e
machination of the malignant spirits that beset the paths of the
alchymist and torment him in his solitary labours. "It is their
constant endeavour," he observed, "to close up every avenue to those
sublime truths, which would enable man to rise above the abject state
into which he has fallen, and to return to his original perfection."
To the evil offices of these demons, he attributed his late disaster.
He had been on the very verge of the glorious discovery; never were
the indications more completely auspicious; all was going on
prosperously, when, at the critical moment which should have crowned
his labours with success, and have placed him at the very summit of
human power and felicity, the bursting of a retort had reduced his
laboratory and himself to ruins.

"I must now," said he, "give up at the very threshold of success. My
books and papers are burnt; my apparatus is broken. I am too old to
bear up against these evils. The ardour that once inspired me is gone;
my poor frame is exhausted by study and watchfulness, and this last
misfortune has hurried me towards the grave." He concluded in a tone
of deep dejection. Antonio endeavoured to comfort and reassure him;
but the poor alchymist had for once awakened to a consciousness of the
worldly ills that were gathering around him, and had sunk into
despondency. After a pause, and some thoughtfulness and perplexity of
brow, Antonio ventured to make a proposal.

"I have long," said he, "been filled with a love for the secret
sciences, but have felt too ignorant and diffident to give myself up
to them. You have acquired experience; you have amassed the knowledge
of a lifetime; it were a pity it should be thrown away. You say you
are too old to renew the toils of the laboratory; suffer me to
undertake them. Add your knowledge to my youth and activity, and what
shall we not accomplish? As a probationary fee, and a fund on which to
proceed, I will bring into the common stock a sum of gold, the residue
of a legacy, which has enabled me to complete my education. A poor
scholar cannot boast much; but I trust we shall soon put ourselves
beyond the reach of want; and if we should fail, why, I must depend,
like other scholars, upon my brains to carry me through the world."

The philosopher's spirits, however, were more depressed than the
student had imagined. This last shock, following in the rear of so
many disappointments, had almost destroyed the reaction of his mind.
The