IJland of Huen— Biographical Memoirs of tycho Brahe.
FtOR the purpofe of viliting the fmall iile of Huen, celebrated
for the refidence of Tycho Brahe, we embarked at See
Lull on board of a five-oared boat belonging to Count Shim-
melman, and in about two hours and an half landed upon the
ifland.
Huen lies about fix Engliih miles from the coall of Zealand,
and three from that of Sweden, nine from Elfinoor, and fourteen
from Copenhagen. It formerly belonged to the Danes, but
was ceded to the Swedes at the peace of Rofchild in 1658, and
has fince continued fubjedt to that power.
This little ifland is fix miles in circumference, contains a
fdattered village, one church, which is a pretty objedt, upon the
north-well coall, about 50 houfes, and 250 inhabitants. It produces
hay, and every fpecies of corn, more than fufficient for
interior confumption. The inhabitants keep 200 horfes, 150
cows, 400 Iheep, and the fame number o f fwine. The ifland
pays, in quit-rent and taxes to the king, about 150/.
We landed upon the fouth-well part of the ifland in a fmall
bay, juft below the place where a llream, which is fupplied by
numerous pools and filh-ponds, falls^ into the fea. We afcended
H u e n . 49
cended the Ihore, which is clothed to the bottom with c h a p .
v.
ihort herbage, crofled the llream, and palled over a gently u —v-—^
waving furface gradually Hoping towards the fea, which might
be converted into a beautiful lawn, and walked about a mile to
a kind of farm-houle Handing in the middle of the ifland, and
inhabited by Mr. Schaw, a Swedilh gentleman, to whom the
greatell part of the ifland belongs. He lives here in fummer,
but in winter refides at Landfcrona. This dwelling is the
fame as exilled in Tycho Brahe’s time, and was the farm-houfe
belonging to that allronomer. Having firft paid our compliments
to Mr. Schaw, we obtained from him a guide to conduit
us to the remains which lie near Mr. Schaw’s houfej they con-
fill of little more than a mound of earth which inclofed his
garden, and in the middle of that inclofure a deep pit, where
Hood the houfe of the allronomer, called Uranienburgh, and near
it another deep hollow, the fite -of Stiernberg, or his obfervatory.
From this delightful fpot, the higheH point in the ifland, we
enjoyed a noble profpeit; on one fide, the coall of Zealand,
llretching from Copenhagen to Elfinoor, the two extremities of
the view; the lhores gently Hoping, embrowned to the margin of
the water with rich wood, and beautifully fprinkled with villages
and villas; on the other fide, we traced the "rocky and almoll
naked cliffs of Sweden, ornamented with the dillant fpires of
Landfcrona, Lund, Malmoe, and Helfingborg, and to the north
a boundlefs expanfe of ocean, its undulating furface covered
with innumerable veffels failing in all directions. I trull that a
V ol. III. H few