Page:Gregor The story of Bohemia.pdf/388

 superstition that formed the bulk of his education. Still he possessed a taste for many occupations, that in a private man would have been commendable; but in a sovereign, who, on their account, neglected the weightier duties of the State, they were not only undesirable but positively injurious. He spent much of his time in painting, carving, and in studying alchemy and astrology. The one redeeming feature in this was that he gave considerable encouragement to artists, sculptors, and scholars of all kinds. Tycho Brahe, being persecuted in his own country, found refuge at the court of Rudolph; and the distinguished Kepler also