KOW TO FIND THE CONSTELLATIONS, 
111 
Turning now to the east the observer can see a small cluster 
of stars at an altitude of about 35 0 . These are known by vari¬ 
ous names, Pleiades, Seven Stars, the Seven Sisters, and also 
the little Dipper. The first given is the true name and is so 
called from a Greek word meaning “ to sail,” because of their 
service to the mariner. The number of stars in this cluster 
visible to the naked eye at one count is six ; if the gaze be con¬ 
tinued, however, two or three more can usually be seen to flash 
out at intervals so that a keen eve can usually in the course of 
a minute or so make out eight or ten ; while the telescope re- 
veals more than two hundred. The Pleiades have also been 
termed Vergiliae, or the “ Virgins of Spring,” because the sun 
enters this cluster in the “ season of blossoms,” or about the 
18th of May. It is claimed that reference was had to this fact 
in the Scriptural demand upon Job: “ Canst thou bind the 
sweet influences of the Pleiades or loose the bands of Orion ? ” 
Directly below the Pleiades about io° is another group of 
five stars in the form of the letter V lying on its side with the 
opening toward the north. It has also been likened to the old 
fashioned harrow. This group is called the Hyades and was 
supposed by the ancients to influence the fall of rain, and so 
was called by Virgil the “ rainy Hyades.” 
The brightest star in this group is of a reddish tint and is 
of the first magnitude. Its name is Aldebaran, another of Ben 
Hur’s horses. 
Both these groups belong to the constellation Taurus, the 
Bull, one of the zodiacal groups, the ecliptic passing about mid¬ 
way between the Pleiades and Hyades. This entire constella¬ 
tion contains 141 stars visible to the unaided eye. 
“ So did he feel, who pull’d the boughs aside, 
That we might look into a forest wide, 
To catch a glimpse of Fauns and Dryades 
Coming with softest rustle through the trees; 
And garlands woven of flowers wild and sweet, 
Upheld on ivory wrists, or sporting feet : 
Telling us how fair trembling Syrinx fled 
Arcadian Pan, with such a fearful dreadl 
Poor Nymph — poor Pan — how did he weep to find 
Nought but a lovely sighing of the wind 
Along the reedy stream ! a half-heard strain, 
Full of sweet desolation — balmy pain.” — John Keats , 
