Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-08-04
star is called Zubenelgenubi, and the northern


one Zubeneschemali.
Turning now to the region overhead. the OBJ
server will see. nearly i'm the zenith, a constela-
ton which possesses peculiar interest, because
1t lies directly in the path along which the solar
system is advancing through space. This is the
constellation of Hercules, which the Greek poet
Aratus describes in these singular words:
Near to the Dragons head In totl-spent posture
RevOlveS phantom, whose name none can tell,
Nor what ne labors at; they call him simply
In desperate struggle while from both his should
ers
His hands are high uplifted, and outspread
AS far as he can reach.
Toward this constellation the sun and all his
planets are rushing at the rate of some 400. 600
miles day. Hercules can be distinguished by
four stars. which form fOur-sded figure, the
southern end of which is narrower than the
| northern end Looking at the two stars which
| form the western side of this figure, and rum
ming his eye from the northern star about one
third of the way TO the southern one, the Obser-
yer will see what appears to be very faint star.
On turning the telescope upon this object he will
behold instead of one star compact globular
mass of stars, so numerous and SO closely az
gregated that only the outlying ones can be sep
aratey distinguished. although the whole mass
has sparkling appearance, which indicates its
real nature. Nowhere in the heavens is there
more astonishing spectacle than this strange
congregation of suns. How many thousands OF
them there are we have no means of telling.
The TerrOrs Of an Epidemic.
From the London Spectator.
Nothing is more curious than the fact that
dying one of crowd seems to be more ter
rible to man than simply dying his own indi-
vidual death. Unquestior there seems to
be no kind of death more dreaded by men than
death either from sudden catastrOphes--like
that of the Ring theater at Vienna and that on
the Clyde. for instance-Or from pestence No
doubt. it is perfectly true that death cannot be
shared in the same sense in which peril or q
pleasure can be shared; you cannot. in all prob
ability, be conscious OF the strength of cOmpan-
iOnship after life begins to flicker low nor are
there above one or two people in the world
with whom most men would cOvet the sense of
cOmpaniOnship in such moment as that of
death. Still. it is somewhat curious that death
on grand scale always seems TO be more terri
Bile. even to the separate Individuals than the Or
binary death by units. OF course terror is very
catching. and. therefore, the terror of a crowd
always enhances the terror of the individual. But
though that explains the supreme agony of a sink
ing ship or burning theater, it does not In the
least explain the additional dread of death
which plague seems to inspire in individuals, for
between the Inhabitants ola plague-stricken city
there is always very much less active sympathy
than there was before the pestience appeared, and
1t is rathertnrOugh the growth OF mutual reoulsOn
than through the frightening of a common SYM
pathy that the influence of pestilence is chiefly
felt. AS a fact. very few patients stricken with
ordinary disease who are told that death is in
evitable show any panic at all. while the per-
fectly healthy man. surrounded by pestilence. is
| too often consumed with terror which renders
| him absolutely unfit for the discharge of his
duties.