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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3e4ed3c --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #51900 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51900) diff --git a/old/51900-0.txt b/old/51900-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 1b9f1c7..0000000 --- a/old/51900-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6567 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's Biography of Percival Lowell, by Abbott Lawrence Lowell - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Biography of Percival Lowell - -Author: Abbott Lawrence Lowell - -Release Date: April 30, 2016 [EBook #51900] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BIOGRAPHY OF PERCIVAL LOWELL *** - - - - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Dave Morgan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - [Illustration: Autograph] - - [Illustration: ·The M·M Co· Logo] - - THE MACMILLAN COMPANY - NEW YORK · BOSTON · CHICAGO · DALLAS · ATLANTA · SAN FRANCISCO - - MACMILLAN & CO., Limited - LONDON · BOMBAY · CALCUTTA · MELBOURNE - - THE MACMILLAN COMPANY OF CANADA, Limited - TORONTO - - [Illustration: PERCIVAL LOWELL AGE 61 - From a silver point portrait begun before his death and finished - afterwards by Eccolo Cartollo] - - - - - BIOGRAPHY OF - PERCIVAL LOWELL - - - _By_ - A. LAWRENCE LOWELL - - - NEW YORK - THE MACMILLAN COMPANY - 1935 - - _Copyright, 1935, by_ - THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. - -All rights reserved—no part of this book may be reproduced in any form -without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer -who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review written -for inclusion in magazine or newspaper. - - _Set up and printed._ - _Published November, 1935._ - - PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - NORWOOD PRESS LINOTYPE, INC. - NORWOOD, MASS., U.S.A. - - - - - PREFACE - - -If genius is the capacity for taking infinite pains, Percival Lowell -possessed it abundantly from his study of Esoteric Shinto, in his -earlier life in Japan, to his great calculation of the position and -orbit of an unknown planet beyond Neptune, at the close of his life. In -determining facts he was thoroughly and rigidly scientific, leaving -nothing unexplored that bore upon the subject; and in his astronomical -investigations it became clear to him that better methods of doing it -were required. At the outset, therefore, he set up his Observatory in an -atmosphere steadier than that where the older telescopes, and almost all -of those then in existence, did their work; thus seeing much not visible -elsewhere. - -But in addition to industry he had an inflammable intellect, easily -ignited by any suggestion or observation, and when alight glowing in -intensity until the work was done. He had also a highly vivid -imagination, compared with many men of science who proceeded more -cautiously; and hence he sought, not only to ascertain new facts, but to -draw conclusions from them more freely than is customary with experts of -that type. This he felt had often been true of those who made advances -in scientific thought, and he regarded himself as standing for a time -somewhat apart from most men in his own field. Such an attitude, and the -fact that he had taken up observational astronomy in middle life, -unconnected with any other scientific institution, tended to make many -professional astronomers look upon him askance. So he plowed his own -furrow largely by himself in the spirit of a pioneer, and this little -volume is an attempt to tell what he accomplished. - -The writer is very grateful to the Houghton, Mifflin Company, the -Macmillan Company, The Atlantic Monthly, Rhodora, the Scientific -American, and Miss Katharine G. Macartney (on behalf of Mrs. George -Gould) for permission to quote, sometimes at great length, from books -and articles by and about Percival. The writer desires also to express -his deep obligation to Mr. George R. Agassiz, his brother’s intimate -friend and helper, to Dr. Vesto Melvin Slipher, Dr. Carl O. Lampland and -Mr. E. C. Slipher of the Lowell Observatory at Flagstaff, for reading -the manuscript and giving advice; and to Professor Henry Norris Russell -of Princeton University, for his kindness in not only doing this, but -for writing the two appendices that follow this volume. Without their -help the astronomical part of this book would have been sadly defective. -They have pointed out advances in knowledge that have made certain of -Percival’s opinions, particularly earlier ones, no longer tenable. Some -of these he changed during his lifetime, others he would have changed -had he lived to see the more ample facts since known. Nor is this a -criticism of his work, for astronomy has been advancing rapidly of late; -and when that is true no man can expect all his views, even if accepted -at the time, to endure. Change in opinions is the penalty of growing -knowledge. It is enough that a man has helped to push knowledge and -thought forward while he lived, and this Percival, with the exhaustless -energy of his nature, certainly did. - - Boston, October 21, 1935. - - - - - CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - I Childhood and Youth 1 - II First Visit to Japan 8 - III Korea 13 - IV His First Book, “Chosön” 17 - V The Coup d’Etat and the Japanese March to the Sea 20 - VI The Soul of the Far East 29 - VII Second Visit to Japan 41 - VIII Japan Again—the Shinto Trances 52 - IX The Observatory at Flagstaff 61 - X Mars 76 - XI The Permanent Observatory—Interludes and Travels 92 - XII Illness and Eclipse 98 - XIII Mars and Its Canals 107 - XIV The Solar System 120 - XV Later Evolution of the Planets 136 - XVI Interludes 145 - XVII The Effect of Commensurate Periods 157 - XVIII The Origin of the Planets 168 - XIX The Search for a Trans-Neptunian Planet 176 - XX Pluto Found 195 - Appendix I Professor Russell’s Later Views on the Size of Pluto 203 - Appendix II The Lowell Observatory by Professor Russell 206 - - - - - ILLUSTRATIONS - - - Percival Lowell, Age 61 _Frontispiece_ - Percival Lowell and His Biographer Facing Page 4 - Percival Lowell and the Members of the Korean Embassy 16 - Observing and Drawing the Canals of Mars 116 - Gaps in the Asteroids and the Rings of Saturn 166 - Predicted and Actual Orbits of Pluto Page 199 - - - - - BIOGRAPHY OF - PERCIVAL LOWELL - - - - - CHAPTER I - CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH - - -The particular assortment of qualities a man inherits, from among the -miscellaneous lot his ancestors no doubt possessed and might have -transmitted, is of primary importance to him. In this Percival Lowell -was fortunate. From his father’s family he derived a very quick -apprehension, a capacity for intellectual interests, keen and -diversified, and a tireless joy in hard mental labor; while from his -mother’s people he drew sociability, ease of companionship and charm; -from both families a scorn of anything mean or unworthy, a business -ability and the physical health that comes from right living. His life -is the story of the use he made of these heirlooms. - -The son of Augustus Lowell and Katharine Bigelow (Lawrence), Percival -Lowell was born in Boston on March 13, 1855, at 131 Tremont Street where -the Shepard stores now stand. The region was then residential, and his -parents went there so that his mother might be near her father, the Hon. -Abbott Lawrence, whose house was on Park Street, now the main portion of -the Union Club. He had fallen ill since his return as Minister to -England, and was now failing fast. Percival was her first-born, but -others followed rapidly, involving removal to larger quarters; first to -Park Square, and then to 81 Mount Vernon Street, where even the games of -little boys were tinged by the overshadowing events of the day,—the -drilling and the battles of the Civil War. He went to a dame school kept -by Miss Fette; and being always a good scholar learned what he should; -for he developed normally. After infancy the summer was spent at Beverly -in the pleasures and occupations of early childhood. - -But in the spring of 1864 there came a sudden change. His mother was far -from well, and losing ground so fast that his father was advised to take -her abroad for a complete change as her only chance,—a heroic remedy -which proved in time successful. So the family sailed in the _Africa_, a -paddle-wheel steamer of 2500 tons with the sails of a full-rigged -ship,—the father with an invalid wife, four children aged from nine to -two, a nurse sea-sick all the time; and in addition the care of three -more children of a friend in Europe, with a nurse who was well, but -bereft of sense. However, they arrived safely, spent the summer in -England, and, as all Americans did in those days, went to Paris for the -winter. - -Here Percival began a life different from that of his contemporaries at -home; for with his younger brother and his cousin, George P. -Gardner,—one of the children who had crossed with him on the _Africa_—he -went to a French boarding school kept by a Mr. Kornemann. We were -allowed to come home for Sundays, but spent the rest of the week at the -school,—a very wise arrangement; for, although there were some English -boys, the atmosphere was French, and we learned the language easily, by -the native method of teaching it. To Percival this was a great benefit -throughout his life. - -Two winters were spent in this way, the intervening summer being passed -by the family in travel. In the spring of 1866 his parents proposed to -go for a few weeks to Italy, and take the children with them; but -Percival was so ill at ease in travel that he was left at the famous -boarding school kept by the Silligs at Vevey. Although in mature life a -constant traveller, this event was not out of character, for not being -yet old enough to enjoy the results of travel, or feel the keen interest -in them later aroused, he was too restless to find pleasure in long -journeying without an object. On their return from Italy the family -picked him up and went to Germany, where they were caught by the seven -weeks’ war with Austria. When it broke out they were at Schwalbach in -Nassau, one of the smaller states that took sides against Prussia. -Percival always remembered vividly what he there saw, exciting enough -for a small boy; the sudden clatter of a galloping horse, as a man in -civilian dress passed the hotel up a small lane to the left. It was the -burgomaster carrying word of Prussian advance, followed quickly by the -sound of several more horses, and three videttes in blue galloped past, -turning up the main road in front of the hotel where they supposed the -burgomaster had gone. Up the road they went and disappeared round a turn -to the left at the top of the slope. Scarcely had they vanished when a -squad of green-clad Nassau infantry appeared, and following half-way up -the hill hid behind a wood pile. It was not long before the Prussian -videttes, having failed to find the burgomaster, came into sight again, -leisurely walking their horses down the road. When abreast of the wood -pile the Nassau squad stole out, firing from the hip in the manner of -the day. Whether they hit anyone we never knew, but the enemy was wholly -dispersed, for one of the horsemen wheeled up the hill, another spurred -his horse down past the hotel, and the third jumped his over the wall -into the garden of the baths. That afternoon a Nassau regiment marched -into the town and bivouacked in the streets, leaving in the morning to -be replaced later in the day by a Prussian regiment, which in its turn -marched off to its rendezvous near Kissingen. - -By the end of the summer of 1866 Mother was well enough to go home, and -the whole family sailed for Boston. Percival’s education there was of -the ordinary classical type preparatory for college, for one year at a -school kept by a Mr. Fette, brother of his teacher in childhood, and -then for five years in that of Mr. George W. C. Noble, whose influence, -both by teaching and character, was strong with all boys capable of -profiting thereby. Percival was always near the top of his class, -especially in the Classics, which he acquired so easily that while -playing with a toy boat, in a shallow pond made by the melting snow on -the lawn at Brookline, it occurred to him to describe an imaginary -shipwreck thereof; and he did so in some hundreds of Latin hexameter -verses. - - [Illustration: PERCIVAL LOWELL - And His Biographer] - -In the spring of 1867 Father bought the place at the corner of Heath and -Warren Streets in Brookline, where he lived until his death in 1900; and -where his last child, Amy, passed her whole life. Here Percival spent -his boyhood, summer and winter, until he went to college, enjoying the -life and sports of the seasons; and, in fact, he was a normal boy like -his comrades, only more so. During the earlier years Father drove us -into town and out again each day, he going to his office and the -children to school. On the road he talked on all subjects and we learned -much in this way. Somehow he made us feel that every self-respecting man -must work at something that is worth while, and do it very hard. In our -case it need not be remunerative, for he had enough to provide for that; -but it must be of real significance. I do not know that he ever said -this formally, but, by the tenor of his conversation and his own -attitude toward life, he impressed that conviction deeply upon the -spirit. From his own active and ambitious nature, Percival little -required such a stimulus; and, indeed, he struck out an intellectual -path of his own in boyhood. He took to astronomy, read many books -thereon, had a telescope of his own, of about two and a quarter inches -in diameter, with which he observed the stars from the flat roof of our -house; and later in life he recalled that with it he had seen the white -snow cap on the pole of Mars crowning a globe spread with blue-green -patches on an orange ground. This interest he never lost, and after -lying half-dormant for many years it blazed forth again as the dominant -one in his life, and the field of his remarkable achievements. - -The two years of school in Paris certainly had not retarded his -progress, if, indeed, the better European discipline had not advanced -it; for he could have been prepared for college at sixteen, but it was -thought well to extend the time another year and fill in with other -things. Strangely enough, Mr. Noble thought him not so strong as he -might be in two subjects where he later excelled,—English Composition -and Mathematics,—and in these he was tutored the year before entering -college. Later he thought he had been misjudged, but one may suspect it -was rather because his interest in these matters had not been aroused. -The capacity was there but not yet awakened. However, he entered college -in the autumn of 1872 not only clear but with honors in Mathematics. In -fact he studied that subject every year in college, took second-year -honors in it, and Professor Benjamin Peirce, the great mathematician, -spoke of him as one of the most brilliant scholars ever under his -observation, hinting to him that if he would devote himself thereto he -could succeed him in his chair. Yet it was by no means his sole field of -knowledge, for he elected courses also in the Classics, Physics and -History, doing well enough in all of them to be in the Φ Β Κ and have a -Commencement part. An impression of his versatility is given by the fact -that in his senior year he won a Bowdoin Prize for an essay on “The Rank -of England as a European Power from the Death of Elizabeth to the Death -of Anne,” and spoke his part on “The Nebular Hypothesis.” - -Yet he was no recluse; for he was constantly that year at dancing -parties in Boston; and, being naturally sociable, and strongly attached -to his friends, he made many in college. With Harcourt Amory, his -Freshman chum, he went abroad, after graduating in 1876, and spent a -year in Europe. The young men went to London with letters that brought -them into delightful society there, and they travelled over the British -Isles and the Continent. It was mainly the _grand tour_; but although he -wrote many letters, and kept a journal, these, so far as preserved, -reveal little of his personality except a keen joy in natural beauty and -a readiness in acquaintance with people casually met. Alone, he went -down the Danube, and tried,—fortunately without success,—to get to the -front in the war then raging between Servia and Turkey. With Harcourt -Amory he went also to Palestine and Syria, at that time less visited -than they are to-day; but for this part of his journey, where it would -be most interesting, his journal, if written, is lost. His love of -travel had fairly begun. - - - - - CHAPTER II - FIRST VISIT TO JAPAN - - -In the summer of 1877 he came home; and, having no impulse toward a -profession, he went into the office of his grandfather, John Amory -Lowell, where he was engaged in helping to manage trust funds. In -this,—in learning the ways of business, for a time as acting treasurer, -that is the executive head, of a large cotton mill, and withal as a -young man of fashion,—he spent the next six years. With money enough for -his wants, never extravagant, and with the increase that came from -shrewd investment, he felt free in the spring of 1883 to go to Japan to -study the language and the people. Both of these he did with his -habitual energy, learning to speak with great rapidity, meeting socially -Japanese and foreign residents in Tokyo, and observing everything to be -seen. His own view of the value of travel and study is given in a letter -to a sister seven years his junior, written apparently in the preceding -summer when she was in Europe.[1] “I am very glad,” he says, “that you -are taking so much interest in studying what you come across in your -journey and after all life itself is but one long journey which is not -only misspent but an unhappy one if one does not interest one’s-self in -whatever one encounters—Besides, from another standpoint, you are -storing up for yourself riches above the reach of fickle fate,—what the -moths and rust of this world cannot touch. You are making, as it were, a -friend of yourself. One to whom you can go when time or place shall -sever you from others, and the older you grow, sweet puss, the more you -have to depend upon yourself. So, school your mind then, that it may -come to the rescue of your feelings—and a great thing is to cultivate -this love of study while yet you are happy. For if you wait until you -need it to be happy, you will, with much more difficulty, persuade -yourself to forget yourself in it—Now as to particulars, you need never -worry yourself if you do not happen to like what it is orthodox to -prefer. You had much better be honest with yourself even if wrong, than -dishonest in forcing yourself to agree with the multitude. That is, the -opinion one most commonly hears is not always the opinion of the best. -And again, always be able to give a reason for what you think and, to a -great extent, for what you like.” - -At once he was fascinated by Japan, its people, their customs, their -tea-houses, gardens and their art. Much of this was more novel to his -friends at home when he wrote about it than it would be now; although -even at that time he saw how much Tokyo had already been influenced by -Western ideas and habits. He kept his attention alert, observing, -studying, pondering everything that he saw or heard. In fact, within a -fortnight he lit upon two things that later led to careful examination -and the writing of books. In a letter to his mother on June 8, in -dealing with differences that struck him between the people of Japan and -occidentals, he writes: “Again, perhaps, a key to the Japanese is -impersonalism. Forced upon one’s notice first in their speech, it may be -but the expression of character. In the Japanese language there is no -distinction of persons, no sex, no plural even. I speak of course of -their inflected speech. They have pronouns, but these are used solely to -prevent ambiguity. The same is true of their genders and plurals. To -suppose them, however, destitute of feeling, as some have done, I am -convinced would be an error. The impersonalism I speak of is a thing of -the mind rather than the heart. I suggest rather than posit.” In a -letter, three days later, he tells of a friend whose jin-riki-sha man’s -wife had the fox disease, “a species of acute mania supposed by the -people to be a bewitchment by the fox. As the person possessed so -regards it and others assist in keeping up the delusion by interpreting -favorably to their own views, it is no wonder that the superstition -survives.” Some years later an unexpected sight of a religious trance on -Mount Ontake gave rise to a careful study of these psychic phenomena. -Well did Pasteur remark that in the fields of observation chance favors -only the minds that are prepared. - -He hired a house in Tokyo, set up his own establishment as if he had -been born and bred there, and after three weeks on shore wrote: “I am -beginning to talk Japanese like a native (of America), and I take to ye -manners and customs of ye country like a duck to the water.” He stayed -enjoying the life, and the many friends he made, until the middle of -July, when, with Professor Terry of the University, he started on a trip -across the mountains to the other side of the island. The journey was -hard, and at times the food and lodging poor. “Think,” he writes, “of -the means of subsistence in a land where there is no milk, no butter, no -cheese, no bread, almost no meat, and not over many eggs. Rice is the -staple article of food, then vegetables, eggs and fish; the last two -being classed as the food of the richer, and most eaten in the greater -centres. Some country people are so poor that they have not rice, and -eat barley instead. It is considered a sign of poverty to be without -this universal article of diet, but in travelling about in -out-of-the-way corners one meets with such places. I have myself lit -upon such at the noon-day halt but have never been obliged to spend the -night there.” But the scenery was fine, and the people unchanged by -contact with the foreigner. He noted archaic devices still in use for -pumping and boiling water; yet, in visiting a ruined castle, he saw that -while the interior of the country had as yet been little affected by the -impact of the West its political condition had been transformed with -amazing speed. “We mounted through some seven barnlike rooms, up -Japanese ladders to the top story. Sitting by the window and looking at -the old feudal remains below, the moat with its stagnant slime and the -red dragon flies skimming its surface, the old walls, the overgrown -ramparts where now the keeper tries to grow a crop of beans, all tended -to carry my thoughts back to the middle ages, or was it only to my own -boyhood when the name _middle ages_ almost stood for fairy land? And yet -all this had been a fact, even while I had been dreaming of it. My -dreams of Western feudalism had been co-existent with Eastern feudalism -itself. So it was only eleven years ago that the last Daimio of the -place left the castle of his ancestors forever.” - -From his journey across Japan he got back to Tokyo on August 13th, where -a surprise and an opportunity awaited him. On the very evening of that -day he was asked to accompany a Special Mission from Korea to the United -States as its Foreign Secretary and Counsellor. About this Dr. W. -Sturgis Bigelow wrote to Percival’s father: - - “After two days of unconditional refusal and one of doubt Percy has - finally yielded to the wishes of the U. S. Legation here and accepted - the position of Foreign Secretary and General Counsellor to the - Embassy sent from Korea to the U. S. - - “The position practically amounts to his having complete charge and - control of the most important legation from a new country that has - visited the U. S. since the opening of Japan. The U. S. authorities - here are greatly pleased at having secured so good a man, as is - natural. There were many applicants for the place.” - -He goes on to say the hesitation was mainly due to anxiety to what his -father would say, and adds: - - “He distrusts himself too much, he has great ability, he has learned - Japanese faster than I ever saw any man learn a language—and he only - needs to be assured that he is doing the right thing to make a success - of anything he undertakes, whether science or diplomacy.” - - - - - CHAPTER III - KOREA - - -It was the first diplomatic mission from the hermit kingdom to any -Western power, and they wanted someone with _savoir faire_ to look after -them. He accepted the post, landing in San Francisco with his charges on -September 2nd, and crossing to New York, where the Embassy was received -by President Arthur. After spending six weeks in the United States he -returned by the Pacific with the greater part of his colleagues, -reaching Japan in November. They felt grateful for what he had done, and -he was invited to go on with them to Korea as the guest of the King—a -chance not to be lost, so he went, and after sundry wearisome delays in -transit came to Söul, the capital of the Kingdom, just before Christmas, -1883. - -Evidently he had not intended so long a sojourn and study as he was -destined to make, for in a letter to his mother on December the 20th, -just after landing at Chemulpo, the port of Söul, he writes: “I purpose -to study the land a little and then return overland either to Pusan” -(the Japanese treaty port at the extreme southern end of the peninsula) -“or after some travelling in the interior here, Gensan.” He had as yet -no idea of the impossibility of travel in Korea in the winter, -especially for an occidental, but he learned it the following day when -with much discomfort he went half way to Söul, the whole distance from -the port to the capital being twenty-seven miles. Another and stronger -reason for his prolonged stay was the hospitality tendered and the -solicitude for his comfort. At Nagasaki, where the ship stopped on the -journey from Japan, his Korean colleagues, observing his preference, -engaged a Japanese familiar with European cooking to become a member of -his household, and they brought along also chairs for his use. In the -letter to his mother just quoted he writes; “I think I shall either take -a house of my own or, perhaps better, have a part of a Corean’s to my -exclusive use.... I shall of course be asked to stay at our minister -Foote’s, but I shall fight shy of it in order to be less tied -politically.[2] You see there are national parties even in this small -state, and I think it best for me to be, at any rate at first, on the -cross benches. Out in the Far East the ministers of foreign countries -are always mixed up in national politics, and Corea is no exception to -the rule.” A shrewd observation in view of the fact that hardly a year -passed before there was bloodshed between the adherents of China and -Japan in the government, when the Japanese legation was attacked and -fought its way to the sea. - -He found that there had been prepared for him a house, or rather group -of buildings forming a part of the Foreign Office, of which he was -formally a member as having been Counsellor to the Embassy to America. -“From the street,” he writes, “you enter a courtyard, then another, then -a garden, and so on, wall after wall, until you have left the outside -world far behind and are in a labyrinth of your own. Before you lies a -garden; behind another surrounded by porticoes. Courtyards, gardens, -porticoes, rooms, corridors in endless succession until you lose -yourself in the delightful maze.” He speaks of the painting of -landscapes on the walls, of a door cut out as a circle in the wall into -which fit two sliding panels beautifully painted on both sides. “Floor, -ceiling, walls all are paper. But you would hardly imagine that what you -tread upon, to all appearance square stone slabs, is oil paper so hard -as even in sounds under your footfalls to resemble flags.... Through the -thick sliding windows sifts the golden light into the room, and for the -nonce you forget that outside is the dull grey of a cloudy sky and a -snow decked land of a December afternoon.” - -There he spent the winter under strangely favorable conditions; one of -the first men of European race to enter the country with an official -position and no official duties or restraints, and a couple of officers -detailed to care for him, without hampering him by constant attendance -on his movements. In fact he seems to have been more free than anyone in -the land. It was beneath the dignity of a higher official to go through -the streets except in a palanquin; and all others, save blind men, must -not be out of their houses after night-fall on pain of flogging. But -finding that to be carried squatting on the cold floor of a box two and -a half feet square was intolerable, he took to his feet; and, being an -official, he walked all over the city at any hour of the day or night, -without this foreign eccentricity shocking either the high or the lowly. -He was received in special audience by the King and the Crown Prince, -and later photographed them; was visited and entertained abundantly, -made many acquaintances and some warm friends. On February 2nd, he wrote -to his mother: “I think it will please your maternal ear to hear of the -esteem in which your boy is held and of the honors and great kindness -which are lavished upon him. On New Year’s Eve[3] he received some gifts -from the King, made on purpose for him, a description of which you will -find in a letter to Katie. They were accompanied by the wish on the part -of His Majesty ‘that in view of my speedy return, he hoped that I would -come back next year.’ I had informed them of my departure before long, -which they do not view favorably. I was also told that I was constantly -in the King’s thoughts. He is hospitality and kindness itself to -everyone. I have seen several houses of the highest nobles in the land -and there is none to compare with the establishment they have given me. -I have been consulted on foreign business, my requests for others -granted, talked to on home matters, in short I am looked upon as a -friend of the government and cared for in corresponding style.” - -Delightful as the experience was, there came over him in time a desire -to go back to more familiar surroundings, and as spring approached he -spoke of his intention. They tried to dissuade him, and did induce him -to delay his departure; but at last he sailed with no little feeling of -sadness in leaving a country where he had been so kindly treated and -which he was never to see again. In a letter to his sister Bessie, on -February 17, not long before his departure he wrote: “I have already -taken fifty-three negatives of scenes in and about Söul, groups and -individuals. I am not only expected by the Coreans but urged to write a -book; but as I have a wholesome dread of publication I reserve my -decision. I am to send as a present to His Majesty a collection of my -photographs printed in Japan on my return.” - - [Illustration: PERCIVAL LOWELL AND THE MEMBERS OF THE KOREAN - EMBASSY] - - - - - CHAPTER IV - HIS FIRST BOOK, “CHOSÖN” - - -He did write the book, and published it in 1885, under the title of -“Chosön—the Land of the Morning Calm—A Sketch of Korea” It is an account -of his personal experiences, under peculiarly favorable conditions, in a -land of Asiatic civilization almost wholly unknown to the outer world, -and as such it was, and after fifty years remains, a highly interesting -book of travel. Although there is too much clever play on words, a -natural temptation to a brilliant young writer, the story is graphically -told, with much appreciation and many poetic touches on men and scenes. -But the book is far more than this. It is a careful study of the land -and its people, their customs, ideas and manner of life. He describes -the geography of the country and of the walled capital, then little -known, the legends and government; the houses and mode of life of the -upper and lower classes, then sharply distinguished; the architecture, -landscape gardening and costumes, some of them very peculiar; for while -much of the civilization had been derived from China, and parts of it -bore a close relation to the conditions in Japan, it was in many ways -quite distinct and unlike anything else even in the Far East. Three -things struck him greatly, as lying at the base of the mode of life, and -these he called the triad of principles. They were the strange lack of -individual variation, which he called the quality of impersonality, of -which we shall hear more in connection with the Japanese; the -patriarchal system, with the rules of inheritance and the relation of -children to the fathers, which was carried very far; and the position of -women, in which the principle of exclusion, universal as it is in Asia, -was more rigidly enforced than elsewhere in the Far East. - -He was also impressed by the absence of what we understand by religion, -in substance or in manifestation, unless the ethics of Confucius can be -so called. Save for a few monasteries there were no ecclesiastical -buildings, no temples, no services, public or observable. Buddhist -priests had long been excluded from the walled cities, and the ancient -cult that developed into Shinto in Japan died out or never developed. On -the other hand, there was a general belief in a multitude of demons, -some good, but, so far as they affected man, evil for the most part, and -kept away by trivial devices, like images of beasts on the roofs and -wisps of straw over the doors. - -How he succeeded in acquiring all the knowledge set forth in the book it -is difficult to conceive, for he was there only about two months, came -with the slight knowledge of the language he could have picked up from -his colleagues on the Mission to America; and there were only two men, -it would seem, who could speak both Korean and any European tongue,—one -of them a German in the Foreign Office, and the other an English -schoolmaster who had been there but a short time. His chief source of -information must have come through people who spoke Korean and Japanese, -but his own knowledge of the latter was still very limited, for he had -spent only a few months in Japan, and his secretary, Tsunejiro Miyaoka, -afterward a distinguished lawyer in Tokyo, who knew English, was -desperately ill almost all the time he was in Korea. To have absorbed -and displayed so clearly all the information in “Chosön” makes that -work, if not one of his greatest contributions to knowledge, yet a -remarkable feat. Most books of travel are soon superseded, but this one -has a distinct permanent value, because the life he portrays, especially -that of the upper class, which was almost all connected with the holding -of public office, has been swept away, never to reappear, by the -conquest and ultimate incorporation of the country by Japan. - - - - - CHAPTER V - THE COUP D’ETAT AND THE JAPANESE MARCH TO THE SEA - - -One more event in Korea interested him deeply, for it meant life or -death to some of his nearest native friends, and under the title of “A -Korean Coup d’Etat,” he gave a graphic account of it in the _Atlantic -Monthly_ for November 1886. Although not himself present, since it took -place in the December after he had left, it was not unconnected with the -Mission to America of which he had been a member; for the policy of -opening Korea to the world had not met with universal favor among the -officials, and all those who had gone on the Mission did not take it -very seriously. In fact the two groups rapidly drew apart, one side -seeking to extend foreign contacts and the use of foreign methods, the -other preparing to resist this. The latter began to strengthen -themselves by enrolling what they called a militia,—really a rough body -of men devoted to their interests,—until the progressionists, as their -opponents were called, saw that they would be crushed unless they struck -quickly. Among their leaders was Hong Yöng Sik, who had been especially -attentive to Percival during his stay in Söul, and he with his partisans -decided to get control of affairs by the method whereby changes of -ministry are often effected at a certain stage of political evolution, -that is, by removing objectionable ministers both from office and from -the world. The occasion selected was a banquet to celebrate the creation -of a post office, that institution being regarded as typical of good or -evil in foreign habits. The chief victim was wounded but not killed, -whereat the progressionist leaders, pretending to be alarmed for the -safety of the King, went to the palace and slew such of the leading -opponents as they could lay their hands on; but, having no troops, sent -in His Majesty’s name to ask the Japanese minister for the protection of -his force of one hundred and twenty guards. Not suspecting the real -nature of the disturbance, he complied, but was soon attacked by a body -of six hundred Chinese soldiers, naturally in sympathy with the -conservatives, and at their back the Korean militia. For two days the -Japanese guards held off the assailants with little loss to themselves -compared with that of their foes, until the King placed himself in the -hands of the Korean militia, when there was nothing for the Japanese to -do but to get back to their legation as best they could. The rest of the -tale he felt so much and told so well in the ephemeral form of a -magazine article that it is given here in his own words:[4] - -Night had already wrapped the city in gloom, as the column defiled from -the palace gate into the black and tortuous streets of the town. No -resistance was made to their exit, for, under cover of the darkness, the -Korean soldiers had all secretly slipped away. A pall-like obscurity and -silence had settled over everything. It seemed the spirit of death. The -streets of Söul are for the most part hardly more than wide alleys, -crooked and forbidding enough in the daytime. Night converts them into -long cavernous passages, devoid of light, like the underground -ramifications of some vast cave; for, by a curious curfew law, they are -denied any artificial illumination. Through this sombre labyrinth the -Japanese column threaded its way, with nothing to light its path but the -reflection in the sky of fires in distant parts of the city,—a weird -canopy to an inky blackness. Before long, however, even night failed to -yield security from man. At the cross-roads and wherever a side-street -offered an opportunity for attack were gathered bands of braves, mixed -masses of soldiers and populace, who fired upon them or hurled stones, -according to the character of the individuals. Still they pushed -steadily forward, though utterly uncertain what they might find at their -journey’s end; for they had not been able to hear from the legation -since the attack on the palace, and were in grave fear for its safety. -As they came to the top of a bit of rising ground, they made out by the -lurid light of the fires their own flag, the red ball on the white -field, flying from its flagstaff, and thus learnt for the first time -that the buildings were still standing and in Japanese hands. As they -neared the legation the crowds increased, but, sweeping them aside, the -troops at length reached their destination at eight o’clock at night, -having been absent forty-eight hours. - -That the legation was yet safe was not due to any neglect or forbearance -on the part of the Koreans. From the moment of the attempted -assassination of Min Yöng Ik, the city had fallen a prey to disturbances -that grew hourly graver and graver in character, and began to be -directed more and more against the Japanese merchants and traders -scattered through the town. Such of these as took alarm first hastened -to the legation for protection. In this way about seventy of them had -collected in the buildings, and they, together with the servants and a -score of soldiers that had been left there, had successfully defended -the place until the return of the troops. For two whole days the little -improvised garrison had kept the besiegers at bay. - -The legation was safe, but for the rest it was a melancholy tale which -the minister and his suite returned to hear. The sullen glow in the -heavens, that had served them for torches across the city, came, they -learned, from the burning by the infuriated rabble of the homes of their -compatriots. But worse than the loss of property had been the loss of -life. The hatred of the Japanese, that had lain smouldering for -centuries, had at last found a vent. Shortly after the attack on the -palace by the Chinese troops, the cry was raised against the Japanese, -and a wholesale pillage and massacre of the foreigners began.... - -The Japanese gone, the progressionist ministers, realizing that they had -failed, fled hastily to such concealment as individual ingenuity -suggested.... One alone remained to die at his post. The account of his -death, given by certain private Korean letters, is a tale of as noble an -act of heroism as was ever performed. - -When it became evident that the Japanese would withdraw, and the -progressionist leaders be left to their fate, the latter, perceiving -that if they remained they must inevitably fall into the hands of the -enemy, prepared for flight. To the surprise and horror of all the -others, Hong Yöng Sik calmly informed them that he should stay. The -rest, indeed, had better go, but one, he thought, ought to remain, to -show the world that the progressionists were not rebels nor ashamed of -the principles they had professed, and he would be that one. The others, -aghast at his resolve, tried their utmost to dissuade him, but all to no -purpose. Each in turn then offered to stay in his place, but he would -not hear of it. It was more fitting, he replied, that he should remain, -because one of the oldest (he was just thirty years of age); and -forthwith, to signify that his resolve was unalterable, he drew off his -long court boots. Finding it impossible to shake his determination, and -fearing lest, if they delayed longer, they might not escape themselves, -they reluctantly left him and fled. There in the palace, awaiting his -certain doom, the Chinese soldiers found him, a few minutes after. They -seized him and carried him to the Chinese camp, where, with some show of -formality, he was publicly executed. Thus died a brave and loyal soul, -true with his life to the principles he had publicly professed, and -which he deemed it cowardly and wicked to abandon.... - -Meanwhile, the Japanese lay imprisoned within their legation buildings, -closely besieged by the Koreans. Toward the middle of the day, on the -seventh, they discovered that their provisions were nearly exhausted. -Only the soldiers, therefore, were allowed rice, the rest getting for -their portion the water in which the rice had previously been boiled. -There were now in the compound one hundred and forty soldiers, thirty -servants attached to the legation, about seventy merchants and artisans, -besides many other Japanese residents from the city, who had sought -refuge in the buildings. It was utterly impossible to procure more -provisions. Starvation stared the prisoners in the face, even if they -should contrive to hold out against the assaults of the Koreans. Reports -now reached them that all the gates of Söul had been closed, and that -preparations were everywhere in progress for a general attack. It was -also rumored that this would take place at dusk, and that under cover of -the darkness the legation would be fired by the foe. - -Thereupon, Takezoye held a council of war, at which it was decided that -the legation’s only hope, desperate as it was deemed, lay in forcing a -passage through the western gate of the city, and retreating as best -they might to Chemulpo. Accordingly, at the close of the conference the -order was given to withdraw from Söul. It was now discovered that the -messenger to whom the letters were entrusted had been afraid to leave -the legation. Doomed indeed seemed the ill-starred Korean attempt at a -postal system to bring mishap upon everything connected with it, both -big and little, new and old. - -Takezoye then addressed the Japanese gathered in the court-yard. He told -them that his guards had been obliged, in defense of the king on the -preceding day, to fire upon the Chinese soldiers, who had broken into -the palace and opened fire upon the royal apartments; that the Korean -troops and people had now combined against the Japanese; that the Korean -government was apparently powerless to protect them; that the legation -was blockaded; that it was impossible longer to carry on the ministerial -functions; and that he had resolved to retire upon Chemulpo, there to -await instructions from Japan. All the confidential dispatches and other -private documents belonging to the legation were then burned. - -It was now half past two in the afternoon. The crowd without was -steadily growing larger and larger, and closing in slowly but surely -about the devoted compound. Suddenly, to its amazement, the outer wooden -gates, so stoutly defended a few minutes before, swung inward; there was -a moment’s hush of expectation, and the Japanese column, grim with -determination, defiled in marching order into the street. It was a sight -to stir the most sluggish soul. Instinctively the Koreans fell back, -awed as they read the desperate resolve in the faces of the men; and the -column kept silently, surely, moving on. First came two detachments, -forming the van; then the minister, his suite, the women and children, -followed, placed in the centre and guarded on either hand by rows of -soldiers. Next marched the secretaries and the subordinate officials of -the legation, all armed, and with them the merchants and artisans, -carrying the wounded and the ammunition. Two more detachments brought up -the rear. Debouching into the main road, the body struck out for the -western gate. The Koreans, who crowded the side-streets, the -court-yards, and even the roofs of the houses, had by this time -recovered from their first daze, and began to attack the column on all -sides, firing and throwing stones. So poor was their aim, however, and -so unused were they to the business, that neither bullets nor stones did -the Japanese much harm. The vanguard, lying down in the road, fired at -the assailants and drove them back, and the march proceeded. Nothing -could stop the advance of the van, and the rear-guard as ably covered -the rear. Slowly but surely the column pushed on. - -It had thus got half-way across the city, when it encountered a more -formidable obstruction. Opposite the old palace, where a broad avenue -from the palace gates entered the road it was following, a detachment of -the left division of the Korean army had been drawn up, to prevent, if -possible, all escape. The spot was well chosen. On one side lay the army -barracks of the left division, a safe retreat in case of failure, while -in front stretched the broad, open space of the avenue, ending in the -highway along which the Japanese were obliged to pass. To make the most -of this position a field-piece had been brought out and trained on the -cross-road, and deployed beside it the Koreans posted themselves, and -waited for the coming column. As the foreigners came into view, marching -across the end of the avenue, the Koreans opened fire upon them both -with the field-piece and with small arms. The effect should have been -frightful. As a matter of fact it was _nil_, owing to the same cause as -before, the bullets passing some twenty feet over the heads of the -Japanese. Not a single man was killed, and only a few were slightly -wounded. The rear-guard, prone in the street or under cover of the -little gutter-moats, a peculiar feature of all Korean city streets, -calmly took accurate aim, and eventually forced this body of the enemy -back into their barracks. Still harassed at every step by other troops -and by the populace, the column, advancing steadily in spite of them, at -last gained the west gate. It was shut, bolted, and guarded by Korean -soldiers. A sudden onset of the vanguard put these to flight. Some of -the soldiers, armed with axes, then severed the bars, demolished the -heavy wooden doors, and the column passed through. Keeping up a fire on -the foe, who still pursued, the Japanese then made for the principal -ferry of the river Han, at a place called Marpo, one of the river -suburbs of the city. As they turned there to look back toward Söul, they -saw smoke rising from the direction of the legation, and knew from this -that the buildings had already been fired. With the rear-guard set to -protect the important points, they proceeded to cross the stream. -Seizing this opportunity, a parting attack was now made by a -conglomerate collection of Korean troops and tramps, who had pursued -them from the city. Hovering on their flanks, these fired at the ferry -boats as they passed over; but the Japanese rear-guard shot at and -killed some of them, and so succeeded in keeping the others at bay. By -about half past five in the afternoon the Japanese had completed the -crossing. After this no further serious opposition was made to their -retreat, and, following the ordinary road and marching the whole night, -they reached the hill above Chemulpo, and looked down upon the broad -expanse of the Yellow Sea at seven o’clock on the morning of the eighth. - -The long, hard fight was over; an end had come at last. They saw it in -the sea stretched out at their feet, just awaking from its lethargy at -the touch of the morning light. To them its gently heaving bosom spoke -of their own return to life. No crazy fishing boat now stood between -them and theirs. One of their own men-of-war lay at anchor in the -offing. There she rode, in all her stately beauty, the smoke curling -faintly upward from her funnel, waiting to bear them across the water to -the arms of those who held them dear. And the sparkling shimmer, as the -rays of the rising sun tinged the Yellow Sea with gold in one long -pathway eastward, seemed Japan’s own welcome sent to greet them, a -proud, fond smile from home. - - - - - CHAPTER VI - THE SOUL OF THE FAR EAST - - -Back in Japan in the early spring of 1884, Percival stayed there until -midsummer, when he turned his face homeward and westward, for he had -crossed the Pacific three times and preferred to go home the other way. -Touching at Shanghai and Hong Kong he stopped off at Singapore to make a -detour to Java, which delayed him so much that he saw only the southern -part of India. At Bombay he stayed with Charles Lowell, a cousin and -class-mate, in charge of the branch there of the Comptoir d’Escompte of -Paris; thence his route led through the Red Sea and Alexandria to -Venice, where to his annoyance he was quarantined; not, as he -sarcastically remarks, because he came from an infected country, but on -account of cholera in the city itself. Finally he went home by way of -Paris and London. - -At this time he had clearly decided to write his book on Korea; for in -his letters, and in memoranda in his letter book, are found many pages -that appear afterwards therein. But he certainly had not lost his -interest in mathematics or physics, for any casual observation would -quickly bring it out. From the upper end of the Red Sea he sees a cloud -casting a shadow on the desert toward Sinai, and proceeds to show how by -the angle of elevation of the cloud, the angle of the sun, and the -distance to the place where the shadow falls one can compute the height -of the cloud. He looks at the reflection of the moon along the water and -points out why, when there is a ripple on the surface, the track of -light does not run directly toward the moon but to windward of it. All -this was a matter of general intellectual alertness in a mind familiar -with the subject, but there is as yet no indication that he had any -intention of turning his attention to scientific pursuits. On the -contrary, two letters written on this journey appear to show that he -regarded literature, in a broad sense, as the field he proposed to -enter, and with this his publications for several years to come accord. - -In a letter from Bombay to Frederic J. Stimson,—a classmate who had -already won his spurs by his pen, and was destined to go far,—he begins -by speaking of his friend’s writings, then of the subject in general, -and finally turns to himself and says: “Somebody wrote me the other day -apropos of what I may or may not write, that facts not reflections were -the thing. Facts not reflections indeed. Why that is what most pleases -mankind from the philosopher to the fair; one’s own reflections on or -from things. Are we to forego the splendor of the French salon which -returns us beauty from a score of different points of view from its -mirrors more brilliant than their golden settings. The fact gives us but -a flat image. It is our reflections upon it that make it a solid truth. -For every truth is many-sided. It has many aspects. We know now what was -long unknown, that true seeing is done with the mind from the -comparatively meagre material supplied by the eye.... - -“I believe that all writing should be a collection of the precious -stones of truth which is beauty. Only the arrangement differs with the -character of the book. You string them into a necklace for the world at -large. You pigeon-hole them into drawers for the scientist. In the -necklace you have the calling of your thought; _i.e._, the expressing of -it and the arrangement of the thoughts among themselves. I wonder how -many men are fortunate enough to have them come as they are wanted. A -question by the bye nearly incapable of solution because what seems good -to one man, does not begin to satisfy the next.” - -A month later he writes to his mother from Paris on October 7th: “As for -me, I wish I could believe a little more in myself. It is at all times -the one thing needful. As it is I often get discouraged. You will—said -Bigelow the other day to me in Japan. There will be times when you will -feel like tearing the whole thing up and lighting your pipe with the -wreck. Don’t you do it. Put it away and take it out again at a less -destructive moment.” Then, speaking of what his mother had written him, -he says: “But I shall most certainly act upon your excellent advice and -what is more you shall have the exquisite ennui of reading it before it -goes to print and then you know we can have corrections and improvements -by the family.” - -Reaching Boston in the autumn of 1884, he made it his headquarters for -the next four years. The period was far from an idle one; for, apart -from business matters that engaged his attention, he was actively at -work on two books: First, the “Chosön,” that study already described of -Korea and the account of his own sojourn there. The preface to this is -dated November 1885, and the publication was early in the following -year. The second book,—smaller in size and type, and without -illustrations,—is the most celebrated of his writings on the Orient. Its -title, “The Soul of the Far East,” denotes aptly its object in the mind -of the author, for it is an attempt to portray what appeared to him the -essential and characteristic difference between the civilizations of -Eastern Asia and Western Europe. From an early time in his stay in Japan -he had been impressed by what he called the impersonality of the people, -the comparative absence, both in aspiration and in conduct, of -diversified individual self-expression among them. The more he thought -about it the stronger this impression became; and this book is a study -of the subject in its various manifestations. - -First comes a general discussion of the meaning and essence of -individuality, with the deduction that the Japanese suffer from arrested -development; that they have always copied but not assimilated; added but -not incorporated the additions into their own civilization, like a tree -into which have been grafted great branches while the trunk remains -unchanged. “The traits that distinguished these peoples in the past have -been gradually extinguishing them ever since. Of these traits, -stagnating influences upon their career, perhaps the most important is -the great quality of impersonality”; and later he adds, “Upon this -quality as a foundation rests the Far Oriental character.” - -He then proceeds to demonstrate, or illustrate, his thesis from many -aspects of Japanese life, beginning with the family. He points out that -no one has a personal birthday or even age of his own, two days in the -year being treated as universal birthdays, one for girls and the other -for boys, the latter, in May, being the occasion when hollow paper fish -are flown from poles over every house where a boy has been born during -the preceding year. Everyone, moreover, is credited with a year’s -advance in age on New Year’s Day quite regardless of the actual date of -his birth. If a youth “belongs to the middle class, as soon as his -schooling” in the elements of the Classics “is over he is set to learn -his father’s trade. To undertake to learn any trade but his father’s -would strike the family as simply preposterous.” But to whatever class -he may belong he is taught the duty of absolute subordination to the -head of the family, for the family is the basis of social life in the -Far East. Marriage, with us a peculiarly personal matter, is in the East -a thing in which the young people have no say whatever; it is a business -transaction conducted by the father through marriage brokers. A daughter -becoming on marriage a part of her husband’s family ceases to be a -member of her own, and her descendants are no benefit to it, unless, -perchance, having no brothers, one of her sons is adopted by her father. -Thus it is that when a child is born the general joy “depends somewhat -upon the sex. If the baby chances to be a boy, everybody is immensely -pleased; if a girl there is considerably less effusion shown. In the -latter case the more impulsive relatives are unmistakably sorry; the -more philosophic evidently hope for better luck next time. Both kinds -make very pretty speeches, which not even the speakers believe, for in -the babe lottery the family is considered to have drawn a blank. A -delight so engendered proves how little of the personal, even in -prospective, attaches to its object.” - -In the fourth chapter he takes up the question of language, bringing out -his point with special effect, showing the absence of personal pronouns, -and indeed of everything that indicates an expression of individuality -or even of sex, replacing them by honorifics which occur in the most -surprising way. But the matter of language, though highly significant, -is somewhat technical, and his discussion can be left to those who care -to follow it in his book. - -He turns next to nature and to art, pointing out how genuine, how -universal, and at the same time how little individual, how impersonal, -is the Japanese love of those things. Of them he says “that nature, not -man, is their _beau idéal_, the source to them of inspiration, is -evident again in looking at their art.” Incidentally, the account of the -succession of flower festivals throughout the year is a beautiful piece -of descriptive writing, glowing with the color it portrays and the -delight of the throngs of visitors. - -On the subject of religion he has much to say. Shintoism, though -generally held by the people, and causing great numbers of them to go as -pilgrims to the sacred places on mountain tops, he regards as not really -a religion. That is the reason it is not inconsistent with Buddhism. “It -is not simply that the two contrive to live peaceably together; they are -actually both of them implicitly believed by the same individual. -Millions of Japanese are good Buddhists and good Shintoists at the same -time. That such a combination should be possible is due to the essential -difference in the character of the two beliefs. The one is extrinsic, -the other intrinsic, in its relations to the human soul. Shintoism tells -a man but little about himself and his hereafter; Buddhism, little but -about himself and what he may become. In examining Far Eastern religion, -therefore, for personality, or the reverse, we may dismiss Shintoism as -having no particular bearing upon the subject.” Turning to the other -system he says: “At first sight Buddhism is much more like Christianity -than those of us who stay at home and speculate upon it commonly -appreciate. As a system of philosophy it sounds exceedingly foreign, but -it looks unexpectedly familiar as a faith.” After dwelling upon the -resemblances in the popular attitude, he continues: “But behind all this -is the religion of the few,—of those to whom sensuous forms cannot -suffice to represent super-sensuous cravings; whose god is something -more than an anthropomorphic creation; to whom worship means not the -cramping of the body, but the expansion of the soul.”... “In relation to -one’s neighbor the two beliefs are kin, but as regards one’s self, as -far apart as the West is from the East. For here, at this idea of self, -we are suddenly aware of standing on the brink of a fathomless abyss, -gazing giddily down into that great gulf which divides Buddhism from -Christianity. We cannot see the bottom. It is a separation more profound -than death; it seems to necessitate annihilation. To cross it we must -bury in its depths all we know as ourselves. - -“Christianity is a personal religion; Buddhism, an impersonal one. In -this fundamental difference lies the worldwide opposition of the two -beliefs. Christianity tells us to purify ourselves that we may enjoy -countless aeons of that bettered self hereafter; Buddhism would have us -purify ourselves that we may lose all sense of self for evermore.” - -At the end of this chapter he sums up his demonstration thus: “We have -seen, then, how in trying to understand these peoples we are brought -face to face with impersonality in each of those three expressions of -the human soul, speech, thought, yearning. We have looked at them first -from a social standpoint. We have seen how singularly little regard is -paid the individual from his birth to his death. How he lives his life -long the slave of patriarchal customs of so puerile a tendency as to be -practically impossible to a people really grown up. How he practises a -wholesale system of adoption sufficient of itself to destroy any -surviving regard for the ego his other relations might have left. How in -his daily life he gives the minimum of thought to the bettering himself -in any worldly sense, and the maximum of polite consideration to his -neighbor. How, in short, he acts toward himself as much as possible as -if he were another, and to that other as if he were himself. - -“Then, not content with standing stranger-like upon the threshold, we -have sought to see the soul of their civilization in its intrinsic -manifestations. We have pushed our inquiry, as it were, one step nearer -its home. And the same trait that was apparent sociologically has been -exposed in this our antipodal phase of psychical research. We have seen -how impersonal is his language, the principal medium of communication -between one soul and another; how impersonal are the communings of his -soul with itself. How the man turns to nature instead of to his -fellowman in silent sympathy. And how, when he speculates upon his -coming castles in the air, his most roseate desire is to be but an -indistinguishable particle of the sunset clouds and vanish invisible as -they into the starry stillness of all-embracing space. - -“Now what does this strange impersonality betoken? Why are these peoples -so different from us in this most fundamental of considerations to any -people, the consideration of themselves? The answer leads to some -interesting conclusions.” - -The final chapter is entitled “Imagination,” for he regards this as the -source of all progress, and the far orientals as particularly -unimaginative. Their art he ascribes to appreciation rather than -originality. They are, he declares, less advanced than the occidentals, -their rate of progress is less rapid and the individuals are more alike; -and he concludes that unless their newly imported ideas really take root -they will vanish “off the face of the earth and leave our planet the -eventual possession of the dwellers where the day declines.” - -One cannot deny that he made a strong case for the impersonality of the -Japanese; and if it be thought that his conclusions therefrom were -unfriendly it must be remembered that he had a deep admiration and -affection for that people, wishing them well with all his heart. - -Without attempting to survey the reviews and criticisms of the book, -which was translated into many languages, it may be interesting to -recall the comments of three Europeans of very diverse qualities and -experiences. Dr. Pierre Janet, the great French neurologist, said to a -friend of the author that as a study of Japanese mentality it seemed to -him to show more insight than any other he had ever read on the subject. - -The second commentator is Lafcadio Hearn, a very different type of -person, given to enthusiasm. He had not yet been to Japan, and “The Soul -of the Far East” had much to do with his going there. In his book -“Concerning Lafcadio Hearn” George M. Gould says: - - “Perhaps I should not have succeeded in getting Hearn to attempt Japan - had it not been for a little book that fell into his hands during the - stay with me. Beyond question, Mr. Lowell’s volume had a profound - influence in turning his attention to Japan and greatly aided me in my - insistent urging him to go there. In sending the book Hearn wrote me - this letter: - - “Gooley!—I have found a marvellous book,—a book of books!—a colossal, - splendid, godlike book. You must read every line of it. For heaven’s - sake don’t skip a word of it. The book is called “The Soul of the Far - East,” but its title is smaller than its imprint. - - Hearneyboy - - “P.S. Let something else go to H—, and read this book instead. May God - eternally bless and infinitely personalize the man who wrote this - book! Please don’t skip one solitary line of it, and don’t delay - reading it,—because something, much! is going to go out of this book - into your heart and life and stay there! I have just finished this - book and feel like John in Patmos,—only a d——d sight better. He who - shall skip one word of this book let his portion be cut off and his - name blotted out of the Book of Life.” - -Hearn had read the book on Korea and was impressed by that also, for in -a letter of 1889, he wrote, after commenting on another work he had been -reading, “How luminous and psychically electric is Lowell’s book -compared with it. And how much nobler a soul must be the dreamer of -Chosön!”[5] - -After living in Japan Hearn came to different conclusions about -Percival’s ideas on the impersonality of the Japanese, but he never lost -his admiration for the book or its author. In May, 1891, he writes; - - “Mr. Lowell has, I think, no warmer admirer in the world than myself, - though I do not agree with his theory in “The Soul of the Far East,” - and think he has ignored the most essential and astonishing quality of - the race: its genius of eclecticism.”[6] - -And again, - - “I am not vain enough to think I can ever write anything so beautiful - as his “Chosön” or “Soul of the Far East,” and will certainly make a - poor showing beside his precise, fine, perfectly worded work.”[7] - -And, finally, as late as 1902 he speaks of it as “incomparably the -greatest of all books on Japan, and the deepest.”[8] - -The third European critic to be quoted is Dr. Clay Macauley, a Unitarian -missionary to Japan, who had been a friend of Percival’s there, and -after his death at Flagstaff in 1916 was still at work among the -Japanese. On January 24, 1917, he read before the Asiatic Society of -Japan a Memorial to him, in which he gave an estimate of “The Soul of -the Far East”: - - “The year after the publication of “Cho-son,” the book which has - associated Lowell most closely with a critical and interpretative - study of the peoples and institutions of this part of the world, - appeared his much-famed “Soul of the Far East.” I have no time for an - extended critique of this marvellous ethnic essay. “Marvellous” I name - it, not only because of the startling message it bears and the - exquisitely fascinating speech by which the message is borne, but also - because of the revelation it gives of the distinctive mental measure - and the characteristic personality of the author himself ... the book - is really a marvellous psychical study. However, in reading it today, - the critical reader should, all along, keep in mind the time and - conditions under which Lowell wrote. His judgment of “The Soul of the - Far East” was made fully a generation ago. Time has brought much - change to all Oriental countries since then, especially to this “Land - of the Rising Sun.” - -He then refers to the author’s conviction that owing to their -impersonality the Oriental people, if unchanged and unless their newly -imported ideas take root, would disappear before the advancing nations -of the West, and proceeds: - - “Now, notice Lowell’s “ifs” and “unless.” He had passed his judgment; - but he saw a possible transformation. And I know that he hailed the - incoming into the East of the motive forces of the West as forerunner - of a possible ascendancy here of the genius of the world’s advancing - civilization, prophetic of that New East into which, now, the Far East - is becoming wonderously changed.” - -Japan certainly is not in a process of disappearing before the advancing -nations of the West; but it may be that this is not because her people -have radically changed their nature. The arts of the West, civil and -military, they have thoroughly acquired; but Percival Lowell may have -been right in his diagnosis and wrong in his forecast. His estimate of -their temperament may have been correct, and the conclusion therefrom of -their destiny erroneous. The strange identity with which all Japanese -explain the recent international events is not inconsistent with his -theory of impersonality, and it may be that from a national standpoint -this is less a source of weakness than of strength. - - - - - CHAPTER VII - SECOND VISIT TO JAPAN - - -Having got “The Soul of the Far East” off his hands, and into those of -the public, in 1888, he sailed in December for Japan, arriving on -January the eighth. As usual he took a house in Tokyo and on January 23 -he writes to his mother about it. “My garden is a miniature range of -hills on one side, a dry pond on the other. One plum tree is blooming -now, another comes along shortly, and a cherry tree will peep into my -bedroom window all a-blush toward the beginning of April. A palm tree -exists with every appearance of comfort in front of the drawing room, a -foreground for the hills. - -“The fictitious employment by the Japanese has developed into a real one -most amusingly—You know by the existing law a foreigner is not allowed -to live outside of the foreign reservation unless in the service of some -native body, governmental or private. Now Chamberlain got a Mr. Masujima -to arrange matters. The plan that occurred to him, Masujima, was to -employ me to lecture before the School of Languages of which he, -Masujima, is President. It was thought better to make the thing in part -real, a suggestion I liked, and the upshot of it is that I am booked to -deliver a lecture a week until I see fit to change. Chamberlain and -Masujima cooked up between them the idea of translating my initial -performance and then inserting it in a reader of lectures, sermons and -such in the colloquiae which Chamberlain is preparing—Subject—A homily -to the students to become superior Japanese rather than inferior -Europeans. Curious if you will in view of the fact that Masujima himself -is madly in love with foreigners and as C. says is a sort of universal -solvent for their quandaries.” - -January 1889 proved a peculiarly fortunate time to arrive, for most -interesting events were about to take place, as he soon wrote to his old -college chum, Harcourt Amory, on February 21: - -“Things have been happening since I arrived. Indeed I could hardly have -lit upon a more eventful month—from doings of the Son of Heaven to those -of Mother Earth—the transmigration from the old to the new palace, the -ceremony of the promulgation of the Constitution, and the earthquake, -and the assassination of Mori—and his burial the most huge affair of -years. How he was murdered on the morning of the great national event -just as he was setting out for the palace by a fanatic in the -ante-chamber of his own house because two years ago he trod on the mats -at Ise with his boots and poked the curtains aside with his cane—you -have probably already heard—For the affair was too dramatic to have -escaped European and American newspapers. The to us significant part of -the story is the quasi sublatent approval of large numbers of Japanese. -The whole procedure of the assassin commends itself in method to their -ideas of the way to do it. The long cherished plan, the visit to the -temples of Ise for corroboration of facts, the selection of the day, the -coolness shown beforehand, the facing of death in return, the very blows -à la hari-kiri etc., all tout-a-fait comme il faut. How he went to a -joroya (house of prostitution) the night before, saying that he wished -to have experienced as many phases of life as possible before leaving -it, how the official who received him at Mori’s house (he introduced -himself by the story that he had come to warn Mori of a plot to -assassinate him) could recall no signs of nervousness in him, except -that he lifted his teacup to drink once or twice after he had emptied -it. - -“The whole affair appeals to their imaginations, showing still a pretty -state of society. They also admire the beautiful way the guard killed -him, decapitating him in the good old-fashioned way just leaving his -head hanging to his neck by a strip—Pleasing details.” - -The story of the murder of Mori, and of the public festivities that were -going on at the time, he told under the title of “The Fate of a Japanese -Reformer” in the _Atlantic Monthly_ for November 1890. It is perhaps the -best of his descriptive writings, for the tragedy and its accessories -are full of striking contrasts which he brought out with great effect. -After a prelude on the danger of attempting changes too rapidly, he -gives a brief account of the life of Mori Arinori; how in his youth he -was selected to study abroad, how he did so in America, and became -enamored of occidental ways, returning in time for the revolution that -restored the Mikado. He threw himself into the new movement, rose in -office, and, as he did so, strove to carry out his ideas. He was the -first to propose disarming the _samurai_, which against bitter -opposition was accomplished. As Minister of Education he excluded -religion from all national instruction. He even suggested that the -native language should be superseded by a modified English, the American -people to adopt the changes also; but the plan obtained no support on -either side of the Pacific. - -The Japanese reformers felt that like almost all Western nations Japan -should have a written constitution, and they set the date for its -promulgation at February 11th, 1889. This Percival thought a mistake -since it was the festival of Jimmu Tenno, the mythic founder of the -imperial house. Nevertheless, the reformers, who had virtual control of -the government, determined that the two celebrations should take place -on the same day; and he describes the gorgeous decoration of the city as -he saw it, the functions attending the grant of the constitution, and -processions of comic chariots in honor of Jimmu Tenno. To a foreigner -the strange mixture of native and partially imitated European costumes -was irresistibly funny; but the populace enjoyed themselves. “The rough -element,” he says, “so inevitable elsewhere was conspicuously absent. -There is this great gain among a relatively less differentiated people. -If you miss with regret the higher brains, you miss with pleasure the -lower brutes. _Bons enfants_ the Japanese are to a man. They gather -delight as men have learned to extract sugar, from almost anything.... -As the twilight settled over the city, a horrible rumor began to creep -through the streets. During the day the thing would seem to have shrunk -before the mirth of the masses, but under the cover of gloom it spread -like night itself over the town. It passed from mouth to mouth with -something of the shudder with which a ghost might come and go. Viscount -Mori, Minister of State for Education, had been murdered that morning in -his own house.... - -“What had happened was this:— - -“While Viscount Mori was dressing, on the morning of the 11th, for the -court ceremony of the promulgation of the new Constitution, a man, -unknown to the servants, made summons on the big bell hung by custom at -the house entrance, and asked to see the Minister on important business. -He was told the Minister was dressing, and could see no one. The unknown -replied that he must see him about a matter of life and death,—as indeed -it was. The apparent gravity of the object induced the servant to admit -him to an ante-chamber and report the matter. In consequence, the -Minister’s private secretary came down to interview him. The man, who -seemed well behaved, informed the secretary that there was a plot to -take the Minister’s life, and that he had come to warn the Minister of -it. Truly a subtle subterfuge; true to the letter, since the plot was -all his own. More he refused to divulge except to the Minister himself. -While the secretary was trying to learn something more definite, Mori -came down stairs, and entered the room. The unknown approached to speak -to him; then, suddenly drawing a knife from his girdle, sprang at him, -and crying ‘This for desecrating the shrines of Ise!’ stabbed him twice -in the stomach. Mori, taken by surprise, grappled with him, when one of -his body guards, hearing the noise, rushed in, and with one blow of his -sword almost completely severed the man’s head from his body. - -“Meanwhile, Mori had fallen to the floor, bleeding fast. The secretary, -with the help of the guard, raised him, carried him to his room, and -despatched a messenger for the court surgeon. - -“The clothes of the unknown were then searched for some clue to the -mystery; for neither Mori nor any of his household had ever seen him -before. The search proved more than successful. A paper was found on his -person, setting forth in a most circumstantial manner the whole history -of his crime, from its inception to its execution, or his own. However -reticent he seemed before the deed, he evidently meant nothing should be -hid after it, whether he succeeded or not. The paper explained the -reason. - -“Because, it read, of the act of sacrilege committed by Mori Arinori, -who, on a visit to the shrines of Ise, two years before, had desecrated -the temple by pushing its curtain back with his cane, and had defiled -its floor by treading upon it with his boots, he, Nishino Buntaro, had -resolved to kill Mori, and avenge the insult offered to the gods and to -the Emperor, whose ancestors they were. To wipe the stain from the -national faith and honor, he was ready to lose his life, if necessary. -He left this paper as a memorial of his intent.” - -In the meantime the messenger sent for the court surgeon failed to find -him, for he was at the palace. The same was true of the next in rank, -and when at last a surgeon was found Mori had lost so much blood that in -the night of the following day he died. - -Both by his opinions and his tactless conduct as a minister Mori had -made himself unpopular and rumors that his life was in danger had been -current for two or three days. “If Mori was thus a very definite sort of -person, Nishino was quite as definite in his own way.” At the time of -his crime he held a post in the Home Department, where he brooded over -the insult to the gods. “He seems to have heard of it accidentally, but -it made so much impression upon him that he journeyed to Ise to find out -the truth of the tale. He was convinced, and forthwith laid his plans -with the singleness of zeal of a fanatic,” as appears from his -affectionate farewell letters to his father and his younger brother. - -“But the strangest and most significant part of the affair was the -attitude of the Japanese public toward it. The first excitement of the -news had not passed before it became evident that their sympathy was not -with the murdered man, but with his murderer.... Nishino was an -unknown.... Yet the sentiment was unmistakable. The details of the -murder were scarcely common property before the press proceeded to -eulogize the assassin. To praise the act was a little too barefaced, not -to say legally dangerous.... But to praise the man became a journalistic -epidemic.... Nishino, they said, had contrived and executed his plan -with all the old time _samurai_ bravery. He had done it as a _samurai_ -should have done it, and he had died as a _samurai_ should have died.... -The summary action of the guard in cutting the murderer down was -severely censured. As if the guard had not been appointed to this very -end!... The papers demanded the guard’s arrest and trial.... Comment of -this kind was not confined to the press. Strange as it may appear, the -newspapers said what everybody thought.... There was no doubt about it. -Beneath the surface of decorous disapproval ran an undercurrent of -admiration and sympathy, in spots but ill hid. People talked in the same -strain as the journalists wrote. Some did more than talk. The geisha, or -professional singing girls of Tokyo, made of Nishino and his heroism a -veritable cult.... His grave in the suburbs they kept wreathed with -flowers. To it they made periodic pilgrimages, and, bowing there to the -gods, prayed that a little of the hero’s spirit might descend on them. -The practice was not a specialty of professionals. Persons of all ages -and both sexes visited the spot in shoals, for similar purposes. It -became a mecca for a month. The thing sounds incredible, but it was a -fact. Such honor had been paid nobody for years.” - -This in abstract is Percival’s account of a terrible national tragedy, -and its amazing treatment by the public at large. - -Before he had been long in Japan the old love of travel into regions -unknown to foreigners came back. He had already visited some of the less -frequented parts of the interior, and now scanning, one evening, the map -of the country his eye was caught by the pose of a province that stood -out in graphic mystery, as he said, from the western coast. It made a -striking figure with its deep-bosomed bays and its bold headlands. Its -name was Noto; and the more he looked the more he longed, until the -desire simply carried him off his feet. Nobody seemed to know much about -it, for scarcely a foreigner had been there; and, in fact, he set his -heart on going to Noto just because it was not known. That is his own -account of the motive for the journey he made early in May, 1889; which -turned out somewhat of a disappointment, for the place was not, either -in its physical features or the customs of its people, very different -from the rest of Japan; but for him proved adventurous and highly -interesting. Under the title of “Noto” he gave an account of it,—as -usual after his return home in the following spring,—first by a series -of articles in the _Atlantic_, and then as a book published in 1891. It -is a well-told tale of a journey, quite exciting, where he and his -porters, in seeking to scale a mountain pass, found their way lay along -precipices where the path had crumbled into the gorge below. The -descriptions of people and scenery are vigorous and terse; but the book -is not a philosophic study like those on Korea and on Japanese -psychology. Yet it is notable in showing his versatility, as is also the -fact that he gave the Φ Β Κ poem at Harvard in June of that year. - -Hurrying home to deliver that poem, shortly after his return from Noto, -he found himself busy for a year and a half, writing, attending to his -own affairs, and to business, for he was part of the time, as Treasurer, -the manager of the Lowell Bleachery. Meanwhile his hours of leisure were -filled with a new and absorbing avocation, that of polo. - -As a boy at Brookline, Patrick Burns, the coachman, trained at -Newcastle, had taught him to ride bareback with a halter for a -bridle—although he had never really cared for riding, just as in college -he had run races without taking much interest in athletics. But on -August 9, 1887, we find him writing that he has bought a polo pony, and -that “Sam Warren, Fred Stimson, et al. have just started a polo club at -Dedham, and have also in contemplation the erection of an inn there.” He -adds that he is in both schemes; and in fact the plan for an inn -developed into a clubhouse, where he lived in summer for some years when -about Boston. During the remainder of the first season the players -knocked the ball about—and rarely with a full team of four in a -side—tried to learn the game on a little field belonging to George -Nickerson, another member of the club. But the next year the number -increased, and Percival with his great quickness and furious energy soon -forged ahead, leading the list of home handicaps in the club with a -rating of ten, and becoming the first captain of the team. - -By the autumn of 1888 they had become expert enough to play a match with -the Myopia club on its grounds at Hamilton, but with unfortunate -results. At that time it was the habit to open the game by having the -ball thrown into the middle of the field, and at a signal the leading -player from each side charged from his goal posts, each trying to reach -the ball first. Percival had a very fast pony, so had George von L. -Meyer on the other side, and by some misunderstanding about the rules of -turning there was a collision. In an instant both men and both horses -were flat on the field. Percival was the most hurt, and although he -mounted his horse and tried to play, he was too much stunned to be -effective, and had to withdraw from the game. - -In the following years he played as captain other match games with -various teams; and, in fact, the Dedham Polo Club, which he came to -regard as his home, was certainly his chief resource for recreation and -diversion in this country until he built his Observatory in Arizona. Yet -it by no means absorbed his attention, for with all the vigor he threw -into anything he undertook he could maintain an intense interest in -several things at the same time, besides being always ready for new -ones, not least in the form of travel. So it happened that at the end of -January, 1890, he sailed again for Europe, and with Ralph Curtis, a -friend from boyhood and a college classmate, visited Spain—not in this -case to study the people or the land, although he observed what he saw -with care, but for the pleasure and experience. Like all good travellers -he went to Seville for Holy Week and the festivities following; but, -being sensitive, the bullfight was a thing to be seen rather than -enjoyed. He had heard people speak also of the cathedral of Burgos as -marvellous, in fact as the finest specimen in the world; so, at some -inconvenience, he went there on his way to France, and on seeing it -remarked that the praise bestowed upon it was due less to its merits -than to its inaccessibility. Later he noticed that having taken the -trouble to go to Burgos he never heard anyone speak of it again. So much -for people’s estimates of things someone else has not seen. - -On his way home he passed through London and enjoyed the hospitality he -always found there. