TO KNOW THE STARRY HEAVENS 



245 



dian in the south, while the two Dog 

 Stars, Sirius and Procyon, have mount- 

 ed high in the heavens. The observer 

 also notices that the beautiful Leo, the 

 last of the bright Winter groups, has 

 now well entered our evening heavens. 

 The bright Star Regultis of this constel- 

 lation, with its intensely blue compan- 

 ion three minutes away, is a beautifid 

 object in a moderately large telescope. 



The praesepe, at E, Fig. i, and the 

 wonderful spiral Nebula of Andro- 

 meda, at F, are both in excellent posi- 

 tion for observation. Nor should the 

 observer fail to note from time to time 

 the variable star, Mira, at M, whose 

 brightness during the present month 

 should begin very rapidly to decrease. 



For one who is familiar with the 

 brighter constellations this will be 

 found an excellent time to trace out 

 the faint groups of the Camelopard, 

 the Lynx, the Lesser Lion, the Uni- 

 corn, the Hare and the Dove. The en- 

 tire Milky Way, from the Northern 

 Cross, now half disappeared in the 

 West, to the summit of Argo in the 

 south, will also well repay prolonged 

 exploration and study. 



Percival Lowell. 



BY GEORGE R. AGASSIZ, BOSTON. 



The sudden death of Percival Lowell, 

 at his observatory at Flagstaff, Ariz., 

 deprives the world of one of the very 

 few men of independent fortune whose 

 inclination and ability enabled them to 

 devote their lives and their resources 

 to the advancement of pure science. A 

 member of a brilliant family, well 

 known in the history of New England, 

 he was one of the men who gave the 

 name, which he shared with the poet- 

 statesman and the president of Harvard 

 University, an international reputa- 

 tion. 



Dr. Lowell was born in Boston on 

 March 13, 1855. His father, Augustus 

 Lowell, was closely identified with the 

 education, art and science of Boston. 

 His mother, Katharine Bigelow Law- 

 rence, was the daughter of Abbott 

 Lawrence, United States minister to 

 Great Britain in 185 1. The cities of 

 Lawrence and Lowell attest that both 

 families were prominent founders of 

 the textile manufacturers of New Eng- 

 land. 



Dr. Lowell prepared for college at 



"Noble's" School and graduated from 

 Harvard in 1876. He was given the 

 degree cum laude, and received second- 

 year honors in mathematics. Hut the 

 true distinction of his later career was 

 foreshadowed by a remark of the elder 

 Pierce, the mathematician of his day, 

 who spoke of him as one of the most 

 l)rilliant mathematicians of those who 

 had come under his observation at 

 Harvard. 



After a year spent in travel in 

 Europe and the East, Lowell returned 

 to enter business in Boston. He was 

 one of the few men who combined 

 scientific abilities of the first order with 

 a marked instinct and gift for matters 

 of business. And when he later em- 

 braced the career of a man of science, 

 he never abandoned his hold on the 

 world of afifairs. He became a force 

 in the business world, where at various 

 times he held the offices of treasurer of 

 cotton mills and director of trust and 

 electric companies. 



From 1883 to 1893 his energies were 

 chiefly devoted to literature and travel. 

 In the spring of 1883 he settled in 

 Tokio, where he was appointed coun- 

 sellor and foreign secretary to the 

 Special Mission from Korea, then on 

 its way to the United States. This re- 

 sulted in his return to this country in 

 charge of the travels of the party 

 through America. It was the first em- 

 bassy ever sent by Korea to a Western 

 Power. On the return of the mission 

 to Korea, he remained in the country 

 for a time as the guest of the govern- 

 ment. An account of his travels there 

 he published under the title, "Choson 

 — The land of the Morning Calm." 

 The volume is full of imagination and 

 charm and gives evidence of a light 

 touch and a true literary gift. 



Until 1893 mu:h of his time was 

 spent in the far Fas.. 'efly in Japan. 

 In 1888 he published his "soul of the 

 Far East," which Janet, the French 

 psychologist, has characterized as a val- 

 uable contribution to the psychology 

 of the Orient, and as showing a re- 

 markable insight into the Eastern mind 

 "Note." a delightful account of his ram- 

 bles in an out-of-the-way corner of 

 Japan, followed in 1891. 



W'hen wandering about with a 

 friend in the interior of Japan in the 



