[ J + 2 ] 
the Neapolitan envoy extraordinary, the right honou- 
rable Lord Leigh, Dr. Morton, S. R. S. and feveral 
other gentlemen to be prefent. 
Early in the morning the iky Teemed to promife to 
he favourable to us; but before the time when the 
eclipfe was expeCted to begin, it became fo hazy that 
we almoft defpaired of making any obfervation at alL 
How r ever Mr. Reeve, the affiflant obferver, was pre- 
pared to obferve on the triangular leads, with a two 
foot reflecting telefcope made by Mr. Short, and on 
March 31ft, 2i h 5' 3" apparent time, he faw the firit 
impreflion made on the Sun’s limb by the Moon ; 
the iky being got tolerably clear a few minutes be- 
fore. Mr. John Bird,, mathematical initrument maker 
in the Strand, with a two feet reflecting telefcope 
made by himfelf, on the leads over the new cham- 
ber, did not fee the beginning, by reafon of a tre- 
mor, until fix feconds later. I myfelf was endea- 
vouring to obferve it with an excellent refraCtor of 
15 feet focal length in the great room : but, having at 
that time a watery defluxion on my eyes occaiioned 
by a cold, I was unfortunately obliged to wipe my 
eye perhaps at the very time of the contaCl : for at 
2 * h S' 3 q// w hen I again applied my eye to the tele*, 
fcope and placed it on the objeCt, the eclipfe was 
fenfibly advanced. So that I apprehend the begin- 
ning as oblerved by Mr. Reeve to be very near the 
truth. 
It had been before agreed that Mr. Reeve, to 
whofe eye the reflecting telefcope had been adjufted 
when armed with Dollond’s micrometer, fhould ob- 
ferve the quantity of the lucid parts, as they decreaf- 
ed before the middle, and alfo as they increafed after 
the 
