Page:The Music of the Spheres.djvu/188

 A blue star of the 9th magnitude lies close beside Rigel. This little star may be seen with even a small telescope.

Just a little west of Rigel wanders a crooked line of stars, first toward Cetus, then southward toward the horizon. This is the "poor remains" of the river Eridanus. Aratus speaks of it as those "poor remains" because it represents what is left of the "amazed Eridanus" after Phæthon had, like a streaming comet, plunged into it and partly burned it up. Aratus also calls it "The River of Many Tears" because the Heliades, Phæthon's sisters, who were metamorphosed into poplar trees, "all the day stand round the tomb and weep" great amber tears.

This constellation, which is best seen directly in the south during September, is a tribute of respect to the grief of the Sungod who had gazed with horror at the wild flight of the sun-horses and the thunderbolt of Jupiter that had hurled his boy through the air. Touched by Apollo's remorse for allowing the youth to drive his horses, Jupiter drew the river to the heavens, thinking that it might be a consolation to Apollo, as he performed his daily task, to view the kindly river, now flecked with stars, which had once caught the "charred fragment" of Phæthon and "cooled it in his waters."