STAR TIME 



shepherd, Gabriel Oak, were founded on fact, his 

 original was singular in the class. Plenty of shep- 

 herds can tell the hour fairly well by the sun ; but 

 for the night hour given even the clearest skies 

 the old turnip silver watch or its meretricious 

 successor must be pulled out. Was not Oak too 

 book-learned a man to tell the time by the stars ? 

 True, this accomplishment is such as a book-learned, 

 an almanac-learned, man might show ; but it is 

 even truer that this is the kind of knowledge which 

 the men of old who did not know anything about 

 books and science would reach by simple, admirable 

 means. 



On the whole, I think our country folk know 

 to-day too much to make the night skies their 

 grand timepiece. The trouble, even on the clearest 

 night, let alone say seven o'clock on a March even- 

 ing, of seeking out the Pole star, and then of 

 noting what star or constellation is southing this 

 might be too much. But Gabriel Oak, to know 

 it was one o'clock, had to remember so much more. 

 He had to remember that, on that particular day 

 of the month, the Charioteer would be at the zenith 

 at a certain time. If the stars would always be in 

 the same quarter of the heavens at the same hour 

 each night and the night were perfectly clear we 

 might even in these days of ready-made time, do 

 now and then without our watches, like the old- 

 fashioned woodman or shepherd by day. This 

 would much simplify matters. As it is, we save 

 time, no doubt, and secure accuracy for even 



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