tronomers by several of the
reigning princes of Germany, especially by the Landgrave of Hesse, and
Augustus, Elector of Saxony, had begun to excite a love of science in
the minds of other sovereigns. The King of Denmark seems to have felt it
as a stain upon his character, that the only astronomer in his dominions
should carry on his observations in distant kingdoms and adorn by his
discoveries other courts than his own. With this feeling he sent
ambassadors to Hesse-Cassel to inquire after Tycho, and to intimate to
him his wish that he should return to Denmark, and his anxiety to
promote the advancement of astronomy in his own dominions. Tycho had
left Cassel when these messengers arrived, and had heard nothing of the
King's intentions till he was about to quit Knudstorp with his family
for Basle. At this time he was surprised at the arrival of a noble
messenger, who brought a letter requesting him to meet the King as soon
as possible at Copenhagen. Tycho lost no time in obeying the royal
summons. The King received him with the most flattering kindness. He
offered to give him a grant for life of the island of Huen, between
Denmark and Sweden, and to construct and furnish with instruments, at
his own expense, an observatory, as well as a house for the
accommodation of his family, together with a laboratory for carrying on
his chemical inquiries. Tycho, who truly loved his country, was deeply
affected with the munificence of the royal offer. He accepted of it with
that warmth of gratitude which it was calculated to inspire; and he
particularly rejoiced in the thought that if any success should attend
his future labours, the glory of it would belong to his native land.

The island of Huen is about sxix miles from the coast of Zealand, three
from that of Sweden, and fourteen from Copenhagen. It is six miles in
circumference, and rises into the form of a mountain, which, though very
high, terminates in a plain. It is nowhere rocky, and even in the time
of Tycho it produced the best kinds of grain, afforded excellent
pasturage for horses, cattle, and sheep, and possessed deer, hares,
rabbits, and partridges in abundance. It contained at that time only one
village, with about forty inhabitants.

Having surveyed his new territory, Tycho resolved to build a magnificent
tower in the centre of the elevated plain, which he resolved to call
Uraniburg, or _The City of the Heavens_. Having made the necessary
arrangements, he repaired