IX THE SEA 365 



THE SOUTHERN SKIES 



In considering these exquisite scenes, the 

 beauty of the Southern skies must not be 

 omitted. "From the time we entered the 

 torrid zone," says Humboldt, " we were never 

 wearied with admiring, every night, the 

 beauty of the southern sky, which, as we 

 advanced towards the south, opened new 

 constellations to our view. We feel an inde- 

 scribable sensation, when, on approaching the 

 equator, and particularly on passing from 

 one hemisphere to the other, we see those 

 stars which we have contemplated from our 

 infancy, progressively sink, and finally dis- 

 appear. Nothing awakens in the traveller a 

 livelier remembrance of the immense distance 

 by which he is separated from his country, 

 than the aspect of an unknown firmament. 

 The grouping of the stars of the first magni- 

 tude, some scattered nebulae rivalling in 

 splendour the milky way, and tracts of space 

 remarkable for their extreme blackness, give 

 a particular physiognomy to the southern sky. 

 This sight fills with admiration even those. 



