Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-03-08

friends. The trouble is that we don't know
their names. Our ancestors did; but this
generation has forgotten the stars along
with the herbs. Now is a good time to bark
back to the friends of our forefathers, as the
flaming winter consultations wheel out Of the
sky, and the nights are warm again.
Face west any spring evening. Blazing
before you are three stars in line. They
form the celebrated Belt of Orion. Their
names in the soft Arabic-Mintaka, AL
Milan, Alnitak-all mean "girdle." Orion
is one of the few consultations that can be
seen in both hemispheres. He was originally
mighty hunter before the Lord, the son OF
an Amazon and Neptune. When he boosted
that no beast on earth could stand against
him. he aroused the professional jealousy of
Apollo and Diana, who claimed to be some
hunters themselves, and they sent scor-
pion, the same one that appears in the
southern skies in the late spring: This
heaven-sent insect stung Orion in the heel,
whereby he died. He was then transported
to the skies as needed reminder to other
earthly hunters to be humble of heart
On the right of the Belt is the great white
sun Rigel, one of the first magnitude stars
in our northern skies. To the left flames
another first magnitude star, the rose-red
Betelgeuze Above and to the left shines
the Amazon Star Belatrix, the guiding star
of all militant suffragettes. Below and to
the right is Saiph. Both Rigel and Betel-
geuze are suns several thousand times larger
than ours, and SO far distant that the light
that now reaches us started many centuries
ago.
The four stars Betelgeuze, R1gel, Saiph,
and Bellatrix form great parallelogram,
with the belt in the middle, and, with the
exception of the Great Bear, form the most
conspicuous constellation in the sky in either
hemisphere To the right and below the
Belt hangs the Sword, a short row of small
stars involved in a misty light This misty
effect comes from the celebrated Great
Nebula of Orion which is distinctly visible
through good opera glass. An opera
glass, by the way, will bring out the colors
of the stars, and once noted they can easily
be detected by the naked eye. Far above
the belt is little triangle of crowded stars
which constitute the head of this giant. 1t
is curious fact that the full moon can easily
be inserted in that little triangle without
touching the sides, although to the unframed
eye it looks several times larger.
ABOVE Orion in the sky is fuzzy little
\ group of stars like swarm of bees.
Looked at closely they appear like tiny
dipper. These are the celebrated Pleiades, one
of the oldest and most noted of star groups.
Inc unknown writer OF JoD menl1OlS tneHl,
and from the earliest dawn of history they
were known to Chaldean astrologers. Tenny-
sons description, "a swarm of frefiies
twined in a silver braid, is an apt one. A
pair of good eyes can count six stars. 1t is
said that some observers can count seven,
the seventh being the Lost Plead; but the
writer always doubts whether the appear
ance of this lost star is the result of good
eyesight or good imagination. The lost star
is named Cdano.
The 4lucida," as the brightest star of
constellation is called, is Alcyone, the Light
of the Pleiades' Electra, one of the fainter
stars, who was the mother of the founder
of Troy, was formerly the brightest of the
constellation; but after the fall of Troy she
covered her face and has never shone so
brightly since. Merope was a nymph who
formerly ranked second in brightness; but,
having carelessly married a mortal, gradu-
ally faded in shame at this unfortunate
misalliance
The Pleiades have always been connected
with ancient forms of religion, and are stars
of misfortune. One of the mysterious pass
ages in the heart of the Great Pyramid
pointed to the Pleiades when they reached
their highest point in the heavens at mid
night. They were worshiped by the Druids,
and the AZtecs had a tradition that the