udes to in the following lines, when he describes the
manner in which Satan, to avoid detection, compassed the Earth, after
his discovery by Gabriel in Paradise, and his flight thence:--

The space of seven continued nights he rode
With darkness--thrice the equinoctial line
He circled, four times crossed the car of night
From pole to pole, traversing each colure.--ix. 63-66.

Aristarchus of Samos believed the stars were golden studs, that
illumined the crystal dome of heaven; but modern research has
transformed this conception of the ancient astronomer's into a universe
of blazing suns rushing through regions of illimitable space. In
Milton's time astronomers had arrived at no definite conclusion with
regard to the nature of the stars. They were known to be self-luminous
bodies, situated at a remote distance in space, but it had not been
ascertained with any degree of certainty that they were suns, resembling
in magnitude and brilliancy our Sun. Indeed, little was known of those
orbs until within the past hundred years, when the exploration of the
heavens by the aid of greatly increased telescopic power, was the means
of creating a new branch of astronomical science, called sidereal
astronomy.

We are indebted to Sir William Herschel, more than to any other
astronomer, for our knowledge of the stellar universe. It was he who
ascertained the vastness of its dimensions, and attempted to delineate
its structural configuration. He also explored the star depths, which
occupy the infinitude of space by which we are surrounded, and made
many wonderful discoveries, which testify to his ability as an observer,
and to his greatness as an astronomer.

William Herschel was born at Hanover, November 15, 1738. His father was
a musician in the band of the Hanoverian Guard, and trained his son in
his own profession. After four years of military service, young Herschel
arrived in England when nineteen years of age, and maintained himself by
giving lessons in music. We hear of him first at Leeds, where he
followed his profession, and instructed the band of the Durham Militia.
From Leeds he went to Halifax, and was appointed organist there; on the
expiration of twelve months he removed to Bath, and was elected to a
similar post at the Octagon Chapel in that city. Here, fortune smiled
upon him, and he became a busy and prosperous man. Besides attending to
his numerous private engagements, he organised concerts, oratorio