24th.
We had last evening a Class meeting; a petition drawn up by Little, as additional to that already presented, was read to the Class, and approved by them: the Committee, were ordered to carry it down to the President. I was employ’d the greatest part of this day in projecting my Eclipse for exhibition. The elements are as follows.
| for a solar Eclipse. May 15th. 1836. | D. | H. | M. | S. | |
| 1. | True time of New Moon at Cambridge, in May 1836. | 15: | 9: | 29: | 13 |
| ° | ’ | " | |||
| 2. | Semidiameter of the Earth’s Disc | 0: | 55: | 0 | |
| 3. | Sun’s Distance from the nearest solstice | 35: | 17: | 42 | |
| 4. | Sun’s Declination, North | 18: | 58: | 0 | |
| 5. | Moon’s latitude, north ascending | 0: | 26: | 26 | |
| 6. | Moon’s horary motion from the Sun | 0: | 28: | 14 | |
| 7. | Angle of the Moon’s visible path with the ecliptic | 5: | 35: | 0 | |
| 8. | Sun’s Semidiameter | 0: | 15: | 55 | |
| 9. | Moon’s Semidiameter | 0: | 15: | 0 | |
| 10. | Semidiameter of the Penumbra | 0: | 30: | 55. |
Charles watch’d at Mr. Dana’s this night.
Peter Eaton1 of Haverhill was 22 the 15th. of this month. I have not the pleasure of an intimate acquaintance with him; but all those who have, speak well of him. As a speaker he is distinguished, and as a scholar respectable; his public exercices have been in general equal if not superior to any in the Class since I belonged to it: but he is very modest and diffident, so that he has not brought himself so much into notice, as several others in the Class, who without his abilities have a much greater share of confidence.
1. Eaton was ordained at West Boxford in Oct. 1789 and remained there as minister throughout his life (Sidney Perley, “The Dwellings of Boxford,” 29:85–86 [April–June 1892]).