TOL. LlJ PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. 337 



more ease ; and he had a little more clearness and vivacity in his countenance : 

 but none of the ossified parts were reduced, nor was there any appearance of 

 their reduction, and he continued to wear a hectic look. To reduce the ossified 

 parts, they had applied to them mercurial plasters ; the effect of which time 

 would show. 



As he was discharged out of the hospital, they had directed him to bathe conti- 

 nually in the ocean, which happened to be very convenient to his habitation ; 

 and had directed him to anoint his limbs with the soapy juice of the quercus 

 marina, which lies in plenty along the shore. 



XFI. An Account of the Comet seen in May 17 5g. By J. Bevis, M. D. p. QS. 



Dr. B. had acquainted some of his friends, that it was his opinion a comet 

 would hardly arise above our horizon of London Sunday April the 29th ; but 

 that probably we might see one April 30th. Sunday was very clear ; but he 

 could not see it. Monday, not so clear : however, he saw what he took for 

 the comet through the smoke of the town, about 10, near the horizon. 



Tuesday, May 1 saw it very plainly, at Mr. Short's, from 9 to 11. They 

 compared it by means of the equatorial instrument with a, (3, and £ corvi ; 

 whence its right ascension, at 8 h. 45 m. mean time, came out 159° 55' 9", 

 and its south declination 25° 52' 14". 



Wednesday, May 2d, observed it again at Mr. Sisson's in the Strand, with a 

 sector of 5 feet radius, and compared -it with |3 corvi; whence, at 9 h. 6 m. 

 mean time, its right ascension 158° 47' 37% and its south declination 22° I9' 

 23". The increasing moon had now much weakened the light of the comet, 

 so that the tail and nucleus could not be distinguished as last night. 



I think, says Dr. B., I may now venture to pronounce this to be the 

 same as the comet of l682; and am about making out its future track. It is 

 at this time about 4 times nearer to the earth than the sun is. 



An Account of the Same Comet. By Nicolas Munckley, Esq. p. 94. 



The first certain view Mr. M. had of any appearance, which could be the 

 expected comet, was on the evening of the 30th of April, about s. s. w. a little 

 lower than the middle of the Hydra. The following evening. May 1st, its 

 place about 10 o'clock was, right ascension about 160 deg. declination a little 

 more than 25 deg. s. It is a luminous appearance, very evident to the naked 

 eye (notwithstanding the light of the moon, within 2 or 3 days of her quadra- 

 ture), yet rather dim than splendid ; large, but very ill defined. The telescope, 

 at the same time it magnifies it, seems to render it more obscure. The nu- 

 cleus appears to be rather surrounded with a circular haziness, than to have a 

 tail in any particular direction, especially as seen through a telescope. 



VOL. XI. X X 



