{"collection":"ritual-magic","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_884/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_884","id":"gutenberg_884","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/884","summary":null,"tags":["Alchemy","Category: History - Other","Common fallacies","Delusions","Hallucinations and illusions","Impostors and imposture","Investments -- Psychological aspects","Occultism -- Early works to 1900","Psychology","Social psychology","Stock exchanges -- Psychological aspects","Swindlers and swindling"],"text":"Produced by An Anonymous Project Gutenberg Volunteer\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMEMOIRS OF EXTRAORDINARY POPULAR DELUSIONS\n\nVolume III\n\nBy Charles Mackay\n\n\nAuthor Of The \"Thames And Its Tributaries,\" \"The Hope Of The World,\" Etc.\n\n\n\"Il est bon de connaitre les delires de l'esprit humain. Chaque peuple a\nses folies plus ou moins grossieres.\"\n\nMillot\n\n\nDETAILED CONTENTS OF THE THIRD VOLUME.\n\nBOOK I.\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\nTHE ALCHYMISTS; or, Searchers for the Philosopher's Stone and the Water\nof Life\n\nPART I.--History of Alchymy from the earliest periods to the\nFifteenth Century.--Pretended Antiquity of the\nArt.--Geber.--Alfarabi.--Avicenna.--Albertus Magnus.--Thomas\nAquinas.--Artephius.--Alain de Lisle.--Arnold de Villeneuve.--Pietro\nd'Apone.--Raymond Lulli.--Roger Bacon.--Pope John XXII.--Jean de\nMeung.--Nicholas Flamel.--George Ripley.--Basil Valentine.--Bernard of\nTreves.--Trithemius.--The Marechal de Rays.--Jacques Coeur.--Inferior\nAdepts.\n\nPART II.--Progress of the Infatuation during the Sixteenth\nand Seventeenth Centuries.--Augurello.--Cornelius\nAgrippa.--Paracelsus.--George Agricola.--Denys Zachaire.--Dr. Dee\nand Edward Kelly.--The Cosmopolite.--Sendivogius.--The\nRosicrucians.--Michael Mayer.--Robert Fludd.--Jacob Bohmen.--John\nHeydn.--Joseph Francis Borri.--Alchymical Writers of the\nSeventeenth Century.--De Lisle.--Albert Aluys.--Count de St.\nGermains.--Cagliostro.--Present State of the Science.\n\nBOOK II. FORTUNE TELLING\n\nBOOK III. THE MAGNETISERS\n\n\n\n\nPHILOSOPHICAL DELUSIONS.\n\nDissatisfaction with his lot seems to be the characteristic of man in\nall ages and climates. So far, however, from being an evil, as at first\nmight be supposed, it has been the great civiliser of our race; and has\ntended, more than anything else, to raise us above the condition of\nthe brutes. But the same discontent which has been the source of all\nimprovement, has been the parent of no small progeny of follies and\nabsurdities; to trace these latter is the object of the present volume.\nVast as the subject appears, it is easily reducible within such limits\nas will make it comprehensive without being wearisome, and render its\nstudy both instructive and amusing.\n\nThree causes especially have excited our discontent; and, by impelling\nus to seek for remedies for the irremediable, have bewildered us in a\nmaze of madness and error. These are death, toil, and ignorance of the\nfuture--the doom of man upon this sphere, and for which he shows his\nantipathy by his love of life, his longing for abundance, and his\ncraving curiosity to pierce the secrets of the days to come. The first\nhas led many to imagine that they might find means to avoid death, or,\nfailing in this, that they might, nevertheless, so prolong existence as\nto reckon it by centuries instead of units. From this sprang the search,\nso long continued and still pursued, for the elixir vitae, or water of\nlife, which has led thousands to pretend to it and millions to believe\nin it. From the second sprang the absurd search for the philosopher's\nstone, which was to create plenty by changing all metals into gold; and\nfrom the third, the false sciences of astrology, divination, and their\ndivisions of necromancy, chiromancy, augury, with all their train of\nsigns, portents, and omens.\n\nIn tracing the career of the erring philosophers, or the wilful cheats,\nwho have encouraged or preyed upon the credulity of mankind, it\nwill simplify and elucidate the subject, if we divide it into three\nclasses:--the first comprising alchymists, or those in general who have\ndevoted themselves to the discovering of the philosopher's stone and\nthe water of life; the second comprising astrologers, necromancers,\nsorcerers, geomancers, and all those who pretended to discover futurity;\nand the third consisting of the dealers in charms, amulets, philters,\nuniversal-panacea mongers, touchers for the evil, seventh sons of a\nseventh son, sympathetic powder compounders, homeopathists, animal\nmagnetizers, and all the motley tribe of quacks, empirics, and\ncharlatans.\n\nBut, in narrating the career of such men, it will be found that many\nof them united several or all of the functions just mentioned; that the\nalchymist was a fortune-teller, or a necromancer--that he pretended to\ncure all maladies by touch or charm, and to work miracles of every kind.\nIn the dark and early ages of European history, this is more especially\nthe case. Even as we advance to more recent periods, we shall find great\ndifficulty in separating the characters. The alchymist seldom confined\nhimself strictly to his pretended science--the sorcerer and necromancer\nto theirs, or the medical charlatan to his. Beginning with alchymy, some\nconfusion of these classes is unavoidable; but the ground will clear for\nus as we advance.\n\nLet us not, in the pride of our superior knowledge, turn with contempt\nfrom the follies of our predecessors. The study of the errors into\nwhich great minds have fallen in the pursuit of truth can never be\nuninstructive. As the man looks back to the days of his childhood\nand his youth, and recalls to his mind the strange notions and false\nopinions that swayed his actions at that time, that he may wonder at\nthem, so should society, for its edification, look back to the opinions\nwhich governed the ages fled. He is but a superficial thinker who would\ndespise and refuse to hear of them merely because they are absurd. No\nman is so wise but that he may learn some wisdom from his past errors,\neither of thought or action, and no society has made such advances as to\nbe capable of no improvement from the retrospect of its past folly and\ncredulity. And not only is such a study instructive: he who reads for\namusement only, will find no chapter in the annals of the human mind\nmore amusing than this. It opens out the whole realm of fiction--the\nwild, the fantastic, and the wonderful, and all the immense variety of\nthings \"that are not, and cannot be; but that have been imagined and\nbelieved.\"\n\n\n\n\nBOOK I.--THE ALCHYMISTS\n\nOR, SEARCHERS FOR THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE AND THE WATER OF LIFE.\n\n\"Mercury (loquitur).--The mischief a secret any of them know, above\nthe consuming of coals and drawing of usquebaugh! Howsoever they may\npretend, under the specious names of Geber, Arnold, Lulli, or bombast of\nHohenheim, to commit miracles in art, and treason against nature! As if\nthe title of philosopher, that creature of glory, were to be fetched out\nof a furnace! I am their crude, and their sublimate, their precipitate,\nand their unctions; their male and their female, sometimes their\nhermaphrodite--what they list to style me! They will calcine you a grave\nmatron, as it might be a mother of the maids, and spring up a young\nvirgin out of her ashes, as fresh as a phoenix; lay you an old courtier\non the coals, like a sausage or a bloat-herring, and, after they have\nbroiled him enough, blow a soul into him, with a pair of bellows! See!\nthey begin to muster again, and draw their forces out against me! The\ngenius of the place defend me!\"--Ben Jonson's Masque \"Mercury vindicated\nfrom the Alchymists.\"\n\n\n\n\nTHE ALCHYMISTS.\n\n\n\n\nPART I.--HISTORY OF ALCHYMY FROM THE EARLIEST PERIODS TO THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY.\n\nPRETENDED ANTIQUITY OF THE ART.--GEBER.--ALFARABI.--AVICENNA.--ALBERTUS\nMAGNUS.--THOMAS AQUINAS.--ARTEPHIUS.--ALAIN DE LISLE.--ARNOLD DE\nVILLENEUVE.--PIETRO D'APONE.--RAYMOND LULLI.--ROGER BACON.--POPE\nJOHN XXII.--JEAN DE MEUNG.--NICHOLAS FLAMEL.--GEORGE RIPLEY.--BASIL\nVALENTINE.--BERNARD OF TREVES.--TRITHEMIUS.--THE MARECHAL DE\nRAYS.--JACQUES COEUR.--INFERIOR ADEPTS.\n\nFor more than a thousand years the art of alchymy captivated many noble\nspirits, and was believed in by millions. Its origin is involved in\nobscurity. Some of its devotees have claimed for it an antiquity coeval\nwith the creation of man himself; others, again, would trace it no\nfurther back than the time of Noah. Vincent de Beauvais argues, indeed,\nthat all the antediluvians must have possessed a knowledge of alchymy;\nand particularly cites Noah as having been acquainted with the elixir\nvitae, or he could not have lived to so prodigious an age, and have\nbegotten children when upwards of five hundred. Lenglet du Fresnoy, in\nhis \"History of the Hermetic Philosophy,\" says, \"Most of them pretended\nthat Shem, or Chem, the son of Noah, was an adept in the art, and\nthought it highly probable that the words chemistry and alchymy were\nboth derived from his name.\" Others say, the art was derived from the\nEgyptians, amongst whom it was first founded by Hermes Trismegistus.\nMoses, who is looked upon as a first-rate alchymist, gained his\nknowledge in Egypt; but he kept it all to himself, and would not\ninstruct the children of Israel in its mysteries. All the writers upon\nalchymy triumphantly cite the story of the golden calf, in the 32nd\nchapter of Exodus, to prove that this great lawgiver was an adept, and\ncould make or unmake gold at his pleasure. It is recorded, that Moses\nwas so wroth with the Israelites for their idolatry, \"that he took the\ncalf which they had made, and burned it in the fire, and ground it to\npowder, and strewed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel\ndrink of it.\" This, say the alchymists, he never could have done, had\nhe not been in possession of the philosopher's stone; by no other means\ncould he have made the powder of gold float upon the water. But we must\nleave this knotty point for the consideration of the adepts in the art,\nif any such there be, and come to more modern periods of its history.\nThe Jesuit, Father Martini, in his \"Historia Sinica,\" says, it was\npractised by the Chinese two thousand five hundred years before the\nbirth of Christ; but his assertion, being unsupported, is worth nothing.\nIt would appear, however, that pretenders to the art of making gold and\nsilver existed in Rome in the first centuries after the Christian era,\nand that, when discovered, they were liable to punishment as knaves and\nimpostors. At Constantinople, in the fourth century, the transmutation\nof metals was very generally believed in, and many of the Greek\necclesiastics wrote treatises upon the subject. Their names are\npreserved, and some notice of their works given, in the third volume of\nLenglet du Fresnoy's \"History of the Hermetic Philosophy.\" Their notion\nappears to have been, that all metals were composed of two substances;\nthe one, metallic earth; and the other, a red inflammable matter, which\nthey called sulphur. The pure union of these substances formed gold;\nbut other metals were mixed with and contaminated by various foreign\ningredients. The object of the philosopher's stone was to dissolve or\nneutralize all these ingredients, by which iron, lead, copper, and all\nmetals would be transmuted into the original gold. Many learned and\nclever men wasted their time, their health, and their energies, in this\nvain pursuit; but for several centuries it took no great hold upon the\nimagination of the people. The history of the delusion appears, in a\nmanner, lost from this time till the eighth century, when it appeared\namongst the Arabians. From this period it becomes easier to trace its\nprogress. A master then appeared, who was long looked upon as the father\nof the science, and whose name is indissolubly connected with it.\n\n\nGEBER.\n\nOf this philosopher, who devoted his life to the study of alchymy, but\nfew particulars are known. He is thought to have lived in the year 730.\nHis true name was Abou Moussah Djafar, to which was added Al Soft, or\n\"The Wise,\" and he was born at Hauran, in Mesopotamia. [\"Biographie\nUniverselle.\"] Some have thought he was a Greek, others a Spaniard, and\nothers, a prince of Hindostan: but, of all the mistakes which have been\nmade respecting him, the most ludicrous was that made by the French\ntranslator of Sprenger's \"History of Medicine,\" who thought, from\nthe sound of his name, that he was a German, and rendered it as the\n\"Donnateur,\" or Giver. No details of his life are known; but it\nis asserted, that he wrote more than five hundred works upon the\nphilosopher's stone and the water of life. He was a great enthusiast in\nhis art, and compared the incredulous to little children shut up in a\nnarrow room, without windows or aperture, who, because they saw nothing\nbeyond, denied the existence of the great globe itself. He thought that\na preparation of gold would cure all maladies, not only in man, but in\nthe inferior animals and plants. He also imagined that all the metals\nlaboured under disease, with the exception of gold, which was the only\none in perfect health. He affirmed, that the secret of the philosopher's\nstone had been more than once discovered; but that the ancient and wise\nmen who had hit upon it, would never, by word or writing, communicate\nit to men, because of their unworthiness and incredulity. [His \"sum of\nperfection,\" or instructions to students to aid them in the laborious\nsearch for the stone and elixir, has been translated into most of the\nlanguages of Europe. An English translation, by a great enthusiast\nin alchymy, one Richard Russell, was published in London in 1686.\nThe preface is dated eight years previously, from the house of the\nalchymist, \"at the Star, in Newmarket, in Wapping, near the Dock.\" His\ndesign in undertaking the translation was, as he informs us, to expose\nthe false pretences of the many ignorant pretenders to the science who\nabounded in his day.] But the life of Geber, though spent in the pursuit\nof this vain chimera, was not altogether useless. He stumbled upon\ndiscoveries which he did not seek, and science is indebted to him for\nthe first mention of corrosive sublimate, the red oxide of mercury,\nnitric acid, and the nitrate of silver. [Article, Geber, \"Biographie\nUniverselle.\"]\n\nFor more than two hundred years after the death of Geber, the Arabian\nphilosophers devoted themselves to the study of alchymy, joining with it\nthat of astrology. Of these the most celebrated was\n\n\nALFARABI.\n\nAlfarabi flourished at the commencement of the tenth century, and\nenjoyed the reputation of being one of the most learned men of his age.\nHe spent his life in travelling from country to country, that he might\ngather the opinions of philosophers upon the great secrets of nature. No\ndanger dismayed him; no toil wearied him of the pursuit. Many sovereigns\nendeavoured to retain him at their courts; but he refused to rest until\nhe had discovered the great object of his life--the art of preserving it\nfor centuries, and of making gold as much as he needed. This wandering\nmode of life at last proved fatal to him. He had been on a visit to\nMecca, not so much for religious as for philosophical purposes,\nwhen, returning through Syria, he stopped at the court of the Sultan\nSeifeddoulet, who was renowned as the patron of learning. He presented\nhimself in his travelling attire, in the presence of that monarch and\nhis courtiers; and, without invitation, coolly sat himself down upon the\nsofa, beside the Prince. The courtiers and wise men were indignant;\nand the Sultan, who did not know the intruder, was at first inclined to\nfollow their example. He turned to one of his officers, and ordered him\nto eject the presumptuous stranger from the room; but Alfarabi, without\nmoving, dared them to lay hands upon him; and, turning himself calmly\nto the prince, remarked, that he did not know who was his guest, or he\nwould treat him with honour, not with violence. The Sultan, instead\nof being still further incensed, as many potentates would have been,\nadmired his coolness; and, requesting him to sit still closer to him\non the sofa, entered into a long conversation with him upon science\nand divine philosophy. All the court were charmed with the stranger.\nQuestions for discussion were propounded, on all of which he showed\nsuperior knowledge. He convinced every one that ventured to dispute with\nhim; and spoke so eloquently upon the science of alchymy, that he was\nat once recognised as only second to the great Geber himself. One of\nthe doctors present inquired whether a man who knew so many sciences was\nacquainted with music? Alfarabi made no reply, but merely requested that\na lute should be brought him. The lute was brought; and he played such\nravishing and tender melodies, that all the court were melted into\ntears. He then changed his theme, and played airs so sprightly, that\nhe set the grave philosophers, Sultan and all, dancing as fast as their\nlegs could carry them. He then sobered them again by a mournful strain,\nand made them sob and sigh as if broken-hearted. The Sultan, highly\ndelighted with his powers, entreated him to stay, offering him every\ninducement that wealth, power, and dignity could supply; but the\nalchymist resolutely refused, it being decreed, he said, that he should\nnever repose till he had discovered the philosopher's stone. He set out\naccordingly the same evening, and was murdered by some thieves in the\ndeserts of Syria. His biographers give no further particulars of his\nlife beyond mentioning, that he wrote several valuable treatises on his\nart, all of which, however, have been lost. His death happened in the\nyear 954.\n\n\nAVICENNA.\n\nAvicenna, whose real name was Ebn Cinna, another great alchymist, was\nborn at Bokhara, in 980. His reputation as a physician and a man skilled\nin all sciences was so great, that the Sultan Magdal Douleth resolved\nto try his powers in the great science of government. He was accordingly\nmade Grand Vizier of that Prince, and ruled the state with some\nadvantage: but, in a science still more difficult, he failed completely.\nHe could not rule his own passions, but gave himself up to wine and\nwomen, and led a life of shameless debauchery. Amid the multifarious\npursuits of business and pleasure, he nevertheless found time to write\nseven treatises upon the philosopher's stone, which were for many ages\nlooked upon as of great value by pretenders to the art. It is rare that\nan eminent physician, as Avicenna appears to have been, abandons himself\nto sensual gratification; but so completely did he become enthralled in\nthe course of a few years, that he was dismissed from his high office,\nand died shortly afterwards, of premature old age and a complication\nof maladies, brought on by debauchery. His death took place in the year\n1036. After his time, few philosophers of any note in Arabia are heard\nof as devoting themselves to the study of alchymy; but it began shortly\nafterwards to attract greater attention in Europe. Learned men in\nFrance, England, Spain, and Italy expressed their belief in the\nscience, and many devoted their whole energies to it. In the twelfth and\nthirteenth centuries especially, it was extensively pursued, and some\nof the brightest names of that age are connected with it. Among the most\neminent of them are\n\n\nALBERTUS MAGNUS and THOMAS AQUINA.\n\nThe first of these philosophers was born in the year 1193, of a noble\nfamily at Lawingen, in the duchy of Neuburg, on the Danube. For the\nfirst thirty years of his life, he appeared remarkably dull and stupid,\nand it was feared by every one that no good could come of him. He\nentered a Dominican monastery at an early age; but made so little\nprogress in his studies, that he was more than once upon the point\nof abandoning them in despair; but he was endowed with extraordinary\nperseverance. As he advanced to middle age, his mind expanded, and\nhe learned whatever he applied himself to with extreme facility. So\nremarkable a change was not, in that age, to be accounted for but by a\nmiracle. It was asserted and believed that the Holy Virgin, touched\nwith his great desire to become learned and famous, took pity upon his\nincapacity, and appeared to him in the cloister where he sat, almost\ndespairing, and asked him whether he wished to excel in philosophy\nor divinity. He chose philosophy, to the chagrin of the Virgin, who\nreproached him in mild and sorrowful accents that he had not made a\nbetter choice. She, however, granted his request that he should become\nthe most excellent philosopher of the age; but set this drawback to his\npleasure, that he should relapse, when at the height of his fame, into\nhis former incapacity and stupidity. Albertus never took the trouble to\ncontradict the story, but prosecuted his studies with such unremitting\nzeal that his reputation speedily spread over all Europe. In the year\n1244, the celebrated Thomas Aquinas placed himself under his tuition.\nMany extraordinary stories are told of the master and his pupil. While\nthey paid all due attention to other branches of science, they never\nneglected the pursuit of the philosopher's stone and the elixir vitae.\nAlthough they discovered neither, it was believed that Albert had seized\nsome portion of the secret of life, and found means to animate a brazen\nstatue, upon the formation of which, under proper conjunctions of the\nplanets, he had been occupied many years of his life. He and Thomas\nAquinas completed it together, endowed it with the faculty of speech,\nand made it perform the functions of a domestic servant. In this\ncapacity it was exceedingly useful; but, through some defect in\nthe machinery, it chattered much more than was agreeable to either\nphilosopher. Various remedies were tried to cure it of its garrulity,\nbut in vain; and one day Thomas Aquinas was so enraged at the noise it\nmade, when he was in the midst of a mathematical problem, that he seized\na ponderous hammer and smashed it to pieces. [Naude, \"Apologie des\nGrands Hommes accuses de Magie;\" chap. xviii.] He was sorry afterwards\nfor what he had done, and was reproved by his master for giving way\nto his anger, so unbecoming in a philosopher. They made no attempt to\nre-animate the statue.\n\nSuch stories as these show the spirit of the age. Every great man who\nattempted to study the secrets of nature was thought a magician; and it\nis not to be wondered at that, when philosophers themselves pretended to\ndiscover an elixir for conferring immortality, or a red stone which was\nto create boundless wealth, that popular opinion should have enhanced\nupon their pretensions, and have endowed them with powers still more\nmiraculous. It was believed of Albertus Magnus that he could even change\nthe course of the seasons; a feat which the many thought less difficult\nthan the discovery of the grand elixir. Albertus was desirous of\nobtaining a piece of ground on which to build a monastery, in the\nneighbourhood of Cologne. The ground belonged to William, Count of\nHolland and King of the Romans, who, for some reason or other, did not\nwish to part with it. Albertus is reported to have gained it by the\nfollowing extraordinary method:--He invited the Prince, as he was\npassing through Cologne, to a magnificent entertainment prepared for him\nand all his court. The Prince accepted it, and repaired with a lordly\nretinue to the residence of the sage. It was in the midst of winter; the\nRhine was frozen over, and the cold was so bitter that the knights could\nnot sit on horseback without running the risk of losing their toes by\nthe frost. Great, therefore, was their surprise, on arriving at Albert's\nhouse, to find that the repast was spread in his garden, in which\nthe snow had drifted to the depth of several feet. The Earl, in high\ndudgeon, remounted his steed; but Albert at last prevailed upon him\nto take his seat at the table. He had no sooner done so, than the dark\nclouds rolled away from the sky--a warm sun shone forth--the cold north\nwind veered suddenly round, and blew a mild breeze from the south--the\nsnows melted away--the ice was unbound upon the streams, and the trees\nput forth their green leaves and their fruit--flowers sprang up beneath\ntheir feet, while larks, nightingales, blackbirds, cuckoos, thrushes,\nand every sweet song-bird, sang hymns from every tree. The Earl and\nhis attendants wondered greatly; but they ate their dinner, and in\nrecompence for it, Albert got his piece of ground to build a convent\non. He had not, however, shown them all his power. Immediately that the\nrepast was over, he gave the word, and dark clouds obscured the sun--the\nsnow fell in large flakes--the singing-birds fell dead--the leaves\ndropped from the trees, and the winds blew so cold, and howled so\nmournfully, that the guests wrapped themselves up in their thick cloaks,\nand retreated into the house to warm themselves at the blazing fire in\nAlbert's kitchen. [Lenglet, \"Histoire de la Philosophie Hermetique.\" See\nalso, Godwin's \"Lives of the Necromancers.\"]\n\nThomas Aquinas also could work wonders as well as his master. It is\nrelated of him, that he lodged in a street at Cologne, where he was much\nannoyed by the incessant clatter made by the horses' hoofs, as they were\nled through it daily to exercise by their grooms. He had entreated\nthe latter to select some other spot where they might not disturb a\nphilosopher, but the grooms turned a deaf ear to all his solicitations.\nIn this emergency he had recourse to the aid of magic. He constructed\na small horse of bronze, upon which he inscribed certain cabalistic\ncharacters, and buried it at midnight in the midst of the highway. The\nnext morning, a troop of grooms came riding along as usual; but the\nhorses, as they arrived at the spot where the magic horse was\nburied, reared and plunged violently--their nostrils distended with\nterror--their manes grew erect, and the perspiration ran down their\nsides in streams. In vain the riders applied the spur--in vain they\ncoaxed or threatened, the animals would not pass the spot. On the\nfollowing day, their success was no better. They were at length\ncompelled to seek another spot for their exercise, and Thomas Aquinas\nwas left in peace. [Naude, \"Apologie des Grands Hommes accuses de\nMagie;\" chap. xvii.]\n\nAlbertus Magnus was made Bishop of Ratisbon in 1259; but he occupied\nthe See only four years, when he resigned, on the ground that its\nduties occupied too much of the time which he was anxious to devote\nto philosophy. He died in Cologne in 1280, at the advanced age of\neighty-seven. The Dominican writers deny that he ever sought the\nphilosopher's stone, but his treatise upon minerals sufficiently proves\nthat he did.\n\n\nARTEPHIUS.\n\nArtephius, a name noted in the annals of alchymy, was born in the early\npart of the twelfth century. He wrote two famous treatises; the one upon\nthe philosopher's stone, and the other on the art of prolonging human\nlife. In the latter he vaunts his great qualifications for instructing\nmankind on such a matter, as he was at that time in the thousand and\ntwenty-fifth year of his age! He had many disciples who believed in his\nextreme age, and who attempted to prove that he was Apollonius of Tyana,\nwho lived soon after the advent of Jesus Christ, and the particulars\nof whose life and pretended miracles have been so fully described by\nPhilostratus. He took good care never to contradict a story, which\nso much increased the power he was desirous of wielding over his\nfellow-mortals. On all convenient occasions, he boasted of it; and\nhaving an excellent memory, a fertile imagination, and a thorough\nknowledge of all existing history, he was never at a loss for an answer\nwhen questioned as to the personal appearance, the manners, or the\ncharacter of the great men of antiquity. He also pretended to have\nfound the philosopher's stone; and said that, in search of it, he had\ndescended to hell, and seen the devil sitting on a throne of gold, with\na legion of imps and fiends around him. His works on alchymy have been\ntranslated into French, and were published in Paris in 1609 or 1610.\n\n\nALAIN DE LISLE.\n\nContemporary with Albertus Magnus was Alain de Lisle, of Flanders,\nwho was named, from his great learning, the \"universal doctor.\" He was\nthought to possess a knowledge of all the sciences, and, like Artephius,\nto have discovered the elixir vitae. He became one of the friars of\nthe abbey of Citeaux, and died in 1298, aged about one hundred and ten\nyears. It was said of him, that he was at the point of death when in his\nfiftieth year; but that the fortunate discovery of the elixir enabled\nhim to add sixty years to his existence. He wrote a commentary on the\nprophecies of Merlin.\n\n\nARNOLD DE VILLENEUVE.\n\nThis philosopher has left a much greater reputation. He was born in the\nyear 1245, and studied medicine with great success in the University of\nParis. He afterwards travelled for twenty years in Italy and Germany,\nwhere he made acquaintance with Pietro d'Apone; a man of a character\nakin to his own, and addicted to the same pursuits. As a physician, he\nwas thought, in his own lifetime, to be the most able the world had ever\nseen. Like all the learned men of that day, he dabbled in astrology and\nalchymy, and was thought to have made immense quantities of gold from\nlead and copper. When Pietro d'Apone was arrested in Italy, and brought\nto trial as a sorcerer, a similar accusation was made against Arnold;\nbut he managed to leave the country in time and escape the fate of his\nunfortunate friend. He lost some credit by predicting the end of the\nworld, but afterwards regained it. The time of his death is not exactly\nknown; but it must have been prior to the year 1311, when Pope Clement\nV. wrote a circular letter to all the clergy of Europe who lived under\nhis obedience, praying them to use their utmost efforts to discover the\nfamous treatise of Arnold on \"The Practice of Medicine.\" The author had\npromised, during his lifetime, to make a present of the work to the Holy\nSee, but died without fulfilling it.\n\nIn a very curious work by Monsieur Longeville Harcouet, entitled \"The\nHistory of the Persons who have lived several centuries, and then grown\nyoung again,\" there is a receipt, said to have been given by Arnold de\nVilleneuve, by means of which any one might prolong his life for a\nfew hundred years or so. In the first place, say Arnold and Monsieur\nHarcouet, \"the person intending so to prolong his life must rub himself\nwell, two or three times a week, with the juice or marrow of cassia\n(moelle de la casse). Every night, upon going to bed, he must put upon\nhis heart a plaster, composed of a certain quantity of Oriental saffron,\nred rose-leaves, sandal-wood, aloes, and amber, liquified in oil of\nroses and the best white wax. In the morning, he must take it off, and\nenclose it carefully in a leaden box till the next night, when it must\nbe again applied. If he be of a sanguine temperament, he shall take\nsixteen chickens--if phlegmatic, twenty-five--and if melancholy, thirty,\nwhich he shall put into a yard where the air and the water are pure.\nUpon these he is to feed, eating one a day; but previously the chickens\nare to be fattened by a peculiar method, which will impregnate their\nflesh with the qualities that are to produce longevity in the eater.\nBeing deprived of all other nourishment till they are almost dying of\nhunger, they are to be fed upon broth made of serpents and vinegar,\nwhich broth is to be thickened with wheat and bran.\" Various ceremonies\nare to be performed in the cooking of this mess, which those may see in\nthe book of M. Harcouet, who are at all interested in the matter; and\nthe chickens are to be fed upon it for two months. They are then fit for\ntable, and are to be washed down with moderate quantities of good white\nwine or claret. This regimen is to be followed regularly every seven\nyears, and any one may live to be as old as Methuselah! It is right to\nstate, that M. Harcouet has but little authority for attributing this\nprecious composition to Arnold of Villeneuve. It is not to be found in\nthe collected works of that philosopher; but was first brought to light\nby a M. Poirier, at the commencement of the sixteenth century, who\nasserted that he had discovered it in MS. in the undoubted writing of\nArnold.\n\n\nPIETRO D'APONE.\n\nThis unlucky sage was born at Apone, near Padua, in the year 1250. Like\nhis friend Arnold de Villeneuve, he was an eminent physician, and a\npretender to the arts of astrology and alchymy. He practised for many\nyears in Paris, and made great wealth by killing and curing, and telling\nfortunes. In an evil day for him, he returned to his own country,\nwith the reputation of being a magician of the first order. It was\nuniversally believed that he had drawn seven evil spirits from the\ninfernal regions, whom he kept enclosed in seven crystal vases, until\nhe required their services, when he sent them forth to the ends of the\nearth to execute his pleasure. One spirit excelled in philosophy; a\nsecond, in alchymy; a third, in astrology; a fourth, in physic; a fifth,\nin poetry; a sixth, in music; and the seventh, in painting: and whenever\nPietro wished for information or instruction in any of these arts, he\nhad only to go to his crystal vase, and liberate the presiding spirit.\nImmediately, all the secrets of the art were revealed to him; and he\nmight, if it pleased him, excel Homer in poetry, Apelles in painting,\nor Pythagoras himself in philosophy. Although he could make gold out\nof brass, it was said of him, that he was very sparing of his powers in\nthat respect, and kept himself constantly supplied with money by other\nand less creditable means. Whenever he disbursed gold, he muttered a\ncertain charm, known only to himself; and next morning the gold was safe\nagain in his own possession. The trader to whom he gave it, might lock\nit in his strong box, and have it guarded by a troop of soldiers; but\nthe charmed metal flew back to its old master. Even if it were buried\nin the earth, or thrown into the sea, the dawn of the next morning would\nbehold it in the pockets of Pietro. Few people, in consequence, liked to\nhave dealings with such a personage, especially for gold. Some, bolder\nthan the rest, thought that his power did not extend over silver; but,\nwhen they made the experiment, they found themselves mistaken. Bolts and\nbars could not restrain it, and it sometimes became invisible in\ntheir very hands, and was whisked through the air to the purse of the\nmagician. He necessarily acquired a very bad character; and, having\ngiven utterance to some sentiments regarding religion which were the\nvery reverse of orthodox, he was summoned before the tribunals of the\nInquisition to answer for his crimes as a heretic and a sorcerer. He\nloudly protested his innocence, even upon the rack, where he suffered\nmore torture than nature could support. He died in prison ere his trial\nwas concluded, but was afterwards found guilty. His bones were ordered\nto be dug up, and publicly burned. He was also burned in effigy in the\nstreets of Padua.\n\n\nRAYMOND LULLI.\n\nWhile Arnold de Villeneuve and Pietro d'Apone flourished in France and\nItaly, a more celebrated adept than either appeared in Spain. This\nwas Raymond Lulli, a name which stands in the first rank among the\nalchymists. Unlike many of his predecessors, he made no pretensions\nto astrology or necromancy; but, taking Geber for his model, studied\nintently the nature and composition of metals, without reference to\ncharms, incantations, or any foolish ceremonies. It was not, however,\ntill late in life that he commenced his study of the art. His early and\nmiddle age were spent in a different manner, and his whole history\nis romantic in the extreme. He was born of an illustrious family, in\nMajorca, in the year 1235. When that island was taken from the Saracens\nby James I, King of Aragon, in 1230, the father of Raymond, who was\noriginally of Catalonia, settled there, and received a considerable\nappointment from the Crown. Raymond married at an early age; and, being\nfond of pleasure, he left the solitudes of his native isle, and passed\nover with his bride into Spain. He was made Grand Seneschal at the court\nof King James, and led a gay life for several years. Faithless to his\nwife, he was always in the pursuit of some new beauty, till his heart\nwas fixed at last by the lovely, but unkind Ambrosia de Castello. This\nlady, like her admirer, was married; but, unlike him, was faithful to\nher vows, and treated all his solicitations with disdain. Raymond was so\nenamoured, that repulse only increased his flame; he lingered all night\nunder her windows, wrote passionate verses in her praise, neglected his\naffairs, and made himself the butt of all the courtiers. One day, while\nwatching under her lattice, he by chance caught sight of her bosom, as\nher neckerchief was blown aside by the wind. The fit of inspiration\ncame over him, and he sat down and composed some tender stanzas upon the\nsubject, and sent them to the lady. The fair Ambrosia had never before\ncondescended to answer his letters; but she replied to this. She told\nhim, that she could never listen to his suit; that it was unbecoming in\na wise man to fix his thoughts, as he had done, on any other than\nhis God; and entreated him to devote himself to a religious life, and\nconquer the unworthy passion which he had suffered to consume him. She,\nhowever, offered, if he wished it, to show him the fair bosom which had\nso captivated him. Raymond was delighted. He thought the latter part of\nthis epistle but ill corresponded with the former, and that Ambrosia, in\nspite of the good advice she gave him, had, at last, relented, and would\nmake him as happy as he desired. He followed her about from place to\nplace, entreating her to fulfil her promise: but still Ambrosia was\ncold, and implored him with tears to importune her no longer; for that\nshe never could be his, and never would, if she were free to-morrow.\n\"What means your letter, then?\" said the despairing lover. \"I will show\nyou!\" replied Ambrosia, who immediately uncovered her bosom, and exposed\nto the eyes of her horror-stricken admirer, a large cancer, which had\nextended to both breasts. She saw that he was shocked; and, extending\nher hand to him, she prayed him once more to lead a religious life, and\nset his heart upon the Creator, and not upon the creature. He went home\nan altered man. He threw up, on the morrow, his valuable appointment at\nthe court, separated from his wife, and took a farewell of his children,\nafter dividing one-half of his ample fortune among them. The other\nhalf he shared among the poor. He then threw himself at the foot of a\ncrucifix, and devoted himself to the service of God, vowing, as the most\nacceptable atonement for his errors, that he would employ the remainder\nof his days in the task of converting the Mussulmans to the Christian\nreligion. In his dreams he saw Jesus Christ, who said to him, \"Raymond!\nRaymond! follow me!\" The vision was three times repeated, and Raymond\nwas convinced that it was an intimation direct from Heaven. Having put\nhis affairs in order, he set out on a pilgrimage to the shrine of St.\nJames of Compostello, and afterwards lived for ten years in solitude\namid the mountains of Aranda. Here he learned the Arabic, to qualify\nhimself for his mission of converting the Mahometans. He also studied\nvarious sciences, as taught in the works of the learned men of the\nEast, and first made acquaintance with the writings of Geber, which were\ndestined to exercise so much influence over his future life.\n\nAt the end of this probation, and when he had entered his fortieth year,\nhe emerged from his solitude into more active life. With some remains of\nhis fortune, which had accumulated during his retirement, he founded a\ncollege for the study of Arabic, which was approved of by the Pope, with\nmany commendations upon his zeal and piety. At this time he narrowly\nescaped assassination from an Arabian youth whom he had taken into\nhis service. Raymond had prayed to God, in some of his accesses of\nfanaticism, that he might suffer martyrdom in his holy cause. His\nservant had overheard him; and, being as great a fanatic as his master,\nhe resolved to gratify his wish, and punish him, at the same time, for\nthe curses which he incessantly launched against Mahomet and all who\nbelieved in him, by stabbing him to the heart. He, therefore, aimed\na blow at his master, as he sat one day at table; but the instinct of\nself-preservation being stronger than the desire of martyrdom, Raymond\ngrappled with his antagonist, and overthrew him. He scorned to take his\nlife himself; but handed him over to the authorities of the town, by\nwhom he was afterwards found dead in his prison.\n\nAfter this adventure Raymond travelled to Paris, where he resided for\nsome time, and made the acquaintance of Arnold de Villeneuve. From him\nhe probably received some encouragement to search for the philosopher's\nstone, as he began from that time forth to devote less of his attention\nto religious matters, and more to the study of alchymy. Still he never\nlost sight of the great object for which he lived--the conversion of the\nMahometans--and proceeded to Rome, to communicate personally with Pope\nJohn XXI, on the best measures to be adopted for that end. The Pope gave\nhim encouragement in words, but failed to associate any other persons\nwith him in the enterprise which he meditated. Raymond, therefore,\nset out for Tunis alone, and was kindly received by many Arabian\nphilosophers, who had heard of his fame as a professor of alchymy. If he\nhad stuck to alchymy while in their country, it would have been well for\nhim; but he began cursing Mahomet, and got himself into trouble. While\npreaching the doctrines of Christianity in the great bazaar of Tunis, he\nwas arrested and thrown into prison. He was shortly afterwards brought\nto trial, and sentenced to death. Some of his philosophic friends\ninterceded hard for him, and he was pardoned, upon condition that he\nleft Africa immediately, and never again set foot in it. If he was found\nthere again, no matter what his object might be, or whatever length\nof time might intervene, his original sentence would be carried into\nexecution. Raymond was not at all solicitous of martyrdom when it came\nto the point, whatever he might have been when there was no danger, and\nhe gladly accepted his life upon these conditions, and left Tunis with\nthe intention of proceeding to Rome. He afterwards changed his plan, and\nestablished himself at Milan, where, for a length of time, he practised\nalchymy, and some say astrology, with great success.\n\nMost writers who believed in the secrets of alchymy, and who have\nnoticed the life of Raymond Lulli, assert, that while in Milan, he\nreceived letters from Edward King of England, inviting him to settle in\nhis states. They add, that Lulli gladly accepted the invitation, and had\napartments assigned for his use in the Tower of London, where he refined\nmuch gold; superintended the coinage of \"rose-nobles;\" and made gold out\nof iron, quicksilver, lead, and pewter, to the amount of six millions.\nThe writers in the \"Biographie Universelle,\" an excellent authority in\ngeneral, deny that Raymond was ever in England, and say, that in all\nthese stories of his wondrous powers as an alchymist, he has been\nmistaken for another Raymond, a Jew, of Tarragona. Naude, in his\n\"Apologie,\" says, simply, \"that six millions were given by Raymond Lulli\nto King Edward, to make war against the Turks and other infidels:\" not\nthat he transmuted so much metal into gold; but, as he afterwards adds,\nthat he advised Edward to lay a tax upon wool, which produced that\namount. To show that Raymond went to England, his admirers quote a work\nattributed to him, \"De Transmutatione Animae Metallorum,\" in which he\nexpressly says, that he was in England at the intercession of the King.\n[Vidimus omnia ista dum ad Angliam transiimus, propter intercessionem\nDomini Regis Edoardi illustrissimi.] The hermetic writers are not agreed\nwhether it was Edward I, or Edward II, who invited him over; but, by\nfixing the date of his journey in 1312, they make it appear that it was\nEdward II. Edmond Dickenson, in his work on the \"Quintessences of the\nPhilosophers,\" says, that Raymond worked in Westminster Abbey, where, a\nlong time after his departure, there was found in the cell which he had\noccupied, a great quantity of golden dust, of which the architects made\na great profit. In the biographical sketch of John Cremer, Abbot of\nWestminster, given by Lenglet, it is said, that it was chiefly through\nhis instrumentality that Raymond came to England. Cremer had\nbeen himself for thirty years occupied in the vain search for the\nphilosopher's stone, when he accidentally met Raymond in Italy, and\nendeavoured to induce him to communicate his grand secret. Raymond told\nhim that he must find it for himself, as all great alchymists had done\nbefore him. Cremer, on his return to England, spoke to King Edward in\nhigh terms of the wonderful attainments of the philosopher, and a\nletter of invitation was forthwith sent him. Robert Constantinus, in the\n\"Nomenclatore Scriptorum Medicorum,\" published in 1515, says, that after\na great deal of research, be found that Raymond Lulli resided for\nsome time in London, and that he actually made gold, by means of the\nphilosopher's stone, in the Tower; that he had seen the golden pieces of\nhis coinage, which were still named in England the nobles of Raymond,\nor rose-nobles. Lulli himself appears to have boasted that he made gold;\nfor, in his well-known \"Testamentum,\" he states, that he converted no\nless than fifty thousand pounds weight of quicksilver, lead, and pewter\ninto that metal. [Converti una vice in aurum ad L millia pondo argenti\nvivi, plumbi, et stanni.--Lullii Testamentum.] It seems highly probable\nthat the English King, believing in the extraordinary powers of the\nalchymist, invited him to England to make test of them, and that he was\nemployed in refining gold and in coining. Camden, who is not credulous\nin matters like these, affords his countenance to the story of his\ncoinage of nobles; and there is nothing at all wonderful in the fact\nof a man famous for his knowledge of metals being employed in such a\ncapacity. Raymond was, at this time, an old man, in his seventy-seventh\nyear, and somewhat in his dotage. He was willing enough to have it\nbelieved that he had discovered the grand secret, and supported the\nrumour rather than contradicted it. He did not long remain in England;\nbut returned to Rome, to carry out the projects which were nearer to his\nheart than the profession of alchymy. He had proposed them to several\nsuccessive Popes with little or no success. The first was a plan for\nthe introduction of the Oriental languages into all the monasteries\nof Europe; the second, for the reduction into one of all the military\norders, that, being united, they might move more efficaciously against\nthe Saracens; and, the third, that the Sovereign Pontiff should\nforbid the works of Averroes to be read in the schools, as being more\nfavourable to Mahometanism than to Christianity. The Pope did not\nreceive the old man with much cordiality; and, after remaining for\nabout two years in Rome, he proceeded once more to Africa, alone and\nunprotected, to preach the Gospel of Jesus. He landed at Bona in 1314;\nand so irritated the Mahometans by cursing their prophet, that they\nstoned him, and left him for dead on the sea-shore. He was found some\nhours afterwards by a party of Genoese merchants, who conveyed him on\nboard their vessel, and sailed towards Majorca. The unfortunate man\nstill breathed, but could not articulate. He lingered in this state for\nsome days, and expired just as the vessel arrived within sight of his\nnative shores. His body was conveyed with great pomp to the church of\nSt. Eulalia, at Palma, where a public funeral was instituted in his\nhonour. Miracles were afterwards said to have been worked at his tomb.\n\nThus ended the career of Raymond Lulli, one of the most extraordinary\nmen of his age; and, with the exception of his last boast about the\nsix millions of gold, the least inclined to quackery of any of the\nprofessors of alchymy. His writings were very numerous, and include\nnearly five hundred volumes, upon grammar, rhetoric, morals, theology,\npolitics, civil and canon law, physics, metaphysics, astronomy,\nmedicine, and chemistry.\n\n\nROGER BACON.\n\nThe powerful delusion of alchymy seized upon a mind still greater than\nthat of Raymond Lulli. Roger Bacon firmly believed in the philosopher's\nstone, and spent much of his time in search of it. His example helped\nto render all the learned men of the time more convinced of its\npracticability, and more eager in the pursuit. He was born at Ilchester,\nin the county of Somerset, in the year 1214. He studied for some time in\nthe university of Oxford, and afterwards in that of Paris, in which he\nreceived the degree of doctor of divinity. Returning to England in 1240,\nhe became a monk of the order of St. Francis. He was by far the most\nlearned man of his age; and his acquirements were so much above the\ncomprehension of his contemporaries, that they could only account for\nthem by supposing that he was indebted for them to the devil. Voltaire\nhas not inaptly designated him \"De l'or encroute de toutes les ordures\nde son siecle;\" but the crust of superstition that enveloped his\npowerful mind, though it may have dimmed, could not obscure the\nbrightness of his genius. To him, and apparently to him only, among\nall the inquiring spirits of the time, were known the properties of the\nconcave and convex lens. He also invented the magic-lantern; that pretty\nplaything of modern days, which acquired for him a reputation that\nembittered his life. In a history of alchymy, the name of this great man\ncannot be omitted, although, unlike many others of whom we shall have\noccasion to speak, he only made it secondary to other pursuits. The\nlove of universal knowledge that filled his mind, would not allow him to\nneglect one branch of science, of which neither he nor the world could\nyet see the absurdity. He made ample amends for his time lost in this\npursuit by his knowledge in physics and his acquaintance with astronomy.\nThe telescope, burning-glasses, and gunpowder, are discoveries which may\nwell carry his fame to the remotest time, and make the world blind to\nthe one spot of folly--the diagnosis of the age in which he lived,\nand the circumstances by which he was surrounded. His treatise on\nthe \"Admirable Power of Art and Nature in the Production of the\nPhilosopher's Stone\" was translated into French by Girard de Tormes, and\npublished at Lyons in 1557. His \"Mirror of Alchymy\" was also published\nin French in the same year, and in Paris in 1612, with some additions\nfrom the works of Raymond Lulli. A complete list of all the published\ntreatises upon the subject may be seen in Lenglet du Fresnoy.\n\n\nPOPE JOHN XXII.\n\nThis Prelate is said to have been the friend and pupil of Arnold de\nVilleneuve, by whom he was instructed in all the secrets of alchymy.\nTradition asserts of him, that he made great quantities of gold, and\ndied as rich as Croesus. He was born at Cahors, in the province of\nGuienne, in the year 1244. He was a very eloquent preacher, and soon\nreached high dignity in the Church. He wrote a work on the transmutation\nof metals, and had a famous laboratory at Avignon. He issued two Bulls\nagainst the numerous pretenders to the art, who had sprung up in every\npart of Christendom; from which it might be inferred that he was himself\nfree from the delusion. The alchymists claim him, however, as one of the\nmost distinguished and successful professors of their art, and say\nthat his Bulls were not directed against the real adepts, but the false\npretenders. They lay particular stress upon these words in his Bull,\n\"Spondent, quas non exhibent, divitias, pauperes alchymistae.\" These, it\nis clear, they say, relate only to poor alchymists, and therefore false\nones. He died in the year 1344, leaving in his coffers a sum of eighteen\nmillions of florins. Popular belief alleged that he had made, and not\namassed, this treasure; and alchymists complacently cite this as a proof\nthat the philosopher's stone was not such a chimera as the incredulous\npretended. They take it for granted that John really left this money,\nand ask by what possible means he could have accumulated it. Replying\nto their own question, they say triumphantly, \"His book shows it was by\nalchymy, the secrets of which he learned from Arnold de Villeneuve and\nRaymond Lulli. But he was as prudent as all other hermetic philosophers.\nWhoever would read his book to find out his secret, would employ all his\nlabour in vain; the Pope took good care not to divulge it.\" Unluckily\nfor their own credit, all these gold-makers are in the same predicament;\ntheir great secret loses its worth most wonderfully in the telling, and\ntherefore they keep it snugly to themselves. Perhaps they thought that,\nif everybody could transmute metals, gold would be so plentiful that it\nwould be no longer valuable, and that some new art would be requisite\nto transmute it back again into steel and iron. If so, society is much\nindebted to them for their forbearance.\n\n\nJEAN DE MEUNG\n\nAll classes of men dabbled in the art at this time; the last mentioned\nwas a Pope, the one of whom we now speak was a poet. Jean de Meung, the\ncelebrated author of the \"Roman de la Rose,\" was born in the year 1279\nor 1280, and was a great personage at the courts of Louis X, Philip the\nLong, Charles IV, and Philip de Valois. His famous poem of the \"Roman\nde la Rose,\" which treats of every subject in vogue at that day,\nnecessarily makes great mention of alchymy. Jean was a firm believer\nin the art, and wrote, besides his, \"Roman,\" two shorter poems, the one\nentitled, \"The Remonstrance of Nature to the wandering Alchymist,\" and\n\"The Reply of the Alchymist to Nature.\" Poetry and alchymy were his\ndelight, and priests and women were his abomination. A pleasant story is\nrelated of him and the ladies of the court of Charles IV. He had written\nthe following libellous couplet upon the fair sex:--\n\n     \"Toutes etes, serez, ou futes\n     De fait ou de volonte, putains,\n     Et qui, tres bien vous chercherait\n     Toutes putains, vous trouverait.\"\n\n[These verses are but a coarser expression of the slanderous line of\nPope, that \"every woman is at heart a rake.\"]\n\nThis naturally gave great offence; and being perceived one day, in the\nKing's antechamber, by some ladies who were waiting for an audience,\nthey resolved to punish him. To the number of ten or twelve, they armed\nthemselves with canes and rods; and surrounding the unlucky poet, called\nupon the gentlemen present to strip him naked, that they might wreak\njust vengeance upon him, and lash him through the streets of the town.\nSome of the lords present were in no wise loth, and promised themselves\ngreat sport from his punishment. But Jean de Meung was unmoved by their\nthreats, and stood up calmly in the midst of them, begging them to hear\nhim first, and then, if not satisfied, they might do as they liked with\nhim. Silence being restored, he stood upon a chair, and entered on his\ndefence. He acknowledged that he was the author of the obnoxious verses,\nbut denied that they bore reference to all womankind. He only meant to\nspeak of the vicious and abandoned, whereas those whom he saw around\nhim, were patterns of virtue, loveliness, and modesty. If, however, any\nlady present thought herself aggrieved, he would consent to be stripped,\nand she might lash him till her arms were wearied. It is added, that\nby this means Jean escaped his flogging, and that the wrath of the\nfair ones immediately subsided. The gentlemen present were, however, of\nopinion, that if every lady in the room, whose character corresponded\nwith the verses, had taken him at his word, the poet would, in all\nprobability, have been beaten to death. All his life long he evinced a\ngreat animosity towards the priesthood, and his famous poem abounds with\npassages reflecting upon their avarice, cruelty, and immorality. At his\ndeath he left a large box, filled with some weighty material, which he\nbequeathed to the Cordeliers, as a peace-offering, for the abuse he had\nlavished upon them. As his practice of alchymy was well-known, it was\nthought the box was filled with gold and silver, and the Cordeliers\ncongratulated each other on their rich acquisition. When it came to be\nopened, they found to their horror that it was filled only with slates,\nscratched with hieroglyphic and cabalistic characters. Indignant at the\ninsult, they determined to refuse him Christian burial, on pretence\nthat he was a sorcerer. He was, however, honourably buried in Paris, the\nwhole court attending his funeral.\n\n\nNICHOLAS FLAMEL.\n\nThe story of this alchymist, as handed down by tradition, and enshrined\nin the pages of Lenglet du Fresnoy, is not a little marvellous. He was\nborn at Pontoise of a poor but respectable family, at the end of\nthe thirteenth, or beginning of the fourteenth, century. Having no\npatrimony, he set out for Paris at an early age, to try his fortune as a\npublic scribe. He had received a good education, was well skilled in\nthe learned languages, and was an excellent penman. He soon procured\noccupation as a letter-writer and copyist, and used to sit at the corner\nof the Rue de Marivaux, and practise his calling: but he hardly made\nprofits enough to keep body and soul together. To mend his fortunes\nhe tried poetry; but this was a more wretched occupation still. As a\ntranscriber he had at least gained bread and cheese; but his rhymes were\nnot worth a crust. He then tried painting with as little success; and as\na last resource, began to search for the philosopher's stone, and tell\nfortunes. This was a happier idea; he soon increased in substance, and\nhad wherewithal to live comfortably. He, therefore, took unto himself\nhis wife Petronella, and began to save money; but continued to all\noutward appearance as poor and miserable as before. In the course of a\nfew years, he became desperately addicted to the study of alchymy, and\nthought of nothing but the philosopher's stone, the elixir of life, and\nthe universal alkahest. In the year 1257, he bought by chance an old\nbook for two florins, which soon became the sole study and object of his\nlife. It was written with a steel instrument upon the bark of trees, and\ncontained twenty-one, or as he himself always expressed it, three times\nseven, leaves. The writing was very elegant and in the Latin language.\nEach seventh leaf contained a picture and no writing. On the first\nof these was a serpent swallowing rods; on the second, a cross with a\nserpent crucified; and on the third, the representation of a desert, in\nthe midst of which was a fountain with serpents crawling from side to\nside. It purported to be written by no less a personage than \"Abraham,\npatriarch, Jew, prince, philosopher, priest, Levite, and astrologer;\"\nand invoked curses upon any one who should cast eyes upon it, without\nbeing a sacrificer or a scribe. Nicholas Flamel never thought it\nextraordinary that Abraham should have known Latin, and was convinced\nthat the characters on his book had been traced by the hands of that\ngreat patriarch himself. He was at first afraid to read it, after he\nbecame aware of the curse it contained; but he got over that difficulty\nby recollecting that, although he was not a sacrificer, he had practised\nas a scribe. As he read he was filled with admiration, and found that it\nwas a perfect treatise upon the transmutation of metals. All the process\nwas clearly explained; the vessels, the retorts, the mixtures, and the\nproper times and seasons for the experiment. But as ill-luck would have\nit, the possession of the philosopher's stone or prime agent in the work\nwas presupposed. This was a difficulty which was not to be got over.\nIt was like telling a starving man how to cook a beefsteak, instead of\ngiving him the money to buy one. But Nicholas did not despair; and set\nabout studying the hieroglyphics and allegorical representations with\nwhich the book abounded. He soon convinced himself that it had been one\nof the sacred books of the Jews, and that it was taken from the temple\nof Jerusalem on its destruction by Titus. The process of reasoning by\nwhich he arrived at this conclusion is not stated.\n\nFrom some expression in the treatise, he learned that the allegorical\ndrawings on the fourth and fifth leaves, enshrined the secret of the\nphilosopher's stone, without which all the fine Latin of the directions\nwas utterly unavailing. He invited all the alchymists and learned men\nof Paris to come and examine them, but they all departed as wise as they\ncame. Nobody could make anything either of Nicholas or his pictures; and\nsome even went so far as to say that his invaluable book was not worth\na farthing. This was not to be borne; and Nicholas resolved to discover\nthe great secret by himself, without troubling the philosophers. He\nfound on the first page, of the fourth leaf, the picture of Mercury,\nattacked by an old man resembling Saturn or Time. The latter had an\nhourglass on his head, and in his hand a scythe, with which he aimed\na blow at Mercury's feet. The reverse of the leaf represented a flower\ngrowing on a mountain top, shaken rudely by the wind, with a blue stalk,\nred and white blossoms, and leaves of pure gold. Around it were a great\nnumber of dragons and griffins. On the first page of the fifth leaf\nwas a fine garden, in the midst of which was a rose tree in full bloom,\nsupported against the trunk of a gigantic oak. At the foot of this there\nbubbled up a fountain of milk-white water, which forming a small stream,\nflowed through the garden, and was afterwards lost in the sands. On\nthe second page was a King, with a sword in his hand, superintending\na number of soldiers, who, in execution of his orders, were killing a\ngreat multitude of young children, spurning the prayers and tears of\ntheir mothers, who tried to save them from destruction. The blood of the\nchildren was carefully collected by another party of soldiers, and put\ninto a large vessel, in which two allegorical figures of the Sun and\nMoon were bathing themselves.\n\nFor twenty-one years poor Nicholas wearied himself with the study\nof these pictures, but still he could make nothing of them. His wife\nPetronella at last persuaded him to find out some learned Rabbi; but\nthere was no Rabbi in Paris learned enough to be of any service to him.\nThe Jews met but small encouragement to fix their abode in France,\nand all the chiefs of that people were located in Spain. To Spain\naccordingly Nicholas Flamel repaired. He left his book in Paris for\nfear, perhaps, that he might be robbed of it on the road; and telling\nhis neighbours that he was going on a pilgrimage to the shrine of St.\nJames of Compostello, he trudged on foot towards Madrid in search of a\nRabbi. He was absent two years in that country, and made himself known\nto a great number of Jews, descendants of those who had been expelled\nfrom France in the reign of Philip Augustus. The believers in the\nphilosopher's stone give the following account of his adventures:--They\nsay that at Leon he made the acquaintance of a converted Jew, named\nCauches, a very learned physician, to whom he explained the title and\nthe nature of his little book. The Doctor was transported with joy\nas soon as he heard it named, and immediately resolved to accompany\nNicholas to Paris, that he might have a sight of it. The two set out\ntogether; the Doctor on the way entertaining his companion with the\nhistory of his book, which, if the genuine book he thought it to be,\nfrom the description he had heard of it, was in the handwriting of\nAbraham himself, and had been in the possession of personages no less\ndistinguished than Moses, Joshua, Solomon, and Esdras. It contained\nall the secrets of alchymy and of many other sciences, and was the\nmost valuable book that had ever existed in this world. The Doctor was\nhimself no mean adept, and Nicholas profited greatly by his discourse,\nas in the garb of poor pilgrims they wended their way to Paris,\nconvinced of their power to turn every old shovel in that capital into\npure gold. But, unfortunately, when they reached Orleans, the Doctor was\ntaken dangerously ill. Nicholas watched by his bedside, and acted the\ndouble part of a physician and nurse to him; but he died after a few\ndays, lamenting with his last breath that he had not lived long enough\nto see the precious volume. Nicholas rendered the last honours to\nhis body; and with a sorrowful heart, and not one sous in his pocket,\nproceeded home to his wife Petronella. He immediately recommenced\nthe study of his pictures; but for two whole years he was as far from\nunderstanding them as ever. At last, in the third year, a glimmer of\nlight stole over his understanding. He recalled some expression of his\nfriend, the Doctor, which had hitherto escaped his memory, and he found\nthat all his previous experiments had been conducted on a wrong basis.\nHe recommenced them now with renewed energy, and at the end of the year\nhad the satisfaction to see all his toils rewarded. On the 13th January\n1382, says Lenglet, he made a projection on mercury, and had some very\nexcellent silver. On the 25th April following, he converted a large\nquantity of mercury into gold, and the great secret was his.\n\nNicholas was now about eighty years of age, and still a hale and stout\nold man. His friends say that, by the simultaneous discovery of the\nelixir of life, he found means to keep death at a distance for another\nquarter of a century; and that he died in 1415, at the age of 116. In\nthis interval he had made immense quantities of gold, though to all\noutward appearance he was as poor as a mouse. At an early period of his\nchanged fortune, he had, like a worthy man, taken counsel with his\nold wife Petronella, as to the best use he could make of his wealth.\nPetronella replied, that as unfortunately they had no children, the best\nthing he could do, was to build hospitals and endow churches. Nicholas\nthought so too, especially when he began to find that his elixir could\nnot keep off death, and that the grim foe was making rapid advances upon\nhim. He richly endowed the church of St. Jacques de la Boucherie, near\nthe Rue de Marivaux, where he had all his life resided, besides seven\nothers in different parts of the kingdom. He also endowed fourteen\nhospitals, and built three chapels.\n\nThe fame of his great wealth and his munificent benefactions soon\nspread over all the country, and he was visited, among others, by the\ncelebrated Doctors of that day, Jean Gerson, Jean de Courtecuisse, and\nPierre d'Ailli. They found him in his humble apartment, meanly clad, and\neating porridge out of an earthen vessel; and with regard to his secret,\nas impenetrable as all his predecessors in alchymy. His fame reached\nthe ears of the King, Charles VI, who sent M. de Cramoisi, the Master\nof Requests, to find out whether Nicholas had indeed discovered the\nphilosopher's stone. But M. de Cramoisi took nothing by his visit; all\nhis attempts to sound the alchymist were unavailing, and he returned to\nhis royal master no wiser than he came. It was in this year, 1414, that\nhe lost his faithful Petronella. He did not long survive her; but died\nin the following year, and was buried with great pomp by the grateful\npriests of St. Jacques de la Boucherie.\n\nThe great wealth of Nicholas Flamel is undoubted, as the records of\nseveral churches and hospitals in France can testify. That he practised\nalchymy is equally certain, as he left behind several works upon the\nsubject.\n\nThose who knew him well, and who were incredulous about the\nphilosopher's stone, give a very satisfactory solution of the secret of\nhis wealth. They say that he was always a miser and a usurer; that his\njourney to Spain was undertaken with very different motives from those\npretended by the alchymists; that, in fact, he went to collect debts\ndue from Jews in that country to their brethren in Paris, and that he\ncharged a commission of fully cent. per cent. in consideration of the\ndifficulty of collecting and the dangers of the road; that when he\npossessed thousands, he lived upon almost nothing; and was the general\nmoney-lender, at enormous profits, of all the dissipated young men at\nthe French court.\n\nAmong the works written by Nicholas Flamel on the subject of alchymy, is\n\"The Philosophic Summary,\" a poem, reprinted in 1735, as an appendix\nto the third volume of the \"Roman de la Rose.\" He also wrote three\ntreatises upon natural philosophy, and an alchymic allegory, entitled\n\"Le Desir desire.\" Specimens of his writing, and a fac-simile of the\ndrawings in his book of Abraham, may be seen in Salmon's \"Bibliotheque\ndes Philosophes Chimiques.\" The writer of the article, \"Flamel,\" in the\n\"Biographie Universelle,\" says that, for a hundred years after the death\nof Flamel, many of the adepts believed that he was still alive, and that\nhe would live for upwards of six hundred years. The house he formerly\noccupied, at the corner of the Rue de Marivaux, has been often taken by\ncredulous speculators, and ransacked from top to bottom, in the hopes\nthat gold might be found. A report was current in Paris, not long\nprevious to the year 1816, that some lodgers had found in the cellars\nseveral jars filled with a dark-coloured ponderous matter. Upon the\nstrength of the rumour, a believer in all the wondrous tales told of\nNicholas Flamel bought the house, and nearly pulled it to pieces in\nransacking the walls and wainscotting for hidden gold. He got nothing\nfor his pains, however, and had a heavy bill to pay to restore his\ndilapidations.\n\n\nGEORGE RIPLEY.\n\nWhile alchymy was thus cultivated on the continent of Europe, it was not\nneglected in the isles of Britain. Since the time of Roger Bacon, it had\nfascinated the imagination of many ardent men in England. In the year\n1404, an act of parliament was passed, declaring the making of gold\nand silver to be felony. Great alarm was felt at that time lest any\nalchymist should succeed in his projects, and perhaps bring ruin upon\nthe state, by furnishing boundless wealth to some designing tyrant, who\nwould make use of it to enslave his country. This alarm appears to have\nsoon subsided; for, in the year 1455, King Henry VI, by advice of his\ncouncil and parliament, granted four successive patents and commissions\nto several knights, citizens of London, chemists, monks, mass-priests,\nand others, to find out the philosopher's stone and elixir, \"to the\ngreat benefit,\" said the patent, \"of the realm, and the enabling of the\nKing to pay all the debts of the Crown in real gold and silver.\" Prinn,\nin his \"Aurum Reginae,\" observes, as a note to this passage, that the\nKing's reason for granting this patent to ecclesiastics was, that they\nwere such good artists in transubstantiating bread and wine in the\nEucharist, and therefore the more likely to be able to effect the\ntransmutation of baser metals into better. No gold, of course, was ever\nmade; and, next year, the King, doubting very much of the practicability\nof the thing, took further advice, and appointed a commission of ten\nlearned men, and persons of eminence, to judge and certify to him\nwhether the transmutation of metals were a thing practicable or no. It\ndoes not appear whether the commission ever made any report upon the\nsubject.