...of astronomy

It is said that Number One together with its coach house, was built as the Paris headquarters of the Knights of St. John, but it is presently owned and occupied by a noble French family who for a number of years have leased the converted coach house, the use of the courtyard, and half of the flat connecting roof to M. Pippin Arnulf Heristal and his family, consisting of his wife Marie, and his daughter, Clotilde. Soon after leasing the stable house, M. Heristal called on his noble landlord and requested permission to set up the base and mount for an eight-inch refracting telescope on the portion of the flat roof to which he had access. This request was granted, and thereafter, since M. Heristal was prompt with the rent, intercourse between the two families was limited to formal greetings when they happened to meet in the courtyard, which of course was guarded by heavy iron bars on the street side. Heristal and landlord shared a concierge, a brooding provincial, who after years of living in Paris still refused to believe in it. And there were never any complaints from the noble landlord, since M. Heristal's celestial hobby was carried out at night and silently. The passions of astronomy, however, are no less profound because they are not noisy.

[The Short Reign of Pippin IV, Steinbeck, J.]