaunay, Charles, indorses Prof. Newcomb, 317; director of Paris + Observatory, 319; attractive personality, 329, 330. +Draper, Dr. Henry, expert in astronomical photography, 171, 223. +Draper, Dr. John W., 250. +Dudley Observatory troubles, 80. + +Early, Gen. Jubal A., raid of, 339. +Eastman, John R., 107, 274. +Eclipse, solar, of 1860, journey to observe, 88. +Economics, studies in, 399; alleged schools of, 405. +Education in mountain regions of South, 397. +Eggleston, Edward, 89. +Eliot, Charles W., 74. +Elkin, Dr. W. L., 176. +Elliot, Benjamin S., 50. +Ely, Prof. R. T., as economist, 404; organizes American Economic + Association, 406; merits as a teacher, 408. +Evarts, William M., 241. +Eveleth, G. W., 55. + +Feil, maker of optical discs, 185. +Ferguson, James, 111. +Ferrell, William, 72, 88. +Field, Cyrus W., 128. +Fiske, John, on eccentric literature, 382. +Fixed stars, Paris conference regarding, 230. +Floyd, Richard S., 186. +France, universities of, 392. +Franklin, Admiral, 122. +Furber, Mr., starts movement for admission of American students + in French universities, 396. + +Garfield, James A., first acquaintance with, 353; his early life, + 354; injustice done him, 354; his intellectual gifts, 355; + assassination of, 356. +Geological Survey, circumstances leading to origin of, 252-255; + attacks on, 261. +Gibraltar, determination of the longitude of, 284, 299. +Gill, Sir David, 176. +Gillis, Capt. J. M., superintendent of Naval Observatory, 99; + obtains new transit circle, 105. +Gilman, Daniel C., 403. +Gladstone, William Ewart, meeting with, 273, 276. +Glaisher, J. W. L., 72. +Goldsborough, Admiral, 340. +Gould, Benjamin A., personality, 78; Dudley Observatory directorship, + 80; candidate for Naval Observatory director, 111. +Gould, Dr. E. R. L., 393. +Gravitation, detestable to some minds, 381. +Green, Capt. F. M., 284. +Greenwich Observatory, situation, 285; value of observations at, 288. +Grubb, Sir Howard J., 156, 185. + +Hagar, Judge, 189. +Hale, Eugene P., 123. +Hale, George E., 126. +Hall, Asaph, 107; discovers satellites of Mars, 141. +Hamlin, Hannibal, 128. +Harkness, William, appointed to Naval Observatory, 107; shares honor + of discovering brightest line in spectrum of sun's corona, 113; + director of Observatory, 180. +Harrington, attorney, 367. +Harvard Observatory, Prof. Newcomb called to directorship of, 211; + Pickering's directorship, 212. +Hassler, J. J. S., 264. +Hansen, Prof., greatest master of celestial mechanics, 315, 316. +Hayden, Prof. F. V., 253. +Hayes, Rutherford B., 242, 259. +Hedrick, Prof., 73. +Hell, Father Maximilian, his alleged forgery, 154. +Henry, Prof. Joseph, Prof. Newcomb's relations with, 1, 54, 58, 161; + characteristics, 234-237; on spiritualism, 408. +Herbert, Hilary A., 231. +Hewitt, A. S., 255. +Hilgard, J. E., 1, 59; in charge of Coast Survey, 65, 128. +Hill, George W., 218, 219, 221. +Hill, Thomas Prescott, 400. +Holcombe, Lieut. J. H. L., 174. +Holden, Prof. E. S., 184-194. +Horsford, E. N., 74. +Hubbard, Prof. J. S., head astronomer of Naval Observatory, 98; + in charge of mural circle, 102. +Huggins, Sir William, 279. +Hughes, Thomas, 272. +Humphreys, Gen., chief of engineers, 256. +Hurst, Lulu, the "Georgia magnetic girl," exhibitions of, 412-416. + +Illusion, an astronomical, 137. +Inch, Richard, United States engineer, 361. + +Jennings, Mr., cooling device of, 358. +Jewett, C. C., 237. + +Keeler, James E., 191. +Kelvin, Lord, 248. +Kerr, Prof., 73. +King, Clarence, 258, 259. +Knobel, E. B., 380. +Koresh, his theory, 385. + +Lamar, Judge Lucius, 264. +Langley, Prof. Samuel P., 240. +Language, advantage of not knowing a, 