zon.

During his residence at Benach Tycho received a visit from Kepler, who
stayed with him for several months in order that he might carry out some
astronomical observations. In the following year Kepler returned, and
took up his permanent residence with Tycho, having been appointed
assistant in his observatory, a post which, at Tycho's request, was
conferred upon him by the Emperor.

Tycho Brahe soon discovered that his ignorance of the language and
unfamiliarity with the customs of the people caused him much
inconvenience. He therefore asked permission from the Emperor to be
allowed to remove to Prague. This request was readily granted, and a
suitable residence was provided for him in the city.

In the meantime his family, his large instruments, and other property,
having arrived at Prague, Tycho was soon comfortably settled in his new
home.

Though Tycho Brahe continued his astronomical observations, yet he could
not help feeling that he lived among a strange people; nor did the
remembrance of his sufferings and the cruel treatment he received at the
hands of his fellow-countrymen subdue the affection which he cherished
towards his native land. Pondering over the past, he became despondent
and low-spirited; a morbid imagination caused him to brood over small
troubles, and gloomy, melancholy thoughts possessed his mind--symptoms
which seemed to presage the approach of some serious malady. One
evening, when visiting at the house of a friend, he was seized with a
painful illness, to which he succumbed in less than a fortnight. He died
at Prague on October 24, 1601, when in his fifty-fifth year.

The Emperor Rudolph, when informed of Tycho Brahe's death, expressed his
deep regret, and commanded that he should be interred in the principal
church in the city, and that his obsequies should be celebrated with
every mark of honour and respect.

Tycho Brahe stands out as the most romantic and prominent figure in the
history of astronomy. His independence of character, his ardent
attachments, his strong hatreds, and his love of splendour, are
characteristics which distinguish him from all other men of his age.
This remarkable man was an astronomer, astrologer, and alchemist; but in
his latter years he renounced astrology, and believed that the stars
exercised no influence over the destinies of mankind.

As a practical astronomer, Tycho Brahe has not been excelled by any
other observer of the heavens. The magnificence