Ch.XI. south AMERICA. 291 



The fquadron being fafely arrived at Callao, with 

 the commander in chief of the South-fea, a title given 

 to Don Joleph Pizarro, and a fuffieient number of of- 

 ficers of fuch diftinguiihed zeal and experience, that 

 they niight well fupply our place without detriment to 

 the fervice and, at the fame time, we being willing 

 to put the finifhing hand to our principal work, we 

 afl<:ed the vice-roy's leave to return to Quito •, but his 

 excellency was delirous that we fliould firft compleat 

 fome particulars he had committed to our care. Ac- 

 cordingly we applied ourfelves afllduouily to our 

 work and Doq George Juan, having finifhed his 

 part firft, left Callao on the 14th of November, pro- 

 pofing to make all the necefiary preparatives againft 

 my arrival, that the proper obfervations might be 

 made without delay. On the 27th of January, 1744, 

 I reached Quito, where I found Don George Juan had, 

 by his extraordinary care, nearly finilhed every thing 

 necefiary for the continuation of our work and 

 whilft the remainder was performing, we had an 

 opportunity, in conjundlion with Mr. Godin, the only 

 French academician now remaining in this province, 

 of obferving the comet which appeared this year. 



Though the comet might have been feen on the 

 2d and 3d of February, the atmolphere of Quito being 

 fo unfavourable to aftronomical obfervations on account 

 of the clouds, it was the 6th before we could obferve r^^^ 

 The comet was then near the weftem part of the ho- 

 rizon, and being behind the mountain of Pichinca, its 

 altitude concealed it from our fight, fo that we could 

 not obferve it after feven or eight at night. On the 

 6th, at feven in the evening, we found its altitude 

 above the horizon to be 15 degrees, and its azimuth 

 from the N. 72 degrees ; Mr. Godin and Don George 

 Juan judged its nucleus to be oblong, to me it ap-. 

 peared perfedlly circular ; but we all agreed that it 

 was larger than Jupiter. The tail, which we difcerned 

 through fome light clouds, feemed to extend tv/o cle- 



U 2 gre^s^ 



