of the expected Comet . 265 
expected to make its reappearance about the middle of last 
January, near the southern parts of the constellation of the 
whale. 
January 27. Towards the evening, on my return from Bath, 
where I had been a few days, I gave my sister Carolina the 
place where this comet might be looked for, and between fly- 
ing clouds, the same evening about 6 h 49' she saw it just long 
enough to make a short sketch of its situation. 
January 31. Clouds having obscured the sky till this time, 
I obtained a transitory view of the comet, and perceived that 
it was within a few degrees of the place which had been as- 
signed to it ; the unfavourable state of the atmosphere, how- 
ever, would not permit the use of any instrument proper for 
examining it minutely. 
There will be no occasion for my giving a more particular 
account of its place, than that it was very near the electrometer 
of the constellation, which in Mr. Bode's maps is called ma- 
chinable ctric a ; the only intention I had in looking for it, being 
to make a few observations upon its physical condition. 
February 1 . The comet had moved but very little from the 
place where it was last night ; and as the air was pretty clear, 
I used a 10-feet reflector with a low power to examine it. 
There was no visible nucleus, nor did the light which is called 
the coma increase suddenly towards the centre, but was of an 
irregular round form, and with this low power extended to 
about 5, 6, or 7 minutes in diameter. When I magnified 1 6g 
times it was considerably reduced in size, which plainly indi- 
cated that a farther increase of magnifying power would be of 
no service for discovering a nucleus. On account of cloudy 