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - JAPAN AGAIN—THE SHINTO TRANCES - - -The trip to Spain was merely an interlude; for, above all, at this time -he felt the attraction of Japan. Returning from Europe in June he spent -the summer in Dedham; but when winter came he started again for the Far -East, this time by way of Europe, where he picked up Ralph Curtis; and -then by the Red Sea to India and Burma, reaching Tokyo about the first -of April, 1891. By far the most interesting part of this visit to Japan -arose from a journey which he took with George Agassiz in July and -August, into the interior of the Island. Agassiz became a most devoted -friend, who followed his studies here, and later in Flagstaff, taking -part in his observations and writing a memorial after his death. Their -object was travel through a part of the mountainous region, ending at -Ontake, a high extinct volcano, one of Japan’s most sacred peaks. But -the holiness of the spot, or the religious pilgrimages thereto, were not -the motive of the visit; nor did they expect to see anything of that -nature with which they were not already familiar. - -Leaving Tokyo by train on July 24, they soon reached a point where they -got off and took jinrikishas to descend later to their own feet on a -path that came “out every now and then over a view at spots where -Agassiz said one had to be careful not to step over into the view one’s -self.” For the next three days the lodging was not too comfortable, the -heat terrific and the footpath going over a steep mountain pass. -However, the weather improved; and without serious misadventure they -were, on August 6, ascending Ontake, and not far from the top, when they -saw three young men, clad as pilgrims, begin a devotional ceremony. One -of them seated on a bench before a shrine, went through what looked like -contortions accompanied by a chant, while another, at whom they were -directed, sat bowed on the opposite bench motionless until, beginning to -twitch, he broke into a paroxysm and ended by becoming stiff though -still quivering. Then the first leaned forward, and bowing down, asked -the name of the god that possessed his companion. The other in a strange -voice answered “I am Hakkai.” Whereat the first asked, as of an oracle, -questions that were answered; and after the god had finished speaking, -said a prayer and woke the other from his trance. But this was not the -end, for the same thing was repeated, the three changing places by -rotation until each of them had been petitioner and entranced. On -several more occasions the ceremony was enacted during the next -thirty-six hours, the young men fasting all that time. The whole scene -is more fully described in the opening chapter of Percival’s “Occult -Japan.” - -With his temperament and literary ambition he thought at once of writing -about this extraordinary sight, which he connected as a phenomenon with -the fox possession he had already encountered on a lower plane. He -suggested the title “Ontake, a Pilgrimage,” but he soon saw the whole -matter on a larger scale. The cult seemed to be unknown beyond its -votaries, nothing did he find written upon it, the few foreigners who -had scaled the mountain had missed it altogether, although, as he says, -their guides or porters must have been familiar with it. Dr. Sturgis -Bigelow, who was a student and believer in Buddhism, had never heard of -it, which seemed strange, for although a Shinto, not a Buddhist, rite -many people accepted both faiths, and one Buddhist sect practiced -something akin to it. Moreover, its underlying idea of possession by -another spirit appeared to ramify, not only into fox possession, but in -many other directions. On inquiry he found that there was an -establishment of the Ontake cult in Tokyo, and the head of it the -Kwanchō, or primate of that Shinto sect. This man proved very friendly -and gave all the information about its rites, their significance and -underlying philosophy, within his knowledge,—perhaps beyond it,—and -arranged exhibits; all of which Percival carefully recorded in his -notebooks. Every motion made in inducing the trance, every implement -used in the ceremony, had its meaning and its function, which he strove -to learn. Moreover, there were miracles of splashing with boiling water, -walking over hot coals and up ladders with sword blades for rungs; -curing disease; consulting the fox and the raccoon-faced dog, which he -called Japanese table turning; and other less dignified performances -more or less connected with the idea of divine or demonic possession. -Some of these things he was able to witness by séances in his own house, -others by visits to the places where they were performed, often for his -special benefit. - -All this took more time than he had expected to spend in Japan, and -delayed his sailing until the autumn was more than half over. Nor was -this enough to complete his researches. In December of the following -year he re-crossed the Pacific, and at Christmas we find him at -Yokohama. Again he hires a house, fits it up in Japanese style but with -occidental furniture; again he was travelling over the land, this time -in search less of scenery than of psychic phenomena and the lore -connected with their celebration. In July he is interviewing a Ryobu -Shinto priest and “eliciting much valuable information.” - -For the trances, and the various miracles, a participant must be -prepared by a process of purification, long continued for the former, -always by bathing before the ceremony; and by Percival’s frequent -attendance, and great interest, he attained the repute for a degree of -purity that enabled him to go where others were not admitted. On this -ground he attended what he called the Kwanchō’s Kindergarten, but was -not allowed to bring a friend. The Kwanchō, as the head of the principal -Shinto sect that practised trances, had a class of boys and girls who -went through a preparation therefor by a series of what an unbeliever -might call ecstatic acrobatic feats, lasting a long time before they -were fitted for subjects of divine possession. He visited everything -relating to the mysteries that he could find, procured from the Kwanchō -an introduction that enabled him to see the interior grounds of the -great shrines of Ise, from which even the pilgrims were excluded, and to -see there a building whereof he learned the history and meaning that the -very guardian priests did not understand. At trances he was allowed to -examine the possessed, take their pulse, and even to stick pins into -them to test their sensibility, sometimes in a way that they were far -from not feeling afterwards. In short he was enabled as no one had ever -been before, to make a very thorough examination of the phenomena with -the object of discovering and revealing their significance; for he was -convinced that they were perfectly genuine, without a tinge of fraud, -and allied to the hypnotism then at the height of its vogue. In March, -1893 he gave the first of a series of papers on Esoteric Shintoism -before the Asiatic Society of Japan. These he worked up after his return -to America in the autumn, and published in 1895 with the title “Occult -Japan or the Way of the Gods.” - -A casual reader might be misled by occasional cleverness of expression -into thinking the book less serious than it is. Perhaps that accounts in -part for Lafcadio Hearn’s calling it supercilious. Percival himself -says, in the first paragraph of the chapter on Miracles: “It is quite -possible to see the comic side of things without losing sight of their -serious aspect. In fact, not to see both sides is to get but a -superficial view of life, missing its substance. So much for the people. -As for the priests, it is only necessary to say that few are more -essentially sincere and lovable than the Shintō ones; and few religions -in a sense more true. With this preface for life-preserver I plunge -boldly into the miracles.” In fact, expressions that appear less serious -than the subject merits are few, and the descriptions, of the trances -for example, are almost strangely appreciative, and for a scientific -study keenly sympathetic and beautiful. - -The book opens with an account of the trances of the three young men on -Mount Ontake, for that sight was the source of all these researches. He -next lays a foundation for the study of the subject by a short history -of the Japanese religions; how Shinto, the old cult, with its myriad -divinities and simple rites, was for a time overshadowed by Buddhism, to -be restored with the power of the Mikado; and how with its revival the -popularity of the trances returned. They had been kept alive by a single -Buddhist sect which had adopted them, but now they are even more widely -practised by two out of the ten Shinto sects, their sacred site being -Ontake. But before taking up the trances he describes the lesser, and -better known, cases of miraculous intervention for protection from -injury and for sanctification; notably, being sprinkled with boiling -water, walking over a bed of hot coals, and up and down a ladder of -sword blades; and he discusses why no injury occurs. The walking over -hot coals, at least, was even performed in his own garden; and, although -he does not say so in the book, he did it himself, without, however, -complete immunity to the soles of his feet. - -After telling of what he terms objective, as distinguished from -subjective, miracles, such as bringing down fire from heaven; and saying -something of miraculous healing of disease, he comes to the main subject -of the book, the incarnations or trances. First he speaks of the -preparation for them, washing and fasting which are arduous and long, -the purification of persons and places, and a series of ceremonies -which, he says, tend to promote vacuity of mind. All these things are -absolutely sincere, for he declares that the first view of a trance -dispels any idea of sham. He then describes three typical trances: first -Ryobu, a Shinto-Buddhist sect, where one of the men possessed, on coming -back to himself, was disappointed that he had not spoken English, which -he did not know himself; for to his mind it was not he that spoke but -the god who entered into him. The second example was a Buddhist trance -with the full complement of eight persons filling their several offices -in the ceremony. This description is especially striking and -sympathetic. The third case is of a pure Shinto trance, much the same, -but with the simpler ceremonial of that cult. He describes also the -Kwanchō’s training school, which has already been referred to as the -Kindergarten. He notes the pulse, insensibility, the other physical -conditions and sensations of the possessed, the sex and number of the -gods who enter him, for the exorcist has no power to invoke the spirit -he would prefer, but simply calls for a god, and when one comes inquires -who it is. It may be a god or a goddess, and several of them may come in -succession. The main object of the proceeding being to obtain counsel or -prophecy, the exorcist, and he alone, can ask questions of him, but he -can do so on behalf of anyone else, and often did so for Percival about -his own affairs, although the prophecies appear never to have turned out -right. - -A chapter is devoted to pilgrimages and the pilgrim clubs, which -included in the aggregate vast numbers of people, only a minute part of -whom, however, belonged to the trance sects. They subscribed small sums -to be used to send each year a few of their members to the shrine or -sacred mountain with which the club is associated; this feature of the -religious organization being as important from a social as a religious -point of view. Another chapter is given to the Gohei, or sacred cluster -of paper strips, used for all spiritual purposes, and essential in -calling down any god; an emblem which he compares with the crucifix, -while pointing out the difference in their use. This first part of the -book ends with an argument, apparently to one who knows nothing about -the matter conclusive, that the whole subject of these trances is of -Shinto not Buddhist origin; and in this connection he tells of his visit -to the shrines of Ise where a temple was built to the sun-goddess when -she possessed people, as she has long ceased to do at these shrines. - -So far the book is scientific; that is, it consists of a description and -analysis of phenomena repeatedly observed and carefully tested. The -second part, which he calls Noumena, is an explanation of them on -general psychological principles, and thus belongs rather to philosophy -than science. It comprises discussions of the essence of self, of the -freedom of the will, of the motive forces of ideas, of individuality, of -dreams, hypnotism and trances. In these matters he was much influenced -by the recently published “Psychology” of William James, which he had -with him, and he draws comparisons with hypnotism, a more prominent -subject then than it is now. Bearing in mind his dominant thought about -the essential quality of the Japanese, it is not unnatural that he -should find in the greater frequency of such phenomena among them than -elsewhere a confirmation of his theory of their comparative lack of -personality. - -Perhaps his own estimate of the relative value of the two parts of the -book and that of critics might not agree; but, however that may be, the -second part is penetrating, and the work as a whole a remarkable study -of a subject up to that time practically wholly concealed from the many -observers of Japanese life and customs. It was, in fact, his farewell to -Japan, for, leaving in the fall of 1893, he never again visited that -land. Ten years its people had been his chief intellectual interest, but -perhaps he thought he had exhausted the vein in which he had been at -work, or another interest may have dislodged it. He has left no -statement of why he gave up Japan for astronomy, but probably there is -truth in both of these conjectures. - -Talking later to George Agassiz, Percival attributed the change to the -fact that Schiaparelli, who had first observed the fine lines on the -planet Mars which he called “canali,” found that his failing eyesight -prevented his pursuing his observations farther, and that he had -determined to carry them on. That may well have directed his attention -to the particular planet; but the interest in astronomy lay far deeper, -extending back to the little telescope of boyhood on the roof of his -father’s house at Brookline. We have seen that his Commencement Part at -graduation was on the nebular hypothesis, and he never lost his early -love of such things. In July, 1891, he writes to his brother-in-law, -William L. Putnam, about a project for writing on what he calls the -philosophy of the cosmos, with illustrations from celestial mechanics. -That was just before he went to Ontake and there became involved in the -study of trances, “which,” as he says in his next letter to the same, -“adds another to my budget of literary eventualities.” In fact, the -trances occupied most of his time for the next two years, without -banishing the thought of later taking up other things, or effacing the -lure of astronomy, for in 1892 he took with him to Japan a six-inch -telescope, no small encumbrance unless really desired, and he writes of -observing Saturn therewith. Whatever may have been the reason, it seems -probable from the rapidity with which he threw himself into astronomy -and into its planetary branch, that at least he had something of the -kind in his mind before he returned from Japan in the autumn of 1893. - - - - - CHAPTER IX - THE OBSERVATORY AT FLAGSTAFF - - -When, returning from Japan late in 1893, Percival Lowell found himself -quickly absorbed by astronomical research, he was by no means without -immediate equipment for the task. His mathematical capacity, that in -college had so impressed Professor Benjamin Peirce, had not been allowed -to rust away; for, when at home, he had kept it bright in the -Mathematical and Physical (commonly called the M. P.) Club, a group of -men interested in the subject, mainly from Harvard University and the -Massachusetts Institute of Technology. So fresh was it that we find him -using, at the outset, with apparent ease his calculus—both differential -and integral—tools that have a habit of losing edge with disuse. -Physically, also, he had a qualification of great importance for the -special work he was to undertake,—that of perceiving on the disks of the -planets, very fine markings close to the limit of visibility; for the -late Dr. Hasket Derby, then the leading practitioner in Ophthalmology in -Boston, told Professor Julian Coolidge that Percival’s eyesight was the -keenest he had ever examined. - -One essential remained, to find the best atmosphere for his purpose. In -entering our air the rays of light from the stars are deflected, that is -bent, and bent again when they strike a denser or less dense stratum. -But these strata are continually changing with currents of warmer or -colder air rising and falling above the surface of the earth, and hence -the rays of light are being shifted a little from side to side as they -reach us. Everyone is familiar with the twinkling of the stars, caused -in this way; for before entering our atmosphere their light is perfectly -steady. Moreover, everyone must have observed that the amount of -twinkling varies greatly. At times it is unusually intense, and at -others the stars seem wonderfully still. Now, although the planets, -being near enough to show a disk visible through a telescope, do not -seem to twinkle, the same thing in fact occurs. The light is deflected, -and the shaking makes it very difficult to see the smaller markings. -Imagine trying to make out the detail on an elaborately decorated plate -held up by a man with a palsied hand. The plate would be seen easily, -but for the detail one would wish it held in a steadier grasp, and for -observing the planets this corresponds to a steadier atmosphere. - -Percival’s own account of the reason for his expedition of 1894 to -observe the planet Mars, why he selected Flagstaff as the site, what he -did there and how the plan developed into the permanent observatory that -bears his name were told in what was intended to be an introduction to -the first volume of the Annals of the Observatory. Perhaps owing to the -author’s illness in the last years of the century this statement was -mislaid and was not found until February 22, 1901. It is here printed in -full. - - - Annals of the Lowell Observatory - INTRODUCTION - -In the summer of 1877 occurred an event which was to mark a new -departure in astronomy,—the detection by Schiaparelli of the so-called -canals of the planet Mars. The detection of these markings has led to -the turning over of an entirely new page in cosmogony. - -Schiaparelli’s discovery shared the fate of all important astronomical -advances,—even Newton’s theory of gravitation was duly combatted in its -day,—it, and still more the possibilities with which it was fraught, -distanced the comprehension of its time. In consequence, partly from -general disbelief, partly from special difficulty, no notable addition -was made to Schiaparelli’s own work until 1892, when Professor W. H. -Pickering attacked the planet at the Boyden Station of the Harvard -Observatory at Arequipa, Peru, and made the next addition to our -knowledge of our neighbor world. - -Intrinsically important as was Pickering’s work, it was even more -important extrinsically. Schiaparelli’s discoveries were due solely to -the genius of the man,—his insight, not his eyesight, for at the -telescope eyes differ surprisingly little, brains surprisingly much; -Pickering’s brought into coöperation a practically new instrument, the -air itself. For at the same time with his specific advance came a -general one,—the realization of the supreme importance of atmosphere in -astronomical research. To the Harvard Observatory is due the first -really far-reaching move in this direction, and to Professor W. H. -Pickering of that observatory the first fruits in carrying it out. - -It was at this stage in our knowledge of the possibilities in planetary -work and of the means to that end, in the winter of 1893-94, that the -writer determined to make an expedition which included the putting up of -an observatory for the primary purpose of studying, under the best -procurable conditions, the planet Mars at his then coming opposition,—an -opposition at which the planet, though not quite so close to us as in -1892, would be better placed for northern observers. In this expedition -he associated with himself Prof. W. H. Pickering and Mr. A. E. Douglass. - -The writer had two objects in view: - -1st, the determination of the physical condition of the planets of our -solar system, primarily Mars; - -2d, the determination of the conditions conducive to the best -astronomical observations. - -How vital was the inter-connection of the two was demonstrated by the -results. - -Important as atmosphere is to any astronomical investigation, it is -all-important to the study of the planets. To get, therefore, within the -limits of the United States—limits at the time for several reasons -advisable—as steady air as possible, Prof. W. H. Pickering, who had -already had experience of Southern California as well as of Arequipa, -Peru, proposed Arizona as the most promising spot. Accordingly, Mr. A. -E. Douglass left Boston in March, 1894, with a six-inch Clark refractor -belonging to the writer, to make a test of the seeing throughout the -Territory. From his report, Flagstaff was selected for the observatory -site. - -Flagstaff, then a town of eight hundred inhabitants, lies on the line of -the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad, in the centre of the great plateau of -northern Arizona, half way across the Territory from east to west, and -two fifths way down from north to south. This plateau, whose mean -elevation is between 6000 and 7000 feet, is a great pine oasis a hundred -miles or more in diameter, rising some 3000 feet from out the Arizona -desert. It culminates in the mass known as the San Francisco Peaks, ten -miles north of Flagstaff, whose highest summit rises 12,872 feet above -the level of the sea.[9] - -The spot chosen was the eastern edge of the mesa (table-land) to the -west of Flagstaff. The site lay open to the east and south, and was -shielded on the north by the San Francisco Peaks. The distance from the -observatory to Mt. Agassiz, the most conspicuous of the Peaks from the -Flagstaff side, was about eight miles and three fifths in an air-line, -and the distance to the town about a mile and a quarter. As soon as the -site was selected, the town very kindly deeded to the observatory a -piece of land and built a road up to it. - -The observatory stood 350 feet above the town, and 7250 feet above the -level of the sea, in latitude 35° 11′ north and longitude 111° 40′ west. - -Prof. W. H. Pickering, to whose skill and ability was chiefly due the -successful setting up of the observatory, suggested arrangements with -Brashear for the use of an eighteen-inch refractor which Brashear had -recently constructed,—the largest glass to be had at the -time,—arrangements which were accordingly made. He then devised and -superintended the construction of a dome intended to be of a temporary -character, which worked admirably. The upper part of it was made in -sections in Cambridgeport, Mass., and then shipped West, the lower part -being constructed according to his specifications on the spot, under the -superintendence of Mr. Douglass. - -The telescope was supported on one of the Clark mountings. The -bed-plate, clock-work, and a twelve-inch telescope were leased of the -Harvard College Observatory, and the mounting then altered by Alvan -Clark & Sons to carry both the twelve and the eighteen-inch telescopes. - -Six weeks from the time ground was broken, on April 23, 1894, regular -observations with the eighteen-inch were begun. - -The results of the year’s work surpassed anticipation. Details invisible -at the average observatory were presented at times with copper-plate -distinctness, and, what is as vital, the markings were seen hour after -hour, day after day, month after month. First sight; then system; and -the one of these factors was as fundamental to the results as the other. -Systematic work, first made possible and then properly performed, was -the open sesame to that most difficult branch of astronomical -observations, the study of our nearest neighbors in the universe. - -The chief results obtained were:— - -1st, the detection of the physical characteristics of the planet Mars to -a degree of completeness sufficient to permit of the forming of a -general theory of its condition, revealing beyond reasonable doubt first -its general habitability, and second its particular habitation at the -present moment by some form of local intelligence; - -2d, corroboration and extension by Professor Pickering of his -discoveries at Arequipa with regard to the forms of Jupiter’s -Satellites;[10] - -3d, the discovery and study by Mr. Douglass of the atmospheric causes -upon which good seeing depends. - -It is of the observations connected with the first of these that the -present volume of the Annals alone treats. - -As the publication of this volume has been so long delayed, it seems -fitting to add here a brief continuation of the history of the -observatory to the present time. - -The results of the expedition in 1894, in the detection of planetary -detail, turned out to be so important an advance upon what had -previously been accomplished that the writer decided to form of the -temporary expedition a permanent observatory. Accordingly, he had Alvan -Clark & Sons make him a twenty-four-inch refractor, which fate decided -should be their last large glass; the Yerkes glass, although not yet in -operation at the time this goes to press, having been finished at nearly -the time his was begun. The glass received from Mantois happened to be -singularly flawless and its working the same. It was made twenty-four -inches in clear aperture, and of a focal length of thirty-one feet. -Alvan G. Clark accompanied the writer to Flagstaff and put the glass in -place himself. - -The mounting for the telescope was likewise made by the Clarks. Rigidity -was the prime essential, in order to secure as stable an image as -possible, and this has been admirably carried out, the mounting being -the heaviest and most stable for a glass of its size yet made. - -In July, 1896, Dr. T. J. J. See joined the observatory, to continue -there the line of research for which he was already well known—the study -of the double stars. This added to the two initial objects of the -observatory a third,— - -3d, the study of double-star systems, including a complete catalogue of -those in the southern heavens. - -During the summer and autumn of 1896 the importance of good atmosphere -was further demonstrated in an interesting and somewhat surprising -quarter. The air by day was found to be as practicable as that by night. -While Mars was being studied by night, the study of Venus and Mercury -was taken up during the daytime systematically, and the results proved -as significant as had been those on Mars. Instead of the vague diffused -patches hitherto commonly recorded, both planets’ surfaces turned out to -be diversified by markings of so distinct a character as not only to -disclose their rotation periods but to furnish the fundamental facts of -the physical conditions of their surfaces. We know now more about -Mercury and Venus than we previously knew of Mars. - -As the winter in Flagstaff is not so good as the summer, it was thought -well to try Mexico during that season of the year. Accordingly, a new -dome was made; the telescope was taken down; and dome, mounting, and -glasses were carried to Mexico and set up for the winter at Tacubaya, a -suburb of the City of Mexico, at an elevation of 7500 feet. There the -observatory received every kindness at the hands of the President, the -Government, and the National Observatory. - -Observations at Mexico fully corroborated those at Flagstaff with regard -to both Mars, Mercury and Venus, and enabled Mr. Douglass to make the -first full determination of the markings on Jupiter’s third and fourth -satellites, thus fixing their rotation periods. - -Dr. See in the mean time, who while at Flagstaff had discovered a very -large number of new doubles, in Mexico added to his list;... - -With the spring the observatory was shipped back again to Flagstaff. - -Of the particular results in planetary work obtained, several papers -have been published in various astronomical journals, while of them -subsequent volumes of the Annals will speak in detail. In the meantime -two general conclusions to which they have led the writer may, as -possessing future interest, fittingly be mentioned here: - -1st, that the physical condition of the various members of our solar -system appears to be such as evolution from a primal nebula would -demand; - -2d, that what we call life is an inevitable detail of cosmic evolution, -as inherent a property of matter from an eventual standpoint as -gravitation itself is from an instant one: as a primal nebula or -meteoric swarm, actuated by purely natural laws, evolves a system of -bodies, so each body under the same laws, conditioned only by size and -position, inevitably evolves upon itself organic forms. - -The reasons for the first of these conclusions have sprung directly from -the writer’s study of the several members of our own solar system; his -reason for the second, upon the further facts,— - -1st, that where the physical conditions upon these bodies point to the -apparent possibility of life, we find apparent signs of life; - -2d, where they do not, we find none. - -This implies that, however much its detail may vary, life is essentially -the same everywhere, since we can reason apparently correctly as to its -presence or absence, a result which is in striking accord with the -spectroscopic evidence of a practical identity of material. - - -Evidently the expedition to observe Mars was undertaken quite suddenly, -but if it was to be made at all it must be done quickly. Anyone, however -unfamiliar with astronomy, will perceive that two planets revolving -about the sun in independent orbits will be nearest together when they -are on the same side of the sun and farthest apart when on opposite -sides of it, and that the difference is especially great if, as in the -case of the earth and Mars, their orbits are not far apart, for when on -the same side the separation is only the difference of their distances -from the sun, and when on opposite sides it is the sum of those -distances. Moreover, Mars being outside of the Earth its whole face is -seen in the full light of the sun when both bodies are on the same side -of it. Now such a condition, called opposition, was to occur in the -summer after Percival’s return from Japan, and therefore there was no -time to spare in getting an observatory ready for use. - -From the experience of others elsewhere, Percival was convinced that the -most favorable atmospheric situations would lie in one of the two desert -bands that encircle a great part of the Earth, north and south of the -equator, caused by the sucking up of moisture by the trade winds; and -that a mountain, with the currents of air running up and down it, did -not offer so steady an atmosphere as a high table-land. The height is -important because the amount of atmosphere through which the light -travels is much less than at sea level. He was aware that the best -position of this kind might well be found in some foreign country; but -again there was no time to search for it, or indeed to build an -observatory far away, if it must be equipped by the early summer. The -fairly dry and high plateau of northern Arizona seemed, therefore, to -offer the best chance of a favorable site for this immediate and -temporary expedition. - -With the aid of suggestions by Professor William H. Pickering, who knew -what was needed in observing Mars, he sent Mr. Douglass, with the -six-inch telescope brought back from Japan, to Arizona to inspect the -astronomic steadiness of the atmosphere. The instructions, apparently -drawn up by Professor Pickering, were dated February 28th, directing him -to observe on two nights each at Tombstone, Tucson and Phoenix; and -Percival, keeping in constant touch with Mr. Douglass by letter and -telegraph, added among other places Flagstaff. This was shortly followed -by instructions about constructing the circular vertical part of the -dome for the observatory by local contract as soon as the site was -selected, while the spherical part above, which was to be of parallel -arches covered with wire netting and canvas, was being made in the East -and to be shipped shortly. Meanwhile the pier was being built by Alvan -Clark & Sons (who had made most of the large telescopes in this country) -and the mounting for both the eighteen-inch and the twelve-inch -telescope thereon, balancing each other. Mr. Douglass was to report -constantly; and in April Percival wrote him to take a photograph of the -site of the observatory “now,” then every day as the work progressed, -and have the negatives developed, a blue print made of each as speedily -as possible and sent East. All this is stated here to show the speed, -and at the same time the careful thought, with which the work was done. -Percival and his colleagues came as near as possible to carrying out the -principle, “when you have made up your mind that a thing must be done, -and done quickly, do it yesterday.” - -In fact Percival did not select any of the three places first examined, -but on consideration of Mr. Douglass’ reports preferred Flagstaff; and -his choice has been abundantly confirmed by the pioneering problems -undertaken there, and by the fact that this site was retained for the -later permanent Observatory. Everyone, indeed, deserves much credit for -the rapid work done at such a distance from principals busy with the -preparation of the instruments. It was characteristic of Percival that -he got the very best out of those who worked with and under him. - -Although the closest point of the opposition did not occur until the -autumn, the two planets, travelling in the same direction, were near -enough together for fair observation some months earlier; and on May -28th, arriving at Flagstaff, Percival writes to his mother: “Here on the -day. Telescope ready for use tonight for its Arizonian virgin view.... -After lunch all to the observatory where carpenters were giving their -finishing touches.... Today has been cloudy but now shows signs of a -beautiful night and so, not to bed, but to post and then to gaze.” The -sky was not clear that night, for an unprecedented rain came and lasted -several days, falling through the still uncanvased dome on Professor -Pickering and Percival, who had been lured by a “fairing” sky into -camping out there in the evening to be on time for the early rising -Mars. But it was not long before the weather cleared and the strenuous -work began. As the observatory was a mile and a half from the hotel in -the town, and uphill, it was uncomfortable to arrive there at three -o’clock in the morning, the hour when at that season Mars came in sight. -So in the summer a cottage was built hard by the dome, where they could -sleep and get their meals. - -The observations were, of course, continuous throughout the rest of the -year; and except for two trips East on business, one for a few weeks at -the end of June, another in September, and a few days in Los Angeles, -Percival was there all the time. As usual he worked furiously; for -beside observing most of the night he spent much of the day writing -reports and papers, making drawings for publication in scientific and -other periodicals, and investigating collateral questions that bore upon -their significance; and while he had computers for mechanical detail, he -and his colleagues had to prepare and supervise their work. To his -mother he wrote, as a rule, every day; and in some of these letters he -gave an account of his time. On September 2nd, he writes of being up the -greater part of the night, and naturally perpetually sleepy. “But the -number of canals increases encouragingly—in the Lake of the Sun region -we have seen nearly all Schiaparelli’s and about as many more.” On -October 10th: “Observed the better part of last night, after being -welcomed by everybody—and have been as a busy as a beaver today, writing -an article, drawing for ditto etc, etc.”; and, two days later, “Chock -full of work; scrabbling each day for the post—proof etc. Mr. Douglass -is now on the hill observing Mercury. We all dine there at seven. Then I -take Mars and at 3 A.M. Professor Pickering, Jupiter. So you see none of -the planets are neglected.” - -In one of these letters he encloses a clipping from a San Francisco -newspaper satirizing Professor Holden for saying that the canals of Mars -reported at Flagstaff were not confirmed by observations at Mount -Hamilton. Denial or doubt that he had really seen what—after many -observations confirmed by those of his colleagues—he reported as seen -always vexed Percival, and naturally so. Yet they were not uncommon and -sometimes attributed to defective vision. He was well aware that while a -belief that a thing exists may make one think he has seen it when he has -not, yet it is also true that one person perfectly familiar with an -object sought will find it when another, unacquainted with its precise -appearance, will miss it altogether. Everyone knows that people in the -habit of looking for four-leaved clovers are constantly picking them -while others never see them; or that a skilled archaeologist finds -arrowheads with much greater facility than a tyro, who will, however, -improve rapidly with a little experience; and all this is especially -true of things near the very limit of visibility. Gradually more and -more observers began to see the finer markings and the canals on Mars, -until finally the question of their existence was set at rest when it -became possible to photograph them. - -But in spite of work and vexation the life was far from dull, for the -observatory was as hospitable as its limited quarters would allow. -Visitors were attracted by its growing reputation, and on August 25th he -writes: “Just as we were plodding up there last evening in the dark we -heard a carriage-full of folk coming down. We suspected what they had -been after and were not surprised when they challenged us with ‘Are you -observatory people?’ It seems they were, as they informed us -pathetically, people from the East and had gone up to look through the -glass, if they might, before taking the train at 12.30 that night. Of -course we could not resist their appeals and so, though we had thought -to turn in betimes because of early observations in the morning, -entertained these angels—half of them were women—on ‘just like diamonds’ -as they said of the stars. The out-of-focus views pleased them the -most—as turns out to be the case generally. This morning when I went to -take Pickering’s place I found another angel in the shape of a Colorado -man, out here for his health, in the dome with Pickering—a nice fellow -he turned out. It was then 4 h. 8 m. o’clock in the morning,—a matutinal -hour for a man to trudge a mile and a half on no breakfast up to an -observatory on a hill—That shows real astronomical interest. He was -rewarded gastronomically with some coffee of my brewing, all three of us -breakfasting standing by the platform.” - -There were occasional picnics and trips to the cave dwellings, the Grand -Cañon, the petrified forest and other sights. Moreover, Percival greatly -enjoyed the scenery about Flagstaff, and took an interest in the people -of the town, although well aware of inexperience in some matters. On -October 13th he says: “There was a grand republican rally last night and -the young Flagstaff band that is learning to play in tune serenaded the -speaker of the occasion under the hotel windows in fine style. When you -knew the air beforehand you could follow it with enthusiasm.” - - - - - CHAPTER X - MARS - - -Meanwhile the work of the Observatory went on, partly in the direction -of the special lines of the several observers, but mainly in that of the -founder whose interest was then predominantly planetary, especially in -Mars; and from this the site of the dome came to be called Mars Hill. -The clear atmosphere yielded the results that had been hoped for, and -much was discovered about the planets, their period of rotation, -satellites etc., but above all were the Martian observations fruitful. -There the object was to watch the seasonal changes beginning with the -vernal equinox, or spring of the southern hemisphere, the one inclined -toward the earth when the two bodies approach most closely, and follow -them through the summer and autumn of our neighbor. For those not -familiar with the topography of Mars it may be said that the greater -part of its surface is a reddish or orange color interspersed with -patches or broken bands of a blue, or greenish blue, in the southern -temperate zone. These had been supposed to be seas, and are still known -by names recalling that opinion, while the lighter regions derived their -nomenclature from the theory that they are continents or islands -standing out of the water. This is confusing, but must be borne in mind -by anyone who looks at a map of the planet and tries to understand the -meaning of the terms. There are several reasons for thinking that the -dark areas are not seas: one that they change in depth of color with the -seasons; another that light reflected from water is polarized and in -this case it is not; also they never show a brilliant specular -reflection of the Sun as seas would do. - -Now in the winter of the Martian southern hemisphere the region around -that pole turned white, that is it became covered by a mantle appearing -like snow or ice, and as the summer advanced this became less and less -until it disappeared altogether. Meanwhile there formed around it a dark -mass that spread downwards, toward the temperate zone and into the -bluish areas there, which assumed a darker hue. After the deepening -color had reached the edge of the wrongly called sea, very thin straight -lines appeared proceeding from it into the lighter reddish regions -(mistaken for continents) toward the equator, and increased rapidly in -number until there was a great network of them. It very often happened -that more than two of these intersected at the same point, and when that -occurred there usually came a distinct dot much larger than the -thickness of the lines themselves. After this process was fairly under -way the dark areas faded down again, and then similar fine lines -appeared in them, connecting with those in the light areas, and -apparently continuing toward the pole. Moreover, some of the lines in -the light region doubled, that is two parallel lines appeared usually -running in this case not to the centres, but to the two sides of the -dark dots. It is essential to add that the limit of thickness for any -line on Mars to be seen by their telescopes was estimated at about -fifteen miles, so that these fine lines must have been at least of that -width. - -Such is in brief the outline of that which the observers saw. What did -these things mean? What was the interpretation of the phenomena, their -opinion on the causes and operation? This, with the details of the -observations, is given by Percival in his book “Mars,” written -immediately after this first year of observation, the preface bearing -the date November, 1895. But it must not be supposed that he started to -observe with any preconceived idea that the planet was inhabited, or -with the object of proving that the so-called canals were the work of -intelligent beings, for in the preface to the fourth edition he says: -“The theory contained in this book was conceived by me toward the end of -the first year’s work at Flagstaff. Up to that time, although the -habitability of Mars had been often suggested and strenuously opposed, -no theory based upon sufficient facts had ever been put forth that bound -the facts into a logical consistent whole—the final rivet perhaps was -when the idea of the oases occurred to me.” The oases were the dots at -the intersection of the fine lines which were called by Schiaparelli -“canali” and have retained the name canals. - -“Mars” begins with a description of the planet, of its orbit, size and -shape, as compared with that of the Earth. By means of its trifling -satellites its mass was determined, and from this and its dimensions the -force of gravity at its surface, which was found to be a little over one -third of that on the Earth; so that living creatures, if any, could be -much larger than those of the same type here. From the markings that -could be seen on its face the period of rotation, that is the length of -the Martian day, was measured with great accuracy, being about forty -minutes longer than our own; while the Martian year, known from its -revolution round the sun, was about twice the length of ours. All this -led to a calculation of the nature of the planet’s seasons, which for -its southern hemisphere—the one turned toward the Earth when the two -bodies are near together as in 1894—gave a long cold winter and a summer -short and hot. - -He then takes up the question of atmosphere, which, with water, is -absolutely necessary for life, and even for physical changes of any kind -“when once what was friable had crumbled to pieces under the alternate -roasting and refrigerating, relatively speaking, to which the body’s -surface would be exposed as it turned round on its axis into and out of -the sun’s rays. Such disintegration once accomplished, the planet would -roll thenceforth a mummy world through space,” like our own moon, as he -says, where, except for the possible tumbling in of a crater wall, all -is now deathly still. But on Mars changes occur on a scale vast enough -to be visible from the Earth, and he tells in greater detail the first -of those noted in the preceding summary, the formation and melting of -the polar snows. Moreover, a change was observed in the diameter of the -planet, which could be explained only by the presence of a twilight -zone, and this meant an atmosphere refracting the rays of the sun, a -phenomenon that he dwells upon at some length. He then turns to the -nature of the atmosphere, and from the relative cloudlessness and the -lesser force of gravity concludes that its density is probably about one -seventh of that on the surface of the Earth. So much for its quantity. -For its quality he considers the kinetic theory of gases, and calculates -that in spite of its lesser gravity it could retain oxygen, nitrogen, -water vapor, and in fact all the elements of our atmosphere. - -He next considers the question of water, the other essential to the -existence of life, animal or vegetable; the phenomenon of the -diminution, and final disappearance, of the polar cap, the behavior of -the dark blue band which formed along it; and says: “That the blue was -water at the edge of the melting snow seems unquestionable. That it was -the color of water; that it so persistently bordered the melting snow; -and that it subsequently vanished, are three facts mutually confirmatory -to this deduction. But a fourth bit of proof, due to the ingenuity of -Professor W. H. Pickering, adds its weight to the other three. For he -made the polariscope tell the same tale. On scrutinizing the great bay -through an Arago polariscope, he found the light coming from the bay to -be polarized. Now, to polarize the light it reflects is a property, as -we know, of a smooth surface such as that of water is.” The great bay of -which he speaks is the widest part of the blue band. He discusses the -suggestion that the white cap is due, as had been suggested, to -congealed carbonic acid gas instead of ice or snow from water, and -points out that with the slight density of the Martian atmosphere this -would require a degree of cold impossible under the conditions of the -planet; an important conclusion later fully confirmed by radiometric -measures at Flagstaff and Mt. Wilson. - -Assuming therefore that the polar cap is composed of snow or ice, he -traced its history, as observed more closely than ever before at -Flagstaff, and gives a map of its gradual shrinking and final -disappearance, with the corresponding condition of the blue water at its -edge. All this from June 3 to October 13 of our year, or from May 1 to -July 13 of the Martian seasons, and this was the first time the cap had -been seen to vanish wholly. It is interesting to note that in the early -morning of June 8 “as I was watching the planet, I saw suddenly two -points like stars flash out in the midst of the polar cap. Dazzlingly -bright upon the duller white background of the snow, these stars shone -for a few moments and then slowly disappeared. The seeing at the time -was very good. It is at once evident what the other-world apparitions -were,—not the fabled signal lights of Martian folk, but the glint of -ice-slopes flashing for a moment earthward as the rotation of the planet -turned the slope to the proper angle ... nine minutes before they reach -Earth they had ceased to be on Mars, and, after their travel of one -hundred millions of miles, found to note them but one watcher, alone on -a hill-top with the dawn.” - -Seven years before Green, at Madeira, had seen the same thing at the -same spot on the planet, drawn the same conclusion, and named the -heights the Mitchell Mountains, after the man who had done the like in -1846. Later the blue belt below the cap turned brown; “of that mud-color -land does from which the water has recently been drained off,” and at -last, “where the polar ice-cap and polar sea had been was now one ochre -stretch of desert.” - -The geography of Mars he describes, but what he tells cannot be made -intelligible without the twelve successive views he gives of the planet -as it turns around; while the names of places, given in the main by -Schiaparelli, are based in large part on the mistaken impression that -the dark regions were seas and bays, the light ones continents and -islands. “Previous to the present chart,” Percival writes, “the most -detailed map of the planet was Schiaparelli’s, made in 1888. On -comparison with his, it will be seen that the present one substantially -confirms all his detail, and adds to it about as much more. I have -adopted his nomenclature, and in the naming of the newly found features -have selected names conformable to his scheme, which commends itself -both on practical and on poetic grounds.” By this, of course, he does -not mean to commend naming the dark areas as seas, for his description -of the features on the planet’s surface is followed by a statement of -the reasons, apparently conclusive, for assuming that the blue-green -regions cannot be seas, but must be vegetation; while the reddish ochre -ones are simply desert. - -“Upon the melting of its polar cap, and the transference of the water -thus annually set free to go its rounds, seem to depend all the seasonal -phenomena on the surface of the planet. - -“The observations upon which this deduction is based extend over a -period of nearly six months, from the last day of May to the 22d of -November. They cover the regions from the south pole to about latitude -forty north. That changes analogous to those recorded, differing, -however, in details, occur six Martian months later in the planet’s -northern hemisphere, is proved by what Schiaparelli has seen.” In order -that the reader may not be confused, and wonder why the changes at the -north pole do not begin shortly after those in the southern hemisphere -are over, he must remember that the Martian year has 687 days, and is -thus nearly twice as long as ours, or in other words that the period of -these observations covered only about four months in Mars. - -“So soon as the melting of the snow was well under way, long straits, of -deeper tint than their surroundings, made their appearance in the midst -of the dark areas,” although the dark areas were then at their darkest. -“For some time the dark areas continued largely unchanged in appearance; -that is, during the earlier and most extensive melting of the snow-cap. -After this their history became one long chronicle of fading out. Their -lighter parts grew lighter, and their darker ones less dark. For, to -start with, they were made up of many tints; various shades of -blue-green interspersed with glints of orange-yellow.... Toward the end -of October, a strange, and, for observational purposes, a distressing -phenomenon took place. What remained of the more southern dark regions -showed a desire to vanish, so completely did those regions proceed to -fade in tint throughout.” He points out that such a change is -inexplicable if the dark areas were water, for there was no place for it -to go to. “But if, instead of being due to water, the blue-green tint -had been due to leaves and grasses, just such a fading out as was -observed should have taken place as autumn came on, and that without -proportionate increase of green elsewhere; for the great continental -areas, being desert, are incapable of supporting vegetation, and -therefore of turning green.” By the continental areas he meant the -barren regions, formerly thought to stand out from seas in contrast with -the darker ones supposed to be water. - -“Thus we see that several independent phenomena all agree to show that -the blue-green regions of Mars are not water, but, generally at least, -areas of vegetation; from which it follows that Mars is very badly off -for water, and that the planet is dependent on the melting of its polar -snows for practically its whole supply. - -“Such scarcity of water on Mars is just what theory would lead us to -expect. Mars is a smaller planet than the Earth, and therefore is -relatively more advanced in his evolutionary career.” And as a planet -grows old its water retreats through cracks and caverns into its -interior. The so-called seas were, he thinks, once such, and “are still -the lowest portions of the planet, and therefore stand to receive what -scant water may yet travel over the surface.” With this agrees the fact -that the divisions between the dark and light areas run south-east -north-west; as they would if made by currents in water flowing from the -pole toward the equator. - -“Now, if a planet were at any stage of its career able to support life, -it is probable that a diminishing water supply would be the beginning of -the end of that life, for the air would outlast the available water.[11] -... - -“Mars is, apparently, in this distressing plight at the present moment, -the signs being that its water supply is now exceedingly low. If, -therefore, the planet possess inhabitants, there is but one course open -to them in order to support life. Irrigation, and upon as vast a scale -as possible, must be the all-engrossing Martian pursuit.... - -“At this point in our inquiry, when direct deduction from the general -physical phenomena observable on the planet’s surface shows that, were -there inhabitants there, a system of irrigation would be an -all-essential of their existence, the telescope presents us with perhaps -the most startling discovery of modern times,—the so-called canals of -Mars.” - -He then takes up these so-called canals or lines which start from the -edge of the blue-green regions, proceed directly to what seem centres in -the middle of the ochre areas, where they meet other lines that come, he -says, “with apparently a like determinate intent. And this state of -things is not confined to any one part of the planet, but takes place -all over the reddish-ochre regions,” that is the arid belt of the -planet. “Plotting upon a globe betrays them to be arcs of great circles -almost invariably, even the few outstanding exceptions seeming to be but -polygonal combinations of the same.” These two facts, that the lines are -great circles, or the shortest distance between points on the surface of -the planet, and that several of them often meet at the same place, must -be borne in mind, because they are essential elements in his argument -that they are the result of an intelligent plan. - -The lines are of enormous length, the shortest being 250 miles, and the -longest 3,540, and at times three, four, five, and even seven come -together at one spot. By them the whole region is cut up, and how many -there may be cannot now, he says, be determined, for the better the air -at the observatory the more of them become visible. At Flagstaff they -detected 183, seen from once to 127 times, and there were in the -aggregate 3,240 records made of them.[12] - -In seeking for the origin of the lines he begins by discarding natural -causation on the ground first of their straightness, and second of their -uniform width, regularities not to be found to any such a degree in the -processes of nature. His third ground is “that the lines form a system; -that, instead of running anywhither, they join certain points to certain -others, making thus, not a simple network, but one whose meshes connect -centres directly with one another.... If lines be drawn haphazard over -the surface of a globe, the chances are ever so many to one against more -than two lines crossing each other at any point. Simple crossings of two -lines will of course be common in something like factorial proportion to -the number of lines; but that any other line should contrive to cross at -the same point would be a coincidence whose improbability only a -mathematician can properly appreciate, so very great is it.... In other -words, we might search in vain for a single instance of such encounter. -On the surface of Mars, however, instead of searching in vain, we find -the thing occurring _passim_; this _a priori_ most improbable -rendezvousing proving the rule, not the exception. Of the crossings that -are best seen, all are meeting places for more than two canals.” - -He then takes up the question of cracks radiating from centres of -explosion or fissure, and points out that such cracks would not be of -uniform breadth. There are cracks on the moon which look like cracks, -while the lines on Mars do not. Moreover, the lines fit into one another -which would not be true of cracks radiating from different centres. The -lines cannot be rivers for those would not be the same width throughout, -or run on arcs of great circles. Nor can the lines be furrows ploughed -by meteorites, since these would not run straight from one centre to -another; in short the objection from the infinitesimal chance of several -lines crossing at the same point applies. “In truth,” he concludes, “no -natural theory has yet been advanced which will explain these lines.” - -The development, or order in the visibility, of the canals throws light -on their nature. Early in the Martian spring they were invisible, then -those nearest to the melting snows of its south pole appeared, and in a -general succession those farther and farther away; but when they did -appear they were always in the same place where they had been seen -before. Each canal, however, did not darken all at once, but gradually; -and this he accounts for by saying that what we see is not water but -vegetation which takes time to develop. “If, therefore, we suppose what -we call a canal to be, not the canal proper, but the vegetation along -its banks, the observed phenomena stand accounted for. This suggestion -was first made some years ago by Professor W. H. Pickering. - -“That what we see is not the canal proper, but the line of land it -irrigates, disposes incidentally of the difficulty of conceiving a canal -several miles wide. On the other hand, a narrow, fertilized strip of -country is what we should expect to find; for, as we have seen, the -general physical condition of the planet leads us to the conception, not -of canals constructed for waterways,—like our Suez Canal,—but of canals -dug for irrigation purposes. We cannot, of course, be sure that such is -their character, appearances being often highly deceitful; we can only -say that, so far, the supposition best explains what we see. Further -details of their development point to this same conclusion.” Such as -that with time they darken rather than broaden. - -To the objection that canals could not be built in straight lines -because of mountain ranges he replies that the surface of Mars is -surprisingly flat, and this he proves by careful observations of the -terminator, that is the edge of that part of the planet lighted by the -Sun, where any considerable sudden changes of elevation on the surface -of the planet would appear, and do not. - -He then tells of the discovery by Mr. Douglass of the canals in the dark -regions toward the south pole. They could not be seen while those -regions remained dark, but when they faded out the canals became -visible, and supplied the missing link explaining how the water from the -melting polar cap was conveyed to the canals in the arid space north and -south of the equator. Mr. Douglass found no less than forty-four of -them, almost all of which he saw more than once, one on as many as -thirty-seven occasions. - -Then came the phenomenon that convinced Percival of an artificial system -of irrigation: “Dotted all over the reddish-ochre ground of the desert -stretches of the planet ... are an innumerable number of dark circular -or oval spots. They appear, furthermore, always in intimate association -with the canals. They constitute so many hubs to which the canals make -spokes”; and there is not a single instance of such a spot, unconnected -by a canal, and by more than one, with the rest of the system. These -spots are in general circular, from 120 to 150 miles in diameter, and -make their appearance after, but not long after, the canals that lead to -them, those that appear first becoming after a time less conspicuous, -those seen later more so. In short they behave as oases of vegetation -would when a supply of water had reached them, and thus give “an end and -object for the existence of canals, and the most natural one in the -world, namely, that the canals are constructed for the express purpose -of fertilizing the oases.... This, at least, is the only explanation -that fully accounts for the facts. Of course all such evidence of design -may be purely fortuitous, with about as much probability, as it has -happily been put, as that a chance collection of numbers should take the -form of the multiplication table.” He does not fail to point out that -great circles for the canals, and circular shapes for the oases, are the -forms most economical if artificially constructed; nor does his -reasoning rest upon a small number of instances, for up to the close of -observations at that time fifty-three oases had been discovered. - -Finally he deals with the corroborating phenomena of double canals and -the curious dark spots where the canals in the dark regions debouch into -those that run through the deserts. - -In his conclusion he sums up his ideas as follows: - -“To review, now, the chain of reasoning by which we have been led to -regard it probable that upon the surface of Mars we see the effects of -local intelligence. We find, in the first place, that the broad physical -conditions of the planet are not antagonistic to some form of life; -secondly, that there is an apparent dearth of water upon the planet’s -surface, and therefore, if beings of sufficient intelligence inhabited -it, they would have to resort to irrigation to support life; thirdly, -that there turns out to be a network of markings covering the disk -precisely counterparting what a system of irrigation would look like; -and, lastly, that there is a set of spots placed where we should expect -to find the lands thus artificially fertilized, and behaving as such -constructed oases should. All this, of course, may be a set of -coincidences, signifying nothing; but the probability points the other -way.” - -Such was the harvest of facts and ideas garnered from Mars at the -Observatory during this summer of tireless watching. Both the facts and -the conclusions drawn from them were received with incredulity by -astronomers whose atmospheres and unfamiliarity with the things to be -observed hindered their seeing the phenomena, and to whom the -explanations seemed fantastic. With more careful observation skepticism -about the phenomena decreased, one observer after another seeing the -change of color on the planet, the growth of vegetation, and in some -form the lines and the dots, although many skilled observers still see -them as irregular markings rather than as fine uniform lines. The -hypothesis of artificial construction of the canals by intelligent -beings has met with much more resistance. It runs against the blade of -Occam’s razor, that nothing should be attributed to conscious -intelligent action unless it cannot be explained by natural forces. -Percival seems to have made a very strong argument against any natural -cause yet suggested, and a rational case for an intelligent agency if no -natural one can be found. There, for the present, his hypothesis may be -said to rest. - -The favorable period for observation during the opposition of Mars -having come to an end, the two larger telescopes, which had been hired -or borrowed for the expedition, were returned in the spring to their -owners, the observatory at Flagstaff being dismantled, and the rest of -the apparatus brought East and stored; but plans for further work on -Mars were by no means given up; and Percival—bent on still better -equipment for the next opposition of Mars, in the summer of -1896—arranged with Alvan Clark & Sons for the manufacture of a 24-inch -refractor lens. The Clarks were then the most successful makers of large -lenses in the world; for up to that time it had not been possible to -cast and cool these large pieces of glass so that they were perfectly -uniform in density, and the art of the Clarks consisted in grinding and -rubbing the surface so as to make its slight departure from the -calculated curves compensate for any unevenness in density; and to a -less extent it is still necessary. It required a skill of eye and hand -unequalled elsewhere, and Percivals’ lens was one of the most perfect -they ever made. - -Where the telescope should be set up was not yet decided; for it will be -remembered that he wanted to make his observations in any accessible -place in the world where the clearest, and especially the steadiest, -atmosphere would be found. As already explained, he believed this lay in -one of the two great desert belts that encircle the Earth north and -south of the equator; and, for practical purposes, that meant Arizona, -Mexico and South America in the Western Hemisphere, and the Sahara in -the Eastern. Mr. Douglass had therefore been sent—probably with the -faithful 6-inch telescope—to Mexico and South America, while Percival -proposed to examine the Sahara himself. - - - - - CHAPTER XI - THE PERMANENT OBSERVATORY—INTERLUDES AND TRAVELS - - -The year following his return to Boston, at the end of November, 1894, -was filled with the arrangements for his new telescope and apparatus, -and in writing the book on Mars. At this time he lived at 11 West Cedar -Street, the little house he had bought some time before; for it was -characteristic that, while lavishing whatever was needed on his -observatory, he was modest in his expenditure on himself. By the end of -the year his book was published, his work for the coming observatory was -done, and he went to Europe; but his Mother had died in March, and the -daily stream of loving letters, which told about himself, had ceased to -flow. - -On December 10, 1895, he sailed on the _Spree_ with Alvan G. Clark, the -last surviving brother of the telescope-making family. The voyage, -though very rough at times, was uneventful, until as they were entering -the Solent the vessel struck, and stuck fast, on Warden’s Ledge, just -inside the Needles. “Fault of the pilot” Percival recorded, “aged 73 and -bordering on imbecility.” With all his travels about and around the -world this is the nearest he ever came to shipwreck; nor was it for him -very near, for since the ship could not get herself clear tugs came down -the next day and took off the passengers, who were landed at Southampton -and went up to London. Two days later he was in Paris, and for nearly -three weeks he and Clark saw astronomical friends,—among others having -to lunch and dinner Edouard Mantois, the great glass manufacturer who -had cast the new 24-inch refractor for his telescope. Percival enjoyed a -most interesting dinner at the house of Flammarion, the astronomer and -novelist, who was devoted to Mars and had followed his work at -Flagstaff. As he wrote to his Father—“There were fourteen of us, and all -that could sat in chairs of the zodiac, under a ceiling of a pale blue -sky, appropriately dotted with fleecy clouds, and indeed most prettily -painted. Flammarion is nothing if not astronomical. His whole apartment, -which is itself au cinquieme, blossoms with such decoration. - -“At the dinner I made the acquaintance of Miss Klumpke of the Paris -Observatory, who has just translated my last article for the Bulletin of -the Société Astronomique.” - -In fact before he left Paris for Africa he gave a talk to that society, -on his observations of Mars. At Marseilles, meeting his old friend, -Ralph Curtis, they crossed to Algiers and made excursions to Boghari and -Biskra to test the atmosphere on the border of the Sahara. Not finding -this satisfactory, he organized a small private caravan of his own for a -journey of a few days into the desert, taking the telescope—doubtless -the faithful six-inch—on a mule. His going off by himself across country -seems to have worried his companions for fear he would lose his way; but -he always turned up in the afternoon, and in time to observe when the -stars came out. Curiously enough, he found that although the air was -very clear they twinkled badly, so that while the atmosphere was -transparent it was distinctly unsteady, for his purpose a very grave -defect which excluded North Africa from the possible sites for his -observatory. Satisfied on this point, he left Algiers in February. - -From Marseilles he took the opportunity to visit Schiaparelli, to whom -he owed so much of the incentive to study Mars, and found him at his -observatory in Brera near Milan. With him he compared observations, much -to his own satisfaction. The veteran looked middle-aged, but did not -expect to make more discoveries, and said that at the preceding -opposition the weather had been so bad that he saw almost nothing. So -his mantle had definitely fallen on Percival when he began his -observations at Flagstaff the year before. - -Leaving Milan he started to visit Leo Brenner, who was also interested -in Mars, and had his observatory at Lussinpiccolo, a rather inaccessible -spot on the eastern coast of the Adriatic. In getting there he was much -delayed by a heavy storm, and beguiled the time by working out a -mathematical theory of the tides. Finally, he decided to go by rail to -Pola, and thence by boat to Lussinpiccolo, where Brenner met him, -insisting that he should stay with them. They proved most hospitable and -kind, but he was not favorably impressed by the observatory or its work; -and after a stay of a few days he returned through Cannes, Paris and -London, sailing for America on March 19th, to land in New York on the -28th. - -Meanwhile, the work on the lens and its apparatus had been finished; but -it could not be set up until he was there, and arriving at the end of -March there was no time to spare. For although the opposition of Mars -did not occur until December 10th the planets would then be far past -their nearest point, and there was much to see months before. In fact -he, with Clark, arrived at Flagstaff shortly after the middle of July, -and proceeded at once to put the glass into the telescope—no small -difficulty, for the tube was so tight a fit in the dome which had housed -the Brashear telescope that the lens had to be hoisted up and let into -it through the shutter opening,—“quite a job,” as he wrote, “for so -delicate and yet heavy a thing as a 24-inch lens.” However, it was -successfully done, and the next morning at half past two observing -began, and thereafter the dome knew no rest.[13] - -In the letter last quoted he says that he has “taken a brand new house, -finished indeed after I arrived, a little gem of a thing.” Before long -he had three houses on the hill there, and began that succession of -charming hospitalities ending only with his life. Friends like Professor -and Mrs. Barrett Wendell and Professor Charles S. Sargent visited there, -while Professor Edward S. Morse and George R. Agassiz, who were -interested in his investigations, paid him long visits; and since -Flagstaff was on the direct road to Southern California, a paradise -becoming more and more fashionable, many others stopped off on the way -to see him and his observatory, whom he was always delighted to -entertain, for he had an unusual capacity for doing so without -interrupting the course of his work. Then there were excursions to the -cave dwellings, the petrified forest, and other places of interest in -the neighborhood, for he loved the country about him, and took pleasure -in showing it to others. Sometimes these trips were unusual. “We all -rode,” he writes to a friend, “twelve miles out into the forest on the -cow-catcher of a logging train, visited there a hole in the ground -containing, if you crawl down through the chinks in the rocks several -hundred feet, a thing we were not accoutered to do, real ice in -midsummer; came back on the cow-catcher; and immensely enjoyed the -jaunt. The acmes of excitement were the meeting of cattle on the track -who showed much more unconcern of us than we of them. Indeed it was -usually necessary for the fireman to get down and shoo them off.... -Nevertheless we saw a real bull fight in a pretty little valley far from -men where Greek met Greek for the possession of the herd. The two -champions toed the line with great effect.” Nor did his interest in -literature abate, for a few weeks later he wrote to the same -correspondent: “Send me, an’ you love me, the best Chaucer at my -expense.” - -Meanwhile the observations of Mars and the other planets went on with -success, and he was naturally gratified when his telescope revealed -something that others had failed to find, such as Professor “See’s -detection of the companion to Sirius which astronomers have been looking -for in vain since its immersion some years ago in the rays of its -primary due to its place in its orbit. The Lick hunted for it -unsuccessfully last year”; the last remark being pointed by the fact -that this rival had again been casting doubt upon his discoveries on -Mars. - -He observed without a break all summer and autumn, but aware that the -atmosphere at Flagstaff was not so good in the winter, he decided to try -that of Mexico, and thither he went in December taking the 24-inch -telescope. Before the dome therefor was built he saw well with the -six-inch; but for the larger glass the results were on the whole -disappointing. Yet the observations in Mexico were by no means -unproductive. To his father he writes: “In addition to all that I have -told you before, Mr. Douglass has just made some interesting studies of -Jupiter’s satellites, seeing them even better than we did at Flagstaff, -and detecting markings on them so well that they promise to give the -rotation periods and so lead to another pregnant chapter in tidal -evolution.” And in another letter to him: “Mercury, Venus, Mars, and -Jupiter’s satellites have all revealed new things about themselves. I -intend to embody all of these things some day in a series of volumes on -the planets.” Meanwhile, as during the observations of two years before, -he was sending papers to various scientific journals, American and -foreign, about results obtained on Mars, Mercury and Venus; and about -this time Sir Robert Hart asked through Professor Headland permission to -translate “Mars” into Chinese. One may add that the first volume of the -“Annals of the Lowell Observatory” appeared that year (1897), the next -in 1900. - - - - - CHAPTER XII - ILLNESS AND ECLIPSE - - -But his personal hopes of contributing further to science, or diffusing -the knowledge learned, were destined to be sadly postponed. In the -spring he left Mexico, and the telescope was returned to Flagstaff in -May; but although he could stand observing day and night without -sufficient sleep while stimulated by the quest, the long strain proved -too much, and he came back to Boston nervously shattered. Such a -condition is not infrequent with scholars who work at high speed, and -although the diagnosis is simple the treatment is uncertain. The -physicians put him to bed for a month in his father’s house in -Brookline, a measure that he always thought a mistake, believing that he -would not have collapsed so completely under a different regimen. The -progress everyone knows who has seen it, a very slow regaining of -strength, with ups and downs, and after much discouragement—in his case -about three years—a return to normal health. - -After the doctors let him up from bed he sought rest in divers places, -but the progress was slow and uneven, as it must be in such cases. -Naturally letters at this period are few, short and far between. Only -two, written to his father, appear to have been preserved, one from -Bermuda, January 22, 1898: - - “Dear Father: - - I enclose what I think you will like to see, a copy made for you of a - letter just received. _Festina lente_ is nature’s motto for me, and I - try to make _nulla vestigia retrorsum_. - - Affectionately your son - Percival” - -The copy enclosed is evidently of the letter from Professor Headland -conveying Sir Robert Hart’s request to translate “Mars” into Chinese. -The other letter is on January 17, 1899, with no place—date, and it -says: “Was much better; now can’t sleep well. So it wags.” - -A year later, although not yet recovered, he was so much improved as to -plan with Professor Todd of Amherst an expedition to Tripoli to observe -a total eclipse of the sun. They took a 24-inch lens, from the -observatory at Amherst, with a very light tube for transportation in -four joints that would slip inside one another, and a device for -photographing the solar corona; the lens of the telescope being the -largest yet used in such an expedition. Sending the apparatus by -freight, they themselves sailed on the German Steamship _St. Paul_ from -New York on January 17, 1900. He had regained his humor, if nothing -else, for he heads his private journal of this exploit: “An Eclipse trip -to Tripoli being the sequel to The Valet and the Valetudinarian”—not -that he ever wrote anything under this last title, but it was a -reference to what he had been through in the preceding two and a half -years—and after inserting two flamboyant newspaper clippings, for which -he was not responsible, he writes: “Further notices there were of which -no notice need be taken; literary and professional murders all, of -various degrees of atrocity.” - -After a few days in London, where he exchanged comments on the spectrum -of Mars with Sir William Huggins, he passed on to Paris, and then -Marseilles and Costabella where his widowed sister, Katharine Roosevelt, -was staying. The eclipse was not to occur until the end of May, but -there was much to be done in setting up the instruments, at which he was -not needed; so as he saw his sister off for Italy he also bade good-bye -for a time to Professor Todd, who left him to look up the telescopic -apparatus and get it in place at Tripoli, while he stayed to recuperate -for three months on the Riviera. - -Here he found William James who, with his wife, was on a like quest to -recruit from a similar case of neurasthenia, and at the same time to -prepare his Gifford lectures. To his father Percival wrote on April 7: -“Professor William James is living here now and we see each other all -the time. He is pleased at having just been elected a corresponding -member of the Academy of Sciences of Berlin, more for his children’s -sake than his own. This when he thought he should never be able to work -again, and he wanted them to feel that their father had done something. -Now, however, he is stronger and polishes off some Gifford lectures -daily, a bit of it.” They saw much of each other, being highly -sympathetic physically and intellectually. Like himself, James had -recovered, or not lost, his sense of humor, and quoted a remark he had -heard “that ethics was a tardy consolation for the sins one had -neglected to commit.” And Percival was impressed by his saying that he -“considered Darwin’s greatness due to his great detail as increasing the -probabilities; showing again how mere detail, mere bulk impresses, -though probability be not furthered a bit.” The last part of the -sentence may be Percival’s own conclusion rather than that of James, but -it had clearly a bearing on his own minute study of the phenomena of -Mars. - -On the Riviera he made a number of pleasant acquaintances and he was -well enough to enjoy seeing people; but, although he was writing a -memoir for the American Academy on Venus, he was not yet up to really -hard work. After trying in vain to think out mechanical explanations for -the small ellipticity in the orbits of the planetary satellites he gave -it up, and noted: “I actually am taking pleasure in chronicling this -small beer (his solitary walks); pure thought proves so thorny to -press.” On April 3d he writes to his father: “I am trying to catch up -with you and grandfather _Sed longo intervallo_ so as to solace my -solitary walks with fixed acquaintances.” Both of these forebears had -been interested in botany. In fact he walked much alone, studying the -trees, shrubs and insects, and he writes: “I can converse with plants -because they don’t talk back, nor demand attention but accept it.” - -The time for the eclipse was drawing near, so after going to Florence to -spend a few days more with his sister, he sailed from Genoa on May 16; -trans-shipped at Naples, and going ashore in Sicily and Malta while the -steamer was in port, reached Tripoli on May 24th. Travelling to -out-of-the-way places in the Mediterranean was not a rapid process, and -Tripoli then belonged to Turkey; but he found everything prepared by -Professor Todd in the grounds of the American Consulate, and, -fortunately, when the eclipse occurred four days later the sky was clear -and everything went well. He was amused by the comments of the ignorant. -“The Arabs,” he wrote in his private journal, “the common folk, told -their friends (beforehand) that the Christians lied, and when the affair -came off, that they had no business to know being infidel.” But he was -as always interested in their ways and habits, mousing about the town -with our consul and others, learning about the Turkish troops, and the -Tuaureg camel drivers, inspecting a bakery, a macaroni factory, -threshing and the weekly fair. - -On June 3rd they sailed by an Italian steamer for Malta, but he left it -at Tunis to go to the ruins of Carthage, which impressed him greatly; -catching the boat again at Biserta, and at Malta trans-shipping again -for Marseilles, he made his way to Paris. There the exhibition was open, -and among other things he found his exhibit from Flagstaff, “poor waif, -in a corner of the Palais de l’Optique and in another place stood -confronted by four of my own drawings of Mars, unlabelled, unsubscribed. -Felt badly for the poor orphans.” He did not stay long, but went to -England, and after spending a few days at the country house of some -friends he had made on the Riviera, he sailed for home on July 4th. -Shortly before leaving he had received telegrams telling of his father’s -unexpected death under an operation, cutting another link with his -earlier life. - -As yet not well enough to resume his work, he hired a farm house at -Chocorua, and settled there on August 3rd for the rest of the summer. He -enjoyed seeing the friends and neighbors who spent their vacations -there; but, like some other men of science incapacitated by illness, he -turned his attention to a field other than his own. As on the Riviera, -this was flowers, butterflies, and especially trees; but he studied them -more systematically, and with fuller notes. In October he gives a list, -covering more than three pages, of the trees and shrubs in the woods, -fields and swamps about him in the order of their abundance. This -interest he kept up in later years at Flagstaff, corresponding with -Professor Charles S. Sargent, the Director of the Arnold Arboretum, and -sending him specimens of rare or unknown varieties, some of which were -named after him. So highly, indeed, did Sargent rate him that after -Percival’s death he wrote a memoir of him in _Rhodora_,[14] which it is -well to transcribe in full: - - “That Percival Lowell took an active interest in trees was probably - not known to many persons, for he published only one botanical paper - and he had no botanical associates except in this Arboretum. It is not - surprising that a man with his active and inquiring mind brought up in - New England should, when he found himself in Arizona, want to know - something of the strange plants which grew everywhere about him and - which were so entirely unlike the plants which he had known as a boy - in Massachusetts, and later in Japan and Korea. The love of plants, - too, was in his blood and only needed the opportunity of this new - field to make itself felt. - - “Percival Lowell’s great great grandfather, John Lowell, was one of - the original members of the Massachusetts Society for Promoting - Agriculture and its second President, serving from 1796 until his - death in 1802. He is less well known for his connection with rural - affairs than his son John Lowell, spoken of generally in his day as - “the Norfolk Farmer,” and a generous and successful promoter of - scientific agriculture and horticulture in Massachusetts, whom Daniel - Webster called “the uniform friend of all sorts of rural economy.” The - second John Lowell became a member of the Agricultural Society in 1816 - and served from the time of his election until 1830 as its - Corresponding Secretary, and as one of the editors of its publication, - _The Massachusetts Agricultural Repository and Journal_. During these - years articles by him on agriculture, horticulture and forestry are - found in almost every number. In volume v. published in 1819 there is - an important paper by John Lowell on “The Gradual Diminution of the - Forests of Massachusetts, and the importance of early attention to - some effectual remedy, with extracts from the work of M. Michaux on - the Forest Trees of North America.” Volume vii. contains articles from - his pen on “Some slight notice of the Larch tree (_Pinus Larix_), - known in various parts of the country under the several names of - Juniper, Hackmatack, and Larch”; on “Fruit Trees,” signed by the - Norfolk Gardener, and on “Raising the Oak from the Acorn and the best - way of doing it.” The last volume of this publication which appeared - in 1832, when he was seventy-one years old, contains an article by - John Lowell on “The Extraordinary Destruction of the last Year’s Wood - in Forest Trees and the probable Causes of it”; and on “Live Hedges - for New England.” The second John Lowell was active in establishing - and maintaining the Botanic Garden of Harvard College and was one of - the original members of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. To - the first annual festival of the Horticultural Society held in the - Exchange Coffee House on State Street, September 19, 1829, he sent - from his greenhouses in Roxbury Orange-trees covered with flowers and - fruit and a bunch of grapes weighing three pounds. - - “John Amory Lowell, the son of the second John Lowell and the - grandfather of Percival Lowell, was deeply interested in botany and in - 1845, thirty years after his graduation from Harvard College, began - the collection of an herbarium and botanical library with the purpose - of devoting himself seriously to the study of plants. He had made - valuable collections and a large botanical library when the financial - troubles of 1857 forced him to abandon botany and devote himself again - to business affairs. His most valuable books were given by him to his - friend Asa Gray and now form an important part of the library of the - Gray Herbarium. His herbarium and his other botanical books were given - to the Boston Society of Natural History. John Amory Lowell, like his - father and grandfather, was a member of the Massachusetts Society for - Promoting Agriculture. He was succeeded by his son John Lowell, who in - turn was succeeded by his son, another John Lowell, who of the fifth - generation in direct descent from its second president is now a - Trustee of this Society. - - “Percival Lowell’s love of plants certainly came to him naturally. I - first met him in the Arboretum many years ago examining the collection - of Asiatic Viburnums in which he was interested at that time, but it - was not until 1910 that he began to send specimens to the Arboretum, - including that of an Oak which he had found growing near his - observatory and which so far as it is possible to judge is an - undescribed species. Interest in this Oak led him to look for other - individuals and to extend his botanical explorations. During these he - visited Oak Creek Canyon, a deep cut with precipitous sides in the - Colorado plateau which heads about twenty miles south of Flagstaff and - carries in its bottom a small stream which finally finds its way into - the Verde northwest and not far from Camp Verde. Lowell appears to - have been the first botanist who visited the upper part, at least, of - this canyon where he found a number of interesting plants, notably - _Platanus Wrightii_ and _Quercus arizonica_, which before his - explorations were not known to extend into the United States from - Mexico beyond the canyons of the mountain ranges of southern Arizona - and New Mexico. In Oak Creek Canyon Lowell found a new Ash-tree - somewhat intermediate between _Fraxinus quadrangulata_ of the east and - _F. anomala_ of our southwestern deserts which will bear his name. - Later Lowell explored Sycamore Canyon which is west of Oak Creek - Canyon and larger and deeper than Oak Creek Canyon and, like it, cuts - through the Colorado plateau and finally reaches the Verde near the - mouth of Oak Creek. - - “Juniperus in several species abound on the Colorado plateau, and - Lowell became deeply interested in these trees and was preparing to - write a monograph of our southwestern species. His observations on the - characters and altitudinal range of the different species, illustrated - by abundant material, have been of great service to me. - - “Lowell’s only botanical paper, published in the May and June issues - of the _Bulletin of the American Geographic Society_ in 1909, is - entitled “The Plateau of the San Francisco Peaks in its Effect on Tree - Life.” In this paper, which is illustrated by photographs made by the - author of all the important trees of the region, he discusses the - altitudinal distribution of these trees, dividing his region into five - zones which he illustrates by a number of charts showing the - distribution of vegetation in each. It contains, too, an important and - interesting discussion of the influence on temperature and therefore - on tree growth of the larger body of earth in a plateau as compared - with a mountain peak where, on account of greater exposure, the earth - cools more rapidly.[15] - - “A bundle of cuttings of what is probably a new species of Willow, to - obtain which Lowell had made a long and hard journey, with his last - letter and a photograph of the Willow, came only a few days before the - telegram announcing his death. Botany therefore occupied his thoughts - during his last days on earth. - - “The death of Percival Lowell is a severe loss to the Arboretum. He - understood its purpose and sympathized with its efforts to increase - knowledge. Few collectors of plants have shown greater enthusiasm or - more imagination, and living as he did in what he has himself - described as “one of the most interesting regions of the globe” there - is every reason to believe that as a botanist Percival Lowell would - have become famous.” - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - MARS AND ITS CANALS - - -By the early spring of 1901 Percival was well over his illness, and fit -to return to the Observatory for the oppositions of Mars in that year, -in 1903 and in 1905. Shortly after he came back the services of Mr. -Douglass came to an end, and he was fortunate in obtaining Dr. V. M. -Slipher in 1901 and Mr. C. O. Lampland in the following year—two young -men who were not only invaluable assistants to him, but during his -lifetime, and ever since, have made distinguished contributions to -science. Observing at all hours of the night was exacting work; and to -anyone less enthusiastic, who did not see through the detail to its -object, it might have been monotonous and wearisome. As he wrote -himself, “Patient plodding is the road to results in science, and the -shortest road in the end. Each year out here has seemed to me the best, -which merely means that I hope I learn a little and that there is a vast -deal to learn.” He felt strongly the need of diligence and strict -impartiality in ascertaining the facts, and distinguished it sharply -from the imagination to be used in interpreting them. In describing his -delineation of the canals he says, “Each drawing, it should be -remembered, was as nearly an instantaneous picture of the disk as -possible. It covered only a few minutes of observation, and was made -practically as if the observer had never seen the planet before. In -other words, the man was sunk in the manner. Such mental effacement is -as vital to good observation as mental assertion is afterward to -pregnant reasoning. For a man should be a machine in collecting his -data, a mind in coördinating them. To reverse the process, as is -sometimes done, is not conducive to science.” But through all the -exacting labor of the search he felt keenly the joy of discovery, -comparing himself to the explorers of the Earth, and in the first -chapter of “Mars and its Canals” he tells us of the pleasure of a winter -night spent in the Observatory. - -The oppositions in 1901, 1903 and 1905 were not so favorable as those of -1894 and 1906-1907, because Mars was not so near the Earth; the -eccentricities in the orbits of the two planets causing them to pass -each other when Mars was far from the Sun and therefore from the Earth -whose eccentricity is less. Yet they had an advantage in the fact that, -unlike the earlier occasions, the south pole was tipped away from the -Earth, and the north pole was toward it, thus giving a good view of the -northern polar cap, sub-arctic and higher temperate zones, which had not -been visible before. Thus the seasonal changes could be observed in the -opposite hemisphere,—not an inconsiderable gain, because the dark and -light areas, that is, the natural vegetation and the deserts, are not -equally distributed over the planet, for the dark ones occupy a much -larger part of the southern, and the deserts of the northern, -hemisphere. Moreover, the use of a larger lens and better atmosphere had -shown that observations could be carried on profitably for a longer -period before and after the actual opposition; until in 1905 it was -possible to cover what had been left unobserved of the Martian year in -the northern half of Mars. - -No sooner was the third of these oppositions past than he wrote another -book on the subject, with the title “Mars and its Canals”; and this in -no sense a supplement to the earlier one, but an entirely new and -independent presentation of the subject, covering the old ground and -much more. He was enabled to do this because the copyright of the -earlier work belonged to him. The later one was published by The -Macmillan Company in December 1906, and dedicated to Schiaparelli. Like -the earlier book, he wrote it by no means for astronomers alone, but for -the interested public; and in the preface he tells why he did so: “To -set forth science in a popular, that is in a generally understandable, -form is as obligatory as to present it in a more technical manner. If -men are to benefit by it, it must be expressed to their comprehension. -To do this should be feasible for him who is master of his subject, and -is both the best test of, and the best training to that post.... Nor is -it so hard to make any well-grasped matter comprehensible to a man of -good general intelligence as is commonly supposed. The whole object of -science is to synthesize, and so simplify; and did we but know the -uttermost of a subject we could make it singularly clear.” At the same -time there was nothing in these writings of the nature of what is -commonly called popularizing science. He expounded his subject in a -strictly scientific way, but avoided unfamiliar technical terms if -possible, and sought to raise his readers or audience to his level of -thought, not to descend to theirs. Such statements for the public were -very often preceded by technical ones in the Bulletins of the -Observatory or elsewhere, and yet it cannot be doubted that the former -tended to alienate some scientific scholars who were slow to admit his -discoveries, and did not sympathize with his method of presenting them, -or perhaps with the attractive style of the man of letters as well as of -exact thought. - -Still there are pitfalls in taking the public into one’s confidence; as -he found in December 1900, when a telegram sent by the usual channels to -the astronomical world, that the night before a projection had been -observed on Mars that lasted seventy minutes, was taken by the press to -mean an attempt by Martians to signal to the Earth, and as such was -proclaimed all over America and Europe. The cause of the excitement, as -he explained a year later to the American Philosophical Society in -Philadelphia, was the reflection from a cloud on the horizon of the -planet. - -“Mars and its Canals” is frankly a demonstration that the planet is -habitable, and that from what takes place there it must in fact be -inhabited by highly intelligent beings. For that purpose the book is -divided into four parts, entitled: Natural Features; Non-Natural (that -is, artificial) Features; The Canals in Action; and Explanation. His -general thesis, which he was to expound more fully later (and which -although not essential to his argument for life on Mars he connected -therewith) was that all planets go through the same process of -development—varying, however, with their size which determines their -power to retain the gases of their atmosphere—and that one element -therein is the gradual leakage of water through cracks into its interior -as the planet cools. He cites geologists to prove that the oceans -formerly covered much more of the surface of the Earth than they do now; -argues that the desert belts around it are of comparatively recent -geologic origin, as shown by the petrified forest of Arizona; and points -out the similarity in color, as seen from the San Francisco Peaks, of -the forested hills and the painted desert there, to that of the -blue-green and reddish-ochre spaces of Mars as presented by the -telescope. He notes also that to get water in our deserts plants and -animals have sought the higher altitudes, and are able to exist and -multiply in an air less dense and a climate cooler with a shorter warm -season than in their natural habitat, adjusting themselves to these -conditions. - -This idea of the lack of water on Mars he derives from observation of -its surface and the changes thereon; for the supply of water is in great -part locked up in the snow or ice of the polar caps during the Martian -winters of the two hemispheres and distributed over its surface as -summer comes on. Therefore he naturally begins his account of the -natural features of the planet by a description of these polar snow -caps, their formation and melting. In doing so he cannot resist a -sarcastic reference to the endless enthusiasm, useless expenditure of -money and labor, and the scientific futility of arctic exploration. - -“Polar expeditions exert an extreme attraction on certain minds, perhaps -because they combine the maximum of hardship with the minimum of -headway. Inconclusiveness certainly enables them to be constantly -renewed, without loss either of purpose or prestige. The fact that the -pole has never been trod by man constitutes the lodestone to such -undertakings; and that it continues to defy him only whets his endeavor -the more. Except for the demonstration of the polar drift-current -conceived of and then verified by Nansen, very little has been added by -them to our knowledge of the globe. Nor is there specific reason to -suppose that what they might add would be particularly vital. Nothing -out of the way is suspected of the pole beyond the simple fact of being -so positioned. Yet for their patent inconclusion they continue to be -sent in sublime superiority to failure. - -“Martian polar expeditions, as undertaken by the astronomers, are the -antipodes of these pleasingly perilous excursions in three important -regards, which if less appealing to the gallery commend themselves to -the philosopher. They involve comparatively little hardship; they have -accomplished what they set out to do; and the knowledge they have -gleaned has proved fundamental to an understanding of the present -physical condition of the planet.” - -Then follows the story of the melting of the polar snows, the darkening -of the blue-green areas by the growth of vegetation due to the flow of -water; and a summary, at the close of [Part I] (Natural Features), of -the reasons for believing that from its atmosphere, temperature, and the -actual, though scanty, supply of water, Mars is capable of supporting -life. In fact the presence of vegetation proves that life of that kind -does exist, in spite of the fact that five-eighths of the surface is -desert; and if plants can live animals might also. But, unlike -vegetation, they could not be readily seen, and save in the case of -intelligent operation on a large scale, their presence could not be -detected. This is the significance of the canals, to which much of the -observation of the last three oppositions was directed. - -Close to the limit of vision, and only to be seen at moments when the -atmosphere is steady, the fainter canals are very hard to observe. -Percival describes the experience in this way: - -“When a fairly acute eyed observer sets himself to scan the telescopic -disk of the planet in steady air, he will, after noting the dazzling -contour of the white polar cap and the sharp outlines of the blue-green -areas, of a sudden be made aware of a vision as of a thread stretched -somewhere from the blue-green across the orange areas of the disk. Gone -as quickly as it came, he will instinctively doubt his own eyesight, and -credit to illusion what can so unaccountably disappear. Gaze as hard as -he will, no power of his can recall it, when, with the same startling -abruptness, the thing stands before his eyes again. Convinced, after -three or four such showings, that the vision is real, he will still be -left wondering what and where it was. For so short and sudden are its -apparitions that the locating of it is dubiously hard. It is gone each -time before he has got its bearings. - -“By persistent watch, however, for the best instants of definition, -backed by the knowledge of what he is to see, he will find its coming -more frequent, more certain and more detailed. At last some particularly -propitious moment will disclose its relation to well known points and -its position be assured. First one such thread and then another will -make its presence evident; and then he will note that each always -appears in place. Repetition _in situ_ will convince him that these -strange visitants are as real as the main markings, and are as permanent -as they.” - -Strangely enough fine lines, from the continuity of the impression they -make upon the eye, can be recognized when of a thickness that would be -invisible in the case of a mere dot. To determine how narrow a line on -Mars would be perceptible, experiments were made with a wire of a -certain size, noting the limit of distance at which it could be seen; -and then, from the magnifying power of the telescope, it was found that -a Martian canal would be visible down to about a mile wide. From this -the conclusion was drawn that the canals probably ran from two or three -up to fifteen or twenty miles in width, the minimum being much less than -had been thought at earlier oppositions. The distance apart of the two -branches of double canals he estimated at about seventy-five to one -hundred and eighty miles, save in one case where, if a true instance of -doubling, it is over four hundred. Of the oases, whereof one hundred and -eighty-six had been observed, much the larger part were from -seventy-five to one hundred miles in diameter. - -The later oppositions enabled him also to complete the topography of the -planet, showing that the canals were a vast system, running from the -borders of both polar caps, through the dark areas of natural vegetation -where they connected, at obviously convenient points, with a still more -complex network in the ochre, or desert, regions, and thus across the -equator into the corresponding system in the other hemisphere. By this -network the greater part of the canals could receive water alternately -from the melting of the north and south polar caps, or twice yearly, the -Martian year, however, being almost twice as long as our own. But to -perfect his proof that this actually takes place he had to show that the -canals, that is the streaks of vegetation bordering waterways, sprang -into life—thereby becoming visible or darker—in succession as the water -spread from the poles to the tropics; and this he did with his usual -thoroughness at the opposition of 1903. - -Since there was then no mechanical means of measuring the variations in -visibility of the canals,—and under the atmospheric conditions at any -place in the world perhaps there never will be,—the record had to be -made by the eye, that is in drawings by the observer as he saw the -canals; and these, as he said, must be numerous, consecutive and -extended in time. The consecutive could not be perfectly carried out -because “as Mars takes about forty minutes longer to turn than the -Earth, such confronting (of the observer) occurs later and later each -night by about forty minutes, until finally it does not occur at all -while Mars is suitably above the horizon; then the feature passes from -sight to remain hidden till the difference of the rotations brings it -round into view again. There are thus times when a given region is -visible, times when it is not, and these succeed each other in from five -to six weeks, and are called presentations. For about a fortnight at -each presentation a region is centrally enough placed to be well seen; -for the rest of the period either ill-placed or on the other side of the -planet.” But with changes as gradual and continuous as those of the -darkening of the canals this did not prove a serious drawback to the -continuity of the record. - -There was another element in the problem. The drawing being the estimate -of the observer on the comparative darkness of the markings from time to -time it was of the greatest importance to avoid any variation in -personal estimates, and therefore Percival made all the drawings -himself. From April 6 to May 26 he drew the planet every twenty-four -hours, and although “the rest of the time did not equal this perfection, -no great gap occurred, and one hundred and forty-three nights were -utilized in all.... But even this does not give an idea of the mass of -the data. For by the method employed about 100 drawings were used in the -case of each canal, and as 109 canals were examined this gave 10,900 -separate determinations upon which the ultimate result depended.” - -For each canal he plotted the curve of its diminishing or increasing -visibility as the season advanced, and this curve he called the -cartouche of the canal. Now combining the cartouches of all the canals -in each zone of latitude, he found that those in the several zones began -to become more distinct—that is the vegetation began to come to life—in -a regular and approximately uniform succession, taking from the northern -arctic down to the equator and past it to the southern sub-tropic about -eighty Martian days. From north latitude 72° to the equator, a distance -of 2,650 miles, took fifty-two of these days, at a speed of fifty-one -miles a day, or 2.1 miles an hour. Now all this is precisely the -opposite of what happens on the Earth, where vegetation in the spring -starts in the part of the temperate zone nearest to the equator, and as -the season advances travels toward the pole; the reason for the -difference being, he says, that what is needed on Earth to make the sap -run is the warmth of the sun, what is needed on Mars is water that comes -from the melting of the polar snows. He points out also that the water -cannot flow through the canals by nature, because on the surface of a -planet in equilibrium gravity would not draw it in any direction toward -or away from the equator. “No natural force propels it, and the -inference is forthright and inevitable that it is artificially helped to -its end. There seems to be no escape from this deduction.” In short, -since water certainly cannot flow by gravity both ways in the same -canal, the inhabitants of Mars have not only dug the canals, but pump -the water through them. - - [Illustration: OBSERVING AND DRAWING THE CANALS OF MARS] - - [Illustration: Drawing] - -In recapitulating the reasons for the artificial character of the canals -he shows a most natural annoyance with people who doubted the validity -of his observations; and, in dealing with the evidence to be drawn from -the fact that they run on great circles, that is on the shortest lines -from one point to another, he writes: “For it is the geodetic precision -which the lines exhibit that instantly stamps them to consciousness as -artificial. The inference is so forthright as to be shared by those who -have not seen them to the extent of instant denial of their objectivity. -Drawings of them look too strange to be true. So scepticism imputes to -the draftsman their artificial fashioning, not realizing that by so -doing it bears unconscious witness to their character. For in order to -disprove the deduction it is driven to deny the fact. Now the fact can -look after itself and will be recognized in time.” - -This last prophecy was largely verified before these three oppositions -of the planet came to an end. In 1901 photography was tried without -success so far as the canals were concerned. For the stars it had worked -very well, for to quote again: “Far less sensitive than the retina the -dry plate has one advantage over its rival,—its action is cumulative. -The eye sees all it can in the twentieth of a second; after that its -perception, instead of increasing, is dulled, and no amount of -application will result in adding more. With the dry plate it is the -reverse. Time works for, not against it. Within limits, themselves long, -light affects it throughout the period it stands exposed and, roughly -speaking, in direct ratio to the time elapsed. Thus the camera is able -to record stars no human eye has ever caught and to register the -structure of nebulae the eye tries to resolve in vain. - -“Where illumination alone is concerned the camera reigns supreme; not so -when it comes to a question of definition. Then by its speed and agility -the eye steps into its place, for the atmosphere is not the void it -could be wished, through which the light-waves shoot at will. Pulsing -athwart it are air-waves of condensation and rarefaction that now -obstruct, now further, the passage of the ray. By the nimbleness of its -action the eye cunningly contrives to catch the good moments among the -poor and carry their message to the brain. The dry plate by its slowness -is impotent to follow. To register anything it must take the bad with -the better to a complete confusion of detail. For the air-waves throw -the image first to one place and then to another, to a blotting of -both.” - -There lay the difficulty which Mr. Lampland, then new to the -Observatory, took up in 1903. The photographs, though better, still did -not show the canals. Various adjustments were then made with the -telescope; all manner of plates were tried between the rapid and the -well-defining ones; and finally in 1905 upon the plates canals appeared, -thirty-eight in all and one of them double.[16] On learning of the -success Schiaparelli wrote in wonder to Percival, “I should never have -believed it possible”; and the British Royal Photographic Society -awarded its medal to Mr. Lampland. - -With the observations of 1905 ended until the next opposition of the -planet an exploration and a romance of which he wrote: - -“To some people it may seem that the very strangeness of Martian life -precludes for it an appeal to human interest. To me this is but a -near-sighted view. The less the life there proves a counterpart of our -earthly state of things, the more it fires fancy and piques inquiry as -to what it be. We all have felt this impulse in our childhood as our -ancestors did before us, when they conjured goblins and spirits from the -vasty void, and if our energy continue we never cease to feel its force -through life. We but exchange, as our years increase, the romance of -fiction for the more thrilling romance of fact. As we grow older we -demand reality, but so this requisite be fulfilled the stranger the -realization the better we are pleased. Perhaps it is the more vivid -imagination of youth that enables us all then to dispense with the -hall-mark of actuality upon our cherished visions; perhaps a deeper -sense of our own oneness with nature as we get on makes us insist upon -getting the real thing. Whatever the reason be, certain it is that with -the years a narration, no matter how enthralling, takes added hold of us -for being true. But though we crave this solid foothold for our -conceptions, we yield on that account no jot or tittle of our interest -for the unexpected.” - - - - - CHAPTER XIV - THE SOLAR SYSTEM - - -In the intervals of personal observation Percival was often giving -lectures or writing on astronomical subjects for the publications of the -Observatory, and for scientific societies and periodicals. The substance -of most of these found their way into his books, which are summations or -expositions of his conclusions. In December 1902, for example, he gave -six lectures on “The Solar System” at the Massachusetts Institute of -Technology, of which he was a non-resident professor, and they were -published by Houghton, Mifflin & Company. Then in the autumn of 1906 he -gave a course of eight lectures at the Lowell Institute in Boston on -“Mars as the Abode of Life.” These were so crowded that they had to be -repeated, were then printed as six papers in the _Century Magazine_, and -finally re-published by The Macmillan Company under the same title. Two -years later, in the winter of 1909, he gave at the Massachusetts -Institute of Technology, another course of six lectures on “Cosmic -Physics: The Evolution of Worlds,” which were brought out in December by -the same publisher with the latter half of the title. Although their -names are so diverse, and far more is told of Mars in the book whose -title contains its name, they all deal essentially with the same -subject, the evolution of the planets and the development and end of -life upon them. In the Preface to “Mars as the Abode of Life,”—for a -preface, although printed at the beginning, is always written after the -book is finished, and is the author’s last word to the reader, giving -his latest thought as the work is being launched,—he tells us:[17] -“Though dealing specifically with Mars, the theme of the lectures was -that of planetary evolution in general, and this book is thus a -presentation of something which Professor Lowell has long had in mind -and of which his studies of Mars form but a part, the research into the -genesis and development of what we call a world; not the mere -aggregating of matter, but what that aggregation inevitably brings -forth. The subject which links the Nebular Hypothesis to the Darwinian -Theory, bridging the evolutionary gap between the two, he has called -planetology, thus designating the history of the planet’s individual -career. It is in this light that Mars is here regarded: how it came to -be what it is and how it came to differ from the Earth in the process.” - -At each opposition, in fact at every opposition during Percival’s life -and long thereafter, Mars was observed at Flagstaff and more detail was -discovered confirming what had been found before. He tells of a slight -change in the estimated tilt in its axis; the fact that the temperature -is warmer than was earlier supposed;[18] and he had found how to -discover the gases by spectroscopic analysis applied according to an -ingenious device of his own known as “Velocity Shift” and much used -thereafter.[19] He tells also of an ingenious and elaborate experiment -with wires, and with lines on a wooden disk, which showed that such -lines can be perceived at a greater distance and therefore of smaller -size than had been supposed, so that the canals might have less width -than had been assumed. It is, however, needless, in describing his -planetary theory, to do more than allude to his evidence of Martian -habitation drawn from the canals, with which the reader is already -familiar. Curiously enough, however, it is interesting to note that on -September 9, 1909, about the time when “The Evolution of Worlds” was -going to press, a strange phenomenon appeared in Mars. Two striking -canals were seen where none had ever been seen before, and the most -conspicuous on that part of the disk. Moreover, they were photographed. -After examining all the maps of canals made at Flagstaff and elsewhere, -Percival discussed them in the Observatory Bulletin No. 45, and -concluded that they must not only be new to us, but new to Mars since -its previous corresponding season of two of our years before: “something -_extra ordinem naturae_.” We may here leave Mars for the time, and turn -to the more extensive study of the evolution of the planetary system. - -The desire to rise from a particular case to a more general law was -characteristic of his attitude of mind, constructive and insatiable, and -appears throughout these volumes. It may have been influenced by his -great master Benjamin Peirce, who ever treated any mathematical formula -as a special instance of a more comprehensive one. In such a subject as -the evolution of the planets, especially of life on them, it involved -dipping into many sciences, beyond the physical laws of matter; and he -says in the same preface: “As in all theses, the cogency of the -conclusion hangs upon the validity of each step in the argument. It is -vital that each of these should be based on all that we know of natural -laws and the general principles underlying them.” This did not mean that -all his premises would be universally accepted, but that he found out -all he could about them, convincing himself of their accuracy and of the -validity of the conclusions he draws therefrom. That is all any man of -science can do in a subject larger than his own special, and therefore -limited, field. - -But from the time of his resumption of research and the direction of the -observatory in 1901, he was constantly enlarging his own field by the -study of astrophysical subjects, and the methods for their -determination. With this object he was initiating and encouraging -planetary photography. He was constantly writing Dr. V. M. Slipher about -procuring and using spectrographic apparatus and about the results -obtained by him therefrom. By this process the rotations of planets were -determined; and the spectra of the major ones—often reproduced in -astronomical works—have been a puzzle to astrophysicists until their -interpretation in very recent years. He was interested also in nebulae, -especially in spiral ones, taking part in Dr. Slipher’s pioneering -spectrographic work at the observatory, which showed that they were vast -aggregations of stars of different spectral types, moving with great -speed, and far beyond the limits of our universe. For over fifteen years -the observatory was almost alone in this field of research, as well as -in that of globular clusters. It is in fact, the discovery of the rapid -motion of the spiral nebulae away from the solar system that has given -rise to the conception of an expanding universe. - -But these discoveries were still largely in the future, and to return to -his books on the planetary system it may be noted that in the two larger -and more popular ones the general planetary theory is expounded in the -text, while the demonstrations of the more complex statements made, and -the mathematical calculations involved, are relegated to a mass of notes -at the end of the volume. - -The first of his books on the solar system is the small volume bearing -that title; but since all three of the books here described are several -expositions of the same subject it may be well to treat his views on -each topic in connection with the work in which he deals with it most -fully. Indeed, “The Solar System” is not a general treatise, but rather -a discussion of some striking points, and it is these which one thinks -of in connection therewith. - -In considering the origin of the planets he had become much interested -in the meteors, shooting stars, meteoric streams and comets, all or -almost all of which he regarded as parts of the solar system, revolving -about the Sun in elliptic orbits, often so eccentric as to appear -parabolas.[20] The old idea that comets came from outer space and -therefore travelled in hyperbolas can, he points out, be true of few, if -any, of them. “Very few, three or four perhaps, hint at hyperbolas. Not -one is such beyond question.” Many of them are associated with the -meteoric streams with which everyone is familiar at certain seasons of -the year. Indeed seventy-six of these associations were then known, and -comets sometimes break up into such streams. - -Now if the comets are travelling in orbits around the Sun they must be -throughout their course within its control, and not within that of some -other star; and therefore he computes how far the Sun’s control extends. -Taking for this purpose our nearest star, α Centauri, a double with a -total mass twice that of the Sun, at a distance of 275,000 astronomical -units, in other words that number of times our distance from the Sun, he -finds that the point at which its attraction and that of the Sun become -equal is 114,000 of these units. This he calls the extent of the Sun’s -domain, certainly an area large enough for any, or almost any, comet -known.[21] - -He then turns to some of the planets,—Mercury to show the effect of -tidal action in slowing the rotation of a planet or satellite, and -causing it to turn the same face always to its master.[22] This involved -a highly interesting comparison of Newton’s theory of the tides, long -generally accepted, but not taking enough account of the planet’s -rotation, and that of Sir George Darwin based upon the effect of such -rotation. The general conceptions are even more different than the -results, and the later theory is less concerned with the tides in -oceans, which probably affect only our Earth, than with those of a -planet in a fluid or viscous condition, which may still continue to some -extent after the surface has become partly solidified. He therefore -studies the tide raising force, and the tendency to retardation of -rotation, by the Sun on the planets, and by these on their satellites -while still in a fluid state, tabulating some very striking results. - -What he says about Mars is more fully dealt with in his other writings; -and the same is true of Saturn’s rings, except for the reference to the -calculation by Edward Roche of the limit of possible approach by a fluid -satellite to its planet without being disrupted, and for the fact that -this limit in Saturn’s case falls just beyond the outer edge of the -rings. In discussing Saturn’s satellites he brings out a curious analogy -between the order of distribution of these attendants of the three best -known major planets and the order of the planets themselves about the -Sun. In each case the largest of the bodies so revolving is nearly in -the centre of the line, as in the case of Jupiter among the planets; the -second largest the next, or not far, beyond, as in the case of Saturn; -while there is another maximum farther in, for as the Earth is larger -than any planet on either side until Jupiter is reached, so a like order -is found in the satellites of Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus. In other -words, the size in each case rises with increasing distance, falls off, -then rises again to the largest and thence declines. This he believed -cannot be an accidental coincidence, but the result of a law of -development as yet unexplained. - -To the ordinary reader the most novel thing he says about Jupiter -relates to its family of comets, for no less than thirty-two of these -bodies have their aphelia, or greatest distance from the Sun, near its -orbit. Moreover, their ascending nodes—that is the place where their -paths if inclined to the plane of the ecliptic pass through it—are close -to its orbit. At some time, therefore, in the vast ages of the past they -must have passed close to the planet, and if so have had their orbits -greatly changed by its attraction. He considers the various effects -Jupiter may have upon a comet, and shows—contrary to the opinion of -Professor H. A. Newton—that any such body moving by the attraction of -the Sun would be going too fast for Jupiter to capture completely. Then -he takes up other effects of deflection. The comet’s speed may be -accelerated and its direction changed even so much as to drive it out of -the solar system; it may be retarded so that its path is contracted and -the aphelion drawn nearer to the planet’s orbit. After calculating the -possible conditions and analyzing the actual orbits of Jupiter’s family, -he comes to the provisional conclusion that these comets have been drawn -from the neighborhood. “It is certain,” he says, “that Jupiter has swept -his neighborhood.... If we consider the comet aphelia of short-period -comets, we shall notice that they are clustered about the path of -Jupiter and the path of Saturn, thinning out to a neutral ground -between, where there are none. Two-thirds of the way from Jupiter’s -orbit to Saturn’s, space is clear of them, the centre of the gap falling -at 8.4 astronomical units from the sun.... - -“Jupiter is not the only planet that has a comet family. All the large -planets have the like. Saturn has a family of two, Uranus also of two, -Neptune of six; and the spaces between these planets are clear of comet -aphelia; the gaps prove the action. - -“Nor does the action, apparently, stop there. Plotting the aphelia of -all the comets that have been observed, we find, as we go out from the -Sun, clusters of them at first, representing, respectively, Jupiter’s, -Saturn’s, Uranus’, and Neptune’s family;[23] but the clusters do not -stop with Neptune. Beyond that planet is a gap, and then at 49 and 50 -astronomical units we find two more aphelia, and then nothing again till -we reach 75 units out. - -“This can hardly be accident; and if not chance, it means a planet out -there as yet unseen by man, but certain sometime to be detected and -added to the others. Thus not only are comets a part of our system now -recognized, but they act as finger-posts to planets not yet known.” - -We shall hear more of this last suggestion hereafter. - -In both “Mars as the Abode of Life” and “The Evolution of Worlds,” he -accepts the proposition that our present solar system began with a -collision with some dark body from interstellar space, as had been -suggested by Chamberlin and Moulton a few years before. He points out -that stars which have finished contracting, grown cold and ceased to be -luminous, must exist, and although we cannot see them directly we know -about some of them,—such as the dark companion of Algol, revolving -around it and cutting off two-thirds of its light every three days. Many -dark wanderers there must be, and the _novae_, as he says, are -sometimes, at least, due to a collision with such a body,—not -necessarily an actual impact, but an approach so near that the star is -sprung asunder by the tidal effect. In such a case the opposite sides of -the victim would be driven away from it, and if it was rotating would -form spirals. Now we know that the apparently empty spaces in our solar -system still contain a vast number of little meteoric particles, which -as judged from their velocity do not fall from outer space, but are -members of our system travelling in their own orbits around the sun. As -he puts it, “Could we rise a hundred miles above the Earth’s surface we -should be highly sorry we came, for we should incontinently be killed by -flying brickbats. Instead of masses of a sunlike size we should have to -do with bits of matter on the average smaller than ourselves[24] but -hardly on that account innocuous, as they would strike us with fifteen -hundred times the speed of an express train.” That these meteorites are -moving in the same direction as the Earth he shows by an ingenious -calculation of the proportion that in such a case would be seen at -sunrise and sunset, which accords with the observed facts. Moreover, -their chemical composition shows that they were once parts of a great -hot body from which they have been expelled. - -The meteorites that are seen because they become hot and luminous in -traversing our atmosphere, and occasionally fall upon the Earth, are the -remnants of vastly larger numbers formerly circling about the sun, but -which, by collision and attraction, were, as he describes, gathered into -great masses, thus forming the planets. The force of gravity gradually -compacted these fragments closer and closer together, thereby generating -heat which if the body were homogeneous would be in proportion to the -square of its mass. The larger the planet therefore the more heat it -would generate, and owing to the fact that mass is in proportion to the -cube and its radiating surface to the square of the diameter the slower -it would radiate, and thus lose, its heat, so that the larger ones would -be hotter and remain hot longer than the smaller ones. - -Some of the planets may once have been white-hot, and luminous of -themselves, some were certainly red-hot, some only darkly warm; all -growing cooler after the amount radiated exceeded the amount generated. -Now by the difference in the heat generated and retained by the larger -and smaller bodies he explains the diverse appearance of those whose -surfaces we know, the Earth, Mars and the Moon. As the surface cools it -forms a crust, but if the interior still remains molten it will continue -to contract, the crust will be too large for it and crinkle, like the -skin of a dried apple; and this will be more true of a large than a -small body. “In like manner is volcanic action relatively increased, and -volcanoes arise, violent and widespread, in proportion; since these are -vents by which the molten matter under pressure within finds exit -abroad.” By a calculation, which agrees with the formula of Laplace, he -finds that the effective internal heat of the Earth might be 10,000 -degrees Fahrenheit, enough to account for all the phenomena; and for -Mars only 2,000, which is below the melting point of iron, and would not -cause volcanic action. Now the observations of Mars at Flagstaff show -that there can be no mountains on it more than two or three thousand -feet high, and that the surface is singularly flat. - -But here he met a difficulty; for the Moon ought to be flatter still if -it had evolved in the ordinary way, whereas it has enormous volcanic -cones, craters 17,000 feet high, some exceeding 100 miles in diameter, -and a range of mountains rising to nearly 30,000 feet. An explanation he -finds in the analysis of the action of the tides in the Earth-Moon -system by Sir George Darwin, who showed that when traced backward it -“lands us at a time when the Moon might have formed a part of the -Earth’s mass, the two rotating together as a single pear-shaped body in -about five hours.... For in that event the internal heat which the Moon -carried away with it must have been that of the parent body—the amount -the Earth-Moon had been able to amass. Thus the Moon was endowed from -the start of its separate existence with an amount of heat the falling -together of its own mass could never have generated. Thus its great -craters and huge volcanic cones stand explained. It did not originate as -a separate body, but had its birth in a rib of Earth.”[25] - -The Flagstaff site having been selected for the purpose of planetary -observation yielded facts less easily detected elsewhere. Mercury, for -instance, is so near the Sun that it could be observed in the dark only -a short time after sunset and before sunrise, an obstacle that gave rise -to errors of fact. Schiaparelli led the way to better results by -observing this planet in broad daylight. Up to that time it had been -supposed to rotate on its axis in about twenty-four hours, and therefore -to have a day and night like those of the Earth, but daylight -observation showed him markings constant on its illuminated face, and -therefore that it turns nearly the same side to the Sun. Before knowing -his conclusions, and therefore independently, the study of Mercury was -taken up at Flagstaff in 1896, and the result was a complete -corroboration of his work. It showed that, as in the case of the Moon -with the Earth, tidal action on the still partially fluid mass had -slowed its rotation until it has little with regard to the central body -around which it revolves. He discovered also other facts about Mercury, -which Schiaparelli had not, that its size, mass and density had not been -accurately measured. - -A similar discovery about the period of rotation had been made in the -case of Venus. For more than two centuries astronomers had felt sure -that this period was just under twenty-four hours, figured, indeed, to -the minute. But again it was Schiaparelli who doubted, and once more by -observing the planet at noon; when he noted that the markings on the -disk did not change from day to day, and concluded that the same side -was always pointed at the Sun. At Flagstaff in 1896 his observations -were verified and the inference later confirmed by the spectroscope, -which was, indeed, first brought to the Observatory for that purpose. -Thus Venus, which from its distance from the Sun, its size and density, -is most like the Earth, turns out to be in a totally different -condition, one face baked by unending glare, the other chilled in -interstellar night, and as he puts it: “To Venus the Sun stands -substantially stock-still in the sky,— ... No day, no seasons, -practically no year, diversifies existence or records the flight of -time. Monotony eternalized,—such is Venus’ lot.”[26] - -On the movements and physical condition of the Earth it was needless to -dwell, and he passed to the asteroids. He describes how they began to be -discovered at the beginning of the last century by searching for a -planet that would fill a gap in Bode’s law. This, a formula of -arithmetical progression for the distances of the planets from the Sun, -has proved not to be a law at all, especially since the discovery of -Neptune which is much nearer than the formula required; but for nearly a -century it had a strong influence on astronomic thought, and the gap in -the series between Mars and Jupiter was searched for the missing link. -Two were found, then two more, about the middle of the last century -another, and then many, smaller and smaller, until by the time Percival -wrote six hundred were known, and their number seems limitless. Only the -four first found, he remarks, exceed a hundred miles in diameter, the -greater part being hardly over ten or twenty. But here he points out a -notable fact, that they are not evenly distributed throughout this -space; and although massed in a series growing thicker toward its centre -there are many gaps, even close to the centre, where few or no asteroids -are found. Now it is the large size and attraction of Jupiter by which -Percival explains the presence of asteroids with gaps in their ranks, -instead of a planet, in the space between it and Mars; but we shall hear -much more of this subject when we come to his work on Saturn’s rings and -the order in the distribution of the planets. - -Jupiter, he tells us, having a mass 318 times that of the Earth, and a -volume 1400 times as large, is much less dense, not much more than -water, in short still fluid; and as it has a tremendous spin, rotating -in less than ten hours, it is more oblate than the Earth; that is, the -diameter at its equator is larger in proportion to that from pole to -pole. The observations at Flagstaff brought out some interesting facts: -first, that the dark belts of cloud that surround it are red, looking as -if the planet within were still molten;[27] second, that the bright -central belt lies exactly upon its equator, without regard to, and hence -independent of, its tilt toward the Sun, and that the belts of cloud on -each side appear at the planet’s morning just as they left it in the -evening. All which shows that Jupiter’s cloud formation is not due to -the Sun, but to its own internal heat, an interpretation of the -phenomena that has a direct bearing on his explanation of the Earth’s -carboniferous age. - -Saturn is still less dense, even more oblate; but its most extraordinary -feature is of course the rings. Assumed by the early astronomers to be -solid and continuous, they were later shown to have concentric -intervals, and to be composed of discrete particles. They have usually -been supposed flat, but when the position of the planet was such that -they were seen on edge knots or beads appeared upon them; and in 1907 -these were studied critically at Flagstaff, when it was found that the -shadows of the rings on the planet were not uniform, but had dark cores; -these thicker places lying on the outer margin of each ring where it -came to one of the intervals. These phenomena he explained in the same -way as the distribution of the intervals among the asteroids.[28] - -About Uranus and Neptune he tells us in this book little that was not -known, and save for their orbits, masses and satellites not much was -known of their condition. But later, in 1911, the spectroscope at -Flagstaff determined the rotation period of Uranus, afterwards precisely -duplicated at the Lick; and later still the spectral bands in the vast -atmosphere of the giant planets were identified as due to methane, or -marsh, gas.[29] - - - - - CHAPTER XV - LATER EVOLUTION OF THE PLANETS - - -After the planets had been formed through the aggregation of revolving -fragments driven off by the catastrophic collision from the Sun, and -after they had attained their maximum heat in the process, they began, -he says, to go through six stages: - -I. The Sun-Stage, when they were white-hot and gave out light. This -could have been true only of the largest ones if any. - -II. The Molten Stage, when they were still red-hot, but not enough to -give light, in which are now the four great outer planets. - -III. The Solidifying Stage, when a crust formed, and the surface -features of the planet began to assume their character. Here the science -of geology takes its start with the metamorphic rocks, and it is the -dividing line between the inner, smaller, and the outer, larger, -planets. - -IV. The Terraqueous Stage, when the surface has become substantially -stable, there are great oceans gradually diminishing in size, and land -gradually increasing. This is the stage of the sedimentary rocks, the -time when the planet passes from its own supply of heat to dependence -upon that of the sun; the stage when life begins, and the one in which -the Earth is now. - -V. The Terrestrial Stage, when the oceans have disappeared, and water is -scarce, the one in which Mars is now. - -VI. The Dead Stage, where are already the Moon and the satellites of -other planets. - -On the question of the origin of life Percival took the mechanistic -view: “Upon the fall of the temperature to the condensing point of -water, occurred another event in the evolution of our planet, the Earth, -and one of great import to us: life arose. For with the formation of -water, protoplasm (the physical basis of all plants and animals) first -became possible, what may be called the life molecule then coming into -existence. By it, starting in a simple, lowly way, and growing in -complexity with time, all vegetable and animal forms have since been -gradually built up. In itself the organic molecule is only a more -intricate chemical combination of the same elements of which the -inorganic substances which preceded it are composed.... There is now no -more reason to doubt that plants grew out of chemical affinity than to -doubt that stones did. Spontaneous generation is as certain as -spontaneous variation, of which it is, in fact, only an expression.” - -Life, he believed, began in the oceans soon after they had cooled below -the boiling point, and spread all over them; seaweeds and trilobites -existed in France, Siberia and the Argentine, their nearest relatives -being now confined to the tropics; coral reefs, now found only in warm -equatorial seas, have left their traces within eight degrees of the -pole. This looks as if in paleozoic times the oceans were uniformly -warm. The same record he finds in the plants of the carboniferous age. -Gigantic ferns and other cryptogams grew to an immense size, with vast -rapidity and without stopping, for there are no annual rings of growth, -no signs of the effect of seasons, no flowers, and little or no color. -“Two attributes of the climate this state of things attests. First, it -was warm everywhere with a warmth probably surpassing that of the -tropics of to-day; and, second, the light was tempered to a half-light -known now only under heavy clouds. And both these conditions were -virtually general in locality and continuous in time.” In the later -volume he adds, to corroborate the general darkness, that many of the -earlier trilobites, who lived in shallow water, were blind, while others -had colossal eyes. - -Various theories have been advanced to explain the carboniferous age, -which he reviews, showing why they do not account for the facts. His own -is that while the oceans were still hot a vast steaming must have gone -up from them, forming clouds of great density that would keep the sun’s -heat and light out, and the warmth of the Earth in. “In paleozoic times, -then, it was the Earth itself, not the Sun, to which plant and animal -primarily stood beholden for existence. This gives us a most instructive -glimpse into one planetologic process. To the planet’s own internal heat -is due the chief fostering of the beginnings of life upon its -surface.”[30] - -But he points out that a time must have come when the Earth, and -especially its seas, had cooled, the envelope of dense cloud had -gradually been pierced, and the sun’s rays let in. Then began the sharp -alternation of day and night, the changes in the seasons and the -diversity of climates, when the palms descended to the tropics, and the -flora and fauna as we know them started to develop. This is the period -when the Sun was dominant, or the Sun-Sustained Stage, the one in which -we live. - -Later the Earth went through another experience of which the facts are -well known, but the date and cause have puzzled astronomers and -geologists alike, for it lies in the twilight zone between the regions -they illuminate. It is the Glacial Periods. He discusses the theory of -Croll, once largely accepted but now abandoned, that these periods were -due to a change in the eccentricity of the Earth’s orbit, combined with -a progression of the equinoxes, which so altered the seasons that the -northern hemisphere would have summers hot but too short to melt the -snow and ice accumulated in the long cold winters. In fact Percival had -already reviewed this theory some years before in a paper presented to -the American Philosophic Society (Proc. Vol. XXXIX, No. 164) in which he -showed that the eccentricity and inclination of axis in Mars are very -close to those Croll had attributed to the Earth, and yet a glacial -period does not exist there. In the case of Mars it is the southern -hemisphere that should be glaciated, but in fact, although that pole has -the larger extent of snow in winter this sometimes disappears wholly in -the summer, which is never true at the northern pole. If, indeed, the -amount of ice formed were much larger it would not be melted, so that -the amount of water falling and frozen, and not the eccentricity or -inclination of the axis, would be the cause of an ice age. - -But he had another reason for rejecting Croll’s theory, and, indeed, for -disbelieving in a general ice age altogether. It was that the glaciation -does not appear to proceed from the pole, but from various distinct -centres, moving from them in all directions, north as well as south; -while some places, like northern Siberia, that one would expect to be -covered with ice, were not so covered. Nor was the greater cold confined -to the northern hemisphere, for on some mountains at the equator, and -even at the south pole, there was more ice and snow than there is -to-day. His explanation is that certain parts of the Earth’s surface -were for some reason raised higher than they are now; and from the snow -mountains or plateaus so formed the sheets of ice flowed down. - -The remainder of the book on “Mars as the Abode of Life”—and it is the -larger part of it—contains the reasons for believing that Mars is -inhabited, the canals artificial, and that the Earth will in like manner -gradually lose its supply of water. But this argument need not be -retraced here, because with it the reader has already been made -familiar. “The Evolution of Worlds” ends with a chapter entitled “Death -of a World”; for to him the whole theory of planetary evolution is a -vast drama, albeit with a tragic close. He describes four ways in which -a planet, and all life thereon, may be destroyed. Three of these are: -the effect of tidal action that would bring the same face always toward -the Sun; the loss of water and atmosphere; and the cooling and final -extinction of the Sun. All these things he cheerfully reminds us are -sure to happen, but at a time enormously distant. The other is a -collision with a star—“That any of the lucent stars, the stars commonly -so called, could collide with the Sun, or come near enough to amount to -the same thing, is demonstrably impossible for aeons of years. But this -is far from the case for a dark star. Such a body might well be within a -hundredth of the distance of the nearest of our known neighbors.... Our -senses could only be cognizant of its proximity by the borrowed light it -reflected from our own Sun.” A collision of this kind might happen at -any time, but he consoles us by saying that “judged by any scale of time -we know, the chance of such occurrence is immeasurably remote.” In an -earlier part of the book he describes what its advent would be: - -“We can calculate how much warning we should have of the coming -catastrophe. The Sun with its retinue is speeding through space at the -rate of eleven miles a second toward a point near the bright star Vega. -Since the tramp would probably also be in motion with a speed comparable -with our own, it might hit us coming from any point in space, the -likelihood depending upon the direction and amount of its own speed. So -that at the present moment such a body may be in any part of the sky. -But the chances are greatest if it be coming from the direction toward -which the Sun is travelling, since it would then be approaching us head -on. If it were travelling itself as fast as the Sun, its relative speed -of approach would be twenty-two miles a second. - -“The previousness of the warning would depend upon the stranger’s size. -The warning would be long according as the stranger was large. Let us -assume it the mass of the Sun, a most probable supposition. Being dark, -it must have cooled to a solid, and its density therefore be much -greater than the Sun’s, probably something like eight times as great, -giving it a diameter about half his or four hundred and thirty thousand -miles. Its apparent brightness would depend both upon its distance and -upon its intrinsic brightness or albedo, and this last would itself vary -according to its distance from the Sun.... We shall assume, therefore, -that its brilliancy would be only that of the Moon, remembering that the -last stages of its fateful journey would be much more resplendently set -off. - -“With these data we can find how long it would be visible before the -collision occurred. As a very small telescopic star it would undoubtedly -escape detection. It is not likely that the stranger would be noticed -simply from its appearance until it had attained the eleventh magnitude. -It would then be one hundred and forty-nine astronomical units from the -Sun or at five times the distance of Neptune. But its detection would -come about not through the eye of the body, but through the eye of the -mind. Long before it could have attracted man’s attention to itself -directly its effects would have betrayed it. Previous, indeed, to its -possible showing in any telescope the behavior of the outer planets of -the system would have revealed its presence. The far plummet of man’s -analysis would have sounded the cause of their disturbance and pointed -out the point from which that disturbance came. Celestial mechanics -would have foretold, as once the discovery of another planet, so now the -end of the world. Unexplained perturbations in the motions of the -planets, the far tremors of its coming, would have spoken to astronomers -as the first heralding of the stranger and of the destruction it was -about to bring. Neptune and Uranus would begin to deviate from their -prescribed paths in a manner not to be accounted for except by the -action of some new force. Their perturbations would resemble those -caused by an unknown exterior planet, but with this difference that the -period of the disturbance would be exactly that of the disturbed -planet’s own period of revolution round the Sun. - -“Our exterior sentinels might fail thus to give us warning of the -foreign body because of being at the time in the opposite parts of their -orbits. We should then be first apprised of its coming by Saturn, which -would give us less prefatory notice. - -“It would be some twenty-seven years from the time it entered the range -of vision of our present telescopes before it rose to that of the -unarmed eye. It would then have reached forty-nine astronomical units’ -distance, or two-thirds as far again as Neptune. From here, however, its -approach would be more rapid. Humanity by this time would have been made -acquainted with its sinister intent from astronomic calculation, and -would watch its slow gaining in conspicuousness with ever growing alarm. -During the next three years it would have ominously increased to a first -magnitude star, and two years and three months more have reached the -distance of Jupiter and surpassed by far in lustre Venus at her -brightest. - -“Meanwhile the disturbance occasioned not simply in the outer planets -but in our own Earth would have become very alarming indeed. The seasons -would have been already greatly changed, and the year itself lengthened, -and all these changes fraught with danger to everything upon the Earth’s -face would momentarily grow worse. In one hundred and forty-five days -from the time it passed the distance of Jupiter it would reach the -distance of the Earth. Coming from Vega, it would not hit the Earth or -any of the outer planets, as the Sun’s way is inclined to the planetary -planes by some sixty degrees, but the effects would be none the less -marked for that. Day and night alone of our astronomic relations would -remain. It would be like going mad and yet remaining conscious of the -fact. Instead of following the Sun we should now in whole or part, -according to the direction of its approach, obey the stranger. For -nineteen more days this frightful chaos would continue; as like some -comet glorified a thousand fold the tramp dropped silently upon the Sun. -Toward the close of the nineteenth day the catastrophe would occur, and -almost in merciful deliverance from the already chaotic cataclysm and -the yet greater horror of its contemplation, we should know no -more.”[31] - - - - - CHAPTER XVI - INTERLUDES - - -Naturally Percival’s observations of Mars, and still more the -conclusions he drew from them, provoked widespread attention among -astronomers, some of whom were convinced, while some withheld judgment -and others were very frankly disbelievers. This did not amaze him, for -he felt that new ideas made their way slowly, and had always done so. He -met objections, argued his case and expected ultimate acceptance of his -views. Perhaps not less naturally the popular interest was also great. -Newspapers as well as periodicals all over America, in England, France, -Germany and other countries, published and discussed his views, -especially, of course, on the existence of intelligent beings on Mars -and their artificial canals upon its surface. Marconi was reported as -saying that within a few years we should be in wireless communication -with them. - -Meanwhile his life had been going on at the usual furious pace; -lecturing here and there; writing for scientific journals, mostly, but -not wholly, on planets, satellites etc.; managing his own property and -his father’s estate; keeping in constant touch with his computers in -Boston and his observers at Flagstaff, worrying over the health of one -of them whom he urges to take a vacation and recruit; and also standing -his watch as observer himself. A watch it was, “Jupiter before dinner -and Mars at 4 A.M.” There was also a large correspondence with -astronomers and others who were interested in his work. To one of the -latter he writes on December 14, 1907: “In answer to your note of Dec. -5, which has been forwarded to me here, I beg to say that the best and -final education must always be given by one’s self.” - -Although the canals had already been photographed, he was not yet free -from the doubters of the actuality of his observations, for on May 15th -of that year we find him writing to Professor Simon Newcomb—then at the -height of his great reputation who had suggested that the comparative -continuity of the canals was an optical illusion, a long letter giving -the reasons for believing that this could not be so, but that they must -be as observed.[32] The proof of this he was seeking to make more clear, -and in this same year he sent Dr. Slipher, with Professor Todd of -Amherst College, on an expedition to the Andes to take more photographs -of Mars, which appeared in the _Century_ for December. - -But it was not all work. The hospitality of the Observatory was kept up; -visiting astronomers and friends lent a gayety to the place. Mr. George -Agassiz, for example, long his friend in many labors, was there for many -months in 1907 and 1909, helping greatly in his observations;[33] the -late Professor Edward S. Morse at sundry times, and Professor Robert W. -Willson in 1909 and 1914. He was also in kindly relations with his -neighbors, who were “courteous enough to ask me to talk, and I am deep -in addresses.” In fact some of them were constantly urging him to stand -for Senator from the State. He was interested also in children, and in -March, 1908, he is sending word to Dr. Slipher about a little girl from -Texas eight years old who is to pass through Flagstaff, and asks -permission to look through his big telescope as she “just loves -astronomy.” He was fond of telling about his meeting a negro tending -chickens to whom he suggested keeping a watch on them the next day -because they would go to roost about eleven o’clock; and they did, for -there was an eclipse of the sun. Some days later he met the negro again, -who expressed astonishment at his knowing in advance that the chickens -would go to roost, and asked if he had known it a week before. Yes, he -had known it then. “Did you know it a month before?” “Yes, I knew it a -month before.” “Did you know it a year before?” “Yes, I knew it a year -before.” “But those chickens weren’t born then!” Had he lived to the -present day he might have discovered a resemblance to some tendencies in -ideas about the present depression. - -Nor were his thoughts confined to this country, for in August, 1905, he -writes to a friend: “I go to Japan this autumn, but how and when I have -not yet decided.” His old interest remained, and in April 1908, he -arranged an exhibition in Boston by a Shinto priest of walking over hot -coals and up a ladder of sword blades. “The place,” he says, “was full -and the audience gratified at being asked. While in the distance people -outside the pale stood on carts and boys even to the tops of far off -houses, one perched on the tip of a chimney. Dr. Suga cut himself -slightly but not seriously. He did very well considering, though it was -not possible of course for a poor lone priest to come up to what he -might have done in Japan. The rite was beautifully set forth and the -setting of the whole enclosure worthy the most artistic people in the -world. Policemen kept out the crowd and stared aghast, and altogether it -was a relished function.” - -He probably would have been greatly grieved had he been told that he -would never revisit the land where he had spent so much of his earlier -life and thought; but astronomy was now his dominant occupation, and was -constantly presenting new questions to engross his attention and fill -his time. Yet in the years when Mars was not in opposition this did not -prevent, indeed it rather stimulated, visits to Europe, where he saw his -astronomical friends, and lectured on his discoveries; for he was a -member of the National Astronomic Societies of France and Germany, had -received from the former in 1904 the Janssen medal for his researches on -Mars, and in 1907 Mr. Lampland that of the Royal Photographic Society of -Great Britain for the work on the planets. We find him across the ocean -in the summer of 1906, lunching with Sir Robert Ball in Cambridge, -Deslandres and Flammarion in Paris, and “pegging away” there at his -lectures. - -Two years later, on June 10, 1908, he married Miss Constance Savage -Keith, and they went abroad at the end of the month. When in London they -met his first cousin, A. Lawrence Rotch, the meteorologist, who like him -had established and directed, at his own expense, an observatory for the -study of his subject; in this case on Blue Hill near Boston. Percival -wanted to photograph measurable lines to see how they appeared in a -camera from the air. So he went up with his cousin in a balloon, and -obtained photographs of the paths in Hyde Park which came out very well. -His wife also went up with them; and, what with his reputation, the -ascent in a balloon and their recent marriage, the event was too much -for a reporter to resist; and there appeared in a newspaper an imaginary -picture of an astronomer and a bride in a wedding dress taking their -honeymoon in the basket of a balloon. They travelled together in -England, Switzerland, Germany and France, and she recalls, when he was -giving a lecture at the Sorbonne, a sudden exclamation from a Frenchman -directly behind her: “Why! He is even clever in French!” - -Mrs. Lowell has written an account of the diligence, the enthusiasm, the -hardships of Percival and his colleagues, and the spirit of Flagstaff: - -“In October, soon after our return from Europe, I discovered that the -scientist’s motto is—“Time is sacred.” I was to meet him on the train -for Flagstaff leaving the South Station at 2 P.M.; anxious to impress -him with my reputation for being punctual, I boarded the train about ten -minutes before two. Percival came into the car, holding his watch in his -hand, just about two minutes before two. He turned to me: “What time -were you here?” I answered triumphantly: “Oh, I got here about ten -minutes ago.” His reply was: “I consider that just as unpunctual as to -be late. Think how much could have been accomplished in ten minutes!” I -have never forgotten that remark. Percival never wasted minutes. - -“Late in the afternoon of the third day, as we were nearing Flagstaff, -through the dusk we could see that there had been a heavy fall of snow, -so deep that when the train stopped our Pullman, being far in the rear, -was where the snow—not having been shovelled—was almost level with the -upper step. The men from the Observatory were there, and their first -words were ‘Seeing Good.’ Percival jumped into the deep snow, and taking -Mr. E. C. Slipher with him, drove to the telescope. - -“Astronomers take much for granted so far as the details of domestic -life are concerned, and I made up my mind to be a help and not a -hindrance. Dr. V. M. Slipher’s wife came to the rescue, and under her -supervision things were soon adjusted even to a hot supper and -preparation for breakfast the next morning. She was, and always is, a -wonder. Though the wife be not an astronomer a happy asset is it if she -can appreciate her husband’s work, his sacrifices and self-denials. Many -times have I seen their frost-bitten ears and thumbs; hungry and tired -men, but never complaining—patience personified. They are slaves to the -laws that rule the celestial. - -“The house we lived in on Mars Hill was a long rambling one, both roof -and sides shingled. Inside all but two rooms were finished, and -partitioned. Two were papered; one of them I papered because no paper -hanger happened to be in town. Occasionally Percival would come in to -see how the work was progressing, and help by steadying the ladder or -stirring the paste. The sitting room—or den, as it was referred to more -often—was lined with half logs from which the bark had not been -stripped. In the ceiling were logs used as beams. During the evening, -when all was quiet, one might hear insects busily working out some -scheme of their own. Open spaces were beamed and, as the logs did not -exactly fit, through the spaces trade-rats would descend from the attic. - -“To love nature, and the one for whom one works, it matters not where -one is; that is what one realizes when on Mars Hill. One learns to go -without things. They seem of such minor importance to that for which the -men are seeking; one gets ashamed of oneself to think otherwise. Each -man moves with a definite purpose, indefatigable workers, no thought of -themselves when skies are clear, always watching, cold or torrid heat -makes no difference, work goes on just the same. - -“I became deeply impressed with the necessity of obedience to laws. I -said once to Percival that I had been asked if it were true that he was -an atheist, a non-believer. His answer was that he believed in keeping -the laws; what chaos would happen if they were not. Often he would quote -passages from the Bible—[Genesis I, 14-20]. The laws made on Mount -Sinai, he said, are still the same laws to obey. To live in the -atmosphere of such men accomplishing great things, deprived of many -material comforts, makes one feel humble and spurs one on to ‘Help and -not to hinder.’ - -“Servants we often had to do without. They would come out with us, and -then after a few days, learning of the nearness to the Pacific coast, -the lure of California would bring from them some lame excuse to leave, -at once! To obtain others, when none were to be had in the town, I would -have to go to Los Angeles. Finally, after several had left, I persuaded -Percival to let me try to do the cooking; and later he would refer to -that time as happy peaceful days. With the help of the kind wives, Mrs. -Slipher and Mrs. Lampland, I learned much, how to make bread and -soup,—two very essential articles in our household,—and to get up -camping outfits and quick meals for unexpected guests. - -“Lonesome, monotonous—never. Distant as Mars Hill may be from large -cities, something of interest was happening continually. The State -Normal School of Arizona is in the town, and on certain nights classes -of students were brought up the hill to look through the telescope. -Flagstaff is on the main line of the Santa Fe. There were three incoming -trains from the East each day, and as many from the West, and many -people stop off there to visit the different points of interest, the -Lowell Observatory being one. - -“In August, 1910, a group of astronomers, representing the International -Union for Coöperation in Solar Research, debarked from the train, on -their way to Pasadena; Professor Herbert H. Turner from England among -them. He it was who many years later suggested for Percival’s ‘Planet X’ -the name Pluto. The group, of about thirty, arrived by the first morning -train and stayed at the Observatory until the last train left at night. -The one thing that I was successful in getting enough of for lunch and -dinner was watermelon. It proved a happy hit; for a year or two -afterward, when telling how much they enjoyed their visit, the -watermelons were spoken of as being such a treat. It was a hot day and -the melons were cold; probably that explained their enthusiasm. - -“One Christmas we invited all the children of Flagstaff to come to the -Observatory for a Christmas tree and supper. Percival dressed as Santa -Claus and spoke to them down the chimney; then he came down into the -Library where they were gathered about the tree, and gave a present and -candy to every child. That was twenty-seven years ago. When I was in -Flagstaff this spring, the little child I had held in my lap while -Percival read ‘The Night Before Christmas’ came to speak to me and told -me never would she forget that Christmas, and that her two little -children repeatedly asked her to tell them the story of that Christmas -and all that happened at the Santa Claus party on Mars Hill.” - -In a recent letter to Mrs. Lowell, Dr. Lampland also gives a glimpse -into Percival’s life at Flagstaff; and though written to refresh her -recollections she preferred to insert it as it stands. - -“Fresh in memory and pleasant to recall are your many visits to -Flagstaff and your activities at the Observatory, where you were -designing and supervising architect, carrying through the additions to -the director’s residence, the garage, and the new administration -building. And I also remember your valued help to us in connection with -the house in which we live and your telegram ‘Mr. Lowell gives -benediction and sanction to plans. Proceed.’” - -He then goes on to tell of Percival’s friends from both West and East, -and continues: - -“You remember he was an enthusiastic gardener and always had a garden -here at the Observatory. He had great success with many flowers and I -recall especially fine displays of hollyhocks, zinnias, and a -considerable variety of bulbs. Gourds, squashes and pumpkins were also -great favorites. You will remember one year the especially fine -collection of gourds and that bumper crop of huge pumpkins, many prize -specimens being sugar fed. At times Dr. Lowell could be seen in the -short intervals he took for outdoor recreation, busy with his little -camel’s hair brush pollenizing some of the flowers. And perhaps you will -remember the little record book lying on the back veranda containing his -observations of the daily growth of the diameter of the gourds, all -measured carefully with little calipers. Then the frequent, almost -daily, walks on the mesa. Certainly he knew all the surrounding country -better than anyone here. He would refer to the different places such as -Wolf Canyon, Amphitheatre Canyon, Indian Paint Brush Ridge, Holly -Ravine, Mullein Patch, etc. In these walks he seemed to be constantly -observing something new and of course trees, flowers, and wild life -always interested him. Trees were an endless source of interest to him -and he took many trips to more distant localities for these studies. -Cedars or junipers seemed to be favorite subjects for study, though -other varieties or kinds were not overlooked. An oak and an ash were -named after him, new species that were discovered on the Observatory -mesa and in Sycamore Canyon. - -“At every season of the year he always found something in wild life to -fascinate him, and you will remember his observations and notes of -butterflies, birds, squirrels, rabbits, coyotes, deer and other -inhabitants of the mesa. These friends must never be disturbed or -harmed. But it was permissible to hunt with a camera! And he himself -delighted with his kodak, photographing footprints, etc., and often -attempting to get exposures of the creatures themselves. The Observatory -grounds were a sanctuary for wild life. - -“For many of us an interesting side of eminent personages is to know -something about their activities, such for example as reading, outside -of their professional occupations. In Dr. Lowell’s case you should find -ample opportunity to treat a subject that will not admit of monotony. It -would seem that practically every field of knowledge interested him. For -the lighter reading as a relaxing and restful diversion you will -remember the full bookshelves of detective stories, travel, exploration, -etc. Accounts of adventure and discoveries, if well written, were -welcome to his list of miscellaneous reading. The Latin classics were -always near at hand, and widely and well had he read them, and much were -they prized as friends in his later life. - -“As you know, it is not easy for the observing astronomer to lead a -strictly regular life in that the hours at the telescope often make it -necessary to use, for the much needed rest, part of the daily hours -usually given to work. His intense occupation with his research -problems, however, was broken with great regularity for short intervals -before lunch and dinner. These times of recreation were given to walks -on the mesa or work in the garden. When night came, if he was not -occupied at the telescope, he was generally to be found in his den. It -was not always possible for him to lay aside his research problems at -this time of the day, but he did have some wholesome views on the -necessity of recreation and a necessary amount of leisure to prevent a -person from falling into the habit of the ‘grind.’ To those who came to -his den the picture of some difficult technical work near his chair, -such as Tisserand’s _Mechanique Celeste_ will be recalled, though he -might at the time be occupied with reading of a lighter character. And -occasionally during the evening he might be seen consulting certain -difficult parts upon which he was pondering.... - -“The famous outing to the White Mountains was often the subject of much -amusement at the dinner parties when Dr. Lowell and Judge Doe were both -there. In later years that famous expedition seemed to be an -inexhaustible source of fun—the voracious mosquitoes, the discomforts of -a camp and beds under water, atrocious coffee, and so on!! - -“And this reminds me of many dinner parties on Dr. Lowell’s and Judge -Doe’s birthdays. These were jolly gatherings, and the brilliant repartee -passing between Dr. Lowell and the Judge was a great delight to those -who were present. - -“Many things about the place often remind me of the intensely busy days -before Dr. Lowell passed away. There were several excursions for his -tree studies, to Sycamore Canyon, an arduous trip, and to other -localities near Flagstaff for further studies of different species of -junipers in their native habitat. The specimens were carefully sorted -and packed for Professor Sargent of the Arnold Arboretum. Then I -remember helping him plant many bulbs on the last two days before he was -fatally stricken. The squills he planted at that time in the little bed -under the oak tree near the entrance of the B. M. return every -spring.”[34] - - - - - CHAPTER XVII - THE EFFECT OF COMMENSURATE PERIODS - The Asteroids and Saturn’s Rings - - -Ever inquiring, ever fertile, his mind turned to seek the explanation of -divers astronomical phenomena. In 1912, for example, under the title -“Precession and the Pyramids,” we find him discussing in the _Popular -Science Monthly_ the pyramid of Cheops as an astronomical observatory, -with its relation to the position of the star then nearest to the North -Pole, its lines of light and shadow, in a great gallery constructed with -the object of recording the exact changes in the seasons. - -But leaving aside these lesser interests, and the unbroken systematic -observation of the planets, his attention in the later years of his life -was chiefly occupied by two subjects, not unconnected, but which may be -described separately. They are, first, the influence over each other’s -position and orbits of two bodies, both revolving about a far larger -one; and, second, the search for an outer planet beyond the path of -Neptune. Each of these studies involved the use of mathematics with -expanding series of equations which no one had better attempt to follow -unless he is fresh and fluent in such forms of expression. For accurate -and quantitative results they are absolutely essential, but an -impression of what he was striving to do may be given without them. - -Two bodies revolving about a common centre at different distances, and -therefore different rates of revolution, will sometimes be on the same -side of the central body, and thus nearer together; sometimes on -opposite sides, when they will be much farther apart. Now it is clear -that the attraction of gravity, being inversely as the square of the -distance, will be greatest when they are nearest together; and if this -happens at the same point in their orbits every time they approach each -other the effect will be cumulative, and in the aggregate much larger -than if they approach at different parts of their orbits and hence pull -each other sometimes in one direction and sometimes in another. To use a -homely, and not altogether apt, illustration: If a man, starting from -his front door, walk every day across his front lawn in the same track -he will soon make a beaten path and wear the grass away. If, instead, he -walk by this path only every other day and on the alternate days by -another, he will make two paths, neither of which will be so much worn. -If he walk by three tracks in succession the paths will be still less -worn; and if he never walk twice in the same place the effect on the -grass will be imperceptible. - -Now, if the period taken by the outer body to complete its orbit be just -twice as long as that taken by the inner, they will not come close -together again until the outer one has gone round once to the inner -one’s twice, and they will always approach at the same point in their -orbits. Hence the effects on each other will be greatest. If the outer -one take just two turns while the inner takes three they will approach -again only at the same point, but less frequently; so that the pull will -be always the same, but repeated less often. This will be clearly true -whenever the rates of the revolution differ by unity: _e.g._, 1 to 2, 2 -to 3, 3 to 4, 4 to 5, etc. - -Take another case where the periods differ by two; for example, where -the inner body revolves about the central one three times while the -outer one does so once; in that case the inner one will catch up with -the outer when the latter has completed half a revolution and the inner -one and a half; and again when the outer has completed one whole -revolution and the inner three. In this case there will be two strong -pulls on opposite sides of the orbits, and, as these pulls are not the -same, the total effect will be less than if there were only one pull in -one direction. This is true whenever the periods of revolution differ by -two, _e.g._, 1 to 3, 3 to 5, 5 to 7. If the periods differ by three the -two bodies will approach three times,—once at the starting point, then -one third way round, and again two thirds way round, before they reach -the starting point; three different pulls clearly less effective. - -In cases like these, where the two bodies approach in only a limited -number of places in their orbits the two periods of revolution are -called commensurate, because their ratio is expressed by a simple -fraction. The effect is greater as the number of such places in the -orbit is less, and as the number of revolutions before they approach is -less. But it is clearly greater than when the two bodies approach always -at different places in their orbits, never again where they have done so -before. This is when the two periods are incommensurate, so that their -ratio cannot be expressed by any vulgar fraction. One other point must -be noticed. The commensurate orbit, and hence the distance from the Sun, -and the period of revolution, of the smaller and therefore most affected -body, may not be far from a distance where the orbits would be -incommensurate. To take the most completely incommensurate ratio known -to science, that of the diameter of a circle to the circumference, which -has been carried out to seven hundred decimal places without repetition -of the figures. This is expressed by the decimal fraction .314159 etc. -and yet this differs from the simple commensurate 1/3 or .333333 etc. by -only about five per cent.; so that a smaller body may have to be pulled -by the larger, only a very short way before it reaches a point where it -will be seriously affected no more. - -The idea that commensurateness affects the mutual attraction of bodies, -and hence the perturbations in their orbits, especially of the smaller -one, was not new; but Percival carried it farther, and to a greater -degree of accuracy, by observation, by mathematics and in its -applications. The most obvious example of its effects lay in the -influence of Jupiter upon the distribution of the asteroids, that almost -innumerable collection of small bodies revolving about the Sun between -the orbits of Jupiter and Mars, of which some six hundred had been -discovered. These are so small, compared with Jupiter, that, not only -individually but in the aggregate, their influence upon it may be -disregarded, and only its effect upon them be considered. In its -immediate neighborhood the commensurate periods, Percival points out, -come so close together (100 to 101, 99 to 100, etc.) that although -occasions of approach would be infrequent they would be enough in time -to disturb any bodies so near, until the planet had cleared out -everything in its vicinity that did not, by revolving around it, become -its own satellite. - -Farther off Jupiter’s commensurate zones are less frequent, but where -they occur the fragments revolving about the Sun would be so perturbed -by the attraction of the planet as to be displaced, mainly, as Percival -points out, to the sunward side. This has made gaps bare of such -fragments, and between them incommensurate spaces where they could move -freely in their solar orbits. Here they might have gathered in a nucleus -and, collecting other fragments to it, form a small planet, were it not -that the gaps were frequent enough to prevent nuclei of sufficient size -arising anywhere. Thus the asteroids remained a host of little bodies -revolving about the Sun, with gaps in their ranks—as he puts it “embryos -of planets destined never to be born.” - -The upper diagram in the plate opposite page 166 shows the distribution -and relative densities of the asteroids, with the gaps at the -commensurate points. The plate is taken from his “Memoir on Saturn’s -Rings,”[35] and brings us to another study of commensurate periods with -quite a different set of bodies obeying the same law. Indeed, among the -planets observed at Flagstaff not the least interesting was Saturn, and -its greatest peculiarity was its rings. - -In Bulletin No. 32 of the Observatory (Nov. 24, 1907) Percival had -written: “Laplace first showed that the rings could not be, as they -appear, wide solid rings inasmuch as the strains due to the differing -attraction of Saturn for the several parts must disrupt them. Peirce -then proved that even a series of very narrow solid rings could not -subsist and that the rings must be fluid. Finally Clerk-Maxwell showed -that even this was not enough and that the rings to be stable must be -made up of discrete particles, a swarm of meteorites in fact. But, if my -memory serves me right, Clerk-Maxwell himself pointed out that even such -a system could not eternally endure but was bound eventually to be -forced both out and in, a part falling upon the surface of the planet, a -part going to form a satellite farther away. - -“Even before this Edward Roche in 1848 had shown that the rings must be -composed of discrete particles, mere dust and ashes. He drew this -conclusion from his investigations on the minimum distance at which a -fluid satellite could revolve around its primary without being disrupted -by tidal strains. - -“The dissolution which Clerk-Maxwell foresaw can easily be proved to be -inevitable if the particles composing the swarm are not at considerable -distances from one another, which is certainly not the case with the -rings as witnessed by the light they send us even allowing for their -comminuted form. For a swarm of particles thus revolving round a primary -are in stable equilibrium _only in the absence of collisions_. Now in a -crowded company collisions due either to the mutual pulls of the -particles or to the perturbations of the satellites must occur. At each -collision although the moment of momentum remains the same, energy is -lost unless the bodies be perfectly elastic, a condition not found in -nature, the lost energy being converted into heat. In consequence some -particles will be forced in toward the planet while others are driven -out and eventually the ring system disappears. - -“Now the interest of the observations at Flagstaff consists in their -showing us this disintegration in process of taking place and -furthermore in a way that brings before us an interesting case of -celestial mechanics.” - -He examines the rings mathematically, as the result of perturbations -caused by the two nearest of the planet’s satellites, Mimas and -Enceladus. - -The effect is the same that occurs in the case of Jupiter and the -asteroids, Saturn taking the place of the Sun, his satellites that of -Jupiter, and the rings that of the asteroids. In spite of repetition it -may be well to state in his own words the principle of commensurate -periods and its application to the rings:[36] - -“The same thing can be seen geometrically by considering that the two -bodies have their greatest perturbing effect on one another when in -conjunction and that if the periods of the two be commensurate they will -come to conjunction over and over in these same points of the orbit and -thus the disturbance produced by one on the other be cumulative. If the -periods are not commensurate the conjunctions will take place in ever -shifting positions and a certain compensation be effected in the -outstanding results. In proportion as the ratio of periods is simple -will the perturbation be potent. Thus with the ratio 1:2 the two bodies -will approach closest only at one spot and always there until the -perturbations induced themselves destroy the commensurability of period. -With 1:3 they will approach at two different spots recurrently; with 1:4 -at three, and so on.... - -“We see, then, that perturbations, which in this case will result in -collisions, must be greatest on those particles which have periods -commensurate with those of the satellites. But inasmuch as there are -many particles in any cross-section of the ring there must be a -component of motion in any collision tending to throw the colliding -particles out of the plane of the ring, either above or below it. - -“Considering, now, those points where commensurability exists between -the periods of particle and satellite we find these in the order of -their potency: - - With Mimas, 1:2 - 1:3 - 1:4 - With Enceladus, 1:3 - -2:3 of Mimas and 1:2; 2:3 of Enceladus falling outside the ring system. -1:2 of Mimas and 1:3 of Enceladus fall in Cassini’s division, which -separates ring A from ring B.... 1:3 of Mimas’ period falls at the -boundary of ring B and ring C at 1:50 radii of Saturn from the centre.” - -In the following years this supposition was reinforced by the discovery -of six new divisions in the rings. Three of them were in ring A and -three in ring B, two of them in each case seen by Percival for the first -time. This led to very careful measurements of Saturn’s ball and rings -in 1913-14 and again in 1915; recorded in Bulletins 66 and 68 of the -Observatory. Careful allowance was made for irradiation, and the results -checked by having two sets of measurements, one made by Percival, the -other by Mr. E. C. Slipher. The observations were, of course, made when -the rings were so tilted to the Earth as to show very widely, the tilt -on March 21, 1915, showing them at their widest for fifteen years. - -But unfortunately, as it seemed, the divisions in the rings did not come -quite where the commensurate ratios with the two nearest satellites -should place them. They came in the right order and nearly where they -ought to be, but always a little farther from Saturn. It occurred to -Percival that this might be due to an error in the calculation of the -motion of the rings, that if the attraction of Saturn were slightly more -than had been supposed the revolutions of all parts of the rings would -be slightly faster, and the places in them where the periods would be -commensurate with the satellites would be slightly farther out, that is -where the divisions actually occur. Everyone knows that the earth is not -a perfect sphere but slightly elliptical, or oblate, contracted from -pole to pole and enlarged at the equator; and the same is even more true -of Saturn on account of its greater velocity of rotation. Now its -attraction on bodies as near it as the rings, and to a less extent on -its satellites, is a little greater than it would be if it were a -perfect uniform sphere; and it would be greater still if it were not -uniform throughout, but composed of layers increasing in density, in -rapidity of rotation, and hence in oblateness, toward the centre. -Percival made, therefore, a highly intricate calculation on what the -attraction of such a body would be (“Observatory Memoir on Saturn’s -Rings,” Sept. 7, 1915), and found that it accounted almost exactly for -the discrepancy between the points of computed commensurateness and the -observed divisions in the rings. Such a constitution of Saturn is by no -means improbable in view of its still fluid condition and the process of -contraction that it is undergoing. He found it noteworthy that a study -of the perturbations of the rings by the satellites should bring to -light the invisible constitution of the planet itself: - -“Small discrepancies are often big with meaning. Just as the more -accurate determination of the nitrogen content of the air led Sir -William Ramsay to the discovery of argon; so these residuals between the -computed and the observed features of _Saturn’s_ rings seem to lead to a -new conception of _Saturn’s_ internal constitution. That the mere -position of his rings should reveal something within him which we cannot -see may well appear as singular as it is significant.” (p. 5); and he -concludes: (pp. 20-22). - -“All this indicates that _Saturn_ has not yet settled down to a uniform -rotation. Not only in the spots we see is the rate different for -different spots but from this investigation it would appear that the -speed of its spin increases as one sinks from surface to centre.