266 NEW YEAR'S DAY AND THE CALENDAR 



King of Kings. " Ho, ho ! " said the Shah, turning in 

 great indignation to the Prince of Wales. "You hear! 

 cut his head off! " Sir George's life was, as a matter of 

 fact, spared, but in the course of a year he retired, and 

 was succeeded by another Astronomer Royal. On his 

 appointment that gentleman was astonished at receiving a 

 letter of congratulation from the Shah of Persia. The 

 Shah evidently thought that his blood-thirsty request had 

 been attended to, though with some delay. He proceeded 

 to tell the new Astronomer Royal that he had a few days 

 before writing witnessed a total eclipse of the sun in the 

 observatory at Teheran. This was perfectly correct. The 

 suggestion was that the Teheran astronomers knew their 

 business, and had the good sense to arrange an eclipse 

 when a Royal visitor wished for one, and so escape 

 decapitation a course which the kindly Shah evidently 

 wished to indicate to the new and young Astronomer Royal 

 as that which he should pursue in order to avoid the fate 

 of his unhappy and obstinate predecessor. The attitude 

 of the Shah towards science is one which is not altogether 

 unknown in this country. 



