,,memoirs ,,of ,,extraordinary ,,popular
 ,,delusions  ,volume ,,iii  ,by        
,charles ,mackay   ,author ,of ,the     
,thames ,and ,its ,tributaries1 ,the    
,hope ,of ,the ,world1 ,etc4   ,il est  
bon de connaitre les delires de l'esprit
 humain4 ,chaque peuple a ses folies    
plus ou moins grossieres4  ,millot      
,,detailed ,,contents ,,of ,,the ,,third
 ,,volume4  ,,book ,i4  ,,introduction  
,,the ,,alchymists2 or1 ,searchers for  
the ,philosopher's ,stone and the ,water
 of ,life  ,,part ,i4--,history of      
,alchymy from the earliest periods to   
the ,fifteenth ,century4--,pretended    
,antiquity of the                       
,art4--,geber4--,alfarabi4--,avicenna4--
,albertus ,magnus4--,thomas             
,aquinas4--,artephius4--,alain de       
,lisle4--,arnold de                     
,villeneuve4--,pietro                   
d',apone4--,raymond ,lulli4--,roger     
,bacon4--,pope ,john ,,xxii4--,jean de  
,meung4--,nicholas ,flamel4--,george    
,ripley4--,basil ,valentine4--,bernard  

of ,treves4--,trithemius4--,the         
,marechal de ,rays4--,jacques           
,coeur4--,inferior ,adepts4  ,,part     
,,ii4--,progress of the ,infatuation    
during the ,sixteenth and ,seventeenth  
,centuries4--,augurello4--,cornelius    
,agrippa4--,paracelsus4--,george        
,agricola4--,denys ,zachaire4--,dr4 ,dee
 and ,edward ,kelly4--,the              
,cosmopolite4--,sendivogius4--,the      
,rosicrucians4--,michael                
,mayer4--,robert ,fludd4--,jacob        
,bohmen4--,john ,heydn4--,joseph        
,francis ,borri4--,alchymical ,writers  
of the ,seventeenth ,century4--,de      
,lisle4--,albert ,aluys4--,count de ,st4
 ,germains4--,cagliostro4--,present     
,state of the ,science4  ,,book ,,ii4   
,,fortune ,,telling  ,,book ,,iii4 ,,the
 ,,magnetisers     ,,philosophical      
,,delusions4  ,dissatisfaction with his 
lot seems to be the characteristic of   
man in all ages and climates4 ,so far1  
however1 from being an evil1 as at first
 might be supposed1 it has been the     

great civiliser of our race2 and has    
tended1 more than anything else1 to     
raise us above the condition of the     
brutes4 ,but the same discontent which  
has been the source of all improvement1 
has been the parent of no small progeny 
of follies and absurdities2 to trace    
these latter is the object of the       
present volume4 ,vast as the subject    
appears1 it is easily reducible within  
such limits as will make it             
comprehensive without being wearisome1  
and render its study both instructive   
and amusing4  ,three causes especially  
have excited our discontent2 and1 by    
impelling us to seek for remedies for   
the irremediable1 have bewildered us in 
a maze of madness and error4 ,these are 
death1 toil1 and ignorance of the       
future--the doom of man upon this       
sphere1 and for which he shows his      
antipathy by his love of life1 his      
longing for abundance1 and his craving  
curiosity to pierce the secrets of the  
days to come4 ,the first has led many to

 imagine that they might find means to  
avoid death1 or1 failing in this1 that  
they might1 nevertheless1 so prolong    
existence as to reckon it by centuries  
instead of units4 ,from this sprang the 
search1 so long continued and still     
pursued1 for the elixir vitae1 or water 
of life1 which has led thousands to     
pretend to it and millions to believe in
 it4 ,from the second sprang the absurd 
search for the philosopher's stone1     
which was to create plenty by changing  
all metals into gold2 and from the      
third1 the false sciences of astrology1 
divination1 and their divisions of      
necromancy1 chiromancy1 augury1 with all
 their train of signs1 portents1 and    
omens4  ,in tracing the career of the   
erring philosophers1 or the wilful      
cheats1 who have encouraged or preyed   
upon the credulity of mankind1 it will  
simplify and elucidate the subject1 if  
we divide it into three classes3--the   
first comprising alchymists1 or those in
 general who have devoted themselves to 

the discovering of the philosopher's    
stone and the water of life2 the second 
comprising astrologers1 necromancers1   
sorcerers1 geomancers1 and all those who
 pretended to discover futurity2 and the
 third consisting of the dealers in     
charms1 amulets1 philters1              
universal-panacea mongers1 touchers for 
the evil1 seventh sons of a seventh son1
 sympathetic powder compounders1        
homeopathists1 animal magnetizers1 and  
all the motley tribe of quacks1         
empirics1 and charlatans4  ,but1 in     
narrating the career of such men1 it    
will be found that many of them united  
several or all of the functions just    
mentioned2 that the alchymist was a     
fortune-teller1 or a necromancer--that  
he pretended to cure all maladies by    
touch or charm1 and to work miracles of 
every kind4 ,in the dark and early ages 
of ,european history1 this is more      
especially the case4 ,even as we advance
 to more recent periods1 we shall find  
great difficulty in separating the      

characters4 ,the alchymist seldom       
confined himself strictly to his        
pretended science--the sorcerer and     
necromancer to theirs1 or the medical   
charlatan to his4 ,beginning with       
alchymy1 some confusion of these classes
 is unavoidable2 but the ground will    
clear for us as we advance4  ,let us    
not1 in the pride of our superior       
knowledge1 turn with contempt from the  
follies of our predecessors4 ,the study 
of the errors into which great minds    
have fallen in the pursuit of truth can 
never be uninstructive4 ,as the man     
looks back to the days of his childhood 
and his youth1 and recalls to his mind  
the strange notions and false opinions  
that swayed his actions at that time1   
that he may wonder at them1 so should   
society1 for its edification1 look back 
to the opinions which governed the ages 
fled4 ,he is but a superficial thinker  
who would despise and refuse to hear of 
them merely because they are absurd4 ,no
 man is so wise but that he may learn   

some wisdom from his past errors1 either
 of thought or action1 and no society   
has made such advances as to be capable 
of no improvement from the retrospect of
 its past folly and credulity4 ,and not 
only is such a study instructive3 he who
 reads for amusement only1 will find no 
chapter in the annals of the human mind 
more amusing than this4 ,it opens out   
the whole realm of fiction--the wild1   
the fantastic1 and the wonderful1 and   
all the immense variety of things that  
are not1 and cannot be2 but that have   
been imagined and believed4     ,,book  
,i4--,,the ,,alchymists  ,,or1          
,,searchers ,,for ,,the ,,philosopher',s
 ,,stone ,,and ,,the ,,water ,,of       
,,life4  ,mercury 7loquitur74--,the     
mischief a secret any of them know1     
above the consuming of coals and drawing
 of usquebaugh6 ,howsoever they may     
pretend1 under the specious names of    
,geber1 ,arnold1 ,lulli1 or bombast of  
,hohenheim1 to commit miracles in art1  
and treason against nature6 ,as if the  

title of philosopher1 that creature of  
glory1 were to be fetched out of a      
furnace6 ,i am their crude1 and their   
sublimate1 their precipitate1 and their 
unctions2 their male and their female1  
sometimes their hermaphrodite--what they
 list to style me6 ,they will calcine   
you a grave matron1 as it might be a    
mother of the maids1 and spring up a    
young virgin out of her ashes1 as fresh 
as a phoenix2 lay you an old courtier on
 the coals1 like a sausage or a         
bloat-herring1 and1 after they have     
broiled him enough1 blow a soul into    
him1 with a pair of bellows6 ,see6 they 
begin to muster again1 and draw their   
forces out against me6 ,the genius of   
the place defend me6--,ben ,jonson's    
,masque ,mercury vindicated from the    
,alchymists4     ,,the ,,alchymists4    
,,part ,i4--,,history ,,of ,,alchymy    
,,from ,,the ,,earliest ,,periods ,,to  
,,the ,,fifteenth ,,century4            
,,pretended ,,antiquity ,,of ,,the      
,,art4--,,geber4--,,alfarabi4--,,avicenn

a4--,,albertus ,,magnus4--,,thomas      
,,aquinas4--,,artephius4--,,alain ,,de  
,,lisle4--,,arnold ,,de                 
,,villeneuve4--,,pietro                 
,d',,apone4--,,raymond ,,lulli4--,,roger
 ,,bacon4--,,pope ,,john ,,xxii4--,,jean
 ,,de ,,meung4--,,nicholas              
,,flamel4--,,george ,,ripley4--,,basil  
,,valentine4--,,bernard ,,of            
,,treves4--,,trithemius4--,,the         
,,marechal ,,de ,,rays4--,,jacques      
,,coeur4--,,inferior ,,adepts4  ,for    
more than a thousand years the art of   
alchymy captivated many noble spirits1  
and was believed in by millions4 ,its   
origin is involved in obscurity4 ,some  
of its devotees have claimed for it an  
antiquity coeval with the creation of   
man himself2 others1 again1 would trace 
it no further back than the time of     
,noah4 ,vincent de ,beauvais argues1    
indeed1 that all the antediluvians must 
have possessed a knowledge of alchymy2  
and particularly cites ,noah as having  
been acquainted with the elixir vitae1  

or he could not have lived to so        
prodigious an age1 and have begotten    
children when upwards of five hundred4  
,lenglet du ,fresnoy1 in his ,history of
 the ,hermetic ,philosophy1 says1 ,most 
of them pretended that ,shem1 or ,chem1 
the son of ,noah1 was an adept in the   
art1 and thought it highly probable that
 the words chemistry and alchymy were   
both derived from his name4 ,others say1
 the art was derived from the           
,egyptians1 amongst whom it was first   
founded by ,hermes ,trismegistus4       
,moses1 who is looked upon as a         
first-rate alchymist1 gained his        
knowledge in ,egypt2 but he kept it all 
to himself1 and would not instruct the  
children of ,israel in its mysteries4   
,all the writers upon alchymy           
triumphantly cite the story of the      
golden calf1 in the #cbnd chapter of    
,exodus1 to prove that this great       
lawgiver was an adept1 and could make or
 unmake gold at his pleasure4 ,it is    
recorded1 that ,moses was so wroth with 

the ,israelites for their idolatry1 that
 he took the calf which they had made1  
and burned it in the fire1 and ground it
 to powder1 and strewed it upon the     
water1 and made the children of ,israel 
drink of it4 ,this1 say the alchymists1 
he never could have done1 had he not    
been in possession of the philosopher's 
stone2 by no other means could he have  
made the powder of gold float upon the  
water4 ,but we must leave this knotty   
point for the consideration of the      
adepts in the art1 if any such there be1
 and come to more modern periods of its 
history4 ,the ,jesuit1 ,father ,martini1
 in his ,historia ,sinica1 says1 it was 
practised by the ,chinese two thousand  
five hundred years before the birth of  
,christ2 but his assertion1 being       
unsupported1 is worth nothing4 ,it would
 appear1 however1 that pretenders to the
 art of making gold and silver existed  
in ,rome in the first centuries after   
the ,christian era1 and that1 when      
discovered1 they were liable to         

punishment as knaves and impostors4 ,at 
,constantinople1 in the fourth century1 
the transmutation of metals was very    
generally believed in1 and many of the  
,greek ecclesiastics wrote treatises    
upon the subject4 ,their names are      
preserved1 and some notice of their     
works given1 in the third volume of     
,lenglet du ,fresnoy's ,history of the  
,hermetic ,philosophy4 ,their notion    
appears to have been1 that all metals   
were composed of two substances2 the    
one1 metallic earth2 and the other1 a   
red inflammable matter1 which they      
called sulphur4 ,the pure union of these
 substances formed gold2 but other      
metals were mixed with and contaminated 
by various foreign ingredients4 ,the    
object of the philosopher's stone was to
 dissolve or neutralize all these       
ingredients1 by which iron1 lead1       
copper1 and all metals would be         
transmuted into the original gold4 ,many
 learned and clever men wasted their    
time1 their health1 and their energies1 

in this vain pursuit2 but for several   
centuries it took no great hold upon the
 imagination of the people4 ,the history
 of the delusion appears1 in a manner1  
lost from this time till the eighth     
century1 when it appeared amongst the   
,arabians4 ,from this period it becomes 
easier to trace its progress4 ,a master 
then appeared1 who was long looked upon 
as the father of the science1 and whose 
name is indissolubly connected with it4 
,,geber4  ,of this philosopher1 who     
devoted his life to the study of        
alchymy1 but few particulars are known4 
,he is thought to have lived in the year
 #gcj4 ,his true name was ,abou ,moussah
 ,djafar1 to which was added ,al ,soft1 
or ,the ,wise1 and he was born at       
,hauran1 in ,mesopotamia4 ,biographie   
,universelle4 ,some have thought he was 
a ,greek1 others a ,spaniard1 and       
others1 a prince of ,hindostan3 but1 of 
all the mistakes which have been made   
respecting him1 the most ludicrous was  
that made by the ,french translator of  

,sprenger's ,history of ,medicine1 who  
thought1 from the sound of his name1    
that he was a ,german1 and rendered it  
as the ,donnateur1 or ,giver4 ,no       
details of his life are known2 but it is
 asserted1 that he wrote more than five 
hundred works upon the philosopher's    
stone and the water of life4 ,he was a  
great enthusiast in his art1 and        
compared the incredulous to little      
children shut up in a narrow room1      
without windows or aperture1 who1       
because they saw nothing beyond1 denied 
the existence of the great globe itself4
 ,he thought that a preparation of gold 
would cure all maladies1 not only in    
man1 but in the inferior animals and    
plants4 ,he also imagined that all the  
metals laboured under disease1 with the 
exception of gold1 which was the only   
one in perfect health4 ,he affirmed1    
that the secret of the philosopher's    
stone had been more than once           
discovered2 but that the ancient and    
wise men who had hit upon it1 would     

never1 by word or writing1 communicate  
it to men1 because of their unworthiness
 and incredulity4 ,his sum of           
perfection1 or instructions to students 
to aid them in the laborious search for 
the stone and elixir1 has been          
translated into most of the languages of
 ,europe4 ,an ,english translation1 by a
 great enthusiast in alchymy1 one       
,richard ,russell1 was published in     
,london in #afhf4 ,the preface is dated 
eight years previously1 from the house  
of the alchymist1 at the ,star1 in      
,newmarket1 in ,wapping1 near the ,dock4
 ,his design in undertaking the         
translation was1 as he informs us1 to   
expose the false pretences of the many  
ignorant pretenders to the science who  
abounded in his day4 ,but the life of   
,geber1 though spent in the pursuit of  
this vain chimera1 was not altogether   
useless4 ,he stumbled upon discoveries  
which he did not seek1 and science is   
indebted to him for the first mention of
 corrosive sublimate1 the red oxide of  

mercury1 nitric acid1 and the nitrate of
 silver4 ,article1 ,geber1 ,biographie  
,universelle4  ,for more than two       
hundred years after the death of ,geber1
 the ,arabian philosophers devoted      
themselves to the study of alchymy1     
joining with it that of astrology4 ,of  
these the most celebrated was           
,,alfarabi4  ,alfarabi flourished at the
 commencement of the tenth century1 and 
enjoyed the reputation of being one of  
the most learned men of his age4 ,he    
spent his life in travelling from       
country to country1 that he might gather
 the opinions of philosophers upon the  
great secrets of nature4 ,no danger     
dismayed him2 no toil wearied him of the
 pursuit4 ,many sovereigns endeavoured  
to retain him at their courts2 but he   
refused to rest until he had discovered 
the great object of his life--the art of
 preserving it for centuries1 and of    
making gold as much as he needed4 ,this 
wandering mode of life at last proved   
fatal to him4 ,he had been on a visit to

 ,mecca1 not so much for religious as   
for philosophical purposes1 when1       
returning through ,syria1 he stopped at 
the court of the ,sultan ,seifeddoulet1 
who was renowned as the patron of       
learning4 ,he presented himself in his  
travelling attire1 in the presence of   
that monarch and his courtiers2 and1    
without invitation1 coolly sat himself  
down upon the sofa1 beside the ,prince4 
,the courtiers and wise men were        
indignant2 and the ,sultan1 who did not 
know the intruder1 was at first inclined
 to follow their example4 ,he turned to 
one of his officers1 and ordered him to 
eject the presumptuous stranger from the
 room2 but ,alfarabi1 without moving1   
dared them to lay hands upon him2 and1  
turning himself calmly to the prince1   
remarked1 that he did not know who was  
his guest1 or he would treat him with   
honour1 not with violence4 ,the ,sultan1
 instead of being still further         
incensed1 as many potentates would have 
been1 admired his coolness2 and1        

requesting him to sit still closer to   
him on the sofa1 entered into a long    
conversation with him upon science and  
divine philosophy4 ,all the court were  
charmed with the stranger4 ,questions   
for discussion were propounded1 on all  
of which he showed superior knowledge4  
,he convinced every one that ventured to
 dispute with him2 and spoke so         
eloquently upon the science of alchymy1 
that he was at once recognised as only  
second to the great ,geber himself4 ,one
 of the doctors present inquired whether
 a man who knew so many sciences was    
acquainted with music8 ,alfarabi made no
 reply1 but merely requested that a lute
 should be brought him4 ,the lute was   
brought2 and he played such ravishing   
and tender melodies1 that all the court 
were melted into tears4 ,he then changed
 his theme1 and played airs so          
sprightly1 that he set the grave        
philosophers1 ,sultan and all1 dancing  
as fast as their legs could carry them4 
,he then sobered them again by a        

mournful strain1 and made them sob and  
sigh as if broken-hearted4 ,the ,sultan1
 highly delighted with his powers1      
entreated him to stay1 offering him     
every inducement that wealth1 power1 and
 dignity could supply2 but the alchymist
 resolutely refused1 it being decreed1  
he said1 that he should never repose    
till he had discovered the philosopher's
 stone4 ,he set out accordingly the same
 evening1 and was murdered by some      
thieves in the deserts of ,syria4 ,his  
biographers give no further particulars 
of his life beyond mentioning1 that he  
wrote several valuable treatises on his 
art1 all of which1 however1 have been   
lost4 ,his death happened in the year   
#ied4   ,,avicenna4  ,avicenna1 whose   
real name was ,ebn ,cinna1 another great
 alchymist1 was born at ,bokhara1 in    
#ihj4 ,his reputation as a physician and
 a man skilled in all sciences was so   
great1 that the ,sultan ,magdal ,douleth
 resolved to try his powers in the great
 science of government4 ,he was         

accordingly made ,grand ,vizier of that 
,prince1 and ruled the state with some  
advantage3 but1 in a science still more 
difficult1 he failed completely4 ,he    
could not rule his own passions1 but    
gave himself up to wine and women1 and  
led a life of shameless debauchery4     
,amid the multifarious pursuits of      
business and pleasure1 he nevertheless  
found time to write seven treatises upon
 the philosopher's stone1 which were for
 many ages looked upon as of great value
 by pretenders to the art4 ,it is rare  
that an eminent physician1 as ,avicenna 
appears to have been1 abandons himself  
to sensual gratification2 but so        
completely did he become enthralled in  
the course of a few years1 that he was  
dismissed from his high office1 and died
 shortly afterwards1 of premature old   
age and a complication of maladies1     
brought on by debauchery4 ,his death    
took place in the year #ajcf4 ,after his
 time1 few philosophers of any note in  
,arabia are heard of as devoting        

themselves to the study of alchymy2 but 
it began shortly afterwards to attract  
greater attention in ,europe4 ,learned  
men in ,france1 ,england1 ,spain1 and   
,italy expressed their belief in the    
science1 and many devoted their whole   
energies to it4 ,in the twelfth and     
thirteenth centuries especially1 it was 
extensively pursued1 and some of the    
brightest names of that age are         
connected with it4 ,among the most      
eminent of them are   ,,albertus        
,,magnus and ,,thomas ,,aquina4  ,the   
first of these philosophers was born in 
the year #aaic1 of a noble family at    
,lawingen1 in the duchy of ,neuburg1 on 
the ,danube4 ,for the first thirty years
 of his life1 he appeared remarkably    
dull and stupid1 and it was feared by   
every one that no good could come of    
him4 ,he entered a ,dominican monastery 
at an early age2 but made so little     
progress in his studies1 that he was    
more than once upon the point of        
abandoning them in despair2 but he was  

endowed with extraordinary perseverance4
 ,as he advanced to middle age1 his mind
 expanded1 and he learned whatever he   
applied himself to with extreme         
facility4 ,so remarkable a change was   
not1 in that age1 to be accounted for   
but by a miracle4 ,it was asserted and  
believed that the ,holy ,virgin1 touched
 with his great desire to become learned
 and famous1 took pity upon his         
incapacity1 and appeared to him in the  
cloister where he sat1 almost           
despairing1 and asked him whether he    
wished to excel in philosophy or        
divinity4 ,he chose philosophy1 to the  
chagrin of the ,virgin1 who reproached  
him in mild and sorrowful accents that  
he had not made a better choice4 ,she1  
however1 granted his request that he    
should become the most excellent        
philosopher of the age2 but set this    
drawback to his pleasure1 that he should
 relapse1 when at the height of his     
fame1 into his former incapacity and    
stupidity4 ,albertus never took the     

trouble to contradict the story1 but    
prosecuted his studies with such        
unremitting zeal that his reputation    
speedily spread over all ,europe4 ,in   
the year #abdd1 the celebrated ,thomas  
,aquinas placed himself under his       
tuition4 ,many extraordinary stories are
 told of the master and his pupil4      
,while they paid all due attention to   
other branches of science1 they never   
neglected the pursuit of the            
philosopher's stone and the elixir      
vitae4 ,although they discovered        
neither1 it was believed that ,albert   
had seized some portion of the secret of
 life1 and found means to animate a     
brazen statue1 upon the formation of    
which1 under proper conjunctions of the 
planets1 he had been occupied many years
 of his life4 ,he and ,thomas ,aquinas  
completed it together1 endowed it with  
the faculty of speech1 and made it      
perform the functions of a domestic     
servant4 ,in this capacity it was       
exceedingly useful2 but1 through some   

defect in the machinery1 it chattered   
much more than was agreeable to either  
philosopher4 ,various remedies were     
tried to cure it of its garrulity1 but  
in vain2 and one day ,thomas ,aquinas   
was so enraged at the noise it made1    
when he was in the midst of a           
mathematical problem1 that he seized a  
ponderous hammer and smashed it to      
pieces4 ,naude1 ,apologie des ,grands   
,hommes accuses de ,magie2 chap4 xviii4 
,he was sorry afterwards for what he had
 done1 and was reproved by his master   
for giving way to his anger1 so         
unbecoming in a philosopher4 ,they made 
no attempt to re-animate the statue4    
,such stories as these show the spirit  
of the age4 ,every great man who        
attempted to study the secrets of nature
 was thought a magician2 and it is not  
to be wondered at that1 when            
philosophers themselves pretended to    
discover an elixir for conferring       
immortality1 or a red stone which was to
 create boundless wealth1 that popular  

opinion should have enhanced upon their 
pretensions1 and have endowed them with 
powers still more miraculous4 ,it was   
believed of ,albertus ,magnus that he   
could even change the course of the     
seasons2 a feat which the many thought  
less difficult than the discovery of the
 grand elixir4 ,albertus was desirous of
 obtaining a piece of ground on which to
 build a monastery1 in the neighbourhood
 of ,cologne4 ,the ground belonged to   
,william1 ,count of ,holland and ,king  
of the ,romans1 who1 for some reason or 
other1 did not wish to part with it4    
,albertus is reported to have gained it 
by the following extraordinary          
method3--,he invited the ,prince1 as he 
was passing through ,cologne1 to a      
magnificent entertainment prepared for  
him and all his court4 ,the ,prince     
accepted it1 and repaired with a lordly 
retinue to the residence of the sage4   
,it was in the midst of winter2 the     
,rhine was frozen over1 and the cold was
 so bitter that the knights could not   

sit on horseback without running the    
risk of losing their toes by the frost4 
,great1 therefore1 was their surprise1  
on arriving at ,albert's house1 to find 
that the repast was spread in his       
garden1 in which the snow had drifted to
 the depth of several feet4 ,the ,earl1 
in high dudgeon1 remounted his steed2   
but ,albert at last prevailed upon him  
to take his seat at the table4 ,he had  
no sooner done so1 than the dark clouds 
rolled away from the sky--a warm sun    
shone forth--the cold north wind veered 
suddenly round1 and blew a mild breeze  
from the south--the snows melted        
away--the ice was unbound upon the      
streams1 and the trees put forth their  
green leaves and their fruit--flowers   
sprang up beneath their feet1 while     
larks1 nightingales1 blackbirds1        
cuckoos1 thrushes1 and every sweet      
song-bird1 sang hymns from every tree4  
,the ,earl and his attendants wondered  
greatly2 but they ate their dinner1 and 
in recompence for it1 ,albert got his   

piece of ground to build a convent on4  
,he had not1 however1 shown them all his
 power4 ,immediately that the repast was
 over1 he gave the word1 and dark clouds
 obscured the sun--the snow fell in     
large flakes--the singing-birds fell    
dead--the leaves dropped from the trees1
 and the winds blew so cold1 and howled 
so mournfully1 that the guests wrapped  
themselves up in their thick cloaks1 and
 retreated into the house to warm       
themselves at the blazing fire in       
,albert's kitchen4 ,lenglet1 ,histoire  
de la ,philosophie ,hermetique4 ,see    
also1 ,godwin's ,lives of the           
,necromancers4  ,thomas ,aquinas also   
could work wonders as well as his       
master4 ,it is related of him1 that he  
lodged in a street at ,cologne1 where he
 was much annoyed by the incessant      
clatter made by the horses' hoofs1 as   
they were led through it daily to       
exercise by their grooms4 ,he had       
entreated the latter to select some     
other spot where they might not disturb 

a philosopher1 but the grooms turned a  
deaf ear to all his solicitations4 ,in  
this emergency he had recourse to the   
aid of magic4 ,he constructed a small   
horse of bronze1 upon which he inscribed
 certain cabalistic characters1 and     
buried it at midnight in the midst of   
the highway4 ,the next morning1 a troop 
of grooms came riding along as usual2   
but the horses1 as they arrived at the  
spot where the magic horse was buried1  
reared and plunged violently--their     
nostrils distended with terror--their   
manes grew erect1 and the perspiration  
ran down their sides in streams4 ,in    
vain the riders applied the spur--in    
vain they coaxed or threatened1 the     
animals would not pass the spot4 ,on the
 following day1 their success was no    
better4 ,they were at length compelled  
to seek another spot for their exercise1
 and ,thomas ,aquinas was left in peace4
 ,naude1 ,apologie des ,grands ,hommes  
accuses de ,magie2 chap4 xvii4          
,albertus ,magnus was made ,bishop of   

,ratisbon in #abei2 but he occupied the 
,see only four years1 when he resigned1 
on the ground that its duties occupied  
too much of the time which he was       
anxious to devote to philosophy4 ,he    
died in ,cologne in #abhj1 at the       
advanced age of eighty-seven4 ,the      
,dominican writers deny that he ever    
sought the philosopher's stone1 but his 
treatise upon minerals sufficiently     
proves that he did4   ,,artephius4      
,artephius1 a name noted in the annals  
of alchymy1 was born in the early part  
of the twelfth century4 ,he wrote two   
famous treatises2 the one upon the      
philosopher's stone1 and the other on   
the art of prolonging human life4 ,in   
the latter he vaunts his great          
qualifications for instructing mankind  
on such a matter1 as he was at that time
 in the thousand and twenty-fifth year  
of his age6 ,he had many disciples who  
believed in his extreme age1 and who    
attempted to prove that he was          
,apollonius of ,tyana1 who lived soon   

after the advent of ,jesus ,christ1 and 
the particulars of whose life and       
pretended miracles have been so fully   
described by ,philostratus4 ,he took    
good care never to contradict a story1  
which so much increased the power he was
 desirous of wielding over his          
fellow-mortals4 ,on all convenient      
occasions1 he boasted of it2 and having 
an excellent memory1 a fertile          
imagination1 and a thorough knowledge of
 all existing history1 he was never at a
 loss for an answer when questioned as  
to the personal appearance1 the manners1
 or the character of the great men of   
antiquity4 ,he also pretended to have   
found the philosopher's stone2 and said 
that1 in search of it1 he had descended 
to hell1 and seen the devil sitting on a
 throne of gold1 with a legion of imps  
and fiends around him4 ,his works on    
alchymy have been translated into       
,french1 and were published in ,paris in
 #afji or #afaj4   ,,alain ,,de ,,lisle4
  ,contemporary with ,albertus ,magnus  

was ,alain de ,lisle1 of ,flanders1 who 
was named1 from his great learning1 the 
universal doctor4 ,he was thought to    
possess a knowledge of all the sciences1
 and1 like ,artephius1 to have          
discovered the elixir vitae4 ,he became 
one of the friars of the abbey of       
,citeaux1 and died in #abih1 aged about 
one hundred and ten years4 ,it was said 
of him1 that he was at the point of     
death when in his fiftieth year2 but    
that the fortunate discovery of the     
elixir enabled him to add sixty years to
 his existence4 ,he wrote a commentary  
on the prophecies of ,merlin4   ,,arnold
 ,,de ,,villeneuve4  ,this philosopher  
has left a much greater reputation4 ,he 
was born in the year #abde1 and studied 
medicine with great success in the      
,university of ,paris4 ,he afterwards   
travelled for twenty years in ,italy and
 ,germany1 where he made acquaintance   
with ,pietro d',apone2 a man of a       
character akin to his own1 and addicted 
to the same pursuits4 ,as a physician1  

he was thought1 in his own lifetime1 to 
be the most able the world had ever     
seen4 ,like all the learned men of that 
day1 he dabbled in astrology and        
alchymy1 and was thought to have made   
immense quantities of gold from lead and
 copper4 ,when ,pietro d',apone was     
arrested in ,italy1 and brought to trial
 as a sorcerer1 a similar accusation was
 made against ,arnold2 but he managed to
 leave the country in time and escape   
the fate of his unfortunate friend4 ,he 
lost some credit by predicting the end  
of the world1 but afterwards regained   
it4 ,the time of his death is not       
exactly known2 but it must have been    
prior to the year #acaa1 when ,pope     
,clement ,v4 wrote a circular letter to 
all the clergy of ,europe who lived     
under his obedience1 praying them to use
 their utmost efforts to discover the   
famous treatise of ,arnold on ,the      
,practice of ,medicine4 ,the author had 
promised1 during his lifetime1 to make a
 present of the work to the ,holy ,see1 

but died without fulfilling it4  ,in a  
very curious work by ,monsieur          
,longeville ,harcouet1 entitled ,the    
,history of the ,persons who have lived 
several centuries1 and then grown young 
again1 there is a receipt1 said to have 
been given by ,arnold de ,villeneuve1 by
 means of which any one might prolong   
his life for a few hundred years or so4 
,in the first place1 say ,arnold and    
,monsieur ,harcouet1 the person         
intending so to prolong his life must   
rub himself well1 two or three times a  
week1 with the juice or marrow of cassia
 7moelle de la casse74 ,every night1    
upon going to bed1 he must put upon his 
heart a plaster1 composed of a certain  
quantity of ,oriental saffron1 red      
rose-leaves1 sandal-wood1 aloes1 and    
amber1 liquified in oil of roses and the
 best white wax4 ,in the morning1 he    
must take it off1 and enclose it        
carefully in a leaden box till the next 
night1 when it must be again applied4   
,if he be of a sanguine temperament1 he 

shall take sixteen chickens--if         
phlegmatic1 twenty-five--and if         
melancholy1 thirty1 which he shall put  
into a yard where the air and the water 
are pure4 ,upon these he is to feed1    
eating one a day2 but previously the    
chickens are to be fattened by a        
peculiar method1 which will impregnate  
their flesh with the qualities that are 
to produce longevity in the eater4      
,being deprived of all other nourishment
 till they are almost dying of hunger1  
they are to be fed upon broth made of   
serpents and vinegar1 which broth is to 
be thickened with wheat and bran4       
,various ceremonies are to be performed 
in the cooking of this mess1 which those
 may see in the book of ,m4 ,harcouet1  
who are at all interested in the matter2
 and the chickens are to be fed upon it 
for two months4 ,they are then fit for  
table1 and are to be washed down with   
moderate quantities of good white wine  
or claret4 ,this regimen is to be       
followed regularly every seven years1   

and any one may live to be as old as    
,methuselah6 ,it is right to state1 that
 ,m4 ,harcouet has but little authority 
for attributing this precious           
composition to ,arnold of ,villeneuve4  
,it is not to be found in the collected 
works of that philosopher2 but was first
 brought to light by a ,m4 ,poirier1 at 
the commencement of the sixteenth       
century1 who asserted that he had       
discovered it in ,,ms4 in the undoubted 
writing of ,arnold4   ,,pietro          
,d',,apone4  ,this unlucky sage was born
 at ,apone1 near ,padua1 in the year    
#abej4 ,like his friend ,arnold de      
,villeneuve1 he was an eminent          
physician1 and a pretender to the arts  
of astrology and alchymy4 ,he practised 
for many years in ,paris1 and made great
 wealth by killing and curing1 and      
telling fortunes4 ,in an evil day for   
him1 he returned to his own country1    
with the reputation of being a magician 
of the first order4 ,it was universally 
believed that he had drawn seven evil   

spirits from the infernal regions1 whom 
he kept enclosed in seven crystal vases1
 until he required their services1 when 
he sent them forth to the ends of the   
earth to execute his pleasure4 ,one     
spirit excelled in philosophy2 a second1
 in alchymy2 a third1 in astrology2 a   
fourth1 in physic2 a fifth1 in poetry2 a
 sixth1 in music2 and the seventh1 in   
painting3 and whenever ,pietro wished   
for information or instruction in any of
 these arts1 he had only to go to his   
crystal vase1 and liberate the presiding
 spirit4 ,immediately1 all the secrets  
of the art were revealed to him2 and he 
might1 if it pleased him1 excel ,homer  
in poetry1 ,apelles in painting1 or     
,pythagoras himself in philosophy4      
,although he could make gold out of     
brass1 it was said of him1 that he was  
very sparing of his powers in that      
respect1 and kept himself constantly    
supplied with money by other and less   
creditable means4 ,whenever he disbursed
 gold1 he muttered a certain charm1     

known only to himself2 and next morning 
the gold was safe again in his own      
possession4 ,the trader to whom he gave 
it1 might lock it in his strong box1 and
 have it guarded by a troop of soldiers2
 but the charmed metal flew back to its 
old master4 ,even if it were buried in  
the earth1 or thrown into the sea1 the  
dawn of the next morning would behold it
 in the pockets of ,pietro4 ,few people1
 in consequence1 liked to have dealings 
with such a personage1 especially for   
gold4 ,some1 bolder than the rest1      
thought that his power did not extend   
over silver2 but1 when they made the    
experiment1 they found themselves       
mistaken4 ,bolts and bars could not     
restrain it1 and it sometimes became    
invisible in their very hands1 and was  
whisked through the air to the purse of 
the magician4 ,he necessarily acquired a
 very bad character2 and1 having given  
utterance to some sentiments regarding  
religion which were the very reverse of 
orthodox1 he was summoned before the    

tribunals of the ,inquisition to answer 
for his crimes as a heretic and a       
sorcerer4 ,he loudly protested his      
innocence1 even upon the rack1 where he 
suffered more torture than nature could 
support4 ,he died in prison ere his     
trial was concluded1 but was afterwards 
found guilty4 ,his bones were ordered to
 be dug up1 and publicly burned4 ,he was
 also burned in effigy in the streets of
 ,padua4   ,,raymond ,,lulli4  ,while   
,arnold de ,villeneuve and ,pietro      
d',apone flourished in ,france and      
,italy1 a more celebrated adept than    
either appeared in ,spain4 ,this was    
,raymond ,lulli1 a name which stands in 
the first rank among the alchymists4    
,unlike many of his predecessors1 he    
made no pretensions to astrology or     
necromancy2 but1 taking ,geber for his  
model1 studied intently the nature and  
composition of metals1 without reference
 to charms1 incantations1 or any foolish
 ceremonies4 ,it was not1 however1 till 
late in life that he commenced his study

 of the art4 ,his early and middle age  
were spent in a different manner1 and   
his whole history is romantic in the    
extreme4 ,he was born of an illustrious 
family1 in ,majorca1 in the year #abce4 
,when that island was taken from the    
,saracens by ,james ,i1 ,king of        
,aragon1 in #abcj1 the father of        
,raymond1 who was originally of         
,catalonia1 settled there1 and received 
a considerable appointment from the     
,crown4 ,raymond married at an early    
age2 and1 being fond of pleasure1 he    
left the solitudes of his native isle1  
and passed over with his bride into     
,spain4 ,he was made ,grand ,seneschal  
at the court of ,king ,james1 and led a 
gay life for several years4 ,faithless  
to his wife1 he was always in the       
pursuit of some new beauty1 till his    
heart was fixed at last by the lovely1  
but unkind ,ambrosia de ,castello4 ,this
 lady1 like her admirer1 was married2   
but1 unlike him1 was faithful to her    
vows1 and treated all his solicitations 

with disdain4 ,raymond was so enamoured1
 that repulse only increased his flame2 
he lingered all night under her windows1
 wrote passionate verses in her praise1 
neglected his affairs1 and made himself 
the butt of all the courtiers4 ,one day1
 while watching under her lattice1 he by
 chance caught sight of her bosom1 as   
her neckerchief was blown aside by the  
wind4 ,the fit of inspiration came over 
him1 and he sat down and composed some  
tender stanzas upon the subject1 and    
sent them to the lady4 ,the fair        
,ambrosia had never before condescended 
to answer his letters2 but she replied  
to this4 ,she told him1 that she could  
never listen to his suit2 that it was   
unbecoming in a wise man to fix his     
thoughts1 as he had done1 on any other  
than his ,god2 and entreated him to     
devote himself to a religious life1 and 
conquer the unworthy passion which he   
had suffered to consume him4 ,she1      
however1 offered1 if he wished it1 to   
show him the fair bosom which had so    

captivated him4 ,raymond was delighted4 
,he thought the latter part of this     
epistle but ill corresponded with the   
former1 and that ,ambrosia1 in spite of 
the good advice she gave him1 had1 at   
last1 relented1 and would make him as   
happy as he desired4 ,he followed her   
about from place to place1 entreating   
her to fulfil her promise3 but still    
,ambrosia was cold1 and implored him    
with tears to importune her no longer2  
for that she never could be his1 and    
never would1 if she were free to-morrow4
 ,what means your letter1 then8 said the
 despairing lover4 ,i will show you6    
replied ,ambrosia1 who immediately      
uncovered her bosom1 and exposed to the 
eyes of her horror-stricken admirer1 a  
large cancer1 which had extended to both
 breasts4 ,she saw that he was shocked2 
and1 extending her hand to him1 she     
prayed him once more to lead a religious
 life1 and set his heart upon the       
,creator1 and not upon the creature4 ,he
 went home an altered man4 ,he threw up1

 on the morrow1 his valuable appointment
 at the court1 separated from his wife1 
and took a farewell of his children1    
after dividing one-half of his ample    
fortune among them4 ,the other half he  
shared among the poor4 ,he then threw   
himself at the foot of a crucifix1 and  
devoted himself to the service of ,god1 
vowing1 as the most acceptable atonement
 for his errors1 that he would employ   
the remainder of his days in the task of
 converting the ,mussulmans to the      
,christian religion4 ,in his dreams he  
saw ,jesus ,christ1 who said to him1    
,raymond6 ,raymond6 follow me6 ,the     
vision was three times repeated1 and    
,raymond was convinced that it was an   
intimation direct from ,heaven4 ,having 
put his affairs in order1 he set out on 
a pilgrimage to the shrine of ,st4      
,james of ,compostello1 and afterwards  
lived for ten years in solitude amid the
 mountains of ,aranda4 ,here he learned 
the ,arabic1 to qualify himself for his 
mission of converting the ,mahometans4  

,he also studied various sciences1 as   
taught in the works of the learned men  
of the ,east1 and first made            
acquaintance with the writings of       
,geber1 which were destined to exercise 
so much influence over his future life4 
,at the end of this probation1 and when 
he had entered his fortieth year1 he    
emerged from his solitude into more     
active life4 ,with some remains of his  
fortune1 which had accumulated during   
his retirement1 he founded a college for
 the study of ,arabic1 which was        
approved of by the ,pope1 with many     
commendations upon his zeal and piety4  
,at this time he narrowly escaped       
assassination from an ,arabian youth    
whom he had taken into his service4     
,raymond had prayed to ,god1 in some of 
his accesses of fanaticism1 that he     
might suffer martyrdom in his holy      
cause4 ,his servant had overheard him2  
and1 being as great a fanatic as his    
master1 he resolved to gratify his wish1
 and punish him1 at the same time1 for  

the curses which he incessantly launched
 against ,mahomet and all who believed  
in him1 by stabbing him to the heart4   
,he1 therefore1 aimed a blow at his     
master1 as he sat one day at table2 but 
the instinct of self-preservation being 
stronger than the desire of martyrdom1  
,raymond grappled with his antagonist1  
and overthrew him4 ,he scorned to take  
his life himself2 but handed him over to
 the authorities of the town1 by whom he
 was afterwards found dead in his       
prison4  ,after this adventure ,raymond 
travelled to ,paris1 where he resided   
for some time1 and made the acquaintance
 of ,arnold de ,villeneuve4 ,from him he
 probably received some encouragement to
 search for the philosopher's stone1 as 
he began from that time forth to devote 
less of his attention to religious      
matters1 and more to the study of       
alchymy4 ,still he never lost sight of  
the great object for which he lived--the
 conversion of the ,mahometans--and     
proceeded to ,rome1 to communicate      

personally with ,pope ,john ,,xxi1 on   
the best measures to be adopted for that
 end4 ,the ,pope gave him encouragement 
in words1 but failed to associate any   
other persons with him in the enterprise
 which he meditated4 ,raymond1          
therefore1 set out for ,tunis alone1 and
 was kindly received by many ,arabian   
philosophers1 who had heard of his fame 
as a professor of alchymy4 ,if he had   
stuck to alchymy while in their country1
 it would have been well for him2 but he
 began cursing ,mahomet1 and got himself
 into trouble4 ,while preaching the     
doctrines of ,christianity in the great 
bazaar of ,tunis1 he was arrested and   
thrown into prison4 ,he was shortly     
afterwards brought to trial1 and        
sentenced to death4 ,some of his        
philosophic friends interceded hard for 
him1 and he was pardoned1 upon condition
 that he left ,africa immediately1 and  
never again set foot in it4 ,if he was  
found there again1 no matter what his   
object might be1 or whatever length of  

time might intervene1 his original      
sentence would be carried into          
execution4 ,raymond was not at all      
solicitous of martyrdom when it came to 
the point1 whatever he might have been  
when there was no danger1 and he gladly 
accepted his life upon these conditions1
 and left ,tunis with the intention of  
proceeding to ,rome4 ,he afterwards     
changed his plan1 and established       
himself at ,milan1 where1 for a length  
of time1 he practised alchymy1 and some 
say astrology1 with great success4      
,most writers who believed in the       
secrets of alchymy1 and who have noticed
 the life of ,raymond ,lulli1 assert1   
that while in ,milan1 he received       
letters from ,edward ,king of ,england1 
inviting him to settle in his states4   
,they add1 that ,lulli gladly accepted  
the invitation1 and had apartments      
assigned for his use in the ,tower of   
,london1 where he refined much gold2    
superintended the coinage of            
rose-nobles2 and made gold out of iron1 

quicksilver1 lead1 and pewter1 to the   
amount of six millions4 ,the writers in 
the ,biographie ,universelle1 an        
excellent authority in general1 deny    
that ,raymond was ever in ,england1 and 
say1 that in all these stories of his   
wondrous powers as an alchymist1 he has 
been mistaken for another ,raymond1 a   
,jew1 of ,tarragona4 ,naude1 in his     
,apologie1 says1 simply1 that six       
millions were given by ,raymond ,lulli  
to ,king ,edward1 to make war against   
the ,turks and other infidels3 not that 
he transmuted so much metal into gold2  
but1 as he afterwards adds1 that he     
advised ,edward to lay a tax upon wool1 
which produced that amount4 ,to show    
that ,raymond went to ,england1 his     
admirers quote a work attributed to him1
 ,de ,transmutatione ,animae            
,metallorum1 in which he expressly says1
 that he was in ,england at the         
intercession of the ,king4 ,vidimus     
omnia ista dum ad ,angliam transiimus1  
propter intercessionem ,domini ,regis   

,edoardi illustrissimi4 ,the hermetic   
writers are not agreed whether it was   
,edward ,i1 or ,edward ,,ii1 who invited
 him over2 but1 by fixing the date of   
his journey in #acab1 they make it      
appear that it was ,edward ,,ii4 ,edmond
 ,dickenson1 in his work on the         
,quintessences of the ,philosophers1    
says1 that ,raymond worked in           
,westminster ,abbey1 where1 a long time 
after his departure1 there was found in 
the cell which he had occupied1 a great 
quantity of golden dust1 of which the   
architects made a great profit4 ,in the 
biographical sketch of ,john ,cremer1   
,abbot of ,westminster1 given by        
,lenglet1 it is said1 that it was       
chiefly through his instrumentality that
 ,raymond came to ,england4 ,cremer had 
been himself for thirty years occupied  
in the vain search for the philosopher's
 stone1 when he accidentally met        
,raymond in ,italy1 and endeavoured to  
induce him to communicate his grand     
secret4 ,raymond told him that he must  

find it for himself1 as all great       
alchymists had done before him4 ,cremer1
 on his return to ,england1 spoke to    
,king ,edward in high terms of the      
wonderful attainments of the            
philosopher1 and a letter of invitation 
was forthwith sent him4 ,robert         
,constantinus1 in the ,nomenclatore     
,scriptorum ,medicorum1 published in    
#aeae1 says1 that after a great deal of 
research1 be found that ,raymond ,lulli 
resided for some time in ,london1 and   
that he actually made gold1 by means of 
the philosopher's stone1 in the ,tower2 
that he had seen the golden pieces of   
his coinage1 which were still named in  
,england the nobles of ,raymond1 or     
rose-nobles4 ,lulli himself appears to  
have boasted that he made gold2 for1 in 
his well-known ,testamentum1 he states1 
that he converted no less than fifty    
thousand pounds weight of quicksilver1  
lead1 and pewter into that metal4       
,converti una vice in aurum ad ,l millia
 pondo argenti vivi1 plumbi1 et         

stanni4--,lullii ,testamentum4 ,it seems
 highly probable that the ,english      
,king1 believing in the extraordinary   
powers of the alchymist1 invited him to 
,england to make test of them1 and that 
he was employed in refining gold and in 
coining4 ,camden1 who is not credulous  
in matters like these1 affords his      
countenance to the story of his coinage 
of nobles2 and there is nothing at all  
wonderful in the fact of a man famous   
for his knowledge of metals being       
employed in such a capacity4 ,raymond   
was1 at this time1 an old man1 in his   
seventy-seventh year1 and somewhat in   
his dotage4 ,he was willing enough to   
have it believed that he had discovered 
the grand secret1 and supported the     
rumour rather than contradicted it4 ,he 
did not long remain in ,england2 but    
returned to ,rome1 to carry out the     
projects which were nearer to his heart 
than the profession of alchymy4 ,he had 
proposed them to several successive     
,popes with little or no success4 ,the  

first was a plan for the introduction of
 the ,oriental languages into all the   
monasteries of ,europe2 the second1 for 
the reduction into one of all the       
military orders1 that1 being united1    
they might move more efficaciously      
against the ,saracens2 and1 the third1  
that the ,sovereign ,pontiff should     
forbid the works of ,averroes to be read
 in the schools1 as being more          
favourable to ,mahometanism than to     
,christianity4 ,the ,pope did not       
receive the old man with much           
cordiality2 and1 after remaining for    
about two years in ,rome1 he proceeded  
once more to ,africa1 alone and         
unprotected1 to preach the ,gospel of   
,jesus4 ,he landed at ,bona in #acad2   
and so irritated the ,mahometans by     
cursing their prophet1 that they stoned 
him1 and left him for dead on the       
sea-shore4 ,he was found some hours     
afterwards by a party of ,genoese       
merchants1 who conveyed him on board    
their vessel1 and sailed towards        

,majorca4 ,the unfortunate man still    
breathed1 but could not articulate4 ,he 
lingered in this state for some days1   
and expired just as the vessel arrived  
within sight of his native shores4 ,his 
body was conveyed with great pomp to the
 church of ,st4 ,eulalia1 at ,palma1    
where a public funeral was instituted in
 his honour4 ,miracles were afterwards  
said to have been worked at his tomb4   
,thus ended the career of ,raymond      
,lulli1 one of the most extraordinary   
men of his age2 and1 with the exception 
of his last boast about the six millions
 of gold1 the least inclined to quackery
 of any of the professors of alchymy4   
,his writings were very numerous1 and   
include nearly five hundred volumes1    
upon grammar1 rhetoric1 morals1         
theology1 politics1 civil and canon law1
 physics1 metaphysics1 astronomy1       
medicine1 and chemistry4   ,,roger      
,,bacon4  ,the powerful delusion of     
alchymy seized upon a mind still greater
 than that of ,raymond ,lulli4 ,roger   

,bacon firmly believed in the           
philosopher's stone1 and spent much of  
his time in search of it4 ,his example  
helped to render all the learned men of 
the time more convinced of its          
practicability1 and more eager in the   
pursuit4 ,he was born at ,ilchester1 in 
the county of ,somerset1 in the year    
#abad4 ,he studied for some time in the 
university of ,oxford1 and afterwards in
 that of ,paris1 in which he received   
the degree of doctor of divinity4       
,returning to ,england in #abdj1 he     
became a monk of the order of ,st4      
,francis4 ,he was by far the most       
learned man of his age2 and his         
acquirements were so much above the     
comprehension of his contemporaries1    
that they could only account for them by
 supposing that he was indebted for them
 to the devil4 ,voltaire has not inaptly
 designated him ,de l'or encroute de    
toutes les ordures de son siecle2 but   
the crust of superstition that enveloped
 his powerful mind1 though it may have  

dimmed1 could not obscure the brightness
 of his genius4 ,to him1 and apparently 
to him only1 among all the inquiring    
spirits of the time1 were known the     
properties of the concave and convex    
lens4 ,he also invented the             
magic-lantern2 that pretty plaything of 
modern days1 which acquired for him a   
reputation that embittered his life4 ,in
 a history of alchymy1 the name of this 
great man cannot be omitted1 although1  
unlike many others of whom we shall have
 occasion to speak1 he only made it     
secondary to other pursuits4 ,the love  
of universal knowledge that filled his  
mind1 would not allow him to neglect one
 branch of science1 of which neither he 
nor the world could yet see the         
absurdity4 ,he made ample amends for his
 time lost in this pursuit by his       
knowledge in physics and his            
acquaintance with astronomy4 ,the       
telescope1 burning-glasses1 and         
gunpowder1 are discoveries which may    
well carry his fame to the remotest     

time1 and make the world blind to the   
one spot of folly--the diagnosis of the 
age in which he lived1 and the          
circumstances by which he was           
surrounded4 ,his treatise on the        
,admirable ,power of ,art and ,nature in
 the ,production of the ,philosopher's  
,stone was translated into ,french by   
,girard de ,tormes1 and published at    
,lyons in #aeeg4 ,his ,mirror of        
,alchymy was also published in ,french  
in the same year1 and in ,paris in      
#afab1 with some additions from the     
works of ,raymond ,lulli4 ,a complete   
list of all the published treatises upon
 the subject may be seen in ,lenglet du 
,fresnoy4   ,,pope ,,john ,,xxii4  ,this
 ,prelate is said to have been the      
friend and pupil of ,arnold de          
,villeneuve1 by whom he was instructed  
in all the secrets of alchymy4          
,tradition asserts of him1 that he made 
great quantities of gold1 and died as   
rich as ,croesus4 ,he was born at       
,cahors1 in the province of ,guienne1 in

 the year #abdd4 ,he was a very eloquent
 preacher1 and soon reached high dignity
 in the ,church4 ,he wrote a work on the
 transmutation of metals1 and had a     
famous laboratory at ,avignon4 ,he      
issued two ,bulls against the numerous  
pretenders to the art1 who had sprung up
 in every part of ,christendom2 from    
which it might be inferred that he was  
himself free from the delusion4 ,the    
alchymists claim him1 however1 as one of
 the most distinguished and successful  
professors of their art1 and say that   
his ,bulls were not directed against the
 real adepts1 but the false pretenders4 
,they lay particular stress upon these  
words in his ,bull1 ,spondent1 quas non 
exhibent1 divitias1 pauperes            
alchymistae4 ,these1 it is clear1 they  
say1 relate only to poor alchymists1 and
 therefore false ones4 ,he died in the  
year #acdd1 leaving in his coffers a sum
 of eighteen millions of florins4       
,popular belief alleged that he had     
made1 and not amassed1 this treasure2   

and alchymists complacently cite this as
 a proof that the philosopher's stone   
was not such a chimera as the           
incredulous pretended4 ,they take it for
 granted that ,john really left this    
money1 and ask by what possible means he
 could have accumulated it4 ,replying to
 their own question1 they say           
triumphantly1 ,his book shows it was by 
alchymy1 the secrets of which he learned
 from ,arnold de ,villeneuve and        
,raymond ,lulli4 ,but he was as prudent 
as all other hermetic philosophers4     
,whoever would read his book to find out
 his secret1 would employ all his labour
 in vain2 the ,pope took good care not  
to divulge it4 ,unluckily for their own 
credit1 all these gold-makers are in the
 same predicament2 their great secret   
loses its worth most wonderfully in the 
telling1 and therefore they keep it     
snugly to themselves4 ,perhaps they     
thought that1 if everybody could        
transmute metals1 gold would be so      
plentiful that it would be no longer    

valuable1 and that some new art would be
 requisite to transmute it back again   
into steel and iron4 ,if so1 society is 
much indebted to them for their         
forbearance4   ,,jean ,,de ,,meung  ,all
 classes of men dabbled in the art at   
this time2 the last mentioned was a     
,pope1 the one of whom we now speak was 
a poet4 ,jean de ,meung1 the celebrated 
author of the ,roman de la ,rose1 was   
born in the year #abgi or #abhj1 and was
 a great personage at the courts of     
,louis ,x1 ,philip the ,long1 ,charles  
,,iv1 and ,philip de ,valois4 ,his      
famous poem of the ,roman de la ,rose1  
which treats of every subject in vogue  
at that day1 necessarily makes great    
mention of alchymy4 ,jean was a firm    
believer in the art1 and wrote1 besides 
his1 ,roman1 two shorter poems1 the one 
entitled1 ,the ,remonstrance of ,nature 
to the wandering ,alchymist1 and ,the   
,reply of the ,alchymist to ,nature4    
,poetry and alchymy were his delight1   
and priests and women were his          

abomination4 ,a pleasant story is       
related of him and the ladies of the    
court of ,charles ,,iv4 ,he had written 
the following libellous couplet upon the
 fair sex3--       ,toutes etes1 serez1 
ou futes      ,de fait ou de volonte1   
putains1      ,et qui1 tres bien vous   
chercherait      ,toutes putains1 vous  
trouverait4  ,these verses are but a    
coarser expression of the slanderous    
line of ,pope1 that every woman is at   
heart a rake4  ,this naturally gave     
great offence2 and being perceived one  
day1 in the ,king's antechamber1 by some
 ladies who were waiting for an         
audience1 they resolved to punish him4  
,to the number of ten or twelve1 they   
armed themselves with canes and rods2   
and surrounding the unlucky poet1 called
 upon the gentlemen present to strip him
 naked1 that they might wreak just      
vengeance upon him1 and lash him through
 the streets of the town4 ,some of the  
lords present were in no wise loth1 and 
promised themselves great sport from his

 punishment4 ,but ,jean de ,meung was   
unmoved by their threats1 and stood up  
calmly in the midst of them1 begging    
them to hear him first1 and then1 if not
 satisfied1 they might do as they liked 
with him4 ,silence being restored1 he   
stood upon a chair1 and entered on his  
defence4 ,he acknowledged that he was   
the author of the obnoxious verses1 but 
denied that they bore reference to all  
womankind4 ,he only meant to speak of   
the vicious and abandoned1 whereas those
 whom he saw around him1 were patterns  
of virtue1 loveliness1 and modesty4 ,if1
 however1 any lady present thought      
herself aggrieved1 he would consent to  
be stripped1 and she might lash him till
 her arms were wearied4 ,it is added1   
that by this means ,jean escaped his    
flogging1 and that the wrath of the fair
 ones immediately subsided4 ,the        
gentlemen present were1 however1 of     
opinion1 that if every lady in the room1
 whose character corresponded with the  
verses1 had taken him at his word1 the  

poet would1 in all probability1 have    
been beaten to death4 ,all his life long
 he evinced a great animosity towards   
the priesthood1 and his famous poem     
abounds with passages reflecting upon   
their avarice1 cruelty1 and immorality4 
,at his death he left a large box1      
filled with some weighty material1 which
 he bequeathed to the ,cordeliers1 as a 
peace-offering1 for the abuse he had    
lavished upon them4 ,as his practice of 
alchymy was well-known1 it was thought  
the box was filled with gold and silver1
 and the ,cordeliers congratulated each 
other on their rich acquisition4 ,when  
it came to be opened1 they found to     
their horror that it was filled only    
with slates1 scratched with hieroglyphic
 and cabalistic characters4 ,indignant  
at the insult1 they determined to refuse
 him ,christian burial1 on pretence that
 he was a sorcerer4 ,he was1 however1   
honourably buried in ,paris1 the whole  
court attending his funeral4            
,,nicholas ,,flamel4  ,the story of this

 alchymist1 as handed down by tradition1
 and enshrined in the pages of ,lenglet 
du ,fresnoy1 is not a little marvellous4
 ,he was born at ,pontoise of a poor but
 respectable family1 at the end of the  
thirteenth1 or beginning of the         
fourteenth1 century4 ,having no         
patrimony1 he set out for ,paris at an  
early age1 to try his fortune as a      
public scribe4 ,he had received a good  
education1 was well skilled in the      
learned languages1 and was an excellent 
penman4 ,he soon procured occupation as 
a letter-writer and copyist1 and used to
 sit at the corner of the ,rue de       
,marivaux1 and practise his calling3 but
 he hardly made profits enough to keep  
body and soul together4 ,to mend his    
fortunes he tried poetry2 but this was a
 more wretched occupation still4 ,as a  
transcriber he had at least gained bread
 and cheese2 but his rhymes were not    
worth a crust4 ,he then tried painting  
with as little success2 and as a last   
resource1 began to search for the       

philosopher's stone1 and tell fortunes4 
,this was a happier idea2 he soon       
increased in substance1 and had         
wherewithal to live comfortably4 ,he1   
therefore1 took unto himself his wife   
,petronella1 and began to save money2   
but continued to all outward appearance 
as poor and miserable as before4 ,in the
 course of a few years1 he became       
desperately addicted to the study of    
alchymy1 and thought of nothing but the 
philosopher's stone1 the elixir of life1
 and the universal alkahest4 ,in the    
year #abeg1 he bought by chance an old  
book for two florins1 which soon became 
the sole study and object of his life4  
,it was written with a steel instrument 
upon the bark of trees1 and contained   
twenty-one1 or as he himself always     
expressed it1 three times seven1 leaves4
 ,the writing was very elegant and in   
the ,latin language4 ,each seventh leaf 
contained a picture and no writing4 ,on 
the first of these was a serpent        
swallowing rods2 on the second1 a cross 

with a serpent crucified2 and on the    
third1 the representation of a desert1  
in the midst of which was a fountain    
with serpents crawling from side to     
side4 ,it purported to be written by no 
less a personage than ,abraham1         
patriarch1 ,jew1 prince1 philosopher1   
priest1 ,levite1 and astrologer2 and    
invoked curses upon any one who should  
cast eyes upon it1 without being a      
sacrificer or a scribe4 ,nicholas       
,flamel never thought it extraordinary  
that ,abraham should have known ,latin1 
and was convinced that the characters on
 his book had been traced by the hands  
of that great patriarch himself4 ,he was
 at first afraid to read it1 after he   
became aware of the curse it contained2 
but he got over that difficulty by      
recollecting that1 although he was not a
 sacrificer1 he had practised as a      
scribe4 ,as he read he was filled with  
admiration1 and found that it was a     
perfect treatise upon the transmutation 
of metals4 ,all the process was clearly 

explained2 the vessels1 the retorts1 the
 mixtures1 and the proper times and     
seasons for the experiment4 ,but as     
ill-luck would have it1 the possession  
of the philosopher's stone or prime     
agent in the work was presupposed4 ,this
 was a difficulty which was not to be   
got over4 ,it was like telling a        
starving man how to cook a beefsteak1   
instead of giving him the money to buy  
one4 ,but ,nicholas did not despair2 and
 set about studying the hieroglyphics   
and allegorical representations with    
which the book abounded4 ,he soon       
convinced himself that it had been one  
of the sacred books of the ,jews1 and   
that it was taken from the temple of    
,jerusalem on its destruction by ,titus4
 ,the process of reasoning by which he  
arrived at this conclusion is not       
stated4  ,from some expression in the   
treatise1 he learned that the           
allegorical drawings on the fourth and  
fifth leaves1 enshrined the secret of   
the philosopher's stone1 without which  

all the fine ,latin of the directions   
was utterly unavailing4 ,he invited all 
the alchymists and learned men of ,paris
 to come and examine them1 but they all 
departed as wise as they came4 ,nobody  
could make anything either of ,nicholas 
or his pictures2 and some even went so  
far as to say that his invaluable book  
was not worth a farthing4 ,this was not 
to be borne2 and ,nicholas resolved to  
discover the great secret by himself1   
without troubling the philosophers4 ,he 
found on the first page1 of the fourth  
leaf1 the picture of ,mercury1 attacked 
by an old man resembling ,saturn or     
,time4 ,the latter had an hourglass on  
his head1 and in his hand a scythe1 with
 which he aimed a blow at ,mercury's    
feet4 ,the reverse of the leaf          
represented a flower growing on a       
mountain top1 shaken rudely by the wind1
 with a blue stalk1 red and white       
blossoms1 and leaves of pure gold4      
,around it were a great number of       
dragons and griffins4 ,on the first page

 of the fifth leaf was a fine garden1 in
 the midst of which was a rose tree in  
full bloom1 supported against the trunk 
of a gigantic oak4 ,at the foot of this 
there bubbled up a fountain of          
milk-white water1 which forming a small 
stream1 flowed through the garden1 and  
was afterwards lost in the sands4 ,on   
the second page was a ,king1 with a     
sword in his hand1 superintending a     
number of soldiers1 who1 in execution of
 his orders1 were killing a great       
multitude of young children1 spurning   
the prayers and tears of their mothers1 
who tried to save them from destruction4
 ,the blood of the children was         
carefully collected by another party of 
soldiers1 and put into a large vessel1  
in which two allegorical figures of the 
,sun and ,moon were bathing themselves4 
,for twenty-one years poor ,nicholas    
wearied himself with the study of these 
pictures1 but still he could make       
nothing of them4 ,his wife ,petronella  
at last persuaded him to find out some  

learned ,rabbi2 but there was no ,rabbi 
in ,paris learned enough to be of any   
service to him4 ,the ,jews met but small
 encouragement to fix their abode in    
,france1 and all the chiefs of that     
people were located in ,spain4 ,to      
,spain accordingly ,nicholas ,flamel    
repaired4 ,he left his book in ,paris   
for fear1 perhaps1 that he might be     
robbed of it on the road2 and telling   
his neighbours that he was going on a   
pilgrimage to the shrine of ,st4 ,james 
of ,compostello1 he trudged on foot     
towards ,madrid in search of a ,rabbi4  
,he was absent two years in that        
country1 and made himself known to a    
great number of ,jews1 descendants of   
those who had been expelled from ,france
 in the reign of ,philip ,augustus4 ,the
 believers in the philosopher's stone   
give the following account of his       
adventures3--,they say that at ,leon he 
made the acquaintance of a converted    
,jew1 named ,cauches1 a very learned    
physician1 to whom he explained the     

title and the nature of his little book4
 ,the ,doctor was transported with joy  
as soon as he heard it named1 and       
immediately resolved to accompany       
,nicholas to ,paris1 that he might have 
a sight of it4 ,the two set out         
together2 the ,doctor on the way        
entertaining his companion with the     
history of his book1 which1 if the      
genuine book he thought it to be1 from  
the description he had heard of it1 was 
in the handwriting of ,abraham himself1 
and had been in the possession of       
personages no less distinguished than   
,moses1 ,joshua1 ,solomon1 and ,esdras4 
,it contained all the secrets of alchymy
 and of many other sciences1 and was the
 most valuable book that had ever       
existed in this world4 ,the ,doctor was 
himself no mean adept1 and ,nicholas    
profited greatly by his discourse1 as in
 the garb of poor pilgrims they wended  
their way to ,paris1 convinced of their 
power to turn every old shovel in that  
capital into pure gold4 ,but1           

unfortunately1 when they reached        
,orleans1 the ,doctor was taken         
dangerously ill4 ,nicholas watched by   
his bedside1 and acted the double part  
of a physician and nurse to him2 but he 
died after a few days1 lamenting with   
his last breath that he had not lived   
long enough to see the precious volume4 
,nicholas rendered the last honours to  
his body2 and with a sorrowful heart1   
and not one sous in his pocket1         
proceeded home to his wife ,petronella4 
,he immediately recommenced the study of
 his pictures2 but for two whole years  
he was as far from understanding them as
 ever4 ,at last1 in the third year1 a   
glimmer of light stole over his         
understanding4 ,he recalled some        
expression of his friend1 the ,doctor1  
which had hitherto escaped his memory1  
and he found that all his previous      
experiments had been conducted on a     
wrong basis4 ,he recommenced them now   
with renewed energy1 and at the end of  
the year had the satisfaction to see all

 his toils rewarded4 ,on the #acth      
,january #achb1 says ,lenglet1 he made a
 projection on mercury1 and had some    
very excellent silver4 ,on the #beth    
,april following1 he converted a large  
quantity of mercury into gold1 and the  
great secret was his4  ,nicholas was now
 about eighty years of age1 and still a 
hale and stout old man4 ,his friends say
 that1 by the simultaneous discovery of 
the elixir of life1 he found means to   
keep death at a distance for another    
quarter of a century2 and that he died  
in #adae1 at the age of #aaf4 ,in this  
interval he had made immense quantities 
of gold1 though to all outward          
appearance he was as poor as a mouse4   
,at an early period of his changed      
fortune1 he had1 like a worthy man1     
taken counsel with his old wife         
,petronella1 as to the best use he could
 make of his wealth4 ,petronella        
replied1 that as unfortunately they had 
no children1 the best thing he could do1
 was to build hospitals and endow       

churches4 ,nicholas thought so too1     
especially when he began to find that   
his elixir could not keep off death1 and
 that the grim foe was making rapid     
advances upon him4 ,he richly endowed   
the church of ,st4 ,jacques de la       
,boucherie1 near the ,rue de ,marivaux1 
where he had all his life resided1      
besides seven others in different parts 
of the kingdom4 ,he also endowed        
fourteen hospitals1 and built three     
chapels4  ,the fame of his great wealth 
and his munificent benefactions soon    
spread over all the country1 and he was 
visited1 among others1 by the celebrated
 ,doctors of that day1 ,jean ,gerson1   
,jean de ,courtecuisse1 and ,pierre     
d',ailli4 ,they found him in his humble 
apartment1 meanly clad1 and eating      
porridge out of an earthen vessel2 and  
with regard to his secret1 as           
impenetrable as all his predecessors in 
alchymy4 ,his fame reached the ears of  
the ,king1 ,charles ,,vi1 who sent ,m4  
de ,cramoisi1 the ,master of ,requests1 

to find out whether ,nicholas had indeed
 discovered the philosopher's stone4    
,but ,m4 de ,cramoisi took nothing by   
his visit2 all his attempts to sound the
 alchymist were unavailing1 and he      
returned to his royal master no wiser   
than he came4 ,it was in this year1     
#adad1 that he lost his faithful        
,petronella4 ,he did not long survive   
her2 but died in the following year1 and
 was buried with great pomp by the      
grateful priests of ,st4 ,jacques de la 
,boucherie4  ,the great wealth of       
,nicholas ,flamel is undoubted1 as the  
records of several churches and         
hospitals in ,france can testify4 ,that 
he practised alchymy is equally certain1
 as he left behind several works upon   
the subject4  ,those who knew him well1 
and who were incredulous about the      
philosopher's stone1 give a very        
satisfactory solution of the secret of  
his wealth4 ,they say that he was always
 a miser and a usurer2 that his journey 
to ,spain was undertaken with very      

different motives from those pretended  
by the alchymists2 that1 in fact1 he    
went to collect debts due from ,jews in 
that country to their brethren in       
,paris1 and that he charged a commission
 of fully cent4 per cent4 in            
consideration of the difficulty of      
collecting and the dangers of the road2 
that when he possessed thousands1 he    
lived upon almost nothing2 and was the  
general money-lender1 at enormous       
profits1 of all the dissipated young men
 at the ,french court4  ,among the works
 written by ,nicholas ,flamel on the    
subject of alchymy1 is ,the ,philosophic
 ,summary1 a poem1 reprinted in #agce1  
as an appendix to the third volume of   
the ,roman de la ,rose4 ,he also wrote  
three treatises upon natural philosophy1
 and an alchymic allegory1 entitled ,le 
,desir desire4 ,specimens of his        
writing1 and a fac-simile of the        
drawings in his book of ,abraham1 may be
 seen in ,salmon's ,bibliotheque des    
,philosophes ,chimiques4 ,the writer of 

the article1 ,flamel1 in the ,biographie
 ,universelle1 says that1 for a hundred 
years after the death of ,flamel1 many  
of the adepts believed that he was still
 alive1 and that he would live for      
upwards of six hundred years4 ,the house
 he formerly occupied1 at the corner of 
the ,rue de ,marivaux1 has been often   
taken by credulous speculators1 and     
ransacked from top to bottom1 in the    
hopes that gold might be found4 ,a      
report was current in ,paris1 not long  
previous to the year #ahaf1 that some   
lodgers had found in the cellars several
 jars filled with a dark-coloured       
ponderous matter4 ,upon the strength of 
the rumour1 a believer in all the       
wondrous tales told of ,nicholas ,flamel
 bought the house1 and nearly pulled it 
to pieces in ransacking the walls and   
wainscotting for hidden gold4 ,he got   
nothing for his pains1 however1 and had 
a heavy bill to pay to restore his      
dilapidations4   ,,george ,,ripley4     
,while alchymy was thus cultivated on   

the continent of ,europe1 it was not    
neglected in the isles of ,britain4     
,since the time of ,roger ,bacon1 it had
 fascinated the imagination of many     
ardent men in ,england4 ,in the year    
#adjd1 an act of parliament was passed1 
declaring the making of gold and silver 
to be felony4 ,great alarm was felt at  
that time lest any alchymist should     
succeed in his projects1 and perhaps    
bring ruin upon the state1 by furnishing
 boundless wealth to some designing     
tyrant1 who would make use of it to     
enslave his country4 ,this alarm appears
 to have soon subsided2 for1 in the year
 #adee1 ,king ,henry ,,vi1 by advice of 
his council and parliament1 granted four
 successive patents and commissions to  
several knights1 citizens of ,london1   
chemists1 monks1 mass-priests1 and      
others1 to find out the philosopher's   
stone and elixir1 to the great benefit1 
said the patent1 of the realm1 and the  
enabling of the ,king to pay all the    
debts of the ,crown in real gold and    

