Page:Twenty years before the mast - Charles Erskine, 1896.djvu/81

 cry out, "Midnight is past; the cross begins to  bend."



The cross consists of four large, bright stars, two perpendicular and two horizontal, to which fancy gives a  cruciform shape. The two perpendicular are the lode or magnet, and point us to the south pole. They are the emblem of peace to the sailor. Humboldt refers to his first view of this constellation with much emotion,  and Mrs. Hemans gives vent to her feelings in the  following verses:

