diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'old/51900-0.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | old/51900-0.txt | 6567 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 6567 deletions
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. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive -specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this -eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook -for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, -performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given -away--you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks -not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the -trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country outside the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - 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. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and The -Project Gutenberg Trademark LLC, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - - - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the -mailing address: PO Box 750175, Fairbanks, AK 99775, but its -volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerous -locations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt -Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to -date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and -official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -For additional contact information: - - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - |