Page:History of the Royal Astronomical Society (1923).djvu/218

 HISTORY OF THE [1870-80 nomy as his uncle, but allowed the telescopes to lie idle until 1874, when he secured the services of Dr. W. Doberck. The Observatory of Mr. Charles Leeson Prince, at Crowborough, where he had an historic telescope with object-glass made by Tulley of 6-8 inches aperture, should also be mentioned. A Government expedition was arranged by the Eclipse Com- mittee of the Royal Society to observe the total solar eclipse of 1875 April 6, a sum of 1000 being granted for the purpose and aid given in other ways. The duration of totality was consider- able in the Indian Ocean and in the neighbourhood of Siam. Stations in one of the Nicobar Islands and in Siam were occupied, but the weather was very unfavourable. According to the pro- gramme laid down by the Eclipse Committee an attempt was to have been made during totality at the Nicobar Station to register photographically the spectra given by the different layers of the chromosphere and coronal atmosphere by the aid of spectroscopes and prismatic cameras used in conjunction with telescopes. Clouds entirely prevented any results of this kind being obtained. Results were obtained only at Siam (by a party led by Dr. Schuster), where several ordinary photographs of the corona were secured with different times of exposure. 4. 1876-1878 At the Annual General Meeting of February 1876, Dr. William Huggins was elected President, and Lord Lindsay took his place as Foreign Secretary. Mr. E. B. Knobel, who has sat at the Council Table almost continuously until the present date, was for the first time on the Council. The Report disclosed the fact that the total number of Associates and Fellows of the Society at the end of the previous year exceeded 600 for the first time, 566 of them being Fellows, and of these seven had been members of the old Mathematical Society. In connection with the instru- ments a curious and somewhat unsatisfactory incident was reported. A 2 1 -inch telescope of the Sheepshanks collection had been lent to the Rev. Jonathan Cape, and after his death his goods were sold by auction, and two astronomical telescopes were included in the sale, one of these being the property of the Society. This, however, was not sold, but was lost in some way, and the Society were not able to recover it. The incident led to an inquiry, and it appeared that there were other instruments formerly in the possession of the Society that could not be satisfactorily accounted for. New regulations were made in consequence, that loans should be for one year only, unless renewal is granted on fresh application. The Gold Medal of the Society was awarded in 1876 to M. Le