The Alchemical Patronage of Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley

For the Queen and Cecil, Smith‘s offer was too good to resist. The Queen and her
council instructed Smith to deliver their response to Peterson and to bring the three glass
vessels back to England. The comprehensiveness of the instructions is striking. Smith was
to retrieve from Peterson ―all such writings, books and papers lefte in his house by the said
Oldfield ... which in any way treate of the arte of Alchemy‖ along with any other chemicals
he had that might aid in transmutation. 192 Peterson was also required to reveal the details of
his discussion with Oldfield
concearning the severall qualities of the said three materials, and whether he
did esteeme them in thir kinds perfectly wrought and according to Arte
howe longe he have travailled in the worke of eny of them, and yf he
signified unto Peeterson any lacke or imperfection in any of the said
materialls 193
The intention was clearly to make sure that, if the material would truly allow the
transmutation of metals, they had everything necessary to perform the alchemical process.
For the English Court the plan seemed foolproof. Even if the alchemical equipment
proved to be worthless, they still had Smith‘s promise that he could sell it for a massive
profit.
Peterson accompanied the materials to England, presumably expecting a reward
from the notoriously parsimonious monarch. The Queen, who considered the alchemical
equipment to have been ―bequeathed to her majestie‖, was not eager to reimburse Peterson
for the materials unless either their worth or resale value could be verified. 194 In September
1594, after months of wrangling, a compromise was agreed upon. The Queen declared that
in six months time either the glass bodies would be delivered unopened to the English
merchant adventurers in Stade, for Peterson to collect, or Elizabeth would pay him £500
―if we shalbe pleased to detaine and keepe the thinges bequethed to our own use‖. 195 This
solution gave Smith enough time to find a buyer before the Queen would have to pay for
192 Anon. to Robert Smith, 20 February 1594, TNA, SP 12/247/72.
193 Ibid.
194 Ibid.
195 Declaration by Queen Elizabeth, 30 September 1594, TNA, SP 12/250/9.
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