[37] - -“The subject of this memoir is of course two-fold: first, the observed -discrepancy, and second, the theory to account for it. The former -demands explanation and the latter seems the only way to satisfy it. -From the positions of the divisions in its rings we are thus led to -believe that _Saturn_ is actually rotating in layers with different -velocities, the inside ones turning the faster. If these layers were two -only, or substantially two, this would result in _Saturn’s_ being -composed of a very oblate kernel surrounded by a less oblate husk of -cloud.” - - [Illustration: ASTEROIDS and SATURN’S RINGS] - - MAJOR AXES - DISTANCES AT WHICH PERIODS ARE COMMENSURATE WITH THAT OF JUPITER - 1/4 1/3 3/8 2/5 3/7 4/9 5/11 1/2 3/5 2/3 - - DISTANCES AT WHICH PERIODS ARE COMMENSURATE WITH THOSE OF MIMAS AND - ENCELADUS - 1/4 1/3 1/4E. 3/8 2/5 3/7 4/9 5/11 1/2 2/5E. 3/5 3/7E. - -The divisions so made in Saturn’s rings by its satellites may be seen in -the lower of the two diagrams opposite; the three fractions followed by -an E indicating the divisions caused by Enceladus, the rest those caused -by Mimas. The upper diagram represents, as already remarked, the similar -effects by Jupiter on the asteroids. A slight inspection shows their -coincidence. - - - - - CHAPTER XVIIII - THE ORIGIN OF THE PLANETS - - -In a paper presented to the American Academy in April, 1913, and printed -in their Memoirs[38] Percival explained the “Origin of the Planets” by -the same principle of commensurate periods. In addition to what has -already been said about the places where these periods occur coming -closer and closer together as an object nears the planet, so that it is -enabled to draw neighboring small bodies into itself, he points out that -in attracting any object outside of its own orbit a planet is acting -from the same side as the Sun thereby increasing the Sun’s attraction, -accelerating the motion of the particle and making it come sunward. -Whereas on a particle inside its orbit the planet is acting against the -Sun, thereby diminishing its attraction, slowing the motion of the -particle and causing it to move outward. “Thus a body already formed -tends to draw surrounding matter to itself by making that matter’s mean -motion nearly synchronous with its own.” These two facts, the -close—almost continuous—commensurate points, and the effects on the -speed of revolution of particles outside and inside its own orbit, -assist a nucleus once formed to sweep clear the space so far as its -influence is predominant, drawing all matter there to itself, until it -has attained its full size. “Any difference of density in a revolving -nebula is thus a starting point for accumulation. So soon as two or -three particles have gathered together they tend by increased mass to -annex their neighbors. An embryo planet is thus formed. By the same -principle it grows crescendo through an ever increasing sphere of -influence until the commensurate points are too far apart to bridge by -their oscillation the space between them.” - -So much for the process of forming a planet; but what he was seeking was -why the planets formed just where they did. For this purpose he worked -out intricate mathematical formulae, based on those already known but -more fully and exactly developed. These it is not necessary to follow, -for the results may be set forth,—so far as possible in his own words. -“Beyond a certain distance from the planet the commensurate-period -swings no longer suffice to bridge the intervening space and the -planet’s annexing power stops. This happens somewhat before a certain -place is reached where three potent periodic ratios succeed each -other—1:2, 2:5, 1:3. For here the distances between the periodic points -is greatly increased.... - -“At this distance a new action sets in. Though the character of its -occasioning be the same it produces a very different outcome. The -greater swing of the particles at these commensurate points together -with a temporary massing of some of them near it conduces to collisions -and near approaches between them which must end in a certain permanent -combining there. A nucleus of consolidation is thus formed. This -attracts other particles to it, gaining force by what it feeds on, until -out of the once diffused mass a new planet comes into being which in its -turn gathers to itself the matter about it. - -“A new planet tends to collect here: because the annexing power of the -old has here ceased while at the same time the scattered constituents to -compose it are here aided to combine by the very potent commensurability -perturbations of its already formed neighbor. - -“So soon as it has come into being another begins to be beyond it, -called up in the same manner. It could not do so earlier because the -most important _deus ex machina_ in the matter, the perturbation of its -predecessor, was lacking. - -“So the process goes on, each planet acting as a sort of elder sister in -bringing up the next. - -“That such must have been the genesis of the several planets is evident -when we consider that had each arisen of itself out of surrounding -matter there would have been in celestial mechanics nothing to prevent -their being situated in almost any relative positions other than the -peculiar one in which they actually stand.... - -“It will be noticed that the several planets are not quite at the -commensurate points. They are in fact all just inside them.... Suppose -now a particle or planet close to the commensurable point inside it. The -mean motion in consequence of the above perturbation will be permanently -increased, and therefore the major axis be permanently decreased. In -other words, the particle or planet will be pushed sunward. If it be -still where” the effect of the commensurateness is still felt “it will -suffer another push, and so on until it has reached a place where the -perturbation is no longer sensible.” He then goes on to show from his -formulae that if the particle were just within the outer edge of the -place where the perturbation began to be effective it would also be -pushed sunward, and so across the commensurable point until it joined -those previously displaced. - -“We thus reach from theory two conclusions: - -“1. All the planets were originally forced to form where the important -and closely lying commensurable points 1:2, 2:5, or 1:3, and in one case -3:5, existed with their neighbors; which of these points it was being -determined by the perturbations themselves. - -“2. Each planet was at the same time pushed somewhat sunward by -perturbation.” - -He then calculates the mutual perturbations of the major axes of the -outer planets taken in pairs and of Venus and the Earth. - -“From them we note that: - -“1. The inner planet is _caeteris paribus_ more potent than the outer. - -“2. The greater the mass of the disturber and, in certain cases, the -greater the excentricity of either the disturber or the disturbed the -greater the effect.” - -As he points out, the effect of each component of the pair is masked by -the simultaneous action of the other, and refers to the case of Jupiter -and the asteroids, where the effect they have upon it is imperceptible, -and we can see its effect upon them clearly. - -Thus he shows that a new planet would naturally arise near to a point -where its orbit would be commensurate with that of the older one next to -it. But the particular commensurate fraction in each case is not so -certain. In general it would depend upon the ratio of the two pulls to -each other, for if “the action of the more potent planet greatly exceeds -the other’s it sweeps to itself particles farther away than would -otherwise be possible”; if it does not so greatly exceed it would not -sweep them from so far and hence allow the other planet to form nearer. -Now of the four commensurate ratios mentioned, near which a planet may -form its neighbor, that of 3:5 means that the two planets are relatively -nearest together, for the inner one makes only five revolutions while -the outer makes three, that is the inner one revolves around the Sun -less than twice as fast as the outer one. The ratio 1:2 means that the -inner one revolves just twice as fast as the outer; while 2:5 means that -it revolves twice and a half as fast, and 1:3 that it does so three -times as fast. Thus the nearer equal the pulls of any pair of forming -planets the larger the fraction and the nearer the relative distance -between them. Relative, mind, for as we go away from the Sun all the -dimensions increase and the actual distances between the planets among -the rest. - -Venus is smaller than the Earth, but her interior position gives her an -advantage more than enough to make up for this, with the result that the -pulls of the two are more nearly equal than those of any other pair, the -commensurate ratio being 3:5. The next nearest equality of pull is -between Uranus and Neptune, where the commensurate ratio is 1:2; the -next between Jupiter and Saturn, and Venus and Mercury, where it is 2:5; -the least equality being between Saturn and Uranus, where it is only -1:3. Mars seems exceptional for, as Percival says, from the mutual pulls -we should expect its ratio with the Earth to be 1:3 instead of 1:2 as it -is, and he suggests as the explanation, “the continued action of the -gigantic Jupiter in this territory, or it may be that a second origin of -condensation started with the Earth while Jupiter fashioned the outer -planets.” - -He brings the Memoir to an end with the following summary: - -“From the foregoing some interesting deductions are possible: - -“1. The planets grew out of scattered material. For had they arisen from -already more or less complete nuclei these could not have borne to one -another the general comensurate relation of mean motions existent -to-day. - -“2. Each brought the next one into being by the perturbation it induced -in the scattered material at a definite distance from it. - -“3. Jupiter was the starting point, certainly as regards the major -planets; and is the only one among them that could have had a nucleus at -the start, though that, too, may equally have been lacking. - -“4. After this was formed Saturn, then Uranus, and then Neptune.” (This -he shows from the densities of these planets.) - -“5. The asteroids point unmistakably to such a genesis, missed in the -making. - -“6. The inner planets betray _inter se_ the action of the same law, and -dovetail into the major ones through the 2:5 relation between Mars and -the asteroids. - -“We thus close with the law we enunciated: _Each planet has formed the -next in the series at one of the adjacent commensurable-period points, -corresponding to 1:2, 2:5, 1:3, and in one instance 3:5, of its mean -motion, each then displacing the other slightly sunward, thus making of -the solar system an articulated whole, an inorganic organism, which not -only evolved but evolved in a definite order, the steps of which -celestial mechanics enables us to retrace_. - -“The above planetary law may perhaps be likened to Mendelief’s law for -the elements. It, too, admits of prediction. Thus in conclusion I -venture to forecast that when the nearest trans-Neptunian planet is -detected it will be found to have a major axis of very approximately -47.5 astronomical units, and from its position a mass comparable with -that of Neptune, though probably less; while, if it follows a feature of -the satellite systems which I have pointed out elsewhere, its -excentricity should be considerable, with an inclination to match.” - -The last paragraph we shall have reason to recall again. - -This paper on the “Origin of the Planets” has been called the most -speculative of Percival’s astronomical studies, and so it is; but it -fascinated him, and is interesting not more in itself, than as an -illustration of the inquiring and imaginative trend of his mind and of -the ease with which intricate mathematical work came to the aid of an -idea. - -Meanwhile his reputation was growing in Europe. At the end of 1909 he is -asked to send to the German National Museum in Munich some -transparencies of his fundamental work on Mars and other planets with -Dr. Slipher’s star spectra, and Dr. Max Wolf of Heidelberg who writes -the letter adds: “I believe there is no American astronomer, except -yours, [sic] invited till now to do so.” A year later the firm in Jena -which had just published a translation of his “Soul of the Far East” -wants to do the same for “Mars as the Abode of Life.” In August 1914 he -writes to authorize a second French edition of this last book which had -been published with the title “Evolution des Mondes.” Every other year, -he took a vacation of a few weeks in Europe to visit his astronomic -friends, and to speak at their societies. We have seen how he did so -after his marriage in 1908. He went with Mrs. Lowell again in the spring -of 1910, giving lectures before the Société Astronomique in Paris, and -the Royal Institution in London, and once more, two years later, when we -find him entertained and speaking before several scientific bodies in -both Paris and London. That autumn he was confined to the house by -illness; and although he improved and went to Flagstaff in March, he -writes of himself in August 1913 as “personally still on the retired -list.” In the spring it was thought wise for him to take another -vacation abroad; and since his wife was recovering from an operation he -went alone. He saw his old friends in France and England and enjoyed -their hospitality; but he did not feel well, and save for showing at the -Bureau des Longitudes “some of our latest discoveries” he seems to have -made no addresses. He sailed back on the _Mauretania_ on August 1, just -before England declared war, and four days later she was instructed to -run to Halifax, which she did, reaching it the following day. - -That was destined to be his last voyage, for although he seemed well -again he was working above his strength. His time in these years was -divided between Flagstaff, where his days and nights were spent in -observing and calculating, and Boston, where the alternative was between -calculations and business. He was always busy and when one summer he -hired a house at Marblehead near to his cousins Mr. and Mrs. Guy Lowell -he would frequently drop in to see them; and was charming when he did -so; but could not spare the time to take a meal there, and never stayed -more than five minutes. - - - - - CHAPTER XIX - THE SEARCH FOR A TRANS-NEPTUNIAN PLANET - - -We must now return to the last paragraph of his “Memoir on the Origin of -the Planets,” where he suggests the probable distance of a body beyond -Neptune. In fact he had long been interested in its existence and -whereabouts. By 1905 his calculations had given him so much -encouragement that the Observatory began to search for the outer planet, -which he then expected would be like Neptune, low in density, large and -bright, and therefore much more easily detected than it turned out to -be. But the photographs taken in 1906, with a well planned routine -search the next year revealed nothing, and he became distrustful of the -data on which he was working. In March 1908, one finds in his -letter-books from the office in Boston the first of a series of letters -to Mr. William T. Garrigan of the Naval Observatory and Nautical -Almanack about the residuals of Uranus—that is the residue in the -perturbations of its normal orbit not accounted for by those due to the -known planets. He suggests including later data than had hitherto been -done; asks what elements other astronomers had taken into account in -estimating the residuals; points out that for different periods they are -made up on different theories in the publications of Greenwich -Observatory, and that some curious facts appear from them. About his own -calculation he writes on December 28, 1908: “The results so far are both -interesting and promising.” He was hard at work on the calculations for -such a planet, based upon the residuals of Uranus, and assisted by a -corps of computers, with Miss Elizabeth Williams, now Mrs. George Hall -Hamilton of the Observatory at Mandeville, Jamaica, at their head. - -Before trying to explain the process by which he reached his results it -may be well to give his own account of the discovery of Neptune by a -similar method:[39] - -“Neptune has proved a planet of surprises. Though its orbital revolution -is performed direct, its rotation apparently takes place backward, in a -plane tilted about 35° to its orbital course. Its satellite certainly -travels in this retrograde manner. Then its appearance is unexpectedly -bright, while its spectrum shows bands which as yet, for the most part, -defy explanation, though they state positively the vast amount of its -atmosphere and its very peculiar constitution. But first and not least -of its surprises was its discovery,—a set of surprises, in fact. For -after owing recognition to one of the most brilliant mathematical -triumphs, it turned out not to be the planet expected. - -“‘Neptune is much nearer the Sun than it ought to be,’ is the -authoritative way in which a popular historian puts the intruding planet -in its place. For the planet failed to justify theory by not fulfilling -Bode’s law, which Leverrier and Adams, in pointing out the disturber of -Uranus, assumed ‘as they could do no otherwise.’ Though not strictly -correct, as not only did both geometers do otherwise, but neither did -otherwise enough, the quotation may serve to bring Bode’s law into -court, as it was at the bottom of one of the strangest and most -generally misunderstood chapters in celestial mechanics. - -“Very soon after Uranus was recognized as a planet, approximate -ephemerides of its motion resulted in showing that it had several times -previously been recorded as a fixed star. Bode himself discovered the -first of these records, one by Mayer in 1756, and Bode and others found -another made by Flamsteed in 1690. These observations enabled an -elliptic orbit to be calculated which satisfied them all. Subsequently -others were detected. Lemonnier discovered that he had himself not -discovered it several times, cataloguing it as a fixed star. Flamsteed -was spared a like mortification by being dead. For both these observers -had recorded it two or more nights running, from which it would seem -almost incredible not to have suspected its character from its change of -place. - -“Sixteen of these pre-discovery observations were found (there are now -nineteen known), which with those made upon it since gave a series -running back a hundred and thirty years, when Alexis Bouvard prepared -his tables of the planet, the best up to that time, published in 1821. -In doing so, however, he stated that he had been unable to find any -orbit which would satisfy both the new and the old observations. He -therefore rejected the old as untrustworthy, forgetting that they had -been satisfied thirty years before, and based his tables solely on the -new, leaving it to posterity, he said, to decide whether the old -observations were faulty or whether some unknown influence had acted on -the planet. He had hardly made this invidious distinction against the -accuracy of the ancient observers when his own tables began to be out -and grew seriously more so, so that within eleven years they quite -failed to represent the planet. - -“The discrepancies between theory and observation attracted the -attention of the astronomic world, and the idea of another planet began -to be in the air. The great Bessel was the first to state definitely his -conviction in a popular lecture at Königsberg in 1840, and thereupon -encouraged his talented assistant Flemming to begin reductions looking -to its locating. Unfortunately, in the midst of his labors Flemming -died, and shortly after Bessel himself, who had taken up the matter -after Flemming’s death. - -“Somewhat later Arago, then head of the Paris observatory, who had also -been impressed with the existence of such a planet, requested one of his -assistants, a remarkable young mathematician named Leverrier, to -undertake its investigation. Leverrier, who had already evidenced his -marked ability in celestial mechanics, proceeded to grapple with the -problem in the most thorough manner. He began by looking into the -perturbations of Uranus by Jupiter and Saturn. He started with Bouvard’s -work, with the result of finding it very much the reverse of good. The -farther he went, the more errors he found, until he was obliged to cast -it aside entirely and recompute these perturbations himself. The -catalogue of Bouvard’s errors he gave must have been an eye-opener -generally, and it speaks for the ability and precision with which -Leverrier conducted his investigation that neither Airy, Bessel, nor -Adams had detected these errors, with the exception of one term noticed -by Bessel and subsequently by Adams.[40] The result of this -recalculation of his was to show the more clearly that the -irregularities in the motion of Uranus could not be explained except by -the existence of another planet exterior to him. He next set himself to -locate this body. Influenced by Bode’s law, he began by assuming it to -lie at twice Uranus’ distance from the Sun, and, expressing the observed -discrepancies in longitude in equations, comprising the perturbations -and possible errors in the elements of Uranus, proceeded to solve them. -He could get no rational solution. He then gave the distance and the -extreme observations a certain elasticity, and by this means was able to -find a position for the disturber which sufficiently satisfied the -conditions of the problem. Leverrier’s first memoir on the subject was -presented to the French Academy on November 10, 1845, that giving the -place of the disturbing planet on June 1, 1846. There is no evidence -that the slightest search in consequence was made by anybody, with the -possible exception of the Naval Observatory at Washington. On August 31 -he presented his third paper, giving an orbit, mass, and more precise -place for the unknown. Still no search followed. Taking advantage of the -acknowledging of a memoir, Leverrier, in September, wrote to Dr. Galle -in Berlin asking him to look for the planet. The letter reached Galle on -the 23rd, and that very night he found a planet showing a disk just as -Leverrier had foretold, and within 55′ of its predicted place. - -“The planet had scarcely been found when, on October 1, a letter from -Sir John Herschel appeared in the _London Athenaeum_ announcing that a -young Cambridge graduate, Mr. J. C. Adams, had been engaged on the same -investigation as Leverrier, and with similar results. This was the first -public announcement of Mr. Adams’ labors. It then appeared that he had -started as early as 1843, and had communicated his results to Airy in -October, 1845, a year before. Into the sad set of circumstances which -prevented the brilliant young mathematician from reaping the fruit of -what might have been his discovery, we need not go. It reflected no -credit on any one concerned except Adams, who throughout his life -maintained a dignified silence. Suffice it to say that Adams had found a -place for the unknown within a few degrees of Leverrier’s; that he had -communicated these results to Airy; that Airy had not considered them -significant until Leverrier had published an almost identical place; -that then Challis, the head of the Cambridge Observatory, had set to -work to search for the planet but so routinely that he had actually -mapped it several times without finding that he had done so, when word -arrived of its discovery by Galle. - -“But now came an even more interesting chapter in this whole strange -story. Mr. Walker at Washington and Dr. Petersen of Altona independently -came to the conclusion from a provisional circular orbit for the -newcomer that Lalande had catalogued in the vicinity of its path. They -therefore set to work to find out if any Lalande stars were missing. Dr. -Petersen compared a chart directly with the heavens to the finding a -star absent, which his calculations showed was about where Neptune -should have been at the time. Walker found that Lalande could only have -swept in the neighborhood of Neptune on the 8th and 10th of May, 1795. -By assuming different eccentricities for Neptune’s orbit under two -hypotheses for the place of its perihelion, he found a star catalogued -on the latter date which sufficiently satisfied his computations. He -predicted that on searching the sky this star would be found missing. On -the next fine evening Professor Hubbard looked for it, and the star was -gone. It had been Neptune.[41] - -“This discovery enabled elliptic elements to be computed for it, when -the surprising fact appeared that it was not moving in anything -approaching the orbit either Leverrier or Adams had assigned. Instead of -a mean distance of 36 astronomical units or more, the stranger was only -at 30. The result so disconcerted Leverrier that he declared that ‘the -small eccentricity which appeared to result from Mr. Walker’s -computations would be incompatible with the nature of the perturbations -of the planet Herschel,’ as he called Uranus. In other words, he -expressly denied that Neptune was his planet. For the newcomer proceeded -to follow the path Walker had computed. This was strikingly confirmed by -Mauvais’ discovering that Lalande had observed the star on the 8th of -May as well as on the 10th, but because the two places did not agree, he -had rejected the first observation, and marked the second as doubtful, -thus carefully avoiding a discovery that actually knocked at his door. - -“Meanwhile Peirce had made a remarkable contribution to the whole -subject. In a series of profound papers presented to the American -Academy, he went into the matter more generally than either of the -discoverers, to the startling conclusion ‘that the planet Neptune is not -the planet to which geometrical analysis had directed the telescope, and -that its discovery by Galle must be regarded as a happy accident.’[42] -He first proved this by showing that Leverrier’s two fundamental -propositions,— - -“1. That the disturber’s mean distance must be between 35 and 37.9 -astronomical units; - -“2. That its mean longitude for January 1, 1800, must have been between -243° and 252°,—were incompatible with Neptune. Either alone might be -reconciled with the observations, but not both. - -“In justification of his assertion that the discovery was a happy -accident, he showed that three solutions of the problem Leverrier had -set himself were possible, all equally complete and decidedly different -from each other, the positions of the supposed planet being 120° apart. -Had Leverrier and Adams fallen upon either of the outer two, Neptune -would not have been discovered.[43] - -“He next showed that at 35.3 astronomical units, an important change -takes place in the character of the perturbations because of the -commensurability of period of a planet revolving there with that of -Uranus. In consequence of which, a planet inside of this limit might -equally account for the observed perturbations with the one outside of -it supposed by Leverrier. This Neptune actually did. From not -considering wide enough limits, Leverrier had found one solution, -Neptune fulfilled the other.[44] And Bode’s law was responsible for -this. Had Bode’s law not been taken originally as basis for the -disturber’s distance, those two great geometers, Leverrier and Adams, -might have looked inside. - -“This more general solution, as Peirce was careful to state, does not -detract from the honor due either to Leverrier or to Adams. Their -masterly calculations, the difficulty of which no one who has not had -some experience of the subject can appreciate, remain as an imperishable -monument to both, as does also Peirce’s to him.” - -The facts, that is what was done and written, are of course correct; but -the conclusions drawn from them are highly controversial to the present -day. - -The calculations for finding an unknown planet by the perturbations it -causes in the orbit of another are extremely difficult, the more so when -the data are small and uncertain. For Percival they were very small -because Neptune,—nearest to the unknown body,—had been discovered so -short a time that its true orbit, apart from the disturbances therein -caused by other planets, was by no means certain. In fact Percival tried -to analyze its residuals, but they yielded no rational result. This left -only what could be gleaned from Uranus after deducting the perturbations -caused by Neptune, and that was small indeed. In 1845, when the -calculations were made which revealed that planet, “the outstanding -irregularities of Uranus had reached the relatively huge sum of 133″. -To-day its residuals do not exceed 4.5″ at any point of its path.” - -Then there are uncertainties depending on errors of observation, which -may be estimated by the method of least squares of the differences -between contemporary observations. Moreover there is the uncertainty -that comes from not knowing how much of the observed motion is to be -attributed to a normal orbit regulated by the Sun, and how much to the -other planets, including the unknown. Its true motion under these -influences can be ascertained only by observing it for a long time, and -by taking periods sufficiently far apart to distinguish the continuing -effects of the known bodies from those that flow from an unknown source. -This was the ingenious method devised by Leverrier as a basis for his -calculations, and he thereby got his residuals caused by the unknown -planet in a form that could be handled. - -Finally there was the uncertainty whether the residual perturbations, -however accurately determined, were caused by one or more outer bodies. -Of this Percival was, of course, well aware, and in fact, in his study -of the comets associated with Jupiter he had pointed out that there -probably was a planet far beyond the one for which he was now in search. -But, as no one has ever been able to devise a formula for the mutual -attraction of three bodies, he could calculate only for a single body -that would account as nearly as possible for the whole of the residuals. - -Thus he knew that his work was an approximation; near enough, he hoped, -to lead to the discovery of the unknown. - -The various elements in the longitude of a planet’s orbit, that is in -the plane of the ecliptic, that are affected by and affect another, are: - -a—The length of its major, or longest, axis. - -n—Its mean motion, which depends on the distance from the Sun. - -ε—The longitude at a given time, that is its place in its orbit. - -e—The eccentricity of its orbit, that is how far it is from a circle. - -ῶ—The place of its perihelion, that is the position of its nearest -approach to the Sun. - -(These last two determine the shape of the ellipse, and the direction of -its longer axis with respect to that of the other planet.) - -m—Its mass. - -Now formulas, or series of equations, that express the perturbations -caused by one planet in the orbit of another must contain all these -elements, because all of them affect the result. But there are too many -of them for a direct solution. Therefore Leverrier assumed a distance of -the unknown planet from the Sun, and with it the mean motion which is -proportional to that distance; worked out from the residuals of Uranus -at various dates a series of equations in terms of the place of the -unknown in its orbit; and then found what place therein at a given time -would give results reducing the residuals to a minimum—that is, would -come nearest to accounting for them. In fact, supposing that the unknown -planet would be about the distance from the Sun indicated by Bode’s law, -the limits within which he assumed trial distances were narrow, and, as -it proved, wholly beyond the place where it was found. This method, -which in its general outline Percival followed, consisted therefore of a -process of trial and error for the distance (with the mean motion) and -for the place of X in its orbit (ε). For the other three elements (e, ῶ -and m) he used in the various solutions 24 to 37 equations drawn from -the residuals of Uranus at different dates, and expressed in terms of ε. -He did this in order to have several corroborative calculations, and to -discover which of them accorded most closely with the perturbations -observed. - -We have seen that in 1908-09 Percival was inquiring about the exact -residuals of Uranus, and he must have been at work on them soon -afterwards, for on December 1, 1910, he writes to Mr. Lampland that Miss -Williams, his head computer, and he have been puzzling away over that -trans-Neptunian planet, have constructed the curve of perturbations, but -find some strange things, looking as if Leverrier’s later theory of -Uranus were not exact. This work had been done by Leverrier’s methods -“but with extensions in the number and character of the terms calculated -in the perturbation in order to render it more complete.” Though -uncertain of his results, he asks Mr. Lampland, in April 1911, to look -for the planet. But he was by no means himself convinced that his data -were accurate, and he computed all over again with the residuals given -by Gaillot, which he considered more accurate than Leverrier’s in regard -to the masses, and therefore the attractions, of the known planets -concerned. Incidentally he remarks at this point in his Memoir,[45] in -speaking of works on celestial mechanics, that “after excellent -analytical solutions, values of the quantities involved are introduced -on the basis apparently of the respect due to age. Nautical Almanacs -abet the practice by never publishing, consciously, contemporary values -of astronomic constants; thus avoiding committal to doubtful results by -the simple expedient of not printing anything not known to be wrong.” -His result for X, as he called the planet he was seeking, computed by -Gaillot’s residuals, differed from that found in using Leverrier’s -figures by some forty degrees to the East, and on July 8 he telegraphs -Mr. Lampland to look there. - -These telegrams to Mr. Lampland continue at short intervals for a long -time with constant revisions and extensions in the calculations; and, as -he notes, every new move takes weeks in the doing; but all without -finding planet X. Perhaps it was this disappointment that led him to -make the even more gigantic calculation printed in the Memoir, where he -says: “In the present case, it seemed advisable to pursue the subject in -a different way, longer and more laborious than these earlier methods, -but also more certain and exact: that by a true least-square method -throughout. When this was done, a result substantially differing from -the preliminary one was the outcome. It both shifted the minimum and -bettered the solution. In consequence, the whole work was done _de novo_ -in this more rigorous way, with results which proved its value.” - -Then follow many pages of transformations which, as the guide books say -of mountain climbing, no one should undertake unless he is sure of his -feet and has a perfectly steady head. But anyone can see that, even in -the same plane, the aggregate attractions of one planet on another, -pulling eventually from all possible relative positions in their -respective elliptical orbits with a force inversely as the square of the -ever-changing distance, must form a highly complex problem. Nor, when -for one of them the distance, velocity, mass, position and shape of -orbit are wholly unknown, so that all these things must be represented -by symbols, will anyone be surprised if the relations of the two bodies -are expressed by lines of these, following one another by regiments over -the pages. In fact the Memoir is printed for those who are thoroughly -familiar with this kind of solitaire. - -For the first trial and error Percival assumed the distance of X from -the Sun to be 47.5 planetary units (the distance of the Earth from the -Sun being the unit), as that seemed on analogy a probable, though by no -means a certain, distance. With this as a basis, and with the actual -observations of Uranus brought to the nearest accuracy by the method of -least-squares of errors, he finds the eccentricity, the place of the -perihelion and the mass of X in terms of its position in its orbit. Then -he computes the results for about every ten degrees all the way round -the orbit, and finds two positions, almost opposite, near 0° and near -180°, which reduce the residuals to a minimum—that is which most nearly -account for the perturbations. Each of these thirty tried positions -involved a vast amount of computation, but more still was to come. - -Finally, to be sure that he had covered the ground and left no loophole -for X to escape, he tried, beside the 47.5 he had already used, a series -of other possible distances from the Sun,—40.5, 42.5, 45, 51.25 -units,—each of them requiring every computation to be done over again. -But the result was satisfactory, for it showed that the residuals were -most nearly accounted for by a distance not far from 45 units (or a -little less if the planet was at the opposite side of its orbit), and -that the residuals increased for a distance greater or less than this. -But still he was not satisfied, and for greater security he took up -terms of the second and third order—very difficult to deal with—but -found that they made no substantial difference in the result. - -So much for the longitude of X (that is its orbit and position in the -plane of the ecliptic) but that was not all, for its orbit might not lie -in that plane but might be inclined to it, and like all the other -planets he supposed it more or less so—more he surmised. Although he -made some calculations on the subject he did not feel that any result -obtained would be reliable, and if the longitude were near enough he -thought the planet could be found. He says: - -“To determine the inclination of the orbit of the unknown from the -residuals in latitude of _Uranus_ has proved as inconclusive as -Leverrier found the like attempt in the case of _Neptune_. - -“The cause of failure lies, it would seem, in the fact that the elements -of X enter into the observational equations for the latitude. Not only e -and ῶ are thus initially affected but ε as well. Hence as these are -doubtful from the longitude results, we can get from the latitude ones -only doubtfulness to the second power.” Nevertheless he makes some -calculations on the subject which, however, prove unsatisfactory. - -Such in outline was his method of calculating the probable orbit and -position in the sky of the trans-Neptunian planet; an herculean labor -carried out with infinite pains, and attaining, not absolute -definiteness, but results from the varying solutions sufficiently alike -to warrant the belief in a close approximation. In dealing with what he -calls the credentials for the acceptance of his results, he points out -that one of his solutions for X in which he has much confidence, reduces -the squares of the residuals to be accounted for by ninety per cent., -and in the case of some of the others almost to nothing. Yet he had no -illusions about the uncertainty of the result, for in the conclusions of -the Memoir he says: - -“But that the investigation opens our eyes to the pitfalls of the past -does not on that account render us blind to those of the present. To -begin with, the curves of the solutions show that a proper change in the -errors of observation would quite alter the minimum point for either the -different mean distances or the mean longitudes. A slight increase of -the actual errors over the most probable ones, such as it by no means -strains human capacity for error to suppose, would suffice entirely to -change the most probable distance of the disturber and its longitude at -the epoch. Indeed the imposing ‘probable error’ of a set of observations -imposes on no one familiar with observation, the actual errors -committed, due to systematic causes, always far exceeding it. - -“In the next place the solutions themselves tell us of alternatives -between which they leave us in doubt to decide. If we go by residuals -alone, we should choose those solutions which have their mean longitudes -at the epoch in the neighborhood of 0°, since the residuals are there -the smallest. But on the other hand this would place the unknown now and -for many decades back in a part of the sky which has been most -assiduously scanned, while the solutions with ε around 180° lead us to -one nearly inaccessible to most observatories, and, therefore, -preferable for planetary hiding. Between the elements of the two, there -is not much to choose, all agreeing pretty well with one another. - -“Owing to the inexactitude of our data, then, we cannot regard our -results with the complacency of completeness we should like.” - -The bulk of the computations for the trans-Neptunian planet were -finished by the spring of 1914, and in April he sent to Flagstaff from -Boston, where the work had been done, two of the assistant computers. -The final Memoir he read to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences on -January 13, 1915; and printed in the spring as a publication of the -Observatory. Naturally he was deeply anxious to see the fruit from such -colossal labor. In July, 1913, he had written to Mr. Lampland: -“Generally speaking what fields have you taken? Is there nothing -suspicious?” and in May, 1914, “Don’t hesitate to startle me with a -telegram ‘FOUND.’” Again, in August, he writes to Dr. Slipher: “I feel -sadly of course that nothing has been reported about X, but I suppose -the bad weather and Mrs. Lampland’s condition may somewhat explain it”; -and to Mr. Lampland in December: “I am giving my work before the Academy -on January 13. It would be thoughtful of you to announce the actual -discovery at the same time.” Through the banter one can see the craving -to find the long-sought planet, and the grief at the baffling of his -hopes. That X was not found was the sharpest disappointment of his life. - -If so much labor without tangible result gave little satisfaction, there -was still less glory won by a vast calculation that did not prove itself -correct. Curiously enough, he always enjoyed more recognition among -astronomers in Europe than in America; for here, as a highly -distinguished member of the craft recently remarked, he did not belong -to the guild. He was fond of calling himself an amateur—by which he -meant one who worked without remuneration—and of noting how many of the -great contributors to science were in that category. The guild here was -not readily hospitable to those who had not been trained in the regular -treadmill; and it had been shocked by his audacity in proclaiming a -discovery of intelligent handiwork on Mars. So for the most part he -remained to the end of his life an amateur in this country; though what -would have been said had he succeeded in producing, by rigorous -calculation, an unknown planet far beyond the orbit of Neptune, it is -interesting to conjecture, but difficult to know, for the younger -generation of astronomers had not then come upon the stage nor the older -ones outlived their prejudice. - -The last eighteen months of his life were spent as usual partly at -Flagstaff, where he was adding to the buildings, partly in Boston, and -in lecturing. In May, 1916, he writes to Sig. Rigano of “Scientia” that -he has not time to write an article for his Review, and adds: -“Eventually I hope to publish a work on each planet—the whole connected -together—but the end not yet.” Fortunately he did not know how near it -was. - -In May he lectured at Toronto; and in the autumn in the Northwest on -Mars and other planets, at Washington State and Reed Colleges, and the -universities of Idaho, Washington, Oregon and California. These set -forth his latest views, often including much that had been discovered at -Flagstaff and elsewhere since his earlier books were published; for his -mind was far from closed to change of opinion on newly discovered -evidence. It was something of a triumphal procession at these -institutions; but it was too much. - -More exhausted than he was himself aware, he returned to Flagstaff eager -about a new investigation he had been planning on Jupiter’s satellites. -It will be recalled that he had found the exact position of the gap in -Saturn’s rings accounted for if the inner layers of the planet rotated -faster and therefore were more oblate than the visible gaseous surface. -Now the innermost satellite of Jupiter (the Vth) was farther off than -the simple relation between distance and period should make it, a -difference that might be explained if in Jupiter, as in Saturn, the -molten inner core were more oblate than the outer gaseous envelope. To -ascertain this the distance of the satellite V. must be determined -exactly, and with Mr. E. C. Slipher he was busy in doing so night after -night through that of November 11th. But he was overstrained, and the -next day, November 12, 1916, not long after his return to Flagstaff, an -attack of apoplexy brought to a sudden close his intensely active life. -Before he became unconscious he said that he always knew it would come -thus, but not so soon. - -He lies buried in a mausoleum built by his widow close to the dome where -his work was done. - - - - - CHAPTER XX - PLUTO FOUND[46] - - -Percival had long intended that his Observatory should be permanent, and -that his work, especially on the planets, should be forever carried on -there with an adequate foundation. Save for an income to his wife during -her lifetime, he therefore left his whole fortune in a trust modeled on -the lines of the Lowell Institute in Boston, created eighty years -earlier by his kinsman John Lowell, Jr. The will provides for a single -trustee who appoints his own successor; the first being his cousin Guy -Lowell, the next the present trustee, Percival’s nephew, Roger Lowell -Putnam. Dr. V. M. Slipher and Mr. C. O. Lampland, who have been at the -Observatory from an early time, are the astronomers in charge, carrying -on the founder’s principles of constantly enlarging the field of study, -and using for the purpose the best instrumental equipment to be -procured. - -Of course the search was continued for the planet X, but without -success, and for a time almost without hope, not only because its body -is too small to show a disk, but also by reason of the multitude of -stars of like size in that crowded part of the heavens, the Milky Way, -where it is extremely difficult to detect one that has moved. It was as -if out of many thousand pins thrown upon the floor one were slightly -moved and someone were asked to find which it was. Mere visual -observation was clearly futile, for no man could record the positions of -all the points of light from one night to another. The only way to -conduct a systematic search was through an enduring record, that is by -taking photographs of the probable sections of the sky, and comparing -two of the same section taken a few days apart to discover a point of -light that had changed its place—no simple matter when more than one -hundred thousand stars showed upon a single plate. This process Percival -tried, but although his hopes were often raised by finding bodies that -moved, they proved to be asteroids hitherto unknown,[47] and the X -sought so long did not appear.[48] - -Percival had felt the need of a new photographic telescope of -considerable light power and a wider field, and an attempt was made to -borrow such an instrument, for use while one was being manufactured, but -in vain. Then came the war when optical glass for large lenses could not -be obtained, and before it was over Percival had died. After his death -Guy Lowell, the trustee, took up the project, but also died too soon to -carry it out. At last in 1929 the lens needed was obtained, the -instrument completed in the workshop of the Observatory, and the search -renewed in March with much better prospects. Photographs of section -after section of the region where X was expected to be were taken and -examined by a Blink comparator. This is a device whereby two photographs -of slightly different dates could be seen through a microscope at the -same time as if superposed. But with all the improvement in apparatus -months of labor revealed nothing. - -After nearly a year of photographing, and comparing plates, Mr. Clyde W. -Tombaugh, a young man brought up on a farm but with a natural love of -astronomy, was working in this search at Flagstaff, when he suddenly -found, on two plates taken January 23 and 29, 1930, a body that had -moved in a way to indicate, not an asteroid, but something vastly -farther off. It was followed, and appeared night after night in the path -expected for X at about the distance from the sun Percival had -predicted. Before giving out any information it was watched for seven -weeks, until there could be no doubt from its movements that it was a -planet far beyond Neptune, and was following very closely the track -which his calculations had foretold. Then, on his birthday, March 13, -the news was given to the world. - -Recalling Percival’s own statement: “Owing to the inexactitude of our -data, then, we cannot regard our results with the complacency of -completeness we should like,” one inquires eagerly how nearly the actual -elements in the orbit of the newly found planet agree with those he -calculated. To this an answer was given by Professor Henry Norris -Russell of Princeton, the leading astronomer in this country, in an -article in the _Scientific American_ for December, 1930. He wrote as -follows: - -“The orbit, now that we know it, is found to be so similar to that which -Lowell predicted from his calculations fifteen years ago that it is -quite incredible that the agreement can be due to accident. Setting -prediction and fact side by side we have the following table of -characteristics: - - _Predicted_ _Actual_ - Period 282 years 249.17 - Eccentricity 0.202 0.254 - Longitude of perihelion 205° 202° 30′ - Perihelion passage 1991.2 1989.16 - Inclination about 10° 17° 9′ - Longitude of node not 109° 22′ - predicted - -“Lowell saw in advance that the perturbations of the latitudes of Uranus -and Neptune (from which alone the position of the orbit plane of the -unknown planet could be calculated) were too small to give a reliable -result and contented himself with the prophecy that the inclination, -like the eccentricity, would be considerable. For the other four -independent elements of the orbit, which are those that Lowell actually -undertook to determine by his calculations, the agreement is good in all -cases, the greatest discrepancy being in the period, which is -notoriously difficult to determine by computations of this sort. In view -of Lowell’s explicit statement that since the perturbations were small -the resulting elements of the orbit could at best be rather rough -approximations, the actual accordance is all that could be demanded by a -severe critic. - -“Even so, the table does not tell the whole story. Figure 1[49] shows -the actual and the predicted orbits, the real positions of the planet at -intervals from 1781 to 1989, and the positions resulting from Lowell’s -calculations. It appears at once that the predicted positions of the -orbit and of the planet upon it were nearest right during the 19th -century and the early part of the 20th, while at earlier and later dates -the error rapidly increased. Now this (speaking broadly) is just the -interval covered by the observations from which the influence of the -planet’s attraction could be determined and, therefore, the interval in -which calculation could find the position of the planet itself with the -least uncertainty. - - [Illustration: Predicted and Actual Orbits of PLUTO] - -“In the writer’s judgment this test is conclusive.”[50] - -Later observations, and computations of the orbit of Pluto, do not vary -very much from those that Professor Russell had when he wrote. Two of -the most typical—giving more elements—are as follows: - - _Predicted_ _Nicholson and _F. Zagar_ - Mayall_ - Period 282 years 249.2 248.9 - Eccentricity 0.202 0.2461 0.2472 - Longitude of 204.9 222° 23′ 20″ .17 222° 29′ 39″ .4 - perihelion - Perihelion passage 1991.2 1889.75 1888.4 - Inclination about 10° 17° 6′ 58″ .4 17° 6′ 50″ .8 - Semi-major axis 43. 39.60 39.58 - Perihelion 34.31 29.86 29.80 - distance - Aphelion distance 51.69 49.35 49.36 - -Except for the eccentricity, and the inclination which he declared it -impossible to calculate, these results have proved as near as, with the -uncertainty of his data, he could have expected; and in regard to the -position of the planet in its orbit it will be recalled that he found -two solutions on opposite sides, both of which would account almost -wholly for the residuals of Uranus. The one that came nearest to doing -so he had regarded as the least probable because it placed the planet in -a part of the sky that had been much searched without finding it; but it -was there that Pluto appeared—a striking proof of his rigorous analytic -method. - -But the question of its mass has raised serious doubts whether Pluto can -have caused the perturbations of Uranus from which he predicted its -presence, for if it has no significant mass the whole basis of the -calculation falls to the ground, and there has been found a body -travelling, by a marvellous coincidence, in such an orbit that, if large -enough, it would produce the perturbations but does not do so.[51] Now -as there is no visible satellite to gauge its attraction, and as it will -be long before Pluto in its eccentric orbit approaches Neptune or Uranus -closely enough to measure accurately by that means, the mass cannot yet -be determined with certainty. What is needed are measures of position of -the highest possible accuracy of Neptune and Uranus, long continued and -homogeneous. - -The reasons for the doubt about adequate mass are two.[52] One that with -the largest telescopes it shows no visible disk, and must therefore be -very small in size, and hence in mass unless its density is much -greater, or its albedo far less, than those of any other known planet. -The other substantially that the orbits of Uranus and Neptune can be, -and are more naturally, explained by assuming appropriate elements -therefor, without the intervention of Pluto’s disturbing force. This is -precisely what Percival stated in discussing the correctness of the -residuals—that it was always possible to account for the motions of a -planet, whose normal orbit about the sun is not definitely ascertained, -by throwing any observed divergencies either on errors in the supposed -orbit, or upon perturbations by an unknown body. - -The conditions here are quite unlike those at the discovery of Neptune, -for there the existence of the perturbations was clear, because fairly -large, and the orbit predicted was wrong because of an error in the -distance assumed; and the question was whether the presence of Neptune -in the direction predicted, though in a different orbit, was an -accident, or inevitable. Here the predicted orbit is substantially the -actual one, adequate to account for the perturbations of Uranus if such -really exist, and the question is whether they do or not. If not the -discovery of Pluto is a mere unexplained coincidence which has no -connection with the prediction. Whether among recognized uncertainties -it is more rational to suppose a very high density, and very low albedo, -with corresponding perturbations of Uranus and Neptune, whose orbits are -still imperfectly known, or to conclude that a planet, which would -account for these things if dense enough, revolves in fact in the -appropriate path, a mere ghost of itself—a phantom but not a force—one -who is not an astronomer must leave to the professionals. - -In the case of both Neptune and Pluto the calculation was certainly a -marvellous mathematical feat, and in accord with the usual practice -whereby the discoverer of a new celestial body is entitled to propose -its name the observers at Flagstaff selected from many suggestions that -of “Pluto” with the symbol [Illustration: ligature, P over L]; and -henceforth astronomers will be reminded of Percival Lowell, by the -planet he found but never saw. - - [Illustration: Decorative wreath] - - - - - APPENDIX I - - - _Professor Henry Norris Russell’s later views on the size of Pluto - (written to the Biographer and printed with the writer’s consent)._ - -Later investigations have revealed a very curious situation. When once -the elements of Pluto’s orbit are known, the calculation of the -perturbations which it produces on another planet, such as Neptune, are -greatly simplified. But the problem of finding Pluto’s mass from -observations of Neptune is still none too easy, for the perturbations -affect the calculated values of the elements of Neptune’s orbit, and are -thus “entangled” with them in an intricate fashion. - -Nicholson and Mayall, in 1930, attacked the problem, and found that the -perturbations of Neptune by Pluto, throughout the interval from its -discovery to the present, were almost exactly similar to the effects -which would have been produced by certain small changes in the elements -of Neptune’s orbit, so that, from these observations alone, it would -have been quite impossible to detect Pluto’s influence. Outside this -interval of time, the effects of the perturbations steadily diverge from -those of the spurious changes in the orbit, but we cannot go into the -future to observe them, and all we have in the past is two rather -inaccurate observations made in 1795 by Lalande.[53] If the average of -these two discordant observations is taken as it stands, Pluto’s mass -comes out 0.9 times that of the Earth, and this determination is -entitled to very little weight. - -Uranus is farther from Pluto, and its perturbations are smaller; but it -has been accurately observed over one and a half revolutions, as against -half a revolution for Neptune, and this greatly favors the separation of -the perturbations from changes in the assumed orbital elements. -Professor E. W. Brown—the most distinguished living student of the -subject—concludes from a careful investigation that the observations of -Uranus show that Pluto’s mass cannot exceed one-half of the Earth’s and -may be much less. In his latest work a great part of the complication is -removed by a curiously simple device. Take the sum of the residuals of -Uranus at any two dates separated by one-third of its period, and -subtract from this the residual at the middle date. Brown proves—very -simply—that the troublesome effect of uncertainties in the eccentricity -and perihelion of the disturbed planet will be completely removed from -the resulting series of numbers, leaving the perturbations much easier -to detect. The curve which expresses their effects, though changed in -shape, can easily be calculated. Applying this method to the longitude -of Uranus, he finds, beside the casual errors of observation, certain -deviations; but these change far more rapidly than perturbations due to -Pluto could possibly do, and presumably arise from small errors in -calculating the perturbations produced by Neptune. When these are -accurately re-calculated, a minute effect of Pluto’s attraction may -perhaps be revealed, but Brown concludes that “another century of -accurate observations appears to be necessary for a determination which -shall have a probable error less than a quarter of the Earth’s mass.” - -The conclusion that Pluto’s mass is small is confirmed by its -brightness. Its visual magnitude is 14.9—just equal to that which -Neptune’s satellite Triton would have if brought to the same distance. -(Since Pluto’s perihelion distance is less than that of Neptune, this -experiment is one which Nature actually performs at times.) Now -Nicholson’s observations show that the mass of Triton is between 0.06 -and 0.09 times the Earth’s. It is highly probable that Pluto’s mass is -about the same—in which case the perturbations which it produces, even -on Neptune, will be barely perceptible, so long as observations have -their present degree of accuracy. - -The value of seven times the Earth’s mass, derived in Percival Lowell’s -earlier calculations, must have been influenced by some error. His -mathematical methods were completely sound—on Professor Brown’s -excellent authority—and the orbit of Planet X which he computed -resembled so closely that of the actual Pluto that no serious -discordance could arise from the difference. But, in this case also, the -result obtained for the mass of the perturbing planet depended -essentially on the few early observations of Uranus as a star, made -before its discovery as a planet, and long before the introduction of -modern methods of precise observation. Errors in these are solely -responsible for the inaccuracy in the results of the analytical -solution. - -The question arises, if Percival Lowell’s results were vitiated in this -way by errors made by others more than a century before his birth, why -is there an actual planet moving in an orbit which is so uncannily like -the one he predicted? - -There seems no escape from the conclusion that this is a matter of -chance. That so close a set of chance coincidences should occur is -almost incredible; but the evidence assembled by Brown permits of no -other conclusion. Other equally remarkable coincidences have occurred in -scientific experience. A cipher cable-gram transmitting to the Lick -Observatory the place of a comet discovered in Europe was garbled in -transmission, and when decoded gave an erroneous position in the -heavens. Close to this position that evening another undiscovered comet -was found. More recently a slight discrepancy between determinations of -the atomic weight of hydrogen by the mass-spectrograph and by chemical -means led to a successful search for a heavy isotype of hydrogen. Later -and more precise work with the mass-spectrograph showed that the -discrepancy had at first been much over-estimated. Had this error not -been made, heavy hydrogen might not yet have been discovered. - -Like this later error, the inaccuracy in the ancient observations, which -led to an over-estimate of the mass and brightness of Pluto, was a -fortunate one for science. - -In any event, the initial credit for the discovery of Pluto justly -belongs to Percival Lowell. His analytical methods were sound; his -profound enthusiasm stimulated the search, and, even after his death, -was the inspiration of the campaign which resulted in its discovery at -the Observatory which he had founded. - - - - - APPENDIX II - THE LOWELL OBSERVATORY - _by Professor Henry Norris Russell_ - - -The Observatory at Flagstaff is Percival Lowell’s creation. The material -support which he gave it, both during his lifetime and by endowment, -represents but a small part of his connection with it. He chose the -site, which in its combination of excellent observing conditions and the -amenities of everyday life, is still unsurpassed. He selected the -permanent members of the staff and provided for the successor to the -Directorship after his death. Last, but not least, he inspired a -tradition of intense interest in the problems of the universe, and -independent and original thought in attacking them, which survives -unimpaired. - -On a numerical basis—whether in number of staff, size of instruments, or -annual budget—the Lowell Observatory takes a fairly modest rank in -comparison with some great American foundations. But throughout its -history it has produced a long and brilliant series of important -discoveries and observations notable especially for originality of -conception and technical skill. Percival Lowell’s own work has been -fully described; it remains to summarize briefly that of the men whom he -chose as his colleagues, presenting it according to its subject, rather -than in chronological order. - -The photography of the planets has been pursued for thirty years, mainly -by the assiduous work of E. C. Slipher, and the resulting collections -are unrivalled. Only a small amount of this store has been published or -described in print, but among its successes may be noted the first -photographs of the canals of Mars, and the demonstration by this -impersonal method of the seasonal changes in the dark areas, and of the -occasional appearance of clouds. It is a commonplace that any astronomer -who wants photographs of the planets for any illustrative purpose -instinctively applies to his friends in Flagstaff, and is not likely to -be disappointed. - -The discovery of Pluto, and incidentally of many hundreds of asteroids, -has already been described. - -An important series of measurements of the radiation from the planets -was made at Flagstaff in 1921 and 1922 by Dr. W. W. Coblentz of the -Bureau of Standards and Dr. C. O. Lampland. Using the 40-inch reflector, -and the vacuum thermocouples which the former had developed, and -employed in measurements of stellar radiation at the Lick Observatory, -and working with and without a water-cell (which transmits most of the -heat carried by the sunlight reflected from a planet, but stops -practically all of that radiated from its own surface), they found that -the true “planetary heat” from Jupiter was so small that its surface -must be very cold, probably below -100° Centigrade, while that from Mars -was considerable, indicating a relatively high temperature. Both -conclusions have been fully confirmed by later work. - -Spectroscopic observation has been equally successful. In 1912 Lowell -and Slipher (V. M.) successfully attacked the difficult problem of the -rotation of Uranus. One side of a rotating planet is approaching us, the -other receding. If its image is thrown on a spectroscope, so that its -equatorial regions fall upon the slit, the lines of the spectrum will be -shifted toward the violet on one edge, and the red on the other, and -will cross it at a slant instead of at right angles. This method had -long before been applied to Jupiter and to Saturn and its rings, but -Uranus is so faint as to discourage previous observation. Nevertheless, -with the 24-inch reflector, and a single-prism spectrograph, seven -satisfactory plates were obtained, with an average exposure of 2½ hours, -every one of which showed a definite rotation effect. The mean result -indicated that Uranus rotates in 10¾ hours, with motion retrograde, as -in the case of his satellites. This result was confirmed five years -latter by Leon Campbell at Harvard, who observed regular variations in -the planet’s brightness with substantially the same period. - -It has been known since the early days of the spectroscope that the -major planets exhibit in their spectra bands produced by absorption by -the gases of their atmospheres, and that these bands are strongest in -the outer planets. Photographs showing this were first made by V. M. -Slipher at the Lowell Observatory in 1902. To get adequate spectrograms -of Neptune required exposures of 14 and 21 hours—occupying the available -parts of the clear nights of a week. The results well repaid the effort. -The bands which appear faintly in Jupiter are very strong in Uranus, and -enormous in Neptune’s spectrum, cutting out great portions of the red -and yellow, and accounting for the well-known greenish color of the -planet. Only one band in the red was present in Jupiter alone. - -For a quarter of a century after this discovery those bands remained one -of the most perplexing riddles of astrophysics. The conviction gradually -grew that they must be due to some familiar gases, but the first hint of -their origin was obtained by Wildt in 1932, who showed that one band in -Jupiter was produced by ammonia gas, and another probably by methane. -These conclusions were confirmed by Dunham in the following year, but -the general solution of the problem was reserved for Slipher and Adel, -who, in 1934, announced that the whole series of unidentified bands were -due to methane. The reason why they had not been identified sooner is -that it requires an enormous thickness of gas to produce them. A tube 45 -meters long, containing methane at 40 atmospheres pressure, produces -bands comparable to those in the spectra of Saturn. The far heavier -bands in Neptune indicate an atmosphere equivalent to a layer 25 miles -thick at standard atmospheric pressure. The fainter bands though not yet -observed in the laboratory, have been conclusively identified by the -theory of band-spectra. Ammonia shows only in Jupiter and faintly in -Saturn; the gas is doubtless liquefied or solidified at the very low -temperatures of the outer planets. - -The earth’s own atmosphere has also been the subject of discovery at -Flagstaff. The light of a clear moonless sky does not come entirely from -the stars and planets; about one-third of it originates in the upper -air, and shows a spectrum of bright lines and bands. The familiar -auroral line is the most conspicuous of these, but V. M. Slipher, making -long exposures with instruments of remarkably great light-gathering -power, has recently detected a large number of other bands, in the deep -red and even the infra-red. Were our eyes strongly sensitive to these -wave-lengths, the midnight skies would appear ruddy. - -Just as the first rays of the rising sun strike the upper layers of the -atmosphere many miles above the surface, new emission bands appear in -the spectrum—to be drowned out soon afterwards by the twilight reflected -from the lower and denser layers; and the reverse process is observable -after sunset. - -The origin of these remarkable and wholly unexpected radiations is not -yet determined. - -The spectrograph of the Observatory was also employed in observations of -stars, and again led to unexpected discoveries. In 1908, while observing -the spectroscopic binary Beta Scorpii, V. M. Slipher found that the K -line of calcium was sharp on his plates, while all the others were broad -and diffuse. Moreover, while the broad lines shifted in position as the -bright star moved in its orbit, the narrow line remained stationery. -Hartmann, in 1904, had observed a similar line in the spectra of Delta -Orionis, and suggested that it was absorbed in a cloud of gas somewhere -between the sun and the star. Slipher, extending his observations to -other parts of the heavens, found that such stationery calcium lines -were very generally present (in spectra of such types that they were not -masked by heavier lines arising in the stars themselves), and made the -bold suggestion that the absorbing medium was a “general veil” of gas -occupying large volumes of interstellar space. - -This hypothesis, which appeared hardly credible at that time, has been -abundantly confirmed—both by the discovery of similar stationery lines -of sodium, and by the theoretical researches of Eddington,—and no one -now doubts that interstellar space is thinly populated by isolated -metallic atoms presumably ejected from some star in the remote past, but -now wandering in the outer darkness, with practically no chance of -returning to the stars. - -To secure satisfactory spectroscopic observations of nebulae is often -very difficult. Though some of these objects are of considerable -brightness, they appear as extended luminous surfaces in the heavens, -and in the focal plane of the telescope. The slit of a spectroscope, -which must necessarily be narrow to permit good resolution of the lines, -admits but a beggarly fraction of the nebula’s light. To increase the -size of the telescope helps very little, for, though more light is -collected in the nebular image, this image is proportionately increased -in area, and no more light enters the slit than before. - -For the gaseous nebulae, whose spectra consist of separate bright lines, -there is no serious difficulty; but the majority of nebulae have -continuous spectra, and when the small amount of light that traverses -the slit is spread out into a continuous band, it becomes so faint that -prohibitively long exposures would be required to photograph it. It was -at the Lowell Observatory that Dr. V. M. Slipher first devised a way of -meeting this difficulty. - -By employing in the camera of the spectrograph (which forms the image of -the spectrum on the plate) a lens of short focus, this image became both -shorter and narrower, thereby increasing the intensity of the light -falling on a given point of the plate in a duplicate ratio. Moreover, -since with this device the image of the slit upon the plate is much -narrower than the slit itself, it became possible to open the slit more -widely and admit much more of the light of the nebula, without spoiling -the definition of the spectral lines. - -This simple but ingenious artifice opened up a wholly new field of -observation, and led to discoveries of great importance. - -Within the cluster of the Pleiades, and surrounding it, are faint -streaky wisps of nebulosity, which have long been known. One might have -guessed that the spectrum, like that of some other filamentous nebulae, -would be gaseous. But when Slipher photographed it in December 1912 -(with an exposure of 21 hours, on three successive nights) he found a -definite continuous spectrum, crossed by strong dark lines of hydrogen -and fainter lines of helium—quite unlike the spectrum of any previously -observed nebula, but “a true copy of that of the brighter stars in the -Pleiades.” Careful auxiliary studies showed that the light which -produced this spectrum came actually from the nebula. This suggested at -once that this nebula is not self-luminous, but shines by the reflected -light of the stars close to it. This conclusion has been fully verified -by later observations, at Flagstaff and elsewhere. It is only under -favorable conditions that one of these vast clouds (probably of thinly -scattered dust) lies near enough to any star to be visibly illuminated. -The rest reveal themselves as dark markings against the background of -the Milky Way. - -Similar observations of the Great Nebula of Orion showed that the -conspicuous “nebular” lines found in its brighter portions faded out in -its outer portions, leaving the hydrogen lines bright, while, at the -extreme edge, only a faint continuous spectrum appeared. This again has -been fully explained by Bowen’s discovery of the mechanism of excitation -of nebular radiation by the ultra-violet light from exceedingly hot -stars, and affords a further confirmation of it. - -But the most important contribution of the new technique was in the -observation of the spiral nebulae. Their spectra are continuous and so -faint that previous instruments brought out only tantalizing suggestions -of dark lines. With the new spectrograph, beautiful spectra were -obtained, showing numerous dark lines, of just the character that might -have been expected from vast clouds of stars of all spectral types. This -provided the first definite indication of one of the greatest of modern -astronomical discoveries—that the white nebulae are external galaxies, -of enormous dimensions, and at distances beyond the dreams of an earlier -generation. - -By employing higher dispersion, spectra were secured which permitted the -measurement of radial velocity. The first plates, of the Andromeda -Nebula, revealed the almost unprecedented speed of 300 kilometers per -second toward the Sun. Later measures of many other nebulae showed that -this motion was, for a nebula, unusually slow, but remarkable in its -direction, for practically all the others were receding. - -Similar measures upon globular star-clusters showed systematic -differences in various parts of the heavens, which indicated that, -compared with the vast system of these clusters, the Sun is moving at -the rate of nearly 300 kilometers per second—a motion which is now -attributed to its revolution, in a vast orbit, about the center of the -Galaxy, as a part of the general rotation of the latter. - -The velocities of the nebulae reveal substantially the same solar -motion, but, over and above this, an enormous velocity of recession, -increasing with the faintness and probable distance of the nebulae. - -This, again, was a discovery of primary importance. It has been -confirmed at other observatories and observations with the largest -existing telescope have revealed still greater velocities of recession -in nebulae too faint to observe at Flagstaff. How this has led to the -belief that the material universe is steadily expanding and that its -ascertainable past history covers only some two thousand millions of -years, can only be mentioned here. - -This is a most remarkable record for thirty years’ work of a single -observatory with a regular staff never exceeding four astronomers. But -its distinction lies less in the amount of the work than in its -originality and its fertile character in provoking extensive and -successful researches at other observatories as well. - -All this is quite in the spirit of its Founder, and, to his colleagues -in the science, makes the Observatory itself seem his true monument. His -body lies at rest upon the hill, but, in an unquenched spirit of eager -investigation, his soul goes marching on. - - - - - FOOTNOTES - - -[1]It is dated Boston, August 24th, but the year does not appear. She - was abroad and he at home in the summers of 1882 and 1887. - -[2]Before leaving Korea he spent two delightful weeks at the Footes’. - -[3]This came about a month later than ours. - -[4](_Atlantic Monthly_, Nov. 1886, “A Korean Coup d’Etat”). - -[5]“The Life and Letters of Lafcadio Hearn by Elizabeth Bisland,” Vol. - I, p. 459. - -[6]_Ib._, Vol. II, p. 28. - -[7]_Ib._, Vol. II, p. 30. - -[8]_Ib._, Vol. II, p. 487. See also pp. 479, 505. Percival’s “Occult - Japan” a study of Shinto trances, published in 1894, he did not like - at all. It struck him only “as a mood of the man, an ugly - supercilious one, verging on the wickedness of a wish to hurt—there - was in ‘The Soul of the Far East’ an exquisite approach to playful - tenderness—utterly banished from ‘Occult Japan.’” _Id._, pp. 204, - 208. By this time Hearn seems to have come to resent criticism of - the Japanese. - -[9]The exact elevation proved to be 12,611. - -[10]These discoveries have since been doubted. - -[11]The theory of the gradual loss of water is very doubtful, but - Percival’s main conclusions depend on the present aridity of the - planet, not on its assumed history. - -[12]In a lecture shortly before his death he said: “Where Schiaparelli - discovered 140, between 700 and 800 have been detected at - Flagstaff.” - -[13]Thereafter the equipment of the Observatory was steadily - enlarged—notably by a 42-inch reflector in 1909—until now there are - five domes, and much auxiliary apparatus. - -[14]Vol. 19, No. 218. - -[15]Percival’s statement of this may be found also in “Mars as the Abode - of Life,” Chapter III. - -[16]Their existence was proved, although the grain of the best plates is - too coarse to distinguish between sharp lines and diffuse bands. - -[17]While written in the third person the words are clearly his own. - -[18]His determination of the Martian temperature has since been very - closely verified. - -[19]In a letter to Dr. V. M. Slipher on Oct. 4, 1902 he writes: - - “There has come into my head a new way for detecting the spectral - lines due to a planet’s own atmospheric absorption, and I beg you - will apply it to Mars so soon as the Moon shall be in position to - make a comparison spectrum. - - “It is this. At quadrature of an exterior planet we are travelling - toward that planet at the rate of 18.5 miles a second and we are - carrying of course our own atmosphere with us. Our motion shortens - all the wave-lengths sent us from the planet, including those which - have suffered absorption in _its_ atmosphere. When the waves reach - _our_ atmosphere those with a suitable wavelength are absorbed by it - and these wave-lengths are unaffected by our motion since it is at - rest as regards us. Even were the two atmospheres alike the absorbed - wave-lengths reaching us would thus be different since the one set, - the planet’s, have been shifted by our motion toward it while the - other set, our own, are such as they would be at rest. We thus have - a criterion for differentiating the two. And the difference should - be perceptible in your photographs. For the shift of Jupiter’s lines - due to rotation is such as 8. × 2. = 16 miles a second produces, - which is less than 18.5 and about what you will get now.” - -[20]So far as the shooting stars are concerned this opinion was based - upon their velocities, which have since been found in many cases to - be greater than was then supposed. - -[21]Opic has recently shown that the sun’s effective domain is even - larger. - -[22]Later observations seem to show that Mercury’s periods of rotation - and revolution are not the same, but nearly so. - -[23]It now appears very improbable that these are real comet families. - -[24]Recent results indicate that these are much smaller, and sometimes - move faster, than was formerly believed. - -[25]This theory, though generally held till 1930, has apparently been - disproved by Jeffries. - -[26]The periods of revolution and rotation have since appeared not to be - exactly the same. - -[27]Radiometric measures of late years show the outer surface of Jupiter - to be at a very low temperature. - -[28]As these thickenings, which he called tores, were not perceived the - next time the rings were seen edgewise—although probably there—it is - needless to dwell more upon them. - -[29]By continued, and quite recent, study at Flagstaff the content of - this gas has been found to be for Jupiter and Saturn one half, for - Uranus five times and for Neptune twenty-five times the amount of - the atmosphere of the Earth. - - A reader who seeks to know more of the later theories of the Solar - System may find them in the book with that name by Russell, Dugan - and Stewart. - -[30]Since he wrote, the discovery of radio-active substances has given - rise to a wholly new crop of theories about the early geologic - processes in the Earth’s crust. - -[31]It is now practically certain that a dark star would be of very high - density and small size, which would make the warning before the - catastrophe still shorter. - -[32]The discussion was continued in the press, Percival’s main argument - being in his article in the _Astrophysical Journal_ for October, - 1907. Among those who claimed that the canals were optical illusions - was Mr. Douglass after his connection with the Observatory had - ceased; although he had previously drawn many of them, and himself - discovered those in the darker regions. - -[33]In _Popular Science Monthly_, for September, 1907, Mr. Agassiz told - his experience in observing at Flagstaff, and why the appearance of - canals cannot be due to optical or visual illusions. - -[34]The Director’s house was commonly known as “The Baronial Mansion.” - -[35]Memoirs of the Lowell Observatory, Vol. I, No. II. - -[36]Bulletin No. 32. - -[37]In a recent letter from the Observatory Mr. E. C. Slipher describes - a great white spot that appeared on the equator of Saturn in 1933. - It behaved as of hot matter flung up from the interior, and after - two or three days spread itself towards the East in the direction of - the planet’s rotation. His explanation is that the level from which - this matter came is revolving faster than the atmospheric shell, the - new material coming to the visible surface constantly more and more - in advance of the original spot—a confirmation of Percival’s - calculations. - -[38]Vol. XIV, No. 1. - -[39]“The Evolution of Worlds,” p. 118 and _seq._ - -[40]Adams, “Explanation of the Motion of Uranus,” 1846. - -[41]Proc. Amer. Acad., Vol. 1, p. 64. - -[42]Proc. Amer. Acad., Vol. 1, p. 65 _et seq._ - -[43]Proc. Amer. Acad., Vol. 1, p. 144. - -[44]Proc. Amer. Acad., Vol. 1, p. 332. - -[45]Observatory “Memoir on a Trans-Neptunian Planet.” - -[46]Much of the following account is taken from “Searching Out Pluto” by - Roger Lowell Putnam and Dr. V. M. Slipher in the _Scientific - Monthly_ for June, 1932, by whose courtesy it is used. - -[47]515 asteroids and 700 variable stars were there disclosed. - -[48]After X had been discovered two very weak images of it were found on - photographic plates made in 1915—the year he published his Memoir. - -[49]This figure slightly changed for later observations is on the - opposite page. - -[50]Dr. A. C. D. Crommelin, the highest authority in England on such - matters, had expressed the same conclusion; and the Royal - Astronomical Society had cabled its felicitations on the discovery. - Professor Russell’s latest views may be found in _infra_. - -[51]The non-expert reader must remember that the mass and the size—still - more the apparent size—are very different things, and the mass is - the only one that could be found by calculation, for this alone - affects the attraction, which at such a distance is quite - independent of the density and hence of the size. Moreover, the - apparent size depends also upon the extent to which the surface - reflects the light of the sun—technically termed the planet’s - albedo—a matter that has no relation to the perturbation of another - body. - -[52]“The Astronomical Romance of Pluto”—Professor A. O. - Leuschner—Publications of _The Astronomical Society of the Pacific_, - August, 1932. - -[53]See page 181 _supra_. - - - - - Transcriber’s Notes - - -—Copyright notice provided as in the original—this e-text is public - domain in the country of publication. - -—Silently corrected palpable typos; left non-standard spellings and - dialect unchanged (but retained some nonstandard technical spelling.) - -—In the text version, italicized text is delimited by _underscores_ (the - HTML version reproduces the font form of the printed book.) - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Biography of Percival Lowell, by -Abbott Lawrence Lowell - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BIOGRAPHY OF PERCIVAL LOWELL *** - -***** This file should be named 51900-0.txt or 51900-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/9/0/51900/ - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Dave Morgan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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. 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} - -.fnblock { margin-top:2em; } -.fndef { text-align:justify; margin-top:1.5em; margin-left:1.5em; text-indent:-1.5em; } -.fndef p.fncont, .fndef dl, div.fncont { margin-left:1.5em; text-indent:0em; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; text-align:justify; } -dl.catalog dd { font-style:italic; } -dl.catalog dt { margin-top:1em; } -.author { text-align:right; margin-top:0em; margin-bottom:0em; display:block; } - -dl.biblio dt { margin-top:.6em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:justify; clear:both; } -dl.biblio dt div { display:block; float:left; margin-left:-6em; width:6em; clear:both; } -dl.biblio dt.center { margin-left:0em; text-align:center; } -dl.biblio dd { margin-top:.3em; margin-left:3em; text-align:justify; font-size:90%; } -.clear { clear:both; } -p.book { margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; } -p.review { margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; font-size:80%; } -p.pcap { margin-left:auto; text-indent:0em; text-align:center; margin-top:0em; - font-weight:bold; font-size:90%; max-width:35em; margin-right:auto; } -p.pcapc { margin-left:4.7em; text-indent:0em; text-align:justify; } -span.pn { display:inline-block; width:4.7em; text-align:left; margin-left:0; text-indent:0; } -div.sidenote { max-width:50%; float:left; clear:left; - - margin-bottom:1em; font-weight:bold; font-size:90%; } - - -</style> -</head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -Project Gutenberg's Biography of Percival Lowell, by Abbott Lawrence Lowell - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Biography of Percival Lowell - -Author: Abbott Lawrence Lowell - -Release Date: April 30, 2016 [EBook #51900] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BIOGRAPHY OF PERCIVAL LOWELL *** - - - - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Dave Morgan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - -<div id="cover" class="img"> -<img id="coverpage" src="images/cover.jpg" alt="Biography of Percival Lowell" width="600" height="800" /> -</div> -<div class="img" id="fig1"> -<img src="images/img000.jpg" alt="Autograph" width="500" height="142" /> -</div> -<div class="img" id="fig2"> -<img src="images/img001.jpg" alt="·The M·M Co· Logo" width="439" height="146" /> -</div> -<p class="center">THE MACMILLAN COMPANY -<br /><span class="small">NEW YORK · BOSTON · CHICAGO · DALLAS · ATLANTA · SAN FRANCISCO</span></p> -<p class="center">MACMILLAN & CO., <span class="sc">Limited</span> -<br /><span class="small">LONDON · BOMBAY · CALCUTTA · MELBOURNE</span></p> -<p class="center">THE MACMILLAN COMPANY OF CANADA, <span class="sc">Limited</span> -<br /><span class="small">TORONTO</span></p> -<div class="img" id="ill1"> -<img id="fig3" src="images/img002.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="748" /> -<p class="pcap">PERCIVAL LOWELL AGE 61<br />From a silver point portrait begun before his death and finished afterwards by Eccolo Cartollo</p> -</div> -<div class="box"> -<h1>BIOGRAPHY OF -<br />PERCIVAL LOWELL</h1> -<p class="tbcenter"><i>By</i> -<br />A. LAWRENCE LOWELL</p> -<p class="tbcenter"><span class="small">NEW YORK</span> -<br />THE MACMILLAN COMPANY -<br />1935</p> -<p class="center small"><i>Copyright, 1935, by</i> -<br />THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.</p> -<p><span class="smaller">All rights reserved—no part of this book may be -reproduced in any form without permission in writing -from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes -to quote brief passages in connection with a review -written for inclusion in magazine or newspaper.</span></p> -<p class="center small"><i>Set up and printed.</i> -<br /><i>Published November, 1935.</i></p> -<p class="center smaller">PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA -<br />NORWOOD PRESS LINOTYPE, INC. -<br />NORWOOD, MASS., U.S.A.</p> -</div> -<div class="pb" id="Page_v">v</div> -<h2>PREFACE</h2> -<p>If genius is the capacity for taking infinite pains, Percival -Lowell possessed it abundantly from his study of Esoteric -Shinto, in his earlier life in Japan, to his great calculation -of the position and orbit of an unknown planet beyond -Neptune, at the close of his life. In determining facts he -was thoroughly and rigidly scientific, leaving nothing unexplored -that bore upon the subject; and in his astronomical -investigations it became clear to him that better methods -of doing it were required. At the outset, therefore, he set -up his Observatory in an atmosphere steadier than that -where the older telescopes, and almost all of those then in -existence, did their work; thus seeing much not visible -elsewhere.</p> -<p>But in addition to industry he had an inflammable intellect, -easily ignited by any suggestion or observation, and -when alight glowing in intensity until the work was done. -He had also a highly vivid imagination, compared with -many men of science who proceeded more cautiously; and -hence he sought, not only to ascertain new facts, but to -draw conclusions from them more freely than is customary -with experts of that type. This he felt had often been true -of those who made advances in scientific thought, and he -regarded himself as standing for a time somewhat apart -from most men in his own field. Such an attitude, and -the fact that he had taken up observational astronomy in -middle life, unconnected with any other scientific institution, -tended to make many professional astronomers look -<span class="pb" id="Page_vi">vi</span> -upon him askance. So he plowed his own furrow largely -by himself in the spirit of a pioneer, and this little volume -is an attempt to tell what he accomplished.</p> -<p>The writer is very grateful to the Houghton, Mifflin Company, -the Macmillan Company, The Atlantic Monthly, Rhodora, -the Scientific American, and Miss Katharine G. Macartney -(on behalf of Mrs. George Gould) for permission to -quote, sometimes at great length, from books and articles -by and about Percival. The writer desires also to express his -deep obligation to Mr. George R. Agassiz, his brother’s intimate -friend and helper, to Dr. Vesto Melvin Slipher, Dr. -Carl O. Lampland and Mr. E. C. Slipher of the Lowell Observatory -at Flagstaff, for reading the manuscript and giving -advice; and to Professor Henry Norris Russell of Princeton -University, for his kindness in not only doing this, but for -writing the two appendices that follow this volume. Without -their help the astronomical part of this book would have -been sadly defective. They have pointed out advances in -knowledge that have made certain of Percival’s opinions, -particularly earlier ones, no longer tenable. Some of these he -changed during his lifetime, others he would have changed -had he lived to see the more ample facts since known. Nor -is this a criticism of his work, for astronomy has been -advancing rapidly of late; and when that is true no man -can expect all his views, even if accepted at the time, to -endure. Change in opinions is the penalty of growing -knowledge. It is enough that a man has helped to push -knowledge and thought forward while he lived, and this -Percival, with the exhaustless energy of his nature, certainly -did.</p> -<p><span class="lr"><span class="small">Boston, October 21, 1935.</span></span></p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_vii">vii</div> -<h2>CONTENTS</h2> -<dl class="toc"> -<dt class="small"><span class="left"><span class="small">CHAPTER</span></span> <span class="small">PAGE</span></dt> -<dt><a href="#c1"><span class="cn">I </span>Childhood and Youth</a> 1</dt> -<dt><a href="#c2"><span class="cn">II </span>First Visit to Japan</a> 8</dt> -<dt><a href="#c3"><span class="cn">III </span>Korea</a> 13</dt> -<dt><a href="#c4"><span class="cn">IV </span>His First Book, “Chosön”</a> 17</dt> -<dt><a href="#c5"><span class="cn">V </span>The Coup d’Etat and the Japanese March to the Sea</a> 20</dt> -<dt><a href="#c6"><span class="cn">VI </span>The Soul of the Far East</a> 29</dt> -<dt><a href="#c7"><span class="cn">VII </span>Second Visit to Japan</a> 41</dt> -<dt><a href="#c8"><span class="cn">VIII </span>Japan Again—the Shinto Trances</a> 52</dt> -<dt><a href="#c9"><span class="cn">IX </span>The Observatory at Flagstaff</a> 61</dt> -<dt><a href="#c10"><span class="cn">X </span>Mars</a> 76</dt> -<dt><a href="#c11"><span class="cn">XI </span>The Permanent Observatory—Interludes and Travels</a> 92</dt> -<dt><a href="#c12"><span class="cn">XII </span>Illness and Eclipse</a> 98</dt> -<dt><a href="#c13"><span class="cn">XIII </span>Mars and Its Canals</a> 107</dt> -<dt><a href="#c14"><span class="cn">XIV </span>The Solar System</a> 120</dt> -<dt><a href="#c15"><span class="cn">XV </span>Later Evolution of the Planets</a> 136</dt> -<dt><a href="#c16"><span class="cn">XVI </span>Interludes</a> 145</dt> -<dt><a href="#c17"><span class="cn">XVII </span>The Effect of Commensurate Periods</a> 157</dt> -<dt><a href="#c18"><span class="cn">XVIII </span>The Origin of the Planets</a> 168</dt> -<dt><a href="#c19"><span class="cn">XIX </span>The Search for a Trans-Neptunian Planet</a> 176</dt> -<dt><a href="#c20"><span class="cn">XX </span>Pluto Found</a> 195</dt> -<dt><a href="#c21"><span class="cn"> </span>Appendix I Professor Russell’s Later Views on the Size of Pluto</a> 203</dt> -<dt><a href="#c22"><span class="cn"> </span>Appendix II The Lowell Observatory by Professor Russell</a> 206</dt> -</dl> -<div class="pb" id="Page_ix">ix</div> -<h2>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> -<dl class="toc"> -<dt><a href="#ill1"><span class="sc">Percival Lowell, Age 61</span></a> <i>Frontispiece</i></dt> -<dt><a href="#ill2"><span class="sc">Percival Lowell and His Biographer</span></a> Facing Page 4</dt> -<dt><a href="#ill3"><span class="sc">Percival Lowell and the Members of the Korean Embassy</span></a> 16</dt> -<dt><a href="#ill4"><span class="sc">Observing and Drawing the Canals of Mars</span></a> 116</dt> -<dt><a href="#ill5"><span class="sc">Gaps in the Asteroids and the Rings of Saturn</span></a> 166</dt> -<dt><a href="#ill6"><span class="sc">Predicted and Actual Orbits of Pluto</span></a> Page 199</dt> -</dl> -<h1 title="">BIOGRAPHY OF -<br />PERCIVAL LOWELL</h1> -<div class="pb" id="Page_1">1</div> -<h2 id="c1">CHAPTER I -<br />CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH</h2> -<p>The particular assortment of qualities a man inherits, from -among the miscellaneous lot his ancestors no doubt possessed -and might have transmitted, is of primary importance -to him. In this Percival Lowell was fortunate. From his -father’s family he derived a very quick apprehension, a -capacity for intellectual interests, keen and diversified, and -a tireless joy in hard mental labor; while from his mother’s -people he drew sociability, ease of companionship and -charm; from both families a scorn of anything mean or -unworthy, a business ability and the physical health that -comes from right living. His life is the story of the use he -made of these heirlooms.</p> -<p>The son of Augustus Lowell and Katharine Bigelow -(Lawrence), Percival Lowell was born in Boston on -March 13, 1855, at 131 Tremont Street where the Shepard -stores now stand. The region was then residential, and his -parents went there so that his mother might be near her -father, the Hon. Abbott Lawrence, whose house was on Park -Street, now the main portion of the Union Club. He had -fallen ill since his return as Minister to England, and was -now failing fast. Percival was her first-born, but others followed -rapidly, involving removal to larger quarters; first to -Park Square, and then to 81 Mount Vernon Street, where -<span class="pb" id="Page_2">2</span> -even the games of little boys were tinged by the overshadowing -events of the day,—the drilling and the battles of the -Civil War. He went to a dame school kept by Miss Fette; -and being always a good scholar learned what he should; for -he developed normally. After infancy the summer was -spent at Beverly in the pleasures and occupations of early -childhood.</p> -<p>But in the spring of 1864 there came a sudden change. -His mother was far from well, and losing ground so fast -that his father was advised to take her abroad for a complete -change as her only chance,—a heroic remedy which -proved in time successful. So the family sailed in the <i>Africa</i>, -a paddle-wheel steamer of 2500 tons with the sails of a full-rigged -ship,—the father with an invalid wife, four children -aged from nine to two, a nurse sea-sick all the time; and in -addition the care of three more children of a friend in -Europe, with a nurse who was well, but bereft of sense. -However, they arrived safely, spent the summer in England, -and, as all Americans did in those days, went to Paris for -the winter.