ONe Iohn Iohans, and Mary his wife, dwelling in the village of Wincklen, being people of honeſt report had a daughter called Veit en Iohans, who from the feaſt of holimeſſe in the year 1593 to this very inſtant hath neuer receiued any kind of ſuſtenaunce, nor done thoſe neceſſary workes of nature which euery creature naturally is forced to, yet is ſhee faire, of a very good complection, and to all mens ſeeming of perfit health. Her parentes by no meanes can yeeld reaſon of this her ſtrange kind of life, but doe confeſſe ſhee hath eaten, drunke, and done as other children haue. Onely this they ſay, that in Anno 1593 ſhee had a very greeuous ſickneſſe, and vpon the recouery ſhe fed but little, and daily leſſe and leſſe, till at length indeed ſhee tooke not any food: t • laſt of any, being as I before ſaid, vpon ho 〈…〉 ay Anno 1593. At the firſt her parents geſt it to ••… ſe from ſullenneſſe or wantoneſſe, but neither ſtrip • s nor entreaty could ſince make her take an • ſ 〈31 letters〉 enance: but what beyond compaſſe of all mannes reaſon God inwardly nouriſheth her withall.

MEe thinkes (M. Harc.) I ſee a humour growing in you, or if not of your ſelf it come, ſome humourous perſon doth perſuade you, that the parents of this child doe get vnto themſelues profite, going about to make their daughter bee thought another Ioan the Pucelle, or ſuch a one as was our Hypocriticall holye maid of Kent. But I can aſſure you, that they are no ſuch people, but wealthy perſons of peaceable and godlie conuerſation, ſuch as make no gaine by their child, but are rather much hindered by entertaining thoſe that come to ſee her, neither doe they cloiſter her vp nor chamber her ſo cloſe, but ſhee conuerſeth daily with neighbours children, at church, at worke, at play, and neuer leaueth company, till they goe to meat, which it ſeemeth her ſtomacke loatheth.

To adde more credite herevnto, I ſend you as I promiſed, the copie of the certificate, which the Gouernours at the earneſt requeſt of Bartholmew Powels dwelling in London as aforeſaid, did get; who will ſhew you the originall and the Towne ſeale at it: The copie followeth.

WEe Iohn Stambe, William Hertzigh, Herman at Stappen, and Iohn Spangen, with the reſt of the magiſtrates of the Citie of Glabbith in the dukedome of Guliſche, doe by theſe our letters giue to vnderſtand to all maner of perſons whatſoeuer, before whom theſe preſents ſhall come, that at the writing hereof there was before vs one Iohn Iohans with Mary his lawful wife, dwelling at Winclē, being a village in the Dukedome of Guliſche, who ſaid that they were of the age of ſixtie years and vpwards, who brought with them a maiden child of their owne, of the age of twelue yeares, and there they did depoſe, that the ſaied child had neither eat nor drunke, nor taken any kind of food to ſuſtaine nature, neither yet done the neceſſities of nature, ſince the feaſt of Holymeſſe in the yeare of our Lorde; 159 • vnto this preſent 28 of Iuly in the yeare of our Lorde 1596, and that alwayes before the feaſt of Holymeſſe before named, ſhee did and had lyued by eating and drinking as all other children doe, vntill it pleaſed God to viſite her with a great ſickneſſe, in which ſickneſſe ſhee beganne to leaue her meate by little and little, but yet continued a ſmall time onely by drinking of milke: and at Holymeſſe aforeſaid, ſhee altogither left all foode whatſoeuer, and ſo ſhee doeth continue: and yet ſhee is of as redde a colour and as faire a complexion as moſt be, as this picture doeth ſhewe: which picture was brought before vs with the childe: alſo ſhe doeth increaſe in ſtrength according to her age. And for the fuller certifying hereof, there were at the ſame time before vs theſe three witneſſes, Matthias Hennen, Peter Hennen, and Vitgen Engels, neighbours vnto the ſaide Iohn Iohans, who depoſed that this childe was often with their children playing, and that they often offering it meate, ſhee alwayes refuſed it, and yet they tryed her diuerſe times with diuerſe things, and alwayes found her to loath meate ſo farre, that when any meate was either giuen to their children or ſtirring in their houſes, ſhee would goe away: ſo that they ſaide vpon their othe, that they thought that the ſmell of meat was loathſome to her.

Theſe our preſent letters are ſent foorth at the requeſt of one Bartholmew Powels dwelling in the City of London in England, who deſired our letters for the fuller certifying of the truth of the premiſſes: and we being aſſured of the trueth hereof, both by the witneſſes and other epperiences, thought it good not to deny his requeſt, that the trueth of ſo ſtraunge a thing might be abroad knowen, to the praiſe and glory of God. Written and ſealed in our preſence, the 28. of Iuly. 1596.

