[ *99 3 
H.M. S. 
731 56 o *s lower limb at horizontal wire. 
? ’s centre at the fame. 
O ’s weftern and fubfequent limb at ver- 
tical wire. 
G ’s upper limb at horizontal wire. The 
obfervation of this limb of the fun was 
but indifferent. 
N. B. As the telefcope inverts, the obfervations, as 
ufual, are fet down according to the appear- 
ance. 
I heartily wifh the other attenders upon this rare 
celeftial phenomenon may have had a more favour- 
able opportunity of making their obfervations, than I 
have had. But as it is to be feared, that our other 
obfervers, Mr. Mafon and Mr. Dixon, by the misfor- 
tunes they have met with, have not been able to make 
their obfervations at Bencoolen, as was propofed; I 
humbly hazard my opinion, and fubmit it to your 
Lordlhip’s better judgment, whether the difference 
in the total duration of the tranfit of Venus over the 
fun’s difk, obferved in any two places, where, it is 
likely, obfervations have been made, will be great 
enough to enable us to infer the fun’s parallax with 
fufficient exadtnels, or even nearer than it is known 
already. So that I am afraid we muff wait till the 
next tranfit, in 1769, which is, on many accounts, 
better circumftanced than this, before aftronomers 
will be able to do juffice to Dr. Halley’s noble pro- 
pofal, and to fettle, with the laft and greateft degree 
of exa&nefs, that curious and nice element in aftro- 
nomy, the fun’s parallax, and thence determine the 
5 . true 
32 17 
33 5 
34 53 
