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DAVID   GILL 

MAN   AND   ASTRONOMER 


[Frontispiece. 


DAVID    GILL,    1884    (;ET.    41). 
(From  the  portrait  by  Sir  George  Reid,  P.R.S.A.) 


DAVID  GILL 

MAN    AND    ASTRONOMER 

MEMORIES  OF  SIR  DAVID  GILL,  K.G.B., 

H.M.    ASTRONOMER  (1879-1907)  AT   THE 

GAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE 


COLLECTED    AND   ARRANGED   BY 

GEORGE   FORBES,   F.R.S. 


WITH   PORTRAITS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS 


LONDON 

JOHN  MURRAY,  ALBEMARLE  STREET 
1916 


All  rights  reserved. 


•  »•*  . 

'-•      :     •• 

ir  i"  " 

.-.   •   ..  :  ^-   »• 


PREFACE 

SHORTLY  before  his  death  Sir  David  Gill's  monumental 
work,  A  History  and  Description  of  the  Cape  Observatory, 
was  issued  by  the  Admiralty  in  a  handsome  volume.  Any 
further  complete  summary  of  his  scientific  work  would 
fill  several  volumes.  Gill's  contributions  to  astronomy 
are  mentioned  in  this  book  only  as  throwing  a  light  upon 
his  character.  His  friends  have  expressed  a  desire  to  have 
some  memories  preserved  of  David  Gill,  the  man,  whom 
they  had  learnt  to  love.  Primarily  for  these  friends  this 
book  is  written.  During  the  twenty-seven  years,  how- 
ever, which  he  spent  in  raising  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope 
Observatory  to  the  highest  position  in  equipment  and 
work  done,  while  astronomers  were  filled  with  admiration, 
the  general  public  were  not  told  much  about  what  he  was 
doing  for  science  and  the  empire.  A  secondary  purpose 
of  this  book  is  to  make  his  personality,  untarnished  by 
self-advertisement,  real  for  those  who  knew  him  not, 
and  possibly  as  inspiring  and  elevating  to  some  of  them 
as  it  has  certainly  been  to  the  biographer  privileged  to 
study  the  innermost  workings  of  his  mind. 

To  David  Gill  astronomy  was  almost  a  religion.  This 
reverence  for  his  chosen  science  was  tempered  by  human 
sympathies;  and  the  present  book,  while  telling  of  his 
growth,  from  schoolboy  and  watchmaker  to  leader  of 
astronomical  research,  deals  also  with  his  friendships,  his 
delightful  social  and  domestic  life,  his  humour,  his  enjoy- 
ment of  the  world  and  his  varied  employments,  among 
which  deer-stalking  occupied  a  special  place. 


vi  PREFACE 

Into  all  his  work  and  recreations  he  had  the  power  of 
throwing  an  enthusiastic  eagerness  and  joy  which  were 
infectious  and  attracted  to  him  a  wide  circle  of  companions 
in  widely  varied  pursuits. 

The  secret  of  the  man's  great  happiness,  which  he 
dispensed  to  all  who  came  in  contact  with  him,  was  the 
selfless  enthusiasm  with  which  he  enjoyed  all  that  is 
beautiful  in  the  world,  and  all  that  is  true  in  human 
thought.  He  was  a  real  man,  and  a  real  astronomer.  A 
real  astronomer,  as  known  to  David  Gill  and  the  older 
generations,  is  one  who  lives  not  by  science  but  for 
science,  and  who  becomes  an  astronomer  not  for  self- 
advancement,  but  only  because  he  cannot  help  it.1 

The  narrative  part  of  these  memoirs  is  divided 
naturally  into  three  distinct  sections. 

1.  1843-1879.     The  Growth  of  a  real  Astronomer. 

2.  1879-1907.     The  Work  of  a  real  Astronomer. 

3.  1907-1914.     The  Charm  of  a  real  Astronomer. 

To  these  are  added  in  two  appendices — 
Specimens  of  his  lighter  correspondence;  and  a  list  of 
his  scattered  writings,  preceded  by  a  list  of  honours. 

My  sincere  thanks  are  due  for  permission  to  inspect 
the  MSS.  in  possession  of  the  Admiralty;  also  to  the 
Directors  of  Observatories  at  Greenwich,  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  Edinburgh  and  elsewhere,  for  access  to  records; 
and  to  a  large  number  of  Sir  David's  friends  for  giving 
me  the  opportunity  of  using  the  collections  of  letters 
written  to  them  by  Gill,  or  supplying  me  with  other 
material ;  and  most  of  all  to  Professors  Kapteyn,  Hale, 
Elkin,  Dr.  Anita  Newcomb  McGee  (daughter  of  Simon 
Newcomb),  Mr.  E.  B.  Knobel  (who  has  kindly  read  the 

1  In  the  Monthly  Notices  of  the  Royal  Astronomical  Society, 
Feb.  1910,  Vol.  70,  p.  395,  there  is  an  address  delivered  by  the 
president,  Sir  David  Gill,  K.C.B.,  on  presenting  the  gold  medal 
of  the  society  to  Professor  Friedrich  Kiistner.  In  the  course  of 
that  address  he  gives  us  his  appreciation  of  a  real  astronomer. 


PREFACE  vii 

proofs  carefully  and  also  compiled  the  Index),  Sir  Frank 
Dyson,  Mr.  Hough,  Professor  Sampson,  Dr.  Backhand, 
Mr.  A.  Hinks,  Mr.  R.  T.  A.  Innes,  the  Earl  of  Crawford 
and  Balcarres,  Lady  Darwin,  Mr.  Clerke,  and  Miss  Violet 
Markham  (now  Mrs.  Carruthers). 

Special  mention  must  be  made  of  the  contribution 
by  Mr.  John  Power,  assistant  at  the  Royal  Observatory, 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  with  the  collection  of  anecdotes  about 
his  late  chief  which  are  current  at  the  Observatory.  Our 
best  thanks  are  also  due  to  Mr.  W.  H.  Wesley,  the 
esteemed  assistant  secretary  of  the  Royal  Astronomical 
Society,  for  the  labour  he  has  bestowed  upon  the  list 
of  Sir  David  Gill's  writings,  printed  in  the  Appendix. 

Lastly,  this  book  could  not  have  been  compiled  with- 
out the  devoted  attachment  to  Lady  Gill  of  friends 
who  have  helped  her  to  furnish  me  with  material.  We 
dedicate  this  book,  as  a  small  tribute,  to  her,  hoping 
that,  while  inspiring  others,  it  may  keep  green  for  many 
a  long  day  some  bright  memories  of  a  husband's  life; 
knowing  well  that  the  value  of  his  accurate  observations 
and  his  inventions  will  not  diminish,  but  will  increase, 
with  the  centuries. 

I  have  no  claim  that  entitles  me  to  write  these  Memories 
except  our  long  friendship.  We  became  acquainted 
somewhere  between  1869  and  1871.  By  the  time  when 
we  foregathered  at  Hamburg  for  the  meeting  of  the 
Astronomische  Gesellschaft  in  1873  1  we  were  old  friends, 
with  very  similar  tastes  in  astronomy  and  natural 
philosophy.  He  was  then  working  at  Dun  Echt,  and  I 
at  Greenwich  Observatory  under  Airy.  Both  of  us  were 
preparing  to  observe  the  Transit  of  Venus  in  1874;  and 
both  of  us  had  just  spent  a  few  weeks,  quite  indepen- 
dently, in  inspecting  continental  observatories.  Then 
again,  later,  the  preliminary  work  for  my  measurement 

1  It  is  a  sad  reflection  that,  of  all  the  British  astronomers 
(personal  friends  of  my  own)  who  were  members  of  that  associa- 
tion in  1873,  I  am  the  solitary  surviving  member. 


viii  PREFACE 

of  the  velocity  of  light  was  done  on  Dr.  Young's  estate, 
Durris,  near  Dun  Echt,  where  I  was  able  to  visit  the  Gills 
in  their  home. 

During  twenty  years  of  my  life  I  was  trying  to  help  in 
building  up  the  infant  profession  of  electric  engineering , 
and  our  ways  parted.  But  always  on  his  visits  home  from 
the  Cape  we  revived  our  friendship,  and  twice  during  his 
residence  there  I  had  the  happiness  of  going  to  South 
Africa  and  seeing  him  at  work.  After  my  profession 
had  become  standardised,  more  entirely  commercial, 
and  therefore  less  interesting  as  a  branch  of  science,  I 
retired  from  it,  to  help  in  developing  some  naval  and 
military  inventions.  Then  Gill  came  home,  and  in  his 
company  I  was  able  to  resume  my  old  tastes  (it  was  he 
who  induced  me  to  write  my  short  History  of  Astronomy] , 
while  he  wrote  much  of  his  last  book  in  my  "  shed  "  at 
Pitlochrie — a  hermit's  library  in  a  pleasant  grove. 

These  are  poor  qualifications  to  offer  for  undertaking 
the  task  of  writing  the  Memories.  But  the  wonderful 
experience  of  reading  his  intimate,  sympathetic  and  often 
racy  correspondence  has  perhaps  brought  the  writer  into 
closer  touch  with  the  motives  that  inspired  all  his  words 
and  acts  than  contact  even  with  his  open  and  frank 
personality  could  alone  have  done.  For,  behind  his  genial 
accessibility  there  was  a  deep  reserve,  and  a  refusal  to 
allow  his  left  hand  to  know  the  good  that  his  right  hand 
was  doing.  There  is  little  doubt  that,  out  of  all  his 
friends,  there  is  only  one  woman  who  knew  some  of  the 
kind  things  he  did  which  have  now  been  learnt  only 
through  private  letters,  which  cannot  be  reproduced. 

Little  mention  is  made  of  any  trivial  controversies 
into  which  he  may  have  been  drawn.  He  often  enjoyed 
the  fray  while  it  lasted  and  forgot  all  about  it  when  over, 
and  certainly  he  would  not  desire  to  have  his  opponents 
humbled,  or  his  triumphs  proclaimed.  His  transparent 
honesty  and  singleness  of  purpose  to  serve  astronomy 
brought  him  success  in  many  a  controversy.  He  always 


PREFACE  ix 

gave  credit  for  these  qualities  to  an  opponent,  and  could 
not  conceive  the  possibility  of  any  one  denying  them  to 
him,  or  attributing  any  personal  motive  to  him. 

Every  one  who  had  dealings  with  Gill  saw  in  him  the 
real  astronomer.  What  value  will  be  attached  to  his 
labours,  centuries  hence,  the  future  must  decide.  We 
can  now  estimate  the  position  that  was  assigned  to  him 
in  life  only  by  noting  the  number  of  honours  (govern- 
mental and  academic)  conferred  upon  him  by  and  through 
British  and  foreign  astronomical  bodies  and  universities, 
exceeding  those  conferred  upon  any  living  astronomer. 
These  are  enumerated,  and  precede  Mr.  W.  H.  Wesley's 
list  of  published  scientific  works.  Such  considerations 
are  outside  the  scope  of  the  present  book. 

I  trust  and  hope  that  these  memories  may  lead  many 
a  reader  to  understand  the  man,  his  affections,  his 
aspirations,  his  quests,  his  hopes,  and  his  joy  in  being 
part  of  this  glorious  world. 

GEORGE  FORBES. 

Kinnaird  Cottage,  Pitlochrie, 
August  2,  iqi6. 


LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

Facing  page 

DAVID   GlLL,    1884   (&T.  41)  .  .  .       Frontispiece 

(From  the  portrait  by  Sir  George  Reid,  P.R.S.A.) 

ISOBEL  BLACK  AND  DAVID  GILL,  LIEUT.  IST  ABERDEEN- 
SHIRE  RIFLE  CORPS,  BEFORE  THEIR  MARRIAGE         .       38 

LORD  LINDSAY,  M.P.,  F.R.S.,  P.R.A.S.  ...       70 

(From  Vanity  Fair,  May  1878.) 


MR.  AND  MRS.  GILL  IN  CAMP  AT  MARS  BAY,  ASCENSION, 

1877 '94 


THE  SOUTHERN  MILKY  WAY,  WITH  COALSACK,  NEBECULA 
MAJOR,  AND   STARS,  TRULY  PLACED  ;   a  AND  (3  CEN- 

TAURI    POINTING    TO    SOUTHERN    CROSS        .  .  112 

(Drawn  from  Table  Bay  by  George  Forbes,  1914.) 

SIR  GEORGE  BIDDELL  AIRY,  ASTRONOMER  ROYAL  .  .138 
PROFESSOR  SIMON  NEWCOMB  .  .  .  .  .150 
PROFESSOR  KAPTEYN  .  .  .  .  .  .  .168 

THE   HELIOMETER   HOUSE,  WITH  DR.  AUWERS  AND   DR. 

AND  MRS.  GILL   .......      190 

THE  STUDY,  CAPE  OBSERVATORY.     Miss  AGNES  CLERKE 

WITH  DR.  AND  MRS.  GILL    .....     202 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE  .          .     234 

SIR  DAVID  GILL,  K.C.B.,  F.R.S 252 

THE  STUDY,  34  DE  VERE  GARDENS     ....     322 

("We  are  a  very  Darby  and  Joan  old  couple,  who  like  to  be 
together  as  much  as  possible." — GILL  to  G.  E.  HALE,  Jan. 
5,  1909.) 

THE  END  .........     360 


BOOK    I 

THE  GROWTH  OF  A  REAL  ASTRONOMER 


CHAPTER  I 

PARENTAGE  AND   BOYHOOD  (1843-60) 

Peter  Gill  (grandfather) — David  Gill  (father) — Mother,  brothers 
and  sister — Dr.  Lindsay — Anecdotes  of  childhood — College 
days — Clerk  Maxwell — David  Rennett. 

DAVID  GILL  was  the  eldest  son  surviving  childhood  of 
David  Gill,  watchmaker  in  Aberdeen,  and  of  Margaret 
Mitchell,  his  wife. 

His  grandfather  was  Peter  Gill,  a  craftsman  of  rare 
ability,  who  lived  to  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-three 
years  (b.  1757;  d.  1850),  and,  along  with  his  wife,  David 
Gill's  grandmother  (Margaret  Anderson,  b.  1757;  d.  1828), 
is  buried  in  St.  Peter's  churchyard,  Aberdeen. 

Peter  Gill  was  admitted,  on  September  i,  1783,  to  the 
Hammermen's  Trade  Corporation  of  Aberdeen.  It  was 
he  who  founded  the  prosperous  business,  as  a  clock  and 
watch  maker  in  Aberdeen,  which  existed  for  about  a 
century  under  the  names  Peter  Gill,  David  Gill,  Gill  and 
Smith,  David  Gill  and  Son,  at  78  Union  Street,  now 
occupied  by  the  Commercial  Bank.  The  business  was 
carried  on  in  the  first  floor  of  this  house,  and  the  upper 
storeys  formed  for  many  years  the  residence  of  the  family. 
Eventually  David  Gill,  senior,  son  of  Peter  Gill,  removed 
with  his  family  to  another  house,  at  48  Skene  Terrace,  to 
which  he  made  additions.  In  this  house  young  David 
was  born.  It  continues,  in  spite  of  the  westward  exten- 
sion of  the  town,  to  stand  as  a  commodious  middle-class 
residence.  It  possesses  a  neat  garden  on  the  other  side 
of  the  street,  open  upon  all  sides  (except  for  a  new 

3 


4  PARENTAGE  AND  BOYHOOD        [CHAP.  I 

building  to  Hie  east),  and  it  was  in  this  garden  that 
young  David  set  up  his  first  telescope. 

The  name  of -his  grano^ather,  Peter  Gill,  is  still  remem- 
bered, and  even  now  his  clocks  are  sometimes  to  be 
picked  up.  It  is  said  that  he  was  the  last  man  to  walk 
the  streets  of  Aberdeen  in  the  old-f ashjoned  knee-breeches 
and  fob.  He  was  greatly  respected  by  his  townsmen. 
The  family  were  all  Episcopalians. 

Under  his  son,  David  Gill  senior,  the  business  became 
that  of  a  wholesale  dealer  in,  rather  than  a  maker  of, 
clocks  and  watches.  This  David  Gill  (b.  May  26,  1789; 
d.  April  6,  1878)  married  Margaret  Mitchell  (b.  March  8, 
1809;  d.  December  18,  1870)  from  Savock  in  the  parish 
of  Foveran,  some  ten  miles  north  from  Aberdeen.  They 
are  both  buried  in  the  parish  churchyard  of  Foveran. 
Their  graves,  with  those  of  other  members  of  the 
family,  are  enclosed  by  a  railing  against  the  churchyard 
wall  south  of  the  church.  In  the  same  graveyard  there 
is  another  railed  enclosure,  twenty-five  feet  by  eight  feet, 
containing  monuments  over  graves  of  the  Black  family, 
of  which  Lady  Gill  (Sir  David's  wife)  was  a  member, 
beginning  with  the  name  of  Alexander  Black,  b.  1693; 
d.  1769.  At  a  later  date,  his  descendants  continued  to 
occupy  the  farm,  Linhead,  within  a  stone's  throw  of 
Foveran  Church. 

David  Gill  senior  died  in  1878,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
nine  years.  He  was  a  magistrate  for  Aberdeenshire. 
One  of  his  contemporaries  speaks  of  him  as  a  "  very 
quiet,  taciturn  man  of  refined  habits  and  a  shrewd  man 
of  business."  Others  refer  to  him  as  a  hot-tempered 
man — one  of  them  speaks  of  him  as  a  curmudgeon,  but 
adds  that,  in  spite  of  this,  he  was  civil  and  gentlemanly, 
and,  in  his  tantrums,  was  well  managed  by  his  wife. 
Those  who  were  able  to  get  on  with  him  were  much 
devoted  to  him,  and  all  agree  that  in  his  own  house  he 
was  noted  for  his  hospitality.  In  his  later  years  his 
mental  activity  failed,  and  business  matters  devolved 


1843-60]  PARENTAGE  5 

upon  his  eldest  son,  David,  who  became  a  father  to 
the  younger  members  of  the  family,  to  whom  he  was 
affectionately  attached. 

David  Gill  senior  succeeded  well  in  his  business.  He 
was  thrifty,  and  acted  as  his  own  "  traveller."  About 
1860,  Major  Robertson's  large  estate  of  Foveran  came 
upon  the  market,  and  was  divided  up.  David  Gill 
senior  invested  £19,000  in  part  of  this  property,  to  which 
he  gave  the  name  Blairythan  (accent  on  the  "  y  "),  con- 
sisting of  farms  extending  over  several  hundred  acres, 
but  with  no  mansion  house. 

The  family  consisted  first  of  Patrick  and  David,  who 
died  in  infancy  in  1840  and  1841,  and  are  buried  beside 
their  grandfather  in  St.  Peter's  Churchyard,  Aberdeen. 
Then  came  David,  the  subject  of  this  biography,  born 
June  12,  1843;  then  Patrick  Gilbert,  born  1845,  died 
1886 ;  Andrew  Mitchell,  born  1846 ;  James  Bruce,  born 
1849;  and  Margaret,  born  1851,  died  1892. 

Of  these,  David's  brothers  and  sister,  Patrick  went  to 
Australia  about  1863,  following  the  steps  of  his  uncle, 
Andrew  Mitchell  (b.  August  3,  1802;  died  at  Foveran 
House,  April  23,  1878),  who  made  a  fortune  in  Queensland. 
Pat,  as  he  was  called,  came  home  for  a  visit  in  1871. 
Again,  later,  after  being  home,  he  took  his  sister  Margaret 
as  far  as  Capetown  on  his  way  to  Australia  in  1881.  He 
also  paid  one  more  visit  to  his  brother  David  at  the  Cape 
in  1884  (see  p.  163),  on  his  return  to  Australia  after  a 
visit  home.  Patrick  became  a  magistrate  in  Victoria, 
and  also  for  Queensland.  He  died  in  1886,  June  21,  at 
Melbourne,  where  he  was  buried. 

Andrew  Mitchell  Gill,  of  Savock  and  Auchinroath, 
resides  in  Scotland. 

James  emigrated  to  Australia  in  1867,  and  settled  at 
Runnymede,  Victoria,  where  he  still  lives  with  his  wife, 
Ruth.  He  was  home  for  a  short  visit  in  1876. 

Margaret  married  the  Rev.  Henry  Powell,  Rector  of 
Stanningfield,  Suffolk.  She  died,  soon  after  her  husband, 


6  PARENTAGE  AND  BOYHOOD       [CHAP.  I 

in  1892,  leaving  three  sons,  who  were  adopted  by  Sir 
David  and  Lady  Gill,  and  brought  up  by  them  in  their 
home  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

The  mother  of  David  Gill  seems  to  have  been  a  par- 
ticularly lovable  woman.  She  died  in  1870,  a  few  months 
after  David's  marriage,  having  been  an  invalid  for  some 
time  previously.  In  later  life,  when  any  success  came  to 
him,  he  would  say  wistfully  to  his  wife,  "  I  wish  my 
mother  were  alive.  This  would  have  pleased  her." 

Mrs.  Mitchell,  who  in  1858  married  David's  uncle, 
writes — 

David  and  his  mother  were  in  particular  sympathy 
with  each  other.  She  was  a  very  intelligent  woman, 
broad-minded,  active,  energetic,  and,  like  her  son,  full 
of  enthusiasm;  she  was  much  liked  and  esteemed  by 
her  relatives  and  friends;  I  have  often  remarked,  when 
talking  of  her,  how  proud  she  would  have  been  of  her 
son's  success. 

Mrs.  Mitchell  says  also  that  she  spent  much  time 
with  Mrs.  Gill  in  her  last  illness,  and  so  she  learnt 
from  her,  what  is  worth  recording,  that  David  used  to 
sit  long  hours  with  his  mother  at  that  time,  and  to  pray 
with  her. 

As  a  boy,  little  Davie  did  not  show  any  precocity.  He  did 
not  figure  as  a  genius  or  a  prodigy  at  school  or  college,  but 
as  a  cheerful  companion  with  an  affectionate  disposition 
to  his  playmates  and  a  certain  reverence  for  his  parents ; 
while  his  keen  enjoyment  in  the  amusements  of  the 
moment  always  made  him  a  general  favourite.  So  say 
those  of  his  playmates  who  survive  him.  They  tell  of 
his  love  of  Nature  and  of  truth,  the  bases  of  his  taste  for 
science.  And  they  all  tell  how  completely  he  was  free, 
even  in  childhood,  from  self-consciousness,  and  how  he 
felt  for  others.  His  scientific  enthusiasm,  unusual  in 
that  community,  was  looked  upon  askance  as  eccentricity, 
and  led  his  companions  to  say  he  had  "  a  bee  in  his 
bonnet." 


1843-60]  CHILDHOOD  7 

His  brother  Andrew  gives  some  early  recollections. 

I  remember  in  the  old  Skene  Terrace  days  we  were 
always  walked  to  church,  St.  Andrew's,  every  Sunday, 
morning  and  afternoon,  and  when  we  got  there,  nearly 
always  seated  at  the  top  of  this  seat  were  our  two  old 
aunts,  Mary  and  May,  who  then  lived  in  Bon-Accord 
Square,  and  to  that  house  some  of  us  often  went  to  our 
midday  meal. 

David  as  a  lad,  I  remember,  was  a  great  chemist,  and 
had  a  small  room  (used  at  one  time  by  my  mother  as  a 
storeroom)  fitted  up  as  a  laboratory  in  the  house  in 
Skene  Terrace.  [This  was  after  his  schooldays.]  We 
were  as  children  all  at  school  with  the  Miss  Chisholms 
(fine  old  Highland  ladies),  whose  school  was  in  the  house 
now  incorporated  with  the  Music  Hall.  Afterwards  all 
the  brothers  in  turn  went  to  Dr.  Tulloch's  Academy,  off 
Crown  Street  (the  school  is  still  standing).  We  then  had 
also  a  tutor,  Peter  Shepherd  (the  son,  I  think,  of  a 
gamekeeper  in  the  Strathdon  district),  who  afterwards 
became,  I  think,  a  well-known  Army  doctor.  David  and 
Pat  afterwards  went  to  Dollar  Academy.  David  did  not 
much  wish  to  go  into  my  father's  business. 

One  of  the  few  souvenirs  of  childhood  preserved  by 
Sir  David  Gill  is  a  card  bearing  the  following  words, 
received  when  he  was  twelve  years  old — 

Certificate  of  Superior  Proficiency  in  Elocution,  awarded 
by  Competition  to  Master  David  Gill — "  Emeritus  "  and 
Prizeman  of  a  former  session. 

Bellevue  Academy,  Sept.  25th,  1855. 

In  1857,  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  he  was  sent  to  the 
Dollar  Academy.  He  boarded  with  the  head  master, 
Dr.  Lindsay,  a  man  with  scientific  interests  in  mathe- 
matics, natural  philosophy  and  chemistry,  the  very 
subjects  for  which  the  boy's  mind  was  naturally  recep- 
tive; and  this  was  his  first  introduction  to  science.  He 
used  often,  in  later  years,  to  rejoice  in  having  at  that  age 
come  into  contact  with  a  man  so  willing  to  help  him  in 
the  discovery  of  his  natural  tastes,  of  which  up  to  that 
time  he  was  unconscious.  In  1909,  at  the  request  of  the 


8  PARENTAGE   AND  BOYHOOD        [CHAP.  I 

present  head  master,  Dr.  Dougal,  Sir  David  Gill  gave 
away  the  prizes  at  the  Dollar  Academy.  After  speaking 
of  his  experiences  at  the^- school  forty-six  or  forty-seven 
years  previously,  he  said— 

The  Chairman  had  told  them  that  he  had  been  a  very 
successful  man,  but  he  wanted  to  tell  them  that  if  he  had 
been  in  some  small  degree  successful,  the  man  that  put 
that  capacity  into  him  was  a  Dollar  man,  the  late 
Dr.  Lindsay. 

One  of  Davie's  playmates  from  the  age  of  eight,  Gerald 
Baker,  who  has  been  in  the  Union  Bank  of  Australia,  at 
Melbourne,  since  the  year  1863,  when  he  last  saw  David 
Gill,  writes  to  tell  of  the  affection  he  has  always  re- 
tained for  his  old  playmate,  and  adds  some  notes  of 
no  particular  date. 

Davie  was  a  boy  that  everybody  liked,  bright,  clever, 
cheery,  devoid  of  self -consciousness,  and  a  stickler  for 
truth.  I  don't  think  he  made  much  show  in  the 
humanities. 

Davie  was  not  a  fighting  boy,  though  combative  in 
discussion,  like  all  boys  with  brains.  The  only  time  I 
ever  saw  him  receive  a  blow  was  when  he  was  endeavour- 
ing to  separate  Archie  Forbes  and  Johnny  Murray,  two 
of  our  friends,  who  were  settling  some  point  in  Silver 
Street  with  their  fists.  Davie  got  hold  of  Johnny,  and 
received  a  bad  blow  on  the  face  for  his  pains. 

At  Banchory  Station  these  two  boys  once  attended  the 
arrival  of  the  Queen  on  her  way  to  Balmoral. 

We  were  both  dressed  alike  in  kilts — black  jacket  and 
waistcoat,  silver  buttons,  brown  winsey  kilt  and  tartan 
plaid  (dark  blue  and  green). 

Davie  learned  foil  fencing  and  gave  me  some  lessons  in 
their  backyard.  Davie  used  to  stand  with  his  back  to 
an  old  hen  house  with  a  trellis  front,  inhabited  by  one 
old  hen,  which  had  never  been  known  within  the  memory 
of  the  Gill  children  to  lay  an  egg.  More  by  good  luck 


1843-60]  BOYHOOD  9 

than  skill,  in  one  of  my  lunges  I  struck  Davie  on  the  top 
of  his  mask  and  tumbled  him  backwards.  The  old 
trelliswork  got  the  full  weight  of  his  body,  and  went  down 
inside  the  hen  house  with  a  great  crash,  Davie  on  top. 
He  lay  motionless,  and  I  thought  I  had  done  him  some 
serious  injury,  especially  as  strange  sounds  seemed  to 
come  from  him.  His  brother  Pattie  and  I  rushed  to  him 
to  lift  him  up,  but  found  he  could  not  move  for  laughter  ! 
Underneath  him  was  the  old  hen,  and  the  noise  she  made 
so  tickled  Davie  that  he  could  not  get  up  for  some  time. 
We  buried  her  decently. 

I  remember  he  started  to  make  a  toy  steam-engine, 
but  the  work  of  polishing  the  inside  of  the  cylinder  and 
fitting  the  piston  beat  him.  He  then  took  up  chemistry. 
His  father  had  a  small  attic  room  in  their  house  in  Skene 
Terrace  fitted  up  with  the  necessary  appliances  for  a 
beginner,  and  many  happy  hours  he,  Pattie  and  I  spent 
in  searching  for  elements.  We  used  to  rummage  in  the 
Rubislaw  Quarries  for  likely  specimens,  and  submitted 
them  to  all  sorts  of  treatment,  but  nothing  came  of  our 
work  but  keen  excitement  and  pleasurable  expectation. 

He  never  gave  me  any  evidence  in  those  days  of  his 
coming  great  career  as  an  astronomer.  If  he  had  become 
a  geologist  I  would  not  have  been  surprised,  as  he  had  a 
strong  bent  in  that  direction. 

His  mental  attitude  as  a  boy  differed  from  mine  on 
many  things;  he  was  very  conservative  and  prone  to 
hug  good  old  ideas.  We  quarrelled  for  some  weeks 
because  I  sneered  at  the  possibility  of  the  devil  having  a 
corporeal  existence.  Davie  stoutly  held  that  such  views 
were  highly  dangerous,  if  not  blasphemous,  but  after  a 
talk  with  his  father  he  admitted  that  it  was  a  doubtful 
question,  and  our  friendship  was  resumed. 

As  will  be  told  presently,  Davie  returned  from  Dollar 
in  1858  to  attend  classes  at  Marischal  College,  Aberdeen ; 
and  during  the  years  1861-2  was  away  from  home  learn- 
ing the  trade  of  watchmaking,  and  from  1863  to  1872 
was  in  his  father's  business. 

No  letters  from  David's  oldest  brother  to  him  have 
been  preserved,  though  some  of  David's  to  him  have 


io  PARENTAGE  AND   BOYHOOD        [CHAP.  I 

been  found.  Pat  was  the  nearest  to  him  in  age  and 
appreciation  for,  if  not  sympathy  with,  his  scientific 
tastes.  Neither,  of  the  other  brothers  took  the  slightest 
interest  in  these  pursuits.  In  fact,  Jemmie  rather  despised 
them,  because  they  were  a  barrier  to  the  common  interests 
of  himself  and  David,  whom  he  admired  greatly.  Both 
Davie  and  Jemmie  were  keen  volunteers  and  marksmen 
with  the  rifle.  James  Gill  sends  the  following  short  note 
from  Australia — 

In  response  to  your  request  I  am  endeavouring  to 
write  what  I  can  remember  of  my  brother  Davie  when 
we  were  more  or  less  boys.  Davie  was  away  at  school  at 
Dollar  up  to  the  time  I  was  about  ten  years.  Then  he 
came  back  to  Aberdeen  and  went  to  the  University, 
during  which  time  I  had  a  tutor,  and  then  went  to  the 
Grammar  School  and  to  the  University.  From  the  age 
of  fifteen  till  I  went  to  Australia  in  1867  we  were  the 
greatest  of  pals ;  we  were  both  of  us  very  proud  of  shoot- 
ing with  gun  and  rifle.  Davie  became  a  volunteer  about 
1861.  I  joined  1864,  and  we  used  to  go  to  the  rifle  range 
at  Nigg,1  just  over  the  river  Dee,  on  fine  mornings 
several  times  a  week  and  practise  rifle  shooting.  Davie 
was  always  a  good  shot  with  both  gun  and  rifle,  but  he 
did  best  with  the  small-bore  at  long  ranges — 800,  900  and 
1000  yards.  At  that  time  he  used  a  "  Henry."  He  got 
into  the  Scottish  Eight,  but  could  not  shoot — the  reason 
I  forget.  He  won  heaps  of  prizes  at  different  times,  and 
was  a  most  enthusiastic  volunteer.  Davie  and  I  were 
about  equal  with  the  old  muzzle-loading  "  Enfield," 
which  was  the  service  rifle  at  that  time.  I  won  the 
Battalion  Cup  when  I  was  seventeen,  beating  Davie 
amongst  many  others. 

As  I  have  said  before,  I  went  to  Australia  in  1867,  and 
saw  nothing  more  of  Davie  till  1876,  when  I  came  home 
for  a  holiday.  He  was  living  then  at  Dun  Echt,  and  you 

1  Note  by  Mr.  Harvey  Hall. — The  rifle  range  James  Gill  refers 
to  was  the  one  at  the  Bay  of  Nigg,  on  the  sea  coast  about  two 
and  a  half  miles  from  Aberdeen.  Many  a  day  we  have  shot 
there  together,  and  often  went  and  shot  twenty  rounds  before 
breakfast,  five  miles  with  a  rifle.  We  thought  little  of  it  in  those 
days. 


1843-60]  BOYHOOD  ii 

may  be  sure  I  saw  as  much  of  him  as  I  could.  I  rejoined 
the  volunteers,  and  with  Davie  used  to  put  in  a  lot  of 
time  practising  and  shooting  at  the  different  "  wapin- 
schaws."  Of  course,  at  this  time  Davie  was  over  head 
and  ears  in  astronomy.  I  knew  it  was  coming  when  we 
were  younger.  Davie  and  I  would  be  coming  home  from 
a  ball,  and  Davie  would  "  stick  up  "  and  would  say, 
"  Jem,  look  at  that !  "  gazing  up  at  the  sky.  I  would 
say,  "  Come  on,  Davie ;  it's  three  o'clock."  No  good — 
later  he  would  do  the  same  thing.  All  the  same,  he  was 
the  best  of  brothers,  and  had  more  knowledge — and  the 
reason  why — about  anything  than  any  other  fellow  I 
ever  met. 

Mr.  Alexander  Davidson,  of  Wimbledon,  was  in  his 
youth  a  fellow-student  with  David  Gill  at  the  classes  of 
Clerk  Maxwell  and  others  in  Aberdeen  from  1858.  They 
fraternized,  and  he  stayed  occasionally  for  a  night  in 
Skene  Terrace.  He  says — 

The  feature  which  impressed  me  above  everything  else 
was  his  immense  vitality.  He  was  always  keen  in  every- 
thing he  engaged  in,  whether  it  were  work  or  play,  astro- 
nomy or  rifle  practice,  sport  or  dancing.  I  never  knew 
any  one  fonder  of  dancing  than  he,  and  he  told  me  a  few 
weeks  before  his  last  illness  that  he  still  delighted  in  it. 
He  had  in  a  very  high  degree  the  joie  de  vivre  which  only 
falls  to  a  lucky  few. 

I  have  also  happy  recollections  of  accompanying  my 
friend  to  match-rifle  practice  on  the  seashore  at  the  Bay 
of  Nigg,  at  unearthly  hours  of  the  morning.  Mr.  Gill 
senior  would  not  allow  us  to  waste  later  hours  of  the  day 
in  so  frivolous  an  amusement. 

On  his  return  from  Dollar  to  Aberdeen  in  1858  he 
attended  some  of  the  classes  at  Marischal  College  as  a 
private  student,  the  term  applied  to  those  not  seeking  to 
qualify  for  a  degree.  The  entries  in  the  students'  album 
are  in  his  own  handwriting.  In  the  session  1858-9  he 
enters  himself  as  "  David  Gill,  aged  fifteen,  born  at 
Aberdeen,  son  of  David,  watchmaker,  attending  ist 
mathematics  and  natural  history."  In  this  session  he 


12  PARENTAGE  AND  BOYHOOD        [CHAP.  I 

also  attended  Professor  Brasier's  class  in  chemistry.  In 
the  session  1859-60  his  entry  is  in  similar  terms,  attend- 
ing 2nd  (highest)  mathematics  and  natural  philosophy. 
The  prize  lists  give  his  name  in  the  first  of  these  sessions 
as  being  thirteenth  in  mathematics.  In  the  second 
session  he  is  fourth  in  the  regular  class  of  natural  philo- 
sophy and  third  in  the  voluntary  exercises  for  that  class. 
His  name  also  appears  in  the  prize  list  of  the  chemical 
class,  1859-60,  in  which  he  is  bracketed  fourth  with 
James  Moir  of  New  Deer.  He  got  no  prize  for  natural 
history,  and  in  his  second  session  of  mathematics  his 
name  is  not  one  of  the  sixteen  prizemen  mentioned.  It 
must  be  noted,  however,  that  his  mathematics  at  this 
date  were  chiefly  learnt  from  Dr.  David  Rennett,  LL.D., 
the  mathematical  "  coach "  who  taught  all  the  best 
mathematical  youth  of  the  university. 

It  was,  then,  in  the  session  1859-60  that  Gill  distin- 
guished himself  in  the  work  of  the  natural  philosophy 
class,  and  came  under  the  influence  of  that  great,  pro- 
found, unselfish  and  inspiring  philosopher,  Professor 
James  Clerk  Maxwell,  in  a  year  distinguished,  as  Maxwell 
used  to  say,  for  the  ability  of  his  students.  Nine  years 
later  Maxwell  wrote  in  a  testimonial — 

Mr.  David  Gill  was  one  of  my  ablest  students  in  Maris- 
chal  College,  Aberdeen.  He  was  even  then  devising 
methods  for  the  experimental  determination  of  physical 
quantities. 

It  has  often  been  said  of  Clerk  Maxwell  at  Aberdeen, 
as  of  Lord  Kelvin  at  Glasgow,  that  his  professorial 
lectures  were  over  the  heads  of  the  very  young  men 
who  attended  the  classes  of  Scottish  universities.  After 
the  lecture,  however,  he  used  to  remain  sometimes  for 
hours  talking  with  three  or  four  of  his  most  eager  dis- 
ciples, showing  them  some  experiment  on  which  he  was 
engaged,  or  telling  them  about  problems  that  awaited 
solution. 


1843-60]          JAMES  CLERK  MAXWELL  13 

Gill's  friends  of  later  life  must  all  remember  how  en- 
thusiastic he  became  when  recounting  his  experiences 
under  that  great  teacher.  He  has  told  us  x  that  Maxwell 
gave  them  a  few  lectures  on  practical  astronomy,  "  in 
one  of  which  he  exhibited  a  model  of  a  transit  instrument 
(made  out  of  tin-plate  and  mounted  on  wooden  piers)." 
This  is  interesting,  for  in  the  Life  of  James  Clerk  Maxwell 
(Macmillan,  1882),  at  p.  292,  we  read,  in  a  letter  to  C.  J. 
Munro,  from  Aberdeen,  dated  November  26,  1857 — 

I  have  had  a  lot  of  correspondence  about  Saturn's 
Rings,  Electric  Telegraph,  Tops,  and  Colours.  I  am 
making  a  Collision  of  Bodies  machine,  and  a  model  of 
Airy's  Transit  Circle  (with  lenses),  and  I  am  having 
students'  teas  when  I  can. 

Again,  at  p.  295  of  Maxwell's  Life,  we  read — 

I  am  happy  in  the  knowledge  of  a  good  tinsmith,  an 
optician  and  a  carpenter.  The  tinsmith  made  the  Transit 
Circle. 

When  Gill  was  shown  this  model  he  learnt  not  only  the 
mode  of  using  a  transit  circle,  but  also  its  errors  and  the 
methods  used  in  measuring,  and  making  corrections  for, 
these  errors. 

A  love  of  paradox  as  a  form  of  humour  is  not  uncommon 
among  men  of  great  intellect,  especially  mathematicians. 
Clerk  Maxwell  indulged  in  it  so  much  that  many  of  his 
serious  utterances  were  regarded  by  his  friends  in  that 
light.  His  astounding  proposal,  in  1858,  for  a  truly 
scientific  standard  of  length,  to  be  measured  in  wave- 
lengths of  light,2  to  replace  our  arbitrary  yard  or  metre, 
was  regarded  by  many  as  a  huge  joke,  until  the  time 
came  when  its  value  was  proved  by  the  most  refined 
experiments.  It  then  became  Gill's  duty,  near  the  end 
of  his  life,  to  urge  upon  the  International  Bureau  of 

1  History  and  Description  of  the  Royal  Observatory,   Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  1913,  p.  xxxi,  hereafter  referred  to  as  "  History,  etc." 
*  The  length  of  a  wave  of  green  light  is  about  roforo  inch. 


14  PARENTAGE  AND  BOYHOOD       [CHAP.  I 

Weights  and  Measures  the  importance  of  defining  the 
metre  in  terms  of  wave-lengths  of  light. 

Sir  David  Gill,  in  his  presidential  address  to  the  British 
Association  in  1907,  paraphrased  a  lecture,  on  the  yard 
as  a  standard  of  length,  given  by  Clerk  Maxwell  at  Aber- 
deen in  1859;  and,  as  illustrating  Maxwell's  humour,  a 
portion  of  it  is  worth  reproducing  here.  Clerk  Maxwell 
is  quoted  by  him  as  saying  of  the  yard — 

At  all  events,  you  must  see  that  it  is  a  very  unpractical 
standard — unpractical  because  if,  for  example,  any  of 
you  went  to  Mars  or  Jupiter,  and  the  people  there  asked 
you  what  was  your  standard  of  measure,  you  could  not 
tell  them,  you  could  not  reproduce  it,  and  you  would  feel 
very  foolish.  Whereas  if  you  told  any  capable  physicist 
in  Mars  or  Jupiter  that  you  used  some  natural  invariable 
standard,  such  as  the  wave-length  of  one  of  the  D-lines 
of  sodium  vapour,  he  would  be  able  to  reproduce  your 
yard  or  your  inch,  provided  that  you  could  tell  him  how 
many  of  such  wave-lengths  there  were  in  your  yard  or 
your  inch,  and  your  standard  would  be  available  any- 
where in  the  universe  where  sodium  is  found. 

This  was  the  whimsical  way  in  which  Clerk  Maxwell 
used  to  impress  great  principles  upon  us.  We  all  laughed 
before  we  understood;  then  some  of  us  understood  and 
remembered. 

James  Clerk  Maxwell  was,  in  the  opinion  of  many,  the 
greatest  natural  philosopher  that  the  world  has  seen 
since  the  death  of  Isaac  Newton,  and  his  great  book, 
Electricity  and  Magnetism,  is  one  of  the  few  volumes 
worthy  to  be  placed  on  the  same  shelf  with  Newton's 
Principia.  Gill  had,  all  through  his  life,  the  highest 
veneration  for  any  man  of  outstanding  genius  in  his  own 
line  of  work;  and  it  was  inevitable  that,  having  sat  at 
the  feet  of  that  great  man  from  the  year  1859  onwards, 
he  should  have  said,  towards  the  close  of  his  life,  "  His 
teaching  influenced  the  whole  of  my  future  life." 

During  the  period  1858-60,  while  attending  classes  at 
the  university,  he  was  at  the  same  time  coached  in 


1843-60]  DR.   RENNETT  15 

mathematics  and  natural  philosophy  by  Dr.  David 
Rennett,  the  "  Routh "  of  Aberdeen  University.  This 
admirable  teacher  was  the  idol  of  all  his  pupils,  many 
of  whom  may  be  met  to-day  in  the  town  of  Aberdeen 
and  within  the  precincts  of  the  university.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  that  Gill  owed  to  David  Rennett  the  pains- 
taking instruction  that  gave  him,  during  the  whole  of 
his  scientific  career,  the  power  to  deal  effectively,  under 
limitations,  with  every  mathematical  problem  arising  in 
his  investigations.  The  circumstances  of  his  domestic 
relations,  and  his  father's  fixed  desire  that  he,  as  the 
eldest  son,  should  succeed  him  in  the  watchmaking 
business,  put  all  thought  of  a  Cambridge  mathematical 
degree  out  of  the  question,  though  he  had  in  him  the  stuff 
out  of  which  senior  wranglers  were  made. 

Davie  Rennett  continued  to  be  one  of  Sir  David's  dear 
friends  till  his  death,  and  the  teacher  did  not  survive  this 
favourite  pupil  of  his  a  year.  Shortly  before  his  own 
death  he  wrote  out  the  following — 

NOTES   CONCERNING  THE   LATE   SlR  DAVID   GlLL 

Joined  my  Classes  in  November  1858  and  was  at  same 
time  attending  Junior  Mathematical  Class  at  Marischal 
College. 

Attended  the  Classes  of  Senior  Mathematics  and 
Natural  Philosophy  at  Marischal  College,  Session  1859-60. 

Very  soon  got  quite  enthusiastic  over  the  work  in  the 
Nat.  Philosophy  Class.  Was  inspired  by  the  then  Pro- 
fessor, Clerk  Maxwell,  which  led  to  a  lifelong  friendship 
between  them. 

When  he  had  finished  his  course  at  the  University  he 
still  kept  working  at  the  subjects  he  had  read  there,  and 
I  then  thought  he  was  likely  to  direct  his  future  work  to 
Electricity ;  but  at  that  time  there  were  very  few  facilities 
for  experimenting  on  Electricity  in  Aberdeen. 

About  this  time  he  spent  a  year  at  Besangon,  a  great 
watch-manufacturing  place. 

He  suggested  to  some  of  the  university  professors  that 
Aberdeen  should  have  a  time-gun,  and  on  his  proposal 


16  PARENTAGE  AND  BOYHOOD        [CHAP.  I 

getting  a  favourable  reception  he  soon  carried  out  the 
work. 

Lord  Lindsay  and  he  on  their  return  from  the  Mauritius 
stopped  some  time  with  the  Khedive  of  Egypt.  Dr.  Gill 
measured  a  base  line  to  be  used  for  a  future  Trigono- 
metrical Survey  of  Egypt.  The  Khedive  proposed  to 
him  to  conduct  that  survey.1  He  asked  my  advice  on 
the  subject.  My  advice  was  not  to  have  anything  to  do 
with  it  unless  the  financial  position  was  made  perfectly 
clear  and  safe.  Egypt  at  that  time  was  in  a  transition 
state,  and  the  country  was  under  the  co-dominion  of 
Britain  and  France.  D.  RENNETT. 

To  explain.  A  large  number  of  the  students  attended 
my  classes  in  the  winter  during  the  College  session  and 
also  during  the  summer.  So  that  the  future  astronomer 
read  with  me  from  Novr.  1858  to  April  1860. — D.  R. 

Sir  David  Gill  was  very  fond  of  talking  of  his  old  days 
at  college.  On  November  19,  1908,  he  presided  at  the 
fiftieth  half-yearly  dinner  in  London  of  the  Aberdeen 
University  Club.  In  the  course  of  his  speech  he  said — 

I  am  told  that  on  this  occasion  the  proper  thing  to  do 
is  to  recount  to  you  reminiscences — to  tell  you  something 
of  what  I  remember  of  my  own  career  when  I  was  there, 
or  rather  of  the  personages  whom  I  encountered.  Most 
of  you,  I  may  say,  remember  the  man  whom  I  first  went 
to — that  sort  of  extra-mural  professor,  Da  vie  Rennett. 
I  remember  vividly  the  grand  old  Doric  with  which  he 
used  to  teach  us  our  mathematics.  I  remember  one  of 
these  demonstrations — in  optics — and  he  said,  "  Well, 
gentlemen,  you  know  the  light  goes  through  the  hole 
there,  and  it  fa's  on  that  mirror ;  syne  it  stots  aff,  syne  it 
gangs  through  the  lens,  and  it's  refracted  to  the  focus." 
All  these  things  come  back  to  one  now,  but  none  of  us 
who  were  ministered  to  by  Rennett  and  received  his 
ministrations  in  a  sympathetic  spirit  will  ever  forget  the 
debt  of  gratitude  we  owe  to  him.  Do  you  remember 
Professor  Nicol  ?  He  was  another  character.  .  .  .  Then 
there  was  another  man  of  whom  I  would  like  to  say 
something — a  man  whose  memory  sticks  to  me  in  a 
thousand  ways,  and  a  man  of  whom  I  had  a  tremendous 

1  See  p.  78. 


1843-60]     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  HIS  YOUTH         17 

idea — that  was  Clerk  Maxwell.  He  was  one  of  two  or 
three  of  the  greatest  geniuses  who  have  lived  since  the 
days  of  Newton,  and  yet  they  did  not  understand  him  in 
Aberdeen  somehow.  He  was  not  a  schoolmaster  at  all. 
His  lectures  were  terrible,  and  his  experiments  always 
failed — but  they  were  always  much  more  interesting  in 
the  failure  than  if  they  had  gone  on.  Those  of  us  who 
chose  to  stay  behind  after  the  class  used  to  get  a  most 
delightful  hour  or  two,  and  learn  an  immense  deal  that 
we  never  forgot — a  great  deal  that  we  did  not  understand 
at  the  time,  but  that  came  back  to  us  afterwards — until 
Mrs.  Clerk  Maxwell  arrived,  wondering  why  the  professor 
had  not  come  home  to  his  dinner,  and  carried  him  away 
nolens  volens. 

There  was  another  man  who  did  not  belong  to  Marischal 
College,  but  whom  most  of  you  who  have  been  at  King's 
knew  very  well — David  Thomson — "  Davie,"  as  every- 
body called  him.  It  was  very  much  owing  to  Thomson 
and  his  sympathy  that  I  began  my  astronomical  career. 
I  used  to  know  him  very  well.  He  was  very  fond  of 
smoking,  and  Mrs.  Thomson  did  not  like  smoke.  The 
observatory  was  a  convenient  place  in  which  to  keep 
churchwarden  clays,  and  there  was  a  stove  there  where 
these  clays  used  to  have  the  old  oil  burned  out.  Many 
a  delightful  hour  I  have  spent  there. 


CHAPTER  II 

CHOICE  OF  A  PROFESSION    (1860-3) 

Trade  v.  Science — In  the  workshops — Besan9on,  Switzerland, 
Coventry,  Clerkenwell — Skill  acquired — Lord  Kelvin — In 
partnership — Correct  time  for  Aberdeen — Professor  David 
Thomson — Practical  astronomy  at  King's  College. 

THE  year  1860  nearly  proved  fatal  to  David's  hopes 
for  a  scientific  career.  Clerk  Maxwell  left  Aberdeen; 
and  David  Gill  senior,  having  differences  with  his  partner 
in  the  firm  Gill  &  Smith,  and  being  seventy-one  years  old, 
insisted  that  young  David  should  enter  the  business. 

Up  to  this  date  Aberdeen  University  possessed  two 
rival  colleges,  Marischal  College  and  King's  College, 
each  with  its  own  staff  of  professors  and  its  own  revenues. 
This  anomalous  condition  was  at  last  ended  and  the 
junior  Professor  of  Natural  Philosophy  was  retired. 

At  this  time  young  David  Gill,  though  happy  and 
contented  with  his  place  in  life,  had  already  absorbed  so 
much  of  the  spirit  of  genuine  science  as  to  be  filled  with 
desire,  and  conscious  of  power,  to  follow  with  humility 
in  the  steps  of  the  great  discoverers.  This  feeling  set 
up  a  positive  repugnance  to  devoting  his  life  to  trade. 
Still,  he  was  not  able,  or  did  not  consider  it  right,  to  oppose 
his  father's  wishes.  So  he  finally  consented  to  become  a 
watchmaker,  and  took  up  his  duties  in  Union  Street. 
This,  however,  did  not  involve  a  desertion  of  science,  for 
he  still  had  the  little  laboratory  in  the  attic  in  Skene 
Terrace,  and  later  he  set  up  a  telescope  in  the  garden. 

Meanwhile,  he  applied  his  chief  energies  to  the  fulfil- 
ment of  his  stern  father's  wishes,  and  arranged  with  him  a 

18 


i86o-3]       WATCHMAKING  IN   PRACTICE  19 

scheme  of  education  in  the  practical  part  of  the  profession, 
for  acquiring,  at  the  great  centres  of  the  industry,  the 
mechanical  skill  required  in  the  art  of  watchmaking. 
This  course  of  instruction  lasted  through  the  years  1861 
and  1862.  The  great  centres  for  the  manufacture  of 
clocks  and  watches  in  this  country  were  Clerkenwell  and 
Coventry.  On  the  Continent  Switzerland  then,  as  now, 
held  the  foremost  place.  Accordingly  the  plan  finally 
adopted  was  to  make  a  preliminary  visit  to  London, 
spend  the  next  year  in  or  near  Switzerland,  includ- 
ing Besan9on,  and,  seeing  something  of  Paris  on  the 
way,  to  finish  this  part  of  his  education  at  Coventry 
and  Clerkenwell. 

A  contemporary  of  that  period,  Miss  Fanny  Ranyell, 
has  called  up  her  recollections  of  the  time  and  noted  them 
in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Arthur  Wilson. 

I  do  not  remember  precisely  how  long  he  stayed  on  his 
first  visit  to  London.  He  went  to  Switzerland  for  a  time 
afterwards,  and  also  to  Coventry,  all  for  watchmaking, 
but  I  could  not  fit  these  visits  in  chronologically.  He 
certainly  made  more  than  one  stay  in  London,  and  at 
one  time  belonged  to  a  society,  literary  and  scientific, 
I  think,  in  Islington,  and  used  to  give  lectures  at  the 
meetings.  He  used  to  stay  sometimes  at  your  father's 
house  and  spent  a  great  deal  of  his  time  there  when  in 
lodgings.  I  remember  him  very,  very  well  in  those  days. 
He  was  always  very  enthusiastic  over  everything  he  did 
that  really  appealed  to  him,  but  did  not  care  for  the 
watchmaking  business.  Very  good-tempered  and  happy 
and  taking  everything  in  the  best  part,  even  when  your 
father  lectured  him,  which  he  used  to  sometimes  as  he 
would  his  own  son. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  these  years  of  work  with 
his  fingers,  when  learning  to  handle  tools  and  to  execute 
the  most  delicate  construction,  by  skilful  manipulation 
only  to  be  attained  in  practice,  and  the  experience  in 
mechanical  drawing,  were  of  untold  value  to  him,  not 
merely  in  its  primary  object  of  improving  and  extending 


20  CHOICE  OF  A  PROFESSION       [CHAP.  II 

the  operations  of  his  father's  business,  but  afterwards 
in  supplying  the  technical  skill  required  in  the  design, 
construction,  alteration  and  use — with  his  own  hands — 
of  all  those  delicate  instruments  and  complicated  engineer- 
ing machinery  with  which  he  had  to  deal  in  later  years. 
These  are  too  often  the  weak  points  of  a  man  who  adopts 
astronomy  as  a  profession.  Then,  again,  his  acquisition 
of  at  least  a  great  fluency  in  the  French  language  during 
his  long  residence  in  Switzerland,  came  to  be  of  the 
utmost  value  to  him  later  on.  These  years  of  application 
to  manual  labour  and  dexterity  have  probably  done  more 
for  the  progress  of  astronomy  than  could  ever  have  been 
accomplished  had  he  spent  them  on  the  study  of  advanced 
mathematics. 

Long  afterwards,  when  he  was  carrying  on  his  work  at 
the  Cape  Observatory,  he  expressed  himself,  in  a  letter 
to  James  Nasmyth,  March  16,  1886,  in  these  words — 

You  are  quite  right  in  saying,  as  you  do  to  my  wife, 
that  I  find  the  use  of  tools  a  great  assistance.  I  assure 
you  the  best  part  of  my  astronomical  education  was  the 
time  I  spent  in  a  workshop.  Here,  far  away  from  Grubb, 
or  Cooke,  or  Troughton  &  Simms,  many  a  mess  I  should 
have  been  in  but  for  that  training — and  many  a  change 
of  great  practical  utility  I  have  made  on  the  instruments 
here  with  my  own  hands. 

At  the  beginning  of  1862,  on  his  return  from  abroad, 
he  went  into  the  workshops  of  Mr.  Wooton  at  Coventry 
for  six  months,  and  finally  completed  his  training  by 
entering  himself  as  "  improver  "  in  the  business  of  Mr.  L. 
Schuessler,  a  practical  watchmaker,  then  at  23  Spencer 
Street,  Clerkenwell.  Mr.  Schuessler  is  still  living,  and 
told  the  writer  that  it  was  in  the  summer  of  1862  that 
David  Gill  entered  his  service  to  gain  a  knowledge  of  the 
London  system  of  manufacturing  watches,  clocks  and 
chronometers.  During  the  six  months  he  was  there  he 
occupied  himself  busily  in  this  endeavour,  and  made  up 
a  number  of  watches  on  his  own  account.  Mr.  Schuessler 


i86o-3]        'A  SKILLED   WATCHMAKER'  21 

said  that  when  Gill  began  with  him  he  was  already  a 
skilled  watchmaker.  He  was  energetic  in  searching  all 
Clerkenwell  for  new  ideas.  Moreover,  in  that  period 
he  completed  a  marine  chronometer,  carrying  out  in  it 
an  invention  of  his  own,  consisting  of  an  improvement 
in  the  compensation  balance  wheel. 

Among  the  friends  he  made  in  the  watchmaking  trade 
at  Clerkenwell  were  the  Haswell  family,  the  old  firm  of 
Robert  Haswell  &  Son,  of  48,  49  &  50  Spencer  Street, 
with  whom  Mr.  Schuessler  had  almost  daily  dealings. 
Mr.  James  Haswell  thus  speaks  of  David  Gill  in  those 
days — 

He  was  a  young  man  then  of  delightful  and  courteous 
manners,  with  a  cultivated  taste,  and  a  true  appreciation 
of  classical  music.  To  recall  the  past  is  a  pleasing  task, 
for  all  associations  with  him  at  that  time  are  very  agree- 
able memories.  My  recollection  is  that  he  was  naturally 
artistic  and  many-sided,  that  his  gifts  and  taste  were 
developed  by  training  and  cultivation.  I  may  add  that 
at  this  time  we  were  living  as  a  family  at  our  place  of 
business,  and  Gill  used  frequently  to  call.  We  much 
enjoyed  his  visits,  my  sisters  were  musical  and  he  was 
pleased  with  their  playing.  On  one  occasion  he  gave  one 
of  them  a  copy  of  Beethoven's  Sonatas  which  she  still 
has.  He  came  to  London  with  the  object  of  acquiring 
a  wider  knowledge  of  horological  art  than  his  home 
surroundings  afforded. 

Our  business  association  with  him  was  continued  after 
his  return  north.  We  had  some  transactions  with  him 
when  he  became  astronomer  at  Dun  Echt  for  the  Earl 
of  Crawford  and  Balcarres. 

I  may  also  add  that  the  late  Sir  David  was  a  good  shot 
at  the  rifle  butts  in  those  days.  I  remember  being  in 
Lauder — my  father's  native  town  in  Scotland — when 
he  happened  to  be  there  on  a  business  journey.  This 
must  have  been  about  1864  or  1865.  The  Lauder  Volun- 
teers— I  think  they  became  the  5th  Berwickshires — were 
firing,  and  Gill,  with  his  small-bore  rifle,  made  the  best 
shooting. 

Both  Mr.   Haswell  and  Mr.   Schuessler  speak  of  the 


22  CHOICE  OF  A  PROFESSION       [CHAP.  II 

inventive  genius  displayed  by  young  Gill,  especially  in 
regard  to  pendulums  and  balance  wheels. 

All  the  later  friends  of , Sir  David  Gill  must  remember 
the  elegant  clock,  made  with  his  own  hands,  which  stood 
on  the  mantelpiece  of  his  study  at  De  Vere  Gardens, 
Kensington.  k 

His  skill  in  clock  design  and  construction  was  at  first 
one  of  his  principal  claims  to  notice  among  scientific 
men,  who  very  soon  began  to  consult  him  on  points  of 
design.  For  example,  a  group  of  experimenters,  members 
of  the  British  Association,  including  Mr.  C.  H.  Gimingham, 
who  constructed  Crookes'  vacuum  tubes,  was  formed 
into  a  committee,  to  apply  the  Crookes  principle  of  repul- 
sion in  vacuo  produced  by  light  as  a  means  for  timing 
the  impulse  to  a  pendulum  for  astronomical  clocks  without 
the  friction  of  the  usual  pallets.  Immediately,  and  as  a 
matter  of  course,  Gill  was  invited  to  join  that  committee.1 

It  was  not  in  watchmaking  alone  that  his  practical 
skill  and  ingenuity  were  immediately  recognized.  For 
example,  one  day  in  the  'sixties  of  last  century,  Gill, 
quite  a  youngster,  was  in  Glasgow,  and  entered  the  shop 
of  an  optician  in  Union  Street  kept  by  one  James  White 
(the  small  shop  which  developed  into  the  great  engineering 
concern  known  as  "  Kelvin  &  White  ").  While  standing 
at  the  counter  looking  at  some  instrument  he  felt  a  slap 
on  the  back  and,  turning  round,  met  the  beaming  face  of 
his  old  professor,  James  Clerk  Maxwell,  who  introduced 
him  to  his  companion,  Professor  William  Thomson  (after- 
wards Lord  Kelvin),  saying,  "  You  are  the  very  man  we 
want,  to  give  us  the  benefit  of  your  practical  experience." 
They  discussed  with  him  some  apparatus,  and  took  him 
home  to  breakfast;  and  he  then  told  his  people  that  he 

1  This  committee  consisted  of  "  Mr.  David  Gill,  Professor 
G.  Forbes,  Mr.  Howard  Grubb,  and  Mr.  C.  H.  Gimingham." 
See  B.  A.  Report,  1880,  p.  56;  where  the  report  by  D.  Gill  is 
printed.  It  had  been  read  at  the  Sheffield  meeting  in  1879. 
The  gravity  escapement  of  his  great  Cape  sidereal  clock  is  here 
described. 


i86o-3]        BECOMES  JUNIOR  PARTNER  23 

thought  it  was  the  proudest  moment  of  his  life.  This 
introduction  led  to  a  permanent  and  intimate  friendship 
with  Lord  Kelvin,  for  whom  he  had  the  most  profound 
veneration. 

On  his  return  to  Aberdeen,  in  1863,  his  father  made  him 
a  junior  partner,  and  his  firm  from  that  time  was  known 
as  David  Gill  &  Son. 

David  Gill's  apprenticeship  during  two  years  was  a 
symptom  of  the  thoroughness  with  which  he  always 
faced  a  manifest  duty,  even  so  uncongenial  a  duty  as 
entering  upon  a  tradesman's  career.  Although  during 
that  period  he  could  not  make  much  progress  in  science, 
there  is  plenty  of  evidence  that  it  occupied  his  spare  time. 
Still,  there  is  no  doubt  that  his  yielding  to  his  father's 
wish  had  checked  him  in  his  earnest  endeavour  to  find  a 
career  in  science.  Circumstances  of  no  great  importance 
in  themselves  did,  however,  combine,  at  and  after  the  age 
of  twenty,  when  he  returned  from  his  wanderings  and 
settled  down  to  the  workshop,  in  the  year  1863,  to  direct 
his  thoughts  more  than  ever  before  to  the  science  of 
astronomy,  not  as  before  by  reading  books,  or  by  gazing 
at  the  glory  of  Orion,  but  by  personal  observation  and 
measurement  with  the  real  instruments. 

His  first  impulse  in  this  direction  was  modest  enough. 
He  felt  that  even  a  humble  clockmaker  like  himself  might 
benefit  his  town  by  taking  observations  with  an  instru- 
ment something  like  the  model  of  Airy's  transit  circle 
which  Clerk  Maxwell  had  shown  him,  and  thus  giving 
correct  time  to  the  town  of  Aberdeen. 

Accordingly,  in  the  year  1863,  while  he  was  still  assidu- 
ous in  continuing  his  laboratory  experiments  in  the  attic 
of  his  father's  house  in  Skene  Terrace,  he  sought  the 
acquaintance  of  the  only  man  now  able  to  help  him  since 
the  departure  of  James  Clerk  Maxwell  from  Aberdeen. 
This  was  David  Thomson,  a  remarkable  man,  and  Pro- 
fessor of  Natural  Philosophy  in  King's  College. 

David  Thomson  was  born  at  Leghorn,  received  his 


24  CHOICE  OF  A   PROFESSION        [CHAP.  1 1 

early  education  in  Italy  and  Lausanne,  and  became  a 
student  in  Glasgow  University,  and  a  pupil  of  the  mathe- 
matical Professor  James  ^  Thomson,  father  of  the  late 
Lord  Kelvin.  He  then  completed  his  education  at  Trinity 
College,  Cambridge.  After  that  he  returned  to  Glasgow 
as  assistant  in  natural  philosophy  to  Professor  Meikleham 
while  William  Thomson  (afterwards  Lord  Kelvin)  was  a 
student  in  the  class.  When  the  professor's  health  gave 
way,  David  Thomson  acted  for  him,  and  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  his  own  remarkable  skill  as  a  teacher.  His 
biographer  tells  us — 1 

The  future  Peer  [Lord  Kelvin]  and  P.  R.  S.  was 
continually  in  the  laboratory  with  David  Thomson, 
hearing  a  great  deal  about  Faraday  and  his  electrical 
discoveries. 

His  biographer,  whose  house  at  Largs  is  almost 
within  a  stone's  throw  of  Lord  Kelvin's,  writes,  "  the 
younger  man  has  neither  forgotten  nor  discredited  the 
older." 

In  1845  David  Thomson,  at  the  age  of  twenty-eight, 
was  appointed  "  Regent  and  Professor  of  Natural 
Philosophy  in  the  University  and  King's  College,  Aber- 
deen." For  thirty-five  years  he  continued  to  be  one  of 
its  most  effective  teachers  and,  along  with  his  colleague 
in  the  mathematical  chair,  Professor  Frederick  Fuller, 
sent  up  to  Cambridge  a  long  array  of  senior  wranglers 
and  high  honours  men.2 

1  David  Thomson,  M.A.,  Professor  of  Natural  Philosophy  in 
the    University    of  Aberdeen.     A  sketch   of  his    character   and 
career.     By  William  Leslie  Low,  M.A.,  Rector  of  St.  Columba, 
Largs,  and  Canon  of  Cumbrae. 

2  It  is  noteworthy  that,  in  ten  successive  years,  the  Scottish 
universities  sent  to   Cambridge  five  men  who  gained  the  senior 
wranglership,  viz. — 

G.  M.  Slesser  (Aberdeen),  1858. 
J.  Stirling  (Aberdeen),  1860. 
T.  Barker  (Aberdeen),  1862. 
R.  Morton  (Glasgow),  1866. 
C.  Niven  (Aberdeen),  1867. 


i86o-3]       PROFESSOR  DAVID  THOMSON  25 

This  stern,  inflexible  professor  was  much  respected  by 
the  students. 

By  patience  and  perseverance  he  shaped  the  policy  of 
the  university  to  provide  a  scheme,  and  pressed  it  in  the 
face  of  violent  opposition,  for  abolishing  the  anomaly  of 
two  colleges.  The  "  fusion  "  of  these  on  the  lines  of  his 
scheme  was  accomplished  in  1860 ;  and  the  history  of  the 
transaction  may  be  read  in  his  biography. 

At  p.  102  in  the  biography  of  David  Thomson  we  read — 

Astronomy,  too,  had  great  attractions  for  him,  and  he 
spent  many  hours  in  the  old  square  tower,  which  used  to 
be  called  by  the  name  of  Cromwell,  in  the  Observatory 
which  he  founded  there.  It  was  here  that  the  present 
Astronomer  Royal  at  the  Cape,  Dr.  Gill,  was  inspired  by 
Professor  Thomson  with  his  well-known  enthusiasm  for 
the  science  of  the  heavenly  bodies. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  it  was  young  David  who  spurred 
the  astronomical  tastes  of  his  senior.  He  went  with  an 
introduction  to  Piazzi  Smyth  at  Edinburgh  to  inspect 
the  transit  instrument  and  the  time  gun;  returned  and 
got  Thomson's  help  to  rig  up  an  old  instrument  at  King's 
College,  and  observed  stars  to  get  the  true  time. 

Every  clear  evening  I  used  to  find  my  way  to  his  house 
in  Old  Aberdeen,  whence  we  adjourned  to  the  observatory 
and  worked  with  the  transit  instrument.  There  was  a 
good  sidereal  clock,  and  we  added  a  mean  time  clock  fitted 
with  arrangements  for  changing  its  rate  by  known  con- 
siderable amounts,  or  by  small  known  quantities,  so  that 
it  could  without  difficulty  be  set  or  be  kept  within  a 
small  portion  of  a  second  of  true  Greenwich  time.  This 
clock  I  also  fitted  with  contact  springs,  so  that  it  could 
send  electric  currents,  reversed  at  each  alternate  second, 
to  control  other  clocks  in  sympathy  with  the  observatory 
standard.  A  Bain's  pendulum  was  procured  from 
Messrs.  Jas.  Ritchie  &  Son  of  Edinburgh,  and  applied  to 
the  turret  clock  of  the  college,  which  was  thus  controlled 
to  show  Greenwich  mean  time,  and  at  least  one  other 
clock  in  Aberdeen  was  afterwards  similarly  controlled. 


26  CHOICE  OF  A  PROFESSION       [CHAP.  II 

Gill  tells  us  that  after  these  services  had  been  reduced 
to  a  matter  of  simple  routine,  Professor  Thomson  bought 
a  3J  in.  telescope,  4  ft.  focus,  by  Dallmeyer,  equatoreally 
mounted,  and  they  placed  it  under  the  other  dome,  and 
made  attempts  to  measure  double  stars,  etc.  The  object- 
glass  was  exceedingly  good,  but  the  mounting  too  feeble, 
the  clockwork  and  slow  motions  too  unsatisfactory  to 
allow  of  accurate  work. 

It  will  be  a  matter  for  surprise  to  many  astronomers 
to  learn  that,  even  now,  a  pilgrimage  may  be  made  to 
this  scene  of  Gill's  first  efforts  in  astronomical  observ- 
ing, where  the  very  same  instruments,  as  described  by 
him  in  his  book  fifty  years  later,  are  standing  and  in  use 
exactly  as  he  left  them.  The  writer  was  surprised  to 
find  them  when  at  Aberdeen  in  July  1915.  Mr.  Anderson, 
Librarian,  and  Mr.  Clark,  who  uses  the  instruments, 
showed  them,  mounted  in  the  observatory,  as  described 
by  Gill.  The  transit  instrument  bears  the  name, 
"  Thomas  Jones,  of  Charing  Cross,  London."  The 
sidereal  clock  is  by  "  Sangster  &  Dunningham,1  Aberdeen." 
The  mean  solar  time  clock  bears  on  its  dial  the  inscrip- 
tion, "  D.  Gill  &  Son,  Aberdeen,  watchmakers  to  the 
Queen."  It  has  a  mercurial  pendulum  with  a  small 
shelf  on  the  bob  for  the  adjustment  of  weights  on  the 
shelf.  It  carries  the  electric  contacts  made  by  Gill, 
which  are  still  used  for  controlling  a  clock  on  the  main 
tower  of  the  college  and  for  driving  and  controlling 
a  Ritchie  clock  in  the  quadrangle.  Mr.  Clark  said  that 
it  used  to  control  a  third  clock  a  mile  away,  in  Marischal 
College,  but  does  so  no  longer. 

The  equatoreally  mounted  telescope  of  3-4  inch  object 
glass  bears  the  name  "A.  Ross,  London,"  not  "  Dall- 
meyer," as  Gill  says.2 

Looking  around,  there  was  found  in  this  room  a  large 
card  with  a  list  of  double  stars  with  particulars  in  tabular 

1  Who  succeeded  at  Aberdeen  to  the  business  of  David  Gill  & 
Son. 
a  It  appears  that  Dallmeyer  was  at  one  time  A.  Ross'  manager. 


1 86o-3]        ASTRONOMICAL  BEGINNINGS  27 

form,  in  the  handwriting  of  David  Thomson,  just  as  they 
left  it  half  a  century  ago. 

Gill's  astronomical  appetite  being  whetted  by  use 
of  these  instruments,  he  proceeded  soon  to  build  an 
observatory  of  his  own,  as  will  be  told  later. 


CHAPTER  III 

IN   TRADE    (1863-72) 

His  pleasures — Astronomy — Art — Rifle  shooting — Lieutenant 
D.  Gill— Harvey  Hall— Letters  to  Australia. 

THE  period  of  Gill's  life  from  1863  to  1872  was  primarily 
taken  up  with  the  trade  to  which  his  father  wished  him 
to  devote  the  whole  of  his  life.  No  doubt  young  David 
had  the  usual  experiences  of  a  merchant,  touting  for 
orders,  cutting  out  competitors,  reprimanding  dilatory 
dealers,  travelling  through  Scotland  to  extend  his  busi- 
ness, hunting  up  bad  debts  and  cutting  losses. 

No  one  who  knew  the  David  Gill  of  later  years,  the 
zealous  and  renowned  astronomer,  can  believe  that  he 
could  ever  have  enjoyed  this  commercial  drudgery.  He 
did  not.  He  hated  it.  But  his  judgment  told  him  it  was 
a  duty,  so  he  resolved  to  make  a  success  of  it  by  patient 
and  dogged  perseverance — and  he  did  so.  And  to  this 
extent  these  years  of  trade  were  not  altogether  lost  years. 
He  discovered,  in  fact,  in  himself  the  "  perfervidum  in- 
genium  Scotorum  "  which  served  him  so  well  in  astronomy. 
He  even  confessed  in  later  days  that  this  business  training 
enabled  him  to  deal  easily  with  much  correspondence 
of  a  kind  which  is  often  a  cause  of  worry  to  many  an 
astronomer.1 

But  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  when  he  shut  the 
office  door  he  was  unable  to  turn  to  a  happier  existence. 
He  thoroughly  enjoyed  life.  He  had  a  happy  home 
in  his  family  circle.  He  loved  music,  and  soon  acquired 

1  See  p.  233. 
28 


1863-72]  RECREATIONS  29 

a  taste  for  other  arts.  He  had  cheerful  companions  with 
whom  he  could  roam  the  country  round,  at  the  seaside 
or  in  the  lovely  valleys  of  the  Dee  or  Don,  even  to  Ballater 
and  Braemar.  He  enjoyed  female  society.  A  picnic  or 
a  ball  was  always  a  joy  to  him.  Those  who  joined  him  in 
rifle  shooting  were  as  full  of  fun  and  zeal  as  he  was.  He 
could  explore  the  quarries  for  geological  specimens,  and 
in  the  evenings  could  take  his  chosen  friends  into  his 
laboratory  to  experiment  in  chemistry,  mineralogy  and 
electricity.  But  later  on,  above  all  these  things — if  his 
day  had  been  worried,  perhaps,  by  the  hopelessness  of 
collecting  some  bad  debt — he  could  always  cross  the  street 
from  his  father's  house  into  his  temple  in  the  garden  when 
he  had  established  there  his  observatory  and  a  beautiful 
telescope,  as  will  be  related  in  the  next  chapter.  He 
loved  this  telescope  as  he  might  a  human  being,  for 
the  sympathy  and  comfort  that  it  seemed  to  bring  to 
him. 

These  last  words  have  not  been  written  at  random  or 
by  guessing,  but  are  a  summary  of  what  has  been  told 
by  those  who  knew  him  in  those  years. 

The  irresistible  and  compelling  attraction  of  astronomy 
for  the  mind  of  David  Gill  began  only  when  he  discovered 
the  delight  of  "  observing  "  and  of  getting  information 
at  first  hand  from  the  stars  themselves,  instead  of  from 
books,  and  when  he  realized  the  potentialities  of  his  own 
keen  eyesight  and  delicate  touch  in  handling  instruments. 
Previous  to  that  date  his  love  for  the  stars  arose  largely 
from  the  emotional  and  aesthetic  side  of  his  character; 
and  this  point  of  view  remained  with  him  always.  When 
to  wonder,  admiration  and  awe  in  contemplation  of  the 
heavens  there  is  added  a  personal  contact  with  the  objects 
of  admiration,  through  information  due  to  his  own  clear- 
ness of  vision  and  sureness  in  manipulation,  it  is  then  only 
that  the  astronomer  knows  how  immeasurably  more  real 
is  this  knowledge  of  his  than  all  the  dicta  of  the  mere 
encyclopaedist.  The  personal  affection  thus  created  in 


30  IN  TRADE  [CHAP.  Ill 

the  mind  of  a  real  astronomer  for  the  planets  and 
double  stars  and  nebulae  and  comets  which  he  observes 
extends  also  to  the  instruments  he  has  made  his 
own. 

But  Gill  had  also  artistic  tastes.  John  Brodie,  R.S.A., 
the  sculptor,  was  at  this  time  one  of  his  intimate  friends, 
and  it  was  through  the  Brodies  that  he  came  to  know 
that  remarkable  painter,  John  Phillip,  who  was  a  native 
of  Aberdeen,  in  whose  studio  he  spent  very  happy  hours 
listening  to  the  talk  of  all  the  distinguished  Scottish 
artists,  and  acquired  that  love  of  colour  which  never 
ceased  to  give  him  joy.  His  friendships  with  Sir  George 
Reid  and  Colin  Hunter  brought  him  later  into  touch  with 
Millais,  Watts  and  Joseph  Israels,  and  their  work,  in  the 
years  1876-9. 

Up  to  the  age  of  twenty  he  was  trying  to  find  his  own 
real  bent.  His  family  had  no  scientific  leanings,  his  father 
had  no  scientific  books  in  his  library.  Yet,  from  the 
moment  he  came  under  the  influence  of  Dr.  Lindsay  at 
Dollar,  and  of  Clerk  Maxwell  and  David  Thomson  at 
Aberdeen,  he  knew  that  it  was  to  science  that  he  must 
look  for  permanent  interest.  But  whether  the  great  truths 
he  sought  were  to  come  from  chemistry,  mineralogy,  heat, 
light,  electricity,  geology,  astronomy,  or  even  mathe- 
matics, he  could  not  at  first  tell.  He  would  have  made 
his  mark  in  any  one  of  the  branches  of  exact  science. 
But  he  spent  himself  during  the  early  years  in  search  of 
the  sacred  fire,  and  then,  as  later,  lighter  pleasures  were 
taken  earnestly,  and  music  and  even  dancing  with  energy. 
His  best  friends  at  that  time  did  not  know  in  what 
direction  his  love  for  exactness  and  truth  would  lead 
him.  His  brother  Jem  alone  suspected  astronomy,  Dr. 
Rennett  electricity,  Harvey  Hall  rifle  shooting,  his  young 
friend  Gerald  Baker  thought  it  was  geology,  many 
others  chemistry,  while  the  Clerkenwell  people  were  most 
mistaken  in  saying  it  was  watchmaking. 

It  was  not  until,  in  1863,  ne  use(i  ms  hands  and  eyes 


1863-72]      'MATHEMATICAL  INTUITION'  31 

for  making  astronomical  observations,  and  reducing  them, 
that  he  knew  the  direction  in  which  he  might  hope  to 
find  true  satisfaction.  He  was  no  theorist,  but  he  had 
an  intensely  mathematical  and  exact  mind,  with  great 
perseverance  (as  every  astronomer  who  knew  him  per- 
ceived). It  may  be  well  to  insert  here  the  considered 
opinion  of  one  of  the  greatest  of  those  who  survive  him. 
Dr.  Backhand,  head  of  the  Imperial  Observatory  of 
Pulkowa,  in  Russia,  has  put  in  writing  his  own  opinion, 
which  is  generally  endorsed. 

He  was  not  a  trained  mathematician  in  the  strict 
signification  of  the  word,  his  career  had  given  him  no 
leisure  to  cultivate  this  science  especially;  but  he  pos- 
sessed deep  mathematical  intuition,  which  helped  him 
to  overcome  easily  mathematical  difficulties  appearing  in 
his  astronomical  works. 

If  he  had  chosen  mathematics  as  his  special  object, 
he  would  certainly  have  ranked  among  the  mathemati- 
cians even  as  high  as  he  did  as  astronomer  among  the 
astronomers. 

The  fact  must  now  be  recalled  that  at  this  period 
(1863  onwards)  he  was  full  of  business,  and  shooting 
became  a  great  enjoyment,  when  he  found  that  in 
this  direction  he  might  hope  to  reach  the  top  of  the 
tree. 

As  his  brother  Jem  has  told  us,  rifle-shooting  was 
perhaps  his  greatest  distraction  from  business  at  one 
time.  He  was  a  most  energetic  volunteer,  and  joined 
before  the  Clerkenwell  days.  Among  the  few  papers 
preserved  by  him  relating  to  these  old  days,  we  find  his 
commission  as  lieutenant  in  the  first  Aberdeenshire  Rifle 
Volunteer  Corps  (now  the  4th  Gordons)  granted  by  the 
vice-lieutenant  of  the  county,  Sir  Alexander  Bannerman 
of  Elswick,  on  March  21,  1868.  He  retired  October 
13,  1872. 

He  soon  found  that  he  might  hope  to  become  a  first- 
rate  shot,  and  the  shooting  and  drilling  gave  him  good 


32  IN  TRADE  [CHAP.  Ill 

exercise  and  genial  companionship,  even  before  his  skill 
had  brought  him  into  contact  with  the  small-bore  crack 
shots  of  the  county,  among  whom  were  included  the 
late  Earl  of  Aberdeen,  and  that  almost  perfect  man, 
the  Hon.  James  H.  Gordon  (both  elder  brothers  of  the 
present  Marquis  of  Aberdeen). 

An  authentic  account  of  his  ability  in  this  field  is  given 
in  a  note  written  by  his  most  intimate  and  life-long 
friend,  Mr.  Harvey  Hall,  a  well-known  advocate  in 
Aberdeen. 

He  was  a  fine  long-range  rifle  shot,  using  a  match  rifle, 
was  a  member  of  a  long-range  rifle  club,  which  prac- 
tised at  a  range  at  Dyce,  near  Aberdeen.  In  the  year 
1869  he  qualified  for  the  Scottish  Eight,  to  represent 
Scotland  in  the  Elcho  Shield  Competition,  but  was  pre- 
vented engaging  in  the  competition.  His  appointment 
as  H.M.  Astronomer  at  the  Cape,  where  he  went  in  1879, 
prevented  him  from  following  what  would  have  been  a 
distinguished  career  as  a  rifle  shot. 

He  was  an  excellent  game  shot,  and  during  the  few 
months  before  his  death  engaged  in  grouse-shooting, 
deer-stalking  and  pheasant-shooting. 

The  delight  taken  by  Gill  in  the  accurate  performance 
of  his  gun  and  rifle  lasted  thoughout  his  life,  both  in 
South  Africa  and  at  home.  In  his  later  years  he  was 
always  a  welcome  guest  on  the  moors  and  deer  forests 
of  Scotland,  and  the  English  coverts. 

A  propos  of  shooting,  after  his  return  from  the  Cape 
to  live  in  London  he  was  sometimes  an  honoured  guest  at 
the  Banff  Club.  On  one  of  these  occasions  when  he  was 
to  reply  for  the  guests,  the  chairman,  Mr.  Farquharson, 
M.P.,  said— 

I  am  told  that  Sir  David  Gill  is  quite  an  expert  on 
shooting  stars.  All  I  can  say  is  that  if  you  saw  him  on 
my  moor  in  Scotland,  behind  the  butts  in  a  driving  wind, 
you  would  say  he  is  an  expert  on  shooting  grouse. 

Of  all  his  brothers,  Pat,  the  next  to  him  in  age,  had  the 


1863-72]  RIFLE-SHOOTING  33 

most  respect  for  his  scientific  tastes,  but  it  was  the 
Benjamin  of  the  family,  Jemmie,  whose  common 
interest  with  him  was  their  love  of  sport  and  rifle- 
shooting. 

When  Jem  had  gone  to  Australia  in  1867,  David  seldom 
bored  his  brother  with  astronomy,  but  wrote  to  him  all 
the  news  about  rifle  practice  and  "  wapinschaws  "  and 
the  progress  of  their  volunteer  corps,  as  well  as  about 
balls  and  picnics;  and  the  letters  that  he  then  wrote 
serve  quite  well  to  show  this  side  of  his  character. 


To  JAMES  GILL,  IN  AUSTRALIA 

78  UNION  STREET,  ABERDEEN, 

November  25,  1867. 

MY  DEAR  JEMMIE, — I  have  to  answer  your  letter  from 
Sydney,  and  give  you  such  news  as  I  think  will  interest 
you.  Pat  will,  of  course,  show  you  my  letters  and  others 
with  the  home  news,  so  here  goes  for  matters  sporting 
and  otherwise. 

Pat  can  give  you  a  letter  and  papers  with  details 
of  the  Wapinschaw,  and  the  triumphant  success  of  this 
child. 

As  to  Wimbledon,  I  couldn't  go  there  as,  owing  to 
Papa's  illness,  the  family  had  migrated  to  Ballater,  and 
left  me  here  to  manage  letters  alone. 

Scotland,  you  will  see,  won  the  Enfield  trophy,  the 
Irish  Trophy,  and  only  lost  the  Elcho  Shield  by  one 
point. 

That  brute  McCrinick  of  Ayr  made  an  awful  mess  of 
it,  though  he  made  the  top  score  in  getting  in.  Had  he 
shot  anything  like  decently,  we  should  have  won  in  a 
canter.  Innes  from  Banff  should  have  had  the  Queen's 
Prize  too,  but  this  would  have  been  almost  too  much 
happiness.  He  scored  a  centre  at  800  yards,  which  was 
marked  a  miss.  Had  he  got  this  centre  he  would  have 
been  first,  but  the  officer  in  charge  would  not  allow  an 
orderly  to  be  sent  up. 

None  of  the  Aberdeen  men  did  much  good.     Chalmers 
got  £5  in  the  Prince  of  Wales  competition,  and  some  of  the 
others  had  trifles. 
D 


34  IN  TRADE  [CHAP.  Ill 

Wilken  managed  to  nail  the  Dudley  prize,  five  shots 
any  rifle  at  500 — seven  shots  at  800 — one  prize  of  £50, 
open  to  members  of  the  Eights,  and  winners  of  £20. 
His  score  was  44444  at  500 ;  3344444  at  800.  He  was 
in  the  last  squad,  and  when  all  the  others  had  done  he 
had  five  shots  to  fire  and  must  make  five  bulls  to  win 
and  did  it.  He  had  also  an  Albert  prize  of  £10 — at  500 
yards,  and  I  think  a  running  prize. 

I  went  to  Montrose  in  the  hope  of  getting  Ross  cup. 
I  think  I  could  easily  have  won  it  if  I  could  have  shot 
for  it,  but  you  know  I  have  given  up  the  Enfield,  and  the 
competition  was  open  only  to  the  first  three  of  any  com- 
petition. My  only  chance  therefore  was  the  200  yds. 
any  rifle  5  shots.  I  got  a  confounded  outer  the  first 
round,  then  three  bulls — no  use — there  were  three  scores 
of  20.  I  was  awfully  disgusted.  So  I  went  and  asked 
to  be  allowed  to  compete  for  the  Long  range,  open  only 
to  Angus  and  the  Mearns.  I  was  allowed  to  shoot  for 
practice,  and  made  the  top  score,  five  shots  at  800,  17; 
at  900,  18 ;  at  1000,  17  =  52.  One  point  better  than  my 
Aberdeen  score.  I  got  glory  but  no  money. 

At  Kelso,  Guthrie  was  anxious  for  a  shot,  so  he  had  a 
party  formed  when  I  arrived  and  we  went  to  the  range. 
We  had  a  competition,  15  shots  at  500.  I  astonished  the 
Kelso  shooting  world  with  the  following  score — 

444444444444434  =  59 

out  of  a  possible  60. 

Ned  Sumner  shot  well,  Pat  knows  him,  he  made 
433434444444444. 

I  have  not  done  any  other  shooting,  except  with 
Murray  Lauder.  At  the  second  class  target  with  second 
class  bull's  eye  and  centre  I  scored  45  in  15  rounds  at 
1000  yards. 

The  battalion  challenge  cup  was  shot  for  when  I  was 
in  the  North.  Marr  won  it  with  a  score  of  49 — you  made 
52.  Peter  Cowe  told  me  of  a  feat  by  Bill  his  brother. 
Tell  Pat  of  it.  He  saw  some  geese  (Canada)  in  a  pond. 
He  took  his  breech  loader  and  muzzle  loader.  Killed  one 
with  each  of  his  four  barrels,  and  slipped  a  cartridge  into 
the  breech  loader  and  killed  a  fifth.  .  .  . 

With  love  ever  dear  Jemmie. 

Ever  your  affect,  brother,  DAV.  GILL,  Jr. 


i863-72]       BECOMES  LIEUT.,   ist  A.R.V.  35 

To  PATRICK  GILL,  IN  AUSTRALIA.1 

78  UNION  STREET,  ABERDEEN, 

June  1 8,  1868. 

MY  DEAR  PAT, — A  few  lines  to  tell  you  what  is  going 
on.  Before  going  to  news  let  me  tell  you  that  now  that 
A.  Stenhouse  has  gone  out  you  are  in  no  difficulty.  Be 
honest,  but  look  after  yourself.  Uncle  John  is  too  easy, 
Uncle  Andrew  says,  in  these  matters,  and  therefore  I  say 
look  out.  You  will  require  on  receipt  of  this  to  be  send- 
ing off  the  interest  on  money  I  raised  for  you  to  meet  the 
payment  in  December,  as  they  look  for  pay*  punctually 
on  the  20th  Dec. 

As  to  what  is  doing  here. 

I  think  I  told  you  that  I  have  got  a  commission — 
Lieut,  of  No.  5  Company.  That  is  two  nights  a  week  drill 
at  8.15.  Then  I  have  the  Bugle  Squad  to  drill  and  teach 
to  shoot,  that  is  four  nights  a  week,  viz.  7.30  at  Nigg  on 
two  nights,  and  7.30  on  old  town  tacks  before  parade  on 
other  two  nights.  Add  to  this  a  turn  at  astronomy  at 
night,  and  an  occasional  shot  in  the  morning,  and  you 
account  pretty  well  for  my  spare  time.  We  are  going 
to  have  a  great  Wapinschaw  and  review  on  3oth  June 
and  ist  and  2nd  July.  We  have  got  £180  worth  of  extra 
prizes.  I  have  sent  programmes  to  Jemmie,  who  will 
show  them  to  you.  I  will  write  to  him  with  the  result  of 
the  shooting  and  full  particulars. 

******* 

We  had  a  glorious  picnic  to  Inver,  above  Balmoral. 
We  had  rail  to  Ballater  and  hired  to  Inver.  We  encamped 
on  a  jolly  grass  plot  beside  the  river  and  opened  out  our 
dinner  and  champagne.  We  afterwards  had  a  game  at 
Aunt  Sally,  and  drove  back  to  Ballater.  On  our  way  we 
were  overtaken  by  the  Queen  driving  in  an  open  carriage 
and  pair.  She  passed  us.  About  300  or  400  yards 
further  on  we  were  overtaken  by  two  of  the  Princesses 
and  a  groom,  riding.  They  passed  us  and  rode  in  front 
of  us  three  or  four  miles.  The  day  was  lovely  and  this 
little  event  crowned  the  whole  a  great  success. 


1  Owing  to  the  failing  health  of  his  father,  David,  from  about 
now  onwards,  not  only  managed  the  business,  but  to  a  great 
extent  acted  as  counsellor  and  father  to  the  family. 


36  IN  TRADE  [CHAP.  Ill 

We  have  the  Highland  Agricultural  Society's  show  in 
the  end  of  July.  I  expect  Peter  Co  we  north  to  it. 

To-morrow  we  have  a  bazaar  here  in  aid  of  the  Bible 
Readers  Society,  I  expect  there  will  be  a  very  full 
attendance. 

Harvey  Hall  won  the  Cup  of  the  Rifle  Club  yesterday. 
It  was  presented  by  the  Earl  of  Aberdeen  to  be  held  three 
times  when  it  becomes  the  property  of  the  winner.  Harvey 
yesterday  got  it  by  a  shave,  and  having  won  it  twice 
before  keeps  it.  Its  value  is  £30.  Be  it  understood 
I  am  not  a  member  of  the  Club  x  not  being  a  billiard 
playing  and  fashionable  man,  consequently  I  did  not 
shoot.  I  think  I  could  have  got  into  the  Scotch  eight 
this  year  if  I  could  have  got  away  to  Irvine,  but  I  could 
not  manage  that.  Scotland  you  will  see  lost  the  Enfield 
match  this  year.  Walker  of  Portlethen  was  much  to 
blame  for  it.  He  missed  5  shots  at  500  yards,  but  Scot- 
land had  12  shots  to  fire  and  only  18  points  to  make  to 
win.  The  beggars  of  the  last  squad  only  made  3  outers 
in  the  12  shots.  Send  this  letter  to  Jem. 

With  love  ever  dear  Pat. 

Your  affect,  brother,  DAVID  GILL,  Jr. 

These  are  samples  of  many  letters  written  by  David 
to  his  brothers  in  Australia  during  a  period  when  business 
claimed  him  by  day,  and  he  had  discovered  a  new  and 
absorbing  interest  at  night  in  the  possession  of  a  fine 
telescope.  Then,  as  always,  in  correspondence  or  con- 
versation, he  chose  subjects  in  which  his  friends  were 
interested,  never  introducing  his  own  personal  affairs 
except  when  assured  of  a  desire  on  the  part  of  his  friends 
to  listen. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  it  was  not  till  1863  that 
he  first  experienced  the  joy  of  real  observing  with  a 
transit  instrument,  nor  till  1867  with  a  fine  telescope  of 
his  own.  This  line  of  work  immediately  became  such  a 
source  of  happiness  and  satisfaction  to  him  that  from 
now  onwards  astronomy  could  claim  him  as  her  own. 

1  The  Aberdeen  Rifle  Club,  a  small  social  club,  with  rooms  in 
Aberdeen. 


CHAPTER  IV 

LOVE  AND   MARRIAGE    (1865-72) 

He  owns  a  telescope,  and  photographs  the  moon — Dr.  Huggins — 
Lord  Lindsay — Isobel  Black — Canon  Low — Lady  Gill's 
memories — The  marriage. 

PROBABLY  the  most  important  event,  next  to  his  marriage, 
in  the  whole  of  David  Gill's  life  was  the  erection  of  a 
small  observatory  in  his  father's  garden.  His  observa- 
tions made  at  King's  College  had  delighted  him  more 
than  any  of  the  other  scientific  work  he  had  attempted; 
but  it  was  not  until  he  acquired  a  perfectly  mounted 
telescope  of  admirable  definition,  that  he  was  able  to 
gauge  his  own  powers  in  the  separation  of  close  double 
stars,  in  catching  details  of  planetary,  lunar  and  nebular 
markings  and  in  micrometrical  measurements.  Then  he 
began  to  know,  and  soon  became  convinced,  that  there 
was  no  field  of  work  in  which  he  could  reap  so  rich  a 
harvest  for  science,  with  his  fine  eyesight  and  delicate 
touch,  as  in  astronomical  measurement;  and  that  this 
work  alone  would  satisfy  the  craving  of  his  nature,  if  he 
could  devote  all  his  powers  to  following  in  the  steps  of 
Bradley  and  Bessel,  of  the  Herschels  and  Struves. 

Dissatisfied  with  the  mounting  of  Professor  Thomson's 
small  equatoreal,  he  looked  out  for  the  opportunity  to 
buy  one  with  which  he  could  make  good  micrometrical 
observations  of  double  stars.  He  says  in  his  History,  etc. — 

An  advertisement  appeared  in  the  Astronomical  Register, 
in  which  the  Rev.  Henry  Cooper  Key,  of  Stretton  Rectory, 
Hereford,  offered  for  sale  a  telescope  with  a  silver-on- 
glass  speculum  of  twelve  inches  aperture  and  ten  feet 

37 


38  LOVE  AND  MARRIAGE  [CHAP.  IV 

focus.  This  he  sent  to  me  for  trial  on  a  rough  wooden 
stand.  I  found  it  gave  admirable  definition,  and  I 
purchased  it. 

On  searching  the  columns  of  the  Astronomical  Register 
it  appears  that  the  last  date  when  the  advertisement 
appeared  was  December  1866.  It  must  have  been  at 
that  date,  or  soon  after,  that  Gill  purchased  it.  Prob- 
ably the  greater  part  of  the  year  1867  would  be  taken 
up  in  mounting  it  equatoreally  and  in  erecting  an  ob- 
servatory for  it  in  the  little  garden  opposite  his  father's 
house  in  Skene  Terrace.  There  was  a  great  deal  to  be 
done  and  he  has  described  how  he  did  it.  The  principal 
castings  were  made,  turned  and  fitted  according  to  his 
own  working  drawings  by  a  firm  of  shipbuilders  in  Aber- 
deen. The  declination  circle,  as  also  the  driving  circle 
with  its  tangent  screw  and  slow  motion  in  R.A.,  were  made 
for  him  by  Messrs.  T.  Cooke  &  Sons  of  York.  He  himself 
made  the  driving  clock  with  his  own  hands,  and  it  gave 
him  entire  satisfaction.1 

He  used  this  telescope  a  great  deal  for  the  measurement 
of  double  stars,  and  convinced  himself  that  he  might  thus 
hope  to  measure  the  difference  of  parallax  2  of  two  stars 
apparently  close  together,  if  one  of  them  happened  to 
be  comparatively  near  to  the  Solar  System.  This  was 
considered  almost  the  most  difficult  feat  in  astronomical 
observation.  Accordingly  he  ordered  a  suitable  micro- 
meter from  Steinheil  of  Munich,  and  about  1871  he  was 
on  the  point  of  attacking  the  measurement  of  stellar 
distances,  an  operation  requiring  such  perfection  of  instru- 
ment and  such  skill  in  observing  as  to  have  frightened 
away  nearly  every  astronomer  at  that  time  who  thought 
of  attempting  it. 

1  Eventually  this  telescope,  after  purchase  by  Lord  Lindsay, 
has  found  a  resting  place  in  the  Calton  Hill  Observatory,  Edin- 
burgh. 

2  Parallax  is  an  angle  which  can  be  measured,  and  from  which 
we  can  determine  the   distance   of  the  object  observed.     (See 
footnote  on  parallax,  p.  61.) 


[To  face  page  38. 

ISOBEL   BLACK   AND    DAVID    GILL,    LIEUT.    1ST   ABERDEENSHIRE 
RIFLE    CORPS,    BEFORE   THEIR    MARRIAGE. 


1865-72]         OWNS  A  FINE  TELESCOPE  39 

There  is  little  doubt  that  he  might  have  succeeded; 
but  a  visit  from  Lord  Lindsay  l  changed  his  whole  life 
at  that  period,  and  put  off  for  many  years  his  attempts 
to  measure  the  distances  of  the  fixed  stars. 

Concerning  this  preparation  for  measuring  the  dis- 
tances of  fixed  stars,  Professor  Kapteyn  of  Groningen, 
in  Holland,  has  written — 

It  seems  almost  a  pity  that  the  visit  from  Lord  Lindsay 
did  not  come  a  couple  of  years  later.  It  might  have  given 
us  the  spectacle — unique  in  the  annals  of  science — of  a 
business  man  measuring  star-parallaxes  in  his  leisure 
hours. 

Dr.  Roberts  of  Lovedale,  South  Africa,  a  zealous 
astronomer,  who  was  on  intimate  terms  with  Gill,  tells 
us2 — 

It  has  been  my  hap  to  have  met  one  who  assisted  in 
the  setting  up  of  this  now  historic  instrument,  and  the 
stories  told  of  the  impetuousness  and  inventiveness  of 
the  young  astronomer  are  instructive  as  revealing  how 
little  folk  like  Gill  change  with  the  changing  years.  As  I 
heard  my  friend  relate  anecdotes  of  the  setting  up  of 
the  twelve-inch  reflector  in  the  garden  in  Skene  Terrace 
methought  he  was  telling  me  the  story  of  the  erection 
of  the  McClean  telescope,  thirty  years  later  in  time. 

Another  use  to  which  he  put  his  telescope  at  an  early 
date  was  photographing  the  moon's  surface  at  a  time  when 
this  art  was  in  its  infancy,  and  gelatine  dry  plates  were 
unknown.  In  this  attempt  he  was  very  successful. 
On  May  18,  1869,  he  was  able  to  take  an  exceptionally 
good  photograph  of  the  moon.  A  transparency  positive 
from  this  was  sent  to  Dr.  Huggins,  who  was  then  rising 
into  prominence  as  one  of  the  few  pioneers  in  spectro- 
scopic  astronomical  discovery.  Dr.  Huggins  appreciated 

1  In    1880   Lord   Lindsay  became   the    twenty-sixth   Earl  of 
Crawford ;    and  by  this  name  he  was  most  generally  known. 

2  Transactions  Royal  Society  of  S.  Africa,  vol.  v.  part  3. 


40  LOVE  AND  MARRIAGE  [CHAP.  IV 

this  effort  and,  until  his  death,  always  had  this  photograph 
in  his  dining-room  window  at  Tulse  Hill. 

In  the  winter  1870-1  JLord  Lindsay  saw  this  photo- 
graph, noticed  its  sharp'  definition  and  its  consequent 
scientific  value.1  A  question  regarding  it  brought  the 
information  that  it  was  taken  by  a  young  Aberdeen  watch- 
maker interested  in  astronomy,  and  with  an  instrument 
practically  of  his  own  construction.  So  Lord  Lindsay 
obtained  an  introduction,  and  the  acquaintance  thus 
begun  soon  ripened  into  a  close  and  abiding  friendship. 

Gill's  absolute  capture  by  astronomy  was  completed 
during  the  six  years  from  1866  to  1872,  while  he  was  still 
bound  to  his  trade  in  78  Union  Street,  while  he  was 
still  working  as  a  volunteer,  while  he  was  still  acting 
in  loco  parentis  to  his  young  brothers  in  Australia,  and 
to  his  sister  Maggie.  In  1867  he  became  a  member  of 
the  Royal  Astronomical  Society.  He  occasionally  corre- 
sponded with  prominent  astronomers,  and  he  had  much 
intercourse  with  Lord  Lindsay,  helping  him  in  his  plans 
for  building  an  observatory. 

There  are  still  some  most  important  events  to  be 
recorded  that  occurred  before  the  turning  point  of  his 
life  arrived  in  1872. 

His  father's  health  and  mental  powers  were  beginning 
to  fail,  and  in  1869  he  handed  over  to  his  son  David  the 
sole  control  of  the  business  which  had  been  in  the  family 
nearly  a  hundred  years.  This  event  did  not  add  to  the 
responsibilities  which  had  been  his,  in  fact,  for  some 
years.  But  it  increased  his  private  means,  and  enabled 
him  to  take  the  most  important  step  of  his  life,  concerning 
the  beginnings  of  which  a  few  words  must  now  be  said. 

David  Gill  had  a  cousin,  Dr.  John  Ruxton,  in  the  parish 
of  Foveran,  who  incidentally  and  unconsciously,  at  this 
period,  became  the  instrument  for  conferring  upon  him 

1  This  lunar  photograph,  now  historical,  came  into  the  pos- 
session of  the  Royal  Astronomical  Society  of  London  in  December 
1913- 


1865-72]         MEETS  HIS  FUTURE  WIFE  41 

the  greatest  boon  he  was  ever  granted,  and  a  happiness 
which  shone  from  him  ever  after,  and  filled  to  the  brim 
that  strong  part  of  him  apart  from  intellect,  his  affections 
and  bright  outlook  upon  the  world,  his  humour,  his 
sympathies  and  devoted  helpfulness. 

For,  on  a  certain  Sunday  morning  in  August  1865, 
when  the  two  were  on  their  way  to  Foveran  Church,  a 
walk  of  three  miles,  Dr.  Ruxton  brought  him  to  call 
at  a  farm  house  within  a  stone's  throw  of  the  church, 
the  farm  called  Linhead,  of  Mr.  John  Black.  And  there 
he  met,  for  the  first  time,  Mr.  Black's  second  daughter, 
sixteen  years  old,  Isobel  (Bella),  his  future  wife,  and  they 
walked  together  to  church. 

John  Black  was  the  last  male  representative,  in  that 
quarter,  of  a  family  long  favourably  known,  especially 
in  the  Formartin  and  Buchan  districts.  Mr.  Black's 
grandfather  Thomas,  of  Wadridgemuir  (b.  1725;  d. 
1801),  had  five  sons,  of  whom  Alexander  (b.  1767) 
carried  on  the  farm  at  Linhead,  Foveran,  for  many 
years  previous  to  his  death.  His  son,  John  (b.  1807), 
continued  the  occupation  of  that  farm.  In  1837  ne 
married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Alexander  Garden,  of 
Millfield,  and  had  three  daughters — Anne,  Isobel  and 
Bessie.  The  second  of  these  became  the  wife  of  David 
Gill. 

Lady  Gill's  mother  was  a  real  farmer's  wife  with  a 
very  practical  turn  of  mind,  a  woman,  too,  of  fine  feeling, 
while  he  himself  took  a  wider  outlook  on  the  world. 
From  an  obituary  notice  we  learn — 

His  company  was  much  appreciated  in  social  circles, 
where  his  genial  humour  and  pawky  sayings  made  him 
a  great  favourite.  He  was  thoughtful  of,  and  kind  to, 
his  poorer  neighbours. 

In  his  old  age  he  retired  to  18  Bon  Accord  Terrace, 
Aberdeen,  and  died  there  on  January  12,  1885,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-seven.  He  was  buried  in  the  family 
burying  ground  at  Foveran. 


42  LOVE  AND  MARRIAGE  [CHAP.  IV 

On  the  occasion  of  this  meeting  David  was  twenty-two 
years  old,  and  Bella  was  only  sixteen.  He  saw  in  her  a 
very  pretty  girl  with  a  miad  to  match,  full  of  the  fun  and 
cheeriness  that  never  deserted  her.  David's  aunt,  Mrs. 
Mitchell,  says  that  she  was  very  attractive  with  her  bright, 
intellectual  conversation,  and  that  he  was  desperately 
in  love  with  her  from  the  first;  and  adds  that,  while 
Bella  was  naturally  bright  and  clever,  her  mind  had  been 
formed  and  educated  by  one  of  the  best  of  those  parish 
schoolmasters  of  Scotland — before  Scottish  education 
had  been  ruined  by  the  new  School  Boards — who  were 
able  to  detect  and  foster  the  natural  qualities  of  their 
pupils.  So  Isobel  Black  had  come  under  the  good  in- 
fluence of  James  Anderson,  parish  schoolmaster  of 
Foveran,  and  was  in  many  ways  the  superior  of  most 
girls  of  her  age. 

As  to  what  were  her  first  impressions  of  him  at  that 
meeting;  let  her  speak. 

He  was  then  a  fine  young  fellow  of  medium  height, 
slight,  with  a  supple  boyish  figure,  carelessly  dressed, 
quick  of  movement,  with  dark  brown  hair  much  dis- 
hevelled, from  a  habit  which  never  left  him,  of  constantly 
passing  his  fingers  through  it,  and  a  twist  of  humour 
hovered  about  the  mouth  and  also  twinkled  in  the  eyes. 
In  the  eyes,  however,  there  was  more  than  humour. 
There  was  a  compelling  power,  an  unconscious  strength 
which  held  one,  and  which  showed  that,  although  un- 
conscious of  it,  he  had  already  found  himself.  In  fact, 
it  may  be  said  that  at  twenty-two  he  was  as  old  for  his 
age  as  he  was  young  at  seventy.  He  changed  so  little — 
in  essentials  not  at  all — the  eagerness,  the  honest  frank- 
ness, the  vitality,  the  quickness  to  perceive  and  to 
respond,  the  humour,  the  humanity,  the  joyousness  were 
all  there  when  we  first  met  and  walked  together  to 
church,  and  when  he  said,  "  Isn't  this  the  most  glorious 
summer  morning  you  ever  saw?  "  just  as  they  were  at 
the  close  of  his  seventieth  birthday,  when  he  said  to  me, 
"  The  very  happiest  birthday  of  a  very  happy  life." 
His  voice,  too,  never  altered.  Although  probably  to  many 
ears  his  voice  was  not  a  melodious  one,  being  loudly 


1865-72]  HIS  ENGAGEMENT  43 

pitched  with  a  very  pronounced  Scottish  accent  all  Ms 
life,  yet  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying,  it  was  the  com- 
pelling quality  of  his  voice,  with  its  extraordinary  variety 
of  tone,  which  expressed  his  individuality  in  a  way  that 
made  the  listener,  without  knowing  why,  listen  to  him  and 
remember  what  he  said.  There  seemed  to  be  no  emotion 
that  it  could  not  express,  and  it  is  "  The  sound  of  a  voice 
that  is  still  "  which  haunts  my  memory  every  hour. 

These  two  loved  each  other  the  moment  they  met,  but 
they  could  not  impress  this  fact  upon  their  elders,  who 
would  not  take  their  assurances  seriously.  John  Black 
was  charmed  with  the  young  man.  His  wife  thought 
him  delightful  but  altogether  too  impetuous  and  im- 
pulsive. Really,  the  parents  were  very  sensible,  though 
the  young  people  could  not  see  it  at  the  time.  Thus 
they  had  few  opportunities  of  meeting,  for  the  relation- 
ship between  the  sexes,  especially  in  the  far  north,  was 
hardly  so  free  as  now.  But  the  lovers  wrote  many  letters, 
not  love-letters  so  far  as  the  words  indicated,  but  long, 
serious,  quaint  discussions  on  all  sorts  of  subjects,  interest- 
ing to  both,  about  which  one  of  them  confessed  afterwards 
that  she  knew  nothing  at  all.  But  she  now  says  of 
them — 

How  earnest  and  sincere  they  were  !  The  beginning 
of  the  soul's  life  to  me.  And  to-day  I  can  say  that  every 
ideal  he  then  expressed  he  proved  to  be  real,  and  every 
promise  he  made  he  nobly  redeemed.  He  never  told  a 
lie  even  to  himself. 

How  these  letters  used  to  amuse  us  in  after  days  ! 
and  apt  quotations  from  them  formed  a  joke  which  never 
palled  on  either  of  us. 

This  very  fact  used  to  be  to  their  friends  one  of  the 
charms  of  being  in  their  company.  So,  long  after- 
wards, Earl  Grey  wrote  to  Lady  Gill  about  his  vivid 
recollections  of — 

the  most  delightful  relationship  between  husband  and 
wife  that  I  have  ever  looked  upon — namely,  that  which 
existed  between  you  two.  I  simply  used  to  love  seeing 


44  LOVE  AND  MARRIAGE  [CHAP,  iv 

you  two  together,  and  to  hear  the  mutual  delightfully 
affectionate  banter  and  chaff  which  made  us  all  chuckle 
contentedly. 

When  young  David  declared  to  his  father  his  resolution 
to  marry  there  was  a  stormy  scene  between  these  two 
strong-willed  men,  because  of  his  youth.1  When  it  wras 
over  he  sought  the  companionship  of  an  old  college  chum. 
This  was  Mr.  W.  L.  Low,  now  Canon  Low,  of  Largs,  who 
was  then  at  Kincardine  O'Neil,  on  Deeside.  To  him  he 
unburdened  himself,  and  Canon  Low  says  that  this  was 
the  only  occasion  on  which  he  ever  saw  young  David 
lose  command  of  hand  and  eye  through  the  violence  of 
his  anger.  The  incident  is  told  in  the  course  of  a  note 
reminiscent  of  those  days  in  which  Canon  Low  says — 

I  became  acquainted  with  the  family  of  which  Sir 
David  Gill  was  the  eldest  son  about  1858,  at  which 
period  I  was  a  student  at  the  University  of  Aberdeen. 
At  that  time  the  younger  sons  were  being  educated  at 
the  Parsonage,  Monymusk,  by  the  Rev.  William  Walker, 
on  whom  his  University  afterwards  conferred  the  degree 
of  LL.D.,  and  his  Church  the  office  of  Dean  of  the  Diocese 
of  Aberdeen.  I  spent  the  College  vacations  at  the  same 
delightful  place,  reading  hard  under  the  stimulus  and 
inspiration  of  Mr.  Walker.  It  was  thus  that  I  came 
ultimately  to  know  the  whole  family  of  the  Gills,  and  to 
be  a  guest  now  and  then  in  their  hospitable  house  in 
Aberdeen. 

When  I  was  a  young  clergyman  at  Kincardine  O'Neil 
(1863-70)  young  David  came  now  and  then  in  the 
summer-time  to  spend  a  week-end  with  me.  I  think  we 
both  enjoyed  these  week-ends — I  know  I  did.  We  both 
had  a  great  liking  and  admiration  for  Professor  David 
Thomson,  and  for  the  Natural  Philosophy  of  which  he 
was  Professor,  and  seldom  met  without  one  or  other  of 
us  having  some  new  story  to  tell  of  "  Davie  "  and  his 
ways  of  dealing  with  unstudious  students. 

One  attraction  for  David  Gill  which  Kincardine  O'Neil 
possessed  was  a  rifle-range;  and  when  he  came  for  a 

1  David's  father  was  49  years  old  when  he  married. 


1865-72]  HIS  MARRIAGE  45 

week-end  he  brought  his  rifle.  It  was  the  muzzle- 
loading  Enfield  rifle  of  those  days;  but  we  both  were 
capable  of  hitting  a  target  with  it,  and  did  so  often  on 
the  Saturday  afternoon. 

One  of  these  afternoons  has  frequently  come  back  to 
my  memory,  because  of  the  contrast  it  brought  to  the 
placid  and  happy  David  Gill  at  all  other  times  known 
to  me.  He  was  like  a  Vesuvius  in  eruption,  in  fact,  if 
possible,  still  more  vehemently  and  threateningly  excited, 
and  the  usual  equable  sequence  of  his  thoughts  was 
equally  disturbed.  After  some  time  of  excited  utterance 
the  fons  et  origo  mali  became  clear.  Young  David  had, 
like  other  young  men,  fallen  in  love  with  a  bright  young 
personality  that  looked  at  him  through  a  pair  of  bright 
eyes  matched  delightfully  with  a  rich  complexion — 
and  old  David  had  apparently  forgotten  his  own  youth 
and  failed  to  approve.  Young  David  was  full  of  wrath 
and  expressed  it  forcibly.  He  thought  his  father  had 
claimed  the  right  to  marry  his  own  wife,  and  ought  to 
allow  the  same  right  to  his  son.  I  sympathized  with 
young  David;  and  as  time  went  on  no  one  rejoiced  more 
than  I  did  as  the  constancy  of  his  affection  was  mani- 
fested, and  its  discernment  vindicated  by  the  object  of  it 
proving  through  a  long  married  life  an  ideal  wife. 

But  that  afternoon  David  Gill's  mind  was  in  a  state  of 
storm.  After  luncheon  we  went  to  the  shooting-range, 
and  he  was  as  keen  as  ever  on  making  bull's  eyes.  But 
his  attention  was  always  flying  off  to  his  trouble;  and 
when  loading  for  the  fourth  time  his  preoccupation  with 
it  caused  him  to  put  the  bullet  in  before  the  powder,  and 
the  shooting  came  to  an  end  for  the  day. 

The  two  lovers  both  came  to  see  that  the  waiting  time 
had  been  a  blessing  in  disguise.  Moreover,  it  was  neces- 
sary from  a  material  point  of  view,  for  at  the  date,  1865, 
when  they  first  met,  David  had  only  lately  become  his 
father's  junior  partner  in  the  business,  with  a  small 
enough  income. 

The  year  after  his  father's  retirement  (when  young 
David  had  become  head  of  the  firm),  on  July  7,  1870, 
shortly  before  his  mother's  death,  David  Gill  married 
Isobel  Black  from  her  father's  farm  at  Linhead,  and 


46  LOVE  AND  MARRIAGE  [CHAP.  IV 

they   started    on    their    honeymoon    for    Pitlochrie,    in 
Perthshire. 

Thus  began  that  happy  married  life.  Their  first  house 
was  in  Aberdeen,  two  or  three  hundred  yards  away  from 
his  father's  house  in  Skene  Terrace  and  from  his  observa- 
tory in  the  garden.  His  widow's  words  must  tell  the 
rest. 

Twenty-six  North  Silver  Street  was  a  comfortable  but 
rather  ugly  little  house,  and  the  furniture,  which  I 
thought  beautiful  and  David  did  not  think  about  at 
all,  atrocious.  But  to  us  both  a  very  heaven  of  happiness 
lay  between  its  four  walls,  as  it  always  did  between  every 
four  walls  which  held  us  two  to  the  end  of  his  life. 

In  the  first  years  of  our  married  life  I  quickly  realized 
what  I  had  had  more  than  a  glimmering  of  before,  the 
intensity  of  David's  love  of  Astronomy,  and  it  became 
fully  borne  in  upon  me  that  my  young  husband's  life 
could  never  be  accomplished  while  he  remained  in  busi- 
ness. I  can  see  now  the  radiant  look  on  his  face,  and  the 
exultation  in  his  voice  after  a  night  spent  with  his  tele- 
scope. Often  when  this  had  been  specially  apparent,  I 
used  to  pray  so  earnestly  that  a  door  might  be  opened 
for  him  to  pass  into  the  land  of  his  desire  although  it 
seemed  then  as  if  only  a  miracle  could  bring  it  to  pass. 
In  1872  the  miracle  happened,  and  he  became  Director 
of  Lord  Lindsay's  Observatory  at  Dun  Echt.  The  door 
was  opened  and  he  entered  into  his  Canaan. 

David's  mother  died  in  December  1870.  Her  loss 
increased  the  value  of  his  married  life  to  him.  David  and 
Isobel  Gill  never  had  any  children,  but  their  devoted 
affection,  sympathy  and  help,  each  for  the  other,  in  sick- 
ness or  health,  as  well  as  their  fun  and  badinage,  became 
an  object  lesson  to  all  who  knew  them  intimately. 

David's  young  wife  never,  at  any  time  of  her  life, 
attempted  to  become  an  astronomer;  and  for  this  he 
was  thankful.  A  lady  once  was  heard,  on  being  intro- 
duced to  him,  to  say,  "  And  how  nice  it  must  be  to  be 
helped  by  your  wife.  I  suppose  she  knows  all  about 


1865-72]  HIS  YOUNG  WIFE  47 

astronomy?  "  To  which  he  was  heard  to  reply,  "  Not 
a  word,  thank  God  !  "  But  in  times  of  perplexity  she 
knew  what  he  required,  and  in  times  of  triumph  she 
gloried  in  his  success.  In  every  moment  of  his  relaxa- 
tion, and  in  days  of  absence  from  home,  to  the  very  end, 
his  intimate  friends  could  see  that  his  every  thought  was 
with  her. 


CHAPTER  V 

LORD  LINDSAY    (1872) 

LORD  LINDSAY'S  interest  in  the  astronomical  work  of 
Gill  the  watchmaker  soon  developed  into  deep  appre- 
ciation. Young  Lord  Lindsay,  even  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
four  years,  was  a  very  remarkable  as  well  as  a  very  able 
man,  constantly  experimenting  upon  life's  experiences, 
yet  always  critical  and  self-reliant.  Conscious  of  the 
power  he  possessed,  due  to  his  qualities  as  much  as  to  his 
wealth,  he  was  determined  to  use  it  as  seemed  to  him 
best.  Having  decided  upon  a  course  of  action,  nothing 
could  stop  him.1 

In  the  'sixties  of  last  century  he  established  a  laboratory 
in  Greek  Street,  Soho,  at  great  expense;  and  this  was 
the  first  direction  in  which  he  started  for  the  love  of 
science.  This  was  before  the  days  of  dynamos,  and  Lord 
Lindsay  built  up,  on  the  roof,  the  most  powerful  electric 
battery  in  the  world  at  that  time,  and  fitted  in  the 
laboratory  the  largest  electro-magnet.  A  good  many 
years  later  he  devoted  both  wealth  and  influence  very 
successfully  to  developing  the  new  profession  of  electric 
engineering. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  one  of  Lord  Lindsay's  objects 
in  making  his  great  electro-magnet  was  his  expectation 
that  some  physiological  action  might  be  experienced  by 
placing  the  human  head  in  a  strong  magnetic  field. 
He  failed,  but  after  many  years  the  late  Professor 

1  Afterwards,  Lord  Lindsay  was  elected  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal 
Society,  and  became  President  of  the  Royal  Astronomical  Society. 

48 


1872]  LORD  LINDSAY'S  TASTES  49 

Sylvanus  Thomson,  F.R.S.,  demonstrated  the  truth  of 
his  surmise.1 

While  the  laboratory  in  Greek  Street  was  in  active 
operation  Lord  Lindsay  arrived  at  a  very  sound  judg- 
ment about  astronomy.  As  Sir  William  Huggins  has 
told  us,  after  the  discovery  of  Neptune  had  put  the  final 
seal  upon  the  universality  and  completeness  of  the  law 
of  gravitation  in  the  solar  system,  the  problems  of 
planetary  motions  seemed  to  be  ended  except  for  the 
mathematician.  At  the  time  referred  to  (about  1870) 
comparatively  few  young  men  of  great  ability  saw  that 
there  was  much  to  be  gained  for  science  by  the  devotion 
of  a  life's  work  to  astronomy.  Lord  Lindsay's  studies, 
and  his  appreciation  of  Huggins's  spectroscopic  work, 
led  him  to  think  differently.  His  intimacy  with  the 
watchmaker  astronomer  confirmed  his  opinion,  and  he 
conceived  the  idea  of  inducing  his  father  to  found  upon 
their  estate  at  Dun  Echt,  thirteen  miles  from  Aberdeen, 
the  greatest  private  observatory  in  the  world.  Lord 
Lindsay  contemplated  not  only  a  large  telescope,  but  an 
observatory  to  approach  or  equal  Greenwich  in  the 
accuracy  of  fundamental  astronomy  of  position. 

It  appears  from  correspondence  still  existing  that,  long 
before  the  time  when  their  forces  were  combined  in  any 
agreement,  Lord  Lindsay  and  Mr.  Gill  were  in  close 
contact,  the  younger  and  more  influential  man  con- 
sulting the  older  one  in  regard  to  best  lines  of  work, 
and  the  best  instruments  to  lay  down,  in  a  large  private 
observatory. 

It  is  much  to  the  credit  of  Lord  Lindsay,  who  was 
only  twenty-four  years  of  age  when  he  made  Mr.  Gill's 
acquaintance  (his  senior  by  four  years),  that  he  quickly 
learnt  to  regard  him  as  the  most  capable  person  he  knew, 
if  his  interest  could  be  secured,  to  organize  and  help  to 
use  his  private  observatory. 

1  Roy.  Soc.  Proc.  B.,  vol.  Ixxxii,  p.  396,  and  Journal  of  the 
Rontgen  Society  No.  32,  vol.  viii. 
E 


50  LORD  LINDSAY  [CHAP.  V 

All  through  life  it  must  have  been  a  great  satisfaction 
to  the  future  Earl  of  Crawford  to  know  how  much 
astronomy  is,  and  always  will  be,  indebted  to  him  for 
his  sound  judgment  at  that  time. 

In  December  1871,  one  evening  while  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Gill  were  sitting  together  at  home  in  North  Silver 
Street,  the  curate  who  acted  as  chaplain  at  Dun  Echt 
called,  and,  holding  out  a  letter,  said  that  Lord 
Crawford  had  asked  him  to  deliver  it.  Gill  laid  it  on 
the  table  and  conversed  with  the  chaplain  till  he  left. 
Then  he  opened  the  letter.  He  read  it,  and,  with  con- 
trolled countenance,  handed  it  to  his  wife.  She  read, 
and  exclaimed,  "  How  glorious  !  "  It  announced  Lord 
Crawford's  intention  to  build  an  observatory  for  his  son, 
and  invited  Gill  to  become  its  first  director. 

It  must  have  been  a  moment  of  combined  gratification 
and  perplexity.1  Here  was  he,  a  young  man,  in  control 
of  a  prosperous  business  ensuring  him  and  his  wife  ample 
means  for  life.  Here  was  a  wife  whom  he  loved,  and 
who  had  so  lately  given  herself  to  share  his  fortunes. 
Here  was  a  father  who  would  look  upon  his  desertion  of 
a  thriving  business  and  an  assured  future  as  a  betrayal 
of  his  inheritance,  and  long-headed  relations  who  would 
condemn  him  as  a  flighty  visionary  who  could  drop  the 
substance  for  the  shadow,  and  accept  a  small  allowance 
in  exchange  for  a  small  fortune. 

On  the  other  hand,  here  was  an  opening  to  the  land  of 
his  day-dreams,  an  opportunity  to  show  his  worth  in  the 
only  line  of  work  that  could  give  him  complete  satisfac- 
tion. Here  was  the  means  offered  him  to  make  a  start 
in  the  footsteps  of  men  standing  foremost  in  his 
regard,  whose  names  are  held  in  perpetual  veneration— 
perhaps  even  to  have  his  name  inscribed  alongside  of 
theirs. 

To  a  man  like  Gill,  who  was  humble,  unselfish  and 

1  In  this  connexion,  read  his  letter  to  Mr.  Bryan  Cookson  at 
pp.  232,  233. 


1872]  A  SERIOUS  DECISION  51 

strict  in  his  sense  of  duty,  yet  full  of  zeal  and  confident  of 
his  skill  in  certain  directions,  an  immediate  decision 
might  well  seem  difficult .  It  all  depended  upon  his 
wife.  But  in  her  mind  there  was  no  doubt  whatever. 
This  was  the  answer  to  her  prayers. 

There  was  no  longer  any  question  about  the  answer  to 
Lord  Crawford's  invitation,  though  there  was  a  great 
deal  of  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  father.  In  the 
summer  of  1872,  when  some  instruments  were  on  the 
spot,  and  while  the  foundations  of  their  own  future  home 
were  being  laid  in  the  park,  the  Gills  migrated  to  Dun 
Echt,  living  at  first  in  a  part  of  the  mansion  house,  so 
long  as  the  family  were  away,  and  afterwards  occupying 
a  small  farmhouse,  Scotstown,  two  miles  from  the 
observatory. 

From  this  moment  David  Gill  ceased  to  be  the  business 
man  with  a  delight  in  astronomy  as  a  hobby.  He  was 
now  fairly  launched  in  the  astronomical  world.  From 
now  onwards  he  is  an  astronomer  first,  and  he  has  no 
business  except  his  hobby.  It  is  not  often  that  an 
astronomer  has  the  opportunity  twice  in  a  lifetime,  as 
Gill  had,  practically  to  create,  equip  and  use  a  magnifi- 
cent observatory  in  accordance  with  the  highest  ideals. 
Dun  Echt  Observatory,  which  with  instruments  and 
library  was  transferred  to  Blackford  Hill,  Edinburgh,  by 
the  late  Earl  of  Crawford  (our  Lord  Lindsay),  and  pre- 
sented to  the  nation,  and  the  Cape  Observatory  as  it 
now  stands,  are  to  a  large  extent  the  creations  of  Gill's 
genius  and  the  most  substantial  memorials  to  himself. 
The  large  volumes,  numbering  about  thirty,  containing 
results  of  his  work — including  Dun  Echt  publications, 
Annals  of  the  Cape  Observatory,  Geodetic  Survey  of 
South  Africa,  and  Cape  meridian  observations — together 
with  his  contributions  to  the  Royal  Astronomical  Society 
and  to  astronomical  literature  generally,1  will  remain  for 

1  A  list  of  these,  compiled  by  Mr.  W.  H.  Wesley,  is  appended 
to  this  volume. 


52  LORD  LINDSAY  [CHAP,  v 

ever  a  permanent  record  of  the  skill,  energy,  fixed  purpose 
and  perseverance  which  carried  this  man  through  a  life 
of  noble  endeavour. 

His  talents  did  not  lie  in  the  mathematical  fields  occupied 
by  Newton,  Laplace,  Adams,  Leverrier  or  Newcomb;  but 
the  accuracy  of  his  work  recalls  the  memory  of  Bradley, 
his  careful  selection  of  types  of  instruments  recalls  W. 
Struve,  his  inventive  genius  and  indomitable  perseverance 
recall  Tycho  Brahe,  and  his  self-expenditure  for  the  sake 
of  future  generations  of  astronomers  recalls  Hipparchus. 
Whether  he  is  to  be  enthroned  alongside  of  these  great 
astronomical  observers  of  precision  will  be  settled  in  the 
future. 

It  must  not  be  assumed  from  what  has  now  been  said 
that,  at  the  date  when  Gill  was  appointed  to  Dun  Echt, 
Lord  Lindsay  had  not  laid  out  the  whole  scheme  of  the 
work  as  a  result  of  his  own  studies.  We  who  knew  Lord 
Lindsay  in  those  days  remember  with  appreciation  the 
beginning  he  had  made.  He  had  already  made  up  his  mind 
to  take  part  in  observing  the  Transit  of  Venus  from  the 
Isle  of  Mauritius  on  December  9, 1874.  There  is  abundant 
evidence  that  much  of  what  was  done  at  Dun  Echt  was 
based  upon  a  careful  study  of  W.  Struve 's  book  describing 
the  erection  of  the  Pulkowa  Observatory,  and  Gill  showed 
a  greater  interest  in  that  observatory  than  almost  any  in 
the  world.  The  resolution  to  establish  a  prime-vertical 
transit  at  Dun  Echt,  and  to  use  a  heliometer  in  the 
Mauritius  expedition,  show,  further,  the  influence  of 
Pulkowa.  Accordingly,  it  seemed  to  be  interesting  to 
see  the  copy  of  Struve 's  book  which  Gill  must  have  read, 
to  ask  for  it  at  the  University  Library  in  Aberdeen,  and 
perhaps  to  find  scraps  of  paper  with  Gill's  notes  in  it. 
To  the  writer's  astonishment,  he  found  they  had  no  copy. 
Also,  Gill  never  possessed  a  copy.  It  seems  nearly 
certain  that  Gill  used  Lord  Lindsay's  copy ;  and,  if  so,  it 
becomes  very  possible  that,  when  Gill  was  appointed, 
Lord  Lindsay  had  already  taken  Struve  as  his  model. 


i872]  A  PAIR  OF  ENTHUSIASTS  53 

Even  if  the  main  details  had  already  been  settled  by 
Lord  Lindsay,  the  rest  of  the  work  was  one  of  co-opera- 
tion, though  Gill  alone  was  almost  permanently  on  the 
spot;  and  the  part  taken  in  it  by  David  Gill  can  be 
appreciated  by  the  letters  written  by  him  at  that  time,  a 
few  of  which  are  published  in  the  next  chapter.  Part  of 
their  agreement  was  that  any  work  done  by  either  should 
be  published  in  their  joint  names,  and  this  agreement 
was  loyally  upheld  by  both  parties. 


CHAPTER  VI 

DUN   ECHT    (1872-4) 

Building  up  an  Observatory — Preparing  for  Mauritius — Gill's 
first  photographic  reseau — Pulkowa  visit — The  Hamburg 
astronomical  meeting  —  Disastrous  gale  —  Preparations  for 
Transit  of  Venus  complete. 

"  Happy  is  the  man  who  has  found  his  work  ! 
Let  him  ask  no  other  blessedness." 

CARLYLE. 

THE  making  of  an  astronomer  and  director  of  an  observa- 
tory is  well  told  in  the  Dun  Echt  letter-book,  rilled 
with  Gill's  correspondence  from  1872  onwards,1  and  in 
the  Lindsay  Archives.2  Instruments  and  buildings  for 
the  permanent  observatory  were  in  progress,  and  also 
portable  ones  for  the  Mauritius  expedition  for  the  Transit 
of  Venus  in  1874  (December  9). 

