CHAPTER X.
Floating Cities.
LMOST everyone is familiar with Ursa Major, or the Great Dipper, that lies in such bold relief in the region of the northern heavens, and that apparently revolves around Polaris, the North Star.
The nearer of the two stars that help to form this famous Dipper and that point toward Polaris, is called Dubhe by our astronomers. This star and its interesting solar system next claimed my attention.
From Earth I had often looked with admiring wonder at the starry firmament, and during many an evening I had drawn the imaginary lines from star to star outlining the Great Dipper, commencing with the end of the handle and finishing with the star just named at the outer edge, or rim.
As I came near to Dubhe, I scanned the surrounding skies and was surprised to find that the whole semblance of my dipper was lost. Instead of lying in a plane, these stars
157