silver4 ,prinn1 in his ,aurum ,reginae1 
observes1 as a note to this passage1    
that the ,king's reason for granting    
this patent to ecclesiastics was1 that  
they were such good artists in          
transubstantiating bread and wine in the
 ,eucharist1 and therefore the more     
likely to be able to effect the         
transmutation of baser metals into      
better4 ,no gold1 of course1 was ever   
made2 and1 next year1 the ,king1        
doubting very much of the practicability
 of the thing1 took further advice1 and 
appointed a commission of ten learned   
men1 and persons of eminence1 to judge  
and certify to him whether the          
transmutation of metals were a thing    
practicable or no4 ,it does not appear  
whether the commission ever made any    
report upon the subject4  ,in the       
succeeding reign1 an alchymist appeared 
who pretended to have discovered the    
secret4 ,this was ,george ,ripley1 the  
canon of ,bridlington1 in ,yorkshire4   
,he studied for twenty years in the     

universities of ,italy1 and was a great 
favourite with ,pope ,innocent ,,viii1  
who made him one of his domestic        
chaplains1 and master of the ceremonies 
in his household4 ,returning to ,england
 in #adgg1 he dedicated to ,king ,edward
 ,,iv4 his famous work1 ,the ,compound  
of ,alchymy2 or1 the ,twelve ,gates     
leading to the ,discovery of the        
,philosopher's ,stone4 ,these gates he  
described to be calcination1 solution1  
separation1 conjunction1 putrefaction1  
congelation1 cibation1 sublimation1     
fermentation1 exaltation1               
multiplication1 and projection6 to which
 he might have added botheration1 the   
most important process of all4 ,he was  
very rich1 and allowed it to be believed
 that he could make gold out of iron4   
,fuller1 in his ,worthies of ,england1  
says that an ,english gentleman of good 
credit reported that1 in his travels    
abroad1 he saw a record in the island of
 ,malta1 which declared that ,ripley    
gave yearly to the knights of that      

island1 and of ,rhodes1 the enormous sum
 of one hundred thousand pounds         
sterling1 to enable them to carry on the
 war against the ,turks4 ,in his old    
age1 he became an anchorite near        
,boston1 and wrote twenty-five volumes  
upon the subject of alchymy1 the most   
important of which is the ,duodecim     
,portarum1 already mentioned4 ,before he
 died1 he seems to have acknowledged    
that he had misspent his life in this   
vain study1 and requested that all men1 
when they met with any of his books1    
would burn them1 or afford them no      
credit1 as they had been written merely 
from his opinion1 and not from proof2   
and that subsequent trial had made      
manifest to him that they were false and
 vain4 ,fuller's ,worthies of ,england4 
,,basil ,,valentine4  ,germany also     
produced many famous alchymists in the  
fifteenth century1 the chief of whom are
 ,basil ,valentine1 ,bernard of ,treves1
 and the ,abbot ,trithemius4 ,basil     
,valentine was born at ,mayence1 and was

 made prior of ,st4 ,peter's1 at        
,erfurt1 about the year #adad4 ,it was  
known1 during his life1 that he         
diligently sought the philosopher's     
stone1 and that he had written some     
works upon the process of transmutation4
 ,they were thought1 for many years1 to 
be lost2 but were1 after his death1     
discovered enclosed in the stone work of
 one of the pillars in the ,abbey4 ,they
 were twenty-one in number1 and are     
fully set forth in the third volume of  
,lenglet's ,history of the ,hermetic    
,philosophy4 ,the alchymists asserted1  
that ,heaven itself conspired to bring  
to light these extraordinary works2 and 
that the pillar in which they were      
enclosed was miraculously shattered by a
 thunderbolt2 and that1 as soon as the  
manuscripts were liberated1 the pillar  
closed up again of its own accord6      
,,bernard of ,,treves4  ,the life of    
this philosopher is a remarkable        
instance of talent and perseverance     
misapplied4 ,in the search of his       

chimera nothing could daunt him4        
,repeated disappointment never          
diminished his hopes2 and1 from the age 
of fourteen to that of eighty-five1 he  
was incessantly employed among the drugs
 and furnaces of his laboratory1 wasting
 his life with the view of prolonging   
it1 and reducing himself to beggary in  
the hopes of growing rich4  ,he was born
 at either ,treves or ,padua1 in the    
year #adjf4 ,his father is said by some 
to have been a physician in the latter  
city2 and by others1 to have been ,count
 of the ,marches of ,treves1 and one of 
the most wealthy nobles of his country4 
,at all events1 whether noble or        
physician1 he was a rich man1 and left  
his son a magnificent estate4 ,at the   
age of fourteen he first became         
enamoured of the science of alchymy1 and
 read the ,arabian authors in their own 
language4 ,he himself has left a most   
interesting record of his labours and   
wanderings1 from which the following    
particulars are chiefly extracted3--,the

 first book which fell into his hands1  
was that of the ,arabian philosopher1   
,rhazes1 from the reading of which he   
imagined that he had discovered the     
means of augmenting gold a hundred fold4
 ,for four years he worked in his       
laboratory1 with the book of ,rhazes    
continually before him4 ,at the end of  
that time1 he found that he had spent no
 less than eight hundred crowns upon his
 experiment1 and had got nothing but    
fire and smoke for his pains4 ,he now   
began to lose confidence in ,rhazes1 and
 turned to the works of ,geber4 ,he     
studied him assiduously for two years2  
and1 being young1 rich1 and credulous1  
was beset by all the chymists of the    
town1 who kindly assisted him in        
spending his money4 ,he did not lose his
 faith in ,geber1 or patience with his  
hungry assistants1 until he had lost two
 thousand crowns--a very considerable   
sum in those days4  ,among all the crowd
 of pretended men of science who        
surrounded him1 there was but one as    

enthusiastic and as disinterested as    
himself4 ,with this man1 who was a monk 
of the order of ,st4 ,francis1 he       
contracted an intimate friendship1 and  
spent nearly all his time4 ,some obscure
 treatises of ,rupecissa and ,sacrobosco
 having fallen into their hands1 they   
were persuaded1 from reading them1 that 
highly rectified spirits of wine was the
 universal alkahest1 or dissolvent1     
which would aid them greatly in the     
process of transmutation4 ,they         
rectified the alcohol thirty times1 till
 they made it so strong as to burst the 
vessels which contained it4 ,after they 
had worked three years1 and spent three 
hundred crowns in the liquor1 they      
discovered that they were on the wrong  
track4 ,they next tried alum and        
copperas2 but the great secret still    
escaped them4 ,they afterwards imagined 
that there was a marvellous virtue in   
all excrement1 especially the human1 and
 actually employed more than two years  
in experimentalizing upon it1 with      

mercury1 salt1 and molten lead6 ,again  
the adepts flocked around him from far  
and near1 to aid him with their         
counsels4 ,he received them all         
hospitably1 and divided his wealth among
 them so generously and unhesitatingly1 
that they gave him the name of the good 
,trevisan1 by which he is still often   
mentioned in works that treat on        
alchymy4 ,for twelve years he led this  
life1 making experiments every day upon 
some new substance1 and praying to ,god 
night and morning that he might discover
 the secret of transmutation4  ,in this 
interval he lost his friend the monk1   
and was joined by a magistrate of the   
city of ,treves1 as ardent as himself in
 the search4 ,his new acquaintance      
imagined that the ocean was the mother  
of gold1 and that sea-salt would change 
lead or iron into the precious metals4  
,bernard resolved to try2 and1          
transporting his laboratory to a house  
on the coast of the ,baltic1 he worked  
upon salt for more than a year1 melting 

it1 sublimating it1 crystalizing it1 and
 occasionally drinking it1 for the sake 
of other experiments4 ,still the strange
 enthusiast was not wholly discouraged1 
and his failure in one trial only made  
him the more anxious to attempt another4
  ,he was now approaching the age of    
fifty1 and had as yet seen nothing of   
the world4 ,he1 therefore1 determined to
 travel through ,germany1 ,italy1       
,france1 and ,spain4 ,wherever he       
stopped he made inquiries whether there 
were any alchymists in the              
neighbourhood4 ,he invariably sought    
them out2 and1 if they were poor1       
relieved1 and1 if affluent1 encouraged  
them4 ,at ,citeaux he became acquainted 
with one ,geoffrey ,leuvier1 a monk of  
that place1 who persuaded him that the  
essence of egg-shells was a valuable    
ingredient4 ,he tried1 therefore1 what  
could be done2 and was only prevented   
from wasting a year or two on the       
experiment by the opinions of an        
attorney1 at ,berghem1 in ,flanders1 who

 said that the great secret resided in  
vinegar and copperas4 ,he was not       
convinced of the absurdity of this idea 
until he had nearly poisoned himself4   
,he resided in ,france for about five   
years1 when1 hearing accidentally that  
one ,master ,henry1 confessor to the    
,emperor ,frederic ,,iii1 had discovered
 the philosopher's stone1 he set out for
 ,germany to pay him a visit4 ,he had1  
as usual1 surrounded himself with a set 
of hungry dependants1 several of whom   
determined to accompany him4 ,he had not
 heart to refuse them1 and he arrived at
 ,vienna with five of them4 ,bernard    
sent a polite invitation to the         
confessor1 and gave him a sumptuous     
entertainment1 at which were present    
nearly all the alchymists of ,vienna4   
,master ,henry frankly confessed that he
 had not discovered the philosopher's   
stone1 but that he had all his life been
 employed in searching for it1 and would
 so continue1 till he found it2--or     
died4 ,this was a man after ,bernard's  

own heart1 and they vowed with each     
other an eternal friendship4 ,it was    
resolved1 at supper1 that each alchymist
 present should contribute a certain sum
 towards raising forty-two marks of     
gold1 which1 in five days1 it was       
confidently asserted by ,master ,henry1 
would increase1 in his furnace1 five    
fold4 ,bernard1 being the richest man1  
contributed the lion's share1 ten marks 
of gold1 ,master ,henry five1 and the   
others one or two a piece1 except the   
dependants of ,bernard1 who were obliged
 to borrow their quota from their       
patron4 ,the grand experiment was duly  
made2 the golden marks were put into a  
crucible1 with a quantity of salt1      
copperas1 aquafortis1 egg-shells1       
mercury1 lead1 and dung4 ,the alchymists
 watched this precious mess with intense
 interest1 expecting that it would      
agglomerate into one lump of pure gold4 
,at the end of three weeks they gave up 
the trial1 upon some excuse that the    
crucible was not strong enough1 or that 

some necessary ingredient was wanting4  
,whether any thief had put his hands    
into the crucible is not known1 but it  
is certain that the gold found therein  
at the close of the experiment was worth
 only sixteen marks1 instead of the     
forty-two1 which were put there at the  
beginning4  ,bernard1 though he made no 
gold at ,vienna1 made away with a very  
considerable quantity4 ,he felt the loss
 so acutely1 that he vowed to think no  
more of the philosopher's stone4 ,this  
wise resolution he kept for two months2 
but he was miserable4 ,he was in the    
condition of the gambler1 who cannot    
resist the fascination of the game while
 he has a coin remaining1 but plays on  
with the hope of retrieving former      
losses1 till hope forsakes him1 and he  
can live no longer4 ,he returned once   
more to his beloved crucibles1 and      
resolved to prosecute his journey in    
search of a philosopher who had         
discovered the secret1 and would        
communicate it to so zealous and        

persevering an adept as himself4 ,from  
,vienna he travelled to ,rome1 and from 
,rome to ,madrid4 ,taking ship at       
,gibraltar1 he proceeded to ,messina2   
from ,messina to ,cyprus2 from ,cyprus  
to ,greece2 from ,greece to             
,constantinople2 and thence into ,egypt1
 ,palestine1 and ,persia4 ,these        
wanderings occupied him about eight     
years4 ,from ,persia he made his way    
back to ,messina1 and from thence into  
,france4 ,he afterwards passed over into
 ,england1 still in search of his great 
chimera2 and this occupied four years   
more of his life4 ,he was now growing   
both old and poor2 for he was sixty-two 
years of age1 and had been obliged to   
sell a great portion of his patrimony to
 provide for his expenses4 ,his journey 
to ,persia had cost upwards of thirteen 
thousand crowns1 about one-half of which
 had been fairly melted in his          
all-devouring furnaces3 the other half  
was lavished upon the sycophants that he
 made it his business to search out in  

every town he stopped at4  ,on his      
return to ,treves he found1 to his      
sorrow1 that1 if not an actual beggar1  
he was not much better4 ,his relatives  
looked upon him as a madman1 and refused
 even to see him4 ,too proud to ask for 
favours from any one1 and still         
confident that1 some day or other1 he   
would be the possessor of unbounded     
wealth1 he made up his mind to retire to
 the island of ,rhodes1 where he might1 
in the mean time1 hide his poverty from 
the eyes of all the world4 ,here he     
might have lived unknown and happy2 but1
 as ill luck would have it1 he fell in  
with a monk as mad as himself upon the  
subject of transmutation4 ,they were1   
however1 both so poor that they could   
not afford to buy the proper materials  
to work with4 ,they kept up each other's
 spirits by learned discourses on the   
,hermetic ,philosophy1 and in the       
reading of all the great authors who had
 written upon the subject4 ,thus did    
they nurse their folly1 as the good wife

 of ,tam ,o',shanter did her wrath1 to  
keep it warm4 ,after ,bernard had       
resided about a year in ,rhodes1 a      
merchant1 who knew his family1 advanced 
him the sum of eight thousand florins1  
upon the security of the last-remaining 
acres of his formerly large estate4     
,once more provided with funds1 he      
recommenced his labours with all the    
zeal and enthusiasm of a young man4 ,for
 three years he hardly stepped out of   
his laboratory3 he ate there1 and slept 
there1 and did not even give himself    
time to wash his hands and clean his    
beard1 so intense was his application4  
,it is melancholy to think that such    
wonderful perseverance should have been 
wasted in so vain a pursuit1 and that   
energies so unconquerable should have   
had no worthier field to strive in4     
,even when he had fumed away his last   
coin1 and had nothing left in           
prospective to keep his old age from    
starvation1 hope never forsook him4 ,he 
still dreamed of ultimate success1 and  

sat down a greyheaded man of eighty1 to 
read over all the authors on the        
hermetic mysteries1 from ,geber to his  
own day1 lest he should have            
misunderstood some process1 which it was
 not yet too late to recommence4 ,the   
alchymists say1 that he succeeded at    
last1 and discovered the secret of      
transmutation in his eighty-second year4
 ,they add1 that he lived three years   
afterwards to enjoy his wealth4 ,he     
lived1 it is true1 to this great age1   
and made a valuable discovery--more     
valuable than gold or gems4 ,he learned1
 as he himself informs us1 just before  
he had attained his eighty-third year1  
that the great secret of philosophy was 
contentment with our lot4 ,happy would  
it have been for him if he had          
discovered it sooner1 and before he     
became decrepit1 a beggar1 and an exile6
  ,he died at ,rhodes1 in the year      
#adij1 and all the alchymists of ,europe
 sang elegies over him1 and sounded his 
praise as the good ,trevisan4 ,he wrote 

several treatises upon his chimera1 the 
chief of which are1 the ,book of        
,chemistry1 the ,verbum dimissum1 and an
 essay ,de ,natura ,ovi4   ,,trithemius4
  ,the name of this eminent man has     
become famous in the annals of alchymy1 
although he did but little to gain so   
questionable an honour4 ,he was born in 
the year #adfb1 at the village of       
,trittheim1 in the electorate of        
,treves4 ,his father was ,john          
,heidenberg1 a vine-grower1 in easy     
circumstances1 who1 dying when his son  
was but seven years old1 left him to the
 care of his mother4 ,the latter married
 again very shortly afterwards1 and     
neglected the poor boy1 the offspring of
 her first marriage4 ,at the age of     
fifteen he did not even know his        
letters1 and was1 besides1 half starved1
 and otherwise ill-treated by his       
step-father2 but the love of knowledge  
germinated in the breast of the         
unfortunate youth1 and he learned to    
read at the house of a neighbour4 ,his  

father-in-law set him to work in the    
vineyards1 and thus occupied all his    
days2 but the nights were his own4 ,he  
often stole out unheeded1 when all the  
household were fast asleep1 poring over 
his studies in the fields1 by the light 
of the moon2 and thus taught himself    
,latin and the rudiments of ,greek4 ,he 
was subjected to so much ill-usage at   
home1 in consequence of this love of    
study1 that he determined to leave it4  
,demanding the patrimony which his      
father had left him1 he proceeded to    
,treves2 and1 assuming the name of      
,trithemius1 from that of his native    
village of ,trittheim1 lived there for  
some months1 under the tuition of       
eminent masters1 by whom he was prepared
 for the university4 ,at the age of     
twenty1 he took it into his head that he
 should like to see his mother once     
more2 and he set out on foot from the   
distant university for that purpose4 ,on
 his arrival near ,spannheim1 late in   
the evening of a gloomy winter's day1 it

 came on to snow so thickly1 that he    
could not proceed onwards to the town4  
,he1 therefore1 took refuge for the     
night in a neighbouring monastery2 but  
the storm continued several days1 the   
roads became impassable1 and the        
hospitable monks would not hear of his  
departure4 ,he was so pleased with them 
and their manner of life1 that he       
suddenly resolved to fix his abode among
 them1 and renounce the world4 ,they    
were no less pleased with him1 and      
gladly received him as a brother4 ,in   
the course of two years1 although still 
so young1 he was unanimously elected    
their ,abbot4 ,the financial affairs of 
the establishment had been greatly      
neglected1 the walls of the building    
were falling into ruin1 and everything  
was in disorder4 ,trithemius1 by his    
good management and regularity1         
introduced a reform in every branch of  
expenditure4 ,the monastery was         
repaired1 and a yearly surplus1 instead 
of a deficiency1 rewarded him for his   

pains4 ,he did not like to see the monks
 idle1 or occupied solely between       
prayers for their business1 and chess   
for their relaxation4 ,he1 therefore1   
set them to work to copy the writings of
 eminent authors4 ,they laboured so     
assiduously1 that1 in the course of a   
few years1 their library1 which had     
contained only about forty volumes1 was 
enriched with several hundred valuable  
manuscripts1 comprising many of the     
classical ,latin authors1 besides the   
works of the early fathers1 and the     
principal historians and philosophers of
 more modern date4 ,he retained the     
dignity of ,abbot of ,spannheim for     
twenty-one years1 when the monks1 tired 
of the severe discipline he maintained1 
revolted against him1 and chose another 
abbot in his place4 ,he was afterwards  
made ,abbot of ,st4 ,james1 in          
,wurtzburg1 where he died in #aeaf4     
,during his learned leisure at          
,spannheim1 he wrote several works upon 
the occult sciences1 the chief of which 

are an essay on geomancy1 or divination 
by means of lines and circles on the    
ground2 another upon sorcery2 a third   
upon alchymy2 and a fourth upon the     
government of the world by its presiding
 angels1 which was translated into      
,english1 and published by the famous   
,william ,lilly in #afdg4  ,it has been 
alleged by the believers in the         
possibility of transmutation1 that the  
prosperity of the abbey of ,spannheim1  
while under his superintendence1 was    
owing more to the philosopher's stone   
than to wise economy4 ,trithemius1 in   
common with many other learned men1 has 
been accused of magic2 and a marvellous 
story is told of his having raised from 
the grave the form of ,mary of          
,burgundy1 at the intercession of her   
widowed husband1 the ,emperor           
,maximilian4 ,his work on               
steganographia1 or cabalistic writing1  
was denounced to the ,count ,palatine1  
,frederic ,,ii1 as magical and devilish2
 and it was by him taken from the       

shelves of his library and thrown into  
the fire4 ,trithemius is said to be the 
first writer who makes mention of the   
wonderful story of the devil and ,dr4   
,faustus1 the truth of which he firmly  
believed4 ,he also recounts the freaks  
of a spirit1 named ,hudekin1 by whom he 
was at times tormented4 ,biographie     
,universelle   ,,the ,,marechal ,,de    
,,rays4  ,one of the greatest           
encouragers of alchymy in the fifteenth 
century was ,gilles de ,laval1 ,lord of 
,rays and a ,marshal of ,france4 ,his   
name and deeds are little known2 but in 
the annals of crime and folly1 they     
might claim the highest and worst       
pro-eminence4 ,fiction has never        
invented anything wilder or more        
horrible than his career2 and were not  
the details but too well authenticated  
by legal and other documents which admit
 no doubt1 the lover of romance might   
easily imagine they were drawn to please
 him from the stores of the prolific    
brain1 and not from the page of history4

  ,he was born about the year #adbj1 of 
one of the noblest families of          
,brittany4 ,his father dying when       
,gilles had attained his twentieth year1
 he came into uncontrolled possession1  
at that early age1 of a fortune which   
the monarchs of ,france might have      
envied him4 ,he was a near kinsman of   
the ,montmorencys1 the ,roncys1 and the 
,craons2 possessed fifteen princely     
domains1 and had an annual revenue of   
about three hundred thousand livres4    
,besides this1 he was handsome1 learned1
 and brave4 ,he distinguished himself   
greatly in the wars of ,charles ,,vii1  
and was rewarded by that monarch with   
the dignity of a marshal of ,france4    
,but he was extravagant and magnificent 
in his style of living1 and accustomed  
from his earliest years to the          
gratification of every wish and passion2
 and this1 at last1 led him from vice to
 vice1 and from crime to crime1 till a  
blacker name than his is not to be found
 in any record of human iniquity4  ,in  

his castle of ,champtoce1 he lived with 
all the splendour of an ,eastern        
,caliph4 ,he kept up a troop of two     
hundred horsemen to accompany him       
wherever he went2 and his excursions for
 the purposes of hawking and hunting    
were the wonder of all the country      
around1 so magnificent were the         
caparisons of his steeds and the dresses
 of his retainers4 ,day and night1 his  
castle was open all the year round to   
comers of every degree4 ,he made it a   
rule to regale even the poorest beggar  
with wine and hippocrass4 ,every day an 
ox was roasted whole in his spacious    
kitchens1 besides sheep1 pigs1 and      
poultry sufficient to feed five hundred 
persons4 ,he was equally magnificent in 
his devotions4 ,his private chapel at   
,champtoce was the most beautiful in    
,france1 and far surpassed any of those 
in the richly-endowed cathedrals of     
,notre ,dame in ,paris1 of ,amiens1 of  
,beauvais1 or of ,rouen4 ,it was hung   
with cloth of gold and rich velvet4 ,all

 the chandeliers were of pure gold1     
curiously inlaid with silver4 ,the great
 crucifix over the altar was of solid   
silver1 and the chalices and            
incense-burners were of pure gold4 ,he  
had1 besides1 a fine organ1 which he    
caused to be carried from one castle to 
another1 on the shoulders of six men1   
whenever he changed his residence4 ,he  
kept up a choir of twenty-five young    
children of both sexes1 who were        
instructed in singing by the first      
musicians of the day4 ,the master of his
 chapel he called a bishop1 who had     
under him his deans1 archdeacons1 and   
vicars1 each receiving great salaries2  
the bishop four hundred crowns a year1  
and the rest in proportion4  ,he also   
maintained a whole troop of players1    
including ten dancing-girls and as many 
ballad-singers1 besides morris-dancers1 
jugglers1 and mountebanks of every      
description4 ,the theatre on which they 
performed was fitted up without any     
regard to expense2 and they played      

mysteries1 or danced the morris-dance1  
every evening1 for the amusement of     
himself and household1 and such         
strangers as were sharing his prodigal  
hospitality4  ,at the age of            
twenty-three1 he married ,catherine1 the
 wealthy heiress of the house of        
,touars1 for whom he refurnished his    
castle at an expense of a hundred       
thousand crowns4 ,his marriage was the  
signal for new extravagance1 and he     
launched out more madly than ever he had
 done before2 sending for fine singers  
or celebrated dancers from foreign      
countries to amuse him and his spouse1  
and instituting tilts and tournaments in
 his great court-yard almost every week 
for all the knights and nobles of the   
province of ,brittany4 ,the ,duke of    
,brittany's court was not half so       
splendid as that of the ,marechal de    
,rays4 ,his utter disregard of wealth   
was so well known that he was made to   
pay three times its value for everything
 he purchased4 ,his castle was filled   

with needy parasites and panderers to   
his pleasures1 amongst whom he lavished 
rewards with an unsparing hand4 ,but the
 ordinary round of sensual gratification
 ceased at last to afford him delight3  
he was observed to be more abstemious in
 the pleasures of the table1 and to     
neglect the beauteous dancing-girls who 
used formerly to occupy so much of his  
attention4 ,he was sometimes gloomy and 
reserved2 and there was an unnatural    
wildness in his eye which gave          
indications of incipient madness4       
,still1 his discourse was as reasonable 
as ever2 his urbanity to the guests that
 flocked from far and near to ,champtoce
 suffered no diminution2 and learned    
priests1 when they conversed with him1  
thought to themselves that few of the   
nobles of ,france were so well-informed 
as ,gilles de ,laval4 ,but dark rumours 
spread gradually over the country2      
murder1 and1 if possible1 still more    
atrocious deeds were hinted at2 and it  
was remarked that many young children1  

of both sexes1 suddenly disappeared1 and
 were never afterwards heard of4 ,one or
 two had been traced to the castle of   
,champtoce1 and had never been seen to  
leave it2 but no one dared to accuse    
openly so powerful a man as the         
,marechal de ,rays4 ,whenever the       
subject of the lost children was        
mentioned in his presence1 he manifested
 the greatest astonishment at the       
mystery which involved their fate1 and  
indignation against those who might be  
guilty of kidnapping them4 ,still the   
world was not wholly deceived2 his name 
became as formidable to young children  
as that of the devouring ogre in fairy  
tales2 and they were taught to go miles 
round1 rather than pass under the       
turrets of ,champtoce4  ,in the course  
of a very few years1 the reckless       
extravagance of the ,marshal drained him
 of all his funds1 and he was obliged to
 put up some of his estates for sale4   
,the ,duke of ,brittany entered into a  
treaty with him for the valuable        

seignory of ,ingrande2 but the heirs of 
,gilles implored the interference of    
,charles ,,vii4 to stay the sale4       
,charles immediately issued an edict1   
which was confirmed by the ,provincial  
,parliament of ,brittany1 forbidding him
 to alienate his paternal estates4      
,gilles had no alternative but to       
submit4 ,he had nothing to support his  
extravagance but his allowance as a     
,marshal of ,france1 which did not cover
 the one-tenth of his expenses4 ,a man  
of his habits and character could not   
retrench his wasteful expenditure and   
live reasonably2 he could not dismiss   
without a pang his horsemen1 his        
jesters1 his morris-dancers1 his        
choristers1 and his parasites1 or       
confine his hospitality to those who    
really needed it4 ,notwithstanding his  
diminished resources1 he resolved to    
live as he had lived before1 and turn   
alchymist1 that he might make gold out  
of iron1 and be still the wealthiest and
 most magnificent among the nobles of   

,brittany4  ,in pursuance of this       
determination he sent to ,paris1 ,italy1
 ,germany1 and ,spain1 inviting all the 
adepts in the science to visit him at   
,champtoce4 ,the messengers he          
despatched on this mission were two of  
his most needy and unprincipled         
dependants1 ,gilles de ,sille and ,roger
 de ,bricqueville4 ,the latter1 the     
obsequious panderer to his most secret  
and abominable pleasures1 he had        
intrusted with the education of his     
motherless daughter1 a child but five   
years of age1 with permission1 that he  
might marry her at the proper time to   
any person he chose1 or to himself if he
 liked it better4 ,this man entered into
 the new plans of his master with great 
zeal1 and introduced to him one         
,prelati1 an alchymist of ,padua1 and a 
physician of ,poitou1 who was addicted  
to the same pursuits4 ,the ,marshal     
caused a splendid laboratory to be      
fitted up for them1 and the three       
commenced the search for the            

philosopher's stone4 ,they were soon    
afterwards joined by another pretended  
philosopher1 named ,anthony of ,palermo1
 who aided in their operations for      
upwards of a year4 ,they all fared      
sumptuously at the ,marshal's expense1  
draining him of the ready money he      
possessed1 and leading him on from day  
to day with the hope that they would    
succeed in the object of their search4  
,from time to time new aspirants from   
the remotest parts of ,europe arrived at
 his castle1 and for months he had      
upwards of twenty alchymists at         
work--trying to transmute copper into   
gold1 and wasting the gold1 which was   
still his own1 in drugs and elixirs4    
,but the ,lord of ,rays was not a man to
 abide patiently their lingering        
processes4 ,pleased with their          
comfortable quarters1 they jogged on    
from day to day1 and would have done so 
for years1 had they been permitted4 ,but
 he suddenly dismissed them all1 with   
the exception of the ,italian ,prelati1 

and the physician of ,poitou4 ,these he 
retained to aid him to discover the     
secret of the philosopher's stone by a  
bolder method4 ,the ,poitousan had      
persuaded him that the devil was the    
great depositary of that and all other  
secrets1 and that he would raise him    
before ,gilles1 who might enter into any
 contract he pleased with him4 ,gilles  
expressed his readiness1 and promised to
 give the devil anything but his soul1  
or do any deed that the arch-enemy might
 impose upon him4 ,attended solely by   
the physician1 he proceeded at midnight 
to a wild-looking place in a            
neighbouring forest2 the physician drew 
a magic circle around them on the sward1
 and muttered for half an hour an       
invocation to the ,evil ,spirit to arise
 at his bidding1 and disclose the       
secrets of alchymy4 ,gilles looked on   
with intense interest1 and expected     
every moment to see the earth open1 and 
deliver to his gaze the great enemy of  
mankind4 ,at last the eyes of the       

physician became fixed1 his hair stood  
on end1 and he spoke1 as if addressing  
the fiend4 ,but ,gilles saw nothing     
except his companion4 ,at last the      
physician fell down on the sward as if  
insensible4 ,gilles looked calmly on to 
see the end4 ,after a few minutes the   
physician arose1 and asked him if he had
 not seen how angry the devil looked8   
,gilles replied1 that he had seen       
nothing2 upon which his companion       
informed him that ,beelzebub had        
appeared in the form of a wild leopard1 
growled at him savagely1 and said       
nothing2 and that the reason why the    
,marshal had neither seen nor heard him1
 was that he hesitated in his own mind  
as to devoting himself entirely to the  
service4 ,de ,rays owned that he had    
indeed misgivings1 and inquired what was
 to be done to make the devil speak out1
 and unfold his secret8 ,the physician  
replied1 that some person must go to    
,spain and ,africa to collect certain   
herbs which only grew in those          

countries1 and offered to go himself1 if
 ,de ,rays would provide the necessary  
funds4 ,de ,rays at once consented2 and 
the physician set out on the following  
day with all the gold that his dupe     
could spare him4 ,the ,marshal never saw
 his face again4  ,but the eager ,lord  
of ,champtoce could not rest4 ,gold was 
necessary for his pleasures2 and unless1
 by supernatural aid1 he had no means of
 procuring many further supplies4 ,the  
physician was hardly twenty leagues on  
his journey1 before ,gilles resolved to 
make another effort to force the devil  
to divulge the art of gold making4 ,he  
went out alone for that purpose1 but all
 his conjurations were of no effect4    
,beelzebub was obstinate1 and would not 
appear4 ,determined to conquer him if he
 could1 he unbosomed himself to the     
,italian alchymist1 ,prelati4 ,the      
latter offered to undertake the         
business1 upon condition that ,de ,rays 
did not interfere in the conjurations1  
and consented besides to furnish him    

with all the charms and talismans that  
might be required4 ,he was further to   
open a vein in his arm1 and sign with   
his blood a contract that he would work 
the devil's will in all things1 and     
offer up to him a sacrifice of the      
heart1 lungs1 hands1 eyes1 and blood of 
a young child4 ,the grasping monomaniac 
made no hesitation2 but agreed at once  
to the disgusting terms proposed to him4
 ,on the following night1 ,prelati went 
out alone2 and after having been absent 
for three or four hours1 returned to    
,gilles1 who sat anxiously awaiting him4
 ,prelati then informed him that he had 
seen the devil in the shape of a        
handsome youth of twenty4 ,he further   
said1 that the devil desired to be      
called ,barron in all future            
invocations2 and had shown him a great  
number of ingots of pure gold1 buried   
under a large oak in the neighbouring   
forest1 all of which1 and as many more  
as he desired1 should become the        
property of the ,marechal de ,rays if he

 remained firm1 and broke no condition  
of the contract4 ,prelati further showed
 him a small casket of black dust1 which
 would turn iron into gold2 but as the  
process was very troublesome1 he advised
 that they should be contented with the 
ingots they found under the oak tree1   
and which would more than supply all the
 wants that the most extravagant        
imagination could desire4 ,they were    
not1 however1 to attempt to look for the
 gold till a period of seven times seven
 weeks1 or they would find nothing but  
slates and stones for their pains4      
,gilles expressed the utmost chagrin and
 disappointment1 and at once said that  
he could not wait for so long a period2 
if the devil were not more prompt1      
,prelati might tell him1 that the       
,marechal de ,rays was not to be trifled
 with1 and would decline all further    
communication with him4 ,prelati at last
 persuaded him to wait seven times seven
 days4 ,they then went at midnight with 
picks and shovels to dig up the ground  

under the oak1 where they found nothing 
to reward them but a great quantity of  
slates1 marked with hieroglyphics4 ,it  
was now ,prelati's turn to be angry2 and
 he loudly swore that the devil was     
nothing but a liar and a cheat4 ,the    
,marshal joined cordially in the        
opinion1 but was easily persuaded by the
 cunning ,italian to make one more      
trial4 ,he promised at the same time    
that he would endeavour1 on the         
following night1 to discover the reason 
why the devil had broken his word4 ,he  
went out alone accordingly1 and on his  
return informed his patron that he had  
seen ,barron1 who was exceedingly angry 
that they had not waited the proper time
 ere they looked for the ingots4 ,barron
 had also said1 that the ,marechal de   
,rays could hardly expect any favours   
from him1 at a time when he must know   
that he had been meditating a pilgrimage
 to the ,holy ,land1 to make atonement  
for his sins4 ,the ,italian had         
doubtless surmised this1 from some      

incautious expression of his patron1 for
 ,de ,rays frankly confessed that there 
were times when1 sick of the world and  
all its pomps and vanities1 he thought  
of devoting himself to the service of   
,god4  ,in this manner the ,italian     
lured on from month to month his        
credulous and guilty patron1 extracting 
from him all the valuables he possessed1
 and only waiting a favourable          
opportunity to decamp with his plunder4 
,but the day of retribution was at hand 
for both4 ,young girls and boys         
continued to disappear in the most      
mysterious manner2 and the rumours      
against the owner of ,champtoce grew so 
loud and distinct1 that the ,church was 
compelled to interfere4 ,representations
 were made by the ,bishop of ,nantes to 
the ,duke of ,brittany1 that it would be
 a public scandal if the accusations    
against the ,marechal de ,rays were not 
inquired into4 ,he was arrested         
accordingly in his own castle1 along    
with his accomplice ,prelati1 and thrown

 into a dungeon at ,nantes to await his 
trial4  ,the judges appointed to try him
 were the ,bishop of ,nantes ,chancellor
 of ,brittany1 the ,vicar of the        
,inquisition in ,france1 and the        
celebrated ,pierre l',hopital1 the      
,president of the ,provincial           
,parliament4 ,the offences laid to his  
charge were sorcery1 sodomy1 and murder4
 ,gilles1 on the first day of his trial1
 conducted himself with the utmost      
insolence4 ,he braved the judges on the 
judgment seat1 calling them simoniacs   
and persons of impure life1 and said he 
would rather be hanged by the neck like 
a dog without trial1 than plead either  
guilty or not guilty to such            
contemptible miscreants4 ,but his       
confidence forsook him as the trial     
proceeded1 and he was found guilty on   
the clearest evidence of all the crimes 
laid to his charge4 ,it was proved that 
he took insane pleasure in stabbing the 
victims of his lust1 and in observing   
the quivering of their flesh1 and the   

fading lustre of their eyes as they     
expired4 ,the confession of ,prelati    
first made the judges acquainted with   
this horrid madness1 and ,gilles himself
 confirmed it before his death4 ,nearly 
a hundred children of the villagers     
around his two castles of ,champtoce and
 ,machecoue1 had been missed within     
three years the greater part1 if not    
all1 of whom were immolated to the lust 
or the cupidity of this monster4 ,he    
imagined that he thus made the devil his
 friend1 and that his recompence would  
be the secret of the philosopher's      
stone4  ,gilles and ,prelati were both  
condemned to be burned alive4 ,at the   
place of execution they assumed the air 
of penitence and religion4 ,gilles      
tenderly embraced ,prelati1 saying1     
,farewell1 friend ,francis6 ,in this    
world we shall never meet again2 but let
 us place our hopes in ,god2 we shall   
see each other in ,paradise4 ,out of    
consideration for his high rank and     
connections1 the punishment of the      

,marshal was so far mitigated1 that he  
was not burned alive like ,prelati4 ,he 
was first strangled1 and then thrown    
into the flames3 his body1 when half    
consumed1 was given over to his         
relatives for interment2 while that of  
the ,italian was burned to ashes1 and   
then scattered in the winds4 ,for full  
details of this extraordinary trial1 see
 ,lobineau's ,nouvelle ,histoire de     
,bretagne2 and ,d',argentre's work on   
the same subject4   ,,jacques ,,coeur4  
,this remarkable pretender to the secret
 of the philosopher's stone1 was        
contemporary with the last mentioned4   
,he was a great personage at the court  
of ,charles ,,vii1 and in the events of 
his reign played a prominent part4 ,from
 a very humble origin he rose to the    
highest honours of the state1 and       
amassed enormous wealth1 by peculation  
and the plunder of the country which he 
should have served4 ,it was to hide his 
delinquencies in this respect1 and to   
divert attention from the real source of

 his riches1 that he boasted of having  
discovered the art of transmuting the   
inferior metals into gold and silver4   
,his father was a goldsmith in the city 
of ,bourges2 but so reduced in          
circumstances towards the latter years  
of his life1 that he was unable to pay  
the necessary fees to procure his son's 
admission into the guild4 ,young        
,jacques became1 however1 a workman in  
the ,royal ,mint of ,bourges1 in #adbh1 
and behaved himself so well1 and showed 
so much knowledge of metallurgy1 that he
 attained rapid promotion in that       
establishment4 ,he had also the good    
fortune to make the acquaintance of the 
fair ,agnes ,sorel1 by whom he was      
patronized and much esteemed4 ,jacques  
had now three things in his             
favour--ability1 perseverance1 and the  
countenance of the ,king's mistress4    
,many a man succeeds with but one of    
these to help him forward3 and it would 
have been strange indeed1 if ,jacques   
,coeur1 who had them all1 should have   

languished in obscurity4 ,while still a 
young man he was made ,master of the    
,mint1 in which he had been a           
journeyman1 and installed at the same   
time into the vacant office of ,grand   
,treasurer of the royal household4  ,he 
possessed an extensive knowledge of     
finance1 and turned it wonderfully to   
his own advantage as soon as he became  
intrusted with extensive funds4 ,he     
speculated in articles of the first     
necessity1 and made himself very        
unpopular by buying up grain1 honey1    
wines1 and other produce1 till there was
 a scarcity1 when he sold it again at   
enormous profit4 ,strong in the royal   
favour1 he did not hesitate to oppress  
the poor by continual acts of           
forestalling and monopoly4 ,as there is 
no enemy so bitter as the estranged     
friend1 so of all the tyrants and       
tramplers upon the poor1 there is none  
so fierce and reckless as the upstart   
that sprang from their ranks4 ,the      
offensive pride of ,jacques ,coeur to   

his inferiors was the theme of indignant
 reproach in his own city1 and his      
cringing humility to those above him was
 as much an object of contempt to the   
aristocrats into whose society he thrust
 himself4 ,but ,jacques did not care for
 the former1 and to the latter he was   
blind4 ,he continued his career till he 
became the richest man in ,france1 and  
so useful to the ,king that no important
 enterprise was set on foot until he had
 been consulted4 ,he was sent in #addf  
on an embassy to ,genoa1 and in the     
following year to ,pope ,nicholas ,v4   
,in both these missions he acquitted    
himself to the satisfaction of his      
sovereign1 and was rewarded with a      
lucrative appointment1 in addition to   
those which he already held4  ,in the   
year #addi1 the ,english in ,normandy1  
deprived of their great general1 the    
,duke of ,bedford1 broke the truce with 
the ,french ,king1 and took possession  
of a small town belonging to the ,duke  
of ,brittany4 ,this was the signal for  

the recommencemerit of a war1 in which  
the ,french regained possession of      
nearly the whole province4 ,the money   
for this war was advanced1 for the most 
part1 by ,jacques ,coeur4 ,when ,rouen  
yielded to the ,french1 and ,charles    
made his triumphal entry into that city1
 accompanied by ,dunois and his most    
famous generals1 ,jacques was among the 
most brilliant of his cortege4 ,his     
chariot and horses vied with those of   
the ,king in the magnificence of their  
trappings2 and his enemies said of him  
that he publicly boasted that he alone  
had driven out the ,english1 and that   
the valour of the troops would would    
have been nothing without his gold4     
,dunois appears1 also1 to have been     
partly of the same opinion4 ,without    
disparaging the courage of the army1 he 
acknowledged the utility of the able    
financier1 by whose means they had been 
fed and paid1 and constantly afforded   
him his powerful protection4  ,when     
peace returned1 ,jacques again devoted  

himself to commerce1 and fitted up      
several galleys to trade with the       
,genoese4 ,he also bought large estates 
in various parts of ,france2 the chief  
of which were the baronies of ,st4      
,fargeau1 ,meneton1 ,salone1            
,maubranche1 ,meaune1 ,st4 ,gerant de   
,vaux1 and ,st4 ,aon de ,boissy2 the    
earldoms or counties of ,la ,palisse1   
,champignelle1 ,beaumont1 and           
,villeneuve la ,genet1 and the          
marquisate of ,toucy4 ,he also procured 
for his son1 ,jean ,coeur1 who had      
chosen the ,church for his profession1 a
 post no less distinguished than that of
 ,archbishop of ,bourges4  ,everybody   
said that so much wealth could not have 
been honestly acquired2 and both rich   
and poor longed for the day that should 
humble the pride of the man1 whom the   
one class regarded as an upstart and the
 other as an oppressor4 ,jacques was    
somewhat alarmed at the rumours that    
were afloat respecting him1 and of dark 
hints that he had debased the coin of   

the realm and forged the ,king's seal to
 an important document1 by which he had 
defrauded the state of very considerable
 sums4 ,to silence these rumours1 he    
invited many alchymists from foreign    
countries to reside with him1 and       
circulated a counter-rumour1 that he had
 discovered the secret of the           
philosopher's stone4 ,he also built a   
magnificent house in his native city1   
over the entrance of which he caused to 
be sculptured the emblems of that       
science4 ,some time afterwards1 he built
 another1 no less splendid1 at          
,montpellier1 which he inscribed in a   
similar manner4 ,he also wrote a        
treatise upon the hermetic philosophy1  
in which he pretended that he knew the  
secret of transmuting metals4  ,but all 
these attempts to disguise his numerous 
acts of peculation proved unavailing2   
and he was arrested in #adeb1 and       
brought to trial on several charges4    
,upon one only1 which the malice of his 
enemies invented to ruin him1 was he    

acquitted2 which was1 that he had been  
accessory to the death1 by poison1 of   
his kind patroness1 ,agnes ,sorel4 ,upon
 the others1 he was found guilty2 and   
sentenced to be banished the kingdom1   
and to pay the enormous fine of four    
hundred thousand crowns4 ,it was proved 
that he had forged the ,king's seal2    
that1 in his capacity of ,master of the 
,mint of ,bourges1 he had debased1 to a 
very great extent1 the gold and silver  
coin of the realm2 and that he had not  
hesitated to supply the ,turks with arms
 and money to enable them to carry on   
war against their ,christian neighbours1
 for which service he had received the  
most munificent recompences4 ,charles   
,,vii4 was deeply grieved at his        
condemnation1 and believed to the last  
that he was innocent4 ,by his means the 
fine was reduced within a sum which     
,jacques ,coeur could pay4 ,after       
remaining for some time in prison1 he   
was liberated1 and left ,france with a  
large sum of money1 part of which1 it   

was alleged1 was secretly paid him by   
,charles out of the produce of his      
confiscated estates4 ,he retired to     
,cyprus1 where he died about #adfj1 the 
richest and most conspicuous personage  
of the island4  ,the writers upon       
alchymy all claim ,jacques ,coeur as a  
member of their fraternity1 and treat as
 false and libellous the more rational  
explanation of his wealth which the     
records of his trial afford4 ,pierre    
,borel1 in his ,antiquites ,gauloises1  
maintains the opinion that ,jacques was 
an honest man1 and that he made his gold
 out of lead and copper by means of the 
philosopher's stone4 ,the alchymic      
adepts in general were of the same      
opinion2 but they found it difficult to 
persuade even his contemporaries of the 
fact4 ,posterity is still less likely to
 believe it4   ,,inferior ,,adepts ,,of 
,,the ,,fourteenth ,,and ,,fifteenth    
,,centuries4  ,many other pretenders to 
the secrets of the philosopher's stone  
appeared in every country in ,europe1   

during the fourteenth and fifteenth     
centuries4 ,the possibility of          
transmutation was so generally admitted1
 that every chemist was more or less an 
alchymist4 ,germany1 ,holland1 ,italy1  
,spain1 ,poland1 ,france1 and ,england  
produced thousands of obscure adepts1   
who supported themselves1 in the pursuit
 of their chimera1 by the more          
profitable resources of astrology and   
divination4 ,the monarchs of ,europe    
were no less persuaded than their       
subjects of the possibility of          
discovering the philosopher's stone4    
,henry ,,vi4 and ,edward ,,iv4 of       
,england encouraged alchymy4 ,in        
,germany1 the ,emperors ,maximilian1    
,rodolph1 and ,frederic ,,ii4 devoted   
much of their attention to it2 and every
 inferior potentate within their        
dominions imitated their example4 ,it   
was a common practice in ,germany1 among
 the nobles and petty sovereigns1 to    
invite an alchymist to take up his      
residence among them1 that they might   

confine him in a dungeon till he made   
gold enough to pay millions for his     
ransom4 ,many poor wretches suffered    
perpetual imprisonment in consequence4  
,a similar fate appears to have been    
intended by ,edward ,,ii4 for ,raymond  
,lulli1 who1 upon the pretence that he  
was thereby honoured1 was accommodated  
with apartments in the ,tower of        
,london4 ,he found out in time the trick
 that was about to be played him1 and   
managed to make his escape1 some of his 
biographers say1 by jumping into the    
,thames1 and swimming to a vessel that  
lay waiting to receive him4 ,in the     
sixteenth century1 the same system was  
pursued1 as will be shown more fully in 
the life of ,seton the ,cosmopolite1 in 
the succeeding chapter4  ,the following 
is a catalogue of the chief authors upon
 alchymy1 who flourished during this    
epoch1 and whose lives and adventures   
are either unknown or are unworthy of   
more detailed notice4 ,john ,dowston1 an
 ,englishman1 lived in #acae1 and wrote 

two treatises on the philosopher's      
stone4 ,richard1 or1 as some call him1  
,robert1 also an ,englishman1 lived in  
#accj1 and wrote a work entitled        
,correctorium ,alchymiae1 which was much
 esteemed till the time of ,paracelsus4 
,in the same year lived ,peter of       
,lombardy1 who wrote what he called a   
,complete ,treatise upon the ,hermetic  
,science1 an abridgement of which was   
afterwards published by ,lacini1 a monk 
of ,calabria4 ,in #accj the most famous 
alchymist of ,paris was one ,odomare1   
whose work ,de ,practica ,magistri was1 
for a long time1 a hand-book among the  
brethren of the science4 ,john de       
,rupecissa1 a ,french monk of the order 
of ,st4 ,francis1 flourished in #aceg1  
and pretended to be a prophet as well as
 an alchymist4 ,some of his prophecies  
were so disagreeable to ,pope ,innocent 
,,vi1 that the ,pontiff determined to   
put a stop to them1 by locking up the   
prophet in the dungeons of the ,vatican4
 ,it is generally believed that he died 

there1 though there is no evidence of   
the fact4 ,his chief works are the ,book
 of ,light1 the ,five ,essences1 the    
,heaven of ,philosophers1 and his grand 
work ,de ,confectione ,lapidis4 ,he was 
not thought a shining light among the   
adepts4 ,ortholani was another          
pretender1 of whom nothing is known1 but
 that he exercised the arts of alchymy  
and astrology at ,paris1 shortly before 
the time of ,nicholas ,flamel4 ,his work
 on the practice of alchymy was written 
in that city in #aceh4 ,isaac of        
,holland wrote1 it is supposed1 about   
this time2 and his son also devoted     
himself to the science4 ,nothing worth  
repeating is known of their lives4      
,boerhaave speaks with commendation of  
many passages in their works1 and       
,paracelsus esteemed them highly3 the   
chief are ,de ,triplici ,ordine         
,elixiris et ,lapidis ,theoria1 printed 
at ,berne in #afjh2 and ,mineralia      
,opera1 seu de ,lapide ,philosophico1   
printed at ,middleburg in #afjj4 ,they  

also wrote eight other works upon the   
same subject4 ,koffstky1 a ,pole1 wrote 
an alchymical treatise1 entitled ,the   
,tincture of ,minerals1 about the year  
#adhh4 ,in this list of authors a royal 
name must not be forgotten4 ,charles    
,,vi4 of ,france1 one of the most       
credulous princes of the day1 whose     
court absolutely swarmed with           
alchymists1 conjurers1 astrologers1 and 
quacks of every description1 made       
several attempts to discover the        
philosopher's stone1 and thought he knew
 so much about it1 that he determined to
 enlighten the world with a treatise4   
,it is called the ,royal ,work of       
,charles ,,vi4 of ,france1 and the      
,treasure of ,philosophy4 ,it is said to
 be the original from which ,nicholas   
,flamel took the idea of his ,desir     
,desire4 ,lenglet du ,fresnoy says it is
 very allegorical1 and utterly          
incomprehensible4 ,for a more complete  
list of the hermetic philosophers of the
 fourteenth and fifteenth centuries1 the

 reader is referred to the third volume 
of ,lenglet's ,history already quoted4  
,,part ,,ii4--,,progress ,,of ,,the     
,,infatuation ,,during ,,the ,,sixteenth
 ,,and ,,seventeenth ,,centuries4       
,,augurello4--,,cornelius               
,,agrippa4--,,paracelsus4--,,george     
,,agricola4--,,denys ,,zachaire4--,,dr4 
,,dee ,,and ,,edward ,,kelly4--,,the    
,,cosmopolite4--,,sendivogius4--,,the   
,,rosicrucians4--,,michael              
,,mayer4--,,robert ,,fludd4--,,jacob    
,,bohmen4--,,john ,,heydn4--,,joseph    
,,francis ,,borri4--,,alchymical        
,,writers ,,of ,,the ,,seventeenth      
,,century4--,,de ,,lisle4--,,albert     
,,aluys4--,,count ,,de ,,st4            
,,germains4--,,cagliostro4--,,present   
,,state ,,of ,,the ,,science4  ,during  
the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries1
 the search for the philosopher's stone 
was continued by thousands of the       
enthusiastic and the credulous2 but a   
great change was introduced during this 
period4 ,the eminent men who devoted    

themselves to the study1 totally changed
 its aspect1 and referred to the        
possession of their wondrous stone and  
elixir1 not only the conversion of the  
base into the precious metals1 but the  
solution of all the difficulties of     
other sciences4 ,they pretended that by 
its means man would be brought into     
closer communion with his ,maker2 that  
disease and sorrow would be banished    
from the world2 and that the millions of
 spiritual beings who walk the earth    
unseen would be rendered visible1 and   
become the friends1 companions1 and     
instructors of mankind4 ,in the         
seventeenth century more especially1    
these poetical and fantastic doctrines  
excited the notice of ,europe2 and from 
,germany1 where they had been first     
disseminated by ,rosencreutz1 spread    
into ,france and ,england1 and ran away 
with the sound judgment of many clever1 
but too enthusiastic1 searchers for the 
truth4 ,paracelsus1 ,dee1 and many      
others of less note1 were captivated by 

the grace and beauty of the new         
mythology1 which was arising to adorn   
the literature of ,europe4 ,most of the 
alchymists of the sixteenth century1    
although ignorant of the ,rosicrucians  
as a sect1 were1 in some degree1        
tinctured with their fanciful tenets3   
but before we speak more fully of these 
poetical visionaries1 it will be        
necessary to resume the history of the  
hermetic folly where we left off in the 
former chapter1 and trace the gradual   
change that stole over the dreams of the
 adepts4 ,it will be seen that the      
infatuation increased rather than       
diminished as the world grew older4     
,,augurello4  ,among the alchymists who 
were born in the fifteenth1 and         
distinguished themselves in the         
sixteenth century1 the first1 in point  
of date1 is ,john ,aurelio ,augurello4  
,he was born at ,rimini in #adda1 and   
became ,professor of the belles lettres 
at ,venice and ,trevisa4 ,he was early  
convinced of the truth of the hermetic  

science1 and used to pray to ,god that  
he might be happy enough to discover the
 philosopher's stone4 ,he was           
continually surrounded by the           
paraphernalia of chemistry1 and expended
 all his wealth in the purchase of drugs
 and metals4 ,he was also a poet1 but of
 less merit than pretensions4 ,his      
,chrysopeia1 in which lie pretended to  
teach the art of making gold1 he        
dedicated to ,pope ,leo ,x1 in the hope 
that the ,pontiff would reward him      
handsomely for the compliment2 but the  
,pope was too good a judge of poetry to 
be pleased with the worse than          
mediocrity of his poem1 and too good a  
philosopher to approve of the strange   
doctrines which it inculcated3 he was1  
therefore1 far from gratified at the    
dedication4 ,it is said1 that when      
,augurello applied to him for a reward1 
the ,pope1 with great ceremony and much 
apparent kindness and cordiality1 drew  
an empty purse from his pocket1 and     
presented it to the alchymist1 saying1  

that since he was able to make gold1 the
 most appropriate present that could be 
made him1 was a purse to put it in4     
,this scurvy reward was all that the    
poor alchymist ever got either for his  
poetry or his alchymy4 ,he died in a    
state of extreme poverty1 in the        
eighty-third year of his age4           
,,cornelius ,,agrippa4  ,this alchymist 
has left a more distinguished           
reputation4 ,the most extraordinary     
tales were told and believed of his     
powers4 ,he could turn iron into gold by
 his mere word4 ,all the spirits of the 
air1 and demons of the earth1 were under
 his command1 and bound to obey him in  
everything4 ,he could raise from the    
dead the forms of the great men of other
 days1 and make them appear in their    
habit as they lived1 to the gaze of the 
curious who had courage enough to abide 
their presence4  ,he was born at        
,cologne in #adhf1 and began1 at an     
early age1 the study of chemistry and   
philosophy4 ,by some means or other     

which have never been very clearly      
explained1 he managed to impress his    
contemporaries with a great idea of his 
wonderful attainments4 ,at the early age
 of twenty1 so great was his reputation 
as an alchymist1 that the principal     
adepts of ,paris wrote to ,cologne1     
inviting him to settle in ,france1 and  
aid them with his experience in         
discovering the philosopher's stone4    
,honours poured upon him in thick       
succession2 and he was highly esteemed  
by all the learned men of his time4     
,melancthon speaks of him with respect  
and commendation4 ,erasmus also bears   
testimony in his favour2 and the general
 voice of his age proclaimed him a light
 of literature and an ornament to       
philosophy4 ,some men1 by dint of       
excessive egotism1 manage to persuade   
their contemporaries that they are very 
great men indeed3 they publish their    
acquirements so loudly in people's ears1
 and keep up their own praises so       
incessantly1 that the world's applause  

is actually taken by storm4 ,such seems 
to have been the case with ,agrippa4 ,he
 called himself a sublime theologian1 an
 excellent jurisconsult1 an able        
physician1 a great philosopher1 and a   
successful alchymist4 ,the world1 at    
last1 took him at his word2 and thought 
that a man who talked so big1 must have 
some merit to recommend him--that it    
was1 indeed1 a great trumpet which      
sounded so obstreperous a blast4 ,he was
 made secretary to the ,emperor         
,maximilian1 who conferred upon him the 
title of ,chevalier1 and gave him the   
honorary command of a regiment4 ,he     
afterwards became ,professor of ,hebrew 
and the belles lettres1 at the          
,university of ,dole1 in ,france2 but   
quarrelling with the ,franciscan monks  
upon some knotty point of divinity1 he  
was obliged to quit the town4 ,he took  
refuge in ,london1 where he taught      
,hebrew and cast nativities1 for about a
 year4 ,from ,london he proceeded to    
,pavia1 and gave lectures upon the      

writings1 real or supposed1 of ,hermes  
,trismegistus2 and might have lived     
there in peace and honour1 had he not   
again quarrelled with the clergy4 ,by   
their means his position became so      
disagreeable1 that he was glad to accept
 an offer made him by the magistracy of 
,metz1 to become their ,syndic and      
,advocate-,general4 ,here1 again1 his   
love of disputation made him enemies3   
the theological wiseacres of that city  
asserted1 that ,st4 ,anne had three     
husbands1 in which opinion they were    
confirmed by the popular belief of the  
day4 ,agrippa needlessly ran foul of    
this opinion1 or prejudice as he called 
it1 and thereby lost much of his        
influence4 ,another dispute1 more       
creditable to his character1 occurred   
soon after1 and sank him for ever in the
 estimation of the ,metzians4 ,humanely 
taking the part of a young girl who was 
accused of witchcraft1 his enemies      
asserted1 that he was himself a         
sorcerer1 and raised such a storm over  

his head1 that he was forced to fly the 
city4 ,after this1 he became physician  
to ,louisa de ,savoy1 mother of ,king   
,francis ,i4 ,this lady was curious to  
know the future1 and required her       
physician to cast her nativity4 ,agrippa
 replied1 that he would not encourage   
such idle curiosity4 ,the result was1 he
 lost her confidence1 and was forthwith 
dismissed4 ,if it had been through his  
belief in the worthlessness of          
astrology1 that he had made his answer1 
we might admire his honest and fearless 
independence2 but1 when it is known     
that1 at the very same time1 he was in  
the constant habit of divination and    
fortunetelling2 and that he was         
predicting splendid success1 in all his 
undertakings1 to the ,constable of      
,bourbon1 we can only wonder at his thus
 estranging a powerful friend through   
mere petulance and perversity4  ,he was1
 about this time1 invited both by ,henry
 ,,viii4 of ,england1 and ,margaret of  
,austria1 ,governess of the ,low        

,countries1 to fix his residence in     
their dominions4 ,he chose the service  
of the latter1 by whose influence he was
 made historiographer to the ,emperor   
,charles ,v4 ,unfortunately for         
,agrippa1 he never had stability enough 
to remain long in one position1 and     
offended his patrons by his restlessness
 and presumption4 ,after the death of   
,margaret1 he was imprisoned at         
,brussels1 on a charge of sorcery4 ,he  
was released after a year2 and1 quitting
 the country1 experienced many          
vicissitudes4 ,he died in great poverty 
in #aecd1 aged forty-eight years4       
,while in the service of ,margaret of   
,austria1 he resided principally at     
,louvain1 in which city he wrote his    
famous work on the ,vanity and          
,nothingness of human ,knowledge4 ,he   
also wrote1 to please his ,royal        
,mistress1 a treatise upon the          
,superiority of the ,female ,sex1 which 
he dedicated to her1 in token of his    
gratitude for the favours she had heaped

 upon him4 ,the reputation he left      
behind him in these provinces was       
anything but favourable4 ,a great number
 of the marvellous tales that are told  
of him1 relate to this period of his    
life4 ,it was said1 that the gold which 
he paid to the traders with whom he     
dealt1 always looked remarkably bright1 
but invariably turned into pieces of    
slate and stone in the course of        
four-and-twenty hours4 ,of this spurious
 gold he was believed to have made large
 quantities by the aid of the devil1    
who1 it would appear from this1 had but 
a very superficial knowledge of alchymy1
 and much less than the ,marechal de    
,rays gave him credit for4 ,the ,jesuit 
,delrio1 in his book on ,magic and      
,sorcery1 relates a still more          
extraordinary story of him4 ,one day1   
,agrippa left his house1 at ,louvain2   
and1 intending to be absent for some    
time1 gave the key of his study to his  
wife1 with strict orders that no one    
should enter it during his absence4 ,the

 lady herself1 strange as it may appear1
 had no curiosity to pry into her       
husband's secrets1 and never once       
thought of entering the forbidden room3 
but a young student1 who had been       
accommodated with an attic in the       
philosopher's house1 burned with a      
fierce desire to examine the study2     
hoping1 perchance1 that he might purloin
 some book or implement which would     
instruct him in the art of transmuting  
metals4 ,the youth1 being handsome1     
eloquent1 and1 above all1 highly        
complimentary to the charms of the lady1
 she was persuaded1 without much        
difficulty1 to lend him the key1 but    
gave him strict orders not to remove    
anything4 ,the student promised implicit
 obedience1 and entered ,agrippa's      
study4 ,the first object that caught his
 attention1 was a large grimoire1 or    
book of spells1 which lay open on the   
philosopher's desk4 ,he sat himself down
 immediately1 and began to read4 ,at the
 first word he uttered1 he fancied he   

heard a knock at the door4 ,he listened2
 but all was silent4 ,thinking that his 
imagination had deceived him1 he read   
on1 when immediately a louder knock was 
heard1 which so terrified him1 that he  
started to his feet4 ,he tried to say1  
come in2 but his tongue refused its     
office1 and he could not articulate a   
sound4 ,he fixed his eyes upon the door1
 which1 slowly opening1 disclosed a     
stranger of majestic form1 but scowling 
features1 who demanded sternly1 why he  
was summoned8 ,i did not summon you1    
said the trembling student4 ,you did6   
said the stranger1 advancing1 angrily2  
and the demons are not to be invoked in 
vain4 ,the student could make no reply2 
and the demon1 enraged that one of the  
uninitiated should have summoned him out
 of mere presumption1 seized him by the 
throat and strangled him4 ,when ,agrippa
 returned1 a few days afterwards1 he    
found his house beset with devils4 ,some
 of them were sitting on the            
chimneypots1 kicking up their legs in   

the air2 while others were playing at   
leapfrog1 on the very edge of the       
parapet4 ,his study was so filled with  
them that he found it difficult to make 
his way to his desk4 ,when1 at last1 he 
had elbowed his way through them1 he    
found his book open1 and the student    
lying dead upon the floor4 ,he saw      
immediately how the mischief had been   
done2 and1 dismissing all the inferior  
imps1 asked the principal demon how he  
could have been so rash as to kill the  
young man4 ,the demon replied1 that he  
had been needlessly invoked by an       
insulting youth1 and could do no less   
than kill him for his presumption4      
,agrippa reprimanded him severely1 and  
ordered him immediately to reanimate the
 dead body1 and walk about with it in   
the market-place for the whole of the   
afternoon4 ,the demon did so3 the       
student revived2 and1 putting his arm   
through that of his unearthly murderer1 
walked very lovingly with him1 in sight 
of all the people4 ,at sunset1 the body 

fell down again1 cold and lifeless as   
before1 and was carried by the crowd to 
the hospital1 it being the general      
opinion that he had expired in a fit of 
apoplexy4 ,his conductor immediately    
disappeared4 ,when the body was         
examined1 marks of strangulation were   
found on the neck1 and prints of the    
long claws of the demon on various parts
 of it4 ,these appearances1 together    
with a story1 which soon obtained       
currency1 that the companion of the     
young man had vanished in a cloud of    
flame and smoke1 opened people's eyes to
 the truth4 ,the magistrates of ,louvain
 instituted inquiries2 and the result   
was1 that ,agrippa was obliged to quit  
the town4  ,other authors besides       
,delrio relate similar stories of this  
philosopher4 ,the world in those days   
was always willing enough to believe in 
tales of magic and sorcery2 and when1 as
 in ,agrippa's case1 the alleged        
magician gave himself out for such1 and 
claimed credit for the wonders he       

worked1 it is not surprising that the   
age should have allowed his pretensions4
 ,it was dangerous boasting1 which      
sometimes led to the stake or the       
gallows1 and therefore was thought to be
 not without foundation4 ,paulus        
,jovius1 in his ,eulogia ,doctorum      
,virorum1 says1 that the devil1 in the  
shape of a large black dog1 attended    
,agrippa wherever he went4 ,thomas      
,nash1 in his adventures of ,jack       
,wilton1 relates1 that at the request of
 ,lord ,surrey1 ,erasmus1 and some other
 learned men1 ,agrippa called up from   
the grave many of the great philosophers
 of antiquity2 among others1 ,tully1    
whom he caused to re-deliver his        
celebrated oration for ,roscius4 ,he    
also showed ,lord ,surrey1 when in      
,germany1 an exact resemblance in a     
glass of his mistress the fair          
,geraldine4 ,she was represented on her 
couch weeping for the absence of her    
lover4 ,lord ,surrey made a note of the 
exact time at which he saw this vision1 

and ascertained afterwards that his     
mistress was actually so employed at the
 very minute4 ,to ,thomas ,lord         
,cromwell1 ,agrippa represented ,king   
,henry ,,viii4 hunting in ,windsor      
,park1 with the principal lords of his  
court2 and to please the ,emperor       
,charles ,v4 he summoned ,king ,david   
and ,king ,solomon from the tomb4       
,naude1 in his ,apology for the ,great  
,men who have been falsely suspected of 
,magic1 takes a great deal of pains to  
clear ,agrippa from the imputations cast
 upon him by ,delrio1 ,paulus ,jovius1  
and other such ignorant and prejudiced  
scribblers4 ,such stories demanded      
refutation in the days of ,naude1 but   
they may now be safely left to decay in 
their own absurdity4 ,that they should  
have attached1 however1 to the memory of
 a man1 who claimed the power of making 
iron obey him when he told it to become 
gold1 and who wrote such a work as that 
upon magic1 which goes by his name1 is  
not at all surprising4  ,,paracelsus4   

,this philosopher1 called by ,naude1 the
 zenith and rising sun of all the       
alchymists1 was born at ,einsiedeln1    
near ,zurich1 in the year #adic4 ,his   
true name was ,hohenheim2 to which1 as  
he himself informs us1 were prefixed the
 baptismal names of ,aureolus           
,theophrastus ,bombastes ,paracelsus4   
,the last of these he chose for his     
common designation while he was yet a   
boy2 and rendered it1 before he died1   
one of the most famous in the annals of 
his time4 ,his father1 who was a        
physician1 educated his son for the same
 pursuit4 ,the latter was an apt        
scholar1 and made great progress4 ,by   
chance the work of ,isaac ,hollandus    
fell into his hands1 and from that time 
he became smitten with the mania of the 
philosopher's stone4 ,all his thoughts  
henceforth were devoted to metallurgy2  
and he travelled into ,sweden that he   
might visit the mines of that country1  
and examine the ores while they yet lay 
in the bowels of the earth4 ,he also    

visited ,trithemius at the monastery of 
,spannheim1 and obtained instructions   
from him in the science of alchymy4     
,continuing his travels1 he proceeded   
through ,prussia and ,austria into      
,turkey1 ,egypt1 and ,tatary1 and thence
 returning to ,constantinople1 learned1 
as he boasted1 the art of transmutation1
 and became possessed of the elixir     
vitae4 ,he then established himself as a
 physician in his native ,switzerland at
 ,zurich1 and commenced writing works   
upon alchymy and medicine1 which        
immediately fixed the attention of      
,europe4 ,their great obscurity was no  
impediment to their fame2 for the less  
the author was understood1 the more the 
demonologists1 fanatics1 and            
philosopher's-stone-hunters seemed to   
appreciate him4 ,his fame as a physician
 kept pace with that which he enjoyed as
 an alchymist1 owing to his having      
effected some happy cures by means of   
mercury and opium2 drugs unceremoniously
 condemned by his professional brethren4

 ,in the year #aebf1 he was chosen      
,professor of ,physics and ,natural     
,philosophy in the ,university of       
,basle1 where his lectures attracted    
vast numbers of students4 ,he denounced 
the writings of all former physicians as
 tending to mislead2 and publicly burned
 the works of ,galen and ,avicenna1 as  
quacks and impostors4 ,he exclaimed1 in 
presence of the admiring and            
half-bewildered crowd1 who assembled to 
witness the ceremony1 that there was    
more knowledge in his shoestrings than  
in the writings of these physicians4    
,continuing in the same strain1 he said 
all the universities in the world were  
full of ignorant quacks2 but that he1   
,paracelsus1 over flowed with wisdom4   
,you will all follow my new system1 said
 he1 with furious gesticulations1       
,avicenna1 ,galen1 ,rhazis1 ,montagnana1
 ,meme--you will all follow me1 ye      
professors of ,paris1 ,montpellier1     
,germany1 ,cologne1 and ,vienna6 and all
 ye that dwell on the ,rhine and the    