Gill's  duties  included  design  of  instruments,  ordering 
them,  urging  their  completion,  and  superintending  build- 
ing operations.  A  glance  at  the  letters  shows  him  urging 
Troughton  &  Simms  to  complete  the  great  Transit  Circle 
and  the  portable  altazimuth;  T.  Cooke  &  Sons  are 
asked  to  report  progress  with  the  prime- vertical  transit, 
clocks,  equatoreals,  and  buildings.  Grubb  has  the  15-inch 
equator eal,  with  spectroscope,  on  hand;  and  is  called  on 
for  all  sorts  of  subsidiary  apparatus,  for  Gill  found  in 
Howard  Grubb  a  kindred  spirit  keen  to  advance  astro- 
nomy. Merz  of  Munich  is  dealing  with  the  15-inch  objec- 
tive prism;  Repsold  of  Hamburg  with  the  heliometer; 

1  Preserved  at  the  Royal  Observatory,  Edinburgh,  and  lent 
to  the  writer  by  Professor  Sampson. 

*  Lent  to  the  writer  by  the  Earl  of  Crawford  and  Balcarres. 

54 


1872-4]  EXTENSIVE  WORK  55 

Ausfeld  of  Gotha  with  the  Zollner  photometer;  Eichens 
with  the  i6-inch  siderostat;  Dallmeyer  with  the  4o-ft. 
focus  lens  for  photography;  Apps  with  induction  coils; 
Williams  &  Norgate  or  Quaritch  with  books.  The  town 
of  Aberdeen  sends  printed  forms,  masons,  tools  and 
supplies.  Chronometer  makers  are  asked  for  the  hire  or 
purchase  of  fifty  chronometers.  Discussions  arise  with 
astronomers  about  astronomical  photography  and  the 
best  modifications  of  the  Huggins  or  Secchi  type  of 
spectroscope;  with  Airy  about  improvements  for  Dun 
Echt  upon  the  new  Greenwich  standard  clock;  with 
Auwers  of  Berlin  and  others  about  using  the  new  helio- 
meter  for  the  solar  parallax  by  observations  of  Mars  or 
of  Juno. 

At  the  same  time  he  superintends  the  building  of  his 
own  dwelling-house,  as  well  as  the  fixed  observatories. 
It  was  at  this  time  that  one  of  Lord  Crawford's  men 
said  about  Gill :  "  I  wadna  say  what  he  may  ken  aboot 
astronomy,  but  this  I  wull  say,  that  he'd  mak'  a  gran' 
mason."  He  was  certainly  endowed  with  much  adapta- 
bility, and  would  take  a  turn  at  anything  that  needed 
doing,  and  do  his  best. 

Lord  Lindsay  was  much  away,  in  London  or  abroad, 
but  always  in  touch  with  the  "  Director."  The  letters 
between  these  two  men  show  their  loyal  devotion  to  each 
other  and  to  their  mistress,  Astronomy.  Lord  Lindsay, 
as  Chief,  made  every  decision  himself,  and  Gill  was  punc- 
tilious in  submitting  every  matter  to  his  Chief  before 
acting. 

On  February  i,  1872,  Lord  Lindsay,  in  Rome,  tells 
Gill  all  about  Secchi's  object-glass  prism.  On  July 
15,  1872,  in  Munich,  he  says  he  has  ordered  such  a  prism 
from  Merz,  and  adds — 

I  have  very  nearly  settled  to  take  a  house  at  Heidelberg 
next  year  from  March  to  June,  as  I  want  to  work  up  some 
German  and  mathematics.  .  .  . 

I    went   to   the    observatory   here   yesterday   to   see 


56  DUN  ECHT  [CHAP.  VI 

Lament,1  and  was  talking  away  in  French  when  to  my 
intense  surprise  he  addressed  me  some  question  in  broad 
Aberdeen  Scotch.  He  has  been  fifty-two  years  away, 
and  has  almost  forgotten  English,  but  has  not  lost  the 
accent. 

To  PROF.  OTTO  STRUVE 

OBSERVATORY,  DUN  ECHT, 

March  7,  1873. 

DEAR  SIR, — Accept  my  warmest  thanks  for  your  kind 
and  cordial  letter  of  the  2oth  Feb?.  I  forwarded  it  to 
Lord  Lindsay,  and  we  are  both  agreed  as  to  the  desirability 
of  attending  the  meeting  of  the  German  Committee  for 
the  Transit  of  Venus,  and  the  meeting  of  the  "  Astrono- 
mische  Gesellschaft "  at  Hamburg.  ...  I  will  then  arrange 
my  visit  to  the  Continent  so  as  to  first  visit  Pulkowa,  and 
be  in  time  to  attend  the  meeting  at  Hamburg  on  my  way 
home.  By  this  plan  I  hope  to  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
you  at  Pulkowa,  and  possibly  also  afterwards  at  Hamburg. 

I  assure  you  I  look  forward  with  a  prospect  of  great 
pleasure  and  advantage  to  my  visit  to  your  splendid 
observatory,  now  that  your  kind  letter  makes  me  so  sure 
of  a  welcome. 

Believe  me,  very  truly  yours,  DAV.  GILL,  Jr. 

To  HOWARD  GRUBB 

THE  OBSERVATORY,  DUN  ECHT, 

April  2,  1873. 

MY  DEAR  GRUBB, —  .  .  .  Now  about  another  matter 
I  wish  you  to  be  putting  on  paper. 

A  photograph  of  the  sun  being  taken,  say  during  the 
transit  of  Venus — it  is  required  to  ascertain  whether  any 
shrinking  of  the  film  has  taken  place,  and  if  any,  to 
measure  it. 

The  method  we  propose  to  adopt  is  to  rule  a  series  of 
lines  on  a  plate.  Immediately  after  the  photograph  is 
taken  the  plate  which  was  exposed  (a  dry  plate)  is  put 
in  a  pressure  frame  and  exposed  behind  this  plate  long 
enough  to  photograph  the  lines  upon  it  on  the  plate  which 
has  before  been  impressed  with  the  image  of  the  sun. 

The  plate  is  then  developed  and  fixed,  and  we  have  on 
it  an  image  of  the  sun  and  of  the  ruled  plate. 

1  [Discoverer  of  the  connexion  between  sun-spot  periods  and 
terrestrial  magnetism,  Annalen  der  Physik,  Ixxxiv,  p.  580.] 


1872-4]     CONSTRUCTION  OF  FIRST  ROSEAU     57 

We  know  the  true  distance  of  the  lines  on  the  ruled 
plate.  The  difference  of  the  lines  on  the  developed 
photograph  is  the  contraction.  The  lines  being  suffi- 
ciently close  so  that  by  interpolation  we  can  find  the 
shrinkage  of  any  point  relative  to  any  point.  .  .  . 
Yours  always,  DAV.  GILL,  Jr. 

On  March  20,  1873,  in  a  letter  to  Professor  Henry 
Draper,  in  America,  he  says — 

As  the  prospect  of  an  early  dissolution  of  Parliament 
has  involved  Lord  Lindsay  in  politics  and  he  is  about  to 
contest  the  Borough  of  Wigan,  his  time,  you  can  thus 
very  well  understand,  is  much  occupied. 

During  1872,  Gill  had  correspondence  with  Airy  about 
the  Transit  of  Venus  and  about  Jupiter's  satellites,  as 
well  as  clock  construction.  On  March  25,  1873,  he  sends 
to  him  his  own  observations  for  latitude  on  eight  nights 
with  the  new  altazimuth  as  a  test  of  the  accuracy  of  its 
work. 

On  December  19,  1872,  he  gives  to  Messrs.  T.  Cooke  & 
Son,  of  York,  his  suggestions  for  the  control  of  a  rotary 
pendulum ;  and  later  he  discusses  the  same  with  Grubb. 

In  1873  his  tour  of  foreign  observatories  and  the 
meeting  of  astronomers  at  Hamburg  were  important 
events  in  his  life. 

To  JAMES  GILL  (in  Australia) 

THE  OBSERVATORY,  DUN  ECHT, 
Nov.  27,  1873. 

MY  DEAR  JEM, — It  really  is  a  very  long  time  since  I 
wrote  to  you. 

****** 

I  suppose  my  news  must  begin  with  my  visit  to  the 
Continent.  Well,  I  left  Leith  about  the  first  August, 
by  steamer  for  Hamburg,  along  with  the  Rev.  Prof. 
Smith1  (called  Hebrew  Smith),  one  of  the  clever  Smiths 
of  Keig.  This  was  a  Saturday,  and  the  following  Monday 
afternoon  we  steamed  into  Hamburg.  On  Saturday 
night  we  parted — he  for  Leyden  and  I  for  Copenhagen 
1  [Professor  Robertson  Smith.] 


58  DUN  ECHT  [CHAP.  VI 

via  Kiel.  I  arrived  at  Copenhagen  the  following  day 
about  noon,  saw  some  of  the  sights,  visited  the  Observa- 
tory, Prof.  D' Arrest  and  Schjellerup,  had  a  night  at  the 
observatory,  and  a  walk  and  various  glasses  of  beer  with 
the  Professors,  and  left  next  day  steamer  and  rail  for 
Stockholm. 

I  had  a  Swedish  bath  there,  a  new  sensation.  You  are 
popped  into  a  bath,  hot  water  turned  on,  and  you  get 
hotter  and  hotter,  and  an  old  woman  scrubs  you  all  the 
time  with  a  brush  and  soap,  cracks  your  joints,  and  so  on. 

Stockholm  is  a  lovely  place,  quite  intersected  by  arms 
of  the  sea — and  no  omnibuses,  all  steamers — there  are 
about  eighty  of  them  continually  plying.  I  arrived  at 
Stockholm  early  in  the  morning  and  left  by  steamer  at 
midnight  for  St.  Petersburg.  The  navigation  is  entirely 
through  islands,  and  so  you  can  only  travel  by  day.  We 
stopped  the  first  night  at  Abo,  the  next  at  Helsingfors, 
and  the  next  evening  at  St.  Petersburg.  You  pass  about 
5000  islands,  and  altogether  the  sail  is  a  most  charming 
one.  We  had  delightful  society  and  a  most  pleasant 
trip.  The  approach  to  St.  Petersburg  is  very  fine. 
First  Cronstad,  with  its  awful  strength — the  old,  huge 
granite  forts  which  Charley  Napier  did  not  knock  down, 
which  all  the  Russians  say  he  might  have  done,  and  the 
low,  iron-plated  forts,  so  awfully  strong  with  n-inch 
Armstrong  guns,  and  a  narrow  channel  full  of  torpedoes, 
and  such  a  channel  that  a  ship  must  run  the  gauntlet  of 
all  the  forts  to  get  in — speak  of  a  place  impregnable. 

Then  the  towers  of  St.  Petersburg  come  into  view — long 
thin  minarets  and  splendid  domes  richly  gilt — in  fact, 
covered  with  gold,  they  say,  as  thick  as  half  a  sovereign. 
There  I  found  two  astronomers  and  a  carriage  waiting 
me,  to  drive  me  out  to  Pulkowa,  thirteen  miles  off,  where 
I  arrived  at  eleven  o'clock  p.m.  I  got  a  most  warm- 
hearted welcome  from  Struve,  and  went  to  bed.  I  need 
not  tell  you  all  the  glories  of  Pulkowa,  but  greater  kind- 
ness I  never  met  in  my  life.  Fancy  150  people  all  living 
under  one  roof.  Five  families  of  astronomers  amongst 
the  number,  and,  of  course,  five  married  ladies,  all  in 
harmony  together — that  is  a  marvel,  is  it  not?  They 
have  each  their  separate  suite  of  five  rooms  and  can  be 
as  private  as  they  like,  but  they  have  jolly  parties  and 
have  great  fun. 

When  I  had  been  there  four  or  five  days  I  was  taken 


1872-4]     ASTRONOMISCHE  GESELLSCHAFT  59 

ill — thought  it  was  indigestion  and  tried  castor  oil — worse 
and  worse — so  went  to  St.  Petersburg.  Struve  sent  me 
in  with  his  brother-in-law,  who  looked  me  out  an  hotel 
and  a  doctor.  Doctor  said  my  digestion  was  all  right, 
but  that  I  had  inflammation  of  the  membrane  of  the 
lung  and  had  caught  it  by  cold  at  night.  Recommended 
a  good  dinner,  a  bottle  of  good  wine,  and  cold  water 
bandages.  That  dinner  did  me  a  world  of  good.  I  had 
starved  myself  and  hoped  thereby  to  get  well,  and  got 
worse.  After  three  days  I  was  able  to  get  up  and  leave 
with  Struve  for  Hamburg  (fifty-two  hours  by  rail).  I 
stopped  to  rest  at  Berlin  for  a  couple  of  days,  and  got 
much  better  there.  Then  on  to  Hamburg,  where  the 
meeting  of  the  Astronomical  Society  took  place.  We 
had  every  day  grave  meetings  from  nine  to  four,  and  then 
all  off  by  steamer  somewhere  and  had  a  jolly  dinner 
together.  I  met  and  made  the  acquaintance  of  all  the 
great  men  of  the  day,  and  enjoyed  this  very  much.1 

On  the  Saturday  (I  reached  Hamburg  on  the  Tuesday) 
Lord  Lindsay  joined  me,  and  on  the  Monday  we  were 
invited  to  take  part  in  the  deliberations  of  the  German 
Committee  for  Transit  of  Venus — so  down  we  went  to 
Hanover.  There  we  stayed  till  Thursday,  and  then  off 
to  Paris,  where  we  arrived  on  Friday  morning.  Spent 
Friday  and  Saturday  there  and  then  straight  home  to 
Aberdeen. 

Then  Mr.  Grubb  arrived  to  put  up  our  big  telescope. 
Now  Mr.  Simms  is  to  be  here  with  our  Transit  Circle. 
We  have  started  a  time-gun.  We  are  putting  up  the 
tents  and  houses  that  go  to  the  Mauritius,  and  all  together 
I  have  been  busy  as  possible  since  I  came.  Bella  sends 
the  domestic  news. 

I  have  been  twice  Roe  shooting — five  were  killed  on 
each  occasion,  but  I  did  not  get  a  chance.  We  had  the 
usual  great  day  with  the  Pheasants,  270  head,  185  Pheas- 
ants, 13  guns.  I  have  had  two  days  at  Blairythan  : 
10  brace,  9  hares  and  some  rabbits ;  and  6  hares,  7  brace, 
6  rabbits.  I  will  write  Pat  next  mail.  My  time  is  up. 
I  am  delighted  to  hear  that  things  are  looking  better. 
Your  loving  brother,  DAVID. 

1  The  present  writer  has  a  vivid  recollection  of  the  Hamburg 
meeting.  He  and  Gill  were  already  old  friends  with  common 
tastes  (both  preparing  for  Transit  of  Venus  expeditions).  At 
Hamburg  they  did  everything  in  common.  Argelander,  the 


60  DUN  ECHT  [CHAP.  VI 

Twenty-one  years  later  Gill  wrote  to  Professor  Simon 
Newcomb — 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

July  17,  1894. 

MY  DEAR  NEWCOMB, —  ...  Do  you  remember  our 
Congress  of  1873 — at  Hamburg  and  Hanover?  There  I 
first  met  you,  my  good  friend,  and  Auwers  and  Winnecke 
and  a  host  of  others  who  have  been  dear  to  me  ever 
since.  The  stimulus  which  that  meeting  gave  me  goes 
on  still.  What  did  I  not  learn  in  that  short  time  ?  What 
friendships,  useful  and  dear  to  me  ever  since  !  ! 

In  the  autumn  of  1873  the  arrival  of  Howard  Grubb 
at  Dun  Echt  to  set  up  the  great  equatoreal  and  of  Mr. 
James  Simms  to  erect  the  Transit  Circle  were  memorable 
events. 

To  HOWARD  GRUBB 

THE  OBSERVATORY,  DUN  ECHT, 

October  7,  1873. 

MY  DEAR  GRUBB, — I  should  have  written  to  you  before 
now — but  the  Heliometer  came  just  after  you  left,  and 
that  had  to  be  mounted,  and  on  the  Wednesday  morning 
I  left  for  some  shooting  and  only  returned  yesterday. 

I  had  a  splendid  night  the  Sunday  you  left.  Not  very 
steady  for  high  powers,  but  very  clear. 

****** 

I  sent  Lord  Lindsay  the  following  telegram  :  "  Night 
and  telescope  splendid.  Lamp  damnable."  1  I  did  not 
exaggerate.  The  lamp  made  me  use  very  unwontedly 
strong  language.  .  .  . — Always  yrs.,  DAV.  GILL  Jr. 

doyen  of  the  meeting,  and  also  Struve,  took  them  under  their 
charge.  The  other  most  intimate  friends  were  Auwers,  Win- 
necke, Bruhns,  Repsold,  Peters,  Rumker,  Schonfeld,  Tietjen, 
among  the  foreigners  ;  J.  C.  Adams  and  Huggins  were  the  British 
members.  Newcomb  represented  the  United  States.  They  also 
met  Zolner  and  v.  Asten.  Every  interval  in  the  daily  work  was 
occupied  by  the  two  young  enthusiasts  in  a  visit  to  Repsold 's 
works,  to  inspect  Lord  Lindsay's  Heliometer. 

1  [Expletives  of  this  kind  were  occasionally  used  by  this 
essentially  pious  man,  never  for  the  injury  of  any  one  but  only 
according  to  old  Scottish  custom  (so  it  is  related  by  Dean  Ramsay) 
as  "an  affset  to  the  conversation."] 


1872-4]  HIS  FIRST  HELIOMETER  61 

From  this  date  the  heliometer  became  his  pet  instru- 
ment, for  he  was  perfectly  astounded  at  the  minute 
accuracy  of  his  observations  with  it. 

The  first  intimation  of  an  intention  by  Lord  Lindsay 
and  Mr.  Gill  to  use  the  heliometer  at  Mauritius  for  ob- 
servations of  the  minor  planet  Juno,  as  a  second  method 
for  getting  the  solar  parallax,  appears  in  the  postscript  of 
a  letter  to  Dr.  Auwers  of  Berlin. 

1874.  March  2. — P.S. — The  Heliometer  observations 
come  out  so  beautifully  that  I  almost  think  a  good 
determination  of  the  parallax1  of  Juno  might  be  made 
from  the  parallactic  displacement  due  to  the  Earth's 
rotation.  [The  note  proceeds  to  detail  his  preliminary 
investigation.] 

At  the  same  time  he  writes  on  the  same  subject  to 
Brunnow  and  also  to  Hind. 

1  Parallax  is  an  angle  which  can  be  measured  and  from  which 
we  may  derive  the  distance  of  an  object.  Standing  at  some  fixed 
spot  in  your  garden  you  may  see  a  church  steeple  due  north. 
If  you  move  your  position  four  yards  eastward,  the  steeple  seems 
to  move  a  little  to  the  west  of  north;  one  degree  west  if  it  be 
distant  230  yards;  two  degrees  for  115  yards;  half  a  degree 
for  460  yards,  and  so  on.  Thus  if  you  measure  the  degrees  or 
fraction  of  a  degree  by  which  the  steeple's  direction  seems  to  be 
displaced,  you  are  measuring  the  parallax,  and  can  tell  the  distance 
of  the  steeple.  An  observer  on  the  equator  is  carried  daily  (by 
the  earth's  rotation)  4000  miles  (the  earth's  radius)  to  one  side 
or  other  of  the  earth's  centre.  The  consequent  change  of  a  planet's 
direction  is  its  parallax,  and  if  this  be  measured,  its  distance  can 
be  found.  An  observer  is  carried  every  year  (by  the  earth's 
revolution)  93,000,000  miles  (the  sun's  distance)  to  one  side  or 
other  of  the  sun.  The  consequent  change  of  a  star's  direction 
is  its  parallax,  and  if  this  be  measured,  its  distance  can  be  found. 
The  change  of  direction  from  the  direction  as  seen  from  the  earth's 
centre  in  one  case,  and  from  the  sun  in  the  other,  is  called  the 
parallax  of  the  planet  or  star.  The  term  solar  parallax  is  com- 
monly used  to  mean  the  maximum  parallax  of  the  sun  at  its 
mean  distance  as  observed  by  a  man  on  the  equator  at  sunrise 
or  sunset.  The  more  correct  expression  is  the  mean  equator eal 
horizontal  parallax  of  the  sun.  If,  in  the  above  terrestrial  example, 
we  substitute  1000  miles  for  a  yard,  it  can  be  applied  to  the  moon 
when  it  has  an  observed  parallax  of  i°.  The  man's  displacement 
from  the  earth's  centre  at  moonrise  or  moonset  would  be  about 
4000  miles  (the  earth's  radius),  and  the  moon's  distance  about 
230,000  miles. 


62  DUN  ECHT  [CHAP.  VI 

On  March  27,  1874,  he  answers  inquiries  from  C.  Niven 
about  spectroscopic  work,  and  especially  radial  velocity 
measurements  of  double  stars. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  binaries,  I  think,  will  prove 
to  be  Procyon.  I  send  you  a  memoir  which  my  friend 
Dr.  Auwers  has  recently  sent  me  1 — please  return  it. 
The  motion  of  Procyon  in  line  of  sight  could  be  well 
determined. 

As  the  time  available  shortened,  his  anxieties  about 
the  non-delivery  of  instruments  increased.  The  forces  of 
Nature,  too,  gave  him  the  opportunity  for  testing  his  self- 
reliance,  and  for  clear  thinking  at  the  supreme  moment 
of  apparently  irrevocable  disaster.  To  give  an  example 
of  this.  We  find  in  his  correspondence  the  whole  history 
of  his  setting  up  the  40-ft.  photographic  lens,  by  Dall- 
meyer,  In  conjunction  with  the  i6-inch  siderostat,  by 
Eichens,  and  the  photographic  plate-holder  in  the  focal 
plane,  by  Grubb,  each  being  mounted  on  a  separate 
masonry  pier,  and  housed. 

We  find  him  writing  in  great  glee  at  the  success  of  his 
preliminary  trials.  Then  comes  a  letter  to  Lord  Lindsay.2 

DUN  ECHT, 

February  27,  1874. 

DEAR  LORD  LINDSAY, — Yesterday  after  I  wrote  you 
the  gale  rose  still  higher — about  1.30  with  a  fearful  gust 
it  veered  more  to  the  East,  caught  the  Siderostat  House 
on  the  side,  threw  it  over  and  smashed  it  to  pieces 
carrying  with  it  Siderostat,  40  ft.  O.G.  stand  and  all. 
The  same  gust,  getting  under  the  floor  of  my  old  observa- 
tory, forced  open  the  door,  lifted  off  the  roof,  and  threw 
it  smashed  in  pieces  fifty  yards  off. 

I  got  men  at  once,  and  we  got  the  siderostat  removed 
in  pieces  into  the  observatory. 

I  am  thankful  to  say  the  damage  done  is  far  less  than 

1  [The  celebrated  computation  of  Procyon 's  orbit,  round  the 
invisible  companion  indicated  by  Bessel,  computed  by  Auwers, 
and  discovered  by  Schaeberle  with  the  Lick  Telescope  in  1896.] 

2  Lent  with  others  by  the  Earl  of  Crawford  and  Balcarres  from 
the  Archiva  Lindesiana. 


1872-4]  DISASTROUS  GALE  63 

I  anticipated.  The  mirror  is  safe,  and  so,  I  think,  is  the 
polar  axis,  but  we  cannot  say  until  we  have  got  it  in  the 
lathe ;  we  are  just  taking  it  to  pieces  for  that  purpose  now. 

The  sliding  arm  at  back  of  mirror  is  bent,  and  that 
must  be  renewed;  the  aluminium  arm  and  the  slow 
motion  in  Decl.  part  are  somewhat  twisted,  but  not  more, 
I  think,  than  we  can  manage  here.  Botts  really  has 
behaved  splendidly,  and  shown  an  amount  of  anxiety 
and  real  usefulness  and  interest  which,  I  think,  we  shd 
not  forget. 

The  upright  pin  upon  which  the  mirror  turns  is  bent, 
but  we  have  looked  out  a  piece  of  good  steel  (an  old 
chisel),  and  Botts  will  make  a  new  one. 

The  closest  shave,  and  most  lucky  escape,  is  the  4o-ft. 
lens.  It  was  broken  off  from  the  upright  which  carries 
it,  its  cell  squashed  and  bruised  in  an  awful  way,  and  yet 
it  seems  all  sound  unless  it  gets  some  permanent  flexure 
from  the  present  state  of  strain  in  which  it  must  be. 

I  send  it  off  to  Davis  to-day  asking  him  to  take  it 
himself  to  Dallmeyer,  get  his  report  on  it,  and  urge  its 
speedy  repair. 

I  propose,  if  you  think  well  of  it,  after  we  have  found 
out  what  parts  of  the  Siderostat  require  to  be  renewed, 
to  take  the  pieces  and  run  up  with  them  myself  to  Cooke's 
and  see  them  put  in  hand.  I  will  first  require  to  set  the 
new  houses  going  on  Monday  and  Tuesday,  and  to  receive 
Carpenter,1  and  go  on  Wednesday.  Let  me  know  if  you 
think  I  shd  do  this. 

It  was  just  touch  and  go  with  the  big  dome.  I  don't 
think  I  ever  spent  such  an  anxious  day.  Had  we  not, 
just  a  few  days  before,  arranged  a  new  plan  of  fixing 
down  the  horizontal  shutter  by  putting  a  bar  across  it  so 
[sketch  and  description],  it  would  have  been  blown  away 
— and  then  nothing  could  have  saved  the  dome. 

One  of  the  plates  in  the  roof  has  been  slackened  from 
its  rivets,  and  it  was  only  by  keeping  this  slack  plate 
always  away  from  the  wind  that  the  dome  was  saved. 
The  weathering  was  most  effectual. 

The  Heliometer  room  we  dared  not  open  yesterday. 
To-day  we  find  it  full  of  water,  and  the  floor  of  the 
chronometer  room  in  a  flood  by  water  blown  under  the  door. 


for 


1  [From  Greenwich  Observatory,  engaged  as  Gill's  chief  assistant 
r  Dun  Echt.l 


64  DUN  ECHT  [CHAP.  VI 

The  Transit  Room  is  absolutely  dry.  I  think  you 
should  order  that  wooden  porch. 

I  enclose  a  letter  just  come  from  Auwers  which  will 
explain  itself. 

I  have  a  lot  of  things  to  do  before  post  time. 

In  haste,  always  sincerely  yours,         DAV.  GILL,  Jr. 

These  are  the  occasions  that  count  in  the  education  of 
an  engineer,  who  only  by  experience  can  learn,  if  he  has 
the  self-reliance  to  meet  disaster.  But  his  trouble  with 
the  40-foot  lens  was  not  yet  over.  It  was  returned  to 
him  in  a  new  cell  apparently  perfect,  and,  greatly  relieved, 
he  writes  as  follows — 

To  MR.  J.  H.  DALLMEYER 

THE  OBSERVATORY,  DUN  ECHT, 

March  26,  1874. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  am  happy  and  thankful  to  say  the 
restored  lens  has  arrived  safely.  May  the  gods  reward 
thee. — Yours  very  truly,  DAV.  GILL,  Jr. 

But  on  April  7  he  has  to  write  a  long  letter  to  him, 
beginning  as  follows — 

I  am  sorry  to  tell  you  that  what  I  feared  is  true.  The 
4o-foot  lens  gives  a  double  image.  Ah 

This  letter  goes  on  to  describe  in  detail  the  infinite 
pains  he  took  in  locating  the  trouble.  The  siderostat 
mirror  was  tested  and  found  to  be  perfect.  The  fault 
was  definitely  located  in  the  lens.  By  turning  the  com- 
ponent parts  of  the  lens  separately  in  their  cell  as  well  as 
both  together,  and  observing  a  pin-hole  in  a  metal  plate 
at  the  focus  of  a  collimator,  and  by  testing  for  strain 
by  polarized  light,  he  was  eventually  assured  that  the 
trouble  was  wholly  due  to  faulty  curvature  of  the 
crown-glass. 

So  a  new  crown-glass  lens  had  to  be  made;  and  at 
last,  on  May  25,  not  so  long  before  his  date  for  sailing, 
he  was  able  to  write  to  Dallmeyer — 


1872-4]  FINAL  DIFFICULTIES  65 

I  have  just  tried  the  40-ft.  There  is  now  no  double 
image  by  the  test  I  described  before.  .  .  .  The  rays 
come  very  sharply  to  focus — J  inch  is  easily  detected. 
Spherical  aberration  must  be  very  perfectly  corrected. 

So  once  more,  for  the  time,  all  is  well,  and  that  trouble 
a  thing  of  the  past. 

Among  the  minor  anxieties,  as  the  time  for  sailing 
approached,  was  the  collection  and  rating  of  fifty  hired 
or  purchased  chronometers  for  differential  longitude 
determinations  between  Aden  and  Mauritius.  This  and 
the  connexion  of  longitudes  by  telegraph  between  Aden 
and  Greenwich  were  a  very  important  part  of  the  Transit 
of  Venus  work.  Finally  the  plans  for  the  voyage  had 
to  be  changed,  and  it  was  decided  that  Gill  by  himself 
should  carry  the  fifty  chronometers  and  a  portable 
altazimuth  direct  on  a  P.  &  O.  steamer  to  Aden  and 
thence  tranship  to  Mauritius,  while  Lord  Lindsay  with 
the  bulk  of  the  instruments  and  assistants  should  travel 
by  the  Cape  in  his  yacht  Venus,  of  380  tons.  The  pre- 
parations for  this  responsible  duty,  all  alone,  naturally 
gave  Gill  some  anxious  days. 

The  collection  of  the  chronometers,  and  testing  their 
rates,  was  difficult;  but  other  delays  in  the  last  few 
weeks  were  heartrending.  On  April  n,  1874,  he  writes 
to  Mr.  James  Simms :  "I  am  very  much  disappointed 
that  you  have  not  answered  my  enquiries  about  the 
altazimuth.  I  do  sincerely  hope  that  you  will  at  once 
see  to  its  being  sent  off,  when  I  explain  the  very  responsible 
position  in  which  I  shall  be  placed  and  with  only  that 
instrument  to  rely  upon."  And  again,  on  April  14,*  he 
again  writes  to  Simms :  "  It  will  be  a  most  serious  matter 
for  me  if  you  do  not  at  least  approximately  fulfil  yr 
promise  of  sending  the  Altazimuth  in  a  few  days." 

On  the  same  day  he  writes  to  Messrs.  T.  Cooke  & 
Sons:  "Are  you  going  to  drive  me  mad!  You  will  if 
you  go  on  in  this  way." 

These  urgent  representations  succeeded.     On  April  28 


66  DUN  ECHT  [CHAP,  vi 

he  tells  Simms  :  "  The  Alt.  Az.  came  last  night  and  seems 
very  fine." 

On  June  2,  1874,  he  answers  part  of  a  letter  from 
Davis  in  these  words:  "A  line  to  say  that  if  you  don't 
write  me  till  I  am  not  busy  our  correspondence  is  likely 
to  come  to  an  untimely  death/' 

To  the  same  correspondent  he  is  more  explicit  on 
June  7. 

Just  a  word  now  about  my  being  busy.  You  seem  to 
think  it  strange  my  being  so.  Tupman  x  not  so. 

1.  Capt.  Tupman  had  ever  so  many  trained  assistants. 
I  had  next  to  none. 

2.  Capt.   Tupman   was   in   the    midst   of   instrument 
makers.     I  500  miles  away  from  them. 

3.  Capt.  Tupman  had  all,  or  nearly  all,  his  instruments 
a  year  ago.     I  had  not  half  of  ours  a  month  ago. 

4.  Captain  Tupman  had  no  chronometer  expedition  to 
arrange  and  no  Heliometer  work  to  labour  at.     I  had  all 
his  different  observatories  as  well,  and  to  determine  all 
the  constants  of  the  instruments  with  my  own  hands. 

5.  Capt.  Tupman  had  all  forms  of  observation  and 
computing  done  for  him.     I  had  to  do  them  all  myself. 

6.  Capt.  Tupman  had  nothing  to  do  but  Transit  of 
Venus  work,  I  the  regular  work  and  superintendence  of 
much  going  on  here  besides.     Tupman  had  no  chrono- 
graph experiments,  which  occupied  a  fortnight  of  my 
critical  time. 

I  think  you  will  find  my  work  has  been  Tupman's  x  3, 
not  -r  3. 

In  the  end  it  was  a  satisfaction  to  find  that  he  could 
leave  Dun  Echt,  on  his  way  to  Mauritius,  conscious  that 
his*  efforts  had  been  successful  and  that  every  instrument 
was  ready.  He  was  able  to  witness  the  transport  of  his 
portable  astronomical  village  by  steam  traction  engine 
into  Aberdeen  for  shipment. 

1  [Captain  (now  Colonel)  Tupman,  R.M.A.,  was  taking  charge, 
at  Greenwich  Observatory,  of  all  preparations  for  all  the  five 
British  Expeditions.] 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  MAURITIUS  EXPEDITION    (1874-5) 

The  outward  voyage — Night  fishing — Lord  Lindsay's  arrival — 
Return  to  Egypt,  and  surveying  operations  —  Khedive's 
offer — Good-bye  to  Dun  Echt. 

THE  Arcliiva  Lindesiana  contains  the  MS.  of  a  lecture 
delivered  to  a  select  circle  by  David  Gill  at  Aberdeen 
describing  his  voyage  to  Mauritius  with  the  chronometers, 
while  Lord  Lindsay,  with  assistants  and  instruments, 
in  his  sailing  yacht,  Venus,  was  going  round  the  Cape. 
The  MS.  gives  the  reader  some  faint  notion  of  his  diffi- 
culties when  making  observations  of  stars  for  time  in 
the  short  stoppages  he  had  at  Suez  and  Aden.  Still  more 
graphic  are  the  anxieties  he  experienced  in  dealing  with 
Arab  boatmen  when  transporting  his  valuable  and  easily 
deranged  chronometers.  And  the  labour  of  comparing 
fifty  chronometers  twice  a  day  in  the  course  of  a  severe 
attack  of  sea-sickness  rouses  our  compassion. 

Having  transported  his  fifty  chronometers  from  Liver- 
pool, where  they  had  been  rated,  to  Greenwich,  he  started 
from  that  observatory  alone,  in  charge  of  them  on  two 
cabs,  leaving  Airy  and  his  assistants  bewildered  at  his 
temerity. 

He  shipped  them  at  Southampton  on  June  18,  1874, 
in  specially  fitted  cabins,  with  entire  success.  He  reached 
St.  Denis  in  Mauritius  on  August  3.  Here  he  was  wel- 
comed by  Mr.  Meldrum,  and  made  all  his  preparations 
to  set  up  the  instruments  when  they  should  arrive  with 
the  yacht,  which  did  not  happen  until  the  beginning  of 
November,  owing  to  bad  weather.  He  was  able  to  give 
assistance  to  Transit  of  Venus  observers  from  England, 

67 


68  THE  MAURITIUS  EXPEDITION     [CHAP.  VI I 

France,  Holland  and  Germany  who  were  to  be  stationed 
at  other  islands.  In  this  way  he  met  Captain  Wharton, 
commanding  H.M.S.  Shearwater,  who  was  conveying  the 
British  observer,  Mr.  Neate,  R.N.,1  to  Rodriguez.  Captain 
Wharton  afterwards  became  Hydrographer  to  the  navy 
and  so  became  very  intimate  with  Gill,  in  whose  house 
at  the  Cape  Observatory  he  died  in  1905. 

The  astronomical  results  of  this  expedition  have  been 
published  elsewhere  and  need  not  be  described  here  in 
detail.  But  the  MS.  contains  some  account  of  the 
manner  in  which  the  spare  time  was  spent  while  waiting 
for  Lord  Lindsay's  arrival. 

The  spot  chosen  for  the  observing  station,  on  climatic 
grounds,  was  on  a  part  of  the  island  which  had  been 
brought  into  cultivation,  with  astonishing  results,  by  a 
delightful  and  remarkable  Frenchman,  M.  de  Chazal. 
This  patriarch  of  the  settlement  was  pleased  to  do  all  he 
could  for  the  astronomers.  Gill  was  delighted  to  see  the 
effects  of  his  energy,  perseverance  and  taste  upon  a  bleak 
volcanic  area.  M.  de  Chazal  with  his  sons,  daughters, 
and  their  children,  all  lived  and  worked  together  at  St. 
Antomi.  When  Gill  arrived,  after  a  little  talk  the  family 
sat  down  thirty  to  breakfast.  Several  sites  were  offered ; 
and  when  "  Belmont "  was  chosen  carpenters  were 
soon  at  work  on  the  house,  and  masons  were  levelling 
and  building  pillars  for  instruments.  Every  kind  of 
amusement  was  provided  when  the  yacht  failed  to 
appear.  A  particularly  graphic  account  of  a  night's 
fishing  on  the  coral  is  full  of  life. 

Having  accepted  an  invitation  from  Rudolph  de 
Chazal  to  spear  fish  on  the  reefs  round  Amber  Island,  we 
set  off  one  evening  about  five  o'clock.  The  carriage  took 
us  to  the  beach,  and  the  boat  (named  after  the  Prince 
who  used  it)  the  Prince  Alfred  took  us  to  the  Island. 
Here  we  put  on  old  clothes,  and  sailed  for  the  reef  about 
a  mile  out  to  sea.  The  flambeaux  (great  bundles  of 
small  pitchy  sticks  bound  together)  are  lit  and  we  step 

1  Commander  Neate,  R.N.,  died  June  13,  1916. 


i874-5l        SEA-FISHING  AT  MAURITIUS  69 

out  upon  the  reef  up  to  the  knees  in  water.  Here  we 
separate  into  parties  of  two  or  three,  each  party  being 
accompanied  by  a  black  fellow  carrying  a  lighted  flambeau 
over  his  shoulder.  It  was  already  quite  dark.  Each 
flambeau  lighted  up  clearly  a  little  space  around,  showing 
the  dark  waves  breaking  white  on  the  reefs,  becoming  still 
and  green  as  they  pass  inside  the  basin.  In  the  distance 
each  party  in  its  illuminated  circle  is  seen  clear  and 
distinct  passing  off  to  its  fishing  ground,  or  a  sportsman 
stopped  over  a  pool  with  uplifted  spear  ready  to  strike. 

But  this  strange  effect  of  light  is  not  so  strange  as  the 
scene  under  foot.  The  reef  is  like  a  road,  broken  up  by 
deep  pools  and  fissures  and  flooded  with  water — but  what 
a  road !  So  beautiful !  so  variegated !  Coral  every 
shape  and  colour,  wonderful  animals,  bunches  of  sea- 
weed— all  the  wonders  of  tropical  submarine  life — new 
to  me  and  beautiful. 

Behind  is  Amber  Island,  only  visible  by  the  huge 
wood  fire  on  which  dinner  is  being  cooked,  and  the  other 
fishing  parties  getting  smaller  and  smaller  in  the  distance. 
'  Now  for  our  own  proper  work,  we  come  to  a  hole  and 
I  see  only  a  wonderful  natural  aquarium—"  See,"  says 
Rudolph,  but  I  see  nothing.  "  Ah,  he  is  gone,"  and  I 
was  too  late,  again  and  again  too  late,  and  then  at  the 
next  hole  I  thought  I  saw  a  curious  long  blue  stone,  it 
moves,  down  plunges  the  spear  and  a  struggling  at  the 
end  told  I  had  struck.  "  Keep  him  down,  keep  him  down 
to  the  bottom/'  cried  Rudolph — "now" — and  up  with 
the  spear  came  a  large  blue  fish  with  a  bill  like  a  parrot — 
and  called  the  parrot  fish.  The  Malabari  took  him  off 
and  put  him  in  a  bag  and  we  passed  on. 

This  fish  proved  to  be  the  largest  we  got  that  night,  but 
we  had  a  wonderful  collection  of  fishes  gold  and  silver, 
red  and  blue  and  grey,  and  wonderful  appetites  for  the 
excellent  dinner  we  found  waiting  us  on  Amber  Island. 

The  September  mail  brought  the  Aberdeen  carpenter 
with  the  houses  for  which  there  was  no  room  on  the 
yacht.  The  anxiety  caused  by  the  non-appearance  of 
Lord  Lindsay's  yacht  became  great,  and  it  was  not  until 
November  i  that  a  welcome  messenger  arrived  to  say 
that  Lord  Lindsay  and  Dr.  Copeland  had  left  the  yacht 
in  a  calm  with  the  steam  launch,  and  were  at  the  Hotel 
de  1'Europe  in  Port  Louis, 


70  THE  MAURITIUS  EXPEDITION    [CHAP,  vn 

Among  the  caricatures  of  eminent  men  that  used  to 
appear  in  Vanity  Fair,  by  Spy  (Leslie  Ward),  none  was 
truer  to  life  than  that  of  Xord  Lindsay,  in  May  1878. 
There  are  still  a  good  many  people  who  remember  the 
young  Lord  Lindsay  of  those  days,  his  geniality,  his 
remarkable  personality  and  his  mannerisms,  as  well  as 
the  fierce  expression  he  could  assume  on  occasion,  with 
his  red  hair  and  beard  and  his  blue  spectacles,  and  the 
temptation  is  irresistible,  to  insert  here  (literatim)  the 
manner  of  his  unannounced  arrival,  as  given  in  the  local 

paper. 

LORD  LINDSAY 

Drole  d'histoire,  tout  de  me" me,  que  celle  que  je  vais 
vous  raconter. 

Elle  a  le  privilege  d'etre  vraie,  c'est  ce  qui  fait  qu'elle 
sera  encore  plus  difficile  a  avaler. 

Done  la  voici : 

Le  noble  Lord — disons-le  noble,  puisqu'il  Test  de  par 
ses  titres, — debarquait  il  y  a  quelques  jours  parmi  nous. 

A  peine  arrive,  la  faim  le  prend,  et  il  se  fait  conduire 
a  un  hotel  quelconque. 

II  etait  v£tu  comme  son  maitre  d'equipage,  c'est  a 
dire  qu'en  le  voyant  on  n'aurait  pu  savoir  a  qui  on 
pouvait  avoir  Tavantage  de  parler. 

Milord,  done,  se  rend  a  Fhotel,  et  le  dialogue  suivant 
s  'engage  entre  lui  et  le  restaurateur. 

—  Bonjour  monsieur. 

—  Bonjour. 

—  Je  voudrais  bien  prendre  quelque  chose. 

—  Que  desirez  vous  ? 

-  Avez-vous  du  sherry  ? 
-Oui. 

Et  Thotelier  le  regarde,  avec  Tair  de  se  demander  : — 
"  mais  peut-il  payer?  " 

Le  costume  du  visiteur  repondait  negativement  a 
cette  importante  question. 

—  Servez  moi,  dit  milord. 

Et  comme  1'hotelier  se  grattait  la  t£te  pour  savoir  s'il 
f allait  obeir,  ou  non  : 

—  "  Qu'est  ce  que  vous  avez  ici  de  bon  a  manger?  " 
— -  J'ai  du  rostbeef .  .  .  . 

—  No! 


LORD    LINDSAY,  M.P.,  F.R.S.,  P.R.A.S. 


1874-5]  A  HUMOROUS  DIALOGUE  71 

—  J'ai  du  plumpudding.  .  .  . 

—  No!! 

—  J'ai  du  jambon.  .  .  . 

—  No  !  !  !     Donne-moi  des  sand  witches. 
Tutoye,  Fhotelier  se  cabre. 

-  Ah  !   mais  permettez.  .  .  . 

—  Assez  cause.     Servez  moi ! 

Enfin  on  le  sert  avec  une  perplexite  croissante.  Milord 
boit,  mange,  se  rince  la  bouche,  jette  sa  serviette,  et  se  leve. 

—  Pouvez-vous  me  donner  une  chambre  ?  dit-il. 

—  L  hotelier    qui    tremble    pour    sa    consommation, 
repond  aussitot : 

—  Ca  depend  .  .  .  nous  verrons  ca  tout  a  1'heure. 

—  Ah  !  .  .  .  bien  !   dit  milord. 

Et  machant  son  cure-dents,  il  s'eloigne  dans  la  direction 
de  la  porte  d'entree. 

En  deux  bonds,  Fhotelier  franchit  le  perron,  et  le 
re  joint. 

Milord  se  retourne  et  le  toise. 

-  Comment    appelez-vous    ce    monument  ?  dit-il,    en 
designant  le  palais  de  justice. 

—  Ca,  c'est  la  Cour  !   dit  Fautre  visiblement  agace. 

—  Et  cela? 

—  fa,  c'est  la  cathedrale. 

—  Ah  !  tres  bien  !  tres  bien.     Joli  I    Ah  !  bien  joli  .  .  . 
bonjour  ! 

L'hotelier  qui  se  croit  joue,  se  plante  heroiquement 
devant  lui : 

—  Mais    les    consommations    se    payent    comptant  ! 
s'ecria-t-il. 

—  Ah  !   dit  milord  qui  ne  comprend  rien  a  son  air, — 
tres  bien  ! 

Et  tirant  des  souverains  de  sa  poche  il  en  donne  un  a 
Fhotelier  ebahi. 

-  Attendez  que  je  vous  rende  le  change  !  dit  ce  dernier 
subitement  calme*. 

—  No  !   gardez. 

—  Mais  si  fait ! 

-  No  !   je  vous  dis  gardez. 

—  Mais,  monsieur,  je  n'ai  pas  besoin  de  recevoir  un 
cadeau  de  vous. 

—  No  !   gardez.  .  .  . 

-  Mais  monsieur.  .  .  . 
MILORD  S'£LOIGNE. 


72  THE  MAURITIUS  EXPEDITION    [CHAP.  VII 

-  Au   fait,   continue   I'hotelier,    comme   vous   m'avez 
demande   une   chambre,   ca   se   retrouvera   entre   nous. 
Sous  quel  nom  f  aut-il  vous  inscrire  ? 

Milord  se  detourne  alors,  £t  avec  le  flegme  britannique  : 
—  Lord  Lindsay  !   dit-il. 

-  Lord     Lindsay  !  .  .  .      Milord  !     pardon  !     pardon 
Milord  !  !  !    s' eerie  le  malheureux  hotelier.     Je  ne  savais 
pas  !   pardonnez  moi. 

-  Ouais  !    tres  bien  .  .  .  arrangez  la  chambre. 

Et  il  sort  ait  les  deux  mains  dans  les  poches,  tandis  que 
1 'hotelier  saluait  a  reculons. 

The  valuable  work  accomplished  by  Lord  Lindsay's 
Mauritius  expedition  is  accessible  to  all  astronomers 
in  the  Dun  Echt  publications.  Clouds  interfered  with  the 
critical  observation  to  get  the  time  of  apparent  internal 
contact  of  the  edges  of  Venus  and  the  sun.  But  they  got 
photographs  and  heliometer  measures  during  the  transit 
of  Venus,  as  a  black  spot,  over  the  sun's  surface. 

It  is  a  lamentable  fact  that,  at  least  in  Gill's 
opinion,  the  net  result  of  all  the  costly  private  and 
national  transit  of  Venus  expeditions  amounts  to  this  : 
that  the  time  of  true  contact  cannot  be  fixed  with  cer- 
tainty, and  that  this  method  for  determining  the  sun's 
distance  cannot  be  relied  upon,  and  is  useful  only  as  a 
check. 

Lord  Lindsay  and  Gill  had,  however,  another  string 
to  their  bow.  The  heliometer  was  used  for  measuring 
the  distance  of  the  minor  planet  Juno,  then  in  opposition. 
This  result  gave  for  the  sun's  distance  a  value  which  we 
now  know  to  be  close  to  the  truth.  But  the  work  was 
not  done  under  the  best  conditions,  owing  to  the  delay  in 
the  yacht's  arrival  until  after  the  planet  had  passed  the 
most  favourable  position.  This  experience  neverthe- 
less convinced  Gill  that  the  best  method  for  getting  the 
sun's  distance  would  be  found  in  heliometer  observations 
of  a  minor  planet  in  opposition.1 

1  See  the  extremely  able  articles  on  Solar  Parallax  by  D.  Gill, 
in  The  Observatory  for  1878. 


i874-5]  HOMEWARD  BOUND  73 

The  chronometric  longitude  determinations  were  ol 
great  value  to  astronomy  and  geography.  But  the 
grandest  result  for  astronomy  of  this  expedition  was 
that  it  made  a  man.  Gill's  reputation  as  a  most  ac- 
curate observer  and  organizer  was  established;  he  had 
gained  confidence  in  himself  to  carry  out  any  such  work, 
however  difficult,  that  he  might  undertake;  and  he  had 
proved  the  value  of  the  heliometer  by  the  accuracy  and 
consistency  of  his  own  observations. 

On  January  8,  1875,  Gill  sailed  from  Mauritius 
with  chronometers  for  the  final  work  of  connecting  the 
longitudes  of  Belmont  in  Mauritius  with  (i)  the  Isle  of 
Reunion,  (2)  The  Seychelles,  (3)  Aden,  (4)  Suez,  (5) 
Alexandria,  (6)  Malta,  (7)  Berlin.  He  arrived  at  Aden 
on  January  20;  and  some  interesting  facts  are  given  in 
a  letter  to  Lord  Lindsay's  mother  at  Florence. 

To  LADY  CRAWFORD 

ADEN, 
January  23,  1875. 

DEAR  LADY  CRAWFORD, — I  am  very  glad  to  hear 
that  my  letters  have  interested  you,  and  still  more  so 
that  you  are  pleased  with  the  arrangements  I  made  at 
Mauritius.  .  .  .  We  have  had  so  much  to  do  in  Mauritius, 
owing  to  the  late  arrival  of  the  Yacht,  that  we  have  been 
all  overworked,  and  a  few  days  before  I  left,  Lord 
Lindsay  was  quite  knocked  up.  .  .  .  The  Aden  Mauritius 
steamers  as  you  know  are  not  very  good,  and  there  was 
a  very  fine  steamer  coming  which  should  sail  from  Port 
Louis  for  Ceylon.  Lord  Lindsay  was  to  avail  himself 
of  this.  ...  To  complicate  matters  Dr.  Copeland  became 
ill  and  we  lost  his  assistance  for  ten  days.  But  we  were 
fortunately  favoured  with  very  clear  nights,  and  all  this 
great  mass  of  work  has  been  done  between  Xmas  Day 
and  the  6th  Jan?,  and  I  believe  thoroughly  well  done.  .  .  . 

At  Reunion  I  went  ashore  at  once  and  got  Dr.  Oude- 
mans  to  come  on  board,  bringing  his  chronometers  with 
him.  Their  error  was  determined  the  previous  night, 
and  so  the  comparison  we  then  made  was  the  means  of 
connecting  Reunion  in  the  circle  of  longitudes  of  which 
Belmont  is  the  centre. 


74  THE  MAURITIUS  EXPEDITION    [CHAP.  VII 

I  was  very  anxious  to  determine  the  longitude  of  Mahi, 
the  capital  of  the  Seychelles,  ...  as  Captain  Wharton 
is  making  it  a  point  from  which  to  determine  the  longi- 
tudes in  his  survey  of  the  jeoast  of  Africa  near  Zanzibar. 

I  had  to  land  an  instrument  on  arrival  and  determine 
time  by  sun  or  stars  or  whatever  I  could  get, — but  because 
of  measles  at  Bomba  [?]  we  were  put  in  quarantine.  I 
then  applied  to  the  Captain  to  be  allowed  to  land  on  the 
Quarantine  Island.  .  .  .  The  little  Captain,  however, 
was  in  such  a  rage  at  being  put  in  quarantine  that  he  would 
not  allow  me  to  land,  or  what  was  the  same  thing  would 
not  give  me  a  boat  to  go,  and  I  was  in  despair  when  to 
my  great  delight  I  heard  the  cheerful  voice  of  my  friend 
Captain  Wharton— "  Hullo  Gill,  are  you  there?" — He 
had  been  detained  on  some  surveys  of  reefs  on  his  way 
to  Seychelles,  and  hearing  we  would  be  put  in  Quarantine 
had  turned  out  all  his  officers  during  the  day  to  observe 
equal  altitudes  of  the  Sun  for  time,  and  had  come  off 
himself  to  get  one  of  Lord  Lindsay's  chronometers  for 
comparison  with  his  own. 

He  had  previously  obtained  permission  from  the 
health  officer  to  be  allowed  to  receive  two  chronometers, 
"  if  they  were  previously  disinfected."  I  applied  to  the 
Captain  to  send  the  chronometers. — "  What !  chrono- 
meters !  send  chronometers  !  Where  ?  Who  ?  What  ? 
Have  I  not  told  you  you  cannot  go?  " 

"  I  don't  wish  to  go — only  to  send  chronometers." 

"  But  you  cannot — impossible — quite  impossible." 

"  Will  you  not  assist  me?  " 

"  No,  I  shall  not.     Why  should  I  ?  " 

"  In  the  cause  of  science." 

"  I  know  nothing  of  science,  only  money." 

(I  must  tell  you  the  Captain  always  when  excited  takes 
every  astronomer  for  a  Prussian  because  he  has  four 
Prussian  astronomers  on  board  and  it  is  almost  too  much 
for  him.) 

"  But  it  is  of  importance." 

"  Important  or  not  it  is  nothing  to  me.  They  have 
put  me  in  quarantine,  and  am  I  to  break  quarantine  for 
your  sake? — you  whom  I  carry  only  because  you  pay." 

r<  What  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"  Ah,  pardon,  I  thought  of  these  Prussians." 

"  Well,  Captain  Wharton  is  there  and  has  obtained 
permission  to  take  two  chronometers  from  the  ship." 


1874-5]  ARRIVAL   IN   EGYPT  75 

"  Eh — what — obtained  permission,  you  say?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  To  land  chronometers  !  They  make  exceptions  for 
him  and  they  will  not  allow  me  to  land  anything.  Very 
good,  I  will  write  to  the  Governor." 

"  Yes,  I  think  you  are  quite  right.  You  should  allow 
me  to  land  the  chronometers,  and  then  you  will  have 
good  cause  of  complaint." 

"  Exactly." 

So  the  chronometers  having  been  duly  rubbed  with 
vinegar  were  put  into  a  boat  and  dropped  astern  when 
Captain  Wharton  received  them,  and  the  little  Captain 
retired  to  his  cabin  where  I  saw  him  for  a  long  time 
furiously  composing  letters  to  the  Governor.  .  .  . 

On  passing  through  Egypt  [on  the  way  out]  I  happened 
to  meet  one  of  the  surveyors  of  Egypt — he  told  me  of 
the  commencement  of  a  survey  of  the  country.  .  .  . 
The  consequence  was  first  a  private  letter  asking  if  I 
would  undertake  to  measure  a  base  line  in  Egypt.  I 
asked  Lord  Lindsay's  consent,  and  he  has  kindly  given 
it.  ...  I  have  on  arrival  here  an  official  letter  from  the 
Minister  of  Public  Works,  desiring  me  to  convey  the 
thanks  of  the  Government  to  Lord  Lindsay.  ...  I  hope 
to  see  Lord  Lindsay  in  Egypt  on  his  way  home.  Mrs. 
Gill  is  at  Cannes.  .  .  . 

With  kind  regards  to  Lord  Crawford  and  all  the  family, 
I  remain. — Sincerely  yours,  DAV.  GILL,  Jr. 

Gill  telegraphed  from  Aden  to  his  wife  at  Cannes 
to  join  him  in  Alexandria.  Having  completed  his 
observations  at  Aden  and  Suez  he  reached  Alexandria 
and  mounted  his  altazimuth  on  the  roof  of  the  hotel 
where  he  and  his  wife  lived.  Mr.  Gibbs  of  the  Eastern 
Telegraph  Company  assisted  them.  Then  they  went 
to  Cairo  and  became  the  guests  of  the  Khedive  Ismail. 
Finally,  they  took  up  their  abode  in  an  untenanted  house 
which  the  Khedive  furnished  for  them,  at  the  Pyramids — 
what  has  since  become  the  Mena  Hotel.  Among  the 
scientific  friends  who  visited  them  were  Dr.  Dollen  of 
Pulkowa,  Professor  and  Mrs.  Watson  of  Ann  Arbor, 
U.S.A.,  and  Colonel  Sir  Charles  Moore  Watson,  R.E., 


76  THE  MAURITIUS  EXPEDITION    [CHAP,  vn 

K.C.M.G.,  C.B.,  the  friend  and  lieutenant  of  General 
Gordon.  Without  Professor  Watson's  help  he  could 
hardly  have  succeeded  in  pleasuring  the  base,  so  un- 
trustworthy did  he  find  fiis  Arab  engineer  assistants. 
The  work  was  satisfactorily  done,  and  the  two  astro- 
nomers then  set  to  work  on  an  accurate  measurement 
of  the  pyramid  base,  clearing  out  all  the  sand  from  the 
corner-stones. 

Mr.  Flinders  Petrie,  in  speaking  of  measurements  at  the 
Pyramids,  tell  us  1 — 

Mr.  Gill — now  Astronomer  Royal  at  the  Cape — when 
engaged  in  Egypt  in  the  Transit  Expedition  of  1874, 
made  the  next  step,  by  beginning  a  survey  of  the  Great 
Pyramid  base,  in  true  geodetic  style.  This  far  surpassed 
all  previous  work  in  its  accuracy,  and  was  a  noble  result 
of  the  three  days'  labour  that  he  and  Professor  Watson 
were  able  to  spare  for  it.  When  I  was  engaged  in  reducing 
the  triangulation  for  Mr.  Gill  in  1879,  he  impressed  on 
me  the  need  of  completing  it  if  I  could,  by  continuing  it 
round  the  whole  pyramid,  as  two  of  the  corners  were 
only  just  reached  by  it  without  any  check. 

Unfortunately,  in  the  course  of  Egypt's  troubles  later 
on,  the  MSS.  relating  to  the  base  line,  which  were  in 
General  Stone's  care  at  Cairo,  seem  to  have  got  lost; 
Major  Lyons,  R.E.,  F.R.S.,too,  informs  us  that  the  Arabs 
at  Gizeh  destroyed  all  the  landmarks  left  by  Gill  and 
chipped  out  the  engraved  metal  plates  which  marked  the 
extremities  of  the  measured  base. 

Lord  Lindsay  paid  the  Gills  a  visit  on  his  way  through 
to  his  parents  at  Florence,  and  after  the  work  was 
finished  further  matters  of  scientific  interest  arose  at  the 
initiative  of  General  Stone  and  the  Khedive.  Before 
speaking  of  them  it  may  be  right  to  insert  here  a  summary 
of  what  he  accomplished  during  his  residence  with  his 
wife  among  the  Arabs  at  Gizeh.  This  is  compactly  put, 

1  Pyramids  and  Temples  of  Gizeh,  1883,  p.  2.  See  also  further 
details  about  this  survey  at  pp.  205-7  °*  the  sauie  book  by  Mr. 
Flinders  Petrie. 


1874-5]          WORK  AT  THE  PYRAMIDS  77 

in  a  final  letter  to  Lord  Lindsay  before  embarking  at 
Suez  for  England. 

To  LORD  LINDSAY  (at  Florence) 

CAIRO,  May  14,  1875. 
DEAR  LORD  LINDSAY, — 

****** 

I  have  not  much  time  to  write  for  I  only  finished 
work  late  last  night  and  have  everything  to  prepare  to 
start  for  Suez  to-morrow  with  a  special  train  to  catch  the 
steamer. 

I  defer  a  full  account  of  the  work  done  till  we  meet, 
but  I  have  measured  a  very  very  accurate  kilometre, 
established  the  latitude  and  longitude  of  the  Great 
Pyramid,  and  measured  the  sides  and  height  of  the  Great 
Pyramid  to  +  i  millim.,  and  their  exact  azimuths  by  a 
triangulation. 

Dollen  and  I  began  a  determination  of  the  deviation 
of  the  plumb  line  by  the  Great  Pyramid,  but  poor 
Dollen  was  seized  with  a  return  of  haemmorhage  of  the 
lung  and  compelled  to  go,  with  his  instrument,  before  we 
could  get  any  result.  (The  true  displacement  is  about 
2".)  Professor  Watson  of  Ann  Arbor  has  been  here  for 
the  last  fortnight  and  has  helped  me  very  much.  .  .  . 

To  PROFESSOR  NEWCOMB  (at  Washington) 

ALEXANDRIA,  February  21,  1875. 

MY  DEAR  NEWCOMB, — I  am  here  in  Egypt  on  my  way 
home  from  Mauritius,  and  among  my  letters  find  one 
from  Grubb  of  Dublin  which  is  the  immediate  cause  of 
my  writing  to  you. 

He  tells  me  that  you  have  been  making  the  round  of 
the  European  optical  workshops  in  quest  of  a  maker 
for  the  great  telescope  of  the  new  Californian  observatory. 
He  asks  me  to  write  you  and  tell  you  my  opinion  of 
himself  as  a  mechanic  and  an  optician.  .  .  . 

The  Transit  is  over.  We  lost  first  contact  at  Mauritius 
but  got  a  very  fine  lot  of  photographs,  some  good  Helio- 
meter  measures  and  some  double  image  measures  of 
Venus'  diameter. 


78  THE  MAURITIUS  EXPEDITION     [CHAP.  VI I 

In  November  I  got  a  fine  set  of  determinations  of  the 
diurnal  parallax  of  Juno  which  I  believe  will  give  a  very 
excellent  result  of  the  Solar  Parallax. 


Always  sincerely  yrs.,  DAV.  GILL,  Jr. 

While  Gill  was  carrying  on  his  measurements  at  or 
near  Cairo,  from  February  to  May  15,  General  Stone, 
who  was  the  Khedive's  adviser,  recommended  an  accurate 
survey  of  Egypt;  and  the  Khedive  invited  Gill  to 
carry  it  out  in  one  or  other  of  two  ways,  (i)  To  sever 
the  connexion  with  Lord  Lindsay  and  to  enter  the 
Khedive's  service  as  Director  of  Surveys,  (2)  To  direct 
the  survey  from  Dun  Echt,  paying  a  visit  every  year  to 
Egypt. 

At  this  time  Lord  Lindsay,  in  poor  health,  was  resting 
with  his  father  and  mother  at  the  Villa  Palmieri  in 
Florence.  Gill  sent  on  to  him  the  proposals  of  the 
Khedive,  asking  if  there  would  be  any  objection  to  his 
going  to  Egypt  every  year  for  a  couple  of  months. 

Lord  Lindsay  clearly  saw  that  this  would  not  work, 
but  both  he  and  Lord  Crawford  wrote  on  March  19 
earnestly  supporting  the  proposal  that  Gill  should  take 
up  permanently  the  influential  and  honourable  appoint- 
ment offered  to  him.  They  thought  not  only  that  the 
position  would  be  the  best  possible  opening  for  him,  to 
a  far  greater  career  than  he  could  hope  for  as  Lord 
Lindsay's  assistant,  but  also  after  having  worked  so  well 
together  in  completing  the  great  Transit  of  Venus  Ex- 
pedition, this  would  be  a  suitable  occasion  for  a  change ; 
and,  if  Lord  Lindsay  and  Lord  Crawford  were  now  to 
object  to  losing  his  assistance,  they  felt  that  they  would 
be  incurring  an  obligation,  in  honour  if  not  in  law, 
to  continue  the  existing  relationship  indefinitely,  even 
should  they  themselves  wish  at  any  future  time  to  alter 
the  mode  of  carrying  on  the  observatory. 

Gill    saw   the   importance    of   the    views    put    before 


1874-5]         KHEDIVE'S  OFFER  TO  GILL  79 

him,  both  by  Lord  Lindsay  and  Lord  Crawford,  and 
eventually  wrote  to  say  that,  if  the  Khedive  would  show 
good  cause,  he  would  accept  the  appointment.  On 
May  14,  however,  a  letter  to  Lord  Lindsay  shows  that 
the  Khedive  had  ended  the  matter  differently.  There 
already  existed  in  Cairo  an  Astronomer  and  also  a  Pro- 
fessor of  Geodesy.  These  Egyptians  became  alarmed  at 
the  proposals  made  to  Gill,  and 

moved  heaven  and  earth  to  persuade  the  Viceroy  that  the 
existing  maps  were  for  the  present  good  enough,  that 
Egypt  should  be  surveyed  by  Egyptians  not  by  foreigners, 
etc.,  etc.,  and  finally  upset  all  General  Stone's  plans. 

So  it  fell  out  that  it  was  the  Khedive,  in  fact,  who  first 
put  it  into  the  heads  of  Lord  Crawford,  Lord  Lindsay 
and  Mr.  Gill,  that  their  existing  relationship  might  not 
necessarily  be  permanent.  There  was  indeed  already 
a  vast  change  in  their  relative  positions.  Gill  was  no 
longer  the  young  amateur  hoping  for  some  opportunity 
to  leave  a  commercial  career  for  astronomy.  He  had 
already  become  an  astronomical  observer  and  organizer, 
with  a  scientific  reputation,  living  in  close  intimacy  and 
continuous  correspondence  with  many  of  the  greatest 
living  astronomers.  Struve  and  Dollen,  Foerster,  Vogel 
and  Auwers,  Backhuyzen  and  Oudemans  were  in  frequent 
correspondence  with  him,  as  well  as  Newcomb,  Airy, 
Adams,  Stokes,  Huggins,  and  many  others.  The  pro- 
posals for  the  Mauritius  expedition,  and  for  getting  the 
sun's  distance  from  observations  on  Juno  by  heliometer — 
these  had  been  published  as  common  property  with  Lord 
Lindsay.  But  it  was  Gill  himself  who,  by  the  results 
already  attained,  had  proved  himself  an  incomparable 
observer,  with  an  instinct  in  the  use  of  instruments  and 
a  perfect  genius  for  the  combining  of  check  observations 
for  the  elimination  of  systematic  error.  These  qualities 
were  known  to  his  correspondents  and  had  now  raised 
him  to  a  high  rank  among  practical  astronomers. 


80          THE  MAURITIUS  EXPEDITION     [CHAP.  VII 

He  may  not  himself  have  been  fully  conscious  of  all 
this,  but  he  was  very  conscious  of  the  extent  to  which 
any  advance  he  had  made^  was  due  to  his  position  as 
Lord  Lindsay's  assistant. 

On  his  return  to  Dun  Echt  the  little  house  built  for 
him  beside  the  observatory  often  received  distinguished 
visitors.  Lady  Crawford  (Lord  Lindsay's  mother),  how- 
ever, when  the  house  was  built  (to  establish  a  Director 
or  assistant  on  a  very  modest  salary  to  carry  on  observa- 
tions under  Lord  Lindsay's  direction)  had  never  intended 
that  such  an  assistant  should  be  a  man  of  great  reputation, 
receiving  visitors  whose  equipages  would  have  to  be  put 
up  in  her  stables.  She  had  never  thought  that  in  build- 
ing the  observatory  house,  they  were  establishing  a 
gentleman's  villa  in  the  very  middle  of  their  park. 

Her  view  was  perhaps  a  not  unnatural  one,  and 
accordingly  Lady  Crawford  resolved  to  revert  to  her 
original  intentions,  and  to  cut  down  the  amenities  which 
had  arisen  round  the  residence,  and  also  to  give  a  part  of 
the  Gills'  house  to  Mr.  Carpenter,  Gill's  assistant,  and 
his  wife. 

However  sound  this  judgment  may  have  been  as  to 
the  position  to  be  occupied  by  the  Director  of  Lord 
Lindsay's  Observatory,  it  could  not  be  very  satisfactory 
either  to  Lord  Lindsay  or  to  Mr.  Gill.  The  position,  in 
fact,  became  intolerable. 

Meanwhile,  it  was  becoming  very  difficult  for  Gill  to 
do  no  more  than  act  solely  in  carrying  out  the  orders  of 
his  chief,  and  for  Lord  Lindsay  to  feel  justified  in  limit- 
ing Gill's  energies  to  his  own  conceptions  about  the  work 
of  his  observatory.  Then  the  situation  created  by  Lady 
Crawford's  objections  was  well  considered  and  the  two 
friends  decided  to  part,  with  undiminished  friendship 
and  esteem  on  both  sides. 

There  never  had  been,  in  the  history  of  astronomy,  a 
more  successful  partnership,  or  one  so  entirely  devoid 
of  friction ;  or  one  in  which  each  party  was  so  absolutely 


i874-5]     THE   PARTNERSHIP  DISSOLVED  81 

loyal  to  the  other,  with  an  ever-growing  affectionate 
friendship.  And  Gill  never  in  his  life  forgot  his  debt  to 
Lord  Lindsay  for  rescuing  him  from  a  tradesman's  career. 
But  after  the  most  careful  consideration  they  agreed  it 
was  best  that  Lord  Crawford  should  determine  the  agree- 
ment of  December  1871,  by  giving  notice  of  six  months 
and  paying  the  sum  stipulated  in  their  original  bond. 
This  was  in  November  1875,  but  Gill  carried  on  the 
work  beyond  the  six  months. 

Had  this  most  wise  decision  been  avoided  it  would  have 
become  inevitable  either  that  Lord  Lindsay  should  lose 
control  of  his  own  observatory,  or  that  Gill  would  be 
unable  to  make  the  most  of  such  talents  as  he  possessed 
for  the  advancement  of  astronomy. 

The  writer  was  fortunate  enough  to  visit  the  happy 
home  of  the  Gills  at  Dun  Echt,  had  the  great  pleasure  of 
Lord  Lindsay's  acquaintance,  learnt  from  each  of  them 
the  respect  and  affection  in  which  he  held  the  other; 
has  read  all  the  existing  letters  between  them,  and  has 
been  told  by  Gill  himself  of  the  way  in  which  their 
partnership  came  to  an  end;  and  he  would  like  to 
express  his  admiration  of  the  unselfish  loyalty  and 
sympathy  of  each  of  these  men  to  the  other  not  only 
during  the  years  while  they  worked  together,  but  through- 
out life.  At  the  same  time  he  has  now  the  opportunity 
of  testifying  to  the  debt  that  astronomy  owes  to  Lord 
Lindsay  for  his  prophetic  insight  when  he  transformed 
David  Gill  from  a  watchmaker  into  an  astronomer. 

When  James  Ludovic  Lindsay,  the  twenty-sixth  Earl 
of  Crawford,  and  Earl  of  Balcarres,  died  on  January  31, 
1913,  Sir  David  Gill  wrote  an  excellent  biography  of  his 
old  chief,  which  appeared  in  Nature  on  February  13,  in 
which,  after  enumerating  his  scientific  works,  he  says — 

He  had  an  inborn  genius  for  mechanics  and  engineering, 
a  love  of  science  in  every  form,  and  a  passion  for  travel ; 
and  inherited  from  his  father  the  love  of  all  things  rare 


82          THE  MAURITIUS  EXPEDITION     [CHAP.  VII 

and  beautiful,  together  with  the  instinct  of  the  antiquarian, 
the  bibliophile  and  the  collector.  His  generous  and 
sympathetic  nature  endeared  him  to  all  who  were  his 
fellow  workers,  and  more  than  one  man  has  to  thank  him 
for  scientific  opportunity  that  would  have  otherwise  have 
been  denied  him. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

INTERREGNUM — MARS  EXPEDITION  TO  ASCENSION 
(1876-8) 

Last  days  at  Dun  Echt — Sir  George  Airy — Ascension  expedition — 
A  catastrophe — Anxieties — Success — Mars  Bay — Mrs.  Gill. 

THE  last  year  of  the  Gills'  residence  at  Dun  Echt  (1875-6) 
was  a  year  of  great  happiness  in  many  ways.  The  astro- 
nomical work  was  largely  computation  of  results  obtained 
at  Mauritius,  and  further  checking  and  measuring  the 
minute  instrumental  errors  which  inevitably  attend  the 
finest  constructions  by  human  hands.  Outside  of  this 
work  there  was  much  to  brighten  Gill's  life.  The  con- 
siderable reputation  he  had  made  as  an  observer,  and 
as  a  planner  of  new  and  more  accurate  methods  for 
attacking  astronomical  problems,  had  brought  him  into 
consultation  with  some  of  the  greatest  intellects  of  the 
day.  His  experiences  abroad  had  widened  his  outlook 
beyond  the  boundaries  of  his  own  parish.  At  the  same 
time  his  personal  friends  in  Scotland,  while  recognizing 
the  success  which  had  attended  his  perseverance  and 
industry,  were  delighted  to  find  that  there  was  no 
change  in  the  genial  cordiality  of  his  interest  in  the 
occupations  of  his  friends.  Thus  his  artistic  friends,  in 
sculpture,  painting  and  music,  rallied  to  his  house  for 
those  intellectual  and  aesthetic  symposiums  for  which  his 
home  was  then  and  afterwards  famous.  John  Brodie, 
Sir  George  Reid  and  his  brother  Archie,  Robertson  Smith 
and  many  others,  found  their  way  out  to  the  observatory 
house. 

83 


84  INTERREGNUM  [CHAP.  VIII 

Sir  George  Reid's  letters  to  him  at  this  time  were  nearly 
always  illustrated  by  quaint  designs,  and  show  his  great 
appreciation  equally  of  t}*e  astronomer  and  the  man. 
To  Gill  he  exposed  a  humorous  side  of  his  nature  almost 
unknown  to  his  other  associates.  Those  who  have  read 
Mr.  John  Kerr's  charming  Memories  Grave  and  Gay  will 
recall  his  notes  in  Chapter  XIX  of  the  little  club  of  artists 
and  literati,  including  David  Gill,  who  used  to  meet  at 
this  time,  as  a  club,  in  the  old  manse  of  Deer. 

It  was  at  this  time,  too,  that  his  brother  Jem  came 
home  from  Australia  for  a  holiday.  This  was  the  last 
time  that  these  two  were  to  meet  in  this  world;  and  it 
remained  a  constant  pleasure  to  both  of  them,  there- 
after, to  recall  the  happy  days  they  spent  together  in  their 
old  occupations  of  rifle-shooting  and  cup-hunting  at  the 
various  wapinschaws;  besides  the  more  trivial  amuse- 
ments of  social  parties  and  dancing,  in  which  the  two 
brothers  took  a  great  delight. 

In  the  early  summer  of  1876  Sir  George  Airy  paid  one 
of  his  much  enjoyed  visits  with  his  daughters  to  Scotland, 
this  time  to  the  far  north  and  the  Orkneys.  In  his  auto- 
biography reference  is  made  to  the  visit  he  then  paid 
to  Mr.  Webster,  M.P.  for  Aberdeen.1  Here  once  more 
he  met  David  Gill  and  learnt  more  about  his  work  and 
occupations.  At  the  date  referred  to,  Airy  was  recog- 
nized, even  by  those  Directors  of  Observatories  who  had 
differences  with  him,  as  occupying  unchallenged  the  very 
first  place  in  the  world  as  Astronomer  and  Director  of  a 
National  Observatory.  Adams  and  others  might  have 
attained  his  level  in  astronomical  research.  Otto  Struve's 
method  for  conducting  an  observatory  might  be  preferred 
by  some  to  his  own.  But  the  fact  remained  that  he  was 
the  first  man  of  the  day  in  the  astronomical  world.  His 
mathematical  methods  were  looked  upon  by  some  of  the 
Cambridge  pioneers  as  clumsy,  but  they  were  infallible 
so  far  as  they  went.  The  orderly  habit  of  mind  which 
1  Sir  G.  B.  Airy's  Autobiography,  p.  318. 


1876-8]  GEORGE  BIDDELL  AIRY  85 

was  based  on  geometry  governed  the  methods  and  system 
in  astronomical  reductions  with  which  his  name  is  always 
associated,  as  well  as  the  strictness  of  rules  in  the  con- 
duct of  his  observatory  about  which  some  of  his  foreign 
visitors  told  amusing  tales.  The  same  geometrically 
exact  turn  of  mind  governed  his  designs  for  astronomical 
instruments.  He  was  a  born  engineer,  and  it  was  he  who 
first  took  the  construction  of  equatoreal  and  transit-circle 
mountings  out  of  the  hands  of  the  optician  and  maker  of 
surveying  instruments,  and  entrusted  them  to  the  great 
firms  of  mechanical  engineers.  Add  to  this  the  strict 
sense  of  duty  towards  his  science,  his  country,  and  the 
Admiralty  in  whose  employment  he  was,  and  we  have  a 
fair  notion  of  this  stern,  unbending  Astronomer  Royal, 
who  for  so  many  years  maintained  the  reputation  of 
Greenwich  Observatory  as  the  most  fertile  home  of 
accurate  astronomy  of  position  in  existence. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten,  however,  that  Sir  George 
Biddell  Airy  had  a  very  human  side.  His  great  reserve 
could  not  conceal  from  his  intimates  the  depth  of  his 
domestic  affections.  Although  to  the  scientific  world 
his  sterner  qualities  alone  were  apparent,  his  intimate 
friends  derived  infinite  pleasure  from  his  genial  interest 
in  themselves,  his  love  of  nature,  of  historical  enquiries, 
of  humorous  anecdote,  of  literature  and  of  music.1 

David  Gill  possessed  a  very  strong  bump  of  veneration, 
and  was  much  influenced  by  the  character  of  the  Astro- 
nomer Royal.  Airy,  on  his  part,  had  followed  Gill's 
progress  with  great  attention,  and  had  the  very  highest 
opinion  of  his  capabilities  as  an  observer. 

During  his  visit  to  Mr.  Webster  in  Aberdeen,  the  Gills 
and  Airys  were  lunching  with  a  dear  old  friend  of  Gill's, 
Mr.  John  F.  White,  of  Bridge  of  Don,  and  Airy  asked 

1  One  of  the  writer's  most  distinct  recollections  of  visits  by 
the  Airy  family  to  his  father  at  Pitlochrie  was  the  Irish  devilry 
with  which  the  Astronomer  Royal  joined  in  when  his  daughter 
sang  the  "  Shan  Van  Vocht." 


86  INTERREGNUM  [CHAP,  vin 

Mrs.  Gill  about  their  departure  from  Dun  Echt,  and 
what  work  her  husband  would  be  engaged  upon.  She 
spoke  of  the  computations- he  had  to  make  in  connection 
with  the  solar  parallax  and  his  observations  on  the  minor 
planet  Juno.  To  this  Airy  replied,  "  We  cannot  afford 
to  allow  your  husband  to  be  without  a  telescope/' 

Thus  it  happened  (as  shown  by  existing  letters)  that 
when  David  Gill  decided  to  part  from  Lord  Lindsay, 
and  there  seemed  to  be  no  place  in  the  world  for  him  to 
fill  at  the  moment,  the  two  men  upon  whom  he  relied 
for  guidance  were  Airy  at  Greenwich  and  Auwers  at 
Berlin.  Both  of  these  men  responded  sympathetically. 
One  suggestion  of  his  own  was  that  he  should  spend  at 
least  a  year  or  two  in  Germany  studying  the  language 
and  increasing  the  range  of  his  mathematics.  He  also 
considered,  among  other  plans,  the  wisdom  of  joining 
Mr.  Howard  Grubb  as  a  partner  in  his  manufacturing 
business.  The  plan  went  so  far  as  to  specify  the  terms 
of  partnership.  Auwers  made  inquiries  also  as  to  the 
possibility  of  finding  an  astronomical  position  for  him  in 
Germany  or  at  Pulkowa.  But  it  was  Airy  who,  in  his 
quiet,  undemonstrative  way,  took  the  young  astronomer 
under  his  wing  with  increasing  appreciation  of  his  quali- 
ties, until  he  even  went  so  far  as  to  consult  him  on  his 
own  work  when  a  sound  judgment  was  required. 

Not  very  long  after  Airy's  remark  to  Mrs.  Gill  at  the 
Aberdeen  luncheon,  he  found  occasion  to  show  his  appre- 
ciation in  a  practical  manner.  Gill's  correspondence  shows 
that,  immediately  after  the  4-inch  heliometer  had  first 
reached  Dun  Echt,  and  after  using  it  for  a  few  nights, 
he  wrote  to  Mr.  Cooper  Key  saying  that  his  results  were 
so  extremely  accurate  that  with  the  heliometer  he  believed 
he  could  determine  the  solar  parallax  from  observations 
of  Mars,  at  its  nearest  approach  to  the  earth,  by  Airy's 
method,  better  than  from  observations  of  the  transit  of 
Venus.  It  is  true  that  after  his  experience  with  Juno  he 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  far  more  accurate  work 


1876-8]       PROPOSED  NEW  EXPEDITION  87 

could  be  done  with  one  of  those  minor  planets  of  small 
diameter,  which  are  shown  in  the  telescope  as  mere 
points  of  light,  than  with  a  larger  and  nearer  planet,  like 
Mars,  showing  a  disc  of  sensible  size,  affected  by  phase. 
But  in  the  year  1877  Mars  would  be  nearer  to  us  than 
for  the  next  hundred  years,  and  he  wanted  to  do  the 
very  best  that  could  be  done  with  that  planet. 

In  the  latter  part  of  1876  the  Gills  migrated  to  London, 
and  Gill  looked  about  for  the  means  to  accomplish  his 
object  by  a  voyage  to  the  Isle  of  Ascension.  First,  he 
applied  to  Lord  Lindsay  for  the  loan  of  his  heliometer. 
He,  as  soon  as  he  had  given  up  all  idea  of  doing  the  same 
thing  himself,  at  Madeira  or  Teneriffe,  freely  lent  the 
instrument,  saying,  "  There  is  no  one  to  whom  I  would 
sooner  lend  it  than  to  you";  and  eventually  insisted 
also  upon  Gill's  carrying  off  his  chronograph  too. 

This  being  arranged,  there  was  only  the  question  of 
funds  to  be  considered.  It  was  now  that  Sir  George  Airy 
first  used  his  powerful  influence  on  Gill's  behalf,1  and, 
largely  at  his  instance,  the  Royal  Astronomical  Society 
made  an  application  to  the  Royal  Society  to  devote  to 
this  purpose  some  of  the  funds  administered  by  the 
Government  Grant  Committee.  This  was  refused,  and 
then  the  R.A.S.  gave  £250  out  of  their  own  funds  and 
raised  another  £250  by  subscription,  Airy  himself  being 
one  of  the  subscribers.  Gill  never  in  his  life  forgot  this 
act  of  the  R.A.S.  It  led  him  ever  after  to  devote  himself, 
whenever  possible,  to  the  society's  interests. 

This  difficulty  being  overcome,  astronomers  felt  confident 
that  the  success  of  the  Ascension  expedition  was  assured, 
in  the  hands  of  the  man  who  had  already  proved  what  he 
could  do  single-handed  in  adverse  circumstances. 

The  friends  who  principally  had  used  their  influence 
in  this  matter  were  Lord  Lindsay,  Airy,  Adams,  Hind 

1  Sir  G.  B.  Airy's  Autobiography,  1877.  "  In  April  of  this  year 
I  was  much  engaged  on  the  subject  of  Mr.  Gill's  expedition  to 
Ascension  to  observe  for  the  determination  of  the  parallax  of 
Mars  at  the  approaching  opposition  of  that  planet,"  p.  318. 


88  MARS  EXPEDITION  [CHAP.  VIII 

and  Huggins  (who  was  then  Pres.  R.A.S.).  All  of  their 
friends  who  knew  anything  about  life  on  the  Isle  of 
Ascension  were  lost  in  aditliration  of  his  bright  and 
charming  young  wife,  who  was  determined  to  share  his 
discomforts. 

At  the  time  of  their  departure  Mr.  Howard  Grubb 
wrote — 

We  are  delighted  to  hear  that  you  and  yours  are  well, 
at  all  events,  and  trust  you  may  continue  so.  Certainly 
you  have  a  brave  wife  to  go  to  such  places  with  you. 
May  [Mrs.  Grubb]  is  beginning  to  think  that  some  wives 
besides  herself  care  for  their  husbands. 

A  fortnight  before  the  start  upon  this  expedition,  the 
helio meter  was  at  the  rooms  of  the  R.A.S.  at  Burling- 
ton House.  Gill  was  erecting  it  there  and  an  accident 
happened  which  nearly  ruined  the  whole  plan. 

Through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  W.  H.  Wesley,  the  highly 
respected  assistant  secretary  of  the  R.A.S. ,  who  was 
present  at  the  time,  the  following  account  of  what  he  saw 
can  now  be  told 1  in  his  own  words. 

It  was,  I  think,  in  April  of  1877 — I  have  no  record  of 
the  exact  date ;  the  heliometer  which  Lord  Lindsay  had 
lent  for  the  expedition  to  Ascension  had  been  brought  to 
the  Society's  rooms  where  Gill  was  setting  it  up.  He 
had  to  see  that  everything  was  in  perfect  order  before  it 
left  England,  and  he  proposed  to  show  and  explain  it 
at  the  next  meeting  of  the  Society,  so  it  was  being 
mounted  in  the  meeting-room.  He  had  been  at  work  at 
it  for  a  day  or  two,  and  all  was  ready  and  in  order,  when 
he  thought  he  would  adjust  the  polar  axis  to  the  latitude 
of  Ascension  :  this  being  near  the  Equator,  the  axis  had 
to  be  lowered  till  it  approached  the  horizontal.  I  had 
been  with  him  most  of  the  time  he  was  at  work,  but  had 
left  him  for  a  few  minutes  and  gone  into  my  office;  I 
heard  a  loud  crash  in  the  meeting-room  and  ran  to  see 
the  cause.  There  stood  the  iron  pillar,  but  the  instru- 

1  Sir  David's  own  account  of  the  accident  is  in  his  History, 
etc.,  p.  xxxii;  Mrs.  Gill's  in  her  book  Six  Months  in  Ascension. 
p.  ii. 


1876-8]         A  TERRIBLE  CATASTROPHE  89 

ment,  no  longer  upon  it,  lay,  with  the  object-glass  end 
leaning  against  the  meeting-room  table,  and  the  eye- 
end,  with  its  elaborate  arrangement  of  tubes,  etc.,  driven 
through  the  floor.  The  instrument  was  supposed  to 
be  a  "  universal "  equatoreal,  and  Gill  had  been  turning 
the  screw  to  lower  the  axis,  when  the  screw  gave 
out — not  being  sufficiently  long — and  the  whole  compli- 
cated mass  of  apparatus  was  flung  violently  to  the 
floor. 

And  there — upon  the  front  seat  of  the  meeting-room — 
sat  Gill,  his  face  buried  in  his  hands,  down  which  blood 
was  trickling,  as  he  had  made  an  ineffectual  clutch  at 
the  falling  mass.  He  said  something  about  everything 
being  ruined — himself — the  instrument — the  expedition. 
It  was  painful  to  see  a  strong  man  so  completely  broken 
down.  But  it  only  lasted  a  minute  or  so :  he  suddenly 
got  up  and  said,  "  Let  us  see  what  can  be  done/'  He 
instantly  began  his  examination  of  the  wreck,  and  asked 
me  to  go  to  Lord  Lindsay  and  tell  him  of  the  accident. 
When  I  got  back  Gill  had  determined  the  extent  of  the 
damage,  and  decided  upon  the  course  to  be  taken.  The 
vital  portion  of  the  instrument,  the  divided  object-glass, 
had  fortunately  escaped  injury,  having  been  protected 
by  the  metal  cap,  which  struck  the  meeting-room  table, 
leaving  a  deep  dent  which  is  to  be  seen  to  this  day.  The 
eye-pieces  with  their  tubes  were  ruined,  but  Gill  would 
see  Simms  about  them  at  once,  and  get  them  renewed. 
As  we  know,  everything  was  done  in  time,  and  the 
expedition  was  an  entire  success. 

In  Gill's  young  days  the  most  urgent  astronomical 
problem  was  to  measure  as  exactly  as  possible  the  sun's 
distance  from  the  earth.  At  that  time  it  was  known  to 
lie  between  ninety  and  ninety-six  millions  of  miles. 
Astronomers  required  to  know  it  within  a  thousandth 
of  its  amount.  The  distance  of  the  sun  from  the  earth, 
or  of  Mars,  or  of  a  minor  planet,  had  to  be  measured 
accurately.  The  question,  then,  was :  "  who  would  be 
capable  of  doing  it  ?  " 

Gill  set  this  before  himself  as  his  first  duty  to  science, 
to  give  all  his  energies  to  helping  in  a  solution  of  that 
problem,  and  a  considerable  correspondence  between 


go  MARS   EXPEDITION  [CHAP.  VIII 

him  and  Sir  George  Airy  on  this  subject,  from  January 
8,  1876,  onwards,  testifies  to  their  mutual  regard. 

On  February  24,  1876,  Air$  says  he  has  no  intention 
of  equipping  a  Mars  expedition,  but  will  rely  upon  the 
large  equatoreals  at  fixed  observatories  for  measuring 
the  displacement  of  Mars  caused  by  the  earth's  diurnal 
rotation ;  and  he  will  be  glad  to  examine  any  scheme  of 
Gill's  for  using  a  heliometer. 

Meanwhile  Gill,  after  corresponding  with  Auwers,  hopes 
to  use  the  opposition  of  the  minor  planet  Melpomene, 
and  perhaps  Ariadne,  at  the  same  time  as  Mars.  On 
March  6,  1876,  Airy  writes  approvingly,  at  the  same  time 
saying,  "  I  do  not  like  small  planets." 

There  are  many  letters  indicating  the  moral  support 
he  was  giving  to  Gill's  Ascension  expedition.  He  also 
undertook  to  have  the  Mars  and  Melpomene  comparison 
stars  observed  at  Greenwich.1 

While  Gill  was  at  work  observing  at  Ascension  he 
received  several  letters  from  Airy,  from  which  extracts 
may  here  be  made — 

The  sight  of  the  ruddy  blaze  of  Mars  last  evening 
reminded  me  of  your  enterprise  and  position,  and 
made  me  desire  to  hear  how  you  are  going  on,  and 
how  Mrs.  Gill  approves  of  astronomy  and  society  in 
Ascension. 

I  have  not  much  to  communicate  on  the  transactions 
in  this  country.  There  has  been  some  uncomfortable 
quarrelling  in  the  Astronomical  Society. 

1877,  November  6. 
******* 

i.  I  agree  with  you  in  inexpressible  contempt  for 
Meteorology.  The  reason  of  its  attracting  importance  is, 
that  it  requires  no  capital,  of  money,  instruments,  or 
intellect. 

1  Sir  G.  B.  Airy's  Autobiography.  "1878.  It  may  be  here 
mentioned  that  an  extensive  series  of  observations  was  made, 
during  the  autumn,  of  about  seventy  stars,  at  the  request  of  Mr. 
Gill,  for  comparison  with  Mars,  Ariadne  and  Melpomene,"  p.  322. 


1876-8]  G.   B.   AIRY  91 

2.  Most  satisfactory  is  your  report  of  work  done,  the 
32  +  25  observations ;    I  should  think  they  would  leave 
very  little  doubt  on  the  parallax. 

3.  I  beg  you  to  convey  to  Mrs.  Gill  the  expression  of 
my  sincere  and  cordial  respect,  and  my  acknowledgment 
of  the  share  which  she  has  taken  in  this  enterprise. 

4.  About  the  possible  sending  to  you  an  Altazimuth.  .  .  . 

5.  I  hope  that  Melpomene  will  come  off  well.     I  look 
upon  her  as  my  planet,  for  the  following  reason  which 
you  will  not  find  in  books.     On  1839,  June  24>  I  lost  my 
noble  boy  Arthur.     On  1851,  June  24,  1  lost  my  dear 
daughter'  Elizabeth.     And,   while   feeling   that   day   of 
sorrow,  I  learnt  on  that  day  a  planet  was  discovered, 
which  I  was  requested  to  name.     So  I  fixed  on  the  name 
of  the  muse  of  sadness.     The  Melpomene  stars  will  soon 
come  into  observation. 


After  the  above  charming  extract  it  may  be  well  here 
to  forestall  events,  and  to  insert  extracts  from  letters 
written  in  1878,  testifying  to  the  confidence  in  Gill's 
unbiassed  judgment,  which  Airy  had  already  acquired. 

FROM  SIR  GEORGE  AIRY 

1878,  February  n. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — You  know  our  anxieties  about  the 
proper  interpretations  of  the  eye-observations  of  the 
Transit  of  Venus.  Captain  Tupman  has  informed  me  that 
he  thinks  that  you  would  not  be  unwilling  to  aid  us  with 
your  independent  judgment  on  that  interpretation,  more 
especially  as  applying  to  what  may  have  been  conceived 
as  true  internal  contact. 

I  should  be  very  much  obliged  if  you  could  assist  us 
in  the  way  suggested.  .  .  . — I  am,  my  dear  sir,  Yours 
very  truly,  G.  B.  AIRY. 

The  investigation  was  duly  made  and  reported  upon. 
Then  finally,  on  March  4, 1878,  Airy  writes  to  Gill — 

Your  contribution  to  the  discussion  of  the  observations 
of  the  Transit  of  Venus  is  invaluable. 


92  MARS  EXPEDITION  [CHAP,  vni 

Concerning  the  Ascension  expedition  it  is  unnecessary 
to  say  much  here,  and  the  reader  is  referred  to  a  charming 
popular  description  written  at  the  time,1  in  which  Mrs. 
Gill  described  the  difficulties  encountered  on  the  inhospit- 
able volcanic  "  clinker,"  and  in  their  almost  inaccessible 
encampment  at  "  Mars  Bay,"  with  much  humour  and 
pathos.  We  see  two  beautiful  lives  being  lived  there; 
and  the  reader's  sympathy  is  divided  between  the  anxious 
observer,  when  the  heavy  and  delicate  instruments  were 
being  transported  under  dangerous  conditions,  or  when 
the  clouds  refused  for  weeks  to  dissipate,  and  the  wife 
who  relieved  him  from  attention  to  domestic  concerns, 
while  stifling  her  own  anxieties  concerning  untoward 
meteorological  and  astronomical  affairs. 

On  June  14  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gill  sailed  from  Dartmouth. 
Touching  only  at  Madeira,  they  reached  St.  Helena  on 
July  i.  Here  they  had  to  land  and  wait  till  the  loth  for 
the  Edinburgh  Castle  to  take  them  to  their  destination. 
In  exploring  this  island,  Gill  seems  to  have  taken  far  more 
interest  in  the  remains  of  Halley's  Observatory  than 
in  Napoleon's  tomb.  The  observatory  was  set  up  in  the 
seventeenth  century  when  Halley  commanded  the  first 
scientific  expedition  for  astronomy  and  terrestrial  mag- 
netism to  southern  latitudes.  The  climate  here  was  so 
perfect  and  the  skies  were  so  cloudless,  that  there  was 
a  temptation  to  complete  the  work  on  that  spot.  But 
Ascension  had  been  deliberately  chosen  on  account  of 
the  weather  reports,  and  Gill  felt  that  he  owed  it  to 
those  who  had  financed  the  expedition  to  adhere  to  the 
programme  they  had  approved. 

So  on  July  13  they  landed  in  Ascension  while  that 
island  was  suffering  from  a  slight  attack  of  "  rollers," 
that  unexplained  affection  of  the  ocean  in  those  parts 
which  caused  them  some  trouble  later  on.  There  was 

1  Six  Months  in  Ascension,  by  Mrs.  Gill.  John  Murray,  1878. 
Any  one  who  has  not  yet  read  this  delightful  book  has  a  treat  in 
store. 


1876-8]  A  GRAVE  DECISION  93 

no  town  on  the  island,  only  a  garrison.  The  island  was 
styled  in  the  Navy  List,  "  Tender  to  H.M.S.  Flora,"  and 
was  run  on  true  navy  lines.  Bread  was  baked  every  few 
days,  a  sheep  or  two  were  killed  twice  a  week,  no  vege- 
tables except  sweet  potatoes.  Goat  milk  was  generally 
served  with  the  rations,  except  when  there  were  many 
sick  in  hospital  who  needed  it  all.  One  gallon  of  water 
was  allowed  per  day. 

Captain  Phillimore  was  very  helpful,  and  established 
them  in  an  empty  cottage ;  and,  in  a  very  few  days,  by 
July  17,  the  instruments  were  set  up  without  mishap. 
The  observing  books  were  laid  out,  but  they  remained 
blank  for  weeks.  Clouds  obscured  Mars  every  night. 
The  disappointment,  the  anxiety,  and  the  responsibility 
grew  with  every  night  of  cloud.  At  last  it  occurred  to 
them  that  the  clouds  might  be  local,  due  to  the  vapour- 
laden  trade  wind  passing  over  the  hill-top  to  the 
south-east.  So,  one  night,  while  Gill  remained  with  the 
instruments,  his  wife  insisted  on  marching  with  two 
guides  and  a  lantern  over  the  pathless  rock  for  some  miles, 
while  husband  and  wife  made  simultaneous  notes  on  the 
weather,  every  half  hour  from  10  p.m.  to  3  a.m.  Her 
report  was  favourable,  and  when  they  compared  notes, 
there  could  be  no  doubt  the  clouds  were  local,  and  the 
instruments  must  be  packed  up  again  and  transported 
to  the  windward  side  of  the  island.  It  was  a  grave 
decision. 

On  August  I  the  dismantling  process  commenced, 
Captain  Phillimore  having  recommended  a  certain  cove 
near  the  south  point  of  the  island.  On  the  2nd  a  steam 
launch  towed  their  gear  in  lighters,  with  Gill  and  Captain 
Phillimore,  to  the  cove,  which  the  Captain  now  christened 
"  Mars  Bay,"  and  foundations  were  laid  on  the  bleak, 
dusty,  volcanic  stones.  The  next  day  sixteen  Kroomen 
carried  overland  the  delicate  instruments,  and  in  three 
days  the  change  had  been  made.  It  was  a  rough  life 
there,  for  food  and  condensed  water  had  to  be  carried 


94  MARS  EXPEDITION  [CHAP,  vm 

from  Garrison.  At  first  Mrs.  Gill  remained  at  Garrison, 
and  after  a  few  days  of  work  the  expedition  again  appeared 
to  be  doomed  to  failure,  for  Gill  himself  succumbed  to 
over-fatigue  and  exposure  jb  the  sun,  and  was  carried  back 
suffering,  as  the  doctor  found,  from  slight  fever  and  a 
swollen  knee.  Three  days  of  rest,  however,  did  wonders, 
and  on  August  10  he  returned  to  Mars  Bay  with  his  wife 
to  look  after  him. 

Thereafter  things  went  better,  and  they  had  the  pleasure 
of  overcoming  numerous  difficulties.  Time  had  been  lost, 
but  a  splendid  set  of  morning  and  evening  observations 
of  Mars  was  secured,  enough  to  ensure  the  complete 
success  of  the  expedition,  and  a  triangulation  was  then 
made  by  heliometer  of  all  the  comparison  stars.  The 
actual  opposition  of  Mars  occurred  on  September  5,  1877. 
This  work  was  all  done  by  November  9. 

The  opposition  of  Melpomene  occurred  on  December  2, 
but  up  to  that  time  no  complete  observations  could  be 
obtained,  owing  to  bad  weather,  and  eventually  the  attack 
upon  this  minor  planet  was  abandoned. 

Of  course,  news  was  immediately  sent  to  the  Royal 
Astronomical  Society  of  the  successful  completion  of 
the  actual  observations  of  Mars.  The  astronomer  and 
his  wife  must  have  felt  some  elation  on  receiving  by 
return  mail  the  following  friendly  letter  from  the 
President  (W.  Huggins). 

November  14,  1877. 

DEAR  MR.  GILL, — Scene.  Nov.  9 — 8.30  p.m.  Burling- 
ton House. 

The  whole  society  in  a  roar  of  excitement  in  applause 
at  your  success  ! 

What  is  this?  A  fellow  (the  Astronomer  Royal)  rises 
to  say  that  after  all  the  real  merit  of  success  is  not  wholly 
yours.  There  is  somebody  else  who  has  a  claim,  it  may 
be  even  prior  to  yours — I,  as  President,  not  only  allow 
him  to  go  on,  but  agree  with  him,  and  another  louder 
roar  of  applause  not  to  you,  but  to  that  other  person.  I 
hope  it  will  not  lead  to  feuds  and  jealousies  in  your  tent 


1876-8]  CONGRATULATIONS  95 

if  I  tell  who  it  is  that  has  come  before  you  in  the  Society's 
appreciation.  That  courageous  and  enthusiastic  lady 
who  just  at  the  moments  of  greatest  difficulty  and  anxiety 
filled  your  tent  with  sunshine  and  your  heart  with  fresh 
courage.  .  .  .  WILLIAM  MUGGINS. 

Their  explorations  and  discoveries  on  the  island  in  the 
interval  before  sailing  must  be  read  in  Mrs.  Gill's  most 
delightful  book.  Captain  Phillimore's  sister-in-law,  Miss 
Bourdillon,  was  the  only  girl  on  the  island.  Her  youthful 
impressions  of  the  astronomer  have  remained  so  vivid 
that  she  was  able  to  describe  them  in  a  letter  to  Lady 
Gill  in  1915. 

His  keenness  and  enthusiasm  appealed  immensely  to 
me;  they  were,  of  course,  peculiarly  refreshing  there 
[at  Ascension],  and  how  delightful  they  were,  and  his  most 
delightful  sense  of  humour  and  power  of  enjoyment. 

I  suppose  he  had  great  power  of  adaptability;  I  used 
to  wonder  then  at  the  way  he  seemed  to  get  on  with 
every  one.  When  staying  with  you  those  several  times 
out  in  the  tents  at  Mars  Bay,  I  used  to  think  it  so  delight- 
ful how  he  entered  into  the  smallest  details  connected 
with  the  men — your  cook,  and  the  bluejacket  and  Krooboy. 
He  took  such  real  interest  in  any  whose  lives  touched 
yours.  Do  you  recollect  how  he  always  read  part 
of  the  Service  with  them  on  Sunday  afternoon  and 
evening  ? 

How  good  and  kind  he  must  have  been  to  me  that  I 
never  was  afraid  of  his  cleverness  !  What  fun  we  used 
to  have  over  all  the  quaint  situations  and  doings  of 
Ascension  !  Some  of  those  talks  and  readings  out  at 
Mars  Bay  are  still  quite  vivid  to  my  memory — and  even 
some  of  the  stories  he  amused  me  with.  You  used  to 
read  to  us  in  the  cool  of  the  day,  do  you  remember,  and 
how  he  enjoyed  it,  before  the  evening  work  came  on.  I 
still  feel  how  desolate  I  was  when  you  left. 

Readers  of  Mrs.  Gill's  Six  Months  in  Ascension  will  feel 
that  they  are  old  friends  with  the  bluejacket  Gray  don 
who  attended  them  at  Mars  Bay.  It  is  rather  touching 
to  read  a  letter  he  wrote  to  Lady  Gill  in  1915. 


96  MARS  EXPEDITION  [CHAP,  vm 

I  shall  never  forget  the  many  acts  of  kindness  I  received 
from  your  Ladyship  and  Sir  David.  ...  I  have  been  out 
of  the  Navy  on  Pension  nearly  twenty  years.  .  .  .  The 
happiest  time  of  my  twenty-three  years  service,  I  can 
sincerely  state,  were  spent  under  Sir  David  and  your 
Ladyship. 

I  have  a  happy  recollection  of  my  visit  to  the  Observa- 
tory at  the  Cape,  and  Sir  David  personally  taking  me 
all  over  the  vast  place,  and  joking  about  the  difference 
to  poor  "  Mars  Bay,"  and  he  was  so  good  to  me  when  he 
wished  me  good-bye.  I  will  never  meet  his  like  again. 

On  January  9,  1878,  the  mail-boat  arrived.  On 
January  24  they  landed  in  England,  and  were  greeted 
by  the  astronomers  with  enthusiastic  congratulations  on 
their  success.  The  reduction  of  the  observations  took 
time.  They  finally  settled  the  conflicting  estimates  of 
the  sun's  distance;  and  the  results  were  universally 
accepted  until  long  after,  when  Gill  himself  improved 
upon  them,  by  the  observations  made  upon  three  minor 
planets  with  a  more  powerful  heliometer  at  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope. 

The  Gold  Medal  of  the  R.A.S.  was  awarded  to  him 
in  1882  for  this  work  on  the  Solar  Parallax.  In  the 
same  year,  and  for  the  same  research,  he  was  awarded 
the  Valz  Medal  of  the  Institute  of  France  (Acad.  des 
Sciences) . 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  how  much  of  the  credit  was 
due  to  her  who  supported  him  through  his  labours.  His 
wife  has  always  pretended  that  she  knows  nothing  about 
astronomy.  That  may  be  so,  and  yet,  all  of  those  who 
knew  will  endorse  what  is  said  in  this  letter  from  Dr. 
Auwers. 

To  DAVID  GILL  FROM  DR.  AUWERS 

BERLIN,  January  7,  1879. 

I  beg  to  tell  again,  how  much  I  have  been  pleased  in 
reading  Mrs.  Gill's  fresh  and  lively  account  of  the  fortunes 
of  your  expedition.  I  now  can  judge  myself  how  right 


1876-8]  MRS.  GILL  97 

was  Sir  George  Airy  in  stating  at  some  meeting  of  the 
R.A.S.  last  winter  that  a  considerable  and  highly  appre- 
ciable part  of  the  success  of  the  expedition  was  due  to 
the  unfatigued  assistance  you  obtained  from  Mrs.  Gill, 
and  I  cannot  but  ask  her  most  sincerely  to  accept,  from 
my  part  too,  warm  thanks  of  a  scientific  colleague  for  the 
enduring  and  successful  share  she  has  taken  in  such  an 
important  astronomical  work. 

The  Ascension  expedition  benefited  Gill  not  only  by 
enhancing  his  reputation  as  an  astronomer.  He  wrote 
to  astronomers  all  over  the  world,  with  most  of  whom  he 
was  not  then  personally  acquainted,  to  ask  them  to 
contribute  observations  of  position  for  the  comparison 
stars  which  he  intended  to  use  with  Mars  in  his  heliometer 
observations.  This  correspondence  created  new  and 
lasting  friendships,  none  greater  than  with  E.  C.  Pickering 
of  Harvard  and  Gould  of  Cordoba.  In  reply  to  Gill's 
letter,  when  the  work  was  done,  describing  his  experiences, 
Gould's  letter  contains  the  following— 

Your  descriptions  of  disappointments,  new  endeavours, 
anxieties,  etc.,  seemed  like  a  narrative  of  past  scenes  in 
my  own  life.  When  I  read  your  letter  to  Mrs.  Gould  she 
exclaimed,  "  How  this  recalls  our  own  past." 

What  splendid  things  these  good  wives  are  ! 

That  Gill  himself  endorsed  these  sentiments  is  shown  by 
an  entry  upon  the  fly-leaf  of  the  copy  of  his  Mars  parallax 
Memoir  which  he  gave  to  his  wife.  It  is  adapted  from 
Carlyle's  verse. 

AN  ISOBEL  GILL 

So  1st  das  Werklein  nun  vollbracht 

Drum  nimm's  mein  holdes  Weiblein 

An  Dich,  im  schreiben,  hab'ich  stets  gedacht 

Und  Es  und  Ich  wir  sind  ja  Dein. 

DAVID  GILL. 

Although  during  his  whole  life  Gill's  energy  was  as 
remarkable  at  his  desk  as  in  his  observatory,  still  there 
was  nearly  a  year's  work  to  be  spent  upon  the  reduction 

of  his  Mars  observations  at  Ascension. 
H 


CHAPTER  IX 

APPOINTMENT  TO   CAPE   OBSERVATORY    (1879) 

Life  in  London — Nasmyth — Death  of  his  father — Radcliffe 
Observer — Appointment  to  Cape  of  Good  Hope  Observatory 
— Pulkowa — Airy. 

DAVID  GILL,  after  his  Mars  observations,  had  a  great  deal 
of  computing  to  do,  and,  wishing  to  be  near  his  astronomi- 
cal friends  and  the  library  of  the  R.A.S.,  he  took  rooms  in 
London,  and  later  on  he  furnished  a  house  for  himself  and 
his  wife  in  Kensington.  Here  he  used  a  bare  room  on  the 
top  floor,  without  carpet  or  table-cover,  as  a  study.  He 
took  great  delight  in  showing  to  his  friends  certain  old 
Spanish  pictures  which  he  had  acquired,  on  the  walls  of 
the  staircase  and  sitting-room.  These  pictures  were  a 
feature  of  his  rooms  in  the  observatory  at  Cape  Town, 
and,  after  his  retirement,  at  34  De  Vere  Gardens, 
Kensington. 

The  future  for  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gill  was  still  unknown  and 
matter  for  some  anxiety.  Borne  up  with  this  new  success 
as  an  encouragement,  he  set  to  work  at  the  duty  lying 
before  him  of  finishing  all  the  computations  connected 
with  his  Mars  observations. 

At  this  time  the  Gills  widened  their  circle  of  friends  in 
London ;  not  only  among  astronomers,  but  among  people 
of  culture  generally,  both  literary  and  artistic. 

Mr.  Samuel  Smiles,  the  biographer,  had  long  been  an 
intimate  friend,  and  at  his  house  they  met  men  distin- 
guished in  various  walks  of  life.  Here  one  evening  took 
place  the  first  meeting  between  David  Gill  and  James 
Nasmyth.  Nasmyth  is  best  known  as  the  inventor  of 

98 


i879]  JAMES  NASMYTH  99 

the  steam  hammer,  but  his  autobiography l  is  a  fascinating 
record  of  mechanical  and  inventive  skill  applied  to 
engineering,  and,  after  retiring  from  business  with  a  fine 
fortune,  to  making  astronomical  telescopes  with  his  own 
hands,  and  adding  materially  to  our  knowledge  of  the 
heavenly  bodies. 

It  was  he,  in  fact,  who  first  detected  the  remarkable 
individuality  of  the  minute  components  of  the  sun's 
photosphere  visible  only  under  the  best  atmospheric  con- 
ditions, generally  called  Nasmyth's  willow-leaves  because 
of  their  shapes.  His  astronomical  speculations,  especially 
on  the  moon's  constitution,  were  ingenious,  and  his 
mechanical  skill  in  grinding  and  polishing  specula  very 
great.  Nasmyth  held  very  decided  views  about  the  true 
education  of  an  engineer.2 

The  truth  is  that  the  eyes  and  the  fingers — the  bare 
fingers — are  the  two  principal  inlets  to  sound  practical 
instruction.  They  are  the  chief  sources  of  trustworthy 
knowledge  as  to  all  the  materials  and  operations  which 
the  engineer  has  to  deal  with.  No  book  knowledge  can 
avail  for  that  purpose.  The  nature  and  properties  of  the 
materials  must  come  in  through  the  finger-ends.  Hence 
I  have  no  faith  in  young  engineers  who  are  addicted  to 
wearing  gloves.  Gloves,  especially  kid  gloves,  are  perfect 
non-conductors  of  knowledge.  This  has  really  more  to 
do  with  the  efficiency  of  young  aspirants  for  engineering 
success  than  most  people  are  aware  of. 

Nasmyth  was  proud  of  his  "  workman's  hand,"  and 
was  in  the  habit  of  signing  papers  with  "  his  mark,"  an 
ink  impression  of  his  thumb-mark.  [The  writer  has  one 
of  them  before  him  while  he  indites  these  words.] 

The  characters  of  Gill  and  Nasmyth  had  much  in 
common,  of  mechanics,  astronomy,  and  dogged  persist- 
ence. After  dinner  on  the  evening  when  they  first  met, 
while  they  conversed  upon  subjects  of  mutual  interest, 

1  James  Nasmyth,  Engineer  :  An  Autobiography.    Edited   by 
Samuel  Smiles,  LL.D.      London,  John  Murray,  1885. 

2  Autobiography,  p.  95. 


ioo  CAPE  OBSERVATORY  [CHAP.  IX 

Nasmyth  suddenly  seized  hold  of  Gill's  hand,  a  broad, 
strong,  flexible  hand,  and.  in  his  Scottish  accent  said, 
"  Man,  I  like  yer  thoom  !  f 

When  the  party  broke  up,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gill  with  James 
Nasmyth  took  the  same  omnibus.  Nasmyth  got  out 
first.  When  Gill  paid  the  conductor' the  latter  said, 
"And  a  penny  for  the  other  gentleman;  he  said  you 
would  pay  his  fare."  The  Gills  were  amused  at  this. 

The  next  day  a  letter  arrived  from  Nasmyth  enclos- 
ing a  cheque  for  £1000  for  Gill  to  spend  on  whatever 
astronomical  instrument  he  might  think  he  could  do  the 
best  work  with.  Gill  was  full  of  gratitude  for  the  welcome 
gift  to  their  much-loved  science,  and  deposited  the  money 
in  the  bank.  As  it  happened,  he  was  appointed  to  the 
Cape  Observatory  very  soon  after.  So  he  returned  the 
cheque  that  it  might  be  applied  more  advantageously. 
Nasmyth,  however,  found  an  opportunity  later  to  renew 
the  offer. 

During  this  period  he  also  made  the  acquaintance  of 
painters  in  London  already  mentioned,  and  had  many 
opportunities  of  cultivating  his  great  appreciation  for 
music. 

On  April  6,  1878,  his  father  died  at  Aberdeen,  David 
having  travelled  north  on  account  of  his  sudden  illness. 
He  was  occupied  for  a  month  there  with  the  business  of 
the  estate.  As  eldest  son  he  became  the  owner  of  the 
estate  of  Blairythan,  a  farming  property  the  rent-roll  of 
which  relieved  him  from  any  present  uneasiness  on  his 
wife's  account,  and  enabled  him  to  devote  himself  all  the 
more  completely  to  his  chosen  path  in  life. 

At  the  beginning  of  May  1878  the  death  of  the  Rev. 
Robert  Main,  Radcliffe  Observer,  Oxford,  left  a  vacancy 
at  that  observatory.  The  most  notable  feature  of  that 
place  at  the  time  was  its  possession  of  a  magnificent 
heliometer,  the  only  one  in  Britain  besides  Lord  Lind- 
say's. It  had  never  been  put  to  any  useful  purpose. 
At  that  date  there  was  only  one  man  in  Britain  who  had 


i879]  RADCLIFFE  OBSERVER  101 

done  good  work  with  a  heliometer,  and  his  had  nearly 
rivalled  all  that  had  ever  been  done  elsewhere  with  it 
(even  by  Bessel),  and  this  man  was  David  Gill. 

Obviously  this  was  a  post  to  which  he  could  undoubt- 
edly bring  credit,  and  he  applied  for  it.  His  friends  felt 
equally  sure  about  his  special  fitness  for  this  post,  par- 
ticularly those  in  Russia  and  Germany,  who  themselves 
had  practical  experience  with  the  heliometer.  There  is 
a  copy  of  Gill's  testimonials  among  the  papers  in  the 
A  rchiva  Lindesiana  of  Lord  Crawford.  Gill  himself  does 
not  appear  to  have  kept  a  copy.  The  names  of  his 
supporters1  and  their  manner  of  stating  Gill's  claims 
ought  to  have  borne  great  weight.  Airy,  when  asked 
for  support,  quoted  some  rule  he  had  which  prevented 
his  helping 

Among  Sir  David  Gill's  private  papers,  there  is  a  letter 
to  him  from  Sir  George  Airy. 

FROM  SIR  GEORGE  B.  AIRY 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  GREENWICH, 

1878,  June  10. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — Under  various  considerations  I  have 
abandoned  the  rule  which  I  stated  to  you  in  reference  to 
the  position  of  Radcliffe  Observer,  and  have  addressed  a 
letter  to  the  Trustees  of  the  Radcliffe  Fund  and  Observa- 
tory.— I  am,  my  dear  Sir,  Yours  very  truly,  G.  B.  AIRY. 

David  Gill,  Esq. 

Gill  had  no  one  to  push  his  candidature ;  so,  in  spite  of 
his  great  claims  as  shown  by  testimonials  and  by  his 
skill  in  using  the  heliometer,  his  name  seems  to  have 
been  put  on  one  side. 

The  other  candidates  were  Stone,  Christie,  Tupman  and 
Pogson.  The  Trustees  gave  the  appointment  to  Mr. 

1  The  names  of  Mr.  Gill's  supporters  were  :  Lord  Lindsay, 
Professor  J.  Clerk  Maxwell,  Dr.  Muggins,  J.  R.  Hind,  Dr.  Ball, 
Rev.  T.  R.  Robinson,  Professor  R.  Grant,  Sir  William  Thomson, 
John  Hartnup,  Otto  Struve,  Professor  Dollen,  Dr.  Auwers, 
Dr.  Forster,  Dr.  Winnecke,  Dr.  H.  C.  Vogel,  Dr.  J.  G.  Galle, 
Professor  Bakhuyzen,  Dr.  Oudemans,  Professor  E.  C.  Pickering. 


io?,  CAPE  OBSERVATORY  [CHAP.  IX 

Stone.  This  left  a  vacancy  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
but  not  immediately,  for  the  Radcliffe  Trustees  allowed 
Mr.  Stone  to  stay  on  at  the  Cape  to  conclude  some  valuable 
work  on  which  he  was  then  engaged.  Until  recently  the 
Cape  Observatory  was  almost  the  only  one  suitable  for 
a  study  of  the  southern  heavens.  The  requirements  of 
astronomy  in  that  direction  were  very  great,  and  Gill 
felt  it  in  him  to  do  good  work  there  for  his  beloved  science, 
and  applied  for  the  post.  The  only  other  candidate  was 
Mr.  W.  H.  M.  Christie,  chief  assistant  at  Greenwich  Ob- 
servatory, whose  claims  to  the  appointment  were  placed 
before  the  Admiralty  by  the  Astronomer  Royal. 

Gill,  during  the  anxious  period  of  waiting,  was  hopeful 
but  diffident;  for  he  was  well  aware  that  he  was  a  self- 
made  astronomer,  who  owed  nothing  to  outside  influence ; 
that  he  had  not  been  trained  under  any  great  astronomer  ; 
that  he  had  proved  his  mathematical  powers  to  the  world 
only  to  the  extent  required  in  actual  work,  and  not  by  a 
contest  in  the  Cambridge  Tripos.  But  the  friends  who 
supported  him  knew  that  his  reputation  was  established 
as  an  almost  unrivalled  observer,  as  an  engineer  for  the 
design  and  equipment  of  an  observatory,  with  remark- 
able organizing  powers,  and  as  an  astronomer  of  great 
ability,  lofty  ideals,  sound  judgment,  originality  and 
dogged  perseverance ;  and  that  astronomy  needed  him. 

Gill  was  probably  never  aware  of  what  he  owed  to  his 
old  chief,  Lord  Lindsay,  for  taking  some  trouble  to  see 
that  in  this  case  his  testimonials  should  receive  proper 
consideration.  This  can  be  learnt  only  by  reading  the 
private  papers  of  Lord  Lindsay,  placed  at  the  writer's 
disposal  by  the  present  Earl  of  Crawford.1 

1  The  present  earl  has  given  much  help  by  searching  out  old 
documents  for  use  in  this  biography.  It  is  a  splendid  comment 
upon  the  present  great  European  war  that,  when  I  asked,  in 
August  1915,  for  further  materials,  Lady  Crawford  should,  in 
reply  to  my  letter,  have  told  me  that  her  husband  would  be 
unable  for  some  time  to  attend  to  the  matter,  because  "Lord 
Crawford  is  serving  at  the  front  as  a  private  in  the  R.A.M.C." 


i879]  APPOINTMENT  TO  THE  CAPE  103 

It  really  came  as  a  surprise,  and  a  great  joy,  to  the 
Gills  when,  on  February  10,  1879,  first  from  Lord  Lindsay 
and  later  from  the  Admiralty,  the  news  came  of  his 
appointment  as  Her  Majesty's  Astronomer  at  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope.  Among  Lord  Lindsay's  papers  there  are 
two  almost  identical  holograph  notes,  probably  sent  to 
different  addresses,  from  Mr.  W.  H.  Smith,  First  Lord  of 
the  Admiralty,  announcing  the  decision  he  had  reached. 

There  were  barely  three  months  left  for  preparations 
before  they  should  start  for  their  new  home.  There  was 
much  to  be  done,  and  one  of  Gill's  first  acts  was  to  write 
to  Mr.  Nasmyth  returning  his  gift  of  £1000  as  no  longer 
being  required.  He  had  also  to  get  rid  of  the  lease  of  his 
house,  and  pack  up  his  furniture  and  belongings.  He 
was  also  anxious  to  establish  more  firmly  the  friendships 
he  had  made  with  astronomers  abroad  and  his  knowledge 
of  their  instruments  before  leaving  for  the  southern  hemi- 
sphere. And  it  was  most  important  that  he  should  have 
his  Mars  calculations  complete  before  sailing. 

Some  notion  of  the  affectionate  esteem  in  which  Mr. 
Gill  was  even  at  this  date  held  by  his  scientific  friends 
may  be  gathered  from  the  remarkable  contents  of  the 
following  letter. 

To  SIR  GEORGE  AIRY 

36  PEMBROKE  ROAD,  KENSINGTON,  S.W., 

1879,  March  31. 

DEAR  SIR  GEORGE, — I  have  received  a  very  unusual 
and  liberal  offer,  viz.  from  Mr.  Newall  of  the  loan  of  his 
25-Inch  Telescope  for  a  period  of  years  at  the  Cape,  and 
of  £1000  from  Mr.  James  Nasmyth  towards  the  cost  of 
transporting  and  erecting  the  same. 

Such  a  proposal  seems  to  deserve  and  require  the  most 
careful  consideration. 

Of  the  work  open  for  such  an  Instrument  I  need  not 
write  to  you,  nor  need  I  write  you  on  the  other  hand  of 
the  dangers  of  being  over-instrumented. 

After  much  anxious  thought  I  have  determined  to  ask 
my  generous  friends  to  allow  time  for  the  consideration 


104  CAPE   OBSERVATORY  [CHAP.  IX 

of  the  question.  When  I  have  discussed  future  work 
with  Mr.  Stone,  when  I  have  been  on  the  spot  and  ascer- 
tained something  of  the  capabilities  of  my  staff — then  I 
should  be  in  a  better  position  to  judge  of  the  wisdom  of 
accepting  the  proposal. 

If  then  I  decided  on  accepting  it  I  would  be  able  to 
lay  the  matter  before  the  Admiralty  in  a  much  more 
complete  and  practical  form.  In  the  meantime  I  would 
be  greatly  obliged  if  you  would  think  the  matter  over  in 
its  various  aspects,  and  on  my  return  from  the  Continent 
give  me  your  opinion  about  it. 

I  would  have  called  at  Greenwich  on  the  subject,  but 
I  leave  on  Monday  morning  on  a  visit  to  the  Continental 
Observatories  and  have  many  matters  to  arrange  which 
keep  me  busily  employed. 

****** 

I  am,  my  dear  Sir  George,  very  sincerely  yours, 

DAVID  GILL. 

Sir  George  Airy  took  a  great  deal  of  trouble  about  this 
offer,  and  wrote  very  fully  when  Gill  returned  to  England. 
In  the  end  it  was  settled  to  leave  it  over  for  the  present, 
both  Newall  and  Nasmyth  allowing  their  generous  offers 
to  remain  open  for  twelve  months. 

The  tour  of  foreign  observatories  had  most  valuable 
results.  He  visited  Paris,  Leiden,  Groningen,  Hamburg, 
Copenhagen,  Helsingfors,  Pulkowa  and  Strassburg.  The 
personal  friendships  which  he  then  made  or  strengthened 
secured  all  the  co-operation  that  was  often  necessary  to 
him  in  his  isolated  post  at  the  Cape.  His  enthusiasm, 
force  of  character,  and  winning  personality  infected  the 
younger  men  he  met,  and  made  some  of  them  ready 
in  after  years  to  assist  in  his  great  undertakings.  At 
Strassburg  Professor  Winnecke  and  his  senior  students 
in  astronomy  —  Kiistner,  Hartwig,  Hermann  Struve, 
Ambronn  and  Elkin — were  all,  from  that  time,  his  de- 
voted friends.  And  so  it  was  everywhere  and  always. 

Professor  Backlund  supplies  the  following  notes  of 
Gill's  visit  to  Pulkowa — 


i879]  FOREIGN  OBSERVATORIES  105 

I  remember  well  the  impression  he  made  on  me,  an 
impression  which  corresponded  very  nearly  to  the  image 
I  had  formed  from  studying  his  scientific  works.  The 
remarkable  clearness  and  energy  in  the  expression  of  his 
scientific  views  did  not,  accordingly,  surprise  me. 

During  his  short  stay  in  Pulkowo  1  the  astronomers 
assembled  to  discuss  a  variety  of  astronomical  questions, 
the  last  evening.  It  was  in  the  house  of  Dollen;  he 
exposed  to  us  his  plans  for  developing  the  Cape  Observa- 
tory into  a  first-class  observatory,  and  he  did  that  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  fully  convince  us  that  "ille  faciet." 

After  the  conversazione  he  proved  himself  an  enter- 
taining guest  at  supper.  The  hostess — Mrs.  Dollen — 
talked  with  him  about  Paris,  where  he  had  spent  some 
time  before  arriving  at  Pulkowo.  To  her  question  how 
he  beguiled  the  evenings  there  after  his  scientific  meetings 
he  answered  that  he  strolled  along  the  boulevards  looking 
at  the  beautiful  Parisiennes.  "  How  would  that  please 
Mrs.  Gill  if  she  knew  it  ?  "  asked  Mrs.  Dollen.  "  I  strolled 
just  for  the  pleasure  of  telling  my  wife  what  beautiful 
sights  Paris  has  for  the  strangers,"  was  the  answer. 

After  seventeen  years  I  met  Gill  again,  this  time  in 
Paris  in  1896  at  the  astrographic  congress  and  at  the 
subsequent  congress  of  ephemerides.  The*  seventeen 
years  had  in  no  way  abated  his  energy ;  on  the  contrary, 
they  had  enhanced  it,  supported  now  by  the  considerable 
success  at  the  Cape.  He  had  entered  the  ranks  of  lead- 
ing astronomers,  and  his  vast  views,  greatness  of  mind, 
conscientiousness  and  acuteness  in  details,  and  enormous 
activity  in  all  branches  of  astronomy,  predestined  him 
to  sway  in  the  dominion  of  astronomy.  This  great 
faculty  to  make  his  opinion  prevail  was  renowned.  In 
the  Congress  of  Ephemerides  there  were  two  proposals 
about  the  value  of  the  constant  of  aberration.  Newcomb 
proposed  2o"'5o,  a  lesser  value  being  not  compatible  with  his 
theory  of  the  planetary  motions.  Gill  stood  out  for  20^47, 
deduced  from  his  observations  at  the  Cape.  This  value, 
which  is  greater  than  that  of  Struve,  2o"'44,  was  accepted.2 

1  It  is   well  understood  that  this  spelling  is  considered   by 
Dr.   Backlund  to  be  the  correct  one.     It  has  been  more  con- 
venient in  this  book  generally  to  use  the  old  form  "  Pulkowa." 

2  The  latest  result  (of  1915)  finally  reached  at  Greenwich  with  the 
wonderfully  accurate  floating  Telescope  of  Cookson  agrees  exactly 
with  Gill's  value  of  1896.     See  M.N.  of  the  R.A.S.,  1915. 


io6  CAPE  OBSERVATORY  [CHAP,  ix 

It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  we  are  not  able  to  give 
in  the  same  form  the  impressions  of  Dr.  Auwers  when  at 
this  time  he,  too,  again  received  his  friend  in  Berlin.  But 
his  sad  death  at  an  advanced  age  in  1915,  on  January  24, 
the  anniversary  of  Sir  David's  death,  and  the  circum- 
stances attending  the  war  initiated  by  Germany  against 
Europe  and  the  higher  civilization,  have  closed  to  the 
biographer  the  storehouse  of  information  in  the  posses- 
sion of  that  great  leader  of  astronomical  work  in  Germany. 
From  1873  to  1914  Auwers  and  Gill  worked  hand  in  hand, 
knowing  well  that  in  every  work  undertaken  to  advance 
their  science  each  could  rely  upon  the  other  as  upon  a 
second  self. 

This  tour  of  the  foreign  observatories  had  a  great 
effect  on  the  future  of  astronomical  observation.  It 
enabled  Gill  to  picture  in  his  own  mind  his  ideals  for  the 
creation  at  the  Cape  of  the  premier  observatory  of  the 
southern  hemisphere.  Absorbing  instrumentally  all  that 
was  best  in  Europe,  with  definite  departures  in  the  direc- 
tion of  still  greater  exactness ;  following  closely,  in  govern- 
ment and  control  of  work,  the  lines  of  Airy's  methodical 
system  in  operation  at  Greenwich ;  and  imitating,  socially, 
Struve's  example  at  Pulkowa,  by  uniting  all  the  personal 
elements  of  an  observatory  into  a  happy,  enthusiastic, 
patriarchal  colony.  His  ultimate  success  in  attaining 
these  three  ideals  is  attested  by  all,  without  exception,  of 
those  who  served  under  him  and  of  those  who  visited  him 
at  the  Cape.  He  would  have  been  the  first  to  admit  that 
much  of  the  success  accorded  to  him  came  from  the 
friendships,  among  the  older  astronomers,  which  he 
formed  in  these  earlier  days.  He  was  helped  also  by  the 
numbers  of  enthusiasts,  mostly  young  men,  from  all 
countries  who  desired  to  consolidate  his  friendship  and 
to  absorb  more  of  his  spirit,  in  many  cases  by  working  at 
the  Cape  as  his  disciples  or  collaborateurs.1 

1  e.  g.  Elkin,  De  Sitter,  Jacoby,  Cookson,  Auwers,  McClean, 
Innes,  Franklin -Adams. 


1 879l  SIR  GEORGE  AIRY  107 

After  returning  from  his  continental  tour  he  had  a 
great  deal  to  do  with  Airy,  who  was  anxious  to  do  the 
best  with  Newall's  offer,  for  he  knew  well  that,  as  an 
observer  with  the  equatoreal,  Gill  was  as  capable  of 
doing  good  work  as  he  certainly  was  in  the  accurate 
fundamental  astronomy  of  position.  At  this  time  Gill 
made  himself  master  of  Airy's  well-known  methods  for 
arranging  his  correspondence,  which  he  introduced  suc- 
cessfully at  the  Cape,  although  his  natural  turn  of  mind 
often  left  his  own  desk  in  a  condition  of  apparently 
hopeless  confusion. 

During  all  these  preparations  he  had  to  finish  off  his 
Mars  reductions.  During  their  conversations,  the  Astro- 
nomer Royal  had  discovered  an  unsuspected  effect  which 
might  introduce  a  source  of  error  into  the  results,  due  to 
atmospheric  dispersion.  The  predominant  ruddy  colour 
of  Mars  might  give  to  atmospheric  refraction  less  effect 
in  the  case  of  the  planet  than  of  the  comparison  stars, 
especially  with  the  lower  altitudes.  About  a  week  before 
sailing  Gill  was  able  to  send  to  Sir  George  Airy  his  final 
results. 

To  SIR  GEORGE  AIRY 

LONDON, 

1879,  April  26. 
****** 

The  Mars  observations  are  discussed. 

