In the year 1698 some of it penetrated through the soil, and
the phenomenon was witnessed by many people, who believed it to be a
miracle. The church which was thereupon erected is still a well-known
place for pilgrimage. Paracelsus concludes his directions for its
manufacture with the words: _But if this be incomprehensible to you,
remember that only he who desires with his whole heart will find, and to
him only who knocks vehemently shall the door be opened_.'
'I shall never try to make it,' smiled Arthur.
'Then there was the _Electrum Magicum_, of which the wise made mirrors
wherein they were able to see not only the events of the past and of the
present, but the doings of men in daytime and at night. They might see
anything that had been written or spoken, and the person who said it,
and the causes that made him say it. But I like best the _Primum Ens
Melissae_. An elaborate prescription is given for its manufacture. It was
a remedy to prolong life, and not only Paracelsus, but his predecessors
Galen, Arnold of Villanova, and Raymond Lulli, had laboured studiously to
discover it.
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