,danube--ye that inhabit the isles of   
the sea2 and ye also1 ,italians1        
,dalmatians1 ,athenians1 ,arabians1     
,jews--ye will all follow my doctrines1 
for ,i am the monarch of medicine6  ,but
 he did not long enjoy the esteem of the
 good citizens of ,basle4 ,it is said   
that he indulged in wine so freely1 as  
not unfrequently to be seen in the      
streets in a state of intoxication4     
,this was ruinous for a physician1 and  
his good fame decreased rapidly4 ,his   
ill fame increased in still greater     
proportion1 especially when he assumed  
the airs of a sorcerer4 ,he boasted of  
the legions of spirits at his command2  
and of one especially1 which he kept    
imprisoned in the hilt of his sword4    
,wetterus1 who lived twenty-seven months
 in his service1 relates that he often  
threatened to invoke a whole army of    
demons1 and show him the great authority
 which he could exercise over them4 ,he 
let it be believed1 that the spirit in  
his sword had custody of the elixir of  

life1 by means of which he could make   
any one live to be as old as the        
antediluvians4 ,he also boasted that he 
had a spirit at his command1 called     
,azoth1 whom he kept imprisoned in a    
jewel2 and in many of the old portraits 
he is represented with a jewel1         
inscribed with the word ,azoth1 in his  
hand4  ,if a sober prophet has little   
honour in his own country1 a drunken one
 has still less4 ,paracelsus found it at
 last convenient to quit ,basle1 and    
establish himself at ,strasbourg4 ,the  
immediate cause of this change of       
residence was as follows3--,a citizen   
lay at the point of death1 and was given
 over by all the physicians of the town4
 ,as a last resource ,paracelsus was    
called in1 to whom the sick man promised
 a magnificent recompence1 if by his    
means he were cured4 ,paracelsus gave   
him two small pills1 which the man took 
and rapidly recovered4 ,when he was     
quite well1 ,paracelsus sent for his    
fee2 but the citizen had no great       

opinion of the value of a cure which had
 been so speedily effected4 ,he had no  
notion of paying a handful of gold for  
two pills1 although they had saved his  
life1 and he refused to pay more than   
the usual fee for a single visit4       
,paracelsus brought an action against   
him1 and lost it4 ,this result so       
exasperated him1 that he left ,basle in 
high dudgeon4 ,he resumed his wandering 
life1 and travelled in ,germany and     
,hungary1 supporting himself as he went 
on the credulity and infatuation of all 
classes of society4 ,he cast            
nativities--told fortunes--aided those  
who had money to throw away upon the    
experiment1 to find the philosopher's   
stone--prescribed remedies for cows and 
pigs1 and aided in the recovery of      
stolen goods4 ,after residing           
successively at ,nuremburg1 ,augsburg1  
,vienna1 and ,mindelheim1 he retired in 
the year #aeda to ,saltzbourg1 and died 
in a state of abject poverty in the     
hospital of that town4  ,if this strange

 charlatan found hundreds of admirers   
during his life1 he found thousands     
after his death4 ,a sect of             
,paracelsists sprang up in ,france and  
,germany1 to perpetuate the extravagant 
doctrines of their founder upon all the 
sciences1 and upon alchymy in           
particular4 ,the chief leaders were     
,bodenstein and ,dorneus4 ,the following
 is a summary of his doctrine1 founded  
upon supposed existence of the          
philosopher's stone2 it is worth        
preserving from its very absurdity1 and 
altogether unparalleled in the history  
of philosophy3--  ,first of all1 he     
maintained that the contemplation of the
 perfection of the ,deity sufficed to   
procure all wisdom and knowledge2 that  
the ,bible was the key to the theory of 
all diseases1 and that it was necessary 
to search into the ,apocalypse to know  
the signification of magic medicine4    
,the man who blindly obeyed the will of 
,god1 and who succeeded in identifying  
himself with the celestial              

intelligences1 possessed the            
philosopher's stone--he could cure all  
diseases1 and prolong life to as many   
centuries as he pleased2 it being by the
 very same means that ,adam and the     
antediluvian patriarchs prolonged       
theirs4 ,life was an emanation from the 
stars--the sun governed the heart1 and  
the moon the brain4 ,jupiter governed   
the liver1 ,saturn the gall1 ,mercury   
the lungs1 ,mars the bile1 and ,venus   
the loins4 ,in the stomach of every     
human being there dwelt a demon1 or     
intelligence1 that was a sort of        
alchymist in his way1 and mixed1 in     
their due proportions1 in his crucible1 
the various aliments that were sent into
 that grand laboratory the belly4,see   
the article ,paracelsus1 by the learned 
,renaudin1 in the ,biographie           
,universelle4 ,he was proud of the title
 of magician1 and boasted that he kept  
up a regular correspondence with ,galen 
from hell2 and that he often summoned   
,avicenna from the same regions to      

dispute with him on the false notions he
 had promulgated respecting alchymy1 and
 especially regarding potable gold and  
the elixir of life4 ,he imagined that   
gold could cure ossification of the     
heart1 and1 in fact1 all diseases1 if it
 were gold which had been transmuted    
from an inferior metal by means of the  
philosopher's stone1 and if it were     
applied under certain conjunctions of   
the planets4 ,the mere list of the works
 in which he advances these frantic     
imaginings1 which he called a doctrine1 
would occupy several pages4  ,,george   
,,agricola4  ,this alchymist was born in
 the province of ,misnia1 in #adid4 ,his
 real name was ,bauer1 meaning a        
husbandman1 which1 in accordance with   
the common fashion of his age1 he       
,latinized into ,agricola4 ,from his    
early youth1 he delighted in the visions
 of the hermetic science4 ,ere he was   
sixteen1 he longed for the great elixir 
which was to make him live for seven    
hundred years1 and for the stone which  

was to procure him wealth to cheer him  
in his multiplicity of days4 ,he        
published a small treatise upon the     
subject at ,cologne1 in #aeca1 which    
obtained him the patronage of the       
celebrated ,maurice1 ,duke of ,saxony4  
,after practising for some years as a   
physician at ,joachimsthal1 in ,bohemia1
 he was employed by ,maurice as         
superintendent of the silver mines of   
,chemnitz4 ,he led a happy life among   
the miners1 making various experiments  
in alchymy while deep in the bowels of  
the earth4 ,he acquired a great         
knowledge of metals1 and gradually got  
rid of his extravagant notions about the
 philosopher's stone4 ,the miners had no
 faith in alchymy2 and they converted   
him to their way of thinking1 not only  
in that but in other respects4 ,from    
their legends1 he became firmly         
convinced that the bowels of the earth  
were inhabited by good and evil spirits1
 and that firedamp and other explosions 
sprang from no other causes than the    

mischievous propensities of the latter4 
,he died in the year #aeee1 leaving     
behind him the reputation of a very able
 and intelligent man4  ,,denis          
,,zachaire4  ,autobiography1 written by 
a wise man who was once a fool1 is not  
only the most instructive1 but the most 
delightful of reading4 ,denis ,zachaire1
 an alchymist of the sixteenth century1 
has performed this task1 and left a     
record of his folly and infatuation in  
pursuit of the philosopher's stone1     
which well repays perusal4 ,he was born 
in the year #aeaj1 of an ancient family 
in ,guienne1 and was early sent to the  
university of ,bordeaux1 under the care 
of a tutor to direct his studies4       
,unfortunately1 his tutor was a searcher
 for the grand elixir1 and soon rendered
 his pupil as mad as himself upon the   
subject4 ,with this introduction1 we    
will allow ,denis ,zachaire to speak for
 himself1 and continue his narrative in 
his own words3--  ,i received from home1
 says he1 the sum of two hundred crowns 

for the expenses of myself and master2  
but before the end of the year1 all our 
money went away in the smoke of our     
furnaces4 ,my master1 at the same time1 
died of a fever1 brought on by the      
parching heat of our laboratory1 from   
which he seldom or never stirred1 and   
which was scarcely less hot than the    
arsenal of ,venice4 ,his death was the  
more unfortunate for me1 as my parents  
took the opportunity of reducing my     
allowance1 and sending me only          
sufficient for my board and lodging1    
instead of the sum ,i required to       
continue my operations in alchymy4  ,to 
meet this difficulty and get out of     
leading-strings1 ,i returned home at the
 age of twenty-five1 and mortgaged part 
of my property for four hundred crowns4 
,this sum was necessary to perform an   
operation of the science1 which had been
 communicated to me by an ,italian at   
,toulouse1 and who1 as he said1 had     
proved its efficacy4 ,i retained this   
man in my service1 that we might see the

 end of the experiment4 ,i then1 by     
means of strong distillations1 tried to 
calcinate gold and silver2 but all my   
labour was in vain4 ,the weight of the  
gold ,i drew out of my furnace was      
diminished by one-half since ,i put it  
in1 and my four hundred crowns were very
 soon reduced to two hundred and thirty4
 ,i gave twenty of these to my ,italian1
 in order that he might travel to       
,milan1 where the author of the receipt 
resided1 and ask him the explanation of 
some passages which we thought obscure4 
,i remained at ,toulouse all the winter1
 in the hope of his return2 but ,i might
 have remained there till this day if ,i
 had waited for him1 for ,i never saw   
his face again4  ,in the succeeding     
summer there was a great plague1 which  
forced me to quit the town4 ,i did not1 
however1 lose sight of my work4 ,i went 
to ,cahors1 where ,i remained six       
months1 and made the acquaintance of an 
old man1 who was commonly known to the  
people as 'the ,philosopher2' a name    

which1 in country places1 is often      
bestowed upon people whose only merit   
is1 that they are less ignorant than    
their neighbours4 ,i showed him my      
collection of alchymical receipts1 and  
asked his opinion upon them4 ,he picked 
out ten or twelve of them1 merely saying
 that they were better than the others4 
,when the plague ceased1 ,i returned to 
,toulouse1 and recommenced my           
experiments in search of the stone4 ,i  
worked to such effect that my four      
hundred crowns were reduced to one      
hundred and seventy4  ,that ,i might    
continue my work on a safer method1 ,i  
made acquaintance1 in #aecg1 with a     
certain ,abbe1 who resided in the       
neighbourhood4 ,he was smitten with the 
same mania as myself1 and told me that  
one of his friends1 who had followed to 
,rome in the retinue of the ,cardinal   
d',armagnac1 had sent him from that city
 a new receipt1 which could not fail to 
transmute iron and copper1 but which    
would cost two hundred crowns4 ,i       

provided half this money1 and the ,abbe 
the rest2 and we began to operate at our
 joint expense4 ,as we required spirits 
of wine for our experiment1 ,i bought a 
tun of excellent vin de ,gaillac4 ,i    
extracted the spirit1 and rectified it  
several times4 ,we took a quantity of   
this1 into which we put four marks of   
silver1 and one of gold1 that had been  
undergoing the process of calcination   
for a month4 ,we put this mixture       
cleverly into a sort of horn-shaped     
vessel1 with another to serve as a      
retort2 and placed the whole apparatus  
upon our furnace1 to produce            
congelation4 ,this experiment lasted a  
year2 but1 not to remain idle1 we amused
 ourselves with many other less         
important operations4 ,we drew quite as 
much profit from these as from our great
 work4  ,the whole of the year #aecg    
passed over without producing any change
 whatever3 in fact1 we might have waited
 till doomsday for the congelation of   
our spirits of wine4 ,however1 we made a

 projection with it upon some heated    
quicksilver2 but all was in vain4 ,judge
 of our chagrin1 especially of that of  
the ,abbe1 who had already boasted to   
all the monks of his monastery1 that    
they had only to bring the large pump   
which stood in a corner of the cloister1
 and he would convert it into gold2 but 
this ill luck did not prevent us from   
persevering4 ,i once more mortgaged my  
paternal lands for four hundred crowns1 
the whole of which ,i determined to     
devote to a renewal of my search for the
 great secret4 ,the ,abbe contributed   
the same sum2 and1 with these eight     
hundred crowns1 ,i proceeded to ,paris1 
a city more abounding with alchymists   
than any other in the world1 resolved   
never to leave it until ,i had either   
found the philosopher's stone1 or spent 
all my money4 ,this journey gave the    
greatest offence to all my relations and
 friends1 who1 imagining that ,i was    
fitted to be a great lawyer1 were       
anxious that ,i should establish myself 

in that profession4 ,for the sake of    
quietness1 ,i pretended1 at last1 that  
such was my object4  ,after travelling  
for fifteen days1 ,i arrived in ,paris1 
on the #ith of ,january #aeci4 ,i       
remained for a month1 almost unknown2   
but ,i had no sooner begun to frequent  
the amateurs of the science1 and visited
 the shops of the furnace-makers1 than  
,i had the acquaintance of more than a  
hundred operative alchymists1 each of   
whom had a different theory and a       
different mode of working4 ,some of them
 preferred cementation2 others sought   
the universal alkahest1 or dissolvent2  
and some of them boasted the great      
efficacy of the essence of emery4 ,some 
of them endeavoured to extract mercury  
from other metals to fix it afterwards2 
and1 in order that each of us should be 
thoroughly acquainted with the          
proceedings of the others1 we agreed to 
meet somewhere every night1 and report  
progress4 ,we met sometimes at the house
 of one1 and sometimes in the garret of 

another2 not only on week days1 but on  
,sundays1 and the great festivals of the
 ,church4 ',ah6' one used to say1 'if ,i
 had the means of recommencing this     
experiment1 ,i should do something4'    
',yes1' said another1 'if my crucible   
had not cracked1 ,i should have         
succeeded before now3' while a third    
exclaimed1 with a sigh1 ',if ,i had but 
had a round copper vessel of sufficient 
strength1 ,i would have fixed mercury   
with silver4' ,there was not one among  
them who had not some excuse for his    
failure2 but ,i was deaf to all their   
speeches4 ,i did not want to part with  
my money to any of them1 remembering how
 often ,i had been the dupe of such     
promises4  ,a ,greek at last presented  
himself2 and with him ,i worked a long  
time uselessly upon nails1 made of      
cinabar1 or vermilion4 ,i was also      
acquainted with a foreign gentleman     
newly arrived in ,paris1 and often      
accompanied him to the shops of the     
goldsmiths1 to sell pieces of gold and  

silver1 the produce1 as he said1 of his 
experiments4 ,i stuck closely to him for
 a long time1 in the hope that he would 
impart his secret4 ,he refused for a    
long time1 but acceded1 at last1 on my  
earnest entreaty1 and ,i found that it  
was nothing more than an ingenious      
trick4 ,i did not fail to inform my     
friend1 the ,abbe1 whom ,i had left at  
,toulouse1 of all my adventures2 and    
sent him1 among other matters1 a        
relation of the trick by which this     
gentleman pretended to turn lead into   
gold4 ,the ,abbe still imagined that ,i 
should succeed at last1 and advised me  
to remain another year in ,paris1 where 
,i had made so good a beginning4 ,i     
remained there three years2 but1        
notwithstanding all my efforts1 ,i had  
no more success than ,i had had         
elsewhere4  ,i had just got to the end  
of my money1 when ,i received a letter  
from the ,abbe1 telling me to leave     
everything1 and join him immediately at 
,toulouse4 ,i went accordingly1 and     

found that he had received letters from 
the ,king of ,navarre 7grandfather of   
,henry ,,iv74 ,this ,prince was a great 
lover of philosophy1 full of curiosity1 
and had written to the ,abbe1 that ,i   
should visit him at ,pau2 and that he   
would give me three or four thousand    
crowns1 if ,i would communicate the     
secret ,i had learned from the foreign  
gentleman4 ,the ,abbe's ears were so    
tickled with the four thousand crowns1  
that he let me have no peace1 night or  
day1 until he had fairly seen me on the 
road to ,pau4 ,i arrived at that place  
in the month of ,may #aedb4 ,i worked   
away1 and succeeded1 according to the   
receipt ,i had obtained4 ,when ,i had   
finished1 to the satisfaction of the    
,king1 he gave me the reward that ,i    
expected4 ,although he was willing      
enough to do me further service1 he was 
dissuaded from it by the lords of his   
court2 even by many of those who had    
been most anxious that ,i should come4  
,he sent me then about my business1 with

 many thanks2 saying1 that if there was 
anything in his kingdom which he could  
give me--such as the produce of         
confiscations1 or the like--he should be
 most happy4 ,i thought ,i might stay   
long enough for these prospective       
confiscations1 and never get them at    
last2 and ,i therefore determined to go 
back to my friend1 the ,abbe4  ,i       
learned1 that on the road between ,pau  
and ,toulouse1 there resided a monk1 who
 was very skilful in all matters of     
natural philosophy4 ,on my return1 ,i   
paid him a visit4 ,he pitied me very    
much1 and advised me1 with much warmth  
and kindness of expression1 not to amuse
 myself any longer with such experiments
 as these1 which were all false and     
sophistical2 but that ,i should read the
 good books of the old philosophers1    
where ,i might not only find the true   
matter of the science of alchymy1 but   
learn also the exact order of operations
 which ought to be followed4 ,i very    
much approved of this wise advice2 but1 

before ,i acted upon it1 ,i went back to
 my ,abbe1 of ,toulouse1 to give him an 
account of the eight hundred crowns1    
which we had had in common2 and1 at the 
same time1 share with him such reward as
 ,i had received from the ,king of      
,navarre4 ,if he was little satisfied   
with the relation of my adventures since
 our first separation1 he appeared still
 less satisfied when ,i told him ,i had 
formed a resolution to renounce the     
search for the philosopher's stone4 ,the
 reason was1 that he thought me a good  
artist4 ,of our eight hundred crowns1   
there remained but one hundred and      
seventy-six4 ,when ,i quitted the ,abbe1
 ,i went to my own house1 with the      
intention of remaining there1 till ,i   
had read all the old philosophers1 and  
of then proceeding to ,paris4  ,i       
arrived in ,paris on the day after ,all 
,saints1 of the year #aedf1 and devoted 
another year to the assiduous study of  
great authors4 ,among others1 the       
',turba ,philosophorum' of the ',good   

,trevisan1' ',the ,remonstance of       
,nature to the wandering ,alchymist1' by
 ,jean de ,meung2 and several others of 
the best books3 but1 as ,i had no right'
 principles1 ,i did not well know what  
course to follow4  ,at last ,i left my  
solitude2 not to see my former          
acquaintances1 the adepts and operators1
 but to frequent the society of true    
philosophers4 ,among them ,i fell into  
still greater uncertainties2 being1 in  
fact1 completely bewildered by the      
variety of operations which they showed 
me4 ,spurred on1 nevertheless1 by a sort
 of frenzy or inspiration1 ,i threw     
myself into the works of ,raymond ,lulli
 and of ,arnold de ,villeneuve4 ,the    
reading of these1 and the reflections ,i
 made upon them1 occupied me for another
 year1 when ,i finally determined on the
 course ,i should adopt4 ,i was obliged 
to wait1 however1 until ,i had mortgaged
 another very considerable portion of my
 patrimony4 ,this business was not      
settled until the beginning of ,lent1   

#aedi1 when ,i commenced my operations4 
,i laid in a stock of all that was      
necessary1 and began to work the day    
after ,easter4 ,it was not1 however1    
without some disquietude and opposition 
from my friends who came about me2 one  
asking me what ,i was going to do1 and  
whether ,i had not already spent money  
enough upon such follies4 ,another      
assured me that1 if ,i bought so much   
charcoal1 ,i should strengthen the      
suspicion already existing1 that ,i was 
a coiner of base money4 ,another advised
 me to purchase some place in the       
magistracy1 as ,i was already a ,doctor 
of ,laws4 ,my relations spoke in terms  
still more annoying to me1 and even     
threatened that1 if ,i continued to make
 such a fool of myself1 they would send 
a posse of police-officers into my      
house1 and break all my furnaces and    
crucibles into atoms4 ,i was wearied    
almost to death by this continued       
persecution2 but ,i found comfort in my 
work and in the progress of my          

experiment1 to which ,i was very        
attentive1 and which went on bravely    
from day to day4 ,about this time1 there
 was a dreadful plague in ,paris1 which 
interrupted all intercourse between man 
and man1 and left me as much to myself  
as ,i could desire4 ,i soon had the     
satisfaction to remark the progress and 
succession of the three colours which1  
according to the philosophers1 always   
prognosticate the approaching perfection
 of the work4 ,i observed them          
distinctly1 one after the other2 and    
next year1 being ,easter ,sunday1 #aeej1
 ,i made the great trial4 ,some common  
quicksilver1 which ,i put into a small  
crucible on the fire1 was1 in less than 
an hour1 converted into very good gold4 
,you may judge how great was my joy1 but
 ,i took care not to boast of it4 ,i    
returned thanks to ,god for the favour  
he had shown me1 and prayed that ,i     
might only be permitted to make such use
 of it as would redound to his glory4   
,on the following day1 ,i went towards  

,toulouse to find the ,abbe1 in         
accordance with a mutual promise that we
 should communicate our discoveries to  
each other4 ,on my way1 ,i called in to 
see the sage monk who had assisted me   
with his counsels2 but ,i had the sorrow
 to learn that they were both dead4     
,after this1 ,i would not return to my  
own home1 but retired to another place1 
to await one of my relations whom ,i had
 left in charge of my estate4 ,i gave   
him orders to sell all that belonged to 
me1 as well movable as immovable--to pay
 my debts with the proceeds1 and divide 
all the rest among those in any way     
related to me who might stand in need of
 it1 in order that they might enjoy some
 share of the good fortune which had    
befallen me4 ,there was a great deal of 
talk in the neighbourhood about my      
precipitate retreat2 the wisest of my   
acquaintance imagining that1 broken down
 and ruined by my mad expenses1 ,i sold 
my little remaining property that ,i    
might go and hide my shame in distant   

countries4  ,my relative already spoken 
of rejoined me on the #ast of ,july1    
after having performed all the business 
,i had intrusted him with4 ,we took our 
departure together1 to seek a land of   
liberty4 ,we first retired to ,lausanne1
 in ,switzerland1 when1 after remaining 
there for some time1 we resolved to pass
 the remainder of our days in some of   
the most celebrated cities of ,germany1 
living quietly and without splendour4   
,thus ends the story of ,denis          
,zachaire1 as written by himself4 ,he   
has not been so candid at its conclusion
 as at its commencement1 and has left   
the world in doubt as to his real       
motives for pretending that he had      
discovered the philosopher's stone4 ,it 
seems probable that the sentence he puts
 into the months of his wisest          
acquaintances was the true reason of his
 retreat2 that he was1 in fact1 reduced 
to poverty1 and hid his shame in foreign
 countries4 ,nothing further is known of
 his life1 and his real name has never  

yet been discovered4 ,he wrote a work on
 alchymy1 entitled ,the true ,natural   
,philosophy of ,metals4  ,,dr4 ,,dee and
 ,,edward ,,kelly4  ,john ,dee and      
,edward ,kelly claim to be mentioned    
together1 having been so long associated
 in the same pursuits1 and undergone so 
many strange vicissitudes in each       
other's society4 ,dee was altogether a  
wonderful man1 and had he lived in an   
age when folly and superstition were    
less rife1 he would1 with the same      
powers which he enjoyed1 have left      
behind him a bright and enduring        
reputation4 ,he was born in ,london1 in 
the year #aebg1 and very early          
manifested a love for study4 ,at the age
 of fifteen he was sent to ,cambridge1  
and delighted so much in his books1 that
 he passed regularly eighteen hours     
every day among them4 ,of the other six1
 he devoted four to sleep and two for   
refreshment4 ,such intense application  
did not injure his health1 and could not
 fail to make him one of the first      

scholars of his time4 ,unfortunately1   
however1 he quitted the mathematics and 
the pursuits of true philosophy to      
indulge in the unprofitable reveries of 
the occult sciences4 ,he studied        
alchymy1 astrology1 and magic1 and      
thereby rendered himself obnoxious to   
the authorities at ,cambridge4 ,to avoid
 persecution1 he was at last obliged to 
retire to the university of ,louvain2   
the rumours of sorcery that were current
 respecting him rendering his longer    
stay in ,england not altogether without 
danger4 ,he found at ,louvain many      
kindred spirits who had known ,cornelius
 ,agrippa while he resided among them1  
and by whom he was constantly           
entertained with the wondrous deeds of  
that great master of the hermetic       
mysteries4 ,from their conversation he  
received much encouragement to continue 
the search for the philosopher's stone1 
which soon began to occupy nearly all   
his thoughts4  ,he did not long remain  
on the ,continent1 but returned to      

,england in #aeea1 being at that time in
 the twenty-fourth year of his age4 ,by 
the influence of his friend1 ,sir ,john 
,cheek1 he was kindly received at the   
court of ,king ,edward ,,vi1 and        
rewarded 7it is difficult to say for    
what7 with a pension of one hundred     
crowns4 ,he continued for several years 
to practise in ,london as an astrologer2
 casting nativities1 telling fortunes1  
and pointing out lucky and unlucky days4
 ,during the reign of ,queen ,mary he   
got into trouble1 being suspected of    
heresy1 and charged with attempting     
,mary's life by means of enchantments4  
,he was tried for the latter offence1   
and acquitted2 but was retained in      
prison on the former charge1 and left to
 the tender mercies of ,bishop ,bonner4 
,he had a very narrow escape from being 
burned in ,smithfield1 but he1 somehow  
or other1 contrived to persuade that    
fierce bigot that his orthodoxy was     
unimpeachable1 and was set at liberty in
 #aeee4  ,on the accession of           

,elizabeth1 a brighter day dawned upon  
him4 ,during her retirement at          
,woodstock1 her servants appear to have 
consulted him as to the time of ,mary's 
death1 which ,circumstance1 no doubt1   
first gave rise to the serious charge   
for which he was brought to trial4 ,they
 now came to consult him more openly as 
to the fortunes of their mistress2 and  
,robert ,dudley1 the celebrated ,earl of
 ,leicester1 was sent by command of the 
,queen herself to know the most         
auspicious day for her coronation4 ,so  
great was the favour he enjoyed that1   
some years afterwards1 ,elizabeth       
condescended to pay him a visit at his  
house in ,mortlake1 to view his museum  
of curiosities1 and1 when he was ill1   
sent her own physician to attend upon   
him4  ,astrology was the means whereby  
he lived1 and he continued to practise  
it with great assiduity2 but his heart  
was in alchymy4 ,the philosopher's stone
 and the elixir of life haunted his     
daily thoughts and his nightly dreams4  

,the ,talmudic mysteries1 which he had  
also deeply studied1 impressed him with 
the belief1 that he might hold converse 
with spirits and angels1 and learn from 
them all the mysteries of the universe4 
,holding the same idea as the then      
obscure sect of the ,rosicrucians1 some 
of whom he had perhaps encountered in   
his travels in ,germany1 he imagined    
that1 by means of the philosopher's     
stone1 he could summon these kindly     
spirits at his will4 ,by dint of        
continually brooding upon the subject1  
his imagination became so diseased1 that
 he at last persuaded himself that an   
angel appeared to him1 and promised to  
be his friend and companion as long as  
he lived4 ,he relates that1 one day1 in 
,november #aehb1 while he was engaged in
 fervent prayer1 the window of his      
museum looking towards the west suddenly
 glowed with a dazzling light1 in the   
midst of which1 in all his glory1 stood 
the great angel ,uriel4 ,awe and wonder 
rendered him speechless2 but the angel  

smiling graciously upon him1 gave him a 
crystal1 of a convex form1 and told him 
that1 whenever he wished to hold        
converse with the beings of another     
sphere1 he had only to gaze intently    
upon it1 and they would appear in the   
crystal and unveil to him all the       
secrets of futurity4 ,the crystal       
alluded to appears to have been a black 
stone1 or piece of polished coal4 ,the  
following account of it is given in the 
,supplement to ,granger's ,biographical 
,history4--,the black stone into which  
,dee used to call his spirits was in the
 collection of the ,earls of            
,peterborough1 from whence it came to   
,lady ,elizabeth ,germaine4 ,it was next
 the property of the late ,duke of      
,argyle1 and is now ,mr4 ,walpole's4 ,it
 appears upon examination to be nothing 
more than a polished piece of cannel    
coal2 but this is what ,butler means    
when he says1 ',kelly did all his feats 
upon ,the devil's looking-glass--a      
stone4' ,this saying1 the angel         

disappeared4 ,dee found from experience 
of the crystal that it was necessary    
that all the faculties of the soul      
should be concentrated upon it1         
otherwise the spirits did not appear4   
,he also found that he could never      
recollect the conversations he had with 
the angels4 ,he therefore determined to 
communicate the secret to another       
person1 who might converse with the     
spirits while he 7,dee7 sat in another  
part of the room1 and took down in      
writing the revelations which they made4
  ,he had at this time in his service1  
as his assistant1 one ,edward ,kelly1   
who1 like himself1 was crazy upon the   
subject of the philosopher's stone4     
,there was this difference1 however1    
between them1 that1 while ,dee was more 
of an enthusiast than an impostor1      
,kelly was more of an impostor than an  
enthusiast4 ,in early life he was a     
notary1 and had the misfortune to lose  
both his ears for forgery4 ,this        
mutilation1 degrading enough in any man1

 was destructive to a philosopher2      
,kelly1 therefore1 lest his wisdom      
should suffer in the world's opinion1   
wore a black skull-cap1 which1 fitting  
close to his head1 and descending over  
both his cheeks1 not only concealed his 
loss1 but gave him a very solemn and    
oracular appearance4 ,so well did he    
keep his secret1 that even ,dee1 with   
whom he lived so many years1 appears    
never to have discovered it4 ,kelly1    
with this character1 was just the man to
 carry on any piece of roguery for his  
own advantage1 or to nurture the        
delusions of his master for the same    
purpose4 ,no sooner did ,dee inform him 
of the visit he had received from the   
glorious ,uriel1 than ,kelly expressed  
such a fervour of belief that ,dee's    
heart glowed with delight4 ,he set about
 consulting his crystal forthwith1 and  
on the #bnd of ,december #aeha1 the     
spirits appeared1 and held a very       
extraordinary discourse with ,kelly1    
which ,dee took down in writing4 ,the   

curious reader may see this farrago of  
nonsense among the ,harleian ,,mss4 in  
the ,british ,museum4 ,the later        
consultations were published in a folio 
volume1 in #afei1 by ,dr4 ,meric        
,casaubon1 under the title of ,a ,true  
and ,faithful ,relation of what passed  
between ,dr4 ,john ,dee and some        
,spirits2 tending1 had it succeeded1 to 
a general ,alteration of most ,states   
and ,kingdoms in the ,world4 ,lilly1 the
 astrologer1 in his ,life written by    
himself1 frequently tells of prophecies 
delivered by the angels in a manner     
similar to the angels of ,dr4 ,dee4 ,he 
says1 ,the prophecies were not given    
vocally by the angels1 but by inspection
 of the crystal in types and figures1 or
 by apparition the circular way2 where1 
at some distance1 the angels appear1    
representing by forms1 shapes1 and      
creatures what is demanded4 ,it is very 
rare1 yea1 even in our days1 quoth that 
wiseacre1 for any operator or master to 
hear the angels speak articulately3 when

 they do speak1 it is like the ,irish1  
much in the throat6  ,the fame of these 
wondrous colloquies soon spread over the
 country1 and even reached the          
,continent4 ,dee1 at the same time1     
pretended to be in possession of the    
elixir vitae1 which he stated he had    
found among the ruins of ,glastonbury   
,abbey1 in ,somersetshire4 ,people      
flocked from far and near to his house  
at ,mortlake to have their nativities   
cast1 in preference to visiting         
astrologers of less renown4 ,they also  
longed to see a man who1 according to   
his own account1 would never die4       
,altogether1 he carried on a very       
profitable trade1 but spent so much in  
drugs and metals to work out some       
peculiar process of transmutation1 that 
he never became rich4  ,about this time 
there came into ,england a wealthy      
polish nobleman1 named ,albert ,laski1  
,count ,palatine of ,siradz4 ,his object
 was principally1 he said1 to visit the 
court of ,queen ,elizabeth1 the fame of 

whose glory and magnificence had reached
 him in distant ,poland4 ,elizabeth     
received this flattering stranger with  
the most splendid hospitality1 and      
appointed her favourite ,leicester to   
show him all that was worth seeing in   
,england4 ,he visited all the           
curiosities of ,london and ,westminster1
 and from thence proceeded to ,oxford   
and ,cambridge1 that he might converse  
with some of the great scholars whose   
writings shed lustre upon the land of   
their birth4 ,he was very much          
disappointed at not finding ,dr4 ,dee   
among them1 and told the ,earl of       
,leicester that he would not have gone  
to ,oxford if he had known that ,dee was
 not there4 ,the ,earl promised to      
introduce him to the great alchymist on 
their return to ,london1 and the ,pole  
was satisfied4 ,a few days afterwards1  
the ,earl and ,laski being in the       
antechamber of the ,queen1 awaiting an  
audience of her ,majesty1 ,dr4 ,dee     
arrived on the same errand1 and was     

introduced to the ,pole4 ,albert ,laski1
 son of ,jaroslav1 was ,palatine of     
,siradz1 and afterwards of ,sendomir1   
and chiefly contributed to the election 
of ,henry of ,valois1 the ,third of     
,france1 to the throne of ,poland1 and  
was one of the delegates who went to    
,france in order to announce to the new 
monarch his elevation to the sovereignty
 of ,poland4 ,after the deposition of   
,henry1 ,albert ,laski voted for        
,maximilian of ,austria4 ,in #aehe he   
visited ,england1 when ,queen ,elizabeth
 received him with great distinction4   
,the honours which were shown him during
 his visit to ,oxford1 by the especial  
command of the ,queen1 were equal to    
those rendered to sovereign princes4    
,his extraordinary prodigality rendered 
his enormous wealth insufficient to     
defray his expenses1 and he therefore   
became a zealous adept in alchymy1 and  
took from ,england to ,poland with him  
two known alchymists4--,count ,valerian 
,krasinski's ,historical ,sketch of the 

,reformation in ,poland4 ,an interesting
 conversation ensued1 which ended by the
 stranger inviting himself to dine with 
the astrologer at his house at          
,mortlake4 ,dee returned home in some   
tribulation1 for he found he had not    
money enough1 without pawning his plate1
 to entertain ,count ,laski and his     
retinue in a manner becoming their      
dignity4 ,in this emergency he sent off 
an express to the ,earl of ,leicester1  
stating frankly the embarrassment he    
laboured under1 and praying his good    
offices in representing the matter to   
her ,majesty4 ,elizabeth immediately    
sent him a present of twenty pounds4    
,on the appointed day1 ,count ,laski    
came1 attended by a numerous retinue1   
and expressed such open and warm        
admiration of the wonderful attainments 
of his host1 that ,dee turned over1 in  
his own mind1 how he could bind         
irretrievably to his interests a man who
 seemed so well inclined to become his  
friend4 ,long acquaintance with ,kelly  

had imbued him with all the roguery of  
that personage2 and he resolved to make 
the ,pole pay dearly for his dinner4 ,he
 found out1 before many days1 that he   
possessed great estates in his own      
country1 as well as great influence2 but
 that an extravagant disposition had    
reduced him to temporary embarrassment4 
,he also discovered1 that he was a firm 
believer in the philosopher's stone and 
the water of life4 ,he was1 therefore1  
just the man upon whom an adventurer    
might fasten himself4 ,kelly thought so 
too2 and both of them set to work1 to   
weave a web1 in the meshes of which they
 might firmly entangle the rich and     
credulous stranger4 ,they went very     
cautiously about it2 first throwing out 
obscure hints of the stone and the      
elixir2 and1 finally1 of the spirits1 by
 means of whom they could turn over the 
pages of the ,book of ,futurity1 and    
read the awful secrets inscribed        
therein4 ,laski eagerly implored that he
 might be admitted to one of their      

mysterious interviews with ,uriel and   
the angels2 but they knew human nature  
too well to accede at once to the       
request4 ,to the ,count's entreaties    
they only replied by hints of the       
difficulty or impropriety of summoning  
the spirits in the presence of a        
stranger2 or of one who might1          
perchance1 have no other motive than the
 gratification of a vain curiosity3 but 
they only meant to whet the edge of his 
appetite by this delay1 and would have  
been sorry indeed if the ,count had been
 discouraged4 ,to show how exclusively  
the thoughts both of ,dee and ,kelly    
were fixed upon their dupe1 at this     
time1 it is only necessary to read the  
introduction to their first interview   
with the spirits1 related in the volume 
of ,dr4 ,casaubon4 ,the entry made by   
,dee1 under the date of the #beth of    
,may #aehc1 says1 that when the spirit  
appeared to them1 ,i1 ,john ,dee1 and   
,e4 ,k4 ,edward ,kelly1 sat together1   
conversing of that noble ,polonian      

,albertus ,laski1 his great honour here 
with us obtained1 and of his great      
liking among all sorts of the people4   
,no doubt they were discussing how they 
might make the most of the noble        
,polonian1 and concocting the fine story
 with which they afterwards excited his 
curiosity1 and drew him firmly within   
their toils4 ,suddenly1 says ,dee1 as   
they were thus employed1 there seemed to
 come out of the oratory1 a spiritual   
creature1 like a pretty girl1 of seven  
or nine years of age1 attired on her    
head1 with her hair rolled up before1   
and hanging down behind2 with a gown of 
silk1 of changeable red and green1 and  
with a train4 ,she seemed to play up and
 down1 and seemed to go in and out      
behind the books2 and1 as she seemed to 
go between them1 the books displaced    
themselves1 and made way for her4  ,with
 such tales as these they lured on the  
,pole from day to day2 and at last      
persuaded him to be a witness of their  
mysteries4 ,whether they played off any 

optical delusions upon him2 or whether1 
by the force of a strong imagination1 he
 deluded himself1 does not appear2 but  
certain it is1 that he became a complete
 tool in their hands1 and consented to  
do whatever they wished him4 ,kelly1 at 
these interviews1 placed himself at a   
certain distance from the wondrous      
crystal1 and gazed intently upon it2    
while ,dee took his place in corner1    
ready to set down the prophecies as they
 were uttered by the spirits4 ,in this  
manner they prophesied to the ,pole1    
that he should become the fortunate     
possessor of the philosopher's stone2   
that he should live for centuries1 and  
be chosen ,king of ,poland2 in which    
capacity he should gain many great      
victories over the ,saracens1 and make  
his name illustrious over all the earth4
 ,for this pose it was necessary1       
however1 that ,laski should leave       
,england1 and take them with him1       
together with their wives and families2 
that he should treat them all           

sumptuously1 and allow them to want for 
nothing4 ,laski at once consented2 and  
very shortly afterwards they were all on
 the road to ,poland4  ,it took them    
upwards of four months to reach the     
,count's estates1 in the neighbourhood  
of ,cracow4 ,in the mean time1 they led 
a pleasant life1 and spent money with an
 unsparing hand4 ,when once established 
in the ,count's palace1 they commenced  
the great hermetic operation of         
transmuting iron into gold4 ,laski      
provided them with all necessary        
materials1 and aided them himself with  
his knowledge of alchymy3 but1 somehow  
or other1 the experiment always failed  
at the very moment that it ought to have
 succeeded2 and they were obliged to    
recommence operations on a grander      
scale4 ,but the hopes of ,laski were not
 easily extinguished4 ,already1 in idea1
 the possessor of countless millions1 he
 was not to be cast down for fear of    
present expenses4 ,he thus continued    
from day to day1 and from month to      

month1 till he was1 at last1 obliged to 
sell a portion of his deeply-mortgaged  
estates1 to find aliment for the hungry 
crucibles of ,dee and ,kelly1 and the no
 less hungry stomachs of their wives and
 families4 ,it was not till ruin stared 
him in the face1 that he awoke from his 
dream of infatuation--too happy1 even   
then1 to find that he had escaped utter 
beggary4 ,thus restored to his senses1  
his first thought was how to rid himself
 of his expensive visiters4 ,not wishing
 to quarrel with them1 he proposed that 
they should proceed to ,prague1 well    
furnished with letters of recommendation
 to the ,emperor ,rudolph4 ,our         
alchymists too plainly saw that nothing 
more was to be made of the almost       
destitute ,count ,laski4 ,without       
hesitation1 therefore1 they accepted the
 proposal1 and set out forthwith to the 
,imperial residence4 ,they had no       
difficulty1 on their arrival at ,prague1
 in obtaining an audience of the        
,emperor4 ,they found him willing enough

 to believe that such a thing as the    
philosopher's stone existed1 and        
flattered themselves that they had made 
a favourable impression upon him2 but1  
from some cause or other--perhaps the   
look of low cunning and quackery upon   
the face of ,kelly--the ,emperor        
conceived no very high opinion of their 
abilities4 ,he allowed them1 however1 to
 remain for some months at ,prague1     
feeding themselves upon the hope that he
 would employ them3 but the more he saw 
of them1 the less he liked them2 and1   
when the ,pope's ,nuncio represented to 
him1 that he ought not to countenance   
such heretic magicians1 he gave orders  
that they should quit his dominions     
within four-and-twenty hours4 ,it was   
fortunate for them that so little time  
was given them2 for1 had they remained  
six hours longer1 the ,nuncio had       
received orders to procure a perpetual  
dungeon1 or the stake1 for them4  ,not  
knowing well where to direct their      
steps1 they resolved to return to       

,cracow1 where they had still a few     
friends2 but1 by this time1 the funds   
they had drawn from ,laski were almost  
exhausted2 and they were many days      
obliged to go dinnerless and supperless4
 ,they had great difficulty to keep     
their poverty a secret from the world2  
but they managed to bear privation      
without murmuring1 from a conviction    
that if the fact were known1 it would   
militate very much against their        
pretensions4 ,nobody would believe that 
they were possessors of the             
philosopher's stone1 if it were once    
suspected that they did not know how to 
procure bread for their subsistence4    
,they still gained a little by casting  
nativities1 and kept starvation at arm's
 length1 till a new dupe1 rich enough   
for their purposes1 dropped into their  
toils1 in the shape of a royal          
personage4 ,having procured an          
introduction to ,stephen1 ,king of      
,poland1 they predicted to him1 that the
 ,emperor ,rudolph would shortly be     

assassinated1 and that the ,germans     
would look to ,poland for his successor4
 ,as this prediction was not precise    
enough to satisfy the ,king1 they tried 
their crystal again2 and a spirit       
appeared1 who told them that the new    
sovereign of ,germany would be ,stephen 
of ,poland4 ,stephen was credulous      
enough to believe them1 and was once    
present when ,kelly held his mystic     
conversations with the shadows of his   
crystal4 ,he also appears to have       
furnished them with money to carry on   
their experiments in alchymy3 but he    
grew tired1 at last1 of their broken    
promises1 and their constant drains upon
 his pocket2 and was on the point of    
discarding them with disgrace1 when they
 met with another dupe1 to whom they    
eagerly transferred their services4     
,this was ,count ,rosenberg1 a nobleman 
of large estates1 at ,trebona1 in       
,bohemia4 ,so comfortable did they find 
themselves in the palace of this        
munificent patron1 that they remained   

nearly four years with him1 faring      
sumptuously1 and having an almost       
unlimited command of his money4 ,the    
,count was more ambitious than          
avaricious3 he had wealth enough1 and   
did not care for the philosopher's stone
 on account of the gold1 but of the     
length of days it would bring him4 ,they
 had their predictions1 accordingly1 all
 ready framed to suit his character4    
,they prophesied that he should be      
chosen ,king of ,poland2 and promised1  
moreover1 that he should live for five  
hundred years to enjoy his dignity2     
provided always1 that he found them     
sufficient money to carry on their      
experiments4  ,but now1 while fortune   
smiled upon them2 while they revelled in
 the rewards of successful villany1     
retributive justice came upon them in a 
shape they had not anticipated4         
,jealousy and mistrust sprang up between
 the two confederates1 and led to such  
violent and frequent quarrels1 that ,dee
 was in constant fear of exposure4      

,kelly imagined himself a much greater  
personage than ,dee2 measuring1 most    
likely1 by the standard of impudent     
roguery2 and was displeased that on all 
occasions1 and from all persons1 ,dee   
received the greater share of honour and
 consideration4 ,he often threatened to 
leave ,dee to shift for himself2 and the
 latter1 who had degenerated into the   
mere tool of his more daring associate1 
was distressed beyond measure at the    
prospect of his desertion4 ,his mind was
 so deeply imbued with superstition1    
that he believed the rhapsodies of      
,kelly to be1 in a great measure1       
derived from his intercourse with       
angels2 and he knew not where1 in the   
whole world1 to look for a man of depth 
and wisdom enough to succeed him4 ,as   
their quarrels every day became more and
 more frequent1 ,dee wrote letters to   
,queen ,elizabeth1 to secure a          
favourable reception on his return to   
,england2 whither he intended to        
proceed1 if ,kelly forsook him4 ,he also

 sent her a round piece of silver1 which
 he pretended he had made of a portion  
of brass cut out of a warming-pan4 ,he  
afterwards sent her the warming-pan     
also1 that she might convince herself   
that the piece of silver corresponded   
exactly with the hole which was cut into
 the brass4 ,while thus preparing for   
the worst1 his chief desire was to      
remain in ,bohemia with ,count          
,rosenberg1 who treated him well1 and   
reposed much confidence in him4 ,neither
 had ,kelly any great objection to      
remain2 but a new passion had taken     
possession of his breast1 and he was    
laying deep schemes to gratify it4 ,his 
own wife was ill-favoured and           
ill-natured2 ,dee's was comely and      
agreeable3 and he longed to make an     
exchange of partners1 without exciting  
the jealousy or shocking the morality of
 ,dee4 ,this was a difficult matter2    
but1 to a man like ,kelly1 who was as   
deficient in rectitude and right feeling
 as he was full of impudence and        

ingenuity1 the difficulty was not       
insurmountable4 ,he had also deeply     
studied the character and the foibles of
 ,dee2 and he took his measures         
accordingly4 ,the next time they        
consulted the spirits1 ,kelly pretended 
to be shocked at their language1 and    
refused to tell ,dee what they had said4
 ,dee insisted1 and was informed that   
they were henceforth to have their wives
 in common4 ,dee1 a little startled1    
inquired whether the spirits might not  
mean that they were to live in common   
harmony and good-will8 ,kelly tried     
again1 with apparent reluctance1 and    
said the spirits insisted upon the      
literal interpretation4 ,the poor       
fanatic1 ,dee1 resigned himself to their
 will2 but it suited ,kelly's purpose to
 appear coy a little longer4 ,he        
declared that the spirits must be       
spirits1 not of good1 but of evil2 and  
refused to consult them any more4 ,he   
thereupon took his departure1 saying    
that he would never return4  ,dee1 thus 

left to himself1 was in sore trouble and
 distress of mind4 ,he knew not on whom 
to fix as the successor to ,kelly for   
consulting the spirits2 but at last     
chose his son ,arthur1 a boy of eight   
years of age4 ,he consecrated him to    
this service with great ceremony1 and   
impressed upon the child's mind the     
dignified and awful nature of the duties
 he was called upon to perform2 but the 
poor boy had neither the imagination1   
the faith1 nor the artifice of ,kelly4  
,he looked intently upon the crystal1 as
 he was told2 but could see nothing and 
hear nothing4 ,at last1 when his eyes   
ached1 he said he could see a vague     
indistinct shadow2 but nothing more4    
,dee was in despair4 ,the deception had 
been carried on so long1 that he was    
never so happy as when he fancied he was
 holding converse with superior beings2 
and he cursed the day that had put      
estrangement between him and his dear   
friend ,kelly4 ,this was exactly what   
,kelly had foreseen2 and1 when he       

thought the ,doctor had grieved         
sufficiently for his absence1 he        
returned unexpectedly1 and entered the  
room where the little ,arthur was in    
vain endeavouring to distinguish        
something in the crystal4 ,dee1 in      
entering this circumstance in his       
journal1 ascribes this sudden return to 
a miraculous fortune1 and a divine fate2
 and goes on to record that ,kelly      
immediately saw the spirits1 which had  
remained invisible to little ,arthur4   
,one of these spirits reiterated the    
previous command1 that they should have 
their wives in common4 ,kelly bowed his 
head1 and submitted2 and ,dee1 in all   
humility1 consented to the arrangement4 
,this was the extreme depth of the      
wretched man's degradation4 ,in this    
manner they continued to live for three 
or four months1 when1 new quarrels      
breaking out1 they separated once more4 
,this time their separation was final4  
,kelly1 taking the elixir which he had  
found in ,glastonbury ,abbey1 proceeded 

to ,prague1 forgetful of the abrupt mode
 in which he had previously been        
expelled from that city4 ,almost        
immediately after his arrival1 he was   
seized by order of the ,emperor         
,rudolph1 and thrown into prison4 ,he   
was released after some months'         
confinement1 and continued for five     
years to lead a vagabond life in        
,germany1 telling fortunes at one place1
 and pretending to make gold at another4
 ,he was a second time thrown into      
prison1 on a charge of heresy and       
sorcery2 and he then resolved1 if ever  
he obtained his liberty1 to return to   
,england4 ,he soon discovered that there
 was no prospect of this1 and that his  
imprisonment was likely to be for life4 
,he twisted his bed-clothes into a rope1
 one stormy night in ,february #aeie1   
and let himself down from the window of 
his dungeon1 situated at the top of a   
very high tower4 ,being a corpulent man1
 the rope gave way1 and he was          
precipitated to the ground4 ,he broke   

two of his ribs1 and both his legs2 and 
was otherwise so much injured1 that he  
expired a few days afterwards4  ,dee1   
for a while1 had more prosperous        
fortune4 ,the warming-pan he had sent to
 ,queen ,elizabeth was not without      
effect4 ,he was rewarded1 soon after    
,kelly had left him1 with an invitation 
to return to ,england4 ,his pride1 which
 had been sorely humbled1 sprang up     
again to its pristine dimensions2 and he
 set out for ,bohemia with a train of   
attendants becoming an ambassador4 ,how 
he procured the money does not appear1  
unless from the liberality of the rich  
,bohemian ,rosenberg1 or perhaps from   
his plunder4 ,he travelled with three   
coaches for himself and family1 and     
three waggons to carry his baggage4     
,each coach had four horses1 and the    
whole train was protected by a guard of 
four and twenty soldiers4 ,this         
statement may be doubted2 but it is on  
the authority of ,dee himself1 who made 
it on oath before the commissioners     

appointed by ,elizabeth to inquire into 
his circumstances4 ,on his arrival in   
,england he had an audience of the      
,queen1 who received him kindly as far  
as words went1 and gave orders that he  
should not be molested in his pursuits  
of chemistry and philosophy4 ,a man who 
boasted of the power to turn baser      
metals into gold1 could not1 thought    
,elizabeth1 be in want of money2 and    
she1 therefore1 gave him no more        
substantial marks of her approbation    
than her countenance and protection4    
,thrown thus unexpectedly upon his own  
resources1 ,dee began in earnest the    
search for the philosopher's stone4 ,he 
worked incessantly among his furnaces1  
retorts1 and crucibles1 and almost      
poisoned himself with deleterious fumes4
 ,he also consulted his miraculous      
crystal2 but the spirits appeared not to
 him4 ,he tried one ,bartholomew to     
supply the place of the invaluable      
,kelly2 but he being a man of some      
little probity1 and of no imagination at

 all1 the spirits would not hold any    
communication with him4 ,dee then tried 
another pretender to philosophy1 of the 
name of ,hickman2 but had no better     
fortune4 ,the crystal had lost its power
 since the departure of its great       
high-priest4 ,from this quarter then    
,dee could get no information on the    
stone or elixir of the alchymists1 and  
all his efforts to discover them by     
other means were not only fruitless but 
expensive4 ,he was soon reduced to great
 distress1 and wrote piteous letters to 
the ,queen1 praying relief4 ,he         
represented that1 after he left ,england
 with ,count ,laski1 the mob had        
pillaged his house at ,mortlake1        
accusing him of being a necromancer and 
a wizard2 and had broken all his        
furniture1 burned his library1          
consisting of four thousand rare        
volumes1 and destroyed all the          
philosophical instruments and           
curiosities in his museum4 ,for this    
damage he claimed compensation2 and     

furthermore stated1 that1 as he had come
 to ,england by the ,queen's command1   
she ought to pay the expenses of his    
journey4 ,elizabeth sent him small sums 
of money at various times2 but1 ,dee    
still continuing his complaints1 a      
commission was appointed to inquire into
 his circumstances4 ,he finally obtained
 a small appointment as ,chancellor of  
,st4 ,paul's cathedral1 which he        
exchanged1 in #aeie1 for the wardenship 
of the college at ,manchester4 ,he      
remained in this capacity till #afjb or 
#afjc1 when1 his strength and intellect 
beginning to fail him1 he was compelled 
to resign4 ,he retired to his old       
dwelling at ,mortlake1 in a state not   
far removed from actual want1 supporting
 himself as a common fortune-teller1 and
 being often obliged to sell or pawn his
 books to procure a dinner4 ,james ,i4  
was often applied to on his behalf1 but 
he refused to do anything for him4 ,it  
may be said to the discredit of this    
,king1 that the only reward he would    

grant the indefatigable ,stowe1 in his  
days of old age and want1 was the royal 
permission to beg2 but no one will blame
 him for neglecting such a quack as     
,john ,dee4 ,he died in #afjh1 in the   
eighty-first year of his age1 and was   
buried at ,mortlake4  ,,the             
,,cosmopolite4  ,many disputes have     
arisen as to the real name of the       
alchymist who wrote several works under 
the above designation4 ,the general     
opinion is that he was a ,scotsman1     
named ,seton2 and that by a fate very   
common to alchymists1 who boasted too   
loudly of their powers of transmutation1
 he ended his days miserably in a       
dungeon1 into which he was thrown by a  
,german potentate until he made a       
million of gold to pay his ransom4 ,by  
some he has been confounded with        
,michael ,sendivog1 or ,sendivogius1 a  
,pole1 a professor of the same art1 who 
made a great noise in ,europe at the    
commencement of the seventeenth century4
 ,lenglet du ,fresnoy1 who is in general

 well-informed with respect to the      
alchymists1 inclines to the belief that 
these personages were distinct2 and     
gives the following particulars of the  
,cosmopolite1 extracted from ,george    
,morhoff1 in his ,epistola ad           
,langelottum1 and other writers4  ,about
 the year #afjj1 one ,jacob ,haussen1 a 
,dutch pilot1 was shipwrecked on the    
coast of ,scotland4 ,a gentleman1 named 
,alexander ,seton1 put off in a boat1   
and saved him from drowning1 and        
afterwards entertained him hospitably   
for many weeks at his house on the      
shore4 ,haussen saw that he was addicted
 to the pursuits of chemistry1 but no   
conversation on the subject passed      
between them at the time4 ,about a year 
and a half afterwards1 ,haussen being   
then at home at ,enkhuysen1 in ,holland1
 received a visit from his former host4 
,he endeavoured to repay the kindness   
that had been shown him2 and so great a 
friendship arose between them1 that     
,seton1 on his departure1 offered to    

make him acquainted with the great      
secret of the philosopher's stone4 ,in  
his presence the ,scotsman transmuted a 
great quantity of base metal into pure  
gold1 and gave it him as a mark of his  
esteem4 ,seton then took leave of his   
friend1 and travelled into ,germany4 ,at
 ,dresden he made no secret of his      
wonderful powers2 having1 it is said1   
performed transmutation successfully    
before a great assemblage of the learned
 men of that city4 ,the circumstance    
coming to the ears of the ,duke or      
,elector of ,saxony1 he gave orders for 
the arrest of the alchymist4 ,he caused 
him to be imprisoned in a high tower1   
and set a guard of forty men to watch   
that he did not escape1 and that no     
strangers were admitted to his presence4
 ,the unfortunate ,seton received       
several visits from the ,elector1 who   
used every art of persuasion to make him
 divulge his secret4 ,seton obstinately 
refused either to communicate his       
secret1 or to make any gold for the     

tyrant2 on which he was stretched upon  
the rack1 to see if the argument of     
torture would render him more tractable4
 ,the result was still the              
same1--neither hope of reward nor fear  
of anguish could shake him4 ,for several
 months he remained in prison1 subjected
 alternately to a sedative and a violent
 regimen1 till his health broke1 and he 
wasted away almost to a skeleton4       
,there happened at that time to be in   
,dresden a learned ,pole1 named ,michael
 ,sendivogius1 who had wasted a good    
deal of his time and substance in the   
unprofitable pursuits of alchymy4 ,he   
was touched with pity for the hard fate1
 and admiration for the intrepidity of  
,seton2 and determined1 if possible1 to 
aid him in escaping from the clutch of  
his oppressor4 ,he requested the        
,elector's permission to see the        
alchymist1 and obtained it with some    
difficulty4 ,he found him in a state of 
great wretchedness1--shut up from the   
light of day in a noisome dungeon1 and  

with no better couch or fare than those 
allotted to the worst of criminals4     
,seton listened eagerly to the proposal 
of escape1 and promised the generous    
,pole that he would make him richer than
 an ,eastern monarch if by his means he 
were liberated4 ,sendivogius immediately
 commenced operations4 ,he sold some    
property which he possessed near        
,cracow1 and with the proceeds led a    
merry life at ,dresden4 ,he gave the    
most elegant suppers1 to which he       
regularly invited the officers of the   
guard1 and especially those who did duty
 at the prison of the alchymist4 ,he    
insinuated himself at last into their   
confidence1 and obtained free ingress to
 his friend as often as he pleased2     
pretending that he was using his utmost 
endeavours to conquer his obstinacy and 
worm his secret out of him4 ,when their 
project was ripe1 a day was fixed upon  
for the grand attempt2 and ,sendivogius 
was ready with a postchariot to convey  
him with all speed into ,poland4 ,by    

drugging some wine which he presented to
 the guards of the prison1 he rendered  
them so drowsy that he easily found     
means to scale a wall unobserved1 with  
,seton1 and effect his escape4 ,seton's 
wife was in the chariot awaiting him1   
having safely in her possession a small 
packet of a black powder1 which was1 in 
fact1 the philosopher's stone1 or       
ingredient for the transmutation of iron
 and copper into gold4 ,they all arrived
 in safety at ,cracow2 but the frame of 
,seton was so wasted by torture of body 
and starvation1 to say nothing of the   
anguish of mind he had endured1 that he 
did not long survive4 ,he died in       
,cracow in #afjc or #afjd1 and was      
buried under the cathedral church of    
that city4 ,such is the story related of
 the author of the various works which  
bear the name of the ,cosmopolite4 ,a   
list of them may be found in the third  
volume of the ,history of the ,hermetic 
,philosophy4  ,,sendivogius4  ,on the   
death of ,seton1 ,sendivogius married   

his widow1 hoping to learn from her some
 of the secrets of her deceased lord in 
the art of transmutation4 ,the ounce of 
black powder stood him1 however1 in     
better service2 for the alchymists say  
that1 by its means1 he converted great  
quantities of quicksilver into the      
purest gold4 ,it is also said that he   
performed this experiment successfully  
before the ,emperor ,rudolph ,,ii1 at   
,prague2 and that the ,emperor1 to      
commemorate the circumstance1 caused a  
marble tablet to be affixed to the wall 
of the room in which it was performed1  
bearing this inscription1 ,faciat hoc   
quispiam alius1 quod fecit ,sendivogius 
,polonus4 ,m4 ,desnoyers1 secretary to  
the ,princess ,mary of ,gonzaga1 ,queen 
of ,poland1 writing from ,warsaw in     
#afea1 says that he saw this tablet1    
which existed at that time1 and was     
often visited by the curious4  ,the     
after-life of ,sendivogius is related in
 a ,latin memoir of him by one          
,brodowski1 his steward2 and is inserted

 by ,pierre ,borel in his ,treasure of  
,gaulish ,antiquities4 ,the ,emperor    
,rudolph1 according to this authority1  
was so well pleased with his success1   
that he made him one of his counsellors 
of state1 and invited him to fill a     
station in the royal household and      
inhabit the palace4 ,but ,sendivogius   
loved his liberty1 and refused to become
 a courtier4 ,he preferred to reside on 
his own patrimonial estate of ,gravarna1
 where1 for many years1 he exercised a  
princely hospitality4 ,his philosophic  
powder1 which1 his steward says1 was    
red1 and not black1 he kept in a little 
box of gold2 and with one grain of it he
 could make five hundred ducats1 or a   
thousand rix-dollars4 ,he generally made
 his projection upon quicksilver4 ,when 
he travelled1 he gave this box to his   
steward1 who hung it round his neck by a
 gold chain next his skin4 ,but the     
greatest part of the powder he used to  
hide in a secret place cut into the step
 of his chariot4 ,he thought that1 if   

attacked at any time by robbers1 they   
would not search such a place as that4  
,when he anticipated any danger1 he     
would dress himself in his valet's      
clothes1 and1 mounting the coach-box1   
put the valet inside4 ,he was induced to
 take these precautions1 because it was 
no secret that he possessed the         
philosopher's stone2 and many           
unprincipled adventurers were on the    
watch for an opportunity to plunder him4
 ,a ,german ,prince1 whose name         
,brodowski has not thought fit to       
chronicle1 served him a scurvy trick1   
which ever afterwards put him on his    
guard4 ,this prince went on his knees to
 ,sendivogius1 and entreated him in the 
most pressing terms to satisfy his      
curiosity by converting some quicksilver
 into gold before him4 ,sendivogius1    
wearied by his importunity1 consented1  
upon a promise of inviolable secrecy4   
,after his departure1 the ,prince called
 a ,german alchymist1 named ,muhlenfels1
 who resided in his house1 and told him 

all that had been done4 ,muhlenfels     
entreated that he might have a dozen    
mounted horsemen at his command1 that he
 might instantly ride after the         
philosopher1 and either rob him of all  
his powder or force from him the secret 
of making it4 ,the ,prince desired      
nothing better2 and ,muhlenfels1 being  
provided with twelve men well mounted   
and armed1 pursued ,sendivogius in hot  
haste4 ,he came up with him at a lonely 
inn by the road-side1 just as he was    
sitting down to dinner4 ,he at first    
endeavoured to persuade him to divulge  
the secret2 but1 finding this of no     
avail1 he caused his accomplices to     
strip the unfortunate ,sendivogius and  
tie him naked to one of the pillars of  
the house4 ,he then took from him his   
golden box1 containing a small quantity 
of the powder2 a manuscript book on the 
philosopher's stone2 a golden medal with
 its chain1 presented to him by the     
,emperor ,rudolph2 and a rich cap       
ornamented with diamonds1 of the value  

of one hundred thousand rix-dollars4    
,with this booty he decamped1 leaving   
,sendivogius still naked and firmly     
bound to the pillar4 ,his servants had  
been treated in a similar manner2 but   
the people of the inn released them all 
as soon as the robbers were out of      
sight4  ,sendivogius proceeded to       
,prague1 and made his complaint to the  
,emperor4 ,an express was instantly sent
 off to the ,prince1 with orders that he
 should deliver up ,muhlenfels and all  
his plunder4 ,the ,prince1 fearful of   
the ,emperor's wrath1 caused three large
 gallows to be erected in his           
court-yard2 on the highest of which he  
hanged ,muhlenfels1 with another thief  
on each side of him4 ,he thus           
propitiated the ,emperor1 and got rid of
 an ugly witness against himself4 ,he   
sent back1 at the same time1 the        
bejewelled hat1 the medal and chain1 and
 the treatise upon the philosopher's    
stone1 which had been stolen from       
,sendivogius4 ,as regarded the powder1  

he said he had not seen it1 and knew    
nothing about it4  ,this adventure made 
,sendivogius more prudent2 he would no  
longer perform the process of           
transmutation before any strangers1     
however highly recommended4 ,he         
pretended1 also1 to be very poor2 and   
sometimes lay in bed for weeks together1
 that people might believe he was       
suffering from some dangerous malady1   
and could not therefore by any          
possibility be the owner of the         
philosopher's stone4 ,he would          
occasionally coin false money1 and pass 
it off as gold2 preferring to be        
esteemed a cheat rather than a          
successful alchymist4  ,many other      
extraordinary tales are told of this    
personage by his steward ,brodowski1 but
 they are not worth repeating4 ,he died 
in #afcf1 aged upwards of eighty1 and   
was buried in his own chapel at         
,gravarna4 ,several works upon alchymy  
have been published under his name4     
,,the ,,rosicrucians4  ,it was during   

the time of the last-mentioned author   
that the sect of the ,rosicrucians first
 began to create a sensation in ,europe4
 ,the influence which they exercised    
upon opinion during their brief career1 
and the permanent impression which they 
have left upon ,european literature1    
claim for them especial notice4 ,before 
their time1 alchymy was but a grovelling
 delusion2 and theirs is the merit of   
having spiritualised and refined it4    
,they also enlarged its sphere1 and     
supposed the possession of the          
philosopher's stone to be1 not only the 
means of wealth1 but of health and      
happiness2 and the instrument by which  
man could command the services of       
superior beings1 control the elements to
 his will1 defy the obstructions of time
 and space1 and acquire the most        
intimate knowledge of all the secrets of
 the universe4 ,wild and visionary as   
they were1 they were not without their  
uses2 if it were only for having purged 
the superstitions of ,europe of the dark

 and disgusting forms with which the    
monks had peopled it1 and substituted1  
in their stead1 a race of mild1         
graceful1 and beneficent beings4  ,they 
are said to have derived their name from
 ,christian ,rosencreutz1 or            
,rose-cross1 a ,german philosopher1 who 
travelled in the ,holy ,land towards the
 close of the fourteenth century4 ,while
 dangerously ill at a place called      
,damcar1 he was visited by some learned 
,arabs1 who claimed him as their brother
 in science1 and unfolded to him1 by    
inspiration1 all the secrets of his past
 life1 both of thought and of action4   
,they restored him to health by means of
 the philosopher's stone1 and afterwards
 instructed him in all their mysteries4 
,he returned to ,europe in #adja1 being 
then only twenty-three years of age2 and
 drew a chosen number of his friends    
around him1 whom he initiated into the  
new science1 and bound by solemn oaths  
to keep it secret for a century4 ,he is 
said to have lived eighty-three years   

after this period1 and to have died in  
#adhd4  ,many have denied the existence 
of such a personage as ,rosencreutz1 and
 have fixed the origin of this sect at a
 much later epoch4 ,the first dawning of
 it1 they say1 is to be found in the    
theories of ,paracelsus1 and the dreams 
of ,dr4 ,dee1 who1 without intending it1
 became the actual1 though never the    
recognised founders of the ,rosicrucian 
philosophy4 ,it is now difficult1 and   
indeed impossible1 to determine whether 
,dee and ,paracelsus obtained their     
ideas from the then obscure and unknown 
,rosicrucians1 or whether the           
,rosicrucians did but follow and improve
 upon them4 ,certain it is1 that their  
existence was never suspected till the  
year #afje1 when they began to excite   
attention in ,germany4 ,no sooner were  
their doctrines promulgated1 than all   
the visionaries1 ,paracelsists1 and     
alchymists1 flocked around their        
standard1 and vaunted ,rosencreutz as   
the new regenerator of the human race4  

,michael ,mayer1 a celebrated physician 
of that day1 and who had impaired his   
health and wasted his fortune in        
searching for the philosopher's stone1  
drew up a report of the tenets and      
ordinances of the new fraternity1 which 
was published at ,cologne1 in the year  
#afae4 ,they asserted1 in the first     
place1 that the meditations of their    
founders surpassed everything that had  
ever been imagined since the creation of
 the world1 without even excepting the  
revelations of the ,deity2 that they    
were destined to accomplish the general 
peace and regeneration of man before the
 end of the world arrived2 that they    
possessed all wisdom and piety in a     
supreme degree2 that they possessed all 
the graces of nature1 and could         
distribute them among the rest of       
mankind according to their pleasure2    
that they were subject to neither       
hunger1 nor thirst1 nor disease1 nor old
 age1 nor to any other inconvenience of 
nature2 that they knew by inspiration1  

and at the first glance1 every one who  
was worthy to be admitted into their    
society2 that they had the same         
knowledge then which they would have    
possessed if they had lived from the    
beginning of the world1 and had been    
always acquiring it2 that they had a    
volume in which they could read all that
 ever was or ever would be written in   
other books till the end of time2 that  
they could force to1 and retain in their
 service the most powerful spirits and  
demons2 that1 by the virtue of their    
songs1 they could attract pearls and    
precious stones from the depths of the  
sea or the bowels of the earth2 that    
,god had covered them with a thick      
cloud1 by means of which they could     
shelter themselves from the malignity of
 their enemies1 and that they could thus
 render themselves invisible from all   
eyes2 that the eight first brethren of  
the ,rose-cross had power to cure all   
maladies2 that1 by means of the         
fraternity1 the triple diadem of the    

,pope would be reduced into dust2 that  
they only admitted two sacraments1 with 
the ceremonies of the primitive ,church1
 renewed by them2 that they recognised  
the ,fourth ,monarchy and the ,emperor  
of the ,romans as their chief and the   
chief of all ,christians2 that they     
would provide him with more gold1 their 
treasures being inexhaustible1 than the 
,king of ,spain had ever drawn from the 
golden regions of ,eastern and ,western 
,ind4 ,this was their confession of     
faith4 ,their rules of conduct were six 
in number1 and as follow3--  ,first4    
,that1 in their travels1 they should    
gratuitously cure all diseases4         
,secondly4 ,that they should always     
dress in conformity to the fashion of   
the country in which they resided4      
,thirdly4 ,that they should1 once every 
year1 meet together in the place        
appointed by the fraternity1 or send in 
writing an available excuse4  ,fourthly4
 ,that every brother1 whenever he felt  
inclined to die1 should choose a person 

worthy to succeed him4  ,fifthly4 ,that 
the words ,rose-cross should be the     
marks by which they should recognise    
each other4  ,sixthly4 ,that their      
fraternity should be kept secret for six
 times twenty years4  ,they asserted    
that these laws had been found inscribed
 in a golden book in the tomb of        
,rosencreutz1 and that the six times    
twenty years from his death expired in  
#afjd4 ,they were consequently called   
upon1 from that time forth1 to          
promulgate their doctrine for the       
welfare of mankind4 ,the following      
legend of the tomb of ,rosencreutz1     
written by ,eustace ,budgell1 appears in
 ,no4 #cgi of the ,spectator3--,a       
certain person1 having occasion to dig  
somewhat deep in the ground where this  
philosopher lay interred1 met with a    
small door1 having a wall on each side  
of it4 ,his curiosity1 and the hope of  
finding some hidden treasure1 soon      
prompted him to force open the door4 ,he
 was immediately surprised by a sudden  

blaze of light1 and discovered a very   
fair vault4 ,at the upper end of it was 
a statue of a man in armour1 sitting by 
a table1 and leaning on his left arm4   
,he held a truncheon in his right hand1 
and had a lamp burning before him4 ,the 
man had no sooner set one foot within   
the vault1 than the statue1 erecting    
itself from its leaning posture1 stood  
bolt upright2 and1 upon the fellow's    
advancing another step1 lifted up the   
truncheon in his right hand4 ,the man   
still ventured a third step2 when the   
statue1 with a furious blow1 broke the  
lamp into a thousand pieces1 and left   
his guest in sudden darkness4 ,upon the 
report of this adventure1 the country   
people came with lights to the          
sepulchre1 and discovered that the      
statue1 which was made of brass1 was    
nothing more than a piece of clock-work2
 that the floor of the vault was all    
loose1 and underlaid with several       
springs1 which1 upon any man's entering1
 naturally produced that which had      

happened4 ,rosicreucius1 say his        
disciples1 made use of this method to   
show the world that he had re-invented  
the ever-burning lamps of the ancients1 
though he was resolved no one should    
reap any advantage from the discovery4  
,for eight years these enthusiasts made 
converts in ,germany2 but they excited  
little or no attention in other parts of
 ,europe4 ,at last they made their      
appearance in ,paris1 and threw all the 
learned1 all the credulous1 and all the 
lovers of the marvellous into commotion4
 ,in the beginning of ,march #afbc1 the 
good folks of that city1 when they arose
 one morning1 were surprised to find all
 their walls placarded with the         
following singular manifesto3--  ,we1   
the deputies of the principal ,college  
of the ,brethren of the ,rose-cross1    
have taken up our abode1 visible and    
invisible1 in this city1 by the grace of
 the ,most ,high1 towards whom are      
turned the hearts of the just4 ,we show 
and teach without books or signs1 and   

speak all sorts of languages in the     
countries where we dwell1 to draw       
mankind1 our fellows1 from error and    
from death4  ,for a long time this      
strange placard was the sole topic of   
conversation in all public places4 ,some
 few wondered2 but the greater number   
only laughed at it4 ,in the course of a 
few weeks two books were published1     
which raised the first alarm respecting 
this mysterious society1 whose          
dwelling-place no one knew1 and no      
members of which had ever been seen4    
,the first was called a history of ,the 
frightful ,compacts entered into between
 the ,devil and the pretended           
',invisibles2' with their damnable      
,instructions1 the deplorable ,ruin of  
their ,disciples1 and their miserable   
,end4 ,the other was called an          
,examination of the new and unknown     
,cabala of the ,brethren of the         
,rose-cross1 who have lately inhabited  
the ,city of ,paris2 with the ,history  
of their ,manners1 the ,wonders worked  

by them1 and many other ,particulars4   
,these books sold rapidly4 ,every one   
was anxious to know something of this   
dreadful and secret brotherhood4 ,the   
badauds of ,paris were so alarmed that  
they daily expected to see the          
arch-enemy walking in propria persona   
among them4 ,it was said in these       
volumes1 that the ,rosicrucian society  
consisted of six-and-thirty persons in  
all1 who had renounced their baptism and
 hope of resurrection4 ,that it was not 
by means of good angels1 as they        
pretended1 that they worked their       
prodigies2 but that it was the devil who
 gave them power to transport themselves
 from one end of the world to the other 
with the rapidity of thought2 to speak  
all languages2 to have their purses     
always full of money1 however much they 
might spend2 to be invisible1 and       
penetrate into the most secret places1  
in spite of fastenings of bolts and     
bars2 and to be able to tell the past   
and future4 ,these thirty-six brethren  

were divided into bands or companies3-- 
,six of them only had been sent on the  
mission to ,paris1 six to ,italy1 six to
 ,spain1 six to ,germany1 four to       
,sweden1 and two into ,switzerland2 two 
into ,flanders1 two into ,lorraine1 and 
two into ,franche ,comte4 ,it was       
generally believed that the missionaries
 to ,france resided somewhere in the    
,marais du ,temple4 ,that quarter of    
,paris soon acquired a bad name2 and    
people were afraid to take houses in it1
 lest they should be turned out by the  
six invisibles of the ,rose-cross4 ,it  
was believed by the populace1 and by    
many others whose education should have 
taught them better1 that persons of a   
mysterious aspect used to visit the inns
 and hotels of ,paris1 and eat of the   
best meats and drink of the best wines1 
and then suddenly melt away into thin   
air when the landlord came with the     
reckoning4 ,that gentle maidens1 who    
went to bed alone1 often awoke in the   
night and found men in bed with them1 of

 shape more beautiful than the ,grecian 
,apollo1 who immediately became         
invisible when an alarm was raised4 ,it 
was also said that many persons found   
large heaps of pure gold in their       
houses1 without knowing from whence they
 came4 ,all ,paris was in alarm4 ,no man
 thought himself secure of his goods1 no
 maiden of her virginity1 or wife of her
 chastity1 while these ,rosicrucians    
were abroad4 ,in the midst of the       
commotion1 a second placard was issued  
to the following effect3--,if any one   
desires to see the brethren of the      
,rose-cross from curiosity only1 he will
 never communicate with us4 ,but if his 
will really induces him to inscribe his 
name in the register of our brotherhood1
 we1 who can judge of the thoughts of   
all men1 will convince him of the truth 
of our promises4 ,for this reason we do 
not publish to the world the place of   
our abode4 ,thought alone1 in unison    
with the sincere will of those who      
desire to know us1 is sufficient to make

 us known to them1 and them to us4      
,though the existence of such a society 
as that of the ,rose-cross was          
problematical1 it was quite evident that
 somebody or other was concerned in the 
promulgation of these placards1 which   
were stuck up on every wall in ,paris4  
,the police endeavoured in vain to find 
out the offenders1 and their want of    
success only served to increase the     
perplexity of the public4 ,the church   
very soon took up the question2 and the 
,abbe ,gaultier1 a ,jesuit1 wrote a book
 to prove that1 by their enmity to the  
,pope1 they could be no other than      
disciples of ,luther1 sent to promulgate
 his heresy4 ,their very name1 he added1
 proved that they were heretics2 a cross
 surmounted by a rose being the heraldic
 device of the arch-heretic ,luther4    
,one ,garasse said they were a          
confraternity of drunken impostors2 and 
that their name was derived from the    
garland of roses1 in the form of a      
cross1 hung over the tables of taverns  

in ,germany as the emblem of secrecy1   
and from whence was derived the common  
saying1 when one man communicated a     
secret to another1 that it was said     
under the rose4 ,others interpreted the 
letters ,f4 ,r4 ,c4 to mean1 not        
,brethren of the ,rose-cross1 but       
,fratres ,roris ,cocti1 or ,brothers of 
,boiled ,dew2 and explained this        
appellation by alleging that they       
collected large quantities of morning   
dew1 and boiled it1 in order to extract 
a very valuable ingredient in the       
composition of the philosopher's stone  
and the water of life4  ,the fraternity 
thus attacked defended themselves as    
well as they were able4 ,they denied    
that they used magic of any kind1 or    
that they consulted the devil4 ,they    
said they were all happy2 that they had 
lived more than a century1 and expected 
to live many centuries more2 and that   
the intimate knowledge which they       
possessed of all nature was communicated
 to them by ,god himself as a reward for

 their piety and utter devotion to his  
service4 ,those were in error who       
derived their name from a cross of      
roses1 or called them drunkards4 ,to set
 the world right on the first point1    
they reiterated that they derived their 
name from ,christian ,rosencreutz1 their
 founder2 and1 to answer the latter     
charge1 they repeated that they knew not
 what thirst was1 and had higher        
pleasures than those of the palate4     
,they did not desire to meddle with the 
politics or religion of any man or set  
of men1 although they could not help    
denying the supremacy of the ,pope1 and 
looking upon him as a tyrant4 ,many     
slanders1 they said1 had been repeated  
respecting them2 the most unjust of     
which was1 that they indulged in carnal 
appetites1 and1 under the cloak of their
 invisibility1 crept into the chambers  
of beautiful maidens4 ,they asserted1 on
 the contrary1 that the first vow they  
took on entering the society was a vow  
of chastity2 and that any one among them

 who transgressed in that particular    
would immediately lose all the          
advantages he enjoyed1 and be exposed   
once more to hunger1 woe1 disease1 and  
death1 like other men4 ,so strongly did 
they feel on the subject of chastity1   
that they attributed the fall of ,adam  
solely to his want of this virtue4      
,besides defending themselves in this   
manner1 they entered into a further     
confession of their faith4 ,they        
discarded for ever all the old tales of 
sorcery and witchcraft1 and communion   
with the devil4 ,they said there were no
 such horrid1 unnatural1 and disgusting 
beings as the incubi and succubi1 and   
the innumerable grotesque imps that men 
had believed in for so many ages4 ,man  
was not surrounded with enemies like    
these1 but with myriads of beautiful and
 beneficent beings1 all anxious to do   
him service4 ,the air was peopled with  
sylphs1 the water with undines or       
naiads1 the bowels of the earth with    
gnomes1 and the fire with salamanders4  

