Secret_History

Chapter 1: The Nature of the Quest 41
Now, what happened was that the stranger made small talk for awhile and then,
more or less out of the blue, asked Dr. Schweitzer whether he would recognize the
“Philosopher’s Stone” if he saw it. He then took out of his pocket a small ivory
box that held “three ponderous pieces or small lumps... each about the bigness of a
small walnut, transparent, of a pale brimstone colour”. The stranger told
Schweitzer that this was the very substance sought for so long by the Alchemists.
Schweitzer held one of the pieces in his hand and asked the stranger if he could
have just a small piece. The man refused, but Schweitzer managed to steal a small
bit by scraping it with his fingernail. The visitor left after promising to return in
three weeks time to show Dr. Schweitzer some “curious arts in the fire”.
Well, as soon as he was gone, Dr. Schweitzer ran to his laboratory where he
melted some lead in a crucible and added the tiny piece of stone. But, the metal
did NOT turn into gold as he anticipated. Instead, “almost the whole mass of lead
flew away, and the remainder turned into a mere glassy earth”.
Three weeks later, the mysterious stranger was at his door again. They
conversed, and for a long time the man refused to allow Dr. Schweitzer see his
stones again, but, at last “he gave me a crumb as big as a rape or turnip seed,
saying, receive this small parcel of the greatest treasure of the world, which truly
few kings or princes have ever known or seen”.
Schweitzer must have been a whiner because he recounts that he protested that
this was not sufficient to transmute as much as four grains of lead into gold. At
this, the stranger took the piece back, cut it in half, and flung one part in the fire,
saying: “it is yet sufficient for thee!”
At this point, Schweitzer confessed his theft from the previous visit, and
described how the substance had behaved with his molten lead. The stranger began
to laugh and told him, “Thou are more dextrous to commit theft than to apply thy
medicine; for if thou hadst only wrapped up thy stolen prey in yellow wax, to
preserve it from the arising fumes of lead, it would have penetrated to the bottom
of the lead, and transmuted it to gold.”
The guy leaves at this point and promises to return the next morning to show
Schweitzer the correct way to perfom the transmutation but,
The next day he came not, nor ever since. Only he sent an excuse at half an hour
past nine that morning, by reason of his great business, and promised to come at
three in the afternoon, but never came, nor have I heard of him since; whereupon I
began to doubt of the whole matter. Nevertheless late that night my wife... came
soliciting and vexing me to make experiment... saying to me, unless this be done, I
shall have no rest nor sleep all this night... She being so earnest, I commanded a fire
to be made - thinking, alas, now is this man (though so divine in discourse) found
guilty of falsehood... My wife wrapped the said matter in wax, and I cut half an
ounce of six drams of old lead, and put into a crucible in the fire, which being
melted, my wife put in the said Medicine made up in a small pill or button, which
presently made such a hissing and bubbling in its perfect operation, that within a
quarter of an hour all the mass of lead was transmuted into the ... finest gold.
Baruch Spinoza, who lived nearby, came the next day to examine this gold and
was convinced that Schweitzer was telling the truth. The Assay Master of the
province, a Mr. Porelius, tested the metal and pronounced it genuine; and Mr.
Buectel, the silversmith, subjected it to further test that confirmed that it was gold.
The testimony of these men survives to this day.