12 REPORT OF THE 



rooms, without the galleries, is estimated to cost £250 ; and if 

 this is to be provided for out of the annual income of the 

 Society, it will advance but slowly, and the rooms will remain 

 in an unfinished state. 



The'principal addition which has been made to the Library 

 this year, has been of a number of numismatic works, amount- 

 ing to 40 volumes, presented by the family of the late 

 Rev. Charles Wellbeloved, in pursuance of his request. The 

 Catalogue has been printed and may be had of the Keeper of 

 the Museum; the price is sixpence. The Library contains 

 many works of high scientific value ; and with the exception of 

 costly volumes of plates, which cannot safely be allowed to circu- 

 late, they may be obtained from it by members every day during 

 the hours of the Keeper's attendance ; three volumes may be 

 taken out at a time ; a month is allowed for reading them. 

 The Council believe that neither the valuable contents of the 

 Library, nor the liberal terms on which its use is granted, are 

 generally known ; they have published the Catalogue that the 

 members be more generally acquainted with them, and they 

 hope a more extensive use of it will be made. 



Respecting the Observatory, Mr. Noble and Mr. Gray 

 report, that the new telescope has been carefully and severely 

 tested, that every expectation with respect to its performance 

 has been realized, and that the instrument will bear comparison 

 with any other of similar size and aperture. The old equatorial 

 mounting has been retained, and as the adjustments are now 

 tolerably correct, the instrument answers every useful purpose, 

 and a considerable outlay has thus been saved to the Society. 



The Comet, which has attracted the notice of every one by its 

 brilliancy, and engaged philosophers in speculations on the 

 nature of cometary phenomena, was seen from the Observatory 

 of the Society to the greatest advantage, in the latter part of 

 September and the early part of October. The nucleus, with 

 a power of about 50, presented the following appearance. 

 First, an outer disc of a parabolic form. Superimposed upon 

 this were two circular, concentric, luminous discs ; and in the 

 centre of the inner disc appeared the bright part of the nucleus. 

 The outer parabolic disc, at the point whence the tail emanated, 



