156 SCENERY OF THE HEAVENS. 



man, at the sight of the Southern Cross, warns them that it is time to separate ! " Mrs. 

 Hemans has entered into the feeling here described, and sung of the Southern Cross in 

 the spirit of a settler in the New World from old Spain : 



" But to thee, as thy lode-stars resplendently burn 

 In their clear depths of blue, with devotion I turn 

 Bright Cross of the South ! and beholding thee shine r 

 Scarce regret the loved land of the olive and vine.. 



Thou recallest the age when first o'er the main 

 My fathers unfolded the ensign of Spain, 

 And planted their faith in the regions that see 

 Its unperishing symbol emblazon'd in thee. 



Shine on my own land in a far distant spot. 

 And the stars of thy sphere can enlighten it not, 

 And the eyes that I love, tho' e'en now they may be 

 O'er the firmament wandering, can gaze not on thee ! 



But thou to my thoughts art a pure blazing shrine, 

 A fount of bright hopes and of visions divine ; 

 And my soul, like an eagle exulting and free, 

 Soars high o'er the Andes to mingle with thee ! " 



To examine the stars hid by southern declination from our view, European astronomers 

 have frequently visited localities beyond the equator, and two observatories, at Para- 

 matta in New South Wales, and the Cape of Good Hope, are now sustained at the 

 national expense. Sir John Herschel, upon returning from the latter in 1838, in 

 addressing an assembly held to commemorate his successful enterprise, stated : "I 

 believe there is scarcely a corner in that part of the southern sky which I have not twice 

 searched over, with almost the power of a microscope ; and it may easily be supposed, in 

 the course of a rummage of that kind, what an extraordinary turn out there must have 

 been, and what numerous objects worthy of attention must have shewn themselves ; and 

 often have I longed for some of those keen star-gazing eyes which I see now directed 

 upon me. I need hardly say any thing on the subject of the southern constellations. They 

 are extremely superb things." 



To know the heavens at night so as to recognise the principal constellations and stars 

 visible in our hemisphere the first step of the tyro seems at first a difficult under- 

 taking. But a little practice, with the aid of good celestial charts, will soon make him 

 feel at home in a cruise along the firmament. After becoming acquainted with the more 

 remarkable groups, and their chief constituents, these will serve as an index to those that 

 are less conspicuous. The maps accompanying this work, with the directions connected 

 with them, will supply every requisite help for the purpose. In addition to this, the 

 following tabular statement of the culminating of the principal stars, on the first of 

 January, may be of service. The approximate time may be found for the first of February 

 by subtracting two hours, and so on through the year. A star is said to culminate when 

 it comes to the meridian, an imaginary line extending from the north to the south 

 horizon, passing through the pole and the zenith. Its meridian passage is therefore its 

 highest point in the heavens. The time is reckoned from mid-day to mid-day, and will 

 suit to a few seconds for several years to come. The number of hours to the meridian 

 subtracted from the time of culmination and added to it, gives the time of rising and 

 setting : 



