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X. A Letter from Mr. Alexander Brice, to 
the Lari of Morton, Prefident of the R. S. 
giving an Account of a Comet feen by him . 
Kirknewton, April n, 1766. 
My Lord.; 
Read April 17, y Beg leave by this, to acquaint your 
A lordfhip, that, lad night and the night 
before, I obferved a comet in the northwed, and very 
near the horizon. It began to appear at half an hour 
after 8 o’clock, and fet 25 minutes after 9. The tail 
was very vifible to the naked eye; but the nucleus 
could not be feen by any, that were prefent with me, 
without a telefcope, thro’ which it appeared very 
diftindly, like a dar of the 4th or 5th magnitude. 
It was furrounded with a gleam of light, like what 
is feen round the dars in Orion’s fword, comonly called 
Janua Coeli. The tail dretched upwards, and in- 
clined to the wed, and was about 4 degrees long: the 
body of the comet was ai'lo 4 degrees didant from the 
new moon (then 34 hours after the change) and al- 
mod perpendicular above it; and it appeared to more 
advantage after the moon was fet. The comet, when 
letting, was 37 degrees to the north of due wed, and 
13 degrees more northerly than the Pleiades, below 
them, but in the fame trad : it is defcending towards 
the fun, at the rate of 6 degrees as near as I could 
guefs, in the lpace of twenty four hours ; and unlefs 
the light of the moon, or the twilight prevents, it 
will 
