" 1 cannot account for the brightness that surrounded the moon, 

 beyond what may be supposed to be her atmosphere, in any other 

 way than by considering that body as possessing phosphoric prop- 

 erties in an eminent degree, and having the faculty of ejecting con- 

 tinually the light it has received from the sun and stars, after per- 

 haps having partially decomposed it, in a manner somewhat simi- 

 lar to the progress by which air is imbibed and emitted with 

 changed properties by the leaves of vegetables, and also for pur- 

 poses not altogether dissimilar. Such an emission of light, which 

 cannot be perceived by us at any other time than when the sun is 

 totally eclipsed, must necessarily cause an appearance like what 

 was displayed on that occasion. 



« That the light which comes from the moon to us has undergone 

 some change is, I think, evident from its having a paler colour 

 than that which comes from the sun. The luminous circle on the 

 edge of the moon, was remarkably so. It had that bluish tint 

 which distinguishes the colour of quicksilver from a dead white. 



" I attempted to make observations on the stages of the eclipse, 

 but, for the want of a meridian and glasses of sufficient power, I 

 am sorry I could not make them with the accuracy I wished ; I 

 however send them as they are. They may possibly be of some 

 use among the collections from other quarters. I have also taken 

 some pains to ascertain the extent of .the moon's shadow, in a 

 northerly and southerly direction. The best ^information I have 

 received is from Judge Thorn, of Washington county, who assures 

 . me that the edge of the shadow passed nearly along the south 

 bounds of Campbell's patent, in the town of Granville, which, on 

 my map of the state, lies in lat. 43° 22' and long. 45' east of the 

 meridian of New-York ; and from Johannes Miller, Esq. of the 

 county of Orange, who determined the southern edge of the 

 shadow in the town of Montgomery, to have crossed the road 

 leading from Ward's bridge to Goshen, three miles and fiVe chains 

 from the bridge. This will be about lat. 41° 30' and long. 0° 14' 

 west from the meridian of New-York. The middle of a straight 

 line between these two places falls on Hudson's river in lat. 42° 

 26', where therefore the centre of the shadow must have passed. 

 If it would be of any use for the purpose of correcting the lunar 

 tables to ascertain with precision the diameter of the moon's shad- 

 ow, and the exact part of the earth on which it fell, it might be 

 done with great accuracy in this case, as the path of the shadow 



