circumstances in which she was built, the great importance of the battle, and the decisive nature of the result gave the "Monitor" an exaggerated reputation, which further experience did not confirm. In later years Ericsson devoted himself to the study of torpedoes and sun motors. He published _Solar Investigations_ (New York, 1875) and _Contributions to the Centennial Exhibition_ (New York, 1877). He died in New York on the 8th of March 1889, and in the following year, on the request of the Swedish government, his body was sent to Stockholm and thence into Wermland, where, at Filipstad, it was buried on the 15th of September. A _Life of Ericsson_ by William Conant Church was published in New York in 1890 and in London in 1893. ERIDANUS, or FLUVIUS ("the river"), in astronomy, a constellation of the southern hemisphere, mentioned by Eudoxus (4th century B.C.) and Aratus (3rd century B.C.); Ptolemy catalogued 34 stars in it. [theta] _Eridani_, a fine double star of magnitudes 3.5 and 5.5, is now of the third magnitude. It is supposed to be identical with the _Achernar_ of Al-Sufi, who described it as of the first magnitude; this star has therefore decreased in brilliancy in historic times. The star [omicron]2 _Eridani_ (numbered 40 by Flamsteed) was discovered to be a ternary star group by Herschel in 1783; it consists of a close pair, of magnitudes 9.2 and 10.9, revolving in a period of 180 years, associated with a star of magnitude 4.5, which is distant from the pair by 82"; these stars have an exceptionally swift proper motion, about 4" per annum. Eridanus was the ancient name of the river Po.