,all these beings were the friends of   
man1 and desired nothing so much as that
 men should purge themselves of all     
uncleanness1 and thus be enabled to see 
and converse with them4 ,they possessed 
great power1 and were unrestrained by   
the barriers of space or the            
obstructions of matter4 ,but man was in 
one particular their superior4 ,he had  
an immortal soul1 and they had not4     
,they might1 however1 become sharers in 
man's immortality1 if they could inspire
 one of that race with the passion of   
love towards them4 ,hence it was the    
constant endeavour of the female spirits
 to captivate the admiration of men2 and
 of the male gnomes1 sylphs1            
salamanders1 and undines1 to be beloved 
by a woman4 ,the object of this passion1
 in returning their love1 imparted a    
portion of that celestial fire the soul2
 and from that time forth the beloved   
became equal to the lover1 and both1    
when their allotted course was run1     
entered together into the mansions of   

felicity4 ,these spirits1 they said1    
watched constantly over mankind by night
 and day4 ,dreams1 omens1 and           
presentiments were all their works1 and 
the means by which they gave warning of 
the approach of danger4 ,but1 though so 
well inclined to befriend man for their 
own sakes1 the want of a soul rendered  
them at times capricious and revengeful3
 they took offence on slight causes1 and
 heaped injuries instead of benefits on 
the heads of those who extinguished the 
light of reason that was in them1 by    
gluttony1 debauchery1 and other         
appetites of the body4  ,the excitement 
produced in ,paris by the placards of   
the brotherhood1 and the attacks of the 
clergy1 wore itself away after a few    
months4 ,the stories circulated about   
them became at last too absurd even for 
that age of absurdity1 and men began to 
laugh once more at those invisible      
gentlemen and their fantastic doctrines4
 ,gabriel ,naude at that conjuncture    
brought out his ,avis a la ,france sur  

les ,freres de la ,rose-croix1 in which 
he very successfully exposed the folly  
of the new sect4 ,this work1 though not 
well written1 was well timed4 ,it quite 
extinguished the ,rosicrucians of       
,france2 and1 after that year1 little   
more was heard of them4 ,swindlers1 in  
different parts of the country1 assumed 
the name at times to cloak their        
depredations2 and now and then one of   
them was caught1 and hanged for his too 
great ingenuity in enticing pearls and  
precious stones from the pockets of     
other people into his own1 or for       
passing off lumps of gilded brass for   
pure gold1 made by the agency of the    
philosopher's stone4 ,with these        
exceptions1 oblivion shrouded them4     
,the doctrine was not confined to a     
sphere so narrow as ,france alone2 it   
still flourished in ,germany1 and drew  
many converts in ,england4 ,the latter  
countries produced two great masters1 in
 the persons of ,jacob ,bohmen and      
,robert ,fludd2 pretended philosophers1 

of whom it is difficult to say which was
 the more absurd and extravagant4 ,it   
would appear that the sect was divided  
into two classes1--the brothers ,roseae 
,crucis1 who devoted themselves to the  
wonders of this sublunary sphere2 and   
the brothers ,aureae ,crucis1 who were  
wholly occupied in the contemplation of 
things ,divine4 ,fludd belonged to the  
first class1 and ,bohmen to the second4 
,fludd may be called the father of the  
,english ,rosicrucians1 and as such     
merits a conspicuous niche in the temple
 of ,folly4  ,he was born in the year   
#aegd1 at ,milgate1 in ,kent2 and was   
the son of ,sir ,thomas ,fludd1         
,treasurer of ,war to ,queen ,elizabeth4
 ,he was originally intended for the    
army2 but he was too fond of study1 and 
of a disposition too quiet and retiring 
to shine in that sphere4 ,his father    
would not1 therefore1 press him to adopt
 a course of life for which he was      
unsuited1 and encouraged him in the     
study of medicine1 for which he early   

manifested a partiality4 ,at the age of 
twenty-five he proceeded to the         
,continent2 and being fond of the       
abstruse1 the marvellous1 and the       
incomprehensible1 he became an ardent   
disciple of the school of ,paracelsus1  
whom he looked upon as the regenerator1 
not only of medicine1 but of philosophy4
 ,he remained six years in ,italy1      
,france1 and ,germany2 storing his mind 
with fantastic notions1 and seeking the 
society of enthusiasts and visionaries4 
,on his return to ,england1 in #afje1 he
 received the degree of ,doctor of      
,medicine from the ,university of       
,oxford1 and began to practice as a     
physician in ,london4  ,he soon made    
himself conspicuous4 ,he ,latinized his 
name from ,robert ,fludd into ,robertus 
a ,fluctibus1 and began the promulgation
 of many strange doctrines4 ,he avowed  
his belief in the philosopher's stone1  
the water of life1 and the universal    
alkahest2 and maintained that there were
 but two principles of all              

things1--which were1 condensation1 the  
boreal or northern virtue2 and          
rarefaction1 the southern or austral    
virtue4 ,a number of demons1 he said1   
ruled over the human frame1 whom he     
arranged in their places in a rhomboid4 
,every disease had its peculiar demon   
who produced it1 which demon could only 
be combated by the aid of the demon     
whose place was directly opposite to his
 in the rhomboidal figure4 ,of his      
medical notions we shall have further   
occasion to speak in another part of    
this book1 when we consider him in his  
character as one of the first founders  
of the magnetic delusion1 and its       
offshoot1 animal magnetism1 which has   
created so much sensation in our own    
day4  ,as if the doctrines already      
mentioned were not wild enough1 he      
joined the ,rosicrucians as soon as they
 began to make a sensation in ,europe1  
and succeeded in raising himself to high
 consideration among them4 ,the         
fraternity having been violently        

attacked by several ,german authors1 and
 among others by ,libavius1 ,fludd      
volunteered a reply1 and published1 in  
#afaf1 his defence of the ,rosicrucian  
philosophy1 under the title of the      
,apologia1 compendiaria1 ,fraternitatem 
de ,rosea-cruce1 ,suspicionis et        
,infamiae maculis aspersam1 abluens4    
,this work immediately procured him     
great renown upon the ,continent1 and he
 was henceforth looked upon as one of   
the high-priests of the sect4 ,of so    
much importance was he considered1 that 
,keppler and ,gassendi thought it       
necessary to refute him2 and the latter 
wrote a complete examination of his     
doctrine4 ,mersenne also1 the friend of 
,descartes1 and who had defended that   
philosopher when accused of having      
joined the ,rosicrucians1 attacked ,dr4 
a ,fluctibus1 as he preferred to be     
called1 and showed the absurdity of the 
brothers of the ,rose-cross in general1 
and of ,dr4 a ,fluctibus in particular4 
,fluctibus wrote a long reply1 in which 

he called ,mersenne an ignorant         
calumniator1 and reiterated that alchymy
 was a profitable science1 and the      
,rosicrucians worthy to be the          
regenerators of the world4 ,this book   
was published at ,frankfort1 and was    
entitled ,summum ,bonum1 quod est       
,magiae1 ,cabalae1 ,alchimiae1 ,fratrum 
,roseae-,crucis verorum1 et adversus    
,mersenium ,calumniatorem4 ,besides     
this1 he wrote several other works upon 
alchymy1 a second answer to ,libavius   
upon the ,rosicrucians1 and many medical
 works4 ,he died in ,london in #afcg4   
,after his time there was some          
diminution of the sect in ,england4     
,they excited but little attention1 and 
made no effort to bring themselves into 
notice4 ,occasionally1 some obscure and 
almost incomprehensible work made its   
appearance1 to show the world that the  
folly was not extinguished4 ,eugenius   
,philalethes1 a noted alchymist1 who has
 veiled his real name under this assumed
 one1 translated ,the ,fame and         

,confession of the ,brethren of the     
,rosie ,cross1 which was published in   
,london in #afeb4 ,a few years          
afterwards1 another enthusiast1 named   
,john ,heydon1 wrote two works on the   
subject3 the one entitled ,the ,wise    
,man's ,crown1 or the ,glory of the     
,rosie ,cross2 and the other1 ,the ,holy
 ,guide1 leading the way to unite ,art  
and ,nature1 with the ,rosie ,crosse    
uncovered4 ,neither of these attracted  
much notice4 ,a third book was somewhat 
more successful3 it was called ,a ,new  
,method of ,rosicrucian ,physic2 by     
,john ,heydon1 the servant of ,god and  
the secretary of ,nature4 ,a few        
extracts will show the ideas of the     
,english ,rosicrucians about this       
period4 ,its author was an attorney1    
practising 7to use his own words7 at    
,westminster ,hall all term times as    
long as he lived1 and in the vacations  
devoting himself to alchymical and      
,rosicrucian meditation4 ,in his        
preface1 called by him an ,apologue for 

an ,epilogue1 he enlightens the public  
upon the true history and tenets of his 
sect4 ,moses1 ,elias1 and ,ezekiel were1
 he says1 the most ancient masters of   
the ,rosicrucian philosophy4 ,those few 
then existing in ,england and the rest  
of ,europe1 were as the eyes and ears of
 the great ,king of the universe1 seeing
 and hearing all things2 seraphically   
illuminated2 companions of the holy     
company of unbodied souls and immortal  
angels2 turning themselves1             
,proteus-like1 into any shape1 and      
having the power of working miracles4   
,the most pious and abstracted brethren 
could slack the plague in cities1       
silence the violent winds and tempests1 
calm the rage of the sea and rivers1    
walk in the air1 frustrate the malicious
 aspect of witches1 cure all diseases1  
and turn all metals into gold4 ,he had  
known in his time two famous brethren of
 the ,rosie ,cross1 named ,walfourd and 
,williams1 who had worked miracles in   
his sight1 and taught him many excellent

 predictions of astrology and           
earthquakes4 ,i desired one of these to 
tell me1 says he1 whether my complexion 
were capable of the society of my good  
genius4 ',when ,i see you again1' said  
he1 7which was when he pleased to come  
to me1 for ,i knew not where to go to   
him17 ',i will tell you4' ,when ,i saw  
him afterwards1 he said1 ',you should   
pray to ,god2 for a good and holy man   
can offer no greater or more acceptable 
service to ,god than the oblation of    
himself--his soul4' ,he said1 also1 that
 the good genii were the benign eyes of 
,god1 running to and fro in the world1  
and with love and pity beholding the    
innocent endeavours of harmless and     
single-hearted men1 ever ready to do    
them good and to help them4  ,heydon    
held devoutly true that dogma of the    
,rosicrucians which said that neither   
eating nor drinking was necessary to    
men4 ,he maintained that any one might  
exist in the same manner as that        
singular people dwelling near the source

 of the ,ganges1 of whom mention was    
made in the travels of his namesake1    
,sir ,christopher ,heydon1 who had no   
mouths1 and therefore could not eat1 but
 lived by the breath of their nostrils2 
except when they took a far journey1 and
 then they mended their diet with the   
smell of flowers4 ,he said that in      
really pure air there was a fine foreign
 fatness1 with which it was sprinkled by
 the sunbeams1 and which was quite      
sufficient for the nourishment of the   
generality of mankind4 ,those who had   
enormous appetites he had no objection  
to see take animal food1 since they     
could not do without it2 but he         
obstinately insisted that there was no  
necessity why they should eat it4 ,if   
they put a plaster of nicely-cooked meat
 upon their epigastrium1 it would be    
sufficient for the wants of the most    
robust and voracious6 ,they would by    
that means let in no diseases1 as they  
did at the broad and common gate1 the   
mouth1 as any one might see by example  

of drink2 for1 all the while a man sat  
in water1 he was never athirst4 ,he had 
known1 he said1 many ,rosicrucians1 who1
 by applying wine in this manner1 had   
fasted for years together4 ,in fact1    
quoth ,heydon1 we may easily fast all   
our life1 though it be three hundred    
years1 without any kind of meat1 and so 
cut off all danger of disease4  ,this   
sage philosopher further informed his   
wondering contemporaries that the chiefs
 of the doctrine always carried about   
with them to their place of meeting     
their symbol1 called the ,r4,c4 which   
was an ebony cross1 flourished and      
decked with roses of gold2 the cross    
typifying ,christ's sufferings upon the 
,cross for our sins1 and the roses of   
gold the glory and beauty of his        
,resurrection4 ,this symbol was carried 
alternately to ,mecca1 ,mount ,calvary1 
,mount ,sinai1 ,haran1 and to three     
other places1 which must have been in   
mid-air1 called ,cascle1 ,apamia1 and   
,chaulateau ,virissa ,caunuch1 where the

 ,rosicrucian brethren met when they    
pleased1 and made resolution of all     
their actions4 ,they always took their  
pleasures in one of these places1 where 
they resolved all questions of          
whatsoever had been done1 was done1 or  
should be done1 in the world1 from the  
beginning to the end thereof4 ,and      
these1 he concludes1 are the men called 
,rosicrucians4  ,towards the end of the 
seventeenth century1 more rational ideas
 took possession of the sect1 which     
still continued to boast of a few       
members4 ,they appear to have considered
 that contentment was the true          
philosopher's stone1 and to have        
abandoned the insane search for a mere  
phantom of the imagination4 ,addison1 in
 ,the ,spectator1 ,no4 #egd4 ,friday1   
,july #cjth1 #agad4 gives an account of 
his conversation with a ,rosicrucian2   
from which it may be inferred that the  
sect had grown wiser in their deeds1    
though in their talk they were as       
foolish as ever4 ,i was once1 says he1  

engaged in discourse with a ,rosicrucian
 about the great secret4 ,he talked of  
the secret as of a spirit which lived   
within an emerald1 and converted        
everything that was near it to the      
highest perfection that it was capable  
of4 ',it gives a lustre1' says he1 'to  
the sun1 and water to the diamond4 ,it  
irradiates every metal1 and enriches    
lead with all the properties of gold4   
,it heightens smoke into flame1 flame   
into light1 and light into glory4' ,he  
further added 'that a single ray of it  
dissipates pain1 and care1 and          
melancholy from the person on whom it   
falls4 ,in short1' says he1 'its        
presence naturally changes every place  
into a kind of heaven4' ,after he had   
gone on for some time in this           
unintelligible cant1 ,i found that he   
jumbled natural and moral ideas together
 into the same discourse1 and that his  
great secret was nothing else but       
content4  ,,jacob ,,bohmen4  ,it is now 
time to speak of ,jacob ,bohmen1 who    

thought he could discover the secret of 
the transmutation of metals in the      
,bible1 and who invented a strange      
heterogeneous doctrine of mingled       
alchymy and religion1 and founded upon  
it the sect of the ,aurea-crucians4 ,he 
was born at ,gorlitz1 in ,upper         
,lusatia1 in #aege2 and followed1 till  
his thirtieth year1 the occupation of a 
shoemaker4 ,in this obscurity he        
remained1 with the character of a       
visionary and a man of unsettled mind1  
until the promulgation of the           
,rosicrucian philosophy in his part of  
,germany1 toward the year #afjg or      
#afjh4 ,from that time he began to      
neglect his leather1 and buried his     
brain under the rubbish of metaphysics4 
,the works of ,paracelsus fell into his 
hands2 and these1 with the reveries of  
the ,rosicrucians1 so completely        
engrossed his attention that be         
abandoned his trade altogether1 sinking1
 at the same time1 from a state of      
comparative independence into poverty   

and destitution4 ,but he was nothing    
daunted by the miseries and privations  
of the flesh2 his mind was fixed upon   
the beings of another sphere1 and in    
thought he was already the new apostle  
of the human race4 ,in the year #afab1  
after a meditation of four years1 he    
published his first work1 entitled      
,aurora2 or1 ,the ,rising of the ,sun2  
embodying the ridiculous notions of     
,paracelsus1 and worse confounding the  
confusion of that writer4 ,the          
philosopher's stone might1 he contended1
 be discovered by a diligent search of  
the ,old and ,new ,testaments1 and more 
especially of the ,apocalypse1 which    
alone contained all the secrets of      
alchymy4 ,he contended that the ,divine 
,grace operated by the same rules1 and  
followed the same methods1 that the     
,divine ,providence observed in the     
natural world2 and that the minds of men
 were purged from their vices and       
corruptions in the very same manner that
 metals were purified from their dross1 

namely1 by fire4  ,besides the sylphs1  
gnomes1 undines1 and salamanders1 he    
acknowledged various ranks and orders of
 demons4 ,he pretended to invisibility  
and absolute chastity4 ,he also said    
that1 if it pleased him1 he could       
abstain for years from meat and drink1  
and all the necessities of the body4 ,it
 is needless1 however1 to pursue his    
follies any further4 ,he was reprimanded
 for writing this work by the           
magistrates of ,gorlitz1 and commanded  
to leave the pen alone and stick to his 
wax1 that his family might not become   
chargeable to the parish4 ,he neglected 
this good advice1 and continued his     
studies2 burning minerals and purifying 
metals one day1 and mystifying the ,word
 of ,god on the next4 ,he afterwards    
wrote three other works1 as sublimely   
ridiculous as the first4 ,the one was   
entitled ,metallurgia1 and has the      
slight merit of being the least obscure 
of his compositions4 ,another was called
 ,the ,temporal ,mirror of ,eternity2   

and the last his ,theosophy revealed1   
full of allegories and metaphors1  ,all 
strange and geason1 ,devoid of sense and
 ordinary reason4  ,bohmen died in      
#afbd1 leaving behind him a considerable
 number of admiring disciples4 ,many of 
them became1 during the seventeenth     
century1 as distinguished for absurdity 
as their master2 amongst whom may be    
mentioned ,gifftheil1 ,wendenhagen1     
,john ,jacob ,zimmermann1 and ,abraham  
,frankenberg4 ,their heresy rendered    
them obnoxious to the ,church of ,rome2 
and many of them suffered long          
imprisonment and torture for their      
faith4 ,one1 named ,kuhlmann1 was burned
 alive at ,moscow1 in #afhd1 on a charge
 of sorcery4 ,bohmen's works were       
translated into ,english1 and published1
 many years afterwards by an enthusiast1
 named ,william ,law4  ,,mormius4       
,peter ,mormius1 a notorious alchymist1 
and contemporary of ,bohmen1            
endeavoured1 in #afcj1 to introduce the 
,rosicrucian philosophy into ,holland4  

,he applied to the ,states-,general to  
grant him a public audience1 that he    
might explain the tenets of the sect1   
and disclose a plan for rendering       
,holland the happiest and richest       
country on the earth1 by means of the   
philosopher's' stone and the service of 
the elementary spirits4 ,the            
,states-,general wisely resolved to have
 nothing to do with him4 ,he thereupon  
determined to shame them by printing his
 book1 which he did at ,leyden the same 
year4 ,it was entitled ,the ,book of the
 most ,hidden ,secrets of ,nature1 and  
was divided into three parts2 the first 
treating of perpetual motion1 the second
 of the transmutation of metals1 and the
 third of the universal medicine4 ,he   
also published some ,german works upon  
the ,rosicrucian philosophy1 at         
,frankfort1 in #afag4  ,poetry and      
,romance are deeply indebted to the     
,rosicrucians for many a graceful       
creation4 ,the literature of ,england1  
,france1 and ,germany contains hundreds 

of sweet fictions1 whose machinery has  
been borrowed from their day-dreams4    
,the delicate ,ariel of ,shakspeare     
stands pre-eminent among the number4    
,from the same source ,pope drew the    
airy tenants of ,belinda's              
dressing-room1 in his charming ,rape of 
the ,lock2 and ,la ,motte ,fouque1 the  
beautiful and capricious water-nymph1   
,undine1 around whom he has thrown more 
grace and loveliness1 and for whose     
imaginary woes he has excited more      
sympathy1 than ever were bestowed on a  
supernatural being4 ,sir ,walter ,scott 
also endowed the ,white ,lady of ,avenel
 with many of the attributes of the     
undines1 or water-sprites4 ,german      
romance and lyrical poetry teem with    
allusions to sylphs1 gnomes1 undines1   
and salamanders2 and the ,french have   
not been behind in substituting them1 in
 works of fiction1 for the more cumbrous
 mythology of ,greece and ,rome4 ,the   
sylphs1 more especially1 have been the  
favourites of the bards1 and have become

 so familiar to the popular mind as to  
be1 in a manner1 confounded with that   
other race of ideal beings1 the fairies1
 who can boast of an antiquity much more
 venerable in the annals of             
superstition4 ,having these obligations 
to the ,rosicrucians1 no lover of poetry
 can wish1 however absurd they were1    
that such a sect of philosophers had    
never existed4  ,,borri4  ,just at the  
time that ,michael ,mayer was making    
known to the world the existence of such
 a body as the ,rosicrucians1 there was 
born in ,italy a man who was afterwards 
destined to become the most conspicuous 
member of the fraternity4 ,the alchymic 
mania never called forth the ingenuity  
of a more consummate or more successful 
impostor than ,joseph ,francis ,borri4  
,he was born in #afaf according to some 
authorities1 and in #afbg according to  
others1 at ,milan2 where his father1 the
 ,signor ,branda ,borri1 practised as a 
physician4 ,at the age of sixteen1      
,joseph was sent to finish his education

 at the ,jesuits' ,college in ,rome1    
where he distinguished himself by his   
extraordinary memory4 ,he learned       
everything to which he applied himself  
with the utmost ease4 ,in the most      
voluminous works no fact was too minute 
for his retention1 and no study was so  
abstruse but that he could master it2   
but any advantages he might have derived
 from this facility1 were neutralized by
 his ungovernable passions and his love 
of turmoil and debauchery4 ,he was      
involved in continual difficulty1 as    
well with the heads of the college as   
with the police of ,rome1 and acquired  
so bad a character that years could not 
remove it4 ,by the aid of his friends he
 established himself as a physician in  
,rome1 and also obtained some situation 
in the ,pope's household4 ,in one of his
 fits of studiousness he grew enamoured 
of alchymy1 and determined to devote his
 energies to the discovery of the       
philosopher's stone4 ,of unfortunate    
propensities he had quite sufficient1   

besides this1 to bring him to poverty4  
,his pleasures were as expensive as his 
studies1 and both were of a nature to   
destroy his health and ruin his fair    
fame4 ,at the age of thirty-seven he    
found that he could not live by the     
practice of medicine1 and began to look 
about for some other employment4 ,he    
became1 in #afec1 private secretary to  
the ,marquis di ,mirogli1 the minister  
of the ,archduke of ,innspruk at the    
court of ,rome4 ,he continued in this   
capacity for two years2 leading1        
however1 the same abandoned life as     
heretofore1 frequenting the society of  
gamesters1 debauchees1 and loose women1 
involving himself in disgraceful street 
quarrels1 and alienating the patrons who
 were desirous to befriend him4  ,all at
 once a sudden change was observed in   
his conduct4 ,the abandoned rake put on 
the outward sedateness of a philosopher2
 the scoffing sinner proclaimed that he 
had forsaken his evil ways1 and would   
live thenceforth a model of virtue4 ,to 

his friends this reformation was as     
pleasing as it was unexpected2 and      
,borri gave obscure hints that it had   
been brought about by some miraculous   
manifestation of a superior power4 ,he  
pretended that he held converse with    
beneficent spirits2 that the secrets of 
,god and nature were revealed to him2   
and that he had obtained possession of  
the philosopher's stone4 ,like his      
predecessor1 ,jacob ,bohmen1 he mixed up
 religious questions with his           
philosophical jargon1 and took measures 
for declaring himself the founder of a  
new sect4 ,this1 at ,rome itself1 and in
 the very palace of the ,pope1 was a    
hazardous proceeding2 and ,borri just   
awoke to a sense of it in time to save  
himself from the dungeons of the ,castle
 of ,st4 ,angelo4 ,he fled to           
,innspruck1 where he remained about a   
year1 and then returned to his native   
city of ,milan4  ,the reputation of his 
great sanctity had gone before him2 and 
he found many persons ready to attach   

themselves to his fortunes4 ,all who    
were desirous of entering into the new  
communion took an oath of poverty1 and  
relinquished their possessions for the  
general good of the fraternity4 ,borri  
told them that he had received from the 
archangel ,michael a heavenly sword1    
upon the hilt of which were engraven the
 names of the seven celestial           
,intelligences4 ,whoever shall refuse1  
said he1 to enter into my new sheepfold1
 shall be destroyed by the papal armies1
 of whom ,god has predestined me to be  
the chief4 ,to those who follow me1 all 
joy shall be granted4 ,i shall soon     
bring my chemical studies to a happy    
conclusion by the discovery of the      
philosopher's stone1 and by this means  
we shall all have as much gold as we    
desire4 ,i am assured of the aid of the 
angelic hosts1 and more especially of   
the archangel ,michael's4 ,when ,i began
 to walk in the way of the spirit1 ,i   
had a vision of the night1 and was      
assured by an angelic voice that ,i     

should become a prophet4 ,in sign of it 
,i saw a palm-tree1 surrounded with all 
the glory of ,paradise4 ,the angels come
 to me whenever ,i call1 and reveal to  
me all the secrets of the universe4 ,the
 sylphs and elementary spirits obey me1 
and fly to the uttermost ends of the    
world to serve me1 and those whom ,i    
delight to honour4 ,by force of         
continually repeating such stories as   
these1 ,borri soon found himself at the 
head of a very considerable number of   
adherents4 ,as he figures in these pages
 as an alchymist1 and not as a religious
 sectarian1 it will be unnecessary to   
repeat the doctrines which he taught    
with regard to some of the dogmas of the
 ,church of ,rome1 and which exposed him
 to the fierce resentment of the papal  
authority4 ,they were to the full as    
ridiculous as his philosophical         
pretensions4 ,as the number of his      
followers increased1 he appears to have 
cherished the idea of becoming one day a
 new ,mahomet1 and of founding1 in his  

native city of ,milan1 a monarchy and   
religion of which he should be the king 
and the prophet4 ,he had taken measures1
 in the year #afeh1 for seizing the     
guards at all the gates of that city1   
and formally declaring himself the      
monarch of the ,milanese4 ,just as he   
thought the plan ripe for execution1 it 
was discovered4 ,twenty of his followers
 were arrested1 and he himself managed1 
with the utmost difficulty1 to escape to
 the neutral territory of ,switzerland1 
where the papal displeasure could not   
reach him4  ,the trial of his followers 
commenced forthwith1 and the whole of   
them were sentenced to various terms of 
imprisonment4 ,borri's trial proceeded  
in his absence1 and lasted for upwards  
of two years4 ,he was condemned to death
 as a heretic and sorcerer in #affa1 and
 was burned in effigy in ,rome by the   
common hangman4  ,borri1 in the mean    
time1 lived quietly in ,switzerland1    
indulging himself in railing at the     
,inquisition and its proceedings4 ,he   

afterwards went to ,strasbourg1         
intending to fix his residence in that  
town4 ,he was received with great       
cordiality1 as a man persecuted for his 
religious opinions1 and withal a great  
alchymist4 ,he found that sphere too    
narrow for his aspiring genius1 and     
retired in the same year to the more    
wealthy city of ,amsterdam4 ,he there   
hired a magnificent house1 established  
an equipage which eclipsed in brilliancy
 those of the richest merchants1 and    
assumed the title of ,excellency4 ,where
 he got the money to live in this       
expensive style was long a secret3 the  
adepts in alchymy easily explained it1  
after their fashion4 ,sensible people   
were of opinion that he had come by it  
in a less wonderful manner2 for it was  
remembered that1 among his unfortunate  
disciples in ,milan1 there were many    
rich men1 who1 in conformity with one of
 the fundamental rules of the sect1 had 
given up all their earthly wealth into  
the hands of their founder4 ,in whatever

 manner the money was obtained1 ,borri  
spent it in ,holland with an unsparing  
hand1 and was looked up to by the people
 with no little respect and veneration4 
,he performed several able cures1 and   
increased his reputation so much that he
 was vaunted as a prodigy4 ,he continued
 diligently the operations of alchymy1  
and was in daily expectation that he    
should succeed in turning the inferior  
metals into gold4 ,this hope never      
abandoned him1 even in the worst        
extremity of his fortunes2 and in his   
prosperity it led him into the most     
foolish expenses3 but he could not long 
continue to live so magnificently upon  
the funds he had brought from ,italy2   
and the philosopher's stone1 though it  
promised all for the wants of the       
morrow1 never brought anything for the  
necessities of to-day4 ,he was obliged  
in a few months to retrench1 by giving  
up his large house1 his gilded coach1   
and valuable blood-horses1 his liveried 
domestics1 and his luxurious            

entertainments4 ,with this diminution of
 splendour came a diminution of renown4 
,his cures did not appear so miraculous1
 when he went out on foot to perform    
them1 as they had seemed when his       
,excellency had driven to a poor man's  
door in his carriage with six horses4   
,he sank from a prodigy into an ordinary
 man4 ,his great friends showed him the 
cold shoulder1 and his humble flatterers
 carried their incense to some other    
shrine4 ,borri now thought it high time 
to change his quarters4 ,with this view 
he borrowed money wherever he could get 
it1 and succeeded in obtaining two      
hundred thousand florins from a         
merchant1 named ,de ,meer1 to aid1 as he
 said1 in discovering the water of life4
 ,he also obtained six diamonds1 of     
great value1 on pretence that he could  
remove the flaws from them without      
diminishing their weight4 ,with this    
booty he stole away secretly by night1  
and proceeded to ,hamburgh4  ,on his    
arrival in that city1 he found the      

celebrated ,christina1 the ex-,queen of 
,sweden4 ,he procured an introduction to
 her1 and requested her patronage in his
 endeavour to discover the philosopher's
 stone4 ,she gave him some              
encouragement2 but ,borri1 fearing that 
the merchants of ,amsterdam1 who had    
connexions in ,hamburgh1 might expose   
his delinquencies if he remained in the 
latter city1 passed over to ,copenhagen1
 and sought the protection of ,frederic 
,,iii1 the ,king of ,denmark4  ,this    
,prince was a firm believer in the      
transmutation of metals4 ,being in want 
of money1 he readily listened to the    
plans of an adventurer who had both     
eloquence and ability to recommend him4 
,he provided ,borri with the means to   
make experiments1 and took a great      
interest in the progress of his         
operations4 ,he expected every month to 
possess riches that would buy ,peru2    
and1 when he was disappointed1 accepted 
patiently the excuses of ,borri who1    
upon every failure1 was always ready    

with some plausible explanation4 ,he    
became1 in time1 much attached to him2  
and defended him from the jealous       
attacks of his courtiers1 and the       
indignation of those who were grieved to
 see their monarch the easy dupe of a   
charlatan4 ,borri endeavoured1 by every 
means in his power1 to find aliment for 
this good opinion4 ,his knowledge of    
medicine was useful to him in this      
respect1 and often stood between him and
 disgrace4 ,he lived six years in this  
manner at the court of ,frederic2 but   
that monarch dying in #afgj1 he was left
 without a protector4  ,as he had made  
more enemies than friends in            
,copenhagen1 and had nothing to hope    
from the succeeding sovereign1 he sought
 an asylum in another country4 ,he went 
first to ,saxony2 but met so little     
encouragement1 and encountered so much  
danger from the emissaries of the       
,inquisition1 that he did not remain    
there many months4 ,anticipating nothing
 but persecution in every country that  

acknowledged the spiritual authority of 
the ,pope1 he appears to have taken the 
resolution to dwell in ,turkey1 and turn
 ,mussulman4 ,on his arrival at the     
,hungarian frontier1 on his way to      
,constantinople1 he was arrested on     
suspicion of being concerned in the     
conspiracy of the ,counts ,nadasdi and  
,frangipani1 which had just been        
discovered4 ,in vain he protested his   
innocence1 and divulged his real name   
and profession4 ,he was detained in     
prison1 and a letter despatched to the  
,emperor ,leopold to know what should be
 done with him4 ,the star of his        
fortunes was on the decline4 ,the letter
 reached ,leopold at an unlucky moment4 
,the ,pope's ,nuncio was closeted with  
his ,majesty2 and he no sooner heard the
 name of ,joseph ,francis ,borri1 than  
he demanded him as a prisoner of the    
,holy ,see4 ,the request was complied   
with2 and ,borri1 closely manacled1 was 
sent under an escort of soldiers to the 
prison of the ,inquisition at ,rome4 ,he

 was too much of an impostor to be      
deeply tinged with fanaticism1 and was  
not unwilling to make a public          
recantation of his heresies if he could 
thereby save his life4 ,when the        
proposition was made to him1 he accepted
 it with eagerness4 ,his punishment was 
to be commuted into the hardly less     
severe one of perpetual imprisonment2   
but he was too happy to escape the      
clutch of the executioner at any price1 
and he made the amende honorable in face
 of the assembled multitudes of ,rome on
 the #bgth of ,october #afgb4 ,he was   
then transferred to the prisons of the  
,castle of ,st4 ,angelo1 where he       
remained till his death1 twenty-three   
years afterwards4 ,it is said that1     
towards the close of his life1          
considerable indulgence was granted him2
 that he was allowed to have a          
laboratory1 and to cheer the solitude of
 his dungeon by searching for the       
philosopher's stone4 ,queen ,christina1 
during her residence at ,rome1          

frequently visited the old man1 to      
converse with him upon chemistry and the
 doctrines of the ,rosicrucians4 ,she   
even obtained permission that he should 
leave his prison occasionally for a day 
or two1 and reside in her palace1 she   
being responsible for his return to     
captivity4 ,she encouraged him to search
 for the great secret of the alchymists1
 and provided him with money for the    
purpose4 ,it may well be supposed that  
,borri benefited most by this           
acquaintance1 and that ,christina got   
nothing but experience4 ,it is not sure 
that she gained even that2 for1 until   
her dying day1 she was convinced of the 
possibility of finding the philosopher's
 stone1 and ready to assist any         
adventurer either zealous or impudent   
enough to pretend to it4  ,after ,borri 
had been about eleven years in          
confinement1 a small volume was         
published at ,cologne1 entitled ,the    
,key of the ,cabinet of the ,chevalier  
,joseph ,francis ,borri2 in which are   

contained many curious ,letters upon    
,chemistry and other ,sciences1 written 
by him2 together with a ,memoir of his  
,life4 ,this book contained a complete  
exposition of the ,rosicrucian          
philosophy1 and afforded materials to   
the ,abbe de ,villars for his           
interesting ,count de ,gabalis1 which   
excited so much attention at the close  
of the seventeenth century4  ,borri     
lingered in the prison of ,st4 ,angelo  
till #afie1 when he died in his         
eightieth year4 ,besides ,the ,key of   
the ,cabinet1 written originally in     
,copenhagen1 in #afff1 for the          
edification of ,king ,frederic ,,iii1 he
 published a work upon alchymy and the  
secret sciences1 under the title of ,the
 ,mission of ,romulus to the ,romans4   
,,inferior ,,alchymists ,,of ,,the      
,,seventeenth ,,century4  ,besides the  
pretenders to the philosopher's stone   
whose lives have been already narrated1 
this and the preceding century produced 
a great number of writers1 who inundated

 literature with their books upon the   
subject4 ,in fact1 most of the learned  
men of that age had some faith in it4   
,van ,helmont1 ,borrichius1 ,kirchen1   
,boerhaave1 and a score of others1      
though not professed alchymists1 were   
fond of the science1 and countenanced   
its professors4 ,helvetius1 the         
grandfather of the celebrated           
philosopher of the same name1 asserts   
that he saw an inferior metal turned    
into gold by a stranger1 at the ,hague1 
in #afff4 ,he says that1 sitting one day
 in his study1 a man1 who was dressed as
 a respectable burgher of ,north        
,holland1 and very modest and simple in 
his appearance1 called upon him1 with   
the intention of dispelling his doubts  
relative to the philosopher's stone4 ,he
 asked ,helvetius if he thought he      
should know that rare gem if he saw it4 
,to which ,helvetius replied1 that he   
certainly should not4 ,the burgher      
immediately drew from his pocket a small
 ivory box1 containing three pieces of  

metal1 of the colour of brimstone1 and  
extremely heavy2 and assured ,helvetius1
 that of them he could make as much as  
twenty tons of gold4 ,helvetius informs 
us1 that he examined them very          
attentively2 and seeing that they were  
very brittle1 he took the opportunity to
 scrape off a very small portion with   
his thumb-nail4 ,he then returned them  
to the stranger1 with an entreaty that  
he would perform the process of         
transmutation before him4 ,the stranger 
replied1 that he was not allowed to do  
so1 and went away4 ,after his departure1
 ,helvetius procured a crucible and a   
portion of lead1 into which1 when in a  
state of fusion1 he threw the stolen    
grain from the philosopher's stone4 ,he 
was disappointed to find that the grain 
evaporated altogether1 leaving the lead 
in its original state4  ,some weeks     
afterwards1 when he had almost forgotten
 the subject1 he received another visit 
from the stranger4 ,he again entreated  
him to explain the processes by which he

 pretended to transmute lead4 ,the      
stranger at last consented1 and informed
 him1 that one grain was sufficient2 but
 that it was necessary to envelope it in
 a ball of wax before throwing it on the
 molten metal2 otherwise its extreme    
volatility would cause it to go off in  
vapour4 ,they tried the experiment1 and 
succeeded to their heart's content4     
,helvetius repeated the experiment      
alone1 and converted six ounces of lead 
into very pure gold4  ,the fame of this 
event spread all over the ,hague1 and   
all the notable persons of the town     
flocked to the study of ,helvetius to   
convince themselves of the fact4        
,helvetius performed the experiment     
again1 in the presence of the ,prince of
 ,orange1 and several times afterwards1 
until he exhausted the whole of the     
powder he had received from the         
stranger1 from whom1 it is necessary to 
state1 he never received another visit2 
nor did he ever discover his name or    
condition4 ,in the following year       

,helvetius published his ,golden ,calf1 
,vitulus ,aureus quem ,mundus adorat et 
orat1 in quo tractatur de naturae       
miraculo transmutandi metalla4--,hagae1 
#affg4 in which he detailed the above   
circumstances4  ,about the same time1   
the celebrated ,father ,kircher         
published his ,subterranean ,world1 in  
which he called the alchymists a        
congregation of knaves and impostors1   
and their science a delusion4 ,he       
admitted that he had himself been a     
diligent labourer in the field1 and had 
only come to this conclusion after      
mature consideration and repeated       
fruitless experiments4 ,all the         
alchymists were in arms immediately1 to 
refute this formidable antagonist4 ,one 
,solomon de ,blauenstein was the first  
to grapple with him1 and attempted to   
convict him of wilful misrepresentation1
 by recalling to his memory the         
transmutations by ,sendivogius1 before  
the ,emperor ,frederic ,,iii4 and the   
,elector of ,mayence2 all performed     

within a recent period4 ,zwelfer and    
,glauber also entered into the dispute1 
and attributed the enmity of ,father    
,kircher to spite and jealousy against  
adepts who had been more successful than
 himself4  ,it was also pretended that  
,gustavus ,adolphus transmuted a        
quantity of quicksilver into pure gold4 
,the learned ,borrichius relates1 that  
he saw coins which had been struck of   
this gold2 and ,lenglet du ,fresnoy     
deposes to the same circumstance4 ,in   
the ,travels of ,monconis the story is  
told in the following manner3--,a       
merchant of ,lubeck1 who carried on but 
little trade1 but who knew how to change
 lead into very good gold1 gave the     
,king of ,sweden a lingot which he had  
made1 weighing1 at least1 one hundred   
pounds4 ,the ,king immediately caused it
 to be coined into ducats2 and because  
he knew positively that its origin was  
such as had been stated to him1 he had  
his own arms graven upon the one side1  
and emblematical figures of ,mercury and

 ,venus on the other4 ,i1 continued     
,monconis1 have one of these ducats in  
my possession2 and was credibly         
informed1 that1 after the death of the  
,lubeck merchant1 who had never appeared
 very rich1 a sum of no less than one   
million seven hundred thousand crowns   
was found in his coffers4 ,voyages de   
,monconis1 tome ii4 p4 #cgi4  ,such     
stories as these1 confidently related by
 men high in station1 tended to keep up 
the infatuation of the alchymists in    
every country of ,europe4 ,it is        
astonishing to see the number of works  
which were written upon the subject     
during the seventeenth century alone1   
and the number of clever men who        
sacrificed themselves to the delusion4  
,gabriel de ,castaigne1 a monk of the   
order of ,st4 ,francis1 attracted so    
much notice in the reign of ,louis      
,,xiii1 that that monarch secured him in
 his household1 and made him his ,grand 
,almoner4 ,he pretended to find the     
elixir of life2 and ,louis expected1 by 

his means1 to have enjoyed the crown for
 a century4 ,van ,helmont also pretended
 to have once performed with success the
 process of transmuting quicksilver2 and
 was1 in consequence1 invited by the    
,emperor ,rudolph ,,ii4 to fix his      
residence at the court of ,vienna4      
,glauber1 the inventor of the salts     
which still bear his name1 and who      
practised as a physician at ,amsterdam  
about the middle of the seventeenth     
century1 established a public school in 
that city for the study of alchymy1 and 
gave lectures himself upon the science4 
,john ,joachim ,becher1 of ,spire1      
acquired great reputation at the same   
period2 and was convinced that much gold
 might be made out of flint stones by a 
peculiar process1 and the aid of that   
grand and incomprehensible substance1   
the philosopher's stone4 ,he made a     
proposition to the ,emperor ,leopold of 
,austria1 to aid him in these           
experiments2 but the hope of success was
 too remote1 and the present expense too

 great to tempt that monarch2 and he    
therefore gave ,becher much of his      
praise1 but none of his money4 ,becher  
afterwards tried the ,states-,general of
 ,holland1 with no better success4      
,with regard to the innumerable tricks  
by which impostors persuaded the world  
that they had succeeded in making gold1 
and of which so many stories were       
current about this period1 a very       
satisfactory report was read by ,m4     
,geoffroy1 the elder1 at the sitting of 
the ,royal ,academy of ,sciences1 at    
,paris1 on the #aeth of ,april1 #agbb4  
,as it relates principally to the       
alchymic cheats of the sixteenth and    
seventeenth centuries1 the following    
abridgment of it may not be out of place
 in this portion of our history3--,the  
instances of successful transmutation   
were so numerous1 and apparently so well
 authenticated1 that nothing short of so
 able an exposure as that of ,m4        
,geoffroy could disabuse the public     
mind4 ,the trick to which they oftenest 

had recourse1 was to use a              
double-bottomed crucible1 the under     
surface being of iron or copper1 and the
 upper one of wax1 painted to resemble  
the same metal4 ,between the two they   
placed as much gold or silver dust as   
was necessary for their purpose4 ,they  
then put in their lead1 quicksilver1 or 
other ingredients1 and placed their pot 
upon the fire4 ,of course1 when the     
experiment was concluded1 they never    
failed to find a lump of gold at the    
bottom4 ,the same result was produced in
 many other ways4 ,some of them used a  
hollow wand1 filled with gold or silver 
dust1 and stopped at the ends with wax  
or butter4 ,with this they stirred the  
boiling metal in their crucibles1 taking
 care to accompany the operation with   
many ceremonies1 to divert attention    
from the real purpose of the manoeuvre4 
,they also drilled holes in lumps of    
lead1 into which they poured molten     
gold1 and carefully closed the aperture 
with the original metal4 ,sometimes they

 washed a piece of gold with            
quicksilver4 ,when in this state they   
found no difficulty in palming it off   
upon the uninitiated as an inferior     
metal1 and very easily transmuted it    
into fine sonorous gold again1 with the 
aid of a little aquafortis4  ,others    
imposed by means of nails1 half iron and
 half gold or silver4 ,they pretended   
that they really transmuted the precious
 half from iron1 by dipping it in a     
strong alcohol4 ,m4 ,geoffroy produced  
several of these nails to the ,academy  
of ,sciences1 and showed how nicely the 
two parts were soldered together4 ,the  
golden or silver half was painted black 
to resemble iron1 and the colour        
immediately disappeared when the nail   
was dipped into aquafortis4 ,a nail of  
this description was1 for a long time1  
in the cabinet of the ,grand ,duke of   
,tuscany4 ,such also1 said ,m4          
,geoffroy1 was the knife presented by a 
monk to ,queen ,elizabeth of ,england2  
the blade of which was half gold and    

half steel4 ,nothing at one time was    
more common than to see coins1 half gold
 and half silver1 which had been        
operated upon by alchymists1 for the    
same purposes of trickery4 ,in fact1    
says ,m4 ,geoffroy1 in concluding his   
long report1 there is every reason to   
believe that all the famous histories   
which have been handed down to us1 about
 the transmutation of metals into gold  
or silver1 by means of the powder of    
projection1 or philosophical elixirs1   
are founded upon some successful        
deception of the kind above narrated4   
,these pretended philosophers invariably
 disappeared after the first or second  
experiment1 or their powders or elixirs 
have failed to produce their effect1    
either because attention being excited  
they have found no opportunity to renew 
the trick without being discovered1 or  
because they have not had sufficient    
gold dust for more than one trial4  ,the
 disinterestedness of these would-be    
philosopher looked1 at first sight1     

extremely imposing4 ,instances were not 
rare1 in which they generously abandoned
 all the profits of their               
transmutations--even the honour of the  
discovery6 ,but this apparent           
disinterestedness was one of the most   
cunning of their manoeuvres4 ,it served 
to keep up the popular expectation2 it  
showed the possibility of discovering   
the philosopher's stone1 and provided   
the means of future advantages1 which   
they were never slow to lay hold        
of--such as entrances into royal        
households1 maintenance at the public   
expense1 and gifts from ambitious       
potentates1 too greedy after the gold   
they so easily promised4  ,it now only  
remains to trace the progress of the    
delusion from the commencement of the   
eighteenth century until the present    
day4 ,it will be seen1 that until a very
 recent period1 there were but slight   
signs of a return to reason4  ,,jean    
,,delisle4  ,in the year #agje1 there   
was much talk in ,france of a           

blacksmith1 named ,delisle1 who had     
discovered the philosopher's stone1 and 
who went about the country turning lead 
into gold4 ,he was a native of          
,provence1 from which place his fame    
soon spread to the capital4 ,his early  
life is involved in obscurity2 but      
,longlet du ,fresnoy has industriously  
collected some particulars of his later 
career1 which possess considerable      
interest4 ,he was a man without any     
education1 and had been servant in his  
youth to an alchymist1 from whom he     
learned many of the tricks of the       
fraternity4 ,the name of his master has 
never been discovered2 but it is        
pretended that he rendered himself in   
some manner obnoxious to the government 
of ,louis ,,xiv1 and was obliged1 in    
consequence1 to take refuge in          
,switzerland4 ,delisle accompanied him  
as far as ,savoy1 and there1 it is said1
 set upon him in a solitary             
mountain-pass1 and murdered and robbed  
him4 ,he then disguised himself as a    

pilgrim1 and returned to ,france4 ,at a 
lonely inn1 by the road-side1 where he  
stopped for the night1 he became        
acquainted with a woman1 named ,aluys2  
and so sudden a passion was enkindled   
betwixt them1 that she consented to     
leave all1 follow him1 and share his    
good or evil fortune wherever he went4  
,they lived together for five or six    
years in ,provence1 without exciting any
 attention1 apparently possessed of a   
decent independence4 ,at last1 in #agjf1
 it was given out that he was the       
possessor of the philosopher's stone2   
and people1 from far and near1 came     
flocking to his residence1 at the       
,chateau de la ,palu1 at ,sylanez1 near 
,barjaumont1 to witness the wealth he   
could make out of pumps and fire        
shovels4 ,the following account of his  
operations is given in a letter         
addressed by ,m4 de ,cerisy1 the ,prior 
of ,chateauneuf1 in the ,diocese of     
,riez1 in ,provence1 to the ,vicar of   
,st4 ,jacques du ,hautpas1 at ,paris1   

and dated the #ahth of ,november        
#agjf3--  ,i have something to relate to
 you1 my dear cousin1 which will be     
interesting to you and your friends4    
,the philosopher's stone1 which so many 
persons have looked upon as a chimera1  
is at last found4 ,it is a man named    
,delisle1 of the parish of ,sylanez1 and
 residing within a quarter of a league  
of me1 that has discovered this great   
secret4 ,he turns lead into gold1 and   
iron into silver1 by merely heating     
these metals red hot1 and pouring upon  
them1 in that state1 some oil and powder
 he is possessed of2 so that it would   
not be impossible for any man to make a 
million a day1 if he had sufficient of  
this wondrous mixture4 ,some of the pale
 gold which he had made in this manner1 
he sent to the jewellers of ,lyons1 to  
have their opinion on its quality4 ,he  
also sold twenty pounds weight of it to 
a merchant of ,digne1 named ,taxis4 ,all
 the jewellers say they never saw such  
fine gold in their lives4 ,he makes     

nails1 part gold1 part iron1 and part   
silver4 ,he promised to give me one of  
them1 in a long conversation which ,i   
had with him the other day1 by order of 
the ,bishop of ,sends1 who saw his      
operations with his own eyes1 and       
detailed all the circumstances to me4   
,the ,baron and ,baroness de ,rheinwald 
showed me a lingot of gold made out of  
pewter before their eyes by ,m4         
,delisle4 ,my brother-in-law ,sauveur1  
who has wasted fifty years of his life  
in this great study1 brought me the     
other day a nail which he had seen      
changed into gold by ,delisle1 and fully
 convinced me that all his previous     
experiments were founded on an erroneous
 principle4 ,this excellent workman     
received1 a short time ago1 a very kind 
letter from the superintendent of the   
royal household1 which ,i read4 ,he     
offered to use all his influence with   
the ministers to prevent any attempts   
upon his liberty1 which has twice been  
attacked by the agents of government4   

,it is believed that the oil he makes   
use of1 is gold or silver reduced to    
that state4 ,he leaves it for a long    
time exposed to the rays of the sun4 ,he
 told me that it generally took him six 
months to make all his preparations4 ,i 
told him that1 apparently1 the ,king    
wanted to see him4 ,he replied that he  
could not exercise his art in every     
place1 as a certain climate and         
temperature were absolutely necessary to
 his success4 ,the truth is1 that this  
man appears to have no ambition4 ,he    
only keeps two horses and two           
men-servants4 ,besides1 he loves his    
liberty1 has no politeness1 and speaks  
very bad ,french2 but his judgment seems
 to be solid4 ,he was formerly no more  
than a blacksmith1 but excelled in that 
trade without having been taught it4    
,all the great lords and seigneurs from 
far and near come to visit him1 and pay 
such court to him1 that it seems more   
like idolatry than anything else4 ,happy
 would ,france be if this man would     

discover his secret to the ,king1 to    
whom the superintendent has already sent
 some lingots6 ,but the happiness is too
 great to be hoped for2 for ,i fear that
 the workman and his secret will expire 
together4 ,there is no doubt that this  
discovery will make a great noise in the
 kingdom1 unless the character of the   
man1 which ,i have just depicted to you1
 prevent it4 ,at all events1 posterity  
will hear of him4  ,in another letter to
 the same person1 dated the #bgth of    
,january #agjg1 ,m4 de ,cerisy says1 ,my
 dear cousin1 ,i spoke to you in my last
 letter of the famous alchymist of      
,provence1 ,m4 ,delisle4 ,a good deal of
 that was only hearsay1 but now ,i am   
enabled to speak from my own experience4
 ,i have in my possession a nail1 half  
iron and half silver1 which ,i made     
myself4 ,that great and admirable       
workman also bestowed a still greater   
privilege upon me--he allowed me to turn
 a piece of lead which ,i had brought   
with me into pure gold1 by means of his 

wonderful oil and powder4 ,all the      
country have their eyes upon this       
gentleman3 some deny loudly1 others are 
incredulous2 but those who have seen    
acknowledge the truth4 ,i have read the 
passport that has been sent to him from 
,court1 with orders that he should      
present himself at ,paris early in the  
spring4 ,he told me that he would go    
willingly1 and that it was himself who  
fixed the spring for his departure2 as  
he wanted to collect his materials1 in  
order that1 immediately on his          
introduction to the ,king1 he might make
 an experiment worthy of his ,majesty1  
by converting a large quantity of lead  
into the finest gold4 ,i sincerely hope 
that he will not allow his secret to die
 with him1 but that he will communicate 
it to the ,king4 ,as ,i had the honour  
to dine with him on ,thursday last1 the 
#bjth of this month1 being seated at his
 side1 ,i told him in a whisper that he 
could1 if he liked1 humble all the      
enemies of ,france4 ,he did not deny it1

 but began to smile4 ,in fact1 this man 
is the miracle of art4 ,sometimes he    
employs the oil and powder mixed1       
sometimes the powder only1 but in so    
small a quantity that1 when the lingot  
which ,i made was rubbed all over with  
it1 it did not show at all4  ,this      
soft-headed priest was by no means the  
only person in the neighbourhood who    
lost his wits in hopes of the boundless 
wealth held out by this clever impostor4
 ,another priest1 named ,de ,lions1 a   
chanter in the cathedral of ,grenoble1  
writing on the #cjth ,january #agjg1    
says1--,m4 ,mesnard1 the curate of      
,montier1 has written to me1 stating    
that there is a man1 about thirty-five  
years of age1 named ,delisle1 who turns 
lead and iron into gold and silver2 and 
that this transmutation is so veritable 
and so true1 that the goldsmiths affirm 
that his gold and silver are the purest 
and finest they ever saw4 ,for five     
years1 this man was looked upon as a    
madman or a cheat2 but the public mind  

is now disabused with respect to him4   
,he now resides with ,m4 de la ,palu1 at
 the chateau of the same name4 ,m4 de la
 ,palu is not very easy in his          
circumstances1 and wants money to       
portion his daughters1 who have remained
 single till middle age1 no man being   
willing to take them without a dowry4   
,m4 ,delisle has promised to make them  
the richest girls in the province before
 he goes to ,court1 having been sent for
 by the ,king4 ,he has asked for a      
little time before his departure1 in    
order that he may collect powder enough 
to make several quintals of gold before 
the eyes of his ,majesty1 to whom he    
intends to present them4 ,the principal 
matter of his wonderful powder is       
composed of simples1 principally the    
herbs ,lunaria major and minor4 ,there  
is a good deal of the first planted by  
him in the gardens of ,la ,palu2 and he 
gets the other from the mountains1 that 
stretch about two leagues from ,montier4
 ,what ,i tell you now is not a mere    

story invented for your diversion3 ,m4  
,mesnard can bring forward many         
witnesses to its truth2 among others1   
the ,bishop of ,senes1 who saw these    
surprising operations performed2 and ,m4
 de ,cerisy1 whom you know well4        
,delisle transmutes his metals in       
public4 ,he rubs the lead or iron with  
his powder1 and puts it over burning    
charcoal4 ,in a short time it changes   
colour2 the lead becomes yellow1 and is 
found to be converted into excellent    
gold3 the iron becomes white1 and is    
found to be pure silver4 ,delisle is    
altogether an illiterate person4 ,m4 de 
,st4 ,auban endeavoured to teach him to 
read and write1 but he profited very    
little by his lessons4 ,he is unpolite1 
fantastic1 and a dreamer1 and acts by   
fits and starts4  ,delisle1 it would    
appear1 was afraid of venturing to      
,paris4 ,he knew that his sleight of    
hand would be too narrowly watched in   
the royal presence2 and upon some       
pretence or other1 he delayed the       

journey for more than two years4        
,desmarets1 the ,minister of ,finance to
 ,louis ,,xiv1 thinking the philosopher 
dreaded foul play1 twice sent him a safe
 conduct under the ,king's seal2 but    
,delisle still refused4 ,upon this1     
,desmarets wrote to the ,bishop of      
,sends for his real opinion as to these 
famous transmutations4 ,the following   
was the answer of that prelate3--  ,copy
 of a report addressed to ,m4           
,desmarets1 ,comptroller-,general of the
 ,finances to ,his ,majesty ,louis      
,,xiv1 by the ,bishop of ,senes1 dated  
,march #agji4  ,,sir1  ,a twelvemonth   
ago1 or a little more1 ,i expressed to  
you my joy at hearing of your elevation 
to the ministry2 ,i have now the honour 
to write you my opinion of the ,sieur   
,delisle1 who has been working at the   
transmutation of metals in my diocese4  
,i have1 during the last two years1     
spoken of him several times to the      
,count de ,pontchartrain1 because he    
asked me2 but ,i have not written to    

you1 sir1 or to ,m4 de ,chamillart1     
because you neither of you requested my 
opinion upon the subject4 ,now1 however1
 that you have given me to understand   
that you wish to know my sentiments on  
the matter1 ,i will unfold myself to you
 in all sincerity1 for the interests of 
the ,king and the glory of your         
ministry4  ,there are two things about  
the ,sieur ,delisle which1 in my        
opinion1 should be examined without     
prejudice3 the one relates to his       
secret2 the other1 to his person2 that  
is to say1 whether his transmutations   
are real1 and whether his conduct has   
been regular4 ,as regards the secret of 
the philosopher's stone1 ,i deemed it   
impossible1 for a long time2 and for    
more than three years1 ,i was more      
mistrustful of the pretensions of this  
,sieur ,delisle than of any other       
person4 ,during this period ,i afforded 
him no countenance2 ,i even aided a     
person1 who was highly recommended to me
 by an influential family of this       

province1 to prosecute ,delisle for some
 offence or other which it was alleged  
he had committed4 ,but this person1 in  
his anger against him1 having told me   
that he had himself been several times  
the bearer of gold and silver to the    
goldsmiths of ,nice1 ,aix1 and ,avignon1
 which had been transmuted by ,delisle  
from lead and iron1 ,i began to waver a 
little in my opinions respecting him4 ,i
 afterwards met ,delisle at the house of
 one of my friends4 ,to please me1 the  
family asked ,delisle to operate before 
me1 to which he immediately consented4  
,i offered him some iron nails1 which he
 changed into silver in the             
chimney-place before six or seven       
credible witnesses4 ,i took the nails   
thus transmuted1 and sent them by my    
almoner to ,irabert1 the jeweller of    
,aix1 who1 having subjected them to the 
necessary trial1 returned them to me1   
saying they were very good silver4      
,still1 however1 ,i was not quite       
satisfied4 ,m4 de ,pontchartrain having 

hinted to me1 two years previously1 that
 ,i should do a thing agreeable to his  
,majesty if ,i examined into this       
business of ,delisle1 ,i resolved to do 
so now4 ,i therefore summoned the       
alchymist to come to me at ,castellane4 
,he came2 and ,i had him escorted by    
eight or ten vigilant men1 to whom ,i   
had given notice to watch his hands     
strictly4 ,before all of us he changed  
two pieces of lead into gold and silver4
 ,i sent them both to ,m4 de            
,pontchartrain2 and he afterwards       
informed me by a letter1 now lying      
before me1 that he had shown them to the
 most experienced goldsmiths of ,paris1 
who unanimously pronounced them to be   
gold and silver of the very purest      
quality1 and without alloy4 ,my former  
bad opinion of ,delisle was now indeed  
shaken4 ,it was much more so when he    
performed transmutation five or six     
times before me at ,senes1 and made me  
perform it myself before him without his
 putting his hand to anything4 ,you have

 seen1 sir1 the letter of my nephew1 the
 ,pere ,berard1 of the ,oratoire at     
,paris1 on the experiment that he       
performed at ,castellane1 and the truth 
of which ,i hereby attest4 ,another     
nephew of mine1 the ,sieur ,bourget1 who
 was here three weeks ago1 performed the
 same experiment in my presence1 and    
will detail all the circumstances to you
 personally at ,paris4 ,a hundred       
persons in my diocese have been         
witnesses of these things4 ,i confess to
 you1 sir1 that1 after the testimony of 
so many spectators and so many          
goldsmiths1 and after the repeatedly    
successful experiments that ,i saw      
performed1 all my prejudices vanished4  
,my reason was convinced by my eyes2 and
 the phantoms of impossibility which ,i 
had conjured up were dissipated by the  
work of my own hands4  ,it now only     
remains for me to speak to you on the   
subject of his person and conduct4      
,three suspicions have been excited     
against him3 the first1 ,that he was    

implicated in some criminal proceeding  
at ,cisteron1 and that he falsified the 
coin of the realm2 the second1 ,that the
 ,king sent him two safe-conducts       
without effect2 and the third1 ,that he 
still delays going to court to operate  
before the ,king4 ,you may see1 sir1    
that ,i do not hide or avoid anything4  
,as regards the business at ,cisteron1  
the ,sieur ,delisle has repeatedly      
assured me that there was nothing       
against him which could reasonably draw 
him within the pale of justice1 and that
 he had never carried on any calling    
injurious to the ,king's service4 ,it   
was true that1 six or seven years ago1  
he had been to ,cisteron to gather herbs
 necessary for his powder1 and that he  
had lodged at the house of one ,pelouse1
 whom he thought an honest man4 ,pelouse
 was accused of clipping ,louis d'ors2  
and as he had lodged with him1 he was   
suspected of being his accomplice4 ,this
 mere suspicion1 without any proof      
whatever1 had caused him to be condemned

 for contumacy2 a common case enough    
with judges1 who always proceed with    
much rigour against those who are       
absent4 ,during my own sojourn at ,aix1 
it was well known that a man1 named     
,andre ,aluys1 had spread about reports 
injurious to the character of ,delisle1 
because he hoped thereby to avoid paying
 him a sum of forty ,louis that he owed 
him4 ,but permit me1 sir1 to go further1
 and to add that1 even if there were    
well-founded suspicions against         
,delisle1 we should look with some      
little indulgence on the faults of a man
 who possesses a secret so useful to the
 state4 ,as regards the two             
safe-conducts sent him by the ,king1 ,i 
think ,i can answer certainly that it   
was through no fault of his that he paid
 so little attention to them4 ,his year1
 strictly speaking1 consists only of the
 four summer months2 and when by any    
means he is prevented from making the   
proper use of them1 he loses a whole    
year4 ,thus the first safe-conduct      

became useless by the irruption of the  
,duke of ,savoy in #agjg2 and the second
 had hardly been obtained1 at the end of
 ,june #agjh1 when the said ,delisle was
 insulted by a party of armed men1      
pretending to act under the authority of
 the ,count de ,grignan1 to whom he     
wrote several letters of complaint1     
without receiving any answer1 or promise
 that his safety would be attended to4  
,what ,i have now told you1 sir1 removes
 the third objection1 and is the reason 
why1 at the present time1 he cannot go  
to ,paris to the ,king1 in fulfilment of
 his promises made two years ago4 ,two1 
or even three1 summers have been lost to
 him1 owing to the continual inquietude 
he has laboured under4 ,he has1 in      
consequence1 been unable to work1 and   
has not collected a sufficient quantity 
of his oil and powder1 or brought what  
he has got to the necessary degree of   
perfection4 ,for this reason also he    
could not give the ,sieur de ,bourget   
the portion he promised him for your    

inspection4 ,if the other day he changed
 some lead into gold with a few grains  
of his powder1 they were assuredly all  
he had2 for he told me that such was the
 fact long before he knew my nephew was 
coming4 ,even if he had preserved this  
small quantity to operate before the    
,king1 ,i am sure that1 on second       
thoughts1 he would never have adventured
 with so little2 because the slightest  
obstacles in the metals 7their being too
 hard or too soft1 which is only        
discovered in operating7 would have     
caused him to be looked upon as an      
impostor1 if1 in case his first powder  
had proved ineffectual1 he had not been 
possessed of more to renew the          
experiment and surmount the difficulty4 
,permit me1 sir1 in conclusion1 to      
repeat that such an artist as this      
should not be driven to the last        
extremity1 nor forced to seek an asylum 
offered to him in other countries1 but  
which he has despised1 as much from his 
own inclinations as from the advice ,i  

have given him4 ,you risk nothing in    
giving him a little time1 and in        
hurrying him you may lose a great deal4 
,the genuineness of his gold can no     
longer be doubted1 after the testimony  
of so many jewellers of ,aix1 ,lyons1   
and ,paris in its favour4 ,as it is not 
his fault that the previous             
safe-conducts sent to him have been of  
no service1 it will be necessary to send
 him another2 for the success of which  
,i will be answerable1 if you will      
confide the matter to me1 and trust to  
my zeal for the service of his ,majesty1
 to whom ,i pray you to communicate this
 letter1 that ,i may be spared the just 
reproaches he might one day heap upon me
 if he remained ignorant of the facts ,i
 have now written to you4 ,assure him1  
if you please1 that1 if you send me such
 a safe-conduct1 ,i will oblige the     
,sieur ,delisle to depose with me such  
precious pledges of his fidelity1 as    
shall enable me to be responsible myself
 to the ,king4 ,these are my sentiments1

 and ,i submit them to your superior    
knowledge2 and have the honour to       
remain1 with much respect1 c4  ,,john1  
,bishop of ,senes4  ,to ,m4 ,desmarets1 
,minister of ,state1 and                
,comptroller-,general of the ,finances1 
at ,paris4   ,that ,delisle was no      
ordinary impostor1 but a man of         
consummate cunning and address1 is very 
evident from this letter4 ,the ,bishop  
was fairly taken in by his clever       
legerdemain1 and when once his first    
distrust was conquered1 appeared as     
anxious to deceive himself as even      
,delisle could have wished4 ,his faith  
was so abundant that he made the case of
 his protege his own1 and would not     
suffer the breath of suspicion to be    
directed against him4 ,both ,louis and  
his minister appear to have been dazzled
 by the brilliant hopes he had excited1 
and a third pass1 or safe-conduct1 was  
immediately sent to the alchymist1 with 
a command from the ,king that he should 
forthwith present himself at            

