his mother, he became the greatest hunter in the world, and even boasted that there was not an animal on earth which he could not conquer. To punish this vanity, it is said that a scorpion sprung up out of the earth and bit his foot, that he died; and that at the request of Diana he was placed among the stars directly opposite to the Scorpion that caused his death. Others say that Orion had no mother, but was the gift of the gods, Jupiter, Neptune, and Mercury, to a peasant of Boeotia, as a reward of piety, and that he was invested with the power of walking over the sea without wetting his feet. In strength and stature he surpasseo all other mortals. He was skilled in the working of iron, from which he fabricated a subterranean palace for Vulcan; he also walled in the coasts of Sicily against the inundations of the sea, and built thereon a temple to its gods.

Orion was betrothed to the daughter of Enopion, but he, unwilling to give up his daughter, contrived to intoxicate the illustrious hero and put out his eyes on the seashore where he had laid himself down to sleep. Orion, finding himself blind when he awoke, was conducted by the sound to a neighbouring forge, where be placed one of the workmen on his back, and, by his directions, went to a place where the rising sun was seen with the greatest advantage. Here he turned his face towards the luminary, and, as it is reported, immediately recov. ered his sight, and hastened to punish the perfidious cruelty of Enopion.

The daughters of Orion distinguished themselves as much as their father; and, when the oracle had declared that Boeotia should not be delivered from a dreadful pestilence, before two of Jupiter's children were immolated on the altars, they joyfully accepted the offer, and voluntarily sacrificed themselves for the good of their country. The deities of the infernal regions were struck at the patriotism of the two females, and immediately two stars were seen to ascend up from the earth, still smoking with their blood, and they were placed in the heavens in the form of a crown. Ovid says their bodies were burned by the Thebans, and that two persons arose from their ashes, whom the gods soon after changed into constellations.

As the constellation Orion, which rises at noon about the 9th day of March, and sets at noon about the 21st of June, is generally supposed to be accompani ed, at its rising, with great rains and storms, it became extremely terrible to mariners, in the early adventures of navigation. Virgil, Ovid, and Horace, with some of the Greek poets, make mention of this.

Thus Eneas accounts for the storm which cast him on the African coast on his way to Italy:

"To that blest shore we steer'd our destined way,
When sudden, dire Orion rous'd the sea;

All charg'd with tempests rose the baleful star,
And on our navy pour'd his wat'ry war."

To induce him to delay his departure, Dido's sister advises her to

"Tell him, that, charg'd with deluges of rain,
Orion rages on the wintry main."

The name of this constellation is mentioned in the books of Job and Amos, and in Homer. The inspired prophet, penetrated like the psalmist of Israel, with the omniscience and power displayed in the celestial glories, utters this sublime injunction: "Seek Him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into morning." Job also, with profound veneration, adores His awful majesty who "commandeth the sun and sealeth up the stars; who alone spreadeth out the heavens, and maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south:" And in another place, the Almighty demands of him- · "Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? Canst thou bind the sweet influences of the Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion; canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season, or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?"

Calmet supposes that Mazzaroth is here put for the whole order of celestial bolies in the Zodiac, which, by their appointed revolutions, produce the various seasons of the year, and the regular succession of day and night. Arcturus is he name of the principal star in Bootes, and is here put for the constellation 'self. The expression, his sons, doubtless refers to Asterion and Chara, the two greyhounds, with which he seems to be pursuing the great bear around the North pole.

The following lines are copied from a work entitled "Astronomical Recreations," by J. Green, of Pennsylvania. to whom the author is indebted for manv valuable hints concerning the mythology of the ancient constellations.

"When chilling winter spreads his azure xies,
Behold Orion's giant form arise;

Ilis golden girdle glitters on the sight,

And the broad falchion beams in splendour bright
A lion's brindled hide his bosom shields,

And his right hand a ponderous weapon wields.
The River's shining streams beneath him pour,
And angry Taurus rages close before;
Behind him Procyon barks, and Sirius growls,
While full in front, the monster Cetus howls.
See bright Capella, and Medusa there,
With horrid serpents hissing through her hair,
See Cancer too, and near the Hydra dire,
With roaring Leo, filled with furious fire.
The timid Hare, the Dove with olive green,
And Aries, fly in terrour from the scene;
The warrior Perseus gazes from above,

And the Twin offspring of the thunderer Jove.
Lo! in the distance, Cassiope fair

In state reposes on her golden chair;

Her beauteous daughter, bound, before ner stands,
And vainly strives to free her fettered hands;

For aid she calls on royal Cepheus near,

But shrieks from her reach not her father's ear.

