to see.

Congress had made a very liberal appropriation for observations of the
solar eclipse,--the making of which was one object of my visit,--to
be expended under the direction of Professor Peirce, superintendent
of the Coast Survey. Peirce went over in person to take charge
of the arrangements. He arrived in London with several members of
his party a few days before we did, and about the same time came an
independent party of my fellow astronomers from the Naval Observatory,
consisting of Professors Hall, Harkness, and Eastman. The invasion of
their country by such an army of American astronomers quite stirred up
our English colleagues, who sorrowfully contrasted the liberality of
our government with the parsimony of their own, which had, they said,
declined to make any provision for the observations of the eclipse.
Considering that it was visible on their own side of the Atlantic,
they thought their government might take a lesson from ours.
Of course we could not help them directly; and yet I suspect that
our coming, or at least the coming of Peirce, really did help them a
great deal. At any rate, it was a curious coincidence that no sooner
did the American invasion occur than it was semi-officially discovered
that no application of which her Majesty's government could take
cognizance had been made by the scientific authorities for a grant
of money with which to make preparations for observing the eclipse.
That the scientific authorities were not long in catching so broad
a hint as this goes without saying. A little more of the story came
out a few days later in a very unexpected way.

In scientific England, the great social event of the year is the
annual banquet of the Royal Society, held on St. Andrew's day,
the date of the annual meeting of the society, and of the award of
its medals for distinguished work in science. At the banquet the
scientific outlook is discussed not only by members of the society,
but by men high in political and social life. The medalists are
toasted, if they are present; and their praises are sung, if, as is
apt to be the case with foreigners, they are absent. First in rank
is the Copley medal, founded by Sir Godfrey Copley, a contemporary of
Newton. This medal has been awarded annually since 1731, and is now
considered the highest honor that scientific England has to bestow.
The recipient is selected with entire impartiality as to country,
not for any special work published