\n\nIn the succeeding reign, an alchymist appeared who pretended to have\ndiscovered the secret. This was George Ripley, the canon of Bridlington,\nin Yorkshire. He studied for twenty years in the universities of Italy,\nand was a great favourite with Pope Innocent VIII, who made him one of\nhis domestic chaplains, and master of the ceremonies in his household.\nReturning to England in 1477, he dedicated to King Edward IV. his famous\nwork, \"The Compound of Alchymy; or, the Twelve Gates leading to the\nDiscovery of the Philosopher's Stone.\" These gates he described to\nbe calcination, solution, separation, conjunction, putrefaction,\ncongelation, cibation, sublimation, fermentation, exaltation,\nmultiplication, and projection! to which he might have added\nbotheration, the most important process of all. He was very rich, and\nallowed it to be believed that he could make gold out of iron. Fuller,\nin his \"Worthies of England,\" says that an English gentleman of good\ncredit reported that, in his travels abroad, he saw a record in the\nisland of Malta, which declared that Ripley gave yearly to the knights\nof that island, and of Rhodes, the enormous sum of one hundred thousand\npounds sterling, to enable them to carry on the war against the\nTurks. In his old age, he became an anchorite near Boston, and wrote\ntwenty-five volumes upon the subject of alchymy, the most important of\nwhich is the \"Duodecim Portarum,\" already mentioned. Before he died, he\nseems to have acknowledged that he had misspent his life in this vain\nstudy, and requested that all men, when they met with any of his books,\nwould burn them, or afford them no credit, as they had been written\nmerely from his opinion, and not from proof; and that subsequent trial\nhad made manifest to him that they were false and vain. [Fuller's\n\"Worthies of England.\"]\n\n\nBASIL VALENTINE.\n\nGermany also produced many famous alchymists in the fifteenth century,\nthe chief of whom are Basil Valentine, Bernard of Treves, and the Abbot\nTrithemius. Basil Valentine was born at Mayence, and was made prior of\nSt. Peter's, at Erfurt, about the year 1414. It was known, during his\nlife, that he diligently sought the philosopher's stone, and that he had\nwritten some works upon the process of transmutation. They were thought,\nfor many years, to be lost; but were, after his death, discovered\nenclosed in the stone work of one of the pillars in the Abbey. They were\ntwenty-one in number, and are fully set forth in the third volume of\nLenglet's \"History of the Hermetic Philosophy.\" The alchymists asserted,\nthat Heaven itself conspired to bring to light these extraordinary\nworks; and that the pillar in which they were enclosed was miraculously\nshattered by a thunderbolt; and that, as soon as the manuscripts were\nliberated, the pillar closed up again of its own accord!\n\n\nBERNARD of TREVES.\n\nThe life of this philosopher is a remarkable instance of talent and\nperseverance misapplied. In the search of his chimera nothing could\ndaunt him. Repeated disappointment never diminished his hopes; and, from\nthe age of fourteen to that of eighty-five, he was incessantly employed\namong the drugs and furnaces of his laboratory, wasting his life with\nthe view of prolonging it, and reducing himself to beggary in the hopes\nof growing rich.\n\nHe was born at either Treves or Padua, in the year 1406. His father is\nsaid by some to have been a physician in the latter city; and by others,\nto have been Count of the Marches of Treves, and one of the most wealthy\nnobles of his country. At all events, whether noble or physician, he\nwas a rich man, and left his son a magnificent estate. At the age of\nfourteen he first became enamoured of the science of alchymy, and read\nthe Arabian authors in their own language. He himself has left a\nmost interesting record of his labours and wanderings, from which the\nfollowing particulars are chiefly extracted:--The first book which fell\ninto his hands, was that of the Arabian philosopher, Rhazes, from\nthe reading of which he imagined that he had discovered the means\nof augmenting gold a hundred fold. For four years he worked in his\nlaboratory, with the book of Rhazes continually before him. At the end\nof that time, he found that he had spent no less than eight hundred\ncrowns upon his experiment, and had got nothing but fire and smoke for\nhis pains. He now began to lose confidence in Rhazes, and turned to the\nworks of Geber. He studied him assiduously for two years; and, being\nyoung, rich, and credulous, was beset by all the chymists of the town,\nwho kindly assisted him in spending his money. He did not lose his faith\nin Geber, or patience with his hungry assistants, until he had lost two\nthousand crowns--a very considerable sum in those days.\n\nAmong all the crowd of pretended men of science who surrounded him,\nthere was but one as enthusiastic and as disinterested as himself. With\nthis man, who was a monk of the order of St. Francis, he contracted\nan intimate friendship, and spent nearly all his time. Some obscure\ntreatises of Rupecissa and Sacrobosco having fallen into their hands,\nthey were persuaded, from reading them, that highly rectified spirits\nof wine was the universal alkahest, or dissolvent, which would aid them\ngreatly in the process of transmutation. They rectified the alcohol\nthirty times, till they made it so strong as to burst the vessels which\ncontained it. After they had worked three years, and spent three hundred\ncrowns in the liquor, they discovered that they were on the wrong track.\nThey next tried alum and copperas; but the great secret still escaped\nthem. They afterwards imagined that there was a marvellous virtue in\nall excrement, especially the human, and actually employed more than two\nyears in experimentalizing upon it, with mercury, salt, and molten lead!\nAgain the adepts flocked around him from far and near, to aid him with\ntheir counsels. He received them all hospitably, and divided his wealth\namong them so generously and unhesitatingly, that they gave him the name\nof the \"good Trevisan,\" by which he is still often mentioned in works\nthat treat on alchymy. For twelve years he led this life, making\nexperiments every day upon some new substance, and praying to God night\nand morning that he might discover the secret of transmutation.\n\nIn this interval he lost his friend the monk, and was joined by a\nmagistrate of the city of Treves, as ardent as himself in the search.\nHis new acquaintance imagined that the ocean was the mother of gold,\nand that sea-salt would change lead or iron into the precious metals.\nBernard resolved to try; and, transporting his laboratory to a house\non the coast of the Baltic, he worked upon salt for more than a year,\nmelting it, sublimating it, crystalizing it, and occasionally drinking\nit, for the sake of other experiments. Still the strange enthusiast was\nnot wholly discouraged, and his failure in one trial only made him the\nmore anxious to attempt another.\n\nHe was now approaching the age of fifty, and had as yet seen nothing of\nthe world. He, therefore, determined to travel through Germany, Italy,\nFrance, and Spain. Wherever he stopped he made inquiries whether there\nwere any alchymists in the neighbourhood. He invariably sought them out;\nand, if they were poor, relieved, and, if affluent, encouraged them. At\nCiteaux he became acquainted with one Geoffrey Leuvier, a monk of that\nplace, who persuaded him that the essence of egg-shells was a valuable\ningredient. He tried, therefore, what could be done; and was only\nprevented from wasting a year or two on the experiment by the opinions\nof an attorney, at Berghem, in Flanders, who said that the great secret\nresided in vinegar and copperas. He was not convinced of the absurdity\nof this idea until he had nearly poisoned himself. He resided in France\nfor about five years, when, hearing accidentally that one Master Henry,\nconfessor to the Emperor Frederic III, had discovered the philosopher's\nstone, he set out for Germany to pay him a visit. He had, as usual,\nsurrounded himself with a set of hungry dependants, several of whom\ndetermined to accompany him. He had not heart to refuse them, and he\narrived at Vienna with five of them. Bernard sent a polite invitation\nto the confessor, and gave him a sumptuous entertainment, at which\nwere present nearly all the alchymists of Vienna. Master Henry frankly\nconfessed that he had not discovered the philosopher's stone, but that\nhe had all his life been employed in searching for it, and would so\ncontinue, till he found it;--or died. This was a man after Bernard's\nown heart, and they vowed with each other an eternal friendship. It was\nresolved, at supper, that each alchymist present should contribute a\ncertain sum towards raising forty-two marks of gold, which, in five\ndays, it was confidently asserted by Master Henry, would increase, in\nhis furnace, five fold. Bernard, being the richest man, contributed the\nlion's share, ten marks of gold, Master Henry five, and the others one\nor two a piece, except the dependants of Bernard, who were obliged to\nborrow their quota from their patron. The grand experiment was duly\nmade; the golden marks were put into a crucible, with a quantity of\nsalt, copperas, aquafortis, egg-shells, mercury, lead, and dung. The\nalchymists watched this precious mess with intense interest, expecting\nthat it would agglomerate into one lump of pure gold. At the end of\nthree weeks they gave up the trial, upon some excuse that the crucible\nwas not strong enough, or that some necessary ingredient was wanting.\nWhether any thief had put his hands into the crucible is not known, but\nit is certain that the gold found therein at the close of the experiment\nwas worth only sixteen marks, instead of the forty-two, which were put\nthere at the beginning.\n\nBernard, though he made no gold at Vienna, made away with a very\nconsiderable quantity. He felt the loss so acutely, that he vowed to\nthink no more of the philosopher's stone. This wise resolution he kept\nfor two months; but he was miserable. He was in the condition of the\ngambler, who cannot resist the fascination of the game while he has a\ncoin remaining, but plays on with the hope of retrieving former losses,\ntill hope forsakes him, and he can live no longer. He returned once\nmore to his beloved crucibles, and resolved to prosecute his journey\nin search of a philosopher who had discovered the secret, and would\ncommunicate it to so zealous and persevering an adept as himself. From\nVienna he travelled to Rome, and from Rome to Madrid. Taking ship at\nGibraltar, he proceeded to Messina; from Messina to Cyprus; from\nCyprus to Greece; from Greece to Constantinople; and thence into Egypt,\nPalestine, and Persia. These wanderings occupied him about eight years.\nFrom Persia he made his way back to Messina, and from thence into\nFrance. He afterwards passed over into England, still in search of his\ngreat chimera; and this occupied four years more of his life. He was now\ngrowing both old and poor; for he was sixty-two years of age, and had\nbeen obliged to sell a great portion of his patrimony to provide for his\nexpenses. His journey to Persia had cost upwards of thirteen thousand\ncrowns, about one-half of which had been fairly melted in his\nall-devouring furnaces: the other half was lavished upon the sycophants\nthat he made it his business to search out in every town he stopped at.\n\nOn his return to Treves he found, to his sorrow, that, if not an actual\nbeggar, he was not much better. His relatives looked upon him as a\nmadman, and refused even to see him. Too proud to ask for favours from\nany one, and still confident that, some day or other, he would be the\npossessor of unbounded wealth, he made up his mind to retire to the\nisland of Rhodes, where he might, in the mean time, hide his poverty\nfrom the eyes of all the world. Here he might have lived unknown and\nhappy; but, as ill luck would have it, he fell in with a monk as mad as\nhimself upon the subject of transmutation. They were, however, both\nso poor that they could not afford to buy the proper materials to work\nwith. They kept up each other's spirits by learned discourses on the\nHermetic Philosophy, and in the reading of all the great authors who had\nwritten upon the subject. Thus did they nurse their folly, as the good\nwife of Tam O'Shanter did her wrath, \"to keep it warm.\" After Bernard\nhad resided about a year in Rhodes, a merchant, who knew his family,\nadvanced him the sum of eight thousand florins, upon the security of the\nlast-remaining acres of his formerly large estate. Once more provided\nwith funds, he recommenced his labours with all the zeal and enthusiasm\nof a young man. For three years he hardly stepped out of his laboratory:\nhe ate there, and slept there, and did not even give himself time to\nwash his hands and clean his beard, so intense was his application. It\nis melancholy to think that such wonderful perseverance should have been\nwasted in so vain a pursuit, and that energies so unconquerable should\nhave had no worthier field to strive in. Even when he had fumed away his\nlast coin, and had nothing left in prospective to keep his old age\nfrom starvation, hope never forsook him. He still dreamed of ultimate\nsuccess, and sat down a greyheaded man of eighty, to read over all the\nauthors on the hermetic mysteries, from Geber to his own day, lest he\nshould have misunderstood some process, which it was not yet too late\nto recommence. The alchymists say, that he succeeded at last, and\ndiscovered the secret of transmutation in his eighty-second year. They\nadd, that he lived three years afterwards to enjoy his wealth. He lived,\nit is true, to this great age, and made a valuable discovery--more\nvaluable than gold or gems. He learned, as he himself informs us, just\nbefore he had attained his eighty-third year, that the great secret of\nphilosophy was contentment with our lot. Happy would it have been for\nhim if he had discovered it sooner, and before he became decrepit, a\nbeggar, and an exile!\n\nHe died at Rhodes, in the year 1490, and all the alchymists of Europe\nsang elegies over him, and sounded his praise as the \"good Trevisan.\"\nHe wrote several treatises upon his chimera, the chief of which are,\nthe \"Book of Chemistry,\" the \"Verbum dimissum,\" and an essay \"De Natura\nOvi.\"\n\n\nTRITHEMIUS.\n\nThe name of this eminent man has become famous in the annals of alchymy,\nalthough he did but little to gain so questionable an honour. He was\nborn in the year 1462, at the village of Trittheim, in the electorate\nof Treves. His father was John Heidenberg, a vine-grower, in easy\ncircumstances, who, dying when his son was but seven years old, left\nhim to the care of his mother. The latter married again very shortly\nafterwards, and neglected the poor boy, the offspring of her first\nmarriage. At the age of fifteen he did not even know his letters,\nand was, besides, half starved, and otherwise ill-treated by his\nstep-father; but the love of knowledge germinated in the breast of the\nunfortunate youth, and he learned to read at the house of a neighbour.\nHis father-in-law set him to work in the vineyards, and thus occupied\nall his days; but the nights were his own. He often stole out unheeded,\nwhen all the household were fast asleep, poring over his studies in the\nfields, by the light of the moon; and thus taught himself Latin and the\nrudiments of Greek. He was subjected to so much ill-usage at home,\nin consequence of this love of study, that he determined to leave it.\nDemanding the patrimony which his father had left him, he proceeded to\nTreves; and, assuming the name of Trithemius, from that of his native\nvillage of Trittheim, lived there for some months, under the tuition of\neminent masters, by whom he was prepared for the university. At the\nage of twenty, he took it into his head that he should like to see his\nmother once more; and he set out on foot from the distant university for\nthat purpose. On his arrival near Spannheim, late in the evening of a\ngloomy winter's day, it came on to snow so thickly, that he could not\nproceed onwards to the town. He, therefore, took refuge for the night\nin a neighbouring monastery; but the storm continued several days, the\nroads became impassable, and the hospitable monks would not hear of his\ndeparture. He was so pleased with them and their manner of life, that he\nsuddenly resolved to fix his abode among them, and renounce the world.\nThey were no less pleased with him, and gladly received him as a\nbrother. In the course of two years, although still so young, he\nwas unanimously elected their Abbot. The financial affairs of the\nestablishment had been greatly neglected, the walls of the building were\nfalling into ruin, and everything was in disorder. Trithemius, by his\ngood management and regularity, introduced a reform in every branch of\nexpenditure. The monastery was repaired, and a yearly surplus, instead\nof a deficiency, rewarded him for his pains. He did not like to see the\nmonks idle, or occupied solely between prayers for their business, and\nchess for their relaxation. He, therefore, set them to work to copy the\nwritings of eminent authors. They laboured so assiduously, that, in the\ncourse of a few years, their library, which had contained only about\nforty volumes, was enriched with several hundred valuable manuscripts,\ncomprising many of the classical Latin authors, besides the works of\nthe early fathers, and the principal historians and philosophers of\nmore modern date. He retained the dignity of Abbot of Spannheim for\ntwenty-one years, when the monks, tired of the severe discipline he\nmaintained, revolted against him, and chose another abbot in his place.\nHe was afterwards made Abbot of St. James, in Wurtzburg, where he died\nin 1516.\n\nDuring his learned leisure at Spannheim, he wrote several works upon\nthe occult sciences, the chief of which are an essay on geomancy, or\ndivination by means of lines and circles on the ground; another upon\nsorcery; a third upon alchymy; and a fourth upon the government of the\nworld by its presiding angels, which was translated into English, and\npublished by the famous William Lilly in 1647.\n\nIt has been alleged by the believers in the possibility of\ntransmutation, that the prosperity of the abbey of Spannheim, while\nunder his superintendence, was owing more to the philosopher's stone\nthan to wise economy. Trithemius, in common with many other learned men,\nhas been accused of magic; and a marvellous story is told of his having\nraised from the grave the form of Mary of Burgundy, at the intercession\nof her widowed husband, the Emperor Maximilian. His work on\nsteganographia, or cabalistic writing, was denounced to the Count\nPalatine, Frederic II, as magical and devilish; and it was by him taken\nfrom the shelves of his library and thrown into the fire. Trithemius is\nsaid to be the first writer who makes mention of the wonderful story\nof the devil and Dr. Faustus, the truth of which he firmly believed. He\nalso recounts the freaks of a spirit, named Hudekin, by whom he was at\ntimes tormented. [Biographie Universelle]\n\n\nTHE MARECHAL DE RAYS.\n\nOne of the greatest encouragers of alchymy in the fifteenth century\nwas Gilles de Laval, Lord of Rays and a Marshal of France. His name and\ndeeds are little known; but in the annals of crime and folly, they might\nclaim the highest and worst pro-eminence. Fiction has never invented\nanything wilder or more horrible than his career; and were not the\ndetails but too well authenticated by legal and other documents which\nadmit no doubt, the lover of romance might easily imagine they were\ndrawn to please him from the stores of the prolific brain, and not from\nthe page of history.\n\nHe was born about the year 1420, of one of the noblest families of\nBrittany. His father dying when Gilles had attained his twentieth year,\nhe came into uncontrolled possession, at that early age, of a fortune\nwhich the monarchs of France might have envied him. He was a near\nkinsman of the Montmorencys, the Roncys, and the Craons; possessed\nfifteen princely domains, and had an annual revenue of about three\nhundred thousand livres. Besides this, he was handsome, learned, and\nbrave. He distinguished himself greatly in the wars of Charles VII, and\nwas rewarded by that monarch with the dignity of a marshal of France.\nBut he was extravagant and magnificent in his style of living, and\naccustomed from his earliest years to the gratification of every wish\nand passion; and this, at last, led him from vice to vice, and from\ncrime to crime, till a blacker name than his is not to be found in any\nrecord of human iniquity.\n\nIn his castle of Champtoce, he lived with all the splendour of an\nEastern Caliph. He kept up a troop of two hundred horsemen to accompany\nhim wherever he went; and his excursions for the purposes of hawking and\nhunting were the wonder of all the country around, so magnificent were\nthe caparisons of his steeds and the dresses of his retainers. Day and\nnight, his castle was open all the year round to comers of every degree.\nHe made it a rule to regale even the poorest beggar with wine and\nhippocrass. Every day an ox was roasted whole in his spacious kitchens,\nbesides sheep, pigs, and poultry sufficient to feed five hundred\npersons. He was equally magnificent in his devotions. His private chapel\nat Champtoce was the most beautiful in France, and far surpassed any\nof those in the richly-endowed cathedrals of Notre Dame in Paris, of\nAmiens, of Beauvais, or of Rouen. It was hung with cloth of gold and\nrich velvet. All the chandeliers were of pure gold, curiously inlaid\nwith silver. The great crucifix over the altar was of solid silver, and\nthe chalices and incense-burners were of pure gold. He had, besides, a\nfine organ, which he caused to be carried from one castle to another, on\nthe shoulders of six men, whenever he changed his residence. He kept up\na choir of twenty-five young children of both sexes, who were instructed\nin singing by the first musicians of the day. The master of his chapel\nhe called a bishop, who had under him his deans, archdeacons, and\nvicars, each receiving great salaries; the bishop four hundred crowns a\nyear, and the rest in proportion.\n\nHe also maintained a whole troop of players, including ten dancing-girls\nand as many ballad-singers, besides morris-dancers, jugglers, and\nmountebanks of every description. The theatre on which they performed\nwas fitted up without any regard to expense; and they played mysteries,\nor danced the morris-dance, every evening, for the amusement of\nhimself and household, and such strangers as were sharing his prodigal\nhospitality.\n\nAt the age of twenty-three, he married Catherine, the wealthy heiress of\nthe house of Touars, for whom he refurnished his castle at an expense\nof a hundred thousand crowns. His marriage was the signal for new\nextravagance, and he launched out more madly than ever he had done\nbefore; sending for fine singers or celebrated dancers from foreign\ncountries to amuse him and his spouse, and instituting tilts and\ntournaments in his great court-yard almost every week for all the\nknights and nobles of the province of Brittany. The Duke of Brittany's\ncourt was not half so splendid as that of the Marechal de Rays. His\nutter disregard of wealth was so well known that he was made to pay\nthree times its value for everything he purchased. His castle was filled\nwith needy parasites and panderers to his pleasures, amongst whom he\nlavished rewards with an unsparing hand. But the ordinary round of\nsensual gratification ceased at last to afford him delight: he was\nobserved to be more abstemious in the pleasures of the table, and to\nneglect the beauteous dancing-girls who used formerly to occupy so much\nof his attention. He was sometimes gloomy and reserved; and there was\nan unnatural wildness in his eye which gave indications of incipient\nmadness. Still, his discourse was as reasonable as ever; his urbanity\nto the guests that flocked from far and near to Champtoce suffered no\ndiminution; and learned priests, when they conversed with him, thought\nto themselves that few of the nobles of France were so well-informed\nas Gilles de Laval. But dark rumours spread gradually over the country;\nmurder, and, if possible, still more atrocious deeds were hinted at;\nand it was remarked that many young children, of both sexes, suddenly\ndisappeared, and were never afterwards heard of. One or two had been\ntraced to the castle of Champtoce, and had never been seen to leave it;\nbut no one dared to accuse openly so powerful a man as the Marechal de\nRays. Whenever the subject of the lost children was mentioned in his\npresence, he manifested the greatest astonishment at the mystery which\ninvolved their fate, and indignation against those who might be guilty\nof kidnapping them. Still the world was not wholly deceived; his name\nbecame as formidable to young children as that of the devouring ogre in\nfairy tales; and they were taught to go miles round, rather than pass\nunder the turrets of Champtoce.\n\nIn the course of a very few years, the reckless extravagance of the\nMarshal drained him of all his funds, and he was obliged to put up some\nof his estates for sale. The Duke of Brittany entered into a treaty\nwith him for the valuable seignory of Ingrande; but the heirs of Gilles\nimplored the interference of Charles VII. to stay the sale. Charles\nimmediately issued an edict, which was confirmed by the Provincial\nParliament of Brittany, forbidding him to alienate his paternal estates.\nGilles had no alternative but to submit. He had nothing to support his\nextravagance but his allowance as a Marshal of France, which did not\ncover the one-tenth of his expenses. A man of his habits and character\ncould not retrench his wasteful expenditure and live reasonably;\nhe could not dismiss without a pang his horsemen, his jesters, his\nmorris-dancers, his choristers, and his parasites, or confine his\nhospitality to those who really needed it. Notwithstanding his\ndiminished resources, he resolved to live as he had lived before, and\nturn alchymist, that he might make gold out of iron, and be still the\nwealthiest and most magnificent among the nobles of Brittany.\n\nIn pursuance of this determination he sent to Paris, Italy, Germany, and\nSpain, inviting all the adepts in the science to visit him at Champtoce.\nThe messengers he despatched on this mission were two of his most needy\nand unprincipled dependants, Gilles de Sille and Roger de Bricqueville.\nThe latter, the obsequious panderer to his most secret and abominable\npleasures, he had intrusted with the education of his motherless\ndaughter, a child but five years of age, with permission, that he might\nmarry her at the proper time to any person he chose, or to himself if he\nliked it better. This man entered into the new plans of his master with\ngreat zeal, and introduced to him one Prelati, an alchymist of Padua,\nand a physician of Poitou, who was addicted to the same pursuits. The\nMarshal caused a splendid laboratory to be fitted up for them, and the\nthree commenced the search for the philosopher's stone. They were soon\nafterwards joined by another pretended philosopher, named Anthony of\nPalermo, who aided in their operations for upwards of a year. They all\nfared sumptuously at the Marshal's expense, draining him of the ready\nmoney he possessed, and leading him on from day to day with the hope\nthat they would succeed in the object of their search. From time to time\nnew aspirants from the remotest parts of Europe arrived at his castle,\nand for months he had upwards of twenty alchymists at work--trying to\ntransmute copper into gold, and wasting the gold, which was still his\nown, in drugs and elixirs.\n\nBut the Lord of Rays was not a man to abide patiently their lingering\nprocesses. Pleased with their comfortable quarters, they jogged on from\nday to day, and would have done so for years, had they been permitted.\nBut he suddenly dismissed them all, with the exception of the Italian\nPrelati, and the physician of Poitou. These he retained to aid him to\ndiscover the secret of the philosopher's stone by a bolder method. The\nPoitousan had persuaded him that the devil was the great depositary of\nthat and all other secrets, and that he would raise him before Gilles,\nwho might enter into any contract he pleased with him. Gilles expressed\nhis readiness, and promised to give the devil anything but his soul, or\ndo any deed that the arch-enemy might impose upon him. Attended solely\nby the physician, he proceeded at midnight to a wild-looking place in\na neighbouring forest; the physician drew a magic circle around them\non the sward, and muttered for half an hour an invocation to the Evil\nSpirit to arise at his bidding, and disclose the secrets of alchymy.\nGilles looked on with intense interest, and expected every moment to see\nthe earth open, and deliver to his gaze the great enemy of mankind. At\nlast the eyes of the physician became fixed, his hair stood on end, and\nhe spoke, as if addressing the fiend. But Gilles saw nothing except\nhis companion. At last the physician fell down on the sward as if\ninsensible. Gilles looked calmly on to see the end. After a few minutes\nthe physician arose, and asked him if he had not seen how angry the\ndevil looked? Gilles replied, that he had seen nothing; upon which his\ncompanion informed him that Beelzebub had appeared in the form of a wild\nleopard, growled at him savagely, and said nothing; and that the reason\nwhy the Marshal had neither seen nor heard him, was that he hesitated\nin his own mind as to devoting himself entirely to the service. De Rays\nowned that he had indeed misgivings, and inquired what was to be done to\nmake the devil speak out, and unfold his secret? The physician replied,\nthat some person must go to Spain and Africa to collect certain herbs\nwhich only grew in those countries, and offered to go himself, if De\nRays would provide the necessary funds. De Rays at once consented; and\nthe physician set out on the following day with all the gold that his\ndupe could spare him. The Marshal never saw his face again.\n\nBut the eager Lord of Champtoce could not rest. Gold was necessary\nfor his pleasures; and unless, by supernatural aid, he had no means of\nprocuring many further supplies. The physician was hardly twenty leagues\non his journey, before Gilles resolved to make another effort to force\nthe devil to divulge the art of gold making. He went out alone for\nthat purpose, but all his conjurations were of no effect. Beelzebub was\nobstinate, and would not appear. Determined to conquer him if he could,\nhe unbosomed himself to the Italian alchymist, Prelati. The latter\noffered to undertake the business, upon condition that De Rays did not\ninterfere in the conjurations, and consented besides to furnish him with\nall the charms and talismans that might be required. He was further to\nopen a vein in his arm, and sign with his blood a contract that he would\nwork the devil's will in all things, and offer up to him a sacrifice of\nthe heart, lungs, hands, eyes, and blood of a young child. The grasping\nmonomaniac made no hesitation; but agreed at once to the disgusting\nterms proposed to him. On the following night, Prelati went out alone;\nand after having been absent for three or four hours, returned to\nGilles, who sat anxiously awaiting him. Prelati then informed him that\nhe had seen the devil in the shape of a handsome youth of twenty. He\nfurther said, that the devil desired to be called Barron in all future\ninvocations; and had shown him a great number of ingots of pure gold,\nburied under a large oak in the neighbouring forest, all of which, and\nas many more as he desired, should become the property of the Marechal\nde Rays if he remained firm, and broke no condition of the contract.\nPrelati further showed him a small casket of black dust, which would\nturn iron into gold; but as the process was very troublesome, he advised\nthat they should be contented with the ingots they found under the\noak tree, and which would more than supply all the wants that the most\nextravagant imagination could desire. They were not, however, to attempt\nto look for the gold till a period of seven times seven weeks, or\nthey would find nothing but slates and stones for their pains. Gilles\nexpressed the utmost chagrin and disappointment, and at once said that\nhe could not wait for so long a period; if the devil were not more\nprompt, Prelati might tell him, that the Marechal de Rays was not to\nbe trifled with, and would decline all further communication with him.\nPrelati at last persuaded him to wait seven times seven days. They then\nwent at midnight with picks and shovels to dig up the ground under the\noak, where they found nothing to reward them but a great quantity of\nslates, marked with hieroglyphics. It was now Prelati's turn to be\nangry; and he loudly swore that the devil was nothing but a liar and\na cheat. The Marshal joined cordially in the opinion, but was easily\npersuaded by the cunning Italian to make one more trial. He promised\nat the same time that he would endeavour, on the following night, to\ndiscover the reason why the devil had broken his word. He went out alone\naccordingly, and on his return informed his patron that he had seen\nBarron, who was exceedingly angry that they had not waited the proper\ntime ere they looked for the ingots. Barron had also said, that the\nMarechal de Rays could hardly expect any favours from him, at a time\nwhen he must know that he had been meditating a pilgrimage to the Holy\nLand, to make atonement for his sins. The Italian had doubtless surmised\nthis, from some incautious expression of his patron, for De Rays frankly\nconfessed that there were times when, sick of the world and all its\npomps and vanities, he thought of devoting himself to the service of\nGod.\n\nIn this manner the Italian lured on from month to month his credulous\nand guilty patron, extracting from him all the valuables he possessed,\nand only waiting a favourable opportunity to decamp with his plunder.\nBut the day of retribution was at hand for both. Young girls and boys\ncontinued to disappear in the most mysterious manner; and the rumours\nagainst the owner of Champtoce grew so loud and distinct, that the\nChurch was compelled to interfere. Representations were made by the\nBishop of Nantes to the Duke of Brittany, that it would be a public\nscandal if the accusations against the Marechal de Rays were not\ninquired into. He was arrested accordingly in his own castle, along with\nhis accomplice Prelati, and thrown into a dungeon at Nantes to await his\ntrial.\n\nThe judges appointed to try him were the Bishop of Nantes Chancellor\nof Brittany, the Vicar of the Inquisition in France, and the celebrated\nPierre l'Hopital, the President of the Provincial Parliament. The\noffences laid to his charge were sorcery, sodomy, and murder. Gilles, on\nthe first day of his trial, conducted himself with the utmost insolence.\nHe braved the judges on the judgment seat, calling them simoniacs and\npersons of impure life, and said he would rather be hanged by the neck\nlike a dog without trial, than plead either guilty or not guilty to such\ncontemptible miscreants. But his confidence forsook him as the trial\nproceeded, and he was found guilty on the clearest evidence of all the\ncrimes laid to his charge. It was proved that he took insane pleasure\nin stabbing the victims of his lust, and in observing the quivering of\ntheir flesh, and the fading lustre of their eyes as they expired. The\nconfession of Prelati first made the judges acquainted with this horrid\nmadness, and Gilles himself confirmed it before his death. Nearly a\nhundred children of the villagers around his two castles of Champtoce\nand Machecoue, had been missed within three years the greater part,\nif not all, of whom were immolated to the lust or the cupidity of this\nmonster. He imagined that he thus made the devil his friend, and that\nhis recompence would be the secret of the philosopher's stone.\n\nGilles and Prelati were both condemned to be burned alive. At the place\nof execution they assumed the air of penitence and religion. Gilles\ntenderly embraced Prelati, saying, \"Farewell, friend Francis! In this\nworld we shall never meet again; but let us place our hopes in God; we\nshall see each other in Paradise.\" Out of consideration for his\nhigh rank and connections, the punishment of the Marshal was so far\nmitigated, that he was not burned alive like Prelati. He was first\nstrangled, and then thrown into the flames: his body, when half\nconsumed, was given over to his relatives for interment; while that of\nthe Italian was burned to ashes, and then scattered in the winds. [For\nfull details of this extraordinary trial, see \"Lobineau's Nouvelle\nHistoire de Bretagne;\" and D'Argentre's work on the same subject.]\n\n\nJACQUES COEUR.\n\nThis remarkable pretender to the secret of the philosopher's stone, was\ncontemporary with the last mentioned. He was a great personage at the\ncourt of Charles VII, and in the events of his reign played a prominent\npart. From a very humble origin he rose to the highest honours of the\nstate, and amassed enormous wealth, by peculation and the plunder of the\ncountry which he should have served. It was to hide his delinquencies\nin this respect, and to divert attention from the real source of his\nriches, that he boasted of having discovered the art of transmuting the\ninferior metals into gold and silver.\n\nHis father was a goldsmith in the city of Bourges; but so reduced in\ncircumstances towards the latter years of his life, that he was unable\nto pay the necessary fees to procure his son's admission into the guild.\nYoung Jacques became, however, a workman in the Royal Mint of Bourges,\nin 1428, and behaved himself so well, and showed so much knowledge of\nmetallurgy, that he attained rapid promotion in that establishment. He\nhad also the good fortune to make the acquaintance of the fair Agnes\nSorel, by whom he was patronized and much esteemed. Jacques had now\nthree things in his favour--ability, perseverance, and the countenance\nof the King's mistress. Many a man succeeds with but one of these to\nhelp him forward: and it would have been strange indeed, if Jacques\nCoeur, who had them all, should have languished in obscurity. While\nstill a young man he was made Master of the Mint, in which he had been\na journeyman, and installed at the same time into the vacant office of\nGrand Treasurer of the royal household.\n\nHe possessed an extensive knowledge of finance, and turned it\nwonderfully to his own advantage as soon as he became intrusted with\nextensive funds. He speculated in articles of the first necessity, and\nmade himself very unpopular by buying up grain, honey, wines, and other\nproduce, till there was a scarcity, when he sold it again at enormous\nprofit. Strong in the royal favour, he did not hesitate to oppress the\npoor by continual acts of forestalling and monopoly. As there is no\nenemy so bitter as the estranged friend, so of all the tyrants and\ntramplers upon the poor, there is none so fierce and reckless as the\nupstart that sprang from their ranks. The offensive pride of Jacques\nCoeur to his inferiors was the theme of indignant reproach in his own\ncity, and his cringing humility to those above him was as much an object\nof contempt to the aristocrats into whose society he thrust himself. But\nJacques did not care for the former, and to the latter he was blind. He\ncontinued his career till he became the richest man in France, and so\nuseful to the King that no important enterprise was set on foot until he\nhad been consulted. He was sent in 1446 on an embassy to Genoa, and\nin the following year to Pope Nicholas V. In both these missions he\nacquitted himself to the satisfaction of his sovereign, and was rewarded\nwith a lucrative appointment, in addition to those which he already\nheld.\n\nIn the year 1449, the English in Normandy, deprived of their great\ngeneral, the Duke of Bedford, broke the truce with the French King, and\ntook possession of a small town belonging to the Duke of Brittany. This\nwas the signal for the recommencemerit of a war, in which the French\nregained possession of nearly the whole province. The money for this war\nwas advanced, for the most part, by Jacques Coeur. When Rouen yielded\nto the French, and Charles made his triumphal entry into that city,\naccompanied by Dunois and his most famous generals, Jacques was among\nthe most brilliant of his cortege. His chariot and horses vied with\nthose of the King in the magnificence of their trappings; and his\nenemies said of him that he publicly boasted that he alone had driven\nout the English, and that the valour of the troops would would have been\nnothing without his gold.\n\nDunois appears, also, to have been partly of the same opinion. Without\ndisparaging the courage of the army, he acknowledged the utility of\nthe able financier, by whose means they had been fed and paid, and\nconstantly afforded him his powerful protection.\n\nWhen peace returned, Jacques again devoted himself to commerce, and\nfitted up several galleys to trade with the Genoese. He also bought\nlarge estates in various parts of France; the chief of which were the\nbaronies of St. Fargeau, Meneton, Salone, Maubranche, Meaune, St. Gerant\nde Vaux, and St. Aon de Boissy; the earldoms or counties of La Palisse,\nChampignelle, Beaumont, and Villeneuve la Genet, and the marquisate\nof Toucy. He also procured for his son, Jean Coeur, who had chosen the\nChurch for his profession, a post no less distinguished than that of\nArchbishop of Bourges.\n\nEverybody said that so much wealth could not have been honestly\nacquired; and both rich and poor longed for the day that should humble\nthe pride of the man, whom the one class regarded as an upstart and the\nother as an oppressor. Jacques was somewhat alarmed at the rumours that\nwere afloat respecting him, and of dark hints that he had debased the\ncoin of the realm and forged the King's seal to an important document,\nby which he had defrauded the state of very considerable sums. To\nsilence these rumours, he invited many alchymists from foreign countries\nto reside with him, and circulated a counter-rumour, that he had\ndiscovered the secret of the philosopher's stone. He also built a\nmagnificent house in his native city, over the entrance of which\nhe caused to be sculptured the emblems of that science. Some time\nafterwards, he built another, no less splendid, at Montpellier, which\nhe inscribed in a similar manner. He also wrote a treatise upon the\nhermetic philosophy, in which he pretended that he knew the secret of\ntransmuting metals.\n\nBut all these attempts to disguise his numerous acts of peculation\nproved unavailing; and he was arrested in 1452, and brought to trial on\nseveral charges. Upon one only, which the malice of his enemies invented\nto ruin him, was he acquitted; which was, that he had been accessory\nto the death, by poison, of his kind patroness, Agnes Sorel. Upon the\nothers, he was found guilty; and sentenced to be banished the kingdom,\nand to pay the enormous fine of four hundred thousand crowns. It was\nproved that he had forged the King's seal; that, in his capacity of\nMaster of the Mint of Bourges, he had debased, to a very great extent,\nthe gold and silver coin of the realm; and that he had not hesitated\nto supply the Turks with arms and money to enable them to carry on war\nagainst their Christian neighbours, for which service he had received\nthe most munificent recompences. Charles VII. was deeply grieved at\nhis condemnation, and believed to the last that he was innocent. By his\nmeans the fine was reduced within a sum which Jacques Coeur could pay.\nAfter remaining for some time in prison, he was liberated, and left\nFrance with a large sum of money, part of which, it was alleged, was\nsecretly paid him by Charles out of the produce of his confiscated\nestates. He retired to Cyprus, where he died about 1460, the richest and\nmost conspicuous personage of the island.\n\nThe writers upon alchymy all claim Jacques Coeur as a member of\ntheir fraternity, and treat as false and libellous the more rational\nexplanation of his wealth which the records of his trial afford. Pierre\nBorel, in his \"Antiquites Gauloises,\" maintains the opinion that Jacques\nwas an honest man, and that he made his gold out of lead and copper by\nmeans of the philosopher's stone. The alchymic adepts in general were\nof the same opinion; but they found it difficult to persuade even his\ncontemporaries of the fact. Posterity is still less likely to believe\nit.\n\n\nINFERIOR ADEPTS OF THE FOURTEENTH AND FIFTEENTH CENTURIES.\n\nMany other pretenders to the secrets of the philosopher's stone\nappeared in every country in Europe, during the fourteenth and fifteenth\ncenturies. The possibility of transmutation was so generally admitted,\nthat every chemist was more or less an alchymist. Germany, Holland,\nItaly, Spain, Poland, France, and England produced thousands of obscure\nadepts, who supported themselves, in the pursuit of their chimera, by\nthe more profitable resources of astrology and divination. The monarchs\nof Europe were no less persuaded than their subjects of the possibility\nof discovering the philosopher's stone. Henry VI. and Edward IV.\nof England encouraged alchymy. In Germany, the Emperors Maximilian,\nRodolph, and Frederic II. devoted much of their attention to it; and\nevery inferior potentate within their dominions imitated their example.\nIt was a common practice in Germany, among the nobles and petty\nsovereigns, to invite an alchymist to take up his residence among them,\nthat they might confine him in a dungeon till he made gold enough to\npay millions for his ransom. Many poor wretches suffered perpetual\nimprisonment in consequence. A similar fate appears to have been\nintended by Edward II. for Raymond Lulli, who, upon the pretence that he\nwas thereby honoured, was accommodated with apartments in the Tower of\nLondon. He found out in time the trick that was about to be played him,\nand managed to make his escape, some of his biographers say, by jumping\ninto the Thames, and swimming to a vessel that lay waiting to receive him.\nIn the sixteenth century, the same system was pursued, as will be shown\nmore fully in the life of Seton the Cosmopolite, in the succeeding\nchapter.\n\nThe following is a catalogue of the chief authors upon alchymy, who\nflourished during this epoch, and whose lives and adventures are either\nunknown or are unworthy of more detailed notice. John Dowston, an\nEnglishman, lived in 1315, and wrote two treatises on the philosopher's\nstone. Richard, or, as some call him, Robert, also an Englishman, lived\nin 1330, and wrote a work entitled \"Correctorium Alchymiae,\" which was\nmuch esteemed till the time of Paracelsus. In the same year lived Peter\nof Lombardy, who wrote what he called a \"Complete Treatise upon the\nHermetic Science,\" an abridgement of which was afterwards published by\nLacini, a monk of Calabria. In 1330 the most famous alchymist of Paris\nwas one Odomare, whose work \"De Practica Magistri\" was, for a long time,\na hand-book among the brethren of the science. John de Rupecissa,\na French monk of the order of St. Francis, flourished in 1357,\nand pretended to be a prophet as well as an alchymist. Some of his\nprophecies were so disagreeable to Pope Innocent VI, that the Pontiff\ndetermined to put a stop to them, by locking up the prophet in the\ndungeons of the Vatican. It is generally believed that he died there,\nthough there is no evidence of the fact. His chief works are the \"Book\nof Light,\" the \"Five Essences,\" the \"Heaven of Philosophers,\" and his\ngrand work \"De Confectione Lapidis.\" He was not thought a shining light\namong the adepts. Ortholani was another pretender, of whom nothing is\nknown, but that he exercised the arts of alchymy and astrology at Paris,\nshortly before the time of Nicholas Flamel. His work on the practice of\nalchymy was written in that city in 1358. Isaac of Holland wrote, it\nis supposed, about this time; and his son also devoted himself to the\nscience. Nothing worth repeating is known of their lives. Boerhaave\nspeaks with commendation of many passages in their works, and Paracelsus\nesteemed them highly: the chief are \"De Triplici Ordine Elixiris et\nLapidis Theoria,\" printed at Berne in 1608; and \"Mineralia Opera, seu\nde Lapide Philosophico,\" printed at Middleburg in 1600. They also wrote\neight other works upon the same subject. Koffstky, a Pole, wrote an\nalchymical treatise, entitled \"The Tincture of Minerals,\" about the\nyear 1488. In this list of authors a royal name must not be forgotten.\nCharles VI. of France, one of the most credulous princes of the day,\nwhose court absolutely swarmed with alchymists, conjurers, astrologers,\nand quacks of every description, made several attempts to discover\nthe philosopher's stone, and thought he knew so much about it, that\nhe determined to enlighten the world with a treatise. It is called the\n\"Royal Work of Charles VI. of France, and the Treasure of Philosophy.\"\nIt is said to be the original from which Nicholas Flamel took the idea\nof his \"Desir Desire.\" Lenglet du Fresnoy says it is very allegorical,\nand utterly incomprehensible. For a more complete list of the hermetic\nphilosophers of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the reader is\nreferred to the third volume of Lenglet's History already quoted.\n\n\n\n\nPART II.--PROGRESS OF THE INFATUATION DURING THE SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES.\n\nAUGURELLO.--CORNELIUS AGRIPPA.--PARACELSUS.--GEORGE\nAGRICOLA.--DENYS ZACHAIRE.--DR. DEE AND EDWARD KELLY.--THE\nCOSMOPOLITE.--SENDIVOGIUS.--THE ROSICRUCIANS.--MICHAEL MAYER.--ROBERT\nFLUDD.--JACOB BOHMEN.--JOHN HEYDN.--JOSEPH FRANCIS BORRI.--ALCHYMICAL\nWRITERS OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.--DE LISLE.--ALBERT ALUYS.--COUNT DE\nST. GERMAINS.--CAGLIOSTRO.--PRESENT STATE OF THE SCIENCE.\n\nDuring the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the search for the\nphilosopher's stone was continued by thousands of the enthusiastic and\nthe credulous; but a great change was introduced during this period.\nThe eminent men who devoted themselves to the study, totally changed\nits aspect, and referred to the possession of their wondrous stone and\nelixir, not only the conversion of the base into the precious metals,\nbut the solution of all the difficulties of other sciences. They\npretended that by its means man would be brought into closer communion\nwith his Maker; that disease and sorrow would be banished from the\nworld; and that \"the millions of spiritual beings who walk the earth\nunseen\" would be rendered visible, and become the friends, companions,\nand instructors of mankind. In the seventeenth century more especially,\nthese poetical and fantastic doctrines excited the notice of Europe;\nand from Germany, where they had been first disseminated by Rosencreutz,\nspread into France and England, and ran away with the sound judgment of\nmany clever, but too enthusiastic, searchers for the truth. Paracelsus,\nDee, and many others of less note, were captivated by the grace and\nbeauty of the new mythology, which was arising to adorn the literature\nof Europe. Most of the alchymists of the sixteenth century, although\nignorant of the Rosicrucians as a sect, were, in some degree, tinctured\nwith their fanciful tenets: but before we speak more fully of these\npoetical visionaries, it will be necessary to resume the history of the\nhermetic folly where we left off in the former chapter, and trace the\ngradual change that stole over the dreams of the adepts. It will be seen\nthat the infatuation increased rather than diminished as the world grew\nolder.\n\nAUGURELLO.\n\nAmong the alchymists who were born in the fifteenth, and distinguished\nthemselves in the sixteenth century, the first, in point of date,\nis John Aurelio Augurello. He was born at Rimini in 1441, and became\nProfessor of the belles lettres at Venice and Trevisa. He was early\nconvinced of the truth of the hermetic science, and used to pray to God\nthat he might be happy enough to discover the philosopher's stone.\nHe was continually surrounded by the paraphernalia of chemistry, and\nexpended all his wealth in the purchase of drugs and metals. He was also\na poet, but of less merit than pretensions. His \"Chrysopeia,\" in which\nlie pretended to teach the art of making gold, he dedicated to Pope\nLeo X, in the hope that the Pontiff would reward him handsomely for the\ncompliment; but the Pope was too good a judge of poetry to be pleased\nwith the worse than mediocrity of his poem, and too good a philosopher\nto approve of the strange doctrines which it inculcated: he was,\ntherefore, far from gratified at the dedication. It is said, that when\nAugurello applied to him for a reward, the Pope, with great ceremony\nand much apparent kindness and cordiality, drew an empty purse from his\npocket, and presented it to the alchymist, saying, that since he was\nable to make gold, the most appropriate present that could be made\nhim, was a purse to put it in. This scurvy reward was all that the poor\nalchymist ever got either for his poetry or his alchymy. He died in a\nstate of extreme poverty, in the eighty-third year of his age.\n\nCORNELIUS AGRIPPA.\n\nThis alchymist has left a more distinguished reputation. The most\nextraordinary tales were told and believed of his powers. He could turn\niron into gold by his mere word. All the spirits of the air, and\ndemons of the earth, were under his command, and bound to obey him in\neverything. He could raise from the dead the forms of the great men of\nother days, and make them appear \"in their habit as they lived,\" to the\ngaze of the curious who had courage enough to abide their presence.\n\nHe was born at Cologne in 1486, and began, at an early age, the study of\nchemistry and philosophy. By some means or other which have never been\nvery clearly explained, he managed to impress his contemporaries with a\ngreat idea of his wonderful attainments. At the early age of twenty, so\ngreat was his reputation as an alchymist, that the principal adepts of\nParis wrote to Cologne, inviting him to settle in France, and aid them\nwith his experience in discovering the philosopher's stone. Honours\npoured upon him in thick succession; and he was highly esteemed by all\nthe learned men of his time. Melancthon speaks of him with respect\nand commendation. Erasmus also bears testimony in his favour; and the\ngeneral voice of his age proclaimed him a light of literature and an\nornament to philosophy. Some men, by dint of excessive egotism, manage\nto persuade their contemporaries that they are very great men indeed:\nthey publish their acquirements so loudly in people's ears, and keep up\ntheir own praises so incessantly, that the world's applause is actually\ntaken by storm. Such seems to have been the case with Agrippa. He\ncalled himself a sublime theologian, an excellent jurisconsult, an able\nphysician, a great philosopher, and a successful alchymist. The world,\nat last, took him at his word; and thought that a man who talked so\nbig, must have some merit to recommend him--that it was, indeed, a great\ntrumpet which sounded so obstreperous a blast. He was made secretary to\nthe Emperor Maximilian, who conferred upon him the title of Chevalier,\nand gave him the honorary command of a regiment. He afterwards became\nProfessor of Hebrew and the belles lettres, at the University of Dole,\nin France; but quarrelling with the Franciscan monks upon some knotty\npoint of divinity, he was obliged to quit the town. He took refuge in\nLondon, where he taught Hebrew and cast nativities, for about a year.\nFrom London he proceeded to Pavia, and gave lectures upon the writings,\nreal or supposed, of Hermes Trismegistus; and might have lived there in\npeace and honour, had he not again quarrelled with the clergy. By their\nmeans his position became so disagreeable, that he was glad to accept\nan offer made him by the magistracy of Metz, to become their Syndic and\nAdvocate-General. Here, again, his love of disputation made him enemies:\nthe theological wiseacres of that city asserted, that St. Anne had three\nhusbands, in which opinion they were confirmed by the popular belief of\nthe day. Agrippa needlessly ran foul of this opinion, or prejudice as he\ncalled it, and thereby lost much of his influence. Another dispute, more\ncreditable to his character, occurred soon after, and sank him for ever\nin the estimation of the Metzians. Humanely taking the part of a young\ngirl who was accused of witchcraft, his enemies asserted, that he was\nhimself a sorcerer, and raised such a storm over his head, that he was\nforced to fly the city. After this, he became physician to Louisa de\nSavoy, mother of King Francis I. This lady was curious to know the\nfuture, and required her physician to cast her nativity. Agrippa\nreplied, that he would not encourage such idle curiosity. The result\nwas, he lost her confidence, and was forthwith dismissed. If it had been\nthrough his belief in the worthlessness of astrology, that he had made\nhis answer, we might admire his honest and fearless independence; but,\nwhen it is known that, at the very same time, he was in the constant\nhabit of divination and fortunetelling; and that he was predicting\nsplendid success, in all his undertakings, to the Constable of Bourbon,\nwe can only wonder at his thus estranging a powerful friend through mere\npetulance and perversity.\n\nHe was, about this time, invited both by Henry VIII. of England,\nand Margaret of Austria, Governess of the Low Countries, to fix his\nresidence in their dominions. He chose the service of the latter, by\nwhose influence he was made historiographer to the Emperor Charles V.\nUnfortunately for Agrippa, he never had stability enough to remain\nlong in one position, and offended his patrons by his restlessness and\npresumption. After the death of Margaret, he was imprisoned at Brussels,\non a charge of sorcery. He was released after a year; and, quitting\nthe country, experienced many vicissitudes. He died in great poverty in\n1534, aged forty-eight years.\n\nWhile in the service of Margaret of Austria, he resided principally\nat Louvain, in which city he wrote his famous work on the Vanity and\nNothingness of human Knowledge. He also wrote, to please his Royal\nMistress, a treatise upon the Superiority of the Female Sex, which he\ndedicated to her, in token of his gratitude for the favours she had\nheaped upon him. The reputation he left behind him in these provinces\nwas anything but favourable. A great number of the marvellous tales that\nare told of him, relate to this period of his life. It was said, that\nthe gold which he paid to the traders with whom he dealt, always looked\nremarkably bright, but invariably turned into pieces of slate and stone\nin the course of four-and-twenty hours. Of this spurious gold he was\nbelieved to have made large quantities by the aid of the devil, who, it\nwould appear from this, had but a very superficial knowledge of alchymy,\nand much less than the Marechal de Rays gave him credit for. The\nJesuit Delrio, in his book on Magic and Sorcery, relates a still more\nextraordinary story of him. One day, Agrippa left his house, at Louvain;\nand, intending to be absent for some time, gave the key of his study\nto his wife, with strict orders that no one should enter it during his\nabsence. The lady herself, strange as it may appear, had no curiosity to\npry into her husband's secrets, and never once thought of entering the\nforbidden room: but a young student, who had been accommodated with an\nattic in the philosopher's house, burned with a fierce desire to\nexamine the study; hoping, perchance, that he might purloin some book or\nimplement which would instruct him in the art of transmuting metals. The\nyouth, being handsome, eloquent, and, above all, highly complimentary to\nthe charms of the lady, she was persuaded, without much difficulty, to\nlend him the key, but gave him strict orders not to remove anything. The\nstudent promised implicit obedience, and entered Agrippa's study. The\nfirst object that caught his attention, was a large grimoire, or book\nof spells, which lay open on the philosopher's desk. He sat himself down\nimmediately, and began to read. At the first word he uttered, he fancied\nhe heard a knock at the door. He listened; but all was silent. Thinking\nthat his imagination had deceived him, he read on, when immediately a\nlouder knock was heard, which so terrified him, that he started to his\nfeet. He tried to say, \"come in;\" but his tongue refused its office, and\nhe could not articulate a sound. He fixed his eyes upon the door, which,\nslowly opening, disclosed a stranger of majestic form, but scowling\nfeatures, who demanded sternly, why he was summoned? \"I did not\nsummon you,\" said the trembling student. \"You did!\" said the stranger,\nadvancing, angrily; \"and the demons are not to be invoked in vain.\"\nThe student could make no reply; and the demon, enraged that one of the\nuninitiated should have summoned him out of mere presumption, seized\nhim by the throat and strangled him. When Agrippa returned, a few days\nafterwards, he found his house beset with devils. Some of them were\nsitting on the chimneypots, kicking up their legs in the air; while\nothers were playing at leapfrog, on the very edge of the parapet. His\nstudy was so filled with them that he found it difficult to make his\nway to his desk. When, at last, he had elbowed his way through them, he\nfound his book open, and the student lying dead upon the floor. He saw\nimmediately how the mischief had been done; and, dismissing all the\ninferior imps, asked the principal demon how he could have been so rash\nas to kill the young man. The demon replied, that he had been needlessly\ninvoked by an insulting youth, and could do no less than kill him for\nhis presumption. Agrippa reprimanded him severely, and ordered him\nimmediately to reanimate the dead body, and walk about with it in the\nmarket-place for the whole of the afternoon. The demon did so: the\nstudent revived; and, putting his arm through that of his unearthly\nmurderer, walked very lovingly with him, in sight of all the people. At\nsunset, the body fell down again, cold and lifeless as before, and was\ncarried by the crowd to the hospital, it being the general opinion\nthat he had expired in a fit of apoplexy. His conductor immediately\ndisappeared. When the body was examined, marks of strangulation were\nfound on the neck, and prints of the long claws of the demon on various\nparts of it. These appearances, together with a story, which soon\nobtained currency, that the companion of the young man had vanished in\na cloud of flame and smoke, opened people's eyes to the truth. The\nmagistrates of Louvain instituted inquiries; and the result was, that\nAgrippa was obliged to quit the town.\n\nOther authors besides Delrio relate similar stories of this philosopher.\nThe world in those days was always willing enough to believe in tales of\nmagic and sorcery; and when, as in Agrippa's case, the alleged magician\ngave himself out for such, and claimed credit for the wonders he worked,\nit is not surprising that the age should have allowed his pretensions.\nIt was dangerous boasting, which sometimes led to the stake or the\ngallows, and therefore was thought to be not without foundation. Paulus\nJovius, in his \"Eulogia Doctorum Virorum,\" says, that the devil, in the\nshape of a large black dog, attended Agrippa wherever he went. Thomas\nNash, in his adventures of Jack Wilton, relates, that at the request of\nLord Surrey, Erasmus, and some other learned men, Agrippa called up from\nthe grave many of the great philosophers of antiquity; among others,\nTully, whom he caused to re-deliver his celebrated oration for Roscius.\nHe also showed Lord Surrey, when in Germany, an exact resemblance in\na glass of his mistress the fair Geraldine. She was represented on her\ncouch weeping for the absence of her lover. Lord Surrey made a note of\nthe exact time at which he saw this vision, and ascertained afterwards\nthat his mistress was actually so employed at the very minute. To Thomas\nLord Cromwell, Agrippa represented King Henry VIII. hunting in Windsor\nPark, with the principal lords of his court; and to please the Emperor\nCharles V. he summoned King David and King Solomon from the tomb.\n\nNaude, in his \"Apology for the Great Men who have been falsely suspected\nof Magic,\" takes a great deal of pains to clear Agrippa from the\nimputations cast upon him by Delrio, Paulus Jovius, and other such\nignorant and prejudiced scribblers. Such stories demanded refutation in\nthe days of Naude, but they may now be safely left to decay in their own\nabsurdity. That they should have attached, however, to the memory of a\nman, who claimed the power of making iron obey him when he told it to\nbecome gold, and who wrote such a work as that upon magic, which goes by\nhis name, is not at all surprising.\n\nPARACELSUS.\n\nThis philosopher, called by Naude, \"the zenith and rising sun of all the\nalchymists,\" was born at Einsiedeln, near Zurich, in the year 1493.\nHis true name was Hohenheim; to which, as he himself informs us,\nwere prefixed the baptismal names of Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastes\nParacelsus. The last of these he chose for his common designation while\nhe was yet a boy; and rendered it, before he died, one of the most\nfamous in the annals of his time. His father, who was a physician,\neducated his son for the same pursuit. The latter was an apt scholar,\nand made great progress. By chance the work of Isaac Hollandus fell into\nhis hands, and from that time he became smitten with the mania of\nthe philosopher's stone. All his thoughts henceforth were devoted to\nmetallurgy; and he travelled into Sweden that he might visit the mines\nof that country, and examine the ores while they yet lay in the bowels\nof the earth. He also visited Trithemius at the monastery of Spannheim,\nand obtained instructions from him in the science of alchymy. Continuing\nhis travels, he proceeded through Prussia and Austria into Turkey,\nEgypt, and Tatary, and thence returning to Constantinople, learned, as\nhe boasted, the art of transmutation, and became possessed of the\nelixir vitae. He then established himself as a physician in his native\nSwitzerland at Zurich, and commenced writing works upon alchymy and\nmedicine, which immediately fixed the attention of Europe. Their great\nobscurity was no impediment to their fame; for the less the author\nwas understood, the more the demonologists, fanatics, and\nphilosopher's-stone-hunters seemed to appreciate him. His fame as a\nphysician kept pace with that which he enjoyed as an alchymist, owing\nto his having effected some happy cures by means of mercury and opium;\ndrugs unceremoniously condemned by his professional brethren. In the\nyear 1526, he was chosen Professor of Physics and Natural Philosophy in\nthe University of Basle, where his lectures attracted vast numbers of\nstudents. He denounced the writings of all former physicians as tending\nto mislead; and publicly burned the works of Galen and Avicenna, as\nquacks and impostors. He exclaimed, in presence of the admiring and\nhalf-bewildered crowd, who assembled to witness the ceremony, that there\nwas more knowledge in his shoestrings than in the writings of these\nphysicians. Continuing in the same strain, he said all the universities\nin the world were full of ignorant quacks; but that he, Paracelsus, over\nflowed with wisdom. \"You will all follow my new system,\" said he, with\nfurious gesticulations, \"Avicenna, Galen, Rhazis, Montagnana, Meme--you\nwill all follow me, ye professors of Paris, Montpellier, Germany,\nCologne, and Vienna! and all ye that dwell on the Rhine and the\nDanube--ye that inhabit the isles of the sea; and ye also, Italians,\nDalmatians, Athenians, Arabians, Jews--ye will all follow my doctrines,\nfor I am the monarch of medicine!\"\n\nBut he did not long enjoy the esteem of the good citizens of Basle. It\nis said that he indulged in wine so freely, as not unfrequently to be\nseen in the streets in a state of intoxication. This was ruinous for a\nphysician, and his good fame decreased rapidly. His ill fame increased\nin still greater proportion, especially when he assumed the airs of a\nsorcerer. He boasted of the legions of spirits at his command; and\nof one especially, which he kept imprisoned in the hilt of his sword.\nWetterus, who lived twenty-seven months in his service, relates that\nhe often threatened to invoke a whole army of demons, and show him\nthe great authority which he could exercise over them. He let it be\nbelieved, that the spirit in his sword had custody of the elixir of\nlife, by means of which he could make any one live to be as old as the\nantediluvians. He also boasted that he had a spirit at his command,\ncalled \"Azoth,\" whom he kept imprisoned in a jewel; and in many of the\nold portraits he is represented with a jewel, inscribed with the word\n\"Azoth,\" in his hand.\n\nIf a sober prophet has little honour in his own country, a drunken one\nhas still less. Paracelsus found it at last convenient to quit Basle,\nand establish himself at Strasbourg. The immediate cause of this change\nof residence was as follows:--A citizen lay at the point of death, and\nwas given over by all the physicians of the town. As a last resource\nParacelsus was called in, to whom the sick man promised a magnificent\nrecompence, if by his means he were cured. Paracelsus gave him two small\npills, which the man took and rapidly recovered. When he was quite well,\nParacelsus sent for his fee; but the citizen had no great opinion of the\nvalue of a cure which had been so speedily effected. He had no notion\nof paying a handful of gold for two pills, although they had saved his\nlife, and he refused to pay more than the usual fee for a single visit.\nParacelsus brought an action against him, and lost it. This result so\nexasperated him, that he left Basle in high dudgeon. He resumed his\nwandering life, and travelled in Germany and Hungary, supporting himself\nas he went on the credulity and infatuation of all classes of society.\nHe cast nativities--told fortunes--aided those who had money to throw\naway upon the experiment, to find the philosopher's stone--prescribed\nremedies for cows and pigs, and aided in the recovery of stolen\ngoods. After residing successively at Nuremburg, Augsburg, Vienna, and\nMindelheim, he retired in the year 1541 to Saltzbourg, and died in a\nstate of abject poverty in the hospital of that town.\n\nIf this strange charlatan found hundreds of admirers during his life,\nhe found thousands after his death. A sect of Paracelsists sprang up\nin France and Germany, to perpetuate the extravagant doctrines of their\nfounder upon all the sciences, and upon alchymy in particular. The chief\nleaders were Bodenstein and Dorneus. The following is a summary of his\ndoctrine, founded upon supposed existence of the philosopher's stone; it\nis worth preserving from its very absurdity, and altogether unparalleled\nin the history of philosophy:--\n\nFirst of all, he maintained that the contemplation of the perfection of\nthe Deity sufficed to procure all wisdom and knowledge; that the Bible\nwas the key to the theory of all diseases, and that it was necessary to\nsearch into the Apocalypse to know the signification of magic medicine.\nThe man who blindly obeyed the will of God, and who succeeded in\nidentifying himself with the celestial intelligences, possessed the\nphilosopher's stone--he could cure all diseases, and prolong life to as\nmany centuries as he pleased; it being by the very same means that Adam\nand the antediluvian patriarchs prolonged theirs. Life was an emanation\nfrom the stars--the sun governed the heart, and the moon the brain.\nJupiter governed the liver, Saturn the gall, Mercury the lungs, Mars the\nbile, and Venus the loins. In the stomach of every human being there\ndwelt a demon, or intelligence, that was a sort of alchymist in his way,\nand mixed, in their due proportions, in his crucible, the various\naliments that were sent into that grand laboratory the belly.