</p> -<p>Here Percival began a life different from that of his contemporaries -at home; for with his younger brother and his -cousin, George P. Gardner,—one of the children who had -crossed with him on the <i>Africa</i>—he went to a French boarding -school kept by a Mr. Kornemann. We were allowed to -come home for Sundays, but spent the rest of the week at -the school,—a very wise arrangement; for, although there -were some English boys, the atmosphere was French, and -we learned the language easily, by the native method of -teaching it. To Percival this was a great benefit throughout -his life.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_3">3</div> -<p>Two winters were spent in this way, the intervening summer -being passed by the family in travel. In the spring of -1866 his parents proposed to go for a few weeks to Italy, -and take the children with them; but Percival was so ill -at ease in travel that he was left at the famous boarding -school kept by the Silligs at Vevey. Although in mature -life a constant traveller, this event was not out of character, -for not being yet old enough to enjoy the results of travel, -or feel the keen interest in them later aroused, he was too -restless to find pleasure in long journeying without an object. -On their return from Italy the family picked him up -and went to Germany, where they were caught by the -seven weeks’ war with Austria. When it broke out they -were at Schwalbach in Nassau, one of the smaller states -that took sides against Prussia. Percival always remembered -vividly what he there saw, exciting enough for a small boy; -the sudden clatter of a galloping horse, as a man in civilian -dress passed the hotel up a small lane to the left. It was the -burgomaster carrying word of Prussian advance, followed -quickly by the sound of several more horses, and three -videttes in blue galloped past, turning up the main road in -front of the hotel where they supposed the burgomaster had -gone. Up the road they went and disappeared round a turn -to the left at the top of the slope. Scarcely had they vanished -when a squad of green-clad Nassau infantry appeared, and -following half-way up the hill hid behind a wood pile. It -was not long before the Prussian videttes, having failed to -find the burgomaster, came into sight again, leisurely walking -their horses down the road. When abreast of the wood -pile the Nassau squad stole out, firing from the hip in the -manner of the day. Whether they hit anyone we never -<span class="pb" id="Page_4">4</span> -knew, but the enemy was wholly dispersed, for one of the -horsemen wheeled up the hill, another spurred his horse -down past the hotel, and the third jumped his over the wall -into the garden of the baths. That afternoon a Nassau regiment -marched into the town and bivouacked in the streets, -leaving in the morning to be replaced later in the day by -a Prussian regiment, which in its turn marched off to its -rendezvous near Kissingen.</p> -<p>By the end of the summer of 1866 Mother was well -enough to go home, and the whole family sailed for Boston. -Percival’s education there was of the ordinary classical type -preparatory for college, for one year at a school kept by a -Mr. Fette, brother of his teacher in childhood, and then for -five years in that of Mr. George W. C. Noble, whose influence, -both by teaching and character, was strong with -all boys capable of profiting thereby. Percival was always -near the top of his class, especially in the Classics, which he -acquired so easily that while playing with a toy boat, in a -shallow pond made by the melting snow on the lawn at -Brookline, it occurred to him to describe an imaginary shipwreck -thereof; and he did so in some hundreds of Latin -hexameter verses.</p> -<div class="img" id="ill2"> -<img id="fig4" src="images/img003.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="788" /> -<p class="pcap">PERCIVAL LOWELL -<br />And His Biographer</p> -</div> -<div class="pb" id="Page_5">5</div> -<p>In the spring of 1867 Father bought the place at the corner -of Heath and Warren Streets in Brookline, where he lived -until his death in 1900; and where his last child, Amy, -passed her whole life. Here Percival spent his boyhood, -summer and winter, until he went to college, enjoying the -life and sports of the seasons; and, in fact, he was a normal -boy like his comrades, only more so. During the earlier -years Father drove us into town and out again each day, -he going to his office and the children to school. On the -road he talked on all subjects and we learned much in this -way. Somehow he made us feel that every self-respecting -man must work at something that is worth while, and do -it very hard. In our case it need not be remunerative, for -he had enough to provide for that; but it must be of real -significance. I do not know that he ever said this formally, -but, by the tenor of his conversation and his own attitude -toward life, he impressed that conviction deeply upon the -spirit. From his own active and ambitious nature, Percival -little required such a stimulus; and, indeed, he struck out -an intellectual path of his own in boyhood. He took to -astronomy, read many books thereon, had a telescope of -his own, of about two and a quarter inches in diameter, -with which he observed the stars from the flat roof of our -house; and later in life he recalled that with it he had seen -the white snow cap on the pole of Mars crowning a globe -spread with blue-green patches on an orange ground. This -interest he never lost, and after lying half-dormant for many -years it blazed forth again as the dominant one in his life, -and the field of his remarkable achievements.</p> -<p>The two years of school in Paris certainly had not retarded -his progress, if, indeed, the better European discipline -had not advanced it; for he could have been prepared for -college at sixteen, but it was thought well to extend the time -another year and fill in with other things. Strangely enough, -Mr. Noble thought him not so strong as he might be in two -subjects where he later excelled,—English Composition and -Mathematics,—and in these he was tutored the year before -entering college. Later he thought he had been misjudged, -but one may suspect it was rather because his interest in -these matters had not been aroused. The capacity was there -<span class="pb" id="Page_6">6</span> -but not yet awakened. However, he entered college in the -autumn of 1872 not only clear but with honors in Mathematics. -In fact he studied that subject every year in college, -took second-year honors in it, and Professor Benjamin -Peirce, the great mathematician, spoke of him as one of the -most brilliant scholars ever under his observation, hinting to -him that if he would devote himself thereto he could succeed -him in his chair. Yet it was by no means his sole field -of knowledge, for he elected courses also in the Classics, -Physics and History, doing well enough in all of them to -be in the Φ Β Κ and have a Commencement part. An -impression of his versatility is given by the fact that in his -senior year he won a Bowdoin Prize for an essay on “The -Rank of England as a European Power from the Death of -Elizabeth to the Death of Anne,” and spoke his part on -“The Nebular Hypothesis.”</p> -<p>Yet he was no recluse; for he was constantly that year at -dancing parties in Boston; and, being naturally sociable, -and strongly attached to his friends, he made many in college. -With Harcourt Amory, his Freshman chum, he went -abroad, after graduating in 1876, and spent a year in Europe. -The young men went to London with letters that brought -them into delightful society there, and they travelled over -the British Isles and the Continent. It was mainly the <i>grand -tour</i>; but although he wrote many letters, and kept a journal, -these, so far as preserved, reveal little of his personality -except a keen joy in natural beauty and a readiness in acquaintance -with people casually met. Alone, he went down -the Danube, and tried,—fortunately without success,—to -get to the front in the war then raging between Servia and -Turkey. With Harcourt Amory he went also to Palestine -<span class="pb" id="Page_7">7</span> -and Syria, at that time less visited than they are to-day; but -for this part of his journey, where it would be most interesting, -his journal, if written, is lost. His love of travel had -fairly begun.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_8">8</div> -<h2 id="c2">CHAPTER II -<br />FIRST VISIT TO JAPAN</h2> -<p>In the summer of 1877 he came home; and, having no -impulse toward a profession, he went into the office of his -grandfather, John Amory Lowell, where he was engaged in -helping to manage trust funds. In this,—in learning the -ways of business, for a time as acting treasurer, that is the -executive head, of a large cotton mill, and withal as a young -man of fashion,—he spent the next six years. With money -enough for his wants, never extravagant, and with the increase -that came from shrewd investment, he felt free in the -spring of 1883 to go to Japan to study the language and the -people. Both of these he did with his habitual energy, learning -to speak with great rapidity, meeting socially Japanese -and foreign residents in Tokyo, and observing everything to -be seen. His own view of the value of travel and study is -given in a letter to a sister seven years his junior, written -apparently in the preceding summer when she was in Europe.<a class="fn" id="fr_1" href="#fn_1">[1]</a> -“I am very glad,” he says, “that you are taking so -much interest in studying what you come across in your -journey and after all life itself is but one long journey which -is not only misspent but an unhappy one if one does not -interest one’s-self in whatever one encounters—Besides, from -<span class="pb" id="Page_9">9</span> -another standpoint, you are storing up for yourself riches -above the reach of fickle fate,—what the moths and rust -of this world cannot touch. You are making, as it were, a -friend of yourself. One to whom you can go when time or -place shall sever you from others, and the older you grow, -sweet puss, the more you have to depend upon yourself. So, -school your mind then, that it may come to the rescue of -your feelings—and a great thing is to cultivate this love of -study while yet you are happy. For if you wait until you -need it to be happy, you will, with much more difficulty, -persuade yourself to forget yourself in it—Now as to particulars, -you need never worry yourself if you do not happen -to like what it is orthodox to prefer. You had much better -be honest with yourself even if wrong, than dishonest in -forcing yourself to agree with the multitude. That is, the -opinion one most commonly hears is not always the opinion -of the best. And again, always be able to give a reason for -what you think and, to a great extent, for what you like.”</p> -<p>At once he was fascinated by Japan, its people, their customs, -their tea-houses, gardens and their art. Much of this -was more novel to his friends at home when he wrote about -it than it would be now; although even at that time he saw -how much Tokyo had already been influenced by Western -ideas and habits. He kept his attention alert, observing, -studying, pondering everything that he saw or heard. In -fact, within a fortnight he lit upon two things that later led -to careful examination and the writing of books. In a letter -to his mother on June 8, in dealing with differences that -struck him between the people of Japan and occidentals, he -writes: “Again, perhaps, a key to the Japanese is impersonalism. -Forced upon one’s notice first in their speech, it may -<span class="pb" id="Page_10">10</span> -be but the expression of character. In the Japanese language -there is no distinction of persons, no sex, no plural even. -I speak of course of their inflected speech. They have pronouns, -but these are used solely to prevent ambiguity. The -same is true of their genders and plurals. To suppose them, -however, destitute of feeling, as some have done, I am convinced -would be an error. The impersonalism I speak of -is a thing of the mind rather than the heart. I suggest -rather than posit.” In a letter, three days later, he tells of -a friend whose jin-riki-sha man’s wife had the fox disease, -“a species of acute mania supposed by the people to be a -bewitchment by the fox. As the person possessed so regards -it and others assist in keeping up the delusion by interpreting -favorably to their own views, it is no wonder that the -superstition survives.” Some years later an unexpected sight -of a religious trance on Mount Ontake gave rise to a careful -study of these psychic phenomena. Well did Pasteur remark -that in the fields of observation chance favors only the minds -that are prepared.</p> -<p>He hired a house in Tokyo, set up his own establishment -as if he had been born and bred there, and after three weeks -on shore wrote: “I am beginning to talk Japanese like a -native (of America), and I take to ye manners and customs -of ye country like a duck to the water.” He stayed enjoying -the life, and the many friends he made, until the middle of -July, when, with Professor Terry of the University, he -started on a trip across the mountains to the other side of -the island. The journey was hard, and at times the food -and lodging poor. “Think,” he writes, “of the means of -subsistence in a land where there is no milk, no butter, no -cheese, no bread, almost no meat, and not over many eggs. -<span class="pb" id="Page_11">11</span> -Rice is the staple article of food, then vegetables, eggs and -fish; the last two being classed as the food of the richer, -and most eaten in the greater centres. Some country people -are so poor that they have not rice, and eat barley instead. It -is considered a sign of poverty to be without this universal -article of diet, but in travelling about in out-of-the-way corners -one meets with such places. I have myself lit upon such -at the noon-day halt but have never been obliged to spend -the night there.” But the scenery was fine, and the people -unchanged by contact with the foreigner. He noted archaic -devices still in use for pumping and boiling water; yet, in -visiting a ruined castle, he saw that while the interior of the -country had as yet been little affected by the impact of the -West its political condition had been transformed with -amazing speed. “We mounted through some seven barnlike -rooms, up Japanese ladders to the top story. Sitting by the -window and looking at the old feudal remains below, the -moat with its stagnant slime and the red dragon flies skimming -its surface, the old walls, the overgrown ramparts -where now the keeper tries to grow a crop of beans, all -tended to carry my thoughts back to the middle ages, or was -it only to my own boyhood when the name <i>middle ages</i> -almost stood for fairy land? And yet all this had been a -fact, even while I had been dreaming of it. My dreams of -Western feudalism had been co-existent with Eastern feudalism -itself. So it was only eleven years ago that the last -Daimio of the place left the castle of his ancestors forever.”</p> -<p>From his journey across Japan he got back to Tokyo on -August 13th, where a surprise and an opportunity awaited -him. On the very evening of that day he was asked to accompany -a Special Mission from Korea to the United States -<span class="pb" id="Page_12">12</span> -as its Foreign Secretary and Counsellor. About this Dr. W. -Sturgis Bigelow wrote to Percival’s father:</p> -<blockquote> -<p>“After two days of unconditional refusal and one of doubt -Percy has finally yielded to the wishes of the U. S. Legation here -and accepted the position of Foreign Secretary and General -Counsellor to the Embassy sent from Korea to the U. S.</p> -<p>“The position practically amounts to his having complete -charge and control of the most important legation from a new -country that has visited the U. S. since the opening of Japan. -The U. S. authorities here are greatly pleased at having secured -so good a man, as is natural. There were many applicants for the -place.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>He goes on to say the hesitation was mainly due to -anxiety to what his father would say, and adds:</p> -<blockquote> -<p>“He distrusts himself too much, he has great ability, he has -learned Japanese faster than I ever saw any man learn a language—and -he only needs to be assured that he is doing the right thing -to make a success of anything he undertakes, whether science or -diplomacy.”</p> -</blockquote> -<div class="pb" id="Page_13">13</div> -<h2 id="c3">CHAPTER III -<br />KOREA</h2> -<p>It was the first diplomatic mission from the hermit kingdom -to any Western power, and they wanted someone with -<i>savoir faire</i> to look after them. He accepted the post, landing -in San Francisco with his charges on September 2nd, and -crossing to New York, where the Embassy was received by -President Arthur. After spending six weeks in the United -States he returned by the Pacific with the greater part of -his colleagues, reaching Japan in November. They felt -grateful for what he had done, and he was invited to go -on with them to Korea as the guest of the King—a chance -not to be lost, so he went, and after sundry wearisome delays -in transit came to Söul, the capital of the Kingdom, just -before Christmas, 1883.</p> -<p>Evidently he had not intended so long a sojourn and study -as he was destined to make, for in a letter to his mother on -December the 20th, just after landing at Chemulpo, the -port of Söul, he writes: “I purpose to study the land a little -and then return overland either to Pusan” (the Japanese -treaty port at the extreme southern end of the peninsula) “or -after some travelling in the interior here, Gensan.” He had as -yet no idea of the impossibility of travel in Korea in the winter, -especially for an occidental, but he learned it the following -day when with much discomfort he went half way to -<span class="pb" id="Page_14">14</span> -Söul, the whole distance from the port to the capital being -twenty-seven miles. Another and stronger reason for his prolonged -stay was the hospitality tendered and the solicitude -for his comfort. At Nagasaki, where the ship stopped on the -journey from Japan, his Korean colleagues, observing his -preference, engaged a Japanese familiar with European cooking -to become a member of his household, and they brought -along also chairs for his use. In the letter to his mother just -quoted he writes; “I think I shall either take a house of my -own or, perhaps better, have a part of a Corean’s to my exclusive -use.... I shall of course be asked to stay at our -minister Foote’s, but I shall fight shy of it in order to be less -tied politically.<a class="fn" id="fr_2" href="#fn_2">[2]</a> You see there are national parties even in -this small state, and I think it best for me to be, at any -rate at first, on the cross benches. Out in the Far East the -ministers of foreign countries are always mixed up in national -politics, and Corea is no exception to the rule.” A -shrewd observation in view of the fact that hardly a year -passed before there was bloodshed between the adherents -of China and Japan in the government, when the Japanese -legation was attacked and fought its way to the sea.</p> -<p>He found that there had been prepared for him a -house, or rather group of buildings forming a part of the -Foreign Office, of which he was formally a member as having -been Counsellor to the Embassy to America. “From -the street,” he writes, “you enter a courtyard, then another, -then a garden, and so on, wall after wall, until you have -left the outside world far behind and are in a labyrinth of -your own. Before you lies a garden; behind another surrounded -by porticoes. Courtyards, gardens, porticoes, rooms, -<span class="pb" id="Page_15">15</span> -corridors in endless succession until you lose yourself in -the delightful maze.” He speaks of the painting of landscapes -on the walls, of a door cut out as a circle in the wall -into which fit two sliding panels beautifully painted on both -sides. “Floor, ceiling, walls all are paper. But you would -hardly imagine that what you tread upon, to all appearance -square stone slabs, is oil paper so hard as even in sounds -under your footfalls to resemble flags.... Through the -thick sliding windows sifts the golden light into the room, -and for the nonce you forget that outside is the dull grey -of a cloudy sky and a snow decked land of a December -afternoon.”</p> -<p>There he spent the winter under strangely favorable conditions; -one of the first men of European race to enter the -country with an official position and no official duties or -restraints, and a couple of officers detailed to care for him, -without hampering him by constant attendance on his -movements. In fact he seems to have been more free than -anyone in the land. It was beneath the dignity of a higher -official to go through the streets except in a palanquin; and -all others, save blind men, must not be out of their houses -after night-fall on pain of flogging. But finding that to be -carried squatting on the cold floor of a box two and a half -feet square was intolerable, he took to his feet; and, being -an official, he walked all over the city at any hour of the day -or night, without this foreign eccentricity shocking either -the high or the lowly. He was received in special audience -by the King and the Crown Prince, and later photographed -them; was visited and entertained abundantly, made many -acquaintances and some warm friends. On February 2nd, -he wrote to his mother: “I think it will please your maternal -<span class="pb" id="Page_16">16</span> -ear to hear of the esteem in which your boy is held and of -the honors and great kindness which are lavished upon him. -On New Year’s Eve<a class="fn" id="fr_3" href="#fn_3">[3]</a> he received some gifts from the King, -made on purpose for him, a description of which you will -find in a letter to Katie. They were accompanied by the -wish on the part of His Majesty ‘that in view of my speedy -return, he hoped that I would come back next year.’ I had -informed them of my departure before long, which they do -not view favorably. I was also told that I was constantly in -the King’s thoughts. He is hospitality and kindness itself -to everyone. I have seen several houses of the highest nobles -in the land and there is none to compare with the establishment -they have given me. I have been consulted on foreign -business, my requests for others granted, talked to on home -matters, in short I am looked upon as a friend of the government -and cared for in corresponding style.”</p> -<p>Delightful as the experience was, there came over him in -time a desire to go back to more familiar surroundings, and -as spring approached he spoke of his intention. They tried -to dissuade him, and did induce him to delay his departure; -but at last he sailed with no little feeling of sadness in leaving -a country where he had been so kindly treated and -which he was never to see again. In a letter to his sister -Bessie, on February 17, not long before his departure he -wrote: “I have already taken fifty-three negatives of scenes -in and about Söul, groups and individuals. I am not only -expected by the Coreans but urged to write a book; but as -I have a wholesome dread of publication I reserve my decision. -I am to send as a present to His Majesty a collection -of my photographs printed in Japan on my return.”</p> -<div class="img" id="ill3"> -<img id="fig5" src="images/img004.jpg" alt="" width="599" height="800" /> -<p class="pcap">PERCIVAL LOWELL AND THE MEMBERS OF THE KOREAN EMBASSY</p> -</div> -<div class="pb" id="Page_17">17</div> -<h2 id="c4">CHAPTER IV -<br />HIS FIRST BOOK, “CHOSÖN”</h2> -<p>He did write the book, and published it in 1885, under -the title of “Chosön—the Land of the Morning Calm—A -Sketch of Korea” It is an account of his personal experiences, -under peculiarly favorable conditions, in a land of Asiatic -civilization almost wholly unknown to the outer world, and -as such it was, and after fifty years remains, a highly interesting -book of travel. Although there is too much clever -play on words, a natural temptation to a brilliant young -writer, the story is graphically told, with much appreciation -and many poetic touches on men and scenes. But the book -is far more than this. It is a careful study of the land and -its people, their customs, ideas and manner of life. He describes -the geography of the country and of the walled capital, -then little known, the legends and government; the -houses and mode of life of the upper and lower classes, then -sharply distinguished; the architecture, landscape gardening -and costumes, some of them very peculiar; for while -much of the civilization had been derived from China, and -parts of it bore a close relation to the conditions in Japan, -it was in many ways quite distinct and unlike anything else -even in the Far East. Three things struck him greatly, as -lying at the base of the mode of life, and these he called the -triad of principles. They were the strange lack of individual -<span class="pb" id="Page_18">18</span> -variation, which he called the quality of impersonality, of -which we shall hear more in connection with the Japanese; -the patriarchal system, with the rules of inheritance and the -relation of children to the fathers, which was carried very -far; and the position of women, in which the principle of -exclusion, universal as it is in Asia, was more rigidly enforced -than elsewhere in the Far East.</p> -<p>He was also impressed by the absence of what we understand -by religion, in substance or in manifestation, unless -the ethics of Confucius can be so called. Save for a few -monasteries there were no ecclesiastical buildings, no -temples, no services, public or observable. Buddhist priests -had long been excluded from the walled cities, and the -ancient cult that developed into Shinto in Japan died out or -never developed. On the other hand, there was a general -belief in a multitude of demons, some good, but, so far as -they affected man, evil for the most part, and kept away by -trivial devices, like images of beasts on the roofs and wisps -of straw over the doors.</p> -<p>How he succeeded in acquiring all the knowledge set -forth in the book it is difficult to conceive, for he was there -only about two months, came with the slight knowledge -of the language he could have picked up from his colleagues -on the Mission to America; and there were only two -men, it would seem, who could speak both Korean and any -European tongue,—one of them a German in the Foreign -Office, and the other an English schoolmaster who had been -there but a short time. His chief source of information must -have come through people who spoke Korean and Japanese, -but his own knowledge of the latter was still very limited, -for he had spent only a few months in Japan, and -<span class="pb" id="Page_19">19</span> -his secretary, Tsunejiro Miyaoka, afterward a distinguished -lawyer in Tokyo, who knew English, was desperately ill -almost all the time he was in Korea. To have absorbed and -displayed so clearly all the information in “Chosön” makes -that work, if not one of his greatest contributions to knowledge, -yet a remarkable feat. Most books of travel are soon -superseded, but this one has a distinct permanent value, because -the life he portrays, especially that of the upper class, -which was almost all connected with the holding of public -office, has been swept away, never to reappear, by the conquest -and ultimate incorporation of the country by Japan.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_20">20</div> -<h2 id="c5">CHAPTER V -<br />THE COUP D’ETAT AND THE JAPANESE MARCH TO THE SEA</h2> -<p>One more event in Korea interested him deeply, for it -meant life or death to some of his nearest native friends, and -under the title of “A Korean Coup d’Etat,” he gave a graphic -account of it in the <i>Atlantic Monthly</i> for November 1886. -Although not himself present, since it took place in the -December after he had left, it was not unconnected with -the Mission to America of which he had been a member; -for the policy of opening Korea to the world had not met -with universal favor among the officials, and all those who -had gone on the Mission did not take it very seriously. In -fact the two groups rapidly drew apart, one side seeking to -extend foreign contacts and the use of foreign methods, the -other preparing to resist this. The latter began to strengthen -themselves by enrolling what they called a militia,—really -a rough body of men devoted to their interests,—until the -progressionists, as their opponents were called, saw that they -would be crushed unless they struck quickly. Among their -leaders was Hong Yöng Sik, who had been especially attentive -to Percival during his stay in Söul, and he with his partisans -decided to get control of affairs by the method -whereby changes of ministry are often effected at a certain -stage of political evolution, that is, by removing objectionable -<span class="pb" id="Page_21">21</span> -ministers both from office and from the world. The -occasion selected was a banquet to celebrate the creation -of a post office, that institution being regarded as typical -of good or evil in foreign habits. The chief victim was -wounded but not killed, whereat the progressionist leaders, -pretending to be alarmed for the safety of the King, went -to the palace and slew such of the leading opponents as they -could lay their hands on; but, having no troops, sent in His -Majesty’s name to ask the Japanese minister for the protection -of his force of one hundred and twenty guards. Not -suspecting the real nature of the disturbance, he complied, -but was soon attacked by a body of six hundred Chinese soldiers, -naturally in sympathy with the conservatives, and at -their back the Korean militia. For two days the Japanese -guards held off the assailants with little loss to themselves -compared with that of their foes, until the King placed -himself in the hands of the Korean militia, when there was -nothing for the Japanese to do but to get back to their legation -as best they could. The rest of the tale he felt so much -and told so well in the ephemeral form of a magazine article -that it is given here in his own words:<a class="fn" id="fr_4" href="#fn_4">[4]</a></p> -<p>Night had already wrapped the city in gloom, as the -column defiled from the palace gate into the black and tortuous -streets of the town. No resistance was made to their -exit, for, under cover of the darkness, the Korean soldiers -had all secretly slipped away. A pall-like obscurity and -silence had settled over everything. It seemed the spirit of -death. The streets of Söul are for the most part hardly more -than wide alleys, crooked and forbidding enough in the daytime. -Night converts them into long cavernous passages, -<span class="pb" id="Page_22">22</span> -devoid of light, like the underground ramifications of some -vast cave; for, by a curious curfew law, they are denied -any artificial illumination. Through this sombre labyrinth -the Japanese column threaded its way, with nothing to light -its path but the reflection in the sky of fires in distant parts -of the city,—a weird canopy to an inky blackness. Before -long, however, even night failed to yield security from man. -At the cross-roads and wherever a side-street offered an opportunity -for attack were gathered bands of braves, mixed -masses of soldiers and populace, who fired upon them or -hurled stones, according to the character of the individuals. -Still they pushed steadily forward, though utterly uncertain -what they might find at their journey’s end; for they had -not been able to hear from the legation since the attack on -the palace, and were in grave fear for its safety. As they -came to the top of a bit of rising ground, they made out by -the lurid light of the fires their own flag, the red ball on the -white field, flying from its flagstaff, and thus learnt for the -first time that the buildings were still standing and in Japanese -hands. As they neared the legation the crowds increased, -but, sweeping them aside, the troops at length -reached their destination at eight o’clock at night, having -been absent forty-eight hours.</p> -<p>That the legation was yet safe was not due to any neglect -or forbearance on the part of the Koreans. From the moment -of the attempted assassination of Min Yöng Ik, the -city had fallen a prey to disturbances that grew hourly graver -and graver in character, and began to be directed more and -more against the Japanese merchants and traders scattered -through the town. Such of these as took alarm first hastened -to the legation for protection. In this way about seventy -<span class="pb" id="Page_23">23</span> -of them had collected in the buildings, and they, together -with the servants and a score of soldiers that had been left -there, had successfully defended the place until the return -of the troops. For two whole days the little improvised garrison -had kept the besiegers at bay.</p> -<p>The legation was safe, but for the rest it was a melancholy -tale which the minister and his suite returned to hear. -The sullen glow in the heavens, that had served them for -torches across the city, came, they learned, from the burning -by the infuriated rabble of the homes of their compatriots. -But worse than the loss of property had been the loss -of life. The hatred of the Japanese, that had lain smouldering -for centuries, had at last found a vent. Shortly after -the attack on the palace by the Chinese troops, the cry was -raised against the Japanese, and a wholesale pillage and -massacre of the foreigners began....</p> -<p>The Japanese gone, the progressionist ministers, realizing -that they had failed, fled hastily to such concealment as individual -ingenuity suggested.... One alone remained to -die at his post. The account of his death, given by certain -private Korean letters, is a tale of as noble an act of heroism -as was ever performed.</p> -<p>When it became evident that the Japanese would withdraw, -and the progressionist leaders be left to their fate, -the latter, perceiving that if they remained they must inevitably -fall into the hands of the enemy, prepared for flight. -To the surprise and horror of all the others, Hong Yöng -Sik calmly informed them that he should stay. The rest, -indeed, had better go, but one, he thought, ought to remain, -to show the world that the progressionists were not rebels -nor ashamed of the principles they had professed, and he -<span class="pb" id="Page_24">24</span> -would be that one. The others, aghast at his resolve, tried -their utmost to dissuade him, but all to no purpose. Each in -turn then offered to stay in his place, but he would not hear -of it. It was more fitting, he replied, that he should remain, -because one of the oldest (he was just thirty years of age); -and forthwith, to signify that his resolve was unalterable, -he drew off his long court boots. Finding it impossible to -shake his determination, and fearing lest, if they delayed -longer, they might not escape themselves, they reluctantly -left him and fled. There in the palace, awaiting his certain -doom, the Chinese soldiers found him, a few minutes after. -They seized him and carried him to the Chinese camp, -where, with some show of formality, he was publicly executed. -Thus died a brave and loyal soul, true with his life -to the principles he had publicly professed, and which he -deemed it cowardly and wicked to abandon....</p> -<p>Meanwhile, the Japanese lay imprisoned within their legation -buildings, closely besieged by the Koreans. Toward the -middle of the day, on the seventh, they discovered that their -provisions were nearly exhausted. Only the soldiers, therefore, -were allowed rice, the rest getting for their portion the -water in which the rice had previously been boiled. There -were now in the compound one hundred and forty soldiers, -thirty servants attached to the legation, about seventy merchants -and artisans, besides many other Japanese residents -from the city, who had sought refuge in the buildings. It was -utterly impossible to procure more provisions. Starvation -stared the prisoners in the face, even if they should contrive to -hold out against the assaults of the Koreans. Reports now -reached them that all the gates of Söul had been closed, and -that preparations were everywhere in progress for a general -<span class="pb" id="Page_25">25</span> -attack. It was also rumored that this would take place at -dusk, and that under cover of the darkness the legation -would be fired by the foe.</p> -<p>Thereupon, Takezoye held a council of war, at which it -was decided that the legation’s only hope, desperate as it -was deemed, lay in forcing a passage through the western -gate of the city, and retreating as best they might to Chemulpo. -Accordingly, at the close of the conference the order -was given to withdraw from Söul. It was now discovered -that the messenger to whom the letters were entrusted had -been afraid to leave the legation. Doomed indeed seemed the -ill-starred Korean attempt at a postal system to bring mishap -upon everything connected with it, both big and little, -new and old.</p> -<p>Takezoye then addressed the Japanese gathered in the -court-yard. He told them that his guards had been obliged, -in defense of the king on the preceding day, to fire upon the -Chinese soldiers, who had broken into the palace and opened -fire upon the royal apartments; that the Korean troops and -people had now combined against the Japanese; that the -Korean government was apparently powerless to protect -them; that the legation was blockaded; that it was impossible -longer to carry on the ministerial functions; and that -he had resolved to retire upon Chemulpo, there to await instructions -from Japan. All the confidential dispatches and -other private documents belonging to the legation were then -burned.</p> -<p>It was now half past two in the afternoon. The crowd -without was steadily growing larger and larger, and closing -in slowly but surely about the devoted compound. Suddenly, -to its amazement, the outer wooden gates, so stoutly -<span class="pb" id="Page_26">26</span> -defended a few minutes before, swung inward; there was -a moment’s hush of expectation, and the Japanese column, -grim with determination, defiled in marching order into -the street. It was a sight to stir the most sluggish soul. Instinctively -the Koreans fell back, awed as they read the desperate -resolve in the faces of the men; and the column kept -silently, surely, moving on. First came two detachments, -forming the van; then the minister, his suite, the women and -children, followed, placed in the centre and guarded on -either hand by rows of soldiers. Next marched the secretaries -and the subordinate officials of the legation, all armed, -and with them the merchants and artisans, carrying the -wounded and the ammunition. Two more detachments -brought up the rear. Debouching into the main road, the -body struck out for the western gate. The Koreans, who -crowded the side-streets, the court-yards, and even the roofs -of the houses, had by this time recovered from their first -daze, and began to attack the column on all sides, firing and -throwing stones. So poor was their aim, however, and so -unused were they to the business, that neither bullets nor -stones did the Japanese much harm. The vanguard, lying -down in the road, fired at the assailants and drove them -back, and the march proceeded. Nothing could stop the -advance of the van, and the rear-guard as ably covered the -rear. Slowly but surely the column pushed on.</p> -<p>It had thus got half-way across the city, when it encountered -a more formidable obstruction. Opposite the old palace, -where a broad avenue from the palace gates entered the -road it was following, a detachment of the left division of -the Korean army had been drawn up, to prevent, if possible, -all escape. The spot was well chosen. On one side -<span class="pb" id="Page_27">27</span> -lay the army barracks of the left division, a safe retreat in -case of failure, while in front stretched the broad, open -space of the avenue, ending in the highway along which the -Japanese were obliged to pass. To make the most of this -position a field-piece had been brought out and trained on -the cross-road, and deployed beside it the Koreans posted -themselves, and waited for the coming column. As the foreigners -came into view, marching across the end of the -avenue, the Koreans opened fire upon them both with the -field-piece and with small arms. The effect should have been -frightful. As a matter of fact it was <i>nil</i>, owing to the same -cause as before, the bullets passing some twenty feet over -the heads of the Japanese. Not a single man was killed, and -only a few were slightly wounded. The rear-guard, prone -in the street or under cover of the little gutter-moats, a peculiar -feature of all Korean city streets, calmly took accurate -aim, and eventually forced this body of the enemy back into -their barracks. Still harassed at every step by other troops and -by the populace, the column, advancing steadily in spite of -them, at last gained the west gate. It was shut, bolted, and -guarded by Korean soldiers. A sudden onset of the vanguard -put these to flight. Some of the soldiers, armed with -axes, then severed the bars, demolished the heavy wooden -doors, and the column passed through. Keeping up a fire -on the foe, who still pursued, the Japanese then made for -the principal ferry of the river Han, at a place called Marpo, -one of the river suburbs of the city. As they turned there -to look back toward Söul, they saw smoke rising from the -direction of the legation, and knew from this that the buildings -had already been fired. With the rear-guard set to -protect the important points, they proceeded to cross the -<span class="pb" id="Page_28">28</span> -stream. Seizing this opportunity, a parting attack was now -made by a conglomerate collection of Korean troops and -tramps, who had pursued them from the city. Hovering on -their flanks, these fired at the ferry boats as they passed over; -but the Japanese rear-guard shot at and killed some of them, -and so succeeded in keeping the others at bay. By about -half past five in the afternoon the Japanese had completed -the crossing. After this no further serious opposition was -made to their retreat, and, following the ordinary road and -marching the whole night, they reached the hill above -Chemulpo, and looked down upon the broad expanse of the -Yellow Sea at seven o’clock on the morning of the eighth.</p> -<p>The long, hard fight was over; an end had come at last. -They saw it in the sea stretched out at their feet, just awaking -from its lethargy at the touch of the morning light. To -them its gently heaving bosom spoke of their own return -to life. No crazy fishing boat now stood between them and -theirs. One of their own men-of-war lay at anchor in the -offing. There she rode, in all her stately beauty, the smoke -curling faintly upward from her funnel, waiting to bear -them across the water to the arms of those who held them -dear. And the sparkling shimmer, as the rays of the rising -sun tinged the Yellow Sea with gold in one long pathway -eastward, seemed Japan’s own welcome sent to greet them, -a proud, fond smile from home.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_29">29</div> -<h2 id="c6">CHAPTER VI -<br />THE SOUL OF THE FAR EAST</h2> -<p>Back in Japan in the early spring of 1884, Percival -stayed there until midsummer, when he turned his face -homeward and westward, for he had crossed the Pacific -three times and preferred to go home the other way. Touching -at Shanghai and Hong Kong he stopped off at Singapore -to make a detour to Java, which delayed him so much that -he saw only the southern part of India. At Bombay he -stayed with Charles Lowell, a cousin and class-mate, in -charge of the branch there of the Comptoir d’Escompte of -Paris; thence his route led through the Red Sea and Alexandria -to Venice, where to his annoyance he was quarantined; -not, as he sarcastically remarks, because he came -from an infected country, but on account of cholera in the -city itself. Finally he went home by way of Paris and London.</p> -<p>At this time he had clearly decided to write his book on -Korea; for in his letters, and in memoranda in his letter -book, are found many pages that appear afterwards therein. -But he certainly had not lost his interest in mathematics -or physics, for any casual observation would quickly bring -it out. From the upper end of the Red Sea he sees a cloud -casting a shadow on the desert toward Sinai, and proceeds -to show how by the angle of elevation of the cloud, the -<span class="pb" id="Page_30">30</span> -angle of the sun, and the distance to the place where the -shadow falls one can compute the height of the cloud. He -looks at the reflection of the moon along the water and -points out why, when there is a ripple on the surface, the -track of light does not run directly toward the moon but to -windward of it. All this was a matter of general intellectual -alertness in a mind familiar with the subject, but there -is as yet no indication that he had any intention of turning -his attention to scientific pursuits. On the contrary, two -letters written on this journey appear to show that he regarded -literature, in a broad sense, as the field he proposed -to enter, and with this his publications for several years to -come accord.</p> -<p>In a letter from Bombay to Frederic J. Stimson,—a classmate -who had already won his spurs by his pen, and was -destined to go far,—he begins by speaking of his friend’s -writings, then of the subject in general, and finally turns -to himself and says: “Somebody wrote me the other day -apropos of what I may or may not write, that facts not reflections -were the thing. Facts not reflections indeed. Why -that is what most pleases mankind from the philosopher to -the fair; one’s own reflections on or from things. Are we to -forego the splendor of the French salon which returns us -beauty from a score of different points of view from its mirrors -more brilliant than their golden settings. The fact gives -us but a flat image. It is our reflections upon it that make it a -solid truth. For every truth is many-sided. It has many -aspects. We know now what was long unknown, that true -seeing is done with the mind from the comparatively -meagre material supplied by the eye....</p> -<p>“I believe that all writing should be a collection of the -<span class="pb" id="Page_31">31</span> -precious stones of truth which is beauty. Only the arrangement -differs with the character of the book. You string them -into a necklace for the world at large. You pigeon-hole them -into drawers for the scientist. In the necklace you have the -calling of your thought; <i>i.e.</i>, the expressing of it and the -arrangement of the thoughts among themselves. I wonder -how many men are fortunate enough to have them come -as they are wanted. A question by the bye nearly incapable -of solution because what seems good to one man, does not -begin to satisfy the next.”</p> -<p>A month later he writes to his mother from Paris on October -7th: “As for me, I wish I could believe a little more in -myself. It is at all times the one thing needful. As it is I -often get discouraged. You will—said Bigelow the other day -to me in Japan. There will be times when you will feel like -tearing the whole thing up and lighting your pipe with -the wreck. Don’t you do it. Put it away and take it out -again at a less destructive moment.” Then, speaking of -what his mother had written him, he says: “But I shall most -certainly act upon your excellent advice and what is more -you shall have the exquisite ennui of reading it before it -goes to print and then you know we can have corrections -and improvements by the family.”</p> -<p>Reaching Boston in the autumn of 1884, he made it his -headquarters for the next four years. The period was far from -an idle one; for, apart from business matters that engaged -his attention, he was actively at work on two books: First, -the “Chosön,” that study already described of Korea and -the account of his own sojourn there. The preface to this is -dated November 1885, and the publication was early in the -following year. The second book,—smaller in size and type, -<span class="pb" id="Page_32">32</span> -and without illustrations,—is the most celebrated of his -writings on the Orient. Its title, “The Soul of the Far East,” -denotes aptly its object in the mind of the author, for it is -an attempt to portray what appeared to him the essential -and characteristic difference between the civilizations of -Eastern Asia and Western Europe. From an early time in -his stay in Japan he had been impressed by what he called -the impersonality of the people, the comparative absence, -both in aspiration and in conduct, of diversified individual -self-expression among them. The more he thought about -it the stronger this impression became; and this book is a -study of the subject in its various manifestations.</p> -<p>First comes a general discussion of the meaning and -essence of individuality, with the deduction that the Japanese -suffer from arrested development; that they have always -copied but not assimilated; added but not incorporated -the additions into their own civilization, like a tree into -which have been grafted great branches while the trunk remains -unchanged. “The traits that distinguished these peoples -in the past have been gradually extinguishing them -ever since. Of these traits, stagnating influences upon their -career, perhaps the most important is the great quality of -impersonality”; and later he adds, “Upon this quality as a -foundation rests the Far Oriental character.”</p> -<p>He then proceeds to demonstrate, or illustrate, his thesis -from many aspects of Japanese life, beginning with the -family. He points out that no one has a personal birthday -or even age of his own, two days in the year being treated -as universal birthdays, one for girls and the other for boys, -the latter, in May, being the occasion when hollow paper -fish are flown from poles over every house where a boy -<span class="pb" id="Page_33">33</span> -has been born during the preceding year. Everyone, moreover, -is credited with a year’s advance in age on New Year’s -Day quite regardless of the actual date of his birth. If a -youth “belongs to the middle class, as soon as his schooling” -in the elements of the Classics “is over he is set to learn his -father’s trade. To undertake to learn any trade but his -father’s would strike the family as simply preposterous.” -But to whatever class he may belong he is taught the duty -of absolute subordination to the head of the family, for the -family is the basis of social life in the Far East. Marriage, -with us a peculiarly personal matter, is in the East a thing -in which the young people have no say whatever; it is -a business transaction conducted by the father through -marriage brokers. A daughter becoming on marriage a -part of her husband’s family ceases to be a member of her -own, and her descendants are no benefit to it, unless, perchance, -having no brothers, one of her sons is adopted by -her father. Thus it is that when a child is born the general -joy “depends somewhat upon the sex. If the baby -chances to be a boy, everybody is immensely pleased; if -a girl there is considerably less effusion shown. In the -latter case the more impulsive relatives are unmistakably -sorry; the more philosophic evidently hope for better luck -next time. Both kinds make very pretty speeches, which -not even the speakers believe, for in the babe lottery the -family is considered to have drawn a blank. A delight so -engendered proves how little of the personal, even in prospective, -attaches to its object.”</p> -<p>In the fourth chapter he takes up the question of language, -bringing out his point with special effect, showing the absence -of personal pronouns, and indeed of everything that -<span class="pb" id="Page_34">34</span> -indicates an expression of individuality or even of sex, replacing -them by honorifics which occur in the most surprising -way. But the matter of language, though highly -significant, is somewhat technical, and his discussion can -be left to those who care to follow it in his book.</p> -<p>He turns next to nature and to art, pointing out how genuine, -how universal, and at the same time how little individual, -how impersonal, is the Japanese love of those things. -Of them he says “that nature, not man, is their <i>beau idéal</i>, -the source to them of inspiration, is evident again in looking -at their art.” Incidentally, the account of the succession -of flower festivals throughout the year is a beautiful -piece of descriptive writing, glowing with the color it portrays -and the delight of the throngs of visitors.</p> -<p>On the subject of religion he has much to say. Shintoism, -though generally held by the people, and causing great numbers -of them to go as pilgrims to the sacred places on mountain -tops, he regards as not really a religion. That is the reason -it is not inconsistent with Buddhism. “It is not simply that -the two contrive to live peaceably together; they are actually -both of them implicitly believed by the same individual. -Millions of Japanese are good Buddhists and good Shintoists -at the same time. That such a combination should be -possible is due to the essential difference in the character of -the two beliefs. The one is extrinsic, the other intrinsic, in -its relations to the human soul. Shintoism tells a man but -little about himself and his hereafter; Buddhism, little but -about himself and what he may become. In examining -Far Eastern religion, therefore, for personality, or the reverse, -we may dismiss Shintoism as having no particular -bearing upon the subject.” Turning to the other system he -<span class="pb" id="Page_35">35</span> -says: “At first sight Buddhism is much more like Christianity -than those of us who stay at home and speculate upon it -commonly appreciate. As a system of philosophy it sounds -exceedingly foreign, but it looks unexpectedly familiar as -a faith.” After dwelling upon the resemblances in the popular -attitude, he continues: “But behind all this is the religion -of the few,—of those to whom sensuous forms cannot suffice -to represent super-sensuous cravings; whose god is something -more than an anthropomorphic creation; to whom -worship means not the cramping of the body, but the expansion -of the soul.”... “In relation to one’s neighbor -the two beliefs are kin, but as regards one’s self, as far apart -as the West is from the East. For here, at this idea of self, -we are suddenly aware of standing on the brink of a fathomless -abyss, gazing giddily down into that great gulf -which divides Buddhism from Christianity. We cannot see -the bottom. It is a separation more profound than death; -it seems to necessitate annihilation. To cross it we must bury -in its depths all we know as ourselves.</p> -<p>“Christianity is a personal religion; Buddhism, an impersonal -one. In this fundamental difference lies the worldwide -opposition of the two beliefs. Christianity tells us to -purify ourselves that we may enjoy countless aeons of that -bettered self hereafter; Buddhism would have us purify -ourselves that we may lose all sense of self for evermore.”</p> -<p>At the end of this chapter he sums up his demonstration -thus: “We have seen, then, how in trying to understand -these peoples we are brought face to face with impersonality -in each of those three expressions of the human soul, speech, -thought, yearning. We have looked at them first from a -social standpoint. We have seen how singularly little regard -<span class="pb" id="Page_36">36</span> -is paid the individual from his birth to his death. How he -lives his life long the slave of patriarchal customs of so -puerile a tendency as to be practically impossible to a people -really grown up. How he practises a wholesale system of -adoption sufficient of itself to destroy any surviving regard -for the ego his other relations might have left. How in his -daily life he gives the minimum of thought to the bettering -himself in any worldly sense, and the maximum of polite -consideration to his neighbor. How, in short, he acts toward -himself as much as possible as if he were another, and to -that other as if he were himself.</p> -<p>“Then, not content with standing stranger-like upon the -threshold, we have sought to see the soul of their civilization -in its intrinsic manifestations. We have pushed our inquiry, -as it were, one step nearer its home. And the same trait that -was apparent sociologically has been exposed in this our -antipodal phase of psychical research. We have seen how -impersonal is his language, the principal medium of communication -between one soul and another; how impersonal -are the communings of his soul with itself. How the man -turns to nature instead of to his fellowman in silent sympathy. -And how, when he speculates upon his coming -castles in the air, his most roseate desire is to be but an indistinguishable -particle of the sunset clouds and vanish invisible -as they into the starry stillness of all-embracing space.</p> -<p>“Now what does this strange impersonality betoken? -Why are these peoples so different from us in this most fundamental -of considerations to any people, the consideration -of themselves? The answer leads to some interesting conclusions.”</p> -<p>The final chapter is entitled “Imagination,” for he regards -<span class="pb" id="Page_37">37</span> -this as the source of all progress, and the far orientals as -particularly unimaginative. Their art he ascribes to appreciation -rather than originality. They are, he declares, less -advanced than the occidentals, their rate of progress is less -rapid and the individuals are more alike; and he concludes -that unless their newly imported ideas really take root they -will vanish “off the face of the earth and leave our planet -the eventual possession of the dwellers where the day declines.”</p> -<p>One cannot deny that he made a strong case for the impersonality -of the Japanese; and if it be thought that his -conclusions therefrom were unfriendly it must be remembered -that he had a deep admiration and affection for that -people, wishing them well with all his heart.</p> -<p>Without attempting to survey the reviews and criticisms -of the book, which was translated into many languages, -it may be interesting to recall the comments of three Europeans -of very diverse qualities and experiences. Dr. Pierre -Janet, the great French neurologist, said to a friend of the -author that as a study of Japanese mentality it seemed to -him to show more insight than any other he had ever read -on the subject.</p> -<p>The second commentator is Lafcadio Hearn, a very different -type of person, given to enthusiasm. He had not yet -been to Japan, and “The Soul of the Far East” had much -to do with his going there. In his book “Concerning Lafcadio -Hearn” George M. Gould says:</p> -<blockquote> -<p>“Perhaps I should not have succeeded in getting Hearn to attempt -Japan had it not been for a little book that fell into his -hands during the stay with me. Beyond question, Mr. Lowell’s -volume had a profound influence in turning his attention to Japan -<span class="pb" id="Page_38">38</span> -and greatly aided me in my insistent urging him to go there. In -sending the book Hearn wrote me this letter:</p> -<p>“Gooley!—I have found a marvellous book,—a book of books!—a -colossal, splendid, godlike book. You must read every line of -it. For heaven’s sake don’t skip a word of it. The book is called -“The Soul of the Far East,” but its title is smaller than its imprint.</p> -<p><span class="lr"><span class="sc">Hearneyboy</span></span></p> -<p>“P.S. Let something else go to H—, and read this book instead. -May God eternally bless and infinitely personalize the -man who wrote this book! Please don’t skip one solitary line -of it, and don’t delay reading it,—because something, much! is -going to go out of this book into your heart and life and stay -there! I have just finished this book and feel like John in -Patmos,—only a d——d sight better. He who shall skip one -word of this book let his portion be cut off and his name blotted -out of the Book of Life.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Hearn had read the book on Korea and was impressed by -that also, for in a letter of 1889, he wrote, after commenting -on another work he had been reading, “How luminous and -psychically electric is Lowell’s book compared with it. And -how much nobler a soul must be the dreamer of Chosön!”<a class="fn" id="fr_5" href="#fn_5">[5]</a></p> -<p>After living in Japan Hearn came to different conclusions -about Percival’s ideas on the impersonality of the Japanese, -but he never lost his admiration for the book or its author. -In May, 1891, he writes;</p> -<blockquote> -<p>“Mr. Lowell has, I think, no warmer admirer in the world than -myself, though I do not agree with his theory in “The Soul of the -Far East,” and think he has ignored the most essential and astonishing -quality of the race: its genius of eclecticism.”<a class="fn" id="fr_6" href="#fn_6">[6]</a></p> -</blockquote> -<div class="pb" id="Page_39">39</div> -<p>And again,</p> -<blockquote> -<p>“I am not vain enough to think I can ever write anything -so beautiful as his “Chosön” or “Soul of the Far East,” and will -certainly make a poor showing beside his precise, fine, perfectly -worded work.”<a class="fn" id="fr_7" href="#fn_7">[7]</a></p> -</blockquote> -<p>And, finally, as late as 1902 he speaks of it as “incomparably -the greatest of all books on Japan, and the deepest.”<a class="fn" id="fr_8" href="#fn_8">[8]</a></p> -<p>The third European critic to be quoted is Dr. Clay Macauley, -a Unitarian missionary to Japan, who had been a -friend of Percival’s there, and after his death at Flagstaff in -1916 was still at work among the Japanese. On January 24, -1917, he read before the Asiatic Society of Japan a Memorial -to him, in which he gave an estimate of “The Soul of the -Far East”:</p> -<blockquote> -<p>“The year after the publication of “Cho-son,” the book which -has associated Lowell most closely with a critical and interpretative -study of the peoples and institutions of this part of the -world, appeared his much-famed “Soul of the Far East.” I have -no time for an extended critique of this marvellous ethnic essay. -“Marvellous” I name it, not only because of the startling message -it bears and the exquisitely fascinating speech by which the message -is borne, but also because of the revelation it gives of the -distinctive mental measure and the characteristic personality of -the author himself ... the book is really a marvellous psychical -study. However, in reading it today, the critical reader should, all -along, keep in mind the time and conditions under which Lowell -wrote. His judgment of “The Soul of the Far East” was made -<span class="pb" id="Page_40">40</span> -fully a generation ago. Time has brought much change to all -Oriental countries since then, especially to this “Land of the Rising -Sun.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>He then refers to the author’s conviction that owing to -their impersonality the Oriental people, if unchanged and -unless their newly imported ideas take root, would disappear -before the advancing nations of the West, and proceeds:</p> -<blockquote> -<p>“Now, notice Lowell’s “ifs” and “unless.” He had passed his -judgment; but he saw a possible transformation. And I know -that he hailed the incoming into the East of the motive forces of -the West as forerunner of a possible ascendancy here of the -genius of the world’s advancing civilization, prophetic of that -New East into which, now, the Far East is becoming wonderously -changed.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Japan certainly is not in a process of disappearing before -the advancing nations of the West; but it may be that this -is not because her people have radically changed their -nature. The arts of the West, civil and military, they have -thoroughly acquired; but Percival Lowell may have been -right in his diagnosis and wrong in his forecast. His estimate -of their temperament may have been correct, and the -conclusion therefrom of their destiny erroneous. The -strange identity with which all Japanese explain the recent -international events is not inconsistent with his theory of -impersonality, and it may be that from a national standpoint -this is less a source of weakness than of strength.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_41">41</div> -<h2 id="c7">CHAPTER VII -<br />SECOND VISIT TO JAPAN</h2> -<p>Having got “The Soul of the Far East” off his hands, and -into those of the public, in 1888, he sailed in December for -Japan, arriving on January the eighth. As usual he took -a house in Tokyo and on January 23 he writes to his mother -about it. “My garden is a miniature range of hills on one -side, a dry pond on the other. One plum tree is blooming -now, another comes along shortly, and a cherry tree -will peep into my bedroom window all a-blush toward the -beginning of April. A palm tree exists with every appearance -of comfort in front of the drawing room, a foreground -for the hills.</p> -<p>“The fictitious employment by the Japanese has developed -into a real one most amusingly—You know by the existing -law a foreigner is not allowed to live outside of the foreign -reservation unless in the service of some native body, governmental -or private. Now Chamberlain got a Mr. Masujima -to arrange matters. The plan that occurred to him, Masujima, -was to employ me to lecture before the School of -Languages of which he, Masujima, is President. It was -thought better to make the thing in part real, a suggestion -I liked, and the upshot of it is that I am booked to deliver -a lecture a week until I see fit to change. Chamberlain and -Masujima cooked up between them the idea of translating -<span class="pb" id="Page_42">42</span> -my initial performance and then inserting it in a reader -of lectures, sermons and such in the colloquiae which Chamberlain -is preparing—Subject—A homily to the students to -become superior Japanese rather than inferior Europeans. -Curious if you will in view of the fact that Masujima himself -is madly in love with foreigners and as C. says is a sort -of universal solvent for their quandaries.”</p> -<p>January 1889 proved a peculiarly fortunate time to arrive, -for most interesting events were about to take place, as he -soon wrote to his old college chum, Harcourt Amory, on -February 21:</p> -<p>“Things have been happening since I arrived. Indeed I -could hardly have lit upon a more eventful month—from -doings of the Son of Heaven to those of Mother Earth—the -transmigration from the old to the new palace, the ceremony -of the promulgation of the Constitution, and the -earthquake, and the assassination of Mori—and his burial -the most huge affair of years. How he was murdered on -the morning of the great national event just as he was setting -out for the palace by a fanatic in the ante-chamber of -his own house because two years ago he trod on the mats -at Ise with his boots and poked the curtains aside with his -cane—you have probably already heard—For the affair was -too dramatic to have escaped European and American newspapers. -The to us significant part of the story is the quasi -sublatent approval of large numbers of Japanese. The whole -procedure of the assassin commends itself in method to their -ideas of the way to do it. The long cherished plan, the visit -to the temples of Ise for corroboration of facts, the selection -of the day, the coolness shown beforehand, the facing -of death in return, the very blows à la hari-kiri etc., all tout-a-fait -<span class="pb" id="Page_43">43</span> -comme il faut. How he went to a joroya (house of -prostitution) the night before, saying that he wished to -have experienced as many phases of life as possible before -leaving it, how the official who received him at Mori’s house -(he introduced himself by the story that he had come to -warn Mori of a plot to assassinate him) could recall no signs -of nervousness in him, except that he lifted his teacup to -drink once or twice after he had emptied it.</p> -<p>“The whole affair appeals to their imaginations, showing -still a pretty state of society. They also admire the beautiful -way the guard killed him, decapitating him in the good -old-fashioned way just leaving his head hanging to his -neck by a strip—Pleasing details.”</p> -<p>The story of the murder of Mori, and of the public -festivities that were going on at the time, he told under the -title of “The Fate of a Japanese Reformer” in the <i>Atlantic -Monthly</i> for November 1890. It is perhaps the best of -his descriptive writings, for the tragedy and its accessories -are full of striking contrasts which he brought out with -great effect. After a prelude on the danger of attempting -changes too rapidly, he gives a brief account of the life of -Mori Arinori; how in his youth he was selected to study -abroad, how he did so in America, and became enamored -of occidental ways, returning in time for the revolution that -restored the Mikado. He threw himself into the new movement, -rose in office, and, as he did so, strove to carry out -his ideas. He was the first to propose disarming the <i>samurai</i>, -which against bitter opposition was accomplished. As -Minister of Education he excluded religion from all national -instruction. He even suggested that the native language -should be superseded by a modified English, the -<span class="pb" id="Page_44">44</span> -American people to adopt the changes also; but the plan -obtained no support on either side of the Pacific.</p> -<p>The Japanese reformers felt that like almost all Western -nations Japan should have a written constitution, and they -set the date for its promulgation at February 11th, 1889. This -Percival thought a mistake since it was the festival of Jimmu -Tenno, the mythic founder of the imperial house. Nevertheless, -the reformers, who had virtual control of the government, -determined that the two celebrations should take -place on the same day; and he describes the gorgeous decoration -of the city as he saw it, the functions attending the -grant of the constitution, and processions of comic chariots -in honor of Jimmu Tenno. To a foreigner the strange mixture -of native and partially imitated European costumes was -irresistibly funny; but the populace enjoyed themselves. -“The rough element,” he says, “so inevitable elsewhere was -conspicuously absent. There is this great gain among a relatively -less differentiated people. If you miss with regret the -higher brains, you miss with pleasure the lower brutes. -<i>Bons enfants</i> the Japanese are to a man. They gather delight -as men have learned to extract sugar, from almost anything.... -As the twilight settled over the city, a horrible -rumor began to creep through the streets. During the day -the thing would seem to have shrunk before the mirth of -the masses, but under the cover of gloom it spread like night -itself over the town. It passed from mouth to mouth with -something of the shudder with which a ghost might come -and go. Viscount Mori, Minister of State for Education, had -been murdered that morning in his own house....</p> -<p>“What had happened was this:—</p> -<p>“While Viscount Mori was dressing, on the morning of -<span class="pb" id="Page_45">45</span> -the 11th, for the court ceremony of the promulgation of -the new Constitution, a man, unknown to the servants, made -summons on the big bell hung by custom at the house entrance, -and asked to see the Minister on important business. -He was told the Minister was dressing, and could see no one. -The unknown replied that he must see him about a matter -of life and death,—as indeed it was. The apparent gravity -of the object induced the servant to admit him to an ante-chamber -and report the matter. In consequence, the Minister’s -private secretary came down to interview him. The -man, who seemed well behaved, informed the secretary that -there was a plot to take the Minister’s life, and that he had -come to warn the Minister of it. Truly a subtle subterfuge; -true to the letter, since the plot was all his own. More he -refused to divulge except to the Minister himself. While the -secretary was trying to learn something more definite, Mori -came down stairs, and entered the room. The unknown approached -to speak to him; then, suddenly drawing a knife -from his girdle, sprang at him, and crying ‘This for -desecrating the shrines of Ise!’ stabbed him twice in the -stomach. Mori, taken by surprise, grappled with him, when -one of his body guards, hearing the noise, rushed in, and -with one blow of his sword almost completely severed the -man’s head from his body.</p> -<p>“Meanwhile, Mori had fallen to the floor, bleeding fast. -The secretary, with the help of the guard, raised him, carried -him to his room, and despatched a messenger for the court -surgeon.</p> -<p>“The clothes of the unknown were then searched for some -clue to the mystery; for neither Mori nor any of his household -had ever seen him before. The search proved more -<span class="pb" id="Page_46">46</span> -than successful. A paper was found on his person, setting -forth in a most circumstantial manner the whole history -of his crime, from its inception to its execution, or his own. -However reticent he seemed before the deed, he evidently -meant nothing should be hid after it, whether he succeeded -or not. The paper explained the reason.</p> -<p>“Because, it read, of the act of sacrilege committed by Mori -Arinori, who, on a visit to the shrines of Ise, two years before, -had desecrated the temple by pushing its curtain back with -his cane, and had defiled its floor by treading upon it with -his boots, he, Nishino Buntaro, had resolved to kill Mori, -and avenge the insult offered to the gods and to the Emperor, -whose ancestors they were. To wipe the stain from -the national faith and honor, he was ready to lose his life, -if necessary. He left this paper as a memorial of his intent.”</p> -<p>In the meantime the messenger sent for the court surgeon -failed to find him, for he was at the palace. The same was -true of the next in rank, and when at last a surgeon was -found Mori had lost so much blood that in the night of the -following day he died.</p> -<p>Both by his opinions and his tactless conduct as a minister -Mori had made himself unpopular and rumors that -his life was in danger had been current for two or three days. -“If Mori was thus a very definite sort of person, Nishino was -quite as definite in his own way.” At the time of his crime -he held a post in the Home Department, where he brooded -over the insult to the gods. “He seems to have heard of it -accidentally, but it made so much impression upon him that -he journeyed to Ise to find out the truth of the tale. He was -convinced, and forthwith laid his plans with the singleness -<span class="pb" id="Page_47">47</span> -of zeal of a fanatic,” as appears from his affectionate -farewell letters to his father and his younger brother.</p> -<p>“But the strangest and most significant part of the affair -was the attitude of the Japanese public toward it. The first -excitement of the news had not passed before it became evident -that their sympathy was not with the murdered man, -but with his murderer.... Nishino was an unknown.... -Yet the sentiment was unmistakable. The details of the -murder were scarcely common property before the press -proceeded to eulogize the assassin. To praise the act was a -little too barefaced, not to say legally dangerous.... But -to praise the man became a journalistic epidemic.... -Nishino, they said, had contrived and executed his plan -with all the old time <i>samurai</i> bravery. He had done it as a -<i>samurai</i> should have done it, and he had died as a <i>samurai</i> -should have died.... The summary action of the guard in -cutting the murderer down was severely censured. As if the -guard had not been appointed to this very end!... The -papers demanded the guard’s arrest and trial.... Comment -of this kind was not confined to the press. Strange as -it may appear, the newspapers said what everybody thought.... -There was no doubt about it. Beneath the surface of -decorous disapproval ran an undercurrent of admiration and -sympathy, in spots but ill hid. People talked in the same -strain as the journalists wrote. Some did more than talk. -The geisha, or professional singing girls of Tokyo, made of -Nishino and his heroism a veritable cult.... His grave -in the suburbs they kept wreathed with flowers. To it they -made periodic pilgrimages, and, bowing there to the gods, -prayed that a little of the hero’s spirit might descend on -them. The practice was not a specialty of professionals. -<span class="pb" id="Page_48">48</span> -Persons of all ages and both sexes visited the spot in shoals, -for similar purposes. It became a mecca for a month. The -thing sounds incredible, but it was a fact. Such honor had -been paid nobody for years.”</p> -<p>This in abstract is Percival’s account of a terrible national -tragedy, and its amazing treatment by the public at large.</p> -<p>Before he had been long in Japan the old love of travel -into regions unknown to foreigners came back. He had -already visited some of the less frequented parts of the interior, -and now scanning, one evening, the map of the -country his eye was caught by the pose of a province that -stood out in graphic mystery, as he said, from the western -coast. It made a striking figure with its deep-bosomed bays -and its bold headlands. Its name was Noto; and the more -he looked the more he longed, until the desire simply carried -him off his feet. Nobody seemed to know much about -it, for scarcely a foreigner had been there; and, in fact, he -set his heart on going to Noto just because it was not known. -That is his own account of the motive for the journey he -made early in May, 1889; which turned out somewhat of a -disappointment, for the place was not, either in its physical -features or the customs of its people, very different from the -rest of Japan; but for him proved adventurous and highly -interesting. Under the title of “Noto” he gave an account -of it,—as usual after his return home in the following -spring,—first by a series of articles in the <i>Atlantic</i>, and then -as a book published in 1891. It is a well-told tale of a -journey, quite exciting, where he and his porters, in seeking -to scale a mountain pass, found their way lay along precipices -where the path had crumbled into the gorge below. -The descriptions of people and scenery are vigorous and -<span class="pb" id="Page_49">49</span> -terse; but the book is not a philosophic study like those on -Korea and on Japanese psychology. Yet it is notable in -showing his versatility, as is also the fact that he gave the -Φ Β Κ poem at Harvard in June of that year.</p> -<p>Hurrying home to deliver that poem, shortly after his -return from Noto, he found himself busy for a year and a -half, writing, attending to his own affairs, and to business, -for he was part of the time, as Treasurer, the manager of -the Lowell Bleachery. Meanwhile his hours of leisure were -filled with a new and absorbing avocation, that of polo.</p> -<p>As a boy at Brookline, Patrick Burns, the coachman, -trained at Newcastle, had taught him to ride bareback -with a halter for a bridle—although he had never really cared -for riding, just as in college he had run races without taking -much interest in athletics. But on August 9, 1887, we find -him writing that he has bought a polo pony, and that “Sam -Warren, Fred Stimson, et al. have just started a polo club -at Dedham, and have also in contemplation the erection of -an inn there.” He adds that he is in both schemes; and in -fact the plan for an inn developed into a clubhouse, where -he lived in summer for some years when about Boston. -During the remainder of the first season the players knocked -the ball about—and rarely with a full team of four in a side—tried -to learn the game on a little field belonging to George -Nickerson, another member of the club. But the next year -the number increased, and Percival with his great quickness -and furious energy soon forged ahead, leading the list of -home handicaps in the club with a rating of ten, and becoming -the first captain of the team.</p> -<p>By the autumn of 1888 they had become expert enough to -play a match with the Myopia club on its grounds at Hamilton, -<span class="pb" id="Page_50">50</span> -but with unfortunate results. At that time it was the -habit to open the game by having the ball thrown into the -middle of the field, and at a signal the leading player from -each side charged from his goal posts, each trying to reach -the ball first. Percival had a very fast pony, so had George -von L. Meyer on the other side, and by some misunderstanding -about the rules of turning there was a collision. In an -instant both men and both horses were flat on the field. -Percival was the most hurt, and although he mounted his -horse and tried to play, he was too much stunned to be -effective, and had to withdraw from the game.</p> -<p>In the following years he played as captain other match -games with various teams; and, in fact, the Dedham Polo -Club, which he came to regard as his home, was certainly -his chief resource for recreation and diversion in this country -until he built his Observatory in Arizona. Yet it by no -means absorbed his attention, for with all the vigor he threw -into anything he undertook he could maintain an intense -interest in several things at the same time, besides being always -ready for new ones, not least in the form of travel. So -it happened that at the end of January, 1890, he sailed again -for Europe, and with Ralph Curtis, a friend from boyhood -and a college classmate, visited Spain—not in this case to -study the people or the land, although he observed what he -saw with care, but for the pleasure and experience. Like all -good travellers he went to Seville for Holy Week and the -festivities following; but, being sensitive, the bullfight was a -thing to be seen rather than enjoyed. He had heard people -speak also of the cathedral of Burgos as marvellous, in fact -as the finest specimen in the world; so, at some inconvenience, -he went there on his way to France, and on seeing it -<span class="pb" id="Page_51">51</span> -remarked that the praise bestowed upon it was due less -to its merits than to its inaccessibility. Later he noticed that -having taken the trouble to go to Burgos he never heard -anyone speak of it again. So much for people’s estimates -of things someone else has not seen.</p> -<p>On his way home he passed through London and enjoyed -the hospitality he always found there.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_52">52</div> -<h2 id="c8">CHAPTER VIII -<br />JAPAN AGAIN—THE SHINTO TRANCES</h2> -<p>The trip to Spain was merely an interlude; for, above all, -at this time he felt the attraction of Japan. Returning from -Europe in June he spent the summer in Dedham; but when -winter came he started again for the Far East, this time by -way of Europe, where he picked up Ralph Curtis; and then -by the Red Sea to India and Burma, reaching Tokyo about -the first of April, 1891. By far the most interesting part of -this visit to Japan arose from a journey which he took with -George Agassiz in July and August, into the interior of the -Island. Agassiz became a most devoted friend, who followed -his studies here, and later in Flagstaff, taking part in -his observations and writing a memorial after his death. -Their object was travel through a part of the mountainous -region, ending at Ontake, a high extinct volcano, one of -Japan’s most sacred peaks. But the holiness of the spot, -or the religious pilgrimages thereto, were not the motive of -the visit; nor did they expect to see anything of that nature -with which they were not already familiar.</p> -<p>Leaving Tokyo by train on July 24, they soon reached a -point where they got off and took jinrikishas to descend later -to their own feet on a path that came “out every now and -then over a view at spots where Agassiz said one had to be -careful not to step over into the view one’s self.” For the -<span class="pb" id="Page_53">53</span> -next three days the lodging was not too comfortable, the -heat terrific and the footpath going over a steep mountain -pass. However, the weather improved; and without serious -misadventure they were, on August 6, ascending Ontake, -and not far from the top, when they saw three young men, -clad as pilgrims, begin a devotional ceremony. One of them -seated on a bench before a shrine, went through what looked -like contortions accompanied by a chant, while another, at -whom they were directed, sat bowed on the opposite bench -motionless until, beginning to twitch, he broke into a -paroxysm and ended by becoming stiff though still quivering. -Then the first leaned forward, and bowing down, asked -the name of the god that possessed his companion. The -other in a strange voice answered “I am Hakkai.” Whereat -the first asked, as of an oracle, questions that were answered; -and after the god had finished speaking, said a prayer and -woke the other from his trance. But this was not the end, for -the same thing was repeated, the three changing places by -rotation until each of them had been petitioner and entranced. -On several more occasions the ceremony was enacted -during the next thirty-six hours, the young men fasting -all that time. The whole scene is more fully described in the -opening chapter of Percival’s “Occult Japan.”</p> -<p>With his temperament and literary ambition he thought -at once of writing about this extraordinary sight, which he -connected as a phenomenon with the fox possession he had -already encountered on a lower plane. He suggested the -title “Ontake, a Pilgrimage,” but he soon saw the whole -matter on a larger scale. The cult seemed to be unknown -beyond its votaries, nothing did he find written upon it, -the few foreigners who had scaled the mountain had missed -<span class="pb" id="Page_54">54</span> -it altogether, although, as he says, their guides or porters -must have been familiar with it. Dr. Sturgis Bigelow, who -was a student and believer in Buddhism, had never heard -of it, which seemed strange, for although a Shinto, not a -Buddhist, rite many people accepted both faiths, and one -Buddhist sect practiced something akin to it. Moreover, its -underlying idea of possession by another spirit appeared to -ramify, not only into fox possession, but in many other -directions. On inquiry he found that there was an establishment -of the Ontake cult in Tokyo, and the head of it the -Kwanchō, or primate of that Shinto sect. This man proved -very friendly and gave all the information about its rites, -their significance and underlying philosophy, within his -knowledge,—perhaps beyond it,—and arranged exhibits; -all of which Percival carefully recorded in his notebooks. -Every motion made in inducing the trance, every implement -used in the ceremony, had its meaning and its function, -which he strove to learn. Moreover, there were miracles of -splashing with boiling water, walking over hot coals and up -ladders with sword blades for rungs; curing disease; consulting -the fox and the raccoon-faced dog, which he called -Japanese table turning; and other less dignified performances -more or less connected with the idea of divine or demonic -possession. Some of these things he was able to witness by -séances in his own house, others by visits to the places where -they were performed, often for his special benefit.</p> -<p>All this took more time than he had expected to spend -in Japan, and delayed his sailing until the autumn was -more than half over. Nor was this enough to complete his -researches. In December of the following year he re-crossed -the Pacific, and at Christmas we find him at Yokohama. -<span class="pb" id="Page_55">55</span> -Again he hires a house, fits it up in Japanese style but with -occidental furniture; again he was travelling over the land, -this time in search less of scenery than of psychic phenomena -and the lore connected with their celebration. -In July he is interviewing a Ryobu Shinto priest and “eliciting -much valuable information.”</p> -<p>For the trances, and the various miracles, a participant -must be prepared by a process of purification, long continued -for the former, always by bathing before the ceremony; -and by Percival’s frequent attendance, and great interest, -he attained the repute for a degree of purity that -enabled him to go where others were not admitted. On -this ground he attended what he called the Kwanchō’s -Kindergarten, but was not allowed to bring a friend. The -Kwanchō, as the head of the principal Shinto sect that -practised trances, had a class of boys and girls who went -through a preparation therefor by a series of what an unbeliever -might call ecstatic acrobatic feats, lasting a long -time before they were fitted for subjects of divine possession. -He visited everything relating to the mysteries that he could -find, procured from the Kwanchō an introduction that enabled -him to see the interior grounds of the great shrines of -Ise, from which even the pilgrims were excluded, and to see -there a building whereof he learned the history and meaning -that the very guardian priests did not understand. At trances -he was allowed to examine the possessed, take their pulse, -and even to stick pins into them to test their sensibility, -sometimes in a way that they were far from not feeling -afterwards. In short he was enabled as no one had ever been -before, to make a very thorough examination of the phenomena -with the object of discovering and revealing their -<span class="pb" id="Page_56">56</span> -significance; for he was convinced that they were perfectly -genuine, without a tinge of fraud, and allied to the hypnotism -then at the height of its vogue. In March, 1893 he -gave the first of a series of papers on Esoteric Shintoism -before the Asiatic Society of Japan. These he worked up -after his return to America in the autumn, and published -in 1895 with the title “Occult Japan or the Way of the -Gods.”</p> -<p>A casual reader might be misled by occasional cleverness -of expression into thinking the book less serious than it is. -Perhaps that accounts in part for Lafcadio Hearn’s calling -it supercilious. Percival himself says, in the first paragraph -of the chapter on Miracles: “It is quite possible to see the -comic side of things without losing sight of their serious -aspect. In fact, not to see both sides is to get but a superficial -view of life, missing its substance. So much for the people. -As for the priests, it is only necessary to say that few are -more essentially sincere and lovable than the Shintō ones; -and few religions in a sense more true. With this preface -for life-preserver I plunge boldly into the miracles.” In -fact, expressions that appear less serious than the subject -merits are few, and the descriptions, of the trances for example, -are almost strangely appreciative, and for a scientific -study keenly sympathetic and beautiful.</p> -<p>The book opens with an account of the trances of the -three young men on Mount Ontake, for that sight was the -source of all these researches. He next lays a foundation for -the study of the subject by a short history of the Japanese religions; -how Shinto, the old cult, with its myriad divinities -and simple rites, was for a time overshadowed by Buddhism, -to be restored with the power of the Mikado; and how with -<span class="pb" id="Page_57">57</span> -its revival the popularity of the trances returned. They had -been kept alive by a single Buddhist sect which had adopted -them, but now they are even more widely practised by two -out of the ten Shinto sects, their sacred site being Ontake. -But before taking up the trances he describes the lesser, and -better known, cases of miraculous intervention for protection -from injury and for sanctification; notably, being sprinkled -with boiling water, walking over a bed of hot coals, and up -and down a ladder of sword blades; and he discusses why -no injury occurs. The walking over hot coals, at least, was -even performed in his own garden; and, although he does -not say so in the book, he did it himself, without, however, -complete immunity to the soles of his feet.</p> -<p>After telling of what he terms objective, as distinguished -from subjective, miracles, such as bringing down fire from -heaven; and saying something of miraculous healing of -disease, he comes to the main subject of the book, the incarnations -or trances. First he speaks of the preparation for -them, washing and fasting which are arduous and long, the -purification of persons and places, and a series of ceremonies -which, he says, tend to promote vacuity of mind. All these -things are absolutely sincere, for he declares that the first -view of a trance dispels any idea of sham. He then describes -three typical trances: first Ryobu, a Shinto-Buddhist sect, -where one of the men possessed, on coming back to himself, -was disappointed that he had not spoken English, which he -did not know himself; for to his mind it was not he that -spoke but the god who entered into him. The second example -was a Buddhist trance with the full complement of -eight persons filling their several offices in the ceremony. -This description is especially striking and sympathetic. The -<span class="pb" id="Page_58">58</span> -third case is of a pure Shinto trance, much the same, but with -the simpler ceremonial of that cult. He describes also the -Kwanchō’s training school, which has already been referred -to as the Kindergarten. He notes the pulse, insensibility, the -other physical conditions and sensations of the possessed, the -sex and number of the gods who enter him, for the exorcist -has no power to invoke the spirit he would prefer, but simply -calls for a god, and when one comes inquires who it is. It -may be a god or a goddess, and several of them may come in -succession. The main object of the proceeding being to obtain -counsel or prophecy, the exorcist, and he alone, can ask -questions of him, but he can do so on behalf of anyone -else, and often did so for Percival about his own affairs, although -the prophecies appear never to have turned out -right.