These sister stars we call the group of the Pleiades. For a long time they accompanied their queen in her journey. At last the Trojan war broke out, and they were terrified and covered their faces. The youngest of the sweet sisters was so frightened that she hid behind the others. In some way she became separated [!-- original location of illustration --] from them and lost her way. Now there are only six stars in the constellation called the Pleiades, and the little sister is constantly searching for them.
There is a beautiful statue called “The Lost Pleiad” which shows a lovely young girl borne by the clouds and looking eagerly for her beloved sisters.
THE STARS.
Ye snow-white clouds, whose fleecy wings enfold
The stars, that light yon boundless breadth of blue,
Roll back your edges, tinged with deepest gold,
And softly let the peaceful wanderers through;
Till, one by one, they burst upon my eyes,
O’ertaking my young heart with sudden sweet surprise.
How oft, when but a child, in wildest glee,
I’ve climbed the summit of some breezy hill,
Whose mossy sides went sloping to the sea
Where slept another heaven serenely still;
While, from the mighty stronghold of the seas,
The dead send up their dirge upon the twilight breeze.
And there beneath a fringe of dewy leaves,
That drooped away from many a bended bough,
I used to lie on summer’s golden eves,
And gaze about as I am gazing now,
Thinking each lustrous star a heavenly shrine
For an immortal soul, and wondered which was mine.
Randolph Rogers (1825-1892).
The Lost Pleiad.