of congratulation from
the Shah of Persia. The Shah evidently thought that his bloodthirsty
request had been attended to, though with some delay. He proceeded to
tell the new Astronomer Royal that he had a few days before writing
witnessed a total eclipse of the sun in the observatory at Teheran.
This was perfectly correct. The suggestion was that the Teheran
astronomers knew their business, and had the good sense to arrange an
eclipse when a Royal Visitor wished for one, and so escape
decapitation--a course which the kindly Shah evidently wished to
indicate to the new and young Astronomer Royal as that which he should
pursue in order to avoid the fate of his unhappy and obstinate
predecessor. The attitude of the Shah towards science is one which is
not altogether unknown in this country.

CHAPTER XVIII

EASTERTIDE, SHAMROCKS AND SPERMACETI

Most people think of Easter as a Christian festival, but it is really
in name and origin a pagan one. The word "Easter" is the modern form
of "Eastra," the name of the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring (in
primitive Germanic, "Austro"). The Germans, like ourselves, keep its
true pagan name, "Ostern." The Latin nations use for Easter the word
Pascha (French, Paque), the Greek form of the Jewish name for the
feast of the Passover, with which it is historically associated by the
Christian Church. Terrible quarrels have occurred in early ages over
fixing Easter Day and its exact relation to the Jewish calendar. This
is the explanation of its being "a movable feast" and of the
consequent inconvenience to Parliament, schoolboys, and
Bank-holiday-makers at the present day. It must be admitted that when
Easter comes as early as it sometimes does those who have but the
short spring holiday of the Easter week-end are hardly used. Instead
of enjoying the sunny spring weather of Austro, and the flowers and
the bursting buds which an Easter at the end of April often gives,
they have to put up with the dreary chill of arid March, and this,
absurdly enough, is all on account of a mistaken attempt at accuracy
made by the Church some sixteen hundred or more years ago in trying to
bring the Christian festival into line with the Jewish Passover. If it
were desired to celebrate the Feast of the Resurrection each year on
the day corresponding astronomically with that indicated in the
Gospels, the Astronomer Royal would have no difficulty in exactly
fixing the day, making due allowance for the c