</p> -<p>A chapter is devoted to pilgrimages and the pilgrim clubs, -which included in the aggregate vast numbers of people, -only a minute part of whom, however, belonged to the -trance sects. They subscribed small sums to be used to send -each year a few of their members to the shrine or sacred -mountain with which the club is associated; this feature of -the religious organization being as important from a social -as a religious point of view. Another chapter is given to the -Gohei, or sacred cluster of paper strips, used for all spiritual -purposes, and essential in calling down any god; an emblem -which he compares with the crucifix, while pointing out the -difference in their use. This first part of the book ends with -an argument, apparently to one who knows nothing about -the matter conclusive, that the whole subject of these trances -is of Shinto not Buddhist origin; and in this connection he -tells of his visit to the shrines of Ise where a temple was built -<span class="pb" id="Page_59">59</span> -to the sun-goddess when she possessed people, as she has -long ceased to do at these shrines.</p> -<p>So far the book is scientific; that is, it consists of a description -and analysis of phenomena repeatedly observed and -carefully tested. The second part, which he calls Noumena, -is an explanation of them on general psychological principles, -and thus belongs rather to philosophy than science. It comprises -discussions of the essence of self, of the freedom of the -will, of the motive forces of ideas, of individuality, of -dreams, hypnotism and trances. In these matters he was -much influenced by the recently published “Psychology” of -William James, which he had with him, and he draws comparisons -with hypnotism, a more prominent subject then -than it is now. Bearing in mind his dominant thought about -the essential quality of the Japanese, it is not unnatural that -he should find in the greater frequency of such phenomena -among them than elsewhere a confirmation of his theory -of their comparative lack of personality.</p> -<p>Perhaps his own estimate of the relative value of the two -parts of the book and that of critics might not agree; but, -however that may be, the second part is penetrating, and the -work as a whole a remarkable study of a subject up to that -time practically wholly concealed from the many observers -of Japanese life and customs. It was, in fact, his farewell to -Japan, for, leaving in the fall of 1893, he never again visited -that land. Ten years its people had been his chief intellectual -interest, but perhaps he thought he had exhausted the vein -in which he had been at work, or another interest may have -dislodged it. He has left no statement of why he gave up -Japan for astronomy, but probably there is truth in both of -these conjectures.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_60">60</div> -<p>Talking later to George Agassiz, Percival attributed the -change to the fact that Schiaparelli, who had first observed -the fine lines on the planet Mars which he called “canali,” -found that his failing eyesight prevented his pursuing his -observations farther, and that he had determined to carry -them on. That may well have directed his attention to the -particular planet; but the interest in astronomy lay far -deeper, extending back to the little telescope of boyhood -on the roof of his father’s house at Brookline. We have -seen that his Commencement Part at graduation was on the -nebular hypothesis, and he never lost his early love of such -things. In July, 1891, he writes to his brother-in-law, William -L. Putnam, about a project for writing on what he calls -the philosophy of the cosmos, with illustrations from -celestial mechanics. That was just before he went to Ontake -and there became involved in the study of trances, “which,” -as he says in his next letter to the same, “adds another to -my budget of literary eventualities.” In fact, the trances -occupied most of his time for the next two years, without -banishing the thought of later taking up other things, or effacing -the lure of astronomy, for in 1892 he took with him -to Japan a six-inch telescope, no small encumbrance unless -really desired, and he writes of observing Saturn therewith. -Whatever may have been the reason, it seems probable from -the rapidity with which he threw himself into astronomy -and into its planetary branch, that at least he had something -of the kind in his mind before he returned from Japan in -the autumn of 1893.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_61">61</div> -<h2 id="c9">CHAPTER IX -<br />THE OBSERVATORY AT FLAGSTAFF</h2> -<p>When, returning from Japan late in 1893, Percival Lowell -found himself quickly absorbed by astronomical research, -he was by no means without immediate equipment for the -task. His mathematical capacity, that in college had so impressed -Professor Benjamin Peirce, had not been allowed to -rust away; for, when at home, he had kept it bright in the -Mathematical and Physical (commonly called the M. P.) -Club, a group of men interested in the subject, mainly from -Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of -Technology. So fresh was it that we find him using, at the -outset, with apparent ease his calculus—both differential and -integral—tools that have a habit of losing edge with disuse. -Physically, also, he had a qualification of great importance -for the special work he was to undertake,—that of perceiving -on the disks of the planets, very fine markings close to -the limit of visibility; for the late Dr. Hasket Derby, then -the leading practitioner in Ophthalmology in Boston, told -Professor Julian Coolidge that Percival’s eyesight was the -keenest he had ever examined.</p> -<p>One essential remained, to find the best atmosphere for -his purpose. In entering our air the rays of light from the -stars are deflected, that is bent, and bent again when they -strike a denser or less dense stratum. But these strata are -continually changing with currents of warmer or colder -air rising and falling above the surface of the earth, and -<span class="pb" id="Page_62">62</span> -hence the rays of light are being shifted a little from side to -side as they reach us. Everyone is familiar with the twinkling -of the stars, caused in this way; for before entering our -atmosphere their light is perfectly steady. Moreover, everyone -must have observed that the amount of twinkling varies -greatly. At times it is unusually intense, and at others the -stars seem wonderfully still. Now, although the planets, -being near enough to show a disk visible through a telescope, -do not seem to twinkle, the same thing in fact occurs. The -light is deflected, and the shaking makes it very difficult to -see the smaller markings. Imagine trying to make out the -detail on an elaborately decorated plate held up by a man -with a palsied hand. The plate would be seen easily, but -for the detail one would wish it held in a steadier grasp, and -for observing the planets this corresponds to a steadier atmosphere.</p> -<p>Percival’s own account of the reason for his expedition of -1894 to observe the planet Mars, why he selected Flagstaff -as the site, what he did there and how the plan developed -into the permanent observatory that bears his name were -told in what was intended to be an introduction to the first -volume of the Annals of the Observatory. Perhaps owing -to the author’s illness in the last years of the century this -statement was mislaid and was not found until February 22, -1901. It is here printed in full.</p> -<h3><span class="sc">Annals of the Lowell Observatory</span> -<br /><span class="small">INTRODUCTION</span></h3> -<p>In the summer of 1877 occurred an event which was to -mark a new departure in astronomy,—the detection by Schiaparelli -<span class="pb" id="Page_63">63</span> -of the so-called canals of the planet Mars. The detection -of these markings has led to the turning over of an -entirely new page in cosmogony.</p> -<p>Schiaparelli’s discovery shared the fate of all important -astronomical advances,—even Newton’s theory of gravitation -was duly combatted in its day,—it, and still more the possibilities -with which it was fraught, distanced the comprehension -of its time. In consequence, partly from general -disbelief, partly from special difficulty, no notable addition -was made to Schiaparelli’s own work until 1892, when -Professor W. H. Pickering attacked the planet at the Boyden -Station of the Harvard Observatory at Arequipa, Peru, and -made the next addition to our knowledge of our neighbor -world.</p> -<p>Intrinsically important as was Pickering’s work, it was -even more important extrinsically. Schiaparelli’s discoveries -were due solely to the genius of the man,—his insight, not -his eyesight, for at the telescope eyes differ surprisingly -little, brains surprisingly much; Pickering’s brought into -coöperation a practically new instrument, the air itself. For -at the same time with his specific advance came a general -one,—the realization of the supreme importance of atmosphere -in astronomical research. To the Harvard Observatory -is due the first really far-reaching move in this direction, and -to Professor W. H. Pickering of that observatory the first -fruits in carrying it out.</p> -<p>It was at this stage in our knowledge of the possibilities -in planetary work and of the means to that end, in the -winter of 1893-94, that the writer determined to make an -expedition which included the putting up of an observatory -for the primary purpose of studying, under the best procurable -<span class="pb" id="Page_64">64</span> -conditions, the planet Mars at his then coming opposition,—an -opposition at which the planet, though not -quite so close to us as in 1892, would be better placed for -northern observers. In this expedition he associated with -himself Prof. W. H. Pickering and Mr. A. E. Douglass.</p> -<p>The writer had two objects in view:</p> -<p>1st, the determination of the physical condition of the -planets of our solar system, primarily Mars;</p> -<p>2d, the determination of the conditions conducive to the -best astronomical observations.</p> -<p>How vital was the inter-connection of the two was demonstrated -by the results.</p> -<p>Important as atmosphere is to any astronomical investigation, -it is all-important to the study of the planets. To get, -therefore, within the limits of the United States—limits at -the time for several reasons advisable—as steady air as possible, -Prof. W. H. Pickering, who had already had experience -of Southern California as well as of Arequipa, Peru, proposed -Arizona as the most promising spot. Accordingly, -Mr. A. E. Douglass left Boston in March, 1894, with a six-inch -Clark refractor belonging to the writer, to make a test of the -seeing throughout the Territory. From his report, Flagstaff -was selected for the observatory site.</p> -<p>Flagstaff, then a town of eight hundred inhabitants, lies -on the line of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad, in the centre -of the great plateau of northern Arizona, half way across -the Territory from east to west, and two fifths way down -from north to south. This plateau, whose mean elevation -is between 6000 and 7000 feet, is a great pine oasis a hundred -miles or more in diameter, rising some 3000 feet from out -the Arizona desert. It culminates in the mass known as the -<span class="pb" id="Page_65">65</span> -San Francisco Peaks, ten miles north of Flagstaff, whose -highest summit rises 12,872 feet above the level of the sea.<a class="fn" id="fr_9" href="#fn_9">[9]</a></p> -<p>The spot chosen was the eastern edge of the mesa (table-land) -to the west of Flagstaff. The site lay open to the east -and south, and was shielded on the north by the San Francisco -Peaks. The distance from the observatory to Mt. -Agassiz, the most conspicuous of the Peaks from the Flagstaff -side, was about eight miles and three fifths in an air-line, -and the distance to the town about a mile and a quarter. -As soon as the site was selected, the town very kindly deeded -to the observatory a piece of land and built a road up to -it.</p> -<p>The observatory stood 350 feet above the town, and 7250 -feet above the level of the sea, in latitude 35° 11′ north and -longitude 111° 40′ west.</p> -<p>Prof. W. H. Pickering, to whose skill and ability was -chiefly due the successful setting up of the observatory, suggested -arrangements with Brashear for the use of an -eighteen-inch refractor which Brashear had recently constructed,—the -largest glass to be had at the time,—arrangements -which were accordingly made. He then devised -and superintended the construction of a dome intended to -be of a temporary character, which worked admirably. The -upper part of it was made in sections in Cambridgeport, -Mass., and then shipped West, the lower part being constructed -according to his specifications on the spot, under the -superintendence of Mr. Douglass.</p> -<p>The telescope was supported on one of the Clark mountings. -The bed-plate, clock-work, and a twelve-inch telescope -were leased of the Harvard College Observatory, and the -<span class="pb" id="Page_66">66</span> -mounting then altered by Alvan Clark & Sons to carry both -the twelve and the eighteen-inch telescopes.</p> -<p>Six weeks from the time ground was broken, on April 23, -1894, regular observations with the eighteen-inch were begun.</p> -<p>The results of the year’s work surpassed anticipation. -Details invisible at the average observatory were presented -at times with copper-plate distinctness, and, what is as vital, -the markings were seen hour after hour, day after day, month -after month. First sight; then system; and the one of these -factors was as fundamental to the results as the other. Systematic -work, first made possible and then properly performed, -was the open sesame to that most difficult branch -of astronomical observations, the study of our nearest neighbors -in the universe.</p> -<p>The chief results obtained were:—</p> -<p>1st, the detection of the physical characteristics of the -planet Mars to a degree of completeness sufficient to permit -of the forming of a general theory of its condition, revealing -beyond reasonable doubt first its general habitability, -and second its particular habitation at the present moment -by some form of local intelligence;</p> -<p>2d, corroboration and extension by Professor Pickering of -his discoveries at Arequipa with regard to the forms of -Jupiter’s Satellites;<a class="fn" id="fr_10" href="#fn_10">[10]</a></p> -<p>3d, the discovery and study by Mr. Douglass of the atmospheric -causes upon which good seeing depends.</p> -<p>It is of the observations connected with the first of these -that the present volume of the Annals alone treats.</p> -<p>As the publication of this volume has been so long delayed, -<span class="pb" id="Page_67">67</span> -it seems fitting to add here a brief continuation of the history -of the observatory to the present time.</p> -<p>The results of the expedition in 1894, in the detection of -planetary detail, turned out to be so important an advance -upon what had previously been accomplished that the writer -decided to form of the temporary expedition a permanent -observatory. Accordingly, he had Alvan Clark & Sons make -him a twenty-four-inch refractor, which fate decided should -be their last large glass; the Yerkes glass, although not yet in -operation at the time this goes to press, having been finished -at nearly the time his was begun. The glass received from -Mantois happened to be singularly flawless and its working -the same. It was made twenty-four inches in clear aperture, -and of a focal length of thirty-one feet. Alvan G. Clark -accompanied the writer to Flagstaff and put the glass in -place himself.</p> -<p>The mounting for the telescope was likewise made by the -Clarks. Rigidity was the prime essential, in order to secure -as stable an image as possible, and this has been admirably -carried out, the mounting being the heaviest and most stable -for a glass of its size yet made.</p> -<p>In July, 1896, Dr. T. J. J. See joined the observatory, to -continue there the line of research for which he was already -well known—the study of the double stars. This added to -the two initial objects of the observatory a third,—</p> -<p>3d, the study of double-star systems, including a complete -catalogue of those in the southern heavens.</p> -<p>During the summer and autumn of 1896 the importance -of good atmosphere was further demonstrated in an interesting -and somewhat surprising quarter. The air by day -was found to be as practicable as that by night. While Mars -<span class="pb" id="Page_68">68</span> -was being studied by night, the study of Venus and Mercury -was taken up during the daytime systematically, and the -results proved as significant as had been those on Mars. Instead -of the vague diffused patches hitherto commonly -recorded, both planets’ surfaces turned out to be diversified -by markings of so distinct a character as not only to disclose -their rotation periods but to furnish the fundamental facts -of the physical conditions of their surfaces. We know now -more about Mercury and Venus than we previously knew -of Mars.</p> -<p>As the winter in Flagstaff is not so good as the summer, -it was thought well to try Mexico during that season of the -year. Accordingly, a new dome was made; the telescope was -taken down; and dome, mounting, and glasses were carried -to Mexico and set up for the winter at Tacubaya, a -suburb of the City of Mexico, at an elevation of 7500 feet. -There the observatory received every kindness at the hands -of the President, the Government, and the National Observatory.</p> -<p>Observations at Mexico fully corroborated those at Flagstaff -with regard to both Mars, Mercury and Venus, and -enabled Mr. Douglass to make the first full determination -of the markings on Jupiter’s third and fourth satellites, thus -fixing their rotation periods.</p> -<p>Dr. See in the mean time, who while at Flagstaff had discovered -a very large number of new doubles, in Mexico -added to his list;...</p> -<p>With the spring the observatory was shipped back again -to Flagstaff.</p> -<p>Of the particular results in planetary work obtained, several -papers have been published in various astronomical -<span class="pb" id="Page_69">69</span> -journals, while of them subsequent volumes of the Annals -will speak in detail. In the meantime two general conclusions -to which they have led the writer may, as possessing -future interest, fittingly be mentioned here:</p> -<p>1st, that the physical condition of the various members -of our solar system appears to be such as evolution from -a primal nebula would demand;</p> -<p>2d, that what we call life is an inevitable detail of cosmic -evolution, as inherent a property of matter from an eventual -standpoint as gravitation itself is from an instant one: as a -primal nebula or meteoric swarm, actuated by purely natural -laws, evolves a system of bodies, so each body under the same -laws, conditioned only by size and position, inevitably -evolves upon itself organic forms.</p> -<p>The reasons for the first of these conclusions have sprung -directly from the writer’s study of the several members of -our own solar system; his reason for the second, upon the -further facts,—</p> -<p>1st, that where the physical conditions upon these bodies -point to the apparent possibility of life, we find apparent -signs of life;</p> -<p>2d, where they do not, we find none.</p> -<p>This implies that, however much its detail may vary, life is -essentially the same everywhere, since we can reason apparently -correctly as to its presence or absence, a result which -is in striking accord with the spectroscopic evidence of a practical -identity of material.</p> -<hr /> -<p>Evidently the expedition to observe Mars was undertaken -quite suddenly, but if it was to be made at all it must be done -quickly. Anyone, however unfamiliar with astronomy, will -<span class="pb" id="Page_70">70</span> -perceive that two planets revolving about the sun in independent -orbits will be nearest together when they are on the -same side of the sun and farthest apart when on opposite -sides of it, and that the difference is especially great if, as in -the case of the earth and Mars, their orbits are not far apart, -for when on the same side the separation is only the difference -of their distances from the sun, and when on opposite sides -it is the sum of those distances. Moreover, Mars being outside -of the Earth its whole face is seen in the full light of -the sun when both bodies are on the same side of it. Now -such a condition, called opposition, was to occur in the -summer after Percival’s return from Japan, and therefore -there was no time to spare in getting an observatory ready -for use.</p> -<p>From the experience of others elsewhere, Percival was convinced -that the most favorable atmospheric situations would -lie in one of the two desert bands that encircle a great part -of the Earth, north and south of the equator, caused by the -sucking up of moisture by the trade winds; and that a -mountain, with the currents of air running up and down it, -did not offer so steady an atmosphere as a high table-land. -The height is important because the amount of atmosphere -through which the light travels is much less than at sea -level. He was aware that the best position of this kind -might well be found in some foreign country; but again -there was no time to search for it, or indeed to build an observatory -far away, if it must be equipped by the early summer. -The fairly dry and high plateau of northern Arizona -seemed, therefore, to offer the best chance of a favorable -site for this immediate and temporary expedition.</p> -<p>With the aid of suggestions by Professor William H. -<span class="pb" id="Page_71">71</span> -Pickering, who knew what was needed in observing Mars, -he sent Mr. Douglass, with the six-inch telescope brought -back from Japan, to Arizona to inspect the astronomic steadiness -of the atmosphere. The instructions, apparently drawn -up by Professor Pickering, were dated February 28th, directing -him to observe on two nights each at Tombstone, -Tucson and Phoenix; and Percival, keeping in constant -touch with Mr. Douglass by letter and telegraph, added -among other places Flagstaff. This was shortly followed by -instructions about constructing the circular vertical part of -the dome for the observatory by local contract as soon as the -site was selected, while the spherical part above, which was -to be of parallel arches covered with wire netting and canvas, -was being made in the East and to be shipped shortly. -Meanwhile the pier was being built by Alvan Clark & Sons -(who had made most of the large telescopes in this country) -and the mounting for both the eighteen-inch and the twelve-inch -telescope thereon, balancing each other. Mr. Douglass -was to report constantly; and in April Percival wrote him to -take a photograph of the site of the observatory “now,” then -every day as the work progressed, and have the negatives -developed, a blue print made of each as speedily as possible -and sent East. All this is stated here to show the speed, -and at the same time the careful thought, with which the -work was done. Percival and his colleagues came as near -as possible to carrying out the principle, “when you have -made up your mind that a thing must be done, and done -quickly, do it yesterday.”</p> -<p>In fact Percival did not select any of the three places first -examined, but on consideration of Mr. Douglass’ reports -preferred Flagstaff; and his choice has been abundantly confirmed -<span class="pb" id="Page_72">72</span> -by the pioneering problems undertaken there, and -by the fact that this site was retained for the later permanent -Observatory. Everyone, indeed, deserves much credit for -the rapid work done at such a distance from principals busy -with the preparation of the instruments. It was characteristic -of Percival that he got the very best out of those who -worked with and under him.</p> -<p>Although the closest point of the opposition did not occur -until the autumn, the two planets, travelling in the same -direction, were near enough together for fair observation -some months earlier; and on May 28th, arriving at Flagstaff, -Percival writes to his mother: “Here on the day. Telescope -ready for use tonight for its Arizonian virgin view.... -After lunch all to the observatory where carpenters were -giving their finishing touches.... Today has been cloudy -but now shows signs of a beautiful night and so, not to bed, -but to post and then to gaze.” The sky was not clear that -night, for an unprecedented rain came and lasted several -days, falling through the still uncanvased dome on Professor -Pickering and Percival, who had been lured by a “fairing” -sky into camping out there in the evening to be on time for -the early rising Mars. But it was not long before the weather -cleared and the strenuous work began. As the observatory -was a mile and a half from the hotel in the town, and uphill, -it was uncomfortable to arrive there at three o’clock -in the morning, the hour when at that season Mars came in -sight. So in the summer a cottage was built hard by the -dome, where they could sleep and get their meals.</p> -<p>The observations were, of course, continuous throughout -the rest of the year; and except for two trips East on business, -one for a few weeks at the end of June, another in September, -<span class="pb" id="Page_73">73</span> -and a few days in Los Angeles, Percival was there all -the time. As usual he worked furiously; for beside observing -most of the night he spent much of the day writing reports -and papers, making drawings for publication in scientific -and other periodicals, and investigating collateral questions -that bore upon their significance; and while he had computers -for mechanical detail, he and his colleagues had to -prepare and supervise their work. To his mother he wrote, -as a rule, every day; and in some of these letters he gave an -account of his time. On September 2nd, he writes of being -up the greater part of the night, and naturally perpetually -sleepy. “But the number of canals increases encouragingly—in -the Lake of the Sun region we have seen nearly all -Schiaparelli’s and about as many more.” On October 10th: -“Observed the better part of last night, after being welcomed -by everybody—and have been as a busy as a beaver today, -writing an article, drawing for ditto etc, etc.”; and, two -days later, “Chock full of work; scrabbling each day for the -post—proof etc. Mr. Douglass is now on the hill observing -Mercury. We all dine there at seven. Then I take Mars and -at 3 <span class="small">A.M.</span> Professor Pickering, Jupiter. So you see none of the -planets are neglected.”</p> -<p>In one of these letters he encloses a clipping from a San -Francisco newspaper satirizing Professor Holden for saying -that the canals of Mars reported at Flagstaff were not confirmed -by observations at Mount Hamilton. Denial or doubt -that he had really seen what—after many observations confirmed -by those of his colleagues—he reported as seen always -vexed Percival, and naturally so. Yet they were not uncommon -and sometimes attributed to defective vision. He was -well aware that while a belief that a thing exists may make -<span class="pb" id="Page_74">74</span> -one think he has seen it when he has not, yet it is also true -that one person perfectly familiar with an object sought will -find it when another, unacquainted with its precise appearance, -will miss it altogether. Everyone knows that people in -the habit of looking for four-leaved clovers are constantly -picking them while others never see them; or that a skilled -archaeologist finds arrowheads with much greater facility -than a tyro, who will, however, improve rapidly with a little -experience; and all this is especially true of things near the -very limit of visibility. Gradually more and more observers -began to see the finer markings and the canals on Mars, until -finally the question of their existence was set at rest when -it became possible to photograph them.</p> -<p>But in spite of work and vexation the life was far from -dull, for the observatory was as hospitable as its limited -quarters would allow. Visitors were attracted by its growing -reputation, and on August 25th he writes: “Just as we were -plodding up there last evening in the dark we heard a carriage-full -of folk coming down. We suspected what they had -been after and were not surprised when they challenged us -with ‘Are you observatory people?’ It seems they were, as -they informed us pathetically, people from the East and -had gone up to look through the glass, if they might, before -taking the train at 12.30 that night. Of course we could not -resist their appeals and so, though we had thought to turn -in betimes because of early observations in the morning, -entertained these angels—half of them were women—on -‘just like diamonds’ as they said of the stars. The out-of-focus -views pleased them the most—as turns out to be the -case generally. This morning when I went to take Pickering’s -place I found another angel in the shape of a Colorado -<span class="pb" id="Page_75">75</span> -man, out here for his health, in the dome with Pickering—a -nice fellow he turned out. It was then 4 h. 8 m. o’clock in -the morning,—a matutinal hour for a man to trudge a mile -and a half on no breakfast up to an observatory on a hill—That -shows real astronomical interest. He was rewarded -gastronomically with some coffee of my brewing, all three -of us breakfasting standing by the platform.”</p> -<p>There were occasional picnics and trips to the cave dwellings, -the Grand Cañon, the petrified forest and other sights. -Moreover, Percival greatly enjoyed the scenery about Flagstaff, -and took an interest in the people of the town, although -well aware of inexperience in some matters. On -October 13th he says: “There was a grand republican rally -last night and the young Flagstaff band that is learning to -play in tune serenaded the speaker of the occasion under the -hotel windows in fine style. When you knew the air beforehand -you could follow it with enthusiasm.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_76">76</div> -<h2 id="c10">CHAPTER X -<br />MARS</h2> -<p>Meanwhile the work of the Observatory went on, partly -in the direction of the special lines of the several observers, -but mainly in that of the founder whose interest was then -predominantly planetary, especially in Mars; and from this -the site of the dome came to be called Mars Hill. The clear -atmosphere yielded the results that had been hoped for, and -much was discovered about the planets, their period of rotation, -satellites etc., but above all were the Martian observations -fruitful. There the object was to watch the seasonal -changes beginning with the vernal equinox, or spring of -the southern hemisphere, the one inclined toward the earth -when the two bodies approach most closely, and follow -them through the summer and autumn of our neighbor. -For those not familiar with the topography of Mars it may -be said that the greater part of its surface is a reddish or -orange color interspersed with patches or broken bands of a -blue, or greenish blue, in the southern temperate zone. -These had been supposed to be seas, and are still known by -names recalling that opinion, while the lighter regions derived -their nomenclature from the theory that they are continents -or islands standing out of the water. This is confusing, -but must be borne in mind by anyone who looks at a map -of the planet and tries to understand the meaning of the -terms. There are several reasons for thinking that the dark -<span class="pb" id="Page_77">77</span> -areas are not seas: one that they change in depth of color -with the seasons; another that light reflected from water is -polarized and in this case it is not; also they never show a -brilliant specular reflection of the Sun as seas would do.</p> -<p>Now in the winter of the Martian southern hemisphere the -region around that pole turned white, that is it became -covered by a mantle appearing like snow or ice, and as the -summer advanced this became less and less until it disappeared -altogether. Meanwhile there formed around it a dark -mass that spread downwards, toward the temperate zone and -into the bluish areas there, which assumed a darker hue. After -the deepening color had reached the edge of the wrongly -called sea, very thin straight lines appeared proceeding from -it into the lighter reddish regions (mistaken for continents) -toward the equator, and increased rapidly in number until -there was a great network of them. It very often happened -that more than two of these intersected at the same point, -and when that occurred there usually came a distinct dot -much larger than the thickness of the lines themselves. After -this process was fairly under way the dark areas faded down -again, and then similar fine lines appeared in them, connecting -with those in the light areas, and apparently continuing -toward the pole. Moreover, some of the lines in the light -region doubled, that is two parallel lines appeared usually -running in this case not to the centres, but to the two sides -of the dark dots. It is essential to add that the limit of thickness -for any line on Mars to be seen by their telescopes was -estimated at about fifteen miles, so that these fine lines must -have been at least of that width.</p> -<p>Such is in brief the outline of that which the observers saw. -What did these things mean? What was the interpretation -<span class="pb" id="Page_78">78</span> -of the phenomena, their opinion on the causes and operation? -This, with the details of the observations, is given by Percival -in his book “Mars,” written immediately after this first year -of observation, the preface bearing the date November, 1895. -But it must not be supposed that he started to observe with -any preconceived idea that the planet was inhabited, or -with the object of proving that the so-called canals were the -work of intelligent beings, for in the preface to the fourth -edition he says: “The theory contained in this book was conceived -by me toward the end of the first year’s work at Flagstaff. -Up to that time, although the habitability of Mars -had been often suggested and strenuously opposed, no theory -based upon sufficient facts had ever been put forth that -bound the facts into a logical consistent whole—the final -rivet perhaps was when the idea of the oases occurred to me.” -The oases were the dots at the intersection of the fine lines -which were called by Schiaparelli “canali” and have retained -the name canals.</p> -<p>“Mars” begins with a description of the planet, of its -orbit, size and shape, as compared with that of the Earth. -By means of its trifling satellites its mass was determined, -and from this and its dimensions the force of gravity at its -surface, which was found to be a little over one third of that -on the Earth; so that living creatures, if any, could be much -larger than those of the same type here. From the markings -that could be seen on its face the period of rotation, that is the -length of the Martian day, was measured with great accuracy, -being about forty minutes longer than our own; while the -Martian year, known from its revolution round the sun, was -about twice the length of ours. All this led to a calculation of -the nature of the planet’s seasons, which for its southern -<span class="pb" id="Page_79">79</span> -hemisphere—the one turned toward the Earth when the two -bodies are near together as in 1894—gave a long cold winter -and a summer short and hot.</p> -<p>He then takes up the question of atmosphere, which, with -water, is absolutely necessary for life, and even for physical -changes of any kind “when once what was friable had -crumbled to pieces under the alternate roasting and refrigerating, -relatively speaking, to which the body’s surface -would be exposed as it turned round on its axis into and out -of the sun’s rays. Such disintegration once accomplished, the -planet would roll thenceforth a mummy world through -space,” like our own moon, as he says, where, except for -the possible tumbling in of a crater wall, all is now deathly -still. But on Mars changes occur on a scale vast enough -to be visible from the Earth, and he tells in greater detail the -first of those noted in the preceding summary, the formation -and melting of the polar snows. Moreover, a change was observed -in the diameter of the planet, which could be explained -only by the presence of a twilight zone, and this meant an -atmosphere refracting the rays of the sun, a phenomenon -that he dwells upon at some length. He then turns to the -nature of the atmosphere, and from the relative cloudlessness -and the lesser force of gravity concludes that its density -is probably about one seventh of that on the surface of the -Earth. So much for its quantity. For its quality he considers -the kinetic theory of gases, and calculates that in spite of -its lesser gravity it could retain oxygen, nitrogen, water -vapor, and in fact all the elements of our atmosphere.</p> -<p>He next considers the question of water, the other essential -to the existence of life, animal or vegetable; the phenomenon -of the diminution, and final disappearance, of the polar -<span class="pb" id="Page_80">80</span> -cap, the behavior of the dark blue band which formed along -it; and says: “That the blue was water at the edge of the -melting snow seems unquestionable. That it was the color -of water; that it so persistently bordered the melting snow; -and that it subsequently vanished, are three facts mutually -confirmatory to this deduction. But a fourth bit of proof, -due to the ingenuity of Professor W. H. Pickering, adds its -weight to the other three. For he made the polariscope tell -the same tale. On scrutinizing the great bay through an Arago -polariscope, he found the light coming from the bay to be -polarized. Now, to polarize the light it reflects is a property, -as we know, of a smooth surface such as that of water is.” -The great bay of which he speaks is the widest part of the -blue band. He discusses the suggestion that the white cap -is due, as had been suggested, to congealed carbonic acid gas -instead of ice or snow from water, and points out that with -the slight density of the Martian atmosphere this would require -a degree of cold impossible under the conditions of the -planet; an important conclusion later fully confirmed by -radiometric measures at Flagstaff and Mt. Wilson.</p> -<p>Assuming therefore that the polar cap is composed of snow -or ice, he traced its history, as observed more closely than -ever before at Flagstaff, and gives a map of its gradual -shrinking and final disappearance, with the corresponding -condition of the blue water at its edge. All this from June 3 -to October 13 of our year, or from May 1 to July 13 of the -Martian seasons, and this was the first time the cap had been -seen to vanish wholly. It is interesting to note that in the -early morning of June 8 “as I was watching the planet, I saw -suddenly two points like stars flash out in the midst of the -polar cap. Dazzlingly bright upon the duller white background -<span class="pb" id="Page_81">81</span> -of the snow, these stars shone for a few moments -and then slowly disappeared. The seeing at the time was -very good. It is at once evident what the other-world apparitions -were,—not the fabled signal lights of Martian folk, but -the glint of ice-slopes flashing for a moment earthward as -the rotation of the planet turned the slope to the proper -angle ... nine minutes before they reach Earth they had -ceased to be on Mars, and, after their travel of one hundred -millions of miles, found to note them but one watcher, alone -on a hill-top with the dawn.”</p> -<p>Seven years before Green, at Madeira, had seen the same -thing at the same spot on the planet, drawn the same conclusion, -and named the heights the Mitchell Mountains, -after the man who had done the like in 1846. Later the -blue belt below the cap turned brown; “of that mud-color -land does from which the water has recently been drained -off,” and at last, “where the polar ice-cap and polar sea had -been was now one ochre stretch of desert.”</p> -<p>The geography of Mars he describes, but what he tells -cannot be made intelligible without the twelve successive -views he gives of the planet as it turns around; while the -names of places, given in the main by Schiaparelli, are based -in large part on the mistaken impression that the dark regions -were seas and bays, the light ones continents and -islands. “Previous to the present chart,” Percival writes, “the -most detailed map of the planet was Schiaparelli’s, made -in 1888. On comparison with his, it will be seen that the -present one substantially confirms all his detail, and adds to -it about as much more. I have adopted his nomenclature, -and in the naming of the newly found features have selected -names conformable to his scheme, which commends itself -<span class="pb" id="Page_82">82</span> -both on practical and on poetic grounds.” By this, of course, -he does not mean to commend naming the dark areas as -seas, for his description of the features on the planet’s surface -is followed by a statement of the reasons, apparently -conclusive, for assuming that the blue-green regions cannot -be seas, but must be vegetation; while the reddish ochre ones -are simply desert.</p> -<p>“Upon the melting of its polar cap, and the transference of -the water thus annually set free to go its rounds, seem to -depend all the seasonal phenomena on the surface of the -planet.</p> -<p>“The observations upon which this deduction is based extend -over a period of nearly six months, from the last day -of May to the 22d of November. They cover the regions -from the south pole to about latitude forty north. That -changes analogous to those recorded, differing, however, -in details, occur six Martian months later in the planet’s -northern hemisphere, is proved by what Schiaparelli has -seen.” In order that the reader may not be confused, and -wonder why the changes at the north pole do not begin -shortly after those in the southern hemisphere are over, he -must remember that the Martian year has 687 days, and is -thus nearly twice as long as ours, or in other words that -the period of these observations covered only about four -months in Mars.</p> -<p>“So soon as the melting of the snow was well under way, -long straits, of deeper tint than their surroundings, made -their appearance in the midst of the dark areas,” although -the dark areas were then at their darkest. “For some time the -dark areas continued largely unchanged in appearance; -that is, during the earlier and most extensive melting of the -<span class="pb" id="Page_83">83</span> -snow-cap. After this their history became one long chronicle -of fading out. Their lighter parts grew lighter, and their -darker ones less dark. For, to start with, they were made -up of many tints; various shades of blue-green interspersed -with glints of orange-yellow.... Toward the end of October, -a strange, and, for observational purposes, a distressing -phenomenon took place. What remained of the more southern -dark regions showed a desire to vanish, so completely did -those regions proceed to fade in tint throughout.” He points -out that such a change is inexplicable if the dark areas were -water, for there was no place for it to go to. “But if, instead -of being due to water, the blue-green tint had been due to -leaves and grasses, just such a fading out as was observed -should have taken place as autumn came on, and that without -proportionate increase of green elsewhere; for the great -continental areas, being desert, are incapable of supporting -vegetation, and therefore of turning green.” By the continental -areas he meant the barren regions, formerly thought -to stand out from seas in contrast with the darker ones supposed -to be water.</p> -<p>“Thus we see that several independent phenomena all -agree to show that the blue-green regions of Mars are not -water, but, generally at least, areas of vegetation; from -which it follows that Mars is very badly off for water, and -that the planet is dependent on the melting of its polar -snows for practically its whole supply.</p> -<p>“Such scarcity of water on Mars is just what theory would -lead us to expect. Mars is a smaller planet than the Earth, -and therefore is relatively more advanced in his evolutionary -career.” And as a planet grows old its water retreats through -cracks and caverns into its interior. The so-called seas were, -<span class="pb" id="Page_84">84</span> -he thinks, once such, and “are still the lowest portions of -the planet, and therefore stand to receive what scant water -may yet travel over the surface.” With this agrees the fact -that the divisions between the dark and light areas run -south-east north-west; as they would if made by currents in -water flowing from the pole toward the equator.</p> -<p>“Now, if a planet were at any stage of its career able to -support life, it is probable that a diminishing water supply -would be the beginning of the end of that life, for the air -would outlast the available water.<a class="fn" id="fr_11" href="#fn_11">[11]</a>...</p> -<p>“Mars is, apparently, in this distressing plight at the present -moment, the signs being that its water supply is now exceedingly -low. If, therefore, the planet possess inhabitants, -there is but one course open to them in order to support life. -Irrigation, and upon as vast a scale as possible, must be the -all-engrossing Martian pursuit....</p> -<p>“At this point in our inquiry, when direct deduction -from the general physical phenomena observable on the -planet’s surface shows that, were there inhabitants there, a -system of irrigation would be an all-essential of their existence, -the telescope presents us with perhaps the most -startling discovery of modern times,—the so-called canals -of Mars.”</p> -<p>He then takes up these so-called canals or lines which start -from the edge of the blue-green regions, proceed directly to -what seem centres in the middle of the ochre areas, where -they meet other lines that come, he says, “with apparently -a like determinate intent. And this state of things is not -confined to any one part of the planet, but takes place all -<span class="pb" id="Page_85">85</span> -over the reddish-ochre regions,” that is the arid belt of the -planet. “Plotting upon a globe betrays them to be arcs of -great circles almost invariably, even the few outstanding exceptions -seeming to be but polygonal combinations of the -same.” These two facts, that the lines are great circles, or the -shortest distance between points on the surface of the planet, -and that several of them often meet at the same place, must -be borne in mind, because they are essential elements in his -argument that they are the result of an intelligent plan.</p> -<p>The lines are of enormous length, the shortest being 250 -miles, and the longest 3,540, and at times three, four, five, and -even seven come together at one spot. By them the whole -region is cut up, and how many there may be cannot now, -he says, be determined, for the better the air at the observatory -the more of them become visible. At Flagstaff they -detected 183, seen from once to 127 times, and there were in -the aggregate 3,240 records made of them.<a class="fn" id="fr_12" href="#fn_12">[12]</a></p> -<p>In seeking for the origin of the lines he begins by discarding -natural causation on the ground first of their straightness, -and second of their uniform width, regularities not to be -found to any such a degree in the processes of nature. His -third ground is “that the lines form a system; that, instead -of running anywhither, they join certain points to certain -others, making thus, not a simple network, but one whose -meshes connect centres directly with one another.... If -lines be drawn haphazard over the surface of a globe, the -chances are ever so many to one against more than two lines -crossing each other at any point. Simple crossings of two -lines will of course be common in something like factorial -<span class="pb" id="Page_86">86</span> -proportion to the number of lines; but that any other line -should contrive to cross at the same point would be a coincidence -whose improbability only a mathematician can -properly appreciate, so very great is it.... In other words, -we might search in vain for a single instance of such encounter. -On the surface of Mars, however, instead of searching -in vain, we find the thing occurring <i>passim</i>; this <i>a priori</i> -most improbable rendezvousing proving the rule, not the -exception. Of the crossings that are best seen, all are meeting -places for more than two canals.”</p> -<p>He then takes up the question of cracks radiating from -centres of explosion or fissure, and points out that such -cracks would not be of uniform breadth. There are cracks -on the moon which look like cracks, while the lines on Mars -do not. Moreover, the lines fit into one another which -would not be true of cracks radiating from different centres. -The lines cannot be rivers for those would not be the same -width throughout, or run on arcs of great circles. Nor can -the lines be furrows ploughed by meteorites, since these -would not run straight from one centre to another; in short -the objection from the infinitesimal chance of several lines -crossing at the same point applies. “In truth,” he concludes, -“no natural theory has yet been advanced which will explain -these lines.”</p> -<p>The development, or order in the visibility, of the canals -throws light on their nature. Early in the Martian spring -they were invisible, then those nearest to the melting snows -of its south pole appeared, and in a general succession those -farther and farther away; but when they did appear they -were always in the same place where they had been seen before. -Each canal, however, did not darken all at once, but -<span class="pb" id="Page_87">87</span> -gradually; and this he accounts for by saying that what we -see is not water but vegetation which takes time to develop. -“If, therefore, we suppose what we call a canal to be, not the -canal proper, but the vegetation along its banks, the observed -phenomena stand accounted for. This suggestion -was first made some years ago by Professor W. H. Pickering.</p> -<p>“That what we see is not the canal proper, but the line of -land it irrigates, disposes incidentally of the difficulty of conceiving -a canal several miles wide. On the other hand, a -narrow, fertilized strip of country is what we should expect -to find; for, as we have seen, the general physical condition -of the planet leads us to the conception, not of canals constructed -for waterways,—like our Suez Canal,—but of canals -dug for irrigation purposes. We cannot, of course, be sure -that such is their character, appearances being often highly -deceitful; we can only say that, so far, the supposition best -explains what we see. Further details of their development -point to this same conclusion.” Such as that with time they -darken rather than broaden.</p> -<p>To the objection that canals could not be built in straight -lines because of mountain ranges he replies that the surface -of Mars is surprisingly flat, and this he proves by careful -observations of the terminator, that is the edge of that part -of the planet lighted by the Sun, where any considerable -sudden changes of elevation on the surface of the planet -would appear, and do not.</p> -<p>He then tells of the discovery by Mr. Douglass of the -canals in the dark regions toward the south pole. They -could not be seen while those regions remained dark, but -when they faded out the canals became visible, and supplied -<span class="pb" id="Page_88">88</span> -the missing link explaining how the water from the melting -polar cap was conveyed to the canals in the arid space north -and south of the equator. Mr. Douglass found no less than -forty-four of them, almost all of which he saw more than -once, one on as many as thirty-seven occasions.</p> -<p>Then came the phenomenon that convinced Percival of an -artificial system of irrigation: “Dotted all over the reddish-ochre -ground of the desert stretches of the planet ... are -an innumerable number of dark circular or oval spots. They -appear, furthermore, always in intimate association with -the canals. They constitute so many hubs to which the canals -make spokes”; and there is not a single instance of such a -spot, unconnected by a canal, and by more than one, with -the rest of the system. These spots are in general circular, -from 120 to 150 miles in diameter, and make their appearance -after, but not long after, the canals that lead to them, -those that appear first becoming after a time less conspicuous, -those seen later more so. In short they behave as oases of -vegetation would when a supply of water had reached them, -and thus give “an end and object for the existence of canals, -and the most natural one in the world, namely, that the -canals are constructed for the express purpose of fertilizing -the oases.... This, at least, is the only explanation that -fully accounts for the facts. Of course all such evidence of -design may be purely fortuitous, with about as much probability, -as it has happily been put, as that a chance collection -of numbers should take the form of the multiplication table.” -He does not fail to point out that great circles for the canals, -and circular shapes for the oases, are the forms most economical -if artificially constructed; nor does his reasoning rest -upon a small number of instances, for up to the close of -<span class="pb" id="Page_89">89</span> -observations at that time fifty-three oases had been discovered.</p> -<p>Finally he deals with the corroborating phenomena of -double canals and the curious dark spots where the canals in -the dark regions debouch into those that run through the -deserts.</p> -<p>In his conclusion he sums up his ideas as follows:</p> -<p>“To review, now, the chain of reasoning by which we have -been led to regard it probable that upon the surface of Mars -we see the effects of local intelligence. We find, in the first -place, that the broad physical conditions of the planet are -not antagonistic to some form of life; secondly, that there is -an apparent dearth of water upon the planet’s surface, and -therefore, if beings of sufficient intelligence inhabited it, they -would have to resort to irrigation to support life; thirdly, -that there turns out to be a network of markings covering -the disk precisely counterparting what a system of irrigation -would look like; and, lastly, that there is a set of spots placed -where we should expect to find the lands thus artificially -fertilized, and behaving as such constructed oases should. -All this, of course, may be a set of coincidences, signifying -nothing; but the probability points the other way.”</p> -<p>Such was the harvest of facts and ideas garnered from -Mars at the Observatory during this summer of tireless -watching. Both the facts and the conclusions drawn from -them were received with incredulity by astronomers whose -atmospheres and unfamiliarity with the things to be observed -hindered their seeing the phenomena, and to whom -the explanations seemed fantastic. With more careful observation -skepticism about the phenomena decreased, one -observer after another seeing the change of color on the -<span class="pb" id="Page_90">90</span> -planet, the growth of vegetation, and in some form the lines -and the dots, although many skilled observers still see them -as irregular markings rather than as fine uniform lines. -The hypothesis of artificial construction of the canals by intelligent -beings has met with much more resistance. It runs -against the blade of Occam’s razor, that nothing should be -attributed to conscious intelligent action unless it cannot be -explained by natural forces. Percival seems to have made a -very strong argument against any natural cause yet suggested, -and a rational case for an intelligent agency if no -natural one can be found. There, for the present, his hypothesis -may be said to rest.</p> -<p>The favorable period for observation during the opposition -of Mars having come to an end, the two larger telescopes, -which had been hired or borrowed for the expedition, -were returned in the spring to their owners, the observatory -at Flagstaff being dismantled, and the rest of the apparatus -brought East and stored; but plans for further work on Mars -were by no means given up; and Percival—bent on still better -equipment for the next opposition of Mars, in the summer -of 1896—arranged with Alvan Clark & Sons for the -manufacture of a 24-inch refractor lens. The Clarks were -then the most successful makers of large lenses in the world; -for up to that time it had not been possible to cast and cool -these large pieces of glass so that they were perfectly uniform -in density, and the art of the Clarks consisted in grinding -and rubbing the surface so as to make its slight departure -from the calculated curves compensate for any unevenness -in density; and to a less extent it is still necessary. It required -a skill of eye and hand unequalled elsewhere, and -Percivals’ lens was one of the most perfect they ever made.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_91">91</div> -<p>Where the telescope should be set up was not yet decided; -for it will be remembered that he wanted to make his observations -in any accessible place in the world where the -clearest, and especially the steadiest, atmosphere would be -found. As already explained, he believed this lay in one of -the two great desert belts that encircle the Earth north and -south of the equator; and, for practical purposes, that meant -Arizona, Mexico and South America in the Western -Hemisphere, and the Sahara in the Eastern. Mr. Douglass -had therefore been sent—probably with the faithful 6-inch -telescope—to Mexico and South America, while Percival -proposed to examine the Sahara himself.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_92">92</div> -<h2 id="c11">CHAPTER XI -<br />THE PERMANENT OBSERVATORY—INTERLUDES AND TRAVELS</h2> -<p>The year following his return to Boston, at the end of November, -1894, was filled with the arrangements for his new -telescope and apparatus, and in writing the book on Mars. -At this time he lived at 11 West Cedar Street, the little house -he had bought some time before; for it was characteristic -that, while lavishing whatever was needed on his observatory, -he was modest in his expenditure on himself. By the -end of the year his book was published, his work for the -coming observatory was done, and he went to Europe; but -his Mother had died in March, and the daily stream of loving -letters, which told about himself, had ceased to flow.</p> -<p>On December 10, 1895, he sailed on the <i>Spree</i> with Alvan -G. Clark, the last surviving brother of the telescope-making -family. The voyage, though very rough at times, was uneventful, -until as they were entering the Solent the vessel -struck, and stuck fast, on Warden’s Ledge, just inside the -Needles. “Fault of the pilot” Percival recorded, “aged 73 and -bordering on imbecility.” With all his travels about and -around the world this is the nearest he ever came to shipwreck; -nor was it for him very near, for since the ship could -not get herself clear tugs came down the next day and took -off the passengers, who were landed at Southampton and -<span class="pb" id="Page_93">93</span> -went up to London. Two days later he was in Paris, and -for nearly three weeks he and Clark saw astronomical -friends,—among others having to lunch and dinner Edouard -Mantois, the great glass manufacturer who had cast the new -24-inch refractor for his telescope. Percival enjoyed a most -interesting dinner at the house of Flammarion, the astronomer -and novelist, who was devoted to Mars and had followed -his work at Flagstaff. As he wrote to his Father—“There -were fourteen of us, and all that could sat in chairs -of the zodiac, under a ceiling of a pale blue sky, appropriately -dotted with fleecy clouds, and indeed most prettily painted. -Flammarion is nothing if not astronomical. His whole -apartment, which is itself au cinquieme, blossoms with such -decoration.</p> -<p>“At the dinner I made the acquaintance of Miss Klumpke -of the Paris Observatory, who has just translated my last -article for the Bulletin of the Société Astronomique.”</p> -<p>In fact before he left Paris for Africa he gave a talk to that -society, on his observations of Mars. At Marseilles, meeting -his old friend, Ralph Curtis, they crossed to Algiers and -made excursions to Boghari and Biskra to test the atmosphere -on the border of the Sahara. Not finding this satisfactory, -he organized a small private caravan of his own for a journey -of a few days into the desert, taking the telescope—doubtless -the faithful six-inch—on a mule. His going off by himself -across country seems to have worried his companions for -fear he would lose his way; but he always turned up in the -afternoon, and in time to observe when the stars came out. -Curiously enough, he found that although the air was very -clear they twinkled badly, so that while the atmosphere was -transparent it was distinctly unsteady, for his purpose a very -<span class="pb" id="Page_94">94</span> -grave defect which excluded North Africa from the possible -sites for his observatory. Satisfied on this point, he left -Algiers in February.</p> -<p>From Marseilles he took the opportunity to visit Schiaparelli, -to whom he owed so much of the incentive to study -Mars, and found him at his observatory in Brera near Milan. -With him he compared observations, much to his own satisfaction. -The veteran looked middle-aged, but did not expect -to make more discoveries, and said that at the preceding opposition -the weather had been so bad that he saw almost -nothing. So his mantle had definitely fallen on Percival -when he began his observations at Flagstaff the year before.</p> -<p>Leaving Milan he started to visit Leo Brenner, who was -also interested in Mars, and had his observatory at Lussinpiccolo, -a rather inaccessible spot on the eastern coast of the -Adriatic. In getting there he was much delayed by a heavy -storm, and beguiled the time by working out a mathematical -theory of the tides. Finally, he decided to go by rail to Pola, -and thence by boat to Lussinpiccolo, where Brenner met him, -insisting that he should stay with them. They proved most -hospitable and kind, but he was not favorably impressed by -the observatory or its work; and after a stay of a few days he -returned through Cannes, Paris and London, sailing for -America on March 19th, to land in New York on the 28th.</p> -<p>Meanwhile, the work on the lens and its apparatus had -been finished; but it could not be set up until he was there, -and arriving at the end of March there was no time to spare. -For although the opposition of Mars did not occur until -December 10th the planets would then be far past their -nearest point, and there was much to see months before. In -fact he, with Clark, arrived at Flagstaff shortly after the -<span class="pb" id="Page_95">95</span> -middle of July, and proceeded at once to put the glass into -the telescope—no small difficulty, for the tube was so tight -a fit in the dome which had housed the Brashear telescope -that the lens had to be hoisted up and let into it through the -shutter opening,—“quite a job,” as he wrote, “for so delicate -and yet heavy a thing as a 24-inch lens.” However, it was -successfully done, and the next morning at half past two -observing began, and thereafter the dome knew no rest.<a class="fn" id="fr_13" href="#fn_13">[13]</a></p> -<p>In the letter last quoted he says that he has “taken a brand -new house, finished indeed after I arrived, a little gem of a -thing.” Before long he had three houses on the hill there, -and began that succession of charming hospitalities ending -only with his life. Friends like Professor and Mrs. Barrett -Wendell and Professor Charles S. Sargent visited there, while -Professor Edward S. Morse and George R. Agassiz, who were -interested in his investigations, paid him long visits; and -since Flagstaff was on the direct road to Southern California, -a paradise becoming more and more fashionable, many others -stopped off on the way to see him and his observatory, -whom he was always delighted to entertain, for he had an -unusual capacity for doing so without interrupting the course -of his work. Then there were excursions to the cave dwellings, -the petrified forest, and other places of interest in the -neighborhood, for he loved the country about him, and took -pleasure in showing it to others. Sometimes these trips were -unusual. “We all rode,” he writes to a friend, “twelve miles -out into the forest on the cow-catcher of a logging train, -visited there a hole in the ground containing, if you crawl -down through the chinks in the rocks several hundred feet, a -<span class="pb" id="Page_96">96</span> -thing we were not accoutered to do, real ice in midsummer; -came back on the cow-catcher; and immensely enjoyed the -jaunt. The acmes of excitement were the meeting of cattle -on the track who showed much more unconcern of us than -we of them. Indeed it was usually necessary for the fireman -to get down and shoo them off.... Nevertheless we saw a -real bull fight in a pretty little valley far from men where -Greek met Greek for the possession of the herd. The two -champions toed the line with great effect.” Nor did his interest -in literature abate, for a few weeks later he wrote to -the same correspondent: “Send me, an’ you love me, the best -Chaucer at my expense.”</p> -<p>Meanwhile the observations of Mars and the other planets -went on with success, and he was naturally gratified when -his telescope revealed something that others had failed to -find, such as Professor “See’s detection of the companion to -Sirius which astronomers have been looking for in vain since -its immersion some years ago in the rays of its primary due -to its place in its orbit. The Lick hunted for it unsuccessfully -last year”; the last remark being pointed by the fact -that this rival had again been casting doubt upon his discoveries -on Mars.</p> -<p>He observed without a break all summer and autumn, but -aware that the atmosphere at Flagstaff was not so good in -the winter, he decided to try that of Mexico, and thither he -went in December taking the 24-inch telescope. Before the -dome therefor was built he saw well with the six-inch; but -for the larger glass the results were on the whole disappointing. -Yet the observations in Mexico were by no means unproductive. -To his father he writes: “In addition to all that I -have told you before, Mr. Douglass has just made some interesting -<span class="pb" id="Page_97">97</span> -studies of Jupiter’s satellites, seeing them even better -than we did at Flagstaff, and detecting markings on them -so well that they promise to give the rotation periods and so -lead to another pregnant chapter in tidal evolution.” And -in another letter to him: “Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter’s -satellites have all revealed new things about themselves. -I intend to embody all of these things some day in a series of -volumes on the planets.” Meanwhile, as during the observations -of two years before, he was sending papers to various -scientific journals, American and foreign, about results obtained -on Mars, Mercury and Venus; and about this time -Sir Robert Hart asked through Professor Headland permission -to translate “Mars” into Chinese. One may add that the -first volume of the “Annals of the Lowell Observatory” -appeared that year (1897), the next in 1900.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_98">98</div> -<h2 id="c12">CHAPTER XII -<br />ILLNESS AND ECLIPSE</h2> -<p>But his personal hopes of contributing further to science, -or diffusing the knowledge learned, were destined to be sadly -postponed. In the spring he left Mexico, and the telescope -was returned to Flagstaff in May; but although he could -stand observing day and night without sufficient sleep while -stimulated by the quest, the long strain proved too much, -and he came back to Boston nervously shattered. Such a -condition is not infrequent with scholars who work at high -speed, and although the diagnosis is simple the treatment is -uncertain. The physicians put him to bed for a month in his -father’s house in Brookline, a measure that he always -thought a mistake, believing that he would not have collapsed -so completely under a different regimen. The progress -everyone knows who has seen it, a very slow regaining -of strength, with ups and downs, and after much discouragement—in -his case about three years—a return to normal -health.</p> -<p>After the doctors let him up from bed he sought rest in -divers places, but the progress was slow and uneven, as it -must be in such cases. Naturally letters at this period are -few, short and far between. Only two, written to his father, -appear to have been preserved, one from Bermuda, January -22, 1898:</p> -<blockquote> -<div class="pb" id="Page_99">99</div> -<p>“Dear Father:</p> -<p>I enclose what I think you will like to see, a copy made -for you of a letter just received. <i>Festina lente</i> is nature’s -motto for me, and I try to make <i>nulla vestigia retrorsum</i>.</p> -<p><span class="center">Affectionately your son</span> -<span class="lr">Percival”</span></p> -</blockquote> -<p>The copy enclosed is evidently of the letter from Professor -Headland conveying Sir Robert Hart’s request to translate -“Mars” into Chinese. The other letter is on January 17, 1899, -with no place—date, and it says: “Was much better; now -can’t sleep well. So it wags.”</p> -<p>A year later, although not yet recovered, he was so much -improved as to plan with Professor Todd of Amherst an expedition -to Tripoli to observe a total eclipse of the sun. They -took a 24-inch lens, from the observatory at Amherst, with -a very light tube for transportation in four joints that would -slip inside one another, and a device for photographing the -solar corona; the lens of the telescope being the largest yet -used in such an expedition. Sending the apparatus by -freight, they themselves sailed on the German Steamship -<i>St. Paul</i> from New York on January 17, 1900. He had regained -his humor, if nothing else, for he heads his private -journal of this exploit: “An Eclipse trip to Tripoli -being the sequel to The Valet and the Valetudinarian”—not -that he ever wrote anything under this last title, but it -was a reference to what he had been through in the preceding -two and a half years—and after inserting two flamboyant -newspaper clippings, for which he was not responsible, -he writes: “Further notices there were of which no -notice need be taken; literary and professional murders all, -of various degrees of atrocity.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_100">100</div> -<p>After a few days in London, where he exchanged comments -on the spectrum of Mars with Sir William Huggins, -he passed on to Paris, and then Marseilles and Costabella -where his widowed sister, Katharine Roosevelt, was staying. -The eclipse was not to occur until the end of May, but there -was much to be done in setting up the instruments, at which -he was not needed; so as he saw his sister off for Italy he also -bade good-bye for a time to Professor Todd, who left him to -look up the telescopic apparatus and get it in place at Tripoli, -while he stayed to recuperate for three months on the Riviera.</p> -<p>Here he found William James who, with his wife, was on -a like quest to recruit from a similar case of neurasthenia, -and at the same time to prepare his Gifford lectures. To his -father Percival wrote on April 7: “Professor William James -is living here now and we see each other all the time. He is -pleased at having just been elected a corresponding member -of the Academy of Sciences of Berlin, more for his children’s -sake than his own. This when he thought he should never -be able to work again, and he wanted them to feel that their -father had done something. Now, however, he is stronger -and polishes off some Gifford lectures daily, a bit of it.” -They saw much of each other, being highly sympathetic -physically and intellectually. Like himself, James had recovered, -or not lost, his sense of humor, and quoted a remark -he had heard “that ethics was a tardy consolation for the sins -one had neglected to commit.” And Percival was impressed -by his saying that he “considered Darwin’s greatness due to -his great detail as increasing the probabilities; showing -again how mere detail, mere bulk impresses, though probability -be not furthered a bit.” The last part of the sentence -may be Percival’s own conclusion rather than that of James, -<span class="pb" id="Page_101">101</span> -but it had clearly a bearing on his own minute study of the -phenomena of Mars.</p> -<p>On the Riviera he made a number of pleasant acquaintances -and he was well enough to enjoy seeing people; but, -although he was writing a memoir for the American Academy -on Venus, he was not yet up to really hard work. After -trying in vain to think out mechanical explanations for the -small ellipticity in the orbits of the planetary satellites he gave -it up, and noted: “I actually am taking pleasure in chronicling -this small beer (his solitary walks); pure thought -proves so thorny to press.” On April 3d he writes to his -father: “I am trying to catch up with you and grandfather -<i>Sed longo intervallo</i> so as to solace my solitary walks with -fixed acquaintances.” Both of these forebears had been interested -in botany. In fact he walked much alone, studying -the trees, shrubs and insects, and he writes: “I can converse -with plants because they don’t talk back, nor demand attention -but accept it.”</p> -<p>The time for the eclipse was drawing near, so after going -to Florence to spend a few days more with his sister, he sailed -from Genoa on May 16; trans-shipped at Naples, and going -ashore in Sicily and Malta while the steamer was in port, -reached Tripoli on May 24th. Travelling to out-of-the-way -places in the Mediterranean was not a rapid process, and -Tripoli then belonged to Turkey; but he found everything -prepared by Professor Todd in the grounds of the American -Consulate, and, fortunately, when the eclipse occurred four -days later the sky was clear and everything went well. He -was amused by the comments of the ignorant. “The Arabs,” -he wrote in his private journal, “the common folk, told their -friends (beforehand) that the Christians lied, and when the -<span class="pb" id="Page_102">102</span> -affair came off, that they had no business to know being -infidel.” But he was as always interested in their ways and -habits, mousing about the town with our consul and others, -learning about the Turkish troops, and the Tuaureg camel -drivers, inspecting a bakery, a macaroni factory, threshing -and the weekly fair.</p> -<p>On June 3rd they sailed by an Italian steamer for Malta, -but he left it at Tunis to go to the ruins of Carthage, which -impressed him greatly; catching the boat again at Biserta, -and at Malta trans-shipping again for Marseilles, he made -his way to Paris. There the exhibition was open, and among -other things he found his exhibit from Flagstaff, “poor waif, -in a corner of the Palais de l’Optique and in another place -stood confronted by four of my own drawings of Mars, unlabelled, -unsubscribed. Felt badly for the poor orphans.” He -did not stay long, but went to England, and after spending a -few days at the country house of some friends he had made -on the Riviera, he sailed for home on July 4th. Shortly before -leaving he had received telegrams telling of his father’s unexpected -death under an operation, cutting another link -with his earlier life.</p> -<p>As yet not well enough to resume his work, he hired a -farm house at Chocorua, and settled there on August 3rd for -the rest of the summer. He enjoyed seeing the friends and -neighbors who spent their vacations there; but, like some -other men of science incapacitated by illness, he turned his -attention to a field other than his own. As on the Riviera, -this was flowers, butterflies, and especially trees; but he -studied them more systematically, and with fuller notes. In -October he gives a list, covering more than three pages, of -the trees and shrubs in the woods, fields and swamps about -<span class="pb" id="Page_103">103</span> -him in the order of their abundance. This interest he kept -up in later years at Flagstaff, corresponding with Professor -Charles S. Sargent, the Director of the Arnold Arboretum, -and sending him specimens of rare or unknown varieties, -some of which were named after him. So highly, indeed, did -Sargent rate him that after Percival’s death he wrote a -memoir of him in <i>Rhodora</i>,<a class="fn" id="fr_14" href="#fn_14">[14]</a> which it is well to transcribe in -full:</p> -<blockquote> -<p>“That Percival Lowell took an active interest in trees was -probably not known to many persons, for he published only one -botanical paper and he had no botanical associates except in this -Arboretum. It is not surprising that a man with his active and -inquiring mind brought up in New England should, when he -found himself in Arizona, want to know something of the strange -plants which grew everywhere about him and which were so entirely -unlike the plants which he had known as a boy in Massachusetts, -and later in Japan and Korea. The love of plants, too, -was in his blood and only needed the opportunity of this new -field to make itself felt.</p> -<p>“Percival Lowell’s great great grandfather, John Lowell, was -one of the original members of the Massachusetts Society for Promoting -Agriculture and its second President, serving from 1796 -until his death in 1802. He is less well known for his connection -with rural affairs than his son John Lowell, spoken of generally -in his day as “the Norfolk Farmer,” and a generous and successful -promoter of scientific agriculture and horticulture in Massachusetts, -whom Daniel Webster called “the uniform friend of all -sorts of rural economy.” The second John Lowell became a member -of the Agricultural Society in 1816 and served from the time -of his election until 1830 as its Corresponding Secretary, and as -one of the editors of its publication, <i>The Massachusetts Agricultural -Repository and Journal</i>. During these years articles by him -on agriculture, horticulture and forestry are found in almost every -<span class="pb" id="Page_104">104</span> -number. In volume v. published in 1819 there is an important -paper by John Lowell on “The Gradual Diminution of the Forests -of Massachusetts, and the importance of early attention to -some effectual remedy, with extracts from the work of M. Michaux -on the Forest Trees of North America.” Volume vii. contains -articles from his pen on “Some slight notice of the Larch tree -(<i>Pinus Larix</i>), known in various parts of the country under the -several names of Juniper, Hackmatack, and Larch”; on “Fruit -Trees,” signed by the Norfolk Gardener, and on “Raising the Oak -from the Acorn and the best way of doing it.” The last volume of -this publication which appeared in 1832, when he was seventy-one -years old, contains an article by John Lowell on “The Extraordinary -Destruction of the last Year’s Wood in Forest Trees and the -probable Causes of it”; and on “Live Hedges for New England.” -The second John Lowell was active in establishing and maintaining -the Botanic Garden of Harvard College and was one of the -original members of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. To -the first annual festival of the Horticultural Society held in the -Exchange Coffee House on State Street, September 19, 1829, he -sent from his greenhouses in Roxbury Orange-trees covered with -flowers and fruit and a bunch of grapes weighing three pounds.</p> -<p>“John Amory Lowell, the son of the second John Lowell and -the grandfather of Percival Lowell, was deeply interested in -botany and in 1845, thirty years after his graduation from Harvard -College, began the collection of an herbarium and botanical library -with the purpose of devoting himself seriously to the study of -plants. He had made valuable collections and a large botanical -library when the financial troubles of 1857 forced him to abandon -botany and devote himself again to business affairs. His most -valuable books were given by him to his friend Asa Gray and -now form an important part of the library of the Gray Herbarium. -His herbarium and his other botanical books were given to the -Boston Society of Natural History. John Amory Lowell, like his -father and grandfather, was a member of the Massachusetts -Society for Promoting Agriculture. He was succeeded by his son -John Lowell, who in turn was succeeded by his son, another -<span class="pb" id="Page_105">105</span> -John Lowell, who of the fifth generation in direct descent from -its second president is now a Trustee of this Society.</p> -<p>“Percival Lowell’s love of plants certainly came to him naturally. -I first met him in the Arboretum many years ago examining the -collection of Asiatic Viburnums in which he was interested at -that time, but it was not until 1910 that he began to send specimens -to the Arboretum, including that of an Oak which he had -found growing near his observatory and which so far as it is possible -to judge is an undescribed species. Interest in this Oak led -him to look for other individuals and to extend his botanical explorations. -During these he visited Oak Creek Canyon, a deep -cut with precipitous sides in the Colorado plateau which heads -about twenty miles south of Flagstaff and carries in its bottom a -small stream which finally finds its way into the Verde northwest -and not far from Camp Verde. Lowell appears to have been the -first botanist who visited the upper part, at least, of this canyon -where he found a number of interesting plants, notably <i>Platanus -Wrightii</i> and <i>Quercus arizonica</i>, which before his explorations -were not known to extend into the United States from Mexico -beyond the canyons of the mountain ranges of southern Arizona -and New Mexico. In Oak Creek Canyon Lowell found a new -Ash-tree somewhat intermediate between <i>Fraxinus quadrangulata</i> -of the east and <i>F. anomala</i> of our southwestern deserts which -will bear his name. Later Lowell explored Sycamore Canyon -which is west of Oak Creek Canyon and larger and deeper than -Oak Creek Canyon and, like it, cuts through the Colorado plateau -and finally reaches the Verde near the mouth of Oak Creek.</p> -<p>“Juniperus in several species abound on the Colorado plateau, -and Lowell became deeply interested in these trees and was preparing -to write a monograph of our southwestern species. His -observations on the characters and altitudinal range of the different -species, illustrated by abundant material, have been of great -service to me.</p> -<p>“Lowell’s only botanical paper, published in the May and June -issues of the <i>Bulletin of the American Geographic Society</i> in 1909, -is entitled “The Plateau of the San Francisco Peaks in its Effect -<span class="pb" id="Page_106">106</span> -on Tree Life.” In this paper, which is illustrated by photographs -made by the author of all the important trees of the region, he -discusses the altitudinal distribution of these trees, dividing his -region into five zones which he illustrates by a number of charts -showing the distribution of vegetation in each. It contains, too, -an important and interesting discussion of the influence on temperature -and therefore on tree growth of the larger body of earth -in a plateau as compared with a mountain peak where, on account -of greater exposure, the earth cools more rapidly.<a class="fn" id="fr_15" href="#fn_15">[15]</a></p> -<p>“A bundle of cuttings of what is probably a new species of -Willow, to obtain which Lowell had made a long and hard -journey, with his last letter and a photograph of the Willow, -came only a few days before the telegram announcing his death. -Botany therefore occupied his thoughts during his last days on -earth.</p> -<p>“The death of Percival Lowell is a severe loss to the Arboretum. -He understood its purpose and sympathized with its efforts to -increase knowledge. Few collectors of plants have shown greater -enthusiasm or more imagination, and living as he did in what he -has himself described as “one of the most interesting regions of -the globe” there is every reason to believe that as a botanist -Percival Lowell would have become famous.”</p> -</blockquote> -<div class="pb" id="Page_107">107</div> -<h2 id="c13">CHAPTER XIII -<br />MARS AND ITS CANALS</h2> -<p>By the early spring of 1901 Percival was well over his -illness, and fit to return to the Observatory for the oppositions -of Mars in that year, in 1903 and in 1905. Shortly after he -came back the services of Mr. Douglass came to an end, and -he was fortunate in obtaining Dr. V. M. Slipher in 1901 -and Mr. C. O. Lampland in the following year—two young -men who were not only invaluable assistants to him, but -during his lifetime, and ever since, have made distinguished -contributions to science. Observing at all hours of the -night was exacting work; and to anyone less enthusiastic, -who did not see through the detail to its object, it might -have been monotonous and wearisome. As he wrote himself, -“Patient plodding is the road to results in science, and -the shortest road in the end. Each year out here has seemed -to me the best, which merely means that I hope I learn a -little and that there is a vast deal to learn.” He felt strongly -the need of diligence and strict impartiality in ascertaining -the facts, and distinguished it sharply from the imagination -to be used in interpreting them. In describing his delineation -of the canals he says, “Each drawing, it should be remembered, -was as nearly an instantaneous picture of the disk as -possible. It covered only a few minutes of observation, and -was made practically as if the observer had never seen the -planet before. In other words, the man was sunk in the -<span class="pb" id="Page_108">108</span> -manner. Such mental effacement is as vital to good observation -as mental assertion is afterward to pregnant reasoning. -For a man should be a machine in collecting his -data, a mind in coördinating them. To reverse the process, -as is sometimes done, is not conducive to science.” But -through all the exacting labor of the search he felt keenly -the joy of discovery, comparing himself to the explorers of -the Earth, and in the first chapter of “Mars and its Canals” -he tells us of the pleasure of a winter night spent in the Observatory.</p> -<p>The oppositions in 1901, 1903 and 1905 were not so favorable -as those of 1894 and 1906-1907, because Mars was not so -near the Earth; the eccentricities in the orbits of the two -planets causing them to pass each other when Mars was far -from the Sun and therefore from the Earth whose eccentricity -is less. Yet they had an advantage in the fact that, -unlike the earlier occasions, the south pole was tipped away -from the Earth, and the north pole was toward it, thus giving -a good view of the northern polar cap, sub-arctic and -higher temperate zones, which had not been visible before. -Thus the seasonal changes could be observed in the opposite -hemisphere,—not an inconsiderable gain, because the dark -and light areas, that is, the natural vegetation and the deserts, -are not equally distributed over the planet, for the dark ones -occupy a much larger part of the southern, and the deserts -of the northern, hemisphere. Moreover, the use of a larger -lens and better atmosphere had shown that observations -could be carried on profitably for a longer period before and -after the actual opposition; until in 1905 it was possible to -cover what had been left unobserved of the Martian year -in the northern half of Mars.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_109">109</div> -<p>No sooner was the third of these oppositions past than he -wrote another book on the subject, with the title “Mars and -its Canals”; and this in no sense a supplement to the earlier -one, but an entirely new and independent presentation of -the subject, covering the old ground and much more. He -was enabled to do this because the copyright of the earlier -work belonged to him. The later one was published by The -Macmillan Company in December 1906, and dedicated to -Schiaparelli. Like the earlier book, he wrote it by no means -for astronomers alone, but for the interested public; and in -the preface he tells why he did so: “To set forth science in a -popular, that is in a generally understandable, form is as obligatory -as to present it in a more technical manner. If men -are to benefit by it, it must be expressed to their comprehension. -To do this should be feasible for him who is master -of his subject, and is both the best test of, and the -best training to that post.... Nor is it so hard to make -any well-grasped matter comprehensible to a man of good -general intelligence as is commonly supposed. The whole -object of science is to synthesize, and so simplify; and did -we but know the uttermost of a subject we could make -it singularly clear.” At the same time there was nothing -in these writings of the nature of what is commonly -called popularizing science. He expounded his subject in a -strictly scientific way, but avoided unfamiliar technical -terms if possible, and sought to raise his readers or audience -to his level of thought, not to descend to theirs. Such -statements for the public were very often preceded by technical -ones in the Bulletins of the Observatory or elsewhere, -and yet it cannot be doubted that the former tended to alienate -some scientific scholars who were slow to admit his discoveries, -<span class="pb" id="Page_110">110</span> -and did not sympathize with his method of presenting -them, or perhaps with the attractive style of the -man of letters as well as of exact thought.</p> -<p>Still there are pitfalls in taking the public into one’s confidence; -as he found in December 1900, when a telegram sent -by the usual channels to the astronomical world, that the -night before a projection had been observed on Mars that -lasted seventy minutes, was taken by the press to mean an -attempt by Martians to signal to the Earth, and as such was -proclaimed all over America and Europe. The cause of the -excitement, as he explained a year later to the American -Philosophical Society in Philadelphia, was the reflection from -a cloud on the horizon of the planet.</p> -<p>“Mars and its Canals” is frankly a demonstration that the -planet is habitable, and that from what takes place there it -must in fact be inhabited by highly intelligent beings. For -that purpose the book is divided into four parts, entitled: -Natural Features; Non-Natural (that is, artificial) Features; -The Canals in Action; and Explanation. His general thesis, -which he was to expound more fully later (and which although -not essential to his argument for life on Mars he connected -therewith) was that all planets go through the -same process of development—varying, however, with their -size which determines their power to retain the gases -of their atmosphere—and that one element therein is -the gradual leakage of water through cracks into its interior -as the planet cools. He cites geologists to prove -that the oceans formerly covered much more of the surface -of the Earth than they do now; argues that the desert -belts around it are of comparatively recent geologic origin, as -shown by the petrified forest of Arizona; and points out the -<span class="pb" id="Page_111">111</span> -similarity in color, as seen from the San Francisco Peaks, of -the forested hills and the painted desert there, to that of the -blue-green and reddish-ochre spaces of Mars as presented by -the telescope. He notes also that to get water in our deserts -plants and animals have sought the higher altitudes, and are -able to exist and multiply in an air less dense and a climate -cooler with a shorter warm season than in their natural -habitat, adjusting themselves to these conditions.</p> -<p>This idea of the lack of water on Mars he derives from -observation of its surface and the changes thereon; for the -supply of water is in great part locked up in the snow or ice -of the polar caps during the Martian winters of the two -hemispheres and distributed over its surface as summer -comes on. Therefore he naturally begins his account of the -natural features of the planet by a description of these polar -snow caps, their formation and melting. In doing so he -cannot resist a sarcastic reference to the endless enthusiasm, -useless expenditure of money and labor, and the scientific -futility of arctic exploration.</p> -<p>“Polar expeditions exert an extreme attraction on certain -minds, perhaps because they combine the maximum of -hardship with the minimum of headway. Inconclusiveness -certainly enables them to be constantly renewed, without -loss either of purpose or prestige. The fact that the pole has -never been trod by man constitutes the lodestone to such -undertakings; and that it continues to defy him only whets -his endeavor the more. Except for the demonstration of the -polar drift-current conceived of and then verified by Nansen, -very little has been added by them to our knowledge of the -globe. Nor is there specific reason to suppose that what they -might add would be particularly vital. Nothing out of the -<span class="pb" id="Page_112">112</span> -way is suspected of the pole beyond the simple fact of being -so positioned. Yet for their patent inconclusion they continue -to be sent in sublime superiority to failure.