Aye, I never thought of that. If we were sailing on a flat surface all this long way, would you see these ups and downs of the stars? No, I think not. The truth is, it seems to me that we have been going up a hill, if the stars do not move. That will account for your Great Bear going down; but what should cause these new stars to appear in the south? Why, that looks as though we were getting up to the top of the hill, and should have to go down on the other side. What shape, then, do you suppose the world ought to be, to account for these curious apparent motions of the stars? I fancy it ought to be round, and that is what I have always been told it is, father. I want to ask you whether you have noticed anything peculiar about the apparent daily motion of the stars. Do they all rise in the east and pass over to the west? This is just the subject I wanted to speak about. I thought at first that they did so, and ought to do so. But I have since found out that this is not the case. They do not all describe the same sized circle. What have you observed? Some make a regular sweep across--others only rise to pop down again. Yet there is a more wonderful thing. The stars near the North Polar star perform their circle without going under at all. Then the greatest puzzle is, that the Polar star always keeps its place without any turning. You do not think that the stars describe circles each day of different sizes according to their distances from the Polar star? No. I feel sure that it is all a cheat of the eye, though I don’t see where the cheat is. I thought you were quite settled in your mind that the apparent motion of the stars was owing to the revolution of the earth. True, father; yet I see no connection between the movement of the earth and the stationary place of the Polar star. What appearance would the heavenly bodies present, were the earth like a big drum rolling over? Why, I should fancy that then they would all rise in the east and pass over, in an orderly, proper manner, to the west. Though I have been told that the earth is round I do not understand how that should affect the motion of all the stars, as we see them. Come, let us see. If the world be round, then some parts would describe a less circle than others in the daily revolution. Of course, father. Would there be any portion that would not turn at all? Yes; the poles, or extremities. Where would be the most motion? At the equator. Then, if the stars be still, and the earth move and be round, would not-- O, I know all about it now. The stars over the pole would appear still, because the pole is still. The stars over England would appear to describe a larger circle than those of the Great Bear over Sweden. Where we are now, the stars overhead describe a very large circle. And at the equator the greatest circle of all?