[See the\narticle \"Paracelsus,\" by the learned Renaudin, in the \"Biographie\nUniverselle.\"] He was proud of the title of magician, and boasted that\nhe kept up a regular correspondence with Galen from hell; and that he\noften summoned Avicenna from the same regions to dispute with him on the\nfalse notions he had promulgated respecting alchymy, and especially\nregarding potable gold and the elixir of life. He imagined that gold\ncould cure ossification of the heart, and, in fact, all diseases, if it\nwere gold which had been transmuted from an inferior metal by means of\nthe philosopher's stone, and if it were applied under certain\nconjunctions of the planets. The mere list of the works in which he\nadvances these frantic imaginings, which he called a doctrine, would\noccupy several pages.\n\nGEORGE AGRICOLA.\n\nThis alchymist was born in the province of Misnia, in 1494. His real\nname was Bauer, meaning a husbandman, which, in accordance with the\ncommon fashion of his age, he Latinized into Agricola. From his early\nyouth, he delighted in the visions of the hermetic science. Ere he was\nsixteen, he longed for the great elixir which was to make him live for\nseven hundred years, and for the stone which was to procure him wealth\nto cheer him in his multiplicity of days. He published a small treatise\nupon the subject at Cologne, in 1531, which obtained him the patronage\nof the celebrated Maurice, Duke of Saxony. After practising for some\nyears as a physician at Joachimsthal, in Bohemia, he was employed by\nMaurice as superintendent of the silver mines of Chemnitz. He led a\nhappy life among the miners, making various experiments in alchymy\nwhile deep in the bowels of the earth. He acquired a great knowledge\nof metals, and gradually got rid of his extravagant notions about\nthe philosopher's stone. The miners had no faith in alchymy; and they\nconverted him to their way of thinking, not only in that but in other\nrespects. From their legends, he became firmly convinced that the bowels\nof the earth were inhabited by good and evil spirits, and that firedamp\nand other explosions sprang from no other causes than the mischievous\npropensities of the latter. He died in the year 1555, leaving behind him\nthe reputation of a very able and intelligent man.\n\nDENIS ZACHAIRE.\n\nAutobiography, written by a wise man who was once a fool, is not\nonly the most instructive, but the most delightful of reading. Denis\nZachaire, an alchymist of the sixteenth century, has performed this\ntask, and left a record of his folly and infatuation in pursuit of the\nphilosopher's stone, which well repays perusal. He was born in the\nyear 1510, of an ancient family in Guienne, and was early sent to the\nuniversity of Bordeaux, under the care of a tutor to direct his studies.\nUnfortunately, his tutor was a searcher for the grand elixir, and\nsoon rendered his pupil as mad as himself upon the subject. With this\nintroduction, we will allow Denis Zachaire to speak for himself, and\ncontinue his narrative in his own words:--\n\n\"I received from home,\" says he, \"the sum of two hundred crowns for the\nexpenses of myself and master; but before the end of the year, all our\nmoney went away in the smoke of our furnaces. My master, at the same\ntime, died of a fever, brought on by the parching heat of our\nlaboratory, from which he seldom or never stirred, and which was\nscarcely less hot than the arsenal of Venice. His death was the more\nunfortunate for me, as my parents took the opportunity of reducing my\nallowance, and sending me only sufficient for my board and lodging,\ninstead of the sum I required to continue my operations in alchymy.\n\n\"To meet this difficulty and get out of leading-strings, I returned home\nat the age of twenty-five, and mortgaged part of my property for four\nhundred crowns. This sum was necessary to perform an operation of the\nscience, which had been communicated to me by an Italian at Toulouse,\nand who, as he said, had proved its efficacy. I retained this man in my\nservice, that we might see the end of the experiment. I then, by means\nof strong distillations, tried to calcinate gold and silver; but all my\nlabour was in vain. The weight of the gold I drew out of my furnace was\ndiminished by one-half since I put it in, and my four hundred crowns\nwere very soon reduced to two hundred and thirty. I gave twenty of these\nto my Italian, in order that he might travel to Milan, where the author\nof the receipt resided, and ask him the explanation of some passages\nwhich we thought obscure. I remained at Toulouse all the winter, in the\nhope of his return; but I might have remained there till this day if I\nhad waited for him, for I never saw his face again.\n\n\"In the succeeding summer there was a great plague, which forced me\nto quit the town. I did not, however, lose sight of my work. I went to\nCahors, where I remained six months, and made the acquaintance of an old\nman, who was commonly known to the people as 'the Philosopher;' a name\nwhich, in country places, is often bestowed upon people whose only merit\nis, that they are less ignorant than their neighbours. I showed him my\ncollection of alchymical receipts, and asked his opinion upon them. He\npicked out ten or twelve of them, merely saying that they were better\nthan the others. When the plague ceased, I returned to Toulouse, and\nrecommenced my experiments in search of the stone. I worked to such\neffect that my four hundred crowns were reduced to one hundred and\nseventy.\n\n\"That I might continue my work on a safer method, I made acquaintance,\nin 1537, with a certain Abbe, who resided in the neighbourhood. He\nwas smitten with the same mania as myself, and told me that one of\nhis friends, who had followed to Rome in the retinue of the Cardinal\nd'Armagnac, had sent him from that city a new receipt, which could not\nfail to transmute iron and copper, but which would cost two hundred\ncrowns. I provided half this money, and the Abbe the rest; and we began\nto operate at our joint expense. As we required spirits of wine for our\nexperiment, I bought a tun of excellent vin de Gaillac. I extracted the\nspirit, and rectified it several times. We took a quantity of this,\ninto which we put four marks of silver, and one of gold, that had been\nundergoing the process of calcination for a month. We put this mixture\ncleverly into a sort of horn-shaped vessel, with another to serve as\na retort; and placed the whole apparatus upon our furnace, to produce\ncongelation. This experiment lasted a year; but, not to remain idle,\nwe amused ourselves with many other less important operations. We drew\nquite as much profit from these as from our great work.\n\n\"The whole of the year 1537 passed over without producing any change\nwhatever: in fact, we might have waited till doomsday for the\ncongelation of our spirits of wine. However, we made a projection with\nit upon some heated quicksilver; but all was in vain. Judge of our\nchagrin, especially of that of the Abbe, who had already boasted to all\nthe monks of his monastery, that they had only to bring the large pump\nwhich stood in a corner of the cloister, and he would convert it into\ngold; but this ill luck did not prevent us from persevering. I once more\nmortgaged my paternal lands for four hundred crowns, the whole of which\nI determined to devote to a renewal of my search for the great secret.\nThe Abbe contributed the same sum; and, with these eight hundred crowns,\nI proceeded to Paris, a city more abounding with alchymists than any\nother in the world, resolved never to leave it until I had either found\nthe philosopher's stone, or spent all my money. This journey gave the\ngreatest offence to all my relations and friends, who, imagining that\nI was fitted to be a great lawyer, were anxious that I should establish\nmyself in that profession. For the sake of quietness, I pretended, at\nlast, that such was my object.\n\n\"After travelling for fifteen days, I arrived in Paris, on the 9th\nof January 1539. I remained for a month, almost unknown; but I had no\nsooner begun to frequent the amateurs of the science, and visited the\nshops of the furnace-makers, than I had the acquaintance of more than a\nhundred operative alchymists, each of whom had a different theory and\na different mode of working. Some of them preferred cementation; others\nsought the universal alkahest, or dissolvent; and some of them boasted\nthe great efficacy of the essence of emery. Some of them endeavoured to\nextract mercury from other metals to fix it afterwards; and, in order\nthat each of us should be thoroughly acquainted with the proceedings\nof the others, we agreed to meet somewhere every night, and report\nprogress. We met sometimes at the house of one, and sometimes in the\ngarret of another; not only on week days, but on Sundays, and the great\nfestivals of the Church. 'Ah!' one used to say, 'if I had the means\nof recommencing this experiment, I should do something.' 'Yes,' said\nanother, 'if my crucible had not cracked, I should have succeeded before\nnow:' while a third exclaimed, with a sigh, 'If I had but had a round\ncopper vessel of sufficient strength, I would have fixed mercury with\nsilver.' There was not one among them who had not some excuse for his\nfailure; but I was deaf to all their speeches. I did not want to part\nwith my money to any of them, remembering how often I had been the dupe\nof such promises.\n\n\"A Greek at last presented himself; and with him I worked a long\ntime uselessly upon nails, made of cinabar, or vermilion. I was also\nacquainted with a foreign gentleman newly arrived in Paris, and often\naccompanied him to the shops of the goldsmiths, to sell pieces of gold\nand silver, the produce, as he said, of his experiments. I stuck closely\nto him for a long time, in the hope that he would impart his secret. He\nrefused for a long time, but acceded, at last, on my earnest entreaty,\nand I found that it was nothing more than an ingenious trick. I did not\nfail to inform my friend, the Abbe, whom I had left at Toulouse, of\nall my adventures; and sent him, among other matters, a relation of the\ntrick by which this gentleman pretended to turn lead into gold. The Abbe\nstill imagined that I should succeed at last, and advised me to remain\nanother year in Paris, where I had made so good a beginning. I remained\nthere three years; but, notwithstanding all my efforts, I had no more\nsuccess than I had had elsewhere.\n\n\"I had just got to the end of my money, when I received a letter from\nthe Abbe, telling me to leave everything, and join him immediately at\nToulouse. I went accordingly, and found that he had received letters\nfrom the King of Navarre (grandfather of Henry IV). This Prince was a\ngreat lover of philosophy, full of curiosity, and had written to the\nAbbe, that I should visit him at Pau; and that he would give me three\nor four thousand crowns, if I would communicate the secret I had learned\nfrom the foreign gentleman. The Abbe's ears were so tickled with the\nfour thousand crowns, that he let me have no peace, night or day, until\nhe had fairly seen me on the road to Pau. I arrived at that place in\nthe month of May 1542. I worked away, and succeeded, according to the\nreceipt I had obtained. When I had finished, to the satisfaction of the\nKing, he gave me the reward that I expected. Although he was willing\nenough to do me further service, he was dissuaded from it by the lords\nof his court; even by many of those who had been most anxious that\nI should come. He sent me then about my business, with many thanks;\nsaying, that if there was anything in his kingdom which he could give\nme--such as the produce of confiscations, or the like--he should be\nmost happy. I thought I might stay long enough for these prospective\nconfiscations, and never get them at last; and I therefore determined to\ngo back to my friend, the Abbe.\n\n\"I learned, that on the road between Pau and Toulouse, there resided a\nmonk, who was very skilful in all matters of natural philosophy. On my\nreturn, I paid him a visit. He pitied me very much, and advised me, with\nmuch warmth and kindness of expression, not to amuse myself any longer\nwith such experiments as these, which were all false and sophistical;\nbut that I should read the good books of the old philosophers, where I\nmight not only find the true matter of the science of alchymy, but learn\nalso the exact order of operations which ought to be followed. I very\nmuch approved of this wise advice; but, before I acted upon it, I\nwent back to my Abbe, of Toulouse, to give him an account of the eight\nhundred crowns, which we had had in common; and, at the same time, share\nwith him such reward as I had received from the King of Navarre. If he\nwas little satisfied with the relation of my adventures since our first\nseparation, he appeared still less satisfied when I told him I had\nformed a resolution to renounce the search for the philosopher's stone.\nThe reason was, that he thought me a good artist. Of our eight hundred\ncrowns, there remained but one hundred and seventy-six. When I quitted\nthe Abbe, I went to my own house, with the intention of remaining there,\ntill I had read all the old philosophers, and of then proceeding to\nParis.\n\n\"I arrived in Paris on the day after All Saints, of the year 1546, and\ndevoted another year to the assiduous study of great authors. Among\nothers, the 'Turba Philosophorum' of the 'Good Trevisan,' 'The\nRemonstance of Nature to the wandering Alchymist,' by Jean de Meung; and\nseveral others of the best books: but, as I had no right' principles, I\ndid not well know what course to follow.\n\n\"At last I left my solitude; not to see my former acquaintances, the\nadepts and operators, but to frequent the society of true philosophers.\nAmong them I fell into still greater uncertainties; being, in fact,\ncompletely bewildered by the variety of operations which they showed me.\nSpurred on, nevertheless, by a sort of frenzy or inspiration, I threw\nmyself into the works of Raymond Lulli and of Arnold de Villeneuve. The\nreading of these, and the reflections I made upon them, occupied me for\nanother year, when I finally determined on the course I should adopt.\nI was obliged to wait, however, until I had mortgaged another very\nconsiderable portion of my patrimony. This business was not settled\nuntil the beginning of Lent, 1549, when I commenced my operations. I\nlaid in a stock of all that was necessary, and began to work the\nday after Easter. It was not, however, without some disquietude and\nopposition from my friends who came about me; one asking me what I was\ngoing to do, and whether I had not already spent money enough upon such\nfollies. Another assured me that, if I bought so much charcoal, I should\nstrengthen the suspicion already existing, that I was a coiner of base\nmoney. Another advised me to purchase some place in the magistracy, as\nI was already a Doctor of Laws. My relations spoke in terms still more\nannoying to me, and even threatened that, if I continued to make such\na fool of myself, they would send a posse of police-officers into my\nhouse, and break all my furnaces and crucibles into atoms. I was wearied\nalmost to death by this continued persecution; but I found comfort in\nmy work and in the progress of my experiment, to which I was very\nattentive, and which went on bravely from day to day. About this time,\nthere was a dreadful plague in Paris, which interrupted all intercourse\nbetween man and man, and left me as much to myself as I could desire. I\nsoon had the satisfaction to remark the progress and succession of the\nthree colours which, according to the philosophers, always prognosticate\nthe approaching perfection of the work. I observed them distinctly, one\nafter the other; and next year, being Easter Sunday, 1550, I made the\ngreat trial. Some common quicksilver, which I put into a small crucible\non the fire, was, in less than an hour, converted into very good gold.\nYou may judge how great was my joy, but I took care not to boast of it.\nI returned thanks to God for the favour he had shown me, and prayed that\nI might only be permitted to make such use of it as would redound to his\nglory.\n\n\"On the following day, I went towards Toulouse to find the Abbe,\nin accordance with a mutual promise that we should communicate our\ndiscoveries to each other. On my way, I called in to see the sage monk\nwho had assisted me with his counsels; but I had the sorrow to learn\nthat they were both dead. After this, I would not return to my own home,\nbut retired to another place, to await one of my relations whom I had\nleft in charge of my estate. I gave him orders to sell all that belonged\nto me, as well movable as immovable--to pay my debts with the proceeds,\nand divide all the rest among those in any way related to me who might\nstand in need of it, in order that they might enjoy some share of the\ngood fortune which had befallen me. There was a great deal of talk\nin the neighbourhood about my precipitate retreat; the wisest of my\nacquaintance imagining that, broken down and ruined by my mad expenses,\nI sold my little remaining property that I might go and hide my shame in\ndistant countries.\n\n\"My relative already spoken of rejoined me on the 1st of July, after\nhaving performed all the business I had intrusted him with. We took\nour departure together, to seek a land of liberty. We first retired to\nLausanne, in Switzerland, when, after remaining there for some time,\nwe resolved to pass the remainder of our days in some of the most\ncelebrated cities of Germany, living quietly and without splendour.\"\n\nThus ends the story of Denis Zachaire, as written by himself. He has not\nbeen so candid at its conclusion as at its commencement, and has left\nthe world in doubt as to his real motives for pretending that he had\ndiscovered the philosopher's stone. It seems probable that the sentence\nhe puts into the months of his wisest acquaintances was the true reason\nof his retreat; that he was, in fact, reduced to poverty, and hid his\nshame in foreign countries. Nothing further is known of his life, and\nhis real name has never yet been discovered. He wrote a work on alchymy,\nentitled \"The true Natural Philosophy of Metals.\"\n\nDR. DEE and EDWARD KELLY.\n\nJohn Dee and Edward Kelly claim to be mentioned together, having been\nso long associated in the same pursuits, and undergone so many strange\nvicissitudes in each other's society. Dee was altogether a wonderful\nman, and had he lived in an age when folly and superstition were less\nrife, he would, with the same powers which he enjoyed, have left behind\nhim a bright and enduring reputation. He was born in London, in the year\n1527, and very early manifested a love for study. At the age of fifteen\nhe was sent to Cambridge, and delighted so much in his books, that he\npassed regularly eighteen hours every day among them. Of the other\nsix, he devoted four to sleep and two for refreshment. Such intense\napplication did not injure his health, and could not fail to make\nhim one of the first scholars of his time. Unfortunately, however, he\nquitted the mathematics and the pursuits of true philosophy to indulge\nin the unprofitable reveries of the occult sciences. He studied alchymy,\nastrology, and magic, and thereby rendered himself obnoxious to the\nauthorities at Cambridge. To avoid persecution, he was at last obliged\nto retire to the university of Louvain; the rumours of sorcery that\nwere current respecting him rendering his longer stay in England not\naltogether without danger. He found at Louvain many kindred spirits who\nhad known Cornelius Agrippa while he resided among them, and by whom he\nwas constantly entertained with the wondrous deeds of that great master\nof the hermetic mysteries. From their conversation he received much\nencouragement to continue the search for the philosopher's stone, which\nsoon began to occupy nearly all his thoughts.\n\nHe did not long remain on the Continent, but returned to England in\n1551, being at that time in the twenty-fourth year of his age. By the\ninfluence of his friend, Sir John Cheek, he was kindly received at the\ncourt of King Edward VI, and rewarded (it is difficult to say for what)\nwith a pension of one hundred crowns. He continued for several years\nto practise in London as an astrologer; casting nativities, telling\nfortunes, and pointing out lucky and unlucky days. During the reign of\nQueen Mary he got into trouble, being suspected of heresy, and charged\nwith attempting Mary's life by means of enchantments. He was tried for\nthe latter offence, and acquitted; but was retained in prison on the\nformer charge, and left to the tender mercies of Bishop Bonner. He had\na very narrow escape from being burned in Smithfield, but he, somehow\nor other, contrived to persuade that fierce bigot that his orthodoxy was\nunimpeachable, and was set at liberty in 1555.\n\nOn the accession of Elizabeth, a brighter day dawned upon him. During\nher retirement at Woodstock, her servants appear to have consulted him\nas to the time of Mary's death, which Circumstance, no doubt, first gave\nrise to the serious charge for which he was brought to trial. They now\ncame to consult him more openly as to the fortunes of their mistress;\nand Robert Dudley, the celebrated Earl of Leicester, was sent by command\nof the Queen herself to know the most auspicious day for her coronation.\nSo great was the favour he enjoyed that, some years afterwards,\nElizabeth condescended to pay him a visit at his house in Mortlake,\nto view his museum of curiosities, and, when he was ill, sent her own\nphysician to attend upon him.\n\nAstrology was the means whereby he lived, and he continued to practise\nit with great assiduity; but his heart was in alchymy. The philosopher's\nstone and the elixir of life haunted his daily thoughts and his nightly\ndreams. The Talmudic mysteries, which he had also deeply studied,\nimpressed him with the belief, that he might hold converse with spirits\nand angels, and learn from them all the mysteries of the universe.\nHolding the same idea as the then obscure sect of the Rosicrucians,\nsome of whom he had perhaps encountered in his travels in Germany, he\nimagined that, by means of the philosopher's stone, he could summon\nthese kindly spirits at his will. By dint of continually brooding\nupon the subject, his imagination became so diseased, that he at last\npersuaded himself that an angel appeared to him, and promised to be his\nfriend and companion as long as he lived. He relates that, one day, in\nNovember 1582, while he was engaged in fervent prayer, the window of his\nmuseum looking towards the west suddenly glowed with a dazzling light,\nin the midst of which, in all his glory, stood the great angel Uriel.\nAwe and wonder rendered him speechless; but the angel smiling graciously\nupon him, gave him a crystal, of a convex form, and told him that,\nwhenever he wished to hold converse with the beings of another sphere,\nhe had only to gaze intently upon it, and they would appear in the\ncrystal and unveil to him all the secrets of futurity. [The \"crystal\"\nalluded to appears to have been a black stone, or piece of polished\ncoal. The following account of it is given in the Supplement to\nGranger's \"Biographical History.\"--\"The black stone into which Dee used\nto call his spirits was in the collection of the Earls of Peterborough,\nfrom whence it came to Lady Elizabeth Germaine. It was next the property\nof the late Duke of Argyle, and is now Mr. Walpole's. It appears upon\nexamination to be nothing more than a polished piece of cannel coal; but\nthis is what Butler means when he says, 'Kelly did all his feats\nupon The devil's looking-glass--a stone.'\"] This saying, the angel\ndisappeared. Dee found from experience of the crystal that it was\nnecessary that all the faculties of the soul should be concentrated upon\nit, otherwise the spirits did not appear. He also found that he could\nnever recollect the conversations he had with the angels. He therefore\ndetermined to communicate the secret to another person, who might\nconverse with the spirits while he (Dee) sat in another part of the\nroom, and took down in writing the revelations which they made.\n\nHe had at this time in his service, as his assistant, one Edward Kelly,\nwho, like himself, was crazy upon the subject of the philosopher's\nstone. There was this difference, however, between them, that, while\nDee was more of an enthusiast than an impostor, Kelly was more of an\nimpostor than an enthusiast. In early life he was a notary, and had the\nmisfortune to lose both his ears for forgery. This mutilation, degrading\nenough in any man, was destructive to a philosopher; Kelly, therefore,\nlest his wisdom should suffer in the world's opinion, wore a black\nskull-cap, which, fitting close to his head, and descending over both\nhis cheeks, not only concealed his loss, but gave him a very solemn and\noracular appearance. So well did he keep his secret, that even Dee, with\nwhom he lived so many years, appears never to have discovered it. Kelly,\nwith this character, was just the man to carry on any piece of roguery\nfor his own advantage, or to nurture the delusions of his master for the\nsame purpose. No sooner did Dee inform him of the visit he had received\nfrom the glorious Uriel, than Kelly expressed such a fervour of belief\nthat Dee's heart glowed with delight. He set about consulting his\ncrystal forthwith, and on the 2nd of December 1581, the spirits\nappeared, and held a very extraordinary discourse with Kelly, which\nDee took down in writing. The curious reader may see this farrago\nof nonsense among the Harleian MSS. in the British Museum. The later\nconsultations were published in a folio volume, in 1659, by Dr. Meric\nCasaubon, under the title of \"A True and Faithful Relation of what\npassed between Dr. John Dee and some Spirits; tending, had it succeeded,\nto a general Alteration of most States and Kingdoms in the World.\"\n[Lilly, the astrologer, in his Life written by himself, frequently tells\nof prophecies delivered by the angels in a manner similar to the angels\nof Dr. Dee. He says, \"The prophecies were not given vocally by the\nangels, but by inspection of the crystal in types and figures, or by\napparition the circular way; where, at some distance, the angels appear,\nrepresenting by forms, shapes, and creatures what is demanded. It\nis very rare, yea, even in our days,\" quoth that wiseacre, \"for any\noperator or master to hear the angels speak articulately: when they do\nspeak, it is like the Irish, much in the throat!\"]\n\nThe fame of these wondrous colloquies soon spread over the country, and\neven reached the Continent. Dee, at the same time, pretended to be in\npossession of the elixir vitae, which he stated he had found among the\nruins of Glastonbury Abbey, in Somersetshire. People flocked from far\nand near to his house at Mortlake to have their nativities cast, in\npreference to visiting astrologers of less renown. They also longed\nto see a man who, according to his own account, would never die.\nAltogether, he carried on a very profitable trade, but spent so much\nin drugs and metals to work out some peculiar process of transmutation,\nthat he never became rich.\n\nAbout this time there came into England a wealthy polish nobleman, named\nAlbert Laski, Count Palatine of Siradz. His object was principally, he\nsaid, to visit the court of Queen Elizabeth, the fame of whose glory and\nmagnificence had reached him in distant Poland. Elizabeth received this\nflattering stranger with the most splendid hospitality, and appointed\nher favourite Leicester to show him all that was worth seeing in\nEngland. He visited all the curiosities of London and Westminster, and\nfrom thence proceeded to Oxford and Cambridge, that he might converse\nwith some of the great scholars whose writings shed lustre upon the land\nof their birth. He was very much disappointed at not finding Dr. Dee\namong them, and told the Earl of Leicester that he would not have gone\nto Oxford if he had known that Dee was not there. The Earl promised to\nintroduce him to the great alchymist on their return to London, and the\nPole was satisfied. A few days afterwards, the Earl and Laski being in\nthe antechamber of the Queen, awaiting an audience of her Majesty, Dr.\nDee arrived on the same errand, and was introduced to the Pole. [Albert\nLaski, son of Jaroslav, was Palatine of Siradz, and afterwards of\nSendomir, and chiefly contributed to the election of Henry of Valois,\nthe Third of France, to the throne of Poland, and was one of the\ndelegates who went to France in order to announce to the new monarch his\nelevation to the sovereignty of Poland. After the deposition of Henry,\nAlbert Laski voted for Maximilian of Austria. In 1585 he visited\nEngland, when Queen Elizabeth received him with great distinction. The\nhonours which were shown him during his visit to Oxford, by the especial\ncommand of the Queen, were equal to those rendered to sovereign princes.\nHis extraordinary prodigality rendered his enormous wealth insufficient\nto defray his expenses, and he therefore became a zealous adept\nin alchymy, and took from England to Poland with him two known\nalchymists.--Count Valerian Krasinski's \"Historical Sketch of the\nReformation in Poland.\"] An interesting conversation ensued, which ended\nby the stranger inviting himself to dine with the astrologer at his\nhouse at Mortlake. Dee returned home in some tribulation, for he found\nhe had not money enough, without pawning his plate, to entertain Count\nLaski and his retinue in a manner becoming their dignity. In this\nemergency he sent off an express to the Earl of Leicester, stating\nfrankly the embarrassment he laboured under, and praying his good\noffices in representing the matter to her Majesty. Elizabeth immediately\nsent him a present of twenty pounds.\n\nOn the appointed day, Count Laski came, attended by a numerous retinue,\nand expressed such open and warm admiration of the wonderful attainments\nof his host, that Dee turned over, in his own mind, how he could bind\nirretrievably to his interests a man who seemed so well inclined to\nbecome his friend. Long acquaintance with Kelly had imbued him with\nall the roguery of that personage; and he resolved to make the Pole pay\ndearly for his dinner. He found out, before many days, that he possessed\ngreat estates in his own country, as well as great influence; but that\nan extravagant disposition had reduced him to temporary embarrassment.\nHe also discovered, that he was a firm believer in the philosopher's\nstone and the water of life. He was, therefore, just the man upon whom\nan adventurer might fasten himself. Kelly thought so too; and both of\nthem set to work, to weave a web, in the meshes of which they might\nfirmly entangle the rich and credulous stranger. They went very\ncautiously about it; first throwing out obscure hints of the stone and\nthe elixir; and, finally, of the spirits, by means of whom they could\nturn over the pages of the Book of Futurity, and read the awful secrets\ninscribed therein. Laski eagerly implored that he might be admitted to\none of their mysterious interviews with Uriel and the angels; but they\nknew human nature too well to accede at once to the request. To the\nCount's entreaties they only replied by hints of the difficulty or\nimpropriety of summoning the spirits in the presence of a stranger; or\nof one who might, perchance, have no other motive than the gratification\nof a vain curiosity: but they only meant to whet the edge of his\nappetite by this delay, and would have been sorry indeed if the Count\nhad been discouraged. To show how exclusively the thoughts both of Dee\nand Kelly were fixed upon their dupe, at this time, it is only necessary\nto read the introduction to their first interview with the spirits,\nrelated in the volume of Dr. Casaubon. The entry made by Dee, under the\ndate of the 25th of May 1583, says, that when the spirit appeared to\nthem, \"I, [John Dee], and E. K. [Edward Kelly], sat together, conversing\nof that noble Polonian Albertus Laski, his great honour here with us\nobtained, and of his great liking among all sorts of the people.\" No\ndoubt they were discussing how they might make the most of the \"noble\nPolonian,\" and concocting the fine story with which they afterwards\nexcited his curiosity, and drew him firmly within their toils.\n\"Suddenly,\" says Dee, as they were thus employed, \"there seemed to come\nout of the oratory, a spiritual creature, like a pretty girl, of seven\nor nine years of age, attired on her head, with her hair rolled up\nbefore, and hanging down behind; with a gown of silk, of changeable red\nand green, and with a train. She seemed to play up and down, and seemed\nto go in and out behind the books; and, as she seemed to go between\nthem, the books displaced themselves, and made way for her.\"\n\nWith such tales as these they lured on the Pole from day to day; and\nat last persuaded him to be a witness of their mysteries. Whether they\nplayed off any optical delusions upon him; or whether, by the force of a\nstrong imagination, he deluded himself, does not appear; but certain it\nis, that he became a complete tool in their hands, and consented to do\nwhatever they wished him. Kelly, at these interviews, placed himself at\na certain distance from the wondrous crystal, and gazed intently upon\nit; while Dee took his place in corner, ready to set down the prophecies\nas they were uttered by the spirits. In this manner they prophesied\nto the Pole, that he should become the fortunate possessor of the\nphilosopher's stone; that he should live for centuries, and be chosen\nKing of Poland; in which capacity he should gain many great victories\nover the Saracens, and make his name illustrious over all the earth. For\nthis pose it was necessary, however, that Laski should leave England,\nand take them with him, together with their wives and families; that he\nshould treat them all sumptuously, and allow them to want for nothing.\nLaski at once consented; and very shortly afterwards they were all on\nthe road to Poland.\n\nIt took them upwards of four months to reach the Count's estates, in the\nneighbourhood of Cracow. In the mean time, they led a pleasant life, and\nspent money with an unsparing hand. When once established in the Count's\npalace, they commenced the great hermetic operation of transmuting iron\ninto gold. Laski provided them with all necessary materials, and aided\nthem himself with his knowledge of alchymy: but, somehow or other,\nthe experiment always failed at the very moment that it ought to have\nsucceeded; and they were obliged to recommence operations on a grander\nscale. But the hopes of Laski were not easily extinguished. Already, in\nidea, the possessor of countless millions, he was not to be cast down\nfor fear of present expenses. He thus continued from day to day, and\nfrom month to month, till he was, at last, obliged to sell a portion of\nhis deeply-mortgaged estates, to find aliment for the hungry crucibles\nof Dee and Kelly, and the no less hungry stomachs of their wives and\nfamilies. It was not till ruin stared him in the face, that he awoke\nfrom his dream of infatuation--too happy, even then, to find that he had\nescaped utter beggary. Thus restored to his senses, his first thought\nwas how to rid himself of his expensive visiters. Not wishing to\nquarrel with them, he proposed that they should proceed to Prague, well\nfurnished with letters of recommendation to the Emperor Rudolph. Our\nalchymists too plainly saw that nothing more was to be made of the\nalmost destitute Count Laski. Without hesitation, therefore, they\naccepted the proposal, and set out forthwith to the Imperial residence.\nThey had no difficulty, on their arrival at Prague, in obtaining an\naudience of the Emperor. They found him willing enough to believe\nthat such a thing as the philosopher's stone existed, and flattered\nthemselves that they had made a favourable impression upon him; but,\nfrom some cause or other--perhaps the look of low cunning and quackery\nupon the face of Kelly--the Emperor conceived no very high opinion of\ntheir abilities. He allowed them, however, to remain for some months at\nPrague, feeding themselves upon the hope that he would employ them: but\nthe more he saw of them, the less he liked them; and, when the Pope's\nNuncio represented to him, that he ought not to countenance such heretic\nmagicians, he gave orders that they should quit his dominions within\nfour-and-twenty hours. It was fortunate for them that so little time\nwas given them; for, had they remained six hours longer, the Nuncio had\nreceived orders to procure a perpetual dungeon, or the stake, for them.\n\nNot knowing well where to direct their steps, they resolved to return to\nCracow, where they had still a few friends; but, by this time, the funds\nthey had drawn from Laski were almost exhausted; and they were many days\nobliged to go dinnerless and supperless. They had great difficulty to\nkeep their poverty a secret from the world; but they managed to bear\nprivation without murmuring, from a conviction that if the fact were\nknown, it would militate very much against their pretensions. Nobody\nwould believe that they were possessors of the philosopher's stone, if\nit were once suspected that they did not know how to procure bread for\ntheir subsistence. They still gained a little by casting nativities, and\nkept starvation at arm's length, till a new dupe, rich enough for their\npurposes, dropped into their toils, in the shape of a royal personage.\nHaving procured an introduction to Stephen, King of Poland,\nthey predicted to him, that the Emperor Rudolph would shortly be\nassassinated, and that the Germans would look to Poland for his\nsuccessor. As this prediction was not precise enough to satisfy the\nKing, they tried their crystal again; and a spirit appeared, who told\nthem that the new sovereign of Germany would be Stephen of Poland.\nStephen was credulous enough to believe them, and was once present when\nKelly held his mystic conversations with the shadows of his crystal.\nHe also appears to have furnished them with money to carry on their\nexperiments in alchymy: but he grew tired, at last, of their broken\npromises, and their constant drains upon his pocket; and was on the\npoint of discarding them with disgrace, when they met with another\ndupe, to whom they eagerly transferred their services. This was Count\nRosenberg, a nobleman of large estates, at Trebona, in Bohemia. So\ncomfortable did they find themselves in the palace of this munificent\npatron, that they remained nearly four years with him, faring\nsumptuously, and having an almost unlimited command of his money. The\nCount was more ambitious than avaricious: he had wealth enough, and did\nnot care for the philosopher's stone on account of the gold, but of\nthe length of days it would bring him. They had their predictions,\naccordingly, all ready framed to suit his character. They prophesied\nthat he should be chosen King of Poland; and promised, moreover, that\nhe should live for five hundred years to enjoy his dignity; provided\nalways, that he found them sufficient money to carry on their\nexperiments.\n\nBut now, while fortune smiled upon them; while they revelled in the\nrewards of successful villany, retributive justice came upon them in a\nshape they had not anticipated. Jealousy and mistrust sprang up between\nthe two confederates, and led to such violent and frequent quarrels,\nthat Dee was in constant fear of exposure. Kelly imagined himself a much\ngreater personage than Dee; measuring, most likely, by the standard of\nimpudent roguery; and was displeased that on all occasions, and from all\npersons, Dee received the greater share of honour and consideration. He\noften threatened to leave Dee to shift for himself; and the latter, who\nhad degenerated into the mere tool of his more daring associate, was\ndistressed beyond measure at the prospect of his desertion. His mind was\nso deeply imbued with superstition, that he believed the rhapsodies\nof Kelly to be, in a great measure, derived from his intercourse with\nangels; and he knew not where, in the whole world, to look for a man\nof depth and wisdom enough to succeed him. As their quarrels every day\nbecame more and more frequent, Dee wrote letters to Queen Elizabeth,\nto secure a favourable reception on his return to England; whither he\nintended to proceed, if Kelly forsook him. He also sent her a round\npiece of silver, which he pretended he had made of a portion of brass\ncut out of a warming-pan. He afterwards sent her the warming-pan also,\nthat she might convince herself that the piece of silver corresponded\nexactly with the hole which was cut into the brass. While thus preparing\nfor the worst, his chief desire was to remain in Bohemia with Count\nRosenberg, who treated him well, and reposed much confidence in him.\nNeither had Kelly any great objection to remain; but a new passion\nhad taken possession of his breast, and he was laying deep schemes to\ngratify it. His own wife was ill-favoured and ill-natured; Dee's was\ncomely and agreeable: and he longed to make an exchange of partners,\nwithout exciting the jealousy or shocking the morality of Dee. This was\na difficult matter; but, to a man like Kelly, who was as deficient in\nrectitude and right feeling as he was full of impudence and ingenuity,\nthe difficulty was not insurmountable. He had also deeply studied the\ncharacter and the foibles of Dee; and he took his measures accordingly.\nThe next time they consulted the spirits, Kelly pretended to be shocked\nat their language, and refused to tell Dee what they had said. Dee\ninsisted, and was informed that they were henceforth to have their wives\nin common. Dee, a little startled, inquired whether the spirits might\nnot mean that they were to live in common harmony and good-will? Kelly\ntried again, with apparent reluctance, and said the spirits insisted\nupon the literal interpretation. The poor fanatic, Dee, resigned himself\nto their will; but it suited Kelly's purpose to appear coy a little\nlonger. He declared that the spirits must be spirits, not of good, but\nof evil; and refused to consult them any more. He thereupon took his\ndeparture, saying that he would never return.\n\nDee, thus left to himself, was in sore trouble and distress of mind.\nHe knew not on whom to fix as the successor to Kelly for consulting the\nspirits; but at last chose his son Arthur, a boy of eight years of age.\nHe consecrated him to this service with great ceremony, and impressed\nupon the child's mind the dignified and awful nature of the duties\nhe was called upon to perform; but the poor boy had neither the\nimagination, the faith, nor the artifice of Kelly. He looked intently\nupon the crystal, as he was told; but could see nothing and hear\nnothing. At last, when his eyes ached, he said he could see a vague\nindistinct shadow; but nothing more. Dee was in despair. The deception\nhad been carried on so long, that he was never so happy as when he\nfancied he was holding converse with superior beings; and he cursed the\nday that had put estrangement between him and his dear friend Kelly.\nThis was exactly what Kelly had foreseen; and, when he thought\nthe Doctor had grieved sufficiently for his absence, he returned\nunexpectedly, and entered the room where the little Arthur was in vain\nendeavouring to distinguish something in the crystal. Dee, in entering\nthis circumstance in his journal, ascribes this sudden return to a\n\"miraculous fortune,\" and a \"divine fate;\" and goes on to record that\nKelly immediately saw the spirits, which had remained invisible to\nlittle Arthur. One of these spirits reiterated the previous command,\nthat they should have their wives in common. Kelly bowed his head, and\nsubmitted; and Dee, in all humility, consented to the arrangement.\n\nThis was the extreme depth of the wretched man's degradation. In this\nmanner they continued to live for three or four months, when, new\nquarrels breaking out, they separated once more. This time their\nseparation was final. Kelly, taking the elixir which he had found in\nGlastonbury Abbey, proceeded to Prague, forgetful of the abrupt mode in\nwhich he had previously been expelled from that city. Almost immediately\nafter his arrival, he was seized by order of the Emperor Rudolph, and\nthrown into prison. He was released after some months' confinement, and\ncontinued for five years to lead a vagabond life in Germany, telling\nfortunes at one place, and pretending to make gold at another. He was a\nsecond time thrown into prison, on a charge of heresy and sorcery; and\nhe then resolved, if ever he obtained his liberty, to return to England.\nHe soon discovered that there was no prospect of this, and that his\nimprisonment was likely to be for life. He twisted his bed-clothes into\na rope, one stormy night in February 1595, and let himself down from the\nwindow of his dungeon, situated at the top of a very high tower. Being a\ncorpulent man, the rope gave way, and he was precipitated to the ground.\nHe broke two of his ribs, and both his legs; and was otherwise so much\ninjured, that he expired a few days afterwards.\n\nDee, for a while, had more prosperous fortune. The warming-pan he had\nsent to Queen Elizabeth was not without effect. He was rewarded, soon\nafter Kelly had left him, with an invitation to return to England. His\npride, which had been sorely humbled, sprang up again to its pristine\ndimensions; and he set out for Bohemia with a train of attendants\nbecoming an ambassador. How he procured the money does not appear,\nunless from the liberality of the rich Bohemian Rosenberg, or perhaps\nfrom his plunder. He travelled with three coaches for himself and\nfamily, and three waggons to carry his baggage. Each coach had four\nhorses, and the whole train was protected by a guard of four and twenty\nsoldiers. This statement may be doubted; but it is on the authority of\nDee himself, who made it on oath before the commissioners appointed by\nElizabeth to inquire into his circumstances. On his arrival in England\nhe had an audience of the Queen, who received him kindly as far as words\nwent, and gave orders that he should not be molested in his pursuits of\nchemistry and philosophy. A man who boasted of the power to turn baser\nmetals into gold, could not, thought Elizabeth, be in want of money; and\nshe, therefore, gave him no more substantial marks of her approbation\nthan her countenance and protection.\n\nThrown thus unexpectedly upon his own resources, Dee began in earnest\nthe search for the philosopher's stone. He worked incessantly among\nhis furnaces, retorts, and crucibles, and almost poisoned himself with\ndeleterious fumes. He also consulted his miraculous crystal; but the\nspirits appeared not to him. He tried one Bartholomew to supply the\nplace of the invaluable Kelly; but he being a man of some little\nprobity, and of no imagination at all, the spirits would not hold any\ncommunication with him. Dee then tried another pretender to philosophy,\nof the name of Hickman; but had no better fortune. The crystal had\nlost its power since the departure of its great high-priest. From this\nquarter then Dee could get no information on the stone or elixir of the\nalchymists, and all his efforts to discover them by other means were not\nonly fruitless but expensive. He was soon reduced to great distress, and\nwrote piteous letters to the Queen, praying relief. He represented that,\nafter he left England with Count Laski, the mob had pillaged his house\nat Mortlake, accusing him of being a necromancer and a wizard; and\nhad broken all his furniture, burned his library, consisting of four\nthousand rare volumes, and destroyed all the philosophical instruments\nand curiosities in his museum. For this damage he claimed compensation;\nand furthermore stated, that, as he had come to England by the Queen's\ncommand, she ought to pay the expenses of his journey. Elizabeth sent\nhim small sums of money at various times; but, Dee still continuing\nhis complaints, a commission was appointed to inquire into his\ncircumstances. He finally obtained a small appointment as Chancellor of\nSt. Paul's cathedral, which he exchanged, in 1595, for the wardenship\nof the college at Manchester. He remained in this capacity till 1602\nor 1603, when, his strength and intellect beginning to fail him, he was\ncompelled to resign. He retired to his old dwelling at Mortlake, in a\nstate not far removed from actual want, supporting himself as a common\nfortune-teller, and being often obliged to sell or pawn his books to\nprocure a dinner. James I. was often applied to on his behalf, but he\nrefused to do anything for him. It may be said to the discredit of this\nKing, that the only reward he would grant the indefatigable Stowe, in\nhis days of old age and want, was the royal permission to beg; but no\none will blame him for neglecting such a quack as John Dee. He died in\n1608, in the eighty-first year of his age, and was buried at Mortlake.\n\nTHE COSMOPOLITE.\n\nMany disputes have arisen as to the real name of the alchymist who wrote\nseveral works under the above designation. The general opinion is\nthat he was a Scotsman, named Seton; and that by a fate very common to\nalchymists, who boasted too loudly of their powers of transmutation,\nhe ended his days miserably in a dungeon, into which he was thrown by a\nGerman potentate until he made a million of gold to pay his ransom. By\nsome he has been confounded with Michael Sendivog, or Sendivogius, a\nPole, a professor of the same art, who made a great noise in Europe at\nthe commencement of the seventeenth century. Lenglet du Fresnoy, who is\nin general well-informed with respect to the alchymists, inclines to\nthe belief that these personages were distinct; and gives the following\nparticulars of the Cosmopolite, extracted from George Morhoff, in his\n\"Epistola ad Langelottum,\" and other writers.\n\nAbout the year 1600, one Jacob Haussen, a Dutch pilot, was shipwrecked\non the coast of Scotland. A gentleman, named Alexander Seton, put off\nin a boat, and saved him from drowning, and afterwards entertained him\nhospitably for many weeks at his house on the shore. Haussen saw that\nhe was addicted to the pursuits of chemistry, but no conversation on\nthe subject passed between them at the time. About a year and a half\nafterwards, Haussen being then at home at Enkhuysen, in Holland,\nreceived a visit from his former host. He endeavoured to repay the\nkindness that had been shown him; and so great a friendship arose\nbetween them, that Seton, on his departure, offered to make him\nacquainted with the great secret of the philosopher's stone. In his\npresence the Scotsman transmuted a great quantity of base metal into\npure gold, and gave it him as a mark of his esteem. Seton then took\nleave of his friend, and travelled into Germany. At Dresden he made\nno secret of his wonderful powers; having, it is said, performed\ntransmutation successfully before a great assemblage of the learned men\nof that city. The circumstance coming to the ears of the Duke or Elector\nof Saxony, he gave orders for the arrest of the alchymist. He caused him\nto be imprisoned in a high tower, and set a guard of forty men to watch\nthat he did not escape, and that no strangers were admitted to his\npresence. The unfortunate Seton received several visits from the\nElector, who used every art of persuasion to make him divulge his\nsecret. Seton obstinately refused either to communicate his secret,\nor to make any gold for the tyrant; on which he was stretched upon the\nrack, to see if the argument of torture would render him more tractable.\nThe result was still the same,--neither hope of reward nor fear of\nanguish could shake him. For several months he remained in prison,\nsubjected alternately to a sedative and a violent regimen, till his\nhealth broke, and he wasted away almost to a skeleton.\n\nThere happened at that time to be in Dresden a learned Pole, named\nMichael Sendivogius, who had wasted a good deal of his time and\nsubstance in the unprofitable pursuits of alchymy. He was touched with\npity for the hard fate, and admiration for the intrepidity of Seton; and\ndetermined, if possible, to aid him in escaping from the clutch of his\noppressor. He requested the Elector's permission to see the alchymist,\nand obtained it with some difficulty. He found him in a state of great\nwretchedness,--shut up from the light of day in a noisome dungeon,\nand with no better couch or fare than those allotted to the worst\nof criminals. Seton listened eagerly to the proposal of escape, and\npromised the generous Pole that he would make him richer than an Eastern\nmonarch if by his means he were liberated. Sendivogius immediately\ncommenced operations. He sold some property which he possessed near\nCracow, and with the proceeds led a merry life at Dresden. He gave the\nmost elegant suppers, to which he regularly invited the officers of the\nguard, and especially those who did duty at the prison of the alchymist.\nHe insinuated himself at last into their confidence, and obtained free\ningress to his friend as often as he pleased; pretending that he was\nusing his utmost endeavours to conquer his obstinacy and worm his secret\nout of him. When their project was ripe, a day was fixed upon for the\ngrand attempt; and Sendivogius was ready with a postchariot to convey\nhim with all speed into Poland. By drugging some wine which he presented\nto the guards of the prison, he rendered them so drowsy that he easily\nfound means to scale a wall unobserved, with Seton, and effect his\nescape. Seton's wife was in the chariot awaiting him, having safely in\nher possession a small packet of a black powder, which was, in fact,\nthe philosopher's stone, or ingredient for the transmutation of iron and\ncopper into gold. They all arrived in safety at Cracow; but the frame of\nSeton was so wasted by torture of body and starvation, to say nothing\nof the anguish of mind he had endured, that he did not long survive.\nHe died in Cracow in 1603 or 1604, and was buried under the cathedral\nchurch of that city. Such is the story related of the author of the\nvarious works which bear the name of the Cosmopolite. A list of them\nmay be found in the third volume of the \"History of the Hermetic\nPhilosophy.\"\n\nSENDIVOGIUS.\n\nOn the death of Seton, Sendivogius married his widow, hoping to\nlearn from her some of the secrets of her deceased lord in the art of\ntransmutation. The ounce of black powder stood him, however, in better\nservice; for the alchymists say that, by its means, he converted great\nquantities of quicksilver into the purest gold. It is also said that he\nperformed this experiment successfully before the Emperor Rudolph II, at\nPrague; and that the Emperor, to commemorate the circumstance, caused\na marble tablet to be affixed to the wall of the room in which it was\nperformed, bearing this inscription, \"Faciat hoc quispiam alius, quod\nfecit Sendivogius Polonus.\" M. Desnoyers, secretary to the Princess Mary\nof Gonzaga, Queen of Poland, writing from Warsaw in 1651, says that he\nsaw this tablet, which existed at that time, and was often visited by\nthe curious.\n\nThe after-life of Sendivogius is related in a Latin memoir of him by one\nBrodowski, his steward; and is inserted by Pierre Borel in his \"Treasure\nof Gaulish Antiquities.\" The Emperor Rudolph, according to this\nauthority, was so well pleased with his success, that he made him one of\nhis counsellors of state, and invited him to fill a station in the royal\nhousehold and inhabit the palace. But Sendivogius loved his liberty,\nand refused to become a courtier. He preferred to reside on his own\npatrimonial estate of Gravarna, where, for many years, he exercised a\nprincely hospitality. His philosophic powder, which, his steward says,\nwas red, and not black, he kept in a little box of gold; and with\none grain of it he could make five hundred ducats, or a thousand\nrix-dollars. He generally made his projection upon quicksilver. When he\ntravelled, he gave this box to his steward, who hung it round his neck\nby a gold chain next his skin. But the greatest part of the powder he\nused to hide in a secret place cut into the step of his chariot. He\nthought that, if attacked at any time by robbers, they would not search\nsuch a place as that. When he anticipated any danger, he would dress\nhimself in his valet's clothes, and, mounting the coach-box, put the\nvalet inside. He was induced to take these precautions, because it\nwas no secret that he possessed the philosopher's stone; and many\nunprincipled adventurers were on the watch for an opportunity to plunder\nhim. A German Prince, whose name Brodowski has not thought fit to\nchronicle, served him a scurvy trick, which ever afterwards put him on\nhis guard. This prince went on his knees to Sendivogius, and entreated\nhim in the most pressing terms to satisfy his curiosity by converting\nsome quicksilver into gold before him. Sendivogius, wearied by his\nimportunity, consented, upon a promise of inviolable secrecy. After his\ndeparture, the Prince called a German alchymist, named Muhlenfels, who\nresided in his house, and told him all that had been done. Muhlenfels\nentreated that he might have a dozen mounted horsemen at his command,\nthat he might instantly ride after the philosopher, and either rob him\nof all his powder or force from him the secret of making it. The Prince\ndesired nothing better; and Muhlenfels, being provided with twelve men\nwell mounted and armed, pursued Sendivogius in hot haste. He came up\nwith him at a lonely inn by the road-side, just as he was sitting\ndown to dinner. He at first endeavoured to persuade him to divulge the\nsecret; but, finding this of no avail, he caused his accomplices to\nstrip the unfortunate Sendivogius and tie him naked to one of the\npillars of the house. He then took from him his golden box, containing\na small quantity of the powder; a manuscript book on the philosopher's\nstone; a golden medal with its chain, presented to him by the Emperor\nRudolph; and a rich cap ornamented with diamonds, of the value of one\nhundred thousand rix-dollars. With this booty he decamped, leaving\nSendivogius still naked and firmly bound to the pillar. His servants\nhad been treated in a similar manner; but the people of the inn released\nthem all as soon as the robbers were out of sight.\n\nSendivogius proceeded to Prague, and made his complaint to the Emperor.\nAn express was instantly sent off to the Prince, with orders that he\nshould deliver up Muhlenfels and all his plunder. The Prince, fearful\nof the Emperor's wrath, caused three large gallows to be erected in his\ncourt-yard; on the highest of which he hanged Muhlenfels, with another\nthief on each side of him. He thus propitiated the Emperor, and got rid\nof an ugly witness against himself. He sent back, at the same time,\nthe bejewelled hat, the medal and chain, and the treatise upon the\nphilosopher's stone, which had been stolen from Sendivogius. As regarded\nthe powder, he said he had not seen it, and knew nothing about it.\n\nThis adventure made Sendivogius more prudent; he would no longer perform\nthe process of transmutation before any strangers, however highly\nrecommended. He pretended, also, to be very poor; and sometimes lay in\nbed for weeks together, that people might believe he was suffering from\nsome dangerous malady, and could not therefore by any possibility be\nthe owner of the philosopher's stone. He would occasionally coin false\nmoney, and pass it off as gold; preferring to be esteemed a cheat rather\nthan a successful alchymist.\n\nMany other extraordinary tales are told of this personage by his steward\nBrodowski, but they are not worth repeating. He died in 1636, aged\nupwards of eighty, and was buried in his own chapel at Gravarna. Several\nworks upon alchymy have been published under his name.\n\nTHE ROSICRUCIANS.\n\nIt was during the time of the last-mentioned author that the sect of the\nRosicrucians first began to create a sensation in Europe. The influence\nwhich they exercised upon opinion during their brief career, and the\npermanent impression which they have left upon European literature,\nclaim for them especial notice. Before their time, alchymy was but a\ngrovelling delusion; and theirs is the merit of having spiritualised and\nrefined it. They also enlarged its sphere, and supposed the possession\nof the philosopher's stone to be, not only the means of wealth, but of\nhealth and happiness; and the instrument by which man could command the\nservices of superior beings, control the elements to his will, defy the\nobstructions of time and space, and acquire the most intimate knowledge\nof all the secrets of the universe. Wild and visionary as they were,\nthey were not without their uses; if it were only for having purged the\nsuperstitions of Europe of the dark and disgusting forms with which the\nmonks had peopled it, and substituted, in their stead, a race of mild,\ngraceful, and beneficent beings.\n\nThey are said to have derived their name from Christian Rosencreutz,\nor \"Rose-cross,\" a German philosopher, who travelled in the Holy Land\ntowards the close of the fourteenth century. While dangerously ill at a\nplace called Damcar, he was visited by some learned Arabs, who claimed\nhim as their brother in science, and unfolded to him, by inspiration,\nall the secrets of his past life, both of thought and of action.\nThey restored him to health by means of the philosopher's stone, and\nafterwards instructed him in all their mysteries. He returned to Europe\nin 1401, being then only twenty-three years of age; and drew a chosen\nnumber of his friends around him, whom he initiated into the new\nscience, and bound by solemn oaths to keep it secret for a century. He\nis said to have lived eighty-three years after this period, and to have\ndied in 1484.\n\nMany have denied the existence of such a personage as Rosencreutz, and\nhave fixed the origin of this sect at a much later epoch. The first\ndawning of it, they say, is to be found in the theories of Paracelsus,\nand the dreams of Dr. Dee, who, without intending it, became the actual,\nthough never the recognised founders of the Rosicrucian philosophy. It\nis now difficult, and indeed impossible, to determine whether Dee\nand Paracelsus obtained their ideas from the then obscure and unknown\nRosicrucians, or whether the Rosicrucians did but follow and improve\nupon them. Certain it is, that their existence was never suspected till\nthe year 1605, when they began to excite attention in Germany. No\nsooner were their doctrines promulgated, than all the visionaries,\nParacelsists, and alchymists, flocked around their standard, and vaunted\nRosencreutz as the new regenerator of the human race. Michael Mayer, a\ncelebrated physician of that day, and who had impaired his health and\nwasted his fortune in searching for the philosopher's stone, drew up\na report of the tenets and ordinances of the new fraternity, which was\npublished at Cologne, in the year 1615. They asserted, in the first\nplace, \"that the meditations of their founders surpassed everything that\nhad ever been imagined since the creation of the world, without even\nexcepting the revelations of the Deity; that they were destined to\naccomplish the general peace and regeneration of man before the end of\nthe world arrived; that they possessed all wisdom and piety in a\nsupreme degree; that they possessed all the graces of nature, and could\ndistribute them among the rest of mankind according to their pleasure;\nthat they were subject to neither hunger, nor thirst, nor disease, nor\nold age, nor to any other inconvenience of nature; that they knew by\ninspiration, and at the first glance, every one who was worthy to be\nadmitted into their society; that they had the same knowledge then which\nthey would have possessed if they had lived from the beginning of the\nworld, and had been always acquiring it; that they had a volume in which\nthey could read all that ever was or ever would be written in other\nbooks till the end of time; that they could force to, and retain in\ntheir service the most powerful spirits and demons; that, by the virtue\nof their songs, they could attract pearls and precious stones from the\ndepths of the sea or the bowels of the earth; that God had covered them\nwith a thick cloud, by means of which they could shelter themselves\nfrom the malignity of their enemies, and that they could thus render\nthemselves invisible from all eyes; that the eight first brethren of\nthe \"Rose-cross had power to cure all maladies; that, by means of the\nfraternity, the triple diadem of the Pope would be reduced into dust;\nthat they only admitted two sacraments, with the ceremonies of the\nprimitive Church, renewed by them; that they recognised the Fourth\nMonarchy and the Emperor of the Romans as their chief and the chief\nof all Christians; that they would provide him with more gold, their\ntreasures being inexhaustible, than the King of Spain had ever drawn\nfrom the golden regions of Eastern and Western Ind.\" This was their\nconfession of faith. Their rules of conduct were six in number, and as\nfollow:--\n\nFirst. That, in their travels, they should gratuitously cure all\ndiseases.\n\nSecondly. That they should always dress in conformity to the fashion of\nthe country in which they resided.\n\nThirdly. That they should, once every year, meet together in the place\nappointed by the fraternity, or send in writing an available excuse.\n\nFourthly. That every brother, whenever he felt inclined to die, should\nchoose a person worthy to succeed him.\n\nFifthly. That the words \"Rose-cross\" should be the marks by which they\nshould recognise each other.\n\nSixthly. That their fraternity should be kept secret for six times\ntwenty years.\n\nThey asserted that these laws had been found inscribed in a golden book\nin the tomb of Rosencreutz, and that the six times twenty years from\nhis death expired in 1604. They were consequently called upon, from that\ntime forth, to promulgate their doctrine for the welfare of mankind.\n[The following legend of the tomb of Rosencreutz, written by Eustace\nBudgell, appears in No. 379 of the Spectator:--\"A certain person, having\noccasion to dig somewhat deep in the ground where this philosopher lay\ninterred, met with a small door, having a wall on each side of it. His\ncuriosity, and the hope of finding some hidden treasure, soon prompted\nhim to force open the door. He was immediately surprised by a sudden\nblaze of light, and discovered a very fair vault. At the upper end of it\nwas a statue of a man in armour, sitting by a table, and leaning on his\nleft arm. He held a truncheon in his right hand, and had a lamp burning\nbefore him. The man had no sooner set one foot within the vault,\nthan the statue, erecting itself from its leaning posture, stood bolt\nupright; and, upon the fellow's advancing another step, lifted up the\ntruncheon in his right hand. The man still ventured a third step; when\nthe statue, with a furious blow, broke the lamp into a thousand\npieces, and left his guest in sudden darkness. Upon the report of this\nadventure, the country people came with lights to the sepulchre, and\ndiscovered that the statue, which was made of brass, was nothing more\nthan a piece of clock-work; that the floor of the vault was all loose,\nand underlaid with several springs, which, upon any man's entering,\nnaturally produced that which had happened. Rosicreucius, say his\ndisciples, made use of this method to show the world that he had\nre-invented the ever-burning lamps of the ancients, though he was\nresolved no one should reap any advantage from the discovery.\"]\n\n\nFor eight years these enthusiasts made converts in Germany; but they\nexcited little or no attention in other parts of Europe. At last they\nmade their appearance in Paris, and threw all the learned, all the\ncredulous, and all the lovers of the marvellous into commotion. In the\nbeginning of March 1623, the good folks of that city, when they arose\none morning, were surprised to find all their walls placarded with\nthe following singular manifesto:--\n\n\"We, the deputies of the principal College of the Brethren of the\nRose-cross, have taken up our abode, visible and invisible, in this\ncity, by the grace of the Most High, towards whom are turned the hearts\nof the just. We show and teach without books or signs, and speak all\nsorts of languages in the countries where we dwell, to draw mankind, our\nfellows, from error and from death.\"\n\nFor a long time this strange placard was the sole topic of conversation\nin all public places. Some few wondered; but the greater number only\nlaughed at it. In the course of a few weeks two books were published,\nwhich raised the first alarm respecting this mysterious society, whose\ndwelling-place no one knew, and no members of which had ever been seen.\nThe first was called a history of \"The frightful Compacts entered into\nbetween the Devil and the pretended 'Invisibles;' with their damnable\nInstructions, the deplorable Ruin of their Disciples, and their\nmiserable End.\" The other was called an \"Examination of the new and\nunknown Cabala of the Brethren of the Rose-cross, who have lately\ninhabited the City of Paris; with the History of their Manners, the\nWonders worked by them, and many other Particulars.\"\n\nThese books sold rapidly. Every one was anxious to know something of\nthis dreadful and secret brotherhood. The badauds of Paris were so\nalarmed that they daily expected to see the arch-enemy walking in\npropria persona among them. It was said in these volumes, that the\nRosicrucian society consisted of six-and-thirty persons in all, who had\nrenounced their baptism and hope of resurrection. That it was not\nby means of good angels, as they pretended, that they worked their\nprodigies; but that it was the devil who gave them power to transport\nthemselves from one end of the world to the other with the rapidity of\nthought; to speak all languages; to have their purses always full of\nmoney, however much they might spend; to be invisible, and penetrate\ninto the most secret places, in spite of fastenings of bolts and bars;\nand to be able to tell the past and future. These thirty-six brethren\nwere divided into bands or companies:--\n\nSix of them only had been sent on the mission to Paris, six to Italy,\nsix to Spain, six to Germany, four to Sweden, and two into Switzerland;\ntwo into Flanders, two into Lorraine, and two into Franche Comte. It was\ngenerally believed that the missionaries to France resided somewhere in\nthe Marais du Temple. That quarter of Paris soon acquired a bad name;\nand people were afraid to take houses in it, lest they should be turned\nout by the six invisibles of the Rose-cross. It was believed by the\npopulace, and by many others whose education should have taught them\nbetter, that persons of a mysterious aspect used to visit the inns and\nhotels of Paris, and eat of the best meats and drink of the best wines,\nand then suddenly melt away into thin air when the landlord came with\nthe reckoning. That gentle maidens, who went to bed alone, often awoke\nin the night and found men in bed with them, of shape more beautiful\nthan the Grecian Apollo, who immediately became invisible when an alarm\nwas raised. It was also said that many persons found large heaps of pure\ngold in their houses, without knowing from whence they came. All Paris\nwas in alarm. No man thought himself secure of his goods, no maiden of\nher virginity, or wife of her chastity, while these Rosicrucians were\nabroad. In the midst of the commotion, a second placard was issued to\nthe following effect:--\"If any one desires to see the brethren of the\nRose-cross from curiosity only, he will never communicate with us. But\nif his will really induces him to inscribe his name in the register of\nour brotherhood, we, who can judge of the thoughts of all men, will\nconvince him of the truth of our promises. For this reason we do not\npublish to the world the place of our abode. Thought alone, in unison\nwith the sincere will of those who desire to know us, is sufficient to\nmake us known to them, and them to us.