The small star over the middle of the Great Bear’s tail is called El-suhâ, the Forgotten, the Lost, because it is only noticeable to a sharp eye; also El-saidak, the Touchstone (test-stone), because by it the eyesight was tested; Arcturus, Hâris el-semâ, the Warder of the Heavens, because it is never entirely lost in the rays of the sun; Capella, Rakîb el-thorejâ, the Watchman of the Pleiades, because it rises at the same time as they do; Alpha (Aldebaran), in the Bull, Hhâdi el-nedschm, the Driver of the Seven Stars; also El-tâbi and El-debarân, the Follower, because it rises immediately after that constellation; Beta (Denebola) in the Lion, El-serfa, the Breaker-up (Upsetter), because at its rising and setting in the morning twilight the hot and cold weather change; Alpha (Ras Alhague) in the Watersnake; El-ferd, the Isolated, because it is situated in a starless region, etc. Besides this, among this class we must include the Su’ûd, or fortunate stars, four of which are in Pegasus, two in the Wild Goat, and four in the Waterman. It will already have been noticed that in this nomenclature single stars frequently appear under several names. Thus the stars of the Crow are sometimes called El-adschmâl, the Camels; sometimes El-chibâ el-jemêni, the Southern Tent; sometimes Arsch el-simâkh el-a’zal, the figure of the throne in the neighborhood of Spica—three quite different names which express so many various notions and have also so many separate authors. Who were the originators of this nomenclature as a whole? The Arabs, and particularly the nomad Arabs. To prove this we have only to cast a glance at the names in the first two classes. The inhabitants of the northern part of the Arabian peninsula, the so-called “desert” and “stony” Arabia, for the most part, lead a nomadic kind of life. The country is a treeless and waterless plain covered with naked rocks and sand-drifted hills, on which lie scattered single oases watered by springs and glorified with a luxuriant vegetation. On these the Arabs camp with their herds, and do not leave them until the provender is consumed, or until more powerful tribes force them to depart. They call themselves Bedâvi (Bedouins), that is, Scenitæ, Nomads, as they were called by the Greeks. These nomads, cut off from all intercourse with the world around them, who have never been subjugated by a foreign power, have preserved their character and their customs unchanged for several thousand years. Their most important occupation is cattle-breeding. Besides this, they follow the chase, or war upon their enemies, regarding as such all those not belonging to their race or who are not under their protection. They dwell in tents. Several families are under a Schech and several Schechs generally under an Emîr, who rules over the whole tribe.