,versailles1 and make public trial of   
his oil and powder4 ,but this did not   
suit the plans of ,delisle3 in the      
provinces he was regarded as a man of no
 small importance2 the servile flattery 
that awaited him wherever he went was so
 grateful to his mind that he could not 
willingly relinquish it and run upon    
certain detection at the court of the   
,monarch4 ,upon one pretext or another  
he delayed his journey1 notwithstanding 
the earnest solicitations of his good   
friend the ,bishop4 ,the latter had     
given his word to the minister1 and     
pledged his honour that he would induce 
,delisle to go1 and he began to be      
alarmed when he found he could not      
subdue the obstinacy of that individual4
 ,for more than two years he continued  
to remonstrate with him1 and was always 
met by some excuse1 that there was not  
sufficient powder1 or that it had not   
been long enough exposed to the rays of 
the sun4 ,at last his patience was      
exhausted2 and fearful that he might    

suffer in the royal estimation by longer
 delay1 he wrote to the ,king for a     
lettre de cachet1 in virtue of which the
 alchymist was seized at the castle of  
,la ,palu1 in the month of ,june #agaa1 
and carried off to be imprisoned in the 
,bastille4  ,the gendarmes were aware   
that their prisoner was supposed to be  
the lucky possessor of the philosopher's
 stone1 and on the road they conspired  
to rob and murder him4 ,one of them     
pretended to be touched with pity for   
the misfortunes of the philosopher1 and 
offered to give him an opportunity of   
escape whenever he could divert the     
attention of his companions4 ,delisle   
was profuse in his thanks1 little       
dreaming of the snare that was laid for 
him4 ,his treacherous friend gave notice
 of the success of the stratagem so far2
 and it was agreed that ,delisle should 
be allowed to struggle with and         
overthrow one of them while the rest    
were at some distance4 ,they were then  
to pursue him and shoot him through the 

heart2 and after robbing the corpse of  
the philosopher's stone1 convey it to   
,paris on a cart1 and tell ,m4          
,desmarets that the prisoner had        
attempted to escape1 and would have     
succeeded1 if they had not fired after  
him and shot him through the body4 ,at a
 convenient place the scheme was        
executed4 ,at a given signal from the   
friendly gendarme ,delisle fled1 while  
another gendarme took aim and shot him  
through the thigh4 ,some peasants       
arriving at the instant1 they were      
prevented from killing him as they      
intended2 and he was transported to     
,paris1 maimed and bleeding4 ,he was    
thrown into a dungeon in the ,bastille1 
and obstinately tore away the bandages  
which the surgeons applied to his wound4
 ,he never afterwards rose from his bed4
  ,the ,bishop of ,senes visited him in 
prison1 and promised him his liberty if 
he would transmute a certain quantity of
 lead into gold before the ,king4 ,the  
unhappy man had no longer the means of  

carrying on the deception2 he had no    
gold1 and no double-bottomed crucible or
 hollow wand to conceal it in1 even if  
he had4 ,he would not1 however1 confess 
that he was an impostor2 but merely said
 he did not know how to make the powder 
of projection1 but had received a       
quantity from an ,italian philosopher1  
and had used it all in his various      
transmutations in ,provence4 ,he        
lingered for seven or eight months in   
the ,bastille1 and died from the effects
 of his wound1 in the forty-first year  
of his age4  ,,albert ,,aluys4  ,this   
pretender to the philosopher's stone1   
was the son1 by a former husband1 of the
 woman ,aluys1 with whom ,delisle became
 acquainted at the commencement of his  
career1 in the cabaret by the road side1
 and whom he afterwards married4        
,delisle performed the part of a father 
towards him1 and thought he could show  
no stronger proof of his regard1 than by
 giving him the necessary instructions  
to carry on the deception which had     

raised himself to such a pitch of       
greatness4 ,the young ,aluys was an apt 
scholar1 and soon mastered all the      
jargon of the alchymists4 ,he discoursed
 learnedly upon projections1            
cimentations1 sublimations1 the elixir  
of life1 and the universal alkahest2 and
 on the death of ,delisle gave out that 
the secret of that great adept had been 
communicated to him1 and to him only4   
,his mother aided in the fraud1 with the
 hope they might both fasten themselves1
 in the true alchymical fashion1 upon   
some rich dupe1 who would entertain them
 magnificently while the operation was  
in progress4 ,the fate of ,delisle was  
no inducement for them to stop in       
,france4 ,the ,provencals1 it is true1  
entertained as high an opinion as ever  
of his skill1 and were well inclined to 
believe the tales of the young adept on 
whom his mantle had fallen2 but the     
dungeons of the ,bastille were yawning  
for their prey1 and ,aluys and his      
mother decamped with all convenient     

expedition4 ,they travelled about the   
,continent for several years1 sponging  
upon credulous rich men1 and now and    
then performing successful              
transmutations by the aid of            
double-bottomed crucibles and the like4 
,in the year #agbf1 ,aluys1 without his 
mother1 who appears to have died in the 
interval1 was at ,vienna1 where he      
introduced himself to the ,duke de      
,richelieu1 at that time ambassador from
 the court of ,france4 ,he completely   
deceived this nobleman2 he turned lead  
into gold 7apparently7 on several       
occasions1 and even made the ambassador 
himself turn an iron nail into a silver 
one4 ,the ,duke afterwards boasted to   
,lenglet du ,fresnoy of his achievements
 as an alchymist1 and regretted that he 
had not been able to discover the secret
 of the precious powder by which he     
performed them4  ,aluys soon found that1
 although he might make a dupe of the   
,duke de ,richelieu1 he could not get   
any money from him4 ,on the contrary1   

the ,duke expected all his pokers and   
fire shovels to be made silver1 and all 
his pewter utensils gold2 and thought   
the honour of his acquaintance was      
reward sufficient for a roturier1 who   
could not want wealth since he possessed
 so invaluable a secret4 ,aluys seeing  
that so much was expected of him1 bade  
adieu to his ,excellency1 and proceeded 
to ,bohemia1 accompanied by a pupil1 and
 by a young girl who had fallen in love 
with him in ,vienna4 ,some noblemen in  
,bohemia received him kindly1 and       
entertained him at their houses for     
months at a time4 ,it was his usual     
practice to pretend that he possessed   
only a few grains of his powder1 with   
which he would operate in any house     
where he intended to fix his quarters   
for the season4 ,he would make the      
proprietor a present of the piece of    
gold thus transmuted1 and promise him   
millions1 if he could only be provided  
with leisure to gather his lunaria major
 and minor on their mountain tops1 and  

board1 lodging1 and loose cash for      
himself1 his wife1 and his pupil in the 
interval4  ,he exhausted in this manner 
the patience of some dozen of people1   
when1 thinking that there was less      
danger for him in ,france1 under the    
young king ,louis ,,xv1 than under his  
old and morose predecessor1 he returned 
to ,provence4 ,on his arrival at ,aix1  
he presented himself before ,m4 le      
,bret1 the ,president of the province1 a
 gentleman who was much attached to the 
pursuits of alchymy1 and had great hopes
 of being himself able to find the      
philosopher's stone4 ,m4 le ,bret1      
contrary to his expectation1 received   
him very coolly1 in consequence of some 
rumours that were spread abroad         
respecting him2 and told him to call    
upon him on the morrow4 ,aluys did not  
like the tone of the voice1 or the      
expression of the eye of the learned    
,president1 as that functionary looked  
down upon him4 ,suspecting that all was 
not right1 he left ,aix secretly the    

same evening1 and proceeded to          
,marseilles4 ,but the police were on the
 watch for him2 and he had not been     
there four-and-twenty hours1 before he  
was arrested on a charge of coining1 and
 thrown into prison4  ,as the proofs    
against him were too convincing to leave
 him much hope of an acquittal1 he      
planned an escape from durance4 ,it so  
happened that the gaoler had a pretty   
daughter1 and ,aluys soon discovered    
that she was tender-hearted4 ,he        
endeavoured to gain her in his favour1  
and succeeded4 ,the damsel1 unaware that
 he was a married man1 conceived and    
encouraged a passion for him1 and       
generously provided him with the means  
of escape4 ,after he had been nearly a  
year in prison he succeeded in getting  
free1 leaving the poor girl behind1 to  
learn that he was already married1 and  
to lament in solitude that she had given
 her heart to an ungrateful vagabond4   
,when he left ,marseilles1 he had not a 
shoe to his foot1 or a decent garment to

 his back1 but was provided with some   
money and clothes by his wife in a      
neighbouring town4 ,they then found     
their way to ,brussels1 and by dint of  
excessive impudence1 brought themselves 
into notice4 ,he took a house1 fitted up
 a splendid laboratory1 and gave out    
that he knew the secret of              
transmutation4 ,in vain did ,m4 ,percel1
 the brother-in-law of ,lenglet du      
,fresnoy1 who resided in that city1     
expose his pretensions1 and hold him up 
to contempt as an ignorant impostor3 the
 world believed him not4 ,they took the 
alchymist at his word1 and besieged his 
doors1 to see and wonder at the clever  
legerdemain by which he turned iron     
nails into gold and silver4 ,a rich     
greffier paid him a large sum of money  
that he might be instructed in the art1 
and ,aluys gave him several lessons on  
the most common principles of chemistry4
 ,the greffier studied hard for a       
twelvemonth1 and then discovered that   
his master was a quack4 ,he demanded his

 money back again2 but ,aluys was not   
inclined to give it him1 and the affair 
was brought before the civil tribunal of
 the province4 ,in the mean time1       
however1 the greffier died suddenly2    
poisoned1 according to the popular      
rumour1 by his debtor1 to avoid         
repayment4 ,so great an outcry arose in 
the city1 that ,aluys1 who may have been
 innocent of the crime1 was nevertheless
 afraid to remain and brave it4 ,he     
withdrew secretly in the night1 and     
retired to ,paris4 ,here all trace of   
him is lost4 ,he was never heard of     
again2 but ,lenglet du ,fresnoy         
conjectures1 that he ended his days in  
some obscure dungeon1 into which he was 
cast for coining1 or other malpractices4
  ,,the ,,count ,,de ,,st4 ,,germain    
,this adventurer was of a higher grade  
than the last1 and played a             
distinguished part at the court of      
,louis ,,xv4 ,he pretended to have      
discovered the elixir of life1 by means 
of which he could make any one live for 

centuries2 and allowed it to be believed
 that his own age was upwards of two    
thousand years4 ,he entertained many of 
the opinions of the ,rosicrucians2      
boasted of his intercourse with sylphs  
and salamanders2 and of his power of    
drawing diamonds from the earth1 and    
pearls from the sea1 by the force of his
 incantations4 ,he did not lay claim to 
the merit of having discovered the      
philosopher's stone2 but devoted so much
 of his time to the operations of       
alchymy1 that it was very generally     
believed1 that1 if such a thing as the  
philosopher's stone had ever existed1 or
 could be called into existence1 he was 
the man to succeed in finding it4  ,it  
has never yet been discovered what was  
his real name1 or in what country he was
 born4 ,some believed1 from the ,jewish 
cast of his handsome countenance1 that  
he was the wandering ,jew2 others       
asserted1 that he was the issue of an   
,arabian princess1 and that his father  
was a salamander2 while others1 more    

reasonable1 affirmed him to be the son  
of a ,portuguese ,jew1 established at   
,bourdeaux4 ,he first carried on his    
imposture in ,germany1 where he made    
considerable sums by selling an elixir  
to arrest the progress of old age4 ,the 
,marechal de ,belle-,isle purchased a   
dose of it2 and was so captivated with  
the wit1 learning1 and good manners of  
the charlatan1 and so convinced of the  
justice of his most preposterous        
pretensions1 that he induced him to fix 
his residence in ,paris4 ,under the     
,marshal's patronage1 he first appeared 
in the gay circles of that capital4     
,every one was delighted with the       
mysterious stranger2 who1 at this period
 of his life1 appears to have been about
 seventy years of age1 but did not look 
more than forty-five4 ,his easy         
assurance imposed upon most people4 ,his
 reading was extensive1 and his memory  
extraordinarily tenacious of the        
slightest circumstances4 ,his pretension
 to have lived for so many centuries    

naturally exposed him to some puzzling  
questions1 as to the appearance1 life1  
and conversation of the great men of    
former days2 but he was never at a loss 
for an answer4 ,many who questioned him 
for the purpose of scoffing at him1     
refrained in perplexity1 quite          
bewildered by his presence of mind1 his 
ready replies1 and his astonishing      
accuracy on every point mentioned in    
history4 ,to increase the mystery by    
which he was surrounded1 he permitted no
 person to know how he lived4 ,he       
dressed in a style of the greatest      
magnificence2 sported valuable diamonds 
in his hat1 on his fingers1 and in his  
shoe-buckles2 and sometimes made the    
most costly presents to the ladies of   
the court4 ,it was suspected by many    
that he was a spy1 in the pay of the    
,english ministry2 but there never was a
 tittle of evidence to support the      
charge4 ,the ,king looked upon him with 
marked favour1 was often closeted with  
him for hours together1 and would not   

suffer anybody to speak disparagingly of
 him4 ,voltaire constantly turned him   
into ridicule2 and1 in one of his       
letters to the ,king of ,prussia1       
mentions him as un comte pour fire2 and 
states1 that he pretended to have dined 
with the holy fathers1 at the ,council  
of ,trent6  ,in the ,memoirs of ,madame 
du ,hausset1 chamber-woman to ,madame du
 ,pompadour1 there are some amusing     
anecdotes of this personage4 ,very soon 
after his arrival in ,paris1 he had the 
entree of her dressing-room2 a favour   
only granted to the most powerful lords 
at the court of her royal lover4 ,madame
 was fond of conversing with him2 and1  
in her presence1 he thought fit to lower
 his pretensions very considerably3 but 
he often allowed her to believe that he 
had lived two or three hundred years1 at
 least4 ,one day1 says ,madame du       
,hausset1 ,madame said to him1 in my    
presence1 ',what was the personal       
appearance of ,francis ,i8 ,he was a    
,king ,i should have liked4' ',he was1  

indeed1 very captivating1' replied ,st4 
,germain2 and he proceeded to describe  
his face and person1 as that of a man   
whom he had accurately observed4 ',it is
 a pity he was too ardent4 ,i could have
 given him some good advice1 which would
 have saved him from all his            
misfortunes3 but he would not have      
followed it2 for it seems as if a       
fatality attended princes1 forcing them 
to shut their ears to the wisest        
counsel4' ',was his court very          
brilliant8' inquired ,madame du         
,pompadour4 ',very1' replied the ,count2
 'but those of his grandsons surpassed  
it4 ,in the time of ,mary ,stuart and   
,margaret of ,valois1 it was a land of  
enchantment--a temple sacred to         
pleasures of every kind4' ,madame said1 
laughing1 ',you seem to have seen all   
this4' ',i have an excellent memory1'   
said he1 'and have read the history of  
,france with great care4 ,i sometimes   
amuse myself1 not by making1 but by     
letting1 it be believed that ,i lived in

 old times4'  ',but you do not tell us  
your age1' said ,madame du ,pompadour to
 him on another occasion2 'and yet you  
pretend you are very old4 ,the ,countess
 de ,gergy1 who was1 ,i believe1        
ambassadress at ,vienna some fifty years
 ago1 says she saw you there1 exactly   
the same as you now appear4'  ',it is   
true1 ,madam1' replied ,st4 ,germain2   
',i knew ,madame de ,gergy many years   
ago4'  ',but1 according to her account1 
you must be more than a hundred years   
old8'  ',that is not impossible1' said  
he1 laughing2 'but it is much more      
possible that the good lady is in her   
dotage4'  ',you gave her an elixir1     
surprising for the effects it produced2 
for she says1 that during a length of   
time1 she only appeared to be           
eighty-four2 the age at which she took  
it4 ,why don't you give it to the       
,king8'  ',o ,madam6' he exclaimed1 'the
 physicians would have me broken on the 
wheel1 were ,i to think of drugging his 
,majesty4'  ,when the world begins to   

believe extraordinary things of an      
individual1 there is no telling where   
its extravagance will stop4 ,people1    
when once they have taken the start1 vie
 with each other who shall believe most4
 ,at this period all ,paris resounded   
with the wonderful adventures of the    
,count de ,st4 ,germain2 and a company  
of waggish young men tried the following
 experiment upon its credulity3-,a      
clever mimic1 who1 on account of the    
amusement he afforded1 was admitted into
 good society1 was taken by them1       
dressed as the ,count de ,st4 ,germain1 
into several houses in the ,rue du      
,marais4 ,he imitated the ,count's      
peculiarities admirably1 and found his  
auditors open-mouthed to believe any    
absurdity he chose to utter4 ,,no       
fiction was too monstrous for their     
all-devouring credulity4 ,he spoke of   
the ,saviour of the world in terms of   
the greatest familiarity2 said he had   
supped with him at the marriage in      
,canaan of ,galilee1 where the water was

 miraculously turned into wine4 ,in     
fact1 he said he was an intimate friend 
of his1 and had often warned him to be  
less romantic and imprudent1 or he would
 finish his career miserably4 ,this     
infamous blasphemy1 strange to say1     
found believers2 and1 ere three days had
 elapsed1 it was currently reported that
 ,st4 ,germain was born soon after the  
deluge1 and that he would never die6    
,st4 ,germain himself was too much a man
 of the world to assert anything so     
monstrous2 but he took no pains to      
contradict the story4 ,in all his       
conversations with persons of rank and  
education1 he advanced his claims       
modestly1 and as if by mere             
inadvertency2 and seldom pretended to a 
longevity beyond three hundred years2   
except when he found he was in company  
with persons who would believe anything4
 ,he often spoke of ,henry ,,viii1 as if
 he had known him intimately2 and of the
 ,emperor ,charles ,v1 as if that       
monarch had delighted in his society4   

,he would describe conversations which  
took place with such an apparent        
truthfulness1 and be so exceedingly     
minute and particular as to the dress   
and appearance of the individuals1 and  
even the weather at the time1 and the   
furniture of the room1 that three       
persons out of four were generally      
inclined to credit him4 ,he had constant
 applications from rich old women for an
 elixir to make them young again2 and1  
it would appear1 gained large sums in   
this manner4 ,to those whom he was      
pleased to call his friends1 he said1   
his mode of living and plan of diet were
 far superior to any elixir2 and that   
anybody might attain a patriarchal age1 
by refraining from drinking at meals1   
and very sparingly at any other time4   
,the ,baron de ,gleichen followed this  
system1 and took great quantities of    
senna leaves1 expecting to live for two 
hundred years4 ,he died1 however1 at    
seventy-three4 ,the ,duchess de         
,choiseul was desirous of following the 

same system2 but the ,duke her husband1 
in much wrath1 forbade her to follow any
 system prescribed by a man who had so  
equivocal a reputation as ,m4 de ,st4   
,germain4  ,madame du ,hausset says1 she
 saw ,st4 ,germain1 and conversed with  
him several times4 ,he appeared to her  
to be about fifty years of age1 was of  
the middle size1 and had fine expressive
 features4 ,his dress was always simple1
 but displayed much taste4 ,he usually  
wore diamond rings of great value2 and  
his watch and snuff-box were ornamented 
with a profusion of precious stones4    
,one day1 at ,madame du ,pompadour's    
apartments1 where the principal         
courtiers were assembled1 ,st4 ,germain 
made his appearance in diamond knee and 
shoe buckles1 of so fine a water1 that  
,madame said1 she did not think the     
,king had any equal to them4 ,he was    
entreated to pass into the antechamber1 
and undo them2 which he did1 and brought
 them to ,madame1 for closer inspection4
 ,m4 de ,gontant1 who was present1 said 

their value could not be less than two  
hundred thousand livres1 or upwards of  
eight thousand pounds sterling4 ,the    
,baron de ,gleichen1 in his ,memoirs1   
relates1 that the ,count one day showed 
him so many diamonds1 that he thought he
 saw before him all the treasures of    
,aladdin's lamp2 and adds1 that he had  
had great experience in precious stones1
 and was convinced that all those       
possessed by the ,count were genuine4   
,on another occasion1 ,st4 ,germain     
showed ,madame du ,pompadour a small    
box1 containing topazes1 emeralds1 and  
diamonds1 worth half a million of       
livres4 ,he affected to despise all this
 wealth1 to make the world more easily  
believe that he could1 like the         
,rosicrucians1 draw precious stones out 
of the earth by the magic of his song4  
,he gave away a great number of these   
jewels to the ladies of the court2 and  
,madame du ,pompadour was so charmed    
with his generosity1 that she gave him a
 richly-enamelled snuff-box1 as a token 

of her regard2 on the lid of which was  
beautifully painted a portrait of       
,socrates1 or some other ,greek sage1 to
 whom she compared him4 ,he was not only
 lavish to the mistresses1 but to the   
maids4 ,madame du ,hausset says1--,the  
,count came to see ,madame du           
,pompadour1 who was very ill1 and lay on
 the sofa4 ,he showed her diamonds      
enough to furnish a king's treasury4    
,madame sent for me to see all those    
beautiful things4 ,i looked at them with
 an air of the utmost astonishment2 but 
,i made signs to her1 that ,i thought   
them all false4 ,the ,count felt for    
something in a pocket-book about twice  
as large as a spectacle-case2 and1 at   
length1 drew out two or three little    
paper packets1 which he unfolded1 and   
exhibited a superb ruby4 ,he threw on   
the table1 with a contumptuous air1 a   
little cross of green and white stones4 
,i looked at it1 and said it was not to 
be despised4 ,i then put it on1 and     
admired it greatly4 ,the ,count begged  

me to accept it4 ,i refused4 ,he urged  
me to take it4 ,at length1 he pressed so
 warmly1 that ,madame1 seeing it could  
not be worth more than a thousand       
livres1 made me a sign to accept it4 ,i 
took the cross1 much pleased with the   
,count's politeness4  ,how the          
adventurer obtained his wealth remains a
 secret4 ,he could not have made it all 
by the sale of his elixir vitae in      
,germany2 though1 no doubt1 some portion
 of it was derived from that source4    
,voltaire positively says1 he was in the
 pay of foreign governments2 and in his 
letter to the ,king of ,prussia1 dated  
the #eth of ,april #ageh1 says1 that he 
was initiated in all the secrets of     
,choiseul1 ,kaunitz1 and ,pitt4 ,of what
 use he could be to any of those        
ministers1 and to ,choiseul especially1 
is a mystery of mysteries4  ,there      
appears no doubt that he possessed the  
secret of removing spots from diamonds2 
and1 in all probability1 he gained      
considerable sums by buying1 at inferior

 prices1 such as had flaws in them1 and 
afterwards disposing of them at a profit
 of cent4 per cent4 ,madame du ,hausset 
relates the following anecdote on this  
particular3--,the ,king1 says she1      
ordered a middling-sized diamond1 which 
had a flaw in it1 to be brought to him4 
,after having it weighed1 his ,majesty  
said to the ,count1 ',the value of this 
diamond1 as it is1 and with the flaw in 
it1 is six thousand livres2 without the 
flaw1 it would be worth1 at least1 ten  
thousand4 ,will you undertake to make me
 a gainer of four thousand livres8' ,st4
 ,germain examined it very attentively1 
and said1 ',it is possible2 it may be   
done4 ,i will bring it you again in a   
month4' ,at the time appointed1 the     
,count brought back the diamond1 without
 a spot1 and gave it to the ,king4 ,it  
was wrapped in a cloth of amianthos1    
which he took off4 ,the ,king had it    
weighed immediately1 and found it very  
little diminished4 ,his ,majesty then   
sent it to his jeweller1 by ,m4 de      

,gonrant1 without telling him of        
anything that had passed4 ,the jeweller 
gave nine thousand six hundred livres   
for it4 ,the ,king1 however1 sent for   
the diamond back again1 and said he     
would keep it as a curiosity4 ,he could 
not overcome his surprise2 and said ,m4 
de ,st4 ,germain must be worth millions2
 especially if he possessed the secret  
of making large diamonds out of small   
ones4 ,the ,count neither said that he  
could1 or could not2 but positively     
asserted1 that he knew how to make      
pearls grow1 and give them the finest   
water4 ,the ,king paid him great        
attention1 and so did ,madame du        
,pompadour4 ,m4 du ,quesnoy once said1  
that ,st4 ,germain was a quack2 but the 
,king reprimanded him4 ,in fact1 his    
,majesty appears infatuated by him2 and 
sometimes talks of him as if his descent
 were illustrious4  ,st4 ,germain had a 
most amusing vagabond for a servant1 to 
whom he would often appeal for          
corroboration1 when relating some       

wonderful event that happened centuries 
before4 ,the fellow1 who was not without
 ability1 generally corroborated him in 
a most satisfactory manner4 ,upon one   
occasion1 his master was telling a party
 of ladies and gentlemen1 at dinner1    
some conversation he had had in         
,palestine1 with ,king ,richard ,i4 of  
,england1 whom he described as a very   
particular friend of his4 ,signs of     
astonishment and incredulity were       
visible on the faces of the company2    
upon which ,st4 ,germain very coolly    
turned to his servant1 who stood behind 
his chair1 and asked him if he had not  
spoken truth8 ,i really cannot say1     
replied the man1 without moving a       
muscle2 you forget1 sir1 ,i have only   
been five hundred years in your service6
 ,ah6 true1 said his master2 ,i remember
 now2 it was a little before your time6 
,occasionally1 when with men whom he    
could not so easily dupe1 he gave       
utterance to the contempt with which he 
could scarcely avoid regarding such     

gaping credulity4 ,these fools of       
,parisians1 said he1 to the ,baron de   
,gleichen1 believe me to be more than   
five hundred years old2 and1 since they 
will have it so1 ,i confirm them in     
their idea4 ,not but that ,i really am  
much older than ,i appear4  ,many other 
stories are related of this strange     
impostor2 but enough have been quoted to
 show his character and pretensions4 ,it
 appears that he endeavoured to find the
 philosopher's stone2 but never boasted 
of possessing it4 ,the ,prince of ,hesse
 ,cassel1 whom he had known years       
before1 in ,germany1 wrote urgent       
letters to him1 entreating him to quit  
,paris1 and reside with him4 ,st4       
,germain at last consented4 ,nothing    
further is known of his career4 ,there  
were no gossipping memoir-writers at the
 court of ,hesse ,cassel to chronicle   
his sayings and doings4 ,he died at     
,sleswig1 under the roof of his friend  
the ,prince1 in the year #aghd4         
,,cagliostro1  ,this famous charlatan1  

the friend and successor of ,st4        
,germain1 ran a career still more       
extraordinary4 ,he was the arch-quack of
 his age1 the last of the great         
pretenders to the philosopher's stone   
and the water of life1 and during his   
brief season of prosperity one of the   
most conspicuous characters of ,europe4 
,his real name was ,joseph ,balsamo4 ,he
 was born at ,palermo about the year    
#agdc1 of humble parentage4 ,he had the 
misfortune to lose his father during his
 infancy1 and his education was left in 
consequence to some relatives of his    
mother1 the latter being too poor to    
afford him any instruction beyond mere  
reading and writing4 ,he was sent in his
 fifteenth year to a monastery1 to be   
taught the elements of chemistry and    
physic2 but his temper was so impetuous1
 his indolence so invincible1 and his   
vicious habits so deeply rooted1 that he
 made no progress4 ,after remaining some
 years1 he left it with the character of
 an uninformed and dissipated young man1

 with good natural talents but a bad    
disposition4 ,when he became of age1 he 
abandoned himself to a life of riot and 
debauchery1 and entered himself1 in     
fact1 into that celebrated fraternity1  
known in ,france and ,italy as the      
,knights of ,industry1 and in ,england  
as the ,swell ,mob4 ,he was far from    
being an idle or unwilling member of the
 corps4 ,the first way in which he      
distinguished himself was by forging    
orders of admission to the theatres4 ,he
 afterwards robbed his uncle1 and       
counterfeited a will4 ,for acts like    
these1 he paid frequent compulsory      
visits to the prisons of ,palermo4      
,somehow or other he acquired the       
character of a sorcerer--of a man who   
had failed in discovering the secrets of
 alchymy1 and had sold his soul to the  
devil for the gold which he was not able
 to make by means of transmutation4 ,he 
took no pains to disabuse the popular   
mind on this particular1 but rather     
encouraged the belief than otherwise4   

,he at last made use of it to cheat a   
silversmith1 named ,marano1 of about    
sixty ounces of gold1 and was in        
consequence obliged to leave ,palermo4  
,he persuaded this man that he could    
show him a treasure hidden in a cave1   
for which service he was to receive the 
sixty ounces of gold1 while the         
silversmith was to have all the treasure
 for the mere trouble of digging it up4 
,they went together at midnight to an   
excavation in the vicinity of ,palermo1 
where ,balsamo drew a magic circle1 and 
invoked the devil to show his treasures4
 ,suddenly there appeared half a dozen  
fellows1 the accomplices of the         
swindler1 dressed to represent devils1  
with horns on their heads1 claws to     
their fingers1 and vomiting apparently  
red and blue flame4 ,they were armed    
with pitchforks1 with which they        
belaboured poor ,marano till he was     
almost dead1 and robbed him of his sixty
 ounces of gold and all the valuables he
 carried about his person4 ,they then   

made off1 accompanied by ,balsamo1      
leaving the unlucky silversmith to      
recover or die at his leisure4 ,nature  
chose the former course2 and soon after 
daylight he was restored to his senses1 
smarting in body from his blows and in  
spirit for the deception of which he had
 been the victim4 ,his first impulse was
 to denounce ,balsamo to the magistrates
 of the town2 but on further reflection 
he was afraid of the ridicule that a    
full exposure of all the circumstances  
would draw upon him3 he therefore took  
the truly ,italian resolution of being  
revenged on ,balsamo by murdering him at
 the first convenient opportunity4      
,having given utterance to this threat  
in the hearing of a friend of ,balsamo1 
it was reported to the latter1 who      
immediately packed up his valuables and 
quitted ,europe4  ,he chose ,medina1 in 
,arabia1 for his future dwelling-place1 
and there became acquainted with a      
,greek named ,altotas1 a man exceedingly
 well versed in all the languages of the

 ,east1 and an indefatigable student of 
alchymy4 ,he possessed an invaluable    
collection of ,arabian manuscripts on   
his favourite science1 and studied them 
with such unremitting industry that he  
found he had not sufficient time to     
attend to his crucibles and furnaces    
without neglecting his books4 ,he was   
looking about for an assistant when     
,balsamo opportunely presented himself1 
and made so favourable an impression    
that he was at once engaged in that     
capacity4 ,but the relation of master   
and servant did not long subsist between
 them2 ,balsamo was too ambitious and   
too clever to play a secondary part1 and
 within fifteen days of their first     
acquaintance they were bound together as
 friends and partners4 ,altotas1 in the 
course of a long life devoted to        
alchymy1 had stumbled upon some valuable
 discoveries in chemistry1 one of which 
was an ingredient for improving the     
manufacture of flax1 and imparting to   
goods of that material a gloss and      

softness almost equal to silk4 ,balsamo 
gave him the good advice to leave the   
philosopher's stone for the present     
undiscovered1 and make gold out of their
 flax4 ,the advice was taken1 and they  
proceeded together to ,alexandria to    
trade1 with a large stock of that       
article4 ,they stayed forty days in     
,alexandria1 and gained a considerable  
sum by their venture4 ,they afterwards  
visited other cities in ,egypt1 and were
 equally successful4 ,they also visited 
,turkey1 where they sold drugs and      
amulets4 ,on their return to ,europe1   
they were driven by stress of weather   
into ,malta1 and were hospitably        
received by ,pinto1 the ,grand ,master  
of the ,knights1 and a famous alchymist4
 ,they worked in his laboratory for some
 months1 and tried hard to change a     
pewter-platter into a silver one4       
,balsamo1 having less faith than his    
companions1 was sooner wearied2 and     
obtaining from his host many letters of 
introduction to ,rome and ,naples1 he   

left him and ,altotas to find the       
philosopher's stone and transmute the   
pewter-platter without him4  ,he had    
long since dropped the name of ,balsamo 
on account of the many ugly associations
 that clung to it2 and during his       
travels had assumed at least half a     
score others1 with titles annexed to    
them4 ,he called himself sometimes the  
,chevalier de ,fischio1 the ,marquis de 
,melissa1 the ,baron de ,belmonte1 de   
,pelligrini1 d',anna1 de ,fenix1 de     
,harat1 but most commonly the ,count de 
,cagliostro4 ,under the latter title he 
entered ,rome1 and never afterwards     
changed it4 ,in this city he gave       
himself out as the restorer of the      
,rosicrucian philosophy2 said he could  
transmute all metals into gold2 that he 
could render himself invisible1 cure all
 diseases1 and administer an elixir     
against old age and decay4 ,his letters 
from the ,grand ,master ,pinto procured 
him an introduction into the best       
families4 ,he made money rapidly by the 

sale of his elixir vitae2 and1 like     
other quacks1 performed many remarkable 
cures by inspiring his patients with the
 most complete faith and reliance upon  
his powers2 an advantage which the most 
impudent charlatans often possess over  
the regular practitioner4  ,while thus  
in a fair way of making his fortune he  
became acquainted with the beautiful    
,lorenza ,feliciana1 a young lady of    
noble birth1 but without fortune4       
,cagliostro soon discovered that she    
possessed accomplishments that were     
invaluable4 ,besides her ravishing      
beauty1 she had the readiest wit1 the   
most engaging manners1 the most fertile 
imagination1 and the least principle of 
any of the maidens of ,rome4 ,she was   
just the wife for ,cagliostro1 who      
proposed himself to her1 and was        
accepted4 ,after their marriage1 he     
instructed his fair ,lorenza in all the 
secrets of his calling--taught her      
pretty lips to invoke angels1 and genii1
 sylphs1 salamanders1 and undines1 and1 

when need required1 devils and evil     
spirits4 ,lorenza was an apt scholar3   
she soon learned all the jargon of the  
alchymists and all the spells of the    
enchanters2 and thus accomplished the   
hopeful pair set out on their travels1  
to levy contributions on the            
superstitious and the credulous4  ,they 
first went to ,sleswig on a visit to the
 ,count de ,st4 ,germain1 their great   
predecessor in the art of making dupes1 
and were received by him in the most    
magnificent manner4 ,they no doubt      
fortified their minds for the career    
they had chosen1 by the sage discourse  
of that worshipful gentleman2 for       
immediately after they left him1 they   
began their operations4 ,they travelled 
for three or four years in ,russia1     
,poland1 and ,germany1 transmuting      
metals1 telling fortunes1 raising       
spirits1 and selling the elixir vitae   
wherever they went2 but there is no     
record of their doings from whence to   
draw a more particular detail4 ,it was  

not until they made their appearance in 
,england in #aggf1 that the names of the
 ,count and ,countess di ,cagliostro    
began to acquire a ,european reputation4
 ,they arrived in ,london in the ,july  
of that year1 possessed of property in  
plate1 jewels1 and specie to the amount 
of about three thousand pounds4 ,they   
hired apartments in ,whitcombe-street1  
and lived for some months quietly4 ,in  
the same house there lodged a           
,portuguese woman named ,blavary1 who1  
being in necessitous circumstances1 was 
engaged by the ,count as interpreter4   
,she was constantly admitted into his   
laboratory1 where he spent much of his  
time in search of the philosopher's     
stone4 ,she spread abroad the fame of   
her entertainer in return for his       
hospitality1 and laboured hard to       
impress everybody with as full a belief 
in his extraordinary powers as she felt 
herself4 ,but as a female interpreter of
 the rank and appearance of ,madame     
,blavary did not exactly correspond with

 the ,count's notions either of dignity 
or decorum1 he hired a person named     
,vitellini1 a teacher of languages1 to  
act in that capacity4 ,vitellini was a  
desperate gambler2 a man who had tried  
almost every resource to repair his     
ruined fortunes1 including among the    
rest the search for the philosopher's   
stone4 ,immediately that he saw the     
,count's operations1 he was convinced   
that the great secret was his1 and that 
the golden gates of the palace of       
fortune were open to let him in4 ,with  
still more enthusiasm than ,madame      
,blavary1 he held forth to his          
acquaintance1 and in all public places1 
that the ,count was an extraordinary    
man1 a true adept1 whose fortune was    
immense1 and who could transmute into   
pure and solid gold1 as much lead1 iron1
 and copper as he pleased4 ,the         
consequence was1 that the house of      
,cagliostro was besieged by crowds of   
the idle1 the credulous1 and the        
avaricious1 all eager to obtain a sight 

of the philosopher1 or to share in the  
boundless wealth which he could call    
into existence4  ,unfortunately for     
,cagliostro1 he had fallen into evil    
hands2 instead of duping the people of  
,england as he might have done1 he      
became himself the victim of a gang of  
swindlers1 who1 with the fullest        
reliance on his occult powers1 only     
sought to make money of him4 ,vitellini 
introduced to him a ruined gambler like 
himself1 named ,scot1 whom he           
represented as a ,scottish nobleman1    
attracted to ,london solely by his      
desire to see and converse with the     
extraordinary man whose fame had spread 
to the distant mountains of the north4  
,cagliostro received him with great     
kindness and cordiality2 and ,lord ,scot
 thereupon introduced a woman named     
,fry1 as ,lady ,scot1 who was to act as 
chaperone to the ,countess di           
,cagliostro1 and make her acquainted    
with all the noble families of ,britain4
 ,thus things went swimmingly4 ,his     

lordship1 whose effects had not arrived 
from ,scotland1 and who had no banker in
 ,london1 borrowed two hundred pounds of
 the ,count2 they were lent without     
scruple1 so flattered was ,cagliostro by
 the attentions they paid him1 the      
respect1 nay1 veneration they pretended 
to feel for him1 and the complete       
deference with which they listened to   
every word that fell from his lips4     
,superstitious1 like all desperate      
gamesters1 ,scot had often tried magical
 and cabalistic numbers1 in the hope of 
discovering lucky numbers in the        
lottery1 or at the roulette tables4 ,he 
had in his possession a cabalistic      
manuscript1 containing various          
arithmetical combinations of the kind1  
which he submitted to ,cagliostro1 with 
an urgent request that he would select a
 number4 ,cagliostro took the manuscript
 and studied it2 but1 as he himself     
informs us1 with no confidence in its   
truth4 ,he however predicted twenty as  
the successful number for the #fth of   

,november following4 ,scot ventured a   
small sum upon this number1 out of the  
two hundred pounds he had borrowed1 and 
won4 ,cagliostro1 incited by this       
success1 prognosticated number          
twenty-five for the next drawing4 ,scot 
tried again1 and won a hundred guineas4 
,the numbers fifty-five and fifty-seven 
were announced with equal success for   
the #ahth of the same month1 to the no  
small astonishment and delight of       
,cagliostro1 who thereupon resolved to  
try fortune for himself1 and not for    
others4 ,to all the entreaties of ,scot 
and his lady that he would predict more 
numbers for them1 he turned a deaf ear1 
even while he still thought him a lord  
and a man of honour4 ,but when he       
discovered that he was a mere swindler1 
and the pretended ,lady ,scot an artful 
woman of the town1 he closed his door   
upon them and on all their gang4        
,having complete faith in the           
supernatural powers of the ,count1 they 
were in the deepest distress at having  

lost his countenance4 ,they tried by    
every means their ingenuity could       
suggest1 to propitiate him again2 they  
implored1 they threatened1 and          
endeavoured to bribe him4 ,but all was  
vain4 ,cagliostro would neither see nor 
correspond with them4 ,in the mean time 
they lived extravagantly2 and in the    
hope of future1 exhausted all their     
present gains4 ,they were reduced to the
 last extremity1 when ,miss ,fry        
obtained access to the ,countess1 and   
received a guinea from her on the       
representation that she was starving4   
,miss ,fry1 not contented with this1    
begged her to intercede with her        
husband1 that for the last time he would
 point out a lucky number in the        
lottery4 ,the ,countess promised to     
exert her influence1 and ,cagliostro    
thus entreated1 named the number eight1 
at the same time reiterating his        
determination to have no more to do with
 any of them4 ,by an extraordinary      
hazard1 which filled ,cagliostro with   

surprise and pleasure1 number eight was 
the greatest prize in the lottery4 ,miss
 ,fry and her associates cleared fifteen
 hundred guineas by the adventure2 and  
became more than ever convinced of the  
occult powers of ,cagliostro1 and       
strengthened in their determination     
never to quit him until they had made   
their fortunes4 ,out of the proceeds1   
,miss ,fry bought a handsome necklace at
 a pawnbrokers for ninety guineas4 ,she 
then ordered a richly chased gold box1  
having two compartments1 to be made at a
 jeweller's1 and putting the necklace in
 the one1 filled the other with a fine  
aromatic snuff4 ,she then sought another
 interview with ,madame di ,cagliostro1 
and urged her to accept the box as a    
small token of her esteem and gratitude1
 without mentioning the valuable        
necklace that was concealed in it4      
,madame di ,cagliostro accepted the     
present1 and was from that hour exposed 
to the most incessant persecution from  
all the confederates1 ,blavary1         

,vitellini1 and the pretended ,lord and 
,lady ,scot4 ,they flattered themselves 
they had regained their lost footing in 
the house1 and came day after day to    
know lucky numbers in the lottery2      
sometimes forcing themselves up the     
stairs1 and into the ,count's           
laboratory1 in spite of the efforts of  
the servants to prevent them4           
,cagliostro1 exasperated at their       
pertinacity1 threatened to call in the  
assistance of the magistrates2 and      
taking ,miss ,fry by the shoulders1     
pushed her into the street4  ,from that 
time may be dated the misfortunes of    
,cagliostro4 ,miss ,fry1 at the         
instigation of her paramour1 determined 
on vengeance4 ,her first act was to     
swear a debt of two hundred pounds      
against ,cagliostro1 and to cause him to
 be arrested for that sum4 ,while he was
 in custody in a sponging house1 ,scot1 
accompanied by a low attorney1 broke    
into his laboratory1 and carried off a  
small box1 containing1 as they believed1

 the powder of transmutation1 and a     
number of cabalistic manuscripts and    
treatises upon alchymy4 ,they also      
brought an action against him for the   
recovery of the necklace2 and ,miss ,fry
 accused both him and his ,countess of  
sorcery and witchcraft1 and of          
foretelling numbers in the lottery by   
the aid of the devil4 ,this latter      
charge was actually heard before ,mr4   
,justice ,miller4 ,the action of trover 
for the necklace was tried before the   
,lord ,chief ,justice of the ,common    
,pleas1 who recommended the parties to  
submit to arbitration4 ,in the mean time
 ,cagliostro remained in prison for     
several weeks1 till having procured     
bail1 he was liberated4 ,he was soon    
after waited upon by an attorney named  
,reynolds1 also deep in the plot1 who   
offered to compromise all the actions   
upon certain conditions4 ,scot1 who had 
accompanied him1 concealed himself      
behind the door1 and suddenly rushing   
out1 presented a pistol at the heart of 

,cagliostro1 swearing he would shoot him
 instantly1 if he would not tell him    
truly the art of predicting lucky       
numbers1 and of transmuting metals4     
,reynolds pretending to be very angry1  
disarmed his accomplice1 and entreated  
the ,count to satisfy them by fair      
means1 and disclose his secrets1        
promising that if he would do so1 they  
would discharge all the actions1 and    
offer him no further molestation4       
,cagliostro replied1 that threats and   
entreaties were alike useless2 that he  
knew no secrets2 and that the powder of 
transmutation of which they had robbed  
him1 was of no value to anybody but     
himself4 ,he offered1 however1 if they  
would discharge the actions1 and return 
the powder and the manuscripts1 he would
 forgive them all the money they had    
swindled him out of4 ,these conditions  
were refused2 and ,scot and ,reynolds   
departed1 swearing vengeance against    
him4  ,cagliostro appears to have been  
quite ignorant of the forms of law in   

,england1 and to have been without a    
friend to advise him as to the best     
course he should pursue4 ,while he was  
conversing with his ,countess on the    
difficulties that beset them1 one of his
 bail called1 and invited him to ride in
 a hackney coach to the house of a      
person who would see him righted4       
,cagliostro consented1 and was driven to
 the ,king's ,bench prison1 where his   
friend left him4 ,he did not discover   
for several hours that he was a         
prisoner1 or in fact understand the     
process of being surrendered by one's   
bail4  ,he regained his liberty in a few
 weeks2 and the arbitrators between him 
and ,miss ,fry1 made their award against
 him4 ,he was ordered to pay the two    
hundred pounds she had sworn against    
him1 and to restore the necklace and    
gold box which had been presented to the
 ,countess4 ,cagliostro was so          
disgusted1 that he determined to quit   
,england4 ,his pretensions1 besides1 had
 been unmercifully exposed by a         

,frenchman1 named ,morande1 the ,editor 
of the ,courier de l',europe1 published 
in ,london4 ,to add to his distress1 he 
was recognised in ,westminster ,hall1 as
 ,joseph ,balsamo1 the swindler of      
,palermo4 ,such a complication of       
disgrace was not to be borne4 ,he and   
his ,countess packed up their small     
effects1 and left ,england with no more 
than fifty pounds1 out of the three     
thousand they had brought with them4    
,they first proceeded to ,brussels1     
where fortune was more auspicious4 ,they
 sold considerable quantities of the    
elixir of life1 performed many cures1   
and recruited their finances4 ,they then
 took their course through ,germany to  
,russia1 and always with the same       
success4 ,gold flowed into their coffers
 faster than they could count it4 ,they 
quite forgot all the woes they had      
endured in ,england1 and learned to be  
more circumspect in the choice of their 
acquaintance4  ,in the year #aghj1 they 
made their appearance in ,strasbourg4   

,their fame had reached that city before
 them4 ,they took a magnificent hotel1  
and invited all the principal persons of
 the place to their table4 ,their wealth
 appeared to be boundless1 and their    
hospitality equal to it4 ,both the      
,count and ,countess acted as           
physicians1 and gave money1 advice1 and 
medicine to all the necessitous and     
suffering of the town4 ,many of the     
cures they performed1 astonished those  
regular practitioners who did not make  
sufficient allowance for the wonderful  
influence of imagination in certain     
cases4 ,the ,countess1 who at this time 
was not more than five-and-twenty1 and  
all radiant with grace1 beauty1 and     
cheerfulness1 spoke openly of her eldest
 son as a fine young man of             
eight-and-twenty1 who had been for some 
years a captain in the ,dutch service4  
,the trick succeeded to admiration4 ,all
 the ugly old women in ,strasbourg1 and 
for miles around1 thronged the saloon of
 the ,countess to purchase the liquid   

which was to make them as blooming as   
their daughters2 the young women came in
 equal abundance that they might        
preserve their charms1 and when twice as
 old as ,ninon de ,l',enclos1 be more   
captivating than she2 while men were not
 wanting fools enough to imagine1 that  
they might keep off the inevitable      
stroke of the grim foe1 by a few drops  
of the same incomparable elixir4 ,the   
,countess1 sooth to say1 looked like an 
incarnation of immortal loveliness1 a   
very goddess of youth and beauty2 and it
 is possible that the crowds of young   
men and old1 who at all convenient      
seasons haunted the perfumed chambers of
 this enchantress1 were attracted less  
by their belief in her occult powers    
than from admiration of her languishing 
bright eyes and sparkling conversation4 
,but amid all the incense that was      
offered at her shrine1 ,madame di       
,cagliostro was ever faithful to her    
spouse4 ,she encouraged hopes1 it is    
true1 but she never realised them2 she  

excited admiration1 yet kept it within  
bounds2 and made men her slaves1 without
 ever granting a favour of which the    
vainest might boast4  ,in this city they
 made the acquaintance of many eminent  
persons1 and among others1 of the       
,cardinal ,prince de ,rohan1 who was    
destined afterwards to exercise so      
untoward an influence over their fate4  
,the ,cardinal1 who seems to have had   
great faith in him as a philosopher1    
persuaded him to visit ,paris in his    
company1 which he did1 but remained only
 thirteen days4 ,he preferred the       
society of ,strasbourg1 and returned    
thither1 with the intention of fixing   
his residence far from the capital4 ,but
 he soon found that the first excitement
 of his arrival had passed away4 ,people
 began to reason with themselves1 and to
 be ashamed of their own admiration4    
,the populace1 among whom he had        
lavished his charity with a bountiful   
hand1 accused him of being the          
,antichrist1 the ,wandering ,jew1 the   

man of fourteen hundred years of age1 a 
demon in human shape1 sent to lure the  
ignorant to their destruction2 while the
 more opulent and better informed called
 him a spy in the pay of foreign        
governments1 an agent of the police1 a  
swindler1 and a man of evil life4 ,the  
outcry grew at last so strong1 that he  
deemed it prudent to try his fortune    
elsewhere4  ,he went first to ,naples1  
but that city was too near ,palermo2 he 
dreaded recognition from some of his    
early friends1 and after a short stay1  
returned to ,france4 ,he chose ,bordeaux
 as his next dwelling-place1 and created
 as great a sensation there as he had   
done in ,strasbourg4 ,he announced      
himself as the founder of a new school  
of medicine and philosophy1 boasted of  
his ability to cure all diseases1 and   
invited the poor and suffering to visit 
him1 and he would relieve the distress  
of the one class1 and cure the ailings  
of the other4 ,all day long the street  
opposite his magnificent hotel was      

crowded by the populace2 the halt and   
the blind1 women with sick babes in     
their arms1 and persons suffering under 
every species of human infirmity flocked
 to this wonderful doctor4 ,the relief  
he afforded in money more than          
counterbalanced the failure of his      
nostrums2 and the affluence of people   
from all the surrounding country became 
so great1 that the jurats of the city   
granted him a military guard1 to be     
stationed day and night before his door1
 to keep order4 ,the anticipations of   
,cagliostro were realised4 ,the rich    
were struck with admiration of his      
charity and benevolence1 and impressed  
with a full conviction of his marvellous
 powers4 ,the sale of the elixir went on
 admirably4 ,his saloons were thronged  
with wealthy dupes who came to purchase 
immortality4 ,beauty1 that would endure 
for centuries1 was the attraction for   
the fair sex2 health and strength for   
the same period were the baits held out 
to the other4 ,his charming ,countess in

 the meantime brought grist to the mill1
 by telling fortunes and casting        
nativities1 or granting attendant sylphs
 to any ladies who would pay            
sufficiently for their services4 ,what  
was still better1 as tending to keep up 
the credit of her husband1 she gave the 
most magnificent parties in ,bordeaux4  
,but as at ,strasbourg the popular      
delusion lasted for a few months only1  
and burned itself out2 ,cagliostro      
forgot1 in the intoxication of success1 
that there was a limit to quackery1     
which once passed1 inspired distrust4   
,when he pretended to call spirits from 
the tomb1 people became incredulous4 ,he
 was accused of being an enemy to       
religion--of denying ,christ1 and of    
being the ,wandering ,jew4 ,he despised 
these rumours as long as they were      
confined to a few2 but when they spread 
over the town--when he received no more 
fees--when his parties were abandoned1  
and his acquaintance turned away when   
they met him in the street1 he thought  

it high time to shift his quarters4  ,he
 was by this time wearied of the        
provinces1 and turned his thoughts to   
the capital4 ,on his arrival1 he        
announced himself as the restorer of    
,egyptian ,freemasonry and the founder  
of a new philosophy4 ,he immediately    
made his way into the best society by   
means of his friend the ,cardinal de    
,rohan4 ,his success as a magician was  
quite extraordinary3 the most           
considerable persons of the time visited
 him4 ,he boasted of being able1 like   
the ,rosicrucians1 to converse with the 
elementary spirits2 to invoke the mighty
 dead from the grave1 to transmute      
metals1 and to discover occult things1  
by means of the special protection of   
,god towards him4 ,like ,dr4 ,dee1 he   
summoned the angels to reveal the       
future2 and they appeared1 and conversed
 with him in crystals and under glass   
bells4 ,see the ,abbe ,fiard1 and       
,anecdotes of the ,reign of ,louis      
,,xvi4 p4 #djj4 ,there was hardly1 says 

the ,biographie des ,contemporains1 a   
fine lady in ,paris who would not sup   
with the shade of ,lucretius in the     
apartments of ,cagliostro--a military   
officer who would not discuss the art of
 war with ,cesar1 ,hannibal1 or         
,alexander2 or an advocate or counsellor
 who would not argue legal points with  
the ghost of ,cicero4 ,these interviews 
with the departed were very expensive2  
for1 as ,cagliostro said1 the dead would
 not rise for nothing4 ,the ,countess1  
as usual1 exercised all her ingenuity to
 support her husband's credit4 ,she was 
a great favourite with her own sex2 to  
many a delighted and wondering auditory 
of whom she detailed the marvellous     
powers of ,cagliostro4 ,she said he     
could render himself invisible1 traverse
 the world with the rapidity of thought1
 and be in several places at the same   
time4 ,biographie des ,contemporains1   
article ,cagliostro4 ,see also ,histoire
 de la ,magie en ,france1 par ,m4 ,jules
 ,garinet1 p4 #bhd4  ,he had not been   

long at ,paris before he became involved
 in the celebrated affair of the        
,queen's necklace4 ,his friend1 the     
,cardinal de ,rohan1 enamoured of the   
charms of ,marie ,antoinette1 was in    
sore distress at her coldness1 and the  
displeasure she had so often manifested 
against him4 ,there was at that time a  
lady1 named ,la ,motte1 in the service  
of the ,queen1 of whom the ,cardinal was
 foolish enough to make a confidant4    
,madame de la ,motte1 in return1        
endeavoured to make a tool of the       
,cardinal1 and succeeded but too well in
 her projects4 ,in her capacity of      
chamber-woman1 or lady of honour to the 
,queen1 she was present at an interview 
between her ,majesty and ,m4 ,boehmer1 a
 wealthy jeweller of ,paris1 when the   
latter offered for sale a magnificent   
diamond necklace1 valued at #a1fjj1jjj  
francs1 or about #fd1jjj pounds         
sterling4 ,the ,queen admired it        
greatly1 but dismissed the jeweller1    
with the expression of her regret that  

she was too poor to purchase it4 ,madame
 de la ,motte formed a plan to get this 
costly ornament into her own possession1
 and determined to make the ,cardinal de
 ,rohan the instrument by which to      
effect it4 ,she therefore sought an     
interview with him1 and pretending to   
sympathise in his grief for the ,queen's
 displeasure1 told him she knew a way by
 which he might be restored to favour4  
,she then mentioned the necklace1 and   
the sorrow of the ,queen that she could 
not afford to buy it4 ,the ,cardinal1   
who was as wealthy as he was foolish1   
immediately offered to purchase the     
necklace1 and make a present of it to   
the ,queen4 ,madame de la ,motte told   
him by no means to do so1 as he would   
thereby offend her ,majesty4 ,his plan  
would be to induce the jeweller to give 
her ,majesty credit1 and accept her     
promissory note for the amount at a     
certain date1 to be hereafter agreed    
upon4 ,the ,cardinal readily agreed to  
the proposal1 and instructed the        

jeweller to draw up an agreement1 and he
 would procure the ,queen's signature4  
,he placed this in the hands of ,madame 
de la ,motte1 who returned it shortly   
afterwards1 with the words1 ,bon1       
bon--approuve--,marie ,antoinette1      
written in the margin4 ,she told him at 
the same time that the ,queen was highly
 pleased with his conduct in the matter1
 and would appoint a meeting with him in
 the gardens of ,versailles1 when she   
would present him with a flower1 as a   
token of her regard4 ,the ,cardinal     
showed the forged document to the       
jeweller1 obtained the necklace1 and    
delivered it into the hands of ,madame  
de la ,motte4 ,so far all was well4 ,her
 next object was to satisfy the         
,cardinal1 who awaited impatiently the  
promised interview with his royal       
mistress4 ,there was at that time in    
,paris a young woman named ,d',oliva1   
noted for her resemblance to the ,queen2
 and ,madame de la ,motte1 on the       
promise of a handsome reward1 found no  

difficulty in persuading her to         
personate ,marie ,antoinette1 and meet  
the ,cardinal de ,rohan at the evening  
twilight in the gardens of ,versailles4 
,the meeting took place accordingly4    
,the ,cardinal was deceived by the      
uncertain light1 the great resemblance  
of the counterfeit1 and his own hopes2  
and having received the flower from     
,mademoiselle ,d',oliva1 went home with 
a lighter heart than had beat in his    
bosom for many a day4 ,the enemies of   
the unfortunate ,queen of ,france1 when 
the progress of the ,revolution         
embittered their animosity against her1 
maintained that she was really a party  
in this transaction2 that she1 and not  
,mademoiselle ,d',oliva1 met the        
,cardinal and rewarded him with the     
flower2 and that the story above related
 was merely concocted between her1 ,la  
,motte1 and others to cheat the jeweller
 of his #a1fjj1jjj francs4  ,in the     
course of time the forgery of the       
,queen's signature was discovered4      

,boehmer the jeweller immediately named 
the ,cardinal de ,rohan and ,madame de  
la ,motte as the persons with whom he   
had negotiated1 and they were both      
arrested and thrown into the ,bastille4 
,la ,motte was subjected to a rigorous  
examination1 and the disclosures she    
made implicating ,cagliostro1 he was    
seized1 along with his wife1 and also   
sent to the ,bastille1 ,a story         
involving so much scandal necessarily   
excited great curiosity4 ,nothing was to
 be heard of in ,paris but the ,queen's 
necklace1 with surmises of the guilt or 
innocence of the several parties        
implicated4 ,the husband of ,madame de  
la ,motte escaped to ,england1 and in   
the opinion of many took the necklace   
with him1 and there disposed of it to   
different jewellers in small quantities 
at a time4 ,but ,madame de la ,motte    
insisted that she had entrusted it to   
,cagliostro1 who had seized and taken it
 to pieces1 to swell the treasures of   
his immense unequalled fortune4 ,she    

spoke of him as an empiric1 a mean      
alchymist1 a dreamer on the             
philosopher's stone1 a false prophet1 a 
profaner of the true worship1 the       
self-dubbed ,count ,cagliostro6 ,she    
further said that he originally         
conceived the project of ruining the    
,cardinal de ,rohan2 that he persuaded  
her1 by the exercise of some magic      
influence over her mind1 to aid and abet
 the scheme2 and that he was a robber1 a
 swindler1 and a sorcerer6  ,after all  
the accused parties had remained for    
upwards of six months in the ,bastille1 
the trial commenced4 ,the depositions of
 the witnesses having been heard1       
,cagliostro1 as the principal culprit1  
was first called upon for his defence4  
,he was listened to with the most       
breathless attention4 ,he put himself   
into a theatrical attitude1 and thus    
began3--,i am oppressed6--,i am         
accused6--,i am calumniated6 ,have ,i   
deserved this fate8 ,i descend into my  
conscience1 and ,i there find the peace 

that men refuse me6 ,i have travelled a 
great deal--,i am known over all        
,europe1 and a great part of ,asia and  
,africa4 ,i have everywhere shown myself
 the friend of my fellow-creatures4 ,my 
knowledge1 my time1 my fortune have ever
 been employed in the relief of         
distress6 ,i have studied and practised 
medicine1 but ,i have never degraded    
that most noble and most consoling of   
arts by mercenary speculations of any   
kind4 ,though always giving1 and never  
receiving1 ,i have preserved my         
independence4 ,i have even carried my   
delicacy so far as to refuse the favours
 of kings4 ,i have given gratuitously my
 remedies and my advice to the rich3 the
 poor have received from me both        
remedies and money4 ,i have never       
contracted any debts1 and my manners are
 pure and uncorrupted4 ,after much more 
self-laudation of the same kind1 he went
 on to complain of the great hardships  
he had endured in being separated for so
 many months from his innocent and      

loving wife1 who1 as he was given to    
understand1 had been detained in the    
,bastille1 and perhaps chained in an    
unwholesome dungeon4 ,he denied         
unequivocally that he had the necklace1 
or that he had ever seen it2 and to     
silence the rumours and accusations     
against him1 which his own secrecy with 
regard to the events of his life had    
perhaps originated1 he expressed himself
 ready to satisfy the curiosity of the  
public1 and to give a plain and full    
account of his career4 ,he then told a  
romantic and incredible tale1 which     
imposed upon no one4 ,he said he neither
 knew the place of his birth nor the    
name of his parents1 but that he spent  
his infancy in ,medina in ,arabia1 and  
was brought up under the name of        
,acharat4 ,he lived in the palace of the
 ,great ,muphti in that city1 and always
 had three servants to wait upon him1   
besides his preceptor1 named ,althotas4 
,this ,althotas was very fond of him1   
and told him that his father and mother1

 who were ,christians and nobles1 died  
when he was three months old1 and left  
him in the care of the ,muphti4 ,he     
could never1 he said1 ascertain their   
names1 for whenever he asked ,althotas  
the question1 he was told that it would 
be dangerous for him to know4 ,some     
incautious expressions dropped by his   
preceptor gave him reason to think they 
were from ,malta4 ,at the age of twelve 
he began his travels1 and learned the   
various languages of the ,east4 ,he     
remained three years in ,mecca1 where   
the ,cherif1 or governor1 showed him so 
much kindness1 and spoke to him so      
tenderly and affectionately1 that he    
sometimes thought that personage was his
 father4 ,he quitted this good man with 
tears in his eyes1 and never saw him    
afterwards2 but he was convinced that he
 was1 even at that moment1 indebted to  
his care for all the advantages he      
enjoyed4 ,whenever he arrived in any    
city1 either of ,europe or ,asia1 he    
found an account opened for him at the  

principal bankers' or merchants'4 ,he   
could draw upon them to the amount of   
thousands and hundreds of thousands2 and
 no questions were ever asked beyond his
 name4 ,he had only to mention the word 
,acharat1 and all his wants were        
supplied4 ,he firmly believed that the  
,cherif of ,mecca was the friend to whom
 all was owing4 ,this was the secret of 
his wealth1 and he had no occasion to   
resort to swindling for a livelihood4   
,it was not worth his while to steal a  
diamond necklace when he had wealth     
enough to purchase as many as he        
pleased1 and more magnificent ones than 
had ever been worn by a ,queen of       
,france4 ,as to the other charges       
brought against him by ,madame de la    
,motte1 he had but a short answer to    
give4 ,she had called him an empiric4   
,he was not unfamiliar with the word4   
,if it meant a man who1 without being a 
physician1 had some knowledge of        
medicine1 and took no fees--who cured   
both rich and poor1 and took no money   

from either1 he confessed that he was   
such a man1 that he was an empiric4 ,she
 had also called him a mean alchymist4  
,whether he were an alchymist or not1   
the epithet mean could only be applied  
to those who begged and cringed1 and he 
had never done either4 ,as regarded his 
being a dreamer about the philosopher's 
stone1 whatever his opinions upon that  
subject might be1 he had been silent1   
and had never troubled the public with  
his dreams4 ,then1 as to his being a    
false prophet1 he had not always been   
so2 for he had prophesied to the        
,cardinal de ,rohan that ,madame de la  
,motte would prove a dangerous woman1   
and the result had verified the         
prediction4 ,he denied that he was a    
profaner of the true worship1 or that he
 had ever striven to bring religion into
 contempt2 on the contrary1 he respected
 every man's religion1 and never meddled
 with it4 ,he also denied that he was a 
,rosicrucian1 or that he had ever       
pretended to be three hundred years of  

age1 or to have had one man in his      
service for a hundred and fifty years4  
,in conclusion1 he said every statement 
that ,madame de la ,motte had made      
regarding him was false1 and that she   
was mentiris impudentissime1 which two  
words he begged her counsel to translate
 for her1 as it was not polite to tell  
her so in ,french4  ,such was the       
substance of his extraordinary answer to
 the charges against him2 an answer     
which convinced those who were before   
doubtful that he was one of the most    
impudent impostors that had ever run the
 career of deception4 ,counsel were then
 heard on behalf of the ,cardinal de    
,rohan and ,madame de la ,motte4 ,it    
appearing clearly that the ,cardinal was
 himself the dupe of a vile conspiracy2 
and there being no evidence against     
,cagliostro1 they were both acquitted4  
,madame de la ,motte was found guilty1  
and sentenced to be publicly whipped1   
and branded with a hot iron on the back4
  ,cagliostro and his wife were then    

discharged from custody4 ,on applying to
 the officers of the ,bastille for the  
papers and effects which had been seized
 at his lodgings1 he found that many of 
them had been abstracted4 ,he thereupon 
brought an action against them for the  
recovery of his ,,mss4 and a small      
portion of the powder of transmutation4 
,before the affair could be decided1 he 
received orders to quit ,paris within   
four-and-twenty hours4 ,fearing that if 
he were once more inclosed in the       
dungeons of the ,bastille he should     
never see daylight again1 he took his   
departure immediately and proceeded to  
,england4 ,on his arrival in ,london he 
made the acquaintance of the notorious  
,lord ,george ,gordon1 who espoused his 
cause warmly1 and inserted a letter in  
the public papers1 animadverting upon   
the conduct of the ,queen of ,france in 
the affair of the necklace1 and         
asserting that she was really the guilty
 party4 ,for this letter ,lord ,george  
was exposed to a prosecution at the     

instance of the ,french                 
,ambassador--found guilty of libel1 and 
sentenced to fine and a long            
imprisonment4  ,cagliostro and the      
,countess afterwards travelled in       
,italy1 where they were arrested by the 
,papal ,government in #aghi1 and        
condemned to death4 ,the charges against
 him were1 that he was a freemason1 a   
heretic1 and a sorcerer4 ,this          
unjustifiable sentence was afterwards   
commuted into one of perpetual          
imprisonment in the ,castle of ,st4     
,angelo4 ,his wife was allowed to escape
 severer punishment by immuring herself 
in a nunnery4 ,cagliostro did not long  
survive4 ,the loss of liberty preyed    
upon his mind--accumulated misfortunes  
had injured his health and broken his   
spirit1 and he died early in #agij4 ,his
 fate may have been no better than he   
deserved1 but it is impossible not to   
feel that his sentence for the crimes   
assigned was utterly disgraceful to the 
government that pronounced it4          

,,present ,,state ,,of ,,alchymy4  ,we  
have now finished the list of the       
persons who have most distinguished     
themselves in this foolish and          
unprofitable pursuit4 ,among them are   
men of all ranks1 characters1 and       
conditions2 the truthseeking1 but erring
 philosopher2 the ambitious prince and  
the needy noble1 who have believed in   
it2 as well as the designing charlatan1 
who has not believed in it1 but has     
merely made the pretension to it the    
means of cheating his fellows1 and      
living upon their credulity4 ,one or    
more of all these classes will be found 
in the foregoing pages4 ,it will be     
seen1 from the record of their lives1   
that the delusion1 humiliating as it was
 to human intellect1 was not altogether 
without its uses4 ,men1 in striving to  
gain too much1 do not always overreach  
themselves3 if they cannot arrive at the
 inaccessible mountain-top1 they may1   
perhaps1 get half way towards it1 and   
pick up some scraps of wisdom and       

knowledge on the road4 ,the useful      
science of chemistry is not a little    
indebted to its spurious brother of     
alchymy4 ,many valuable discoveries have
 been made in that search for the       
impossible1 which might otherwise have  
been hidden for centuries yet to come4  
,roger ,bacon1 in searching for the     
philosopher's stone1 discovered         
gunpowder1 a still more extraordinary   
substance4 ,van ,helmont1 in the same   
pursuit1 discovered the properties of   
gas2 ,geber made discoveries in         
chemistry which were equally important2 
and ,paracelsus1 amidst his perpetual   
visions of the transmutation of metals1 
found that mercury was a remedy for one 
of the most odious and excruciating of  
all the diseases that afflict humanity4 
,in our day1 no mention is made in      
,europe of any new devotees of the      
science4 ,the belief in witchcraft1     
which is scarcely more absurd1 still    
lingers in the popular mind3 but none   
are so credulous as to believe that any 

elixir could make man live for          
centuries1 or turn all our iron and     
pewter into gold4 ,alchymy1 in ,europe1 
may be said to be wholly exploded2 but  
in the ,east it still flourishes in as  
great repute as ever4 ,recent travellers
 make constant mention of it1 especially
 in ,china1 ,hindostan1 ,persia1        
,tartary1 ,egypt1 and ,arabia4          
,,book ,,ii4--,,fortune ,,telling4      
,and men still grope t' anticipate      
,the cabinet designs of ,fate2          
,apply to wizards to foresee      ,what 
shall and what shall never be4          
,hudibras1 part iii4 canto #c4  ,in     
accordance with the plan laid down in   
the introduction to this volume1 we     
proceed to the consideration of the     
follies into which men have been led by 
their eager desire to pierce the thick  
darkness of futurity4 ,god himself1 for 
his own wise purposes1 has more than    
once undrawn the impenetrable veil which
 shrouds those awful secrets2 and1 for  
purposes just as wise1 he has decreed   

that1 except in these instances1        
ignorance shall be our lot for ever4 ,it
 is happy for man that he does not know 
what the morrow is to bring forth2 but1 
unaware of this great blessing1 he has1 
in all ages of the world1 presumptuously
 endeavoured to trace the events of     
unborn centuries1 and anticipate the    
march of time4 ,he has reduced this     
presumption into a study4 ,he has       
divided it into sciences and systems    
without number1 employing his whole life
 in the vain pursuit4 ,upon no subject  
has it been so easy to deceive the world
 as upon this4 ,in every breast the     
curiosity exists in a greater or less   
degree1 and can only be conquered by a  
long course of self-examination1 and a  
firm reliance that the future would not 
be hidden from our sight1 if it were    
right that we should be acquainted with 
it4  ,an undue opinion of our own       
importance in the scale of creation is  
at the bottom of all our unwarrantable  
notions in this respect4 ,how flattering

 to the pride of man to think that the  
stars in their courses watch over him1  
and typify1 by their movements and      
aspects1 the joys or the sorrows that   
await him6 ,he1 less in proportion to   
the universe than the all but invisible 
insects that feed in myriads on a       
summer's leaf1 are to this great globe  
itself1 fondly imagines that eternal    
worlds were chiefly created to          
prognosticate his fate4 ,how we should  
pity the arrogance of the worm that     
crawls at our feet1 if we knew that it  
also desired to know the secrets of     
futurity1 and imagined that meteors shot
 athwart the sky to warn it that a      
tom-tit was hovering near to gobble it  
up2 that storms and earthquakes1 the    
revolutions of empires1 or the fall of  
mighty monarchs1 only happened to1      
predict its birth1 its progress1 and its
 decay6 ,not a whit less presuming has  
man shown himself2 not a whit less      
arrogant are the sciences1 so called1 of
 astrology1 augury1 necromancy1         

geomancy1 palmistry1 and divination of  
every kind4  ,leaving out of view the   
oracles of pagan antiquity and religious
 predictions in general1 and confining  
ourselves solely to the persons who1 in 
modern times1 have made themselves most 
conspicuous in foretelling the future1  
we shall find that the sixteenth and    
seventeenth centuries were the golden   
age of these impostors4 ,many of them   
have been already mentioned in their    
character of alchymists4 ,the union of  
the two pretensions is not at all       
surprising4 ,it was to be expected that 
those who assumed a power so            
preposterous as that of prolonging the  
life of man for several centuries1      
should pretend1 at the same time1 to    
foretell the events which were to mark  
that preternatural span of existence4   
,the world would as readily believe that
 they had discovered all secrets1 as    
that they had only discovered one4 ,the 
most celebrated astrologers of ,europe1 
three centuries ago1 were alchymists4   

