expectation. The two grand points to be determined were, the nature of the red flames, and that of the corona seen during the time of totality. In regard to the red flames, the observations of Leverrier, who conducted the expedition, are quite conclusive. He has established beyond all doubt that they belong to the sun. But not only so, he has shewm that the flames are only prominences in a red stratum, enveloping the whole luminous disc of the sun. Another concentric shell has thus been added to the sun. The light of this stratum is so comparatively faint, that it is quite invisible, except when the moon, in a total eclipse, intercepts the overpowering light of the white disc. When we look at the disc of the sun, we are looking through this rose-coloured stratum, but its colour is quite obliterated by the light of the stratum beneath. It has been supposed that the prominent flames correspond with the spots in the sun, as if they were caused by a gas rising up through the spots, as through a chimney from below. When we view the disc of the sun with a telescope, we find that it is strangely mottled with bright wavy lines, called faculæ and minute dark points throughout its whole structure. The appearance is very much that of a sponge. The corrugation of the surface of the sponge represents the wavy appearance of the disc, and its numerous pores, the dark points in question. The large spots, or maculæ, may be represented by the rugged perforations through the mass of the spoage. The rose-coloured
