r these
have usually been noted after the eye has been fatigued with
observing in illuminated fields. The volume I hope to
forward--_en hommage_--will contain all the pros and cons of
this branch.

There is, for ultimate utility, nothing like forming a plan and
then steadily following it. Those who profess they will attend
to everything often fall short of the mark. The division of
labor leads to beneficial conclusions as well in astronomy as in
mechanics and arts.

Mrs. Smyth and my daughter unite with me in wishing you all
happiness and success; and believe me

My dear Miss Mitchell,

Yours very faithfully,

W. H. SMYTH.

In regard to the colors of stars, Miss Mitchell had already begun their
study, as these extracts from her diary show:

"Feb. 19, 1853. I am just learning to notice the different colors of the
stars, and already begin to have a new enjoyment. Betelgeuse is
strikingly red, while Rigel is yellow. There is something of the same
pleasure in noticing the hues that there is in looking at a collection
of precious stones, or at a flower-garden in autumn. Blue stars I do not
yet see, and but little lilac except through the telescope.

"Feb. 12, 1855.... I swept around for comets about an hour, and then I
amused myself with noticing the varieties of color. I wonder that I have
so long been insensible to this charm in the skies, the tints of the
different stars are so delicate in their variety. ... What a pity that
some of our manufacturers shouldn't be able to steal the secret of
dyestuffs from the stars, and astonish the feminine taste by new
brilliancy in fashion. [Footnote: See Chapter XI.]

[NANTUCKET], April [1860].

MY DEAR: Your father just gave me a great fright by "tapping at
my window" (I believe Poe's was a door, wasn't it?) and holding
up your note. I was busy examining some star notices just
received from Russia or Germany,--I never knew where Dorpat
is.--and just thinking that my work was as good as theirs. I
always noticed that when school-teachers took a holiday in order
to visit other institutions they came home and quietly said, "No
school is better or as good as mine." And then I read your note,
and perceive your reading is as good as Mrs. Kemble's. Now,
being _modest_, I always felt afraid the reason I thought you
such a good reader was because I didn't know any better, but i