\"\n\nThough the existence of such a society as that of the Rose-cross was\nproblematical, it was quite evident that somebody or other was concerned\nin the promulgation of these placards, which were stuck up on every wall\nin Paris. The police endeavoured in vain to find out the offenders,\nand their want of success only served to increase the perplexity of\nthe public. The church very soon took up the question; and the Abbe\nGaultier, a Jesuit, wrote a book to prove that, by their enmity to\nthe Pope, they could be no other than disciples of Luther, sent to\npromulgate his heresy. Their very name, he added, proved that they were\nheretics; a cross surmounted by a rose being the heraldic device of\nthe arch-heretic Luther. One Garasse said they were a confraternity of\ndrunken impostors; and that their name was derived from the garland\nof roses, in the form of a cross, hung over the tables of taverns in\nGermany as the emblem of secrecy, and from whence was derived the common\nsaying, when one man communicated a secret to another, that it was said\n\"under the rose.\" Others interpreted the letters F. R. C. to mean, not\nBrethren of the Rose-cross, but Fratres Roris Cocti, or Brothers\nof Boiled Dew; and explained this appellation by alleging that they\ncollected large quantities of morning dew, and boiled it, in order\nto extract a very valuable ingredient in the composition of the\nphilosopher's stone and the water of life.\n\nThe fraternity thus attacked defended themselves as well as they\nwere able. They denied that they used magic of any kind, or that they\nconsulted the devil. They said they were all happy; that they had lived\nmore than a century, and expected to live many centuries more; and\nthat the intimate knowledge which they possessed of all nature was\ncommunicated to them by God himself as a reward for their piety and\nutter devotion to his service. Those were in error who derived their\nname from a cross of roses, or called them drunkards. To set the world\nright on the first point, they reiterated that they derived their name\nfrom Christian Rosencreutz, their founder; and, to answer the latter\ncharge, they repeated that they knew not what thirst was, and had higher\npleasures than those of the palate. They did not desire to meddle with\nthe politics or religion of any man or set of men, although they could\nnot help denying the supremacy of the Pope, and looking upon him as a\ntyrant. Many slanders, they said, had been repeated respecting them; the\nmost unjust of which was, that they indulged in carnal appetites,\nand, under the cloak of their invisibility, crept into the chambers of\nbeautiful maidens. They asserted, on the contrary, that the first vow\nthey took on entering the society was a vow of chastity; and that any\none among them who transgressed in that particular would immediately\nlose all the advantages he enjoyed, and be exposed once more to hunger,\nwoe, disease, and death, like other men. So strongly did they feel on\nthe subject of chastity, that they attributed the fall of Adam solely\nto his want of this virtue. Besides defending themselves in this manner,\nthey entered into a further confession of their faith. They discarded\nfor ever all the old tales of sorcery and witchcraft, and communion\nwith the devil. They said there were no such horrid, unnatural, and\ndisgusting beings as the incubi and succubi, and the innumerable\ngrotesque imps that men had believed in for so many ages. Man was not\nsurrounded with enemies like these, but with myriads of beautiful and\nbeneficent beings, all anxious to do him service. The air was peopled\nwith sylphs, the water with undines or naiads, the bowels of the earth\nwith gnomes, and the fire with salamanders. All these beings were the\nfriends of man, and desired nothing so much as that men should purge\nthemselves of all uncleanness, and thus be enabled to see and converse\nwith them. They possessed great power, and were unrestrained by the\nbarriers of space or the obstructions of matter. But man was in one\nparticular their superior. He had an immortal soul, and they had not.\nThey might, however, become sharers in man's immortality, if they could\ninspire one of that race with the passion of love towards them. Hence\nit was the constant endeavour of the female spirits to captivate the\nadmiration of men; and of the male gnomes, sylphs, salamanders, and\nundines, to be beloved by a woman. The object of this passion, in\nreturning their love, imparted a portion of that celestial fire the\nsoul; and from that time forth the beloved became equal to the lover,\nand both, when their allotted course was run, entered together into the\nmansions of felicity. These spirits, they said, watched constantly over\nmankind by night and day. Dreams, omens, and presentiments were all\ntheir works, and the means by which they gave warning of the approach\nof danger. But, though so well inclined to befriend man for their\nown sakes, the want of a soul rendered them at times capricious and\nrevengeful: they took offence on slight causes, and heaped injuries\ninstead of benefits on the heads of those who extinguished the light of\nreason that was in them, by gluttony, debauchery, and other appetites of\nthe body.\n\nThe excitement produced in Paris by the placards of the brotherhood,\nand the attacks of the clergy, wore itself away after a few months. The\nstories circulated about them became at last too absurd even for that\nage of absurdity, and men began to laugh once more at those invisible\ngentlemen and their fantastic doctrines. Gabriel Naude at that\nconjuncture brought out his \"Avis a la France sur les Freres de la\nRose-croix,\" in which he very successfully exposed the folly of the\nnew sect. This work, though not well written, was well timed. It quite\nextinguished the Rosicrucians of France; and, after that year, little\nmore was heard of them. Swindlers, in different parts of the country,\nassumed the name at times to cloak their depredations; and now and\nthen one of them was caught, and hanged for his too great ingenuity in\nenticing pearls and precious stones from the pockets of other people\ninto his own, or for passing off lumps of gilded brass for pure gold,\nmade by the agency of the philosopher's stone. With these exceptions,\noblivion shrouded them.\n\nThe doctrine was not confined to a sphere so narrow as France alone;\nit still flourished in Germany, and drew many converts in England. The\nlatter countries produced two great masters, in the persons of Jacob\nBohmen and Robert Fludd; pretended philosophers, of whom it is difficult\nto say which was the more absurd and extravagant. It would appear that\nthe sect was divided into two classes,--the brothers Roseae Crucis,\nwho devoted themselves to the wonders of this sublunary sphere; and the\nbrothers Aureae Crucis, who were wholly occupied in the contemplation\nof things Divine. Fludd belonged to the first class, and Bohmen to the\nsecond. Fludd may be called the father of the English Rosicrucians, and\nas such merits a conspicuous niche in the temple of Folly.\n\nHe was born in the year 1574, at Milgate, in Kent; and was the son of\nSir Thomas Fludd, Treasurer of War to Queen Elizabeth. He was\noriginally intended for the army; but he was too fond of study, and of\na disposition too quiet and retiring to shine in that sphere. His father\nwould not, therefore, press him to adopt a course of life for which he\nwas unsuited, and encouraged him in the study of medicine, for which he\nearly manifested a partiality. At the age of twenty-five he proceeded to\nthe Continent; and being fond of the abstruse, the marvellous, and\nthe incomprehensible, he became an ardent disciple of the school\nof Paracelsus, whom he looked upon as the regenerator, not only of\nmedicine, but of philosophy. He remained six years in Italy, France,\nand Germany; storing his mind with fantastic notions, and seeking the\nsociety of enthusiasts and visionaries. On his return to England, in\n1605, he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine from the University\nof Oxford, and began to practice as a physician in London.\n\nHe soon made himself conspicuous. He Latinized his name from Robert\nFludd into Robertus a Fluctibus, and began the promulgation of many\nstrange doctrines. He avowed his belief in the philosopher's stone, the\nwater of life, and the universal alkahest; and maintained that there\nwere but two principles of all things,--which were, condensation, the\nboreal or northern virtue; and rarefaction, the southern or austral\nvirtue. A number of demons, he said, ruled over the human frame, whom he\narranged in their places in a rhomboid. Every disease had its peculiar\ndemon who produced it, which demon could only be combated by the aid\nof the demon whose place was directly opposite to his in the rhomboidal\nfigure. Of his medical notions we shall have further occasion to speak\nin another part of this book, when we consider him in his character as\none of the first founders of the magnetic delusion, and its offshoot,\nanimal magnetism, which has created so much sensation in our own day.\n\nAs if the doctrines already mentioned were not wild enough, he joined\nthe Rosicrucians as soon as they began to make a sensation in Europe,\nand succeeded in raising himself to high consideration among them. The\nfraternity having been violently attacked by several German authors, and\namong others by Libavius, Fludd volunteered a reply, and published, in\n1616, his defence of the Rosicrucian philosophy, under the title of the\n\"Apologia, compendiaria, Fraternitatem de Rosea-cruce, Suspicionis et\nInfamiae maculis aspersam, abluens.\" This work immediately procured him\ngreat renown upon the Continent, and he was henceforth looked upon\nas one of the high-priests of the sect. Of so much importance was he\nconsidered, that Keppler and Gassendi thought it necessary to refute\nhim; and the latter wrote a complete examination of his doctrine.\nMersenne also, the friend of Descartes, and who had defended that\nphilosopher when accused of having joined the Rosicrucians, attacked Dr.\na Fluctibus, as he preferred to be called, and showed the absurdity of\nthe brothers of the Rose-cross in general, and of Dr. a Fluctibus in\nparticular. Fluctibus wrote a long reply, in which he called Mersenne\nan ignorant calumniator, and reiterated that alchymy was a profitable\nscience, and the Rosicrucians worthy to be the regenerators of the\nworld. This book was published at Frankfort, and was entitled \"Summum\nBonum, quod est Magiae, Cabalae, Alchimiae, Fratrum Roseae-Crucis\nverorum, et adversus Mersenium Calumniatorem.\" Besides this, he wrote\nseveral other works upon alchymy, a second answer to Libavius upon the\nRosicrucians, and many medical works. He died in London in 1637.\n\nAfter his time there was some diminution of the sect in England. They\nexcited but little attention, and made no effort to bring themselves\ninto notice. Occasionally, some obscure and almost incomprehensible\nwork made its appearance, to show the world that the folly was not\nextinguished. Eugenius Philalethes, a noted alchymist, who has\nveiled his real name under this assumed one, translated \"The Fame and\nConfession of the Brethren of the Rosie Cross,\" which was published in\nLondon in 1652. A few years afterwards, another enthusiast, named John\nHeydon, wrote two works on the subject: the one entitled \"The Wise Man's\nCrown, or the Glory of the Rosie Cross;\" and the other, \"The Holy\nGuide, leading the way to unite Art and Nature, with the Rosie Crosse\nuncovered.\" Neither of these attracted much notice. A third book was\nsomewhat more successful: it was called \"A New Method of Rosicrucian\nPhysic; by John Heydon, the servant of God and the secretary of Nature.\"\nA few extracts will show the ideas of the English Rosicrucians about\nthis period. Its author was an attorney, \"practising (to use his own\nwords) at Westminster Hall all term times as long as he lived, and\nin the vacations devoting himself to alchymical and Rosicrucian\nmeditation.\" In his preface, called by him an Apologue for an Epilogue,\nhe enlightens the public upon the true history and tenets of his sect.\nMoses, Elias, and Ezekiel were, he says, the most ancient masters of the\nRosicrucian philosophy. Those few then existing in England and the rest\nof Europe, were as the eyes and ears of the great King of the universe,\nseeing and hearing all things; seraphically illuminated; companions\nof the holy company of unbodied souls and immortal angels; turning\nthemselves, Proteus-like, into any shape, and having the power of\nworking miracles. The most pious and abstracted brethren could slack the\nplague in cities, silence the violent winds and tempests, calm the rage\nof the sea and rivers, walk in the air, frustrate the malicious aspect\nof witches, cure all diseases, and turn all metals into gold. He had\nknown in his time two famous brethren of the Rosie Cross, named Walfourd\nand Williams, who had worked miracles in his sight, and taught him many\nexcellent predictions of astrology and earthquakes. \"I desired one of\nthese to tell me,\" says he, \"whether my complexion were capable of the\nsociety of my good genius. 'When I see you again,' said he, (which was\nwhen he pleased to come to me, for I knew not where to go to him,) 'I\nwill tell you.' When I saw him afterwards, he said, 'You should pray\nto God; for a good and holy man can offer no greater or more acceptable\nservice to God than the oblation of himself--his soul.' He said, also,\nthat the good genii were the benign eyes of God, running to and fro in\nthe world, and with love and pity beholding the innocent endeavours of\nharmless and single-hearted men, ever ready to do them good and to help\nthem.\"\n\nHeydon held devoutly true that dogma of the Rosicrucians which said that\nneither eating nor drinking was necessary to men. He maintained that any\none might exist in the same manner as that singular people dwelling near\nthe source of the Ganges, of whom mention was made in the travels of his\nnamesake, Sir Christopher Heydon, who had no mouths, and therefore could\nnot eat, but lived by the breath of their nostrils; except when they\ntook a far journey, and then they mended their diet with the smell\nof flowers. He said that in really pure air \"there was a fine foreign\nfatness,\" with which it was sprinkled by the sunbeams, and which was\nquite sufficient for the nourishment of the generality of mankind. Those\nwho had enormous appetites he had no objection to see take animal food,\nsince they could not do without it; but he obstinately insisted that\nthere was no necessity why they should eat it. If they put a plaster of\nnicely-cooked meat upon their epigastrium, it would be sufficient for\nthe wants of the most robust and voracious! They would by that means let\nin no diseases, as they did at the broad and common gate, the mouth, as\nany one might see by example of drink; for, all the while a man sat in\nwater, he was never athirst. He had known, he said, many Rosicrucians,\nwho, by applying wine in this manner, had fasted for years together. In\nfact, quoth Heydon, we may easily fast all our life, though it be three\nhundred years, without any kind of meat, and so cut off all danger of\ndisease.\n\nThis \"sage philosopher\" further informed his wondering contemporaries\nthat the chiefs of the doctrine always carried about with them to their\nplace of meeting their symbol, called the R.C. which was an ebony cross,\nflourished and decked with roses of gold; the cross typifying Christ's\nsufferings upon the Cross for our sins, and the roses of gold the glory\nand beauty of his Resurrection. This symbol was carried alternately to\nMecca, Mount Calvary, Mount Sinai, Haran, and to three other places,\nwhich must have been in mid-air, called Cascle, Apamia, and Chaulateau\nVirissa Caunuch, where the Rosicrucian brethren met when they pleased,\nand made resolution of all their actions. They always took their\npleasures in one of these places, where they resolved all questions of\nwhatsoever had been done, was done, or should be done, in the world,\nfrom the beginning to the end thereof. \"And these,\" he concludes, \"are\nthe men called Rosicrucians.\"\n\nTowards the end of the seventeenth century, more rational ideas took\npossession of the sect, which still continued to boast of a few\nmembers. They appear to have considered that contentment was the true\nphilosopher's stone, and to have abandoned the insane search for a\nmere phantom of the imagination. Addison, in \"The Spectator,\" [No. 574.\nFriday, July 30th, 1714.] gives an account of his conversation with a\nRosicrucian; from which it may be inferred that the sect had grown wiser\nin their deeds, though in their talk they were as foolish as ever. \"I\nwas once,\" says he, \"engaged in discourse with a Rosicrucian about the\ngreat secret. He talked of the secret as of a spirit which lived within\nan emerald, and converted everything that was near it to the highest\nperfection that it was capable of. 'It gives a lustre,' says he, 'to the\nsun, and water to the diamond. It irradiates every metal, and enriches\nlead with all the properties of gold. It heightens smoke into flame,\nflame into light, and light into glory.' He further added 'that a single\nray of it dissipates pain, and care, and melancholy from the person on\nwhom it falls. In short,' says he, 'its presence naturally changes every\nplace into a kind of heaven.' After he had gone on for some time in this\nunintelligible cant, I found that he jumbled natural and moral ideas\ntogether into the same discourse, and that his great secret was nothing\nelse but content.\"\n\nJACOB BOHMEN.\n\nIt is now time to speak of Jacob Bohmen, who thought he could discover\nthe secret of the transmutation of metals in the Bible, and who invented\na strange heterogeneous doctrine of mingled alchymy and religion, and\nfounded upon it the sect of the Aurea-crucians. He was born at Gorlitz,\nin Upper Lusatia, in 1575; and followed, till his thirtieth year, the\noccupation of a shoemaker. In this obscurity he remained, with the\ncharacter of a visionary and a man of unsettled mind, until the\npromulgation of the Rosicrucian philosophy in his part of Germany,\ntoward the year 1607 or 1608. From that time he began to neglect his\nleather, and buried his brain under the rubbish of metaphysics. The\nworks of Paracelsus fell into his hands; and these, with the reveries\nof the Rosicrucians, so completely engrossed his attention that be\nabandoned his trade altogether, sinking, at the same time, from a state\nof comparative independence into poverty and destitution. But he was\nnothing daunted by the miseries and privations of the flesh; his mind\nwas fixed upon the beings of another sphere, and in thought he was\nalready the new apostle of the human race. In the year 1612, after a\nmeditation of four years, he published his first work, entitled\n\"Aurora; or, The Rising of the Sun;\" embodying the ridiculous notions\nof Paracelsus, and worse confounding the confusion of that writer. The\nphilosopher's stone might, he contended, be discovered by a diligent\nsearch of the Old and New Testaments, and more especially of the\nApocalypse, which alone contained all the secrets of alchymy. He\ncontended that the Divine Grace operated by the same rules, and followed\nthe same methods, that the Divine Providence observed in the natural\nworld; and that the minds of men were purged from their vices and\ncorruptions in the very same manner that metals were purified from their\ndross, namely, by fire.\n\nBesides the sylphs, gnomes, undines, and salamanders, he acknowledged\nvarious ranks and orders of demons. He pretended to invisibility and\nabsolute chastity. He also said that, if it pleased him, he could\nabstain for years from meat and drink, and all the necessities of the\nbody. It is needless, however, to pursue his follies any further. He\nwas reprimanded for writing this work by the magistrates of Gorlitz, and\ncommanded to leave the pen alone and stick to his wax, that his family\nmight not become chargeable to the parish. He neglected this good\nadvice, and continued his studies; burning minerals and purifying metals\none day, and mystifying the Word of God on the next. He afterwards wrote\nthree other works, as sublimely ridiculous as the first. The one was\nentitled \"Metallurgia,\" and has the slight merit of being the least\nobscure of his compositions. Another was called \"The Temporal Mirror of\nEternity;\" and the last his \"Theosophy revealed,\" full of allegories and\nmetaphors,\n\n\"All strange and geason, Devoid of sense and ordinary reason.\"\n\nBohmen died in 1624, leaving behind him a considerable number of\nadmiring disciples. Many of them became, during the seventeenth century,\nas distinguished for absurdity as their master; amongst whom may be\nmentioned Gifftheil, Wendenhagen, John Jacob Zimmermann, and Abraham\nFrankenberg. Their heresy rendered them obnoxious to the Church of Rome;\nand many of them suffered long imprisonment and torture for their faith.\nOne, named Kuhlmann, was burned alive at Moscow, in 1684, on a charge\nof sorcery. Bohmen's works were translated into English, and published,\nmany years afterwards by an enthusiast, named William Law.\n\nMORMIUS.\n\nPeter Mormius, a notorious alchymist, and contemporary of Bohmen,\nendeavoured, in 1630, to introduce the Rosicrucian philosophy into\nHolland. He applied to the States-General to grant him a public\naudience, that he might explain the tenets of the sect, and disclose\na plan for rendering Holland the happiest and richest country on the\nearth, by means of the philosopher's' stone and the service of the\nelementary spirits. The States-General wisely resolved to have nothing\nto do with him. He thereupon determined to shame them by printing his\nbook, which he did at Leyden the same year. It was entitled \"The Book\nof the most Hidden Secrets of Nature,\" and was divided into three\nparts; the first treating of \"perpetual motion,\" the second of the\n\"transmutation of metals,\" and the third of the \"universal medicine.\"\nHe also published some German works upon the Rosicrucian philosophy, at\nFrankfort, in 1617.\n\nPoetry and Romance are deeply indebted to the Rosicrucians for many\na graceful creation. The literature of England, France, and Germany\ncontains hundreds of sweet fictions, whose machinery has been borrowed\nfrom their day-dreams. The \"delicate Ariel\" of Shakspeare stands\npre-eminent among the number. From the same source Pope drew the airy\ntenants of Belinda's dressing-room, in his charming \"Rape of the Lock;\"\nand La Motte Fouque, the beautiful and capricious water-nymph, Undine,\naround whom he has thrown more grace and loveliness, and for whose\nimaginary woes he has excited more sympathy, than ever were bestowed on\na supernatural being. Sir Walter Scott also endowed the White Lady of\nAvenel with many of the attributes of the undines, or water-sprites.\nGerman romance and lyrical poetry teem with allusions to sylphs,\ngnomes, undines, and salamanders; and the French have not been behind in\nsubstituting them, in works of fiction, for the more cumbrous mythology\nof Greece and Rome. The sylphs, more especially, have been the\nfavourites of the bards, and have become so familiar to the popular mind\nas to be, in a manner, confounded with that other race of ideal beings,\nthe fairies, who can boast of an antiquity much more venerable in the\nannals of superstition. Having these obligations to the Rosicrucians, no\nlover of poetry can wish, however absurd they were, that such a sect of\nphilosophers had never existed.\n\nBORRI.\n\nJust at the time that Michael Mayer was making known to the world the\nexistence of such a body as the Rosicrucians, there was born in Italy a\nman who was afterwards destined to become the most conspicuous member of\nthe fraternity. The alchymic mania never called forth the ingenuity of\na more consummate or more successful impostor than Joseph Francis Borri.\nHe was born in 1616 according to some authorities, and in 1627 according\nto others, at Milan; where his father, the Signor Branda Borri,\npractised as a physician. At the age of sixteen, Joseph was sent\nto finish his education at the Jesuits' College in Rome, where he\ndistinguished himself by his extraordinary memory. He learned everything\nto which he applied himself with the utmost ease. In the most voluminous\nworks no fact was too minute for his retention, and no study was so\nabstruse but that he could master it; but any advantages he might\nhave derived from this facility, were neutralized by his ungovernable\npassions and his love of turmoil and debauchery. He was involved in\ncontinual difficulty, as well with the heads of the college as with the\npolice of Rome, and acquired so bad a character that years could\nnot remove it. By the aid of his friends he established himself as\na physician in Rome, and also obtained some situation in the Pope's\nhousehold. In one of his fits of studiousness he grew enamoured of\nalchymy, and determined to devote his energies to the discovery of\nthe philosopher's stone. Of unfortunate propensities he had quite\nsufficient, besides this, to bring him to poverty. His pleasures were\nas expensive as his studies, and both were of a nature to destroy his\nhealth and ruin his fair fame. At the age of thirty-seven he found that\nhe could not live by the practice of medicine, and began to look about\nfor some other employment. He became, in 1653, private secretary to\nthe Marquis di Mirogli, the minister of the Archduke of Innspruk at the\ncourt of Rome. He continued in this capacity for two years; leading,\nhowever, the same abandoned life as heretofore, frequenting the\nsociety of gamesters, debauchees, and loose women, involving himself\nin disgraceful street quarrels, and alienating the patrons who were\ndesirous to befriend him.\n\nAll at once a sudden change was observed in his conduct. The abandoned\nrake put on the outward sedateness of a philosopher; the scoffing\nsinner proclaimed that he had forsaken his evil ways, and would live\nthenceforth a model of virtue. To his friends this reformation was as\npleasing as it was unexpected; and Borri gave obscure hints that it had\nbeen brought about by some miraculous manifestation of a superior power.\nHe pretended that he held converse with beneficent spirits; that the\nsecrets of God and nature were revealed to him; and that he had obtained\npossession of the philosopher's stone. Like his predecessor, Jacob\nBohmen, he mixed up religious questions with his philosophical jargon,\nand took measures for declaring himself the founder of a new sect. This,\nat Rome itself, and in the very palace of the Pope, was a hazardous\nproceeding; and Borri just awoke to a sense of it in time to save\nhimself from the dungeons of the Castle of St. Angelo. He fled to\nInnspruck, where he remained about a year, and then returned to his\nnative city of Milan.\n\nThe reputation of his great sanctity had gone before him; and he found\nmany persons ready to attach themselves to his fortunes. All who were\ndesirous of entering into the new communion took an oath of poverty, and\nrelinquished their possessions for the general good of the fraternity.\nBorri told them that he had received from the archangel Michael a\nheavenly sword, upon the hilt of which were engraven the names of the\nseven celestial Intelligences. \"Whoever shall refuse,\" said he, \"to\nenter into my new sheepfold, shall be destroyed by the papal armies, of\nwhom God has predestined me to be the chief. To those who follow me, all\njoy shall be granted. I shall soon bring my chemical studies to a happy\nconclusion by the discovery of the philosopher's stone, and by this\nmeans we shall all have as much gold as we desire. I am assured of\nthe aid of the angelic hosts, and more especially of the archangel\nMichael's. When I began to walk in the way of the spirit, I had a vision\nof the night, and was assured by an angelic voice that I should become a\nprophet. In sign of it I saw a palm-tree, surrounded with all the glory\nof Paradise. The angels come to me whenever I call, and reveal to me all\nthe secrets of the universe. The sylphs and elementary spirits obey me,\nand fly to the uttermost ends of the world to serve me, and those whom\nI delight to honour.\" By force of continually repeating such stories\nas these, Borri soon found himself at the head of a very considerable\nnumber of adherents. As he figures in these pages as an alchymist,\nand not as a religious sectarian, it will be unnecessary to repeat\nthe doctrines which he taught with regard to some of the dogmas of the\nChurch of Rome, and which exposed him to the fierce resentment of\nthe papal authority. They were to the full as ridiculous as his\nphilosophical pretensions. As the number of his followers increased, he\nappears to have cherished the idea of becoming one day a new Mahomet,\nand of founding, in his native city of Milan, a monarchy and religion of\nwhich he should be the king and the prophet. He had taken measures, in\nthe year 1658, for seizing the guards at all the gates of that city,\nand formally declaring himself the monarch of the Milanese. Just as he\nthought the plan ripe for execution, it was discovered. Twenty of\nhis followers were arrested, and he himself managed, with the utmost\ndifficulty, to escape to the neutral territory of Switzerland, where the\npapal displeasure could not reach him.\n\nThe trial of his followers commenced forthwith, and the whole of them\nwere sentenced to various terms of imprisonment. Borri's trial proceeded\nin his absence, and lasted for upwards of two years. He was condemned\nto death as a heretic and sorcerer in 1661, and was burned in effigy in\nRome by the common hangman.\n\nBorri, in the mean time, lived quietly in Switzerland, indulging himself\nin railing at the Inquisition and its proceedings. He afterwards went to\nStrasbourg, intending to fix his residence in that town. He was received\nwith great cordiality, as a man persecuted for his religious opinions,\nand withal a great alchymist. He found that sphere too narrow for his\naspiring genius, and retired in the same year to the more wealthy\ncity of Amsterdam. He there hired a magnificent house, established an\nequipage which eclipsed in brilliancy those of the richest merchants,\nand assumed the title of Excellency. Where he got the money to live in\nthis expensive style was long a secret: the adepts in alchymy easily\nexplained it, after their fashion. Sensible people were of opinion that\nhe had come by it in a less wonderful manner; for it was remembered\nthat, among his unfortunate disciples in Milan, there were many rich\nmen, who, in conformity with one of the fundamental rules of the sect,\nhad given up all their earthly wealth into the hands of their founder.\nIn whatever manner the money was obtained, Borri spent it in Holland\nwith an unsparing hand, and was looked up to by the people with no\nlittle respect and veneration. He performed several able cures, and\nincreased his reputation so much that he was vaunted as a prodigy.\nHe continued diligently the operations of alchymy, and was in daily\nexpectation that he should succeed in turning the inferior metals into\ngold. This hope never abandoned him, even in the worst extremity of\nhis fortunes; and in his prosperity it led him into the most foolish\nexpenses: but he could not long continue to live so magnificently upon\nthe funds he had brought from Italy; and the philosopher's stone, though\nit promised all for the wants of the morrow, never brought anything for\nthe necessities of to-day. He was obliged in a few months to\nretrench, by giving up his large house, his gilded coach, and valuable\nblood-horses, his liveried domestics, and his luxurious entertainments.\nWith this diminution of splendour came a diminution of renown. His cures\ndid not appear so miraculous, when he went out on foot to perform them,\nas they had seemed when \"his Excellency\" had driven to a poor man's door\nin his carriage with six horses. He sank from a prodigy into an ordinary\nman. His great friends showed him the cold shoulder, and his humble\nflatterers carried their incense to some other shrine. Borri now thought\nit high time to change his quarters. With this view he borrowed money\nwherever he could get it, and succeeded in obtaining two hundred\nthousand florins from a merchant, named De Meer, to aid, as he said, in\ndiscovering the water of life. He also obtained six diamonds, of great\nvalue, on pretence that he could remove the flaws from them without\ndiminishing their weight. With this booty he stole away secretly by\nnight, and proceeded to Hamburgh.\n\nOn his arrival in that city, he found the celebrated Christina, the\nex-Queen of Sweden. He procured an introduction to her, and requested\nher patronage in his endeavour to discover the philosopher's stone. She\ngave him some encouragement; but Borri, fearing that the merchants\nof Amsterdam, who had connexions in Hamburgh, might expose his\ndelinquencies if he remained in the latter city, passed over to\nCopenhagen, and sought the protection of Frederic III, the King of\nDenmark.\n\nThis Prince was a firm believer in the transmutation of metals. Being in\nwant of money, he readily listened to the plans of an adventurer who had\nboth eloquence and ability to recommend him. He provided Borri with the\nmeans to make experiments, and took a great interest in the progress of\nhis operations. He expected every month to possess riches that would buy\nPeru; and, when he was disappointed, accepted patiently the excuses\nof Borri who, upon every failure, was always ready with some plausible\nexplanation. He became, in time, much attached to him; and defended him\nfrom the jealous attacks of his courtiers, and the indignation of those\nwho were grieved to see their monarch the easy dupe of a charlatan.\nBorri endeavoured, by every means in his power, to find aliment for\nthis good opinion. His knowledge of medicine was useful to him in this\nrespect, and often stood between him and disgrace. He lived six years in\nthis manner at the court of Frederic; but that monarch dying in 1670, he\nwas left without a protector.\n\nAs he had made more enemies than friends in Copenhagen, and had nothing\nto hope from the succeeding sovereign, he sought an asylum in another\ncountry. He went first to Saxony; but met so little encouragement, and\nencountered so much danger from the emissaries of the Inquisition,\nthat he did not remain there many months. Anticipating nothing but\npersecution in every country that acknowledged the spiritual authority\nof the Pope, he appears to have taken the resolution to dwell in Turkey,\nand turn Mussulman. On his arrival at the Hungarian frontier, on his way\nto Constantinople, he was arrested on suspicion of being concerned in\nthe conspiracy of the Counts Nadasdi and Frangipani, which had just been\ndiscovered. In vain he protested his innocence, and divulged his real\nname and profession. He was detained in prison, and a letter despatched\nto the Emperor Leopold to know what should be done with him. The star\nof his fortunes was on the decline. The letter reached Leopold at an\nunlucky moment. The Pope's Nuncio was closeted with his Majesty; and he\nno sooner heard the name of Joseph Francis Borri, than he demanded him\nas a prisoner of the Holy See. The request was complied with; and Borri,\nclosely manacled, was sent under an escort of soldiers to the prison\nof the Inquisition at Rome. He was too much of an impostor to be\ndeeply tinged with fanaticism, and was not unwilling to make a public\nrecantation of his heresies if he could thereby save his life. When\nthe proposition was made to him, he accepted it with eagerness. His\npunishment was to be commuted into the hardly less severe one of\nperpetual imprisonment; but he was too happy to escape the clutch of the\nexecutioner at any price, and he made the amende honorable in face of\nthe assembled multitudes of Rome on the 27th of October 1672. He was\nthen transferred to the prisons of the Castle of St. Angelo, where he\nremained till his death, twenty-three years afterwards. It is said that,\ntowards the close of his life, considerable indulgence was granted him;\nthat he was allowed to have a laboratory, and to cheer the solitude of\nhis dungeon by searching for the philosopher's stone. Queen Christina,\nduring her residence at Rome, frequently visited the old man, to\nconverse with him upon chemistry and the doctrines of the Rosicrucians.\nShe even obtained permission that he should leave his prison\noccasionally for a day or two, and reside in her palace, she being\nresponsible for his return to captivity. She encouraged him to search\nfor the great secret of the alchymists, and provided him with money for\nthe purpose. It may well be supposed that Borri benefited most by this\nacquaintance, and that Christina got nothing but experience. It is\nnot sure that she gained even that; for, until her dying day, she was\nconvinced of the possibility of finding the philosopher's stone, and\nready to assist any adventurer either zealous or impudent enough to\npretend to it.\n\nAfter Borri had been about eleven years in confinement, a small volume\nwas published at Cologne, entitled \"The Key of the Cabinet of the\nChevalier Joseph Francis Borri; in which are contained many curious\nLetters upon Chemistry and other Sciences, written by him; together with\na Memoir of his Life.\" This book contained a complete exposition of the\nRosicrucian philosophy, and afforded materials to the Abbe de Villars\nfor his interesting \"Count de Gabalis,\" which excited so much attention\nat the close of the seventeenth century.\n\nBorri lingered in the prison of St. Angelo till 1695, when he died in\nhis eightieth year. Besides \"The Key of the Cabinet,\" written originally\nin Copenhagen, in 1666, for the edification of King Frederic III, he\npublished a work upon alchymy and the secret sciences, under the title\nof \"The Mission of Romulus to the Romans.\"\n\nINFERIOR ALCHYMISTS OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.\n\nBesides the pretenders to the philosopher's stone whose lives have been\nalready narrated, this and the preceding century produced a great number\nof writers, who inundated literature with their books upon the subject.\nIn fact, most of the learned men of that age had some faith in it. Van\nHelmont, Borrichius, Kirchen, Boerhaave, and a score of others, though\nnot professed alchymists, were fond of the science, and countenanced its\nprofessors. Helvetius, the grandfather of the celebrated philosopher of\nthe same name, asserts that he saw an inferior metal turned into gold by\na stranger, at the Hague, in 1666. He says that, sitting one day in his\nstudy, a man, who was dressed as a respectable burgher of North Holland,\nand very modest and simple in his appearance, called upon him, with the\nintention of dispelling his doubts relative to the philosopher's stone.\nHe asked Helvetius if he thought he should know that rare gem if he\nsaw it. To which Helvetius replied, that he certainly should not. The\nburgher immediately drew from his pocket a small ivory box, containing\nthree pieces of metal, of the colour of brimstone, and extremely heavy;\nand assured Helvetius, that of them he could make as much as twenty tons\nof gold. Helvetius informs us, that he examined them very attentively;\nand seeing that they were very brittle, he took the opportunity to\nscrape off a very small portion with his thumb-nail. He then returned\nthem to the stranger, with an entreaty that he would perform the process\nof transmutation before him. The stranger replied, that he was not\nallowed to do so, and went away. After his departure, Helvetius procured\na crucible and a portion of lead, into which, when in a state of\nfusion, he threw the stolen grain from the philosopher's stone. He was\ndisappointed to find that the grain evaporated altogether, leaving the\nlead in its original state.\n\nSome weeks afterwards, when he had almost forgotten the subject, he\nreceived another visit from the stranger. He again entreated him to\nexplain the processes by which he pretended to transmute lead. The\nstranger at last consented, and informed him, that one grain was\nsufficient; but that it was necessary to envelope it in a ball of wax\nbefore throwing it on the molten metal; otherwise its extreme volatility\nwould cause it to go off in vapour. They tried the experiment, and\nsucceeded to their heart's content. Helvetius repeated the experiment\nalone, and converted six ounces of lead into very pure gold.\n\nThe fame of this event spread all over the Hague, and all the notable\npersons of the town flocked to the study of Helvetius to convince\nthemselves of the fact. Helvetius performed the experiment again, in the\npresence of the Prince of Orange, and several times afterwards, until\nhe exhausted the whole of the powder he had received from the stranger,\nfrom whom, it is necessary to state, he never received another visit;\nnor did he ever discover his name or condition. In the following year\nHelvetius published his \"Golden Calf,\" [\"Vitulus Aureus quem Mundus\nadorat et orat, in quo tractatur de naturae miraculo transmutandi\nmetalla.\"--Hagae, 1667.] in which he detailed the above circumstances.\n\nAbout the same time, the celebrated Father Kircher published his\n\"Subterranean World,\" in which he called the alchymists a congregation\nof knaves and impostors, and their science a delusion. He admitted that\nhe had himself been a diligent labourer in the field, and had only come\nto this conclusion after mature consideration and repeated fruitless\nexperiments. All the alchymists were in arms immediately, to refute\nthis formidable antagonist. One Solomon de Blauenstein was the first\nto grapple with him, and attempted to convict him of wilful\nmisrepresentation, by recalling to his memory the transmutations\nby Sendivogius, before the Emperor Frederic III. and the Elector of\nMayence; all performed within a recent period. Zwelfer and Glauber also\nentered into the dispute, and attributed the enmity of Father Kircher\nto spite and jealousy against adepts who had been more successful than\nhimself.\n\nIt was also pretended that Gustavus Adolphus transmuted a quantity of\nquicksilver into pure gold. The learned Borrichius relates, that he saw\ncoins which had been struck of this gold; and Lenglet du Fresnoy deposes\nto the same circumstance. In the Travels of Monconis the story is told\nin the following manner:--\"A merchant of Lubeck, who carried on but\nlittle trade, but who knew how to change lead into very good gold, gave\nthe King of Sweden a lingot which he had made, weighing, at least, one\nhundred pounds. The King immediately caused it to be coined into ducats;\nand because he knew positively that its origin was such as had been\nstated to him, he had his own arms graven upon the one side, and\nemblematical figures of Mercury and Venus on the other.\" \"I,\" continued\nMonconis, \"have one of these ducats in my possession; and was credibly\ninformed, that, after the death of the Lubeck merchant, who had never\nappeared very rich, a sum of no less than one million seven hundred\nthousand crowns was found in his coffers.\" [Voyages de Monconis, tome\nii. p. 379.]\n\nSuch stories as these, confidently related by men high in station,\ntended to keep up the infatuation of the alchymists in every country of\nEurope. It is astonishing to see the number of works which were written\nupon the subject during the seventeenth century alone, and the number\nof clever men who sacrificed themselves to the delusion. Gabriel de\nCastaigne, a monk of the order of St. Francis, attracted so much\nnotice in the reign of Louis XIII, that that monarch secured him in\nhis household, and made him his Grand Almoner. He pretended to find the\nelixir of life; and Louis expected, by his means, to have enjoyed the\ncrown for a century. Van Helmont also pretended to have once performed\nwith success the process of transmuting quicksilver; and was, in\nconsequence, invited by the Emperor Rudolph II. to fix his residence at\nthe court of Vienna. Glauber, the inventor of the salts which still bear\nhis name, and who practised as a physician at Amsterdam about the middle\nof the seventeenth century, established a public school in that city for\nthe study of alchymy, and gave lectures himself upon the science. John\nJoachim Becher, of Spire, acquired great reputation at the same period;\nand was convinced that much gold might be made out of flint stones by\na peculiar process, and the aid of that grand and incomprehensible\nsubstance, the philosopher's stone. He made a proposition to the Emperor\nLeopold of Austria, to aid him in these experiments; but the hope of\nsuccess was too remote, and the present expense too great to tempt that\nmonarch; and he therefore gave Becher much of his praise, but none of\nhis money. Becher afterwards tried the States-General of Holland, with\nno better success.\n\nWith regard to the innumerable tricks by which impostors persuaded\nthe world that they had succeeded in making gold, and of which so many\nstories were current about this period, a very satisfactory report was\nread by M. Geoffroy, the elder, at the sitting of the Royal Academy\nof Sciences, at Paris, on the 15th of April, 1722. As it relates\nprincipally to the alchymic cheats of the sixteenth and seventeenth\ncenturies, the following abridgment of it may not be out of place in\nthis portion of our history:--The instances of successful transmutation\nwere so numerous, and apparently so well authenticated, that nothing\nshort of so able an exposure as that of M. Geoffroy could disabuse the\npublic mind. The trick to which they oftenest had recourse, was to use a\ndouble-bottomed crucible, the under surface being of iron or copper, and\nthe upper one of wax, painted to resemble the same metal. Between the\ntwo they placed as much gold or silver dust as was necessary for their\npurpose. They then put in their lead, quicksilver, or other ingredients,\nand placed their pot upon the fire. Of course, when the experiment was\nconcluded, they never failed to find a lump of gold at the bottom. The\nsame result was produced in many other ways. Some of them used a hollow\nwand, filled with gold or silver dust, and stopped at the ends with wax\nor butter. With this they stirred the boiling metal in their crucibles,\ntaking care to accompany the operation with many ceremonies, to divert\nattention from the real purpose of the manoeuvre. They also drilled\nholes in lumps of lead, into which they poured molten gold, and\ncarefully closed the aperture with the original metal. Sometimes they\nwashed a piece of gold with quicksilver. When in this state they found\nno difficulty in palming it off upon the uninitiated as an inferior\nmetal, and very easily transmuted it into fine sonorous gold again, with\nthe aid of a little aquafortis.\n\nOthers imposed by means of nails, half iron and half gold or silver.\nThey pretended that they really transmuted the precious half from iron,\nby dipping it in a strong alcohol. M. Geoffroy produced several of these\nnails to the Academy of Sciences, and showed how nicely the two parts\nwere soldered together. The golden or silver half was painted black to\nresemble iron, and the colour immediately disappeared when the nail was\ndipped into aquafortis. A nail of this description was, for a long\ntime, in the cabinet of the Grand Duke of Tuscany. Such also, said\nM. Geoffroy, was the knife presented by a monk to Queen Elizabeth of\nEngland; the blade of which was half gold and half steel. Nothing at one\ntime was more common than to see coins, half gold and half silver, which\nhad been operated upon by alchymists, for the same purposes of trickery.\nIn fact, says M. Geoffroy, in concluding his long report, there is every\nreason to believe that all the famous histories which have been handed\ndown to us, about the transmutation of metals into gold or silver, by\nmeans of the powder of projection, or philosophical elixirs, are\nfounded upon some successful deception of the kind above narrated. These\npretended philosophers invariably disappeared after the first or second\nexperiment, or their powders or elixirs have failed to produce their\neffect, either because attention being excited they have found no\nopportunity to renew the trick without being discovered, or because they\nhave not had sufficient gold dust for more than one trial.\n\nThe disinterestedness of these would-be philosopher looked, at first\nsight, extremely imposing. Instances were not rare, in which they\ngenerously abandoned all the profits of their transmutations--even the\nhonour of the discovery! But this apparent disinterestedness was one of\nthe most cunning of their manoeuvres. It served to keep up the popular\nexpectation; it showed the possibility of discovering the philosopher's\nstone, and provided the means of future advantages, which they were\nnever slow to lay hold of--such as entrances into royal households,\nmaintenance at the public expense, and gifts from ambitious potentates,\ntoo greedy after the gold they so easily promised.\n\nIt now only remains to trace the progress of the delusion from the\ncommencement of the eighteenth century until the present day. It will be\nseen, that until a very recent period, there were but slight signs of a\nreturn to reason.\n\nJEAN DELISLE.\n\nIn the year 1705, there was much talk in France of a blacksmith, named\nDelisle, who had discovered the philosopher's stone, and who went about\nthe country turning lead into gold. He was a native of Provence, from\nwhich place his fame soon spread to the capital. His early life\nis involved in obscurity; but Longlet du Fresnoy has industriously\ncollected some particulars of his later career, which possess\nconsiderable interest. He was a man without any education, and had been\nservant in his youth to an alchymist, from whom he learned many of\nthe tricks of the fraternity. The name of his master has never been\ndiscovered; but it is pretended that he rendered himself in some\nmanner obnoxious to the government of Louis XIV, and was obliged, in\nconsequence, to take refuge in Switzerland. Delisle accompanied him\nas far as Savoy, and there, it is said, set upon him in a solitary\nmountain-pass, and murdered and robbed him. He then disguised himself\nas a pilgrim, and returned to France. At a lonely inn, by the road-side,\nwhere he stopped for the night, he became acquainted with a woman, named\nAluys; and so sudden a passion was enkindled betwixt them, that she\nconsented to leave all, follow him, and share his good or evil fortune\nwherever he went. They lived together for five or six years in Provence,\nwithout exciting any attention, apparently possessed of a decent\nindependence. At last, in 1706, it was given out that he was the\npossessor of the philosopher's stone; and people, from far and near,\ncame flocking to his residence, at the Chateau de la Palu, at Sylanez,\nnear Barjaumont, to witness the wealth he could make out of pumps and\nfire shovels. The following account of his operations is given in a\nletter addressed by M. de Cerisy, the Prior of Chateauneuf, in the\nDiocese of Riez, in Provence, to the Vicar of St. Jacques du Hautpas,\nat Paris, and dated the 18th of November 1706:--\n\n\"I have something to relate to you, my dear cousin, which will be\ninteresting to you and your friends. The philosopher's stone, which so\nmany persons have looked upon as a chimera, is at last found. It is a\nman named Delisle, of the parish of Sylanez, and residing within a\nquarter of a league of me, that has discovered this great secret. He\nturns lead into gold, and iron into silver, by merely heating these\nmetals red hot, and pouring upon them, in that state, some oil and\npowder he is possessed of; so that it would not be impossible for any\nman to make a million a day, if he had sufficient of this wondrous\nmixture. Some of the pale gold which he had made in this manner, he sent\nto the jewellers of Lyons, to have their opinion on its quality. He also\nsold twenty pounds weight of it to a merchant of Digne, named Taxis. All\nthe jewellers say they never saw such fine gold in their lives. He makes\nnails, part gold, part iron, and part silver. He promised to give me one\nof them, in a long conversation which I had with him the other day, by\norder of the Bishop of Sends, who saw his operations with his own eyes,\nand detailed all the circumstances to me.\n\n\"The Baron and Baroness de Rheinwald showed me a lingot of gold made out\nof pewter before their eyes by M. Delisle. My brother-in-law Sauveur,\nwho has wasted fifty years of his life in this great study, brought me\nthe other day a nail which he had seen changed into gold by Delisle, and\nfully convinced me that all his previous experiments were founded on an\nerroneous principle. This excellent workman received, a short time ago,\na very kind letter from the superintendent of the royal household,\nwhich I read. He offered to use all his influence with the ministers to\nprevent any attempts upon his liberty, which has twice been attacked by\nthe agents of government. It is believed that the oil he makes use of,\nis gold or silver reduced to that state. He leaves it for a long time\nexposed to the rays of the sun. He told me that it generally took him\nsix months to make all his preparations. I told him that, apparently,\nthe King wanted to see him. He replied that he could not exercise his\nart in every place, as a certain climate and temperature were absolutely\nnecessary to his success. The truth is, that this man appears to have\nno ambition. He only keeps two horses and two men-servants. Besides, he\nloves his liberty, has no politeness, and speaks very bad French;\nbut his judgment seems to be solid. He was formerly no more than a\nblacksmith, but excelled in that trade without having been taught it.\nAll the great lords and seigneurs from far and near come to visit\nhim, and pay such court to him, that it seems more like idolatry than\nanything else. Happy would France be if this man would discover his\nsecret to the King, to whom the superintendent has already sent some\nlingots! But the happiness is too great to be hoped for; for I fear that\nthe workman and his secret will expire together. There is no doubt\nthat this discovery will make a great noise in the kingdom, unless the\ncharacter of the man, which I have just depicted to you, prevent it. At\nall events, posterity will hear of him.\"\n\nIn another letter to the same person, dated the 27th of January 1707, M.\nde Cerisy says, \"My dear cousin, I spoke to you in my last letter of the\nfamous alchymist of Provence, M. Delisle. A good deal of that was only\nhearsay, but now I am enabled to speak from my own experience. I have\nin my possession a nail, half iron and half silver, which I made myself.\nThat great and admirable workman also bestowed a still greater privilege\nupon me--he allowed me to turn a piece of lead which I had brought with\nme into pure gold, by means of his wonderful oil and powder. All the\ncountry have their eyes upon this gentleman: some deny loudly, others\nare incredulous; but those who have seen acknowledge the truth. I have\nread the passport that has been sent to him from Court, with orders that\nhe should present himself at Paris early in the spring. He told me that\nhe would go willingly, and that it was himself who fixed the spring for\nhis departure; as he wanted to collect his materials, in order that,\nimmediately on his introduction to the King, he might make an experiment\nworthy of his Majesty, by converting a large quantity of lead into the\nfinest gold. I sincerely hope that he will not allow his secret to die\nwith him, but that he will communicate it to the King. As I had the\nhonour to dine with him on Thursday last, the 20th of this month, being\nseated at his side, I told him in a whisper that he could, if he liked,\nhumble all the enemies of France. He did not deny it, but began to\nsmile. In fact, this man is the miracle of art. Sometimes he employs\nthe oil and powder mixed, sometimes the powder only, but in so small a\nquantity that, when the lingot which I made was rubbed all over with it,\nit did not show at all.\"\n\nThis soft-headed priest was by no means the only person in the\nneighbourhood who lost his wits in hopes of the boundless wealth held\nout by this clever impostor. Another priest, named De Lions, a chanter\nin the cathedral of Grenoble, writing on the 30th January 1707,\nsays,--\"M. Mesnard, the curate of Montier, has written to me, stating\nthat there is a man, about thirty-five years of age, named Delisle, who\nturns lead and iron into gold and silver; and that this transmutation is\nso veritable and so true, that the goldsmiths affirm that his gold and\nsilver are the purest and finest they ever saw. For five years, this\nman was looked upon as a madman or a cheat; but the public mind is now\ndisabused with respect to him. He now resides with M. de la Palu, at\nthe chateau of the same name. M. de la Palu is not very easy in his\ncircumstances, and wants money to portion his daughters, who have\nremained single till middle age, no man being willing to take them\nwithout a dowry. M. Delisle has promised to make them the richest girls\nin the province before he goes to Court, having been sent for by the\nKing. He has asked for a little time before his departure, in order that\nhe may collect powder enough to make several quintals of gold before the\neyes of his Majesty, to whom he intends to present them. The principal\nmatter of his wonderful powder is composed of simples, principally the\nherbs Lunaria major and minor. There is a good deal of the first\nplanted by him in the gardens of La Palu; and he gets the other from the\nmountains, that stretch about two leagues from Montier. What I tell\nyou now is not a mere story invented for your diversion: M. Mesnard can\nbring forward many witnesses to its truth; among others, the Bishop of\nSenes, who saw these surprising operations performed; and M. de Cerisy,\nwhom you know well. Delisle transmutes his metals in public. He rubs the\nlead or iron with his powder, and puts it over burning charcoal. In a\nshort time it changes colour; the lead becomes yellow, and is found to\nbe converted into excellent gold: the iron becomes white, and is found\nto be pure silver. Delisle is altogether an illiterate person. M. de St.\nAuban endeavoured to teach him to read and write, but he profited very\nlittle by his lessons. He is unpolite, fantastic, and a dreamer, and\nacts by fits and starts.\"\n\nDelisle, it would appear, was afraid of venturing to Paris. He knew that\nhis sleight of hand would be too narrowly watched in the royal presence;\nand upon some pretence or other, he delayed the journey for more than\ntwo years. Desmarets, the Minister of Finance to Louis XIV, thinking the\n\"philosopher\" dreaded foul play, twice sent him a safe conduct under the\nKing's seal; but Delisle still refused. Upon this, Desmarets wrote\nto the Bishop of Sends for his real opinion as to these famous\ntransmutations. The following was the answer of that prelate:--\n\n\"Copy of a report addressed to M. Desmarets, Comptroller-General of the\nFinances to His Majesty Louis XIV, by the Bishop of Senes, dated March\n1709.\n\n\"SIR,\n\n\"A twelvemonth ago, or a little more, I expressed to you my joy at\nhearing of your elevation to the ministry; I have now the honour to\nwrite you my opinion of the Sieur Delisle, who has been working at\nthe transmutation of metals in my diocese. I have, during the last\ntwo years, spoken of him several times to the Count de Pontchartrain,\nbecause he asked me; but I have not written to you, sir, or to M. de\nChamillart, because you neither of you requested my opinion upon the\nsubject. Now, however, that you have given me to understand that you\nwish to know my sentiments on the matter, I will unfold myself to you\nin all sincerity, for the interests of the King and the glory of your\nministry.\n\n\"There are two things about the Sieur Delisle which, in my opinion,\nshould be examined without prejudice: the one relates to his secret;\nthe other, to his person; that is to say, whether his transmutations are\nreal, and whether his conduct has been regular. As regards the secret\nof the philosopher's stone, I deemed it impossible, for a long time; and\nfor more than three years, I was more mistrustful of the pretensions\nof this Sieur Delisle than of any other person. During this period\nI afforded him no countenance; I even aided a person, who was highly\nrecommended to me by an influential family of this province, to\nprosecute Delisle for some offence or other which it was alleged he had\ncommitted. But this person, in his anger against him, having told me\nthat he had himself been several times the bearer of gold and silver to\nthe goldsmiths of Nice, Aix, and Avignon, which had been transmuted by\nDelisle from lead and iron, I began to waver a little in my opinions\nrespecting him. I afterwards met Delisle at the house of one of my\nfriends. To please me, the family asked Delisle to operate before me, to\nwhich he immediately consented. I offered him some iron nails, which he\nchanged into silver in the chimney-place before six or seven credible\nwitnesses. I took the nails thus transmuted, and sent them by my almoner\nto Irabert, the jeweller of Aix, who, having subjected them to the\nnecessary trial, returned them to me, saying they were very good silver.\nStill, however, I was not quite satisfied. M. de Pontchartrain having\nhinted to me, two years previously, that I should do a thing agreeable\nto his Majesty if I examined into this business of Delisle, I resolved\nto do so now. I therefore summoned the alchymist to come to me at\nCastellane. He came; and I had him escorted by eight or ten vigilant\nmen, to whom I had given notice to watch his hands strictly. Before all\nof us he changed two pieces of lead into gold and silver. I sent them\nboth to M. de Pontchartrain; and he afterwards informed me by a letter,\nnow lying before me, that he had shown them to the most experienced\ngoldsmiths of Paris, who unanimously pronounced them to be gold and\nsilver of the very purest quality, and without alloy. My former bad\nopinion of Delisle was now indeed shaken. It was much more so when he\nperformed transmutation five or six times before me at Senes, and\nmade me perform it myself before him without his putting his hand to\nanything. You have seen, sir, the letter of my nephew, the Pere Berard,\nof the Oratoire at Paris, on the experiment that he performed at\nCastellane, and the truth of which I hereby attest. Another nephew of\nmine, the Sieur Bourget, who was here three weeks ago, performed the\nsame experiment in my presence, and will detail all the circumstances\nto you personally at Paris. A hundred persons in my diocese have been\nwitnesses of these things. I confess to you, sir, that, after the\ntestimony of so many spectators and so many goldsmiths, and after\nthe repeatedly successful experiments that I saw performed, all my\nprejudices vanished. My reason was convinced by my eyes; and the\nphantoms of impossibility which I had conjured up were dissipated by the\nwork of my own hands.\n\n\"It now only remains for me to speak to you on the subject of his person\nand conduct. Three suspicions have been excited against him: the first,\nThat he was implicated in some criminal proceeding at Cisteron, and that\nhe falsified the coin of the realm; the second, That the King sent him\ntwo safe-conducts without effect; and the third, That he still delays\ngoing to court to operate before the King. You may see, sir, that I do\nnot hide or avoid anything. As regards the business at Cisteron, the\nSieur Delisle has repeatedly assured me that there was nothing against\nhim which could reasonably draw him within the pale of justice, and that\nhe had never carried on any calling injurious to the King's service. It\nwas true that, six or seven years ago, he had been to Cisteron to gather\nherbs necessary for his powder, and that he had lodged at the house\nof one Pelouse, whom he thought an honest man. Pelouse was accused of\nclipping Louis d'ors; and as he had lodged with him, he was suspected of\nbeing his accomplice. This mere suspicion, without any proof whatever,\nhad caused him to be condemned for contumacy; a common case enough\nwith judges, who always proceed with much rigour against those who are\nabsent. During my own sojourn at Aix, it was well known that a man,\nnamed Andre Aluys, had spread about reports injurious to the character\nof Delisle, because he hoped thereby to avoid paying him a sum of forty\nLouis that he owed him. But permit me, sir, to go further, and to add\nthat, even if there were well-founded suspicions against Delisle, we\nshould look with some little indulgence on the faults of a man\nwho possesses a secret so useful to the state. As regards the two\nsafe-conducts sent him by the King, I think I can answer certainly that\nit was through no fault of his that he paid so little attention to them.\nHis year, strictly speaking, consists only of the four summer months;\nand when by any means he is prevented from making the proper use of\nthem, he loses a whole year. Thus the first safe-conduct became useless\nby the irruption of the Duke of Savoy in 1707; and the second had\nhardly been obtained, at the end of June 1708, when the said Delisle was\ninsulted by a party of armed men, pretending to act under the authority\nof the Count de Grignan, to whom he wrote several letters of complaint,\nwithout receiving any answer, or promise that his safety would be\nattended to. What I have now told you, sir, removes the third objection,\nand is the reason why, at the present time, he cannot go to Paris to\nthe King, in fulfilment of his promises made two years ago. Two, or even\nthree, summers have been lost to him, owing to the continual inquietude\nhe has laboured under. He has, in consequence, been unable to work,\nand has not collected a sufficient quantity of his oil and powder, or\nbrought what he has got to the necessary degree of perfection. For\nthis reason also he could not give the Sieur de Bourget the portion he\npromised him for your inspection. If the other day he changed some lead\ninto gold with a few grains of his powder, they were assuredly all he\nhad; for he told me that such was the fact long before he knew my nephew\nwas coming. Even if he had preserved this small quantity to operate\nbefore the King, I am sure that, on second thoughts, he would never have\nadventured with so little; because the slightest obstacles in the\nmetals (their being too hard or too soft, which is only discovered in\noperating) would have caused him to be looked upon as an impostor,\nif, in case his first powder had proved ineffectual, he had not been\npossessed of more to renew the experiment and surmount the difficulty.\n\n\"Permit me, sir, in conclusion, to repeat that such an artist as this\nshould not be driven to the last extremity, nor forced to seek an asylum\noffered to him in other countries, but which he has despised, as much\nfrom his own inclinations as from the advice I have given him. You risk\nnothing in giving him a little time, and in hurrying him you may lose a\ngreat deal. The genuineness of his gold can no longer be doubted, after\nthe testimony of so many jewellers of Aix, Lyons, and Paris in its\nfavour. As it is not his fault that the previous safe-conducts sent to\nhim have been of no service, it will be necessary to send him another;\nfor the success of which I will be answerable, if you will confide the\nmatter to me, and trust to my zeal for the service of his Majesty, to\nwhom I pray you to communicate this letter, that I may be spared the\njust reproaches he might one day heap upon me if he remained ignorant of\nthe facts I have now written to you. Assure him, if you please, that,\nif you send me such a safe-conduct, I will oblige the Sieur Delisle to\ndepose with me such precious pledges of his fidelity, as shall enable\nme to be responsible myself to the King. These are my sentiments, and I\nsubmit them to your superior knowledge; and have the honour to remain,\nwith much respect, &c.\n\n\"JOHN, Bishop of Senes.\"\n\n\"To M. Desmarets, Minister of State, and\n\n\"Comptroller-General of the Finances, at Paris.\"\n\n\nThat Delisle was no ordinary impostor, but a man of consummate cunning\nand address, is very evident from this letter. The Bishop was fairly\ntaken in by his clever legerdemain, and when once his first distrust was\nconquered, appeared as anxious to deceive himself as even Delisle could\nhave wished. His faith was so abundant that he made the case of his\nprotege his own, and would not suffer the breath of suspicion to be\ndirected against him. Both Louis and his minister appear to have been\ndazzled by the brilliant hopes he had excited, and a third pass, or\nsafe-conduct, was immediately sent to the alchymist, with a command from\nthe King that he should forthwith present himself at Versailles, and\nmake public trial of his oil and powder. But this did not suit the\nplans of Delisle: in the provinces he was regarded as a man of no small\nimportance; the servile flattery that awaited him wherever he went was\nso grateful to his mind that he could not willingly relinquish it and\nrun upon certain detection at the court of the Monarch. Upon one\npretext or another he delayed his journey, notwithstanding the earnest\nsolicitations of his good friend the Bishop. The latter had given\nhis word to the minister, and pledged his honour that he would induce\nDelisle to go, and he began to be alarmed when he found he could not\nsubdue the obstinacy of that individual. For more than two years he\ncontinued to remonstrate with him, and was always met by some excuse,\nthat there was not sufficient powder, or that it had not been long\nenough exposed to the rays of the sun. At last his patience was\nexhausted; and fearful that he might suffer in the royal estimation by\nlonger delay, he wrote to the King for a lettre de cachet, in virtue of\nwhich the alchymist was seized at the castle of La Palu, in the month of\nJune 1711, and carried off to be imprisoned in the Bastille.\n\nThe gendarmes were aware that their prisoner was supposed to be the\nlucky possessor of the philosopher's stone, and on the road they\nconspired to rob and murder him. One of them pretended to be touched\nwith pity for the misfortunes of the philosopher, and offered to give\nhim an opportunity of escape whenever he could divert the attention of\nhis companions. Delisle was profuse in his thanks, little dreaming of\nthe snare that was laid for him. His treacherous friend gave notice\nof the success of the stratagem so far; and it was agreed that Delisle\nshould be allowed to struggle with and overthrow one of them while the\nrest were at some distance. They were then to pursue him and shoot him\nthrough the heart; and after robbing the corpse of the philosopher's\nstone, convey it to Paris on a cart, and tell M. Desmarets that the\nprisoner had attempted to escape, and would have succeeded, if they had\nnot fired after him and shot him through the body. At a convenient place\nthe scheme was executed. At a given signal from the friendly gendarme\nDelisle fled, while another gendarme took aim and shot him through the\nthigh. Some peasants arriving at the instant, they were prevented from\nkilling him as they intended; and he was transported to Paris, maimed\nand bleeding. He was thrown into a dungeon in the Bastille, and\nobstinately tore away the bandages which the surgeons applied to his\nwound. He never afterwards rose from his bed.\n\nThe Bishop of Senes visited him in prison, and promised him his liberty\nif he would transmute a certain quantity of lead into gold before\nthe King. The unhappy man had no longer the means of carrying on the\ndeception; he had no gold, and no double-bottomed crucible or hollow\nwand to conceal it in, even if he had. He would not, however, confess\nthat he was an impostor; but merely said he did not know how to make\nthe powder of projection, but had received a quantity from an Italian\nphilosopher, and had used it all in his various transmutations in\nProvence. He lingered for seven or eight months in the Bastille, and\ndied from the effects of his wound, in the forty-first year of his age.