The  resulting  solar  parallax  from  all  observations  is 

8"783  * 

I  have  also  divided  the  observations  of  each  evening 
and  each  morning  into  two  groups  of  greater  and  lesser 
zenith  distance.  The  groups  of  greater  Z.D.  give  8"'j86. 
The  groups  of  lesser  Z.D.  give  8"'78o. 

It  would  appear,  therefore,  that  the  chromatic  dis- 
persion has  exercised  a  very  insensible  influence  in  the 
result. 

1  This  result  was  universally  accepted.  Gill's  final  attack  on 
the  problem  with  minor  planets  gave  a  result  differing  from  this 
by  only  two-hundredths  of  a  second  of  arc. 


io8  CAPE  OBSERVATORY  [CHAP.  IX 

Before  their  actual  departure  for  the  Cape,  Professor 
Piazzi  Smyth  sent  to  the  Gills  a  long  account  of  life  at 
the  Cape  Observatory  founded  upon  his  own  experiences 
there  forty  years  before.  This  was  written  on  eleven 
folio  pages,  in  his  usual  quaint  manner  of  description. 
It  concludes  with  two  of  his  clever  pen-and-ink  sketches 
of  the  Cape  Observatory,  very  interesting  as  being  about 
the  date  1843. 

When  giving  Mrs.  Gill  hints  about  house  management 
there,  he  begins  one  paragraph  thus — 

In  the  way  of  entomology,  I  never  saw  a  real  disgust- 
ing B  flat,  as  a  musician  said,  except  on  a  parcel  brought 
to  the  Obs*  out  of  Cape  Town  :  but  the  lively  little 
F  sharp  is  to  be  kept  in  order  by  nothing  but  abundant 
washings  down  with  soap  and  water;  and  therefore,  no 
carpets  !  But  there  is  another  flat  thing  they  call  a 
Bushfly,  a  creeping  flat  brown  affair,  who  in  the  summer 
contrives  to  get  upon  you  in  your  walks,  and  if  you  do 
not  look  sharp  he  begins  burying  himself  head-first  into 
some  convenient  place  for  him  between  your  shoulders 
and  very  inconvenient  for  you  to  get  at  him.  Husband 
and  wife  may  then  be  of  inestimable  service,  for  if  you 
get  hold  of  the  body  of  the  creature  you  must  pull  gently 
only,  or  the  head  will  come  off;  and  being  left  in  your 
skin  will  make  the  cure  rather  worse  than  the  disease. 

Of  reptiles,  you  must  be  forewarned  of  the  snakes.  .  .  . 
But  occasionally  a  poisonous  cobra  is  met  with ;  and 
occasionally  also  a  puff-adder  which  is  worse,  for  it  will 
pursue  to  bite,  as  well  as  bite  when  pursued. 

It  is  impossible  to  withhold  admiration,  at  this  stage 
in  his  life,  for  the  Aberdonian  tradesman  who,  regardless 
of  pecuniary  interests,  by  his  own  efforts  towards  the 
attainment  of  his  noble  ideals,  in  the  course  of  seven 
years  of  unremitting  subordinate  labour,  had  been 
placed,  with  the  acclamation  of  the  astronomical  world, 
in  a  field  of  labour  giving  full  scope  to  his  indomitable, 
inexhaustible  energy. 


BOOK   II 

THE  WORK  OF  A  REAL  ASTRONOMER 


CHAPTER  X 

FRIENDSHIPS  AT  CAPETOWN    (1879) 

New  friends  —  Mr.  Trimen,  F.R.S.  —  Sir  Fred.  Richards  —  Sir 
Bartle  Frere— Sir  George  Colley — Sir  Thomas  Fuller— Dr. 
Muir — Cecil  Rhodes — General  Gordon — Social  pleasures. 

My  lines  are  so  pleasant  to  me,  that  everybody  ought  to  come  to 
me  to  catch  the  infection  of  happiness.  This  work  is  what  I  looked 
forward  to  for  long. — CLERK  MAXWELL. 

IN  June  1879,  Gill  and  his  wife  arrived  at  Capetown. 
Never  in  his  life  did  he  lose  the  impression  produced  upon 
his  mind,  that  lovely  morning,  as  the  fog  lifted,  when  he 
first  beheld  the  glorious  view  of  the  flat-topped  Table 
Mountain,  of  the  Lion's  Head  and  Rump,  with  the  white 
buildings  of  the  town  resting  along  the  sea  front,  and 
climbing  the  slopes  behind.  His  predecessor  at  the 
observatory,  Mr.  Stone,  who  was  to  sail  for  home  the  next 
day,  came  on  board  to  welcome  them.  Soon  after,  they 
all  drove  a  few  miles  out,  to  the  observatory,  a  forlorn 
spot  where  they  must  needs  make  their  home.  Only 
a  rough,  muddy  road  led,  at  that  time,  from  the  station 
to  the  observatory.  The  avenue  was  little  better  than 
a  cart  track  up  the  side  of  the  hill;  the  grounds 
were  entirely  neglected,  and  practically  in  a  wild  state. 
Except  for  the  trees  planted  by  Lady  Maclear  (whose 
husband,  Sir  Thomas  Maclear,  had  been  H.M.  Astronomer 
there),  the  hill  was  untended,  the  only  redeeming  feature 
being  the  beautiful  arum  lilies  and  other  wild  flowers 
which  in  their  season  sprang  up  on  all  sides,  and  helped  to 
give  an  appearance  of  cheerfulness  which  was  otherwise 


H2  FRIENDSHIPS  AT  CAPETOWN      [CHAP.  X 

wanting.     The   rooms,    with   furniture    dismantled    and 
prepared  for  sale,  looked  homeless  and  uninviting. 

They  lived  for  a  week  at -an  hotel  in  Cape  Town.  After- 
wards, when  settled  down  in  their  future  home,  they 
began  to  discover  great  possibilities,  and  hopes  arose 
that,  with  care  and  attention,  the  observatory  might  be 
made  a  charming  place  of  residence.  It  was  fortunate 
that  the  temperaments  both  of  husband  and  wife  led 
them  to  take  this  outlook,  and  not  to  abandon  themselves 
and  the  place  to  despair  as  their  predecessors  had  done. 
Before  many  years  they  transformed  this  wilderness 
into  one  of  the  most  delightful  homes  in  South  Africa. 

They  moved  into  the  observatory  before  their  furniture 
could  be  put  in  place.  They  themselves  had  already 
learnt  to  "  rough  it  "  together  at  the  Pyramids  and  in 
Ascension ;  -  but  now  early  callers  began  to  arrive,  to  whom 
tea  had  to  be  administered  on  packing-cases  for  tables, 
a  source  of  great  amusement  to  guests  and  hosts  alike. 
In  a  week  or  two  order  was  better  established. 

During  their  temporary  stay  at  the  hotel  their  first 
visitors  were  Miss  Maclear  (daughter  of  the  old  astro- 
nomer), Mr.  Charles  Fairbridge  and  Mr.  Roland  Trimen, 
F.R.S.,  then  curator  of  the  museum,  afterwards  resident 
in  England.1  These  first  visitors  continued  to  be  the 
dearest  of  friends.  It  is  worth  while  saying  a  few  words 
now  about  his  relationship  with  the  leading  people  when 
he  arrived  at  the  Cape. 

The  deplorable  condition  of  the  observatory  grounds 
became  a  blessing  in  disguise,  for  it  enlisted  the  sympathy 
of  a  man  who  became  Gill's  staunchest  supporter  and 
adviser  in  negotiations  with  the  Admiralty,  Admiral  Sir 
Frederick  Richards,  known  to  his  associates  as  King 
Dick.2 

1  Mr.  Roland  Trimen  died  July  25,  1916. 

2  In  the   crypt  of  St.   Paul's    Cathedral  his  marble  portrait 
medallion  in  a  frame  of  alabaster  bears  the  following  inscription  : 
Admiral  of  the  Fleet  Sir  Frederick  W.  Richards,  G.C.B.,  D.C.L., 
First  Sea  Lord  of  the  Admiralty,  1893-9.     Vigilant  and  resolute. 


•  Canopus. 


[To  face  page  112. 

THE   SOUTHERN    MILKY   WAY,    WITH   COALSACK,    NEBECULA   MAJOR, 
AND   STARS,    TRULY   PLACED  ;    a   AND   ft   CENTAURI   POINTING 

TO    SOUTHERN    CROSS. 
(Drawn  from  Table  Bay  by  George  Forbes,  1914.) 


i879]  SIR  FREDERICK   RICHARDS  113 

Ignorant  of  Admiralty  methods,  Gill  wrote  to  Com- 
modore Richards  (as  he  then  was),  the  Commander-in- 
Chief  at  Simons  Bay,  asking  him  to  come  to  see  the  state 
of  things  and  to  look  at  his  report.  He  came,  had 
luncheon,  looked  round,  bade  them  good-bye,  and  said 
nothing.  A  few  days  later,  by  invitation,  the  visit  was 
returned  and  the  Gills  spent  the  night  at  Admiralty 
House.  After  dinner  he  showed  Gill  a  letter  he  had 
written  to  the  Admiralty  containing  important  sugges- 
tions. It  ended  with  these  words  :  "I  should  be  glad 
if  your  Lordships  would  inform  me  what  should  be  my 
relations  with  the  astronomer  at  the  Cape."  After  two 
months  the  invitation  was  repeated  and  after  dinner  the 
Commodore  put  into  Gill's  hands  the  Admiralty  answer 
approving  of  the  suggestions  for  keeping  the  grounds. 
The  letter  ended  thus — 

With  regard  to  the  concluding  paragraph  of  your  letter, 
in  which  you  request  to  be  informed  what  should  be  your 
relations  with  the  Astronomer  at  the  Cape,  I  am  instructed 
by  my  Lords  to  inform  you  that  the  relations  between 
the  Commodore  and  the  astronomer  have  hitherto  been 
of  the  most  agreeable  description,  and  their  Lordships 
trust  that  they  will  so  continue. 

In  relating  this  after  his  retirement,  Gill  added— 

To  the  ingenious  Admiralty  official  who  penned  this 
witty  reply  I  beg  to  render  my  warmest  congratulations 
on  the  manner  in  which  his  suggestions  have  been 
followed;  for  I  can  imagine  no  more  kindly  and  helpful 
friends  than  those  I  found  in  the  ten  successive  Com- 
manders-in- Chief  under  whom  I  had  the  honour  to  serve 
during  my  twenty-seven  years'  tenure  of  office  at  the 
Cape. 

The  most  important  personage  in  the  colony  was 
the  Governor,  Sir  Bartle  Frere;  and  Gill's  respect  and 
admiration  for  him  during  the  whole  time  of  their 

With  singleness  of  heart  and  purpose  he  devoted  his  life  to  the 
Navy  and  to  the  Empire,  1833-1912. 

I 


H4  FRIENDSHIPS  AT  CAPETOWN      [CHAP.  X 

acquaintance  grew  steadily  with  increased  knowledge. 
Lady  Frere's  tact  was  impressed  upon  him  forcibly 
at  the  first  dinner  given  J>y  her  in  Sir  Bartle's  absence, 
which  he  and  Mrs.  Gill  attended. 

As  the  guests  assembled  a  telegram  was  handed  to  her, 
but  no  outward  sign  of  its  seriousness  was  manifest 
during  the  evening.  Next  morning  we  were  told  that  it 
contained  news  of  the  death  of  the  Prince  Imperial,  who 
had  been  killed  in  Zululand.  She  was  doubtless  aware 
of  the  effect  which  this  event  would  have  on  the  career 
of  her  husband,  and  yet,  so  perfect  was  her  courtesy, 
that  by  no  outward  sign  could  we  detect  the  seriousness 
of  the  situation. 

Soon  after,  Sir  Bartle  returned  from  Natal  and  a 
public  dinner  celebrated  the  occasion,  when  the  Gills  were 
present.  When  speaking  of  this  long  afterwards,  Sir 
David  said — 

A  few  days  afterwards,  photographs  of  the  banquet 
appeared  in  the  shop  windows,  when  I  observed,  very 
much  in  the  foreground,  at  the  lower  end  of  the  table,  an 
enlarged  head  of  a  gentleman  with  a  bald  spot  on  the 
back  of  it,  which  from  the  dress  of  the  neighbouring 
ladies  I  soon  identified  as  a  representation  of  my  own 
headpiece.  Thus,  much  to  my  wife's  amusement,  I 
made  the  first  discovery  that  I  was  bald. 

This  was  not  the  only  occasion  on  which  his  own 
idiosyncrasies  were  revealed  to  him  in  a  way  that  caused 
him  much  amusement.  About  this  time  a  phonograph 
of  early  type  was  exhibited  in  Adderley  Street.  The 
Gills  entered  the  shop  to  examine  it.  Gill  spoke  into 
the  instrument.  When  he  heard  the  reproduction  of 
his  own  voice  he  turned  to  those  round  him  and  said  : 
"Do  I  r-really  r-roll  my  R's  like  that?  "  A  burst  of 
laughter  assured  him  that  the  reproduction  was  accurate, 
and  he  himself  joined  in  the  merriment,  utterly  surprised 
at  his  discovery. 

In   the   interview   from   which    some   of    the    above 


i879]  SIR  BARTLE  FRERE  115 

quotations  have  been  made 1  Sir  David  added  to  his 
recollections. 

I  shall  never  forget  the  impression  which  Sir  Bartle 
Frere's  personality  made  upon  me.  The  earnestness  of 
the  man,  his  desire  to  promote  everything  that  could 
conduce  to  the  advancement  of  South  Africa,  the  per- 
sistent questions  he  put  to  me  as  to  what,  from  the 
scientific  point  of  view,  could  best  be  done  to  forward 
its  interests.  He  urged  me  to  be  president  of  the  Philo- 
sophical Society,  in  succession  to  himself,  and,  although 
I  at  first  refused  on  the  ground  that  I  had  so  much  to  do 
in  organizing  my  new  work,  he  came  out  one  day  person- 
ally to  the  observatory  for  the  express  purpose  of  insisting 
that  I  should  take  that  position.  Naturally,  under  such 
pressure  I  consented. 

During  the  conversation  just  mentioned,  I  endeavoured 
to  impress  upon  him  the  necessity  for  setting  on  foot  a 
systematic  triangulation  of  the  Colony,  and  he,  accus- 
tomed to  Indian  administration  and  knowing  the  value 
attached  to  accurate  survey  there,  aided  my  views  in 
every  way  in  his  power.  At  that  time  the  finances  of  the 
Colony  were  not  in  a  flourishing  condition,  and  the 
Ministers  felt  that  they  could  not  at  the  time  respond  to 
his  earnest  entreaty  that  the  work  should  be  set  on  foot. 
But  the  day  after  Sir  George  Colley  arrived  at  Cape 
Town  to  take  up  the  Governorship  of  Natal,  Sir  Bartle 
Frere  brought  him  to  the  observatory  in  order  that  he 
might  talk  over  the  possibility  of  starting  a  systematic 
survey  in  Natal.  As  a  result  of  that  conversation  Sir 
George  Colley  promised  to  advocate  a  survey  of  Natal 
as  soon  as  possible. 

There  is  little  doubt  that  Sir  David  Gill's  estimate  of 
Sir  Bartle  Frere  is  confirmed  by  the  verdict  of  all  com- 
petent critics.  It  was  still  more  confirmed  by  what  Lord 
Milner  said  to  him,  as  he  told  it  in  South  Africa — 

I  recall  a  specially  interesting  conversation  with  Lord 
Milner.  It  was  shortly  before  his  celebrated  speech  at 
Graaff  Reinet.  We  were  alone  in  the  library  after  dinner 
at  Government  House,  and  were  speaking  together  of  the 

1  Majority  special  number  of  South  Africa. 


n6  FRIENDSHIPS  AT  CAPETOWN     [CHAP.  X 

situation.  I  can  remember  now  his  concluding  words. 
He  said  :  "  I  have,  as  you  know,  very  closely  studied 
the  history  of  South  Africa,  and  whenever  I  come  upon 
the  footprints  of  Sir  Bartl£  Frere  I  feel  that  I  am  on  solid 
ground.  If  I  fail  as  Sir  Bartle  Frere  failed  I  should  die 
a  proud  man." 

Sir  David  goes  on  to  say— 

I  have  no  doubt  whatever  that  history  will  justify 
Lord  Milner  as  it  has  justified  Sir  Bartle  Frere;  but  it 
is  sad  to  think  that  party  feeling,  prejudice,  and  ignorance 
in  both  cases  combined,  in  the  first  place,  to  condemn 
men  who  deserved  so  well  of  their  country,  and  who 
served  it  with  such  courage,  ability  and  self-sacrifice. 

Sir  David's  final  tribute  to  Sir  Bartle,  in  the  interview 
quoted,  is  as  follows — 

On  August  I  of  that  year  (1880)  Sir  Bartle  Frere  was 
recalled.  No  man  ever  better  deserved  the  thanks  of 
the  Government  at  home  and  of  South  Africans  generally 
than  did  that  great  administrator.  No  man  was  ever 
more  cruelly  and  unfairly  treated.  Capetown  understood 
the  services  he  rendered  and  never  before  and  never  since 
[this  was  said  in  1908]  has  a  population  so  fully  shown  by 
the  demonstration  made  at  his  departure  the  depth  of 
feeling  which  possessed  them.  Capetown,  from  the  top 
of  Adderley  Street  to  the  Docks,  was  one  mass  of  human 
beings  waiting  in  respectful  silence  to  make  their  adieu 
to  the  great  man  who  was  leaving  them  under  the  cloud 
of  the  displeasure  of  those  who  did  not  know;  to  the 
sorrow  and  regret  of  those  who  did.  My  wife,  in  1880, 
was  unfortunately  ill  and  had  to  return  to  England  for 
medical  advice,  and  I,  from  having  so  recently  arrived, 
was  unable  to  accompany  her.  Lady  Frere  kindly  under- 
took to  look  after  her  by  the  way,  and  I  have  often  heard 
my  wife  say  that  it  was  amazing  that  a  man  who  had 
suffered  so  much  from  unworthy  treatment  should  have 
spoken  always  SQ  gently  and  charitably  of  all  that  had 
passed. 

South  Africa  used  then  to  be  looked  upon  as  "  the 
grave  of  great  reputations."  Sir  Bartle  Frere's  reputa- 


i879]  SIR  BARTLE  FRERE  117 

tion  has  increased  with  the  years;  and  many  a  man 
pauses,  in  admiration,  before  his  fine  statue,  in  the 
gardens  between  Whitehall  Court  and  the  Thames,  with 
"  India  "  and  "  Africa  "  emblazoned  on  either  side.  The 
statue  was  erected  by  public  subscription  in  1888. 

Miss  Georgina  Frere  has  sent  some  notes  about  the 
relations  between  her  father  and  Mr.  Gill. 

Between  my  father  and  him  mutual  esteem  and  regard 
at  once  sprung  up  and  never  lessened.  Sir  Bartle  recog- 
nized in  him  a  man  after  his  own  heart,  of  swift  intuition 
and  of  disinterested  zeal  for  the  public  service.  [She 
adds  many  personal  recollections  of  Gill  as  he  appeared 
in  1879.]  Nothing  came  amiss,  and  in  many  forms  of 
physical  exercise  he  found  the  needed  relaxation  from 
the  absorption  of  his  work.  Shooting  and  dancing  we  all 
know  remained  favourite  forms  of  enjoyment  to  the  end 
of  his  life,  and  when  first  in  South  Africa  I  remember  his 
also  riding  a  great  deal. 

FROM  SIR  BARTLE  FRERE 

WRESSIL  LODGE,  WIMBLEDON  COMMON, 

July  24,  1883. 

MY  DEAR  GILL, — I  have  sent  you  by  Garth  Castle  a 
box  of  Books,  which  I  shall  be  obliged  if  you  will 
present  in  my  name  to  the  Philosophical  Socy.  I  hope  it 
continues  a  vigorous  existence  under  your  auspices.  I 
constantly  see  evidence  in  the  scientific  Journals  that  the 
Cape  Observatory  keeps  up  its  old  fame — but  it  is  long 
since  I  heard  any  tidings  of  what  the  Phil.  Socy.  are 
about.  You  will  have  been  gratified  by  Trimen's  F.R.S. 
Pray  kindly  congratulate  him  on  his  well  deserved  honours, 
and  tell  him  I  had  often  my  pen  in  hand  to  write  my  own 
congratulations  but  the  ambitious  wish  to  write  a  long 
letter,  and  constant  interruptions,  wrecked  this — like  many 
other  good  intentions. 

You  will  have  been  greatly  grieved  by  Spottiswoode's l 
death.  His  funeral  was  a  remarkable  testimony  of  the 
widespread  sorrow  at  his  loss,  felt  by  men  of  all  ranks 
and  occupations  from  Chancellors  of  Universities  to 
compositors  and  errand  boys,  for  his  loss  was  as  great 
to  the  poor  of  London  as  to  the  philosophers  of  Europe. 
1  Pres.  Roy.  Soc. 


n8  FRIENDSHIPS  AT  CAPETOWN      [CHAP.  X 

There  is  nothing  comforting  to  write  about  the  political 
world.  The  most  accomplished,  but  most  crotchety  and 
mischievous  in  practice,  o(,prime  Ministers  goes  on  leading 
the  great  Liberal  party  from  one  quagmire  to  another — 
and  few  seem  to  see  that  the  Anarchists  are  the  only  party 
really  thriving.  I  wish  your  political  aspects  were  more 
cheering  in  S.  Africa.  It  will  be  something  if  you  can 
tell  us  you  are  yourself  well,  and  Mrs.  Gill  really  in  better 
health  than  when  she  left  us.  Give  her  kindest  regards 
from  us  all,  and  believe  me,  my  dear  Gill,  ever  very 
sincerely  yours,  H.  B.  S.  FRERE. 

On  October  i,  1879,  Gill  made  a  report  to  Sir  Bartle 
Frere  on  the  Trigonometrical  Survey  of  South  African 
colonies,  which  was  printed  officially.  It  lays  down 
general  principles  of  great  value  by  which  a  general 
triangulation  should  at  the  same  time  become  the  basis 
of  a  map  for  co-ordinating  all  local  surveys  made  for 
fixing  boundaries,  and  also  assist  the  scientific  needs  of 
geodesy  for  determining  the  size  and  figure  of  the  earth 
by  the  measurement  of  a  long  arc  of  meridian.  The 
practical  suggestions  are  of  the  utmost  value. 

Gill  submitted  the  scheme  to  Sir  George  Airy  as  the 
most  competent  critic  among  his  friends.  He  replied 
on  December  7,  1879— 

I  approve  entirely  of  your  general  plan  and  am  certain 
that,  so  far  as  it  is  connected  with  territorial  survey,  it 
is  the  only  one  that  can  meet  all  wants.  .  .  .  There  is 
ten  years'  work  cut  out  for  you. 

Gill's  reputation  as  an  astronomer  had  preceded  him, 
and  when  the  leading  men  there  discovered  that  he  was 
prepared  to  occupy  himself  with  their  interests  as  well  as 
his  own  professional  ones,  he  immediately  came  to  be 
recognized  as  the  man  to  be  consulted,  not  only  upon  all 
scientific  matters,  but  also  on  all  questions  where  a 
sound  judgment  was  wanted  for  the  good  of  the  com- 
munity. He  was  seized  upon  to  help  the  museum  and 
the  Philosophical  Society  while  he  was  pushing  his  plans 


i879]  SIR  THOMAS  FULLER  119 

of  survey.  So  also  he  was  drawn  into  the  vortex  of 
education,  and  came  in  contact  with  Mr.  Thomas  Fuller,1 
who  had  been  mainly  responsible  for  the  foundation  of 
the  Cape  University,  and  who  insisted  on  the  formation 
of  a  physical  laboratory.  It  was  he  who  selected  the 
successor  to  Sir  Langham  Dale  as  Superintendent- 
General  of  Education ;  but  his  choice  was  influenced 
by  the  advice  of  Gill,  who  has  left  the  following 
reminiscences — 

I  remember  being  consulted  by  Mr.  Merriman  about 
the  appointment  of  a  successor  to  Sir  Langham  Dale, 
and  I  strongly  recommended  that  a  Scotsman  should  be 
appointed,  on  the  ground  that  the  Scottish  system  of 
education  is  the  one  best  suited  to  South  Africa,  and 
because  I  thought  that  I  knew  men  who  would  be  ready 
and  willing  to  give  their  advice  in  making  a  wise  choice. 
Mr.  Thomas  Fuller  went  home  with  instructions  to  make 
the  necessary  enquiries,  and  I  furnished  him  with  a  letter 
of  introduction  to  Lord  MacLaren,  one  of  the  judges  in 
Edinburgh,  to  whom  I  wrote,  telling  him  of  Mr.  Fuller's 
mission,  and  suggesting  that  perhaps  he  could  arrange 
that  Mr.  Fuller  should  meet  Lord  Kelvin  and  Professor 
Chrystal,  of  Edinburgh,  in  consultation  on  the  subject. 
They  all  met  at  Lord  MacLaren's  house,  and  their 
unanimous  opinion  was  that  of  all  men  Dr.  Muir,  of  the 
High  School  of  Glasgow,  was  beyond  doubt  the  best  man 
obtainable.  Mr.  Rhodes,  before  making  the  appoint- 
ment, interviewed  Dr.  Muir,  and  the  result  was  Dr. 
Muir's  selection. 

This  proved  to  be  a  wise  choice,  and  Sir  David  Gill 

added — 

/ 

to  that  appointment  also,  and  the  society  of  Dr.  Muir, 
I,  for  my  part,  owe  many  of  the  pleasant est  hours  of  my 
life  at  the  Cape. 

It  was  characteristic  of  the  man,  and,  doubtless,  had 
not  a  little  to  do  with  his  increasing  influence,  that  in 

1  Afterwards  Sir  Thomas  Fuller,  Agent-General  for  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope. 


120  FRIENDSHIPS  AT  CAPETOWN      [CHAP,  x 

these  matters  he  had  a  lively  appreciation  of  witty  and 
humorous  incidents.     He  tells  us — 

In  those  days  the  Education  Department  was  under 
Sir  Langham  Dale,  who  was  afterwards  assisted  by  Mr. 
Donald  Ross.  In  his  zeal  the  latter  published  a  series 
of  answers  to  questions  in  examinations,  some  of  which 
stick  to  me  still  as  good  stories.  At  an  elementary 
teachers'  examination,  for  example,  the  question  asked 
was,  "  State  what  you  know  about  gravity  " ;  to  which 
the  answer  was,  "  Gravity  is,  if  you  go  to  the  top  of  a 
hill  and  jump  up,  you  will  come  down  again.  If  it  was 
not  for  gravity  you  would  never  come  down  again.  We 
ought  to  be  very  thankful  that  there  is  gravity." 

Another  question  I  remember  was  :  "  State  what  you 
know  about  the  connexion  between  electricity  and 
lightning."  The  answer  was,  "  Lightning  is  sometimes 
several  miles  long,  but  electricity  is  never  more  than 
two  or  three  inches  long."  Another  question  was  : 
"  What  place  should  music  occupy  in  the  curriculum  of 
a  school?  "  The  answer  was,  "  Music  should  be  placed 
in  the  middle  of  the  room,  and  taught  at  eleven  o'clock 
on  Wednesdays." 

I  remember  that  when  Sir  Langham  Dale  came  to 
see  this  portion  of  the  Blue-book  he  was  not  entirely 
pleased,  and  Mr.  Donald  Ross  had  a  bad  quarter  of  an 
hour. 

Gill's  attitude  towards  the  great  surveying  operations 
with  which  he  has  enriched  the  world  is  characteristic 
of  all  his  progresses  in  astronomical  achievement.  He 
had  the  consciousness  of  a  power  in  him  to  accomplish 
great  things.  He  felt  that  this  gave  him  the  right  to 
demand  all  possible  assistance  to  that  end.  And  he  was 
full  of  the  indomitable  energy  which  compelled  support 
to  his  projects. 

Thus  it  was  that  at  the  very  commencement  of  his 
Cape  career  he  had  the  active  support,  in  his  preliminary 
operations,  of  Sir  Bartle  Frere,  Sir  George  Colley,  and  Sir 
Frederick  Richards,  followed  later  by  that  of  Lord 
Milner,  Cecil  Rhodes,  Earl  Grey,  Sir  Charles  Mitchell, 


1879]  SIR  FREDERICK  RICHARDS  121 

Lord  Loch,  and  all  the  admirals  who  ever  commanded  at 
the  Cape  station. 

A  determined  man,  too,  is,  more  often  than  not, 
favoured  by  what  we  call  luck.  It  could  hardly  be  fore- 
told or  expected  at  that  date  that  Gill  would  ever  see 
the  Orange  Free  State,  the  Transvaal  and  the  extensive 
tracts  of  Rhodesia  as  integral  parts  of  the  British  Empire 
through  which  the  measurements  for  his  great  arc  of 
meridian  should  pass  towards  his  goal  on  the  Mediter- 
ranean, or  that  its  course  in  the  north  would  be  assisted 
by  the  hostility  of  the  Mahdi  giving  into  our  hands  the 
Upper  Nile  and  Lake  territories.  Through  these  events 
his  original  aspirations  developed  into  expectations ;  and 
the  measured  great  meridian  arc,  on  30°  east  longitude, 
became,  as  he  told  us,  "  the  dream  of  my  life."  l 

While  Gill's  highest  pleasure  arose  from  doing  these 
things  himself,  he  also  derived  great  delight  in  later  life 
in  recounting  the  valuable  assistance  he  received  from 
many  friends,  and  also  from  the  officials  at  the  Admiralty, 
who  soon  discovered  that  when  Gill  wanted  a  thing  done 
there  was  always  a  very  good  reason  for  it.  There  was 
no  one  to  whom  he  was  more  indebted  in  this  way  than 
Sir  Frederick  Richards,  who  in  1898  became  Admiral  of 
the  Fleet.  His  first  indebtedness  has  been  mentioned, 
his  second  is  told  thus — 

In  October  1880  I  visited  Natal  as  the  guest  of  Com- 
modore Richards  on  his  flagship  Boadicea,  in  order  to 
make  preliminary  experiments  connected  with  the 
telegraphic  longitude  of  Aden  and  Cape  Town,  and  to 
further  discuss  with  Sir  George  Colley  the  steps  to  be 
taken  in  connexion  with  the  proposed  survey.  The  result 
was  that  Sir  George  Colley  took  immediate  steps  to  for- 
ward the  project  by  addressing  a  message  to  the  Legis- 
lative Council  proposing  to  place  a  sum  of  £2000  on  the 
Estimate  of  1881,  for  the  initial  expense  of  the  proposed 
operation.  One  of  the  last  documents  addressed  by 

1  Presidential  address,  Brit.  Assoc.,  1907. 


122  FRIENDSHIPS  AT  CAPETOWN      [CHAP.  X 

Sir  George  to  the  Council  was  a  message  of  thanks  re- 
garding the  above  proposal,  dated  December  21,  1880. 
A  few  days  afterwards  he  left  his  seat  of  Government, 
never,  alas  !  to  return.  T 

I  remember  the  journey  from  Durban  to  Pietermaritz- 
burg.  The  line  was  then  completed  only  to  Pinetown, 
where  we  found  a  transport  mule-wagon  to  convey  us 
over  the  remaining  fifty-five  miles  of  our  journey.  On 
driving  into  the  avenue  of  Government  House,  Maritz- 
burg,  covered  with  dust  from  our  journey,  we  found  to  our 
horror  the  lawn  in  front  filled  by  guests  at  an  afternoon 
party  there.  "  'Bout  ship,"  said  Sir  Frederick  Richards. 
But  it  was  impossible  to  "  'Bout  ship,"  so  we  drove  right 
past  Government  House,  through  the  guests  and  away 
to  our  hotel,  where  we  might  hide  our  filthy  heads,  and 
undergo  "  alterations  and  repairs."  We  spent  a  quiet 
evening  at  our  hotel,  and  turned  up  next  day  at  Govern- 
ment House  in  more  presentable  condition.  On  the  last 
evening  of  our  stay,  there  was  a  large  official  dinner 
party  at  Government  House.  A  few  weeks  later  nearly 
half  of  those  at  table  were  killed  [at  Majuba  Hill]  during 
the  first  Boer  war. 

It  may  be  as  well  to  introduce  among  these  memories 
Gill's  impressions  of  Cecil  Rhodes  as  given  in  later  years. 

I  remember  a  good  many  years  ago  calling  upon  him 
in  his  office  one  day  to  ask  whether  he  would  be  disposed 
to  undertake  the  extension  of  the  Geodetic  Survey  of 
South  Africa  through  Rhodesia.  I  pointed  out  to  him 
not  only  the  desirability  of  starting  a  systematic  survey 
at  an  early  stage  in  the  history  of  the  development  of 
his  new  country,  but  also  the  great  scientific  problem  for 
the  measurement  of  the  earth  to  which  a  notable  contribu- 
tion might  be  made  by  extending  a  chain  of  triangulation 
from  the  Cape  to  Cairo.  I  explained  that  it  Would  be  an 
invaluable  contribution  not  only  to  geodesy,  but  to 
geography,  and  would  form  a  point  of  departure  for 
connecting  together  all  the  surveys  of  travellers  of  the 
territories  through  which  that  chain  would  pass,  and 
might  incidentally  serve  also  as  an  aid  to  the  survey  of 
the  great  railway  scheme  which  had  then  started.  Mr. 
Rhodes  said  to  me,  "  Yes,  that  is  a  fine  scheme — a  fine 
scheme ;  but  you  must  remember  that  I  must  first  of  all 


1879]  CECIL  RHODES  123 

provide  something  in  the  way  of  roads  and  bridges  to 
facilitate  communication,  and  when  we  have  got  so  far 
in  that  direction  I  will  support  your  survey."  Then, 
turning  to  a  map  of  Africa,  he  said,  "  Look  here,  a  man 
requires  two  things  to  enable  him  to  do  great  work  in 
the  world;  these  are,  first  imagination,  and  next  grit. 
The  French  have  got  imagination,  but  we  have  mostly 
the  grit  without  the  imagination.  Now  look  at  the  French 
what  they  are  doing.  They  have  got  some  possessions 
here  on  the  West  Coast  of  Africa,  and  they  have  got  a 
little  spot  here  on  the  border  of  the  Red  Sea,  and  they  have 
got  a  man  l  just  now  going  from  west  to  east,  and  I  have 
got  an  eye  upon  him,  and  our  grit  will  stop  him  getting 
there.  To  those  who  have  got  imagination  and  grit 
everything  will  come.  Now,  good-bye,  I  won't  forget 
my  promise." 

He  did  not  forget  his  promise.  It  was  largely  owing  to 
him  that,  when  Sir  David  Gill  died,  the  completion  of  work 
on  the  great  arc  of  meridian  was  almost  within  sight. 
While  Lord  Grey  was  administrator  of  Rhodesia  things 
went  on  well.  When  he  left,  Gill  met  with  difficulties 
in  getting  over  which  he  had  further  insight  into  the 
methods  of  Cecil  Rhodes.  When  he  called  and  explained 
to  him  his  difficulties,  Rhodes  turned  to  his  secretary, 
saying,  "  Take  a  telegraph  form  and  write  :  /  have 
promised  Sir  David  Gill  that  I  will  carry  out  his  Arc  of 
Meridian.  Tell  them  to  find  the  money.  The  rest  is  all 
red  tape." 

After  that,  Rhodes  turned  to  Gill  and  said,  "  Fine  thing, 
money."  Gill  replied,  "  Finer  thing,  astronomy,"  to 
which  Rhodes  answered,  "  Too  d d  expensive." 

There  was  something  of  dogged  persistence  in  Rhodes' 
character  which  appealed  to  David  Gill ;  he  often  visited 
the  great  man  at  Groote  Schuur,  and  has  told  many  things 
about  his  character.  He  said — 

One  of  the  most  delightful  things  about  him  was  his 
joy  and  delight  in  the  beauty  of  his  surroundings.  He 

1  [Colonel  Marchand.] 


124  FRIENDSHIPS  AT  CAPETOWN      [CHAP.  X 

would  sit  under  his  verandah  at  teatime  looking  upon 
the  great  mountain  before  him,  and  ask  you  passionately  : 
"  Is  there  anything  more  beautiful  in  the  whole  world  ?  " 
He  would  turn  upon  you  suddenly  and  say,  "  Did  you 
ever  realize  what  a  privilege  it  is  to  be  an  Englishman?  " 
And,  if  I  mildly  suggested  that  it  was  better  to  be  a 
Scotsman,  he  would  say,  "  Ah,  man,  that  is  the  same 
thing." 

David  Gill's  humility,  devotion  to  duty  and  purity  of 
mind  are  shown  in  his  correspondence  by  the  admiration 
he  bestowed  upon  all  the  men  possessed  of  these  qualities 
who  crossed  his  path.  Among  those  who  were  resident 
at  the  Cape  in  those  first  years  there  was  none  who  could 
excite  this  spirit  of  admiration  more  than  General  Gordon. 
He  accepted  the  command  of  the  colonial  forces  in  South 
Africa  in  1882 ;  and  resigned  when  his  negotiations  with 
Masupha,  the  Basuto  chief,  were  interrupted  by  the  unfair 
attack  instigated  by  Mr.  Sauer,  secretary  for  native  affairs 
in  1882. 

"  Chinese  "  Gordon  used  frequently  to  turn  up  at  the 
observatory  for  a  talk  with  David  Gill  in  his  study,  that 
fine  large  room  where  visitors  were  received  by  him  and 
where  he  did  his  work  and  correspondence.  On  one 
occasion  "  the  wifey  "  was  sent  off  to  fetch  a  Bible  and 
Paradise  Lost  to  enable  Gordon  to  give  a  proof  to  Gill 
that  he  could  locate  geographically  the  site  of  the  Garden 
of  Eden,  illustrated  by  rough  pencil  sketches  which  still 
exist. 

These  two  men  had  a  sincere  regard  for  each  other, 
and  when  Gordon  came  to  the  observatory  to  say  good-bye 
before  leaving  the  Cape,  Gill  accompanied  him  across  the 
little  grass  triangle  in  front  of  their  door  to  give  him  a 
last  handgrip.  Then,  as  the  hansom  drove  off,  General 
Gordon  turned  to  George  Kilgour  (a  kinsman  of  Mrs. 
Gill's,  who  told  her  afterwards),  saying  quietly,  as  he 
jerked  his  thumb  towards  Gill,  "  Of  such  is  the  salt  of 
the  earth." 


i879]  CALEDONIAN  SOCIETY  125 

In  the  first  year  of  their  life  at  the  Cape  the  Gills 
firmly  established  themselves  in  the  affections  of  their 
own  settlement  in  the  observatory  and  also  with  the  people 
of  Cape  Town.  Mrs.  Gill's  friendliness,  dignity  and  fun 
captivated  the  hearts  of  the  colony,  and  although  Mr. 
Gill  was  a  perfect  glutton  for  astronomical  work,  he  held 
that  "  an  astronomer  is  to  be  reckoned  not  merely  a  man 
of  science,  but,  more  or  less,  a  gregarious  human  being." 
He  was  not  averse  from  helping  other  human  beings  to 
enjoy  our  glorious  world.  When  leaving  England  to 
take  up  his  duties  at  the  Cape,  the  Astronomer  Royal's 
last  words  were,  "  Promise  me,  Gill,  not  to  become  a 
dress-coat  astronomer."  Whether  or  no  the  advice  was 
needed,  he  followed  it,  for  he  seldom  dined  out  more 
than  two  or  three  times  a  year  while  at  the  Cape. 
Nevertheless,  when  social  duties  did  claim  him,  there  was 
no  one  who  could  throw  himself  more  heartily  into  the 
fun  of  the  thing. 

Thus  in  1880  or  1881  a  Caledonian  Society  was  started 
at  Cape  Town,  of  which  he  became  a  member.  He  used 
to  enjoy  relating  how  once  he  assisted  a  Highland  regi- 
ment quartered  there  to  celebrate  a  certain  St.  Andrew's 
night.  After  an  excellent  dinner  in  mess,  with  the  time- 
honoured  accompaniments,  they  adjourned,  in  the  small 
hours  of  the  morning,  from  the  barracks  to  the  castle, 
headed  by  pipers,  and  began  to  dance  reels  in  the  centre 
of  the  castle  square,  baths  having  been  fetched  from  the 
bedrooms  to  serve  as  bass  drums  to  augment  the  sounds 
of  the  bagpipes.  These  proceedings  were  not  conducive 
to  the  slumbers  of  the  officers  quartered  in  the  surrounding 
houses,  but,  to  judge  from  the  faces  peeping  from  behind 
blinds,  were  not  without  interest  to  the  lady  members  of 
their  families.  The  next  morning  Colonel  Bruce  received 
a  savage  message  from  General  Leicester- Smyth  (then 
commanding  the  forces  in  South  Africa)  animadverting 
strongly  upon  the  barbarous  customs  of  his  countrymen, 
and  conveying  an  official  reproof  for  their  unseemly  con- 


126  FRIENDSHIPS  AT  CAPETOWN      [CHAP.  X 

duct,  a  reproof  which  was  not  received  by  the  assembled 
officers  entirely  in  a  spirit  of  correction,  for  an  irrepressible 
laugh  was  the  chief  result^ 

As  to  the  Caledonian  Society,  of  which,  later,  he  became 
President,  he  always  averred  that  their  dinners  were 
decorous,  "  though  jovial  within  reasonable  limits." 
After  one  of  these  dinners,  when  returning  home  at  a 
reasonable  and  seemly  hour,  he  encountered,  in  the  rail- 
way station,  Sir  Thomas  Upington,  who  had  been  presiding 
over  a  dinner  of  a  different  society  called  the  Cape  Town 
Highlanders;  and  who  administered  a  severe  reproof  to 
his  friend  in  the  words,  "  Gill,  you're  beastly  sober." 

The  astronomer's  keen  enjoyment  of  all  forms  of  sport, 
in  season,  brought  him  closely  in  touch  with  every  one. 
He  used  to  tell  of  an  extraordinary  scene  on  the  occasion 
of  a  great  cricket  match  against  an  English  team  in  1895, 
which  brought  all  Cape  Town  to  the  Kenilworth  cricket 
ground,  even  the  banks  being  closed  for  the  occasion. 
The  game  had  reached  an  exciting  stage,  when  telegraph 
boys  began  to  appear,  one  after  another,  delivering 
messages  to  the  Cabinet  Ministers,  and  others,  to  the 
effect  that  Jameson  had  crossed  the  border.  As  he  told 
the  story  the  double  excitement  was  extraordinary.  A 
man  would  be  applauding  a  good  hit  or  clever  catch, 
and  next  moment  receive  a  telegram  of  vital  importance. 
He  would  gather  his  friends  round  him  and  gravely  talk 
the  momentous  matter  over,  and  next  moment  would 
turn  to  applaud  another  hit  or  another  catch. 


CHAPTER  XI 

EARLY  WORK  AT  THE   CAPE  OBSERVATORY    (1879-82) 

Inadequate  equipment — Gill  buys  a  heliometer — Elkin — Star 
distances — Sir  Thomas  Maclear — Comet  of  1882 — Photo- 
graphic star  charting — Airy's  retirement. 

GILL'S  joy  in  his  new  appointment  would  have  been 
greater  if  the  observatory  had  contained  even  a  single 
instrument  of  any  kind  fitted  for  carrying  out  the  refined 
measurements  which  he  had  looked  forward  to  as  his 
peculiar  province  for  advancing  astronomy. 

His  splendid  History  and  Description  of  the  Cape 
Observatory  has  told  astronomers  of  the  wretched  equip- 
ment. Instead  of  despairing,  he  set  to  work  to  make  the 
best  use  of  the  means  at  his  disposal,  and  to  insist  upon 
the  necessity  for  first-class  instruments  of  precision. 

After  the  first  year  he  sent  to  the  Admiralty  his  "  Report 
of  Her  Majesty's  Astronomer  at  the  Cape  for  the  year 
1879-80."  This  report  has  been  lost  in  the  Admiralty 
Archives,  but  is  frequently  referred  to  in  the  corre- 
spondence preserved  at  the  Admiralty. 

Sir  George  Airy's  "  Notes  "  upon  it  are  preserved. 
They  are  in  Airy's  handwriting,  and  give  his  strong  sup- 
port to  almost  every  paragraph.  Speaking  of  Gill's  dis- 
covery of  a  difference  in  personal  equation  according  as 
a  star  transits  from  right  to  left,  or  from  left  to  right, 
Airy  says :  "  The  inferences  drawn  here  are  remark- 
able, and  will  probably  be  recognized  as  valuable."  He 
applauds  the  fine  work  on  occultations.  He  concludes 
thus— 

127 


128         EARLY  WORK  AT  THE  CAPE       [CHAP.  XI 

I  have  passed  over  many  paragraphs  explanatory  of 
what  has  been  done  under  Mr.  Gill's  direction  or  by 
himself  personally,  all  bearing  evidence  of  the  vigour 
with  which  the  work  of  the  Cape  Observatory  has  been 
carried  on.  I  regard  the  Report  as  honourable  to  Mr. 
Gill. 

Sir  George  Airy's  world-reputation  enabled  him  to 
adopt  this  helpful  patronizing  tone  without  giving  the 
slightest  offence.  No  lesser  man  could  have  done  so,  for 
the  Cape  Observatory  was  not  officially  under  his  control. 

David  Gill  soon  proved  himself  to  be  different  from  all 
his  predecessors  in  having  the  dogged  persistence  and 
force  of  character  required  for  overcoming  official  inertia 
at  home,  and  for  raising  the  status  and  equipment  of  the 
observatory  to  the  very  high  level  demanded  by  its 
unique  position  of  importance  for  the  southern  heavens. 
These  qualities,  combined  with  honesty  of  purpose, 
deference  to  Admiralty  authority,  and  a  cheerful  devotion 
to  duty,  ensured  his  ultimate  success. 

His  dogged  persistence  even  in  small  matters  became 
proverbial,  and  in  this  connexion  a  tale  of  the  Admiralty 
may  here  be  told. 

There  was  at  one  time  a  carpenter  attached  to  the 
observatory,  and  the  distance  of  his  house  from  his  work 
interfered  with  his  usefulness.  In  one  of  the  reports  to 
the  Admiralty,  Gill  asked  that  a  carpenter's  cottage 
should  be  built  on  the  grounds,  and  his  request  was 
refused.  Every  year  after  this,  the  request  was  repeated 
in  stronger  terms.  At  last  the  First  Lord,  or  other  high 
authority,  exclaimed,  with  a  laugh,  "  For  goodness'  sake 
let  Gill  have  a  carpenter's  cottage,  or  we  shall  never  have 
peace." 

Thus,  in  the  course  of  twenty-eight  years,  he  gradually 
transformed  the  small  collection  of  poor  instruments  in  a 
wilderness  into  the  present  magnificent  observatory  in 
lovely  grounds  with  instruments  of  precision  unsurpassed 
in  any  quarter  of  the  world.  The  history  of  all  this,  so 


1879-82]         INADEQUATE  EQUIPMENT  129 

far  as  it  is  told  in  his  great  book,  need  not  be  repeated 
here. 

At  this  period  Sir  George  Airy  and  David  Gill  always 
worked  hand  in  hand,  with  singleness  of  purpose  to 
advance  astronomy. 

On  June  19,  1879,  Gill  wrote  to  Airy  a  very  long  and 
amusing  account  of  the  horrible  condition  in  which  he 
found  the  observatory,  asking  for  his  help  with  the 
Admiralty  to  set  things  right,  and  explaining  the  steps 
that  he  was  taking  to  improve  matters.  Four  weeks 
later  he  writes — 

To  SIR  GEORGE  AIRY 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

1879,  July  14. 

DEAR  SIR  GEORGE, — I  hope  you  received  my  last  letter. 
The  Observatory  is  now  reduced  to  a  tolerable  state  of 
cleanliness  and  order.  [The  letter  proceeds  to  tell  what 
he  has  been  doing.]  All  things  go  well  so  far  as  discipline 
and  progress  of  work  are  concerned.  .  .  .  We  enjoy  most 
excellent  health,  my  wife  particularly  is  greatly  benefited 
by  the  climate.  Indeed  I  can  conceive  nothing  more 
charming  than  the  weather  just  now.  The  winter  of 
South  Africa  seems  to  me  far  finer  than  that  of  Egypt. 
Perhaps  we  shall  have  another  tale  to  tell  in  summer,  or 
after  we  have  encountered  some  of  the  "  south-easters  " 
of  which  we  have  heard  so  much  and  seen  so  little. 

Meanwhile  Mrs.  Gill  desires  to  unite  with  me  in  kindest 
remembrances  to  yourself  and  all  your  family  circle. 

Believe  me,  sincerely  yours,  DAVID  GILL. 

Airy,  in  his  reply  of  August  12,  1879,  concludes  with  a 
droll  allusion  to  the  hot  weather. 

Pray  give  my  best  respects  to  Mrs.  Gill.  I  am  glad  to 
hear  she  enjoys  the  climate  thus  far.  It  is,  however,  hot 
in  summer.  Sir  John  Herschel  cooked  Irish  stews  by 
solar  radiation. — I  am,  my  dear  Sir,  yours  very  truly, 

G.  B.  AIRY. 

Sir  George's  fears  were  only  too  soon  realized.     The 
very  first  hot  weather  affected  Mrs.  Gill's  health,  and 
afterwards  was  always  a  source  of  anxiety.     Her  need  to 
K 


130         EARLY  WORK  AT  THE  CAPE      [CHAP.  XI 

recruit  in  England  so  soon  as  1880  was  a  blow  to  her 
husband. 

Nor  was  this  the  only  sorrow  during  the  early  days  at 
the  Cape. 

To  SIR  GEORGE  AIRY 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

1879,  July  14. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  GEORGE, — I  write  to  tell  you  that  Sir 
Thomas  Maclear  died  this  morning.  He  has  been  con- 
fined to  bed  since  the  time  of  my  arrival  in  the  Colony, 
but  it  is  only  in  the  last  fortnight  that  his  friends  thought 
him  to  be  dangerously  ill. 

I  have  seen  him  three  times.  On  the  two  last  occasions 
he  was  very  weak  but  full  of  pluck,  and  declared  that  he 
was  quite  well.  The  first  time  I  saw  him  he  was  full  of 
anecdote  and  fun,  and  his  intellect  was  as  clear  and  fresh 
as  possible. 

He  impressed  me  as  a  man  who  must  have  been  full  of 
restless  energy,  a  man  of  many  sympathies,  full  of  hearti- 
ness, and  full  of  his  work  too.  His  observing  books 
bespeak  the  man.  There  is  a  scrupulous  care  about  the 
notes,  a  constant  personal  attention  to  every  detail,  and 
an  amount  of  personal  labour  in  observing  which  few  men 
have  equalled. 

One  constantly  finds  that  he  has  been  at  work  till 
daybreak.  He  seems  to  have  been  impressed  with  the 
idea  that  there  was  an  enormous  amount  of  work  to  be 
done,  and  that  he  would  do  it — and  to  have  forgotten 
that  till  it  was  published  it  was  not  done. 

Still,  there  the  work  remains,  and  is  available  for 
reduction  and  publication,  and  I  hope  I  shall  be  able  to 
produce  much  valuable  metal  from  the  ore  which  Maclear 
has  collected. 

Sir  Thomas  is  universally  respected  and  loved  in  the 
Colony.  We  bury  him  on  Wednesday,  beside  his  wife  in 
the  Observatory  Grounds,  near  the  spot  where  Fallowes 
lies. 

To  THE  EARL  OF  CRAWFORD  AND  BALCARRES 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

1880,  January  g. 

MY  DEAR  LORD  CRAWFORD, — It  is  with  deep  regret  that 
I  have  read  the  announcement  of  your  father's  death. 


1879-82]  LORD  CRAWFORD  131 

I  hope  you  will  allow  me  to  express  my  sympathy  with 
you  in  your  great  loss,  for  I  have  known  you  too  long  and 
too  well  not  to  understand  how  keenly  you  will  feel  this 
bereavement,  and  that  no  consideration  of  change  in  your 
future  position  and  life  can  make  up  to  you  for  him  that 
is  gone. 

I  think  of  Lord  Crawford  as  one  of  the  most  truly 
estimable  men  I  ever  met — so  kind,  so  gentle  and  so 
cultured,  so  strong  and  determined  in  the  right. 

It  would  be  mere  presumption  on  my  part  to  say  more ; 
I  hope  you  will  forgive  my  saying  what  I  have  said.  But 
it  is  not  always  intimacy  or  even  frequency  of  meeting 
that  causes  another  to  influence  one's  life.  To  Lord 
Crawford  and  to  you  I  owe  my  emancipation  from  uncon- 
genial work,  to  his  clear  foresight  I  owe  the  overcoming 
of  countless  difficulties  afterwards — and  thus,  though  our 
spheres  of  life  have  been  totally  different,  and  though  we 
have  but  seldom  met,  I  feel  that  Lord  Crawford  has  much 
influenced  my  life,  and  that  his  influence  was  ever  for 
good. 

Such  are  my  excuses  for  intruding  my  sympathy  upon 
you  just  now.  I  trust  you  will  accept  both  the  one  and 
the  other ;  and  that,  after  time  has  healed  the  wound  you 
feel  so  keenly  now,  you  will  long  be  spared  to  discharge 
the  many  important  duties  that  now  devolve  upon  you. 
Believe  me,  sincerely  yours,  DAVID  GILL. 

Sir  David  Gill's  official  life  and  work  at  the  Cape  is 
naturally  divided  into  periods  by  his  occasional  visits  to 
England,  especially  those  of  1884,  1887,  1896,  and  igoo.1 

Naturally,  during  the  first  of  these  periods,  from  1879 
to  1884,  the  seeds  were  sown  that  bore  fruit  later.  There 
were  plenty  of  plans  to  make,  plenty  of  observations  and 
reductions  to  carry  on  from  day  to  day. 

His  favourite  instrument  of  precision  was  still  the 
heliometer.  But  a  powerful  telescope  seemed  to  him 
almost  a  necessity,  if  only  for  micrometrical  measure- 
ments to  give  the  distances  of  the  stars.  This  was  the 
most  difficult  and  refined  kind  of  observation  known 
to  astronomers;  full  of  pitfalls  for  the  unwary,  and 
1  Other  visits  home  were  in  1891,  1893,  1904. 


132          EARLY   WORK   AT   THE   CAPE       [CHAP.  XI 

therefore    it    seemed    to   him   the  most   worthy   of   his 
attention. 

He  had  never"  lost  touch  with  Mr.  Newall,  and  the 
magnificent  25-inch  refractor  offered  him  on  loan.  And 
when  last  at  Strassburg  he  had  found  an  enthusiastic 
young  American  student  who  offered,  to  join  him  in 
measuring  stellar  distances. 

To  MR.  ELKIN 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

1879,  June  21. 

DEAR  MR.  ELKIN, — I  ought  to  have  written  you  some 
time  ago  on  the  subject  of  the  Newall  telescope,  in  order 
to  give  you  some  idea  regarding  it,  and  to  enable  you  to 
judge  how  far  it  will  suit  you  to  put  into  execution  the 
plan  we  talked  of,  viz.  your  coming  to  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  to  assist  in  the  work  to  be  done  with  that  instrument 
in  the  event  of  its  being  erected  for  work  there.  .  .  . 

The  actual  steps  which  are  accomplished  facts  are— 

1.  Mr.  Newall  permits  the  loan  of  the  Instrument  for 
seven  years  at  least,  the  only  condition  being  that  it  shall 
be  under  my  direction. 

2.  Mr.  Nasmyth  promises  £1000  towards  the  expenses. 

3.  Mr.  Siemens  promises  £250. 

4.  Mr.  De  la  Rue  says  he  is  prepared  not  to  let  the 
matter  stop  for  want  of  money — that  he  will  take  the 
responsibility  of  money  matters  on  his  shoulders. 

5.  Mr.  Spottiswoode  (President  of  the  Royal  Society, 
and  of  the  British  Association)  promises  to  support  an 
application,  with  every  prospect  of  success,  for  £150  per 
annum  from  each  of  these  bodies 

Believe  me,  sincerely  yours,      DAVID  GILL. 

In  spite  of  this  generous  support,  it  was  felt  in  England 
that  the  loan  of  an  instrument  was  not  a  right  solution, 
and  a  proposal  that  the  Admiralty  should  purchase  such 
an  instrument  was  fully  discussed.  There  is  a  long 
report  by  Airy  which,  by  request  of  the  Admiralty,  he 
wrote  out.  It  is  a  strongly  worded  note,  expressing  the 
opinion  that  Mr.  Gill  ought  to  be  supplied  with  such  a 
telescope.  But  the  Admiralty  came  to  the  conclusion 
"  that  the  time  was  not  ripe  for  such  an  extension  of  the 


1879-82]  INSTRUMENTS  133 

functions  of  the  observatory  as  would  be  involved  by  the 
purchase  of  such  an  instrument." 

Airy  was  disappointed,  but  tried  to  cheer  up  Mr.  Gill. 
He  even  congratulated  him  upon  this  decision,  as  it 
would  give  him  more  time  to  continue  his  valuable 
surveys.  Parts  of  the  reply  to  his  letter  are  quite 
interesting. 

To  SIR  GEORGE  AIRY 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

1880,  January  20. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  GEORGE, — In  reply  to  your  letter  of 
Dec.  7,  I  am  glad  that  you  approve  of  my  general  scheme 
for  the  survey.  .  .  . 

I  do  not  at  all  agree  with  you,  however,  as  to  the  good 
fortune  which  befell  me  in  the  failure  of  the  25-Inch 
Equatoreal  scheme.  Our  present  Equatoreal  is  really  fit 
for  nothing  but  observing  occultations  of  stars  by  the 
moon  and  phenomena  of  Jupiter's  satellites.  .  .  . 

I  do  not  propose  to  extend  the  labour  engagements  I 
have  undertaken,  detailed  by  you  in  your  letter  of 
December  7.  I  only  think  that  the  work  under  heads 
2  and  3  should  be  executed  with  good  tools  and  not  with 
a  practically  obsolete  instrument.  I  do  not,  however, 
propose  to  push  the  matter  of  the  equatoreal  till  I  have 
been  able  to  show  that  we  really  want  it,  and  that  we  are 
doing  good  work  that  deserves  encouragement,  and  then 
I  hope  to  get  an  instrument  worthy  of  the  observatory 
and  of  the  situation.  .  .  . 

With  kindest  regards  to  your  family  circle,  in  which^ 
Mrs.  Gill  desires  to  join  me, 

Believe  me,  sincerely  yours,        DAVID  GILL. 

Before  leaving  England,  however,  he  had  prepared  the 
way  for  measuring  some  star  distances,  using  the  old 
instrument  which  had  served  him  so  well  in  the  past,  as 
shown  in  the  following  letter  of  earlier  date. 

To  SIR  GEORGE  AIRY 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

1879,  October  13. 

DEAR  SIR  GEORGE, — By  the  same  mail  with  this  I  have 
written  to  the  Secretary  to  the  Admiralty  requesting  that 


134         EARLY   WORK   AT  THE   CAPE        [CHAP.  XI 

their  Lordships  may  be  good  enough  to  provide  transport 
for  my  Heliometer  to  the  Cape. 

I  purchased  the  HeliojGaeter  part  proper  from  Lord 
Lindsay,  and  have  had:a  very  firm  and  satisfactory 
Equatoreal  mounting  made  for  it  by  Grubb  of  Dublin,  at 
my  own  expense,  with  clockwork  complete.  I  propose 
to  erect  the  Instrument  in  place  of  the'  old,  and  now  de- 
cayed, 3-inch  Equatoreal,  and  devote  it  chiefly  to  parallax 
investigations.  From  the  experience  I  have  had  in  the 
use  of  the  Instrument,  and  the  opportunities  in  the 
Southern  Hemisphere,  I  think  very  valuable  results  might 
be  obtained. 

I  have  no  doubt  the  matter  will  be  referred  to  you,  and 
I  hope  you  will  kindly  support  my  proposal. 

All  is  going  well.  I  will  write  you  soon  on  the  progress 
we  are  making. 

With  kindest  regards  to  yourself  and  your  family  circle, 
in  which  Mrs.  Gill  unites  with  me, 

Believe  me,  sincerely  yours,        DAVID  GILL. 

Accordingly,  the  dearly  loved  heliometer  arrived  in 
December  1880 ;  and,  the  next  month,  his  young  friend 
Elkin,  the  Strassburg  student,  paid  him  a  visit  lasting 
till  May  1883,  two  years  and  four  months.  Thus  began 
the  first  systematic  attack  ever  undertaken  upon  star 
distances;  and  the  splendid  results  obtained  by  Gill  and 
Elkin  are  well  known  to  all  astronomers. 

The  history  of  astronomy  is  full  of  examples  where 
fortune  has  seemed  to  favour  the  brave,  or  rather  where 
success  has  bred  success ;  where  at  least  it  might  be  said 
that  a  piece  of  luck  came  to  those  wrho  deserved  it.  Thus 
did  Sir  William  Herschel  discover  the  orbital  motions  of 
double  stars  when  attempting  to  measure  their  distances ; 
and  Bradley  the  constant  of  aberration.  The  society 
founded  to  search  for  a  planet  between  Mars  and  Jupiter 
had  no  success,  but  Piazzi,  when  laboriously  charting  the 
stars  in  1801,  accidentally  discovered  the  first  minor 
planet. 

So  also,  during  Mr.  Gill's  first  period  (1879-84)  at  the 
Cape,  an  event  occurred  which  enabled  him  to  originate 


1879-82]  COMET  OF   1882  135 

a  new  kind  of  astronomical  observation,  the  systematic 
charting  and  cataloguing  of  the  stellar  heavens  by  aid  of 
photography. 

In  1882  a  brilliant  comet  appeared  in  the  southern 
heavens — so  brilliant  as  to  be  seen  in  full  sunlight,  even 
when  it  seemed  to  reach  the  sun's  edge.  While  it  was 
still  a  magnificent  spectacle  in  the  hours  before  dawn, 
wishing  his  friends  in  England  to  share  his  joy,  the  idea 
occurred  to  him  to  strap  an  ordinary  portrait  camera  to 
the  clock-driven  equatoreal.  This  enabled  him  to  follow 
the  comet  and  to  expose  the  plate  for  hours,  always 
keeping  the  cross- wires  of  the  telescope  on  the  comet's 
head.  Sometimes  also  he  kept  them  always  on  one  of 
the  stars. 

The  results  were  a  revelation  to  him  and  to  all  who 
afterwards  saw  the  photographs.  In  his  History,  etc., 
he  has  told  how  he  was  immediately  convinced  of  the 
possibility  of  thus  constructing  star  maps  on  any  required 
scale,  down  to  any  required  order  of  magnitude.  The 
large  field,  giving  sharp  definition,  led  him  to  expect 
better  work  from  the  doublet  portrait  lens  than  from  a 
telescope.  He  immediately  wrote  to  Dallmeyer  for  a 
larger  lens,  to  test  the  idea,  and  found  it  gave  fine  results. 
He  obtained  a  photographer  from  England  by  a  grant 
from  the  Royal  Society,  and,  assisted  by  funds  from 
Mr.  Nasmyth  and  from  his  own  pocket,  set  up  an  efficient 
apparatus  to  photograph  and  to  catalogue  all  southern 
stars  down  to  the  9!  magnitude.  Thus  he  was  able  to 
extend  the  most  useful  existing  star-catalogue-of-identifi- 
cation,  viz.  the  Bonn  Durchmusterung  of  Argelander  and 
Schonfeldt,  right  on  to  the  South  Pole,  in  the  "  Cape 
Photographic  Durchmusterung  "  (C.  P.  D.). 

The  progress  of  this  has  been  fully  told  in  other  publica- 
tions. Isolated  photographs  of  star  groups  had,  before 
1882,  been  taken  by  Rutherford,  though  it  was  later  that 
Bauer  and  others  measured  them  (e.  g.  to  find  the  parallax 
of  [j,  Cassiopeiae).  Gould,  too,  had  made  isolated  star 


136          EARLY  WORK  AT  THE  CAPE      [CHAP.  XI 

pictures  at  Cordova.  Gill  was  the  first  to  use  photography 
for  star  charting. 

Gill's  comet  picture  with  its  multitude  of  stars  con- 
vinced the  brothers  Henry  of  Paris  Observatory  that 
their  catalogue  of  zodiacal  stars  could  best  be  completed 
by  photography.  They  then  constructed  the  first  of 
those  13-inch  astrographic  telescopes  which  have  been 
used  all  over  the  world  for  the  International  Carte  du 
del,  started  by  Admiral  Mouchez,  with  the  help  of  Gill 
and  the  brothers  Henry,  at  the  Congress  of  Paris  in 
1887. 

These  were  some  of  the  results  of  Gill's  accidental 
discovery.  It  also  led  Dr.  Barnard  at  the  Lick  Observa- 
tory to  strap  a  portrait  camera  to  the  equatoreal,  and, 
by  eye-correction  of  the  driving-clock,  to  produce,  with 
the  most  exhausting  patience,  those  marvellous  pictures 
of  the  Milky  Way  which  have  added  so  much  to  our 
knowledge. 

At  about  this  date,  in  1881,  British  astronomy,  and 
the  Cape  Observatory,  suffered  a  terrible  loss  by  the 
retirement  of  "  dear  old  Airy  "  (as  Otto  Struve  and  other 
intimates  spoke  of  him  in  their  letters)  from  the  post  of 
Astronomer  Royal.  There  were  no  young  men  in  England 
of  the  Airy  and  Adams  type.  Sir  William  Huggins  has 
truly  remarked  (see  p.  49)  that  such  young  men,  who 
might  have  continued  the  succession  of  these  earnest, 
unselfish  devotees  to  astronomy  of  precision,  had  wan- 
dered into  the  more  promising  realms  of  physical  research. 
All  the  younger  British  astronomers  admitted  that  among 
themselves  there  had  as  yet  appeared  no  Halley  or 
Bradley  or  Airy  to  represent  British  astronomy  at 
Greenwich.  Still,  astronomers  hoped  that  Airy's  organ- 
ized and  systematic  methods  might  still  suffice  to  main- 
tain something  of  the  continuity  of  observation  and 
reduction  which  was  an  outstanding  characteristic  of 
Greenwich  Observatory. 

Mr.  Gill  had  not  yet  established  his  exceptional  capacity 


1879-82]  AIRY'S  RETIREMENT  137 

for  conducting  the  routine  of  an  observatory,  and  his 
present  duty  clearly  held  him  at  the  Cape.  The  post 
was  given  to  Sir  George  Airy's  chief  assistant,  Mr. 
W.  H.  M.  Christie. 

Meanwhile,  Airy's  interest  in  the  labours  of  his  astro- 
nomical friends  continued  unabated;  and  those  who 
retain  affection  for  his  memory  will  enjoy,  in  the  following 
letter,  traces  of  the  inner  man  that  were  not  shown  to  the 
world  at  large. 

FROM  SIR  GEORGE  AIRY 

THE  WHITE  HOUSE,  GROOM'S  HILL, 

GREENWICH  PARK,  S.E., 

1883,  June  2. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — Thank  you  much  for  the  photographs 
of  the  Comet  b  of  1882,  which  reached  me  in  a  single 
packet  two  or  three  days  ago — having  been  preceded  by 
one  enclosed  in  a  Cape  publication. 

I  am  surprised  at  the  accuracy  of  the  photographs, 
with  the  long  exposure  which  I  understand  you  to 
have  given.  For,  first,  the  sidereal  objects,  the  clock- 
movement  must  have  been  exceedingly  accurate.  And, 
secondly,  the  comet,  it  must  have  been  almost  stationary 
in  the  heavens  (I  have  not  looked  to  numbers  connected 
with  the  comet's  place),  as  your  times  of  exposure  ex- 
tended from  30  m.  to  I  h.  50  m.  and  2  h.  20  m.  I  saw 
the  tail  of  Donati's  Comet  sweep  across  Arcturus.  I 
have  no  record  of  the  time  occupied,  but  it  was  certainly 
less  than  some  of  these. 

I  shall  be  glad  at  all  times  to  hear  of  your  daily  pro- 
ceedings, private  and  official.  I  see  all  that  appears  in 
the  Monthly  Notices  and  in  the  Observatory.  But  I  do 
not  go  to  London  or  into  society ;  and  even  when  friends 
call  on  me,  my  increasing  deafness  deprives  me  of  much 
that  I  might  be  supposed  to  receive  from  them.  It  had 
been  my  wish  to  retire  from  the  Observatory  in  the 
summer  of  1880,  but  the  old  Transit  of  Venus  was  still 
hanging  over  me.  My  part  was  cleared  off  in  the  summer 
of  1881,  and  then  I  took  my  opportunity.  It  was  time 
to  do  so,  for  my  powers  of  endurance  of  official  work 
were  sensibly  diminishing.  Moreover,  my  retirement  has 
enabled  me  to  take  up  some  private  astronomy  from 


138         EARLY  WORK  AT  THE  CAPE       [CHAP,  xi 

which  I  had  long  been  blocked  out.  And  it  was  curious 
that  after  looking  at  numerous  houses  on  all  sides  of 
London,  I  at  last  founds  the  most  convenient  of  all  (for 
my  wants)  in  this  house,  the  very  nearest  of  all  to  the 
Observatory,  and  with  a  gate  of  the  Park  immediately 
opposite,  at  a  distance  of  about  five  yards,  to  one  of  my 
doors. 

The  work  of  this  Transit  of  Venus  [1882]  will  be  a  trifle 
compared  with  that  of  1874.  I  was  obliged  then  to  fix 
upon  dreadfully  almost  unapproachable  places  with  no 
means  for  longitude  except  the  most  laborious. 

I  beg  you  to  offer  my  sincere  respect  to  Mrs.  Gill.  I 
and  my  daughters  will  be  glad  to  hear  of  her. — I  am,  my 
dear  Sir,  yours  very  truly,  G.  B.  AIRY. 

David  Gill,  Esqre. 

It  may  be  well,  at  this  stage,  to  forestall  events  and  to 
insert  a  selection  of  a  few  letters  from  those  retained  by 
Sir  George,  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  present  writer 
by  his  son,  Mr.  Wilfrid  Airy. 

To  SIR  GEORGE  AIRY 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

1883,  December  18. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  GEORGE, —  ...  I  have  now  after  four 
years'  work  arrived  at  a  pretty  clear  notion  of  what  I  can 
accomplish,  and  of  what  I  want.  [Here  follow  details  of 
a  proposed  systematic  research  on  the  parallax  of  stars 
down  to  the  fifth  magnitude,  sixteen  of  each  magnitude- 
interval,  and  of  sixteen  stars  of  large  proper  motion.] 

I  am  willing  to  give  up  my  rest  at  night  for  the  next 
ten  or  twelve  years  for  this  work  (and  to  do  the  work  with 
my  own  hands)  if  Government  will  give  me  the  necessary 
means — a  7-Inch  Heliometer.  .  .  . 


To  THE  SAME 

26  UNION  PLACE,  ABERDEEN, 

1884,  August  i. 

MY    DEAR    SIR    GEORGE, — To-morrow    we    leave    for 
London — sailing  thence  on  Aug.  20  for  the  Cape. 

Herewith  I  send  you  photograph  of  my  portrait — 


[To  face  page  138. 
SIR   GEORGE   BIDDELL   AIRY,    ASTRONOMER   ROYAL. 


1879-82]  SIR  GEORGE  AIRY  139 

painted  by  my  friend  Sir  George  Reid — and  especially 
beg  that  you  will  remark  the  bundle  of  papers  on  the 
table — duly  punched  with  your  machine,  and  duly  bound 
with  boot-laces  after  your  manner.1  We  hope  to  have 
the  pleasure  of  seeing  you  again  before  we  sail. 

Our  friend  Christie  has  probably  told  you  that  the 
Admiralty  has  granted  me  £2700  for  a  new  Heliometer 
and  its  observatory.  .  .  . 

This  correspondence  with  Airy  may  well  conclude  with 
a  much  later  letter. 

To  SIR  GEORGE  AIRY 
(on  his  ninetieth  birthday) 

6  PORCHESTER  GATE, 

1891,  July  25. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  GEORGE, — I  must  write  a  word  of  fare- 
well, to  say  once  again  how  deeply  my  wife  and  I  regret 
that  we  cannot  be  with  your  birthday  party  to-day. 

Our  leave  has  expired,  and  as  your  friends  assemble 
we  shall  be  sailing  for  the  Cape.  But  we  shall  be  with 
you  in  spirit,  and  drink  on  board  a  hearty  toast  to  your 
continued  health  and  happiness — coupled  with  the  wish 
that  you  may  see  as  many  happy  returns  of  yr  birthday 
as  you  and  yours  desire. 

In  grateful  remembrance  of  our  always  happy  relations 
both  private  and  official,  and  with  love  and  honour, 
Believe  me,  always  sincerely  yours,  DAVID  GILL. 

1  [This  portrait  is  reproduced  in  the  frontispiece.  Later  oil- 
paintings  of  Sir  David  Gill  are  in  the  Royal  Society  (by  Mr. 
George  Henry)  and  in  the  Russian  Imperial  Observatory, 
Pulkowa.] 


CHAPTER   XII     - 

CORRESPONDENCE    (1883-4) 

Elkin — Survey — Sir  William  Morris — Gordon  Duff — Theatricals 
—  Stellar  parallax  —  Christie  —  Simon  Newcomb  —  Astro- 
nomical ideals. 

IN  the  meantime  the  Gills  had  welcomed  astronomers 
en  route  for  their  stations  to  observe  the  Transit  of  Venus 
on  December  6,  1882.  Among  these  was  Professor 
Newcomb  from  Washington,  U.S.A.,  destined  to  become 
the  foremost  of  theoretical  astronomers.  The  renewed 
intercourse  of  these  two  representatives  of  astronomy,  on 
its  theoretical  and  practical  sides  respectively,  was  of 
great  value  to  the  science.  It  increased  their  intimacy. 
Each  saw  what  great  help  he  could  get  from  the  other. 
Gill  always  obtained  much  useful  information  from 
Newcomb  about  the  progress  of  his  planetary  tables, 
etc.,  while  he  undertook  in  return  to  supply  him  with 
planetary  data  and  lunar  occultations  whose  accuracy 
would  be  the  highest  possible.  From  this  date  onwards 
the  correspondence  between  these  two  reached  formidable 
dimensions. 

Elkin  left  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  in  May  1883,  having 
helped  Mr.  Gill  in  splendid  work  on  stellar  parallaxes 
with  the  heliometer,  and  for  a  time  the  house  seemed  to 
be  deserted.  He  had  been  such  a  welcome  guest  that 
his  presence  was  sadly  missed. 

To  MR.  ELKIN 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

1883,  June  5. 

MY  DEAR  ELKIN, — It  is  too  bad  that  I  have  allowed 
two  mails  to  pass  without  writing  you.  Not  that  I  have 

140 


1883-4]  ELKIN  141 

not  thought  of  you — I  have  missed  you  badly — as  I 
wrote  Gould,  it  was  like  having  a  tooth  drawn,  and  I 
would  gladly  give  my  soundest  grinder  to  see  you  opposite 
me  as  I  write. 

I  duly  received  yr  welcome  telegram  from  Madeira. — 
My  wife  and  I  had  been  at  a  Shakespere  reading  at  Mrs. 
Dyce's,  and  when  we  came  home  I  turned  into  my  room 
for  something,  when  I  heard  excited  sounds — "  David — 
what's  this? — a  letter! — David,  it's  from  Madeira!" 
Many  were  the  blessings  showered  on  your  head.  We 
are  now  anxiously  expecting  your  news  in  detail  from 
St.  Helena. 


Captain  Morris  and  the  party  of  R.  Engineers  come 
on  Wednesday  or  Thursday  by  the  Pretoria.  Morris  will 
be  here  for  a  few  weeks  making  necessary  arrangements 
with  me  and  doing  a  little  practical  astronomy — and  then 
I  think  I  shall  go  up  to  Natal  and  start  the  Base  Line — 
the  preliminary  surveys  being  meanwhile  made  by  Lieut. 
Laffan  and  his  men. 

We  are  making  great  preparations  for  a  photographic 
campaign.  The  Photo  house  is  being  put  in  fine  order.  .  .  . 

My  wife  is  much  better  and  I  hope  to  take  her  to 
Natal  with  me  for  a  change.  Everybody  desires  to  be 
remembered  to  you.  My  wife  sends  her  love,  and  has 
written  to  yr  Mother — letter  enclosed. 

I  am  waiting  very  anxiously  for  all  your  news. 

Believe  me,  dear  Elkin,  Always  yr  Sincere  friend, 

DAVID  GILL. 


To  MR.  ELKIN 

1883,  August  12. 

MY  DEAR  ELKIN, — I  was  delighted  on  my  return  from 
Natal  a  fortnight  ago  to  find  your  long  and  welcome 
letter  waiting  me.  I  will  tell  you  of  my  own  doings 
before  going  into  the  matters  suggested  by  your  letter. 

Capt.  Morris  and  his  wife  arrived  here  about  nine  weeks 
ago.  They  spent  a  fortnight  with  us.  Morris  is  a  very 
fine  fellow,  earnest,  energetic,  and  full  of  enthusiasm. 
He  brought  out  the  i8-inch  Alt.  Az.  for  the  survey,  of 
which  you  have  seen  the  photograph.  It  is  truly  a  splendid 
instrument.  .  .  .  The  watch  telescope  is  a  powerful  adjunct. 


142  CORRESPONDENCE  [CHAP.  XII 

.  .  .  Every  evening  so  soon  as  it  was  dark  I  took  a  set 
of  the  faint  a  Centauri  pair  with  the  Heliometer,  Morris 
smoking  and  booking.  Then  we  dined,  and  then  went  off 
to  the  Theodolite  and  observed  azimuths  for  practice  till 
ten  or  eleven  o'clock.  Then  a  smoke,  then  off  to  the 
Heliometer  for  another  set  of  the  faint  a  Centauri's. 
I  send  you  the  results.  We  had  a  good  deal  of  cloudy 
weather,  but  I  lost  no  chance.  After  a  fortnight  of  this 
we  started  for  Natal,  had  a  beautiful  passage  and  arrived 
safely.  Then  we  had  a  busy  week  or  ten  days  in  Durban, 
getting  tripods  made  for  the  Base  Apparatus,  and  a 
thousand  and  one  odds  and  ends  together.  Then  off  to 
Pietermaritzburg.  There  we  had  to  buy  wagons,  get 
tents  made,  buy  horses,  oxen,  and  supplies  of  all  kinds, 
and  start  on  the  definitive  selection  of  the  base.  We  got 
a  capital  2j  mile  base  and  an  almost  theoretically 
perfect  series  of  stations  for  extending  to  the  first  30 
mile  side.  We  have  also  with  a  map,  and  with  local 
enquiries  and  information  from  the  Surveyor  General's 
office,  practically  planned  the  triangulation  of  Natal,  and 
have  sent  a  young  fellow  (son  of  Colonel  Hassard)  with 
a  sapper,  to  test  finally  whether  all  the  necessary  stations 
are  mutually  visible. 

It  does  not  take  long  to  tell  this,  but  it  took  a  fortnight 
of  very  hard  work  to  do  it. 

Then  we  got  the  Camp  in  order,  got  out  the  Base 
Apparatus,  set  up  a  trial  line,  and  began  the  drill  for 
working  the  Base  Apparatus.  We  got  this  all  into  good 
working  order,  and  I  kept  them  busy  pegging  and  clearing 
the  line,  laying  down  the  terminals  and  preparing  for  real 
measurements.  I  could  not  afford  to  stay  longer,  but  I 
feel  sure  I  left  all  in  good  hands  and  with  every  prospect 
of  a  successful  issue.  Morris  will  come  here  with  the 
Bars  in  December  when  we  shall  compare  them  with  the 
standard  Bars,  and  I  shall  then  take  home  one  of  the 
standards  for  comparison  in  England. 

We  lived  a  week  at  an  hotel,  then  my  wife  went  to  the 
Gordon  Duffs1  for  a  week,  a  visit  she  immensely  enjoyed, 
and  for  the  remaining  fortnight  we  had  our  headquarters 
at  Government  House,  and  found  Sir  Henry  Bulwer  a 
very  kind  host.  Then  we  spent  a  couple  of  days  with 

1  Mrs.  Duff  was  a  very  dear  friend  of  Mrs.  Gill's.  Her  husband 
is  an  Aberdeenshire  laird.  They  were  in  Natal  for  Mrs.  Duff's 
health. 


i883-4l  MRS.   GORDON  DUFF  143 

the  Bayntons  at  Durban.  Nelson  has  really  a  charming 
little  observatory,  and  his  equatoreal  after  some  little 
alterations  is  really  a  very  nice  instrument.  .  .  . 

We  had  a  most  abominable  passage  back,  my  wife 
more  or  less  sick  for  five  days,  excepting  a  few  hours  on 
shore  at  Port  Elizabeth.  On  the  whole,  however,  my 
wife  is  greatly  benefited  by  her  trip,  and  I  am  in  every 
way  satisfied  with  it.  By  the  bye,  she  wrote  you  last 
mail.  I  only  wish  to  add  my  thanks  to  hers  for  all  your 
great  kindness  to  Bessie  [his  sister-in-law],  kindness  we 
shall  never  forget. 

I  am  sorry  that  you  did  not  see  Christie  or  Hind.  .  .  . 
I  am  very  glad  you  have  made  some  more  London  astro- 
nomical friends,  and  hope  to  have  your  opinion  of  the 
Oxford  Heliometer  and  of  Common's  telescope.  .  .  . 

Give  my  kind  remembrances  to  your  Mother  and 
Believe  me  Always  your  sincere  friend,  DAVID  GILL. 

To  MRS.  GORDON  DUFF,  IN  NATAL 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

1883,  September  17. 

MY  DEAR  MRS.  DUFF, — Not  a  mail  has  passed  since  my 
return  to  the  Cape  without  creating  the  intention  to 
write  you.  Now  for  Mrs.  Duff — says  inclination — yes, 
says  duty,  but  just  clear  off  this  bit  of  work  first.  But 
bits  of  astronomical  work  have  a  universal  habit  of 
taking  more  time  than  the  most  unsanguine  man  expects, 
and  so  before  that  special  bit  of  work  is  done — another 
English  mail  arrives,  and  the  Natal  mail  is  off,  and 
Mrs.  Duff's  letter  waits  for  the  next  "  bit  "  with  a  like 
result. 

In  fact  these  good  intentions,  with  which  a  very 
unmentionable  place  is  supposed  to  be  paved,  have  been 
very  prevalent  with  me  of  late — and  I  should  think  that 
Auld  Clootie's  hottest  corner  is  in  pretty  good  travelling 
order  within  the  past  six  weeks  from  my  work  alone. 
But  this  time  the  bit  of  work  shall  wait. 


What  a  bright  happy  visit  we  had  with  you  ! — My 
little  wife  has  never  been  so  well  since  October  '79 — those 
happy  quiet  evenings  with  you  we  shall  not  forget  for 
many  a  day. 


144  CORRESPONDENCE  CHAP.  XII 

I  often  picture  you  and  your  sister  together — for  I 
seem  to  know  Mrs.  Graham  Smith  from  her  letters — I 
wonder  if  I  do  ? -^Something  very  earnest  about  her  like 
Dorothea  in  Middleware!?,  and  something  of  the  pithy 
sparkling  character  of  Jane  Carlyle.  Have  you  read  the 
latter's  letters  ? — if  not,  do  so. 

Just  now  I  am  observing  from  7  to.  9  in  the  evening 
and  3  to  5  in  the  morning,  so  at  9  o'clock  my  long  pipe 
is  filled  and  my  wifie  reads  these  letters  to  me.  Oh  the 
sparkle  and  fun  of  them  when  all  is  well — the  marrow- 
full,  earnest  stuff — the  brilliant  description — and,  shall 
I  say  it?  the  delightful  touch  of  occasional  deviltry 
sometimes  —  how  you  and  yr  sister  w4  enjoy  them 
together  ! 

And  what  are  you  doing?  How  finds  yr  sister, 
Natal?  Can  her  deft  brush  find  anything  to  do,  and  is 
there  much  to  tell  in  her  vigorous  charming  way  to  those 
at  home  ?  Above  all,  I  hope  that  yr  next  news  of  yrself 
will  be  bright  as  that  you  have  sent. 

For  ourselves — Wifie  is  not  quite  so  well — the  gain  from 
Natal  is  not  lost,  but  she  has  now  and  then  a  good  deal 
of  pain.  .  .  . 

By  the  bye,  yr  sister  goes  in  for  Astronomy,  so  she  will 
be  interested  to  hear  that  Sirius  is  not  so  far  off  as  she 
has  been  taught  to  suppose;  that  it  has  a  parallax  of 
o"*38 — in  other  words  that  light  which  takes  8  minutes 
to  come  from  the  sun,  would  reach  Sirius  in  only  9  years — 
instead  of  30  years  as  I  suppose  she  has  read. 

Baron  Hubner  lunched  here  one  day.  When  we  spoke 
of  "  you  two"  he  held  up  his  hands  and  said,  "  Aaahhh 
charrrming  " — with  a  deep  inspired  "  Ah  "  that  no 
letters  can  convey,  and  an  amount  of  R  that  no  Aber- 
donian  could  rival.  I  met  him  also  at  dinner  at  Mrs. 
Koopman's.  .  .  . 

Now  my  cigar  and  my  paper  are  done.  My  wifie  sends 
her  love — and  I  kiss  my  hand  as  of  old. 

Believe  me  Yr  sincere  friend,  DAVID  GILL. 

Shortly  before  the  astronomer  went  to  England  on  his 
first  furlough,  in  January  1884,  he  had  staying  with  him 
the  head  of  his  Natal  survey,  Captain  (now  Colonel  Sir 
William)  Morris,  R.E.  His  great  appreciation  of  the 
man,  apart  from  his  professional  capacity,  can  best  be 


1883-4]  SIR  WILLIAM  MORRIS  145 

understood  by  extracts  from  a  letter,  dated  January  14, 
1884,  to  Mr.  Gordon  Duff. 


Morris  has  been  with  us  for  the  past  month.  He  is  a 
very  splendid  fellow — as  high  souled,  pure  minded  a  man 
as  I  ever  met — full  of  work  and  full  of  earnestness,  and 
fun  too. 


I  must  not  omit  to  tell  you  that  my  wife  sends  Mrs. 
Carlyle's  letters  by  Morris — and  do  not  omit  to  address 
Morris  as  "  Prince  Geraint."  Amongst  all  our  work  we 
found  time  for  one  evening's  fooling  in  the  way  of 
'  Tableaux  "  at  Mrs.  Trimen's  (newly  married  wife  of 
Trimen,  Curator  of  Museum). 

Morris  was  Geraint,  Miss  Ebden  Enid,  and  I  the  Count 
Doorm. 

Geraint  is  just  recovering  from  his  faint,  I  trying  to 
force  Enid  to  drink,  Geraint  observes  my  brutality  and 
is  on  the  point  of  springing  up  to  chop  off  my  head — 
retainers,  men  and  women,  jeering  at  Enid.  Morris  was 
coaxed  by  Mrs.  Trimen,  Miss  Ebden  and  my  wife — till 
driven  by  despair  he  said  in  a  weak  moment,  "  Do  with 
me  as  you  please."  Whereupon  the  ladies  set  about 
equipping  him  in  scale  armour  and  red  hose.  This  re- 
duced Morris  to  despair — he  went  about  deploring  his 
fate— "  Fancy  me  in  scaly  armour  and  red  hose!" 
They  let  him  off  the  scaly  armour,  but  draped  him  in  a 
doublet  and  tunic,  retaining  the  red  hose,  and  he  cer- 
tainly made  a  very  fair  appearance — he  is  as  good-looking 
as  he  is  good.  Our  "  Spectacle  "  was  the  first  and  so 
we  clothed  ourselves  in  more  conventional  garments  and 
watched  two  other  scenes  from  Tennyson  and  four 
Tableaux  from  the  Odyssey,  "  Penelope  and  her  sisters  " — 
and  the  return  of  Ulysses.  All  very  nice,  but  to  my 
mind  the  fun  of  the  fair  was  all  beforehand — the  ridicu- 
lous figures  of  half  draped  early  Britons  and  classic  ladies 
— beards  suitable  and  unsuitable — coming  off  and  going 
away — and  specially  of  a  gallant  Captain  who  came  to 
rehearsal  and  brought  his  classic  tunic  but  forgot  his 
drawers — was  asked  to  draw  down  a  window,  and  in  his 
hurry  to  oblige  jumped  on  the  sill,  suddenly  remembered 
his  missing  garment  and  the  probable  consequences, 


146  CORRESPONDENCE  [CHAP.  XII 

blushed  scarlet,  jumped  down  and  rushed  from  the 
room. 

But  Morris  and  his  performances  here,  with  his  red 
hose,  and  his  tunic  turned  into  a  skirt,  doing  a  ballet 
whenever  any  attempt  was  made  to  "  fit  "  him,  make 
me  still  roar  with  laughter  when  I  think  of  it. 

What  a  lot  of  rubbish  to  tell  you !  It's  bed  time  now, 
Good-night. 

Naturally  enough,  during  this  first  period  of  residence 
at  the  Cape  (1879-84)  his  letters  to  friends  at  home  were 
full  of  his  astronomical  work,  and  were  much  taken  up 
with  the  parallax  of  the  stars. 

To  MR.  E.  B.  KNOBEL 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

1882,  April  17. 

MY  DEAR  KNOBEL, — Many  thanks  for  your  kind  letter 
of  Feb.  1 8  and  its  cordial  congratulations. 

I  need  not  tell  you  that  I  am  much  gratified  by  re- 
ceiving the  Gold  Medal,  and  I  like  it  so  much  that  I  mean 
to  try  and  win  another. 

Now  let  me  congratulate  you  with  all  my  heart  on  your 
election  as  a  Secretary  of  the  Society.1  .  .  . 

I  am  busy  organizing  the  observations  2  of  Victoria 
and  Sappho  in  July,  Aug*  and  Sept.  .  .  . 

We  are  busy  reducing  the  longitude  work.  It  is  a  long 
job  as  the  places  of  the  Time  Stars  had  all  to  be  deter- 
mined, as  well  as  those  of  the  Circumpolar  Stars. 

I  have  to-day  sent  to  press  a  Catalogue  of  Circumpolar 
Stars  (88  in  number)  which  I  propose  to  issue  in  a  fort- 
night for  the  use  of  the  Transit  of  Venus  observers  in  the 
Southern  Hemisphere. 

Probably  the  most  generally  interesting  researches 
which  I  have  that  are  approaching  completion  are  those 
on  the  parallax  of  some  Southern  Stars.  Elkin  has  com- 
puted his  observations  of  Sirius,  which  go  to  show  that 

1  [Royal    Astronomical    Society,    of   which    Mr.    Knobel    was 
Secretary  for  ten  years  and  afterwards  President  twice.] 

2  These  came  to  no  good  end  owing  to  defects  in  instruments 
in  the  northern  hemisphere  with  which  comparisons  were  to  be 
made.     Cf.  letter  to  Kapteyn,  November  20,  1893. 


1 883-4]  STELLAR  PARALLAXES  147 

the  generally  accepted  parallax  of  this  star  is  much  too 
small,  and  that  the  mass  of  Sirius  (from  Auwers'  elements 
of  its  orbit  as  a  double  star  combined  with  the  parallax 
found  by  Elkin)  is  really  less  than  that  of  the  Sun. 

My  own  researches  on  the  same  parallax,  with  different 
comparison  stars,  will  not  be  concluded  till  the  beginning 
of  next  year.  .  .  . 

The  whole  of  Elkin 's  work  combined  with  mine  is 
greater  in  extent  than  all  the  existing  parallax  deter- 
minations put  together.  Every  clear  night  we  manage 
to  get  about  4  hours'  work  each,  so  that  even  at 
Ascension  the  old  Heliometer  never  had  such  hard  work 
before. 


Mrs.  Gill  is  better  than  she  was  when  in  England,  tho' 
still  an  invalid,  and  unable  for  more  than  a  quiet  walk 
through  the  Observatory  grounds. 

****** 
Believe  me,  sincerely  y15,  DAVID  GILL. 

To  MR.  W.  H.  M.  CHRISTIE 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

1882,  October  25. 

MY  DEAR  CHRISTIE, — I  do  hope  you  are  well.  I  have 
been  wondering  much  at  not  hearing  from  you.  Nothing 
in  the  shape  of  news  from  you  since  your  marriage  !  I 
was  particularly  anxious  to  hear  from  you  about  the 
R.S.  We  are  very  busy  here  about  the  Transit.  Perry 
and  Sidgreaves  are  off  to  Madagascar.  They  were  put  in 
quarantine  at  Durban,  but  I  had  heliostat  flashes  sent 
to  them  by  Mr.  Pett  at  Durban  which  have  answered 
capitally.  .  .  . 

I  expect  Newcomb  to-day  or  to-morrow,  and  Marth  in 
a  week. 


We  have  of  course  been  busy  with  the  Great  Comet, 
and  Finlay  and  Elkin  have  got  a  great  number  of  ob- 
servations. I  could  not  do  much  till  after  the  Sappho 
observations  were  over,  which  tied  my  hands  till  Oct.  18. 
I  send  you,  however,  some  photos  which  I  got  Oct.  19, 
20  and  21. 


148  CORRESPONDENCE  [CHAP.  XII 

I  see  that  Barnard's  Comet  is  in  my  hunting  grounds 
now. 

*  *.-,*..*  *  * 

But  with  two  comets,  four  Transit  of  Venus  stations, 
with  which  I  shall  have  more  or  less  to  do,  my  own 
Heliometer  stellar  parallax  work,  and  normal  observatory 
work,  and  my  two  chief  assistants  gone  and  one  an 
invalid — my  days  will  not  be  idle  till  the  end  of  the  year. 

*  *  *  *  *  * 

I  am  happy  to  say  that  my  wife  has  been  much  better 
during  the  past  fortnight — and  this  makes  hard  work 
very  easy. 

What  a  pity  you  did  not  get  my  telegram  of  Sept.  9  !  !  ! 
You  would  probably  have  seen  the  transit  of  the  Comet, 
or  at  least  it  would  have  been  seen  in  America  nearly  at 
noon  with  big  telescopes. 

My  wife  joins  me  in  kind  regards  to  Mrs.  C.  and  yrself. 

Always  sincerely  Yre,  DAVID  GILL. 

As  we  approach  the  end  of  Gill's  first  period  of  five 
years'  continuous  residence  in  South  Africa,  it  must  be 
noticed  that  these  years  influenced  him  a  great  deal,  by 
giving  scope  to  his  character,  but  most  of  all  by  the 
growing  friendships  with  those  men  in  his  own  line  whom 
he  most  respected,  friendships  which  commenced  with 
mutual  esteem,  but  deepened  into  affectionate  regard. 

This  fullness  of  life  in  regard  to  the  master  impulse  of 
his  being,  his  love  for  astronomy,  reached  a  climax  at 
the  time  of  the  transit  of  Venus  in  1882,  when  David 
Gill  and  Simon  Newcomb  first  became  intimately  asso- 
ciated together,  and  when  each  found  in  the  other  the 
counterpart  of  his  own  labours.  They  had  first  met  at 
Hamburg,  in  1873.  Newcomb  had,  even  by  this  time, 
reached  almost  the  highest  position  among  the  theo- 
retical astronomers  of  the  world;  and,  in  the  matter 
of  uncompromising  exactitude  of  observation,  he  found 
in  Gill  the  complement  to  his  own  activities.  Gill,  on 
the  other  hand,  found  in  Newcomb  the  man  who  had 
himself  done  so  much  for  existing  problems  in  astronomy 


1883-4]  SIMON  NEWCOMB  149 

that  he  could  indicate  the  directions  in  which  an  observer 
of  acknowledged  accuracy  could  best  do  service  to 
astronomy. 

The  voluminous  correspondence  between  these  two 
men  on  varied  problems  indicates  how  much  we  owe  to 
their  joint  interests  ;  and  it  is  delightful  to  recognize 
their  frequent  admixture  of  fun  and  camaraderie  with 
pure  science. 

In  this  connexion  may  be  quoted  the  words  of  New- 
comb's  daughter,  Dr.  Anita  Newcomb  McGee,  written  in 


I  wish  I  could  tell  you  how  very  warm  was  the  friend- 
ship between  these  two,  and  with  what  appreciation  Sir 
David  was  always  spoken  of.  I  am  sure  no  one  was 
dearer  to  my  father  personally,  besides  their  scientific 
ties. 

Unfortunately,  there  is  not  space  in  this  volume  to  treat 
fully  of  the  great  astronomical  problems  discussed  in  Gill's 
correspondence  with  Newcomb  and  many  others. 

When  Newcomb  went  to  the  Cape  in  1882  he  left  his 
daughter  Anita  in  England.  She  wrote  her  schoolgirl 
impressions  to  him,  and  these  were  talked  over  with 
much  amusement  by  the  two  friends  at  the  Cape.  They 
always  spoke  of  her  as  the  "  F.  B.,"  meaning  "  Fair 
Barbarian,"  which  was  the  title  of  a  story  by  Mrs.  Hodgson 
Burnett,  then  just  published,  about  an  American  girl  in 
England,  where  her  English  relatives  were  amazed  by 
her  original  and  independent  proceedings.  This  will 
explain  a  reference  in  the  following  — 

To  PROFESSOR  NEWCOMB 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

1883,  May  23. 

MY  DEAR  NEWCOMB,  —  It  has  greatly  delighted  me  to 
receive  your  welcome  letter  of  the  26th  April. 

****** 

^  The  principal  news  since  you  left  is  that  my  good  friend 
Elkin  left  10  days  ago.     I  miss  him  more  than  I  dare  well 


150  CORRESPONDENCE  [CHAP,  xn 

say;  both  my  wife  and  I  do  so.     He  had  become  part 
and  parcel  of  us,  always  busy,  always  ready  to  discuss 
or  argue  any  point,  always  genial  and  friendly. 
*  *  *  *  *  * 

I  am  very  busy  preparing  for  a  trip  home  to  England 
early  next  year. 


Alas  for  the  F.  B. — I  had  hoped  one  day  to  look  upon 
her — but  the  F.  B.  is  no  more — at  least  F  still  but  not  B — 
a  pretty,  proper,  particular  young  lady,  with  a  deport- 
ment formed  on  the  papa-prunes-prism  principle.  Oh 
man  !  if  you  had  only  brought  her  to  the  Cape  ! — but 
you  must  be  wrong,  I  believe  in  my  heart  she  is  as  fresh 
and  natural,  as  bonny  and  true — and  the  apple  of  your 
eye — as  she  was  before.  [She  had  evidently  adapted 
herself  to  the  country,  when  left  in  England,  to  a  degree 
which  led  to  comment  on  her  father's  part,  to  which  this 
is  a  reply.] 

****** 

We  saw  the  article  Cetewayo  in  Harper.  It  did  not 
need  a  "  facetious  article  in  an  American  newspaper  "  to 
indicate  the  author.  The  old  savage  is  being  "  eaten  up/' 
however,  in  Zululand.  [Professor  Newcomb  visited 
Cetewayo  while  both  were  at  Cape  Town.] 

My  wife  joins  me  in  kindest  remembrances,  not  only  to 
you,  but  to  Mrs.  Newcomb  and  the  F,  quondam  B, — both 
of  whom  we  seem  to  know. 

Always  sincerely  yours,  DAVID  GILL. 

To  PROFESSOR  NEWCOMB 

1883,  December  16. 

MY  DEAR  NEWCOMB,  .  .  . — Have  you  seen  Nyren's 
paper  on  the  constant  of  aberration?  I  regard  the 
agreement  of  the  results  by  the  three  different  instru- 
ments as  the  greatest  testimony  to  the  practical  genius 
of  old  Struve,  the  designer  of  those  instruments,  and  a 
proof  of  the  perfect  manner  in  which  the  tradition  of 
accuracy  and  thoroughness  which  he  established  has  been 
preserved  at  Pulkowa.  It  is  a  fact,  I  am  certain,  that 
in  Meridian  Astronomy  we  are  retrograding.  Put  the 
observations  at  Greenwich  or  Paris  or  Washington  or 
the  Cape  or  anywhere  else  to  the  same  test — and  you 


[To  face  page  150. 


PROFESSOR    SIMON   NEWCOMB. 


i883-4]  NEWCOMB  151 

will  find  them  wanting.  But  the  old  Pulkowa  observa- 
tions, equally  with  the  new,  stand  those  tests  which  we 
cannot  successfully  apply  to  our  modern  huge  instrument-, 
small  accidental-,  big  systematical-error  observations  of 
the  present  day. 

I  wish  they  would  let  me  put  up  a  new  Fundamental 
Meridian  Observatory  here — instead  of  this  unwieldy, 
non-reversible,  non -testable  giant.  For  a  differential 
instrument,  I  could  not  wish  a  better  Transit  Circle — but 
it  is  playing  with  Fundamental  work  to  attempt  it  with 
such  a  tool.  The  fact  of  the  matter  is  that  laziness  is  at 
the  bottom  of  modern  degeneration  in  meridian  observa- 
tion. It  is  such  a  nice  easy  thing  to  turn  loose  some 
astronomical  young  gentlemen  who  are  willing  for  a 
consideration  and  a  Government  appointment  to  devote 
a  few  hours  twice  a  week  to  making  what  they  are  pleased 
to  call  observations  with  a  huge  machine  which  the  rough- 
est handling  cannot  disturb,  whilst  the  great  chief  eats  his 
dinner  in  a  dress  coat,  smokes  his  cigar  and  goes  to  bed.  In 
that  way  and  by  much  printing  a  very  great  show  can  be 
made,  but  how  much  progress  in  Fundamental  Astronomy  ? 

But  I  am  losing  my  temper  on  paper,  because  I  cannot 
get  all  things  as  I  would  wish  them.  Who  does  ? — Wait 
a  bit — j^es,  wait  and  it  will  come  all  right.  Meanwhile 
one  grows  old,  and  I  suppose  by  the  time  my  energy  and 
strength  are  gone,  I  shall  have  all  things  as  I  should  wish 
them.  Perhaps  then  I  shall  have  another  Elkin  beside 
me — some  one  who  will  work  with  the  same  devotion 
and  love  of  truth  for  truth's  sake.  Who  knows  ?  That 
would  be  a  consolation. 

Forgive  my  Sunday  afternoon  grumble,  and 

Believe  me,  Always  sincerely  yours,      DAVID  GILL. 

There  was  no  one  ever  lived  who  was  so  anxious  to 
have  his  conclusions  tested  by  logical  argument  as  David 
Gill.  He  desired  only  to  get  at  the  truth.  He  would 
start  a  subject  with  Newcomb  and  then  say,  "  There  is 
where  I  differ  with  you.  Now  you  give  me  your  reply, 
and  well  have  a  scrap  !  "  He  wrote  to  Newcomb  in 
1890,  in  such  a  case — 

"  Let's  first  shake  hands  before  we  box, 
Then  give  each  other  friendly  knocks, 
With  all  the  love  and  kindness  of  a  brother." 


152  CORRESPONDENCE  [CHAP.  XII 

So  he  held  his  views  against  his  friend  in  such  ques- 
tions as  the  Transits  of  Venus,  the  last  decimal  place  in 
the  mass  of  Jupiter  or  the  moon,  or  in  the  constant  of 
aberration,  and  many  other  vital  points  in  gravitational 
theory,  in  discussing  which  he — and  his  opponent  too,  as 
he  knew  full  well — desired  only  to  have  his  own  faults 
exposed  and  the  truth  revealed. 


CHAPTER   XIII 

FIRST  VISIT  TO   ENGLAND    (1884) 

A  holiday  ? — LL.D.,  Edinburgh — Admiralty  and  Treasury  sanction 
purchase  of  new  heliometer — Proposed  Board  of  Visitors — 
The  Gills'  homecomings  to  the  Cape — Christmas  Day  with 
the  staff. 

FOR  a  long  time  Mr.  Gill  had  been  looking  forward  to  his 
visit,  early  in  1884,  to  Europe.  He  had  prepared  for 
publication  a  vast  amount  of  his  own  work  as  well  as  the 
reduction  of  some  of  Maclear's  observations  of  old  date, 
and  he  desired  to  see  these  results  through  the  press. 

He  was  also,  now  as  ever,  hard  at  work  in  trying  to 
improve  the  position  of  his  staff,  and  in  this  connexion  he 
wanted  to  introduce  some  necessary  reforms,  involving 
money  grants,  which  could  best  be  explained  by  personal 
interviews.  But  most  of  all,  seeing  his  way  to  obtain 
valuable  results  if  he  could  acquire  a  superior  heliometer 
to  the  details  of  which  he  had  devoted  much  thought 
and  experience,  he  was  determined  to  push  his  project 
through.  Already,  his  earnest  efforts  in  the  United 
States  of  America  had  been  rewarded;  and  had  assisted 
his  friend  Elkin  to  obtain  a  powerful  heliometer  at 
Yale.  He  intended  now  to  apply  to  the  Admiralty  for 
such  an  instrument  to  replace  his  own  4-inch  heliometer 
with  which  he  had  proved  the  incomparable  accuracy  of 
his  own  observations. 

To  PROFESSOR  NEWCOMB 

ROYAL  ASTRONOMICAL  SOCIETY,  LONDON, 

1884,  May  10. 

MY  DEAR  NEWCOMB, — I  came  to  England  for  a  holiday 
and  I  have  never  been  so  hard  worked  in  the  whole  of  my 
life,  ,  ,  . 

153 


154  FIRST  VISIT  TO  ENGLAND     [CHAP,  xin 

I  have  had  four  distinct  and  different  matters  to  put 
before  the  Admiralty. 

£1200,  for  repair  and  maintenance  of  buildings, 
new  house  for  carpenter  and  record  room,  above 
last  or  any  other  year's  estimates. 

£450  for  printing. 

£400  a  year  to  raise  pay  of  assistants. 

£2700  new  heliometer  and  observatory. 

The  first  two  of  these  I  have  got,  the  two  second  have 
gone  up  to  the  Treasury  with  the  strongest  recommenda- 
tion of  the  Admiralty — but  my  Lords  delay  their  reply, 
and  this  involves  labour  ahead.  I  suppose  you  have 
sufficient  official  experience  to  understand  the  hard 
labour  and  heart-breaking  loss  of  time  which  such  a 
matter  involves.  For  fifty  years  my  predecessors  have 
allowed  matters  to  jog  along,  and  naturally  enough  the 
Admiralty  cannot  understand  why  all  this  fuss  and  demand 
should  arise,  and  I  have  had  a  very  uphill  fight,  though 
I  must  say  that  my  friend  Christie  has  been  a  friend 
indeed,  and  has  backed  me  up  most  thoroughly. 
****** 

Then  there  has  been  the  printing  of  Elkin's  and  my 
paper  on  the  Parallax  of  Stars,  and  above  all,  the  claims 
on  my  time  of  kind  relatives  and  friends  who  think  that 
the  only  object  of  a  man  coming  to  England  must  be  to 
dine  or  to  lunch,  to  shoot  or  to  fish,  to  breakfast  or  to 
dance,  to  hunt  or  to  play  tennis — and  although  I  have 
escaped  much  I  have  enjoyed  some  and  suffered  many 
of  these  things. 

In  addition  to  all  this,  I  have  been  fool  enough  to 
engage  in  two  distinct  and  separate  pieces  of  peacocking — 
I  have  had  my  portrait  painted,1  and  I  have  attended 
the  Tercentenary  Festival  of  the  Edinburgh  University, 
have  worn  a  red  gown  and  a  velvet  cap  and  so  been  for 
the  second  time  transformed  into  a  Doctor  of  Laws — 
what  kind  of  laws  I  am  learned  in  I  have  yet  to  ascertain. 

Now  the  portrait  I  forgive  myself  for,  because  of  the 
great  pleasure  it  has  given  my  little  wife.  I  carried  it 
yesterday  to  her  room  where  she  has  been  for  six  weeks 
under  Dr.  Playfair's  charge,  and  she  will  have  it  beside 

1  [By  Sir  George  Reid,  P.R.S.A.] 


1884]  LL.D.,   EDINBURGH  155 

her  for  another  week — when  she  will  emerge  from  her 
retreat,  I  hope  and  believe  stronger  and  better  than  she 
has  been  for  some  years.  But  the  portrait  absorbed 
many  a  forenoon  that  should  have  been  given  to  other 
work.  The  Edinburgh  vanities  cost  me  the  loss  of  a 
visit  to  Pulkowa,  and  very  nearly  the  gain  of  an  attack 
of  bilious  fever.  Still,  the  gathering  was  a  very  remark- 
able one — a  red  letter  week  in  one's  life  that  I  should 
have  been  sorry  to  lose. 

By  the  way — I  understand  that  Piazzi  Smyth  was 
expected  to  name  two  astronomers  to  be  invited  to  attend 
the  Tercentenary  Meeting  and  receive  degrees  .  .  .  one 
for  Theoretical  and  one  for  Practical  Astronomy.  He 
gave  yr  name  and  mine.  The  Senatus  quite  concurred 
but  found  that  there  was  no  time  to  write  and  get  y1 
reply  and  presence,  and  it  had  been  resolved  only  to 
confer  degrees  on  those  who  were  present — but  I  under- 
stand that  the  Hon.  Degree  will  be  conferred  on  you 
afterwards. 

After  Edinburgh  I  went  to  Hamburg  where  I  saw  the 
mounting  of  the  30-inch  O.G.  for  Pulkowa.  It  is  the 
most  rigid  German  mounting  I  have  seen,  and  very  con- 
veniently arranged.  I  also  went  into  great  detail  with 
Repsolds  about  my  proposed  new  Heliometer — and  as  to 
Meridian  Instruments  of  the  future.  [I  have  a  good  deal 
to  say  on  that  subject,  but  am  waiting  for  my  time. 
You  will  see  how  very  sharply  dear  old  Sir  George  has 
risen  (in  the  May  Observatory)  to  defend  the  Cape  and 
Greenwich  Transit  Circles.]  x  I  then  visited  Berlin, 
Potsdam,  Bonn,  Strassburg  and  Paris.  Of  all  these 
visits  I  might  write  pages  to  you,  but  must  pull  up. 
****** 

Is  there  any  chance  of  our  meeting  yr  wife  or  the  F.  B. 
if  so  let  me  know.  I  wd  go  a  long  way  to  have  the  pleasure 
of  meeting  either  one  or  the  other.  My  wife  has  greatly 
benefited  by  her  recent  course  of  medical  treatment — 
and  I  hope  she  will  join  me  in  all  things,  as  of  old,  in 
about  a  week. — Ever  thine,  DAVID  GILL. 

The  energy  with  which  Gill  used  to  get  the  better 
of  official  inertia  and  red  tape  gained  the  admiration  of 

1  These  square  brackets  [  ]  are  in  the  original  letter.  On 
every  other  occasion  where  they  are  used  in  this  book  they 
indicate  words  inserted  by  the  present  writer. 


156  FIRST  VISIT  TO  ENGLAND      [CHAP,  xm 

his  friends  and  the  hearty  appreciation  of  some  Admiralty 
officials.  He  was,  however,  chary  of  mentioning  his 
success  in  obtaining  sanction  for  the  purchase  of  the 
heliometer.  But  he  derived  much  pleasure  from  the 
opinion  expressed  by  Admiral  Wharton,  the  hydrographer, 
who  wrote,  "  You  carried  your  heliometer  business 
through  by  personal  energy,  and  uncommonly  well  you 
managed  it." 

On  arrival l  at  the  Admiralty  one  morning  he  found 
that  the  question  had  passed  from  the  Hydrographic 
Department  and  that  before  reaching  the  Treasury  would 
pass  through  many  hands  and  might  be  settled  in  about 
three  weeks.  After  careful  enquiries  on  general  procedure 
he  traced  the  documents  and  cheerily  interviewed  the 
official  in  whose  hands  they  were,  and  explained  the 
importance  of  the  instrument  and  its  uses.  Thanked  for 
his  kindness  in  calling  he  was  told  the  request  would 
receive  early  attention  and  would  probably  be  out  of 
that  room  in  a  week  or  so ;  but  Gill  pointed  out  that  it 
was  essential  that  it  should  be  through  all  Departments 
of  the  Admiralty  and  sanctioned  by  the  Treasury  to  enable 
him  to  announce  to  the  Astronomical  Society  Meeting 
that  evening  that  the  Government  had  sanctioned  the 
purchase  of  the  instrument.  After  suggesting  that  the 
official  could  write  his  brief  minute  at  once  as  well  as  a 
week  later  his  views  prevailed,  the  minute  was  written, 
and  he  was  entrusted  with  the  documents  for  conveyance 
to  the  officer  who  was  to  deal  with  them  next.  The  pro- 
cess was  repeated  and  he  hied  him  to  the  Treasury  where 
he  added  to  his  former  plea  for  haste  the  example  of 
the  businesslike  way  the  Admiralty  had  dealt  with  the 
matter.  The  Treasury  people  humoured  him,  but  the 
last  man  urged  the  utter  impossibility  of  final  Treasury 
sanction  as  the  Financial  Secretary  was  not  in  his  office. 
Enquiry  as  to  his  whereabouts  proved  him  to  be  at  the 
House  of  Commons;  so  Gill  hastened  there  and  after 
explanations  the  Secretary  agreed  to  the  provision  of  the 

1  This  account  of  the  transaction  comes  from  one  of  the  staff 
of  the  Cape  Observatory,  Mr.  J.  Power,  who  probably  had  it  at 
first  hand. 


1884]  THE  HELIOMETER  157 

heliometer;   and  a  very  happy  Gill  drove  at  once  to  the 
R.A.S.  and  made  his  announcement. 

It  has  been  said  that  Gill  was  always  open  for 
advice  how  to  deal  with  the  official  of  red  tape ;  and  he 
once  told  how  such  an  official,  during  a  discussion  of 
observatory  requirements,  "  became  excited,  and  actually 
swore  at  me."  When  asked  "  What  did  you  do?  "  he 
replied  frankly  :  "I  swore  at  him."  It  was  then  sug- 
gested to  him  that  a  better  plan  would  have  been  to  seem 
aggrieved  and  to  propose  an  adjournment  of  the  discussion 
till  the  next  day,  when  his  opposer  would  probably  be 
less  heated.  Gill  saw  the  truth  of  this  and,  lamenting 
that  he  had  not  known  of  it  earlier,  he  resolved  to  broach 
the  question  again  and  try  the  experiment.  It  succeeded. 

During  their  pressure  of  engagements  the  Gills  were  able 
to  enjoy  a  well-earned  rest  at  the  home  of  his  sister 
Maggie,  Mrs.  Powell,  at  Bury  St.  Edmunds. 

To  MR.  ELKIN 

STANNINGFIELD  RECTORY,  BURY  ST.  EDMUNDS, 

1884,  June  17. 

MY  DEAR  ELKIN, — You  will,  I  am  sure,  be  glad  to 
hear  that  on  Friday,  the  I3th  hist.,  I  got  the  consent  of 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  announce  to  the  R.A.S. 
the  same  evening  that  the  heliometer  would  be  granted. 
Lord  Northbrook  *  has  been  a  very  kind  friend  in  the 
matter ;  his  interest  in  it,  I  think,  has  been  increased  by 
a  good  deal  from  our  old  friend,  Sir  Fred.  Richards. 
Christie  also  has  backed  me  most  thoroughly.  I  dined 
at  the  Admiralty  on  the  I2th  and  Lord  N.  offered  to  give 
me  a  letter  to  the  Treasury  that  I  might  push  the  matter 
myself. 

Of  course,  I  took  advantage  of  such  an  offer,  presented 
myself  at  the  Admiralty  at  noon,  and  found  that  the 
letter  of  the  Admiralty  to  the  Treasury  on  the  subject 
was  not  prepared.  Armed  with  powers  from  Lord  N. 
I  pushed  the  matter  through  all  the  departments  faster 
than  anything  of  the  kind  had  ever  been  done  before, 
and  set  off  for  the  Treasury.  Got  immediate  access  to 

1  [First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty.] 


158  FIRST  VISIT  TO  ENGLAND      [CHAP,  xili 

the  chief  permanent  Secy,  Sir  R.  Lingen,  who  said  after 
some  talk  that  he  was  favourable,  but  that  Mr.  Courtney, 
the  Ministerial  Secretary,  must  be  consulted  and  he  had 
gone  to  the  House  of  Commons.  After  a  little  persuasion 
by  stating  that  the  last  meeting  of  the  R.A.S.  came  off 
that  evening,  he  gave  me  a  letter  to  Mr.  Courtney,  enclosed 
Lord  N.'s  letter  and  all  the  Treasury  papers,  and  I  set 
off  to  the  House  of  Commons,  found  Mr.  Courtney,  went 
to  his  private  room  and  got  his  consent  after  going  into 
the  matter. — Treasury  consent  had  never  been  known 
to  be  obtained  so  rapidly  before. — I  think  I  have  also 
brought  about  England  joining  the  Metric  Convention, 
at  the  same  time.  The  two  with  my  printing,  will  not 
be  a  bad  piece  of  work  for  my  trip  home. 

My  wife  got  ill  again — too  much  work  in  receiving  and 
paying  calls  in  London. 

****** 

Now  old  man  we  must  gird  up  our  loins  for  our  big 
parallax  job  1  and  carry  it  out  manfully.  .  .  . 

We  have  a  grand  work  before  us — God  grant  us  strength 
and  health  to  carry  it  out. 

My  wife  has  been  better  since  we  came  down  quietly 
here.  My  sister  has  a  charming  place  and  is  very  happy. 

We  go  north  to  Aberdeen  in  the  end  of  the  month, 
returning  to  London  on  1st  August. 

With  kindest  regards  to  yr  mother  and  self,  in  which 
my  wife  unites,  I  am  always,  dear  Elkin,  your  sincere 
friend,  DAVID  GILL. 

As  already  stated,  since  Airy's  retirement  there  was 
no  one  who  could  take  his  place.  The  Cape  Observatory 
had  no  Board  of  Visitors  as  Greenwich  has.  It  does 
not  appear  that  the  Cape  Astronomer  was  ever  officially 
placed  under  any  sort  of  supervision  or  control  of  the 
Astronomer  Royal  of  the  time  as  such.  It  is  true  that 
Airy  in  his  autobiography,  on  the  appointments  of 
Henderson,  Stone  and  Gill  (but  not  of  Maclear),  to  the 
Cape  Observatory  records  the  fact  that  he  "  gave  them 
their  instructions."  Gill,  however,  certainly  believed 

1  Determining  solar  parallax  by  observations  of  minor  planets 
with  their  two  heliometers. 


1884]  THE  ASTRONOMER  ROYAL  159 

that  he  was  unfettered  by  any  instructions.1  Still,  Airy 
had  gradually  assumed,  with  respect  to  H.M.  Astronomer 
at  the  Cape,  the  same  position  that  the  Board  of  Visitors 
does  to  the  Astronomer  Royal.  The  anomaly  was  so 
likely  to  lead  to  trouble  that  Gill  and  Christie  seem  to 
have  discussed  the  question  amicably  together. 

Before  leaving  England  Gill  tried  to  get  something 
settled,  but  without  effect.  Long  afterwards,  the  failure 
of  this  effort  was  found  to  have  unfortunate  results. 

To  THE  ASTRONOMER  ROYAL 

1884,  August  15. 

MY  DEAR  CHRISTIE, — After  much  thinking  over  the 
question  of  a  Board  for  the  Cape  Observatory,  I  have 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  you  should  take  the  initiative. 
****** 

I  have  spoken  to  Sir  Fredk  Richards  about  an  annual 
inspection  by  the  Admiral  at  the  Cape.  His  reply  was  a 
broad  grin,  and,  "  What  a  lot  of  plunder  you'll  get  out 
of  that. — What  about  those  four  loads  of  Admiralty  stores 
you  got  out  of  me  when  I,  in  a  weak  moment,  inspected 

you." 

****** 

Always  yours  sincerely,  DAVID  GILL. 

The  Gills  returned  to  the  Cape  in  September  1884. 
His  voyage  must  have  been  a  period  of  satisfactory 
enjoyment  of  the  vast  amount  of  work  accomplished 
during  his  holiday,  brightened  by  the  improved  state  of 
his  wife's  health.  He  had  obtained  his  first  great  desire 
in  the  ordering  of  a  powerful  heliometer.  His  next 
ambition,  to  have  a  perfect  instrument  for  fundamental 
meridional  astronomy,  possibly  also  a  fine  telescope, 
might  come  in  time.  Meanwhile,  his  extension  of 
Argelander's  work  to  the  southern  hemisphere  by  photo- 
graphy was  ready  to  advance,  supported  by  funds 
administered  by  the  Royal  Society.  He  had  passed 
many  volumes  and  papers  through  the  press.  He  had 
1  He  makes  this  clear  in  his  History,  etc.,  p.  xxxix. 


160  FIRST  VISIT  TO  ENGLAND     [CHAP,  xm 

been  in  close  touch  with  most  of  the  great  astronomers 
of  Europe,  and  he  was  coming  to  his  home  to  be  welcomed 
by  loving  and  devoted  friends. 

The  mode  of  his  homecomings  after  visits  to  England 
is  given  by  Mr.  Power,  of  the  observatory  staff. 

His  departures  for  holidays  and  his  homecomings  usually 
meant  a  gathering  of  the  whole  staff  for  good-byes  or 
welcomes.  In  1893  the  incoming  mail  arrived  after  dark 
and  anchored  in  the  Bay.  Colonel  Morris  and  several 
of  the  staff  went  off  in  a  tug,  but  unfortunately  as  they 
ascended  the  gangway  on  one  side  of  the  ship  the  Chief 
descended  that  on  the  other  side  to  go  ashore  with  the 
Medical  Officer  of  Health.  The  visitors  took  vacant 
seats  at  the  dinner  table  and  an  hour  later,  as  the  tug 
approached  the  docks,  his  cheery  hail  was  heard  from  the 
pier.  He  had  made  Lady  Gill  comfortable  in  their  waiting 
carriage,  for  neither  would  disappoint  those  who  had  come 
to  greet  them.  When  asked  why  they  had  not  driven 
off  on  landing  he  answered,  "  We  were  certain  some  of 
you  would  be  here,  so,  not  finding  you,  I  inquired  and 
found  you  had  gone  off."  Before  the  carriage  started, 
news  of  every  one  had  to  be  given  to  the  cold  and  hungry 
occupants. 

An  arrival  during  office  hours  found  only  one  or  two 
of  the  staff  at  the  ship,  because  if  more  were  absent  from 
the  observatory  he  would  have  spoilt  the  welcome  by 
grumbling  about  neglect  of  duty.  On  these  occasions 
his  arrival  was  speedily  known.  He  walked  straight  to 
the  study  and  started  to  read  the  top  letter  of  the  pile 
on  his  desk,  but  was  at  once  interrupted  by  the  first  of 
a  procession  of  the  staff,  for  each  one  of  whom  he  had  a 
pithy  story  of  their  relatives  or  friends  whom  he  had  seen. 
A  like  scene  was  going  on  in  Lady  Gill's  room,  and  before 
the  day  was  over  not  only  the  staff,  but  every  child 
(many  in  those  days)  had  trooped  in.  It  was  really  a 
family  reunion,  and  one  would  like  to  have  overheard 
the  expression  of  his  happy  feelings  at  the  end  of  the  day. 

Another  occasion  when  all  hands  mustered  was 
"  Christmas  afternoon  on  the  lawn."  The  bachelor 
members  of  the  staff  resident  in  boarding-houses  had 
mid-day  dinner  with  the  Chief,  all  other  members  with 
their  wives  and  families  kept  the  afternoon  free  and 


1884]  RETURN  TO  CAPE  161 

even  if  on  seaside  holiday  some  members  of  the  family 
returned  for  the  afternoon.  The  children  brought  Santa 
Claus'  presents  and  he  took  as  keen  an  interest  in  their 
explanations  as  if  they  were  the  latest  improvement  in 
telescopes.  Later  followed  a  meeting  of  Chief  and  Staff 
in  his  study  for  a  happy  hour  over  pipe  and  cigar.  The 
youngest  and  the  most  boyishly  happy  of  the  crowd  was 
Gill.  The  interest  in  those  engaged  at  the  observatory 
was  not  a  matter  of  once  a  year  but  was  continuous. 

On  their  periodical  trips  to  England  they  were  specially 
pleased  to  be  used  as  carriers,  and  each  trip  brought  a 
case  or  cases  for  some  one.  The  "  Messenger  "  at  the 
Admiralty,  who  was  surprised  to  see  H.M.  Astronomer 
walking  in  with  a  box  in  his  arms,  would  have  been  more 
surprised  if  he  had  known  it  was  a  wreath  of  Cape  flowers 
for  the  grave  of  a  junior's  relative. — He  was  proud  to 
deliver  it  with  his  own  hands. 

A  packing-case  was  always  kept  open  at  his  head- 
quarters for  parcels  he  was  to  bring  out  on  his  return. 
On  one  occasion  when  consulted  by  a  relative  of  one  of 
his  staff  commissioned  to  purchase  and  send  out  a  piano, 
he  (assured  that  the  relative  desired  to  send  a  more 
expensive  instrument  and  was  willing  to  pay  the  extra 
cost)  offered  to  select  and  convey  the  instrument  to  the 
Cape.  When  payment  of  freight  was  tendered  by  the 
recipient  he  was  mightily  offended. 


M 


CHAPTER  XIV 

CORRESPONDENCE  WITH  ASTRONOMERS    (1884-6) 

Mr.  Christie — Dr.  Huggins — Dr.  Gould — Professor  Kapteyn — The 
Durchmusterung — The  astrographic  chart. 

GILL'S  gratitude  to  Mr.  Christie  for  his  support  when 
applying  for  the  heliometer  was  expressed  in  many  letters 
to  astronomers  at  home  and  abroad,  and  was  also  shown 
by  his  letters  to  him  personally. 

To  THE  ASTRONOMER  ROYAL 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

1884,  November  4. 

MY  DEAR  CHRISTIE, — I  cannot  let  a  mail  pass  without 
sending  you  our  most  hearty  congratulations  on  the  new 
arrival — and  above  all  on  the  good  news  you  give  of 
Mrs.  Christie.  You  know  that  you  have  our  warmest 
wishes  that  all  good  things  may  fall  to  your  lot.  I  know 
the  relief  of  mind  that  this  happy  event  has  brought  you. 
God  grant  that  your  dear  wife  and  her  boy  may  long  be 
spared  in  health  and  strength. 

[Here  follow  remarks  on  a  paper  he  is  sending  for  the 
R.A.S.  denouncing  with  indignation  his  predecessor's  in- 
exactitudes in  reducing  transit  circle  observations.  And 
he  adds] — 

There  is  no  stopping  to  reason  out  anything,  no  care 
to  eliminate  or  investigate  sources  of  error,  but  a  very 
common  routine  mill  of  a  sledge-hammer  kind  smashing 
up  and  grinding  together  all  kinds  of  incongruities  and 
turning  out  a  certain  tale  of  work,  let  its  quality  be  what 
it  may.1 

1  [And  yet  this,  in  a  less  exaggerated  form,  was  the  tendency 
he  was  constantly  deploring  in  the  fundamental  meridional  work 
of  all  modern  observatories  except,  perhaps,  Pulkowa.] 

162 


i884-6]          THE  ASTRONOMER  ROYAL  163 

I  enclose  a  letter  from  my  wife  for  Mrs.  Christie.  I 
am  thankful  to  say  that  Mrs.  Gill  is  wonderfully  better. 
She  is  actually  giving  a  dance  to-morrow  in  honour  of 
my  brother  [Patrick,  from  Australia]  who  is  living  with 
us  on  a  visit.  I  am  turned  out  of  my  Sanctum,  which  is  to 
be  the  ball-room,  and  I  feel  very  much  like  a  fish  out  of  the 
water.  With  hopes  of  continued  good  news  and  kindest 
regards. — Believe  me,  Always  sincerely  yours, 

DAVID  GILL. 

The  condemnation,  in  the  above  letter,  of  the  methods 
of  observation  and  reduction  used  in  Stone's  valuable 
Catalogue  of  Southern  Stars  emphasizes  the  position 
always  held  by  David  Gill  that  nothing  but  the  best 
achievement  should  be  tolerated  by  a  real  astronomer. 
Right  or  wrong,  that  was  the  key  to  the  man's  life.  He 
looked  upon  all  "  slapdash  "  methods  as  treason  to  the 
"  Queen  of  the  Sciences." 

To  THE  ASTRONOMER  ROYAL 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

1886,  February  2. 

MY  DEAR  CHRISTIE, 


By  last  mail  I  had  a  letter  from  Otto  Struve  to  tell 
me  that  I  have  been  elected  a  corresponding  member  of 
the  Imperial  Academy  of  Sciences,  St.  Petersburg,  the 
election  to  be  announced  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the 
Academy  on  January  10. 


Sudden  hot  weather  has  set  in  upon  us,  and  it  has 
upset  my  wife's  health,  and  she  is  suffering  a  good  deal.  I 
hear  you  are  being  frozen  while  we  are  being  roasted. 
What  would  I  give  now  for  a  snowball  fight,  or  a  pair  of 
skates  and  a  bit  of  good  ice  !  and  probably  you  would 
give  something  for  some  of  our  sunshine  and  heat !  So 
it  goes.  However  I  am  as  busy  as  I  can  be,  and  con- 
sequently quite  happy  and  ready  to  make  the  best  of 
things. — Always  sincerely  yours,  DAVID  GILL. 


164  CORRESPONDENCE  [CHAP,  xiv 

To  THE  ASTRONOMER  ROYAL 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

1886,  April  7. 
MY  DEAR  CHRISTIE, 

****** 

You  are  a  dreadfully  bad  correspondent.  You  don't 
know  how  grateful  a  letter  is  at  this  distance  from  home, 
especially  about  matters  astronomical,  else  you  would 
write  me  oftener. — Yours  sincerely,  DAVID  GILL. 

To  THE  ASTRONOMER  ROYAL 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

1886,  November  29. 

MY  DEAR  CHRISTIE, — I  was  prepared  for  the  news  x 
conveyed  by  your  letter  of  Nov.  4  by  a  telegram  from 
Huggins. 

There  is  only  one  view  of  the  question  to  which  I  can 
take  exception  and  it  is  this,  viz.  that  the  Gov*  Grant 
Committee  having  voted  £100  for  a  new  Dallmeyer  lens, 
and  having  induced  me  to  spend  Nasmyth's  £200  and 
£50  out  of  my  own  pocket  for  the  apparatus  represented 
in  the  enclosed  photograph,  to  carry  out  a  scheme  which 
they  had  so  far  supported,  suddenly  turn  round  and  throw 
upon  me  the  responsibility  of  dispensing  with  Mr.  Woods' 
services  now,  and  thus  upsetting  the  whole  carefully 
organized  existing  work,  or  taking  upon  myself  the  risk 
of  having  to  pay  his  expenses  to  England  out  of  my  own 
pocket.  Indeed  in  any  case  the  responsibility  for  these 
expenses  is  thrown  on  me,  as  Mr.  Woods  cannot  be  dis- 
missed without  six  months  notice,  and  an  adverse 
decision  in  May  will  cost  me  thus  12  months  pay  besides 
Woods'  passage  home,  a  matter  of  £200. 

