fun coming, for there are lots more faint constellations which are all
beautiful, even though not plain enough for us to find easily in the
beginning. Besides, if you ever journey to the South, beyond the earth's
equator, you will find a whole new sky full of marvelous people, and
creatures, and objects--all pictured in the flashing southern heavens."
"Well," said Peter briskly, "what do we find to-night, Uncle Hen?"
"We'll begin," replied Uncle Henry, "with a person you may have heard
of--_Perseus_, who killed the terrible Gorgon _Medusa_."
"Oh, I know him," cried Paul, "we read all 'bout him last year."
"Quite right," said Uncle Henry, "then you remember that when he had
killed _Medusa_, and cut off her head with his sword, he had to hold the
head with the terrible face away from him, because everybody who looked
at that face was instantly turned to stone."
"Yes, yes, we know!" chorused the Society.
"Well, now we'll find _Perseus_, his sword, and the head of _Medusa_,"
promised Uncle Henry. "All you have to do is to extend the line of
_Andromeda's_ left leg and prolong it from her foot, straight out
for about her whole length. (30) There you will find _Algenib_, the
brightest star in _Perseus_. It is right in his neck, between his
shoulders. From _Algenib_ you can trace a row of stars downward,
almost to the _Pleiades_ in the bull's shoulder. This row of stars is
_Perseus'_ body and legs. Then find two stars above _Algenib_, one over
the other, and you have his head and helmet.
"After that it is easy to start at _Algenib_ and trace out his right
arm, with the sword. A line drawn toward _Perseus_ through the stars in
_Andromeda's_ head and left hip points out the star _Algol_, which is
the head of _Medusa_, held in _Perseus'_ left hand. (31) _Algol_ is a
famous variable star, which the ancients named 'the dragon of the slowly
winking eye.'"
The children soon found all of _Perseus_, and all took part in drawing
his skeleton on the blackboard. Then they watched _Algol_ in the sky,
and expected to see it wink, until Uncle Henry told them that the wink
is so slow that it takes seven hours for _Algol_ to become faint and
bright again, and that then two and three-quarter days pass before
_Algol_ winks again. This being the case the Society decided not to
wait, and finished _Perseus_ up so that he looked this way:
[Illustration]
Uncle Henry added the lines with arrows to show how _Algenib_ and
_Algol_ are found, with the help of _Andromeda_.
After _Perseus_ was finished, Betty kept gazing at the sky. She seemed
fascinated, and finally asked,
"Uncle Henry, there's a perfectly lovely star just a little way in front
of _Perseus_, and three little ones near it. If I could name stars I
would call them 'the hen and chickens,' wouldn't you?"
All the children looked, and easily found the beautiful star. They
couldn't have missed it, and neither can you, for it is one of the most
brilliant in the sky and there are no others like it nearby.
"Yes," said Uncle Henry, "the big star and the three little ones do look
like a hen and her chickens. I would call them that, too, Betty, but
hundreds of years ago somebody named the bright star _Capella_, which
means 'the goat,' and called the three little stars 'the kids,' so you
see that they are named already."
"A kid is the baby of a goat, isn't it, Uncle Hen?" inquired Peter.
"Yes, that's the idea," said Uncle Henry, and went on, "Betty happens
to have picked out the brightest star in the last constellation we are
going to find. It is called _Auriga_, or the Charioteer. He hasn't his
chariot with him."
"How do we find _Auriga_?" inquired Paul.
"He is very plain, almost as plain as _Orion_ himself," said Uncle
Henry. "_Capella_ is at one corner of a five-sided figure, called a
'pentagon.' (32) It is also in the left shoulder of _Auriga_. Find the
tip of the left horn of _Taurus_, the Bull, and you will have another
corner of the pentagon, and at the same time the right foot of _Auriga_.
When you have those points it is easy to find the other three corners,
which are the right shoulder, left foot, and the right hand of _Auriga_.
He holds his whip in that hand. Even though he had to leave his chariot
when he went into the sky, he insisted on taking his whip along. It
comes in very handy, too, sometimes, when the two lions up there become
fretful and uneasy. When you have found _Auriga's_ shoulder stars, just
draw two lines upward to a star above and between them and you finish
the charioteer's skeleton. The star at the point where the lines cross
is in his head. See him, everybody?"
The children had no trouble in putting in the stars and drawing the
skeleton. Neither will you, for _Auriga_ is very conspicuous, and almost
straight overhead in the evening about Christmas time.
This is the way _Auriga_ looked on the blackboard:
[Illustration]
When the children had finished looking at _Auriga_, and _Capella_ the
Goat and her three babies, Betty drew herself up very straight and said,
trying to look very dignified,
"Mr. Chairman, I move that The Society of Star-Gazers give Uncle Henry a
note of thanks for giving us such an instructive, and--and--oh, we've
liked your Christmas present an awful lot, Uncle Henry!"
Peter was going to say that it was a _vote_ of thanks that people got
from societies, but Betty was so earnest and dignified that he didn't
really want to take her down just then, so he joined Paul in seconding
the motion and was appointed by Betty as a committee of one to write the
"note" and deliver it to Uncle Henry later.
Uncle Henry looked quite serious, for him, and said that he had made up
a little poem that they might like to hear while standing under the
Christmas stars.
The Society voted unanimously in the affirmative, so Uncle Henry
recited,
"There was once a star of old,
Wonders to three wise men told.
Where it led, there followed they--
Stars had taught them how to pray,
How to know the Truth from lies--
God had taught them through His skies.
Where the star led, followed they,
Found the Christ-child, laid in hay--
To His mother, in the stable,
Brought Him gifts that they were able.
Stars lead us to Christmas Truth--
Let us look, with eyes of youth!"
Then, in a moment more, Uncle Henry and the children were gone, and the
sleepless, faithful stars were alone, brooding lovingly over their tiny
baby brother, which we call the great world.
The author desires to express his indebtedness to the following books,
which have given him many hours of enlightening pleasure while riding
the star-gazing hobby:
A Field Book of the Stars Olcott
Star Lore of all Ages Olcott
The Heavens and Their Story Mrs. Maunder
Astronomy Jacoby
Astronomy from a Dipper Clarke
New Astronomy Todd
Astronomy Lockyer
He also wishes to add his appreciation of the monthly pleasure given by
"The Evening Sky Map," published by Leon Barritt.
Printed in the United States of America
Transcriber's note:
The original text has been preserved, but for the following exceptions:
a few missing or extraneous quotation marks have been corrected, and
on page 78 "be" was changed to "he" (had he failed to make good).