ame and reputation,
and on the death of the King an opportunity was afforded them of
intriguing with the object of accomplishing his downfall. Several false
accusations were brought against him, and the Court party made the
impoverished state of the Treasury an excuse for depriving him of his
pension and emoluments granted by the late King.

Tycho was no longer able to bear the expense of maintaining his
establishment at Huen, and fearing that he might be deprived of the
island itself, he took a house in Copenhagen, to which he removed all
his smaller instruments.

During his residence in the capital he was subjected to annoyance and
persecution. An order was issued in the King's name preventing him from
carrying on his chemical experiments, and he besides suffered the
indignity of a personal assault. Tycho Brahe resolved to quit his
ungrateful country and seek a home in some foreign land, where he should
be permitted to pursue his studies unmolested and live in quietness and
peace. He accordingly removed from the island of Huen all his
instruments and appliances that were of a portable nature, and packed
them on board a vessel which he hired for the purpose of transport, and,
having embarked with his family, his servants, and some of his pupils
and assistants, 'this interesting barque, freighted with the glory of
Denmark,' set sail from Copenhagen about the end of 1597, and having
crossed the Baltic in safety, arrived at Rostock, where Tycho found some
old friends waiting to receive him. He was now in doubt as to where he
should find a home, when the Austrian Emperor Rudolph, himself a liberal
patron of science and the fine arts, having heard of Tycho Brahe's
misfortunes, sent him an invitation to take up his abode in his
dominions, and promised that he should be treated in a manner worthy of
his reputation and fame.

Tycho resolved to accept the Emperor's kind invitation, and in the
spring of 1599 arrived at Prague, where he found a handsome residence
prepared for his reception.

He was received by the Emperor in a most cordial manner and treated with
the greatest kindness. An annual pension of three thousand crowns was
settled upon him for life, and he was to have his choice of several
residences belonging to his Majesty, where he might reside and erect a
new observatory. From among these he selected the Castle of Benach, in
Bohemia, which was situated on an elevated plateau and commanded a wide
view of the hori