prompt and remarkable success, and in the same year his large "Star Atlas" was published. Early in 1871 "The Sun" was printed, and was also well received. In the same year appeared "Elementary Lessons in Astronomy," and the first series of "Light Science for Leisure Hours;" in 1872 the "School Atlas of Astronomy," "Essays on Astronomy," "Orbs around Us," and "Elementary Lessons in Physical Geography." Much of his time this year was devoted to the construction of a chart, showing all the stars visible in the northern heavens with the telescopes 23⁄4 inches in aperture—in all, 324,198 stars. This chart exhibits relations having an important bearing on our ideas respecting the constitution of the heavens. During the past year Mr. Proctor has published the second series of "Light Science," "The Moon," "The Border-land of Science," "The Expanse of Heaven;" and a new work, entitled "The Universe and the Coming Transits," is now passing through the press.
Such a rapid multiplication of books cannot of course be otherwise than unfavorable to the promotion of science by original research. This Mr. Proctor recognizes, and he has described it as one of the principal hardships occasioned by the loss of his property, that he was compelled to give but a limited portion of his time to original investigations. But, although driven to write about science for a livelihood, or to forsake it altogether for more remunerative employment, he is very far from having neglected the more serious work of research. Few know what can be accomplished by industry and perseverance. It is only necessary to look over the index of the Proceedings of the Royal Astronomical Society to see that Mr. Proctor has been a large contributor to its work. Indeed, although its pages are limited to the record of such work, from 1868 to 1873 Mr. Proctor contributed to these proceedings more freely than any fellow of the Astronomical Society. His papers have related chiefly to the stellar system, the laws of distribution of stars, their motions, the relations between stars and nebulæ, and the general constitution of the heavens. But the subject of the solar corona has occupied a considerable space among Mr. Proctor's papers, while even a larger amount of labor has been given to the investigation of the opportunities which will be presented during the transits of Venus, on December 9, 1874, and December 6, 1882.
The subject of that mysterious connection between meteors and comets which forms one of the most surprising of the results of modern observation has also been largely dealt with by Mr. Proctor. His investigation of the rotation-period of the planet Mars, resulting in a value certainly within one-tenth of a second of the true period, may also be mentioned among his original researches.
It is but just to say that Mr. Proctor has been singularly fortunate in enunciating theories which have been subsequently confirmed, und in some cases demonstrated by new observations. His confident tone
