the
beautiful star of evening, Hesperus; the sidereal heavens with their
untold glories; the Galaxy, overpowering in the magnificence of its
clouds and streams of stars--all these have their beauties and charms
mirrored in the pages of this remarkable poem.

That the observation of the celestial orbs, their phases, and the varied
phenomena which occur as a consequence of their motions, were to Milton
an unfailing source of enjoyment and of meditative delight, is evident
from the frequency with which he alludes to them. The following lines
also testify to this:--

For wonderful indeed are all his works,
Pleasant to know, and worthiest to be all
Had in remembrance always with delight!
But what created mind can comprehend
Their number, or the wisdom infinite
That brought them forth, but hid their causes deep?--iii. 703-708.

It is very pleasant, as Milton says, to

sit and rightly spell
Of every star that heaven doth show.

It is also pleasant to know the astronomy of his 'Paradise Lost,' and to
linger over the delightful and harmonious utterances associated with the
sublimest of sciences, expressed in the melodious language of England's
greatest epic poet.

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LONDON

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Chambers's _Handbook of Astronomy_.

[2] Brewster's _Martyrs of Science_.

[3] The transit occurred on a Sunday, and the 'business of the highest
importance' to which Horrox alludes was his clerical duties.

[4] A fresco by the late Mr. Ford Maddox-Brown, depicting Crabtree
observing the transit of Venus, adorns the interior of the Manchester
Town Hall.

[5] William Crabtree died on August 1, 1644, aged 34 years.

[6] The constellation Virgo.

[7] _Life of Galileo_ (Library of Useful Knowledge).

[8] Miss Clerke's _System of the Stars_.

[9] Miss Clerke's _System of the Stars_.

[10] Miss Clerke's _System of the Stars_.

[11] _Ibid._

[12] An expression in Book VIII. 148-49 would seem to indicate that this
was inaccurate, but the lines

'and other suns perhaps
With their attendant moons, thou wilt descry,'

are an allusion to the planets Jupiter and Saturn, whose satellites had
been recently discovered.

[13] Mr. E. W. Maunder, in _Knowledge_, March 1894.

[14] Though not a celestial body, it is considered desirable to describe
the Earth as