250 TRANSIT or MERCURY. 
from the watch, I endeavoured to count the feconds, which 
by a perfon ufed to it may be done pretty near the truth. 
This method of determining the time, though fuch as an 
aftronomer would by no means chufe, was the only one 
that I could make ufe of; and from the pains I took to be 
exaét, I believe it might be depended upon to eight or ten 
feconds. 
At the firft contac? 1 expe€ted Mercury would have ap- 
peared as Venus had done, fomething irregular, uneven, 
and not very diftin@ly defined. But at 2" 54’ 40” appa- 
rent time, I was agreeably difappointed by feeing the pla- 
net come on as it were in an inftant, in the form of a 
clear, regular, well defined black fpot. The znternal con- 
tact was equally inftantaneous; at 2" 56’ o” the thread of 
light clofed to appearance in a moment, without a feem- 
ing uncertainty of a fecond. The fky being perfealy 
clear and ferene, nothing could be better defined than the 
limbs of Mercury and the fun. ‘There was no appearance 
of any thing like an atmofphere round the planet, but all 
the time the fun was vifible, Mercury appeared like a fteady 
diftin@ black fpot, much lefs than fome that were then 
upon the fun. Not having a micrometer, it was not in 
our power to make any further obfervations, either on the 
diameter of the fun or Mercury, or of the leaft diftance 
of their limbs. 
An Obfervation of an Eclipfe of the Sun, November 6th, 
1771, at Bradford, in Maffachufetts; by the Rev. 
SAMUEL WILLIAMs, A. M 
FROM the beginning of the year 176g till the end of 
1771, there were but two eclipfes that could be obferved 
at Bradford. One of thefe was a total eclipfe of the moon, 
June roth, 1769; of this I had no obfervation, being 
prevented by an indifpofition. ‘The other was an eclipfe 
of the fun, November 6th, 1771. The weather for feve- 
ral 
