ASTRONOMY WITH AN OPERA-GLASS. 753 



line drawn from Capella to El Nath, but much nearer to Capella. 

 Turn your glass upon these spots, and you will be delighted by the 

 beauty of the little stars to whose united rays they are due. 



El Nath has around it some very remarkable rows of small stars, 

 and the whole constellation of Auriga, like that of Gemini, glitters 

 with star-dust, as the Milky- Way runs directly through it. 



Corvus AND Crateris. 



Let us turn back again to Denebola in the Lion's Tail. Now 

 glance from it far down into the southeast, and you will see a brilliant 

 star flashing not far above the horizon. This is Spica, the chief 

 twinkler of Virgo, and you will find it marked on our circular map. 

 Then look into the northwest, and at about the same distance from 

 Denebola, but higher above the horizon than Spica, you will catch 

 the sparkling of a large, reddish star. It is Arcturus in Bootes. The 

 three, Denebola, Spica, and Arcturus, mark the corners of a great 

 equilateral triangle. Nearly on a line between Denebola and Arcturus, 

 and somewhat nearer to the former, you will perceive a curious twink- 

 ling, as if a cobweb spangled with dew-drops were hanging there. 

 One might think the old woman in the nursery rhyme who went to 

 sweep the cobwebs out of the sky had skipped this corner, or else 

 that its delicate beauty had preserved it even from her housewifely in- 

 stincts. This is the little constellation called Berenice's Hair. Your 

 opera-glass will enable you to count twenty or thirty of the largest 

 stars composing this cluster, which are arranged, as so often happens, 

 with a striking appearance of geometrical design. This constellation 

 has a very romantic history. It is related that the young Queen 

 Berenice, when her husband was called away to the wars, vowed to 

 sacrifice her beautiful tresses to Venus if he returned victorious over 

 his enemies. He did return home in triumph, and Berenice, true to 

 her vow, cut off her hair and bore it to the Temple of Venus. But 

 the same night it disappeared. The king was furious, and the queen 



