82 
“JT wish an Ephemeris of this comet,” said he, “ to be 
prepared without delay, for publication in the newspaper to-- 
morrow morning.” Hussarp respectfully suggested that 
three observations were requisite for computing the ele- 
ments, and that even should the comet be found early in the 
evening, the intervals between the three dates would not be 
well adapted for the purpose. “Confound the elements, Mr. 
Hussarp!” said the Lieutenant, using some rather strong 
expletives; “I want none of your Elements, I only want 
an Ephemeris, and I wish you would compute it at once.” 
What the astronomer did under the embarrassing circum- 
stances, I do not exactly know; but I suspect that the Ephe- 
meris, which went to the National Intelligencer, was com- 
puted by methods neither of Orzers nor of BrssEL! 
The first published observations of Husparp, so far a8 - 
I am aware, were those by which, on the 4th of February; 
1847, he confirmed the prediction of Waker as to the 
identity of Neptune with one of the stars observed by La- 
LANDE, 1795, May 10. This important discovery was made 
almost simultaneously by Prrersen in Altona, and by 
WALKER and Hussarp in Washington, and was of the 
highest importance for the accurate determination of the 
planet’s orbit. By the employment of this ancient observa- 
tion, and of the perturbations computed by Perrce, WALKER 
was enabled to deduce the orbit of Neptune with a precision 
which leaves even now very little to be desired, and which 
surpasses that attained by any other computer to this pres- 
ent day. 
At the Naval Observatory Husparp was at once placed 
at the Transit-Instrument, with which he observed for four 
months ; and was transferred to the Meridian Circle in Sep- 
tember. Nearly nine hundred transit-observations by him : 
may be found in the volume of Washington Observations for 
