e evening the great telescope was hung in its place,
and in spite of its weight, moved at the slightest touch, its centre of
gravity having been so carefully calculated that it swung up and down
and revolved with the greatest ease.

"There, Tom," said Uncle Richard; "now I think we can sweep the heavens
in every direction, and when once we have tried, the mirrors, so as to
set them and the eye-piece exact, we can get to work."

Tom looked at his uncle in dismay.

"Why, you don't mean to say, uncle, that there is more to do after
working at it like this?"

"Yes, a great deal. We have to get the glasses to work with one another
to the most perfect correctness. That task may take us for days."

It did, and though Tom finished off every evening worn-out and
discouraged, he recommenced in the morning fresh and eager as ever,
helping to alter the position of the big speculum, then of the small
plane mirror. Then the eye-piece had to be unscrewed and replaced again
and again, till at last Uncle Richard declared that he could do no more.

"Then now we may begin?" cried Tom.

"We might," said his uncle, "for the moon will be just right to-night in
the first quarter; but judging from appearances, we shall have a cloudy
wet evening."

And so it proved, the moon not even showing where she was in hiding
behind the clouds.

"I do call it too bad," cried Tom, "now, too, that we are quite ready."

"Patience, lad, patience. A star-gazer must have plenty of that. Do
you know that a great astronomer once said that there were only about a
hundred really good hours for observation in every year."

"What?" cried Tom. "He meant in a night. I mean a week. No, I don't:
how absurd! In a month."

"No, Tom," said his uncle quietly, "in a year. Of course there would be
plenty more fair hours, but for really good ones no doubt his
calculation was pretty correct. So you will have to wait."

The Vicar called again one day, and hearing from Mrs Fidler that her
master was over at the observatory, he came to the yard gate and thumped
with his stick.

"What's that?" said Uncle Richard, who was down upon his knees carefully
adjusting a lens.

"Tramp, I should think," said Tom, who was steadying the great tube of
the telescope.

"Then he must tramp," said Uncle Richard. "I can't be interrupted now.
What numbers of these people do come here!"

"Mrs Fidler says it's because you give so much to them, uncle, and they
tell one a