</p> -<p>“Martian polar expeditions, as undertaken by the astronomers, -are the antipodes of these pleasingly perilous excursions -in three important regards, which if less appealing to -the gallery commend themselves to the philosopher. They -involve comparatively little hardship; they have accomplished -what they set out to do; and the knowledge they have -gleaned has proved fundamental to an understanding of the -present physical condition of the planet.”</p> -<p>Then follows the story of the melting of the polar snows, -the darkening of the blue-green areas by the growth of vegetation -due to the flow of water; and a summary, at the close -of [Part I] (Natural Features), of the reasons for believing -that from its atmosphere, temperature, and the actual, though -scanty, supply of water, Mars is capable of supporting life. -In fact the presence of vegetation proves that life of that kind -does exist, in spite of the fact that five-eighths of the surface -is desert; and if plants can live animals might also. But, -unlike vegetation, they could not be readily seen, and save in -the case of intelligent operation on a large scale, their presence -could not be detected. This is the significance of the -canals, to which much of the observation of the last three -oppositions was directed.</p> -<p>Close to the limit of vision, and only to be seen at moments -when the atmosphere is steady, the fainter canals are very -hard to observe. Percival describes the experience in this -way:</p> -<p>“When a fairly acute eyed observer sets himself to scan the -telescopic disk of the planet in steady air, he will, after noting -<span class="pb" id="Page_113">113</span> -the dazzling contour of the white polar cap and the sharp -outlines of the blue-green areas, of a sudden be made aware -of a vision as of a thread stretched somewhere from the blue-green -across the orange areas of the disk. Gone as quickly as -it came, he will instinctively doubt his own eyesight, and -credit to illusion what can so unaccountably disappear. -Gaze as hard as he will, no power of his can recall it, when, -with the same startling abruptness, the thing stands before -his eyes again. Convinced, after three or four such showings, -that the vision is real, he will still be left wondering -what and where it was. For so short and sudden are its apparitions -that the locating of it is dubiously hard. It is gone -each time before he has got its bearings.</p> -<p>“By persistent watch, however, for the best instants of -definition, backed by the knowledge of what he is to see, he -will find its coming more frequent, more certain and more -detailed. At last some particularly propitious moment will -disclose its relation to well known points and its position be -assured. First one such thread and then another will make -its presence evident; and then he will note that each always -appears in place. Repetition <i>in situ</i> will convince him that -these strange visitants are as real as the main markings, and -are as permanent as they.”</p> -<p>Strangely enough fine lines, from the continuity of the -impression they make upon the eye, can be recognized when -of a thickness that would be invisible in the case of a mere -dot. To determine how narrow a line on Mars would be -perceptible, experiments were made with a wire of a certain -size, noting the limit of distance at which it could be seen; -and then, from the magnifying power of the telescope, it -was found that a Martian canal would be visible down to -<span class="pb" id="Page_114">114</span> -about a mile wide. From this the conclusion was drawn that -the canals probably ran from two or three up to fifteen or -twenty miles in width, the minimum being much less than -had been thought at earlier oppositions. The distance apart -of the two branches of double canals he estimated at about -seventy-five to one hundred and eighty miles, save in one -case where, if a true instance of doubling, it is over four hundred. -Of the oases, whereof one hundred and eighty-six had -been observed, much the larger part were from seventy-five -to one hundred miles in diameter.</p> -<p>The later oppositions enabled him also to complete the -topography of the planet, showing that the canals were a -vast system, running from the borders of both polar caps, -through the dark areas of natural vegetation where they -connected, at obviously convenient points, with a still more -complex network in the ochre, or desert, regions, and thus -across the equator into the corresponding system in the other -hemisphere. By this network the greater part of the canals -could receive water alternately from the melting of the north -and south polar caps, or twice yearly, the Martian year, however, -being almost twice as long as our own. But to perfect -his proof that this actually takes place he had to show that -the canals, that is the streaks of vegetation bordering waterways, -sprang into life—thereby becoming visible or darker—in -succession as the water spread from the poles to the -tropics; and this he did with his usual thoroughness at the -opposition of 1903.</p> -<p>Since there was then no mechanical means of measuring -the variations in visibility of the canals,—and under the -atmospheric conditions at any place in the world perhaps -<span class="pb" id="Page_115">115</span> -there never will be,—the record had to be made by the eye, -that is in drawings by the observer as he saw the canals; and -these, as he said, must be numerous, consecutive and extended -in time. The consecutive could not be perfectly carried -out because “as Mars takes about forty minutes longer -to turn than the Earth, such confronting (of the observer) -occurs later and later each night by about forty minutes, -until finally it does not occur at all while Mars is suitably -above the horizon; then the feature passes from sight to remain -hidden till the difference of the rotations brings it -round into view again. There are thus times when a given -region is visible, times when it is not, and these succeed each -other in from five to six weeks, and are called presentations. -For about a fortnight at each presentation a region is centrally -enough placed to be well seen; for the rest of the -period either ill-placed or on the other side of the planet.” -But with changes as gradual and continuous as those of the -darkening of the canals this did not prove a serious drawback -to the continuity of the record.</p> -<p>There was another element in the problem. The drawing -being the estimate of the observer on the comparative darkness -of the markings from time to time it was of the greatest -importance to avoid any variation in personal estimates, and -therefore Percival made all the drawings himself. From -April 6 to May 26 he drew the planet every twenty-four -hours, and although “the rest of the time did not equal this -perfection, no great gap occurred, and one hundred and -forty-three nights were utilized in all.... But even this does -not give an idea of the mass of the data. For by the method -employed about 100 drawings were used in the case of each -<span class="pb" id="Page_116">116</span> -canal, and as 109 canals were examined this gave 10,900 -separate determinations upon which the ultimate result depended.”</p> -<p>For each canal he plotted the curve of its diminishing or -increasing visibility as the season advanced, and this curve -he called the cartouche of the canal. Now combining the -cartouches of all the canals in each zone of latitude, he found -that those in the several zones began to become more distinct—that -is the vegetation began to come to life—in a regular -and approximately uniform succession, taking from the -northern arctic down to the equator and past it to the southern -sub-tropic about eighty Martian days. From north latitude -72° to the equator, a distance of 2,650 miles, took fifty-two -of these days, at a speed of fifty-one miles a day, or 2.1 -miles an hour. Now all this is precisely the opposite of what -happens on the Earth, where vegetation in the spring starts -in the part of the temperate zone nearest to the equator, and -as the season advances travels toward the pole; the reason for -the difference being, he says, that what is needed on Earth to -make the sap run is the warmth of the sun, what is needed -on Mars is water that comes from the melting of the polar -snows. He points out also that the water cannot flow through -the canals by nature, because on the surface of a planet in -equilibrium gravity would not draw it in any direction -toward or away from the equator. “No natural force propels -it, and the inference is forthright and inevitable that it is -artificially helped to its end. There seems to be no escape -from this deduction.” In short, since water certainly cannot -flow by gravity both ways in the same canal, the inhabitants -of Mars have not only dug the canals, but pump -the water through them.</p> -<div class="img" id="ill4"> -<img id="fig6" src="images/img005.jpg" alt="" width="506" height="600" /> -<p class="pcap">OBSERVING AND DRAWING THE CANALS OF MARS</p> -</div> -<div class="img" id="fig7"> -<img src="images/img006.jpg" alt="Drawing" width="494" height="600" /> -</div> -<div class="pb" id="Page_117">117</div> -<p>In recapitulating the reasons for the artificial character of -the canals he shows a most natural annoyance with people -who doubted the validity of his observations; and, in dealing -with the evidence to be drawn from the fact that they run on -great circles, that is on the shortest lines from one point to another, -he writes: “For it is the geodetic precision which the -lines exhibit that instantly stamps them to consciousness as -artificial. The inference is so forthright as to be shared by -those who have not seen them to the extent of instant denial -of their objectivity. Drawings of them look too strange to be -true. So scepticism imputes to the draftsman their artificial -fashioning, not realizing that by so doing it bears unconscious -witness to their character. For in order to disprove -the deduction it is driven to deny the fact. Now the fact -can look after itself and will be recognized in time.”</p> -<p>This last prophecy was largely verified before these three -oppositions of the planet came to an end. In 1901 photography -was tried without success so far as the canals were concerned. -For the stars it had worked very well, for to quote -again: “Far less sensitive than the retina the dry plate has one -advantage over its rival,—its action is cumulative. The eye -sees all it can in the twentieth of a second; after that its perception, -instead of increasing, is dulled, and no amount of -application will result in adding more. With the dry plate -it is the reverse. Time works for, not against it. Within -limits, themselves long, light affects it throughout the period -it stands exposed and, roughly speaking, in direct ratio to -the time elapsed. Thus the camera is able to record stars no -human eye has ever caught and to register the structure of -nebulae the eye tries to resolve in vain.</p> -<p>“Where illumination alone is concerned the camera reigns -<span class="pb" id="Page_118">118</span> -supreme; not so when it comes to a question of definition. -Then by its speed and agility the eye steps into its place, for -the atmosphere is not the void it could be wished, through -which the light-waves shoot at will. Pulsing athwart it are -air-waves of condensation and rarefaction that now obstruct, -now further, the passage of the ray. By the nimbleness of its -action the eye cunningly contrives to catch the good moments -among the poor and carry their message to the brain. The -dry plate by its slowness is impotent to follow. To register -anything it must take the bad with the better to a complete -confusion of detail. For the air-waves throw the image first -to one place and then to another, to a blotting of both.”</p> -<p>There lay the difficulty which Mr. Lampland, then new to -the Observatory, took up in 1903. The photographs, though -better, still did not show the canals. Various adjustments -were then made with the telescope; all manner of plates were -tried between the rapid and the well-defining ones; and -finally in 1905 upon the plates canals appeared, thirty-eight -in all and one of them double.<a class="fn" id="fr_16" href="#fn_16">[16]</a> On learning of the success -Schiaparelli wrote in wonder to Percival, “I should never -have believed it possible”; and the British Royal Photographic -Society awarded its medal to Mr. Lampland.</p> -<p>With the observations of 1905 ended until the next opposition -of the planet an exploration and a romance of which -he wrote:</p> -<p>“To some people it may seem that the very strangeness of -Martian life precludes for it an appeal to human interest. -To me this is but a near-sighted view. The less the life there -proves a counterpart of our earthly state of things, the more -<span class="pb" id="Page_119">119</span> -it fires fancy and piques inquiry as to what it be. We all have -felt this impulse in our childhood as our ancestors did before -us, when they conjured goblins and spirits from the vasty -void, and if our energy continue we never cease to feel its -force through life. We but exchange, as our years increase, -the romance of fiction for the more thrilling romance of -fact. As we grow older we demand reality, but so this -requisite be fulfilled the stranger the realization the better -we are pleased. Perhaps it is the more vivid imagination of -youth that enables us all then to dispense with the hall-mark -of actuality upon our cherished visions; perhaps a deeper -sense of our own oneness with nature as we get on makes us -insist upon getting the real thing. Whatever the reason be, -certain it is that with the years a narration, no matter how -enthralling, takes added hold of us for being true. But -though we crave this solid foothold for our conceptions, we -yield on that account no jot or tittle of our interest for the -unexpected.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_120">120</div> -<h2 id="c14">CHAPTER XIV -<br />THE SOLAR SYSTEM</h2> -<p>In the intervals of personal observation Percival was often -giving lectures or writing on astronomical subjects for the -publications of the Observatory, and for scientific societies -and periodicals. The substance of most of these found their -way into his books, which are summations or expositions of -his conclusions. In December 1902, for example, he gave six -lectures on “The Solar System” at the Massachusetts Institute -of Technology, of which he was a non-resident professor, -and they were published by Houghton, Mifflin & Company. -Then in the autumn of 1906 he gave a course of eight lectures -at the Lowell Institute in Boston on “Mars as the Abode of -Life.” These were so crowded that they had to be repeated, -were then printed as six papers in the <i>Century Magazine</i>, and -finally re-published by The Macmillan Company under the -same title. Two years later, in the winter of 1909, he gave at -the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, another course of -six lectures on “Cosmic Physics: The Evolution of Worlds,” -which were brought out in December by the same publisher -with the latter half of the title. Although their names -are so diverse, and far more is told of Mars in the book -whose title contains its name, they all deal essentially with -the same subject, the evolution of the planets and the development -and end of life upon them. In the Preface to -<span class="pb" id="Page_121">121</span> -“Mars as the Abode of Life,”—for a preface, although -printed at the beginning, is always written after the book -is finished, and is the author’s last word to the reader, giving -his latest thought as the work is being launched,—he tells -us:<a class="fn" id="fr_17" href="#fn_17">[17]</a> “Though dealing specifically with Mars, the theme of -the lectures was that of planetary evolution in general, and -this book is thus a presentation of something which Professor -Lowell has long had in mind and of which his studies of -Mars form but a part, the research into the genesis and development -of what we call a world; not the mere aggregating -of matter, but what that aggregation inevitably brings -forth. The subject which links the Nebular Hypothesis to the -Darwinian Theory, bridging the evolutionary gap between -the two, he has called planetology, thus designating the history -of the planet’s individual career. It is in this light that -Mars is here regarded: how it came to be what it is and how -it came to differ from the Earth in the process.”</p> -<p>At each opposition, in fact at every opposition during -Percival’s life and long thereafter, Mars was observed at -Flagstaff and more detail was discovered confirming what -had been found before. He tells of a slight change in the -estimated tilt in its axis; the fact that the temperature is -warmer than was earlier supposed;<a class="fn" id="fr_18" href="#fn_18">[18]</a> and he had found how -to discover the gases by spectroscopic analysis applied according -to an ingenious device of his own known as “Velocity Shift” -and much used thereafter.<a class="fn" id="fr_19" href="#fn_19">[19]</a> He tells also of an -<span class="pb" id="Page_122">122</span> -ingenious and elaborate experiment with wires, and with -lines on a wooden disk, which showed that such lines can be -perceived at a greater distance and therefore of smaller size -than had been supposed, so that the canals might have less -width than had been assumed. It is, however, needless, in -describing his planetary theory, to do more than allude to his -evidence of Martian habitation drawn from the canals, with -which the reader is already familiar. Curiously enough, however, -it is interesting to note that on September 9, 1909, about -the time when “The Evolution of Worlds” was going to -press, a strange phenomenon appeared in Mars. Two striking -canals were seen where none had ever been seen before, -and the most conspicuous on that part of the disk. Moreover, -they were photographed. After examining all the maps of -canals made at Flagstaff and elsewhere, Percival discussed -them in the Observatory Bulletin No. 45, and concluded that -they must not only be new to us, but new to Mars since its -previous corresponding season of two of our years before: -“something <i>extra ordinem naturae</i>.” We may here leave -Mars for the time, and turn to the more extensive study of -the evolution of the planetary system.</p> -<p>The desire to rise from a particular case to a more general -law was characteristic of his attitude of mind, constructive -<span class="pb" id="Page_123">123</span> -and insatiable, and appears throughout these volumes. It may -have been influenced by his great master Benjamin Peirce, -who ever treated any mathematical formula as a special instance -of a more comprehensive one. In such a subject as the -evolution of the planets, especially of life on them, it involved -dipping into many sciences, beyond the physical laws -of matter; and he says in the same preface: “As in all theses, -the cogency of the conclusion hangs upon the validity of each -step in the argument. It is vital that each of these should be -based on all that we know of natural laws and the general -principles underlying them.” This did not mean that all his -premises would be universally accepted, but that he found -out all he could about them, convincing himself of their accuracy -and of the validity of the conclusions he draws therefrom. -That is all any man of science can do in a subject -larger than his own special, and therefore limited, field.</p> -<p>But from the time of his resumption of research and the -direction of the observatory in 1901, he was constantly enlarging -his own field by the study of astrophysical subjects, -and the methods for their determination. With this object he -was initiating and encouraging planetary photography. He -was constantly writing Dr. V. M. Slipher about procuring -and using spectrographic apparatus and about the results obtained -by him therefrom. By this process the rotations of -planets were determined; and the spectra of the major ones—often -reproduced in astronomical works—have been a -puzzle to astrophysicists until their interpretation in very -recent years. He was interested also in nebulae, especially -in spiral ones, taking part in Dr. Slipher’s pioneering spectrographic -work at the observatory, which showed that they -were vast aggregations of stars of different spectral types, -<span class="pb" id="Page_124">124</span> -moving with great speed, and far beyond the limits of our -universe. For over fifteen years the observatory was almost -alone in this field of research, as well as in that of globular -clusters. It is in fact, the discovery of the rapid motion of the -spiral nebulae away from the solar system that has given -rise to the conception of an expanding universe.</p> -<p>But these discoveries were still largely in the future, and -to return to his books on the planetary system it may be -noted that in the two larger and more popular ones the -general planetary theory is expounded in the text, while the -demonstrations of the more complex statements made, and -the mathematical calculations involved, are relegated to a -mass of notes at the end of the volume.</p> -<p>The first of his books on the solar system is the small volume -bearing that title; but since all three of the books here -described are several expositions of the same subject it may -be well to treat his views on each topic in connection with -the work in which he deals with it most fully. Indeed, “The -Solar System” is not a general treatise, but rather a discussion -of some striking points, and it is these which one thinks of -in connection therewith.</p> -<p>In considering the origin of the planets he had become -much interested in the meteors, shooting stars, meteoric -streams and comets, all or almost all of which he regarded -as parts of the solar system, revolving about the Sun in -elliptic orbits, often so eccentric as to appear parabolas.<a class="fn" id="fr_20" href="#fn_20">[20]</a> The -old idea that comets came from outer space and therefore -travelled in hyperbolas can, he points out, be true of few, if -any, of them. “Very few, three or four perhaps, hint at -<span class="pb" id="Page_125">125</span> -hyperbolas. Not one is such beyond question.” Many of -them are associated with the meteoric streams with which -everyone is familiar at certain seasons of the year. Indeed -seventy-six of these associations were then known, and comets -sometimes break up into such streams.</p> -<p>Now if the comets are travelling in orbits around the Sun -they must be throughout their course within its control, and -not within that of some other star; and therefore he computes -how far the Sun’s control extends. Taking for this -purpose our nearest star, α Centauri, a double with a total -mass twice that of the Sun, at a distance of 275,000 astronomical -units, in other words that number of times our distance -from the Sun, he finds that the point at which its attraction -and that of the Sun become equal is 114,000 of these -units. This he calls the extent of the Sun’s domain, certainly -an area large enough for any, or almost any, comet -known.<a class="fn" id="fr_21" href="#fn_21">[21]</a></p> -<p>He then turns to some of the planets,—Mercury to show -the effect of tidal action in slowing the rotation of a planet -or satellite, and causing it to turn the same face always to its -master.<a class="fn" id="fr_22" href="#fn_22">[22]</a> This involved a highly interesting comparison of -Newton’s theory of the tides, long generally accepted, but -not taking enough account of the planet’s rotation, and that -of Sir George Darwin based upon the effect of such rotation. -The general conceptions are even more different than the results, -and the later theory is less concerned with the tides in -oceans, which probably affect only our Earth, than with -those of a planet in a fluid or viscous condition, which may -still continue to some extent after the surface has become -<span class="pb" id="Page_126">126</span> -partly solidified. He therefore studies the tide raising force, -and the tendency to retardation of rotation, by the Sun on the -planets, and by these on their satellites while still in a fluid -state, tabulating some very striking results.</p> -<p>What he says about Mars is more fully dealt with in his -other writings; and the same is true of Saturn’s rings, except -for the reference to the calculation by Edward Roche of the -limit of possible approach by a fluid satellite to its planet -without being disrupted, and for the fact that this limit in -Saturn’s case falls just beyond the outer edge of the rings. In -discussing Saturn’s satellites he brings out a curious analogy -between the order of distribution of these attendants of the -three best known major planets and the order of the planets -themselves about the Sun. In each case the largest of the -bodies so revolving is nearly in the centre of the line, as in -the case of Jupiter among the planets; the second largest the -next, or not far, beyond, as in the case of Saturn; while -there is another maximum farther in, for as the Earth is -larger than any planet on either side until Jupiter is reached, -so a like order is found in the satellites of Jupiter, Saturn and -Uranus. In other words, the size in each case rises with increasing -distance, falls off, then rises again to the largest and -thence declines. This he believed cannot be an accidental -coincidence, but the result of a law of development as yet -unexplained.</p> -<p>To the ordinary reader the most novel thing he says about -Jupiter relates to its family of comets, for no less than thirty-two -of these bodies have their aphelia, or greatest distance -from the Sun, near its orbit. Moreover, their ascending -nodes—that is the place where their paths if inclined to the -plane of the ecliptic pass through it—are close to its orbit. -<span class="pb" id="Page_127">127</span> -At some time, therefore, in the vast ages of the past they must -have passed close to the planet, and if so have had their -orbits greatly changed by its attraction. He considers the -various effects Jupiter may have upon a comet, and shows—contrary -to the opinion of Professor H. A. Newton—that -any such body moving by the attraction of the Sun -would be going too fast for Jupiter to capture completely. -Then he takes up other effects of deflection. The comet’s -speed may be accelerated and its direction changed even so -much as to drive it out of the solar system; it may be retarded -so that its path is contracted and the aphelion drawn nearer -to the planet’s orbit. After calculating the possible conditions -and analyzing the actual orbits of Jupiter’s family, he -comes to the provisional conclusion that these comets have -been drawn from the neighborhood. “It is certain,” he says, -“that Jupiter has swept his neighborhood.... If we consider -the comet aphelia of short-period comets, we shall notice -that they are clustered about the path of Jupiter and the path -of Saturn, thinning out to a neutral ground between, where -there are none. Two-thirds of the way from Jupiter’s orbit -to Saturn’s, space is clear of them, the centre of the gap falling -at 8.4 astronomical units from the sun....</p> -<p>“Jupiter is not the only planet that has a comet family. All -the large planets have the like. Saturn has a family of two, -Uranus also of two, Neptune of six; and the spaces between -these planets are clear of comet aphelia; the gaps prove the -action.</p> -<p>“Nor does the action, apparently, stop there. Plotting the -aphelia of all the comets that have been observed, we find, -as we go out from the Sun, clusters of them at first, representing, -respectively, Jupiter’s, Saturn’s, Uranus’, and Neptune’s -<span class="pb" id="Page_128">128</span> -family;<a class="fn" id="fr_23" href="#fn_23">[23]</a> but the clusters do not stop with Neptune. -Beyond that planet is a gap, and then at 49 and 50 astronomical -units we find two more aphelia, and then nothing again -till we reach 75 units out.</p> -<p>“This can hardly be accident; and if not chance, it means -a planet out there as yet unseen by man, but certain sometime -to be detected and added to the others. Thus not only -are comets a part of our system now recognized, but they act -as finger-posts to planets not yet known.”</p> -<p>We shall hear more of this last suggestion hereafter.</p> -<p>In both “Mars as the Abode of Life” and “The Evolution -of Worlds,” he accepts the proposition that our present -solar system began with a collision with some dark body -from interstellar space, as had been suggested by Chamberlin -and Moulton a few years before. He points out that -stars which have finished contracting, grown cold and ceased -to be luminous, must exist, and although we cannot see them -directly we know about some of them,—such as the dark -companion of Algol, revolving around it and cutting off -two-thirds of its light every three days. Many dark wanderers -there must be, and the <i>novae</i>, as he says, are sometimes, -at least, due to a collision with such a body,—not -necessarily an actual impact, but an approach so near that -the star is sprung asunder by the tidal effect. In such a case -the opposite sides of the victim would be driven away from -it, and if it was rotating would form spirals. Now we know -that the apparently empty spaces in our solar system still -contain a vast number of little meteoric particles, which -as judged from their velocity do not fall from outer space, -<span class="pb" id="Page_129">129</span> -but are members of our system travelling in their own -orbits around the sun. As he puts it, “Could we rise a -hundred miles above the Earth’s surface we should be -highly sorry we came, for we should incontinently be -killed by flying brickbats. Instead of masses of a sunlike -size we should have to do with bits of matter on the average -smaller than ourselves<a class="fn" id="fr_24" href="#fn_24">[24]</a> but hardly on that account -innocuous, as they would strike us with fifteen hundred -times the speed of an express train.” That these meteorites -are moving in the same direction as the Earth he -shows by an ingenious calculation of the proportion that -in such a case would be seen at sunrise and sunset, which -accords with the observed facts. Moreover, their chemical -composition shows that they were once parts of a great hot -body from which they have been expelled.</p> -<p>The meteorites that are seen because they become hot and -luminous in traversing our atmosphere, and occasionally -fall upon the Earth, are the remnants of vastly larger numbers -formerly circling about the sun, but which, by collision -and attraction, were, as he describes, gathered into -great masses, thus forming the planets. The force of gravity -gradually compacted these fragments closer and closer -together, thereby generating heat which if the body were -homogeneous would be in proportion to the square of its -mass. The larger the planet therefore the more heat it -would generate, and owing to the fact that mass is in proportion -to the cube and its radiating surface to the square -of the diameter the slower it would radiate, and thus lose, -<span class="pb" id="Page_130">130</span> -its heat, so that the larger ones would be hotter and remain -hot longer than the smaller ones.</p> -<p>Some of the planets may once have been white-hot, and -luminous of themselves, some were certainly red-hot, some -only darkly warm; all growing cooler after the amount -radiated exceeded the amount generated. Now by the difference -in the heat generated and retained by the larger -and smaller bodies he explains the diverse appearance of -those whose surfaces we know, the Earth, Mars and the -Moon. As the surface cools it forms a crust, but if the interior -still remains molten it will continue to contract, the -crust will be too large for it and crinkle, like the skin of -a dried apple; and this will be more true of a large than a -small body. “In like manner is volcanic action relatively -increased, and volcanoes arise, violent and widespread, in -proportion; since these are vents by which the molten matter -under pressure within finds exit abroad.” By a calculation, -which agrees with the formula of Laplace, he finds -that the effective internal heat of the Earth might be 10,000 -degrees Fahrenheit, enough to account for all the phenomena; -and for Mars only 2,000, which is below the melting -point of iron, and would not cause volcanic action. Now -the observations of Mars at Flagstaff show that there can -be no mountains on it more than two or three thousand feet -high, and that the surface is singularly flat.</p> -<p>But here he met a difficulty; for the Moon ought to be -flatter still if it had evolved in the ordinary way, whereas -it has enormous volcanic cones, craters 17,000 feet high, -some exceeding 100 miles in diameter, and a range of mountains -rising to nearly 30,000 feet. An explanation he finds -in the analysis of the action of the tides in the Earth-Moon -<span class="pb" id="Page_131">131</span> -system by Sir George Darwin, who showed that when traced -backward it “lands us at a time when the Moon might have -formed a part of the Earth’s mass, the two rotating together -as a single pear-shaped body in about five hours.... For -in that event the internal heat which the Moon carried away -with it must have been that of the parent body—the amount -the Earth-Moon had been able to amass. Thus the Moon -was endowed from the start of its separate existence with -an amount of heat the falling together of its own mass could -never have generated. Thus its great craters and huge volcanic -cones stand explained. It did not originate as a separate -body, but had its birth in a rib of Earth.”<a class="fn" id="fr_25" href="#fn_25">[25]</a></p> -<p>The Flagstaff site having been selected for the purpose of -planetary observation yielded facts less easily detected elsewhere. -Mercury, for instance, is so near the Sun that it -could be observed in the dark only a short time after sunset -and before sunrise, an obstacle that gave rise to errors -of fact. Schiaparelli led the way to better results by observing -this planet in broad daylight. Up to that time it had -been supposed to rotate on its axis in about twenty-four -hours, and therefore to have a day and night like those of -the Earth, but daylight observation showed him markings -constant on its illuminated face, and therefore that it turns -nearly the same side to the Sun. Before knowing his conclusions, -and therefore independently, the study of Mercury -was taken up at Flagstaff in 1896, and the result was a complete -corroboration of his work. It showed that, as in the -case of the Moon with the Earth, tidal action on the still -partially fluid mass had slowed its rotation until it has little -<span class="pb" id="Page_132">132</span> -with regard to the central body around which it revolves. -He discovered also other facts about Mercury, which Schiaparelli -had not, that its size, mass and density had not been -accurately measured.</p> -<p>A similar discovery about the period of rotation had been -made in the case of Venus. For more than two centuries -astronomers had felt sure that this period was just under -twenty-four hours, figured, indeed, to the minute. But again -it was Schiaparelli who doubted, and once more by observing -the planet at noon; when he noted that the markings on -the disk did not change from day to day, and concluded -that the same side was always pointed at the Sun. At Flagstaff -in 1896 his observations were verified and the inference -later confirmed by the spectroscope, which was, indeed, first -brought to the Observatory for that purpose. Thus Venus, -which from its distance from the Sun, its size and density, -is most like the Earth, turns out to be in a totally different -condition, one face baked by unending glare, the other -chilled in interstellar night, and as he puts it: “To Venus -the Sun stands substantially stock-still in the sky,— ... No -day, no seasons, practically no year, diversifies existence -or records the flight of time. Monotony eternalized,—such -is Venus’ lot.”<a class="fn" id="fr_26" href="#fn_26">[26]</a></p> -<p>On the movements and physical condition of the Earth -it was needless to dwell, and he passed to the asteroids. He -describes how they began to be discovered at the beginning -of the last century by searching for a planet that would fill -a gap in Bode’s law. This, a formula of arithmetical progression -<span class="pb" id="Page_133">133</span> -for the distances of the planets from the Sun, has -proved not to be a law at all, especially since the discovery of -Neptune which is much nearer than the formula required; -but for nearly a century it had a strong influence on astronomic -thought, and the gap in the series between Mars and -Jupiter was searched for the missing link. Two were found, -then two more, about the middle of the last century another, -and then many, smaller and smaller, until by the time Percival -wrote six hundred were known, and their number seems -limitless. Only the four first found, he remarks, exceed a -hundred miles in diameter, the greater part being hardly -over ten or twenty. But here he points out a notable fact, -that they are not evenly distributed throughout this space; -and although massed in a series growing thicker toward -its centre there are many gaps, even close to the centre, -where few or no asteroids are found. Now it is the large -size and attraction of Jupiter by which Percival explains the -presence of asteroids with gaps in their ranks, instead of a -planet, in the space between it and Mars; but we shall -hear much more of this subject when we come to his work -on Saturn’s rings and the order in the distribution of the -planets.</p> -<p>Jupiter, he tells us, having a mass 318 times that of the -Earth, and a volume 1400 times as large, is much less dense, -not much more than water, in short still fluid; and as it has -a tremendous spin, rotating in less than ten hours, it is more -oblate than the Earth; that is, the diameter at its equator -is larger in proportion to that from pole to pole. The observations -at Flagstaff brought out some interesting facts: first, -that the dark belts of cloud that surround it are red, looking -<span class="pb" id="Page_134">134</span> -as if the planet within were still molten;<a class="fn" id="fr_27" href="#fn_27">[27]</a> second, that the -bright central belt lies exactly upon its equator, without regard -to, and hence independent of, its tilt toward the Sun, -and that the belts of cloud on each side appear at the planet’s -morning just as they left it in the evening. All which shows -that Jupiter’s cloud formation is not due to the Sun, but to its -own internal heat, an interpretation of the phenomena that -has a direct bearing on his explanation of the Earth’s carboniferous -age.</p> -<p>Saturn is still less dense, even more oblate; but its most -extraordinary feature is of course the rings. Assumed by -the early astronomers to be solid and continuous, they were -later shown to have concentric intervals, and to be composed -of discrete particles. They have usually been supposed -flat, but when the position of the planet was such that they -were seen on edge knots or beads appeared upon them; -and in 1907 these were studied critically at Flagstaff, when -it was found that the shadows of the rings on the planet -were not uniform, but had dark cores; these thicker places -lying on the outer margin of each ring where it came to -one of the intervals. These phenomena he explained in the -same way as the distribution of the intervals among the -asteroids.<a class="fn" id="fr_28" href="#fn_28">[28]</a></p> -<p>About Uranus and Neptune he tells us in this book little -that was not known, and save for their orbits, masses and -satellites not much was known of their condition. But later, -in 1911, the spectroscope at Flagstaff determined the rotation -period of Uranus, afterwards precisely duplicated at -<span class="pb" id="Page_135">135</span> -the Lick; and later still the spectral bands in the vast atmosphere -of the giant planets were identified as due to methane, -or marsh, gas.<a class="fn" id="fr_29" href="#fn_29">[29]</a></p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_136">136</div> -<h2 id="c15">CHAPTER XV -<br />LATER EVOLUTION OF THE PLANETS</h2> -<p>After the planets had been formed through the aggregation -of revolving fragments driven off by the catastrophic -collision from the Sun, and after they had attained their -maximum heat in the process, they began, he says, to -go through six stages:</p> -<p>I. The Sun-Stage, when they were white-hot and gave -out light. This could have been true only of the largest ones -if any.</p> -<p>II. The Molten Stage, when they were still red-hot, but -not enough to give light, in which are now the four great -outer planets.</p> -<p>III. The Solidifying Stage, when a crust formed, and -the surface features of the planet began to assume their -character. Here the science of geology takes its start with -the metamorphic rocks, and it is the dividing line between -the inner, smaller, and the outer, larger, planets.</p> -<p>IV. The Terraqueous Stage, when the surface has become -substantially stable, there are great oceans gradually -diminishing in size, and land gradually increasing. This is -the stage of the sedimentary rocks, the time when the planet -passes from its own supply of heat to dependence upon that -of the sun; the stage when life begins, and the one in which -the Earth is now.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_137">137</div> -<p>V. The Terrestrial Stage, when the oceans have disappeared, -and water is scarce, the one in which Mars is now.</p> -<p>VI. The Dead Stage, where are already the Moon and -the satellites of other planets.</p> -<p>On the question of the origin of life Percival took the -mechanistic view: “Upon the fall of the temperature to the -condensing point of water, occurred another event in the -evolution of our planet, the Earth, and one of great import -to us: life arose. For with the formation of water, -protoplasm (the physical basis of all plants and animals) -first became possible, what may be called the life molecule -then coming into existence. By it, starting in a simple, lowly -way, and growing in complexity with time, all vegetable -and animal forms have since been gradually built up. In -itself the organic molecule is only a more intricate chemical -combination of the same elements of which the inorganic -substances which preceded it are composed.... There is -now no more reason to doubt that plants grew out of chemical -affinity than to doubt that stones did. Spontaneous generation -is as certain as spontaneous variation, of which it is, -in fact, only an expression.”</p> -<p>Life, he believed, began in the oceans soon after they had -cooled below the boiling point, and spread all over them; -seaweeds and trilobites existed in France, Siberia and the -Argentine, their nearest relatives being now confined to the -tropics; coral reefs, now found only in warm equatorial -seas, have left their traces within eight degrees of the pole. -This looks as if in paleozoic times the oceans were uniformly -warm. The same record he finds in the plants of -the carboniferous age. Gigantic ferns and other cryptogams -grew to an immense size, with vast rapidity and without -<span class="pb" id="Page_138">138</span> -stopping, for there are no annual rings of growth, no signs -of the effect of seasons, no flowers, and little or no color. -“Two attributes of the climate this state of things attests. -First, it was warm everywhere with a warmth probably surpassing -that of the tropics of to-day; and, second, the light -was tempered to a half-light known now only under heavy -clouds. And both these conditions were virtually general -in locality and continuous in time.” In the later volume -he adds, to corroborate the general darkness, that many of -the earlier trilobites, who lived in shallow water, were blind, -while others had colossal eyes.</p> -<p>Various theories have been advanced to explain the carboniferous -age, which he reviews, showing why they do not -account for the facts. His own is that while the oceans were -still hot a vast steaming must have gone up from them, forming -clouds of great density that would keep the sun’s heat -and light out, and the warmth of the Earth in. “In paleozoic -times, then, it was the Earth itself, not the Sun, to which -plant and animal primarily stood beholden for existence. -This gives us a most instructive glimpse into one planetologic -process. To the planet’s own internal heat is due the -chief fostering of the beginnings of life upon its surface.”<a class="fn" id="fr_30" href="#fn_30">[30]</a></p> -<p>But he points out that a time must have come when the -Earth, and especially its seas, had cooled, the envelope of -dense cloud had gradually been pierced, and the sun’s rays -let in. Then began the sharp alternation of day and night, -the changes in the seasons and the diversity of climates, when -the palms descended to the tropics, and the flora and fauna -as we know them started to develop. This is the period -<span class="pb" id="Page_139">139</span> -when the Sun was dominant, or the Sun-Sustained Stage, -the one in which we live.</p> -<p>Later the Earth went through another experience of -which the facts are well known, but the date and cause have -puzzled astronomers and geologists alike, for it lies in the -twilight zone between the regions they illuminate. It is the -Glacial Periods. He discusses the theory of Croll, once largely -accepted but now abandoned, that these periods were due -to a change in the eccentricity of the Earth’s orbit, combined -with a progression of the equinoxes, which so altered the seasons -that the northern hemisphere would have summers hot -but too short to melt the snow and ice accumulated in the -long cold winters. In fact Percival had already reviewed this -theory some years before in a paper presented to the American -Philosophic Society (Proc. Vol. XXXIX, No. 164) in -which he showed that the eccentricity and inclination of -axis in Mars are very close to those Croll had attributed -to the Earth, and yet a glacial period does not exist there. -In the case of Mars it is the southern hemisphere that should -be glaciated, but in fact, although that pole has the larger -extent of snow in winter this sometimes disappears wholly -in the summer, which is never true at the northern pole. -If, indeed, the amount of ice formed were much larger it -would not be melted, so that the amount of water falling -and frozen, and not the eccentricity or inclination of the -axis, would be the cause of an ice age.</p> -<p>But he had another reason for rejecting Croll’s theory, -and, indeed, for disbelieving in a general ice age altogether. -It was that the glaciation does not appear to proceed from -the pole, but from various distinct centres, moving from -them in all directions, north as well as south; while some -<span class="pb" id="Page_140">140</span> -places, like northern Siberia, that one would expect to be -covered with ice, were not so covered. Nor was the greater -cold confined to the northern hemisphere, for on some -mountains at the equator, and even at the south pole, there -was more ice and snow than there is to-day. His explanation -is that certain parts of the Earth’s surface were for some -reason raised higher than they are now; and from the snow -mountains or plateaus so formed the sheets of ice flowed -down.</p> -<p>The remainder of the book on “Mars as the Abode of -Life”—and it is the larger part of it—contains the reasons -for believing that Mars is inhabited, the canals artificial, -and that the Earth will in like manner gradually lose its -supply of water. But this argument need not be retraced -here, because with it the reader has already been made familiar. -“The Evolution of Worlds” ends with a chapter -entitled “Death of a World”; for to him the whole theory -of planetary evolution is a vast drama, albeit with a tragic -close. He describes four ways in which a planet, and all life -thereon, may be destroyed. Three of these are: the effect of -tidal action that would bring the same face always toward -the Sun; the loss of water and atmosphere; and the cooling -and final extinction of the Sun. All these things he cheerfully -reminds us are sure to happen, but at a time enormously -distant. The other is a collision with a star—“That -any of the lucent stars, the stars commonly so called, could -collide with the Sun, or come near enough to amount to -the same thing, is demonstrably impossible for aeons of -years. But this is far from the case for a dark star. Such a -body might well be within a hundredth of the distance of -the nearest of our known neighbors.... Our senses could -<span class="pb" id="Page_141">141</span> -only be cognizant of its proximity by the borrowed light -it reflected from our own Sun.” A collision of this kind -might happen at any time, but he consoles us by saying that -“judged by any scale of time we know, the chance of such -occurrence is immeasurably remote.” In an earlier part of -the book he describes what its advent would be:</p> -<p>“We can calculate how much warning we should have -of the coming catastrophe. The Sun with its retinue is speeding -through space at the rate of eleven miles a second -toward a point near the bright star Vega. Since the tramp -would probably also be in motion with a speed comparable -with our own, it might hit us coming from any point in -space, the likelihood depending upon the direction and -amount of its own speed. So that at the present moment such -a body may be in any part of the sky. But the chances are -greatest if it be coming from the direction toward which -the Sun is travelling, since it would then be approaching -us head on. If it were travelling itself as fast as the Sun, -its relative speed of approach would be twenty-two miles -a second.</p> -<p>“The previousness of the warning would depend upon the -stranger’s size. The warning would be long according as -the stranger was large. Let us assume it the mass of the -Sun, a most probable supposition. Being dark, it must have -cooled to a solid, and its density therefore be much greater -than the Sun’s, probably something like eight times as great, -giving it a diameter about half his or four hundred and -thirty thousand miles. Its apparent brightness would depend -both upon its distance and upon its intrinsic brightness -or albedo, and this last would itself vary according to -its distance from the Sun.... We shall assume, therefore, -<span class="pb" id="Page_142">142</span> -that its brilliancy would be only that of the Moon, -remembering that the last stages of its fateful journey would -be much more resplendently set off.</p> -<p>“With these data we can find how long it would be visible -before the collision occurred. As a very small telescopic -star it would undoubtedly escape detection. It is not likely -that the stranger would be noticed simply from its appearance -until it had attained the eleventh magnitude. It would -then be one hundred and forty-nine astronomical units from -the Sun or at five times the distance of Neptune. But its -detection would come about not through the eye of the -body, but through the eye of the mind. Long before it could -have attracted man’s attention to itself directly its effects -would have betrayed it. Previous, indeed, to its possible -showing in any telescope the behavior of the outer planets -of the system would have revealed its presence. The far -plummet of man’s analysis would have sounded the cause -of their disturbance and pointed out the point from which -that disturbance came. Celestial mechanics would have -foretold, as once the discovery of another planet, so now -the end of the world. Unexplained perturbations in the -motions of the planets, the far tremors of its coming, would -have spoken to astronomers as the first heralding of the -stranger and of the destruction it was about to bring. Neptune -and Uranus would begin to deviate from their prescribed -paths in a manner not to be accounted for except -by the action of some new force. Their perturbations would -resemble those caused by an unknown exterior planet, but -with this difference that the period of the disturbance would -be exactly that of the disturbed planet’s own period of revolution -round the Sun.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_143">143</div> -<p>“Our exterior sentinels might fail thus to give us warning -of the foreign body because of being at the time in the -opposite parts of their orbits. We should then be first -apprised of its coming by Saturn, which would give us less -prefatory notice.</p> -<p>“It would be some twenty-seven years from the time it -entered the range of vision of our present telescopes before -it rose to that of the unarmed eye. It would then have -reached forty-nine astronomical units’ distance, or two-thirds -as far again as Neptune. From here, however, its -approach would be more rapid. Humanity by this time -would have been made acquainted with its sinister intent -from astronomic calculation, and would watch its slow -gaining in conspicuousness with ever growing alarm. During -the next three years it would have ominously increased -to a first magnitude star, and two years and three months -more have reached the distance of Jupiter and surpassed by -far in lustre Venus at her brightest.</p> -<p>“Meanwhile the disturbance occasioned not simply in -the outer planets but in our own Earth would have become -very alarming indeed. The seasons would have been already -greatly changed, and the year itself lengthened, and all -these changes fraught with danger to everything upon the -Earth’s face would momentarily grow worse. In one hundred -and forty-five days from the time it passed the distance -of Jupiter it would reach the distance of the Earth. -Coming from Vega, it would not hit the Earth or any of the -outer planets, as the Sun’s way is inclined to the planetary -planes by some sixty degrees, but the effects would be none -the less marked for that. Day and night alone of our astronomic -relations would remain. It would be like going mad -<span class="pb" id="Page_144">144</span> -and yet remaining conscious of the fact. Instead of following -the Sun we should now in whole or part, according to -the direction of its approach, obey the stranger. For nineteen -more days this frightful chaos would continue; as like -some comet glorified a thousand fold the tramp dropped -silently upon the Sun. Toward the close of the nineteenth -day the catastrophe would occur, and almost in merciful -deliverance from the already chaotic cataclysm and the yet -greater horror of its contemplation, we should know no -more.”<a class="fn" id="fr_31" href="#fn_31">[31]</a></p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_145">145</div> -<h2 id="c16">CHAPTER XVI -<br />INTERLUDES</h2> -<p>Naturally Percival’s observations of Mars, and still more -the conclusions he drew from them, provoked widespread -attention among astronomers, some of whom were convinced, -while some withheld judgment and others were -very frankly disbelievers. This did not amaze him, for he -felt that new ideas made their way slowly, and had always -done so. He met objections, argued his case and expected -ultimate acceptance of his views. Perhaps not less naturally -the popular interest was also great. Newspapers as well as -periodicals all over America, in England, France, Germany -and other countries, published and discussed his views, -especially, of course, on the existence of intelligent beings -on Mars and their artificial canals upon its surface. Marconi -was reported as saying that within a few years we -should be in wireless communication with them.</p> -<p>Meanwhile his life had been going on at the usual furious -pace; lecturing here and there; writing for scientific journals, -mostly, but not wholly, on planets, satellites etc.; managing -his own property and his father’s estate; keeping in -constant touch with his computers in Boston and his observers -at Flagstaff, worrying over the health of one of -them whom he urges to take a vacation and recruit; and -also standing his watch as observer himself. A watch it was, -<span class="pb" id="Page_146">146</span> -“Jupiter before dinner and Mars at 4 <span class="small">A.M.</span>” There was also -a large correspondence with astronomers and others who -were interested in his work. To one of the latter he writes -on December 14, 1907: “In answer to your note of Dec. 5, -which has been forwarded to me here, I beg to say that -the best and final education must always be given by one’s -self.”</p> -<p>Although the canals had already been photographed, -he was not yet free from the doubters of the actuality of -his observations, for on May 15th of that year we find him -writing to Professor Simon Newcomb—then at the height -of his great reputation who had suggested that the comparative -continuity of the canals was an optical illusion, -a long letter giving the reasons for believing that this could -not be so, but that they must be as observed.<a class="fn" id="fr_32" href="#fn_32">[32]</a> The proof of -this he was seeking to make more clear, and in this same year -he sent Dr. Slipher, with Professor Todd of Amherst College, -on an expedition to the Andes to take more photographs -of Mars, which appeared in the <i>Century</i> for December.</p> -<p>But it was not all work. The hospitality of the Observatory -was kept up; visiting astronomers and friends lent -a gayety to the place. Mr. George Agassiz, for example, -long his friend in many labors, was there for many months -in 1907 and 1909, helping greatly in his observations;<a class="fn" id="fr_33" href="#fn_33">[33]</a> the -late Professor Edward S. Morse at sundry times, and Professor -<span class="pb" id="Page_147">147</span> -Robert W. Willson in 1909 and 1914. He was also -in kindly relations with his neighbors, who were “courteous -enough to ask me to talk, and I am deep in addresses.” In -fact some of them were constantly urging him to stand for -Senator from the State. He was interested also in children, -and in March, 1908, he is sending word to Dr. Slipher about -a little girl from Texas eight years old who is to pass through -Flagstaff, and asks permission to look through his big telescope -as she “just loves astronomy.” He was fond of telling -about his meeting a negro tending chickens to whom he -suggested keeping a watch on them the next day because -they would go to roost about eleven o’clock; and they did, -for there was an eclipse of the sun. Some days later he met -the negro again, who expressed astonishment at his knowing -in advance that the chickens would go to roost, and -asked if he had known it a week before. Yes, he had known -it then. “Did you know it a month before?” “Yes, I knew -it a month before.” “Did you know it a year before?” “Yes, -I knew it a year before.” “But those chickens weren’t born -then!” Had he lived to the present day he might have discovered -a resemblance to some tendencies in ideas about -the present depression.</p> -<p>Nor were his thoughts confined to this country, for in -August, 1905, he writes to a friend: “I go to Japan this autumn, -but how and when I have not yet decided.” His old -interest remained, and in April 1908, he arranged an exhibition -in Boston by a Shinto priest of walking over hot coals -and up a ladder of sword blades. “The place,” he says, -“was full and the audience gratified at being asked. While -in the distance people outside the pale stood on carts and -boys even to the tops of far off houses, one perched on -<span class="pb" id="Page_148">148</span> -the tip of a chimney. Dr. Suga cut himself slightly but -not seriously. He did very well considering, though it was -not possible of course for a poor lone priest to come up to -what he might have done in Japan. The rite was beautifully -set forth and the setting of the whole enclosure worthy -the most artistic people in the world. Policemen kept out -the crowd and stared aghast, and altogether it was a relished -function.”</p> -<p>He probably would have been greatly grieved had he been -told that he would never revisit the land where he had spent -so much of his earlier life and thought; but astronomy was -now his dominant occupation, and was constantly presenting -new questions to engross his attention and fill his time. -Yet in the years when Mars was not in opposition this did -not prevent, indeed it rather stimulated, visits to Europe, -where he saw his astronomical friends, and lectured on his -discoveries; for he was a member of the National Astronomic -Societies of France and Germany, had received from -the former in 1904 the Janssen medal for his researches on -Mars, and in 1907 Mr. Lampland that of the Royal Photographic -Society of Great Britain for the work on the planets. -We find him across the ocean in the summer of 1906, -lunching with Sir Robert Ball in Cambridge, Deslandres -and Flammarion in Paris, and “pegging away” there at his -lectures.</p> -<p>Two years later, on June 10, 1908, he married Miss Constance -Savage Keith, and they went abroad at the end of -the month. When in London they met his first cousin, -A. Lawrence Rotch, the meteorologist, who like him had -established and directed, at his own expense, an observatory -for the study of his subject; in this case on Blue Hill near -<span class="pb" id="Page_149">149</span> -Boston. Percival wanted to photograph measurable lines -to see how they appeared in a camera from the air. So he -went up with his cousin in a balloon, and obtained photographs -of the paths in Hyde Park which came out very well. -His wife also went up with them; and, what with his reputation, -the ascent in a balloon and their recent marriage, the -event was too much for a reporter to resist; and there appeared -in a newspaper an imaginary picture of an astronomer -and a bride in a wedding dress taking their honeymoon -in the basket of a balloon. They travelled together in England, -Switzerland, Germany and France, and she recalls, -when he was giving a lecture at the Sorbonne, a sudden exclamation -from a Frenchman directly behind her: “Why! -He is even clever in French!”</p> -<p>Mrs. Lowell has written an account of the diligence, the -enthusiasm, the hardships of Percival and his colleagues, -and the spirit of Flagstaff:</p> -<p>“In October, soon after our return from Europe, I discovered -that the scientist’s motto is—“Time is sacred.” I -was to meet him on the train for Flagstaff leaving the South -Station at 2 <span class="small">P.M.</span>; anxious to impress him with my reputation -for being punctual, I boarded the train about ten minutes -before two. Percival came into the car, holding his watch -in his hand, just about two minutes before two. He turned -to me: “What time were you here?” I answered triumphantly: -“Oh, I got here about ten minutes ago.” His reply -was: “I consider that just as unpunctual as to be late. Think -how much could have been accomplished in ten minutes!” -I have never forgotten that remark. Percival never wasted -minutes.</p> -<p>“Late in the afternoon of the third day, as we were nearing -<span class="pb" id="Page_150">150</span> -Flagstaff, through the dusk we could see that there had -been a heavy fall of snow, so deep that when the train -stopped our Pullman, being far in the rear, was where the -snow—not having been shovelled—was almost level with -the upper step. The men from the Observatory were there, -and their first words were ‘Seeing Good.’ Percival jumped -into the deep snow, and taking Mr. E. C. Slipher with him, -drove to the telescope.</p> -<p>“Astronomers take much for granted so far as the details -of domestic life are concerned, and I made up my mind -to be a help and not a hindrance. Dr. V. M. Slipher’s wife -came to the rescue, and under her supervision things were -soon adjusted even to a hot supper and preparation for -breakfast the next morning. She was, and always is, a -wonder. Though the wife be not an astronomer a happy -asset is it if she can appreciate her husband’s work, his sacrifices -and self-denials. Many times have I seen their frost-bitten -ears and thumbs; hungry and tired men, but never -complaining—patience personified. They are slaves to the -laws that rule the celestial.</p> -<p>“The house we lived in on Mars Hill was a long rambling -one, both roof and sides shingled. Inside all but two rooms -were finished, and partitioned. Two were papered; one of -them I papered because no paper hanger happened to be -in town. Occasionally Percival would come in to see how -the work was progressing, and help by steadying the ladder -or stirring the paste. The sitting room—or den, as it was -referred to more often—was lined with half logs from which -the bark had not been stripped. In the ceiling were logs -used as beams. During the evening, when all was quiet, -one might hear insects busily working out some scheme of -<span class="pb" id="Page_151">151</span> -their own. Open spaces were beamed and, as the logs did -not exactly fit, through the spaces trade-rats would descend -from the attic.</p> -<p>“To love nature, and the one for whom one works, it matters -not where one is; that is what one realizes when on -Mars Hill. One learns to go without things. They seem -of such minor importance to that for which the men are -seeking; one gets ashamed of oneself to think otherwise. -Each man moves with a definite purpose, indefatigable -workers, no thought of themselves when skies are clear, always -watching, cold or torrid heat makes no difference, -work goes on just the same.</p> -<p>“I became deeply impressed with the necessity of obedience -to laws. I said once to Percival that I had been asked -if it were true that he was an atheist, a non-believer. His -answer was that he believed in keeping the laws; what chaos -would happen if they were not. Often he would quote -passages from the Bible—[Genesis I, 14-20]. The laws made -on Mount Sinai, he said, are still the same laws to obey. -To live in the atmosphere of such men accomplishing great -things, deprived of many material comforts, makes one feel -humble and spurs one on to ‘Help and not to hinder.’</p> -<p>“Servants we often had to do without. They would -come out with us, and then after a few days, learning of -the nearness to the Pacific coast, the lure of California would -bring from them some lame excuse to leave, at once! To -obtain others, when none were to be had in the town, I -would have to go to Los Angeles. Finally, after several had -left, I persuaded Percival to let me try to do the cooking; -and later he would refer to that time as happy peaceful days. -With the help of the kind wives, Mrs. Slipher and Mrs. -<span class="pb" id="Page_152">152</span> -Lampland, I learned much, how to make bread and soup,—two -very essential articles in our household,—and to get up -camping outfits and quick meals for unexpected guests.</p> -<p>“Lonesome, monotonous—never. Distant as Mars Hill -may be from large cities, something of interest was happening -continually. The State Normal School of Arizona is -in the town, and on certain nights classes of students were -brought up the hill to look through the telescope. Flagstaff -is on the main line of the Santa Fe. There were three -incoming trains from the East each day, and as many from -the West, and many people stop off there to visit the different -points of interest, the Lowell Observatory being one.</p> -<p>“In August, 1910, a group of astronomers, representing -the International Union for Coöperation in Solar Research, -debarked from the train, on their way to Pasadena; Professor -Herbert H. Turner from England among them. He it was -who many years later suggested for Percival’s ‘Planet X’ -the name Pluto. The group, of about thirty, arrived by the -first morning train and stayed at the Observatory until -the last train left at night. The one thing that I was successful -in getting enough of for lunch and dinner was watermelon. -It proved a happy hit; for a year or two afterward, -when telling how much they enjoyed their visit, the watermelons -were spoken of as being such a treat. It was a hot -day and the melons were cold; probably that explained their -enthusiasm.</p> -<p>“One Christmas we invited all the children of Flagstaff -to come to the Observatory for a Christmas tree and supper. -Percival dressed as Santa Claus and spoke to them -down the chimney; then he came down into the Library -where they were gathered about the tree, and gave a present -<span class="pb" id="Page_153">153</span> -and candy to every child. That was twenty-seven years ago. -When I was in Flagstaff this spring, the little child I had -held in my lap while Percival read ‘The Night Before -Christmas’ came to speak to me and told me never would -she forget that Christmas, and that her two little children -repeatedly asked her to tell them the story of that Christmas -and all that happened at the Santa Claus party on -Mars Hill.”</p> -<p>In a recent letter to Mrs. Lowell, Dr. Lampland also -gives a glimpse into Percival’s life at Flagstaff; and though -written to refresh her recollections she preferred to insert -it as it stands.</p> -<p>“Fresh in memory and pleasant to recall are your many -visits to Flagstaff and your activities at the Observatory, -where you were designing and supervising architect, carrying -through the additions to the director’s residence, the -garage, and the new administration building. And I also -remember your valued help to us in connection with the -house in which we live and your telegram ‘Mr. Lowell -gives benediction and sanction to plans. Proceed.’”</p> -<p>He then goes on to tell of Percival’s friends from both -West and East, and continues:</p> -<p>“You remember he was an enthusiastic gardener and -always had a garden here at the Observatory. He had great -success with many flowers and I recall especially fine displays -of hollyhocks, zinnias, and a considerable variety of -bulbs. Gourds, squashes and pumpkins were also great -favorites. You will remember one year the especially fine -collection of gourds and that bumper crop of huge pumpkins, -many prize specimens being sugar fed. At times Dr. -Lowell could be seen in the short intervals he took for -<span class="pb" id="Page_154">154</span> -outdoor recreation, busy with his little camel’s hair brush -pollenizing some of the flowers. And perhaps you will -remember the little record book lying on the back veranda -containing his observations of the daily growth of the diameter -of the gourds, all measured carefully with little -calipers. Then the frequent, almost daily, walks on the -mesa. Certainly he knew all the surrounding country better -than anyone here. He would refer to the different places -such as Wolf Canyon, Amphitheatre Canyon, Indian Paint -Brush Ridge, Holly Ravine, Mullein Patch, etc. In these -walks he seemed to be constantly observing something new -and of course trees, flowers, and wild life always interested -him. Trees were an endless source of interest to him and -he took many trips to more distant localities for these -studies. Cedars or junipers seemed to be favorite subjects -for study, though other varieties or kinds were not overlooked. -An oak and an ash were named after him, new -species that were discovered on the Observatory mesa -and in Sycamore Canyon.</p> -<p>“At every season of the year he always found something -in wild life to fascinate him, and you will remember his -observations and notes of butterflies, birds, squirrels, rabbits, -coyotes, deer and other inhabitants of the mesa. These -friends must never be disturbed or harmed. But it was -permissible to hunt with a camera! And he himself delighted -with his kodak, photographing footprints, etc., and -often attempting to get exposures of the creatures themselves. -The Observatory grounds were a sanctuary for wild -life.</p> -<p>“For many of us an interesting side of eminent personages -is to know something about their activities, such for example -<span class="pb" id="Page_155">155</span> -as reading, outside of their professional occupations. In -Dr. Lowell’s case you should find ample opportunity to -treat a subject that will not admit of monotony. It would -seem that practically every field of knowledge interested -him. For the lighter reading as a relaxing and restful diversion -you will remember the full bookshelves of detective -stories, travel, exploration, etc. Accounts of adventure and -discoveries, if well written, were welcome to his list of miscellaneous -reading. The Latin classics were always near -at hand, and widely and well had he read them, and much -were they prized as friends in his later life.</p> -<p>“As you know, it is not easy for the observing astronomer -to lead a strictly regular life in that the hours at the telescope -often make it necessary to use, for the much needed -rest, part of the daily hours usually given to work. His -intense occupation with his research problems, however, was -broken with great regularity for short intervals before lunch -and dinner. These times of recreation were given to walks -on the mesa or work in the garden. When night came, if -he was not occupied at the telescope, he was generally to -be found in his den. It was not always possible for him to -lay aside his research problems at this time of the day, -but he did have some wholesome views on the necessity of -recreation and a necessary amount of leisure to prevent a -person from falling into the habit of the ‘grind.’ To those -who came to his den the picture of some difficult technical -work near his chair, such as Tisserand’s <i>Mechanique Celeste</i> -will be recalled, though he might at the time be occupied -with reading of a lighter character. And occasionally during -the evening he might be seen consulting certain difficult -parts upon which he was pondering....</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_156">156</div> -<p>“The famous outing to the White Mountains was often -the subject of much amusement at the dinner parties when -Dr. Lowell and Judge Doe were both there. In later years -that famous expedition seemed to be an inexhaustible source -of fun—the voracious mosquitoes, the discomforts of a camp -and beds under water, atrocious coffee, and so on!!</p> -<p>“And this reminds me of many dinner parties on Dr. -Lowell’s and Judge Doe’s birthdays. These were jolly -gatherings, and the brilliant repartee passing between Dr. -Lowell and the Judge was a great delight to those who were -present.</p> -<p>“Many things about the place often remind me of the intensely -busy days before Dr. Lowell passed away. There -were several excursions for his tree studies, to Sycamore -Canyon, an arduous trip, and to other localities near Flagstaff -for further studies of different species of junipers in -their native habitat. The specimens were carefully sorted -and packed for Professor Sargent of the Arnold Arboretum. -Then I remember helping him plant many bulbs on -the last two days before he was fatally stricken. The squills -he planted at that time in the little bed under the oak tree -near the entrance of the B. M. return every spring.”<a class="fn" id="fr_34" href="#fn_34">[34]</a></p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_157">157</div> -<h2 id="c17">CHAPTER XVII -<br />THE EFFECT OF COMMENSURATE PERIODS -<br /><span class="sc">The Asteroids and Saturn’s Rings</span></h2> -<p>Ever inquiring, ever fertile, his mind turned to seek the -explanation of divers astronomical phenomena. In 1912, -for example, under the title “Precession and the Pyramids,” -we find him discussing in the <i>Popular Science Monthly</i> the -pyramid of Cheops as an astronomical observatory, with its -relation to the position of the star then nearest to the North -Pole, its lines of light and shadow, in a great gallery constructed -with the object of recording the exact changes in -the seasons.</p> -<p>But leaving aside these lesser interests, and the unbroken -systematic observation of the planets, his attention in the -later years of his life was chiefly occupied by two subjects, -not unconnected, but which may be described separately. -They are, first, the influence over each other’s position and -orbits of two bodies, both revolving about a far larger one; -and, second, the search for an outer planet beyond the path -of Neptune. Each of these studies involved the use of -mathematics with expanding series of equations which no -one had better attempt to follow unless he is fresh and -fluent in such forms of expression. For accurate and quantitative -<span class="pb" id="Page_158">158</span> -results they are absolutely essential, but an impression -of what he was striving to do may be given without -them.</p> -<p>Two bodies revolving about a common centre at different -distances, and therefore different rates of revolution, will -sometimes be on the same side of the central body, and thus -nearer together; sometimes on opposite sides, when they -will be much farther apart. Now it is clear that the attraction -of gravity, being inversely as the square of the distance, -will be greatest when they are nearest together; and if this -happens at the same point in their orbits every time they -approach each other the effect will be cumulative, and in -the aggregate much larger than if they approach at different -parts of their orbits and hence pull each other sometimes in -one direction and sometimes in another. To use a homely, -and not altogether apt, illustration: If a man, starting from -his front door, walk every day across his front lawn in the -same track he will soon make a beaten path and wear the -grass away. If, instead, he walk by this path only every -other day and on the alternate days by another, he will -make two paths, neither of which will be so much worn. -If he walk by three tracks in succession the paths will be -still less worn; and if he never walk twice in the same place -the effect on the grass will be imperceptible.</p> -<p>Now, if the period taken by the outer body to complete -its orbit be just twice as long as that taken by the inner, -they will not come close together again until the outer one -has gone round once to the inner one’s twice, and they will -always approach at the same point in their orbits. Hence -the effects on each other will be greatest. If the outer one -take just two turns while the inner takes three they will -<span class="pb" id="Page_159">159</span> -approach again only at the same point, but less frequently; -so that the pull will be always the same, but repeated less -often. This will be clearly true whenever the rates of the -revolution differ by unity: <i>e.g.</i>, 1 to 2, 2 to 3, 3 to 4, 4 to 5, -etc.</p> -<p>Take another case where the periods differ by two; for -example, where the inner body revolves about the central -one three times while the outer one does so once; in that -case the inner one will catch up with the outer when -the latter has completed half a revolution and the inner one -and a half; and again when the outer has completed one -whole revolution and the inner three. In this case there -will be two strong pulls on opposite sides of the orbits, and, -as these pulls are not the same, the total effect will be less -than if there were only one pull in one direction. This -is true whenever the periods of revolution differ by two, <i>e.g.</i>, -1 to 3, 3 to 5, 5 to 7. If the periods differ by three the two -bodies will approach three times,—once at the starting point, -then one third way round, and again two thirds way round, -before they reach the starting point; three different pulls -clearly less effective.</p> -<p>In cases like these, where the two bodies approach in only -a limited number of places in their orbits the two periods -of revolution are called commensurate, because their ratio -is expressed by a simple fraction. The effect is greater as -the number of such places in the orbit is less, and as the -number of revolutions before they approach is less. But -it is clearly greater than when the two bodies approach -always at different places in their orbits, never again where -they have done so before. This is when the two periods -are incommensurate, so that their ratio cannot be expressed -<span class="pb" id="Page_160">160</span> -by any vulgar fraction. One other point must be noticed. -The commensurate orbit, and hence the distance from the -Sun, and the period of revolution, of the smaller and therefore -most affected body, may not be far from a distance where -the orbits would be incommensurate. To take the most completely -incommensurate ratio known to science, that of the -diameter of a circle to the circumference, which has been -carried out to seven hundred decimal places without repetition -of the figures. This is expressed by the decimal fraction -.314159 etc. and yet this differs from the simple commensurate -1/3 or .333333 etc. by only about five per cent.; so that -a smaller body may have to be pulled by the larger, only -a very short way before it reaches a point where it will be -seriously affected no more.</p> -<p>The idea that commensurateness affects the mutual attraction -of bodies, and hence the perturbations in their orbits, -especially of the smaller one, was not new; but Percival -carried it farther, and to a greater degree of accuracy, by -observation, by mathematics and in its applications. The -most obvious example of its effects lay in the influence of -Jupiter upon the distribution of the asteroids, that almost -innumerable collection of small bodies revolving about the -Sun between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars, of which some -six hundred had been discovered. These are so small, compared -with Jupiter, that, not only individually but in the -aggregate, their influence upon it may be disregarded, and -only its effect upon them be considered. In its immediate -neighborhood the commensurate periods, Percival points -out, come so close together (100 to 101, 99 to 100, etc.) that -although occasions of approach would be infrequent they -would be enough in time to disturb any bodies so near, -<span class="pb" id="Page_161">161</span> -until the planet had cleared out everything in its vicinity -that did not, by revolving around it, become its own satellite.</p> -<p>Farther off Jupiter’s commensurate zones are less frequent, -but where they occur the fragments revolving about -the Sun would be so perturbed by the attraction of the planet -as to be displaced, mainly, as Percival points out, to the -sunward side. This has made gaps bare of such fragments, -and between them incommensurate spaces where they could -move freely in their solar orbits. Here they might have -gathered in a nucleus and, collecting other fragments to it, -form a small planet, were it not that the gaps were frequent -enough to prevent nuclei of sufficient size arising anywhere. -Thus the asteroids remained a host of little bodies revolving -about the Sun, with gaps in their ranks—as he puts it “embryos -of planets destined never to be born.”</p> -<p>The <a href="#fig8">upper diagram</a> in the plate opposite <a href="#Page_166">page 166</a> shows -the distribution and relative densities of the asteroids, with -the gaps at the commensurate points. The plate is taken -from his “Memoir on Saturn’s Rings,”<a class="fn" id="fr_35" href="#fn_35">[35]</a> and brings us to -another study of commensurate periods with quite a different -set of bodies obeying the same law. Indeed, among the -planets observed at Flagstaff not the least interesting was -Saturn, and its greatest peculiarity was its rings.</p> -<p>In Bulletin No. 32 of the Observatory (Nov. 24, 1907) -Percival had written: “Laplace first showed that the rings -could not be, as they appear, wide solid rings inasmuch as the -strains due to the differing attraction of Saturn for the several -parts must disrupt them. Peirce then proved that even -a series of very narrow solid rings could not subsist and that -<span class="pb" id="Page_162">162</span> -the rings must be fluid. Finally Clerk-Maxwell showed that -even this was not enough and that the rings to be stable must -be made up of discrete particles, a swarm of meteorites in -fact. But, if my memory serves me right, Clerk-Maxwell -himself pointed out that even such a system could not -eternally endure but was bound eventually to be forced both -out and in, a part falling upon the surface of the planet, a -part going to form a satellite farther away.</p> -<p>“Even before this Edward Roche in 1848 had shown that -the rings must be composed of discrete particles, mere dust -and ashes. He drew this conclusion from his investigations -on the minimum distance at which a fluid satellite could revolve -around its primary without being disrupted by tidal -strains.</p> -<p>“The dissolution which Clerk-Maxwell foresaw can easily -be proved to be inevitable if the particles composing the -swarm are not at considerable distances from one another, -which is certainly not the case with the rings as witnessed -by the light they send us even allowing for their comminuted -form. For a swarm of particles thus revolving round a -primary are in stable equilibrium <i>only in the absence of -collisions</i>. Now in a crowded company collisions due either -to the mutual pulls of the particles or to the perturbations of -the satellites must occur. At each collision although the -moment of momentum remains the same, energy is lost -unless the bodies be perfectly elastic, a condition not found -in nature, the lost energy being converted into heat. In consequence -some particles will be forced in toward the planet -while others are driven out and eventually the ring system -disappears.</p> -<p>“Now the interest of the observations at Flagstaff consists -<span class="pb" id="Page_163">163</span> -in their showing us this disintegration in process of taking -place and furthermore in a way that brings before us an interesting -case of celestial mechanics.”</p> -<p>He examines the rings mathematically, as the result of -perturbations caused by the two nearest of the planet’s -satellites, Mimas and Enceladus.</p> -<p>The effect is the same that occurs in the case of Jupiter and -the asteroids, Saturn taking the place of the Sun, his satellites -that of Jupiter, and the rings that of the asteroids. In -spite of repetition it may be well to state in his own words -the principle of commensurate periods and its application to -the rings:<a class="fn" id="fr_36" href="#fn_36">[36]</a></p> -<p>“The same thing can be seen geometrically by considering -that the two bodies have their greatest perturbing effect on -one another when in conjunction and that if the periods of the -two be commensurate they will come to conjunction over and -over in these same points of the orbit and thus the disturbance -produced by one on the other be cumulative. If the periods -are not commensurate the conjunctions will take place in -ever shifting positions and a certain compensation be effected -in the outstanding results. In proportion as the ratio -of periods is simple will the perturbation be potent. Thus -with the ratio 1:2 the two bodies will approach closest only -at one spot and always there until the perturbations induced -themselves destroy the commensurability of period. With -1:3 they will approach at two different spots recurrently; -with 1:4 at three, and so on....</p> -<p>“We see, then, that perturbations, which in this case will -result in collisions, must be greatest on those particles which -have periods commensurate with those of the satellites. But -<span class="pb" id="Page_164">164</span> -inasmuch as there are many particles in any cross-section of -the ring there must be a component of motion in any collision -tending to throw the colliding particles out of the -plane of the ring, either above or below it.</p> -<p>“Considering, now, those points where commensurability -exists between the periods of particle and satellite we find -these in the order of their potency:</p> -<table class="center"> -<tr><td>With Mimas, </td><td>1:2</td></tr> -<tr><td> </td><td>1:3</td></tr> -<tr><td> </td><td>1:4</td></tr> -<tr><td>With Enceladus, </td><td>1:3</td></tr> -</table> -<p>2:3 of Mimas and 1:2; 2:3 of Enceladus falling outside -the ring system. 1:2 of Mimas and 1:3 of Enceladus fall in -Cassini’s division, which separates ring A from ring B.... -1:3 of Mimas’ period falls at the boundary of ring B and -ring C at 1:50 radii of Saturn from the centre.”</p> -<p>In the following years this supposition was reinforced by -the discovery of six new divisions in the rings. Three of -them were in ring A and three in ring B, two of them in each -case seen by Percival for the first time. This led to very -careful measurements of Saturn’s ball and rings in 1913-14 -and again in 1915; recorded in Bulletins 66 and 68 of the -Observatory. Careful allowance was made for irradiation, -and the results checked by having two sets of measurements, -one made by Percival, the other by Mr. E. C. Slipher. The -observations were, of course, made when the rings were -so tilted to the Earth as to show very widely, the tilt on -March 21, 1915, showing them at their widest for fifteen -years.</p> -<p>But unfortunately, as it seemed, the divisions in the rings -<span class="pb" id="Page_165">165</span> -did not come quite where the commensurate ratios with the -two nearest satellites should place them. They came in the -right order and nearly where they ought to be, but always a -little farther from Saturn. It occurred to Percival that this -might be due to an error in the calculation of the motion of -the rings, that if the attraction of Saturn were slightly more -than had been supposed the revolutions of all parts of the -rings would be slightly faster, and the places in them where -the periods would be commensurate with the satellites would -be slightly farther out, that is where the divisions actually -occur. Everyone knows that the earth is not a perfect sphere -but slightly elliptical, or oblate, contracted from pole to pole -and enlarged at the equator; and the same is even more true -of Saturn on account of its greater velocity of rotation. Now -its attraction on bodies as near it as the rings, and to a less -extent on its satellites, is a little greater than it would be if -it were a perfect uniform sphere; and it would be greater -still if it were not uniform throughout, but composed of -layers increasing in density, in rapidity of rotation, and -hence in oblateness, toward the centre. Percival made, therefore, -a highly intricate calculation on what the attraction of -such a body would be (“Observatory Memoir on Saturn’s -Rings,” Sept. 7, 1915), and found that it accounted almost -exactly for the discrepancy between the points of computed -commensurateness and the observed divisions in the rings. -Such a constitution of Saturn is by no means improbable in -view of its still fluid condition and the process of contraction -that it is undergoing. He found it noteworthy that a study -of the perturbations of the rings by the satellites should bring -to light the invisible constitution of the planet itself:</p> -<p>“Small discrepancies are often big with meaning. Just as -<span class="pb" id="Page_166">166</span> -the more accurate determination of the nitrogen content of -the air led Sir William Ramsay to the discovery of argon; -so these residuals between the computed and the observed -features of <i>Saturn’s</i> rings seem to lead to a new conception -of <i>Saturn’s</i> internal constitution. That the mere position of -his rings should reveal something within him which we -cannot see may well appear as singular as it is significant.” -(p. 5); and he concludes: (pp. 20-22).</p> -<p>“All this indicates that <i>Saturn</i> has not yet settled down to -a uniform rotation. Not only in the spots we see is the rate -different for different spots but from this investigation it -would appear that the speed of its spin increases as one sinks -from surface to centre.<a class="fn" id="fr_37" href="#fn_37">[37]</a></p> -<p>“The subject of this memoir is of course two-fold: first, -the observed discrepancy, and second, the theory to account -for it. The former demands explanation and the latter seems -the only way to satisfy it. From the positions of the divisions -in its rings we are thus led to believe that <i>Saturn</i> is actually -rotating in layers with different velocities, the inside ones -turning the faster. If these layers were two only, or substantially -two, this would result in <i>Saturn’s</i> being composed -of a very oblate kernel surrounded by a less oblate husk of -cloud.”</p> -<div class="img" id="ill5"> -<img id="fig8" src="images/img007.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="575" /> -<p class="pcap">ASTEROIDS and SATURN’S RINGS</p> -</div> -<div class="pb" id="Page_167">167</div> -<p>The divisions so made in Saturn’s rings by its satellites -may be seen in the lower of the two diagrams opposite; -the three fractions followed by an E indicating the divisions -caused by Enceladus, the rest those caused by Mimas. -The upper diagram represents, as already remarked, the -similar effects by Jupiter on the asteroids. A slight inspection -shows their coincidence.