learly
applies to the Corona. A Scotch account says that "the country people
tilling, loosed their ploughs. The birds dropped to the ground."

The eclipse of November 4, 1668, visible as a partial one in England,
was of no particular interest in itself but deserves notice as having
been observed by Flamsteed,[96] who gives a few diagrams of his
observations at Derby. He states that the eclipse came on much earlier
than had been predicted. It was well known at this time that the tables
of the Sun and Moon then in use were very defective, and it was a
recognition of this fact which eventually led to the foundation of the
Greenwich Observatory in 1675.

On September 23, 1699, an eclipse of the Sun occurred which was total to
the N. of Caithness for the very brief space of 10-15 secs. At
Edinburgh, about 11/12ths of the Sun's diameter was obscured. In the
Appendix to Pepys's _Diary_[97] there is a letter from Dr. Wallis
mentioning that his daughter's attention was called to it by noticing
"the light of the Sun look somewhat dim" at about 9 a.m., whilst she
was writing a letter, she knowing nothing of the eclipse.

An eclipse of the Sun occurred on May 12, 1706, which was visible as a
partial eclipse in England and was total on the Continent, especially in
Switzerland. A certain Captain Stannyan who made observations at Berne,
writes thus to Flamsteed[98]:--"That the Sun was totally darkened there
for four and a half minutes of time; that a fixed star and a planet
appeared very bright; _and that his getting out of his eclipse was
preceded by a blood-red streak of light from its left limb, which
continued not longer than six or seven seconds of time_; then part of
the Sun's disc appeared all of a sudden as bright as Venus was ever seen
in the night; nay, brighter; and in that very instant gave a light and
shadow to things as strong as the Moon uses to do."

On this communication Flamsteed remarks:--"The Captain is the first man I
ever heard of that took notice of a red streak preceding the emersion of
the Sun's body from a total eclipse, and I take notice of it to you [the
Royal Society], because it infers that the Moon has an atmosphere; and
its short continuance, if only six or seven seconds' time, tells us that
its height was not more than five or six hundredths part of her
diameter."

On the whole, perhaps, the most celebrated eclipse of the Sun ever
recorded in England was that of May 3, 1715. The line of totality p