The Oxford intelligencer. (Oxford, Miss.) 1860-18??, 1860-08-22


ed so more than two days at tine, and with
an Increasing anxiety we looked forward to the
great day 1t seemed to promise that it would
be very clear, but at the very critical moment
of all. nine-tenths Of the heavens were overcast.
And vet, much that was intensely interesting,
and great deal that was valuable, were gather
ed. and we felt thankful that we could get so
much. Now, as 10 the different phenomena
and | can only allude TO them in passing, for
this must be brief No sooner does the moon
intrude upon the edge Of the sun than her edge
commonly appears very rough; when the eclipse
is almost annular or total. she is enormously
rough, whatever else may happen We had al
ready arranged ourselves and distributed our In
Dor. Before we got there We called formal
council, we discussed every method; We aseer-
tanned who should take this and who should
take that We had some Of these very draw
incs around the cabin, and we prepared ourselves
by schooling ourselves each one to observe his
own phenomena, and not to be awe-struck and
interested by a spectacle so full Of interest. so
beautiful. so sublime. Wewere ranged together
Your humble servant in the centre-so as to
communicate easily with all--the photographer
at my side The seconds were called by one in
dvidnal, and the minutes by another. so that If
one failed another conld take itup, andwe should
not possibly miss the minute So We waited
until the critical time. Nobody spoke until ey-
erythng had been observed. When | was per
fectly sure of the minute of contact | called for
il then the photographer let fly the spring of
his instrument and caught the little curve, and
showed the ragged edge Of the moon faithful to
the effect, when bordering light passes by it
Another phenomenon is Il belt Of light which ap-
pears outside Of the moon on the sun, Snoring
that the rest Of the sun is certainly brighter
along by the edge of the moon. We studied
that time and again. with different colored glass
es, some colors showing it more strongly than
others, ard, as usual, the faithful photographer
caught it. In the dagucr eotype impression
of which have copies at h0mc-taken by Mr..
Campbell in 1854. in New York, The photographs
illustration is telling TIE same story. And an
othercurio phenomenon was seen by only one
of our party On the side Of the moon, close to
the edge of the sun, somehow, close along that
edge, projected on the sun was Lluish light.
The eve saw il, was satisfied ii was there, re-
ported il specially, and then we opened the pho
tographic plate, and then that phenomenon sup
posed to be an optical Illusion in 1870, and TO be
something strange in lS3S-the photograph re-
mcmbcrcd il and put il down, and said, 1t is
not seen iast because YOU have imperfect eyes but
there is something there, Cihc brca.hlcss 81
lcncc which had prevailed until now was broken
by irrcprcssblc applausc) Those three draw
ings are justification TO the Superintendent Of
the Coast Survey in all time for sending that
Photographic arrangement SO far. (Cheers.) |
regard them as intensely valuable. As tho
eclipse advanced nothing could be more beauti-
ful. Just because the clouds were there, and We
did not need a screen glass, most of us. Moth
ing could be more beautiful than the eclipse AS
il appi cached, and we dill not wonder that those
who knew nothing about it should he impressed
with the idea that something was dcyouring the
sun. ~ some sayaocs are. or that the glorious orb
was melting away. And through that little film
Of cloud the beautiful and lcssclng crescent could
be looked at By the bare eye; and as it narrowed
and narrowed it became a bit of ragged silver
wirc-all the edges Of it ragged, as the edges of
the sharp cusp are ragged when the moon has
Just passed the node, aEd intensely suggestive Of
that o, It was 50 beautiful, so grand, it was
with some difficulty that some Of Us were pre-
vented from crying out in ocstacv. wanted to
make a drawing tit, and had known that
should have come here to-day, | shoald have
tlild to have some representation Oft. Those
who looked at it without the dark glass saw the
RAGGED edge and i seemed to then. that the glo-
rious lum;aary was sinking away until it was
lost; it looked like some intensely brilliant in
candcsccnt metal exposed 70 Intense Leat, and
dropping away until il was gone. Then, 0, what
would VIC have given for no clouds. But then
was the most cl)uJy season OF all; ninc-tcnths
of the sky was covered with clouds. Just before
that gloomy twilight came, oae CI the party, one
Of the officers Of the ship, whose part in the d.
vision of the labor it was to watch ifhe could see
the shadow come, and see it go, looked around on
the savage mountains. And on came the great
el,1N,t- ILL, f,apftt1 flou1 iIp say
it approach. Three minutes passed, and he saw
il fly. The notice of this passage is not new -
It has been seen in mountainous regions before !;
it was among the interesting things looked for.
Perhaps the most sublime and beautiful view of
it was in 1898, when the German astronomers
were overtakon in the highlands of Sweden
(checrs)-then covered with snow, and saw the
great shadow sweeping toward them over the
snow, and the successive illumination OF the
spires of the villages as it passed by. When the
shadow came over us, D, what beautiful dis
play of colors we had We could not see the
corona, and it was permitted TO us to look aside
and see the grand spectacle. Ny friend and
companion, DIR. Barnard, was careful look over
the beautiful darkness. | shall not anticipate
the account which hopo he will give you. just
as the eclipse fairly total-just as the little
fragment was cut away-our Canadian friend,
Lieut.. Ashe caught view of the long, white
blade of light quiycring through where the sun
had gone out, and he caught the first blush of
that corona which we would have given much,
very much, to have seen throughout. Butjust be-
cause it was cloudy, perhaps that observation is
valuable, and although We lost the spectacle
which we would have given so much to see, yet
the conjuncture Of phenomena might be Itself a
valuable instance, which may tell of the fashion
Of the erperinehtdiR crUsos, though there is no
experiment here, but only careful observation.
For it is question TO be decided how Ear that
red color is due to glare upon the eye. 1t may
be well for science that the shade was there.
But we did not lose the corona quie, for | ar
ranged through the assistance of Mr. Fenable,
some things to be looked after by the seamen
themselves. They were instructed what to look
for, and received from an intelligent quarter
master, whom | closely cross-questoned after
ward, such a distinct account of how he and some
of the sailors saw the corona along the black
moon, and how il looked and how it trembled
and the rays projected here and there; the dcs-
cription was as if the man had seen, somehow,
some astr rnomical book, and jotted down the
details for the description was so natural and 50
precise | began TO have great hope that We had
it. and that sheet of blue paper (pointing to d.
agram on the WALL which [ had brought with
me from Princeton, | took out and took the
white material, and made it to look a. near as
could to what be told me- No, it Is not right
there" he said, there Is another beaIa." '-Oh,
this is all right here, but therc-I rather think
fharn ,4-,s a- ,tInr l.eau1 Then I made II and