THE CALLING OF THE STARS.
God's presence through the twilight stillness glides,
To spirits vocal—silent to the ear;
He calls by name each fair star where it hides,
And each star brightens, as it answers 'Here!'
Though we too call the stars, they answer not,
They do not softly come like children shy
At a fond parent's calling, for, I wot,
We do not know what names God calls them by.
THE GREAT TELESCOPE AT LICK OBSERVATORY.
STORIES OF THE WINTER STARS.
I heard the trailing garments of the night
Sweep through her marble halls,
I saw her sable skirts all fringed with light
From the celestial walls.
—Longfellow.
Winter had come with its cold north winds and frosty air. The stars glittered like gems against the dark velvet sky, and seemed reflected in the mantle of pure white snow that covered the earth. Mary had asked Harry's nurse to move his couch into her room so that he might see the stars from the windows, one looking south, the other east. Impatiently Harry now awaited his sister, who had promised to take him on another trip to starland. The room was in total darkness, and nurse had raised the curtains. Looking right into one window was the mighty giant Orion, while the Twins peeped into another.