66

TIIE BEAUTY OF THE HEAVENS.

principal stars, disposed in an irregular pentagon. This constellation mayalso be found by drawing a line, connecting the two stars which form the backof Ursa Major , and continuing it, in the direction of the head, to the distance ofabout forty degrees. The figure of the constellation is that of a man, whoseems to be seated, and to hold on his left arm a goat and her kids, and in hisright hand a bridle, as if belonging to horses ; these, however, are not drawnwith the figure.

That portion of the heavens which is comprised between the constellationsGemini, Auriga , Perseus , Andromeda , Cassiopeia, and Ursa Major , does notcontain any remarkable stars; it is principally occupied by constellations ofminor appearance, composed, by modern astronomers, of the stars which werenot classed by the ancients—as Lynx, Camelopardalis , and a few others.

Scene No. XXVIII.— Perseus.

A line passing through the three great stars of Andromeda , and, continuedabout fifteen degrees farther, marks the head of the adjacent constellation, Per­ seus . Near to this, at about ten degrees distance, towards the north, is aremarkable star, forming the head of Medusa , in the same constellation. Aline, drawn from the upper pointer of Ursa Major , diagonally, to the oppositecorner of its square, if prolonged in the direction of the upper pointer, will alsolead directly into the constellation Perseus , near to the Medusa ’s head.

Scene No. XXIX.— Andromeda .

Aline drawn through the pointers of Ursa Major and the pole star, if extendedbeyond Cassiopeia, falls into the middle of four large and remarkable stars,arranged nearly in a square, each side of which, or the distance from star tostar, is nearly fifteen degrees, or three times that of the pointers of Ursa Major ,from each other. The most easterly of these four stars marks the head of theadjoining constellation, Andromeda ; the remaining three, the constellationPegasus. A second star, of the same size and appearance, and at about fifteendegrees distance, farther to the eastward of it, marks the girdle of the figure Andromeda ; a third star, of the same size, about the same distance beyondthe last, and in the same direction, marks the feet of Andromeda .

The figure of Andromeda is that of a woman, unclothed to the girdle, herarms extended, and each attached to a fragment of rock by a chain.

Scene No. XXX.— Cassiopeia.

Cassiopeia lies directly opposite to Ursa Major ; the feet of Cassiopeia aredirected towards the head of that constellation, the interval between them beingdivided into nearly equal portions by the pole star. The figure is that of a