776 Note on the Compass Stars [Sept. 



dein, (P and y Urs. Min.) only the former would answer. No. 3 is 

 translated * the firststar of the square of Ursa minor,' hut no star of 

 that constellation has the necessary declination ; as the square of Ursa 



major has the same name in Arabic {j**y>U I have inserted « Urs. 

 Maj. the principal star of the square, to shew that it will answer perfectly, 

 but if I have read the Arabic name right (for in the manuscript it has 

 no points to the letters), it should be ■ the leading star of tinin,' the 

 dragon, to which I have accordingly given the preference, though it 

 does not furnish so good an epoch. M^iji^ ' the bright star' of the 

 she-camel I can identify with no other than the extreme star of the tail 

 of the great bear, the last of the three ' daughters of the bier,' and itself 

 named bindt-ndsh on our globe. I formerly thought it was <j^ Xc the 

 second star, but this is 5 degrees too far north. The Arabic globes 

 and tables write tXASJJ < the leader' in lieu of &uJI. ^ Cassiopeia 

 the star suggested by M. Von Hammer is 8 degrees too far northward. 



Of Capella, Vega, and Arcturus there can be no doubt : but the next 

 of the series, translated Pleias by the Baron with a north declination 11* 

 15' cannot certainly represent the Pleiades which are in 23° north. I 

 have, as on the former occasion, prefered Aldebaran (the bright star of 

 the Hyades) whose name;^) the bull, does not much differ from 

 UJtlj the pleiades: but for this interpretation it is advisable (though 

 not necessary) to read 15° 11' instead of 11° 15', for the declination. 



To Jozeh, if it were to be taken in the usual acceptance of a con- 

 traction of Rijal uljozeh (our Rigel) we should be constrained to allow 

 a correction, from 1° to 10° south declination which would bring it to 

 the compass azimuth of E. by S. : but the text mentions its being out 

 of position and rather a northern star or one close upon the equator, 

 so that we may safely assume it to be g Orionis as in the above table 

 without altering the text. The southern crown on our globes is far 

 too south for the cJi^J of Sidi, or of the compass, which is evidently 

 o/^'W' or £ Scorpionis. Antares is not liable to mistake : but 

 there is some misapprehension in regard to ZaUm +d&. The Baron 

 translates it ' the first of the two Aselli' (^i)^^) : now the Aselli are two 

 small stars in Cancer, in 19° and 22° north declination, whereas ZaUm 

 is in 49° south. Again Dr. Dorn* states Fomalhaut of the Piscis 

 Australis to be denominated {**& on the Arabic globe, but this again is 

 still 18 degrees too northerly. My own opinion was before given in 

 favor of a and £ Gruis for the Hamdrein, and the declination, now fur- 

 nished by Sidi, corroborates my selection, which is further confirmed 

 * Transactions Royal Asiatic Society, vol. II, page 392. 



