e secret resort of men too powerful
to be named, for purposes too dangerous to be mentioned. Men cursed
and threatened him, and bestowed on me, the innocent assistant of his
studies, the nickname of the Devil's foot-post, which procured me a
volley of stones as soon as ever I ventured to show my face in the
street of the village. At length my master suddenly disappeared,
pretending to me that he was about to visit his elaboratory in this
place, and forbidding me to disturb him till two days were past. When
this period had elapsed, I became anxious, and resorted to this vault,
where I found the fires extinguished and the utensils in confusion,
with a note from the learned Doboobius, as he was wont to style himself,
acquainting me that we should never meet again, bequeathing me his
chemical apparatus, and the parchment which I have just put into your
hands, advising me strongly to prosecute the secret which it
contained, which would infallibly lead me to the discovery of the grand
magisterium."

"And didst thou follow this sage advice?" said Tressilian.

"Worshipful sir, no," replied the smith; "for, being by nature cautious,
and suspicious from knowing with whom I had to do, I made so many
perquisitions before I ventured even to light a fire, that I at length
discovered a small barrel of gunpowder, carefully hid beneath the
furnace, with the purpose, no doubt, that as soon as I should commence
the grand work of the transmutation of metals, the explosion should
transmute the vault and all in it into a heap of ruins, which might
serve at once for my slaughter-house and my grave. This cured me of
alchemy, and fain would I have returned to the honest hammer and anvil;
but who would bring a horse to be shod by the Devil's post? Meantime, I
had won the regard of my honest Flibbertigibbet here, he being then at
Farringdon with his master, the sage Erasmus Holiday, by teaching him
a few secrets, such as please youth at his age; and after much counsel
together, we agreed that, since I could get no practice in the ordinary
way, I should try how I could work out business among these
ignorant boors, by practising upon their silly fears; and, thanks to
Flibbertigibbet, who hath spread my renown, I have not wanted custom.
But it is won at too great risk, and I fear I shall be at length taken
up for a wizard; so that I seek but an opportunity to leave this vault,
when I can have the protection of some worshipful person against the
fu