CONSTELLATIONS.

is so great that, though it is moving through space at the rate of ninety miles a minute, no change in its position is perceptible to us. It requires nearly fifty years for the rays of light issuing from its surface to reach the earth, so that when we look at the star we know that the ray which strikes our eye set out upon its journey nearly half a century ago. It is said by an astronomer upon this subject, that, "we cannot be sure that the star is now in existence, since if it were destroyed to-day it would be fifty years before we should miss it."

Of the constellations mentioned in the Scriptures are the twins, Castor and Pollux, and the mighty hunter, Orion. The first is a beautiful figure distinguished by two parallel rows of bright stars two of which are of the first magnitude. The mythological history of Castor and Pollux is an affecting story of fraternal love. The twin brothers had each achieved fame in his particular occupation, one in training horses, the other in the manly art of boxing. They were inseparable in all their adventures. They accompanied Jason on the Argonautic expedition in search of the golden fleece. St. Elmo's fire, which sailors regard with superstitious delight, but which is really an effect of electricity on masts and sails, is said to have its origin in the Argonautic trip, when during a fearful storm one of the heroes of the expedition played upon his charmed lyre and prayed to the gods for the cessation of the tempest. He was answered, the storm abated, and it was discovered by all present that star-like flames of light shone brilliantly upon the heads of the twin brothers. From that time the sailors regarded them as patron deities.

After returning from this expedition, Castor was slain, and Pollux, being overcome with grief, desired death also. Jupiter granted him the privilege of either sharing his brother's immortality or dwelling upon Mount Olympus with the gods. He preferred the former, and thus together they shine forth as the particular guardian stars of the followers of the sea, who, in the "Days of Ancient Rome," used to sing:

"Safe comes the ship to haven,

Through billows and through gales,

If once the great Twin Brethren

Sit shining on the sails."

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Orion is the most beautiful constellation of the heavens. He is represented

with a sword in his belt, a club in his right hand, and the skin of a lion in his left. He was a great hunter, who, aspiring to the hand of a celebrated beauty, whose father opposed the match, endured from the latter the awful suffering of having both eyes put out. However, he was conducted by a sympathizing friend to a narrow gorge, where, as the first rays of the morning sun streamed forth, he gazed steadfastly and faithfully upon its face. The healing rays restored his sight, and he, becoming proud and vainglorious, boasted that he could slay any beast that the earth could produce. As a humiliation to his pride, he was bitten in the heel by a scorpion, from which he died.

Orion's place in the firmament is among the equatorial constellations, and is seen a little south of the zenith, on its course over our heads in this latitude. Four brilliant stars, in the form of an elongated square, mark the outlines of the figure. Betelgeuse, a beautiful ruddy star of the first magnitude, is in the right shoulder. Rigel, also a star of the first magnitude, is in the left foot.

Bellatrix and Saiph are the other distinguished, though less brilliant, corner stars. Three bright stars, at equal distances from each other, located near the centre of the parallelogram formed by those named above, are known as the Ell and Yard, as they form a line just three degrees long, and are very useful in measuring the distances of the stars. They also constitute what is called Jacob's rod, and the belt of Orion. They are referred to in the following passage from the Book of Job:

"Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion." Ninety-Eight.

If any one speaks evil of you, let your life be so that no one will believe him.

WISE BUILDERS.

"WH OSOEVER heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man who built his house upon a rock; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish

man who built his house upon the sand; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."—Jesus.

We have heard sometimes of men "so straight, that they leaned the other way;" and the expression is very apt to suggest the ancient saying, "God made man upright, but he has sought 'out many inventions;" he expects his ideals from processes which are impossible, because they controvert the whole economy of the eternities. Old and young expect to be delivered from the crooked and leaning perversities of ignorance without any determined search after intelligence; men expect rounded characters from one-sided discipline; yet the neglected faculty is a protest against over anxiety in other directions, and a lob-sided creation is the ever present testimony to the fact that no master's thought was there. Devotion to one idea may show the possibilities of cultivation, but in this way monstrosities are formed; and all such creations belittle the best ideal of a comprehensive soul. Giants come from no such stock as that; pigmies only are their progeny in a compar

How universally experience testifies to this truth of Divine philosophy, and yet how often also is it that experience is the only thing which brings that conviction to the soul. Few are satisfied with the knowledge to be acquired by observation; nations are thus culpable, communities thus unreflecting, and individuals thus perish, even in sight of the goal of their desires. If mankind "sow to the wind, they reap the whirlwind." If they plant thorns, grapes are not the product of their planting; and for every mental, moral, religious, scientific or social superstruc-ative sense. ture, there must be a foundation deep and broad enough to sustain the projected edifice. It will not do to have the foundation unequal, if any altitude is to be gained; the dome of St. Paul, London, or the soaring spire of Salisbury Cathedral, could never have been raised unless the base had been well prepared. Long ere their giddy height was reached they would have been prone on the earth, by reason of sinking, and the marvelous symmetry of the one, and the needle-like delicacy of the other, would long have perished from the whirling world.

Architecturally there are illustrations where the conditions were unequal; the leaning tower of Pisa, the round tower of Ireland and some of the porcelain towers of China lean far from the perpendicular, but it is evident that the departure from the centre of gravity will only permit of a limited elevation, and almost the only end such structures subserve is to arouse the question of the curious, as to whether the deflection was accidental or designed.

Probably there is greater equilibrium in the soul of one used to cosmopolitan thought, even without profundity, than is possible with a person really profound in one or two directions. The poet may have some impression on his race, and yet be only a sot; the scientist, and yet be a blasphemer against God; the religionist, and yet be a blind fanatic; the social reformer, and yet the foundation stone of marriage may be ignored by him; the politician,and yet his hand be greedy for bribes; the employer, and yet his wealth may be simply robbery from the laborer. These forces are in society; they give a certain tone to its music, a certain color to its landscape, but with it all the best attributes of man may be in measurable abeyance.

Many of the most marked features of life may be unseen by the youth of this Territory; the gloss and glitter, the shame and darkness found on earth, may be alike unknown, and because of this they may be unable on any large scale to judge of cause and effect; they may not

WISE BUILDERS.

SMOKING CIGARETTES.

THERE is a habit, says an exchange, which a few years ago was almost wholly unknown, but which you meet with at every turn, that ought, if possible, to be stamped out of existence. We refer to the smoking of cigarettes by our American youth.

Not to exaggerate the matter at all, it is sapping their young life, causing a deterioration of the brain tissue, and enfeebling the intellectual powers. Our young folks who read this paragraph will not believe the assertion; nevertheless, it is universally asserted by our best physicians that the weight of tobacco in a cigar, worked into cigarettes, does tenfold injury. Partly because, owing to its shortness, the smoke enters the mouth hot, partly because there is nothing to hold the poisonous oils and alkaloids, which are taken into the mouth and then into the system.

THE EPITAPH.