[ + 05 - ] 
am very well perfuaded, that 8*" 24.' 9'^ apparent 
time, which I took for the beginning of the ingrefs, 
is four, five, or feven feconds too late. I hoped 
to fee the internal contadl with more certainty ; 
but I was mifiaken ; for I found as great difficul- 
ties there, though of another kind. When I judged, 
by means of the circular figure of the Sun’s drfc, that 
Venus ffiould be intirely within the Sun, I could- not 
yet fee the luminous cufps of the Sun join together be- 
hind Venus, who, on the contrary, appeared to carry 
the limb of the -Sun along with her, which appeared 
to bend towards Venus, leaving a black cavity in his 
limb ; and a moment after, when I thought I faw 
the whole body of Venus in the Sun, a little black co- 
lumn appeared to proceed from Venus towards the 
imaginary limb of the^Sun. The whole of this phae- 
nomenon was dertainly, in my opinion, the effedt of 
the tremors of the limbs of the Sun and Venus; but 
I took for the moment of the internal 
contadt, when the thread of the Sun’s light clofed be- 
hind Venus. 
The limbs of Venus were, at leaft, as tremulous 
and ill defined as thofe of the Sun. Sometimes Ve- 
nus had black eminences, which projedted fo much 
that they were not unlike a pointed truffle. The 
firfi: notch made by Venus in the Sun was not round, 
but refembled an obtufe angle. The diameter of 
Venus, which was perpendicular to the Sun’s limb, 
appeared the greatefi: while Venus was paffing over 
the Sun’s limb ; but after Venus had pafied the' Sun’s 
limb, the fame diameter appeared the fmalleft ; fo that 
Venus prefented herfelf in both thefe cafes under an 
oval form, but in contrary diredtions. 
Clouds 