306. +Laplace, the "Mecanique Celeste" of, 1. +Lardner's "Popular Lectures on Science and Art," 19. +Lawrence, Prof. Smith J., 56. +Lee, Gen. Robert E., 339. +Lee's "Tables and Formulae," 56. +Leverrier, M., two views of, 328; meeting with, 330; his merits, 331. +Leverrier and Hansen's systems of planetary computation, 219. +Lick, James, 182. +Lick Observatory, origin of, 182; location discussed, 187; telescope + at, 185; Holden's administration, 192; Keeler's administration, + 194; Campbell's administration, 194. +Lincoln, Pres., his war-time receptions, 342; assassination of, 344; + trial of assassins, 345. +Lister, Lord, 278. +Litchfield Observatory, founder of, 374. +Loomis, E. J., 74. +Lowe, Mr. (Viscount Sherbrooke), 276. + +Mahan, Prof. D. H., 335. +Mars, discovery of the satellites of, 141. +Marsh, Prof. O. C., exposure of Indian ring, 263; relation to "Wild + West," 265; exposure of Cardiff giant, 266; his modern fossil, 269. +Maskelyne, Rev. Nevil, 152. +"Mathematical Monthly," foundation of, 84. +Mathematics and exact sciences, state of, in America, 402. +Maury, Matthew F., work of, 103. +McCook, Gen. A. D., 341. +McCormick, L. J., 132. +McCulloch, Hugh, 244, 402. +McMickan, Captain, of Cunard Line, 271. +McTavish, Governor, 91. +"Mecanique Celeste," first sight of, 56. +Meier, John, 223. +Meridian conference of 1884, 226. +Mill, John Stuart, 272. +Mills, D. O., 183. +Miner and Tully's "Fevers of the Connecticut Valley," 33. +Monroe, Rev. Alexander H., 36 n. +Moore, Capt. W. S., 361. +Moore's Navigator, 17. +Morrill, Justin S., 124. + +National Academy of Science, early proceedings, 251; report of + Geological Survey, 255; report of Forestry System, 261. +"National Intelligencer," letter in, 55. +Natural Philosophy, Mrs. Marcet's Conversations on, 18. +Nautical Almanac, assistants on, 66; in charge of, 120. +Naval Observatory, early history of, 102; work at, 109; conditions + at, 110; civilian head proposed, 111; views of administration in + regard to, 112; reports of eclipse of 1870, 113; visit of Emperor + Dom Pedro, 117; efforts to improve, 122; Board of Visitors + appointed, 126; telescope of, 128; Congressional action regarding + new telescope, 131; observations of satellites of Neptune, 136, + 141; search for companion of Procyon, 138. +Negro, characteristics of, 346; education of, 348. +Neptune, observation of the satellites of, 136, 141. +Newall, R. S., 133. +Newcomb, John, father of Simon, characteristics and marriage, 4. +Newcomb, Simon, the first, 2. +Newcomb, Judge Simon B., 2. +Newcomb, Prof. Simon, ancestry, 2, 3; parentage, 6; early education + at Bedeque, 9; begins study of arithmetic, 10; influence of books, + 14-22; winter spent with farmer Jefferson, 18; residence at + Yarmouth, 23; ancestral home, 23; begins study of medicine, 27; + manufacture of botanic medicine under Dr. Foshay, 31, 32; joins + temperance lodge, 37; intimacy with Parkin family, 39; first sight + of Smithsonian, 52; reading in political economy, 53; study of + Newton's "Principia," 54; first attempt at mathematical paper, 54; + letter in "National Intelligencer," 55; Colonel Abert sends Lee's + "Tables and Formulae," 56; letter from Prof. L. J. Smith, 56; + teaching in a planter's family, 56; first sight of "Mecanique + Celeste," 56; assistant on staff of Nautical Almanac, 66; + discussion of Darwin's "Origin of Species," 70; student in Lawrence + Scientific School, 74; acquaintance with Dr. B. A. Gould, 78; + friendship with William P. G. Bartlett, 83; journey in 1860 to + observe solar eclipse, 88; meets Governor Ramsey and Edward + Eggleston, 89; received by Governor McTavish, 91; Saskatchewan + journey, 92; candidate for professorship in Washington University, + 95; application for professorship in Naval Observatory, 97; early + experience at Observatory, 101; edits Yarnall's observations, 105; + in charge of mural circle, 107; journey to observe 1869 eclipse, + 113; new transit circle, 114; investigation of moon's motion, 115; + visit of Dom Pedro to Observatory, 117; assumes charge of Nautical + Almanac Office, 120; verification of satellites of Mars, 141; + transit of Venus expedition to Europe, 167; expedition to Cape of + Good Hope, 174; agent of Lick Observatory trustees, 184; first + meeting with Schaeberle, 190; study of orbits of asteroids, 195; + problems of astronomy, 198; motion of moon, 202; occultations of + stars, 207; offered Harvard Observatory directorship, 211; head of + Nautical Almanac Office, 214; policy of office, 216, 233; + computations for Planet Tables, 216; assistants, 218; suggestions + to Meridian Conference, 226; computations regarding fixed stars, + 230; member Yale Alumni Association, 241; member Washington + Scientific Club, 244; first trip to Europe, 271; meets Thomas + Hughes, 272; John Stuart Mill, 272; William Ewart Gladstone, 273; + General Burnside, 273; attends banquet of Royal Society, 276; visit + to Lord Lister, 278; meets Prof. Cayley, 280; Prof. J. C. Adams + calls, 281; determination of Gibraltar longitude, 284; visits + Greenwich, 285; friendship with Sir George Airy, 285-289; visits + Edinburgh, 292; meets Prof. Blackie, 294; joins party of English + astronomers bound for Algeria, 295; stormy voyage, 296; at + Gibraltar, 297; Sir James Anderson, an old acquaintance, 300; + Mediterranean trip, 302-305; Wilhelm Foerster, a Berlin + acquaintance, 306; meets great astronomer Auwers, 306; visits + Pulkova Observatory, 309; winter ride in Russia, 310; first meeting + with Hansen, 315; arrives in Paris during German evacuation, 319; + visits Paris Observatory, 321; meets Leverrier, 330; Washington + during Civil War and after, 334-371; two days military service, 339; + assassination of Lincoln, 344; attends trial of conspirators, 345; + acquaintance with Sumner, 349; with President Garfield, 353; asked + to device means for cooling his sick chamber, 357; suggestions for + location of bullet, 358; experience with eccentric theorists, + 381-389; assists in obtaining entrance of American students to + French universities, 396; object lesson in regard to education in + mountain regions of South, 397; studies in economics, 399; publishes + "Critical Examination of our Financial Policy during the Southern + Rebellion," 402; contribution to "North American Review," 402; + conference with Prof. Daniel C. Gilman, 403; contributions to + economic literature: "A Plain Man's Talk on the Labor Question," + "Principles of Political Economy," 408; "Psychical Research," + 410-412. +Nixon, Thomas, 37, 41. + +Occultism, 93. +Old Peake, janitor of the Smithsonian, 58. +Oldright, Mr., 53. +Oliver, James E., 72. +Ommaney, Sir Erastus, 295. + +Paine, Thomas, 3. +Paradoxers, experience with, 382. +Paris Conference, conclusions of, 230; attacked by Prof. Boss and + S. C. Chandler, 230. +Paris Observatory, 321, 332. +Parkin, George R., 39. +Patent claim, a curious, 361. +Patterson, J. W., 352. +Peirce, Benjamin professor of mathematics, 75; personality, 77, 78; + chairman of committee on methods of observing transit of Venus, + 161; director of solar eclipse expedition, 274; presence in England + valuable to British astronomers, 277. +Peters, C. H. F., heads Transit of Venus expedition, 139; Star + Catalogue Case, 372; work on Ptolemy's Catalogue, 