p building. Having observed that he
particularly admired a brass globe, which, by means of internal
wheelwork, imitated the diurnal motion of the heavens, the rising and
setting of the sun, and the phases of the moon, Tycho made him a present
of it, and received in return an elegant gold chain, with his Majesty's
picture, with an assurance of his unalterable attachment and protection.

Notwithstanding this assurance, Tycho had already, as we have stated,
begun to suspect the designs of his enemies; and in a letter addressed
to the Landgrave of Hesse, early in 1591, he throws out some hints which
indicated the anxieties that agitated his mind. The Landgrave of Hesse,
as if he had heard some rumours unfavourable to the prospects of Tycho,
requested him to write him respecting the state of the Kingdom, and
concerning his own private affairs. To this letter, which was dated
early in February, Tycho replied about the beginning of April. He
informed the Landgrave that he led a private life in his own island,
exempt from all official functions, and never willingly taking a part in
public affairs. He was desirous of leaving the ambition of public
honours to others, and of devoting himself wholly to the study of
philosophy and astronomy; and he expressed a hope that if he should be
involved in the tumults and troubles of life, either by his own destiny
or by evil counsels, he might be able, by the blessing of God, to
extricate himself by the force of his mind and the integrity of his
life. He comforted himself with the idea that every soil was the country
of a great man, and that wherever he went the blue sky would still be
over his head;[40] and he distinctly states at the close of his letter,
that he had thought of transferring his residence to some other place,
as there were some of the King's councillors who had already begun to
calumniate his studies, and to grudge him his pension from the treasury.

[40] Omne solum forti patria, et coelum undique supra est.

The causes which led to this change of feeling on the part of Christian
IV.'s advisers have not been explained by the biographers of Tycho. It
has been stated, in general terms, that he had made many enemies, by the
keenness of his temper and the severity of his satire; but I have not
been able to discover any distinct examples of these peculiarities of
his mind. In an event, indeed, which occurred about this time, he
slightly resented a piece of marked incivilit