That the moon is not a smooth sphere of matter is a fact that manifested itself to the earliest observers. The naked eye perceives on her face spots exhibiting marked differences of illumination. These variations of light and shade, long before the invention of the telescope, induced the belief that she possessed surface irregularities like those that diversify the face of the earth, and from analogy it was inferred that seas and continents alternated upon the lunar globe. It was evident, from the persistence and invariability of the dusky markings, that they were not due to atmospheric peculiarities, but were veritable variations in the character or disposition of the surface material. Fancy made pictures of these unchangeable spots: untutored gazers detected in them the indications of a human countenance, and perhaps the earliest map of the moon was a rough reproduction of a man’s face, the eyes, nose and mouth representing the more salient spots discernible upon the lunar disc. Others recognised in these spots the configuration of a human form, head, arms and legs complete, which a French superstition that lingers to the present day held to be the image of Judas Iscariot transported to the moon in punishment for his treason. Again, an Indian notion connects the lunar spots with a representation of a roebuck or a hare, and hence the Sanskrit names for the moon, _mrigadhara_, a roebuck-bearer, and _’sa’sabhrit_, a hare-bearer. Of these similitudes the one which has the best pretensions to a rude accuracy is that first mentioned; for the resemblance of the full moon to a human countenance, wearing a painful or lugubrious expression, is very striking. Our illustration of the full moon (Plate III.) is derived from an actual photograph;[4] the relative intensities of light and shade are hence somewhat exaggerated; otherwise it represents the full moon very nearly as the naked eye sees it, and by gazing at the plate from a short distance,[5] the well-known features will manifest themselves, while they who choose may amuse themselves by arranging the markings in their imagination till they conform to the other appearances alluded to.