380. +Photoheliograph, horizontal 164. +Phrenology, study of, 14, 34. +Pickering, E. C., 126. +Pistor and Martin's transit circle, 105. +Poe, Gen. O. M., 352. +Powell, John W., 240; during Garfield's illness, 357. +"Principia," Newton's, 54. +Procyon, search for companion of, 138; at Lick Observatory, 140. +Professors in Navy, origin of corps of, 101. +"Psychical Research," 410. +Ptolemy's Star Catalogue, Peter's work on, 380. +Pulkova Observatory, object glass made by Alvan Clark & Sons, 144, + 145; foundation and situation, 309-313. + +Reed, Thomas B., 125. +Rhodes scholarships, 37. +Rodgers, Admiral John, 120. +Rogers, William B., 250. +Royal Society, banquet of, 275. +Runkle, John D., 1, 66. + +Safe burglary conspiracy, 367. +Safford, Truman H., 67. +Sampson, Admiral W. T., 121. +Sands, Admiral, superintendent of Naval Observatory, 112; retirement, + 116; assists in obtaining new telescope, 130. +Sauty, de, cable operator at Gibraltar, 300. +Schaeberle, assistant to Prof. Holden, 190. +Schofield, J. M., 96. +Schurman, Caleb, 11. +Schurman, Jacob Gould, 11 n. +Scientific Club, 244. +Scudder, Samuel H., 88. +Shepherd, Alexander H., career, 364-371. +Sherman, Gen. W. T., 243. +Sibley, J. Langdon, 76. +Smith, James, circle squarer, 387. +Smithson, James, 235. +Smithsonian Institution, policy of, 235, 236; difficulties in + administration, 237; expansion of scope, 240. +Smyth, Prof. C. Piazzi, 293. +Smyth, Admiral, W. H., 152. +Sophocles, Evangelinus Apostolides, 75. +Standard time, adoption of, 225, 226. +Stanton, Edwin M., 336; his tireless energy, 337; his law of war, 338. +Star Catalogue case, the great, 372. +Steeves, Isaac, 38. +Struve, Otto, 144, 309. +Struve, Wilhelm, 312. +Struve, Russian minister at Washington, 312. +Sudler, Dr. Arthur E., 50. +Sumner, Charles, characteristics, 349, 350; kills an incipient + "Academy," 352. +Sylvester, Prof. J. J., 403. + +Telescope, horizontal, planned by Prof. Winlock, 163. +Thomson, Sir William, 248. +Tilley, Sir Leonard, 40. +Tracy, Benjamin, 123. +Transit of Venus, early observations of, 151; observed by Mason + and Dixon, 153; Hell's alleged forgeries, 157; preparation for + observation of, 160; Committee of National Academy of Sciences to + consider subject, 161; transit commission, 163; appropriation for + observation station, 170, 171, 174; value of observations, 173; + observations at Cape Town, 177; publication of observations, 178. +Tremblay, Dom de la, 395. +Tuttle, H. P., 192. +Tyndall, Prof., 296. + +Van Vleck, Prof., 73. + +Wagner, Dr., 315. +Wallace, Gen. Lew, 339. +Washburn, Mr., minister to Paris, 320. +Washington, during the civil war, 334; newsboys of, 336; Early's raid + on, 339; after the fall of Richmond, 343; Shepherd regime, 363; + the new city, 366. +Weiss, director of Vienna Observatory, 157. +Welles, Gideon, 111. +Wells, David A., 405. +White House, incidents at, during Garfield's illness, 357. +Whitney, William C., 123. +Williams, Sir Fenwick, 298. +Wilson, Henry, 250. +Winlock, Prof. Joseph, superintendent Nautical Almanac, 59, 61; + personality, 65; constructs instrument for astronomical + photography, 163. +Wolf, Prof. Charles, 144. +Woodward, Dr. J. J., 357. +Wright, Chauncey, 70. +Wright, Gen. H. G., 341. + +Yale Alumni Association, 241. +Yarnall, Prof. M., characteristics, 101; observations of, 105. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE REMINISCENCES OF AN ASTRONOMER*** + + +******* This file should be named 19309.txt or 19309.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/9/3/0/19309 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. 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