A HISTORY OF SCIENCE 



Saint- Germain, who was connected with the court of 

 Louis XV. His statements carried the more weight 

 because, having apparently no means of maintenance, 

 he continued to live in affluence year after year for 

 two thousand years, as he himself admitted by means 

 of the magic stone. If at any time his statements 

 were doubted, he was in the habit of referring to his 

 valet for confirmation, this valet being also under the 

 influence of the elixir of life. 



"Upon one occasion his master was telling a party 

 of ladies and gentlemen, at dinner, some conversation 

 he had had in Palestine, with King Richard I., of 

 England, whom he described as a very particular friend 

 of his. Signs of astonishment and incredulity were 

 visible on the faces of the company, upon which Saint- 

 Germain very coolly turned to his servant, who stood 

 behind his chair, and asked him if he had not spoken 

 the truth. ' I really cannot say,' replied the man, 

 without moving a muscle ; ' you forget, sir, I have been 

 only five hundred years in your sendee.' 'Ah, trtie,' 

 said his master, ' I remember now ; it was a little before 

 your time!'" 2 



In the time of Saint - Germain, only a little over a 

 century ago, belief in alchemy had almost disappeared, 

 and his extraordinary tales were probably regarded in 

 the light of amusing stories. Still there was undoubt- 

 edly a lingering suspicion in the minds of many that 

 this man possessed some peculiar secret. A few cen- 

 turies earlier his tales would hardly have been ques- 

 tioned, for at that time the belief in the existence of 

 this magic something was so strong that the search 

 for it became almost a form of mania ; and once a man 



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