Genre:

Letter, Spoof

Subjects:

Education, Astronomy, Observation

Institutions mentioned:

Army

    Written from the perspective of a student at a military college, who asks Mr Punch to help him solve an astronomical problem, the solution to which will determine his suitability as a military officer. The problem is deliberately abstruse, requiring the determination of 'the Longitude of the South Pole, and the Error of Rate of the Compass at that Station' from various observations.