The Express.
London, England, 1851-08-07 00:00:00

THE TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE SUN. i the sky was of the most intense violet, and appeared very
near, and, to crown the whole, the north-west and ncrth-
The following letter has been addressed to the east heavens were occupied by broad bands of light of •
editor of a morning paper : sinking into the unnatural purple of the sky at greater alti-
Sir,—Having, in a former letter, addressed to you, en- tudes produced en effect that will never be tinned from my
deavoured to describe the various phenomena recorded in recollection, though I feel that I can convey no just idea of
previous eclipses of the sun, perhaps you will allow me to its awful grandame. I envy those observers who were not
state very besellv the results of my own observations during compelled, in their character of *streamers to withdraw
the eclipse on the 28th of last month, which were token their eyes from the contemplation of these astounding plies
under favourable eireusastasoes at a point within the zone of nomena on the earth and in the atmosphere to view the
totality. I had originally fixed upon Varlskrona, on the less imposing though doubtless, not less remarkable al,-
east COOK of Sweden, as an advantageous position from pearimees which the teleaeope ezhibited round the sun. A
which to view the eclipse, that plate being near the central , taw seconds, however, were sufficient to fix the general
line • but, on arriving at Ysted, the difficulty of reaching: aspect of nature in my mind, beyond the chance of for-
Carikrona in time for 'he observations appeared so gnat: getting it as long as my life lasts.
that I resolved to retrace my steps by way of Oormiliss I I saw no stars or planets myself, bat on my journey lune
gen to Helsingberg on the Sound, teem which Owe an was frequently assured of their having been distinctly seen,
excursion up the country could be made on the day of the sows at Capaohairea, where the eclipse was not total. It
eclipse, far enough from the southern edge of the t, mann .in this city, that persons had diffieulty in
shadow so give about two minutes of total obrieuratiow' each other In the streets. remarkable
I accordingly observed at a small village called Ravels- of accuracy of astronomical • . ns relative
burg, one mile north of the pretty town of Lep& ffise oellene mania to my knowledge. Aoncisato the best
p4lng
horn in Sweden and about 18 English miles from dawdle alba ssweaA sew sejthe Nl*, sislehl fmee been
Helsingborg in the direction of the central line. totaled lisktiselsrgoa iliseweildisilleselbi lisoo but
The view item this place was very extensive, Kellen I partial sots qm die 4.10111.0 tout, at land the
Point lying west south-west with the intervening bay of ' captain ars swain-boa; passing at the that n these
Eagelholm, while the landscape to the north included many I places, and about half ama from Helescribes
miles of hill and dale over which to note the effects of the the curious effect prodaeld the country being dark in
total eclipse. At haltpaat one o'clock the day was very Sweden, the clone the further the ere was
1.
fine. Light clouds of the modification termed Carergli directed from the come t• wino in Denmark the sea was
spread over the horiaon in nearly every direction, a light evidently shining daring the continuance of the ft*
cirrus cloud covered the south-west sky to an altitude of eclipse in Sweden. The southern limit of the shadow worn
about 15 degrees, the zenith and the heavens for 40 de- therefore have passed over the Sound rather nears to the
around it being perfectly clear. At 10 minutes Swedish than to **Danish coast—precisely as predleimL
gene
before 3 o'clock clouds of the same character had some- I remain, sir, your most obedient servant,
what arisen in the southwest, hut the sun was still quite J. It. HIND.
free. Mr. Bishop's Observatory, Regent's-park, Angled &
At 2 h. 59 min. p.m. local mean time the first contact of
the limbs of the sun and moon took place. The definition
of the limbo; was beautifully sharp and clear, beyond any-
thing I ever witnessqd, even under the most favourable
circumstances, in this country. As the moon advanced I
remarked that her edge was extremely rough, the morn.
tains on her surface near the limb being numerous, and
some of them of considerable altitude. A tine line of light
along the moon's limb off the sun was suspected for
an arc of about 20 degrees 8 minutes after the
eclipse had commented. At 3h. 12min. the diminution of
daylight was perceptible upon the surrounding landscape,
and at its. 30inin. the distant hills looked dull and misty.
At this time there was no appearance of illumination of
the moons limb, though I looked very closely and atten-
tively. The clouds iu the south-west had risen considerably,
but the sun was perfectly clear. At 3h. 3.smin. I noticed
a tinge of colour upon the moon's service, usually red or
reddish purple, but it appeared variable and at times of a
dark olive hue. Soon afterwards it was remarked that the
diminution of daylight was very sensible, particularly un
the sea and mountains of Kullen Point, the mistiness of
distant objects increasing. At 31i. 40:nin. I remarked that
the moon's disc was certainly of a dull coppery red, and
suspected there was a slight illumination of her outline.
At Sh. 43min. a great diminution of light, particularly
towards the south, as much as a dense cloud would cause

if it overspread the sky ; gloomy out at sea, and
towards Sullen Point. At 3h. 46inin. the whole of that