and the elegy were copied into the volume in which the observations of the years 1596 and 1597 were written, and copies of the poem were sent to various correspondents. Though it was probably not intended for the eye of King Christian, it fell into his hands by accident. On a copy of the poem which Tycho in the following year sent to Joseph Scaliger he added a note to the following effect: Rantzov got a copy of the poem as soon as it was written, and had it stitched in a calendar of his,[1] and when the king in the course of the winter paid a visit to Rantzov at one of his other castles in Holstein, he happened to find the book lying open on the library table. The king took it up, and when he saw the poem with Tycho's signature underneath, he read the whole of it thoughtfully and slowly, though he on other occasions would not have been affected by such things.[2] Having read it, he silently put down the book and never spoke to Rantzov about it, nor did he in conversation allude to Tycho Brahe. When Rantzov was told that the king had seen the poem, he was much vexed, but Tycho on hearing it only hoped that the king had understood all the allusions, and expressed himself ready to send the king a copy.[3]
Though Tycho Brahe had been unsuccessful in his application to the king and in his attempt to use the influence of Duke Ulrich of Mecklenburg, he still tried to bring all the influence he could to bear on him. In December 1597 he went on a visit to Rantzov at Bramstedt in Holstein, where he met Margrave Joachim Frederic, who shortly afterwards became Elector of Brandenburg, and his consort, who were on their way home after attending the wedding
- ↑ Ranzovianum Calendarium, printed at Hamburg in 1590, described by Kästner, ii. p. 413.
- ↑ "Qui alias talibus rebus non afficitur."
- ↑ "Quod et adhuc facere paratus sum." This copy of the poem (212 pp. folio) is now in the University Library at Leyden. See also Danske Magazin, i. 340 (Weistritz, ii. p. 334).
