PREFACE. 



I 



N THE massive granite building that houses the Lenox 

 Librar}^ New York City, there hangs an original oil painting 

 by the Bohemian artist Vaczlav Brozik entitled: "Rodolphe 

 chez son Alchimiste." The central figure in this interesting 

 picture is that of the alchemist, portrayed as a tall old man with 

 a bald head and a long, white, pointed beard, and wearing a flowing 

 robe fastened with a girdle about his waist. He stands with his 

 back to an alchemical furnace surmounted by a hood, which is built 

 against one of the massive stone walls by the side of a deep-cut 

 window, that dimly lights a sombre, grim-looking room. On his left 

 is an anvil, on his right an alembic over a small furnace, near by 

 stands chemical apparatus of several kinds, and a celestial globe 

 while books and manuscripts lie in careless disorder on the floor. 

 The alchemist's left arm hangs at his side, his hand holding a pair 

 of tongs ; he faces the Emperor and presents to him with his right 

 hand a broken crucible containing in the bottom the ingot of gold 

 that he has just obtained by transmutation. 



Rudolph, arrayed in imperial garments, seated in an armchair 

 with his knees crossed, looks at the crucible with a stolid face 

 exhibiting neither curiosity nor astonishment. His Majesty forms 

 the fore-centre of a group of ladies and gentlemen of the court ; on 

 his left sits a richly attired lady who leans forward with a move- 

 ment of surprise ; behind him stands a group of four courtiers and 

 one lady; in a far corner are three more persons, one examining 

 attentively a natural history specimen. In the rear of the room is 



