LETTERS ON SCIENTIFIC SUBJECTS. 93 



leaves unmentioned. Therefore my only addresse is to you, 

 hoping to find as much willingnesse to communicate, as ability 

 to evince the certainty of this secret to 



The most engaged of your friends, 



HENRY POWER. 

 R. Coll. Cambridge, 



Feb. 10, 1647. 



PS. Sir, this enclosed is from a worthy friend of myne 

 who hath made bold upon my incitement to enwrappe a few 

 lines to you, if you please to repay us both but with one 

 single answer, it will not only evince us of your faire accept- 

 ance of them, but shall also challenge a double gratulatory 

 as a due debt, in counterpoise and recompence thereof. 



WILLIAM OUGHTRED TO MR. GREATORIX. 



[MS. Ashm. 394.] 



Aldbury, Dec. 19th, 1652. 



Good Mr. Greatorix, Give leave to intreate you to re- 

 member my service to my good friend Mr. Lilly, and to 

 enquire of him and other astronomers about London, what 

 they have observed concerning a comet, stella crinita non 

 caudatci, now and for 1 1 nightes together as often as the skie 

 was cleere, in manner as I shall describe. Upon Thursday, 

 Dec: 9th, I first saw it, neere the East, about 7 of the clock 

 at night, a round dim light, about 4 degrees of estimacioun 

 from the head of the staire under the foote of Orion westward ; 

 the diameter of it seemed to be 16 inches; upon Saturday 

 at 11 at night it was ascended nere the shild of Orion, 

 almost as a right line through both the shoulders, so that the 

 comet and they were about an equall distance asunder; 

 then it went upward through the nose of the bull, till upon 

 Tuesday night it was close, but a very small deale westward 

 to the lowest star of the Pleiades. Upon Wednesday night 

 it w r as come almost as high as the foote of Perseus, and upon 

 Thursday night it was scene above the wing of that foote of 

 Perseus westward higher then in a right line, through the 

 star in that foote and the wing, and almost at their distance. 

 The present Sunday, while I am writing, it is come within 

 lesse than a degree of Gorgon's eye, and \ a degree to the 

 east side. The motoun decresethe nightly, and so doth the 

 diameter, especially for these latter dayes, being now become 

 but in shew not past halfe so big as at the first appearance. 



