A few years later, when the fame of the observatory at Hven became
more widely spread, a number of young men flocked to Tycho to study
under his direction. He therefore built another observatory for
their use in which the instruments were placed in subterranean rooms
of which only the roofs appeared above the ground. There was a
wonderful poetical inscription over the entrance to this underground
observatory, expressing the astonishment of Urania at finding, even
in the interior of the earth, a cavern devoted to the study of the
heavens. Tycho was indeed always fond of versifying, and he lost no
opportunity of indulging this taste whenever an occasion presented
itself.

Around the walls of the subterranean observatory were the pictures of
eight astronomers, each with a suitable inscription--one of these of
course represented Tycho himself, and beneath were written words to
the effect that posterity should judge of his work. The eighth
picture depicted an astronomer who has not yet come into existence.
Tychonides was his name, and the inscription presses the modest hope
that when he does appear he will be worthy of his great predecessor.
The vast expenses incurred in the erection and the maintenance of
this strange establishment were defrayed by a succession of grants
from the royal purse.

For twenty years Tycho laboured hard at Uraniborg in the pursuit of
science. His work mainly consisted in the determination of the
places of the moon, the planets, and the stars on the celestial
sphere. The extraordinary pains taken by Tycho to have his
observations as accurate as his instruments would permit, have justly
entitled him to the admiration of all succeeding astronomers. His