Harry.—I believe, sir, that if you turn your face to the north, the east will be on the right hand, and the west on the left.
Mr Barlow.—Perfectly right.
Tommy.—That is very clever indeed; so then, by knowing the Pole-star, I can always find north, east, west, and south. But you said that the Pole-star never moves; do the other stars, then, move out of their places?
Mr Barlow.—That is a question you may learn to answer yourself, by observing the present appearance of the heavens, and then examining whether the stars change their places at any future time.
Tommy.—But, sir, I have thought that it would be a good contrivance, in order to remember their situation, if I were to draw them upon a bit of paper.
Mr Barlow.—But how would you do that?
Tommy.—I would make a mark upon the paper for every star in Charles' Wain; and I would place the marks just as I see the stars placed in the sky; and I would entreat you to write the names for me;
and this I would do till I was acquainted with all the stars in the heavens.
Mr Barlow.—That would be an excellent way, but you see a paper is flat; is that the form of the sky?
Tommy.—No; the sky seems to rise from the earth on every side, like the dome of a great church.