The star known as P (34) Cygni is sometimes spoken of as a “Nova,” or new star; but it is still visible to the naked eye as a star of the fifth magnitude. It was observed of the third magnitude by Jansen in 1600 and by Kepler in 1602. After the year 1619 it appears to have diminished in brightness, and is said to have vanished in 1621; but it may merely have become too faint to be seen with the naked eye. It was again observed of the third magnitude by Dominique Cassini in 1655, and it afterward disappeared. It was again seen by Hevelius in November, 1655. In 1667, 1682, and 1715 it is recorded as of the sixth magnitude, and there is no further record of any marked increase in its light. A period of about 18 years was assumed by Pigott; but this is now disproved, and it seems probable that the star is a variable of irregular period and fitful variability, and not, properly speaking, a temporary star. Its present color is yellow, and bright lines have been seen in its spectrum. A new star of the third magnitude was observed near Beta Cygni by the Carthusian monk Anthelmus in 1670. It remained visible for about two years, and is said to have increased and diminished several times before its final disappearance. Schönfeld computed its exact position from observations made by Hevelius and Picard. Quite close to the spot indicated, a star of the eleventh magnitude has been observed at the Greenwich Observatory, and fluctuations of light were suspected in this small star by Hind and others. A very remarkable star, sometimes called the “Blaze Star,” suddenly appeared in Corona Borealis, in May, 1866. It was first seen by the late Mr. Birmingham, at Tuam, Ireland, about midnight on the evening of May 12, when it was of the second magnitude, and equal to Alphecca, “the gem of the coronet.” Its appearance must have been very sudden, for Schmidt, the Director of the Athens Observatory, stated that he was observing the constellation on the same evening, about two and one-half hours previous to Birmingham’s discovery, and observed nothing unusual. He was certain that no star, of even the fifth magnitude, could possibly have escaped his notice. On the following night it was seen by several observers in different parts of the world. A remarkable and very interesting temporary star was discovered in 1892 in the constellation Auriga. It is a remarkable fact that the great majority of the temporary stars appeared in or near the Milky Way. The chief exceptions to this rule are: the star of 76 B. C., in the Plow, the star recorded by Hepidannus in Aries, 1012 A. D., and the “Blaze Star” of 1866 in Corona Borealis. A WORLD ON FIRE—NOVA PERSEI.—ALEXANDER W. ROBERTS