€52 D : 
among other marks of her favour appointed him, though 
a layman, to the deanery of Gloucefter; of which, how¬ 
ever, he never got pofl'eflion. In 1575 the queen, with 
feveral of the nobility, came to his houfe at Mortlake, 
with an intention of feeing his library, but, hearing that 
his wife was lately dead, they did not enter the houfe. 
Dee attended Iter majefty at the door, and explained to 
her the properties of the reflecting glafs or (tone which 
had occafioned much converfation, and given rife to a 
report that he was a magician. In 1578 he married Jane, 
daughter of Bartholomew Fromound, efq. of EaftCheam. 
In 1581 he fir It began his incantations in concert with 
Edward Kelly. Albert Lafki, a Polifh nobleman of high 
rank, was admitted into a kind of partnerlhip with them. 
They pretended to carry on their ccnverfations with 
fpirits by means of the reflecting fhow-ftone, which Dee 
affirmed was given him by an angel. Dr. Hutton calls 
it a black fpeculutn, or polilhed piece of cannel-coal. 
Kelly was the feer, who, when they had finifhed their 
invocations, was to report what fpirits he faw, and what 
they faid; whilft Dee, who fat at a table, noted all in a 
book. A folio volume of thefe notes was publifhed by 
Cafaubon, and many more remain in manufeript in the 
Britifh mufeum: they contain the moft unintelligible 
jargon. The confecrated cakes of wax ufed in thefe ce¬ 
remonies, marked with hieroglyphics and mathematical 
figures, are alfo in the mufeum. The (how-ftone, or 
fpeculum, which fome authors have called around piece 
of volcanic glafs finely polifhed, is in the earl of Orford’s 
collection at Strawberry-hill. This farce was carried on 
for fome time; till at length, the whole party having 
involved themfelves in debt, they were obliged liiddenly 
to quit England. They left Mortlake September 21, 
1583 ; the mob, who had always been prejudiced againlt 
him as a magician, immediately upon his departure broke 
into his houfe, and deftroyed a great part of his furni¬ 
ture and books. Meanwhile Dee and his friends haftened 
to Poland, where they flattered themfelves that they 
Ihould meet with great encouragement through the inte- 
reft of Lafki; but were grievoufly difappointed in their 
expectations, and reduced to great diftrefs. They then 
bent their courfe to Germany, but the emperor baniflied 
them his dominions. At length, in the year 15S0, the 
queen ordered him to return, being then in Bohemia. 
On his arrival in England, he waited upon her majefty 
at Richmond, and was very gracioully received. She 
allured him that he might rely upon her protection in 
the profecution of his (Indies. Having been in England 
three years without reaping any advantage from the pro- 
mife which had been made him, he was induced to pre¬ 
fect a petition to the queen, praying that (lie would ap¬ 
point commiflioners to enquire into the Ioffes and injuries 
which he had fuftained, the fervices he had done her 
majefty, and the various difappointments which he had 
encountered. In confequence of this application, fir 
Thomas Gorge, knight, and Mr. Secretary Wolley, were 
actually appointed commiifioners to hear his grievances, 
and fat as fuch at his houfe at Mortlake, November 22, 
1592, to whom, fitting in his library, he related his cafe 
at large. I11 the mean time two tables were placed near 
him ; on one of them -were the proper vouchers for the 
faCts he alferted, to which he conftantly referred ; on 
the other, all the printed books and manuferipts which 
he had written. Among the fervices which he had ren¬ 
dered to the queen, he reckons fome confultations with 
her majefty’s phylicians at home, and a journey of. fif¬ 
teen hundred miles, which he undertook in the winter 
i'eafon, to hold a conference with the moft learned phi- 
lofophers on the continent upon the means of reftoring 
and prefCrvjng her health. In enumerating his Ioffes, 
he eftimates the damage fuftained in his library at 390I. 