,agrippa1 ,paracelsus1 ,dr4 ,dee1 and   
the ,rosicrucians1 all laid as much     
stress upon their knowledge of the days 
to come1 as upon their pretended        
possession of the philosopher's stone   
and the elixir of life4 ,in their time1 
ideas of the wonderful1 the diabolical1 
and the supernatural1 were rifer than   
ever they were before4 ,the devil or the
 stars were universally believed to     
meddle constantly in the affairs of men2
 and both were to be consulted with     
proper ceremonies4 ,those who were of a 
melancholy and gloomy temperament betook
 themselves to necromancy and sorcery2  
those more cheerful and aspiring1       
devoted themselves to astrology4 ,the   
latter science was encouraged by all the
 monarchs and governments of that age4  
,in ,england1 from the time of          
,elizabeth to that of ,william and      
,mary1 judicial astrology was in high   
repute4 ,during that period flourished  
,drs4 ,dee1 ,lamb1 and ,forman2 with    
,lilly1 ,booker1 ,gadbury1 ,evans1 and  

scores of nameless impostors in every   
considerable town and village in the    
country1 who made it their business to  
cast nativities1 aid in the recovery of 
stolen goods1 prognosticate happy or    
unhappy marriages1 predict whether      
journeys would be prosperous1 and note  
lucky moments for the commencement of   
any enterprise1 from the setting up of a
 cobler's shop to the marching of an    
army4 ,men who1 to use the words of     
,butler1 did       ,deal in ,destiny's  
dark counsel1      ,and sage opinion of 
the moon sell2      ,to whom all people 
far and near      ,on deep importance   
did repair1      ,when brass and pewter 
pots did stray1      ,and linen slunk   
out of the way4  ,in ,lilly's ,memoirs  
of his ,life and ,times1 there are many 
notices of the inferior quacks who then 
abounded1 and upon whom he pretended to 
look down with supreme contempt2 not    
because they were astrologers1 but      
because they debased that noble art by  
taking fees for the recovery of stolen  

property4 ,from ,butler's ,hudibras and 
its curious notes1 we may learn what    
immense numbers of these fellows lived  
upon the credulity of mankind in that   
age of witchcraft and diablerie4 ,even  
in our day how great is the reputation  
enjoyed by the almanac-makers1 who      
assume the name of ,francis ,moore4 ,but
 in the time of ,charles ,i4 and the    
,commonwealth1 the most learned1 the    
most noble1 and the most conspicuous    
characters did not hesitate to consult  
astrologers in the most open manner4    
,lilly1 whom ,butler has immortalized   
under the name of ,sydrophel1 relates1  
that he proposed to write a work called 
,an ,introduction to ,astrology1 in     
which he would satisfy the whole kingdom
 of the lawfulness of that art4 ,many of
 the soldiers were for it1 he says1 and 
many of the ,independent party1 and     
abundance of worthy men in the ,house of
 ,commons1 his assured friends1 and able
 to take his part against the           
,presbyterians1 who would have silenced 

his predictions if they could4 ,he      
afterwards carried his plan into        
execution1 and when his book was        
published1 went with another astrologer 
named ,booker to the headquarters of the
 parliamentary army at ,windsor1 where  
they were welcomed and feasted in the   
garden where ,general ,fairfax lodged4  
,they were afterwards introduced to the 
general1 who received them very kindly1 
and made allusion to some of their      
predictions4 ,he hoped their art was    
lawful and agreeable to ,god's word2 but
 he did not understand it himself4 ,he  
did not doubt1 however1 that the two    
astrologers feared ,god1 and therefore  
he had a good opinion of them4 ,lilly   
assured him that the art of astrology   
was quite consonant to the ,scriptures2 
and confidently predicted from his      
knowledge of the stars1 that the        
parliamentary army would overthrow all  
its enemies4 ,in ,oliver's              
,protectorate1 this quack informs us    
that he wrote freely enough4 ,he became 

an ,independent1 and all the soldiery   
were his friends4 ,when he went to      
,scotland1 he saw a soldier standing in 
front of the army1 with a book of       
prophecies in his hand1 exclaiming to   
the several companies as they passed by 
him1 ,lo6 hear what ,lilly saith3 you   
are in this month promised victory6     
,fight it out1 brave boys6 and then read
 that month's prediction6  ,after the   
great fire of ,london1 which ,lilly said
 he had foretold1 he was sent for by the
 committee of the ,house of ,commons    
appointed to inquire into the causes of 
the calamity4 ,in his ,monarchy or no   
,monarchy1 published in #afea1 he had   
inserted an hieroglyphical plate1       
representing on one side persons in     
winding sheets digging graves2 and on   
the other a large city in flames4 ,after
 the great fire some sapient member of  
the legislature bethought him of        
,lilly's book1 and having mentioned it  
in the house1 it was agreed that the    
astrologer should be summoned4 ,lilly   

attended accordingly1 when ,sir ,robert 
,brooke told him the reason of his      
summons1 and called upon him to declare 
what he knew4 ,this was a rare          
opportunity for the vain-glorious ,lilly
 to vaunt his abilities2 and he began a 
long speech in praise of himself and his
 pretended science4 ,he said1 that after
 the execution of ,charles ,i1 he was   
extremely desirous to know what might   
from that time forth happen to the      
parliament and to the nation in general4
 ,he1 therefore1 consulted the stars and
 satisfied himself4 ,the result of his  
judgment he put into emblems and        
hieroglyphics1 without any commentary1  
so that the true meaning might be       
concealed from the vulgar1 and made     
manifest only to the wise2 imitating in 
this the example of many wise           
philosophers who had done the like4     
,did you foresee the year of the fire8  
said a member4 ,no6 quoth ,lilly1 nor   
was ,i desirous3 of that ,i made no     
scrutiny4 ,after some further parley the

 house found they could make nothing of 
the astrologer1 and dismissed him with  
great civility4  ,one specimen of the   
explanation of a prophecy given by      
,lilly1 and related by him with much    
complacency1 will be sufficient to show 
the sort of trash by which he imposed   
upon the million4 ,in the year #aehh1   
says he1 there was a prophecy printed in
 ,greek characters1 exactly deciphering 
the long troubles of the ,english nation
 from #afda to #affj2 and it ended      
thus3--,and after him shall come a      
dreadful dead man1 and with him a royal 
,g1 of the best blood in the world1 and 
he shall have the crown1 and shall set  
,england on the right way1 and put out  
all heresies4 ,the following is the     
explanation of this oracular            
absurdity3--  ,monkery being            
extinguished above eighty or ninety     
years1 and the ,lord ,general's name    
being ,monk1 is the dead man4 ,the royal
 ,g4 or ,c1 it is gamma in the ,greek1  
intending ,c4 in the ,latin1 being the  

third letter in the ,alphabet is        
,charles ,,ii1 who for his extraction   
may be said to be of the best blood of  
the world4  ,in ,france and ,germany    
astrologers met even more encouragement 
than they received in ,england4 ,in very
 early ages1 ,charlemagne and his       
successors fulminated their wrath       
against them in common with sorcerers4  
,louis ,,xi1 that most superstitious of 
men1 entertained great numbers of them  
at his court2 and ,catherine de         
,medicis1 that most superstitious of    
women1 hardly ever took any affair of   
importance without consulting them4 ,she
 chiefly favoured her own countrymen2   
and during the time she governed        
,france1 the land was overrun by        
,italian conjurors1 necromancers1 and   
fortune-tellers of every kind4 ,but the 
chief astrologer of that day1 beyond all
 doubt1 was the celebrated ,nostradamus1
 physician to her husband1 ,king ,henry 
,,ii4 ,he was born in #aejc1 at the town
 of ,st4 ,remi1 in ,provence1 where his 

father was a notary4 ,he did not acquire
 much fame till he was past his fiftieth
 year1 when his famous ,centuries1 a    
collection of verses1 written in obscure
 and almost unintelligible language1    
began to excite attention4 ,they were so
 much spoken of in #aeef1 that ,henry   
,,ii4 resolved to attach so skilful a   
man to his service1 and appointed him   
his physician4 ,in a biographical notice
 of him prefixed to the edition of his  
,vraies ,centuries1 published at        
,amsterdam in #affh1 we are informed    
that he often discoursed with his royal 
master on the secrets of futurity1 and  
received many great presents as his     
reward1 besides his usual allowance for 
medical attendance4 ,after the death of 
,henry1 he retired to his native place1 
where ,charles ,,ix4 paid him a visit in
 #aefd1 and was so impressed with       
veneration for his wondrous knowledge of
 the things that were to be1 not in     
,france only1 but in the whole world for
 hundreds of years to come1 that he made

 him a counsellor of state1 and his own 
physician1 besides treating him in other
 matters with a royal liberality4 ,in   
fine1 continues his biographer1 ,i      
should be too prolix were ,i to tell all
 the honours conferred upon him1 and all
 the great nobles and learned men that  
arrived at his house1 from the very ends
 of the earth1 to see and converse with 
him as if he had been an oracle4 ,many  
strangers1 in fact1 came to ,france for 
no other purpose than to consult him4   
,the prophecies of ,nostradamus consist 
of upwards of a thousand stanzas1 each  
of four lines1 and are to the full as   
obscure as the oracles of ,they take so 
great a latitude1 both as to time and   
space1 that they are almost sure to be  
fulfilled somewhere or other in the     
course of a few centuries2 ,a little    
ingenuity like that evinced by ,lilly1  
in his explanation about ,general ,monk 
and the dreadful dead man1 might easily 
make events to fit some of them4  ,let  
us try4 ,in his second century1         

prediction #ff1 he says1--'  ,from great
 dangers the captive is escaped4 ,a     
little time1 great fortune changed4 ,in 
the palace the people are caught4 ,by   
good augury the city is besieged4  ,what
 is this1 a believer might exclaim1 but 
the escape of ,napoleon from ,elba--his 
changed fortune1 and the occupation of  
,paris by the allied armies8--,let us   
try again4 ,in his third century1       
prediction #ih1 he says1-- ,two royal   
brothers will make fierce war on each   
other2 ,so mortal shall be the strife   
between them1 ,that each one shall      
occupy a fort against the other2 ,for   
their reign and life shall be the       
quarrel4  ,some ,lillius ,redivivus     
would find no difficulty in this        
prediction4 ,to use a vulgar phrase1 it 
is as clear as a pikestaff4 ,had not the
 astrologer in view ,don ,miguel and    
,don ,pedro when he penned this stanza1 
so much less obscure and oracular than  
the rest8  ,he is to this day extremely 
popular in ,france and the ,walloon     

country of ,belgium1 where old          
farmer-wives consult him with great     
confidence and assiduity4  ,catherine di
 ,medicis was not the only member of her
 illustrious house who entertained      
astrologers4 ,at the beginning of the   
fifteenth century1 there was a man named
 ,basil1 residing in ,florence1 who was 
noted over all ,italy for his skill in  
piercing the darkness of futurity4 ,it  
is said that he foretold to ,cosmo di   
,medicis1 then a private citizen1 that  
he would attain high dignity1 inasmuch  
as the ascendant of his nativity was    
adorned with the same propitious aspects
 as those of ,augustus ,caesar and the  
,emperor ,charles ,v4 ,hermippus        
,redivivus1 p4 #adb4 ,another astrologer
 foretold the death of ,prince          
,alexander di ,medicis2 and so very     
minute and particular was he in all the 
circumstances1 that he was suspected of 
being chiefly instrumental in fulfilling
 his own prophecy2 a very common        
resource with these fellows1 to keep up 

their credit4 ,he foretold confidently  
that the ,prince should die by the hand 
of his own familiar friend1 a person of 
a slender habit of body1 a small face1 a
 swarthy complexion1 and of most        
remarkable taciturnity4 ,so it          
afterwards happened2 ,alexander having  
been murdered in his chamber by his     
cousin ,lorenzo1 who corresponded       
exactly with the above description4     
,jovii ,elog4 p4 #cbj4 ,the author of   
,hermippus ,redivivus1 in relating this 
story1 inclines to the belief that the  
astrologer was guiltless of any         
participation in the crime1 but was     
employed by some friend of ,prince      
,alexander1 to warn him of his danger4  
,a much more remarkable story is told of
 an astrologer1 who lived in ,romagna1  
in the fifteenth century1 and whose name
 was ,antiochus ,tibertus4 ,les         
,anecdotes de ,florence ou l',histoire  
secrete de la ,maison di ,medicis1 p4   
#cah4 ,at that time nearly all the petty
 sovereigns of ,italy retained such men 

in their service2 and ,tibertus having  
studied the mathematics with great      
success at ,paris1 and delivered many   
predictions1 some of which1 for guesses1
 were not deficient in shrewdness1 was  
taken into the household of ,pandolfo di
 ,malatesta1 the sovereign of ,rimini4  
,his reputation was so great1 that his  
study was continually thronged1 either  
with visitors who were persons of       
distinction1 or with clients who came to
 him for advice1 and in a short time he 
acquired a considerable fortune4        
,notwithstanding all these advantages he
 passed his life miserably1 and ended it
 on the scaffold4 ,the following story  
afterwards got into circulation1 and has
 been often triumphantly cited by       
succeeding astrologers as an            
irrefragable proof of the truth of their
 science4 ,it was said1 that long before
 he died he uttered three remarkable    
prophecies2 one relating to himself1    
another to his friend1 and the third to 
his patron1 ,pandolfo di ,malatesta4    

,the first delivered was that relating  
to his friend1 ,guido di ,bogni1 one of 
the greatest captains of the time4      
,guido was exceedingly desirous to know 
his fortune1 and so importuned          
,tibertus1 that the latter consulted the
 stars1 and the lines on his palm1 to   
satisfy him4 ,he afterwards told him    
with a sorrowful face1 that according to
 all the rules of astrology and         
palmistry1 he should be falsely         
suspected by his best friend1 and should
 lose his life in consequence4 ,guido   
then asked the astrologer if he could   
foretell his own fate2 upon which       
,tibertus again consulted the stars1 and
 found that it was decreed from all     
eternity that he should end his days on 
the scaffold4 ,malatesta1 when he heard 
these predictions1 so unlikely1 to all  
present appearance1 to prove true1      
desired his astrologer to predict his   
fate also2 and to hide nothing from him1
 however unfavourable it might be4      
,tibertus complied1 and told his patron1

 at that time one of the most           
flourishing and powerful princes of     
,italy1 that he should suffer great     
want1 and die at last1 like a beggar1 in
 the common hospital of ,bologna3 and so
 it happened in all three cases4 ,guido 
di ,bogni was accused by his own        
father-in-law1 the ,count di            
,bentivoglio1 of a treasonable design to
 deliver up the city of ,rimini to the  
papal forces1 and was assassinated      
afterwards1 by order of the tyrant      
,malatesta1 as he sat at the            
supper-table1 to which he had been      
invited in all apparent friendship4 ,the
 astrologer was1 at the same time1      
thrown into prison1 as being concerned  
in the treason of his friend4 ,he       
attempted to escape1 and had succeeded  
in letting himself down from his dungeon
 window into a moat1 when he was        
discovered by the sentinels4 ,this being
 reported to ,malatesta1 he gave orders 
for his execution on the following      
morning4  ,malatesta had1 at this time1 

no remembrance of the prophecy2 and his 
own fate gave him no uneasiness3 but    
events were silently working its        
fulfilment4 ,a conspiracy had been      
formed1 though ,guido di ,bogni was     
innocent of it1 to deliver up ,rimini to
 the ,pope2 and all the necessary       
measures having been taken1 the city was
 seized by the ,count de ,valentinois4  
,in the confusion1 ,malatesta had barely
 time to escape from his palace in      
disguise4 ,he was pursued from place to 
place by his enemies1 abandoned by all  
his former friends1 and1 finally1 by his
 own children4 ,he at last fell ill of a
 languishing disease1 at ,bologna2 and1 
nobody caring to afford him shelter1 he 
was carried to the hospital1 where he   
died4 ,the only thing that detracts from
 the interest of this remarkable story  
is the fact1 that the prophecy was made 
after the event4  ,for some weeks before
 the birth of ,louis ,,xiv1 an          
astrologer from ,germany1 who had been  
sent for by the ,marshal de             

,bassompierre and other noblemen of the 
court1 had taken up his residence in the
 palace1 to be ready1 at a moment's     
notice1 to draw the horoscope of the    
future sovereign of ,france4 ,when the  
,queen was taken in labour1 he was      
ushered into a contiguous apartment1    
that he might receive notice of the very
 instant the child was born4 ,the result
 of his observations were the three     
words1 diu1 dure1 feliciter2 meaning1   
that the new-born ,prince should live   
and reign long1 with much labour1 and   
with great glory4 ,no prediction less   
favourable could have been expected from
 an astrologer1 who had his bread to    
get1 and who was at the same time a     
courtier4 ,a medal was afterwards struck
 in commemoration of the event2 upon one
 side of which was figured the nativity 
of the ,prince1 representing him as     
driving the chariot of ,apollo1 with the
 inscription ,ortus solis ,gallici1--the
 rising of the ,gallic sun4  ,the best  
excuse ever made for astrology was that 

offered by the great astronomer1        
,keppler1 himself an unwilling practiser
 of the art4 ,he had many applications  
from his friends to cast nativities for 
them1 and generally gave a positive     
refusal to such as he was not afraid of 
offending by his frankness4 ,in other   
cases he accommodated himself to the    
prevailing delusion4 ,in sending a copy 
of his ,ephemerides to ,professor       
,gerlach1 he wrote that they were       
nothing but worthless conjectures2 but  
he was obliged to devote himself to     
them1 or he would have starved4 ,ye     
overwise philosophers1 he exclaimed1 in 
his ,tertius ,interveniens2 ye censure  
this daughter of astronomy beyond her   
deserts6 ,know ye not that she must     
support her mother by her charms8 ,the  
scanty reward of an astronomer would not
 provide him with bread1 if men did not 
entertain hopes of reading the future in
 the heavens4  ,,necromancy was1 next to
 astrology1 the pretended science most  
resorted to1 by those who wished to pry 

into the future4 ,the earliest instance 
upon record is that of the ,witch of    
,endor and the spirit of ,samuel4       
,nearly all the nations of antiquity    
believed in the possibility of summoning
 departed ghosts to disclose the awful  
secrets that ,god made clear to the     
disembodied4 ,many passages in allusion 
to this subject1 will at once suggest   
themselves to the classical reader2 but 
this art was never carried on openly in 
any country4 ,all governments looked    
upon it as a crime of the deepest dye4  
,while astrology was encouraged1 and its
 professors courted and rewarded1       
necromancers were universally condemned 
to the stake or the gallows4 ,roger     
,bacon1 ,albertus ,magnus1 ,arnold of   
,villeneuve1 and many others1 were      
accused1 by the public opinion of many  
centuries1 of meddling in these         
unhallowed matters4 ,so deep-rooted has 
always been the popular delusion with   
respect to accusations of this kind1    
that no crime was ever disproved with   

such toil and difficulty4 ,that it met  
great encouragement1 nevertheless1 is   
evident from the vast numbers of        
pretenders to it2 who1 in spite of the  
danger1 have existed in all ages and    
countries4  ,,geomancy1 or the art of   
foretelling the future by means of lines
 and circles1 and other mathematical    
figures drawn on the earth1 is still    
extensively practised in ,asiatic       
countries1 but is almost unknown in     
,europe4  ,,augury1 from the flight or  
entrails of birds1 so favourite a study 
among the ,romans1 is1 in like manner1  
exploded in ,europe4 ,its most assiduous
 professors1 at the present day1 are the
 abominable ,thugs of ,india4           
,,divination1 of which there are many   
kinds1 boasts a more enduring           
reputation4 ,it has held an empire over 
the minds of men from the earliest      
periods of recorded history1 and is1 in 
all probability1 coeval with time       
itself4 ,it was practised alike by the  
,jews1 the ,egyptians1 the ,chaldeans1  

the ,persians1 the ,greeks1 and the     
,romans2 is equally known to all modern 
nations1 in every part of the world2 and
 is not unfamiliar to the untutored     
tribes that roam in the wilds of ,africa
 and ,america4 ,divination1 as practised
 in civilized ,europe at the present    
day1 is chiefly from cards1 the tea-cup1
 and the lines on the palm of the hand4 
,gipsies alone make a profession of it2 
but there are thousands and tens of     
thousands of humble families in which   
the good-wife1 and even the good-man1   
resort to the grounds at the bottom of  
their teacups1 to know whether the next 
harvest will be abundant1 or their sow  
bring forth a numerous litter2 and in   
which the young maidens look to the same
 place to know when they are to be      
married1 and whether the man of their   
choice is to be dark or fair1 rich or   
poor1 kind or cruel4 ,divination by     
cards1 so great a favourite among the   
moderns1 is1 of course1 a modern        
science2 as cards do not yet boast an   

antiquity of much more than four hundred
 years4 ,divination by the palm1 so     
confidently believed in by half the     
village lasses in ,europe1 is of older  
date1 and seems to have been known to   
the ,egyptians in the time of the       
patriarchs2 as well as divination by the
 cup1 which1 as we are informed in      
,genesis1 was practised by ,joseph4     
,divination by the rod was also         
practised by the ,egyptians4 ,in        
comparatively recent times1 it was      
pretended that by this means hidden     
treasures could be discovered4 ,it now  
appears to be altogether exploded in    
,europe4 ,onomancy1 or the foretelling a
 man's fate by the letters of his name1 
and the various transpositions of which 
they are capable1 is a more modern sort 
of divination2 but it reckons           
comparatively few believers4  ,the      
following list of the various species of
 ,divination formerly in use1 is given  
by ,gaule1 in his ,magastromancer1 and  
quoted in ,hone's ,year ,book1 p4 #aeag4

  ,stareomancy1 or divining by the      
elements4 ,aeromancy1 or divining by the
 air4 ,pyromancy1 by fire4 ,hydromancy1 
by water4 ,geomancy1 by earth4          
,theomancy1 pretending to divine by the 
revelation of the ,spirit1 and by the   
,scriptures1 or word of ,god4           
,demonomancy1 by the aid of devils and  
evil spirits4 ,idolomancy1 by idols1    
images1 and figures4 ,psychomancy1 by   
the soul1 affections1 or dispositions of
 men4 ,antinopomancy1 by the entrails of
 human beings4 ,theriomancy1 by beasts4 
,ornithomancy1 by birds4 ,icthyomancy1  
by fishes4 ,botanomancy1 by herbs4      
,lithomancy1 by stones4 ,kleromancy1 by 
lots4 ,oneiromancy1 by dreams4          
,onomancy1 by names4 ,arithmancy1 by    
numbers4 ,logarithmancy1 by logarithms4 
,sternomancy1 by the marks from the     
breast to the belly4 ,gastromancy1 by   
the sound of1 or marks upon1 the belly4 
,omphelomancy1 by the navel4            
,chiromancy1 by the hands4 ,paedomancy1 
by thee feet4 ,onchyomancy1 by the      

nails4 ,cephaleonomancy1 by asses'      
heads4 ,tuphramancy1 by ashes4          
,kapnomancy1 by smoke4 ,livanomancy1 by 
the burning of incense4 ,keromancy1 by  
the melting of wax4 ,lecanomancy1 by    
basins of water4 ,katoxtromancy1 by     
looking-glasses4 ,chartomancy1 by       
writing in papers1 and by ,valentines4  
,macharomancy1 by knives and swords4    
,crystallomancy1 by crystals4           
,dactylomancy1 by rings4 ,koseinomancy1 
by sieves4 ,axinomancy1 by saws4        
,kaltabomancy1 by vessels of brass1 or  
other metal4 ,spatalamancy1 by skins1   
bones1 c4 ,roadomancy1 by stars4        
,sciomancy1 by shadows4 ,astragalomancy1
 by dice4 ,oinomancy1 by the lees of    
wine4 ,sycomancy1 by figs4 ,tyromancy1  
by cheese4 ,alphitomancy1 by meal1      
flour1 or bran4 ,krithomancy1 by corn or
 grain4 ,alectromancy1 by cocks4        
,gyromancy1 by circles4 ,lampadomancy1  
by candles and lamps4                   
,,oneiro-,,criticism1 or the art of     
interpreting dreams1 is a relic of the  

most remote ages1 which has subsisted   
through all the changes that moral or   
physical revolutions have operated in   
the world4 ,the records of five thousand
 years bear abundant testimony to the   
universal diffusion of the belief1 that 
the skilful could read the future in    
dreams4 ,the rules of the art1 if any   
existed in ancient times1 are not known2
 but in our day1 one simple rule opens  
the whole secret4 ,dreams1 say all the  
wiseacres in ,christendom1 are to be    
interpreted by contraries4 ,thus1 if you
 dream of filth1 you will acquire       
something valuable2 if you dream of the 
dead1 you will hear news of the living2 
if you dream of gold and silver1 you run
 a risk of being without either2 and if 
you dream you have many friends1 you    
will be persecuted by many enemies4 ,the
 rule1 however1 does not hold good in   
all cases4 ,it is fortunate to dream of 
little pigs1 but unfortunate to dream of
 big bullocks4 ,if you dream you have   
lost a tooth1 you may be sure that you  

will shortly lose a friend2 and if you  
dream that your house is on fire1 you   
will receive news from a far country4   
,if you dream of vermin1 it is a sign   
that there will be sickness in your     
family2 and if you dream of serpents1   
you will have friends who1 in the course
 of time1 will prove your bitterest     
enemies2 but1 of all dreams1 it is most 
fortunate if you dream that you are     
wallowing up to your neck in mud and    
mire4 ,clear water is a sign of grief2  
and great troubles1 distress1 and       
perplexity are predicted1 if you dream  
that you stand naked in the public      
streets1 and know not where to find a   
garment to shield you from the gaze of  
the multitude4  ,in many parts of ,great
 ,britain1 and the continents of ,europe
 and ,america1 there are to be found    
elderly women in the villages and       
country-places whose interpretations of 
dreams are looked upon with as much     
reverence as if they were oracles4 ,in  
districts remote from towns it is not   

uncommon to find the members of a family
 regularly every morning narrating their
 dreams at the breakfast-table1 and     
becoming happy or miserable for the day 
according to their interpretation4      
,there is not a flower that blossoms1 or
 fruit that ripens1 that1 dreamed of1 is
 not ominous of either good or evil to  
such people4 ,every tree of the field or
 the forest is endowed with a similar   
influence over the fate of mortals1 if  
seen in the night-visions4 ,to dream of 
the ash1 is the sign of a long journey2 
and of an oak1 prognosticates long life 
and prosperity4 ,to dream you strip the 
bark off any tree1 is a sign to a maiden
 of an approaching loss of a character2 
to a married woman1 of a family         
bereavement2 and to a man1 of an        
accession of fortune4 ,to dream of a    
leafless tree1 is a sign of great       
sorrow2 and of a branchless trunk1 a    
sign of despair and suicide4 ,the       
elder-tree is more auspicious to the    
sleeper2 while the fir-tree1 better     

still1 betokens all manner of comfort   
and prosperity4 ,the lime-tree predicts 
a voyage across the ocean2 while the yew
 and the alder are ominous of sickness  
to the young and of death to the old4   
,it is quite astonishing to see the     
great demand there is1 both in ,england 
and ,france1 for dream-books1 and other 
trash of the same kind4 ,two books in   
,england enjoy an extraordinary         
popularity1 and have run through upwards
 of fifty editions in as many years in  
,london alone1 besides being reprinted  
in ,manchester1 ,edinburgh1 ,glasgow1   
and ,dublin4 ,one is ,mother ,bridget's 
,dream-book and ,oracle of ,fate2 the   
other is the ,norwood ,gipsy4 ,it is    
stated on the authority of one who1 is  
curious in these matters1 that there is 
a demand for these works1 which are sold
 at sums varying from a penny to        
sixpence1 chiefly to servant-girls and  
imperfectly-educated people1 all over   
the country1 of upwards of eleven       
thousand annually2 and that at no period

 during the last thirty years has the   
average number sold been less than this4
 ,the total number during this period   
would thus amount to #ccj1jjj4  ,among  
the flowers and fruits charged with     
messages for the future1 the following  
is a list of the most important1        
arranged from approved sources1 in      
alphabetical order3--  ,asparagus1      
gathered and tied up in bundles1 is an  
omen of tears4 ,if you see it growing in
 your dreams1 it is a sign of good      
fortune4  ,aloes1 without a flower1     
betoken long life3 in flower1 betoken a 
legacy4  ,artichokes4 ,this vegetable is
 a sign that you will receive1 in a     
short time1 a favour from the hands of  
those from whom you would least expect  
it4  ,agrimony4 ,this herb denotes that 
there will be sickness in your house4   
,anemone1 predicts love4  ,auriculas1 in
 beds1 denote luck2 in pots1 marriage3  
while to gather them1 foretells         
widowhood4  ,bilberries1 predict a      
pleasant excursion4  ,broom-flowers1 an 

increase of family4  ,cauliflowers1     
predict that all your friends will      
slight you1 or that you will fall into  
poverty and find no one to pity you4    
,dock-leaves1 a present from the        
country4  ,daffodils4 ,any maiden who   
dreams of daffodils is warned by her    
good angel to avoid going into a wood   
with her lover1 or into any dark or     
retired place where she might not be    
able to make people hear her if she     
cried out4 ,alas6 for her if she pay no 
attention to the warning6 ,she shall be 
rifled of the precious flower of        
chastity1 and shall never again have    
right to wear the garland of virginity4 
,never again shall she put garland on2  
,instead of it1 she'll wear sad cypress 
now1 ,and bitter elder broken from the  
bough4  ,figs1 if green1 betoken        
embarrassment2 if dried1 money to the   
poor and mirth to the rich4             
,heart's-ease1 betokens heart's pain4   
,lilies1 predict joy2 water-lilies1     
danger from the sea4  ,lemons1 betoken a

 separation4  ,pomegranates1 predict    
happy wedlock to those who are single1  
and reconciliation to those who are     
married and have disagreed4  ,quinces1  
prognosticate pleasant company4  ,roses1
 denote happy love1 not unmixed with    
sorrow from other sources4  ,sorrel1 ,to
 dream of this herb is a sign that you  
will shortly have occasion to exert all 
your prudence to overcome some great    
calamity4  ,sunflowers1 show that your  
pride will be deeply wounded4  ,violets1
 predict evil to the single and joy to  
the married4  ,yellow-flowers of any    
kind predict jealousy4  ,yew-berries1   
predict loss of character to both sexes4
  ,it should be observed that the rules 
for the interpretation of dreams are far
 from being universal4 ,the cheeks of   
the peasant girl of ,england glow with  
pleasure in the morning after she has   
dreamed of a rose1 while the paysanne of
 ,normandy dreads disappointment and    
vexation for the very same reason4 ,the 
,switzer who dreams of an oaktree does  

not share in the ,englishman's joy2 for 
he imagines that the vision was a       
warning to him that1 from some trifling 
cause1 an overwhelming calamity will    
burst over him4 ,thus do the ignorant   
and the credulous torment themselves2   
thus do they spread their nets to catch 
vexation1 and pass their lives between  
hopes which are of no value and fears   
which are a positive evil4              
,,omens4--,among the other means of     
self-annoyance upon which men have      
stumbled1 in their vain hope of         
discovering the future1 signs and omens 
hold a conspicuous place4 ,there is     
scarcely an occurrence in nature which1 
happening at a certain time1 is not     
looked upon by some persons as a        
prognosticator either of good or evil4  
,the latter are in the greatest number1 
so much more ingenious are we in        
tormenting ourselves than in discovering
 reasons for enjoyment in the things    
that surround us4 ,we go out of our     
course to make ourselves uncomfortable2 

the cup of life is not bitter enough to 
our palate1 and we distil superfluous   
poison to put into it1 or conjure up    
hideous things to frighten ourselves at1
 which would never exist if we did not  
make them4 ,we suffer1 says ,addison1   
,spectator1 ,no4 #g1 ,march #hth1       
#agaj-aa4 as much from trifling         
accidents as from real evils4 ,i have   
known the shooting of a star spoil a    
night's rest1 and have seen a man in    
love grow pale and lose his appetite    
upon the plucking of a merrythought4 ,a 
screech-owl at midnight has alarmed a   
family more than a band of robbers2 nay1
 the voice of a cricket has struck more 
terror than the roaring of a lion4      
,there is nothing so inconsiderable     
which may not appear dreadful to an     
imagination that is filled with omens   
and prognostics4 ,a rusty nail or a     
crooked pin shoot up into prodigies4    
,the century and a quarter that has     
passed away since ,addison wrote has    
seen the fall of many errors4 ,many     

fallacies and delusions have been       
crushed under the foot of time since    
then2 but this has been left unscathed1 
to frighten the weakminded and embitter 
their existence4 ,a belief in omens is  
not confined to the humble and          
uninformed4 ,a general1 who led an army 
with credit1 has been known to feel     
alarmed at a winding-sheet in the       
candle2 and learned men1 who had        
honourably and fairly earned the highest
 honours of literature1 have been seen  
to gather their little ones around them1
 and fear that one would be snatched    
away1 because1       ,when stole upon   
the time the dead of night1      ,and   
heavy sleep had closed up mortal eyes1  
a dog in the street was howling at the  
moon4 ,persons who would acknowledge    
freely that the belief in omens was     
unworthy of a man of sense1 have yet    
confessed at the same time that1 in     
spite of their reason1 they have been   
unable to conquer their fears of death  
when they heard the harmless insect     

called the death-watch ticking in the   
wall1 or saw an oblong hollow coal fly  
out of the fire4  ,many other evil omens
 besides those mentioned above alarm the
 vulgar and the weak4 ,if a sudden      
shivering comes over such people1 they  
believe that1 at that instant1 an enemy 
is treading over the spot that will one 
day be their grave4 ,if they meet a sow 
when they first walk abroad in the      
morning1 it is an omen of evil for that 
day4 ,to meet an ass1 is in like manner 
unlucky4 ,it is also very unfortunate to
 walk under a ladder2 to forget to eat  
goose on the festival of ,st4 ,michael2 
to tread upon a beetle1 or to eat the   
twin nuts that are sometimes found in   
one shell4 ,woe1 in like manner1 is     
predicted to that wight who             
inadvertently upsets the salt2 each     
grain that is overthrown will bring to  
him a day of sorrow4 ,if thirteen       
persons sit at table1 one of them will  
die within the year2 and all of them    
will be unhappy4 ,of all evil omens1    

this is the worst4 ,the facetious ,dr4  
,kitchener used to observe that there   
was one case in which he believed that  
it was really unlucky for thirteen      
persons to sit down to dinner1 and that 
was when there was only dinner enough   
for twelve4 ,unfortunately for their    
peace of mind1 the great majority of    
people do not take this wise view of the
 matter4 ,in almost every country of    
,europe the same superstition prevails1 
and some carry it so far as to look upon
 the number thirteen as in every way    
ominous of evil2 and if they find       
thirteen coins in their purse1 cast away
 the odd one like a polluted thing4 ,the
 philosophic ,beranger1 in his exquisite
 song1 ,thirteen at ,table1 has taken a 
poetical view of this humiliating       
superstition1 and mingled1 as is his    
wont1 a lesson of genuine wisdom in his 
lay4 ,being at dinner1 he overthrows the
 salt1 and1 looking round the room1     
discovers that he is the thirteenth     
guest4 ,while he is mourning his unhappy

 fate1 and conjuring up visions of      
disease and suffering1 and the grave1 he
 is suddenly startled by the apparition 
of ,death herself1 not in the shape of a
 grim foe1 with skeleton ribs and       
menacing dart1 but of an angel of light1
 who shows the folly of tormenting      
ourselves with the dread of her         
approach1 when she is the friend1 rather
 than the enemy1 of man1 and frees us   
from the fetters which bind us to the   
dust4  ,if men could bring themselves to
 look upon ,death in this manner1 living
 well and wisely till her inevitable    
approach1 how vast a store of grief and 
vexation would they spare themselves6   
,among good omens1 one of the most      
conspicuous is to meet a piebald horse4 
,to meet two of these animals is still  
more fortunate2 and if on such an       
occasion you spit thrice1 and form any  
reasonable wish1 it will be gratified   
within three days4 ,it is also a sign of
 good fortune if you inadvertently put  
on your stocking wrong side out4 ,if you

 wilfully wear your stocking in this    
fashion1 no good will come of it4 ,it is
 very lucky to sneeze twice2 but if you 
sneeze a third time1 the omen loses its 
power1 and your good fortune will be    
nipped in the bud4 ,if a strange dog    
follow you1 and fawn on you1 and wish to
 attach itself to you1 it is a sign of  
very great prosperity4 ,just as         
fortunate is it if a strange male cat   
comes to your house and manifests       
friendly intentions towards your family4
 ,if a she eat1 it is an omen1 on the   
contrary1 of very great misfortune4 ,if 
a swarm of bees alight in your garden1  
some very high honour and great joys    
await you4  ,besides these glimpses of  
the future1 you may know something of   
your fate by a diligent attention to    
every itching that you may feel in your 
body4 ,thus1 if the eye or the nose     
itches1 it is a sign you will be shortly
 vexed2 if the foot itches you will     
tread upon strange ground2 and if the   
elbow itches1 you will change your      

bedfellow4 ,itching of the right-hand   
prognosticates that you will soon have a
 sum of money2 and of the left1 that you
 will be called upon to disburse it4    
,these are but a few of the omens which 
are generally credited in modern        
,europe4 ,a complete list of them would 
fatigue from its length1 and sicken from
 its absurdity4 ,it would be still more 
unprofitable to attempt to specify the  
various delusions of the same kind which
 are believed among ,oriental nations4  
,every reader will remember the         
comprehensive formula of cursing        
preserved in ,tristram ,shandy3--curse a
 man after any fashion you remember or  
can invent1 you will be sure to find it 
there4 ,the ,oriental creed of omens is 
not less comprehensive4 ,every movement 
of the body1 every emotion of the mind1 
is at certain times an omen4 ,every form
 and object in nature1 even the shape of
 the clouds and the changes of the      
weather2 every colour1 every sound1     
whether of men or animals1 or birds or  

insects1 or inanimate things1 is an     
omen4 ,nothing is too trifling or       
inconsiderable to inspire a hope which  
is not worth cherishing1 or a fear which
 is sufficient to embitter existence4   
,from the belief in omens springs the   
superstition that has1 from very early  
ages1 set apart certain days1 as more   
favourable than others1 for prying into 
the secrets of futurity4 ,the following1
 copied verbatim from the popular ,dream
 and ,omen ,book of ,mother ,bridget1   
will show the belief of the people of   
,england at the present day4 ,those who 
are curious as to the ancient history of
 these observances1 will find abundant  
aliment in the ,every-day ,book4  ,the  
#ast of ,january4--,if a young maiden   
drink1 on going to bed1 a pint of cold  
spring-water1 in which is beat up an    
amulet1 composed of the yolk of a       
pullet's egg1 the legs of a spider1 and 
the skin of an eel pounded1 her future  
destiny will be revealed to her in a    
dream4 ,this charm fails of its effect  

if tried any other day of the year4     
,valentine ,day4--,let a single woman go
 out of her own door very early in the  
morning1 and if the first person she    
meets be a woman1 she will not be       
married that year3 if she meet a man1   
she will be married within three months4
  ,lady ,day4--,the following charm may 
be tried this day with certain          
success3--,string thirty-one nuts on a  
string1 composed of red worsted mixed   
with blue silk1 and tie it round your   
neck on going to bed1 repeating these   
lines--       ',oh1 ,i wish6 oh1 ,i wish
 to see      ,who my true love is to    
be6'  ,shortly after midnight1 you will 
see your lover in a dream1 and be       
informed at the same time of all the    
principal events of your future life4   
,st4 ,swithin's ,eve4--,select three    
things you most wish to know2 write them
 down with a new pen and red ink on a   
sheet of fine-wove paper1 from which you
 must previously cut off all the corners
 and burn them4 ,fold the paper into a  

true-lover's knot1 and wrap round it    
three hairs from your head4 ,place the  
paper under your pillow for three       
successive nights1 and your curiosity to
 know the future will be satisfied4     
,st4 ,mark's ,eve4--,repair to the      
nearest churchyard as the clock strikes 
twelve1 and take from a grave on the    
south-side of the church three tufts of 
grass 7the longer and ranker the        
better71 and on going to bed place them 
under your pillow1 repeating earnestly  
three several times1  ',the ,eve of ,st4
 ,mark by prediction is blest1 ,set     
therefore my hopes and my fears all to  
rest3 ,let me know my fate1 whether weal
 or woe2 ,whether my rank's to be high  
or low2 ,whether to live single1 or be a
 bride1 ,and the destiny my star doth   
provide4'  ,should you have no dream    
that night1 you will be single and      
miserable all your life4 ,if you dream  
of thunder and lightning1 your life will
 be one of great difficulty and sorrow4 
,candlemas ,eve4--,on this night 7which 

is the purification of the ,virgin      
,mary71 let three1 five1 seven1 or nine1
 young maidens assemble together in a   
square chamber4 ,hang in each corner a  
bundle of sweet herbs1 mixed with rue   
and rosemary4 ,then mix a cake of flour1
 olive-oil1 and white sugar2 every      
maiden having an equal share in the     
making and the expense of it4           
,afterwards1 it must be cut into equal  
pieces1 each one marking the piece as   
she cuts it with the initials of her    
name4 ,it is then to be baked one hour  
before the fire1 not a word being spoken
 the whole time1 and the maidens sitting
 with their arms and knees across4 ,each
 piece of cake is then to be wrapped up 
in a sheet of paper1 on which each      
maiden shall write the love part of     
,solomon's ,songs4 ,if she put this     
under her pillow1 she will dream true4  
,she will see her future husband and    
every one of her children1 and will     
know1 besides1 whether her family will  
be poor or prosperous--a comfort to her1

 or the contrary4  ,midsummer4--,take   
three roses1 smoke them with sulphur1   
and exactly at three in the day1 bury   
one of the roses under a yew tree2 the  
second in a newly-made grave1 and put   
the third under your pillow for three   
nights1 and at the end of that period   
burn it in a fire of charcoal4 ,your    
dreams during that time will be         
prophetic of your future destiny1 and1  
what is still more curious and valuable 
7,mother ,bridget loquitur71 the man    
whom you are to wed1 will know no peace 
till he comes and visits you4 ,besides  
this1 you will perpetually haunt his    
dreams4  ,st4 ,john's ,eve4--,make a new
 pincushion of the very best black      
velvet 7no inferior quality will answer 
the purpose71 and on one side stick your
 name in full length with the very      
smallest pins that can be bought 7none  
other will do74 ,on the other side1 make
 a cross with some very large pins1 and 
surround it with a circle4 ,put this    
into your stocking when you take it off 

at night1 and hang it up at the foot of 
the bed4 ,all your future life will pass
 before you in a dream4  ,first ,new    
,moon of the ,year4--,on the first new  
moon in the year1 take a pint of clear  
springwater and infuse into it the white
 of an egg laid by a white hen1 a glass 
of white wine1 three almonds peeled     
white1 and a tablespoonful of white     
rose-water4 ,drink this on going to bed1
 not making more nor less than three    
draughts of it2 repeating the following 
verses three several times in a clear   
distinct voice1 but not so loud as to be
 overheard by anybody3--   ',if ,i dream
 of water pure ,before the coming morn1 
',tis a sign ,i shall be poor1 ,and unto
 wealth not born4  ,if ,i dream of      
tasting beer1 ,middling then will be my 
cheer-- ,chequer'd with the good and    
bad1 ,sometimes joyful1 sometimes sad2  
,but should ,i dream of drinking wine1  
,wealth and pleasure will be mine4  ,the
 stronger the drink1 the better the     
cheer-- ,dreams of my destiny1 appear1  

appear6'   ,twenty-ninth of             
,february4--,this day1 as it only occurs
 once in four years1 is peculiarly      
auspicious to those who desire to have a
 glance at futurity1 especially to young
 maidens burning with anxiety to know   
the appearance and complexion of their  
future lords4 ,the charm to be adopted  
is the following3 ,stick twenty-seven of
 the smallest pins that are made1 three 
by three1 into a tallow candle4 ,light  
it up at the wrong end1 and then place  
it in a candlestick made out of clay1   
which must be drawn from a virgin's     
grave4 ,place this on the chimney-place1
 in the left-hand corner1 exactly as the
 clock strikes twelve1 and go to bed    
immediately4 ,when the candle is burnt  
out1 take the pins and put them into    
your left-shoe2 and before nine nights  
have elapsed your fate will be revealed 
to you4  ,we have now taken a hasty     
review of the various modes of seeking  
to discover the future1 especially as   
practised in modern times4 ,the main    

features of the folly appear essentially
 the same in all countries4 ,national   
character and peculiarities operate some
 difference of interpretation4 ,the     
mountaineer makes the natural phenomena 
which he most frequently witnesses      
prognosticative of the future4 ,the     
dweller in the plains1 in a similar     
manner1 seeks to know his fate among the
 signs of the things that surround him1 
and tints his superstition with the hues
 of his own clime4 ,the same spirit     
animates them all--the same desire to   
know that which ,infinite ,mercy has    
concealed4 ,there is but little         
probability that the curiosity of       
mankind in this respect will ever be    
wholly eradicated4 ,death and           
ill-fortune are continual bugbears to   
the weak-minded1 the irreligious1 and   
the ignorant2 and while such exist in   
the world1 divines will preach upon its 
impiety and philosophers discourse upon 
its absurdity in vain4 ,still1 it is    
evident that these follies have greatly 

diminished4 ,soothsayers and prophets   
have lost the credit they formerly      
enjoyed1 and skulk in secret now where  
they once showed their faces in the     
blaze of day4 ,so far there is manifest 
improvement4     ,,book ,,iii4--,,the   
,,magnetisers4       ,some deemed them  
wondrous wise1 and some believed them   
mad4     --,beattie's ,minstrel4  ,the  
wonderful influence of imagination in   
the cure of diseases is well known4 ,a  
motion of the hand1 or a glance of the  
eye1 will throw a weak and credulous    
patient into a fit2 and a pill made of  
bread1 if taken with sufficient faith1  
will operate a cure better than all the 
drugs in the pharmacopoeia4 ,the ,prince
 of ,orange1 at the siege of ,breda1 in 
#afbe1 cured all his soldiers who were  
dying of the scurvy1 by a philanthropic 
piece of quackery1 which he played upon 
them with the knowledge of the          
physicians1 when all other means had    
failed4 ,see ,van der ,mye's account of 
the siege of ,breda4 ,the garrison1     

being afflicted with scurvy1 the ,prince
 of ,orange sent the physicians two or  
three small phials1 containing a        
decoction of camomile1 wormwood1 and    
camphor1 telling them to pretend that it
 was a medicine of the greatest value   
and extremest rarity1 which had been    
procured with very much danger and      
difficulty from the ,east2 and so       
strong1 that two or three drops would   
impart a healing virtue to a gallon of  
water4 ,the soldiers had faith in their 
commander2 they took the medicine with  
cheerful faces1 and grew well rapidly4  
,they afterwards thronged about the     
,prince in groups of twenty and thirty  
at a time1 praising his skill1 and      
loading him with protestations of       
gratitude4 ,many hundreds of instances1 
of a similar kind1 might be related1    
especially from the history of          
witchcraft4 ,the mummeries1 strange     
gesticulations1 and barbarous jargon of 
witches and sorcerers1 which frightened 
credulous and nervous women1 brought on 

all those symptoms of hysteria and other
 similar diseases1 so well understood   
now1 but which were then supposed to be 
the work of the devil1 not only by the  
victims and the public in general1 but  
by the operators themselves4  ,in the   
age when alchymy began to fall into some
 disrepute1 and learning to lift up its 
voice against it1 a new delusion1 based 
upon this power of imagination1 suddenly
 arose1 and found apostles among all the
 alchymists4 ,numbers of them1 forsaking
 their old pursuits1 made themselves    
magnetisers4 ,it appeared first in the  
shape of mineral1 and afterwards of     
animal1 magnetism1 under which latter   
name it survives to this day1 and       
numbers its dupes by thousands4  ,the   
mineral magnetisers claim the first     
notice1 as the worthy predecessors of   
the quacks of the present day4 ,the     
honour claimed for ,paracelsus of being 
the first of the ,rosicrucians has been 
disputed2 but his claim to be considered
 the first of the magnetisers can       

scarcely be challenged4 ,it has been    
already mentioned of him1 in the part of
 this work which treats of alchymy1     
that1 like nearly all the distinguished 
adepts1 he was a physician2 and         
pretended1 not only to make gold and    
confer immortality1 but to cure all     
diseases4 ,he was the first who1 with   
the latter view1 attributed occult and  
miraculous powers to the magnet4        
,animated apparently by a sincere       
conviction that the magnet was the      
philosopher's stone1 which1 if it could 
not transmute metals1 could soothe all  
human suffering and arrest the progress 
of decay1 he travelled for many years in
 ,persia and ,arabia1 in search of the  
mountain of adamant1 so famed in        
oriental fables4 ,when he practised as a
 physician at ,basle1 he called one of  
his nostrums by the name of azoth--a    
stone or crystal1 which1 he said1       
contained magnetic properties1 and cured
 epilepsy1 hysteria1 and spasmodic      
affections4 ,he soon found imitators4   

,his fame spread far and near2 and thus 
were sown the first seeds of that error 
which has since taken root and          
flourished so widely4 ,in spite of the  
denial of modern practitioners1 this    
must be considered the origin of        
magnetism2 for we find that1 beginning  
with ,paracelsus1 there was a regular   
succession of mineral magnetisers until 
,mesmer appeared1 and gave a new feature
 to the delusion4  ,paracelsus boasted  
of being able to transplant diseases    
from the human frame into the earth1 by 
means of the magnet4 ,he said there were
 six ways by which this might be        
effected4 ,one of them will be quite    
sufficient1 as a specimen4 ,if a person 
suffer from disease1 either local or    
general1 let the following remedy be    
tried4 ,take a magnet1 impregnated with 
mummy ,mummies were of several kinds1   
and were all of great use in magnetic   
medicines4 ,paracelsus enumerates six   
kinds of mummies2 the first four only   
differing in the composition used by    

different people for preserving their   
dead1 are the ,egyptian1 ,arabian1      
,pisasphaltos1 and ,lybian4 ,the fifth  
mummy of peculiar power was made from   
criminals that had been hanged2 for from
 such there is a gentle siccation1 that 
expungeth the watery humour1 without    
destroying the oil and spirituall1 which
 is cherished by the heavenly           
luminaries1 and strengthened continually
 by the affluence and impulses of the   
celestial spirits2 whence it may be     
properly called by the name of          
constellated or celestial mummie4 ,the  
sixth kind of mummy was made of         
corpuscles1 or spiritual effluences1    
radiated from the living body2 though we
 cannot get very clear ideas on this    
head1 or respecting the manner in which 
they were caught4--,medicina            
,diatastica2 or1 ,sympathetical ,mummie1
 abstracted from the ,works of          
,paracelsus1 and translated out of the  
,latin1 by ,fernando ,parkhurst1 ,gent4 
,london1 #afec4 pp4 #b4g4 ,quoted by the

 ,foreign ,quarterly ,review1 vol4 xii4 
p4 #dae4 and mixed with rich earth4 ,in 
this earth sow some seeds that have a   
congruity or homogeneity with the       
disease3 then let this earth1 well      
sifted and mixed with mummy1 be laid in 
an earthen vessel2 and let the seeds    
committed to it be watered daily with a 
lotion in which the diseased limb or    
body has been washed4 ,thus will the    
disease be transplanted from the human  
body to the seeds which are in the      
earth4 ,having done this1 transplant the
 seeds from the earthen vessel to the   
ground1 and wait till they begin to     
sprout into herbs3 as they increase1 the
 disease will diminish2 and when they   
have arrived at their full growth1 it   
will disappear altogether4  ,kircher the
 ,jesuit1 whose quarrel with the        
alchymists was the means of exposing    
many of their impostures1 was a firm    
believer in the efficacy of the magnet4 
,having been applied to by a patient    
afflicted with hernia1 he directed the  

man to swallow a small magnet reduced to
 powder1 while he applied1 at the same  
time1 to the external swelling a        
poultice1 made of filings of iron4 ,he  
expected that by this means the magnet1 
when it got to the corresponding place  
inside1 would draw in the iron1 and with
 it the tumour2 which would thus1 he    
said1 be safely and expeditiously       
reduced4  ,as this new doctrine of      
magnetism spread1 it was found that     
wounds inflicted with any metallic      
substance could be cured by the magnet4 
,in process of time the delusion so     
increased1 that it was deemed sufficient
 to magnetise a sword1 to cure any hurt 
which that sword might have inflicted6  
,this was the origin of the celebrated  
weapon-salve1 which excited so much     
attention about the middle of the       
seventeenth century4 ,the following was 
the recipe given by ,paracelsus for the 
cure of any wounds inflicted by a sharp 
weapon1 except such as had penetrated   
the heart1 the brain1 or the arteries4  

,take of moss growing on the head of a  
thief who has been hanged and left in   
the air2 of real mummy2 of human blood1 
still warm--of each1 one ounce2 of human
 suet1 two ounces2 of linseed oil1      
turpentine1 and ,armenian bole--of each1
 two drachms4 ,mix all well in a mortar1
 and keep the salve in an oblong1 narrow
 urn4 ,with this salve the weapon1 after
 being dipped in the blood from the     
wound1 was to be carefully anointed1 and
 then laid by in a cool place4 ,in the  
mean time1 the wound was to be duly     
washed with fair clean water1 covered   
with a clean1 soft1 linen rag1 and      
opened once a day to cleanse off        
purulent or other matter4 ,of the       
success of this treatment1 says the     
writer of the able article on ,animal   
,magnetism1 in the twelfth volume of the
 ,foreign ,quarterly ,review1 there     
cannot be the least doubt2 for surgeons 
at this moment follow exactly the same  
method1 except anointing the weapon6    
,the weapon salve continued to be much  

spoken of on the ,continent1 and many   
eager claimants appeared for the honour 
of the invention4 ,dr4 ,fludd1 or ,a    
,fluctibus1 the ,rosicrucian1 who has   
been already mentioned in a previous    
part of this volume1 was very zealous in
 introducing it into ,england4 ,he tried
 it with great success in several cases2
 and no wonder2 for1 while he kept up   
the spirits of his patients by boasting 
of the great efficacy of the salve1 he  
never neglected those common1 but much  
more important remedies1 of washing1    
bandaging1 c4 which the experience of   
all ages had declared sufficient for the
 purpose4 ,fludd1 moreover1 declared1   
that the magnet was a remedy for all    
diseases1 if properly applied2 but that 
man having1 like the earth1 a north and 
a south pole1 magnetism could only take 
place when his body was in a boreal     
position6 ,in the midst of his          
popularity1 an attack was made upon him 
and his favourite remedy1 the salve2    
which1 however1 did little or nothing to

 diminish the belief in its efficacy4   
,one ,parson ,foster wrote a pamphlet1  
entitled ,hyplocrisma ,spongus2 or1 a   
,spunge to wipe away the ,weapon-,salve2
 in which he declared1 that it was as   
bad as witchcraft to use or recommend   
such an unguent2 that it was invented by
 the devil1 who1 at the last day1 would 
seize upon every person who had given it
 the slightest encouragement4 ,in fact1 
said ,parson ,foster1 the devil himself 
gave it to ,paracelsus2 ,paracelsus to  
the ,emperor2 the ,emperor to the       
courtier2 the courtier to ,baptista     
,porta2 and ,baptista ,porta to ,dr4    
,fludd1 a doctor of physic1 yet living  
and practising in the famous city of    
,london1 who now stands tooth and nail  
for it4 ,dr4 ,fludd1 thus assailed1 took
 up the pen in defence of his unguent1  
in a reply called ,the ,squeezing of    
,parson ,foster's ,spunge2 wherein the  
,spunge-,bearer's immodest ,carriage and
 ,behaviour towards his ,brethren is    
detected2 the bitter ,flames of his     

slanderous ,reports are1 by the sharp   
,vinegar of ,truth1 corrected and quite 
extinguished2 and1 lastly1 the virtuous 
,validity of his ,spunge in wiping away 
the ,weapon-,salve1 is crushed out and  
clean abolished4  ,shortly after this   
dispute a more distinguished believer in
 the weapon-salve made his appearance1  
in the person of ,sir ,kenelm ,digby1   
the son of ,sir ,everard ,digby1 who was
 executed for his participation in the  
,gunpowder ,plot4 ,this gentleman1 who1 
in other respects1 was an accomplished  
scholar and an able man1 was imbued with
 all the extravagant notions of the     
alchymists4 ,he believed in the         
philosopher's stone1 and wished to      
engage ,descartes to devote his energies
 to the discovery of the elixir of life1
 or some other means by which the       
existence of man might be prolonged to  
an indefinite period4 ,he gave his wife1
 the beautiful ,venetia ,anastasia      
,stanley1 a dish of capons1 fed upon    
vipers1 according to the plan supposed  

to have been laid down by ,arnold of    
,villeneuve1 in the hope that she might 
thereby preserve her loveliness for a   
century4 ,if such a man once took up the
 idea of the weapon-salve1 it was to be 
expected that he would make the most of 
it4 ,in his hands1 however1 it was      
changed from an unguent into a powder1  
and was called the powder of sympathy4  
,he pretended that he had acquired the  
knowledge of it from a ,carmelite friar1
 who had learned it in ,persia or       
,armenia1 from an oriental philosopher  
of great renown4 ,king ,james1 the      
,prince of ,wales1 the ,duke of         
,buckingham1 and many other noble       
personages1 believed in its efficacy4   
,the following remarkable instance of   
his mode of cure was read by ,sir       
,kenelm to a society of learned men at  
,montpellier4 ,mr4 ,james ,howell1 the  
well-known author of the ,dendrologia1  
and of various letters1 coming by chance
 as two of his best friends were        
fighting a duel1 rushed between them1   

and endeavoured to part them4 ,he seized
 the sword of one of the combatants by  
the hilt1 while1 at the same time1 he   
grasped the other by the blade4 ,being  
transported with fury one against the   
other1 they struggled to rid themselves 
of the hindrance caused by their friend2
 and in so doing1 the one whose sword   
was held by the blade by ,mr4 ,howell1  
drew it away roughly1 and nearly cut his
 hand off1 severing the nerves and      
muscles1 and penetrating to the bone4   
,the other1 almost at the same instant1 
disengaged his sword1 and aimed a blow  
at the head of his antagonist1 which    
,mr4 ,howell observing1 raised his      
wounded hand with the rapidity of       
thought1 to prevent the blow4 ,the sword
 fell on the back of his already wounded
 hand1 and cut it severely4 ,it seemed1 
said ,sir ,kenelm ,digby1 as if some    
unlucky star raged over them1 that they 
should have both shed the blood of that 
dear friend1 for whose life they would  
have given their own1 if they had been  

in their proper mind at the time4       
,seeing ,mr4 ,howell's face all         
besmeared with blood from his wounded   
hand1 they both threw down their swords 
and embraced him1 and bound up his hand 
with a garter1 to close the veins1 which
 were cut1 and bled profusely4 ,they    
then conveyed him home1 and sent for a  
surgeon4 ,king ,james1 who was much     
attached to ,mr4 ,howell1 afterwards    
sent his own surgeon to attend him4 ,we 
must continue the narrative in the words
 of ,sir ,kenelm ,digby3--  ,it was my  
chance1 says he1 to be lodged hard by   
him3 and1 four or five days after1 as ,i
 was making myself ready1 he came to my 
house1 and prayed me to view his wounds2
 'for ,i understand1' said he1 'that you
 have extraordinary remedies on such    
occasions2 and my surgeons apprehend    
some fear1 that it may grow to a        
gangrene1 and so the hand must be cut   
off4' ,in effect1 his countenance       
discovered that he was in much pain1    
which1 he said1 was insupportable1 in   

regard of the extreme inflammation4 ,i  
told him ,i would willingly serve him2  
but if1 haply1 he knew the manner how ,i
 could cure him1 without touching or    
seeing him1 it might be that he would   
not expose himself to my manner of      
curing2 because he would think it1      
peradventure1 either ineffectual or     
superstitious4 ,he replied1 ',the many  
wonderful things which people have      
related unto me of your way of          
medicinement1 makes me nothing doubt at 
all of its efficacy2 and all that ,i    
have to say unto you is comprehended in 
the ,spanish proverb1 ,hagase el milagro
 y hagalo ,mahoma--,let the miracle be  
done1 though ,mahomet do it4'  ,i asked 
him then for anything that had the blood
 upon it3 so he presently sent for his  
garter1 wherewith his hand was first    
bound2 and1 as ,i called for a basin of 
water1 as if ,i would wash my hands1 ,i 
took a handful of powder of vitriol1    
which ,i had in my study1 and presently 
dissolved it4 ,as soon as the bloody    

garter was brought me1 ,i put it in the 
basin1 observing1 in the interim1 what  
,mr4 ,howell did1 who stood talking with
 a gentleman in a corner of my chamber1 
not regarding at all what ,i was doing4 
,he started suddenly1 as if he had found
 some strange alteration in himself4 ,i 
asked him what he ailed8 ',i know not   
what ails me2 but ,i find that ,i feel  
no more pain4 ,methinks that a pleasing 
kind of freshness1 as it were a wet cold
 napkin1 did spread over my hand1 which 
hath taken away the inflammation that   
tormented me before4' ,i replied1       
',since1 then1 you feel already so much 
good of my medicament1 ,i advise you to 
cast away all your plasters2 only keep  
the wound clean1 and in a moderate      
temper1 betwixt heat and cold4' ,this   
was presently reported to the ,duke of  
,buckingham1 and a little after1 to the 
,king1 who were both very curious to    
know the circumstances of the business2 
which was1 that after dinner1 ,i took   
the garter out of the water1 and put it 

to dry before a great fire4 ,it was     
scarce dry before ,mr4 ,howell's servant
 came running1 and saying that his      
master felt as much burning as ever he  
had done1 if not more2 for the heat was 
such as if his hand were betwixt coals  
of fire4 ,i answered1 that although that
 had happened at present1 yet he should 
find ease in a short time2 for ,i knew  
the reason of this new accident1 and    
would provide accordingly2 for his      
master should be free from that         
inflammation1 it might be1 before he    
could possibly return to him3 but1 in   
case he found no ease1 ,i wished him to 
come presently back again2 if not1 he   
might forbear coming4 ,thereupon he     
went2 and1 at the instant1 ,i did put   
the garter again into the water2        
thereupon he found his master without   
any pain at all4 ,to be brief1 there was
 no sense of pain afterwards2 but within
 five or six days1 the wounds were      
cicatrised and entirely healed4  ,such  
is the marvellous story of ,sir ,kenelm 

,digby4 ,other practitioners of that age
 were not behind him in absurdity4 ,it  
was not always necessary to use either  
the powder of sympathy1 or the          
weapon-salve1 to effect a cure4 ,it was 
sufficient to magnetise the sword with  
the hand 7the first faint dawn of the   
animal theory71 to relieve any pain the 
same weapon had caused4 ,they pretended1
 that if they stroked the sword upwards 
with their fingers1 the wounded person  
would feel immediate relief2 but if they
 stroked it downwards1 he would feel    
intolerable pain4,reginald ,scott1      
quoted by ,sir ,walter ,scott1 in the   
notes to the ,lay of the ,last          
,minstrel1 c4 iii4 v4 xxiii4  ,another  
very strange notion of the power and    
capabilities of magnetism was           
entertained at the same time4 ,it was   
believed that a sympathetic alphabet    
could be made on the flesh1 by means of 
which persons could correspond with each
 other1 and communicate all their ideas 
with the rapidity of volition1 although 

thousands of miles apart4 ,from the arms
 of two persons a piece of flesh was    
cut1 and mutually transplanted1 while   
still warm and bleeding4 ,the piece so  
severed grew to the new arm on which it 
was placed2 but still retained so close 
a sympathy with its native limb1 that   
its old possessor was always sensible of
 any injury done to it4 ,upon these     
transplanted pieces were tattooed the   
letters of the alphabet2 so that1 when a
 communication was to be made1 either of
 the persons1 though the wide ,atlantic 
rolled between them1 had only to prick  
his arm with a magnetic needle1 and     
straightway his friend received         
intimation that the telegraph was at    
work4 ,whatever letter he pricked on his
 own arm pained the same letter on the  
arm of his correspondent4 ,foreign      
,quarterly ,review1 vol4 xii4 p4 #dag4  
,who knows but this system1 if it had   
received proper encouragement1 might not
 have rendered the ,post-,office        
unnecessary1 and even obviated much of  

the necessity for railroads8 ,let modern
 magnetisers try and bring it to        
perfection4 ,it is not more preposterous
 than many of their present notions2    
and1 if carried into effect1 with the   
improvement of some stenographical      
expedient for diminishing the number of 
punctures1 would be much more useful    
than their plan of causing persons to   
read with their great toes1 ,wirth's    
,theorie des ,somnambulismes1 p4 #gi4 or
 seeing1 with their eyes shut1 into     
other people's bodies1 and counting the 
number of arteries therein4 ,report of  
the ,academic ,royale de                
,medicine1--case of ,mademoiselle       
,celine ,sauvage1 p4 #ahf4              
,contemporary with ,sir ,kenelm ,digby1 
was the no less famous ,mr4 ,valentine  
,greatraks who1 without mentioning      
magnetism1 or laying claim to any       
theory1 practised upon himself and      
others a deception much more akin to the
 animal magnetism of the present day1   
than the mineral magnetism it was then  

so much the fashion to study4 ,he was   
the son of an ,irish gentleman1 of good 
education and property1 in the county of
 ,cork4 ,he fell1 at an early age1 into 
a sort of melancholy derangement4 ,after
 some time1 he had an impulse1 or       
strange persuasion in his mind1 which   
continued to present itself1 whether he 
were sleeping or waking1 that ,god had  
given him the power of curing the king's
 evil4 ,he mentioned this persuasion to 
his wife1 who very candidly told him    
that he was a fool6 ,he was not quite   
sure of this1 notwithstanding the high  
authority from which it came1 and       
determined to make trial of the power   
that was in him4 ,a few days afterwards1
 he went to one ,william ,maher1 of     
,saltersbridge1 in the parish of        
,lismore1 who was grievously afflicted  
with the king's evil in his eyes1 cheek1
 and throat4 ,upon this man1 who was of 
abundant faith1 he laid his hands1      
stroked him1 and prayed fervently4 ,he  
had the satisfaction to see him heal    

considerably in the course of a few     
days2 and1 finally1 with the aid of     
other remedies1 to be quite cured4 ,this
 success encouraged him in the belief   
that he had a divine mission4 ,day after
 day he had further impulses from on    
high1 that he was called upon to cure   
the ague also4 ,in the course of time he
 extended his powers to the curing of   
epilepsy1 ulcers1 aches1 and lameness4  
,all the county of ,cork was in a       
commotion to see this extraordinary     
physician1 who certainly operated some  
very great benefit in cases where the   
disease was heightened by hypochondria  
and depression of spirits4 ,according to
 his own account1 ,greatraks' ,account  
of himself1 in a letter to the          
,honourable ,robert ,boyle4 such great  
multitudes resorted to him from divers  
places1 that he had no time to follow   
his own business1 or enjoy the company  
of his family and friends4 ,he was      
obliged to set aside three days in the  
week1 from six in the morning till six  

at night1 during which time only he laid
 hands upon all that came4 ,still the   
crowds which thronged around him were so
 great1 that the neighbouring towns were
 not able to accommodate them4 ,he      
thereupon left his house in the country1
 and went to ,youghal1 where the resort 
of sick people1 not only from all parts 
of ,ireland1 but from ,england1         
continued so great1 that the magistrates
 were afraid they would infect the place
 by their diseases4 ,several of these   
poor credulous people no sooner saw him 
than they fell into fits1 and he        
restored them by waving his hand in     
their faces1 and praying over them4     
,nay1 he affirmed1 that the touch of his
 glove had driven pains away1 and1 on   
one occasion1 cast out from a woman     
several devils1 or evil spirits1 who    
tormented her day and night4 ,every one 
of these devils1 says ,greatraks1 was   
like to choke her1 when it came up into 
her throat4 ,it is evident1 from this1  
that the woman's complaint was nothing  

but hysteria4  ,the clergy of the       
diocese of ,lismore1 who seem to have   
had much clearer notions of ,greatraks' 
pretensions than their parishioners1 set
 their faces against the new prophet and
 worker of miracles4 ,he was cited to   
appear in the ,dean's ,court1 and       
prohibited from laying on his hands for 
the future3 but he cared nothing for the
 church4 ,he imagined that he derived   
his powers direct from ,heaven1 and     
continued to throw people into fits1 and
 bring them to their senses again1 as   
usual1 almost exactly after the fashion 
of modern magnetisers4 ,his reputation  
became1 at last1 so great1 that ,lord   
,conway sent to him from ,london1       
begging-that he would come over         
immediately1 to cure a grievous         
head-ache which his lady had suffered   
for several years1 and which the        
principal physicians of ,england had    
been unable to relieve4  ,greatraks     
accepted the invitation1 and tried his  
manipulations and prayers upon ,lady    

,conway4 ,he failed1 however1 in        
affording any relief4 ,the poor lady's  
head-ache was excited by causes too     
serious to allow her any help1 even from
 faith and a lively imagination4 ,he    
lived for some months in ,lord ,conway's
 house1 at ,ragley1 in ,warwickshire1   
operating cures similar to those he had 
performed in ,ireland4 ,he afterwards   
removed to ,london1 and took a house in 
,lincoln's ,inn ,fields1 which soon     
became the daily resort of all the      
nervous and credulous women of the      
metropolis4 ,a very amusing account of  
,greatraks at this time 7#affe71 is     
given in the second volume of the       
,miscellanies of ,st4 ,evremond1 under  
the title of the ,irish prophet4 ,it is 
the most graphic sketch ever made of    
this early magnetiser4 ,whether his     
pretensions were more or less absurd    
than those of some of his successors1   
who have lately made their appearance   
among us1 would be hard to say4  ,when  
,m4 de ,comminges1 says ,st4 ,evremond1 

was ambassador from his most ,christian 
,majesty to the ,king of ,great         
,britain1 there came to ,london an      
,irish prophet1 who passed himself off  
as a great worker of miracles4 ,some    
persons of quality having begged ,m4 de 
,comminges to invite him to his house1  
that they might be witnesses of some of 
his miracles1 the ambassador promised to
 satisfy them1 as much from his own     
curiosity as from courtesy to his       
friends2 and gave notice to ,greatraks  
that he would be glad to see him4  ,a   
rumour of the prophet's coming soon     
spread all over the town1 and the hotel 
of ,m4 de ,comminges was crowded by sick
 persons1 who came full of confidence in
 their speedy cure4 ,the ,irishman made 
them wait a considerable time for him1  
but came at last1 in the midst of their 
impatience1 with a grave and simple     
countenance1 that showed no signs of his
 being a cheat4 ,monsieur de ,comminges 
prepared to question him strictly1      
hoping to discourse with him on the     

matters that he had read of in ,van     
,helmont and ,bodinus2 but he was not   
able to do so1 much to his regret1 for  
the crowd became so great1 and cripples 
and others pressed around so impatiently
 to be the first cured1 that the        
servants were obliged to use threats1   
and even force1 before they could       
establish order among them1 or place    
them in proper ranks4  ,the prophet     
affirmed that all diseases were caused  
by evil spirits4 ,every infirmity was   
with him a case of diabolical           
possession4 ,the first that was         
presented to him was a man suffering    
from gout and rheumatism1 and so        
severely that the physicians had been   
unable to cure him4 ',ah1' said the     
miracle-worker1 ',i have seen a good    
deal of this sort of spirits when ,i was
 in ,ireland4 ,they are watery spirits1 
who bring on cold shivering1 and excite 
an overflow of aqueous humours in our   
poor bodies4' ,then addressing the man1 
he said1 ',evil spirit1 who hast quitted

 thy dwelling in the waters to come and 
afflict this miserable body1 ,i command 
thee to quit thy new abode1 and to      
return to thine ancient habitation6'    
,this said1 the sick man was ordered to 
withdraw1 and another was brought       
forward in his place4 ,this new comer   
said he was tormented by the melancholy 
vapours4 ,in fact1 he looked like a     
hypochondriac2 one of those persons     
diseased in imagination1 and who but too
 often become so in reality4 ',aerial   
spirit1' said the ,irishman1 'return1 ,i
 command thee1 into the air6--exercise  
thy natural vocation of raising         
tempests1 and do not excite any more    
wind in this sad unlucky body6' ,this   
man was immediately turned away to make 
room for a third patient1 who1 in the   
,irishman's opinion1 was only tormented 
by a little bit of a sprite1 who could  
not withstand his command for an        
instant4 ,he ,pretended that he         
recognized this sprite by some marks    
which were invisible to the company1 to 

whom he turned with a smile1 and said1  
',this sort of spirit does not often do 
much harm1 and is always very           
diverting4' ,to hear him talk1 one would
 have imagined that he knew all about   
spirits--their names1 their rank1 their 
numbers1 their employment1 and all the  
functions they were destined to2 and he 
boasted of being much better acquainted 
with the intrigues of demons than he was
 with the affairs of men4 ,you can      
hardly imagine what a reputation he     
gained in a short time4 ,catholics and  
,protestants visited him from every     
part1 all believing that power from     
,heaven was in his hands4  ,after       
relating a rather equivocal adventure of
 a husband and wife1 who implored       
,greatraks to cast out the devil of     
dissension which had crept in between   
them1 ,st4 ,evremond thus sums up the   
effect he produced on the popular       
mind3--,so great was the confidence in  
him1 that the blind fancied they saw the
 light which they did not see--the deaf 

imagined that they heard--the lame that 
they walked straight1 and the paralytic 
that they had recovered the use of their
 limbs4 ,an idea of health made the sick
 forget for a while their maladies2 and 
imagination1 which was not less active  
in those merely drawn by curiosity than 
in the sick1 gave a false view to the   
one class1 from the desire of seeing1 as
 it operated a false cure on the other  
from the strong desire of being healed4 
,such was the power of the ,irishman    
over the mind1 and such was the         
influence of the mind upon the body4    
,nothing was spoken of in ,london but   
his prodigies2 and these prodigies were 
supported by such great authorities1    
that the bewildered multitude believed  
them almost without examination1 while  
more enlightened people did not dare to 
reject them from their own knowledge4   
,the public opinion1 timid and enslaved1
 respected this imperious and1          
apparently1 well-authenticated error4   
,those who saw through the delusion kept

 their opinion to themselves1 knowing   
how useless it was to declare their     
disbelief to a people filled with       
prejudice and admiration4  ,about the   
same time that ,valentine ,greatraks was
 thus magnetising the people of ,london1
 an ,italian enthusiast1 named          
,francisco ,bagnone1 was performing the 
same tricks in ,italy1 and with as great
 success4 ,he had only to touch weak    
women with his hands1 or sometimes 7for 
the sake of working more effectively    
upon their fanaticism7 with a relic1 to 
make them fall into fits and manifest   
all the symptoms of magnetism4  ,besides
 these1 several learned men1 in         
different parts of ,europe1 directed    
their attention to the study of the     
magnet1 believing it might be rendered  
efficacious in many diseases4 ,van      
,helmont1 in particular1 published a    
work on the effects of magnetism on the 
human frame2 and ,balthazar ,gracian1 a 
,spaniard1 rendered himself famous for  
the boldness of his views on the        

subject4 ,the magnet1 said the latter1  
attracts iron2 iron is found everywhere2
 everything1 therefore1 is under the    
influence of magnetism4 ,it is only a   
modification of the general principle1  
which establishes harmony or foments    
divisions among men4 ,it is the same    
agent which gives rise to sympathy1     
antipathy1 and the passions4            
,introduction to the ,study of ,animal  
,magnetism1 by ,baron ,dupotet de       
,sennevoy1 p4 #cae4  ,baptista ,porta1  
who1 in the whimsical genealogy of the  
weapon-salve1 given by ,parson ,foster  
in his attack upon ,dr4 a ,fluctibus1 is
 mentioned as one of its fathers1 had   
also great faith in the efficacy of the 
magnet1 and operated upon the           
imagination of his patients in a manner 
which was then considered so            
extraordinary that he was accused of    
being a magician1 and prohibited from   
practising by the ,court of ,rome4      
,among others who distinguished         
themselves by their faith in magnetism1 