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_168">168</div> -<h2 id="c18">CHAPTER XVIIII -<br />THE ORIGIN OF THE PLANETS</h2> -<p>In a paper presented to the American Academy in April, -1913, and printed in their Memoirs<a class="fn" id="fr_38" href="#fn_38">[38]</a> Percival explained the -“Origin of the Planets” by the same principle of commensurate -periods. In addition to what has already been -said about the places where these periods occur coming closer -and closer together as an object nears the planet, so that it is -enabled to draw neighboring small bodies into itself, he -points out that in attracting any object outside of its own -orbit a planet is acting from the same side as the Sun thereby -increasing the Sun’s attraction, accelerating the motion of the -particle and making it come sunward. Whereas on a particle -inside its orbit the planet is acting against the Sun, thereby -diminishing its attraction, slowing the motion of the particle -and causing it to move outward. “Thus a body already -formed tends to draw surrounding matter to itself by making -that matter’s mean motion nearly synchronous with its -own.” These two facts, the close—almost continuous—commensurate -points, and the effects on the speed of revolution -of particles outside and inside its own orbit, assist a -nucleus once formed to sweep clear the space so far as its -influence is predominant, drawing all matter there to itself, -until it has attained its full size. “Any difference of density in -<span class="pb" id="Page_169">169</span> -a revolving nebula is thus a starting point for accumulation. -So soon as two or three particles have gathered together they -tend by increased mass to annex their neighbors. An embryo -planet is thus formed. By the same principle it grows -crescendo through an ever increasing sphere of influence -until the commensurate points are too far apart to bridge by -their oscillation the space between them.”</p> -<p>So much for the process of forming a planet; but what he -was seeking was why the planets formed just where they -did. For this purpose he worked out intricate mathematical -formulae, based on those already known but more fully -and exactly developed. These it is not necessary to follow, -for the results may be set forth,—so far as possible in his -own words. “Beyond a certain distance from the planet the -commensurate-period swings no longer suffice to bridge the -intervening space and the planet’s annexing power stops. -This happens somewhat before a certain place is reached -where three potent periodic ratios succeed each other—1:2, -2:5, 1:3. For here the distances between the periodic -points is greatly increased....</p> -<p>“At this distance a new action sets in. Though the character -of its occasioning be the same it produces a very different -outcome. The greater swing of the particles at these -commensurate points together with a temporary massing of -some of them near it conduces to collisions and near approaches -between them which must end in a certain permanent -combining there. A nucleus of consolidation is thus -formed. This attracts other particles to it, gaining force by -what it feeds on, until out of the once diffused mass a new -planet comes into being which in its turn gathers to itself -the matter about it.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_170">170</div> -<p>“A new planet tends to collect here: because the annexing -power of the old has here ceased while at the same time the -scattered constituents to compose it are here aided to combine -by the very potent commensurability perturbations of -its already formed neighbor.</p> -<p>“So soon as it has come into being another begins to -be beyond it, called up in the same manner. It could not -do so earlier because the most important <i>deus ex machina</i> -in the matter, the perturbation of its predecessor, was lacking.</p> -<p>“So the process goes on, each planet acting as a sort of -elder sister in bringing up the next.</p> -<p>“That such must have been the genesis of the several -planets is evident when we consider that had each arisen -of itself out of surrounding matter there would have been -in celestial mechanics nothing to prevent their being situated -in almost any relative positions other than the peculiar one -in which they actually stand....</p> -<p>“It will be noticed that the several planets are not quite at -the commensurate points. They are in fact all just inside -them.... Suppose now a particle or planet close to the -commensurable point inside it. The mean motion in consequence -of the above perturbation will be permanently increased, -and therefore the major axis be permanently decreased. -In other words, the particle or planet will be pushed -sunward. If it be still where” the effect of the commensurateness -is still felt “it will suffer another push, and so on until -it has reached a place where the perturbation is no longer -sensible.” He then goes on to show from his formulae that -if the particle were just within the outer edge of the place -where the perturbation began to be effective it would also be -<span class="pb" id="Page_171">171</span> -pushed sunward, and so across the commensurable point -until it joined those previously displaced.</p> -<p>“We thus reach from theory two conclusions:</p> -<p>“1. All the planets were originally forced to form where -the important and closely lying commensurable points 1:2, -2:5, or 1:3, and in one case 3:5, existed with their neighbors; -which of these points it was being determined by the -perturbations themselves.</p> -<p>“2. Each planet was at the same time pushed somewhat -sunward by perturbation.”</p> -<p>He then calculates the mutual perturbations of the major -axes of the outer planets taken in pairs and of Venus and the -Earth.</p> -<p>“From them we note that:</p> -<p>“1. The inner planet is <i>caeteris paribus</i> more potent than -the outer.</p> -<p>“2. The greater the mass of the disturber and, in certain -cases, the greater the excentricity of either the disturber or -the disturbed the greater the effect.”</p> -<p>As he points out, the effect of each component of the pair -is masked by the simultaneous action of the other, and refers -to the case of Jupiter and the asteroids, where the effect -they have upon it is imperceptible, and we can see its effect -upon them clearly.</p> -<p>Thus he shows that a new planet would naturally arise -near to a point where its orbit would be commensurate with -that of the older one next to it. But the particular commensurate -fraction in each case is not so certain. In general -it would depend upon the ratio of the two pulls to each other, -for if “the action of the more potent planet greatly exceeds -the other’s it sweeps to itself particles farther away than -<span class="pb" id="Page_172">172</span> -would otherwise be possible”; if it does not so greatly exceed -it would not sweep them from so far and hence allow -the other planet to form nearer. Now of the four commensurate -ratios mentioned, near which a planet may form -its neighbor, that of 3:5 means that the two planets are -relatively nearest together, for the inner one makes only five -revolutions while the outer makes three, that is the inner -one revolves around the Sun less than twice as fast as the -outer one. The ratio 1:2 means that the inner one revolves -just twice as fast as the outer; while 2:5 means that it revolves -twice and a half as fast, and 1:3 that it does so three -times as fast. Thus the nearer equal the pulls of any pair of -forming planets the larger the fraction and the nearer the -relative distance between them. Relative, mind, for as we -go away from the Sun all the dimensions increase and the -actual distances between the planets among the rest.</p> -<p>Venus is smaller than the Earth, but her interior position -gives her an advantage more than enough to make up for -this, with the result that the pulls of the two are more nearly -equal than those of any other pair, the commensurate ratio -being 3:5. The next nearest equality of pull is between -Uranus and Neptune, where the commensurate ratio is 1:2; -the next between Jupiter and Saturn, and Venus and Mercury, -where it is 2:5; the least equality being between Saturn -and Uranus, where it is only 1:3. Mars seems exceptional -for, as Percival says, from the mutual pulls we should expect -its ratio with the Earth to be 1:3 instead of 1:2 as it is, -and he suggests as the explanation, “the continued action of -the gigantic Jupiter in this territory, or it may be that a -second origin of condensation started with the Earth while -Jupiter fashioned the outer planets.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_173">173</div> -<p>He brings the Memoir to an end with the following summary:</p> -<p>“From the foregoing some interesting deductions are -possible:</p> -<p>“1. The planets grew out of scattered material. For had -they arisen from already more or less complete nuclei these -could not have borne to one another the general comensurate -relation of mean motions existent to-day.</p> -<p>“2. Each brought the next one into being by the perturbation -it induced in the scattered material at a definite -distance from it.</p> -<p>“3. Jupiter was the starting point, certainly as regards the -major planets; and is the only one among them that could -have had a nucleus at the start, though that, too, may equally -have been lacking.</p> -<p>“4. After this was formed Saturn, then Uranus, and then -Neptune.” (This he shows from the densities of these -planets.)</p> -<p>“5. The asteroids point unmistakably to such a genesis, -missed in the making.</p> -<p>“6. The inner planets betray <i>inter se</i> the action of the same -law, and dovetail into the major ones through the 2:5 relation -between Mars and the asteroids.</p> -<p>“We thus close with the law we enunciated: <i>Each planet -has formed the next in the series at one of the adjacent commensurable-period -points, corresponding to 1:2, 2:5, 1:3, -and in one instance 3:5, of its mean motion, each then displacing -the other slightly sunward, thus making of the solar -system an articulated whole, an inorganic organism, which -not only evolved but evolved in a definite order, the steps of -which celestial mechanics enables us to retrace</i>.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_174">174</div> -<p>“The above planetary law may perhaps be likened to -Mendelief’s law for the elements. It, too, admits of prediction. -Thus in conclusion I venture to forecast that when -the nearest trans-Neptunian planet is detected it will be -found to have a major axis of very approximately 47.5 astronomical -units, and from its position a mass comparable -with that of Neptune, though probably less; while, if it -follows a feature of the satellite systems which I have pointed -out elsewhere, its excentricity should be considerable, with an -inclination to match.”</p> -<p>The last paragraph we shall have reason to recall again.</p> -<p>This paper on the “Origin of the Planets” has been called -the most speculative of Percival’s astronomical studies, and -so it is; but it fascinated him, and is interesting not more in -itself, than as an illustration of the inquiring and imaginative -trend of his mind and of the ease with which intricate mathematical -work came to the aid of an idea.</p> -<p>Meanwhile his reputation was growing in Europe. At the -end of 1909 he is asked to send to the German National -Museum in Munich some transparencies of his fundamental -work on Mars and other planets with Dr. Slipher’s star -spectra, and Dr. Max Wolf of Heidelberg who writes the -letter adds: “I believe there is no American astronomer, -except yours, [sic] invited till now to do so.” A year later -the firm in Jena which had just published a translation of -his “Soul of the Far East” wants to do the same for “Mars -as the Abode of Life.” In August 1914 he writes to authorize -a second French edition of this last book which had been -published with the title “Evolution des Mondes.” Every -other year, he took a vacation of a few weeks in Europe -to visit his astronomic friends, and to speak at their societies. -<span class="pb" id="Page_175">175</span> -We have seen how he did so after his marriage in 1908. He -went with Mrs. Lowell again in the spring of 1910, giving -lectures before the Société Astronomique in Paris, and the -Royal Institution in London, and once more, two years later, -when we find him entertained and speaking before several -scientific bodies in both Paris and London. That autumn he -was confined to the house by illness; and although he improved -and went to Flagstaff in March, he writes of himself -in August 1913 as “personally still on the retired list.” In -the spring it was thought wise for him to take another vacation -abroad; and since his wife was recovering from an -operation he went alone. He saw his old friends in France -and England and enjoyed their hospitality; but he did not -feel well, and save for showing at the Bureau des Longitudes -“some of our latest discoveries” he seems to have made no -addresses. He sailed back on the <i>Mauretania</i> on August 1, -just before England declared war, and four days later she -was instructed to run to Halifax, which she did, reaching -it the following day.</p> -<p>That was destined to be his last voyage, for although he -seemed well again he was working above his strength. His -time in these years was divided between Flagstaff, where his -days and nights were spent in observing and calculating, -and Boston, where the alternative was between calculations -and business. He was always busy and when one summer -he hired a house at Marblehead near to his cousins Mr. and -Mrs. Guy Lowell he would frequently drop in to see them; -and was charming when he did so; but could not spare the -time to take a meal there, and never stayed more than five -minutes.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_176">176</div> -<h2 id="c19">CHAPTER XIX -<br />THE SEARCH FOR A TRANS-NEPTUNIAN PLANET</h2> -<p>We must now return to the last paragraph of his “Memoir -on the Origin of the Planets,” where he suggests the probable -distance of a body beyond Neptune. In fact he had long -been interested in its existence and whereabouts. By 1905 -his calculations had given him so much encouragement that -the Observatory began to search for the outer planet, which -he then expected would be like Neptune, low in density, -large and bright, and therefore much more easily detected -than it turned out to be. But the photographs taken in 1906, -with a well planned routine search the next year revealed -nothing, and he became distrustful of the data on which he -was working. In March 1908, one finds in his letter-books -from the office in Boston the first of a series of letters to Mr. -William T. Garrigan of the Naval Observatory and Nautical -Almanack about the residuals of Uranus—that is the residue -in the perturbations of its normal orbit not accounted for by -those due to the known planets. He suggests including -later data than had hitherto been done; asks what elements -other astronomers had taken into account in estimating the -residuals; points out that for different periods they are made -up on different theories in the publications of Greenwich -Observatory, and that some curious facts appear from them. -<span class="pb" id="Page_177">177</span> -About his own calculation he writes on December 28, 1908: -“The results so far are both interesting and promising.” He -was hard at work on the calculations for such a planet, based -upon the residuals of Uranus, and assisted by a corps of computers, -with Miss Elizabeth Williams, now Mrs. George -Hall Hamilton of the Observatory at Mandeville, Jamaica, -at their head.</p> -<p>Before trying to explain the process by which he reached -his results it may be well to give his own account of the discovery -of Neptune by a similar method:<a class="fn" id="fr_39" href="#fn_39">[39]</a></p> -<p>“Neptune has proved a planet of surprises. Though its -orbital revolution is performed direct, its rotation apparently -takes place backward, in a plane tilted about 35° to its orbital -course. Its satellite certainly travels in this retrograde manner. -Then its appearance is unexpectedly bright, while its -spectrum shows bands which as yet, for the most part, defy -explanation, though they state positively the vast amount of -its atmosphere and its very peculiar constitution. But first -and not least of its surprises was its discovery,—a set of surprises, -in fact. For after owing recognition to one of the most -brilliant mathematical triumphs, it turned out not to be the -planet expected.</p> -<p>“‘Neptune is much nearer the Sun than it ought to be,’ is -the authoritative way in which a popular historian puts the -intruding planet in its place. For the planet failed to justify -theory by not fulfilling Bode’s law, which Leverrier and -Adams, in pointing out the disturber of Uranus, assumed -‘as they could do no otherwise.’ Though not strictly correct, -as not only did both geometers do otherwise, but neither did -otherwise enough, the quotation may serve to bring Bode’s -<span class="pb" id="Page_178">178</span> -law into court, as it was at the bottom of one of the strangest -and most generally misunderstood chapters in celestial mechanics.</p> -<p>“Very soon after Uranus was recognized as a planet, approximate -ephemerides of its motion resulted in showing -that it had several times previously been recorded as a fixed -star. Bode himself discovered the first of these records, one -by Mayer in 1756, and Bode and others found another made -by Flamsteed in 1690. These observations enabled an elliptic -orbit to be calculated which satisfied them all. Subsequently -others were detected. Lemonnier discovered that he had -himself not discovered it several times, cataloguing it as a -fixed star. Flamsteed was spared a like mortification by being -dead. For both these observers had recorded it two or -more nights running, from which it would seem almost incredible -not to have suspected its character from its change -of place.</p> -<p>“Sixteen of these pre-discovery observations were found -(there are now nineteen known), which with those made -upon it since gave a series running back a hundred and -thirty years, when Alexis Bouvard prepared his tables of the -planet, the best up to that time, published in 1821. In doing -so, however, he stated that he had been unable to find any -orbit which would satisfy both the new and the old observations. -He therefore rejected the old as untrustworthy, forgetting -that they had been satisfied thirty years before, and -based his tables solely on the new, leaving it to posterity, he -said, to decide whether the old observations were faulty or -whether some unknown influence had acted on the planet. -He had hardly made this invidious distinction against the -accuracy of the ancient observers when his own tables began -<span class="pb" id="Page_179">179</span> -to be out and grew seriously more so, so that within eleven -years they quite failed to represent the planet.</p> -<p>“The discrepancies between theory and observation attracted -the attention of the astronomic world, and the idea -of another planet began to be in the air. The great Bessel -was the first to state definitely his conviction in a popular -lecture at Königsberg in 1840, and thereupon encouraged his -talented assistant Flemming to begin reductions looking to -its locating. Unfortunately, in the midst of his labors Flemming -died, and shortly after Bessel himself, who had taken -up the matter after Flemming’s death.</p> -<p>“Somewhat later Arago, then head of the Paris observatory, -who had also been impressed with the existence of such -a planet, requested one of his assistants, a remarkable young -mathematician named Leverrier, to undertake its investigation. -Leverrier, who had already evidenced his marked -ability in celestial mechanics, proceeded to grapple with the -problem in the most thorough manner. He began by looking -into the perturbations of Uranus by Jupiter and Saturn. -He started with Bouvard’s work, with the result of finding it -very much the reverse of good. The farther he went, the -more errors he found, until he was obliged to cast it aside -entirely and recompute these perturbations himself. The -catalogue of Bouvard’s errors he gave must have been an -eye-opener generally, and it speaks for the ability and precision -with which Leverrier conducted his investigation that -neither Airy, Bessel, nor Adams had detected these errors, -with the exception of one term noticed by Bessel and subsequently -by Adams.<a class="fn" id="fr_40" href="#fn_40">[40]</a> The result of this recalculation of his -was to show the more clearly that the irregularities in the -<span class="pb" id="Page_180">180</span> -motion of Uranus could not be explained except by the existence -of another planet exterior to him. He next set himself -to locate this body. Influenced by Bode’s law, he began -by assuming it to lie at twice Uranus’ distance from the Sun, -and, expressing the observed discrepancies in longitude in -equations, comprising the perturbations and possible errors -in the elements of Uranus, proceeded to solve them. He could -get no rational solution. He then gave the distance and the -extreme observations a certain elasticity, and by this means -was able to find a position for the disturber which sufficiently -satisfied the conditions of the problem. Leverrier’s first -memoir on the subject was presented to the French Academy -on November 10, 1845, that giving the place of the disturbing -planet on June 1, 1846. There is no evidence that -the slightest search in consequence was made by anybody, -with the possible exception of the Naval Observatory at -Washington. On August 31 he presented his third paper, -giving an orbit, mass, and more precise place for the unknown. -Still no search followed. Taking advantage of the -acknowledging of a memoir, Leverrier, in September, wrote -to Dr. Galle in Berlin asking him to look for the planet. -The letter reached Galle on the 23rd, and that very night he -found a planet showing a disk just as Leverrier had foretold, -and within 55′ of its predicted place.</p> -<p>“The planet had scarcely been found when, on October 1, -a letter from Sir John Herschel appeared in the <i>London -Athenaeum</i> announcing that a young Cambridge graduate, -Mr. J. C. Adams, had been engaged on the same investigation -as Leverrier, and with similar results. This was the first -public announcement of Mr. Adams’ labors. It then appeared -that he had started as early as 1843, and had communicated -<span class="pb" id="Page_181">181</span> -his results to Airy in October, 1845, a year before. -Into the sad set of circumstances which prevented the brilliant -young mathematician from reaping the fruit of what -might have been his discovery, we need not go. It reflected -no credit on any one concerned except Adams, who throughout -his life maintained a dignified silence. Suffice it to say -that Adams had found a place for the unknown within a few -degrees of Leverrier’s; that he had communicated these results -to Airy; that Airy had not considered them significant -until Leverrier had published an almost identical place; that -then Challis, the head of the Cambridge Observatory, had -set to work to search for the planet but so routinely that he -had actually mapped it several times without finding that -he had done so, when word arrived of its discovery by -Galle.</p> -<p>“But now came an even more interesting chapter in this -whole strange story. Mr. Walker at Washington and Dr. -Petersen of Altona independently came to the conclusion -from a provisional circular orbit for the newcomer that -Lalande had catalogued in the vicinity of its path. They -therefore set to work to find out if any Lalande stars were -missing. Dr. Petersen compared a chart directly with the -heavens to the finding a star absent, which his calculations -showed was about where Neptune should have been at the -time. Walker found that Lalande could only have swept in -the neighborhood of Neptune on the 8th and 10th of May, -1795. By assuming different eccentricities for Neptune’s orbit -under two hypotheses for the place of its perihelion, he -found a star catalogued on the latter date which sufficiently -satisfied his computations. He predicted that on searching -the sky this star would be found missing. On the next fine -<span class="pb" id="Page_182">182</span> -evening Professor Hubbard looked for it, and the star was -gone. It had been Neptune.<a class="fn" id="fr_41" href="#fn_41">[41]</a></p> -<p>“This discovery enabled elliptic elements to be computed -for it, when the surprising fact appeared that it was not -moving in anything approaching the orbit either Leverrier -or Adams had assigned. Instead of a mean distance of 36 -astronomical units or more, the stranger was only at 30. -The result so disconcerted Leverrier that he declared that -‘the small eccentricity which appeared to result from Mr. -Walker’s computations would be incompatible with the -nature of the perturbations of the planet Herschel,’ as he -called Uranus. In other words, he expressly denied that -Neptune was his planet. For the newcomer proceeded to -follow the path Walker had computed. This was strikingly -confirmed by Mauvais’ discovering that Lalande had observed -the star on the 8th of May as well as on the 10th, but -because the two places did not agree, he had rejected the -first observation, and marked the second as doubtful, thus -carefully avoiding a discovery that actually knocked at his -door.</p> -<p>“Meanwhile Peirce had made a remarkable contribution -to the whole subject. In a series of profound papers presented -to the American Academy, he went into the matter more -generally than either of the discoverers, to the startling conclusion -‘that the planet Neptune is not the planet to which -geometrical analysis had directed the telescope, and that its -discovery by Galle must be regarded as a happy accident.’<a class="fn" id="fr_42" href="#fn_42">[42]</a> -He first proved this by showing that Leverrier’s two fundamental -propositions,—</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_183">183</div> -<p>“1. That the disturber’s mean distance must be between -35 and 37.9 astronomical units;</p> -<p>“2. That its mean longitude for January 1, 1800, must have -been between 243° and 252°,—were -incompatible with Neptune. Either alone might be -reconciled with the observations, but not both.</p> -<p>“In justification of his assertion that the discovery was a -happy accident, he showed that three solutions of the problem -Leverrier had set himself were possible, all equally complete -and decidedly different from each other, the positions -of the supposed planet being 120° apart. Had Leverrier -and Adams fallen upon either of the outer two, Neptune -would not have been discovered.<a class="fn" id="fr_43" href="#fn_43">[43]</a></p> -<p>“He next showed that at 35.3 astronomical units, an important -change takes place in the character of the perturbations -because of the commensurability of period of a planet -revolving there with that of Uranus. In consequence of -which, a planet inside of this limit might equally account for -the observed perturbations with the one outside of it supposed -by Leverrier. This Neptune actually did. From not considering -wide enough limits, Leverrier had found one solution, -Neptune fulfilled the other.<a class="fn" id="fr_44" href="#fn_44">[44]</a> And Bode’s law was responsible -for this. Had Bode’s law not been taken originally -as basis for the disturber’s distance, those two great geometers, -Leverrier and Adams, might have looked inside.</p> -<p>“This more general solution, as Peirce was careful to state, -does not detract from the honor due either to Leverrier or -to Adams. Their masterly calculations, the difficulty of which -no one who has not had some experience of the subject can -<span class="pb" id="Page_184">184</span> -appreciate, remain as an imperishable monument to both, -as does also Peirce’s to him.”</p> -<p>The facts, that is what was done and written, are of course -correct; but the conclusions drawn from them are highly -controversial to the present day.</p> -<p>The calculations for finding an unknown planet by the -perturbations it causes in the orbit of another are extremely -difficult, the more so when the data are small and uncertain. -For Percival they were very small because Neptune,—nearest -to the unknown body,—had been discovered so short a time -that its true orbit, apart from the disturbances therein caused -by other planets, was by no means certain. In fact Percival -tried to analyze its residuals, but they yielded no rational result. -This left only what could be gleaned from Uranus -after deducting the perturbations caused by Neptune, and -that was small indeed. In 1845, when the calculations were -made which revealed that planet, “the outstanding irregularities -of Uranus had reached the relatively huge sum of -133″. To-day its residuals do not exceed 4.5″ at any point of -its path.”</p> -<p>Then there are uncertainties depending on errors of observation, -which may be estimated by the method of least -squares of the differences between contemporary observations. -Moreover there is the uncertainty that comes from -not knowing how much of the observed motion is to be -attributed to a normal orbit regulated by the Sun, and how -much to the other planets, including the unknown. Its true -motion under these influences can be ascertained only by observing -it for a long time, and by taking periods sufficiently -far apart to distinguish the continuing effects of the known -bodies from those that flow from an unknown source. This -<span class="pb" id="Page_185">185</span> -was the ingenious method devised by Leverrier as a basis -for his calculations, and he thereby got his residuals caused -by the unknown planet in a form that could be handled.</p> -<p>Finally there was the uncertainty whether the residual -perturbations, however accurately determined, were caused -by one or more outer bodies. Of this Percival was, of course, -well aware, and in fact, in his study of the comets associated -with Jupiter he had pointed out that there probably was a -planet far beyond the one for which he was now in search. -But, as no one has ever been able to devise a formula for the -mutual attraction of three bodies, he could calculate only -for a single body that would account as nearly as possible for -the whole of the residuals.</p> -<p>Thus he knew that his work was an approximation; near -enough, he hoped, to lead to the discovery of the unknown.</p> -<p>The various elements in the longitude of a planet’s orbit, -that is in the plane of the ecliptic, that are affected by and -affect another, are:</p> -<p>a—The length of its major, or longest, axis.</p> -<p>n—Its mean motion, which depends on the distance from -the Sun.</p> -<p>ε—The longitude at a given time, that is its place in its -orbit.</p> -<p>e—The eccentricity of its orbit, that is how far it is from a -circle.</p> -<p>ῶ—The place of its perihelion, that is the position of its -nearest approach to the Sun.</p> -<p>(These last two determine the shape of the ellipse, and the -direction of its longer axis with respect to that of the other -planet.)</p> -<p>m—Its mass.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_186">186</div> -<p>Now formulas, or series of equations, that express the perturbations -caused by one planet in the orbit of another must -contain all these elements, because all of them affect the -result. But there are too many of them for a direct solution. -Therefore Leverrier assumed a distance of the unknown -planet from the Sun, and with it the mean motion which is -proportional to that distance; worked out from the residuals -of Uranus at various dates a series of equations in terms of -the place of the unknown in its orbit; and then found what -place therein at a given time would give results reducing -the residuals to a minimum—that is, would come nearest to -accounting for them. In fact, supposing that the unknown -planet would be about the distance from the Sun indicated -by Bode’s law, the limits within which he assumed trial -distances were narrow, and, as it proved, wholly beyond the -place where it was found. This method, which in its general -outline Percival followed, consisted therefore of a process of -trial and error for the distance (with the mean motion) and -for the place of X in its orbit (ε). For the other three elements -(e, ῶ and m) he used in the various solutions 24 to -37 equations drawn from the residuals of Uranus at different -dates, and expressed in terms of ε. He did this in order -to have several corroborative calculations, and to discover -which of them accorded most closely with the perturbations -observed.</p> -<p>We have seen that in 1908-09 Percival was inquiring about -the exact residuals of Uranus, and he must have been at work -on them soon afterwards, for on December 1, 1910, he writes -to Mr. Lampland that Miss Williams, his head computer, -and he have been puzzling away over that trans-Neptunian -planet, have constructed the curve of perturbations, but find -<span class="pb" id="Page_187">187</span> -some strange things, looking as if Leverrier’s later theory -of Uranus were not exact. This work had been done by -Leverrier’s methods “but with extensions in the number and -character of the terms calculated in the perturbation in order -to render it more complete.” Though uncertain of his results, -he asks Mr. Lampland, in April 1911, to look for the planet. -But he was by no means himself convinced that his data -were accurate, and he computed all over again with the -residuals given by Gaillot, which he considered more accurate -than Leverrier’s in regard to the masses, and therefore the -attractions, of the known planets concerned. Incidentally he -remarks at this point in his Memoir,<a class="fn" id="fr_45" href="#fn_45">[45]</a> in speaking of works on -celestial mechanics, that “after excellent analytical solutions, -values of the quantities involved are introduced on the basis -apparently of the respect due to age. Nautical Almanacs -abet the practice by never publishing, consciously, contemporary -values of astronomic constants; thus avoiding -committal to doubtful results by the simple expedient of -not printing anything not known to be wrong.” His result -for X, as he called the planet he was seeking, computed -by Gaillot’s residuals, differed from that found -in using Leverrier’s figures by some forty degrees to the -East, and on July 8 he telegraphs Mr. Lampland to look -there.</p> -<p>These telegrams to Mr. Lampland continue at short intervals -for a long time with constant revisions and extensions -in the calculations; and, as he notes, every new move takes -weeks in the doing; but all without finding planet X. Perhaps -it was this disappointment that led him to make the -even more gigantic calculation printed in the Memoir, where -<span class="pb" id="Page_188">188</span> -he says: “In the present case, it seemed advisable to pursue -the subject in a different way, longer and more laborious -than these earlier methods, but also more certain and exact: -that by a true least-square method throughout. When this -was done, a result substantially differing from the preliminary -one was the outcome. It both shifted the minimum -and bettered the solution. In consequence, the whole work -was done <i>de novo</i> in this more rigorous way, with results -which proved its value.”</p> -<p>Then follow many pages of transformations which, as -the guide books say of mountain climbing, no one should -undertake unless he is sure of his feet and has a perfectly -steady head. But anyone can see that, even in the same plane, -the aggregate attractions of one planet on another, pulling -eventually from all possible relative positions in their respective -elliptical orbits with a force inversely as the square -of the ever-changing distance, must form a highly complex -problem. Nor, when for one of them the distance, velocity, -mass, position and shape of orbit are wholly unknown, so -that all these things must be represented by symbols, will -anyone be surprised if the relations of the two bodies are expressed -by lines of these, following one another by regiments -over the pages. In fact the Memoir is printed for those who -are thoroughly familiar with this kind of solitaire.</p> -<p>For the first trial and error Percival assumed the distance -of X from the Sun to be 47.5 planetary units (the distance of -the Earth from the Sun being the unit), as that seemed on -analogy a probable, though by no means a certain, distance. -With this as a basis, and with the actual observations of -Uranus brought to the nearest accuracy by the method of -least-squares of errors, he finds the eccentricity, the place of -<span class="pb" id="Page_189">189</span> -the perihelion and the mass of X in terms of its position in -its orbit. Then he computes the results for about every ten -degrees all the way round the orbit, and finds two positions, -almost opposite, near 0° and near 180°, which reduce the -residuals to a minimum—that is which most nearly account -for the perturbations. Each of these thirty tried positions involved -a vast amount of computation, but more still was to -come.</p> -<p>Finally, to be sure that he had covered the ground and left -no loophole for X to escape, he tried, beside the 47.5 he had -already used, a series of other possible distances from the -Sun,—40.5, 42.5, 45, 51.25 units,—each of them requiring -every computation to be done over again. But the result -was satisfactory, for it showed that the residuals were most -nearly accounted for by a distance not far from 45 units (or -a little less if the planet was at the opposite side of its orbit), -and that the residuals increased for a distance greater or less -than this. But still he was not satisfied, and for greater security -he took up terms of the second and third order—very -difficult to deal with—but found that they made no substantial -difference in the result.</p> -<p>So much for the longitude of X (that is its orbit and position -in the plane of the ecliptic) but that was not all, for its -orbit might not lie in that plane but might be inclined to it, -and like all the other planets he supposed it more or less so—more -he surmised. Although he made some calculations on -the subject he did not feel that any result obtained would -be reliable, and if the longitude were near enough he thought -the planet could be found. He says:</p> -<p>“To determine the inclination of the orbit of the unknown -from the residuals in latitude of <i>Uranus</i> has proved as inconclusive -<span class="pb" id="Page_190">190</span> -as Leverrier found the like attempt in the case of -<i>Neptune</i>.</p> -<p>“The cause of failure lies, it would seem, in the fact that -the elements of X enter into the observational equations for -the latitude. Not only e and ῶ are thus initially affected -but ε as well. Hence as these are doubtful from the longitude -results, we can get from the latitude ones only doubtfulness -to the second power.” Nevertheless he makes some -calculations on the subject which, however, prove unsatisfactory.</p> -<p>Such in outline was his method of calculating the probable -orbit and position in the sky of the trans-Neptunian planet; -an herculean labor carried out with infinite pains, and attaining, -not absolute definiteness, but results from the varying -solutions sufficiently alike to warrant the belief in a close -approximation. In dealing with what he calls the credentials -for the acceptance of his results, he points out that one of -his solutions for X in which he has much confidence, reduces -the squares of the residuals to be accounted for by -ninety per cent., and in the case of some of the others almost -to nothing. Yet he had no illusions about the uncertainty of -the result, for in the conclusions of the Memoir he says:</p> -<p>“But that the investigation opens our eyes to the pitfalls of -the past does not on that account render us blind to those of -the present. To begin with, the curves of the solutions show -that a proper change in the errors of observation would quite -alter the minimum point for either the different mean distances -or the mean longitudes. A slight increase of the -actual errors over the most probable ones, such as it by no -means strains human capacity for error to suppose, would -suffice entirely to change the most probable distance of the -<span class="pb" id="Page_191">191</span> -disturber and its longitude at the epoch. Indeed the imposing -‘probable error’ of a set of observations imposes on no -one familiar with observation, the actual errors committed, -due to systematic causes, always far exceeding it.</p> -<p>“In the next place the solutions themselves tell us of alternatives -between which they leave us in doubt to decide. If -we go by residuals alone, we should choose those solutions -which have their mean longitudes at the epoch in the neighborhood -of 0°, since the residuals are there the smallest. But -on the other hand this would place the unknown now and -for many decades back in a part of the sky which has been -most assiduously scanned, while the solutions with ε around -180° lead us to one nearly inaccessible to most observatories, -and, therefore, preferable for planetary hiding. Between the -elements of the two, there is not much to choose, all agreeing -pretty well with one another.</p> -<p>“Owing to the inexactitude of our data, then, we cannot -regard our results with the complacency of completeness -we should like.”</p> -<p>The bulk of the computations for the trans-Neptunian -planet were finished by the spring of 1914, and in April he -sent to Flagstaff from Boston, where the work had been -done, two of the assistant computers. The final Memoir he -read to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences on -January 13, 1915; and printed in the spring as a publication -of the Observatory. Naturally he was deeply anxious to see -the fruit from such colossal labor. In July, 1913, he had -written to Mr. Lampland: “Generally speaking what fields -have you taken? Is there nothing suspicious?” and in -May, 1914, “Don’t hesitate to startle me with a telegram -‘FOUND.’” Again, in August, he writes to Dr. Slipher: -<span class="pb" id="Page_192">192</span> -“I feel sadly of course that nothing has been reported about -X, but I suppose the bad weather and Mrs. Lampland’s condition -may somewhat explain it”; and to Mr. Lampland in -December: “I am giving my work before the Academy on -January 13. It would be thoughtful of you to announce the -actual discovery at the same time.” Through the banter one -can see the craving to find the long-sought planet, and the -grief at the baffling of his hopes. That X was not found was -the sharpest disappointment of his life.</p> -<p>If so much labor without tangible result gave little satisfaction, -there was still less glory won by a vast calculation -that did not prove itself correct. Curiously enough, he always -enjoyed more recognition among astronomers in -Europe than in America; for here, as a highly distinguished -member of the craft recently remarked, he did not belong -to the guild. He was fond of calling himself an amateur—by -which he meant one who worked without remuneration—and -of noting how many of the great contributors to science -were in that category. The guild here was not readily -hospitable to those who had not been trained in the regular -treadmill; and it had been shocked by his audacity in proclaiming -a discovery of intelligent handiwork on Mars. -So for the most part he remained to the end of his life an -amateur in this country; though what would have been said -had he succeeded in producing, by rigorous calculation, an -unknown planet far beyond the orbit of Neptune, it is interesting -to conjecture, but difficult to know, for the younger -generation of astronomers had not then come upon the stage -nor the older ones outlived their prejudice.</p> -<p>The last eighteen months of his life were spent as usual -partly at Flagstaff, where he was adding to the buildings, -<span class="pb" id="Page_193">193</span> -partly in Boston, and in lecturing. In May, 1916, he writes -to Sig. Rigano of “Scientia” that he has not time to write an -article for his Review, and adds: “Eventually I hope to publish -a work on each planet—the whole connected together—but -the end not yet.” Fortunately he did not know how -near it was.</p> -<p>In May he lectured at Toronto; and in the autumn in the -Northwest on Mars and other planets, at Washington State -and Reed Colleges, and the universities of Idaho, Washington, -Oregon and California. These set forth his latest views, -often including much that had been discovered at Flagstaff -and elsewhere since his earlier books were published; for -his mind was far from closed to change of opinion on newly -discovered evidence. It was something of a triumphal procession -at these institutions; but it was too much.</p> -<p>More exhausted than he was himself aware, he returned -to Flagstaff eager about a new investigation he had been -planning on Jupiter’s satellites. It will be recalled that -he had found the exact position of the gap in Saturn’s rings -accounted for if the inner layers of the planet rotated faster -and therefore were more oblate than the visible gaseous surface. -Now the innermost satellite of Jupiter (the Vth) was -farther off than the simple relation between distance and -period should make it, a difference that might be explained -if in Jupiter, as in Saturn, the molten inner core were more -oblate than the outer gaseous envelope. To ascertain this -the distance of the satellite V. must be determined exactly, -and with Mr. E. C. Slipher he was busy in doing so night -after night through that of November 11th. But he was -overstrained, and the next day, November 12, 1916, not long -after his return to Flagstaff, an attack of apoplexy brought -<span class="pb" id="Page_194">194</span> -to a sudden close his intensely active life. Before he became -unconscious he said that he always knew it would come -thus, but not so soon.</p> -<p>He lies buried in a mausoleum built by his widow close -to the dome where his work was done.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_195">195</div> -<h2 id="c20">CHAPTER XX -<br />PLUTO FOUND<a class="fn" id="fr_46" href="#fn_46">[46]</a></h2> -<p>Percival had long intended that his Observatory should -be permanent, and that his work, especially on the planets, -should be forever carried on there with an adequate foundation. -Save for an income to his wife during her lifetime, he -therefore left his whole fortune in a trust modeled on the -lines of the Lowell Institute in Boston, created eighty years -earlier by his kinsman John Lowell, Jr. The will provides -for a single trustee who appoints his own successor; the first -being his cousin Guy Lowell, the next the present trustee, -Percival’s nephew, Roger Lowell Putnam. Dr. V. M. Slipher -and Mr. C. O. Lampland, who have been at the Observatory -from an early time, are the astronomers in charge, carrying -on the founder’s principles of constantly enlarging the field -of study, and using for the purpose the best instrumental -equipment to be procured.</p> -<p>Of course the search was continued for the planet X, but -without success, and for a time almost without hope, not -only because its body is too small to show a disk, but also -by reason of the multitude of stars of like size in that crowded -part of the heavens, the Milky Way, where it is extremely -<span class="pb" id="Page_196">196</span> -difficult to detect one that has moved. It was as if out of -many thousand pins thrown upon the floor one were slightly -moved and someone were asked to find which it was. -Mere visual observation was clearly futile, for no man could -record the positions of all the points of light from one night -to another. The only way to conduct a systematic search was -through an enduring record, that is by taking photographs -of the probable sections of the sky, and comparing two of -the same section taken a few days apart to discover a point -of light that had changed its place—no simple matter when -more than one hundred thousand stars showed upon a single -plate. This process Percival tried, but although his hopes -were often raised by finding bodies that moved, they proved -to be asteroids hitherto unknown,<a class="fn" id="fr_47" href="#fn_47">[47]</a> and the X sought so long -did not appear.<a class="fn" id="fr_48" href="#fn_48">[48]</a></p> -<p>Percival had felt the need of a new photographic telescope -of considerable light power and a wider field, and an attempt -was made to borrow such an instrument, for use while one -was being manufactured, but in vain. Then came the war -when optical glass for large lenses could not be obtained, and -before it was over Percival had died. After his death Guy -Lowell, the trustee, took up the project, but also died too -soon to carry it out. At last in 1929 the lens needed was -obtained, the instrument completed in the workshop of the -Observatory, and the search renewed in March with much -better prospects. Photographs of section after section of the -region where X was expected to be were taken and examined -by a Blink comparator. This is a device whereby two -photographs of slightly different dates could be seen through -<span class="pb" id="Page_197">197</span> -a microscope at the same time as if superposed. But with -all the improvement in apparatus months of labor revealed -nothing.</p> -<p>After nearly a year of photographing, and comparing -plates, Mr. Clyde W. Tombaugh, a young man brought up -on a farm but with a natural love of astronomy, was working -in this search at Flagstaff, when he suddenly found, on -two plates taken January 23 and 29, 1930, a body that had -moved in a way to indicate, not an asteroid, but something -vastly farther off. It was followed, and appeared night -after night in the path expected for X at about the distance -from the sun Percival had predicted. Before giving out any -information it was watched for seven weeks, until there -could be no doubt from its movements that it was a planet -far beyond Neptune, and was following very closely the -track which his calculations had foretold. Then, on his -birthday, March 13, the news was given to the world.</p> -<p>Recalling Percival’s own statement: “Owing to the inexactitude -of our data, then, we cannot regard our results -with the complacency of completeness we should like,” one -inquires eagerly how nearly the actual elements in the orbit -of the newly found planet agree with those he calculated. -To this an answer was given by Professor Henry Norris -Russell of Princeton, the leading astronomer in this country, -in an article in the <i>Scientific American</i> for December, 1930. -He wrote as follows:</p> -<p>“The orbit, now that we know it, is found to be so similar -to that which Lowell predicted from his calculations fifteen -years ago that it is quite incredible that the agreement can be -due to accident. Setting prediction and fact side by side we -have the following table of characteristics:</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_198">198</div> -<table class="center"> -<tr><td class="l"> </td><td class="c"><i>Predicted</i> </td><td class="r"><i>Actual</i></td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">Period </td><td class="c">282 years </td><td class="r">249.17</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">Eccentricity </td><td class="c">0.202 </td><td class="r">0.254</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">Longitude of perihelion </td><td class="c">205° </td><td class="r">202° 30′</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">Perihelion passage </td><td class="c">1991.2 </td><td class="r">1989.16</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">Inclination </td><td class="c">about 10° </td><td class="r">17° 9′</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">Longitude of node not predicted </td><td class="c"> </td><td class="r">109° 22′</td></tr> -</table> -<p>“Lowell saw in advance that the perturbations of the latitudes -of Uranus and Neptune (from which alone the position -of the orbit plane of the unknown planet could be -calculated) were too small to give a reliable result and contented -himself with the prophecy that the inclination, like -the eccentricity, would be considerable. For the other four -independent elements of the orbit, which are those that -Lowell actually undertook to determine by his calculations, -the agreement is good in all cases, the greatest discrepancy -being in the period, which is notoriously difficult to determine -by computations of this sort. In view of Lowell’s explicit -statement that since the perturbations were small the -resulting elements of the orbit could at best be rather rough -approximations, the actual accordance is all that could be -demanded by a severe critic.</p> -<p>“Even so, the table does not tell the whole story. -Figure 1<a class="fn" id="fr_49" href="#fn_49">[49]</a> -shows the actual and the predicted orbits, the real positions -of the planet at intervals from 1781 to 1989, and the positions -resulting from Lowell’s calculations. It appears at once that -the predicted positions of the orbit and of the planet upon it -were nearest right during the 19th century and the early part -<span class="pb" id="Page_199">199</span> -of the 20th, while at earlier and later dates the error rapidly -increased. Now this (speaking broadly) is just the interval -covered by the observations from which the influence of the -planet’s attraction could be determined and, therefore, the -interval in which calculation could find the position of the -planet itself with the least uncertainty.</p> -<div class="img" id="ill6"> -<img id="fig9" src="images/img008.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="471" /> -<p class="pcap">Predicted and Actual Orbits of PLUTO</p> -</div> -<p>“In the writer’s judgment this test is conclusive.”<a class="fn" id="fr_50" href="#fn_50">[50]</a></p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_200">200</div> -<p>Later observations, and computations of the orbit of Pluto, -do not vary very much from those that Professor Russell -had when he wrote. Two of the most typical—giving more -elements—are as follows:</p> -<table class="center"> -<tr><td class="l"> </td><td class="c"><i>Predicted</i> </td><td class="r"><i>Nicholson and Mayall</i> </td><td><i>F. Zagar</i></td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">Period </td><td class="c">282 years </td><td class="r">249.2 </td><td>248.9</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">Eccentricity </td><td class="c">0.202 </td><td class="r">0.2461 </td><td>0.2472</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">Longitude of perihelion </td><td class="c">204.9 </td><td class="r">222° 23′ 20″ .17 </td><td>222° 29′ 39″ .4</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">Perihelion passage </td><td class="c">1991.2 </td><td class="r">1889.75 </td><td>1888.4</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">Inclination </td><td class="c">about 10° </td><td class="r">17° 6′ 58″ .4 </td><td>17° 6′ 50″ .8</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">Semi-major axis </td><td class="c">43. </td><td class="r">39.60 </td><td>39.58</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">Perihelion distance </td><td class="c">34.31 </td><td class="r">29.86 </td><td>29.80</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">Aphelion distance </td><td class="c">51.69 </td><td class="r">49.35 </td><td>49.36</td></tr> -</table> -<p>Except for the eccentricity, and the inclination which he -declared it impossible to calculate, these results have proved -as near as, with the uncertainty of his data, he could have -expected; and in regard to the position of the planet in its -orbit it will be recalled that he found two solutions on opposite -sides, both of which would account almost wholly -for the residuals of Uranus. The one that came nearest to -doing so he had regarded as the least probable because it -placed the planet in a part of the sky that had been much -searched without finding it; but it was there that Pluto appeared—a -striking proof of his rigorous analytic method.</p> -<p>But the question of its mass has raised serious doubts -whether Pluto can have caused the perturbations of Uranus -from which he predicted its presence, for if it has no significant -mass the whole basis of the calculation falls to the -ground, and there has been found a body travelling, by a -<span class="pb" id="Page_201">201</span> -marvellous coincidence, in such an orbit that, if large -enough, it would produce the perturbations but does not -do so.<a class="fn" id="fr_51" href="#fn_51">[51]</a> Now as there is no visible satellite to gauge its attraction, -and as it will be long before Pluto in its eccentric orbit -approaches Neptune or Uranus closely enough to measure -accurately by that means, the mass cannot yet be determined -with certainty. What is needed are measures of position of -the highest possible accuracy of Neptune and Uranus, long -continued and homogeneous.</p> -<p>The reasons for the doubt about adequate mass are two.<a class="fn" id="fr_52" href="#fn_52">[52]</a> -One that with the largest telescopes it shows no visible disk, -and must therefore be very small in size, and hence in mass -unless its density is much greater, or its albedo far less, than -those of any other known planet. The other substantially -that the orbits of Uranus and Neptune can be, and are more -naturally, explained by assuming appropriate elements -therefor, without the intervention of Pluto’s disturbing force. -This is precisely what Percival stated in discussing the correctness -of the residuals—that it was always possible to -account for the motions of a planet, whose normal orbit -about the sun is not definitely ascertained, by throwing any -observed divergencies either on errors in the supposed orbit, -or upon perturbations by an unknown body.</p> -<p>The conditions here are quite unlike those at the discovery -of Neptune, for there the existence of the perturbations -<span class="pb" id="Page_202">202</span> -was clear, because fairly large, and the orbit predicted -was wrong because of an error in the distance assumed; and -the question was whether the presence of Neptune in the -direction predicted, though in a different orbit, was an accident, -or inevitable. Here the predicted orbit is substantially -the actual one, adequate to account for the perturbations -of Uranus if such really exist, and the question is -whether they do or not. If not the discovery of Pluto is a -mere unexplained coincidence which has no connection with -the prediction. Whether among recognized uncertainties -it is more rational to suppose a very high density, and very -low albedo, with corresponding perturbations of Uranus -and Neptune, whose orbits are still imperfectly known, or to -conclude that a planet, which would account for these -things if dense enough, revolves in fact in the appropriate -path, a mere ghost of itself—a phantom but not a force—one -who is not an astronomer must leave to the professionals.</p> -<p>In the case of both Neptune and Pluto the calculation was -certainly a marvellous mathematical feat, and in accord -with the usual practice whereby the discoverer of a new -celestial body is entitled to propose its name the observers -at Flagstaff selected from many suggestions that of “Pluto” -with the symbol <img src="images/pic1.jpg" title="ligature, P over L" alt="ligature, P over L" width="15" height="22" />; and henceforth astronomers will be -reminded of Percival Lowell, by the planet he found but -never saw.</p> -<div class="img" id="fig10"> -<img src="images/img010.jpg" alt="Decorative wreath" width="210" height="426" /> -</div> -<div class="pb" id="Page_203">203</div> -<h2 id="c21">APPENDIX I</h2> -<p class="center"><i>Professor Henry Norris Russell’s later views on the size of Pluto (written to the Biographer and printed with the writer’s consent).</i></p> -<p>Later investigations have revealed a very curious situation. -When once the elements of Pluto’s orbit are known, the calculation -of the perturbations which it produces on another planet, -such as Neptune, are greatly simplified. But the problem of -finding Pluto’s mass from observations of Neptune is still none -too easy, for the perturbations affect the calculated values of the -elements of Neptune’s orbit, and are thus “entangled” with them -in an intricate fashion.</p> -<p>Nicholson and Mayall, in 1930, attacked the problem, and -found that the perturbations of Neptune by Pluto, throughout -the interval from its discovery to the present, were almost exactly -similar to the effects which would have been produced by certain -small changes in the elements of Neptune’s orbit, so that, from -these observations alone, it would have been quite impossible -to detect Pluto’s influence. Outside this interval of time, the -effects of the perturbations steadily diverge from those of the -spurious changes in the orbit, but we cannot go into the future -to observe them, and all we have in the past is two rather inaccurate -observations made in 1795 by Lalande.<a class="fn" id="fr_53" href="#fn_53">[53]</a> If the average of -these two discordant observations is taken as it stands, Pluto’s -mass comes out 0.9 times that of the Earth, and this determination -is entitled to very little weight.</p> -<p>Uranus is farther from Pluto, and its perturbations are smaller; -but it has been accurately observed over one and a half revolutions, -as against half a revolution for Neptune, and this greatly -favors the separation of the perturbations from changes in the -assumed orbital elements. Professor E. W. Brown—the most -distinguished living student of the subject—concludes from a -<span class="pb" id="Page_204">204</span> -careful investigation that the observations of Uranus show that -Pluto’s mass cannot exceed one-half of the Earth’s and may be -much less. In his latest work a great part of the complication -is removed by a curiously simple device. Take the sum of the -residuals of Uranus at any two dates separated by one-third of -its period, and subtract from this the residual at the middle date. -Brown proves—very simply—that the troublesome effect of uncertainties -in the eccentricity and perihelion of the disturbed -planet will be completely removed from the resulting series of -numbers, leaving the perturbations much easier to detect. The -curve which expresses their effects, though changed in shape, can -easily be calculated. Applying this method to the longitude of -Uranus, he finds, beside the casual errors of observation, certain -deviations; but these change far more rapidly than perturbations -due to Pluto could possibly do, and presumably arise from small -errors in calculating the perturbations produced by Neptune. -When these are accurately re-calculated, a minute effect of -Pluto’s attraction may perhaps be revealed, but Brown concludes -that “another century of accurate observations appears to be necessary -for a determination which shall have a probable error -less than a quarter of the Earth’s mass.”</p> -<p>The conclusion that Pluto’s mass is small is confirmed by its -brightness. Its visual magnitude is 14.9—just equal to that which -Neptune’s satellite Triton would have if brought to the same -distance. (Since Pluto’s perihelion distance is less than that of -Neptune, this experiment is one which Nature actually performs -at times.) Now Nicholson’s observations show that the mass of -Triton is between 0.06 and 0.09 times the Earth’s. It is highly -probable that Pluto’s mass is about the same—in which case -the perturbations which it produces, even on Neptune, will be -barely perceptible, so long as observations have their present -degree of accuracy.</p> -<p>The value of seven times the Earth’s mass, derived in Percival -Lowell’s earlier calculations, must have been influenced by some -error. His mathematical methods were completely sound—on -Professor Brown’s excellent authority—and the orbit of Planet X -which he computed resembled so closely that of the actual Pluto -that no serious discordance could arise from the difference. But, -in this case also, the result obtained for the mass of the perturbing -planet depended essentially on the few early observations -<span class="pb" id="Page_205">205</span> -of Uranus as a star, made before its discovery as a planet, -and long before the introduction of modern methods of precise -observation. Errors in these are solely responsible for the inaccuracy -in the results of the analytical solution.</p> -<p>The question arises, if Percival Lowell’s results were vitiated -in this way by errors made by others more than a century before -his birth, why is there an actual planet moving in an orbit which -is so uncannily like the one he predicted?</p> -<p>There seems no escape from the conclusion that this is a matter -of chance. That so close a set of chance coincidences should -occur is almost incredible; but the evidence assembled by Brown -permits of no other conclusion. Other equally remarkable coincidences -have occurred in scientific experience. A cipher cable-gram -transmitting to the Lick Observatory the place of a comet -discovered in Europe was garbled in transmission, and when decoded -gave an erroneous position in the heavens. Close to this -position that evening another undiscovered comet was found. -More recently a slight discrepancy between determinations of -the atomic weight of hydrogen by the mass-spectrograph and by -chemical means led to a successful search for a heavy isotype of -hydrogen. Later and more precise work with the mass-spectrograph -showed that the discrepancy had at first been much over-estimated. -Had this error not been made, heavy hydrogen might -not yet have been discovered.</p> -<p>Like this later error, the inaccuracy in the ancient observations, -which led to an over-estimate of the mass and brightness of -Pluto, was a fortunate one for science.</p> -<p>In any event, the initial credit for the discovery of Pluto justly -belongs to Percival Lowell. His analytical methods were sound; -his profound enthusiasm stimulated the search, and, even after -his death, was the inspiration of the campaign which resulted -in its discovery at the Observatory which he had founded.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_206">206</div> -<h2 id="c22">APPENDIX II -<br />THE LOWELL OBSERVATORY -<br /><i>by Professor Henry Norris Russell</i></h2> -<p>The Observatory at Flagstaff is Percival Lowell’s creation. The -material support which he gave it, both during his lifetime and -by endowment, represents but a small part of his connection -with it. He chose the site, which in its combination of excellent -observing conditions and the amenities of everyday life, is still -unsurpassed. He selected the permanent members of the staff -and provided for the successor to the Directorship after his -death. Last, but not least, he inspired a tradition of intense interest -in the problems of the universe, and independent and original -thought in attacking them, which survives unimpaired.</p> -<p>On a numerical basis—whether in number of staff, size of -instruments, or annual budget—the Lowell Observatory takes -a fairly modest rank in comparison with some great American -foundations. But throughout its history it has produced a long -and brilliant series of important discoveries and observations -notable especially for originality of conception and technical skill. -Percival Lowell’s own work has been fully described; it remains -to summarize briefly that of the men whom he chose as his colleagues, -presenting it according to its subject, rather than in -chronological order.</p> -<p>The photography of the planets has been pursued for thirty -years, mainly by the assiduous work of E. C. Slipher, and the resulting -collections are unrivalled. Only a small amount of this -store has been published or described in print, but among its -successes may be noted the first photographs of the canals of -Mars, and the demonstration by this impersonal method of the -seasonal changes in the dark areas, and of the occasional appearance -<span class="pb" id="Page_207">207</span> -of clouds. It is a commonplace that any astronomer who -wants photographs of the planets for any illustrative purpose instinctively -applies to his friends in Flagstaff, and is not likely -to be disappointed.</p> -<p>The discovery of Pluto, and incidentally of many hundreds of -asteroids, has already been described.</p> -<p>An important series of measurements of the radiation from the -planets was made at Flagstaff in 1921 and 1922 by Dr. W. W. Coblentz -of the Bureau of Standards and Dr. C. O. Lampland. -Using the 40-inch reflector, and the vacuum thermocouples which -the former had developed, and employed in measurements of -stellar radiation at the Lick Observatory, and working with and -without a water-cell (which transmits most of the heat carried -by the sunlight reflected from a planet, but stops practically all -of that radiated from its own surface), they found that the true -“planetary heat” from Jupiter was so small that its surface must -be very cold, probably below -100° Centigrade, while that -from Mars was considerable, indicating a relatively high temperature. -Both conclusions have been fully confirmed by later -work.</p> -<p>Spectroscopic observation has been equally successful. In 1912 -Lowell and Slipher (V. M.) successfully attacked the difficult -problem of the rotation of Uranus. One side of a rotating planet -is approaching us, the other receding. If its image is thrown on -a spectroscope, so that its equatorial regions fall upon the slit, -the lines of the spectrum will be shifted toward the violet on one -edge, and the red on the other, and will cross it at a slant instead -of at right angles. This method had long before been applied -to Jupiter and to Saturn and its rings, but Uranus is so faint as -to discourage previous observation. Nevertheless, with the 24-inch -reflector, and a single-prism spectrograph, seven satisfactory -plates were obtained, with an average exposure of 2½ hours, -every one of which showed a definite rotation effect. The mean -result indicated that Uranus rotates in 10¾ hours, with motion -retrograde, as in the case of his satellites. This result was confirmed -five years latter by Leon Campbell at Harvard, who observed -regular variations in the planet’s brightness with substantially -the same period.</p> -<p>It has been known since the early days of the spectroscope -that the major planets exhibit in their spectra bands produced -<span class="pb" id="Page_208">208</span> -by absorption by the gases of their atmospheres, and that these -bands are strongest in the outer planets. Photographs showing -this were first made by V. M. Slipher at the Lowell Observatory -in 1902. To get adequate spectrograms of Neptune required exposures -of 14 and 21 hours—occupying the available parts of -the clear nights of a week. The results well repaid the effort. -The bands which appear faintly in Jupiter are very strong in -Uranus, and enormous in Neptune’s spectrum, cutting out great -portions of the red and yellow, and accounting for the well-known -greenish color of the planet. Only one band in the red was -present in Jupiter alone.</p> -<p>For a quarter of a century after this discovery those bands -remained one of the most perplexing riddles of astrophysics. -The conviction gradually grew that they must be due to some -familiar gases, but the first hint of their origin was obtained -by Wildt in 1932, who showed that one band in Jupiter was produced -by ammonia gas, and another probably by methane. These -conclusions were confirmed by Dunham in the following year, -but the general solution of the problem was reserved for Slipher -and Adel, who, in 1934, announced that the whole series of unidentified -bands were due to methane. The reason why they -had not been identified sooner is that it requires an enormous -thickness of gas to produce them. A tube 45 meters long, containing -methane at 40 atmospheres pressure, produces bands -comparable to those in the spectra of Saturn. The far heavier -bands in Neptune indicate an atmosphere equivalent to a layer -25 miles thick at standard atmospheric pressure. The fainter -bands though not yet observed in the laboratory, have been conclusively -identified by the theory of band-spectra. Ammonia -shows only in Jupiter and faintly in Saturn; the gas is doubtless -liquefied or solidified at the very low temperatures of the -outer planets.</p> -<p>The earth’s own atmosphere has also been the subject of discovery -at Flagstaff. The light of a clear moonless sky does not -come entirely from the stars and planets; about one-third of it -originates in the upper air, and shows a spectrum of bright lines -and bands. The familiar auroral line is the most conspicuous of -these, but V. M. Slipher, making long exposures with instruments -of remarkably great light-gathering power, has recently detected -a large number of other bands, in the deep red and even the -<span class="pb" id="Page_209">209</span> -infra-red. Were our eyes strongly sensitive to these wave-lengths, -the midnight skies would appear ruddy.</p> -<p>Just as the first rays of the rising sun strike the upper layers -of the atmosphere many miles above the surface, new emission -bands appear in the spectrum—to be drowned out soon afterwards -by the twilight reflected from the lower and denser layers; -and the reverse process is observable after sunset.</p> -<p>The origin of these remarkable and wholly unexpected radiations -is not yet determined.</p> -<p>The spectrograph of the Observatory was also employed in -observations of stars, and again led to unexpected discoveries. -In 1908, while observing the spectroscopic binary Beta Scorpii, -V. M. Slipher found that the K line of calcium was sharp on -his plates, while all the others were broad and diffuse. Moreover, -while the broad lines shifted in position as the bright star moved -in its orbit, the narrow line remained stationery. Hartmann, in -1904, had observed a similar line in the spectra of Delta Orionis, -and suggested that it was absorbed in a cloud of gas somewhere -between the sun and the star. Slipher, extending his observations -to other parts of the heavens, found that such stationery -calcium lines were very generally present (in spectra of such -types that they were not masked by heavier lines arising in the -stars themselves), and made the bold suggestion that the absorbing -medium was a “general veil” of gas occupying large -volumes of interstellar space.</p> -<p>This hypothesis, which appeared hardly credible at that time, -has been abundantly confirmed—both by the discovery of similar -stationery lines of sodium, and by the theoretical researches of -Eddington,—and no one now doubts that interstellar space is -thinly populated by isolated metallic atoms presumably ejected -from some star in the remote past, but now wandering in the -outer darkness, with practically no chance of returning to the -stars.</p> -<p>To secure satisfactory spectroscopic observations of nebulae is -often very difficult. Though some of these objects are of considerable -brightness, they appear as extended luminous surfaces in -the heavens, and in the focal plane of the telescope. The slit of -a spectroscope, which must necessarily be narrow to permit good -resolution of the lines, admits but a beggarly fraction of the -nebula’s light. To increase the size of the telescope helps very -<span class="pb" id="Page_210">210</span> -little, for, though more light is collected in the nebular image, -this image is proportionately increased in area, and no more -light enters the slit than before.</p> -<p>For the gaseous nebulae, whose spectra consist of separate -bright lines, there is no serious difficulty; but the majority of -nebulae have continuous spectra, and when the small amount of -light that traverses the slit is spread out into a continuous band, -it becomes so faint that prohibitively long exposures would be -required to photograph it. It was at the Lowell Observatory -that Dr. V. M. Slipher first devised a way of meeting this difficulty.</p> -<p>By employing in the camera of the spectrograph (which forms -the image of the spectrum on the plate) a lens of short focus, -this image became both shorter and narrower, thereby increasing -the intensity of the light falling on a given point of the plate in -a duplicate ratio. Moreover, since with this device the image of -the slit upon the plate is much narrower than the slit itself, it -became possible to open the slit more widely and admit much -more of the light of the nebula, without spoiling the definition -of the spectral lines.</p> -<p>This simple but ingenious artifice opened up a wholly new -field of observation, and led to discoveries of great importance.</p> -<p>Within the cluster of the Pleiades, and surrounding it, are -faint streaky wisps of nebulosity, which have long been known. -One might have guessed that the spectrum, like that of some -other filamentous nebulae, would be gaseous. But when Slipher -photographed it in December 1912 (with an exposure of 21 -hours, on three successive nights) he found a definite continuous -spectrum, crossed by strong dark lines of hydrogen and -fainter lines of helium—quite unlike the spectrum of any previously -observed nebula, but “a true copy of that of the brighter -stars in the Pleiades.” Careful auxiliary studies showed that the -light which produced this spectrum came actually from the -nebula. This suggested at once that this nebula is not self-luminous, -but shines by the reflected light of the stars close to it. -This conclusion has been fully verified by later observations, -at Flagstaff and elsewhere. It is only under favorable conditions -that one of these vast clouds (probably of thinly scattered dust) -lies near enough to any star to be visibly illuminated. The rest -<span class="pb" id="Page_211">211</span> -reveal themselves as dark markings against the background of -the Milky Way.</p> -<p>Similar observations of the Great Nebula of Orion showed -that the conspicuous “nebular” lines found in its brighter portions -faded out in its outer portions, leaving the hydrogen lines -bright, while, at the extreme edge, only a faint continuous spectrum -appeared. This again has been fully explained by Bowen’s -discovery of the mechanism of excitation of nebular radiation by -the ultra-violet light from exceedingly hot stars, and affords a -further confirmation of it.</p> -<p>But the most important contribution of the new technique -was in the observation of the spiral nebulae. Their spectra are -continuous and so faint that previous instruments brought out -only tantalizing suggestions of dark lines. With the new spectrograph, -beautiful spectra were obtained, showing numerous dark -lines, of just the character that might have been expected from -vast clouds of stars of all spectral types. This provided the first -definite indication of one of the greatest of modern astronomical -discoveries—that the white nebulae are external galaxies, of -enormous dimensions, and at distances beyond the dreams of an -earlier generation.</p> -<p>By employing higher dispersion, spectra were secured which -permitted the measurement of radial velocity. The first plates, -of the Andromeda Nebula, revealed the almost unprecedented -speed of 300 kilometers per second toward the Sun. Later -measures of many other nebulae showed that this motion was, -for a nebula, unusually slow, but remarkable in its direction, -for practically all the others were receding.</p> -<p>Similar measures upon globular star-clusters showed systematic -differences in various parts of the heavens, which indicated -that, compared with the vast system of these clusters, the -Sun is moving at the rate of nearly 300 kilometers per second—a -motion which is now attributed to its revolution, in a vast orbit, -about the center of the Galaxy, as a part of the general rotation -of the latter.</p> -<p>The velocities of the nebulae reveal substantially the same solar -motion, but, over and above this, an enormous velocity of recession, -increasing with the faintness and probable distance of the -nebulae.</p> -<p>This, again, was a discovery of primary importance. It has -<span class="pb" id="Page_212">212</span> -been confirmed at other observatories and observations with the -largest existing telescope have revealed still greater velocities of -recession in nebulae too faint to observe at Flagstaff. How this -has led to the belief that the material universe is steadily expanding -and that its ascertainable past history covers only some -two thousand millions of years, can only be mentioned here.</p> -<p>This is a most remarkable record for thirty years’ work of a -single observatory with a regular staff never exceeding four -astronomers. But its distinction lies less in the amount of the -work than in its originality and its fertile character in provoking -extensive and successful researches at other observatories as well.</p> -<p>All this is quite in the spirit of its Founder, and, to his colleagues -in the science, makes the Observatory itself seem his true -monument. His body lies at rest upon the hill, but, in an unquenched -spirit of eager investigation, his soul goes marching on.</p> -<h2 id="c23">FOOTNOTES</h2> -<div class="fnblock"><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_1" href="#fr_1">[1]</a>It is dated Boston, August 24th, but the year does not appear. She was -abroad and he at home in the summers of 1882 and 1887. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_2" href="#fr_2">[2]</a>Before leaving Korea he spent two delightful weeks at the Footes’. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_3" href="#fr_3">[3]</a>This came about a month later than ours. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_4" href="#fr_4">[4]</a>(<i>Atlantic Monthly</i>, Nov. 1886, “A Korean Coup d’Etat”). -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_5" href="#fr_5">[5]</a>“The Life and Letters of Lafcadio Hearn by Elizabeth Bisland,” Vol. I, -p. 459. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_6" href="#fr_6">[6]</a><i>Ib.</i>, Vol. II, p. 28. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_7" href="#fr_7">[7]</a><i>Ib.</i>, Vol. II, p. 30. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_8" href="#fr_8">[8]</a><i>Ib.</i>, Vol. II, p. 487. See also pp. 479, 505. Percival’s “Occult Japan” a study -of Shinto trances, published in 1894, he did not like at all. It struck him -only “as a mood of the man, an ugly supercilious one, verging on the wickedness -of a wish to hurt—there was in ‘The Soul of the Far East’ an exquisite approach -to playful tenderness—utterly banished from ‘Occult Japan.’” <i>Id.</i>, pp. 204, 208. -By this time Hearn seems to have come to resent criticism of the Japanese. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_9" href="#fr_9">[9]</a>The exact elevation proved to be 12,611. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_10" href="#fr_10">[10]</a>These discoveries have since been doubted. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_11" href="#fr_11">[11]</a>The theory of the gradual loss of water is very doubtful, but Percival’s main -conclusions depend on the present aridity of the planet, not on its assumed history. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_12" href="#fr_12">[12]</a>In a lecture shortly before his death he said: “Where Schiaparelli discovered -140, between 700 and 800 have been detected at Flagstaff.” -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_13" href="#fr_13">[13]</a>Thereafter the equipment of the Observatory was steadily enlarged—notably -by a 42-inch reflector in 1909—until now there are five domes, and -much auxiliary apparatus. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_14" href="#fr_14">[14]</a>Vol. 19, No. 218. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_15" href="#fr_15">[15]</a>Percival’s statement of this may be found also in “Mars as the Abode of -Life,” Chapter III. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_16" href="#fr_16">[16]</a>Their existence was proved, although the grain of the best plates is too -coarse to distinguish between sharp lines and diffuse bands. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_17" href="#fr_17">[17]</a>While written in the third person the words are clearly his own. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_18" href="#fr_18">[18]</a>His determination of the Martian temperature has since been very closely -verified. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_19" href="#fr_19">[19]</a>In a letter to Dr. V. M. Slipher on Oct. 4, 1902 he writes:</div> -<div class="fncont">“There has come into my head a new way for detecting the spectral lines -due to a planet’s own atmospheric absorption, and I beg you will apply it to -Mars so soon as the Moon shall be in position to make a comparison spectrum.</div> -<div class="fncont">“It is this. At quadrature of an exterior planet we are travelling toward that -planet at the rate of 18.5 miles a second and we are carrying of course our -own atmosphere with us. Our motion shortens all the wave-lengths sent us -from the planet, including those which have suffered absorption in <i>its</i> atmosphere. -When the waves reach <i>our</i> atmosphere those with a suitable wavelength -are absorbed by it and these wave-lengths are unaffected by our motion -since it is at rest as regards us. Even were the two atmospheres alike the absorbed -wave-lengths reaching us would thus be different since the one set, the -planet’s, have been shifted by our motion toward it while the other set, our own, -are such as they would be at rest. We thus have a criterion for differentiating -the two. And the difference should be perceptible in your photographs. For the -shift of Jupiter’s lines due to rotation is such as 8. × 2. = 16 miles a second -produces, which is less than 18.5 and about what you will get now.” -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_20" href="#fr_20">[20]</a>So far as the shooting stars are concerned this opinion was based upon -their velocities, which have since been found in many cases to be greater than -was then supposed. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_21" href="#fr_21">[21]</a>Opic has recently shown that the sun’s effective domain is even larger. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_22" href="#fr_22">[22]</a>Later observations seem to show that Mercury’s periods of rotation and -revolution are not the same, but nearly so. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_23" href="#fr_23">[23]</a>It now appears very improbable that these are real comet families. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_24" href="#fr_24">[24]</a>Recent results indicate that these are much smaller, and sometimes move -faster, than was formerly believed. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_25" href="#fr_25">[25]</a>This theory, though generally held till 1930, has apparently been disproved -by Jeffries. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_26" href="#fr_26">[26]</a>The periods of revolution and rotation have since appeared not to be -exactly the same. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_27" href="#fr_27">[27]</a>Radiometric measures of late years show the outer surface of Jupiter to be -at a very low temperature. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_28" href="#fr_28">[28]</a>As these thickenings, which he called tores, were not perceived the next time -the rings were seen edgewise—although probably there—it is needless to dwell -more upon them. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_29" href="#fr_29">[29]</a>By continued, and quite recent, study at Flagstaff the content of this gas -has been found to be for Jupiter and Saturn one half, for Uranus five times -and for Neptune twenty-five times the amount of the atmosphere of the Earth.</div> -<div class="fncont">A reader who seeks to know more of the later theories of the Solar System -may find them in the book with that name by Russell, Dugan and Stewart. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_30" href="#fr_30">[30]</a>Since he wrote, the discovery of radio-active substances has given rise to a -wholly new crop of theories about the early geologic processes in the Earth’s crust. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_31" href="#fr_31">[31]</a>It is now practically certain that a dark star would be of very high density -and small size, which would make the warning before the catastrophe still -shorter. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_32" href="#fr_32">[32]</a>The discussion was continued in the press, Percival’s main argument being -in his article in the <i>Astrophysical Journal</i> for October, 1907. Among those who -claimed that the canals were optical illusions was Mr. Douglass after his connection -with the Observatory had ceased; although he had previously drawn -many of them, and himself discovered those in the darker regions. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_33" href="#fr_33">[33]</a>In <i>Popular Science Monthly</i>, for September, 1907, Mr. Agassiz told his -experience in observing at Flagstaff, and why the appearance of canals cannot -be due to optical or visual illusions. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_34" href="#fr_34">[34]</a>The Director’s house was commonly known as “The Baronial Mansion.” -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_35" href="#fr_35">[35]</a>Memoirs of the Lowell Observatory, Vol. I, No. II. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_36" href="#fr_36">[36]</a>Bulletin No. 32. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_37" href="#fr_37">[37]</a>In a recent letter from the Observatory Mr. E. C. Slipher describes a great -white spot that appeared on the equator of Saturn in 1933. It behaved as of -hot matter flung up from the interior, and after two or three days spread -itself towards the East in the direction of the planet’s rotation. His explanation -is that the level from which this matter came is revolving faster than the atmospheric -shell, the new material coming to the visible surface constantly -more and more in advance of the original spot—a confirmation of Percival’s -calculations. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_38" href="#fr_38">[38]</a>Vol. XIV, No. 1. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_39" href="#fr_39">[39]</a>“The Evolution of Worlds,” p. 118 and <i>seq.</i> -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_40" href="#fr_40">[40]</a>Adams, “Explanation of the Motion of Uranus,” 1846. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_41" href="#fr_41">[41]</a>Proc. Amer. Acad., Vol. 1, p. 64. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_42" href="#fr_42">[42]</a>Proc. Amer. Acad., Vol. 1, p. 65 <i>et seq.</i> -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_43" href="#fr_43">[43]</a>Proc. Amer. Acad., Vol. 1, p. 144. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_44" href="#fr_44">[44]</a>Proc. Amer. Acad., Vol. 1, p. 332. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_45" href="#fr_45">[45]</a>Observatory “Memoir on a Trans-Neptunian Planet.” -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_46" href="#fr_46">[46]</a>Much of the following account is taken from “Searching Out Pluto” by Roger Lowell Putnam and Dr. V. M. Slipher in the <i>Scientific Monthly</i> for June, 1932, by whose courtesy it is used. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_47" href="#fr_47">[47]</a>515 asteroids and 700 variable stars were there disclosed. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_48" href="#fr_48">[48]</a>After X had been discovered two very weak images of it were found on -photographic plates made in 1915—the year he published his Memoir. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_49" href="#fr_49">[49]</a>This figure slightly changed for later observations is on the opposite page. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_50" href="#fr_50">[50]</a>Dr. A. C. D. Crommelin, the highest authority in England on such matters, -had expressed the same conclusion; and the Royal Astronomical Society had -cabled its felicitations on the discovery. Professor Russell’s latest views may be -found in <a href="#c21"></a> <i>infra</i>. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_51" href="#fr_51">[51]</a>The non-expert reader must remember that the mass and the size—still -more the apparent size—are very different things, and the mass is the only one -that could be found by calculation, for this alone affects the attraction, which -at such a distance is quite independent of the density and hence of the size. -Moreover, the apparent size depends also upon the extent to which the surface -reflects the light of the sun—technically termed the planet’s albedo—a matter -that has no relation to the perturbation of another body. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_52" href="#fr_52">[52]</a>“The Astronomical Romance of Pluto”—Professor A. O. Leuschner—Publications -of <i>The Astronomical Society of the Pacific</i>, August, 1932. -</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn" id="fn_53" href="#fr_53">[53]</a>See <a href="#Page_181">page 181</a> <i>supra</i>. -</div> -</div> -<h2 id="tn">Transcriber’s Notes</h2><ul><li>Copyright notice provided as in the original—this e-text is public domain in the country of publication.</li> -<li>Silently corrected palpable typos; left non-standard spellings and dialect unchanged (but retained some nonstandard technical spelling.)</li> -<li>In the text version, italicized text is delimited by _underscores_ (the HTML version reproduces the font form of the printed book.)</li></ul> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Biography of Percival Lowell, by -Abbott Lawrence Lowell - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BIOGRAPHY OF PERCIVAL LOWELL *** - -***** This file should be named 51900-h.htm or 51900-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/9/0/51900/ - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Dave Morgan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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. 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