\n\nALBERT ALUYS.\n\nThis pretender to the philosopher's stone, was the son, by a former\nhusband, of the woman Aluys, with whom Delisle became acquainted at the\ncommencement of his career, in the cabaret by the road side, and whom he\nafterwards married. Delisle performed the part of a father towards\nhim, and thought he could show no stronger proof of his regard, than by\ngiving him the necessary instructions to carry on the deception which\nhad raised himself to such a pitch of greatness. The young Aluys was\nan apt scholar, and soon mastered all the jargon of the alchymists. He\ndiscoursed learnedly upon projections, cimentations, sublimations, the\nelixir of life, and the universal alkahest; and on the death of Delisle\ngave out that the secret of that great adept had been communicated to\nhim, and to him only. His mother aided in the fraud, with the hope they\nmight both fasten themselves, in the true alchymical fashion, upon some\nrich dupe, who would entertain them magnificently while the operation\nwas in progress. The fate of Delisle was no inducement for them to stop\nin France. The Provencals, it is true, entertained as high an opinion\nas ever of his skill, and were well inclined to believe the tales of\nthe young adept on whom his mantle had fallen; but the dungeons of the\nBastille were yawning for their prey, and Aluys and his mother decamped\nwith all convenient expedition. They travelled about the Continent\nfor several years, sponging upon credulous rich men, and now and then\nperforming successful transmutations by the aid of double-bottomed\ncrucibles and the like. In the year 1726, Aluys, without his mother, who\nappears to have died in the interval, was at Vienna, where he introduced\nhimself to the Duke de Richelieu, at that time ambassador from the court\nof France. He completely deceived this nobleman; he turned lead into\ngold (apparently) on several occasions, and even made the ambassador\nhimself turn an iron nail into a silver one. The Duke afterwards boasted\nto Lenglet du Fresnoy of his achievements as an alchymist, and regretted\nthat he had not been able to discover the secret of the precious powder\nby which he performed them.\n\nAluys soon found that, although he might make a dupe of the Duke de\nRichelieu, he could not get any money from him. On the contrary, the\nDuke expected all his pokers and fire shovels to be made silver, and all\nhis pewter utensils gold; and thought the honour of his acquaintance\nwas reward sufficient for a roturier, who could not want wealth since he\npossessed so invaluable a secret. Aluys seeing that so much was\nexpected of him, bade adieu to his Excellency, and proceeded to Bohemia,\naccompanied by a pupil, and by a young girl who had fallen in love\nwith him in Vienna. Some noblemen in Bohemia received him kindly, and\nentertained him at their houses for months at a time. It was his usual\npractice to pretend that he possessed only a few grains of his powder,\nwith which he would operate in any house where he intended to fix his\nquarters for the season. He would make the proprietor a present of the\npiece of gold thus transmuted, and promise him millions, if he could\nonly be provided with leisure to gather his lunaria major and minor on\ntheir mountain tops, and board, lodging, and loose cash for himself, his\nwife, and his pupil in the interval.\n\nHe exhausted in this manner the patience of some dozen of people, when,\nthinking that there was less danger for him in France, under the young\nking Louis XV, than under his old and morose predecessor, he returned to\nProvence. On his arrival at Aix, he presented himself before M. le Bret,\nthe President of the province, a gentleman who was much attached to the\npursuits of alchymy, and had great hopes of being himself able to\nfind the philosopher's stone. M. le Bret, contrary to his expectation,\nreceived him very coolly, in consequence of some rumours that were\nspread abroad respecting him; and told him to call upon him on the\nmorrow. Aluys did not like the tone of the voice, or the expression of\nthe eye of the learned President, as that functionary looked down upon\nhim. Suspecting that all was not right, he left Aix secretly the same\nevening, and proceeded to Marseilles. But the police were on the watch\nfor him; and he had not been there four-and-twenty hours, before he was\narrested on a charge of coining, and thrown into prison.\n\nAs the proofs against him were too convincing to leave him much hope of\nan acquittal, he planned an escape from durance. It so happened that\nthe gaoler had a pretty daughter, and Aluys soon discovered that she was\ntender-hearted. He endeavoured to gain her in his favour, and succeeded.\nThe damsel, unaware that he was a married man, conceived and encouraged\na passion for him, and generously provided him with the means of escape.\nAfter he had been nearly a year in prison he succeeded in getting free,\nleaving the poor girl behind, to learn that he was already married,\nand to lament in solitude that she had given her heart to an ungrateful\nvagabond.\n\nWhen he left Marseilles, he had not a shoe to his foot, or a decent\ngarment to his back, but was provided with some money and clothes by his\nwife in a neighbouring town. They then found their way to Brussels, and\nby dint of excessive impudence, brought themselves into notice. He took\na house, fitted up a splendid laboratory, and gave out that he knew the\nsecret of transmutation. In vain did M. Percel, the brother-in-law of\nLenglet du Fresnoy, who resided in that city, expose his pretensions,\nand hold him up to contempt as an ignorant impostor: the world believed\nhim not. They took the alchymist at his word, and besieged his doors, to\nsee and wonder at the clever legerdemain by which he turned iron nails\ninto gold and silver. A rich greffier paid him a large sum of money that\nhe might be instructed in the art, and Aluys gave him several lessons on\nthe most common principles of chemistry. The greffier studied hard for\na twelvemonth, and then discovered that his master was a quack. He\ndemanded his money back again; but Aluys was not inclined to give\nit him, and the affair was brought before the civil tribunal of the\nprovince. In the mean time, however, the greffier died suddenly;\npoisoned, according to the popular rumour, by his debtor, to avoid\nrepayment. So great an outcry arose in the city, that Aluys, who may\nhave been innocent of the crime, was nevertheless afraid to remain and\nbrave it. He withdrew secretly in the night, and retired to Paris. Here\nall trace of him is lost. He was never heard of again; but Lenglet du\nFresnoy conjectures, that he ended his days in some obscure dungeon,\ninto which he was cast for coining, or other malpractices.\n\nTHE COUNT DE ST. GERMAIN\n\nThis adventurer was of a higher grade than the last, and played a\ndistinguished part at the court of Louis XV. He pretended to have\ndiscovered the elixir of life, by means of which he could make any one\nlive for centuries; and allowed it to be believed that his own age was\nupwards of two thousand years. He entertained many of the opinions\nof the Rosicrucians; boasted of his intercourse with sylphs and\nsalamanders; and of his power of drawing diamonds from the earth, and\npearls from the sea, by the force of his incantations. He did not lay\nclaim to the merit of having discovered the philosopher's stone; but\ndevoted so much of his time to the operations of alchymy, that it was\nvery generally believed, that, if such a thing as the philosopher's\nstone had ever existed, or could be called into existence, he was the\nman to succeed in finding it.\n\nIt has never yet been discovered what was his real name, or in what\ncountry he was born. Some believed, from the Jewish cast of his handsome\ncountenance, that he was the \"wandering Jew;\" others asserted, that\nhe was the issue of an Arabian princess, and that his father was a\nsalamander; while others, more reasonable, affirmed him to be the son\nof a Portuguese Jew, established at Bourdeaux. He first carried on his\nimposture in Germany, where he made considerable sums by selling an\nelixir to arrest the progress of old age. The Marechal de Belle-Isle\npurchased a dose of it; and was so captivated with the wit, learning,\nand good manners of the charlatan, and so convinced of the justice\nof his most preposterous pretensions, that he induced him to fix his\nresidence in Paris. Under the Marshal's patronage, he first appeared\nin the gay circles of that capital. Every one was delighted with the\nmysterious stranger; who, at this period of his life, appears to have\nbeen about seventy years of age, but did not look more than forty-five.\nHis easy assurance imposed upon most people. His reading was extensive,\nand his memory extraordinarily tenacious of the slightest circumstances.\nHis pretension to have lived for so many centuries naturally exposed him\nto some puzzling questions, as to the appearance, life, and conversation\nof the great men of former days; but he was never at a loss for an\nanswer. Many who questioned him for the purpose of scoffing at him,\nrefrained in perplexity, quite bewildered by his presence of mind, his\nready replies, and his astonishing accuracy on every point mentioned\nin history. To increase the mystery by which he was surrounded, he\npermitted no person to know how he lived. He dressed in a style of the\ngreatest magnificence; sported valuable diamonds in his hat, on his\nfingers, and in his shoe-buckles; and sometimes made the most costly\npresents to the ladies of the court. It was suspected by many that he\nwas a spy, in the pay of the English ministry; but there never was a\ntittle of evidence to support the charge. The King looked upon him with\nmarked favour, was often closeted with him for hours together, and would\nnot suffer anybody to speak disparagingly of him. Voltaire constantly\nturned him into ridicule; and, in one of his letters to the King of\nPrussia, mentions him as \"un comte pour fire;\" and states, that he\npretended to have dined with the holy fathers, at the Council of Trent!\n\nIn the \"Memoirs of Madame du Hausset,\" chamber-woman to Madame du\nPompadour, there are some amusing anecdotes of this personage. Very soon\nafter his arrival in Paris, he had the entree of her dressing-room; a\nfavour only granted to the most powerful lords at the court of her royal\nlover. Madame was fond of conversing with him; and, in her presence,\nhe thought fit to lower his pretensions very considerably: but he often\nallowed her to believe that he had lived two or three hundred years,\nat least. \"One day,\" says Madame du Hausset, \"Madame said to him, in my\npresence, 'What was the personal appearance of Francis I? He was a King\nI should have liked.' 'He was, indeed, very captivating,' replied St.\nGermain; and he proceeded to describe his face and person, as that of a\nman whom he had accurately observed. 'It is a pity he was too ardent. I\ncould have given him some good advice, which would have saved him from\nall his misfortunes: but he would not have followed it; for it seems as\nif a fatality attended princes, forcing them to shut their ears to the\nwisest counsel.' 'Was his court very brilliant?' inquired Madame du\nPompadour. 'Very,' replied the Count; 'but those of his grandsons\nsurpassed it. In the time of Mary Stuart and Margaret of Valois, it\nwas a land of enchantment--a temple sacred to pleasures of every kind.'\nMadame said, laughing, 'You seem to have seen all this.' 'I have an\nexcellent memory,' said he, 'and have read the history of France with\ngreat care. I sometimes amuse myself, not by making, but by letting, it\nbe believed that I lived in old times.'\n\n\"'But you do not tell us your age,' said Madame du Pompadour to him on\nanother occasion; 'and yet you pretend you are very old. The Countess de\nGergy, who was, I believe, ambassadress at Vienna some fifty years ago,\nsays she saw you there, exactly the same as you now appear.'\n\n\"'It is true, Madam,' replied St. Germain; 'I knew Madame de Gergy many\nyears ago.'\n\n\"'But, according to her account, you must be more than a hundred years\nold?'\n\n\"'That is not impossible,' said he, laughing; 'but it is much more\npossible that the good lady is in her dotage.'\n\n\"'You gave her an elixir, surprising for the effects it produced;\nfor she says, that during a length of time, she only appeared to be\neighty-four; the age at which she took it. Why don't you give it to the\nKing?'\n\n\"'O Madam!' he exclaimed, 'the physicians would have me broken on the\nwheel, were I to think of drugging his Majesty.'\"\n\nWhen the world begins to believe extraordinary things of an individual,\nthere is no telling where its extravagance will stop. People, when once\nthey have taken the start, vie with each other who shall believe most.\nAt this period all Paris resounded with the wonderful adventures of\nthe Count de St. Germain; and a company of waggish young men tried the\nfollowing experiment upon its credulity:-A clever mimic, who, on account\nof the amusement he afforded, was admitted into good society, was taken\nby them, dressed as the Count de St. Germain, into several houses in\nthe Rue du Marais. He imitated the Count's peculiarities admirably, and\nfound his auditors open-mouthed to believe any absurdity he chose to\nutter. NO fiction was too monstrous for their all-devouring credulity.\nHe spoke of the Saviour of the world in terms of the greatest\nfamiliarity; said he had supped with him at the marriage in Canaan of\nGalilee, where the water was miraculously turned into wine. In fact, he\nsaid he was an intimate friend of his, and had often warned him to be\nless romantic and imprudent, or he would finish his career miserably.\nThis infamous blasphemy, strange to say, found believers; and, ere three\ndays had elapsed, it was currently reported that St. Germain was born\nsoon after the deluge, and that he would never die!\n\nSt. Germain himself was too much a man of the world to assert anything\nso monstrous; but he took no pains to contradict the story. In all his\nconversations with persons of rank and education, he advanced his claims\nmodestly, and as if by mere inadvertency; and seldom pretended to a\nlongevity beyond three hundred years; except when he found he was in\ncompany with persons who would believe anything. He often spoke of Henry\nVIII, as if he had known him intimately; and of the Emperor Charles\nV, as if that monarch had delighted in his society. He would describe\nconversations which took place with such an apparent truthfulness, and\nbe so exceedingly minute and particular as to the dress and appearance\nof the individuals, and even the weather at the time, and the furniture\nof the room, that three persons out of four were generally inclined\nto credit him. He had constant applications from rich old women for an\nelixir to make them young again; and, it would appear, gained large sums\nin this manner. To those whom he was pleased to call his friends, he\nsaid, his mode of living and plan of diet were far superior to any\nelixir; and that anybody might attain a patriarchal age, by refraining\nfrom drinking at meals, and very sparingly at any other time. The Baron\nde Gleichen followed this system, and took great quantities of senna\nleaves, expecting to live for two hundred years. He died, however, at\nseventy-three. The Duchess de Choiseul was desirous of following the\nsame system; but the Duke her husband, in much wrath, forbade her to\nfollow any system prescribed by a man who had so equivocal a reputation\nas M. de St. Germain.\n\nMadame du Hausset says, she saw St. Germain, and conversed with him\nseveral times. He appeared to her to be about fifty years of age, was of\nthe middle size, and had fine expressive features. His dress was always\nsimple, but displayed much taste. He usually wore diamond rings of great\nvalue; and his watch and snuff-box were ornamented with a profusion of\nprecious stones. One day, at Madame du Pompadour's apartments, where the\nprincipal courtiers were assembled, St. Germain made his appearance in\ndiamond knee and shoe buckles, of so fine a water, that Madame said, she\ndid not think the King had any equal to them. He was entreated to pass\ninto the antechamber, and undo them; which he did, and brought them\nto Madame, for closer inspection. M. de Gontant, who was present, said\ntheir value could not be less than two hundred thousand livres, or\nupwards of eight thousand pounds sterling. The Baron de Gleichen, in his\n\"Memoirs,\" relates, that the Count one day showed him so many diamonds,\nthat he thought he saw before him all the treasures of Aladdin's lamp;\nand adds, that he had had great experience in precious stones, and was\nconvinced that all those possessed by the Count were genuine. On another\noccasion, St. Germain showed Madame du Pompadour a small box, containing\ntopazes, emeralds, and diamonds, worth half a million of livres. He\naffected to despise all this wealth, to make the world more easily\nbelieve that he could, like the Rosicrucians, draw precious stones out\nof the earth by the magic of his song. He gave away a great number of\nthese jewels to the ladies of the court; and Madame du Pompadour was\nso charmed with his generosity, that she gave him a richly-enamelled\nsnuff-box, as a token of her regard; on the lid of which was beautifully\npainted a portrait of Socrates, or some other Greek sage, to whom she\ncompared him. He was not only lavish to the mistresses, but to the\nmaids. Madame du Hausset says,--\"The Count came to see Madame du\nPompadour, who was very ill, and lay on the sofa. He showed her diamonds\nenough to furnish a king's treasury. Madame sent for me to see all\nthose beautiful things. I looked at them with an air of the utmost\nastonishment; but I made signs to her, that I thought them all false.\nThe Count felt for something in a pocket-book about twice as large as\na spectacle-case; and, at length, drew out two or three little paper\npackets, which he unfolded, and exhibited a superb ruby. He threw on\nthe table, with a contumptuous air, a little cross of green and white\nstones. I looked at it, and said it was not to be despised. I then\nput it on, and admired it greatly. The Count begged me to accept it. I\nrefused. He urged me to take it. At length, he pressed so warmly, that\nMadame, seeing it could not be worth more than a thousand livres, made\nme a sign to accept it. I took the cross, much pleased with the Count's\npoliteness.\"\n\nHow the adventurer obtained his wealth remains a secret. He could not\nhave made it all by the sale of his elixir vitae in Germany; though,\nno doubt, some portion of it was derived from that source. Voltaire\npositively says, he was in the pay of foreign governments; and in his\nletter to the King of Prussia, dated the 5th of April 1758, says, that\nhe was initiated in all the secrets of Choiseul, Kaunitz, and Pitt.\nOf what use he could be to any of those ministers, and to Choiseul\nespecially, is a mystery of mysteries.\n\nThere appears no doubt that he possessed the secret of removing spots\nfrom diamonds; and, in all probability, he gained considerable sums by\nbuying, at inferior prices, such as had flaws in them, and afterwards\ndisposing of them at a profit of cent. per cent. Madame du Hausset\nrelates the following anecdote on this particular:--\"The King,\" says\nshe, \"ordered a middling-sized diamond, which had a flaw in it, to be\nbrought to him. After having it weighed, his Majesty said to the Count,\n'The value of this diamond, as it is, and with the flaw in it, is six\nthousand livres; without the flaw, it would be worth, at least, ten\nthousand. Will you undertake to make me a gainer of four thousand\nlivres?' St. Germain examined it very attentively, and said, 'It is\npossible; it may be done. I will bring it you again in a month.' At the\ntime appointed, the Count brought back the diamond, without a spot, and\ngave it to the King. It was wrapped in a cloth of amianthos, which he\ntook off. The King had it weighed immediately, and found it very little\ndiminished. His Majesty then sent it to his jeweller, by M. de Gonrant,\nwithout telling him of anything that had passed. The jeweller gave nine\nthousand six hundred livres for it. The King, however, sent for the\ndiamond back again, and said he would keep it as a curiosity. He could\nnot overcome his surprise; and said M. de St. Germain must be worth\nmillions; especially if he possessed the secret of making large diamonds\nout of small ones. The Count neither said that he could, or could not;\nbut positively asserted, that he knew how to make pearls grow, and give\nthem the finest water. The King paid him great attention, and so did\nMadame du Pompadour. M. du Quesnoy once said, that St. Germain was\na quack; but the King reprimanded him. In fact, his Majesty appears\ninfatuated by him; and sometimes talks of him as if his descent were\nillustrious.\"\n\nSt. Germain had a most amusing vagabond for a servant, to whom he would\noften appeal for corroboration, when relating some wonderful event that\nhappened centuries before. The fellow, who was not without ability,\ngenerally corroborated him in a most satisfactory manner. Upon one\noccasion, his master was telling a party of ladies and gentlemen, at\ndinner, some conversation he had had in Palestine, with King Richard I.\nof England, whom he described as a very particular friend of his.\nSigns of astonishment and incredulity were visible on the faces of the\ncompany; upon which St. Germain very coolly turned to his servant, who\nstood behind his chair, and asked him if he had not spoken truth? \"I\nreally cannot say,\" replied the man, without moving a muscle; \"you\nforget, sir, I have only been five hundred years in your service!\" \"Ah!\ntrue,\" said his master; \"I remember now; it was a little before your\ntime!\" Occasionally, when with men whom he could not so easily dupe,\nhe gave utterance to the contempt with which he could scarcely avoid\nregarding such gaping credulity. \"These fools of Parisians,\" said he,\nto the Baron de Gleichen, \"believe me to be more than five hundred years\nold; and, since they will have it so, I confirm them in their idea. Not\nbut that I really am much older than I appear.\"\n\nMany other stories are related of this strange impostor; but enough have\nbeen quoted to show his character and pretensions. It appears that\nhe endeavoured to find the philosopher's stone; but never boasted of\npossessing it. The Prince of Hesse Cassel, whom he had known years\nbefore, in Germany, wrote urgent letters to him, entreating him to\nquit Paris, and reside with him. St. Germain at last consented. Nothing\nfurther is known of his career. There were no gossipping memoir-writers\nat the court of Hesse Cassel to chronicle his sayings and doings. He\ndied at Sleswig, under the roof of his friend the Prince, in the year\n1784.\n\nCAGLIOSTRO,\n\nThis famous charlatan, the friend and successor of St. Germain, ran a\ncareer still more extraordinary. He was the arch-quack of his age, the\nlast of the great pretenders to the philosopher's stone and the water\nof life, and during his brief season of prosperity one of the most\nconspicuous characters of Europe.\n\nHis real name was Joseph Balsamo. He was born at Palermo about the year\n1743, of humble parentage. He had the misfortune to lose his father\nduring his infancy, and his education was left in consequence to some\nrelatives of his mother, the latter being too poor to afford him\nany instruction beyond mere reading and writing. He was sent in his\nfifteenth year to a monastery, to be taught the elements of chemistry\nand physic; but his temper was so impetuous, his indolence so\ninvincible, and his vicious habits so deeply rooted, that he made no\nprogress. After remaining some years, he left it with the character of\nan uninformed and dissipated young man, with good natural talents but a\nbad disposition. When he became of age, he abandoned himself to a\nlife of riot and debauchery, and entered himself, in fact, into that\ncelebrated fraternity, known in France and Italy as the \"Knights of\nIndustry,\" and in England as the \"Swell Mob.\" He was far from being\nan idle or unwilling member of the corps. The first way in which\nhe distinguished himself was by forging orders of admission to the\ntheatres. He afterwards robbed his uncle, and counterfeited a will. For\nacts like these, he paid frequent compulsory visits to the prisons of\nPalermo. Somehow or other he acquired the character of a sorcerer--of a\nman who had failed in discovering the secrets of alchymy, and had sold\nhis soul to the devil for the gold which he was not able to make by\nmeans of transmutation. He took no pains to disabuse the popular mind on\nthis particular, but rather encouraged the belief than otherwise. He at\nlast made use of it to cheat a silversmith, named Marano, of about sixty\nounces of gold, and was in consequence obliged to leave Palermo. He\npersuaded this man that he could show him a treasure hidden in a cave,\nfor which service he was to receive the sixty ounces of gold, while the\nsilversmith was to have all the treasure for the mere trouble of digging\nit up. They went together at midnight to an excavation in the vicinity\nof Palermo, where Balsamo drew a magic circle, and invoked the devil to\nshow his treasures. Suddenly there appeared half a dozen fellows, the\naccomplices of the swindler, dressed to represent devils, with horns\non their heads, claws to their fingers, and vomiting apparently red and\nblue flame. They were armed with pitchforks, with which they belaboured\npoor Marano till he was almost dead, and robbed him of his sixty ounces\nof gold and all the valuables he carried about his person. They then\nmade off, accompanied by Balsamo, leaving the unlucky silversmith to\nrecover or die at his leisure. Nature chose the former course; and soon\nafter daylight he was restored to his senses, smarting in body from his\nblows and in spirit for the deception of which he had been the victim.\nHis first impulse was to denounce Balsamo to the magistrates of the\ntown; but on further reflection he was afraid of the ridicule that a\nfull exposure of all the circumstances would draw upon him: he therefore\ntook the truly Italian resolution of being revenged on Balsamo by\nmurdering him at the first convenient opportunity. Having given\nutterance to this threat in the hearing of a friend of Balsamo, it was\nreported to the latter, who immediately packed up his valuables and\nquitted Europe.\n\nHe chose Medina, in Arabia, for his future dwelling-place, and there\nbecame acquainted with a Greek named Altotas, a man exceedingly well\nversed in all the languages of the East, and an indefatigable student of\nalchymy. He possessed an invaluable collection of Arabian manuscripts on\nhis favourite science, and studied them with such unremitting industry\nthat he found he had not sufficient time to attend to his crucibles\nand furnaces without neglecting his books. He was looking about for\nan assistant when Balsamo opportunely presented himself, and made so\nfavourable an impression that he was at once engaged in that capacity.\nBut the relation of master and servant did not long subsist between\nthem; Balsamo was too ambitious and too clever to play a secondary part,\nand within fifteen days of their first acquaintance they were bound\ntogether as friends and partners. Altotas, in the course of a long\nlife devoted to alchymy, had stumbled upon some valuable discoveries in\nchemistry, one of which was an ingredient for improving the manufacture\nof flax, and imparting to goods of that material a gloss and softness\nalmost equal to silk. Balsamo gave him the good advice to leave the\nphilosopher's stone for the present undiscovered, and make gold out\nof their flax. The advice was taken, and they proceeded together to\nAlexandria to trade, with a large stock of that article. They stayed\nforty days in Alexandria, and gained a considerable sum by their\nventure. They afterwards visited other cities in Egypt, and were equally\nsuccessful. They also visited Turkey, where they sold drugs and amulets.\nOn their return to Europe, they were driven by stress of weather into\nMalta, and were hospitably received by Pinto, the Grand Master of the\nKnights, and a famous alchymist. They worked in his laboratory for some\nmonths, and tried hard to change a pewter-platter into a silver one.\nBalsamo, having less faith than his companions, was sooner wearied; and\nobtaining from his host many letters of introduction to Rome and Naples,\nhe left him and Altotas to find the philosopher's stone and transmute\nthe pewter-platter without him.\n\nHe had long since dropped the name of Balsamo on account of the many\nugly associations that clung to it; and during his travels had assumed\nat least half a score others, with titles annexed to them. He called\nhimself sometimes the Chevalier de Fischio, the Marquis de Melissa, the\nBaron de Belmonte, de Pelligrini, d'Anna, de Fenix, de Harat, but most\ncommonly the Count de Cagliostro. Under the latter title he entered\nRome, and never afterwards changed it. In this city he gave himself out\nas the restorer of the Rosicrucian philosophy; said he could transmute\nall metals into gold; that he could render himself invisible, cure\nall diseases, and administer an elixir against old age and decay. His\nletters from the Grand Master Pinto procured him an introduction into\nthe best families. He made money rapidly by the sale of his elixir\nvitae; and, like other quacks, performed many remarkable cures by\ninspiring his patients with the most complete faith and reliance upon\nhis powers; an advantage which the most impudent charlatans often\npossess over the regular practitioner.\n\nWhile thus in a fair way of making his fortune he became acquainted\nwith the beautiful Lorenza Feliciana, a young lady of noble birth,\nbut without fortune. Cagliostro soon discovered that she possessed\naccomplishments that were invaluable. Besides her ravishing beauty,\nshe had the readiest wit, the most engaging manners, the most fertile\nimagination, and the least principle of any of the maidens of Rome. She\nwas just the wife for Cagliostro, who proposed himself to her, and was\naccepted. After their marriage, he instructed his fair Lorenza in all\nthe secrets of his calling--taught her pretty lips to invoke angels, and\ngenii, sylphs, salamanders, and undines, and, when need required, devils\nand evil spirits. Lorenza was an apt scholar: she soon learned all the\njargon of the alchymists and all the spells of the enchanters; and\nthus accomplished the hopeful pair set out on their travels, to levy\ncontributions on the superstitious and the credulous.\n\nThey first went to Sleswig on a visit to the Count de St. Germain, their\ngreat predecessor in the art of making dupes, and were received by him\nin the most magnificent manner. They no doubt fortified their minds for\nthe career they had chosen, by the sage discourse of that worshipful\ngentleman; for immediately after they left him, they began their\noperations. They travelled for three or four years in Russia, Poland,\nand Germany, transmuting metals, telling fortunes, raising spirits, and\nselling the elixir vitae wherever they went; but there is no record of\ntheir doings from whence to draw a more particular detail. It was not\nuntil they made their appearance in England in 1776, that the names\nof the Count and Countess di Cagliostro began to acquire a European\nreputation. They arrived in London in the July of that year, possessed\nof property in plate, jewels, and specie to the amount of about three\nthousand pounds. They hired apartments in Whitcombe-street, and lived\nfor some months quietly. In the same house there lodged a Portuguese\nwoman named Blavary, who, being in necessitous circumstances, was\nengaged by the Count as interpreter. She was constantly admitted\ninto his laboratory, where he spent much of his time in search of the\nphilosopher's stone. She spread abroad the fame of her entertainer in\nreturn for his hospitality, and laboured hard to impress everybody with\nas full a belief in his extraordinary powers as she felt herself. But\nas a female interpreter of the rank and appearance of Madame Blavary\ndid not exactly correspond with the Count's notions either of dignity or\ndecorum, he hired a person named Vitellini, a teacher of languages, to\nact in that capacity. Vitellini was a desperate gambler; a man who had\ntried almost every resource to repair his ruined fortunes, including\namong the rest the search for the philosopher's stone. Immediately that\nhe saw the Count's operations, he was convinced that the great secret\nwas his, and that the golden gates of the palace of fortune were open\nto let him in. With still more enthusiasm than Madame Blavary, he held\nforth to his acquaintance, and in all public places, that the Count was\nan extraordinary man, a true adept, whose fortune was immense, and who\ncould transmute into pure and solid gold, as much lead, iron, and copper\nas he pleased. The consequence was, that the house of Cagliostro was\nbesieged by crowds of the idle, the credulous, and the avaricious,\nall eager to obtain a sight of the \"philosopher,\" or to share in the\nboundless wealth which he could call into existence.\n\nUnfortunately for Cagliostro, he had fallen into evil hands; instead of\nduping the people of England as he might have done, he became himself\nthe victim of a gang of swindlers, who, with the fullest reliance on his\noccult powers, only sought to make money of him. Vitellini introduced to\nhim a ruined gambler like himself, named Scot, whom he represented as a\nScottish nobleman, attracted to London solely by his desire to see and\nconverse with the extraordinary man whose fame had spread to the distant\nmountains of the north. Cagliostro received him with great kindness and\ncordiality; and \"Lord\" Scot thereupon introduced a woman named Fry, as\nLady Scot, who was to act as chaperone to the Countess di Cagliostro,\nand make her acquainted with all the noble families of Britain. Thus\nthings went swimmingly. \"His lordship,\" whose effects had not arrived\nfrom Scotland, and who had no banker in London, borrowed two hundred\npounds of the Count; they were lent without scruple, so flattered was\nCagliostro by the attentions they paid him, the respect, nay, veneration\nthey pretended to feel for him, and the complete deference with which\nthey listened to every word that fell from his lips.\n\nSuperstitious, like all desperate gamesters, Scot had often tried\nmagical and cabalistic numbers, in the hope of discovering lucky numbers\nin the lottery, or at the roulette tables. He had in his possession a\ncabalistic manuscript, containing various arithmetical combinations of\nthe kind, which he submitted to Cagliostro, with an urgent request that\nhe would select a number. Cagliostro took the manuscript and studied\nit; but, as he himself informs us, with no confidence in its truth.\nHe however predicted twenty as the successful number for the 6th of\nNovember following. Scot ventured a small sum upon this number, out of\nthe two hundred pounds he had borrowed, and won. Cagliostro, incited by\nthis success, prognosticated number twenty-five for the next drawing.\nScot tried again, and won a hundred guineas. The numbers fifty-five and\nfifty-seven were announced with equal success for the 18th of the same\nmonth, to the no small astonishment and delight of Cagliostro, who\nthereupon resolved to try fortune for himself, and not for others.\nTo all the entreaties of Scot and his lady that he would predict more\nnumbers for them, he turned a deaf ear, even while he still thought him\na lord and a man of honour. But when he discovered that he was a mere\nswindler, and the pretended Lady Scot an artful woman of the town, he\nclosed his door upon them and on all their gang.\n\nHaving complete faith in the supernatural powers of the Count, they were\nin the deepest distress at having lost his countenance. They tried by\nevery means their ingenuity could suggest, to propitiate him again; they\nimplored, they threatened, and endeavoured to bribe him. But all was\nvain. Cagliostro would neither see nor correspond with them. In the mean\ntime they lived extravagantly; and in the hope of future, exhausted all\ntheir present gains. They were reduced to the last extremity, when Miss\nFry obtained access to the Countess, and received a guinea from her on\nthe representation that she was starving. Miss Fry, not contented with\nthis, begged her to intercede with her husband, that for the last time\nhe would point out a lucky number in the lottery. The Countess promised\nto exert her influence, and Cagliostro thus entreated, named the number\neight, at the same time reiterating his determination to have no more to\ndo with any of them. By an extraordinary hazard, which filled Cagliostro\nwith surprise and pleasure, number eight was the greatest prize in the\nlottery. Miss Fry and her associates cleared fifteen hundred guineas by\nthe adventure; and became more than ever convinced of the occult powers\nof Cagliostro, and strengthened in their determination never to quit him\nuntil they had made their fortunes. Out of the proceeds, Miss Fry\nbought a handsome necklace at a pawnbrokers for ninety guineas. She then\nordered a richly chased gold box, having two compartments, to be made at\na jeweller's, and putting the necklace in the one, filled the other with\na fine aromatic snuff. She then sought another interview with Madame\ndi Cagliostro, and urged her to accept the box as a small token of her\nesteem and gratitude, without mentioning the valuable necklace that was\nconcealed in it. Madame di Cagliostro accepted the present, and was\nfrom that hour exposed to the most incessant persecution from all the\nconfederates, Blavary, Vitellini, and the pretended Lord and Lady Scot.\nThey flattered themselves they had regained their lost footing in the\nhouse, and came day after day to know lucky numbers in the lottery;\nsometimes forcing themselves up the stairs, and into the Count's\nlaboratory, in spite of the efforts of the servants to prevent them.\nCagliostro, exasperated at their pertinacity, threatened to call in the\nassistance of the magistrates; and taking Miss Fry by the shoulders,\npushed her into the street.\n\nFrom that time may be dated the misfortunes of Cagliostro. Miss Fry, at\nthe instigation of her paramour, determined on vengeance. Her first act\nwas to swear a debt of two hundred pounds against Cagliostro, and to\ncause him to be arrested for that sum. While he was in custody in a\nsponging house, Scot, accompanied by a low attorney, broke into his\nlaboratory, and carried off a small box, containing, as they believed,\nthe powder of transmutation, and a number of cabalistic manuscripts and\ntreatises upon alchymy. They also brought an action against him for the\nrecovery of the necklace; and Miss Fry accused both him and his Countess\nof sorcery and witchcraft, and of foretelling numbers in the lottery by\nthe aid of the devil. This latter charge was actually heard before Mr.\nJustice Miller. The action of trover for the necklace was tried before\nthe Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, who recommended the parties\nto submit to arbitration. In the mean time Cagliostro remained in prison\nfor several weeks, till having procured bail, he was liberated. He was\nsoon after waited upon by an attorney named Reynolds, also deep in the\nplot, who offered to compromise all the actions upon certain conditions.\nScot, who had accompanied him, concealed himself behind the door, and\nsuddenly rushing out, presented a pistol at the heart of Cagliostro,\nswearing he would shoot him instantly, if he would not tell him truly\nthe art of predicting lucky numbers, and of transmuting metals. Reynolds\npretending to be very angry, disarmed his accomplice, and entreated the\nCount to satisfy them by fair means, and disclose his secrets, promising\nthat if he would do so, they would discharge all the actions, and\noffer him no further molestation. Cagliostro replied, that threats and\nentreaties were alike useless; that he knew no secrets; and that the\npowder of transmutation of which they had robbed him, was of no value\nto anybody but himself. He offered, however, if they would discharge\nthe actions, and return the powder and the manuscripts, he would forgive\nthem all the money they had swindled him out of. These conditions were\nrefused; and Scot and Reynolds departed, swearing vengeance against him.\n\nCagliostro appears to have been quite ignorant of the forms of law in\nEngland, and to have been without a friend to advise him as to the best\ncourse he should pursue. While he was conversing with his Countess on\nthe difficulties that beset them, one of his bail called, and invited\nhim to ride in a hackney coach to the house of a person who would see\nhim righted. Cagliostro consented, and was driven to the King's Bench\nprison, where his friend left him. He did not discover for several\nhours that he was a prisoner, or in fact understand the process of being\nsurrendered by one's bail.\n\nHe regained his liberty in a few weeks; and the arbitrators between him\nand Miss Fry, made their award against him. He was ordered to pay\nthe two hundred pounds she had sworn against him, and to restore\nthe necklace and gold box which had been presented to the Countess.\nCagliostro was so disgusted, that he determined to quit England. His\npretensions, besides, had been unmercifully exposed by a Frenchman,\nnamed Morande, the Editor of the Courier de l'Europe, published in\nLondon. To add to his distress, he was recognised in Westminster Hall,\nas Joseph Balsamo, the swindler of Palermo. Such a complication of\ndisgrace was not to be borne. He and his Countess packed up their small\neffects, and left England with no more than fifty pounds, out of the\nthree thousand they had brought with them.\n\nThey first proceeded to Brussels, where fortune was more auspicious.\nThey sold considerable quantities of the elixir of life, performed many\ncures, and recruited their finances. They then took their course through\nGermany to Russia, and always with the same success. Gold flowed into\ntheir coffers faster than they could count it. They quite forgot all the\nwoes they had endured in England, and learned to be more circumspect in\nthe choice of their acquaintance.\n\nIn the year 1780, they made their appearance in Strasbourg. Their fame\nhad reached that city before them. They took a magnificent hotel, and\ninvited all the principal persons of the place to their table. Their\nwealth appeared to be boundless, and their hospitality equal to it. Both\nthe Count and Countess acted as physicians, and gave money, advice, and\nmedicine to all the necessitous and suffering of the town. Many of the\ncures they performed, astonished those regular practitioners who did not\nmake sufficient allowance for the wonderful influence of imagination\nin certain cases. The Countess, who at this time was not more than\nfive-and-twenty, and all radiant with grace, beauty, and cheerfulness,\nspoke openly of her eldest son as a fine young man of eight-and-twenty,\nwho had been for some years a captain in the Dutch service. The trick\nsucceeded to admiration. All the ugly old women in Strasbourg, and for\nmiles around, thronged the saloon of the Countess to purchase the liquid\nwhich was to make them as blooming as their daughters; the young women\ncame in equal abundance that they might preserve their charms, and when\ntwice as old as Ninon de L'Enclos, be more captivating than she; while\nmen were not wanting fools enough to imagine, that they might keep\noff the inevitable stroke of the grim foe, by a few drops of the\nsame incomparable elixir. The Countess, sooth to say, looked like an\nincarnation of immortal loveliness, a very goddess of youth and beauty;\nand it is possible that the crowds of young men and old, who at all\nconvenient seasons haunted the perfumed chambers of this enchantress,\nwere attracted less by their belief in her occult powers than from\nadmiration of her languishing bright eyes and sparkling conversation.\nBut amid all the incense that was offered at her shrine, Madame di\nCagliostro was ever faithful to her spouse. She encouraged hopes, it is\ntrue, but she never realised them; she excited admiration, yet kept it\nwithin bounds; and made men her slaves, without ever granting a favour\nof which the vainest might boast.\n\nIn this city they made the acquaintance of many eminent persons,\nand among others, of the Cardinal Prince de Rohan, who was destined\nafterwards to exercise so untoward an influence over their fate. The\nCardinal, who seems to have had great faith in him as a philosopher,\npersuaded him to visit Paris in his company, which he did, but remained\nonly thirteen days. He preferred the society of Strasbourg, and returned\nthither, with the intention of fixing his residence far from the\ncapital. But he soon found that the first excitement of his arrival had\npassed away. People began to reason with themselves, and to be ashamed\nof their own admiration. The populace, among whom he had lavished his\ncharity with a bountiful hand, accused him of being the Antichrist,\nthe Wandering Jew, the man of fourteen hundred years of age, a demon in\nhuman shape, sent to lure the ignorant to their destruction; while the\nmore opulent and better informed called him a spy in the pay of foreign\ngovernments, an agent of the police, a swindler, and a man of evil life.\nThe outcry grew at last so strong, that he deemed it prudent to try his\nfortune elsewhere.\n\nHe went first to Naples, but that city was too near Palermo; he dreaded\nrecognition from some of his early friends, and after a short stay,\nreturned to France. He chose Bordeaux as his next dwelling-place, and\ncreated as great a sensation there as he had done in Strasbourg.\nHe announced himself as the founder of a new school of medicine and\nphilosophy, boasted of his ability to cure all diseases, and invited the\npoor and suffering to visit him, and he would relieve the distress\nof the one class, and cure the ailings of the other. All day long the\nstreet opposite his magnificent hotel was crowded by the populace; the\nhalt and the blind, women with sick babes in their arms, and persons\nsuffering under every species of human infirmity flocked to\nthis wonderful doctor. The relief he afforded in money more than\ncounterbalanced the failure of his nostrums; and the affluence of people\nfrom all the surrounding country became so great, that the jurats of the\ncity granted him a military guard, to be stationed day and night before\nhis door, to keep order. The anticipations of Cagliostro were realised.\nThe rich were struck with admiration of his charity and benevolence, and\nimpressed with a full conviction of his marvellous powers. The sale of\nthe elixir went on admirably. His saloons were thronged with wealthy\ndupes who came to purchase immortality. Beauty, that would endure for\ncenturies, was the attraction for the fair sex; health and strength\nfor the same period were the baits held out to the other. His charming\nCountess in the meantime brought grist to the mill, by telling fortunes\nand casting nativities, or granting attendant sylphs to any ladies who\nwould pay sufficiently for their services. What was still better,\nas tending to keep up the credit of her husband, she gave the most\nmagnificent parties in Bordeaux.\n\nBut as at Strasbourg the popular delusion lasted for a few months\nonly, and burned itself out; Cagliostro forgot, in the intoxication of\nsuccess, that there was a limit to quackery, which once passed, inspired\ndistrust. When he pretended to call spirits from the tomb, people became\nincredulous. He was accused of being an enemy to religion--of denying\nChrist, and of being the Wandering Jew. He despised these rumours as\nlong as they were confined to a few; but when they spread over the\ntown--when he received no more fees--when his parties were abandoned,\nand his acquaintance turned away when they met him in the street, he\nthought it high time to shift his quarters.\n\nHe was by this time wearied of the provinces, and turned his thoughts\nto the capital. On his arrival, he announced himself as the restorer of\nEgyptian Freemasonry and the founder of a new philosophy. He immediately\nmade his way into the best society by means of his friend the Cardinal\nde Rohan. His success as a magician was quite extraordinary: the most\nconsiderable persons of the time visited him. He boasted of being able,\nlike the Rosicrucians, to converse with the elementary spirits; to\ninvoke the mighty dead from the grave, to transmute metals, and to\ndiscover occult things, by means of the special protection of God\ntowards him. Like Dr. Dee, he summoned the angels to reveal the future;\nand they appeared, and conversed with him in crystals and under glass\nbells. [See the Abbe Fiard, and \"Anecdotes of the Reign of Louis XVI.\"\np. 400.] \"There was hardly,\" says the Biographie des Contemporains, \"a\nfine lady in Paris who would not sup with the shade of Lucretius in the\napartments of Cagliostro--a military officer who would not discuss\nthe art of war with Cesar, Hannibal, or Alexander; or an advocate or\ncounsellor who would not argue legal points with the ghost of Cicero.\"\nThese interviews with the departed were very expensive; for, as\nCagliostro said, the dead would not rise for nothing. The Countess, as\nusual, exercised all her ingenuity to support her husband's credit.\nShe was a great favourite with her own sex; to many a delighted and\nwondering auditory of whom she detailed the marvellous powers of\nCagliostro. She said he could render himself invisible, traverse the\nworld with the rapidity of thought, and be in several places at the same\ntime. [\"Biographie des Contemporains,\" article \"Cagliostro.\" See also\n\"Histoire de la Magie en France,\" par M. Jules Garinet, p. 284.]\n\nHe had not been long at Paris before he became involved in the\ncelebrated affair of the Queen's necklace. His friend, the Cardinal de\nRohan, enamoured of the charms of Marie Antoinette, was in sore distress\nat her coldness, and the displeasure she had so often manifested against\nhim. There was at that time a lady, named La Motte, in the service of\nthe Queen, of whom the Cardinal was foolish enough to make a confidant.\nMadame de la Motte, in return, endeavoured to make a tool of the\nCardinal, and succeeded but too well in her projects. In her capacity\nof chamber-woman, or lady of honour to the Queen, she was present at\nan interview between her Majesty and M. Boehmer, a wealthy jeweller of\nParis, when the latter offered for sale a magnificent diamond necklace,\nvalued at 1,600,000 francs, or about 64,000 pounds sterling. The Queen\nadmired it greatly, but dismissed the jeweller, with the expression\nof her regret that she was too poor to purchase it. Madame de la Motte\nformed a plan to get this costly ornament into her own possession, and\ndetermined to make the Cardinal de Rohan the instrument by which to\neffect it. She therefore sought an interview with him, and pretending to\nsympathise in his grief for the Queen's displeasure, told him she knew\na way by which he might be restored to favour. She then mentioned the\nnecklace, and the sorrow of the Queen that she could not afford to buy\nit. The Cardinal, who was as wealthy as he was foolish, immediately\noffered to purchase the necklace, and make a present of it to the Queen.\nMadame de la Motte told him by no means to do so, as he would thereby\noffend her Majesty. His plan would be to induce the jeweller to give\nher Majesty credit, and accept her promissory note for the amount at a\ncertain date, to be hereafter agreed upon. The Cardinal readily agreed\nto the proposal, and instructed the jeweller to draw up an agreement,\nand he would procure the Queen's signature. He placed this in the hands\nof Madame de la Motte, who returned it shortly afterwards, with the\nwords, \"Bon, bon--approuve--Marie Antoinette,\" written in the margin.\nShe told him at the same time that the Queen was highly pleased with\nhis conduct in the matter, and would appoint a meeting with him in the\ngardens of Versailles, when she would present him with a flower, as\na token of her regard. The Cardinal showed the forged document to the\njeweller, obtained the necklace, and delivered it into the hands of\nMadame de la Motte. So far all was well. Her next object was to satisfy\nthe Cardinal, who awaited impatiently the promised interview with his\nroyal mistress. There was at that time in Paris a young woman named\nD'Oliva, noted for her resemblance to the Queen; and Madame de la Motte,\non the promise of a handsome reward, found no difficulty in persuading\nher to personate Marie Antoinette, and meet the Cardinal de Rohan at the\nevening twilight in the gardens of Versailles. The meeting took place\naccordingly. The Cardinal was deceived by the uncertain light, the great\nresemblance of the counterfeit, and his own hopes; and having received\nthe flower from Mademoiselle D'Oliva, went home with a lighter\nheart than had beat in his bosom for many a day. [The enemies of\nthe unfortunate Queen of France, when the progress of the Revolution\nembittered their animosity against her, maintained that she was really\na party in this transaction; that she, and not Mademoiselle D'Oliva, met\nthe Cardinal and rewarded him with the flower; and that the story above\nrelated was merely concocted between her, La Motte, and others to cheat\nthe jeweller of his 1,600,000 francs.]\n\nIn the course of time the forgery of the Queen's signature was\ndiscovered. Boehmer the jeweller immediately named the Cardinal de Rohan\nand Madame de la Motte as the persons with whom he had negotiated,\nand they were both arrested and thrown into the Bastille. La Motte\nwas subjected to a rigorous examination, and the disclosures she made\nimplicating Cagliostro, he was seized, along with his wife, and also\nsent to the Bastille, A story involving so much scandal necessarily\nexcited great curiosity. Nothing was to be heard of in Paris but the\nQueen's necklace, with surmises of the guilt or innocence of the\nseveral parties implicated. The husband of Madame de la Motte escaped\nto England, and in the opinion of many took the necklace with him, and\nthere disposed of it to different jewellers in small quantities at\na time. But Madame de la Motte insisted that she had entrusted it\nto Cagliostro, who had seized and taken it to pieces, to \"swell the\ntreasures of his immense unequalled fortune.\" She spoke of him as \"an\nempiric, a mean alchymist, a dreamer on the philosopher's stone, a\nfalse prophet, a profaner of the true worship, the self-dubbed Count\nCagliostro!\" She further said that he originally conceived the project\nof ruining the Cardinal de Rohan; that he persuaded her, by the exercise\nof some magic influence over her mind, to aid and abet the scheme; and\nthat he was a robber, a swindler, and a sorcerer!\n\nAfter all the accused parties had remained for upwards of six months\nin the Bastille, the trial commenced. The depositions of the witnesses\nhaving been heard, Cagliostro, as the principal culprit, was first\ncalled upon for his defence. He was listened to with the most breathless\nattention. He put himself into a theatrical attitude, and thus\nbegan:--\"I am oppressed!--I am accused!--I am calumniated! Have I\ndeserved this fate? I descend into my conscience, and I there find the\npeace that men refuse me! I have travelled a great deal--I am known over\nall Europe, and a great part of Asia and Africa. I have everywhere shown\nmyself the friend of my fellow-creatures. My knowledge, my time, my\nfortune have ever been employed in the relief of distress! I have\nstudied and practised medicine, but I have never degraded that most\nnoble and most consoling of arts by mercenary speculations of any\nkind. Though always giving, and never receiving, I have preserved my\nindependence. I have even carried my delicacy so far as to refuse the\nfavours of kings. I have given gratuitously my remedies and my advice to\nthe rich: the poor have received from me both remedies and money. I have\nnever contracted any debts, and my manners are pure and uncorrupted.\"\nAfter much more self-laudation of the same kind, he went on to complain\nof the great hardships he had endured in being separated for so many\nmonths from his innocent and loving wife, who, as he was given to\nunderstand, had been detained in the Bastille, and perhaps chained in an\nunwholesome dungeon. He denied unequivocally that he had the necklace,\nor that he had ever seen it; and to silence the rumours and accusations\nagainst him, which his own secrecy with regard to the events of his\nlife had perhaps originated, he expressed himself ready to satisfy the\ncuriosity of the public, and to give a plain and full account of his\ncareer. He then told a romantic and incredible tale, which imposed upon\nno one. He said he neither knew the place of his birth nor the name of\nhis parents, but that he spent his infancy in Medina in Arabia, and\nwas brought up under the name of Acharat. He lived in the palace of the\nGreat Muphti in that city, and always had three servants to wait upon\nhim, besides his preceptor, named Althotas. This Althotas was very fond\nof him, and told him that his father and mother, who were Christians and\nnobles, died when he was three months old, and left him in the care of\nthe Muphti. He could never, he said, ascertain their names, for whenever\nhe asked Althotas the question, he was told that it would be dangerous\nfor him to know. Some incautious expressions dropped by his preceptor\ngave him reason to think they were from Malta. At the age of twelve he\nbegan his travels, and learned the various languages of the East. He\nremained three years in Mecca, where the Cherif, or governor, showed him\nso much kindness, and spoke to him so tenderly and affectionately, that\nhe sometimes thought that personage was his father. He quitted this good\nman with tears in his eyes, and never saw him afterwards; but he was\nconvinced that he was, even at that moment, indebted to his care for all\nthe advantages he enjoyed. Whenever he arrived in any city, either of\nEurope or Asia, he found an account opened for him at the principal\nbankers' or merchants'. He could draw upon them to the amount of\nthousands and hundreds of thousands; and no questions were ever asked\nbeyond his name. He had only to mention the word Acharat, and all his\nwants were supplied. He firmly believed that the Cherif of Mecca was the\nfriend to whom all was owing. This was the secret of his wealth, and\nhe had no occasion to resort to swindling for a livelihood. It was not\nworth his while to steal a diamond necklace when he had wealth enough to\npurchase as many as he pleased, and more magnificent ones than had ever\nbeen worn by a Queen of France. As to the other charges brought against\nhim by Madame de la Motte, he had but a short answer to give. She had\ncalled him an empiric. He was not unfamiliar with the word. If it meant\na man who, without being a physician, had some knowledge of medicine,\nand took no fees--who cured both rich and poor, and took no money from\neither, he confessed that he was such a man, that he was an empiric. She\nhad also called him a mean alchymist. Whether he were an alchymist or\nnot, the epithet mean could only be applied to those who begged and\ncringed, and he had never done either. As regarded his being a dreamer\nabout the philosopher's stone, whatever his opinions upon that subject\nmight be, he had been silent, and had never troubled the public with his\ndreams. Then, as to his being a false prophet, he had not always been\nso; for he had prophesied to the Cardinal de Rohan that Madame de la\nMotte would prove a dangerous woman, and the result had verified the\nprediction. He denied that he was a profaner of the true worship,\nor that he had ever striven to bring religion into contempt; on the\ncontrary, he respected every man's religion, and never meddled with it.\nHe also denied that he was a Rosicrucian, or that he had ever pretended\nto be three hundred years of age, or to have had one man in his service\nfor a hundred and fifty years. In conclusion, he said every statement\nthat Madame de la Motte had made regarding him was false, and that she\nwas mentiris impudentissime, which two words he begged her counsel to\ntranslate for her, as it was not polite to tell her so in French.\n\nSuch was the substance of his extraordinary answer to the charges\nagainst him; an answer which convinced those who were before doubtful\nthat he was one of the most impudent impostors that had ever run the\ncareer of deception. Counsel were then heard on behalf of the Cardinal\nde Rohan and Madame de la Motte. It appearing clearly that the Cardinal\nwas himself the dupe of a vile conspiracy; and there being no evidence\nagainst Cagliostro, they were both acquitted. Madame de la Motte was\nfound guilty, and sentenced to be publicly whipped, and branded with a\nhot iron on the back.\n\nCagliostro and his wife were then discharged from custody. On applying\nto the officers of the Bastille for the papers and effects which\nhad been seized at his lodgings, he found that many of them had been\nabstracted. He thereupon brought an action against them for the recovery\nof his MSS. and a small portion of the powder of transmutation. Before\nthe affair could be decided, he received orders to quit Paris within\nfour-and-twenty hours. Fearing that if he were once more inclosed in the\ndungeons of the Bastille he should never see daylight again, he took his\ndeparture immediately and proceeded to England. On his arrival in\nLondon he made the acquaintance of the notorious Lord George Gordon, who\nespoused his cause warmly, and inserted a letter in the public papers,\nanimadverting upon the conduct of the Queen of France in the affair of\nthe necklace, and asserting that she was really the guilty party. For\nthis letter Lord George was exposed to a prosecution at the instance of\nthe French Ambassador--found guilty of libel, and sentenced to fine and\na long imprisonment.\n\nCagliostro and the Countess afterwards travelled in Italy, where they\nwere arrested by the Papal Government in 1789, and condemned to death.\nThe charges against him were, that he was a freemason, a heretic, and a\nsorcerer. This unjustifiable sentence was afterwards commuted into one\nof perpetual imprisonment in the Castle of St. Angelo. His wife was\nallowed to escape severer punishment by immuring herself in a nunnery.\nCagliostro did not long survive. The loss of liberty preyed upon his\nmind--accumulated misfortunes had injured his health and broken his\nspirit, and he died early in 1790. His fate may have been no better than\nhe deserved, but it is impossible not to feel that his sentence for\nthe crimes assigned was utterly disgraceful to the government that\npronounced it.\n\nPRESENT STATE OF ALCHYMY.\n\nWe have now finished the list of the persons who have most distinguished\nthemselves in this foolish and unprofitable pursuit. Among them are men\nof all ranks, characters, and conditions; the truthseeking, but erring\nphilosopher; the ambitious prince and the needy noble, who have believed\nin it; as well as the designing charlatan, who has not believed in\nit, but has merely made the pretension to it the means of cheating\nhis fellows, and living upon their credulity. One or more of all these\nclasses will be found in the foregoing pages. It will be seen, from the\nrecord of their lives, that the delusion, humiliating as it was to human\nintellect, was not altogether without its uses. Men, in striving to gain\ntoo much, do not always overreach themselves: if they cannot arrive at\nthe inaccessible mountain-top, they may, perhaps, get half way towards\nit, and pick up some scraps of wisdom and knowledge on the road. The\nuseful science of chemistry is not a little indebted to its spurious\nbrother of alchymy. Many valuable discoveries have been made in that\nsearch for the impossible, which might otherwise have been hidden for\ncenturies yet to come. Roger Bacon, in searching for the philosopher's\nstone, discovered gunpowder, a still more extraordinary substance. Van\nHelmont, in the same pursuit, discovered the properties of gas;\nGeber made discoveries in chemistry which were equally important; and\nParacelsus, amidst his perpetual visions of the transmutation of\nmetals, found that mercury was a remedy for one of the most odious and\nexcruciating of all the diseases that afflict humanity.\n\nIn our day, no mention is made in Europe of any new devotees of the\nscience. The belief in witchcraft, which is scarcely more absurd, still\nlingers in the popular mind: but none are so credulous as to believe\nthat any elixir could make man live for centuries, or turn all our\niron and pewter into gold. Alchymy, in Europe, may be said to be wholly\nexploded; but in the East it still flourishes in as great repute as\never. Recent travellers make constant mention of it, especially in\nChina, Hindostan, Persia, Tartary, Egypt, and Arabia.\n\n\n\n\nBOOK II.--FORTUNE TELLING.\n\n     And men still grope t' anticipate\n     The cabinet designs of Fate;\n     Apply to wizards to foresee\n     What shall and what shall never be.\n     Hudibras, part iii. canto 3.\n\nIn accordance with the plan laid down in the introduction to this\nvolume, we proceed to the consideration of the follies into which men\nhave been led by their eager desire to pierce the thick darkness of\nfuturity. God himself, for his own wise purposes, has more than once\nundrawn the impenetrable veil which shrouds those awful secrets;\nand, for purposes just as wise, he has decreed that, except in these\ninstances, ignorance shall be our lot for ever. It is happy for man that\nhe does not know what the morrow is to bring forth; but, unaware of\nthis great blessing, he has, in all ages of the world, presumptuously\nendeavoured to trace the events of unborn centuries, and anticipate\nthe march of time. He has reduced this presumption into a study. He has\ndivided it into sciences and systems without number, employing his whole\nlife in the vain pursuit. Upon no subject has it been so easy to deceive\nthe world as upon this. In every breast the curiosity exists in a\ngreater or less degree, and can only be conquered by a long course\nof self-examination, and a firm reliance that the future would not be\nhidden from our sight, if it were right that we should be acquainted\nwith it.\n\nAn undue opinion of our own importance in the scale of creation is\nat the bottom of all our unwarrantable notions in this respect. How\nflattering to the pride of man to think that the stars in their courses\nwatch over him, and typify, by their movements and aspects, the joys or\nthe sorrows that await him! He, less in proportion to the universe than\nthe all but invisible insects that feed in myriads on a summer's leaf,\nare to this great globe itself, fondly imagines that eternal worlds\nwere chiefly created to prognosticate his fate. How we should pity the\narrogance of the worm that crawls at our feet, if we knew that it also\ndesired to know the secrets of futurity, and imagined that meteors shot\nathwart the sky to warn it that a tom-tit was hovering near to gobble it\nup; that storms and earthquakes, the revolutions of empires, or the fall\nof mighty monarchs, only happened to, predict its birth, its progress,\nand its decay! Not a whit less presuming has man shown himself; not a\nwhit less arrogant are the sciences, so called, of astrology, augury,\nnecromancy, geomancy, palmistry, and divination of every kind.\n\nLeaving out of view the oracles of pagan antiquity and religious\npredictions in general, and confining ourselves solely to the persons\nwho, in modern times, have made themselves most conspicuous in\nforetelling the future, we shall find that the sixteenth and seventeenth\ncenturies were the golden age of these impostors. Many of them have been\nalready mentioned in their character of alchymists. The union of the two\npretensions is not at all surprising. It was to be expected that those\nwho assumed a power so preposterous as that of prolonging the life of\nman for several centuries, should pretend, at the same time, to foretell\nthe events which were to mark that preternatural span of existence. The\nworld would as readily believe that they had discovered all secrets, as\nthat they had only discovered one. The most celebrated astrologers of\nEurope, three centuries ago, were alchymists. Agrippa, Paracelsus, Dr.\nDee, and the Rosicrucians, all laid as much stress upon their knowledge\nof the days to come, as upon their pretended possession of the\nphilosopher's stone and the elixir of life. In their time, ideas of the\nwonderful, the diabolical, and the supernatural, were rifer than ever\nthey were before. The devil or the stars were universally believed to\nmeddle constantly in the affairs of men; and both were to be consulted\nwith proper ceremonies. Those who were of a melancholy and gloomy\ntemperament betook themselves to necromancy and sorcery; those more\ncheerful and aspiring, devoted themselves to astrology. The latter\nscience was encouraged by all the monarchs and governments of that age.\nIn England, from the time of Elizabeth to that of William and Mary,\njudicial astrology was in high repute. During that period flourished\nDrs. Dee, Lamb, and Forman; with Lilly, Booker, Gadbury, Evans, and\nscores of nameless impostors in every considerable town and village in\nthe country, who made it their business to cast nativities, aid in the\nrecovery of stolen goods, prognosticate happy or unhappy marriages,\npredict whether journeys would be prosperous, and note lucky moments for\nthe commencement of any enterprise, from the setting up of a cobler's\nshop to the marching of an army. Men who, to use the words of Butler,\ndid\n\n     \"Deal in Destiny's dark counsel,\n     And sage opinion of the moon sell;\n     To whom all people far and near\n     On deep importance did repair,\n     When brass and pewter pots did stray,\n     And linen slunk out of the way.\"\n\nIn Lilly's Memoirs of his Life and Times, there are many notices of the\ninferior quacks who then abounded, and upon whom he pretended to look\ndown with supreme contempt; not because they were astrologers, but\nbecause they debased that noble art by taking fees for the recovery of\nstolen property. From Butler's Hudibras and its curious notes, we may\nlearn what immense numbers of these fellows lived upon the credulity\nof mankind in that age of witchcraft and diablerie. Even in our day how\ngreat is the reputation enjoyed by the almanac-makers, who assume\nthe name of Francis Moore. But in the time of Charles I. and the\nCommonwealth, the most learned, the most noble, and the most conspicuous\ncharacters did not hesitate to consult astrologers in the most open\nmanner. Lilly, whom Butler has immortalized under the name of Sydrophel,\nrelates, that he proposed to write a work called \"An Introduction\nto Astrology,\" in which he would satisfy the whole kingdom of the\nlawfulness of that art. Many of the soldiers were for it, he says, and\nmany of the Independent party, and abundance of worthy men in the House\nof Commons, his assured friends, and able to take his part against the\nPresbyterians, who would have silenced his predictions if they could.\nHe afterwards carried his plan into execution, and when his book was\npublished, went with another astrologer named Booker to the headquarters\nof the parliamentary army at Windsor, where they were welcomed and\nfeasted in the garden where General Fairfax lodged. They were afterwards\nintroduced to the general, who received them very kindly, and made\nallusion to some of their predictions. He hoped their art was lawful and\nagreeable to God's word; but he did not understand it himself. He did\nnot doubt, however, that the two astrologers feared God, and therefore\nhe had a good opinion of them. Lilly assured him that the art of\nastrology was quite consonant to the Scriptures; and confidently\npredicted from his knowledge of the stars, that the parliamentary army\nwould overthrow all its enemies. In Oliver's Protectorate, this quack\ninforms us that he wrote freely enough. He became an Independent, and\nall the soldiery were his friends. When he went to Scotland, he saw a\nsoldier standing in front of the army, with a book of prophecies in his\nhand, exclaiming to the several companies as they passed by him, \"Lo!