I  need  hardly  tell  you  that  I  prefer  to  undertake  this 
responsibility  to  breaking  up  the  existing  work. 
****** 

It  may  be  well  at  this  stage  to  give  a  few  character- 
istic letters  of  this  period  to  other  astronomers. 

Gill's  voluminous  correspondence  with  Huggins  is 
mostly  of  interest  only  to  practical  astronomers.  But  his 

1  [That  the  Royal  Society  might  discontinue  financial  support 
to  the  C.P.D.] 


1884-6]  SIR  WILLIAM  HUGGINS  165 

racy  style  crops  out  everywhere.     Here  are  some  extracts 
from  letters  written  in  1886  from  Gill  to  Huggins. 

The  famous  recipe  for  making  hare  soup  says,  "  first 
catch  your  hare."  Just  now  I  am  catching  my  hares, 
and  hope  in  due  time  to  make  a  quantity  of  soup  in 
England. 

But  I  wish  to  present  the  opportunity  to  you  of  coming 
out  here  yourself  and  Mrs.  Huggins  in  September  to  try 
yr  own  hand  at  photographing  the  Moon  on  the  back- 
ground of  the  Corona.  .  .  .,  and  you  and  your  wife  would 
have  a  home  and  a  right  kindly  welcome. 

I  have  a  very  kindly  feeling  to  Pritchard.  I  remember 
long  ago  his  wise  advice  to  me,  at  a  B.A.  meeting  in 
Edinburgh  when  I  rushed  like  a  hot-headed  young  ass 
as  I  was,  at  conclusions  about  the  parallax  of  a  nebula 
founded  on  a  few  observations  extending  over  a  few 
months.  How  wisely  he  advised  me  to  be  cautious  and 
patient,  but  no — I  would  make  an  ass  of  myself.  Well ! 
that  taught  me  a  lesson,  and  I  wonder  chiefly  now  how 
it  is  that  a  man  can  be  so  wise  in  advice,  and  so  foolish 
in  practice  as  Pritchard  seems  to  have  been. 

To  DR.  B.  A.  GOULD  (Cordoba) 

1884,  December  23. 

MY  DEAR  GOULD, — It  is  a  long  time  since  I  have 
written  to  you,  but  I  cannot  allow  a  single  mail  to  pass 
without  acknowledging  receipt  of  your  Zone-Catalogue. 

I  have  no  adequate  words  to  describe  such  a  work,  and 
one  cannot  think  of  it  alone  without  the  Uranometria 
and  the  Catalogue  on  which  it  rests. 

The  whole  history  of  practical  astronomy  presents  no 
such  brilliant  instance  of  successful  devotion  to  a  well 
conceived  original  design,  carried  out  from  first  to  last 
with  consummate  energy  and  skill.  You  have  compelled 
by  your  enthusiasm  the  Government  of  a  remote  Republic 
to  make  large  sacrifices  for  science,  you  have  won  the 
devotion  of  your  assistants  and  inspired  them  with  some 
of  your  own  fire,  and  the  result  is  incomparably  the  most 
precious  contribution  to  the  astronomy  of  the  Southern 
Hemisphere,  and  one  of  the  noblest  works  ever  accom- 
plished by  the  labour  of  a  single  Astronomer. 

With  all  my  heart  I  am  in  sympathy  with  the  dedica- 
tion of  this  work  to  the  memory  of  your  wife.  Without 


166  CORRESPONDENCE  [CHAP.  XIV 

sympathy  and  co-operation  like  hers  few  men  would 
voluntarily  have  endured  the  expatriation  and  solitude 
of  a  life  like  yours— without  his  wife's  fullest  co-operation 
no  married  man  had  a  right  to  do  so — and  none  but  a 
married  man  with  such  a  wife  as  yours  could  have 
done  it. 

I  would  that  she  had  lived  to  see  this  great  work  finished, 
and  to  have  shared  with  you  the  honours  and  congratula- 
tions with  which  your  work  will  be  received.  The  reward 
of  sacrifice  in  a  noble  cause  is  not  only  the  honour  and 
the  praise  of  men  in  the  accomplishment  of  the  work. 
It  is  a  higher  and  a  nobler  and  a  better  thing,  it  accom- 
panies the  work  from  day  to  day ;  it  is  the  purifying  and 
refining  of  the  aspirations,  the  daily  increasing  desire 
for  higher  and  better  things,  the  fitting  of  ourselves  daily 
for  the  higher  and  the  better  of  the  hereafter. 

Those  who,  like  your  wife,  have  led  a  life  of  sacrifice 
for  the  high,  the  noble,  the  pure,  the  true,  have  found  no 
small  reward  already  in  this  life,  and  now,  as  I  believe, 
her  soul  waits  for  perfecting  with  yours  the  ever  higher 
life  of  the  eternities. 

May  God  bless  and  help  you  in  your  more  solitary  life. 
May  her  children  bless  you,  may  your  work  which  she 
shared  continue  to  fill  your  useful  life,  and  may  the  hope 
of  meeting  comfort  you  "  till  the  day  breaks." 

My  heart  is  too  full  of  you  and  yours  to  write  about 
my  own  little  affairs. 

My  wife  joins  me  in  kindest  regards  and  sympathy, 
and  Believe  me,  Always  sincerely  yours, 

DAVID  GILL. 

To  THE  BROTHERS  HENRY  (Paris) 

1885,  May  13. 

MY  DEAR  SIRS, — I  am  sorry  to  say  that  from  a  telegram 
which  I  have  just  received  I  fear  it  will  not  be  possible 
to  obtain  the  necessary  credit  for  the  photographic  tele- 
scope— beyond  the  Dallmeyer  lens  with  which  I  am  now 
carrying  on  the  star  charting  of  the  Southern  Hemisphere. 

I  had  hoped  to  be  able  to  carry  on  simultaneously 
photographs  of  star  clusters,  etc.,  with  sufficient  precision 
for  accurate  measurement — but  this  must  wait.  It  is  very 
sad  that  science  should  have  to  wait  for  money — but  so 
it  is — alas ! — Yours  very  sincerely,  DAVID  GILL. 


1884-6]  THE  DURCHMUSTERUNG  167 

After  many  preparations  the  first  exposure  of  a  Durch- 
musterung  plate  with  the  improved  apparatus  was  made 
on  April  15,  1885,  and  the  exposures  were  completed 
in  December  1889. 

The  labours  of  our  astronomer  were  by  this  time  so 
exacting  that  the  amount  of  work  required  for  measuring 
star  places  upon  the  plates  fairly  appalled  him,  although 
never  in  his  life  did  he  flinch  from  a  duty.  At  this  time 
one  of  the  most  delightful  episodes  of  his  life  occurred. 
He  was  in  continual  correspondence  with  the  greatest 
authorities  in  Europe  and  America  on  particular  lines 
of  research  on  which  he  was,  or  expected  to  be,  engaged. 
Thus  for  some  years  he  had  kept  up  a  correspondence 
concerning  the  highest  refinements  possible,  in  certain 
directions  1 — for  the  avoidance  of  all  possible  errors  in 
astronomical  fundamental  measurements  of  position — 
with  a  Dutch  astronomer  whom  he  had  never  met, 
Professor  J.  C.  Kapteyn,  then  of  Leiden,  afterwards  of 
Groningen,  who  became  later  the  highest  authority  on 
stellar  motion  investigations. 

Kapteyn  was  well  qualified  to  appreciate  the  crying 
need  of  a  southern  Durchmusterung  in  continuation  of 
the  invaluable  catalogue  of  Argelander.  Imagine,  then, 
the  joy  of  the  harassed  astronomer  at  the  Cape  to  receive, 
in  December  1885,  a  letter  from  Professor  Kapteyn 
containing  these  words — 

PROFESSOR  KAPTEYN  TO  DR.  GILL 

16  Dec.  1885.  [Conclusion  of  letter.]  I  am  here  to 
break  off  because  I  now  hear  that  this  letter  has  to  be 
dispatched  an  hour  earlier  than  I  expected. 

I  therefore  will  write  you  another  letter  that  will  reach 
you  a  week  later.  In  that  letter  I  will  make  bold  to 
make  and  explain  to  you  a  proposal  that  I  hope  you  will 
not  deem  indelicate.  It  is  in  the  main  what  follows. 

1  See  Copernicus,  vol.  iii.  for  Professor  Kapteyn 's  method  for 
getting  fundamental  declinations  and  latitude  and  for  correcting 
refraction  tables.  Gill  was  practically  carrying  out  Kapteyn 's 
scheme. 


168  CORRESPONDENCE  [CHAP,  xiv 

If  you  will  confide  to  me  one  or  two  of  the  negatives 
I  will  try  my  hand  at  them,  and  if  the  result  proves 
as  I  expect  I  would  gladly*  devote  some  years  of  my  life 
to  this  work  which  would  disburden  you  a  little  as  I  hope 
and  by  which  I  would  gain  the  honour  of  associating  my 
name  to  one  of  the  grandest  undertakings  of  our  time. 

Afterwards  Kapteyn  wrote :  "  I  think  my  enthusiasm 
for  the  matter  will  be  equal  to  (say)  six  or  seven  years 
of  such  work." 

Sir  David  Gill  has  tried  to  express  the  sensation  of 
relief  afforded  by  this  confidence  shown  towards  him  by 
that  distinguished  astronomer. 

At  a  time  of  great  stress  and  discouragement  he  [Kap- 
teyn] lifted  from  my  shoulders  a  load  of  responsibility 
by  his  noble  and  spontaneous  offer  to  undertake  the 
measurement  of  the  plates,  the  computation  of  the  results, 
and  the  formation  of  the  catalogue. 

The  whole  of  Kapteyn's  work  is  marked  by  extra- 
ordinary thoroughness  and  accuracy;  and  the  time  he 
spent  on  the  C.P.D.1  and  the  revision  of  it  was  double 
the  number  of  years  he  had  estimated.  When  two 
such  earnest  fellow-workers  are  in  harness  together, 
each  one  is  amply  repaid  for  his  own  share  by  the 
affectionate  esteem  established  between  the  pair.  But 
Gill,  while  he  regretted  his  inability  to  repay  in  an 
equal  degree  the  self-sacrifice  of  his  colleague,  was  rejoiced 
to  find  that  there  was  some  recompense,  and  that  this 
work  upon  the  C.P.D.  first  directed  Kapteyn's  mind  to 
the  study  of  cosmical  astronomy,  and  "  led  him  to  the 
brilliant  researches  and  discoveries  with  which  his  name 
is  now  and  ever  will  be  associated  "  (History,  etc.). 

Kapteyn's  greatest  discovery  in  cosmical  astronomy 
was  told  to  the  world,  first  at  St.  Louis  in  1904,  and  then 
at  the  Cape  in  1905  during  the  visit  of  the  British  Associa- 
tion to  South  Africa.  This  discovery  was  that  the  great 

1  Cape  Photographic  Durchmusterung. 


To  face  page  168. 


PROFESSOR    KAPTEYN. 


i884-6]  PROFESSOR   KAPTEYN  169 

majority  of  stars,  near  enough  to  us  to  show  proper 
motion,  are  moving  in  two  great  swarms  in  nearly  oppo- 
site directions.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  this  great 
discovery  has  revolutionized  our  conceptions  of  the  stellar 
universe. 

Their  combined  work  riveted  these  two  men  together 
in  other  researches,  and  Kapteyn's  name  was  thereafter 
added  to  that  growing  band  of  distinguished  astronomers 
whose  continuous  correspondence  with  Gill  became  an 
important  part  of  the  world's  progress  in  astronomy. 

Meanwhile,  the  period,  from  1884  to  1887,  of  absence 
from  England  was  being  utilized  in  Europe.  Gill's  com- 
munication to  Admiral  Mouchez,  head  of  the  Paris 
Observatory,  about  the  photographs  of  the  comet  of 
1882, 1  led  him  to  organize  an  International  Conference  of 
Astronomers  to  meet  in  Paris  in  1887.  As  already  stated, 
an  inspection  of  these  photographs  had  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  Brothers  Henry  of  the  Paris  Observa- 
tory. They  were  then  engaged  in  revising  Chacornac's 
catalogue  of  zodiacal  stars,  in  which  work  they  had  just 
reached  the  appalling  mazes  of  the  Milky  Way.  They 
immediately  understood  that  the  assistance  of  photo- 
graphy must  be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  task;  and 
Admiral  Mouchez,  having  been  equally  impressed  by 
Gill's  photographic  work,  gave  his  official  support  to  the 
Brothers  Henry.  These  devoted  brothers  then  set  to 
work,  with  their  own  hands,  to  make  the  lenses  for, 
and  to  mount,  a  fine  photographic  telescope  with  which 
they  produced  superb  photographs  which  delighted  the 
astronomical  world. 

Following  from  these  events,  Admiral  Mouchez,  with 
the  assistance  of  Dr.  Gill  and  the  brothers  Henry,  was 
able  to  invite  the  astronomical  world  to  Paris  for  the 
year  1887,  to  discuss  the  possibility  of  executing  an 
International  Carte  du  del  by  photography. 

1  Comptes  Rendus  de  L'Acad.  des  Sciences.  Paris,  1882, 
December  26,  voi,  xcv.  pp.  1342,  1343. 


CHAPTER  XV 

SECOND   VISIT  TO   ENGLAND    (1887) 

Heliometer — The  Paris  Congress — The  Cape  Durchmusterung 
— An  unappreciative  colleague — Admiral  Wharton — Situation 


The  Heliometer 
— Am 
saved. 


IN  1887,  Dr.  Gill  had  to  return  to  Europe  partly  to  join 
in  the  deliberations  of  the  Astrographic  Congress  at  Paris, 
and  partly  to  receive  from  Repsold  of  Hamburg  the  fine 
heliometer,  due  in  February,  to  the  performances  of  which 
he  looked  forward  with  enthusiastic  hopes.  He  was  also 
anxious  to  see  whether  the  resolution  of  the  Government 
Grant  Committee  of  the  Royal  Society,  to  withhold 
financial  support  from  the  C.P.D.,  was  to  be  carried  out. 
The  Committee,  on  the  suggestion  of  Dr.  Huggins,  had 
decided  to  postpone  a  final  decision  until  after  the  Paris 
Congress. 

This  visit,  in  1887,  to  Europe  was  most  eventful  for 
astronomy.  It  would  have  been  so  had  nothing  come  of 
it  except  the  inspection  and  delivery  of  the  great  7-inch 
heliometer  for  the  Cape  Observatory,  which  was  destined, 
in  the  hands  of  probably  the  finest  observer  in  the  world, 
to  furnish  results  of  unparalleled  accuracy  in  problems 
beyond  the  capacity  of  most  observers. 

It  would  have  been  equally  eventful  for  astronomy  if 
nothing  had  come  of  it  except  the  Astrographic  Congress, 
with  the  initiation  of  the  International  Carte  du  del 
and  Catalogue.  David  Gill  was  elected  its  President 
d'honneur,  acclaimed  by  ballot,  and  he  proved  himself 
in  the  sequel  to  be  the  greatest  organizer  of  astronomical 
joint  undertakings  known  to  his  generation. 

170 


i887]  THE  HELIOMETER  171 

His  most  enjoyable  episodes  were  the  tour  of  foreign 
observatories,  when  he  first  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting 
his  fellow- worker,  Professor  Kapteyn;  and  the  visit 
with  him  to  Hamburg  for  the  inspection  of  the  great 
heliometer. 

Professor  Kapteyn,  in  his  obituary  notice  of  Sir  David 
Gill,1  tells  us— 

In  March  1887  I  had  the  pleasure  of  accompanying  him 
to  Hamburg.  After  a  fatiguing  journey  we  arrived  only 
a  little  before  midnight.  Repsold  was  there  to  meet  us. 
He  told  us  that  early  on  the  next  morning  everything 
would  be  in  order,  so  that  Gill  might  inspect  the  7-inch 
heliometer  which  had  just  been  completed.  Gill  would 
not  hear  of  such  a  thing.  "  I  can  but  give  you  the  time 
necessary  for  reading  my  letter.  After  that  we  must 
see  the  heliometer."  And  we  saw  it,  and  when  he  had 
inspected  every  detail,  turned  every  handle,  read  every 
microscope,  he  burst  out:  "Well,  aren't  you  jealous? 
Why,  I  wouldn't  be  half  as  happy  as  I  am,  if  you  weren't." 
Not  many  weeks  later  the  instrument  was  mounted  at 
the  Cape,  the  most  efficient  instrument  of  the  sort  in 
existence. 

Having  inspected  and  passed  the  heliometer,  the  next 
holiday  work  was  to  go  to  Paris  to  meet  the  astronomers. 

At  the  Astrographic  Congress  of  1887  the  heads  of  the 
world's  greatest  observatories  combined  to  arrange  for 
setting  up  astrographic  telescopes  and  taking  the  photo- 
graphs necessary,  each  for  the  portion  of  the  heavens 
assigned  to  it.  This  generally  involved  application  to 
the  Government  concerned,  for  a  grant  of  money.  A 
permanent  committee  was  appointed.  It  was  resolved 
to  add  to  the  actual  chart  of  stars  down  to  I4th  magnitude 
a  catalogue  of  all  stars  down  to  the  nth  magnitude. 
It  was  also  resolved  to  request  Dr.  Gill  to  prepare  a  draft 
scheme  for  carrying  out  the  decisions  of  the  Congress, 
as  a  basis  for  discussion.  Gill  foresaw  in  this  great 

1  The  A  strophysical  Journal,  September  1914. 


172  SECOND  VISIT  TO  ENGLAND     [CHAP,  xv 

catalogue  a  work  of  incalculable  value  to  future  astro- 
nomy. His  desire  to  benefit  astronomers  of  the  future, 
in  the  way  that  Bradley,  b^  his  extremely  accurate  work 
more  than  150  years  ago  is  benefiting  us,  was  well 
shown  in  the  course  of  a  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
R.A.S.,  in  the  following  year. 

To  E.  B.  KNOBEL 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

April  26,  1888. 

MY  DEAR  KNOBEL,— 

****** 

You  lay  down  at  the  end  of  your  letter  a  statement 
with  which  I  find  it  difficult  to  agree,  and  one  which  I 
venture  to  hope  you  will  reconsider,  viz.  "  there  is  an 
obvious  objection  to  embarking  in  a  scheme  which 
cannot  be  completed  for  thirty  years  from  now." — I 
should  be  as  sorry  as  you  if  we  did  not  get  the  photo- 
graphs taken  within  the  next  5  or  6  years.  It  is  most 
desirable  that  we  should  have  the  data  for  determining 
the  places  of  the  stars  as  nearly  as  possible  at  one  epoch 
for  the  whole  sky.  But  these  mere  photographs  are  of 
very  little  real  value  in  themselves  except  for  very 
secondary  purposes — and  to  carry  out  the  resolution  of 
the  Congress  and  catalogue  the  stars  to  nth  magnitude 
is  a  great  and  noble  work  that  may  worthily  occupy 
30  years — and  I  would  be  very  glad  if  I  could  be  sure  that 
it  would  be  completed  in  that  time. 

****** 

Always  sincerely  yours,  DAVID  GILL. 

These  high  ideals  concerning  the  assistance  that  all 
true  astronomers  can,  and  ought  to,  give  to  their  successors, 
and  concerning  the  unselfishness  with  which  the  true 
astronomer  must  do  his  duty,  not  to  himself  and  his  own 
generation  alone,  but  also  to  the  science  of  astronomy, 
were  the  motive  impulses  which  guided  all  of  David  Gill's 
astronomical  thoughts  and  deeds.  Thus  in  his  presidential 
address  to  the  British  Association  in  1907  he  speaks  of 
learning  the  lesson — 


i887]  ASTROGRAPHIC  CONGRESS  173 

that  human  knowledge  in  the  slowly  developing  pheno- 
mena of  sidereal  astronomy  must  be  content  to  progress 
by  the  accumulating  labours  of  successive  generations  of 
men ;  that  progress  will  be  measured  for  generations  yet 
to  come  more  by  the  amount  of  honest,  well-directed, 
and  systematically  discussed  observation  than  by  the 
most  brilliant  speculation;  and  that,  in  observation, 
concentrated  systematic  effort  on  a  special  thoughtfully 
selected  problem  will  be  of  more  avail  than  the  most 
brilliant  but  disconnected  work. 

By  these  means  we  shall  learn  more  and  more  of  the 
wonders  that  surround  us,  and  recognize  our  limitations 
when  measurement  and  facts  fail  us. 

In  regard  to  the  astrographic  chart  and  catalogue,  there 
was  some  controversy  after  the  Paris  meeting.  It  is  not 
the  duty  of  this  biographer  here  to  argue  as  to  Dr.  Gill's 
Tightness  or  wrongness  in  striving  towards  the  very  best, 
when  the  very  best  may  be  unattainable.  Nor  is  it  his 
duty  here  to  argue  for  or  against  the  preliminary  modes 
of  procedure  proposed  by  Dr.  Gill,  nor  to  applaud  or 
criticize  the  plans  and  the  instruments  devised  by  him  for 
their  execution.  Subsequent  historians  of  astronomy  will 
be  in  a  better  position  for  dealing  with  these  questions. 

It  will  be  enough  here  to  have  narrated  briefly  the  part 
which  fate,  in  the  shape  of  fifty-six  astronomers,  com- 
pelled this  essentially  modest  man  to  play  in  the  Congress 
of  1887,  as  the  leader  and  organizer  of  the  grandest 
international  astronomical  research  that  has  ever  been 
undertaken.  He  did  not  seek  that  position  for  himself, 
but,  in  the  words  of  one  writing  from  the  trenches  in 
France,  1916 — 

"  The  wise  man  will  take  the  lowest  room;  but  only 
the  shirker  will  refuse  to  go  up  higher."  l 

Gill  was  never  known  to  refuse  to  undertake  any 
duty  imposed  upon  him. 

When,  as  one  of  fifty-six  astronomers,  he  set  out  in  1887 
for  the  Congress  at  Paris,  he  looked  upon  himself  as  a 

1  The  Spectator,  January  29,  1916. 


174  SECOND  VISIT  TO  ENGLAND      [CHAP.  XV 

unit  among  fifty-six  units,  every  one  of  whom  would 
come  to  the  meetings  primed  with  useful  plans,  the  result 
of  mature  thought.  He  little  realized  at  first,  what  soon 
became  apparent  to  others,  that  he  was  head  and 
shoulders  above  all  the  others  in  knowledge  and  ex- 
perience of  the  production  and  measurement  of  stellar 
photographs,  and  in  consideration  of  the  problems;  and 
that  from  this  year,  1887,  to  the  year  of  his  death,  1914, 
the  members  of  the  Comite  permanent  would,  individually 
and  collectively,  seek  to  be  guided  and  directed  by  his 
judgment,  as  in  nearly  every  point  they  so  succeeded, 
towards  the  completion  of  the  Astrographic  Chart  and 
Catalogue.  One  of  the  ablest  of  the  members  of  the 
Comite  permanent  has  expressed  this  in  the  following 
words  x — 

The  initiative  for  this  great  undertaking  is  due  to  the 
joint  action  of  Gill  and  Admiral  Mouchez,  the  director 
of  the  Paris  Observatory,  aided  by  the  brothers  Henry. 
What  the  whole  undertaking,  not  only  at  starting,  but 
during  the  whole  of  its  progress,  owes  to  Gill's  untiring 
energy,  all  will  know  who  attended  the  meetings  of  the 
Comite  Permanent.  Up  to  the  last  his  was  the  great 
driving  force.  .  .  . 

How  different  everything  will  be  at  the  future  meetings, 
when  Gill  will  not  be  there  !  How  different  would  be 
the  outlook  now,  if  he  could  have  carried  through  his 
plan  for  a  central  bureau,  perhaps  the  only  important 
measure  which  he  failed  to  see  brought  about ! 

A  few  pages  may  now  be  given  to  the  Cape  Photo- 
graphic Durchmusterung  (C.P.D.),  whose  fate  hung  in 
the  balance.  The  great  astronomers  of  all  countries 
saw  the  immediate  need  and  great  importance  of  thus 
extending  that  invaluable  star  catalogue  of  Argelander 
and  Schonfeldt,  the  Bonn  Durchmusterung  (B.D.),  to 
the  south  pole  of  the  heavens.  Unfortunately,  the 
occupant  of  Airy's  chair  does  not  appear  to  have 

1  The  Astrographic  Journal,  September  1914. 


1 887]  THE    C.P.D.  175 

absorbed  his  predecessor's  sympathetic  appreciation  for 
worthy  effort  outside  of  his  own  departments;  and 
he  considered  it  to  be  his  duty  to  prevent  the  Royal 
Society  from  continuing  to  support  Gill's  photographic 
Durchmusterung. 

The  plates  were  to  be  exposed  so  as  to  include  all 
stars  down  to  the  9^  magnitude  and  no  more.  It  would 
be  laughable  if  it  were  not  almost  tragic  to  record  the 
fact  that  Gill's  work  was  opposed  because,  at  a  Royal 
Society  conversazione  in  1886,  his  photographs,  showing 
so  few  stars,  were  placed  beside  long-exposure  photo- 
graphs of  the  Milky  Way,  showing  thousands  of  stars. 
Gill  wrote  to  Newcomb — 

I  told  them  that  I  had  heard  of  babies  crying  for  the 
moon — but  I  had  never  dreamt  of  anything  so  funny 
as  a  row  of  Fellows  of  the  Royal  Society  insisting  on 
having  more  9^  magnitude  stars  in  the  heavens,  else 
they  would  stop  supplies.  This  made  them  very  angry. 

This  ridiculous  comparison,  and  the  contention  that 
the  immediate  completion  of  Argelander's  identification- 
catalogue  would  be  a  competitor,  instead  of  an  assist- 
ance, to  the  international  Carte  du  del  then  contem- 
plated, were  reasons  given  by  Mr.  Christie  and  his  followers 
for  stopping  supplies. 

In  this  he  was  successful.  First,  at  Paris,  he  pre- 
vented the  Congress  of  astronomers  from  expressing 
their  opinion  by  saying  he  would  withdraw  his  official 
support  from  the  Carte  du  del  if  the  motion  proposed 
by  Struve  and  Auwers  in  favour  of  Gill's  work  were 
brought  forward.  Then,  at  the  Grants  Committee  of 
the  Royal  Society,  his  official  position  enabled  him  to 
overpower  the  opinions  of  greater  men  on  the  Council 
whose  speciality  was  not  astronomy.  There  came  an 
earnest  appeal  on  behalf  of  the  C.P.D.  from  Auwers,  and 
then  a  most  generous  offer  from  the  Berlin  Academy  of 
Sciences  to  supply  the  funds  for  Gill's  great  work.  This 


176  SECOND  VISIT  TO  ENGLAND     [CHAP.  XV 

was  countered  by  the  plea  that  the  Admiralty  could  not 
be  so  unpatriotic  as  to  allow  him  to  accept  it. 

The  shipwreck  of  the  gre£it  southern  catalogue  seemed 
at  last  to  be  complete.  But  people  had  still  something 
to  learn  about  the  unselfishness  of  David  Gill,  and  of  his 
wife,  when  the  interests  of  science  were  af  stake.  Rather 
than  allow  this  great  need  of  astronomy  to  remain  un- 
fulfilled they  resolved  to  complete  the  work  at  their  own 
private  expense. 

The  following  extracts  from  a  letter  express  the  opinion 
of  one  of  the  most  distinguished  astronomers  of  the  day, 
Professor  J.  C.  Adams. 

To  PROFESSOR  KAPTEYN.  London  1887.  June  5. — Last 
Friday  evening  I  delivered  a  lecture  at  the  Royal  Institu- 
tion on  the  subject  of  the  Applications  of  Photography 
in  Astronomy — and  laid  down  my  views  of  the  Paris 
Congress  and  of  the  relations  of  the  Durchmusterung  to 
the  work  of  that  Congress. 

It  was  an  abominably  wet  night  but  the  room  was 
crowded,  and  after  the  lecture  who  should  come  up  to  me 
but  Prof.  J.  C.  Adams  of  Cambridge.  "  I  have  come  up 
from  Cambridge  to  hear  your  lecture,"  he  said,  "  and  I 
am  delighted  to  have  done  so — good  night." 

That  was  all  that  he  said. 

But  yesterday  was  the  visitation  of  the  Greenwich 
Observatory,  and  I  went  there  like  all  the  rest  of  the 
world.  The  Board  of  Visitors  as  you  know  sit  down 
about  3  o'clock,  and  are  generally  done  with  their  work 
at  half-past  four.  But  5  o'clock  came,  half-past  five,  six 
o'clock,  and  still  the  Board  sat.  About  5.30  Pritchard 
came  out  looking  very  angry.  I  said  to  him,  "  What  is 
the  matter?  " — " Oh, it's  Adams.  He  doesn't  understand 
photography  and  he  has  been  making  no  end  of  trouble," 
and  oft  he  went  in  a  hurry. 

At  last  about  half-past  six,  the  Members  of  the  Board 
came  out  and  adjourned  to  dinner.  I  was  seated  beside 
Adams.  He  then  said,  "  They  have  been  talking  all  sorts 
of  nonsense  in  that  Board.  "  I  had  to  set  them  right. 
They  said  yr  Durchmusterung  was  a  rival  scheme  to  the 
Paris  one  and  should  be  stopped.  I  told  them  I  had 
heard  your  lecture  last  night,  that  it  was  not  a  rival 


1887]  THE  C.P.D.  177 

scheme  but  a  necessary  preliminary.  They  thought  that 
photography  was  to  supersede  meridian  instruments.  I 
told  them  they  were  talking  nonsense — that  they  should 
have  come  to  hear  your  lecture  and  they  would  have  been 
better  and  wiser  men." 

You  may  imagine  what  a  bombshell  this  was  amongst 
them. 

Then  Adams  had  also  come  down  with  Stokes  and  told 
Stokes  about  my  lecture  and  how  surprised  he  had  been 
at  my  being  refused  the  Gov*  grant.  Then  Stokes  told 
Adams  that  both  he  and  Lord  Rayleigh  thought  that  Gill 
was  right,  but  they  were  overruled  by  the  astronomical 
members  of  the  Committee. 

Any  attempt  of  the  enemy  to  stop  me  is  now  fairly 
checkmated — the  work  will  go  on  in  peace  and  the 
Gov*  Grant  Committee  can  weep  over  their  mistake  at 
their  leisure. 

God  grant  us  health  and  strength  to  complete  this 
noble  work  (as  Auwers  calls  it)  and  to  shame  its  enemies 
by  its  success. 

In  the  course  of  the  same  letter  to  his  colleague, 
Professor  Kapteyn,  he  uses  these  words — 

So,  after  thinking  the  matter  well  over,  my  wife  and 
I  made  up  our  minds  that  we  should  spend  our  own  money 
upon  the  work,  and  after  reckoning  ways  and  means  we 
found  that  by  a  little  self-sacrifice  we  could  do  so. 

And  in  a  subsequent  letter  to  the  same  friend  later 
from  the  Cape,  dated  September  6,  1887,  he  says — 

My  wife  has  gone  thoroughly  hand  in  hand  with  me  in 
the  matter.  We  have  carried  out  a  great  many  domestic 
economies,  and  with  a  little  sacrifice  of  capital  we  can 
manage.  I  shall  be  truly  thankful  if  in  any  way  we  can 
manage  together  to  do  this  great  and  necessary  work. 

Let  it  be  remembered  that  this  was  the  wife  who, 
shortly  after  their  marriage,  besought  him  to  accept  the 
Dun  Echt  post,  at  a  great  pecuniary  sacrifice.  In  a 
letter  to  Miss  Agnes  Clerke  from  the  Cape,  dated  De- 
cember 6,  1887,  he  incidentally  mentions  that  £350  per 

N 


178  SECOND  VISIT  TO  ENGLAND      [CHAP.  XV 

annum  was  the  sum  he  was  then  paying  out  of  his  own 
pocket. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  £dd,  what  is  known  to  every- 
one, that  the  Durchmusterung  has  been  of  the  utmost 
service  to  astronomers. 

Here  it  ought  to  be  stated  that,  after  the  pleasing 
heliometer  incident  of  1884,  Gill  found  that  Mr.  Christie's 
advice  to  the  Admiralty  became  decidedly  hostile  to  nearly 
all  proposals  issuing  from  the  Cape,  and  this  involved 
him  in  tedious  correspondence  to  explain  the  situation 
to  the  Admiralty.1  To  dwell  upon  this  opposition  would 
be  to  attach  undue  importance  to  it.  The  correspond- 
ence is  mentioned  only  because  it  bears  witness  to  some 
of  the  finest  traits  in  Gill's  character,  and  the  world's 
gratitude  to  him  must  be  increased  when  it  is  known 
that  throughout  his  work  for  twenty  years  he  had  con- 
tinually to  bear  the  strain  of  opposition  at  home  in  a 
quarter  where  least  he  might  have  expected  it. 

Lord  Kelvin  and  others  tried  at  one  time,  without 
success,  to  remove  these  disabilities.  Eventually,  the 
difficulty  solved  itself  to  a  great  extent  when  Admiral 
Wharton,  the  Hydrographer,  by  his  great  scientific 
attainments,  was  enabled  to  take  upon  his  own  shoulders 
the  responsibility  of  acting  as  adviser-in-chief  to  the 
Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Admiralty,  in  observatory 
matters. 

1  The  correspondence  shows,  along  with  many  other  similar 
incidents,  that,  if  Sir  W.  Christie's  advice  had  prevailed,  astro- 
nomers would  not  now  possess  Gill's  and  Kapteyn's  Catalogue 
(C.P.D.) ;  the  British  nation  would  not  have  computed  and  pub- 
lished Gill's  final  work  on  Solar  Parallax  and  the  Moon's  Mass ; 
the  splendid  Meridian  Marks  for  his  Transit  Circle  would  not  have 
been  constructed,  and  some  of  Gill's  and  Hough's  work  would  in 
consequence  have  been  lost  to  the  world ;  the  staff  and  equipment 
of  the  Cape  Observatory  would  have  been  seriously  crippled ;  and 
the  Observatory  itself  would  have  been  transferred  from  the  con- 
trol of  the  Admiralty  to  that  of  the  Cape  Colony,  with  disastrous 
results. — The  reader  will  find  some  slight  mention  of  these 
matters  in  the  correspondence  with  Newcomb,  Kapteyn  and  Miss 
Clerke,  at  the  end  of  this  book,  but  the  main  letters  dealing  with 
this  and  other  matter  of  the  same  kind  are  not  needed  for  the 
purposes  of  these  Memories. 


i887]  ADMIRAL  WHARTON  179 

The  correspondence  between  Sir  David  Gill  and  Admiral 
Wharton  breathes  mutual  admiration  and  trust,  with 
wise  counsel  gratefully  acknowledged.  It  helped  on 
the  cause  of  astronomy  from  1885  to  1905,  and  enabled 
Sir  William  Wharton  effectively  to  support  the  greatest 
of  Gill's  endeavours  in  the  cause  of  astronomy.  No  history 
of  astronomy  will  be  complete  that  fails  to  record  the  debt 
owed  by  that  science  to  Admiral  Sir  William  Wharton. 

The  correspondence  is  too  technical  for  this  book. 
Throughout,  it  bears  witness,  in  the  conflict  with  Green- 
wich, to — 

Gill's  impersonality  in  controversy;  his  clearness  of 
reasoning ;  his  patience  under  misrepresentation ;  his  per- 
sistence in  holding  to  the  point ;  his  gratitude  to  Wharton 
for  supporting  the  claims  of  science  at  the  Admiralty,  and 
to  the  Lords  of  the  Admiralty  for  their  support  at  the 
Treasury. 

Sir  David  Gill's  relations  with  the  Admiralty  officials 
were  always  most  cordial.  Sir  Richard  Awdry,  K.C.B., 
who  came  into  intimate  contact  with  him  while  he  was 
the  Account  ant-General  of  the  Navy,  puts  the  case  in  a 
nutshell :  "  Gill  overcame  officialdom  by  the  force  of  his 
energy  and  by  the  honesty  of  his  purpose." 

The  unofficial  and  official  correspondence  with  Wharton 
is  so  brilliant,  effective  and  instructive  that  (perhaps 
fifty  years  hence)  it  ought  to  be  published.  Here  are  a 
few  terse  examples  of  style. 

FROM  WHARTON.  1885,  April  24. — I  quite  agree  with 
you  in  theory  as  to  the  duty  of  all  to  strive  after  perfec- 
tion, but  I  think  you  will  find  that  in  practice  this  is 
very  hard  to  obtain  when  it  involves  much  expenditure 
where  a  Gov4-  office  is  concerned. 

To  WHARTON.  1885,  July  29. — I  have  not  been 
diplomatic,  but  I  have  been  honest. 

FROM  WHARTON.  1890,  October  31. — Looking  back  to 
what  you  have  obtained  since  you  started,  I  do  not  think 


i8o          SECOND  VISIT  TO  ENGLAND       [CHAP.  XV 

you  have  by  any  means  reason  to  be  downhearted  at  yr 
achievements. 

-/•** 

FROM  WHARTON.  1893,  'July  6. — I  am  sorry  for  yr 
Library.  The  Financial  Secretary  struck  it  out.  You 
must  fight  again.  If  you  get  it  you  are  lucky.  You 
shd  see  the  Admiralty  library  !  !  !  [He  die!  fight,  and  did 
get  it.] 

To  WHARTON.  1893,  November  15. — I  fully  appre- 
ciate the  real  kindness  of  yr  letter,  but  I  cannot  say 
with  truth  that  I  can  follow  the  good  advice  you  give. 

FROM  WHARTON.  1894,  June  14. — The  Admiralty 
have  been  fighting  hard  for  you,  and  have  written  stronger 
letters  than  I  ever  saw  to  the  Treasury. 

To  WHARTON.  1901,  July  9. — I  am  glad  to  say  that 
I  have  never  yet  made  a  proposal  to  the  Admiralty  which 
has  not  sooner  or  later  been  adopted,  in  every  case  with 
success ;  nor  have  I  ever  wasted  public  money. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

WORK  WITH   THE  GREAT  HELIOMETER    (1887-90) 

Stellar  parallax — the  Sun's  mean  distance — Splendid  work — Dr. 
Auwers'  visit  —  Laborious  reductions  —  Co-operation  by 
foreign  astronomers. 

GILL'S  third  voyage  to  the  Cape,  in  1887,  must  have  been 
a  relief  and  rest  after  the  turmoil  of  opposition  he  had 
gone  through,  and  an  occasion  of  pleasing  rumination 
on  things  accomplished,  combined  with  joyful  anticipa- 
tion of  great  results.  He  must  have  felt  very  happy  in 
knowing  that  he  had  with  him,  on  board  the  same  ship, 
not  only  the  wife  who  was  ever  such  a  support  in  bright 
or  in  dark  times,  but  also  that  loved  heliometer  for  which 
he  had  so  striven,  with  whose  aid  he  might  hope  to  accom- 
plish so  much.  But  a  retrospect  of  his  labours  at  Paris, 
and  the  position  assigned  to  him  in  the  great  astrographic 
work,  by  the  unanimous  acclamation  of  all  those  true 
men  whose  opinions  he  valued,  must  have  given  him  a 
new  sense  of  responsibility,  and  a  new  feeling  of  power 
to  do  great  service  to  his  beloved  science. 

In  the  breezy  air  of  the  Atlantic,  and  the  clear  breath 
of  the  trade-winds,  all  the  petty  onslaughts  of  men  whose 
names  would  be  forgotten  in  a  generation  must  have 
seemed  paltry;  for  they  had  not  interrupted  his  work, 
and  had  incidentally  revealed  to  him  the  strenuous 
support  which  he  might  always  expect  from  the  really 
great  men  like  Adams,  Stokes,  Rayleigh,  Struve,  Kapteyn 
and  Auwers,  who  had  in  this  matter  been  active  in  helping 
him. 

181 


182  THE  GREAT  HELIOMETER    [CHAP.  XVI 

After  Gill's  return  to  the  Cape  in  1887  the  Photographic 
Durchmusterung  progressed*  splendidly.  He  had  some 
difficulty  in  getting  the  Admiralty  to  sanction  the 
greater  astrographic  telescope,  and  a  suitable  observa- 
tory for  it,  with  which  to  do  his  part  in  the  Interna- 
tional chart.  Meanwhile  the  new  .heliometer  was  set  to 
work  upon  star  distances  until,  in  the  years  1888-9,  & 
could  be  used  on  the  minor  planets,  Iris,  Victoria  and 
Sappho,  so  as  to  settle  finally  the  problem  of  the  sun's 
mean  distance.  These  years  were  perhaps  the  most 
fruitful  for  astronomy  in  the  whole  of  his  life. 

The  result  of  the  great  Paris  Congress  laid  much  re- 
sponsibility upon  Gill's  shoulders.  His  labours,  assisted 
by  discussion  with  Kapteyn,  and  those  of  Admiral 
Mouchez,  were  much  impeded  by  a  few  critics,  ready  to 
find  fault  with  anything  proposed,  and  unable  to  suggest 
any  better  course  of  action.  This  hostility,  coming  from 
men  who  might  have  helped,  was,  of  course,  easily  over- 
come, but  was  unpleasant  to  any  one  devoted  to  the 
interests  of  true  science,  and  led  the  layman  in  astonish- 
ment to  exclaim  with  Virgil — 

"Tanaene  animis  ccelestibus  irae!" 

The  more  serious  trouble  was  with  the  Admiralty  in 
getting  the  photographic  telescopes,  with  suitable  observa- 
tories, for  Greenwich  and  the  Cape,  to  take  part  in  the 
great  astrographic  work.  It  demanded  unceasing  atten- 
tion and  correspondence.  Often  he  became  despondent 
when  the  officials  six  thousand  miles  away  were  stupid 
and  made  needless  difficulties,  or  were  badly  advised. 

In  the  end  he  got  his  way  as  usual,  as  is  concisely  stated 
in  the  following  letter — 

To  MR.  E.  B.  KNOBEL 
ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

AugUSt  22,   1888. 

MY  DEAR  KNOBEL, — Two  days  ago  I  received  the  fol- 
lowing telegram — 


1887-90]       ASTROGRAPHIC  TELESCOPE  183 

"  Admiralty    London    to    Astronomer    Cape    Town. 
Telescope  will  be  ordered  in  England.     Financial  details 
mailed.     Send  specification  Dome  and  square  building." 
****** 

But  that  is  a  matter  of  no  consequence  now.  [Certain 
disputes.]  The  great  thing  is  that  the  Telescopes  [at 
Greenwich  and  the  Cape]  are  sanctioned.  .  .  . 

But  it  is  such  a  pity  to  quarrel.  Let  us  rather  work. 
There  is  so  much  to  be  done  and  so  much  to  be  thought 
out,  and  there  appear  to  be  so  few  who  are  working  and 
thinking. — Always  sincerely  yours,  DAVID  GILL. 

Certainly  Gill  was  doing  plenty  of  working  and  think- 
ing in  the  cause,  as  is  shown  by  a  mass  of  correspondence 
on  all  sorts  of  details.  The  rdseau  which  he  had  invented 
for  measuring  photographs  in  the  Dun  Echt  expedition  to 
Mauritius  proved  to  be  a  most  valuable  accessory,  not 
only  for  certifying  all  absence  of  shrinking  in  the  films, 
but  also  for  facilitating  the  measurement  of  star  positions 
on  the  plate  with  the  help  of  a  machine  he  devised. 

Gill's  perseverance  in  overcoming  the  difficulties  in 
securing  the  astrographic  telescope  are  told  in  a  letter 
to  Mr.  Knobel.  There  was  no  scientific  man  in  England 
more  esteemed  than  Sir  George  Gabriel  Stokes,  and 
Gill  never  appealed  to  him  for  assistance  in  a  righteous 
cause  without  success. 

To  E.  B.  KNOBEL 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

1888,  October  13. 

MY  DEAR  KNOBEL,  .  .  .  — As  I  told  you  before,  I 
wrote  to  Stokes  on  July  18  a  very  urgent  letter,  begging 
him  as  Pres.  of  the  R.S.,  and  as  a  Member  of  Parliament, 
to  press  the  matter  on  Gov*. — either  on  ministers  person- 
ally, or  if  that  failed  by  asking  a  question  in  the  House. 

I  understand  that  Stokes  and  Grubb  got  Sir  H.  Roscoe 
to  ask  the  question  on  3ist  July.  .  .  . 

So  soon  as  Stokes  got  my  letter  he  went  to  the 
Admiralty;  got  hold  of  Lord  George  [Hamilton]  and 
Smith  [W.  H.  Smith]  and  Goschen,  and  Underhill 


184  THE  GREAT  HELIOMETER    [CHAP,  xvi 

(Ass*,  hydrographer)  writes  me  that  but  for  Stokes' 
activity  and  persistence  we  would  not  have  got  the  money 
for  months. 

As  it  is  I  have  got  now  formal  official  authority  for — 

£2000  for  telescope. 

700  observatory  and  dome. 

250  a  year  for  5  years  for  skilled  photographer. 

50  a  year  for  computer  to  aid  in  exposing  plates. 

50  a  year  for  chemicals. 

This  is  £500  more  than  I  asked  for — and,  strangely 
enough,  my  original  proposal  (at  some  mischievous  sug- 
gestion) was  condemned  as  too  costly,  and  I  was  warned 
"  of  the  costly  character  of  all  proposals  emanating  from 
the  Cape,  and  to  show  more  care  hi  future."  This,  as 
you  may  suppose,  roused  me,  and  I  showed  that  the  plan 
of  observatory  proposed  in  lieu  of  mine  would  cost  nearly 
as  much  as  mine — that  the  simultaneous  view  of  the  zenith 
by  the  guiding  and  photo-telescopes  was  cut  off  for  20° 
or  30°  by  the  proposed  segmental  opening,  and  no  develop- 
ing-room  and  photo  store  was  provided  as  in  mine,  and 
that  the  plan  of  paying  computers  at  so  much  a  plate 
to  do  the  work  would  not  do  here. — I  then  demanded 
that  my  Lords  should,  for  my  future  guidance,  point  out 
any  proposal  of  mine  which  had  been  unduly  costly — 
any  proposal  which  had  not  been  successful  when  carried 
out,  or  not  well  considered  before  being  proposed. 

I  have  no  reply  to  these  questions,  but  my  square  20  foot 
observatory,  my  skilled  photographer  and  everything 
I  asked  for  have  been  granted,  and  £500  to  cover  con- 
tingencies— (which  I  did  not  ask  for).1  .  .  . 

Yes,  The  Observatory  has  made  itself  ridiculous,  but 
I  think  Common  and  Turner  meant  well — and  no  harm 
has  been  done  to  any  one  but  themselves.  Bakhuyzen 
writes  me  expressing  his  disgust  at  the  tone  of  the  letters 
of  the  Editors  and  Common,  and  says  "  what  a  contrast 
to  the  perfect  gentleman  Knobel."  Others  write  in 
similar  terms. 

What  a  splendid  offer  Lord  Crawford  has  made  to 

1  [This  is  only  one  example  out  of  many  where  Gill  was  worried 
almost  to  death  by  stupidity,  as  well  as  by  misrepresentation,  at 
home.  It  is  also  one  example  of  the  way  in  which,  by  holding  to 
his  point,  he,  almost  invariably,  gained  the  wholehearted  support 
of  the  Admiralty  to  his  well-considered  recommendations.] 


1887-90]       EDINBURGH   OBSERVATORY  185 

Edinburgh  1 — I  only  regret  that  such  fine  instruments 
should  be  condemned  to  use  in  such  a  climate.  .  .  . 

Miss  Clerke  2  is  here,  very  happy  and  very  busy  with 
star  spectra.  .  .  . 

Very  busy  just  now  with  Iris — 2  to  4  a.m. — Always 
dear  Knobel,  Yours  sincerely,  DAVID  GILL. 

To  DR.  COPELAND 

February  13,  1889. 

MY  DEAR  COPELAND, — I  have  been  inordinately  busy 
for  the  past  month  or  two,  and  have  each  mail-day 
postponed  writing  to  you,  because  I  said  to  myself  I  can 
write  more  at  length  next  mail.  But  my  letter  has  been 
too  long  postponed  now,  and  must  wait  no  longer. 

Therefore  believe  me  and  indeed  you  know  right  well — 
that  it  is  no  lack  of  cordiality  or  good  will  that  has  delayed 
the  congratulations  on  your  app*  to  Edinburgh  which 
I  wd  now  send  to  you.  You  will  have  a  most  desirable 
position  in  every  way — except  perhaps  in  clearness  of  sky 
— the  most  delightful  society — and  an  equipment  second 
to  none  in  Great  Britain. 

It  is  indeed  a  noble  gift  of  Lord  Crawford's  to  the 
Scottish  nation — and  I  am  sure  that  in  your  hands  the 
outcome  will  be  much  good  solid  work  for  the  advance- 
ment of  Astronomy. 

What  is  your  staff  to  be  ? — what  the  general  plan  of  the 
buildings? — what  instruments  are  to  be  mounted  ?  In  all 
these  things  I  take  the  very  deepest  interest,  and  any 
information  about  them  would  be  most  welcome. 

I  can  hardly  think  without  a  sigh  of  those  foundations 
at  Dun  Echt  which  I  laboured  to  make  so  satisfactory 
and  sound — all  swept  away — and  yet  I  am  sure  it  is  for 
the  best  interests  of  science  that  it  shd  be  so.  You  have 
a  grand  chance,  with  all  yr  experience,  to  plan  a  splendid 
observatory — and  I  am  sure  you  will.  If  any  ideas  of 
mine  are  likely  to  be  useful  to  you — by  all  means 
command  me. 

I  do  not  know  whether  you  are  still  at  Dun  Echt  or 

1  Referring  to  Lord  Crawford's  presentation  to  the  nation  of 
the  astronomical  instruments  and  valuable  library  at  Dun  Echt, 
now  in  use  at  Blackford  Hill,  Edinburgh. 

2  The  celebrated  authoress  of  historical  books  on  astronomy. 
She  paid  a  long  visit  to  the  Gills,  and  received  much  encourage- 
ment in  her  work. 


i86  THE   GREAT  HELIOMETER     [CHAP.  XVI 

what  or  how  ? — but  no  doubt  this  will  find  you  if  addressed 
to  Edinburgh. 

Here  we  are  as  busy  as  you  must  be — finishing  off  the 
reductions  of  the  last  5  years  field  work  of  the  Geodetic 
Survey — building  the  new  Photographic  Observatory — 
reductions  of  observations  of  Iris — observations  on  Stellar 
parallax  every  night  with  Heliometer — and  every  day  an 
hour  and  a  half  at  its  division  errors — finishing  up  the 
Photo.  Durchmusterung — and  the  regular  tale  of  Meri- 
dian work.  All  my  computers  are  drifting  off  to  the 
Gold  fields.  I  think  I  must  get  out  some  young  German 
Astronomers — do  you  know  any  who  would  come  ? 

You  will  find  delightful  colleagues  in  Tait,  Chrystal  and 
Crum  Brown — and  a  very  true  friend  in  Lord  Maclaren — 
It  is  such  society  that  one  misses  here — and  which  you 
must  have  missed  at  Dun  Edit. 

I  am  getting  more  and  more  attached  to  this  place. 
It  has  a  glorious  climate,  presents  splendid  opportunities 
for  work,  and  a  beautiful  home  is  growing  around  us. 

The  grounds  which  used  to  be  a  ghastly  wilderness  are 
now  at. least  tidy — and  are  certainly  picturesque.  Drain- 
age, road-making,  tree -plant  ing,  water  supply  have  done 
wonders. 

We  have  ten  times  as  much  Society  as  we  can  deal 
with — and  can  have  as  much  of  it  or  as  little  of  it  as  we 
please. — Only  we  have  no  Taits  or  Chrystals  or  Lord  Mac- 
larens  or  Robertson  Smiths — that  is  what  one  misses.  But 
we  have  had  Miss  Clerke — and  half  expect  a  visit  from 
Auwers  in  June — and  that  is  for  the  time  ample  compensa- 
tion. Mouchez  wants  me  to  come  for  the  next  meeting 
of  the  Permanent  Committee  of  the  Paris  Astro-photo. 
Congress — but  it  is  impossible  as  I  am  to  observe  Victoria 
and  Sappho  in  conjunction  with  the  Heliometers  at  Yale, 
Bamberg,  Gottingen  and  Leipzig.  I  have  urged  that  1890 
— (after  we  have  got  and  tested  our  telescopes)  is  the 
time  for  the  Congress  and  he  agrees  that  the  really  im- 
portant meeting  will  be  then — and  to  that  I  will  come. 
My  wife  desires  to  join  in  kindest  remembrances  to  Mrs. 
Copeland  and  yrself. — Always  dear  Copeland,  Sincerely  yrs 

DAVID  GILL. 


Next   to   his   wife   Gill  loved    his   heliometer.      It   is 
somewhat  remarkable  that  Lady  Gill  was  never  jealous 


1887-90]  STELLAR  PARALLAXES  187 

either  of  the  telescope  at  Skene  Terrace,  Aberdeen,  or 
of  the  heliometer  at  Ascension  or  the  Cape.  When  he 
set  up  the  great  heliometer  at  the  Cape  and  remembered 
all  he  had  gone  through  to  perfect  it  and  to  acquire  it, 
and  when  he  first  tried  it  upon  star  measurements  and 
found  it  to  be  "the  most  powerful  and  convenient 
instrument  for  refined  micro  metric  research  in  existence  " 
[History,  etc.,  p.  cxlviii],  he  must  indeed  have  felt  the 
satisfaction  of  a  creator  in  seeing  that  it  was  very  good. 
And  when  on  subsequent  nights  he  spent  a  few  hours 
with  this  second  love,  in  getting  the  data  for  measuring 
star-distances,  he  would  come  into  the  house  shouting 
and  singing;  so  that  his  wife  then  said  he  was  "  daft." 

When  David  comes  in  after  a  night's  work  with  his 
old  heliometer  he  is  just  daft,  laughing  and  joking. — He 
was  the  same  with  the  telescope  in  his  father's  garden 
when  we  were  first  married.  So  it  was  at  Dun  Echt, 
and  exactly  the  same  in  Ascension. — And  so  it  will  be 
as  long  as  his  eye  can  look  through  a  telescope. 

The  heliometer  was  soon  set  up ;  and  work  commenced 
in  the  great  attack  upon  star  distances  with  this  powerful 
instrument. 

Concerning  these  researches  it  is  best  to  quote  from 
Professor  Kapteyn's  obituary  notice  of  Sir  David  in  1914. 

Twenty-two  stars  have  been  measured  for  parallax, 
either  with  the  4-inch  or  the  y-inch  heliometer.  They 
are  the  only  reliable  determinations  of  stellar  parallax 
ever  made  in  the  Southern  Hemisphere.  It  might  al- 
most be  said  that  they  are  the  first  parallaxes,  or  at  least 
the  first  extensive  series  of  parallaxes,  which  command 
the  entire  confidence  of  the  astronomers.  The  gain  in 
probable  error  may  not  be  so  considerable.  The  gain 
in  real  reliability  is  very  great.  In  fact,  in  the  domain  of 
stellar  parallax,  as  indeed  also  in  that  of  the  solar  parallax, 
Gill  has  given  us  back  our  belief  in  probable  errors,  a  belief 
which,  among  astronomers,  had  given  way  to  a  pretty 
general  scepticism. 

Why  this  is  so  is  not  a  matter  of  doubt.     No  one  can 


i88  THE   GREAT  HELIOMETER     [CHAP.  XVI 

study  Gill's  work  without  feeling  that  he  has  to  do  with 
the  born  observer,  the  man  with  the  intuitive  faculty 
of  finding  out  every  possible  source  of  systematic  error 
and  with  the  unerring  judgment  in  devising  means  for 
its  removal ;  the  man  with  the  instinctive  feeling  for  perfect 
symmetry  by  which  all  errors  known  or  unknown  must  be 
eliminated.  As  a  consequence  we  find  Gill  never  satisfied 
with  his  work,  as  long  as  in  any  part  of  it  the  agreement 
of  the  several  results  is  markedly  inferior  to  what  might 
be  expected  from  the  probable  errors.  It  cannot  be 
doubted  that  by  the  example  thus  given  of  a  perfect 
arrangement  of  the  observations  and  their  exhaustive  dis- 
cussion, Gill  has  contributed  to  the  advancement  of 
science  quite  as  much  and  more  than  by  the  results  of 
his  observations  themselves. 

In  the  years  1887-8,  besides  all  the  observations  for 
getting  star  distances,  in  which  he  was  assisted  by  Finlay 
and  the  Dutch  student  De  Sitter,1  there  was  a  stupendous 
amount  of  work  to  be  done  in  preparing  the  way  for 
obtaining  a  new  and  definitive  measure  of  the  sun's  mean 
distance  by  observations  of  the  minor  planets  Iris  in  1888, 
Victoria  and  Sappho  in  1889.  The  problem  of  the  solar 
parallax  had  been  his  first  great  research,  a  matter  of 
great  importance  for  the  lunar  theory,  and  for  fixing  the 
correction  to  star  places  due  to  the  aberration  of  light,  and 
he  never  desisted  from  efforts  to  improve  its  accuracy. 

"Nil  actum  reputans  si  quid  superesset  agendum." 

In  the  first  volume  of  The  Observatory,  in  1877,  Gill 
wrote  what  has  been  generally  admitted  to  be  the  best 
discussion  ever  written  upon  methods  for  determining  the 
solar  parallax.  He  was  now  about  to  apply  the  con- 
clusions therein  proclaimed.  The  arranging  and  planning 
of  the  operations  involved  a  vast  amount  of  preliminary 
work,  calculation  and  correspondence,  to  unite  in  one 
plan  all  who  were  able  to  lend  a  helping  hand. 

It  became  necessary  to  know  very  exactly  the  positions 
of  the  stars  of  comparison.  To  enable  him  to  do  this 

1  Now  Professor  de  Sitter  of  Leyden. 


1887-90]       'VICTORIA'   OBSERVATIONS  189 

in  the  most  complete  manner,  Gill  applied  to  his  "  friends," 
a  term  which  now  included  every  astronomer  in  the 
world;  and  twenty-two  observatories  were  engaged  in 
finding  accurate  positions  of  the  comparison  stars  which 
he  selected.  Another  friend,  Auwers  of  Berlin,  undertook 
the  labour  of  reducing  for  him  all  of  these  observations. 

Now  he  saw  that  a  breakdown,  or  eye-strain,  of  a  single 
observer  would  be  fatal,  and  his  assistant,  Finlay,  had 
other  duties  to  attend  to.  No  one  else  at  the  Cape 
could  use  the  heliometer.  Gill  told  his  trouble  to  the 
one  of  his  many  friends  who  was  most  able  to  help  him. 
For  reply,  Dr.  Auwers,  the  great  Berlin  Astronomer, 
packed  up  his  portmanteau,  gave  up  all  his  own  work 
and  engagements,  and  started  on  a  voyage  to  the  Cape 
to  give  his  personal  services  as  assistant  to  Dr.  Gill  in  his 
dilemma. 

When  Gill  suggested  this  visit  to  Auwers  he  wrote 
thus— 

To  A.  AUWERS. 

One  observer  cannot  possibly  accomplish  all  the  work 
here — and  if  you  neglect  such  a  chance  as  this  I  shall 
think  that  my  good  friend  has  lost  all  his  old  astronomical 
enthusiasm  !  !  !  Come — good  friend — come. 

FROM  A.  AUWERS 

BERLIN,  April  23,  1889. 

MY  DEAR  GILL, — I  am  ready  to  leave  this  April  29  and 
to  sail  from  Southampton  (p.  Spartan]  May  3rd.  So  I 
hope  to  meet  you  May  23  and  to  begin  observing  with 
the  heliometer  the  same  or  next  evening. 

****** 

Always  yours  most  sincerely,  A.  AUWERS. 

The  four  months  spent  by  Dr.  Auwers  at  the  Cape 
gave  unalloyed  happiness  to  guest  and  hosts  alike.  The 
mutual  esteem  of  these  two  indefatigable  workers,  and 
the  interchange  of  astronomical  experiences,  gave  to 


igo  THE  GREAT  HELIOMETER    [CHAP.  XVI 

each  an  intellectual  treat  of  the  highest  kind.  Their  work 
with  the  heliometer  was  entirely  satisfactory.  After 
completing  the  Victoria  observations  the  two  astronomers 
visited,  for  relaxation,  the  beautiful  districts  of  Ceres, 
Wellington  and  Cape  Point ;  and  the  parting  in  September 
was  heartrending. 

FROM  A.  AUWERS 

September  17,  1889. 

MY  DEAREST  GILL, — To-morrow  morning  we  expect  to 
reach  Madeira.  [Here  follows  a  description  of  the  voyage.] 
My  head  becomes  too  giddy  in  the  close  saloon  to  write 
you  more,  and  to  express  to  you  so  as  I  should  like,  how 
happy  and  thankful  I  continue  to  feel,  and  always  shall 
be,  on  behalf  of  all  friendship  and  kindness  bestowed  upon 
me  by  you  and  your  wife  during  these  beautiful  months. 
I  hope  to  hear  from  you  very  soon,  and  hope  to  hear 
only  good  news — that  both  of  you  are  well,  that  the 
triangulation  has  made  satisfactory  progress,  and  that 
Sappho  is  not  too  faint,  and  Mrs.  Gill  not  too  anxious 
about  the  state  of  the  sky,  and  that  you  both  still  miss 
me  a  little,  and  think  of  me  nearly  so  often  and  so  friendly 
as  I  do  of  you.— Yours  most  truly,  A.  AUWERS. 

It  is  only  by  reading  the  Cape  Annals  that  astronomers 
can  learn  what  a  huge  undertaking  was  involved  for 
the  observations  on  these  three  planets,  and  still  more 
for  their  reduction.  It  will  be  noticed  that  everything 
depended  upon  the  exact  position  in  space  of  each  observer 
at  the  time  of  his  observations.  And  his  position  is 
affected  by  (i)  the  rotation  of  the  earth  on  its  axis, 
(2)  its  course  round  the  sun  affected  by  planetary  per- 
turbations, and  (3)  by  the  same  as  affected  by  the  moon's 
attraction.  This  last  depends  upon  the  true  mass  of  the 
moon.  It  is  a  most  striking  commentary  upon  the  pre- 
cision of  these  investigations  that  Gill  was  able  to  detect 
periodical  irregularities  in  his  results  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  accepted  mass  of  the  moon  was  wrong.  It  was  only 
by  choosing  a  new  value  for  the  moon's  mass  that  these 
irregularities  could  be  eliminated.  Thus  by  three  months 


[To  face  page  190. 

THE   HELIOMETER   HOUSE,    WITH   DR.    AUWERS   AND 
DR.    AND    MRS.    GILL. 


1887-90]  HELIOMETER  RESULTS  191 

of  observations  on  Victoria  with  the  extraordinary  exact- 
ness of  his  methods  he  enabled  us  to  measure  the  deflection 
of  the  earth  in  her  orbit  by  the  moon  more  accurately 
than  could  be  done  by  all  the  solar  observations  of  a  century 
collected  by  Le  Verrier  for  use  in  computing  his  Tables. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  this  final  check  upon  the  results 
could  not  be  effected  with  the  planetary  tables  com- 
puted for  the  Nautical  Almanac,  where  7-figure  logarithms 
only  were  used.  So  Dr.  Tietjen  of  the  Berlin  Nautical 
Almanac  Office  undertook  to  recalculate  these  tables  for 
Gill  with  8-figure  logarithms,  taking  note  of  all  planetary 
perturbations. 

This  discovery  of  an  error  in  the  accepted  value  of  the 
moon's  mass,  and  of  its  effect  upon  the  earth's  position, 
is  delightfully  told  in  a  letter  to  Newcomb,  with  whom 
he  discussed  every  step  in  this  great  work. 

To  PROFESSOR  NEWCOMB 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

1892,  December  13. 

MY  DEAR  NEWCOMB, 

****** 

But  now  let  me  go  into  a  matter  that  has  stirred  me 
to  the  depths,  and  which  I  think  will  stir  you  also. 

You  will  remember  that  I  divided  the  Victoria  obsM 
into  15  groups.  .  .  . 

When  the  first  two  or  three  groups  were  solved  I  was 
a  little  melancholy  at  the  way  in  which  the  values  of  the 
resulting  Aa  (or  x's)  came  out — however,  light  very  soon 
came  out  of  the  darkness. 

When  I  proceeded  to  plot  the  Aa's  on  a  piece  of  paper 
I  was  astonished  to  find  that  every  one  dropped  into  a 
regular  curve,  and  as  group  after  group  came  out  every 
value  of  Aa  dropped  within  o"'03  or  o"'04  of  the  same 
curve.  And  not  only  that  but  the  Declinations  have 
a  smaller  curve  of  the  same  period,  and  not  only  that 
but  the  maximum  and  the  minimum  of  both  curves  will 
tell  you  almost  to  a  day  when  the  moon's  longitude  is 
90°  from  that  of  the  planet — and  in  fact  you  have  the 
curve  of  the  lunar  equation  !  ! 


192  THE   GREAT  HELIOMETER    [CHAP,  xvi 

Gill  then  remarked  that  his  Mars  observations  at 
Ascension  in  1877  showed  the  same  periodical  lunar  effect. 
From  this  date  he  neverrbeased  urging  upon  Newcomb 
the  completion  of  his  new  tables  of  Mars,  that  he  might 
then  use  his  1877  observations  at  Ascension  for  improving 
our  knowledge  of  the  moon's  mass. 

The  labour  involved  both  in  the  observations  and  in  the 
reductions,  which  latter  demanded  renewed  efforts  when 
the  extreme  accuracy  of  the  former  became  apparent, 
was  enormous — the  success  complete. 

So  soon  as  the  preliminary  reductions  demonstrated 
the  unprecedented  accuracy  of  these  observations,  Gill 
was  urged  by  astronomers  to  hasten  the  complete 
reduction  of  the  invaluable  results  obtained  by  him. 
Simon  Newcomb  wrote — 

I  thought  that  I  was  making  Astronomical  tables  for 
the  20th  Century,  but  you  have  obtained  results  for  the 
2ist  or  22nd  Century. 

And  Tisserand,  Director  of  the  Paris  Observatory, 
wrote,  "  C'est  une  veritable  triomphe  pour  l'astronomie 
de  precision." 

Unfortunately,  at  this  period  the  Admiralty  refused 
for  a  time  the  necessary  computers,  refused  even  to 
replace  those  incidentally  lost  to  the  observatory.  This 
was  done  on  the  advice  of  the  Astronomer  Royal,  who 
considered  they  ought  not  to  encourage  such  observations 
of  minor  planets  as  were  outside  of  Greenwich  work,  nor 
the  reduction  of  observations  many  of  which  were  of 
foreign  origin. 

To  PROFESSOR  NEWCOMB 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

1891,  January  14. 

MY  DEAR  NEWCOMB, — I  am  in  the  midst  of  a  fight 
with  the  Admiralty  about  a  proper  provision  of  com- 
puters. I  have  already  spent  Pickering's  (Miss  Bruce 's) 
£100  in  advance,  at  least  it  will  be  done  at  the  end  of 


1887-90]  'GO/  AND  HE  'WENT'  193 

another  month,  and  I  am  then  pushing  on  the  Victoria 
and  Sappho  work  at  my  own  cost. 
This  is  of  course  between  ourselves. 


To  PROFESSOR  NEWCOMB 

1891,  August  26. 

MY  DEAR  NEWCOMB,  .  .  . — I  write  to  tell  you — 

ist.  That  yr  kind  letters  re  reduction  of  observations 
of  Victoria  and  Sappho  duly  reached  me — and  were  of 
the  greatest  service. 

The  first  asking  whether  it  was  only  money  I  wanted, 
and  that  you  cd  probably  get  that  for  me,  I  showed  to 
Lord  Herschell  the  Lord  Chancellor  of  the  last  Gov*. 
He  was  very  indignant  about  the  meanness  of  the 
Admiralty  and  spoke  to  Mr.  Goschen  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer.  Goschen  wrote  to  say  that  the  matter  had 
never  gone  to  the  Treasury  .  .  .  and  Goschen  advised 
Ld  Herschell  to  tell  his  friend  to  apply  again  to  the 
Admiralty.  This  I  did — and  yr  semi  official  letter 
coming  in  the  nick  of  time  I  added  it.  Three  weeks 
passed  without  a  sign — and  Ld  Herschell  wrote  to  ask 
me  if  I  had  had  no  answer — I  said  none.  He  wrote, 
"Shall  I  go  for  Ld  George  Hamilton?  "  (First  Lord  of 
the  Admiralty) — I  said  "go,"  and  he  "  went."  Three 
days  after  I  got  the  money. 

I  have  had  several  similar  skirmishes. 

There  is  further  correspondence  on  this  subject  with 
Newcomb  May  30,  1894.  The  results  obtained  from 
the  three  planets  agreed  within  their  probable  error, 
and  confirmed  the  values  yielded  by  Gill's  preliminary 
attempts  in  his  Juno  and  Mars  expeditions  in  1874-5 
and  1877-8;  and  are  universally  accepted  as  correct 
within  less  than  a  thousandth  part  of  the  amount.  His 
definitive  value  for  the  sun's  mean  distance  is  92,876,000 
miles.1 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  cursory  narrative  how  cordially 
the  whole  world  of  astronomers  were  always  ready  to 
assist  David  Gill  in  his  great  undertakings,  confident  that 

1  Corresponding  to  a  horizontal  equatorial  parallax  of  8"*8o2. 
O 


194  THE  GREAT  HELIOMETER    [CHAP.  XVI 

his  careful  preparation  and  "  dogged  persistence  "  would 
carry  the  most  laborious  ^endeavours  to  a  successful 
issue.  They  felt  themselves  amply  rewarded  by  being 
enabled  to  participate  in  the  enterprise,  especially  when 
dealing  with  the  planet  Victoria,  which  rpay  be  described 
as  one  of  the  grandest  astronomical  researches  ever  carried 
out  through  the  energy  of  a  single  dominant  personality. 
It  was  Gill's  personality  that  led  Elkin  first  to  visit 
the  Cape  to  use  the  helio meter,  to  obtain  one  at  Yale, 
and  to  share  in  Gill's  labour — that  led  Schur  and  Peters 
and  Hartwig  to  add  their  quota  of  heliometer  observations 
— that  led  Auwrers  to  reduce  for  his  use  the  great  mass 
of  observations  of  comparison  stars — that  led  the  directors 
of  twenty-two  observatories  to  observe  all  the  comparison 
stars — that  led  Dr.  Tietjen  to  compute  for  him  the 
planetary  perturbations.  Lastly,  it  was  affectionate 
esteem  that  led  Auwers  to  sacrifice  everything  to  lend 
his  personal  help.  This  was  the  man  who,  on  Gill's 
death,  wrote — 

I  have  lost  a  really  true  and  dear  friend  after  40  years 
of  common  work  in  which  we  always  were  pleased  to  join, 
fully  sure  that  the  one  could  rely  upon  the  other. 

We  may  search  the  memoirs  and  biographies  of  the 
most  esteemed  and  the  best  loved  astronomers  of  all 
times,  from  Tycho  Brahe,  Kepler  and  Newton,  to  the 
great  da}^s  of  the  Herschels  and  Struves,  of  Bradley, 
Argelander,  Adams  and  Airy,  without  finding  any 
parallel  to  this  intense  confidence,  devotion  and  affection, 
universally  inspired  and  held,  by  the  simple,  unselfish 
and  essentially  human  character  of  this  great,  big-hearted 
astronomer. 


CHAPTER    XVII 

A  VISIT  FROM  MISS  AGNES  CLERKE    (1887-8) 

THE  last  chapter  dealt  with  star  photography  and  the 
use  of  the  new  heliometer  for  finding  the  distances  of  the 
sun  and  stars.  In  these  observations  Gill  attained  to 
the  very  zenith  of  his  observing  powers.  Many  years 
passed  before  his  photographic  Durchmusterung  and  his 
solar  parallax  work  were  fully  reduced  and  published. 
These  two  publications  alone  would  have  laid  astronomers 
under  a  permanent  debt  to  him.  Fortunately,  they  are 
only  two,  out  of  many,  of  Gill's  contributions  to  exact 
science  while  at  the  Cape. 

It  is  a  pleasure  now  to  be  able  to  give  some  letters 
showing  another  side  of  the  man.  They  illustrate 
Gill's  keen  desire  to  help  any  one  who  sought  his  advice 
and  introduce  us  to  one  of  his  most  esteemed  friends, 
a  charming  personality,  Miss  Agnes  Clerke,  the  great 
historian  of  nineteenth-century  astronomy. 

Mrs.  Gill  had  made  her  acquaintance,  and  was  charmed 
with  her  artistic  temperament.  During  their  visit  to 
England  in  1887  she  begged  her  husband  to  read  Miss 
Clerke 's  History  of  Astronomy  during  the  Nineteenth 
Century,  in  spite  of  his  belief  that  no  woman  could  do 
justice  to  his  noble  science.  Reluctantly  he  took  up 
the  book.  As  he  read  page  after  page  his  interest  and 
astonishment  grew.  After  he  had  read  it  through  he 
was  convinced  of  the  intellectual  power  and  originality 
of  the  authoress. 

195 


196  VISIT  FROM  MISS  CLERKE    [CHAP.  XVII 

To. Miss  AG^ES  CLERKE 

,/•* 

CAPE  OF -GOOD  HOPE,  December  6,  1887. 

MY  DEAR  Miss  CLERKE, — It  was  real  good  of  you  to 
write  me  ;  I  cannot  tell  you  how  welcome  was  your  letter 
of ,  October  10,  and  how  still  more  welcome  is  the 
prospect  of  hearing  from  you  as  you  can  find  time.  Six 
thousand  miles  away  from  the  centres  of  intellectual  life 
give  a  value  to  such  letters  as  yours  which  you  can 
hardly  understand.  In  fact,  it  is  one  of  those  experiences 
which  it  would  be  worth  your  while  to  learn  something 
of.  You  who  write  so  much  to  interest  astronomers 
would  be  able  better  to  understand  what  they  want  to 
hear  if,  knowing  what  you  do,  you  were  to  remove 
yself  from  the  centre  of  information  for  a  while  and 
come  out  here,  and  feel  a  little  of  the  thirst  to  know 
what  is  going  on. 

Now  you  do  not  say  anything  about  the  matter  of  yr 
coming  out  to  see  us,  which  you  really  seriously  enter- 
tained, and  which  my  wife  and  I  hope  one  day  ere  long 
to  see  realized.  It  would  do  you  a  world  of  good,  and 
me  a  world  of  good  also,  just  to  have  real  good  talks 
about  all  the  things  you  are  in  the  midst  of. 

This  book  of  yours  would,  I  am  sure,  have  a  far  higher 
value  if  you  realty  practically  knew  something  of  prac- 
tical astronomy,  and  you  should  observe  a  little  bit  just 
to  be  able  to  write  better  about  things  practical.  There- 
fore I  beg  you  very  seriously  to  consider  the  matter,  and 
try  so  to  arrange  your  plans  and  engagements  as  to  allow 
you  to  leave  London  about  the  first  or  second  week  of 
August  next  and  come  out  for  a  month  or  two  to  see  us. 
September  is  the  most  delightful  month  of  the  year,  the 
observatory  hill  is  a  carpet  of  wild  flowers,  and  the 
weather  is  simply  perfect. 

Now  for  your  letter. 

The  photographic  matter  on  the  lines  of  the  Congress 
stands  thus.  [Here  follow  several  pages  detailing  the 
progress,  and  want  of  progress,  of  the  Astrographic  chart 
and  catalogue.] 

Meanwhile  the  little  Durchmusterung  is  going  on 
apace.  Woods  is  working  every  night  till  midnight,  and 
then  one  of  the  computers  takes  up  the  work  of  exposing 
at  midnight  and  goes  on  till  dawn. 

The  new  plates  give  me  the  same  result  in  half  an 


1887-8]          HELPING  AN  AUTHORESS  197 

hour  that  the  old  plates  gave  in  an  hour.  Kapteyn  is 
getting  on  with  the  reductions,  but  he  has  5  or  6  years' 
work  before  him.  Still,  the  work  will  be  out  before  the 
other  has  well  begun. 

I  am  very  sorry  to  have  missed  Young — he  is  a  man  I 
have  long  wished  to  know. 

Every  word  about  yr  book  interests  me  greatly.  Yes, 
go  on  to  the  end  before  you  turn  back — that  is  best — and 
then  rewrite  or  recast  it  as  necessary.  But  I  think  you 
will  find  that  after  you  have  driven  what  you  have 
written  upon  a  special  subject  out  of  yr  head,  and  then 
after  a  lapse  of  time  turn  back,  you  will  be  more  pleased 
with  what  you  have  written  than  you  were  before,  and 
that  only  where  fresh  thought  or  study  have  put  matters 
in  a  new  light  or  brought  out  something  you  did  not 
know  before,  then  only  will  you  require  to  alter  what 
was  written. 

I  fear  that  my  mills  grind  very  slowly — and  that  I 
shall  have  very  few  facts  for  you — unless  you  can  wait 
4  or  5  years,  when  I  hope  to  have  quite  a  batch.  The 
Heliometer  is  erected  and  the  trying  work  of  determining 
its  constants,  such  as  screw  errors,  etc.,  is  going  on.  I 
have  been  much  worried  by  batteries  for  the  illumina- 
tion, but  have  at  last  got  Treasury  sanction  for  funds  to 
provide  a  Dynamo,  etc.  We  have  a  steam  engine.  The 
instrument  is  simply  exquisite,  and  I  expect  very  refined 
results.  [Then  follow  details  of  working  programme, 
stellar  parallaxes,  etc.] 

I  have  lots  more  to  say,  but  I  have  already  got  to  a 
disgraceful  length.  My  wife  sends  a  few  lines,  and  we 
both  send  all  kind  wishes  to  you  and  yours. — Yr  sincere 
friend,  DAVID  GILL. 

P.S. — I  am  going  to  keep  your  letters.  Yr  letters  will 
be  filed  Q3,1  the  subdivision  of  my  astronomical  corre- 
spondence formerly  occupied  by  poor  Profr.  Winnecke. 

To  Miss  AGNES  CLERKE 

CERES,  CAPE  COLONY,  April  15,  1888. 

MY  DEAR  Miss  CLERKE, — I  am  quite  ashamed  when  I 
look  at  the  date  of  your  delightful  letter  of  Jan*  9.  It  is 

1  Airy's  system  of  keeping  correspondence. 


198  VISIT  FROM  MISS  CLERKE     [CHAP.  XVII 

not  very  easy  to  find  an  excuse,  so  I  shall  plead  none,  but 
go  on  with  my  story. 

First  of  all  let  me' thank fyou  for  your  important  and 
excellent  article  in  the  Quarterly,  and  for  yr  rather  too 
kindly  mention  of  my  share  in 'the  matter  of  the  Paris 
conference.  It  is  rather  a  friend's  account  of  a  friend's 
work  than  the  magisterial  we's  of  a  reviewer.  M}^  photo- 
graphic friend's  name  is  Allis,  not  Aldis.  The  article  as 
a  whole  is  a  most  admirable  one. 

But  now  to  explain  our  whereabouts.  Here  we  are 
and  have  been  for  the  past  9  days  in  one  of  the  prettiest 
villages  in  South  Africa,  situated  in  a  basin  amongst  the 
mountains  about  80  miles  from  Cape  Town,  and  a  little 
over  1500  feet  above  sea  level.  In  winter  the  surrounding 
mountain  tops  are  covered  with  snow. 

The  summer  has  been  an  exceptionally  hot  and  trying 
one,  and  in  fact  I  felt  the  need  of  a  rest — for  my  last  trip 
home  was  so  far  the  reverse  of  a  rest  that  I  was  most 
thankful  to  get  on  board  ship,  where  no  letters  or  proof 
sheets  could  reach  me,  and  I  might  lapse  into  the  life  of 
a  cabbage  for  three  weeks. 

Then  I  had  hard  work  on  arrival  and  countless  things 
to  do,  and  I  had  no  time  to  get  over  a  rather  sharp  nerve 
tension,  the  result  of  overworry  from  many  causes,  some 
of  which  you  know,  and  which  continued  after  my  arrival 
at  the  Cape.  The  settlement  of  these  was  followed  by 
our  hot  weather  and  a  bilious  attack — a  deferred  result 
of  too  many  Paris,  London  and  other  dinners — and  so 
some  change  and  rest  were  desirable. 

So  with  our  Admiral  (Sir  W.  Hunt  Grubbe),  Major 
Morris,  R.E.  (in  charge  of  field  work  of  the  Survey  and 
our  guest  at  the  Observatory),  Dr.  Curtis  (Surgeon  of  the 
Naval  Hospital  at  Simons  Bay),  and  Mrs.  Currey  (a 
friend  of  my  wife's),  we  came  up  here  for  rest  and  change. 

I  will  get  you  some  photographs  of  the  place  on  our 
return  to  Cape  Town  and  send  them  for  yr  South  African 
album — these  will  convey  to  you  some  idea  of  our  sur- 
roundings, and  when  I  add  a  perfectly  blue  sky,  genial, 
bracing  air,  and  a  comfortable  hostelrie,  you  will  under- 
stand how  suitable  is  the  place  for  our  purpose. 

The  mornings  we  spent  lazily,  wandering  about  pick- 
ing up  Tadpoles  and  sundries  for  Morris'  microscope, 
eating  grapes,  gathering  figs  and  mushrooms,  etc.,  etc. 
Then  lunch  at  one  o'clock,  and  off  for  an  hour  or  two's 


i887-8]  RESTING   AT  CERES  199 

drive  to  some  farm,  where  partridges  or  snipe  might  be 
found — shot  till  sunset  and  returned  to  dinner.  After 
dinner  a  game  at  whist  and  pipes  and  then  to  bed. 

Thus  I  became  so  idle  that  I  did  nothing  except  to  get 
perfectly  well — and  I  am  happy  to  say  my  wife  did  the 
same.  Now  I  feel  that  I  must  begin  to  do  something, 
and  that  first  something  is  a  letter  to  you.  Then  I  pro- 
pose to  write  a  business  letter  or  two,  and  then  to  have 
4  or  5  days'  regular  shooting — early  and  late — and  then 
back  to  the  dear  old  Observatory  again. 

Now  for  matters  astronomical.  Of  course  I  have  no 
results  to  communicate — and  only  that  all  goes  well,  and 
that  I  am  working  first  at  the  parallax  of  the  brightest 
stars.  For  less  bright  stars  I  am  not  sure  but  that 
photography  may  be  found  the  easiest  plan  for  the  work — 
at  least  for  wholesale  work.  But  it  must  be  gone  about 
differently  from  Pritchard's  methods.  A  reseau  must  be 
employed  to  detect  the  distortion  of  the  film  in  develop- 
ment. Prit chard  has  conclusively  shown  that  such  dis- 
tortion takes  place,  but  he  is  not  taking  what  are  now 
well-known  methods  to  counteract  it. 

[Here  follow  details  about  progress  with  the  astro- 
graphic  chart  and  catalogue  which,  among  other  matters, 
are  too  extensive  to  be  adequately  discussed  in  this 
book.] 

Our  electric  lighting  was  completed  in  February,  and 
is  a  complete  success.  It  works  without  a  hitch,  and  is 
a  delight  and  comfort  unspeakable.  All  the  instruments 
are  now  so  illuminated,  and  we  are  already  wondering 
how  it  was  possible  to  observe  without  it.  My  office  and 
the  Library  are  also  illuminated  with  electric  light — but 
you  must  come  and  see.  Really  a  voyage  is  an  excellent 
time  in  which  to  ruminate — and  you  shall  have  a  nice 
quiet  room  all  to  yourself  to  write  in — so  that  your 
literary  work  need  not  suffer.  Besides,  the  brain  must 
rest  some  times,  and  August  is  the  time  when  in  any  case 
you  would  be  taking  yr  holiday.  So  come  you  must,  and 
right  happy  and  welcome  shall  we  make  you. 

Besides,  I  don't  see  why  you  should  remain  what  the 
Australians  call  a  one-horse  woman  (no,  they  say  a  one- 
horse  man — I  never  heard  them  say  woman ;  it  is  left  to 
my  ungallant  pen  to  say  that) — but  you  are  not  com- 
plete till  you  have  seen  and  done  a  little  practical  astro- 
nomy. Your  work  would  take  a  new  and  higher  character 


200  VISIT  FROM  MISS  CLERKE     [CHAP.  XVII 

after  a  little  practical  knowledge.  I  am  no  flatterer, 
and  I  tell  yon  plainly  and  truly  that  the  only  short- 
comings in  yr  book  are  due  to  the  want  of  practical 
knowledge  of  practical  work — and  that  yr  mistakes  on 
this  point  would  be  cured  by  a  month's  seeing  and  doing 
of  practical  work. 

For  our  sakes,  for  yr  own,  for  yr  future  work  and  for 
the  cause  of  astronomy  I  beg  you  to  come.  I  am  glad 
yr  book  is  to  be  translated  into  German,  but  sorry  that 
you  are  so  dissatisfied  with  the  man  who  is  doing  it. 
You  should  read  the  proofs — so  long  as  yr  meaning  is 
understood,  a  little  cloudiness  will  lend  an  additional 
charm  to  the  German  mind. 

I  wish  I  were  on  the  Council  of  the  R.A.S.  You 
should  be  an  honorary  member  of  that  Society  also. 
You  deserve  it  as  well  as  Miss  Caroline  Herschel.  The 
Liverpool  Society  has  shown  a  good  example.  Mean- 
while, can  I  help  you  about  anything?  If  there  is  any 
point  about  which  you  want  my  opinion,  or  any  observa- 
tion you  wish  made  for  your  purposes,  please  let  me 
know. 

I  am  glad  you  like  the  photographs  I  sent  you — and  as 
you  have  a  Cape  Album  I  will  send  you  others  from  time 
to  time — anything  that  I  think  will  tempt  you  to  come. 
Besides,  what  a  chance  for  a  good  paper  about  a  visit  to 
a  Southern  Observatory.  Yr  impressions  would  be  so 
fresh,  yr  mind  so  ready  for  all,  that  I  think  the  result 
would  be  quite  unique. 

My  wife  is  to  write  with  this — I  have  said  my  say — I 
wd  I  could  put  the  matter  before  you  in  sufficiently 
tempting  terms  to  compel  you  to  decide  to  come.  Re- 
member me  to  yr  family  circle  and  to  our  mutual  friends, 
and  believe  me,  always  yr  sincere  friend,  DAVID  GILL. 

P.S. — I  omitted  to  tell  you  about  our  comet.  It  was 
discovered  by  Mr.  Sawerthal,  my  secretary,  whom  I 
employ  also  as  aide-photographer  or  rather  exposer.  He 
works  from  midnight  to  dawn.  He  watched  the  comet 
for  a  long  time  (during  the  exposure  of  a  plate)  with  the 
naked  eye,  then  ran  for  an  opera  glass,  was  sure  it  was  a 
comet,  and  roused  up  Finlay,  who  observed  it.  Finlay 
had  been  comet-hunting  in  the  mornings  for  the  previous 
fortnight,  and  it  was  rather  hard  on  him.  However,  the 
discovery  has  done  Sawerthal  a  great  deal  of  good — 
doubling  his  enthusiasm. 


i887-8]  A  HAPPY  PROSPECT  201 

To  Miss  AGNES  CLERKE 

CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE,  June  16,  1888. 

MY  DEAR  Miss  CLERKE, — This  is  indeed  glorious  news 
that  the  mail,  just  arrived,  brings  us.  How  splendid  is 
this  resolution  of  yours,  how  kind  of  you  to  come,  and, 
tho'  I  say  it  who  shouldn't,  what  a  grand  thing  for  you 
and  yr  future  work  !  !  Yes,  in  y*  reasons  for  coming  you 
quote  precisely  what  I  felt  most  strongly  when  I  wrote  to 
you,  that  it  is  an  astronomical  necessity.  In  yr  History 
of  Astronomy  the  one  weak  point  was  your  want  of 
critical  knowledge  of  practical  work,  and  that  can  only 
be  gained  by  some  experience  of  such  work.  I  shall 
prepare  a  little  practical  course  for  you,  having  regard  to 
yr  limited  time,  and  your  special  purposes,  and  to  give 
the  thing  zest  will  endeavour  to  give  you  opportunity  for 
finding  out  a  few  new  things  which  are  all  ready  to  be 
found  out,  tho'  I  have  never  had  time  to  seek  them. 
The  spectroscopy  of  the  Southern  Heavens  is  absolutely 
virgin  soil.  A  telescope  with  a  direct  vision  prism  on  it 
and  a  selected  list  of  objects,  and  time  to  examine  and 
note  the  spectra  of  red  and  variable  stars,  should  alone 
produce  a  crop  of  results,  and  then  I  daresay  a  very  little 
sweeping  would  yield  a  small  crop  of  planetary  nebulae; 
all  this,  with  yr  knowledge  of  typical  spectra,  wd  be  very 
easy  for  you.  But  besides  this  you  must  see  something 
of  the  old  astronomy — and  of  the  pitfalls  and  sources  of 
systematic  error  in  delicate  measures  such  as  parallax 
work.  You  will  see  the  final  bringing  together  of  the 
Cape  Catalogue  for  1885  and  the  discussion  of  its  errors, 
comparison  with  other  catalogues,  deductions  of  proper 
motion,  discussion  of  refraction,  etc.,  etc.,  besides  some 
curious  geodetic  and  other  matters. 

And  you  will  arrive  just  in  our  best  season,  when  our 
observatory  hill  is  carpeted  with  wild  flowers,  when 
between  the  cloudy  days  the  sky  is  a  blacker  blue  than 
you  ever  see  in  England,  when  the  oaks  are  putting  on 
their  brightest  green,  and  when  it  is  a  very  joy  to  breathe 
the  sunny,  fragrant  air. 

Ugh — we  have  had  such  a  winter.  Eight  inches  of 
rain  here  in  May,  and  on  the  mountain  side  27  inches 
within  three  miles  of  us.  June  has  been  the  same  till 
to-day — rain  every  day — only  8  sets  of  Heliometer 


202  VISIT  FROM  MISS   CLERKE     [CHAP.  XVII 

observations  in  May  and  4  in  June,  and  only  two  nights 
on  which  star  .photographs  could  be  taken.  Last  year 
we  had  20  nights  observing  in  May.  The  contrast  is 
terrible. 

A  couple  of  days  ago  the  banks  of  the  Liesbeck  River 
(artificial)  broke  down  about  half  a, mile  from  the  ob- 
servatory, and  as  I  write  the  river  has  formed  a  new 
course  for  itself  across  my  avenue,  bursting  up  my 
culverts  and  sweeping  a  huge  breach  through  the  Lovers' 
walk. 

June  1 8.  Two  fine  sets  of  Heliometer  observations 
last  night  with  a  lovely  day  make  matters  brighter.  I 
shall  say  no  more  about  melancholy  meteorology. 

I  am  greatly  interested  to  hear  about  Holden  Winlock 
and  Hagen's  proposed,  or  so  far  carried  out,  work — and 
it  will  be  a  very  good  and  useful  work  when  we  get  it. 
But  now  that  the  Lick  Observatory  is  fairly  under  weigh, 
I  do  hope  that  Holden  will  devote  himself  entirely  to 
original  research,  and  to  the  work  proper  to  that  fine 
institution.  Of  course  if  the  work  was  done,  or  Holden 's 
part  of  it,  when  he  had  no  special  observing  to  do,  well 
and  good,  but  a  man  with  a  36-inch  telescope,  5000  or 
6000  feet  above  sea  level,  should  leave  compilation  to  be 
done  by  men  who  have  no  such  opportunity  and  dwell  in 
more  commonplace  abodes.  I  shall  say  nothing  about 
the  matter,  as  Holden  does  not  wish  it  mentioned,  but  I 
am  much  obliged  to  you  for  telling  me.  I  have  a  great 
desire  to  see  the  Lick  Observatory — and  my  friend 
Holden  also.  He  is  a  most  charming  as  well  as  a  most 
able  man,  and  I  hope  he  will  stick  to  the  great  work 
where  he  has  so  splendid  an  opportunity. 

****** 

Let  Halley  wait.  I  found  the  remains  of  the  founda- 
tions of  his  observatory  on  "  Halley's  Mount  "  at  St. 
Helena,  and  if  you  come  here  via  St.  Helena  or  return 
that  way  you  might  make  a  pilgrimage  to  the  spot. 

[Here  follow  several  pages  about  the  controversies 
concerning  the  astro  graphic  chart  and  catalogue.] 

I  have  been  dipping  into  Lockyer's  papers  in  Nature, 
but  in  honest  truth  I  have  had  no  time  to  read,  mark, 


i887-8]  MISS  CLERKE'S  ARRIVAL  203 

learn  and  inwardly  digest  them — but  so  far  as  I  have 
gone  I  think  he  has  hit  on  some  very  ingenious  ideas  and 
explanations — but  that  the  secrets  of  the  universe  are 
yet  fully  unfolded  and  explained  I  agree  with  you  in 
thinking  hardly  to  be  the  case. 

Now  to  come  to  other  matters. 

[Here  follow  instructions  about  choice  of  a  cabin.] 

Perhaps  if  anything  turns  up  I  shall  write  you  next 
mail — if  not,  we  shall  simply  expect  you  and  wait  to 
hear  by  what  steamer  you  resolve  to  sail.  Steamers 
often  arrive  at  night;  in  that  case  simply  remain  on 
board  till  I  come  for  you — if  you  come  during  the  day 
you  will  probably  find  me  at  the  quay  before  your  ship 
is  alongside. 

Miss  Clerke  is  coming.     Gaudeamus  igitur  I ! 

Always  sincerely  yrs,  DAVID  GILL. 

To  Miss  E.  M.  CLERKE 
(Sister  of  Miss  A.  M.  Clerke) 

CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE,  September  18,  1888. 

MY  DEAR  Miss  CLERKE, — Coming  events  cast  their 
shadows  before.  The  peacock  who  had  lived  in  retire- 
ment for  some  time  came  forth  resplendent  in  a  new  tail — 
the  tortoise  that  had  come  from  Madagascar  with  Father 
Perry's  Transit  of  Venus  expedition  laid  a  nest  of  eggs — 
the  hillside  became  a  richer  carpet  of  flowers  than  ever 
we  had  seen  before — and  then  we  knew  that  Miss  Agnes 
Clerke  must  be  coming.  And  come  she  has,  safe  and 
well.  She  proved  herself  a  good  sailor,  made  herself 
most  delightful  and  popular  on  board,  and  is  now  delight- 
ing everybody  at  the  observatory.  We  have  rather 
burst  into  festivity  too — we  are  actually  going  out  three 
times  within  a  week — a  thing  I  have  not  done  for  years — 
but  my  observations  come  on  in  the  early  morning  just 
now,  so  that  no  loss  of  work  results. 

Your  sister  sits  opposite  me  in  my  study  with  a  pile 
of  books  on  either  hand,  which  is  gradually  growing  till 
she  seems  to  be  coming  through  a  gate  with  rather  badly 
built  pillars  on  either  side. 

At  night  she  is  to  be  found  in  the  equatoreal — weather 


204  VISIT  FROM   MISS   CLERKE     [CHAP.  XVII 

permitting,  engaged  in  flirting  with  the  spectra  of  variable 
stars.  But,  alas,  the  weather  has  not  been  very  favour- 
able for  their  proceedings — and  Mr.  Sawerthal  and  she 
play  duets  in  the  evening,  or  my  wife  reads  aloud — 
whilst  Major  Morris  and  I  smoke  and  yr  sister  occasion- 
ally loses  herself  in  the  milky  way,  or^  rather  in  specula- 
tion there  anent.  I  am  afraid  you  will  find  her  a 
complete  Bohemian  when  she  returns  to  London.  She 
was  awfully  indignant  at  first  at  the  bare  idea  of  ever  be- 
coming Bohemian — but  alas,  observatory  air  and  influences 
are  too  much  for  her.  You  will  find  her  quite  Bohemian, 
if  not  "  a  fair  Barbarian  "  when  she  comes  back  !  ! — 
Forgive  my  nonsense,  and  believe  me  always  sincerely 
yrs,  DAVID  GILL. 

To  E.  B.  KNOBEL,  London 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

October  30,  1888. 

MY  DEAR  KNOBEL, — I  send  you  by  Miss  Clerke,  who 
sails  from  the  Cape  to-morrow,  a  paper  which,  I  think, 
you  will  care  to  have  for  the  Monthly  Notices.  ...  I 
cannot  tell  you  how  much  we  have  enjoyed  our  visit 
from  Miss  Clerke,  and  we  are  very  sorry  she  is  unable  to 
prolong  it.  She  has  acquired  a  great  deal  of  practical 
knowledge  which  will  tell  effectively  in  her  next  book, 
and  not  only  this,  but  she  has  done  a  good  deal  of  original 
work  on  the  spectra  of  the  Southern  Stars.  Her  first 
results  will  appear  in  the  next  number  of  the  Observatory. 
I  have  often  thought  that  such  a  work  as  her  History 
of  Astronomy  during  the  Nineteenth  Century  deserves  some 
recognition  from  the  Society.  It  is  not  perhaps  of  the 
character  to  entitle  her  to  the  medal — but  even  that  is  a 
question  about  which  a  good  deal  could  be  said  in  favour 
of  her  claims.  In  any  case  I  think  Miss  Clerke  may  be 
fairly  entitled  to  the  honour  bestowed  upon  Miss  Caroline 
Herschel — that  of  honorary  membership  of  the  Society. 
There  are  very  few  persons  upon  whom  this  honour  might 
be  conferred  to  whom  it  would  be  of  higher  practical 
value,  as  it  would  give  her  access  of  right  to  the  use  of 
the  library,  which  she  can  only  consult  at  present  as  a 
matter  of  favour.  Miss  Clerke  is  engaged  just  now  on 
another  important  and  more  original  work,  and  I  feel 
sure  that  such  recognition  of  her  efforts  would  cheer  her 


1887-8]  A  HAPPY  VISIT  205 

in  her  work,  which  is  certainly  of  a  character  which  the 
Society  must  desire  to  encourage. 

The  subject  is  hardly  ripe  for  a  formal  motion  in  Council, 
and  certainly  should  not  be  brought  forward  unless  it  is 
sure  to  be  nearly  unanimously  accepted.  But  if  you 
think  well  of  the  idea  I  should  be  glad  if  you  would 
ascertain  the  feeling  of  other  members  of  the  Council  on 
the  matter. — With  kind  regards,  I  am,  dear  Knobel, 
always  sincerely  yours,  DAVID  GILL. 

In  the  middle  of  a  technical  letter  to  Elkin  we  read — 

6  Now  1888. — Miss  Clerke  sailed  for  England  last 
week.  Her  visit  was  a  great  pleasure  to  both  of  us. 
She  plays  the  piano  most  exquisitely,  as  well  as  being 
one  of  the  ablest  women  and  most  original  of  thinkers 
that  I  ever  met.  She  was  also  a  great  social  success  at 
the  Cape.  She  was  quite  at  home  with  an  Equatoreal 
before  she  left,  and  did  a  lot  of  flirtation  with  star 
spectra. 

The  reader  is  strongly  recommended  to  read  the  con- 
tinuation of  letters  to  Miss  Agnes  Clerke  at  p.  363. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

DAYS  OF  SORROW    (1890-6) 

Letters  to  E.  B.  Knobel — Three  orphan  nephews  adopted — 
Successful  results  of  computing — Sir  Robert  Ball — Offer 
of  Cambridge  professorship  to  Gill  —  Mrs.  Gill's  serious 
illness — Elkin's  engagement. 

Happy  is  the  man  who  can  say  with  simplicity,  "  Thy  will  be 
done  !  " — CHARLES  WAGNER  of  Paris. 

THE  visit  of  the  Gills  to  England  in  1891  had  no  very 
great  astronomical  importance ;  but  it  was  the  last  time 
that  they  were  to  see  Mrs.  Black,  the  mother  of  Mrs.  Gill. 
She  died  on  February  9,  1892,  aged  eighty. 

Both  before  and  shortly  after  this  visit  to  England 
in  1891,  much  sorrow  fell  to  their  lot.  Gill  was  in  the 
habit  of  writing  very  intimately  about  private  affairs  to 
Mr.  E.  B.  Knobel. 

To  E.  B.  KNOBEL 

CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE,  1890,  July  16. 

By  this  mail  I  am  addressing  a  paper  by  Mr.  H.  Jacoby  x 
...  to  Mr.  Wesley  [Asst.  Sec.  R.A.S.]. 

Jacoby  has  been  working  here  at  the  Heliometer,  and 
has  made  these  Tables  as  well  as  done  observing  and 
some  other  computing. 

You  will,  I  think,  be  pleased  to  hear  that  I  have  been 
elected  a  Corresp*  Member  of  the  Berlin  Academy.  I 
owe  this  very  great  honour,  of  course,  to  Auwers,  but  in 

1  The  American  astronomer  who  visited  the  Cape  for  the 
eclipse  of  1890,  stayed  on  for  practical  work  at  the  Observatory, 
and  married  Miss  Maclear,  daughter  of  the  Cape  Astronomer, 
Sir  Thomas  Maclear. 

206 


i89o-6]  CHIEF  ASSISTANT'S  LOSS  207 

a  very  kind  letter  which  he  sent  me  he  tells  me  that  the 
election  was  unanimous  in  all  its  four  stages. 

To  E.  B.  KNOBEL 

1890,  September  8. 

My  wife's  mother  is  old  and  was  rather  dangerously  ill, 
and  we  intended  to  hurry  home  as  soon  as  we  could.  .  .  . 
But  we  have  had  so  much  better  news  that,  in  accord- 
ance with  her  wish,  we  are  proposing  to  change  our  plan 
so  as  not  to  have  our  holiday  entirely  in  the  winter, 
which  for  my  wife's  sake  I  should  like  to  avoid ;  and  we 
should  sail  from  the  Cape  about  the  middle  of  January. 

To  E.  B.  KNOBEL 

CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE,  1892,  January  3. 
****** 

What  a  year  of  sadness  the  past  one  has  been  !  and 
the  new  year  has  commenced  very  sadly  here  also.  Six 
months  ago  or  less  Finlay  lost  his  eldest  boy.  He  died 
of  consumption  at  Bloemfontein — and  Finlay  and  his 
wife  arrived  just  in  time  to  be  too  late  for  the  end.  Rad, 
their  next  boy,  who  was  the  baby  when  we  came,  died 
within  the  past  six  hours.  He  has  been  in  bed  for  over 
three  months — originally  from  typhoid  fever — incurred 
by  drinking  water  from  a  tank  over  which  some  weaver 
birds  had  built  nests,  as  I  think  I  told  you.  Tubercular 
disease  of  the  hip  joint  supervened,  followed  by  a  bilious 
attack  and  12  hours'  vomiting.  This  ruptured  a  blood 
vessel,  and  he  died  suddenly  this  afternoon  from  cessation 
of  the  heart's  action.  Poor  Finlay  is  in  terrible  despair. 

Our  own  anxieties  about  my  wife's  dear  sister  Bessie  I 
think  you  know,  and  they  are  still  a  serious  load  to  bear. 

God  grant  that  the  silver  lining  of  the  cloud  may  soon 
show  itself. 

In  this  year,  1892,  Mr.  Knobel  visited  the  Cape  for 
his  health. 

To  E.  B.  KNOBEL 
CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE,  1892,  January  22. 
****** 

I  send  this  to  the  Union  S.S.  Office  in  Cape  Town, 
directing  them  to  forward  it  to  you. 


208  DAYS  OF  SORROW         [CHAP.  XVIII 

Thrice  welcome,  my  dear  friend,  to  South  Africa.  I 
would  that  bad-  health  had  not  been  the  cause  of  this 
visit — which  otherwise  would  be  one  of  unalloyed  pleasure 
to  us. 

Mr.  Knobel  stayed  with  the  Gills  some  months,  much 
to  their  delight,  and  to  the  benefit  of  his  health. 

To  E.  B.  KNOBEL 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

1892,  May  31. 

MY  DEAR  KNOBEL, — We  have  had  sad  and  sorrowful 
times  since  you  left. 

Just  three  weeks  ago  I  had  walked  from  Rondebosch 
after  a  game  of  golf,  and  met  the  boy  coming  from  the 
station  with  a  telegram.  I  opened  it  and  read,  "  Maggie 
died  pneumonia  send  instructions/' 

My  poor  sister — she  had  followed  her  husband  very 
soon.1  I  got  home  before  I  realized  the  news  and  quite 
broke  down.  My  wife  first  did  me  good,  by  rousing  me 
to  duty — pointing  out  that  I  was  now  the  guardian  of 
Maggie's  boys  (5,  7  and  9  years  old),2  and  that  we  ought 
to  send  for  them  :  so  as  to  bring  them  up  by  love  and  not 
by  mere  authority — and  that  they  should  come  to  us  as 
directly  as  possible  from  their  mother's  care.  I  felt  this 
was  right  and  set  about  making  all  necessary  arrange- 
ments— we  hope  they  will  sail  on  July  23. 

This  and  many  other  matters  have  entirely  engrossed 
my  time — so  that  I  could  not  write  to  you — or  rather 
was  not  in  the  spirits  to  do  so. 

I  am  only  writing  now  by  way  of  explanation  of  my 
silence — and  to  tell  you  of  the  delight  that  yr  wife's  and 
yr  letters  have  given  us.  Mad  about  golf — well,  that 
will  do  you  no  end  of  good. 

Ever,  dear  Knobel,  yr  loving  friend,     DAVID  GILL. 

From  this  date  onwards  the  care  of  these  nephews  whom 
they  adopted  was  the  greatest  happiness  to  the  Gills. 

When  the  little  Powell  boys  took  up  their  quarters  at 
the  Observatory  they  became  objects  of  life  interest  day 
by  day  to  Mrs.  Gill.  Her  husband's  occupations  inter- 
fered with  the  continuity  of  his  attentions  to  them,  and 

1  [Mr.  Powell  had  died  a  few  weeks  previously.] 

2  [Lady  Gill  says  4,  7  and  8  years  old.] 


i89o-6]      HE  ADOPTS  THREE  NEPHEWS  209 

at  that  time  he  was  associated  in  their  minds  chiefly 
with  the  pillow-fights  in  which  he  took  part. 

But  he  was  also  made  use  of  as  "  the  last  resort  "  in 
cases  of  disobedience.  Lady  Gill  says  that  he  was  very 
tolerant  and  knowledgeable  in  the  ways  of  boys.  When 
his  wife  was  in  terror  at  their  quarrels,  David  would  say, 
"  Let  them  fight  it  out." 

When  Mrs.  Gill  told  Harry  how  cowardly  it  was  to 
beat  his  little  brother,  the  boy  said,  "  How  much  am  I  to 
allow  him  to  cheek  me  before  I  beat  him  ?  "  She  referred 
this  to  her  husband,  who  said,  "  The  boy  has  right  on 
his  side  if  the  young  'un  is  taking  advantage  of  his  being 
so  little.  You  will  find  that  the  best  answer  is  that  he 
should  wait  till  the  next  day  before  punishing  him."  As 
the  quarrels  never  lasted  more  than  half  an  hour,  the 
next  day  brought  no  punishment  and  all  went  smoothly. 

During  the  great  European  war  the  two  elder  boys 
have  done  splendid  work  for  their  country.  Captain 
Harry  Powell  (South  Staffordshire  Regiment)  was  killed 
in  action  near  Ypres  in  December  1914.  Major  Fred 
Powell  (The  Dorsetshire  Regiment)  was  wounded  in  our 
advance  from  the  Persian  Gulf,  a  shoulder  wound,  in  June 


He  returned  to  the  front  in  Mesopotamia,  was  twice 
mentioned  in  dispatches,  received  the  Military  Cross,  was 
again  and  more  seriously  wounded,  and  sent  home  to 
recover. 

Bruce  Powell  was  engaged  upon  engineering  duties  in 
South  Africa.  He  then  came  to  London,  having  made 
the  voyage  to  give  his  services  in  the  war,  and  got  a 
commission  in  the  Artillery. 

Extract  from  letters  from  Gill  at  the  Cape  to  E.  B. 
Knobel  in  London. 

To  E.  B.  KNOBEL 

1892,  July  6. 

The  mails  and  cables,  whose  arrival  we  had  begun  to 
dread,  have  now  ceased  to  bring  bad  news  —  as  they  did 
p 


210  DAYS    OF    SORROW  [CHAP.  XVIII 

almost  every  week  for  a  time,  telling  of  the  death  of,  or 
a  disaster  to,  friends. 

The  two  last  mails  bring'news  of  a  different  sort : — 
My  good  friend  Auwers  has  received  the  order  "  Pour 
la  merite,"  which  I  regard  as  the  highest  distinction  open 
to  a  literary  or  scientific  man;  Vogel  has  been  elected  a 
Corre  Member  of  the  Berlin  Academy — and  the  R1  Society 
of  Edinburgh  have  done  me  the  honour  of  electing  me  an 
Honorary  Fellow  (their  list  is  limited  to  20  Hon?  Fellows 
who  are  British  subjects,  who  must  be  highly  distinguished 
in  science  or  literature,  and  includes  Owen,  Huxley,  Airy, 
Tennyson,  Froude,  Rayleigh,  etc.). 

But  it  is  again  the  antipodes  of  good  news  that  you 
are  again  feeling  the  pains  in  yr  head — halve  yr  hours  of 
work — double  yr  hours  of  golf  and  take  things  more 
easily. 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

1892,  July  16. 

MY  DEAR  KNOBEL,  .  .  . — Many  thanks  for  all  your 
kind  sympathy — I  fear  the  little  chaps  will  have  sailed 
long  ere  this  reaches  you.  They  leave  by  the  Tartar  on 
July  23.  A  new  species  of  cares  are  upon  me  already — 
tuition,  male  or  female — tonsils  enlarged,  should  they  be 
cut  or  not — should  the  eldest  boy's  wish  for  promotion 
from  knickerbockers  to  trowsers  be  granted,  etc.,  etc. 
[In]  these  things  I  should  right  gladly  have  had  you  to 
consult  with.  However,  I  daresay  I  shall  know  all  about 
them  very  soon. 

****** 

Your  triumphant  account  of  yr  golf  experiences  at 
first  rather  staggered  me — but  I  find  after  all  that  you 
have  to  pass  through  the  valley  of  affliction  like  other 
mortals.  But  get  used  to  the  driver  at  any  cost;  you 
will  never  enjoy  the  game  till  you  do. 

My  wife  is  wonderfully  well — we  both  send  our  love  to 
you  and  yre,  ever  dear  old  man,  sincerely  yours, 

DAVID  GILL. 

To  E.  B.  KNOBEL 

CAPE  OBSERVATORY,  1892,  December  7. 
I  am  toiling  away  at  the  completion  of  the  Victoria 
and    Sappho    observations.     The    results    are    of    extra- 
ordinary interest  and  of  high  accuracy.     The  half  of  the 
final  equations  for    Victoria  are  solved,  and  in  a  few 


1890-6]  STARTLING  RESULTS  211 

weeks  will  be  completed.  The  Tabular  quantities  and 
differential  coefficients  for  Sappho  are  computed,  and 
being  finally  revised. 

To  E.  B.  KNOBEL 

1892,  December  21. 

Take  the  Victoria  observations  that  are  now  reduced. 
They  yield  a  value  of  the  QT  parallax  so  exact,  the 
different  groups  agreeing  with  such  precision  that  I  am 
confident  it  will  be  accepted  by  astronomers  generally 
as  definitive.  But  like  the  good  gentleman  who  went 
out  to  seek  his  father's  asses  and  found  a  kingdom, — so 
it  has  been  with  Victoria. 

The  Lunar  equation,  as  you  know,  was  determined  by 
Leverrier  from  a  century  of  Greenwich,  Paris  and 
Koningsberg  observations  of  the  Sun,  and  everybody  has 
supposed  it  to  be  correct. 

The  practical  fact  is  that  where  the  individual  errors 
may  and  do  amount  to  2"  or  3"  (arc),  as  they  often  do  in 
observations  of  the  Q's  R.  A.,  you  cannot  determine  by 
any  number  of  such  observations  small  quantities  with 
the  necessary  accuracy.  So  with  the  Lunar  Equation. 
When  all  the  great  mass  of  Victoria  obs.  made  with  the 
Heliometer  are  combined  in  conjunction  with  the  tri- 
angulation  of  the  comparison  stars,  we  have  for  the  first 
time  in  the  history  of  Astronomy  a  series  of  planetary 
observations  equal  in  accuracy  to  the  most  refined 
observations  for  stellar  parallax.  The  result  is  that  for 
the  15  groups  into  which  the  obs.  are  divided,  the  differ- 
ence between  the  Tabular  and  observed  R.  A.'s  are  all  on 
a  curve  whose  amplitude  is  over  o"*i  thus  [sketch  of  a 
sine  curve],  and  Dec!115  also — that  both  curves  agree 
absolutely  in  the  period  of  the  moon's  revolution — the 
maximum  and  minimum  of  curves  agrees  with  the  epoch 
when  the  planet's  and  moon's  longitudes  differ  90°,  and 
the  relative  amplitudes  agree  with  a  correction  of  —  o"*i 
to  Leverrier's  value  6"'5o  of  the  Lunar  Equation.  Mark 
now  the  extraordinary  value  of  this. 

We  have  got  from  these  observations  not  merely  the 
most  valuable  determination  extant  of  the  Qr  parallax — 
which  puts  an  end  to  all  doubt  about  that  constant,  and 
therefore  gives  us  the  Earth's  mass,  but  it  gives  us,  com- 
bined with  the  Lunar  Equation,  by  far  the  most  accurate 
determination  of  the  Mass  of  the  Moon — and  practically 


212  DAYS   OF   SORROW         [CHAP.  XVIII 

will  put  our  new  Astronomical  Constants  on  a  sound  and 
satisfactory  basis.  The  parallactic  Inequality  of  the 
moon  will  be  deduced  witft  far  greater  accuracy  than  it 
can  be  observed — so  probably  will  the  Nutation  Constant. 
****** 

We  have  had  the  saddest  news  about  '-the  health  of  my 
wife's  dear  sister  Bessie,  who  was  just  about  to  visit  us 
at  the  Cape — so  sad  and  serious  that  we  may  have  to  run 
home  for  a  few  weeks  next  month. 

As  it  turned  out  Miss  Bessie  Black's  state  of  health 
was  now  so  alarming  that  the  Gills  had  to  make  a  rapid 
journey  from  Cape  Town  to  Aberdeen  and  back  at  the 
beginning  of  1893. 

To  PROFESSOR  KAPTEYN 

CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE,  1892,  November  g. 

This  year  our  climate  has  gone  entirely  to  the  bad. 
The  antarctic  ice  has  come  far  north.  It  is  stated  that 
icebergs  have  been  seen  within  60  miles  of  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope.  Be  that  as  it  may,  we  have  had  such  a 
season  of  cloud  as  I  have  never  seen  before.  I  was  up 
every  morning  in  July,  August  and  September  for  Aberra- 
tion— latitude,  zenith  telescope  observations,  and  just 
got  three  observations  in  each  month. 

****** 

I  have  been  plunged  deep,  smothered  in  fact,  by  the 
Victoria  and  Sappho  parallax  business.  Newcomb  has 
been  pressing  me  to  finish  it  by  the  end  of  the  year.  I 
only  hope  it  won't  finish  me. 

****** 

I  told  you  I  think  about  the  death  of  my  sister  and  her 
husband  within  six  weeks  of  each  other,  and  that  her 
three  little  boys — my  nephews — are  now  with  us,  ages  5, 
8  and  9  years.  They  are  fine  little  fellows  and  thriving 
splendidly.  My  wife  is  working  at  Latin,  and  is  devoted 
to  them. 

To  PROFESSOR  KAPTEYN 

1892,  December  28 
The  Solar  Parallax  is  8"'8o. 

Leverrier's  value  of  the  Lunar  Eqn  must  be  reduced 
by  —  o"'ii,  and  becomes  6"'^g. 


i89o-6]        REFUSES  CAMBRIDGE  CHAIR  213 

In  the  same  year,  1892,  Professor  Ball  succeeded  to 
Professor  J.  C.  Adams'  chair,  and  became  head  of  the 
Observatory  at  Cambridge.  The  following  letters  are 
interesting.  The  Chair  was  offered  to  Dr.  Gill,  but  he 
insisted  that  he  could  do  more  good  for  astronomy  by 
completing  the  plans  of  work  which  he  had  laid  down  for 
himself  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

FROM  SIR  MICHAEL  FOSTER,  Sec.  R.  S. 

SHELFORD,  CAMBRIDGE,  February  23,  1892. 

MY  DEAR  GILL, — I  got  your  letter  to-day.  .  .  .  Your 
telegram  did  not  surprise  me;  indeed,  I  think  you  are 
quite  right,  and  felt  some  compunctions  in  making  you 
expend  anything  on  a  wire.  But  it  was  agreed  ubique 
et  ab  omnibus  that  you  were  the  man  to  have  the  post  if 
you  would  take  it,  and  when  I  spoke  to  you  at  the  Royal 
nothing  definite  was  said.  Hence  I  and  some  friends 
agreed  that  it  would  not  do  to  go  on  without  a  definite 
refusal  from  you.  We  had  a  faint  hope  that  perhaps  at 
the  last  you  might  give  in,  but  we  feared  to  get  such  a 
reply  as  did  arrive. 

I  can  only  say  that  I  think  the  appointment  of  your- 
self would  have  met  with  applause  all  round.  .  .  . 

Ever  yours,  M.  FOSTER. 

LETTER  FROM  DR.  GILL  TO  PROFESSOR  BALL 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

March  9,  1892. 

I  have  just  heard  that  you  have  been  elected  Adams' 
successor  at  Cambridge,  and  I  write  at  once  to  con- 
gratulate you,  or  rather  to  tell  you  how  much  I  think 
Cambridge  is  to  be  congratulated.  I  did  not  think  they 
would  be  able  to  tempt  you  from  Dublin,  and  I  won- 
dered where  a  suitable  man  could  be  found.  There  is  a 
noble  transit  circle  and  the  makings  of  a  grand  equa- 
toreal,  and  I  think  it  would  have  been  a  thousand 
pities  if  these  had  been  put  in  the  hands  of  a  man  who 
is  only  a  mathematician.  Besides  all  the  possibilities 
which  your  equipment  presents,  there  is  a  great  mass  of 
Adams'  unfinished  work  which  astronomy  stands  sorely 
in  need  of. 


214  DAYS  OF  SORROW         [CHAP,  xvin 

When  George  Darwin  was  made  Plumerian  Professor  I 
urged  him  to  take  up  the  Theory  of  Jupiter's  Satellites,  and 
the  construction  of  new  tables.  He  began  the  work,  and 
after  labouring  for  some  time  went  to  Adams  to  discuss 
some  of  its  points  with  him.  Adams  took  him  to  a  closet, 
whence  he  produced  papers  showing  that  all  Darwin  had 
been  working  at  for  a  year  had  already  been  done  by 
himself,  and  indeed  more,  so,  seeing  that  he  was  working 
on  ground  already  occupied,  Darwin  went  no  further. 

If  Darwin  and  you,  in  conjunction  with  W.  G.  Adams, 
would  take  up  the  editing  of  J.  C.  Adams's  unpublished 
papers,  you  would  confer  a  great  boon  on  astronomers, 
and  help  also  to  erect  a  great  memorial  to  your  great 
predecessor.1  The  fact  of  the  existence  of  these  papers 
has  deterred  many  an  able  young  man  from  entering  a 
field  of  work  in  which  he  knew  that  Adams  had  been 
working  before  him. 

Forgive  my  presumption  in  making  these  suggestions. 
I  only  make  them  now  because  I  know  that  very  soon 
you  must  have  completed  your  working  programme,  and 
if  my  suggestion  is  of  any  value  now  it  would  then  be 
too  late,  because  your  hands  would  be  otherwise  full. 

In  this  connexion  it  will  not  be  out  of  place  to  quote 
the  words  of  Sir  Robert  Ball  some  years  later  in  speaking 
of  Sir  David  Gill  at  a  dinner  at  Trinity  College,  Dublin. 
He  said — 

He  is  one  of  my  oldest  friends.  He  is  the  most  dis- 
tinguished practical  British  astronomer  since  Bradley 
who  has  presided  over  one  of  our  national  observatories. 
As  Royal  Astronomer  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  he  has 
made  discoveries  more  valuable  than  all  the  treasures  of 
the  Rand.  He  now  draws  near  to  the  close  of  his  service. 
We  give  to  him  the  heartiest  of  welcomes,  not  so  much 
for  his  practical  services,  not  so  much  for  his  great  dis- 
coveries ;  we  welcome  him  as  one  who,  with  the  purest 
and  most  single-minded  purpose,  has  devoted  himself  to 
the  search  after  truth.2 

1  [This  has  been  done  by  Professor  R.  A.  Sampson,  in  associa- 
tion with  the  late  Professor  W.  G.  Adams,  and  Mr.  J.  W.  L. 
Glaisher.] 

2  Reminiscences  and  Letters  of  Sir  Robert  Ball,  edited  by  W. 
Valentine  Ball.    Cassell,  1915,  p.  274. 


1890-6]  PROFESSOR  KAPTEYN  215 

The  next  date  of  importance  in  Dr.  Gill's  career  was 
the  year  1896,  the  fifth  visit  to  England  and  the  third 
of  those  which  mark  milestones  (1884,  1887,  1896)  in  his 
progress. 

Before  that  date,  however,  there  was  a  renewal  of  the 
days  of  sorrow.  For  the  year  1895  brought  to  every  one 
in  the  Observatory  the  greatest  sorrow  of  all.  There  had 
been  many  occasions  when  Mrs.  Gill's  ill-health  clouded 
the  horizon.  But  never  for  very  long  had  her  bright 
and  cheerful  company  ceased  to  enliven  the  household. 
Never  for  very  long  had  she  been  unable  to  help  her 
husband's  leisure  moments  by  lively  conversation,  or 
by  reading  while  he  smoked  quietly  in  the  intervals  of 
work. 

In  May  1895  a  change  came,  and  she  was  utterly 
prostrated. 

A  long  letter  from  the  Cape  to  Professor  Kapteyn, 
dated  1895,  April  9,  about  the  completion  of  the  C.P.D., 
contains,  towards  its  close,  the  following  expressions — 

It  is  a  great  satisfaction  to  me  to  think — on  no  less 
authority  than  that  of  yr  own  dear  wife — that  the  Durch- 
musterung  has  not  been  over  much  work  for  you.  I 
mean  that  you  are  physically  and  mentally  better  and 
not  worse  for  your  labours.  I  also  congratulate  myself 
that  the  material  furnished  to  you — however  many  its 
imperfections — have  enabled  you  to  do  so  much,  and  to 
establish  for  yourself  a  reputation  and  position  amongst 
the  astronomers  of  yr  time  such  as  few  men  of  your  age 
enjoy. 

Above  all  I  rejoice  in  the  true  friend  I  have  found  in 
you — may  that  friendship  ever  grow  with  our  years. 

To  PROFESSOR  KAPTEYN 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

February  8,  1896. 

MY  DEAR  KAPTEYN, — By  the  same  mail  with  this 
letter  I  am  sending  to  the  printers  my  introduction  to 
the  Cape  Photo.  Dm,  and  I  owe  you  an  apology  for  my 
delay.  The  fact  is  that  I  have  been  overwrought,  not 


216  DAYS  OF  SORROW         [CHAP,  xvili 

so  much  with  my  work  as  with  the  terrible  anxiety  and 
strain  connected  with  the  nervous  illness  of  my  dear  wife. 
Week  after  week  1  foundf  myself  quite  unable  to  write 
anything,  and  when  I  was'  in  working  condition  I  was 
often  obliged  to  devote  my  time  to  correspondence  and 
plans  connected  with  the  new  McClean. Telescope.  First 
and  last  I  have  drawn,  sketched  or  described  every  detail 
of  the  Instrument,  its  Objective  prism  attachment, 
micrometers,  spectroscope,  observatory  with  rising  floor, 
etc.,  etc.,  and  in  many  cases  discussed  and  re-discussed 
alterations  proposed  by  Mr.  McClean  or  Grubb,  etc. 

The  completing  of  the  account  of  the  Geodetic  Survey 
of  South  Africa,  of  which  the  last  proof  sheet  has  gone  to 
press,  has  also  pressed  heavily  upon  me — as  well  as  a 
great  deal  of  private  and  other  correspondence  which  my 
dear  wife  used  to  take  off  my  hands. 

The  Doctors  seem  to  think  she  will  be  able  to  sail  with 
me  (accompanied  by  a  nurse)  to  England  on  the  ist  of 
April.  .  .  . 

About  my  Introduction  I  am  afraid  you  will  say, 
"  The  mountain  has  been  in  labour  and  has  brought 
forth  a  mouse."  It  is  indeed  a  very  insignificant  thing 
to  have  occupied  so  long  a  time,  but  I  pray  God  you  may 
never  have  to  execute  work  under  similar  difficulties,  or 
know  the  effort  which  work  has  cost  me  during  the  past 
nine  months. 


The  letters  received  by  Dr.  Gill  about  this  period,  both 
at  the  time  of  the  Jameson  raid  and  throughout  the 
South  African  war,  from  men  who  were  in  the  thick  of 
these  affairs,  bear  testimony  to  the  soundness  of  judgment 
with  which  he  was  credited.  Years  hence  some  of  these 
may  be  worth  publishing  as  facts  of  history.  The  bio- 
grapher who  has  been  privileged  to  read  them  must  for 
the  present  be  content  to  note  the  eagerness  with  which 
all  administrators,  civil,  naval  and  military,  sought  his 
calm  judgment  in  those  critical  times. 

One  of  these  letters,  from  so  distinguished  an  observer 
and  artist  as  Mr.  Furze,  who,  after  a  visit  to  the  observa- 
tory, was  in  Johannesburg  in  1895-6,  is  filled  with  interest- 
ing descriptions  of  what  happened  at  the  time  of  the 


i89o-6]  ELKIN'S  ENGAGEMENT  217 

Jameson  raid,  with  a  keen  insight  into  deductions,  shared 
by  Gill,  concerning  revolutions  and  national  charac- 
teristics. But  these  details  must  be  omitted.  The  be- 
ginning and  end,  however,  of  this  letter  illustrate  the 
value  attached  to  that  time  by  thoughtful  observers  to 
the  friendship  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Gill.  The  letter  begins 
with  the  words,  "  My  dear  philosopher  and  friend."  It 
ends  as  follows — 

Please  write  and  tell  me  how  Mrs.  Gill  is.  Give  her 
my  kindest  regards  and  tell  her  that  if  I  stay  here  long 
I  feel  I  shall  be  drawn  into  the  maelstrom  of  stocks  and 
shares,  and  shall  want  a  lot  of  her  society  to  fumigate  my 
moral  atmosphere. 

The  same  year  (1896)  brought  them  joyous  news  from 
their  dear  friend  Elkin  in  the  United  States.  The  affec- 
tion that  existed  between  them  was  touching  in  its 
tenderness.  We  read  in  history  of  many  a  Damon  and 
Pythias,  of  many  a  pair  of  men  whose  mutual  affection 
left  self  altogether  out  of  account.  It  is  doubtful  if  ever 
there  was  another  astronomer  who  had  so  many  of  these 
whole-hearted,  self-denying  friendships,  in  each  one  of 
which  either  partner  was  literally  ready  to  sacrifice 
everything  for  his  friend.  The  anguish  suffered  by 
David  Gill  when  one  of  his  dearest  friends  was  in  trouble 
was  balanced  only  by  his  exuberance  of  boyish  joy  when 
good  fortune  attended  him. 

To  DR.  ELKIN 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

1896,  March  3. 

MY  DEAR  ELKIN, — I  have  postponed  for  a  mail  or  two 
answering  your  letter  and  its  glorious  good  news  in  the 
hope  that  my  dear  wife  would  be  able  to  send  a  few  lines 
with  mine.  But  I  am  sorry  to  say  she  is  not  yet  able, 
having  been  not  so  well  during  the  past  three  weeks.  In 
nervous  depression  anything  that  touches  the  emotions 
is  the  thing  that  is  most  trying,  and  Bella  feels  so  much 
sympathy  with  you  in  this  that  she  is  quite  unable  to  write. 


218  DAYS   OF   SORROW         [CHAP.  XVIII 

But  you  know  right  well  how  truly  sorry  we  both  are 
that  the  bright  and  joyous  congratulations  which  would 
have  accompanied  mine  f  cannot  be  written — tho'  Bella 
sends  them  in  her  heart  all  the  same.  How  truly  glad 
we  are  that  the  bit  of  yourself  that  you  lost  is  coming 
back  to  you  with  a  charming  addition.— you  can  readily 
imagine,  and  I  hope  with  all  my  heart  that  ere  long  we 
shall  be  able  to  meet  you  in  double  harness  as  happy  and 
cosy  as  it  is  possible  for  man  and  wife  to  be — and  we  both 
also  well  and  able  to  share  your  happiness. 

****** 

God  bless  you,  old  man.  If  an  earnest,  capable  man 
like  yourself — a  loyal  friend  as  I  have  ever  found  you — 
cannot  make  a  little  woman  happy,  then  I  am  very  much 
mistaken. 

I  can  wish  you  and  your  bride  no  better  wish  than 
that  you  may  be  as  happy  as  we  have  been  for  25  years 
of  our  married  life — yes,  and  except  these  bonds — are 
now  to  the  present  day. 

Bella  joins  me  in  loving  messages  to  you — and,  if  we 
may,  also  to  HER. — Ever  thine,  DAVID  GILL. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

PATIENCE   REWARDED    (1896 — IQOl) 

Home  on  leave — Astronomical  recognition  of  results — St.  Moritz 
and  Paris — Reversible  transit  circle — Victoria  Telescope — 
Bryan  Cookson. 

THE  last  chapter  has  been  the  narrative  of  a  sad  page 
in  the  story  of  Gill's  life.  But  there  were  compensa- 
tions, and  none  greater  than  the  magnificent  offer  by 
Mr.  Frank  McClean,  in  1894,  of  a  splendid  telescope, 
with  accessories,  for  the  Cape  Observatory.  It  was  not 
set  up  and  completed  until  1901,  so  the  continuity  of 
the  narrative  will  be  better  maintained  by  relegating  the 
delightful  episode  to  later  pages  of  this  chapter,  and  by 
now  recounting  briefly  some  important  events  which 
occurred  during  the  visit  to  England,  Paris  and  St. 
Moritz  in  1896. 

To  DR.  ELKIN 

6  BD  DU  CHATEAU  NEUILLY,  PARIS, 

1896,  June  27. 