See last of all, around the glowing pole,
With shining scales, the spiry Dragon roll
A grizzly Bear on either side appears,
Creeping with lazy inotion 'mid the stars"

These lines are easily committed to memory, and would assist the pupil in ecalling the names of the constellations in this very interesting portion of the

eavens.

LEPUS.

THE HARE.-This constellation is situated directly south of Orion, and comes to the meridian at the same time; namely on the 24th of January. It has a mean declination 18° S. and contains 19 small stars, of which, the four principal ones are of the 3d magnitude. It may be readily distinguished by means of four stars of the 3d magnitude, in the form of an irregular square, or trapezium.

Zeta, of the 4th magnitude, is the first star, and is situated in the back, 5° S. of Saiph, in Orion. About the same distance below Zeta are the four principal stars, in the legs and feet. These form the square. They are marked Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta. Alpha and Beta otherwise called Arneb, form the N. W. end of the trapezium, and are about 30 apart. Gamma and Delta form the S. E. end, and are about 20 apart. The upper right hand one, which is Arneb, is the brightest of the four, and is near the centre of the con

Where is the constellation of the Hare situated? When does it come to the meridian? What is the whole number of its stars? What is the magnitude of its principal ones? How may it be distinguished? In what part of the animal are these stars placed? Describe the principal star in Lepus. What are the distance and direction of the square from Zeta? Describe the stars at each end of this square. Which is the orightest of the four?

stellation. Four or five degrees S. of Rigel are four very minute stars, in the ears of the Hare.

HISTORY.-This constellation is situated about 180 west of the Great Dog, which, from the motion of the earth, seems to be pursuing it, as the Greyhounds do the Bear, round the circuit of the skies. It was one of those animals which Orion is said to have delighted in hunting, and which, for this reason, was made into a constellation and placed near him among the stars.

COLUMBA.

NOAH'S DOVE.-This constellation is situated about 16° S. of the Hare, and is nearly on the same meridian with the "Three Stars," in the belt of Orion. It contains only 10 stars; one of the 2d, one of the 3d, and two of the 4th magnitudes; of these, Phaet and Beta are the brightest, and are about 240 apart. Phaet, the principal star, lies on the right and is the highest of the two; Beta may be known by means of a smaller star just east of it, marked Gamma. A line drawn from the easternmost star in the belt of Orion, 32o directly south, will point out Phaet; it is also 114° S. of the lower left hand star in the square of the Hare, and makes with Sirius and Naos, in the ship, a large equilateral triangle.

HISTORY.-This constellation is so called in commemoration of the dove which Noah "sent forth to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground," after the ark had rested on mount Ararat. "And the dove came in to

him in the evening, and lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off."

"The surer messenger,

A dove sent forth once, and again to spy

Green tree or ground, whereon his foot may light:
The second time returning, in his bill

An olive leaf he brings, pacific sign!"

ERIDANUS.

THE RIVER Po.-This constellation meanders over a large and very irregular space in the heavens. It is not easy, nor scarcely desirable, to trace out all its windings among the stars. Its entire length is not less than 130°; which, for the sake of a more easy reference, astronomers divide into two sections, the northern and the southern. That part of it which lies between Orion and the Whale, including the great bend about his paws, is distinguished by the name of the Northern stream; the remainder of it is called the Southern stream.

The Northern stream commences near Rigel, in the foot

Are these all the stars that are visible in this constellation? Describe the situation of Noah's Dove. How many stars does it contain, and what are the principal? Which of these are the brightest, and how situated? How may Beta be known? What is the position of Phaet with regard to Orion? Describe the general form of the constellation Eridanus. What is its entire length, and how is it divided? By what names are these sections distinguished? What are the course and distance of the Northern stream?

of Orion, and flows out westerly, in a serpentine course nearly 40°, to the Whale, where it suddenly makes a complete circuit and returns back nearly the same distance towards its source, but bending gradually down towards the south, when it again makes a similar circuit to the S. W. and finally disappears below the horizon.

West of Rigel there are five or six stars of the 3d and 4th magnitudes, arching up in a semicircular form, and marking the first bend of the northern stream. About 8° below these, or 19° W. of Rigel, is a bright star of the 2d magnitude, in the second bend of the northern stream, marked Gamma. This star culminates 13 minutes after the Pleiades, and one hour and a quarter before Rigel. Passing Gamma, and a smaller star west of it, there are four stars nearly in a row, which bring us to the breast of Cetus. 80 N. of Gamma, is a small star named Kied, which is thought by some to be considerably nearer the earth than Sirius

Theemim, in the southern stream, is a star of the 3d magnitude, about 17° S. W. of the square in Lepus, and may be known by means of a smaller star, 10 above it. Achernar is a brilliant star of the 1st magnitude, in the extremity of the southern stream; but having 58° of S. declination, can never be seen in this latitude.

