GRIMAXBI. 407 



Fazio placed out his pieces of gold, for which he 

 got good bills of exchange on an eminent banker at 

 Pifa, and wrote to his wife that he had difpofed of his 

 ingots of gold, and was already fet out pn his return. 

 Valentina Ihewed the letter to her relations and ac- 

 quaintance, and to all that were willing to fee it ; and 

 every one that faw it was filled with furprife. The ma- 

 jority frill doubted of the reality of Fazio's good for- 

 tune, when he arrived in perfon at Pifa. 



He appeared with a triumphant air, diftributed his 

 embraces on the right hand and the left, and related 

 the fuccefs with which his chemical labours had been 

 crowned, to all the world ; not forgetting to add, that 

 his bars on being affayed, turned out to be the pureft 

 arid the finefl gold. He corroborated the verbal tefli- 

 monies of his good fortune, by fpeaking and fubftan- 

 tial proofs, and fetched from his banker's nine thou- 

 fand gold dollars in fpecie. To this kind of demon - 

 ft ration no objection could be made. The ftory was 

 told from houfe to houfe, and all men extolled his 

 knowledge in the occult fcience of the tranfmutation 

 of metals. The very man, who but a few months be- 

 fore was pronounced a confirmed fool by the whole 

 city at large, was now elevated by that very city to 

 the rank of a great philofopher ; and Fazio enjoyed at 

 one and the fame time, the double advantage, of be- 

 ing honoured as both learned and rich. 



There was no longer any need of concealing his 

 wealth, and therefore he gave fcope to his deflres. He 

 redeemed his farm from the mortgage, bought himfelf 

 & title at Rome, for connecting refpedl and riches to- 



b b 4 gethcr, 



