the celebrated ruins of Glastonbury Abbey in Somersetshire. Here, as
these curious travellers searched into every corner of the scene, they
met by some rare accident with a vase containing a certain portion of
the actual _elixir vitae_, that rare and precious liquid, so much
sought after, which has the virtue of converting the baser metals into
gold and silver. It had remained here perhaps ever since the time of
the highly-gifted St. Dunstan in the tenth century. This they carried
off in triumph: but we are not told of any special use to which they
applied it, till a few years after, when they were both on the
continent.

The first record of their consultations with the supramundane spirits,
was of the date of December 2, 1581, at Lexden Heath in the county of
Essex; and from this time they went on in a regular series of
consultations with and enquiries from these miraculous visitors, a
great part of which will appear to the uninitiated extremely puerile
and ludicrous, but which were committed to writing with the most
scrupulous exactness by Dee, the first part still existing in
manuscript, but the greater portion from 28 May 1583 to 1608, with
some interruptions, having been committed to the press by Dr. Meric
Casaubon in a well-sized folio in 1659, under the title of "A True and
Faithful Relation of what passed between Dr. John Dee and some
Spirits, tending, had it succeeded, to a general alteration of most
states and kingdoms of the world."

Kelly and Dee had not long been engaged in these supernatural
colloquies, before an event occurred which gave an entirely new turn
to their proceedings. Albert Alaski, a Polish nobleman, lord palatine
of the principality of Siradia, came over at this time into England,
urged, as he said, by a desire personally to acquaint himself with the