,sebastian ,wirdig and ,william ,maxwell
 claim especial notice4 ,wirdig was     
professor of medicine at the ,university
 of ,rostock in ,mecklenburgh1 and wrote
 a treatise called ,the ,new ,medicine  
of the ,spirits1 which he presented to  
the ,royal ,society of ,london4 ,an     
edition of this work was printed in     
#afgc1 in which the author maintained   
that a magnetic influence took place1   
not only between the celestial and      
terrestrial bodies1 but between all     
living things4 ,the whole world1 he     
said1 was under the influence of        
magnetism3 life was preserved by        
magnetism2 death was the consequence of 
magnetism6  ,maxwell1 the other         
enthusiast1 was an admiring disciple of 
,paracelsus1 and boasted that he had    
irradiated the obscurity in which too   
many of the wonder-working recipes of   
that great philosopher were enveloped4  
,his works were printed at ,frankfort1  
in #afgi4 ,it would seem1 from the      
following passage1 that he was aware of 

the great influence of imagination1 as  
well in the production as in the cure of
 diseases4 ,if you wish to work         
prodigies1 says he1 abstract from the   
materiality of beings--increase the sum 
of spirituality in bodies--rouse the    
spirit from its slumbers4 ,unless you do
 one or other of these things--unless   
you can bind the idea1 you can never    
perform anything good or great4 ,here1  
in fact1 lies the whole secret of       
magnetism1 and all delusions of a       
similar kind3 increase the              
spirituality--rouse the spirit from its 
slumbers1 or in other words1 work upon  
the imagination--induce belief and blind
 confidence1 and you may do anything4   
,this passage1 which is quoted with     
approbation by ,m4 ,dupotet in a recent 
work ,introduction to the ,study of     
,animal ,magnetism1 p4 #cah4 as strongly
 corroborative of the theory now        
advanced by the animal-magnetists1 is   
just the reverse4 ,if they believe they 
can work all their wonders by the means 

so dimly shadowed forth by ,maxwell1    
what becomes of the universal fluid     
pervading all nature1 and which they    
pretend to pour into weak and diseased  
bodies from the tips of their fingers8  
,early in the eighteenth century1 the   
attention of ,europe was directed to a  
very remarkable instance of fanaticism1 
which has been claimed by the animal    
magnetists1 as a proof of their science4
 ,the convulsionaries of ,st4 ,medard1  
as they were called1 assembled in great 
numbers round the tomb of their         
favourite saint1 the ,jansenist priest  
,paris1 and taught one another how to   
fall into convulsions4 ,they believed   
that ,st4 ,paris would cure all their   
infirmities2 and the number of          
hysterical women and weak-minded persons
 of all descriptions that flocked to the
 tomb from far and near was so great1 as
 daily to block up all the avenues      
leading to the spot4 ,working themselves
 up to a pitch of excitement1 they went 
off one after the other into fits1 while

 some of them1 still in apparent        
possession of all their faculties1      
voluntarily exposed themselves to       
sufferings1 which on ordinary occasions 
would have been sufficient to deprive   
them of life4 ,the scenes that occurred 
were a scandal to civilization and to   
religion--a strange mixture of          
obscenity1 absurdity1 and superstition4 
,while some were praying on bended knees
 at the shrine of ,st4 ,paris1 others   
were shrieking and making the most      
hideous noises4 ,the women especially   
exerted themselves4 ,on one side of the 
chapel there might be seen a score of   
them1 all in convulsions1 while at      
another as many more1 excited to a sort 
of frenzy1 yielded themselves up to     
gross indecencies4 ,some of them took an
 insane delight in being beaten and     
trampled upon4 ,one in particular1      
according to ,montegre1 whose account we
 quote ,dictionnaire des ,sciences      
,medicales--,article ,convulsionnaires1 
par ,montegre4 was so enraptured with   

this ill usage1 that nothing but the    
hardest blows would satisfy her4 ,while 
a fellow of herculean strength was      
beating her with all his might with a   
heavy bar of iron1 she kept continually 
urging him to renewed exertion4 ,the    
harder he struck the better she liked   
it1 exclaiming all the while1 ,well     
done1 brother2 well done2 oh1 how       
pleasant it is6 what good you are doing 
me6 courage1 my brother1 courage2 strike
 harder2 strike harder still6 ,another  
of these fanatics had1 if possible1 a   
still greater love for a beating4 ,carre
 de ,montgeron1 who relates the         
circumstance1 was unable to satisfy her 
with sixty blows of a large sledge      
hammer4 ,he afterwards used the same    
weapon1 with the same degree of         
strength1 for the sake of experiment1   
and succeeded in battering a hole in a  
stone wall at the twenty-fifth stroke4  
,another woman1 named ,sonnet1 laid     
herself down on a red-hot brazier       
without flinching1 and acquired for     

herself the nickname of the salamander2 
while others1 desirous of a more        
illustrious martyrdom1 attempted to     
crucify themselves4 ,m4 ,deleuze1 in his
 critical history of ,animal ,magnetism1
 attempts to prove that this fanatical  
frenzy was produced by magnetism1 and   
that these mad enthusiasts magnetised   
each other without being aware of it4   
,as well might he insist that the       
fanaticism which tempts the ,hindoo     
bigot to keep his arms stretched in a   
horizontal position till the sinews     
wither1 or his fingers closed upon his  
palms till the nails grow out of the    
backs of his hands1 is also an effect of
 magnetism6  ,for a period of sixty or  
seventy years1 magnetism was almost     
wholly confined to ,germany4 ,men of    
sense and learning devoted their        
attention to the properties of the      
loadstone2 and one ,father ,hell1 a     
jesuit1 and professor of astronomy at   
the ,university of ,vienna1 rendered    
himself famous by his magnetic cures4   

,about the year #agga or #aggb1 he      
invented steel plates of a peculiar     
form1 which he applied to the naked     
body1 as a cure for several diseases4   
,in the year #aggd1 he communicated his 
system to ,anthony ,mesmer4 ,the latter 
improved upon the ideas of ,father      
,hell1 constructed a new theory of his  
own1 and became the founder of ,,animal 
,,magnetism4  ,it has been the fashion  
among the enemies of the new delusion to
 decry ,mesmer as an unprincipled       
adventurer1 while his disciples have    
extolled him to the skies as a          
regenerator of the human race4 ,in      
nearly the same words1 as the           
,rosicrucians applied to their founders1
 he has been called the discoverer of   
the secret which brings man into more   
intimate connexion with his ,creator2   
the deliverer of the soul from the      
debasing trammels of the flesh2 the man 
who enables us to set time at defiance1 
and conquer the obstructions of space4  
,a careful sifting of his               

pretensions--and examination of the     
evidence brought forward to sustain     
them1 will soon show which opinion is   
the more correct4 ,that the writer of   
these pages considers him in the light  
of a man1 who deluding himself1 was the 
means of deluding others1 may be        
inferred from his finding a place in    
these volumes1 and figuring among the   
,flamels1 the ,agrippas1 the ,borris1   
the ,boehmens1 and the ,cagliostros4    
,he was born in ,may #agcd1 at          
,mersburg1 in ,swabia1 and studied      
medicine at the ,university of ,vienna4 
,he took his degrees in #agff1 and chose
 the influence of the planets on the    
human body as the subject of his        
inaugural dissertation4 ,having treated 
the matter quite in the style of the old
 astrological physicians1 he was exposed
 to some ridicule both then and         
afterwards4 ,even at this early period  
some faint ideas of his great theory    
were germinating in his mind4 ,he       
maintained in his dissertation1 that the

 sun1 moon1 and fixed stars mutually    
affect each other in their orbits2 that 
they cause and direct in our earth a    
flux and reflux not only in the sea1 but
 in the atmosphere1 and affect in a     
similar manner all organized bodies     
through the medium of a subtile and     
mobile fluid1 which pervades the        
universe and associates all things      
together in mutual intercourse and      
harmony4 ,this influence1 he said1 was  
particularly exercised on the nervous   
system1 and produced two states which he
 called intension and remission1 which  
seemed to him to account for the        
different periodical revolutions        
observable in several maladies4 ,when in
 after-life he met with ,father ,hell1  
he was confirmed by that person's       
observations in the truth of many of his
 own ideas4 ,having caused ,hell to make
 him some magnetic plates1 he determined
 to try experiments with them himself   
for his further satisfaction4  ,he tried
 accordingly1 and was astonished at his 

success4 ,the faith of their wearers    
operated wonders with the metallic      
plates4 ,mesmer made due reports to     
,father ,hell of all he had done1 and   
the latter published them as the results
 of his own happy invention1 and        
speaking of ,mesmer as a physician whom 
he had employed to work under him4      
,mesmer took offence at being thus      
treated1 considering himself a far      
greater personage than ,father ,hell4   
,he claimed the invention as his own1   
accused ,hell of a breach of confidence1
 and stigmatized him as a mean person1  
anxious to turn the discoveries of      
others to his own account4 ,hell        
replied1 and a very pretty quarrel was  
the result1 which afforded small talk   
for months to the literati of ,vienna4  
,hell ultimately gained the victory4    
,mesmer1 nothing daunted1 continued to  
promulgate his views1 till he stumbled  
at last upon the animal theory4  ,one of
 his patients was a young lady named    
,oesterline1 who suffered under a       

convulsive malady4 ,her attacks were    
periodical1 and attended by a rush of   
blood to the head1 followed by delirium 
and syncope4 ,these symptoms he soon    
succeeded in reducing under his system  
of planetary influence1 and imagined he 
could foretell the periods of accession 
and remission4 ,having thus accounted   
satisfactorily to himself for the origin
 of the disease1 the idea struck him    
that he could operate a certain cure1 if
 he could ascertain beyond doubt what he
 had long believed1 that there existed  
between the bodies which compose our    
globe1 an action equally reciprocal and 
similar to that of the heavenly bodies1 
by means of which he could imitate      
artificially the periodical revolutions 
of the flux and reflux beforementioned4 
,he soon convinced himself that this    
action did exist4 ,when trying the      
metallic plates of ,father ,hell1 he    
thought their efficacy depended on their
 form2 but he found afterwards that he  
could produce the same effects without  

using them at all1 merely by passing his
 hands downwards towards the feet of the
 patient--even when at a considerable   
distance4  ,this completed the theory of
 ,mesmer4 ,he wrote an account of his   
discovery to all the learned societies  
of ,europe1 soliciting their            
investigation4 ,the ,academy of         
,sciences at ,berlin was the only one   
that answered him1 and their answer was 
anything but favourable to his system or
 flattering to himself4 ,still he was   
not discouraged4 ,he maintained to all  
who would listen to him that the        
magnetic matter1 or fluid1 pervaded all 
the universe--that every human body     
contained it1 and could communicate the 
superabundance of it to another by an   
exertion of the will4 ,writing to a     
friend from ,vienna1 he said1 ,i have   
observed that the magnetic is almost the
 same thing as the electric fluid1 and  
that it may be propagated in the same   
manner1 by means of intermediate bodies4
 ,steel is not the only substance       

adapted to this purpose4 ,i have        
rendered paper1 bread1 wool1 silk1      
stones1 leather1 glass1 wood1 men1 and  
dogs--in short1 everything ,i touched1  
magnetic to such a degree that these    
substances produced the same effects as 
the loadstone on diseased persons4 ,i   
have charged jars with magnetic matter  
in the same way as is done with         
electricity4  ,mesmer did not long find 
his residence at ,vienna as agreeable as
 he wished4 ,his pretensions were looked
 upon with contempt or indifference1 and
 the case of ,mademoiselle ,oesterline  
brought him less fame than notoriety4   
,he determined to change his sphere of  
action1 and travelled into ,swabia and  
,switzerland4 ,in the latter country he 
met with the celebrated ,father         
,gassner1 who1 like ,valentine          
,greatraks1 amused himself by casting   
out devils1 and healing the sick by     
merely laying hands upon them4 ,at his  
approach puling girls fell into         
convulsions1 and the hypochondriac      

fancied themselves cured4 ,his house was
 daily besieged by the lame1 the blind1 
and the hysteric4 ,mesmer at once       
acknowledged the efficacy of his cures1 
and declared that they were the obvious 
result of his own newly-discovered power
 of magnetism4 ,a few of the ,father's  
patients were forthwith subjected to the
 manipulations of ,mesmer1 and the same 
symptoms were induced4 ,he then tried   
his hand upon some paupers in the       
hospitals of ,berne and ,zurich1 and    
succeeded1 according to his own account1
 but no other person's1 in curing an    
opththalmia and a gutta serena4 ,with   
memorials of these achievements he      
returned to ,vienna1 in the hope of     
silencing his enemies1 or at least      
forcing them to respect his             
newly-acquired reputation1 and to       
examine his system more attentively4    
,his second appearance in that capital  
was not more auspicious than the first4 
,he undertook to cure a ,mademoiselle   
,paradis1 who was quite blind1 and      

subject to convulsions4 ,he magnetised  
her several times1 and then declared    
that she was cured2 at least1 if she was
 not1 it was her fault1 and not his4 ,an
 eminent oculist of that day1 named     
,birth1 went to visit her1 and declared 
that she was as blind as ever2 while her
 family said she was as much subject to 
convulsions as before4 ,mesmer persisted
 that she was cured4 ,like the ,french  
philosopher1 he would not allow facts to
 interfere with his theory4 ,an         
enthusiastic philosopher1 of whose name 
we are not informed1 had constructed a  
very satisfactory theory on some subject
 or other1 and was not a little proud of
 it4 ,but the facts1 my dear fellow1    
said his friend1 the facts do not agree 
with your theory4--,don't they1 replied 
the philosopher1 shrugging his          
shoulders1 then1 taut pis pour les      
faits2--so much the worse for the facts4
 ,he declared that there was a          
conspiracy against him2 and that        
,mademoiselle ,paradis1 at the          

instigation of her family1 feigned      
blindness in order to injure his        
reputation6  ,the consequences of this  
pretended cure taught ,mesmer that      
,vienna was not the sphere for him4     
,paris1 the idle1 the debauched1 the    
pleasure-hunting1 the novelty-loving1   
was the scene for a philosopher like    
him1 and thither he repaired            
accordingly4 ,he arrived at ,paris in   
#aggh1 and began modestly1 by making    
himself and his theory known to the     
principal physicians4 ,at first1 his    
encouragement was but slight2 he found  
people more inclined to laugh at than to
 patronise him4 ,but he was a man who   
had great confidence in himself1 and of 
a perseverance which no difficulties    
could overcome4 ,he hired a sumptuous   
apartment1 which he opened to all comers
 who chose to make trial of the new     
power of nature4 ,m4 ,d',eslon1 a       
physician of great reputation1 became a 
convert2 and from that time1 ,animal    
,magnetism1 or1 as some called it1      

,mesmerism1 became the fashion in       
,paris4 ,the women were quite           
enthusiastic about it1 and their        
admiring tattle wafted its fame through 
every grade of society4 ,mesmer was the 
rage2 and high and low1 rich and poor1  
credulous and unbelieving1 all hastened 
to convince themselves of the power of  
this mighty magician1 who made such     
magnificent promises4 ,mesmer1 who knew 
as well as any man living the influence 
of the imagination1 determined that1 on 
that score1 nothing should be wanting to
 heighten the effect of the magnetic    
charm4 ,in all ,paris1 there was not a  
house so charmingly furnished as        
,monsieur ,mesmer's4 ,richly-stained    
glass shed a dim religious light on his 
spacious saloons1 which were almost     
covered with mirrors4 ,orange blossoms  
scented all the air of his corridors2   
incense of the most expensive kinds     
burned in antique vases on his          
chimney-pieces2 aeolian harps sighed    
melodious music from distant chambers2  

while sometimes a sweet female voice1   
from above or below1 stole softly upon  
the mysterious silence that was kept in 
the house1 and insisted upon from all   
visitors4 ,was ever anything so         
delightful8 cried all the ,mrs4         
,wittitterley's of ,paris1 as they      
thronged to his house in search of      
pleasant excitement2 so wonderful6 said 
the pseudo-philosophers1 who would      
believe anything if it were the fashion2
 so amusing6 said the worn-out          
debauchees1 who had drained the cup of  
sensuality to its dregs1 and who longed 
to see lovely women in convulsions1 with
 the hope that they might gain some new 
emotions from the sight4  ,the following
 was the mode of operation3--,in the    
centre of the saloon was placed an oval 
vessel1 about four feet in its longest  
diameter1 and one foot deep4 ,in this   
were laid a number of wine-bottles1     
filled with magnetised water1 well      
corked-up1 and disposed in radii1 with  
their necks outwards4 ,water was then   

poured into the vessel so as just to    
cover the bottles1 and filings of iron  
were thrown in occasionally to heighten 
the magnetic effect4 ,the vessel was    
then covered with an iron cover1 pierced
 through with many holes1 and was called
 the baquet4 ,from each hole issued a   
long moveable rod of iron1 which the    
patients were to apply to such parts of 
their bodies as were afflicted4 ,around 
this baquet the patients were directed  
to sit1 holding each other by the hand1 
and pressing their knees together as    
closely as possible to facilitate the   
passage of the magnetic fluid from one  
to the other4  ,then came in the        
assistant magnetisers1 generally strong1
 handsome young men1 to pour into the   
patient from their finger-tips fresh    
streams of the wondrous fluid4 ,they    
embraced the patients between the knees1
 rubbed them gently down the spine and  
the course of the nerves1 using gentle  
pressure upon the breasts of the ladies1
 and staring them out of countenance to 

magnetise them by the eye6 ,all this    
time the most rigorous silence was      
maintained1 with the exception of a few 
wild notes on the harmonica or the      
piano-forte1 or the melodious voice of a
 hidden opera-singer swelling softly at 
long intervals4 ,gradually the cheeks of
 the ladies began to glow1 their        
imaginations to become inflamed2 and off
 they went1 one after the other1 in     
convulsive fits4 ,some of them sobbed   
and tore their hair1 others laughed till
 the tears ran from their eyes1 while   
others shrieked and screamed and yelled 
till they became insensible altogether4 
,this was the crisis of the delirium4   
,in the midst of it1 the chief actor    
made his appearance1 waving his wand1   
like ,prospero1 to work new wonders4    
,dressed in a long robe of              
lilac-coloured silk1 richly embroidered 
with gold flowers1 bearing in his hand a
 white magnetic rod2 and1 with a look of
 dignity which would have sat well on an
 eastern caliph1 he marched with solemn 

strides into the room4 ,he awed the     
still sensible by his eye1 and the      
violence of their symptoms diminished4  
,he stroked the insensible with his     
hands upon the eyebrows and down the    
spine2 traced figures upon their breast 
and abdomen with his long white wand1   
and they were restored to consciousness4
 ,they became calm1 acknowledged his    
power1 and said they felt streams of    
cold or burning vapour passing through  
their frames1 according as he waved his 
wand or his fingers before them4  ,it is
 impossible1 says ,m4 ,dupotet1 to      
conceive the sensation which ,mesmer's  
experiments created in ,paris4 ,no      
theological controversy1 in the earlier 
ages of the ,catholic ,church1 was ever 
conducted with greater bitterness4 ,his 
adversaries denied the discovery2 some  
calling him a quack1 others a fool1 and 
others1 again1 like the ,abbe ,fiard1 a 
man who had sold himself to the devil6  
,his friends were as extravagant in     
their praise1 as his foes were in their 

censure4 ,paris was inundated with      
pamphlets upon the subject1 as many     
defending as attacking the doctrine4 ,at
 court1 the ,queen expressed herself in 
favour of it1 and nothing else was to be
 heard of in society4  ,by the advice of
 ,m4 ,d',eslon1 ,mesmer challenged an   
examination of his doctrine by the      
,faculty of ,medicine4 ,he proposed to  
select twenty-four patients1 twelve of  
whom he would treat magnetically1       
leaving the other twelve to be treated  
by the faculty according to the old and 
approved methods4 ,he also stipulated1  
that to prevent disputes1 the government
 should nominate certain persons who    
were not physicians1 to be present at   
the experiments2 and that the object of 
the inquiry should be1 not how these    
effects were produced1 but whether they 
were really efficacious in the cure of  
any disease4 ,the faculty objected to   
limit the inquiry in this manner1 and   
the proposition fell to the ground4     
,mesmer now wrote to ,marie ,antoinette1

 with the view of securing her influence
 in obtaining for him the protection of 
government4 ,he wished to have a chateau
 and its lands given to him1 with a     
handsome yearly income1 that he might be
 enabled to continue his experiments at 
leisure1 untroubled by the persecution  
of his enemies4 ,he hinted the duty of  
governments to support men of science1  
and expressed his fear1 that if he met  
no more encouragement1 he should be     
compelled to carry his great discovery  
to some other land more willing to      
appreciate him4 ,in the eyes of your    
,majesty1 said he1 four or five hundred 
thousand francs1 applied to a good      
purpose1 are of no account4 ,the welfare
 and happiness of your people are       
everything4 ,my discovery ought to be   
received and rewarded with a munificence
 worthy of the monarch to whom ,i shall 
attach myself4 ,the government at last  
offered him a pension of twenty thousand
 francs1 and the cross of the order of  
,st4 ,michael1 if he had made any       

discovery in medicine1 and would        
communicate it to physicians nominated  
by the ,king4 ,the latter part of the   
proposition was not agreeable to        
,mesmer4 ,he feared the unfavourable    
report of the ,king's physicians2 and1  
breaking off the negotiation1 spoke of  
his disregard of money1 and his wish to 
have his discovery at once recognised by
 the government4 ,he then retired to    
,spa1 in a fit of disgust1 upon pretence
 of drinking the waters for the benefit 
of his health4  ,after he had left      
,paris1 the ,faculty of ,medicine called
 upon ,m4 ,d',eslon1 for the third and  
last time1 to renounce the doctrine of  
animal magnetism1 or be expelled from   
their body4 ,m4 ,d',eslon1 so far from  
doing this1 declared that he had        
discovered new secrets1 and solicited   
further examination4 ,a royal commission
 of the ,faculty of ,medicine was1 in   
consequence1 appointed on the #abth of  
,march #aghd1 seconded by another       
commission of the ,academie des         

,sciences1 to investigate the phenomena 
and report upon them4 ,the first        
commission was composed of the principal
 physicians of ,paris2 while1 among the 
eminent men comprised in the latter1    
were ,benjamin ,franklin1 ,lavoisier1   
and ,bailly1 the historian of astronomy4
 ,mesmer was formally invited to appear 
before this body1 but absented himself  
from day to day1 upon one pretence or   
another4 ,m4 ,d',eslon was more honest1 
because he thoroughly believed in the   
phenomena1 which it is to be questioned 
if ,mesmer ever did1 and regularly      
attended the sittings and performed     
experiments4  ,bailly has thus described
 the scenes of which he was a witness in
 the course of this investigation4 ,the 
sick persons1 arranged in great numbers 
and in several rows around the baquet1  
receive the magnetism by all these      
means3 by the iron rods which convey it 
to them from the baquet--by the cords   
wound round their bodies--by the        
connection of the thumb1 which conveys  

to them the magnetism of their          
neighbours--and by the sounds of a      
pianoforte1 or of an agreeable voice1   
diffusing the magnetism in the air4 ,the
 patients were also directly magnetised 
by means of the finger and wand of the  
magnetiser moved slowly before their    
faces1 above or behind their heads1 and 
on the diseased parts1 always observing 
the direction of the holes4 ,the        
magnetiser acts by fixing his eyes on   
them4 ,but above all1 they are          
magnetised by the application of his    
hands and the pressure of his fingers on
 the hypochondres and on the regions of 
the abdomen2 an application often       
continued for a long time-sometimes for 
several hours4  ,meanwhile the patients 
in their different conditions present a 
very varied picture4 ,some are calm1    
tranquil1 and experience no effect4     
,others cough1 spit1 feel slight pains1 
local or general heat1 and have         
sweatings4 ,others again are agitated   
and tormented with convulsions4 ,these  

convulsions are remarkable in regard to 
the number affected with them1 to their 
duration and force4 ,as soon as one     
begins to be convulsed1 several others  
are affected4 ,the commissioners have   
observed some of these convulsions last 
more than three hours4 ,they are        
accompanied with expectorations of a    
muddy viscous water1 brought away by    
violent efforts4 ,sometimes streaks of  
blood have been observed in this fluid4 
,these convulsions are characterized by 
the precipitous1 involuntary motion of  
all the limbs1 and of the whole body3 by
 the construction of the throat--by the 
leaping motions of the hypochondria and 
the epigastrium--by the dimness and     
wandering of the eyes--by piercing      
shrieks1 tears1 sobbing1 and immoderate 
laughter4 ,they are preceded or followed
 by a state of languor or reverie1 a    
kind of depression1 and sometimes       
drowsiness4 ,the smallest sudden noise  
occasions a shuddering2 and it was      
remarked1 that the change of measure in 

the airs played on the piano-forte had a
 great influence on the patients4 ,a    
quicker motion1 a livelier melody1      
agitated them more1 and renewed the     
vivacity of their convulsions4  ,nothing
 is more astonishing than the spectacle 
of these convulsions4 ,one who has not  
seen them can form no idea of them4 ,the
 spectator is as much astonished at the 
profound repose of one portion of the   
patients as at the agitation of the     
rest--at the various accidents which are
 repeated1 and at the sympathies which  
are exhibited4 ,some of the patients may
 be seen devoting their attention       
exclusively to one another1 rushing     
towards each other with open arms1      
smiling1 soothing1 and manifesting every
 symptom of attachment and affection4   
,all are under the power of the         
magnetiser2 it matters not in what state
 of drowsiness they may be1 the sound of
 his voice--a look1 a motion of his     
hand--brings them out of it4 ,among the 
patients in convulsions there are always

 observed a great many women1 and very  
few men4 ,rapport des ,commissaires1    
redige par ,m4 ,bailly4--,paris1 #aghd4 
,these experiments lasted for about five
 months4 ,they had hardly commenced1    
before ,mesmer1 alarmed at the loss both
 of fame and profit1 determined to      
return to ,paris4 ,some patients of rank
 and fortune1 enthusiastic believers in 
his doctrine1 had followed him to ,spa4 
,one of them named ,bergasse1 proposed  
to open a subscription for him1 of one  
hundred shares1 at one hundred louis    
each1 on condition that he would        
disclose his secret to the subscribers1 
who were to be permitted to make        
whatever use they pleased of it4 ,mesmer
 readily embraced the proposal2 and such
 was the infatuation1 that the          
subscription was not only filled in a   
few days1 but exceeded by no less a sum 
than one hundred and forty thousand     
francs4  ,with this fortune he returned 
to ,paris1 and recommenced his          
experiments1 while the royal commission 

continued theirs4 ,his admiring pupils1 
who had paid him so handsomely for his  
instructions1 spread the delusion over  
the country1 and established in all the 
principal towns of ,france1 ,societies  
of ,harmony1 for trying experiments and 
curing all diseases by means of         
magnetism4 ,some of these societies were
 a scandal to morality1 being joined by 
profligate men of depraved appetites1   
who took a disgusting delight in        
witnessing young girls in convulsions4  
,many of the pretended magnetisers were 
notorious libertines1 who took that     
opportunity of gratifying their         
passions4 ,an illegal increase of the   
number of ,french citizens was anything 
but a rare consequence in ,strasburg1   
,nantes1 ,bourdeaux1 ,lyons1 and other  
towns1 where these societies were       
established4  ,at last the              
,commissioners published their report1  
which was drawn up by the illustrious   
and unfortunate ,bailly4 ,for clearness 
of reasoning and strict impartiality it 

has never been surpassed4 ,after        
detailing the various experiments made1 
and their results1 they came to the     
conclusion that the only proof advanced 
in support of ,animal ,magnetism was the
 effects it produced on the human       
body--that those effects could be       
produced without passes or other        
magnetic manipulations--that all these  
manipulations1 and passes1 and          
ceremonies never produce any effect at  
all if employed without the patient's   
knowledge2 and that therefore           
imagination did1 and animal magnetism   
did not1 account for the phenomena4     
,this report was the ruin of ,mesmer's  
reputation in ,france4 ,he quitted      
,paris shortly after1 with the three    
hundred and forty thousand francs which 
had been subscribed by his admirers1 and
 retired to his own country1 where he   
died in #ahae1 at the advanced age of   
eighty-one4 ,but the seeds he had sown  
fructified of themselves1 nourished and 
brought to maturity by the kindly warmth

 of popular credulity4 ,imitators sprang
 up in ,france1 ,germany1 and ,england1 
more extravagant than their master1 and 
claiming powers for the new science     
which its founder had never dreamt of4  
,among others1 ,cagliostro made good use
 of the delusion in extending his claims
 to be considered a master of the occult
 sciences4 ,but he made no discoveries  
worthy to be compared to those of the   
,marquis de ,puysegur and the ,chevalier
 ,barbarin1 honest men1 who began by    
deceiving themselves before they        
deceived others4  ,the ,marquis de      
,puysegur1 the owner of a considerable  
estate at ,busancy1 was one of those who
 had entered into the subscription for  
,mesmer4 ,after that individual had     
quitted ,france1 he retired to ,busancy 
with his brother to try ,animal         
,magnetism upon his tenants1 and cure   
the country people of all manner of     
diseases4 ,he was a man of great        
simplicity and much benevolence1 and not
 only magnetised but fed the sick that  

flocked around him4 ,in all the         
neighbourhood1 and indeed within a      
circumference of twenty miles1 he was   
looked upon as endowed with a power     
almost ,divine4 ,his great discovery1 as
 he called it1 was made by chance4 ,one 
day he had magnetised his gardener2 and 
observing him to fall into a deep sleep1
 it occurred to him that he would       
address a question to him1 as he would  
have done to a natural somnambulist4 ,he
 did so1 and the man replied with much  
clearness and precision4 ,m4 de         
,puysegur was agreeably surprised3 he   
continued his experiments1 and found    
that1 in this state of magnetic         
somnambulism1 the soul of the sleeper   
was enlarged1 and brought into more     
intimate communion with all nature1 and 
more especially with him1 ,m4 de        
,puysegur4 ,he found that all further   
manipulations were unnecessary2 that1   
without speaking or making any sign1 he 
could convey his will to the patient2   
that he could1 in fact1 converse with   

him1 soul to soul1 without the          
employment of any physical operation    
whatever6  ,simultaneously with this    
marvellous discovery he made another1   
which reflects equal credit upon his    
understanding4 ,like ,valentine         
,greatraks1 he found it hard work to    
magnetise all that came--that he had not
 even time to take the repose and       
relaxation which were necessary for his 
health4 ,in this emergency he hit upon a
 clever expedient4 ,he had heard ,mesmer
 say that he could magnetise bits of    
wood--why should he not be able to      
magnetise a whole tree8 ,it was no      
sooner thought than done4 ,there was a  
large elm on the village green at       
,busancy1 under which the peasant girls 
used to dance on festive occasions1 and 
the old men to sit1 drinking their vin  
du pays on the fine summer evenings4 ,m4
 de ,puysegur proceeded to this tree and
 magnetised it1 by first touching it    
with his hands and then retiring a few  
steps from it2 all the while directing  

streams of the magnetic fluid from the  
branches toward the trunk1 and from the 
trunk toward the root4 ,this done1 he   
caused circular seats to be erected     
round it1 and cords suspended from it in
 all directions4 ,when the patients had 
seated themselves1 they twisted the     
cords round the diseased parts of their 
bodies1 and held one another firmly by  
their thumbs to form a direct channel of
 communication for the passage of the   
fluid4  ,m4 de ,puysegur had now two    
hobbies--the man with the enlarged soul1
 and the magnetic elm4 ,the infatuation 
of himself and his patients cannot be   
better expressed than in his own words4 
,writing to his brother1 on the #agth of
 ,may #aghd1 he says1 ,if you do not    
come1 my dear friend1 you will not see  
my extraordinary man1 for his health is 
now almost quite restored4 ,i continue  
to make use of the happy power for which
 ,i am indebted to ,m4 ,mesmer4 ,every  
day ,i bless his name2 for ,i am very   
useful1 and produce many salutary       

effects on all the sick poor in the     
neighbourhood4 ,they flock around my    
tree2 there were more than one hundred  
and thirty of them this morning4 ,it is 
the best baquet possible2 not a leaf of 
it but communicates health6 all feel1   
more or less1 the good effects of it4   
,you will be delighted to see the       
charming picture of humanity which this 
presents4 ,i have only one regret--it   
is1 that ,i cannot touch all who come4  
,but my magnetised man--my              
intelligence--sets me at ease4 ,he      
teaches me what conduct ,i should adopt4
 ,according to him1 it is not at all    
necessary that ,i should touch every    
one2 a look1 a gesture1 even a wish1 is 
sufficient4 ,and it is one of the most  
ignorant peasants of the country that   
teaches me this6 ,when he is in a       
crisis1 ,i know of nothing more         
profound1 more prudent1 more            
clearsighted 7clairvoyant7 than he is4  
,in another letter1 describing his first
 experiment with the magnetic tree1 he  

says1 ,yester evening ,i brought my     
first patient to it4 ,as soon as ,i had 
put the cord round him he gazed at the  
tree2 and1 with an air of astonishment  
which ,i cannot describe1 exclaimed1    
',what is it that ,i see there8' ,his   
head then sunk down1 and he fell into a 
perfect fit of somnambulism4 ,at the end
 of an hour1 ,i took him home to his    
house again1 when ,i restored him to his
 senses4 ,several men and women came to 
tell him what he had been doing4 ,he    
maintained it was not true2 that1 weak  
as he was1 and scarcely able to walk1 it
 would have been scarcely possible for  
him to have gone down stairs and walked 
to the tree4 ,to-day ,i have repeated   
the experiment on him1 and with the same
 success4 ,i own to you that my head    
turns round with pleasure to think of   
the good ,i do4 ,madame de ,puysegur1   
the friends she has with her1 my        
servants1 and1 in fact1 all who are near
 me1 feel an amazement1 mingled with    
admiration1 which cannot be described2  

but they do not experience the half of  
my sensations4 ,without my tree1 which  
gives me rest1 and which will give me   
still more1 ,i should be in a state of  
agitation1 inconsistent1 ,i believe1    
with my health4 ,i exist too much1 if ,i
 may be allowed to use the expression4  
,in another letter1 he descants still   
more poetically upon his gardener with  
the enlarged soul4 ,he says1 ,it is from
 this simple man1 this tall and stout   
rustic1 twenty-three years of age1      
enfeebled by disease1 or rather by      
sorrow1 and therefore the more          
predisposed to be affected by any great 
natural agent1--it is from this man1 ,i 
repeat1 that ,i derive instruction and  
knowledge4 ,when in the magnetic state1 
he is no longer a peasant who can hardly
 utter a single sentence2 he is a being1
 to describe whom ,i cannot find a name4
 ,i need not speak2 ,i have only to     
think before him1 when he instantly     
understands and answers me4 ,should     
anybody come into the room1 he sees him1

 if ,i desire it 7but not else71 and    
addresses him1 and says what ,i wish him
 to say2 not indeed exactly as ,i       
dictate to him1 but as truth requires4  
,when he wants to add more than ,i deem 
it prudent strangers should hear1 ,i    
stop the flow of his ideas1 and of his  
conversation in the middle of a word1   
and give it quite a different turn6     
,among other persons attracted to       
,busancy by the report of these         
extraordinary occurrences was ,m4       
,cloquet1 the ,receiver of ,finance4    
,his appetite for the marvellous being  
somewhat insatiable1 he readily believed
 all that was told him by ,m4 de        
,puysegur4 ,he also has left a record of
 what he saw1 and what he credited1     
which throws a still clearer light upon 
the progress of the delusion4           
,introduction to the ,study of ,animal  
,magnetism1 by ,baron ,dupotet1 p4 #gc4 
,he says that the patients he saw in the
 magnetic state had an appearance of    
deep sleep1 during which all the        

physical faculties were suspended1 to   
the advantage of the intellectual       
faculties4 ,the eyes of the patients    
were closed2 the sense of hearing was   
abolished1 and they awoke only at the   
voice of their magnetiser4 ,if any one  
touched a patient during a crisis1 or   
even the chair on which he was seated1  
says ,m4 ,cloquet1 it would cause him   
much pain and suffering1 and throw him  
into convulsions4 ,during the crisis1   
they possess an extraordinary and       
supernatural power1 by which1 on        
touching a patient presented to them1   
they can feel what part of his body is  
diseased1 even by merely passing their  
hand over the clothes4 ,another         
singularity was1 that these sleepers who
 could thus discover diseases--see into 
the interior of other men's stomachs1   
and point out remedies1 remembered      
absolutely nothing after the magnetiser 
thought proper to disenchant them4 ,the 
time that elapsed between their entering
 the crisis and their coming out of it  

was obliterated4 ,not only had the      
magnetiser the power of making himself  
heard by the somnambulists1 but he could
 make them follow him by merely pointing
 his finger at them from a distance1    
though they had their eyes the whole    
time completely closed4  ,such was      
,animal ,magnetism under the auspices of
 the ,marquis de ,puysegur4 ,while he   
was hibiting these fooleries around his 
elm-tree1 a magnetiser of another class 
appeared in ,lyons1 in the person of the
 ,chevalier de ,barbarin4 ,this person  
thought the effort of the will1 without 
any of the paraphernalia of wands or    
baquets1 was sufficient to throw        
patients into the magnetic sleep4 ,he   
tried it and succeeded4 ,by sitting at  
the bedside of his patients1 and praying
 that they might be magnetised1 they    
went off into a state very similar to   
that of the persons who fell under the  
notice of ,m4 de ,puysegur4 ,in the     
course of time1 a very considerable     
number of magnetisers1 acknowledging    

,barbarin for their model1 and called   
after him ,barbarinists1 appeared in    
different parts1 and were believed to   
have effected some remarkable cures4 ,in
 ,sweden and ,germany1 this sect of     
fanatics increased rapidly1 and were    
called spiritualists1 to distinguish    
them from the followers of ,m4 de       
,puysegur1 who were called              
experimentalists4 ,they maintained that 
all the effects of ,animal ,magnetism1  
which ,mesmer believed to be producible 
by a magnetic fluid dispersed through   
nature1 were produced by the mere effort
 of one human soul acting upon another2 
that when a connexion had once been     
established between a magnetiser and his
 patient1 the former could communicate  
his influence to the latter from any    
distance1 even hundreds of miles1 by the
 will6 ,one of them thus described the  
blessed state of a magnetic             
patient3--,in such a man animal instinct
 ascends to the highest degree          
admissible in this world4 ,the          

clairvoyant is then a pure animal1      
without any admixture of matter4 ,his   
observations are those of a spirit4 ,he 
is similar to ,god4 ,his eye penetrates 
all the secrets of nature4 ,when his    
attention is fixed on any of the objects
 of this world--on his disease1 his     
death1 his well-beloved1 his friends1   
his relations1 his enemies1--in spirit  
he sees them acting2 he penetrates into 
the causes and the consequences of their
 actions2 he becomes a physician1 a     
prophet1 a divine6 ,see ,foreign        
,review1 ,continental ,miscellany1 vol4 
v4 #aac4  ,let us now see what progress 
these mysteries made in ,england4 ,in   
the year #aghh1 ,dr4 ,mainauduc1 who had
 been a pupil1 first of ,mesmer1 and    
afterwards of ,d',eslon1 arrived in     
,bristol1 and gave public lectures upon 
magnetism4 ,his success was quite       
extraordinary4 ,people of rank and      
fortune hastened from ,london to        
,bristol to be magnetised1 or to place  
themselves under his tuition4 ,dr4      

,george ,winter1 in his ,history of     
,animal ,magnetism1 gives the following 
list of them3--,they amounted to one    
hundred and twenty-seven1 among whom    
there were one duke1 one duchess1 one   
marchioness1 two countesses1 one earl1  
one baron1 three baronesses1 one bishop1
 five right honourable gentlemen and    
ladies1 two baronets1 seven members of  
parliament1 one clergyman1 two          
physicians1 seven surgeons1 besides     
ninety-two gentlemen and ladies of      
respectability4 ,he afterwards          
established himself in ,london1 where he
 performed with equal success4  ,he     
began by publishing proposals to the    
ladies for the formation of a ,hygeian  
,society4 ,in this paper he vaunted     
highly the curative effects of ,animal  
,magnetism1 and took great credit to    
himself for being the first person to   
introduce it into ,england1 and thus    
concluded3--,as this method of cure is  
not confined to sex1 or college         
education1 and the fair sex being in    

general the most sympathising part of   
the creation1 and most immediately      
concerned in the health and care of its 
offspring1 ,i think myself bound in     
gratitude to you1 ladies1 for the       
partiality you have shown me in         
midwifery1 to contribute1 as far as lies
 in my power1 to render you additionally
 useful and valuable to the community4  
,with this view1 ,i propose forming my  
,hygeian ,society1 to be incorporated   
with that of ,paris4 ,as soon as twenty 
ladies have given in their names1 the   
day shall be appointed for the first    
meeting at my house1 when they are to   
pay fifteen guineas1 which will include 
the whole expense4  ,hannah ,more1 in a 
letter addressed to ,horace ,walpole1 in
 ,september #aghh1 speaks of the        
demoniacal mummeries of ,dr4 ,mainauduc1
 and says he was in a fair way of       
gaining a hundred thousand pounds by    
them1 as ,mesmer had done by his        
exhibitions in ,paris4  ,so much        
curiosity was excited by the subject    

that1 about the same time1 a man1 named 
,holloway1 gave a course of lectures on 
,animal ,magnetism in ,london1 at the   
rate of five guineas for each pupil1 and
 realised a considerable fortune4       
,loutherbourg1 the painter1 and his wife
 followed the same profitable trade2 and
 such was the infatuation of the people 
to be witnesses of their strange        
manipulations1 that1 at times1 upwards  
of three thousand persons crowded around
 their house at ,hammersmith1 unable to 
gain admission4 ,the tickets sold at    
prices varying from one to three        
guineas4 ,loutherbourg performed his    
cures by the touch1 after the manner of 
,valentine ,greatraks1 and finally      
pretended to a ,divine mission4 ,an     
account of his miracles1 as they were   
called1 was published in #aghi1 entitled
 ,a ,list of ,new ,cures performed by   
,mr4 and ,mrs4 de ,loutherbourg of      
,hammersmith ,terrace1 without          
,medicine2 by a ,lover of the ,lamb of  
,god4 ,dedicated to his ,grace the      

,archbishop of ,canterbury4  ,this      
,lover of the ,lamb of ,god was a       
half-crazy old woman1 named ,mary       
,pratt1 who conceived for ,mr4 and ,mrs4
 de ,loutherbourg a veneration which    
almost prompted her to worship them4    
,she chose for the motto of her pamphlet
 a verse in the thirteenth chapter of   
the ,acts of the ,apostles3 ,behold1 ye 
despisers1 and wonder and perish6 for ,i
 will work a work in your days which ye 
shall not believe though a man declare  
it unto you4 ,attempting to give a      
religious character to the cures of the 
painter1 she thought a woman was the    
proper person to make them known1 since 
the apostle had declared that a man     
should not be able to conquer the       
incredulity of the people4 ,she stated  
that1 from ,christmas #aghh to ,july    
#aghi1 ,de ,loutherbourg and his wife   
had cured two thousand people1 having   
been made proper recipients to receive  
,divine manuductions2 which heavenly and
 ,divine influx1 coming from the radix  

,god1 his ,divine ,majesty had most     
graciously bestowed upon them to diffuse
 healing to all1 be they deaf1 dumb1    
blind1 lame1 or halt4  ,in her          
dedication to the ,archbishop of        
,canterbury1 she implored him to compose
 a new form of prayer to be used in all 
churches and chapels1 that nothing might
 impede this inestimable gift from      
having its due course4 ,she further     
entreated all the magistrates and men of
 authority in the land to wait on ,mr4  
and ,mrs4 de ,loutherbourg1 to consult  
with them on the immediate erection of a
 large hospital1 with a pool of         
,bethesda attached to it4 ,all the      
magnetisers were scandalised at the     
preposterous jabber of this old woman1  
and ,de ,loutherbourg appears to have   
left ,london to avoid her2 continuing1  
however1 in conjunction with his wife1  
the fantastic tricks which had turned   
the brain of this poor fanatic1 and     
deluded many others who pretended to    
more sense than she had4  ,from this    

period until #agih1 magnetism excited   
little or no attention in ,england4 ,an 
attempt to revive the doctrine was made 
in that year1 but it was in the shape of
 mineral rather than of animal          
magnetism4 ,one ,benjamin ,douglas      
,perkins1 an ,american1 practising as a 
surgeon in ,leicestersquare1 invented   
and took out a patent for the celebrated
 ,metallic ,tractors4 ,he pretended that
 these tractors1 which were two small   
pieces of metal strongly magnetised1    
something resembling the steel plates   
which were first brought into notice by 
,father ,hell1 would cure gout1         
rheumatism1 palsy1 and in fact1 almost  
every disease the human frame was       
subject to1 if applied externally to the
 afflicted part1 and moved about gently1
 touching the surface only4 ,the most   
wonderful stories soon obtained general 
circulation1 and the press groaned with 
pamphlets1 all vaunting the curative    
effects of the tractors1 which were sold
 at five guineas the pair4 ,perkins     

gained money rapidly4 ,gouty subjects   
forgot their pains in the presence of   
this new remedy2 the rheumatism fled at 
its approach2 and toothache1 which is   
often cured by the mere sight of a      
dentist1 vanished before ,perkins and   
his marvellous steel plates4 ,the       
benevolent ,quakers1 of whose body he   
was a member1 warmly patronised the     
invention4 ,desirous that the poor1 who 
could not afford to pay ,mr4 ,perkins   
five guineas1 or even five shillings1   
for his tractors1 should also share in  
the benefits of that sublime discovery1 
they subscribed a large sum1 and built  
an hospital1 called the ,perkinean      
,institution1 in which all comers might 
be magnetised free of cost4 ,in the     
course of a few months they were in very
 general use1 and their lucky inventor  
in possession of five thousand pounds4  
,dr4 ,haygarth1 an eminent physician at 
,bath1 recollecting the influence of    
imagination in the cure of disease1 hit 
upon an expedient to try the real value 

of the tractors4 ,perkins's cures were  
too well established to be doubted2 and 
,dr4 ,haygarth1 without gainsaying them1
 quietly1 but in the face of numerous   
witnesses1 exposed the delusion under   
which people laboured with respect to   
the curative medium4 ,he suggested to   
,dr4 ,falconer that they should make    
wooden tractors1 paint them to resemble 
the steel ones1 and see if the very same
 effects would not be produced4 ,five   
patients were chosen from the hospital  
in ,bath1 upon whom to operate4 ,four of
 them suffered severely from chronic    
rheumatism in the ankle1 knee1 wrist1   
and hip2 and the fifth had been         
afflicted for several months with the   
gout4 ,on the day appointed for the     
experiments1 ,dr4 ,haygarth and his     
friends assembled at the hospital1 and  
with much solemnity brought forth the   
fictitious tractors4 ,four out of the   
five patients said their pains were     
immediately relieved2 and three of them 
said they were not only relieved1 but   

very much benefited4 ,one felt his knee 
warmer1 and said he could walk across   
the room4 ,he tried and succeeded1      
although on the previous day he had not 
been able to stir4 ,the gouty man felt  
his pains diminish rapidly1 and was     
quite easy for nine hours1 until he went
 to bed1 when the twitching began again4
 ,on the following day the real tractors
 were applied to all the patients1 when 
they described their symptoms in nearly 
the same terms4  ,to make still more    
sure1 the experiment was tried in the   
,bristol ,infirmary1 a few weeks        
afterwards1 on a man who had a rheumatic
 affection in the shoulder1 so severe as
 to incapacitate him from lifting his   
hand from his knee4 ,the fictitious     
tractors were brought and applied to the
 afflicted part1 one of the physicians1 
to add solemnity to the scene1 drawing a
 stop-watch from his pocket to calculate
 the time exactly1 while another1 with a
 pen in his hand1 sat down to write the 
change of symptoms from minute to minute

 as they occurred4 ,in less than four   
minutes the man felt so much relieved1  
that he lifted his hand several inches  
without any pain in the shoulder6  ,an  
account of these matters was published  
by ,dr4 ,haygarth1 in a small volume    
entitled1 ,of the ,imagination1 as a    
,cause and ,cure of ,disorders1         
exemplified by fictitious ,tractors4    
,the exposure was a coup de grace to the
 system of ,mr4 ,perkins4 ,his friends  
and patrons1 still unwilling to confess 
that they had been deceived1 tried the  
tractors upon sheep1 cows1 and horses1  
alleging that the animals received      
benefit from the metallic plates1 but   
none at all from the wooden ones4 ,but  
they found nobody to believe them2 the  
,perkinean ,institution fell into       
neglect2 and ,perkins made his exit from
 ,england1 carrying with him about ten  
thousand pounds1 to soothe his declining
 years in the good city of              
,pennsylvania4  ,thus was magnetism     
laughed out of ,england for a time4 ,in 

,france1 the revolution left men no     
leisure for such puerilities4 ,the      
,societes de l',harmonie1 of ,strasburg1
 and other great towns1 lingered for a  
while1 till sterner matters occupying   
men's attention1 they were one after the
 other abandoned1 both by pupils and    
professors4 ,the system thus driven from
 the first two nations of ,europe1 took 
refuge among the dreamy philosophers of 
,germany4 ,there the wonders of the     
magnetic sleep grew more and more       
wonderful every day2 the patients       
acquired the gift of prophecy--their    
vision extended over all the surface of 
the globe--they could hear and see with 
their toes and fingers1 and read unknown
 languages1 and understand them too1 by 
merely having the book placed on their  
bellies4 ,ignorant clodpoles1 when once 
entranced by the grand ,mesmeric fluid1 
could spout philosophy diviner than     
,plato ever wrote1 descant upon the     
mysteries of the mind with more         
eloquence and truth than the profoundest

 metaphysicians the world ever saw1 and 
solve knotty points of divinity with as 
much ease as waking men could undo their
 shoe-buckles6  ,during the first twelve
 years of the present century1 little   
was heard of ,animal ,magnetism in any  
country of ,europe4 ,even the ,germans  
forgot their airy fancies2 recalled to  
the knowledge of this every-day world by
 the roar of ,napoleon's cannon and the 
fall or the establishment of kingdoms4  
,during this period1 a cloud of         
obscurity hung over the science1 which  
was not dispersed until ,m4 ,deleuze    
published1 in #ahac1 his ,histoire      
,critique du ,magnetisme ,animal4 ,this 
work gave a new impulse to the          
half-forgotten delusion2 newspapers1    
pamphlets1 and books again waged war    
upon each other on the question of its  
truth or falsehood2 and many eminent men
 in the profession of medicine          
recommenced inquiry1 with an earnest    
design to discover the truth4  ,the     
assertions made in the celebrated       

treatise of ,deleuze are thus summed up3
 ,see the very calm1 clear1 and         
dispassionate article upon the subject  
in the fifth volume 7#ahcj7 of ,the     
,foreign ,review1 page #if1 et          
seq4--,there is a fluid continually     
escaping from the human body1 and       
forming an atmosphere around us1 which1 
as it has no determined current1        
produces no sensible effects on         
surrounding individuals4 ,it is1        
however1 capable of being directed by   
the will2 and1 when so directed1 is sent
 forth in currents1 with a force        
corresponding to the energy we possess4 
,its motion is similar to that of the   
rays from burning bodies2 it possesses  
different qualities in different        
individuals4 ,it is capable of a high   
degree of concentration1 and exists also
 in trees4 ,the will of the magnetiser1 
guided by a motion of the hand1 several 
times repeated in the same direction1   
can fill a tree with this fluid4 ,most  
persons1 when this fluid is poured into 

them1 from the body and by the will of  
the magnetiser1 feel a sensation of heat
 or cold when he passes his hand before 
them1 without even touching them4 ,some 
persons1 when sufficiently charged with 
this fluid1 fall into a state of        
somnambulism1 or magnetic ecstasy2 and1 
when in this state1 they see the fluid  
encircling the magnetiser like a halo of
 light1 and issuing in luminous streams 
from his mouth and nostrils1 his head1  
and hands2 possessing a very agreeable  
smell1 and communicating a particular   
taste to food and water4  ,one would    
think that these absurdities were quite 
enough to be insisted upon by any       
physician who wished to be considered   
sane1 but they only form a small portion
 of the wondrous things related by ,m4  
,deleuze4 ,he further said1 ,when       
magnetism produces somnambulism1 the    
person who is in this state acquires a  
prodigious extension of all his         
faculties4 ,several of his external     
organs1 especially those of sight and   

hearing1 become inactive2 but the       
sensations which depend upon them take  
place internally4 ,seeing and hearing   
are carried on by the magnetic fluid1   
which transmits the impressions         
immediately1 and without the            
intervention of any nerves or organs    
directly to the brain4 ,thus the        
somnambulist1 though his eyes and ears  
are closed1 not only sees and hears1 but
 sees and hears much better than he does
 when awake4 ,in all things he feels the
 will of the magnetiser1 although that  
will be not expressed4 ,he sees into the
 interior of his own body1 and the most 
secret organization of the bodies of all
 those who may be put en rapport1 or in 
magnetic connexion1 with him4 ,most     
commonly1 he only sees those parts which
 are diseased and disordered1 and       
intuitively prescribes a remedy for     
them4 ,he has prophetic visions and     
sensations1 which are generally true1   
but sometimes erroneous4 ,he expresses  
himself with astonishing eloquence and  

facility4 ,he is not free from vanity4  
,he becomes a more perfect being of his 
own accord for a certain time1 if guided
 wisely by the magnetiser1 but wanders  
if he is ill-directed4  ,according to   
,m4 ,deleuze1 any person could become a 
magnetiser and produce these effects1 by
 conforming to the following conditions1
 and acting upon the following rules3-- 
,forget for a while all your knowledge  
of physics and metaphysics4  ,remove    
from your mind all objections that may  
occur4  ,imagine that it is in your     
power to take the malady in hand1 and   
throw it on one side4  ,never reason for
 six weeks after you have commenced the 
study4  ,have an active desire to do    
good2 a firm belief in the power of     
magnetism1 and an entire confidence in  
employing it4 ,in short1 repel all      
doubts2 desire success1 and act with    
simplicity and attention4  ,that is to  
say1 be very credulous2 be very         
persevering2 reject all past experience1
 and do not listen to reason1 and you   

are a magnetiser after ,m4 ,deleuze's   
own heart4  ,having brought yourself    
into this edifying state of fanaticism1 
remove from the patient all persons who 
might be troublesome to you3 keep with  
you only the necessary witnesses--a     
single person1 if need be2 desire them  
not to occupy themselves in any way with
 the processes you employ and the       
effects which result from them1 but to  
join with you in the desire of doing    
good to your patient4 ,arrange yourself 
so as neither to be too hot nor too     
cold1 and in such a manner that nothing 
may obstruct the freedom of your        
motions2 and take precautions to prevent
 interruption during the sitting4 ,make 
your patient then sit as commodiously as
 possible1 and place yourself opposite  
to him1 on a seat a little more         
elevated1 in such a manner that his     
knees may be betwixt yours1 and your    
feet at the side of his4 ,first1 request
 him to resign himself2 to think of     
nothing2 not to perplex himself by      

examining the effects which may be      
produced2 to banish all fear2 to        
surrender himself to hope1 and not to be
 disturbed or discouraged if the action 
of magnetism should cause in him        
momentary pains4 ,after having collected
 yourself1 take his thumbs between your 
fingers in such a way that the internal 
part of your thumbs may be in contact   
with the internal part of his1 and then 
fix your eyes upon him6 ,you must remain
 from two to five minutes in this       
situation1 or until you feel an equal   
heat between your thumbs and his4 ,this 
done1 you will withdraw your hands1     
removing them to the right and left2 and
 at the same time turning them till     
their internal surface be outwards1 and 
you will raise them to the height of the
 head4 ,you will now place them upon the
 two shoulders1 and let them remain     
there about a minute2 afterwards drawing
 them gently along the arms to the      
extremities of the fingers1 touching    
very slightly as you go4 ,you will renew

 this pass five or six times1 always    
turning your hands1 and removing them a 
little from the body before you lift    
them4 ,you will then place them above   
the head2 and1 after holding them there 
for an instant1 lower them1 passing them
 before the face1 at the distance of one
 or two inches1 down to the pit of the  
stomach4 ,there you will stop them two  
minutes also1 putting your thumbs upon  
the pit of the stomach and the rest of  
your fingers below the ribs4 ,you will  
then descend slowly along the body to   
the knees1 or rather1 if you can do so  
without deranging yourself1 to the      
extremity of the feet4 ,you will repeat 
the same processes several times during 
the remainder of the sitting4 ,you will 
also occasionally approach your patient1
 so as to place your hands behind his   
shoulders1 in order to descend slowly   
along the spine of the back and the     
thighs1 down to the knees or the feet4  
,after the first passes1 you may        
dispense with putting your hands upon   

the head1 and may make the subsequent   
passes upon the arms1 beginning at the  
shoulders1 and upon the body1 beginning 
at the stomach4  ,such was the process  
of magnetising recommended by ,deleuze4 
,that delicate1 fanciful1 and nervous   
women1 when subjected to it1 should have
 worked themselves into convulsions will
 be readily believed by the sturdiest   
opponent of ,animal ,magnetism4 ,to sit 
in a constrained posture--be stared out 
of countenance by a fellow who enclosed 
her knees between his1 while he made    
passes upon different parts of her body1
 was quite enough to throw any weak     
woman into a fit1 especially if she were
 predisposed to hysteria1 and believed  
in the efficacy of the treatment4 ,it is
 just as evident that those of stronger 
minds and healthier bodies should be    
sent to sleep by the process4 ,that     
these effects have been produced by     
these means there are thousands of      
instances to show4 ,but are they        
testimony in favour of ,animal          

,magnetism8--do they prove the existence
 of the magnetic fluid8 ,every          
unprejudiced person must answer in the  
negative4 ,it needs neither magnetism1  
nor ghost from the grave1 to tell us    
that silence1 monotony1 and long        
recumbency in one position must produce 
sleep1 or that excitement1 imitation1   
and a strong imagination1 acting upon a 
weak body1 will bring on convulsions4   
,it will be seen hereafter that         
magnetism produces no effects but these 
two2 that the gift of                   
prophecy--supernatural eloquence--the   
transfer of the senses1 and the power of
 seeing through opaque substances1 are  
pure fictions1 that cannot be           
substantiated by anything like proof4   
,m4 ,deleuze's book produced quite a    
sensation in ,france2 the study was     
resumed with redoubled vigour4 ,in the  
following year1 a journal was           
established devoted exclusively to the  
science1 under the title of ,annales du 
,magnetisme ,animal2 and shortly        

afterwards appeared the ,bibliotheque du
 ,magnetisme ,animal1 and many others4  
,about the same time1 the ,abbe ,faria1 
the man of wonders1 began to magnetise2 
and the belief being that he had more of
 the ,mesmeric fluid about him1 and a   
stronger will1 than most men1 he was    
very successful in his treatment4 ,his  
experiments afford a convincing proof   
that imagination can operate all1 and   
the supposed fluid none1 of the resuits 
so confidently claimed as evidence of   
the new science4 ,he placed his patients
 in an arm-chair2 told them to shut     
their eyes2 and then1 in a loud         
commanding voice1 pronounced the single 
word1 ,sleep6 ,he used no manipulations 
whatever--had no baquet1 or conductor of
 the fluid2 but he nevertheless         
succeeded in causing sleep in hundreds  
of patients4 ,he boasted of having in   
his time produced five thousand         
somnambulists by this method4 ,it was   
often necessary to repeat the command   
three or four times2 and if the patient 

still remained awake1 the ,abbe got out 
of the difficulty by dismissing him from
 the chair1 and declaring that he was   
incapable of being acted on4 ,and here  
it should be remarked that the          
magnetisers do not lay claim to a       
universal efficacy for their fluid2 the 
strong and the healthy cannot be        
magnetised2 the incredulous cannot be   
magnetised2 those who reason upon it    
cannot be magnetised2 those who firmly  
believe in it can be magnetised2 the    
weak in body can be magnetised1 and the 
weak in mind can be magnetised4 ,and    
lest1 from some cause or other1         
individuals of the latter classes should
 resist the magnetic charm1 the apostles
 of the science declare that there are  
times when even they cannot be acted    
upon2 the presence of one scorner or    
unbeliever may weaken the potency of the
 fluid and destroy its efficacy4 ,in ,m4
 ,deleuze's instructions to a           
magnetiser1 he expressly says1 ,never   
magnetise before inquisitive persons6   

,histoire ,critique du ,magnetisme      
,animal1 p4 #fj4 ,yet the followers of  
this delusion claim for it the rank of a
 science6  ,the numerous writings that  
appeared between the years #ahac and    
#ahbe show how much attention was       
excited in ,france4 ,with every         
succeeding year some new discovery was  
put forth1 until at last the magnetisers
 seemed to be very generally agreed that
 there were six separate and distinct   
degrees of magnetisation4 ,they have    
been classed as follow3--  ,in the first
 stage1 the skin of the patient becomes 
slightly reddened2 and there is a       
feeling of heat1 comfort1 and lightness 
all over the body2 but there is no      
visible action on the senses4  ,in the  
second stage1 the eye is gradually      
abstracted from the dominion of the will
 7or1 in other words1 the patient       
becomes sleepy74 ,the drooping eyelids  
cannot be raised2 the senses of hearing1
 smelling1 feeling1 and tasting are more
 than usually excited4 ,in addition1 a  

variety of nervous sensations are felt1 
such as spasms of the muscles and       
prickings of the skin1 and involuntary  
twitchings in various parts of the body4
  ,in the third stage1 which is that of 
magnetic sleep1 all the senses are      
closed to external impressions2 and     
sometimes fainting1 and cataleptic or   
apoplectic attacks may occur4  ,in the  
fourth stage1 the patient is asleep to  
all the world2 but he is awake within   
his own body1 and consciousness returns4
 ,while in this state1 all his senses   
are transferred to the skin4 ,he is in  
the perfect crisis1 or magnetic         
somnambulism2 a being of soul and       
mind--seeing without eyes--hearing      
without ears1 and deadened in body to   
all sense of feeling4  ,in the fifth    
stage1 which is that of lucid vision1   
the patient can see his own internal    
organisation1 or that of others placed  
in magnetic communication with him4 ,he 
becomes1 at the same time1 possessed of 
the instinct of remedies4 ,the magnetic 

fluid1 in this stage1 unites him by     
powerful attraction to others1 and      
establishes between them an             
impenetration of thought and feeling so 
intense as to blend their different     
natures into one4  ,in the sixth stage1 
which is at the same time the rarest and
 the most perfect of all1 the lucid     
vision is not obstructed by opaque      
matter1 or subject to any barriers      
interposed by time or space4 ,the       
magnetic fluid1 which is universally    
spread in nature1 unites the individual 
with all nature1 and gives him          
cognizance of coming events by its      
universal lucidity4  ,so much was said  
and written between the years #ahbj and 
#ahbe1 and so many converts were made1  
that the magnetisers became clamorous   
for a new investigation4 ,m4 de         
,foissac1 a young physician1 wrote to   
the ,academie ,royale du ,medicine a    
letter1 calling for inquiry1 in which he
 complained of the unfairness of the    
report of ,messrs4 ,bailly and ,franklin

 in #aghd1 and stating that1 since that 
time1 the science had wholly changed by 
the important discovery of magnetic     
somnambulism4 ,he informed the ,academy 
that he had under his care a young      
woman1 whose powers of divination when  
in the somnambulic state were of the    
most extraordinary character4 ,he       
invited the members of that body to go  
into any hospital1 and choose persons   
afflicted with any diseases1 acute or   
chronic1 simple or complex1 and his     
somnambulist1 on being put en rapport1  
or in magnetic connexion1 with them1    
would infallibly point out their ailings
 and name the remedies4 ,she1 and other 
somnambulists1 he said1 could1 by merely
 laying the hand successively on the    
head1 the chest1 and the abdomen of a   
stranger1 immediately discover his      
maladies1 with1 the pains and different 
alterations thereby occasioned4 ,they   
could indicate1 besides1 whether the    
cure were possible1 and1 if so1 whether 
it were easy or difficult1 near or      

remote1 and what means should be        
employed to attain this result by the   
surest and readiest way4 ,in this       
examination they never departed from the
 sound principles of medicine4 ,in fact1
 added ,m4 de ,foissac1 ,i go further1  
and assert that their inspirations are  
allied to the genius which animated     
,hippocrates6  ,in the mean time        
experiments were carried on in various  
hospitals of ,paris4 ,the epileptic     
patients at the ,salpetriere were       
magnetised by permission of ,m4         
,esquirol4 ,at the ,bicetre also the    
same resuits were obtained4 ,m4 de      
,foissac busied himself with the        
invalids at the ,hospice de la ,charite1
 and ,m4 ,dupotet was equally successful
 in producing sleep or convulsions at   
,val de ,grace4 ,many members of the    
,chamber of ,deputies became converts1  
and ,m4 ,chardel1 the ,comte de ,gestas1
 ,m4 de ,laseases1 and others1 opened   
their saloons to those who were desirous
 of being instructed in animal          

magnetism4 ,dupotet's ,introduction to  
the ,study of ,animal ,magnetism1 page  
#bc4 ,other physicians united with ,m4  
de ,foissac in calling for an inquiry2  
and ultimately the ,academy nominated a 
preliminary committee of five of its    
members1 namely1 ,messrs ,adelon1       
,burdin1 ,marc1 ,pariset1 and ,husson1  
to investigate the alleged facts1 and to
 report whether the ,academy1 without   
any compromise of its dignity1 could    
appoint a new commission4  ,before this 
committee1 ,m4 de ,foissac produced his 
famous somnambulist2 but she failed in  
exhibiting any one of the phenomena her 
physician had so confidently predicted3 
she was easily thrown into the state of 
sleep1 by long habit and the monotony of
 the passes and manipulations of her    
magnetiser2 but she could not tell the  
diseases of persons put en rapport with 
her4 ,the committee of five framed      
excuses for this failure1 by saying1    
that probably the magnetic fluid was    
obstructed1 because they were           

inexperienced1 distrustful1 and perhaps 
impatient4 ,after this1 what can be said
 for the judgment or the impartiality of
 such a committee8 ,they gave at last   
their opinion1 that it would be         
advisable to appoint a new commission4  
,on the #acth of ,december #ahbe1 they  
presented themselves to the ,academie to
 deliver their report4 ,a debate ensued1
 which occupied three days1 and in which
 all the most distinguished members took
 part4 ,it was finally decided by a     
majority of ten1 that the commission    
should be appointed1 and the following  
physicians were chosen its              
members3--,they were eleven in number1  
viz4 ,bourdois de la ,motte1 the        
,president2 ,fouquier1 ,gueneau de      
,mussy1 ,guersent1 ,husson1 ,itard1     
,marc1 ,j4 ,j4 ,leroux1 ,thillay1       
,double1 and ,majendie4  ,these         
gentlemen began their labours by        
publishing an address to all            
magnetisers1 inviting them to come      
forward and exhibit in their presence   

the wonders of animal magnetism4 ,m4    
,dupotet says that very few answered    
this amicable appeal1 because they were 
afraid of being ridiculed when the      
report should be published4 ,four       
magnetisers1 however1 answered their    
appeal readily1 and for five years were 
busily engaged in bringing proofs of the
 new science before the commission4     
,these were ,m4 de ,foissac1 ,m4        
,dupotet1 ,m4 ,chapelain1 and ,m4 de    
,geslin4 ,it would be but an            
unprofitable1 and by no means a pleasant
 task to follow the commissioners in    
their erratic career1 as they were led  
hither and thither by the four lights of
 magnetism above mentioned2 the four    
,wills-o'-the-,wisp which dazzled the   
benighted and bewildered doctors on that
 wide and shadowy region of metaphysical
 inquiry--the influence of mind over    
matter4 ,it will be better to state at  
once the conclusion they came to after  
so long and laborious an investigation1 
and then examine whether they were      

warranted in it by the evidence brought 
before them4  ,the report1 which is     
exceedingly voluminous1 is classed under
 thirty different heads1 and its general
 tenor is favourable to magnetism4 ,the 
reporters expressly state their belief  
in the existence of the magnetic fluid1 
and sum up the result of their inquiries
 in the four assertions which follow3-- 
#a4 ,magnetism has no effect upon       
persons in a sound state of health1 nor 
upon some diseased persons4  #b4 ,in    
others its effects are slight4  #c4     
,these effects are sometimes produced by
 weariness or ennui1 by monotony1 and by
 the imagination4  #d4 ,we have seen    
these effects developed independently of
 the last causes1 most probably as the  
effects of magnetism alone4  ,it will be
 seen that the first and second of these
 sentences presuppose the existence of  
that magnetic power1 which it is the    
object of the inquiry to discover4 ,the 
reporters begin1 by saying1 that        
magnetism exists1 when after detailing  

their proofs1 they should have ended by 
affirming it4 ,for the sake of lucidity1
 a favourite expression of their own1   
let us put the propositions into a new  
form and new words1 without altering the
 sense4  #a4 ,certain effects1 such as  
convulsions1 somnambulism1 c4 are       
producible in the human frame1 by the   
will of others1 by the will of the      
patient himself1 or by both combined1 or
 by some unknown means1 we wish to      
discover1 perhaps by magnetism4  #b4    
,these effects are not producible upon  
all bodies4 ,they cannot be produced    
upon persons in a sound state of health1
 nor upon some diseased persons2 while  
in other eases1 the effects are very    
slight4  #c4 ,these effects were        
produced in many cases that fell under  
our notice1 in which the persons        
operated on were in a weak state of     
health1 by weariness or ennui1 by       
monotony1 and by the power of           
imagination4  #d4 ,but in many other    
eases these effects were produced1 and  

were clearly not the result of weariness
 or ennui1 of monotony1 or of the power 
of the imagination4 ,they were1         
therefore1 produced by the magnetic     
processes we employed3--ergo--,animal   
,magnetism exists4  ,every one1 whether 
a believer or disbeliever in the        
doctrine1 must see that the whole gist  
of the argument will be destroyed1 if it
 be proved that the effects which the   
reporters claimed as resulting from a   
power independent of weariness1         
monotony1 and the imagination1 did1 in  
fact1 result from them1 and from nothing
 else4 ,the following are among the     
proofs brought forward to support the   
existence of the magnetic fluid1 as     
producing those phenomena3--  ,a child1 
twenty-eight months old1 was magnetised 
by ,m4 ,foissac1 at the house of ,m4    
,bourdois4 ,the child1 as well as its   
father1 was subject to attacks of       
epilepsy4 ,almost immediately after ,m4 
,foissac had begun his manipulations and
 passes1 the child rubbed its eyes1 bent

 its head to one side1 supported it on  
one of the cushions of the sofa where it
 was sitting1 yawned1 moved itself      
about1 scratched its head and its ears1 
appeared to strive against the approach 
of sleep1 and then rose1 if we may be   
allowed the expression1 grumbling4      
,being taken away to satisfy a necessity
 of nature1 it was again placed on the  
sofa1 and magnetised for a few moments4 
,but as there appeared no decided       
symptoms of somnolency this time1 we    
terminated the experiment4  ,and this in
 all seriousness and sobriety was called
 a proof of the existence of the        
magnetic fluid6 ,that these effects were
 not produced by the imagination may be 
granted2 but that they were not produced
 by weariness and monotony is not so    
clear4 ,a child is seated upon a sofa1 a
 solemn looking gentleman1 surrounded by
 several others equally grave1 begins to
 play various strange antics before it1 
moving his hands mysteriously1 pointing 
at his head1 all the while preserving a 

most provoking silence4 ,and what does  
the child8 ,it rubs its eyes1 appears   
restless1 yawns1 scratches its head1    
grumbles1 and makes an excuse to get    
away4 ,magnetism1 forsooth6 ',twas a    
decided case of botheration6  ,the next 
proof 7so called71 though not so        
amusing1 is equally decisive of the     
mystification of the ,commissioners4 ,a 
deaf and dumb lad1 eighteen years of    
age1 and subject to attacks of epilepsy1
 was magnetised fifteen times by ,m4    
,foissac4 ,the phenomena exhibited      
during the treatment were a heaviness of
 the eyelids1 a general numbness1 a     
desire to sleep1 and sometimes          
vertigo3--the epileptic attacks were    
entirely suspended1 and did not return  
till eight months afterwards4 ,upon this
 case and the first mentioned1 the      
,committee reasoned thus3--,these cases 
appear to us altogether worthy of       
remark4 ,the two individuals who formed 
the subject of the experiment1 were     
ignorant of what was done to them4 ,the 

one1 indeed1 was not in a state capable 
of knowing it2 and the other never had  
the slightest idea of magnetism4 ,both1 
however1 were insensible of its         
influence2 and most certainly it is     
impossible in either case to attribute  
this sensibility to the imagination4    
,the first case has been already        
disposed of4 ,with regard to the second1
 it is very possible to attribute all   
the results to imagination4 ,it cannot  
be contended1 that because the lad was  
deaf and dumb he had no understanding1  
that he could not see the strange       
manipulations of the magnetiser1 and    
that he was unaware that his cure was   
the object of the experiments that were 
thus made upon him4 ,had he no fancy    
merely because he was dumb8 and could   
he1 for the same reason1 avoid feeling a
 heaviness in his eyelids1 a numbness1  
and a sleepiness1 when he was forced to 
sit for two or three hours while ,m4    
,foissac pointed his fingers at him8 ,as
 for the amelioration in his health1 no 

argument can be adduced to prove that he
 was devoid of faith in the remedy2 and 
that1 having faith1 he should not feel  
the benefit of it as well as thousands  
of others who have been cured by means  
wholly as imaginary4  ,the third case is
 brought forward with a still greater   
show of authority4 ,having magnetised   
the child and the dumb youth with       
results so extraordinary1 ,m4 ,foissac  
next tried his hand upon a              
,commissioner4 ,m4 ,itard was subjected 
to a course of manipulations2 the       
consequences were a flow of saliva1 a   
metallic savour in the mouth1 and a     
severe headach4 ,these symptoms1 say the
 reporters1 cannot be accounted for by  
the influence of imagination4 ,m4       
,itard1 it should be remarked1 was a    
confirmed valetudinarian2 and a         
believer1 before the investigation      
commenced1 in the truth of magnetism4   
,he was a man1 therefore1 whose         
testimony cannot be received with       
implicit credence upon this subject4 ,he

 may have repeated1 and so may his      
brother ,commissioners1 that the results
 above stated were not produced by the  
power of the imagination4 ,the patients 
of ,perkins1 of ,valentine ,greatraks1  
of ,sir ,kenelm ,digby1 of ,father      
,gassner1 were all equally positive3 but
 what availed their assertions8         
,experience soon made it manifest1 that 
no other power than that of imagination 
worked the wonders in their case4 ,m4   
,itard's is not half so extraordinary2  
the only wonder is1 that it should ever 
have been insisted upon4  ,the          
,commissioners having1 as they thought1 
established beyond doubt the existence  
of the magnetic fluid1 7and these are   
all their proofs17 next proceeded to    
investigate the more marvellous         
phenomena of the science2 such as the   
transfer of the senses2 the capability  
of seeing into one's own or other       
people's insides1 and of divining       
remedies2 and the power of prophecy4 ,a 
few examples will suffice4  ,m4 ,petit  

was magnetised by ,m4 ,dupotet1 who     
asserted that the somnambulist would be 
able to choose1 with his eyes shut1 a   
mesmerised coin out of twelve others4   
,the experiment was tried1 and the      
somnambulist chose the wrong one4       
,report of the ,commissioners1 p4 #aec4 
,baptiste ,chamet was also magnetised by
 ,m4 ,dupotet1 and fell into the        
somnambulic state after eight minutes4  
,as he appeared to be suffering great   
pain1 he was asked what ailed him1 when 
he pointed to his breast1 and said he   
felt pain there4 ,being asked what part 
of his body that was1 he said his liver4
 ,ibid1 p4 #acg4  ,mademoiselle         
,martineau was magnetised by ,m4        
,dupotet1 and it was expected that her  
case would prove not only the transfer  
of the senses1 but the power of divining
 remedies4 ,her eyes having been        
bandaged1 she was asked if she could not
 see all the persons present8 ,she      
replied1 no2 but she could hear them    
talking4 ,no one was speaking at the    

time4 ,she said she would awake after   
five or ten minutes sleep4 ,she did not 
awake for sixteen or seventeen minutes4 
,she announced that on a certain day she
 would be able to tell exactly the      
nature of her complaint1 and prescribe  
the proper remedies4 ,on the appointed  
day she was asked the question1 and     
could not answer4 ,report of the        
,commissioners1 p4 #aci4  ,mademoiselle 
,couturier1 a patient of ,m4 de ,geslin1
 was thrown into the state of           
somnambulism1 and ,m4 de ,geslin said   
she would execute his mental orders4    
,one of the ,committee then wrote on a  
slip of paper the words ,go and sit down
 on the stool in front of the piano4 ,he
 handed the paper to ,m4 de ,geslin1 who
 having conceived the words mentally1   
turned to his patient1 and told her to  
do as he required of her4 ,she rose up1 
went to the clock1 and said it was      
twenty minutes past nine4 ,she was tried
 nine times more1 and made as many      
mistakes4 ,idem1 p4 #aci4  ,pierre      