MY  DEAR  ELKIN, — And  so  you  are  off,  and  the  wedding 
trip  over.  Would  that  we  could  have  shared  some  of  it 
with  you.  But  I  am  thankful  to  tell  you  that  Bella  has 
been  on  the  whole  improving  in  health,  and  the  doctor 
thinks  that  in  course  of  three  weeks  or  so  she  will  be  able 
to  travel  to  Switzerland. 

I  crossed  to  London  on  the  night  of  Thursday  June  II, 
to  see  about  some  business  at  the  Admiralty,  and  about 
some  affairs  between  Grubb  and  McClean  which  were 
giving  trouble. 

I  was  staying  with  our  old  friend  Adm1  Sir  F.  Richards. 
On  Saturday  night  I  got  a  telegram  from  the  clerk  of 
Session  of  the  Glasgow  University  to  say  that  my  invita- 

219 


220  PATIENCE   REWARDED       [CHAP.  XIX 

tion  to  the  Kelvin  Jubilee  had  gone  to  the  Cape.     They 
had  heard  I  was  in  London,  and  hoped  I  would  come. 

I  started  off  on  Sunday"  night. 

It  was  a  very  grand  and  very  interesting  function. 
Representatives  from  all  parts  of  the  world  were  there, 
and  many  that  I  was  very  glad  to  meet*  I  was  specially 
glad  to  see  Cleveland  Abbe  and  many  others  whom  I 
shd  have  had  no  other  opportunity  of  meeting. 

The  whole  function  was  delightful  to  me,  for  Lord 
Kelvin  has  been  one  of  my  earliest  and  best  friends — 
and  the  love  and  reverence  paid  him  by  all  were  a  great 
joy  to  me. 

I  returned  with  Newcomb  on  the  Wednesday  and 
crossed  to  Paris  on  the  Thursday — and  found  Bella  better 
during  the  week  I  had  been  away.  Madame  de  Mont- 
mort  had  been  a  good  angel  to  her,  and  had  stayed  at 
this  place  with  her  during  my  absence. 

****** 

I  am  being  spoilt  by  kindness.  Every  one  here  is  so 
kind,  and  on  Monday  they  made  me  a  Correspondent  of 
the  Institute  (Acad.  des  Sciences)  in  succession  to  Cayley. 
It  seems  a  mockery  to  put  me  to  succeed  such  a  great 
man,  but  indeed  Cayley  shd  have  been  elected  under  the 
section  of  geometry — and  not  of  Astronomy  as  he  was. 
****** 

Bella  joins  me  in  love  to  yr  dear  Katy  and  yr  self. — 
Ever  thine,  DAVID  GILL. 

It  was  during  the  residence  in  Paris  at  this  time  that 
on  May  20,  1896,  Gill  received  the  Companionship  of 
the  Bath.  This  was  the  final  act  in  an  amusing  comedy 
sometimes  told  to  his  most  intimate  friends  by  Gill. 
He  had  been  told  earlier  that  he  was  to  be  received  into 
the  order  of  St.  Michael  and  St.  George.  Now,  Gill 
had  noted  with  disgust  the  bestowal  of  the  K.C.M.G.  on 
utterly  unworthy  politicians  at  the  Cape;  so,  in  reply, 
he  flatly  refused  to  be  associated  in  Cape  Colony  in  this 
way  with  such  characters.  The  Admiralty  understood  their 
astronomer,  and  he  got  the  C.B.  and  eventually  the  K.C.B. 

After  the  Astrographic  Congress  at  Paris  in  1896,  Gill 
attended  there  the  important  meeting  of  the  Directors 


1896-1901]       HIS  RESULTS  ACCEPTED  221 

of  National  Ephemerides  [alias  Nautical  Almanacs],  who 
had  to  decide  upon  some  of  the  astronomical  constants 
to  be  adopted  in  their  calculations.  At  this  congress 
Gill's  value  of  the  Mean  Solar  Parallax  (and  the  sun's 
distance),  with  the  resulting  value  for  the  constant  of 
Aberration,  also  his  value  of  the  Mass  of  the  moon,  with 
the  resulting  value  of  the  constant  of  nutation,  all  derived 
from  his  Minor  Planet  work  by  heliometer,  were  definitively 
accepted  by  those  astronomers  from  all  parts  of  the  world, 
who  calculate  the  data  of  national  nautical  almanacs. 

From  Paris  they  went  to  St.  Moritz  for  Mrs.  Gill's  health, 
and  before  returning  to  London  Gill  was  able  to  pay  a 
visit  to  Professor  Kapteyn  at  Groningen,  where  he  became 
a  great  favourite  with  the  Professor's  children. 

To  PROFESSOR  KAPTEYN 

LONDON,  1896,  October  15. 

...  I  arrived  from  Berlin  on  Saturday  last  .  .  .,  but 
only  called  at  the  R.A.S.  to-day,  and  found  the  photo- 
graphs and  the  dear  lassies'  letters.  ...  I  had  such 
a  delightful  time  at  Groningen,  and  am  greatly  delighted 
with  the  photographs.  I  will  write  my  little  sweet- 
hearts in  a  few  days. 

It  was  during  his  home  visit  in  1896  that  Gill  put 
forward  his  proposals  for  erecting  at  the  Cape  a  transit 
circle  specially  designed  by  himself  for  overcoming  many 
of  the  systematic  errors  which  limit  the  accuracy  of 
fundamental  astronomy  of  position.  The  Admiralty, 
on  the  advice  of  Admiral  Wharton,  supported  him.  The 
request  was  immediately  granted  by  the  Treasury. 

At  this  date,  1896,  the  boundary  of  German  South- 
west Africa  was  a  source  of  diplomatic  friction.  Gill's 
surveys  covered  part  of  that  region,  and  after  a  consul- 
tation at  the  Colonial  Office  he  was  sent  by  Mr.  Joseph 
Chamberlain  to  Berlin  that  a  modus  vivendi  might  be 
created.  His  intimate  knowledge  of  the  situation  and 
his  tactful  conduct  were  rewarded  with  success,  and  he 


222  PATIENCE  REWARDED         [CHAP.  XIX 

received  the  thanks  of  the  Foreign  Office.  The  boun- 
dary survey  was  •  afterwards  carried  out,  Gill  acting  as 
Director  for  both  governments. 

Having  briefly  indicated  some  of  the  incidents  attend- 
ing the  visit  to  Europe  in  1896,  it  may  be  well  to  state 
now  that  there  were  only  two  later  visits  home,  in  1900 
and  1904,  before  the  final  departure  from  South  Africa  in 
1906.  The  former  of  these  was  the  first  real  holiday 
which  he  had  enjoyed  since  he  went  to  the  Cape  in  1879. 
The  latter  was  much  occupied  in  preparations  for  the 
visit  in  1905,  of  the  British  Association  for  the  Advance- 
ment of  Science,  to  South  Africa,  the  local  arrangements 
for  which  were  left  almost  entirely  in  Sir  David  Gill's 
hands.  During  both  of  these  absences  he  was  able  to 
leave  the  conduct  of  the  observatory  in  the  able  hands 
of  Mr.  S.  S.  Hough,  who  eventually  succeeded  him  on  his 
retirement  in  1907.  The  great  reversible  Transit  Circle 
and  the  Victoria  Telescope  were  not  completed  until 
1901-2.  Of  these  we  will  now  say  a  few  words. 

The  Transit  Circle  is  the  principal  instrument  used  by 
astronomers  for  finding  the  absolute  positions  of  any 
heavenly  bodies,  and  the  only  kind  of  instrument  that 
has  been  proved  to  be  fit  for  obtaining  the  fundamental 
data  of  astronomy.  But  all  instruments  made  by  human 
hands  are  imperfect,  and  Gill  considered  that  it  was 
the  first  duty  of  a  practical  astronomer  to  reduce  these 
imperfections  to  a  minimum.  What  his  duty  afterwards 
may  be  is  well  expressed  in  a  letter  to  Professor  Kapteyn 
from  the  Cape,  dated  so  far  back  as  1885,  January  18. 

But  however  perfect  an  instrument  may  be  (and  it  is 
the  astronomer's  business  to  see  that  it  is  perfect],  it  is 
the  astronomer's  further  business  to  look  upon  it  with 
complete  and  utter  mistrust. 

Gill  had  discovered,  in  1877,  a  personal  error,  in 
using  the  transit  circle,  varying  with  the  magnitude  of 
the  star;  and,  in  1880,  one  depending  on  the  star's 


1896-1901]    THE  NEW  TRANSIT  CIRCLE  223 

traversing  the  wires  from  left  to  right  or  from  right  to 
left.  Again,  he  had  noticed  the  inequalities  of  tem- 
perature inside  and  outside  the  conventional  transit 
house,  and  these  create  errors  by  atmospheric  refraction. 
Temperature-changes  affect  the  levels  of  the  piers  upon 
which  the  instrument  rests,  as  well  as  their  uprightness, 
and  also  affect  the  size  of  the  circle  divisions  and  their 
distance  from  the  reading-microscopes.  The  local  heat- 
ing from  an  observer's  body  or  from  the  illuminating 
lamps  may  be  sufficient  to  introduce  error.  There  is 
always  a  certain  flexure  of  the  telescope  tube  varying 
with  the  altitude  of  the  star  observed,  and  he  had  found 
that  the  strain  is  not  always  in  the  same  plane  as  the 
stress.  The  meridian  marks  employed  to  test  the  setting 
of  the  instrument  cannot  always  be  fixed  with  absolute 
permanence. 

Gill  sought  for  remedies  to  reduce  all  these  and  other 
sources  of  error  to  a  minimum,  and  his  completed  design 
was  certainly  original.  In  the  hands  of  almost  any 
other  man  it  would  have  been  condemned  as  experi- 
mental. When  the  writer  inspected  it,  during  con- 
struction, at  the  works  of  Troughton  &  Simms,  the  late 
Mr.  James  Simms  made  some  remark  which  meant  : 
"  No  one  but  Gill  would  have  ventured  upon  so  great  a 
departure  from  the  orthodox  design  of  a  transit  circle." 
A  full  decision  as  to  the  success  of  this  great  invention  will 
be  possible  only  after  many  years  of  actual  work  with  it. 

The  final  result  can  be  described  only  in  technical 
language,  and  can  be  appreciated  only  by  the  practical 
astronomer  who  is  also  an  engineer.  Such  a  one,  in 
studying  the  published  description  with  the  accompany- 
ing detailed  drawings,  cannot  fail  to  be  impressed  by  the 
ingenuity  and  boldness  with  which  he  overcame  the 
difficulties  in  his  way. 

A  single  case  may  be  here  mentioned.  A  very  serious 
trouble  arose  from  the  absence  of  good  foundations  for 
his  meridian  marks.  Even  in  his  Dun  Echt  days  he  had 


224  PATIENCE   REWARDED        [CHAP.  XI X 

been  inclined  to  supplement  his  collimating  telescopes  by 
distant  meridian  -marks  viewed  through  a  lens  of  about 
300  feet  focus  as  at  Pulkowa.  In  adopting  this  plan  he 
had  to  fix  the  marks  and  the  lenses  very  firmly,  with  as 
little  liability  as  possible  to  any  kind  of  shifting.  Under 
the  conditions  existing  at  the  Cape  observatory,  he  event- 
ually dug  pits  of  great  depth  and  fastened  his  apparatus 
to  the  solid  nucleus  of  the  world,  the  very  ancient  geo- 
logical formation  called  the  Malmesbury  beds,  and,  follow- 
ing Bohnenberger,  he  invented  an  optical  device  of  the 
highest  merit  for  ensuring  that  certain  marks,  on  the 
top  of  his  columns,  built  over  the  pits,  should  be  exactly 
over  certain  points  fixed  upon  the  Malmesbury  beds. 
The  stability  of  these  marks  is  now  the  envy  of  all 
astronomers.  So  it  was  with  all  his  difficulties.  They 
disappeared  under  his  skill  as  an  engineer  and  designer 
of  instruments. 

The  following  quotation  expresses  the  opinion  of  the 
astronomical  world  upon  Sir  David  Gill's  beautiful  device 
for  the  meridian  marks — 

Azimuths  determined  from  these  marks  have  been 
proved  so  reliable  that  by  comparison  with  stellar  obser- 
vations even  the  variation  of  latitude,  or  rather  the 
complementary  polar  deviation,  may  be  exhibited.  The 
existence  of  these  marks  rendered  possible  Mr.  Hough's 
scrutiny  of  the  periodic  errors  in  R.A.  of  the  Catalogues 
of  Newcomb  and  Boss.1 

Dr.  Backlund,  of  Pulkowa  Observatory,  speaks  of 
this  instrument  and  its  accessories  as  "  constituting 
presently  the  last  word  of  perfection." 

This  opinion  seems  to  agree  with  the  general  verdict 
of  astronomers,  and  with  that  of  Mr.  S.  S.  Hough,  who 
has  had  the  experience  of  using  it. 

One  of  the  most  delightful  experiences  met  with  by 
Sir    David    Gill    in    any    part    of    his  scientific   career 
1  R.A.S.,  M.N.,  Ixxiii.  3;    January,  1915. 


1896-1901]    MR.  FRANK  McCLEAN'S  GIFT          225 

occurred  when  Mr.  Frank  McClean,  of  Rusthall  House, 
Tunbridge  Wells,  a  distinguished  spectroscopist  and 
amateur  astronomer,  wrote  to  him  in  the  following 
terms — 

FRANK  MCCLEAN,  ESQ.,  TO  DR.  DAVID  GILL 

RUSTHALL  HOUSE,  TUNBRIDGE  WELLS, 

August  10,  1894. 

DEAR  DR.  GILL, — It  has  been  my  wish  for  some  time 
past  to  offer  a  large  Telescope,  equipped  for  Photographic 
and  Spectroscopic  work,  to  one  of  the  Public  Observa- 
tories in  the  Southern  Hemisphere — and  by  preference 
to  the  Royal  Observatory  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

With  this  object  I  have  now  arranged  with  Sir  Howard 
Grubb  for  the  construction  of  a  Photographic  Refracting 
Telescope  of  24  inches  aperture  and  22  feet  5  inches  focal 
length.  Also  for  an  Object-Glass  Prism  to  work  with  it, 
having  a  refracting  angle  of  7^  degrees,  and  the  same 
aperture.  Coupled  with  the  Photographic  Telescope 
there  is  to  be  a  Visual  Refracting  Telescope  of  18  inches 
aperture.  The  Telescope  Mounting  is  to  give  circum- 
polar  motion  to  the  Telescope  up  to  30  degrees  within 
the  zenith;  the  Mounting  to  be  sufficiently  elevated  to 
allow  a  fair-sized  slit  spectroscope,  for  the  determination 
of  Stellar  Motions  in  the  line  of  sight,  to  be  attached  to 
the  Photographic  Telescope.  Such  a  spectroscope  will 
be  subsequently  provided,  and  also  an  Observatory  of 
light  construction. 

May  I  ask  if  you,  as  Astronomer- Royal  at  the  Cape, 
would  be  willing  to  accept  such  an  Instrument,  and  in 
that  case  if  the  Official  Trustees  of  the  Observatory  would 
be  prepared  to  provide  any  assistance  necessary  for  its 
efficient  use? 

I  remain,  Dear  Dr.  Gill,  Yours  faithfully, 

FRANK  MCCLEAN. 

DR.  GILL  TO  FRANK  MCCLEAN,  ESQ.,  M.A. 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

1894,  September  n. 

DEAR  MR.  MCCLEAN, — Your  letter  of  the  loth  August 
duly  reached  me  by  last  mail,  and  I  have  no  words  which 
can  adequately  express  my  feelings  on  receipt  of  it. 

The  splendid  generosity  of  such  a  gift,  the  great  scientific 
Q 


226  PATIENCE  REWARDED        [CHAP.  XIX 

need  which  it  fulfils,  the  prospect  of  the  gratification  of 
scientific  hope  and  aspirations  which  I  have  long  cherished 
and  had  sorrowfully  beguii  to  abandon — all  these  have 
been  constantly  in  my  mind  since  the  arrival  of  your 
letter. 

As  Her  Majesty's  Astronomer  at  the  Cape  I  thank 
you  for  the  noble  gift  which  you  propose  to  make  to  this 
Observatory;  and  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Lords 
Commissioners  of  the  Admiralty,  I  cordially  and  grate- 
fully accept  it. 

One  can  hardly  doubt  that  such  an  offer  will  be  met 
by  the  Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Admiralty  and  by 
H.M.  Treasury  in  a  like  generous  spirit,  and  that  they 
will  be  prepared  to  consider  the  question  of  providing 
the  additional  assistance  necessary  for  the  efficient  use 
of  the  instrument. 

A  copy  of  your  letter  will  be  forwarded  by  this  mail 
to  the  Admiralty,  together  with  a  copy  of  this  reply. 

I  remain,  dear  Mr.  McClean,  Yours  faithfully, 

DAVID  GILL. 

To  DR.  ELKIN 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

1894,  September  n. 

MY  DEAR  ELKIN, — Your  kind  letter  of  the  7th  August 
came  with  one  of  the  most  exciting  mails  I  ever  had  in 
my  life.  .  .  . 

The  exciting  incident  of  last  mail  was  a  letter  from 
Mr.  Frank  McClean  intimating  his  desire  to  present,  to 
the  R1  Observatory  C.  of  G.  Hope,  a  refractor  of  24  inches 
aperture  corrected  for  photographic  work  fitted  with  an 
object  glass  prism  of  7^°  of  the  same  aperture  as  the 
object  glass.  Coupled  with  the  24"  photo  telescope  is 
to  be  an  18"  aperture  refractor  corrected  for  visual  work. 
The  mounting  to  be  strong  enough  and  high  enough  to 
carry  a  large  slit-spectroscope  for  stellar  motion  in  line 
of  sight — the  gift  includes  such  a  spectroscope  as  well 
as  an  observatory  of  light  construction.  The  glass  for 
prism  and  object  glasses  has  been  secured  and  a  contract 
entered  into  with  Grubb  on  May  7  for  the  construction  of 
the  whole.  I  fancy  the  whole  gift  means  at  least  £8000. 

I  need  hardly  say  that,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the 
Admiralty,  I  have  cordially  and  gratefully  accepted  this 
splendid  gift.  .  .  . 


1896-1901]          VICTORIA  TELESCOPE  227 

Fred,  our  second  little  chap,  fell  from  his  pony  some 
2  months  ago  and  broke  three  of  his  ribs,  slightly  wound- 
ing the  lung.  He  is  all  right  again.  Our  news  about 
Bessie  is  as  sad  as  ever. — Thine  ever,  DAVID  GILL. 

In  a  letter  to  Professor  Kapteyn  he  tells  of  his 
astonishment  and  delight  on  receiving  Mr.  McClean's 
letter  "  which  fairly  took  my  breath  away."  1 

The  offer  of  this  noble  instrument  by  Mr.  Frank 
McClean  was  almost  the  last  touch  required  for  realizing 
Gill's  plans  for  his  observatory,  and  enabling  the  Cape 
Observatory  to  take  its  place  as  the  premier  one  in  the 
southern  hemisphere,  on  a  par  with  the  best  of  those 
already  existing  in  the  northern.  By  the  time  when  this 
telescope  was  erected  the  Cape  Observatory  under  Sir 
David  Gill's  guidance  had  risen  to  occupy  a  first  place 
in  all  the  world  for  the  accuracy  of  its  measurements  of 
position,  which  are  the  basis  of  the  old  astronomy. 

The  new  telescopes  and  spectroscopes,  with  an  adequate 
staff,  would  enable  the  constitution  and  radial  motions  2 
of  the  southern  stars  to  be  studied  as  effectively  as  those 
of  the  northern  stars. 

This  delightful  experience  recalled  his  disappointment 
fifteen  years  previously,  when  the  authorities  at  home 
refused  their  sanction  to  the  purchase  of  a  powerful 
telescope,  or  to  the  loan,  for  Gill's  use,  of  the  largest 
telescope  in  England,  then  offered  by  Mr.  Newall.  The 
capabilities  of  that  telescope  for  the  most  refined  spectro- 
scopic  work  have  since  been  amply  proved  by  Professor 
Newall  at  Cambridge.  Perhaps  if  Gill's  wish  had 
been  granted  on  his  arrival  at  the  Cape,  he  would  not 
have  been  able  to  confine  his  attention  so  entirely  to 
measurement  of  position.  In  that  case  he  might  not, 
at  this  date,  when  the  Victoria  telescope  came  into  his 
hands,  have  reached  the  position  he  then  held,  as  the 
most  competent  practical  astronomer  in  the  world  as 

1  See  p.  391. 

2  Or,  velocities  of  stars  in  the  line  of  sight. 


228  PATIENCE  REWARDED       [CHAP.  XIX 

regards  fundamental  positions  and  micrometrical  measure- 
ments. Who  can  say?  rWhat  seemed  to  be  a  calamity 
in  1880  may  have  been  a  fortunate  incident  for  Gill,  as 
well  as  for  the  science  of  astronomy. 

Sir  Howard  Grubb  was  the  maker  of -the  new  telescope. 
He  and  Gill  had  often  worked  together  with  scientific 
zeal  harmoniously  and  successively.  But  in  this  case 
there  was  not  that  complete  success  which  bound  them 
together  in  the  interests  of  science  on  so  many  occasions 
previously  and  subsequently.  The  delays  were  heart- 
rending, and  the  instability  of  mounting  had  to  be 
corrected  and  the  electric  attachments  remodelled,  in 
workshops  at  the  Cape,  while  the  great  object  glass  was 
returned  to  be  refigured.  It  was  not  until  1901  that 
Mr.  Frank  McClean's  great  gift  was  ready  for  use. 

In  1897,  with  the  fullest  expectation  that  the  instru- 
ment would  be  ready  in  that  year,  Mr.  McClean  visited 
the  Cape.  While  there  he  attached  his  own  object  glass 
prism  to  the  astrographic  telescope,  and  was  thus  enabled 
to  complete  that  remaining  portion  of  his  spectroscopic 
survey  of  the  whole  heavens  which  could  not  be  completed 
from  his  own  observatory  in  Kent. 

The    following    letter    gives    the    impressions    of    Mr. 
McClean's  visit- 
To  Miss  AGNES  CLERKE 

CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE,  1897,  September  4. 
****** 

We  had  quite  a  delightful  visit  from  Mr.  McClean,  and 
we  became  fonder  and  fonder  of  him. 

He  has  been  doing  splendid  work — and  has  already 
photographed  the  spectra  of  about  100  stars — some  of 
them  frequently — and  will  complete  here,  for  the  whole 
sky,  his  photographs  of  the  spectra  of  all  stars  to  3^ 
magnitude.  .  .  .  He  has  found  some  wonderful  things 
here — of  which,  however,  I  may  not  speak.  Mr.,  Mrs. 
and  Miss  McClean  arrived  a  fortnight  or  so  ago.  They 
are  all  living  at  the  Queen's  Hotel,  Sea  Point,  and  are 
all  as  happy  as  possible. 


1896-1901]          MR.   FRANK   McCLEAN  229 

Mr.  McClean  pops  over  here  as  often  as  he  pleases. 
He  shows  up  if  I  go  round  to  see  how  workmen  are  getting 
on.  There  is  a  very  nice  office  or  observer's  room  attached 
to  the  McClean  building,  which  is  his  sanctum  sanctorum 
— of  which  he  keeps  the  key.  Or  I  may  be  busy  writing 
at  night — about  11.30  p.m.  when  in  pops  Mr.  McClean 
to  say  he  has  come  from  Sea  Point  to  make  a  late  night 
of  it.  He  photographs  away  till  daylight — then  develops 
his  pictures  and  is  back  at  Sea  Point  before  8.30  to 
breakfast.  .  .  . 

I  have  been  greatly  inspired  by  Mr.  McClean's  work, 
and  am  burning  to  do  somewhat  similar  work  at  first.  .  .  . 

Yes — is  not  Roberts  [Dr.  Roberts  of  Lovedale]  delight- 
ful? He  is  soaking  in  rest  and  sea  air — and  his  letters 
are  like  a  bit  of  a  novel  of  Black's — only  with  a  less 
forced  and  more  genuine  ring  about  them. 

I  paid  a  pilgrimage  to  Lovedale  the  other  day  in  com- 
pany with  Earl  Grey.  Before  going  home  he  was  anxious 
to  see  Lovedale  and  to  start  a  somewhat  similar  model 
of  institution  for  training  natives  in  Rhodesia. 

He  insisted  on  my  going  with  him,  and  we  had  a  per- 
fectly charming  6  days  together,  travelling  1716  miles 
(112  of  which  by  cart)  to  spend  an  evening  a  night  and 
morning  at  Lovedale.  We  had  glorious  weather,  an  ex- 
cellent saloon  carriage,  good  cook  and  every  comfort. — 
and  such  a  crack  and  such  stories  with  much  tobacco. 

Mr.  McClean's  visit  gave  great  happiness  to  the  Gills, 
and  was  made  memorable  by  his  discovery  of  the  exist- 
ence of  oxygen  in  the  spectra  of  a  certain  class  of  stars ; 
and  for  this  discovery  and  his  spectroscopic  labours 
generally  he  was  awarded  the  gold  medal  of  the  Royal 
Astronomical  Society  of  London  in  1899. 

During  the  period  of  erection  of  the  great  telescope 
Gill's  correspondence  with  Mr.  McClean  seldom  if  ever 
missed  a  mail.  Photographs  at  every  stage  were  sent 
home,  and  their  correspondence  included  discussions 
on  many  astronomical  subjects,  until  Mr.  McClean's 
death.1 

After  the  Victoria  telescope  and  transit  circle  were 
1  Mr.  Frank  McClean  died  November  8,  1904. 


230  PATIENCE   REWARDED        [CHAP.  XIX 

set  up,  say  from  1902,  there  was  much  tentative  work 
to  do,  and  many  measurements  had  to  be  made  for  intro- 
ducing the  necessary  corrections  of  observed  data.  Up 
to  the  date  of  final  departure  from  South  Africa  in  1906, 
Gill  had  no  opportunity  to  complete  any  new  researches 
with  his  latest  instrumental  weapons. 

But  he  was  able  to  make  a  start  on  some  researches, 
and  to  leave  in  the  hands  of  his  successor  one  of  the 
finest  and  best  equipped  observatories  in  the  world, 
practically  built  up  by  himself;  and  his  successor,  Mr. 
S.  S.  Hough,  has  made  splendid  use  of  it  already. 

He  also  left  to  his  successor  a  colony  of  workers,  most 
of  whom  were  filled  with  the  spirit  of  their  chief  and  with 
an  esprit  de  corps  which  reflects  honour  equally  upon 
Sir  David  and  Lady  Gill. 

Dr.  A.  Roberts  was  and  is  engaged  on  industrial  mission 
work  among  natives  at  Lovedale,  Cape  Colony,  and  has 
an  observatory  where  he  had  done  splendid  work  upon 
variable  stars  which,  to  Gill's  great  sorrow,  he  had  not 
published.  They  were  affectionate  friends  and  constant 
correspondents . 

At  the  time  of  Earl  Grey's  visit  to  Lovedale,  Dr. 
Roberts  was  in  Scotland,  and  Gill  wrote  to  him 
about  it. 

To  DR.  A.  ROBERTS 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

1897,  August  30. 

MY  DEAR  ROBERTS, — Yr  letter  of  July  14  gave  me  much 
pleasure — It  was  in  part  like  a  bit  out  of  one  of  Black's 
novels — only  with  a  truer  ring  about  it.  You  couldn't 
possibly  do  better  than  drink  in  the  Spirit  of  the  North 
— I  mean  of  course  its  long  summer  starless  nights,  its 
nooks  and  headlands,  the  screaming  gulls,  the  smell  of 
the  kelp,  the  swish  and  the  roar — the  brown-sailed  herring 
boats — the  changing  colours  of  the  sea — and  all  the 
glorious  things  that  make  up  a  contemplative  dander 
by  the  shore  into  a  temporary  heaven.  These  things  and 
their  spirit  rest  a  man — the  thick-headed  laddies  that 


1896-1901]       ROBERTS  OF  LOVEDALE  231 

cannot  see  why  things  equal  to  the  same  thing  must  be 
equal  to  each  other  are  pleasing  memories  rather  than 
daily  and  hourly  worries.  Even  free  kirk  ministers 
who  find  it  difficult  to  understand  why  a  variable  star 
can  be  a  thing  worthy  of  interest  to  a  reasonable  and 
reasoning  human  being — can  become  in  such  circum- 
stances objects  of  sympathetic  pity  rather  than  of 
worry. 

No,  my  good  friend,  you  have  been  getting  a  lot  of 
human  sympathy  which  you  had  long  been  without — 
and  now  kind  nature  has  said  to  your  soul — I  bring  you 
peace  and  rest,  just  live  with  me  awhile. — You  are  wise 
and  have  done  as  she  bade  you — and  you  will  live  to  be 
thankful  that  you  have  left  your  reductions  alone  till 
the  nerve-healing  process  is  complete. 

I  am  delighted  that  you  have  seen  Ld  McLaren,  Cope- 
land,  Huggins  and  Miss  Clerke — they  are  all  good  and  true 
folk,  loving  science. 

You  will  perhaps  be  surprised  to  hear  that  I  have  been 
visiting  Lovedale — or  rather  that  part  of  Lovedale  which 
remains  when  you  are  away.  Earl  Grey  came  down  from 
Buluwayo  on  his  way  to  England  on  Monday  morning. 
I  called  on  him,  as  an  old  friend,  that  afternoon.  "  Oh, 
I  am  delighted  to  see  you — I  want  a  long  talk  with 
you.  You  must  come  with  me  to  Lovedale !  There's  no 
time  for  a  talk  now.  I  start  to-morrow  night.  We  go 
straight  to  Grahamstown,  drive  to  Lovedale,  and  spend 
the  afternoon  on  Friday,  return  on  Saturday  and  see 
Grahamstown  and  start  on  Sunday  morning  on  our  way 
back." 

I  had  much  to  arrange  about  the  Geodetic  Survey  with 
him — which  I  have  just  started — and  so  accepted.  But 
our  plans  were  not  quite  fulfilled  to  the  letter.  We  were 
told  we  shd  arrive  at  Grahamstown  in  the  afternoon — 
we  arrived  instead  4  hours  late — in  the  dark.  We  were 
told  that  Lovedale  was  30  miles  off,  Mr.  Douglas  the 
ostrich  farmer  was  expecting  us  to  breakfast.  We  found 
that  Lovedale  was  56  miles  off  and  round  by  Mr.  Douglas' 
farm  it  was  10  miles  more— so  probably  Mr.  Douglas' 
breakfast  is  still  waiting  for  us  !  We  reached  Lovedale 
at  5  p.m.  with  light  enough  to  see  yr  observatory  and  a 
few  things — a  very  pleasant  dinner  and  evening  with 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Stewart  and  family — up  and  about  early 
next  morning — to  find  most  of  the  students  away  on 


232  PATIENCE   REWARDED        [CHAP.  XIX 

holiday,  but  saw  the  fine  schools  and  workshops,  etc., 
and  some  little  work  going  on,  but  much  to  admire  in 
the  order  and  beauty  all  around.  Then  Dr.  Stewart 
drove  us  10  miles  on  our  way,  where  our  cart  was  out- 
spanned  and  we  reached  Grahamstown  hungry  as  hunters 
at  7  o'clock  in  the  evening.  We  had  two  of  the  most 
glorious  cloudless  days  that  the  heart  of  man  could 
imagine  and  immensely  enjoyed  the  whole  thing. 

Earl  Grey  wanted  information  about  industrial  missions 
and  he  got  it — Dr.  Stewart  giving  him  a  lot  of  notes  and 
advice. 

There  is  an  English  Church  Missionary — not  far  from 
King  Williamstown.  ...  I  think  he  will  go  to  Rhodesia 
to  start  the  work  there. 

****** 

Ever  thine,  DAVID  GILL. 

During  this  period  Gill  received  a  letter  the  gist  of 
which  lies  in  the  following  words — 

FROM  BRYAN  COOKSON 

BRANLEN  LODGE,  BEAULY,  N.B. 

September  21,  1897, 

DEAR  DR.  GILL, — I  am  writing  to  ask  you  to  give  me 
your  advice  about  my  turning  astronomer.     My  Father 
has  a  very  good  business,  but  at  present  I  am  far  from 
liking  the  idea  of  entering  it  though  it  is  a  gold-mine. 
****** 

Yours  sincerely,  BRYAN  COOKSON. 

The  subject  is  introduced  here  to  lead  up  to  Gill's  reply, 
in  which  we  find  the  most  illuminating  facts  connected  with 
his  first  step  into  the  ranks  of  professional  astronomers. 
The  following  letter  enables  any  one  to  understand  how 
Sir  David  Gill  looked  back  with  satisfaction  upon  the 
great  decision,  which  moulded  his  life,  in  1871. 

FROM  D.  GILL  TO  BRYAN  COOKSON 

You  ask  me  a  question  so  important  to  yourself  that 
in  asking  it  I  feel  sure  that  you  must  attach  importance 
to  my  reply. 

My  own  experience  in  life  is  that  a  man  is  happy  when 


1896-1901]  BRYAN   COOKSON  233 

his  heart  is  in  his  work — and  unhappy  when  his  work  is 
uncongenial. 

I  was  removed  from  Aberdeen  University  before  I 
had  completed  my  4th  year's  course,  to  fill  a  place  in  my 
father's  business  which  became  suddenly  vacant  by  a 
difference  between  my  father  and  his  partner.  I  was  in 
business  for  8  years,  had  married,  was  making  £1500  a 
year,  and  working  at  night  in  my  own  observatory  when 
Lord  Crawford  offered  me  £300  a  year  to  take  the  direc- 
tion of  Dun  Echt  Observatory.  We  had  no  children, 
my  wife  knew  where  my  heart  lay.  I  had  a  little  money 
with  reasonable  expectations  of  more,  and  in  24  hours 
Lord  Crawford  had  my  answer — yes.  I  never  regretted 
that  decision — my  life  became  full  of  interest,  and  has 
so  continued  ever  since. 

I  was  fortunate  in  my  wife's  sympathy,  and  I  had 
been  accustomed  to  a  much  less  expensive  life  than  you 
—had  done  a  lot  of  distasteful  drudgery  and  uninteresting 
work,  with  few  holidays  and  no  deer-stalking  !  In  these 
respects  you  see  our  cases  are  different. 

**•*•**•* 

I  must  say  that  I  have  found  business  experience  of 
considerable  use  in  my  scientific  career,  but  very  dearly 
purchased  at  the  price  of  8  years  otherwise  lost  time. 
**#### 

There  is  no  good  school  of  Astronomy  in  England. 
At  Cambridge  you  can  have  the  necessary  outfit  of 
mathematics,  and  no  doubt  at  Oxford  also — in  fact,  you 
have  probably  enough  of  mathematics  to  take  up  the  rest 
for  yourself. 

For  practical  work  the  Greenwich  system  (tell  it  not 
in  Gath)  has  never  made  an  astronomer.1  The  chief 
assistants  are  selected  as  young  men  with  a  sound 
mathematical  but  no  practical  training.  They  enter  into 
chief  positions  where  they  have  to  superintend  men  who 
know  much  more  about  practical  work  than  they  do, 
and  they  have  to  pick  up  what  they  can  of  a  hard  and 
fast  hide-bound  system — which  they  are  taught  to  regard 
as  unquestionably  superior  to  all  others. 

###### 

If  you  are  really  in  earnest  about  this  matter  ...  I 

1  [Of  course  Gill  was  well  aware  that  though  that  statement 
be  true,  yet  cases  do  exist  of  a  man  making  himself  an  astronomer 
worthy  of  the  name  even  under  that  system.] 


234  PATIENCE   REWARDED         [CHAP.  XIX 

should  like  to  take  you  here  either  as  a  student  or — as 
soon  as  there  is  a  vacanc/ — as  a  computer. 

****** 

I  have  a  very  nice  young  fellow  here,  de  Sitter,  a  young 
Dutchman  who  has  passed  his  Ph.D.  examinations  in  pure 
mathematics  at  Groningen  cum  laude,  and  has  come  out 
to  learn  practical  astronomy.  He  is  engaged  from  9  to  3 
just  now  in  reducing  my  Heliometer  observations  for 
stellar  parallax  at  a  table  near  me.  At  night  he  is  learn- 
ing the  use  of  the  Geodetic  Theodolite  and  Transit  Circle. 
From  these  he  will  go  to  the  Heliometer — then  to  the 
Equatoreal  with  the  filar  micrometer,  the  photometer  and 
the  spectroscope,  and  before  he  returns  to  Holland- 
some  two  years  hence — will  have  done  some  independent 
work  of  his  own. 

****** 

When  you  have  had  a  couple  of  years  of  such  training 
you  should  be  a  good  practical  astronomer — Meanwhile 
also  you  should  keep  up  yr  mathematical  reading  and 
planetary  theory.  Then  I  would  say  go  for  a  year  or  two 
under  Poincare  for  theory,  and  then  there  should  be  no 
man  to  compare  with  you  as  an  astronomer. 


CHAPTER  XX 

LAST    DAYS    AT    THE    CAPE    (1902-6) 

Work  accomplished  —  Geodetic  survey  —  Sir  George  Darwin  — 
British  Association  —  Retirement — Wharton's  death  —  The 
completed  observatory — Stupendous  triple  problem. 

He  that  would  enjoy  life  and  act  with  freedom  must  have  the 
work  of  the  day  continually  before  his  eyes.  Not  yesterday's  work, 
lest  he  fall  into  despair,  nor  to-morrow's,  lest  he  become  a  visionary 
— not  that  which  ends  with  the  day,  which  is  worldly  work,  nor  yet 
that  only  which  remains  to  eternity,  for  by  it  he  cannot  shape  his 
actions. 

Happy  is  the  man  who  can  recognize  in  the  work  of  To-day  a 
connected  portion  of  the  work  of  life,  and  an  embodiment  of  the 
work  of  Eternity.  '  JAMES  CLERK  MAXWELL. 

A  CHAPTER  upon  the  Last  Days  at  the  Cape  may  well 
commence  and  end  with  a  retrospect.  David  Gill's  whole 
life  was  spent  in  doing  the  work  of  to-day  as  a  connected 
portion  of  the  work  of  life.  His  early  gro pings  after  a 
sphere  of  action  satisfying  to  his  spirit ;  his  preparatory 
labours  at  Dun  Echt,  Mauritius,  Egypt  and  Ascension ; 
and  his  transformation  of  the  Cape  establishment  into 
one  of  the  finest  observatories  in  the  world,  constantly 
pouring  forth  its  tale  of  invaluable  results ;  were  all 
evidence  of  a  continuous  grappling  with  the  work  of  to-day 
as  a  connected  portion  of  the  work  of  life.  According  to 
the  dictum  of  his  old  master,  he  ought  to  be  happy,  and 
HE  WAS  HAPPY.  No  other  words  could  express  his  out- 
look upon  the  world.  The  observatory  grounds,  a  para- 
dise in  themselves,  were  filled  with  noble  instruments,  the 
products  of  his  zeal.  The  6-inch  Refractor,  the  7-inch 
Heliometer,  the  Astrographic  Telescope,  the  Zenith 
Telescope,  the  3-foot  Altazimuth,  the  incomparable 

235 


236  LAST  DAYS  AT  THE  CAPE     [CHAP.  XX 

Reversible  Transit  Circle,  the  Azimuth  Marks,  the  mag- 
nificent photographic,  spectroscopic  and  visual  Victoria 
Telescope,  and  even  the  magnificent  though  uncompleted 
Clock,  all  bore  witness  that  the  days  and  years  had  not 
been  mis-spent. 

The  large  staff  of  assistants,  computers,  and  photo- 
graphic-plate measurers,  had  led  to  published  results 
enriching  the  world  both  present  and  future. 

And  his  memory  was  filled  with  thoughts  of  young 
men  who  had  sought  his  tutelage  or  assistance — Elkin, 
De  Sitter,  Jacoby,  Cookson,  Franklin- Adams,  Innes  most 
prominently — besides  those  of  eminent  astronomers  in- 
cluding Newcomb  and  Auwers,  who  had  shared  his 
labours  or  enjoyed  his  hospitality. 

The  work  of  the  day  had  been  continually  before  his 
eyes — and  he  was  happy. 

During  a  quarter  of  a  century  he  had  cumulative  evi- 
dence of  how  the  work  of  to-day  had  become  a  connected 
portion  of  the  work  of  life,  and  an  embodiment  of  the  work 
of  Eternity.  South  Africa  was  now  better  furnished  than 
any  other  British  colony  with  a  geographic  basis.  The 
star  catalogues  and  routine  work  of  an  observatory  had 
accumulated.  The  chance  afforded  by  a  remarkable 
comet  had  created  the  Durchmusterung  and  led  the 
world's  astronomers  to  claim  his  guidance  in  their  inter- 
national catalogue  of  stars.  He  had  been  allowed  to 
furnish  the  world  with  a  definitive  value  of  the  sun's 
mean  distance,  of  stellar  distances,  the  moon's  distance, 
and  the  moon's  mass.  He  had  been  able  to  fulfil  Adams' 
wish  in  obtaining  the  mass  of  Jupiter  and  the  orbital 
elements  of  his  Galilean  satellites ;  and  to  supply  New- 
comb  with  refined  observations  of  star  occultations  and 
planetary  positions ;  and  in  many  other  ways  had  added 
to  the  sum  of  human  knowledge. 

The  last  few  years  of  residence  at  the  Cape  were 
important  with  regard  to  the  geodetic  work  upon  which 


1902-6]  RETROSPECT  237 

he  had  been  engaged  for  over  a  quarter  of  a  century. 
This  is  one  of  the  most  important,  and  lastingly  so,  of 
all  his  contributions  to  science,  both  in  results  attained 
and  in  the  introduction  of  new  methods. 

Regarding  the  latter,  he  was  one  of  the  first  to  introduce 
the  Jaderin  system  of  measuring  a  base  line  by  means  of 
a  catenary  formed  of  wire  under  constant  tension.  It 
was  he,  too,  who  had  most  to  do  with  introducing  the 
nickel-iron  alloy  invar,  in  the  form  of  wire,  for  the  same 
purpose,  and  M.  Guillaume,  who  has  established  the  use 
of  invar,  acknowledges  his  great  indebtedness  to  Sir 
David  Gill.  Then,  again,  Gill  was  certainly  a  pioneer 
in  the  use  of  refined  theodolites  of  moderate  size,  and  of 
the  watch-telescope  for  checking  azimuth  observations. 
He  also  laid  stress  on  the  liability  of  grazing  rays  to 
deflections  in  azimuth. 

But  the  successful  results  were  largely  due  to  insistence 
upon  the  great  principle  with  which  he  started — to  supply 
South  Africa,  in  the  first  place,  with  a  primary  geodetic 
framework  of  triangulation  into  which  all  local  work  can 
be  fitted. 

A  distinguished  R.E.  once  expressed  to  the  writer  the 
opinion  that  Gill  would  have  done  better  by  devoting 
his  resources  more  to  local  map-making  and  less  to 
scientific  accuracy.  The  same  accusation  has  been 
levelled  against  his  guidance  of  the  Astrographic  Con- 
gress. History  is  not  likely  to  support  either  contention, 
and  certainly  "  the  great  apostle  of  the  slapdash  "  is  not 
the  man  to  guide  the  proceedings  of  an  international 
star  catalogue  or  a  vast  geodetic  survey. 

The  great  geodetic  framework  of  South  Africa  inci- 
dentally gives  us,  by  the  meridian  arc,  most  valuable 
information  about  the  figure  of  the  earth,  refraction  and 
local  attraction  of  the  plummet. 

The  characteristic  in  Gill  which  has  thus  placed  South 
Africa  so  far  ahead  of  the  other  self-governing  colonies 
was,  perhaps,  not  so  much  his  skill  in  planning  and  organiz- 


238  LAST  DAYS  AT  THE  CAPE     [CHAP.  XX 

ing,  or  in  selection  of  material  and  personnel,  as  his 
diplomacy,  in  getting  the  .great  administrators  of  terri- 
tories to  know  the  interests  of  the  colony,  and  to  render 
assistance  financially  and  otherwise.  Sir  Bartle  Frere 
and  Sir  George  Colley  in  the  first  years ;  later,  Cecil 
Rhodes,  Lord  Grey,  Lord  Milner  and  many  others  were 
essential  to  the  success  of  his  projects,  and  he  won  them 
all  over  to  lend  their  help. 

The  climax  of  interest  in  the  story  of  the  meridian  arc 
was  reached  in  1906,  when  it  became  absolutely  necessar}^ 
to  connect  the  Limpopo  region  of  the  Transvaal  with  the 
Rhodesian  triangulation.  The  Chartered  Company  were 
breaking  up  their  trained  survey  party  after  their  own 
work  was  done.  Gill  urged  them,  by  cable,  to  complete 
this  link  in  the  chain,  but  his  efforts  at  a  distance  of  six 
thousand  miles  from  headquarters  were  unavailing.  So  he 
selected  the  man  who  could  best  negotiate,  and  cabled 
to  Sir  George  Darwin,  asking  him  to  collect  funds. 
Darwin  was  in  America,  and  it  was  not  until  May  7  that 
he  replied  by  cable,  "  Money  possibly  forthcoming — hold 
party  together."  Gill  cabled  that  a  decision  was  necessary 
by  May  24.  On  May  21  Darwin  cabled,  "  I  have  pro- 
cured £1600  for  completion  survey.  Can  you  guarantee 
it  will  be  finished  for  this  sum  ?  Impossible  obtain  more." 

Meanwhile,  all  transport  had  been  returned  from  the 
surveying  camps,  and  Gill  had  to  start  negotiations  with 
the  Transvaal  Government.  On  May  31  he  cabled 
through  the  Chartered  Company,  "  Tell  Darwin  Transvaal 
has  granted  loan  of  transport.  Morris  and  I  believe 
can  now  finish  connexion  for  £1600."  On  June  8  the 
answer  came,  "  Inform  Sir  David  Gill  from  Darwin, 
£1600  has  been  granted  only  provided  he  guarantees 
finish  connexion."  And  Gill  cabled,  "  Gill  accepts 
responsibility,  acts  of  God  and  the  King's  enemies 
excepted." 

Sir  George  Darwin's  subscribers  were  the  Royal 
Geographical  Society,  the  Royal  Society,  Mr.  Werner, 


i9o2~6]          GREAT  ARC  OF  MERIDIAN  239 

Sir  George  Darwin,  the  British  South  African  Company 
and  the  British  Association.  Thus  was  the  situation 
saved  for  the  great  meridian  arc  upon  which  Gill  had 
worked  for  so  long,  by  two  capable  earnest  men  at  the 
two  ends  of  a  cable  six  thousand  miles  long.  They  might 
well  be  proud  of  it,  and  we  of  them  ! 

After  Gill's  retirement  he  never  ceased  in  his  efforts  to 
connect  this  grand  survey  with  the  Egyptian  triangulation 
in  the  Sudan,  with  the  help  of  the  Belgians  and  Germans, 
who  own  (or  owned)  the  intervening  country.  His  driving 
force  is  gone,  but  surely  some  one  will  continue  his 
efforts  not  only  to  the  Mediterranean,  but  also  to  the 
north  of  Europe  by  connexion  with  the  Russian  surveys. 

One  of  the  outstanding  events  at  the  close  of  Sir  David's 
directorship  of  the  observatory  (which  ended  in  1907) 
was  the  visit  of  the  British  Association  to  South  Africa 
in  1905.  He  undertook  the  major  part  of  the  preliminary 
organization,  going  into  every  minute  detail  with  a 
thoroughness  that  told  severely  upon  his  health. 

A  party  of  European  astronomers  arrived  a  week 
before  the  meeting  and  had  delightful  experiences  and 
discussions  at  the  observatory.  Kapteyn  and  Backlund 
were  of  the  number,  and  the  plan  of  "  selected  areas  "  of 
the  former  was  elaborated.  They  would  begin  about 
half -past  eleven,  lunch  there,  and  tea  would  arrive  in  a 
cloud  of  smoke  before  they  seemed  to  have  begun. 

During  the  B.A.  meeting  Gill  tried  to  do  too  much 
himself,  and  left  too  little  to  others.  For  example,  he 
tried  to  arrange  the  location  of  all  the  parties  in  the 
four  trains,  and  he  was  absolutely  dead  beat  (as,  perhaps, 
no  one  had  ever  seen  him  before)  when  he  came  back  to 
the  observatory  that  evening,  just  in  time  for  a  dinner 
party.  He  was  so  tired  that  he  could  not  remember 
people's  names.  Finally,  the  death  of  Sir  William 
Wharton  gave  him  a  terrible  shock. 

All   these   events    contributed   to   the    breakdown    in 


240  LAST  DAYS  AT  THE  CAPE     [CHAP.  XX 

health  in  the  next  year,  which  made  his  retirement 
imperative. — Fortunately  the  bad  effects  were  not  per- 
manent. In  England  his-  vigour  returned,  and  he  was 
able  to  throw  the  whole  of  his  natural  energy  into  the 
welfare,  present  and  future,  of  the  glorious  science  of 
astronomy. 

To  DR.  A.  ROBERTS 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

1905,  September  n. 

MY  DEAR  ROBERTS,  .  .  .  Yr  kind  letter  of  the  7th 
Sept.  is  just  to  hand.  Retirement  in  my  case  is  urged 
by  a  good  many  circumstances. 

It  is  true  I  am  fairly  well  in  health — but  I  have  not  the 
"  go  "  I  used  to  have.  To  drive  a  large  show  of  this  kind 
one  ought  to  be  fuller  of  the  capacity  for  work  of  every 
kind.  I  do  not  now  feel  capable  of  observing  to  any 
extent — to  show  the  example  of  activity  that  a  Chief 
should. 

But  it  is  chiefly  on  the  ground  of  my  wife's  health  that 
I  feel  I  ought  to  retire.  She  suffers  terribly  nervously 
every  summer.  She  has  borne  great  suffering  on  my 
account — i.  e.  to  enable  me  to  continue  here  in  a  climate 
that  is  very  trying  for  her — and  I  do  not  feel  that  I  can 
ask  her  to  do  so  longer — indeed,  I  will  not,  for  she  is  more 
to  me  than  anything  on  earth. 

Besides,  I  have  found  administrative  work  growing  so 
large — have  been  run  into  so  many  kinds  of  administrative 
work — such  a  target  for  letters  of  advice,  chairmanships 
and  so  forth — references  from  Governments,  surveys, 
boards  of  museums,  geodetic,  topographical,  geological 
survey,  Phil  Society,  Dio.  College  and  so  forth,  that  I 
cannot  get  time  for  quiet  work  that  my  soul  longs  for. 

No,  my  friend,  the  time  has  come  for  me  to  betake 
myself  to  the  old  country — take  a  spell  of  rest  and  then 
go  in  for  some  quiet  solid  work. 

When  a  man  begins  to  feel  work  an  effort  it  is  time  to 
stop.  Till  a  couple  of  years  ago  I  found  all  my  work  a 
pleasure — now  I  begin  to  find  it  effort — and  especially 
to  new  jobs.  You  have  a  good  many  years  before  you, 
I  trust,  before  that  time  comes,  but  come  it  will.  I  do 
not  think  it  right  for  a  creaking  machine  to  keep  out  more 
modern  ones. 


1902-6]  RETIREMENT  241 

We  need  not,  however,  discuss  these  matters — for  the 
supreme  consideration  is  my  wife's  health — and  that 
decides  me. 

I  am  thankful  that  the  B.A.  meeting  has  gone  off  so 
well.  The  local  committees  worked  splendidly.  Jo 'berg 
went  wild  with  hospitality  and  entertained  not  the  official 
party  only,  but  every  Dick,  Tom  and  Harry  who  visited 
them  and  was  a  member  of  the  B.A.  One  dear  old  lady 
for  whom,  at  her  request,  I  had  engaged  rooms  at  Heath's 
hotel  in  Johannesburg,  when  I  asked  her  if  she  was 
comfortable,  said,  "  Oh,  yes,  and  the  rooms  are  quite 
nice  both  for  myself  and  my  maid,  but  a  strange  man — 
a  man  I  had  never  seen  before — insists  that  he  is  to  pay 
all  my  hotel  expenses — is  it  not  embarrassing  ?  " — I  could 
only  laugh  and  say,  "  Most  compromising  !  " 

****** 

Ever  thine,  DAVID  GILL. 

To  DR.  A.  ROBERTS 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

1906,  February  20. 

MY  DEAR  ROBERTS, — .  .  .  I  am  beginning  to  feel  better 
but  am  still  very  weak  and  not  fit  for  much  work.  I  got 
enteritis  at  the  beginning  of  January — had  2  relapses 
and  have  not  picked  up  much  strength  yet. 

My  wife,  I  am  sorry  to  tell  you,  is  down  with  gastritis 
and  low  fever  so  wre  are  a  sorry  couple,  and  feel  that 
neither  of  us  may  face  another  Cape  summer.  .  .  . 

We  will  look  out  for  you  on  your  arrival.  I  think 
Mr.  Simms  of  Troughton  &  Simms  will  be  with  us.  ... 
He  is  coming  to  see  his  new  Transit  Circle.  .  .  . 

Ever  thine,  DAVID  GILL. 

The  end  of  the  British  Association  meeting  so  far  as 
concerned  the  Gills  was  deplorable  in  the  death  under  their 
roof  of  Admiral  Sir  William  Wharton,  the  Hydrographer 
to  the  Admiralty,  whose  high  scientific  attainments  had  of 
late  years  been  of  such  signal  service  to  the  observatory. 

Wharton  had  been  one  of  Gill's  closest  friends  since 
1874,  and  his  death  under  the  distressing  circumstances 
was  a  terrible  blow  to  his  affectionate  fellow  worker. 

The  subject  seems  too  sacred  to  be  dealt  with  here 


242  LAST  DAYS  AT  THE  CAPE     [CHAP.  XX 

by  reproducing  the  letters  which  tell  of  all  he  did  for  the 
mitigation  of  the  blow  to.  the  bereaved  family.  The 
writer  feels,  not  only  in  this  case  but  in  many  others  of 
a  similar  nature,  that  he  has,  through  a  perhaps  false 
delicacy,  failed  to  exhibit  fully  the  heartfelt  solicitude 
with  which  David  Gill  spent  himself  in  the  endeavour  to 
support  and  help  his  friends  in  affliction. 

The  writer  must  also  confess  to  having,  in  the  same 
spirit,  passed  over  many  acts  disclosed  in  the  letters,  in 
some  of  which  Gill  intervened  either  to  have  a  well-merited 
honour  conferred  for  valuable  services,  or  to  protect  a 
worker  in  the  cause  of  science  from  neglect  or  calumny. 
There  is  plenty  of  correspondence  to  show  how  he  per- 
sisted and  "refused  every  refusal,"  and  how  much  his 
name  came  to  be  revered  for  this  by  families  not  only  in 
South  Africa  and  England  but  even  in  France  and  the 
United  States.  He  kept  these  acts  to  himself  in  his  life- 
time. It  is  better  that  even  now  the 3^  should  remain 
unrecorded.  But  the  writer,  who  has  seen  the  letters, 
feels  bound  to  express  his  admiration,  which  is  shared 
by  those  who  benefited  from  his  generous  tenacity. 

Even  before  he  retired  to  England,  European  leaders 
in  refined  and  accurate  work  were  beginning  to  seek 
Sir  David  Gill's  co-operation  in  advance.  An  example 
of  this  is  the  following  letter  from  the  official  head  of 
astronomy  in  Germany. 

FROM  DR.  W.  FOERSTER 
BERLIN,  WESTEND,  ATHORNALLEC,  May  15,  1906. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  DAVID  GILL, — After  the  death  of  Mr. 
Chaney,  Member  of  the  International  Committee  of 
Weights  and  Measures,  I  wrote  to  Sir  George  Darwin, 
asking  his  advice  with  regard  to  the  election  of  a 
successor.  .  .  . 

He  opens  to  us  the  possibility  of  gaining  your  per- 
sonal presence  and  collaboration  as  Member  of  the 
Committee.  .  .  . 

Now,  my  dear  Sir  David,  there  is  no  scientific  man  in 


1902-6]         A  PERFECT  OBSERVATORY  243 

the  British  Empire  who  has  so  high  merits  in  the  great 
field  of  measuring  and  of  finally  extending  the  com- 
munity and  rational  development  of  high  metrology,  than 
you.  Therefore,  no  better  British  Member  of  our  com- 
mittee could  be  elected  than  Sir  David  Gill. 

I  am  fully  sure  of  the  unanimity  of  voices  for  this 
election,  and  I  beg  you  to  send  me  as  soon  as  possible 
your  answer  to  this  proposition. 

****** 

I  am,  dear  friend  and  colleague,  always  yours  very 
sincerely,  W.  FOERSTER. 

Astronomically,  the  last  years  of  Gill's  life  at  the  Cape 
were  mainly  occupied  in  what  may  be  spoken  of  as  teaching 
his  valuable  instruments  to  earn  their  living. 

1.  The  Heliometer  was  diligently  set  to  work  to  observe 
positions  of  major  planets. 

2.  The  division  errors  and  pivot  errors  of  the  Reversible 
Transit  Circle  were  measured,  sometimes  by  ingenious 
methods  invented  by  Gill,  and  the  Repsold  travelling 
wire,  with  improvements  of  his  own,  added. 

3.  The  Victoria  Telescope  was  mainly  trained  and  used 
for  getting  accurate  radial  velocities  so  as  to  perfect  his 
method  of  determining  the  constant  of  aberration  and 
consequentially  confirming  his  value  of  the  Solar  Parallax. 

4.  The  Astrographic  Telescope  was  steadily  pursuing  its 
own  role  for  the  astrographic  chart  and  catalogue. 

5.  The  old  Transit  Circle,  as  a  differential  instrument, 
assisted  the  new,  especially  in  getting  out  the   Lunar 
Parallax  from  observations  of  the  crater  Mostyn  A,  in 
conjunction  with  Greenwich. 

6.  The  6-inch  equatoreal  and  other  minor  instruments 
were  kept  in  order,  ready  for  all  occasional  work. 

7.  The    "  perfect  clock,"   perhaps   too   complicated   in 
parts  of  its  construction  owing  to  the  suggestions   of 
friends,   was  set  up  and  tested.     It  seems  to  have  had 
only  one  important  defect  (obviously  curable),  the  failure 
of  electrical  contacts.     Eventually  the  Admiralty  stopped 


244  LAST  DAYS  AT  THE   CAPE     [CHAP.  XX 

all  further  experiments,  which  cost  much.  This  clock, 
almost  certainly  "capable  pi  becoming  the  most  perfect 
ever  constructed,1  now,  unfortunately,  lies  at  the  Cape 
Observatory  incomplete  and  discarded. 

All  accounts  received  from  the  Cape*,  up  to  this  date 
strengthen  the  opinion  that  the  Cape  Observatory  is 
likely  for  a  long  time  to  be  regarded  as  "  The  Gill  Observa- 
tory/' fitted  with  Gill  Instruments,  operated  by  the  Gill 
Spirit.  In  Nature  of  January  27,  1916,  we  read— 

Although  Sir  David  Gill  retired  from  the  direction  of 
the  Cape  Observatory  early  in  1907,  and  died  just  7 
years  later,  the  volumes  from  that  observatory  which 
have  recently  been  distributed  are  essentially  his  work. 
Even  in  the  contributions  of  his  successor  and  colla- 
borateur,  Gill's  inspiration  and  design  are  evident.  It  is 
not  too  much  to  say  that  the  same  spirit  of  energy  and 
thoroughness  will  endure  in  the  pages  of  future  publica- 
tions long  after  his  name  has  disappeared  from  the  title. 
No  greater  tribute  can  be  paid  to  the  memory  of  a  great 
man.  His  personal  achievement  was  considerable,  but 
beyond  that  his  influence  on  others  will  surely  live. 

It  says  much  for  Mr.  Hough  that  he  is  determined  to 

1  Mr.  E.  T.  Cottingham,  F.R.A.S.,  the  distinguished  horologist 
and  practical  clockmaker,  bears  witness  that  "the  barometric, 
thermal  and  circular  errors  being  cured  by  the  air-tight  casing  in 
a  room  of  constant  temperature,  Gill's  beautiful  escapement  gives 
to  the  pendulum  a  very  constant  gravity  impulse,  not  only  free 
from  clock  train  error,  but  superior  to  all  other  forms  of  gravity 
escapement  in  freedom  from  the  varying  frictions  in  unlocking 
the  gravity  arm  and  the  oil  factor  on  the  locking  face,  and  also 
in  the  greatly  reduced  mechanical  shock." 

Mr.  Cottingham,  who  is  one  of  the  few  who  are  masters  of  the 
Reifler  and  other  clocks  of  high  precision,  has  experimented  for 
years  upon  the  Gill  escapement,  has  entirely  overcome  the 
electrical  trouble,  and  cannot  foresee  any  cause  of  error.  It  may 
be  pointed  out  that  the  impulses  and  recording  can  all  be  applied 
by  a  subsidiary  astronomical  clock,  which  would  be  regulated 
by  comparison  with  the  Gill  pendulum  in  the  observatory  once 
or  twice  a  day,  leaving  the  Gill  pendulum  perfectly  free  to  vibrate 
uniformly  for  ages,  except  for  variations  in  gravity.  It  is  not 
impossible  that  the  Gill  clock  may  in  the  future  be  used  to  test 
the  uniformity  of  the  earth's  rotation  from  century  to  century. 
The  escapement  is  described  in  the  British  Association  Reports, 
1880. 


1902-6]         GIGANTIC  TRIPLE   PROBLEM  245 

maintain  the  traditions  for  thoroughness  as  a  feature  of 
the  Cape  Observatory.  Under  his  guidance  the  reputa- 
tion of  the  observatory  is  growing  with  the  years,  and 
he  will  be  able  to  carry  on  the  effort  with  which  he 
has  started  so  successfully,  thus  conferring  incalculable 
benefit  upon  astronomy  of  the  future. 

The  remaining  part  of  this  book  must  be  largely  con- 
fined to  the  personal  characteristics  of  the  man  David 
Gill,  and  will  include  some  account  of  his  last  years,  in 
England,  where  his  innate  humanity  found  ample  scope 
in  the  ever-widening  sphere  of  delightful  friendships  that 
filled  the  last  years  of  his  life. 

It  was  a  severe  wrench  for  Sir  David  and  Lady  Gill  to 
tear  themselves  away  from  the  happy  home  and  friend- 
ships of  twenty-seven  years  in  the  glorious  sunshine  of 
the  Cape.  They  both  felt  it  deeply,  but  the  health  of 
both  made  the  step  imperative. 

Before  proceeding  to  the  concluding  section  of  this 
book,  and  without  any  attempt  at  analysis  of  Gill's 
scientific  researches,  the  writer  cannot  refrain  from  in- 
dulging in  a  limited  and  perhaps  fanciful  survey,  from 
a  new  point  of  view,  of  three  only  from  among  Gill's 
most  patiently  elaborated,  and  successfully  completed 
researches  at  the  Cape. 

It  has  been  recorded  that  in  the  first  years  of  his 
directorship,  and  prior  to  1884,  his  attention  was  already 
fixed  upon  three  great  undertakings  involving  the  highest 
accuracy  attainable. 

(1)  Geodetic   triangulation   and   the   measurement   of 
an  arc  of  meridian. 

(2)  Observations   of   minor   planets   with   a   powerful 
heliometer,  to  obtain  a  final  definitive  value  of  the  sun's 
distance  from  the  earth  (solar  parallax). 

(3)  Observations  of  stellar  displacements  due  to  the 
observer  being  carried,  by  the  earth's  revolution  round 
the  sun,  across  the  earth's  orbit  every  six  months,  thus 
measuring  the  stars'  distances  from  us  (stellar  parallax). 


246  LAST  DAYS  AT  THE  CAPE     [CHAP.  XX 

The  force  that  attracted  .him  to  these  three  researches 
was  the  acknowledged  difficulty  and  refinement  of  the 
necessary  observations,  and  his  belief  in  himself. 

Probably  it  never  occurred  to  him  how  intimately 
these  were  connected.  If  we  take  a  broad  outlook  upon 
what  he  actually  accomplished  in  these  three  directions 
we  cannot  fail  to  be  impressed  by  the  completeness  of 
his  undertaking.  For  his  own  measurements  alone,  and 
those  under  his  immediate  control,  furnished  the  materials 
for  measuring  the  distances  of  many  stars,  in  metres, 
and  comparing  these  distances  directly  with  the  actual 
metallic  bar  which  is  preserved  at  Paris  as  the  standard 
metre. 

That  he  should  have  been  the  first  systematically  to 
attack  the  stellar  distances,  with  an  instrument  which 
with  his  own  hands  and  eyes  he  had  proved  to  be  equal 
to  this  difficult  enterprise,  was  a  splendid  thing.  But 
that  he  himself  should  have  provided  all  the  necessary 
steps  of  the  measurement  and  triangulation,  from  the 
interior  of  the  Bureau  des  poids  et  des  mesures  in  Paris, 
where  lies  the  standard  metre,  right  on  by  continuous 
triangulation  to  a  Centauri,  Sirius,  and  a  number  of  other 
stars,  is  a  feat  of  measurement  which  has  never  been 
equalled,  and  is  not  likely  ever  to  be  surpassed. 

It  may  have  been  an  accidental  concatenation  of 
circumstances  and  temperament  that  led  to  his  doing 
all  this ;  it  is  very  unlikely  that  he  ever  realized  that  he 
had  accomplished  the  combined  feat.  That  it  was  done, 
and  done  with  such  superlative  accuracy,  has  evoked  the 
enthusiasm  of  all  astronomers. 

Without  dealing  with  details  about  precautions,  and 
checks  upon  the  work,  let  us  look  broadly  at  a  portion 
of  what  was  accomplished  in  these  three  great  researches. 

First,  he  procured  a  measuring  bar,  transported  it  to 
Paris,  and  measured  upon  it  the  exact  length  of  the 
standard  metre. 

Second,  he  took  this  to  South  Africa  to  measure  a  base 


i9o2-6]  STAR  DISTANCES  247 

line  on  the  ground,  a  few  miles  long,  and  from  this  base, 
with  a  theodolite,  he  extended  his  survey  by  a  series  of 
triangles  over  an  arc  of  meridian. 

Third,  latitude  observations,  at  the  two  ends  of  this 
arc  measured  in  metres,  gave  him  the  means  of  deter- 
mining the  diameter  of  the  earth  in  terms  of  the  standard 
metre  at  Paris. 

Fourth,  taking  a  definite  portion  of  this  diameter  of 
the  earth  as  a  base  line,  over  which  he  was  carried  by 
the  earth's  diurnal  rotation,  he  extended  his  triangulation 
to  the  minor  planet  Victoria.1  This  gave  him  the  scale 
for  measuring  the  solar  system.  Thus  his  triangulation 
gave  him  the  diameter  of  the  earth's  orbit. 

Fifth  and  finally,  he  still  further  extended  the  triangula- 
tion which  was  begun  in  South  Africa,  and,  using  as  a  base 
line  the  diameter  of  the  earth's  orbit,  over  which  he  was 
carried  by  the  earth's  revolution  round  the  sun,  he  com- 
pleted his  triangulation  from  the  bar  of  metal  in  the  Paris 
Bureau  to  the  distant  fixed  stars. 

Thus,  without  any  extraneous  help,  he  measured  the 
distances  of  the  stars  with  the  Paris  standard  metre. 

Stated  thus,  the  stupendous  nature  of  the  triple 
problem  captures  the  imagination  !  Meanwhile,  practical 
astronomers,  studying  in  sober  earnest  the  voluminous 
records  of  the  triple  undertaking,  are  uplifted  in  admira- 
tion, not  only  at  the  unrivalled  skill  of  hand  and  eye,  not 
only  at  the  mathematical  instinct  that  guided  his  steps, 
but  even  more  at  the  dogged  persistence  and  steady 
effort,  which  enabled  him  to  overcome  every  obstacle. 
Other  astronomers  have  had  the  skill,  other  astronomers 
have  had  the  instinct,  and  other  astronomers  have  had 
the  persistence  and  steady  effort.  There  are  few  to 
whom  all  have  been  given  to  the  degree  required  for  the 
completion  of  this  stupendous  work. 

1  The  Cape  observations,  by  themselves,  gave  an  accurate 
value  of  the  solar  parallax. 


BOOK   III 

THE  CHARM  OF  A  REAL  ASTRONOMER 


CHAPTER   XXI 

THE  OTHER  SIDE  OF  THE  MAN    (1899-1906) 

Letters  to  Miss  Violet  Markham — The  years  of   anxiety  during 
the  war — The  Royal  visit — Lord  Milner — Interesting  visitors. 

THE  reader  is  now  in  a  position  to  understand  how  far 
David  Gill,  the  Aberdeen  watchmaker,  entrusted  in  1879 
with  great  opportunities,  had  fulfilled  the  first  part  of  his 
self-imposed  ideals,  the  creation  at  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  of  a  really  first-class  observatory. 

Some  notion  can  also  already  be  formed  as  to  his  second 
ideal,  to  accumulate,  by  personal  labour  and  superintend- 
ence, the  most  accurate  observations  possible,  and  a 
solid  contribution  to  the  determination  of  fundamental 
astronomical  constants. 

In  the  next  chapter,  the  story  of  his  third  ideal,  the 
creation  of  a  colony  of  ardent  workers,  or  a  family  party, 
united  by  almost  affectionate  ties,  filled  with  good 
fellowship  and  pride  in  their  calling,  will  be  told. 

Something  must  now  be  said  of  the  genial  influence 
and  sound  judgment  which  bound  him  to  all  worthy 
effort  even  outside  of  his  observatory. 

On  May  24,  1900,  the  Cape  Argus  expressed  the  opinion 
of  Cape  Town  on  the  honour  (K.C.B.)  conferred  upon  Sir 
David  Gill  in  words  which  may  surprise  those  who  are 
not  aware  of  his  influence  in  South  Africa. 

Dr.  Gill  has  earned  his  knighthood,  not  only  by  eminent 
services  to  science,  but  by  equally  great  services  to  the 
Empire  in  the  recent  time  of  crisis.  His  singularly 

251 


252     THE  OTHER  SIDE  OF  THE  MAN     [CHAP.  XXI 

independent  position  in  the  Imperial  as  distinguished 
from  the  Colonial  Civil  Service  gave  to  him  a  position 
of  unusual  influence,  and  He  used  it  to  the  best  advantage. 

Gill  was,  in  political  matters,  not  only  a  clear-thinking 
Aberdonian,  but  also  an  honourable  patriotic  Englishman, 
who  had  watched  with  shrewd  judgment  the  self -seeking 
machinations  of  local  politicians.  His  sound  common  sense 
in  the  years  of  the  nation's  trial  during  the  S.  African 
war  were  of  immense  value  to  his  fellow  townsmen  and 
a  help  to  our  administrators.  The  later  history  of  South 
Africa  renders  it  needless  to  publish  his  general  corre- 
spondence in  this  connexion.  One  incident  will  suffice 
to  show  the  part  he  played  throughout  the  crisis. 

In  1809  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Merriman  an  appeal  to  face 
the  logic  of  facts  and  his  own  statements  as  to  the  Bond 
and  Krueger  schemes — and  to  prove  himself  an  honest 
English  gentleman  by  forsaking  the  course  into  which 
he  then  seemed  to  be  drifting. 

The  beginning  of  the  reply  he  got  runs  thus— 

TREASURY,  CAPE  TOWN,  July  8,  1899. 
MY   DEAR  GILL, — Thank  you  for  your  kindly  note. 
You  seem  to  know  nearly  as  much  about  politics  as  I  do 
about  astronomy  upon  which,  however,  I  seldom  give  my 
opinion.  .  .  .' 

Gill's  reply  to  this  part  of  the  letter  is  worthy  of  the 
man. 

MY  DEAR  MERRIMAN, — Thank  you  for  your  letter  of 
this  morning — but  forgive  me  if  I  differ  from  you  as  to 
my  capacity  for  forming  an  opinion  on  the  situation. 

I  am  not  a  professional  politician  it  is  true,  but  I 
may  fairly  claim,  as  a  reasonably  observant  and  intelligent 
inhabitant  of  this  country  for  twenty  years,  to  know 
very  much  more  about  its  politics  than  you  do  of  astro- 
nomy. You  must  forgive  me  if  I  go  farther  and  say, 
that,  being  entirely  uninfluenced  by  local  party  con- 
siderations, I  am  probably  in  a  position  to  take  a  more 
unprejudiced  view  of  the  situation  than  yourself. 


Photo,  Elliot  &  Fry.]  [To  face  page  252. 

SIR   DAVID    GILL,    K.C.B.,    F.R.S. 


1899-1906]  LORD   MILNER  253 

Then  he  proceeds  to  deal  with  the  inexorable  logic  of 
the  argument ;  and  concludes  with  an  appeal  to  the 
highest  instincts  of  his  correspondent. 

This  aspect  of  Sir  David  Gill's  activities  at  the  Cape 
must  not  be  left  unnoticed.  His  calm  and  level-headed 
judgment  was  not  confined  to  the  observatory,  but  was 
at  the  disposal  of  all  who  had  the  welfare  of  his  country 
at  heart.  It  was  sought  and  gained  by  all,  even  by  the 
highest  in  that  land.  Few  records  of  this  part  of  his 
life,  especially  in  the  strenuous  years  for  the  colonies 
between  1899  and  1904,  are  of  a  character  that  now 
demand  publication.  But  the  esteem  in  which  he — 
along  with  his  loving  wife — was  held,  is  sufficiently  shown 
by  two  letters  from  Lord  Milner,  one  written  at  the 
moment  of  leaving  South  Africa  for  the  last  time,  the 
other  written  in  the  last  year  of  Sir  David's  life. 

FROM  LORD  MILNER 

HIGH  COMMISSIONER'S  OFFICE,  JOHANNESBURG, 

March  28,  1905. 

MY  DEAR  GILL, — Many  thanks  for  your  very  kind 
letter,  which,  alas,  I  have  no  time  to  answer  properly. 

I  hope,  now  that  I  am  returning  to  private  life,  you  will 
drop  my  prefix,  as  I  have  dropped  yours,  and  let  us  fore- 
gather in  the  future,  as  I  hope  we  often  may  do,  as  old 
comrades  in  arms. 

Thank  you  for  all  your  unfailing  friendship  and  your 
stout  support.  I  am  glad  you  think  I  have  been  of  some 
assistance  to  you  in  your  special  pursuits.  I  am  very 
proud  if  I  may  think  that.  Let  me  add  that  it  has  been 
the  greatest  refreshment  to  me  to  be  allowed  to  take  an 
interest  in,  and  to  help,  however  little,  your  work.  Though 
I  have  long  ceased  to  "  wander  in  the  groves  of  Academe," 
and  my  life  has  been  wholly  practical,  I  still  owe  allegiance 
to  the  world  of  the  Higher  Interests,  and  you  are  one  of 
the  few  people  who  in  this  country  have  kept  me  in  any 
sort  of  touch  with  them. 

My  only  painful  thought,  where  you  are  concerned,  is 
regret  at  the  continued  ill  health  of  your  wife.  When 
I  remember  how  bright  and  charming  she  has  often  been 
in  our  company,  and  what  her  natural  gifts  are,  it  is 


254    THE  OTHER  SIDE  OF  THE  MAN     [CHAP.  XXI 

melancholy  to  think  of  them  marred  by  this  persistent 
illness.     I  hope  her  return  home  may  bring  better  days. 
With  my  kindest  and  mo'st  affectionate  remembrances 
to  you  both. — I  am,  ever  yours  very  sincerely,  MILNER. 

FROM  LORD  MILNER  ' 
47  DUKE  STREET,  S.W.,  November  13,  1913. 

MY  DEAR  GILL, — I  have  to  thank  you  for  a  most  hand- 
some gift — the  History  of  the  Cape  Observatory,  which 
you  kindly  sent  to  me  at  Sturry,  and  for  your  kind  letter 
of  Nov.  3rd.  The  book  is  full  of  interest  for  me  and  will 
always  remain  a  cherished  possession. 

As  for  the  letter,  I  can  assure  you  that  it  is  the  greatest 
pleasure  to  me  to  find  myself  thus  kindly  remembered 
by  an  old  friend  and  fellow-worker  in  the  great  S.  African 
crisis  of  the  past.  I,  like  you,  am  thoroughly  disgusted 
with  latter  day  politics,  and  my  thoughts  turn  more  and 
more  in  other  directions.  I  only  wish  that  our  paths 
crossed  more  often,  but  in  this  vast  world  of  London — 
even  when  I  am  in  it  (and  I  spend  as  much  time  as  I  can 
in  the  country) — I  but  rarely  come  across  old  friends. 

I  am  glad  to  hear  that  your  health  continues  so  good. 
70  is  no  great  age  for  a  man  of  your  natural  vigour  and 
elasticity,  and  I  trust  you  may  have  many  years  of  happy 
and  useful  activity  before  you. 

I  wish  you  had  been  able  to  give  a  better  report  of 
Lady  Gill.  It  is  most  sad  to  know  that  the  old  cloud 
has  once  more  descended  upon  her  spirit.  I  have  such 
happy  recollections  of  her  in  her  good  moments,  and  always 
found  her  a  true  friend.  Pray  give  her  my  kindest 
remembrances. 

Once  more  thanking  you  for  your  friendly  thought  of 
me,  Believe  me,  always  yours  very  sincerely,  MILNER. 

It  has  been  recognized  by  all  who  knew  Sir  David  Gill 
that  the  social  and  human  side  of  his  character  was  as 
attractive  as  the  intellectual.  This  appears  even  in  his 
correspondence  with  the  great  astronomers  of  the  world, 
who  were  also  his  affectionate  friends.  It  is  hardly 
possible,  however,  in  a  work  of  this  kind,  to  exhibit  this 
side  of  his  character  by  reproducing  many  of  these  letters, 


1899-1906]          SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  255 

because  they  teem  with  technical  matters  of  little  interest 
to  the  general  reader.  It  is,  therefore,  fortunate  that  a 
continuous  correspondence  during  his  later  days  at  the 
Cape  is  preserved,  with  Miss  Violet  Markham  (now  Mrs. 
Carruthers).  Her  acquaintance  with  Sir  David  and  Lady 
Gill  began  in  1899,  extended  through  the  terrible  times 
of  the  South  African  war,  and  grew  into  an  intimate 
friendship.  The  letters,  therefore,  are  among  the  few 
written  upon  certain  subjects  by  Gill  in  which  all  his 
reserve  is  put  aside,  and  his  inmost  thoughts  are  laid 
bare. 

It  is  very  remarkable  that  this  friend  should  be  able 
to  say,  "  During  an  intimate  friendship  of  many  years 
we  discussed,  I  suppose,  most  subjects  on  heaven  and 
earth,  always  excepting  the  stars." 

It  must  be  remarked  that,  although  the  following 
letters  from  Gill  to  Miss  Violet  Markham  are  full  of 
sound  judgments  upon  the  policy  of  the  war,  and 
other  matters  affecting  the  well-being  of  South  Africa, 
these  opinions  have  been  entirely  omitted  from  the  letters 
as  quoted  here,  because,  while  they  had  their  influence 
at  the  time,  there  is  no  use  in  raking  up  old  dissensions. 
All  of  the  following  letters  in  this  chapter  are  written 
from  the  Cape  Observatory  except  when  otherwise 
stated. 

1900.  Jan.  13.  I'm  afraid  if  I  do  go  to  Natal  they 
won't  hand  over  the  command  of  H.M.  forces  to  me  !  .  .  . 
The  proper  way  to  relieve  Natal  is  to  compel  Joubert  to 
fall  back  for  the  defence  of  Pretoria.  .  .  .  But  you  are 
not  an  amateur  general.  .  .  .  We  have  the  cavalry 
camp  just  under  the  observatory  windows,  and  you 
might  fancy  yrself  in  Piccadilly  from  the  people  you  meet 
in  the  observatory  avenue. 

1900.  Jan.  19.  [After  writing  about  the  war.]  Here 
the  irrepressible  amateur  General  is  coming  out — that 
warns  me  again  to  stop.  .  .  .  Mrs.  Han  bury  is  looking 
overworked.  The  Ladies  Edward  and  Chas.  are  both 
well.  I  lunched  with  them  last  Saturday  and  took  Sir 


256    THE  OTHER  SIDE  OF  THE  MAN     [CHAP.  XXI 

Wm.  McCormack  to  tea  with  them  on  Sunday  when  I 
met  pretty  Lady  Henry  Bentinck.  Such  heaps  and 
heaps  of  interesting  people  about. 

1900.  March  6.     My  dear  Friend — The  time  for  three 
cheers — and   10,000   hurrahs  has   come  at   last.     Lady- 
smith  relieved,   Cronje  and   4000  of  his  men  captured 
and   Kimberley  open. — It   has   been   a  terrible  time  of 
excitement. 

I  wish  I  had  seen  you  or  you  had  been  here  when  the 
news  of  Ladysmith  came.  It  was  only  10  a.m.  I  told 
my  young  men  to  try  to  work  till  noon,  and  then  go — 
but  they  couldn't,  and  I  couldn't — and  at  10.30  I  said, 
Go  and  hoist  every  bit  of  bunting — and  get  out  all  the  guns 
you  have,  and  fire  a  royal  salute  and  come  in  to  me. 
And  this  done  they  all  came  into  my  room,  and  some  25 
of  us  drank  the  Queen's  health  and  Roberts'  and  Kit- 
chener's and  Buller's  and  French's — in  my  best  cham- 
pagne— and  sang  God  Save  the  Queen— I  tried  to  make  a 
speech  and  could  not l — and  we  all  went  home  or  into 
town,  to  shake  every  one  we  met  by  the  hand. 

1901.  Apr.   22.     The   Hely   Hutchinsons   are   making 
themselves  most  agreeable.    We  dined  there  2  or  3  weeks 
ago, — their  first  dinner  party — a  very  pleasant  evening — 
Lady  Tullibardine,  her  sister  Miss  Ramsay  (half-sister  of 
the  great  classic)  were  there — both  delightful.     The  former 

5 lays  the  piano  charmingly,  the  latter  delighted  us  with 
acobite  songs. — They  afterwards  came  and  played 
and  sang  to  us  one  day — yesterday  I  lunched  at  Muizem- 
berg  with  them — and  heard  some  really  good  songs  that 
Lady  T.  had  written.  .  .  .  The  plague  continues,  at  a 
slow  even  average.  .  .  .  We  found  two  dead  rats  in  the 
grounds — one  we  sent  to  Dr.  Simpson  proved  to  be  plague 
stricken.  This  fact  gave  me  a  chance  to  carry  out  some 
much-needed  improvements  and  reporting  to  the  Ad- 
miralty afterwards.  .  .  .  My  best  news  is  that  the  little 
wife  is  very  well.  We  had  "our  first  dinner  party  of  any 
size  for  a  long  time  on  the  I3th  June  (in  lieu  of  the  I2th, 

1  [Here  is  the  account  of  his  speech  by  an  eye-witness  :  "  He 
rose  to  speak.  Not  a  word  could  he  succeed  in  uttering.  After 
we  had  waited  through  two  minutes  of  expectant  silence,  he  sat 
down  at  the  table  with  his  face  between  his  hands,  and  sobbed. 
It  was  the  most  eloquent  speech  he  ever  made."] 


1899-1906]  DUKE  OF  CORNWALL  257 

my  birthday) — and  on  the  evening  of  the  6th  July  Bella 
is  to  be  at  home  to  some  300  people — to  celebrate  the 
32d  Anniversary  of  our  wedding  day.  Our  new  Admiral 
—Moore — we  like  much.  .  .  .  All  the  Cape  is  busy  getting 
up  steam  for  the  approaching  visit  of  the  Royal  Duke  and 
Duchess  [King  George  and  Queen  Mary].  We  don't 
yet  know  whether  they  will  pay  the  observatory  a  visit. 
When  the  Duke  and  his  late  brother  visited  the  Cape  in 
1881  as  midshipmen  in  the  Bacchante,  Lord  Charles  Scott, 
their  Captain,  brought  them  out  to  dinner  one  evening 
at  the  Observatory.  They  made  great  fun  of  making  the 
Dome  go  round,  and  specially  enjoyed  a  forbidden  cigar 
when  the  Tutor  was  star-gazing.  .  .  . 

How  delightful  was  the  worthy  reception  given  to  our 
dear  Lord  Milner — I  have  written  him  to  say  that  what 
he  wants  now  is  a  good  wife  ! 

1901.  Sept.  20.  ...  I  wrote  an  account  of  my  holiday 
and  .  .  .  had  it  typed.  I  send  you  a  copy  of  this 
"  Epistle  general  of  St.  David."  [The  following  are 
extracts  from  typed  MS.] 

Admiral  Moore  invited  me  to  accompany  him  on 
board  the  Flag  Ship  to  Natal,  where  we  arrived  a  couple 
of  days  before  the  Ophir.  .  .  . 

I  landed  with  the  Admiral  and  8  officers  at  9.30  and 
waited  the  arrival  of  the  Duke  and  Duchess  at  the  jetty, 
where  in  a  pavilion  were  assembled  the  Ministers,  Chief 
Officials,  Mayor  and  Town  Councillors. 

At  10  o'clock  the  tug  with  the  Duke  and  Duchess  and 
suite  landed.  The  Admiral  presented  me,  when  the  Duke 
said  that  I  did  not  need  an  introduction  as  he  had  dined 
with  me  20  years  ago  at  the  Observatory — "  and  a  very 
jolly  evening  we  had."  The  Duchess  was  charming. — 
I  have  seldom  seen  any  one  who  lights  up  so  wonderfully 
in  speaking. 

There  was  a  slight  occasional  drizzle  of  rain,  but  not 
enough  to  interfere  seriously  with  a  procession  in  open 
carriages  through  gaily  decorated  Durban — then  luncheon 
(about  100  guests)  and  then  to  Pietermaritzburg  by 
train. 

Next   day  a  procession   to   the   Town   Hall  with  an 

opening  ceremony — very  impressive.  .  .  .  The  Duke  read 

his  speech  most  effectively,  every  word  heard  throughout 

the  large  hall.     Due  credit  to  Natal's  loyalty  and  service 

s 


258    THE  OTHER  SIDE  OF  THE  MAN     [CHAP.  XXI 

— a  touching  allusion  to  Ladysmith  and  the  Old  Hundredth 
psalm  brought  a  lump  to  the  throat. 

The  streets  were  lined  with  10,000  children  and  many 
hundreds  of  boy-Cadets  and  all  Natal  besides — a  rousing 
welcome.  In  the  afternoon  a  very  fine  show  in  the  park, 
with  investiture  of  a  dozen  V.C.'s  and  a  lot  of  D.S.O.'s. 

The  scene  was  a  fine  one — long  side  rows  of  bronzed 
war-worn  soldiers,  with  boy  cadets  in  front  of  them,  and 
facing  the  Duke  and  Duchess,  100  yards  off,  a  row  of 
500  Zulus  in  their  fullest  war  paint  and  equipment. 
After  the  investiture  the  Zulus  advanced  in  a  wild  sort 
of  dance  forming  a  half  moon  finally — the  Royal  Party 
in  the  centre.  It  was  a  most  weird  scene — the  grunts 
and  shouts  and  sharp  whistles  of  the  Zulus — their  waving 
arms  and  knobkerries,  and  the  deep  "  ugh — ugh  " — 
all  together,  were  very  impressive.  Most  impressive  of 
all  was  the  sudden  stoppage  from  wild  excitement.  Then 
the  Duke  inspected  them  and,  as  he  slowly  walked  past, 
the  men  of  each  tribe  held  up  their  hands  with  a  deep 
"  Incoos." 

After  dinner  a  sort  of  Drawing  Room  at  Gov*  House.  .  .  . 

One  could  write  an  amusing  article  on  the  Colonial 
hand-shake  of  the  Royalty.  .  .  .  One  poor  man  just 
touched  the  Duke's  hand,  lost  his  head  and  tried  to  vanish, 
but  as  the  Duchess  extended  her  hand  some  one  pushed 
the  victim  towards  her,  he  looked  her  in  the  face,  shook 
his  head  in  the  most  comical  frightened  way,  faced  about 
and  bolted.  Both  Duke  and  Duchess  looked  at  each 
other  and  fairly  bent  with  laughter. 

Next  morning  by  10.30  we  were  off  to  Durban.  .  .  . 
A  few  hours  from  Natal  we  encountered  heavy  wind  and 
sea,  which  rendered  it  impossible  to  arrive  on  Saturday 
evening; — so  we  slowed  down  to  a  pace  that  would  land 
us  to  Simons  Bay  on  Sunday  morning  at  daylight. 

After  breakfast  on  Sunday  the  Admiral  and  I  called 
on  board  the  Ophir.  This  is  a  small  world.  The  Duke 
of  Roxburgh  brought  me  a  message  from  my  brother 
Jem  in  Australia,  with  whom  he  had  been  hunting  with 
the  Melbourne  Hounds,  and  Lord  Crichton  had  been 
riding  a  horse  of  Jem's. 

The  Governor  came  down  to  call — after  we  left,  and 
the  following  good  story  came  of  it.  The  Duke  asked 
the  Governor  to  lunch.  After  luncheon  Sir  Walter  was 
walking  about  the  deck.  He  is  one  of  those  men  who 


1899-1906]     THE  DUKE  AND  DUCHESS  259 

never  forget  names  or  faces.  He  saw  the  Commander, 
whom  he  had  met  some  years  before. 

Governor.  "Ah,  Wemyss,  how  are  you?  glad  to  see 
you." 

Commander.  "  Yes,  I  think  I  have  seen  your  face 
before,  but  can't  remember  where.  What  is  your  name  ?  " 

Governor.  "  My  name  is  Hutchinson." 

Commander.  (Not  a  bit  the  wiser.)  "  Ah,  yes,  of 
course,  Hutchinson,  old  boy.  What  are  you  doing  out 
here  ?  " 

Governor.  Roars  of  laughter. 

Commander.  "  What  are  you  laughing  at  ?  " 

Governor.  "  I'm  the  Governor."     (Tableau.} 

On  Monday,  the  Duke  and  Duchess  entered  Cape 
Town,  but  you  have  seen  all  this  in  the  papers.  .  .  . 

We  took  rooms  in  the  Mount  Nelson  Hotel  during  the 
Royal  Visit  to  save  my  wife  the  fatigue  of  going  to  and 
from  the  Observatory.  We  met  most  of  the  members 
of  the  Duke's  Staff  in  this  way.  .  .  . 

Prince  Alexander  of  Teck  and  the  Duke  of  Roxburgh 
I  knew  before. 

Lady  Mary  Lygon  I  was  much  charmed  with,  she  made 
delightful  music  to  us  one  evening. 

The  Duke  of  Cornwall  does  not  seem  very  strong. 

The  Duchess  was  very  bright  and  easy  in  conversation — 
and  her  charming  manners  and  sweet  smiles  have  rendered 
her  immensely  popular. 

****** 

The  Royalties  departed  with  all  the  best  of  our  good 
wishes  and  amidst  the  greatest  enthusiasm. 

1902.  May  12.     Only  just  a  line.  .  .  . 

Sir  Frederick  Richards  and  I  spent  the  week  end,,  a 
fortnight  ago,  at  Admiralty  House.  Lord  Milner  came 
on  Sunday  afternoon  and  stayed  the  night.  We  went 
up  in  the  train  together.  .  .  .  Colonel  Lambton  also 
came  here  to  lunch  the  following  Saturday  and  met 
Georgie  Frere. 

****** 

I  am  looking  anxiously  for  next  mail  and  news  of  my 
wife.  Playf air's  report  by  last  mail  was  decidedly 
favourable,  for  the  first  time.  I  cabled  a  fortnight  ago 


260    THE  OTHER  SIDE  OF  THE  MAN     [CHAP.  XXI 

to  call  in  Dr.  Phillips.  The  Kelvins  had  very  strongly 
recommended  him.  .  .  .  When  you  see  Bella  write  and 
tell  me  all  about  her.1  ?' 

1902.  June  25.  I  am  starting  on  Saturday  for 
Johannesburg  to  spend  the  first  fortnight  of  July  with 
Lord  Milner.  .  .  . 

I  saw  my  dear  old  friend  Ld  Methuen  and  his  wife  a 
good  deal  when  here  on  their  way  home.  He  was  very 
cheery  and  interesting.  I  asked  him  to  put  certain 
matters  in  writing  he  told  me.  His  written  statement 
is  not  so  strong  as  what  he  told  me — but  I  send  it  as  he 
writes  me. 

Kitchener,  French  and  Ian  Hamilton  passed  through 
on  Monday.  The  Mayor  caught  them  for  lunch  by  the 
way,  and  I  was  one  of  the  guests  to  meet  them,  and  sat 
by  French  who  was  very  interesting. 

1902.  July  22.  I  have  just  returned  from  a  visit  to 
Lord  Milner  in  Johannesburg.  [Here  follow  notes  of 
survey-plans  completed  with  Lord  Milner.] 

All  these  things,  besides  a  farewell  Caledonian  Society 
Banquet  to  the  Marquess  of  Tullibardine,  a  Ball  (at  which 
your  aged  friend  [i.e.  David  Gill]  danced  vigorously), 
a  visit  to  the  Robinson  Mine,  2  visits  to  Pretoria,  dinner 
parties  at  Sunnyside  (Lord  Milner 's),  and  generally 
luncheons  with  pleasant  people,  my  time  was  pretty  fully 
occupied. 

It  was  a  great  pleasure  to  meet  Lady  Tullibardine  again , 
and  I  was  very  sorry  not  to  be  able  to  accompany  her  as 
far  as  the  Cape  on  her  way  home.  She  hurried  off  in 
haste  a  week  before  me  in  the  hopes  of  getting  back 
before  Tullibardine 's  Mother's  death.  She  was  too  late 
after  all,  for  the  Duchess  of  Atholl  died  just  as  I  left 
Johannesburg. 

Tullibardine  has  done  well  with  his  Scottish  Horse  in 
the  field  and  has  found  good  posts  in  the  Transvaal  and 
Orange  River  Colony  for  over  600  of  his  men.  [The 
remainder  of  letter  deals  with  politics.] 

1902.  Nov.  30.  Before  Bella  sailed  from  England 
I  was  suddenly  seized  with  horrid  pain — apparently  the 

1  [Lady  Gill,  in  1902,  was  ordered  home  for  her  health  for  a 
few  months.  It  was  impossible  for  her  husband  to  accompany 
herj 


1899-1906]  PRETORIA  261 

result  of  a  chill — biliary  colic — .  .  .  These  attacks  came 
on  at  night,  lasted  4  to  6  hours  and  left  one  absolutely 
useless  next  day — and  of  little  use  for  a  day  or  two  more. 
Before  one  was  fit  for  real  work  again  another  attack  of 
the  same  kind  followed — till  I  had  5  or  6  of  them.  Dr. 
Beck  ordered  me  off  to  Caledon  where  I  had  only  one 
attack  and  I  returned  in  10  days  to  meet  Bella.  The 
evening  of  the  day  she  arrived  I  had  another  attack 
which  kept  the  poor  little  woman  up  till  3  in  the  morning. 
So  we  were  both  ordered  off  to  Caledon  together — 
remained  there  a  fortnight — and  then  came  back.  I  have 
only  had  one  more  attack  since  I  came  back  and  seem 
now  to  be  over  the  affair. 

1903.  July  16.  Lord  Milner  wanted  me  to  go  up  to  the 
Transvaal  to  advise  about  a  despatch  from  home.  The 
War  Office  has  wakened  up  to  the  necessity  for  maps 
of  British  Africa  S.  of  the  Zambesi. 

****** 

So  soon  therefore  as  the  S.A.  Assn.  for  the  Adv*  of 
Science  was  over — on  May  4 — Bella  and  I  set  off  for 
Pretoria. 

We  spent  six  days  there,  stayed  with  Mr.  Davidson 
the  Colonial  Secy — a  most  charming  and  hospitable  man- 
garden  party 'd  and  dined  with  Sir  A.  Lawley  (then  a  grass 
widower)  with  the  Rose  Inneses,  &c.,  &c.,  and  met  many 
old  Cape  friends — the  Solomons,  &c.  .  .  .  Lord  Milner 
came  to  Pretoria.  .  .  .  He  apologized  for  not  asking  us 
to  stay  with  him  in  Johannesburg  as  he  had  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Wilson  (acting  Lieut.  Governor  at  Bloemfontein) 
staying  with  him  and  his  house  full.  We  stayed  with 
Herbert  Baker  (the  Architect)  a  very  old  friend.  .  .  . 
Had  glorious  weather  and  snowballs  at  breakfast  one 
morning  !  !  Bella  was  bright  and  well. 

The  Wilsons  left  Johannesburg  the  day  before  us  and 
we  joined  them  at  Bloemfontein  after  a  week  in  Jo 'berg. 
We  spent  5  happy  days  with  them.  .  .  .  Wilson  gave  us 
the  Governor's  railway  coach  to  take  us  to  Cape  Town, 
and  we  both  returned  well  and  spry  from  our  trip. 

Ten  days  later  I  started  off  by  sea  for  Natal — spent 
a  day  in  Durban  and  5  days  in  Pietermaritzburg.  Sir 
Henry  McCallum,  the  Governor,  was  just  recovering  from 
enteric  fever  and  the  Chief  Justice,  who  was  acting 
Governor  was  my  host.  .  .  .  Pietermaritzburg  was  in 


262    THE  OTHER  SIDE  OF  THE  MAN     [CHAP.  XXI 

the  height  of  festivity.  Cattle  show,  County  ball,  Military 
sports,  tournaments,  etc.  So  I  had  a  good  deal  of  fun 
with  my  diplomacy. 

Lady  McCallum  is  a  very  pretty  and  charming  woman — 
with  a  keen  sense  of  humour  and  very  pleasing.  We  had 
a  dance  together  at  the  ball.  ...  I  stopped  a  day  and 
night  with  Lord  Milner  on  my  way  home — and  he  seemed 
pleased  with  the  results  of  my  mission  so  far  as  they  went. 
[Here  follow  remarks  on  political  problems.] 

I  have  been  hors  de  combat  for  a  few  days  with  another 
attack  of  bilious  colic.  .  .  .  Bella  has  been  wonderfully 
well  since  her  trip  to  Johannesburg. 

The  following  two  letters  were  written  during  the  visit 
to  Europe  in  1904. 

Hotel  Bristol.  Carlsbad.  1904.  July  7.  This  is  the 
anniversary  of  our  wedding  day — 34  years  ago — and  we 
are  just  off  for  our  honeymoon — to  drive  off  to  a  distant 
point  in  the  woods,  lunch  there  and  come  pack  partly 
by  water — with  2  hours  walk  home.  The  day  is  glorious. 
.  .  .  We  started  away  from  London  last  Friday  week, 
and  visited  Groningen,  Hamburg  and  Berlin.  From 
Hamburg  I  visited  a  colleague  at  Kiel,  and  from  Berlin 
colleagues  at  Potsdam  and  Jena.  Bella  rested  at  Ham- 
burg and  Berlin  whilst  I  was  on  these  little  vagaries. 
She  was  much  interested  .  .  .  and  was  specially  delighted 
with  the  Kapteyns  at  Groningen  and  the  Repsolds  at 
Hamburg.  .  .  .  We  arrived  here  on  Saturday  last.  The 
Doctor  gives  a  capital  account  of  me  and  thinks  he  will 
stop  all  tendency  to  my  complaint  in  future. 

Villa  Victoria.  Carlsbad.  1904.  Julyij.  Our  neces- 
sarily fixed  plans  are — Leave  this  for  Caux  or  Chamounix 
on  the  23rd  Inst.  Stopping  one  night  at  Munich  and 
Zurich.  We  should  reach  London  on  the  I4th  August — 
go  to  Cambridge  for  the  Brit.  Assocn  meeting  Aug.  17-24 — 
Leave  for  Aberdeen  the  24th — where  a  friend  is  keeping 
a  bit  of  his  moor  for  me.  .  .  .  We  must  have  about  a 
fortnight  in  London  before  we  sail — say  Sept.  to  Oct.  5, 
and  then  we  go  for  a  couple  of  days  to  the  Hunt  Grubbes 
at  the  Isle  of  Wight,  and  go  on  board  from  there  Oct.  8. 


1899-1906]  LORD  MILNER  263 

1905.  March  12.  There  has  been  an  enormous  amount 
of  work  connected  with  the  B.A.  visit  in  Aug* — 7  different 
centres  to  be  visited  and  all  sorts  of  difficulties  to  be  over- 
come, jealousies  to  be  appeased  and  so  forth — endless 
correspondence  with  local  committees,  governments, 
railways,  Mayors,  etc.  So  that  I  required  a  few  days 
holiday  and  went  off  just  a  week  ago  to  Beaufort  West 
to  shoot  buck  with  Mr.  Alhusen.  We  had  three  days 
capital  sport  and  I  returned  on  Friday  evening — as  fit 
as  a  fiddle.  .  .  . 

I  had  a  letter  last  mail  from  Lord  Grey  in  which  he 
writes  me  in  enthusiastic  terms  about  the  Hanbury 
Williams — He  says,  "Hanbury  Williams1  your  Nominee 
first  rate,  wife  ditto,  no  trouble  too  great  and  lots  of  tact." 
He  wants  us  to  pay  them  a  visit  in  Canada.  If  only  the 
little  wife  gets  well;  it  would  be  a  very  jolly  trip  after 
we  leave  this. 

When  do  you  go  to  Canada  ?  I  wd  like  to  send  you  a 
letter  to  Lady  Grey  and  write  to  Lord  Grey  about  you 
at  the  proper  time. 

1905.  Good  Friday.  Yes — I  think  we  are  all  pleased 
about  Lord  Selbome's  appointment.  .  .  .  Lord  Milner 
had  to  have  a  rest.  .  .  . 

I  had  such  a  charming  letter  of  Good-bye,  written  3 
days  before  he  left. — How  he  found  time  to  do  it  I  don't 
know — but  there  it  was  full  of  loving  friendship,  and 
looking  forward  to  the  time  when  we  should  "  fight  our 
battles  over  again  "  in  the  old  country.  And  so  on  with 
all  sorts  of  kind  things  about  my  wife. 

The  Kiplings  went  home  the  mail  before  last.  .  .  . 
Rudyard  was  very  well.  .  .  .  He  says  he  has  written  an 
astronomical  story  which  he  dreads  my  getting  hold  of. 
It  is  published  in  some  American  Magazine — if  you  get 
hold  of  it — try — and  send  it  to  me. 

Dr.  Jem  is  doing  wonders — he  has  got  his  Compulsory 
Education  Bill  through  the  House. 

I  don't  like  his  plan  of  submitting  his  Estimates  to  a 
select  committee  of  both  sides  of  the  house,  but  he  says 
he  likes  his  plan — it  saves  him  the  unpopularity  of  cutting 
down,  because  he  can  blame  the  Committee — and  re- 
trenchment was  necessary.  On  the  other  hand  he  says 

1  [Sir  John  Hanbury  Williams.] 


264    THE  OTHER  SIDE  OF  THE  MAN     [CHAP.  XXI 

that  he  will  neglect  the  Committee's  recommendations 
when  he  sees  it  necessary,  and  will  ask  the  house  to 
support  him. 

1905.  May  13.  ...  but  first  I  want  to  tell  you  a  bit 
of  good  news. 

The  little  wife  is  decidedly  better,  an'd  has  been  going 
on  progressively  in  this  direction  for  nearly  a  fortnight, 
with  only  one  little  set  back  for  a  day  or  two. 

On  Saturday  of  last  week  we  both  went  to  Muizemberg 
for  a  little  change,  spent  a  quiet  evening  at  the  Hotel 
after  a  quiet  walk  by  the  sea.  I  went  on  to  lunch  at 
Admiralty  House  on  Sunday  and  Bella  came  on  to  pay 
her  first  call  and  have  tea — returned  to  Muizemberg 
and  on  Monday  morning  accompanied  me  back  to  the 
Observatory.  [And  so  on  about  his  wife's  activity.] 
God  grant  a  good  time  is  coming  to  her,  for  she  has  suffered 
terribly.  [The  rest  of  the  letter  is  devoted  to  the  Educa- 
tion question  in  S.  Africa.]  .  .  . 

1906.  July  2.     [The  letter  begins  with  Cape  politics.] 
But  I  am  getting  rid  of  political  bile — just  by  way  of 
relief — for  I  am  sad  and  sore. 

My  dear  wife  is  very  ill.  She  had  been  getting  worse 
and  worse  for  three  weeks — and  tho'  I  hope  and  believe 
the  worst  is  now  past,  I  know  it  will  take  a  long  time  before 
the  nervous  system  can  recover  tone.  ...  I  am  awfully 
busy  trying  to  complete  the  work  I  have  in  hand  before 
we  go. 

I  suppose  you  know  that  I  have  to  be  President  of  the 
British  Assocn  next  year.  I  have  also  to  serve  as  the 
representative  of  England  on  the  Committee  of  the 
international  Bureau  of  weights  and  measures.  I  have 
promised  some  articles  for  the  new  edition  of  the  Encyclo- 
pedia Britannica,  etc.  etc. — and  I  am  not  likely  to  lead 
an  idle  life  at  home. 

I  am  so  glad  you  went  to  the  Milner  banquet — I  wish 
I  could  have  been  there.  His  speech  read  admirably — 
tho'  I  remember  his  saying,  "  public  speaking  is  not 
among  my  many  accomplishments  " — and  his  delivery 
is  far  from  perfect. 

I  am  so  glad  to  hear  Lord  Milner  has  been  to  see  you. 
What  a  good  time  you  must  have  had.  Plato  and  Greek 
philosophy  I  know  little  about — but  from  the  little  I  do 


1899-1906]  PHILOSOPHERS  265 

know  I  like  to  tell  the  present  day  philosophers  that  they 
have  got  no  "  forrarder  "  since  the  days  of  Plato — and 
it  makes  them  so  angry  that  I  am  sure  it  must  be  true.  .  .  . 
Do  read  my  friend  Oliver's  book  on  Alexander  Hamilton 
— one  of  the  greatest  of  Americans.  He  calls  it  an  Essay 
on  American  Union — but  you  \vd;  and  I  did,  enjoy  every 
word  of  it. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

STAFF  ANECDOTES 

TRULY  Clerk  Maxwell  was  right  (p.  235),  and  David  Gill 
was  happy  in  his  work.  But  his  happiness  reached  its 
climax  from  his  personal  relations  with  mankind,  the 
inevitable  reward  of  his  selfless  love  for  his  fellows.  And 
here  he  attained  the  third  and  crowning  ideal  of  the  perfect 
observatory;  the  creation  of  a  spirit  of  devotion  and 
united  zeal  in  work,  combined  with  affection  in  lighter 
moments,  between  the  staff  and  their  Chief,  supported  by 
his  amiable  wife. 

Some  attempt  will  now  be  made  to  give  a  picture  of 
the  observatory  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  Staff.  All 
great  institutions  governed  by  an  outstanding  personality 
give  birth  to  tales  about  the  Chief.  Whewell  and  Airy 
each  had  their  foibles  and  peculiarities  told  in  tales,  some 
true,  others  invented. 

Some  of  those  told  about  Gill  may  be  mythical,  but 
most  are  true  and  all  are  typical.  A  considerable  number 
of  anecdotes  have  been  received  from  old  workers  at  the 
observatory.  None  can  compare,  in  number  or  appro- 
priateness, with  those  furnished  by  Mr.  John  Power, 
who  seems  to  have  reached  a  closer  intimacy  with  the 
real  personality  of  his  Chief  than  any  one  else  in  the 
observatory. 

One  of  these  men  writes — 

He  not  only  made  the  Cape  Observatory  renowned 
throughout  the  scientific  world,  but  he  made  of  its  staff 
and  of  their  families  quite  a  little  world  of  its  own,  a 
happy  family. 

266 


THE  STUDY  TABLE  267 

Gill's  day  work  was  done  in  the  large  room  which  he 
used  as  a  study.  It  is  now  the  drawing-room  of  his 
successor.  In  the  corner  occupied  by  him  there  was  a 
large  table  in  great  disorder,  about  which  we  are  told — 

His  office  table  was  a  constant  source  of  worry  to  his 
wife  and  his  secretary,  and  his  method  of  finding  a  letter 
was  to  toss  everything  about  until  it  came  to  hand.  Then 
followed  the  same  process  to  find  the  paper  he  was  work- 
ing with.  One  day,  at  the  secretary's  suggestion  there 
came  a  general  tidy  up,  and  the  institution  of  a  system 
of  baskets  for  different  classes  of  papers.  This  only 
served  as  a  grievance.  He  said  that  he  could  not  find 
things  so  easily ;  but  perhaps  the  truth  was,  he  objected 
to  the  ever  present  evidence,  accusing  him  of  delay  in 
answering  letters  not  immediately  concerned  with  the 
work  in  hand. 

Still,  we  got  the  Table  perfectly  tidy  on  one  occasion. 
He  needed  a  change  badly  but  would  not  listen  to  advice. 
An  assistant  asked  if  he  knew  he  was  worrying  Lady 
Gill  by  not  taking  the  change. — This  settled  matters  in 
a  moment  and  he  left  for  Simons  Town  the  next  day  on 
a  long  promised  visit  to  the  Admiral,  and  went  on  to 
Seapoint  from  which  he  returned  with  a  diphtheritic 
sore-throat,  and  was  confined  to  bed  by  an  anxious  wife. 
In  his  absence  the  table  had  been  thoroughly  tidied ;  and, 
after  his  recovery,  his  wife  never  wished  to  see  it  tidy 
again . 

Concerning  this  illness  which  fortunately  left  none  of 
the  usual  bad  results,  Sir  William  Morris,  R.E.,  writing 
from  Chatham  about  1895,  recalls  his  own  happy  life  in 
South  Africa  and  says,  referring  to  Gill's  recovery  from 
diphtheria — 

I  can  vividly  imagine  your  wife's  mental  disturbance 
on  your  falling  a  prey  to  that  fell  disease,  mildly  though 
you  had  it.  How  she  must  have  missed  her  delight  in 
reading  to  you  and  in  seeing  you  sitting  there  puffing 
away  contentedly  and  delightedly  at  your  pipe.  I  see 
the  dear  remembered  scene  well  enough  and  have  often 
and  sincerely  wished  I  could  wake  to  find  myself  in  your 
study,  where  all  breathed  peace  and  rest. 


268  STAFF  ANECDOTES          [CHAP.  XXII 

When  Dr.  Auwers  first  saw  Gill's  writing-table,  his 
exclamation  was,.  "  Ach  !  what  a  table  !  "  But  after  a 
short  pause  he  added,  "  Nevertheless,  what  good  work 
has  been  done  at  it  !  " 

For  the  first  sixteen  years  of  his  residence,  except  at 
certain  times,  Gill  carried  on  his  correspondence  himself. 
When  it  became  necessary  to  have  a  secretary  in  his 
room  his  habits  and  moods  were  noted  without  his  being 
conscious  of  it.  It  is  told  that — 

However  deeply  he  might  be  engaged  upon  a  problem 
— he  would  then  be  seated  at  his  desk  with  his  feet 
shuffling — if  any  one  came  up  to  him  with  even  a  paltry 
question,  he  would  look  up  smiling  and  attend  straight 
off. 

Many  people  thought  that  things  not  remarked  on 
escaped  his  notice,  but  really  he  prided  himself  on  having 
"  a  genius  for  not  seeing  things  which  were  better  not 
seen." 

Another  assistant  speaks  similarly  of  his  behaviour 
when  at  his  desk,  saying — 

Gill  wrote  very  rapidly  (more  so  than  any  member  of 
his  staff) ;  and  during  the  time  that  he  was  his  own  secre- 
tary many  of  his  own  press  copies  of  letters  are  too 
smudged  to  be  readable.  When  an  assistant  came  to 
consult  him  while  letter  writing  he  usually  stopped 
instantly.  But  occasionally  he  spoke  while  still  think- 
ing of  what  he  was  writing.  On  one  of  these  occasions 
a  computer  asked  to  leave  at  once  on  receiving  a  wire 
saying  his  fiancee  was  ill.  Without  looking  up,  he  replied, 
'  Yes  !  Yes  !  but  tell  her  not  to  let  it  occur  again,  as 
it  interferes  with  work."  The  computer  endeavoured 
to  sting  with  sarcasm  by  suggesting  that  on  the  next 
occasion  the  lady  should  wire  to  Gill.  The  answer  came 
promptly,  "  Yes,  yes,  and  tell  her  to  state  fully  what  is 
the  matter."  He  had  spoken  while  thinking  nothing  of 
the  affair,  and  was  highly  amused  later  on  when  told 
what  he  had  said. 

On  another  occasion  when  engrossed  in  reading  an 
assistant  began  his  mission  by  saying,  "  In  his  intro- 
duction X says ."  He  was  at  once  interrupted 


INCAPABLE  OF   MALICE  269 

by   the   most   emphatic   assurance    that    X was   a 

"damn  liar."  Knowing  the  chief,  he  answered,  "That 
may  be ;  but  here  he  is  truthful,"  and  placed  the  Intro- 
duction on  the  paper  Gill  was  reading.  This  banished 
the  article  and  brought  him  from  the  clouds ;  the  ques- 
tion at  issue  was  settled  and  the  final  words  were,  "  No. 
X is  not  a  damn  liar." 

Similarly,  a  secretary  has  a  story  of  him,  and  says — 

Although  he  had  a  remarkable  command  of  temper, 
he  was  explosive.  I  remember  he  was  reading  a  memoir 
by  an  astronomical  opponent  one  day  and  I  heard 
him  muttering,  "  Liar,"  "  Damned  liar,"  "  Shameful," 
"  Ought  to  be  shot,"  "  Quite  right,"  '  Very  good," 
"  Excellent."  Then  he  threw  the  paper  over  to  me 

saying,  "Excellent  paper  by ."     He  was  incapable 

of  malice  or  revenge,  absolutely. 

Such  of  these  stories  (and  of  those  which  follow)  as 
are  true  indicate  minor  traits  in  the  man's  character; 
and,  whether  true  or  not,  they  are  all  illuminating  as 
showing  the  kind  of  stories  that  his  staff  thought  might 
be  true  of  him. 

One  of  those  who  studied  at  the  observatory  writes  : 
"  In  my  case  I  measured  others  by  what  they  thought 
of  him ;  that  is  perhaps  as  great  a  tribute  to  him  as  I 
could  offer." 

In  1891  after  much  delay  in  starting  the  astrographic 
telescope,  Gill  brought  from  home  the  altered  object- 
glass.  A  few  days  later  a  pure  accident  stripped  the 
teeth  of  a  wheel.  He  dreaded  the  further  delay  in  start- 
ing work  as  the  repairs  must  be  done  in  England.  A 
newly  arrived  Secretary  was  astounded  by  a  monologue 
of  Gill,  the  Photographer  and  Secretary  being  audience. 
The  fresh  hand  slipped  out  to  learn  from  an  older  assistant 
what  had  happened.  On  returning,  the  monologue  was 
going  strong,  so,  motioning  to  the  Photographer  to  leave 
the  room,  he  ventured  to  suggest  that  perhaps  the  work 
could  be  done  at  the  railway  workshops  at  Salt  River 
(a  mile  away).  In  the  next 'few  minutes  the  Secretary 
learned  something  about  the  ignorance  of  any  man  who 


270  STAFF  ANECDOTES  [CHAP.  XXII 

had  been  here  only  two  days,  and  about  the  ways  of 
railway  workmen  with  astronomical  instruments.  The 
monologue  continued  until  the  Secretary  began  to 
wonder  whether  the  Chief  now  considered  him  as  cause 
of  the  accident,  vice  the  equally  guiltless  Photographer 
who  had  retired.  After  a  time  the  Secretary  decided 
to  try  a  diversion,  proposing  that  it  might  be  well  to 
begin  packing  up  the  thing  for  transit  to  England.  This 
proved  a  text  for  an  eloquent  lecture  on  indifference, 
the  evils  of  calmness  and  various  other  supposed  sins  of 
people  who  could  make  such  a  suggestion.  Finally  the 
Secretary,  with  an  aggrieved  air,  hinted  that  a  listener 
would  have  thought  at  first  that  the  Photographer,  and 
later  that  the  Secretary,  had  purposely  done  the  damage. 
Gill  glared  for  a  moment,  the  frown  gave  way  to  a  smile 
and,  with  a  hand  on  the  Secretary's  shoulder,  he  exclaimed, 
"  Good  Lord,  was  I  as  bad  as  that?  "  In  two  minutes 
it  was  decided  to  try  if  Salt  River  would  undertake  it. 
The  Photographer  entering,  started  on  explanations,  but 
was  silenced  with,  "  I  know.  Just  forget  all  about  it." 
Later  the  newcomer  had  to  tell  the  story  to  the 
assembled  staff  who  thoroughly  enjoyed  it,  and  con- 
gratulated him  upon  his  good  fortune  in  bagging  such  a 
typical  incident  so  soon  after  arrival. 

Those  who  knew  Gill  sometimes  enjoyed  the  storms 
for  the  prospect  of  the  fine  weather  which  always  followed. 

The  shoulder  grip  was  a  favourite  trick  and  one  hard 
to  resist.  Some  of  his  staff  were  always  careful  to  keep 
at  a  distance  when  it  was  necessary  to  avoid  giving  in 
to  him.  Once  during  a  heated  discussion  it  was  necessary 
to  insist  on  his  withdrawal  of  a  statement  made.  He 
knew  that  this  could  be  avoided  if  he  could  get  his 
persuasive  hand  on  the  other  man's  shoulder — so  did  the 
other  man.  The  result  was  a  kind  of  waltz  three  times 
round  the  large  study,  avoidance  of  the  grip,  and  with- 
drawal as  complete  as  could  be  desired. 

Rates  of  pay  for  certain  work  often  led  to  amusing 
episodes ;  that  for  taking  certain  photographs  was  fixed 
at  6d.,  but  the  men  (two  Greenwich  men)  considered  it 
should  be  raised  to  gd.  and  after  several  indabas  decided 
to  refuse  to  work  for  less.  This  evidence  of  the  supposed 
sordidness  decided  him  to  keep  to  the  original  sum,  and 


READY  TO  HELP  271 

among  other  expedients  he  tried  to  get  the  Artificer 
who  was  a  good  photographer  to  do  the  work.  He, 
knowing  nothing  of  the  dispute,  started,  but,  hearing  of 
what  had  happened,  found  he  could  not  master  the 
details.  An  indaba  with  the  two  "  strikers  "  followed. 
Very  strong  views  were  expressed,  the  Chief  saying  he 
would  like  to  give  them  £500  a  year  each,  and  the  strikers 
repudiating  a  desire  for  anything  beyond  gd.  a  plate. 
Later  in  the  day  the  Chief  was  on  his  way  to  the  railway 
station  with  a  striker  on  each  arm. 

In  his  own  private  affairs  he  seems  to  have  been  careless. 
One  who  used  to  be  his  secretary  says — 

He  thought  all  were  straight  runners  and  was  therefore 
easy  to  deceive,  and  was  always  surprised  when  he  found 
he  was  deceived. — I  kept  his  petty  cash  and  some  of  his 
other  accounts.  He  never  queried  any — it  was  a  mere 
form — sometimes  I  thought  a  private  bill  was  stiff  and 
would  say  so — he  might  agree,  but  just  wrote  out  his 
cheque  without  a  further  word. 

He  had  a  high  sense  of  duty,  yet  he  did  not  like  to  find 
fault.  When  he  had  to  do  with  a  slacker  he  was  very 
unhappy.  He  disliked  cutting  the  Gordian  knot.  Yet 
in  the  long  run  unless  work  improved  it  would  be  cut. 
He  was  so  easy  to  get  on  with,  so  unsuspecting,  so  kind, 
that  it  needed  a  real  perversity  to  be  out  of  tune  with  him. 
If  any  one  did  his  best  and  it  was  bad  he  was  content — 
he  would  fit  the  work  to  the  man. 

Continuing  with  Mr.  Power's  reminiscences — 

Woe  betide  the  man  who  neglected  to  mention  illness 
or  trouble.  It  was  regarded  as  most  unkind  to  him  and 
his  wife  who  were  always  most  keenly  interested  in  all 
connected  with  the  place.  When  one  of  the  men  found 
that  what  seemed  a  good  salary  in  England  was  starvation 
at  the  Cape  he  asked  Gill's  advice  as  to  buying  or  building 
a  house  as  the  rents  were  then  out  of  all  proportion  to  the 
cost  of  the  houses.  The  man's  intention  was  to  obtain 
the  balance  of  the  money  from  England.  Gill  went  into 
the  question,  and  when  he  had  examined  the  pros  and 
cons  was  enthusiastically  in  favour  of  building,  exclaiming 
in  the  most  emphatic  way,  "  Buy  the  ground  and  build 
at  once."  He  brushed  aside  the  idea  of  the  delay  in 


272  STAFF  ANECDOTES  [CHAP.  XXII 

getting  the  money  from  England  with,  "  D — n  it,  man,  I 
have  the  money,"  The  man  had  not  been  long  in  his 
service  and  regarded  the  assertion  as  one  of  his  impetuous 
sayings,  but,  four  days  later,  was  surprised  by  the  abrupt 
statement  that  from  a  certain  date  the  required  sum 
would  be  at  his  disposal  while  the  house  was  under  con- 
struction. The  Chief  and  Lady  Gill  took  the  keenest 
interest  and  twice  a  week  they  walked  down  to  watch 
its  progress. 

From  the  Observatory  to  the  Railway  Station  is  about 
eight  minutes'  walk  on  an  Admiralty  road.  On  this  road 
he  was  seldom  alone,  for  old  and  young  either  waited 
for  or  overtook  him.  The  youngsters  especially  enjoyed 
the  walk  with  him,  as  he  entered  into  their  doings  like 
one  of  themselves  and  always  had  a  cheery  word  of 
encouragement  or  some  amusing  yarns  to  tell  them. 

His  idea  of  the  position  of  Chief  and  Staff  probably 
agreed  with  his  wife's  expression  of  it,  "  We  are  a  small 
colony  of  exiles,  and  I  like  to  feel  we  are  one  family." 

They  both  acted  on  the  "  one  family  "  principle,  and 
the  success  of  the  Observatory  under  his  direction  was 
due  largely  to  the  reciprocation  of  their  feelings.  He 
certainly  had  enthusiasm,  energy  and  what  an  Irishman 
calls  "  a  way  with  him,"  but  all  these  would  not  account 
for  the  spirit  in  which  work  was  done. — His  wife  shared 
in  bringing  out  what  was  best  in  the  men,  and  giving 
them  the  feeling  that  the  credit  of  the  Observatory  was 
a  family  affair  as  well  as  a  national  one. 

Many  years  ago  the  assistants  made  a  croquet  ground 
for  Mrs.  Gill.  Later  she  wanted  bazaars  for  worthy 
objects.  The  whole  staff  waxed  enthusiastic,  and  men, 
women  and  children  did  their  utmost.  Perhaps  the  best 
incident  illustrative  of  her  influence  was  that  in  which 
a  Jew  and  a  Roman  Catholic  were  selling  tickets  to  wipe 
out  the  debt  on  an  English  Church.  The  Jew  was  charg- 
ing double  the  proper  price,  and  when  remonstrated 
with  remarked,  "  Lady  Gill  wants  money  and  I  will  see 
that  she  gets  it." 

Gill  was  rather  unconventional  at  times.  He  seldom 
carried  an  umbrella  and,  when  he  did,  invariably  came 
home  without  it. 

After  one  trip  to  England  he  returned  with  a  clerical 


CALLERS   IN   DISTRESS  273 

looking  overcoat,  and  on  being  questioned  blamed 
"  some  clerical  Fellow  of  the  R.A.S."  for  taking  his  coat. 
He  had  all  Dominie  Sampson's  affection  for  old  clothes 
or  indifference  to  appearances.  An  old  friend  who  was 
in  the  house  when  Lady  Gill  was  absent  for  a  few  days 
was  considerably  worried  because  he  persisted  in  wearing 
a  certain  "  comfortable  "  suit ;  all  her  efforts  to  effect 
a  change  having  failed  she  sought  the  assistance  of  one 
of  his  men.  It  was  arranged  that  the  first  of  two  men 
who  saw  him  should  tackle  the  business.  The  opportunity 
soon  came  and  the  Astronomer  found  one  of  the  Assistants 
scrutinizing  him  in  a  way  that  forced  the  query  if  any- 
thing was  wrong.  The  reply  was,  "  I  should  think  so — 
you  ought  to  change  that  suit  at  once,  it  is  far  from 
beastly  respectable."  (An  expression  usually  applied 
by  Gill  to  a  new  suit.)  He  attempted  to  defend  the  old 
one,  but  was  answered  with  a  scathing  analysis  of  it  and 
the  assurance  that  his  wife  would  not  permit  him  to  wear 
such  a  thing.  This  settled  the  question  and  the  offending 
suit  disappeared  and  was  seen  no  more.1 

He  had  a  weakness  for  assisting  stray  callers  in  distress, 
especially  if  they  were  Scottish,  or  well  educated.  One 
man  turned  up  with  a  piteous  tale  and  among  other  items 
mentioned  that  he  could  speak  and  write  Persian.  After 
handing  the  man  over  to  Lady  Gill  to  be  fed  and  given 
work  he  returned  to  his  study  in  a  very  miserable  state 
and  overflowing  with  sympathy.  He  admired  the  appear- 
ance of  the  man; — a  member  of  his  staff  did  not,  and 
was  rebuked  for  his  harsh  judgment  of  an  educated  man 
who,  even  with  the  ability  to  speak  several  languages 
including  Persian,  could  not  secure  work.  The  assistant 
promptly  asked  what  evidence  there  was  for  the  Persian, 
e.  g.  did  the  Chief  know  enough  of  the  language  to  verify 
the  statement.  He  did  not  wait  for  the  complete  answer, 
but  left  hurriedly. 

For  some  days  Lady  Gill  had  good  evidence  that  the 
fellow  was  a  waster,  but  it  was  only  when  the  Civil  Engineer 
from  Simons  Town  saw  the  man  and  gave  the  story  of 
his  loafing  there  that  the  Chief  was  reluctantly  convinced. 

On  several  occasions  he  was  imposed  upon  in  this  way. 
He  would  give  a  man  employment  and  advance  him 

1  [It  must  not  be  supposed  that  such  freedom  was  allowed  to 
all  of  his  subordinates.] 
T 


274  STAFF  ANECDOTES          [CHAP,  xxil 

money  out  of  his  own  pocket.  Generally  the  case  was 
forgotten  with  the  reflexion,  "  Poor  body  !  I  would  rather 
be  robbed  over  and  over  again,  than  miss  helping  one  real 
case  of  distress." 

Men  in  his  position  in  S.  Africa  have  many  visits  from 
newcomers  seeking  advice  or  help.  No  trouble  was  too 
great  if  he  could  help  any  one. 

It  has  been  noted  that  Sir  David  was  particularly 
hospitable  to  his  own  countrymen,  to  whom  his  own 
broad  Aberdonian  accent  was  usually  a  great  charm. 
Mr.  E.  B.  Knobel  visited  the  Gills  at  the  Cape  in  1892, 
and  sends  this  anecdote — 

One  day  a  Scottish  gentleman  from  Paisley  landed  at 
Cape  Town.  Gill  invited  him  to  lunch.  In  the  course 
of  the  repast  a  rather  animated  conversation  ensued 
between  them.  The  Paisley  gentleman  spoke  with  the 
broadest  accent  of  that  part  of  Scotland,  and  in  the  heat 
of  the  discussion  Gill's  Aberdonian  became  more  vigorous. 
I  do  not  think  the  Paisley  man  understood  him,  for  at 
last  he  said,  "  You're  not  a  Scotsman,  are  you?  "  which 
convulsed  Gill  and  drove  me  from  the  table  to  enjoy  the 
joke  with  Lady  Gill. 

Tom  Peasoup.  One  of  the  Kroomen  was  a  most  intel- 
ligent faithful  fellow,  and  often  assisted  the  Chief  in 
cleaning  and  re-erecting  instruments.  Tom  would  do 
anything  to  avoid  Massa's  displeasure. 

Peasoup  came  on  one  occasion  to  Lady  Gill  begging 
her  to  get  him  leave  to  go  away  to  his  brother's  funeral. 

—  Why  don't  you  ask  leave  of  your  master  ? 

—  I  done  that. 

—  And  what  did  your  master  say  ? 

—  He  say — "  I'm  getting  tired  of  these  dam  funerals." 

One  of  the  less  permanent  members  of  the  staff  writes — 

His  politics  so  far  as  we  could  grasp  were  of  the  old 
crusted  Tory  type,  but  he  often  quoted  B.  A.  Gould's 
saying  that  the  best  party  in  Argentina  was  that  which 
did  most  for  the  observatory  and  for  science. 

On  one  occasion  he  launched  out  on  a  Home  Rule 
discussion  with  an  ardent  Home  Ruler  of  whose  opinions 


AN  INSULT  275 

he  was  not  aware.  The  discussion  was  rather  brief 
because  after  a  while  he  admitted  that  his  study  of  the 
Irish  question  was  practically  confined  to  a  chat  with 
Lord  Kelvin  and  concluded  that  "  politics  was  a  dirty 
trade,"  and  both  parties  to  the  discussion  would  be  better 
employed  on  their  astronomical  work. 

An  enthusiastic  Imperialist,  the  S.  African  War  troubled 
him  greatly.  He  was  very  outspoken  on  several  occa- 
sions. A  leading  politician  who  praised  his  outspoken- 
ness must  have  been  surprised  to  hear  that  he  and  his 
party  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  their  silence.  He  really 
suffered  intensely  during  the  war  and  actually  wept  while 
reading  or  speaking  of  the  casualties  on  both  sides. 

Asked  by  the  Colonial  Government  to  visit  Kimberley 
in  connexion  with  Survey  matters  he  arranged  with  the 
Surveyor  General  that  his  expenses  should  be  paid,  and 
to  avoid  the  bother  of  keeping  accounts  the  expenses 
were  to  be  the  difference  between  the  amounts  in  his 
pocket  on  starting  and  returning.  This  account  was 
duly  rendered,  but  they  tendered  a  sum  larger  by  about 
£6  arrived  at  by  giving  the  daily  allowance  of  a  Colonial 
Civil  Servant.  He  regarded  this  as  an  insult  to  his 
Office  and  sought  the  Railway  Time  Table  vowing  venge- 
ance. We  thought  he  was  pacified  and  content  to  write 
on  the  subject,  but  he  slipped  off  by  a  later  train  and 
came  back  happy,  with  a  cheque  for  the  smaller  sum  and 
the  satisfaction  of  having  explained  that  the  Astronomer 
took  no  remuneration  beyond  his  salary  from  the 
Admiralty. 

