~ 
240° 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, : 
A S you have announced the oppor- 
tunity of feeing the planets Mercury 
and Venus, perhaps you will be pleafed to 
accept this account of their appearance. 
I locked for them on the 7th without 
fuecefs, the iky being cloudy. 
On the 8th, at half paft four, the Mooz 
and Venus role nearly together, and almoft 
due eaft. The Mocz was then fo near 
her conjunétion (being only 31 hours 
diftant from it), that fhe exhibited no 
phafe; but appeared a fmall brilliant 
planet, though lefs luminous than Venus. 
“To the telefcope (a refieCtor with a power 
of about 60) the Moon was a beautiful 
thread of light in her lower circum- 
ference, a little oblique to the horizon, 
and finely ialcated; fo that the cufps 
vanifhing in a point were diftinctly teen. 
Venus was entirely lucid; of a golden co- 
floured light; ill defined from extreme 
brilliancy, and gibbous. Mercury 1 faw 
not; his light, probably, being cb{cured 
by the vicinity of the rays of the Moon 
and Venus. Venus continued to be ap- 
parent til] about a quarter before fix: 4 
little after fix the had ceafed to be fo. 
On Friday, the 11th, I again faw Ve. 
mus, about a quarter before fix in the 
morning; but not Mercury. 
This morning, about two minutes. be- 
fore five, (12th O@. 16h. 58° apparent 
time) I faw Vexus very brilliant indeed, 
about 5 degrees above the horizon, and 
nearly z degrees fouth of the eaft. About 
318 minutes after, Mercury was alfo vifible, 
below Venus, and a little eaft of her; 
Mercury bemg then almoft exactly eaft. 
They had both a fine golden light; both 
gibbous, and il] defined: Mercury with 
fomewhat of a redder tint. Any planets 
of lefs fplendour than thefe now are, 
would have been very red and hazy fo 
near the horizon.’ Mereury was then very 
vifible to the eye; by which, indeed, 
{through a green glafs) I firft found 
him. In about 15 or 20 minutes, Mer- 
cury, though fill vifible to the teleicope, 
became very indiftinét to the eye, being 
io& nearly in theincreafing,twilight. Ve- 
nus remained very brilliant, and fill far 
trom well defined. 
The appearance of Mercury is fo rare, 
that Ido not recolleét to have feen him 
above once before, (then emerging from 
an occultation py the Moon) except as a 
fpot in tranfiting the fun’s ditk. 
There is hope, however, if the w2ather 
fhouldtnen be as fne as now, of a very 
opportunity of feeing him on the 
+ ne 
' 
aus 
Appearance of Venus and Mercury Solar Halo. _ Ports 
25th and 26th cf December, (the latter 
being his day of greateft elongation) be- 
tween four and five in the evening, be-- 
tween the bright ftar in Aguila and the 
tail of Sagittarius. He will be then al- 
moft duly fouth-weft. 
And between the 13th and the 1¢th of 
December, about half paft feven in the 
morning, Venus may be expeéted to be 
feen then diftin€tly falcated, being within 
about feventeen days of her fupegior con- 
junction, and toward fouth-eatt by eaft, 
between Serpentarius ang Sagittarius. 
- Imuft obferve, that I was rather fur- 
prized to find a lunated or crefcent-like 
appearance of Mercury and Venus, indi- 
cated in the notice of their expeéted 
phenomena at this time. It is neceffarily 
not the appearance of either when at or 
near their greatelt elongation, Mercury 
1s now at it ; and Venus is ftill tco diftant 
from her conjunction to affume it dif- 
tinétly, for I think fome weeks to 
come, 
I know not whether it be requifite to 
obferve, that in looking for Saturn, (then 
with an altitude of nearly 60 degrees 
fouth fouth-eait) at near five this morn- 
ing, I was ftruck with an appearance 
not far from the famous Nebula in the 
Prefepe Cancri, of a kind of filamentous 
light, diffufed over a {pace of fome mi- 
nutes: whether cometary, or not, I pre- 
tend not from one obfervation to deter- 
mine. 
SOLAR HALO. 
There is at this time (12 O@. 23 h.25 
min. 13 O4. 11 h. 25° comm. time) 
nearly a complete and beautifully-colour- 
ed Halo round the Suz, the preceding 
‘limb of which is nearly on the meridian. 
From this its radius (and diameter con- 
fequently) may be pretty nearly collected. 
It is very even, and in breadth about 30 
min. Therm. 49 in the thade—Wind | 
weft—Bar. 301—Sky generally free from 
clouds, but hazy in fouth and weft. 
A very permanent Halo, which latted 
above two hours, I] faw near the time of the 
vernal equinox, nearly fimilar in magnitude 
and phenomena ‘to this. C. Lorrt, 
Troftoz, near Bury, OF. 13,1798. 

To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
ie SiR; 
te is a queftion ftill undetermined by 
practitioners who have employed the 
Refufcitative art, how far it is prope. to 
exhibit an emetic in cafes of fufpended 
a“tion of the vital principle from drown- 
ing. Town myfelf that Iam much pre- 
jadaced in favour of this practice, not 
becaute 