,cazot was an epileptic patient1 and was
 said to have the power of prophecy4    
,being magnetised on the #bbnd of       
,april1 he said that in nine weeks he   
should have a fit1 in three weeks       
afterwards go mad1 abuse his wife1      
murder some one1 and finally recover in 
the month of ,august4 ,after which he   
should never have an attack again4      
,idem1 p4 #ahj ,in two days after       
uttering this prophecy1 he was run over 
by a cabriolet and killed4 ,foreign     
,quarterly ,review1 vol4 xii4 p4 #dci ,a
 post mortem examination was made of his
 body1 when it was ascertained beyond   
doubt1 that even had he not met with    
this accident1 he could never have      
recovered4 ,at the extremity of the     
plexus choroides was found a substance1 
yellow within1 and white without1       
containing small hydatids4--,report     
oltre ,commissioners1 p4 #ahf4  ,the    
inquest which had been the means of     
eliciting these1 along with many other  
facts1 having sat for upwards of five   

years1 the magnetisers became anxious   
that the report should be received by   
the solemn conclave of the ,academie4   
,at length a day 7the #bjth of ,june    
#ahca7 was fixed for the reading4 ,all  
the doctors of ,paris thronged around   
the hall to learn the result2 the street
 in front of the building was crowded   
with medical students2 the passages were
 obstructed by philosophers4 ,so great  
was the sensation1 says ,m4 ,dupotet1   
that it might have been supposed the    
fate of the nation depended on the      
result4 ,m4 ,husson1 the reporter1      
appeared at the bar and read the report1
 the substance of which we have just    
extracted4 ,he was heard at first with  
great attention1 but as he proceeded    
signs of impatience and dissent were    
manifested on all sides4 ,the           
unreasonable inferences of the          
,commissioners--their false             
conclusions--their too positive         
assertions1 were received with repeated 
marks of disapprobation4 ,some of the   

academicians started from their seats1  
and apostrophising the ,commissioners1  
accused them of partiality or stolidity4
 ,the ,commissioners replied2 until1 at 
last1 the uproar became so violent that 
an adjournment of the sitting was moved 
and carried4 ,on the following day the  
report was concluded4 ,a stormy         
discussion immediately ensued1 which    
certainly reflected no credit upon the  
opponents of ,animal ,magnetism4 ,both  
sides lost temper--the anti-magnetists  
declaring that the whole was a fraud and
 a delusion2 the pro-magnetists         
reminding the ,academy that it was too  
often the fate of truth to be scorned   
and disregarded for a while1 but that   
eventually her cause would triumph4 ,we 
do not care for your disbelief1 cried   
one1 for in this very hall your         
predecessors denied the circulation of  
the blood6--,yes1 cried another1 and    
they denied the falling of meteoric     
stones6 while a third exclaimed ,grande 
est veritas et praevalebit6 ,some degree

 of order being at last restored1 the   
question whether the report should be   
received and published was decided in   
the negative4 ,it was afterwards agreed 
that a limited number of copies should  
be lithographed1 for the private use of 
such members as wished to make further  
examination4  ,as might have been       
expected1 magnetism did not suffer from 
a discussion which its opponents had    
conducted with so much intemperance4    
,the followers of magnetism were as loud
 as ever in vaunting its efficacy as a  
cure1 and its value1 not only to the    
science of medicine1 but to philosophy  
in general4 ,by force of repeated       
outcries against the decision of the    
,academie1 and assertions that new facts
 were discovered day after day1 its     
friends1 six years afterwards1 prevailed
 upon that learned and influential body 
to institute another inquiry4 ,the      
,academie1 in thus consenting to renew  
the investigation after it had twice    
solemnly decided 7once in conjunction   

with1 and once in opposition to a       
committee of its own appointment7 that  
,animal ,magnetism was a fraud or a     
chimera1 gave the most striking proof of
 its own impartiality and sincere desire
 to arrive at the truth4  ,the new      
,commission was composed of ,m4 ,roux1  
the ,president2 and ,messieurs          
,bouillard1 ,cloquet1 ,emery1           
,pelletier1 ,caventon1 ,oudet1 ,cornac1 
and ,dubois d',amiens4 ,the chief       
magnetiser upon the occasion was ,m4    
,berna1 who had written to the ,academie
 on the #abth of ,february #ahcg1       
offering to bring forward the most      
convincing proofs of the truth of the   
new science4 ,the ,commissioners met for
 the first time on the #bgth of         
,february1 and delivered their report1  
which was drawn up by ,m4 ,dubois       
d',amiens1 on the #bbnd of ,august      
following4 ,after a careful examination 
of all the evidence1 they decided1 as   
,messieurs ,bailly and ,franklin had    
done in #aghd1 that the touchings1      

imagination1 and the force of imitation 
would account satisfactorily for all the
 phenomena2 that the supposed ,mesmeric 
fluid would not2 that ,m4 ,berna1 the   
magnetiser1 laboured under a delusion2  
and that the facts brought under their  
notice were anything but conclusive in  
favour of the doctrine of ,animal       
,magnetism1 and could have no relation  
either with physiology or with          
therapeutics4  ,the following abridgment
 of the report will show that the       
,commissioners did not thus decide      
without abundant reason4 ,on the #crd of
 ,march they met at the house of ,m4    
,roux1 the ,president1 when ,m4 ,berna  
introduced his patient1 a young girl of 
seventeen1 of a constitution apparently 
nervous and delicate1 but with an air   
sufficiently cool and self-sufficient4  
,m4 ,berna offered eight proofs of      
,animal ,magnetism1 which he would      
elicit in her case1 and which he classed
 as follow3--  #a4 ,he would throw her  
into the state of somnambulism4  #b4 ,he

 would render her quite insensible to   
bodily pain4  #c4 ,he would restore her 
to sensibility by his mere will1 without
 any visible or audible manifestation of
 it4  #d4 ,his mental order should      
deprive her of motion4  #e4 ,he would   
cause her1 by a mental order1 to cease  
answering in the midst of a             
conversation1 and by a second mental    
order would make her begin again4  #f4  
,he would repeat the same experiment1   
separated from his patient by a door4   
#g4 ,he would awake her4  #h4 ,he would 
throw her again into the somnambulic    
state1 and by his will successively     
cause her to lose and recover the       
sensibility of any part of her body4    
,before any attempt at magnetisation was
 made by ,m4 ,berna1 the ,commissioners 
determined to ascertain how far1 in her 
ordinary state1 she was sensible to     
pricking4 ,needles of a moderate size   
were stuck into her hands and neck1 to  
the depth of half a line1 and she was   
asked by ,messieurs ,roux and ,caventon 

whether she felt any pain4 ,she replied 
that she felt nothing2 neither did her  
countenance express any pain4 ,the      
,commissioners1 somewhat surprised at   
this1 repeated their question1 and      
inquired whether she was absolutely     
insensible4 ,being thus pressed1 she    
acknowledged that she felt a little     
pain4  ,these preliminaries having been 
completed1 ,m4 ,berna made her sit close
 by him4 ,he looked steadfastly at her1 
but made no movements or passes         
whatever4 ,after the lapse of about two 
minutes she fell back asleep1 and ,m4   
,berna told the ,commissioners that she 
was now in the state of magnetic        
somnambulism4 ,he then arose1 and again 
looking steadfastly at her from a short 
distance1 declared1 after another       
minute1 that she was struck with general
 insensibility4  ,to ascertain this1 the
 girl's eyes having been previously     
bandaged1 ,messieurs ,bouillard1 ,emery1
 and ,dubois pricked her one after the  
other with needles4 ,by word she        

complained of no pain2 and her features1
 where the bandage allowed them to be   
seen1 appeared calm and unmoved4 ,but   
,m4 ,dubois having stuck his needle     
rather deep under her chin1 she         
immediately made with much vivacity a   
movement of deglutition4  ,this         
experiment having failed1 ,m4 ,berna    
tried another1 saying that he would1 by 
the sole and tacit intervention of his  
will1 paralyze any part of the girl's   
body the ,commissioners might mention4  
,to avoid the possibility of collusion1 
,m4 ,dubois drew up the following       
conditions3--  ,that ,m4 ,berna should  
maintain the most perfect silence1 and  
should receive from the hands of the    
,commissioners papers1 on which should  
be written the parts to be deprived of  
motion and sensibility1 and that ,m4    
,berna should let them know when he had 
done it by closing one of his eyes1 that
 they might verify it4 ,the parts to be 
deprived of sensibility were the chin1  
the right thumb1 the region of the left 

deltoid1 and that of the right patella4 
,m4 ,berna would not accept these       
conditions1 giving for his reason that  
the parts pointed out by the            
,commissioners were too limited2 that1  
besides1 all this was out of his        
programme1 and he did not understand why
 such precautions should be taken       
against him4  ,m4 ,berna had written in 
his programme that he would deprive the 
whole body of sensibility1 and then a   
part only4 ,he would afterwards deprive 
the two arms of motion--then the two    
legs--then a leg and an arm--then the   
neck1 and lastly the tongue4 ,all the   
evidence he wished the ,commissioners to
 have was after a very unsatisfactory   
fashion4 ,he would tell the somnambulist
 to raise her arm1 and if she did not   
raise it1 the limb was to be considered 
paralyzed4 ,besides this1 the           
,commissioners were to make haste with  
their observations4 ,if the first trials
 did not succeed1 they were to be       
repeated till paralysis was produced4   

,these1 as the ,commissioners very      
justly remarked1 were not such          
conditions as men of science1 who were  
to give an account of their commission1 
could exactly comply with4 ,after some  
time spent in a friendly discussion of  
the point1 ,m4 ,berna said he could do  
no more at that meeting4 ,then placing  
himself opposite the girl1 he twice     
exclaimed1 ,wake6 ,she awakened         
accordingly1 and the sitting terminated4
  ,at the second meeting1 ,m4 ,berna was
 requested to paralyze the right arm    
only of the girl by the tacit           
intervention of his will1 as he had     
confidently assured the ,commissioners  
he could4 ,m4 ,berna1 after a few       
moments1 made a sign with his eye that  
he had done so1 when ,m4 ,bouillard     
proceeded to verify the fact4 ,being    
requested to move her left arm1 she did 
so4 ,being then requested to move her   
right leg1 she said the whole of her    
right side was paralyzed--she could     
neither move arm nor leg4 ,on this      

experiment the ,commissioners remark3   
,m4 ,berna's programme stated that he   
had the power of paralyzing either a    
single limb or two limbs at once1 we    
chose a single limb1 and there resulted1
 in spite of his will1 a paralysis of   
two limbs4 ,some other experiments1     
equally unsatisfactory1 were tried with 
the same girl4 ,m4 ,berna was soon      
convinced that she had not studied her  
part well1 or was not clever enough to  
reflect any honour upon the science1 and
 he therefore dismissed her4 ,her place 
was filled by a woman1 aged about       
thirty1 also of very delicate health2   
and the following conclusive experiments
 were tried upon her3--  ,the patient   
was thrown into the somnambulic state1  
and her eyes covered with a bandage4 ,at
 the invitation of the magnetiser1 ,m4  
,dubois d',amiens wrote several words   
upon a card1 that the somnambule might  
read them through her bandages1 or      
through her occiput4 ,m4 ,dubois wrote  
the word ,pantagruel1 in perfectly      

distinct roman characters2 then placing 
himself behind the somnambule1 he       
presented the card close to her occiput4
 ,the magnetiser was seated in front of 
the woman and of ,m4 ,dubois1 and could 
not see the writing upon the card4      
,being asked by her magnetiser what was 
behind her head1 she answered1 after    
some hesitation1 that she saw something 
white--something resembling a card--a   
visiting-card4 ,it should be remembered 
that ,m4 ,berna had requested ,m4       
,dubois aloud to take a card and write  
upon it1 and that the patient must have 
heard it1 as it was said in her         
presence4 ,she was next asked if she    
could distinguish what there was on this
 card4 ,she replied ,yes2 there was     
writing on it4--,is it small or large1  
this writing8 inquired the magnetiser4  
,pretty large1 replied she4 ,what is    
written on it8 continued the magnetiser4
 ,wait a little-,i cannot see very      
plain4 ,ah6 there is first an ,m4 ,yes1 
it is a word beginning with an ,m4 ,the 

woman thought it was a visiting-card1   
and guessed that doubtless it would     
begin with the words ,monsieur or       
,madame4 ,m4 ,cornac1 unknown to the    
magnetiser1 who alone put the questions1
 passed a perfectly blank card to ,m4   
,dubois1 who substituted it quietly for 
the one on which he had written the word
 ,pantagruel4 ,the somnambule still     
persisted that she saw a word beginning 
with an ,m4 ,at last1 after some        
efforts1 she added doubtingly that she  
thought she could see two lines of      
writing4 ,she was still thinking of the 
visiting-card1 with a name in one line  
and the address on the other4  ,many    
other experiments of the same kind1 and 
with a similar result1 were tried with  
blank cards2 and it was then determined 
to try her with playing-cards4 ,m4      
,berna had a pack of them on his table1 
and addressing ,m4 ,dubois aloud1 he    
asked him to take one of them and place 
it at the occiput of the somnambule4 ,m4
 ,dubois asked him aloud whether he     

should take a court card4 ,as you       
please1 replied the magnetiser4 ,as ,m4 
,dubois went towards the table1 the idea
 struck him that he would not take      
either a court or a common card1 but a  
perfectly blank card of the same size4  
,neither ,m4 ,berna nor the somnambule  
was aware of the substitution4 ,he then 
placed himself behind her as before1 and
 held the card to her occiput so that   
,m4 ,berna could not see it4 ,m4 ,berna 
then began to magnetise her with all his
 force1 that he might sublimate her into
 the stage of extreme lucidity1 and     
effectually transfer the power of vision
 to her occiput4 ,she was interrogated  
as to what she could see4 ,she          
hesitated2 appeared to struggle with    
herself1 and at last said she saw a     
card4 ,but what do you see on the card8 
,after a little hesitation1 she said she
 could see black and red 7thinking of   
the court card74  ,the ,commissioners   
allowed ,m4 ,berna to continue the      
examination in his own way4 ,after some 

fruitless efforts to get a more         
satisfactory answer from the somnambule1
 he invited ,m4 ,dubois to pass his card
 before her head1 close against the     
bandage covering her eyes4 ,this having 
been done1 the somnambule said she could
 see better4 ,m4 ,berna then began to   
put some leading questions1 and she     
replied that she could see a figure4    
,hereupon1 there were renewed           
solicitations from ,m4 ,berna4 ,the     
somnambule1 on her part1 appeared to be 
making great efforts to glean some      
information from her magnetiser1 and at 
last said that she could distinguish the
 ,knave4 ,but this was not all2 it      
remained for her to say which of the    
four knaves4 ,in answer to further      
inquiries1 she said there was black by  
the side of it4 ,not being contradicted 
at all1 she imagined that she was in the
 right track2 and made1 after much      
pressing1 her final guess1 that it was  
the ,knave of ,clubs4  ,m4 ,berna1      
thinking the experiment finished1 took  

the card from the hands of ,m4 ,dubois1 
and in presence of all the              
,commissioners saw that it was entirely 
blank4 ,blank was his own dismay4  ,as a
 last experiment1 she was tried with a  
silver medal4 ,it was with very great   
difficulty that any answers could be    
elicited from her4 ,m4 ,cornac held the 
object firmly closed in his hand close  
before the bandage over her eyes4 ,she  
first said she saw something round2 she 
then said it was flesh-coloured--then   
yellow--then the colour of gold4 ,it was
 as thick as an onion3 and1 in answer to
 incessant questions1 she said it was   
yellow on one side1 white on the other1 
and had black above it4 ,she was        
thinking1 apparently1 of a gold watch1  
with its white dial and black figures   
for the hours4 ,solicited1 for the last 
time1 to explain herself clearly--to    
say1 at least1 the use of the object and
 its name1 she appeared to be anxious to
 collect all her energies1 and then     
uttered only the word hour4 ,then1 at   

last1 as if suddenly illumined1 she     
cried out that it was to tell the hour4 
,thus ended the sitting4 ,some          
difficulties afterwards arose between   
the ,commissioners and ,m4 ,berna1 who  
wished that a copy of the proces verbal 
should be given him4 ,the ,commissioners
 would not agree2 and ,m4 ,berna1 in his
 turn1 refused to make any fresh        
experiments4 ,it was impossible that any
 investigation could have been conducted
 more satisfactorily than this4 ,the    
report of the ,commissioners was quite  
conclusive2 and ,animal ,magnetism since
 that day lost much of its repute in    
,france4 ,m4 ,dupotet1 with a           
perseverance and ingenuity worthy a     
better cause1 has found a satisfactory  
excuse for the failure of ,m4 ,berna4   
,having taken care in his work not to   
publish the particulars1 he merely      
mentions1 in three lines1 that ,m4      
,berna failed before a committee of the 
,royal ,academy of ,medicine in an      
endeavour to produce some of the higher 

magnetic phenomena4 ,there are a variety
 of incidental circumstances1 says that 
shining light of magnetism1 which it is 
difficult even to enumerate4 ,an        
over-anxiety to produce the effects1 or 
any incidental suggestions that may     
disturb the attention of the magnetiser1
 will often be sufficient to mar the    
successful issue of the experiment4     
,introduction to the ,study of ,animal  
,magnetism1 by ,baron ,dupotet de       
,sennevoy1 ,london1 #ahch1 p4 #aei4     
,such are the miserable shifts to which 
error reduces its votaries6  ,while     
,dupotet thus conveniently forbears to  
dwell upon the unfavourable decision of 
the committee of #ahcg1 let us hear how 
he dilates upon the favourable report of
 the previous committee of #ahce1 and   
how he praises the judgment and the     
impartiality of its members4 ,the       
,academie ,royale de ,medicine1 says he1
 put upon record clear and authenticated
 evidence in favour of ,animal          
,magnetism4 ,the ,commissioners detailed

 circumstantially the facts which they  
witnessed1 and the methods they adopted 
to detect every possible source of      
deception4 ,many of the ,commissioners1 
when they entered on the investigation1 
were not only unfavourable to magnetism1
 but avowedly unbelievers2 so that their
 evidence in any court of justice would 
be esteemed the most unexceptionable    
that could possibly be desired4 ,they   
were inquiring too1 not into any        
speculative or occult theory1 upon which
 there might be a chance of their being 
led away by sophistical representations1
 but they were inquiring into the       
existence of facts only--plain          
demonstrable facts1 which were in their 
own nature palpable to every observer4  
,introduction to the ,study of ,animal  
,magnetism1 p4 #bg4 ,m4 ,dupotet might  
not unreasonably be asked whether the   
very same arguments ought not to be     
applied to the unfavourable report drawn
 up by the able ,m4 ,dubois d',amiens   
and his coadjutors in the last inquiry4 

,if the question were asked1 we should1 
in all probability1 meet some such a    
reply as this3--,true1 they might2 but  
then you must consider the variety of   
incidental circumstances1 too numerous  
to mention6 ,m4 ,berna may have been    
over anxious2 in fact1 the experiments  
must have been spoiled by an incidental 
suggestion6  ,a man with a faith so     
lively as ,m4 ,dupotet was just the     
person to undertake the difficult       
mission of converting the ,english to a 
belief in magnetism4 ,accordingly we    
find that1 very shortly after the last  
decision of the ,academie1 ,m4 ,dupotet 
turned his back upon his native soil and
 arrived in ,england1 loaded with the   
magnetic fluid1 and ready to re-enact   
all the fooleries of his great          
predecessors1 ,mesmer and ,puysegur4    
,since the days of ,perkinism and       
metallic tractors1 until #ahcc1         
magnetism had made no progress1 and     
excited no attention in ,england4 ,mr4  
,colquhoun1 an advocate at the ,scottish

 bar1 published in that year the1 till  
then1 inedited report of the ,french    
commission of #ahca1 together with a    
history of the science1 under the title 
of ,isis ,revelata2 or1 an ,inquiry into
 the ,origin1 ,progress1 and present    
,state of ,animal ,magnetism4 ,mr4      
,colquhoun was a devout believer1 and   
his work was full of enthusiasm4 ,it    
succeeded in awakening some interest    
upon a subject certainly very curious1  
but it made few or no converts4 ,an     
interesting article1 exposing the       
delusion1 appeared in the same year in  
the ,foreign ,quarterly ,review2 and one
 or two medical works noticed the       
subject afterwards1 to scout it and turn
 it into ridicule4 ,the arrival of ,m4  
,dupotet1 in #ahcg1 worked quite a      
revolution1 and raised ,animal          
,magnetism to a height of favour1 as    
great as it had ever attained even in   
,france4  ,he began by addressing       
letters of invitation to the principal  
philosophers and men of science1        

physicians1 editors of newspapers1 and  
others1 to witness the experiments1     
which were at first carried on at his   
own residence1 in ,wigmore-street1      
,cavendish-square4 ,many of them        
accepted the invitation2 and1 though not
 convinced1 were surprised and          
confounded at the singular influence    
which he exercised over the imagination 
of his patients4 ,still1 at first1 his  
success was not flattering4 ,to quote   
his own words1 in the dedication of his 
work to ,earl ,stanhope1 he spent       
several months in fruitless attempts to 
induce the wise men of the country to   
study the phenomena of magnetism4 ,his  
incessant appeals for an examination of 
these novel facts remained unanswered1  
and the press began to declare against  
him4 ,with a saddened heart1 he was     
about to renounce the design he had     
formed of spreading magnetism in        
,england1 and carry to some more        
credulous people the important doctrines
 of which he had made himself the       

apostle4 ,earl ,stanhope1 however1      
encouraged him to remain2 telling him to
 hope for a favourable change in public 
opinion1 and the eventual triumph of    
that truth of which he was the defender4
 ,m4 ,dupotet remained4 ,he was not so  
cruel as to refuse the ,english people a
 sight of his wonders4 ,although they   
might be ungrateful1 his kindness and   
patience should be long enduring4  ,in  
the course of time his perseverance met 
its reward4 ,ladies in search of        
emotions--the hysteric1 the idle1 the   
puling1 and the ultra-sentimental       
crowded to his saloons1 as ladies       
similarly predisposed had crowded to    
,mesmer's sixty years before4 ,peers1   
members of the ,house of ,commons1      
philosophers1 men of letters1 and       
physicians came in great numbers--some  
to believe1 some to doubt1 and a few to 
scoff4 ,m4 ,dupotet continued his       
experiments1 and at last made several   
important converts4 ,most important of  
all for a second ,mesmer1 he found a    

second ,d',eslon4  ,dr4 ,elliotson1 the 
most conspicuous among the converts of  
,dupotet1 was1 like ,d',eslon1 a        
physician in extensive practice--a      
thoroughly honest man1 but with a little
 too much enthusiasm4 ,the parallel     
holds good between them in every        
particular2 for1 as ,d',eslon had done  
before him1 ,dr4 ,elliotson soon threw  
his master into the shade1 and attracted
 all the notice of the public upon      
himself4 ,he was at that time professor 
of the principles and practice of       
medicine at the ,university ,college1   
,london1 and physician to the hospital4 
,in conjunction with ,m4 ,dupotet1 he   
commenced a course of experiments upon  
some of the patients in that            
institution4 ,the reports which were    
published from time to time1 partook so 
largely of the marvellous1 and were     
corroborated by the evidence of men     
whose learning1 judgment1 and integrity 
it was impossible to call in question1  
that the public opinion was staggered4  

,men were ashamed to believe1 and yet   
afraid to doubt2 and the subject at last
 became so engrossing that a committee  
of some of the most distinguished       
members of the medical profession       
undertook to investigate the phenomena1 
and report upon them4  ,in the mean     
time1 ,dr4 ,elliotson and ,m4 ,dupotet  
continued the public exhibition at the  
hospital2 while the credulous gaped with
 wonder1 and only some few daring       
spirits had temerity enough to hint     
about quackery and delusion on the part 
of the doctors1 and imposture on the    
part of the patients4 ,the phenomena    
induced in two young women1 sisters1    
named ,elizabeth and ,jane ,okey1 were  
so extraordinary that they became at    
last the chief1 if not the only proofs  
of the science in ,london4 ,we have not 
been able to meet with any reports of   
these experiments from the pen of an    
unbeliever1 and are therefore compelled 
to rely solely upon the reports         
published under the authority of the    

magnetisers themselves1 and given to the
 world in ,the ,lancet and other medical
 journals4  ,elizabeth ,okey was an     
intelligent girl1 aged about seventeen1 
and was admitted into the ,university   
,college hospital1 suffering under      
attacks of epilepsy4 ,she was magnetised
 repeatedly by ,m4 ,dupotet in the      
autumn of #ahcg1 and afterwards by ,dr4 
,elliotson at the hospital1 during the  
spring and summer of #ahch4 ,by the     
usual process1 she was very easily      
thrown into a state of deep unconscious 
sleep1 from which she was aroused into  
somnambulism and delirium4 ,in her      
waking state she was a modest           
well-behaved girl1 and spoke but little4
 ,in the somnambulic state1 she appeared
 quite another being2 evinced           
considerable powers of mimicry2 sang    
comic songs2 was obedient to every      
motion of her magnetiser2 and was       
believed to have the power of           
prophesying the return of her           
illness--the means of cure1 and even the

 death or recovery of other patients in 
the ward4  ,mesmer had often pretended  
in his day that he could impart the     
magnetic power to pieces of metal or    
wood1 strings of silk or cord1 c4 ,the  
reader will remember his famous battery1
 and the no less famous tree of ,m4 de  
,puysegur4 ,during the experiments upon 
,okey1 it was soon discovered that all  
the phenomena could be produced in her1 
if she touched any object that had been 
previously mesmerised by the will or the
 touch of her magnetiser4 ,at a sitting1
 on the #eth of ,july #ahch1 it was     
mentioned that ,okey1 some short time   
previously1 and while in the state of   
magnetic lucidity1 had prophesied that1 
if mesmerised tea were placed in each of
 her hands1 no power in nature would be 
able to awake her until after the lapse 
of a quarter of an hour4 ,the experiment
 was tried accordingly4 ,tea which had  
been touched by the magnetiser was      
placed in each hand1 and she immediately
 fell asleep4 ,after ten minutes1 the   

customary means to awaken her were      
tried1 but without effect4 ,she was     
quite insensible to all external        
impressions4 ,in a quarter of an hour1  
they were tried with redoubled energy1  
but still in vain4 ,she was left alone  
for six minutes longer2 but she still   
slept1 and it was found quite impossible
 to wake her4 ,at last some one present 
remarked that this wonderful sleep      
would1 in all probability1 last till the
 tea was removed from her bands4 ,the   
suggestion was acted upon1 the tea was  
taken away1 and she awoke in a few      
seconds4 ,lancet1 vol4 ii4 #ahcg-h1 p4  
#ehe4  ,on the #abth of ,july1 just a   
week afterwards1 numerous experiments as
 to the capability of different         
substances for conveying the magnetic   
influence were tried upon her4 ,a slip  
of crumpled paper1 magnetised by being  
held in the hand1 produced no effect4 ,a
 penknife magnetised her immediately4 ,a
 piece of oilskin had no influence4 ,a  
watch placed on her palm sent her to    

sleep immediately1 if the metal part    
were first placed in contact with her2  
the glass did not affect her so quickly4
 ,as she was leaving the room1 a        
sleeve-cuff made of brown-holland1 which
 had been accidentally magnetised by a  
spectator1 stopped her in mid career1   
and sent her fast to sleep4 ,it was also
 found that1 on placing the point of her
 finger on a sovereign which had been   
magnetised1 she was immediately         
stupified4 ,a pile of sovereigns        
produced sleep2 but if they were so     
placed that she could touch the surface 
of each coin1 the sleep became intense  
and protracted4  ,still more            
extraordinary circumstances were related
 of this patient4 ,in her state of      
magnetic sleep1 she said that a tall    
black man1 or negro1 attended her1 and  
prompted the answers she was to give to 
the various perplexing questions that   
were put to her4 ,it was also asserted  
that she could use the back of her hand 
as an organ of vision4 ,the first time  

this remarkable phenomenon was said to  
have been exhibited was a few days prior
 to the #eth of ,july4 ,on the latter   
day1 being in what was called a state of
 loquacious somnambulism1 she was asked 
by ,dr4 ,elliotson's assistant whether  
she had an eye in her hand4 ,she replied
 that it was a light there1 and not an  
eye4 ,have you got a light anywhere     
else8--,no1 none anywhere else4--,can   
you see with the inside as well as the  
out8--,yes2 but very little with the    
inside4  ,on the #ith of ,july bread    
with butter was given to her1 and while 
eating it she drank some magnetised     
water1 and falling into a stupor dropped
 her food from her hand and frowned4    
,the eyes1 partially closed1 had the    
abstracted aspect that always           
accompanies stupefaction4 ,the          
right-hand was open1 the palm upwards2  
the left1 with its back presented       
anteriorly1 was relaxed and curved4 ,the
 bread being lost1 she moved her        
left-hand about convulsively until right

 over the bread1 when a clear view being
 obtained1 the hand turned suddenly     
round and clutched it eagerly4 ,her hand
 was afterwards wrapped in a            
handkerchief2 but then she could not see
 with it1 and laid it on her lap with an
 expression of despair4  ,these are a   
few only of the wonderful feats of      
,elizabeth ,okey4 ,jane was not quite so
 clever2 but she nevertheless managed to
 bewilder the learned men almost as much
 as her sister4 ,a magnetised sovereign 
having been placed on the floor1 ,jane1 
then in the state of delirium1 was      
directed to stoop and pick it up4 ,she  
stooped1 and having raised it about     
three inches1 was fixed in a sound sleep
 in that constrained position4 ,dr4     
,elliotson pointed his finger at her1 to
 discharge some more of the mesmeric    
fluid into her1 when her hand           
immediately relaxed its grasp of the    
coin1 and she re-awoke into the state of
 delirium1 exclaiming1 ,god bless my    
soul6  ,it is now time to mention the   

famous gold-chain experiment which was  
performed at the hospital upon          
,elizabeth ,okey1 in the presence of    
,count ,flahault1 ,dr4 ,lardner1 ,mr4   
,knatchbull the professor of ,arabic in 
the ,university of ,oxford1 and many    
other gentlemen4 ,the object of the     
experiment was to demonstrate that1 when
 ,okey held one end of a gold chain1 and
 ,dr4 ,elliotson1 or any other          
magnetiser1 the other1 the magnetic     
fluid would travel through the chain1   
and1 after the lapse of a minute1       
stupify the patient4 ,a long gold chain 
having been twice placed around her     
neck1 ,dr4 ,elliotson at once threw her 
into a state of stupor4 ,it was then    
found that1 if the intermediate part of 
the chain were twisted around a piece of
 wood1 or a roll of paper1 the passage  
of the fluid would be checked1 and      
stupor would not so speedily ensue4 ,if 
the chain were removed1 she might be    
easily thrown into the state of         
delirium2 when she would sing at the    

request of her magnetiser2 and1 if the  
chain were then unrolled1 her voice     
would be arrested in the most gradual   
manner2 its loudness first              
diminishing--the tune then becoming     
confused1 and finally lost altogether4  
,the operations of her intellect could  
be checked1 while the organs of sound   
would still continue to exert           
themselves4 ,for instance1 while her    
thoughts were occupied on the poetry and
 air of ,lord ,byron's song1 ,the ,maid 
of ,athens1 the chain was unrolled2 and 
when she had reached the line1 ,my life1
 ,i love you6 the stupor had increased2 
a cold statue-like aspect crept over the
 face--the voice sank--the limbs became 
rigid--the memory was gone--the faculty 
of forecasting the thoughts had         
departed1 and but one portion of        
capacity remained--that of repeating    
again and again1 perhaps twenty times1  
the line and music which had last issued
 from her lips1 without pause1 and in   
the proper time1 until the magnetiser   

stopped her voice altogether1 by further
 unrolling the chain and stupifying her4
 ,on another trial1 she was stopped in  
the comic song1 ,sir ,frog he would a   
wooing go1 when she came to the line1   
,whether his mother would let him or no2
  while her left hand outstretched1 with
 the chain in it1 was moving up and     
down1 and the right toe was tapping the 
time on the floor2 and with these words 
and actions she persevered for fifty    
repetitions1 until the winding of the   
chain re-opened her faculties1 when she 
finished the song4 ,lancet1 vol4 ii4    
#ahcg-h1 p4#fag4  ,the report from which
 we have extracted the above passage    
further informed the public and the     
medical profession1 and expected them to
 believe1 that1 when this species of    
stupefaction was produced while she was 
employed in any action1 the action was  
repeated as long as the mesmeric        
influence lasted4 ,for instance1 it was 
asserted that she was once deprived of  
the motion of every part of her body1   

except the right forefinger1 with which 
she was rubbing her chin2 and that1 when
 thrown into the trance1 she continued  
rubbing her chin for several minutes1   
until she was unmagnetised1 when she    
ceased4 ,a similar result was obtained  
when she was smoothing down her hair2   
and at another time when she was        
imitating the laughter of the           
spectators1 excited beyond control by   
her clever mimicry4 ,at another time she
 was suddenly thrown into the state of  
delirious stupor while pronouncing the  
word you1 of which she kept prolonging  
the sound for several minutes1 with a   
sort of vibrating noise1 until she was  
awakened4 ,at another time1 when a      
magnetised sovereign was given to her1  
wrapped up in paper1 she caught it in   
her hand1 and turned it round flatwise  
between her fingers1 saying that it was 
wrapped up very neatly indeed4 ,the     
mesmeric influence caught her in the    
remark1 which she kept repeating over   
and over again1 all the while twirling  

the sovereign round and round until the 
influence in the coin had evaporated4   
,we are also told of a remarkable       
instance of the force of the magnetic   
power4 ,while ,elizabeth ,okey was one  
day employed in writing1 a sovereign    
which had been imbued with the fluid was
 placed upon her boot4 ,in half a minute
 her leg was paralyzed--rooted to the   
floor--perfectly immovable at the       
joints1 and visited1 apparently1 with   
pain so intense that the girl writhed in
 agony4 ,the muscles of the leg were    
found1 says the report1 as rigid and    
stiff as if they had been carved in     
wood4 ,when the sovereign was removed1  
the pain left her in a quarter of a     
minute4 ,on a subsequent day1 a         
mesmerised sovereign was placed in her  
left hand as it hung at her side1 with  
the palm turned slightly outwards4 ,the 
hand and arm were immediately           
paralyzed--fixed with marble-like       
firmness4 ,no general stupor having     
occurred1 she was requested to move her 

arm2 but she could not lift it a        
hair's-breadth from her side4 ,on       
another occasion1 when in a state of    
delirium1 in which she had remained     
three hours1 she was asked to describe  
her feelings when she handled any       
magnetised object and went off into the 
stupor4 ,she had never before1 although 
several times asked1 given any          
information upon the subject4 ,she now  
replied that1 at the moment of losing   
her senses through any manipulations1   
she experienced a sensation of opening  
in the crown of her head2 that she never
 knew when it closed again2 but that her
 eyes seemed to become exceedingly      
large2--three times as big as before4   
,on recovering from this state1 she     
remembered nothing that had taken place 
in the interval1 whether that interval  
were hours or days2 her only sensation  
was that of awakening1 and of something 
being lifted from her eyes4  ,the       
regular publication of these marvellous 
experiments1 authenticated as they were 

by many eminent names1 naturally excited
 the public attention in an extreme     
degree4 ,animal ,magnetism became the   
topic of discussion in every            
circle--politics and literature were for
 a time thrown into the shade1 so       
strange were the facts1 or so wonderful 
was the delusion4 ,the public journals  
contented themselves in many instances  
with a mere relation of the results1    
without giving any opinion as to the    
cause4 ,one of them which gave a series 
of reports upon the subject1 thus       
described the girl1 and avowed its      
readiness to believe all that was       
related of her4 ,morning ,post1 ,march  
#b1 #ahch4 ,her appearance as she sits1 
as pale and almost as still as a corpse1
 is strangely awful4 ,she whistles to   
oblige ,dr4 ,elliotson3 an incredulous  
bystander presses his fingers upon her  
lips2 she does not appear conscious of  
the nature of the interruption2 but when
 asked to continue1 replies in childish 
surprise1 'it can't4' ,this state of    

magnetic semi-existence will continue we
 know not how long4 ,she has continued  
in it for twelve days at a time1 and    
when awakened to real life forgets all  
that has occurred in the magnetic one4  
,can this be deception8 ,we have        
conversed with the poor child her       
ordinary state as she sat by the fire in
 her ward1 suffering from the headach1  
which persecutes her almost continually 
when not under the soothing fluence of  
the magnetic operation1 and we confess  
we never beheld anybody less likely to  
prove an impostor4 ,we have seen        
,professor ,faraday exerting his acute  
and sagacious powers for an hour        
together1 in the endeavour to detect    
some physical discrepancy in her        
performance1 or elicit some blush of    
mental confusion by his naive and       
startling remarks4 ,but there was       
nothing which could be detected1 and the
 professor candidly confessed that the  
matter was beyond his philosophy to     
unravel4  ,notwithstanding this sincere1

 and on the point of integrity1         
unimpeachable evidence in her favour2   
notwithstanding that she appeared to    
have no motives for carrying on so      
extraordinary and long-continued a      
deception1 the girl was an impostor1 and
 all these wise1 learned1 and           
contemplative men her dupes4 ,it was    
some time1 however1 before this fact was
 clearly established1 and the delusion  
dissipated by the clear light of truth4 
,in the mean time various other         
experiments on the efficacy of the      
supposed magnetic power were tried in   
various parts of ,england2 but the      
country did not furnish another         
epileptic girl so clever as ,elizabeth  
,okey4 ,an exhibition of the kind was   
performed on a girl named ,sarah        
,overton1 at the workhouse of the parish
 of ,st4 ,martin's-in-the-,fields4 ,the 
magnetiser on this occasion was ,mr4    
,bainbridge1 the parish surgeon4 ,it is 
but justice to him to state1 that he    
conducted the experiments with the      

utmost fairness1 and did not pretend to 
produce any of the wondrous and         
incredible phenomena of other           
practitioners4 ,this girl1 whose age was
 about twenty1 had long been subject to 
epileptic fits1 and appeared remarkably 
simple and modest in her manners and    
appearance4 ,she was brought into the   
room and placed in a chair4 ,about      
twenty gentlemen were present4 ,mr4     
,bainbridge stationed himself behind1   
and pointed his fingers at her brain1   
while his assistant in front made the   
magnetic passes before her eyes1 and    
over her body4 ,it cannot be said that  
her imagination was not at work2 for she
 had been previously magnetised1 and was
 brought in with her eyes open1 and in  
complete possession of all her          
faculties4 ,no means had been taken to  
prevent interruption during the sitting2
 new visiters continually arrived1 and  
the noise of the opening and shutting of
 the door repeatedly called from ,mr4   
,bainbridge a request that all should be

 kept silent4 ,the girl herself         
constantly raised her head to see who   
was coming in2 but still1 in direct     
contradiction to ,m4 ,dupotet1 and1     
indeed1 all the magnetisers1 who have   
repeated over and over again1 that      
interruption destroys the magnetic      
power1 she fell into a deep sleep at the
 end of about twelve minutes4 ,in this  
state1 which is that called ,mesmeric   
,coma1 she was quite insensible4 ,though
 pulled violently by the hair1 and      
pricked on the arm with a pin1 she      
showed no signs of consciousness or     
feeling4 ,in a short time afterwards1   
she was awakened into the somnambulic or
 delirious state1 when she began to     
converse freely with the persons around 
her1 but more especially with her       
magnetiser4 ,she would sing if required1
 and even dance in obedience to his     
command1 and pretended to see him       
although her eyes were closely          
blindfolded with a handkerchief4 ,she   
seemed to have a constant tendency to   

fall back into the state of coma1 and   
had to be aroused with violence every   
two or three minutes to prevent a       
relapse4 ,a motion of the hand before   
her face was sufficient to throw her1 in
 the middle of a song1 into this        
insensible state2 but it was observed   
particularly that she fell at regular   
intervals1 whether any magnetic passes  
were made at her or not4 ,it was hinted 
aloud to a person present that he should
 merely bend his body before her1 and   
she would become insensible1 and fall to
 the ground4 ,the pass was made1 and she
 fell accordingly into the arms of a    
medical gentleman1 who stood behind     
ready to receive her4 ,the girl having  
been again aroused into the state of    
delirium1 another person1 still audibly1
 was requested to do the same4 ,he did  
not2 but the girl fell as before4 ,the  
experiments were sufficient to convince 
the author that one human being could   
indubitably exercise a very wonderful   
influence over another2 but that        

imagination only1 and not the mesmeric  
fluid1 was the great agent by which     
these phenomena could be produced in    
persons of strong faith and weak bodies4
  ,some gentlemen present were desirous 
of trying whether any of the higher     
mesmeric states1 such as that of        
lucidity and clairvoyance could be      
produced4 ,mr4 ,bainbridge was willing  
to allow the experiment to be made1 but 
previously expressed his own doubts upon
 the subject4 ,a watch was then put into
 her bosom1 the dial plate and glass    
against her skin1 to ascertain whether  
she could see without the intervention  
of the organs of sight4 ,she was asked  
what hour it was2 and was promised a    
shilling if she would tell by the watch 
which had been placed in her bosom4 ,she
 held out her hand for the shilling1 and
 received it with great delight4 ,she   
was then asked if she could see the     
watch8 ,she said no--not a watch2 she   
could see something--something that was 
very pretty indeed4 ,come1 come1 ,sally1

 said ,mr4 ,bainbridge1 you must not be 
so stupid2 rouse up1 girl1 and tell us  
what o'clock it is1 and ,i'll give you  
another shilling6 ,the girl at this time
 seemed to be relapsing into a deep     
sleep2 but on being shaken1 aroused     
herself with a convulsive start4 ,in    
reply to further questions1 she said1   
she could see a clock1 a very pretty    
clock1 indeed6 ,she was again asked1    
five or six times1 what the hour was3   
she at last replied that it was ten     
minutes to two4 ,the watch being then   
taken out of her bosom1 it was found to 
be on the stroke of two4 ,every one     
present1 including the magnetiser1      
confessed that there was nothing        
wonderful in the conjecture she had     
hazarded4 ,she knew perfectly well what 
hour it was before she was brought into 
the ward1 as there was a large clock in 
the workhouse1 and a bell which rang at 
dinner time2 she calculated mentally the
 interval that had since elapsed1 and   
guessed accordingly4 ,the same watch was

 afterwards advanced four or five hours1
 and put into her bosom without a word  
being said in her hearing4 ,on being    
again asked what o'clock it was by that 
watch1 and promised another shilling if 
she would tell1 she still replied that  
it was near two--the actual time4 ,thus1
 as ,mr4 ,bainbridge had predicted1 the 
experiment came to nothing4 ,the whole  
case of this girl offered a striking    
instance of the power of imagination1   
but no proof whatever of the supposed   
existence of the magnetic fluid4  ,the  
,medical ,committee of the ,university  
,college ,hospital took alarm at a very 
early period at the injury which might  
be done to that ,institution1 by the    
exhibitions of ,okey and her            
magnetisers4 ,a meeting was held in     
,june #ahch1 at which ,dr4 ,elliotson   
was not present1 to take into           
consideration the reports of the        
experiments that had been published in  
the ,medical ,journals4 ,resolutions    
were then passed to the effect1 that    

,dr4 ,elliotson should be requested to  
refrain from further public exhibitions 
of mesmerism2 and1 at the same time1    
stating the wish of the ,committee not  
to interfere with its private employment
 as a remedial agent1 if he thought it  
would be efficacious upon any of the    
patients of the ,institution4 ,dr4      
,elliotson replied1 that no             
consideration should prevent him from   
pursuing the investigation of ,animal   
,magnetism2 but that he had no desire to
 make a public exhibition of it4 ,he had
 only given lectures and demonstrations 
when numbers of scientific gentlemen    
were present2 he still continued to     
receive numerous letters from learned   
and eminent men1 entreating permission  
to witness the phenomena2 but if the    
,committee willed it1 he should admit no
 person without their sanction4 ,he     
shortly afterwards sent a list of the   
names of individuals who were anxious to
 witness the experiments4 ,the          
,committee returned it to him unread1   

with the reply that they could not      
sanction any exhibition that was so     
entirely foreign to the objects of the  
,hospital4 ,in answer to this1 ,dr4     
,elliotson reiterated his full belief in
 the doctrines of ,animal ,magnetism1   
and his conviction that his experiments 
would ultimately throw a light upon the 
operations of nature1 which would equal1
 if not exceed1 that elicited by the    
greatest discoveries of by-gone ages4   
,the correspondence dropped here2 and   
the experiments continued as usual4     
,the scene1 however1 was drawing to a   
close4 ,on the #beth of ,august1 a      
notice was published in the ,lancet1 to 
the effect1 that some experiments had   
been performed on the girls ,elizabeth  
and ,jane ,okey1 at the house of ,mr4   
,wakley1 a report of which was only     
withheld in the hope that the ,committee
 of ,members of the ,medical            
,profession1 then sitting to investigate
 the phenomena of mesmerism1 would      
publish their report of what they had   

witnessed4 ,it was further stated1 that 
whether that ,committee did or did not  
publish their report1 the result of the 
experiments at ,mr4 ,wakley's house     
should certainly be made known in the   
next number of that journal4            
,accordingly1 on the #ast of ,september 
appeared a statement1 which overthrew1  
in the most complete manner1 the        
delusion of mesmerism4 ,nothing could   
have been better conducted than these   
experiments2 nothing could be more      
decisive of the fact1 that all the      
phenomena were purely the results of the
 excited imaginations of the girls1     
aided in no slight degree by their      
wilful deception4  ,the first           
experiments were performed on the #afth 
of ,august1 in the presence of ,mr4     
,wakley1 ,m4 ,dupotet1 ,dr4 ,elliotson1 
,dr4 ,richardson1 ,mr4 ,herring1 ,mr4   
,clarke1 and ,mr4 ,g4 ,mills the writer 
of the published reports of the         
experiments at the ,university ,college 
,hospital4 ,dr4 ,elliotson had said1    

that nickel was capable of retaining and
 transmitting the magnetic fluid in an  
extraordinary degree2 but that lead     
possessed no such virtues4 ,the effects 
of the nickel1 he was confident1 would  
be quite astounding2 but that lead might
 always be applied with impunity4 ,a    
piece of nickel was produced by the     
,doctor1 about three quarters of an     
ounce in weight1 together with a piece  
of lead of the same shape and           
smoothness1 but somewhat larger4        
,elizabeth ,okey was seated in a chair2 
and1 by a few passes and manipulations1 
was thrown into the state of ecstatic   
delirium4 ,a piece of thick pasteboard  
was then placed in front of her face1   
and held in that situation by two of the
 spectators1 so that she could not see  
what was passing either below or in     
front of her4 ,mr4 ,wakley having       
received both the nickel and the lead1  
seated himself opposite the girl1 and   
applied the lead to each hand           
alternately1 but in such a manner as to 

lead her to believe that both metals had
 been used4 ,no effect was produced4    
,the nickel magnetised by ,dr4          
,elliotson was1 after a pause1 applied  
in a similar manner4 ,no results        
followed4 ,after another pause1 the lead
 was several times applied1 and then    
again the nickel4 ,after the last       
application of the nickel1 the face of  
the patient became violently flushed1   
the eyes were convulsed into a startling
 squint1 she fell back in the chair1 her
 breathing was hurried1 her limbs rigid1
 and her back bent in the form of a bow4
 ,she remained in this state for a      
quarter of an hour4  ,this experiment   
was not considered a satisfactory proof 
of the magnetic powers of the nickel2   
and ,dr4 ,elliotson suggested that1 in  
the second experiment1 that metal should
 alone be tried4 ,mr4 ,wakley was again 
the operator2 but1 before commencing1 he
 stated privately to ,mr4 ,clarke1 that 
instead of using nickel only1 he would  
not employ the nickel at all4 ,mr4      

,clarke1 unseen by any person present1  
took the piece of nickel2 put it into   
his waistcoat pocket2 and walked to the 
window1 where he remained during the    
whole of the experiment4 ,mr4 ,wakley   
again sat down1 employing both hands1   
but placing his fingers in such a       
manner1 that it was impossible for any  
person to see what substance he held4   
,presently1 on applying his left hand1  
the girl's vision being still obstructed
 by the pasteboard1 ,mr4 ,herring1 who  
was standing near1 said in a whisper1   
and with much sincerity1 ,take care1    
don't apply the nickel too strongly4    
,immediately the face of the girl became
 violently red1 her eyes were fixed in  
an intense squint1 she fell back        
convulsively in her chair1 and all the  
previous symptoms were produced more    
powerfully than before4 ,dr4 ,elliotson 
observed that the effects were most     
extraordinary2 that no other metal than 
nickel could produce them1 and that they
 presented a beautiful series of        

phenomena4 ,this paroxysm lasted half an
 hour4 ,mr4 ,wakley retired with ,dr4   
,elliotson and the other gentlemen into 
an adjoining room1 and convinced them   
that he had used no nickel at all1 but a
 piece of lead and a farthing4  ,this   
experiment was twice repeated with the  
same results4 ,a third trial was made   
with the nickel1 but no effect was      
produced4  ,on the succeeding day the   
experiments were repeated upon both the 
sisters1 chiefly with mesmerised water  
and sovereigns4 ,the investigation      
occupied about five hours1 and the      
following were the results3--  #a4 ,six 
wine glasses1 filled with water         
unmesmerised1 were placed on a table1   
and ,jane ,okey being called in1 was    
requested to drink from each of them    
successively4 ,she did so1 and no effect
 was produced4  #b4 ,the same six       
glasses stood on the table1 the water in
 the fourth having been subjected for a 
long time to the supposed magnetic      
influence4 ,she was requested in like   

manner to drink of these4 ,she did so1  
and again no effect was produced1       
although1 according to the doctrine of  
the magnetisers1 she ought to have been 
immediately fixed on drinking of the    
fourth4  #c4 ,in this experiment the    
position of the glasses was changed4    
,there was no result4  #d4 ,was a       
repetition of the foregoing4 ,no result4
  #e4 ,the water in all the glasses was 
subjected to the supposed magnetic      
influence from the fingers of ,dr4      
,elliotson1 until1 in his opinion1 it   
was strongly magnetised4 ,still no      
result4  #f4 ,the glasses were filled up
 with fresh water unmesmerised4 ,no     
result4  #g4 ,the water was strongly    
magnetised in each glass1 and the girl  
emptied them all4 ,no result4  ,it would
 be needless to go through the whole    
series of experiments4 ,the results may 
be briefly stated4 ,sovereigns          
unmesmerised threw the girls into       
convulsions1 or fixed them4 ,mesmerised 
sovereigns sometimes did and sometimes  

did not produce these symptoms4         
,elizabeth ,okey became repeatedly fixed
 when drinking unmagnetised water2 while
 that which had been subjected to the   
powers of a supposed magnetic battery1  
produced no results4 ,altogether        
twenty-nine experiments were tried1     
which convinced every one present1      
except ,dr4 ,elliotson1 that ,animal    
,magnetism was a delusion1 that the     
girls were of very exciteable           
imaginations1 and arrant impostors4     
,their motives for carrying on so       
extraordinary a deception have often    
been asked4 ,the question is easily     
answered4 ,poor girls1 unknown and      
unnoticed1 or1 if noticed1 perhaps      
despised1 they found themselves all at  
once the observed of all observers1 by  
the really remarkable symptoms of their 
disease1 which it required no aid from  
magnetism to produce4 ,flattered by the 
oft-repeated experiments and constant   
attentions of doctors and learned men1  
who had begun by deluding themselves1   

they imagined themselves persons of vast
 importance1 and encouraged by degrees  
the whims of their physicians1 as the   
means of prolonging the consideration   
they so unexpectedly enjoyed4 ,constant 
practice made them at last all but      
perfect in the parts they were          
performing2 and they failed at last1 not
 from a want of ingenuity1 or of a most 
wonderful power over their own minds1   
and by their minds upon their bodies1   
but from the physical impossibility of  
seeing through a thick pasteboard1 or   
into the closed hands of ,mr4 ,wakley4  
,the exposure that was made was complete
 and decisive4 ,from that day forth1    
magnetism in ,england has hid its       
diminished head1 and affronted no longer
 the common sense of the age4 ,m4       
,dupotet is no more heard of1 the girls 
,okey afford no more either wonder or   
amusement by their clever acting1 and   
reason has resumed her sway in the      
public mind4  ,a few more circumstances 
remain to be stated4 ,elizabeth ,okey   

left the hospital2 but was re-admitted  
some weeks afterwards1 labouring under  
ischuria1 a fresh complaint1 unconnected
 with her former malady4 ,as experiments
 in magnetism were still tried upon her 
privately1 notwithstanding the recent   
exposure and the all but universal      
derision of the public1 the ,house      
,committee of the hospital1 early in    
,december1 met to consider the          
expediency of expelling the girl4 ,dr4  
,elliotson1 on that occasion1 expressed 
his opinion that it was necessary to    
retain her in the hospital1 as she was  
too ill to be discharged4 ,it was then  
elicited from the nurse1 who was        
examined by the ,committee1 that ,okey1 
when in the state of magnetic delirium1 
was in the habit of prophesying the     
death or recovery of the patients in the
 ward2 that1 with the consent of ,dr4   
,elliotson1 she had been led in the     
twilight into the men's ward1 and had   
prophesied in a similar manner2 her     
predictions being taken down in writing1

 and given in a sealed paper to the     
apothecary1 to be opened after a certain
 time1 that it might be seen whether    
they were verified4 ,dr4 ,elliotson did 
not deny the fact4 ,the nurse also      
stated more particularly the manner in  
which the prophecies were delivered4    
,she said that1 on approaching the bed  
of a certain patient1 ,okey gave a      
convulsive shudder1 exclaiming that     
,great ,jacky was sitting on the        
bedclothes6 ,on being asked to explain  
herself1 she said that ,great ,jacky was
 the angel of death4 ,at the bedside of 
another patient she shuddered slightly1 
and said ,little ,jacky was there6 ,dr4 
,elliotson did not altogether discredit 
the predictions2 but imagined they might
 ultimately be verified by the death or 
recovery of the patient4 ,upon the minds
 of the patients themselves1 enfeebled  
as they were by disease and suffering1  
the worst effects were produced4 ,one   
man's death was accelerated by the      
despondency it occasioned1 and the      

recovery of others was seriously        
impeded4  ,when these facts became      
known1 the ,council of the ,college     
requested the ,medical ,committee to    
discharge ,okey and prevent any further 
exhibitions of ,animal ,magnetism in the
 wards4 ,the latter part of this request
 having been communicated to ,dr4       
,elliotson1 he immediately sent in his  
resignation4 ,a successor was afterwards
 appointed in the person of ,dr4        
,copland4 ,at his inaugural lecture the 
students of the college manifested a    
riotous disposition1 called repeatedly  
for their old instructor1 and refused to
 allow the lecture to proceed2 but it   
appears the disturbance was caused by   
their respect and affection for ,dr4    
,elliotson individually1 and not from   
any participation in his ideas about    
magnetism4  ,extravagant as the vagaries
 of the ,english professors of magnetism
 may appear1 they are actual common     
sense in comparison with the aberrations
 of the ,germans4 ,the latter have      

revived all the exploded doctrines of   
the ,rosicrucians2 and in an age which  
is called enlightened1 have disinterred 
from the rubbish of antiquity1 the      
wildest superstitions of their          
predecessors1 and built upon them       
theories more wild and startling than   
anything before attempted or witnessed  
among mankind4 ,paracelsus and ,bohmen1 
,borri and ,meyer1 with their strange   
heterogeneous mixture of alchymy and    
religion1 but paved the way for the     
stranger1 and even more extravagant     
mixture of magnetism and religion1 as   
now practised in ,germany4 ,magnetism1  
it is believed1 is the key of all       
knowledge1 and opens the door to those  
forbidden regions where all the wonders 
of ,god's works are made clear to the   
mind of man4 ,the magnetic patient is   
possessed of all gifts--can converse    
with myriads of spirits1 and even with  
,god himself--be transported with       
greater rapidity than the lightning's   
flash to the moon or the stars1 and see 

their inhabitants1 and hold converse    
with them on the wonders and beauties of
 their separate spheres1 and the power  
and goodness of the ,god who made them4 
,time and space are to them as if       
annihilated--nothing is hidden from     
them--past1 present1 or future4 ,they   
divine the laws by which the universe is
 upheld1 and snatch the secrets of the  
,creator from the darkness in which1 to 
all other men1 it is enveloped4 ,for the
 last twenty or thirty years these      
daring and blasphemous notions have     
flourished in rank luxuriance2 and men  
of station in society1 learning1 and    
apparent good sense in all the usual    
affairs of life1 have publicly given in 
their adhesion1 and encouraged the      
doctrine by their example1 or spread it 
abroad by their precepts4 ,that the     
above summary of their tenets may not be
 deemed an exaggeration we enter into   
particulars1 and refer the incredulous  
that human folly in the present age     
could ever be pushed so far1 to chapter 

and verse for every allegation4  ,in a  
work published in ,germany in #ahag1 by 
,j4 ,a4 ,l4 ,richter1 entitled          
,considerations on ,animal ,magnetism1  
the author states that in magnetism is  
to be found the solution of the enigmas 
of human existence1 and particularly the
 enigmas of ,christianity1 on the mystic
 and obscure parts of which it throws a 
light which permits us to gaze clearly  
on the secrets of the mystery4          
,wolfart's ,annals of ,animal ,magnetism
 abound with similar passages2 and      
,kluge's celebrated work is written in  
the same spirit4 ,such is the wonderful 
sympathy1 says the latter1 between the  
magnetiser and the somnambulist that he 
has known the latter to vomit and be    
purged in consequence of medicine which 
the former had taken4 ,whenever he put  
pepper on his tongue1 or drank wine1 the
 patient could taste these things       
distinctly on her palate4 ,but ,kerner's
 history of the case of ,madame ,hauffe1
 the famous magnetic woman1 ,seer or    

,prophetess of ,prevorst1 ,will give a  
more complete and melancholy proof of   
the sad wanderings of these ,german men 
of science1 than any random selections  
we might make from their voluminous     
works4 ,this work was published in two  
volumes1 and the authenticity of its    
details supported by ,gorres1           
,eschenmeyer1 and other men of character
 and reputation in ,germany3 it is said 
to have had an immense sale4 ,she       
resided in the house of ,kerner1 at     
,weinsberg2 and being weak and sickly1  
was very easily thrown into a state of  
somnambulism4 ,she belonged1 says       
,kerner1 to a world of spirits2 she was 
half spirit herself2 she belonged to the
 region beyond death1 in which she      
already half existed4 99 99 99 ,her body
 clothed her spirit like a thin veil4 99
 99 99 ,she was small and slightly made1
 had an ,oriental expression of         
countenance1 and the piercing eyes of a 
prophet1 the gleams of which were       
increased in their power and beauty by  

her long dark eyebrows and eyelashes4   
,she was a flower of light1 living upon 
sunbeams4 99 99 99 ,her spirit often    
seemed to be separated from her frame4  
,the spirits of all things1 of which    
mankind in general have no perception1  
were perceptible to and operated upon   
her1 more particularly the spirits of   
metals1 herbs1 men1 and animals4 ,all   
imponderable matters1 even the rays of  
light1 had an effect upon her when she  
was magnetised4 ,the smell of flint was 
very agreeable to her4 ,salt laid on her
 hand caused a flow of saliva3 rock     
crystal laid on the pit of her stomach  
produced rigidity of the whole body4    
,red grapes produced certain effects1 if
 placed in her hands2 white grapes      
produced different effects4 ,the bone of
 an elk would throw her into an         
epileptic fit4 ,the tooth of a mammoth  
produced a feeling of sluggishness4 ,a  
spider's web rolled into a ball produced
 a prickly feeling in the hands1 and a  
restlessness in the whole body4         

,glow-worms threw her into the magnetic 
sleep4 ,music somnambulised her4 ,when  
she wanted to be cheerful1 she requested
 ,kerner to magnetise the water she     
drank1 by playing the ,jew's-harp4 ,she 
used to say in her sleep1 ,magnetise the
 water by seven vibrations of the harp4 
,if she drank water magnetised in this  
manner1 she was constrained             
involuntarily to pour forth her soul in 
song4 ,the eyes of many men threw her   
into the state of somnambulism4 ,she    
said that in those eyes there was a     
spiritual spark1 which was the mirror of
 the soul4 ,if a magnetised rod were    
laid on her right eye1 every object on  
which she gazed appeared magnified4  ,it
 was by this means that she was enabled 
to see the inhabitants of the moon4 ,she
 said1 that on the left side of the     
moon1 the inhabitants were great        
builders1 and much happier than those on
 the right side4 ,i often see1 said she 
to her magnetiser1 many spirits with    
whom ,i do not come into contact4       

,others come to me1 and ,i speak to     
them2 and they often spend months in my 
company4 ,i hear and see other things at
 the same time2 but ,i cannot turn my   
eyes from the spirits2 they are in      
magnetic rapport with me4 ,they look    
like clouds1 thin1 but not transparent2 
though1 at first1 they seem so4 ,still1 
,i never saw one which cast a shadow4   
,their form is similar to that which    
they possessed when alive2 but          
colourless1 or grey4 ,they wear         
clothing2 and it appears as if made of  
clouds1 also colourless and misty grey4 
,the brighter and better spirits wear   
long garments1 which hang in graceful   
folds1 with belts around their waists4  
,the expression of their features is sad
 and solemn4 ,their eyes are bright1    
like fire2 but none of them that ,i ever
 saw had hair upon their heads4 ,they   
make noises when they wish to excite the
 attention of those who have not the    
gift of seeing them4 ,these noises      
consist of sounds in the air1 sometimes 

sudden and sharp1 and causing a shock4  
,sometimes the sounds are plaintive and 
musical2 at other times they resemble   
the rustling of silk1 the falling of    
sand1 or the rolling of a ball4 ,the    
better spirits are brighter than the bad
 ones1 and their voice is not so strong4
 ,many1 particularly the dark1 sad      
spirits1 when ,i uttered words of       
religious consolation1 sucked them in1  
as it were2 and ,i saw them become      
brighter and quite glorious in          
consequence3 but ,i became weaker4 ,most
 of the spirits who come to me are of   
the lowest regions of the spiritual     
world1 which are situated just above our
 atmosphere4 ,they were1 in their life1 
grovelling and low-minded people1 or    
such as did not die in the faith of     
,jesus2 or else such as1 in expiring1   
clung to some earthly thought or        
affection1 which now presses upon them1 
and prevents them from soaring up to    
heaven4 ,i once asked a spirit whether  
children grew after death8 ',yes1'      

replied the spirit1' the soul gradually 
expands1 until it becomes as large as it
 would have been on earth4 ,i cannot    
effect the salvation of these spirits2  
,i am only their mediator4 ,i pray      
ardently with them1 and so lead them by 
degrees to the great ,saviour of the    
world4 ,it costs an infinity of trouble 
before such a soul turns again to the   
,lord4'  ,it would1 however1 serve no   
good purpose to extend to greater length
 the reveries of this mad woman1 or to  
set down one after the other the names  
of the magnetisers who encouraged her in
 her delusions--being themselves        
deluded4 ,to wade through these volumes 
of ,german mysticism is a task both     
painful and disgusting--and happily not 
necessary4 ,enough has been stated to   
show how gross is the superstition even 
of the learned2 and that errors1 like   
comets1 run in one eternal cycle--at    
their apogee in one age1 at their       
perigee in the next1 but returning in   
one phase or another for men to wonder  

at4  ,in ,england the delusion of       
magnetism may for the present be        
considered as fairly exploded4 ,taking  
its history from the commencement1 and  
tracing it to our own day1 it can hardly
 be said1 delusion though it was1 that  
it has been wholly without its uses4 ,to
 quote the words of ,bailly1 in #aghd1  
,magnetism has not been altogether      
unavailing to the philosophy which      
condemns it3 it is an additional fact to
 record among the errors of the human   
mind1 and a great experiment on the     
strength of the imagination4 ,over that 
vast inquiry of the influence of mind   
over matter1--an inquiry which the      
embodied intellect of mankind will never
 be able to fathom completely1--it will1
 at least1 have thrown a feeble and     
imperfect light4 ,it will have afforded 
an additional proof of the strength of  
the unconquerable will1 and the weakness
 of matter as compared with it2 another 
illustration of the words of the        
inspired ,psalmist1 that we are         

fearfully and wonderfully made4 ,if it  
serve no other purpose than this1 its   
history will prove useful4 ,truth ere   
now has been elicited by means of error2
 and ,animal ,magnetism1 like other     
errors1 may yet contribute its quota    
towards the instruction and improvement 
of mankind4  ,,the ,,end4