Zachaire, who labored vainly for nearly a lifetime and had 

 spent a fortune before success had crowned his efforts by a 

 projection made on Easter Monday, 1550, when in less than 

 an hour common quicksilver was converted into gold. 

 Rudolph, who was accustomed to see his alchemists maintain 

 fires for seven weeks at a time, only to produce dross, was 

 greatly impressed by this report. 



On one occasion the Emperor himself became communi- 

 cative and conversed on the progress of alchemy in Bohemia in 

 recent years. His Majesty spoke of the chemical laboratory 

 founded at Koniggratz in 1476 by Wenzel von Troppau, in 

 which the dowager Empress Barbara worked with great zeal. 

 Rudolph, though credulous, was aware of the necessity of 

 taking precautions against trickery and told Dee with great 

 glee, of the simple scheme by which Christopher von Hirsch- 

 berg swindled the opulent Lord von Rosenberg. Hirschberg 

 informed the Prince that gold properly treated with chemicals 

 would increase in quantity if merely buried in the soil and 

 watered with certain secret liquids. Rosenberg loaned the 

 knave eighty gold ducats for the experiment; they were buried 

 in the garden and duly sprinkled with the nasty liquid sup- 

 plied, but after a few days Hirschberg disappeared and on 

 digging for the ducats it was found that they too had vanished. 



Mardocheus de Delle, who with other courtiers was present 

 at the interview, laughed heartily at this narrative and pro- 

 mised the Emperor a poem on the adventures of the noble 

 lord and the wily alchemist. Dee was about to inquire as 

 to the penalty imposed on von Hirschberg, whom he had met 

 in Gold Alley, when conversation was interrupted by the 

 entrance of Martin de Rutzke, bringing with him a beautifully 

 illuminated and rare manuscript rescued at the dispersal of 

 the library of Wresowitz, who was reputed to have been a 

 successful experimenter. The work was entitled "The True 



37 