In  early  days  his  go-ahead  ideas  were  somewhat  dis- 
turbing to  officials  at  home.  Any  visitor  from  England 
was  charged  with  messages  for  his  guidance — such  as  to 
deal  with  each  subject  in  a  separate  letter,  or  to  ask  for 
one  thing  at  a  time,  etc.  It  was  often  necessary  for 
Admiral  Wharton  to  warn  him  of  the  effect  of  his  methods 
on  the  official  mind,  and  the  possible  bad  effects  on  the 
Observatory;  the  unsparing  plainness  of  the  Admiral's 
letters  was  much  appreciated,  and  Gill's  usual  remark 
on  reading  a  somewhat  merciless  chiding  was — "A  friend 
who  will  hit  like  that  is  worth  having."  On  one  occasion 
he  wrote,  "  There  is  no  proof  of  friendship  more  sincere 
than  one  which  involves  trouble  to  tell  a  friend  the  truth 
— especially  if  it  is  an  unpleasant  truth.  Therefore,  no 


276  STAFF  ANECDOTES          [CHAP.  XXI I 

apology  is  needed  for  your  remarks.  If  you  will  always 
tell  me  as  frankly  what  you  think  and  caution  me  as 
wisely,  I  shall  be  'very  grateful  and  shall  always  as 
frankly  confess  my  sins  or  defend  my  opinions."  It 
need  hardly  be  added  that  there  was  more  defence  of 
opinions  than  confession  of  sins. 

Once,  when  some  one  complained  of  an  apparently 
unkind  remark,  he  sadly  said,  "  To  think  that  you  have 
been  with  me  for  years  and  don't  know  yet  that  I  don't 
mean  what  I  say  !  " 

Very  few  trains  stopped  at  Observatory  in  the  'eighties, 
and  he  was  anxious  that  the  last  train  should  stop  "  on 
signal  "  to  pick  up  one  of  his  observers  who  lived  at 
Wynberg.  The  railways  are  run  by  Government,  so  he 
approached  the  responsible  Minister,  who  refused  the 
request.  A  persuasive  letter  followed  which,  after 
reciting  what  the  Observatory  had  done  for  Cape  Colony, 
showed  how  easily  the  Government  could  assist  the 
Observatory. — Refusal  of  his  small  request  would  be 
taken  as  an  intimation  that  he  need  send  no  time-signals 
in  future. — The  request  was  granted. 

Many  of  the  incidents  narrated  in  Mr.  Power's  notes 
disclose  a  certain  joy  of  encounter  with  the  professional 
scribes  of  the  Admiralty,  and  a  delight  in  taking  advantage 
of  a  false  move. 

He  was  reported  to  Parliament  by  the  Audit  Depart- 
ment for  not  furnishing  a  complete  list  of  instruments, 
books,  etc.  Officials  in  England  who  had  no  idea  of 
his  difficulties  could  not  be  expected  to  understand  his 
difficulty  in  complying  with  such  a  request.  He  took 
the  view  that,  until  given  the  staff  necessary  to  do  this 
work  it  could  not  be  done  without  sacrificing  astronomical 
duties.  In  1891  he  was  given  a  secretary  one  of  whose 
duties  was  to  prepare  the  lists  and  be  answerable  for  the 
property;  but  the  secretary  refused  to  accept  respon- 
sibility until  given  proper  provision  for  storage.  Now, 
for  years,  Gill  had  been  anxious  to  convert  the  central 
hall  into  a  properly  fitted  library  instead  of  having  the 
books  scattered  in  different  rooms  on  open  shelves,  but 
feared  to  ask  money  for  such  a  purpose.  He  was  quick 


THE  MERIDIAN   MARKS  277 

to  seize  this  lever  for  carrying  out  the  project.  The 
report  to  Parliament  had  not  troubled  him  in  the  least, 
but  suddenly  he  made  it  a  serious  matter.  Delays  in 
granting  the  request  for  shelving,  etc.,  were  given  as 
reasons  for  the  impossibility  of  making  the  lists. 

He  could  ill  brook  the  delaying  at  home  of  well  thought 
out  projects,  and  any  member  of  the  staff  who  went  to 
him  directly  after  the  mail  had  brought  such  news  was 
expected  to  sympathize.  His  proposition  to  fix  the 
meridian  marks  for  his  Transit  Circle  on  the  solid  rock 
many  feet  below  ground  level  had  been  criticized  and 
the  suggestion  made  that,  if  other  observatories  could  use 
points  on  church  steeples  or  public  buildings,  the  Cape 
should  do  the  same.  (The  particular  observatory  cited 
is  in  a  neighbourhood  bursting  with  such  buildings,  while 
there  are  none  at  the  Cape.)  The  first  entrant  was  told 
the  proposition  and  asked  what  should  be  done  to  its 
author.  He  handed  the  letter  back  suggesting  that  the 
"  mark  "  estimate  should  be  withdrawn,  and  one  for  the 
building  of  a  couple  of  cathedrals  substituted,  with  a  note 
that  they  would  not  be  a  success,  and  the  marks  would 
have  to  be  erected  later  as  proposed.  This  cheered  him 
up.  He  resolved  to  do  it — and  he  did  it  !  (unofficially, 
of  course).  The  marks  were  eventually  sanctioned  and 
have  revolutionized  the  work  with  the  principal  instrument 
of  the  observatory. 

In  Maclear's  day  there  were  very  few  houses  near  the 
observatory,  and  he  was  regarded  as  the  natural  leader 
in  all  local  movements.  Gill  succeeded  to  this  position, 
when  the  place  was  more  densely  populated.  One  of  the 
public  meetings  over  which  he  was  called  on  to  preside 

is  described  by  Mr.  Power. 

« 

Local  option  was  in  force,  but  the  sudden  growth  of 
the  village  left  the  voting  power  in  the  hands  of  people 
living  miles  away,  so  residents  held  a  public  meeting.  Gill 
was  chairman  and  naively  remarked  that  he  "liked  a 
little  liquor  himself  " ;  and  when  a  supporter  of  the  request 
for  the  license  thought  he  had  put  an  unanswerable  poser 
by  asking  what  people  were  to  do  in  case  of  a  sudden 
need  of  spirits,  for  illness,  Gill  answered  blandly,  "  Just 
send  to  me,  or  any  of  these  gentlemen  on  the  platform." 


278  STAFF  ANECDOTES         [CHAP.  XXII 

A  story  comes  from  one  of  the  men  who  passed  through 
the  Observatory  -training  .and  went  on  to  do  good 
work  in  another  colony.  :He  sends  it  as  an  example 
of  absence  of  mind  on  Gill's  part.  It  may  seem  to  those 
who  knew  him  better  to  be  Gill's  answer  to  a  youngster 
who  had  the  temerity  to  fancy  himself  as  a  possible 
observer  with  the  great  heliometer. 

I  was  one  evening  reading  the  declination  microscopes 
of  the  Transit  Circle  when  Sir  David  came  in,  and  I  plucked 
up  courage  to  tell  him  of  my  ambition  to  work  with  the 
Heliometer.  No  sooner  had  I  got  the  words  out  of  my 
mouth  than  he  bellowed,  "  You  want  to  observe  with  the 
Heliometer?  "  (I  thought  my  last  hour  had  come.) 
"  So  you  shall — so  you  shall.  Come  up  to-morrow  night 
and  I'll  teach  you  how  to."  My  relief  was  too  great  for 
words.  I  certainly  went  home  that  night  feeling  that 
my  career  as  an  astronomer  had  begun. 

The  following  evening,  punctually  at  6  p.m.  I  went 
to  the  "  old  man's  "  study  and  reminded  him  that  he  was 
going  to  teach  me  to  use  the  Heliometer. 

"  Right !  "  said  Sir  David.  "  Go  and  set  it  on 
a  Centauri  and  I'll  come  along." 

In  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  Sir  David  came  in  to 
the  Heliometer,  sat  down  on  the  observing  chair,  turned 
a  few  mysterious  handles,  and  said,  "  Well,  there  you  are. 
Dreadfully  bad  definition,  perfectly  damnable,  but  just 
you  observe  the  distance  of  the  components,  and  let  me 
see  the  result  to-morrow." 

With  that  he  stalked  out,  and  there  ended  my  lesson 
in  observing  with  the  Heliometer  !  I  am  quite  sure  he 
did  not  realize  what  he  had  come  for,  or  that  he  had  set 
me  to  make  one  of  the  most  difficult  observations  ever 
made  with  that  instrument. 

When  Gill  retired  there  was  no  difficulty  about  the 
appointment  of  his  successor.  When  Mr.  Hough  was 
selected  as  Chief  Assistant  in  1898,  Sir  David  had  in- 
sisted that  a  candidate  should  be  selected  who  might 
eventually  succeed  him.  But  who  was  to  succeed 
Mr.  Hough? 

Gill  was   most  anxious   that   it  should   be  some  one 


"A   MONUMENT   OF  LOVE"  279 

qualified  by  past  work  to  make  the  most  of  Mr.  McClean's 
gift  of  the  Victoria  Telescope  in  the  measurement 
of  radial  velocities.  The  fine  work  already  accom- 
plished in  this  direction  by  Dr.  Halm  at  the  Edinburgh 
Observatory  eventually  secured  him  the  appointment. 

On  Dr.  Halm's  arrival  at  the  Cape  he  wrote  to  Sir  David 
his  impressions  of  the  scene  of  his  future  life's  work. 

FROM  DR.  HALM 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

August  12,  1907. 

DEAR  SIR  DAVID, — Now  that  the  first  bewildering 
impressions  have  been  somewhat  cleared  and  I  begin  to 
feel  at  home  in  the  new  sphere  of  work  and  among  my 
new  friends  and  colleagues,  I  must  not  longer  hesitate 
to  send  you  this  first  message  to  tell  you  of  our  happy 
settlement  in  this  most  beautiful  place  as  well  as  of  the 
first  events  of  my  initiation  as  Chief  Assistant  of  your 
great  Observatory. 

Needless  to  say  that  I  received  most  friendly  welcome 
from  Mr.  Hough  and  all  the  colleagues,  who  did  all  in 
their  power  to  help  us  in  our  first  domestic  difficulties 
and  to  assist  me  in  obtaining  a  speedy  knowledge  of  the 
equipment  and  the  general  work  of  the  Observatory. 
They  are  an  excellent  set  of  men,  faithful  to  their  duties, 
frank  in  their  opinions  and  loyal  to  the  good  old  tradi- 
tions of  the  Cape  Observatory.  My  estimation  of  their 
character  is  securely  based  on  the  all-round  expression 
of  their  admiration  for  their  late  Chief,  for  his  work  and 
his  personal  kindness,  his  fatherly  interest  in  them  and 
theirs.  Great  and  imperishable  is  the  scientific  monu- 
ment you  have  left  behind,  but  it  is  overpassed  by  the 
monument  of  love  in  the  hearts  of  those  who  will  for  ever 
remember  your  and  Lady  Gill's  kindness  and  sympathies 
with  their  joys  and  sorrows. 

****** 

Believe  me,  Yours  very  sincerely,  J.  HALM. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

PERSONAL  TRAITS   AND   TASTES 

The  personal  side  of  David  Gill  —  Art — Literature  —  Music  — 
Religion,  etc. 

OF  the  two  forces,  one  of  the  head,  the  other  of  the 
heart,  which  governed  all  the  acts  of  David  Gill,  perhaps 
too  much  prominence  has  been  given  to  the  former. 
This  was  inevitable  in  the  circumstances.  The  Violet 
Markham  letters,  however,  and  the  Staff  anecdotes,  give 
a  great  insight  into  the  other  part  of  his  outlook  upon  the 
world.  It  will  be  not  amiss  to  insert  here  some  notes  and 
anecdotes  received  upon  the  subjects  of  Literature,  Art, 
Music,  Religion,  Humour,  Conversation,  Sport,  and  other 
social  matters. 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  Gill's  love  of 
pictures,  and  the  many  artists  whose  acquaintance  he 
had  made  in  Scotland  and  in  London.  He  had  many 
pictures  in  his  house,  some  of  which  he  rated  highly. 

His  oldest  artist  friend  was  Sir  George  Reid,  who  used 
to  walk  out  from  Aberdeen  in  the  'seventies  to  visit  the 
Gills  at  Dun  Echt,  and  who  was  a  member  of  the  literary 
coterie  at  Old  Deer  Manse,  to  which  Gill  contributed 
his  share.  Some  of  the  acquaintances  of  this  President 
of  the  Royal  Scottish  Academy  generally  recall  him  as  a 
gloomy,  morose  man.  These  will  be  surprised  to  learn 
that  he  was  in  the  habit  of  unbosoming  himself  to  his  old 
friend,  David  Gill,  in  a  spirit  of  fun  and  drollery  com- 
bined with  culture,  and  his  letters  were  often  accompanied 
by  comic  sketches. 

280 


SIR  GEORGE  REID  281 

Mr.  A.  P.  Trotter,  who  spent  some  years  at  Cape  Town, 
sends  the  following  amusing  tale,  which  is  true. 

Charles  Keane  once  sent  Sir  David  a  clever  pen-and- 
ink  sketch  on  a  sheet  of  note-paper.  It  was  probably 
mounted  or  framed,  for  it  came  under  the  notice  of  the 
Customs  authorities,  and  when  he  extolled  its  merits  they 
mulcted  him  in  a  good  round  sum. 

Many  years  after  Sir  George  Reid  sent  him  a  beautiful 
picture  of  a  mass  of  roses  as  a  present.  [Many  a  reader 
will  remember  this  picture  in  Lady  Gill's  drawing-room.] 
Sir-  David  was  asked,  as  was  the  practice  at  Cape  Town, 
to  pay  a  visit  to  the  office  to  declare  its  value.  He  said, 
"  How  should  I  know  anything  about  the  value  of  pic- 
tures? I  suppose  it  is  hand  painted.  What  do  you 
think?  You  must  have  much  more  experience  than  I. 
Of  course,  I  will  pay  whatever  is  right."  '  Well,  it 
seems  to  have  a  very  good  frame — that  is  worth  a  pound." 
*  Yes,  now  you  mention  it,  it  is  quite  a  nice  frame,  and 
if  you  say  a  pound,  that  is  all  right.  And  I  suppose 
something  must  be  added  for  the  picture?  "  So  he  was 
charged  on  a  value,  declared  by  the  officer,  of  3O/-. 

The  tale  has  been  told  with  little  change  by  others. 
It  gives  additional  interest  to  two  letters  out  of  a  bundle 
written  by  Sir  George  Reid  to  Gill. 

FROM  SIR  GEORGE  W.  REID,  P.R.S.A. 

22  ROYAL  TERRACE,  EDINBURGH, 

November  13,  1891. 

DEAR  ASTRONOMER, — When  I  recognized  your  hand- 
writing on  the  envelope  and  the  pinky-purply-Cape-of- 
Good-Hope-two-pence-halfpenny-stamp,  I  felt  glad — but 
when  I  turned  the  envelope  to  tear  it  open  and  my  eyes 
lighted  on  the  words,  "  What  about  my  roses?  "  I  felt  a 
slight  shock — of  pain,  or  of  shame,  or  of  both,  it  may  be, 
as  I  knew  I  had  no  answer — or  at  least  no  satisfactory 
answer,  to  return  to  your  question,  "  What  about  my 
roses?  '  Well — what  am  I  to  say  about  them?  They 
have  bloomed  and  faded  and  fallen  petal  by  petal  to  the 
earth,  and  I  have  been  unable  to  make  any  record  of 
their  brightness  or  beauty — but  instead,  went  on  looking 
day  after  day  on  the  bald  shining  head  of  old  Dr.  G , 


282    PERSONAL  TRAITS  AND  TASTES    [CHAP.  XXIII 

and  never  once  thought  of  the  "  gather  your  rosebuds 
while  you  may,  old  Time  is  still  a-flying  "  exhalation, 
and  now  in  the  gloom  and  'fog  of  November  I  look  back 
sorrowfully  on  lost  chances  and  wasted  opportunities. 
Vorbei !  Vorbei !  sagte  der  arme  Mahler,  hatte  ich  doch 
Blumen  gemahlt,  als  ich  es  noch  Konnte,. Vorbei !  vorbei ! 
— which,  slightly  altered  from  Hans  Andersen,  may  be 
given  as  a  fair  rendering  of  what  my  repentant  and 
regretful  feelings  are.  But  be  of  Good  Hope !  (as  you 
are). 

Yes,  David,  yes.     The  Gloire's  flower 
Again  shall  deck  the  summer  (seat)  bower, 
Again  my  garden  shall  supply 
Things  pleasant  both  to  mouth  and  eye; 
Roses  and  Poppies  shall  abound, 
With  Pinks  and  Pansies  all  around, 
And  when  the  Painter  paints  at  "they" 
Too  short  shall  seem  the  summer  day. 

With  which  free  rendering  of  Sir  Walter  I  shall  cease  and 
determine  from  this  Rose  business  for  just  now. 

About  this  Presidency.  I  really  don't  know  whether 
or  not  I  have  acted  altogether  wisely  in  accepting  it. 
I  wish  you  were  an  astrologer  or  a  Taustettor — or  a 
Copernicus — or  a  Galileo — or  a  Tycho  Brahe  or  some- 
thing of  that  kind,  to  consult  the  stars  for  me  and  tell 
me  whether  I  was  under  the  influence  of  some  good  or 
evil  one  when  I  said  "  yes  "  to  the  question.  But  the 
days  of  seers  and  soothsayers  and  Prophets  and  users  of 
divination  are  past,  and  most  of  us  can  see  before  us 
just  as  far  as  the  points  of  our  noses  and  little  further, 
and  I  must  e'en  be  content  to  remain  in  doubt  and 
uncertainty.  Time  doubtless  will  solve  the  mystery — 
but  then,  if  it  should  prove  to  have  been  a  mistake  ! 

However,  the  thing  is  done  "  for  better  or  for  worse  " 
as  the  saying  is — and  I  must  make  the  best  of  it.     It 
will  add  to  my  cares — and  to  my  worries  too — 

"For  how  much  there  is  lacking  what  tongue  can  tell? 
And  of  things  that  are  crooked  the  number  is  fell," 

and  this  is  an  untoward  generation — and  if  you  have 
to  persuade  long-eared  quadrupeds  who  "  won't  go  " 
"  wolloping  "  is  of  little  use — persuasion  in  the  shape  of 
carrots — or  by  preference  thistles — is  the  only  thing — 


ART  283 

and  it  may  "  exhaust  time  and  encroach  upon  eternity  " 
before  appreciable  advance  is  made.  Still,  I  am  not 
altogether  without  hope.  .  .  . 

How  is  Mrs.  Gill  ?  Please  give  her  my  kindest  remem- 
brances and  regards — and  my  wife's  also.  I  hope  you 
are  prospering  in — I  was  going  to  write  "  the  work  of 
your  hands  "  —but  I  suppose  I  should  say  the  "  work  of 
your  eyes  " — and  of  that  funny  calculating  machine — 
the  one  you  used  to  turn  by  a  handle.  If  I  had  much  to 
do  with  arithmetic  I  think  I  should  get  one.  I  never 
could  learn  the  multiplication  table — as  Pet  Marjorie 
used  to  say  of  nine  times  nine — it  was  "  dampnable  —I 
am  afraid  I  have  written  you  a  sad  teaser — but  I  shall 
send  it  nevertheless.  Yours  ever  truly,  GEO.  REID. 

The  promise  of  the  harassed  President  R.  S.  A.  having 
been  duly  kept,  Sir  George's  next  letter,  dated  April  26, 
1894,  begins— 

DEAR  ASTRONOMER, — I  am  glad  the  roses  reached  you 
safely  and  that  you  like  them,  and  further  that  the 
Custom  House  officials  have  been  so  moderate  in  their 
valuation  of  them  ! 

The  home  of  the  Gills  always  contained  good  pictures 
upon  the  walls,  some  by  his  own  friends,  others  collected 
by  himself.  I  remember,  in  1902,  taking  the  late  Earl 
of  Carlisle  out  to  the  Observatory,  and  the  great  interest 
with  which  he  gave  to  Sir  David  the  benefit  of  his 
critical  knowledge  of  the  old  Spanish  masters.  Gill's 
old  Spanish  pictures  were  sold  at  Christie's  after  his 
death. 

With  regard  to  literature,  the  reader  must  have  noticed, 
in  numerous  references  by  correspondents  in  these  pages, 
the  keen  delight  with  which  he  devoured  the  work  of  our 
best  authors.  Allusion  has  also  been  made  to  a  few 
occasions  when  he  read  aloud  to  his  friends,  and  to  the 
daily  readings  by  his  wife,  which  were  his  great  recre- 
ation during  forty  years  of  their  married  life,  during 
some  hour  of  rest,  while  he  contentedly  smoked  his  pipe 
and  listened. 


284    PERSONAL  TRAITS  AND  TASTES    [CHAP,  xxm 

The  outstanding  feature  of  David  Gill's  personality 
was  happiness.  In, work  or  play,  in  action  or  inaction, 
it  beamed  from  him.  He  was  happy  when  engaged  upon 
the  work  of  his  favourite  science.  He  was  happy  in 
joining  in  the  games  or  sports  of  others..  He  was  happy 
in  seeing  others  happy,  and  was  happy  in  sacrificing 
himself  for  those  he  loved.  But  few  things  outside  of 
his  pet  subject  brought  him  such  supreme,  contented 
happiness  as  really  good  music.  This  was  noted  in 
letters  even  during  his  Clerkenwell  days.  It  never 
ceased  to  please. 

Mr.  R.  T.  A.  Innes,  writing  about  Gill's  characteristics, 
says  :  "He  liked  music,  but  a  wrong  note  gave  him 
anguish — so  that  his  enjoyment  of  music  was  always 
very  mixed." 

The  observatory,  during  the  whole  period  of  the  Gills' 
residence  there,  was  the  meeting  ground  of  all  intellectual 
and  artistic  residents,  of  all  distinguished  visitors  to  Cape 
Town,  and  of  the  naval  officers  at  Simons  Bay. 

All  the  professional  musicians  who  arrived  at  the  Cape 
were  well  received  at  the  Observatory,  and  there  were 
many  musical  evenings.  Among  the  residents  there 
were  some,  like  Mrs.  Colahan,  an  army-doctor's  wife,  who 
were  skilled  performers,  and  who  often  came  to  brighten 
the  observatory  life  with  music,  on  the  piano  whose 
quality  was  unimpeachable. 

Once,  when  Mrs.  Colahan  was  playing,  two  young  girls 
seated  together  in  the  room  were  talking.  Sir  David 
admonished  them  in  a  whisper.  Shortly  after,  they 
resumed  their  conversation,  whereupon  he  approached 
them,  took  them  each  by  an  arm  and  solemnly  removed 
them  from  the  room. 

From  that  time  onwards  the  pianist  nicknamed  him 
her  "  musical  policeman." 

Mr.  Knobel  recalls  that  when  he  was  at  the  Cape  he 
and  Mrs.  Colahan  on  two  or  three  occasions  played  the 
Kreutzer  Sonata.  He  says,  "  Gill  was  so  moved,  he 


NORMAN   NERUDA  285 

almost  shouted  his  delight,  and  afterwards  he  often 
referred  to  the  exquisite  slow  movement  in  Beethoven's 
masterpiece." 

When  Madame  Norman  Neruda  and  her  husband,  Sir 
Charles  Halle,  were  guests  one  evening,  they  were  given 
a  peep  at  the  stars  through  the  big  telescope.  Sir  David's 
explanations  evoked  her  enthusiasm,  and  she  exclaimed, 
"  I  must  stop  here  always."  Whereupon  her  husband 
asked,  "  And  what  is  to  become  of  me  ?  "  "  Oh,  you  can 
stop  too — if  you  like." 

Remenyi  the  violinist,  Albani,  and  many  other  noted 
artistes  found  their  way  to  the  observatory. 

Santley  was  a  welcome  friend  there  at  all  times  during 
his  trip  to  South  Africa.  Once  he  was  singing  "  Duncan 
Grey  "  at  a  concert  in  Cape  Town,  and  Sir  David  had 
his  seat  on  the  platform.  Each  verse  excited  him  more 
than  the  last,  and,  oblivious  of  all  but  the  song,  at  the 
close  of  each  verse  he  pushed  back  his  chair  a  little  to 
catch  the  sound  better,  until,  to  the  horror  of  his  wife, 
who  sat  in  the  body  of  the  hall,  he  was  within  a  few 
inches  of  the  stair  leading  down  from  the  platform.  Had 
there  been  one  more  verse  he  must  have  turned  a  somer- 
sault down  the  steps,  and  all  his  friends  were  relieved 
when  the  song  ended  without  a  catastrophe. 

In  the  presence  of  really  good  music  he'  was  almost 
beside  himself  with  joy.  During  his  frequent  visits  to 
Paris  he  saw  a  good  deal  of  the  Lyttons.  One  day  they 
took  him  to  a  concert  with  their  party.  An  exquisite 
solo  was  being  sung,  and  Gill  was  enchanted.  He 
seized  hold  of  an  aged  gentleman  of  the  party,  who  was 
next  to  him,  by  the  arm,  and  said,  "  Man  !  is  it  not 
grand?  "  Some  time  later  Lady  Lytton,  when  spoken  to 
about  it,  remarked,  "  Yes,  the  Due  [indicating  a  high 
personage]  was  greatly  amused  at  Sir  David's  enthusi- 
asm." Our  astronomer  had  never  given  a  thought  to 
his  neighbour,  whether  he  was  great  or  small.  He  felt 
he  must  have  sympathy  in  his  admiration  of  the  solo. 


286    PERSONAL  TRAITS  AND  TASTES    [CHAP,  xxm 

During  the  whole  of  his  residence  in  England,  after  his 
retirement,  Gill  never  missgd  an  opportunity  of  attending 
the  Albert  Hall  concerts.  ' 

Mrs.  Andrew  (late  of  Cape  Town  and  Muizemberg,  now 
in  Scotland)  writes — 

Not  very  long  before  his  last  illness,  we  were 
coming  out  of  the  Albert  Hall,  after  a  performance  of 
the  Elijah  and,  in  the  vestibule,  met  a  "  rapt  "  Sir 
David,  who  declaimed  in  his  broad  Doric,  "  Ah,  Mrs. 
Andrew,  Mendelssohn  was  all  wrong  in  his  wind-up.  He 
should  have  finished  by  sending  Elijah  up  to  Heaven  in 

A   FLARE   OF  TRUMPETS  !  !  " 

It  seems  tame  when  written,  but  if  you  could  have 
seen  that  noble  form,  with  its  grand  head,  and  rugged 
face,  Gill  the  poet,  utterly  unconscious  of  the  fashionable 
crowd  moving  past  him,  as  with  uplifted  hands  he  pic- 
tured his  idea  of  the  Great  Prophet's  passing,  you  too 
would  have  been  carried  away  to  another  world,  and  when 
you  came  down  to  criticism  would  have  agreed  that  the 
music  was  not  majestic  enough  to  depict  the  whirlwind 
and  chariot  and  steeds  of  fire. 

Alas,  we  little  thought,  that  night,  that  our  friend  was 
so  soon  to  join  the  great  choir  above,  but  I  shall  never 
forget  his  looks;  surely  the  "Spirit  of  God  was  upon 
him — the  Spirit  of  wisdom  and  understanding,  the  Spirit 
of  counsel  and  true  godliness,  the  Spirit  of  knowledge 
and  ghostly  strength." 

I  suppose  that  Sir  David's  aesthetic  fervour  penetrated 
the  spirits  of  his  closest  intimates.  His  notion  about  the 
passing  of  the  prophet  in  a  flare  of  trumpets  came  to 
some  of  us  when  he  passed  away,  who  regretted  that 
to  conclude  the  Memorial  Service  at  St.  Mary  Abbot, 
Kensington,  with  the  "  Hallelujah  Chorus,"  which  always 
moved  him  so  much,  would  hardly  be  consonant  with  the 
established  practice  of  the  Church.  Mrs.  Andrew  writes 
in  continuation — 

I  have  just  remembered  another  occasion  when  it  was 
my  privilege  to  meet  him  again  "  in  tune  with  the 
infinite."  Many  years  ago,  when  Ian  McLaren's  "  Days 


IAN  McLAREN'S  BOOK  287 

of  Auld  Lang  Syne  "  was  coming  out  in  the  British 
Weekly,  we  were  at  our  cottage  at  Muizemberg  in  S. 
Africa.  Sir  David  and  Mr.  Jacoby,  the  American  astro- 
nomer, had  come  down  for  a  breath  of  the  sea,  and 
we  were  all  sitting  on  the  verandah,  when  the  train 
passed  with  Mrs.  Waterston.  She  threw  us  a  paper,  and 
soon  came  along  the  road  herself,  with  a  request  to  Dr. 
Gill  to  read  about  Drumsheugh's  fireside  to  us.  It  was 
the  chapter  where  he  and  that  other  noble  man,  Dr. 
McClure,  talk  over  their  boyhood's  days,  how  they 
guddled  for  trout,  and  about  the  people  of  the  glen,  and 
the  experiences  of  life  which  made  men  and  women  of 
them.  Then  they  began  to  count  how  many  of  them 
had  already  "  passed  to  the  other  side,"  Burnbrae's 
"  long  journey,"  and  the  death  of  the  little  motherless 
girl.  It  was  grand  to  hear  our  old  friend  roll  it  out  in 
his  sympathetic  sonorous  voice.  We  all  listened  in 
rapt  attention,  none  of  us  Celts  dry-eyed.  When  he 
got  to  the  doctor  taking  the  "  bit  lassiekie  "  on  his  knee 
and  saying,  "  Ye're  no  feart  dautie,  ye'll  sin  be  name  " ; 
"  Haud  me  ticht,  Ducksie,  and  Mither  '11  tak'  me  oot  o' 
yer  arms,"  he  pitched  the  paper  down,  saying,  with  a 
sob,  "  I  can  nae  mair." 

Some  of  the  accounts  given  of  Gill's  passionate  appre- 
ciation of  good  music,  though  he  was  not  a  musician, 
recall  Sir  Charles  Stanford's  words  about  Tennyson— 

Without  being  a  musician,  he  had  a  great  appreciation 
of  the  fitness  of  music  to  its  subjects,  and  was  an  unfail- 
ing judge  of  musical  declamation.  As  he  expressed  it 
himself,  he  disliked  music  which  went  up  when  it  ought 
to  go  down,  and  went  down  when  it  ought  to  go  up.1 

The  subject  of  sacred  music  leads  by  a  natural  transi- 
tion to  that  of  Religion.  Just  as  we  saw  his  love  for 
music  cropping  out  in  the  Clerkenwell  days  as  related 
by  Mr.  Haswell  (p.  21),  so  also  his  simple,  unquestioning 
faith  was  illustrated  to  the  playfellow  of  his  boyhood 
(p.  9),  and  to  his  mother  on  her  deathbed  (p.  6).  In 
all  these  spiritual  matters,  and  in  all  these  ideals,  cravings, 

1  Studies  and  Memories,  by  C.  V.  Stamford.    Constable,  1908. 


288    PERSONAL  TRAITS  AND  TASTES    [CHAP.  XXIII 

motives  of  action,  and  joyousness,  the  soul  of  David 
Gill  seems  to  have  remained  unchanged  from  the  age  of 
ten  to  seventy. 

It  must  be  told,  however,  that  all  through  his  life 
there  was  an  inherent  reserve  about  higher  things,  which 
was  never  broken  even  to  his  intimates  by  any  unsought- 
for  confidences  about  his  private  thoughts  and  belief. 
And  it  is  a  most  remarkable  fact  that,  such  being  the 
case,  and  in  spite  of  it,  he  was  always  perfectly  ready 
and  willing  to  answer  a  direct  question  upon  these 
subjects,  as  upon  any  other  about  which  his  opinion  was 
sincerely  asked.  He  would  even  answer  the  questions 
by  a  reporter  without  any  objection  to  their  publication. 
When  seriously  consulted  by  a  friend  in  trouble,  he 
would  open  his  heart  to  him. 

A  curious  consequence  of  this  reserve  was  that  few  of 
his  subordinates  had  any  knowledge  of  his  profound 
piety.  One  of  these  (on  the  strength,  as  he  said,  of  his 
peculiarly  intimate  relations  with  his  chief)  furnished  the 
biographer  with  what  he  considered  to  be  an  estimate  of 
Sir  David  Gill  seen  from  the  inside.  Therein,  to  the 
astonishment  of  the  reader,  was  the  statement :  "  My 
own  impression  is  that  he  was  an  Agnostic  "[!]  Such 
absolute,  incredible  ignorance  was  due  simply  to  the  fact 
that  Gill  never  did  thrust  forward  his  opinions  if  they 
were  not  asked  for. 

One  of  the  very  rare  occasions  of  departure  from  this 
habit  of  constraint  and  reserve  is  mentioned  in  a  letter 
to  Lady  Gill  written  from  the  Mount  Nelson  Hotel,  Cape 
Town,  by  Miss  Leonard,  on  February  6,  1914. 

The  first  time  I  met  him  [Sir  David]  was  at  the  Mount 
Nelson.  A  man  began  to  make  cynical  remarks  about 
marriage  and  love — a  middle-aged  man  with  a  wife  and 
family.  There  were  several  quite  young  people  present, 
and  Sir  David  stood  it  for  a  while,  with  his  brows  knitted. 
Then  he  said,  "  Man,  have  you  got  a  wife?  "  '  Yes/' 
said  the  man.  "  Then  you  ought  to  be  ashamed  of 


RELIGION  289 

yourself  talking  like  that."  There  was  a  surprised 
silence,  and  then  the  subject  was  changed.  But  I  never 
forgot.  It  is  so  rarely  that  older  people  have  courage 
enough  to  say  things  like  that,  and  it  helps  young  people 
so  much  when  they  have. 

Gill  gave  great  respect  to  the  man  who  followed 
science  in  any  form,  but  he  had  little  tolerance  for 
the  bad  logic  of  those  who  take  up  the  less  exact 
sciences  and  who  think  that  physiology  supplies  the 
data  for  deciding  religious  questions.  His  faith  was  as 
simple  and  thorough  as  that  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton  or  of  the 
great  leaders  of  exact  science  and  mathematically  accurate 
reasoning  who  were  his  friends.  In  common  with  prac- 
tically all  men  who  are  leaders  in  any  of  the  exact 
sciences,  he  accepted  Professor  Tait's  repudiation  of 
these  pseudo-scientists.1  He  knew  that  Sir  George 
Stokes'  absolute  belief  in  divine  revelation  2  was  invin- 
cible, that  Lord  Kelvin's  definite  pronouncements  against 
the  conclusions  of  materialists  were  logically  unassail- 
able,3 and  that  Clerk  Maxwell's  lifelong  piety  and  his 
deathbed  utterance 4  were  the  beliefs  of  perhaps  the 
most  accurate  and  penetrating  seer  of  the  century. 

The  Bishop  of  St.  John's,  Umtata,  Africa,  in  writing  to 
the  Dowager  Lady  Loch  on  February  2,  1914,  about  Sir 
David  Gill's  death,  says — 

And  there  were  some  things  which  one  is  especially  glad 
to  remember  at  this  time — his  perfectly  simple  faith  in  the 
love  of  God  and  our  Lord's  redemption.  His  faith  was 
steady  with  the  steadiness  of  real  simplicity.  I  remember 
once  meeting  at  lunch  at  the  Observatory  a  German 
savant  who  was  staying  there.  The  talk  after  lunch 
turned  on  scientific  subjects — general  science,  I  think — 

1  Knott's  Life  of  Professor  Tail,  p.  295. 

2  Memoir  of  Sir  George  Stokes,  by  Sir  Joseph  Larmor.    Cam- 
bridge, 1907,  Sec.  I. 

3  Life  of  Lord  Kelvin,  by  S.   P.   Thompson,   London.     1910. 
vol.  ii.  pp.  1091-4. 

4  The  Life  of  James  Clerk  Maxwell,  by  Lewis  Campbell  and 
William  Garnett.    London,  1882,  passim,  and  p.  426. 

U 


2QO    PERSONAL  TRAITS  AND  TASTES    [CHAP.  XXIII 

and  Sir  David  said  something  which  implied — rather 
remotely — his  own  Christianity.  "  Do  you  believe  in 
that?  "  asked  the 'guest, 'almost  startled.  "  I  do,"  was 
the  answer,  with  a  singularly  impressive  simplicity, 
which  no  doubt  gave  more  occasion  for  thought  and 
reflection  than  a  long  argument.  K 

At  a  memorial  service  for  Sir  David  Gill  held  at  St. 
Michael's  Church,  Observatory,  Cape  Town,  the  Rev. 
G.  F.  Gresley  said  that  he  might  be  allowed  to  say 
something  about  matters  which  were  very  little  known. 

I  may  say  that  we  owe  the  existence  of  this  church 
to  his  courage,  his  advice,  his  help,  and  his  liberality. 
He  was  always  a  regular  and  devout  attendant  at 
Sunday  morning  service,  and  knelt  at  that  altar  month 
by  month  to  receive  the  Sacrament. 

All  his  friends  were  impressed  by  the  solemnity 
with  which  he  invariably  said  Grace  before  meals. 
The  one  witness  who  can  testify  on  the  matter  says 
that  during  the  whole  of  his  life  every  day,  morning  and 
evening,  he  said  his  prayers.  And,  besides  this  private 
devotion,  he  had  family  prayers  whenever  he  was  not 
prevented  by  astronomical  duties.  A  busy  astronomer 
is,  of  course,  unable,  while  on  duty,  to  meet  the  family 
and  domestics  in  this  way.  Their  meetings,  in  fact, 
were  very  different ;  for  it  often  happened  that  the  Dutch 
cook,  meeting  her  master  at  sunrise,  would  say,  "  Good 
morning,  sir,"  to  which  he,  on  his  way  to  bed,  would 
respond,  "  Good  night,  cook." 

A  dear  friend,  writing  to  him  in  great  trouble,  received 
the  following  reply — 

I  have  the  very  deepest  sympathy  with  what  you  tell 
me  of  your  inner  life — and  am  thankful  that  you  have 
found  the  only  solace  and  guide  in  all  such  troubles. 
We,  however,  never  can  have  by  instinct  or  by  any 
other  way  a  knowledge  of  God's  purposes  towards  us— 
we  can  only  try  to  do  what  we  believe  He  would  wish 
us  to  do. 


SYMPATHY  WITH  SORROW  291 

In  our  affections  and  the  closest  and  dearest  relations 
of  life,  instinct,  if  not  rendered  unreliable  by  passion  or 
self-interest,  is  generally  a  good  guide.  .  .  .  The  simplest 
rule  in  all  life  is  to  ask  one's  self  what  Christ  wd  have  done 
in  the  circumstances,  and  then  try  to  do  what  you 
honestly  believe  He  would  have  done.  None  of  us  can 
always  do  that — but  the  better  we  try  the  better  we 
shall  bear  and  the  better  we  shall  be. 

Often  the  things  that  seem  to  be  the  greatest  trials  in 
life  turn  out  in  the  end  to  be  the  greatest  blessings.  You 
cannot  grow  a  hardy  flower  in  a  hothouse — it  is  the  trials 
of  life  that  make  the  moral  training,  just  as  it  is  the 
poor  soil,  the  winter  blast,  the  unwilling  harvest,  that 
make  the  hardy  Scot  about  whom  we  said  not  a  little  on 
Saturday  night  at  St.  Andrew's  dinner. 

It  has  been  said  that  Sir  David  Gill  had  no  objection 
to  answer  any  questions  asked  even  by  an  interviewer. 
The  editor  of  Great  Thoughts,  however,  makes  the 
remark — 

From  the  interviewer's  point  of  view,  Sir  David  pos- 
sesses only  one  fault — he  has  an  invincible  objection  to 
talking  about  himself  and  his  achievements. 

Yet  this  interviewer,  by  direct  question,  was  able  to 
get  this  very  definite  statement  from  him — 

There  is  no  subject  which  appeals,  or  ought  to  appeal, 
more  strongly  to  the  imagination  than  that  of  astronomy, 
nothing  which  lifts  men,  or  ought  to  lift  them,  to  a 
higher  plane  of  thought,  or  gives  them  a  better  grasp  oi 
the  infinite  power  of  the  Creator ;  nothing  that  exemplifies 
more  completely  the  unity  of  design  that  exists  in  Nature ; 
nothing  that  teaches  more  the  Christian  lesson  of  humility, 
and  yet,  at  the  same  time,  affords  the  highest  proof  of 
the  intellectual  possibilities  open  to  man. 

It  may  be  all  the  more  worth  while  drawing  attention 
to  this  side  of  the  personality  of  this  great  astronomer  at 
the  present  time,  when  the  whole  civilized  world  is  now 
fighting  for  the  laws  of  God  against  the  rules  of  right 


2 92    PERSONAL  TRAITS  AND  TASTES    [CHAP.  XXIII 

and  wrong  devised  by  an  arrogant,  brutal  and  impious 
race.  ^ 

It  will  surprise  many  to  find  that  a  man  so  reticent  as 
David  Gill  was  quite  willing  to  answer  directly  any 
question  about  his  faith.  k 

To  A.  H.  TABRUN,  Esq. 

34  DE  VERE  GARDENS,  KENSINGTON,  LONDON,  W., 

October  16,  1908. 

DEAR  SIR, — In  reply  to  your  letter  of  the  i5th  Inst. 
You  need  pay  no  attention  to  the  anti-religious  lecturer 
you  wrote  of — or  his  assertion  that  "  scientific  research 
has  shown  the  Bible  and  Religion  to  be  untrue." 

The  assertion  is  unfounded  rubbish.  Look  at  the 
frequent  statements  to  the  contrary  of  our  most  eminent 
men,  such  as  the  late  Lord  Kelvin  and  Sir  George  Gabriel 
Stokes.1 

People  too  often  try  to  make  cheap  capital  out  of 
poetic  similes  in  the  Bible — just  as  if  the  Bible  was  a 
scientific  treatise — which  it  is  not. — Yours  faithfully, 

DAVID  GILL. 

To  A.  H.  TABRUN,  Esq. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  have  no  objection  to  your  publishing  the 
letter  as  enclosed.  [The  one  reproduced  above.] — Yours 
faithfully,  DAVID  GILL. 

Again,  in  1909,  he  was  asked  by  Mr.  W.  H.  Howard 
Nash  to  answer  the  following  questions,  and  he  made  no 
difficulty. 

1.  Is  it  your  belief  that  the  Universe  had  an  Intelligent 
First  Cause?— Ans.  :  "Yes." 

2.  Do  you  attribute  Personality  to  that  First  Cause  ? 

1  The  reader  may  be  interested  to  compare  Sir  George  Stokes' 
reply  to  the  same,  or  a  similar,  letter  from  Mr.  Tabrun.  It  is  in 
the  same  sense  as  Sir  David  Gill's  but  fuller;  and  is  followed 
by  explanatory  letters  extending  over  nearly  six  years,  occupying 
fifteen  pages  (vol.  ii.  pp.  76-90)  of  his  Memoir  and  Scientific  Cor- 
respondence, Cambridge,  1907,  selected  and  arranged  by  Sir 
Joseph  Larmor,  Sec.  R.S.,  etc. 


BELIEFS  293 

3.  Do  you  believe  that  Man  has  the  faculty  of  appre- 
hending God? 

[Opposite  these  two  questions  Gill  wrote  :]  "  Canst 
thou  by  searching  find  out  God,  canst  thou  find  out  the 
Almighty  to  perfection?  " — and  added  the  remark  :  "I 
do  not  think  that  your  questions  2  and  3  are  capable  of 
a  more  definite  answer  than  that  which  I  have  given  you 
in  the  words  of  Job.  What  is  personality?  What  is 
apprehending  ? 

4.  Is  it  your  belief  that  man's  personality  survives  in  a 
conscious  state  beyond  the  grave? — Ans.  :  "  Yes." 

5.  Do  you  believe  that  God  has  revealed  Himself  to 
Man  pre-eminently  through  Jesus  Christ  ? — Ans.  :  "  Yes." 

6.  Do  you  believe  Jesus  Christ  to  be  "  The  Son  of 
God  "  ?— Ans.  :    "  Yes,  in  the  sense  that  He  said  so." 

7.  Is  it  your  belief  that  Man  possesses  "  free  will  " 
within  limits?— Ans.  :  "  Yes." 

8.  Is  it  your  belief  that  the  Bible  contains  a  Divine 
Revelation? — Ans.  :  "  Yes." 

Lastly  :  May  we,  if  necessary,  use  your  name  in  con- 
nection with  your  replies? — Ans.  :  "  Yes." 

(Signed)  DAVID  GILL. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

THE   PERSONAL   SIDE   OF   DAVID   GILL   (continued) 
Gilliana — Humour — Friendship 

THE  musical  taste  and  religious  faith  of  David  Gill  were 
a  part  of  his  personality,  of  the  Spirit  which  was  the 
source  of  his  intellectual  and  physical  acts.  And  to  them 
were  added  a  genial  love  for  all  true  people,  for  all  noble 
effort,  a  deep  sympathy  with  those  in  trouble,  and  a 
bright  outlook  upon  the  world  and  its  enjoyment. 

Naturally,  such  a  man  quickly  detected  the  humorous 
side  of  any  occurrence,  enjoyed  a  witty  story,  and  himself 
possessed  a  store  of  them.  When  resident  in  London, 
after  his  retirement,  he  dined  out  a  great  deal,  and  was 
regarded  as  the  best  of  company  and  a  delightful  raconteur. 
At  public  dinners,  too,  he  was  generally  ready  to  relieve 
the  tedium  of  prosy  speeches  by  relating  some  amusing 
anecdote. 

There  may  have  been  an  occasional  slowness  to  catch 
the  point  of  a  joke,  and  some  of  his  best  stories  may 
have  been  worn  rather  threadbare.  The  oft-told  story  of 
a  threepenny  bit  at  a  distance  of  a  hundred  miles  is  one 
in  point,  but  it  was  not  himself  who  wore  it  threadbare. 
It  was  the  newspaper  reporters  who  got  hold  of  it,  and 
used  it  to  show  his  appreciation  of  a  joke  even  against 
himself. 

It  might  be  truly  said  that,  in  all  his  greatest  practica} 
work  of  observing,  Gill  spent  his  whole  life  in  the  hunt 
after  one-hundredth  of  a  second  of  arc,  and  that  he  was 
the  first  astronomer  who  caught  it.  It  was  to  a  great 
extent  owing  to  this  that  we  are  now  able  to  say  that  the 

294 


HUNDREDTH  OF  A  SECOND  295 

records  left  by  Sir  David  Gill  are  probably  unsurpassed 
in  value  by  those  of  any  living  astronomer  who  has 
worked  upon  similar  lines. 

In  the  year  1872,  while  the  writer  was  studying  practical 
astronomy  at  Greenwich  Observatory  under  Airy,  he 
mentioned  to  Gill  a  quaint  dictum  of  Airy's  (which  fairly 
represented  the  degree  of  accuracy  then  sought  for  by 
astronomers),  that  "  a  tenth  of  a  second  of  arc  is  the 
smallest  thing  in  the  world."  In  1876,  at  Dun  Echt, 
Gill  showed  him  his  he lio meter  observations  at  Mauritius, 
sheets  upon  sheets  of  concordant  results,  and  then  asked  : 
"  Will  Airy  deny  now  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  a 
hundredth  of  a  second  of  arc  ?  "  When  visiting  England 
in  1884,  after  showing  his  work  upon  stellar  parallax  at 
the  Cape,  he  repeated  the  same  question.  At  later  dates, 
when  the  writer  visited  him  at  the  Cape,  bundles  of  MS. 
were  produced  to  show  the  results  obtained  with  his  new 
heliometer,  and  again  the  same  question  was  repeated 
in  the  same  words. 

That  any  one  should  have  made  a  jest  of  a  life's  quest 
might  hurt  some  people,  but  no  one  enjoyed  the  following 
joke  more  than  Sir  David. 

The  small  angle  referred  to  (o"-oi)  is  less  than  that 
covered  by  a  threepenny  bit  at  a  distance  of  a  hundred 
miles.  Gill  expressed  it  so  in  a  lecture  on  the  most 
refined  measurements  attained  by  astronomers,  to  the 
Institute  of  Marine  Engineers,  of  which  he  was  the 
president,  two  years  before  his  death.  Afterwards  he 
thoroughly  enjoyed  narrating  how  the  chairman,  at  a 
dinner  in  the  evening,  when  proposing  the  lecturer's 
health,  said  there  could  be  no  doubt  about  his  nationality, 
because  nobody  but  a  Scotsman  would  bother  about  a 
threepenny  bit  a  hundred  miles  away. 

Part  of  the  humour  of  this  sally  arose  from  the  fact 
that  Sir  David's  broad  Aberdonian  Doric,  and  rolling 
r's,  proclaimed  his  nationality  to  any  one  who  ever  heard 
him  speak. 


296  THE  PERSONAL  SIDE      [CHAP.  XXIV 

When  lecturing  on  the  Fixed  Stars  Sir  David  wanted  an 
illustration  of  the  distance  tp  the  nearest  star,  a  Centauri. 
This  is  what  he  said — 


We  are  a  commercial  people;  we  like  to  make  out 
estimates  in  pounds  sterling.  We  shall  suppose  that 
some  wealthy  directors  have  failed  in  getting  Parlia- 
mentary sanction  to  cut  a  sub- Atlantic  tunnel  to  America, 
and  so,  for  want  of  some  other  outlet  for  their  energy 
and  capital,  they  construct  a  railway  to  a  Centauri.  We 
shall  neglect  for  the  present  the  engineering  difficulties— 
a  mere  detail — and  suppose  them  overcome,  and  the 
railway  opened  for  traffic. 

We  shall  go  further  and  suppose  that  the  directors 
have  found  the  construction  of  such  a  railway  to  have 
been  peculiarly  easy,  and  that  the  proprietors  of  inter- 
stellar space  had  not  been  exorbitant  in  their  terms  for 
right  of  way.  Therefore,  with  a  view  to  encourage  traffic, 
the  directors  have  made  the  fares  exceedingly  moderate — 
viz.  first-class  at  one  penny  per  100  miles. 

Desiring  to  take  advantage  of  these  facilities,  an 
American  gentleman,  by  way  of  providing  himself  with 
small  change  for  the  journey,  buys  up  the  National  Debt 
of  Great  Britain,  and  of  a  few  other  countries,  and,  present- 
ing himself  at  the  booking-office,  demands  a  first-class 
single  to  a  Centauri.  For  this  he  tenders  in  payment  the 
scrip  of  the  National  Debt  of  Great  Britain  which  just 
covers  the  cost  of  the  ticket ;  but  I  should  explain  that 
at  this  time  the  National  Debt,  from  little  wars,  coupled 
with  some  unremunerative  Government  investments  in 
landed  property,  had  run  up  from  700  millions  to  1,100 
millions  sterling.  Having  taken  his  seat,  it  occurs  to  him 
to  ask — 

"  At  what  rate  do  you  travel  ?  " 

"  Sixty  miles  an  hour,  sir,  including  stoppages,"  is 
the  answer. 

"  And  when  shall  we  reach  a  Centauri  ?  " 

"  In  48,663,060  years,  sir." 

"  Humph  !   rather  a  long  journey." 

When  called  upon  as  an  astronomer  to  make  an  after- 
dinner  speech  to  a  mixed  audience  he  often  gave  them 


GOOD   STORIES  297 

an  astronomical  anecdote.     On  one  occasion  he  gave  the 
following — 

A  meteorite  fell  in  a  field  on  a  Scottish  farm.  The 
landlord  claimed  it  under  a  lease  which  entitled  him  to  all 
minerals  and  metals  on  the  land.  The  tenant,  however, 
claimed  that  it  belonged  to  him  because  it  was  not  on 
the  land  when  the  lease  was  drawn.  Equal  to  the  occa- 
sion, the  landlord  claimed  it  as  "  flying  game."  "  But 
it  has  neither  wings  nor  feathers/'  rejoined  the  tenant ; 
"  therefore,  as  ground  game  it  is  mine."  At  this  point 
the  discussion  was  cut  short  by  the  appearance  of  a 
Revenue  Officer,  who  took  possession  of  the  meteorite 
as  "an  article  introduced  into  the  country  without 
payment  of  duty." 

He  was  tremendously  tickled  by  the  story  of  Lord 
Tullibardine  and  the  sucking  pigs  that  was  going  round 
London  a  few  years  ago.  The  next  time  he  was  at  Blair 
Castle  he  asked  if  it  was  true.  The  Marquess  replied  : 
"  I  never  heard  it  before,  and  there's  not  a  word  of  truth 
in  it,  but  it's  a  d d  good  story." 

He  was  in  the  way  of  picking  up  good  stories  by  the 
score,  but  was  revolted  by  the  questionable  ones  which 
by  some  were  supposed  to  be  witty.  If  he  were  writing 
a  letter  to  an  intimate  friend  it  was  quite  a  common 
thing  for  him  to  introduce  the  last  good  thing  he  had  heard, 
that  his  correspondent  might  share  the  fun.  Earl  Grey  and 
he  used  to  have  regular  sets  to  in  South  Africa,  capping 
each  other's  tales.  When  Lord  Grey  went  to  Canada  as 
Governor  General  they  still  swopped  yarns  by  letter. 

Writing  home  to  a  great  friend  at  that  time  he  inserts, 
d  propos  de  bottes,  a  story  extracted  from  the  following 
letter. 

FROM  EARL  GREY 
GOVERNMENT  HOUSE,  OTTAWA,  February  14,  1905. 

MY  DEAR  ASTRONOMER, — A  thousand  thanks  for  so 
kindly  writing  to  me  from  Johannesburg  to  tell  me  about 
my  boy.  He  writes  me  excellent  letters  which  lead  me 
to  believe  he  is  both  interested  and  happy.  I  hope  he  is 


298  THE  PERSONAL  SIDE       [CHAP.  XXIV 

liked  by  his  Chief  and  appreciated  by  those  with  whom 
he  comes  in  contact.  You  will  like  him  when  you  get  to 
know  him.  f' 

Here  is  a  story  which  will  amuse  you. — A  Custom  House 
officer  put  the  usual  question  to  an  American  lady  the 
other  day  on  arrival  at  New  York,  as  to  -whether  she  had 
any  dutiable  goods.  "  No,  nothing  but  wearing  apparel," 
she  persisted,  and  showed  some  indignation  when  the 
Custom  House  officer,  distrusting  her  word,  proceeded  to 
open  her  box  and  rummage  right  to  the  very  bottom. 
With  triumph  he  pulled  out  from  below  her  dresses  two 
big  magnums  of  whisky,  and  holding  them  by  the  neck 
asked  the  lady  what  she  meant  by  saying  that  she  had 
nothing  in  her  box  but  wearing  apparel.  "  I  stated  what 
was  the  truth/'  said  the  lady,  "  for  you  hold  in  your  hand 
my  husband's  night-caps  !  "  The  official  immediately 
withdrew  his  claims,  and  the  lady  withdrew  in  triumph. 

Can  you  send  me  back  a  better  one  which  I  can  tell 
Sir  Wilfred  Laurier,  whose  story  this  is  ? 

I  am  much  distressed  that  you  are  not  able  to  give  me 
a  better  account  of  your  delightful  wife.  Please  give  her 
every  assurance  of  my  continued  devotion. 

I  am  sorry  you  saw  so  little  of  Halifax.  He  has  been 
terribly  upset  by  the  death  of  his  favourite  sister. 

When  you  have  time  please  dash  me  off  a  line,  for  I 
enjoy  keeping  myself  in  touch,  as  far  as  possible,  with 
South  Africa.  I  remain,  yours  ever,  GREY. 

FROM  EARL  GREY 
GOVERNMENT  HOUSE,  OTTAWA,  July  9,  1906. 

MY  DEAR  ASTRONOMER, — When  are  you  coming  to  pay 
me  a  visit  in  Canada  ?  It  is  a  long  time  since  I  saw  your 
handwriting,  or  had  a  laugh  over  one  of  your  stories.  On 
this  side  of  the  Atlantic  old  chestnuts  are  much  appreciated, 
so  when  you  come  bring  as  many  as  you  can  collect. 

Please  give  my  devoted  regards  to  Lady  Gill,  and  if 
she  comes  with  you  so  much  the  better. 

I  remain,  yours  ever,  GREY. 

FROM  EARL  GREY 

DORCHESTER  HOUSE,  PARK  LANE,  March  23,  1895. 
MY    DEAR    GRINDSTONE,  —  Forgive    me.     I   admit    I 
ought  to  have  my  nose  pressed  well  upon  it  as  a  reward 


EARL  GREY  299 

for  my  acknowledge  of  astronomical  observations  from 
Cape  Town,  and  now  I  only  write,  such  is  the  way  of 
mankind,  to  ask  a  favour  from  you  and  dear  Mrs.  Gill, 
if  I  may  venture  to  call  her  so  !  and  that  is  if  Lady  Helen 
Vincent  (sister  of  the  beautiful  Duchess  of  Leinster  who 
is  just  dead)  is  still  in  Cape  Town — she  sailed  in  the  Scot 
last  Saturday — will  you  make  a  point  of  finding  her  out 
and  being  nice  to  her  ?  When  I  tell  you  she  is  a  beautiful 
woman  and  has  a  mind  and  character  as  beautiful  as  her 
face  and  has  many  tastes  in  common  with  Mrs.  Gill,  I 
think  you'll  just  shut  up  your  old  telescope  and  bring 
upon  her  the  battery  of  a  human  eyesight  unaided  by 
any  lenses.  But  I  expect  you  have  already  made  friends, 
for  I  told  Sir  Edgar  Vincent  all  sorts  of  nice  things  about 
you  and  Mrs.  Gill  and  that  he  was  to  make  a  point  of 
making  yr  acquaintance  before  he  leaves  Cape  Town. 

Met  Herschell  and  his  wife  the  other  day.  We  all 
cracked  you  and  Mrs.  Gill  sky  high,  out  of  reach  even  of 
your  telescopic  photographer. 

No  time  for  more  this  mail,  but  must  beg  you  to  thank 
Mrs.  Gill  from  me  for  her  dear  letter.  It  was  very  kind 
and  nice  of  her  to  write.  I  have  never  thanked  you, 
have  I,  for  your  Grindstone.  I  enjoyed  it,  particularly 
its  national  modesty,  and  passed  it  on  to  another  scoffing 
but  appreciative  Southerner. — It  is,  I  believe,  getting 
quite  well-thumbed. — Believe  me,  with  friendly  greetings 
to  dear  Mrs.  Gill,  Yrs  most  truly,  GREY. 

FROM  EARL  GREY 

GOVERNMENT  HOUSE,  OTTAWA,  February  6,  1905. 

MY  DEAR  ASTRONOMER, — If  you  can  read  any  good 
stories  out  of  the  heavens  thro'  your  telescope,  please  pass 
them  on  to  me — I  send  you  2  silly  stories  just  for  you  to 
cap. 

Getting  on  all  right  here.  Everybody  anxious  to  help 
with  both  hands. 

Hanbury  Williams,  your  Nominee,  ist  rate,  wife 
ditto.  No  trouble  too  great  and  lots  of  tact.  Come  and 
pay  me  a  visit  and  bring  the  Divinity  with  you  and  in 
her  red  gown. 

Just  in  from  2  hours  on  snow-shoes,  and  every  inch  of 
my  body  red-hot,  altho'  the  Thermo,  says  it's  zero. 

My  DEVOTED  regards  to  Lady  Gill.     Yours  ever, 

GREY. 


300  THE  PERSONAL  SIDE        [CHAP.  XXIV 

Any  joke  with  a  university  flavour  was  as  acceptable 
to  him  as  an  astronomical  one.  Here  is  one  that  he  used 
to  tell. 

An  English  tourist  just  arrived  in  Edinburgh  was  asked 
by  a  ragged  urchin  for  a  bawbee.  "  Do  you  do  anything 
for  a  living  ?  "  he  asked.  "  I  beg,"  was  the  reply.  "  What 
does  your  father  do  ?  "  "  He  begs."  "  And  your 
mother?"  "She  begs."  "Have  you  any  brothers  or 
sisters  ?  "  "  I've  one  brother,  and  he's  in  the  university." 

The  Englishman  had  often  heard  of  the  straits  under- 
gone by  many  a  poor  Scottish  family,  that  they  might  be 
enabled  to  send  one  of  their  number  to  college,  and  was 
delighted  to  have  come  across  so  striking  a  case  of  the 
father  and  mother  and  one  of  their  sons,  in  poverty,  and 
begging  in  the  streets  that  the  other  might  be  educated 
and,  perhaps,  enter  the  "  meenistry." 

So  he  put  a  further  question  about  the  brother,  to  which 
the  reply  came,  "  He  was  born  wi'  twa  heids,  an'  they 
keep  him  in  a  bottle." 

Although  modest  and  humble  in  his  dealings  with  all 
men,  Gill  was  never  shy  nor  flustered  in  the  presence  of 
the  most  distinguished  or  exalted  personages.  If  put  in 
an  awkward  position  by  any  circumstance  he  could  save 
the  situation  with  a  bon  mot.  One  evening  after  his 
retirement  he  was  a  guest  at  a  reception  in  a  certain  lady's 
London  house.  He  and  a  most  distinguished  ecclesiastic 
were  in  close  juxtaposition  when  their  hostess  advanced 
and  addressed  them  in  these  words  :  "  I  want  to  make  the 
greatest  astronomer  in  the  world  and  the  greatest  preacher 
in  the  world  acquainted,"  and  after  introducing  them, 
moved  off.  There  was  dead  silence  between  the  two  men 
for  some  seconds.  Then  Gill  looked  his  companion  in 
the  eyes,  and  said  with  his  humorous  twinkle  :  "  It  is 
not  often  that  either  of  us  meets  such  a  distinguished 
man."  This  broke  the  ice. 

There  was  certainly  a  wonderful  charm  about  the  man 
and  his  conversation,  as  all  who  knew  him,  however 
slightly,  testify.  Physically,  the  ready  twinkle  of  his 


LOVE  OF  HIS  SCIENCE  301 

eye,  the  pleasant  smile,  occasionally  only  on  one  side  of 
the  mouth,  and  the  striking  and  self-reliant,  yet  enquiring 
voice,  all  played  their  part. 

Gill's  detestation  of  anything  but  the  best  in  astro- 
nomical work  of  precision  sometimes  raised  a  laugh  from 
the  forcible  language  in  which  he  expressed  it.  On  one 
occasion  he  writes  to  the  secretary  of  a  society — 

I  am  returning  the  paper  to  Wesley.  The  paper 
justifies  Mr.  Hough's  definition  of  its  author,  namely, 
"  the  Apostle  of  the  Slap-dash."  The  outstanding  errors 
were  from  —  4"  to  +  7" — !  !  !  ! 

On  another  occasion,  at  a  Council  meeting,  a  certain 
astronomer  whose  paper  was  under  consideration  wrote 
to  withdraw  it  "  on  account  of  the  pressure  which  had  been 
put  upon  him  by  Sir  David  Gill."  Whereupon  Gill 
burst  out :  "  I  never  put  any  pressure  upon  the  man  at  all. 
I  only  wrote  blaw  ..."  and  the  rest  of  the  sentence 
was  lost  in  general  laughter. 

Gill  could  not  understand  how  any  man  could  be  an 
astronomer  for  the  sake  of  his  salary  and  not  for  love 
of  his  science.  Occasionally  he  had  a  revelation.  An 
incident  connected  with  one  of  these  men  sent  him  into 
fits  of  laughter  whenever  he  told  this  story,  which  Mr. 
Trimen  wrote  down  when  it  was  told  to  him — 

One  day  in  Germany  Gill  was  saying  good-bye  to  an 
astronomer  with  whom  he  had  been  settling  plans  of 
observing,  when  the  latter  begged  a  few  moments  of 
confidential  talk. — "  My  dear  friend/'  said  he,  "  tell  me, 
you  think,  do  you  not  ? — that  I  am  good  astronom  ?  " — 
"  That  requires  no  argument,"  replied  Gill,  "  it  is  a  patent 
fact." — "  Ach,  so  !  I  am  glad  to  hear  your  so  high 
estimate.  But,  my  friend,  that  is  only  my  pusiness  ; — 
I  do  it  to  my  utmost,  always ;  but  meine  Seele — what  you 
call  the  heart — nicht  so  ? — is  mit  Peetles  !  " — "  With 
what  ?  "  rejoined  Gill  in  astonishment.  The  seer  then 
rose,  and  ushered  his  guest  into  a  smaller  room,  the  walls 
of  which  were  almost  wholly  occupied  with  shelves  of 
neatly  arranged  boxes  resembling  books. — "  This,"  he 


302  THE  PERSONAL  SIDE      [CHAP.  XXIV 

said,  "  is  my  collection  of  Peetles — Insecta  Coleoptera — 

which,  indeed,  I  most  of  all  love  !  " 

j* 

Gill,  suddenly  enlightened,  could  only  observe,  "  Oh, 
Beetles ! — Yes,  I  see ;  you  have  surprised  me  !  "  — 
"  Scarcely  one  do  I  tell  of  this,  my  cherished  pursuit," 
declared  the  Astronom;  "  but  I  venture'  to  ask  you,  my 
dear  friend,  for  a  very  great  favour.  You  now  return  to 
the  Cape — is  it  not  so  ?  My  collection  is  most  wanting 
in  the  Peetles  of  that  land,  and  I  pray  you  to  send  me 
some  that  live  there." 

Mr.  Trimen  goes  on  to  tell  us — 

To  suffer  fools  gladly  (more  or  less)  is  the  lot  of  the 
head  of  almost  every  scientific  institution  in  regard  to 
the  ordinary  run  of  visitors;  and  Gill's  courtesy  and 
patience  in  this  respect,  under  whatever  provocation, 
were  unfailing.  But  while  thus  considerate  of  the  frankly 
unlearned,  he  could  ill  tolerate  pretence  or  affectation  of 
knowledge,  and  he  had  an  admirable  faculty  of  absolutely 
ignoring  any  attempted  display  of  the  kind. 

He  had  a  still  keener  detestation  of  anything  mean, 
underhand,  or  disloyal,  and  on  occasion  did  not  hesitate 
promptly  to  express  his  strong  condemnation.  This  was 
conspicuously  shown  in  the  troubled  times  preceding  the 
Boer  War,  when  he  publicly  as  well  as  privately  denounced 
the  treachery  of  those — including  some  of  his  own  personal 
acquaintances  —  who  were  surreptitiously  backing  the 
machinations  against  England  of  the  notorious  Afrikander 
Bond. 

When  asked  at  the  Cape  why  he  hated  showing  in- 
quisitive ladies  or  tourists  round  the  Observatory,  and 
if  it  bored  him,  he  said,  "It's  not  bored.  I  don't  mind 
that,  but  how  would  you  feel  if  you  saw  them  desecrating 
a  church  and  profaning  the  altar?  " 

He  was  asked  how  it  came  that,  while  he  liked  to  hear 
people  talk  of  his  skill  in  shooting,  he  resented  the  custom- 
ary praise  of  his  astronomical  work.  He  replied, — As 
to  shooting,  I  know  I  am,  or  was,  a  good  shot.  When  we 
shot  in  competitions  I  was  glad  to  win,  and  it  pleases  my 
pride  to  hear  people  remind  me  of  it.  But  in  astronomy 


GENIALITY  303 

if  people  praise  my  work  they  don't  know  what  they  are 
talking  about.  The  whole  subject  is  so  vast  and  over- 
whelming that  I  feel  "  ashamed  and  humbled  "  when  I 
think  how  little  I,  or  any  one  like  me,  can  do. 

Astronomy  was  to  him  a  sacred  subject.  He  could 
not  bear  to  hear  it  spoken  of  as  anything  less  by  the 
ignorant  would-be  learned.  But  any  one  who  really 
sought  for  information,  however  ignorant,  was  met 
halfway. 

Mr.  Lecson  writes  from  the  Athenaeum — 

One  day  asking  him  about  the  double  Vega  [Sirius  ?] 
I  said  :  "  Mind  you,  of  course,  I  am  only  an  amateur  " ; 
he  replied — slapping  his  knee — "  Why,  bless  my  soul, 
that's  exactly  what  I  am." 

Another  day,  asking  him  whether  he  considered  our 
stellar  system  was  a  system  in  itself,  and  so,  limited,  he 
replied — "  My  idea  is  that  if  you  could  get  up  to  the 
Nebula  in  Andromeda  you  would  see  our  system  and  the 
Milky  Way  as  a  small  cluster  of  faint  stars." 

The  breezy  atmosphere  that  Gill  carried  about  with 
him,  and  spread  through  any  sympathetic  coterie  in  whose 
presence  he  might  be,  is  remembered  by  the  wide  circle 
of  friends,  astronomical  and  otherwise,  in  whose  society 
he  spent  so  much  of  his  time  after  his  retirement  while 
he  and  his  wife  occupied  their  charming  bright  flat  in 
Kensington. 

Mr.  Trimen  tells  what  a  distinguished  official  at  the 
Admiralty  once  said  to  him. 

It  is  always  a  great  treat  to  his  friends  here  when  Gill 
looks  us  up ;  it  is  like  a  refreshing  breeze  that  clears  away 
dull  cobwebs  of  the  London  gloom,  and  the  frigid  coils  of 
red-tape  routine  seem  to  relax  and  shrivel  up  before  his 
genial  sincerity  and  good  fellowship. 

Sir  Joseph  Larmor,  writing  from  Cambridge,  says — 

I  well  remember  a  meeting  of  the  Astronomical  Club 
here  at  which  I  was  invited  to  meet  him,  when  the  vigour 


304  THE  PERSONAL  SIDE      [CHAP.  XXIV 

and  insistence  of  his  onslaught  on  the  problems  of  dis- 
crepancies between  aberration  and  solar  parallax  acted 
as  a  refreshing  storm  does^on  a  stagnant  atmosphere. 

In  the  same  way  Gill's  dominant  personality  at  scientific 
conferences  in  Paris  has  been  recorded  by  some  who 
were  present. 

Mr.  Knobel  relates  the  following  anecdote — 

During  the  Paris  Congress  of  1887  Gill  and  some  other 
astronomers  called  upon  Dr.  Lohse  of  the  Potsdam 
Observatory,  who  spoke  English  very  well.  Gill  at  once 
began  a  long  explanation  to  Lohse  of  the  aims  and  objects 
of  the  Congress,  in  which  he  touched  upon  several  matters, 
all  in  his  vigorous  Aberdonian.  At  the  conclusion  he 
said,  "  I  hope  you  have  quite  understood  me  ?  "  Lohse 
replied,  "  Not  a  word."  (Roars  of  laughter.) 

The  following  is  told  by  Mr.  A.  Hinks  about  Gill. 

It  was  an  unending  pleasure  to  watch  him  at  the  Paris 
Conferences ;  his  extraordinary  flow  of  very  Aberdonian 
French  and  the  courage  with  which  he  would  tell 
humorous  stories  and  wonder  what  had  become  of  the 
point  in  the  translation,  and  the  ease  with  wrhich  he 
converted  any  evening  function  into  a  dance,  and  the 
extraordinary  respect  in  which  he  was  held  by  the 
scholastic  kind  of  astronomer  who  had  no  idea  beyond 
the  text-books,  were  all  quite  delightful  to  see. 
****** 

Of  course  the  first  thing  that  struck  one  was  his  single- 
hearted  enthusiasm.  I  have  never  known  any  one  else 
so  absolutely  keen,  and  so  fully  convinced  that  whatever 
he  took  up  was  worth  doing  with  all  his  might.  He 
showed  this  in  everything.  And,  of  course,  it  naturally 
followed  that  he  had  some  difficulty  in  understanding 
how  anybody  else  could  think  differently  or  that  anybody 
else  was  thinking  about  anything  else  except  the  subject 
which  occupied  his  mind.  This  was  sometimes  amusingly 
illustrated  in  such  cases  as  an  astrographic  conference. 
I  have  seen  him  come  into  the  middle  of  a  discussion, 
and  without  waiting  to  gather  in  the  slightest  degree 
what  was  under  way,  he  would  burst  in  with  a  vehement 
harangue  on  what  he  imagined  ought  to  have  been  under 


MR.  FLINDERS  PETRIE  305 

way.     "  It  is  Jupiter  tonans,"  remarked  Backlund  one 
day  when  he  had  been  presiding. 

So  at  the  Cape  meeting  of  the  B.A.,  when  Kapteyn 
was  reading  his  great  paper  on  star-streams,  Gill  broke 
in  every  half  minute  with  a  question  or  an  argument, 
so  that  at  the  end  of  Kapteyn 's  paper  Forsyth  very 
adroitly  called  upon  Gill  to  "  continue  the  discussion." 

But  his  intense  interest  in  hearing  the  reading  of  a  really 
great  scientific  paper,  announcing  results  achieved  by 
patience,  the  work  of  a  genius,  generally  overwhelmed 
him  with  the  silence  of  that  deep  humility  which  was 
always  part  of  his  nature. 

Mr.  Flinders  Petrie  recalls  a  remarkable  scene  to 
memory,  perhaps  the  most  delightfully  characteristic  of 
all  the  Gilliana  which  are  current  among  his  intimates. 

At  a  Royal  Society  meeting  Dr.  G.  E.  Hale  (U.S.A.) 
was  describing  his  marvellous  solar  photographs  in  a 
single  spectral  ray.  At  the  end  of  the  address  the 
President  asked  Sir  David  if  he  would  say  something. 
He  rose  slowly  to  his  full  height,  said — "  Wor-r-shipful 
admir-r-ation  " — and  sat  down  again. 

The  same  friend  and  admirer  of  Sir  David's,  who  had 
helped  in  reducing  his  Egyptian  Pyramid  triangulation 
in  1879  tells  of  another  incident — 

When  Gill  was  President  of  the  British  Association 
[1907]  I  happened  to  join  a  carriage  with  him  and  others. 
He  did  not  notice  some  one  saluting  him  in  the  street, 
and  one  of  his  friends  said  to  him  that  he  must  remember 
he  was  President  and  be  on  his  dignity.  He  replied, 
"  That  is  just  what  my  brother  said  to  me — '  Da  vie/  said 
he,  '  you've  no  more  dignity  than  a  duck.'  ' 

When  Gill  had  completed  the  Cape  Observatory, 
equipped  with  instruments  in  many  ways  surpassing 
those  in  any  other  observatory,  with  something  of 
Airy's  discipline  at  Greenwich,  and  something  of  Otto 
Struve's  patriarchal  astronomical  colony  at  Pulkowa, 
he  had  piled  up  such  a  mass  of  definite  results  of 
x 


306  THE  PERSONAL  SIDE      [CHAP.  XXIV 

patient  labour  as  would  have  filled  with  pride  any  one 
with  less  exacting  standards  than  his  own.  His  retire- 
ment to  England  did  not  interrupt  his  astronomical 
activities.  And  it  gave  him  the  unalloyed  happiness, 
from  which  his  twenty-seven  years  of  exile  had  debarred 
him,  of  being  in  the  centre  of  intellectual,  artistic,  and 
social  activities.  He  derived  uninterrupted  pleasure 
from  the  easy  intercourse  with  old  friends,  and  the  oppor- 
tunities of  making  new  ones.  And  this  pleasure  was 
reciprocated.  Astronomers,  too,  from  all  parts  of  the 
world  were  often  for  the  first  time  able  to  feel  that  friendly 
handshake  of  his  and  learn  his  appreciation  of  their  own 
work. 

Among  these,  Dr.  G.  E.  Hale,  the  able  Director  of  the 
Mount  Wilson  Solar  Observatory  in  California,  who 
became  one  of  his  continuous  correspondents,  has  been 
kind  enough  to  write  his  impressions  of  the  beginning  of 
their  friendship. 

I  shall  never  forget  my  first  encounter  with  Sir  David 
Gill.  The  library  of  the  Royal  Astronomical  Society  was 
crowded  prior  to  meeting,  and  tea  was  in  progress.  Some 
one  said  that  Sir  David  wished  to  meet  me  and  led  me 
towards  him.  I  must  confess  that  while  I  went  with 
pleasant  anticipation,  there  lay  beneath  it  a  slight  measure 
of  doubt.  Gill  in  his  post  of  vantage  at  the  Cape,  had 
always  impressed  me  as  a  strong  and  vigorous  leader, 
whose  preoccupation  with  research  and  organization 
in  the  field  of  the  older  astronomy  would  leave  little  room 
for  sympathy  with  so  unorthodox  a  worker  as  myself. 
It  is  true  that  his  visit  to  Potsdam  and  his  enthusiasm 
for  the  pioneer  labors  of  Vogel  in  the  photography  of 
stellar  spectra,  had  modified  my  impression  in  some 
degree,  especially  after  the  radial  velocity  campaign  had 
been  inaugurated  with  his  customary  vigor  at  the  Cape. 
But  the  old  doubts  still  lingered  in  my  memory  when  I 
met  him  face  to  face. 

The  cordial  hand-grasp  and  the  smile  which  is  still 
before  me  swept  all  such  vapors  away.  Certainly  no 
space  was  left  for  other  thoughts  when  he  asked,  with 
little  preliminary  :  "  What  are  you  going  to  do  with  that 


DR.   G.   E.   HALE  307 

five-foot  reflector  ?  "  I  attempted  to  sketch  the  observa- 
tional programme  we  had  been  formulating.  But  before 
I  could  finish  he  burst  out,  "  All  wrong  !  You  should 
do  nothing  but  radial  velocity  work  !  "  I  had  scarcely 
begun  a  defense  of  my  views  when  the  meeting  was 
announced,  and  we  were  separated  until  later  in  the 
evening. 

We  dined  at  the  Criterion  with  the  Astronomical 
Society  Club,  where  I  heard  again  with  pleasure  the 
informal  talk,  full  of  quiet  humour,  which  contrasts  so 
agreeably  with  our  set  after-dinner  speeches.  Hardly 
were  the  toasts  concluded  when  Gill  brought  his  chair 
over  to  mine,  and  remarked,  "  Now  go  ahead  and  defend 
yourself."  The  twinkle  in  his  eye  overcame  any  possible 
fear  of  aggressive  intent,  and  the  cordial  interest  he 
showed  in  my  plans,  which  he  soon  admitted  might  be 
worthy  of  a  trial,  was  characteristic  of  the  man.  Time 
has  shown  how  much  reason  lay  in  his  claims  for  the 
importance  of  radial  velocity  measures.  Formerly  they 
entered  only  incidentally  into  my  scheme,  which  was  to 
bear  directly  on  the  physical  problems  of  stellar  develop- 
ment. At  present,  when  half  of  the  time  of  the  6o-inch 
is  devoted  to  radial  velocity  work,  which  will  play  a 
similar  part  in  the  programme  of  the  loo-inch  reflector, 
I  could  hardly  argue  with  conviction  against  the  views 
he  then  expressed. 

Thus  began  a  friendship  which,  I  am  proud  to  say, 
lasted  through  his  life. 

Dr.  Hale  goes  on  to  tell  of  the  very  great  help  that  was 
given  to  him  by  Gill  in  designing  the  details,  both  optical 
and  mechanical,  of  the  great  loo-inch  reflector  now  being 
installed  at  Mount  Wilson. 

The  personal  friendship  thus  brought  by  Gill  into  his 
professional  relations  with  astronomers  from  abroad  is 
referred  to  by  many  correspondents.  The  Imperial 
Russian  astronomer,  Dr.  Backlund,  says — 

Generally  speaking,  Gill's  character  was  such  that 
when  he  took  scientific  interest  in  a  person  he  intermingled 
also  personal  friendship.  Gill  was  an  uncommonly 
harmonic  man,  in  him  the  highest  scientific  qualities 


308  THE  PERSONAL  SlDE       [CHAP.  XXIV 

were  joined  with  moral  purity.  He  was  one  of  the 
tenderest  of  husbands  I  ever-met ;  owing  to  failing  health 
Lady  Gill  was  seldom  able?  to  accompany  her  husband 
to  Congresses ;  he  then  wrote  or  wired  daily  to  her — to 
use  his  own  words — "  to  my  darling." 

».. 

At  the  farewell  banquet  in  Cape  Town  to  Sir  David 
Gill,  the  Hon.  E.  H.  Walton,  while  proposing  his  health, 
used  these  words — 

We  shall  miss  him  and  his  breezy  pleasant  presence ; 
we  shall  miss  his  resonant  voice ;  we  shall  miss  his  trans- 
parent sincerity — his  honest  hatred  of  cant  and  sham  and 
humbug.  We  shall  miss  his  great  heart,  and  his  ever- 
ready  sympathy.  We  shall  miss  him  as  a  friend,  and  as 
a  citizen  who  has  ever  been  prepared  to  take  on  his  broad 
shoulders  his  full  share  of  the  duties  of  citizenship. 

Referring  to  this  speech,  the  local  paper  said — 

And  if  the  Astronomer  Royal  will  be  missed,  the 
gracious  lady  who  has  been  his  helpmeet  throughout  the 
long  period  of  his  service  in  the  Colony,  will  also  leave  a 
blank  that  will  be  felt  in  the  social  life  of  the  community. 
Lady  Gill  may  well  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  best  and 
sincerest  friends  the  Colony  has  ever  possessed.  .  .  . 
The  progress  of  the  Observatory-road  Church,  the  estab- 
lishment of  nursing  centres  for  those  whose  means  did  not 
allow  of  this  necessary  aid  at  their  own  cost,  the  founda- 
tion at  the  Cape  University  of  a  Victoria  Scholarship  for 
Colonial  girl  students,  the  extension  of  the  Women's 
Diocesan  Association — of  which  she  has  been  the  beloved 
president  since  its  inauguration  by  Lady  Loch  in  1890 — 
all  these,  and  several  other  beneficent  works  owe  nearly 
all  they  possess  of  prosperity  to  her  clear  intellect,  her 
never-failing  enthusiasm,  and,  above  all,  her  unfailing 
tact  and  iinsparing  personal  attention  to  detail.  .  .  . 

It  is  difficult,  too,  to  depict  from  the  outside  the  feelings 
Lady  Gill  excited  by  years  of  loving  interest  in  all  that 
affected  the  happiness  of  those  who  lived  within  her  own 
immediate  circle  at  the  Observatory. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

THE  PERSONAL  SIDE  OF  DAVID  GILL    (continued) 
The  love  of  sport — His  first  great  deer-stalk. 

No  friend  of  Gill's  ever  claimed  that  he  was  a  great  theorist. 
He  had  none  of  the  speculative  power  of  a  Clerk  Maxwell, 
Faraday  or  Kelvin;  none  of  the  mathematical  depth  of 
insight  possessed  by  Stokes  or  Rayleigh.  His  intellectual 
power  and  his  upbringing  had  more  in  common  with 
Stephenson  or  Brunei  or  James  Watt;  or,  in  his  own 
special  department  of  science,  with  Tycho  Brahe,  Bradley 
or,  perhaps,  most  of  all,  W.  Struve. 

We  often  notice  that  many  a  man,  while  striving  for 
a  position  in  science,  may  keep  in  the  background  his 
tastes  in  other  directions.  Gill  could  not  pose.  He 
never  desired  to  appear,  to  himself  or  to  others,  in  private 
or  in  public,  in  youth  or  old  age,  anything  but  exactly 
what  he  was.  The  most  stern  and  unbending  of  astro- 
nomers, or  the  most  bigoted  intellectual,  had  to  accept 
him  not  merely  as  an  astronomer,  but  also  as  a  gregarious 
being,  fond  of  society,  of  music  and  dancing,  of  humour, 
of  beauty  in  nature  and  art,  of  golf,  or  of  sport  with  gun 
or  rifle. 

To  understand  the  man  in  his  entirety  this  last  point 
must  now  be  accentuated.  There  is  no  doubt  his  early 
skill  and  precision  of  hand  and  eye,  with  the  match  rifle, 
was  allied  to  his  remarkable  powers  of  accurate  observation 
of  the  stars. 

His  care  to  make  every  single  shot  with  the  rifle  tell 
upon  his  scoring  card  to  eclipse  the  scores  of  his  com- 

309 


3io  THE  PERSONAL  SIDE        [CHAP.  XXV 

petitors  was  exactly  the  same  as  his  care  to  make  every 
single  observation  with  the  heliometer  tell  upon  his 
resulting  probable  error,  to  eclipse  the  probable  error  of 
his  fellow-observers. 

The  wholesome  glow  of  vitality  which,the  true  sports- 
man feels  in  a  successful  stalk,  in  following  a  well-trained 
pointer,  or  in  facing  the  whirr  of  driven  grouse  at  the 
butts,  is  not  easily  acquired  by  one  not  bred  to  it,  and 
this  spirit  was  a  part  of  David  Gill.  It  found  fuller  free- 
dom for  its  realisation  after  his  retirement.  But  long 
before  that  his  letters  often  show  his  desire  to  arrange 
an  astronomical  meeting  so  as  not  to  interfere  with  a 
legitimate  opportunity  for  a  day  on  the  moors. 

One  of  the  most  vivid  impressions  of  the  non-astro- 
nomical side  of  Sir  David  Gill  is  contained  in  a  long  letter 
to  his  brother  Jem  in  Australia,  in  1901,  after  one  of  his 
home  visits.  If  any  astronomer  grudges  this  space  which 
might  have  been  given  to  science,  he  may  be  surprised 
to  know  that  the  greater  number  of  Gill's  friends  were 
not  astronomical;  and  these  friends  on  their  side  may 
justly  say  that,  if  this  book  aims  at  giving  memories 
of  the  man  himself,  far  too  much  space  has  been  devoted 
to  astronomy. 

This  letter  (most  fortunately  preserved  with  many 
others  by  James  Gill)  is  a  sample,  and  the  best  possible 
sample,  of  his  enjoyment  of  life,  and  of  the  happiness 
he  derived  from  his  very  wide  circle  of  dear  friends, 
and  is  particularly  valuable  as  giving  his  experiences  the 
first  time  he  ever  went  deer-stalking  in  the  highlands. 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

1901,  February  23. 

MY  DEAR  JEM, — I  have  been  an  abominably  bad  corre- 
spondent, but  when  I  came  back  here  in  Nov.  I  found 
myself  so  overwhelmed  with  accumulated  arrears  of  work 
that  I  put  off  all  private  correspondence  for  that  more 
convenient  season  which  is  always  so  long  a-coming. 

Yr  letter  telling  me  that  you  had  remitted  £125  each 


i9oo]  A  REAL  HOLIDAY  311 

to  the  boys  and  myself    from  proceeds  of  Xmas  Creek 
is  confirmed  by  the  arrival  of  a  letter  from  Harvey  Hall 
— and  he  has  doubtless  duly  sent  official  receipts. 
****** 

I've  had  an  awfully  good  time  at  home. 

We  sailed  on  the  8th  April  [1900]  in  one  of  the  inter- 
mediate steamers  and  touched  at  St.  Helena,  Ascension, 
Teneriffe  and  Madeira.  Bella  was  a  good  sailor  for  her, 
and  arrived  in  England  much  better  than  she  left  the 
Cape — except  that  a  growth  under  her  big  toe  had  de- 
veloped during  the  voyage,  giving  her  great  pain,  and  it 
had  to  be  cut  out  under  chloroform  the  day  after  we 
arrived. 

Our  friend  McClean  (the  donor  of  the  new  telescope  here) 
was  waiting  at  the  platform,  and  we  drove  to  his  house — 
i  Onslow  Gardens — and  stayed  with  him  and  his  family 
the  first  three  weeks.  A  few  days  before  the  Queen's 
birthday  I  got  an  invitation  to  dine  with  the  First 
Lord  of  the  Admiralty,  and  fancied  from  that  there  must 
be  some  honour  in  store.  The  day  before  the  birthday 
I  had  an  interview  with  Mr.  Chamberlain  about  the 
political  situation,  etc. — he  having  sent  for  me — and  at 
the  end  of  it  he  said,  "  I  hoped  to  congratulate  you  to 
morrow,  but  Mr.  Goschen  has  asked  you  to  his  dinner." 
When  I  got  back  to  Onslow  Gardens  I  found  Bella  and 
Mrs.  McClean  in  great  excitement — a  messenger  having 
arrived  from  the  Foreign  Office  with  a  letter  from  Lord 
Salisbury  addressed  to  me,  and  which  of  course  they 
had  opened  to  find  an  announcement  that  the  Queen 
had  been  pleased  "in  consideration  of  your  distinguished 
position  in  Astronomy"  to  create  you  a  Knight  Com- 
mander of  the  Bath — and  conveying  Lord  Salisbury's 
personal  congratulations. 

We  had  a  very  delightful  visit  to  the  McCleans — its 
only  drawback  being  that  Bella  was  unable  to  go  about 
for  the  first  fortnight  till  the  toe  healed.  Then  we  went 
into  rooms  in  Emperor's  Gate — where  we  were  most 
comfortable,  the  Landlord  being  a  retired  Butler  and  his 
wife  a  retired  Cook — and  both  excellent. 

The  Athenaeum  had  elected  me,  under  Rule  II,  a  very 
exceptional  distinction  when  one  is  not  resident  in  Eng- 
land. They  used  to  make  me  an  Hony  Member  during 
my  visits  to  England,  but  so  far  as  I  know  the  only 
members  elected  under  Rule  II  who  are  not  resident  in 


312  THE   PERSONAL  SIDE        [CHAP.  XXV 

England  are  Sir  Alfred  Milner,  Mr.  Cecil  Rhodes,  Sir  Frank 
Lascelles  (British  Ambassador  in  Berlin)  and  myself. 
Under  Rule  II  nine  members  are  elected  annually,  but 
the  "  Club  intrusts  this  privilege  to  the  Committee  in 
the  entire  confidence  that  they  will  only  elect  persons 
who  shall  have  attained  to  distinguished  eminence  in 
science,  literature  or  the  arts,  or  for  public  services." 

Bella,  after  a  little  burst  of  dissipation,  found  that  she 
had  to  limit  her  dissipations  to  two  dinners  a  week — 
but  I  think  during  May  and  June  I  only  dined  or  lunched 
three  times  at  home  (except  when  the  McCleans  had  a 
party  at  home).  Bella's  foot  began  to  bother  her  again, 
and  this  was  a  sad  worry  to  her,  especially  when  we 
went  in  the  beginning  of  July  to  the  McCleans'  beautiful 
place  near  Tunbridge  Wells.  There  I  left  her  at  the  end 
of  the  first  week  of  July,  and  went  over  for  a  week  to 
Holland,  to  visit  my  friends  Prof.  Kapteyn  of  Groningen, 
and  Bakhuyzen  at  Leiden — and  I  stopped  for  a  day 
with  Sir  Henry  Howard,  our  Ambassador  at  the  Hague. 

I  picked  Bella  up  at  Tunbridge  Wells,  and  we  returned 
for  a  week  to  our  old  rooms  at  Emperor's  Gate,  went  to 
Windsor  and  recd  my  K.C.B.  at  the  hands  of  the  dear 
old  Queen,  and  I  believe  I  am  the  last  man  who  received 
that  distinction  at  her  hands. 

A  day  or  two  after  that  I  went  over  to  Paris  to  attend 
the  Astrographic  Congress,  and  remained  there  some  10 
days,  Bella's  foot  was  so  troublesome  that  she  could 
not  go  to  Paris  with  me.  Returning  to  London  we  went 
a  few  days  afterwards  to  Harrogate,  where  I  put  Bella 
under  the  care  of  Dr.  Frank  Smith  (a  brother  of  Elmslie 
Smith  of  Aberdeen).  He  seemed  a  capable  man — said 
the  growth  had  not  been  properly  excised  and  proceeded 
to  burn  out  the  rest  of  it  with  nitric  acid.  It  was  a 
horribly  painful  process — but  by  the  end  of  a  month  the 
cure  was  complete,  and  she  has  had  no  more  trouble. 

I  only  remained  in  Harrogate  till  the  nth  Aug*  and 
then  went  north  to  shoot  Andrew's  moor  ! 


I  saw  my  old  friend  Tom  Duff  of  Drummuir — but  he 
had  let  his  shooting. 

I  also  spent  a  night  with  Andrew  Baird — now  a  retired 
R.E.  Colonel,  who  has  built  himself  a  very  pretty  house 
near  Elgin,  and  then  Andrew  and  I  went  to  his  friends 


i9oo]  VISITING  313 

Baynes  of  Finlay  where  we  had  a  little  shoot — some  6  or 
7  brace — the  birds  as  wild  as  the  wind. 

I  drove  thence  to  Allargue,  on  Donside — where  I  had 
a  couple  of  days  with  J.  W.  Barclay — 42  J  brace  the  first 
day,  and  25  (a  short  day)  the  next.  From  there  I  drove 
across  to  Aboyne  (stopping  by  the  way  to  lunch  with  Sir 
John  Clarke  at  Tillypronie) ,  dined  with  Harvey  Hall, 
went  next  day  with  him  to  Mrs.  Pickering  (Bella's  cousin) 
at  Kincardine  O'Neil  Castle,  where!  was  strongly  tempted 
to  stay  for  salmon  fishing — an  afternoon  party  at  Dess- 
wood,  where  I  met  all  Deeside,  and  dinner  with  John 
White  at  Bridge  of  Don. 

Then  back  to  Harrogate.  Bella  had  been  well  looked 
after  at  Harrogate  by  our  quondam  Cape  Admiral — Sir 
Fred.  Richards,  and  General  and  Mrs.  Cox  (formerly 
commanded  the  troops  in  Natal).  A  few  days  in  Harro- 
gate and  then  Bella  and  I  went  off  to  Tapton  Hall,  Chester- 
field, where  we  spent  a  couple  of  days  with  the  Markhams. 
— from  there  we  drove  to  Peversal,  where  we  stayed  for 
three  days  with  Lady  Carnarvon,  who  is  an  old  friend — 
widow  of  the  late  Lord  Carnarvon;  Bella  then  went  up 
to  London  and  I  went  to  Wynyard  Park  to  stay  3  or  4 
days  with  the  Londonderrys.  We  had  Sir  Wm.  and 
Lady  Har court  there,  the  old  Duchess  of  Cleveland  (a 
wonderfully  spry  old  lady  considering  she  was  one  of  the 
Queen's  bridesmaids),  Lord  Shrewsbury  (Lady  London- 
derry's brother),  Canon  Tristram  of  Durham,  young 
Vernon  Harcourt  and  his  wife,  and  some  others.  Bella 
didn't  feel  able  to  go  and  had  to  excuse  herself  at  the  last 
moment. 

Then  up  to  London.  I  ought  meanwhile  to  have  told 
you  that  we  brought  a  Miss  Rankine  with  us  from  the 
Cape,  who  is  a  trained  nurse — so  that  Bella  was  never  left 
alone.  After  a  week  in  London  I  ran  back  to  Ross-shire, 
where  I  had  long  promised  to  go  for  some  deer-stalking. 
There  is  a  young  fellow  Cookson  who  is  very  fond  of 
astronomy — who  is  completing  his  studies  at  Cambridge 
and  is  coming  here  to  work  at  practical  astronomy.  His 
Father  is  a  very  rich  man  and  has  the  forest  of  Braemore 
in  Ross-shire.  I  never  had  a  chance  of  Highland  deer- 
stalking and  was  very  keen  for  a  shot.  Before  going  out 
the  first  day  I  insisted  on  sighting  the  rifle,  which  had 
been  fitted  with  an  aperture  back  sight — and  found  it 
quite  out — shooting  about  a  foot  too  low  at  130  yds. 


THE  PERSONAL  SIDE        [CHAP.  XXV 


I  found  the  correct  reading — viz.  300  yds.  for  130,  so  that 
I  felt  I  could  hit  anything.  ^ 

To  cut  a  long  story  shorf— After  a  lot  of  spying  &c.,  we 
found  that  there  was  nothing  but  a  long  flank  movement. 

We  were  at  the  point  O  where  we  had  been  spying. 
There  were  several  lots  of  deer  on  the  opposite  hill,  but 
none  heavy  enough  to  shoot. 


About  12  o'clock  4  deer — one  of  them  a  big  one — 
apparently  started  from  C  having  got  our  wind  and  got 
into  the  moss  hag  where  they  rolled — or  rather  the  big 
stag  did,  for  half  an  hour.  Then  he  apparently  forgot 
about  us  and  went  and  laid  down  at  A.  "  Now,"  said  the 
stalker,  "  weVe  got  to  go  back  the  way  we  came,  go  round 
by  the  loch,  and  climb  over  those  hills  by  the  back  and 
come  down  on  him."  I  have  shown  the  line  we  walked 
till  we  came  to  D,  then  down  we  dropped  flat  in  the  heather, 
and  we  thought  it  was  all  up,  for  three  deer  who  had  been 


igoo]  HIS  FIRST  DEER-STALK  315 

feeding  at  or  near  the  point  C,  caught  sight  of  us — and 
away  they  went  as  hard  as  they  could  go  along  the 
dotted  line  from  C,  and  our  friend  at  A  got  up  to  look, 
and  seemed  on  the  point  of  going  off  too.  But  we  had 
been  too  quick  for  him,  and  after  looking  for  half  an  hour 
he  lay  down  again  and  the  others  at  A  began  to  feed. 
Then  keeping  as  flat  as  we  could  we  crept  on  hands  and 
knees  or  on  belly  over  any  open  ground  along  the  dotted 
black  line  [the  line  DB] — till  we  were  well  round  the  corner 
of  the  hill.  Then  we  climbed  up — 800  feet — to  the  top 
and  then  slithered  down  a  burn  flat  on  our  backs — then 
crept  out  of  the  burn  on  our  bellies  behind  some  low  rocks 
—and  then  the  old  stalker  said,  "  Now  if  you  look  round 
that  rock  you'll  see  yr  stag.  He's  only  60  yards  off, 
behind  a  rock,  you  can  just  see  a  bit  of  his  back  and  his 
horns,  and  you  must  wait  till  he  gets  up  before  you 
shoot." 

When  I  looked  there  he  was — 


I  put  the  bead  on  him,  crept  back  to  the  stalker  and  said, 

"  Bosh,  man,  I'll  hit  any  square  inch  of  him ."    "  Na, 

na,  ye  manna  shoot — I'd  no  kill  him  mysel."  "But,"  I 
said,  "it's  quite  easy,  I'll  break  his  back  anywhere  from 
his  neck  two  feet  back  that  you  like." — "  Well,  if  you  can 
just  clear  the  rock  with  yr  bullet  and  no  more  you  can 
shoot — but  I  wouldn't  if  I  were  you."  Back  I  went,  put 
the  bead  on  him — waited  half  a  minute  to  see  how  close 
to  the  rock  I  could  shoot  to  be  sure.  I  knew  exactly  what 
the  rifle  wd  do  at  130  yds  so  I  said  to  myself,  if  I  just  put 
a  full  sight  on  the  rock  edge  I'll  just  clear  safely  at  60  yds 
— and  so  I  did  and  fired.  The  stag  didn't  move — a  shiver 
ran  along  its  back  and  it  tried  to  raise  its  head — that  was 
all — it  was  dead.  When  we  gralloched  him  the  bullet 
had  entered  an  inch  to  the  right  of  the  spine  and 
passed  clean  through  the  centre  of  the  heart — and  he 
weighed  I7st  I2lb. 


316  THE  PERSONAL  SIDE        [CHAP.  XXV 

We  had  a  glorious  picnic  next  day — and  the  next  I  was 
out  again.  This  time  the;deer  were  on  the  face  of  a  hill, 
and  we  could  not  get  at  them.  The  deer  were  at  A  and 
B.  We  got  to  C  and  could  only  watch  them  and  hope 
they  wd  feed  in  our  direction — but  they  didn't — and  we 
had  to  wait  till  they  fed  off  the  forest.  About  5  p.m. 
the  coast  was  clear  and  we  had  a  heavy  climb  to  the  top. 
We  were  hardly  there  when  we  saw  the  tips  of  a  pair  of 
antlers — and  for  more  than  an  hour  we  crept  about  on 
our  bellies.  The  wind  very  light  and  shifty,  the  stags 
(there  were  two)  unable  to  make  us  out  and  continually 
moving.  At  last,  just  as  it  was  getting  dark,  I  saw  first 
a  pair  of  horns  come  up  behind  a  rock  at  130  yds  from 
where  I  was — and  finally  two  stags  came  and  looked  over 
— showing  only  their  necks.  They  saw  something  and 


couldn't  make  out  what.  I  put  my  bead  on  the  neck 
of  the  bigger  one,  but  could  barely  see  and  took  it  off  and 
on  once  or  twice  to  make  sure — then  fired,  and  to  my 
great  joy  over  he  went.  I  loaded  and  went  up — but  he 
was  unable  to  move  and  the  gillie  gralloched  him.  He 
was  only  I4st  5lb  but  a  good  head.  It  was  now  getting 
dark  and  before  I  got  to  the  pony  quite  dark — and  then 
a  6  mile  ride.  I  found  all  at  dinner — and  tremendous 
rejoicings  when  they  heard  of  my  luck.  After  dinner  we 
had  the  pipes  up,  turned  up  the  servants  and  danced 
reels  till  midnight. 

On  return  to  London  we  went  again  to  the  McCleans 
at  Rusthall,  Tunbridge  Wells,  where  I  left  Bella  and  ran 
over  to  Paris  for  5  days  to  attend  the  International 
Geodetic  Congress — where  I  proposed  my  scheme  for  an 
arc  of  Meridian  along  the  3oth  Meridian  from  the  Cape 
to  Cairo.  It  was  well  received. 


i9oo]  MORE  VISITS  317 

After  a  few  days  at  Rusthall  we  returned  to  London 
and  then  went  together  to  Botley  on  a  few  days  visit 
to  Adm1  Sir  Noel  and  Lady  Salmon  (one  of  our  old 
admirals  here)  and  then  on  to  the  Isle  of  Wight  for  a  few 
days  with  Ad1  and  Lady  Hunt  Grubbe  (another  of  our 
old  admirals).  We  spent  the  remaining  3  weeks  of 
October  in' London,  where  everyone  was  very  kind  to  us. 
I  gave  a  farewell  dinner  to  my  scientific  friends  at  the 
Athenaeum — Lord  Kelvin,  Hunt  Grubbe,  Mr.  McClean, 
Frank  Newall,  Christie,  Lockyer,  Downing,  Sir  John 
Burdon  Sanderson,  Sir  Bartle  Frere,  Sir  Wm.  Westland 
(son  of  old  Westland  the' banker),  Adm1  Sir  Fred.  Richards, 
Ad1  Sir  Wm.  Wharton  (the  Hydrographer) ,  Sir  John 
Ardagh  (head  of  the  Intelligence  Dept.  of  the  War  Office), 
Knobel  (Pres.  of  the  R.A.S.),  Prof.  G.  Darwin,  and  we 
sailed  on  the  3rd  Nov.  for  the  Cape. 

Bella  was  wonderfully  better,  but  her  old  headaches 
came  back  on  her  arrival  here.  However  I  am  thankful 
to  say  of  late  she  has  been  ever  so  much  better  and  is 
full  of  all  sorts  of  plans — looking  after  soldiers'  graves, 
a  bazaar  she  is  to  get  up  here  in  November  to  raise  funds 
for  our  church,  etc.,  etc. 

We  saw  a  good  deal  of  Harry  at  home.  He  was  with 
us  all  the  month  of  August  at  Harrogate.  He  has  grown 
a  nice  boy — but  not  at  all  clever,  and  failed  for  his  first 
army  Exam,  the  other  day.  Fred  is  going  to  be  a  mining 
engineer — passed  his  matriculation  examination  and  is 
at  the  South  African  College  and  hard  at  work.  Bruce 
is  a  fine  little  chap,  but  very  small  for  his  age,  but  very 
bright  and  keen. 

*  ***** 

All  goes  well  at  the  Observatory.  We  are  just  going 
to  put  up  a  New  Transit  Circle — I  have  also  two  big 
surveys  on  hand.  The  Anglo  German  Boundary  Survey 
between  British  Bechuanaland  and  German  S.W.  Africa 
—(both  Governments  having  placed  the  work  in  my 
hands),  and  the  geodetic  survey  of  Rhodesia. 

The  miserable  tail  end  of  this  war  drags  along. 
Marauding  bands  of  Boers  go  about,  plundering  and 
stealing  and  occasionally  catching  a  train.  They  never 
stop  to  fight — and  are  as  hard  to  catch  as  bush-rangers. 
I  think  they  are  getting  out  of  ammunition  now. 

Fred  has  joined  the  town  guard  and  promises  to  be  a 
good  shot. 


318  THE  PERSONAL  SIDE       [CHAP,  xxv 

Do  you  ever  see  Sir  Sylvester  Browne — if  so  remember 
me  kindly  to  him- — Bella  also. 

How  is  yr  dear  little  wife  ?  We  long  to  see  her.  Give 
our  dearest  love  to  her  and  the  same  to  you.  This  is  a 
tremendous  letter — but  I  hope  it  will  interest  you.— 
Yr  loving  brother,  -  DAVID  GILL. 

The  love  for  sport,  in  its  truest  sense,  is  manifest  in  the 
above  letter,  written  in  1901.  Even  in  South  Africa  he 
often  went  buck-shooting  in  Natal,  Beaufort  West,  etc., 
to  recuperate.  But  this  taste  had  the  fullest  scope  in  his 
old  age  after  settling  at  home.  He  then  found  that  the 
fixed  focus  of  old  eyes  interfered  with  accurate  rifle 
shooting,  so  latterly  he  always  used  a  telescope  sight 
when  deer-stalking.  He  went  regularly  for  this  sport 
to  Ardkinglas,  Sir  Andrew  Noble's  estate  on  Loch  Fyne. 
Miss  Noble  has  sent  some  recollections  of  his  enthusiasm. 

FROM  Miss  NOBLE 

J ESMOND  DENE  HOUSE,  NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE, 

March  i,  1915. 

DEAR  LADY  GILL,— 

****** 

I  think  one  may  say  that  he  was  happy  with  us,  and 
it  was  a  great  joy  and  pride  to  feel  that  it  was  so.  One 
day  he  had  shot  stags  right  and  left  I  think,  at  all  events 
there  were  two  remarkably  fine  shots — and  he  insisted 
on  waltzing  with  me  after  dinner  in  honour  of  the  event 
— we  were  a  very  small  party — and  my  mother  had  per- 
force to  play  a  waltz — and  we  danced  round  with  great 
gaiety.  But  he  was  always  contented  and  happy — 
another  day  he  came  in  just  as  cheerful  as  ever — but  he 
had  shot  nothing — no,  but  a  lovely  day — a  magnificent 
stalk — they  had  seen  the  tip  of  the  horns  with  a  glass 
and  crept  up — and  behold  it  was  a  dead  stag  !  "  But 
I  had  all  the  fun  and  excitement  of  a  stalk  !  "  He  was 
always  so  contented  and  cheerful  and  full  of  fun — besides 
his  "  right  judgment  "  in  all  things  made  it  a  privilege 
to  hear  him  talk. 

****** 

Yours  affectionately,  LILIAS  H.  G.  NOBLE. 


PHEASANT   SHOOTING  319 

Mrs.  Lowe,  of  Gosfield  Hall,  Essex,  sends  notes  of  some 
days  Gill  had  with  her  pheasants. 

He  shot  with  us  on  Oct.  13,  1910.  I  remark  the  under- 
growth was  so  prodigious  after  the  hot  summer  that  no 
ground  game  could  be  seen.  The  bag  was  349. — Again 
Nov.  9,  same  year,  when  he  told  this  story  :  Two  Scots- 
men met  one  another.  "  Well,  hoo  are  ye  an'  the  wife  ?  " 
"Oh!  the  wife's  deid."  "Ah  so,  and  hoo  was  it?  ' 
"  You  see,  I  found  her  poorly,  so  I  just  gave  her  a  powder 
the  Doctor  had  once  put  up  for  me  that  I  didn't  use — 
an'  in  twa  hoors  she  was  deid.  Eh,  mon,  I  was  terrible 
glad  I  had  na  ta'en  it  mysel !  " 

1911.  He  shot  on  October  12  and  the  bag  was  426 
phts  and  a  total  of  440.  1912.  He  shot  on  October 
nth,  temp.  54°,  a  brilliant  day.  The  bag  was  504,  and 
he  came  home  triumphant  and  in  the  bonniest  of  spirits. 
O  so  merry  all  the  evening. 

The  same  year  1912.  I  have  the  entry  "  my  dear 
delightful  friends  arrived,  Sir  David  Gill  and  Mr.  J. 
Murray.  At  the  Cock  shoot  the  bag  was  332.  Mr. 
John  Murray  stepped  into  a  hole  and  hurt  his  knee." 
But  we  had  a  bright  evening  and  Sir  David  wd  agree 
with  me  "  there's  nothing  half  so  good  as  laughing." 

1913.  November  13 — Our  Cock  shoot  and  a  cold  bleak 
day.  Sir  David  and  Mr.  Murray  Senr  were  both  with  us. 
It  poured  in  torrents  at  3  o'clock — and  the  guns  came  in 
soaked  through — but  Sir  David  as  cheerful  as  ever — 
and  so  jolly  and  kind,  and  so  afraid  we  should  think  he  had 
not  enjoyed  it.  I  thought  him  however  looking  aged 
and  his  hair  much  whiter. 

Further  accounts  of  Sir  David's  love  for  outdoor  life 
and  sport  in  the  highlands  appear  throughout  his  corre- 
spondence; and  the  chapter  which  will  follow,  dealing 
with  his  mode  of  spending  the  summer  and  autumn,  in 
the  years  of  his  retirement  from  the  Cape,  tells  the  same 
tale. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

LIFE   IN   LONDON   FROM    1906 

34  De  Vere  Gardens — His  "  Study  " — His  friends — Lady  Gill's 
drawing-room — His  activities  in  London  and  Paris — His 
troubles — London  amusements,  and  occupations. 

WHEN  the  Gills  came  finally  home,  some  one  said  to  him, 
"  I  suppose  you  will  take  up  your  abode  in  Aberdeen  or 
the  quiet  of  the  Highlands?  "  To  which  he  replied,  "  I 
shall  settle  down  just  as  near  to  Burlington  House  as  my 
income  will  allow  me."  He  had  no  intention  of  dis- 
connecting himself  from  the  scientific  associations  of  his 
life  even  if  his  days  for  the  regular  observation  of  stars 
were  over. 

After  a  short  time  spent  in  looking  round,  they  estab- 
lished their  lares  and  penates  in  a  charming  fiat  with  a 
distant  prospect  over  London,  at  the  top  of  a  house, 
34  De  Vere  Gardens,  Kensington.  Here,  in  his  comfort- 
able study,  he  used  to  receive  his  friends,  scientific  or 
otherwise;  and  here  were  discussed  many  of  the  great 
astronomical  instruments  and  researches  with  which  he 
was  in  close  contact,  dealing  with  the  progress  of  astro- 
nomy in  all  parts  of  the  world.  His  advice  was  eagerly 
sought,  because  his  vast  experience  both  in  construction 
and  operation  was,  in  many  branches  of  the  science, 
quite  unrivalled.  His  encouragement,  too,  was  enthu- 
siastically given  to  callers  from  all  parts  of  the  world. 
The  astronomer  who  had  new  ideas  received  welcome 
hints.  The  one  who  felt  the  drudgery  of  a  long  research 
left  that  room  with  an  access  of  youthful  enthusiasm. 
The  one  whose  health  was  broken  by  his  exertions  was 

320 


34  DE  VERE  GARDENS  321 

helped  to  wait  in  patience,  and,  when  this  was  possible, 
some  of  his  labours  were  moved  to  the  older  man's 
shoulders.  The  astronomer  who  needed  support,  or  even 
financial  assistance,  found  in  that  study  a  plan  devised 
by  which  his  labours  would  be  appreciated  in  the  proper 
quarter  at  home  or  abroad,  and  his  difficulties  removed. 

Every  one  who  was  honestly  doing  his  best,  on  leaving 
that  study  felt  how  much  there  is  to  be  done  that  is 
worth  doing ;  and  what  boundless  happiness  was  open  to 
any  one  who  could  see  in  the  work  of  to-day  "  a  connected 
portion  of  the  work  of  life,"  a  something  worth  striving 
for. 

He  loved  to  have  in  his  study  a  selection  of  the  younger 
men  engaged  in  the  active  pursuit  of  astronomy,  to  learn 
all  about  their  work,  to  argue  for  or  against  some  project, 
to  suggest  alterations  or  improvements,  and  generally  to 
enjoy  himself  in  a  pleasant  "  crack  "  over  a  cigar  about 
matters  of  common  and  absorbing  interest  to  them. 
Seldom  did  any  of  these  friends  leave  his  study  without 
finding  that  his  own  love  for  science,  and  enthusiasm  for 
his  work,  had  been  stimulated. 

At  other  times  the  study  at  De  Vere  Gardens  became 
the  scene  where  was  rehearsed  the  line  of  action  to  be 
taken  in  some  co-operative  work  of  science.  Many  a 
plan  was  brought  to  birth  at  the  Royal  Astronomical 
Society,  the  National  Physical  Laboratory,  the  Astro- 
graphic  Congress,  the  International  Bureau,  the  Congress 
of  National  Ephemerides,  or  the  Commission  des  Instru- 
ments et  Travaux,  whose  origin  could  be  traced  to  careful 
discussion  in  the  study  at  De  Vere  Gardens. 

During  his  retirement  one  of  his  greatest  joys  was 
receiving  visits  from  foreign  astronomers.  Professor 
Kapteyn  often  ran  over  from  Groningen,  alone  or  accom- 
panied by  his  wife,  to  stay  with  the  Gills  in  their  flat  and 
to  discuss  some  question  of  sidereal  astronomy;  and  he 
nearly  always  made  London  a  halting-place  in  his  annual 
voyages  to  and  from  Mount  Wilson.  These  occasions 
Y 


322  LIFE   IN   LONDON  [CHAP.  XXVI 

were  seized  upon  when  convenient  for  getting  together 
many  other  astronomers,.. when  the  Carte  du  del  or  star 
streams  would  be  discussed,  or  the  plan  of  selected  areas, 
or  the  average  parallaxes  and  proper  motions  of  stars 
differing  in  magnitude,  or  the  evidence  for  a  light- 
absorbing  medium  in  space,  or  a  rational  system  of 
photometry.  Many  a  symposium  of  congenial  souls  dis- 
cussed there,  often  in  a  cloud  of  tobacco,  the  nebulae 
and  star  problems  of  the  outer  realms  of  space. 

At  other  times  the  table  would  be  littered  with  blue- 
prints of  machinery,  while  the  director  of  some  foreign 
observatory  picked  up  suggestions  about  mechanical  or 
optical  construction. 

When  he  had  a  morning  to  himself  there  was  plenty  of 
work  to  be  done,  because  his  astronomical  correspondents 
included  the  occupants  of  half  of  the  world's  great 
observatories.  Moreover,  he  had  much  to  do  in  the 
writing  of  papers  and  articles  and  lectures,  while  he  was 
never  free  from  the  duty  of  completing  in  spare  hours 
his  History  of  the  Cape  Observatory,  forming  an  Introduc- 
tion to  the  Description  which  he  had  finished  before  his 
retirement. 

The  wide  range  of  his  experience  and  knowledge  in 
literature,  science  and  many  arts  always  kept  conversa- 
tion around  their  hospitable  table  at  a  high  level.  The 
subject  depended  entirely  on  the  tastes  of  the  guests. 

Thus  it  happens  that  many  a  man  who  thought  he 
knew  him  well  knew  only  the  part  of  Sir  David's  mind 
that  coincided  with  his  own  tastes.  One  sportsman  with 
whom  Gill  often  went  out  deer-stalking  said  to  the 
writer,  after  his  death,  "  I  knew,  of  course,  that  Gill  went 
in  for  astronomy,  but  it  never  occurred  to  me  till  I 
read  the  obituary  notices  that  he  was  anything  like  the 
greatest  astronomer  in  the  world.  Anyway,  he  was  a 
good  sportsman." 

On  the  other  hand,  an  astronomer  who  knew  him  very 
intimately  writes  :  "  No  one,  I  should  think,  ever  talked 


SIR  FRANK  DYSON  323 

shop  more  industriously  and  with  keener  pleasure.  It 
seemed  impossible  to  talk  of  anything  else,  except  the 
things  he  was  continually  revolving  in  his  mind." 

Had  this  friend  met  him  at  a  country  house  party  he 
would  have  had  his  eyes  opened. 

The  Astronomer  Royal,  Sir  Frank  Dyson,  describes  his 
first  introduction  to  the  study  at  De  Vere  Gardens. 

Shortly  after  his  return  from  the  Cape  he  invited  me 
and  a  few  other  astronomers  to  meet  Kapteyn,  who  was 
staying  a  few  days  in  London  on  his  way  between 
Groningen  and  Mount  Wilson.  This  was  the  first  of  a 
number  of  delightful  evenings  I  have  spent  with  him  of 
which  I  shall  always  retain  the  memory.  On  this  occasion 
Gill  took  us  into  his  study  after  dinner,  and  promptly 
started  the  conversation  on  star-streams.  "  Newcomb 
once  said  to  me,"  he  remarked,  '  '  There  is  nothing  I 
enjoy  so  much  as  a  talk  with  astronomers  about  astro- 
nomy ' ;  and  I  entirely  agree  with  him." 

The  evening  quickly  passed  in  conversation  on  astro- 
nomical topics,  diversified  by  an  occasional  reminiscence 
or  a  Scottish  story;  and  one  left  with  the  feeling  that  it 
was  a  splendid  thing  to  be  an  astronomer,  that  there  were 
so  many  interesting  things  to  do,  and  that  it  was  a  great 
honour  to  be  in  the  succession  of  such  a  man  as  Gill. 

Several  times  it  was  my  good  fortune  to  go  with  Gill 
to  Paris  to  one  of  the  astrographic  or  other  conferences. 
All  the  astronomers  there  seemed  to  be  old  friends  of  his. 
Talking  to  this  one  and  that,  he  assisted  the  conferences 
most  materially  in  coming  to  practicable  and  useful 
decisions.  He  had,  of  course,  carefully  considered  the 
questions  beforehand.  But  constantly  he  would  invite 
different  astronomers  round  to  the  St.  James'  Hotel, 
where  he  stayed;  and  in  the  lounge  of  the  hotel  various 
points  were  thrashed  out,  with  the  assistance  of  cigars,  and 
sometimes  French  spoken  "  in  all  the  languages  of  Europe." 

The  conversation  did  not  keep  at  all  strictly  to  the 
subjects  to  be  discussed  at  the  conference,  but  often  took 
a  more  personal  turn.  At  these  friendly  meetings  one 
saw  how  much  Gill  enjoyed  the  company  of  his  fellow- 
astronomers,  and  how  interested  he  was  in  their  welfare 
and  the  work  they  had  in  hand. 

After  his  return  to  London  he  retained  a  great  interest 


324  LIFE   IN   LONDON  [CHAP.  XXVI 

in  the  work  of  the  Cape,  and  nothing  gave  him  more 
pleasure  than  the  success  of  the  Victoria  telescope  and 
the  new  Transit  Circle,  and  the  skill  with  which  they  were 
handled.  He  frequently  showed  me  letters  he  had 
received  from  Hough  and  Halm,  and  he  often  spoke 
enthusiastically  of  members  of  his  former  staff. 

Two  of  his  friends,  to  whom  he  was  most  attached 
throughout  his  life,  were  Admiral  Richards  and  Admiral 
Wharton,  who  was  Hydrographer  during  a  large  part  of 
Gill's  tenure  of  office. 

Everybody  who  knew  Gill  saw  his  obvious  delight  in 
everything  he  did.  He  had  a  good  many  interests 
besides  astronomy,  and  whatever  he  did  was  done  with 
enthusiasm.  This  applied  from  Astronomy,  which  he  did 
surpassingly  well,  down  to  golf,  from  which  he  derived  as 
much  pleasure  as  exercise,  but  at  which  he  did  not  excel. 

The  visitors  to  De  Vere  Gardens  soon  learnt  what  the 
Cape  had  known  for  twenty-seven  years,  that  this  devoted 
couple  radiated  happiness.  Some  one  once  said  that  Sir 
David  Gill  must  have  learnt  the  discovery  made  by 
Buddha  Gautama,  that  perfect  happiness  comes  from 
perfect  selflessness.  It  is  perhaps  more  true  to  say  that 
he  never  learnt  it — that  it  was  born  with  him  to  know 
that  he  would  be  much  happier  in  doing  something  to 
make  somebody  else  happy  than  in  seeing  his  own  body 
lolling  in  ease,  or  striving  to  get  the  better  of  his  fellow 
men.  He  certainly  loved  his  wife  and  loved  astronomy 
far  more  than  he  loved  his  own  bodily  pleasures.  There 
is  abundant  evidence  in  support  of  these  assertions  to  be 
found  not  only  during  his  late  years,  but  in  the  earliest 
accounts  of  his  childhood;  inborn  selflessness,  with  love 
of  truth,  and  patience,  were  part  of  him. 

To  the  writer,  this  quality  of  his  nature  shines  out  as 
the  sole  and  sufficient  cause  of  Sir  David  Gill's  greatness 
and  happiness.  Carlyle  says  that  this  is  the  "divine 
relation  "  which  in  all  time  unites  a  Great  Man  to  other 
men.  He  goes  on — 

Of  a  Great  Man  I  will  venture  to  assert  that  it  is  in- 
credible he  should  have  been  other  than  true.  It  seems 


A  GREAT   MAN  325 

to  me  the  primary  foundation  of  him,  and  of  all  that  can 
be  in  him.  This  I  would  say :  his  sincerity  does  not  depend 
on  himself;  he  cannot  help  being  sincere. 

If  any  other  person  who  knew  David  Gill  from  boy- 
hood to  old  age,  and  who  has  read  the  outpourings  of  his 
soul  in  his  letters  to  numerous  devoted  friends — without 
ever  finding  a  word  of  unkindness  or  a  word  of  hate — if 
such  a  man  can  honestly  say  he  thinks  the  above  opinion 
wrong,  then  he  must  find  some  better  explanation  for 
the  very  real  happiness  that  emanated  from  Gill  to 
the  hearts  of  those  who  sought  his  counsel  or  gained  his 
friendship. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  astronomers  alone  claimed 
Sir  David's  time.  It  may  surprise  some  of  these  to  know 
that  they  did  not  form  one  quarter,  perhaps  not  one- 
tenth,  of  his  intimate  personal  friends. 

Lady  Gill  did  not  interrupt  the  science  discussed  over 
cigars  in  the  study,  but  in  her  drawing-room  one  met 
many  of  the  brightest  and  most  charming  of  those  best 
known  in  London  society.  It  was  just  the  same  as  at 
the  Cape  :  if  you  lunched  with  the  Gills  you  were  sure 
to  enjoy  yourself  and  likely  to  form  new  and  delightful 
acquaintances. 

Certainly  the  study  is  not  the  only  room  in  the  De  Vere 
Gardens  flat  to  which  people  now  look  back  with  thoughts 
of  happy  hours  spent  there.  Lady  Gill's  health  was  too 
uncertain  to  enable  her  to  entertain  on  an  extensive 
scale,  but  perhaps  all  the  more  on  that  account  the  meet- 
ings of  friends  there  on  the  most  delightful  terms  left  a 
flavour  of  satisfaction  and  mental  enjoyment  which  gave 
to  them  a  very  unique  pleasure. 

It  soon  became  obvious  that  Lady  Gill  could  not  undergo 
the  fatigue  of  enjoying  much  of  their  friends'  hospitality. 
Yet  neither  of  them  wished  to  pass  out  of  the  lives  of 
their  many  friends.  So  it  was  agreed  between  them  that 
Sir  David  should  go  about  as  much  as  possible,  and  tell 
his  wife  of  all  the  nice  people  he  had  met  in  their  friends' 


326  LIFE  IN  LONDON          [CHAP.  XXVI 

houses.  This  plan  solved  the  difficulty  to  their  entire 
satisfaction.  The, result  is.  that  Gill's  engagement  books, 
which  he  always  carried  in  his  pocket,  now  show  an 
amount  of  dining  out,  and  lunching  out,  and  after- 
noon calls  such  as  the  gayest  young  bachelor  could 
hardly  exceed.  The  Cape  had  been  a  place  for  making 
acquaintance  with  every  distinguished  person  who  ever 
went  there.  Their  number  was  great,  especially  during 
the  South  African  War.  Add  to  these  his  originally 
wide  circle  of  friends  at  home,  and  you  find  a  basis  for 
the  creation  of  the  very  widest  circle  of  chosen  friends  to 
welcome  at  their  homes  so  charming  a  guest  as  Gill  ever 
proved  himself  to  be. 

Although  Lady  Gill's  uncertain  health  prevented  her 
from  dining  out  with  her  husband,  the  extraordinarily 
wide  extent  of  their  intimate  social  friendships  was  re- 
markable. These  friends,  for  the  most  part,  joined  in 
her  interest  in  all  pertaining  to  the  Cape  and  its  people. 
Thus,  when  she  saw  the  need  of  funds  for  the  church  at 
Observatory  Road,  she  was  able  to  create  and  hold  a 
bazaar  in  the  flat  at  De  Vere  Gardens,  which  was  visited 
by  their  friends,  and  thus  a  handsome  donation  was 
provided  for  the  wants  of  their  old  church  near  the 
observatory. 

In  the  old  days  when  Gill  used  to  come  to  London  from 
the  Cape  he  was  a  very  unconventional  fellow.  Residing 
with  his  friend,  Mr.  Kershaw,  in  Hyde  Park  Gate, 
he  would  walk  every  morning  to  the  Admiralty  or  to 
Burlington  House.  Those  were  the  days  when  every 
gentleman  in  London,  without  exception,  always  wore  a 
top  hat.  It  used  to  be  a  little  startling,  then,  for  any 
man  to  meet  his  friend,  David  Gill,  tearing  through  the 
Park  in  country  get-up  and  a  white  wideawake.  He 
was  always  in  a  hurry  in  those  days.  Occasionally  in 
the  old  days  he  looked  in  at  a  small  scientific  club  with 
a  habitation  in  Savile  Row.  Settled  now  in  London,  he 
submitted  with  due  decorum  to  the  necessary  conven- 


SCIENTIFIC  ACTIVITY  327 

tions,  and,  naturally  enough,  the  increased  weight  of 
advancing  age  and  the  portly  figure  diminished  the 
buoyant  elasticity  that  his  friends  recalled;  so  that  in 
these  later  days  we  were  not  so  inclined  to  look  upon 
him  as  an  athletic  schoolboy. 

Nevertheless,  to  the  last  he  was  an  active  man,  and 
always  preferred  to  walk  the  whole  of  the  way  home 
from  the  Athenaeum  or  Burlington  House.  If  the  figure 
and  gait,  modified  by  the  growth  of  flesh,  led  him  in  the 
direction  of  a  more  conventional  progress,  yet  it  was 
guided  by  a  spirit  no  less  light,  no  less  cordial  to  friends 
met  on  the  way,  than  in  the  old  days  when  he  might 
be  "  pegging  away "  at  the  Admiralty  with  dogged 
persistence  for  a  heliometer. 

It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  for  one  moment, 
that  his  own  receptions  at  home  and  those  daily  welcomes 
at  the  houses  of  friends  completed  the  total  of  Gill's 
undertakings  when  he  had  finished  his  morning's  work  at 
correspondence,  etc. 

His  sound  judgment  was  requisitioned  on  the  councils 
of  scientific  societies  of  which  he  was  a  member,  especially 
the  Royal  Society  and  the  Royal  Astronomical  Society. 
In  1909-10  he  was  president  of  the  latter,  and  afterwards 
its  foreign  secretary.  He  held  the  presidency  of  other 
societies.  And  not  only  was  he  thus  frequently  chosen 
on  account  of  his  knowledge,  but  by  this  time  the  value 
of  his  name  alone  on  the  councils  of  less  distinguished 
societies  was  recognized  as  helping  their  cause.  So  long 
as  an  institution  was  connected  in  any  way  with  the 
advancement  of  science  he  considered  it  worthy  of 
support.  He  did  not  disdain  the  presidency  of  smaller 
groups  like  the  Optical  Society  or  the  Institute  of  Marine 
Engineers.  He  did  not  have  that  aversion,  common  to 
many,  from  supporting  those  societies  in  which  any  one, 
simply  by  paying  a  fee,  could  be  enrolled  as  member  of  a 
society  with  a  scientific  title.  He  held  that  every  one 
who  wished  to  be  included  in  the  list  of  "  scientific  men  " 


328  LIFE   IN   LONDON  [CHAP.  XXVI 

should  be  encouraged.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Science 
Guild.  In  this  way  he  ev£n  went  out  of  his  own  line  to 
accept  the  presidency  of  the  Research  Defence  Society, 
whose  work  is  mainly  directed  against  those  who  oppose 
vivisection.  In  Paris  he  had  witnessed  Pasteur's  in- 
oculations of  guinea  pigs,  and  knew  the  great  benefits 
accruing  to  mankind  from  these  and  similar  minor 
operations,  and  he  was  able  to  write  an  effective  presi- 
dential address.  But  he  had  no  actual  knowledge  of  the 
painful  operations  on  animals  lasting  for  weeks,  and  often 
conducted  only  for  what  may  be  called  scientific  curiosity 
as  to  the  causes  of  phenomena.  This  is  one  of  the  rare 
cases  in  which  he  was  active  outside  of  the  sciences  of 
which  he  had  practical  knowledge.  If  he  had  consulted 
his  great  friend,  Lord  Kelvin,  it  is  not  improbable  that 
he  would  have  refused  the  presidency  on  the  grounds 
that  it  dealt  with  a  science  of  which  he  was  not  a  master. 
For  Gill  had  an  affection  and  esteem  for  the  opinions  of 
Lord  Kelvin  amounting  almost  to  veneration;  and  the 
writer  was  much  impressed  when,  at  Pitlochrie,  he  hap- 
pened to  mention  the  very  strong  terms  in  which  Lord 
Kelvin  had  spoken  to  him  against  vivisection,  and  Gill 
looked  up  with  a  jerk.  "  Did  he  really  say  that  ?  "  On 
being  assured  that  it  was  so  he  seemed  to  be  conscious 
for  the  first  time  that  on  this  point  differences  of  opinion 
could  exist  among  great  scientific  men.1 

No  adequate  notion  could  be  formed  of  Gill's  main 
activities  and  interests  without  some  account  of  his 
international  commitments.  Of  course,  he  regularly 
attended  the  meetings  in  Paris  connected  with  the 
astrographic  chart  and  catalogue,  and  the  part  which 
was  there  assigned  to  him  has  been  described  by  Pro- 

1  Lord  Kelvin's  considered  opinion  was  that  "  experiments 
involving  such  torture  to  so  large  a  number  of  sentient  and 
intelligent  animals  are  not  justifiable  by  either  the  object  pro- 
posed, or  the  results  obtained,  or  obtainable,  by  such  an  investi- 
gation as  that  described  by  Professor  R ."  (Life  of  Lord 

Kelvin,  by  S.  P.  Thompson.    London,  1910,  p.  1105.) 


