CHAPTER VII. 



ALCHEMY 



THIS morning I received a visit from one of the 

 native merchants in the city. Our conversation 

 happened to turn on alchemy, and then it diverged 

 to the kindred subjects of ghosts, magic, and hidden 

 treasures, regarding all which Orientals are firm be- 

 lievers. Belief in magic and ghosts does no great 

 harm, even a little good in a way, for it heightens the 

 interest in tales of the supernatural ; but faith in 

 alchemy and hidden treasures is very apt to lead to 

 ruin. The result comes thus about. A reputed 

 alchemist appears in a city ; he manages to get an 

 introduction to some man of means, a believer in his 

 science. The alchemist is plausible ; he gains the con- 

 fidence of his patron, and presently offers to show him 

 a proof of his skill. The patron provides a large 

 amount of silver ; it is conveyed away and buried in 

 some unfrequented place, the alchemist all the while 

 performing many incantations. The patron is then 

 directed to return after say twenty days and dig up 

 the deposit, and he will find that the silver has become 

 transmuted into gold ; but in the meantime neither 

 he nor anyone else is to come near the spot, or the 



io6 



