residence on Mount Helicon, a mountain sacred to the Muses; here, by striking the ground with his foot, he instantly raised a fountain, which has been called "Hippocrene," from two Greek words denoting the "horses' fountain." He became the favourite of Apollo and the Muses, who made use of him in travelling. He was placed among the constellations by Jupiter.

13. CANES VENATICI are two constellations between the arms of Boötes and the tail of the Great Bear. The first is called Asterion, being that near the Great Bear's tail; the other, Chora. They are held in a string by Boötes.

14. COR CAROLI is a single star, between Asterion and Chora, in the neck of the lower dog, and has a heart surrounded by a crown. It was so denominated in memory of our Charles the First.

15. BOÖTES. This constellation, having a very brilliant star between the legs of the figure called Arcturus, is sometimes denominated the Driver or Waggoner. He is also styled Arctophylax or the bear-keeper:

Behind, and seeming to urge on the Bear,
Arctophylax, on earth Boötes named,
Sheds o'er the arctic car his silver light.

:

16. MONS MENALUS, under Boötes, the stony Mænalus, as Milton styles the famous mountain, was a mountain of Arcadia, sacred to the god Pan, whence he is called the Mænalian god. It was greatly frequented by shepherds, on which account the phrase "Mænalian strains" denotes pastoral poetry.

17. CORONA BOREALIS, or Septemtrio, is said to be the beautiful crown of seven stars which Bacchus gave to Ariadne, when he married her, after she was basely deserted by Theseus.

18. HERCULES was a famous hero, who after his death was ranked among the gods, and received divine honours. Besides the twelve celebrated labours which he performed, many other exploits are recorded of him by mythologists and poets. He is represented on the globe as holding CERBERUS, which was a dog of Pluto, and had, according to Hesiod, fifty heads; other mythologists say only three. He was stationed at the entrance of the infernal regions, as a watchful keeper, to prevent the living from entering, and the ghosts from escaping from their confinement. The melodious musician Orpheus lulled this monster to sleep with his lyre, when he sought his beloved wife Eurydice at the palace of Pluto.

19. LYRA. The lyre was at first a tortoise, on account, some say, of the slow motion round the pole, then a lyre, because it was a shell of this animal on which the strings of the lyre were originally mounted. On the old celestial globes, the lyre is represented as made of one entire shell of a tortoise, the noise emitted on playing with its concave figure having, it is asserted, first given Mercury a hint for this much admired instrument. Many ancient writers assert that this is the lyre of Orpheus, which he received from Apollo or Mercury. He played upon it with so masterly a hand, that even the most rapid streams ceased to flow, the savage beasts

of the forest forgot their ferocity, the mountains came to listen to his song, and all nature seemed animated. Shakespeare says:

Orpheus, with his lute, made trees
And the mountain tops that freeze
Bow themselves, when he did sing.

After death Orpheus received divine honours, and his lyre became one of the constellations in the heavens. 'The fable which describes Orpheus as followed by wild beasts and even rocks is an allegory to describe his exquisite skill in the science of music; it is likewise meant to express that he employed his talent in civilizing the rude, unpolished manners of his time.

20. The following constellations have not any particular fable attached to them, and therefore I shall merely enumerate them. With respect to the constellations explained above, as well as those that follow, it will be well if the teacher of my young readers were to point out on the celestial globe the different clusters of stars; they would thus be receiving a lesson on Astronomy, as well as receiving instructive entertainment.

21. CYGNUS, the swan; VULPECULA, the fox, and ANSER, the goose; LACERTA, the lizard; CAMELOPARDALUS, the camelopard; SERPENS, the serpent; SERPENTARIUS, the serpent-holder, also called OPHIUCHUS and ANGUITENENS; SCUTUM or CLYPEUS SOBIESKI; AQUILA, the eagle; DELPHINUS, the dolphin; TAURUS PONIATOWSKI; EQUULEUS; AURIGA, the charioteer; SAGITTA,

the arrow; LYNX; LEO MINOR, the lesser lion; TRIANGULUM MAJUS and TRIANGULUM MINUS, and MUSCA, the fly. With this harmless little insect, does my explanation of the Northern constellations conclude. Can I finish this part of my subject more appropriately than by drawing a moral from this little insect, which forms one of the constellations? Can I conclude better than by recommending my young students to compassionate this little insect, and to remember that

Cruelty practised upon animals

Makes hard the heart, to cruelty still greater?

QUESTIONS.

What were Ursa Major and Minor? Describe Draco and the Hesperian gardens. Who was Cepheus? Describe Andromeda. Who was Cassiopeia? Who was Perseus? What was Pegasus? Give the names of Canes Venatici. Describe Cor Caroli. Give the different names of Boötes. What was Mons Mænalus? Corona Borealis? Who were Hercules and Cerberus? What was Lyra? Who was Orpheus? Give the English for Cygnus, Vulpecula, Anser, Lacerta, Camelopardalus, Serpens, Serpentarius, Aquila, Delphinus, Auriga, Sagitta, Leo Minor, and Musca.

CHAPTER XXXV.

PARLEY SPEAKS OF THE CONSTELLATIONS SOUTH OF THE ZODIAC.

1. As I have entered rather fully into the constellations in the Zodiac and north of the Zodiac, they being mostly

visible in the northern hemisphere, I shall give merely a nomenclature of the constellations in the southern hemisphere, and a description of only a small number.

2. CETUS, the whale, is represented by the poets as the sea monster that Neptune, at the suit of the nymphs, sent to devour Andromeda, for the pride of her mother, and which, as we learn, was killed by Perseus.

3. ERIDANUS, now called the Po, is a river in Italy, which had many fine things said of it by the ancient poets, who, finding earth too little to contain their fables, have thought Eridanus worthy of a place among the constellations. It was, according to the fabling poets' lays, placed in the heavens for receiving Phaeton, when he was thunderstruck by Jupiter in its vicinity; the sisters of that rash youth were metamorphosed into poplars, and their tears into precious amber. The constellation Eridanus is sometimes styled by astronomers "Orion's river."

4. PHOENIX, the Phenix. TOUCAN, the American goose. 5. ORION. The name of this brilliant constellation, and especially remarkable for the three stars in his belt, very conspicuous in a starlight night, is formed from a Greek word importing "to bring rain," the ancients supposing that its rising predicted rain and tempestuous weather. As this constellation is composed of stars in the form of a man holding a sword, the ancient poets often speak of Orion's sword and girdle. When Bonaparte was in the zenith of his power the French and German astronomers called these stars by the name of