INTERNATIONAL  LABOURS  329 

fessor  Kapteyn  in  an  article  from  which  quotations  will 
be  made  presently  (pp.  332,  333).  The  guidance  of  a 
master  mind  had  become  all  the  more  necessary  from 
his  failure  to  carry  out  the  scheme  of  a  central  bureau 
for  the  measurement  of  the  photographic  plates  and 
their  reduction.  It  is  possible  he  may  have  indicated 
lines  of  action  that  were  wrong  or  capable  of  improve- 
ment in  the  paper  he  was  instructed  at  the  beginning,  in 
1887,  to  draw  up  as  a  basis  of  discussion.  It  is  possible 
that  the  independent  action  of  each  observatory  in  the 
reduction  of  its  own  observations  may  have  evolved 
more  refined  methods  than  he  originally  proposed.  But 
this  independent  action  has  led  necessarily  to  vagaries  in 
methods,  in  the  degree  of  accuracy  sought  for,  in  the 
delay  of  reduction  work,  and  in  the  form  of  publication, 
whose  worst  effects  needed  even  for  their  partial  elimina- 
tion a  master  hand  for  guidance.  Even  Gill's  powers  of 
organization  were  taxed  to  the  utmost  after  failure  to 
establish  his  central  bureau,  and  the  best  we  can  hope  for 
is  that  this  magnificent  co-operative  scientific  enterprise 
may  soon  be  completed  and  yield  results  entirely  in 
keeping  with  the  hopes  of  its  original  founders. 

Concerning  Gill's  other  international  commitments  an 
excellent,  though  perhaps  rather  technical,  account  is 
given  in  the  following  statement  by  Major  MacMahon, 
R.E.,  F.R.S.,  his  colleague  and  fellow-worker  in  some  of 
the  matters  referred  to. 

Sir  David  Gill  was  unanimously  elected  the  British 
Member  of  the  Bureau  International  des  Poids  et  Mesures 
in  February  1907  in  succession  to  the  late  Mr.  Chaney, 
who  had  been  head  of  the  Standards  Department  of  the 
Board  of  Trade  with  an  Office  and  Standardising  Labora- 
tory at  6  Old  Palace  Yard,  Westminster.  The  Committee 
of  the  Bureau  met  every  two  years  at  the  Pavilion  de 
Breteuil  near  Sevres.  He  attended  the  meetings  in  1907, 
1909,  1911  and  1913,  and  the  International  Conference 
on  Weights  and  Measures  in  Paris  also  in  1907  and 


330  LIFE   IN   LONDON  [CHAP.  XXVI 

At  the  meeting  in  1907  he  was  appointed  Member  of 
the  Commission  des  Instruments  et  Travaux.  As  a 
member  of  this  body  he  proposed  the  periodical  com- 
parison of  wave-lengths  of  light  permitting  a  precise 
definition  with  the  International  prototype  metre.  The 
meeting  recommended  this  proposal  to  the  Committee. 
Sir  David  took  part  in  the  discussions  of  the  Commission 
and  the  resolutions  of  the  Commission  were  adopted. 
He  at  the  same  time  took  part  in  the  discussion  raised 
by  Dr.  Stratton,  who  represented  the  United  States  of 
America,  to  modify  the  Convention  du  Metre  so  as 
to  permit  the  establishment  of  a  permanent  "  Comite 
Annex  "  to  deal  with  questions  relative  to  units  and 
measurements  of  light,  heat  and  electricity.  Sir  David 
expressed  the  opinion  that  the  International  Committee 
should  exercise  great  care  and  go  slowly,  and  enlarge  the 
scope  of  operations  little  by  little. 

Following  the  meeting  of  the  Committee  the  Sextennial 
Conference  was  held  in  Paris,  and  to  this  Major  P.  A. 
MacMahon,  the  Deputy  Warden  of  the  Standards  of  the 
Board  of  Trade,  was  the  British  Delegate  and  Sir  David 
Gill  attended  ex-officio  as  the  British  member  of  the 
International  Committee.  The  Conference  was  welcomed 
at  the  French  Foreign  Office  by  M.  Pichon  in  an  interest- 
ing address  and  the  business  of  the  conference  was  mainly 
formal,  the  most  important  business  being  the  recom- 
mendation that  there  should  be  an  International  metric 
carat  of  200  m.g.  for  weighing  diamonds  and  other 
precious  stones.  All  the  Governments  which  were  repre- 
sented on  the  Bureau  were  to  be  asked  to  legalize  such  a 
denomination.  For  the  rest  the  proceedings  were  marked 
by  much  entertainment  and  hospitality.  At  all  these 
gatherings  Sir  David  Gill  was  in  his  element,  particularly 
when  ladies  were  present.  His  great  personality  and  charm 
of  manner  were  much  in  evidence  at  a  banquet  given  to 
the  Conference  by  the  late  Professor  Becquerel.  The 
proceedings  were  unfortunately  arrested  by  the  sudden 
death  of  Professor  Loewe,  the  Director  of  the  Paris 
Observatory.  Sir  David  Gill  was  one  of  those  who  repre- 
sented the  Royal  Society  and  also  the  Royal  Astronomical 
Society  at  the  funeral. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Committee  in  1909  Dr.  Benoit, 
the  Director  of  the  Bureau  at  Breteuil,  called  attention 
to  the  services  rendered  by  Sir  David  Gill  to  the  Metric 


PARIS  CONFERENCES  331 

system  in  counselling  the  Indian  Geodetic  Service  to 
express  the  measure  of  the  Indian  base  in  metres.  Sir 
David  communicated  the  results  obtained  at  the  National 
Physical  Laboratory,  Teddington,  with  a  piece  of  trans- 
parent quartz.  It  was  found  that  at  a  temperature  of 
400°  C.  the  change  of  length  produced  was  less  than 


2,000,000* 

The  Committee  asked  for  information  as  to  the  manu- 
facture of  this  "  quartz  fondu,"  and  for  samples  so  that 
experiments  might  be  made  at  the  Bureau  to  test  the 
suitability  of  the  substance  for  constructing  a  copy  of 
the  metre.  Sir  David  also  raised  at  some  length  the 
question  of  the  metre  being  defined  as  the  length  of  one 
kind  of  metal  at  o°  C.,  whereas  in  practice  other  metals 
are  used  at  other  temperatures.  This  meeting  was  suc- 
ceeded by  a  meeting  of  the  Astrographic  Congress,  Sir 
David  being  present.  A  banquet  was  given  at  the 
Observatory — plays  were  performed  afterwards  by  actors 
and  actresses  from  the  Theatre  Francais  and  later  on 
there  was  a  dance.  Sir  D.  Gill  was  in  the  best  of  spirits, 
made  a  speech  in  French  at  the  banquet,  and  later  danced 
nearly  every  dance. 

At  the  meeting  of  1911  there  was  a  discussion  regard- 
ing "  quartz  fondu  "  as  a  material  for  standards  of  length, 
and  it  was  stated  that  it  had  been  found  impossible  to 
engrave  the  denning  lines  on  the  material  satisfactorily. 
Sir  David  read  a  paper  by  Mr.  G.  W.  C.  Kaye  of  the 
National  Physical  Laboratory  on  the  construction  of  a 
metre  of  transparent  quartz.  The  Sub-Committee  on  his 
proposition  suggested  to  the  Committee  that  the  quartz 
metre  destined  for  the  Indian  Weights  and  Measures 
Service  should  be  verified  at  the  Bureau,  and  in  case  of 
the  comparison  being  found  satisfactory,  that  one  should 
be  procured  for  the  International  Bureau.  This  was 
adopted  by  the  Committee.  At  a  later  session  he  sug- 
gested that  the  Committee  should  add  to  their  interests 
the  subject  of  the  thermodynamic  scale  of  absolute  tem- 
perature. He  was  appointed  Member  of  the  Sub-Com- 
mittee to  consider  whether  the  Convention  du  Metre 
should  be  modified  so  as  to  treat  all  questions  of  unit 
standards  and  physical  constants.  He  reported  to  the 
Board  of  Trade  that  certain  scientific  matters  which 
came  before  the  Committee  for  discussion  included  the 
finality  of  the  determination  of  the  weight  of  a  cubic 


332  LIFE   IN   LONDON  [CHAP.  XXVI 

centimetre  of  water  and  the  peculiar  value  of  tantalum 
as  a  material  for  the  construction  of  standards  of 
mass. 

As  regards  the  use  of  tantalum  for  metrological  pur- 
poses its  extreme  hardness,  its  high  specific  gravity  and 
its  absolute  resistance  to  attacks  by  nitric,  hydrochloric 
or  sulphuric  acid  apparently  render  it  superior  to  platinum 
or  iridio-platinum  as  a  material  for  standards  of  mass. 
Its  cost  in  the  rough  is  much  less  than  that  of  platinum, 
and  although  its  high  point  of  fusion  and  its  great  hard- 
ness render  it  difficult  to  work,  it  can  be  produced  in  the 
form  of  weights  far  cheaper  than  platinum. 

When  in  Paris  Sir  David  Gill  invariably  stayed  at  the 
Hotel  St.  James  and  Albany,  and  the  last  time  he  was 
there,  in  October  1913,  he  spent  a  strenuous  day  at  a 
flying  ground  near  Paris.  He  was  very  popular  with  all 
his  colleagues  of  the  Bureau  and  of  the  Conferences,  who 
without  exception  were  his  warm  personal  friends. 

Concerning  the  Astrographic  Congresses  in  Paris,  Pro- 
fessor Kapteyn  has  given  us  his  intimate  observations  of 
Gill's  activities  in  the  Astrographic  Journal,  1914. 

Outsiders  who  have  seen  him  at  work  at  these  con- 
gresses may  have  been  under  the  impression  that  it  was 
the  geniality  of  his  person,  his  infectious  enthusiasm,  and 
strong  self-reliance  which  carried  the  day.  But  those 
who  had  followed  matters  closely  would  know  how  care- 
fully he  had  studied  every  detail  of  the  matter  to  be 
discussed,  how  long  beforehand  he  had  extensively  corre- 
sponded with  the  most  capable  and  most  interested  per- 
sons, and  how  he  brought  many  of  them  together  a  few 
days  before  the  date  of  the  congress,  not  only  to  arrange 
the  programme  for  the  proceedings,  but  also  to  discuss 
informally  all  the  main  points.  During  the  whole  of  the 
congress,  too,  he  would  bring  the  ablest  men  together  for 
these  informal  discussions.  In  these  Gill  would  always  play 
a  prominent  part ;  sometimes  his  impetuosity  would  make 
it  far  from  easy  for  those  opposed  to  his  views  to  explain 
their  standpoint.  It  might  be  some  time  before  Gill 
would  really  give  attention  to  what  they  had  to  say,  but 
that  moment  having  come,  they  could  wish  for  no  better 
listener,  and  if  they  succeeded  in  showing  that  their 
point  of  view  was  more  nearly  correct,  no  man  would  be 


'A  CERTAIN   INFLUENCE'  333 

quicker  to  recognize  his  error  than  Gill.  No  man  could 
be  long  with  him  without  feeling  that  here  was  a  man  to 
whom  the  real  interest  of  science  was  paramount,  a  man 
who  was  always  ready  to  sacrifice  any  pet  plan  of  his 
own  to  the  real  interest  of  astronomy.  A  favourite 
expression  of  his,  in  giving  up  his  opinion,  would  be : 
"  The  man  who  never  made  a  mistake  never  made  any- 
thing." I  cannot  help  thinking  that  such  personal 
qualities — his  indomitable  energy,  his  broad-mindedness, 
love  of  his  work,  kindness — his  manliness  in  the  best 
sense  of  the  word ;  in  short,  the  charm  of  his  strong  per- 
sonality, had  almost  as  much  to  do  with  his  achievements 
as  his  qualities  as  a  scientist. 

There  was  no  happier  man  in  London  during  these 
days  than  Sir  David  Gill,  and  few  were  the  source  of 
so  much  happiness  to  others.  The  constant  worries  he 
had  experienced  at  the  Cape  from  attempts  to  interfere 
with  his  work  no  longer  existed.  He  had  the  joy  of  feel- 
ing that  now,  in  personal  contact  with  the  worlds  of 
London  and  Paris,  he  had  a  certain  influence  which  he 
could  use  in  advancing  astronomy.  This  he  invariably 
exercised  in  favour  of  honest,  well-directed,  and  system- 
atically discussed  observation.  He  did  not  encourage 
the  brilliant  speculator  who  was  wanting  in  patient 
effort,  or  who  would  ask  him  to  give  up  well-tried  methods 
of  accuracy  in  favour  of  some  half-digested  notions  about 
vague  possibilities  in  other  directions. 

Of  course,  this  man  had  his  troubles.  Who  has  not  ? 
In  1907  Agnes  Clerke  died;  in  1909  Professor  Simon 
Newcomb  and  Bryan  Cookson;  in  1910  Sir  William 
Huggins;  in  1912  Admiral  Richards  and  Sir  George 
Darwin;  in  1913  Lord  Crawford;  and  the  illnesses  of 
Elkin  and  of  Hale  affected  him  almost  as  much.  The 
one  constantly  recurring  grief  arose  when  his  dear  wife 
was  ill.  He  suffered  deeply,  and  when  he  had  to  be 
away  from  her  every  one  could  see  that  his  constant 
thought  was  with  her.  Apart  from  this,  few  worldly 
matters  upsetting  to  most  people  affected  his  equanimity 


334  LIFE  IN  LONDON          [CHAP.  XXVI 

or  made  him  sorry  for  himself,  or  wish  others  to  be  sorry 
for  him. 

There  were  very,  very  few  of  his  most  intimate  friends 
who  knew  anything  of  the  pecuniary  loss  he  suffered 
through  having  invested  money  at  the  Cape  under  the 
very  best  advice  he  could  get  there.  Few  know  that  he 
had  to  go  to  work  again  to  make  up  this  loss.  Dr.  Elkin 
was  always  on  the  most  intimate  terms  with  the  Gills, 
and  in  a  letter  to  him,  in  1910,  Gill  mentions  this  casually 
and  as  a  matter  of  no  consequence. 

To  ELKIN 

34  DE  VERE  GARDENS,  KENSINGTON, 

April  17,  1910. 

MY  DEAR  OLD  FRIEND, — I  wonder  what  you  can  think 
of  me,  for  my  long  silence  is  a  disgrace  to  friendship. 

The  fact  is  that  I  have  had  great  anxiety  and  immense 
amount  of  work.  .  .  .  My  worry  and  anxiety  has  been 
about  my  wife.  She  fell  ill  about  the  middle  of  June 

last. 

****** 

Our  money  matters  at  the  Cape  have  gone  from  bad  to 
worse.  The  investments  (ist  mortgages  on  houses)  which 
used  to  bring  me  £600  a  year,  brought  me  £180  last  year — 
with  repairs  and  taxes  to  pay,  and  little  or  no  rent — and 
no  one  will  buy  the  houses  at  any  price. 

So  I  have  had  to  go  to  work  again.  I  have  written 
some  articles,  given  a  few  lectures,  but  have  been  chiefly 
busy  (so  far  as  money-making  is  concerned)  in  advising 
Governments  about  instruments,  etc. 

The  Transvaal  Gov1  has  employed  me  in  connection 
with  the  supervision  of  the  plans  and  business  arrange- 
ments of  the  Johannesburg  Observatory — a  matter  that 
has  cost  me  an  immense  lot  of  labour — but  work  that  I 
love — and  I  make  it  my  business,  inter  alia,  to  do  these 
things. 

The  Gov*  of  India  has  employed  me  to  design  their 
new  Laboratory  at  Dehra  Dun  for  standards  of  measure, 
and  the  comparators  for  4  metre  bars,  Jaderin  wires,  etc. 
I  have  also  been  inspecting  Geodetic  Instruments  for  the 
Govte  of  Australia  and  Siam. 


MARKINGS   ON   MARS  335 

But  you  have  always  been  in  our  thoughts,  and  I  have 
always  had  it  in  mind  to  write  to  you. 

****** 

We  are  both  terribly  sorry  to  hear  that  you  have  been 
obliged  by  ill  health  to  retire. 

****** 

Percival  Lowell  is  over  here  just  now.  He  held  forth 
one  afternoon  at  the  R.A.S.  Showed  us  photographs  of 
Mars  on  the  screen,  and  pointed  out  Canals — which  none 
of  us  could  see.  The  same  evening  he  gave  a  lecture  at 
the  Royal  Institution — and  here  again  I  failed  to  see  any 
Canals,  but  his  planetary  photographs  were  most  beautiful. 

But  I  have  been  studying  some  of  his  slides  since  at 
leisure,  directly,  and  I  am  bound  to  say  that  I  have  seen 
a  few  markings  which  are  quite  unmistakable — such  as 
Schiaparelli  and  Lowell  have  described,  tho',  of  course, 
not  in  the  profuse  abundance  mentioned  and  described 
by  them. 

I  must  say  that  I  can  no  longer  doubt  that  there  are 
markings  on  Mars  of  the  kind,  but  I  cannot  agree  with 
the  interpretation  that  Lowell  puts  upon  them. 

But  there  is  no  question  that,  at  Flagstaff,  Lowell 
must  have  a  steadiness  of  definition  which  is  extra- 
ordinarily great — and  his  work  is  of  a  very  high  order. 

Now,  my  dear  old  chap — forgive  me — Believe  me,  you 
have  no  truer  friends  than  my  wife  and  I.  We  both  join 
in  love  to  you  and  your  dear  little  wife,  and  in  the  hope 
that  you  will  long  be  spared  to  enjoy  yr  otium  cum 
dignitate  et  honore, — Yr  true  old  friend,  DAVID  GILL. 

He  undertook  the  children's  Christmas  lectures  at  the 
Royal  Institution  (as  he  writes  to  Kapteyn)  "  for  filthy 
lucre,"  and  gave  other  popular  lectures,  for  which  he  had 
no  great  aptitude  as  he  did  not  know  how  to  slur  over 
difficulties  after  the  manner  of  popular  lecturers ;  and  he 
started  a  fairly  profitable  business  as  a  consulting  astro- 
nomical engineer.  This  part  of  the  work  he  thoroughly 
enjoyed.  But  scarcely  one  of  his  friends  knew  that  he 
was  following  the  noble  example  of  Charles  Dickens  or 
Mark  Twain  under  similar  conditions.  Of  course,  he  was 
not  seriously  crippled  by  such  an  affair,  but  while  careful 


336  LIFE   IN   LONDON  [CHAP.  XXVI 

in  his  expenditure,  he  was  one  of  those  free-handed  men 
who  are  always  ready  with  a  bank-note  when  a  real  case 
of  distress  comes  before  thtem.  His  correspondence  shows 
some  cases  where  he  was  imposed  upon. 

Sir  David  Gill  derived  much  exercise  and  pleasure  from 
golf.  Mr.  Alexander  Davidson,  his  old  student  friend  at 
Aberdeen,  who  had  also  visited  him  at  the  Cape  in  1898, 
induced  him  to  join  the  Royal  Wimbledon  Golf  Club  and 
the  Wimbledon  Curling  Club,  and  writes — 

Though  an  indifferent  exponent  of  either  game,  no 
man  could  throw  himself  more  completely  and  more 
whole-heartedly  into  the  spirit  of  play  than  did  our 
many-sided  astronomer.  I  remember  one  occasion  when 
we  were  curling  at  Wimbledon  in  the  winter  of  1906-7 
which  he  was  fond  of  talking  over  with  great  glee.  A 
scratch  match  at  curling  was  got  up  in  the  afternoon — 
England  v.  Scotland.  Gill  and  I  were  among  the  Scotch, 
and  notwithstanding  the  enthusiasm  of  my  friend  we  got 
into  a  very  despondent  condition  as  the  game  progressed, 
being  four  points  down  when  we  had  to  play  the  last  end. 
As  luck  (and  perhaps  careful  play)  would  have  it,  we 
unexpectedly  in  that  end  got  five  stones  in  and  won  the 
match.  Then  Gill's  exuberance  fairly  boiled  over,  and 
cheering  vociferously  his  example  so  infected  the  rest  of 
our  team  that  we  fell  to  shaking  hands  and  drinking 
healths  all  round,  and  had  we  been  Frenchmen  instead  of 
Scotsmen  I  have  no  doubt  we  should  have  embraced  each 
other  in  the  way  that  foreigners  do. 

Gill  was  no  adept  at  any  games  like  golf  or  billiards, 
which  require  constant  practice.  Yet  he  was  ever  willing 
to  take  a  hand  and  to  do  his  best.  He  even  entered 
a  billiard  handicap  at  the  Athenaeum  Club.  On  that 
occasion  his  opponent,  settled  by  lot,  was  a  magnificent 
player,  the  best  in  the  club  at  that  time.  By  his  handi- 
cap Gill  began  the  game  a  long  way  ahead  of  his  opponent. 
He  pegged  away  in  the  hopeless  task,  every  little  score, 
or  miss,  on  his  part  being  generally  followed  by  a  fine 
break  on  the  part  of  his  opponent,  and  the  distance 


GAMES  337 

between  them  rapidly  diminished.  At  last  he  exclaimed 
in  despair  to  a  friend,  "  I  feel  just  like  a  rabbit  with  a 
weasel  after  me." 

The  following  letters  to  Elkin  exhibit  some  of  Gill's 
activities  from  1908  to  1910. 

34  DE  VERE  MANSIONS,  KENSINGTON, 

December  15,  1908. 

MY  DEAR  ELKIN, — The  Comptes  Rendus  has  just 
arrived,  and  I  rejoice — we  both  rejoice — to  see  that  the 
French  Academy  of  Sciences  has  awarded  the  Lalande 
Medal  to  you  and  Chase.  We  send  our  most  loving  and 
sincere  congratulations. 

They  have  just  created  a  new  Chair — Astrophysics — 
at  Cambridge,  and  appointed  Newall  to  fill  it.  That  also 
has  given  us  great  joy. 

****** 

I  am  at  present  very  busy  about  Astrographic  Congress 
matters — for  the  re-union  at  Paris,  April  19-26.  We 
hope  you  are  both  coming. 

Write  soon.     With  our  united  love. — Ever  thine, 

DAVID  GILL. 

34  DE  VERE  GARDENS,  KENSINGTON, 

1909,  March  14. 

MY  DEAR  ELKIN, — Yr  letter  of  the   26th  Feb.   duly 
reached  us  with  its  burden  of  sad  news.  .  .  . 
We  too  have  had  just  a  similar  sorrow. 

****** 

We  go  on  the  22nd  inst.  to  Paris.  .  .  . 

On  the  3  ist  we  go  to  Porto  Fino — near  Genoa — to 
spend  a  fortnight  with  Lady  Carnarvon  at  her  beautiful 
place  there,  returning  Apr.  17  to  Paris  for  the  Astro- 
photographic  Meeting. 

On  Friday  last  I  took  my  seat  as  Pres.  of  the  R.A.S.  .  .  . 

We  are  not  coming  to  Winnipeg. 

****** 

But  we  have  made  up  our  minds — my  wife  and  I — to 
come  across  for  the  Solar  Union  meeting  in  1910.  .  .  . 

I  fear  very  much  I  shall  not  be  able  to  see  dear  old 
Newcomb  when  I  come.  He  wrote  me  such  a  programme 
and  was  to  go  about  with  me.  But  a  day  or  two  ago  I 
z 


338  LIFE  IN  LONDON  [CHAP.  XX vi 

had  a  letter  from  his  daughter,  Mrs.  McGee,  from  Paris 
to  say  the  operation  he  recently  underwent  disclosed  a 
malignant  turnout,'  all  of  .which  could  not  be  removed. 
One  knows  too  well  what  that  means.  Apparently  he 
does  not  know,  nor  do  his  American  friends  know,  how 
serious  is  his  case,  for  Pickering  wrote  me  that  Newcomb 
had  a  benignant  tumour,  and  was  planning  long  journeys. 
So  apparently  his  American  friends  do  not  know.  Thus 
please  keep  what  I  tell  you  as  confidential  lest  the  matter 
should  get  to  his  ears. 

Mrs.  McGee  we  hope  to  see  in  Paris  before  she  leaves 
it  on  the  25th  or  26th  inst.  to  sail  from  this  Country  on 
the  3ist,  "  unless  she  is  cabled  sooner." 

****** 

Bella  will  write  to  your  wife  soon.  Our  love  to  you 
both. — Ever  thine,  DAVID  GILL. 

34  DE  VERB  GARDENS,  KENSINGTON, 

December  12,  1910. 

MY  DEAR  ELKIN, — .  .  .  I  have  had  a  great  deal  of 
work  in  connection  with  the  design  of  the  Johannesburg 
telescope  26  in.  aperture  and  with  the  designs  for  a  24  in. 
aperture  equatoreal  for  Ristenpart  at  Santiago,  including 
rising  floor  and  dome.  I  have  exactly  similar  work, 
namely  a  refractor  of  35  ft.  focus  (aperture  whether  24  or 
28  in /not  yet  decided)  with  a  rising  floor  and  dome  for 
Nicolaieff,  and  also  a  reflector  of  one  metre  aperture 
equatoreally  mounted  for  the  Crimea  [Semeis]. 

****** 

I  have  seen  a  good  deal  of  Hale  since  he  came  over.  .  .  . 
He  has  brought  me  the  working  plans  of  the  100  in. 
Reflector.  ...  I  am  to  report  any  suggestions  in  regard 
to  them  to  Mount  Wilson.  .  .  . — Ever  thine, 

DAVID  GILL. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

LAST   DAYS   AFTER   RETIREMENT   (1907-1914) 

Seventieth  birthday — Monumental  book  on  Cape  Observatory — 
Illness  and  death. 

HAVING  now  shown  in  what  direction  his  occupations 
lay  during  the  years  of  his  retirement  in  London,  it  remains 
to  tell  about  Gill's  manner  of  spending  his  holidays  in 
the  summer,  full  of  the  enjoyment  of  country  life. 

The  year  after  his  arrival  in  London,  i.  e.  in  1907,  he 
was  president  of  the  British  Association  at  Leicester. 
The  preparation  of  his  address  naturally  occupied  his 
thoughts  a  great  deal.  The  meeting  was  a  great  success, 
and  no  one  enjoyed  it  more  than  Sir  David  and  Lady 
Gill. 

FISHER'S  HOTEL,  PITLOCHRIE,  September  21,  1907. 

MY  DEAR  ELKIN, — We  are  so  glad  to  have  your  letter 
from  Zermatt,  and  to  hear  that  on  the  whole  you  are 
better.     High  bracing  air  is  the  thing  for  you  I  am  sure. 
*  *  *  #  *  * 

We  had  a  very  pleasant  meeting  at  Leicester — and, 
so  far  as  I  know,  not  a  hitch  or  unpleasantness  of  any 
kind. 

The  mighty  atom  figured  largely  in  the  discussions  of 
Section  A,  Kelvin  approaching  the  static,  Oliver  Lodge 
the  dynamical  condition.  Much  talk,  little  reality — so 
far  as  a  definite  conclusion  is  concerned. 

There  were  many  interesting  papers — many  of  which 
I  could  not  hear  as  the  President  is  expected  to  visit  all 
the  sections. 

The  local  arrangements  were  excellent,  and  hospitality 
unbounded. 

We  came  from  Leicester  to  Aboyne  on  Deeside,  which 

339 


340  LAST  DAYS  [CHAP.  XXVII 

I  made  a  centre,  for  grouse-shooting — and  as  Sir  Fred. 
Richards  put  it  I- had  "  a  J)eesidedly  engro using  time,"  a 
vile  but  accurate  descripti6n.  Then  I  visited  my  brother 
near  Rothes  on  Speyside  and  then  we  came  on  here  a 
few  days  ago.  I  have  again  been  shooting  here.  We 
intended  to  go  from  this  to  stay  with-.  Lord  and  Lady 
Kelvin  till  October — but  just  as  we  were  starting  poor 
Lady  Kelvin  had  a  stroke  of  paralysis.  She  has  recovered 
speech  and  clear  thought  but  her  left  arm  remains  without 
power  of  motion.  We  are  terribly  distressed,  for  the y 
are  both  old  and  dear  friends  and  he  is  in  so  many  things 
entirely  dependent  on  her. 

We  remain  here  till  the  26th  when  Bella  goes  to  London 
and  I  go  to  Sir  Andrew  Noble's  place  at  the  head  of  Loch 
Fyne — to  try  to  shoot  one  of  his  stags. 

On  the  ist  Aug.  [Oct.]  I  go  to  Glasgow  and  deliver  a 
lecture  there  on  October  2,  returning  to  London  the 
following  day. 

On  Oct.  7  I  go  to  Paris  for  the  meeting  of  the  Inter- 
national Committee  of  Weights  and  Measures  and  remain 
there  till  Oct.  23.  A  day  or  two  in  London  and  then 
we  go  to  Pixton  Park  in  Devonshire  for  10  days.  I  to 
shoot  pheasants.  Shall  you  be  in  Paris  between  Oct.  7 
and  23  ?  if  so  I  fancy  that  is  our  only  way  to  meet. 

From  Nov.  9  to  19  I  am  giving  lectures  in  Glasgow, 
Edinburgh  and  Dundee  and  then  return  to  London  and 
to  work. 

Both  of  us  have  greatly  enjoyed  our  holiday  and  are 
wondrous  well. 

Yes — let  us  keep  henceforth  more  in  touch.  God  bless 
you — our  love  to  you  both.  Ever  thine,  DAVID  GILL. 

To  DR.  ELKIN 

34  DE  VERE  GARDENS,  KENSINGTON, 

1908,  January  20. 

MY  DEAR  ELKIN, — Don't  think  ill  of  me  in  that  I  have 
been  long  in  answering  yr  letter  of  the  9th  Dec1. 

When  it  came  I  was  just  in  the  thick  of  starting  prepara- 
tion of  a  series  of  6  Christmas  lectures  to  be  delivered  at 
the  Royal  Institution.  They  involved  an  enormous  lot 
of  work — far  more  than  I  anticipated — for  the  audience 
is  a  very  difficult  one  to  please  and  expects  much — not 
much  in  the  way  of  deep  science  —  but  of  pap-food, — 
peptonized  with  a  continuous  flow  of  experiments, 


1907-14]  HOLIDAYS  341 

diagrams  and  slides — and  all  "  adapted  to  a  juvenile 
audience/'  The  juvenile  audience  ranged  from  5  to 
93  years  of  age  and  they  were  all  pleased.  So  you  see 
I  must  have  had  a  lot  of  work.  Indeed,  I  had  to  put  all 
my  correspondence  aside  and  work  at  the  R.I.  laboratory 
hard  for  a  month  or  more.  One  newspaper  reporter 
declared  that  after  lecture  V  [on  prisms  and  spectra],  a 
little  girl  in  a  red  hat  was  overheard  to  ask  her  mother, 
"  Why  did  they  put  the  spectre  in  prison  "  ! !  Two  little 
girls  who  wore  red  hats,  and  whom  I  knew,  refused  to  go 
to  the  next  lecture  in  red  hats,  and  insisted  on  wearing 
green  ones. 

But  this  is  all  beside  the  mark — only  to  explain  my 
silence. 

Now,  dear  old  man,  don't  worry  about  this  idiotic 
business  of  Hastings'  criticism  of  yr  parallax  work.  .  .  . 

I  only  wish  that  Hastings  had  read  and  printed  his 
paper,  it  would  have  been  such  fun  to  demolish  him.  I 
always  enjoy  any  criticism  of  the  kind,  for  example, 
Rambaut  on  the  parallax  of  a  Centauri.  You  should 
try  to  feel  the  same  way,  my  dear  old  man — for  if  anybody 
knows  about  the  Helio meter  and  parallax  work  you  do. 
****** 

Kapteyn  has  just  been  over  with  us  on  a  short  visit 
and  to  discuss  a  lot  of  things  with  me.  He  is  "as  busy 
as  the  Devil  in  a  gale  of  wind  "  as  old  Sir  Fred.  Richards 
says.  (You  must  remember  Sir  Fred.  He  was  our 
Admiral  at  the  Cape  when  we  first  came,  and  we  see  him 
every  few  days  now.) 

****** 

Bella  joins  me  in  warm  love  to  yr  dear  wife  and  yourself. 
Ever  thine,  DAVID  GILL. 

In  1908  he  received  the  Gold  Medal  of  the  Royal 
Astronomical  Society  (for  the  second  time).  His  holiday 
took  the  Gills  first  on  a  visit  to  Sir  Frederick  Richards 
at  Horton  Court  from  July  2  to  22.  They  then  went, 
accompanied  by  Sir  Frederick,  to  Strathpeffer,  July  24  to 
August  19.  His  earlier  grouse  plans  were  interfered  with 
by  the  illness  of  his  wife.  Then  they  went  to  Aboyne. 
He  had  two  days'  grouse  shooting  with  his  cousin,  Colonel 
Ogston,  at  Kildrummy  Castle,  Strath  Don.  Then  at 


342  LAST  DAYS  [CHAP,  xxvu 

Aboyne  till  he  had  to  go  to  Dublin,  staying  at  Lord 
Iveagh's,  to  resign*  his  presidency  of  the  B.A.  They  left 
Aboyne  September  10  to  visit  Mrs.  Pickering  (Lady  Gill's 
cousin)  at  Kincardine  O'Neil,  and  he  shot  there.  Then 
partridges  in  Buchan  and  a  day  or  ,two  in  Aberdeen. 
September  25  saw  him  off  to  Glasgow,  Inveraray,  and 
Ardkinglas,  where  he  had  a  fine  stalk.  Then  motored 
to  Loch  Goyle  Head,  thence  to  Greenock,  Glasgow  and 
London,  which  he  reached  October  3. 

On  October  8  he  was  at  Oxford  for  the  jubilee  of  the 
opening  of  the  Oxford  Museum.  Later  he  presided  at 
the  Paisley  century  celebration  of  the  Philosophical 
Institute,  "  where  Coats  has  given  them  an  excellent 
little  observatory/' 

In  1909  the  Gills  went  to  Paris  for  the  Weights  and 
Measures,  then  visited  the  Dowager  Countess  of  Carnarvon 
for  a  fortnight  at  her  beautiful  place  at  Porto  Fino  near 
Genoa,  returning  to  Paris  April  17  for  the  Astrographic 
Congress.  He  was  now  president  of  the  R.A.S.  Lady 
Gill's  sister  Bessie,  whose  health  for  many  years  was  an 
anxiety,  died  on  February  n.  They  buried  her  in  the 
family  ground  at  Foveran.  In  the  summer  they  were 
chiefly  on  Deeside,  and  returned  to  London  for  the 
National  Geodetic  Congress  beginning  September  21, 
and  continuing  in  Cambridge  September  27-30. 

His  dear  friend,  Simon  Newcomb,  died  this  year  in  July. 

In  1910  Lady  Gill's  health  broke  down  and  she  was 
under  special  treatment  by  Dr.  Bruce  and  his  father  in 
Edinburgh. 

The  serious  illness  of  his  wife  in  1910  was  a  great  grief 
to  him,  and  also  put  an  end  to  hopes  which  had  been  on 
the  point  of  fructifying  for  some  years.  In  fact,  before 
the  death  of  his  friend  Newcomb  he  had  been  attempting 
year  after  year  to  visit  the  observatories  of  the  United 
States  and  to  meet  his  friends  there.  He  had  at  last 
decided  to  do  so  in  this  year  1910,  when  he  could  meet 
all  the  American  astronomers  at  the  great  Solar  Union 


1907-14)  WALES  AND   SCOTLAND  343 

Meeting.  The  disappointment,  when  it  now  became 
impossible  to  carry  out  this  plan,  was  very  great  indeed. 

In  this  year  Sir  William  Christie  retired  from  Green- 
wich Observatory,  and  Mr.  Dyson  (now  Sir  Frank)  was 
appointed  Astronomer  Royal.  No  one  appreciated  the 
service  rendered  to  accurate  astronomy  by  this  appoint- 
ment more  than  Sir  David  Gill. 

In  1911  the  Gills  left  London  on  July  14  for  Llandrindod 
for  the  waters.  Then  to  Aboyne  and  Pitlochrie,  three 
weeks  at  each,  with  much  shooting.  Then  he  spent  three 
days  with  Sir  Charles  Parsons,  shooting  his  grouse.  Lady 
Gill  was  then  to  visit  Lady  Kelvin  while  Sir  David  stalked 
deer  at  Ardkinglas,  but  Lady  Kelvin's  illness  interfered. 

In  1912  they  did  much  the  same.  After  Llandrindod, 
at  the  end  of  July,  they  settled  at  Pitlochrie  as  a  head 
centre  from  which  he  could  go  shooting.  Fred  Powell, 
his  second  nephew,  was  home  on  leave  from  India.  Gill 
left  him  with  his  wife  at  Pitlochrie  while  he  shot  grouse 
in  Northumberland  with  Sir  C.  Parsons,  and  he  also  shot 
over  moors  in  Perthshire,  etc.  Then  they  had  a  week 
in  Aberdeenshire  and  Gill  joined  Sir  Andrew  Noble  on 
Loch  Fyne ;  but  was  recalled  from  there  to  London 
to  attend  the  funeral  of  his  dear  old  friend  Admiral  Sir 
Frederick  Richards.  At  the  close  of  this  year  he  also 
lost  his  very  dear  friend,  Sir  George  Darwin. 

To  LADY  NOBLE 

34  DE  VERB  GARDENS,  KENSINGTON, 

1912,  September  4. 

DEAR  LADY  NOBLE, — I  arrived  here  at  11.45  last  night 
— train  35  minutes  late — and  found  my  wife  decidedly 
better.  I  have  just  returned  from  Sir  Fred.  Richards' 
funeral.  You  will  doubtless  find  in  the  newspapers  a 
list  of  those  present. 

The  day  was  beautiful,  so  were  the  surroundings  I  know 
so  well — and  the  grand  old  man  was  laid  to  rest  in  the 
place  he  loved,  surrounded  by  old  and  loving  friends. 


344  LAST  DAYS  [CHAP,  xxvn 

My  wife  attended  the  memorial  service  at  Fulham 
where  about  200.  people  were  present. 

My  mind  is  so  full  of  my  dear  old  friend  that  I  can 
hardly  thank  you  all  properly  for  all  the  kindness 
and  great  enjoyment  I  had  in  my  too  short  visit  to 
Ardkinglas.  ». 

You  were  all  so  kind  to  me,  the  weather  was  so  beautiful 
and  the  glory  and  beauty  of  everything  so  supreme,  that 
nothing  was  left  to  desire — and  I  did  enjoy  my  sport  so 
thoroughly. 

*  *  *  *  *  * 

As  I  write  I  have  received  a  terrible  blow — a  letter  from 
Lady  Darwin  has  this  moment  arrived — she  says,  "  After 
hoping  and  hoping  that  George  would  recover  without 
an  operation,  finally  he  had  Sir  George  Bradford  down 
to  consult.  He  advised  an  operation.  It  was  done  and 
found  not  to  be  gallstones  but  a  growth  on  the  pancreas. 
He  had  a  night  of  discomfort  and  pain  but  his  pulse  is 
good  and  the  doctor  thinks  he  is  getting  over  the  shock 
of  the  operation  very  well.  The  end  will  come  in  a  few 
weeks,  but  without  pain." 

I  cannot  quote  the  rest  of  the  letter — it  is  the  cry  of  a 
loving  woman  after  a  perfectly  happy  married  life  looking 
forward  to  the  coming  loss — God  comfort  her. 

This  is  a  sad  letter  to  send  you — I  cannot  help  it. 
George  Darwin  is  very  dear  to  me — and  his  death  will  be 
a  sad  blow  to  British  Science  and  to  many  a  one  who 
loved  and  honoured  him.  I  can  only  hope  that  the 
doctors  may  be  wrong — thoug;h  I  fear  the  worst. 

My  wife  desires  to  join  with  me  in  kindest  remem- 
brances to  you  all,  and  in  hearty  thanks  for  all  your 
kindness  to  me.  She  sends  her  love  to  you  and  Miss 
Noble. — Yours  most  sincerely,  DAVID  GILL. 

The  following  note  is  at  the  end  of  a  letter  to  Sir  Howard 
Grubb,  dated  October  12,  1912 — 

P.S.  I  have  received  a  letter  informing  me  that  at 
the  last  annual  meeting  of  the  Astronomical  and  Astro- 
physical  Society  of  America  resolutions  were  passed  to 
modify  the  constitution  by  which  it  was  resolved  to  make 
it  possible  to  elect  one  Honorary  Member  at  the  Annual 
Meeting — the  Hon.  Member  not  to  be  an  American. 


1907-14]  MORE  HONOURS  345 

To  elect  the  first  Member  a  ballot  was  taken,  each 
member  writing  down  on  a  separate  piece  of  paper  the 
man  he  thought  most  worthy  to  be  ist  Hon.  Member  of 
the  Society.  Three  fourths  of  the  members,  I  am  told 
by  Pickering,  wrote  my  name — and  recommended  it  to 
the  Council  which  unanimously  elected  me.  I  feel  it 
a  great  distinction,  but  I  think  they  could  have  found  a 
more  worthy  man.  D.  G. 

This  note  will  help  the  reader  with  a  knowledge  of 
the  man's  character  to  appreciate  the  spirit  in  which  he 
received  all  such  distinctions.  On  nearly  every  such 
occasion,  if  he  happens  to  be  writing  to  an  intimate 
friend,  he  analyses  the  value  of  the  testimony,  often 
discounting  the  personal  friendship  which  led  to  it, 
considers  the  claims  of  others,  and  with  no  mock  modesty 
rejoices  at  the  evidence  of  appreciation  shown  to  his 
labours. 

To  M.  BAILLAUD  AT  THE  PARIS  OBSERVATORY 

LONDON,  April  5,  1913. 

MY  DEAR  BAILLAUD,  ...  I  have  received  with  much 
pleasure  and  gratification  from  M.  Cambon  the  insignia  of 
Commandeur  de  la  Legion  d'Honneur  which  I  owe,  I  am 
sure,  to  your  friendly  influence,  and  I  am  very  grateful 
indeed  to  you  for  the  good  opinion  of  me  you  must  have 
entertained  before  submitting  my  name  for  such  a  high 
distinction.  Monsieur  Cambon  also  showed  me  a  letter 
from  Sir  Edward  Grey,  conveying  the  consent  of  His 
Majesty  the  King  that  I  might  accept  and  wear  this. 
This  is  a  privilege  that  is  accorded  on  very  few  occasions 
to  British  subjects  in  the  matter  of  foreign  orders,  and  I 
am  deeply  indebted  to  Monsieur  Cambon  for  the  personal 
interest  which  he  has  taken  in  this  matter. 

With  kindest  remembrances  to  Madame  Baillaud  and 
yourself  in  which  my  wife  desires  to  join,  and  with 
warmest  thanks  for  your  friendly  offices, 

Believe  me,  Always  yours  most  sincerely, 

DAVID  GILL. 

The  German  Order  Pour  le  merite  had  also  been  con- 


346  LAST  DAYS  [CHAP,  xxvil 

ferred  upon  Gill,  the  highest  honour  in  the  power  of  that 
country  to  bestow.  It  inay  be  recalled  that,  when  this 
honour  was  bestowed  upon  Auwers,  Gill,  in  writing  to 
Mr.  Knobel  (p.  210),  said,  "  I  regard  it  as  the  highest 
distinction  open  to  a  literary  or  scientific  man."  On 
the  evening  when  he  received  the  news  that  this  order 
was  awarded  to  him  he  muttered,  more  to  his  pipe  than 
to  his  wife,  "  Well !  I  am  an  overrated  man  !  "  This 
was  his  honest  conviction,  Lady  Gill  assures  us. 

Sir  David  Gill's  seventieth  and  last  birthday  was 
celebrated  at  De  Vere  Gardens  on  June  12,  1913,  with 
great  happiness  to  all  concerned.  Numerous  letters 
and  telegrams  conveyed  the  hopes  of  his  wide  circle  of 
friends  that  he  would  be  spared  for  a  great  many  years. 
These  cannot  be  reproduced.  A  few  letters  only  are 
here  inserted  to  show  the  character  of  many. 

FROM  PROFESSOR  KAPTEYN,  GRONINGEN 

MY  DEAR  GILL, — This  day  must  be  a  memorable  day 
to  all  astronomers.  But  to  no  one  so  much  as  to  me 
and  if  I  wish  that  you  may  be  spared  long  to  enjoy  much 
happiness  and  joy,  I  say  nothing  but  what  I  have  prayed 
for  since  the  time  I  first  knew  you. 

This  day  let  me  thank  you  for  all  that  you  have  been 
in  my  life. 

The  time  of  our  first  correspondence  was  for  me  a  time 
of  great  discouragement.  With  an  ardent  desire  to  make 
something  of  my  life  I  found  that  I  had  been  pretty  much 
wasting  some  of  my  best  years.  This  has  been  changed 
from  the  moment  you  entered  my  life. — I  know  that  I 
have  helped  you  somewhat  in  your  work;  but  you  have 
helped  me  far  more  and  if  now,  not  so  far  from  the  end 
of  my  career  (I  am  sorry  to  say),  I  feel  that  I  have  been 
of  some  use  to  our  beloved  science,  I  owe  this  to  you. 
You  have  given  me  occasion,  help,  encouragement  and 
more  than  all  that — friendship.  It  is  not  only  the  astro- 
nomer that  you  have  helped  on,  but  the  man.  I  think 
I  picked  up  something  of  your  great  "  Lebensweisheit," 
of  your  capacity  of  making  life  a  joy  to  yourself  and  to 


i9i3]  SEVENTIETH   BIRTHDAY  347 

others. — My  heart  is  full  of  gratitude  this  day.  I  have 
admired  and  loved  you  since  first  we  met,  no,  the  first 
at  least,  much  longer. 

Let  me  conclude  with  the  selfish  wish  that  you  let  me 
keep  a  good  place  in  your  affection  for  the  time  that  we 
may  still  have  to  dwell  on  this  planet  and  let  me  add  my 
very  best  wishes  for  the  health  of  your  beloved  wife. 
Could  but  wishes  be  of  any  avail,  how  soon  she  would  be 
restored. — Ever  thine,  J.  C.  KAPTEYN. 

GILL  TO  PROFESSOR  AND  MRS.  KAPTEYN 

1913,  June  13. 

MY  DEAR  KAPTEYN  AND  YOUR  DEAR  WIFE, — I  received 
yesterday  not  only  your  telegram  but  those  touching 
and  beautiful  letters  from  you  both. 

If  all  you  say  is  true — and  I  am  sure  you  think  and 
believe  it  so — the  best  day's  work  for  astronomy  that  I 
ever  did  was  to  bring  you  into  my  astronomical  work — 
or  rather  to  have  the  good  fortune  to  accept  the  aid 
you  offered. — What  that  has  meant  for  astrononty  all 
astronomers  know — and  what  I  feel  about  it,  and  all  the 
love  and  honour  I  have  for  you  only  my  wife  knows. 

Long  may  you  live  to  adorn  astronomy — and  if  you 
can  be  sure  of  anything  in  this  wicked  world — you  can 
be  sure  of  my  love  and  friendship  as  long  as  I  live. 

To  MR.  JOHN  POWER  (at  the  Cape  Observatory) 

LONDON,  1913,  June  12. 

MY  DEAR  POWER, — I  am  writing  on  behalf  of  my  wife 
to  thank  you  for  your  kind  letter  of  the  I7th  May — and 
on  my  own  behalf  to  thank  you  for  the  kind  message  for 
me  which  it  contains  from  you  and  yours,  and  which  has 
just  been  delivered  to  me. 

I  have  also  received  the  very  welcome  and  kindly  cable 
from  the  staff  of  the  observatory  which  reached  me  last 
night.  All  this  has  touched  me  deeply. 

I  am  sending  a  general  reply  to  Dr.  Halm  which  I  am 
asking  him  to  pass  round  to  the  staff. 

This  evening  Dyson,  Hills,  Hough,  Newall,  Knobel, 
Chapman  (Chief  Ass1  Greenwich)  and  Prof.  E.  C.  Pickering 
are  dining  with  me  to  celebrate  my  birthday,  and  tele- 
grams are  coming  in,  including  a  most  touching  one  from 
Kapteyn. 


348  LAST  DAYS  [CHAP.  XXVII 

He  and  Mrs.  K.  will  be  here  on  the  i6th  and  lyth  and 
on  the  latter  day  I  have  a  gathering  of  astronomers  to 
meet  him.  On  the  iStlf  he  sails  for  Mount  Wilson. 

Thank  God,  my  good  friend,  I  am  feeling  a  younger 
man  than  when  I  last  saw  you  nearly  7  years  ago — and 
I  am  just  as  full  of  love  and  interest  in  ,the  old  Observatory 
as  ever  I  was.  I  would  write  you  more  but  I  have  many 
letters  to  write  and  little  time  in  which  to  write  them. 

But  I  can  never  forget  your  good  work  and  your 
devotion  to  the  Observatory — and  the  true  friendship 
you  have  shown  to  me. 

I  am  delighted  to  get  from  Mr.  Hough  the  same  story 
of  your  devotion  and  zeal.  I  wish  I  could  send  you  good 
news  of  my  wife's  health — she  has  been  far  from  well  of 
late — but  she  joins  me  in  kindest  remembrance  and  love 
to  you  and  yours. — Ever  thine,  DAVID  GILL. 

To  THE  CAPE  OBSERVATORY  STAFF 

LONDON,  June  13,  1913. 

MY  DEAR  FRIENDS, — I  must  write  you  all  a  few  words 
of  thanks  for  the  cable  message  of  heartiest  greetings. 
It  is  indeed  good  to  be  so  kindly  remembered  by  those 
who  worked  with  me  so  happily  and  so  cordially  for  so 
many  years. 

No  one  knows  better  than  myself  how  much  I  owe  to 
you  all — for  without  your  earnest  and  faithful  co-operation 
the  Cape  Obsy  could  never  have  reached  the  position  which 
it  now  takes  amongst  the  great  observatories  of  the  world. 

At  three  score  years  and  ten  a  man  is  apt  to  look  back 
upon  his  past  life  and  review  it  in  his  mind's  eye.  In 
doing  so  I  am  bound  to  say,  with  thankfulness,  that  in 
my  life  the  joys  have  far  outnumbered  the  sorrows,  and 
that  the  days  I  spent  amongst  you  at  the  Cape  were 
amongst  the  happiest  of  a  happy  life,  thanks  to  the 
common  bond  of  friendly  good  will  that  it  was  my  good 
fortune  at  all  times  to  receive  at  your  hands. 

One  of  the  greatest  joys  of  my  old  age  is  to  watch  the 
progress  of  the  Cape  Obsy  and  to  find  that  my  old  fellow 
workers  are  still  as  keen  as  ever  and  that  the  dear  old 
Obsy  is  still  to  the  front  and  going  on  to  higher  and  better 
things. 

I  write  of  my  old  age  as  my  years  entitle  me  to  do — 
but  in  truth  I  feel  a  younger  man  than  I  did  when  I  left 


i9i3l  SEVENTIETH   BIRTHDAY  349 

you  nearly  7  years  ago — and  I  wd  fain  hope  I  may  yet  be 
spared  for  a  reasonable  number  of  years  to  watch  the 
progress  of  the  Obs?  and  rejoice,  as  I  do  now,  in  its 
achievements. 

It  has  been  a  very  great  joy  to  me  to  see  Mr.  Hough  and 
to  get  news  at  first  hand  of  all  that  is  going  on.  In  his 
capable  hands  and  with  the  fine  equipment  of  the  Obs* 
the  possibilities  of  the  future  are  very  great.  I  earnestly 
ask  you  all  to  continue  to  him  the  same  good  will  and  the 
same  cordial  co-operation  which  I  always  experienced 
at  yr  hands,  and  which  you  still  show  to  him. 

I  know  he  has  the  best  interests  of  the  Obs?  and  of 
yrselves  individually  at  heart. 

It  is  a  great  thing  in  life  to  have  a  good  and  worthy 
object  always  in  view — and  it  is  yr  duty  and  privilege 
to  have  such  an  object,  viz.,  the  progress  of  the  great 
scientific  institution  with  which  you  are  connected. 

I  know  yr  goodwill  and  I  think  our  old  friendship 
permits  me  now  to  say  such  things  to  you — not  by  way 
of  reproof,  for  none  is  needed,  but  just  to  stimulate  you 
all  as  yr  kind  thought  of  my  birthday  has  helped  and 
stimulated  me. 

My  wife  is  no  less  grateful  than  myself  for  yr  kindly 
message,  and  she  desires  me  to  add  her  thanks  and 
kindliest  remembrances. 

I  wish  that  I  could  give  you  a  better  account  of  her 
health,  but  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  for  the  past  2  or  3 
months  she  has  been  suffering  more  than  usual  from  the 
old  continuous  headaches  which  prevent  her  from  taking 
part  in  social  life.  But  these  drawbacks  do  not  interfere 
with  her  loving  remembrance  of  all  her  old  friends  on 
the  observatory  hill,  and  she  joins  me  in  our  grateful 
thanks  for  yr  kind  thoughts  of  us. — Believe  me,  one  and 
all  of  you,  Yrs  most  sincerely,  DAVID  GILL. 

To  DR.  ELKIN 

34  DE  VERE  GARDENS,  KENSINGTON, 

1913,  July  6. 

MY  DEAR  ELKIN,  ...  I  have  had  a  lot  of  work  in 
connection  with  optical  glass — am  president  of  a  Com- 
mittee appointed  by  the  National  Physical  Laboratory  1 — 

1  [The  success  of  Sir  David  Gill's  efforts  are  told  in  the  follow- 
ing extract  from  the  Royal  Society  Report  of  Council,  1915,  p.  9  : 


350  LAST  DAYS  [CHAP,  xxvn 

and  Messrs.  Chance  of  Birmingham  are  making  great 
efforts — so  that  I  think  our  troubles  will  ere  long  be 
over.  But,  as  matters  s£and,  we  have  not  got  a  single 
disc  for  any  of  these  telescopes  [Johannesburg,  Santiago, 
Nicolaieff ,  Semeis]  except  the  disc  for  the  40-inch  reflector. 

The  comparator  for  24  metre  tapes  is  off  to  India. 
The  4  metre  comparator  has  been  a  long  time  under  trial 
and  used  for  determination  of  temperature  coefficients, 
and  I  finally  passed  it  as  perfect  a  few  days  ago. 

On  June  12  I  celebrated  my  7oth  birthday — and 
Pickering,  Dyson,  Hough,  Newall,  Chapman  (now  Chief 
Assist,  at  Greenwich),  Hills  and  Knobel  dined  here.  On 
June  16  Kapteyn  and  his  wife  came  to  London  on  their 
way  to  Mount  Wilson,  and  the  following  afternoon  we  had 
an  astronomical  convention  at  my  house  with  most  of 
the  above,  and  Eddington,  Rambaut  and  Schleisinger 

added. 

****** 

Ever  thine,  DAVID  GILL. 

Lady  Gill  writes — 

On  that  70 th  and  last  earthly  birthday  after  David's 
guests  had  left  (and  he  had  gone  to  the  kitchen  to  shake 
hands  with  the  cook — now  my  valued  maid)  he  burst 
into  my  room  like  a  schoolboy  with  a  face  of  radiant  joy, 
exclaiming,  "The  happiest  birthday  of  a  happy  life,  my 
dear." 

What  a  boy  he  always  was  !  Truly,  those  whom  the 
gods  love  die  young. 

In  1913  Sir  David  gave  his  hearty  support  to  the  new 
observatory  started  by  Sir  Norman  Lockyer,  with  valu- 
able assistance  from  Mr.  Frank  McClean's  sons,1  at 

"  The  work  of  Sir  D.  Gill's  Committee,  appointed  in  1912  to 
consider  the  question  of  a  Research  into  the  Manufacture  of 
Optical  Glass,  is  now  bearing  fruit.  The  Treasury,  on  the  motion 
of  the  Board  of  Trade,  have  promised  grants  of  £1,500,  £1,500 
and  £1,250  in  this  and  the  next  two  years ;  much  of  the  neces- 
sary plant  is  at  the  [National  Physical]  Laboratory,  and  the 
experiments  have  commenced.  The  Laboratory  has  been  in 
communication  with  the  Institute  of  Chemistry  with  reference 
to  this  work."] 

1  William  McClean  acted  as  Hon.  Sec.  on  Sir  Norman's  com- 
mittee, and  his  brother  Frank  presented  his  father's  telescope 
and  other  instruments. 


1913]  MAHARAJA   OF   JHALAWAR  351 

Sidmouth  and,  as  Chairman  of  the  Appeal  Committee, 
obtained  invaluable  financial  and  scientific  assistance  for 
that  observatory.  He  also  assisted  Sir  Norman  in  the  lay 
out  and  instrumental  equipment  of  the  observatory.  The 
success  of  these  efforts  was  ensured  by  the  general  sup- 
port of  astronomers,  and  by  none  more  than  M.  Deslandres 
of  Paris. 

FROM  SIR  J.  NORMAN  LOCKYER 

SALCOMBE  REGIS,   SIDMOUTH,  November  22,   1912. 
MY  DEAR  GILL, — It  is  very  good  of  you  taking  all  this 
trouble.     You  and  Deslandres  will  end  by  making  me 
conceited  ! 

This  subject  was  matter  for  a  very  long  correspondence 
about  the  removal  of  the  Solar  Physics  Observatory  in 
the  course  of  which  Gill  wrote  on  December  10,  1911 — 

To  SIR  J.  NORMAN  LOCKYER 

I  feel  that  you  and  your  work  have  been  treated  most 
unfairly — that  the  conclusion  of  the  Committee  is  con- 
trary to  such  evidence  as  has  been  collected — for  I 
entirely  concur  in  Glazebrooke's  view  of  it.  Evidence 
on  a  much  broader  basis  and  of  a  very  much  more  con- 
clusive character  was  required  before  the  organization 
which  you  founded  and  have  carried  on  so  successfully 
for  so  many  years  was  ruthlessly  upset. 

In  the  course  of  that  letter,  Gill's  outlook  upon  con- 
troversies is  illustrated  by  his  suggesting  a  certain  altera- 
tion of  verbiage  in  a  certain  protest,  "  on  the  principle  that 
you  will  catch  more  flies  with  sugar  than  with  vinegar." 

In  1913  Sir  David  Gill  gave  much  help  to  the  Maharaja 
of  Jhalawar l  in  his  plans  for  building  an  observatory  in 
India. 

34  DE  VERE  GARDENS,  1913,  May  23. 

MY  DEAR  MAHARAJ, — I  am  sending  you,  enclosed,  a 
business  letter  about  your  proposed  telescope  and 
observatory. 

1  H.  H.  Raj  Rana  Sir  Bhawani  Singh. 


352  LAST  DAYS  [CHAP.  XXVII 

My  wife  and  I  cannot  sufficiently  thank  you  for  all 
your  kindness  to  my  nephew.  He  has  written  to  us  two 
long  letters  full  -of  all  Ms  wonderful  and  delightful  ex- 
periences and  of  your  kindness  and  hospitality  to  him. 
I  fear  that  you  have  been  too  kind  to  him  and  that  his 
normal  soldier  life  will  appear  very  humdrum  to  him  after 
all  the  excitement  and  fun  he  had  with  you. 

I  could  not  write  you  last  week  as  I  was  away,  as  I  told 
you  I  would  be,  on  a  visit  to  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of 
Northumberland  at  Albury  Park — near  Guildford.  Sir 
Archibald  Geikie  was  amongst  the  guests  you  know,  and 
Lady  Mary  Meynell  with  her  son  and  daughter  (she  is  a 
sister  of  my  old  chief,  the  late  Lord  Crawford).  I  wish 
you  had  been  able  to  be  present  at  the  Great  Albert  Hall 
meeting  on  the  2ist,  when  Commander  Evans  gave  an 
account  of  the  Antarctic  Expedition — with  magnificent 
lantern  slides.  There  was  not  a  single  vacant  seat — 
over  10,000  people — all  in  full  evening  dress — present. 
I  have  just  sent  the  last  pages  of  my  history  of  the  Cape 
Observatory  to  press.  In  a  month  or  two  it  should  be 
published,  when  I  will  send  you  a  copy. 

There  is  no  history  of  the  Royal  Astronomical  Society. 
My  wife's  book,  Six  Months  in  Ascension,  is  out  of  print 
long  ago — I  am  trying  to  find  a  copy  for  you  in  the 
second-hand  book  shops.  I  will  write  you  further  ere 
long.  Meanwhile  I  hope  to  have  your  decision  about  the 
telescope.  My  wife  desires  to  join  with  me  in  kindest 
remembrances.  Yours  most  sincerely,  DAVID  GILL. 

The  year  1913  found  the  Gills  once  more  at  Llandrindod, 
and  again  they  made  their  headquarters  for  the  summer 
at  Pitlochrie.  From  this  centre  he  was  able  to  pay  visits 
as  usual  to  his  friends,  when  he  shot  grouse  on  their 
moors.  He  was  also  within  easy  reach  of  Blair  Castle 
at  Blair  Athol  where  he  was  able  to  keep  up  his  old 
friendship  with  the  Tullibardines,  and  was  again  a  welcome 
guest  at  the  Duke  of  Athol's  highland  gathering.  He 
also  left  Pitlochrie  for  a  few  days  in  September  to  attend 
the  British  Association  meeting  at  Birmingham. 

Here,  also,  he  finished  the  index  and  completed  his 
monumental  work,  the  History  and  Description  of  the 
Cape  Observatory,  and  was  much  relieved  to  get  it  off  his 


i9i3]  "FINIS  CORONAT  OPUS"  353 

hands.  It  had  cost  him  much  labour  during  the  years 
since  he  left  the  Cape.  Much  of  the  work  upon  it  was 
done  during  the  last  three  years  of  his  life  in  the  present 
writer's  "  Shed "  at  Pitlochrie,  a  kind  of  hermitage 
containing  a  good  scientific  library  and  other  things  of 
interest. 

This  splendid  folio  volume  x  was  almost  the  final  act 
of  his  official  life.  On  its  last  page  might  be  written  the 
words  Finis  coronal  opus.  It  describes  all  the  instru- 
ments added  by  him  to  the  Cape  Observatory  and  is  a 
worthy  successor  to  W.  Struve's  description  of  Pulkowa 
Observatory.  It  also  contains  a  complete  history  of 
the  Cape  Observatory,  and,  most  interesting  of  all,  an 
actual  autobiography  of  himself  so  far  as  his  scientific 
work  is  concerned.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  present 
volume  deals  with  his  scientific  work  only  in  so  far  as 
parts  of  it  serve  to  illustrate  the  character  of  the  man. 
The  printing  of  the  History,  etc.,  was  completed,  and  the 
book  was  circulated  among  his  friends  before  his  final 
illness.  Subsequently,  during  and  after  that  last  illness, 
these  friends  uttered  a  paean  of  thanksgiving  that  he  had 
been  able  to  leave  behind  him  this  imperishable  memorial. 
Dr.  Backlund  of  Pulkowa  has  beautifully  spoken  of  the 
book  as  Gill's  Swan  Song. 

Dr.  Auwers,  who  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-six,  in  1915, 
one  year  after  Sir  David  Gill,  to  the  very  day,  January  24, 
wrote  his  last  letter  to  him  in  November  1913,  in  a  very 
cramped  handwriting,  to  express  appreciation  of  his  book. 
There  is  something  pathetic  about  the  almost  illegible 
letter. 

FROM  DR.  AUWERS 

BERLIN-LICHTERFELDE,  55  BELLEVUE  STR, 

IQI3>  November  13. 

MY  DEAREST  FRIEND, — Last  week  I  received  the  copy 
of  your  History  and  Description  of  the  Cape  Observatory 

1  Published  at  H.M.  Stationery  Office.     Price  255. 
A  A 


354  LAST  DAYS  [CHAP,  xxvil 

announced  some  days  before  by  your  last  letter,  and  I 
read  at  once  a  good  deal  of  the  history  and  turned  over 
the  drawings  of  ,the  instruments  erected  since  1889 
[1879?] — then  the  volume  was  laid  aside  for  a  time,  to 
be  more  carefully  read  when  my  eyes  are  in  a  better 
condition  than  presently.  In  the  now  prevailing  dark 
weather  it  is  difficult  for  me  to  read  any  longer  time,  and 
artificial  illumination  makes  things  only  worse.  But  I 
have  read  enough  of  the  big  book,  to  learn  that  it  is  full 
of  interest,  the  more  so  to  those  who  are  acquainted  with 
the  Cape  Observatory  and  its  astronomers,  and  will 
prove  useful  for  astronomers  in  general.  You  can  be 
proud  to  have  written  that  book,  the  largest  part  of  which 
is  a  history  and  description  of  your  own  scientific  life  ! 
Indeed,  the  words  of  Sir  John  Herschel,  who  in  his 
obituary  of  Bessel  so  justly  said  of  Bessel  with  regard  to 
astronomy  :  "  Lateritiam  invenit,  marmoream  reliquit," 
will  with  the  same  right  [be]  applied  by  the  history  of 
our  beloved  science  to  you  with  regard  to  the  Cape 
Observatory  ! 

I  thank  you  very  much  for  the  beautiful  present  you 
make  me  with  the  volume,  and  thank  you  most  sincerely 
for  the  very  kind  and  friendly  terms  in  which  you  acknow- 
ledge my  share  in  the  common  part  of  our  astronomical 
work.  You  only  should  not,  in  connection  with  the 
observations  of  1889,  have  spoken  of  self-sacrifice  on 
my  part  which  you  feared  would  never  be  adequately 
repaid — the  pains  I  took  to  assist  you  in  an  important 
undertaking  were  fully  repaid  at  once  during  my  sojourn 
at  the  Royal  Observatory,  by  the  profound  strengthening 
of  your  most  benefiting  friendship  and  by  the  gain  of 
your  most  excellent  and  truly  adored  wife's  sympathy. 
These  four  months  of  1889,  indeed,  were  one  of  the  most 
happy  periods  of  my  life — and  there  was  nothing  of  self- 
sacrifice  in  connection  with  them  ! 

Your  letter  of  June  last  was  like  a  blow  on  my  head — 
I  was  quite  ashamed  to  have  forgotten  your  7oth  birthday 
and  can  only  so  late  afterwards  express  my  satisfaction 
and  joy  that  you  have  reached  this  term  so  full  of  health 
and  activity.  The  reason  why  I  always  delayed  to  offer 
you  afterwards  congratulations  has  been,  that  I  hoped 
this  would  be  done  in  a  more  legible  form  than  by  these 
lines  if  I  waited,  but  there  seems  to  be  no  hope  of  recovery 
from  the  lameness  of  my  arm  which  nearly  prevents  me 


1913]  A  DEVOTED   FRIEND  355 

from  writing  (it  is  not  from  apoplexy  as  you  might  fear 
to  infer  from  this  statement,  but  age),  the  hand  not 
following  the  orders  given  to  it  and  making  only  micro- 
scopical motions,  by  which  I  compose  these  lines  only 
with  extreme  difficulty,  and  fear  you  will  find  considerable 
difficulty  to  read  them. 

(Contd  Nov.  16.)  I  forgot  the  approach  of  your  7oth 
birthday  under  the  impression  that  you  were  far  more 
than  five  years  behind  me  in  age — an  impression  occa- 
sioned by  the  still  continuous  amount  of  your  activity  in 
life  and  science  !  Both  of  us  have  worked  enormously, 
but  you  have  taken  the  better  part,  in  caring  for  a  relief 
for  mental  exertion  in  out  of  door  exercise,  which  I 
neglected  too  much,  and  besides,  you  are  benefited  with 
a  happier  temper  which  much  contributes  to  keep  you 
young. — In  my  feeling  of  shame  on  behalf  of  my  forget- 
f ulness  I  was  a  little  comforted  by  remembering  that  once 
Lady  Gill,  too,  forgot  your  birthday — in  the  preparation 
for  Ascension  ! 

The  idea  of  the  British  knights  of  the  order  p.l.m. 
to  congratulate  the  Emperor  on  his  jubilee,  was  a  very 
good  one — certainly  the  Emperor  will  have  been  much 
pleased  by  this  greeting. 

I  amused  myself  about  your  "  skrupel "  (I  do  not 
know  the  English  word,  "  hesitation  "  is  not  quite  the 
same)  how  properly  to  address  me.  My  official  title 
is  "Wirklicher  Geheimer  Ober — Regierungsrath,"  which 
means  a  Councillor  of  the  first  class  (there  are  five  classes), 
but  this  holds  good  only  when  I  have  to  do  with  the 
Court  and  the  Court-officials,  otherwise  I  do  not  lay  any 
stress  upon  titles  and  honours  except  those  of  a  scientific 
character,  and  to  my  English  friends  I  prefer  to  remain 
always  the  "  Dr.  Auwers  "  whom  they  knew  so  many 
years  and  to  whom  so  many  men  on  the  other  side 
of  the  channel,  men  still  living  and,  alas,  more  men 
already  gone  have  been  kind  throughout  all  this  time. 
It  is  since  1866  that  I  was  an  Associate  of  your 
R.A.S. 

I  feel  very  sorry  you  could  give  only  so  unsatisfactory 
news  of  Lady  Gill's  health  !  She  wrote  me  a  welcome 
letter  two  months  ago,  and  wanted  to  know  our  present 
lodgings — I  address  to  her  by  this  same  mail,  a  post 
card  bearing  a  photograph  of  it. 

Always  your  sincere  friend,  A.  AUWERS. 


356  LAST  DAYS  [CHAP,  xxvn 

Dr.  Hale  wrote  from  Pasadena,  on  December  6,  1913, 
a  letter  to  Gill  which  he  never  saw.  In  it  he  says — 

I  have  been  reading  your  book  on  the  Cape  Observatory 
with  the  keenest  interest,  and  wish  to  thank  you  very 
heartily  for  sending  it.  What  a  satisfaction  it  must  be 
for  you  to  look  back  upon  so  much  work  accomplished  ! 
But  your  present  activity  bids  fair  to  yield  an  equally 
important  contribution  to  science.  May  your  days  be 
long  in  the  land  ! 

All  scientific  men  felt  that  the  publication  of  this  book 
marked  the  closing  record  of  a  life  continuously,  selflessly 
and  ungrudgingly  devoted  to  the  service  of  astronomy. 
There  can  now  be  no  indiscretion  in  telling  what  was  an 
open  secret,  that  in  1913  Sir  David  Gill's  name  was  before 
the  Council  of  the  Royal  Society  for  the  award  of  the 
Copley  Medal,  their  highest  means  of  recognition.  Post- 
ponement for  a  year,  which  all  present  thought  quite 
safe,  was  preferred  for  three  reasons  :  the  recent  award  to 
Sir  David  of  a  Royal  Medal  in  1903,  Sir  David's  presence 
upon  the  Council,  and  the  urgent  claims  of  the  actual 
recipient.  His  is  not  the  only  case  (e.  g.  Poincare)  in 
late  years  where  postponement  has  meant  "  too  late." 
[Cf.  p.  379,  letter  to  Newcomb,  on  the  award  to  him  of 
the  Copley  Medal,  dated  January  14,  1891.] 

This  bald  narrative  of  Gill's  activities  is  now  nearly 
concluded.  It  is  partially  supplemented  by  extracts 
from  letters  in  the  Appendix  to  some  of  Sir  David's 
dearest  friends.  These,  chosen  as  samples,  convey  far 
more  the  spirit  of  the  man  in  work  or  pastime,  and  the 
ever-ready  friendship.  They  recall  the  cordial  hand- 
shake, the  interested  smile,  the  merry  eye-twinkle  and  the 
sincere  voice  of  the  man  who  could  count  his  enemies  at 
any  period  of  his  life  on  the  thumbs  of  one  hand. 

The  seeds  of  Gill's  last  illness  were  probably  laid  at 
Sir  Robert  Ball's  funeral.  On  December  6  he  went  to 
Cambridge,  walking  with  Knobel  and  Dyson  from  the 
station  in  a  thick  greatcoat  and  getting  overheated.  He 


1914]  ILLNESS  AND   DEATH  357 

then  attended  at  King's  College  Chapel  without  his  over- 
coat. It  was  a  treacherous  day,  and  after  the  ceremony 
he  stood  about  the  quad  conversing  with  others.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  he  thus  caught  a  chill,  just  as  Knobel 
did,  and  both  were  eventually  laid  up. 

About  this  time  he  was  several  times  out  pheasant 
shooting,  and  at  least  on  one  occasion  came  home 
thoroughly  drenched.  He  suffered  a  little  from  colds 
and  had  an  attack  of  deafness.  There  was  nothing  to 
cause  alarm. 

On  Friday,  December  12,  he  attended  the  meeting  of 
the  Royal  Astronomical  Society,  and  handed  over  to  the 
society  the  photograph  of  the  moon  which  he  had  taken 
in  1868  and  had  presented  to  the  late  Sir  William  Huggins. 
On  going  home  he  again  complained  of  deafness,  saying 
that  he  had  found  difficulty  in  hearing  what  was  said  at 
the  meeting. 

On  Saturday,  December  13,  he  saw  the  doctor,  who 
attended  to  his  ears,  after  which  he  seemed  to  hear 
better,  but  in  the  evening  he  was  dull  and  heavy. 

On  Sunday,  the  I4th,  he  took  a  short  walk  with  Lady 
Gill  in  Kensington  Gardens  and  the  Park,  but  returned 
sooner  than  usual  as  he  complained  of  being  tired.  He 
remained  at  home  all  afternoon,  setting  aside  his  invariable 
habit  of  attending  the  Sunday  afternoon  concerts  in  the 
Albert  Hall. 

He  did  not  go  out  on  Monday,  December  15,  but 
wrote  a  little  for  his  Introduction  to  De  Sitter's  work  on 
Jupiter's  satellites.  After  dinner  he  had  a  slight  shivering 
fit  which  might  be  due  to  influenza,  but  on  Tuesday,  the 
i6th,  Sir  Lauder  Brunton  pronounced  it  to  be  double 
pneumonia.  Pleurisy  followed,  with  much  pain  while  it 
lasted.  These  symptoms  disappeared,  but  the  strain  on 
the  heart's  action  had  been  too  great. 

Then  followed  five  weeks  of  perfect  patience  and  calm 
on  the  part  of  the  patient,  of  hopes  and  dreadful  doubts 
on  the  part  of  all  his  friends,  with  days  of  ups  and  of 


358  LAST  DAYS  [CHAP.  XXVII 

downs.  At  the  January  meeting  of  the  Royal  Astrono- 
mical Society  the  President*,  Major  Hills,  was  able  to  say, 
"  to-day  there  is  a  distinct  improvement,"  and  mingled 
with  other  marks  of  gladness,  the  audible  sigh  of  satis- 
faction from  the  breasts  of  such  an  audience  brought  a 
lump  to  the  throat. 

Throughout  the  illness  his  weakness  was  so  great  that 
visitors  could  not  see  him.     He  had  hardly  the  strength 
to   speak.     On   the   morning  of   January  24   he   passed 
quietly  away  in  the  arms  of  his  beloved  wife. 
****** 

The  sorrow  which  fell  upon  his  friends  was  profound, 
and  the  consternation  with  which  the  news  was  received 
by  astronomers  was  almost  incredible.  He  had  been  so 
vigorous  to  the  end  that  his  guidance  in  great  co-operative 
works  had  been  confidently  expected  to  last,  at  least,  for 
ten  more  years.  At  the  time  of  the  fatal  announcement, 
after  the  long  period  of  hope  and  dread,  it  seemed  to  his 
astronomical  friends  that  the  progress  of  astronomy  had 
been  suddenly  stopped.  In  some  of  its  greatest  under- 
takings the  two  years  that  have  followed  seem  almost  to 
confirm  this  foreboding.  The  astronomical  world  hardly 
knew  till  that  moment  how  much  they  were  relying  upon 
this  man  for  their  guidance  in  so  many  things.  This 
has  been  the  universal  testimony  of  those  who  had  worked 
with  him. 

During  one  of  his  last  visits  to  Aberdeen,  undertaken 
in  connexion  with  a  proposed  Chair  of  Astronomy  at  that 
university,  he  had  wandered  with  the  Principal,  Sir 
George  Adam  Smith,  over  the  beautiful  and  ancient  Old 
St.  Machar  Cathedral ;  and,  struck  by  the  solemn  beauty 
of  the  site,  he  there  and  then  purchased  the  site  of  a 
grave  for  his  wife  and  himself,  situated  in  a  ruined  part 
of  the  Cathedral. 

On  January  27  a  small  company  of  devoted  friends 
accompanied  the  body  to  King's  Cross  station,  and 
with  it  his  widow,  accompanied  by  a  nurse  and  a  few 


i9i4]  THE  FUNERAL  359 

relatives  and  friends,  travelled  to  Aberdeen  by  the  night 
express. 

On  January  28  a  large  and  representative  body  of 
mourners  assembled  at  the  station,  and  subsequently 
joined  the  funeral  cortege  which  proceeded  to  St.  Machar 
Cathedral,  in  Old  Aberdeen.  The  coffin  was  hidden  by 
the  wreaths,  which  numbered  nearly  one  hundred,  and 
included  floral  tributes  and  tokens  from  all  parts  of  the 
world. 

The  interment  took  place  outside  the  existing  cathedral 
building  in  what  was  formerly  the  north  aisle  of  the 
transept,  close  to  the  site  of  the  great  altar,  an  impressive 
service  being  conducted  at  the  graveside  by  Canon 
Erskine  Hill  of  St.  Andrew's  Episcopal  Church,  Aberdeen 
—the  church  in  which  Sir  David  Gill  was  baptised,  in 
which  he  worshipped  in  his  early  days,  and  with  which 
his  people  had  been  connected  for  many  years. 

The  pall  bearers  were  Mr.  A.  J.  Mitchell  Gill  (brother) ; 
Mr.  A.  W.  Mitchell  (cousin) ;  Principal  George  Adam 
Smith  (representing  the  University  of  Aberdeen) ;  the 
Right  Hon.  Robert  Farquharson  of  Finzean,  Vice- 
Lieutenant  of  the  County  of  Aberdeen,  representing 
Lord  Aberdeen;  Mr.  Harvey  Hall;  Mr.  William  Black; 
Professor  Niven ;  Mr.  A.  J.  W.  Storie ;  and  Dr.  Bruce. 

The  tenants  on  the  estate  of  Blairythan  were  represented. 

Floral  tokens  were  sent  by  the  observatories  of  the 
Cape,  Greenwich,  Paris,  Pulkowa,  Mount  Wilson  (U.S.A.) 
and  other  scientific  bodies. 

At  the  same  time  a  memorial  service  was  held  at  St. 
Mary  Abbot,  Kensington.  It  was  conducted  by  Pre- 
bendary Pennefather,  assisted  by  the  Rev.  C.  Balmer, 
and  was  attended  by  a  large  number  of  the  sorrowing 
friends  who  mourned  his  loss. 

The  following  description  of  the  grave  was  written  by 
Lady  Gill  herself— 

"  My  sacred  ground  lies  in  Old  Machar  Cathedral, 
within,  and  on  the  west  side  of,  the  half  ruined  wall  of  the 


360  LAST  DAYS  [CHAP.  XXVII 

north  transept  built  by  Bishop  Lychton  in  1430.  This 
part  of  the  transept  is  known  as  St.  John's  Aisle,  and 
when  the  ground  was  being  made  ready  for  my  beloved 
dead,  there  was  evidence  to  show  that  he  lies  near  the 
foot  of  the  high  altar.  ^ 

"  This  wall  being  under  the  control  of  '  The  Com- 
missioners for  the  Preservation  of  Scottish  Ancient  Build- 
ings and  Monuments/  I  had  to  obtain  their  permission 
to  remove  the  disfiguring  whitewash  in  order  to  insert 
the  mural  tablet.  On  that  being  done,  seven  roughly 
dressed  sandstones  were  discovered  just  over  the  centre 
of  the  ground,  which,  according  to  Mr.  Kelly  (an  Aber- 
deen architect  and  antiquary),  indicates  that  they 
formed  part  of  a  pier  between  two  long  narrow  windows. 

"  The  tablet,  as  well  as  the  curbstone  and  corner  blocks, 
is  of  grey  Aberdeen  granite  and  the  connecting  bars  are 
of  bronze.  The  grave  is  turfed  over  and  no  flowers  are 
placed  upon  it,  except  when  I  am  able  to  renew  them 
daily — only  the  chaplet  of  laurel  leaning  against  the  old 
wall. 

"  David  himself  chose  the  ground  in  1909,  while  we 
were  staying  at  Aboyne  near  Aberdeen,  during  the 
summer  of  that  year.  He  spoke  enthusiastically  to  me 
afterwards  of  the  sanctity  of  the  site  and  the  peaceful 
beauty  of  its  surroundings,  and  so  we  decided  to  buy  this 
ground  for  our  burial. 

"  I  never  saw  it  until  the  28th  of  last  January,  when 
we  laid  him  to  rest. 

"I.  S.  G. 


[To  face  page  360. 


THE   END. 


APPENDICES 


APPENDIX   I 


LIGHTER  CORRESPONDENCE   OF   DAVID   GILL 

Letters  to  Miss  Agnes  Clerke,  Professor  Simon  Newcomb, 
Professor  Kapteyn  and  Professor  G.  E.  Hale. 

SIR  DAVID  GILL  was  a  voluminous  correspondent  during 
every  part  of  his  life.  When  Airy  and  Adams  were  gone  there 
were  no  renowned  astronomers  left  in  England  who  could  co- 
operate with  him  in  his  particular  lines  of  research.  His 
situation  in  the  southern  hemisphere  detached  him  from 
insularity,  and  his  astronomical  correspondence  acquired  a 
cosmopolitan  character.  His  long  letters,  commonly  of  fifteen 
or  twenty  pages,  quarto,  contained  valuable  discussions. 
Those  dealing  with  the  design  and  methods  of  using  instru- 
ments of  precision  would  form  the  basis  of  a  valuable  text- 
book. For  the  purpose  of  this  book  only  a  small  selection  of 
letters  can  be  inserted,  as  examples  of  the  spirit  in  which 
he  maintained  friendships  with  astronomers  in  all  parts  of 
the  world. 

LETTERS  TO  Miss  AGNES  CLERKE 

A  letter,  dated  November  7,  1888,  gives  her  information 
about  the  progress  of  solar  parallax  observations  on  Iris  by 
himself  and  Finlay. 

CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE,  November  14,  1888. 

MY  DEAR  Miss  CLERKE, — Our  week's  work  on  Iris  is  as 
follows.  [Details  given.] 

So  you  see  only  one  day  has  been  lost  in  the  week.  You 
really  have  run  away  from  the  fine  weather,  ft  Hydri  is 
polished  off,  a  Gruis  and  Fomalhaut  are  in  hand  in  the 
evenings — the  division  errors  drag  their  slow  length  along — 
the  photographs  go  on — the  bar  comparisons — the  meridian 
observations — the  observation  of  occupations,  the  zenith 
telescope  and  the  theodolite  work,  but  I  am  too  hard-pressed 
for  eyesight  to  deal  with  star  spectra.  I  must  wait  till  Iris 
is  over. 

363 


364  LIGHTER  CORRESPONDENCE 

Grubb  sends  out  his  plan  of  the  Dome  which  has  been 
approved  by  the  Admiralty.  It  is  two  feet  bigger  than  I 
asked  for  !  !  ! — They  abused  me  for  asking  a  20  ft.  observa- 
tory and  wanted  to  make  me  adopt  18  feet.  After  a  fight 
they  agree  to  20  feet,  and  now  they  want  to  give  me  21 
feet  10"  !  !  ! — But  my  foundations  are ,  laid  for  the  20  ft. 
observatory.  .  .  . 

More  news  next  week. — Always  yr  sincere  friend, 

DAVID  GILL. 

CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE,  November  28,  1888. 

MY  DEAR  Miss  CLERKE, — We  were  glad  to  hear  that 
reasonably  good  arrangements  had  been  made  to  convey  you 
home — and  that  all  were  well  on  board — I  only  trust  your 
good  people  at  home  were  not  much  frightened.  [It  appears 
that  Miss  Clerke's  ship  had  a  collision  with  the  Tartar (1). 
Here  follow  details  of  Iris  observations.] 

Last  week  we  put  on  the  micrometer  again  on  the  7"  Equ1, 
and  had  a  clean  up  there.  Finlay  and  I  roared  with  laughter 
on  examining  the  floor — your  track  on  the  floor  in  search  of 
the  Decln  circle  was  marked  by  a  perfect  deluge  of  oil — what 
state  are  the  dresses  in  in  which  you  observed  ? — These  spots 
shall  be  sacred  as  Rizzio's  blood  in  Holyrood  Palace.  I  can 
only  send  a  few  lines  this  mail. — Always  sincerely  yre, 

DAVID  GILL. 

CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE,  December  12,  1888. 

MY  DEAR  Miss  CLERKE, — We  were  so  much  delighted  to 
get  yr  letters  from  Madeira,  and  if  we  only  learn  by  to-morrow's 
mail  that  yr  people  at  home  were  not  anxious  about  you  we 
shall  feel  quite  content  that  you  had  a  little  adventure  by  the 
way. 

I  got  a  blowing  up  about  my  last  letter  to  you — it  did  not 
go  through  the  censor's  office,  and  I  am  told  on  the  best 
authority  that  had  it  been  submitted  to  that  ordeal  it  would 
certainly  have  been  added  to  the  Suppressed  Correspond- 
ence. It  was  very  unkind  of  me  to  put  in  anything  about 
oil  and  the  search  for  the  Decln  circle — in  fact  I  caught  it — a 
Tartar — so  did  you  by  the  way. 

My  little  wife  has  not  been  well  for  the  past  fortnight — 
severe  continuous  headache.  We  are  going  off  to  Kalk  Bay 
for  a  week's  rest  and  change. 

Iris  has  ended  quite  triumphantly — with  good  observa- 
tions on  Nov.  28,  29,  30,  Dec.  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  8,  9,  10.  On 
Nov.  10  [Dec.  10  ?]  I  recorded  for  the  first  time  in  my  life 
Images  I  Steadiness  I — absolutely  perfect  definition — and  at 
a  zenith  distance  of  70°.  So  far  Elkin  has  corresponding 


MISS  CLERKE  365 

observations  on  about  half  the  total  number  of  nights — but 
his  last  report  only  goes  to  Oct.  27.  We  have  so  many  ob- 
servations after  Nov.  2  that  we  can  almost  make  sure  of 
utilizing  any  observations  whatever  that  Elkin  may  get.  In 
all  we  have  43  nights  on  which  observations  were  secured — 
and  to-night  and  to-morrow  night  are  still  before  us. 

Last  night  we  had  another  Remenyi  Concert — truly 
glorious — how  I  wish  that  you  could  have  been  here  to  hear 
him — he  is  coming  out  here  this  afternoon. 

****** 

My  wife  sends  her  kind  love — give  my  kindest  regards  to 
all  yr  home  circle. — Believe  me  always  yr  sincere  friend, 

DAVID  GILL. 


CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE,  January  16,  1889. 

MY  DEAR  Miss  CLERKE, — I  am  afraid  I  am  what  our 
friend  Major  Morris  would  call  a  "  baad  booy."  Just  after 
the  Iris  observations  were  over  we  went  to  Kalk  Bay,  and 
there  I  lay  on  the  rocks  and  read  trash  for  a  week — and  was 
much  the  better  for  the  process. 

We  came  back  for  Xmas.  Sir  Chas.  Metcalfe  dined  with  us 
in  the  middle  of  the  day  and  told  us  all  about  his  adventures 
in  Bechuanaland  when  surveying  the  railway  which  I  earnestly 
hope  may  be  made.  Boerdom  and  the  Bond  are  of  course 
against  it.  Then  we  all  turned  out  on  the  lawn  and  played 
at  rounders  with  the  Finlay,  Pett  and  Maclear  youngsters  till 
we  were  fairly  done  up.  Then  the  world  was  filled  with  the 
excitement  of  a  cricket  week.  Major  Morris  was  quite  mad 
for  8  or  10  days  and  did  nothing  but  go  and  watch  the 
English  v.  Cape  matches — a  dissipation  which  he  has  averaged 
by  tremendous  hard  work  ever  since. 

We  have  had  since  Dec.  28  the  finest  run  of  weather  I  have 
ever  seen  at  the  Cape — exquisite  clear  sky — no  south  easter 
and  superb  definition. 

So  the  Heliometer  has  been  very  busy  both  evening  and 
morning.  I  was  just  on  the  verge  of  knocking  up  when  a 
couple  of  cloudy  nights — last  night  and  the  preceding  one — 
have  given  me  rest. 

So  busy  was  I  that  I  had  almost  overlooked  my  Report  to 
the  R.  A.  S.  for  the  year — I  wrote  it  last  night — and  it  will 
be  just  in  time.  You  will  find  yr  visit  mentioned. 

I  hope  yr  article  will  come  out  in  the  January  N°  of  the 
Contemporary.  I  much  wish  to  see  it.  The  Observatory 
letter  reads  well. 

I  am  glad  to  hear  you  are  so  fairly  in  the  way  to  mark, 
learn  and  inwardly  digest  all  possible  particulars  of  the 


366  LIGHTER  CORRESPONDENCE 

Herschels — are  you  going  to  Collingwood?  You  will  like 
Sir  William  I  think.  I  had  much  pleasure  in  making  his 
acquaintance  at  Oxford  in  1877. 

Tell  me  about  any  news  of  yr  book  in  Germany.  I  don't 
think  yr  music  loving  Dublin  friend  is  wrong — an  hour  or 
two  of  Handel  &  Co.  every  day  will  brighten  the  Astronomy 
and  do  you  good — to  say  nothing  of  the  joy  you  can  give  to 
yr  astronomical  and  other  friends.  Believe  me  life  is  not  too 
short  nor  the  day  too  short  for  a  little  music  every  day — and 
when  we  come  home  in  1890  I  hope  to  hear  some  results  of  yr 
study. 

Mouchez  writes  me  again  that  the  1891  meeting  will  after 
all  be  the  important  one,  but  that  one  could  not  lose  the 
opportunity  of  the  exhibition  to  have  a  meeting  in  1890. 
I  do  not  see  the  connection  myself — but  I  am  not  French. 
So  we  shall  leave  the  exhibition  to  take  care  of  itself  but 
come  to  the  meeting  of  1891. 

I  think  that  Dr.  Auwers  will  come  in  June  for  3  months 
and  take  part  in  the  observations  of  Victoria.  It  will  be  a 
great  joy  to  me  to  have  him  here. 

The  chief  observatory  event  is  the  arrival  of  a  baby — the 
Father — Mr.  Ray  Woods — is  beside  himself  with  pride  and 
joy.  Before  the  arrival  his  chief  thought  was  the  Durch- 
musterung — Mr.  Merriman  who  had  been  absent  for  a  few 
weeks  in  the  Transvaal  had  not  heard  of  the  new  arrival,  and 
on  meeting  Mr.  Woods  by  chance  enquired  as  usual  after  the 
"  magnum  opus,"  expecting  a  detailed  account  of  progress 
in  the  photography  of  the  S.  hemisphere. — Imagine  his  sur- 
prise when  Woods  gushingly  replied,  "  Oh,  very  well  indeed, 
thank  you,  such  a  fine  fellow,  and  as  like  his  mother  as 
possible." 

V)  Argus  is  still  brightening — quite  6|  mag. — but  I  cannot 
yet  make  out  a  distinctive  spectrum — colour  reddish  orange. 

I  wish  one  had  more  time  and  could  go  on  for  ever  at  work. 
But  3  sets  of  Heliometer  obs.  at  night — and  3  sets  of  divn 
errors  by  day  are  as  much  as  my  eyes  can  manage — and  I 
cannot  go  skipping  about  the  pleasant  fields  of  miscellaneous 
observing  till  I  have  broken  the  back  of  my  Heliometer 
work — However,  yr  bequest  rj  Argus  shall  be  carefully  looked 
to.  ... 

****** 

Always  sincerely  yours,  DAVID  GILL. 

P.S.  Poor  Christie — last  mails  news  of  the  death  of  his 
wife  is  very  sad.  I  feel  for  him  most  sincerely — he  was 
deeply  attached  to  his  wife  and  she  to  him — her  loss  will 
make  a  sad  blank  in  his  life. 


MISS  CLERKE  367 

CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE,  March  9,  1889. 
MY  DEAR  Miss  CLERKE, 

****** 

I  must  plunge  at  once  into  the  interesting  matter  of  yr 
Chap.  XVII.  You  will  find  yr  MSS.  (herewith  returned) 
disfigured  by  pencil  scribblings  all  along  the  margins — 
written  in  the  delighted  and  at  the  same  time  critical  attitude 
of  first  perusal.  I  think  you  will  find  them  legible  enough — 
but  perhaps  not  very  useful.  On  two  or  three  points  perhaps 
it  is  necessary  to  explain  further.  [Here  follow  valuable 
facts,  chiefly  historical,  for  Miss  Clerke's  sole  use.  Only  one 
criticism,  illustrating  the  man's  mental  attitude,  is  suitable 
for  these  pages,  where  he  says  :]  I  cannot  bear  metaphysical 
questions — such  as  so  many  of  my  countrymen  love — -but  I 
confess  to  you  that  I  do  not  like  the  airy  way  in  which  you 
make  the  assertion  "  since  the  stellar  system  is  of  finite 
dimensions/'  If  you  adopt  the  theory  that  the  star  clusters 
form  part  of  our  sidereal  system — and  are  not  separate  and 
more  distant  systems  of  which  there  may  be  an  infinite 
variety  and  infinite  number — if  you  mean  by  the  stellar 
system  all  those  bodies  which  we  call  stars — and  which 
represent  to  our  eyes  the  largest  part  of  creation  that  we 
know — which  indeed  so  far  as  our  minds  can  grasp  such  a 
thing,  are  the  whole  embodiment  of  existent  material  matter, 
then  you  are  by  this  statement  placing  a  limit  to  the  extent 
of  existent  matter  which  I  find  it  as  difficult  to  do  as  to  limit 
the  conceptions  of  infinite  power  and  of  an  infinitely  powerful 
creator.  It  is  useless  to  pursue  an  argument  on  such  a  sub- 
ject— you  come  at  once  to  the  unbreakable  and  insurmount- 
able wall  against  which  all  the  mental  philosophers  and  meta- 
physicians have  been  beating  their  heads  since  the  days  of 
Plato  without  making  the  slightest  impression  against  that 
obstacle — the  boundary  wall  of  the  little  hollow  sphere  which 
limits  the  mental  conceptions  of  man,  and  which  by  death  he 
alone  can  pass  to  the  freedom  of  the  space  beyond — to  the 
wider  knowledge  of  God  and  his  creatures. 

If  you  say,  "  Provided  that  the  stellar  system  is  of  finite 
dimensions  "  then  so  and  so — you  are  then  in  a  strictly 
logical  satisfactory  position. 

[The  letter  proceeds  to  describe  and  discuss  the  plan  which 
Professor  Kapteyn  had  just  sent  him  for  obtaining  stellar 
parallaxes  accurately  and  in  shoals  by  exposing  the  same 
photographic  plate  at  two  intervals  of  six  months.  He  also 
describes  a  plan  privately  put  forth  by  Pickering  for  producing 
a  photographic  chart  of  the  whole  heavens  in  both  hemi- 
spheres, with  a  single  specially  designed  telescope,  in  a  few 


368  LIGHTER  CORRESPONDENCE 

years.  He  says  :  "  As  a  mere  map  making  plan  this  is  infinitely 
superior  to  the  Paris  plan,  and  will  cost  in  the  end  far  less."] 

I  am  glad  to-  have  som£  explanation  of  the  non-appearance 
of  yr  note  in  the  Feb?  number  of  the  Observatory.  There  are 
few  reasons  I  could  excuse  more  readily  than  the  distraction 
produced  by  golf. 

There  is  no  star  on  yr  list  marked  r.  Velorum.  There  is  a 
star  r  Argus  ioh  ijm  30s, — 41°  5'  29",  mag.  5-3,  N°  310  of  yr 
list.  Yr  only  note  is  "  observed  Oct.  10  when  spectrum 
seemed  continuous."  I  will  look  the  matter  up  after  publica- 
tion of  yr  note  in  March  number. 

What  a  most  wonderful  photograph  that  is  of  Roberts  of 
the  Andromeda  nebula — a  nebular  Saturn  ? — with  all  manner 
of  subsidiary  vortices  in  the  rings.  It  must  influence  your 
views  on  the  nature  of  nebulae. 

I  should  say  most  decidedly  stick  to  Dreyer's  Catalogue, 
and  its  numbers,  it  is  practically  complete — certainly  so  for 
your  purposes. 

I  cannot  write  more  this  mail.  I  can  only  thank  you  for 
the  great  pleasure  that  the  reading  of  this  chapter  has  given 
me,  and  I  should  very  much  like  to  see  others. 

My  chief  news  is  that  Dr.  Auwers  is  to  sail  for  the  Cape  on 
May  3  to  pay  us  a  visit — that  is  a  great  joy. 

The  survey  reductions  are  finished  and  Morris  left  yesterday 
for  Port  Elizabeth  to  resume  field  work. 

The  Transvaal  is  beginning  the  geodetic  survey  which  I 
planned  for  them.  I  have  its  scientific  direction,  and  one 
of  their  surveyors  came  down  a  week  ago  to  remain  a  few 
months  and  practise  astronomical  observations  of  Latitude, 
Longitude  and  Azimuth.  I  have  long  worked  for  this  and 
am  happy  in  its  realization  and  think  that  in  course  of  a 
few  years  we  shall  be  able  to  show  important  geodetic 
results. 

My  little  wife  is  fairly  well — a  little  return  of  the  old 
suffering.  She  joins  me  in  all  kind  messages  to  you  and 
yours. 

Believe  me  always  yr  sincere  friend,  DAVID  GILL. 

Where  did  you  pick  up  such  a  "  sporting "  phrase  as 
"  Swiftness  may  be  safely  backed  against  conspicuous  lustre  " 
(p.  18).  Was  it  in  the  Bohemia  of  the  observatory  or  in  the 
racing  society  of  Government  House  ?  !  !  ! 

CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE,  March  15,  1889. 

MY  DEAR  Miss  CLERKE, — Your  letter  of  I4th  Feb?  has 
just  arrived,  and  the  Chapter  on  Star  Distances  was  sent 


MISS  CLERKE  369 

off  by  last  mail — with  numerous  notes  thereon.  Elkin  will 
certainly  work  further  on  a  Lyrse — but  his  results  are  un- 
questionably far  more  trustworthy  than  any  previous  deter- 
minations of  the  parallax  of  that  star — although  I  confess  to 
you  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  overturn  Brunnow's 
evidence — the  first  paper  of  the  Dunsink  Series.  And"  yet  we 
have  in  a  second  paper  of  the  same  Series,  on  further  measures 
of  a  Lyrae,  a  confession  and  a  proof  of  change  of  habit  in 
bisecting  the  brighter  star.  That  is  really  the  root  and  the 
foundation  of  the  Heliometer  method — you  perfectly  equalize 
the  brightness  of  the  two  images  under  measurement — what- 
ever change  of  habit  of  bisection  may  occur  it  affects  equally 
both  stars  and  the  two  opposite  pairs  of  stars,  and  its  effect 
on  the  parallax  entirely  disappears. 

With  bright  stars  the  chromatic  dispersion  of  the  atmo- 
sphere produces  probably  a  different  displacement  of  the 
point  bisected  than  it  does  in  case  of  faint  stars — and  there 
are  other  curious  sources  of  error  when  stars  of  dissimilar 
brightness  are  compared.  Then  again,  as  I  pointed  out  in  my 
marginal  notes,  there  is  proof  in  Elkin 's  work  alone  of  con- 
siderable possibilities  of  variation  in  the  absolute  parallax  of 
the  comparison  stars. 

The  details  of  Elkin's  work  are  not  yet  published — but  I 
should  say  on  the  whole  it  must  be  and  is  most  thoroughly 
sound.  But  we  can  only  talk  of  absolute  parallaxes  now 
when  we  have  determined  parallaxes  relative  to  a  number  of 
comparison  stars  and  have  some  sound  notion  of  the  average 
parallax  of  such  comparison  stars. 

The  review  of  yr  book  in  the  National  Zeitung  is  evidently 
a  species  of  German  Jingo  production,  and  yr  sister's  guess  as 
to  the  origin  of  the  inspiration  of  it  may  be  nearer  the  truth 
than  she  supposed  when  she  made  her  joke.  It  is  rabid 
nonsense  to  say  that  the  German  Transit  of  Venus  results 
will  be  peculiarly  triumphant,  as  I  happen  to  know  more 
intimately  than  most  people  do  Dr.  Auwers,  the  organizer  of 
the  whole  work  and  the  Editor  and  reducer  of  the  results. 
His  view  is  that  the  chief  value  of  the  expedition  was  the 
determination  of  the  geographical  positions  of  many  places 
not  well  known  before,  the  impulse  to  invent  new  methods 
of  astronomy  and  new  instruments  which  was  the  indirect 
result  of  turning  many  minds  to  one  subject.  The  resulting 
parallax  will  be  an  approximation  to  the  truth  but  by  no 
means  a  definitive  settlement  of  the  question.  This  is  Auwers' 
idea  and  he  knows  more  about  the  matter  than  any  one  else 
at  present  and  certainly  a  great  deal — infinitely  more — than 
yr  reviewer.  More  than  that,  he  is  coming  out  here  himself 
to  share  in  the  work  of  the  Victoria  Observations  in  June, 
BB 


370  LIGHTER  CORRESPONDENCE 

July  and  August,  because  with  you  he  believes  that  the  Helio- 
meter-Minor-Planet-method  is  the  right  one. 

*         '    *  jk  *  *  * 

I  don't  see  that  you  could  depart  very  far  from  the  historical 
style  in  the  star  distance  chapter.  You  cannot  evolve  stellar 
parallaxes  from  yr  inner  consciousness — and  you  must  be 
peculiarly  careful  about  facts. 

I  want  to  see  the  other  chapters  as  soon  as  you  can  let  me 
have  them.  I  write  at  once  and  in  haste — for  many  things 
press. — Always  Sincerely  Yre,  DAVID  GILL. 

[P.S.]  There  are  some  good  notes  on  Stellar  parallax  in 
the  Sidereal  Messenger  for  Feb?  by  Monch  (p.  62). 

I  have  just  got  a  formal  letter  from  Tacchini  with  a  Diploma 
intimating  my  election  as  a  corresponding  member  of  the 
Italian  Spectroscopic  Society.  It  must  be  a  sort  of  token  of 
favours  spectroscopic  to  come  from  me  for  I  don't  think  I 
have  done  much  as  yet  to  promote  spectroscopy.  I  had 
perhaps  some  claim  to  the  Acad.  Line.  Rome,  but  none  to  the 
Specc  Society.  D.  G. 

FRENCH  HOEK,  April  7,  1889. 

MY  DEAR  Miss  CLERKE, — We  came  here  8  days  ago  for  a 
little  holiday  after  the  summer  heat.  Since  the  beginning 
of  the  year  my  little  wife  has  been  suffering  from  the  old 
trouble  and  pain  which  she  had  before  you  came  to  the  Cape. 
Only  on  this  occasion  the  suffering  has  been  more  continuous 
and  more  severe. 

****** 

I  have  had  a  terribly  busy  time.  One  by  one  my  com- 
puters have  been  going  off  to  the  gold  fields — and  I  have  had 
to  write  to  the  Admiralty  to  send  some  out  from  England,  as 
no  suitable  young  men  can  be  found  at  the  Cape.  Thus  I  am 
not  able  to  write  you  as  much  as  I  would  wish  to  do. 

But  now  to  resume  the  thread  of  our  correspondence. 
[Further  considerations  re  parallax  of  stars,  and  particularly 
of  Groombridge,  1830.] 

The  Contemporary  article  arrived  on  the  eve  of  our  leaving 
for  this  place,  and  I  read  it  in  the  train.  I  have  since  re-read 
it  carefully.  .  .  . 

The  paper  reads  delightfully  in  print.  All  papers  do  read 
so  much  better  in  print  than  in  MSS. — and  you  know  how 
much  I  liked  it  in  the  latter  form.  You  are  really  most 
eloquent  on  the  flowers,  and  almost  equally  so  on  the  southern 
stars.  I  should  have  thought  it  wd  have  been  the  other  way — 
but  then  you  use  such  a  delightfully  astronomical  and  at  the 
same  time  absolutely  perfect  expression  "  a  Milky  Way  of 


MISS  CLERKE  371 

lilies  " — that  I  don't  know  whether  the  flowers  owe  most  to 
the  stars  or  the  stars  to  the  flowers. 

****** 

I  look  forward  to  reading  Ball's  article  in  Macmillan — 
such  articles  as  that  are  very  helpful — they  accustom  the 
public  mind  and  the  minds  of  those  who  hold  the  purse  strings 
to  the  needs  of  astronomy. 

I  do  not  think  you  have  seen  the  Orion  Nebula  with  the 
naked  eye.  You  have  seen,  as  I  see,  a  rather  ill  denned 
looking  star — which  looks  as  if  it  were  several  stars  together — 
too  close  for  definite  separation  by  the  naked  eye — but  I  do 
not  think  that  any  one  could  say,  who  did  not  know  that  there 
was  a  nebula  there — that  is  either  a  nebula  or  a  star  cluster. 

Now  you  can  say  that  of  the  Andromeda  Nebula  and  of 
many  star  clusters  like  Presepe  in  Cancer — but  I  do  not  think 
any  one  could  say  so  of  the  Orion  Nebula.  I  certainly  cannot 
say  that  I  see  more  than  the  possibility  of  a  few  fairly  bright 
stars  near  each  other,  and  my  eyes  are  as  good  as  those  of 
most  people. 

I  was  delighted  to  see  that  Mr.  Roberts  x  had  presented 
Ball  with  a  Reflector.  Ball  will  use  it  well — and  he  will 
probably  develope  accurate  measurement  by  photography. 
He  has  a  very  fine  mechanical  genius  and  will  plan  his  work 
well.  He  is  getting  a  little  past  the  time  of  life  when  men 
like  much  getting  up  in  the  early  morning  at  the  uncomfort- 
able hours  which  rigid  parallax  observations  require,  when 
all  possible  personal  errors  have  to  be  investigated — but  he 
will  get  a  photographic  assistant  to  do  that  for  him,  and  will 
look  to  the  measurements  and  their  planning  and  discussion 

himself. 

****** 

I  am  delighted  to  hear  that  Common  has  got  an  assistant. 
Such  an  instrument  as  his  deserves  to  be  worked  at  every 
opportunity — and  a  busy  man  like  Common  cannot  do  that. 

I  am  delighted  to  hear  that  the  giant  glass  discs  are  cast 
for  the  Calif ornian  5  foot  refractor  [sic].  I  hardly  agree  with 
you  that  3  foot  is  the  limit  of  useful  size.  ... 

I  hope  they  will  go  in  for  a  better  mounting.  I  warned 
Newcomb  of  the  error  of  the  American  tendency.  The  Lick 
mounting  is  unquestionably  too  light — How  I  should  like  to 
plan  a  mounting  for  the  5  foot.  It  will  be  a  great  pity  if  this 
5  ft.  is  not  in  some  way  available  for  photography. 
****** 

Many  thanks  for  the  references  to  Ball's,  Holden's  and 
Sir  C.  Metcalfe's  papers  in  various  magazines.  I  shall  read  all 

1  [Isaac  Roberts.] 


372  LIGHTER  CORRESPONDENCE 

with  much  interest,  and  I  shall  always  be  very  grateful  for 

similar  references  in  future,. 

**-**#* 
Always  Sincerely  Y™,  DAVID  GILL. 

CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE,  July  i,  1889. 

MY  DEAR  Miss  CLERKE, — I  have  allowed  several  mails  to 
pass  without  telling  you  that  yr  two  Chapters  arrived  safely. 

Auwers  and  I  have  gone  over  one,  and  I  hope  before  next 
mail  that  we  shall  be  able  to  go  over  the  other  also — and  I 
hope  to  have  time  to  send  you  a  letter  about  them.  I  only 
write  now  a  few  lines  of  apology.  I  am  so  busy. 

Most  of  my  computers  are  off  to  the  gold  fields — even 
Mr.  Freeman  is  gone,  and  having  cabled  for  more  from  England 
the  Admiralty  want  a  report — which  I  am  now  writing. 

Natal  wants  a  decision  from  me  about  her  share  of  the 
survey — and  this  is  the  time  for  preparing  estimates  for  next 
financial  year — and  the  new  Photographic  Dome  is  being  put 
up — and  the  Victoria  Observations,  and  arrangements  for 
telegraphic  longitudes  on  the  W.  Coast  of  Africa — Capt. 
Pullen  as  travelling  observer, — All  was  just  ready,  his  personal 
equation  determined,  and  he  was  to  sail  in  H.M.S.  Peacock — 
and  behold  to-day  that  ship  is  ordered  off  to  Delagoa  Bay 
with  H.M.S.  Bramble  also  to  look  after  British  v.  Portuguese 
interests  there.  So  new  plans  have  to  be  made. 

So  I  am  in  a  snorl  of  work,  and  you  will  I  hope  excuse 
these  hurried  lines  from  yr  Sincere  friend,  DAVID  GILL. 

P.S. — 16  sets  of  parallax  obs.  of  Victoria  up  to  date.  Please 
mark,  learn  and  inwardly  digest  Vogel's  recent  paper  in  the 
Astron.  Nach.  on  his  photographic  determination,  by  means  of 
his  new  spectroscope,  of  stellar  motions  in  the  line  of  sight. 
Contrast,  for  example,  his  results  for  the  motion  of  Capella 
with  those  at  Greenwich.  See  how  perfectly  the  results  are 
brought  into  perfect  accord  when  corrected  for  the  motion  of 
the  Earth.  One  almost  looks  for  the  time  when  the  velocity 
of  the  Earth's  motion  (i.  e.  the  0r  parallax)  may  be  deter- 
mined in  this  way.  I  think  it  is  the  most  important  advance 
in  practical  astronomy  made  at  one  step  for  many  a  long  day. 
His  results  in  accuracy  are  to  those  of  Greenwich  as  the 
accuracy  of  Bradley  to  that  of  Ptolemy. 

My  wifie  has  been  very  well  indeed  since  return  from  French 
Hoek  till  a  couple  of  days  ago  when  pain  returned. 

CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE,  September  u,  1889. 

MY  DEAR  Miss  CLERKE, — I  am  quite  ashamed  of  myself  but 
Auwers  and  Victoria  together  have  been  too  much  for  me — 


MISS  CLERKE  373 

all  my  time  has  been  so  closely  occupied.  But  we  have  got 
a  very  splendid  set  of  observations  over  3100  pointings  on  51 
evenings  and  48  mornings — and  these  alone  without  the  work 
of  any  other  observatory  would  give  not  a  bad  value  of  the 
0r  parallax.  But  combined  with  the  Yale,  Leipzig,  Got- 
tingen  and  Bamberg  (?)  observations  should  make  a  tremen- 
dously exact  determination.  Hartwig  of  Bamberg  I  hear 
was  married  just  a  week  or  two  before  the  Victoria  observa- 
tions began — and  I  have  not  heard  from  him  yet  whether  he 
has  made  any  observations  of  Victoria  or  not — but  I  fear  not. 
Elkin  and  Hall  have  of  course  done  a  lot  of  work  and  their 
reports  are  favourable  up  to  the  date  they  go.  Leipzig  and 
Gottingen,  valuable  but  less  numerous  than  Yale. 

By  next  mail  without  fail  your  chapters  will  return  to  you. 
****** 

My  dear  Friend  Auwers  is  off — he  left  us  last  week — my 
wife  was  in  tears  at  his  going — Auwers  and  I  had  a  little 
holiday  together. 

****** 

My  wife  is  so  well — and  has  so  been  for  the  last  four  months. 
I  am  in  despair  about  computers — all  going  off  to  the  gold 
fields — I  fear  Sawerthal  will  go  too. 

****** 

Ever  yr  Sincere  friend,  DAVID  GILL. 

CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE,  September  18,  1889. 

MY  DEAR  Miss  CLERKE, — At  last  I  send  off  the  Chaps. 
XVIII  and  XIX,  and  the  more  I  read  them  the  more  I  like 
them.  There  are  only  a  few  points  about  which  I  have 
made  notes  on  the  margin — so  few  that  I  am  ashamed  to  have 
kept  them  so  long  for  so  little. 

But  Auwers  and  Victoria  kept  me  very  busy,  and  then  we 
took  a  little  holiday  together  to  Ceres,  Wellington  and  Cape 
Point,  and  this  created  arrears  to  be  made  up — and  so  ... 

Please  forgive — and  let  us  pass  on. 

Holden  is  attempting  too  many  different  things  with  the 
Lick  telescope — and  after  what  Vogel  has  done  he  should  go 
straight  into  stellar  spectra  and  stellar  motion  in  line  of  sight 
by  photographs.  You  must  dwell  on  this  more  in  Chap.  XIX. 
Contrast  the  results  with  the  two  methods — not  the  mean  but 
the  individual  results — and  show  the  enormous  advance  that 
has  been  made. 

I  heard,  probably  through  the  same  Oxford  channel  as 
yrself,  of  the  Huggins  difficulties,  and  I  was  delighted  to  hear 
that  steps  were  being  taken  to  secure  a  Queen's  pension — no 
one  ever  better  deserved  it. 


374  LIGHTER  CORRESPONDENCE 

Yes,  Pickering  is  the  fellow  to  pick  up  money — and  he  uses 
it  well  when  he  gets  it. 

I  deplore  the  tone  of  the  Observatory  article  on  the  sub- 
ject. .  .  .  His  star  pictures  will  be  much  more  complete  and 
convenient  (for  they  will  contain  25  square  degrees  each) 
than  those  of  the  Congress  which  contain  only  4  square 
degrees — but  his  work  will  be  far  less  accurate  and  incom- 
parably inferior  in  importance  to  the  Catalogue.  The  two 
works  are  both  desirable  and  should  both  be  carried  out. 

As  I  said  before — you  have  tumbled  into  a  common  error 
about  Argelander's  Durchmusterung.  It  is  only  exact,  and 
only  pretends  to  be  exact  to  9th  Mag.  Anything  below  9*2  or 
9-3  was  put  down  as  9-10  and  printed  9-5,  but  really  a  vast 
number  of  10  mag.  stars  were  thus  catalogued. 

I  sent  you  a  report  of  a  lecture  which  I  gave  the  other  day 
in  Cape  Town — a  hash  of  the  R1  Institution  lecture  and  the 
nebular  hypothesis — but  the  people  seemed  delighted  with 
it — and  in  articles  about  it  they  said  the  Queen  of  Sheba 
(that's  you)  had  come  from  the  North  (instead  of  the  South) 
to  hear  the  wisdom  of  Solomon  (that's  me  !) — and  much  other 
Editorial  froth. 

Did  I  tell  you  that  Victoria  was  a  great  success.  Auwers 
and  I  got  3100  pointings  on  the  planet.  Sappho  begins 
to-night — and  I  have  to  do  both  the  evening  and  the  morning 
observns  for  Mr.  Finlay  is  engaged  in  exchanging  signals  with 
Captain  Pullen  every  night — who  is  travelling  along  the  W. 
coast  with  a  gunboat  and  determining  the  longitudes  at  all 
points  where  the  cable  lands. 

****** 

My  little  wife  is  so  well.  She  liked  Auwers  as  much  as  I 
do.  He  is  such  a  splendid  fellow — so  staunch  and  true — 
so  absolutely  reliable. — Her  absolutely  good  health  during 
Auwers'  stay  dispelled  the  only  cloud  that  ever  happens  in 
our  home  life — anxiety — and  so  we  had  a  very  good  time. 

She  joins  me  in  all  kind  messages  to  you  and  yours. 

Ever  Sincerely  Yrs,  DAVID  GILL. 

A  letter  dated  February  26,  1890,  from  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  is  very  interesting,  but  rather  too  controversial  for 
these  pages.  Regarding  the  Astrographic  Catalogue  he  is  glad 
to  be  able  to  say  :  "I  think  the  Catalogue  question  begins 
to  settle  itself."  He  reviews  the  course  that  had  been  fol- 
lowed by  the  Astronomer  Royal's  chief  assistant,  regretting  it 
for  his  sake,  crediting  him  with  a  right  spirit,  and  attributing 
his  hostility  to  that  great  undertaking  to  the  unfortunate 
influence  upon  him  of  men  he  is  associated  with. 


MISS  CLERKE  375 

Regarding  Mr.  Christie's  advice  to  the  Admiralty  not  to 
pay  for  the  work  of  comparing  the  heliometer  observations  of 
minor  planets  in  the  northern  hemisphere  with  those  at  the 
Cape,  for  determining  finally  the  value  of  the  solar  parallax — 
one  of  the  two  objects  for  which  the  Admiralty  had  installed 
the  heliometer  at  the  Cape — Gill  speaks  in  pretty  strong 
terms,  saying  :  "I  need  hardly  tell  you  that  I  do  not  intend 
to  accept  such  a  refusal." 

A  letter  dated  May  6,  1890,  after  the  death  of  Miss  Clerke's 
mother,  deals  with  personal  matters  concerning  which  his 
advice  was  asked. 

CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE,  1890,  July  8. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND, — I  will  write  to  you  definitely  about 
/?  Orionis  next  week,  but  the  fact  seems  to  be  this  that 
ft  Orionis  and  one  of  the  comparison  stars  are  at  a  very  great 
distance  beyond  the  other  comparison  star.  .  .  . 

I  am  very  proud  about  my  Berlin  Acad. 

The  only  English  Members  are  Prof.  Cay  ley,  E.  Frankland, 
Sir  J.  Hooker,  Huxley,  Salmon  (Dublin),  Sylvester,  Sir  W. 
Thomson,  Sir  G.  G.  Stokes,  Prof.  Williamson  (For.  Sec.  R.S.), 
and  Airy  and  Sir  R.  Owen  who  are  Foreign  Members,  and 
Earl  Crawford  Hon.  Mem. 

The  list  of  astronomers  in  the  Acad.  is  Auwers,  Airy, 
Cayley,  Gould,  Krueger,  Newcomb,  Schiaparelli,  Schonfeld, 
Struve,  Winnecke. — Y"  sincerely,  DAVID  GILL. 

The  letters  to  Miss  Clerke  were  for  the  first  time  interrupted 
by  the  visit  to  England  in  1890.  Those  of  later  date  can  be 
quoted  here  only  in  parts.  Yet,  if  there  were  space,  they 
would  be  equally  valuable,  if  the  object  of  this  book  were 
only  to  tell  of  the  assistance  he  gave  to  others,  the  work  of 
the  Cape  Observatory,  the  opposition  encountered,  the  suc- 
cesses gained,  the  approval  of  those  whose  opinion  he  valued, 
and  the  honours  showered  upon  him  by  learned  societies  in 
all  the  great  countries  of  the  world. 

A  letter  dated  July  22,  1894,  discloses  an  intrigue  against 
him  worked  through  the  Treasury,  and  detected  by  the 
Admiralty.  Dr.  Gill  tells  Miss  Clerke  all  this  with  full 
details,  because  "it  is  an  item  in  the  History  of  Astronomy." 
It  is  an  example,  he  says,  of  what  he  has  had  to  encounter 
for  twelve  years. 


376  LIGHTER  CORRESPONDENCE 

1889  [1899  ?].  Feb.  13.  We  are  all  rejoicing  in  the  award 
of  the  R.A.S.  Medal  to  Mr.  M'Clean,  and  the  whole  staff 
assembled  on  Friday  in  the  Dining  Room  and  drank  his 
health  with  all  the  honours — cheering  till  the  old  place  shook 
again.  .  .  .  Rhodes  has  promised  me  that  ...  he  will  place 
at  my  disposal  the  fund  necessary  to  carry  the  arc  of  meridian 
to  Lake  Tanganyika.  I  devoutly  hope  all  will  go  well — if  so 
I  may  yet  live  to  see  that  arc  carried  to  Cairo — perhaps  even 
connected  with  Struve's  arc  to  the  North  Cape. 

1902.  I  have  been  away  in  the  Transvaal  on  a  visit  to 
Lord  Milner  at   Johannesberg.     I   need  hardly  tell  you   I 
enjoyed  it — for  there  is  no  man  whose  society  I  enjoy  more — 
tho'  he  is  such  an  overwrought  man  that  one  can  only  get 
scraps  of  it.     He  is  at  work  by  7  o'clock.     A  hasty  breakfast 
and  work  on  to  1.30  in  his  office  at  Sunnyside.     At  2.30  he 
starts  for  his  walk  (ij  miles  for  exercise)  to  Johannesberg 
whence  he  seldom  returns  till  7.30 — and  at  10.30  he  usually 
goes  to  work  again  till  the  small  hours  of  the  morning.  .  .  . 
The  labour  question  is  very  pressing — they  have  not  half  the 
native  labour  they  require.     Rents  are  exorbitant.     "  You  see 
that  place  over  the  bootshop— that's  my  office,  and  I  pay  a  rent 
for  which  I  might  hire  Buckingham  Palace,"  said  Lord  Milner. 

1903.  Feb.    18.     [Extolling  her  new  book,   Problems  in 
Astrophysics.']     So  happy,  so  strong  and  so  useful  a  book.  .  .  . 
I  do  not  believe  that  there  is  a  man  living  who  knew  before- 
hand all  the  facts  that  you  have  brought  together,  and  brought 
together  so  well  in  their  proper  places. 

1903.  December  2.  Many  thanks  for  your  kind  con- 
gratulations on  the  Royal  Medal  Award. 

We  were  at  Caledon  at  the  time — Mr  Franklin-Adams  and 
I  were  chatting  after  lunch.  Bella  had  gone  to  her  room 
but  presently  returned  with  a  flushed  excited  face — and  eyes 
beaming  with  joy — "  Guess  what  I  have  got  here/'  showing 
a  telegram.  Of  course  we  could  not  guess,  so  then  she  read 
the  cable  message  which  had  been  received  at  the  Observatory 
and  forwarded  by  Mr.  Hough.  It  conveyed  congratulations  on 
the  Medal  by  Huggins,  Wharton,  Turner,  MClean  and  Christie. 
I  remember"  nothing  that  has  given  her  greater  pleasure. 
****** 

I  am  busy  erecting  the  new  sidereal  clock.  It  is,  or  I 
believe  will  be,  the  most  important  step  in  instrumental  Astro- 
nomy.1 It  has  cost  first  and  last  about  £1000,  and  I  expect 

1  [In  support  of  this  belief,  see  p.  244,  foot-note.] 


PROFESSOR  NEWCOMB  377 

the  phials  of  the  Admiralty  wrath  poured  upon  me  for  this 
excess  of  estimated  expenditure. 

Still,  as  I  hope  for  nearly  perfect  results  I  think  I  shall  be 
able  to  face  the  storm.  It  took  24  mules  to  drag  the  wagons 
conveying  its  various  parts  from  the  Docks  to  the  Observatory 
— so  it  is  a  more  elaborate  affair  than  the  ordinary  observatory 
clock.  It  has  a  whole  house  to  itself. 

1904.  November  16.  [This  letter  tells  of  his  deep  grief  on 
the  death  of  Mr  Frank  McClean.]  I  have  also  lost  another 
very  dear  friend  Mr  John  F.  White  of  Aberdeen.  ...  He 
was  one  of  the  sweetest  and  best  of  men,  and  most  highly 
cultured.  .  .  .  Now  his  gentle  spirit  is  at  rest. 

Miss  Clerke  died  in  1907,  after  Gill's  final  departure  from 
the  Cape. 

The  very  great  esteem  in  which  Sir  David  Gill  held  Miss 
Agnes  Clerke  was  shared  by  many,  among  others  by  his 
fellow-worker  Newcomb.  Writing  to  Gill  from  Washington 
March  5,  1907,  he  says — 

I  was  much  grieved  to  hear  of  Miss  Clerke's  death  following 
so  closely  on  that  of  her  sister.  In  past  years  one  of  the 
pleasantest  features  of  my  visits  to  London  was  my  warm 
and  almost  affectionate  reception  by  my  lady  friends  at 
67  Redcliffe  Square ;  but  it  was  only  recently  that  I  came  to 
know  how  interesting  was  the  scholarship  of  the  two  Misses 
Clerke.  Now  they  have  gone,  leaving  the  brother  alone  so 
far  as  I  know.  If  you  meet  him  I  wish  you  would  tell  him  of 
my  sentiments. 

LETTERS  TO  NEWCOMB 

In  the  whole  history  of  astronomy,  far  more  than  of  the 
experimental  sciences,  the  men  who  secure  the  facts  and  those 
who  deduce  the  resulting  theory  have  been  different  men. 
The  theorist  is  absolutely  dependent  upon  the  observer  for 
his  data;  and  the  observer  who  desires  to  use  his  power  in 
the  best  way  must  consider  the  needs  of  the  mathematical 
theorist. 

So  Ptolemy  was  dependent  upon  Hipparchus,  Kepler  upon 
Tycho  Brahe,  Newton  upon  Flamsteed,  and  Newcomb  upon 
Gill.  The  last  of  these  could  obtain,  from  the  great  observa- 
tories, data  computed  with  the  finest  superintendence  from 
routine  observations  made  by  paid  assistants.  But  when  he 
wanted  the  utmost  accuracy  obtainable  for  his  lunar  and 


378  LIGHTER  CORRESPONDENCE 

planetary  calculations  he  relied  largely  upon  Gill.  The  dis- 
tance of  the  sun,  the  mass  of  the  moon  and  Jupiter,  the  con- 
stant of  aberration,  the '"accurate  positions  of  the  moon  by 
occult ation  and  of  major  planets  by  heliometer,  and,  still 
more  difficult,  of  the  sun,  were  some  of  the  data  discussed  in 
correspondence,  and  secured  by  Gill  for  Newcomb  to  use  in 
his  tables. 

Sir  Isaac  Newton  would  have  done  more  for  astronomy  had 
he  and  Flamsteed  (the  Astronomer  Royal),  who  were  ever  in 
antagonism,  been  united  by  the  affectionate  esteem  which 
prevailed  between  Newcomb  and  Gill.  The  gaiety  of  Gill's 
disposition  is  continually  shown  in  his  correspondence  with 
real  astronomers,  whose  greatest  happiness  lies  in  loving 
their  science,  and  in  making  supreme  efforts  to  do  their  duty 
by  it.  Unflinching  opponents  of  humbug  like  Simon  New- 
comb  were  the  men  to  whom  Gill  was  most  ready  to  show  his 
inner  self,  in  work  and  in  play.  The  following  extracts  from 
letters  to  Newcomb  could  be  written  only  between  friends 
who  each  thoroughly  knew  and  appreciated  the  other's  mind. 

1889.  May  6.  ...  At  this  moment  I  believe  Auwers  is 
somewhere  between  the  Bay  of  Biscay  and  Madeira,  on  his 
way  to  the  Cape.  I  wish  that  you  were  with  him — what  a 
rare  time  we  should  have  together.  .  .  .  When  they  [the 
Sappho  observations]  are  over  I  shall  have  surely  earned  my 
proposed  holiday  in  1890.  There  is  the  definitive  meeting 
of  the  permanent  committee  of  the  Astrographic  Congress 
which  I  must  attend — but  I  also  want  some  fun — for  I  have 
been  close  at  work  for  10  years  now.  According  to  this  we 
are  both  intent  on  kicking  our  heels  and  having  a  roll  on  the 
grass  about  the  same  time. 

1889.  3  July.  I  am  happy  to  tell  you  that  on  the  morn- 
ing of  28th  June  we  had  glorious  weather  and  Auwers  and  I 
measured  yr  Eclipse  for  you,  I  hope  more  completely  than 
ever  an  eclipse  has  been  measured  before.  .  .  . 

Auwers  is  a  charming  guest — a  man  I  have  known  well  and 
esteemed  among  my  best  friends  since  I  came  to  know  him  in 
1873.  But  the  more  I  see  him  the  more  I  know  and  love  him — 
and  am  only  beginning  to  realize  what  a  truly  splendid  fellow 
he  is.  I  would  that  you  were  here. 

1889.    October  7.  ...  My  good  friend  Auwers  is  gone,  and 
I  am  left  alone  with  Sappho.  .  .  .  And  so  the  fair  Barbarian  l 
1  Professor  Newcomb's  daughter.    See  p.  149. 


PROFESSOR  NEWCOMB  379 

is  a  mother — and  all  goes  well — God  bless  her.  .  .  .  Auwers 
is  a  devoted  admirer  of  the  F.  B.  so  I  long  even  more  than 
formerly  to  meet  her  face  to  face. 

1890.  Jan.  21.  [After  criticizing  Newcomb's  published 
judgment,  and  stating  his  own,  about  Transits  of  Venus  and 
Solar  Parallax.]  Now  my  good  friend — there  I  am — do  you 
go  for  me — You  have  my  thesis — or  at  least  I  have  I  think 
sufficiently  attacked  yours  to  set  the  ball  a  rolling. 

Let's  first  shake  hands  before  we  box 
Then  give  each  other  friendly  knocks 
With  all  the  love  and  kindness  of  a  brother. 

1891.  Jan.  14.  MY  DEAR  NEWCOMB, — First  of  all  my 
most  warm  and  sincere  congratulations  on  the  honour  which 
our  Royal  Society  has  done  itself,  by  conferring  on  you  the 
highest  scientific  distinction  which  it  is  in  the  power  of 
scientific  England  to  bestow.  The  Copley  Medal  is  fortun- 
ately one  of  those  distinctions  which  have  been  preserved 
worthy  and  pure  by  an  honourable  body  of  competent  judg- 
ment, and  desirous  to  honour  only  those  who  are  worthy  of 
honour.  It  is  a  prize  which  one  may  hand  down  to  one's 
children  with  pardonable  pride — an  heirloom  that  they  will 
cherish  reverently  if  they  are  worthy  children  of  their  worthy 
Father. 

1892.  May  14.  ...  Did  I  tell  you,  they  asked  me  to  go 
to  Cambridge — but  I  felt  that  my  proper  work  is  here.  .  .  . 
You  are  a  heavy  task  master  however  for  I  am  toiling  away 
observing  every  evening  and  early  morning  to  try  to  get  you 
a  reliable  value  of  the  Aberration  Constant. 

1894.  May  30.  ...  I  have,  I  think,  only  one  enemy  in 
the  world ;  but  he  has  been  giving  me  a  lot  of  trouble.  Having 
failed  to  make  more  mischief  at  the  Admiralty,  he  got  at  the 
Treasury.  .  .  .  You  can  therefore  imagine  what  a  boon  your 
letter  acknowledging  the  Victoria  and  Sappho  work  was.  I 
sent  a  copy  to  the  Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Admiralty  who 
I  think  will  be  glad  to  have  it  as  a  weapon  to  use  in  the  fight 
with  the  Treasury. 

To  THE  SECRETARY  OF  THE  ADMIRALTY 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

1894,  May  23. 

SIR, — In  my  letter  of  1894,  March  21,  I  had  the  honour  to 
report  the  value  of  the  Solar  Parallax  and  of  the  Mass  of  the 
Moon  (resulting  from  the  observations  of  Victoria  and  Sappho) 
for  use  in  the  Nautical  Almanac. 


380  LIGHTER  CORRESPONDENCE 

At  the  same  time  I  forwarded  these  results,  with  further 
details,  to  Professor  Newcomb,  and  I  have  now  the  honour 
to  transmit  a  copy  of  his^eply  in  the  hope  that  my  Lords 
Commissioners  of  the  Admiralty  may  be  pleased  to  know  the 
estimation  in  which  these  results  are  held  by  the  chief  living 
authority  on  such  subjects.  In  connection  with  this  latter 
remark  I  should  perhaps  explain  that  Prof.  Simon  Newcomb 
is  now  bringing  to  completion  the  work  on  which,  with  the 
aid  of  a  large  staff  of  able  mathematicians,  he  has  been  en- 
gaged for  the  past  15  years.  That  work  embraces  a  complete 
theory  of  the  motions  of  the  members  of  the  Solar  System, 
a  re-discussion  of  all  the  existing  observations  of  these  bodies, 
and  new  tables  of  their  motions. 

