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Curious Account Of Edward Kelly, The Alchemist.
losophers nor princes ; all , all crusaders in this glorious pursuit ! nor could even the sagacious penetration of the enthroned Elizabeth wholly shelter her from being infected by the idolatry of this Israelitish credulity , or rescue royal sapience from the suspicion of being a secret worshipper of this goiden calf ! But peace to their manes ! to exult over a fallen foe , however formidable , or however contemptible he miht have beenis not for liberal minds to indul
g , ge in ; but to hold forth the authors and abettors of public imposture to detection and scorn , belongs to the duties of a good citizen . Strict poetical justice having been executed on this caitiff by the Alchymistand Hudibras , there remains but a last duty for history to discharge towards this very , eccentric , character , and which , indeed , relates rather to the instrument , or primum mobile , of his juggling
system , than to himself ; as , according to our satirist , whose authority few will , at this time , dispute , ' Kelly did all his feats upon The devil ' s looking glass , a stone ; Where , playing with him at bo-peep , He solv'd all problems ne ' er so deep . '
Hudibras , Cant . III . 1 . 631 . The natural history of this stone , in which its species , qualities ^ and quantities have been deduced , with learned illustration and critical analysis sufficient to have settled the reputation of the corner stone of the universe , or the better known Pitt diamond ( had either
been questioned ) is thus reported in Dr . Nash ' s notes on the above quoted text , in his new and splendid edition of Butler ' s Hudibras . This stone , which is large , round , and very transparent , appears to be a volcanic production of the species vulgarly called the black Iceland Agate , which is a perfectly vitrified . lava ; and , according to Bergman ' s analysis , contains , of siliceous earth , sixty-nine parts in ah hundred , argillaceous twenty-two partsand martial nine . This stone '
, it was that Dee told the Emperor the angels of God had brought to him , and which was of that value , that no kingdom was of that worthiness as to be compared to the virtue or dignity thereof . This it was that he says he shewed to Queen Elizabeth , and to whom he also explained its wonderful properties . This , in fine , was that mirror , through which all the great and wise of that all-great and
allwise age peeped into futurity , and saw their fate approaching ! before which the whole world stood astound and aghast , so thoroughly and universally had it ' confounded flu faculties of eyes and ears . !' —plain matter of fact history has only thus much to add to this edifying subject . This stone is now in the possession of the very learned and venerable Earl of Oiford , at Strawberry-hill . Its authenticity
and identity cannot be doubted , as its descent is much more clearly proved than that of Agamemnon ' s sceptre . It was specified in the catalogue of the Earl of Peterborough , at Drayton ; thence it came to Lady Betty Germaine , who gave it to the Duke of Argyle , whose son . Lord Frederic Campbell , presented it to Lord Orford . 2
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Curious Account Of Edward Kelly, The Alchemist.
losophers nor princes ; all , all crusaders in this glorious pursuit ! nor could even the sagacious penetration of the enthroned Elizabeth wholly shelter her from being infected by the idolatry of this Israelitish credulity , or rescue royal sapience from the suspicion of being a secret worshipper of this goiden calf ! But peace to their manes ! to exult over a fallen foe , however formidable , or however contemptible he miht have beenis not for liberal minds to indul
g , ge in ; but to hold forth the authors and abettors of public imposture to detection and scorn , belongs to the duties of a good citizen . Strict poetical justice having been executed on this caitiff by the Alchymistand Hudibras , there remains but a last duty for history to discharge towards this very , eccentric , character , and which , indeed , relates rather to the instrument , or primum mobile , of his juggling
system , than to himself ; as , according to our satirist , whose authority few will , at this time , dispute , ' Kelly did all his feats upon The devil ' s looking glass , a stone ; Where , playing with him at bo-peep , He solv'd all problems ne ' er so deep . '
Hudibras , Cant . III . 1 . 631 . The natural history of this stone , in which its species , qualities ^ and quantities have been deduced , with learned illustration and critical analysis sufficient to have settled the reputation of the corner stone of the universe , or the better known Pitt diamond ( had either
been questioned ) is thus reported in Dr . Nash ' s notes on the above quoted text , in his new and splendid edition of Butler ' s Hudibras . This stone , which is large , round , and very transparent , appears to be a volcanic production of the species vulgarly called the black Iceland Agate , which is a perfectly vitrified . lava ; and , according to Bergman ' s analysis , contains , of siliceous earth , sixty-nine parts in ah hundred , argillaceous twenty-two partsand martial nine . This stone '
, it was that Dee told the Emperor the angels of God had brought to him , and which was of that value , that no kingdom was of that worthiness as to be compared to the virtue or dignity thereof . This it was that he says he shewed to Queen Elizabeth , and to whom he also explained its wonderful properties . This , in fine , was that mirror , through which all the great and wise of that all-great and
allwise age peeped into futurity , and saw their fate approaching ! before which the whole world stood astound and aghast , so thoroughly and universally had it ' confounded flu faculties of eyes and ears . !' —plain matter of fact history has only thus much to add to this edifying subject . This stone is now in the possession of the very learned and venerable Earl of Oiford , at Strawberry-hill . Its authenticity
and identity cannot be doubted , as its descent is much more clearly proved than that of Agamemnon ' s sceptre . It was specified in the catalogue of the Earl of Peterborough , at Drayton ; thence it came to Lady Betty Germaine , who gave it to the Duke of Argyle , whose son . Lord Frederic Campbell , presented it to Lord Orford . 2