The whole number of stars in this constellation is 84; of which, one is of the 1st magnitude, one of the 2d, and eleven are of the 3d. Many of these cannot be pointed out by verbal description; they must be traced from the map.

HISTORY.-Eridanus is the name of a celebrated river in Cisalpine Gaul, also called Padus. Its modern name is Po. Virgil calls it the king of rivers. The Latin poets have rendered it memorable from its connexion with the fable of Phaeton, who, being a son of Phrebus and Clymene, became a favourite of Venus, who intrusted in with the care of one of her temples. This favour of the goddess made him vain, and he sought of his father a public and incontestable sign of his tende mess, that should convince the world of his origin. Phoebus, after some hertation, made oath that he would grant him whatever he required, and no sner was the oath uttered, than

"The youth, transported, asks without delay,
To guide the sun's bright chariot for a day.
The god repented of the oath he took,

For anguish thrice his radiant head he shook;—
My son, says he, some other proof require,
Rash was my promise, rash was thy desire-

Not Jove himself, the ruler of the sky,

That hurls the three-forked thunder from above,

Dares try his strength; yet who as strong as Jove?

Besides, consider what impetuous force

Turns stars and planets in a diff'rent course.

I steer against their motions; nor am I

Borne' back by all the current of the sky:
But how could you resist the orbs that roll

In adverse whirls, and stem the rapid poll?"

Phebus represented the dangers to which he would be exposed in vain. He undertook the aerial journey, and the explicit directions of his father were for gotten. No sooner had Phaeton received the reins than he betrayed his ignorance of the manner of guiding the chariot. The flying coursers became sensible of the confusion of their driver, and immediately departed from the usual track. Phaeton repented too late of his rashness, and already heaven and earth

Describe its first bend? Describe the position of Gamma, and tell when it comes tc the meridian? What stars are between Gamma and the Whale? What small star about 80 above Gamma, and what is its distance from the earth compared with that of Sirius? Describe the situation of Theemim. Describe the position and magnitude of Archernar? What is the whole number of stars in this constellation? What is the magnitude of the principal ones?

were threatened with a universal conflagration as the consequence, when Jupi ter, perceiving the disorder of the horses, struck the driver with a thunderbolt, and hurled him headlong from heaven into the river Eridanus. His body, consumed with fire, was found by the nymphs of the place, who honoured nim with a decent burial, and inscribed this epitaph upon his tomb :

"Hic situs est Phaeton, currus auriga paterni:

Quene si non tenuit, magnis tamen excidit ausis."

His sisters mourned his unhappy end, and were changed by Jupiter into poplars.

"All the long night their mournful watch they keep,

And all the day stand round the tomb and weep.'
"OVID.

It is said the tears which they shed, turned to amber, with which the Phoeni cians and Carthaginians carried on in secrecy a most lucrative trade. The great heat produced on the occasion of the sun's departing out of his usual course, is said to have dried up the blood of the Ethiopians, and turned their skins black; and to have produced sterility and barrenness over the greater part of Lybia.

"At once from life and from the chariot driven,

Th' ambitious boy fell thunderstruck from heaven."

"The breathless Phaeton, with flaming hair,
Shot from the chariot like a falling star,

That in a summer's evening from the top

Of heav'n drops down, or seems at least to drop,
Till on the Po his blasted corpse was hurl'd,
Far from his country, in the western world."

The fable of Phaeton evidently alludes to some extraordinary heats which were experienced in a very remote period, and of which only this confused tra. dition has descended to later times.

AURIGA.

THE CHARIOTEER, called also the Wagoner, is represented on the celestial map by the figure of a man in a declining posture, resting one foot upon the horn of Taurus, with a goat and her kids in his left hand, and a bridle in his right.

It is situated N. of Taurus and Orion, between Perseus on the W. and the Lynx on the E. Its mean declination is 45° N.; so that when on the meridian, it is almost directly over head in New England. It is on the same meridian with Orion, and culminates at the same hour of the night. Both of these constellations are on the meridian at 9 o'clock on the 24th of January, and 1 hour and 40 minutes east of it on the 1st of January.

The whole number of visible stars in Auriga, is 66, including one of the 1st and one of the 2d magnitude, which mark the shoulders. Capella is the principal star in this constellation, and is one of the most brilliant in the heavens. It takes its name from Capella, the goat, which hangs upon the left shoulder. It is situated in the west shoulder of Auriga,

How is the constel 'ation Auriga represented? Where is it situated? What is its mean declination, and what its position on the meridian? How is it situated in respect to Orion? When are these constellations on the meridian? What is the whole number of visible stars in Auriga? How many of the 1st and 2d magnitude? What is the name of the principal star, and whence derived? Where is this situated?