His whole collection, which confided of 4000 books, of 
Which a great part were manuferipts, he valued at 2000I, 
Among the latter he mentions a large collection of deeds 
and charters, relating principally to eftates in Ireland, 
x 
E E. 
which he got out of a ruined church. His chemical ap¬ 
paratus, which coft him 200I. was entirely deftroyed by 
the mob when he left Mortlake in 1583; at the fame 
time they beat to pieces a fine quadrant of the chancel¬ 
lor’s which coft him 20I. and took away a magnet for 
which he gave 33I. Among the many promifes of pre¬ 
ferment which had been made him to fo little eifeCt, lie 
particularly fpecines Dr. Aubrey’s benefices in the dio- 
cefe of St. David’s, and the mafterfhip of St. Crofs, near 
Winchefter. He concludes with defiring fpeedy relief, 
and gives his reafons for preferring the mafterfhip of St. 
Crofs to any other appointment, it being a retired fitua- 
tion, well adapted for his (Indies, witli a good houfe an¬ 
nexed ; whereas his prefent fituation at Mortlake was 
too public, and his houfe too fmall, to entertain the fo¬ 
reign literati who leforted to him. Upon the report of 
the commiflioners, “ the queen willed the lady Howard 
to write fome words of comfort to his wife, and fend 
fome friendly tokens befides(lie commanded (irThomas 
Gorge to take him one hundred marks, and faid, “ that 
St. Crofsr he ftiould haveand that the incumbent, Dr. 
Bennet, might be removed to fome biihopric; and af- 
figned him a penfion of 200I. per annum out of the bi- 
(hopric of Oxford till it ftiould become vacant. All thefe 
promifes, like the former, came to nothing; the mafter- 
fhip of St. Crofs he never got. The next year indeed 
he was prefented to the chancellorftiip of St. Paul’s, but 
this was by no means adequate to his expectations; and 
he continued to memorialife her majefty, till at length 
he procured the wardenfhip of Munchefter in 1595. Here 
he continued feven years, leading a very unquiet life, and 
continually engaged in difputes with the fellows. He 
returned to Mordake in 1604. King James at firft pa¬ 
tronized, but was afterwards prejudiced againft him and 
his (ladies ; upon which Dee prefented a petition to his 
majefty, and another in verfe to the houfe of commons, 
praying that he might be brought to trial, having been 
accufed of calling up evil fpirits. 
It is the opinion of fome writers, that Dee was em¬ 
ployed by queen Elizabeth as a fpy, and fome have gone 
fo far as to fuppofe that all the notes of his pretended 
converfations with fpirits were, in fa 61 , political intelli¬ 
gence, couched in ciphers. As they contained a kind of 
jargon, meaning nothing in itfelf, they might undoubt¬ 
edly be ufed occafionally for fuch purpofes. Dee him- 
felf avers in his narrative, that he was taken into the 
queen’s fervice on her acceflion to the throne, when (he 
promifed, that where her brother had given him a crown 
(lie would give him a noble. The inftances of her ma¬ 
jefty’s attention to him were ftriking and numerous, and 
certainly prove either that (he was indebted to him for 
real, or that he duped her by magnifying the importance 
of imaginary, fervices. When he was fick, the queen 
ordered her own phyficians to attend him, “ fent him 
divers rarities to eat, and the honourable lady Sydney to 
attend on him, and comfort him with divers (peeches 
from her majefty, pithy and gracious!” The queen fre¬ 
quently vifited him at his houfe at Mortlake ; one day 
(he came on horfeback, and “exhorted him to take his 
mother’s death patiently.” Another time, as he deferibes 
it himfelf, “ (lie came from Richmond in her coach, the 
higher way of Mortlake-field, and when (he came right 
againft the church, (lie turned down (fays he) towards 
my houfe, and, when (he was againft my garden in the 
field, her majefty ftaid there a good while, and then 
came into the field at the great gate of the field, where 
her majefty efpied me at my door, making reverent and 
dutiful obeyfances to her ; and with her hand her ma¬ 
jefty beckoned me to come unto her, and I came to her 
coach-fide ; her majefty then very fpeedily pulled o(f her 
glove, and gave me her hand to kifs ; and to be ftiort, 
her majefty willed me to refort oftener to her court, and 
by fome of her privy chamber to give her to weete when 
I am there.” 
Dee was undoubtedly a man of very great refearch and 
Angular 
