and far stars, the approximate distance
of a few of them has been determined. The nearest one is the brightest
star in the Centaur, never visible in our northern latitudes, which
has a parallax of about one second. The next nearest is No. 61 in
the Swan, or 61 Cygni, having a parallax of 0".34. Approximate
measurements have been made on Sirius, Capella, the Pole Star,
etc., about eighteen in all. The distances are immense: only the
swiftest agents can traverse them. If our earth were suddenly to
dissolve its allegiance to the king of day, and attempt a flight
to the North Star, and should maintain its flight of one thousand
miles a minute, it would flyaway toward Polaris for thousands upon
thousands of years, till a million years had passed away, before
it reached that northern dome of the distant sky, and gave its
new allegiance to another sun. The sun it had left behind it would
gradually diminish till it was small as Arcturus, then small as
could be discerned by the naked eye, until at last it would finally
fade out in utter darkness long before the new sun was reached.
Light can traverse the distance around our earth eight times in
one second. It comes in eight minutes from the sun, but it takes
three and a quarter years to come from Alpha [Page 73] Centauri,
seven and a quarter years from 61 Cygni, and forty-five years from
the Polar Star.

Sometimes it happens that men steer along a lee shore, dependent
for direction on Polaris, that light-house in the sky. Sometimes it
has happened that men have traversed great swamps by night when that
star was the light-housse of freedom. In either case the exigency
of life and liberty was provided for forty-five years before by a
Providence that is divine.

We do not attempt to name in miles these enormous distances; we
must seek another yard-stick. Our astronomical unit and standard of
measurement is the distance of the earth from the sun--92,500,000
miles. This is the golden reed with which we measure the celestial
city. Thus, by laying down our astronomical unit 226,000 times, we
measure to Alpha Centauri, more than twenty millions of millions
of miles. Doubtless other suns are as far from Alpha Centauri and
each other as that is from ours.

Stars are not near or far according to their brightness. 61 Cygni is
a telescopic star, while Sirius, the brightest star in the heavens,
is twice as far away from us. One star differs from another star
in intrinsic glory.

The hi