Thus  Newcomb's  Tables  will  supersede  all  others  in  point 
of  accuracy  and  must  be  adopted  for  use  during  the  next 
50  years  at  least,  in  our  own  Nautical  Almanac  as  well  as  in 
all  other  Nautical  Ephemerides. 

My  Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Admiralty  will  thus  be 
in  a  position  to  estimate  the  value  of  the  service  performed  at 
the  Cape  Observatory  in  a  matter  so  intimately  connected 
with  the  purposes  for  which  the  Observatories  at  Greenwich 
and  the  Cape  were  founded  and  are  maintained, 

I  am,  etc.,  DAVID  GILL. 

Further  papers  on  the  same  subject  are  forwarded  to  the 
Hydrographer. 

NEWCOMB  TO  GILL 
NAUTICAL  ALMANAC  OFFICE,  NAVAL  OBSERVATORY, 

GEORGETOWN  HEIGHTS,  D.C.,  April  23,  1894. 

MY  DEAR  DR.  GILL, — I  have  received  the  definitive  results 
for  the  solar  parallax,  as  derived  from  the  observations  of 
Victoria  and  Sappho,  enclosed  in  your  letter  of  Mar.  2ist. 

I  must  congratulate  you  on  the  unequalled  precision  reached 
by  these  observations.  That  the  system  which  you  have 
devised  may  be  applied  to  determining  the  positions  of  the 
planets  with  a  precision  heretofore  unthought  of,  has  recently 
been  pointed  out  in  a  number  of  the  Astronomical  Journal 
which  I  am  glad  to  know  you  have  seen. 

The  observations  which  can  be  used  in  forming  the  new 
tables  of  the  four  inner  planets  being  now  closed  up,  I  beg 
leave  to  express  my  personal  and  official  appreciation  of  the 
observations  and  results  which  the  Cape  Observatory  has 
contributed  to  the  work  in  question.  I  find  that  out  of  1,036 
observations  of  Mercury,  made  during  the  years  1884  to  1892, 
inclusive,  no  less  than  532,  or  a  little  more  than  one-half,  were 
made  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Of  course,  such  a  result 
was  possible  only  through  your  fine  climate  and  favourable 


PROFESSOR  NEWCOMB  381 

geographical  situation;  but  these  circumstances  would  not 
have  sufficed  without  the  ardor  of  the  astronomer.  In  my 
last  annual  report  I  expressed  my  official  indebtedness  to 
you,  and  I  hope  that  in  my  next  one  the  substantial  com- 
pletion of  the  work  on  which  I  have  been  officially  engaged 
for  more  than  fifteen  years  will  afford  an  occasion  for  a  more 
complete  statement  of  the  indebtedness  of  the  American 
Nautical  Almanac  Office  to  Her  Majesty's  observer  at  the 
Cape,  for  observations  and  results  of  the  greatest  value, 
Yours  very  sincerely,  SIMON  NEWCOMB. 

FROM  THE  SECRETARY  TO  THE  ADMIRALTY  TO  DR.  GILL 

ADMIRALTY,  S.W.,  June  30,  1894. 

SIR, — In  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  your  letter  of  23rd 
of  May  I  am  commanded  by  My  Lords  Commissioners  of  the 
Admiralty  to  convey  to  you  an  expression  of  their  satisfaction 
at  the  valuable  results  of  your  labours  which  have  been  of 
much  use  in  compiling  the  Nautical  Almanac  and  have 
tended  greatly  to  the  advancement  of  gravitational  astronomy. 

I  am,  sir,  your  obed*  servant,  EVAN  MACGREGOR. 

1894.  July  17.  I  am  delighted  to  hear  that  action  is  being 
taken  to  put  a  real  astronomer  at  the  head  of  the  new  Naval 
Observatory  at  Washington — a  man  responsible  for  the  work 
of  the  Establishment. 

The  thing  that  has  bothered  me  is  why,  when  they  have  got 
a  man  like  you  in  America,  they  don't  put  you  at  the  head  of 
its  astronomy.  The  absolute  power  put  in  the  hands  of  a 
Naval  Officer  as  Superintendent  is  quite  ridiculous. 

I  thought  he  was  a  pleasant  sort  of  gentleman  who  signed 
receipts  for  books  and  many  papers  and  so  on — who  smoked 
cigarettes  with  visitors  to  the  Observatory  and  otherwise 
did  the  ornamental  duties  of  the  office,  and  wore  a  uniform 
occasionally  as  a  figure  head.  But  as  the  only  adviser — that 
is  absurd  indeed  !  There  is  only  one  way  to  put  matters 
straight — and  that  is  to  put  the  Astronomers  in  command  of 
the  American  fleet.  I  think  you  and  I  would  make  quite  as 
good  a  job  of  the  command  of  a  fleet  as  the  Admirals  would 
of  the  real  command  of  an  observatory — perhaps  better.  I 
shall  be  anxious  to  hear  the  result. 

Both  Gill's  work  and  Newcomb's  came  in  for  closely 
reasoned  arguments  on  both  sides,  each  anxious  only  to  have 
the  point  at  issue  thoroughly  threshed  out,  and  the  truth 
established.  They  certainly  "  gave  each  other  friendly 
knocks  with  all  the  love  and  kindness  of  a  brother."  The 


382  LIGHTER  CORRESPONDENCE 

very  phraseology  indicates  this  spirit,  as  when  Gill  answers 

a  letter  thus —  v 

*  '  '  •  /*' 

1895.  Dec.  17.  ...  But  there  is  a  still  more  curious  fact, 
viz.  that  there  is  a  celebrated  and  phenomenally  active 
astronomer  in  America  [Newcomb],  who  having  put  all  the 
Solar  System  in  order  is  now  engaged  in  drilling  the  stars — 
and  bringing  all  our  practical  work  into  a  systematic  whole. 

But  this  good  gentleman  is  so  busy  that  it  is  quite  im- 
possible for  him  to  find  time  to  read  the  introductions  to  works 
which  he  utilizes — but  he  finds  time  to  find  out  faults  in  them, 
and  to  make  surprising  discoveries  all  of  which  are  contained 
in  the  introductions  to  the  works  in  question. 

I  believe  you  know  this  gentleman,  and  I  would  ask  you  to 
do  what  I  have  not  the  courage  to  do,  to  play  the  part  of  the 
candid  friend — and  put  him  right — and  do  impress  on  him  how 
desirable  it  is  to  read  the  introductions. 

The  fact  is  that  Newcomb  had  committed  the  blunder  of 
assuming  that  Gill's  catalogue  for  epoch  1885-0  included 
corrections  for  proper  motion,  though  the  introduction  dis- 
tinctly states  the  contrary.  Thus  he  found  a  difference 
between  Gill's  Declination  of  Arcturus  (mean  epoch  of  observa- 
tion 1882*12)  and  Boss'  amounting  to  3"  due,  of  course,  to 
proper  motion. 

1895.  Dec.  31.  MY  DEAR  NEWCOMB, — Yr  letters  are  never 
a  nuisance,  always  a  delight.  A  Happy  New  Year  to  you  and 
many  of  them  (new  years  and  letters  too). 

Gill's  correspondence  with  Newcomb  from  1895  onwards 
is  mostly  technical,  relating  to  Newcomb's  fundamental 
work. 

1897.  Dec.  26.  MY  DEAR  NEWCOMB, — The  matter  of  our 
correspondence  seems  to  have  fallen  into  the  condition  of 
affairs  so  graphically  described  by  the  Governor  of  North 
Carolina  in  his  opening  remarks  to  the  Governor  of  South 
Carolina.  I  would  hope  the  matter  is  going  to  right  itself. 
We  have  both  been  abnormally  busy.  .  .  . 

I  am  thankful  to  tell  you  that  Mrs.  Gill  is  much  better — 
this  is  her  birthday,  and  a  very  happy  one  it  has  been. 

She  joins  me  in  all  good  wishes  of  the  season  to  you  and 
yrs.  May  the  new  year  be  a  happy  one  for  you,  and  may 
your  great  work  prosper  in  it.  .  .  . 

P.S.  Yr  letter  of  Nov.  29  .  .  .  just  come  in  as  mail  goes.  .  .  . 
So  glad  to  see  yr  writing  again. 


PROFESSOR  NEWCOMB  •    383 

1898.  March  24.  MY  DEAR  NEWCOMB, — I  also  am  at  a 
loss  to  understand  the  howl  of  your  compatriots  against 
the  Paris  Conference  resolutions  A — ,  with  B — and  C — yelping 
behind  like  poodle  dogs  in  the  rear  of  the  pack.  The  one 
point  about  which  there  is  a  show  of  reason  is  the  Aberration 
constant.  .  .  . 

I  didn't  expect  many  people  to  go  to  the  bottom  of  the 
[solar]  parallax  volumes — but  of  the  few  I  did  think  you 
would  be  one.  I  wish  you  could  find  time  to  devote  two  or 
three  evenings  to  them,  and  then  write  me  as  sharp  a  criticism 
of  them  as  you  can. 

The  new  McClean  telescope  sailed  a  week  ago  from  Liver- 
pool. We  are  off  to-morrow  to  the  hills  for  10  days  or  so, 
returning  in  time  to  meet  the  new  baby  on  its  arrival. 

1898.  May  3.  The  mail  just  arrived  brings  a  splendid- 
looking  document — to  certify  that  I  have  been  elected  an 
hony  member  of  the  New  York  Academy  of  Sciences.  .  .  . 
It  offers  another  inducement  for  me  to  visit  America — were 
it  possible  to  find  one  to  mention  beside  yr  long  and  often 
repeated  invitations. 

If  I  can,  I  must  and  will  come  to  America  in  1900 — not  for 
the  eclipse  so  much  as  to  see  you  all. 

1898.  June  15.  I  have  just  received  a  letter  from  Professor 
Agassiz  informing  me  of  my  election  as  a  Foreign  Member  of 
the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  Washington.  ...  I  do 
not  conceal  from  myself  the  fact  that  your  partiality  has  had 
more  to  do  with  this  election  than  any  work  that  I  have 
done.  ...  I  hope  you  will  mention  to  those  astronomers 
who  are  Members  of  the  Academy  how  deeply  I  feel  this  mark 
of  their  esteem,  friendship  and  good  will. 

1898.  Sept.  19.  ...  I  have  some  young  men  now  who 
are  doing  active  Heliometer  work.  My  eyes  are  not  so  good 
as  they  used  to  be.  .  .  .  I  don't  think  I  told  you  about  it 
[his  new  Transit  Circle].  It  is  somewhat  a  new  departure. 
The  whole  stand  is  iron — so  are  the  cube,  tubes,  etc. — the 
micrometer  boxes  are  cast  iron,  the  slides  and  screws  steel. 

The  pillars  are  hollow  cast  iron  and  filled  with  water — to 
ensure  layers  of  equal  temperature.  They  are  covered  with 
thick  non-conducting  material  and  covered  outside  with 
polished  copper. 

The  circles  are  solid  cast  iron  discs,  divisions  on  iridio- 
platinum — and  are  surrounded  with  double  screens  of  copper 
with  air-space.  These  covers  attached  to  the  pier.  The 
turned  cast  iron  tubes  are  also  surrounded  with  double  copper 
shields  with  air  spaces  [these  shields  attached  only  to  the 


384  LIGHTER  CORRESPONDENCE 

cube],  to  ensure  equal  distribution  of  temperature.  [Sketches 
show  how  the  Observatory  rolls  back  in  halves,  leaving  a 
6  ft.  opening  on"  the  meridian.] 

The  instrument  is,  of  course,  reversible,  and  has  meridian 
marks  N  and  S  in  the  focus  of  lenses  of  300  ft.  focal  length. 

1899.  Jan.  28.  We  had  the  great  pleasure  of  seeing  Prof. 
Agassiz  here  the  other  day  at  lunch.  .'' .  .  So  glad  you  are 
pleased  with  the  C.P.D.  Kapteyn  is  a  grand  fellow  and  a 
grand  worker. 

1899.  April  13.  Next  week  I  am  going  up  to  Rhodesia 
for  a  month  to  start  the  reconnaissance  and  beaconing,  along 
the  30th  meridian.  .  .  .  McClean  is  quite  right  about  oxygen 
in  the  spectra  of  ft  Crucis,  (3  Centauri,  ft  Can.  Maj.  and  we 
find  it  in  e  Orionis.  We  are  getting  fine  results  for  motion 
in  line  of  sight. 

1899.  August  23.     It  would  gratify  me  to  see  a  total  eclipse 
before  I  die — and  I  should  enjoy  it — but  I  don't  think  I  shd 
work  at  it.  .  .  .  I  am  so  glad  you  are  going  to  see  Kapteyn. 
Unless  I  am  very  much  mistaken  you  will  find  him  a  man  after 
your  own  heart.     He  is  not  only  a  very  accomplished  man  of 
high  aims  and  indomitable  pluck,  but  he  has  a  very  fine 
character,  and  is  a  most  sterling  good  fellow.  .  .  . 

My  dear  wife  has  been  ill  again.  Mrs.  Cunliffe  [the  late 
Lord  Herschell's  sister]  who  had  been  like  a  mother  and 
sister  to  her  for  20  years — who  nursed  her  during  a  great  part 
of  our  last  visit  to  England — and  who  for  20  years,  when  she 
was  not  with  us,  never  missed  a  mail  in  writing — died  suddenly 
at  Oxford. 

You  will  find  Kapteyn  very  happy  in  the  completion  of 
the  Durchmusterung.  I  am  quite  ashamed  to  find  my  name 
on  the  title  page  of  a  work  with  his,  for  my  share  in  it  is  so 
small  compared  with  his.  ...  I  do  not  believe  that  ever 
was  so  big  a  piece  of  work  published  with  so  few  errors. 

1900.  Jan.  18. — The  war  keeps  us  in  a  terrible  state  of 
nerve-tension,  so  that  it  requires  a  great  effort  to  keep  one's 
mind  fixed  on  ordinary  work.     Like  every  third  man  one 
meets  I  am  an  amateur  General — can't  help  it.  ...  We  have 
a  cavalry  and  horse  artillery  camp  just  under  the  Observatory 
windows,  and  many  an  old  friend  I  have  seen  there  on  the  way 
to  the  front — some  of  whom  I  shall,  alas,  never  see  again. 

1900.  May  31.  London. — Both  medals — the  WTatson  and 
the  Bruce — have  reached  me — and  have  apparently  so  im- 
pressed the  Admiralty  that  on  the  Queen's  Birthday  I  was 
gazetted  K.C.B.  .  .  .  You  see  what  frightful  consequences 
have  followed  your  over  generous  appreciation  of  my  work ! 


PROFESSOR  NEWCOMB  385 

1901.  Jan.  18.  McClean  remarks  that  wherever  you  find 
a  bright  Helium-spectrum  star,  you  get  a  large  quantity  of  the 
same  type  in  the  neighbourhood.  ...  All  the  brighter  stars 
of  Orion  seem  to  be  type  I.  stars  except  a — and  all  included 
in  one  great  nebula.  .  .  .  For  wholesale  parallax  work 
photography  is  the  thing — but  for  bright  stars  and  these  small 
parallaxes  only  the  Heliometer  is  suitable.  .  .  . 

Our  new  Transit  Circle  will  be  here  in  a  few  days.  [The 
letter  goes  on  to  describe  his  underground  meridian  mark 
device.] 

1901,  March  29.  NEWCOMB  to  GILL.  ...  At  all  events 
it  seems  that  you  have  not  yet  abandoned  telescopes  for 
fire-arms. 

I  hope  Roberts  [Dr.  Roberts  of  Lovedale,  not  Lord  Roberts] 
is  equally  fortunate.  Looking  up  his  location  on  the  map  I 
see  that  it  falls  very  near  the  region  of  a  recent  raid  and  I 
wonder  whether  his  splendid  work  on  variable  stars  is  going 
to  be  interfered  with.  ...  I  shall  look  with  the  greatest 
interest  for  the  trial  of  your  new  circle. 

1901.  July    30.      I    do    not    know    what    to    attribute 
Christie's  action  to  ....  I  should  be  greatly  obliged  if  you 
would  carefully  consider  the  whole  matter  and  give  me  your 
opinion.  ...  I  am  glad  to  hear  you  think  so  well  of  the 
Jupiter  work.     [This  letter  is  accompanied  by  copy  of  his 
unanswerable  criticism  (for  the  Admiralty)  of  Mr.  Christie's 
objections  to  the  meridian  marks  proposed  for  the    Cape 
Observatory.     He  summarizes  some  conclusions  in  his  report 
in  these  words :    "I  further  venture  to  express  my  belief 
that,  in  consequence  of  the  depth  below  the  surface  of  the 
ground  and  the  age,  thickness,  extent  and  uniformity  of  the 
bed-rock,  the   proposed  system  of  meridian  marks  will,  if 
carried  out,  prove  to  be  the  most  stable  of  any  that  has 
yet  been  erected  at  any  Observatory  in  the  world."     Gill's 
arguments  fortunately  prevailed  at  the  Admiralty,  and  his 
belief,  as  stated  above,  has  been  entirely  corroborated  by  the 
result.] 

1902.  July  26.  ...  I  don't  know  if  you  share  my  tastes 
for  military  strategy  and  tactics — to  me  the  whole  thing  was 
intensely  interesting — but  a  shocking  instance  of  the  entire 
lack  of  military  genius  on  part  of  our  Generals — and  a  grand 
instance  of  pluck  on  part  of  Tommy  Atkins. 

1904.  Jan.    22.  ...  I   think   you   would   be   very  much 
interested,  if  you  were  here  just  now,  to  see  the  new  Sidereal 
cc 


386  LIGHTER  CORRESPONDENCE 

Clock,  which  I  have  been  erecting  and  experimenting  with.  .  .  . 
We  sail  for  England  on  the  gth  March. 

1905.  March  24.  .'  .  .  No  small  part  of  my  time  is  occupied 
with  the  approaching  visit  of  the  British  Association  to  South 
Africa. 

I  do  wish  you  could  come  here.  ». 

1905.  May  26.     I  cannot  tell  you  how  much  I  regret  that 
you  cannot  come. 

1906.  March  26.     By  last  mail  I  sent  in  my  application  to 
the  Admiralty  for  leave  to  retire  from  my  present  post  in 
October   next.  .  .  .  My   doctor    advises    me    not   to   spend 
another  summer  at  the  Cape. 

1907.  March   19.    London.  .  .  .  Miss   Clerke  as  a  woman, 
a  friend  and  a   historian   and  original    thinker  in   matters 
astronomical,  has  been  a  terrible  loss.     We  loved  her  dearly. 
Her  poor  brother  is  left  alone,  so  terribly  alone.     His  case 
is  a  most  pathetic  one. 

1908.  Feb.  12.     I  have  got  the  arc  of  meridian  started  at 
the  northern  end  of    Lake  Tanganyika  .  .  .  and  Lyons  is 
pushing  it  southwards  from  Alexandria.     So  I  may  yet  live 
to  see  it  through. 

1909.  Jan.  13.     My  wife  and  I  are  very  much  concerned  to 
hear  that  you  have  to  undergo  an  operation. 

34  DE  VERE  GARDENS,  KENSINGTON,  1909,  May  31. 

MY  DEAR  NEWCOMB, — I  have  been  a  very  bad  correspondent 
of  late.  I  heard  you  had  been  very  ill,  and  I  did  not  know 
if  I  might  bother  you  with  letters. 

You  have  doubtless  heard  that  the  Fair  Barbarian  is  a 
reality — we  have  actually  got  a  glimpse  of  her — just  enough 
to  assure  me  that  she  is  a  reality — for  luck  has  always  been 
against  our  meeting. 

The  moment  I  got  to  Paris,  or  rather  the  first  thing  I  did 
on  the  morning  after  our  arrival  there  the  previous  night, 
was  to  go  to  the  Rue  de  Fosses  St. -Jacques,  in  search  of 
Mrs.  McGee,  to  find  that  the  bird  had  flown  to  Switzerland, 
leaving  behind  to  represent  her  a  charming  daughter  and  a 
little  son  who  is  a  minor  edition  of  Simon  Newcomb.  I  fancy 
just  exactly  like  what  you  were  at  his  age.  All  this  took 
place  on  the  23rd  March — and  then  my  time  was  much  filled 
up  with  "  Weights  and  Measures."  We  left  Paris  on  the  ist 
April  and  spent  a  fortnight  at  Portofino  (about  25  miles 
southward  along  the  coast  from  Genoa) — where  we  had  a 


PROFESSOR  KAPTEYN  387 

perfect  time  as  guests  of  our  old  friend,  the  Dow :  Lady  Car- 
narvon— (her  husband  was  Colonial  Sec?  in  Lord  Derby's 
Gov*  and  he  was  long  Pres.  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries). 

I  ran  up  to  Rome  for  two  days  to  see  St.  Peters  at  Easter 
and  get  a  glimpse  of  the  Eternal  City. 

We  returned,  after  a  day  in  Genoa,  to  Paris,  on  the  morning 
of  the  I7th  April — and  had  a  very  busy  and  interesting  week 
there — over  the  Carte  du  del  business — chiefly  in  connection 
with  the  Catalogue. 

I  think  you  will  be  interested  to  read  the  account  of  the 
meeting  which  I  wrote  for  Nature  (unsigned). 

We  got  another  peep  at  Miss  McGee  at  lunch  one  day — 
and  at  the  Observatory  reception — but  still  no  F.B. — and 
indeed,  we  only  just  got  a  flying  peep  at  her  on  her  way 
passing  through  London,  which  finally  convinced  me  of  her 
objective  existence — though  spiritually  we  are  old  friends. 
We  had  a  great  talk  about  you,  and  much  do  I  wish  the 
accounts  of  yr  health  had  been  better. 

We  both  love  you  well,  that  is  certain — and  there  were  a 
thousand  things  we  might  have  talked  about  if  we  had  more 
time — as  it  was  I  think  we  didn't  lose  much  of  the  short  time 
at  our  disposal. 

I  have  got  the  great  itinerary  you  prepared  for  me — but  I 
think  I  must  leave  Canada  out,  and  just  arrange  to  leave  my 
wife  quietly  somewhere  in  the  East  whilst  I  run  to  Lick  and 
Mount  Wilson.  My  wife  has  no  fears  as  to  a  sea  trip — but 
she  is  a  very  bad  traveller  by  railway — a  journey  of  200  or 
300  miles  knocks  her  up  for  days.  So  I  have  to  be  very 
careful  about  her. 

She  joins  me  in  loving  remembrances  to  you  and  yours. 
Ever  thine,  DAVID  GILL. 

Professor  Simon  Newcomb  died  in  July  1909. 


LETTERS  TO  KAPTEYN 

The  first  letter  written  by  Gill  to,  and  preserved  by, 
Professor  Kapteyn. 

ROYAL  OBSERVATORY,  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

1884,  September  27. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — Your  kind  letter  of  the  3Oth  April  has 
remained  thus  long  unanswered  because  of  my  absence  in 
England.  .  .  .  Absorbing  work  in  England  prevented  me  till 
a  few  days  ago  from  reading  your  paper  in  Copernicus.* 

1  Copernicus,  vol.  iii,  pp.  147-182. 


388  LIGHTER  CORRESPONDENCE 

I  shall  certainly  give  your  method  of  determining  a  funda- 
mental latitude  a  good  trial.  .  .  .  [The  letter  proceeds  to 
extol  his  great  3-foot  theodolite,  just  acquired;  also  his 
delicate  precautions,  in  measuring  the  maximum  elongation 
in  azimuth  of  a  star,  by  which  he  hopes  to  eliminate  systematic 
error.] 

1885.  January  18.     [In  this  letter  minute  details  are  given 
for  applying  Kapteyn's  method  as  so  to  avoid  systematic 
error.     There  are  many  letters  in  1885  on  this  subject.]  .  .  . 
But  however  perfect  an  instrument  may  be  (and  it  is  the 
astronomer's  business  to  see  that  it  is  perfect)  it  is  the  astro- 
nomer's further  business  to  look  upon  it  with  complete  and 
utter  mistrust. 

The  above  letters  contain  evidence  how  the  devoted  friend- 
ship between  these  two  astronomers  arose  out  of  mutual 
appreciation  of  the  qualities  required  for  the  attainment  of 
the  most  refined  practical  results.  Then  came  the  incidents 
connected  with  the  C.P.D.  related  in  the  narrative  part  of 
this  book.  Then  hundreds  of  letters  follow  in  regard  to  their 
common  work,  full  of  technical  matter.  A  very  few  extracts 
alone  can  be  given  here  to  show  the  growth  of  feeling,  on  the 
part  of  each,  from  scientific  appreciation  to  affectionate  devo- 
tion. All  these  letters  are  from  the  Cape,  unless  otherwise 
stated. 

1886.  Jan.  9.     MY  DEAR  SIR, — Such  a  letter  as  yours  of 
Decr  16  requires  an  immediate  answer — I  refer  of  course  to 
its  concluding  portion  in  which  you  offer  some  years  of  your 
life  to  co-operation  with  me  in  cataloguing  the  photographic 
Durchmusterung  of  the  Southern  Heavens. 

It  is  not  easy  to  tell  you  what  I  feel  at  receiving  such  a 
proposal.  I  recognize  in  it  the  true  brotherhood  of  science 
and  in  you  a  true  brother.  [The  letter,  13  quarto  pages, 
goes  on  to  discuss  plans  of  working.  The  same  subject  fills 
most  of  the  correspondence  with  Professor  Kapteyn  for  many 
years.] 

1886.  Jan.  22.  MY  DEAR  SIR, — Your  delightful  letter  of 
the  23rd  Decr  makes  full  amends  for  the  disappointment  I 
felt  at  not  receiving  your  promised  letter  by  last  mail.  .  .  . 

I  wish  I  knew  you  personally — I  do  know  you,  I  think, 
pretty  well — but  I  wish  you  would  send  me  your  photograph — 
I  send  you  mine. 

[On  the  i6th  June,  1886,  he  encloses  copy  of  a  valuable 


PROFESSOR  KAPTEYN  389 

letter  he  wrote  to  Professor  Stokes  about  the  opposition  in  a 
certain  quarter  to  support  of  the  C.P.D.  by  funds  administered 
by  the  Royal  Society.] 

216  UNION  STREET,  ABERDEEN,  March  29,  1887. 

MY  DEAR  KAPTEYN,  ...  I  feel  quite  ashamed  at  being  so 
long  in  answering  the  very  satisfactory  and  delightful  letter 
which  I  received  from  you  at  Paris.  I  think  I  am  sufficient 
judge  of  character  to  find  out  what  manner  of  man  you  were 
during  the  happy  days  that  we  spent  together. 

Still  it  is  very  pleasant  to  be  assured  in  plain  English,  and 
in  the  manly  terms  which  you  employ,  yr  fixed  resolution  to 
stick  to  the  work  you  have  undertaken,  through  thick  and 
thin — and  that,  having  put  your  hand  to  the  plough,  no  con- 
sideration will  move  you  from  the  work  you  have  begun — 
arid  no  temptation  can  cause  you  to  turn  back  from  it. 

If  you  enjoyed  my  visit — no  less  I  assure  you,  did  I  enjoy 
mine.  Your  happy  family  life,  our  common  interests  and  the, 
to  me,  very  interesting  chats  we  had  together,  make  a  very 
bright  spot  in  my  visit  to  Europe. 

At  this  date  there  are  many  letters  recounting  the  miserable 
spirit  of  attacks  against  the  C.P.D. ,  the  pecuniary  support 
offered  by  the  Berlin  Academy  to  the  C.P.D.,  the  indignation 
expressed  to  the  Greenwich  Board  of  Visitors  by  Adams,  the 
support  of  the  C.P.D.  by  members  of  the  Paris  Congress,  the 
letter  from  Auwers  on  the  astronomical  necessity  of  the  C.P.D., 
printed,  circulated  and  supported  by  Stokes,  and  the  final 
determination  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Gill  to  introduce  domestic 
economies  at  the  Cape  (among  others,  Mrs.  Gill  giving  up  her 
carriage),  so  that  they  might  defray  the  cost  at  their  own 
expense. 

A  great  deal  of  correspondence  passed  between  these  two 
about  the  Astrographic  Chart  and  Catalogue.  Naturally, 
their  unique  experience  in  photographing  and  measuring  the 
plates  for  a  catalogue,  possessed  by  no  other  astronomer, 
led  the  permanent  committee  to  rely  upon  their  advice  on 
many  points.  The  responsibility  thus  thrown  mainly  upon 
Gill  led  to  preparatory  discussions  by  correspondence  which 
would  occupy  too  much  space  to  insert  here.  It  is  astonishing 
how  much  designing  and  inventing  resulted. 

1890.  Sept.  29.  MY  DEAR  KAPTEYN, — You  already  have 
my  congratulations  about  the  parallactic  micrometer.  So  I 


390  LIGHTER  CORRESPONDENCE 

need  say  no  more  about  the  matter — except  that  you  are  not 
quite  so  mad  with  delight  as  I  should  have  been. 
'  .  •*«* 

1891.  June  6.     London.— Have  you  read  Pickering's  paper 
in  No.  3025  of  the  Ast.  Nach.  ?     There  you  will  find  that  the 
brighter  stars  of  the  Milky  Way  are  all  stars  of  the  Sirius 
type,  i.  e.  very  white  stars,  very  rich  in  'photographic  rays, 
and   therefore   the    photographic   diameters   in   our   Durch- 
musterung  plates  show  that  this  is  also  true  for  the  fainter 
stars — that,  in  fact,  the  stars  in  the  Milky  Way  are  chemi- 
cally different — or  rather  in  an  earlier  stage  of  stellar  evolu- 
tion than  the  stars  in  the  rest  of  the  sky.     It  is  a  supremely 
interesting  fact  worthy  of  the  fullest  discussion. 

1892.  March   29.     The    Victoria    and    Sappho    reductions 
which  are  immensely  complex  and  laborious  occupy  most  of 
the  time,  and  I  have  been  working  at  them  early  and  late,  for 
I  am  most  desirous  to  reach  the  result  by  the  end  of  this  year, 
in  order  that  Newcomb  may  include  the  result  in  his  new 
discussion  of  Astronomical  constants. 

1892.  July  6.     The  mail  has  just   arrived  bringing  your 
welcome  letter  with  the  jubilant  "  finished."     There  remains 
only  now  time  before  this  letter  must  be  posted  to  say  how 
delighted  I  am  to  hear  the  good  news  and  how  sincerely  I 
congratulate  you.     I,  too,  have  just  finished  a  long  job — 
the  discussion  of  the  Triangulation  of  the  Victoria  comparison 
stars. 

1893.  Nov.  20.     The  defects  of  the  parallactic  instrument 
which  you  describe  are  precisely  those  which  I  wd  have  antici- 
pated— viz.  the  effect  of  the  slow  motion  in  R.A.  in  changing 
the  Declination.     It  was  precisely  this  error  in  nearly  all 
Equatoreals  which  made  the  Victoria  and  Sappho  observations 
in  1882  (Galle's  method)  abortive. 

1894.  Sept.  ii.     What  a  pleasure  your  kind,  manly  and 
sympathetic  letter  was.  .  .  . 

I  am  not  going  just  now  to  write  you  about  all  the  troubles 
I  have  had  in  the  past.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  a  deliberate 
attempt  was  made  to  hand  over  the  Observatory  to  the  Cape 
Gov* — which  would  have  been  equivalent  to  its  extinction — 
and  the  appointment  of  a  successor  to  George  Maclear  (one  of 
my  assistants  who  had  retired)  was  refused — in  consequence 
of  statements  made  to  the  Treasury  that  I  had  been  neglecting 
my  proper  duties  and  been  observing  minor  planets  and  other 
pursuits  on  my  own  account.  Fortunately,  Newcomb  wrote 
me  a  letter  acknowledging  in  strong  terms  the  value  of  the 
Cape  work  to  the  American  Ephemeris — which  gave  the  lie 


PROFESSOR   KAPTEYN  391 

direct  to  my  false  accusers,  and  ended  in  my  getting  a  warm 
official  letter  of  thanks  from  the  Admiralty  for  these  very 
services. 

.  .  .  and  last  mail  brought  me  a  letter  which  has  fairly 
taken  away  my  breath. 

Mr.  Frank  McClean  writes  to  say  that  he  is  desirous  of 
presenting  a  large  telescope  to  the  Cape  Observatory,  for 
astro-photo,  and  spectroscopic  work.  .  .  . 

I  can  hardly  doubt  that  the  Admiralty  will  accept  such  a 
splendid  offer  in  the  same  spirit  in  which  it  has  been  made. 

1895.  April  9.  I  have  no  words  to  express  my  delight  and 
satisfaction  in  your  work,  nor  rny  sense  of  the  value  of  the 
great  service  you  have  rendered  to  astronomy  by  this  work. 
...  It  is  a  great  satisfaction  to  me  to  think — on  no  less 
authority  than  that  of  your  dear  wife — that  the  Durch- 
musterung  has  not  been  over  much  work  for  you.  I  mean 
that  you  are  physically  and  mentally  better  and  not  worse  for 
your  labours.  .  .  .  Above  all,  I  rejoice  in  the  true  friend  I 
have  found  in  you — may  that  friendship  ever  grow  with  our 
years. 

1898.  Feb.  23.     I  am  very  glad  that  you  are  pleased  with 
the  Cape  Annals,  Vols.  VI  and  VII.     [Solar  Parallax.]     I  do 
think  you  have  described  its  leading  feature — viz.  the  reality — 
or  at  least  the  earnest  endeavour  to  seek  out  the  reality — 
of  the  results,  and  the  reality  of  the  probable  errors,  and  to 
hunt  out  all  sources  of  systematic  error.     That  has  been  my 
main  endeavour,  and  I  am  very  pleased  that  you  think  I 
have  succeeded. 

1899.  April  6.     A  thousand  heartiest  congratulations  on 
the   completion   of  the   Durchmusterung   Catalogue.     What 
a  load  off  your  weary  shoulders  !     How  splendidly  you  have 
redeemed  the  promise  you  made  me  in  1884,  and  how  thor- 
oughly you  have  done  your  great  work  !     It  will  ever  remain 
a  standing  memorial  of  yr  devotion  to  Science,  yr  earnestness 
of  purpose  and  yr  wonderful  working  capacity.  .  .  . 

De  Sitter  is  going  on  with  the  parallax  of  the  big  proper 
motion  star  and  his  photometer  work,  and  making  good  pro- 
gress with  the  reduction  of  the  Jupiter  Satellite  Heliometer 
observations.  He  seems  very  happy  in  his  married  life,  and 
his  wife  acts  as  clerk  to  him  in  his  observing. 

1902.  Jan.  29.  I  am  so  glad  to  find  that  the  grant  of  the 
medal  [Gold  Medal,  R.A.S.]  has  been  duly  confirmed  and 
that  it  gives  you  such  satisfaction. 

You  are  quite  right  when  you  say  that  the  most  valuable 
part  of  these  recognitions  is  the  weight  which  they  give  to 


392  LIGHTER  CORRESPONDENCE 

one's  recommendations  and  the  leverage  they  give  in  procuring 
additional  funds  for  research. 

1905.  October  18.  .  .  .  I^ave  a  letter  dated  November  6th 
from  my  old  Chief  Lord  Crawford  to  say  that  he  was  sailing 
that  day  in  his  yacht,  the  Valhalla,  for  the  Cape  via  Tristan 
d'Acunha  and  neighbouring  islands  where,  he  was  to  hunt  for 
"  Birds  and  Bugs  "  for  the  British  Museum.  He  expected  to 
arrive  in  about  2  months  so  he  may  drop  in  any  day.  I  am 
looking  forward  with  immense  interest  to  showing  him  the 
Cape  Observatory. 

After  Sir  David  Gill  retired  to  London  his  correspondence 
with  Professor  Kapteyn  became  even  more  continuous  than 
in  the  previous  twenty  years,  and  their  meetings  were  more 
frequent.  The  following  letters  are  all  dated  from  De  Vere 
Gardens  unless  otherwise  stated.  Kapteyn's  theories  and 
deductions  became  one  of  Gill's  greatest  interests. 

1907.  Dec.    10.  .  .  .  I   have   a   most   troublesome   set   of 
lectures  to  deliver  at  the  R1  Institution. 

I  undertook  it  for  the  sake  of  "  filthy  lucre  " — and  only  set 
about  the  preparation  a  few  days  ago. 

1908.  April  14.     I  was  so  glad  to  hear  some  time  ago  that 
you  are  going  to  lecture  at  the  Royal  Institution  on  the 
22nd  May,  and  my  wife  wrote  to  Mrs.  Kapteyn  to  say  that 
we  hoped  you  would  both  be  able  to  come  to  England  and 
stay  with  us. 

1908.  April  29.  I  wrote  Dyson  asking  him  to  come  up 
from  Edinburgh  when  you  come,  or  rather,  asking  if  he  could 
manage  it.  He  is  delighted.  ...  He  will  meet  you  at  dinner 
on  the  23rd  May.  I  am  writing  to  Eddington  to  ask  him  to 
come  also.  So  we  shall  have  a  "  star-streaming  "  dinner. 

1911.  July  3.  ...  We  have  been  all  coronation  mad  here. 
Now  it  is  all  happily  over — a  marvel  of  organization  and, 
thank  God,  free  from  accidents  or  misfortunes  of  any  kind. 
On  the  Thursday  I  was  in  Westminster  Abbey — a  wonderful 
experience.  On  the  Friday  I  watched  the  procession  from 
the  Athenaeum,  and  on  Saturday  went  to  the  Naval  Review 
as  an  Admiralty  guest.  I  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  with 
Sir  Philip  Watts  (Chief  Constructor  of  the  Navy)  whilst  we 
sailed  through  the  fleet — so  I  got  from  him  the  history  of  all 
the  different  types  of  ships  and  the  reasons  for  the  successive 
changes  of  type.  To-day  I  have  been  at  Cambridge  with  the 
Geodetic  Comparateurs  for  India — and  at  a  meeting  with 


PROFESSOR   KAPTEYN  393 

Dyson,  Newall,  Darwin,  Larmor,  as  a  joint  committee  of  the 
R1  Society  and  R.A.S.  to  consider  the  future  work  and  staff 
of  the  Nautical  Almanac  Office. 

34  DE  VERE  GARDENS,  KENSINGTON,  April  17,  1912. 

MY  DEAR  KAPTEYN,  .  .  .  My  time  has  been  a  great  deal 
taken  up  in  connection  with  the  plans  for  the  telescope  and 
dome  for  Santiago;  with  an  apparatus  for  determining  the 
temperature  coefficient  and  absolute  lengths  of  Geodetic 
bars  for  the  Survey  of  India  and  experiments  with  the  com- 
pleted apparatus  mounted  in  London ;  final  details  about  the 
mounting  of  the  Johannesburg  telescope,  etc.,  etc. 

Besides  that  I  have  undertaken  the  Presidency  of  the 
Research  Defence  Society  in  succession  to  Lord  Cromer  who 
has  just  retired  from  it.  Perhaps  you  do  not  know  that,  in 
this  country,  there  are  13  anti-vivisection  societies  which  are 
doing  their  best  to  prevent  research  involving  vivisection, 
and  they  are  supported  with  very  large  funds  subscribed  by 
all  the  nervous  old  and  young  women  who  keep  pet  lap  dogs 
and  think  they  are  more  valuable  than  the  lives  of  human 
beings.  Of  course,  we  have  all  the  intelligence  of  the  country 
on  our  side l  and  we  have  to  do  our  best  to  defend  honest 
research  against  the  attacks  of  the  large  body  of  ignorant 
people  who  have  votes,  and  the  politician  only  cares  for  votes, 
so  that  there  is  always  danger  of  such  restriction  being  imposed 
by  law  as  to  render  effective  research  impossible.  But  I  am 
getting  into  quite  a  long  letter  about  matters  which  do  not 
directly  concern  you. 

I  am  sorry  to  say  that  we  are  no  further  advanced  than 
before  with  getting  optical  glass  for  the  Santiago  and  Johannes- 
burg telescopes;  Grubb  has  ordered  duplicate  discs  from 
Chance.  I  am  going  down  to  Birmingham  next  week  to  see 
them  and  I  moved  and  carried  unanimously  at  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  Directors  of  the  National  Physical  Laboratory 
a  motion  that  the  Laboratory  should  take  steps  in  co-opera- 
tion with  the  great  g]ass  manufacturers  to  institute  experi- 
ments for  the  improvement  of  optical  glass  and  its  production. 

We  are  expecting  Backlund  in  London  early  in  July  about 
his  new  equatoreal  for  Nikolaieff  and  his  reflector  for  Semeis, 
and  he  will  at  the  same  time  attend  the  celebration  of  the 
25oth  Anniversary  of  the  Foundation  of  the  Ro}^al  Society 
of  London. 

Most  of  the  time  I  can  spare  for  other  things  has  been  given 
to  the  completion  of  the  History  of  the  Cape  Observatory,  the 
description  of  which,  as  you  know,  is  printed,  awaiting 

1  Cf.  p.  328. 


394  LIGHTER  CORRESPONDENCE 

the  history  as  its  introduction.  I  had  hoped  to  complete  the 
History  in  20  pages  (each  page  about  equal  to  4  of  an  ordinary 
book)  but  I  have  already;  got  to  100  and  am  not  finished, 
and  I  do  not  think  there  is 'a  word  of  it  that  will  not  be  interest- 
ing to  Astronomers,  although,  of  course,  they  know  something 
about  it  already.  I  have  been  in  correspondence  with  De 
Sitter  in  connection  with  the  part  referring  to  Jupiter's 
Satellites  and  I  am  adding  to  that  chapter  a  programme  of 
the  observations  necessary  for  the  next  ten  years  to  complete 
the  data  for  a  thorough  determination  of  the  libration  and 
other  constants  of  a  new  theory.  .  .  . 

I  shall  be  greatly  interested  to  hear  the  outcome  of  your 
researches  on  the  helium  stars.  I  envy  you  in  the  great  field 
of  research  which  you  have  on  hand.  I  find  myself,  as  I 
explained  to  you,  thrown  by  force  of  circumstances  into  quite 
another  direction  of  work,  but  I  hope  not  a  useless  one. 

When  are  you  coming  to  London  on  your  way  to 
America?  .  .  . 

Our  love  to  you  and  yours.     Ever  thine,       DAVID  GILL. 

1912.  May  12.  ...  It  will  be  such  a  joy  to  see  you  and 
Mrs.  Kapteyn.  .  .  .  Yes,  indeed — we,  too,  were  full  of  the 
terrible  business  of  the  Titanic.     We  had  only  one  friend  on 
board — Lady  Rothes — mercifully  she  was  saved — and  indeed 
behaved  quite  heroically.  ..." 

Eddington  is,  I  think,  the  soundest  man  we  have  in  England 
on  things  cosmical. 

1913.  June  5.     MY  DEAR  KAPTEYN, — I  am  inviting  Dyson, 
Eddington,   Chapman,   Hills    (President    R.A.S.),    Pickering, 
Hough,  and  Rambaut  to  meet  you  on  the  afternoon  of  the 
I7th  instant  at  3  o'clock.     Kindly  tell  me  if  there  are  any 
others  you  would  wish  present.     Yours  ever,     DAVID  GILL. 

1913.  October  31.  A  little  post  card  from  your  wife  to 
mine  tells  me  that  you  are  once  more  back  on  this  side  of  the 
Atlantic,  and  so  I  am  sending  you  a  copy  of  my  History  and 
Description  of  the  Cape  Observatory.  .  .  . 

We  had  a  delightful  holiday;  from  July  16  to  August  9 
in  Wales,  and  then  until  September  25th  at  Pitlochrie,  in 
Perthshire,  whence  my  wife  returned  to  London,  and  I  went 
for  some  deer-stalking  in  Argyllshire  till  October  i.  I  got  a 
fine  stag  one  day,  but  had  two  blank  days.  The  season  was 
a  late  one,  so  that  the  big  stags  had  not  come  down  from  the 
very  high  mountains  to  the  ground,  only  2000  ft.  above  the 
sea,  on  which  I  was  stalking;  but  I  had  a  rare  good  time, 
glorious  weather,  and  enjoyed  myself  hugely. 

I  am  looking  forward  to  the  receipt  of  a  letter  from  you 
with  great  interest. 


PROFESSOR  HALE  395 

LETTERS  TO  PROFESSOR  G.  E.  HALE  (U.S.A.) 
All  of  the  following  letters  to  G.  E.  Hale  are  dated  from 
34  De  Vere  Gardens,  Kensington. 

1909.  Jan.  5.  ...  I  am  looking  forward  very  much  to 
Kapteyn's  arrival  in  the  hope  of  hearing  all  about  the  wonders 
of  your  observatory,  and  the  results  of  his  talks  with  you. 

I  have  not  been  very  well  since  the  beginning  of  October — 
not  seriously  ill,  but  out  of  sorts,  and  only  able  to  do  the 
things  most  pressing,  and  these  seem  to  be  continuous — 
committees,  lectures,  Council  meetings,  surveys,  a  couple  of 
books  on  the  stocks,  etc.,  etc.  .  .  . 

About  coming  to  America  next  year.  My  wife  is  a  very  bad 
traveller  by  railway.  A  considerable  railway  journey — say 
10  or  12  hours — knocks  her  up  for  at  least  a  week — a  few  such 
would  have  the  most  serious  results — and  we  are  a  very  Darby 
and  Joan  old  couple  who  like  to  be  together  as  much  as 
possible.  .  .  . 

This  year  also  I  have  to  attend  the  Committee  of  the 
International  Bureau  of  Weights  and  Measures  at  Paris, 
March  21 — Apr.  I,  and  the  Astrographic  Congress,  Ap.  19-24. 
Between  the  two  we  think  of  going  to  Italy  which  we  have 
never  seen.  .  .  . 

1909.  Jan.  19.  Kapteyn  writes  that  there  is  a  possibility 
of  your  coming  to  Paris  for  the  Astrographic  meeting, 
April  19-24.  This  is  glorious  news.  .  .  . 

Newcomb  writes  me  that  he  was  on  the  point  of  undergoing 
an  operation — and,  tho'  he  speaks  lightly  of  it  I  am  very 
anxious  about  the  result. 

1909.  Aug.  ii.  .  .  .  I  have  just  been  asked  to  look  after 
the  construction  of  a  26  inch  refractor  of  36  feet  focus  for 
Innes  at  the  Cape.  The  Transvaal  Gov*  has  voted  the 
money. 

1909.  Oct.   26.  ...  Dear  old  Vogel  once  said  to  me  at 
Potsdam,  "  My  dear  Gill,  if  you  loaf  me  send  me  some  peetels 
(beetles)  from  de  Cape  " — Now,  if  you  love  me,  send  me 
some  slides. 

1910.  April  7.     On  May  20  I  have  promised  to  give  a 
Friday  evening  lecture  at  the  Royal  Institution  on  "  The 
Sidereal  Universe  " — and  I  want  to  bring  together  the  facts 
that  have  been  recently  determined.     I.  I  wish  very  specially 
to  illustrate  how  "  the  light  of  the  great  nebula  in  Andromeda 
and  of  3  star-clusters  has  been  shown  photographically  to 


396  LIGHTER  CORRESPONDENCE 

contain  a  larger  proportion  of  the  less  refrangible  rays  than 
the  light  of  stars  of  the  same  spectral  type."  [He  adds  3 
more  points  he  wants  to  illustrate  by  work  done  with  Hale's 
6o-inch  reflector.] 

Amongst  other  things  I  wish  to  make  an  appeal  for 
funds  to  start  a  large  reflector  in  the  Southern  Hemisphere, 
by  showing  what  you  are  doing  at  Mxrtmt  Wilson.  I  hear 
that  some  of  the  wealthy  men  in  Johannesburg  are  likely  to 
respond. 

1910.  May  15.  ...  The  death  of  our  beloved  King  has 
thrown  the  country  into  the  deepest  gloom.  .  .  .  We  had  such 
a  terribly  sad  meeting  at  the  R.A.S.  on  Friday.  We  did  none 
of  the  usual  business,  but  simply  passed,  in  silence,  the 
motions  of  sympathy  and  congratulation  to  the  King,  and  of 
condolence  with  the  Queen  Mother  and  Lady  Huggins. 

Huggins'  death  was  terribly  sudden.  Just  one  week  before 
his  death  he  attended  a  meeting  of  a  joint  committee  of  the 
Royal  Soc.  and  R.A.S.  ...  He  passed  away  quietly  full  of 
years  and  honour — and  I  am  afraid  we  are  not  likely  to  see 
his  like  again.  He  has  been  a  true  friend  to  me  for  47  years 
.  .  .  the  sad  state  of  my  wife's  health,  which  Kapteyn  will 
tell  you  all  about,  is  such  that  I  dare  not  go  to  the  Solar 
Congress. 

It  is  a  very  bitter  disappointment  to  me,  but  there  are 
things  dearer  to  a  man  than  any  congress,  any  gratification 
of  friendship  or  the  desire  to  see  and  know.  .  .  . 

I  have  such  a  deep  interest  in  your  work,  in  Pickering's, 
in  that  going  on  at  Mount  Hamilton  and  at  the  Yerkes  Ob- 
servatory— I  have  so  many  kind  colleagues  and  friends  in 
America  that  I  desire  to  see — all  these  things  are  very  hard 
to  give  up. 

1910.  Nov.  26.  [This  is  a  long  and  searching  criticism  of  a 
proposed  design  for  the  loo-inch  reflector,  and  his  own  sugges- 
tions. In  an  endorsement,  G.  E.  Hale  fully  concurs.  The 
subject  is  discussed,  after  careful  consideration  of  working 
drawings,  in  a  letter  1911.  Feb.  28.] 

On  April  12,  1911,  Sir  David  wrote  a  letter  to  Hale  giving 
a  full  account  of  his  visits  to  the  St.  Gobain's  Glass  Factory 
to  see  what  progress  was  being  made  with  the  glass  disc  for 
the  great  loo-inch  mirror.  It  is  endorsed  by  G.  E.  Hale  with 
this  remark  :  "  This  letter  is  one  of  several  which  illustrate 
how  much  we  owe  to  Gill  in  connection  with  the  loo-inch 
telescope."  In  the  letter  he  describes  the  attempt  to  make 
a  disc. 


PROFESSOR  HALE  397 

They  had  actually  cast  a  full-sized  disc  of  40  centimetres 
in  thickness  and  after  it  had  been  annealed  as  far  as  tem- 
perature 55°  or  60°  Cent,  it  remained  still  whole  and  they 
believed  that  they  had  been  entirely  successful ;  but  before  it 
reached  the  temperature  of  the  outer  air  it  developed  a  number 
of  cracks  as  shown  in  sketch.  This  disc  had  been  cast  in  a 
great  tank — a  tank  being  a  distinct  thing  from  a  pot,  a  pot 
being  defined  as  a  vessel  which  could  be  lifted  out  of  the 
furnace  and  the  central  parts  of  the  contents  poured  into  the 
mould;  whereas  a  tank  is  fixed,  surrounded  by  a  furnace 
and  the  glass  allowed  to  flow  into  the  mould  from  it. 

After  giving  technical  details  of  the  relative  advantages  of 
pots  and  tanks,  and  the  uncertainty  of  the  possibility  of 
making  a  pot  large  enough  to  contain  the  quantity  of  glass 
required  for  filling  a  mould  40  centimetres  deep  from  a  single 
pot,  he  says  that  any  such  attempt  would  require  about  a 
year  to  make  the  pot  and  probably  at  least  another  year 
before  all  the  machinery  for  lifting  and  pouring  could  be  con- 
structed, besides  time  for  experiments  and  for  the  very  slow 
annealing. 

He  mentions  a  suggestion  he  had  made  to  Mr.  Delloye,  who 
thought  it  practicable,  of  a  method,  founded  upon  actual 
experience,  for  casting  two  20-centimetre  discs,  polishing 
a  surface  of  one  plane,  the  other  convex,  and  moulding  them 
together  at  moderate  temperature,  excluding  air-bubbles 
by  that  process.  He  gives  details  about  testing  the  co- 
efficients of  expansion  of  the  two  discs. 

It  is  a  long  and  very  interesting  technical  letter,  showing 
intimate  knowledge  on  the  subject  of  glass  making  such  as 
is  possessed  by  few  astronomers. 

At  this  period  Dr.  Hale's  health  suffered  severely  during 
some  years  from  overwork. 

1911.  April  13.  We  came  back  here  from  Paris  on 
Saturday.  I  enclose  letter  to  you  about  the  loo-inch 
telescope  question.  Don't  read  it  if  you  are  not  up  to  the 
mark. 

1911.  October  21.  ...  I  am  just  running  over  to  Paris 
for  a  Congress  about  Nautical  Almanacs. 

1912.  November  26.  ...  About  our  great  friend  Darwin, 
I  fear  there  is  no  hope  of  his  recovery.     On  the  morning  of 
the  I3th  instant  I  got  a  letter  from  Darwin's  married  daughter 


398  LIGHTER  CORRESPONDENCE 

to  say  that  her  father  had  been  unable  to  see  me,  he  was 
practically  so  low  that  he  could  not  speak  and  had  been  almost 
in  a  comatose  condition, jm  the  I2th  he  had  rallied  consider- 
ably, spoke  of  me,  sent' me  his  love  and  his  good-bye.  On 
the  following  morning,  however,  I  received  a  letter  from  Lady 
Darwin  to  say  that  the  rally  had  continued  and  that  he  was 
anxious  to  see  me,  so  I  went  at  once  to  him  and  had  a  talk 
with  him  for  about  twenty  minutes. 

He  began  by  saying  that  he  knew  he  had  only  a  few  days 
or  perhaps  a  few  weeks  to  live,  but  that  for  him  the  bitterness 
of  death  was  passed  and  he  was  content  to  go,  his  chief  regret 
being  that  his  death  would  cause  his  wife  so  much  sorrow. 

He  was  absolutely  and  entirely  calm,  spoke  of  things 
going  on  in  the  scientific  world,  discussed  the  War,1  the  Scene 
in  the  House  of  Commons  on  the  previous  day  and  even 
cracked  some  jokes  on  things  in  general.  It  was  really  splendid 
to  see  a  man  so  absolutely  tranquil  in  mind  under  such 
circumstances. 

After  telling  me  one  or  two  things  he  wished  me  to  do  for 
him  he  bade  me  quietly  good-bye,  and  I  fear  I  shall  never 
see  him  again,  but  he  still  continues  to  linger  on,  the  process 
of  exhaustion  being  apparently  slower  than  was  anticipated. 

I  shall  lose  in  him  one  of  my  best  and  most  trusted  friends. 

I  am  greatly  interested  in  the  accounts  you  give  of  your 
experiences  with  the  100  inch  disc.  ...  I  am  distinctly  of 
opinion  that  a  perfect  disc  of  about  20  centimetres  thickness 
would  be  sufficient  for  your  purpose  if  mounted  with  the  very 
beautiful  means  of  support  which  are  described  in  the  account 
of  the  60  inch. 

The  getting  of  glass  is  a  universal  trouble  just  now,  I  mean 
not,  of  course,  so  much  for  reflectors  (at  least,  up  to  the  size 
of  60")  but  for  refractors  of  any  size  above  18  inches.  We 
have  waited  now  nearly  three  years  in  the  hope  of  getting 
26  inch  discs  for  the  Johannesburg  telescope.  I  am  also 
looking  after  a  24-inch  telescope  for  Ristenpart  at  Santiago 
[Chile]  and  a  32-inch  for  Nicolaieff,  and  all  that  it  is  possible 
to  do  is  to  encourage  Messrs.  Chance  in  every  possible  way  to 
do  their  best.  They  are  now  trying  pots  of  8  times  the 
cubic  capacity  of  their  former  pots  in  the  hopes  of  getting 
blocks  of  uniform  glass  in  the  centre  of  these  meltings,  and 
they  are  trying  to  improve  their  modes  of  stirring.  I  cannot 
tell  what  has  happened  to  the  people  in  Paris  and  Jena. 
They  must  have  lost  some  old  hands  who  had  little  secrets 
which  have  died  with  them  or  who  had  more  perseverance 
or  a  higher  sense  of  duty  in  connection  with  stirring.  I  do 
not  know  what  it  is  but  the  fact  remains  that  nobody  seems 
t1  The  Balkan  War.] 


PROFESSOR  HALE  399 

to  be  able  to  get  large  discs  of  optical  glass  in  the  present  day, 
and  yet  not  so  long  ago  Mantois  was  able  to  provide  36  and 
40  inch  discs. 

I  am  trying  to  get  the  History  and  Description  of  the  Cape 
Observatory  out  of  hand.  I  have  been  at  it  for  a  long  time 
through  many  interruptions. 

1913.  June  17.  It  is  good  of  you  to  let  me  know  of  your 
coming. 

I  will  call  about  3.15  at  Brown's  Hotel  on  Sunday  for  a 
short  crack.  I  know  it  must  not  be  too  long. 

This  afternoon  Kapteyn,  Pickering,  Dyson,  Eddington, 
Russell,  Hough,  Rambaut,  Fowler,  Chapman,  Schleisinger, 
and  Hills  were  here  for  a  palaver  of  a  couple  of  hours. 

Kapteyn  leaves  London  to-morrow  morning  with  his  wife 
for  Mount  Wilson.  I  am  sorry  to  say  my  wife  is  very  far 
from  well.  But  all  news  when  we  meet.  My  wife  joins  in 
warmest  regards. 

The  next  letter  is  endorsed  from  G.  E.  Hale  :  "My  last 
letter  from  Gill." 

1913.  Nov.  i. — I  have  written  a  book,  the  History  and 
Description  of  the  Cape  Observatory.  .  .  .  Dyson  is  to  dis- 
tribute it  along  with  the  other  publications  to  be  sent  to 
Mount  Wilson. 

I  do  not  know  that  you  will  find  anything  new  in  the  book 
and  yet,  though  it  has  cost  me  a  lot  of  work,  I  think  it  is  worth 
while  to  put  together  in  one  collective  history  the  brief  account 
of  the  total  contribution  of  the  Cape  Observatory  to  Astro- 
nomy, and  a  description  of  the  new  instruments  which  have 
been  erected  under  my  instructions  at  the  Cape.  ...  I  just 
recently  returned  from  Paris,  where  I  had  much  interesting 
communion  with  our  mutual  friend  Stratton  of  your  Standard 
Department.  .  .  . 

We  spent  a  delightful  holiday,  first  three  weeks  at  Llan- 
drindod,  in  Wales,  where  I  drank  nasty  smelling  waters  and 
played  much  golf  for  the  benefit  of  my  constitution,  busying 
myself  in  the  mornings  with  work  connected  with  the  book 
which  I  have  been  writing,  and  in  particular  with  the  forma- 
tion of  the  index  which  appears  at  the  end  of  it.  Then  we 
went  on  the  9th  of  August  to  Pitlochrie,  in  Perthshire,  where 
I  still  employed  the  mornings  on  the  index,  etc.,  and  in  the 
usual  matters  of  correspondence,  and  in  the  afternoons  played 
golf,  but  with  not  a  few  whole  days  devoted  to  the  fascinating 
process  of  grouse  shooting,  and  had  capital  sport  on  various 
moors  in  Perthshire  and  Invernesshire. 

On  September  25th  I  went  to  Sir  Andrew  Noble's  at  Ard- 


400  LIGHTER  CORRESPONDENCE 

kinglas  in  Argyllshire,  where  I  went  deer-stalking  for  three 
days,  but  had  the  luck  only  to  get  a  shot  on  one  day,  the  result 
being  a  very  fine  8-pointgr  stag.  .  .  . 

I  returned  to  London  oh  the  ist  October,  and  was  from  the 
6th  to  the  igth  in  Paris,  attending  the  Committee  and  Con- 
ference meetings  connected  with  the  International  Bureau 
of  Weights  and  Measures,  where,  as  I. have  already  said,  I 
met  Stratton. 

After  that  I  had  a  couple  of  days  excellent  partridge  and 
pheasant  shooting,  and  now,  here  I  am,  settled  down  to  work 
for  the  winter,  although  I  have  three  days'  pheasant  shooting 
yet  before  me. 

With  all  this  I  am  in  capital  health. 


APPENDIX  II 
PAPERS   BY 

SIR    DAVID    GILL,   K.C.B. 

KNIGHT  OF  THE  PRUSSIAN  ORDER  POUR  LE  MERITE, 

COMMANDER  OF  THE  LEGION  D'HONNEUR  (FRANCE), 

HON.  LL.D.,  ABERDEEN  AND  EDINBURGH;    HON.  D.Sc., 

OXFORD,  CAMBRIDGE,  DUBLIN,  AND  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE, 

F.R.S.,  HON.  F.R.S.E.,  FOREIGN  SEC.  R.A.S. 

Correspondent  de  I'lnstitut  de  France  (Academic  des  Sciences)  et  du 
Bureau  des  Longitudes  (France] ;  Foreign  Member  della  Reale  Academia 
dei  Lincei,  Roma;  Foreign  Member  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Sciences, 
Amsterdam ;  Corresponding  Member  of  the  Imperial  Academy  of 
Sciences,  Petrograd.  FOREIGN  MEMBER  of  the  National  Academy 
of  Sciences,  Washington;  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Sciences  of  Sweden; 
of  the  Societe  Hollendaise  Nationale  des  Sciences  (Haarlem) ;  of  the 
American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences  (Boston)',  of  the  American 
Philosophical  Society  of  Philadelphia;  of  the  Italian  Spectroscopic 
Society  (Rome).  HONORARY  MEMBER  of  the  New  York  Academy 
of  Sciences ;  of  the  Societe  des  Sciences  de  Finlande  (Helsingfors) ;  of 
the  Royal  Society  of  Glasgow ;  of  the  Royal  Society  of  South  Africa;  and 
First  Honorary  Member  of  the  Astronomical  and  Astrophysical  Society  o/ 
America.  CORRESPONDING  MEMBER  of  the  Socitte  Nationale  des 
Sciences,  Cherbourg  ;  of  the  Sociedade  de  Geographia,  Lisbon,  etc. 

Bruce  Medallist  of  the  Astronomical  Society  of  the  Pacific  (1900)  ; 
Watson  Medallist  of  the  National  Academy  of  the  United  States  (1900) ; 
Gold  Medallist  of  the  Royal  Astronomical  Society  of  London  (1882  and 
1908) ;  Royal  Medallist  of  the  Royal  Society  of  London  (1903) ;  Valz 
Medallist  of  the  Institute  of  France  (Acad.  des  Sciences)  (1882). 


Prepared  by  Mr.  W.  H.  Wesley,  Assistant  Secretary,  Royal 
Astronomical  Society. 

D  D  401 


f. 
LIST  OF  PAPERS 

[As  a  rule  the  official  publications  of  the  Cape  Observatory 
have  not  been  included  in  this  list.] 

Note  on   Stars  within  the  trapezium  of  the  Nebula  in  Orion. 

R.  A.  S.  M.  N.,1  Vol.  27,  1867,  pp.  315-316. 
A  suggestion  in  the  use  of  chronometers,  with  a  view  to  its 

use  in  the  approaching  transit  of  Venus.     R.  A.  S.  M.  N., 

Vol.  32,  1872,  p.  216. 

On  the  proposed  expedition  to  observe  the  approaching  opposi- 
tion of  Mars.     R.  A.  S.  M.  N.,  Vol.  37,  1877,  pp.  310-326. 
On  the  opposition  of  the  Minor  Planet  Ariadne  as  a  means  of 

determining  the   solar   parallax.     R.A.S.M.N.,    Vol.    37, 

1877,  pp.  327-333- 
On  the  opposition  of  the  Minor  Planet  Melpomene  as  a  means  of 

determining  the   solar   parallax.     R.A.S.M.N.,   Vol.    37, 

1877,  pp.  412-422. 

Reports  of  his  expedition  to  Ascension  (1877).     R.  A.  S.  M.  N., 

Vol.  38,  1878,  pp.  2-1 1,  57-58,  89-90. 
Observations  of  Mars  obtained  at  Ascension  between   July  31 

and   September  4    [1877],   both  inclusive.     R.A.S.M.N., 

Vol.  38,  1878,  pp.  17-21. 
The  determination  of  the  solar  parallax.     Observatory,   Vol.   i, 

1878,  pp.  7-13,  38-44,  74-82,  101-106,  129-134,  273-280. 
On  the  progress  of  the  reductions  connected  with  the  Ascension 

Expedition.     R.  A.  S.  M.  N.,  Vol.  39,  1879,  pp.  51-72. 
On  the  results  of  Meridian  Observations  of  the  Mars  comparison 

stars.     R.A.S.M.N.,  Vol.  39,  1879,  pp.  98-123. 
On  the  observations  of  a  Centauri  made  with  the  heliometer 

at    Ascension    in    1877.      R.A.S.M.N.,    Vol.    39,     1879, 

pp. 123-126. 
On    a    new    method    of    determining    astronomical    refractions. 

R.  A.  S.  M.  N.,  Vol.  39,  1879,  pp.  366-368. 
On  the  value  of  the  solar  parallax  derived  from  observations  of 

Mars  made  at  Ascension   Island   during  the  opposition  of 

1877.     R.A.S.M.N.,  Vol.  39,  1879,  pp.  431-437. 
Observations  of  the  great  southern  Comet,    1880,   I.,   made  at 

the    Cape    of    Good    Hope,    February    2    to    February    15. 

R.  A.  S.  M.  N.,  Vol.  40,  1880,  pp.  300-301. 
First  report  [1879]  of  the  Committee  appointed  to  consider  the 

question    of    improvements    in    astronomical    clocks.     Brit. 

Ass.  Rep.,  1880,  pp.  56-58. 
Observations  of  Comet   I.,   1880,  made  at  the  Royal  Observa- 

1  Royal  Astronomical  Society  Monthly  Notices. 
402 


LIST  OF  PAPERS  403 

tory,  Cape  of  Good  Hope.     R.A.S.M.N.,  Vol.  40,   1880, 

pp.  623-627. 

Account  of  a  determination  of  the  solar  parallax  from  observa- 
tions of  Mars  made  at  Ascension  in  1877.  R.  A.  S.  Memoirs, 

Vol.  46,  1881,  pp.  1-172. 
Annual  Address  .  .  .  July   30,    1880   [On  the  determination  of 

the  Earth's  mean  distance  from  the  Sun].     5.  Africa  Phil. 

Soc.  Trans.,  Vol.  2,  1881,  pp.  xxiii-xliii. 
Observations  of  the  Comet  a,  1880.     Ast.  Nach.,  Vol.  98,  1881, 

col.  29-30. 
On   the   solar  parallax   derived   from  observations   of  Mars   at 

Ascension  in  1877.     R.  A.  S.  M.  N.,  Vol.  41,  1881,  pp.  317- 

325- 

On  the  best  mode  of  undertaking  a  discussion  of  the  observa- 
tions of  contact  to  be  made  at  the  approaching  Transit  of 
Venus.  R.A.S.M.N.,  Vol.  42,  1882,  pp.  285-286. 

On  the  effect  of  different  kinds  of  thermometer  screens,  and  of 
different  exposures,  in  estimating  the  diurnal  range  of  tem- 
perature at  the  Royal  Observatory,  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 
Meteorol.  Soc.  Quarterly  Journal,  Vol.  8,  1882,  pp.  238-243. 

On  observations  of  Comets,  1881,  II.  and  III.,  of  Wells'  Comet, 
and  of  the  great  Comet  (b),  1882,  made  at  the  Royal  Observa- 
tory, Cape  of  Good  Hope.  R.A.S.M.N.,  Vol.  43,  1883, 
pp.  7-19. 

Notes  on  the  great  Comet   (b),   1882.     R.A.S.M.N.,  Vol.  43, 

1883,  pp.  19-21. 

On  photographs  of  the  great  Comet  (b),  1882.     R.  A.  S.  M.  N., 

Vol.  43,   1883,  pp.  53-54;    and  Paris  Acad.  Compt.  Rend., 

Vol.  95,  1882,  pp.  1342-1343. 
On  the  Victoria  and  Sappho  observations   [1882].     Ast.  Nach., 

Vol.  104,  1883,  col.  55-58. 
Note  on  some  criticisms  made  by  Mr.   Stone  on  the  methods 

available  for  determining  the  solar  parallax.     R.  A.  S.  M.  N., 

Vol.  43,  1883,  pp.  307-315- 
Note  on  the  nucleus  of  the  great  Comet  (b),  1882.     R.  A.  S.  M.  N., 

Vol.  43,  1883,  pp.  319-321. 
Preliminary    account    of    a    telegraphic    determination    of    the 

longitude  of  the  Royal  Observatory,  Cape  of  Good   Hope. 

R.  A.  S.  M.  N.,  Vol.  43,  1883,  pp.  408-419. 
Nouvelles  recherches  sur  les  distances  des  Etoiles.    Astronomie, 

1884,  pp.  456-459. 

Note  on  Nyren's  determination  of  the  constant  of  aberration. 

R.  A.  S.  M.  N.,  Vol.  44,  1884,  pp.  275-277. 
Observations   of   Comet,    1884    (Barnard),    made   at   the    Royal 

Observatory,  Cape  of  Good  Hope.     R.A.S.  M.  N.,  Vol.  45, 

1885,  pp.  45-49,  477- 

On  systematic  errors  in  the  readings  of  the  circle  microscopes  of 
the  Cape  Transit  Circle  [1884].  R.  A.  S.  M.  N.,  Vol.  45, 
1885,  pp.  64-90. 

Observations  of  Comet,  1884,  II.  (Barnard),  made  at  the  Royal 
Observatory,  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Ast.  Nach.,  Vol.  no, 
1885,  201-206;  Vol.  112,  1885,  187-188;  R.A.S.M.N., 
Vol.  45,  1885,  pp.  476-477. 

Observations  of  Comet,  1884,  I.  (Pons,  1812),  made  at  the  Royal 


404  LIST  OF   PAPERS 

Observatory,  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Ast  Nach.,  Vol.  112, 
885,  141-144;  R.A.S.M.N.,  Vol.  45,  1885,  pp.  471-476. 

Observations  of  Comet,  1884;  III.  (Wolf),  made  at  the  Royal 
Observatory,  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Ast.  Nach.,  Vol.  112, 
1885,  257-260;  R.A.S.M.N.,  Vol.  45,  1885,  pp.  478-480. 

Mean  places  of  stars  observed  with  Comet,  1882,  I.,  from  observa- 
tions with  the  transit-circle  at  the  Royal  Observatory,  Cape 
of  Good  Hope.  Ast.  Nach.,  Vol.  112,  i'885,  393-396. 

Reply  to  Mr.  Stone's  paper  on  screw  errors  as  affecting  the  N.P.D. 
of  the  Cape  Catalogue  for  1880.  R.A.S.M.N.,  Vol.  45, 

1885,  pp.  432-444. 

The  Cape  Catalogue  for  1880  [letter  to  the  Editor].    Observatory, 

Vol.  8,  1885,  pp.  176-177. 
Sternschnuppenfall,   1885,  November  27.     Ast  Nach.,  Vol.   113, 

1886,  369. 

Observations  of  Comet,  1885,  II.,  made  at  the  Royal  Observatory, 
Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Ast.  Nach.,  Vol.  114,  1886,  121, 
122. 

Beobachtungen  des  Come  ten,  1886  (Fabry),  am  Cap  der  Guten 
Hofmung.  Ast.  Nach.,  Vol.  114,  1886,  235-236. 

On  some  suggested  improvements  in  the  practical  working  of 
M.  Loewy's  new  method  of  determining  the  elements  of 
astronomical  refraction.  R.  A.  S.  M.  N.,  Vol.  46,  1886, 
pp.  325-328. 

Photographic  astronomique.  Bull.  Astron.,  Vol.  3,  1886,  pp.  161- 
164,  321-323. 

Sur  les  meilleures  dispositions  instrumentales  pour  la  determina- 
tion des  elements  de  la  refraction  au  moyen  de  la  methode 
de  M.  Loewy,  Paris.  Ac.  Sci.,  C.R.,  Vol.  102,  1886,  pp.  732- 

735- 
Recent  researches  on  the  distances  of  the  fixed  stars  and  some 

future  problems  in  sidereal  astronomy   [1884].     Roy.  Inst. 

Proc.,  Vol.  n,  1887,  pp.  91-106. 
Observations  of  comets  made  at  the  Royal  Observatory,  Cape 

of  Good  Hope,  in  the  year  1886.     Ast.  Nach.,  Vol.  116,  1887, 

305-316;    R.  A.  S.  M.  N.,  Vol.  47,  1887,  pp.  277-293. 
Observations  of  comets  made  at  the  Royal  Observatory,  Cape 

of  Good  Hope.     Ast.  Nach.,  Vol.  117,  1887,  339-340. 
Schreiben   betr.    Beobachtungen   des    Cometen,    1888,    I.,   nebst 

Mittheilungen  iiber  den  Fortgang  der  Durchmusterung  des 

sudlichen  Himmels  und  das  neue  Heliometer.     Ast  Nach., 

Vol.  119,  1888,  257-262. 
On  the  occultations  of  Dollen's  list  of  stars,  observed  at  the 

Royal  Observatory,  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  during  the  total 

eclipse  of  the   moon,    1888,    January   28.     R.A.S.M.N., 

Vol.  48,  1888,  pp.  297-299. 
The   applications   of   photography   in   astronomy    [1887].     Roy. 

Inst.  Proc.,  Vol.  12,  1889,  pp.  158-172;   Butt.  Astron.,  Vol.  4, 

1887,  pp.  361-380. 

[On  recent  work  at  the  Cape  Observatory ;   letter  to  the  Editor.] 

Observatory,  Vol.  n,  1888,  pp.  85-87. 
Note  on  Investigations  on  the  accuracy  of  the  Paris  photographs 

[Astrographic  Charts].    Observatory,  Vol.  n,  1888,  pp.  292-296. 
The  Photographic  Chart  of  the  Heavens  [reply  to  criticism,  re 


LIST  OF   PAPERS  405 

Catalogue  of   Stars  to  the    nth  Magnitude].     Observatory, 
Vol.  n,  1888,  pp.  320-326. 

Observations  of  Comet,   1888  (Encke),  made  at  the  Royal  Ob- 
servatory, Cape  of  Good  Hope.     Ast.  Nach.,  Vol.  120,  1889, 

Elemente  des  Cometen,  1889  (Davidson).     Ast.  Nach.,  Vol.  122, 

1889,  191-192. 

On  the  determination  of  errors  of  graduation  without  cumu- 
lative error,  and  the  application  of  the  method  to  the  scales 

of    the    Cape   heliometer.     R.A.S.M.N.,    Vol.    49,    1889, 

pp.  105-118. 
Catalogue  of  Stars  to  the   nth  Magnitude   [letter  to   Editor]. 

Observatory,  Vol.  12, 1889,  pp.  438-440,  and  Vol.  13, 1890,  p.  89. 
Observations  of  Comet,  1889,  IV.,  made  at  the  Royal  Observatory, 

Cape  of  Good   Hope.     Ast.  Nach.,  Vol.   124,   1890,   27-30; 

Vol.  126,  1891,  55-58. 
Note  on  the  parallax  of  &  Orionis.     Observatory,  Vol.   13,   1890, 

pp.  289-291. 
Note  on  some  experiments  with  the  new  Cape  astrophotographic 

telescope.     Observatory,  Vol.  13,  1890,  pp.  351-353. 
Observations   of  Comet,    1891,    I.    (Barnard-Denning),   made   at 

the  Royal  Observatory,  Cape  of  Good  Hope.     Ast.  Nach., 

Vol.  128,  1891,  175-176. 
Enteckung  eines   Cometen,    1892    (Swift,   Marz  6).     Ast.   Nach., 

Vol.  129,  1892,  119-120. 
Observations  of  Comet,  1892,  I.,  made  at  the  Royal  Observatory, 

Cape  of  Good  Hope.     Ast.  Nach.,  Vol.  130,  1892,  55-58. 
On  the  definitive  places  of  the  stars  used  for  comparison  with 

the  planet  Victoria  in  the  observations  for  parallax,  1889. 

Ast.  Nach.,  Vol.  130,  1892,  161-178. 
Observations  of  occultations  of  faint  stars  during  the  total  eclipse 

of  the  moon  on  November  15,   1891,  made  at  the  Royal 

Observatory,  Cape  of  Good  Hope.     R.A.S.  M.  N.,  Vol.  52, 

1892,  pp.  164-168. 

Observations  of  Comet,  1892  a  (Swift),  made  at  the  Royal  Ob- 
servatory,  Cape  of  Good   Hope.     R.A.S.M.N.,   Vol.   52, 

1892,  pp.  568-569. 
Methode   de   montage   des   plaques   sensibles,   determination   de 

leur  orientation,   Paris.     Comm.   Int.   Carte  du  del,   Bull., 

Vol.  i,  1892,  pp.  7-50,  viii. 
Note  relative  au  memoire  de  M.  le  Prof.  J.  C.  Kapteyn  [expose 

de   la   methode    parallactique    de    mesure.     Reduction    des 

Cliches],   Paris.     Comm.  Int.   Carte  du  del,   Bull.,   Vol.    i, 

1892,  pp.  115-124. 
Notes  relatives  a  differents  memoires  contenus  dans  le  premier 

fascicule  du  Bulletin  du  Comite,  Paris.     Comm.  Int.  Carte 

du  del  Bull.,  Vol.  i,  1892,  pp.  128-132,  viii. 
Expose  d'un  pro  jet  de  M.  J.  C.  Kapteyn  relatif  a  la  determination 

des  mouvements  propres  et  des  parallaxes  d'etoiles,  Paris. 

Comm.  Int.  Carte  du  del  Bull.,  Vol.  i,  1892,  pp.  262-264. 
An  astronomer's  work  in  a  modern  observatory  [1891],     Roy. 

Inst.  Proc.,  Vol.  13,  1893,  pp.  402-416. 
On   the   reduction   of   distances    from  heliometer   observations. 

Ast.  Nach.,  Vol.  131,  1893,  185-192. 


406  LIST   OF   PAPERS 

Observations  of  Comet,  1892,  VI.,  made  at  the  Royal  Observatory, 
Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Ast.  Nach.,  Vol.  133,  1893,  193-196; 
R.  A.  S.  M.  N.;  Vol.  53,  $893,  pp.  488-489. 

Observations  of  Comet  Finlay,  1893,  made  at  the  Royal  Ob- 
servatory, Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Ast.  Nach.,  Vol.  133,  1893, 
329-332. 

Opposition  of  Mars,  1892 ;  Observations  made  at  the  Royal 
Observatory,  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  R.A.S.  M.  N.,  Vol.  53, 

1893,  pp.  112-115. 

Observations  of  Comet,  1893,  II.,  made  at  the  Royal  Observ- 
atory, Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Ast.  Nach.,  Vol.  134,  1894, 
361-364. 

New  variable  star  in  Vela.     Ast.  Nach.,  Vol.    135,  1894,  43,  44. 

Beobachtungen  des  Cometen,  1894  (Gale,  April  3).  Ast.  Nach., 
Vol.  135,  1894,  149-150. 

Mean  places  for  comet-stars  observed  with  the  transit-circle  at 
the  Royal  Observatory,  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  in  1893.  Ast. 
Nach.,  Vol.  135,  1894,  381-382. 

Observations  of  Comet  Tempel  (1873,  II.,  1894),  made  at  the 
Royal  Observatory,  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Ast.  Nach.,  Vol. 
J35»  1894,  383-384;  Vol.  136,  1894,  125-126. 

Observations  of  Comet,  1894,  *II.  (Gale),  made  at  the  Royal 
Observatory,  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Ast.  Nach.,  Vol.  136, 

1894,  123-126;    R.A.S.M.N.,  Vol.  54,  1894,  pp.  585-586. 
Remarks  on  the  best  method  of  determining  the  positions  of  the 

planets  by  observation.     R.  A.  S.  M.  N.,  Vol.  54,  1894,  pp. 

345-357- 

On  the  investigation  of  the  division  errors  of  the  scales  of  the 
Cape  Repsold  measuring  apparatus,  and  the  determination 
of  the  errors  of  the  Oxford  reseau  [1892].  R.  A.  S.  Mem., 
Vol.  51,  1895,  pp.  1-27. 

Preliminary  note  on  observations  of  the  minor  planet  Victoria  in 
1889  [1893],  Edin.  Roy.  Soc.  Proc.,  Vol.  20,  1895,  pp.  47-49; 
Bull.  Astron.,  Vol.  10,  1893,  pp.  248-250. 

Note  on  the  latitude  of  the  Royal  Observatory,  Cape  of 
Good  Hope  [1894].  R.  A.  S.  M.  N.,  Vol.  55,  1895,  pp. 
34-36. 

Meridian  observations  of  Comet  comparison  stars  made  at  the 
Royal  Observatory,  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  in  1893  and  1894. 
Ast.  Nach.,  Vol.  138,  1895,  331-334. 

Sur  1'orientation  de  1'axe  optique  et  du  plan  de  la  couche  sensible, 
Paris.  Comm.  Int.  Carte  du  del  Bull.,  Vol.  2,  1895,  pp.  102- 
106. 

A  determination  of  the  solar  parallax  and  mass  of  the  Moon 
from  heliometer  observations  of  the  minor  planets  Iris, 
Victoria  and  Sappho  made  in  the  years  1888  and  1889  at 
the  Royal  Observatory,  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  in  co-opera- 
tion with  the  observatories  of  Yale  College  (Newhaven), 
Leipzig,  Gottingen,  Bamberg  and  Oxford  (Radcliffe),  and 
from  meridian  observations  made  at  all  the  principal  ob- 
servatories. Description  of  the  heliometers  and  details  of 
the  heliometer  observations.  [Discussion  of  the  triangula- 
tion  of  the  Victoria  comparison  stars,  and  the  heliometer 
observations  of  Victoria  and  Sappho.  Combination  of 


LIST  OF  PAPERS  407 

results  and  general  conclusions.]     Cape  Obs.  Ann..-,1  Vol.  7, 

1896,  pp.  1-72,  i  £25-403;   Vol.  6,  1897,  xliii.  pp.,  (Pts.  i,  2) 
539  pp.,  (Pt.  3)  83  PP-  (Pt-  6)  32  pp. 

Sur  cinq  photographies  de  la  region  entourant  t\  d' Argus,  Paris. 
Ac.  Sci.  C.  R.,  Vol.  123,  1896,  p.  29. 

Annual  address  to  the  members  of  the  South  African  Philosophical 
Society,  on  September  27,  1893.  [On  the  solar  parallax.] 
S.  African  Phil.  Soc.  Trans.,  Vol.  8,  1896,  pp.  xlix-lx. 

First  [-fifth]  list  of  double  stars  discovered  at  the  Royal  Ob- 
servatory, Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Ast.  Nach.,  Vol.  142, 

1897,  369-374;     Vol-   143,   1897,   171-174;     Vol.  144,  1897, 
89-94;    Vol.    145,    1898,    93-96;     Vol.   146,   1898,   369-372. 

New  southern  variable  stars.  Ast.  Nach.,  Vol.  143,  1897,  283- 
286;  Vol.  144,  1897,  143-144. 

On  the  mean  places  and  proper  motions  for  1900  of  twenty-four 
southern  circumpolar  stars.  R.A.S.M.N.,  Vol.  57,  1897, 
pp.  532-533- 

New  double  stars  found  at  the  Cape  Observatory  in  1896. 
R.  A.  S.  M.  N.,  Vol.  57,  1897,  pp.  533-541. 

Propositions  pour  les  valeurs  des  constantes  astronomiques 
[faites  a  la  Conference  Internationale  des  etoiles  fonda- 
mentales  de  1896],  Paris.  Bur.  Long.  Ann.,  Vol.  5,  1897, 
D.,  pp.  57-90. 

On  the  effect  of  chromatic  dispersion  of  the  atmosphere  on  the 
parallax  of  a  Centauri  and  £  Orionis,  and  on  a  method  of 
determining  its  effect  on  the  value  of  the  solar  parallax 
derived  from  heliometer  observations  of  minor  planets 
[1897].  R.A.S.  M.  N.,  Vol.  58,  1898,  pp.  53-76. 

Observations  of  Comet,  1897,  I.,  made  at  the  Royal  Observatory, 
Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Ast.  Nach.,  Vol.  146,  1898,  203-204. 

On  the  parallax  of  Sirius  and  of  a  Gruis.     R.  A.  S.  M.  N.,  Vol.  58, 

1898,  pp.  78-83. 

Nebulae  observed  at  the  Royal  Observatory,  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 
R.A.S.M.N.,  Vol.  58,  1898,  pp.  329-330;  Vol.  59,  1899, 

PP-  339,  522- 

Reply  to  Dr.  Rambaut's  note  "  on  the  effect  of  chromatic  dis- 
persion."    R.A.S.  M.  N.,  Vol.  58,  1898,  pp.  415-425. 
An  account  of  telegraphic  longitude  operations  connecting  Aden 

and  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  in  the  years  1881  and  1882. 

Cape  Obs.  Ann.,  Vol.  i,  1898  (Pt.  2),  pp.  [i]-[68],  1-83,  iv. 
On   a  new  instrument  for  measuring  astrophotographic  plates 

[1898].     R.  A.  S.  M.  N.,  Vol.  59,  1899,  pp.  61-72. 
Note  on  the  effect  of  wear  on  the  errors  of  micrometer  screws. 

R.A.S.  M.  N.,  Vol.  59,  1899,  pp.  73-76. 
Observations    of    meteors    made    at    the    Royal    Observatory, 

Cape    of    Good    Hope,    on    1898,    November    13    and    14. 

R.  A.  S.  M.  N.,  Vol.  59,  1899,  pp.  109-112. 
Note  on  the  clock  Hardy  formerly  used  as   the    Cape   transit 

clock.     Ast.  Nach.,  Vol.  148,  1899,  237-238. 
Observations  of  Comet,  1898,  VII.,  with  the  equatoreals  at  the 

1  The  importance  of  this  research  and  one  on  stellar  parallax  demands 
their  inclusion  in  this  list,  although  Gill's  publications  in  Cape  Observa- 
tory Annals,  and  other  observatory  publications  are  generally  excluded. 


408  LIST  OF   PAPERS 

Royal    Observatory,    Cape    of    Good    Hope.     Ast.    Nach., 

Vol.  149,  1899,  141-142. 
On  the  discovery  of  a  certain  proper  motion  [letter  to  Editors]. 

Observatory,  Vol.  22,  18^9,  pp.  99-100. 

Occupations  of  stars  by  the  Moon  observed  at  the  Royal  Ob- 
servatory, Cape  of  Good  Hope  in  the  years  1881  to  1898. 

Ast.  Nach.,  Vol.  150,  1899,  393-428;  Vol.   152,   1900,    283- 

284. 
On  a  method  of  obtaining  perfectly  circular  dots  unaffected  by 

phase,  and  their  employment  in  determining  the  pivot  errors 

of  the  Cape  transit  circle.     R.A.S.M.N.,  Vol.  59,   1899, 

pp. 125-135. 
Occultations  observed  at  the  Royal  Observatory,  Cape  of  Good 

Hope,     during    the    lunar    eclipse,     December     27,     1898. 

R.A.S.  M.  N.,  Vol.  59,  1899,  pp.  340-341,  522. 
On  the  presence  of  oxygen  in  the  atmospheres  of  certain  fixed 

stars  [1899].     Roy.  Soc.  Proc.,  Vol.  65,  1900,  pp.  196-206. 
Observations  of  comets  at  the  Royal  Observatory,  Cape  of  Good 

Hope.     Ast.  Nach.,  Vol.  151,  1900,  109-112. 
Observations   of  Comet,    1899,    IV.    (Tempel),   with  the  transit 

circle  of  the  Royal  Observatory,  Cape  of  Good  Hope.     Ast. 

Nach.,  Vol.  151,  1900,  187-190. 
Researches  on  stellar  parallax  made  with  the  Cape  heliometer. 

Observers  :    David  Gill,  W.  H.  Finlay,  W.  de  Sitter,  and 

V.   A.   Lowinger.     Cape   Obs.   Ann.,   Vol.    8    (Pt.   2),    1900, 

(i)-(xvi),  i  B-i73  B. 
Address    delivered    at    the    unveiling   of   the    inscription    stone 

of  the  Victoria  telescope,   Cape   Observatory.     Observatory, 

Vol.  24,  1901,  pp.  397-402. 
Cape  double  star  results,   1900.     R.A.S.M.N.,  Vol.  61,   1901, 

PP-  575~6l5- 
The  spectrum  of  T?  Argus.     Roy.  Soc.  Proc.,  Vol.  68,   1901,  pp. 

456-458    (reprint   in   R.A.S.M.N.,    Vol.    61,  1901,  appx., 

pp.  66-68). 

The  great  Comet,  1901  a.     Ast.  Nach.,  Vol.  155,  1901,  319-320. 
The  great  Comet  of  1901  as  observed  at  the  Royal  Observatory, 

Cape  of  Good  Hope.     R.  A.  S.  M.  N.,  Vol.  61,  1901,  pp.  508- 

512. 

Spectrum  of  t\  Argus.     Roy.  Soc.  Proc.,  Vol.  68,  1901,  pp.  456-458. 
Variable,  -n  Argus.     Ast.  Nach.,  Vol.  155,  1901,  239-240. 
Elemente   des   Cometen,    1901    a.     Ast.   Nach.,   Vol.    155,    1901, 

285-286. 
The    Oxford    photographic    determinations    of    Stellar   parallax. 

Reply    to    Prof.    Turner.     R.A.S.M.N.,    Vol.    61,    1901, 

PP-  5J3-52i. 
Meridian  Observations  of  Comet-comparison  stars.     Ast.  Nach., 

Vol.  157,  1902,  95,  96. 
Preliminary  note  on  an  apparent  rotation  of  the  brighter  fixed 

stars  as  a  whole  with  respect  to  fainter  stars  as  a  whole. 

Ast.  Nach.,  Vol.  159,  1902,  117-122. 
Notes  on  nebulae  observed  at  the  Royal  Observatory,  Cape  of 

Good  Hope.     R.  A.  S.  M.  N.,  Vol.  62,  1902,  pp.  468-470. 
Cape  Double  Star  results,  1901.     R.A.S.  M.  N.,  Vol.  62,  1902, 

pp.  470-484- 


LIST  OF  PAPERS  409 

Observations  of  Comet,  1903,  L,  made  at  the  Royal  Observatory, 
Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Ast.  Nach.,  Vol.  163,  1903,  281-284. 

Geodetic  Survey  of  Rhodesia.  Verhandl.  Conf.  Erdm.,  Berlin, 
1900-1901,  pp.  140-142. 

Observations  of  Comet,  1903,  IV.,  made  with  the  7-inch  Equa- 
torial of  the  Royal  Observatory,  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  by 
W.  H.  Cox.  Ast.  Nach.,  Vol.  164,  1904,  139-140  (com- 
municated by  D.  G.). 

Observations  of  Comet,  1904  e.  Ast.  Nach.,  Vol.  167,  1905, 
351-352. 

Astronomy  and  Geodesy  in  South  Africa.  Science  in  S.  Africa, 
1905,  pp.  61-73. 

On  the  origin  and  progress  of  Geodetic  Survey  in  South  Africa, 
and  of  the  African  Arc  of  Meridian.  Brit.  Ass.  Rep.  for 
1905,  pp.  228-248  (also  in  S.  African  Journal  of  Science, 
Vol.  i,  1907). 

Observations  of  the  conjunction  of  Saturn  with  h1  Aquarii.  Ast. 
Nach.,  Vol.  172,  1906,  351-354. 

Presidential  Address  to  the  British  Association  at  Leicester. 
Brit.  Ass.  Rep.,  1907,  pp.  3-26;  Nature,  Vol.  76,  1907, 
pp.  319-327.  (Abstract  of  ditto,  in  Observatory,  Vol.  30,  1907, 

..       PP-  299-306,  335-339-) 

Uber  die  Bewegung  und  Verteilung  der  Sterne  im  Raume  (Vor- 
trag).  Naturwiss.  Rundschau,  Vol.  22,  1907. 

A  possible  connection  between  earthquakes  and  great  waves 
at  distant  localities.  Observatory,  Vol.  31,  1908,  pp.  407-411. 

Presidential  Address  on  presenting  the  Gold  Medal  of  the  R.A.S. 
to  Prof.  F.  Kiistner.  R.A.S.M.N.,  Vol.  70,  1910,  pp. 

39.<)-4i3- 
Articles  Heliometer,  Micrometer,  Telescope.     Encycl.  Britannica, 

nth  ed.,  1909-1911. 
Presidential  Address  on  the  award  of  the   Gold  Medal  of  the 

R.A.S.  to  Dr.  P.  H.  Cowell.     R.A.S.  M.  N.,  Vol.  71,  1911, 

pp.  368-385. 
The  arc  of  meridian  of  30°  E.  longitude.     Verhandl.  Conf.  Erdmes- 

sung,  Vol.  16,  1909,  pp.  219-225. 
L'etat  actuel  de  1'Astronomie.     del  et  Terre,    1907,    pp.    345- 

359,  451-459;    1908,  pp.  503-511,  562-569. 
The    azimuth   marks   of   the    Cape   transit   circle.     Observatory, 

Vol.  36,  1913,  pp.  134,  135. 

Papers  by  Sir  David  Gill  and  others  (joint  papers}. 

Gill,  D.,  and  Lord  Lindsay  [Earl  of  Crawford].  On  Lord  Lind- 
say's preparations  for  observations  of  the  transit  of  Venus, 
1874.  R.A.S.M.N.,  Vol.  33,  1872,  pp.  34-43. 

On  a  new  driving  clock  for  equatoreals.  R.  A.  S.  M.  N., 

Vol.  34,  1874,  pp.  35-38. 

On  the  determination  of  the  solar  parallax  by  observations 

of  Juno  at  opposition.  R.  A.  S.  M.  N.,  Vol.  34,  1874, 
pp,  279-300. 

Note  on  the  results  of  Heliometer  observations  of 

the  planet  Juno,  to  determine  its  diurnal  parallax* 
R.  A.  S.  M.  N.,  Vol.  37,  1877,  pp.  308-309. 


410  LIST  OF  PAPERS 

Gill,  Mauritius  Expedition,  1874.  Division  I.  Determination  of 
the  solar  parallax  by  observations  of  the  minor  planet  Juno 
(3)  at  opposition,  together  with  a  description  of  the  helio- 
meter  used  in  the  observations.  Dun  Echt  Obs.  Pub.,  Vol.  2, 
1877,  212  pp.;  Vol.  3,  1885,  xii. 

Gill,  Sir  David,  and  W.  L.  Elkin,  Heliometer  determinations 
of  stellar  parallax  in  the  southern  hemisphere  [1884]. 
R.  A.  S.  Mem.,  Vol.  48,  1885,  pp.  1-194. 

Gill,  Sir  David,  and  H.  Jacoby,  On  the  determination  of  the 
errors  of  the  Cape  Reseau,  Gautier,  No.  8.  Helsingfors 
Acta,  Vol.  23,  1897,  No.  5,  31  pp. 

Gill,  Sir  David,  and  J.  C.  Kapteyn,  The  Cape  photographic 
durchmusterung  for  the  equinox,  1875.  Cape  Obs.  Ann., 
Vol.  3,  1896,  Ixviii  +  (129)  +  649  pp. ;  Vol.  4,  1897,  xxxi  + 
672  pp. ;  Vol.  5,  1900,  88  +  671  pp. 

Gill,  Sir  David,  and  S.  S.  Hough,  Determinations  of  personal 
equation  depending  on  magnitude,  made  with  the  transit 
circle  and  the  heliometer  at  the  Royal  Observatory,  Cape 
of  Good  Hope.  R.  A.  S.  M.  N.,  Vol.  67,  1907,  pp.  366-380. 


In  order  to  make  the  above  List  of  Papers  more  complete  as  a 
Bibliography,  the  following  works  are  added  : — 

GEODETIC  SURVEY  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 

Report  of  the  Geodetic  Survey  of  South  Africa,  executed  by 
Lieut. -Colonel  W.  G.  Morris,  1883-92,  under  the  direction 
of  David  Gill ;  together  with  a  rediscussion  of  the  survey 
executed  by  Sir  Thomas  Maclear,  1841-48,  pp.  i.-xiv.  [i]-[i73J, 
1-289.  1896. 

Vol.  II.  Report  on  a  rediscussion  of  Bailey's  and  Fourcade's 
surveys,  and  their  reduction  to  the  system  of  the  Geodetic 
Survey,  by  Sir  David  Gill,  pp.  i.-xx.  1-257.  1901. 

Vol.  III.  Report  of  the  Geodetic  Survey  of  part  of  Southern 
Rhodesia,  executed  by  Alexander  Simms,  under  the  direction 
6f  Sir  David  Gill,  pp.  i.-xiv.  1-146.  1905. 

Report  of  the  Boundary  Survey  between  British  Bechuanaland 
and  German  S.W.  Africa,  executed  by  Lieut. -Colonel  Laffan 
and  Lieuts.  Wettstein  and  Doering,  under  the  direction  of  Sir 
David  Gill  [German  and  English],  pp.  i.-v.  1-162.  1906. 

Vol.  V.  Reports  of  the  Geodetic  Survey  of  the  Transvaal  and 
Orange  River  Colony,  executed  by  Colonel  Sir  W.  G.  Morris, 
and  of  its  connection,  by  Capt.  H.  W.  Gordon,  with  the 
Geodetic  Survey  of  Southern  Rhodesia.  With  a  preface  and 
introduction  by  Sir  David  Gill,  pp.  i.-xxxvii.  1-463.  1908. 

Revision  of  the  Cape  Photographic  Durchmusterung,  Parts  I., 
II.  and  III.,  made  under  the  direction  of  Sir  David  Gill. 
Cape  Obs.  Ann.,  vol.  ix.  pp.  1-8,  1^-63^,  ib-i88b,  ic-S6c. 
1903. 

Gill,  Sir  David,  A  history  and  description  of  the  Royal  Observa- 
tory, Cape  of  Good  Hope,  pp.  i.-cxc.  1-136.  1913. 


INDEX 


ABBE,  CLEVELAND,  220 

Aberdeen,  Earl  of,  32 

Adams,  Prof.  J.  C.'(  84,  87;  his 
strong  support  to  C.P.D.,  176 

Airy,  Sir  G.  B.,  55,  57;  meets 
Gill  at  Aberdeen,  84 ;  interest 
in  Ascension  expedition,  87 ; 
opinion  of  Meteorology,  90; 
letter  from,  91 ;  on  Radcliffe 
Observer,  101 ;  letter  to,  on 
Newall's  offer,  103 ;  letter  to,  on 
Mars  results,  107;  on  survey 
of  S.  Africa,  118;  his  advice, 
125;  Cape  report,  127;  corre- 
spondence, 129;  letter  to,  on 
death  of  Sir  T.  Maclear,  130; 
letter  to,  on  Newall's  offer,  133  ; 
letter  to,  on  Heliometer,  133; 
retires  from  Greenwich,  136; 
photographs  of  Comet,  1882, 
137;  letters  to,  138;  on 
appointments  to  Cape,  158, 

295 

Wilfrid,  138 

Albani,  Madame,  285 

Allis  (photographer),  198 

Ambronn,  104 

Anderson  (librarian  King's  Col- 
lege), 26 

James  (schoolmaster,  Fove- 

ran),  42 

Andrew,  Mrs.,  Gill's  musical 
enthusiasm,  286 

Apps  (electrician),  55 

Arrest,  H.  d',  58 

Ausfeld  (Gotha),  55 

Auwers,  Prof.  A.,  55;  letter  to, 
61 ;  on  Ascension  expedition, 
96 ;  close  relations,  106 ;  under- 
takes reductions  of  comparison 
stars,  189;  goes  to  Cape  for 
heliometer  observations,  189, 
268 ;  last  letter  from,  353 ; 
death,  353 

Awdry,  Sir  Richard,  179 


BACKLUND,  DR.  OSKAR,  Gill's 
mathematical  intuition,  31 ; 
Gill's  visit  to  Pulkowa,  105  ;  on 
Cape  Transit  Circle,  224;  on 
Gill's  character,  307 ;  on  Gill's 
History  of  the  Cape  Observatory, 
"  Gill's  Swan  Song,"  353. 

Baillaud,  Mons.  B.,  letter  to,  on 
being  made  Commander  of 
Legion  of  Honour,  345 

Baker,  Gerald,  early  recollections, 
8,  30 

Bakhuyzen,  Prof.  H.  G.  van  de 
Sande,  184 

Ball,  Sir  Robert,  succeeds  Adams, 
213;  letter  to,  on  his  appoint- 
ment, 213;  speech,  214;  funeral 
of,  356 

Balmer,  Rev.  C.,  359 

Bannerman,  Sir  A.,  31 

Barnard,  Prof.  E.  E.,  induced  to 

gtiotograph    Milky    Way    from 
ill's  success  with  comet,  1882, 

136 
Bauer,  measures  photographs  for 

parallax,  135 
Black,     Alexander     (ancestor    of 

Lady  Gill),  4 

Miss  Anne  (sister-in-law),  41 

—  Miss    Bessie    (sister-in-law) , 

212 ;   death,  342 
Elizabeth       (n6e      Garden) , 

(mother-in-law),      41;       death, 

206 

Miss  Isobel  (Lady  Gill),  41 

John  (father-in-law),  41 

William,  359 

Bourdillon,     Miss,     on     life     at 

Ascension,  95 
Brasier,  Professor,  12 
Brodie,  John  (sculptor),  30,  83 
Brown,  Prof.  Crum,  186 
Bruce,  Colonel,  125 

Dr.,  359 

Brunnow,  Dr.  F.,  61 
411 


INDEX 


at 


r,. 


CARPENTER 
Edit),  63.  80 
Caiiuthers,   Mis., 

fVj  i»>^*  taHi   Right  Hon.  Joseph, 

sends  Gffl  to  Bairn,  221,  311 
Cfaual,  M.  de,  68 


Sir  Wflbam,   101,   102; 
Air  letter  to, 

147;  letter  to,  on  Board  for 
Cape,  159  ;  letter  to,  on  Stone's 
162;  letter  to,  on 

to     Cape     Photographic 
164;        ni 
to     C-PJX,     175; 
•  t: 


119, 


Chrystal.  Professor. 

dark,  Mr.,  26 

Clerke,  Miss  Agnes,  177;   visit  to 

Cape,  195  ;  letters  to,  196-203  1 
letter  to,  on  McQean's  visit, 
228;  death,  333;  various  letters 

to.  3^3- 

Mary,  letter  to, 


203 


Mrs.    G9  s 


:: 


115,     120. 


C:i:ev:     S:rr^rr, 

Common.  Dr.  A.  A.,  184 
Cooke  A  Sons,  38.  54,  65 

_  i  r  -<.?•  i  _  JT  ~~-~  ~  .-  ~~.  -_  ~  ~ ;  i  _ ". '.  L  - 
about  becoming  astronomer, 
232,  236,  313;  death,  333 

Copeland,  Dr.  Ralph.  69;  letter 
to,  185 

Cottingham.  E.  T.,  on  clock  in- 
vented by  Gffl.  244 

Courtney,  Mr.  (Ministerial  Secre- 
tary at  Treasury),  158 

Crawford,  Countess  of,  letter  to, 

73,  80 

Earl  of  (25th  Earl),  invites 

GO!  to  be  Director  of  Dun  Echt 
Observatory,  50 ;  urges  accept- 
ance of  Khedive's  offer.  78; 
death,  130 

Earl  of  (26th  Earl),  (for- 
merly Lord  Lindsay),  39;  first 
acquaintance,  40 ;  laboratory 
in  London,  48;  plans  Dnn 
Echt  Observatory,  52;  letter 
from.  55 ;  letter  to  62 ; 


70;     l 

S;-rv-;y 


letter 

" 
— 


67;  anecdote, 
to,    on    Egyptian 


. 
father's    death,     130;     death, 

Crawford.  Earl  of  (27th  Earl),  102 

DALE,  SIR  LANGHAM    119 

DaDmeyer  (optician),  64 

Darwin,  Sir  George,  214 ;  secures 
funds  to  complete  survey,  238; 
death,  333 

Davidson.  Alexander,  early  recol- 
lections, ii ;  later  memories, 
336 

De  la  Rue,  Dr.  Warren,  assistance 
for  establishing  Newall  tele- 
scope. 132 

De  Sitter.  Professor.  188 ;  account 
of.  234,  236,  357 

:  :-:;e-   ?-:--:   -5 

Dougal,  Dr.  (head  master  Dollar 
Academy).  8 

Douglas  (ostrich  farmer) 

Draper,  Prof.  H...  letter  t 

Duff.  Gordon,  letter  to,  145 

Mrs.  Gordon,  letter  to,  143 

Dyson.  Sir  Frank.  nMnfnjJsfMwg^ 
5 :  appointed  Astronomer 
Royal,  343;  goes  with  Gill  to 
Sir  R.  Ball's  funeral,  356 

EICHEXS  (optician).  55 
Elkin,  Dr.  W.  L.T  104;  letter 
on  NewalTs  offer,  132;  visits 
Cape,  134;  leaves  Cape,  140; 
letters  to,  140;  assisted  by 
Gfll  to  obtain  heliometer,  153"; 
letter  to,  on  heliometer  negotia- 
tion, 157,  194;  letters  to,  ;:- 
219;  letter  to,  on  McClean's 
offer.  226.  236;  letter  to,  on 
financial  losses,  334 ;  letters  to, 
337~~34I  (on  Newcomb's  ill- 
ness; telescope  for  Ristenpart: 
British  Association;  lectures  at 
Royal  Institution) ;  letter  to,  on 
optical  glass,  349 

FAJRBRIDGE,  CHARLES,  112 
Farquharson,  Right  Hon.  Robert, 

32,  359 
Finlay,    W.    H.,    188;     domestic 

sorrows,  207 

Foerster,  Dr.  W.,  letter  from,  242 
Forbes,  Prof.  George,  recollections 

of  Hamburg  meeting   of   Ast. 

GeselL,  59 


INDEX 


413 


Foster,  Sir  M.,  on  offer  to  Gill  to 

succeed  Adams,  213 
Franklin-Adams,  John,  236 
Frere,    Sir   Bartle,    113;     tribute 

from  Gill,  115;  letter  from,  117, 

120,  238 

Frere,  Lady,  her  tact,  114 
Miss  Georgina,  recollections, 

117 

Fuller,  Sir  Thomas,  119 
Furze  (artist),  letter  from,  216 

GARDEN,  ALEXANDER,  41 

Gibbs,  assists  Gill  at  Alexandria, 

75 

Gill,  Andrew  Mitchell  (brother), 
5 ;  early  recollections,  7 ;  at 
Sir  David's  funeral,  359 

David  (father),  3,  4,  5 ;  busi- 
ness made  over  to  his  son  David, 
40;  death,  100 

David  (brother),  dies  in  in- 
fancy, 5 

Sir  David,  parentage,  3 ; 

birth,  5;  childhood,  6;  early 
taste  for  science,  7;  Dollar 
Academy,  7;  rifle-shooting,  10; 
love  of  sports,  1 1 ;  Marischal 
College,  ii ;  Clerk  Maxwell's 
opinion,  12;  studies  mathe- 
matics with  Dr.  Rennett,  15; 
speech  at  Aberdeen  University 
Club,  16;  enters  his  father's 
business,  18;  goes  to  Switzer- 
land, 19;  Coventry  workshops, 
20;  Clerkenwell,  21;  junior 
partner,  23;  establishes  time- 
signals  at  Aberdeen,  25 ;  first 
acquaintance  with  telescope,  26 ; 
becomes  lieutenant  in  Aberdeen- 
shire  Rifles,  31;  rifle-shooting, 
32;  buys  first  telescope,  37; 
photographs  the  moon,  39 ;  first 
acquaintance  with  Lord  Lind- 
say, 40 ;  meets  the  future  Lady 
Gill,  41 ;  his  engagement,  43 ; 
marries  Isobel  Black,  45 ;  ap- 
pointed to  Dun  Echt,  50 ;  invents 
photographic  viseau,  56 ;  visit 
to  Pulkowa,  58 ;  proposes  helio- 
meter  for  observations  of  Juno 
for  solar  parallax,  61 ;  Mauritius 
expedition,  67;  geodetic  work 
in  Egypt,  76;  invited  by 
Khedive  to  survey  Egypt,  78 ; 
decides  to  leave  Dun  Echt,  81 ; 
question  of  partnership  with 
Howard  Grubb,  86;  Ascension 
expedition,  action  of  R.A.S.,  87; 


accident  to  heliometer,  88 ;  sails 
for  Ascension,  92  ;  awarded  Gold 
Medal  of  Royal  Astronomical 
Society,  96;  awarded  the  Valz 
medal,  96;  Lines  to  his  wife, 
97 ;  candidate  for  Radcliffe  Ob- 
server, 101 ;  appointment  as 
H.M.  Astronomer  at  the  Cape, 
103;  Newall  offers  25-inch 
telescope  to  Cape,  103 ;  visits 
to  foreign  observatories,  104 ; 
result  of  Ascension  observations 
107;  arrives  at  the  Cape,  in; 
his  relations  with  Sir  Bartle 
Frere,  115;  reports  on  survey 
of  S.  Africa,  118;  interview 
with  Cecil  Rhodes,  122;  life  at 
the  Cape,  125 ;  buys  Lord  Lind- 
say's heliometer,  134;  photo* 
graphs  comet  b,  1882,  135; 
commences  Cape  Photographic 
Durchmusterung,  135;  portrait 
painted  by  Sir  Geo.  Reid  and 
Mr.  G.  Henry,  139;  intimacy 
with  Newcomb,  148 ;  visit  to 
England,  1884,  153;  obtains 
Admiralty  consent  to  new 
heliometer,  156;  correspond- 
ing member  of  St.  Petersburg 
Academy,  163;  Royal  Society 
cease  to  support  C.P.D.,  164; 
resolves  to  continue  it  at  his 
own  expense,  164;  Kapteyn 
offers  to  measure  the  plates, 
167;  initiates  with  Mouchez 
Astrographic  Congress,  174; 
strong  opposition  to  C.P.D., 
175  (389);  his  unselfishness, 
1 76 ;  hostility  of  Astronomer 
Royal,  178;  cordial  support 
of  Hydrographer,  179;  third 
voyage  to  Cape,  181 ;  obtains 
Admiralty  sanction  to  astro- 
graphic  scheme,  183;  stellar 
parallax  work,  187;  determina- 
tion of  solar  parallax  from  Iris, 
Victoria,  and  Sappho,  188; 
Auwers'  offer  to  visit  Cape  and 
assist  in  observations,  189; 
determines  new  value  of  moon's 
mass,  191 ;  Tisserand's  testi- 
mony, 192;  discouragement  by 
Admiralty  of  his  researches,  on 
advice  of  Astronomer  Royal, 
192;  triumphs  over  opposition, 
193  5  visit  of  Miss  Agnes  Clerke, 
195;  corresponding  member  of 
Berlin  Academy,  206;  visit  of 
Knobel  to  Cape,  207 ;  days  of 


414 


INDEX 


sorrow,  208;  adopts  the  three 
sons  of  deceased  sister,  209 ; 
honorary  fellow  of  R.  Society 
of  Edinburgh,  210;  results 
of  Victoria  observations,  211 ; 
Lowndean  Professorship  offered 
but  declined,  213;  illness  of 
Lady  Gill,  215;  visit  to  Eng- 
land, 219;  McClean  offers  24- 
inch  telescope  to  Cape,  219; 
made  C.B.,  220;  attends  Con- 
gress on  National  Ephemerides, 
221 ;  St.  Moritz,  221 ;  proposes 
new  transit  circle,  221 ;  dis- 
covers magnitude  equation, 
222 ;  constructs  new  azimuth 
marks,  224 ;  details  of  McClean's 
offer,  225 ;  visit  of  McClean  to 
Cape,  228 ;  geodetic  survey, 
231 ;  advises  Cookson  on  astro- 
nomical study,  232;  visit  of 
De  Sitter,  234 ;  his  important 
geodetic  work,  237;  visit  of 
British  Association  to  Cape, 
239;  death  of  Admiral  Sir 
William  Wharton,  241 ;  Member 
International  Committee  of 
Weights  and  Measures,  242  ;  his 
"  perfect  "  clock,  243  (376) ; 
retirement  from  the  Cape,  244 ; 
three  great  undertakings  suc- 
cessfully accomplished,  245 ; 
made  K.C.B.,  251 ;  Cape  politics, 
252;  at  Natal  for  Royal  visit, 
257 ;  visit  to  Lord  Milner,  260 ; 
Carlsbad,  262;  illness  from 
diphtheria,  267 ;  personal  anec- 
dotes, 268 ;  personal  traits  and 
tastes,  280 ;  love  of  music,  284  ; 
religious  views,  289 ;  Gilliana, 
294;  first  meeting  with  Hale, 
306 ;  love  of  sports,  309 ;  deer- 
stalking, 313;  farewell  dinner 
at  Athenaeum,  317;  life  at 
34  De  Vere  Gardens,  320; 
unquestionable  greatness  of 
his  character,  324;  President, 
Royal  Astronomical  Society, 
327;  foreign  secretary,  327; 
continued  scientific  activity, 
327;  favours  vivisection,  328; 
his  activities  at  Astrographic 
Congresses,  332  ;  financial  losses, 
334;  employed  by  different 
Governments  to  advise  on 
instruments,  334;  Christmas 
lectures  at  Royal  Institution, 
335 ;  designs  telescopes  for 
Johannesburg  and  Santiago, 


338  ;  President  British  Associa- 
tion, 339 ;  awarded  Gold  Medal 
of  Royal  Astronomical  Society, 
341 ;  further  serious  illness  of 
Lady  Gill,  342;  Hon.  Mem. 
Astronomical  and  Astrophysical 
Society  of  America,  344 ;  Com- 
mandeur,_de  la  Legion  d'Hon- 
neur,  345 ;  receives  German 
order  Pour  le  Merite,  345 ; 
dinner  on  his  seventieth  birth- 
day, 347;  letter  of  thanks  to 
Cape  Staff,  348 ;  completes 
History  and  Description  of  the 
Cape  Observatory,  352 ;  awarded 
a  Royal  Medal,  356;  attends 
funeral  of  Sir  Robert  Ball,  356 ; 
chill  probably  caught  on  that 
occasion,  356 ;  last  serious 
illness,  pneumonia  and  pleurisy, 
357;  death,  358;  profound 
sorrow,  358 ;  purchased  site  of 
grave,  358 ;  funeral  at  St. 
Machar  Cathedral,  Aberdeen, 
359;  floral  tokens  from  Cape, 
Greenwich,  Paris,  Pulkowa,  and 
Mount  Wilson,  359;  memorial 
service  at  St.  Mary  Abbot, 
Kensington,  359;  Lady  Gill's 
description  of  grave,  359 ; 
Appendix  I,  letters  to  Miss 
Agnes  Clerke,  363-377;  corre- 
spondence with  Newcomb,  377- 
387;  letters  to  Kapteyn,  387- 
394;  letters  to  Hale,  395-400; 
list  of  publications,  Appendix 
II,  401. 

Gill,  David  &  Son,  3,  26 

James  Bruce  (brother),  5; 

on  David's  rifle-shooting,  10; 
31;  letter  to,  33;  letter  to, 
on  visit  to  Pulkowa,  57;  long 
letter  to,  on  being  made  K.C.B., 
shooting  experiences,  310 

Lady  (wife),  parentage,  41 ; 

first  impressions  of  David  Gill, 
42 ;  courtship,  43 ;  marriage, 
45 ;  reminiscence  of  early 
married  life,  46 ;  Six  Months  in 
Ascension,  92;  her  devotion 
at  Ascension,  97 ;  serious  ill- 
ness, 215  ;  further  serious  illness 
342  ;  description  of  Sir  David's 
grave  at  St.  Machar  Cathedral, 

359 
Margaret     (nee     Anderson) , 

(grandmother),  3 
Margaret       (nee      Mitchell), 

(mother),  3,  4,  6;    death,  46 


INDEX 


415 


Gill,  Margaret  (sister),  5;  marries 
Rev.  H.  Powell,  5,  157;  death, 
208 

Patrick  (brother),  dies  in 

infancy,  5 

Patrick  Gilbert  (brother),  5, 

32 ;  letter  to,  35 

Peter  (grandfather),  3,  4 

Gill  &  Smith,  3 

Gimingham,  C.  H.,  22 

Gordon,  General,  anecdote,  124 

,  Hon.  J.  H.,  32 

Gould,  Dr.  B.  A.,  letter  from,  97; 
letter  to,  on  Cordoba  Zone- 
Catalogue,  165 

Graydon  (seaman),  letter  from,  96 

Gresley,  Rev.  G.  F.,  290 

Grey,  Earl,  reminiscence,  43,  120, 
238 ;  various  letters  from, 
297 

Grubb,  Sir  Howard,  54;  letters 
to,  56,  60  (on  rSseau) ;  question 
of  partnership  with  Gill,  86; 
88;  makes  McClean  telescope, 
228  ;  letter  to.  344 

Guillaume,  his  use  of  the  nickel- 
iron  alloy,  invar,  237 

HALE,  DR.  G.  E.,  impressions  of 
first  meeting,  306;  last  letter 
from,  356 ;  various  letters  to, 
395-400 

Hall,  Harvey,  note,  10;  Gills 
rifle  shooting,  32;  attends 
funeral,  359 

Halle,  Sir  Charles,  285 

Halm,  Dr.  J.,  appointed  chief 
assistant,  279;  letter  from, 
279 

Hartwig,  Prof.  R.  E.  A.,  194 

Haswell,  Robert  &  Son,  reminis- 
cences, 21 

Henry,  the  brothers,  136;  letter 
to,  on  failure  to  obtain  photo- 
graphic telescope,  1 66;  optical 
work,  169,  174 

George,  portrait  of  Gill  by, 

139 

Herschel,  Lord,  193 
Hill,    Canon,    funeral   service    at 

Aberdeen,  359 

Hills,  Colonel  E.  H.,  347,  358 
Hind,  J.  R.,  61,  87 
Hinks,  A.  R.,  anecdotes,  304 
Hough,    S.    S.,    222,    230;     chief 

assistant,  succeeds  Gill  as  H.M. 

Astronomer,  244,  278 
Huggins,  Sir  William,  Gill's  first 

photograph   of   moon   sent   to, 


39,   49;    interest  in  Ascension 
expedition,   88 ;     on   Ascension 
results,  94,  136;   letter  to,  165; 
death,  333 
Hunter,  Colin,  30 

INNES,    R.  T.  A.,  236;    musical 

recollection,  284 
Israels,  Joseph,  30 

JACOBY,  H.,  visits  Cape  for 
practical  work  with  heliometer, 
206,  236 

Jhalawar,  Maharaja  of,  letter  to, 

351 
Jones,  Thomas  (optician),  26 

KAPTEYN,  PROF.  J .  C. ,  note,  39 ; 
letter  offering  to  devote  some 
years  to  Cape  Photographic 
Durchmusterung,  167;  dis- 
covery of  two  star  streams,  168  ; 
first  meeting,  171 ;  letters  to, 
on  C.P.D.,  176,  182;  writes 
obituary,  187;  letters  to,  212; 
letter  to,  on  Mrs.  Gill's  illness, 
215  ;  frequent  visits  to  De  Vere 
Gardens,  321 ;  Gill's  activities 
at  Astrographic  Congresses, 
332;  letters  to,  written  on 
Gill's  seventieth  birthday,  346 ; 
various  letters  to,  387-394 

Kelvin,  Lord,  first  meeting,  22, 
24,  178,  289;  his  views  on 
vivisection,  328 

Kerr,  John,  his  Memories  Grave 
and  Gay,  84 

Kershaw,  Mr.,  326 

Key,  Rev.  H.  Cooper,  sells  re- 
flector to  Gill,  37,  86 

Khedive,  the,  invites  Gill  to 
survey  Egypt,  78 

Kilgour,  George,  124 

Knobel,  E.  B.,  letters  to,  on  Cape 
work,  146;  on  Astrographic 
Congress,  172;  letters  to,  on 
Admiralty  consent  to  proposals, 
183;  letter  to,  proposing  Miss 
Clerke  as  Hon.  Member  of 
R.A.S,.  204 ;  letters  to,  206-210 ; 
goes  to  Cape,  207 ;  letter  to,  on 
results  of  Victoria  observations, 
Solar  parallax,  and  Lunar 
Equation,  211;  anecdote,  274; 
musical  recollection,  284;  anec- 
dote of  Paris  Congress,  304; 
goes  with  Gill  to  Sir  R.  Ball's 
funeral,  356 

Kiistner,  Prof.  F.,  104 


416 


INDEX 


LAMONT,  PROF.  J.,  56 

Larmor,  Sir  J.,  recollection,  303 

Lecson,  Mr.,  anecdote,  303 

Leonard,  Miss,  anecdote,  288    •" 

Lindsay,  Dr.  (head  master,  Dollar 
Academy),  7,  30 

Lord,  see  Crawford,  Earl  of 

(26th  Earl). 

Loch,  Lord,  121 

Lockyer ,  Sir  J .  N . ,  letters  from  and 
to,  on  removal  of  Solar  Physics 
Observatory,  351 

Low,  Canon  W.  L.,  early  reminis- 
cences, 44 

Lowe,  Mrs.,  reminiscences  of  his 
shooting,  319 

Lowell,  Prof.  Percival,  335 

Lyons,  Major,  76 

Lytton,  Lady,  anecdote,  285 

MACLAREN,  LORD,  119,  186 
Maclear,  Sir  Thomas,  in  ;   death, 


130 


Lady,  in 
Miss,  112 


MacMahon,  Major,  account  of  Gill 
at  International  Conferences, 

329 

McClean,  Frank,  216;  letter  from, 
offering  24-inch  equatoreal  to 
Cape,  225 ;  letter  to,  accepting, 
225;  visits  Cape,  228 

McGee,  Dr.  A.  Newcomb  ("  F.  B.") 
(daughter  of  Simon  Newcomb), 
149 

Main,  Rev.  Robert,  death,  100 

Markham,  Miss  V.,  letters  to, 
255-265 

Marth,  A.,  147 

Masupha  (Basuto  chief),  124 

Maxwell,  Prof.  James  Clerk,  testi- 
monial from,  12;  influence  of, 
12;  lectures  on  astronomy,  13; 
proposes  wave  length  of  light 
as  standard,  13;  Gill's  venera- 
tion for,  14;  reminiscences  of, 
17;  introduces  Gill  to  Lord 
Kelvin,  22,  30,  289 

Meikleham,  Professor,  24 

Meldrum,  Charles,  67 

Merriman,  Hon.  J.  X.,  119;  letter 
on  Cape  politics,  252 

Merz  (optician),  54 

Millais,  Sir  J.  E.,  30 

Milner,  Lord,  conversation  with, 
115,  120,  238;  letters  from, 

253 

Mitchell,  A.  W.  (cousin),  attends 
funeral,  359 


Mitchell,  Mrs.  (aunt),  David's 
attachment  to  his  mother,  6; 
reminiscences,  42 

Sir  C.,  120 

Moir,  James,  12 

Morris,  Sir  W.,  goes  to  Cape,  141, 
145;  letter  from,  on  Gill's 
recovery,  from  diphtheria, 
267 

Mouchez,  Admiral,  136;  organizes 
Astrographic  Congress,  169,  174, 
182 

Muir,  Dr.,  appointed  Superin- 
tendent-General of  Education 
at  Cape,  119 

NASH,  W.  H.  HOWARD,  letter 
to,  on  religious  opinions,  292 

Nasmyth,  James,  letter  to,  20; 
first  meeting,  98 ;  anecdote, 
100;  promises  ^1000  towards 
Newall  telescope,  100,  132 

Neate,  Commander,  68 

Newall,  R.  S.,  generous  offer  of 
25-inch  telescope  to  Cape,  103, 
107 ;  financial  support  for,  132 ; 
proposal  abandoned,  133,  227 

Newcomb,  Prof.  Simon,  first 
meeting,  60,  77 ;  visits  Cape, 
140,  147;  intimacy  with  Gill, 
148;  letters  to,  149,  150,  153; 
letter  to,  on  Victoria  observa- 
tions and  Lunar  Equation,  191 ; 
letters  to,  192;  death,  333; 
correspondence  between,  377- 

387 

Nicol,  Professor,  16 
Niven,   C.,   62;     attends   funeral, 

359 

Noble,  Lady,  letter  to,  on  deaths 
of  Sir  Fredk.  Richards  and  Sir 
Geo.  Darwin,  343 

Miss,  letter  to  Lady  Gill  on 

Gill's  enthusiasm  for  sport,  318 

Norman  Neruda,  visits  observa- 
tory, 285 

Northbrook,  Lord,  157 

PENNEFATHER,  PREBEN- 
DARY, memorial  service,  359 

Perry,  Rev.  S.  J.,  147 

Peters,  194 

Petrie.Prof.  Flinders,  Gill's  survey 
of  Pyramids,  76 ;  anecdotes, 

3.05 

Phillimore,  Captain,  93 
Phillip,  John  (painter),  30 
Pickering,  Prof.  E.  C.,  97 
Pogson,  N.,  101 


INDEX 


417 


Powell,  Bruce,  Lieut,  (nephew), 
209 

Frederick,  Major  (nephew;, 

209 

Harry,  Capt.  (nephew),  209; 

killed  at  Ypres,  209 

Mrs.,  see  Gill,  Margaret 

(sister). 

Power,  J.,  account  of  heliometer 
negotiation  with  Admiralty, 
156;  on  Gill's  holidays  and 
home-comings,  160;  close  in- 
timacy, 266 ;  interesting  notes, 
271 ;  letter  written  on  Gill's 
seventieth  birthday,  347 

Pritchard,  Prof.  C.,  165,  199 

RAMBAUT,  A.  A.,  341 

Rankine,  Miss  (nurse),  313 

Ranyell,  Miss,  19 

Reid,  Archie,  83 

Sir  George,  30, 83 ;  portrait  by, 

*39»  *54>  28°  1  letters  from,  281 

Remenyi  (violinist),  285,  365 

Rennett,  Dr.  David  (mathe- 
matical coach),  12;  indebted- 
ness to,  15;  notes  concerning 
Gill,  15;  anecdote,  16,  30 

Repsold  (Hamburg),  54,  155 

Rhodes,  Cecil,  119,  120;  Gill's 
impressions  of,  122;  anecdote, 
123 

Richards,  Admiral  Sir  F.,  first 
meeting,  112;  Gill's  indebted- 
ness to,  121 ;  stays  with,  219; 
death,  333,  341 

Ristenpart,  F.  W.,  telescope  for, 
designed  by  Gill,  338 

Ritchie,  James,  &  Son,  25 

Roberts,  A.  W.,  reminiscence,  39; 
letter  to,  230;  letter  to,  on 
retirement  from  Cape,  240 

Robertson,  Major  (of  Foveran),  5 

Ross,  A.,  26 

Donald,  120 

Rutherford,  Professor,  photo- 
graphed star  groups  before  1882, 

135 

Ruxton,  Dr.  J.  (cousin), introduces 
Miss  Black  (Lady  Gill),  41 

ST.    JOHNS,    BISHOP    OF,   on 

Gill's  religious  views,  289 
Salisbury,  Lord,  311 
Sangster  &  Dunningham,  26 
Santley,  Charles,  anecdote,  285 
Sauer,  Hon.  J.  W.,  124 
Sawerthal,  H.,  200 
Schjellerup,  Prof.  H.  C.  F.  C.,  58 
EE 


Schuessler,  L.,  recollections,  20 

Schur,  W.,  194 

Sidgreaves,  Rev.  W.,  147 

Siemens,  W.,  promises  £250  for 
Newall  telescope,  132 

Simms,  James,  letter  to,  on 
altazimuth,  65,  223 

Smiles,  Samuel,  98 

Smith,  Sir  G.  Adam,  358,  359 

Prof.  Robertson,  57,  83 

Right  Hon.  W.  H.,  103 

Smyth,  General  L.,  125 

Prof.  Piazzi,  25 ;  letter  from, 

on  Cape  experiences,  108,  155 

Spottiswoode,  W.,  132 

Stanford,  Sir  Charles,  287 

Steinheil  (Munich),  38 

Stewart,  Dr.,  231 

Stokes,  Sir  George,  in  favour  of 
Cape  Durchmusterung,  177, 
181 ;  his  active  support  of 
astrographic  scheme,  183 

Stone,  E.  J.,  101 ;  meets  Gill  at 
Cape,  in;  his  methods  criti- 
cized, 162 

General,  76,  78 

Storie,  A.  J.  W.,  359 

Struve,  Prof.  Hermann,  104 

Prof.  Otto,  letter  to,  56,  58, 

163 

TABRUN,  A.  H.,  letter  to,  on  the 
Bible  and  Religion,  292 

Tait,  Professor,  289 

Thomson,  Prof.  David,  influence 
on  Gill's  astronomical  career, 
1 7 ;  great  mathematical  teacher, 
24;  small  observatory  of,  25, 
30,  37 

James,  24 

Sylvanus,  48 

Sir  William,  see  Kelvin, 

Lord. 

Tietjen,  Prof.  F.,  computes  plane- 
tary perturbations,  191, 
194 

Tisserand,  F.  F.,  192 

Trimen,  Roland,  112;  reminis- 
cences, 302,  303 

Trotter,  A.  P.,  anecdotes,  281 

Troughton  &  Simms,  54 

Tulloch,  Dr.,  7 

Tupman,  Colonel  G.  L.,  organizes 
Transit  of  Venus  expeditions, 
66;  candidate  for  Radcliffe 
Observer,  101 

Turner,  Prof.  H.  H.,  184 

UPINGTON,  SIR  THOS.,  126 


4i8 


INDEX 


WALKER,  REV.  W.,  44  Wharton,   Admiral  Sir  W.,   first 

Walton,   Hon.   E.   H.,  speech  at  meeting,     68,     156;      effective 

farewell  banquet,  308  support  of  Gill's  proposals,  179; 

Watson,  Professor,.  75  correspondence,  179;    supports 

Sir  C.  M.,  75                      /*  Gill's    application    for    Transit 

Watts,  George,  30  Circle,  221 ;  death,  239,  241 

Webster,  Mr.  (M.P.  for  Aberdeen),  White,  James  (Kelvin  &  White),  22 

84  White,  J.  F.,  85 

Wernher,  Mr.,  subscribes  to  Sur-  Wilson,  Arthur,  19 

vey  Fund,  238  Winnecke",  Prof.  F.  A.  T.,  104 

Wesley,  W.  H.,  account  of  accident  Woods,  Ray,  164 

at  R.A.S.,  88;    list  of  publica-  Wooton   (clockmaker,  Coventry), 

tions,  401  20 


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