C 7° ] 
continued till the dark body of the planet was wholly 
within the fun’s difc, or 29 ' 28" apparent time, 
when Venus’s circumference was not pafled coin- 
ciding with the fun’s circumference above three or 
four feconds of time. Whilft I was attentively view- 
ing this, and judging it difficult to determine the 
exaCt moment of circular contaCt, on account of the 
circumftances defcribed, the ebullition or boiling be- 
tween the limb of Venus and the fun became more 
violent, and the partial illumination increafed ; and 
at 7 11 29 ' 38" I faw the planet as it were held to the 
fun’s limb by a ligament formed of many black 
cones, whole bafes flood on the limb of Venus and 
their vertexes pointing to the limb of the fun. Thefe 
cones put on various pofitions, and as Venus ad- 
vanced they alternately contracted themfelves to- 
wards the limb of Venus, and expanded themfelves 
towards the fun’s limb, performing their undulations 
always regularly and in the fame time, as the planet 
advanced on the difc, till 29 ' 48" apparent time. 
At' the end of this interval, the agitation or fermen- 
tation was exceeding violent, for the whole limb of 
Venus would fometimes librate towards the limb of 
the fun, and fometimes the limb of the fun would 
turn convex in yielding towards Venus; but the 
thread of light was not yet formed, for flill three 
or four broad parts of the ligament never had yet 
broke from the fun, and therefore the thread of 
light was not yet formed. I carefully examined 
the fides of thofe black cones connected with 
the limb of the fun, and faw the fifliires or fpaces 
between them to be filled with a fleady illumination, 
of the colour of twilight compared with the light 
of 