\nhear what Lilly saith: you are in this month promised victory! Fight it\nout, brave boys! and then read that month's prediction!\"\n\nAfter the great fire of London, which Lilly said he had foretold, he was\nsent for by the committee of the House of Commons appointed to inquire\ninto the causes of the calamity. In his \"Monarchy or no Monarchy,\"\npublished in 1651, he had inserted an hieroglyphical plate, representing\non one side persons in winding sheets digging graves; and on the other\na large city in flames. After the great fire some sapient member of the\nlegislature bethought him of Lilly's book, and having mentioned it in\nthe house, it was agreed that the astrologer should be summoned. Lilly\nattended accordingly, when Sir Robert Brooke told him the reason of his\nsummons, and called upon him to declare what he knew. This was a rare\nopportunity for the vain-glorious Lilly to vaunt his abilities; and he\nbegan a long speech in praise of himself and his pretended science. He\nsaid, that after the execution of Charles I, he was extremely desirous\nto know what might from that time forth happen to the parliament and to\nthe nation in general. He, therefore, consulted the stars and\nsatisfied himself. The result of his judgment he put into emblems and\nhieroglyphics, without any commentary, so that the true meaning might be\nconcealed from the vulgar, and made manifest only to the wise; imitating\nin this the example of many wise philosophers who had done the like.\n\n\"Did you foresee the year of the fire?\" said a member. \"No!\" quoth\nLilly, \"nor was I desirous: of that I made no scrutiny.\" After\nsome further parley the house found they could make nothing of the\nastrologer, and dismissed him with great civility.\n\nOne specimen of the explanation of a prophecy given by Lilly, and\nrelated by him with much complacency, will be sufficient to show the\nsort of trash by which he imposed upon the million. \"In the year 1588,\"\nsays he, \"there was a prophecy printed in Greek characters, exactly\ndeciphering the long troubles of the English nation from 1641 to 1660;\"\nand it ended thus:--\"And after him shall come a dreadful dead man, and\nwith him a royal G, of the best blood in the world, and he shall have\nthe crown, and shall set England on the right way, and put out\nall heresies.\" The following is the explanation of this oracular\nabsurdity:--\n\n\"Monkery being extinguished above eighty or ninety years, and the Lord\nGeneral's name being Monk, is the dead man. The royal G. or C, [it is\ngamma in the Greek, intending C. in the Latin, being the third letter in\nthe Alphabet] is Charles II, who for his extraction may be said to be of\nthe best blood of the world.\"\n\nIn France and Germany astrologers met even more encouragement than they\nreceived in England. In very early ages, Charlemagne and his successors\nfulminated their wrath against them in common with sorcerers. Louis XI,\nthat most superstitious of men, entertained great numbers of them at\nhis court; and Catherine de Medicis, that most superstitious of women,\nhardly ever took any affair of importance without consulting them. She\nchiefly favoured her own countrymen; and during the time she governed\nFrance, the land was overrun by Italian conjurors, necromancers, and\nfortune-tellers of every kind. But the chief astrologer of that day,\nbeyond all doubt, was the celebrated Nostradamus, physician to her\nhusband, King Henry II. He was born in 1503, at the town of St. Remi,\nin Provence, where his father was a notary. He did not acquire much\nfame till he was past his fiftieth year, when his famous \"Centuries,\"\na collection of verses, written in obscure and almost unintelligible\nlanguage, began to excite attention. They were so much spoken of in\n1556, that Henry II. resolved to attach so skilful a man to his service,\nand appointed him his physician. In a biographical notice of him\nprefixed to the edition of his \"Vraies Centuries,\" published at\nAmsterdam in 1668, we are informed that he often discoursed with\nhis royal master on the secrets of futurity, and received many great\npresents as his reward, besides his usual allowance for medical\nattendance. After the death of Henry, he retired to his native place,\nwhere Charles IX. paid him a visit in 1564, and was so impressed with\nveneration for his wondrous knowledge of the things that were to be, not\nin France only, but in the whole world for hundreds of years to come,\nthat he made him a counsellor of state, and his own physician, besides\ntreating him in other matters with a royal liberality. \"In fine,\"\ncontinues his biographer, \"I should be too prolix were I to tell all\nthe honours conferred upon him, and all the great nobles and learned men\nthat arrived at his house, from the very ends of the earth, to see and\nconverse with him as if he had been an oracle. Many strangers, in fact,\ncame to France for no other purpose than to consult him.\"\n\nThe prophecies of Nostradamus consist of upwards of a thousand stanzas,\neach of four lines, and are to the full as obscure as the oracles of\nThey take so great a latitude, both as to time and space, that they are\nalmost sure to be fulfilled somewhere or other in the course of a\nfew centuries; A little ingenuity like that evinced by Lilly, in his\nexplanation about General Monk and the dreadful dead man, might easily\nmake events to fit some of them.\n\nLet us try. In his second century, prediction 66, he says,--'\n\n\"From great dangers the captive is escaped. A little time, great fortune\nchanged. In the palace the people are caught. By good augury the city is\nbesieged.\"\n\n\"What is this,\" a believer might exclaim, \"but the escape of Napoleon\nfrom Elba--his changed fortune, and the occupation of Paris by the\nallied armies?\"--Let us try again. In his third century, prediction 98,\nhe says,-- \"Two royal brothers will make fierce war on each other; So\nmortal shall be the strife between them, That each one shall occupy a\nfort against the other; For their reign and life shall be the quarrel.\"\n\nSome Lillius Redivivus would find no difficulty in this prediction.\nTo use a vulgar phrase, it is as clear as a pikestaff. Had not the\nastrologer in view Don Miguel and Don Pedro when he penned this stanza,\nso much less obscure and oracular than the rest?\n\nHe is to this day extremely popular in France and the Walloon country\nof Belgium, where old farmer-wives consult him with great confidence and\nassiduity.\n\nCatherine di Medicis was not the only member of her illustrious house\nwho entertained astrologers. At the beginning of the fifteenth century,\nthere was a man named Basil, residing in Florence, who was noted over\nall Italy for his skill in piercing the darkness of futurity. It is said\nthat he foretold to Cosmo di Medicis, then a private citizen, that he\nwould attain high dignity, inasmuch as the ascendant of his nativity was\nadorned with the same propitious aspects as those of Augustus Caesar and\nthe Emperor Charles V. [Hermippus Redivivus, p. 142.] Another astrologer\nforetold the death of Prince Alexander di Medicis; and so very minute\nand particular was he in all the circumstances, that he was suspected of\nbeing chiefly instrumental in fulfilling his own prophecy; a very\ncommon resource with these fellows, to keep up their credit. He foretold\nconfidently that the Prince should die by the hand of his own familiar\nfriend, a person of a slender habit of body, a small face, a swarthy\ncomplexion, and of most remarkable taciturnity. So it afterwards\nhappened; Alexander having been murdered in his chamber by his cousin\nLorenzo, who corresponded exactly with the above description. [Jovii\nElog. p. 320.] The author of Hermippus Redivivus, in relating this\nstory, inclines to the belief that the astrologer was guiltless of any\nparticipation in the crime, but was employed by some friend of Prince\nAlexander, to warn him of his danger.\n\nA much more remarkable story is told of an astrologer, who lived\nin Romagna, in the fifteenth century, and whose name was Antiochus\nTibertus. [Les Anecdotes de Florence ou l'Histoire secrete de la Maison\ndi Medicis, p. 318.] At that time nearly all the petty sovereigns of\nItaly retained such men in their service; and Tibertus having studied\nthe mathematics with great success at Paris, and delivered many\npredictions, some of which, for guesses, were not deficient in\nshrewdness, was taken into the household of Pandolfo di Malatesta, the\nsovereign of Rimini. His reputation was so great, that his study\nwas continually thronged, either with visitors who were persons of\ndistinction, or with clients who came to him for advice, and in a short\ntime he acquired a considerable fortune. Notwithstanding all these\nadvantages he passed his life miserably, and ended it on the scaffold.\nThe following story afterwards got into circulation, and has been often\ntriumphantly cited by succeeding astrologers as an irrefragable proof\nof the truth of their science. It was said, that long before he died he\nuttered three remarkable prophecies; one relating to himself, another\nto his friend, and the third to his patron, Pandolfo di Malatesta. The\nfirst delivered was that relating to his friend, Guido di Bogni, one\nof the greatest captains of the time. Guido was exceedingly desirous to\nknow his fortune, and so importuned Tibertus, that the latter consulted\nthe stars, and the lines on his palm, to satisfy him. He afterwards told\nhim with a sorrowful face, that according to all the rules of astrology\nand palmistry, he should be falsely suspected by his best friend, and\nshould lose his life in consequence. Guido then asked the astrologer if\nhe could foretell his own fate; upon which Tibertus again consulted the\nstars, and found that it was decreed from all eternity that he\nshould end his days on the scaffold. Malatesta, when he heard these\npredictions, so unlikely, to all present appearance, to prove true,\ndesired his astrologer to predict his fate also; and to hide nothing\nfrom him, however unfavourable it might be. Tibertus complied, and\ntold his patron, at that time one of the most flourishing and powerful\nprinces of Italy, that he should suffer great want, and die at last,\nlike a beggar, in the common hospital of Bologna: and so it happened in\nall three cases. Guido di Bogni was accused by his own father-in-law,\nthe Count di Bentivoglio, of a treasonable design to deliver up the city\nof Rimini to the papal forces, and was assassinated afterwards, by order\nof the tyrant Malatesta, as he sat at the supper-table, to which he had\nbeen invited in all apparent friendship. The astrologer was, at the\nsame time, thrown into prison, as being concerned in the treason of his\nfriend. He attempted to escape, and had succeeded in letting himself\ndown from his dungeon window into a moat, when he was discovered by\nthe sentinels. This being reported to Malatesta, he gave orders for his\nexecution on the following morning.\n\nMalatesta had, at this time, no remembrance of the prophecy; and his\nown fate gave him no uneasiness: but events were silently working its\nfulfilment. A conspiracy had been formed, though Guido di Bogni was\ninnocent of it, to deliver up Rimini to the Pope; and all the necessary\nmeasures having been taken, the city was seized by the Count de\nValentinois. In the confusion, Malatesta had barely time to escape\nfrom his palace in disguise. He was pursued from place to place by his\nenemies, abandoned by all his former friends, and, finally, by his own\nchildren. He at last fell ill of a languishing disease, at Bologna; and,\nnobody caring to afford him shelter, he was carried to the hospital,\nwhere he died. The only thing that detracts from the interest of this\nremarkable story is the fact, that the prophecy was made after the\nevent.\n\nFor some weeks before the birth of Louis XIV, an astrologer from\nGermany, who had been sent for by the Marshal de Bassompierre and other\nnoblemen of the court, had taken up his residence in the palace, to\nbe ready, at a moment's notice, to draw the horoscope of the future\nsovereign of France. When the Queen was taken in labour, he was ushered\ninto a contiguous apartment, that he might receive notice of the very\ninstant the child was born. The result of his observations were the\nthree words, diu, dure, feliciter; meaning, that the new-born Prince\nshould live and reign long, with much labour, and with great glory. No\nprediction less favourable could have been expected from an astrologer,\nwho had his bread to get, and who was at the same time a courtier. A\nmedal was afterwards struck in commemoration of the event; upon one side\nof which was figured the nativity of the Prince, representing him\nas driving the chariot of Apollo, with the inscription \"Ortus solis\nGallici,\"--the rising of the Gallic sun.\n\nThe best excuse ever made for astrology was that offered by the great\nastronomer, Keppler, himself an unwilling practiser of the art. He had\nmany applications from his friends to cast nativities for them, and\ngenerally gave a positive refusal to such as he was not afraid of\noffending by his frankness. In other cases he accommodated himself\nto the prevailing delusion. In sending a copy of his \"Ephemerides\"\nto Professor Gerlach, he wrote that they were nothing but worthless\nconjectures; but he was obliged to devote himself to them, or he would\nhave starved. \"Ye overwise philosophers,\" he exclaimed, in his \"Tertius\nInterveniens;\" \"ye censure this daughter of astronomy beyond her\ndeserts! Know ye not that she must support her mother by her charms? The\nscanty reward of an astronomer would not provide him with bread, if men\ndid not entertain hopes of reading the future in the heavens.\"\n\nNECROMANCY was, next to astrology, the pretended science most resorted\nto, by those who wished to pry into the future. The earliest instance\nupon record is that of the Witch of Endor and the spirit of Samuel.\nNearly all the nations of antiquity believed in the possibility of\nsummoning departed ghosts to disclose the awful secrets that God made\nclear to the disembodied. Many passages in allusion to this subject,\nwill at once suggest themselves to the classical reader; but this art\nwas never carried on openly in any country. All governments looked upon\nit as a crime of the deepest dye. While astrology was encouraged, and\nits professors courted and rewarded, necromancers were universally\ncondemned to the stake or the gallows. Roger Bacon, Albertus Magnus,\nArnold of Villeneuve, and many others, were accused, by the public\nopinion of many centuries, of meddling in these unhallowed matters.\nSo deep-rooted has always been the popular delusion with respect to\naccusations of this kind, that no crime was ever disproved with such\ntoil and difficulty. That it met great encouragement, nevertheless, is\nevident from the vast numbers of pretenders to it; who, in spite of the\ndanger, have existed in all ages and countries.\n\nGEOMANCY, or the art of foretelling the future by means of lines and\ncircles, and other mathematical figures drawn on the earth, is still\nextensively practised in Asiatic countries, but is almost unknown in\nEurope.\n\nAUGURY, from the flight or entrails of birds, so favourite a study among\nthe Romans, is, in like manner, exploded in Europe. Its most assiduous\nprofessors, at the present day, are the abominable Thugs of India.\n\nDIVINATION, of which there are many kinds, boasts a more enduring\nreputation. It has held an empire over the minds of men from the\nearliest periods of recorded history, and is, in all probability, coeval\nwith time itself. It was practised alike by the Jews, the Egyptians, the\nChaldeans, the Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans; is equally known to\nall modern nations, in every part of the world; and is not unfamiliar\nto the untutored tribes that roam in the wilds of Africa and America.\nDivination, as practised in civilized Europe at the present day, is\nchiefly from cards, the tea-cup, and the lines on the palm of the hand.\nGipsies alone make a profession of it; but there are thousands and tens\nof thousands of humble families in which the good-wife, and even the\ngood-man, resort to the grounds at the bottom of their teacups, to know\nwhether the next harvest will be abundant, or their sow bring forth a\nnumerous litter; and in which the young maidens look to the same place\nto know when they are to be married, and whether the man of their choice\nis to be dark or fair, rich or poor, kind or cruel. Divination by cards,\nso great a favourite among the moderns, is, of course, a modern science;\nas cards do not yet boast an antiquity of much more than four hundred\nyears. Divination by the palm, so confidently believed in by half the\nvillage lasses in Europe, is of older date, and seems to have been known\nto the Egyptians in the time of the patriarchs; as well as divination by\nthe cup, which, as we are informed in Genesis, was practised by\nJoseph. Divination by the rod was also practised by the Egyptians. In\ncomparatively recent times, it was pretended that by this means hidden\ntreasures could be discovered. It now appears to be altogether exploded\nin Europe. Onomancy, or the foretelling a man's fate by the letters of\nhis name, and the various transpositions of which they are capable, is\na more modern sort of divination; but it reckons comparatively few\nbelievers.\n\nThe following list of the various species of Divination formerly in use,\nis given by Gaule, in his \"Magastromancer,\" and quoted in Hone's \"Year\nBook,\" p. 1517.\n\nStareomancy, or divining by the elements. Aeromancy, or divining by\nthe air. Pyromancy, by fire. Hydromancy, by water. Geomancy, by earth.\nTheomancy, pretending to divine by the revelation of the Spirit, and by\nthe Scriptures, or word of God. Demonomancy, by the aid of devils and\nevil spirits. Idolomancy, by idols, images, and figures. Psychomancy,\nby the soul, affections, or dispositions of men. Antinopomancy, by\nthe entrails of human beings. Theriomancy, by beasts. Ornithomancy, by\nbirds. Icthyomancy, by fishes. Botanomancy, by herbs. Lithomancy, by\nstones. Kleromancy, by lots. Oneiromancy, by dreams. Onomancy, by names.\nArithmancy, by numbers. Logarithmancy, by logarithms. Sternomancy, by\nthe marks from the breast to the belly. Gastromancy, by the sound of,\nor marks upon, the belly. Omphelomancy, by the navel. Chiromancy, by\nthe hands. Paedomancy, by thee feet. Onchyomancy, by the nails.\nCephaleonomancy, by asses' heads. Tuphramancy, by ashes. Kapnomancy, by\nsmoke. Livanomancy, by the burning of incense. Keromancy, by the\nmelting of wax. Lecanomancy, by basins of water. Katoxtromancy, by\nlooking-glasses. Chartomancy, by writing in papers, and by Valentines.\nMacharomancy, by knives and swords. Crystallomancy, by crystals.\nDactylomancy, by rings. Koseinomancy, by sieves. Axinomancy, by saws.\nKaltabomancy, by vessels of brass, or other metal. Spatalamancy,\nby skins, bones, &c. Roadomancy, by stars. Sciomancy, by shadows.\nAstragalomancy, by dice. Oinomancy, by the lees of wine. Sycomancy,\nby figs. Tyromancy, by cheese. Alphitomancy, by meal, flour, or bran.\nKrithomancy, by corn or grain. Alectromancy, by cocks. Gyromancy, by\ncircles. Lampadomancy, by candles and lamps.\n\nONEIRO-CRITICISM, or the art of interpreting dreams, is a relic of the\nmost remote ages, which has subsisted through all the changes that moral\nor physical revolutions have operated in the world. The records of five\nthousand years bear abundant testimony to the universal diffusion of the\nbelief, that the skilful could read the future in dreams. The rules of\nthe art, if any existed in ancient times, are not known; but in our day,\none simple rule opens the whole secret. Dreams, say all the wiseacres in\nChristendom, are to be interpreted by contraries. Thus, if you dream of\nfilth, you will acquire something valuable; if you dream of the dead,\nyou will hear news of the living; if you dream of gold and silver,\nyou run a risk of being without either; and if you dream you have many\nfriends, you will be persecuted by many enemies. The rule, however, does\nnot hold good in all cases. It is fortunate to dream of little pigs,\nbut unfortunate to dream of big bullocks. If you dream you have lost a\ntooth, you may be sure that you will shortly lose a friend; and if\nyou dream that your house is on fire, you will receive news from a\nfar country. If you dream of vermin, it is a sign that there will be\nsickness in your family; and if you dream of serpents, you will have\nfriends who, in the course of time, will prove your bitterest enemies;\nbut, of all dreams, it is most fortunate if you dream that you are\nwallowing up to your neck in mud and mire. Clear water is a sign of\ngrief; and great troubles, distress, and perplexity are predicted, if\nyou dream that you stand naked in the public streets, and know not where\nto find a garment to shield you from the gaze of the multitude.\n\nIn many parts of Great Britain, and the continents of Europe and\nAmerica, there are to be found elderly women in the villages and\ncountry-places whose interpretations of dreams are looked upon with as\nmuch reverence as if they were oracles. In districts remote from towns\nit is not uncommon to find the members of a family regularly every\nmorning narrating their dreams at the breakfast-table, and becoming\nhappy or miserable for the day according to their interpretation. There\nis not a flower that blossoms, or fruit that ripens, that, dreamed of,\nis not ominous of either good or evil to such people. Every tree of the\nfield or the forest is endowed with a similar influence over the fate of\nmortals, if seen in the night-visions. To dream of the ash, is the\nsign of a long journey; and of an oak, prognosticates long life and\nprosperity. To dream you strip the bark off any tree, is a sign to a\nmaiden of an approaching loss of a character; to a married woman, of a\nfamily bereavement; and to a man, of an accession of fortune. To dream\nof a leafless tree, is a sign of great sorrow; and of a branchless\ntrunk, a sign of despair and suicide. The elder-tree is more auspicious\nto the sleeper; while the fir-tree, better still, betokens all manner\nof comfort and prosperity. The lime-tree predicts a voyage across the\nocean; while the yew and the alder are ominous of sickness to the young\nand of death to the old.\n\nIt is quite astonishing to see the great demand there is, both in\nEngland and France, for dream-books, and other trash of the same kind.\nTwo books in England enjoy an extraordinary popularity, and have run\nthrough upwards of fifty editions in as many years in London alone,\nbesides being reprinted in Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Dublin.\nOne is \"Mother Bridget's Dream-book and Oracle of Fate;\" the other\nis the \"Norwood Gipsy.\" It is stated on the authority of one who, is\ncurious in these matters, that there is a demand for these works,\nwhich are sold at sums varying from a penny to sixpence, chiefly to\nservant-girls and imperfectly-educated people, all over the country, of\nupwards of eleven thousand annually; and that at no period during the\nlast thirty years has the average number sold been less than this. The\ntotal number during this period would thus amount to 330,000.\n\nAmong the flowers and fruits charged with messages for the future,\nthe following is a list of the most important, arranged from approved\nsources, in alphabetical order:--\n\nAsparagus, gathered and tied up in bundles, is an omen of tears. If you\nsee it growing in your dreams, it is a sign of good fortune.\n\nAloes, without a flower, betoken long life: in flower, betoken a legacy.\n\nArtichokes. This vegetable is a sign that you will receive, in a short\ntime, a favour from the hands of those from whom you would least expect\nit.\n\nAgrimony. This herb denotes that there will be sickness in your house.\n\nAnemone, predicts love.\n\nAuriculas, in beds, denote luck; in pots, marriage: while to gather\nthem, foretells widowhood.\n\nBilberries, predict a pleasant excursion.\n\nBroom-flowers, an increase of family.\n\nCauliflowers, predict that all your friends will slight you, or that you\nwill fall into poverty and find no one to pity you.\n\nDock-leaves, a present from the country.\n\nDaffodils. Any maiden who dreams of daffodils is warned by her good\nangel to avoid going into a wood with her lover, or into any dark or\nretired place where she might not be able to make people hear her if\nshe cried out. Alas! for her if she pay no attention to the warning!\nShe shall be rifled of the precious flower of chastity, and shall never\nagain have right to wear the garland of virginity.\n\n\"Never again shall she put garland on; Instead of it, she'll wear sad\ncypress now, And bitter elder broken from the bough.\"\n\nFigs, if green, betoken embarrassment; if dried, money to the poor and\nmirth to the rich.\n\nHeart's-ease, betokens heart's pain.\n\nLilies, predict joy; water-lilies, danger from the sea.\n\nLemons, betoken a separation.\n\nPomegranates, predict happy wedlock to those who are single, and\nreconciliation to those who are married and have disagreed.\n\nQuinces, prognosticate pleasant company.\n\nRoses, denote happy love, not unmixed with sorrow from other sources.\n\nSorrel, To dream of this herb is a sign that you will shortly have\noccasion to exert all your prudence to overcome some great calamity.\n\nSunflowers, show that your pride will be deeply wounded.\n\nViolets, predict evil to the single and joy to the married.\n\nYellow-flowers of any kind predict jealousy.\n\nYew-berries, predict loss of character to both sexes.\n\nIt should be observed that the rules for the interpretation of dreams\nare far from being universal. The cheeks of the peasant girl of England\nglow with pleasure in the morning after she has dreamed of a rose, while\nthe paysanne of Normandy dreads disappointment and vexation for the very\nsame reason. The Switzer who dreams of an oaktree does not share in the\nEnglishman's joy; for he imagines that the vision was a warning to him\nthat, from some trifling cause, an overwhelming calamity will burst over\nhim. Thus do the ignorant and the credulous torment themselves; thus do\nthey spread their nets to catch vexation, and pass their lives between\nhopes which are of no value and fears which are a positive evil.\n\nOMENS.--Among the other means of self-annoyance upon which men have\nstumbled, in their vain hope of discovering the future, signs and omens\nhold a conspicuous place. There is scarcely an occurrence in nature\nwhich, happening at a certain time, is not looked upon by some persons\nas a prognosticator either of good or evil. The latter are in the\ngreatest number, so much more ingenious are we in tormenting ourselves\nthan in discovering reasons for enjoyment in the things that surround\nus. We go out of our course to make ourselves uncomfortable; the cup\nof life is not bitter enough to our palate, and we distil superfluous\npoison to put into it, or conjure up hideous things to frighten\nourselves at, which would never exist if we did not make them. \"We\nsuffer,\" says Addison, [\"Spectator,\" No. 7, March 8th, 1710-11.] \"as\nmuch from trifling accidents as from real evils. I have known the\nshooting of a star spoil a night's rest, and have seen a man in love\ngrow pale and lose his appetite upon the plucking of a merrythought.\nA screech-owl at midnight has alarmed a family more than a band of\nrobbers; nay, the voice of a cricket has struck more terror than the\nroaring of a lion. There is nothing so inconsiderable which may\nnot appear dreadful to an imagination that is filled with omens and\nprognostics. A rusty nail or a crooked pin shoot up into prodigies.\"\n\nThe century and a quarter that has passed away since Addison wrote has\nseen the fall of many errors. Many fallacies and delusions have been\ncrushed under the foot of time since then; but this has been left\nunscathed, to frighten the weakminded and embitter their existence. A\nbelief in omens is not confined to the humble and uninformed. A general,\nwho led an army with credit, has been known to feel alarmed at a\nwinding-sheet in the candle; and learned men, who had honourably and\nfairly earned the highest honours of literature, have been seen to\ngather their little ones around them, and fear that one would be\nsnatched away, because,\n\n     \"When stole upon the time the dead of night,\n     And heavy sleep had closed up mortal eyes,\"\n\na dog in the street was howling at the moon. Persons who would\nacknowledge freely that the belief in omens was unworthy of a man of\nsense, have yet confessed at the same time that, in spite of their\nreason, they have been unable to conquer their fears of death when they\nheard the harmless insect called the death-watch ticking in the wall, or\nsaw an oblong hollow coal fly out of the fire.\n\nMany other evil omens besides those mentioned above alarm the vulgar\nand the weak. If a sudden shivering comes over such people, they believe\nthat, at that instant, an enemy is treading over the spot that will one\nday be their grave. If they meet a sow when they first walk abroad in\nthe morning, it is an omen of evil for that day. To meet an ass, is in\nlike manner unlucky. It is also very unfortunate to walk under a ladder;\nto forget to eat goose on the festival of St. Michael; to tread upon a\nbeetle, or to eat the twin nuts that are sometimes found in one shell.\nWoe, in like manner, is predicted to that wight who inadvertently upsets\nthe salt; each grain that is overthrown will bring to him a day of\nsorrow. If thirteen persons sit at table, one of them will die within\nthe year; and all of them will be unhappy. Of all evil omens, this is\nthe worst. The facetious Dr. Kitchener used to observe that there was\none case in which he believed that it was really unlucky for thirteen\npersons to sit down to dinner, and that was when there was only dinner\nenough for twelve. Unfortunately for their peace of mind, the great\nmajority of people do not take this wise view of the matter. In almost\nevery country of Europe the same superstition prevails, and some carry\nit so far as to look upon the number thirteen as in every way ominous of\nevil; and if they find thirteen coins in their purse, cast away the odd\none like a polluted thing. The philosophic Beranger, in his exquisite\nsong, \"Thirteen at Table,\" has taken a poetical view of this humiliating\nsuperstition, and mingled, as is his wont, a lesson of genuine wisdom in\nhis lay. Being at dinner, he overthrows the salt, and, looking round the\nroom, discovers that he is the thirteenth guest. While he is mourning\nhis unhappy fate, and conjuring up visions of disease and suffering, and\nthe grave, he is suddenly startled by the apparition of Death herself,\nnot in the shape of a grim foe, with skeleton ribs and menacing dart,\nbut of an angel of light, who shows the folly of tormenting ourselves\nwith the dread of her approach, when she is the friend, rather than the\nenemy, of man, and frees us from the fetters which bind us to the dust.\n\nIf men could bring themselves to look upon Death in this manner, living\nwell and wisely till her inevitable approach, how vast a store of grief\nand vexation would they spare themselves!\n\nAmong good omens, one of the most conspicuous is to meet a piebald\nhorse. To meet two of these animals is still more fortunate; and if on\nsuch an occasion you spit thrice, and form any reasonable wish, it will\nbe gratified within three days. It is also a sign of good fortune if you\ninadvertently put on your stocking wrong side out. If you wilfully wear\nyour stocking in this fashion, no good will come of it. It is very lucky\nto sneeze twice; but if you sneeze a third time, the omen loses its\npower, and your good fortune will be nipped in the bud. If a strange dog\nfollow you, and fawn on you, and wish to attach itself to you, it is a\nsign of very great prosperity. Just as fortunate is it if a strange male\ncat comes to your house and manifests friendly intentions towards your\nfamily. If a she eat, it is an omen, on the contrary, of very great\nmisfortune. If a swarm of bees alight in your garden, some very high\nhonour and great joys await you.\n\nBesides these glimpses of the future, you may know something of your\nfate by a diligent attention to every itching that you may feel in your\nbody. Thus, if the eye or the nose itches, it is a sign you will be\nshortly vexed; if the foot itches you will tread upon strange ground;\nand if the elbow itches, you will change your bedfellow. Itching of the\nright-hand prognosticates that you will soon have a sum of money; and of\nthe left, that you will be called upon to disburse it.\n\nThese are but a few of the omens which are generally credited in modern\nEurope. A complete list of them would fatigue from its length, and\nsicken from its absurdity. It would be still more unprofitable to\nattempt to specify the various delusions of the same kind which\nare believed among Oriental nations. Every reader will remember the\ncomprehensive formula of cursing preserved in \"Tristram Shandy:\"--curse\na man after any fashion you remember or can invent, you will be sure to\nfind it there. The Oriental creed of omens is not less comprehensive.\nEvery movement of the body, every emotion of the mind, is at certain\ntimes an omen. Every form and object in nature, even the shape of\nthe clouds and the changes of the weather; every colour, every sound,\nwhether of men or animals, or birds or insects, or inanimate things,\nis an omen. Nothing is too trifling or inconsiderable to inspire a hope\nwhich is not worth cherishing, or a fear which is sufficient to embitter\nexistence.\n\nFrom the belief in omens springs the superstition that has, from very\nearly ages, set apart certain days, as more favourable than others, for\nprying into the secrets of futurity. The following, copied verbatim\nfrom the popular \"Dream and Omen Book\" of Mother Bridget, will show\nthe belief of the people of England at the present day. Those who\nare curious as to the ancient history of these observances, will find\nabundant aliment in the \"Every-day Book.\"\n\n\"The 1st of January.--If a young maiden drink, on going to bed, a pint\nof cold spring-water, in which is beat up an amulet, composed of the\nyolk of a pullet's egg, the legs of a spider, and the skin of an eel\npounded, her future destiny will be revealed to her in a dream. This\ncharm fails of its effect if tried any other day of the year.\n\n\"Valentine Day.--Let a single woman go out of her own door very early in\nthe morning, and if the first person she meets be a woman, she will\nnot be married that year: if she meet a man, she will be married within\nthree months.\n\n\"Lady Day.--The following charm may be tried this day with certain\nsuccess:--String thirty-one nuts on a string, composed of red worsted\nmixed with blue silk, and tie it round your neck on going to bed,\nrepeating these lines--\n\n     'Oh, I wish! oh, I wish to see\n     Who my true love is to be!'\n\nShortly after midnight, you will see your lover in a dream, and be\ninformed at the same time of all the principal events of your future\nlife.\n\n\"St. Swithin's Eve.--Select three things you most wish to know; write\nthem down with a new pen and red ink on a sheet of fine-wove paper, from\nwhich you must previously cut off all the corners and burn them. Fold\nthe paper into a true-lover's knot, and wrap round it three hairs\nfrom your head. Place the paper under your pillow for three successive\nnights, and your curiosity to know the future will be satisfied.\n\n\"St. Mark's Eve.--Repair to the nearest churchyard as the clock strikes\ntwelve, and take from a grave on the south-side of the church three\ntufts of grass (the longer and ranker the better), and on going to bed\nplace them under your pillow, repeating earnestly three several times,\n\n'The Eve of St. Mark by prediction is blest, Set therefore my hopes and\nmy fears all to rest: Let me know my fate, whether weal or woe; Whether\nmy rank's to be high or low; Whether to live single, or be a bride, And\nthe destiny my star doth provide.'\n\nShould you have no dream that night, you will be single and miserable\nall your life. If you dream of thunder and lightning, your life will be\none of great difficulty and sorrow.\n\n\"Candlemas Eve.--On this night (which is the purification of the Virgin\nMary), let three, five, seven, or nine, young maidens assemble together\nin a square chamber. Hang in each corner a bundle of sweet herbs, mixed\nwith rue and rosemary. Then mix a cake of flour, olive-oil, and white\nsugar; every maiden having an equal share in the making and the expense\nof it. Afterwards, it must be cut into equal pieces, each one marking\nthe piece as she cuts it with the initials of her name. It is then to be\nbaked one hour before the fire, not a word being spoken the whole time,\nand the maidens sitting with their arms and knees across. Each piece of\ncake is then to be wrapped up in a sheet of paper, on which each maiden\nshall write the love part of Solomon's Songs. If she put this under her\npillow, she will dream true. She will see her future husband and every\none of her children, and will know, besides, whether her family will be\npoor or prosperous--a comfort to her, or the contrary.\n\n\"Midsummer.--Take three roses, smoke them with sulphur, and exactly at\nthree in the day, bury one of the roses under a yew tree; the second\nin a newly-made grave, and put the third under your pillow for three\nnights, and at the end of that period burn it in a fire of charcoal.\nYour dreams during that time will be prophetic of your future destiny,\nand, what is still more curious and valuable (Mother Bridget loquitur),\nthe man whom you are to wed, will know no peace till he comes and visits\nyou. Besides this, you will perpetually haunt his dreams.\n\n\"St. John's Eve.--Make a new pincushion of the very best black velvet\n(no inferior quality will answer the purpose), and on one side stick\nyour name in full length with the very smallest pins that can be bought\n(none other will do). On the other side, make a cross with some very\nlarge pins, and surround it with a circle. Put this into your stocking\nwhen you take it off at night, and hang it up at the foot of the bed.\nAll your future life will pass before you in a dream.\n\n\"First New Moon of the Year.--On the first new moon in the year, take a\npint of clear springwater and infuse into it the white of an egg laid\nby a white hen, a glass of white wine, three almonds peeled white, and\na tablespoonful of white rose-water. Drink this on going to bed, not\nmaking more nor less than three draughts of it; repeating the following\nverses three several times in a clear distinct voice, but not so loud\nas to be overheard by anybody:--\n\n\n'If I dream of water pure\nBefore the coming morn,\n'Tis a sign I shall be poor,\nAnd unto wealth not born.\n\nIf I dream of tasting beer,\nMiddling then will be my cheer--\nChequer'd with the good and bad,\nSometimes joyful, sometimes sad;\nBut should I dream of drinking wine,\nWealth and pleasure will be mine.\n\nThe stronger the drink, the better the cheer--\nDreams of my destiny, appear, appear!'\n\n\n\"Twenty-ninth of February.--This day, as it only occurs once in four\nyears, is peculiarly auspicious to those who desire to have a glance at\nfuturity, especially to young maidens burning with anxiety to know the\nappearance and complexion of their future lords. The charm to be adopted\nis the following: Stick twenty-seven of the smallest pins that are made,\nthree by three, into a tallow candle. Light it up at the wrong end, and\nthen place it in a candlestick made out of clay, which must be drawn\nfrom a virgin's grave. Place this on the chimney-place, in the left-hand\ncorner, exactly as the clock strikes twelve, and go to bed immediately.\nWhen the candle is burnt out, take the pins and put them into your\nleft-shoe; and before nine nights have elapsed your fate will be\nrevealed to you.\"\n\nWe have now taken a hasty review of the various modes of seeking to\ndiscover the future, especially as practised in modern times. The main\nfeatures of the folly appear essentially the same in all countries.\nNational character and peculiarities operate some difference of\ninterpretation. The mountaineer makes the natural phenomena which he\nmost frequently witnesses prognosticative of the future. The dweller in\nthe plains, in a similar manner, seeks to know his fate among the signs\nof the things that surround him, and tints his superstition with the\nhues of his own clime. The same spirit animates them all--the same\ndesire to know that which Infinite Mercy has concealed. There is but\nlittle probability that the curiosity of mankind in this respect will\never be wholly eradicated. Death and ill-fortune are continual bugbears\nto the weak-minded, the irreligious, and the ignorant; and while\nsuch exist in the world, divines will preach upon its impiety and\nphilosophers discourse upon its absurdity in vain. Still, it is evident\nthat these follies have greatly diminished. Soothsayers and prophets\nhave lost the credit they formerly enjoyed, and skulk in secret now\nwhere they once showed their faces in the blaze of day. So far there is\nmanifest improvement.\n\n\n\n\nBOOK III.--THE MAGNETISERS.\n\n     Some deemed them wondrous wise, and some believed them mad.\n    --Beattie's Minstrel.\n\nThe wonderful influence of imagination in the cure of diseases is well\nknown. A motion of the hand, or a glance of the eye, will throw a weak\nand credulous patient into a fit; and a pill made of bread, if taken\nwith sufficient faith, will operate a cure better than all the drugs in\nthe pharmacopoeia. The Prince of Orange, at the siege of Breda, in 1625,\ncured all his soldiers who were dying of the scurvy, by a philanthropic\npiece of quackery, which he played upon them with the knowledge of the\nphysicians, when all other means had failed. [See Van der Mye's account\nof the siege of Breda. The garrison, being afflicted with scurvy,\nthe Prince of Orange sent the physicians two or three small phials,\ncontaining a decoction of camomile, wormwood, and camphor, telling them\nto pretend that it was a medicine of the greatest value and extremest\nrarity, which had been procured with very much danger and difficulty\nfrom the East; and so strong, that two or three drops would impart a\nhealing virtue to a gallon of water. The soldiers had faith in their\ncommander; they took the medicine with cheerful faces, and grew well\nrapidly. They afterwards thronged about the Prince in groups of\ntwenty and thirty at a time, praising his skill, and loading him with\nprotestations of gratitude.] Many hundreds of instances, of a similar\nkind, might be related, especially from the history of witchcraft. The\nmummeries, strange gesticulations, and barbarous jargon of witches and\nsorcerers, which frightened credulous and nervous women, brought on\nall those symptoms of hysteria and other similar diseases, so well\nunderstood now, but which were then supposed to be the work of the\ndevil, not only by the victims and the public in general, but by the\noperators themselves.\n\nIn the age when alchymy began to fall into some disrepute, and learning\nto lift up its voice against it, a new delusion, based upon this\npower of imagination, suddenly arose, and found apostles among all\nthe alchymists. Numbers of them, forsaking their old pursuits, made\nthemselves magnetisers. It appeared first in the shape of mineral, and\nafterwards of animal, magnetism, under which latter name it survives to\nthis day, and numbers its dupes by thousands.\n\nThe mineral magnetisers claim the first notice, as the worthy\npredecessors of the quacks of the present day. The honour claimed for\nParacelsus of being the first of the Rosicrucians has been disputed; but\nhis claim to be considered the first of the magnetisers can scarcely be\nchallenged. It has been already mentioned of him, in the part of this\nwork which treats of alchymy, that, like nearly all the distinguished\nadepts, he was a physician; and pretended, not only to make gold and\nconfer immortality, but to cure all diseases. He was the first who, with\nthe latter view, attributed occult and miraculous powers to the magnet.\nAnimated apparently by a sincere conviction that the magnet was the\nphilosopher's stone, which, if it could not transmute metals, could\nsoothe all human suffering and arrest the progress of decay, he\ntravelled for many years in Persia and Arabia, in search of the\nmountain of adamant, so famed in oriental fables. When he practised as\na physician at Basle, he called one of his nostrums by the name\nof azoth--a stone or crystal, which, he said, contained magnetic\nproperties, and cured epilepsy, hysteria, and spasmodic affections. He\nsoon found imitators. His fame spread far and near; and thus were sown\nthe first seeds of that error which has since taken root and flourished\nso widely. In spite of the denial of modern practitioners, this must\nbe considered the origin of magnetism; for we find that, beginning with\nParacelsus, there was a regular succession of mineral magnetisers until\nMesmer appeared, and gave a new feature to the delusion.\n\nParacelsus boasted of being able to transplant diseases from the human\nframe into the earth, by means of the magnet. He said there were\nsix ways by which this might be effected. One of them will be quite\nsufficient, as a specimen. \"If a person suffer from disease, either\nlocal or general, let the following remedy be tried. Take a magnet,\nimpregnated with mummy [Mummies were of several kinds, and were all\nof great use in magnetic medicines. Paracelsus enumerates six kinds\nof mummies; the first four only differing in the composition used by\ndifferent people for preserving their dead, are the Egyptian, Arabian,\nPisasphaltos, and Lybian. The fifth mummy of peculiar power was made\nfrom criminals that had been hanged; \"for from such there is a gentle\nsiccation, that expungeth the watery humour, without destroying the\noil and spirituall, which is cherished by the heavenly luminaries, and\nstrengthened continually by the affluence and impulses of the celestial\nspirits; whence it may be properly called by the name of constellated\nor celestial mummie.\" The sixth kind of mummy was made of corpuscles,\nor spiritual effluences, radiated from the living body; though we cannot\nget very clear ideas on this head, or respecting the manner in which\nthey were caught.--\"Medicina Diatastica; or, Sympathetical Mummie,\nabstracted from the Works of Paracelsus, and translated out of the\nLatin, by Fernando Parkhurst, Gent.\" London, 1653. pp. 2.7. Quoted by\nthe \"Foreign Quarterly Review,\" vol. xii. p. 415.] and mixed with rich\nearth. In this earth sow some seeds that have a congruity or homogeneity\nwith the disease: then let this earth, well sifted and mixed with mummy,\nbe laid in an earthen vessel; and let the seeds committed to it be\nwatered daily with a lotion in which the diseased limb or body has been\nwashed. Thus will the disease be transplanted from the human body to\nthe seeds which are in the earth. Having done this, transplant the\nseeds from the earthen vessel to the ground, and wait till they begin to\nsprout into herbs: as they increase, the disease will diminish; and when\nthey have arrived at their full growth, it will disappear altogether.\"\n\nKircher the Jesuit, whose quarrel with the alchymists was the means of\nexposing many of their impostures, was a firm believer in the efficacy\nof the magnet. Having been applied to by a patient afflicted with\nhernia, he directed the man to swallow a small magnet reduced to powder,\nwhile he applied, at the same time, to the external swelling a poultice,\nmade of filings of iron. He expected that by this means the magnet, when\nit got to the corresponding place inside, would draw in the iron,\nand with it the tumour; which would thus, he said, be safely and\nexpeditiously reduced.\n\nAs this new doctrine of magnetism spread, it was found that wounds\ninflicted with any metallic substance could be cured by the magnet. In\nprocess of time the delusion so increased, that it was deemed sufficient\nto magnetise a sword, to cure any hurt which that sword might have\ninflicted! This was the origin of the celebrated \"weapon-salve,\" which\nexcited so much attention about the middle of the seventeenth century.\nThe following was the recipe given by Paracelsus for the cure of any\nwounds inflicted by a sharp weapon, except such as had penetrated the\nheart, the brain, or the arteries. \"Take of moss growing on the head of\na thief who has been hanged and left in the air; of real mummy; of human\nblood, still warm--of each, one ounce; of human suet, two ounces; of\nlinseed oil, turpentine, and Armenian bole--of each, two drachms. Mix\nall well in a mortar, and keep the salve in an oblong, narrow urn.\" With\nthis salve the weapon, after being dipped in the blood from the wound,\nwas to be carefully anointed, and then laid by in a cool place. In\nthe mean time, the wound was to be duly washed with fair clean water,\ncovered with a clean, soft, linen rag, and opened once a day to cleanse\noff purulent or other matter. Of the success of this treatment, says the\nwriter of the able article on Animal Magnetism, in the twelfth volume\nof the \"Foreign Quarterly Review,\" there cannot be the least doubt; \"for\nsurgeons at this moment follow exactly the same method, except anointing\nthe weapon!\n\nThe weapon salve continued to be much spoken of on the Continent, and\nmany eager claimants appeared for the honour of the invention. Dr.\nFludd, or A Fluctibus, the Rosicrucian, who has been already mentioned\nin a previous part of this volume, was very zealous in introducing it\ninto England. He tried it with great success in several cases; and no\nwonder; for, while he kept up the spirits of his patients by boasting\nof the great efficacy of the salve, he never neglected those common,\nbut much more important remedies, of washing, bandaging, &c. which the\nexperience of all ages had declared sufficient for the purpose. Fludd,\nmoreover, declared, that the magnet was a remedy for all diseases, if\nproperly applied; but that man having, like the earth, a north and\na south pole, magnetism could only take place when his body was in a\nboreal position! In the midst of his popularity, an attack was made upon\nhim and his favourite remedy, the salve; which, however, did little\nor nothing to diminish the belief in its efficacy. One \"Parson Foster\"\nwrote a pamphlet, entitled \"Hyplocrisma Spongus; or, a Spunge to wipe\naway the Weapon-Salve;\" in which he declared, that it was as bad as\nwitchcraft to use or recommend such an unguent; that it was invented by\nthe devil, who, at the last day, would seize upon every person who had\ngiven it the slightest encouragement. \"In fact,\" said Parson Foster,\n\"the devil himself gave it to Paracelsus; Paracelsus to the Emperor; the\nEmperor to the courtier; the courtier to Baptista Porta; and Baptista\nPorta to Dr. Fludd, a doctor of physic, yet living and practising in the\nfamous city of London, who now stands tooth and nail for it.\" Dr. Fludd,\nthus assailed, took up the pen in defence of his unguent, in a\nreply called \"The Squeezing of Parson Foster's Spunge; wherein the\nSpunge-Bearer's immodest Carriage and Behaviour towards his Brethren is\ndetected; the bitter Flames of his slanderous Reports are, by the sharp\nVinegar of Truth, corrected and quite extinguished; and, lastly, the\nvirtuous Validity of his Spunge in wiping away the Weapon-Salve, is\ncrushed out and clean abolished.\"\n\nShortly after this dispute a more distinguished believer in the\nweapon-salve made his appearance, in the person of Sir Kenelm Digby, the\nson of Sir Everard Digby, who was executed for his participation in\nthe Gunpowder Plot. This gentleman, who, in other respects, was\nan accomplished scholar and an able man, was imbued with all the\nextravagant notions of the alchymists. He believed in the philosopher's\nstone, and wished to engage Descartes to devote his energies to the\ndiscovery of the elixir of life, or some other means by which the\nexistence of man might be prolonged to an indefinite period. He gave\nhis wife, the beautiful Venetia Anastasia Stanley, a dish of capons, fed\nupon vipers, according to the plan supposed to have been laid down by\nArnold of Villeneuve, in the hope that she might thereby preserve her\nloveliness for a century. If such a man once took up the idea of the\nweapon-salve, it was to be expected that he would make the most of it.\nIn his hands, however, it was changed from an unguent into a powder, and\nwas called the powder of sympathy. He pretended that he had acquired the\nknowledge of it from a Carmelite friar, who had learned it in Persia or\nArmenia, from an oriental philosopher of great renown. King James,\nthe Prince of Wales, the Duke of Buckingham, and many other noble\npersonages, believed in its efficacy. The following remarkable instance\nof his mode of cure was read by Sir Kenelm to a society of learned\nmen at Montpellier. Mr. James Howell, the well-known author of the\n\"Dendrologia,\" and of various letters, coming by chance as two of his\nbest friends were fighting a duel, rushed between them, and endeavoured\nto part them. He seized the sword of one of the combatants by the\nhilt, while, at the same time, he grasped the other by the blade. Being\ntransported with fury one against the other, they struggled to rid\nthemselves of the hindrance caused by their friend; and in so doing,\nthe one whose sword was held by the blade by Mr. Howell, drew it away\nroughly, and nearly cut his hand off, severing the nerves and muscles,\nand penetrating to the bone. The other, almost at the same instant,\ndisengaged his sword, and aimed a blow at the head of his antagonist,\nwhich Mr. Howell observing, raised his wounded hand with the rapidity of\nthought, to prevent the blow. The sword fell on the back of his already\nwounded hand, and cut it severely. \"It seemed,\" said Sir Kenelm Digby,\n\"as if some unlucky star raged over them, that they should have both\nshed the blood of that dear friend, for whose life they would have given\ntheir own, if they had been in their proper mind at the time.\" Seeing\nMr. Howell's face all besmeared with blood from his wounded hand, they\nboth threw down their swords and embraced him, and bound up his hand\nwith a garter, to close the veins, which were cut, and bled profusely.\nThey then conveyed him home, and sent for a surgeon. King James, who was\nmuch attached to Mr. Howell, afterwards sent his own surgeon to attend\nhim. We must continue the narrative in the words of Sir Kenelm Digby:--\n\n\"It was my chance,\" says he, \"to be lodged hard by him: and, four or\nfive days after, as I was making myself ready, he came to my house, and\nprayed me to view his wounds; 'for I understand,' said he, 'that you\nhave extraordinary remedies on such occasions; and my surgeons apprehend\nsome fear, that it may grow to a gangrene, and so the hand must be cut\noff.' In effect, his countenance discovered that he was in much\npain, which, he said, was insupportable, in regard of the extreme\ninflammation. I told him I would willingly serve him; but if, haply, he\nknew the manner how I could cure him, without touching or seeing him,\nit might be that he would not expose himself to my manner of curing;\nbecause he would think it, peradventure, either ineffectual or\nsuperstitious. He replied, 'The many wonderful things which people have\nrelated unto me of your way of medicinement, makes me nothing doubt at\nall of its efficacy; and all that I have to say unto you is comprehended\nin the Spanish proverb, Hagase el milagro y hagalo Mahoma--Let the\nmiracle be done, though Mahomet do it.'\n\n\"I asked him then for anything that had the blood upon it: so he\npresently sent for his garter, wherewith his hand was first bound; and,\nas I called for a basin of water, as if I would wash my hands, I took\na handful of powder of vitriol, which I had in my study, and presently\ndissolved it. As soon as the bloody garter was brought me, I put it in\nthe basin, observing, in the interim, what Mr. Howell did, who stood\ntalking with a gentleman in a corner of my chamber, not regarding at all\nwhat I was doing. He started suddenly, as if he had found some strange\nalteration in himself. I asked him what he ailed? 'I know not what ails\nme; but I find that I feel no more pain. Methinks that a pleasing kind\nof freshness, as it were a wet cold napkin, did spread over my hand,\nwhich hath taken away the inflammation that tormented me before.' I\nreplied, 'Since, then, you feel already so much good of my medicament,\nI advise you to cast away all your plasters; only keep the wound clean,\nand in a moderate temper, betwixt heat and cold.' This was presently\nreported to the Duke of Buckingham, and a little after, to the King, who\nwere both very curious to know the circumstances of the business; which\nwas, that after dinner, I took the garter out of the water, and put\nit to dry before a great fire. It was scarce dry before Mr. Howell's\nservant came running, and saying that his master felt as much burning as\never he had done, if not more; for the heat was such as if his hand were\nbetwixt coals of fire. I answered, that although that had happened at\npresent, yet he should find ease in a short time; for I knew the reason\nof this new accident, and would provide accordingly; for his master\nshould be free from that inflammation, it might be, before he could\npossibly return to him: but, in case he found no ease, I wished him to\ncome presently back again; if not, he might forbear coming. Thereupon\nhe went; and, at the instant, I did put the garter again into the water;\nthereupon he found his master without any pain at all. To be brief,\nthere was no sense of pain afterwards; but within five or six days, the\nwounds were cicatrised and entirely healed.\"\n\nSuch is the marvellous story of Sir Kenelm Digby. Other practitioners of\nthat age were not behind him in absurdity. It was not always necessary\nto use either the powder of sympathy, or the weapon-salve, to effect a\ncure. It was sufficient to magnetise the sword with the hand (the first\nfaint dawn of the animal theory), to relieve any pain the same weapon\nhad caused. They pretended, that if they stroked the sword upwards with\ntheir fingers, the wounded person would feel immediate relief; but if\nthey stroked it downwards, he would feel intolerable pain.[Reginald\nScott, quoted by Sir Walter Scott, in the notes to the \"Lay of the Last\nMinstrel,\" c. iii. v. xxiii.]\n\nAnother very strange notion of the power and capabilities of magnetism\nwas entertained at the same time. It was believed that a sympathetic\nalphabet could be made on the flesh, by means of which persons could\ncorrespond with each other, and communicate all their ideas with the\nrapidity of volition, although thousands of miles apart. From the arms\nof two persons a piece of flesh was cut, and mutually transplanted,\nwhile still warm and bleeding. The piece so severed grew to the new arm\non which it was placed; but still retained so close a sympathy with its\nnative limb, that its old possessor was always sensible of any injury\ndone to it. Upon these transplanted pieces were tattooed the letters of\nthe alphabet; so that, when a communication was to be made, either of\nthe persons, though the wide Atlantic rolled between them, had only\nto prick his arm with a magnetic needle, and straightway his friend\nreceived intimation that the telegraph was at work. Whatever letter\nhe pricked on his own arm pained the same letter on the arm of his\ncorrespondent. [\"Foreign Quarterly Review,\" vol. xii. p. 417.] Who knows\nbut this system, if it had received proper encouragement, might not\nhave rendered the Post-Office unnecessary, and even obviated much of\nthe necessity for railroads? Let modern magnetisers try and bring it\nto perfection. It is not more preposterous than many of their present\nnotions; and, if carried into effect, with the improvement of some\nstenographical expedient for diminishing the number of punctures, would\nbe much more useful than their plan of causing persons to read with\ntheir great toes, [Wirth's \"Theorie des Somnambulismes,\" p. 79.] or\nseeing, with their eyes shut, into other people's bodies, and counting\nthe number of arteries therein. [\"Report of the Academic Royale de\nMedicine,\"--case of Mademoiselle Celine Sauvage, p. 186.]\n\nContemporary with Sir Kenelm Digby, was the no less famous Mr. Valentine\nGreatraks who, without mentioning magnetism, or laying claim to any\ntheory, practised upon himself and others a deception much more akin to\nthe animal magnetism of the present day, than the mineral magnetism\nit was then so much the fashion to study. He was the son of an Irish\ngentleman, of good education and property, in the county of Cork. He\nfell, at an early age, into a sort of melancholy derangement. After\nsome time, he had an impulse, or strange persuasion in his mind, which\ncontinued to present itself, whether he were sleeping or waking, that\nGod had given him the power of curing the king's evil. He mentioned this\npersuasion to his wife, who very candidly told him that he was a fool!\nHe was not quite sure of this, notwithstanding the high authority from\nwhich it came, and determined to make trial of the power that was\nin him. A few days afterwards, he went to one William Maher, of\nSaltersbridge, in the parish of Lismore, who was grievously afflicted\nwith the king's evil in his eyes, cheek, and throat. Upon this man,\nwho was of abundant faith, he laid his hands, stroked him, and prayed\nfervently. He had the satisfaction to see him heal considerably in the\ncourse of a few days; and, finally, with the aid of other remedies, to\nbe quite cured. This success encouraged him in the belief that he had a\ndivine mission. Day after day he had further impulses from on high,\nthat he was called upon to cure the ague also. In the course of time\nhe extended his powers to the curing of epilepsy, ulcers, aches,\nand lameness. All the county of Cork was in a commotion to see this\nextraordinary physician, who certainly operated some very great benefit\nin cases where the disease was heightened by hypochondria and depression\nof spirits. According to his own account, [Greatraks' Account of\nhimself, in a letter to the Honourable Robert Boyle.] such great\nmultitudes resorted to him from divers places, that he had no time to\nfollow his own business, or enjoy the company of his family and friends.\nHe was obliged to set aside three days in the week, from six in the\nmorning till six at night, during which time only he laid hands upon\nall that came. Still the crowds which thronged around him were so\ngreat, that the neighbouring towns were not able to accommodate them. He\nthereupon left his house in the country, and went to Youghal, where\nthe resort of sick people, not only from all parts of Ireland, but from\nEngland, continued so great, that the magistrates were afraid they would\ninfect the place by their diseases. Several of these poor credulous\npeople no sooner saw him than they fell into fits, and he restored\nthem by waving his hand in their faces, and praying over them. Nay, he\naffirmed, that the touch of his glove had driven pains away, and, on\none occasion, cast out from a woman several devils, or evil spirits,\nwho tormented her day and night. \"Every one of these devils,\" says\nGreatraks, \"was like to choke her, when it came up into her throat.\"\nIt is evident, from this, that the woman's complaint was nothing but\nhysteria.\n\nThe clergy of the diocese of Lismore, who seem to have had much clearer\nnotions of Greatraks' pretensions than their parishioners, set their\nfaces against the new prophet and worker of miracles. He was cited to\nappear in the Dean's Court, and prohibited from laying on his hands for\nthe future: but he cared nothing for the church. He imagined that he\nderived his powers direct from Heaven, and continued to throw people\ninto fits, and bring them to their senses again, as usual, almost\nexactly after the fashion of modern magnetisers. His reputation\nbecame, at last, so great, that Lord Conway sent to him from London,\nbegging-that he would come over immediately, to cure a grievous\nhead-ache which his lady had suffered for several years, and which the\nprincipal physicians of England had been unable to relieve.\n\nGreatraks accepted the invitation, and tried his manipulations and\nprayers upon Lady Conway. He failed, however, in affording any relief.\nThe poor lady's head-ache was excited by causes too serious to allow her\nany help, even from faith and a lively imagination. He lived for some\nmonths in Lord Conway's house, at Ragley, in Warwickshire, operating\ncures similar to those he had performed in Ireland. He afterwards\nremoved to London, and took a house in Lincoln's Inn Fields, which soon\nbecame the daily resort of all the nervous and credulous women of the\nmetropolis. A very amusing account of Greatraks at this time (1665), is\ngiven in the second volume of the \"Miscellanies of St. Evremond,\" under\nthe title of the Irish prophet. It is the most graphic sketch ever made\nof this early magnetiser. Whether his pretensions were more or less\nabsurd than those of some of his successors, who have lately made their\nappearance among us, would be hard to say.\n\n\"When M. de Comminges,\" says St. Evremond, \"was ambassador from his most\nChristian Majesty to the King of Great Britain, there came to London\nan Irish prophet, who passed himself off as a great worker of miracles.\nSome persons of quality having begged M. de Comminges to invite him to\nhis house, that they might be witnesses of some of his miracles, the\nambassador promised to satisfy them, as much from his own curiosity as\nfrom courtesy to his friends; and gave notice to Greatraks that he would\nbe glad to see him.\n\n\"A rumour of the prophet's coming soon spread all over the town, and the\nhotel of M. de Comminges was crowded by sick persons, who came full\nof confidence in their speedy cure. The Irishman made them wait a\nconsiderable time for him, but came at last, in the midst of their\nimpatience, with a grave and simple countenance, that showed no signs\nof his being a cheat. Monsieur de Comminges prepared to question him\nstrictly, hoping to discourse with him on the matters that he had read\nof in Van Helmont and Bodinus; but he was not able to do so, much to his\nregret, for the crowd became so great, and cripples and others pressed\naround so impatiently to be the first cured, that the servants were\nobliged to use threats, and even force, before they could establish\norder among them, or place them in proper ranks.\n\n\"The prophet affirmed that all diseases were caused by evil spirits.\nEvery infirmity was with him a case of diabolical possession. The first\nthat was presented to him was a man suffering from gout and rheumatism,\nand so severely that the physicians had been unable to cure him. 'Ah,'\nsaid the miracle-worker, 'I have seen a good deal of this sort of\nspirits when I was in Ireland. They are watery spirits, who bring on\ncold shivering, and excite an overflow of aqueous humours in our poor\nbodies.' Then addressing the man, he said, 'Evil spirit, who hast\nquitted thy dwelling in the waters to come and afflict this miserable\nbody, I command thee to quit thy new abode, and to return to thine\nancient habitation!' This said, the sick man was ordered to withdraw,\nand another was brought forward in his place. This new comer said he\nwas tormented by the melancholy vapours. In fact, he looked like a\nhypochondriac; one of those persons diseased in imagination, and who\nbut too often become so in reality. 'Aerial spirit,' said the Irishman,\n'return, I command thee, into the air!--exercise thy natural vocation\nof raising tempests, and do not excite any more wind in this sad unlucky\nbody!' This man was immediately turned away to make room for a third\npatient, who, in the Irishman's opinion, was only tormented by a little\nbit of a sprite, who could not withstand his command for an instant.\nHe Pretended that he recognized this sprite by some marks which were\ninvisible to the company, to whom he turned with a smile, and said,\n'This sort of spirit does not often do much harm, and is always very\ndiverting.' To hear him talk, one would have imagined that he knew all\nabout spirits--their names, their rank, their numbers, their employment,\nand all the functions they were destined to; and he boasted of being\nmuch better acquainted with the intrigues of demons than he was with the\naffairs of men. You can hardly imagine what a reputation he gained in a\nshort time. Catholics and Protestants visited him from every part, all\nbelieving that power from Heaven was in his hands.\"\n\nAfter relating a rather equivocal adventure of a husband and wife, who\nimplored Greatraks to cast out the devil of dissension which had crept\nin between them, St. Evremond thus sums up the effect he produced on\nthe popular mind:--\"So great was the confidence in him, that the blind\nfancied they saw the light which they did not see--the deaf imagined\nthat they heard--the lame that they walked straight, and the paralytic\nthat they had recovered the use of their limbs. An idea of health made\nthe sick forget for a while their maladies; and imagination, which was\nnot less active in those merely drawn by curiosity than in the sick,\ngave a false view to the one class, from the desire of seeing, as it\noperated a false cure on the other from the strong desire of being\nhealed. Such was the power of the Irishman over the mind, and such was\nthe influence of the mind upon the body. Nothing was spoken of in London\nbut his prodigies; and these prodigies were supported by such great\nauthorities, that the bewildered multitude believed them almost without\nexamination, while more enlightened people did not dare to reject\nthem from their own knowledge. The public opinion, timid and enslaved,\nrespected this imperious and, apparently, well-authenticated error.\nThose who saw through the delusion kept their opinion to themselves,\nknowing how useless it was to declare their disbelief to a people filled\nwith prejudice and admiration.\"\n\nAbout the same time that Valentine Greatraks was thus magnetising the\npeople of London, an Italian enthusiast, named Francisco Bagnone, was\nperforming the same tricks in Italy, and with as great success. He had\nonly to touch weak women with his hands, or sometimes (for the sake of\nworking more effectively upon their fanaticism) with a relic, to make\nthem fall into fits and manifest all the symptoms of magnetism.\n\nBesides these, several learned men, in different parts of Europe,\ndirected their attention to the study of the magnet, believing it might\nbe rendered efficacious in many diseases. Van Helmont, in particular,\npublished a work on the effects of magnetism on the human frame; and\nBalthazar Gracian, a Spaniard, rendered himself famous for the boldness\nof his views on the subject. \"The magnet,\" said the latter, \"attracts\niron; iron is found everywhere; everything, therefore, is under the\ninfluence of magnetism. It is only a modification of the general\nprinciple, which establishes harmony or foments divisions among men.\nIt is the same agent which gives rise to sympathy, antipathy, and the\npassions.\" [\"Introduction to the Study of Animal Magnetism,\" by Baron\nDupotet de Sennevoy, p. 315.]\n\nBaptista Porta, who, in the whimsical genealogy of the weapon-salve,\ngiven by Parson Foster in his attack upon Dr. a Fluctibus, is mentioned\nas one of its fathers, had also great faith in the efficacy of the\nmagnet, and operated upon the imagination of his patients in a manner\nwhich was then considered so extraordinary that he was accused of being\na magician, and prohibited from practising by the Court of Rome.