218 Observations on Comet II. 



(fig. 7) . He thus describes the comet : — " The tail that even- 

 ing appeared to me much more uniformly 

 distributed, and the jet, which was now 

 directed towards the western or preced- 

 ing orbital side of the nucleus, was pretty 

 sharply defined on the same western mar- 

 gin, but feathery on the eastern side, 

 where, too, the coma was chiefly con- 

 densed." 



Mr. Howlett quite corroborates my 

 observation, that the comet had dimi- 

 j- 1G , 7_ nished in brilliancy and length of tail 



since the 26th and 27th. He observed it 

 again on the 31st, but was not able to make a sketch of it. He 

 could not trace the tail to a greater distance than three degrees. 

 No further observations have reached me; but I was myself 

 able to view the comet on Sept. 1st, 2nd, 7th, and 9th. On 

 the 1st, moonlight began to conceal it. The moon, however, 

 set at ten o } clock, and I could then observe a very decided di- 

 minution in the comet's brightness. On the 2nd the moon 

 did not set till after the comet had disappeared along with the 

 stars of Serpens, behind some trees ; and in the bright moon- 

 light the comet had not seemed more than a round "woolly'" 

 star. 



On the four following evenings the sky was overcast. On 

 the 7th, a day before full moon, I had lost my account of the 

 comets probable place, but, nevertheless, gave myself a task 

 to detect it. In one minute I found it out, and then made sure 

 of it with the telescope. A yellow star was in the same field of 

 view. The comet appeared small, and of a roundish shape, but 

 not at all regularly circular. There was no visible nucleus, but 

 a perceptible brightness about the centre ; no tail whatever. 

 On September 9th I saw it for the last time. 

 There was very bright moonlight, in which even the stars 

 Epsilon and Delta of Ophiuchus were not very readily visible. 

 Trees hid Antares, but I could guess at its position, which with 

 that of Beta (in Scorpio) helped me to ascertain the comet's 

 probable situation. Long staring at the sky, I imagined a pale 

 spot a little way north of Beta. On this I fixed my telescope, 

 and very plainly saw the comet, faint and small on a light grey 

 sky ; yet there was a look of some importance in its aspect, 

 giving one the idea, that had moonlight been absent its tail 

 -would still have been visible. 



I looked long at it ; the ideas of retreat, disappearance, and 

 a long parting impressing themselves very vividly on my imagi- 

 nation as I removed the telescope, leaving Comet II, to pursue 

 its long mysterious journey. 



