s evident upon the solar disk. The moon marched onward, and I saw
it at frequent intervals; a large group of spots were approached and
swallowed up. Subsequently I caught sight of the lunar limb as it cut
through the middle of a large spot. The spot was not to be
distinguished from the moon, but rose like a mountain above it. The
clouds, when thin, could be seen as grey scud drifting across the
black surface of the moon; but they thickened more and more, and made
the intervals of clearness scantier. During these moments I watched
with an interest bordering upon fascination the march of the silver
sickle of the sun across the field of the telescope. It was so sharp
and so beautiful. No trace of the lunar limb could be observed beyond
the sun's boundary. Here, indeed, it could only be relieved by the
corona, which was utterly cut off by the dark glass. The blackness of
the moon beyond the sun was, in fact, confounded with the blackness of
space.

Beside me was Elliot with the watch and lantern, while Lieutenant
Archer, of the Royal Engineers, had the kindness to take charge of my
note-book. I mentioned, and he wrote rapidly down, such things as
seemed worthy of remembrance. Thus my hands and mind were entirely
free; but it was all to no purpose. A patch of sunlight fell and
rested upon the landscape some miles away. It was the only
illuminated spot within view. But to the north-west there was still a
space of blue which might reach us in time. Within seven minutes of
totality another space towards the zenith became very dark. The
atmosphere was, as it were, on the brink of a precipice, being charged
with humidity, which required but a slight chill to bring it down in
clouds. This was furnished by the withdrawal of the solar beams: the
clouds did come down, covering up the space of blue on which our hopes
had so long rested. I abandoned the telescope and walked to and fro
in despair. As the moment of totality approached, the descent towards
darkness was as obvious as a falling stone. I looked towards a
distant ridge, where the darkness would first appear. At the moment a
fan of beams, issuing from the hidden sun, was spread out over the
southern heavens. These beams are bars of alternate light and shade,
produced in illuminated haze by the shadows of floating cloudlets of
varying density. The beams are practically parallel, but by an effect
of perspective they appear divergent, having the sun, in fac