\nAmong others who distinguished themselves by their faith in magnetism,\nSebastian Wirdig and William Maxwell claim especial notice. Wirdig was\nprofessor of medicine at the University of Rostock in Mecklenburgh,\nand wrote a treatise called \"The New Medicine of the Spirits,\" which he\npresented to the Royal Society of London. An edition of this work\nwas printed in 1673, in which the author maintained that a magnetic\ninfluence took place, not only between the celestial and terrestrial\nbodies, but between all living things. The whole world, he said, was\nunder the influence of magnetism: life was preserved by magnetism; death\nwas the consequence of magnetism!\n\nMaxwell, the other enthusiast, was an admiring disciple of Paracelsus,\nand boasted that he had irradiated the obscurity in which too many of\nthe wonder-working recipes of that great philosopher were enveloped.\nHis works were printed at Frankfort, in 1679. It would seem, from\nthe following passage, that he was aware of the great influence of\nimagination, as well in the production as in the cure of diseases. \"If\nyou wish to work prodigies,\" says he, \"abstract from the materiality\nof beings--increase the sum of spirituality in bodies--rouse the spirit\nfrom its slumbers. Unless you do one or other of these things--unless\nyou can bind the idea, you can never perform anything good or great.\"\nHere, in fact, lies the whole secret of magnetism, and all delusions\nof a similar kind: increase the spirituality--rouse the spirit from its\nslumbers, or in other words, work upon the imagination--induce belief\nand blind confidence, and you may do anything. This passage, which is\nquoted with approbation by M. Dupotet in a recent work [\"Introduction\nto the Study of Animal Magnetism,\" p. 318.] as strongly corroborative of\nthe theory now advanced by the animal-magnetists, is just the reverse.\nIf they believe they can work all their wonders by the means so dimly\nshadowed forth by Maxwell, what becomes of the universal fluid pervading\nall nature, and which they pretend to pour into weak and diseased bodies\nfrom the tips of their fingers?\n\nEarly in the eighteenth century, the attention of Europe was directed to\na very remarkable instance of fanaticism, which has been claimed by the\nanimal magnetists, as a proof of their science. The convulsionaries of\nSt. Medard, as they were called, assembled in great numbers round the\ntomb of their favourite saint, the Jansenist priest Paris, and taught\none another how to fall into convulsions. They believed that St. Paris\nwould cure all their infirmities; and the number of hysterical women and\nweak-minded persons of all descriptions that flocked to the tomb from\nfar and near was so great, as daily to block up all the avenues leading\nto the spot. Working themselves up to a pitch of excitement, they went\noff one after the other into fits, while some of them, still in apparent\npossession of all their faculties, voluntarily exposed themselves to\nsufferings, which on ordinary occasions would have been sufficient\nto deprive them of life. The scenes that occurred were a scandal to\ncivilization and to religion--a strange mixture of obscenity, absurdity,\nand superstition. While some were praying on bended knees at the shrine\nof St. Paris, others were shrieking and making the most hideous noises.\nThe women especially exerted themselves. On one side of the chapel there\nmight be seen a score of them, all in convulsions, while at another as\nmany more, excited to a sort of frenzy, yielded themselves up to gross\nindecencies. Some of them took an insane delight in being beaten and\ntrampled upon. One in particular, according to Montegre, whose\naccount we quote [Dictionnaire des Sciences Medicales--Article\n\"Convulsionnaires,\" par Montegre.] was so enraptured with this ill\nusage, that nothing but the hardest blows would satisfy her. While a\nfellow of herculean strength was beating her with all his might with a\nheavy bar of iron, she kept continually urging him to renewed exertion.\nThe harder he struck the better she liked it, exclaiming all the while,\n\"Well done, brother; well done; oh, how pleasant it is! what good you\nare doing me! courage, my brother, courage; strike harder; strike harder\nstill!\" Another of these fanatics had, if possible, a still greater love\nfor a beating. Carre de Montgeron, who relates the circumstance, was\nunable to satisfy her with sixty blows of a large sledge hammer. He\nafterwards used the same weapon, with the same degree of strength, for\nthe sake of experiment, and succeeded in battering a hole in a stone\nwall at the twenty-fifth stroke. Another woman, named Sonnet, laid\nherself down on a red-hot brazier without flinching, and acquired for\nherself the nickname of the salamander; while others, desirous of a more\nillustrious martyrdom, attempted to crucify themselves. M. Deleuze, in\nhis critical history of Animal Magnetism, attempts to prove that\nthis fanatical frenzy was produced by magnetism, and that these mad\nenthusiasts magnetised each other without being aware of it. As well\nmight he insist that the fanaticism which tempts the Hindoo bigot to\nkeep his arms stretched in a horizontal position till the sinews wither,\nor his fingers closed upon his palms till the nails grow out of the\nbacks of his hands, is also an effect of magnetism!\n\nFor a period of sixty or seventy years, magnetism was almost wholly\nconfined to Germany. Men of sense and learning devoted their attention\nto the properties of the loadstone; and one Father Hell, a jesuit, and\nprofessor of astronomy at the University of Vienna, rendered himself\nfamous by his magnetic cures. About the year 1771 or 1772, he invented\nsteel plates of a peculiar form, which he applied to the naked body,\nas a cure for several diseases. In the year 1774, he communicated his\nsystem to Anthony Mesmer. The latter improved upon the ideas of Father\nHell, constructed a new theory of his own, and became the founder of\nANIMAL MAGNETISM.\n\nIt has been the fashion among the enemies of the new delusion to decry\nMesmer as an unprincipled adventurer, while his disciples have extolled\nhim to the skies as a regenerator of the human race. In nearly the same\nwords, as the Rosicrucians applied to their founders, he has been\ncalled the discoverer of the secret which brings man into more intimate\nconnexion with his Creator; the deliverer of the soul from the debasing\ntrammels of the flesh; the man who enables us to set time at defiance,\nand conquer the obstructions of space. A careful sifting of his\npretensions--and examination of the evidence brought forward to sustain\nthem, will soon show which opinion is the more correct. That the\nwriter of these pages considers him in the light of a man, who deluding\nhimself, was the means of deluding others, may be inferred from his\nfinding a place in these volumes, and figuring among the Flamels, the\nAgrippas, the Borris, the Boehmens, and the Cagliostros.\n\nHe was born in May 1734, at Mersburg, in Swabia, and studied medicine\nat the University of Vienna. He took his degrees in 1766, and chose\nthe influence of the planets on the human body as the subject of his\ninaugural dissertation. Having treated the matter quite in the style of\nthe old astrological physicians, he was exposed to some ridicule both\nthen and afterwards. Even at this early period some faint ideas of\nhis great theory were germinating in his mind. He maintained in his\ndissertation, \"that the sun, moon, and fixed stars mutually affect each\nother in their orbits; that they cause and direct in our earth a flux\nand reflux not only in the sea, but in the atmosphere, and affect in a\nsimilar manner all organized bodies through the medium of a subtile\nand mobile fluid, which pervades the universe and associates all things\ntogether in mutual intercourse and harmony.\" This influence, he said,\nwas particularly exercised on the nervous system, and produced two\nstates which he called intension and remission, which seemed to him to\naccount for the different periodical revolutions observable in several\nmaladies. When in after-life he met with Father Hell, he was confirmed\nby that person's observations in the truth of many of his own ideas.\nHaving caused Hell to make him some magnetic plates, he determined to\ntry experiments with them himself for his further satisfaction.\n\nHe tried accordingly, and was astonished at his success. The faith of\ntheir wearers operated wonders with the metallic plates. Mesmer made due\nreports to Father Hell of all he had done, and the latter published them\nas the results of his own happy invention, and speaking of Mesmer as a\nphysician whom he had employed to work under him. Mesmer took offence\nat being thus treated, considering himself a far greater personage than\nFather Hell. He claimed the invention as his own, accused Hell of a\nbreach of confidence, and stigmatized him as a mean person, anxious to\nturn the discoveries of others to his own account. Hell replied, and a\nvery pretty quarrel was the result, which afforded small talk for months\nto the literati of Vienna. Hell ultimately gained the victory. Mesmer,\nnothing daunted, continued to promulgate his views, till he stumbled at\nlast upon the animal theory.\n\nOne of his patients was a young lady named Oesterline, who suffered\nunder a convulsive malady. Her attacks were periodical, and attended\nby a rush of blood to the head, followed by delirium and syncope. These\nsymptoms he soon succeeded in reducing under his system of planetary\ninfluence, and imagined he could foretell the periods of accession\nand remission. Having thus accounted satisfactorily to himself for\nthe origin of the disease, the idea struck him that he could operate\na certain cure, if he could ascertain beyond doubt what he had long\nbelieved, that there existed between the bodies which compose our globe,\nan action equally reciprocal and similar to that of the heavenly\nbodies, by means of which he could imitate artificially the periodical\nrevolutions of the flux and reflux beforementioned. He soon convinced\nhimself that this action did exist. When trying the metallic plates of\nFather Hell, he thought their efficacy depended on their form; but he\nfound afterwards that he could produce the same effects without using\nthem at all, merely by passing his hands downwards towards the feet of\nthe patient--even when at a considerable distance.\n\nThis completed the theory of Mesmer. He wrote an account of his\ndiscovery to all the learned societies of Europe, soliciting their\ninvestigation. The Academy of Sciences at Berlin was the only one that\nanswered him, and their answer was anything but favourable to his system\nor flattering to himself. Still he was not discouraged. He maintained to\nall who would listen to him that the magnetic matter, or fluid,\npervaded all the universe--that every human body contained it, and could\ncommunicate the superabundance of it to another by an exertion of the\nwill. Writing to a friend from Vienna, he said, \"I have observed that\nthe magnetic is almost the same thing as the electric fluid, and that it\nmay be propagated in the same manner, by means of intermediate bodies.\nSteel is not the only substance adapted to this purpose. I have rendered\npaper, bread, wool, silk, stones, leather, glass, wood, men, and\ndogs--in short, everything I touched, magnetic to such a degree that\nthese substances produced the same effects as the loadstone on diseased\npersons. I have charged jars with magnetic matter in the same way as is\ndone with electricity.\"\n\nMesmer did not long find his residence at Vienna as agreeable as he\nwished. His pretensions were looked upon with contempt or indifference,\nand the case of Mademoiselle Oesterline brought him less fame than\nnotoriety. He determined to change his sphere of action, and travelled\ninto Swabia and Switzerland. In the latter country he met with the\ncelebrated Father Gassner, who, like Valentine Greatraks, amused himself\nby casting out devils, and healing the sick by merely laying hands\nupon them. At his approach puling girls fell into convulsions, and the\nhypochondriac fancied themselves cured. His house was daily besieged by\nthe lame, the blind, and the hysteric. Mesmer at once acknowledged the\nefficacy of his cures, and declared that they were the obvious result\nof his own newly-discovered power of magnetism. A few of the Father's\npatients were forthwith subjected to the manipulations of Mesmer, and\nthe same symptoms were induced. He then tried his hand upon some paupers\nin the hospitals of Berne and Zurich, and succeeded, according to his\nown account, but no other person's, in curing an opththalmia and a gutta\nserena. With memorials of these achievements he returned to Vienna, in\nthe hope of silencing his enemies, or at least forcing them to\nrespect his newly-acquired reputation, and to examine his system more\nattentively.\n\nHis second appearance in that capital was not more auspicious than the\nfirst. He undertook to cure a Mademoiselle Paradis, who was quite blind,\nand subject to convulsions. He magnetised her several times, and then\ndeclared that she was cured; at least, if she was not, it was her fault,\nand not his. An eminent oculist of that day, named Birth, went to visit\nher, and declared that she was as blind as ever; while her family said\nshe was as much subject to convulsions as before. Mesmer persisted that\nshe was cured. Like the French philosopher, he would not allow facts to\ninterfere with his theory. [An enthusiastic philosopher, of whose name\nwe are not informed, had constructed a very satisfactory theory on some\nsubject or other, and was not a little proud of it. \"But the facts,\nmy dear fellow,\" said his friend, \"the facts do not agree with\nyour theory.\"--\"Don't they,\" replied the philosopher, shrugging his\nshoulders, \"then, taut pis pour les faits;\"--so much the worse for the\nfacts.] He declared that there was a conspiracy against him; and\nthat Mademoiselle Paradis, at the instigation of her family, feigned\nblindness in order to injure his reputation!\n\nThe consequences of this pretended cure taught Mesmer that Vienna\nwas not the sphere for him. Paris, the idle, the debauched, the\npleasure-hunting, the novelty-loving, was the scene for a philosopher\nlike him, and thither he repaired accordingly. He arrived at Paris in\n1778, and began modestly, by making himself and his theory known to the\nprincipal physicians. At first, his encouragement was but slight; he\nfound people more inclined to laugh at than to patronise him. But he was\na man who had great confidence in himself, and of a perseverance which\nno difficulties could overcome. He hired a sumptuous apartment, which he\nopened to all comers who chose to make trial of the new power of nature.\nM. D'Eslon, a physician of great reputation, became a convert; and from\nthat time, Animal Magnetism, or, as some called it, Mesmerism, became\nthe fashion in Paris. The women were quite enthusiastic about it, and\ntheir admiring tattle wafted its fame through every grade of society.\nMesmer was the rage; and high and low, rich and poor, credulous and\nunbelieving, all hastened to convince themselves of the power of this\nmighty magician, who made such magnificent promises. Mesmer, who knew\nas well as any man living the influence of the imagination, determined\nthat, on that score, nothing should be wanting to heighten the effect\nof the magnetic charm. In all Paris, there was not a house so charmingly\nfurnished as Monsieur Mesmer's. Richly-stained glass shed a dim\nreligious light on his spacious saloons, which were almost covered with\nmirrors. Orange blossoms scented all the air of his corridors;\nincense of the most expensive kinds burned in antique vases on his\nchimney-pieces; aeolian harps sighed melodious music from distant\nchambers; while sometimes a sweet female voice, from above or below,\nstole softly upon the mysterious silence that was kept in the house,\nand insisted upon from all visitors. \"Was ever anything so delightful?\"\ncried all the Mrs. Wittitterley's of Paris, as they thronged to his\nhouse in search of pleasant excitement; \"so wonderful!\" said the\npseudo-philosophers, who would believe anything if it were the fashion;\n\"so amusing!\" said the worn-out debauchees, who had drained the cup\nof sensuality to its dregs, and who longed to see lovely women in\nconvulsions, with the hope that they might gain some new emotions from\nthe sight.\n\nThe following was the mode of operation:--In the centre of the saloon\nwas placed an oval vessel, about four feet in its longest diameter, and\none foot deep. In this were laid a number of wine-bottles, filled with\nmagnetised water, well corked-up, and disposed in radii, with their\nnecks outwards. Water was then poured into the vessel so as just to\ncover the bottles, and filings of iron were thrown in occasionally to\nheighten the magnetic effect. The vessel was then covered with an iron\ncover, pierced through with many holes, and was called the baquet. From\neach hole issued a long moveable rod of iron, which the patients were\nto apply to such parts of their bodies as were afflicted. Around this\nbaquet the patients were directed to sit, holding each other by the\nhand, and pressing their knees together as closely as possible to\nfacilitate the passage of the magnetic fluid from one to the other.\n\nThen came in the assistant magnetisers, generally strong, handsome young\nmen, to pour into the patient from their finger-tips fresh streams of\nthe wondrous fluid. They embraced the patients between the knees, rubbed\nthem gently down the spine and the course of the nerves, using gentle\npressure upon the breasts of the ladies, and staring them out of\ncountenance to magnetise them by the eye! All this time the most\nrigorous silence was maintained, with the exception of a few wild notes\non the harmonica or the piano-forte, or the melodious voice of a hidden\nopera-singer swelling softly at long intervals. Gradually the cheeks of\nthe ladies began to glow, their imaginations to become inflamed; and off\nthey went, one after the other, in convulsive fits. Some of them sobbed\nand tore their hair, others laughed till the tears ran from their\neyes, while others shrieked and screamed and yelled till they became\ninsensible altogether.\n\nThis was the crisis of the delirium. In the midst of it, the chief\nactor made his appearance, waving his wand, like Prospero, to work\nnew wonders. Dressed in a long robe of lilac-coloured silk, richly\nembroidered with gold flowers, bearing in his hand a white magnetic\nrod; and, with a look of dignity which would have sat well on an eastern\ncaliph, he marched with solemn strides into the room. He awed the still\nsensible by his eye, and the violence of their symptoms diminished. He\nstroked the insensible with his hands upon the eyebrows and down the\nspine; traced figures upon their breast and abdomen with his long\nwhite wand, and they were restored to consciousness. They became calm,\nacknowledged his power, and said they felt streams of cold or burning\nvapour passing through their frames, according as he waved his wand or\nhis fingers before them.\n\n\"It is impossible,\" says M. Dupotet, \"to conceive the sensation which\nMesmer's experiments created in Paris. No theological controversy, in\nthe earlier ages of the Catholic Church, was ever conducted with greater\nbitterness.\" His adversaries denied the discovery; some calling him a\nquack, others a fool, and others, again, like the Abbe Fiard, a man who\nhad sold himself to the devil! His friends were as extravagant in their\npraise, as his foes were in their censure. Paris was inundated with\npamphlets upon the subject, as many defending as attacking the doctrine.\nAt court, the Queen expressed herself in favour of it, and nothing else\nwas to be heard of in society.\n\nBy the advice of M. D'Eslon, Mesmer challenged an examination of his\ndoctrine by the Faculty of Medicine. He proposed to select twenty-four\npatients, twelve of whom he would treat magnetically, leaving the other\ntwelve to be treated by the faculty according to the old and approved\nmethods. He also stipulated, that to prevent disputes, the government\nshould nominate certain persons who were not physicians, to be present\nat the experiments; and that the object of the inquiry should be,\nnot how these effects were produced, but whether they were really\nefficacious in the cure of any disease. The faculty objected to limit\nthe inquiry in this manner, and the proposition fell to the ground.\n\nMesmer now wrote to Marie Antoinette, with the view of securing her\ninfluence in obtaining for him the protection of government. He wished\nto have a chateau and its lands given to him, with a handsome yearly\nincome, that he might be enabled to continue his experiments at leisure,\nuntroubled by the persecution of his enemies. He hinted the duty of\ngovernments to support men of science, and expressed his fear, that if\nhe met no more encouragement, he should be compelled to carry his great\ndiscovery to some other land more willing to appreciate him. \"In the\neyes of your Majesty,\" said he, \"four or five hundred thousand francs,\napplied to a good purpose, are of no account. The welfare and happiness\nof your people are everything. My discovery ought to be received and\nrewarded with a munificence worthy of the monarch to whom I shall attach\nmyself.\" The government at last offered him a pension of twenty thousand\nfrancs, and the cross of the order of St. Michael, if he had made any\ndiscovery in medicine, and would communicate it to physicians nominated\nby the King. The latter part of the proposition was not agreeable to\nMesmer. He feared the unfavourable report of the King's physicians; and,\nbreaking off the negotiation, spoke of his disregard of money, and his\nwish to have his discovery at once recognised by the government. He\nthen retired to Spa, in a fit of disgust, upon pretence of drinking the\nwaters for the benefit of his health.\n\nAfter he had left Paris, the Faculty of Medicine called upon M.\nD'Eslon, for the third and last time, to renounce the doctrine of animal\nmagnetism, or be expelled from their body. M. D'Eslon, so far from doing\nthis, declared that he had discovered new secrets, and solicited further\nexamination. A royal commission of the Faculty of Medicine was, in\nconsequence, appointed on the 12th of March 1784, seconded by another\ncommission of the Academie des Sciences, to investigate the phenomena\nand report upon them. The first commission was composed of the principal\nphysicians of Paris; while, among the eminent men comprised in the\nlatter, were Benjamin Franklin, Lavoisier, and Bailly, the historian of\nastronomy. Mesmer was formally invited to appear before this body,\nbut absented himself from day to day, upon one pretence or another.\nM. D'Eslon was more honest, because he thoroughly believed in the\nphenomena, which it is to be questioned if Mesmer ever did, and\nregularly attended the sittings and performed experiments.\n\nBailly has thus described the scenes of which he was a witness in the\ncourse of this investigation. \"The sick persons, arranged in great\nnumbers and in several rows around the baquet, receive the magnetism\nby all these means: by the iron rods which convey it to them from the\nbaquet--by the cords wound round their bodies--by the connection of the\nthumb, which conveys to them the magnetism of their neighbours--and\nby the sounds of a pianoforte, or of an agreeable voice, diffusing the\nmagnetism in the air. The patients were also directly magnetised by\nmeans of the finger and wand of the magnetiser moved slowly before their\nfaces, above or behind their heads, and on the diseased parts, always\nobserving the direction of the holes. The magnetiser acts by fixing his\neyes on them. But above all, they are magnetised by the application of\nhis hands and the pressure of his fingers on the hypochondres and on\nthe regions of the abdomen; an application often continued for a long\ntime-sometimes for several hours.\n\n\"Meanwhile the patients in their different conditions present a very\nvaried picture. Some are calm, tranquil, and experience no effect.\nOthers cough, spit, feel slight pains, local or general heat, and have\nsweatings. Others again are agitated and tormented with convulsions.\nThese convulsions are remarkable in regard to the number affected\nwith them, to their duration and force. As soon as one begins to be\nconvulsed, several others are affected. The commissioners have\nobserved some of these convulsions last more than three hours. They are\naccompanied with expectorations of a muddy viscous water, brought away\nby violent efforts. Sometimes streaks of blood have been observed in\nthis fluid. These convulsions are characterized by the precipitous,\ninvoluntary motion of all the limbs, and of the whole body: by the\nconstruction of the throat--by the leaping motions of the hypochondria\nand the epigastrium--by the dimness and wandering of the eyes--by\npiercing shrieks, tears, sobbing, and immoderate laughter. They are\npreceded or followed by a state of languor or reverie, a kind of\ndepression, and sometimes drowsiness. The smallest sudden noise\noccasions a shuddering; and it was remarked, that the change of measure\nin the airs played on the piano-forte had a great influence on the\npatients. A quicker motion, a livelier melody, agitated them more, and\nrenewed the vivacity of their convulsions.\n\n\"Nothing is more astonishing than the spectacle of these convulsions.\nOne who has not seen them can form no idea of them. The spectator is as\nmuch astonished at the profound repose of one portion of the patients\nas at the agitation of the rest--at the various accidents which are\nrepeated, and at the sympathies which are exhibited. Some of the\npatients may be seen devoting their attention exclusively to one\nanother, rushing towards each other with open arms, smiling, soothing,\nand manifesting every symptom of attachment and affection. All are under\nthe power of the magnetiser; it matters not in what state of\ndrowsiness they may be, the sound of his voice--a look, a motion of his\nhand--brings them out of it. Among the patients in convulsions there\nare always observed a great many women, and very few men.\" [Rapport des\nCommissaires, redige par M. Bailly.--Paris, 1784.]\n\nThese experiments lasted for about five months. They had hardly\ncommenced, before Mesmer, alarmed at the loss both of fame and profit,\ndetermined to return to Paris. Some patients of rank and fortune,\nenthusiastic believers in his doctrine, had followed him to Spa. One\nof them named Bergasse, proposed to open a subscription for him, of one\nhundred shares, at one hundred louis each, on condition that he would\ndisclose his secret to the subscribers, who were to be permitted to make\nwhatever use they pleased of it. Mesmer readily embraced the proposal;\nand such was the infatuation, that the subscription was not only filled\nin a few days, but exceeded by no less a sum than one hundred and forty\nthousand francs.\n\nWith this fortune he returned to Paris, and recommenced his experiments,\nwhile the royal commission continued theirs. His admiring pupils, who\nhad paid him so handsomely for his instructions, spread the delusion\nover the country, and established in all the principal towns of France,\n\"Societies of Harmony,\" for trying experiments and curing all diseases\nby means of magnetism. Some of these societies were a scandal to\nmorality, being joined by profligate men of depraved appetites, who took\na disgusting delight in witnessing young girls in convulsions. Many\nof the pretended magnetisers were notorious libertines, who took that\nopportunity of gratifying their passions. An illegal increase of\nthe number of French citizens was anything but a rare consequence\nin Strasburg, Nantes, Bourdeaux, Lyons, and other towns, where these\nsocieties were established.\n\nAt last the Commissioners published their report, which was drawn up by\nthe illustrious and unfortunate Bailly. For clearness of reasoning and\nstrict impartiality it has never been surpassed. After detailing the\nvarious experiments made, and their results, they came to the conclusion\nthat the only proof advanced in support of Animal Magnetism was the\neffects it produced on the human body--that those effects could be\nproduced without passes or other magnetic manipulations--that all these\nmanipulations, and passes, and ceremonies never produce any effect at\nall if employed without the patient's knowledge; and that therefore\nimagination did, and animal magnetism did not, account for the\nphenomena.\n\nThis report was the ruin of Mesmer's reputation in France. He quitted\nParis shortly after, with the three hundred and forty thousand francs\nwhich had been subscribed by his admirers, and retired to his own\ncountry, where he died in 1815, at the advanced age of eighty-one. But\nthe seeds he had sown fructified of themselves, nourished and brought to\nmaturity by the kindly warmth of popular credulity. Imitators sprang up\nin France, Germany, and England, more extravagant than their master, and\nclaiming powers for the new science which its founder had never dreamt\nof. Among others, Cagliostro made good use of the delusion in extending\nhis claims to be considered a master of the occult sciences. But he made\nno discoveries worthy to be compared to those of the Marquis de\nPuysegur and the Chevalier Barbarin, honest men, who began by deceiving\nthemselves before they deceived others.\n\nThe Marquis de Puysegur, the owner of a considerable estate at Busancy,\nwas one of those who had entered into the subscription for Mesmer.\nAfter that individual had quitted France, he retired to Busancy with his\nbrother to try Animal Magnetism upon his tenants, and cure the country\npeople of all manner of diseases. He was a man of great simplicity and\nmuch benevolence, and not only magnetised but fed the sick that flocked\naround him. In all the neighbourhood, and indeed within a circumference\nof twenty miles, he was looked upon as endowed with a power almost\nDivine. His great discovery, as he called it, was made by chance. One\nday he had magnetised his gardener; and observing him to fall into a\ndeep sleep, it occurred to him that he would address a question to him,\nas he would have done to a natural somnambulist. He did so, and the man\nreplied with much clearness and precision. M. de Puysegur was agreeably\nsurprised: he continued his experiments, and found that, in this state\nof magnetic somnambulism, the soul of the sleeper was enlarged,\nand brought into more intimate communion with all nature, and more\nespecially with him, M. de Puysegur. He found that all further\nmanipulations were unnecessary; that, without speaking or making any\nsign, he could convey his will to the patient; that he could, in fact,\nconverse with him, soul to soul, without the employment of any physical\noperation whatever!\n\nSimultaneously with this marvellous discovery he made another, which\nreflects equal credit upon his understanding. Like Valentine Greatraks,\nhe found it hard work to magnetise all that came--that he had not even\ntime to take the repose and relaxation which were necessary for his\nhealth. In this emergency he hit upon a clever expedient. He had heard\nMesmer say that he could magnetise bits of wood--why should he not be\nable to magnetise a whole tree? It was no sooner thought than done.\nThere was a large elm on the village green at Busancy, under which the\npeasant girls used to dance on festive occasions, and the old men to\nsit, drinking their vin du pays on the fine summer evenings. M. de\nPuysegur proceeded to this tree and magnetised it, by first touching\nit with his hands and then retiring a few steps from it; all the while\ndirecting streams of the magnetic fluid from the branches toward the\ntrunk, and from the trunk toward the root. This done, he caused circular\nseats to be erected round it, and cords suspended from it in all\ndirections. When the patients had seated themselves, they twisted the\ncords round the diseased parts of their bodies, and held one another\nfirmly by their thumbs to form a direct channel of communication for the\npassage of the fluid.\n\nM. de Puysegur had now two hobbies--the man with the enlarged soul, and\nthe magnetic elm. The infatuation of himself and his patients cannot be\nbetter expressed than in his own words. Writing to his brother, on the\n17th of May 1784, he says, \"If you do not come, my dear friend, you\nwill not see my extraordinary man, for his health is now almost quite\nrestored. I continue to make use of the happy power for which I am\nindebted to M. Mesmer. Every day I bless his name; for I am very\nuseful, and produce many salutary effects on all the sick poor in the\nneighbourhood. They flock around my tree; there were more than one\nhundred and thirty of them this morning. It is the best baquet possible;\nnot a leaf of it but communicates health! all feel, more or less, the\ngood effects of it. You will be delighted to see the charming picture\nof humanity which this presents. I have only one regret--it is, that I\ncannot touch all who come. But my magnetised man--my intelligence--sets\nme at ease. He teaches me what conduct I should adopt. According to\nhim, it is not at all necessary that I should touch every one; a look, a\ngesture, even a wish, is sufficient. And it is one of the most ignorant\npeasants of the country that teaches me this! When he is in a crisis,\nI know of nothing more profound, more prudent, more clearsighted\n(clairvoyant) than he is.\"\n\nIn another letter, describing his first experiment with the magnetic\ntree, he says, \"Yester evening I brought my first patient to it. As soon\nas I had put the cord round him he gazed at the tree; and, with an air\nof astonishment which I cannot describe, exclaimed, 'What is it that I\nsee there?' His head then sunk down, and he fell into a perfect fit of\nsomnambulism. At the end of an hour, I took him home to his house again,\nwhen I restored him to his senses. Several men and women came to tell\nhim what he had been doing. He maintained it was not true; that, weak as\nhe was, and scarcely able to walk, it would have been scarcely possible\nfor him to have gone down stairs and walked to the tree. To-day I have\nrepeated the experiment on him, and with the same success. I own to you\nthat my head turns round with pleasure to think of the good I do. Madame\nde Puysegur, the friends she has with her, my servants, and, in fact,\nall who are near me, feel an amazement, mingled with admiration,\nwhich cannot be described; but they do not experience the half of my\nsensations. Without my tree, which gives me rest, and which will give\nme still more, I should be in a state of agitation, inconsistent, I\nbelieve, with my health. I exist too much, if I may be allowed to use\nthe expression.\"\n\nIn another letter, he descants still more poetically upon his gardener\nwith the enlarged soul. He says, \"It is from this simple man, this tall\nand stout rustic, twenty-three years of age, enfeebled by disease, or\nrather by sorrow, and therefore the more predisposed to be affected by\nany great natural agent,--it is from this man, I repeat, that I derive\ninstruction and knowledge. When in the magnetic state, he is no longer\na peasant who can hardly utter a single sentence; he is a being, to\ndescribe whom I cannot find a name. I need not speak; I have only to\nthink before him, when he instantly understands and answers me. Should\nanybody come into the room, he sees him, if I desire it (but not else),\nand addresses him, and says what I wish him to say; not indeed exactly\nas I dictate to him, but as truth requires. When he wants to add more\nthan I deem it prudent strangers should hear, I stop the flow of his\nideas, and of his conversation in the middle of a word, and give it\nquite a different turn!\"\n\nAmong other persons attracted to Busancy by the report of these\nextraordinary occurrences was M. Cloquet, the Receiver of Finance.\nHis appetite for the marvellous being somewhat insatiable, he readily\nbelieved all that was told him by M. de Puysegur. He also has left\na record of what he saw, and what he credited, which throws a still\nclearer light upon the progress of the delusion. [\"Introduction to the\nStudy of Animal Magnetism,\" by Baron Dupotet, p. 73.] He says that the\npatients he saw in the magnetic state had an appearance of deep sleep,\nduring which all the physical faculties were suspended, to the advantage\nof the intellectual faculties. The eyes of the patients were closed;\nthe sense of hearing was abolished, and they awoke only at the voice of\ntheir magnetiser. \"If any one touched a patient during a crisis, or even\nthe chair on which he was seated,\" says M. Cloquet, \"it would cause\nhim much pain and suffering, and throw him into convulsions. During the\ncrisis, they possess an extraordinary and supernatural power, by which,\non touching a patient presented to them, they can feel what part of his\nbody is diseased, even by merely passing their hand over the clothes.\"\nAnother singularity was, that these sleepers who could thus discover\ndiseases--see into the interior of other men's stomachs, and point out\nremedies, remembered absolutely nothing after the magnetiser thought\nproper to disenchant them. The time that elapsed between their entering\nthe crisis and their coming out of it was obliterated. Not only had the\nmagnetiser the power of making himself heard by the somnambulists, but\nhe could make them follow him by merely pointing his finger at them from\na distance, though they had their eyes the whole time completely closed.\n\nSuch was Animal Magnetism under the auspices of the Marquis de Puysegur.\nWhile he was hibiting these fooleries around his elm-tree, a magnetiser\nof another class appeared in Lyons, in the person of the Chevalier de\nBarbarin. This person thought the effort of the will, without any of the\nparaphernalia of wands or baquets, was sufficient to throw patients into\nthe magnetic sleep. He tried it and succeeded. By sitting at the bedside\nof his patients, and praying that they might be magnetised, they went\noff into a state very similar to that of the persons who fell under the\nnotice of M. de Puysegur. In the course of time, a very considerable\nnumber of magnetisers, acknowledging Barbarin for their model, and\ncalled after him Barbarinists, appeared in different parts, and were\nbelieved to have effected some remarkable cures. In Sweden and Germany,\nthis sect of fanatics increased rapidly, and were called spiritualists,\nto distinguish them from the followers of M. de Puysegur, who were\ncalled experimentalists. They maintained that all the effects of Animal\nMagnetism, which Mesmer believed to be producible by a magnetic fluid\ndispersed through nature, were produced by the mere effort of one\nhuman soul acting upon another; that when a connexion had once been\nestablished between a magnetiser and his patient, the former could\ncommunicate his influence to the latter from any distance, even hundreds\nof miles, by the will! One of them thus described the blessed state of a\nmagnetic patient:--\"In such a man animal instinct ascends to the highest\ndegree admissible in this world. The clairvoyant is then a pure animal,\nwithout any admixture of matter. His observations are those of a spirit.\nHe is similar to God. His eye penetrates all the secrets of nature.\nWhen his attention is fixed on any of the objects of this world--on his\ndisease, his death, his well-beloved, his friends, his relations, his\nenemies,--in spirit he sees them acting; he penetrates into the causes\nand the consequences of their actions; he becomes a physician, a\nprophet, a divine!\" [See \"Foreign Review, Continental Miscellany,\" vol.\nv. 113.]\n\nLet us now see what progress these mysteries made in England. In the\nyear 1788, Dr. Mainauduc, who had been a pupil, first of Mesmer, and\nafterwards of D'Eslon, arrived in Bristol, and gave public lectures\nupon magnetism. His success was quite extraordinary. People of rank and\nfortune hastened from London to Bristol to be magnetised, or to place\nthemselves under his tuition. Dr. George Winter, in his History of\nAnimal Magnetism, gives the following list of them:--\"They amounted\nto one hundred and twenty-seven, among whom there were one duke, one\nduchess, one marchioness, two countesses, one earl, one baron, three\nbaronesses, one bishop, five right honourable gentlemen and ladies, two\nbaronets, seven members of parliament, one clergyman, two physicians,\nseven surgeons, besides ninety-two gentlemen and ladies of\nrespectability.\" He afterwards established himself in London, where he\nperformed with equal success.\n\nHe began by publishing proposals to the ladies for the formation of a\nHygeian Society. In this paper he vaunted highly the curative effects of\nAnimal Magnetism, and took great credit to himself for being the first\nperson to introduce it into England, and thus concluded:--\"As this\nmethod of cure is not confined to sex, or college education, and the\nfair sex being in general the most sympathising part of the creation,\nand most immediately concerned in the health and care of its offspring,\nI think myself bound in gratitude to you, ladies, for the partiality you\nhave shown me in midwifery, to contribute, as far as lies in my power,\nto render you additionally useful and valuable to the community. With\nthis view, I propose forming my Hygeian Society, to be incorporated with\nthat of Paris. As soon as twenty ladies have given in their names, the\nday shall be appointed for the first meeting at my house, when they are\nto pay fifteen guineas, which will include the whole expense.\"\n\nHannah More, in a letter addressed to Horace Walpole, in September 1788,\nspeaks of the \"demoniacal mummeries\" of Dr. Mainauduc, and says he was\nin a fair way of gaining a hundred thousand pounds by them, as Mesmer\nhad done by his exhibitions in Paris.\n\nSo much curiosity was excited by the subject that, about the same time,\na man, named Holloway, gave a course of lectures on Animal Magnetism\nin London, at the rate of five guineas for each pupil, and realised a\nconsiderable fortune. Loutherbourg, the painter, and his wife followed\nthe same profitable trade; and such was the infatuation of the people to\nbe witnesses of their strange manipulations, that, at times, upwards of\nthree thousand persons crowded around their house at Hammersmith, unable\nto gain admission. The tickets sold at prices varying from one to three\nguineas. Loutherbourg performed his cures by the touch, after the manner\nof Valentine Greatraks, and finally pretended to a Divine mission. An\naccount of his miracles, as they were called, was published in 1789,\nentitled \"A List of New Cures performed by Mr. and Mrs. de Loutherbourg\nof Hammersmith Terrace, without Medicine; by a Lover of the Lamb of God.\nDedicated to his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury.\"\n\nThis \"Lover of the Lamb of God\" was a half-crazy old woman, named Mary\nPratt, who conceived for Mr. and Mrs. de Loutherbourg a veneration which\nalmost prompted her to worship them. She chose for the motto of her\npamphlet a verse in the thirteenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles:\n\"Behold, ye despisers, and wonder and perish! for I will work a work in\nyour days which ye shall not believe though a man declare it unto you.\"\nAttempting to give a religious character to the cures of the painter,\nshe thought a woman was the proper person to make them known, since\nthe apostle had declared that a man should not be able to conquer the\nincredulity of the people. She stated that, from Christmas 1788 to\nJuly 1789, De Loutherbourg and his wife had cured two thousand people,\n\"having been made proper recipients to receive Divine manuductions;\nwhich heavenly and Divine influx, coming from the radix God, his Divine\nMajesty had most graciously bestowed upon them to diffuse healing to\nall, be they deaf, dumb, blind, lame, or halt.\"\n\nIn her dedication to the Archbishop of Canterbury, she implored him to\ncompose a new form of prayer to be used in all churches and chapels,\nthat nothing might impede this inestimable gift from having its due\ncourse. She further entreated all the magistrates and men of authority\nin the land to wait on Mr. and Mrs. de Loutherbourg, to consult with\nthem on the immediate erection of a large hospital, with a pool of\nBethesda attached to it. All the magnetisers were scandalised at the\npreposterous jabber of this old woman, and De Loutherbourg appears to\nhave left London to avoid her; continuing, however, in conjunction with\nhis wife, the fantastic tricks which had turned the brain of this poor\nfanatic, and deluded many others who pretended to more sense than she\nhad.\n\nFrom this period until 1798, magnetism excited little or no attention in\nEngland. An attempt to revive the doctrine was made in that year, but\nit was in the shape of mineral rather than of animal magnetism. One\nBenjamin Douglas Perkins, an American, practising as a surgeon in\nLeicestersquare, invented and took out a patent for the celebrated\n\"Metallic Tractors.\" He pretended that these tractors, which were two\nsmall pieces of metal strongly magnetised, something resembling the\nsteel plates which were first brought into notice by Father Hell, would\ncure gout, rheumatism, palsy, and in fact, almost every disease the\nhuman frame was subject to, if applied externally to the afflicted part,\nand moved about gently, touching the surface only. The most wonderful\nstories soon obtained general circulation, and the press groaned with\npamphlets, all vaunting the curative effects of the tractors, which\nwere sold at five guineas the pair. Perkins gained money rapidly. Gouty\nsubjects forgot their pains in the presence of this new remedy; the\nrheumatism fled at its approach; and toothache, which is often cured by\nthe mere sight of a dentist, vanished before Perkins and his marvellous\nsteel plates. The benevolent Quakers, of whose body he was a member,\nwarmly patronised the invention. Desirous that the poor, who could not\nafford to pay Mr. Perkins five guineas, or even five shillings, for his\ntractors, should also share in the benefits of that sublime discovery,\nthey subscribed a large sum, and built an hospital, called the\n\"Perkinean Institution,\" in which all comers might be magnetised free of\ncost. In the course of a few months they were in very general use, and\ntheir lucky inventor in possession of five thousand pounds.\n\nDr. Haygarth, an eminent physician at Bath, recollecting the influence\nof imagination in the cure of disease, hit upon an expedient to try the\nreal value of the tractors. Perkins's cures were too well established to\nbe doubted; and Dr. Haygarth, without gainsaying them, quietly, but in\nthe face of numerous witnesses, exposed the delusion under which people\nlaboured with respect to the curative medium. He suggested to Dr.\nFalconer that they should make wooden tractors, paint them to resemble\nthe steel ones, and see if the very same effects would not be produced.\nFive patients were chosen from the hospital in Bath, upon whom to\noperate. Four of them suffered severely from chronic rheumatism in\nthe ankle, knee, wrist, and hip; and the fifth had been afflicted for\nseveral months with the gout. On the day appointed for the experiments,\nDr. Haygarth and his friends assembled at the hospital, and with much\nsolemnity brought forth the fictitious tractors. Four out of the five\npatients said their pains were immediately relieved; and three of them\nsaid they were not only relieved, but very much benefited. One felt\nhis knee warmer, and said he could walk across the room. He tried and\nsucceeded, although on the previous day he had not been able to stir.\nThe gouty man felt his pains diminish rapidly, and was quite easy for\nnine hours, until he went to bed, when the twitching began again. On the\nfollowing day the real tractors were applied to all the patients, when\nthey described their symptoms in nearly the same terms.\n\nTo make still more sure, the experiment was tried in the Bristol\nInfirmary, a few weeks afterwards, on a man who had a rheumatic\naffection in the shoulder, so severe as to incapacitate him from lifting\nhis hand from his knee. The fictitious tractors were brought and applied\nto the afflicted part, one of the physicians, to add solemnity to\nthe scene, drawing a stop-watch from his pocket to calculate the time\nexactly, while another, with a pen in his hand, sat down to write the\nchange of symptoms from minute to minute as they occurred. In less than\nfour minutes the man felt so much relieved, that he lifted his hand\nseveral inches without any pain in the shoulder!\n\nAn account of these matters was published by Dr. Haygarth, in a small\nvolume entitled, \"Of the Imagination, as a Cause and Cure of Disorders,\nexemplified by fictitious Tractors.\" The exposure was a coup de grace to\nthe system of Mr. Perkins. His friends and patrons, still unwilling\nto confess that they had been deceived, tried the tractors upon sheep,\ncows, and horses, alleging that the animals received benefit from the\nmetallic plates, but none at all from the wooden ones. But they found\nnobody to believe them; the Perkinean Institution fell into neglect; and\nPerkins made his exit from England, carrying with him about ten thousand\npounds, to soothe his declining years in the good city of Pennsylvania.\n\nThus was magnetism laughed out of England for a time. In France, the\nrevolution left men no leisure for such puerilities. The \"Societes de\nl'Harmonie,\" of Strasburg, and other great towns, lingered for a while,\ntill sterner matters occupying men's attention, they were one after the\nother abandoned, both by pupils and professors. The system thus driven\nfrom the first two nations of Europe, took refuge among the dreamy\nphilosophers of Germany. There the wonders of the magnetic sleep grew\nmore and more wonderful every day; the patients acquired the gift of\nprophecy--their vision extended over all the surface of the globe--they\ncould hear and see with their toes and fingers, and read unknown\nlanguages, and understand them too, by merely having the book placed\non their bellies. Ignorant clodpoles, when once entranced by the grand\nMesmeric fluid, could spout philosophy diviner than Plato ever wrote,\ndescant upon the mysteries of the mind with more eloquence and truth\nthan the profoundest metaphysicians the world ever saw, and solve knotty\npoints of divinity with as much ease as waking men could undo their\nshoe-buckles!\n\nDuring the first twelve years of the present century, little was heard\nof Animal Magnetism in any country of Europe. Even the Germans forgot\ntheir airy fancies; recalled to the knowledge of this every-day world\nby the roar of Napoleon's cannon and the fall or the establishment\nof kingdoms. During this period, a cloud of obscurity hung over the\nscience, which was not dispersed until M. Deleuze published, in 1813,\nhis \"Histoire Critique du Magnetisme Animal.\" This work gave a new\nimpulse to the half-forgotten delusion; newspapers, pamphlets, and\nbooks again waged war upon each other on the question of its truth\nor falsehood; and many eminent men in the profession of medicine\nrecommenced inquiry, with an earnest design to discover the truth.\n\nThe assertions made in the celebrated treatise of Deleuze are thus\nsummed up: [See the very calm, clear, and dispassionate article upon the\nsubject in the fifth volume (1830) of \"The Foreign Review,\" page 96, et\nseq.]--\"There is a fluid continually escaping from the human body,\"\nand \"forming an atmosphere around us,\" which, as \"it has no determined\ncurrent,\" produces no sensible effects on surrounding individuals.\nIt is, however, \"capable of being directed by the will;\" and, when so\ndirected, \"is sent forth in currents,\" with a force corresponding to\nthe energy we possess. Its motion is \"similar to that of the rays\nfrom burning bodies;\" \"it possesses different qualities in different\nindividuals.\" It is capable of a high degree of concentration, \"and\nexists also in trees.\" The will of the magnetiser, \"guided by a motion\nof the hand, several times repeated in the same direction,\" can fill a\ntree with this fluid. Most persons, when this fluid is poured into them,\nfrom the body and by the will of the magnetiser, \"feel a sensation of\nheat or cold\" when he passes his hand before them, without even touching\nthem. Some persons, when sufficiently charged with this fluid, fall into\na state of somnambulism, or magnetic ecstasy; and, when in this state,\n\"they see the fluid encircling the magnetiser like a halo of light, and\nissuing in luminous streams from his mouth and nostrils, his head, and\nhands; possessing a very agreeable smell, and communicating a particular\ntaste to food and water.\"\n\nOne would think that these absurdities were quite enough to be insisted\nupon by any physician who wished to be considered sane, but they only\nform a small portion of the wondrous things related by M. Deleuze. He\nfurther said, \"When magnetism produces somnambulism, the person who\nis in this state acquires a prodigious extension of all his faculties.\nSeveral of his external organs, especially those of sight and hearing,\nbecome inactive; but the sensations which depend upon them take place\ninternally. Seeing and hearing are carried on by the magnetic\nfluid, which transmits the impressions immediately, and without the\nintervention of any nerves or organs directly to the brain. Thus the\nsomnambulist, though his eyes and ears are closed, not only sees and\nhears, but sees and hears much better than he does when awake. In all\nthings he feels the will of the magnetiser, although that will be not\nexpressed. He sees into the interior of his own body, and the most\nsecret organization of the bodies of all those who may be put en\nrapport, or in magnetic connexion, with him. Most commonly, he only\nsees those parts which are diseased and disordered, and intuitively\nprescribes a remedy for them. He has prophetic visions and sensations,\nwhich are generally true, but sometimes erroneous. He expresses himself\nwith astonishing eloquence and facility. He is not free from vanity. He\nbecomes a more perfect being of his own accord for a certain time, if\nguided wisely by the magnetiser, but wanders if he is ill-directed.\"\n\nAccording to M. Deleuze, any person could become a magnetiser and\nproduce these effects, by conforming to the following conditions, and\nacting upon the following rules:--\n\nForget for a while all your knowledge of physics and metaphysics.\n\nRemove from your mind all objections that may occur.\n\nImagine that it is in your power to take the malady in hand, and throw\nit on one side.\n\nNever reason for six weeks after you have commenced the study.\n\nHave an active desire to do good; a firm belief in the power of\nmagnetism, and an entire confidence in employing it. In short, repel all\ndoubts; desire success, and act with simplicity and attention.\n\nThat is to say, \"be very credulous; be very persevering; reject all past\nexperience, and do not listen to reason,\" and you are a magnetiser after\nM. Deleuze's own heart.\n\nHaving brought yourself into this edifying state of fanaticism, \"remove\nfrom the patient all persons who might be troublesome to you: keep with\nyou only the necessary witnesses--a single person, if need be; desire\nthem not to occupy themselves in any way with the processes you employ\nand the effects which result from them, but to join with you in the\ndesire of doing good to your patient. Arrange yourself so as neither to\nbe too hot nor too cold, and in such a manner that nothing may\nobstruct the freedom of your motions; and take precautions to prevent\ninterruption during the sitting. Make your patient then sit as\ncommodiously as possible, and place yourself opposite to him, on a seat\na little more elevated, in such a manner that his knees may be betwixt\nyours, and your feet at the side of his. First, request him to resign\nhimself; to think of nothing; not to perplex himself by examining the\neffects which may be produced; to banish all fear; to surrender himself\nto hope, and not to be disturbed or discouraged if the action of\nmagnetism should cause in him momentary pains. After having collected\nyourself, take his thumbs between your fingers in such a way that the\ninternal part of your thumbs may be in contact with the internal part of\nhis, and then fix your eyes upon him! You must remain from two to five\nminutes in this situation, or until you feel an equal heat between your\nthumbs and his. This done, you will withdraw your hands, removing them\nto the right and left; and at the same time turning them till their\ninternal surface be outwards, and you will raise them to the height of\nthe head. You will now place them upon the two shoulders, and let them\nremain there about a minute; afterwards drawing them gently along the\narms to the extremities of the fingers, touching very slightly as you\ngo. You will renew this pass five or six times, always turning your\nhands, and removing them a little from the body before you lift them.\nYou will then place them above the head; and, after holding them\nthere for an instant, lower them, passing them before the face, at the\ndistance of one or two inches, down to the pit of the stomach. There you\nwill stop them two minutes also, putting your thumbs upon the pit of\nthe stomach and the rest of your fingers below the ribs. You will then\ndescend slowly along the body to the knees, or rather, if you can do\nso without deranging yourself, to the extremity of the feet. You will\nrepeat the same processes several times during the remainder of the\nsitting. You will also occasionally approach your patient, so as to\nplace your hands behind his shoulders, in order to descend slowly along\nthe spine of the back and the thighs, down to the knees or the feet.\nAfter the first passes, you may dispense with putting your hands upon\nthe head, and may make the subsequent passes upon the arms, beginning at\nthe shoulders, and upon the body, beginning at the stomach.\"\n\nSuch was the process of magnetising recommended by Deleuze. That\ndelicate, fanciful, and nervous women, when subjected to it, should\nhave worked themselves into convulsions will be readily believed by\nthe sturdiest opponent of Animal Magnetism. To sit in a constrained\nposture--be stared out of countenance by a fellow who enclosed her knees\nbetween his, while he made passes upon different parts of her body, was\nquite enough to throw any weak woman into a fit, especially if she were\npredisposed to hysteria, and believed in the efficacy of the treatment.\nIt is just as evident that those of stronger minds and healthier bodies\nshould be sent to sleep by the process. That these effects have been\nproduced by these means there are thousands of instances to show. But\nare they testimony in favour of Animal Magnetism?--do they prove the\nexistence of the magnetic fluid? Every unprejudiced person must answer\nin the negative. It needs neither magnetism, nor ghost from the grave,\nto tell us that silence, monotony, and long recumbency in one position\nmust produce sleep, or that excitement, imitation, and a strong\nimagination, acting upon a weak body, will bring on convulsions. It will\nbe seen hereafter that magnetism produces no effects but these two;\nthat the gift of prophecy--supernatural eloquence--the transfer of the\nsenses, and the power of seeing through opaque substances, are pure\nfictions, that cannot be substantiated by anything like proof.\n\nM. Deleuze's book produced quite a sensation in France; the study was\nresumed with redoubled vigour. In the following year, a journal was\nestablished devoted exclusively to the science, under the title of\n\"Annales du Magnetisme Animal;\" and shortly afterwards appeared the\n\"Bibliotheque du Magnetisme Animal,\" and many others. About the same\ntime, the Abbe Faria, \"the man of wonders,\" began to magnetise; and the\nbelief being that he had more of the Mesmeric fluid about him, and a\nstronger will, than most men, he was very successful in his treatment.\nHis experiments afford a convincing proof that imagination can operate\nall, and the supposed fluid none, of the resuits so confidently claimed\nas evidence of the new science. He placed his patients in an arm-chair;\ntold them to shut their eyes; and then, in a loud commanding voice,\npronounced the single word, \"Sleep!\" He used no manipulations\nwhatever--had no baquet, or conductor of the fluid; but he nevertheless\nsucceeded in causing sleep in hundreds of patients. He boasted of having\nin his time produced five thousand somnambulists by this method. It was\noften necessary to repeat the command three or four times; and if the\npatient still remained awake, the Abbe got out of the difficulty by\ndismissing him from the chair, and declaring that he was incapable of\nbeing acted on. And here it should be remarked that the magnetisers do\nnot lay claim to a universal efficacy for their fluid; the strong and\nthe healthy cannot be magnetised; the incredulous cannot be magnetised;\nthose who reason upon it cannot be magnetised; those who firmly believe\nin it can be magnetised; the weak in body can be magnetised, and the\nweak in mind can be magnetised. And lest, from some cause or other,\nindividuals of the latter classes should resist the magnetic charm,\nthe apostles of the science declare that there are times when even they\ncannot be acted upon; the presence of one scorner or unbeliever\nmay weaken the potency of the fluid and destroy its efficacy. In M.\nDeleuze's instructions to a magnetiser, he expressly says, \"Never\nmagnetise before inquisitive persons!\" [\"Histoire Critique du Magnetisme\nAnimal,\" p. 60.] Yet the followers of this delusion claim for it the\nrank of a science!\n\nThe numerous writings that appeared between the years 1813 and 1825 show\nhow much attention was excited in France. With every succeeding year\nsome new discovery was put forth, until at last the magnetisers seemed\nto be very generally agreed that there were six separate and distinct\ndegrees of magnetisation. They have been classed as follow:--\n\nIn the first stage, the skin of the patient becomes slightly reddened;\nand there is a feeling of heat, comfort, and lightness all over the\nbody; but there is no visible action on the senses.\n\nIn the second stage, the eye is gradually abstracted from the dominion\nof the will (or, in other words, the patient becomes sleepy). The\ndrooping eyelids cannot be raised; the senses of hearing, smelling,\nfeeling, and tasting are more than usually excited. In addition, a\nvariety of nervous sensations are felt, such as spasms of the muscles\nand prickings of the skin, and involuntary twitchings in various parts\nof the body.\n\nIn the third stage, which is that of magnetic sleep, all the senses are\nclosed to external impressions; and sometimes fainting, and cataleptic\nor apoplectic attacks may occur.\n\nIn the fourth stage, the patient is asleep to all the world; but he\nis awake within his own body, and consciousness returns. While in this\nstate, all his senses are transferred to the skin. He is in the perfect\ncrisis, or magnetic somnambulism; a being of soul and mind--seeing\nwithout eyes--hearing without ears, and deadened in body to all sense of\nfeeling.\n\nIn the fifth stage, which is that of lucid vision, the patient can see\nhis own internal organisation, or that of others placed in magnetic\ncommunication with him. He becomes, at the same time, possessed of the\ninstinct of remedies. The magnetic fluid, in this stage, unites him\nby powerful attraction to others, and establishes between them an\nimpenetration of thought and feeling so intense as to blend their\ndifferent natures into one.\n\nIn the sixth stage, which is at the same time the rarest and the most\nperfect of all, the lucid vision is not obstructed by opaque matter, or\nsubject to any barriers interposed by time or space. The magnetic fluid,\nwhich is universally spread in nature, unites the individual with all\nnature, and gives him cognizance of coming events by its universal\nlucidity.\n\nSo much was said and written between the years 1820 and 1825, and so\nmany converts were made, that the magnetisers became clamorous for a new\ninvestigation. M. de Foissac, a young physician, wrote to the Academie\nRoyale du Medicine a letter, calling for inquiry, in which he complained\nof the unfairness of the report of Messrs. Bailly and Franklin in 1784,\nand stating that, since that time, the science had wholly changed by the\nimportant discovery of magnetic somnambulism. He informed the Academy\nthat he had under his care a young woman, whose powers of divination\nwhen in the somnambulic state were of the most extraordinary character.\nHe invited the members of that body to go into any hospital, and\nchoose persons afflicted with any diseases, acute or chronic, simple or\ncomplex, and his somnambulist, on being put en rapport, or in magnetic\nconnexion, with them, would infallibly point out their ailings and name\nthe remedies. She, and other somnambulists, he said, could, by merely\nlaying the hand successively on the head, the chest, and the abdomen\nof a stranger, immediately discover his maladies, with, the pains and\ndifferent alterations thereby occasioned. They could indicate, besides,\nwhether the cure were possible, and, if so, whether it were easy or\ndifficult, near or remote, and what means should be employed to attain\nthis result by the surest and readiest way. In this examination they\nnever departed from the sound principles of medicine. \"In fact,\" added\nM. de Foissac, \"I go further, and assert that their inspirations are\nallied to the genius which animated Hippocrates!\"\n\nIn the mean time experiments were carried on in various hospitals of\nParis. The epileptic patients at the Salpetriere were magnetised by\npermission of M. Esquirol. At the Bicetre also the same resuits were\nobtained. M. de Foissac busied himself with the invalids at the Hospice\nde la Charite, and M. Dupotet was equally successful in producing sleep\nor convulsions at Val de Grace. Many members of the Chamber of Deputies\nbecame converts, and M. Chardel, the Comte de Gestas, M. de Laseases,\nand others, opened their saloons to those who were desirous of being\ninstructed in animal magnetism. [Dupotet's Introduction to the Study of\nAnimal Magnetism, page 23.] Other physicians united with M. de Foissac\nin calling for an inquiry; and ultimately the Academy nominated a\npreliminary committee of five of its members, namely, Messrs Adelon,\nBurdin, Marc, Pariset, and Husson, to investigate the alleged facts, and\nto report whether the Academy, without any compromise of its dignity,\ncould appoint a new commission.\n\nBefore this committee, M. de Foissac produced his famous somnambulist;\nbut she failed in exhibiting any one of the phenomena her physician had\nso confidently predicted: she was easily thrown into the state of sleep,\nby long habit and the monotony of the passes and manipulations of\nher magnetiser; but she could not tell the diseases of persons put en\nrapport with her. The committee of five framed excuses for this failure,\nby saying, that probably the magnetic fluid was obstructed, because they\nwere \"inexperienced, distrustful, and perhaps impatient.\" After\nthis, what can be said for the judgment or the impartiality of such a\ncommittee? They gave at last their opinion, that it would be advisable\nto appoint a new commission. On the 13th of December 1825, they\npresented themselves to the Academie to deliver their report. A\ndebate ensued, which occupied three days, and in which all the most\ndistinguished members took part. It was finally decided by a majority\nof ten, that the commission should be appointed, and the following\nphysicians were chosen its members:--They were eleven in number,\nviz. Bourdois de la Motte, the President; Fouquier, Gueneau de Mussy,\nGuersent, Husson, Itard, Marc, J. J. Leroux, Thillay, Double, and\nMajendie.\n\nThese gentlemen began their labours by publishing an address to all\nmagnetisers, inviting them to come forward and exhibit in their presence\nthe wonders of animal magnetism. M. Dupotet says that very few answered\nthis amicable appeal, because they were afraid of being ridiculed when\nthe report should be published. Four magnetisers, however, answered\ntheir appeal readily, and for five years were busily engaged in bringing\nproofs of the new science before the commission. These were M. de\nFoissac, M. Dupotet, M. Chapelain, and M. de Geslin. It would be but\nan unprofitable, and by no means a pleasant task to follow the\ncommissioners in their erratic career, as they were led hither and\nthither by the four lights of magnetism above mentioned; the four\n\"Wills-o'-the-Wisp\" which dazzled the benighted and bewildered doctors\non that wide and shadowy region of metaphysical inquiry--the influence\nof mind over matter. It will be better to state at once the conclusion\nthey came to after so long and laborious an investigation, and then\nexamine whether they were warranted in it by the evidence brought before\nthem.\n\nThe report, which is exceedingly voluminous, is classed under thirty\ndifferent heads, and its general tenor is favourable to magnetism. The\nreporters expressly state their belief in the existence of the magnetic\nfluid, and sum up the result of their inquiries in the four assertions\nwhich follow:--\n\n1. Magnetism has no effect upon persons in a sound state of health, nor\nupon some diseased persons.\n\n2. In others its effects are slight.\n\n3. These effects are sometimes produced by weariness or ennui, by\nmonotony, and by the imagination.\n\n4. We have seen these effects developed independently of the last\ncauses, most probably as the effects of magnetism alone.\n\nIt will be seen that the first and second of these sentences presuppose\nthe existence of that magnetic power, which it is the object of the\ninquiry to discover. The reporters begin, by saying, that magnetism\nexists, when after detailing their proofs, they should have ended by\naffirming it. For the sake of lucidity, a favourite expression of their\nown, let us put the propositions into a new form and new words, without\naltering the sense.\n\n1. Certain effects, such as convulsions, somnambulism, &c. are\nproducible in the human frame, by the will of others, by the will of the\npatient himself, or by both combined, or by some unknown means, we wish\nto discover, perhaps by magnetism.\n\n2. These effects are not producible upon all bodies. They cannot be\nproduced upon persons in a sound state of health, nor upon some diseased\npersons; while in other eases, the effects are very slight.\n\n3. These effects were produced in many cases that fell under our notice,\nin which the persons operated on were in a weak state of health, by\nweariness or ennui, by monotony, and by the power of imagination.\n\n4. But in many other eases these effects were produced, and were clearly\nnot the result of weariness or ennui, of monotony, or of the power\nof the imagination. They were, therefore, produced by the magnetic\nprocesses we employed:--ergo--Animal Magnetism exists.\n\nEvery one, whether a believer or disbeliever in the doctrine, must see\nthat the whole gist of the argument will be destroyed, if it be proved\nthat the effects which the reporters claimed as resulting from a power\nindependent of weariness, monotony, and the imagination, did, in fact,\nresult from them, and from nothing else. The following are among the\nproofs brought forward to support the existence of the magnetic fluid,\nas producing those phenomena:--\n\n\"A child, twenty-eight months old, was magnetised by M. Foissac, at the\nhouse of M. Bourdois. The child, as well as its father, was subject to\nattacks of epilepsy. Almost immediately after M. Foissac had begun his\nmanipulations and passes, the child rubbed its eyes, bent its head to\none side, supported it on one of the cushions of the sofa where it was\nsitting, yawned, moved itself about, scratched its head and its ears,\nappeared to strive against the approach of sleep, and then rose, if we\nmay be allowed the expression, grumbling. Being taken away to satisfy a\nnecessity of nature, it was again placed on the sofa, and magnetised for\na few moments. But as there appeared no decided symptoms of somnolency\nthis time, we terminated the experiment.