OF this (M. Harc.) I haue ſaid all that I can, onely I conclude, the Lorde is mightie in all his workes, and wonderfull in all his waies, hee will haue his glorie knowne, neither ſhall any thing in heauen or earth bee ioyned as an aid with him, ſo full of Almighty maieſtie and iealouſie is he: in his kindled wrath ſhall vnbeleeuers fall, and the ſcorners ſhall be as ſtubble before fire.

I ſuſpect ſir, that my tediouſnes doth wearie you, but haue a little pacience, and (it may be) I will bee briefer and merrier in this that followeth.

IT hath ben reported for truth a long time, that the Duke and State of Wittenberge had gotten a fellowe for the nones, ſo excellent an Alchimiſt, as the wide world had not his like, The knowledge of the Philoſophers ſtone was his as ſure as euer it was Salomons. Oh hee was a perrillous fellowe by report, hee entended to paue Wittenberg with ſiluer, and couer the houſes with gold. As for the Indies and their excrements gotten with ſo long trauaile, ſo daungerous fightes, & ſuch like attempes, he held them in ſcorne, the Elixer of life was his, and thereon hee would venter his life.

NOw ſir hee was not a thinne, peaking beggerly Alchimiſt, futeleſſe, bloodleſſe, freindleſſe, none of them that had ſmokt out their eies with tumentations, nor wrinckled their checkes like a dried Neates tongue, with the ill ſpeede and long practiſe of their ſure looſing ſcience: But this was a ioly fat faced Gentleman, nay by your leaue a Nobleman hee would needes bee, and lord of Brunholfe, his appartell couered with gold, at his haire and eares gold hung careleſſely dangling, chaines, carkanets, bracelets, garters, hatband, all true gold, ſo that hee ſeemed another Plutus, that god of mettals whom the Poetes faine ſo many rich fables of. To make ſhort, ſo this gallant crept in credit with the duke and State, that hee was employed at their charge about his rare practiſe, a multitude of expences they were at, and ſtill ſtill ſome croſſe chaunce happened that hindered the going forward of this golden bleſſing. At laſt perceiuing themſelues to bee palpably abuſed, they grewe round with this ſquaring gallant: telling him that they would puniſh his deceit, if hee did not ſpeedily performe his promiſe. My young maiſter hauing good hope to giue them the ſlip, (as all ſuch ſlippery Gentlemen of his vnſtayed faculty ſtriue to doe) ſet them a day when they ſhould ſee the admired experiment hee had promiſed, or if hee failed hee offered his life in ſatiſfaction. The daie came, but no Philoſophers ſtone was readie to turne all things to gold, as Midas did by touching:

Therefore the State adding more to their loſſe prepared a gallowes of a quadrangle forme moſt artificially wrought, being yron worke gilt euer, with bowles on the top and other curious forge worke. It was plated on a ſquare of ſtone, and from the top in the middle of the quadrangle went vp an vpright barre of yron and another croſſing yet in manner of a gibbet, this held a broad Vane, vpon which was ingrauen theſe wordes.

The daie of his death was on Aprill the ſecond day 1597, hee was brought to the gallowes with a hundred and foureſcore horſemen, and a multitude of footemen, penitent hee was, and did confeſſe his errour, yet a little bragged of his art.

ANd by the way (M Harc.) I here note, all of his kinde, haue that kinde of fault how euer they be ouertaken, yet they haue a mad deſperate hope to attaine that in one houre that thouſandes of them could neuer meete with in an age. You know ſome about London, that ſhall bee nameleſſe, who ſtill lacke purging in the maiſter veyne, againſt this mad frenzy of Alchimiſt, and wil take no warning by the daily iſſue that runneth and vapoureth from their friendes cofres and their inheritances.

But leauing them to beweepe their owne loſſe, returne we to Iohn Honauer, by himſelfe named lord of Brunholfe, a captiue captaine in that beggerly beguiling art. He was ſuted in cloth of gold, his ſtockings ſilke, his hat thrumd with gold and ſilke, his band of gold about his necke, a chaine of gold and in this habite he was hanged dead, on a barre of yron croſſing from the Vane, like the croſſe poſt of a gibbet: being dead he was diſrobed, the hang man ſeazing on his gallant ſute, and in foure gilt yron chaines, his bodie was hung vp.

On a piller by the gallowes was his liuely picture with verſes of high Dutch written to this effect.

Theſe rimes I can no better tranſlate, the ſence I am ſure they hold. Hee was brought to execution with a hundred and foureſcore horſe, and an exceeding nūber of other people crying, There goes to hang the Algomiſt: which is a by-name they giue Alchimiſts in this countrey. Thus ended this young couſener being but foure and twenty years of age: if ſome of th • ſe old companions of that kind which bootleſly trouble other States were ſo ſerued the occupation of Alchimie, I mean in the moſt ſhifting profeſſors, would proue like the profeſſion of ſtealing, it indeed being a ſecret kind of theft.

Thus (M. Harc.) haue I done with theſe two nouels, commending me to you, and referring you to the poſt ſcriptum, for one matter I omitted in this laſt buſineſſe.