Advertisement

Pilgrims to Path of Totality Thrilled by Eclipse--"No Better Than Any Moonlight Night," Say Stay-at-Homes

Close upon 250 undergraduates who made the pilgrimage to Westerley and other points to see the eclipse at its totality straggled back to Cambridge Saturday and yesterday with varying stories of their experiences. All of them agreed that the journey was one they would long remember.

Leaving Cambridge at 5 o'clock sleepy and hungry was a hardship they forgot when they saw the flashes, the corona, the colorful shadows flitting across the snow, and the brief appearance of the stars. The returned pilgrims were inclined to shout "sour grapes" at the cynical comments of those who had remained at home.

The stay-at-homes turned out in pyjamas and fur-coats to view the "Greatest Show on Earth." Most if not all of them were disappointed. In the first place the one per cent of the sun that was visible at 9.17 o'clock shed as much light as Boston is accustomed to on a cloudy day: in the second place the sun was partially eclipsed by clouds any-how at the moment of greatest eclipse by the moon. Most of Harvard remained indifferent to the phenomenon.

From the roof of the CRIMSON building the sun looked like a new moon. At breakfast tables and on the way to examinations a frequent comment was to the effect that the phenomenon was "not half as effective as any moonlight night."

Advertisement
Advertisement