\"\n\nAnd this in all seriousness and sobriety was called a proof of the\nexistence of the magnetic fluid! That these effects were not produced\nby the imagination may be granted; but that they were not produced by\nweariness and monotony is not so clear. A child is seated upon a sofa,\na solemn looking gentleman, surrounded by several others equally grave,\nbegins to play various strange antics before it, moving his hands\nmysteriously, pointing at his head, all the while preserving a most\nprovoking silence. And what does the child? It rubs its eyes, appears\nrestless, yawns, scratches its head, grumbles, and makes an excuse to\nget away. Magnetism, forsooth! 'Twas a decided case of botheration!\n\nThe next proof (so called), though not so amusing, is equally decisive\nof the mystification of the Commissioners. A deaf and dumb lad, eighteen\nyears of age, and subject to attacks of epilepsy, was magnetised fifteen\ntimes by M. Foissac. The phenomena exhibited during the treatment were\na heaviness of the eyelids, a general numbness, a desire to sleep, and\nsometimes vertigo:--the epileptic attacks were entirely suspended, and\ndid not return till eight months afterwards. Upon this case and the\nfirst mentioned, the Committee reasoned thus:--\"These cases appear to us\naltogether worthy of remark. The two individuals who formed the subject\nof the experiment, were ignorant of what was done to them. The one,\nindeed, was not in a state capable of knowing it; and the other never\nhad the slightest idea of magnetism. Both, however, were insensible of\nits influence; and most certainly it is impossible in either case to\nattribute this sensibility to the imagination.\" The first case has been\nalready disposed of. With regard to the second, it is very possible to\nattribute all the results to imagination. It cannot be contended, that\nbecause the lad was deaf and dumb he had no understanding, that he could\nnot see the strange manipulations of the magnetiser, and that he was\nunaware that his cure was the object of the experiments that were thus\nmade upon him. Had he no fancy merely because he was dumb? and could\nhe, for the same reason, avoid feeling a heaviness in his eyelids, a\nnumbness, and a sleepiness, when he was forced to sit for two or\nthree hours while M. Foissac pointed his fingers at him? As for the\namelioration in his health, no argument can be adduced to prove that he\nwas devoid of faith in the remedy; and that, having faith, he should\nnot feel the benefit of it as well as thousands of others who have been\ncured by means wholly as imaginary.\n\nThe third case is brought forward with a still greater show of\nauthority. Having magnetised the child and the dumb youth with results\nso extraordinary, M. Foissac next tried his hand upon a Commissioner. M.\nItard was subjected to a course of manipulations; the consequences were\na flow of saliva, a metallic savour in the mouth, and a severe headach.\nThese symptoms, say the reporters, cannot be accounted for by the\ninfluence of imagination. M. Itard, it should be remarked, was a\nconfirmed valetudinarian; and a believer, before the investigation\ncommenced, in the truth of magnetism. He was a man, therefore, whose\ntestimony cannot be received with implicit credence upon this subject.\nHe may have repeated, and so may his brother Commissioners, that the\nresults above stated were not produced by the power of the imagination.\nThe patients of Perkins, of Valentine Greatraks, of Sir Kenelm Digby,\nof Father Gassner, were all equally positive: but what availed their\nassertions? Experience soon made it manifest, that no other power than\nthat of imagination worked the wonders in their case. M. Itard's is not\nhalf so extraordinary; the only wonder is, that it should ever have been\ninsisted upon.\n\nThe Commissioners having, as they thought, established beyond doubt the\nexistence of the magnetic fluid, (and these are all their proofs,) next\nproceeded to investigate the more marvellous phenomena of the science;\nsuch as the transfer of the senses; the capability of seeing into one's\nown or other people's insides, and of divining remedies; and the power\nof prophecy. A few examples will suffice.\n\nM. Petit was magnetised by M. Dupotet, who asserted that the\nsomnambulist would be able to choose, with his eyes shut, a mesmerised\ncoin out of twelve others. The experiment was tried, and the\nsomnambulist chose the wrong one. [Report of the Commissioners, p. 153.]\n\nBaptiste Chamet was also magnetised by M. Dupotet, and fell into the\nsomnambulic state after eight minutes. As he appeared to be suffering\ngreat pain, he was asked what ailed him, when he pointed to his breast,\nand said he felt pain there. Being asked what part of his body that was,\nhe said his liver. [Ibid, p. 137.]\n\nMademoiselle Martineau was magnetised by M. Dupotet, and it was expected\nthat her case would prove not only the transfer of the senses, but the\npower of divining remedies. Her eyes having been bandaged, she was asked\nif she could not see all the persons present? She replied, no; but she\ncould hear them talking. No one was speaking at the time. She said\nshe would awake after five or ten minutes sleep. She did not awake for\nsixteen or seventeen minutes. She announced that on a certain day she\nwould be able to tell exactly the nature of her complaint, and prescribe\nthe proper remedies. On the appointed day she was asked the question,\nand could not answer. [Report of the Commissioners, p. 139.]\n\nMademoiselle Couturier, a patient of M. de Geslin, was thrown into\nthe state of somnambulism, and M. de Geslin said she would execute his\nmental orders. One of the Committee then wrote on a slip of paper the\nwords \"Go and sit down on the stool in front of the piano.\" He handed\nthe paper to M. de Geslin, who having conceived the words mentally,\nturned to his patient, and told her to do as he required of her. She\nrose up, went to the clock, and said it was twenty minutes past nine.\nShe was tried nine times more, and made as many mistakes. [Idem, p.\n139.]\n\nPierre Cazot was an epileptic patient, and was said to have the power\nof prophecy. Being magnetised on the 22nd of April, he said that in nine\nweeks he should have a fit, in three weeks afterwards go mad, abuse his\nwife, murder some one, and finally recover in the month of August. After\nwhich he should never have an attack again. [Idem, p. 180] In two days\nafter uttering this prophecy, he was run over by a cabriolet and killed.\n[Foreign Quarterly Review, vol. xii. p. 439] A post mortem examination\nwas made of his body, when it was ascertained beyond doubt, that even\nhad he not met with this accident, he could never have recovered. [At\nthe extremity of the plexus choroides was found a substance, yellow\nwithin, and white without, containing small hydatids.--Report oltre\nCommissioners, p. 186.]\n\nThe inquest which had been the means of eliciting these, along with\nmany other facts, having sat for upwards of five years, the magnetisers\nbecame anxious that the report should be received by the solemn conclave\nof the Academie. At length a day (the 20th of June 1831) was fixed for\nthe reading. All the doctors of Paris thronged around the hall to learn\nthe result; the street in front of the building was crowded with medical\nstudents; the passages were obstructed by philosophers. \"So great was\nthe sensation,\" says M. Dupotet, \"that it might have been supposed the\nfate of the nation depended on the result.\" M. Husson, the reporter,\nappeared at the bar and read the report, the substance of which we have\njust extracted. He was heard at first with great attention, but as he\nproceeded signs of impatience and dissent were manifested on all\nsides. The unreasonable inferences of the Commissioners--their false\nconclusions--their too positive assertions, were received with repeated\nmarks of disapprobation. Some of the academicians started from their\nseats, and apostrophising the Commissioners, accused them of partiality\nor stolidity. The Commissioners replied; until, at last, the uproar\nbecame so violent that an adjournment of the sitting was moved and\ncarried. On the following day the report was concluded. A stormy\ndiscussion immediately ensued, which certainly reflected no credit\nupon the opponents of Animal Magnetism. Both sides lost temper--the\nanti-magnetists declaring that the whole was a fraud and a delusion; the\npro-magnetists reminding the Academy that it was too often the fate of\ntruth to be scorned and disregarded for a while, but that eventually\nher cause would triumph. \"We do not care for your disbelief,\" cried one,\n\"for in this very hall your predecessors denied the circulation of the\nblood!\"--\"Yes,\" cried another, \"and they denied the falling of meteoric\nstones!\" while a third exclaimed \"Grande est veritas et praevalebit!\"\nSome degree of order being at last restored, the question whether the\nreport should be received and published was decided in the negative.\nIt was afterwards agreed that a limited number of copies should be\nlithographed, for the private use of such members as wished to make\nfurther examination.\n\nAs might have been expected, magnetism did not suffer from a discussion\nwhich its opponents had conducted with so much intemperance. The\nfollowers of magnetism were as loud as ever in vaunting its efficacy\nas a cure, and its value, not only to the science of medicine, but\nto philosophy in general. By force of repeated outcries against the\ndecision of the Academie, and assertions that new facts were discovered\nday after day, its friends, six years afterwards, prevailed upon that\nlearned and influential body to institute another inquiry. The Academie,\nin thus consenting to renew the investigation after it had twice\nsolemnly decided (once in conjunction with, and once in opposition to a\ncommittee of its own appointment) that Animal Magnetism was a fraud or\na chimera, gave the most striking proof of its own impartiality and\nsincere desire to arrive at the truth.\n\nThe new Commission was composed of M. Roux, the President; and Messieurs\nBouillard, Cloquet, Emery, Pelletier, Caventon, Oudet, Cornac, and\nDubois d'Amiens. The chief magnetiser upon the occasion was M. Berna,\nwho had written to the Academie on the 12th of February 1837, offering\nto bring forward the most convincing proofs of the truth of the new\n\"science.\" The Commissioners met for the first time on the 27th of\nFebruary, and delivered their report, which was drawn up by M. Dubois\nd'Amiens, on the 22nd of August following. After a careful examination\nof all the evidence, they decided, as Messieurs Bailly and Franklin\nhad done in 1784, that the touchings, imagination, and the force of\nimitation would account satisfactorily for all the phenomena; that\nthe supposed Mesmeric fluid would not; that M. Berna, the magnetiser,\nlaboured under a delusion; and that the facts brought under their\nnotice were anything but conclusive in favour of the doctrine of Animal\nMagnetism, and could have no relation either with physiology or with\ntherapeutics.\n\nThe following abridgment of the report will show that the Commissioners\ndid not thus decide without abundant reason. On the 3rd of March they\nmet at the house of M. Roux, the President, when M. Berna introduced his\npatient, a young girl of seventeen, of a constitution apparently nervous\nand delicate, but with an air sufficiently cool and self-sufficient. M.\nBerna offered eight proofs of Animal Magnetism, which he would elicit in\nher case, and which he classed as follow:--\n\n1. He would throw her into the state of somnambulism.\n\n2. He would render her quite insensible to bodily pain.\n\n3. He would restore her to sensibility by his mere will, without any\nvisible or audible manifestation of it.\n\n4. His mental order should deprive her of motion.\n\n5. He would cause her, by a mental order, to cease answering in the\nmidst of a conversation, and by a second mental order would make her\nbegin again.\n\n6. He would repeat the same experiment, separated from his patient by a\ndoor.\n\n7. He would awake her.\n\n8. He would throw her again into the somnambulic state, and by his will\nsuccessively cause her to lose and recover the sensibility of any part\nof her body.\n\nBefore any attempt at magnetisation was made by M. Berna, the\nCommissioners determined to ascertain how far, in her ordinary state,\nshe was sensible to pricking. Needles of a moderate size were stuck into\nher hands and neck, to the depth of half a line, and she was asked by\nMessieurs Roux and Caventon whether she felt any pain. She replied that\nshe felt nothing; neither did her countenance express any pain. The\nCommissioners, somewhat surprised at this, repeated their question, and\ninquired whether she was absolutely insensible. Being thus pressed, she\nacknowledged that she felt a little pain.\n\nThese preliminaries having been completed, M. Berna made her sit close\nby him. He looked steadfastly at her, but made no movements or passes\nwhatever. After the lapse of about two minutes she fell back asleep,\nand M. Berna told the Commissioners that she was now in the state of\nmagnetic somnambulism. He then arose, and again looking steadfastly at\nher from a short distance, declared, after another minute, that she was\nstruck with general insensibility.\n\nTo ascertain this, the girl's eyes having been previously bandaged,\nMessieurs Bouillard, Emery, and Dubois pricked her one after the other\nwith needles. By word she complained of no pain; and her features, where\nthe bandage allowed them to be seen, appeared calm and unmoved. But\nM. Dubois having stuck his needle rather deep under her chin, she\nimmediately made with much vivacity a movement of deglutition.\n\nThis experiment having failed, M. Berna tried another, saying that he\nwould, by the sole and tacit intervention of his will, paralyze any\npart of the girl's body the Commissioners might mention. To avoid the\npossibility of collusion, M. Dubois drew up the following conditions:--\n\n\"That M. Berna should maintain the most perfect silence, and should\nreceive from the hands of the Commissioners papers, on which should be\nwritten the parts to be deprived of motion and sensibility, and that\nM. Berna should let them know when he had done it by closing one of his\neyes, that they might verify it. The parts to be deprived of sensibility\nwere the chin, the right thumb, the region of the left deltoid, and\nthat of the right patella.\" M. Berna would not accept these conditions,\ngiving for his reason that the parts pointed out by the Commissioners\nwere too limited; that, besides, all this was out of his programme, and\nhe did not understand why such precautions should be taken against him.\n\nM. Berna had written in his programme that he would deprive the whole\nbody of sensibility, and then a part only. He would afterwards deprive\nthe two arms of motion--then the two legs--then a leg and an arm--then\nthe neck, and lastly the tongue. All the evidence he wished the\nCommissioners to have was after a very unsatisfactory fashion. He would\ntell the somnambulist to raise her arm, and if she did not raise it,\nthe limb was to be considered paralyzed. Besides this, the Commissioners\nwere to make haste with their observations. If the first trials did not\nsucceed, they were to be repeated till paralysis was produced. \"These,\"\nas the Commissioners very justly remarked, \"were not such conditions as\nmen of science, who were to give an account of their commission, could\nexactly comply with.\" After some time spent in a friendly discussion\nof the point, M. Berna said he could do no more at that meeting. Then\nplacing himself opposite the girl, he twice exclaimed, \"Wake!\" She\nawakened accordingly, and the sitting terminated.\n\nAt the second meeting, M. Berna was requested to paralyze the right\narm only of the girl by the tacit intervention of his will, as he had\nconfidently assured the Commissioners he could. M. Berna, after a few\nmoments, made a sign with his eye that he had done so, when M. Bouillard\nproceeded to verify the fact. Being requested to move her left arm, she\ndid so. Being then requested to move her right leg, she said the whole\nof her right side was paralyzed--she could neither move arm nor leg. On\nthis experiment the Commissioners remark: \"M. Berna's programme stated\nthat he had the power of paralyzing either a single limb or two limbs at\nonce, we chose a single limb, and there resulted, in spite of his\nwill, a paralysis of two limbs.\" Some other experiments, equally\nunsatisfactory, were tried with the same girl. M. Berna was soon\nconvinced that she had not studied her part well, or was not clever\nenough to reflect any honour upon the science, and he therefore\ndismissed her. Her place was filled by a woman, aged about thirty, also\nof very delicate health; and the following conclusive experiments were\ntried upon her:--\n\nThe patient was thrown into the somnambulic state, and her eyes covered\nwith a bandage. At the invitation of the magnetiser, M. Dubois d'Amiens\nwrote several words upon a card, that the somnambule might read them\nthrough her bandages, or through her occiput. M. Dubois wrote the word\nPantagruel, in perfectly distinct roman characters; then placing himself\nbehind the somnambule, he presented the card close to her occiput. The\nmagnetiser was seated in front of the woman and of M. Dubois, and could\nnot see the writing upon the card. Being asked by her magnetiser what\nwas behind her head, she answered, after some hesitation, that she saw\nsomething white--something resembling a card--a visiting-card. It should\nbe remembered that M. Berna had requested M. Dubois aloud to take a card\nand write upon it, and that the patient must have heard it, as it was\nsaid in her presence. She was next asked if she could distinguish what\nthere was on this card. She replied \"Yes; there was writing on it.\"--\"Is\nit small or large, this writing?\" inquired the magnetiser. \"Pretty\nlarge,\" replied she. \"What is written on it?\" continued the magnetiser.\n\"Wait a little-I cannot see very plain. Ah! there is first an M. Yes, it\nis a word beginning with an M.\" [The woman thought it was a\nvisiting-card, and guessed that doubtless it would begin with the words\nMonsieur or Madame.] M. Cornac, unknown to the magnetiser, who alone put\nthe questions, passed a perfectly blank card to M. Dubois, who\nsubstituted it quietly for the one on which he had written the word\nPantagruel. The somnambule still persisted that she saw a word beginning\nwith an M. At last, after some efforts, she added doubtingly that she\nthought she could see two lines of writing. She was still thinking of\nthe visiting-card, with a name in one line and the address on the other.\n\nMany other experiments of the same kind, and with a similar result,\nwere tried with blank cards; and it was then determined to try her with\nplaying-cards. M. Berna had a pack of them on his table, and addressing\nM. Dubois aloud, he asked him to take one of them and place it at the\nocciput of the somnambule. M. Dubois asked him aloud whether he should\ntake a court card. \"As you please,\" replied the magnetiser. As M. Dubois\nwent towards the table, the idea struck him that he would not take\neither a court or a common card, but a perfectly blank card of the same\nsize. Neither M. Berna nor the somnambule was aware of the substitution.\nHe then placed himself behind her as before, and held the card to\nher occiput so that M. Berna could not see it. M. Berna then began to\nmagnetise her with all his force, that he might sublimate her into the\nstage of extreme lucidity, and effectually transfer the power of vision\nto her occiput. She was interrogated as to what she could see. She\nhesitated; appeared to struggle with herself, and at last said she saw a\ncard. \"But what do you see on the card?\" After a little hesitation, she\nsaid she could see black and red (thinking of the court card).\n\nThe Commissioners allowed M. Berna to continue the examination in his\nown way. After some fruitless efforts to get a more satisfactory answer\nfrom the somnambule, he invited M. Dubois to pass his card before her\nhead, close against the bandage covering her eyes. This having been\ndone, the somnambule said she could see better. M. Berna then began to\nput some leading questions, and she replied that she could see a\nfigure. Hereupon, there were renewed solicitations from M. Berna. The\nsomnambule, on her part, appeared to be making great efforts to glean\nsome information from her magnetiser, and at last said that she could\ndistinguish the Knave. But this was not all; it remained for her to say\nwhich of the four knaves. In answer to further inquiries, she said there\nwas black by the side of it. Not being contradicted at all, she imagined\nthat she was in the right track; and made, after much pressing, her\nfinal guess, that it was the Knave of Clubs.\n\nM. Berna, thinking the experiment finished, took the card from the hands\nof M. Dubois, and in presence of all the Commissioners saw that it was\nentirely blank. Blank was his own dismay.\n\nAs a last experiment, she was tried with a silver medal. It was with\nvery great difficulty that any answers could be elicited from her.\nM. Cornac held the object firmly closed in his hand close before the\nbandage over her eyes. She first said she saw something round; she then\nsaid it was flesh-coloured--then yellow--then the colour of gold. It was\nas thick as an onion: and, in answer to incessant questions, she said it\nwas yellow on one side, white on the other, and had black above it. She\nwas thinking, apparently, of a gold watch, with its white dial and black\nfigures for the hours. Solicited, for the last time, to explain herself\nclearly--to say, at least, the use of the object and its name, she\nappeared to be anxious to collect all her energies, and then uttered\nonly the word \"hour.\" Then, at last, as if suddenly illumined, she cried\nout that \"it was to tell the hour.\"\n\nThus ended the sitting. Some difficulties afterwards arose between the\nCommissioners and M. Berna, who wished that a copy of the proces verbal\nshould be given him. The Commissioners would not agree; and M. Berna, in\nhis turn, refused to make any fresh experiments. It was impossible that\nany investigation could have been conducted more satisfactorily than\nthis. The report of the Commissioners was quite conclusive; and Animal\nMagnetism since that day lost much of its repute in France. M. Dupotet,\nwith a perseverance and ingenuity worthy a better cause, has found a\nsatisfactory excuse for the failure of M. Berna. Having taken care in\nhis work not to publish the particulars, he merely mentions, in three\nlines, that M. Berna failed before a committee of the Royal Academy\nof Medicine in an endeavour to produce some of the higher magnetic\nphenomena. \"There are a variety of incidental circumstances,\" says that\nshining light of magnetism, \"which it is difficult even to enumerate. An\nover-anxiety to produce the effects, or any incidental suggestions that\nmay disturb the attention of the magnetiser, will often be sufficient to\nmar the successful issue of the experiment.\" [\"Introduction to the Study\nof Animal Magnetism,\" by Baron Dupotet de Sennevoy, London, 1838, p.\n159.] Such are the miserable shifts to which error reduces its votaries!\n\nWhile Dupotet thus conveniently forbears to dwell upon the unfavourable\ndecision of the committee of 1837, let us hear how he dilates upon the\nfavourable report of the previous committee of 1835, and how he praises\nthe judgment and the impartiality of its members. \"The Academie Royale\nde Medicine,\" says he, \"put upon record clear and authenticated\nevidence in favour of Animal Magnetism. The Commissioners detailed\ncircumstantially the facts which they witnessed, and the methods they\nadopted to detect every possible source of deception. Many of the\nCommissioners, when they entered on the investigation, were not only\nunfavourable to magnetism, but avowedly unbelievers; so that\ntheir evidence in any court of justice would be esteemed the most\nunexceptionable that could possibly be desired. They were inquiring too,\nnot into any speculative or occult theory, upon which there might be a\nchance of their being led away by sophistical representations, but they\nwere inquiring into the existence of facts only--plain demonstrable\nfacts, which were in their own nature palpable to every observer.\"\n[\"Introduction to the Study of Animal Magnetism,\" p. 27.] M. Dupotet\nmight not unreasonably be asked whether the very same arguments ought\nnot to be applied to the unfavourable report drawn up by the able M.\nDubois d'Amiens and his coadjutors in the last inquiry. If the question\nwere asked, we should, in all probability, meet some such a reply as\nthis:--\"True, they might; but then you must consider the variety of\nincidental circumstances, too numerous to mention! M. Berna may have\nbeen over anxious; in fact, the experiments must have been spoiled by an\nincidental suggestion!\"\n\nA man with a faith so lively as M. Dupotet was just the person to\nundertake the difficult mission of converting the English to a belief\nin magnetism. Accordingly we find that, very shortly after the last\ndecision of the Academie, M. Dupotet turned his back upon his native\nsoil and arrived in England, loaded with the magnetic fluid, and ready\nto re-enact all the fooleries of his great predecessors, Mesmer and\nPuysegur. Since the days of Perkinism and metallic tractors, until 1833,\nmagnetism had made no progress, and excited no attention in England. Mr.\nColquhoun, an advocate at the Scottish bar, published in that year the,\ntill then, inedited report of the French commission of 1831, together\nwith a history of the science, under the title of \"Isis Revelata; or,\nan Inquiry into the Origin, Progress, and present State of Animal\nMagnetism.\" Mr. Colquhoun was a devout believer, and his work was full\nof enthusiasm. It succeeded in awakening some interest upon a subject\ncertainly very curious, but it made few or no converts. An interesting\narticle, exposing the delusion, appeared in the same year in the\n\"Foreign Quarterly Review;\" and one or two medical works noticed the\nsubject afterwards, to scout it and turn it into ridicule. The arrival\nof M. Dupotet, in 1837, worked quite a revolution, and raised Animal\nMagnetism to a height of favour, as great as it had ever attained even\nin France.\n\nHe began by addressing letters of invitation to the principal\nphilosophers and men of science, physicians, editors of newspapers, and\nothers, to witness the experiments, which were at first carried on at\nhis own residence, in Wigmore-street, Cavendish-square. Many of them\naccepted the invitation; and, though not convinced, were surprised\nand confounded at the singular influence which he exercised over the\nimagination of his patients. Still, at first, his success was not\nflattering. To quote his own words, in the dedication of his work to\nEarl Stanhope, \"he spent several months in fruitless attempts to induce\nthe wise men of the country to study the phenomena of magnetism. His\nincessant appeals for an examination of these novel facts remained\nunanswered, and the press began to declare against him.\" With a saddened\nheart, he was about to renounce the design he had formed of spreading\nmagnetism in England, and carry to some more credulous people the\nimportant doctrines of which he had made himself the apostle. Earl\nStanhope, however, encouraged him to remain; telling him to hope for a\nfavourable change in public opinion, and the eventual triumph of that\ntruth of which he was the defender. M. Dupotet remained. He was not so\ncruel as to refuse the English people a sight of his wonders. Although\nthey might be ungrateful, his kindness and patience should be long\nenduring.\n\nIn the course of time his perseverance met its reward. Ladies in\nsearch of emotions--the hysteric, the idle, the puling, and the\nultra-sentimental crowded to his saloons, as ladies similarly\npredisposed had crowded to Mesmer's sixty years before. Peers, members\nof the House of Commons, philosophers, men of letters, and physicians\ncame in great numbers--some to believe, some to doubt, and a few to\nscoff. M. Dupotet continued his experiments, and at last made several\nimportant converts. Most important of all for a second Mesmer, he found\na second D'Eslon.\n\nDr. Elliotson, the most conspicuous among the converts of Dupotet, was,\nlike D'Eslon, a physician in extensive practice--a thoroughly honest\nman, but with a little too much enthusiasm. The parallel holds good\nbetween them in every particular; for, as D'Eslon had done before him,\nDr. Elliotson soon threw his master into the shade, and attracted all\nthe notice of the public upon himself. He was at that time professor\nof the principles and practice of medicine at the University College,\nLondon, and physician to the hospital. In conjunction with M. Dupotet,\nhe commenced a course of experiments upon some of the patients in that\ninstitution. The reports which were published from time to time, partook\nso largely of the marvellous, and were corroborated by the evidence of\nmen whose learning, judgment, and integrity it was impossible to call\nin question, that the public opinion was staggered. Men were ashamed\nto believe, and yet afraid to doubt; and the subject at last became so\nengrossing that a committee of some of the most distinguished members\nof the medical profession undertook to investigate the phenomena, and\nreport upon them.\n\nIn the mean time, Dr. Elliotson and M. Dupotet continued the public\nexhibition at the hospital; while the credulous gaped with wonder, and\nonly some few daring spirits had temerity enough to hint about quackery\nand delusion on the part of the doctors, and imposture on the part of\nthe patients. The phenomena induced in two young women, sisters, named\nElizabeth and Jane Okey, were so extraordinary that they became at last\nthe chief, if not the only proofs of the science in London. We have not\nbeen able to meet with any reports of these experiments from the pen\nof an unbeliever, and are therefore compelled to rely solely upon the\nreports published under the authority of the magnetisers themselves, and\ngiven to the world in \"The Lancet\" and other medical journals.\n\nElizabeth Okey was an intelligent girl, aged about seventeen, and was\nadmitted into the University College hospital, suffering under attacks\nof epilepsy. She was magnetised repeatedly by M. Dupotet in the autumn\nof 1837, and afterwards by Dr. Elliotson at the hospital, during the\nspring and summer of 1838. By the usual process, she was very easily\nthrown into a state of deep unconscious sleep, from which she was\naroused into somnambulism and delirium. In her waking state she was\na modest well-behaved girl, and spoke but little. In the somnambulic\nstate, she appeared quite another being; evinced considerable powers\nof mimicry; sang comic songs; was obedient to every motion of her\nmagnetiser; and was believed to have the power of prophesying the return\nof her illness--the means of cure, and even the death or recovery of\nother patients in the ward.\n\nMesmer had often pretended in his day that he could impart the magnetic\npower to pieces of metal or wood, strings of silk or cord, &c. The\nreader will remember his famous battery, and the no less famous tree of\nM. de Puysegur. During the experiments upon Okey, it was soon discovered\nthat all the phenomena could be produced in her, if she touched any\nobject that had been previously mesmerised by the will or the touch of\nher magnetiser. At a sitting, on the 5th of July 1838, it was mentioned\nthat Okey, some short time previously, and while in the state of\nmagnetic lucidity, had prophesied that, if mesmerised tea were placed in\neach of her hands, no power in nature would be able to awake her until\nafter the lapse of a quarter of an hour. The experiment was tried\naccordingly. Tea which had been touched by the magnetiser was placed\nin each hand, and she immediately fell asleep. After ten minutes, the\ncustomary means to awaken her were tried, but without effect. She was\nquite insensible to all external impressions. In a quarter of an hour,\nthey were tried with redoubled energy, but still in vain. She was left\nalone for six minutes longer; but she still slept, and it was found\nquite impossible to wake her. At last some one present remarked that\nthis wonderful sleep would, in all probability, last till the tea was\nremoved from her bands. The suggestion was acted upon, the tea was taken\naway, and she awoke in a few seconds. [\"Lancet,\" vol. ii. 1837-8, p.\n585.]\n\nOn the 12th of July, just a week afterwards, numerous experiments as\nto the capability of different substances for conveying the magnetic\ninfluence were tried upon her. A slip of crumpled paper, magnetised by\nbeing held in the hand, produced no effect. A penknife magnetised her\nimmediately. A piece of oilskin had no influence. A watch placed on her\npalm sent her to sleep immediately, if the metal part were first placed\nin contact with her; the glass did not affect her so quickly. As she was\nleaving the room, a sleeve-cuff made of brown-holland, which had been\naccidentally magnetised by a spectator, stopped her in mid career, and\nsent her fast to sleep. It was also found that, on placing the point of\nher finger on a sovereign which had been magnetised, she was immediately\nstupified. A pile of sovereigns produced sleep; but if they were so\nplaced that she could touch the surface of each coin, the sleep became\nintense and protracted.\n\nStill more extraordinary circumstances were related of this patient. In\nher state of magnetic sleep, she said that a tall black man, or negro,\nattended her, and prompted the answers she was to give to the various\nperplexing questions that were put to her. It was also asserted that\nshe could use the back of her hand as an organ of vision. The first time\nthis remarkable phenomenon was said to have been exhibited was a few\ndays prior to the 5th of July. On the latter day, being in what\nwas called a state of loquacious somnambulism, she was asked by Dr.\nElliotson's assistant whether she had an eye in her hand. She replied\nthat \"it was a light there, and not an eye.\" \"Have you got a light\nanywhere else?\"--\"No, none anywhere else.\"--\"Can you see with the inside\nas well as the out?\"--\"Yes; but very little with the inside.\"\n\nOn the 9th of July bread with butter was given to her, and while eating\nit she drank some magnetised water, and falling into a stupor dropped\nher food from her hand and frowned. The eyes, partially closed, had the\nabstracted aspect that always accompanies stupefaction. The right-hand\nwas open, the palm upwards; the left, with its back presented\nanteriorly, was relaxed and curved. The bread being lost, she moved her\nleft-hand about convulsively until right over the bread, when a clear\nview being obtained, the hand turned suddenly round and clutched it\neagerly. Her hand was afterwards wrapped in a handkerchief; but then\nshe could not see with it, and laid it on her lap with an expression of\ndespair.\n\nThese are a few only of the wonderful feats of Elizabeth Okey. Jane\nwas not quite so clever; but she nevertheless managed to bewilder the\nlearned men almost as much as her sister. A magnetised sovereign having\nbeen placed on the floor, Jane, then in the state of delirium, was\ndirected to stoop and pick it up. She stooped, and having raised it\nabout three inches, was fixed in a sound sleep in that constrained\nposition. Dr. Elliotson pointed his finger at her, to discharge some\nmore of the mesmeric fluid into her, when her hand immediately relaxed\nits grasp of the coin, and she re-awoke into the state of delirium,\nexclaiming, \"God bless my soul!\"\n\nIt is now time to mention the famous gold-chain experiment which was\nperformed at the hospital upon Elizabeth Okey, in the presence of Count\nFlahault, Dr. Lardner, Mr. Knatchbull the professor of Arabic in the\nUniversity of Oxford, and many other gentlemen. The object of the\nexperiment was to demonstrate that, when Okey held one end of a gold\nchain, and Dr. Elliotson, or any other magnetiser, the other, the\nmagnetic fluid would travel through the chain, and, after the lapse of a\nminute, stupify the patient. A long gold chain having been twice placed\naround her neck, Dr. Elliotson at once threw her into a state of stupor.\nIt was then found that, if the intermediate part of the chain were\ntwisted around a piece of wood, or a roll of paper, the passage of the\nfluid would be checked, and stupor would not so speedily ensue. If\nthe chain were removed, she might be easily thrown into the state of\ndelirium; when she would sing at the request of her magnetiser; and, if\nthe chain were then unrolled, her voice would be arrested in the most\ngradual manner; its loudness first diminishing--the tune then becoming\nconfused, and finally lost altogether. The operations of her intellect\ncould be checked, while the organs of sound would still continue to\nexert themselves. For instance, while her thoughts were occupied on the\npoetry and air of Lord Byron's song, \"The Maid of Athens,\" the chain was\nunrolled; and when she had reached the line, \"My life, I love you!\" the\nstupor had increased; a cold statue-like aspect crept over the face--the\nvoice sank--the limbs became rigid--the memory was gone--the faculty of\nforecasting the thoughts had departed, and but one portion of capacity\nremained--that of repeating again and again, perhaps twenty times, the\nline and music which had last issued from her lips, without pause, and\nin the proper time, until the magnetiser stopped her voice altogether,\nby further unrolling the chain and stupifying her. On another trial, she\nwas stopped in the comic song, \"Sir Frog he would a wooing go,\" when she\ncame to the line,\n\n     \"Whether his mother would let him or no;\"\n\nwhile her left hand outstretched, with the chain in it, was moving up\nand down, and the right toe was tapping the time on the floor; and with\nthese words and actions she persevered for fifty repetitions, until\nthe winding of the chain re-opened her faculties, when she finished the\nsong. [\"Lancet,\" vol. ii. 1837-8, p.617.]\n\nThe report from which we have extracted the above passage further\ninformed the public and the medical profession, and expected them to\nbelieve, that, when this species of stupefaction was produced while\nshe was employed in any action, the action was repeated as long as the\nmesmeric influence lasted. For instance, it was asserted that she was\nonce deprived of the motion of every part of her body, except the right\nforefinger, with which she was rubbing her chin; and that, when thrown\ninto the trance, she continued rubbing her chin for several minutes,\nuntil she was unmagnetised, when she ceased. A similar result was\nobtained when she was smoothing down her hair; and at another time when\nshe was imitating the laughter of the spectators, excited beyond control\nby her clever mimicry. At another time she was suddenly thrown into the\nstate of delirious stupor while pronouncing the word \"you,\" of which she\nkept prolonging the sound for several minutes, with a sort of vibrating\nnoise, until she was awakened. At another time, when a magnetised\nsovereign was given to her, wrapped up in paper, she caught it in her\nhand, and turned it round flatwise between her fingers, saying that it\nwas wrapped up \"very neatly indeed.\" The mesmeric influence caught her\nin the remark, which she kept repeating over and over again, all the\nwhile twirling the sovereign round and round until the influence in the\ncoin had evaporated.\n\nWe are also told of a remarkable instance of the force of the magnetic\npower. While Elizabeth Okey was one day employed in writing, a sovereign\nwhich had been imbued with the fluid was placed upon her boot. In half\na minute her leg was paralyzed--rooted to the floor--perfectly immovable\nat the joints, and visited, apparently, with pain so intense that the\ngirl writhed in agony. \"The muscles of the leg were found,\" says the\nreport, \"as rigid and stiff as if they had been carved in wood. When the\nsovereign was removed, the pain left her in a quarter of a minute. On a\nsubsequent day, a mesmerised sovereign was placed in her left hand as it\nhung at her side, with the palm turned slightly outwards. The hand and\narm were immediately paralyzed--fixed with marble-like firmness.\" No\ngeneral stupor having occurred, she was requested to move her arm;\nbut she could not lift it a hair's-breadth from her side. On another\noccasion, when in a state of delirium, in which she had remained three\nhours, she was asked to describe her feelings when she handled any\nmagnetised object and went off into the stupor. She had never before,\nalthough several times asked, given any information upon the subject.\nShe now replied that, at the moment of losing her senses through any\nmanipulations, she experienced a sensation of opening in the crown of\nher head; that she never knew when it closed again; but that her eyes\nseemed to become exceedingly large;--three times as big as before. On\nrecovering from this state, she remembered nothing that had taken place\nin the interval, whether that interval were hours or days; her only\nsensation was that of awakening, and of something being lifted from her\neyes.\n\nThe regular publication of these marvellous experiments, authenticated\nas they were by many eminent names, naturally excited the public\nattention in an extreme degree. Animal Magnetism became the topic of\ndiscussion in every circle--politics and literature were for a time\nthrown into the shade, so strange were the facts, or so wonderful was\nthe delusion. The public journals contented themselves in many instances\nwith a mere relation of the results, without giving any opinion as to\nthe cause. One of them which gave a series of reports upon the subject,\nthus described the girl, and avowed its readiness to believe all that\nwas related of her. [Morning Post, March 2, 1838.] \"Her appearance as\nshe sits, as pale and almost as still as a corpse, is strangely awful.\nShe whistles to oblige Dr. Elliotson: an incredulous bystander presses\nhis fingers upon her lips; she does not appear conscious of the nature\nof the interruption; but when asked to continue, replies in childish\nsurprise, 'it can't.' This state of magnetic semi-existence will\ncontinue we know not how long. She has continued in it for twelve days\nat a time, and when awakened to real life forgets all that has occurred\nin the magnetic one. Can this be deception? We have conversed with\nthe poor child her ordinary state as she sat by the fire in her ward,\nsuffering from the headach, which persecutes her almost continually when\nnot under the soothing fluence of the magnetic operation, and we confess\nwe never beheld anybody less likely to prove an impostor. We have seen\nProfessor Faraday exerting his acute and sagacious powers for an hour\ntogether, in the endeavour to detect some physical discrepancy in her\nperformance, or elicit some blush of mental confusion by his naive and\nstartling remarks. But there was nothing which could be detected,\nand the professor candidly confessed that the matter was beyond his\nphilosophy to unravel.\"\n\nNotwithstanding this sincere, and on the point of integrity,\nunimpeachable evidence in her favour; notwithstanding that she appeared\nto have no motives for carrying on so extraordinary and long-continued\na deception, the girl was an impostor, and all these wise, learned, and\ncontemplative men her dupes. It was some time, however, before this fact\nwas clearly established, and the delusion dissipated by the clear light\nof truth. In the mean time various other experiments on the efficacy of\nthe supposed magnetic power were tried in various parts of England;\nbut the country did not furnish another epileptic girl so clever as\nElizabeth Okey. An exhibition of the kind was performed on a girl\nnamed Sarah Overton, at the workhouse of the parish of St.\nMartin's-in-the-Fields. The magnetiser on this occasion was Mr.\nBainbridge, the parish surgeon. It is but justice to him to state,\nthat he conducted the experiments with the utmost fairness, and did not\npretend to produce any of the wondrous and incredible phenomena of other\npractitioners. This girl, whose age was about twenty, had long been\nsubject to epileptic fits, and appeared remarkably simple and modest in\nher manners and appearance. She was brought into the room and placed in\na chair. About twenty gentlemen were present. Mr. Bainbridge stationed\nhimself behind, and pointed his fingers at her brain, while his\nassistant in front made the magnetic passes before her eyes, and over\nher body. It cannot be said that her imagination was not at work; for\nshe had been previously magnetised, and was brought in with her eyes\nopen, and in complete possession of all her faculties. No means had\nbeen taken to prevent interruption during the sitting; new visiters\ncontinually arrived, and the noise of the opening and shutting of the\ndoor repeatedly called from Mr. Bainbridge a request that all should be\nkept silent. The girl herself constantly raised her head to see who\nwas coming in; but still, in direct contradiction to M. Dupotet, and,\nindeed, all the magnetisers, who have repeated over and over again, that\ninterruption destroys the magnetic power, she fell into a deep sleep\nat the end of about twelve minutes. In this state, which is that called\n\"Mesmeric Coma,\" she was quite insensible. Though pulled violently by\nthe hair, and pricked on the arm with a pin, she showed no signs of\nconsciousness or feeling. In a short time afterwards, she was awakened\ninto the somnambulic or delirious state, when she began to converse\nfreely with the persons around her, but more especially with her\nmagnetiser. She would sing if required, and even dance in obedience to\nhis command, and pretended to see him although her eyes were closely\nblindfolded with a handkerchief. She seemed to have a constant tendency\nto fall back into the state of coma, and had to be aroused with violence\nevery two or three minutes to prevent a relapse. A motion of the hand\nbefore her face was sufficient to throw her, in the middle of a song,\ninto this insensible state; but it was observed particularly that she\nfell at regular intervals, whether any magnetic passes were made at her\nor not. It was hinted aloud to a person present that he should merely\nbend his body before her, and she would become insensible, and fall to\nthe ground. The pass was made, and she fell accordingly into the arms\nof a medical gentleman, who stood behind ready to receive her. The girl\nhaving been again aroused into the state of delirium, another person,\nstill audibly, was requested to do the same. He did not; but the girl\nfell as before. The experiments were sufficient to convince the author\nthat one human being could indubitably exercise a very wonderful\ninfluence over another; but that imagination only, and not the mesmeric\nfluid, was the great agent by which these phenomena could be produced in\npersons of strong faith and weak bodies.\n\nSome gentlemen present were desirous of trying whether any of the higher\nmesmeric states, such as that of lucidity and clairvoyance could be\nproduced. Mr. Bainbridge was willing to allow the experiment to be made,\nbut previously expressed his own doubts upon the subject. A watch was\nthen put into her bosom, the dial plate and glass against her skin, to\nascertain whether she could see without the intervention of the organs\nof sight. She was asked what hour it was; and was promised a shilling if\nshe would tell by the watch which had been placed in her bosom. She held\nout her hand for the shilling, and received it with great delight. She\nwas then asked if she could see the watch? She said \"no--not a watch;\nshe could see something--something that was very pretty indeed.\" \"Come,\ncome, Sally,\" said Mr. Bainbridge, \"you must not be so stupid; rouse\nup, girl, and tell us what o'clock it is, and I'll give you another\nshilling!\" The girl at this time seemed to be relapsing into a deep\nsleep; but on being shaken, aroused herself with a convulsive start.\nIn reply to further questions, she said, \"she could see a clock, a very\npretty clock, indeed!\" She was again asked, five or six times, what\nthe hour was: she at last replied that \"it was ten minutes to two.\"\nThe watch being then taken out of her bosom, it was found to be on the\nstroke of two. Every one present, including the magnetiser, confessed\nthat there was nothing wonderful in the conjecture she had hazarded.\nShe knew perfectly well what hour it was before she was brought into the\nward, as there was a large clock in the workhouse, and a bell which\nrang at dinner time; she calculated mentally the interval that had since\nelapsed, and guessed accordingly. The same watch was afterwards advanced\nfour or five hours, and put into her bosom without a word being said in\nher hearing. On being again asked what o'clock it was by that watch, and\npromised another shilling if she would tell, she still replied that it\nwas near two--the actual time. Thus, as Mr. Bainbridge had predicted,\nthe experiment came to nothing. The whole case of this girl offered a\nstriking instance of the power of imagination, but no proof whatever of\nthe supposed existence of the magnetic fluid.\n\nThe Medical Committee of the University College Hospital took alarm at a\nvery early period at the injury which might be done to that Institution,\nby the exhibitions of Okey and her magnetisers. A meeting was held\nin June 1838, at which Dr. Elliotson was not present, to take into\nconsideration the reports of the experiments that had been published in\nthe Medical Journals. Resolutions were then passed to the effect,\nthat Dr. Elliotson should be requested to refrain from further public\nexhibitions of mesmerism; and, at the same time, stating the wish of\nthe Committee not to interfere with its private employment as a remedial\nagent, if he thought it would be efficacious upon any of the patients\nof the Institution. Dr. Elliotson replied, that no consideration should\nprevent him from pursuing the investigation of Animal Magnetism; but\nthat he had no desire to make a public exhibition of it. He had only\ngiven lectures and demonstrations when numbers of scientific gentlemen\nwere present; he still continued to receive numerous letters from\nlearned and eminent men, entreating permission to witness the phenomena;\nbut if the Committee willed it, he should admit no person without their\nsanction. He shortly afterwards sent a list of the names of individuals\nwho were anxious to witness the experiments. The Committee returned\nit to him unread, with the reply that they could not sanction any\nexhibition that was so entirely foreign to the objects of the Hospital.\nIn answer to this, Dr. Elliotson reiterated his full belief in the\ndoctrines of Animal Magnetism, and his conviction that his experiments\nwould ultimately throw a light upon the operations of nature, which\nwould equal, if not exceed, that elicited by the greatest discoveries\nof by-gone ages. The correspondence dropped here; and the experiments\ncontinued as usual.\n\nThe scene, however, was drawing to a close. On the 25th of August, a\nnotice was published in the Lancet, to the effect, that some experiments\nhad been performed on the girls Elizabeth and Jane Okey, at the house\nof Mr. Wakley, a report of which was only withheld in the hope that\nthe Committee of Members of the Medical Profession, then sitting to\ninvestigate the phenomena of mesmerism, would publish their report\nof what they had witnessed. It was further stated, that whether that\nCommittee did or did not publish their report, the result of the\nexperiments at Mr. Wakley's house should certainly be made known in\nthe next number of that journal. Accordingly, on the 1st of September\nappeared a statement, which overthrew, in the most complete manner, the\ndelusion of mesmerism. Nothing could have been better conducted than\nthese experiments; nothing could be more decisive of the fact, that all\nthe phenomena were purely the results of the excited imaginations of the\ngirls, aided in no slight degree by their wilful deception.\n\nThe first experiments were performed on the 16th of August, in the\npresence of Mr. Wakley, M. Dupotet, Dr. Elliotson, Dr. Richardson,\nMr. Herring, Mr. Clarke, and Mr. G. Mills the writer of the published\nreports of the experiments at the University College Hospital.\nDr. Elliotson had said, that nickel was capable of retaining and\ntransmitting the magnetic fluid in an extraordinary degree; but that\nlead possessed no such virtues. The effects of the nickel, he was\nconfident, would be quite astounding; but that lead might always be\napplied with impunity. A piece of nickel was produced by the Doctor,\nabout three quarters of an ounce in weight, together with a piece of\nlead of the same shape and smoothness, but somewhat larger. Elizabeth\nOkey was seated in a chair; and, by a few passes and manipulations,\nwas thrown into the state of \"ecstatic delirium.\" A piece of thick\npasteboard was then placed in front of her face, and held in that\nsituation by two of the spectators, so that she could not see what was\npassing either below or in front of her. Mr. Wakley having received both\nthe nickel and the lead, seated himself opposite the girl, and applied\nthe lead to each hand alternately, but in such a manner as to lead her\nto believe that both metals had been used. No effect was produced. The\nnickel magnetised by Dr. Elliotson was, after a pause, applied in a\nsimilar manner. No results followed. After another pause, the lead\nwas several times applied, and then again the nickel. After the last\napplication of the nickel, the face of the patient became violently\nflushed, the eyes were convulsed into a startling squint, she fell back\nin the chair, her breathing was hurried, her limbs rigid, and her back\nbent in the form of a bow. She remained in this state for a quarter of\nan hour.\n\nThis experiment was not considered a satisfactory proof of the magnetic\npowers of the nickel; and Dr. Elliotson suggested that, in the second\nexperiment, that metal should alone be tried. Mr. Wakley was again the\noperator; but, before commencing, he stated privately to Mr. Clarke,\nthat instead of using nickel only, he would not employ the nickel at\nall. Mr. Clarke, unseen by any person present, took the piece of nickel;\nput it into his waistcoat pocket; and walked to the window, where he\nremained during the whole of the experiment. Mr. Wakley again sat down,\nemploying both hands, but placing his fingers in such a manner, that it\nwas impossible for any person to see what substance he held. Presently,\non applying his left hand, the girl's vision being still obstructed by\nthe pasteboard, Mr. Herring, who was standing near, said in a whisper,\nand with much sincerity, \"Take care, don't apply the nickel too\nstrongly.\" Immediately the face of the girl became violently red, her\neyes were fixed in an intense squint, she fell back convulsively in her\nchair, and all the previous symptoms were produced more powerfully than\nbefore. Dr. Elliotson observed that the effects were most extraordinary;\nthat no other metal than nickel could produce them, and that they\npresented a beautiful series of phenomena. This paroxysm lasted half an\nhour. Mr. Wakley retired with Dr. Elliotson and the other gentlemen into\nan adjoining room, and convinced them that he had used no nickel at all,\nbut a piece of lead and a farthing.\n\nThis experiment was twice repeated with the same results. A third trial\nwas made with the nickel, but no effect was produced.\n\nOn the succeeding day the experiments were repeated upon both the\nsisters, chiefly with mesmerised water and sovereigns. The investigation\noccupied about five hours, and the following were the results:--\n\n1. Six wine glasses, filled with water unmesmerised, were placed on a\ntable, and Jane Okey being called in, was requested to drink from each\nof them successively. She did so, and no effect was produced.\n\n2. The same six glasses stood on the table, the water in the fourth\nhaving been subjected for a long time to the supposed magnetic\ninfluence. She was requested in like manner to drink of these. She\ndid so, and again no effect was produced, although, according to the\ndoctrine of the magnetisers, she ought to have been immediately fixed on\ndrinking of the fourth.\n\n3. In this experiment the position of the glasses was changed. There was\nno result.\n\n4. Was a repetition of the foregoing. No result.\n\n5. The water in all the glasses was subjected to the supposed magnetic\ninfluence from the fingers of Dr. Elliotson, until, in his opinion, it\nwas strongly magnetised. Still no result.\n\n6. The glasses were filled up with fresh water unmesmerised. No result.\n\n7. The water was strongly magnetised in each glass, and the girl emptied\nthem all. No result.\n\nIt would be needless to go through the whole series of experiments. The\nresults may be briefly stated. Sovereigns unmesmerised threw the girls\ninto convulsions, or fixed them. Mesmerised sovereigns sometimes did\nand sometimes did not produce these symptoms. Elizabeth Okey became\nrepeatedly fixed when drinking unmagnetised water; while that which had\nbeen subjected to the powers of a supposed magnetic battery, produced no\nresults. Altogether twenty-nine experiments were tried, which convinced\nevery one present, except Dr. Elliotson, that Animal Magnetism was\na delusion, that the girls were of very exciteable imaginations, and\narrant impostors.\n\nTheir motives for carrying on so extraordinary a deception have often\nbeen asked. The question is easily answered. Poor girls, unknown and\nunnoticed, or, if noticed, perhaps despised, they found themselves all\nat once the observed of all observers, by the really remarkable symptoms\nof their disease, which it required no aid from magnetism to produce.\nFlattered by the oft-repeated experiments and constant attentions of\ndoctors and learned men, who had begun by deluding themselves, they\nimagined themselves persons of vast importance, and encouraged by\ndegrees the whims of their physicians, as the means of prolonging the\nconsideration they so unexpectedly enjoyed. Constant practice made them\nat last all but perfect in the parts they were performing; and they\nfailed at last, not from a want of ingenuity, or of a most wonderful\npower over their own minds, and by their minds upon their bodies, but\nfrom the physical impossibility of seeing through a thick pasteboard,\nor into the closed hands of Mr. Wakley. The exposure that was made was\ncomplete and decisive. From that day forth, magnetism in England has\nhid its diminished head, and affronted no longer the common sense of\nthe age. M. Dupotet is no more heard of, the girls Okey afford no\nmore either wonder or amusement by their clever acting, and reason has\nresumed her sway in the public mind.\n\nA few more circumstances remain to be stated. Elizabeth Okey left the\nhospital; but was re-admitted some weeks afterwards, labouring under\nischuria, a fresh complaint, unconnected with her former malady.\nAs experiments in magnetism were still tried upon her privately,\nnotwithstanding the recent exposure and the all but universal derision\nof the public, the House Committee of the hospital, early in December,\nmet to consider the expediency of expelling the girl. Dr. Elliotson, on\nthat occasion, expressed his opinion that it was necessary to retain\nher in the hospital, as she was too ill to be discharged. It was then\nelicited from the nurse, who was examined by the Committee, that\nOkey, when in the state of \"magnetic delirium,\" was in the habit of\nprophesying the death or recovery of the patients in the ward; that,\nwith the consent of Dr. Elliotson, she had been led in the twilight into\nthe men's ward, and had prophesied in a similar manner; her predictions\nbeing taken down in writing, and given in a sealed paper to the\napothecary, to be opened after a certain time, that it might be seen\nwhether they were verified. Dr. Elliotson did not deny the fact. The\nnurse also stated more particularly the manner in which the prophecies\nwere delivered. She said that, on approaching the bed of a certain\npatient, Okey gave a convulsive shudder, exclaiming that \"Great Jacky\nwas sitting on the bedclothes!\" On being asked to explain herself, she\nsaid that Great Jacky was the angel of death. At the bedside of another\npatient she shuddered slightly, and said \"Little Jacky was there!\" Dr.\nElliotson did not altogether discredit the predictions; but imagined\nthey might ultimately be verified by the death or recovery of the\npatient. Upon the minds of the patients themselves, enfeebled as they\nwere by disease and suffering, the worst effects were produced. One\nman's death was accelerated by the despondency it occasioned, and the\nrecovery of others was seriously impeded.\n\nWhen these facts became known, the Council of the College requested the\nMedical Committee to discharge Okey and prevent any further exhibitions\nof Animal Magnetism in the wards. The latter part of this request\nhaving been communicated to Dr. Elliotson, he immediately sent in his\nresignation. A successor was afterwards appointed in the person of Dr.\nCopland. At his inaugural lecture the students of the college manifested\na riotous disposition, called repeatedly for their old instructor, and\nrefused to allow the lecture to proceed; but it appears the\ndisturbance was caused by their respect and affection for Dr. Elliotson\nindividually, and not from any participation in his ideas about\nmagnetism.\n\nExtravagant as the vagaries of the English professors of magnetism may\nappear, they are actual common sense in comparison with the aberrations\nof the Germans. The latter have revived all the exploded doctrines\nof the Rosicrucians; and in an age which is called enlightened, have\ndisinterred from the rubbish of antiquity, the wildest superstitions of\ntheir predecessors, and built upon them theories more wild and startling\nthan anything before attempted or witnessed among mankind. Paracelsus\nand Bohmen, Borri and Meyer, with their strange heterogeneous mixture of\nalchymy and religion, but paved the way for the stranger, and even\nmore extravagant mixture of magnetism and religion, as now practised\nin Germany. Magnetism, it is believed, is the key of all knowledge, and\nopens the door to those forbidden regions where all the wonders of\nGod's works are made clear to the mind of man. The magnetic patient is\npossessed of all gifts--can converse with myriads of spirits, and\neven with God himself--be transported with greater rapidity than the\nlightning's flash to the moon or the stars, and see their inhabitants,\nand hold converse with them on the wonders and beauties of their\nseparate spheres, and the power and goodness of the God who made them.\nTime and space are to them as if annihilated--nothing is hidden from\nthem--past, present, or future. They divine the laws by which the\nuniverse is upheld, and snatch the secrets of the Creator from the\ndarkness in which, to all other men, it is enveloped. For the last\ntwenty or thirty years these daring and blasphemous notions have\nflourished in rank luxuriance; and men of station in society, learning,\nand apparent good sense in all the usual affairs of life, have publicly\ngiven in their adhesion, and encouraged the doctrine by their example,\nor spread it abroad by their precepts. That the above summary of their\ntenets may not be deemed an exaggeration we enter into particulars, and\nrefer the incredulous that human folly in the present age could ever be\npushed so far, to chapter and verse for every allegation.\n\nIn a work published in Germany in 1817, by J. A. L. Richter, entitled\n\"Considerations on Animal Magnetism,\" the author states that in\nmagnetism is to be found the solution of the enigmas of human existence,\nand particularly the enigmas of Christianity, on the mystic and obscure\nparts of which it throws a light which permits us to gaze clearly on the\nsecrets of the mystery. Wolfart's \"Annals of Animal Magnetism\" abound\nwith similar passages; and Kluge's celebrated work is written in the\nsame spirit. \"Such is the wonderful sympathy,\" says the latter, \"between\nthe magnetiser and the somnambulist that he has known the latter to\nvomit and be purged in consequence of medicine which the former had\ntaken. Whenever he put pepper on his tongue, or drank wine, the patient\ncould taste these things distinctly on her palate.\" But Kerner's history\nof the case of Madame Hauffe, the famous magnetic woman, \"Seer\" or\n\"Prophetess of Prevorst,\" Will give a more complete and melancholy proof\nof the sad wanderings of these German \"men of science,\" than any random\nselections we might make from their voluminous works. This work was\npublished in two volumes, and the authenticity of its details supported\nby Gorres, Eschenmeyer, and other men of character and reputation in\nGermany: it is said to have had an immense sale. She resided in the\nhouse of Kerner, at Weinsberg; and being weak and sickly, was very\neasily thrown into a state of somnambulism. \"She belonged,\" says Kerner,\n\"to a world of spirits; she was half spirit herself; she belonged to the\nregion beyond death, in which she already half existed. * * * Her body\nclothed her spirit like a thin veil. * * * She was small and slightly\nmade, had an Oriental expression of countenance, and the piercing eyes\nof a prophet, the gleams of which were increased in their power and\nbeauty by her long dark eyebrows and eyelashes. She was a flower\nof light, living upon sunbeams. * * * Her spirit often seemed to be\nseparated from her frame. The spirits of all things, of which mankind in\ngeneral have no perception, were perceptible to and operated upon her,\nmore particularly the spirits of metals, herbs, men, and animals. All\nimponderable matters, even the rays of light, had an effect upon her\nwhen she was magnetised.\" The smell of flint was very agreeable to her.\nSalt laid on her hand caused a flow of saliva: rock crystal laid on\nthe pit of her stomach produced rigidity of the whole body. Red grapes\nproduced certain effects, if placed in her hands; white grapes produced\ndifferent effects. The bone of an elk would throw her into an epileptic\nfit. The tooth of a mammoth produced a feeling of sluggishness. A\nspider's web rolled into a ball produced a prickly feeling in the hands,\nand a restlessness in the whole body. Glow-worms threw her into the\nmagnetic sleep. Music somnambulised her. When she wanted to be cheerful,\nshe requested Kerner to magnetise the water she drank, by playing the\nJew's-harp. She used to say in her sleep, \"Magnetise the water by seven\nvibrations of the harp.\" If she drank water magnetised in this manner,\nshe was constrained involuntarily to pour forth her soul in song. The\neyes of many men threw her into the state of somnambulism. She said that\nin those eyes there was a spiritual spark, which was the mirror of the\nsoul. If a magnetised rod were laid on her right eye, every object on\nwhich she gazed appeared magnified.\n\nIt was by this means that she was enabled to see the inhabitants of the\nmoon. She said, that on the left side of the moon, the inhabitants were\ngreat builders, and much happier than those on the right side. \"I often\nsee,\" said she to her magnetiser, \"many spirits with whom I do not come\ninto contact. Others come to me, and I speak to them; and they often\nspend months in my company. I hear and see other things at the same\ntime; but I cannot turn my eyes from the spirits; they are in magnetic\nrapport with me. They look like clouds, thin, but not transparent;\nthough, at first, they seem so. Still, I never saw one which cast a\nshadow. Their form is similar to that which they possessed when alive;\nbut colourless, or grey. They wear clothing; and it appears as if made\nof clouds, also colourless and misty grey. The brighter and better\nspirits wear long garments, which hang in graceful folds, with belts\naround their waists. The expression of their features is sad and solemn.\nTheir eyes are bright, like fire; but none of them that I ever saw had\nhair upon their heads. They make noises when they wish to excite the\nattention of those who have not the gift of seeing them. These noises\nconsist of sounds in the air, sometimes sudden and sharp, and causing\na shock. Sometimes the sounds are plaintive and musical; at other times\nthey resemble the rustling of silk, the falling of sand, or the rolling\nof a ball. The better spirits are brighter than the bad ones, and their\nvoice is not so strong. Many, particularly the dark, sad spirits, when I\nuttered words of religious consolation, sucked them in, as it were;\nand I saw them become brighter and quite glorious in consequence: but\nI became weaker. Most of the spirits who come to me are of the lowest\nregions of the spiritual world, which are situated just above our\natmosphere. They were, in their life, grovelling and low-minded people,\nor such as did not die in the faith of Jesus; or else such as, in\nexpiring, clung to some earthly thought or affection, which now presses\nupon them, and prevents them from soaring up to heaven. I once asked a\nspirit whether children grew after death? 'Yes,' replied the spirit,'\nthe soul gradually expands, until it becomes as large as it would have\nbeen on earth. I cannot effect the salvation of these spirits; I am only\ntheir mediator. I pray ardently with them, and so lead them by degrees\nto the great Saviour of the world. It costs an infinity of trouble\nbefore such a soul turns again to the Lord.'\"\n\nIt would, however, serve no good purpose to extend to greater length the\nreveries of this mad woman, or to set down one after the other the names\nof the magnetisers who encouraged her in her delusions--being themselves\ndeluded. To wade through these volumes of German mysticism is a task\nboth painful and disgusting--and happily not necessary. Enough has been\nstated to show how gross is the superstition even of the learned; and\nthat errors, like comets, run in one eternal cycle--at their apogee in\none age, at their perigee in the next, but returning in one phase or\nanother for men to wonder at.\n\nIn England the delusion of magnetism may for the present be considered\nas fairly exploded. Taking its history from the commencement, and\ntracing it to our own day, it can hardly be said, delusion though it\nwas, that it has been wholly without its uses. To quote the words of\nBailly, in 1784, \"Magnetism has not been altogether unavailing to the\nphilosophy which condemns it: it is an additional fact to record among\nthe errors of the human mind, and a great experiment on the strength of\nthe imagination.\" Over that vast inquiry of the influence of mind over\nmatter,--an inquiry which the embodied intellect of mankind will never\nbe able to fathom completely,--it will, at least, have thrown a feeble\nand imperfect light. It will have afforded an additional proof of\nthe strength of the unconquerable will, and the weakness of matter as\ncompared with it; another illustration of the words of the inspired\nPsalmist, that \"we are fearfully and wonderfully made.\" If it serve no\nother purpose than this, its history will prove useful. Truth ere now\nhas been elicited by means of error; and Animal Magnetism, like other\nerrors, may yet contribute its quota towards the instruction and\nimprovement of mankind.\n\nTHE END.","title":"Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions \u2014 Volume 3","tradition":"ritual-magic","translated_text":null,"word_count":99129}